Funny thing, I thought this shit would stop when Bush left office.  The economy is circling the drain and we have federal government resources going toward this?!?

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Feds Freeze Poker Champ's Winnings
Federal Officials Order Banks to Freeze Millions in Online Poker Winnings
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN

June 11, 2009—

On the Sunday before Memorial Day, David made the big time.

Winning $10,000 in an online poker tournament made him eligible for the upcoming World Series of Poker, the game's premier event, where hundreds of players -- amateur and professional -- descend on Las Vegas from around the world to play for a multimillion-dollar pot.

To register, he simply had to cash a check cut by a company that processed payments for the poker Web site Pokerstars.com and use the $10,000 to buy into the series.

When he went to cash the check from Account Services Wednesday, it bounced, he said.

What David, a 41-year-old from Virginia who spoke on the condition that ABC News use only his first name, initially thought was a glitch turned out to be part of an unprecedented government crackdown on online poker that affected some 27,000 people.

Late last week, the federal government ordered five banks to freeze a total of $30 million in payments owed to the players from companies that process payments from two offshore gambling sites, according to the Poker Players Alliance, a group that represents the interests of the companies and players.

"It's not like the government went after money that the site made, instead they seized money that belonged to me," David said. "There is no law that restricts citizens from recovering money."

According to the alliance, federal prosecutors working out of New York's Southern District ordered Citibank, Wells Fargo and three smaller banks to freeze funds in accounts belonging to Allied Systems and Account Services, companies that process funds for the poker sites.

Some affected players who gamble at the popular sites FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com first realized they could not access funds in their accounts over the weekend when checks issued from the companies bounced.

Online poker, a $9 billion to $12 billion a year industry, is legally a gray area, experts told ABCNews.com. Washington is the only state with a law on its books that bans residents from playing on the Internet. The sites themselves, however, are not allowed to operate in the United States and are all registered overseas.

Online Poker Players Alliance Criticizes Freezing of Accounts

"There is no legal precedent for what the government is doing," said John Pappas, executive director of the alliance.

"We contend playing online poker is not unlawful. The government is going after the players' money, not the sites'. The fact is, there is no federal law against playing online poker," he said.

Though the government maintains that online gambling is illegal, the U.S. attorney's office in New York would not comment on the case or confirm an investigation was under way.

According to federal documents obtained by The Associated Press, a judge in the Southern District of New York issued a seizure warrant last week for an account at a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco. The AP reported that the documents also showed that a federal prosecutor told a bank in Arizona to freeze an account.

In a letter dated Friday and faxed to Alliance Bank of Arizona, Arlo Devlin-Brown, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said that accounts held by payment processor Allied Systems Inc. are subject to seizure and forfeiture "because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses," according to the AP.

In another letter, Devlin-Brown asks that the bank treat the funds "as legally seized" by the FBI, saying that the government has probable cause that the gambling payments of U.S. residents had been directed to offshore illegal Internet gambling businesses, the AP reported.

A source at Citgroup familiar with the government request, however, confirmed the "bank has been contacted and is cooperating" with the authorities.

According to the alliance, the laws cited by prosecutors "appear to allege violations of the Wire Act and the Illegal Gambling Business Act" and not to a more recent piece of legislation on online gaming called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Another player, Sam Friedman, a 24-year-old accountant in New York City who plays every night in tournaments on FullTiltPoker.com, said he realized the company had last week removed an option to deposit winnings directly into his Citibank account.

Internet Poker Players Say Feds Are 'Reaching Into People's Bank Accounts'

"There are lots of ways to deposit and withdraw money and payment options are always disappearing, but something didn't seem right," Friedman said.

"I can't believe the government is reaching into people's bank accounts like this," he said. "For a lot of serious players this is their lifeblood. This is how they make ends meet."

Both FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com have reimbursed players who tried to cash out and were unable to.

"In light of recent events involving the freezing of certain accounts, Full Tilt Poker would like to assure all players that their funds remain safe and secure," spokeswoman Michelle Clayborn said in a statement.

"All players who were affected by the current situation have had their funds returned to their accounts," the statement said. David, the World Series hopeful, said he had been reimbursed by PokerStars and given an additional 10 percent credit.

He used his own savings to buy into the World Series and will use the winnings from his championship game online to pay himself back as soon as he gets them, he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=7808131

Check out this short film, very good stuff with just one actor and zero lines of dialogue.

The gym that I worked out at in Smyrna for the past two years, National Fitness Center, abruptly closed earlier this month. Tonight, NewsChannel 5 (WTVF) in Nashville ran a story about the closure. I was only mildly inconvenienced (luckily I paid up front in cash when I joined two years ago and my contract expires at the end of June), and they worked a deal with Flex in Smyrna to allow former NFC people to work out there. It wasn't such a bad deal for me, but some former NFC members are still having to pay monthly fees for a gym that is now shuttered.

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=10453298

It's a shame since the people at NFC Smyrna were very nice and I loved their Precor elliptical trainers. I wish I knew where they are keeping all of the old equipment from the gym -- I'd love to buy one of those used Precors for the house.

Well, I was wrong about last night's NBA game. Bennett Salvatore called it down the middle, the Magic outhustled the Cavs, and Cleveland simply had no answer for Dwight Howard.

Congrats to Drew Garabo, who works for the Magic, on his team making the NBA Finals. Here's hoping they take out the Lakers and bring Orlando its first major sports championship (not counting Arena Football).

One of my favorite sports writers, Bill Simmons, has pointed out for some time the bizarre officiating done by NBA referee Bennett Salvatore. His theory is that Salvatore is easily influenced by home fans. I suspect it might cut deeper than that.

Remember $4+ per gallon for gas?  OPEC does, and the greedy bastards who run it would love to see the price of oil skyrocket again.  And just wait until the speculators get in and artifically rise the price of it further once again...

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VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC ministers set their sights on oil at $75-$80 as they readied for talks in Vienna on Thursday, but were expected to hold output policy steady and rely instead on economic recovery to drive the market higher.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Wednesday the world could now cope with oil at $75-$80 a barrel, the price range the kingdom considers high enough to sustain energy investment for the long term. He said it could be achieved before the end of this year.

Previously, Saudi Arabia signaled it could live with oil around $50 to help nurse the economy back to health.

Oil has already climbed from a low of $32.40 last December to six-month highs above $63 a barrel on Wednesday.

"The price rise is a function of optimism better things are coming in the future," Naimi told reporters.

"We see offshoots of recovery," he added. "There are a lot of positives in what I say because I am seeing a recovery."

Naimi said Thursday's meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries did not need to change the group's output policy, but he stopped short of saying there was already a consensus among the group's 12 members.

On his arrival in Vienna on Wednesday, United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohamed al-Hamli said only the oil market was over-supplied and the meeting would "look at the numbers."

Most of the other OPEC ministers have yet to arrive.

Several members have already said they want prices to be higher than current levels and Saudi Arabia has historically been a price moderate.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday oil prices should be heading toward $75-$80 and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said a price of $80-$90 was appropriate.

When OPEC last met in March, oil was below $50.

Citing the need to restore the economy, which in turn would boost oil demand, the group then called only for better adherence to existing output curbs, rather than making new ones.

Since September last year, OPEC has lowered output by 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) and has implemented around 80 percent of the promised cuts.

The historically high compliance has helped to drive the oil price rally, which has also been sustained by expectations across financial markets that the worst is over economically.

Some analysts have said there is a lack of hard evidence behind the market rises and that strength could be temporary, although others have agreed with Naimi the oil market is beginning to show signs of fundamental strength.

Asked whether $75 a barrel was achievable, David Kirsch, director of market intelligence services at PFC Energy in Washington said "anything is possible."

"One of the key issues is whether or not $75 is sustainable from the perspective of fundamentals or whether it would hurt a global economic recovery," he added.

Provided a strengthening economy boosts energy demand, Naimi said oil inventories, which have risen to worryingly high levels as far as the producer group is concerned, would shrink back to the equivalent of 52-54 days of forward cover.

The International Energy Agency, which represents consumer countries, said in a report this month oil inventories in developed countries had risen to the equivalent of 62.4 days of forward cover, the most since 1993.

It has taken a very bearish view of demand for this year -- predicting a drop in fuel consumption of 2.56 million bpd compared with last year -- deeper than the fall of 1.57 million bpd forecast by OPEC's economists in their latest report.

But the IEA has also argued that because cheaper oil has stymied investment any demand recovery could drive prices back to the record levels of nearly $150 hit last July.

Naimi too has said that is a risk and the challenge was to keep prices in a stable range, fair to producers, but that does not destroy demand.

"That is the biggest challenge," he said when asked how to contain any price rise. "It's very difficult. There are too many players in the market. It's impossible with so many players."

Link to the story

This is a perfect example of sports play-by-play that's so bad it's good:

Tax tax tax tax tax...

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MAY 12, 2009

Soda Tax Weighed to Pay for Health Care

By JANET ADAMY

Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system.

The taxes would pay for only a fraction of the cost to expand health-insurance coverage to all Americans and would face strong opposition from the beverage industry. They also could spark a backlash from consumers who would have to pay several cents more for a soft drink.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee is set to hear proposals from about a dozen experts about how to pay for the comprehensive health-care overhaul that President Barack Obama wants to enact this year. Early estimates put the cost of the plan at around $1.2 trillion. The administration has so far only earmarked funds for about half of that amount.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based watchdog group that pressures food companies to make healthier products, plans to propose a federal excise tax on soda, certain fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas. It would not include most diet beverages. Excise taxes are levied on goods and manufacturers typically pass them on to consumers.

Senior staff members for some Democratic senators at the center of the effort to craft health-care legislation are weighing the idea behind closed doors, Senate aides said.

The Congressional Budget Office, which is providing lawmakers with cost estimates for each potential change in the health overhaul, included the option in a broad report on health-system financing in December. The office estimated that adding a tax of three cents per 12-ounce serving to these types of sweetened drinks would generate $24 billion over the next four years. So far, lawmakers have not indicated how big a tax they are considering.

Proponents of the tax cite research showing that consuming sugar-sweetened drinks can lead to obesity, diabetes and other ailments. They say the tax would lower consumption, reduce health problems and save medical costs. At least a dozen states already have some type of taxes on sugary beverages, said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"Soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the food supply, and it's something government should discourage the consumption of," Mr. Jacobson said.

The main beverage lobby that represents Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and other companies said such a tax would unfairly hit lower-income Americans and wouldn't deter consumption.

"Taxes are not going to teach our children how to have a healthy lifestyle," said Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association. Instead, the association says it's backing programs that limit sugary beverage consumption in schools.

Some recent state proposals along the same lines have met stiff opposition. New York Gov. David Paterson recently agreed to drop a proposal for an 18% tax on sugary drinks after facing an outcry from the beverage industry and New Yorkers.

The beverage-tax proposal would apply to drinks that many Americans don't consider unhealthy -- such as PepsiCo's Gatorade and Kraft's Capri Sun -- based on their calorie content.

Health advocates are floating other so-called sin tax proposals and food regulations as part of the government's health-care overhaul. Mr. Jacobson also plans to propose Tuesday that the government sharply raise taxes on alcohol, move to largely eliminate artificial trans fat from food and move to reduce the sodium content in packaged and restaurant food.

The beverage tax is just one of hundreds of ideas that lawmakers are weighing to finance the health-care plans. They're expected to narrow the list in coming weeks.

The White House, meanwhile, is pulling together private health groups to identify cost savings that will help fund the health overhaul. Mr. Obama on Monday held a White House meeting with groups that represent doctors, hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and medical-device makers. They pledged to help restrain cost increases in the health-care system in an effort to save $2 trillion over the next decade.

"When it comes to health-care spending, we are on an unsustainable course that threatens the financial stability of families, businesses and government itself," Mr. Obama told reporters.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124208505896608647.html

Looks like all that practice didn't help Baba Booey with his opening pitch at the Mets game...



I can only imagine the ribbing that Gary is going to take on-air about this tomorrow.

When is DT Linder's deposition going to happen in this case?

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Ex-Nebraska QB files suit against NCAA, game maker

By ERIC OLSON – 1 day ago

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller is suing EA Sports and the NCAA, saying the video-game maker wrongly uses the names and likenesses of college athletes in its products and that the NCAA sanctions the practice.

Keller's lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco as a class-action, meaning he also sued on behalf of all college athletes depicted in EA's games.

Keller lawyer Rob Carey contends EA Sports profits from using the names and likenesses of players.

NCAA bylaws prohibit the use of the names and likenesses of athletes for commercial purposes.

The lawsuit would bar EA from using the names and likenesses of players and seeks undetermined pay for athletes who have been portrayed in the games.

Link to the story