Monday, June 17, 2013

Musing on Monday's Headlines

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has been a fellow at New York University for the last year, but is now claiming he and his family are being evicted from their apartment by NYU.  The university denies the allegation, saying he came here on a one year fellowship and that it is ending.

Orchard Supply Hardware has filed for bankruptcy but it looks like either Lowe's or someone who is willing to pay even more will end up owning the chain.  It's a good deal for Lowe's because it would double the company's footprint in California, although they say Orchard will retain its brand and operate as a standalone.

Edward Snowden had a live video chat and stated he will disclose more of the "secrets" of the U.S. that he claims will show that the nation is "aggressively criminal", regarding intelligence-gathering. 

Last night at the Miss USA pageant, Miss Utah was asked a question by judge NeNe Leakes:  "A recent report shows that in 40% of U.S. families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men.  What does this say about society?"  Her answer was:

"I think we can relate this back to education and how we are continuing to try to strive to -- figure out how to create jobs right now," Powell said. "That is the biggest problem and, I think, especially the men are seen as the leaders of this, so we need to -- create education better so we can solve this problem."  If you can translate what that was supposed to mean, I'll be very impressed.

Health inspectors around California are taking aim at hot dog vendors but there is now a bill winding its way through the Legislature that will save them.  It defines what constitutes a hot dog.  This will allow the various health departments to give the vendors more leeway, since they're just boiling already cooked food, versus food vendors who are cooking raw food.  Dodger Dogs are not part of the proposed definition.

A woman who was stabbed to death over the weekend, apparently by her estranged husband, was waiting for a hearing on a request for a restraining order.  The husband, who had been the object of a manhunt was arrested on Monday in Joshua Tree.

Bob Meistrell, co-founder of Body Glove, died of an apparent heart attack aboard his boat, near Catalina Island.  He was 84.

"Curb Your Enthusiam" star and comedian Jeff Garlin may need to take some "Anger Management" classes after his arrest in Studio City.  He got into a dispute over a parking space and allegedly smashed the window of the other driver's vehicle.

Speaking of "Anger Management", rumors are swirling that Charlie Sheen wants to fire his co-star Selma Blair, because she complained about his unprofessionalism.

A former employee at a McDonald's franchise in Pennsylvania is suing the franchise owner because she was forced to have her paychecks paid to her on a fee-laden debit card.  An attorney for the National Consumer Law Center says that giving employees no option to receive their pay other than a debit card violates state and federal law.

Sy Perlis just set a record by bench-pressing 187.5 pounds.  The feat becomes much more impressive when it is revealed that he is 91 years old.  Even when I was in good shape, bench-pressing that much would not have been easy.  Great job!!

28 years ago, Paula Cooper and three others murdered a 78 year old Bible school teacher during a robbery.  She was sentenced to death by an Indiana court.  Now, she will be released from prison.  Cooper, who was 15 at the time of the crime became a cause celibre with even Pope John Paul II opposing her death sentence. 

Wanetta Gibson falsely accused Brian Banks of rape, sending him to prison for five years.  She also won $1.5 million from the Long Beach School District for failure to provide a "safe environment."  Now she's been ordered to pay $2.6 million in repayment, interest and punitive damages to the district.  Considering her whereabouts are unknown and the last reports about her had her drawing welfare, odds are good the district won't see the money.

Chad Johnson (nee Ochocinco) is a free man, after serving one week of a 30 day sentence for pissing off a judge.

Celebrity chef Gordan Ramsay is being sued by four former employees of his L.A. area restaurant, "Fat Cow" (it's at the Grove), for failure to provide breaks, pay minimum wage and failure to pay wages on-time.

Federal authorities have seized fourteen 7-11 stores in Virginia and on Long Island, as part of an investigation into allegations that the franchises imported illegal immigrants to work in the stores, forced them to live in houses owned by the store's owners and stole much of their wages.

Look for three Atlanta area sports talk-radio hosts to be severely disciplined (probably fired) for making fun of former NFL player Steve Gleason.  Gleason, who suffers from ALS wrote a guest column for Sports Illustrated, and the idiots went on the air and made fun of him, including wondering if he would even be alive next week.  They should be fired immediately.

If you're in a hotel in Geneva, Switzerland and you suddenly have a hankering for a club sandwich, be prepared to shell out $30.45 for it.  That's the average price for this item at hotels in that city, according to Hotels.com, highest average in the world.  Paris is #2 and Oslo right behind at #3.

The best score Tiger Woods has ever shot for 18 holes is a 61.  Now nine-year old Zach Adams has just shot a 58 in a junior golf tournament.  Yes, the yardage is much shorter and yes, it's 18 holes over four days rather than one.  But it's still an extraordinary achievement.

Kristen Stewart, eating wings at Hooters of Amarillo?  I don't think she was there to apply for work, or looking for a new guy.

Last year, George Lucas received an award from the NAACP for his film "Red Tails."  When he received his first ever Emmy last night, he mentioned that earlier honor, but called it an "NCAA award."  Oops.