More troops requested for Iraq -- beyond the Obama deadline

Afghanistan is the good war, no, Iraq is, no, it's Iran, no, let's attack Yemen, no, wait Pakistan. Hey, how about bringing our guys home with their families and NOT fighting wars we can't afford?




In a move that could force President Obama to break his vow to get all combat troops out of Iraq by August of this year, his top commander in Iraq recently officially requested keeping a combat brigade in the northern part of the country beyond that deadline, three people close to the situation said Wednesday.


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New York Times: I.M.F. Suggests New World Currency

Wait, what?



WASHINGTON — The chief of the International Monetary Fund said Friday that the organization should reorient itself to better detect systemic risks to the global economy and quickly step in with emergency loans when financial crises emerge.

The I.M.F. leader, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, also floated the idea of creating a global reserve currency that could serve as an alternative to the dollar.

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Cybersecurity bill to give president new emergency powers

Change that your rights can't believe in




The president would have the power to safeguard essential federal and private Web resources under draft Senate cybersecurity legislation.

According to an aide familiar with the proposal, the bill includes a mandate for federal agencies to prepare emergency response plans in the event of a massive, nationwide cyberattack.

The president would then have the ability to initiate those network contingency plans to ensure key federal or private services did not go offline during a cyberattack of unprecedented scope, the aide said.

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HIV Still Plagues the U.S.: Some Areas Have Higher Rates Than Africa

In December, NEWSWEEK argued that new signs of life were showing in the AIDS activism movement. Let's hope so. Recent research published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that within certain populations in America, the prevalence of HIV-infected people is higher than in certain parts of Africa:

More than 1 in 30 adults in Washington, D.C., are HIV-infected—a prevalence higher than that reported in Ethiopia, Nigeria, or Rwanda. Certain U.S. subpopulations are particularly hard hit. In New York City, 1 in 40 blacks, 1 in 10 men who have sex with men, and 1 in 8 injection-drug users are HIV-infected, as are 1 in 16 black men in Washington, D.C. In several U.S. urban areas, the HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men is as high as 30%—as compared with a general-population prevalence of 7.8% in Kenya and 16.9% in South Africa.


What’s interesting is that the research shows that a person’s sexual network, more than just his or her lifestyle choices, defines the risk of getting HIV in America. So, black and Hispanic women are at increased risk due to the instability of their sexual relationships —which is attributed to the high rate of incarceration of men in their networks—and their vulnerable or dependent economic situation, which may cause them to be fearful of suggesting safer-sex options to their companions. And black men who have sex with men are at high risk because of the likelihood of their choosing to engage in sexual activity with someone who is racially similar, and because of the prevalence of HIV within their sexual networks.

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Apple admits using child labor

Steve Jobs doesn't love you back




At least eleven 15-year-old children were discovered to be working last year in three factories which supply Apple.

The company did not name the offending factories, or say where they were based, but the majority of its goods are assembled in China.

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Deepak Chopra: Only Spirituality Can Solve The Problems Of The World

Before addressing the importance of spirituality in modern times, we should first define it. Spirituality is the experience of that domain of awareness where we experience our universality. This domain of awareness is a core consciousness that is beyond our mind, intellect, and ego. In religious traditions this core consciousness is referred to as the soul which is part of a collective soul or collective consciousness, which in turn is part of a more universal domain of consciousness referred to in religions as God. When we have even a partial glimpse of this level of awareness we experience joy, insight, intuition, creativity, and freedom of choice. In addition, there is the awakening of love, kindness, compassion, happiness at the success of others, and equanimity. As the turbulence of our mind settles down, our body also begins to heal itself because it also quiets down. The body's self-repair mechanisms are activated when the mind is at peace because the mind and body are at the deepest level inseparably one.

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VIDEO: Chile's Mega-Earthquake

Give, but don't forget Haiti. It's called having an attention span

License Plate Software Stirs Privacy Concerns

Real men don't need bureaucrats to keep them safe. The only ones who do, to quote the wise philosopher Snoop Dogg, are "Punk Ass Bitches




THE notion of roving cameras snapping pictures of license plates conjures up television shows like Fox’s counterterrorism series, “24.”

It’s not just fantasy, though. Americans are already watched by a variety of security agencies using electronic surveillance technology, and in this post-9/11 world, there seems to be no turning back.

Privacy advocates, though, are not altogether comfortable with license plate numbers being electronically recorded by commercial operations.

While their views on the gathering this data may vary, privacy groups uniformly agree that the real issue is what happens to the photos after they are taken: how long they are stored and by whom; how secure the data is and whether it might be shared with third parties. Are the photographed license plate numbers matched against other lists, like credit scores or addresses?

“It’s a huge Pandora’s box,” Jack Gillis, a spokesman for the Consumer Federation of America, said. “There are possibilities for tremendous violations if it is used to find out where people are at a given time. Until the access to this technology can be controlled, it has scary potential.”

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Canucks conquer count

In late surge Canada leads in Gold Medals, and not the flour




VANCOUVER — Canada won four medals on Friday — three in speed skating and one in curling — as the normally glory-starved nation leaped into the lead for total gold medals.

Quebec's Charles Hamelin won two gold medals, grabbing the top spot in the Olympic men's short-track 5,000 metres relay on Friday and winning a chaotic men's 500-metre short-track skate. Canada now has 10 golds, while the U.S. has eight and Germany has nine.

Canada's curlers went way off their Olympic script on Friday, as the heavily favoured women's team hurled away the gold medal to Sweden in a heart-stopping, high-decibel final on home soil.

The loss of gold in the temple of curling piles pressure not only on Canada's unbeaten men curlers in a final against Norway on Saturday, but also on the other Winter Games sport where Canadians demand dominance — ice hockey.

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Tiger gets eaten by Gatorade

Prediction: Powerade and Tiger, together this time next year




Gatorade had quit making its Gatorade Tiger Focus sports drink last fall -- but that was before Tiger Woods' personal reputation became tarnished after a Nov. 27 car accident triggered a series of revelations about marital infidelities that have resulted in Woods staying off the PGA Tour golf circuit so far this season and undergoing an undisclosed type of rehab.

On Friday, Gatorade said it was ending its sponsorship relationship with Woods. The announcement comes a week after the world's top-ranked golfer surfaced briefly to give a televised apology.

In a statement issued by Gatorade spokeswoman Jennifer Schmit, the company announced, "We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship. However, our partnership with the Tiger Woods Foundation will continue. We wish him all the best."

This is the third sponsor to sever ties with Woods; Accenture and AT&T did so last year. Woods still has endorsement contracts with Nike, EA Sports, NetJets, Upper Deck and TLC Vision. The Tag Heuer watch company and Procter & Gamble's Gillette razor products have stopped running ad campaigns featuring Woods but have not announced any contract terminations.

During his statement last week, Woods said he was returning to rehab and gave no hint as to when he would return to the PGA Tour.

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Sea World whale has killed in the past, will resume performing Saturday

Look, folks, don't go to Sea World, go to a real aquarium that actually teaches your kids. Sea World is about as educational as TLC, Dan Brown novels, and bellybutton lint




Former killer whale trainers are raising questions about safety at SeaWorld Orlando following the death of a trainer on Wednesday.

Veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, was dragged by her ponytail into the water to her death by a killer whale named Tilikum. The orca thrashed Brancheau around underwater as a horrified crowd watched.

Thad Lacinak, the former head of animal training at the SeaWorld Olando, said the rules in place at the Florida park when he left in 2008 would not have allowed a trainer to lie down on a submerged shelf next to the whale as Brancheau did just prior to her death.

"She lay completely down, which is a very vulnerable position to be in with an animal like Tilikum. And apparently her ponytail drifted into the water. He just opened his mouth, sucked it in and pulled her in the water," Lacinak said.

Tilikum's trainer at the now-closed Sealand in Victoria, B.C., Steve Huxster, told CBC on Thursday that he was surprised to hear the whale was performing at all.

"It was my understanding from when Tilikum was acquired by the SeaWorld organization that he would not be a display animal. The intent was that he was to be part of the breeding program and that was it," said the whale's former trainer of eight years.

Breeding animals do not perform and are not on public view.

Huxster, referring to Tilikum's past involvements in two other human deaths, said that the intelligent animal would want to recreate, what he described as, "highly stimulating situations."

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New music acts to labels: "We won't tweet"

In just 2 years, the music industry has lost 24 million buyers! 1 million of those were digital customers
(editor's note: Rihanna is a Universal Music Group artist but we do not mean to imply she is among the non-socials. We just wanted to see a photo of Rihanna in a bikini)




NEW YORK--The music industry is in a major state of crisis and some up and coming acts are reluctant to dirty their hands with social networking.

Some new artists signing at both major and indie labels are telling execs there that they'll make music, but don't expect them to do Facebook or Twitter. The labels are saying back that the days when performers--even mega-superstar performers--can keep fans at arms length are over.

"I was shocked to find out how many twentysomethings aren't interested in social networking," said Cameo Carlson, a former iTunes executive who is now executive vice president at Universal Motown Republic Group.

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John Mayer is sorry for being an "Asshole"

...but what about for being a douchebag?




Continuing on his apology tour, John Mayer told New York fans that he is a different person and can't believe he ever used the N-word or referred to ex Jessica Simpson as sexual "crack cocaine" in an interview with Playboy.

"I hate to come off like an a**hole ever, and thank you guys for believing that I am not an a**hole," the singer told the crowd at his sold-out Madison Square Garden show in NYC (via MTV News.) "It's a clean me now, people, clean me."

"Never, ever, in my entire life did I ever think that it would be a good idea to be an a**hole. But you know what? There's plenty of a**holes who think the same thing, so I have to thank you," Mayer added.

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New York Times: U.S. Data Since 1895 Fail To Show Warming Trend

After examining climate data extending back nearly 100 years, a team of Government scientists has concluded that there has been no significant change in average temperatures or rainfall in the United States over that entire period.

While the nation's weather in individual years or even for periods of years has been hotter or cooler and drier or wetter than in other periods, the new study shows that over the last century there has been no trend in one direction or another.

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SIBEL EDMONDS: THE TRAITORS AMONG US

SIBEL EDMONDS HAS NAMED NAMES. WHY ISN’T THE MEDIA REPORTING THE STORY?




SIBEL EDMONDS, a former FBI translator, claims that the following government officials have committed what amount to acts of treason. They are lawmakers Dennis Hastert, Bob Livingston, Dan Burton, Roy Blunt, Stephen Solarz and Tom Lantos, as well as at least three members of George W. Bush’s inner circle: Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz and Marc Grossman. But is Sibel Edmonds credible?

“Absolutely, she’s credible,” Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told CBS’s 60 Minutes when he was asked about her in 2002. “The reason I feel she’s very credible is because people within the FBI have corroborated a lot of her story.” Edmonds’s remarkable allegations of bribery, blackmail, infiltration of the U.S. government and the theft of nuclear secrets by foreign allies and enemies alike rocked the Bush Administration. In fact, Bush and company actually prevented Edmonds from telling the American people what she knew—up until now.

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VIDEO: Eve Ensler on the Secret Life of Girls

CoOlDiGgY celebrates Black History Month: Pam Grier

Can ya dig it?

Gov. Quits

Political career sunk by a scandal he should have seen coming (but could not)




Gov. David Paterson has told Democratic leaders that he won't seek election to a full term amid a roiling scandal over whether he and his troopers intimidated a woman who'd reported domestic violence against one of his top aides, The Post has learned.

Paterson communicated his intentions to top advisers and supporters, saying he'll make an announcement today, multiple sources said -- confirming a Post report.

Paterson, who took over the state's top spot when Eliot Spitzer resigned after it was disclosed that he had sex with a prostitute, is expected to say he won't resign.

Just last night Paterson said he intended to continue his campaign, which he launched this past weekend. But he also said he would talk to fellow Democrats about his future.

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"You're So Vain" is....

...you probably think this post is about you




Carly Simon reveals the subject of 'You're So Vain': DAVID GEFFEN. Subjects of the song's stinging lyrics were rumored to be James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty. Nope, says Simon, it's about openly gay media mogul David Geffen.

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Where Have All the Black Men Gone?

A recurring question has surfaced in mainstream and ethnic media for more than a decade. The phrasing of the question differs depending on who's asking the question and why, but the question tends to boil down to this: Where have all the black men gone? They're missing in churches, missing from their families, missing from college campuses, and absent from work. Black women can't find a man to marry. Black children don't know where to find their fathers. Where are those guys?

Last Father's Day, presidential Barack Obama wagged a finger at all the missing black fathers. At the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago he stepped to the podium and said: "If we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that too many fathers are missing -- missing from too many lives and too many homes. Too many fathers are MIA. Too many fathers are AWOL. They have abandoned their responsibilities. They're acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it. You and I know this is true everywhere, but nowhere is this more true than in the African American community."

The next day, social critic and sociologist Michael Eric Dyson published a critique of Obama's speech in Time magazine. He pointed out that the stereotype of black men being poor fathers may well be false. Research shows that black fathers not living at home are actually more likely to keep in contact with their children than fathers of any other ethnic or racial group. Dyson chided Obama for evoking a black stereotype for political gain, noting that "Obama's words may have been spoken to black folk, but they were aimed at those whites still on the fence about whom to send to the White House." Dyson's critique was a fair one, but like other media commentators, he remained silent about where all the absent black fathers could be found.

Here's a hint for all those still scratching their heads about those missing black fathers: Look in prison.

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Levi must pay child support to Bristol Palin

It's amazing how one election can separate you from Alaska's first family and 'The Maury Show'





Pay babydaddy, pay!

A judge ordered Levi Johnston to cough up 14 months of back child support Thursday for the toddler son he had with Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol in December 2008.

The retroactive amount has not yet been finalized. It will be tied to the new monthly support Johnston must pay going forward - a figure the judge is expected to order once she reviews his overdue financial records.

Bristol Palin is asking for about $1,700 a month and a retroactive lump sum of $19,232.

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CoOlDiGgY celebrates Black History Month: Buffie the Body

Deadly blasts rock central Kabul

Two powerful bomb explosions in central Kabul, have killed at least 10 people and injured 11 others, Afghan police have said.

The first blast occurred early on Friday morning at about 06:45 local time, close to the Safi Landmark Hotel in the centre of the city, where there are a number of government buildings and United Nations offices.

It was followed about 10-20 minutes later by another loud explosion. The two blasts sent large clouds of smoke into the sky.

Fierce gunfire could then be heard on the streets.

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The CoOlDiGgY Olympic Daily Rundown

*Canada Women's Hockey Wins Gold...



*...but, as true Canadians, get drunk IN THE RINK. IOC investigates

*Will Gold win help grow Nordic in US?

*Kim Yu-na's perfection on ice






*US bobsledder detained by police

'Growing Pains' actor Andrew Koenig found dead

VANCOUVER — More than a week after scouring the city for missing American actor Andrew Koenig, friends who had organized their own search discovered the 41-year-old man's body in the vast urban park that he favored when he lived here more than 10 years ago.

Walter Koenig, also an actor known for his role as Chekov on the original Star Trek series, said his son's body was found Thursday by friends in Stanley Park.

"Our son took his own life," Koenig said, struggling to maintain his composure. "He was obviously in a lot of pain."

Koenig, flanked by his wife, Judith, said their son, known for his role as Richard "Boner" Stabone on the popular 1980s TV series Growing Pains, was in the midst of a life-long struggle with depression.

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RELATED: Depression-Signs, Symptoms, Help

Snooki Sells Out College Event After Racist Uproar

The college obviously has even lower standards for its students than it does for its guests




Jersey Shore star Snooki’s appearance at James Madison University is sold out, despite a racist uproar that broke out after students viciously argued over her invitation
, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

Snooki is scheduled to appear at the Virginia college on March 3, but the Facebook page that was created to promote the appearance quickly filled up with student comments attacking the MTV star and soon progressed to an all-out war, with students spewing racist comments toward each other.

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Top Treasury Official Backs Off Promise To Stem Foreclosure Crisis, Signature Initiative May Fall Short

"Obama" is a Kenyan word for "Hoover"




A top Treasury Department official indicated Thursday that the Obama administration's signature foreclosure-prevention initiative may not deliver on its promise to help three to four million troubled homeowners permanently reduce their monthly payments.

Under questioning by a Congressional panel, Phyllis Caldwell, chief of Treasury's Homeownership Preservation Office, would not repeat previous assurances about the Home Affordable Modification Program.

Through January, only about 116,000 homeowners have received permanent modifications, resulting in average monthly savings of more than $500. The program was launched last year. Wall Street analysts, mortgage experts and homeowner advocates have criticized the program for its slow progress. Treasury and White House officials have, in the past, repeatedly stressed that the plan would eventually meet its goal of helping three to four million borrowers by 2012.

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Confessed rapist remains enrolled at UMass due to administrative error

...but you can't get financial aid if your been caught smoking pot




According to a story in today’s Boston Globe, “officials at the University of Massachusetts Amherst this week acknowledged that they allowed a student who confessed to raping a friend on campus last fall, a felony, to remain enrolled and avoid significant discipline.”

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Gavin Rossdale has a trashy, vaguely sexy daughter

She's legal and Gwen Stefani's her stepmom, let your weird fantasies run free

Citigroup Says Feds Ordered 7 Day Restriction On Bank Withdrawals

Buy gold and put it under your mattress




A new advisory being sent by America’s third largest bank to its account holders has stoked fears that major financial institutions could be preparing for old fashioned bank runs if the economy takes a turn for the worse.

Originally reported by John Carney over at the Business Insider website, Citigroup is sending the following information to customers along with their bank statements.

“Effective April 1, 2010, we reserve the right to require (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking accounts. While we do not currently exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, we are required by law to notify you of this change.”

An almost identical advisory to the one being sent out can be read on page 22 of Citbank’s Client Manual effective January 1, 2010, which can be read here from Citibank’s own website.

“We reserve the right to require seven (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking, savings and money market accounts. We currently do not exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past,” states the manual.

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CoOlDiGgY celebrates Black History Month: Stacey Dash

She got us through "Clueless" with our manhood still intact

French husbands 'may be tagged'

In a nation of 65 million, 160 wives (or .001 percent) get killed by husbands and every guy is suspect to being "tagged?" And this is NOT for convicts, it's for "those likely." No wonder the world hates France




Men seen as likely to be violent towards their wives could be forced to wear an electronic tag under a law being debated by the French parliament.

The tag would have to be worn by men who have received a court order to stay away from their partner.

The proposal is part of a draft law on conjugal violence. It has cross-party support and is expected to pass easily.

According to the government, around 160 women in France are murdered by their husbands or partners.

Parliament is also considering outlawing psychological violence in the home, because it is seen by many as a precursor to physical violence.

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When "Idols" clash: Simon vs Ellen

You shouldn't care but you do. You disappoint us




Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres flat out don't get along, and the tension is building ... this according to multiple "American Idol" sources.

Our insiders say Simon and Ellen aren't even trying to hide it. Ellen can't stand what she believes is Simon's cruelty toward contestants. And, we're told, Simon actually enjoys pissing Ellen off with his blistering critiques.

People working on the show last night tell TMZ ... it was apparent on and off camera ... Simon's tolerance level for the contestants was at an all-time low, and he knew it was making Ellen uncomfortable but clearly didn't care. As one insider put it, "He was intentionally pushing her buttons."

It all started badly when Simon showed up late for Ellen's first week of "A.I." taping and made her wait around. Producers separated the two -- who began the season sitting side-by-side -- but the tension has gotten worse.

But business
is business. "A.I." is beating the Olympics, and ratings for Ellen's show skyrocketed last week. In Hollywood, contempt has its upside.

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ALSO: American Idol Judges Jealous of Simon Cowell's Fancy Trailer

'Toyota Defense' Might Rescue Jailed Minnesota Man

Ever since his 1996 Toyota Camry shot up an interstate ramp, plowing into the back of an Oldsmobile in a horrific crash that killed three people, Koua Fong Lee insisted he had done everything he could to stop the car.

A jury didn't believe him, and a judge sentenced him to eight years in prison. But now, new revelations of safety problems with Toyotas have Lee pressing to get his case reopened and his freedom restored. Relatives of the victims — who condemned Lee at his sentencing three years ago — now believe he is innocent and are planning to sue Toyota. The prosecutor who sent Lee to prison said he thinks the case merits another look.

"I know 100 percent in my heart that I took my foot off the gas and that I was stepping on the brakes as hard as possible," Lee said in an interview Wednesday at the state prison in Lino Lakes. "When the brakes were looked at and we were told that nothing was wrong with the brakes, I was shocked."

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NFL COMBINE: What's Important, What's Not

Nearly 350 prospects for April’s NFL Draft will descend on Indianapolis for the annual scouting combine. In year’s past, much of the first and second round talent declines to participate in some or all of the physical drills, preferring to wait until their school’s Pro Day on campus. They like to run on a surface they’re accustomed to or to give a nagging injury just a little more time to heal. This combine looks to be different as very few players, other than quarterbacks, have refused to participate in their position drills. Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are both rehabbing shoulder injuries and won’t throw. Tim Tebow is currently undergoing a drastic change to his throwing motion under the watchful eye of several personal coaches. He will throw on campus March 17. With so many juniors figuring into the mix, very few position players are refusing to go all out in every drill.

Teams send an army of coaches, scouts, trainers, personnel people, doctors and the general manager in an attempt to be everywhere over the six days. I read the Vikings are sending 48 people to the combine. If every team sends that many people, that works out to almost 5 teams reps for each draftable prospect. One would think that would pretty much cover everything right? Wrong, that’s how guys like Priest Holmes, James Harrison, Antonio Gates, Wes Welker, Brian Waters and Donald Driver all went undrafted, it’s not an exact science. Last season a guy I touted leading up to the combine, Sebastian Vollmer, wasn’t even invited to attend. In April, he was New England’s 2nd round selection and Vollmer started 11 games, playing both offensive tackle spots. Scouting and drafting is much harder than it looks.

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'Tort Reform' Means Less Accountability For The Medical Profession

One of those ideas that look good on a bumper sticker but sucks when the doctor accidentally amputates the wrong leg




President Obama is widely expected to toss Republicans a bone at Thursday's health care summit, by publicly embracing what's known as "tort reform."

By tort reform, Republicans and medical professionals mean caps on non-economic punitive damages in lawsuits where patients or their survivors have proven in court that they were the victims of gross medical malpractice.

Proponents have long dominated the framing of the issue with their arguments that tort reform will lead to lower health care costs and will free doctors from practicing defensive medicine. But that narrative is flawed. And it completely neglects how punitive damages essentially the only way that patients have of holding medical professionals and organizations accountable when they kill, maim or injure people through their negligence, ignorance or even malice.

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Lady Gaga wears strap-on in photo shoot

...and we are now sexually confused

Courtney Love has a "powerful vagina" and wants to use it to "hate fuck" John Mayer

Bubbe used to say the same thing about Milton Berle




Courtney Love has finally read John Mayer's Playboy interview in which he discusses sexual napalm Jessica Simpson and his white supremacist dick, and her reaction can be found on Twitter.

"do you ever feel like spite hate fucking @johncmayer just to put hi in his place, hes a better guitarist than me but not better in bed !" Love tweeted. "but like say your fucking @johncmayer totally throwing him around the room in bits and then you just BAM punch him in the face? good times"

Love took special issue with Mayer's comments on his sex life with his famous girlfriends.

"ive said far stupider shit than @johncmayer about my alist bfs tho ive been discreet. but about rockers i spill the beans," she continued.

Even though she feels Mayer deserves a good hate f***, Love says he's not really her type.

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Unanswered Questions in the Paterson Mess

Governor Paterson: screwing up more before 9am than you do all week




Of course we all want to know what Gov. David Paterson knew about the accusations against his aide, David Johnson, and when.

If Paterson's State Police Superintendent admits he knew about these accusations the day after the alleged incident on Halloween, did he not tell his boss?

Why did the State Police get involved in a Bronx domestic violence case?

Why did David Paterson speak to David Johnson's ex girlfriend on the phone?

The timing of the governor's Feb. 7 phone conversation with the ex seems quite suspicious because it took place a day after the New York Times visited her home and on the eve of her next scheduled court date, to which she never showed up.
At the time, there were rumors wildly circulating that Johnson's ex was dishing to the press about Paterson and women in the executive mansion. Turns out that does not appear to have been her role in this story.

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Frankie Muniz: Rock Star

Malcolm is in the middle...of a rock career? See the video below and chime in




We learned last week that Frankie Muniz, former star of sitcom 'Malcolm in the Middle' and two-part Hollywood franchise 'Agent Cody Banks,' is the drummer for unsigned Arizona rock act You Hang Up. Frankie, 24, spoke to PopEater about his new life as an aspiring rocker, why playing live for 15 people was more nerve-wracking than being broadcast to millions of homes each week and what he thinks about other actors who rock.

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From Madoff to Morgan: Family Seeks Name Change

Be proud of your last name. Some of our best friends have kept their family name regardless of how much evil is associated with it. Later on, we are hanging out with Frank Hitler, Leroy Stalin, and Pete John Mayer


These days, it isn't easy being a Madoff.

Some two years after Bernard Madoff brought shame to his family name, the daughter-in-law of the notorious Ponzi schemer is seeking to drop the odious surname.

Stephanie Madoff, the wife of Madoff's son Mark, petitioned a Manhattan court on Wednesday to change her name and the name of her two young children to the decidedly less conspicuous "Morgan."

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James Cameron: Why The Na'vi Have Breasts!

Because EVERYTHING should have breasts. Spoons, ceiling fans, even ducks




James Lipton taped an episode of Inside the Actors Studio last week with the “king of the world” himself, Avatar director James Cameron. Uinterview has a sneak peek at what you can expect. In quite possibly the most awkward moment of the night, Lipton asked about the physical characteristics of the movie's alien women. "Why do the Na'vi have breasts?" Lipton inquired with the straightest face in Hollywood.

Once the audience’s laughter subsided, Cameron paused from laughing and responded, "Because this is a movie for human people." The crowd roared again. Cameron went on to explain further his philosophy of the Na'vi character design. He boiled it down to: "Let’s focus on things that can create otherness that are not off-putting."

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Breaking News: We want Nicole Richie

...and it's not JUST because of all that "Dancing on the Ceiling" money she has coming her way when daddy kicks the bucket

Class action filed against Yelp

The Yelp is now the Yelp-EE muahahahahahahahahaha




Business reviews site Yelp amounts to an "extortion scheme," according to a class action lawsuit filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court by two law firms and a Long Beach, Calif., veterinary hospital that claims it was "victimized" by Yelp sales representatives asking for payment in exchange for the removal of negative reviews.

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'Lost' star Matthew Fox cheating on wife with stripper

Hey, it's a clinical disease called TIGERWOODS-itis, leave him alone




Matthew Fox is the latest celebrity accused of cheating on his wife.

Stefani Talbott, a 25-year-old stripper from Bend, Oregon, claims she had an affair with the "Lost" star last July while she was working at Stars Cabaret.

"I was dancing onstage, and I made eye contact with him immediately. I got so excited," Talbott tells In Touch Weekly.

Though the actor's rep says the "accusations are false," Talbott claims Fox paid for four $20 private dances from her and later had her join him at a house he was staying in with friends.

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A Third of All U.S. Casualties in Eight-Year Afghan War Have Occurred Since Obama Ordered Escalation

Come home soon, drinks on us




More than 300 U.S. soldiers have died in the war in Afghanistan since May 15, 2009, the day when the first major wave of new troops ordered by President Barack Obama arrived in the country.

The 308 U.S. casualties in Afghanistan since then account for about a third of the total of 920 U.S. casualties in the eight-year war.

Of the 308 soldiers who have died since mid-May 2009, 287 were killed by enemy action, according to a CNSNews.com database of all casualties in the Afghanistan theatre of war.

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Tampa man jailed on charge of wearing clown mask

Every clown looks like this to us...




TAMPA — An 18-year-old Tampa man was jailed Tuesday afternoon, charged with wearing a clown mask on a public road.

Deputies say Matthew David Lopez, of 7003 Ponderosa Drive, was seen with two other people walking south on N 58th Street, just north of E Fowler Avenue. What caught a deputy's attention was Lopez's masked face with a bright red-and-orange wig, according to an arrest affidavit.

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CoOlDiGgY Celebrates Black History Month: Jennifer Beals

Just call us "FlashPANTS"

Ex-officer pleads guilty in Katrina killing probe

We hope he gets nice and sodomized in prison


NEW ORLEANS -- In Hurricane Katrina's chaotic aftermath, police shot six people - killing two - as they crossed a bridge in search of food. For years the case was a shocking symbol of the confusion and violence that swept through the flooded city. On Wednesday it became a mark of shame for the police department.

As victims' relatives watched from the courtroom gallery, a retired lieutenant who supervised the department's probe of the shootings pleaded guilty to orchestrating a cover-up to conceal that police gunned down unarmed civilians.

Michael Lohman, a 21-year veteran of the force, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Prosecutors said Lohman and other unidentified officers conspired to fabricate witness statements, falsify reports of the incident and plant a gun in an attempt to make it appear the killings were justified.

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Top Bush adviser defends using nuclear weapons on civilians

Yoo apparently thinks the President is Zod




The senior Justice Department legal adviser to President Bush who made the legal case for the Bush Administration's use of torture tactics on terror suspects defended comments that the president could unilaterally "massacre" civilians in wartime in a newly released interview.

"You did argue that the president can legally order a village of civilians massacred," a KQED radio host asked John Yoo, now a professor at Berkeley. "Do you stand by that?"

"If, I thought it was militarily necessary," Yoo replied. "All you have to do is look at American history.... Look at the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

Not backing down, Yoo championed the use of nuclear weapons in World War II.

AUDIO:


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RELATED: Yoo admits, If asked to OK crushing child's testicles, he'd resign

1 million fewer music download buyers in '09

Two explanations: 1) People like owning the music they buy and the ability to play said music anywhere and at anytime they want OR 2) the increased price (solely for Lady Gaga's shiny things habit) led to fewer downloads? The FAKE reason: blame the "old fogeys"




NEW YORK--The music industry saw 1 million fewer buyers of digital downloads in 2009 than the prior year, according to NPD Group.
Russ Crupnick, an NPD senior industry analyst, told a gathering of music and technology executives on Wednesday at the Digital Music East conference here not to panic.

Those who stopped purchasing music online were mostly older consumers who came online for the first time in 2007 and 2008, tried out downloading music, then lost interest, Crupnick said.

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Lindsey vs Julia

Oh, don't make us pick one




The frosty relationship between American skiing stars Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso may have grown a little more contentious Wednesday. Mancuso was flagged off the course during the women's giant slalom because she started while Vonn was trying to untangle herself from the netting after crashing in the previous run.

This came after Mancuso took a shot at Vonn in a Sports Illustrated report that claimed the U.S. ski team was being hurt by "a popularity contest."

"People are having a hard time reaching their potential because it's such a struggle for attention," Mancuso told Sports Illustrated. "You come to meetings after races and it's like it's a bad day if Lindsey didn't do well."

Vonn, who told Reuters she was "bummed out" by Mancuso's statements, reiterated her support for her teammate.

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CoOlDiGgY Celebrates Black History Month: Halle Berry

Nothing sexier than motherhood. NOTHING

The CoOlDiGgY Olympics Daily Rundown

*Olympic figure skater Kim Yuna: Koreans revel in her dazzling lead



*Dumb coach ruins a life

*Skater pushes on after mom's death

*Medal Count and Schedule

Blackwater takes hundreds of US weapons by claiming to be Cartman

DON'T respect their authority




Employees of the CIA-connected private security corporation Blackwater diverted hundreds of weapons, including more than 500 AK-47 assault rifles, from a U.S. weapons bunker in Afghanistan intended to equip Afghan policemen, according to an investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee. On at least one occasion, an individual claiming to work for the company evidently signed for a weapons shipment using the name of a “South Park” cartoon character. And Blackwater has yet to return hundreds of the guns to the military.

A Blackwater subsidiary known as Paravant that until recently operated in Afghanistan acquired the weapons for its employees’ “personal use,” according to committee staffers, as did other non-Paravant employees of Blackwater. Yet contractors in Afghanistan are not permitted to operate weapons without explicit permission from U.S. Central Command, something Blackwater never obtained. A November 2008 email from a Paravant vice president named Brian McCracken, obtained by the committee, nevertheless reads: “We have not received formal permission from the Army to carry weapons yet but I will take my chances.”

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RELATED: House Dems Want To Phase Out Armed Contractors

Did Peyton Manning Throw The Super Bowl?

Consider the evidence for the conspiracists: Manning was born and raised in New Orleans. And his father, Archie, is legendary around the Gulf Coast region. And the Mannings (which includes New York Giants quarterback Eli) knew as well as anybody before the game how much a world championship in New Orleans would brighten the souls of those still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. And Wayne, who possibly ran a shoddy route against Porter, also is from New Orleans.

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Naked Sledding Needs to be an Official Olympic sport NOW!!!