| Goldman upbeat on oil outlook despite economy woes
But despite such concerns over an economic slowdown, latest government data shows no signs that oil demand in the United States and China is faltering. Goldman pointed to China's crude oil imports, for example, which were up 14 percent year on year in December and U.S. Department of Energy data that showed total oil demand remained more than 4 percent higher than year-ago levels. (Reporting by Jane Merriman; editing by James Jukwey) .
School board weighs expulsions over MySpace photos
The Van Buren Public Schools Board met into the night today hearing testimony as members discussed whether to uphold the expulsions of four students who posted photos of themselves on MySpace.com with what appeared to be drugs, weapons and gang signs. After 10 p.m., five hours after the meeting began, the attorneys representing the school districts and the parents questioned Superintendent Pete Lazaroff Jr., the third witness presented by attorneys for the administration. .
Thinking Right
This alone should be enough to derail the Mormontologist flip-flopper and catapult the Godly Salt-of-the-Earth Rev. Huckabee to Primacy. (Though by 'primacy', THE Captain does not imply any Episco-Catholic status upon the Godly Mike. Let's leave that devil's stain to Don Vito Giuliani!) The open ballot forum is another innovation that should be adopted nationwide. This would certainly go a long way to wives pledging to vote Right, only to be seduced by the siren song of Bill "Mighty Fallus" Clinton or Barack Obamandingo. Women need to be protected from their base animal natures, and this is a salutary method for applying proper guidance. Yes, what could be more fitting than that we turn to a state of White Christianist scat-shovellers to designate the front-runners in the Presidential campaign? The New Hampshirites can no longer be trusted to be first in the Nation on this question, as the flood of migrating Islamassachulesbians has polluted their once Godly political bloodline.
Making mariachi music now certified academic pursuit
Under the direction of man named Adolph Ortiz, the kids at Hays CISD's Lehman High School have been cranking out the sounds of mariachi music for years, but they weren't ever able to play competitively. But now, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) has changed its tune, and for the first time, allowing Texas students to face off in a battle of the bands, Mexican style. Now that mariachi is UIL sanctioned, the students are eligible for university grants and scholarships they wouldn't otherwise be able to get. These students from Lehman H.S. in Kyle are at the top of their game. They're considered one of the top mariachi groups in the state and now they'll have a chance to show their stuff at UIL competition. They could have been in choir or band but they chose a class where playing and singing also connects to their Mexican roots.
Britney's antics drive a personal economy
In the days after the Britney Spears soap opera rode a police-escorted gurney to its apex, celeb-mag sales spiked, traffic jammed gossip Web sites, tabloid TV ratings rose and paparazzi photo prices surged. For a growing number of people and businesses, Britney's saga is about money: Every time she sinks to new lows, cash flows. And these days, no one is above the fray. When a custody dispute devolved into a three-hour standoff at Spears' home Jan. 3, police officers and firefighters were pressed into duty. Television stations sent up helicopters, and cable news anchors reported the unfolding drama in real time. The Associated Press had two reporters working the story, with editors on both coasts updating it seven times throughout the night. .
Iraqi Television Cameraman Killed
What's more, he said, the conflict in Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh province pits U.S. and Iraqi forces against a far more fractured insurgency than they have faced recently as they swept north from successes Baghdad and Anbar province in the west. "The thing about the insurgency in Mosul is that there are many different facets. We have the Islamic Army, the Islamic State of Iraq, al-Qaida in Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigade, all vying for different things at this point," Simmering said. "This is going to be a long, protracted push by coalition forces and more importantly by Iraqi security forces to re-establish security," Simmering said. "If you're looking for one big culminating event, you'll never quite see it. I call this the 'campaign for Mosul.'" Michael O'Hanlon, an Iraq watcher at the Brookings Institution, agreed.
Dodds and Ends
Larry Smith was many things to many people at his many jobs. At Arizona (1980-86), he was a savior rescuing the program from the shadow of NCAA violations. At USC (1987-92), he is remembered as the guy who allowed the mighty Trojans to lose to Fresno State in the 1992 Freedom Bowl. At Missouri (1994-2000), he was Moses, leading the program out of a bowl-less wilderness that had stretched over 13 seasons. Now he's gone -- a dedicated coach, a dignified man and a fine father. We should all be so accomplished. Smith died Monday at 68 after fighting a long battle with lymphoma. I saw him for the last time two months ago. The Tucson resident had dragged himself to the Oregon-Arizona game. We exchanged pleasantries and talked briefly in the press box about how well Missouri was doing.
Facebook photos sting Minn. high school students
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — For 16-year-old Nick Laurent, walking out of Eden Prairie High School yesterday to protest the school's punishment of students seen partying on Facebook pages was about asking administrators to be fair. More than a dozen students joined Laurent after learning of the walkout from fliers the junior handed out the day before. The students said school administrators overreacted to the perception that students in the photos were drinking. "It's the loudest thing we could do," said Laurent, who organized the walkout but said he wasn't one of the students in the photos. Laurent tried to make his point by passing out red plastic cups that were similar to those seen in some of the photos. He noted that it was impossible to see what was inside the cups, so administrators couldn't prove that students were drinking.
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