What, Me Cancer?

You would think people would start throwing away their cell phones right? Well...wrong! People are completely addicted to cell phones now. Cancer is not going to make any difference. Nobody will care at all. People drink booze and they know it will kill them. They smoke and they know it will kill them. You can put cell phones on that pantheon of greatness.

Noting that in the highlighted portion...when they talk about the World Health Organization (WHO) with the acronym that comes out as the WHO. As in...alllllllright!!!!

The thrill of using a cell phone transcends any possible health risk. That's the same way I feel about booze. And four out of five dentists agree.

Using a mobile phone might increase the risk of developing certain types of brain tumors and consumers should consider ways of reducing their exposure, World Health Organization (WHO) cancer experts said on Tuesday.

A working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said a review of all the available scientific evidence suggested cell phone use should be classified as "possibly carcinogenic."

The classification, which puts mobile phone use in the same broad IARC cancer risk category as lead, chloroform and coffee, could spur the United Nations health body to look again at its guidelines on mobile phones, the scientists said.

But more lengthy and detailed research is needed before a more definitive answer on any link can be given.

The WHO had previously said there was no established evidence for a link between cell phone use and cancer.

"After reviewing essentially all the evidence that is relevant ... the working group classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans," Jonathan Samet, chair of the IARC group, said in a telebriefing.

He said some evidence suggested a link between an increased risk for glioma, a type of brain cancer, and mobile phone use.

[Reuters]

Goodbye To All That

I don't have the words for this one.

Sorry, stoners.

The Dutch government said Friday that it will ban tourists from buying marijuana from the Netherlands' famed "coffee shops."

Under the new rules spearheaded by far-right political leaders, only Dutch citizens will be able to enter the stores, and they too will face tougher restrictions.

Resident patrons will be required to sign up for a one-year membership, and each shop will have a maximum of 1,500 members, according to a justice ministry spokesman.

Critics argue the move, which should be enacted by the end of the year, could pulverize tourism.

The Netherlands – particularly Amsterdam, which is home to 220 coffee shops -- is known for having one of Europe's most lenient soft drug policies. The country's cannabis cafes have become popular attractions.

There are also fears that the move will result in a black market for the drugs.

[Daily News]

Summer Bummer As Gas Costs Soar And People Are Trapped At Home With Their Families

Not that driving in a car with a bunch of screaming kids is any bargain, but this summer, if you want to make money, learn how to treat the dread disease cabin fever, as many folks will be suffering from this in the sweltering heat. After being trapped indoors all winter through record snow and floods, here comes summer, and we're staying home because filling up my gas tank will cost about $75.

I expect there to be an upsurge in block parties and homicidal rage when barbecues descend into drunken orgies of violence as dormant family issues rise to the surface, and there is no escape. If you want to leave you have to walk home.

Also, I read an article like this and I think, why do we even bother having a government? You know this is the same shit I was reading about 30-40 years ago? High gas prices, blame OPEC, dependence on foreign oil, yada yada yada. Nothing really changes because there is nobody steering the ship. We could've had a chimp running things for the last 40 years and gotten the same result. Maybe better.

There's less money this summer for hotel rooms, surfboards and bathing suits. It's all going into the gas tank.

High prices at the pump are putting a squeeze on the family budget as the traditional summer driving season begins. For every $10 the typical household earns before taxes, almost a full dollar now goes toward gas, a 40 percent bigger bite than normal.

Households spent an average of $369 on gas last month. In April 2009, they spent just $201. Families now spend more filling up than they spend on cars, clothes or recreation. Last year, they spent less on gasoline than each of those things.

Jeffrey Wayman of Cape Charles, Va., spent Friday riding his motorcycle to North Carolina's Outer Banks, a day trip with his wife. They decided to eat snacks in a gas station parking lot rather than buy lunch because rising fuel prices have eaten so much into their budget over the past year that they can't ride as frequently as they would like.

"We used to do it a lot more, but not as much now," he said. "You have to cut back when you have a $480 gas bill a month."

Alex Martinez, a senior at Arcadia High School outside Los Angeles, said his family's trips to San Francisco, which they usually take once or more a year, are on hold. As he stopped at a gas station to put $5 of fuel in his car -- not much more than a gallon -- he said the high prices are crimping social life for him and his friends.

"We're always worrying, `How are we going to get home. We've got less than half a gallon left,'" Martinez said. "We definitely can't go out as much, and we can't go as far."

As Memorial Day weekend opens, the nationwide average for a gallon of unleaded is $3.81. Though prices have drifted lower in recent days, analysts expect average price for 2011 to come in higher than the previous record, $3.25 in 2008. A year ago, gas cost $2.76.

[Assocaited Press]

IMF Sex Crisis Eclipsed By Collapse Of Paltrow Record Deal

Let me be the first to say this sucks. I thought her cookbook was for shit, but maybe she could make a rockin' album? She's an actress. She knows how to do things. It's no loss for her, because she can just move on to her next project, or maybe form her own record company to put her record out. But it's a painful loss for US, the world of music lovers. We will have to WAIT. As a singer, she's no William Shatner, but there's a chance for something good here.

The IMF sex thing will blow over. But this busted deal could linger and join the other black clouds on the horizon. More and more it's looking like just one cloud. That's black. Who else is seeing that?

Gwyneth Paltrow has been sticking her perfectly exfoliated nose into everything lately: cooking, magazines, "Glee."

But now -- perhaps because of the backlash against her do-everything tear -- she's been denied a record deal.

Negotiations between Paltrow and Atlantic Records have reportedly fallen apart.

Claims that Paltrow wanted $1 million to sign have been circulating, though sources from her camp deny that.

[businessinsider.com]

Awesome Predictive Powers Of Daily Downers Confirmed Again

I wrote here awhile ago about the talking dogs thing. Back in JANUARY. So a few months go by, and they think nobody is paying attention and BAM, here we go. Turns out this talking dog thing was being researched by Nazi scientists, and no matter what else you can say about those guys, they were still scientists. They designed rockets and all kinds of things to kill lots of people very effectively. If they were looking into talking dogs you know there's something to it.

Just to review. Now that this news has emerged, the talking dogs thing should be elevated to the same level as the zombie thing. Unfortunately the Trump/Palin thing looks to be over, although I'm hoping a smart porn producer picks up on this idea. It's absolute gold. If someone makes a porno movie out of it I won't even sue. Then later will come Chinese world domination and other possible disasters, but it's possible none of them will matter after the zombies and talking dogs are done with us.

It's further proof that Hitler was barking mad.

In his new book Amazing Dogs: A Cabinet of Canine Curiosities, Cardiff University historian Jan Bondeson mines obscure German periodicals to reveal the Nazis' failed attempt to breed an army of educated dogs that could read, write and talk. "In the 1920s, Germany had numerous 'new animal psychologists' who believed dogs were nearly as intelligent as humans, and capable of abstract thinking and communication," he writes. "When the Nazi party took over, one might have thought they would be building concentration camps to lock these fanatics up, but instead they were actually very interested in their ideas."

According to the book, scientists envisioned a day when dogs would serve alongside German troops, and perhaps free up SS officers by guarding concentration camps. So to unlock all that canine potential, Hitler set up a Tier-Sprechschule (Animal Talking School) near Hanover and recruited "educated dogs" from throughout the country. Teachers claimed a number of incredible findings. An Airedale terrier named Rolf became a mythic figure of the project after teachers said he could spell by tapping his paw on a board (the number of taps represented the various letters of the alphabet). With that skill in hand, he mused on religion, learned foreign languages and even asked a noblewoman, "Can you wag your tail?" Perhaps most outlandish is the claim by his German masters that he asked to serve in the German army because he disliked the French. Another mutt barked "Mein Fuhrer" when asked to describe Hitler. And Don, a German pointer, is said to have imitated a human voice to bark, "Hungry! Give me cakes!" in German.

Germany's love of dogs may have blinded the Nazis to the outlandish goals of their project. "Part of the Nazi philosophy was that there was a strong bond between humans and nature. They believed a good Nazi should be an animal friend," Bondeson says. "Indeed, when they started interning Jews, the newspapers were flooded with outraged letters from Germans wondering what had happened to the pets they left behind."

Hitler, a well-known dog-lover, had two German Shepherds named Blondi and Bella. He killed Blondi shortly before killing himself in 1945.

[Time]

Bigger Than His Britches

The Captain would like to hear smart-ass, left-wing economists like Paul Krugman tell this guy that inflation isn't something to worry about right now.

A New Zealand truck driver says he blew up like a balloon when he fell onto a compressed air hose that pierced his buttock and forced pressurised air into his body.

Steven McCormack was standing on his truck's foot plate when he slipped and fell, breaking a compressed air hose off an air reservoir that powered the truck's brakes.

He fell hard onto the brass fitting, which pierced his left buttock and started pumping air into his body.

"I felt the air rush into my body and I felt like it was going to explode from my foot," he told local media from his hospital bed in the town of Whakatane.

[...]

Mr McCormack's workmates heard his screams and ran to him, quickly releasing a safety valve to stop the air flow, said Robbie Petersen, co-owner of the trucking company.

He was rushed to the hospital with terrible swelling and fluid in one lung. Doctors said the air had separated fat from muscle in McCormack's body, but had not entered his bloodstream.

Mr McCormack, 48, said his skin felt "like a pork roast" - crackling on the outside but soft underneath.

[Orange News]

Rabbit Slayers Drink 1/2 Price

Presumably Elmer Fudd has booked the next available flight to New Zeawand.

A Wanaka bar has taken to helping deal with Central Otago's rabbit plague by offering half-price beer to patrons who bring in dead rabbits.

Bullock Bar manager Margo Johnston said the bar would offer half-price jugs to anyone who brought in four rabbits to the bar tomorrow.

The idea for the promotion come about not only because the rabbits were a pest in the area but because the New Zealand Warriors were playing the Sydney Rabbitohs in a rugby league match, Ms Johnston said.

[...]

Unlike the Alexandra Easter Bunny Hunt, where some of the dead rabbits were buried in residential land, the dead rabbits were expected to be turned into dog food.

[The Southland Times]

Happiness is Such a Drag

If you're feeling really happy right now, there's something seriously wrong with you.

In a review paper published last week in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, researchers define what they call the "dark side of happiness": feeling happy all the time can destroy relationships and careers, while avidly pursuing happiness is bound to lead to disappointment.

[...]

“It’s happiness turned inward,’’ says June Gruber, a professor of psychology at Yale University who is studying mania. “They’re attuned only to their own happiness’’ and completely oblivious to what loved ones are feeling around them. It’s the flip side of depression, where individuals can only focus on their own suffering.

Researchers have found that people with high emotional states are more likely to engage in riskier behaviors like drug and alcohol use, gambling, sexual promiscuity, and drag racing.

[...]

In her recent research, [University of Denver psychologist and researcher Iris] Mauss discovered that those who value happiness the most have a lower state of well-being, less satisfaction with life, and are more likely to be depressed. She also found that teaching people to adopt happiness as a value caused them to feel more lonely and socially disconnected.

[Boston.com]

Real World Math Applies As Value Of Trump Casino Plunges 90%

What a great businessman. It's too bad this whole thing couldn't be orchestrated on TV. But no, business deals in the real world are based on what real people do with real brains, instead of a gaggle of asskissing quasi-celebrity has-beens trying to curry favor.

I've been to this casino and the review in here is dead on. The place is a dump. Of course it's also located about a mile away from the Boardwalk, but that's another story.

I love where they say how hard it is to get Trump's name off of everything. That sounds like the area where the most attention was paid to engineering - making sure his name was applied everywhere, indelibly. Best part is near the end, where the guy says Trump Entertainment paid more attention to the other two Atlantic City casinos they had. Those two went broke as well.

In Atlantic City, all that's golden is not Trump.

New Jersey casino regulators approved the sale of Trump Marina Hotel Casino on Monday to the owners of the Golden Nugget casinos in Nevada for $38 million -- about a tenth of what the property was expected to fetch just three years ago.

Landry's Inc. has rebranded the casino as the Golden Nugget Atlantic City, a name change that became official with Monday's vote by the Casino Control Commission.

The giant "TRUMP" letters have been removed from the front of the casino, though the top and rear of the casino-hotel still bear Donald Trump's name. A temporary banner proclaiming the casino as the Golden Nugget could be put up as soon as Tuesday, a company spokeswoman said.

Fertitta said renovations will be completed by December, including a remake of the casino's boxy, institutional facade.

"It is not going to have that hospital look anymore," he said. "It'll look like a totally different building. You will not recognize this property come December."

Work was already under way on the changeover Monday afternoon. About 200 slot machines near the top of the escalators from the parking lot garage were being removed for a restaurant, and prototypes of the newly made-over guest rooms were being left open for guests to wander through and admire. Swatches of colorful new carpeting were laid down in hotel hallways to show what will eventually replace the more drab patterns consisting of tens of thousands of interlocking letter "T"s, beneath the "Trump" name on each room door.

"We have been working on removing everything that says `Trump,' but it's overwhelming," said Amy Chasey, a Golden Nugget spokeswoman.

The sale leaves Trump Entertainment Resorts, which emerged last summer from its third stint in bankruptcy court, with two Boardwalk casinos -- its flagship trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and the older Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

Trump Entertainment has been trying to sell the Marina casino since May 2008, when it struck a deal with Coastal Marina LLC, run by former Donald Trump protege Richard Fields. Fields first agreed to pay $316 million. After the economy tanked, Trump and Coastal Marina agreed to a lower price of $270 million, but the deal fell apart in 2009 over disagreements about the physical condition of the casino.

Coastal claimed that summer that the Trump Marina needs at least $50 million in repairs. Things were so bad, Coastal Marina claimed in a lawsuit, the casino was putting plants under leaky windows and skylights to catch the drips when it rained rather than fix the leaks.

Fertitta said he will operate the Golden Nugget better than Trump Entertainment did.

"What shocked us was there's only one bar right at the front," he said. "It's almost like everything was done not to do business here. It was a big box."

He said Trump Entertainment Resorts paid more attention to its two other casinos than to Trump Marina.

"We will be 100 percent focused on driving business to the Golden Nugget," he said.

[Associated Press]

Head's Up ...

... up for auction, that is.

The severed head of the patron saint of genital diseases is to be sold at auction in County Meath next weekend.

The decapitated head of St Vitalis of Assisi has been in the possession of an Anglo-Irish family at Annesbrook House in Duleek for years now.

[...]

It is to be sold at an auction of the house’s contents next Sunday with a guideline price of between $1200 and $1800.

Saint Vitalis of Assisi was an Italian hermit and monk who died in 1370 and became a saint despite an early life marked by licentiousness and immorality.

In a bid to atone for his earlier sins, he went on pilgrimages to various sanctuaries and eventually became a Benedictine monk and later lived as a hermit, living in utter poverty near Assisi.

After his death he became known as a patron against sicknesses and diseases affecting the genitals.

[Irish Central]

The Latest Cry Of The Celebrity - Where's My Statue?

Talk is cheap. Show me the statue. That's the moral of the story. If I were Kareem I would feel slighted too, and I already feel slighted that there isn't a statue of me in an appropriate place somewhere in New York City. Really, insulting. Totally.

What's up with the Lakers? They don't have the money for a statue? They are blowing money like it's going out of style on a second rate team that went down peacefully to Dirk-i-stan without a whimper. And now they can't pay proper tribute to their past?

Maybe it's the NYC connection. Kareem is a NYCity kid. They are dissing the East Coast. That's all there is to it. Until they build that statue, I'm down on the Lakers, which is easy, cause I hate the fucking Lakers. Though they do have stylish unis.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn't happy. The former Lakers center, a member of the Hall of Fame, told a reporter from The Sporting News on Wednesday he feels "slighted" because there isn't a statue of him outside of Staples Center.

There are statues of Lakers guards Magic Johnson and Jerry West plus late announcer Chick Hearn, who join Kings great Wayne Gretzky and boxer Oscar De La Hoya in what's known as Star Plaza in front of the 12-year-old arena.

"I don't understand (it)," he told the magazine for a story posted on its website. "It's either an oversight or they're taking me for granted.

"I'm not going to try to read people's minds, but it doesn't make me happy. It's definitely a slight. I feel slighted."

Abdul-Jabbar teamed with Johnson to win five NBA championships during the Showtime era of the 1980s. He is the leading scorer in the history of the league with 38,387 points during his 20 seasons. He also was the league's MVP six times.

"There is no plan or timetable" for the next statue to be commissioned and unveiled, Lakers spokesman John Black said, and added "Kareem absolutely will be the next one. People in the organization have told him that.

"In my opinion, he's the greatest player who ever lived. Somebody had to go first. Somebody had to go second. Somebody had to go third.

"We value him and what he's done for us greatly."

[Press-Telegram, Long Beach, CA]

Private Prisons Profit By Leaving The Sick Ones Behind

Since the facts don't matter, nothing in here will matter. The fact that privitization is not a panacea and private industry will not handle everything the world has to throw at it will not influence opinion.

This is ugly on so many levels. First off, the private companies can be more "efficient" by leaving out the sick inmates. Why is the State so acquiescent to a system where they are getting screwed with the sick inmates? Nothing good about privitization at all.

And here is the really ugly part in this. Not a WORD in here about rehabilitation. That's out the window. The problem with prison is that the people that get in get OUT. And they are with all of us. It behooves us to pay attention to these people beyond dealing with them as cheaply as possible.

The conviction that private prisons save money helped drive more than 30 states to turn to them for housing inmates. But Arizona shows that popular wisdom might be wrong: Data there suggest that privately operated prisons can cost more to operate than state-run prisons — even though they often steer clear of the sickest, costliest inmates.

State Representative Chad Campbell of Arizona said private prisons “leave the most expensive prisoners with taxpayers.”

The state’s experience has particular relevance now, as many politicians have promised to ease budget problems by trimming state agencies. Florida and Ohio are planning major shifts toward private prisons, and Arizona is expected to sign deals doubling its private-inmate population.

The measures would be a shot in the arm for an industry that has struggled, in some places, to fill prison beds as the number of inmates nationwide has leveled off. But hopes of big taxpayer benefits might end in disappointment, independent experts say.

“There’s a perception that the private sector is always going to do it more efficiently and less costly,” said Russ Van Vleet, a former co-director of the University of Utah Criminal Justice Center. “But there really isn’t much out there that says that’s correct.”

Such has been the case lately in Arizona. Despite a state law stipulating that private prisons must create “cost savings,” the state’s own data indicate that inmates in private prisons can cost as much as $1,600 more per year, while many cost about the same as they do in state-run prisons.

The research, by the Arizona Department of Corrections, also reveals a murky aspect of private prisons that helps them appear less expensive: They often house only relatively healthy inmates.

“It’s cherry-picking,” said State Representative Chad Campbell, leader of the House Democrats. “They leave the most expensive prisoners with taxpayers and take the easy prisoners.”

[The New York Times]

Upcoming Rapture Calculations Foiled By Inability To Understand Basic Math

I'm terrible at math, and that may help me understand this because I can usually see when others are terrible at math. This whole theory of the rapture occurring on May 21, 2011 is based on a miscalculation.

A.D. stands for Anno Domini. Divides history into the years before Christ's birth (B.C.) and after his birth (A.D.). Consider this:

There is no year zero in this scheme, so the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC.

So if Jesus was born in the year 1 A.D., he didn't turn 1 until 2 A.D. And if he was 33 when he died, that would place his death in the year 34 A.D. Not 33 A.D. Jesus was crucified 722,135 days before May 21, 2011, not 722,500 days before. You get this by subtracting 365 days (one year) from Camping's figure. So since this first number is wrong, everything else that stems from these calculations is wrong. I can't tell you how satisfying it is for me to be able to point this out, since I can't even do long division. Just makes my day. Plus I'M PROBABLY GOING TO LIVE PAST SATURDAY whether these nuts like it or not!

It speaks volumes about the rapture crowd that this guy's influence was not affected by the fact that he was completely wrong the first time he predicted the rapture on Sept. 6, 1994. Plus none of them are spotting that this is one year off. But I guess since some people are so anxious to ascend to heaven they will not let bad math or being just plain wrong get in the way. My mistakes are largely unpublished. Can you imagine spending all your time on this crap and getting it wrong right from the jump? Nobody pointing it out. I hang out with a crowd of idiots and I feel pretty sure one of them would have figured this out and spared me the embarrassment. But I guess if the world goes on 17 years after you predicted it would end you are probably beyond embarrassment.

Anyway, good luck to all surviving the upcoming apocalypse! Whenever it may arrive.

The May 21 Judgment Day meme is the brainchild of an 89-year-old radio evangelist named Harold Camping. Using a mathematical system of his own creation to interpret obscure prophecies in the Bible, Camping originally predicted that Sept. 6, 1994 would be Judgment Day, or the day of the "Rapture" when Christian believers will ascend to heaven, leaving the rest of humanity to its deservedly dreary fate.

But 1994 came and went relatively uneventfully, and Camping has since reworked his equations in such a way that they now point to a May 21, 2011 Rapture. Once the 200 million true Christians (in Camping's estimation) have been whisked away this coming Saturday, he says hell on Earth will ensue and last for 5 months, until Oct. 21, at which point the world will end.

Here's the gist of Camping's calculation: He believes Christ was crucified on April 1, 33 A.D., exactly 722,500 days before May 21, 2011. That number, 722,500, is the square of 5 x 10 x 17. In Camping's numerological system, 5 represents atonement, 10 means completeness, and seventeen means heaven. "Five times 10 times 17 is telling you a story," Camping said on his Oakland-based talk show, Family Radio, last year. "It's the story from the time Christ made payment for your sins until you're completely saved."

He added, "I tell ya, I just about fell off my chair when I realized that."

Over the past few months, Camping's prophecy has gained considerable traction with Christian fundamentalists. Signs, billboards, and volunteer evangelists around the country have helped spread the word.

[LiveScience]

Trump Chooses $50 Million And TV Show Over Presidency And Date With Palin

While it is satisfying to report that my prediction came true, and Trump has finally dropped out of the race, this is a colossal downer for anyone who writes a blog, and especially a downer for me. I can't blame Trump for quitting, since he can make $50 million doing that stupid TV show for a little while as opposed to making next to nothing for the gigantic hassle of being President. Still a downer though. Man.

I was hoping that Trump and Palin would make all my dreams come true and turn the White House into their love nest and get married, but now there's probably no hope of that, or even any hope of Trump and Palin having a clandestine affair. Can you imagine the photographs that would accompany these stories? And the coverage of the Trump/Palin wedding? Why can't anything good ever happen to me?

Instead, we get the boring cut and dried reality (in Trump's case, blow dried) where Trump was never seriously considering a run, and the whole thing was a stunt to drive up his ratings and his price for re-signing to do "Celebrity Apprentice." Knew this months ago, but was hoping against hope that it would happen for real. Now back to wondering why anyone would think Trump was a good businessman, or even a businessman at all. We'll have to wait and see how the lawsuits against Trump's pseudo "developments" play out to have any more fun with him. Damn!

Donald J. Trump announced on Monday that he would not seek the presidency, a development less important for the Republican field or his national political future — if he ever had one — than for what it said about a media culture that increasingly seems to give the spotlight to the loudest, most outrageous voices. Trump chose a new contract with NBC, home of “Celebrity Apprentice,” over a bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Mr. Trump spent months earnestly portraying himself as a potential nominee for a party whose coalition includes family values activists, antigambling religious leaders and deficit hawks, some of whom might just have blanched at his two divorces, casino holdings, penchant for debt financing and formerly liberal positions on some issues.

To some degree he succeeded, using a combination of attributes that made him uniquely qualified to capitalize on the times: Near-universal name recognition (enhanced by his prime-time berth on NBC as the host of “Celebrity Apprentice”), gobs of cash and two decades of experience putting his outsize personality to use in the service of headline creation, starting in the pre-Internet era with the New York City tabloids.

“The media made him, the media kept him, the media kept promoting him,” said Stuart Spencer, a former political strategist for Ronald Reagan. Speaking of the proliferation of news outlets interested in politics, Mr. Spencer, 84 and admittedly fascinated by the new landscape, lamented, “There’s no referee anymore to evaluate what are serious issues and what are serious candidates.”

Mr. Trump and his aides said he was dead serious about making a run. But, they said, before Mr. Trump could figure out whether the White House was his golden ring, he was confronted with the pile of gold NBC was offering for a continued role in “Celebrity Apprentice.”

As much as associates said Mr. Trump wanted to keep his political options open longer, the network needed him to make a decision by Monday, when it was announcing its fall television schedule to major advertisers in its annual presentation in New York. “Celebrity Apprentice” is one of its most important programs, and the network would not be able to line up sponsorship commitments as easily with Mr. Trump as a “maybe.”

A senior NBC executive said the network believed it had convinced Mr. Trump to stay on as of last week, though there was a brief period of doubt over the weekend after former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas said he would not run. “Donald started saying: ‘Huckabee’s out. Maybe I should stay in this thing,’ ” said the executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Television industry executives with knowledge of his negotiation said Mr. Trump’s new contract could bring him as much as $30 million over all, and other estimates published Monday put that figure at upward of $50 million.

[The New York Times]

Err On The Side Of Excess

You wonder how people can believe that there aren't stark environmental changes coming. Stark environmental changes that may leave us all in the cold, or in the water. And I'm not even talking about the headaches that come with the zombies or the talking dogs.

It's 3,000 square miles of land flooded with 20 feet of water for weeks. An extraordinary winter. Will it be the same next winter?

Whether we can answer that question or not, the one thing you can't even debate is what car to buy. Personally for comfort and style I recommend the Escalade. It looks great and YOU look great driving it! And if it's not big enough you can pull a little wagon behind it. With the rest of your STUFF in it. F***er.

Army engineers on Saturday opened a key spillway to allow the swollen Mississippi River to flood thousands of homes and crops but spare New Orleans and Louisiana's capital Baton Rouge.

The Army Corps of Engineers opened one of the 125 floodgates at the Morganza Spillway 45 miles northwest of Baton Rouge shortly after 3 p.m. CDT, sending a flume of water onto nearby fields.

The move, last taken in 1973, will channel floodwaters toward homes, farms, a wildlife refuge and a small oil refinery in the Atchafalaya River basin to avoid inundating Louisiana's two largest cities.

Weeks of heavy rains and runoff from an unusually snowy winter caused the Mississippi River to rise, flooding 3 million acres of farmland in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas and evoking comparisons to historic floods in 1927 and 1937.

It could take three weeks for the enormous flow of water to pass through a system of levees and spillways to the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles to the south, said Major General Michael Walsh, president of the Mississippi River Commission.

"It's putting tremendous pressure on the entire system as we try to work this amount of water through the Mississippi River tributaries," Walsh told reporters before the floodgates opened.

Some 3,000 square miles of land could be inundated in up to 20 feet of water for several weeks. When flows peak around May 22, the spillway will carry about 125,000 cubic feet per second, about one quarter of its capacity.

About 2,500 people live in the spillway's flood path, and 22,500 others, along with 11,000 buildings could be affected by backwater flooding -- the water pushed back into streams and tributaries that cannot flow normally into what will be an overwhelmed Atchafalaya River.

Some 18,000 acres of cropland could be flooded as waters rise, hitting their crest in about a week and remaining high for several weeks before subsiding.

[Reuters]

IMF Chief Arrested And Unable To Address Impending Economic Catastrophe

I'm sure everyone heard this one. They dragged him off a plane in New York. Attacked a maid in a high class hotel. And this is the guy IN CHARGE of these important financial decisions. How does that happen? Is it possible the guy is so brilliant as a financier and so devoid of any and all judgment? What an implosion.

If the guy had made it out of the country it would have been so much harder to nail him. Apparently he was in a hurry and left his cell phone behind, as well as "forensic evidence."

So the remaining members of the IMF who are not in jail for sex crimes will attempt to lead the free world out of its latest mess, coming straight from the cradle of civilization, Greece. You know it would be funny if they spent the whole IMF meeting talking about the arrest. That's what I would do! Who could even attempt to avoid talking about it? Countries are going broke every day but something like this only happens once in a lifetime.

Surely this one incident is no reflection on the integrity or morality of the entire IMF, but if your daughter brings home a potential husband and says "oh dad he works for the IMF" that might not be as good a score as you would have thought just a few short months ago. In fact, in those circumstances you better have a friendly chat with the guy. In private. Know what I mean?

The arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn complicates a key European meeting on whether to give Greece billions more in aid -- but experts insisted one man's troubles won't keep the 17 eurozone nations from trying to contain a debt crisis that threatens them all.

Eurozone financial leaders are to discuss Greece's deteriorating economy Monday at a Brussels meeting where experts will brief them on the situation in Athens. Key questions include what conditions to put on more help to the debt-strapped nation, with European leaders unhappy at what they see as limited Greek efforts to raise money by selling government property.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested Sunday in New York on suspicion of sexual assault on a hotel maid.

Despite the arrest, the International Monetary Fund said in a statement it remains "fully functioning and operational." The IMF Executive Board convened an informal session Sunday and made Strauss-Kahn's deputy, John Lipsky, acting managing director while its chief was unavailable.

[Associated Press]

America's Favorite Businessman Craps Out

This is exactly what I've been talking about. Donald Trump, the guy does NOTHING. He just puts his name on things. See below.

Best part of this one is that the guys that are suing "revere" Trump. How anyone could feel this way about this bozo is beyond me, but apparently some people love him. Love Trump, lose your money. He says he's a "developer" and then when the whole thing comes crashing down he's gone. And this does not include the fact that Trump is about the only person on the planet who could run a casino and go bankrupt. But he's a wizard! Whatta dealmaker!

I do admire this from a business perspective. Literally making money out of nothing. Why can't I get this deal?

Ultimately that's what my Trump obsession boils down to. Jealousy. And the hair thing.

For many middle-class Americans, it is the most coveted brand in real estate, synonymous with sky-piercing luxury and can’t-miss quality: Donald J. Trump.

Far from the New York City towers that bear his name, in cities like Tampa, Fla., and Philadelphia, house hunters clamor to buy into his developments, sometimes exhausting credit lines and wiping out savings for a chance to own a piece of his gilded empire.

But as Mr. Trump, who is weighing a bid for the White House, has zealously sought to cash in on his name, he has entered into arrangements that home buyers describe as deliberately deceptive — designed, they said, to exploit the very thing that drew them to his buildings: their faith in him.

Over the last few years, according to interviews and hundreds of pages of court documents, the real estate mogul has aggressively marketed several luxury high-rises as “Trump properties” or “signature Trump” buildings, with names like Trump Tower and Trump International — even making appearances at the properties to woo buyers. The strong indication of his involvement as a developer generated waves of media attention and commanded premium prices.

But when three of the planned buildings encountered financial trouble, it became clear that Mr. Trump had essentially rented his name to the developments and had no responsibility for their outcomes, according to buyers. In each case, he yanked his name off the projects, which were never completed. The buyers lost millions of dollars in deposits even as Mr. Trump pocketed hefty license fees.

Those who bought the apartments in part because of the Trump name were livid, saying they felt a profound sense of betrayal, and more than 300 of them are now suing Mr. Trump or his company.

“The last thing you ever expect is that somebody you revere will mislead you,” said Alex Davis, 38, who bought a $500,000 unit in Trump International Hotel and Tower Fort Lauderdale, a waterfront property that Mr. Trump described in marketing materials as “my latest development” and compared to the Trump tower on Central Park in Manhattan.

“There was no disclaimer that he was not the developer,” Mr. Davis said. The building, where construction was halted when a major lender ran out of money in 2009, sits empty and unfinished, the outlines of a giant Trump sign, removed long ago, still faintly visible.

Mr. Davis is unable to recover any of his $100,000 deposit — half of which the developer used for construction costs.

Another casualty: his admiration for Mr. Trump, whose books and television show Mr. Davis had devoured. “I bought into an idea of him,” he said, “and it wasn’t what I thought it was.”

[The New York Times]

Another Awful Conspiracy Revealed

Every day I see stories that work well on so many levels and they are such incredible bringdowns, it's like shooting ducks in a barrel. Here's one that involves my favorite TV show, baseball.

The bottom line in all this is that Steinbrenner got nailed for giving Nixon money and he spent years begging for a "pardon" to get out of it. If I had a nickel for every pardon I would need I'd be in bed doing nothing for life. So Reagan pardons him, and I'm sure Steinbrenner stopped giving money to the GOP at that point (duh hey), and now he's clean as a whistle.

Of course to get you have to give, and Steinbrenner "allowed an organized crime sting" at Yankee Stadium? What a guy. Good thing Steinbrenner is dead, or he'd be dead for sure.

Next he "cooperated on a case that involved a terrorist matter." Does Major League Baseball know about this? Did Steinbrenner tell his fellow owners? And what the hell terrorist matter does Steinbrenner know about anyway? Were the terrorists responsible for the thing at Coors Field where they hit more home runs there? And the whole altitude thing was bullshit?

It doesn't surprise me because the Yankees are a reflection of this win at all costs amoral bastard. And so are their fans. The Yankees have won like 80 World Series and if they lose ONE game on a Tuesday night their fans will call into the radio show.

"They gotta gid rid of Girardi."

"Fucking Jeter sucks."

"What are we gonna do about this bullpen?"

They expect to win EVERY game. If the Yankees could spend a billion dollars and field a team of RoboCops that could pitch like Bob Gibson and hit like Willie Mays and win every game 100 to nothing that's would they would do. And their fans would like it. They have no interest in the game whatsoever. They must win, and they "will pay any price, make any sacrifice" to get there. And the downer is that they DO win, and every Yankee fan reading this will say, "duuuuuh we won 27 World Championships and dah dah dah dah dah abbadabba." Goddamn them all.

Now I'm remembering the greatest thing was when Steinbrenner would make these psychotic Douglas MacArthur style speeches. I'm sure MacArthur would've ratted out some wiseguys if he could have, but he died before they could get him in there.

Though the plotline would have even seemed outlandish on the set of "Seinfeld," recently declassified documents reveal that George Steinbrenner aided and cooperated with the FBI on cases involving national security.

But a James Bond or Jason Bourne, the late New York Yankees owner was not.

Though his exact role remains unclear, Steinbrenner initially agreed to things like allowing an organized crime sting at old Yankee Stadium because he was trying to clear his own name.
His help to the F.B.I. in the 1970s and '80s helped lead to his receiving a pardon from President Reagan in 1989 for a conviction for illegal contributions to Richard M. Nixon's 1972 presidential re-election campaign.

There are no details of what assistance Steinbrenner provided, or the role he played, in his pardon petition or in an F.B.I. memorandum. Both were heavily redacted before release.

In addition to the gambling syndicate sting in the Bronx, it was revealed that Steinbrenner also helped "without hesitation" on a three-year undercover case that his lawyer claimed to have involved a "terrorist matter."

It is not surprising that Steinbrenner helped the F.B.I., to help his case for a pardon but perhaps also to demonstrate his avowed patriotism. But clearly, he wanted a pardon.

Seeking pardon or not, this is still a pretty fascinating and fun story, and one that will have us lamenting the lost opportunities that "Seinfeld" may have been able to mine.

[yahoo! Sports]

Sin Is The One Constant In An Everchanging World

Personally I have told a few lies in my life - who hasn't?!? This story reveals a few things about lying that I did not know.

This retired SEAL said he deals with this all the time, priests and clergy lying about military service to enhance their speeches. Who knew that the clergy lies? I did not know that, and it is passed around here like common knowledge. A trick to build up the flock? You're fucking kidding me right? They do that? Damn!

And then finally, the newspaper said it doesn't matter what the guy says, they don't ask for "proof of service" (so much for journalism). I could walk in and say I killed 150 Viet Cong and they would just say "okay." No proof of service required. Any guy who called would not "lie or dishonor" anything by lying or dishonoring anything by lying.

I am skeptical, but I love you all.

In the wake of the dramatic Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's compound earlier this month, it was perhaps to be expected that some expansive soul would step forward to claim the prestige of a fabricated tour as a SEAL for himself. Such tall tales are not uncommon, after all, amid high-profile military actions.

This time the exposed fabricator was a preacher--though at least one person who monitors this brand of public lie notes that members of the clergy are often tempted into such misrepresentations. More curious still, the prevaricator in question seems to have lifted at least some details of his account from the 1992 Steven Seagal SEAL-themed blockbuster, "Under Siege."

Yes, as his area newspaper, the central Pennsylvania Patriot-News, pulled together a dispatch on the exploits of the elite Navy operation, Jim Moats, the pastor at Christian Bible Fellowship Church in Newville, Penn., spun some fantastical details of his alleged time as a Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War.

Moats told his church for five years that he was a former SEAL, and even once wore the elite program's gold Trident medal around town. He elaborated on that tale when his local paper contacted him last week as it was reporting a story about the rigors of SEAL training in the wake of the SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's compound.

Among other things, Moats said he was subjected to waterboarding when he trained at Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach in 1971 and was assigned dishwashing duty for his bad attitude. "I had almost no discipline. I was as wild as they came. That was my nemesis," he told the paper. "They weren't looking for a guy who brags to everyone he is a SEAL. They wanted somebody who was ready but had an inner confidence and didn't have a braggadocio attitude."

Several former SEALs wrote into The Patriot-News casting doubt on the reverend's account of his service.

"We deal with these guys all the time, especially the clergy. It's amazing how many of the clergy are involved in those lies to build that flock up," said retired SEAL Don Shipley. Shipley also speculated the waterboarding and kitchen details came from the action depicted in "Under Siege."

Moats fessed up to his whopper, and admitted he bought the Trident medal at a military surplus store. "I never was in a class, I never served as an actual SEAL. It was my dream. ... I don't even know if I would have met the qualifications. I never knew what the qualifications were," he told the Patriot-News. Moats did serve in the Navy from 1970-74, but did not fight in Vietnam.

The paper, meanwhile, is unapologetic for printing Moats' prevarications.

"The Patriot-News regularly interviews veterans to tell their stories. We do not regularly ask those we interview for proof of their service, believing these men and women would not lie and dishonor those who have fought bravely defending our country," the paper said in a special note to readers about the incident.

[yahoo! news]

Tiger Woods Leads The U.S. Down In Golf

To complete the epic bummer he unleashed on his very own life, Tiger Woods, once the greatest American golfing robot who ever lived, is now a very human and mediocre eighth on the world's list of great golfers. Eighth is not that great. Not that close to first at all.

When Tiger was playing well, it seemed like every American and his mother picked up a set of clubs and played well. From Pittsburgh to Peioria. And places east and west. But now, golf seems to be out of fashion, at least with Americans who can actually play, since the Euros are taking a collective wedge to the head of every duffer born between Los Angeles and Portland, ME. Tiger's fall from grace is leading America down. You can see it. Plus now he's injured. And not just his pride, it's his Achilles' heel! Ahem. You get that? His Achilles' heel! Oh never mind.

But if you want to talk downers, this guy is Hall of Fame. Okay, you're Tiger Woods, worth a billion dollars, banging hookers and partying all over the place, married to a woman who is better looking than all of those sluts combined, and then WHAMMO! You're arguing, taking a few pills and trying to crash, next minute she's got that club in her hand and she's hitting you HARD and chasing you and you try to get away and you belch and you're slightly blinded by the blood in your eyes and then you are driving into a tree and woofing into an airbag. And then he has to go on TV and apologize. Woooooowwwww!

Some day he will tell that story for real.

Tiger Woods has dropped to eighth in the world golf rankings after being overtaken by Paul Casey of England.

Casey moved up to seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking released Monday despite missing the cut last week at the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods skipped the event because of knee and Achilles’ tendon injuries.

WORLD RANKING
Europeans now occupy six of the top seven slots in the Official World Golf Ranking.

1. Lee Westwood
8.07

2. Martin Kaymer
7.42

3. Luke Donald
7.33

4. Phil Mickelson
6.59

5. Graeme McDowell
5.65

6. Rory McIlroy
5.44

7. Paul Casey
5.39

8. Tiger Woods
5.36

9. Steve Stricker
5.33

10. Matt Kuchar
5.26

Fourth-ranked Phil Mickelson of the United States is now the only non-European player in the top seven.

No. 1 Lee Westwood's decision not to play at the Players Championship this week -- sixth-ranked Rory McIlroy is also skipping golf's richest event -- means he could lose top spot to Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald or Mickelson.

Kaymer would need to finish first or second on Sunday, while Donald and Mickelson -- neither of whom has ever led the rankings -- would have to win.

Woods has now fallen so far that even if he was to record his first victory anywhere since November 2009, he could climb only as high as fourth.

[www.pga.com]

U.S. Loads Up On Expensive Battleships That Will Be Easy To Find And Sink

The second part of this article is cool, pointing out that we are building these giant ships that can easily be targeted by torpedoes and other advanced technology. Also they have been used to defeat "weak opponents." Not the same as saying they are useless, but close.

So it's investing a lot of money in a giant bathtub, and if they sink they'll take down all the planes piled up on the deck as well. That will be a good special effect when they make the movie though. The other part that's cool is even though the military experts know these tubs are a waste of money they are going to build them anyway. Knowledge and foresight have no place in military planning. If you clutter everything up with thinking you can't get anything done.

With the planes we're moving towards this advanced "stealth" thing where they can't see the planes with their radar and BOOM there we are blowing them up. With boats - we're not doing so great.

Despite growing controversy about the cost and relevance of aircraft carriers, navies around the world are adding new ones to their inventories at a pace unseen since World War II.

The U.S. — with more carriers than all other nations combined — and established naval powers such as Britain, France and Russia are doing it. So are Brazil, India and China — which with Russia form the BRIC grouping of emerging economic giants.

"The whole idea is about being able to project power," said Rear Adm. Philippe Coindreau, commander of the French navy task force that has led the air strikes on Libya since March 22.

"An aircraft carrier is perfectly suited to these kinds of conflicts, and this ship demonstrates it every day," he said in an interview aboard the French carrier Charles de Gaulle, which has been launching daily raids against Moammar Gadhafi's forces since the international intervention in the Libyan conflict began March 22.

The 42,000-ton nuclear-powered carrier has been joined in this task by another smaller ship, Italy's 14,000-ton Giuseppe Garibaldi. None of the U.S. Navy's supercarriers have been involved, despite American participation in the war's initial phase.

The U.S. Navy still operates 11 nuclear-powered carriers, mostly Nimitz-class vessels displacing up to 100,000 tons.

The floating fortresses became the backbone of U.S. sea power after WWII, projecting military might around the world in crises and in conflicts such as Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

The U.S. Navy is scheduled to induct the Gerald R. Ford, the lead ship of a new class three-ship class of supercarriers, in 2015. Each is expected to cost about $9 billion.

Military experts have long debated the relevance of aircraft carriers, which some have dismissed as relics of the Cold War.

"What many countries don't realize is that sustaining operations at sea is a very complex task," Hughes said. "The magnitude of the expense necessary to get to that sort of fixed wing capability that the U.S. and French navy have is difficult to overstate."

Some critics say the entire concept of the seagoing air base is now antiquated. They contend that advances in anti-ship weapons have turned the carriers into white elephants that are just too expensive to risk losing in a war.

While the mammoth floating airports bristling with jets and missiles appear invincible, the reality is that since World War II they have mostly been used in conflicts with far weaker opponents. They have yet to face off against modern navies with their array of carrier-killing ballistic missiles, super-torpedos, and supersonic cruise missiles.

"These new technologies make it easier to target carriers from much greater distances," said Benjamin Friedman, a research fellow with the Washington-based CATO Institute.

"Those technologies are set to advance faster than the ability to defend against them, meaning that in a couple of decades the carrier business may not be viable anymore."

[Associated Press]

She Comes With Instructions

I wrote about this back in January. "The Thoughtful Egomaniac." She announced that they were engaged after a few months, and I wonder if HE knew? Also, she published an instruction manual about herself. So he read it and approached her and voila! He's in there like swimwear. He had flowers delivered every day. Man.

Moving right along, they are breaking up. I read her book, and if I see her, look out. I am going to say all the right things. I know what she likes and what she doesn't like. I will only say something she doesn't like after I know she likes me, so she'll know I'm not faking.

It's unfair to judge her. They make it sound like her relationship record is her fault. I blame the guys. There's got to be someone out there who can handle her. Or at least support her. If not from in front then from behind. You know what I mean?

Once again, a Jennifer Love Hewitt romance has hit the skids — and this time, the breakup hits home. The actress’ publicist confirms the 10-month relationship between Hewitt and North Shore native and filmmaker Alex Beh ended approximately a month ago.

While the split was scooped by Us Weekly, what’s unclear is the future for Beh’s “Warren” film — slated to be shot in Chicago later this year. The New Trier grad not only wrote the movie’s screenplay, but is its producer and director. He reportedly was planning on co-starring with Hewitt — who, ironically, was cast as Beh’s ex-girlfriend. Talk about art imitating life!

Hewitt’s batting average with relationships continues to be a challenge for her. Prior to her brief romance with Beh — whom she frequently gushed about, thanks to his daily deliveries of flowers — the actress was involved with her “Ghost Whisperer” co-star Jamie Kennedy.

Before Kennedy, Hewitt was engaged to Scottish actor Ross McCall, who she met when he guest-starred on “Ghost Whisperer.” Other famous faces previously linked to Hewitt were Carson Daly, John Mayer and Joey Lawrence.

[Chicago Sun-Times]

To Have And To Have Not

Why can't I get rich? Look at all these people. It's not a few, it's 55 million millionaires. What do they got that I ain't got? Damn.

If I were an investor, I would invest in sour grapes, cause there's gonna be a whole lot of them coming down the pike here soon. In my opinion, the world is going downhill, so the good part of this is that these guys are getting rich just as everything is really starting to suck. So there.

The rich keep getting richer, both here in the United States and especially in the world's emerging markets.

Public and private investments controlled by the richest families are expected to more than double in value to $202 trillion by 2020, from $92 trillion this year, according to survey of millionaires in 25 countries by Deloitte LLP.

Meanwhile the ranks of families with more than a million dollars will also increase, by two-thirds to 55.5 million in the developed world. They will more than double to 10 million in emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil.

[msnbc.com]

It Ain't Easy Living a Life Like Christ

Dying like Christ, on the other hand, is a whole lot more achievable.

SEOUL — A South Korean taxi driver said to have extreme religious views has been found dead on a crucifix after an apparent attempt to emulate the death of Christ, police said Wednesday.

The body of the 58-year-old surnamed Kim was found on Sunday on a wooden cross in an abandoned quarry in the central city of Mungyeong, with nails on the cross protruding through holes in his hands and feet.

Local police said the man, wearing only underpants and a crown of thorns, had a stab wound to his right waist and several whip marks in an apparent reconstruction of Christ's death.

A mirror was placed in front of Kim so he could see himself on the crucifix, while other items such as a hammer, a hand drill and a knife were found nearby.

[...]

Kim was described by neighbours as fascinated by Christianity. Police were trying to establish whether he killed himself either alone or with the help of others around Easter time from April 22-24.

But they said they were not excluding the possibility of murder.

Yonhap news agency cited a former pastor as saying Kim had "fanatical religious views".

[AFP]

Twitter Generation: Don't Know Much About History

[American Prospect]

Trump Demonstrates Presidential Timber - Buys A Really Big Plane

Trump has decided to run "in his mind." But that's not the last word. Perhaps other parts of Trump do his actual decision making. He makes an analogy between his position on same sex marriage to his resistance to using different golf equipment. Both make him uncomfortable, as a traditional type guy. Sounds good. This country is based on its traditions and if Trump thinks same sex marriage is like using a long putter and just plain wrong I don't think another minute of debate is necessary. He doesn't like it. I hate the designated hitter in baseball and I'm hoping that Trump is elected and feels the same way so he can get rid of it. Moving on.

Then he talks about Ryan - and his problem with Ryan isn't the substance of what Ryan is saying, it's the timing. If Ryan got elected and THEN revealed his plan to screw seniors that would make sense. But see, it's a card game and you have to win first. Then when you win, WHAMMO, you hit them like the pesky flies they are. That's the proverbial art of the deal right there. He's flat out saying it's okay to lie to get elected. Next.

He bought a plane. You can look out the window and see it! And then he decided to buy an even bigger plane. Come on! What else do you want in a President? How many planes would he have to buy to convince you? I'm good right now!

Did I mention this is the LEADING Republican candidate? Trump is ahead of Romney, Huckabee, Paul and Whoever, which is something those guys will have to ponder when Trump drops out. For now all these guys are looking at Trump's ass, and I suppose that is better than having to look at his head.

He was savagely mocked by President Obama and the comedian Seth Meyers at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — belittled as a political charlatan with an unchecked ego and a dead fox plastered on his head.

But the next morning, Donald J. Trump was not laughing. He was doing what seems to come more naturally: lashing out.

“Seth Meyers has no talent,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on Sunday. “He fell totally flat. In fact, I thought Seth’s delivery was so bad that he hurt himself.”

Mr. Trump, who appeared unsmiling throughout most of the annual dinner on Saturday night, acknowledged his occasional discomfort (“I am not looking to laugh along with my enemies”) but said he viewed the rough treatment as a measure of the fear he had struck in the Washington establishment.

The Trump-centric dinner capped what could only be described as the Week of the Donald — a dizzying span in which the developer and reality television star drove the news (compelling the president to release his full birth certificate) and became the news (after delivering a profanity-laced speech in Las Vegas).

None of it, however, answered the central questions posed by his White House flirtation: Is it real or, like his hit series on NBC, a reality show? Even a comment Mr. Trump made to Bloomberg News on Sunday — that he had decided to run “in my mind” — created as much confusion as clarity. A top aide, Michael Cohen, said he could still change his mind and nothing was official.

During a lengthy conversation in his 61st-floor suite at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, amid the Trump-branded room service menus and bottles of Trump Ice water, Mr. Trump provided ample fodder for supporters and skeptics — waxing about foreign policy and his TV ratings, displaying a detailed understanding of the political landscape and a curious insensitivity toward potential voters.

At one point, he compared his opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage to his reluctance to use a new kind of putter.

“It’s like in golf,” he said. “A lot of people — I don’t want this to sound trivial — but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive,” said Mr. Trump, a Republican. “It’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.”

He said that, should he run, he would offer himself as a “conservative with a big heart.”

To that end, he said, he would do nothing to curtail benefits for senior citizens, whom he called the “lifeblood of this country.” But he suggested that his biggest objection to Representative Paul D. Ryan’s deficit reduction plan — which has alarmed seniors on Medicaid — was not its substance but what he saw as poor strategy by Mr. Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, in rolling it out.

“As a poker player, he shouldn’t have put forth such an early plan,” Mr. Trump said. “Anybody who touches Medicare,” he added, “is in tremendous trouble politically. We, the Republicans, have an election to win.”

Mr. Trump, 64, repeatedly found ways to weave the topic of his wealth, and its reach, into the conversation. “Look at that,” he interrupted, pointing to a giant white plane hovering outside the room’s windows. “That’s my plane. How beautiful is that?”

He also announced that he had just bought a Boeing 757 from Paul G. Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, and was having it refitted to his specifications. “I was going to buy a 737,” he explained, “then I heard about this one.”

[New York Times]

Death Of bin Laden Demonstrates U.S. May Be Using The Wrong Map

So we're in Afghanistan, we attacked Iraq, and we are somewhat engaged in Libya and a few other war zones, but we missed Osama bin Laden because he was actually in Pakistan, and apparently he has been there for quite awhile.

He wasn't hiding in a cave either, but rather in a mansion close to the capital, kind of like the Beverly Hills district of Islamabad.

I've seen in some movies, starting with "Dr. Strangelove," where there is a "war room" with maps in it. Are we using the right maps now, or are we using old ones? Maybe we need a map update if the old maps are off?

Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, is dead, US President Barack Obama has confirmed. The al Qaeda leader, who is held responsible for the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11 2001, and the London bombings of July 7 2005, has been killed in a US operation in Pakistan.

Speaking from the White House, President Obama said: "Justice has been done."

A small team of Americans carried out the attack and took custody of bin Laden's remains, the president added.

An American official said bin Laden was killed in a mansion close to the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

[yahoo! news]