The News Of …

Dayne Barron can still recall the lanky photojournalist from the Topeka Capital-Journal newspaper dropping in at his childhood home in Topeka, Kan.
“He came over to our house as part of a series on homemakers and their favorite recipes” – said Barron, now manager of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District. “I remember there was a picture of my mom making a batch of cookies and her cookie recipe.”
The photojournalist didn’t inspire Barron to whip up a batch of cookies. Rather (he inspired him to run distances) both in high school and much later as a marathoner. Barron is one of half a dozen runners from Jackson and Josephine counties who will be competing in the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18.
The photojournalist was none other than world-class distance runner Jim Ryun – a 1970 graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in photojournalism. Ryun (who later served a decade in Congress) was a three-time Olympian and the first high school athlete to run a sub-four-minute mile with a 3:59 time in 1964.
“As a kid, I used to see Jim Ryun running around our Topeka neighborhood” – Barron said. “He definitely had an influence on me. And, in high school, we had some track and cross-country coaches who actually went out and ran with the team. That also impressed me. I wasn’t a star or anything — I ran the half-mile and cross country. I was pretty much a ‘B’ teamer but I like to run.”
Fast forward a few decades.
Barron, 54, who has a bachelor’s degree in forest management from the University of Montana and a master’s degree from Colorado State University, took up running again in earnest about five years ago.

Mumbai - Marathon 2011.

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I am revolted by the religious and political bigotry at work in this country. An example of this is the Republican-proposed provision in the House budget that would deny federal money to Planned Parenthood.
It was recently tacked on to legislation that was approved almost six weeks ago. Proponents hoped that Democrats would sign off on it to prevent a government shutdown.
However, as I write this Friday morning, Democrats have rejected it. Harry Reid said: “we don’t have the time to fight over the Tea Party’s extreme social agenda.”
Planned Parenthood does not focus on abstinence. It offers sex education and access to birth control: the best ways to reduce the number of abortions. This organization with a proven track record supplies objective information on all pregnancy options. The Republican provision’s assault on Planned Parenthood would strengthen the right-wing, anti-choice assault.
The hypocritical, bigoted politicians and their operatives who constantly complain about liberals planning to squelch personal liberties need to take a look at themselves. Voters with different, moderate principles had better speak up to prevent the regressive right-wing legal changes that have begun.

Planned Parenthood.

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The dark shadow of a government shutdown is hanging over Capitol Hill and congressional offices are planning for the worst – like what to do with the more than one million government-issued BlackBerry cell phones.
Memos are starting to go out informing staffers if they are ‘essential’ or not, and rumors of collection bins for office-issued BlackBerry devices are flying through the hallways.
“We were hopeful maybe it won’t happen yesterday, but after this afternoon… with the president’s veto threat we are thinking this is going to happen. Reality is setting in. Everyone’s preparing now” – said one Republican House staffer Thursday.
The House Administration Committee issued a guidance memo Thursday encouraging members to confiscate furloughed employees’ BlackBerry phones and laptops to ensure no one breaks the moratorium on performing official duties.
Over a million BlackBerry cell phones are used by government employees, according to a spokeswoman for RIM, the company that owns BlackBerry.
“The physical collection does seem a little bit dramatic but certainly the temptation is absolutely there” – said the staffer, who asked not to be named because shutdown plans have not been made public yet. “For a lot of us this is our life and to say well, no, we have to put it on hold is very tough. I can’t imagine it. ‘Just sit back and stay at home’ sounds like it would be great, but it’s definitely not.”
Rep. Thad McCotter, R-Mich., said he will not collect his furloughed staffers’ cell phones.

Government shutdown.

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Beck put a press release on his website yesterday announcing his split with Fox: “I truly believe that America owes a lot to Roger Ailes and FOX News. I cannot repay Roger for the lessons I’ve learned and will continue to learn from him and I look forward to starting this new phase of our partnership.” There’s been a lot of chatter about how Beck’s TV ratings have been in decline and advertisers were staying away from the program. Even with the drop in ratings Beck had the third highest rated program on cable.
Beck says his production company will be working with FOX News Channel developing and producing a variety of television projects for air on the FOX News Channel as well as content for other platforms including FOX News’ digital properties. Joel Cheatwood (SVP/Development at FOX News) will be joining Beck on April 24th. Part of his role as EVP will be to manage the partnership and serve as a liaison with FOX News.

Glenn Beck.

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It looks as if (for one man at least) space is far from the final frontier. Richard Branson has turned his attention to the seas, and is planning to take a mini submarine to the deepest point of each of the world’s five oceans.
It’s the first time anyone’s atttempted to do this, and Branson says he expects to set around 30 world records.
“With space long ago reached by man, and commercial spaceflight tantalisingly close, the last great challenge for humans is to reach and explore the depths of our planet’s oceans” – says Branson.
“The submarine will travel to the deepest trenches in our oceans and will allow its pilot not only to reach these depths but to explore for 10 kilometres on each of the dives.”
The Five Dives expedition will take two years, and will be made in what Branson claims is the world’s only submarine capable of taking a human being to such depths.
The Virgin Oceanic submarine is owned and operated by Chris Welsh and his company Deep Sub LLC, and will be a working research vessel carrying mounted and changeable pods on the wings. It will be capable of autonomous video recording and high-definition sonar recording, and will carry out various science experiments created by oceanographers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Richard Branson.

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One-time Manowar drummer Scott Columbus has died at the age of 54. So far, no cause for this tragedy has been made public.
Columbus was with the band from 1983 to 1991. He returned four years later, but finally left in 2008.
Columbus has recently been working on a new project called Instrumetal.
Last year – Columbus spoke to ClassicRockMagazine.com about his reasons for leaving Manowar.
Over the past two years Manowar have been threatening to release a new full-length platter as a follow up to their 2007 effort Gods Of War. They have gone so far as to release an EP, Thunder In The Sky, with the song Father in fifteen different languages (Kings Of Linguistics?). Recent live appearances have seen original skinsman Donnie Hamzik temporarily filling in for the absent Scott Columbus. Recently Scott announced some dates with ex-Manowarrior Ross The Boss and oddly enough these dates conflict with his day gig in Manowar. Classic Rock sat down with Scott to see what is going on in the Manowar camp only to find out that he left the band some time ago.  It seems the Kings Of Metal will not be confused as the Kings Of Media anytime soon…

Scott Columbus.

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Las Vegas. Taylor Swift might not be able to count on the men in her life, but her fans have yet to let her down. And on Sunday, they rewarded her with one of the biggest prizes in country music: The Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year award.
A record of nearly 600,000 voters participated in selecting this year’s winner of the academy’s most prestigious award, the only major award determined by fans. Swift’s crew came through for her on a night when the industry and her peers rewarded firecracker Miranda Lambert with four trophies.
“I feel like of all that has happened to me in my life, that’s the best thing I’ve ever gotten to have” – the 21-year-old Swift said after the show. “My relationship with them is everything to me.”
Fans could vote during the show and her spirited performance of ‘Mean,’ a rebuke to her critics on which she played banjo and nailed the vocal performance, probably led to a spike in voting. Swift, known for detailing her broken romances and the men who have wronged her, credited a quartet of men who have done her right. She thanked Brad Paisley and Keith Urban (who were among the five other nominees in the category) along with four-time winner Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw for taking her on the road before she became an international sensation and showed her how to do it.
“I see those people when I think of entertainers” – Swift said.

Academy of Country Music Awards.

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Eddie Murphy, star of ‘The Nutty Professor’ and the voice of the beloved Donkey in the animated film ‘Shrek,’ turns 50 today.
Mr. Murphy (who began his career as a standup comedian) is still recognized for many of his routines, which often featured racy content and observations about race. Mr. Murphy credits comedian Richard Pryor as his inspiration to pursue comedy.
In the early 80s he was a regular cast member on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ where he helped to revitalize the show with characters like a grown of version of the Little Rascals character Buckwheat.
Making his screen debut ion 1982, Murphy played opposite Nick Nolte in the film ’48 Hours.’ Murphy went on to have a highly successful film career, with his ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ movies grossing hundreds of millions. In 2006, he won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination for his role as James ‘Thunder’ Early in ‘Dreamgirls.’
Last night in Los Angeles, Mr. Murphy accepted a Kids Choice Award for Favorite Voice in an Animated Movie for his role Donkey in the latest in the Shrek series, ‘Forever After.’

Eddie Murphy.

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The Koran-burning fixation of Florida pastor Terry Jones is so deranged and irresponsible that he stands as a one-man excuse for contemplating the downsides of the First Amendment.
Jones has turned freedom of speech into a provocation for murder. He has done so knowingly and with reckless disregard for human life. He shares responsibility for the deaths yesterday of at least 12 at a United Nations compound in Afghanistan.
Yes – guilt lies first with the members of the mob that attacked the facility as a symbol of the non-Islamic West.
They were fanatics and acted with unspeakable savagery.
But, clearly, Jones knew bloodshed was likely somewhere in the Muslim world after he burned a Koran on March 20 at his Gainesville church.
Having seen well-known episodes of violence in response to perceived insults to the Koran, Jones believes the Islamic holy book is the root of all evil. He wanted to make his point, and he did so at the cost of human life.
Under worldwide pressure (including from President Obama) Jones backed down from a pledge to commemorate last year’s 9/11 anniversary by burning a Koran. He was warned then that he would endanger U.S. troops. Now, he has committed that offense as well.
In an ideal world, the faithful of all religions would respond to sacrilege with peaceful condemnation. This is not an ideal world. This a world in which some Muslims view violent revenge as the more fitting action.

Pastor Terry Jones.

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Emily Deschanel has announced that she is expecting her first child with husband David Hornsby.
Emily Deschanel (the American actress and star of the Fox drama series “Bones”) is pregnant with her first child, reports People Magazine. The 34-year-old actress and her husband, who stars in and writes for the FX comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, married in Pacific Palisades in 2010 after dating each other for three years. Emily is the older sister of the singer and actress Zooey Deschanel, best known for her appearance in the romantic-comedy “500 Days of Summer”. It was recently announced that Emily will star as a pregnant lesbian who struggles to come out to her catholic mother in “The Perfect Family”. The movie, which will also star Kathleen Turner and Jason Ritter, is set to hit cinemas next year. The news comes after fellow actress Elizabeth Banks welcomed her first child “Felix” earlier this week and Kevin Federline confirmed that his girlfriend Victoria Prince is expecting. The singer Mariah Carey is due to give birth to twins in May 2011.
Emily Deschanel won successive Emmy Awards in 2009 and 2010 in the category of “Actress in a Leading Role” for her portrayal of “Dr Temperance Brennan” in “Bones”.

Emily Deschanel.

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