Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Cupid's Quickie Cuppa Sports Chowdah- Extra Helping From the Beanpot For BC; B's Rally Against Hungry Predators; C's Hold Off Charging Bulls

2012-02-13T23:26:00.000-08:00

NCAA HOCKEY: Not surprisingly, Monday night's Beanpot tournament had implications beyond the 60th annual Boston-are hockey tournament.

After Harvard's 3-1 win over Northeastern in the consolation game, the main event got underway with the #2 BU Terriers and #3 BC Eagles facing off in the title game for the 21st time in the tournament's history- and by #2 and #3, I mean nationally ranked. The NCAA released their hockey rankings on Monday and while BU slipped from #1 to #2, Boston College moved up from #5.

BC Junior Pat Mullane got the Eagles on the board in the first with a power play tally at the 8:54 mark.

Five minutes into the second period, the Terriers had just killed off another penalty when Sophmore Garrett Noonan beat BC goalie Parker Noonan to tie the contest up at 1-1. But the Eagles would retake the lead on a power play goal from Junior Chris Kreider about 3 minutes later. Shortly after the Eagle's go-ahead goal, Terrier's captain Chris Connolly was assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Although Boston College seemingly had the momentum heading into the 3rd period, the Terrier's Noonan notched his second goal of the night 7 and a half minutes into the 3rd period to tie the contest up at 2-2, cashing in on a 5 on 3 power play.

The winner of the 60th annual Beanpot wouldn't be decided in the 3rd, so the contest headed to OT, which turned out to be a back and forth affair, although neither team seemed able to capitalize on the scoring chances made available. Things looked as though they were heading for a 2nd OT when BC Sophmore Bill Arnold ripped one past Terriers netminder Kieran Millan with 6.4 seconds left to give the Eagles the sudden-death OT win.

Millan allowed 3 of the 44 shots he faced in while Milner faced 42 and allowed 2 in Monday night's game.

Boston College head Jerry York coach credits the win to a visit from former Red Sox manager Terry Francona the day after their dismantling of Northeastern in the first round of this year's Beanpot. According to York, Francona discussed how players like 2B Dustin Pedroia everyone in the locker room to be better teammates and take advantage of built-up energy.

This is Boston College's 3rd consecutive Beanpot title and 17th overall in tournament history. Each team now has 6 regular-season games remaining on their schedule.

NHL: After a humiliating 6-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on the road, the Bruins returned home to face the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon. Patrice Bergeron got the B's on the board with a shorthanded goal in the first to give Boston the 1-0 lead.

Shea Weber would then tie the contest up at 1-1 with a power play goal in the 2nd period before a wild 3rd period that saw Boston re-take the lead on a Danny Paille goal before Thomas allowed two goals [including one to Mr Carrie Underwood- NANESB!]and Nashville to take the 3-2 lead with just under 3:30 to go in regulation.

However, with 1:07 left in regulation and Boston on the power play, Milan Lucic would beat Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne to force OT. After a scoreless OT, Tim Thomas stopped every shot he faced in the shootout and Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron would score for Boston in the shootout, handing the Predators their second OT loss in their last three games.

Tim Thomas stopped 19 of 22 shots faced while Pekka Rinne allowed 3 shots in on the 41 he faced. The Predators converted 1 of their 3 power play opportunities while the Bruins were 1 in 4 for their power play.

Boston will next take on the NY Rangers at the TD Banknorth Garden Tuesday night. Surprisingly, this matchup between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference won't be nationally televised on NBC Sports or the NHL network, but will only be available locally on NESN in New England and the MSG network in Boston. The puck drops at 7 PM ET.

OTHER NHL NEWS: The teams and venue for the NHL's next Winter Classic have been made official. The Detroit Red Wings will host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the University of Michigan's Big House in Ann Arbor, MI on New Year's Day 2013. The Original 6 matchup will be the first time a Canadian franchise has participated in the newly-established New Year's day tradition [altho' the concept stemmed from an outdoor game between Edmonton and Montreal in 2003 that was well-recieved- NANESB!]

This would not be the first outdoor hockey game at Ann Arbor's Big House. In December 2010, the Michigan Wolverines shut out cross-state rivals Michigan State by a final of 5-0 in what was called The Big Chill at the Big House.

NBA: In a nationally televised game on Sunday afternoon, the Boston Celtics managed to hold off the Eastern conference leading Chicago Bulls at home. Rajon Rondo largely carried the C's while recording a triple-double, 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in the 95-91 win over Chicago.

The well-rested Celtics are now 15-12 and won't see any action until Wednesday when they host the hapless Detroit Pistons. The game tips off at 7:30 and will be televised on CSNE.

MLB- The Houston Astros have reached a 1 year, $1.15 million deal with former Red Sox SS Jed Lowrie, avoiding arbitration. Lowrie was traded to the Astros in December along with Kyle Weiland in exchange for reliever Mark Melancon.

The Red Sox and DH David Ortiz avoided arbitration with the slugger agreeing to a 1-year $14.75 million contract this weekend.

Today's Train Of Though- Canaan Able, Feb 13 2012

2012-02-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today's Train of Though takes us to the wintry foothills of Western Massachusetts where a wintertime snowstorm seems to do little to slow down Canaan, CT-based shortline Housatonic Railroad.

The former New York, New Haven & Hartford line between Pittsfield, MA and Danbury, CT- sometimes known as the Canaan Running Track- went through a number of owners since the New Haven's 1969 merger with Penn Central. Shortly before the 1976 formation of Conrail, the section of the former NYNH&H line between New Milford and Boardman Bridge was abandoned. While the line south of New Milford was included in Conrail, the Canaan to Pittsfield line became part of the Boston & Maine (later Guilford) in 1982. The following year, the Housatonic Railroad was formed and began rebuilding the abandoned trackage between New Milford and Canaan.

While being operated by Guilford, the Canaan Running track was isolated from the rest of the Guilford lines and both the line and freight service began to detriorate. Operations were more or less limited to one train a week out of Pittsfield for the Beckton Dickinson plant in Canaan and some paper mills in Lee, MA. The Berkshire Scenic would run seasonal excursions over the line in the late 1980s, but operations were suspended when the track continued to deteriorate.

In 1991, the Housatonic entered into an agreement with Guilford to purchase the Canaan Running Track and less than a year later, purchased the New Milford, CT to Danbury segment from Conrail.

Now, in addition to the already-existing customers on the line, the Canaan Running Track was acting as a bridge line and the Housatonic was being used to forward contaminated soil and construction or demolition debris to out-of-state landfills [embodying the old saw of 'It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it'- NANESB].

Above, railpictures.net contributor Ryan Parent catches Housatonic GP35M #3601 heading north through Great Barrington, MA with Canaan, CT to Pittsfield, MA freight NX-13X. The #3601 is only a few miles into its trip out of Canaan, having crossed the state line at Sheffield, MA before making its way through Great Barrington.

The crisp yellow and green EMDs in the Housatonic fleet keep busy with at least one roundtrip to the CSX interchange at Pittsfield, MA each weekday and sometimes on Sunday. Apparently the train symbols from the Housatonic are throwback to the New Haven-era ones used on that part of the NYNH&H.

Greek Melo-Drachma: Greece's Parliament Approves Unpopular Austerity Measures to Secure €130 Billion Bailout As Rioters Torch Downtown Athens

2012-02-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

As police clashed with rioters and arsonists in Athens on Monday, Greek lawmakers voted to approve an unpopular austerity bill that was deemed necessary to secure another €130 Billion in bailout money from the European Union.

Lawmakers voted to approve the measures by a 199-74 margin with 37 lawmakers from opposition parties either voting against it, present or abstaining from voting altogether. The provisions include a 22% reduction in the minimum wage, some €300 billion in pension cuts and slashing some 150,000 public sector jobs by 2015.

Outside Parliament, police in Athens clashed with thousands of rioters as they hurled chunks of marble and firebombs at officers in riot gear.

Police said 150 shops were looted in the capital and 48 buildings set ablaze. Some 100 people - including 68 police - were wounded and 130 detained, a police official said on Monday.

There was also violence in cities across the country, including Greece's second-largest city Thessaloniki and the islands of Corfu and Crete, said the official, who declined to be named.

Greeks were shocked at the burnt buildings that included the neo-classical home to the Attikon cinema dating from 1870.

Firefighters reportedly had to be escorted by police to some of the fires as protesters would not allow them access. Roving gangs also smashed windows and looted downtown shops and cafeterias.

Stock Exchanges in Asia and Autralia reacted positively to the Greek Parliment's vote, with the All Ordinaries, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Staits Times up slightly. The trend is expected to continue once markets in Europe and North America open for trading.

Greece's EU creditors had blamed a bloated public sector with generous penions, early retirement and rife with fraud, abuse and incompetence for exacerbating an already perilous economy that had been sent reeling by the 2008 global financial crisis and having a foreign debt 144% higher than their total GDP.

The civil unrest and uncertainty of future bailout packages to Greece has begun fuelling speculation from Athens to Brussels to Berlin that Greece could wind up leaving the Eurozone in the next few years and going back to the Drachma, their official currency before the 2002 introduction of the Euro.

Even the European Central Bank is now entertaining the thought of a Greek exit publicly. Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said he ``can't be sure'' that Greece will be able to carry out the necessary measures to remain in the currency union. Hardly words of encouragement from the one institution that has held steady in its defense of euro-zone membership.

I can say without too much exaggeration or hyperbole that this seems to be the road the United States is heading down, even though the Greeks have provided a very stark and painful object lesson on the end result of government and public sector union largess for the world to see. So far, the Obama Administration's answer to this problem is not to reduce government spending in any meaningful way- except for the military- but to lobby for tax increases on what he considers the wealthiest Americans [and if you remember back to his 2008 Presidential campaign, he had a very malleable definition of "wealthy"- NANESB!].

Even if the sight of the Monopoly Guy [aka Rich Uncle Pennybags] sends you into a near-homicidal frenzy, you gotta stop and ask yourself if an administration that has screwed the pooch as bad as this one has [i.e. the stimulus, cash for clunkers, Obamacare, the numerous subsidized 'green energy' failures to name a few- NANESB] should go ahead and reward itself by helping itself to more and more taxpayer money.

Whitney Houston: 1963-2012

2012-02-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

Singer Whitney Houston was found unresponsive in her Beverly Hills hotel room on Saturday afternoon and pronounced dead shortly after paramedics arrived.

The 48 year old singer has been described as having a voice for the ages, tarnished by addiction and an abusive relationship with ex-husband Bobby Brown.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Houston followed in her mother's footsteps and began performing in a gospel choir in Newark's New Hope Baptist Church.

Houston first achieved noteriety in the late 1980s- sports fans will best remember Houston's flawless performance of 'The Star Spangled Banner' before Super Bowl XXV in 1991.

Her rendition of the national anthem was so successful, it was re-released as a single and enjoyed great commercial success. Houston then reportedly donated the proceeds from the single's sales to the American Red Cross.

Houston also appeared in a number of movies throughout the 1990s and married Bobby Brown, although by the late 1990s a number of missed performances and rapid wieight loss led to reports of drug use. The trainwreck that was her marriage to Bobby Brown was the subject of a 2004 reality show on the Bravo Network.

Brown and Houston seperated in 2006 and Houston enjoyed something of a comeback in recent years. She was scheduled to perform at a gathering for music executives before the Grammys this weekend.

Blue State Graft Watch Update- Former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi Apprears Before Federal Grand Jury

2012-02-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

Just a few months into his 8-year prison sentence, sentence former Massachusetts Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi was transferred from a Federal Prison in Kentucky to another prison in Brooklyn, NY earlier this week.

In September 2011, the Democrat and former state representative was sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty on corruption and extortion charges. DiMasi and lobbyist Richard McDonough had solicited payment from a Canadian software company in exchange for steering state contracts their way. The disgraced former speaker is believed to be on his way to Worcester, MA to testify before a federal grand jury this month. While the specific focus of the grand jury was not confirmed, the Boston Globe reports that sources close to US Attorney Carmen M Ortiz say they've been hearing evidence on rigged hiring and promotion practices within the commonwealth's Probation Department.

“People are in a state of shock that he’s coming back to testify," said one Beacon Hill lobbyist, who asked not to be named for fear of damaging business relationships. “There are a lot of nervous people around."

DiMasi was so important to John J. O’Brien, the former probation commissioner, that he kept a special spreadsheet of DiMasi’s preferred job candidates titled “DiMasi, Speaker Sal."

Grand juries, which are convened by prosecutors to collect evidence for potential criminal charges, conduct their work in secret. As a result, it is possible that DiMasi is to testify in another federal investigation.

Current and former elected officials were stunned by the news that DiMasi could testify and perhaps provide new firsthand details about the cozy relationship between the Legislature and the court system. Beacon Hill has been abuzz for months with rumors that the probation grand jury may soon indict a dozen or more people, including several current and former legislators.

DiMasi is the 3rd straight Massachusetts speaker of the house to resign while facing charges. The previous two- Charles Flaherty and Thomas Finneran- were eventually found guilty of charges ranging from obstruction of justice to tax evasion in seperate cases.

Borderline Psychosis Update- Mexican Troops Seize Record Amount of Meth in Jalisco; Elderly American Couple Slain in Nuevo Leon, Follow the Money

2012-02-10T23:16:00.000-08:00

JALISCO- Responding to a series of anonymous tips, Mexican soldiers discovered nearly 15 tons of methamphetamine at a ranch outside the western city of Guadalajara this week. The sheer quantity of meth discovered inside blue plastic barrels at the ranch is estimated to have a street value of nearly US$4 billion and is equal in scope to half the amount of meth seized worldwide in 2009.

A Mexican Army spokesman said that the product appeared ready for packaging and shipment but provided no information on where the meth was likely heading. There was nobody present at the ranch when the Army showed up, but investigators believed the size of the massive cooking operation would require anywhere from 10-15 people to run it.

Although officials said they hadn't determined who the clandestine lab and methamphetamine belonged to, law enforcement on both sides of the border believe that the industrial scale of the operation along with the Jalisco location indicate that it was part of fugitive Sinaloa cartel head Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's operation.

The Sinaloa cartel, headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is equipped to produce and distribute drugs "for the global village," said Antonio Mazzitelli, the regional representative of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

"Such large-scale production could suggest an expansion ... into Latin American and Asian markets," Mazzitelli said. But he also noted, "it may be a product that hasn't been able to be sold, and like any business, when the market is depressed, stockpiles build up."

An unnamed police official speculated that the Sinaloa cartel could be moving away from relying on cocaine trafficked in from Colombia by saturating the market with methamphetamine produced on an industrial scale in superlabs.

Prior to this week, the largest bust announced by the Mexican military was a June 2010 raid in Queretaro on three interconnected warehouses that netted nearly 3 and ½ tons along with hundreds of tons of precursor chemicals.

Police on the American side of the border said that the sheer size of the Jalisco seizure may lead to an increase in small-scale clandestine meth labs on the USA side of the border to fill in whatever shortfalls there are in the supply.

[When the sheer numbers behind this raid were being bandied about, that got the little wheels in my noggin turning. If this superlab the Mexican Army raided belonged to 'El Chapo', could the fugitive billionaire afford it? Perhaps Guzman wanted police and the military to find it because he felt there was no way he could move such massive quantities with a declining market. Then when word got out about the massive amounts of meth being confiscated and a massive chunk ripped out of the supply chain, that would drive up the value of his organization's remaining inventory. Just a theory- NANESB!]

NUEVO LEON- An elderly north Texas couple was found murdered in their home outside the city of Monterrey earlier this month.

John and Wanda Casias were found strangled to death in their Santiago, Nuevo leon home by John's brother Shawn on February 1st. The couple's Chevy Suburban was missing along with a wall safe, a plasma screen TV and some computers.

The couple moved down to the village of El Cercado, about an hour south of Monterrey, in the early 1980s and ran the First Fundamentalist Independent Baptist Church. There, they would collect clothes and shoes and provide services for the poor. After a funeral in their own church, the two were laid to rest a few days later.

According to the Attorney General for Nuevo Leon, the nature of the crime and the missing items indicates that John, 76, and Wanda, 67, were assaulted and robbed by somebody they knew.

TAMAULIPAS: According to a filing in a US District Court in San Antonio, TX, the DEA has obtained ledgers detailing payments the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas made to members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in exchange for protection and influence in the state of Tamaulipas since 1999. The findings could have an effect on the outcome of Mexico's presidential elections in July.

Confidential informants told Drug Enforcement Administration investigators that leaders of the Zetas and Gulf cartels made payments to Institutional Revolutionary Party members including Tomas Yarrington, who served as governor of Tamaulipas state in 1999-2004, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Antonio, Texas.

The affidavit says the DEA also has obtained ledgers documenting millions of dollars in payments to Yarrington's representatives.

The 13-page affidavit lays out in detail the DEA's case against Antonio Pena-Arguelles, an alleged cartel money-launderer who was arrested Wednesday in San Antonio.

It accuses him of using U.S. bank accounts to funnel millions to Yarrington from leaders of the Gulf and the Zetas. In 2004-2005 alone, it says, he and his brother received $4.5 million from the No. 2 leader of the Zetas, Miguel-Angel Trevino Morales.

One of the DEA's four informants told investigators that "during early 2000, Antonio Pena-Arguelles began receiving large amounts of drug proceeds on behalf of Osiel Cardenas, head of the Gulf Cartel, in exchange for political influence within the government in Tamaulipas," the complaint says.

Mexican prosecutors said late last month that they were investigating former Tamaulipas officials in connection with unspecified federal crimes, a category that includes money-laundering and drug-related crimes. Yarrington and two other former PRI governors, Manuel Cavazos, who served until 1999, and Eugenio Hernandez, who left office in 2010, publicly acknowledged that they were subjects of the probe but denied any links to crime.

Cavazos is now running for a seat in the Mexican Senate while President Calderon's National Action Party (PAN) seized on the DEA filings as evidence the PRI party has extensive links to organized crime.

The PRI was the dominant political party in Mexico until the 2000 Presidential elections.

Syrian Armor Masses Outside of Opposition Stronghold of Homs After Hundreds Reported Killed in Shelling

2012-02-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

Syrian forces continued their bombardment of rebel and Free Syrian Army positions in the western city of Homs Thursday and overnight into Friday. Opponents of the al-Assad regime in Damascus fear that this would be a final push by Damascus to crush organized opposition to the regime.

Recently bolstered by the late-January arrival of a substantial arms shipment from Russia and a Russian and Chinese veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the al-Assad regime for the violent crackdown of anti-regime demonstrations that have been taking place since late 2011, Syrian forces are said to have killed at least 200 rebel fighters and civilians in Homs this week. The al-Assad regime initially denied the artillery and rocket barrage even took place before claiming that the Syrian army was deployed to Homs at the urging of local residents earlier this week. While Syrian forces were shelling neighborhoods in Homs, Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia's head of foreign intelligence met with president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus for three hours on Tuesday.

While Syrian tanks and APCs probed the rebel defenses in Homs- Syria's 3rd largest city- civilians and wounded fighters were evacuating the city of Homs to the Wadi Khaled area some 50 miles southwest of the city, others have sought refuge across the border in northern Lebanon.

Also on Friday, two explosions rocked the northern city of Aleppo (Syria's largest city). State run TV said the explosions targeted two security compounds in the city and would not specify the number of casualties.

Shortly after this weeks UN Security Council vote, the State Department closed down the US Embassy in Damascus and evacuated all diplomatic personnel.

Today's Train of Thought- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, February 8, 2012

2012-02-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

Today's train of thought takes us to the the frigid, windswept plains of Big Sky Country. Here, rebuilt GP39M #2932 is seen leading a trio of older 4-axle units on a Great Falls, MT-based local as it trundles past a pair of venerable gain elevators trackside on Hobson, MT- just west of Lewistown, MT. The #2932 started out life as a Cotton Belt/St. Louis Southwestern GP35 before Burlington Northern purchsed it and scores of similar units secondhand before embarking on a massive rebuild and overhaul program with Morrison-Knudsen and VMV starting in 1990.

The former Great Northern line through this central Montana burgh of about 200 continues north to Great Falls and the junction with the former Northern Pacific Twin Cities-Seattle mainline at Shelby, MT.

The local had finished up its switching in Lewiston, MT and had about 80 miles to go before returning to Great Falls when railpictures.net photographer David Blaze photographed the train in Hobson on December 26, 2008.

Interestingly, the town of Hobson was used for the filming of the opening scenes in the 1974 Clint Eastwood heist film Thunderbolt & Lightfoot.

Super Bowl of Sports Chowdah- Patriots No Giant Slayers in Wild 4th Quarter; Mr Thomas Goes To Washington; C's Create Grizzly Scene at Garden;

2012-02-06T23:17:00.000-08:00

SUPERBOWL XLVI: Well, this was a tough one to take even though it more or less came down to the final play.

After the weeks of hype and speculation over seemingly everything but the actual game, it was at long last time to play the damn game on Sunday and Superbowl XLVI kicked off on time.

The Giants got the ball to open up the big game, but were unable to score on the opening possession- their opening possession, at least. After getting as far as the Patriots 42, the Giants punted and managed to pin New England deep in their own end. The Patriots offense would have to start off on their own 6 yard line and on the first play, a pressured Brady would be flagged for intentional grounding in his own end zone, resulting in a safety and a 2-0 Giants lead.

The Giants managed to take a 9-0 lead after starting off on their own 22 and capping off the drive inside the Patriots 2 with a pass from Giants QB Eli Manning to WR Victor Cruz.

On their next possession, New England managed to get on the board after getting as far as the Giants 11 yard line early in the 2nd quarter and having to settle for a Gostkowski FG to make it 9-3 Giants.

As the clock was winding down in the 1st half, the Patriots were once again pinned deep in their own territory, starting out from their own 2 yard line with 4:03 left. They managed to move the ball all the way down to the Giants 3 yard line in just under 4 minutes before RB Danny Woodhead caught a short pass from Brady to put the Pats on top with 8 seconds left in the half.

The second half got off to a promising start as well, with the Patriots taking their opening possession of the 2nd half and moving the ball to the Giants 12 yard line before Brady connected with TE Aaron Hernandez to put the Patriots up 17-9.

Although not as quick as the Patriots, the Giants methodically began chipping away at the Patriots lead, coming away with FG's from Lawrence Tynes on their next two possessions to make it a one-point game.

Things didn't start to get really strange until late in the 4th quarter when the Giants started out from their own 12 yard line with 3:46 and on the first play, Manning heaved the ball to midfield only to have it connect with WR Mario Manningham by the narrowest of margins for a pickup of 38 yards. The play was under review for several minutes before the drive resumed at the 50.

After getting the ball inside the New England 10 yard line with about a minute to go in regulation and the Patriots losing a timeout on that challenge, the Giants were content to run one more play on 2nd and goal before bleeding out the clock and bringing out Lawrence Tynes to put the Giants up by one with virtually no time remaining in the game.

Instead, on 2nd and goal, Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw inadvertently stumbled into the end zone after trying to throw himself down on the 1 yard line and let the clock run out. Although it did net the Giants 6 points, giving them the 21-17 lead, head coach Tom Coughlin was well aware that it would give New England the ball back with just under a minute left in regulation.

With the clock ticking down, two passes from Brady were dropped and he was sacked by DE Justin Tuck with 48 seconds left to bring up 4th and 16. Normally, most people would be thinking 'it's ovah', but Brady found WR Deion Branch for 19 yards and Branch in turn found the sidelines to stop the clock with 39 seconds left. Brady then found Hernandez for another 11 yards with 32 seconds remaining before snapping the ball while the Giants were still getting personnel off the field, killing the clock and moving the ball up five yards.

With five seconds left in SuperBowl XLVI, there was enough time for a Hail Mary that Brady heaved from the 50 yard line into the end zone. Alas, there was no 'Hand of Myra' to be seen that would somehow miraculously save the Patriots at the penultimate second. Instead, the ball jumped harmlessly off the fingertips of some Giants defenders in the end zone and fell to the turf just out of the reach of Rob Gronkowski.

The Giants win their 2nd Super Bowl in 4 years, once again getting past the Patriots in a game that was decided in the final minute. Giants QB Eli Manning was named the Super Bowl MVP and, to the surprise of many, now has more titles than older brother Peyton.

NHL: Virtually undetected on Superbowl Sunday was a series of afternoon games in the NHL [so as not to coincide with the kickoff of the the Superbowl- NANESB!]. The Boston Bruins were on the road at Washington D.C.'s Verizon Center for the first time since Tim Thomas' snub of President Obama.

Unlike the Bruins last trip to D.C., Thomas was actually between the pipes on Sunday and the Bruins actually came away victorious in Sunday's contest. The Bruins got out to a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to goals by Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand. After a scoreless 2nd, Tyler Seguin put the Bruins up 3-0 in the 3rd before the Caps got on the board late with a tally from Marcus Johansson to make it 3-1. Rich Peverly would get the empty netter in the final minute of regulation to make it a 4-1 Boston final.

The Bruins next travel to upstate New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday evening. The game will be televised on the NBC Sports network (formerly Versus) and gets underway at 7:30 PM ET.

NCAA HOCKEY: Well- one good thing about the Patriots losing the Superbowl is that we don't have to worry about traffic to and from the Beanpot getting snarled by the inevitable victory parade.

Hard to believe, but the Beanpot college hockey tournament turns 60 this year. The doubleheader got underway on Monday with the BU Terriers dropping Harvard by a 3-1 final while Boston College took care of Northeastern by a 7-1 final.

This sets up the 21st meeting between BC and BU for the Beanpot with the Terriers holding a 12-8 advantage in the history of the tournament.

NBA: Don't look now [Lord knows I haven't- NANESB!] but the Celtics have been able to string together a modest win streak to put them now at 13-10. After squeaking past the Knicks on Friday, the C's handled the Memphis Grizzlies pretty easliy by a 98-80 final at home on Superbowl Sunday. The Celtics have two games remaining in their lengthy homestand including a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday and Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday before hitting the road.

The Calm Before the Storm

2012-02-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are- less than 24 hours to go before the big game. When the NFC championship went final, my first thought was that two weeks was a fairly reaonable amount of time between Championship Sunday and the Super Bowl. If there were any injuries [such as Gronkowski's, let's say- NANESB!] two weeks is a pretty reasonable time to convalesce.

Heck, I even thought that during the Pro Bowl last week.

However, as the hype that's been building up around the Super Bowl, Media Day and the halftime show performane over the past week, I felt compelled to paraphrase Monty Python: 'Get on With It!'. So if you've noticed a distinct lack of pre-game coverage on my part, chalk it up to a lack of interest in these pre-game rituals and traditionds that I think cross the line into absurd.

Even though they're not heading into the Super Bowl undefeated like the last time, I like New England's chances. Yet just like Vancouver's 2 meetings with Boston in the regular season prior to last season's Stanley Cup Final, I don't think we can take away too much from a regular season meeting between the Patriots and Giants in Foxborough.

Supebowl XLVI between the New England Patriots and New York Giants gets underway at 6:30 PM ET on NBC.

With that said, go Patriots!

Economic Recovery Under President Obama Apparently Going So Swimmingly That He's Resurrecting FDR's Depression-Era Proposals

2012-02-03T02:44:00.000-08:00

While the unemployment rate remains high in this nation, it remains even higher among veterans of the United States military- particularly the post 9/11 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

To that end, President Obama is calling for a new Conservation program that would rebuild trails, roads and levees on public lands that's reminiscent of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1930's-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

Ah yes....nothing indicates that we're in the middle of a robust economic recovery like reviving a government sponsored work-relief program straight out of the Great Depression.

WASHINGTON — In an effort to cut the unemployment rate among veterans, the Obama administration is calling for a new conservation program that would put veterans to work rebuilding trails, roads and levees on public lands

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the Civilian Conservation Corps that operated during the 1930s could be viewed as a model for what the administration will try to accomplish through its “Veterans Jobs Corps.” He said that the administration will propose spending $1 billion that would be used to put an estimated 20,000 veterans to work restoring habitat and eradicating invasive species, among other activities.

“When one looks back at the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, we take great comfort that those who take on these kinds of activities will leave a lasting legacy for the United States,” Salazar said.

The proposal comes less than a month after President Obama called for deep cuts in defense spending ahead of his annual State of the Union address.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that Salazar referenced was a program that put unemployed men- including an estimated 28,000 veterans in the first year- to work as labor for projects located on rural federal lands. The CCC lasted from 1933 to 1942, when the manpower was needed in the military and in munitions factories after America's entry into WWII.

The Washington Post article quoted also concedes that election year politics plays a role in President Obama's proposal.

The backdrop of presidential politics is also playing a role in the Obama administration’s new efforts. Several states that will be heavily contested in November have a significant military presence. Veterans will be evaluating specific ways the next White House administration intends to help them.

[Just a thought, but maybe NOT cutting the Army from 45 to 32 combat brigades would help by creating far fewer unemployed post 9/11 veterans- NANESB!]

As a veteran, I noticed that Obama passed up one one really obvious means of creating jobs for both veterans and civilians alike- it's called the Keystone XL pipeline, and it's construction would've added thousands and thousands of jobs to the US economy. However, Obama decided to veto that and instead has proposed what amounts to a rehash of a government program from one of the bleakest economic periods in this nation's history.

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By the way- If you're an out-of-work or underemployed veteran reading this, have you given any thought to working for one of the railroads?

I'm not trying to be flippant, sarcastic or cute in any way- it's just something that you might've overlooked altogether while searching for a full-time job.

Many of them have been hiring for the last few years not because the economy is doing particularly well, but because a good portion of their workforce is already at or near retirement age. The Railroad Retirement Board and individual railway company's websites list various job openings and some of the railroads even offer cash signing bonuses or provide entry-level training depending on the position offered.

Pelosi Hails President Obama's "Courageous" Decision to Compel Catholic Institutions To Provide Birth Control

2012-02-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi lauded the Obama Administration's earlier decision not to exempt faith-based hospitals, universities and schools from a mandate in 0bamacare that would require them to provide free contraceptives and birth control for employees, despite such actions going directly against Catholic doctrine.

Pelosi's justification of the Administration and HHS ruling on January 20th seems to primarily consist of 'Well all the cool kids are doing it!'.

"I'm going to stand with my fellow Catholics in supporting the administration on this. I think it was a very courageous decision that they made and I support it."

[I swear, if this woman went out of her way to patronize and insult Muslims as much as she did Catholics, she would need round-the-clock protection and have to shack up with Salman Rushdie- NANESB!].

Instead of any sort of exemption for a religious institution, the Obama Administration and Department of Health and Human Services decided that they would simply get an additional year to fall into compliance with their mandate [which just happens to be AFTER an election year; President Obama would rather jab a stick in that hornet's nest after he's done running for re-election- NANESB!].

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defended the administration's most beneficent decision, claiming that it "strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services."

While the decision didn't come as a surprise to organizations like the American Council of Bishops, they still expressed disappointment with the ruling.

The delay was no consolation to Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences,” he said. “The Obama administration has now drawn an unprecedented line in the sand.”

However, Catholic and evangelical groups have stressed that their concern over the mandate isn't logistical, but rather philosophical.

The final regulation, however, keeps the conscience clause narrow: Only organizations that are faith-based and primarily employ those of the same faith are eligible for the exemption.

It does, however, give a nod to religious groups’ concerns, allowing faith-based nonprofits an extra year to begin covering contraceptives. White House officials explained the decision as regulatory in nature, rather than responding to the philosophical objections that religious organizations had raised.

“We know that a lot of these organizations may be large organizations, there are approval processes that require the approval of boards,” an administration official told reporters on a call this afternoon. “The transitional period responds to those concerns.”

Interesting how HHS granted a number of waivers to President Obama's allies in the labor union movement but there will be no exemption for Catholic or Evangelical institutions by this Administration.

Some Catholic Bishops have already stated that they will not comply with the contraceptive mandate in 0bamacare.

Bishop Olmstead is fighting the mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that forces charities, schools or hospitals with a religious affiliation to provide birth control coverage as part of its health plan -- even if birth control goes against their religious beliefs.

“This is contrary as to who we are as Americans. Liberty, freedom is very much as to why we began as a nation,” said Bishop Thomas Olmstead on News Talk 550 KFYI.

He and other catholic leaders across the country are fighting the Obama administration on the issue of birth control as a mandatory part of an employee health insurance. Churches would be exempt, but not other religious institutions.

He says the issue is being “forced down their throats.”

“The health department is trying to define who religious institutes. Catholic charities, hospitals, colleges are not religious institutions, but who gives the government the right to define religious institutions?”

Even if one is inclined to believe that birth control and contraceptives should be given out like little packs of M&Ms at Halloween, how exactly is the HHS's mandate not in direct violation of the 1st amendment? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Or does the first amendment no longer apply because the Catholic Church and other faiths' stance on birth control and contraception is outdated and no longer 'cool'?

In Mainland China, A Growing Demand For Female Bodyguards

2012-02-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

With mainland China now having more than a million millionaires- and roughly 30% of them being women- there has been a steady growth in demand for bodyguards, particularly female bodyguards.

Female bodyguards in mainland China can earn more than their male counterparts and are reportedly highly sought after because they can assume other roles such as nanny, secretary or personal assistant. While the average annual wage in mainland China is around US$1500, a female bodyguard can earn the equivalent of US$100 a day. Potential clients (or their families) also believe a the presence of a female bodyguard is less likely to lead to gossip or innuendo about an affair than having a male bodyguard.

The intensive months-long course from Tianjiao Special Guard Consultant Ltd of Beijing is among the first in China to offer training to women. Tianjiao's recently enrolled class was China's first all-female bodyguard class, featuring 20 women- nearly all of them university graduates. The course instructs enrollees on the finer points of martial arts, business etiquette, surveillance and evasive driving as well as intensive physical training on the torrid southern Chinese island of Hainan.

Highlights of the course also include having a bottle broken over the trainees head to build up endurance. The top trainee to finish the Tianjiao Consultant course will also be move on for further training at the International Security Academy in Israel. According to recent reports from Israel National News, the pool of 20 potential recruits had been whittled down to five by the end of January.

A couple of random things I noticed while compiling this blog entry. One is that for the most part, the women seen in desert fatigues in the articles and video about the Tianjiao firm are pretty easy on the eyes. You would think there would be a few genuinely intimidating bruisers in there given the nature of the profession they seek to enter. My first thought was 'Ah! This is probably a Potemkin academy where they trot out the attractive women and keep the bruisers and fierce-looking women in hiding until the cameras go away'.

There probably is something to that, but Tianjiao head Chen Yongqing also points out that they get an increasing number of clients who are celebrities. And at some high end red-carpet event, which bodyguard would stand out more- a smaller, attractive woman in a dress or gown or Yao Ming in drag?

Maybe I'm over-thinking things, but I'm also at a loss to explain the German and Norweigan flag patches you'll see on some of the uniforms. I mean, did the academy get such a sweetheart deal on surplus uniforms from those two nations that they forgot to remove the insignias? Or were the women divided into two different groups at some point in their training and the two flags a way of differentiating the groups? Or one flag indicates instructor and another indicates trainee?

The presence of cameras along the beach in that one photo above also seems to indicate that this is juicy fodder for some sort of reality show- perhaps Wipeout meets Who Wants to Be Protect a Millionaire?

For some reason, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn that some now-retired People's Liberation Army Special Operations Unit veterans concocted the whole physical training regimen in Hainan as a way of getting attractive 20-something women to pay them to run around in swimsuits and get put through the wringer while getting yelled at the whole time with the added bonus of some network or producer paying them to film attractive 20-something women in swimsuits getting put through the wringer and yelled at [just saying wish I thought of it first, that's all- NANESB!].

Still- does anybody remember my earlier observation about women in the American or Israeli military clad in BDUs? Since the Battle Dress Uniform of the United States Army is meant to be uniform (as opposed to accentuating a woman's figure) if a woman can look good in that, she can look good in anything.

I was starting to think the same thing about some of the trainees in what looked like the German or Norweigan desert camo uniforms.

If they can look presentable in those European military hand-me-downs, imagine how good some of them would look in...say....a silk cheongsam or qi pao [Hooray! Another completely gratuitous chance to post pictures of Cheongsam-clad ladies- NANESB!]. And since much of their clientele is in the entertainment industry, it wouldn't be that farfetched for them to be wearing one of those at some high profile event like a movie premiere or wedding.

Come to think of it, in these uncertain times, I'm beginning to think I could use some additional protection myself.

Quickie Weekday Sports Chowdah Update: Welcome to Seidenberg; Cleveland Nearly Rocks C's Again; Tigers Crown A Prince; 74 Dead in Egyptian Soccer Riot

2012-02-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

BRUINS: The second half of the Bruins 2011-2012 campaign got underway at the Garden Tuesday night when they played host to the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night.

Despite a 3-game losing streak heading into the All-Star break, the Senators had closed to within a few points of the Bruins in the Northeastern conference standings, raising the stakes for the B's home game against a divisional opponent.

This was also Tim Thomas' first start in net since opting out of a team visit to the White House before the All-Star break- Tukka Rask was between the pipes for their 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals in the last game before the All-Star break.

Former Senator Zdeno Chara looked every bit the Fastest Shot winner from the All Star skills competition when he drilled the puck past goalie Craig Anderson and into the back of the net all the way from the blue line to give Boston the 1-0 lead on a power play goal at the 8:02 mark in the first.

The Senators' Colin Greening would get the equalizer with 1:20 remaining in the first to send both teams into their locker rooms with the game tied 1-1 at the 1st intermission.

The Bruins would have some chances early in the second, but fail to capitalize. As the period went on, the Senators were successfully able to pressure the Bruins and keep the puck on the B's end of the ice. This resulted in the Sens taking a 3-1 lead on goals from Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris before the Bruins were able to make it a 1-goal game thanks to a Milan Lucic goal in the final minute of the 2nd period.

A little over 2 minutes into the 3rd, Brad Marchand would get the game-tying goal to make it 3-3 on another Boston power play. Then, not to be outdone by Chara's early goal from the blueline, 7 minutes into the 3rd Dennis Seidenberg shot the puck towards the Ottawa net from center ice. While it lacked Chara's velocity, it seemed to have the movement of a Tim Wakefield knuckleball and got by Craig Anderson to make it 4-3 Boston.

Lucic had a glorious opportunity to pad the Boston lead at a little over 10 minutes into the 3rd period, but Anderson was able to get a glove on Lucic's breakaway shot from near point-blank range [perhaps if Lucic had attempted the shot from center ice or the blue line....just sayin' -NANESB!].

Boston hangs on to win their first game afer the All-Star break by a 4-3 final, putting some distance between themselves and 2nd place Ottawa in the process. Tim Thomas had 30 saves on 33 shots faced while Craig Anderson allowed 4 goals out of the 30 shots he faced. There were no power-play opportunities for the Senators, meaning all of their goal Tuesday night were even-strength. The Bruins, however, scored twice on their 4 power play opportunities Tuesday night.

The B's will next play host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. The game gets underway at 7:00 PM ET and will be televised on the NHL Network/

OTHER BRUINS NEWS: The Montreal Gazette has retracted a column in which writer Jack Todd accused the Bruins goalie of being motivated by racism in his decision to opt out of the White House luncheon for the team.

“What’s worse, you know Thomas would not have done this with the liberal Democrat Bill Clinton in the White House,” Todd wrote. “Truth is, he felt free to dis Barack Obama, because Obama is black.”

[Wow! That's highly original and groundbreaking! Accusing somebody who doesn't like President Obama's policies of raaaaacism- I don't think I've heard of somebody doing that since....whaat time is it? I guess...noon-ish NANESB!]

Perhaps I wasn't paying attention, but last I heard not even Thomas' harshest critics in the USA decided to venture down that particular path of cheap-shottery. Memo to petulant, Vietnam-era draft-dodger Jack Todd- giving President Barack Hussein Obama a pass on his numerous and collossal fuck-ups simply because of his skin color is about as racist as planting a burning cross in somebody's yard [only not as overtly racist- NANESB!].

The Montreal Gazette eventually pulled that one sentence from Todd's column after determining Todd offered zero evidence to back up such an incendiary claim [of course, that never stopped a progressive journalist before. Or perhaps I'm being paranoid; I mean it's not like there's a history of liberal journalists getting together to coordinate how to present progressive politicians and policies in the best possible light while colluding on how best to assail conservatives or anything- NANESB!].

CELTICS: The Boston Celtics are now a .500 team after Tuesday night's road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Although unlike their collapse at the Garden on Sunday where they allowed 12 unanswered points towards the end of the 4th quarter, the C's managed to survive another late rally from the Cavs. In the 4th quarter on Tuesday night, Cleveland managed to trim a 22 point deficit to just 2 points- although Boston would hang on to win by a final of 93-90.

Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass had 13 points each [with Bass coming off the bench with and getting 6 rebounds as well- NANESB!] while Paul Pierce had 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists on the night.

After Tuesday night's game, the C's will travel home to take on the 7-15 Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. Game gets underway at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on Comcast Sports New England.

RED SOX: The Red Sox have signed free-agent pitchers Vincente Padilla and John Maine to minor league contracts.

Padilla most recently pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen and had a 4.15 ERA with 5 holds in 2011. Maine's most recent MLB experience was with the 2010 Mets where he went 9-9 with a 4.35 ERA. In 2011 he signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies and went 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA in 11 starts while playing for the Rockie's AAA affiiate in Colorado Springs.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: The Detroit Tigers have signed one of the marquee free agents of the offseason. Former Milwaukee Brewers 1B Prince Fielder has finalized a 9-year $214 million contract with the Tigers and was introduced in a press conference this week.

During the Brewers 2011 campaign, Fielder batted .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBI. A number of teams, including the Marlins, Rangers and Nationals, considered themselves in the running to sign the power-hitting son of 1B/DH Cecil Fielder, who's big league career spanned the mid-1980s to late 1990s and included six seasons in Detroit.

SOCCER: More than 70 people were reported dead in a riot that broke out after a soccer game in Port Said, Egypt.

Fans of the home Al-Masry club swarmed the field after their upset 3-1 win over the top-ranked Egytian team, Al-Ahly. A melee broke out where Al-Masry fans began throwing rocks and sticks at the players and fans of the Al-Alhy club, Many of the dead were said to have been caught up in the ensuing stampeded as Al-Alhy fans made their way towards the exit.

Borderline Psychosis Update- Life Imitates Breaking Bad in NM; Key El Chapo Aide Killed in Durango Raid; Arrest Made in Tamaulipas Bus Slayings

2012-01-31T22:29:00.000-08:00

Breaking Bad- Not just for Albuquerque high school chemistry teachers anymore!

NEW MEXICO: In a development that seemed like all it was missing was Agent Hank Schrader, the Albuquerque, NM office of the DEA announced a series of arrests in New Mexico stemming from an alleged marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine distribution network that included an Albuquerque fireman and two pecan farmers in Southern New Mexico.

[A]uthorities arrested nine people, including the owners of a southern New Mexico pecan farm, in connection with a trafficking and money laundering ring that involved cocaine and heroin.

Prosecutors said the owners and operators of Pettit Farms and Nursery in Anthony, N.M., and their two sons were among those arrested Thursday. They were identified as Oscar Portillo Sr., his wife Sandra Portillo and sons Matthew Portillo and Oscar Portillo Jr.

According to a 24-count indictment, the farm was used as a place to store and sell drugs.

A team of federal, state and local law enforcement officers arrested the defendants Thursday and executed four search warrants, including one at the farm and three others at residences in El Paso, Texas.

Federal prosecutors said the Portillos allegedly sold drugs to an undercover agent on five separate occasions.

The indictment claims the couple asked the undercover agent to pay for the drugs with money orders which they subsequently cashed and deposited into bank accounts in the name of the farm. The agent was provided with invoices asserting that the agent had purchased pecan trees.

Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration said the investigation targeted a ring that agents believed was responsible for the transportation of cocaine and marijuana shipments from Chihuahua, Mexico, to the U.S.

Meanwhile, a 7 year veteran of the Albuquerque Fire Department was ordered to remain jailed until trial after being arrested by Federal Agents.

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque firefighter charged as part of a ring dealing drugs and laundering money with connections to a Mexican drug cartel will stay behind bars until he goes to trial

Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Steve Chavez last week along with 10 others in a major drug trafficking and money laundering operation.

The indictment alleges Chavez's role included shuffling nearly $350,000 in drug money in and out of bank accounts over several weeks last summer.

The feds searched his home where they said they found several loaded guns in the attic. They also reported finding an Uzi-style gun in Chavez's car along with an ounce of cocaine.

The feds added Chavez was dealing because he tested negative for drugs.

The judge said he was concerned about the drugs and types of guns found.

He was also worried that Chavez and other defendants had been spying on DEA at their offices.

A DEA agent testified Tuesday that Chavez talked about that after he was taken in for questioning

Chavez's alleged double-life brings to mind the fictitious Walter White from the AMC TV show Breaking Bad. In that series, Bryan Cranston portrays a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque who begins cooking methamphetamine with one of his former students as a quick means of leaving money behind for his family after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

DURANGO: A top aide to fugitive Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was shot and killed when a Special Operations unit of the Mexican Army raided a ranch in the state of Durango last week.

Mexican officials say members of an army special forces unit fatally shot a high-ranking aide to the country's most-wanted drug dealer in a gunfight in the northern state of Durango.

Army spokesman Gen. Ricardo Trevilla said Monday Luis Alberto Cabrera Sarabia was responsible for the operations of Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel in Durango and part of the neighboring state of Chihuahua.

The army says Sarabia is know as "The Architect," and was named to the role after the December arrest of his brother Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, or "The Engineer."

Sinaloa gunmen traded fire with troops during the operation to arrest Luis Cabrera Sarabia on Friday. One of the gunmen was slain and 11 others were captured. Four soldiers were hurt in the gunfight.

Guzman, who remains at large, also landed near the top the Forbes magazine 'Wealthiest People in the World' list.

Mass grave in Tamaulipas being unearthed last year.

TAMAULIPAS: Police in northern Mexico have arrested a member of Los Zetas who had reportedly confessed to murdering nearly 75 people in the northeastern state. Officials said the arrest was made on January 20, but authorities waited more than a week to make the announcement while details of Enrique Elizondo Flores' confession were being corroborated.

Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said that Elizondo also admitted to killing at least 36 passengers who were pulled off of buses at gunpoint by masked gunmen last year.

Domene said the 35-year-old suspect told investigators he had been working in the area at least three years and that he was in charge of killing members of the rival Gulf drug cartel heading to the towns of Cerralvo and General Trevino. He and other gunmen last January began pulling passengers off of buses as they arrived at Cerralvo's bus station, Domene said.

They are among at least 92 bus passengers that the Zetas are accused of killing in three attacks in January and March 2011. Many the victims were originally from the central state of Guanajuato and had arrived in Cerralvo from the border city of Reynosa, Domene said.

Elizondo distinguished himself ``for torturing, maiming and then killing his victims,'' Domene said.

Last year, Mexican investigators unearthed mass graves near the town of San Fernando, Tamaulipas containing more than 190 bodies- many of them identified as passengers pulled off of buses travelling through Tamaulipas between January and April 2011. Prosecutors say a motive for the mass abductions and killings remains unclear, although they believe that some of the abductions were an attempt to forcibly recruit new members by the Zetas.

A number of police officers from the town of San Fernando were also arrested on suspicion that they were working for the Zetas and complicit in the mass abductions and killings.

ELSEWHERE IN TAMAULIPAS: Federal prosecutors in Mexico said they have launched an investigation of high-ranking officials in the volatile border state.

The probe came to light after it was learned prosecutors asked transportation officials to keep track of when the officials entered or left the country and advise the Federal prosecutors office of their activities. One airport official in Tamaulipas reportedly overstepped his authority and drafted a memo instructing that the targets of the investigation not be allowed to leave the country.

Although the Attorney General's office declined to name the specific individuals under investigation, three former governors of the state of Tamaulipas came forward and told the media they believed they were the ones under scrutiny.

Eugenio Hernandez, who left office in 2010, told local media he did not know why he was under investigation, and denied any links to organized crime.

Tomas Yarrington, whose term ended in 2004, wrote in a Twitter account linked to his website that he had learned he had been named in the case, and said he hoped authorities would explain why.

Manuel Cavazos, who left office in 1999, called the investigation "suspicious ... coming in an election campaign," and suggested it might have political overtones. He denied any wrongdoing.

All the former governors are members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which held Mexico's presidency for 71 years until President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party won the 2000 presidential elections.

The PRI's de-facto presidential candidate, Enrique Pena Nieto, currently leads in polls ahead of the July 1 elections.

Cavazos said "it would not be the first time that law enforcement has been used for political purposes, that has been done since 2000."

Cavazos is running for a seat in the Senate, and Pena Nieto was scheduled to visit Tamaulipas on Feb. 2, according to the PRI

In 2009, Federal officials arrested 12 mayors and 23 other public officials in the western state of Michoacan and charged them with protecting the La Familia cartel. All 35 were later acquited and released.

TEXAS: A Baytown, TX man received an 8-year Federal Prison sentence after being found guilty of selling weapons to the Zetas cartel, including an AK-47 variant that was recovered from the scene of the Feb 15th 2011 killing of US Customs and Immigration Enforcement Officer Jaime Zapata in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Manuel Gomez Barba, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty. Barba admitting that he had an intermediary buy the gun from a Beaumont pawn shop, and he had the serial number obliterated before it was sneaked south of the border.

According to the plea agreement in Houston, Barba recruited "straw purchasers" to buy Century Arms WASR-10 semi-automatic rifles.

Buyers would hand the guns to Barba, who told them they would not be traced back to them because serial numbers were being removed. Barba was not able to legally purchase the guns because he was under deferred adjudication for felony drug charges in Harris County.

It was not disclosed if the rifles that Barba illegally sent to Mexico were part of the BATF's ill-advised Operation Fast & Furious, which involved field-level agents being ordered to let the weapons 'walk' to Mexico while under surveillance.

NEW YORK: A Texas perfume retailer has been convicted of laundering drug money for the Sinaloa cartel in Manhattan Federal Court earlier this month.

Vikram Datta, 51, an immigrant from India who started his perfume business in Manhattan, showed no emotion as the sentence was meted out by Judge Lewis Kaplan.

“The defendant has shown little or no contrition,” said Kaplan, who also ordered Datta to forfeit property and $40 million.

A jury found Datta guilty of using his La Versailles Fragance company to launder narcotics proceeds for the Sinaola Cartel.

“This was a successful businessman taking in a ludicrous amount of cash, tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, a day,” said prosecutor Peter Skinner.

Datta laundered Sinaloa drug money through what is known as the Black Market Peso Exchange, which became a favorite of Colombian cartels and traffickers beginning in the 1980s.

Even before the ascendancy of Pablo Escobar and the Colombian cartels, the Black Market Peso Exchange had been around for decades as a way to circumvent Colombian taxes and controls on foreign currency. Buying and selling dollars at the state-run banks in Colombia meant inviting several unwelcome questions on how those dollars were obtained or how they would be spent. The majority of the Colombian cartels' drugs were purchased in dollars, while the higher-ranking members of the cartels preferred to remain in Colombia- thus needing to conduct most business with Colombian pesos- the cartels and drug traffickers needed to find a way around these controls.

The cartels would eventually start selling the US Dollar-denominated drug money to various black market peso brokers at a discount. The broker would then take the dollars to a wholesaler in the USA and purchase quantities of electronics, appliances, cigarettes, liquor or luxury goods and import them to Colombia for the cartels. After the peso broker gets a cut for arranging the purchase and shipment of goods, the cartels then sell off the items at a slight markup in pesos, effectively laundering their drug proceeds and giving them the pesos they need to continue doing business in Colombia.

While Mexico doesn't have the strict control on foreign currencies that Colombia does, the cartels have adapted the methods of the Black Market Peso Exchange to launder their drug money.

Besides locations in Arizona, California and New York City, Vikram Datta sold perfume in the Texas border town of Laredo beginning in 2000. By 2009, Federal prosecutors allege that he was an experienced money launderer for the Sinaloa cartel. In 2010, Datta was introduced to a man who was identified as a perfume retailer in Baja California Sur but was actually an undercover Federal Agent.

Datta’s illegal transactions started slowly but quickly increased, court documents indicate. Transcripts from wiretaps over the next six months, which were admitted at trial, indicate that Datta accepted a $40,000 infusion to one of his stores in California and later agreed to wire $100,000 to customers in New York. According to court documents, over the course of a two-year government sting, he and other co-conspirators deposited more than $25 million of American currency in dozens of bank accounts.

At one point, prosecutors said, Datta told an undercover agent, posing as a perfume vendor, that his business was “just washing the whole money.” In a conversation that he had with the agent in New York in December 2010, captured on wiretap, Datta said that “a lot of cash is coming to me” and that he was “90 percent sure” that it was “all Sinaloa money.”

Datta was arrested in New York City in January 2011 while on his way to meet with the undercover agent. So far, 29 people have been charged in the Black Market Peso Exchange investigation- 20 have been convicted.

Former Obama Campaign Operative Charged With Attempting To Steal Iowa Secretary of State's Identity

2012-01-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

A 29 year old Des Moines, IA man was arrested on charges of identity theft after attempting to use the identity of Republican Secretary of State Matt Schultz earlier this month.

Zachary Edwards was arrested Friday and charged with identity theft.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety issued a news release saying Schultz's office discovered the scheme on June 24, 2011 and notified authorities.

The criminal complaint says Edwards fraudulently used or attempted to use the identity of Schultz or Schultz's brother with the intent to obtain a benefit. No other details were given.

Edwards had reportedly worked for the Obama campaign in Nevada in 2007 before moving to Iowa to become the new media coordinator in the Hawkeye state in early 2008. After the campaign, Edwards joined the Des Moines-based consulting firm Link Strategies, who's clients include Democrat Senator Tom Harkin.

Edwards had reportedly stolen Schultz's identity in a scheme to falsely implicate the Secretary of State in engaging in unethical behavior. According to the Iowa Republican blog, Edward's alleged crime took place in June 2011, around the same time a Democrat-connected blog called Under the Golden Dome launched a 3-part article citing open-records requests from 'a tipster' that was highly critical of Schultz.

Earlier in the month, the Iowa Democrat Party had filed an ethics complaint, claiming Schultz used public resources [i.e. a Secretary of State Letterhead- NANESB!] to campaign against GOP Presidential Candidate Jon Huntsman. The complaint was dismissed by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board a month later.

Iron Horse Roundup For December 2011/Jan 2012

2012-01-31T01:24:00.000-08:00

Aftermath of 3-way CSX collision and derailment in Valparaiso, IN on Jan 6th Photo- Jimmy Herrick/Valparaiso Post-Tribune

Two CSX crewmen were treated for injuries and approximately 200 people were evacuated after a collision and derailment involving three trains in northwestern Indiana earlier this month.

The trains crashed about 11 miles northeast of Valparaiso, on the CSX line, according to David James, assistant highway supervisor with the Porter County Highway Department.

James said one train rear-ended another one, causing it to jack-knife, and a third passing train the "got caught in that jack-knife." All the trains derailed

James said there had been a fire concern since one of the trains was carrying ethanol, an alcohol, but the tanks turned out to be empty. Diesel fuel from the engine was burning, but as of 4:50 p.m. local time, "things are starting to quiet down somewhat," James said.

About 100 to 200 residents evacuated from the area north and east of the crash, James said.

The two hospitalized crewmen were released within days of the collision. Immediately after the wreck, the NTSB was conducting interviews, combing through the wreckage and checking the line's signalling- but the agency warned that it could take months before reaching a finding on the cause of the collision.

Workers seen installing a frame with grapefruit-sized concrete balls dangling from a chain in West Java, Indonesia. The balls are high enough for the train to pass through untouched but would knock down anybody riding on the rooftops. This is the latest measure to prevent 'train surfing' in Indonesia. Achmad Ibrahim / AP Photo

Authorities in Indonesia are cracking down on 'train surfers' and people riding the rooftops of trains by installing frames that hang over the tracks with weighted, grapefruit-sized concrete balls dangling down low enough to knock stowaways off the roofs of train cars.

Authorities hope the balls — which could deliver serious blows to the head — will be enough to deter defiant roof riders.

"We've tried just about everything, even putting rolls of barbed wire on the roof, but nothing seems to work," said Mateta Rizahulhaq, a spokesman for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api. "Maybe this will do it."

Trains that crisscross Indonesia on poorly maintained tracks left behind by Dutch colonizers six decades ago usually are packed with passengers, especially during the rush hour.

Hundreds seeking to escape the overcrowded carriages clamber to the top. Some ride high to avoid paying for a ticket. Others do so because — despite the dangers, with dozens killed or injured every year — "rail surfing" is fun.

The first dozen or so balls were installed Tuesday hundreds of yards (meters) from the entrance of a train station just outside the capital, Jakarta. Painted silver, the balls hung by chains from what looked like the frame of a giant soccer goal.

But there was a glitch: the chains were too short, leaving a gap of about 16 inches (40 cm) between the balls and the roofs of the passing train carriages. Rizahulhaq said adjustments would be made.

If successful, the project will be expanded, with balls also set up near railway crossings.

Asked about worries that the balls could hurt or even kill those who defy the roof-riding ban, he insisted that wasn't really his problem.

"They don't have to sit on top," he said. "And we've already told them, if the train is full, go to the office. We will be happy to reimburse their tickets."

The commuters, known as "Atappers" or "Roofers," meanwhile are hardcore in their determination to stay on top.

"I was really scared when I first heard about these balls," said Mulyanto, a 27-year-old shopkeeper, who rides between his hometown of Bogor and Jakarta almost every day for work. "It sounds like it could be really dangerous."

"But I don't think it'll last long," he said. "They've tried everything to keep us from riding ... in the end we always win."

"We like it up there, it's windy, really nice."

Many of the roof riders — and regular passengers — say the main problem lies with Indonesia's dilapidated railway system. There are not enough trains to meet demand, they say. And there are constant delays in service.

"People have jobs! They can't be late," said Parto, a trader at the Jakarta stock exchange, who can usually be found sitting inside. "If the train is late, they'll do whatever they have to."

Several years ago, paint guns were set up to spray those riding on the top of carriages so authorities could identify and round up the guilty travelers. But roof riders destroyed the equipment soon after. The exhortations of clerics didn't work. Neither did the dogs.

Overcrowding has been an issue with commuter and passenger trains on Java- Indonesia's most populous island. In 2010, Indonesian passenger carrier PT Kereta Api introduced "Women's Only" train carriages in an effort to thwart other passengers who took advantage of the overcrowding to grope and fondle female commuters [similar trains operate in Mumbai and Tokyo- NANESB!].

Secured to a flatcar, Alaska Railroad 2-8-0 #557 passes by the Cook Inlet en route to Anchorage from the lower 48 in December. Photo- David Blazejewski/Columbia Basin Herald

After a nearly 50 year absence, the Alaska Railroad's last steam engine has returned home to Anchorage, AK this month.

The Baldwin 2-8-0 was built for the US Army in 1944 and went into service for the Alaska Railroad after WWII. The locomotive was in regular service for the Alaska until 1957 and was sold for scrap to a dealer in Washington State in 1962. However, instead of getting cut up, a Moses Lake, WA scrap dealer named Monte Holm took a shine to the old steamer and put it on display and would occasionally operate it on a short stretch of track.

Holm passed away in 2006, and a personal friend purchased the #557 from his estate before donating it to the Alaska Railway. Interestingly, the tender for the #557 never left Alaska and served in Maintainence of Way service along with a former US Army Corps of Engineers steam crane until 1974, at which point the railroad donated the tender to the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry.

The AKRR plans to fully restore #557 to operating condition and use the steam locomotive for excursions out of Anchorage.

The railroad has eight years to put it in service but Aadnesen is aiming for as early as 2013.

“We have a business case to put it back in a restricted kind of passenger service as a tourist attraction during the summers,” he said.

The project will depend on volunteer and foundation donations — money from the railroad can’t pay for it. It will cost more than $500,000 to refurbish the locomotive and get it back into service, then it will need to pay for itself. All that remains is to finish the regulations of establishing a foundation to receive such funds.

“We have no doubt that it can be done,” Aadnesen said.

Engine No. 557’s needs concern cosmetic issues like cleaning and painting. It will be completely disassembled and put back together to satisfy survey and inspection requirements for federal agencies.

After that, 557 will require annual maintenance plus periodic Federal Railroad Administration recertification, which will also have to be covered in the business case.

Last month, the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry in Wasilla, AK donated the 1700 gallon tender for the oil burning #557 back to the Alaska Railroad.

Sister Baldwin 2-8-0 #556, also a former US Army unit, remains on static display at a public park in Anchorage.

A pair of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic B39-8s are seen hauling freight westbound between St Leonard, New Brunswick and Madawaska, ME near Keegan, ME in March 2009. Photo- Kevin Burkholder

The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic announced a tenative deal to sell off 25 miles of track between Madawaska, ME and St Leonard, NB. The northernmost portion of the MM&A was left isolated from the rest of the system after the railroad sold the 230 miles of track between Madawaska south to Millinocket, ME that were slated for abandonment to the State of Maine last year.

If the Federal Rail Administration and Maine Department of Transportation approve, J.D. Irving subsidiary Eastern Maine Railway will purchase the Madawaska-Van Buren-St. Leonard railroad line for an undisclosed amount. The governmental agencies have liens on the property. The sale could be completed next month, said Robert C. Grindrod, MM&A’s president and CEO.

“We have an isolated piece of railroad there that doesn’t seem to be generating a lot of traffic,” Grindrod said Tuesday of his reasons for the sale, “and there seemed to be little or no prospect of regaining traffic from Twin Rivers.”

Twin Rivers Paper Co. executives claimed a year ago that the Madawaska mill’s future was threatened by MM&A’s failure to maintain its railroad tracks and by its missed delivery and pickup deadlines — often forcing the coated and uncoated papermaker to hire trucks on the fly to make shipments — because of miscommunication or an insufficient number of railroad runs.

MM&A officials countered that they were trying to meet demand but that the use of trucks and declines in production by Twin Rivers and its predecessor, Fraser Paper, made running more trains uneconomical and helped create the conditions that led to the company’s loss of $4 million to $5 million annually.

Shortly after the sale, the state of Maine subcontracted operations of the line to New Brunswick Southern- a Canadian company owned by J.D. Irving. New Brunsiwck Southern's subsidiary, Eastern Maine Railway, operated the section of the former Canadian Pacific line between the US/Canadian border at Vanceboro, ME to the current MM&A interchange at Brownville Jct, ME. New Brunswick Southern/Eastern Maine also interchanges with Pan-Am Rail at Mattawamkeag, ME.

Birmingham Southern GP38-2 #704 leads a southbound taconite train at Ensley, AL on Dec 30th 2011- Just days before WATCO assumes operation of the Alabama steel hauler. Photo- David Stewart

Within a few weeks of its announcement that it would be a majority shareholder for the regional Wisconsin Southern, Pittsburgh, KS based WATCO announced they would be purchasing Transtar's Birmingham Southern Railroad in Alabama.

Birmingham Terminal Railway has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Birmingham Southern Railway, which operates more than 75 miles of track in the region.

The railroad has access to the area's steel-making and manufacturing operations and connects to several major railroads, including Norfolk Southern [NYSE- NSC], CSX [NYSE- CSX] and Berkshire-Hathaway's [NYSE: BRK-A] BNSF.

Transtar is a holding company for some of the former United States Steel railways such as Pittsburgh's Union Railroad or Detroit's Delray Connecting. Transtar will still handle in-plant switching at US Steel's [NYSE: X] Fairfield, AL works and retains ownership of the Warrior & Gulf Navigation company

A pair of Iowa Northern gensets bracket a GP38 while hauling the IANR's first train on the former Union Pacific Garner sub in Garner, IA in November 2011. Photo- Craig Williams

Beginning in November, the Iowa Northern has taken over operations of the former Union Pacific [NYSE: UNP] Garner subdivision between Forest City and Belmond, IA.

FOREST CITY — The 28 miles of former Union Pacific railroad track from Forest City to Belmond has seen more traffic in the last three weeks than in the past five years, according to new operator Iowa Northern Railway Co. President Dan Sabin.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Gov. Terry Branstad and other local and county officials was held Monday afternoon in Forest City.

Union Pacific intended to abandon the line because it was reluctant to operate trains with fewer than 100 cars, making access to businesses along the 28 miles of track difficult.

The North Central Iowa Rail Corridor LLC purchased the track for $1.5 million and signed a 10-year lease-to-own agreement with Iowa Northern Railway to operate the line.

“Most of us know in this day and age when you lose a railroad you never get it back,” said Dave Kingland, manager of the North Central Iowa Rail Corridor and president of Forest City Economic Development Group.

The 30-mile line is isolated from the rest of the IANR, but Canadian Pacific has granted the regional trackage rights between Nora Springs, west through Mason City and on into Garner.

The first IANR train on the line ran on November 4th with a pair of new gensets bracketing an Iowa Northern GP38-2, with 35 empty grain cars and a single auto-rack for the Winnebago [NYSE: WGO] plant in Forest City. Besides the grain elevators in the communities located along the ex UP line, Iowa Northern is hoping the RV manufacturer will be a regular shipper.

300 Arrested After Occupy Oakland Storms City Hall, Burns American Flag

2012-01-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

But don't you DARE question their Patriotism!

Remember the early days of the burgeoning 'Occupy' movement, when former Marine Scott Olsen was injured in a skirmish between Occupy Oakland and the police? The whole occupy movement and their media enablers initially seemed eager to portray 'Occupy' as some sort of wholesome, spontaneous, series of protests as wholesome and American-as-apple-pie, complete with an injured veteran [even though the aforementioned vet founded a blog called "I Hate The Marine Corps"- NANESB!]

After garnering support from Democrat politicians such as Representatives Nancy Pelosi [D CA-5] or Jan Schakowski [D IL-9], 'Occupy' has since decided to drop the American-as-apple pie façade and determined that the only way to stay relevant is to escalate confrontations with authorities where "Occupy" encampments remain.

And of course, Oakland, CA is one such city. Earlier this month, Occupy Oakland marched on the Oakland PD headquarters in a rally given the quaint monicker of 'F*ck the Police'. Occupiers threw bottles, rocks and bricks at officers clad in riot gear while police responded by firing beanbag rounds and arresting six Occupiers.

Over the weekend, Occupy Oakland demonstrators broke into Oakland's City Hall and burned flags, destroyed an electrical box and damaged a children's art exhibit on display. Police used tear gas and smoke grenades to try and disperse the crowds and ended up arresting more than 400 Occupiers. Earlier in the weekend, marchers from Occupy Oakland tore down fencing around the dormant Henry J Kaiser convention center and attempted to force their way in.

Occupy Oakland was likely emboldened by a ruling against the Oakland PD in federal court last week in which U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson threatened to order a Federal takeover of the Department.

The judge appointed a monitor in 2003 to ensure the city complied with terms of a $10.5 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by victims of a notorious group of police officers known as "The Riders."

The group was accused of beating and framing suspects in the West Oakland area for years. One officer was acquitted at trial and criminal charges against two former officers were dismissed after two trials ended in hung juries. A fourth former officer remains a fugitive who disappeared after charged were filed in 2000.

The current monitor, Robert Warshaw, was appointed in 2010 and oversees the settlement with a staff of seven people.

The settlement included 51 specific reforms the department agreed to make within five years. Henderson noted Tuesday that he's extended the compliance deadline by years to little effect.

Perhaps unsurprisngly, the court-appointed monitor was also critical of how the Oakland PD had handled the initial confrontation with Occupy Oakland back in October, as well as individual officers blacking out their name tags or badge numbers while assaigned to babysit Occupiers.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan- apparently determined to show that she was still willing to handle the Occupy movement with kid gloves after what they put the city through- planned to contact the national leadership of the Occupy Wall Street movement to try and get them to persuade Occupy Oakland to shun violence.

Hey Now! You're An All Star! Sports Chowdah Update for 1/29- Stars Are Out For NHL, NFL on Sunday; Cavs Halt C's Win Streak

2012-01-29T23:18:00.000-08:00

CHRIS WATTIE/REUTERS

NHL: The 2012 NHL All-Star Game from Place in Ottawa is in the books, and the winner is Team Chara.

For those of you unfamiliar with the format, for the past couple of years the NHL has shied away from the Eastern Conference vs Western Conference or North America vs the World Format and instead, named two captains ahead of the All Star Break and then had those Captains draft other players selected to the All Star game. This year, the two captains were hometown favorite Daniel Alfredsson of the Senators and defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara.

So for both the skills competition and Sunday's All-Star game, Team Chara consisted of the following:

[Forwards] Joffrey Lupul, RW, Toronto; Pavel Datsyuk, C Detroit; Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh; Tyler Seguin, C, Boston; Marian Hossa, RW, Chicago; Corey Perry, RW, Anaheim; Phil Kessel, RW, Toronto; Patrick Kane, RW, Chicago; Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary; Marian Gaborik, RW, NY Rangers; Jordan Eberle, RW, Edmonton

[Defense] Kimmo Timonen, D, Philadelphia; Ryan Suter, D, Nashville; Brian Campbell, D, Florida; Dion Phaneuf, D, Toronto; Dennis Wideman, D, Washington

[Goalies] Tim Thomas, G, Boston; Carey Price, G, Montreal; Jimmy Howard, G, Detroit

[Rookies] Luke Adam, C, Buffalo; Raphael Diaz, D, Montreal; Colin Greening, LW, Ottawa; Cody Hodgson, C, Vancouver; Ryan Johansen, C, Columbus; Gabriel Landeskog, LW, Colorado

The 'Hometown' [and Alfredsson did exhibit a bias in favor of the Senators when making his picks- NANESB!] Team Alfredsson consisted of:

[Forwards] Jason Spezza, C, Ottawa; Claude Giroux, C, Philadelhpia; Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay; Daniel Sedin, LW, Vancouver; Henrik Sedin, C, Vancouver; Milan Michalek, LW, Ottawa; James Neal, LW, Pittsburgh; John Tavares, C, NY Islanders; Scott Hartnell, LW, Philadelphia; Logan Coutre, C, San Jose; Jason Pominville, RW, Buffalo.

[Defense] Erik Karlson, D, Ottawa; Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh; Shea Weber, D, Nashville; Dan Girardi, D, NY Rangers; Keith Yandle, D, Phoenix; Alexander Edler, D, Vancouver

[Goalies] Henrki Lundqvist, G, NY Rangers; Jonathan Quick, G, Los Angeles; Brian Elliot, G, St Louis.

[Rookies] Sean Couturier, C, Philadelphia; Justin Faulk, D, Carolina; Carl Hagelin, LW, NY Rangers; Nick Johnson, RW, Minnestoa; Matt Read, RW, Philadelhia; Craig Smith, C, Nashville.

Sunday's all-star game came one day after Zdeno Chara broke his own record in the skills competition for hardest slapshot, notching a scalding 108.8 MPH. This is the 5th consecutive All Star Skill Competition where Chara has won the hardest shot portion of the Skills competition.

It being an All-Star game, keeping track of the scoring is a pretty tall order. Rangers RW Marion Gaborik had himself a hat trick thanks to an early goal in the second period to break a tie and put Team Chara up 4-3, ironically besting Rangers teammate Henrik Lunqvist to put Team Chara up on top.

In net, Tim Thomas stopped 18 of 21 shots faced- including denying hometown favorite and Team Alfredsson captain Daniel Alfredsson the hat trick late in the 2nd, with the game tied at 6-6.

After Claude Grioux would get a tally for Team Alfredsson to tie the game at 8-8, Team Chara would start to pull away thanks to goals by Marian Hossa, Corey Perrey and the captain himself, Zdeno Chara.

Team Chara goes on to win by a final of 12-9 with Chara's fellow Slovak Gaborik earning the MVP honors for his 3 goals and 1 assist for the afternoon.

The Bruins resume play on Tuesday night with a home game against All-Star host Ottawa. The puck drops at 7:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

Columbus, OH has been announced as the host city for next year's NHL All-Star game.

NFL: Miami Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall accounted for 4 of the AFC's 8 TD's at the Pro Bowl in Honolulu's Aloha Stadium as the AFC trounced the NFC by a 59-41 final on Sunday evening.

Marshall had 6 catches for 176 yards and the 4 TDs on Sunday while Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald had 6 receptions for 111 yards and 3 TDs in the losing effort. Although eight Patriots were selected to the Pro-Bowl, none of them were in attendence in Honolulu on Sunday. For the Giants, QB Eli Manning and DE Jason Pierre-Paul were also named to the Pro Bowl, but not in attendence as both teams arrived in Indianpolis to prepare for Super Bowl XLVI

NBA: The Celtics let one get away from them late on Sunday night as they were edged by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs scored 12 unanswered points to finish up the 4th and snap the C's 4-game win streak (including sweeping the Orlando Magic on home-and-away game). Cavs Point Guard Kyrie Irving made the go-ahead layup with all of 2.6 seconds ramaining in regulation to give Cleveland the win.

The 9-10 Celtics will get a chance for some retribution when they hit the road for a rematch of Sunday's game at Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland. That game gets underway at 7:00 ET and will be televised on CSNE Tuesday night.

On This Day in 1945- US Army Lt. Audie Murphy Directs Artillery Fire, Singlehandedly Fends off German Counterattack

2012-01-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

On this day 67 years ago today, newly-promoted Lt Audie Leon Murphy and members of his company came under fire from armour and infantry units of nazi Germany's Wermacht near the Franco-German border at Holtzwihr, France. Already awarded a purple heart for his service in Salerno and Anzio and two silver stars from earlier in the campaign in France, Murphy would be the one of the most decorated soldiers in WWII.

Murphy's Medal of Honor citation reads as follows: 2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machinegun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.
Keep in mind this happened just days after Murphy received his field promotion to 2nd. Lieutenant.

After the war, Murphy penned a biographical account of his wartime service in 1949 called 'To Hell And Back'. The Texas native also went on to have a fairly successful career as a Hollywood actor- portraying himself in the 1955 silver screen version of To Hell And Back- and country music composer before his 1971 death in a plane crash in Virgina.

KeystoneXL Kops Update- Buffet's BNSF Railroad Stands To Benefit From Keystone Veto; IL Congresswoman- 20,000 Jobs Projected "Not that Many"

2012-01-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

BNSF freight train cresting the Cascade Range in Washington state. Photo- Mike Bjork

According to a recent report in Bloomberg, Warren Buffet's BNSF Railroad and parent company Berkshire Hathaway [NYSE: BRK-A] stand to gain more traffic and revenue after President Obama declined approval of the proposed KeystoneXL pipeline from Canadian firm TransCanada [NYSE: TRP/TSX: TRP] that would transport oil from Alberta' Abathasca Tar Sands to Gulf Coast refineries.

A BNSF spokeswoman stated that if the KeystoneXL Pipeline "doesn't happen, we're here to haul".

With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department.

The rail option, though costlier, would lessen the environmental impact, such as a loss of wetlands and agricultural productivity, compared to the pipeline, according to the State Department analysis. Greenhouse gas emissions, however, would be worse.

Investors such as John Stephenson, who helps manage $2.7 billion for First Asset Management Inc. in Toronto said he anticipated the project would move forward next year. Pipeline shipping costs remain lower than rail, and a lack of readily available tanker cars may create a bottleneck.

The availability of tank cars may create a temporary “hiccup” in transport capacity, according to Tony Hatch, an independent railroad analyst in New York. Rail cars are “a pretty hot commodity,” as a result of demand from oil producers in North Dakota, he said.

Rail car production is already at a three-year high as manufacturers such as Greenbrier Cos Inc. [NYSE: GBX] and American Railcar Industries Inc. [NASDAQ: ARII] expand to meet demand for sand used in oil and gas exploration, according to Steve Barger, an analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. in Cleveland, citing Railway Supply Institute statistics.

Oil and natural gas moving to refineries by train is hardly a novel concept. Between 1983 and 1997, the Southern Pacific Railroad ran a daily 70+ car train from the oil fields around Bakersfield, CA over the Tehachapi mountains to the refineries in Long Beach, CA. The train- sometimes known as the Oil Can- ceased its daily run after a pipeline over the mountains was completed in the late 1990s. Over in Big Sky Country, the Montana Rail Link runs a daily 126-mile gas train between Missoula and Thompson Falls, MT to bypass a section of Conoco-Phillips' [NYSE: COP] Yellowstone Pipeline after a section of the gasoline pipeline in the Flathead Indian Reservation was shut down following a 1993 spill.

However, both of the aforementioned measures described were primarily stopgaps and seemingly inadequate for the scale and distances involved with the Abathasca Oil Sands. With a dedicated pipeline, TransCanada wouldn't have to worry about the tank cars sitting idle in a rail yard somewhere, crew changes every 200 or so miles or moving empty tank cars back to the oil fields.

To the south of the Abathasca oil sands, both BNSF and Canadian Pacific have been working to improve capacity and track speed on some of their North Dakota lines in order to better serve the Bakken Oil Shale that straddles the US/Canada border. In addition to the traffic generated from the Bakken shale, it would also be worth pointing out that BNSF would've also benefited if the pipeline was approved, as it is virtually the only Class 1 carrier that runs through the projected KeystoneXL pipeline route and almost certainly would've been called upon to deliver much-needed equipment and supplies for the construction and maintenance of KeystoneXL.

In a rather curious development, the original story on Buffet and BNSF disappeared from Bloomberg's website on January 24th, the same day as President Obama's State of the Union Address. The San Francisco Chronicle website had a version of the Bloomberg article up on their page, but by Thursday morning the original article was back on the Bloomberg page.

Obama mentioned numerous times that Buffet's secretary pays a higher tax rate than her billionaire employer while in his repeated calls for higher taxes. Buffet's secretary was present for Tuesday night's State of the Union address, sitting with first lady Michelle Obama. However, that little bit of political theater could backfire now that it's been learned that Buffet's secrtary could make anywhere from $200,000 to $500,000 annually. It's entirely possible that a sympathetic Bloomberg could've temporarily spiked the article to avoid any bad publicity while one of Buffet's employees was going to be used as a class-warfare prop from the President during Tuesday's state of the Union.

OMG! ThEh st00pid! It burns! IT BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURNS!!!!!

OTHER KEYSTONE-XL NEWS: In an interview with Chicago's WLS radio, Congresswoman Jan Schakowski [D IL-9] told host Don Wade that the projected 20,000 jobs lost due to the KeystoneXL veto "..is really not that many jobs".

It was a brief snippet, to be sure, and I thought that perhaps with the benefit of some context, the Congresswoman was merely saying that she was skeptical that the project would create 20,000 jobs [I ardently support the project but even I find that number a little optimistic- NANESB!]. So I found a longer snippet, and not only does the suburban Chicago democrat say exactly I thought she said, she goes on to promote the Obama Administration's massively failed Green Jobs agenda and blames Republicans for Obama's veto, even though most Republican Congressmen, Senators and governors support the project.

"Twenty thousand jobs is really not that many jobs and investing in green technologies will produce that and more. But I'll tell you what, you know it seems to me that the Republicans would rather have an issue than a pipeline" [emphasis mine- NANESB!]

The Illinois Democrat, who was also marching with Occupy Chicago and the Communist Party USA in late 2011 was probably unaware of two more 'green energy' companies touted by President Obama and the recipient of stimulus funds have either filed for bankruptcy or begun massive layoffs this week [To be fair, it's not like Solyndra or Evergreen solar made much headlines or anything- NANESB!].

Lest anybody thinks I'm being harsh or cherry-picking quotes from Schakowski, you're more than welcome to listen to the archived interview here.

Happy Australia Day From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Image: Sailing Anarchy

Good Lord, did I mention how much I happen to LOVE Australia?

Not quite an island, not quite a continent. Despite the distant location and exotic wildlife in Australia, there are some undeniable similarities between our founding and the birth of Australia as a nation. Both were considered somewhat cumbersome backwaters in which the British Crown could dump convicts, unwanted religious groups or other undesirables and both are rich in natural resources, which in turn sparked a westward migration of European immigrants from the already-established cities on the east coast.

It's also worth noting that Australia's Armed forces have fought alongside with their American counterparts in every major war since WWI- so as a veteran of the US Army, that's something that I truly appreciate.

These lovely young ladies from down under are thoughtfully modelling swimsuits and tops that show a variation of Australia's flag [hooray for swimwear or beach apparel serving as an indicator of nationality! -NANESB!]. Besides the Union Jack in the corner (essentially a miniature British flag), most prominently featured are the stars of the Southern Cross, a constellation visible throughout the Southern Hemisphere. This version of the Australian flag was chosen after a nationwide contest and first flown in Melbourne 110 years ago after being approved by King Edward VII.

Australia is not the only country to incorporate the Southern Cross into their national flag [New Zealand's is quite similar, only with smaller, red stars forming the Southern Cross. If you look very closely, the Southern Cross is also present in Brazil's flag as well- NANESB!] but it is the most well known and iconic. As recently as 2000, there was an effort to completely change the Australian flag altogether.

Of course, according to one recent university study Down Under, an Australian motorist that flies the Southern Cross flag on their car is more likely to be racist.

Drivers who fly Australian flags on their cars to celebrate Australia Day are "more racist" than people who do not, according to research from UWA.

University of Western Australia sociologist and anthropologist Professor Farida Fozdar and a team of assistants surveyed 513 people at the Australia Day fireworks on Perth's Swan River foreshore last year to find out whether there was a link between car flag flying and racist attitudes.

“What I found interesting is that many people didn't really have much to say about why they chose to fly car flags or not," Professor Fozdar said.

"Many felt strongly patriotic about it - and for some, this was quite a racist or exclusionary type of patriotism - but it wasn't a particularly conscious thing for many.”

*GASP!* Oh noes! So I guess by extension I'm fostering racism by having all these pictures of Aussie women displaying some version of the flag. I need to remedy that somehow!
OK- better? None of those offending Union Jacks or constellations on a blue background.

Anywhoo, the study came to this conclusion interviewing some 513 people at an Australia Day fireworks display in Perth and determined that 43% of the respondents were racist for speaking favorably of the 'White Australia' immigration policy that was abolished in 1970 and that new immigrants to the country should adopt Australian values.

However, the release of the study seems to serve no other purpose than to try and bolster op-ed pieces critical of Aussie flag-waving published earlier this month ahead of Australia Day.

In Adelaide, the head of the South Australia Taxi Council has given out 500 flags and encouraged cabbies- many of them immigrants from India or the Middle East- to fly them from their vehicles. This follows up a pilot program last year where 100 car flags were handed out to cabbies- the move has so far been positively recieved by the cabbies and tourists alike.

It's also worth mentioning that we're just a few short months removed from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Swimming is considered Australia's strongest event in the summer games for both men and women's teams [altho' they brought home the gold in other events like rowing and triathalon during the 2008 Beijing games- NANESB!].

Stephanie Rice (above) brought home three of Australia's 14 gold medals from the Beijing Olympics in 2008- winning both the 200m and 400m individual medley as well as the women's 4 X 200M freestyle relay. In fact, Rice broke the world record for the 400m individual medley during the 2008 Australian Olympic trials.

And if you're wondering- yes, she plans on being in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Navy Seals Kill 9 Pirates, Free American, Danish Hostages in Somali Raid

2012-01-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

Commandos from the US Navy's SEAL Team 6 swooped into a central Somali town and raided a pirate camp where two aid workers were being held hostage in the early morning hours on Wednesday.

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - The Navy SEALs parachuted into the darkness, landing more than 2 miles from their objective: a small bush camp in north-central Somalia where an American aid worker and a Danish colleague were being held captive.

The commandos, several dozen in all, shed their chutes and moved quietly through the brush. The compound had been under U.S. surveillance for weeks after an intelligence tip had signaled the whereabouts of the hostages, Ohio native Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Thisted, 60. But investigators believed that Buchanan's health was failing and that she might suffer kidney failure. "We were told that she was not well and, left untreated, her condition could be life-threatening," said a senior U.S. official.

About 2 a.m. Wednesday, the SEALs stormed the kidnappers' compound, catching the guards as they were sleeping after having chewed the narcotic leaf khat for much of the evening, said a self-described pirate.

The aid workers and SEALs were picked up by helicopters, which flew to an airstrip at Galkayo, 60 miles north of the encampment. There the hostages were transferred to a U.S. military plane and flown to the neighboring nation of Djibouti, site of a U.S. base known as Camp Lemonnier. They would be leaving Djibouti "fairly soon," one U.S. official said.

Buchanan and Thisted were working with a Danish organization that was providing aid in clearing land mines from the area when they were abducted by a gang of kidnappers in October 2011. President Obama reportedly authorized the mission because there were concerns that Buchanan's health was deteriorating after months in captivity.

The kidnappers, who would frequently move the American and Danish hostages around to confound any rescue attempt, were not believed to be affiliated with the Islamic Al-Shabaab militia, but rather a local criminal gang with connections to pirates.

The SEALs had reportedly secured the cooperation of a local clan and the use of a local airstrip in the nearby city of Galkayo for both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

Somali sources said that the hostages, who had been held for three months, had been moved around central Somalia on a daily basis in an attempt to frustrate rescue operations. Kidnappers had regularly complained that they could hear aircraft over head.

Elders of the Habre Gedir have been negotiating the release of the two aid workers along with journalist Michael Scott Moore, who was kidnapped last Saturday, and British hostage Judith Tebutt who was abducted from Kiwayu in Kenya last year.

"We are very happy about this incident because the pirates are the ones causing insecurity in this region," Mohammed Omar told the Somalia Report news agency.

The spate of kidnappings by armed Somali pirates last fall- including the abduction of British tourist Judith Tebutt from a resort in northern Kenya- led to incursions into lawless Somalia by the Kenyan military in the south and the Ethiopian military in the west.

In the capital city of Mogadishu, the fragile Transitional government backed by peacekeepers from the African Union has waged a campaign against the Islamic al-Shabaab militia in Mogadishu and beyond.

The SEAL operation is thought to be the first confirmed US Military land operation since the disastrous 1993 Blackhawk Down incident in which 18 American soldiers and roughly 150 Somali fighters were killed in an ambush and running battle in Mogadishu.

Blue State Graft Watch Update: Trial Underway In Troy, NY Absentee Ballot Fraud Case

2012-01-25T14:21:00.000-08:00

New York State Troopers bringing former Troy, NY city councilman Michael LoPorto into Courtroom last year.

In an ongoing case that has received little attention outside the conservative blogosphere and upstate New York's Capital District, opening arguments got underway in the trial of a former Troy, NY City councilman and Renssalaer County Board of Elections Commissioner.

Michael LoPorto and Ed McDonough- both democrats- are accused of forging absentee ballots during the 2009 Working Families Party primary. McDonough faces 36 counts of possession of a forged instrument and 38 counts of second degree forgery.

The forgery charges were recently dropped against LoPorto, but he faces 26 counts of possession of a forged instrument.

Prsecutors allege that LoPorto, Mc Donough and six other Democrats forged signatures on absentee ballots during the 2009 primary elections, including writing in the excuses why the voters were unable to show up at the polling place on election day. This was all being done done without the consent or knowledge of the voter. LoPorto and others accused in the scheme defended their actions as 'normal political tactic' for the upstate New York city.

Numerous voters told Fox News that they were stunned that their signatures were faked on absentee ballot applications and ballots, which were cast as real votes in their names in the 2009 primary election.

Brian Suozzo's absentee ballot application claimed that he was "at home recovering from medical procedure," which he told us was not true.

"Someone took my signature and voted with it and I feel extremely violated," Suozzo said when Fox News first broke the story nationally in 2009. "The whole thing seems dirty to me."

Jessica Boomhower's absentee ballot application falsely claimed that she was in Boston.

"I can't believe they thought they would get away with this," she told Fox News. "I didn't get to cast my vote on my own. ... They're corrupt. I am sure this goes on a lot in politics, but it's very rare that they do get caught."

Two of the ballot applications claimed that the voters were unavailable, because they were supposedly on a "bus trip to casino."

Four of the six other Democrats accused in this case- including a former Troy City Councilman and a former Troy City Clerk- pleaded guilty to various counts of forgery, falsifying business records and possession of a forged instrument last month.

Two more accused participants- former City Council president Clem Campana and Former City Councilman Gary Glisuki- are will be tried together in a trial separate from McDounough and LoPorto's.

[Hat tip- Lonely Conservative; Albany Conservative]

In Like Flint- A Tale of Two Millionaires From Flint, MI and The Latter Day War on Success

2012-01-24T23:29:00.000-08:00

Boston Bruins goalie and Flint, MI native Tim Thomas made news this week with his decision to skip out a team visit to the White House where a luncheon was scheduled with President Obama to honor the defending Stanley Cup champions. On Monday, Thomas released a brief statement that read:

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT

Not too surprisingly, the Conn Smythe and Vezina-winning goalie came under fire from both the liberal pundit class and various sportswriters for his decision.

Displeased Massachusetts Democrat party operatives proclaimed that Thomas should just 'stick to hockey' among other things upon hearing of the snub.

Massachusetts Democratic Party spokesman Kevin Franck told the Herald: “I think anyone who really cares about the lives, liberty and happiness of the American people wouldn’t miss an opportunity to shake the hand of the man who got bin Laden.”

[WOW! So not only were the Boston Bruins at the White House on Monday, but so was SEAL Team 6!? That is SO awesome!- NANESB!]

There is something to be said about respecting the Office, if not the man himself. However, this standard was noticeably absent during both terms of the Bush presidency when liberal actors and entertainers would frequently refer to both the president and vice president as fascists and war criminals with no rebuke from the very same party operatives who are critical of the Bruins goalie.

A 217th overall draft pick of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 Entry Draft, Thomas spent several years bouncing around the minors and Europe before ending up with the Bruins minor-league affiliate in Providence. He had a few starts for Boston before the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, where he returned to Europe and played for a season in Finalnd's SM Liiga.

With the lockout over, he returned to Boston and continued to primarily serve as a backup to Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen. Thomas saw more playing time as Raycroft was traded to the Maple Leafs [A trade Boston still reaps benefits from to this day- NANESB!] and Toivonen struggled.

Thomas eventually wound up as the Bruins starting goaltender, winning the Vezina Trophy (the NHL's award for best goaltender) in 2009 and 2011 and shut out the Vancouver Canucks on the road during the decisive Game 7 in last year's Stanley Cup finals, helping bring hockey's ultimate prize back to Boston.

I thought it was worth giving the rough outline of Thomas' career because unlike highly touted players such as Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin, Thomas' ascent was not the rapid, meteoric rise but rather years and years of paying his dues with lengthy bus rides in the ECHL or months away from his family while playing in Europe. And in due time, his hard work was rewarded when the Bruins took a chance on having him between the pipes on a regular basis.

In other words, because of his perseverance and hard work, Tim Thomas is a success.

However, 'success' has become something of a taboo phrase with the ascent of the 'Occupy' movement starting in late 2011. While Thomas made no secret of his political leanings, his brushing off an invitation to a luncheon with Obama earned him the ire of another Flint native- jowly schlockumentary filmmaker Michael Moore.

Moore, who's most recent film was the 2009 anti free-market paean 'Capitalism: A Love Story', had recently gained attention by appointing himself the bloated figurehead of the Occupy movement. While not in his multimillion dollar Michigan manor, Moore was speaking at various Occupy encampments throughout the country in the latter half of 2011 and trying to get in a plug for his most recent book.

In a message sent from Moore's twitter account on Tuesday, Moore stated:

Tim Thomas & I went to the same high school. I can tell u this: People in Flint LOVE Obama, desperately need Obama, & DETEST Thomas' actions

Like many a Moore 'documentary', this is a little deceiving in that it appears as though Moore is making it sound like he's contemporaries with Thomas when, as The Daily Caller points out, Thomas graduated from Davidson High School some 20 years after Moore.

Between promoting his numerous books and movies and speaking at the various Occupy Camps, Moore has gone on record as saying that those who are wealthy have not earned it [while inexplicably making an exemption for himself- NANESB!] and I would be very surprised if he didn't say the same was true of Thomas.

Of course, that seems to be reflective of the attitude of progressives, occupiers and liberals in general. Avarice seems to be the name of the game, and in Occupy's world wanting money entitles somebody to it, but actually earning it doesn't.

If Thomas was earnestly seeking approval from Moore, the Democrats and the Occupy Movement, perhaps he could abandon his job and his family for weeks at a time, squat in a public park, defecate on an NYPD cruiser, sexually assault some of his fellow squatters all while demanding free stuff from the government in the most shrill and incoherent manner possible.

Of course, given what is known already about Thomas' political leanings, I doubt he cares very much what his fellow Flint-onian has to say about him.

Today's Train of Though- Digging to China, Jan 23rd, 2012

2012-01-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

While China's dalliance with High Speed Rail in recent years has caught the attention of both the industry and politicians alike, it remains a little known fact that China's national railways continued operating steam locomotives on certain main lines up until a few short years ago.

While some steel mills, quarries, mines and lumber companies still use both narrow and standard gauge steam engines to this day, the fires dropped on mainline steam in China for the final time in 2005.

The massive 2-10-2 QJ class steam locomotives [QJ being shorthand for 前进 or Qian Jin meaning 'advance'- thanks again for the assist, Wikipedia- NANESB!] that saw service on China Railways were manufactured by the Da Tong Locomotive works from 1956 on into the late 1980s, and spent their final days hustling fast freights over Jingpeng pass along the arid steppe of Inner Mongolia.

They would often work in tandem on the Jitong line and were popular among enthusiasts in the wintertime since the displays of steam and exhaust stood out that much more dramatically against the frozen air. Interestingly, despite being the last holdout for the centuries-old technology, the nearly 600-mile Jitong line actually opened as recently as 1995.

Since they were too big for the mills, mines and quarries that continued use steam locomotives to this day, the QJs appeared to have little future. A company called Multipower International has advertised both the QJs and smaller steam locomotives for sale online.

Like their American counterparts from a half century earlier, many QJs have wound up on static display in the cities and towns that they once chugged through on a daily basis as well as at least 1 QJ in the Chinese National Railway Museum just southeast of Beijing.

However, the QJ's tale does not end there. In 2006, a pair of QJ's (#6988 and #7081) were shipped to the USA to their new homes on the Iowa Interstate via the port of Houston. Two years later, another QJ made its way to Kentucky where it entered service as part of the RJ Corman network of short haul railroads. These locomotives are primarily used for excursions and publicity, although they also occasional work on revenue freights for both the Corman Lines and IAIS on an as-needed basis.

Here, with about a year to go until retirement, railpictures.net contributor John Day caught 2-10-2 QJ #6763 leading a doubleheader as the freight train begins its assault on Jingpeng pass on a frigid February 22, 2004 day.

Nigerian Authorities Discover Explosives-Laden Vehicles Just Days After Deadly Attacks in Kano Kill 178 People

2012-01-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

A fresh series of attacks blamed on an Islamist group tore through Nigeria's second largest city of Kano, killing at least 185 people.

KANO, Nigeria – Police say 185 people were killed in an attack by a radical Islamist sect on the northern Nigeria city of Kano.

In a statement issued late Monday, the department said 150 of the dead were civilians, 29 were police officers, three were secret police officers, two were immigration officers and one was a customs officer.

The announcement comes as police say they have found 10 unexploded car bombs in the city.

Friday's attack in Kano saw Boko Haram members hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria's secret police, leaving corpses in the streets across the city.

Initial reports suggest that the death toll was 7, but rose after more than 100 bodies were brought to the morgue in the city's center.

Earlier in the month, police had arrested the suspected mastermind of a deadly series of blasts targeting Christian churches outside the capital of Abuja, but he escaped when the police convoy transporting him came under fire less than a day later.

In Kano, local police discovered vehicles laden with explosives at checkpoints and during a search of the city on Monday.

Security in Nigeria's second largest city has been beefed up since Friday when bomb attacks and fierce gun battles between the sect and police killed at least 178 people.

"The police were on a stop-and-search today and in two of the checkpoints, the Boko Haram members on sighting the checkpoints abandoned their vehicles and ran," a high-level police officer told Reuters, asking not to be named.

"The vehicles were later checked and the cars were loaded with explosives. Two brand new Hilux open pick-up vans were also found packed with explosives in the Bompai area of Kano."

Police also claim that they killed four Boko Haram operatives in Maiduguri, which is the northern town where Boko Haram was founded in 2012.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Announces Retirement A Year After Surviving Near-Fatal Gunshot Wound To Head

2012-01-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords [D: AZ-8] announced over the weekend that she would be stepping down to focus on her recovery a little over a year after she was shot in the head by a schizophrenic loner who opened fire at a 'Congress in Your Corner' event her office was hosting.

On January 8, 2011, 22 year old Jared Lee Lougner opened fire with a 9mm pistol on the Congresswoman and attendees as the meeting was being held outdoors in a Tucson, AZ shopping plaza. Besides the near-fatal injury to the Congresswoman, 6 people were killed- including a 9 year old girl, a federal judge and one of Gifford's staffers- before spectators wrestled Loughner to the ground and disarmed him.

Loughner remains in custody, although it appears a trial is increasingly unlikely for him anytime soon as he's being forcibly medicated in an attempt to make him psychologically fit to stand trial. In the hours immediately after the shootings, Loughner's rampage was blamed on public figures like Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and conservative talk radio hosts although it was determined that Loughner was a schizophrenic loner who had a disturbing fixation with the Congresswoman for years.

After being treated by a specialist in Houston and months of therapy, Congresswoman Giffords returned to Congress in late July in time to vote on the debt ceiling increase.

On Sunday, Giffords office released a video informing her constituents that she was going to resign effective this week [See above].

On Monday, Giffords' office hosted one final 'Congress in your corner' event before drafting a letter of resignation that she will turn in to Arizona governor Jan Brewer and Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boeher [R: OH-8].

Gov. Brewer has called for a special election to take place in April for a replacement for Giffords who will serve out the remainder of her term. Like many other states, Arizona is in the midst of redistricting and after the 2010 Census will add another Congressional district. During the 2010 midterms, Giffords narrowly held off Tea Party-backed GOP challenger Jesse Kelly.

Giffords herself reportedly has not ruled out running for office again at some point in the future, but she has determined her recovery is her main priority.

Personally, I'm amazed at the pace of Giffords' recovery so far as well as her determination to return after undergoing therapy. I wish Giffords and her husband the best of luck in their future endeavors up to and including another run for public office.

Happy Chinese New Years! Year of The Dragon Begins Today

2012-01-23T01:31:00.000-08:00

Well now! SOMEBODY has been paying attention to what I like

Monday marks the beginning of the Chinese New Years, although there were many parades and festivals in Chinatowns throughout the West over the weekend to mark the unofficial start.

With the Year of the Rabbit passing by quicker than one can say 'I, for one, welcome our Chinese overlords' in Mandarin, January 23rd marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon on the lunar calendar. The mythical dragon is considered an auspicious symbol that represents power, wealth and success in Chinese culture.

Manufacturers of luxury goods are seeking to take advantage of the dragon symbol and the status it represents by selling watches, designer handbags and even $15,000 hand-engraved cellphones to well-heeled consumers in China.

Chinese Actress Gong Li (left) on the red carpet sporting a noticably different variant of the cheongsam with a plunging neckline and raised collar

And of course, what would Chinese New Years be without the Chinese gown known as the Cheongsam (or qi pao). As demonstrated above, they're available in a wide variety of colors and lengths....and wearers.

It's no Chinatown dragon parade, but I do hope you at least enjoy the scenery.

Championship Weekend Sports Chowdah- Nevermore! Pats Superbowl Bound, Survive Late Ravens Drive; Penn State's Joe Paterno Passes Away At Age 85

2012-01-22T23:30:00.000-08:00

NFL: Holy crap, what a day! Two Championship games coming down to the wire (and then some!) for the right to play in Superbowl XLVI. Neither one of them disappointed.

PATRIOTS: Unlike some of the AFC Championship games involving New England in the prior decade, today's affair in Foxborough was a taut, down-to-the wire affair.

For the first half, both teams seemed by be fostering a 'bend but don't break' mindset. However, for every score that New England managed to put up, Baltimore seemed to come right back. Stephen Gostkowski got the Pats on the board first with a chip-shot FG to make it 3-0. Baltimore would then tie the contest up at 3-3 early in the 2nd.

New England got the ball back on their own 25 and move the ball down the field in less than four minutes, with RB Ben Jarvus Green Ellis punching it in from the Ravens 7 before pointing to the MHK patch on his jersey.

The Ravens, however, would answer right back with some deep passes from QB Joe Flacco and passing the ball to Dennis Pitta for the TD to tie the contest up at 10-10.

New England would get another Gostkowski FG before the half to make it 13-10. However, in the second half, after the Patriots had to settle for another Gostkowski FG, Baltimore took the lead for the first time on the day late in the 3rd when Flacco found WR Torrey Smith on 3rd down and Smith scrambled for 29 yards to hit paydirt and the 17-16 lead.

New England managed to re-take the lead early in the 4th after Baltimore thwarted two previous attempts to punch the ball into the end zone from inside the Ravens 1-yard line. Finally, Tom Brady managed to break the plane to put New England up 23-17.

With just over 7 minutes to go in regulation, it appeared as though the Patriots could put the game away once and for all when LB Brandon Spikes picked off Joe Flacco and returned the ball to mid-field. However, on New England's first play after the INT, Brady went deep and after an impressive tip drill by Bernie Pollard in the end zone to keep the ball aloft, CB Jimmy Smith came up with the ball for Baltimore and returned it to the Ravens own 39, giving Baltimore excellent field position with 7:07 to go in the 4th. However, while the Ravens managed to get the ball as far as the Patriots 33 yard line, they turned it over thanks to an incompletion on 4th and 6 with 2:33 to go.

While the turnover on downs gave New England great field position, the Patriots weren't able to do anything more than go 3 and out, giving the Ravens the ball back on their own 21 with 1:44 in regulation while trailing 23-20.

In that short timeframe, Flacco and the Baltimore offense seemed to be able to move the ball at will, at times carefully painting the sideline to preserve the clock. This was accomplished with such apparent ease on the part of the Ravens that it looked as though they would score the go-ahead TD inside of a minute, let alone notch the game tying FG. This was made abundantly clear when the Ravens advanced as far as the Patriots 14 yard line with less than 30 seconds to go.

On 2nd and 1, Flacco found WR Lee Evans open in the end zone, only to have Patriots CB Sterling Moore rip the ball out of Evans' grip to bring up 3rd and 1 (also incomplete, but well short of the end zone) so with 15 seconds remaining, the Ravens went for the tie with what was considered a chip shot FG from the 32 yard line. Baltimore Kicker Billy Cundiff had already hit a pair from the 20 and 39 earlier on the game.

With all eyes fully expecting the contest to OT, Cundiff's kick inexplicably sailed wide left of the uprights, giving New England the ball back with 11 seconds. Brady simply took a knee and that was the ballgame.

Patriots survive a late scare from the Ravens to win 23-20 and the more superstitious among us think that the late Myra Kraft might've sent an opportune gust of wind to aid her husband's team in the final seconds of the 4th.

By his own admission in the postgame comments, Tom Brady 'sucked'- going 22 for 36 with 239 yards, two interceptions, one sack and that quarterback sneak on 4th an goal form the Ravens 1 yard line [is it REALLY a sneak when the whole world knows what's going to happen?- NANESB!]. Eerily enough, Joe Flacco also went 22 for 36 but had 306 yards, two TDs three sacks and an interception on Sunday. RB Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis had 15 carries for 68 yards and the TD on Sunday.

On the defensive side of the ball, Nose Tackle Vince Wilfork came up huge [come on now- you think that dude does ANYTHING small?- NANESB!], pressuring Flacco and coming away with 6 tackles- including a sack- on the day. No interceptions run back on Sunday, but hey! There's still one more game for New England.

Ten years after making his final playoff appearence for the New England Patriots [coming in for injured then-rookie Tom Brady of the 2nd Quarter of the 2001-02 AFC CHampionship game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to lead New England to a 24-17 win over the Steelers- NANESB!] for Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe was on hand to award the Lamar Hunt trophy to New England owner Robert Kraft.

OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: Of some concern to the Patriots are apparent injuries to TE Rob Gronkowski and CB Kyle Arrington. Arrington left Sunday's game in the 2nd quarter with an apparent eye injury while Gronkowski departed in the 3rd to have an ankle injury examined, although he would later return to the sidelines.

Reports are circulating that Gronkowski will be cleared to play in time for the Superbowl.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: While the Patriots were celebrating after dodging OT and winning the AFC title, the game to determine who would face New England in Superbowl XLVI got underway from a rainy Candlestick Park in San Francisco between the NY Giants and the host 49ers.

After a first half in which Giants QB Eli Manning was starting to pick apart the 49ers defense, San Francisco would come out in the 2nd half and take the 14-10 lead on a 29 yard pass play from QB Alex Smith to WR Vernon Davis.

The Giants would then take a 17-14 lead after WR Kyle Williams had the Giants punt graze his leg, resulting in a live ball that the Giants return team pounced on- giving Manning and the offense a short field to work with at the 49ers 29 yard line. It appread as though San Francisco was set to dodge a bullet when when Eli Manning found WR Mario Manningham on 3rd and 15 and Manningham was able to run it in for the go ahead TD.

Williams would then return the subsequent Giants kickoff to mid-field, and the 49ers would get tantilizingly close to the Giants end zone before settling for a FG on 4th and 2 from the Giants 7 yard line.

That tied the contest up and unlike the earlier contest in Foxborough, MA, sent the NFC Championship game into OT. After each team had the ball and was seemingly unable to do anything with it, the Giants once again punted and once again, Kyle Williams turned it over, this time LB Jacquain Williams managed to punch the ball out and Giants reciever Devin Thomas fell on it at the 49ers 24 yard line. Although the 49ers stopped them on 3rd and goal from their own 8 (and the Giants got a 5 yard penalty afterwards), unlike earlier in the day, this crucial FG attempt was good, sending the Giants to Superbowl XLVI in Indianapolis and setting up a rematch of Superbowl XLII against the Patriots where the Giants last-minute drive put them on top 17-14.

Interestingly, this is the second consecutive NFC Championship game the Giants have appeared in that went to OT and the third NFC Title game in the last 5 years to go to OT.

NCAA FOOBALL: Former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno passed away from complications from lung cancer at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, PA over the weekend. The 85 year old Paterno played collegiate football at Brown University in the early 1950s and had been the Nittany Lions head coach from 1966 until November 2011 when he was forced to step down amid a child sex-abuse scandal involving his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. While Paterno was accused of no wrongdoing himself, many accused the head coach of attempting to protect the Nittany Lions reputation by ignoring the more serious allegations against Sandusky.

On the field, Paterno is college football's all-time winningest coach, with a career record of 409-136-3 and going 24-12-1 in Bowl games. Joe Paterno is also the only coach to have won each of the 'major' Bowls- Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar. In 2006, Paterno was named to the College Football Hall of Fame as a head coach.

In November, amid the media coverage of Penn State when the Sandusky scandal was breaking, Paterno's family reported that he was diagnosed with lung cancer. His health had been deteriorating in recent days and friends and family were called to his bedside.

Paterno leaves behind his wife Susan, five children and seventeen grandchildren.

RED SOX: The Boston Red Sox have dealt SS Marco Scutaro to the Colorado Rockies for pitcher Clayton Mortenson. Mortenson alternated between duty in the bullpen and as a starter for Colorado, going 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA last season.

The move gives the Rockies a veteran player in the middle infielder and frees up some money for Boston to pursue free agent starting pitcher Roy Oswalt or Outfielder Cody Ross, both of whom the organization has reportedly been aggressively courting in the past couple of days.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: The Red Sox and Reliever Daniel Bard have avoided arbitration and reached an agreement to terms on a 1-year contract over the weekend.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: The Texas Rangers have signed highly sought-after Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish to a 6 year contract thats worth a guaranteed $56 million.

Darvish has played for the Nippon-Ham Fighters since 2005 and has also appeared in the World Baseball Classic twice for Team Japan, closing out the final inning of the 2009 Championship game against South Korea to help Japan win it's second WBC tournament.

Last season, Darvish went 18-6 with an ERA of 1.44 for the Ham-Fighters of the Japanese Pacific League.

BRUINS: After a 3-2 loss in the dying sceonds of OT at home against the NY Rangers, braking a 7-game drought where the blueshirts went scoreless on the power play. Less than 24 hours later, the Bruins were heading for Philly for a Sunday afternoon game that was taking plast the same time as the AFC Championship match.

So while all eyes were seeminlgy elsewhere, there was plenty of this going on early in Philadelphia:

When all was said and done, 66 penalty minutes were assesed in Sunday's game [altho' some of them for more mundane infractions like too many men on the ice- NANESB!]/ The Bruins got out to the quick 1-0 lead 50 seconds in on a Patrice Bergeron goal while Maxime Talbot tied things up at 1 not quite 90 seconds later.

Tyler Seguin would get a PP goal at the 9 minute mark while Milan Lucic would get the puck past Bryzgalov some three and a half minutes later to make it 3-1 Boston.

Unlike the last time these two teams met at Philly, The Flyers weren't content to just roll over and die. The second period was all Philly, with them outshooting the Bruins 15-6 and Scott Hartnell getting the natural hat trick to put Philly up 4-3.

David Krejci would knot the contest up at 4-4 early in the 3rd while Greg Campbell would put the Bruins back on top a few minutes later to make it 5-4. However, Maxime Talbot would strike again and once again knot things up, this time at 5-5.

After a scoreless OT in which the B's were unable to take advantage of a holding penalty assessed to Kimmo Timonenen 3:20 in, the game went to a shootout where Tyler Seguin would tally the winning goal and Tim Thomas made the save on Wayne Simmonds to give Boston the 6-5 shootout win while everybody else was watching the Pats and Ravens, apparently [guilty!- NANESB!].

So once again, Boston is credited with 6 goals on the Flyers, but unlike their last meeting at the Wells Fargo Center, the Bruins needed every last one of them. Tim Thomas stopped 33 of 38 shots faced in regulation and OT while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 32 of 37 faced.

From there, the Bruins will travel to Washington D.C. where they will face the Capitals in their final game before the All-Star Break. This will actually be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The puck will drop at 7PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

OTHER BRUINS NEWS: With the Bruins in Washington D.C., the team was scheduled to visit the White House and meet with President Obama on Monday, as is customary for championship teams to do.

However, Tim Thomas has declined to join the team on the visit citing political differences with President Obama. Thomas is staunchly conservative and has donated to conservative candidates and political action committees in 2010 and wears a variation of the Gadsden Flag [an unofficial symbol of the Tea Party] on his mask.

Thomas is not the first outspoken conservative to have played for a championship team in Boston. Shortly after winning the 2004 World Series, starting pitcher Curt Schilling threw his support behind President George W Bush who was running for re-election against Massachusetts Senator John Kerry at the time. Other players for the Bruins, Red Sox or Patriots have hinted at more conservative or libertarian political views, but otherwise held their political leanings pretty close to the vest while playing in dark-blue Massachusetts.

Thomas is one of two Americans on the current Bruins roster (Joe Corvo being the other). The overwhelming majority of players hail from Canada.

On a side note, knowing Bay State liberals like I do, I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before somebody starts digging up some dirt about Thomas [allegations of cheating on his wife, taking steroids, puppy-drowning and so on- NANESB!] now that he's dared to slight their god with the 44% approval rating.

OTHER NHL NEWS: Edmonton Oilers LW Taylor hall is back on the ice after suffering a rather gruesome injury where his face was acceidentally stepped on by the skate of teammate Corey Potter during warm-ups before a game agaist the Columbus Blue Jackets last week.

The gash required 30 stitches and a specially insulated helmet that wouldn't rub against or aggravate the stitches as well as a tinted visor, since one of his eyes is almost swolen shut.

Hall has 15 goals and 16 assists in 37 games played this season. Both Hall and the Bruins' Tyler Segiun were the top two picks in the 2010 NHL Entry draft.

NBA: After being held to their lowest total all season in Firday night's 71-79 home loss against the Phoenix Suns, the Boston Celtics hit the road for a quick 1-game trip down to Washington D.C. to take on the woeful Wizards on Sunday in a contest that got even LESS attention than the Bruins and Flyers.

Paul Pierce carried the C's with 34 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists for the Celtics in their 100-94 win over the Wizards, who are now 2-14.

Boston will next take on Orlando Monday and Thursday night in a home and away series. Monday Night's game will tip off at the Garden and be televised on Comcast sports New England and NBA-TV. Thursday night's road game will get underway at 8PM ET and be televised nationally on TNT.

Utah School Board Nixes 'Cougar' Mascot For High School Slated to Open In 2013

2012-01-21T23:19:00.000-08:00

One possible interpretation of 'Cougar'

A school board in Salt Lake City is reportedly backing away from selecting Cougars as a mascot out of concerns could be construed as offensive to women.

DRAPER, UT– One Utah school district believes a cougar mascot would be insensitive to women.

The Canyons School District overrode the students top choice of a cougar mascot for their high school that is to be completed in 2013.

Would-be Corner Canyon High School students chose the Cougars as their mascot — a name principal Mary Bailey said carries an ugly connotation that is disrespectful to women.

The school board, which consists of six men and one woman, thought the Charger would be more appropriate, which was on the ballot but failed to appeal to students as the cougar had.

ANOTHER possible interpretation of 'Cougar'

Cougars- Scientific name Puma Concolor- [Thanks for coming back after your blackout, Wikipedia- NANESB!] are large wildcats native to Western states such as Utah and elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region. The phrase 'cougar' in recent years has been applied to mature women who attract the attention of (or primarily seek the company of) younger men.

May or may not be a cougar, but at least plays one on TV
Aside from both the actual wildcats and 40-something actresses Courtney Cox and Demi Moore, the Cougars are the mascot for Brigham Young university's athletic programs. BYU's mascot considerably predates the application of the phrase 'cougar' to mature women and likely factored into the student voting for the new school's mascot.

Kodachrome Skies No More- End of An Era As Photography Pioneer and American Icon Eastman Kodak Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

2012-01-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

Kodak Building seen from downtown Rochester, NY. Photo- Carol White Llewellyn

In a sad but widely-anticipated move, Rochester NY based imaging company Eastman Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday afternoon.

Kodak, which is more than 130 years old, filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The imaging company is expected to continue to try to auction off a lucrative portfolio of 1,100 patents that could be worth around $3 billion while in bankruptcy. Interested parties, which reportedly include Google [NASDAQ: GOOG] and Apple [NASDAQ: AAPL], seemed to realize they would have greater leverage if they waited for Kodak to file for bankruptcy.

“Chapter 11 gives us the best opportunities to maximize the value in two critical parts of our technology portfolio,” CEO Antonio Perez said in a statement, pointing to “our digital capture patents, which are essential for a wide range of mobile and other consumer electronic devices that capture digital images…and our breakthrough printing and deposition technologies.”

Kodak said it anticipates completing its U.S.-based restructuring during 2013. In the meantime, it expects to pay employee wages and benefits and continue customer programs.

To keep the company operating while in reorganization, Kodak said it has secured a $950 million debtor-in-possession, or DIP, financing with an 18-month maturity from Citigroup [NYSE: C].

Lazard [NYSE: LAZ] and FTI Consulting are advising Kodak and its board on the bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in shares of Eastman Kodak and taken steps towards de-listing it from the exchange.

Most day to day operations at Eastman Kodak will likely remain unchanged during the bankruptcy. As of 2011, the company employs 7,100 people in the Rochester, NY area and an estimated 18,800 nationwide.

Kodak was founded in 1880 when George Eastman began the commercial manufacture of dry plates from a leased office building in downtown Rochester. Within 8 years, Kodak produced a fixed-focus handheld camera that almost singlehandedly began the epoch of amateur photography. By 1900, Eastman introduced the inexpensive handheld Brownie camera, which was in production (with many variants) for more than 6 decades. However, the company was slow to adapt in the age of digital photography, and while they held a number of digital imaging patents and introduced their own line of printers and ink cartridges, this did not translate to commercial success.

On a personal note, however predictable this was, Kodak's bankruptcy filing still saddens me tremendously. I've done some professional photography work before and I cut my teeth on Kodak- including their now-discontinued line of Kodachrome slide film [Fujifilm would occasionally give me photos with an odd greenish or bluish tint- NANESB!].

For all those wonderful and even mundane moments in my life that I had been able to photograph, it was Kodak that was in the camera.

Today's Train of Though- The Many Faces of Soo, January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Frozen Tundra of Dairyland on a chilly winter day.

Here, railpictures.net contributor and Heartland Rails webmaster Ray Peacock found something of a rare catch making its way north through Astico, WI in January 2008.

Soo Line SD60 #6021 leads an eclectic lashup of power (SD60/MP15AC/SD60/GP38-2/SD60M/SD60) on a Twin Cities-bound mixed freight as every paint scheme from the last 25 years on the Soo Line is represented. The lead unit (as well as two others) are painted in their as-delivered white with red trim and black lettering, while the trailing unit- an MP15 switcher- is still in its Milwaukee Road orange and black paint scheme (Soo Line acquired the Milwaukee Road outright in 1986). The two trailing units are SD60s, sporting their as-delivered candy-apple red paint scheme. The only thing really missing from this scene to establish that it was taken under Canadian Pacific is the presence of a CP Rail unit powering the train shown above.

A diminishing number of Soo Line locomotives still in Milwaukee Road orange and black continue operating into early 2012, more than a quarter century after the railroad itself ceased to exist.

While Canadian Pacific is likely to keep the SD60s around for the foreseeable, a number of them are slated to be rebuilt and overhauled in Quebec and will receive CP Rail paint once finished.

Quickie Weeknight Cuppa Sports Chowdah For Jan 19th- The Devils You Know; Gift Raptors- C's Snap 5-Game Skid

2012-01-19T23:55:00.000-08:00

AP Photo

NHL- The Bruins seemed to have been in something of a funk, going 3-3 over the last two weeks.

Although they managed a 3-2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, they travelled to Tampa Bay where they dropped Tuesday night's contest to the struggling Lightning by a 5-3 final.

For Thursday night, they travelled back up the coast to take on the New Jersey Devils at Newark's Prudential Center. Coming into the Thursday night game, the Devils got the bad news that they would be without the services of defenseman Henrik Tallinder, who is expected to miss in the neighborhood of 6-8 weeks with a blood clot in his left leg.

As for Boston, Brad Marchand was eligible to play after finishing up his 5-game suspension for clipping Vancouver's Sami Salo during the January 7th home game against the Canucks.

After a first period that seemed to have the Bruins scrambling, the Devils drew first blood on a Pietr Sykora tally to put them up 1-0 with less than 90 seconds to go in the first.

After getting shut out in the second period, the Bruins started their comeback early in the 3rd, getting on board to tie the game at 1-1 thanks to a goal from Andrew Ference just 3 minutes into the 3rd stanza. Boston would then take the lead on a power play goal from Nathan Horton at the 7:10 mark and add to their lead 35 seconds later thanks to an even-strength tally from Gregory Campbell. With less than a minute to go, Chris Kelly made it 4-1 game thanks to an empty net goal after Martin Brodeur was pulled for the extra attacker.

Tim Thomas stopped 30 of 31 shots faced while Martin Brodeur allowed 3 goals on 24 shots faced. Both the Devils and the Bruins had exactly one power play apiece, with Boston capitalizing on their only opportunity in the 3rd.

The Bruins will next face the NY Rangers for the first time this season. The Rangers are one point ahead of the Bruins in the Eastern Conference standings and Saturday afternoon's contest at the TD Garden will be televised on the NHL Network. The puck is scheduled to drop at 1:00 ET.

OTHER NHL NEWS- Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara and Ottawa Sentaros RW Daniel Alfresson were named the two captains in the NHL's upcoming All Star game at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place on January 29. Both captains will set rosters for the skills competition and the game itself in a January 26 draft.

Tyler Seguin and Tim Thomas have also been named to this year's all star game.

NBA- The Boston Celtics losing streak is over after a convincing 23 point win over the [even MORE] struggling Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

After taking a 44-38 lead at the half, the Celtics simply continued pouring it on over the hapless Raptors in the second half, with the defense limiting them to 17 points in the 3rd and 18 points in the 4th.

Rajon Rondo led the scoring on the night for the C's with 21 points along with 3 rebounds and two assists.

New acquisiton Brandon Bass came off the bench and had 9 rebounds and 13 points in a pretty productive night for Boston.

Boston gets off the schnide and wins by a 96-73 final on Wednesday night. On Firday night, they will take on the Phoenix suns at the Garden with a 7:30 tipoff. The game will be televised on CSNE.

NFL: Ahead of this weekend's AFC Championship game between, the St Louis Rams announced that they will be playing the New England Patriots at London's Wembley Stadium on October 28, 2012. The Rams will reportedly be travelling to England for the next three seasons.

This would not be the first trip to London for the Patriots. They ventured across the pond for an October 25, 2009 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning that one handily by a 35-7 margin.

10-Term Democrat Congressman Maurice Hinchey Announces Retirement

2012-01-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

The bitter, petulant Democrat hack has decided to call it a career, apparently.

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) - Upstate New York Democratic Congressman Maurice Hinchey is set to announce that he won't seek re-election.

Hinchey's office says Wednesday the 10-term representative from the Hudson Valley will make an official retirement announcement Thursday in Kingston.

Hinchey is 73 and recently completed treatment for colon cancer. He has been declared cancer free by his doctors.

Most famously, Hinchey lost his temper and yelled for a reporter to "Shut Up!" after being questioned about a possible conflict of interest over a federally funded project in his district in 2010.

Hinchey represented New York's 22nd Congressional District, which stretches from the lower Hudson Valley across the Catskills to the Southern Tier and part of the Finger Lakes. Hinchey's district was considered 'safe' throughout most of his congressional career because it was so heavily gerrymandered by including a disproprtionate number of cities and colleges.

New York was set to lose at least two Congressional seats after the 2010 census. It was widely anticipated that NY-29 [covering the Western portion of the Southern Tier- NANESB!] was a prime candidate for the chopping block along with another yet to be determined district in New York City or Long Island. However, with news of Hinchey's retirement there is talk of eliminating NY-22 altogether.

While the new boundaries for New York State Assembly and legislative districts are expected to be released next week, the new Congressional district boundaries won't be finalized until after the State Assembly and legislative ones are agreed upon by lawmakers in Albany.

Obama Nixes KeystoneXL Pipeline As Department of Energy Loans to Solyndra, 11 Other Troubled 'Green Energy' Companies Probed

2012-01-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

The Obama Administration formally dismissed a bid by a Canadian company to construct a pipeline that would bring in oil from northern Alberta's tar sands to Texas for refining. Although the State Department and Obama Administration has left the door open for TransCanada [NYSE: TRP] to re-apply for a permit to build the KeystoneXL pipeline or alter the planned route, it's considered unlikely that the company will do so until after the 2012 Presidential election.

President Obama had until Feb 21st to make a decision regarding the proposed KeystoneXL pipeline, but [brace yourself- NANESB!] blamed Republicans for his decision claiming that the 'arbitrary' deadline made approving the project impossible, despite the fact that the project has been under review for environmental impact on both sides of the border since 2007. Initially, approval of the product was left up to the State Department owing to the fact that it crossed an international boundary into the USA. President Obama initially announced that he would punt the final decision on KeystoneXL until after the 2012 election [i.e. when either somebody else was in the White House or he didn't have to worry about re-election- NANESB!] but House Republicans included a stipulation in the payroll tax cut debate in December that Obama had to make a decision within 60 days on the pipeline.

At least one union, the Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA), was furious with the Obama Administration's decision, citing that the project has already underwent more than 1100 days of environmental review and that the Presidents dismissal of TransCanada's project disproportionately hurt the construction industry, which has been experiencing persistently high unemployment for the last 3 years.

Instead of waiting around for Presidential approval that is less likely to be granted, Canada is looking to market the oil from the Abathasca Oil Sands in China. To that end, TransCanada's competitor Enbridge Energy [NYSE: ENB, EEP, EEQ], backed by China's quasi state-run Sinopec [NYSE- SHI] are working on building a pipeline dubbed the Western Gateway Pipeline that would link Alberta with the Pacific Coast where the oil would be shipped to Asia from there. Curiously, this route raises even more environmental concerns as the proposed western terminus of the Northern Gateway pipeline is Kitmat, BC. From the Pacific ocean, Kitmat is only accessible by a relatively narrow inlet that poses a number of weather and navigation hazards, and the province of British Columbia imposed an informal moratorium on tanker traffic off shipping lanes north of Vancouver Island.

Obama's KeystoneXL decision barely two days after a CBS report highlighted a number of struggling 'green energy' firms that had gotten generous loans from the Department of Energy besides Solyndra.

Massachusetts-based Beacon Power filed for bankruptcy in Late October nearly a year after it had received $43 million in loan guarantees from the Department of Energy.

Roughly a month before Beacon's bankruptcy, Solar firms Solyndra, SpectraWatt and Evergreen had also filed for bankruptcy. The San Francisco Bay-area based Solyndra got the most attention out of the bankrupt firms since Obama campaign bundler George Kaiser was heavily invested in the venture and reportedly lobbied the White House directly for even more funds as the firm continued to struggle.

Along with Beacon, Evergreen solar was de-listed from the NASDAQ recently. While Beacon Power still maintains a Tyngsboro, MA address, in a cost-cutting measure, Evergreen left the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for facilities in China despite Massachusetts awarding the company nearly $60 million in grants and tax incentives to set up shop in Devens, MA.

On the other end of the country, a geothermal plant championed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) continues to struggle despite being awarded loan guarantees of $79 million as well as another $66 million in grants. Nevada Geothermal [TSX.V: NGP.V] reportedly still owes $88 million for construction costs on top of their operating costs as well.

Keep in mind that the American taxpayer is more than $500 million in the hole for Solyndra alone, but with 11 other failing 'green energy' companies who were recipients of DOE loans and various government grants, that number can only go up.

Back in December, President Obama had the unmitigated chutzpah to claim that extended jobless benefits would create more jobs than the KeystoneXL project he was set to vote on. Through his stewardship of the economy, he has ensured that both the American 'Green collar jobs' he so desperately wants to tout as well as the Canadian oil the rest of the country could use are on their way to China

11 Dead, Dozens Still Missing After Italian Cruise Ship Runs Aground When Captain Changed Course

2012-01-17T13:50:00.000-08:00

At least 11 people are dead and 29 still missing after the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy over the weekend. Reportedly, the vessel was some 300 meters from some rocks off the coast of Isola del Giglio when the Costa Concordia struck a rock that wasn't on any charts. The cruise ship then limped along for another kilometer before attempting to turn into the harbor at Porto Giglio, where the ship then listed violently 20° to starboard before coming to rest at a depth of 150 feet and at an 80° angle.

Reports indicate that the Costa Concordia had deviated from its route in a risky practice of blasting a salute to the island's populace from the ship's horn. About a half hour before the disaster, the head waiter's sister posted a message on her Facebook account that the ship was "going to pass real close". Costa Cruises Chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said that the course of the 1000ft long ship is preprogrammed but could be manually overridden by the captain. The head waiter claimed he didn't even request that the captain perform the risky maneuver on his behalf.

Antonello Tievoli, 46, the head waiter of the Costa Concordia, is “tormented by a sense of guilt” over the tragedy, his family said, even though he did not ask the captain to perform the sail-by.

His father, Giuseppe Tievoli, 82, said: “Antonello called me to say the ship would be passing by the island at around 9:30 and they would come and give us a whistle to say hello. It was something they often did.

“The ship obviously came too close. I don’t know if Antonello asked the captain to come near, but the responsibility is always and only the captain’s.”

Hours later, after the ship capsized, [Tievoli's sister] wrote [on her Facebook account]: “A tragedy, a deadful tragedy. I can’t believe it’s true. I just hope I will wake up and realise that it was a nightmare. The longest night of my life.”

Investigators, passengers and the Costa Cruise company alike are blaming the disaster on captain Francesco Schettino, who is currently under house arrest in his home outside of Naples and facing multiple charges of manslaughter. The 52 year old captain was reportedly dining with passengers when the wreck happened.

On Tuesday, the Italian Coast Guard released the transcript of Schnietto and Captain Georgio DeFalco, the Commander at Livorno:

De Falco: "This is De Falco speaking from Livorno. Am I speaking with the commander?"

Schettino: "Yes. Good evening, Cmdr. De Falco."

De Falco: "Please tell me your name."

Schettino: "I'm Cmdr. Schettino, commander."

De Falco: "Schettino? Listen Schettino. There are people trapped on board. Now you go with your boat under the prow on the starboard side. There is a pilot ladder. You will climb that ladder and go on board. You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear? I'm recording this conversation, Cmdr. Schettino…"

Schettino: "Commander, let me tell you one thing…"

De Falco: "Speak up! Put your hand in front of the microphone and speak more loudly, is that clear?"

Schettino: "In this moment, the boat is tipping…"

De Falco: "I understand that, listen, there are people that are coming down the pilot ladder of the prow. You go up that pilot ladder, get on that ship and tell me how many people are still on board. And what they need. Is that clear? You need to tell me if there are children, women or people in need of assistance. And tell me the exact number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Listen Schettino, that you saved yourself from the sea, but I am going to… I'm going to make sure you get in trouble. …I am going to make you pay for this. Go on board, (expletive)!"

Schettino: "Commander, please…"

De Falco: "No, please. You now get up and go on board. They are telling me that on board there are still…"

Schettino: "I am here with the rescue boats, I am here, I am not going anywhere, I am here…"

De Falco: "What are you doing, commander?"

Schettino: "I am here to coordinate the rescue…"

De Falco: "What are you coordinating there? Go on board! Coordinate the rescue from aboard the ship. Are you refusing?"

Schettino: "No, I am not refusing."

De Falco: "Are you refusing to go aboard commander? Can you tell me the reason why you are not going?"

Schettino: "I am not going because the other lifeboat is stopped."

De Falco: "You go aboard. It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared 'abandon ship.' Now I am in charge. You go on board! Is that clear? Do you hear me? Go, and call me when you are aboard. My air rescue crew is there."

Schettino: "Where are your rescuers?"

De Falco: "My air rescue is on the prow. Go. There are already bodies, Schettino."

Schettino: "How many bodies are there?"

De Falco: "I don't know. I have heard of one. You are the one who has to tell me how many there are. Christ."

Schettino: "But do you realize it is dark and here we can't see anything…"

De Falco: "And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!"

Schettino: "…I am with my second in command."

De Falco: "So both of you go up then … You and your second go on board now. Is that clear?"

Schettino: "Commander, I want to go on board, but it is simply that the other boat here … there are other rescuers. It has stopped and is waiting…"

De Falco: "It has been an hour that you have been telling me the same thing. Now, go on board. Go on board! And then tell me immediately how many people there are there."

Schettino: "OK, commander"

De Falco: "Go, immediately!"

Under Italian law, a captain who abandons ship can face up to 12 years imprisonment.
Divers from the Italian Navy have discovered five bodies after placing shaped explosive charges through different parts of the ships hull to reach isolated or submerged portions of the stricken vessel.

According to the Italian Coast Guard, there were 3,206 passengers on board along with 1,023 crew members at the time of its departure from the port of Civitaveccia. Among those still missing are a couple from White Bear Lake, MN, a Peruvian student who was tending bar, an Italian woman who was on her honeymoon and a five year old Italian girl names Dyanna Arlotti.

Salvage experts from Italy, the USA and the Netherlands expect that the Costa Concordia will be a total loss with damages of $500 million or more. The ship was constructed by Trieste-based shipbuilder Fincantieri Siestre Ponente in late 2005 and made its maiden voyage in July 2006.

Shares in Costa Cruises parent company, Carnival Cruises [NYSE: CCL] have declined 11% in trading since the accident took place.

Sports Chowdah Update for 1/16/12- It's Tebow-vah! Pats Get Big Win After 1st Round Bye; B's Start off Road Trip w/Southeastern Split; 49ers Grab Win

2012-01-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Q: What's the difference between Tim Tebow and Barack Obama?

A: One is a charlatan and a phony Messiah who had a bunch of people fooled after some convincing performances in Denver. The other plays football for the Broncos.

PATRIOTS: As it turned out, the rematch of the regular season game between Denver and New England wasn't even close.

After a week of buildup in which many who had previously had a hard time taking the Broncos and QB Tim Tebow had since jumped on the Tebowmania and seriously predicted Denver's miracle run to continue.

For the opening posesson of the game, the Patriots started out on their own 20 and drove down the field thanks to a 43 yard run by TE Aaron Hernandez followed by a short 7 yard Brady to Welker TD pass to take the early 7-0 lead.

The Broncos were able to get a pretty good drive going on their next posession, starting out on their own 24 and advancing as far as the Patriots 37 yard line before LB Rod Ninkovitch sacked Tim Tebow, forcing a fumble that Pats LB Brandon Spikes recovered.

The Patriots were able to capitalize on the turnover as Brady capped the drive off with a 10 yard TD Pass to TE Rob Gronkowski to make it 14-0 in favor of New England.

When Denver got the ball back, they managed to get the ball as far as mid-field before being stopped on 3rd and 5 and punting. However, after pinning New England inside their own 15 yard line, Broncos free safety Quentin Carter picked off a Brady pass attempt and returned the ball to the Patriots 24 yard line, giving Denver an extremely short field to work with. Denver's short drive was capped off with a 5 yard TD run from RB Willis McGahee to cut the Patriots' lead in half, making it a 14-7 game.

However, that's as close as it would get for the Broncos as New England would score 21 unanswered points in the remainder in the first half (including a 61 yard catch and run from WR Deion Branch and two TDs from Brady to Gronkowski).

In the 3rd quarter, Brady completed a 17 yard TD pass to Aaron Hernandez to make it a 42-7 game and tie an NFL postseaon record with Steve Young for most TDs in an NFL postseason game (the 49ers Steve Young accomplished this in Super Bowl XXXIX against the San Diego Chargers). For the remainder of the game, the Broncos and Patriots would swap Field goals, making it a 45-10 game.

Brady even got a decent punt off late in the 4th, but that was overshadowed by the donnybrook that took place immediately after the kick. However, Tebow-mania is done for the season and the New England Patriots will now host the Baltimore Ravens at Gilette Stadium next weekend. New England wins this one by a 45-10 final with Brady going 26 of 34, 363 yards, 6 TDs and one interception. Rob Gronkowski accounted for half of those TDs, with 10 catches on the day and 145 yards.

The following day, the Baltimore Ravens held on late to win against the Houston Texans at home to advance to the AFC Champtionship game against New England which will take place at 3:00 PM ET at Foxborough, MA and be televised on CBS.

OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: Patriots owner Robert Kraft invited the family of Peabody, MA fireman James Rice to Saturday's game. Rice, an 11 year veteran of the Peabody FD, was killed in a December 23rd apartment fire and was laid to rest on December 30th.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL: Even if you weren't a fan of the 49ers or Saints, the game that preceeded Saturday's Broncos/Patriots game was worth tuning in for.

The 49ers got off to an early and seemingly commanding 17-0 lead, but the Saints and Drew Brees was able to chip away at it heading into halftime trailing by just a field goal, with the score at 17-14. A fairly quiet 3rd quarter set up an absolutely chaotic 4th that saw no fewer than three lead changes in the final 4:02.

After the Saints took a 32-39 lead with 1:37 to go in regulation, it appeared as though the 49ers were attemtping to play for the tie and set up overtime. With 1:12 to go and starting from the own 15, 49ers QB Alex Smith managed to drive the team as far down as the Saints 14 yard line, setting up this play to TE Vernon Davis:

San Francisco goes on to win by a final of 36-32. This sets up an NFC Championship game at home against the New York Giants, who stunned the defending Superbowl Champion Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday by a 37-20 final.

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
NHL: After a lackluster start to their most recent road trip this weekend [namely a 4-2 loss in Raliegh, NC to the Carolina Hurricanes that few people saw because it was taking place concurrently with the Patriots taking Denver to the woodshed- NANESB!], the Bruins continued their swing through the Southeastern Division on Monday night, facing the division-leading Florida Panthers in Sunrise, FL.

Despite getting outshot 9-1 to start off the first period, Patrice Bergeron got Boston on the board less than 90 seconds after the puck dropped for the opening stanza. Despite being outshot by a total of 12-6, the Bruins carried that slender 1-0 lead into the 1st intermission. Panthers defenseman Jason Garrison would tie things up at 1-1 after getting the puck past Tukka Rask in the 2nd.

The Bruins would then re-take the lead with a power-play goal from from Bergeron with about 5 minutes to go in the 2nd. However, with just a few seconds remaining in the 2nd, Panthers C Shawn Matthias knotted up things at 2-2 with an even-strength goal.

After a scoreless 3rd period and OT, the game went to a shootout, with the first two shooters from each team missing on their opportunities. Stephen Weiss made his opportunuty count and Patrice Bergeron got the Bruins first goal of the shootout. However, Mikael Samuelsson missed his shootout opportunity for the Patherns and David Krejci was able to ice the win with his shootout goal against Scott Clemmensen.

Tukka Rask turned aside 38 of the 40 shots he faced in regulation and OT while Clemmensen stopped 32 of 35 faced. Boston was able to convert on their only power play opportunity of the night while the Panthers went 0-2 with the man advantage.

Although the Bruins remain atop the Northeast Division as far as the standings go, they're a point behind two other teams in the NHL at the moment- neither one of them having faced Boston; the NY Rangers and St Louis Blues.

On Tuesday night, the Bruins will face the hard-luck Tampa Bay Lightning who have lost 7 in a row. Puck will drop at 7:30 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

NBA: The Celtics woes continue as they have now dropped five striaght, losing to the Chicago Bulls on Firday night, on the road to the Pacers on Saturday and then getting dropped by an 88-97 final by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

The C's will try and snap their skid on Wednesday night, when they face the 4-10 Toronto Raptors at the Graden. The game will be televised on CSNE and tips off at 7:30 PM ET

Report: North Koreans Sent to Labor Camps By Regime For Not Appearing Distraught Enough While Mourning Kim Il Jong

2012-01-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

Not sufficiently weepy? Off to the labor camps with you!

Shortly after the death of North Korean leader Kim Il-Jung was announced last month, the regime-controlled media made it a point to broadcast video and images of grief-stricken mourners wailing in the streets of Pyongyang over Dear Leader's ascent to that worker's paradise in the sky.

For those of you unfamiliar with the North Korean regime, they control just about every aspect of life in the country and any large-scale event (i.e. parades or something called the Mass games) that takes place is typically very well choreographed. Lining people up on the streets of Pyongyang to wail in anguish on cue for cameras would be a fairly simple task given the ornate nature of some of the other events that have been choreographed.

There's a school of thought that the mourning was genuine either because the indoctrination has clearly taken hold or because those wailing the loudest had it pretty good under Kim Il Jong but could face an uncertain future under Kim Jong-Un, Kim Il Jong's heir apparent.

It's also worth noting that not only does North Korea's state-run media have zero connection to reality, they seem to do so with a melodramatic flourish when it comes to anything related to the regime and ruling party. That's not just this lackey lapdog of Yanqui imperialism speaking- check out these reports from the KCNA (North Korea's official media outlet) that Reuters thoughtfully passed along for us.

(Reuters) - The passing of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has been marked by plunging temperatures, mourning bears and now, according to North Korean state media, by flocks of magpies.

Kim, who died in December aged 69 years after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state, was reputed to be able to control the weather, as well as to have scored a miraculous 38 under par round of golf.

"At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim Il Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news," state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.

KCNA reported last week that a family of bears who usually hibernate through the fierce Korean winter had been seen lamenting Kim Jong-il's death.

"The bears, believed to be a mother and cubs, were staying on the road, crying woefully," it said

Now, reports are circulating that mourners in Pyongyang are being sentenced to several month stints in prison camps for not looking distraught enough on camera.

According to South Korea-based Daily NK, authorities have convened 'criticism sessions' with the aim of punishing those who skipped organized events during the mourning period or those who did but didn't cry or "seem genuine".

The informant from North Hamkyung Province told the website: 'The authorities are handing down at least six months in a labour-training camp to anybody who didn’t participate in the organised gatherings during the mourning period, or who did participate but didn’t cry and didn't seem genuine.'
The source claimed the criticism sessions created a 'vicious atmosphere of fear', which meant the new leader, Kim Jong-un, was being accused of preying on the people now that he has taken power.

It is unclear how many people face incarceration but the figure could be many thousands.

Shortly before the NKDaily reported the official 'criticism sessions' resulting in the incarceration of lackluster mourners, the regime announced a 'Benevolent' amnesty for convicted prisoners to commemorate the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung. The announcement didn't clarify how many prisoners would be granted amnesty, although there is speculation that this might've been done to make room for the newly-sentenced North Koreans who were mourning insufficiently.

Today's Train of Thought- Fade to White, January 12, 2012

2012-01-12T23:39:00.000-08:00

Perhaps better known for the infamous Great Flood of 1889, Today's Train of Thought takes us to Johnstown, PA.

Since the 1999 breakup of Conrail, Johnstown has primarily been a Norfolk Southern town, with dozens of trains storming through town in a daily basis on the former Pennsylvania Railroad mainline linking Pittsburgh with Harrisburgh via Johnstown, Horseshoe Curve and Altoona. CSX reached the Western Pennsylvania city long before the breakup of Conrail, via their former Baltimore & Ohio S&C (Somerset and Cambria) Subdivision.

Compared to the former Pennsy line through town, the S&C line has the feel of a much more sedate shortline or regional railway. The old Somerset & Cambria lines links up with CSX's former B&O line over Sand Patch linking Pittsburgh with Baltimore at Connellsville, PA.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Scooter Hovanec catches CSX GP40-2 #6142 leading local freight D703 towards Connellsville on a snowy January 7, 2011 after picking up empties from the Conemaugh and Black Lick Railroad, Johnstown Wire Technologies and Pepsi.

Hump Day Sports Chowdah Update- Denver Steels One @ Home; Tide Rolls in BCS; B's Weather Northern Invasion; NBA Champs Give C's Texas Sized Trouble

2012-01-11T22:07:00.000-08:00

NFL- Holy crap....I didn't see this so much as catch it on the radio. Even if I did see it, I probably still wouldn't have believed it.

In case you've been living somewhere without TV or Twitter for the past couple of days, here is how Wild Card weekend wrapped up in Mile High. Embedded below is the ENTIRE overtime from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos game.

Yeah- your eyes do NOT decieve you. One play and *BAM!* it's ovah. There was a whole slew of new overtime rules that were explained at the very beginning of Sunday's OT [basically no more sudden death OT if a field goal is kicked- first one to score 6 points wins- NANESB!].

Tebow's TD pass to open up OT sets up a meeting with the New England Patriots in Foxborough, MA Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.

The Steelers/Broncos game on Sunday evening had capped what was previously been a Wild Card weekend of blowout contests.

Things got underway on Saturday with the Houston Texans notcing their first-ever postseason win after beating the Cincinnati bengals 31-10 at home. This was followed up on Saturday night with the Detroit Lions trying in vain to play catch-up with the NFC South champion Saints as New Orleans clinched that one by a 45-28 final.

On Sunday afternoon, the Giants built upon a 7-2 halftime lead over the Atlanta Falcons to run away with the contest, going on to win by a 24-2 final.

This weekend's matchups are as follows:

SATURDAY- 1/14:

New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers- 4:30PM ET [FOX]
Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots- 8:00PM ET [CBS]

SUNDAY- 1/15:

Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens- 1:00PM ET [CBS]
New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers- 4:30PM ET [FOX]

OTHER NFL NEWS: The body of the 21 year old son of Green Bay Packers assistant coach Joe Philbin was found by searchers in the Fox River on Monday. Police in Oshkosh, WI are trying to piece together the actions of Micheal Philbin in the hours leading up to his death.

A night watchman at a nearby business called police reporting that he heard somebody calling for help from an area adjacent to the river at a bout 2:30 AM Sunday. Police, fire and dive teams searched the area but initially found nothing.

Investigators do not immediately suspect foul play, but suspect alcohol may have been a factor.

NHL- The regular season Stanley Cup rematch on Saturday turned out to be a little anti-climatic as the Canucks were able to hold off a late Bruins charge and win by a 4-3 final....all four of Vancouver's goals coming with the man advantage.

Corey Schneider stopped 36 of 39 shots faces while Tim Thomas stopped 32 of 36 shots faced. This was a pretty chippy affain, with the Bruins getting assessed 48 penalty minutes and Vancouver getting 52 total.

The big story was the NHL suspending Brad Marchand for a hit on Vancouver's Sami Salo on Saturday.

Marchand clipped Salo towards the end of the second period in Saturday's game and was assessed a major penalty and game-misconduct. By Monday, the NHL had issued a 5-game suspension for Marchand and he will reportedly forfeit $150,000 in pay. Marchand will reportedly be able to return on Jan 19th, when the Bruins play the New Jersey Devils.

The league considers Marchand a repeat offender, havng been been suspended two games last March.

On Tuesday Night, the Marchand-less Bruins hosted the Winnipeg Jets and were trailing 3-2 heading into the 3rd period. Boston would rally in the 3rd, getting goals from Nathan Horton (just 8 seconds in no less), Tyler Seguin and Benoit Pouliot (the latter coming on the power play) to take the lead for good and win by a final of 5-3.

Tukka Rask had the start in net and turned aside 29 of 32 shots faced while the Bruins had all of 13 penalty minutes assessed against them.

The Bruins will next face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Puck drops at 7PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

Jeffery Roberts- Daily Hampshire Gazette

NCAA HOCKEY: The NCAA Doubleheader for Frozen Fenway wrapped up on Saturday with both contests heading into OT.

Game one had the Vermont Catamounts against the UMass Minutemen, and after Vermont got off to an early 1-0 lead, the game would head into OT knotted up at 2-2. The fact that the contest even made it to overtime was made all the more impressive by the fact that the Minutemen's Patrick Kiley was given a 5 minute major penalty with less than 3 minutes to go in regulation. Not only was UMass able to successuflly kill of the e5 minute major in the 3rd and into OT, but Catamounts defenseman Michael Paliotta was called for boarding with 1:16 remaining in overtime. UMass defenseman Michael Marcou managed to score with 22 seconds left in OT to give the Minutemen the 3-2 OT win. Sophmore goalie Jeff Teglia notched his first career win witht the Minutemen after making 24 saves on Saturday.

The UMass win was followed up by a higer-scoring contest between the University of New Hampshire Wildcats and the Maine Black Bears Forward Brian Flynn scored a minute and a half into OT to break a 4-4 deadlock, giving Maine the 5-4 victory. Saturday night's win is the Black Bear's 7th win in their last 8 games.

OTHER NCAA HOCKEY NEWS: Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey coach Charles 'Lefty' Smith passed away in his South Bend, IN home at the age of 81. In a statement, the University said that Smith died of natural causes.

Smith started Notre Dame's hockey program back in 1968 and compiled a 307-320-30 record in his 19 year tenure as the Fighting Irish head coach. In 1973, Smith was awarded the WCHA's Coach of the Year. After his coaching career, Smith became facilities manager for the Irish, continuing to work until his retirement a month ago.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Well, I learned something new on Monday night: Apparently Tigers can lay eggs.

That's exactly what the #1 ranked LSU Tigers did in the BCS championship game against the Crimson Tide at the Superdome as #2 Alabama shut out the Bayou Bengals 21-0.

Flawless execution on 'Bama's part notwithstanding, many spectators were left wondering how different the game might've looked if the #3 Oklahoma State Cowboys were invited to the BCS Championship game instead of a conference opponent for LSU [I sent out a tweet half-seriously implying that the Fiesta Bowl was actually the REAL BCS title game- NANESB!].

So when all was said and done, the apparent highlight for Louisiana college football this Bowl season was the UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns last-minute victory over San Diego State in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, also played in the Superdome.

OTHER NCAA FOOTBALL NEWS- Baylor's Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III announced that he would forego his senior year at Baylor to enter the NFL draft on Wednesday.

NBA- Oh yeah...the NBA season is underway.

The Boston Celtics dropped to 4-5 on Wednesday night after losing to the reigning NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks by an 85-90 final. Dirk Nowitzki got by Kevin Garnett with what would be the game-winning laup with 5 seconds left in the 4th.

The Celtics will next take on the 10-2 Chicago Bulls on Friday night at 8:00PM ET, with the game being televised on ESPN.

As Chavez, Ahmadinejad Taunt, Threaten USA, Americans Come to Aid of Iranian Mariners- AGAIN

2012-01-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

USCG Monomoy seen during an earlier deployment to the Persian Gulf

To quote Mandy Manners from C2, "We're getting good at staging these things".

While Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadeinejad was yukking it up with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez in Caracas this week and an Iranian court handed down a death penalty to an American accused of spying, American sailors once again came to the aid of an Iranian-flagged vessel in distress.

For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Navy has rescued distressed Iranian sailors, despite the extremely high tensions between the two nations.

According to the Navy's account, at about 3 a.m. local time an American Coast Guard patrol boat in the north Persian Gulf was hailed by flares and flashlights from an Iranian cargo ship whose engine room was flooding. Six Iranians were rescued from the ship, fed halal meals in accordance with Islamic law, and later taken to shore.

"Saving lives is the last thing you expect to do at [3 a.m.] while patrolling in the Northern Arabian Gulf, but being in the Coast Guard, that's what we are trained to do," Boatswain Mate 2nd Class Emily Poole said in a Navy statement, using an alternate designation for the Persian Gulf.

After the Iranian regime's lukewarm reaction to 13 Iranian fishermen freed by the US Navy after being abducted by Somali pirates, the captain of an Iranian Coast Guard vessel assigned to pick up the half dozen mariners was much quicker to thank his American counterparts.

The U.S. Navy said the captain of the Naji 7, through a translator, "Sends his regards and thanks to our Captain and all crewmembers for assisting, and taking care of the Iranian sailors. Wishes us the best, and thanks us for our cooperation."

Both rescues come amid heightened tensions between the USA and the Islamic republic after Iran threatened to close off the straits of Hormuz, a vital shipping channel at the easternmost tip of the Arabian peninsula that's less than 35 miles wide.

Feds Charge Massachusetts State Trooper With Extortion, Loan Sharking

2012-01-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

Massachusetts State Police motto: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem, which apparently is Latin for 'Where's my money, bitch!?'

A 19-year veteran of the Massachusetts State Police was suspended without pay after his arrest last week and is now facing charges of extortion after allegedly going into business for himself as a loan shark.

John Analetto, 48, of Belmont, a 19-year veteran of the state police, is accused of beating and repeatedly threatening to kill the bookie, who later went to the FBI, became a confidential witness and wore a recording device.

Analetto was arrested Saturday in Belmont.

State police spokesman David Procopio said Analetto was relieved of duty Saturday and suspended indefinitely without pay Tuesday.

State Police Superintendent Col. Marian McGovern said she and other state troopers are "disgusted" by Analetto's alleged actions.

"Analetto's actions as alleged in the federal complaint are beneath contempt," McGovern said in a statement.

"They are, as alleged, the actions of a criminal and street thug. As suggested by the evidence, Analetto's behavior exemplifies street-level organized crime, not the values, ideals, and character of a Massachusetts State Trooper.
Analetto, who is married and has two teenage children, spoke briefly to his wife in the courtroom after the hearing. His wife declined to comment as she left the courthouse.

In the FBI affidavit, Special Agent Michael Carazza said he met with the cooperating witness on Dec. 19, when the witness described his relationship with Analetto. The bookie said he had been involved in illegal gambling businesses for 17 years and had been introduced to Analetto by a mutual friend within the past year.

The bookie said Analetto initially became one of his bettors but eventually offered to lend him money after learning of his debts to loan sharks. Analetto gave the bookie $24,000 in September and October, Carazza said in the affidavit. Analetto also allegedly agreed to bring bettors to the business, and did bring in five bettors.

Analetto demanded a percentage of the gambling profits for the rest of the bookie's life, Carazza said in the affidavit.

During a Dec. 23 meeting that was secretly filmed by the bookie, Analetto became angry about the amount of money still owed to him.

"Will I kill you? Ya, I'll (expletive) kill you," Analetto said, according to the FBI affidavit.

During another meeting a week later, Analetto allegedly head-butted and slapped the bookie.

Authorities also accuse Analetto of leaving a threatening phone message for a bettor who owed the business money.

"We'd appreciate if you contact the right people and start doing the right thing. Or 2012 isn't gonna be too good for you," Analetto said in the message, according to the affidavit.

"So Happy New Year to you and your mom and dad and family."

Analetto faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on a charge of collection of extensions of credit by extortionate means.

A judge is reviewing the tapes of the December meeting with the FBI informant while determining whether or not Analetto should be released on bail. Analetto remains jailed in Rhode Island awaiting another court date.

Today's Train of Though- A Grande Finale; January 9, 2012

2012-01-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today's train of though showcases the end of an era for the Main Line Through the Rockies in the cold, lonely high desert of Utah.

Nearly a decade after Denver, Rio Grande & Western merged with Southern Pacific, businessman Phil Anschultz sold the combined system to Union Pacific in 1996. And just like Union Pacific's acquisitions of the Missouri Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas and Western Pacific railroads in the 1980s, it was seemingly inevitable that these new acquisitions would disappear under a coat of armour yellow paint.

However, a number of 3,000 HP SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors from the Rio Grande would remain in service into the early 2000s, still in unmodified DRG&W black and orange. The majority of these locomotives were assigned to helper and local service in the aptly named railroad and mining town of Helper, UT.

With their numbers declining as the decade progressed, the units- along with other older locomotives from the Union Pacific fleet- were assigned to the 'Dirt Train', a dedicated unit train that hauls gondola cars full of contaminated soil to a disposal site in E. Carbon, UT.

By 2006, all that remained of the SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors that began service in Rio Grande's black and orange was DRG&W #5371. She would spend the next two years alternating service between locals around Salt Lake City and the dirt train.

Here, railpictures.net contributor James Belmont catches the #5371 and a trio of armour yellow SD40-2s trailing as they head east through Wellington, UT on Feb 29th, 2008 while making their way to the East Carbon disposal site with another trainload of contaminated dirt [likely from the decommissioned Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, CA- but that's just speculation on my part- NANESB!].

According to Mr Belmont, this was the last run of the #5371 in regular service. The Rio Grande unit was sent to Cheyenne, WY for storage shortly after this picture was taken. By September 2008, the #5371 was stricken from Union Pacific's roster.

By 2009, the Union Pacific Railroad donated the #5371 to the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, UT [Housed in Ogden's Union Station along with the John M Browning Firearms Museum, upping the 'must visit' factor for me by about another 1000 points- NANESB!].

Today, the 5731 keeps company with other displayed locomotives such as Union Pacific DD40AX #6916 (largest diesel locomotive built by EMD) and 4-8-4 #833 (a sister to Union Pacific's still-active #844.

Regime That Photoshops Extra Missiles Into Official Photos Accuses US Navy of Staging 'Hollywood Drama' After Iranian Fishermen Rescued

2012-01-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

Just days after sailors from the USS Kidd rescued more than a dozen Iranian fishermen captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, the Iranian regime accused the United States Navy of staging the entire incident days after a senior Iranian Army commander warned the United States to keep their warships out of the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. Navy announced Friday it had rescued 13 Iranian fishermen being held by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea, despite rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

An SH-60S Seahawk from the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd detected the pirates while a simultaneous distress call was received from the Al Molai fishing vessel.

"The Al Molai had been taken over by pirates for roughly the last 40 to 45 days," said Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd. "They were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe were forced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracy operations."

The Navy reports that Iranian boat had been pirated and used as a "mother ship" for pirate operations throughout the Persian Gulf, according to members of the Iranian vessel's crew.

"When we boarded, we gave them food, water, and medical care," Schminky said. "They had been through a lot. We went out of our way to treat the fishing crew with kindness and respect."

The pirates were detained until transferred to the USS John C. Stennis, where the matter will be reviewed for prosecution.

According to the rescued Iranians, they had been held captive by the Somali pirates since mid-November and their vessel was being used as a 'mother ship' to launch attacks on other vessels with the pirates using skiffs to scout for potential targets. After a close call with a French naval vessel and the guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay, the commandeered dhow was discovered by the USS Kidd.

Since most of the crew members of the Iranian dhow were from Eastern Iran, where the native language is Urdu, the captain of the captured vessel was able to reply to the USS Kidd's hails in his native tongue without his Somali captors understanding.

As the U.S. destroyer Kidd loomed alongside this hijacked Iranian dhow, the warship’s loudspeaker issued a command in Urdu to the dhow’s frightened Urdu-speaking crew. U.S. sailors stood ready, weapons in hand. If you have weapons aboard, the voice boomed, put them where we can see them, on the roof of your wheelhouse.

Fifteen Somali pirates were also on board Al Mulahi, crouched and cornered on the very vessel they had seized in November to use as their mother ship. They had knives, a pistol and four assault rifles. But they did not speak Urdu. For a moment, the captors depended on their captives.

They asked their Iranian hostages what the U.S. sailors had just said.

One of the hostages, Khaled Abdulkhaled, answered without pause: “They said they are about to blow this ship up.”

The pirates panicked. Their unity broke down. Each man hoped to surrender, find cover or hide. Discarding their weapons, nine of them crammed into a hold beneath the wheelhouse. Six huddled near the open bow. Soon armed U.S. sailors climbed aboard.

They spotted the six Somalis on the bow, who did not resist. As more of the boarding team swarmed over the side, the Iranian hostages pointed to where the remaining pirates were hiding. The sailors pulled those men out, one by one, into the light and forced them face down onto the deck.

Shortly after the rescue, the same regime that photoshops extra missiles into official photos accused the US Navy of staging a 'Hollywood drama' with the rescue.

Fars reported: 'Basically, rescuing trading and fishing boats from the hands of pirates in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden is considered a completely normal issue.

'A U.S. helicopter filming the rescue operation from the first minute makes it look like a Hollywood drama with specific locations and actors. It shows the Americans tried to publicize it through the media and present the American warship as a savior.'

The semiofficial Fars news agency is considered close to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard military force.

While captured, the Al Mulahi fishing vessel made at least one trip to Somalia for provisions before the crew was rescued in the Indian Ocean some 175 miles south of Muscat, Oman.

Navajo Code Talkers Association President Passes Away at Age 87

2012-01-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

World War II vet and Navajo Code Talker's Association President Keith Little passed away in a northeastern Arizona hospital at the age of 87 this week.

Little joined the Marines at 17. He was among hundreds of Navajos recruited by the U.S. Marine Corps and trained as Code Talkers, who used a code that was developed by 29 Navajos and based on the Navajo language. Code Talkers used the code to confound the Japanese and help win World War II.

"My motivation was to fight the enemy with a gun or whatever," Little told the Associated Press in a July 2009 interview. "When I went into the Marine Corps ... I knew nothing about the Navajo code. It was really astonishing to me to get to Camp Pendleton and there were a bunch of Navajos there, and they were working with a Navajo code."

Due to deteriorating health, Little had been in and out of hospitals over the last year, but still managed to appear in a number of parades and speaking engagements. Little had travelled throughout the country lobbying for a museum outside of Window Rock, AZ that would archive the Code Talker's story for future generations as well as house WWI militaria. Little was apparently hoping that the museum would be open by 2014, but more funds would be needed in order for that to happen.

Tribal president Ben Shelly called for flags to be flown at half staff for the rest of the week. The funeral service was held in Window Rock, AZ and Little was buried at a family plot in Crystal, NM on Saturday.

In leiu of flowers, Little's family is asking that donations be made in his honor to the Navajo Code Talker's Museum online or by mail via NCTF Museum Donation, PO Box 1266, Window Rock, AZ 86515.

Today's Train of Thought- Slurry With the Fringe On Top, Jan 7 2012

2012-01-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

Today's Train of Thought brings us to the far southwestern corner of the Green Mountain state, although as this image shows that they aren't always as green as advertised.

Over the last couple of years, the Vermont Railway and Pan Am Railroad began intechanging via the newly-reopened interchange between North Bennington, VT and Hoosick Falls, NY. While there is a grain elevator and feed store adjacent to the small yard in North Bennington, the VRS mainly uses the interchange to forward unit trains of limestone slurry destined for the paper mills of Maine. When the slurry first began moving in dedicated trainsets, they moved via the VRS's Green Mountain line between Rutland and Bellows Falls, VT where they were interchanged with Pan-Am via trackage rights over New England Central south to Northfield Jct, MA. Once on 'home' rails, it would move a few miles south to the former Boston & Maine yard in East Deerfield, MA before moving east to Waterville, ME.

However, more recently the VRS simply moves the slurry south between Rutland and N. Bennington a few cars at a time over the course of about a week before being assembled into a unit train and hauled the last few miles to the junction with Pan Am's west end at Hoosick Falls.

Once on Pan Am Rails, the train is given the symbol NBWA (North Bennington to WAterville, ME) or NBED (North Bennington to East Deerfield, MA) if there's any additional freight cars to be picked up between Hoosick Falls and Waterville.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Tim Stockwell catches NBED curving along the Hoosic River and state route 346 throught Pownal, VT. Here, high hood Maine Central GP40 #374- still in Guilford grey- is in the lead as it charges eastbound on February 2010.

Obama Announces Drastic Cuts in US Defense Spending

2012-01-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

I'm not the least bit surprised by this, yet I'm still angry.

With his vapid, fawning, brain dead followers in the media and punditocracy class more than willing to give President Obama sole credit for the heavy lifting done by the United States military (particularly the May 2011 raid where Osama Bin Laden was killed in his Pakistani hideout), you'd think that Obama would be reluctant to make any significant cuts to the armed forces or at least hold off until after the 2012 campaign.

You would be wrong.

At a press conference at the Pentagon on Thursday, President Obama unveiled an austere and 'more realistic' vision for the Military that would purportedly develop air and sea power while cutting back tens of thousands of ground troops.

Though specific budget cut and troop reduction figures are not set to be announced on Thursday, officials confirmed to Reuters they would amount to a 10-15 percent decline in Army and Marine Corps numbers over the next decade, translating to tens of thousands of troops.

"As Libya showed, you don't necessarily have to have boots on the ground all the time," an official said, explaining the White House view.

"We are refining our strategy to something that is more realistic," the official added.

Unsurprisingly, Administration officials touted the recent 'success' of Ghdaffi's ouster in Libya as a template for 'winning' a conflict without extensive ground forces even though other NATO nations and the Libyan rebels did the lion's share of the work [apparently this 'victory' includes replacing a dictator with lawless roving bands of gunmen who arbitrarily detain black men and promise to chase the few remaining Jews out of the country- NANESB!].

Obama has moved to curtail U.S. ground commitments overseas, ending the war in Iraq, drawing down troops in Afghanistan and ruling out anything but air power and intelligence support for rebels who overthrew Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.

So with China's ongoing military buildup, the ascendancy of Kim Jong Un in a belligerent North Korea and Iran's nuclear program and recent saber rattling, the Obama Administration decided the FIRST place they needed to make cuts was with the Defense budget. The subsidies, loans and grants to all sorts of dubious 'Green Jobs' and Solar ventures were apparently too important to the future of this great Republic.

Unsurprisingly, since this Administration took office, the United States military has become an unwitting test bed for all sorts of social engineering and 'green energy' boondoggles at the behest of the ruling Democrats.

That's when this Administration isn't contemplating releasing top-ranking Taliban detainees from custody or referring to Major Hasan's jihad-inspired Fort Hood killing spree as 'workplace violence'.

I vividly remember Obama's flip "You guys make a pretty good photo-op" comment while addressing servicemen at an air base in South Korea. It will be interesting to see if his campaign will try and incorporate any imagery of Obama meeting with uniformed military personnel, since it looks as though he no longer sees the need even have them around as a photo op.

Bowl After Bowl of Sports Chowdah- Pats Become 49ers East After Huge Rally; Bruins Give Devils Their Due to Start 2012; Sox Close Deal on Bailey

2012-01-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Getty Images

NFL- After coming from behind against Miami on Christmas Eve, the Patriots wrapped up the regular season in Foxboro against Buffalo on Sunday.

Seemingly determined to make those who picked the Bills over New England look foolish- at least for the first quarter, Buffalo jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead. However, the following three quarters were all New England as the Patrots scored 49 (yes...49- that's not a typo!) unanswered points.

Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis had two rushing TD's while Rob Gronkowski had caught two TD passes. Brady also completed a 39 yard TD pass and run to TE Aaron Hernandez. Gostkowski had two FG's and Danny Woodjead successfully completed a 2-point conversion during the Patriots rally before it was capped off with an exclamation point when Safety Sterling Moore intercepted a Ryan Fitzpatrick Pass late in the 4th and ran it back for a TD to make it 49-21 New England.

Brady went 23 of 35 on the afternoon with 338 yards, 3 TDs and a pick while Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick went 29-46 with 307 yards and 4 interceptions. Interstingly, Punter Zoltan Mesko had only two punts on the day, with one of them landing inside the 20 yard line.

The win earns the Patriots a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

NFL PLAYOFFS- Other teams getting a first rund bye in the Baltimore Ravens as well as the San Franciso 49ers and Green Bay Packers over in the NFC.

This weekend's schedule has the AFC South champion Houston Texans hosing the Cincinnati bengals on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 ET while the Detroit Lions head down to the Superdome to take on the New Orleans Saints at 8PM ET.

On Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons will travel to North Jersey to take on the New York Giants at 1:00 PM ET while the Steelers at Broncos will wrap up the weekend at 4:30PM ET.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Don't have alot of time to get too in-depth over most of these bowl games, but I was pleased to see that many of them actually lived up to their billing...almost from Day One.

12/20: Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl

Marshall 20, FIU 10

12/21: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

TCU 31, Louisiana Tech 24

12/22: MAACO Bowl

Boise State 56, Arizona State 24

12/24: Hawaii Bowl

Southern Miss 24, Nevada 17

12/26: Independence Bowl

Missouri 41, North Carolina 24

12/27: Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl

Purdue 37, Western Michigan 32

12/27: Belk Bowl

North Carolina State 31, Louisville 24

12/28: Military Bowl

Toledo 42, Air Force 41

12/28: Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl

Texas 21, Cal 10

12/29: Champs Sports Bowl

Florida State 18, Notre Dame 14

12/29: Alamo Bowl

Baylor 67, Washington 56

12/30: Armed Forces Bowl

Brigham Young University 24, Tulsa 21

12/30: Music City Bowl

Mississippi State 23, Wake Forest 17

12/30: Insight Bowl

Oklahoma 31, Iowa 14

12/31: Meinke Car Care Bowl

Texas A&M 33, Northwestern 22

12/31: Sun Bowl

Georgia Tech 27, Utah 30 (OT)

12/31: Fight Hunger Bowl

UCLA 14, Illinois 20

12/31: Liberty Bowl

Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24

12/31: Chik-Fil-A Bowl

Virginia 24, Auburn 43

1/2: Ticket City Bowl

Houston 30, Penn State 14

1/2: Gator Bowl

Ohio State 14, Florida 24

1/2: Capital One Bowl

Nebraska 13, South Carolina 30

1/2: Outback Bowl

Michigan State 33, Georgia 30 (3OT)

1/2: Rose Bowl

Wisconsin 38, Oregon 45

1/2: Fiesta Bowl

Stanford 38, Oklahoma State 41 (OT)

1/3: Sugar Bowl

Michigan 23, Virginia Tech 20 (OT)

1/4: Orange Bowl

West Virginia 70, Clemson 33

There's actually no bowl games tonight, but Friday night's game will be the Cotton Bowl, which will pit #7 Arkansas against #11 Kansas State at 8:00 PM ET airing on FOX.

A couple of side notes- West Virginia's 70-33 pounding of Clemson set a bowl scoring record while Mountaineer QB Geno Smith's six TD passes were also a NCAA Bowl record, suprassing Baylor's 67 points against the Washington Huskies last week in the Alamo Bowl.

NHL: After ending the calendar year of 2011 with a whimper in a 4-2 road loss to the Dallas Stars on New Year's Eve, the Bruins had a few days off before their next game against the New Jersey Devils, where they came back with a vengance.

A little like Sunday's Buffalo/New England game, the Devils got on the board first with a David Clarkson power play tally, but the Bruins came roaring back with a total of six unanswered goals from Campbell, Horton, Krejci, Thornton and a pair from Patrice Bergeron [I gotta admit, one of Bergeron's tallies was so beautifully done, I felt compelled to diagram it for a co-worker who missed it- NANESB!]. Tim Thomas stopped 30 of 31 shots faced while Martin Brodeur turned aside 21 of 26 shots faced.

On Thursday night, the Bruins returned home for the first time since 2011 to take on the Calgary Flames. The Flames were coming into the Garden without forward Rene Bourque, who was given a 5-game suspension by the NHL after delivering an elbow to the head of Washington's Nicklas Backstrom during Calgary's 3-1 loss to the Capitals on Tuesday.

Thursday night's game turned out to be even more lopsided than Wednesday's. The Bruins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period and kept adding to it from there. The Bruins would go on to thump Calgary by a 9-0 final, with Nathan Horton and Patrice Bergeron getting a pair of goals along with tallies from Chris Kelly, David Krejci, Tyler Seguin, Danny Paille and Nathan Horton.

Tukka Rask got the start in net and stopped all 25 shots faced while Leland Irving and Miikka Kiprusoff each faced 21 shots, with Irving giving up 6 goals before being pulled for Kiprusoff. Despite the offensive output, the Bruins had only two power play opportunities, with David Krejci getting the lone power play goal.

The convincing win against Calgary is the last game before this weekend's Stanley Cup finals rematch where the Bruins will host the Vancouver Canucks. The game gets underway at 1PM ET and will be broadcast on the NHL Network.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- The New York Rangers came back from a 2-0 defecit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers by a 3-2 final at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Monday. Early in the 3rd, the Rangers Brad Richardson notched to go-ahead goal while goalie Henrik Lunqvist stopped a penalty shot from Danny Briere later on in the 3rd, preserving the Rangers 3-2 win.

OTHER NHL NEWS- Police in Philadelphia and New Jersey are investigating an assault of two Rangers fans at Philadelphia's landmark Gino's Steaks that was videotaped shortly after the game on Monday.

New York Rangers fan Neal Auricchio Jr, 30, received the brutal beating from three Philadelphia Flyers fans after the game on Monday night.

The former Marine, who has worked as a policeman in Woodbridge, New Jersey, for four years, went to hospital with concussion after the attack.

Police claim Flyers fans, in orange, paid a man cleaning vehicle windows to spray a Rangers fan with a liquid, reported NBC New York.

The first hit was made by a man with a #28 Claude Giroux Flyers shirt on a man with a #24 Ryan Callahan Rangers shirt, whose identity is unknown.

Then the Rangers fan tried to fight back but was quickly pushed to the ground and two other Flyers fans joined in the attack, the video shows.
Mr Auricchio got a Purple Heart medal for his service in Iraq and even returned there for a second time after he was shot in the leg, reported NBC New York.
Police are still looking for the men in the fight and posted the video on YouTube to help catch them.

One of the alleged assailants reportedly took to Facebook to take credit for the beating but quickly backtracked.

MLB- The Red Sox acquired closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney from the Oakland A's in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick and prospects Raul Alcantara and Miles Head.

Bailey went 0-4 with 24 saves, a 3.24 ERA and 41 strikeouts for the A's in 42 appearences in 2011. In 2009, Bailey won Rookie of the Year honors in the AL. Interetingly, Bailey has three saves in four appearences at Fenway.

The acquisiton settles speculation over whether or not the Red Sox would attempt to fill in the closer vacancy left with Papelbon's departure via free agency or within the Red Sox system.

NCAA HOCKEY- Fenway Park is getting set up as an outdoor hockey venue that will host an NCAA doubleheader on Saturday. Game one will have the UMass Minutemen take on the Vermont Catamounts while game two will feature the New Hampshire Wildcats against the Maine Black Bears at 7:30 PM.

After Christmas Terrorist Attacks, Islamist Group Boko Haram Issues Ultimatum To Nigerian Christians- Leave Northern Nigeria or Die

2012-01-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

Less than 10 days after a series of deadly bombings targeting churches during Christmas services in Nigeria an Islamist group has demanded Christians leave the Muslim-majority north within three days or be killed.

(CNN) — The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has issued an ultimatum giving Christians living in northern Nigeria three days to leave the area amid a rising tide of violence there.

A Boko Haram spokesman, Abul Qaqa, also said late Sunday that Boko Haram fighters are ready to confront soldiers sent to the area by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday.

“We will confront them squarely to protect our brothers,” Abul Qaqa said during a telephone call with local media. He also called on Muslims living in southern Nigeria to “come back to the north because we have evidence they will be attacked.”

In the wake of the Christmas attacks, Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency and the US Embassy in Abuja issues a warning that upmarket hotels in the Nigerian capital could be targeted by terrorists.

The death toll from the coordinated Christmas attacks in the northern cities of Gadaka and Damaturu as well as the church attack in the suburb of Abuja had risen to 37 as of New Year's Day.

Boko Haram, which has stepped up its attacks against police and Christians in Nigeria's north in recent years, claimed responsibility for both the Christmas attacks and a series of coordinated attacks in early November targetting churches, police stations, banks and government offices in the northern city of Damaturu that killed 67.

Ringing in the New Year at Not Another New England Sports Blog!

2012-01-02T00:12:00.000-08:00

A little late with this one, but in my defense I never said anything about being punctual as part of my New Years resolutions. Also, I figure if long-standing New Year's Day institutions like the Rose Bowl (or more recent ones like the NHL's Winter Classic) can get pushed back by a day, then where's the harm in me following suit?

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy New Years. The past 10 days or so have been pretty hectic for yours truly and it was probably pretty apparent with the fairly sparse updating.

The mischievous raven-tressed beauty shown at the stroke of midnight above is from pin-up artist Bill Randall. Randall, who attended the Art Institute of Chicago and reportedly did anti-nazi propagnda posters for the French Resistance during WWII.

After the war, Randall did covers and artwork for magazines like Glamour, American Weekly and Esquire as well as print ads for Palmolive, General Motors and 3M. Starting in 1953, Randall's artwork was published in a series of datebooks and calendars bearing his name.

I'm not certain of the name of the title and exact date of this piece, but thought it would be worth sharing nonetheless.

End of the Year Appeal From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

2011-12-31T16:41:00.001-08:00

I seldom go into my personal affairs on this blog because let's face it....isn't there enough of that crap going around on the social networking sites to begin with?

However, I lost my grandfather not too long ago. As it turns out, this past week was our family's first-ever Christmas without him.

The final few years of his long and rewarding life was spent in a retirement home like few other- the Firemen's Home of New York State. The facility- located in Hudson, NY- is designed to accommodate volunteer firefighters from throughout New York State as well as their spouses. The camaraderie that goes with their trade extends into well into retirement at this facility. Aside from some of the traditional nursing home activities like bingo, other activities include group visits to parades and local firehouses. Physical therapy for the FASNY Firemen's home members also includes working on structures and rolling stock for the N-Scale F&H Model Railroad Association (altho' I understand they recently upgraded to a bigger O-Scale layout).

In 2007, a brand new $25 million 126,000 square foot facility opened up adjacent to the original 1892 Home [which had beer on tap and accommodations for family members staying overnight- NANESB!]. Both the new and the old Firemen's home are adjacent to the FASNY Museum of Firefighting. The Museum houses vintage firefighting apparatus and exhibits from across the country and around the world while the Members of the Firemen's home serve as docents.

In 2009, less than two years after the new Firemen's home opened its doors, it was reported that a number of cost-cutting measures were undertaken to ensure the long-term viability of the facility. The FASNY Board of directors said they were looking at a number of measures to reduce operating costs throughout the organization, including the Home.

The home itself is reportedly funded through a combination of donations, Medicare reimbursement, resident fees upon admittance to the Home and fees paid by out-of-state insurance companies to local Fire Departments as well as fundraising activities on behalf of the Home throughout New York State.

Not surprisingly, donations have been off since the late 2008 economic crisis and subsequent recession.

And this is where I'm asking you, good reader, to pitch in. I have already donated multiple times this year and plan on continuing to do so at different points throughout 2012. If you're so inclined, you can donate online or even provide some items from the Administration's current 'Wish List'. Keep in mind that the FASNY Firemen's Home is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, meaning that donations are tax-deductible.

Many thanks in advance for your consideration of support to this organization that has meant so much to our family.

Today's Train of Thought- Rolling Into the New Year, December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T15:57:00.000-08:00

Seems as though no matter where you were in the country, we've been in for a pretty mild winter ever since the calendar officially flipped over to wintertime some 10 days ago. Don't get me wrong, a nice mild winter is good to have every now and then, but there's also something to be said for having a white Christmas- not to mention some of us try and earn some extra cash this time of year by shovelling sidewalks or plowing driveways.

However, that doesn't seem to be a problem in the Dakotas. For instance, the forecast for Fargo, ND for New Year's Eve is for snow flurries and a low of 19°. By way of comparison, the forecast for Boston, MA on New Year's Eve calls for some fog and temperatures of no less than 36°.

Winter in the upper Midwest actually seems like winter more often than not. And this is effectively conveyed in the photography of railpictures.net contributor Lew Ableidinger.

Here, he snaps a pair of Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western SD45s- led by #7510- rounding a curve just outside of Oakes, ND heading east on former Soo Line trackage with a loaded grain train on December 6, 2010.

And with that vision of cold steel and high horsepower, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting this humble blog and wish you a happy and prosperous 2012!

Veena Malik Found Alive and Well in Mumbai, Earns Fatwa

2011-12-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

Shortly after being reported missing by her manager, Pakistani Bollywood actress Veena Malik checked in safe and sound from a Mumbai luxury hotel earlier this month.

The actress had gone missing amid a furor in her native Pakistan over her appearing nude on an Indian magazine cover with the acronym for Pakistan's spy agency (the ISI; or Interservices Intelligence Directorate) stenciled on her arm. Her father had reportedly disowned her shortly after the shoot and many in Pakistan were calling for her citicizenship to be revoked or worse.

Earlier this week, an Indian Muslim organization issued a fatwa against the Pakistani starlet for reportedly signing onto a contract to allow her upcoming wedding to be televised nationally in India.

Majlis-e-Shura , 70-member supreme body of the All India Muslim Tyohar Committee, in Bhopal was receiving complaints from all corners and was urged to take stringent action against her.

Talking to a daily, Ausaf Shahmiri Khurram, chairman of the Majlis-e-Shura said, “We were getting complaints from concerned community members who said that the activities of this Pakistani female actor was sending a wrong message to our teenagers, especially girls.”

“The complaints said that there were offensive photographs of this woman all over the internet and that she was going to have a `Swayamvar` on television. Islam has a certain procedure for a `Nikaah`. We do not have `Swayamvar`,” he added.

The members of the body sat for over two days to take a call on Veena Malik. At the end, a unanimous call was taken and a “fatwa” was issued on her, which means that she will be socially boycotted.

Although the fatwa from India doesn't involve any overt death threats, earlier this year a Taliban splinter group issued a death threat against her and her family in her native Pakistan.

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson Won't Run For Re-Election in 2012

2011-12-30T06:37:00.000-08:00

The Nebraska Senator who was seen by many as a pivotal vote in getting 0bamacare through the Senate two years ago announced that he will not be running for re-election in 2012.

Touted as a moderate Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson had previously served as was elected to two terms and had amassed a fairly conservative voting record prior to his 0bamacare vote.

There was considerable backlash for Nelson's support both inside the Beltway and at home. The GOP alleged a series of legislative concessions were made to the state of Nebraska in exchange for Nelson's 'Yes' vote (known as the 'Cornhusker Kickback') and Nelson was jeered and heckled out of an Omaha pizza parlor within days of his vote.

With that in mind, Nelson's re-election seemed like an uphill battle for the Democrats to begin with. Former US Senator Bob Kerrey and businessman Scott Kleeb had been named as potential Democrat candidates, but both indivduals denied any interest in running for Nelson's soon to be vacated seat.

On the GOP side, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, state senator Deb Fischer and state treasurer Don Stenburg were seeking to oust Nelson before he announced his retirement this week. The three members of the state's all-GOP House delegation (Representatives Lee, Fortneberry and Smith) and Republican governor Dave Heineman were also rumored to be among the potential candidates.

Today's Train Of Thought- Steaming Through A Winter Wonderland- December 24, 2011

2011-12-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

Today's train of Thought has the look and feel of a blast from the past, but is actually not even 4 years old.

Pere Marquette #1225 is a 2-8-4 Berkshire class locomotive that was built by the Lima locomotive works as part of an order of eleven that was completed in 1941. The #1225 and its sisters spent the early part of their careers shuttling steel and wartime materiel between northern Indiana and Saginaw, MI.

By 1947, the Pere Marquette had merged with the Chesapeake & Ohio although the Berkshire locomotives would remain lettered for Pere Marquette until their retirement in the early 1950s. While most of them would fall to the scrappers torch, the 1225 and sister 1223 were preserved.

The 1225 wound up in East Lansing, MI on the campus of Michigan State where the boiler and whistle were eventually restored to working order. A few years later, the title was transferred to the newly-formed Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation and was moved to the former Ann Arbor Railroad shop complex in Owosso, MI in the early 1980s. In November 1985, the #1225 moved under its own power for the first time since its 1951 retirement.

Since 2007, the Michigan Steam Railroad Association has been operating excursions over the former Tuscola and Saginaw Bay line out of Owosso- now the Great Lakes Central Railroad. In early 2010, the PM #1225 went in for its required 15 year boiler inspection and now the Steam Railroad Association is raising funds for repairs and reassembly of the Berkshire- including a $100,000 receiving matching grant.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Micheal F Allen catches the #1225 heading out of Owosso with a consist of vintage freight cars at King Rd in February 2008. Out of the entire Pere Marquette fleet of steam locomotives, the only two that escaped the scrapper's torch were Berkshires #1225 and sister #1223, kept on static display in Grand Haven, MI.

Merry Christmas From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

2011-12-24T07:03:00.001-08:00

Like so many other Americans, Christmastime is usually a time for me to hit the road and visit various relatives scatteres throughout the northeast.

Odds are that I'll be away from the internet for awhile, but I wanted to take this opportunity to wish my regular visitors a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year's.

You'll probably recognize the above image as Bettie Paige. Despite the classic imagery, almost timeless imagery, this is a fairly recent work from contemporary pin-up artist Olivia DeBerardinis. Besides a vast portfolio of images centering around Bettie Page, DeBerardinis works also appears regularly in Playboy and has gained something of a cult following both here in the USA and overseas in Europe and Japan.

Interestingly, Olivia's rendering of Paige is actually tamer then the real-life photo shoot with Paige (with Bunny Yeager on the other side of the lens) featuring the raven-tressed pin-up decorating a Christmas tree wearing not much more than a Santa Hat.

Blue State Graft Watch- 'Mountain of Evidence' Available for Grand Jury in Troy, NY Voter Fraud Case

2011-12-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

Even as Eric Holder's Justice Department moved to block recently passed voter ID legislation in South Carolina, prosecutors in Rensselaer County, NY say they have 'mountains' of incriminating papers implicating the Rensselaer County elections commissioner, a number of Troy city councilmen and the city clerk in a scheme to forge signatures and excuses on absentee ballots in September 2009- all of them democrats.

According to the indictment, between Sept. 9 and 15, 2009, Campana allegedly had a hand in soliciting absentee ballots from seven voters, entered forged voters' signatures or other information on 24 ballots, filled in the votes on four ballots and helped deliver 28 ballots to the Rensselaer County Board of Elections.

Former Troy City Clerk William McInerney allegedly solicited 16 ballots and forged 26, according to the indictment.

Democratic Rensselaer County Elections Commissioner Edward McDonough allegedly forged 32 ballots, delivered 29 and forged fictitious information in the "Where will you be on election day" box on 42 ballots. Absentee ballot holders are required to reveal what prevents them from voting in person, according to the indictment.

Councilman Michael LoPorto is accused of soliciting four ballots, forging one, voting on four and delivering 28.

Councilman John Brown allegedly solicited two ballots, forged six and voted on 27.

Former Troy Housing Authority clerk Anthony DeFiglio is accused of soliciting 18 ballots and Democratic operative and city council employee Anthony Renna was accused of forging five ballots.

Brown, DeFiglio and Renna pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony count each and received various sentences. The most severe punishment was for Brown, who will be sentenced to six months in county jail and five years' probation.

In January, McDonough and LoPorto were arraigned on several felony counts. They face trial next month. McInerney pleaded guilty and will cooperate with the prosecution. His sentence has not been determined.

LoPorto and McDonough were charged in January of 2011. One has to wonder if they systematically forged signatures and reasons for not voting in persion on the local ballot, what exactly would stop them from committing electoral fraud of this scope during elections for either the office of governor or President.

Also earlier this year, a former county prosecutor penned a letter to the Justice Department asking to reexamine the probe into allegations that Rensselaer County Democrat Party chairman Thomas Wade pressured county employees to contribute to a campaign fund committee or face termination from their jobs.

Happy Hanukkah From Not Another New England Sports Blog

2011-12-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

This is one of those fortuitous years where Christmas and Hanaukkah overlap one another, so you have occasional menorahs and illuminated Stars of David thrown in with the various displays of Christmas lights amoid everything else.

As a semi-practicing Christian, my only encounter with the Jewish Festival of lights was while visiting a sibling in college whose housemates were practicing Jews. As guest, I was invited to light the menorah as they prayed in Hebrew. I'm pleased to say it went smoothly- no structure fires or anything.

Currently, the closest thing I have to a tradition for the Jewish holidays is to post some Rule 5-tastic images of women in uniform (tight, snug uniforms no less) of the Israeli defense forces persuasion.

So I figure I might as well keep a good thing going. Remember, Israel has near-universal consription for Jews over the age of 18, so its not unusual to see men and women from all walks of life serving the IDF in some capacity- even triplets.

Czech Dissident, Playwright and Former President Vaclav Havel Laid to Rest

2011-12-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

Former anti-communist dissident and Czech President Vaclav Havel passed away this week at the age of 75. Active in writing and theater, Havel was with Radio Free Czechoslovakia for the reforms of the 1968 Prague Spring and the subsequent invasion from the Soviet Union. After the Soviet quelled the Prague spring, Havel was banned from theater- although his works were clandestinely distributed throughout Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s.

The 1989 Velvet Revolution saw the collapse of Czechoslovakia's one-party communist rule after days of mass demonstrations and a general strike by Czech and Slovak citizens. Within days, the Communist Part of Czechoslovakia announced that it would dissolve and open up the borders with West Germany and Austria. Elections were called for within a month, and Havel was voted in as president of Czechoslovakia while Alexander Dubček (the secretary of the Communist party who attempted reforms during the Prague Spring) was voted in as the nation's first post-communist speaker of Parliament.

One of Havel's first acts as President was to issue a general amnesty to political prisoners that had been detained by the Communist regime. When Slovakia split apart from the Czech Republic, Havel resigned the presidency claiming he did not want to preside over the nation's breakup (which was pretty amicable compared to elsewhere in Eastern Europe).

However, he stood for election again in early 1993 and won easily, remaining in office for another decade.

Havel passed away on December 18th. His successor- current Czech president Vaclav Klaus announced that a state funeral mass for Havel would be held at St. Vitus' Cathedral in Prague on Thursday.

Among the honors Havel received include the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of Canada.

Blue State Graft Watch: The Chicago Machine- It's Not As Bad As You Think....It's MUCH Worse

2011-12-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

Does anybody remember the hue and cry from the press, the Obama campaign and various other groups after Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani derided 'community organizers' during separate speeches in the 2008 GOP convention?

Why do I bring this up? Because in many cities across the country, including Chicago, gang-bangers, thugs and felons often attempt to continue their criminal activities under the guise of do-godding and yes.....'community organizing'.

According to an article in the January 2012 issue of Chicago magazine, Chicagoland politicians have been forging an unholy alliance with gang members from the Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples or Latin Kings [its a long but very worthwhile read, I might add- NANESB!].

The former chieftains, several of them ex-convicts, represented some of the most notorious gangs on the South and West Sides, including the Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Cobras, Black P Stones, and Black Gangsters. Before the election, the gangs agreed to set aside decades-old rivalries and bloody vendettas to operate as a unified political force, which they called Black United Voters of Chicago. “They realized that if they came together, they could get the politicians to come to them,” explains Baskin.

The gang representatives were interested in electing aldermen sympathetic to their interests and those of their impoverished wards. As for the politicians, says [former gang leader] Baskin, their interests essentially boiled down to getting elected or reelected. “All of [the political hopefuls] were aware of who they were meeting with,” he says. “They didn’t care. All they wanted to do was get the support.”

Politicians and organized crime working together is nothing new in the city that gave us Bugs Moran and Al Capone. Technically, there are no local or state ordinances to prevent politicians from meeting with gang or organized crime leaders. Still, the willingness of some aldermen and state lawmakers to forge an alliance with Chicago's gangs should raise all sorts of ethical questions- even in America's most ethically challenged city.

Typically, candidates backed by gangs such as the Vice Lords or Gangster Disciples can expect manpower for a get-out-the-vote effort on election day as well as campaign contributions of ambiguous and opaque origins. In exchange, the gangs typically expect to have jobs steered to friends and family, lucrative contracts to be awarded to shell companies controlled by them as well as government grants directed to non-profits started by members who insist the thug life is behind them [i.e. 'community organizers'].

Without naming names, some incarcerated gang members also claimed they and their associates routinely provided narcotics and prostitutes to either aldermen or members of their staff.

In 2007, the Feds arrested alderwoman Arenda Troutman on charges of corruption and bribery after accepting $5000 in bribe money from a fictitious developer. Troutman was also romantically involved with the Black Disciples second-in-command in Chicago and her nephew and ex-husband were linked to the Windy City's scandal-plagued Hired Truck program.

Perhaps most disturbingly, the candidates and officeholders who actively solicit support from various gangs will either turn a blind eye or actually aid their ongoing criminal activities, tipping them off about impending raids or ongoing police surveillance while balking at passing any significant ordinances meant to curtail gang activity in their districts.

And just think- currently in the White House is somebody who began their political career in just such an amoral setting!

Today's Train of Thought- Pushing off Into Winter, December 21st, 2011

2011-12-21T08:49:00.000-08:00

Today's train of thought for the final day of fall takes us to the Buckeye State.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Tom Habak caught two-tone grey GP40-3 #300 heading westbound on the point of Toledo-bound train 223 through Norwalk, OH in October 2009. Well out of sight, a rebuilt SD40-3 is pushing on the rear.

The #300 arrived on W&LE property from the Union Pacific in armour yellow paint, but after undergoing a rebuild, the yellow portion was replaced with a darker grey (the lighter grey along the top is still from the UP). The locomotive was originally built for the New York Central before being sold to the Chicago & Northwestern. The C&NW was acquired by the Union Pacific in 1995.

The W&LE has demonstrated a penchant for painting their locomotives in colors reminiscent of the Denver, Rio Grande & Western railway (black w/bright orange lettering and stripes) to the point where some of the lcomotives they purchased from Union Pacific still in Rio Grande paint and lettering had been restored to their original DRG&W pain and road numbers. The #300 so far hasn't recieved such tratment because it never logged any time with the Rio Grande.

Interestingly, the towns around Norwalk- such as Danbury, New Haven and Groton- are named after towns and cities in Connecticut as settlers from that state made their way west starting in 1800.