| Page 2: Oliver's Twist
Another high school coach once told me that working a football sideline, for him, was always "a dance with madness." Time and again, in the ebb and flow of tense competition, he felt damaging words for officials and players clog in his throat like thick sludge, held there by the thinnest fabric of conscience. Coaches, of course, are far from alone. Athletic events, from the stands to the scoreboard, routinely include as many vented spleens as splendid victories. When it comes to supporting our kids, whether as coaches or parents, common sense is often the most costly turnover on the stat sheet. As the father of a teenage athlete, the only thing keeping me from going Wacker on a referee from the bleachers, time and again, has been the feel of my wife's gentle hand on my shoulder.
Gustard predicts dawn of a new era
Paul Gustard is keen to pledge his future to Saracens after falling under the spell of incoming boss Eddie Jones. Saracens lost their third successive league game at London Irish on Saturday but Gustard is adamant the club's glory years are just around the corner. The Men in Black face Ospreys in the EDF Energy Cup semi-finals later this month before hosting the glamour Welsh region in the last eight of the Heineken Cup in April. .
EU reportedly close to blessing Google-DoubleClick union
Official approval is expected to come sometime next week, according to the Financial Times (subscription), beating the European Commission's self-imposed mid-April deadline by over a month. The Federal Trade Commission signed off on the deal in a 4-1 vote back in December, convinced that there was sufficient competition in the online advertising market to warrant approval. The EC announced its intentions to examine the merger in November, citing a preliminary investigation that suggested that the deal would negatively impact the EU's online ad market. The EC's probe also had a "what-if" element, as it attempted to discern whether DoubleClick would have grown into a viable competitor to Google had the deal not occurred. The ruling is both bane and blessing to Microsoft.
COLUMN: Universal health care: There are better solutions
There use to be a time when one could afford to make a simple trip to the doctor without using an insurance card. This was before the government decided it was better suited to be in charge of your health care than you were, back in the 1960s with the establishment of Medicaid and Medicare. The years that followed would bring many tax laws into place, forcing businesses to provide health care options and turning the system into managed care, which, in turn, brought drug companies and lobbyist groups to Washington, throwing millions of dollars into the system for their corporate interests rather than people. This has taken away power from the people and doctors and given it to large corporate interests. Prices continue to increase because when the government or third parties are paying the bills rather than the individual, the hospitals and doctors charge top dollar for their services.
Illegal visitors cost Australia $20m in airfares
TAXPAYERS spent more than $20 million on airfares for 5000 people who broke Australia's immigration rules and were kicked out last year. Tourists who overstayed their visas, people who breached working conditions and students who failed their courses were among those deported. Almost 1600 tourists who had overstayed were put in detention centres before being deported. Department of Immigration and Citizenship figures, compiled for The Sunday Mail, show 5056 people had their airfares funded, and where required had escorts, at an average cost of $4081 each. Airfares were only a portion of the detention-and-removal costs billed to deportees, and just a fraction of the cost is recovered by the Department each year. "In 2006-07, DIAC recovered $902,159 from people who had previously been removed from Australia," a Department spokesman said.
Fasthosts hack forces UK sites offline
A hacking attack on web host Fasthosts has forced the UK firm to shut down some of its customers' websites. Hackers targeted Fasthosts' database, which contains the financial details, email addresses and passwords of over a million businesses for which Fasthosts hosts websites. Whether or how the thieves have used the stolen data is not yet known. .
Witnesses Describe Shooting Scene
I have been reading alot of the posts and I am seeing alot of name calling and down right ugliness. This is not supposed to be how we act in hard times. We need to leave the investigating up to officials, and comfort eachother. We need to all remember that his friends didn't shoot anyone or do any harm, so the hurtful things that some of you are saying about them are very unnessesary. Hold on tight to the ones you love, and try not to let this murderer keep you from living your life. Love you all.
Posted by: Jarbeau Location: Bellevue on Dec 6, 2007 at 02:30 PM It is a shame to see what one person who has lost hope can do. We can analyze it and try to prevent these acts in the future but it is the price of a free society.
Posted by: Brian Location: Kansas City, MO on Dec 6, 2007 at 02:23 PM My thought's and prayers go out to the families, and the community.
Toys for Tots - Marines shop for disadvantaged youths
Amarillo Marines invade the Wal-Mart SuperCenter, 5730 W. Amarillo Blvd., for a Thursday shopping excursion for the Toys for Tots program. The Marines bought more than 600 gifts for the program. Sgt. Bradley Clark, left, and Sgt. Nicholas Wood fill a basket with toys during the shopping spree. .
Charlotte company moving? Rumors flow
State and Charlotte-area business recruiters are working on a huge project. No, seriously. The code name is "Project Huge." And the incentives could earn a similar description. Nobody will name the company, but it involves a 105-year-old Charlotte manufacturer with 477 employees. It wants to build a new plant with new technology and is eyeing a move to Oakboro, a small community about 30 miles east of Charlotte in Stanly County, according to the Golden LEAF Foundation, which Thursday approved a grant to help aid the mystery company's move. Adding to the intrigue, a Charlotte company that closely fits the description -- Charlotte Pipe and Foundry -- confirmed Thursday that yes, it has bought land recently in Oakboro. But company spokesman Brad Muller said the company, founded in 1901 and employing about 460 workers in Charlotte, often buys land for investment purposes and has no plans to move there.
Will 'Amnesty' Sink McCain?
The perennial controversy over what to call McCain's amnesty is silly. Every program in the world that has allowed illegal immigrants to stay has been called an "amnesty." McCain himself called it "amnesty" as recently as May 2003, when he told the Tucson Citizen "I think we can set up a program where amnesty is extended to a certain number of people who are eligible … Amnesty has to be an important part ..." But once the focus-group results were in, "amnesty" became a four-letter word. ...[snip] Real Straight Talk would be to say "Sure, it's an amnesty, but we don't really have any choice" ... P.S.: The McCain, post-focus-group argument is that it can't be "amnesty" if it has some requirements--e.g., to pay a fine, learn English, etc. But it turns out that Ronald Reagan's 1986 "comprehensive" reform, which he and everyone else called an "amnesty," had requirements too, including payment of fees.
UK : Man Admits Plotting To Behead Muslim Soldier
Adam Mussa of the Muslim Brotherhood-founded Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) claimed: "Some of the people arrested are just individuals with loud voices, who are vocal about various neighborhood issues, but that doesn't make them terrorists. It's not fair. This seems to be happening again and again. This is a form of victimization and your average 'Mo Public' is feeling very cynical. When you come in and do a job you should make sure you clean up after yourself, and that's what the police need to do here." The raids happened as there had been intelligence that a cell of British Islamists had planned to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier. A particular Muslim soldier had already been targeted, and was under protection. It was revealed shortly after the arrests that he was a corporal in military intelligence, chosen from a shortlist of 25 individuals Adam Mussa justified his hostility to the Birmingham raids by ridiculing the notion of such a plot.
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