There’s a saddening new report from SportsIllustrated.Com implicating some of my favorite wrestlers in an illegal steroid ring:

In total, there were 11 professional wrestlers listed in the documents that we saw. Some of these wrestlers are working as independents; some are out of the business entirely; others are first-tier stars. Consider Randy Orton, who allegedly received eight prescriptions for six different drugs — stanozolol, nandrolone, anastrozole, Clomiphene citrate, oxandrolone and testosterone — between March 2004 and August 2004. (Through the WWE, Orton declined comment.) Interestingly, according to the documents, Orton’s prescriptions came from the same two doctors whose names appeared on the prescriptions in major league outfielder Gary Matthews Jr.’s file.

Not only Orton, but Edge and Gregory Helms have been implicated. I can only imagine how much pain these people go through, so I can understand the painkillers, but I don’t understand the steroids and hormones. Maybe I’m not understanding something, but I just find it disappointing.

Two clowns were shot and killed by an unidentified gunman during their performance at a traveling circus in the eastern Colombian town of Cucuta, police said Wednesday.

Moral of the story: some people are completely fucked up. There’s obviously a lot more to this story than is known right now, but it’s this kind of violence that tarnishes the reputations of these places and keeps the common man from enjoying entertainment acts that might be afraid to travel to the region.

We’re half way through the month and close to tying last February’s record for number of entries, though as with last month, I think we’ve raised the bar in the last year. With that out of the way, let’s get to the stories!

• ‘His words pollute the atmosphere’: In this day and age, why is homophobia so widely accepted?
  

  The host asked Hardaway how he would interact with a gay teammate.

  “First of all, I wouldn’t want him on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don’t think that is right. I don’t think he should be in the locker room while we are in the locker room.”

  If he did find out that a teammate was gay, Hardaway said he would ask for the player to be removed from the team.

  “Something has to give,” Hardaway said. “If you have 12 other ballplayers in your locker room that’s upset and can’t concentrate and always worried about him in the locker room or on the court or whatever, it’s going to be hard for your teammates to win and accept him as a teammate.”

  Sure, we all have our own views and I accept that, but I don’t understand the need of some such as Hardaway to push his views on others. If he dislikes gays, fine, I’m not going to waste time arguing with the stupidity of his discrimination, but why does he feel the need to make sure his views are forced on gay players so they’re forced out of his team? If someone did that to Hardaway because of his ethnicity, he’d cry foul, so why does he endorse the same kind of senseless hatred? I’ll never understand it.

• “Ben & Jerry Scoop Colbert”: While I do enjoy The Daily Show more than The Colbert Report, one can’t deny the charisma and sense of humor possessed by Stephen Colbert, so I’m glad to learn he’s being honored for his work:
  

  Ben & Jerry’s is fudging the truthiness.

  The maker of Phish Food, Cherry Garcia and Vermonty Python is adding Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream to its collection of cult figure-inspired ice cream flavors.

  Billed as “the sweet taste of liberty in your mouth,” Americone Dream is vanilla ice cream packed with fudge-covered pieces of waffle cone and a caramel—or is that a conservative?—swirl.

  “I’m not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda,” Colbert said in a statement. “What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case.”

  Freedom has never tasted so sweet

  I’ll definitely have to try out this ice cream, as it sounds quite delicious and supports Colbert, which is always a good thing.

• “Should We Bury The Penny?”: I don’t know enough about the report involved in this story, but I do know that pennies have become increasingly useless in my life, which doesn’t mean we eliminate them, but I can understand the idea.
  

  The figures “show clearly that the one cent coin is not very useful and that consumers hoard or throw it away rather than deposit it and put it back into the distribution system,” the report said.

  Maybe I’m in the minority, but I can’t see a downside to removing the penny from circulation and slightly altering prices so that they’re not required.

• Battlestar Galactica Returns For A Fourth Season: Sure, this isn’t as important as the above news, but it’s good news for those of us enjoying this phenomenal (though uneven at times) show. This show seems like one that has a finite life and I’d like for the story to be told as need be, so viewers aren’t left with a lot of questions or an unfortunately rushed season (such as happened with Babylon 5).

As much as I hate the Ku Klux Klan, I gotta admit that their hard work and perseverance has paid off, which a huge jump in membership in recent years, as reported by CNN:

• Ku Klux Klan rebounding by exploiting hot-button issues, report says
• Klan uses, stirs up anti-immigrant sentiments, says Anti-Defamation League
• Hate group watchdog says Klan chapters grew 63% between 2000 and 2005
• ADL says Klan cooperating with other extremist groups more than before

Those are the “highlights” of the story and quite disturbing to me, as I’d like to hope that people would grow as they saw the value of diversity in modern society and at the very least, the need to accept other cultures in this increasingly small world. I’m not sure how you can ever conquer this kind of blind and violent hatred, but I guess all minorities such as myself can do is be the best people we can, leading a moral and virtuous life, hoping that our lives and actions show people that racism is not only illogical, it’s the refuge of the ignorant and the stupid.

I could go on a rant about the KKK and other hate groups that inspire violence, but chances are that if you’re reading this, you’re immune to their propaganda and bile, so I’ll just finish by saying I hope that in the future we’ll learn to overcome these petty base emotions. I hope that we’ll become more than just the sum of our weaknesses and become shining beacons of strength, embracing the goodness inside each and every one of us.

Yeah, this is going to be one of those serious entries about a very important subject. There’s no question that rape is a horrible, horrible crime and rapists should be punished severely. But there’s a new wrinkle in the legal definition of rape that is causing quite a stir. Time Magazine ran this article:

If a woman consents to having sex with a man but then during intercourse says no, and the man continues, is it rape?

The answer depends on where you live. The highest courts of seven states, including Connecticut and Kansas, have ruled that a woman may withdraw her consent at any time, and if the man doesn’t stop, he is committing rape. Illinois has become the first state to pass legislation giving a woman that right to change her mind. But in Maryland–as well as in North Carolina–when a woman says yes, she can’t take it back once sex has begun–or, at least, she can’t call the act rape.

That was the recent ruling by Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals in a case that may soon make its way to the state’s highest court and that has captured the attention of feminists and legal experts across the country. Advocates for victims’ rights insist it’s not just a matter of allowing a woman to have a change of heart. If the law doesn’t recognize a woman’s right to say no during sex, they say, there is no recourse for a woman who begins to feel pain or who learns her partner isn’t wearing a condom or has HIV. Those who are wary of these measures say they’re not arguing against having a man stop immediately when a woman no longer wants to have sex, but with how to define immediately.

This is a fascinating article, especially the story of one man’s five year conviction as a result of this confusion. There are a lot of interesting points raised for both sides and I’d love to hear the opinion of those reading the article. I doubt that there’s a clear “right” answer in this case and I definitely can see arguments for either side of the debate.

What are your thoughts?

We’re back a bit early, which is a nice change of page and there’ll be lots of new content next week that I hope will make up for our time away. Let’s get back into the swing of things with a few stories that caught my attention.

• Transform and roll out with the Lilformers, cute little versions of the Transformers (as seen above) who appear in humorous comic strips. It’s a super fun site and worth checking out for anyone who grew up with the Robots In Disguise.
• ” Chewbacca strikes back; accused of head-butting.” I respect getting into character and entertaining tourists, but seriously…this is going a bit too far. Sometimes Wookies need to be reminded that they’re not Wookies.
• ” Apple’s iPhone stirs up rivals.” Y’know, as excited as I was and still am about this phone, I’m not sure I’ll be picking it up this year. The price is quite high and while I think it’s great technology, I don’t think I need all that from a phone. I’d rather buy seperate phones, iPods and computers to use for their own purposes, as opposed to combining them all into one smart phone at this point. I’m sure this will do well for Apple, but I’d rather spend the cash on a new widescreen iPod (which I’m sure will be announced soon).
• “Soccer Riot Kills Officer.” It’s a sad story, not only because of the officer’s death, but also because of the continued violence all over the world when it comes to sports. I understand being passionate about something, but rioting? It’s pathetic, selfish and pointless.

“Wife induces labor so husband can go to Bears game”

PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — Nine months pregnant and married to a fervent Bears fan with tickets to Sunday’s NFC Championship game, Colleen Pavelka didn’t want to risk going into labor during the game against the New Orleans Saints.

Due to give birth on Monday, Pavelka’s doctor told her Friday she could induce labor early. She opted for the Friday delivery.

To be fair, as long as this was safe for the baby and as long as the parents were both okay with it, I’d be hard pressed to call this “wrong.” I may not understand it or much like it, but I’m not sure there’s a moral highground to take, so I don’t want to seem like I’m criticizing these people on those grounds. That said…what the hell?

I have my passions– perhaps obsessions– but I’m not sure I’d work having a child around those as opposed to working my passions around this new life entering the world. For all I know, this couple are really balanced in their lives and the father is only like this because of the playoffs, but honestly…I just don’t get it. It baffles me. But to each their own, eh?

Every so often, certain new stories make you sit back and think “huh?” or some string of lovely expletives. These are the stories prompting that reaction from me:

• Muslims Protest 24: which makes me wonder how many of them have watched the show in its entirety. Yes, this season it seems almost every Muslim featured for more than a few minutes is evil, but look further: CTU has a Muslim working for them; a Muslim terrorist is apparently seeking redemption; and we’ve seen a Muslim falsely imprisoned. Frankly, this show usually has European villains or psycho Americans, so it’s hardly an anti-Muslim show. This part of the article surprised me:
  

  “The overwhelming impression you get is fear and hatred for Muslims,” said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. She said Thursday she was distressed by this season’s premiere. “After watching that show, I was afraid to go to the grocery store because I wasn’t sure the person next to me would be able to differentiate between fiction and reality.”

  Seriously, if people are that stupid, I doubt it’ll take 24 to turn them to the dark side– they’re probably already there. Last season the President was the villain– did Americans stand up and riot? In the third season, we had a British villain– did the British protest? Muslims have been the major villain in two seasons– this season and Season 4, but in neither case have Muslims been specifically singled out by the show. The show indicts Middle Eastern extremists, who usually have American comrades-in-arms and are not discriminated against for their belief systems. They’re hunted like animals because they’re scummy terrorists, not because they’re Muslim, and it’s a distinction that any viewer with half a brain can make. I understand the initial emotional reaction that worries about racism, but in a show with two black presidents, high ranking minority officers of the law (Tony, Michelle, Curtis) and one that has gone to lengths this season to differentiate between Muslims and terrorists, it’s just not a valid concern at this point.

• ‘12-year-old’ is 29-year-old sex offender: …uh, yeah, that’s just messed up. If this freak did attend any of those schools. I’d like to know which idiots bought his story, unless he’s 5′4″ and weights 100lbs wet. It’s sick, twisted and I don’t know if I should laugh or cry and this:
  

  Stiffler and Robert James Snow, 43, “were very upset when the detectives told them they had been having a sexual relationship with a 29-year-old man and not a pre-teen boy,” Quayle said.

  It’s sick and deranged, but it’s the kind of thing that makes you laugh at the insanity of these people. I’ve had the “pleasure” of arresting people like this before and when you meet them, you just wonder what the hell got messed up inside of them. They think their obsessions are so normal and it’s scary how much they can twist reality to suit their perversions.

• Study finds simple stress relief: I know we all react to stress differently, and that I’m not perfect, but do we really need to spend an hour a day learning how to deal with stress from someone not in our work environment? I do believe there are common elements to all stressful situations, so there can be broad advice to share, but it seems silly to offer some uniform advice to everyone. I’d argue we need a widescale shift in how society views work and family in order to affect real change– if you have people working 16 hour work days, how are they supposed to sleep well? And with Blackberrys strapped to their waists 24/7, the spectre of work looms large and constant, affecting one’s life in all areas. But since we’re constantly promoting unhealthy levels of work, combined with unhealthy eating habits and unbalanced lifestyles, why should we expect one hour of stress relief a day to do much? It’s like putting band-aid on an eviscerated abdomen– it ain’t gonna do much. I’m sure this is the point where I’m supposed to have some grand solution, but I really don’t know how things can change, just that there is a need for change.

With all of the entertainment discussion, I thought I’d follow up on some real world stories that caught my attention today. If you’re wondering who is in the above picture, it’s Sylvan, the WWE’s “Ambassador-At-Large To Quebec” and it does tie in with out first story. Still, you knew I couldn’t keep this all serious, eh? You can read all about him, as well as watch his video about Quebec, right here.

• `Quebecers aren’t racist,’ Charest says: This is an interesting story to me, not only because of my Canadian heritage, but because of the way the poll was conducted. When I was in Canada, Quebec had a bad rep for a number of reasons, due in part to trying to split from the country (which never goes over well, y’know) and the perception of xenophobia in Quebec. I’ve only been in “La Belle Province” once and never felt it was any more racist than the rest of country, nor did any of my Quebecois friends seem more/less racist than anyone else I knew. Moreover, I’m curious what kinds of questions were asked. I don’t know how you poll racism and frankly, most racists I meet never refer to themselves as racists. They’re not like comic book super villains who call themselves villains– even though few real life “bad” people ever see themselves that way– and I doubt that you can dismiss 60% of the Quebec population based on one poll. It’s times like this I wish I had CBC News to see their coverage of this story. It seems like you need to define racism in a very specific way. We all have biases in our behavior and in our actions– we have to because we’re informed by past events. Racism, to my understanding, is a step further where that bias is far more extreme and aggressive, if not a consciously nurtured state of mind. If you’re walking down a street late at night and see some people– of any race– dressed like “thugs,” you’re bound to tense up or cross the road. Is that racism or stereotyping? Or perhaps a different word? So while this poll may be good for headlines, I’d caution non-Canadians to pay it no real attention.
• Afghan civilians stop terror attack at U.S. base: Now this is the kind of story I like to see in the news. I know that a lot of people like to forget about Afghanistan and the war over there, but it is great to see people joining in the good fight. I feel like I should say more, but it’s one of those stories where I regret the loss of life, but I’m also in awe of the bravery and heroism of those fighting the terrorists.
• ‘Lost’ creators: We know where we’re going: Did anyone ever doubt that? Really? To me, the question was always if they had enough material to fill up the time it would take to get there, which brings me to why this story is important to me: art vs commerce. As much as I’ve grown disinterested in Lost, it’s hard to blame the creators who are at the mercy of the network execs and probably can’t pace the story in the manner they’d like. On one hand, it’s easy to villify the network and feel bad for the creators, because as noted in the article, it’s hard to know your story beats when you don’t know how long the story is going to be. If you climax too soon, well, you’ve got a mess on your hands you’re trying to clean up. And yes, I know how that sounds. On the other hand, the networks are desperate for hits these days and with something like Lost, which has been so profitable, it makes sense that the network would like it around for at least 5 seasons, so it can be syndicated (gotta hit 100 episodes) and so that they can continue to profit from DVDs, merchandise, etc. In a perfect world, this show should end when the creators want it to end, but the American television audience is hard to please and hard to convince to stay with a show as it grows (hell, look how early I myself dismissed Heroes). It’s one of those struggles to keep in mind when we criticize entertainment and disrespect the creators– it’s not always in their hands.