Saturday, April 16, 2005
I'm Calling Bulls%^t On This One
SPRINGFIELD -- Pro-abortion forces won a victory in the Illinois House Wednesday as State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Park Ridge) successfully passed HB 2492 which would make it a criminal offense for an ultrasound to be administered without a doctor's order.
Mulligan said that Planned Parenthood and the Illinois State Medical Society encouraged her to sponsor the legislation because there was a concern about long exposure of fetuses to ultrasound waves.
"There's a new little industry that does ultrasound videos on babies before they're born for entertainment purposes," the Cook County legislator told her colleagues. "There is concern about the neurological development with long exposure."
Two points:
1. Why does Mulligan refer to "babies before they're born". If they're babies before they're born, then you're killing babies. Not quite consistent.
2. Since when does Planned Parenthood give a damn about the development of babies? They're mission is the non-development of babies.
Mulligan said that Planned Parenthood and the Illinois State Medical Society encouraged her to sponsor the legislation because there was a concern about long exposure of fetuses to ultrasound waves.
"There's a new little industry that does ultrasound videos on babies before they're born for entertainment purposes," the Cook County legislator told her colleagues. "There is concern about the neurological development with long exposure."
Two points:
1. Why does Mulligan refer to "babies before they're born". If they're babies before they're born, then you're killing babies. Not quite consistent.
2. Since when does Planned Parenthood give a damn about the development of babies? They're mission is the non-development of babies.
Could You Make This Up?
Probably not.
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- In a victory for pranksters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a bunch of computer-generated gibberish masquerading as an academic paper has been accepted at a scientific conference.
Jeremy Stribling said Thursday that he and two fellow MIT graduate students questioned the standards of some academic conferences, so they wrote a computer program to generate research papers complete with "context-free grammar," charts and diagrams.
The trio submitted two of the randomly assembled papers to the World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI), scheduled to be held July 10-13 in Orlando, Florida.
To their surprise, one of the papers -- "Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy" -- was accepted for presentation.
The prank recalled a 1996 hoax in which New York University physicist Alan Sokal succeeded in getting an entire paper with a mix of truths, falsehoods, non sequiturs and otherwise meaningless mumbo-jumbo published in the quarterly journal Social Text, published by Duke University Press.
Stribling said he and his colleagues only learned about the Social Text affair after submitting their paper.
"Rooter" features such mind-bending gems as: "the model for our heuristic consists of four independent components: simulated annealing, active networks, flexible modalities, and the study of reinforcement learning" and "We implemented our scatter/gather I/O server in Simula-67, augmented with opportunistically pipelined extensions."
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- In a victory for pranksters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a bunch of computer-generated gibberish masquerading as an academic paper has been accepted at a scientific conference.
Jeremy Stribling said Thursday that he and two fellow MIT graduate students questioned the standards of some academic conferences, so they wrote a computer program to generate research papers complete with "context-free grammar," charts and diagrams.
The trio submitted two of the randomly assembled papers to the World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI), scheduled to be held July 10-13 in Orlando, Florida.
To their surprise, one of the papers -- "Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy" -- was accepted for presentation.
The prank recalled a 1996 hoax in which New York University physicist Alan Sokal succeeded in getting an entire paper with a mix of truths, falsehoods, non sequiturs and otherwise meaningless mumbo-jumbo published in the quarterly journal Social Text, published by Duke University Press.
Stribling said he and his colleagues only learned about the Social Text affair after submitting their paper.
"Rooter" features such mind-bending gems as: "the model for our heuristic consists of four independent components: simulated annealing, active networks, flexible modalities, and the study of reinforcement learning" and "We implemented our scatter/gather I/O server in Simula-67, augmented with opportunistically pipelined extensions."
Ratzinger the Man to Beat?
From the NY Times:
ROME, April 16 - There was never doubt that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's hard-line defender of the faith, would have a strong hand in selecting the next pope. But in the days of prayer and politics before the conclave, which begins on Monday, he has emerged as perhaps the surprise central figure: the man who could become the 265th pope, choose him or be the one other cardinals knock from the running.
I do love how the Times describes Ratzinger as the "Vatican's hard-line defender of the faith." Imagine that, a Roman Catholic cardinal that zealously defends the Roman Catholic faith.
And people wonder why no one takes the NY Times seriously.
ROME, April 16 - There was never doubt that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's hard-line defender of the faith, would have a strong hand in selecting the next pope. But in the days of prayer and politics before the conclave, which begins on Monday, he has emerged as perhaps the surprise central figure: the man who could become the 265th pope, choose him or be the one other cardinals knock from the running.
I do love how the Times describes Ratzinger as the "Vatican's hard-line defender of the faith." Imagine that, a Roman Catholic cardinal that zealously defends the Roman Catholic faith.
And people wonder why no one takes the NY Times seriously.
Great News!
Bob Novak is usually very reliable. Here's hoping he is this time too:
WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders count only two or three GOP senators who will vote against the efforts to end, by a straight majority vote, filibusters on confirmation of judicial nominations.
Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island will not support this move, and they are likely to be joined by Sen. John McCain of Arizona. That would mean 52 senators would go along with the parliamentary maneuver attempting to end filibusters on judges. Only 50 are needed.
The only Democrat who might possibly join this effort is Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. But Bush will not press him to break party discipline if his help is unnecessary.
WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders count only two or three GOP senators who will vote against the efforts to end, by a straight majority vote, filibusters on confirmation of judicial nominations.
Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island will not support this move, and they are likely to be joined by Sen. John McCain of Arizona. That would mean 52 senators would go along with the parliamentary maneuver attempting to end filibusters on judges. Only 50 are needed.
The only Democrat who might possibly join this effort is Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. But Bush will not press him to break party discipline if his help is unnecessary.
Some Advice for Mike Brown
The Bengals should do what the Redskins are doing:
Washington PostRod Flowers has not played organized football since middle school and never considered a future in the NFL. But when the Washington Redskins' scouting department contacted him last week, the Tennessee State basketball star listened.
Flowers, who completed his senior season and is working toward a master's degree, has the size, weight and athletic ability NFL scouts covet, and although the Redskins do not plan to audition him, the mere fact he was considered is an indication of how far NFL teams are going to unearth talent.
The rise of Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates in San Diego has prompted other clubs to pursue alternative sources for players. Gates was signed as an undrafted free agent in May 2003 and set the NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end in 2004.
Flowers, who attended a high school that restricted students from playing football and basketball, has a 6-9, 240-pound frame, and is a former Parade High School all-American basketball player. Tennessee State basketball coach Cy Alexander said he was contacted by a Redskins scout last week to gather information about Flowers and assess if he would be interested in playing tight end. Alexander called Flowers, who was intrigued by the possibility, and phoned the Redskins to tell them so.After holding internal discussions, Vinny Cerrato, Washington's vice president of football operations, said the team has decided not to bring Flowers to Redskins Park for a workout.
Alexander said that Flowers was willing to put an offer he has to play professional basketball in Spain on hold to come to Washington, and was surprised by the phone call.
"The scout said they were looking for the next Gates, who played basketball at Kent State," Alexander said. "He asked me about Rod's background and what kind of athlete he was and said they were interested because of his height and weight. Rod is a pretty special athlete, and I think he could make the transition to more of a contact sport, but he'd have to put on some weight."
Alexander said the scout informed him the Redskins found Flowers on a "wire," which listed numerous players by height and weight, and that Flowers was just one of many basketball players being contacted.
Washington PostRod Flowers has not played organized football since middle school and never considered a future in the NFL. But when the Washington Redskins' scouting department contacted him last week, the Tennessee State basketball star listened.
Flowers, who completed his senior season and is working toward a master's degree, has the size, weight and athletic ability NFL scouts covet, and although the Redskins do not plan to audition him, the mere fact he was considered is an indication of how far NFL teams are going to unearth talent.
The rise of Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates in San Diego has prompted other clubs to pursue alternative sources for players. Gates was signed as an undrafted free agent in May 2003 and set the NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end in 2004.
Flowers, who attended a high school that restricted students from playing football and basketball, has a 6-9, 240-pound frame, and is a former Parade High School all-American basketball player. Tennessee State basketball coach Cy Alexander said he was contacted by a Redskins scout last week to gather information about Flowers and assess if he would be interested in playing tight end. Alexander called Flowers, who was intrigued by the possibility, and phoned the Redskins to tell them so.After holding internal discussions, Vinny Cerrato, Washington's vice president of football operations, said the team has decided not to bring Flowers to Redskins Park for a workout.
Alexander said that Flowers was willing to put an offer he has to play professional basketball in Spain on hold to come to Washington, and was surprised by the phone call.
"The scout said they were looking for the next Gates, who played basketball at Kent State," Alexander said. "He asked me about Rod's background and what kind of athlete he was and said they were interested because of his height and weight. Rod is a pretty special athlete, and I think he could make the transition to more of a contact sport, but he'd have to put on some weight."
Alexander said the scout informed him the Redskins found Flowers on a "wire," which listed numerous players by height and weight, and that Flowers was just one of many basketball players being contacted.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Tip for Next March
Here's something to keep in mind when filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket next year:
Margin of victory matters
Excepting Syracuse, every Tournament Champion since 1998 ranked in the Top 10 in scoring margin. North Carolina (2005) and Duke (2001) led all NCAA teams. This year, all four Final Four clubs, including Louisville (2nd), Illinois (3rd) and Michigan State (5th), were among the 5 squads that most handily defeated opponents. In other words, you ought to keep margin of victory in mind when completing next year's bracket.
Margin of victory matters
Excepting Syracuse, every Tournament Champion since 1998 ranked in the Top 10 in scoring margin. North Carolina (2005) and Duke (2001) led all NCAA teams. This year, all four Final Four clubs, including Louisville (2nd), Illinois (3rd) and Michigan State (5th), were among the 5 squads that most handily defeated opponents. In other words, you ought to keep margin of victory in mind when completing next year's bracket.
Papal Vote Counting
From Michael Novak:
Now that the Italian press is reporting that Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, a hero of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and perhaps the closest intellectual associate of Pope John Paul II during the past 25 years, has already received the support of 40, maybe 50 cardinals, out of the 77 votes needed to be elected the next Pope, it is time for the American media to begin searching into the mind and heart of one so close to JPII. The Pope and Ratzinger, his closest cardinal friend, met for long discussion at least once a week, and often twice a week. Their theological and philosophical commitments to ideas like the primacy of love (glimpsed by the newborn child in the eyes of its mother, and felt in her touch, from the first moments of birth) and their bold visions for the future of the church united them, although they also loved to argue. Ratzinger's theological mind is encyclopedic, sweeping over nearly all of Christian history, and his interests--in bioethics, for instance, and in the analysis of history and culture-- draw him into excited engagement with contemporary problems. Recently, he published a short book called Without Roots on problems of nihilism and relativism in contemporary Europe, in dialogue with the President of the Italian Senate, the intelligent and probing Senator Marcello Pera.
In the European and Italian context, Ratzinger is strongly pro-American on issues of religious liberty, and rather Tocquevillian in his interpretation of the American experience. He has expressed a certain disdain for efforts three decades ago to wed Catholicism to Marxist economics--he had seen too much of the latter close-up. He has a strong commitment to honest and frank ecumenism, based upon fraternal love but not upon false and mealy-mouthed pretendings of unity, where there is no unity.
It was Ratzinger who presided over the magnificently conducted funeral of John Paul II, the greatest funeral in the whole history of Rome along the axes both of history and of global reach. Many said: He looked every inch the Pope. Most surprising to many were the warmth and poetry of his sermon, evoking Pope John Paul II so realistically that at several points the vast crowds broke out in affectionate applause. And, actually, my own sources in Rome now suggest that the number of cardinals supporting Ratzinger is closer to 55, leaving him at this early point some 22 short.
Some caution should be exercised here, since in Rome counting of this sort is in most cases not actually by head, as is done in Washington by a Senate or House whip. In Rome, estimates are usually made by inference from known connections of cardinals and their close associates. However, some people in Rome (not necessarily with experience in American mayoralty elections) do know how to count votes. Those I know of in this camp are keeping their cards close to their chest. But they do not dispute the published numbers, except to hint that the true number is higher.
What no one disputes is that the numbers of the "progressives," once gathered around Cardinals Donneels of Belgium and Martini of Milan (now retired), have collapsed. There are not even enough of them to block the majority seeking a "Continuator" of John Paul II's legacy. The loyalty expressed by millions all around the world to John Paul II became so visible at the funeral that "Continuator" is now the motif. Whether that mantle falls on Ratzinger--or, perhaps, on someone younger and more vigorous--such as Angelo Scola of Venice, a truly brilliant and creative student of the much-beloved theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, will soon enough become clear. There are four or five who could fill this place in the batting order, or take their turn next time around.
Now that the Italian press is reporting that Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, a hero of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and perhaps the closest intellectual associate of Pope John Paul II during the past 25 years, has already received the support of 40, maybe 50 cardinals, out of the 77 votes needed to be elected the next Pope, it is time for the American media to begin searching into the mind and heart of one so close to JPII. The Pope and Ratzinger, his closest cardinal friend, met for long discussion at least once a week, and often twice a week. Their theological and philosophical commitments to ideas like the primacy of love (glimpsed by the newborn child in the eyes of its mother, and felt in her touch, from the first moments of birth) and their bold visions for the future of the church united them, although they also loved to argue. Ratzinger's theological mind is encyclopedic, sweeping over nearly all of Christian history, and his interests--in bioethics, for instance, and in the analysis of history and culture-- draw him into excited engagement with contemporary problems. Recently, he published a short book called Without Roots on problems of nihilism and relativism in contemporary Europe, in dialogue with the President of the Italian Senate, the intelligent and probing Senator Marcello Pera.
In the European and Italian context, Ratzinger is strongly pro-American on issues of religious liberty, and rather Tocquevillian in his interpretation of the American experience. He has expressed a certain disdain for efforts three decades ago to wed Catholicism to Marxist economics--he had seen too much of the latter close-up. He has a strong commitment to honest and frank ecumenism, based upon fraternal love but not upon false and mealy-mouthed pretendings of unity, where there is no unity.
It was Ratzinger who presided over the magnificently conducted funeral of John Paul II, the greatest funeral in the whole history of Rome along the axes both of history and of global reach. Many said: He looked every inch the Pope. Most surprising to many were the warmth and poetry of his sermon, evoking Pope John Paul II so realistically that at several points the vast crowds broke out in affectionate applause. And, actually, my own sources in Rome now suggest that the number of cardinals supporting Ratzinger is closer to 55, leaving him at this early point some 22 short.
Some caution should be exercised here, since in Rome counting of this sort is in most cases not actually by head, as is done in Washington by a Senate or House whip. In Rome, estimates are usually made by inference from known connections of cardinals and their close associates. However, some people in Rome (not necessarily with experience in American mayoralty elections) do know how to count votes. Those I know of in this camp are keeping their cards close to their chest. But they do not dispute the published numbers, except to hint that the true number is higher.
What no one disputes is that the numbers of the "progressives," once gathered around Cardinals Donneels of Belgium and Martini of Milan (now retired), have collapsed. There are not even enough of them to block the majority seeking a "Continuator" of John Paul II's legacy. The loyalty expressed by millions all around the world to John Paul II became so visible at the funeral that "Continuator" is now the motif. Whether that mantle falls on Ratzinger--or, perhaps, on someone younger and more vigorous--such as Angelo Scola of Venice, a truly brilliant and creative student of the much-beloved theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, will soon enough become clear. There are four or five who could fill this place in the batting order, or take their turn next time around.
Warriors Update
I kind of new this:
You probably already know this, but apparently most fans of the movie don’t: The Warriors retells the story of Xenophon’s Anabasis, wherein the Persian Cyrus, while trying to take the Persian throne, was killed and his Greek troops, led by Xenophon, were left stranded in enemy territory and had to fight their way back home. That’s why the movie works—it’s pretty faithful to the spirit of the original.
You probably already know this, but apparently most fans of the movie don’t: The Warriors retells the story of Xenophon’s Anabasis, wherein the Persian Cyrus, while trying to take the Persian throne, was killed and his Greek troops, led by Xenophon, were left stranded in enemy territory and had to fight their way back home. That’s why the movie works—it’s pretty faithful to the spirit of the original.
Smart Move by the Military
Send in the talk show hosts.
WLW-AM's Mike McConnell will broadcast from Iraq next week, during the Pentagon's first war-zone tour for talk-radio hosts.
Seven radio personalities - plus a reporter and a classic-rock DJ - will be escorted through the country.
Although the military has led "regional media" trips to war zones since Vietnam, this is the first for talk-radio hosts, says Navy Capt. Roxie Merritt, Defense Department press operations director.
"I'm interested in checking it all out myself, and seeing the devastation up close," says McConnell, who has supported the war and reconstruction.
McConnell, the 9 a.m.-noon weekday host, will broadcast live - when possible - by satellite phone, a briefcase-size device.
One media professor called the trip a propaganda junket.
"Given that the vast majority of talk-show hosts are conservative in tone and belief ... this seems to be a propaganda move, looking for positive comments on 'our boys' over there," says Chris Sterling, a media and public affairs professor at George Washington University.
Asked if he thought the military is manipulating him, McConnell says: "You keep your eyes open. I have a brain."
WLW-AM's Mike McConnell will broadcast from Iraq next week, during the Pentagon's first war-zone tour for talk-radio hosts.
Seven radio personalities - plus a reporter and a classic-rock DJ - will be escorted through the country.
Although the military has led "regional media" trips to war zones since Vietnam, this is the first for talk-radio hosts, says Navy Capt. Roxie Merritt, Defense Department press operations director.
"I'm interested in checking it all out myself, and seeing the devastation up close," says McConnell, who has supported the war and reconstruction.
McConnell, the 9 a.m.-noon weekday host, will broadcast live - when possible - by satellite phone, a briefcase-size device.
One media professor called the trip a propaganda junket.
"Given that the vast majority of talk-show hosts are conservative in tone and belief ... this seems to be a propaganda move, looking for positive comments on 'our boys' over there," says Chris Sterling, a media and public affairs professor at George Washington University.
Asked if he thought the military is manipulating him, McConnell says: "You keep your eyes open. I have a brain."
A Football Team Hugs Could Be Proud Of
Phillip Fulmer is one of the best recruiters in college football. He works hard at it, but he also has the touch it takes in a player's living room to tip the scales in favor of Tennessee.
He has the piercing baby blues, the warm smile and the friendly demeanor that mamas love. And as with all college coaches, part of his sales pitch is a pious pledge to make Johnny Testosterone not just a better man-eating linebacker, but a better person.
"I believe that you must be closely involved with your players, much like a parent," Fulmer says in the 2004 Volunteers media guide. "You must guide and direct them, socially, academically and spiritually, as well as athletically."
Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer says he's embarrassed by the Vols' behavior, but what's he going to do about it?
If you go by the police blotter, Fulmer's surrogate parenting has been abysmal over the last 13 months. Guidance and direction? The coach should be able to guide his players through the booking process by now, and direct them to the program-friendly attorneys in Knoxville. Beyond that, Fulmer's off-field authority is in question at present.
Eleven Volunteers football players have been arrested or issued citations since the end of February 2004. Four have been arrested on assault charges this week, including the best athlete on the Tennessee team, freshman quarterback Brent Schaeffer. And three players are currently facing felony charges for aggravated assault, stemming from two separate altercations in 2005.
Two players have been charged in a March 5 assault at a campus party that left a student with a broken jaw that reportedly remains wired shut to this day. Defensive end Robert Ayres told police he hit the victim twice. Linebacker Jerod Mayo says he is innocent and is a victim of mistaken identity; a former Tennessee football player signed an affidavit saying he saw Mayo hit the victim in the jaw.
Another player, 6-foot-7, 295-pound defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, had his aggravated assault case sent to the grand jury this week. McDaniel faces charges that he broke a student's face in four places in an altercation during a January pickup basketball game.
If you thought other SEC schools delighted in referring to Tennessee as UThug before, what are they saying now?
He has the piercing baby blues, the warm smile and the friendly demeanor that mamas love. And as with all college coaches, part of his sales pitch is a pious pledge to make Johnny Testosterone not just a better man-eating linebacker, but a better person.
"I believe that you must be closely involved with your players, much like a parent," Fulmer says in the 2004 Volunteers media guide. "You must guide and direct them, socially, academically and spiritually, as well as athletically."
Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer says he's embarrassed by the Vols' behavior, but what's he going to do about it?
If you go by the police blotter, Fulmer's surrogate parenting has been abysmal over the last 13 months. Guidance and direction? The coach should be able to guide his players through the booking process by now, and direct them to the program-friendly attorneys in Knoxville. Beyond that, Fulmer's off-field authority is in question at present.
Eleven Volunteers football players have been arrested or issued citations since the end of February 2004. Four have been arrested on assault charges this week, including the best athlete on the Tennessee team, freshman quarterback Brent Schaeffer. And three players are currently facing felony charges for aggravated assault, stemming from two separate altercations in 2005.
Two players have been charged in a March 5 assault at a campus party that left a student with a broken jaw that reportedly remains wired shut to this day. Defensive end Robert Ayres told police he hit the victim twice. Linebacker Jerod Mayo says he is innocent and is a victim of mistaken identity; a former Tennessee football player signed an affidavit saying he saw Mayo hit the victim in the jaw.
Another player, 6-foot-7, 295-pound defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, had his aggravated assault case sent to the grand jury this week. McDaniel faces charges that he broke a student's face in four places in an altercation during a January pickup basketball game.
If you thought other SEC schools delighted in referring to Tennessee as UThug before, what are they saying now?
If You Play With Fire...
...you're going to get burned. Terrell Owens is fire, and the Eagles are going to get burned.
Terrell Owens already wants a new contract from the Philadelphia Eagles before he starts his second season with the team.
Owens, who helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his first season in Philadelphia, is looking to renegotiate the seven-year deal worth almost $49 million he signed last March.
"This is not about me being greedy or selfish," Owens told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Thursday's editions. "I was called selfish for trying to come back and play in the Super Bowl. I just want people to think about what they're hearing from all these reports about me being greedy. Just take a moment and look at my stature in the game."
Terrell Owens already wants a new contract from the Philadelphia Eagles before he starts his second season with the team.
Owens, who helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his first season in Philadelphia, is looking to renegotiate the seven-year deal worth almost $49 million he signed last March.
"This is not about me being greedy or selfish," Owens told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Thursday's editions. "I was called selfish for trying to come back and play in the Super Bowl. I just want people to think about what they're hearing from all these reports about me being greedy. Just take a moment and look at my stature in the game."
The End of the Big 3
I think we're witnessing the end of an era.
DETROIT, April 14 - In just the last few weeks, the grand plans that were supposed to carry General Motors and Ford Motor into their second centuries have crumbled.
Sales at G.M. have fallen, profits have tumbled to losses. Last week, Ford also warned of a drop in earnings. Thursday, in yet another blow, its union refused to give much ground on G.M.'s health care coverage. If that were not enough, G.M.'s stock hit a 12-year low. (Related Article)
The Big Two automobile giants offer plenty of explanations, from soaring health care costs to rising gas prices and creeping interest rates. But consumers and industry specialists say G.M. and Ford have swerved off course for a more basic reason: not enough people like their cars.
DETROIT, April 14 - In just the last few weeks, the grand plans that were supposed to carry General Motors and Ford Motor into their second centuries have crumbled.
Sales at G.M. have fallen, profits have tumbled to losses. Last week, Ford also warned of a drop in earnings. Thursday, in yet another blow, its union refused to give much ground on G.M.'s health care coverage. If that were not enough, G.M.'s stock hit a 12-year low. (Related Article)
The Big Two automobile giants offer plenty of explanations, from soaring health care costs to rising gas prices and creeping interest rates. But consumers and industry specialists say G.M. and Ford have swerved off course for a more basic reason: not enough people like their cars.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Devil of the Year
I'd like to sit down and have a beer with this guy...except that I'm not going to Hell to do it.
COP killer Kamel Bourgass was yesterday unmasked as Osama Bin Laden’s master poisoner — with a mission to murder as many Britons as possible.
Fanatical Bourgass, who stabbed detective constable Stephen Oake to death as police closed in on an al-Qaeda cell, spearheaded a terrifying plot to terrorise London.
The gang planned to smear lethal RICIN poison on door handles of cars and shops in the bustling Holloway Road, North London.
They even intended to open TOOTHBRUSH packs in shops, daub them with ricin and re-seal them.
And the alarming campaign also involved a CYANIDE attack on the Tube, targeting passengers with a pump-style garden spray gun.
COP killer Kamel Bourgass was yesterday unmasked as Osama Bin Laden’s master poisoner — with a mission to murder as many Britons as possible.
Fanatical Bourgass, who stabbed detective constable Stephen Oake to death as police closed in on an al-Qaeda cell, spearheaded a terrifying plot to terrorise London.
The gang planned to smear lethal RICIN poison on door handles of cars and shops in the bustling Holloway Road, North London.
They even intended to open TOOTHBRUSH packs in shops, daub them with ricin and re-seal them.
And the alarming campaign also involved a CYANIDE attack on the Tube, targeting passengers with a pump-style garden spray gun.
More Highlands Nonsense
Michael Bouldin, the attorney who represented Mitchell, said the school was put in an unwinable situation because to sit Mitchell for the entire season, as the association ordered, would have been in conflict with the court ruling that he was eligible to play.
"I think a good way to prevent all of this is for the KHSAA to adopt bylaws saying the organization will take no action against people who are following court orders," Bouldin said. "You basically have the KHSAA flexing their muscle against the courts, but it puts the coaches and athletic director in an impossible situation."
Highlands, as I understand it, was not required to play Mitchell by the injunction. The injunction simply made Mitchell eligible to play...but Highlands was not forced by the court to play Mitchell. That was their decision.
Also, if a court injunction now gives high schools free reign to play illegal players, imagine the shenanigans that will result. It was a Ft. Thomas judge that issued this bogus injunction in the first place. What do you think will happen down in Pikeville and Bell County?
Finally, all of this irrelevant. Mitchell should have never been allowed to suit up for Highlands in the first place. The school should have nipped this in the bud when he first asked to play.
No, I think it's just time for Mr. Bouldin, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Meuller and the parents of Ft. Thomas to grow up.
"I think a good way to prevent all of this is for the KHSAA to adopt bylaws saying the organization will take no action against people who are following court orders," Bouldin said. "You basically have the KHSAA flexing their muscle against the courts, but it puts the coaches and athletic director in an impossible situation."
Highlands, as I understand it, was not required to play Mitchell by the injunction. The injunction simply made Mitchell eligible to play...but Highlands was not forced by the court to play Mitchell. That was their decision.
Also, if a court injunction now gives high schools free reign to play illegal players, imagine the shenanigans that will result. It was a Ft. Thomas judge that issued this bogus injunction in the first place. What do you think will happen down in Pikeville and Bell County?
Finally, all of this irrelevant. Mitchell should have never been allowed to suit up for Highlands in the first place. The school should have nipped this in the bud when he first asked to play.
No, I think it's just time for Mr. Bouldin, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Meuller and the parents of Ft. Thomas to grow up.
Shame!
Is there no one in Ft. Thomas with integrity? Maybe not.
Highlands High School will appeal the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's sanctions against its state championship football team for using an ineligible player, the school's attorney confirmed Wednesday.
Those sanctions, released Tuesday by the KHSAA, consist of the forfeiture of 12 games, a $1,500 fine and a two-scrimmage, two-game suspension next season for coach Dale Mueller. According to the sanctions, Highlands also will be on three year's probation.
Highlands High School will appeal the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's sanctions against its state championship football team for using an ineligible player, the school's attorney confirmed Wednesday.
Those sanctions, released Tuesday by the KHSAA, consist of the forfeiture of 12 games, a $1,500 fine and a two-scrimmage, two-game suspension next season for coach Dale Mueller. According to the sanctions, Highlands also will be on three year's probation.
The Airline Industry
It seems some airlines are finding ways to make a profit:
DALLAS (AP) — Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Inc. on Thursday said first-quarter earnings nearly tripled, thanks to successful fuel hedging and higher traffic in March.
Quarterly income rose to $76 million, or 9 cents a share, from $26 million, or 3 cents a share, last year. Revenue climbed 12 percent to $1.66 billion from $1.48 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected Southwest to earn 5 cents a share on sales of $1.65 billion for the period.
DALLAS (AP) — Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Inc. on Thursday said first-quarter earnings nearly tripled, thanks to successful fuel hedging and higher traffic in March.
Quarterly income rose to $76 million, or 9 cents a share, from $26 million, or 3 cents a share, last year. Revenue climbed 12 percent to $1.66 billion from $1.48 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected Southwest to earn 5 cents a share on sales of $1.65 billion for the period.
Stop Drinking So Much Water
I've always thought the fluid intake recommendations from the experts were waaaay too high. It turns out drinking too much water can have very dangerous affects.
After years of telling athletes to drink as much liquid as possible to avoid dehydration, some doctors are now saying that drinking too much during intense exercise poses a far greater health risk.
An increasing number of athletes - marathon runners, triathletes and even hikers in the Grand Canyon - are severely diluting their blood by drinking too much water or too many sports drinks, with some falling gravely ill and even dying, the doctors say.
New research on runners in the Boston Marathon, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms the problem and shows how serious it is.
The research involved 488 runners in the 2002 marathon. The runners gave blood samples before and after the race. While most were fine, 13 percent of them - or 62 - drank so much that they had hyponatremia, or abnormally low blood sodium levels. Three had levels so low that they were in danger of dying.
After years of telling athletes to drink as much liquid as possible to avoid dehydration, some doctors are now saying that drinking too much during intense exercise poses a far greater health risk.
An increasing number of athletes - marathon runners, triathletes and even hikers in the Grand Canyon - are severely diluting their blood by drinking too much water or too many sports drinks, with some falling gravely ill and even dying, the doctors say.
New research on runners in the Boston Marathon, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms the problem and shows how serious it is.
The research involved 488 runners in the 2002 marathon. The runners gave blood samples before and after the race. While most were fine, 13 percent of them - or 62 - drank so much that they had hyponatremia, or abnormally low blood sodium levels. Three had levels so low that they were in danger of dying.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Are the Kids Fat?
If Japanese kids are watching the most TV, shouldn't they be the fattest? From everything I read from the "experts", excessive TV watching leads to obesity. You know, they watch cartoons which are wedged between cookie commercials which lead helpless kids to binge eat. I don't want to stereotype, but Japanese kids typically aren't overweight.
Cannes, France (Hollywood Reporter) - The average level of television consumption increased on nearly every continent last year, but a new study has found that Japanese viewers watch more TV than anybody.
The newly released report from Eurodata TV Worldwide, the focus of a panel discussion at the MIPTV convention in Cannes, also found Americans' daily dose of TV climbed by three minutes last year to an average of four hours and 28 minutes -- nearly 90 minutes above the world average.
The Japanese watched the most television last year, clocking in a daily average of five hours. Americans were second, followed by Argentinians and the Greeks, who consumed four hours and 25 minutes and four hours and four minutes, respectively.
Cannes, France (Hollywood Reporter) - The average level of television consumption increased on nearly every continent last year, but a new study has found that Japanese viewers watch more TV than anybody.
The newly released report from Eurodata TV Worldwide, the focus of a panel discussion at the MIPTV convention in Cannes, also found Americans' daily dose of TV climbed by three minutes last year to an average of four hours and 28 minutes -- nearly 90 minutes above the world average.
The Japanese watched the most television last year, clocking in a daily average of five hours. Americans were second, followed by Argentinians and the Greeks, who consumed four hours and 25 minutes and four hours and four minutes, respectively.
How Do You Spell Fraud?
Ok, they fined Mueller? Good. They made them forfeit their regular season games? Good. But to let them keep the state title - because the ineligible player didn't play who had played during the season to get them to the state title - is a travesty.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has ordered Highlands High School to forfeit most of its 2004 regular-season football games and fined the team's coach, but will allow the team to retain its state championship in a series of sanctions imposed over star player Michael Mitchell's transfer to the school.
The sanctions were outlined in a letter from KHSAA Commissioner Brigid DeVries to Highlands High School principal Elgin Emmons, said Michael Bouldin, Mitchell's attorney. Bouldin said today he had discussed the letter with school board attorney Don Ruberg.
According to Bouldin, the association put Highlands on probation, fined Highlands football coach Dale Mueller $1,500 and ruled that the coach will not be allowed to coach the first two scrimmages and first two games of the season next year.
"I don't know what actions Highlands has taken," Bouldin said.
Bob Schneider, a football coach at Newport Central Catholic High School and a member of the KHSSA board of control, said the sanctions were decided at a meeting Monday. The school has until April 15 to appeal that decision, he said.
The KHSAA letter, Bouldin said, says Highlands can keep its state championship title because Mitchell did not play in the championship game. Because Mitchell also did not play in the first game of the season, Highlands' season record will go from 14-1 to 2-13.
Emmons would not discuss the contents of the letter, but said he has been in contact with DeVries over the past week.
"Right now, unless the KHSAA makes some public announcement, I have no comment," Emmons said.
"It is my understanding the Michael Mitchell situation is an unresolved situation. I understand the case is still being resolved in the courts. We have been very respectful of the authority of the KHSAA and the courts throughout this. We've been subject to whatever authority we've found ourselves subject to."
School district officials also declined to confirm the letter.
"It's my understanding the KHSAA has levied some sanctions regarding the Michael Mitchell issue," said Brad Fennell, a Fort Thomas school board member. "our position is certainly that we've handled everything above board." He would not specify what those sanctions were.
The letter is the latest in an ongoing battle over the eligibility of Mitchell, who transferred from Covington Catholic High School to Highlands in January 2004 after the Mitchell family moved from Florence to Fort Thomas.
The KHSAA's regulations usually require transfer students to sit out a year, but the association has made exceptions. It would not, however, waive the rule for Mitchell.
Mitchell and his family and the school took the issue to court, insisting the transfer was part of a bona fide move from one residence to another. He played the football season under a temporary injunction signed by then-Circuit Court Judge William Wehr.
The KHSAA appealed that judgment and eventually won in the Court of Appeals, which upheld the association's refusal to give Mitchell a waiver.
That decision is what kept Mitchell out of the championship game, which Highlands won 22-6 over Boyle County.
Mitchell's parents have appealed the ruling in the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Because Mitchell had played the fall season in 2004, the KHSAA ruled that he would have to sit out the spring sports season.
Another court battle overturned that decision in March when Campbell Circuit Judge Julie Reinhardt Ward signed a permanent injunction declaring Mitchell eligible to play baseball and run track this spring. Bouldin said the KHSAA has filed a notice that it intends to appeal the permanent injunction ruling.
The KHSAA bylaws say it may punish a school for using an ineligible player. But school board attorney Ruberg said in documents filed in November that allowing the association to punish a school after the fact allows it to effectively ignore court orders.
He said Mitchell was playing legally because a court had allowed that play through the injunctions.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has ordered Highlands High School to forfeit most of its 2004 regular-season football games and fined the team's coach, but will allow the team to retain its state championship in a series of sanctions imposed over star player Michael Mitchell's transfer to the school.
The sanctions were outlined in a letter from KHSAA Commissioner Brigid DeVries to Highlands High School principal Elgin Emmons, said Michael Bouldin, Mitchell's attorney. Bouldin said today he had discussed the letter with school board attorney Don Ruberg.
According to Bouldin, the association put Highlands on probation, fined Highlands football coach Dale Mueller $1,500 and ruled that the coach will not be allowed to coach the first two scrimmages and first two games of the season next year.
"I don't know what actions Highlands has taken," Bouldin said.
Bob Schneider, a football coach at Newport Central Catholic High School and a member of the KHSSA board of control, said the sanctions were decided at a meeting Monday. The school has until April 15 to appeal that decision, he said.
The KHSAA letter, Bouldin said, says Highlands can keep its state championship title because Mitchell did not play in the championship game. Because Mitchell also did not play in the first game of the season, Highlands' season record will go from 14-1 to 2-13.
Emmons would not discuss the contents of the letter, but said he has been in contact with DeVries over the past week.
"Right now, unless the KHSAA makes some public announcement, I have no comment," Emmons said.
"It is my understanding the Michael Mitchell situation is an unresolved situation. I understand the case is still being resolved in the courts. We have been very respectful of the authority of the KHSAA and the courts throughout this. We've been subject to whatever authority we've found ourselves subject to."
School district officials also declined to confirm the letter.
"It's my understanding the KHSAA has levied some sanctions regarding the Michael Mitchell issue," said Brad Fennell, a Fort Thomas school board member. "our position is certainly that we've handled everything above board." He would not specify what those sanctions were.
The letter is the latest in an ongoing battle over the eligibility of Mitchell, who transferred from Covington Catholic High School to Highlands in January 2004 after the Mitchell family moved from Florence to Fort Thomas.
The KHSAA's regulations usually require transfer students to sit out a year, but the association has made exceptions. It would not, however, waive the rule for Mitchell.
Mitchell and his family and the school took the issue to court, insisting the transfer was part of a bona fide move from one residence to another. He played the football season under a temporary injunction signed by then-Circuit Court Judge William Wehr.
The KHSAA appealed that judgment and eventually won in the Court of Appeals, which upheld the association's refusal to give Mitchell a waiver.
That decision is what kept Mitchell out of the championship game, which Highlands won 22-6 over Boyle County.
Mitchell's parents have appealed the ruling in the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Because Mitchell had played the fall season in 2004, the KHSAA ruled that he would have to sit out the spring sports season.
Another court battle overturned that decision in March when Campbell Circuit Judge Julie Reinhardt Ward signed a permanent injunction declaring Mitchell eligible to play baseball and run track this spring. Bouldin said the KHSAA has filed a notice that it intends to appeal the permanent injunction ruling.
The KHSAA bylaws say it may punish a school for using an ineligible player. But school board attorney Ruberg said in documents filed in November that allowing the association to punish a school after the fact allows it to effectively ignore court orders.
He said Mitchell was playing legally because a court had allowed that play through the injunctions.
Teens and Faith
Some very promising findings...until the end.
No book in recent memory has as much potential to transform the practice of youth ministry as Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton's account of the findings of their National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Smith, a committed Christian who may be his generation's most significant sociologist of religion, carefully designed not only an in-depth phone survey of 3,290 teenagers and their parents, but also crafted 267 in-person interviews. The results overturn nearly every piece of conventional wisdom about teens and faith.
There is no generation gap. The NSYR finds that youth overwhelmingly admire and practice the religion of their parents, just as other studies have shown that teens these days overwhelmingly admire and like their parents. The baby-boomer ethos of adolescent rebellion has disappeared—if, indeed, it ever was so widespread as the media would have us believe.
Teens like church. There simply isn't much hostility to organized religion among 13- to 17-year-olds, Smith and Denton find: "U.S. teens as a whole report that they would like to attend religious services even more than they currently do."
Teens are not "spiritual seekers." Vanishingly few have heard the phrase "spiritual but not religious," the mantra of baby-boomer, mix-and-match spirituality. Less than 1 percent are exploring alternative religions like Wicca. Seventy-five percent of teens identify with some form of Christianity.
So far, so good, for those who would offer Christian faith to the next generation. If only all the news were so encouraging. In fact, these quantitative indicators are overshadowed by what Smith and Denton found out when they sat down to talk with teens one-on-one. It should rock the world of every church in the country: In spite of their generally positive attitude toward religion, almost no teenagers, from any religious background, can articulate the most basic beliefs of their faith. This interview excerpt, with a 15-year-old who "attends two church services every Sunday, Sunday school, church youth group, and Wednesday-night Bible study," illustrates how vaguely most teenagers answered a question about their personal beliefs:
"[Pause] I don't really know how to answer that. ['Are there any beliefs at all that are important to you? Really generally.'] [Pause] I don't know. ['Take your time if you want.'] I think that you should just, if you're gonna do something wrong then you should always ask for forgiveness and he's gonna forgive you no matter what, cause he gave up his only Son to take all the sins for you, so…"
No book in recent memory has as much potential to transform the practice of youth ministry as Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton's account of the findings of their National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Smith, a committed Christian who may be his generation's most significant sociologist of religion, carefully designed not only an in-depth phone survey of 3,290 teenagers and their parents, but also crafted 267 in-person interviews. The results overturn nearly every piece of conventional wisdom about teens and faith.
There is no generation gap. The NSYR finds that youth overwhelmingly admire and practice the religion of their parents, just as other studies have shown that teens these days overwhelmingly admire and like their parents. The baby-boomer ethos of adolescent rebellion has disappeared—if, indeed, it ever was so widespread as the media would have us believe.
Teens like church. There simply isn't much hostility to organized religion among 13- to 17-year-olds, Smith and Denton find: "U.S. teens as a whole report that they would like to attend religious services even more than they currently do."
Teens are not "spiritual seekers." Vanishingly few have heard the phrase "spiritual but not religious," the mantra of baby-boomer, mix-and-match spirituality. Less than 1 percent are exploring alternative religions like Wicca. Seventy-five percent of teens identify with some form of Christianity.
So far, so good, for those who would offer Christian faith to the next generation. If only all the news were so encouraging. In fact, these quantitative indicators are overshadowed by what Smith and Denton found out when they sat down to talk with teens one-on-one. It should rock the world of every church in the country: In spite of their generally positive attitude toward religion, almost no teenagers, from any religious background, can articulate the most basic beliefs of their faith. This interview excerpt, with a 15-year-old who "attends two church services every Sunday, Sunday school, church youth group, and Wednesday-night Bible study," illustrates how vaguely most teenagers answered a question about their personal beliefs:
"[Pause] I don't really know how to answer that. ['Are there any beliefs at all that are important to you? Really generally.'] [Pause] I don't know. ['Take your time if you want.'] I think that you should just, if you're gonna do something wrong then you should always ask for forgiveness and he's gonna forgive you no matter what, cause he gave up his only Son to take all the sins for you, so…"
Monday, April 11, 2005
The Most Untrusted Source In Journalism
Sy Hersh...full of crap...I don't believe it.
Since the Abu Ghraib story broke eleven months ago, The New Yorker’s national-security correspondent, Seymour Hersh, has followed it up with a series of spectacular scoops. Videotape of young boys being raped at Abu Ghraib. Evidence that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may be a “composite figure” and a propaganda creation of either Iraq’s Baathist insurgency or the U.S. government. The active involvement of Karl Rove and the president in “prisoner-interrogation issues.” The mysterious disappearance of $1 billion, in cash, in Iraq. A threat by the administration to a TV network to cut off access to briefings in retaliation for asking Laura Bush “a very tough question about abortion.” The Iraqi insurgency’s access to short-range FROG missiles that “can do grievous damage to American troops.” The murder, by an American platoon, of 36 Iraqi guards.
Not one of these exclusives appeared in the pages of The New Yorker, however. Instead, Hersh delivered them in speeches on college campuses and in front of organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and on public-radio shows like “Democracy Now!” In most cases, Hersh attaches a caveat—such as “I’m just talking now, I’m not writing”—before unloading one of his blockbusters, which can send bloggers and reporters scurrying for confirmation.
Every writer understands that there is a gap between the print persona and the actual self, but Hersh subscribes to a bright-line test, a wider chasm than is usually acknowledged, particularly in today’s multimedia age.
There are two Hershes, really. Seymour M. is the byline. He navigates readers through the byzantine world of America’s overlapping national-security bureaucracies, and his stories form what Hersh has taken to calling an “alternative history” of the Bush administration since September 11, 2001.
Then there’s Sy. He’s the public speaker, the pundit. On the podium, Sy is willing to tell a story that’s not quite right, in order to convey a Larger Truth. “Sometimes I change events, dates, and places in a certain way to protect people,” Hersh told me. “I can’t fudge what I write. But I can certainly fudge what I say.”
Since the Abu Ghraib story broke eleven months ago, The New Yorker’s national-security correspondent, Seymour Hersh, has followed it up with a series of spectacular scoops. Videotape of young boys being raped at Abu Ghraib. Evidence that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may be a “composite figure” and a propaganda creation of either Iraq’s Baathist insurgency or the U.S. government. The active involvement of Karl Rove and the president in “prisoner-interrogation issues.” The mysterious disappearance of $1 billion, in cash, in Iraq. A threat by the administration to a TV network to cut off access to briefings in retaliation for asking Laura Bush “a very tough question about abortion.” The Iraqi insurgency’s access to short-range FROG missiles that “can do grievous damage to American troops.” The murder, by an American platoon, of 36 Iraqi guards.
Not one of these exclusives appeared in the pages of The New Yorker, however. Instead, Hersh delivered them in speeches on college campuses and in front of organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and on public-radio shows like “Democracy Now!” In most cases, Hersh attaches a caveat—such as “I’m just talking now, I’m not writing”—before unloading one of his blockbusters, which can send bloggers and reporters scurrying for confirmation.
Every writer understands that there is a gap between the print persona and the actual self, but Hersh subscribes to a bright-line test, a wider chasm than is usually acknowledged, particularly in today’s multimedia age.
There are two Hershes, really. Seymour M. is the byline. He navigates readers through the byzantine world of America’s overlapping national-security bureaucracies, and his stories form what Hersh has taken to calling an “alternative history” of the Bush administration since September 11, 2001.
Then there’s Sy. He’s the public speaker, the pundit. On the podium, Sy is willing to tell a story that’s not quite right, in order to convey a Larger Truth. “Sometimes I change events, dates, and places in a certain way to protect people,” Hersh told me. “I can’t fudge what I write. But I can certainly fudge what I say.”
Head & Shoulders
I think we need a really, really big bottle.
Millions of tons of dandruff are circling the Earth, blocking out sunlight, causing rain and spreading disease, startling new research shows.
Flaky as it may seem, the research - partly funded by the German government - may provide the solution to one of the world's most enduring pollution mysteries: the origin of much of the vast clouds of fine dust in the atmosphere. It suggests that more than half of the dust is a rich soup of organic detritus, including particles of decaying leaves, animal hair, dead skin and dandruff.
Millions of tons of dandruff are circling the Earth, blocking out sunlight, causing rain and spreading disease, startling new research shows.
Flaky as it may seem, the research - partly funded by the German government - may provide the solution to one of the world's most enduring pollution mysteries: the origin of much of the vast clouds of fine dust in the atmosphere. It suggests that more than half of the dust is a rich soup of organic detritus, including particles of decaying leaves, animal hair, dead skin and dandruff.
Bo Is In The Clear
ONTARIO, Calif. -- A Southern California newspaper on Sunday apologized to Bo Jackson and retracted part of a story saying the former football and baseball star used steroids.
"Jackson has stated publicly he has never used steroids," the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin said on its Web site. "We retract the quote and the further statement that the speaker personally witnessed this damage to his life. We apologize to Mr. Jackson, without reservation."
In a story published March 24 under sports editor Jim Mohr's byline, dietary expert Ellen Coleman was quoted as saying she knew personally that "Bo Jackson lost his hip because of anabolic abuse."
Jackson responded last week by suing the newspaper, MediaNews Group Inc., MediaNews Group Interactive, Inc., Mohr and three other employees for unspecified general and punitive damages in Illinois.
"I've got nothing to hide," Jackson said. "If anyone wants to check into my medical past, go get blood tests, go check up on those blood tests and see if there was any anabolic steroids in it. You're more than welcome."
Jackson's defamation suit would continue, his attorney Dan Biederman said Sunday, adding that he had no comment on the newspaper's retraction.
"Jackson has stated publicly he has never used steroids," the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin said on its Web site. "We retract the quote and the further statement that the speaker personally witnessed this damage to his life. We apologize to Mr. Jackson, without reservation."
In a story published March 24 under sports editor Jim Mohr's byline, dietary expert Ellen Coleman was quoted as saying she knew personally that "Bo Jackson lost his hip because of anabolic abuse."
Jackson responded last week by suing the newspaper, MediaNews Group Inc., MediaNews Group Interactive, Inc., Mohr and three other employees for unspecified general and punitive damages in Illinois.
"I've got nothing to hide," Jackson said. "If anyone wants to check into my medical past, go get blood tests, go check up on those blood tests and see if there was any anabolic steroids in it. You're more than welcome."
Jackson's defamation suit would continue, his attorney Dan Biederman said Sunday, adding that he had no comment on the newspaper's retraction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
