Fallen Evangelical Preacher Haggard prepares for HBO documentary on his time in Exile

Controversy clings to Haggard, 52, like wet cheese cloth, and his upcoming documentary is only going to add to it.

He's set to make some high profile appearances on TV next week, but is currently dealing with the confessions of a church volunteer who stated they have had sex for a long time this week.

He is scheduled to appear on CNN's Larry King Live on Thursday, the date of the documentary's premiere, and already has taped "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

For the whole story go to this link in the Chicago Tribune.

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The Next Bubble to Burst: Biggest Antitrust Conspiracy Ever?

An anonymous reader made the following comment on my column from last Sunday:

I believe people will find this reader's comments interesting.

Here's a link to the column for a reference point.

Humboldt County Library building in Eureka is funded by a suspicious kind of bond. Same type also built the newer Humboldt County Court House Jail remodel.
The bonds are secured by the Jail or the Library, and the interest rates are quite high, going back to the time they were written, but particularly if contrasted with contemporary rates. Bonds ordinarily require voter prior approval, but these were backdoored, so as to require no vote.
Premium rates are way above the market from the get go. They haven't met the market since, so far as one can tell.
Construction costs at the time were quite high for any region, but certainly for around here-- envelope computations suggest the buildings cost more than $400 per square foot, adjusted for inflation the costs would be more like $600/sq.ft.
The twist was, a quasi-public entity was set up to receive land from the County, then issued a bond to finance construction, and owns the facilities, which are then leased back to the County until the structure is fully depreciated.
Someone gets the depreciation tax credit,and someone gets the huge interest paid on the bonds. If bonds rates were readjusted to reflect markets during their existence, taxpayers would have saved millions. It is hard to say how much.
These details weren't discussed much, in public meetings; they received little news media examination. If you find out more maybe you could write another stimulating editorial about bond corruption, but with a more local perspective.
I really don't like to use "anonymous" here as my name, but ...
Posted by Anonymous to As It Stands at January 24, 2009 7:36 AM

Magic Bus in Yarn: Knitter 'yardbombs' anything!

If you are into knitting, then you have to read this story that I found in the British Newspaper, The Telegraph, today.

Streaker interrupts Williams sisters' match in Australia!

MELBOURNE, Australia - A streaker dashed on court while Venus and Serena Williams played doubles today at the Australian Open, prancing around before being arrested.  

This is a wild banana, an ancestor of today's bananas

This photograph shows seed-packed fruit of Musa balbisiana, one of the ancestors of the edible bananas.
The banana may be one of the first crops to be domesticated by man. They may have evolved along with the earliest settled agriculture and may therefore be some tens of thousands of years old.
Banana is now one of the most popular of all fruits.
Although it is viewed as only a dessert or an addition to breakfast cereal in most developed countries, it is actually a very important agricultural product. After rice, wheat and milk, it is the fourth most valuable food. In export, it ranks fourth among all agricultural commodities and is the most significant of all fruits, with world trade totaling $2.5 billion annually.
Yet, only 10% of the annual global output of 86 million tons enters international commerce. Much of the remaining harvest is consumed by poor subsistence farmers in tropical Africa, America and Asia.
http://www.apsnet.org/educa...

Meet Greedy Pig-of-the Year: former Merrill Lynch CEO

My nomination for Greedy Pig-of-the-Year for 2008 goes out to scumbag John Thain, former CEO for Merill Lynch.

Talking Points Memo (TPM) web site features a good article on his misdeeds this morning.

Prepare to get pissed off! Click here to read about rampant greed.

Caylee Anthony's Grandfather taken to Psych Hospital

It looks like the saga of his murdered granddaughter was too much for George Anthony, as family members contacted police to find him yesterday after fears he was going to kill himself. He was found in a motel room a few counties away from where the Anthony's live.

I've always suspected the grandparents knew more than they were saying. I still recall that early phone conversation where Cindy Anthony said the car smelled like a dead person.

George made comments to the same effect, at first. But as time went by they both changed their story. My guess is that they decided that they didn't want to lose a daughter too, and agreed to lie to the authorities about what they really knew.

But George, an ex-cop, has a conscience, and it's what I believe drove him to consider suicide. Holding a terrible secret like that will eventually take it's toll. I have a feeling, before this whole mess goes to court, that George and Cindy are going to get in trouble for lying about what they know their daughter did.

AP file photo

Mono-wheel mode of travel has some interesting history

  

(Left) Swiss engineer Mr. Gerdes astride/inside his one-wheel motorcycle, 1931. (Right) The Mono-Wheel is popular for travel between remote Russian villages.

See Chinese Military in modern times enjoying mono-wheels, presumably for balance training, but maybe simply... for fun?

Some outlandish mono-wheel concepts from 1925 "Science & Invention" and "The Electrical Experimenter" in 1918.

all images from darkroastedblend.com where you can find a complete pictorial and written history on mono-wheels in their archives. Enjoy!

Critics of Global Trade don't get a lot of media time

Media Matters Action Network reported today that "scant space is given to critics" of Global trade.

Personally, I've always been against the whole concept of "free trade" or global trading. History has shown us that the whole concept has turned into a drain on the American economy. We've lost too many jobs over the years to trade agreements that only benefit corporate interests.

Academics, interest groups, businesspeople, and workers have been engaged in a vigorous debate over the impact of free trade on job loss, income inequality, wage stagnation, working conditions, human rights, environmental degradation, corporate profits, public health, transparency, democracy, national sovereignty, and freedom itself.

For more details on this subject read this and see what you think.

Fighting stopped, Gaza's smuggling tunnels reopen

Supplies flow again, possibly threatening cease-fire with Israel

Beneath the semi-desert scrub of olive groves and cactus trees traversing Egypt's border with Gaza lies a warren of crudely dug tunnels that may determine whether the cease-fires ending the 22-day war between Israel and Hamas will last.

Click here to read the whole story in the Chicago Tribune.

Palestinians hold white flags as a signal for Israeli troops after leaving their house near the area where Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants exchange fire outside Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009.

(AP Photo/AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)