WebProNews

Author: Lacy Langley

  • Hill Republicans: Tougher Action Needed For Putin

    A letter authored by 8 Republican congressmen on the House Armed Services Committee urged President Obama on Wednesday to take a tougher stance against Russia’s actions.

    The letter comes after tensions on Capitol Hill rose due to a report that U.S. and European security agencies estimated that Russia has deployed more than 30,000 soldiers along its border with eastern Ukraine.

    Ukrainian soldiers only just began their defeated departure from Crimea on Tuesday when the news came of more possible invasions.

    “It is time to stop speculating about possibility, and start dealing with reality,” committee chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif. said, “Continued inaction by the President in the face of Mr. Putin’s invasion will make further Russian aggression more – not less – likely. Any show of resolve from the White House will have my full support.”

    According to Fox News, the authors are “gravely concerned” about this newest development and want to see a greater sharing of information between the US and its allies and the Ukraine in order to aid in preparation for more possible incursions.

    This is an especially scary situation that has even jaded veterans worried. “It’s remarkable concern,” said an anonymous source. “There are senior people here are more concerned than I have ever seen them.”

    Another source said that information that flooded Capitol Hill Wednesday “reflects a deteriorating situation which prompted very serious concern.”

    “There is deep apprehension that Moscow may invade eastern and southern Ukraine, pressing west to Transdniestria, and also seek land grabs in the Baltics,” the letter says.

    NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander General Philip Breedlove will be on Capitol Hill Thursday to speak to lawmakers from both the House and Senate in closed meetings about this terrifying possibility that Moscow would move to expand its territory by annexing other lands in the near future.

    Will this latest development spur the administration to get tougher on Russia? Or will they continue to threaten impotent sanctions? I suppose only time will tell.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Paul McCartney & PETA Work to Rescue Elephant

    Paul McCartney headed a campaign to rescue an elephant from a temple in India after a trip there in 2012.

    He saw 14-year-old Sunder being obviously mistreated at Jyotiba temple and, with the help of Maharashtra State’s forest department and India’s Project Elephant, arranged his transport to a sanctuary.

    It would have been really nice for Sunder who already suffered from numerous scars, an eye injury and a hole in his ear, if all had gone as planned. But it didn’t.

    Investigation by an animal rights group in February yielded video of Sunder being treated worse than before. He had apparently simply been moved to a chicken shack with no bedding and insufficient shelter to keep out the harsh sun during the day and the cold night wind. He was also shackled so tightly that he couldn’t lay down, according to Yahoo.

    A following investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals provided video to back up those claims. They also gathered photos and video showing the still-young elephant in a malnourished state, being beaten and severely mistreated by his handler.

    The video shows Sunder “writhing in pain and struggling to stand as the mahout (handler) strikes him repeatedly,” said PETA director of veterinary affairs, Dr. Manilal Valliyate. “Sunder visibly recoils in fear from the weapon-wielding mahout, who continues to threaten him with violence after he has stood.”

    You can see PETA’s video here, but please be aware, it’s hard to watch:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BOWXPyQiMw&noredirect=1

    In August, he made an angry escape attempt including pulling down a heavy pillar to which he was tied with strong ropes and ransacking local retail shops, according to PETA’s website. They say it was a desperate flight to try to gain his freedom to enjoy what is remaining of his life.

    Hopefully India, a country ironically noted for holding the elephant as sacred, will be spurred to do more to see that this poor elephant is put somewhere safe and far away from the handlers and temples which have treated him so cruelly.

    Image Via PETA

  • Bank of America Settles Hefty $9.3M Lawsuit

    Bank of America Settles Hefty $9.3M Lawsuit

    Bank of American took quite a hit from the Federal Housing Finance Agency in a lawsuit that ended in a $9.33 million dollar lawsuit.

    The FHFA, which is the agency that oversees the operations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sued Bank of America as one of the 18 entities they sued for misrepresenting mortgages that were backed by Fannie and Freddie.

    The settlement will take quite a chunk out of the bank’s first quarter 2014 income by $3.7 billion, but will free the bank from other pending FHFA lawsuits that threatened to do even more damage.

    Bank of America is only 1 out of the 18 banks that the FHFA sued over soured mortgage securities, beginning in 2011. Many of those banks that were sued have settled, according to AP.

    This fiasco happened during the housing bubble that burst and led to the 2008 government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The government agencies don’t make the loans, but they buy mortgages from lenders, package them as bonds, guarantee them against default and sell them to investors.

    Bank of America says it will split the settlement into a cash payment of $6.3 million and a large securities purchase of $3 million.

    According to Forbes, Bank of America said of the settlement, “The FHFA settlement resolves one of the most significant remaining pieces of RMBS (Residential Mortgage Based Securities) securities litigation facing the company. With this settlement, Bank of America has now resolved approximately 88 percent of the unpaid principal balance of all RMBS as to which RMBS securities litigation has been filed or threatened for all Bank of America-related entities.”

    Bank of America wasn’t only dishing it out for Fannie and Freddie. They, along with former chief executive Kenneth Lewis, also recently reached a settlement to end investigations into their somewhat shady acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co in 2008. That one cost them $25 million, with the bank paying $15 million and Lewis paying $10 million.

    In that particular case, they are accused of not disclosing Merrill Lynch & Co’s losses and bonuses before the deal was closed. Lewis is now barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 3 years.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • 74-Year-Old Freed From Jail, Wrongly Convicted

    A 74-year-old woman was freed from jail early Tuesday after a judge overturned her murder conviction on Monday. Mary Virginia Jones had been in prison for 32 years for a murder that her abusive boyfriend, Mose Willis, made her assist with at gunpoint.

    The effects of abuse were not fully understood back in 1981, and therefore experts on the subject weren’t regularly testifying in court.

    “Courts now allow experts to testify about the effects of being battered,” Heidi Rummel, who is the co-director of USC’s Post-Conviction Justice Project, said about the case. “Willis forced Jones at gunpoint to participate in the robbery and kidnapping — she ran down the alley fully expecting him to shoot and kill her, too.”

    This wasn’t an isolated incident for Willis, who also terrorized Jones’ children. Denetra Jones-Goodie told the court that Willis “threatened not only to kill me, but to kill her and anybody else that came to our aid. He pulled a gun on me and shot at me, and my mother witnessed that.”

    Mary Virginia Jones’ saviors were a group of students from USC’s law school who convinced the district attorney to reopen her case in order to re-examine the evidence and introduce experts on abuse in the new trial. This new evidence led the judge to exchange Jones’ first-degree murder conviction without possibility of parole for a no contest plea to voluntary manslaughter with a time-served sentence, according to Yahoo.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_0vvAmvlG0

    Cries of joy and relief filled the court room from Jones’ family, who have been waiting 32 long years for justice. Her son hasn’t seen her at all in the last 32 years, as he has a criminal record and wasn’t allowed into the jail where she was being held.

    “Words cannot express my gratitude to God and to my fellow man,” Jones said as she walked free on Tuesday.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Houston Fire Possibly Caused By Welders

    A fire that destroyed a huge apartment complex in Houston yesterday took 2 1/2 hours to control, according to the AP.

    Fire engulfed the complex, which was under construction, in flames and billowing black smoke.

    The blaze required 5 alarms and hundreds of emergency workers to get it under control on Tuesday afternoon.

    All of the construction workers are safe and accounted for, and only one man had to be rescued from a balcony. The rest were able to evacuate safely of their own accord.

    Paul Johnston, COO for JLB Partners in Dallas who is building the complex, was shocked when he saw the remains of the complex his company was almost done building.

    “This was a first for us, unfortunately,” Johnston said. He did say that the building was insured. He also said the company’s priority is “that everyone is safe, and we cooperate with the authorities.”

    Houston Fire Department spokesman Capt. Ruy Lozano said that the fire spread quickly due to the high winds which plague the area on a regular basis. The primary cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but there is some reasonable speculation on the part of the fire department, according to the Houston Chronicle.

    “There was a report of a couple of guys working on the roof doing welding,” said Houston Fire Department Deputy Chief Greg Lewis. “When our units arrived, there was a small fire and construction workers were attempting to put it out. There was sustained wind of 15 to 20 miles an hour, and it was a wind-driven fire.”

    Lash LaRue is a worker on the site. He was installing the building’s phone system when he said he heard a loud crash, and then the ceiling collapsed and flames began to shoot through the hole in the ceiling.

    “It was wicked.”, he said. “All those months of work and it’s just gone in seconds.”

    The fire began at about 12:30pm Tuesday and about an hour later, the blaze was upgraded to a five alarm call. Nearby property, including a historic cemetery, sustained minor water and smoke damage. Residents reportedly rushed to the area to check on property as the $50 million dollar luxury complex was reduced to ashes.

    Image Via YouTube

  • All-Inclusive Resorts Making A Comeback

    All-Inclusive Resorts Making A Comeback

    All-inclusive resorts are making a big comeback from the days of simple accommodations, mediocre food, and long buffet lines. Today’s all-inclusive can be anything from an adult-only spa themed resort to a family-centered playland with waterparks and babysitters. And luxury is not hard to find.

    Back in the 1950s, when all-inclusives had their start with Club Med, the focus of the industry was on singles, young couples and honeymooners on a shoestring. But now, that is not so at all.

    “Historically, there has been a stigma attached to this industry — that it is limited to middle-market consumers,” says Scott D. Berman, a principal at PwC and leader of the firm’s U.S. hospitality and leisure practice.

    Now, Berman and other experts can agree that the face of the all-inclusive vacation has changed for the infinitely better.

    The rebounding all-inclusive concept is therefore quickly growing in popularity, according to Forbes. Studies show that the percentage of travelers flocking to all-inclusives has risen from 8% to 14% in just the last three years, and is reportedly the fastest growing segment of the travel industry.

    Why the sudden reappearance on the radar? Well, some feel it is due to the economic downturn in our recent history. Now more than ever people just want to know up front what their trip is going to cost and want to avoid surprises. People also like the feeling of not having to carry a wallet or purse everywhere. It takes some of the care out of the way so that you can truly relax and enjoy your surroundings.

    Do you really save money going with an all-inclusive? That depends on the circumstances. No one has ever formerly done studies on the difference in cost involved, “But guests paying for inclusive packaging have the perception that they are spending less [at an all-inclusive],” says Berman. “There is a psychological comfort in knowing they aren’t going to get a bill with pages of itemized resort charges.”

    Although you may not save all that much, knowing everything up front can go a long way to helping you relax and enjoy your very precious days of leisure.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Dead Sea Scrolls Case: Online ID Theft on Trial

    New York’s highest appeals court will consider whether or not to overturn the conviction of Raphael Golb, a man convicted of impersonating a New York University professor in emails and blog posts, according to the AP.

    Golb set up an email account on an NYU computer and sent emails as Judaic studies chairman Lawrence Schiffman. In Schiffman’s name, he made confessions of plagiarism and other things to dispell Schiffman’s criticism of Golb’s father’s work on a theory pertaining to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

    However, he continues to insist that he didn’t intend for anyone to believe it was really Schiffman.

    The 2,000-year-old documents, which were found in 1947 in Qumran, around what is now Israel, contain the earliest known versions of portions of the Hebrew Bible.

    Golb and his father, a University of Chicago historian, among other scholars believe that the writings were the work of some Jewish groups and communities. They think that the scrolls were gathered from libraries in Jerusalem and hidden in caves near Qumran to protect them during a Roman invasion in about 70 A.D.

    Schiffman and his fellow scholars say the texts were assembled by a sect known as the Essenes, and not the work of Jewish groups at all.

    What Golb did, some would (and do) call identity theft, criminal impersonation, aggravated harassment, forgery and unauthorized use of a computer. Some however, including Golb, would say that since there is no physical harm done and no property damage it is harmless “satire, irony, parody”.

    The question being posed is this: Is internet impersonation, speaking as someone you’re not, identity theft and relentless harassment? Or is it simply all in good fun, as in the modern form of the obviously forged satirical letter?

    I can say for certain that most people wouldn’t appreciate that kind of intrusion, but as far as what the law defines, that remains to be seen.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Flight MH370 Theories Already Rampant

    Flight MH370 was announced just recently to have been almost surely downed in the Indian Ocean. Satellite evidence and research from multi-national search teams is fairly conclusive.

    The families are mourning, weeping and protesting after the news and are looking at a long road of recovery. They face possibly never recovering the remains of their loved ones and having that closure. They face a long list of what if and why, neither of which we may ever know. They received the news this morning via text message that read:

    “Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia’s Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.”

    The biggest mystery of it all is: What happened?

    Well, there are theories aplenty running rampant out there, with the most prominent being terrorism. Could this be the key to the mystery? The suicide mission of a deranged pilot seems familiar and plausible, and it is a huge possibility according to Yahoo UK & Ireland.

    Investigators believe this theory based on the manual disabling of the planes communication system and the unusual flight path it took.

    A source that is reportedly close to the investigation stated that “this has been a deliberate act by someone on board who had to have had the detailed knowledge to do what was done … Nothing is emerging that points to motive. It just does not hinge together … [The investigators] have gone through processes you do to get the plane where it flew to for eight hours. They point to it being flown in a rational way.”

    Only time and careful investigation will tell in this incredible mystery of the disappearing plane, and if it is terrorism, then a claim will surely soon be made. We shall wait and see.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Seasonal Allergies: Natural Alternative Treatments

    Seasonal allergies plague more than 26 million Americans each year. As the harsh winter subsides and spring begins to warm the air and stimulate flowers and trees to bloom and grass to grow, it can be a bittersweet change for these allergy sufferers.

    For many, a trip to the corner drugstore for antihistamines and decongestants is usually the first step to take when the eyes start itching and the running nose and sneezing comes on. However, that relief can sometimes be short lived and even ineffective.

    In fact, at a recent meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Dr. William E. Berger reported that nearly a third of allergy patients think their medications don’t work.

    This can be because of the severity of symptoms or because your body has simply built up a tolerance to your favorite allery medication. Also, many drugs only take care of the itchy/sneezing and do little to decongest. The same goes for those who only take care of decongestion. Medication costs can also add up, especially if you have a whole family of allergy sufferers.

    In a time when people are becoming more aware of what goes into our bodies, it only makes sense that many are seeking a more natural treatment for allergies. Here are a few suggestions that could help alleviate or even stop those sniffles, wheezes and sneezes.

    Quercitin is a supplement that has been counted on for years as a natural, plant derived bioflavanoid that helps prevent mast cells from releasing histamine. The earlier you start, the better, as it can take a few weeks to see results. The recommended dosage for allergy sufferers is 1,000mg daily, taken between meals.

    Stinging Nettle is also a popular herb that inhibits the body’s release of histamine. The most convenient form is sold as a freeze-dried extract in capsule form. The recommended dosage is 300mg daily. The capsules may only bring a few hours of relief, but if you’re concerned about taking drugs or side effects, this could be an great option.

    Butterbur is also an herb that is gaining popularity quickly as a great natural seasonal allergy treatment since the results of a Swiss study, published in British Journal of Medicine, found that butterbur was as effective as the drug cetirizine, the active ingredient in Zyrtec. It may still be hard to find in the US, but as it gains recognition and popularity, hopefully it will become more widely available.

    And of course there’s the good old Neti Pot, for those who aren’t fearful of pouring water up your nose. It is a time-tested treatment for allergies and completely logical as it simply rinses your sinuses, clearing them of pollen, mold and other microscopic irritators.

    Good luck to all you sneezers and wheezers out there as spring takes over.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Cop Gets Ticket From Young Vigilante

    A cop in Baytown, Texas got the tables turned on him when a 14-year-old girl wrote him a ticket for illegal parking. Annie James noticed Officer Tommy King’s police cruiser was parked in a fire zone by her apartment complex, according to Yahoo.

    “He was parked on the side of the building and it was a fire lane all the way around,” Annie said. So, she stuck it to the cop and wrote him a $10 ticket which she made payable to the building’s manager.

    “I came to my car and I saw a piece of paper on my windshield,” King said. “I took it off and opened it and read it and I started laughing immediately.”

    Officer King noticed a rare quality in Annie, as he observed that she, unlike most teens, didn’t want the money for herself.

    “Turns out we’re both from Alabama and end up in Texas,” King said. “It’s interesting … I made a friend. A lesson would be not to be shy or afraid of law enforcement. We’re here to help.”

    Officer King did, in fact, pay the fine. But he went a step further. He also awarded Annie with a $40 gift card to Toys R Us.

    I can’t help but wonder what the world would be like with a little more vigilante ticketing. Would police corruption be a thing of the past if a child handed a misbehaving officer a ticket for accepting bribes or threatening people? Would uncalled-for beatings cease if these little wide-eyed do-gooders were watching with a ticket book in their hands?

    I would also like to see concerned citizens write tickets for wearing leggings as pants. Or perhaps we could impose fines on others for rudeness or excessive moping. Maybe even illegal prying into the business of a good citizen?

    I guess the potential for backfire is undeniable, but a girl can dream. Can’t she?

    Image via YouTube

  • Dead Sea Scrolls: Internet Impersonation A Crime?

    A dead sea scrolls controversy will be on trial in New York’s highest court on Tuesday in the case of Raphael Golb, a lawyer and writer who has been convicted of identity theft and other charges for disguising his identity in email messages and blog posts from 2006 to 2009, according to AP.

    Golb used a computer at New York University to create an email account in NYU Judaic studies chairman Lawrence Schiffman’s name, among others, to send alleged confessions of plagiarizing Professor Norman Golb’s, Raphael Golb’s father, work years earlier.

    The beginning of the conflict was that Normal Golb was one of a group of scholars that believes that the dead sea scrolls were the writings of a range of Jewish groups and communities, gathered from libraries in Jerusalem and hidden in caves near Qumran to protect them during a Roman invasion in about 70 A.D.

    Others, including Schiffman, believe the texts were assembled by a sect known as the Essenes.

    The conflict rose to a level where Schiffman and other scholars were detracting from Norman Golb’s works on the theory. This prompted Raphael to fight for his father’s good name in a way that eventually led to what Golb referred to as “satire, irony, parody”. He claims that he never intended for the recipients of the emails to believe that it was Schiffman who composed them.

    Manhattan prosecutors cited Golb’s “relentless impersonation and harassment,” and referred to his practice of sending emails under aliases to museum administrators, academics and reporters, and his act of impersonating his father’s critics online in their brief to the Court of Appeals.

    Assistant District Attorney Vincent Rivellese wrote, “The court was careful to ensure that the jury would not convict the defendant for parody, satire, or academic debate, but rather for engaging in fraudulent misrepresentations regarding his identity.”

    Golb’s Attorney Ronald Kuby said, “It’s like the world’s oldest controversy playing out in the world’s newest medium. The underlying issue is: Can you criminalize these Internet impersonations as fraud when there’s no financial benefit or tangible property associated with it?”

    I guess that will be answered as the appeal plays out.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Flight MH370 Search Narrowed, But Delayed

    Flight MH370 Search Narrowed, But Delayed

    Flight MH370 was officially announced to be in a desolate area of the Indian Ocean around 1500 miles west of Perth, Australia on Monday.

    However, the area is a wide and unpredictable one with strong currents and trenches up to 3 miles deep. This will continue to challenge those that are still searching.

    “We’re not searching for a needle in a haystack,” Mark Binskin, vice chief of the Australian Defence Force, said Monday. “We’re still trying to define where the haystack is.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wre_RXSr3sw

    The search was also delayed on Tuesday due to some rough weather, but efforts should begin again on Wednesday to comb the area, which is between 400,000 and 500,000 square nautical miles in the southern tip of the southern corridor of the Indian Ocean, according to CNN. In addition to the multi-national search teams, the Royal Malaysian Air Force is conducting its own inquiry concerning the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

    Malaysian Transportation Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the search involves agencies with “expertise in satellite communications and aircraft performance”, but that won’t make the search easy by any means. An area of about 193,000 square miles has already been searched according to Australian Defense Minister David Johnston, and the process isn’t easy for the pilots.

    “With eight hours of flying to and from the search region, the fleet of P-3 Orion aircraft and other military aircraft have only a precious few hours to scour the search tracks they have been given.” Johnston said.

    When asked why he was confident that the location of the plane was accurate, he said, “I am confident of that because that’s the best we’ve got at this point in time.”

    It could very well be some time before the plane is located, and there are reportedly 15 days until the battery that helps search teams locate the plane’s black box runs out.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Group of 8 Now Group of 7: Russia’s Out

    Group of 8 Now Group of 7: Russia’s Out

    7 members of the Group of 8 who were supposed to meet in Sochi, Russia in for the G-8 Summit in June met for two hours behind closed doors today. They decided that it would be relocated to Brussels and that Russia is no longer invited until their government changes course, according to the New York Times.

    A statement from the Group of 7 read, “This group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. Russia’s actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them. Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit. We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course.”

    The course they wish to be changed is, of course, President Vladimir Putin’s hasty annexation of Crimea in the past few weeks. This is the latest in a series of steps that the group has taken and will continue to take to further isolate and punish Russia for its actions.

    “We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation,” the leaders’ statement said.

    Russia’s economy may not be the only one affected. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ready to take steps, along with several other nations, that may hurt their own economies somewhat. But if it puts the brakes on Russia, she says it would be worth it.

    Last week she stated that “we are ready at any time to introduce phase-3 measures if there is a worsening of the situation,” referring to the so-called third stage of sanctions which could very likely be harmful to her own country.

    President Obama made clear the stance of the United States and our allies on Monday. He expressed solidarity with Ukraine, saying “Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people,”

    “We’re united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far,” Obama said, adding “the growing sanctions would bring significant consequences to the Russian economy.”

    So far the threat of sanctions against Russia have done little to nothing in halting the actions of Vladimir Putin. Time will tell how far these sanctions must go in order to get a satisfactory reaction.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Duck Dynasty Wife: I Brought Baggage into Family

    Duck Dynasty wife Jessica Robertson, who is married to Jep Robertson, admits that she brought baggage to the family. The reveal came in the book The Women of Duck Commander, which will be out April 1st. The book is promising as a window into the lives of one of the country’s most famous families.

    However, the family known for wholesome fun and Christian values has its share of past mistakes made by its members. Just like any other family, these past mistakes sometimes effect the family as a whole.

    Jessica says all will be revealed in the new book.

    In an interview with Fox 411, she said of Jep and his family, “Of course when I met his family I realized it ran deep in the roots of the family. I of course fell in love with the family and they welcomed me in their home and they were so forgiving of anything I did in my past as a young girl.”

    She wasn’t alone in her past struggles, however. It seems her husband also had issues in the past that he has dealt with, with the help of his family.

    She said, “…we struggled with different things when we were young. He both struggled in different areas of life and in different ways. We want to share with the world our love story and our love story for God, how he was so forgiving and how we can utilize these areas to hopefully help others and help our children. A lot of it is not just knowing God forgives you, it’s forgiving yourself and moving on. Hopefully our book will be channeling some of those emotions.”

    The family’s famous faith in God is one of the things that drew her to Jep in the first place. She says Jep was the one who baptized her.

    “When I first met him I was just hanging out with him and his buddies, a group of people from church would hang out and do Bible studies. We met in March 2001 and in April he baptized me in the lake and then we started dating in June. We got married in October so it was really quick.”

    Jessica and the other wives from Duck Dynasty open up about all of their past struggles and what makes the Robertson family so great in the new book. It should be a pretty good read!

    Image Via YouTube

  • Maria Sharapova Advances at Sony Open

    Maria Sharapova won a 3-hour tennis match on Saturday at the Sony Open. Her opponent? The very capable Lucie Safarova of Serbia.

    ”She kept hitting unbelievable shots,” Sharapova said. ”One more. One more. I said, ‘How many chances are you going to get?’ I thought our level was quite high in the end.”

    The crowd was worked up toward the end of the long battle and endured an extensive and adrenaline fueled duel for the last point. Finally, Safarova wearily drove the ball into the net, ending the match and declaring victory for Sharapova. It was bittersweet, ending with the scores at 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2 in favor of Sharapova, according to AP.

    ”After a match like that, it’s tough to have only one winner,” Sharapova said, ”because both players give a lot and both want to win so much.”

    The two ended the match with a hug of mutual respect reserved for those who have challenged each other and just truly enjoyed the battle.

    Serena Williams also had a dramatic return to the court after a month-long hiatus. That long break might explain 41 unforced errors, including seven double-faults and her self-described “amateur” performance. She made a spectacle with lots of grunting, flailing, and cursing herself.

    However, the tennis legend still managed to pull it out at the end against 20-year-old Caroline Garcia after a 2 1/2 hour match with scores of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

    ”I can play a hundred times better,” Williams said. ”I really gave myself a tremendous amount of trouble out there. Granted she played great, but I made so many errors … 40-something errors. It’s not the way to play professional tennis. Maybe amateur.”

    Garcia was just happy to play Williams. This time. ”It’s always nice to play against a big player,” she said. ”You are working and practicing to play this match, because it’s in this kind of match you can learn more. But next time I prefer to win.”

    All in all, a pretty exciting day at the Sony Open for some of Tennis’ biggest stars.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Jimmy Carter Thwarts NSA, Uses Post Office

    Jimmy Carter Thwarts NSA, Uses Post Office

    Jimmy Carter, in an interview for NBC’s Meet the Press, says he uses snail mail when communicating with foreign leaders. He is pretty sure that the NSA is spying on him, a fear that is not unfounded, according to Fox News.

    “I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored,” the former Democratic president said. “And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write the letter myself, put it in the post office and mail it, because I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored.”

    Why the 89-year-old former president and founder of The Carter Center would need to be monitored, I don’t know, but the actions taken by the Obama administration and the NSA just don’t sit well with him. He said the practice of spying on American citizens’ emails, internet use, and cell phone calls has been “extremely liberalized and I think abused by our own intelligence agencies.”

    He also admitted that Mr. Obama didn’t bother to consult him when dealing with Russian President Vladmir Putin, even though he has direct experience which could have been helpful and has been consulted by former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan on dealing with “unsavory characters”.

    In fact, in 1980 Carter boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow because Russia had just invaded Afghanistan. But he feels that he knows the reason, and because of its sensitive nature, he understands Obama’s reluctance to consult him, according to NBC.

    He said,“I think the problem was that — in dealing with the issue of peace in between Israel and Egypt — the Carter Center has taken a very strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis. And I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn’t want to be involved.”

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Sundresses and Pants By Lululemon: Worth the Cost?

    Sundresses and tank tops are just about ready to be in season for spring and summer, and yoga gear maker Lululemon has jumped on the bandwagon this year, according to Yahoo Finance.

    The workout fashion giant has launched a new line of activewear for women on the go called, appropriately, &Go. The line features sundresses, tank tops, and summer pants that you can wear anywhere. You know, because you really shouldn’t wear yoga pants everywhere. Really.

    The new line boasts a wardrobe for women who are “out the door at daybreak and moving until midnight.” So, they are talking about clothes they say you can wear from the gym to happy hour.

    They say that, “You don’t have time for a wardrobe that keeps forcing you to change.” and, “You’re busy living. We get it.”

    Well, some might say that they don’t get it. Some might say that their clothes, made almost exclusively with cheap materials, are over-priced for what they are.

    The line’s shorts are going for $54, tops for $58, dresses for $198 and pants cost between $108 and $118.

    However, on the flip side, there are many who are totally ok with paying $58 for a shirt. Perhaps for the brand name? Who knows. But, the company has done quite well so far with the new line, so they must be doing something right.

    After all, six of the 12 items that were debuted on Tuesday sold out in a matter of hours! This kind of success is happening in the company during a somewhat turbulent time for them.

    “In our opinion, it is the most progressive, fashion-forward line the company has brought to market in quite some time,” Canaccord Genuity analyst Camilo Lyon said on Tuesday. “We believe the strong reception to &Go could turn investor sentiment positive after months of deserved pessimism given the company’s underperformance and mis-execution.”

    What do you think? Quality items that are worth the cost? Or over-priced workout wear from a company that has convinced an entire nation of women that it’s totally acceptable to pay top dollar for yoga gear?

    Image via Lululemon.com

  • High-Fiber Diet: The Smart Way to Get Healthy

    Since time immemorial, diet advice has been handed out just like opinions. Everyone’s got one and no one is afraid to share.

    Sometimes, in the midst of the latest greatest diet craze, common sense gets lost or overlooked in favor of a quicker (but sometimes less healthy) way to shed a few pounds.

    The road to weight loss is generally the same road to general good health and well-being, with a common sense approach.

    Eating a diet high in fiber not only helps you to lose those stubborn pounds, but also helps stave off some pretty serious, and uncomfortable, illnesses and diseases.

    A high-fiber diet helps prevent such diseases as diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity, colon cancer, diabetes and even heart disease.

    The general American diet is very low in fiber, only about 10-13 grams per day, but we reportedly need 30-40 grams per day to get the fiber we need for our bodies to do their thing properly.

    The best way to get fiber is not through a supplement or icky drink mix. The very best way to get that fiber is from fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

    Try adding a few more fruits and vegetables into your diet, like apples, blueberries, strawberries, and apricots, as well as carrots, kale, cucumbers, and spinach. These are delicious and add lots of healthy fiber as well as other vital nutrients. Summer is coming, and these are about to be readily available at your local grocery or farmer’s market.

    Also tray adding more fiber with grains, beans and legumes like almonds, cashews, quinoa, brown rice, and whole grain bread. There are many ways to add fiber with these kinds of grains just by making small changes like switching to brown rice instead of white or whole grain bread instead of the plain white varieties. Make your PB&J with whole grain bread and grab an apple instead of a bag of chips.

    There are many ways to add important fiber to your diet and by changing a few things about the way you eat, and it will be worth it if you could prevent some unsavory body function issues, right?

    Image via YouTube

  • Chai Tea: Oprah and Starbucks Team Up for a Cause

    Chai Tea: Oprah and Starbucks Team Up for a Cause

    Take Oprah, add in over-priced tea at Starbucks and pour it over a good cause. This will be the formula for Starbucks’ newest addition to their menu: Oprah’s Chai tea.

    The tea will be sold at Starbucks and Teavana locations beginning two weeks before Mother’s Day. The proceeds from sales of her tea, which features an infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves, will benefit The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation.

    Oprah revealed that she had spent some considerable time with Starbucks’ “teaologists” to get the formula just where they wanted. “I think we got it right,” she said.

    We hope for her sake that they did indeed get it right. This is actually the first time Oprah has lent her name to any brand outside of her stunning empire, according to CNN Money.

    “I looove tea,” Winfrey said in a release. “My daily tea ritual is a vital part of my morning. Savory and spicy chai, with its deep flavor, has long been a favorite of mine.”

    She continued,”When Howard and Starbucks offered me a chance to create my very own tea blend, I thought that sounded like fun to the tenth power. To share one of my favorite things with you and support youth education at the same time is truly the perfect blend.”

    Anything Oprah Winfrey and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sounds like a super-effective power combo to me, but will the tea take off like they hope?

    Chai tea originated in India and has increased in popularity throughout the world in recent years. The concoction consists of a base black tea, heavy milk, spices and a sweetener of some sort.

    It is said that many Indians are perplexed by the big fuss over Chai in the rest of the world, as it is a part of their daily life.

    Best wishes to the new tea and hopefully it will be of great benefit to the charity and a boon to the support of youth education.

    Image Via YouTube

  • My Little Pony Backpack Banned Due to Bullying

    A My Little Pony backpack is at the center of what has become a national firestorm, reviving the ever-present issue of bullying. 9-year-old Grayson Bruce of Buncombe County, N.C. was banned from bringing the backpack to school after it became a “distraction” and caused him to become an object of torment, according to ABC.

    “The principal told me that we could no longer bring the bag to school,” Grayson’s mother, Noreen Bruce, said. “That he as a principal had the right to ban anything that he believed was a distraction.”

    Whether or not the principal took the right course of action or simply the path of least resistance is the controversy. Should he have held yet another assembly on bullying, sought out and punished the bullies, or perhaps nothing at all?

    Noreen Bruce says that Grayson is not the one who should be punished here. “Saying a lunchbox is a trigger for bullying is like saying a short skirt is a trigger for rape. It’s flawed logic.”

    The reaction has triggered an incredible amount of support for Grayson, like the 50,000 likes on the “Support for Grayson” Facebook page. There is also a Change.org petition reaching more than 10,000 signatures and counting, calling for the school to allow Grayson to bring his Pony backpack.

    “It made me feel devastated,” Grayson said of the fiasco he has endured. “I didn’t think I was going to get the reaction that I got.”

    He was so devastated that he is now homeschooled for the time being, where he is allowed to bring whatever backpack he chooses. Is banning the backpack the answer? Should mama have perhaps warned her little man that the backpack would probably garner unwanted attention and ask if he was prepared to deal with it? And if his answer was in the affirmative, let him deal with it with his head held high?

    As parents, we are often faced with difficult decisions when it comes to raising kids, as this situation has shown. There are many opinions out there as to what the correct course of action would be, but one thing is for certain. There is a ton of support out there for Grayson and his right to Pony it up. What is your opinion on the matter?

    Image Via YouTube

  • Obamacare Deadline March 31, Will Numbers Hit Goal?

    The Obamacare enrollment deadline is quickly approaching on March 31st, and numbers are picking up the pace as expected. However, with numbers sitting just above 5 million enrolled, will the number of Americans signing up reach the projected 7 million?

    There are eleven days until the enrollment deadline, and the Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that in the first half of March enrollment rose by about 800,000 people. That’s about 0.4 million per week. At this point, enrollment would have to leap to 1 million per week, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

    The Administration has really gone above and beyond to not only encourage people to sign up, but to also spread the word via social media. The president even went on Between Two Ferns in a ploy to get his message out there.

    They are also riding the coattails of “March Madness” to make people aware of some reasons to get signed up, releasing their own “bracket“. Seems desperate, but will it work?

    There are still some issues that are slowing enrollment. There are still website kinks that seem to never end, there are coverage issues, and there is the fact that the costs (higher than promised) are not as affordable as just remaining uncovered and paying the penalty.

    There was the problem last week during a WebMD interview wherein the President admitted that actually, you may not get to keep your doctor after all. And of course, there’s the problem of some 51% of Americans in the new Bloomberg National Poll saying the mandate should be repealed.

    The true test of success will be after the deadline passes, all are enrolled, and the dust settles. Will the Americans who received coverage through Obamacare like their new coverage? Will the promises made hold water?

    That remains to be seen. As for the enrollment goal, 1 million per week seems steep, but stranger things have happened…

    Image Via YouTube