Members of the political class daily lived under the fear of the military hijacking power and truncating the nation's democracy, while the constitutional crisis caused by the Presidency over the need to make Goodluck Jonathan the Acting President lasted.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders bolstered their pass rush Sunday by acquiring former first-round pick Kamerion Wimbley from the Cleveland Browns for an undisclosed draft pick.

Reuters - Afghanistan rowed back on Saturday from a total ban on media broadcasts of "disturbing" images from insurgent attacks or live pictures of security operations.

AP - A real brew-haha has beer lovers in the City of Brotherly love frothing over with anger.

At least 12 people are reported killed in two US missile strikes in North Waziristan.

AP - A suspected member of the Gambino crime family and two of his sons have been arrested on bankruptcy fraud charges in New York in a series of Mafia-related arrests in two countries, federal officials said Wednesday.

AFP - US President Barack Obama's planned visit to Indonesia this month has lent new impetus to raids that have left one top militant dead and his band of Islamist extremists on the ropes, analysts say.

The main players in an alleged narcotics ring have been arrested

AFP - Indonesia's leader Wednesday confirmed that a suspected Bali bombing mastermind was killed in a Jakarta raid and vowed to keep hunting extremists in a landmark address to Australia's parliament.

Indonesia's president confirms death of top fugitive in Jakarta police raid.

AP - A top-ranked Southeast Asian militant wanted for planning the deadliest terrorist attack in Indonesia's history has been identified as the man killed in a shootout with police at an Internet cafe, the president said Wednesday.

Police kill bomb-making specialist in Jakarta raid, Indonesia's president confirms.

James Wilson: Fine, upstanding oncologist or low-rent porn star? You be the judge. "House" is topsy-turvy this week, with our little Wilson learning the secrets of love from wood nymphs, while House cracks open a book of sermons for a little light reading.

 

Patient of the Week: We're treated to a guest performance by Laura Prepon, who plays a blogger. Hmm. ::Tries not to interpret entire episode as expression of writers' feelings toward bloggers:: Frankie, our blogging hero, has come down with a nasty case of unexplained facial bruising and bleeding gums. Bummer. She blogs about everything in her life: arguments with her husband, sex problems, and (of course) her doctors. And you have to admit, Foreman can be pretty condescending.

When Frankie's heart begins to fail, her husband tries to draw the line at writing about her choice between a pig valve transplant which will require surgery in ten years (his preference), or a plastic one which will require drugs that cause birth defects (hers...or perhaps her readers'), but Frankie insists on it because editing what to blog about is dishonest. Unfortunately for Frankie, that compulsion to be honest to an audience of strangers doesn't extend to talking about her poop, which turns out to be the secret to diagnosing her ailment. Rather than Sjogren's syndrome or lymphoma, Frankie's failing liver and heart are the result of Whipple's disease: a G.I. infection that caused malabsorption of nutrients. Um...valuable life lesson about excrement-related blogging honesty? Luckily for you guys, I'm not sure this lesson is gonna take in my case.   

"Feral Pleasures": I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with a young James Wilson, in college and living with a filmmaking major who pushes him into starring in a cheesy student film dressed in animal skins, a matted wig, and antlers, running around romancing a sleeping maiden in the woods. There's also a bonfire at one point. Years later, one Gregory House rents said film in a blessed coincidence. But before he's able to watch it, Wilson returns House's rentals to the store and claims to have lost the incriminating DVD, hoping House would be none the wiser. Not so.

House tracks down "Feral Pleasures," which has been upgraded to porn status thanks to recasting Wilson's part in a few choice "bonus" scenes. "Be not afraid. The forest nymphs have taught me how to please a woman" may be one of the greatest fictional film lines of all time. This. Is. AMAZING. 

House promises "from this moment on, my lips are sealed," but the cat juuuust might be out of the bag since Thirteen immediately after reassures Wilson to "be not afraid." And what follows may be the greatest promotional campaign a porno has ever received. House has decorated Wilson's office with "Feral Pleasures" posters, and he's just getting started. The nurse accompanying Wilson to his office thinks she'd better thank whoever taught him how to please a woman. "Maybe it was the forest nymphs." Beautifully delivered.

The taglines:

•  "She discovered he was part stag...but ALL MAN!"
• "The nymphs taught me secrets no man was meant to know!"
• "His touch released the pagan ecstasy in a lover's soul."
• "He was a wild love-god in a world grown too tame." 

How quickly can we get these t-shirts made up, people? And hey, I just got a condo and need some art for the walls...hint, hint... Seriously, that over-the-shoulder shot of Wilson's wild gaze with the crazy hair and antlers is 1,000 times better than any over-the-shoulder red carpet shot could ever be. 

House's clean little secret: Wilson is now, of course, out for revenge and asks Chase what he could get on House. Chase: "Couldn't you just ask the love nymphs for the secret?" Ha! Chase discovers that House is pretending to read "The Golden Bowl," by Henry James, but is actually reading "Step By Step: Sermons for Everyday Life," a book of sermons written by a Unitarian minister. Wilson is worried that House is struggling in some way or another to be suddenly turning to religion, but Chase takes the opportunity to call the author up and order copies for the whole team. 

Wilson puts the pieces together after seeing the dust jacket: the book was written by House's biological father, the family friend. House claims to be curious enough to read a book, but not enough to make a phone call. Uh-huh. Wilson is pretty harsh throughout about House suddenly and hypocritically studying something he previously thought of as "crap," which seemed like an extreme reaction to me. I mean, for all we knew he was reading it to pick apart the arguments for fun. That seems like something House would find entertaining.

Wilson finally suggests that House was just searching for a similar mind out there, since he's so alone in his thinking. It seems to me like it would be natural to simply be curious about a book written by a father you didn't know well, without any deeper motivation required. Honestly, though, I agree with Wilson's interpretation - this was an attempt by House to piece together what makes him so different from everyone else. Unfortunately, "underneath the God stuff, more God stuff."   

Poor, beautiful Chase: Wilson drags House and Wilson speed dating, because apparently attractive doctors have a really hard time finding women. In fact, House bets Chase that women pick men based on attractiveness, instructing him to pretend to be unemployed, slow, and American. It's both hilarious and awful. Mostly hilarious. And good call on House's part making Chase jettison the accent - that's definitely a good 25% of his attractiveness. Needless to say, House wins $100 when women pick Chase in droves. Sigh. 

Awkwardly, Chase asks Thirteen how good looking he is, and decides that he's been deluding himself about actually connecting with people. Yeesh. Thirteen talks him off the ledge, and again when he wonders if he and Cameron got together for superficial reasons. ...Though my honest answer would be "maybe" to that second item. I'll add here that "The Golden Bowl" is apparently Cameron's favorite book...and Chase doesn't even know what it's about. Marriage and adultery, mostly. You could certainly analyze that one.  

For the record, Wilson's speed dating experience consists of a bunch of women talking about cancer (at a certain point wouldn't you stop being specific about what kind of doctor you are?), and House busts a speed dating phony. It's all very swoft.

Quotes:

• Cashier to Wilson: "Be not afraid. It's exact change."
• Wilson: "What are you doing tonight?" House: "Masturbating. I'd invite you, but people are already talking."
• House to Cuddy, after discovering Frankie's liver disease based on blog posting times: "That was cool what I did. You wanna make out?"

Was tonight's episode worth the wait? What was your reaction to Chase's existential crisis? Would you watch a porn starring Wilson? (Even if the NC-17 scenes were recast?)  

James Wilson: Fine, upstanding oncologist or low-rent porn star? You be the judge. "House" is topsy-turvy this week, with our little Wilson learning the secrets of love from wood nymphs, while House cracks open a book of sermons for a little light reading.

Patient of the Week: We're treated to a guest performance by Laura Prepon, who plays a blogger. Hmm. [Tries not to interpret entire episode as expression of writers' feelings toward bloggers] Frankie, our blogging hero, has come down with a nasty case of unexplained facial bruising and bleeding gums. Bummer. She blogs about everything in her life: arguments with her husband, sex problems, and (of course) her doctors. And you have to admit, Foreman can be pretty condescending.

When Frankie's heart begins to fail, her husband tries to draw the line at writing about her choice between a pig valve transplant which will require surgery in 10 years (his preference), or a plastic one which will require drugs that cause birth defects (hers ... or perhaps her readers'), but Frankie insists on it because editing what to blog about is dishonest. Unfortunately for Frankie, that compulsion to be honest to an audience of strangers doesn't extend to talking about her poop, which turns out to be the secret to diagnosing her ailment. Rather than Sjogren's syndrome or lymphoma, Frankie's failing liver and heart are the result of Whipple's disease: a G.I. infection that caused malabsorption of nutrients. Um ... valuable life lesson about excrement-related blogging honesty? Luckily for you guys, I'm not sure this lesson is gonna take in my case.   

"Feral Pleasures": I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with a young James Wilson, in college and living with a film major who pushes him into starring in a cheesy student film dressed in animal skins, a matted wig, and antlers, running around romancing a sleeping maiden in the woods. There's also a bonfire at one point. Years later, one Gregory House rents said film in a blessed coincidence. But before he's able to watch it, Wilson returns House's rentals to the store and claims to have lost the incriminating DVD, hoping House would be none the wiser. Not so.

House tracks down "Feral Pleasures," which has been upgraded to porn status thanks to recasting Wilson's part in a few choice "bonus" scenes. "Be not afraid. The forest nymphs have taught me how to please a woman" may be one of the greatest fictional film lines of all time. This. Is. AMAZING. 

House promises "from this moment on, my lips are sealed," but the cat juuuust might be out of the bag since Thirteen immediately after reassures Wilson to "be not afraid." And what follows may be the greatest promotional campaign a porno has ever received. House has decorated Wilson's office with "Feral Pleasures" posters, and he's just getting started. The nurse accompanying Wilson to his office thinks she'd better thank whoever taught him how to please a woman. "Maybe it was the forest nymphs." Beautifully delivered.

The taglines:

• "She discovered he was part stag...but ALL MAN!"
• "The nymphs taught me secrets no man was meant to know!"
• "His touch released the pagan ecstasy in a lover's soul."
• "He was a wild love-god in a world grown too tame." 

How quickly can we get these T-shirts made up, people? And hey, I just got a condo and need some art for the walls ... hint, hint. ... Seriously, that over-the-shoulder shot of Wilson's wild gaze with the crazy hair and antlers is 1,000 times better than any over-the-shoulder red carpet shot could ever be. 

House's clean little secret: Wilson is now, of course, out for revenge and asks Chase what he could get on House. Chase: "Couldn't you just ask the love nymphs for the secret?" Ha! Chase discovers that House is pretending to read "The Golden Bowl" by Henry James, but is actually reading "Step By Step: Sermons for Everyday Life," a book of sermons written by a Unitarian minister. Wilson is worried that House is struggling in some way or another to be suddenly turning to religion, but Chase takes the opportunity to call the author up and order copies for the whole team. 

Wilson puts the pieces together after seeing the dust jacket: The book was written by House's biological father, the family friend. House claims to be curious enough to read a book, but not enough to make a phone call. Uh-huh. Wilson is pretty harsh throughout about House suddenly and hypocritically studying something he previously thought of as "crap," which seemed like an extreme reaction to me. I mean, for all we knew he was reading it to pick apart the arguments for fun. That seems like something House would find entertaining.

Wilson finally suggests that House was just searching for a similar mind out there, since he's so alone in his thinking. It seems to me like it would be natural simply to be curious about a book written by a father you didn't know well, without any deeper motivation required. Honestly, though, I agree with Wilson's interpretation -- this was an attempt by House to piece together what makes him so different from everyone else. Unfortunately, "underneath the God stuff, more God stuff."   

Poor, beautiful Chase: Wilson drags House and Chase speed dating, because apparently attractive doctors have a really hard time finding women. In fact, House bets Chase that women pick men based on attractiveness, instructing him to pretend to be unemployed, slow, and American. It's both hilarious and awful. Mostly hilarious. And good call on House's part making Chase jettison the accent -- that's definitely a good 25% of his attractiveness. Needless to say, House wins $100 when women pick Chase in droves. Sigh. 

Awkwardly, Chase asks Thirteen how good-looking he is, and decides that he's been deluding himself about actually connecting with people. Yeesh. Thirteen talks him off the ledge, and again when he wonders if he and Cameron got together for superficial reasons. Though my honest answer would be "maybe" to that second item. I'll add here that "The Golden Bowl" is apparently Cameron's favorite book ... and Chase doesn't even know what it's about. Marriage and adultery, mostly. You could certainly analyze that one.  

For the record, Wilson's speed-dating experience consists of a bunch of women talking about cancer (at a certain point wouldn't you stop being specific about what kind of doctor you are?), and House busts a speed-dating phony. It's all very swoft.

Quotes:

• Cashier to Wilson: "Be not afraid. It's exact change."
• Wilson: "What are you doing tonight?" House: "Masturbating. I'd invite you, but people are already talking."
• House to Cuddy, after discovering Frankie's liver disease based on blog posting times: "That was cool what I did. You wanna make out?"

Was tonight's episode worth the wait? What was your reaction to Chase's existential crisis? Would you watch a porn starring Wilson? (Even if the NC-17 scenes were recast?)  

One of the conservative goals former President George W. Bush was unable to get through the Senate was "making the tax cuts permanent." He only got them passed -- using Senate budget reconciliation rules -- by employing a budget gimmick to mask the 10-year cost.

Simply make all the tax cuts expire in 2011, producing tons of revenue at the very end of the time period the Congressional Budget Office was using to estimate total costs.

Bush, those conservative congresspeople and their corporate patrons never intended to stick with that plan. They always assumed Congress would face intense pressure to keep all the tax cuts, no matter what the economic and fiscal picture.

Now, Bush is long gone, and the big business lobbies are quite worried about what may happen next.

Not that the middle-class tax cuts would expire. President Obama appears committed to keeping those.

But those massive tax breaks to the superwealthy don't quite have the same juice they used to.

Especially, the estate tax -- levied on the inheritances of the wealthiest heirs in America.

This year, because of the Bush tax plan from his first term to gradually phase out the estate tax altogether, the estate tax is literally wiped off the books.

But in 2011, it returns! Inheritance income above the $2 million threshold would be subject to a 55% tax.

And after fanning the flames of deficit hysteria to squelch progressive reforms, corporate lobbyists are terrified that the estate tax would actually help reduce the deficit.

Bloomberg reports:

The clock is ticking on estate-tax changes because, as 2011 nears, so does the prospect that congressional inaction would start to bring in billions of dollars to help reduce trillion- dollar deficits.

"That's the real fear," said Rosemary Becchi, who lobbies on tax issues for Washington-based Patton Boggs LLP, the top lobbying firm by revenue. "Then it becomes extremely difficult to change it."

The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington estimated that a revived estate tax at pre-2001 levels would collect more than $34 billion next year and about $410 billion through 2019.

The wealthiest heirs having to pay their fair share and help cut the deficit. The horror!

And the best part is: this all happens so long as Congress ... does nothing! Which it has proven incredibly good at!

What's stunning is the superwealthy's lobbyist posse and the Senate's conservative minority could just take what the House has already passed: locking in the estate tax at 45%, while exempting all inheritances below $7 million. That ain't chump change!

But that's not good enough for the heirs who have no interest in paying their fair share and reducing the deficit. Bloomberg reports:

Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl and Arkansas Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln have proposed setting the rate at 35 percent, retroactive to Jan. 1. The measure would apply to the portion of estates that exceed $10 million per couple, and would adjust that exemption for inflation in later years...

...House Democrats voted in December to extend the 2009 rate of 45 percent on married couples' estates after a $7 million exemption. Senate Republicans blocked action in that chamber...

...A 35 percent rate "is really that sort of sweet spot of what's acceptable to all sides," said Dena Battle, director of tax policy for Washington-based National Association of Manufacturers. "We don't want to see the tax go up to 55. We didn't want to see the tax at 45."

Uh, a $10 million exemption and a 35% rate above that is not very sweet at all. It's a bitter windfall to the Paris Hilton set.

But thanks to the combination of their greed, and their exploitation of deficit hysteria, the superwealthy may actually have to pay their fair share on their inheritances after all. Originally posted at OurFuture.org

AFP - Indonesia said Monday that raids against militants in Aceh province would not affect US President Barack Obama's planned visit to the country this month as police rounded up more terror suspects.

Mama always said that some folks just never learn, and we reckon there's plenty of wisdom to be had from that very statement. Year after year, German police are called in to raid select booths at CeBIT (and IFA, to be fair), and yet again we've seen a booth cleared out at the request of powerful lawyers from a few companies you may have heard of. Word on the street has it that Apple, Siemens and Sisvel were all kvetching over patent infringements made by an unnamed company exhibiting at last week's show, and within an hour or so of the fuzz showing up, the whole thing was stripped and a hefty fine (€10,000) was levied. Unfortunately, the exact details of who was violating what remains clouded in mystery, but for whatever reason, we get the feeling that something extremely similar will be going down in Hannover next year. We blame KIRFers determination. [Thanks, TheLostSwede]

Apple, Siemens and Sisvel patent infringement leads to CeBIT booth raid originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Military storms Abu Sayyaf base but fails to capture "terror suspect" wanted by US.

Extract not available.

AP - The Oakland Raiders released running back Justin Fargas on Saturday, cutting ties with one of their key offensive players over the last few seasons.