Roy Williams...Cheater!

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- The NCAA said Kansas "demonstrated a failure to exert a lack of appropriate institutional control" over a six-year period that led to dozens of violations in football and men's and women's basketball.

Besides that allegation, however, the findings released Friday largely mirrored what the university had reported to the NCAA last June. In the self-report, Kansas had admitted violations in its football and basketball programs and said it was placing its athletic department on two years' probation.

"Since we have worked closely with the NCAA throughout this process, nothing in these pages surprises us," athletic director Lew Perkins told reporters during a news conference.

Perkins said university officials will meet with the NCAA on Aug. 13 to discuss the violations, after which the regulating body will determine whether additional punishment is required.
Perkins ordered the internal review shortly after being named athletic director in June 2003.
Most of the football violations centered around coaching assistants arranging test help for prospective students, which the NCAA termed "academic fraud."

The NCAA agreed three boosters violated rules by providing gifts to men's basketball players who had exhausted their eligibility. University officials said last year that former basketball coach Roy Williams approved the gifts.

The report also added violations surrounding Kansas forward Darnell Jackson, who received thousands of dollars in gifts, cash and other assistance from Don Davis, a booster living in Jackson's hometown of Oklahoma City. The university discovered the violations last summer and agreed to suspend Jackson for the first nine games of last season.

Was It A Sting?

The European Union's antiterrorism chief told a hearing on Thursday that he had not been able to prove that secret C.I.A. prisons existed in Europe.

"We've heard all kinds of allegations," the official, Gijs de Vries, said before a committee of the European Parliament. "It does not appear to be proven beyond reasonable doubt." ...

Mr. de Vries said the European Parliament investigation had not uncovered rights abuses despite more than 50 hours of testimony by rights advocates and people who say they were abducted by C.I.A. agents. A similar investigation by the Council of Europe, the European human rights agency, came to the same conclusion in January — though the leader of that inquiry, Dick Marty, a Swiss senator, said then that there were enough "indications" to justify continuing the investigation.

A number of legislators on Thursday challenged Mr. de Vries for not taking seriously earlier testimony before the committee of a German and a Canadian who gave accounts of being kidnapped and kept imprisoned by foreign agents.

The committee also heard Thursday from a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, who said: "I can attest to the willingness of the U.S. and the U.K. to obtain intelligence that was got under torture in Uzbekistan. If they were not willing, then rendition prisons could not have existed." But Mr. Murray, who was recalled from his job in 2004 after condemning the Uzbek authorities and criticizing the British and American governments, told the committee that he had no proof that detention centers existed within Europe.

He said he had witnessed such rendition programs in Uzbekistan, but he seemed to back up Mr. de Vries's assertion when he said he was not aware of anyone being taken to Uzbekistan from Europe. "As far as I know, that never happened," he said.

So the story comes out about secret prisons, yet a number of European agencies - all of which would LOVE tocorroboratee the story - find nothing. So was it a sting by the CIA? As one commentator points out: "How do intel agencies find leakers and spies? They pass around carefully designed misinformation to selected individuals considered likely suspects, and see what winds up exposed as a result." Interesting theory.

Oooops!

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA fired a top intelligence analyst who admitted leaking classified information that led to a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a network of secret CIA prisons, government officials say.

The officer was a senior analyst nearing retirement, Mary McCarthy, The Associated Press learned. Reached Friday evening at home, her husband would not confirm her firing.

Almost immediately, the firing turned political. Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., praised the agency for identifying a source of the leaks and encouraged vigorous investigation of other open cases. "Those guilty of improperly disclosing classified information should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Roberts said.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called on President Bush to hold accountable those in his administration who leaked information about the Iraq intelligence in the run-up to the war and outed undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. "Apparently, President Bush doesn't believe what's good for the CIA is good for the White House," Menendez said.

I'm with Menendez, let's prosecute all those who leak - and receive and publish - classified information. This will be fun.

More Great Economic News

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Beating expectations was the name of the game this week for U.S. manufacturers, leading some analysts and fund managers to forecast 2006 could be a surprisingly strong year for the sector.

"The results so far have been outstanding," said Kent Mortensen, an equity research analyst at Thrivent Asset Management, which manages more than $60 billion. "I don't think we have seen such a strong industrial cycle since the 1980s."

This Is Good News

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's parliament convenes Saturday to consider the Shiite coalition's nominee for prime minister, Jawad al-Maliki, in a step that may end months of political bickering and ease sectarian tensions.

The choice of al-Maliki, a parliament member from the Dawa Party, came about in a meeting of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite-led coalition that won the December 15 parliamentary elections.

The coalition agreed Friday to nominate al-Maliki to replace interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, in an attempt to jump-start the nation's stalled political process, two members of a top Shiite party said.

The Sunnis apparently like this guy...and his links to Iran are few.

The End of Civilization

When historians look back at the tipping point, they need look no further than this (from a book review in Publisher's Weekly):

Pees on Earth
Ellen Jong
powerHouse, $29.95

A photographer and multimedia artist whose work has appeared in Vogue and Playgirl, Jong likes to pee in public places. At first glance, this book of photos documenting her urinary exploits seems like a one-trick pony, but Jong's humor, charm and sense of beauty cumulatively create a rich experience. Grungy urban locales alternately elicit disgust, giggles and titillation; a stream of golden drops pouring into gravel by a reedy pond is lyrically gorgeous. Jong relieves herself in New York City, Hawaii, Shanghai, Mexico and Florida; in city, suburbia, on the beach and, doglike, into snow. The captionless photos are interrupted by Jong's interview of ex-prostitute/sex maven/performance artist Annie Sprinkle, whose name may be inspired by her own public peeing performances, and who categorizes Jong's work as "post-porn:" "sex- or body-oriented material that goes beyond mainstream porn or erotica." In fact, these photos are more likely to be funny, pretty or childishly mischievous than erotic. Jong writes of "peeing as a means to reevaluate the spaces I find myself in—to make them my own," and the peace in release. Balancing precariously between aesthetic exploration, hip party prank and self-indulgent performance art, this book is apt to annoy those who aren't enchanted by it. (May)

Did We Need A Survey To Tell Us This

Catching sight of a pretty woman really is enough to throw a man's decision-making skills into disarray, a study suggests.

The more testosterone he has, the stronger the effect, according to work by Belgian researchers.

Men about to play a financial game were shown images of sexy women or lingerie.

The Proceedings of the Royal Society B study found they were more likely to accept unfair offers than men not been exposed to the alluring images.

The suggestion is that the sexual cues distract the men's thoughts, preventing them from focusing on their task - particularly among those with high natural testosterone levels.

News Flash: Men And Women Are Still Different

Men and women are actually from the same planet, but scientists now have the first strong evidence that the emotional wiring of the sexes is fundamentally different.

An almond-shaped cluster of neurons that processes experiences such as fear and aggression hooks up to contrasting brain functions in men and women at rest, the new research shows.

For men, the cluster "talks with" brain regions that help them respond to sensors for what's going on outside the body, such as the visual cortex and an area that coordinates motor actions.

For women, the cluster communicates with brain regions that help them respond to sensors inside the body, such as the insular cortex and hypothalamus. These areas tune in to and regulate women's hormones, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and respiration.

"Throughout evolution, women have had to deal with a number of internal stressors, such as childbirth, that men haven't had to experience," said study co-author Larry Cahill of the University of California Irvine. "What is fascinating about this is the brain seems to have evolved to be in tune with those different stressors."

But it ain't evolution, chief.

Holy Crap, Hugs!

From the Kansas City Star:

Michael Beasley, one of the top high school juniors in the country, told The Star he got a visit Monday from Huggins and assistant Dalonte Hill, who was the reason Beasley made an oral commitment last year to Charlotte, where Hill was on the staff.

Beasley, a 6-foot-8 forward at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., sounds as if he already has changed his mind about Charlotte, even though he said he hasn't officially backed out of the commitment.

"Kansas State is probably my number one school," said Beasley, ranked No. 3 by Rivals.com. "Coach Huggins and coach Hill want to try to win a national championship, basically. We plan on making Kansas State like Duke or North Carolina."

Beasley also had an interesting update about the top two junior prospects in the nation: O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker of North College Hill in Cincinnati, who've been rumored to be coming to K-State in 2007.

"I talked to Bill," Beasley said, "and he said if I do it (go to K-State), he'll do it. O.J.'s still thinking about it. I think with all of us there, we could make history."

Beasley said he probably will visit K-State this summer.

PC Craziness Comes Home to Roost

This article by Christine Brennan is - at best - disingenuous. I'll tell you why Penn State only gave Portland a wrist slap for her conduct...because she is b-l-a-c-k. Christine fails to mention this not so small detail.

I love it when one protected class bumps up against another. What do you do?

This Is Just Silly

BALTIMORE -- A high school track athlete who uses a wheelchair will be allowed to race alongside her teammates for the rest of the school year under a federal judge's order.

Tatyana McFadden, 16, had been allowed to practice with the Atholton High School track team in Columbia, but the school system required her to compete in separate wheelchair events.

"It was lonely and embarrassing, and I just didn't like it," McFadden said. "Other competitors would come up to me and they would say, 'Good race,' but it wasn't really a good race because I was running by myself."

The Maryland Disability Law Center filed the federal suit on McFadden's behalf, citing the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits exclusion of persons with disabilities from programs and activities that receive federal funds.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Andre Davis granted the request for a preliminary injunction against the school system.

McFadden, who won two medals at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, said Monday night that she was looking forward to competing in the meet Wednesday.

"This is important to me because I wanted to get the same thrill and the same experience as all the other high school students," she said. "There's no competition by myself."

Mark Blom, an attorney for the Howard County school system, said last month when the suit was filed that the system had worked with McFadden to allow her to be a part of the team and to incorporate wheelchair events into track competitions, but it is against merging the two types of events.

The judge disagreed.

"She's not suing for blue ribbons, gold ribbons or money; she just wants to be out there when everyone else is out there," Davis said.

McFadden was born with spina bifida. Her mother, Deborah McFadden, called the ruling a landmark.

"The Rehabilitation Act has been around for 33 years," she said. "Maybe we've succeeded in a classroom setting, but there's more to a person's life."

These Guys Are Amazing

In the last six months, the U.S. Army is seeing 15 percent more soldiers re-enlist than expected. This continues a trend that began in 2001. Every year since then, the rate at which existing soldiers have re-enlisted has increased. This despite the fact that 69 percent of the troops killed in Iraq have been from the army. New recruits continue to exceed join up at higher rates as well.

All this is extremely important, especially when there is a war going on. Experience saves lives in combat, and more of the most experienced troops are staying in. This means that, a decade from now, the army will have a large and experienced corps of senior NCOs. That, in turn, means the younger troops are likely to well trained and led.

The army makes a big thing, internally, about the number of troops re-enlisting, especially within combat units that are in Iraq or Afghanistan. Pictures of mass re-enlistments are published in military media, but the civilian media has generally ignored this phenomena. Also ignored, except by some local media interviewing locals who are in the army, is the positive attitude of the troops, especially those in combat units. The large number of re-enlistments occur because the troops believe they are making a difference, and winning. This is especially true for soldiers who have come back to Iraq on a second tour, and noted the improvements since the first tour.

The Wisdom of a Madman

Amir Taheri writes:

At the same time, not to forget the task of hastening the Mahdi's second coming, Ahamdinejad will pursue his provocations. On Monday, he was as candid as ever: "To those who are angry with us, we have one thing to say: be angry until you die of anger!"

His adviser, Hassan Abassi, is rather more eloquent. "The Americans are impatient," he says, "at the first sight of a setback, they run away. We, however, know how to be patient. We have been weaving carpets for thousands of years."