Lovers of luxury / THU 7-1-10 / 15th century pontiff only pope to write autobiography / Dick's partner / One of Western political family

Constructor: Clive Probert

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: OVER / UNDER — "___ over ___" and "___ under ___" phrases are represented with the first and last words in the phrases literally over or under each other (so that "over" and "under" are implied)


Word of the Day: COPRA (43A: Coconut oil source) —

n.
The dried white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted.

[Portuguese, from Malayalam koppara.]

• • •

First thought: "Seen it." Don't know where or when, but this gimmick is familiar to me. Not that I picked up on it right away. First couple minutes were spent just hacking around. Eventually stumbled into the central theme answer(s) — by far the best of the lot, by virtue of being playful/interesting — and then went back and picked up the stupid NW (where I was sure I was doomed) and pretty much tore the puzzle apart from there. Phrases are all very, almost too, familiar, except MIND over BODY, which just feels awkward to my ears.

Theme answers:

• 1A: With 14-Across, breakfast order? (EGGS over EASY)
  
• 16A: With 8-Across, world's oldest subway system? (LONDON underGROUND)
  
• 34A: With 42-Across, bogey? (ONE over PAR)
  
• 45A: With 42-Across, birdie? (ONE under PAR)
  
• 70A: With 67-Across, dreaded words from a cop? (YOU ARE under ARREST)
  
• 69A: With 72-Across, motto of a fitness trainer? (MIND over BODY)
  

High- and lowlights: DIVI-what? I had DIVISION and DIVIDEND in that damned answer and didn't get the real answer (DIVIDE UP) til near the very end (21D: Split). Nerdily proud to nail RATITE (48D: Many an Australian bird) and NAURU (52D: Pacific republic) (in the same small SW section), largely by virtue of my having made both words my "Word of the Day" in recent months. KURT crossing RON = huh? crossing who? for me (57D: Mathematician Gödel + 68A: Actor Moody of "Oliver!"). Thankfully, the "R" was completely inferrable. UPRIVER was my favorite answer in the whole grid (31A: Away from the mouth). SYBARITES is laudable, in its way, but too pretentious for me to fully embrace (4D: Lovers of luxury). And what the hell is with the clue on LEI (15A: Romanian "dollars")? That is Not an improvement on the Hawaiian floral wreath answer. Plural of an already obscure / crosswordesey currency (LEU)? Just write a better (Hawaiian) LEI clue!

Bullets:

• 49A: Sickening (NOISOME) — good word. This was probably my worst stumble of the day, as I put in NOXIOUS.
  
• 19A: Pontiac, for one (OTTAWA) — not a model I'm familiar with ... [sit back, wait for mail]
• 51D: Dick's partner (SPIRO) — interesting political clues today in this one (tough) and UDALL (toughish) (11D: One of a Western political family).
  
• 44A: "___ Eyes" (1969 hit) ("THESE") — "LYIN" also fits; wrong year. [correction: LYING fits. LYIN' ... does not]
  

[no Eagles to be found, so ... this'll do]

• 54A: Entry at a hippodrome (TROTTER) — mind briefly confused "hippodrome" and "velodrome"
  
• 59A: 15th-century pontiff who was the only pope to write an autobiography (PIUS II) — random popes with Roman numerals are never a welcome sight.
  
• 61A: Weapon in "The Terminator" (UZI) — from ISR (60D: Neighbor of Syr.). I thought answer would be more ... futuristic/robotic.
  
• 6D: What the Mad Hatter pours on the Dormouse to wake it up (TEA) — well, let's see, they were at the TEA party, so ...
  
• 23D: Stalwart supporter (ADHERENT) — so NBA free agency begins in about 40 minutes from the time I'm typing this. Stalwart supporters of Cleveland and its "King" will be holding their collective breaths waiting to see what the second-best player in basketball decides to do . . . Hope he decides quickly so that ESPN can move on to talking about Anything else.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Not Foreign Service Material… Yet…

So, I got my FSOT results today and this is what they looked like:

Well, not really but I did not pass the test.

Was I surprised? Not really.

Was I bummed out? Yeah, a little. It would have been nice to pass it but to be honest, I didn’t really feel like I knew everything. That and I didn’t finish the bio section.

Sooooo, I get to do it all over again in a year. I wish I didn’t have to wait a whole year but oh, well…

I already requested my scores for each section, just to see how epic my failure was. In case you were wondering, you just get a pass/fail letter (via email), no actual scores. If you want to know your scores for each section, you can request them, by fax. Fax???!!! Who uses faxes these days? Why not carrier pigeons?

So, the plan is to figure out where I fell short and work on those areas until my brain implodes or I know everything I need to know to pass the test, whichever comes first. That’s the plan, anyhow. Easy, breezy, beautiful, right?  Wait, that’s CoverGirl… oh, whatever! You know what I mean…

Meanwhile, I was sorting papers around the apartment today when I came across this:

I am not sure where it came from or who the author is but it was just the right thing under the circumstances and it made my day, so I thought I’d share it.

Basketbawful, Colbert-style

In case you missed it, The Colbert Report had a classic segment on all things NBA. They touched on the impending LeBron free agency, the perennial suckitude of the Knicks, and also threw in an interview with an apathetic Mike D'Antoni. They even had the common courtesy of making an Eddy Curry reference. The fun starts at 1:00.

How bad is the oil spill? Flight sheds light on magnitude of disaster

Author David Helvarg takes a flight from the shores of Alabama to the site of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion. What he finds is disturbing.

Wed, Jun 30 2010 at 2:56 PM EST

Read more: GULF OIL SPILL, MARINE LIFE

TAINTED SEA: The shadow of a helicopter passes over oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in waters less than 10 miles off the coast of Grand Isle, La., on June 28. (Photo: Gregory Bull/AP)

Ten years ago I flew out to a BP Deepwater platform in the Gulf of Mexico to report on offshore drilling and was amazed I could see oil rigs all the way to the horizon. Now I’m appalled that from 2,000 feet up I can see heavy oil slicks all the way to the horizon. 

On Monday, June 21, I flew out of Sonny Callahan Airport in Fairhope, Ala., with pilot Tom Hutchings of SouthWing, a nonprofit group whose T-shirt logo reads “Conservation through Aviation.”

Tom is an angular biologist with an MBA who loves to fly. John Wathan, who joined us, shooting photos and video through the open luggage door, is the Hurricane Creek Keeper, a member of Bobby Kennedy Jr.’s environmental group. An ex-construction contractor, John looks more like a former Hells Angel than a tree-hugger with his full white beard and red, white and blue headscarf.

John’s been flying with Tom since the third day after BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig sank and the Gulf of Mexico erupted with tens of thousands of barrels of oil per day, creating one of the most devastating eco-disasters in recent history. 

In the days since I’d cut my “Saved by the Sea” book tour short to return to the Gulf, I’d been visiting oiled beaches, oiled pelicans, oil-soaked wetlands and the Louisiana Incident Command Center at a BP facility outside Houma where private security guards made me erase a digital photo of the building (I re-shot it from a public road). Scientists I know in Mississippi and Alabama both had the same reaction when I called them, laughing and saying they heard from me only during disasters (I’d last visited them after Hurricane Katrina).

We take off behind a Coast Guard Sentry aircraft and are quickly 1,000 feet over Mobile Bay.

“I’ve got some color, I got red in the bay,” John reports from the back of the plane, looking down where some oil appears to have floated in despite the bay’s freshwater outflow that has kept most oil at bay and off the state’s beaches until this week. Two miles out we spot our first wind-drift streaks of oil. 12 miles out the oil becomes more pronounced like the speckled fat in marbled meat. 

“The water looks so unnatural the way the light comes off it now. It’s a dull yellow rather than shiny and sparkly reflections,” Tom notes.  He’s been flying these waters for 30 years. 

“It’s flattened out the white caps [small waves],” John points out. “It’s like someone stretched Saran Wrap down on top of the water.”

Oil everywhere

We spot a school of fish splashing and breaking the surface in the oil. “We’re in heavy now,” John says 17 miles offshore, though in fact the orange oil streaks and coppery patches will grow thicker. By 30 miles off the coast, oil is everywhere. There are dozens of shimmers of purple oil that seem to sink downward into the sea, a possible effect from the millions of gallons of Corexit dispersant that have been sprayed over this stretch of ocean.

“I get more and more pissed off every time you bring me out here,” John says to Tom. “Check it out!” 

“And we’re still 60 miles from the source,” Tom responds on his mike.

There are serpentine rivers of flat rainbow colors and ribbons of thick syrupy orange/black “product.” The dull purple-colored oil looks like bruised water. We pass our first rigs and a plane flies too close underneath us.

“Most rotary wing traffic [helicopters] stay below 1,000 [feet]” Tom tells me. For most of the flight we see no skimmer boats or “vessels of opportunity,” as they call the shrimp boats, workboats, recreational cabin cruisers and other vessels that have been hired by BP and re-outfitted for oil skimming.

We soon spot pillars of dark smoke to the northwest around the same time I see a pair of shrimp trawlers towing a line of yellow boom strung in a crescent bow between them. 

A few minutes later we’re watching the three smoky burns on one side of the plane and sargassum streaked with oil on the other side. This free-floating seaweed acts as habitat for small fish and attracts larger predators and endangered sea turtles as well. There have been reports that BP has set off “burn boxes” that have killed sea turtles and other critters that they failed to clear before torching the oil. Right now they’re conducting 10-16 burns a day, including three more we now see being lit off and beginning to burn with heavy oily smoke and orange flame on the water. 

Dolphins, bigger creatures swim, die in the muck 

I’m staring at a canal of green water through the big jigsaw pieces of coppery oil thinking the clearing must have been produced by skimmers. Just then John reports seeing something breach below. “That was bigger than any dolphin.”   

Then we spot a pod of dolphins in the middle of the oil.  “They’re right off the wingtip,” Tom says.

John is hunched in back shooting stills through his big lens. “I got a dead one. Godda*n it!” 

I count nine dolphins before the plane banks off to the left. Through the pillars of dark smoke, fire and gray haze on the water I spot a complex of workboats, ships and rigs with two torches of fire flaming off them. It’s “the source.” 

“Got another one,” Tom announces. “Too big to be a dolphin.” Later, looking at John’s photos we’ll confirm it’s a sperm whale swimming through the slick.   

From the front right seat I spot orange flames where another fire is being set on the water.

We get closer to the ships and rigs, including the Enterprise that’s collecting 15,000 barrels of oil a day and the Q-4000 rig that’s burning 9,000-10,000 barrels a day, putting massive amounts of soot and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, skipping the middle man, the autos and trucks we drive. A diesel smell infiltrates our aircraft 1,000 feet up.  

“Dolphins on the left.  Get out of here Godda*n it!” Tom shouts.

I count over 30 this time.  

Fires on the ocean

We do a photo run over the dolphins and then circle the source with its relief well rigs and big ships and helicopters taking off from the Enterprise and fireboats directing torrents of water at the burning flares, and as we circle, the flat sea gives off strange reflections of flame, smoke and sky distortions I’ve never seen before, like a funhouse mirror and a rainbow haze drained of all color. 

We pass over a dozen more dolphins in thick oil only 9 miles from the source. Like the last dolphins they seem to be lolling at the surface rather then leaping forward together as you’d normally spot them.   

“There’s more on the left. It’s like Jonestown, man!” Tom exclaims.

“It’s like they don’t know,” John says. 

“Their home’s dying and they’ve decided to check out. They’re drinking the water like those people in the jungle,” Tom explains his Jonestown reference. “They’re dying.” 

“When I was a little boy I’d watch the dolphins in our bow wake on the way to Ship Island [in Mississippi].  They were my friends. It’s heartbreaking,” John says, needing to verbalize what we’re all feeling.

“That’s the most dramatic thing I’ve seen flying out here for 60 days” Tom adds. “Just seeing the death.  I mean we lost 11 people out here [on the BP Deepwater Horizon when it exploded] but those humans who died made a choice. They assumed the risks of their work. These boys [the dolphins] have no choice.”   

Birds and booms

We fly on to the Chandeleur Islands that were shredded by Katrina and were then the first landmass to be hit by BP’s oil. We spot more shrimpers with booms but no collecting barges for the oil they gather. We fly over lots of birds on the wildlife refuge and random booms placed around the islands without any discernable order — there’s yellow boom on parts of the green and sand islands, then a few hundred yards of red boom, then oiled sand at the end of one island, then guys in hard hats on the beach.

“BP,” John says like a curse.

Just north of the natural islands we spot a dark mud island maybe 4 acres in total with half a dozen bulldozers pushing more mud around and a big dredging barge nearby. This is the beginning of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s big (if not credible) idea to build hundreds of miles of artificial barrier islands to protect the state. 

“That don’t make sense,” John says, looking down at the dredge spoil island likely to wash away in the next storm.   

“Tell me what you’ve seen today that makes sense,”  Tom responds.

We fly on past Horn Island and see bull sharks chasing fish in the shallows just off the beach, and also some rays. News reports suggest that as oil eating bacteria begin to suck the dissolved oxygen out of the offshore waters, more fish are moving inshore where the oxygen levels can still sustain them.

We fly over a few more islands, and then on our return to Mobile spot an oil slick 1 mile off the eastern shoreline with its upscale private homes and jutting wooden piers before making our final approach to the airport runway.

“Uh oh,” Tom says as we’re about to land. We jibe right and left before the 1,800-pound plane makes a smooth landing on the asphalt. “Tail winds,” Tom says with a sheepish grin. Small planes are kind of risky and that’s understandable.

What’s not understandable is the risks we continue to take trusting our energy choices and our public seas to oil companies like BP.

David Helvarg is an author and president of the Blue Frontier Campaign (www.bluefront.org), a marine conservation group. His latest book is "Saved by the Sea – A Love Story with Fish.’" (St. Martin’s, 2010).

Fun with dynamic features: MSN article template

As I was skimming through the morning headlines and tweetdeck channels, I came across an MSN article about the first hurricane of the season, and was struck by how many dynamic HTML features had been packed into one article template. MSN must be testing these features, because in the time it's taken me to write this, they've added one and replaced another.

Check these out:

First, a persistent global header above "Today's headlines in two minutes"; also note the persistent app drawer at the bottom and icons on the side, more about those in a minute:

As you scroll down the page, "Today's Headlines..." scrolls away leaving the global header (which will scroll away momentarily...):

Each of the icons on the side follow you down the page as you scroll; each opens to provide a link to jump further down what is becoming a very long page:

If you decide at any point to share something, that persistent drawer at the bottom slides up:

And if you keep on scrolling down the page, you'll find the rest of the text behind a drawer control, and encounter rich media like videos (which you could have jumped down to by clicking one of those icons on the side):

But we're not done yet... next, you'll discover comments, with more expandable drawers:

And finally, the pièce de résistance, a draggable timeline of videos:

MSN must be testing these features, because in the time it's taken me to write this, they've added two other features: a storm tracker at the top of the article, and instead of the draggable videos, a trending chart of content:

Rich interactive experience, or dynamic templates run amok? What do you think?

First Lines...

"Everyone has a secret life. Perhaps yours is merely a gossamer web of thoughts and fantasies woven in the hidden furrows of your mind. Or furtive deeds performed on the sly or betrayals large and small that, if revealed, would change how you are perceived."

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

(coming August 2010)

This is Victorian Vampire Wonderful!

First Lines...

"Everyone has a secret life. Perhaps yours is merely a gossamer web of thoughts and fantasies woven in the hidden furrows of your mind. Or furtive deeds performed on the sly or betrayals large and small that, if revealed, would change how you are perceived."

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

(coming August 2010)

This is Victorian Vampire Wonderful!

War News for Wednesday, June 30, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a small arms fire attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 30th.


Two PKK militants dead in Turkey clashes


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Two policemen were killed on Wednesday and another was wounded when unknown gunmen attacked a checkpoint in southern Baghdad. “The gunmen were driving a civilian car when they used guns with silencers to open fire on a police checkpoint at the al-Tayiara Street in Daura neighborhood, southern Baghdad,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq.

#2: One policeman and one civilian were wounded on Wednesday when a roadside bomb went off in southwestern Baghdad. “The blast occurred in the al-Amil neighborhood, southwestern Baghdad,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Gunmen killed an 18-year-old girl in the Zaafaraniya district in southeastern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Police forces on Wednesday found an unknown corpse of a woman southwestern Kirkuk city, said a local security source.


Mosul:
#1: Five mortar shells hit a court in western Mosul on Tuesday, without causing casualties, according to a security source. “The shells hit the local administration’s court in Bab Senjar region in western Mosul, without causing casualties,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: Unknown gunmen killed a man and wounded his brother in southern Mosul, a police source said on Tuesday. “The gunmen opened fire on two brothers on a road in al-Shoura district, southern Mosul, killing one of them and injuring the other,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: A woman was killed and two more were wounded by gunmen in western Mosul, a security source said on Tuesday. “Unidentified gunmen attacked a house in al-Zenjili region in western Mosul, killing a woman and injuring two, including a nine-year-old child,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: A police car transporting a prisoner was struck by a roadside bomb, wounding the prisoner, in western Mosul, police said.

#5: A bomb attached to the car of an off-duty policeman killed him and wounded a passenger in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#6: Gunmen stormed a house in the western part of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, killing a woman and wounded two people, police said.

#7: Gunmen attacked workers paving a road killing one and wounding another near a town south of Mosul, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: One civilian was killed on Wednesday and another wounded when a sticky bomb went off in western Anbar province. “The bomb went off inside a civilian car in central Heet district, 72 km west of Ramadi city,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Militants set off a car bomb and stormed the entrance to an airport in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday in a failed attempt to enter the air field used by Afghan and international forces, authorities said. Eight insurgents died in the ensuing gunbattle. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault, part of an upswing in violence in the nearly 9-year-old war. Using light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, the militants battled international forces for 30 minutes on the outskirts of Jalalabad city, according to information provided by the media office at the airport. An Afghan solider and one international service member were wounded in the fighting, NATO said. "They were not able to breach the perimeter. They were fought off by a combination of Afghan and coalition security forces," German Army Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz, a spokesman for NATO, told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday.

#2: Elsewhere in the east, U.S. and Afghan forces battled hundreds of militants from an al-Qaida-linked group for a third day Tuesday in Kunar province, the U.S. military said. Two American soldiers were killed Sunday in the first day of the operation.

#3: Two rockets were fired by unidentified terrorists at a paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) checkpoint in Sharifabad, suburbs of Quetta. No one was hurt in the incident, official sources said.

#4: Besides, late Tuesday night, at least two paramilitary troops were shot dead in an ambush on their checkpoint in Dasht area of district Mastung of the city, official sources said. Balochistan province, bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

#5: At least 15 militants were killed and 10 others were wounded when fighter jets attacked militant positions in the Orakzai tribal region's Mamozai and Kath areas. Six militant hideouts were also destroyed in the action, government sources said.


DoD: Sgt. John M. Rogers

DoD: Pfc. Bryant J. Haynes

DoD: Spc. David A. Holmes

DoD: Staff Sgt. Eric B. Shaw

DoD: Spc. David W. Thomas

AnacondaHL's BasketBawful Quick Reference to Summer 2010

UPDATES!: ATL, BOS, CHA, DAL, DEN, HOU, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, ORL, PHO, SAS, UTA, WAS, and all teams 2010-11 salaries double checked!


July 1st, 2010. It's 12:00 am.

Do you know where your free agents are?


Welcome to my breakdown of the much hyped NBA Free Agency 2010. Here I hope to provide a quick (actually, this is absurdly long) snapshot of each team's current situation and outlook, so that you can survive this dreadful week of non-trading activity. *rolls eyes into back of head as far as possible* Really though, have you tried to visit NBA.com, ESPN.com, or anything NBA media related recently? I've seen Linda Blair vomit less than the amount of LeBron and free agency bullshit spewed by the media these past few days. So thus, I've taken it upon myself to capture all you need to know to properly enjoy this next week in true BasketBawful spirit.

For comedy's sake, I'm going to ask that we avoid the really crappy wishful thinking type trades and scenarios. Yes, I understand that you could trade Rashard Lewis for LeBron. Yes, I understand that Bynum and Vujacic could be in a sign and trade for Bosh, and then every championship-piggyback veteran could sign with the Lakers. Yes, I understand that you could trade Kirk Hinrich to the Wizards even though they have a poison situation and already have 2 PGs. (Wait, you mean that last one actually is gonna happen?) Anyways, I hope to have the most updated figures, numbers, and rosters by the time of this post, so if you spot any errors or as updates come along, or you just feel like sharing with me your stupid idea of how your team will get LeBron so we can all make fun of you, post a comment!

Other assumptions:

• Going with the flat $56.1 million cap for next season.
  
• This means for new contracts where the 105% rule doesn't apply, we'll use the minimum salary table here, and the maximum contract will be assumed as follows:
  0-6 years of experience: $14,025,000
  7-9 years: $16,830,000
  10+ years: $19,635,000
  
• No team is so completely stupid as to talk about their first round draft pick's salary, so we will use the 100% number.
  
• Assume all teams in the FA hunt will sign minimum salary contracts after July 8th.
  
• We're using face value or near value ideas. No assuming what some guy wants, like Shaq taking the vet minimum somewhere for the Lakers some stacked super team. Unless you have a personal relationship with said player, and his family, and have personally spoken to him about his exact intentions, personally, and how he's okay with leaving tens of millions on the table for the chance at a ring. Then by all means, please share.
  
• Crappy players will take their player options. Anyone that has the remote chance at an extension or making more money by becoming a FA (especially considering the end of this CBA) we will assume will not take their player options. Unless we're pretty sure that a team wants to screw a guy into staying on their team, or their qualifying offer/team option happens to be near equal to what they'd make anyways, we're not assuming either is picked up.
  
• Think about sign and trades, and if we're going to talk about them, find an incentive for ALL PARTIES (both teams and the players being extended). Not everyone can make deals with Chris Wallace. Otherwise, lets assume re-signings and free agency.
  
• Ugh, for the last time, LeBron's not coming to your team, stop bothering everyone about it.

Important resources:

• HoopData's Salaries section (comprehensive, but slightly outdated)
  
• HoopsHype's Salaries section (WARNING! This site sucks to visit without proper ad and/or javascript blocking.)
  
• Rookie Scale Salary Info from NBPA (pdf)
  
• Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ (read every single word of this. You know, since it expires next year, you'll want to know why there's a lockout.)
  
• Whatever site you use for this year's draft information, and recent transactions.
  
• Oddly, it's hard to find consistent and accurate draft data. Pretty much every source says something different, and has varying updates on recent trades.

The Spreadsheet:
Everything that follows will be a summary of what I've collected in this spreadsheet. (Google docs, no login required, click it now.) First, I've collected and compiled important information from the draft with respect to salaries. This was, as I mentioned earlier, unnecessarily difficult to do, and there's bound to be errors. If you see any errors, let me know.

Second, I've collected a list of free agents who are eligible for max contracts above (in red) or near their respective cap percentage.

List of players who are eligible for greater than max contracts:
Jermaine O'Neal $24,166,800
Tracy McGrady $23,607,280
Shaquille O'Neal $22,050,000
Dirk Nowitzki $20,785,500
Paul Pierce $20,785,498
Ray Allen $19,715,703
Amare Stoudemire $17,197,241
Yao Ming $17,197,241

Finally, there's a tab for every team, where I've copied hoopdata's page, updated the numbers with the latest trades and draft, and complied some cap room scenarios. Since I made lots of notes and formulas such that it's near impossible for anyone else to read what I've done, let's begin with the teams. Oh, also, I use the term "albatross" for long guaranteed contract that you may want to get out of, and the term "S&T bait" for a 2011 expiring that may be used to help leverage this summer's free agency.

Atlanta Hawks:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $6,180,374
UPDATE Maximum non-Cap holding onto Joe Johnson: ($21,656,885)
Notable Free Agents: Joe Johnson [$14,976,754, no player option]
Albatross: See below.
S&T bait: Jamal Crawford [$10,080,000]
Summary: The Hawks have some sign and trade bait with 2011 expirings, or could try to sign and trade Joe Johnson, but it's probably too late for that. Too many albatross contracts with Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Zaza through 2013 and Bibby through 2012. Maybe shoot for J.J. Redick? Or hope for the Mayan apocalypse?
Final Verdict: A good hope-crusher for Minnesota fans to show the long lasting effects of what happens when you keep drafting players that play the same position.

Boston Celtics:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($11,098,826)
Maximum Cap Space if Paul Pierce opts out and Rasheed Wallace retires and Ray Allen isn't re-signed: $15,789,807
UPDATE Maximum non-Cap Space with Paul Pierce cap hold: ($4,522,087)
Albatross: Kevin Garnett [$18,832,044, through 2012]
S&T bait: Kendrick Perkins [$4,890,208], Glen Davis [$3,000,004]
Summary: To blow up or not to blow up. This team could go lots of ways, even down to asking KG to take a pay cut. Too many stupid rumors, only time will tell what their plan is (if any).
Final Verdict: Bleh.

Charlotte Bobcats:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($4,448,542)
UPDATE Maximum non-Cap Space with Tyrus Thomas qualifying offer: ($17,999,938)
Notable Free Agents UPDATED: Raymond Felton [$5,501,196]
Albatross: The entire team.
S&T bait UPDATE: Tyson Chandler [$12,600,000], Nazr Mohammed [$6,883,800]
Summary: No draft pick, locked down guaranteed salaries, and an owner with a Hitler mustache. Hey, at least the defense is good, right? It might be worth it to give up big and try to unload some salary. If you need a reason to blame, I'd suggest Smithfield Foods and what they've done to the state of North Carolina.
Final Verdict: Yea, y'all are fucked.

Chicago Bulls:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $20,578,404
Maximum Cap Space if that completely stupid trade to Washington is true: $29,933,796
Notable Free Agents: Brad Miller?
Albatross: Luol "king-o-albatross" Deng [$11,345,000, through 2014]
S&T bait: None.
Summary: The Bulls are definitely in FA search mode, as they don't really have the assets to pull off a sign and trade deal. Let's also assume no one's picking up Luol Deng's crappy crap. Yet somehow Washington is absorbing over $9M in cap for Chicago. Something just doesn't add up.
Final Verdict: It's looking tough to clear the room for 2 maxes, but a strong team can be built here.

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $9,472,590
Notable Free Agents: That one dude [$15,779,912, player option] and that old fat guy [$21,000,000]
Albatross: Antawn Jamison [$13,358,905, through 2012]
S&T bait: Some, but is obviously on the giving end of a S&T if one were to happen
Summary: Screw this,
Final Verdict: Y'all are fucked.

Dallas Mavericks:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space UPDATE: ($17,812,046)
Maximum Cap Space if Dirk opts out, Najera and Barea lowballed a.k.a. "The Mavs are fucked" case: $2,499,850
Notable Free Agents: Dirk Nowitzki [$19,795,714, player option]
Albatross: Shawn Marion [$7,305,500, through 2013]
S&T bait: Caron Butler [$10,561,960], Jason Terry? [$9,873,000]
Summary: Wow, Dirk can really screw over the Mavs, can't he?
Final Verdict: Is Cuban good at pulling off sign and trades?

Denver Nuggets:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($19,593,497)
Notable Free Agents UPDATE: Kenyon Martin? Nope.
Albatross: Everything.
S&T bait UPDATE: J.R. Smith [$6,694,851], Kenyon Martin [$16,795,454], disgruntled Melo and crappy front office bargaining.
Summary: Looking bleak. Everyone's locked down this year, and I don't see Kenyon Martin earning a max contract. No draft picks, no real assets to trade, Carmelo likely leaving, and Birdman through 2014. Update: Or, the front office is threatening to trade Melo if he doesn't extend. Ya, okay.
Final Verdict: So fucked.

Detroit Pistons:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($2,572,216)
Notable Free Agents: KWAME BROWN BITCHES [$4,000,000]
Albatross: Detroit fans probably shouldn't look at their team's future salary chart...
S&T bait UPDATE: Tayshaun Prince [$11,147,760, no player option], Chris Wilcox [$3,000,000]
Summary: Still in the early years of the "how to blow your cap space by severely over-paying" era. But look on the bright side; only $9,000,000 of Rip Hamilton's contract in 2012-13 is guaranteed.
Final Verdict: What's the suicide rate in Detroit again?

Golden State Warriors:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space UPDATE: ($1,085,353)
Notable Free Agents: Uhh...
Albatross: Monta "McTurnover" Ellis [$11,000,000, through 2014]
S&T bait: Bleh.
Summary: Welcome to the Udoh era.
Final Verdict: Not much to do this summer.

Houston Rockets:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space UPDATE: ($16,080,834)
Notable Free Agents: not Yao [apparently picking up $17,686,100 player option]
Albatross: Kevin Martin [$10,600,005, through 2013], Trevor Ariza [$6,322,320, through 2013/14]
S&T bait: A lot.
Summary: Assuming Jared Jeffries picks up his $6,883,800 option, you've got Shane Battier's $7,429,500, Jordan Hill's $2,669,520, David Andersen's $2,500,000, not trading Aaron Brooks, etc., the Rockets have a lot of indirect options this off-season. They can afford to take on a mini albatross with a top tier free agent in a sign and trade, but it's gonna be work to get it done.
Final Verdict: Needs some more Morey Magic.

Indiana Pacers:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($10,547,446)
Notable Free Agents: Uhm...
Albatross: Uhm...
S&T bait: A lot.
Summary: The Pacers have cleared the decks for the 2011-12 season, with Danny Granger locked in through 2014. Maybe this is a brilliant move by Bird to not get screwed by the new 2011 CBA, or maybe there's a bunch of trades incoming. In any case, the 2010-11 roster looks just like last season's roster, only somehow worse.
Final Verdict: Lookin' pretty screwed.

Los Angeles Clippers:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $17,210,816
Notable Free Agents: Bleh.
Albatross: Baron Davis [$13,000,000, through 2012], Chris Kaman [$11,300,000, through 2012]
S&T bait: None really.
Summary: Lacking the assets, the Clippers are going for the homerun swing here this summer. I guess if there's some max contract FA that feels like getting treated like shit and then somehow getting injured, his 4 other teammates will welcome him with warm arms.
Final Verdict: Uh, it's the Clippers.

The Supreme Ultimate Los Angeles World Champions of the Universe Lakers:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($29,530,299)
Notable Free Agents: Adam Morrison [$5,257,229], Derek Fisher [$5,048,000], Jordan Farmar [$1,947,200]
Albatross: Kobe Bryant [$24,806,250 $25,244,493 $27,849,149 $30,453,805], Pau Gasol [$17,823,000 $18,714,150 $19,000,000 $19,285,850], Ron Artest [$6,322,320 $6,790,640 $7,258,960], Lamar Odom [$8,200,000 $8,900,000], Andrew Bynum [$13,700,000 $14,900,000]
S&T bait: Sasha Vujacic [$5,475,113]
Summary: Pour some milk into that bowl of championship rings as part of your balanced breakfast. What kind do you prefer? I always enjoyed 1%, a balance of taste and health.
Final Verdict: Fuck this shit.

Memphis Grizzlies:
Current Maximum Cap Space UPDATE: $6,549,212
UPDATE Maximum non-Cap Space with Rudy Gay qualifying offer: ($3,293,779)
Notable Free Agents: Rudy Gay [$3,280,997]
Albatross: Hasheem Thabeet [$4,793,280, through 2011]
S&T bait: A lot lot.
Summary: There is $0 guaranteed on the books for 2011-12! Another team preparing for the new CBA and lockout? Maybe they can spice things up by attempting to offer Gay the qualifying offer.
Final Verdict: See Indiana Pacers, minus franchise killing brawl.

Miami Heat:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $43,635,815
UPDATE Maximum Cap Space with Wade's hold: $27,952,027
UPDATE Maximum Cap Space with retarded Raptors S&T: $16,726,145 ($17,199,749 for LeBron)
Notable Free Agents: Jermaine O'Neal [$23,016,000], Summit Member #1 [$15,779,912]
Albatross: Michael "oh how the great have fallen" Beasley [$4,962,240, through 2011]
S&T bait: Don't you need people on your team in order to have bait?
Summary: It seems the Heat are giving up their triple max contract plan, as the Mario Chalmers team option was just picked up. They can offer $15,018,876 to three FAs though, or $15,156,048 if Joel Anthony decides to be a nice guy as reported, so if that summit crap was actually true, this is the number they'd be looking at.
UPDATE: The Heat are really waiting for that final cap space number, as any small change will affect if they can give 3 max contracts. You know, assuming this completely fucking stupid S&T with Toronto doesn't happen.
Final Verdict: Keep mentioning the reduced taxes and nightlife!

Milwaukee Bucks:
Current Maximum Cap Space UPDATE: $1,402,899 $7,382,671 (Salmons didn't take option lol)
Notable Free Agents: John Salmons, apparently
Albatross: Bad Porn [$9,600,000, through 2013]
S&T bait UPDATE: Michael Redd's picked up option [$18,300,000]
Summary: No idea. UPDATE: Still no idea.
Final Verdict: A strange combination of team options, weird contracts, and pretty much being stuck this off-season. Stuck still with a bad team.

Minnesota Timberwolves:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $13,235,591
Notable Free Agents: Darko [$7,540,000]
Albatross: Al Jefferson [$13,000,000, through 2013]
S&T bait: Some, not really though.
Summary: T'wolves have basically given up on the max FA chase. Unless Kahn pulls something amazing *snicker*. How sad is it that re-signing Darko actually becomes an urgent priority? UPDATE: Looking deeper at Rudy Gay's qualifying offer, I've added a line for his proposed salary [$13,709,195]. But otherwise yea, this team still sucks.
Final Verdict: Can you even make paella in Minnesota?

New Jersey Nets:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $29,989,807
Notable Free Agents: Barf.
Albatross: Devin Harris [$8,981,000, through 2013]
S&T bait: Terrence Williams [$2,214,480], Courtey Lee [$1,352,640], Quinton Ross? [$1,146,337 player option]
Summary: The Nets need a few more minor cuts to make the double FA signing work. Getting rid of Yi was a surprisingly good start. Will hanging Kris Humphries by his feet over a gold mine help read the goal?
Final Verdict: Comrade, trust the motherland! and Jay-Z!

New Orleans Hornets:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($11,913,649)
Notable Free Agents: ....
Albatross: Emeka Okafor [$11,795,000, through 2013/14]
S&T bait: Maybe?
Summary: This is pretty depressing to analyze.
Final Verdict: So fucked. Does Chris Paul feel worse than a slowly dying burning oily sea turtle?

New York Knicks:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $34,528,263
Notable Free Agents: Tracy McGrady [$22,483,124], David Lee [$7,000,00]
Albatross: Eddy Curry [$11,276,863, 2011]
S&T bait: Not much, really.
Summary: This one mistake, Eddy Curry, has pretty much kept NY out of the picture for LeBron. At least the Knicks are the only team in the clear for double max salaries!
Final Verdict: Hello, Boozer and Joe Johnson!

Oklahoma City Thunder:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $6,898,156
Notable Free Agents: None.
Albatross: None.
S&T bait: Tons.
Summary: So the plans to steal Sam Presti and make him GM of the Suns is underwa-...oh, ahem. Anyways, even look at those trades FOR Daequan Cook and Morris Peterson, both expiring in 2011. Could Indiana, Memphis, and Oklahoma City be onto something here?
Final Verdict: Wow, just look at this team build year after year.

Orlando Magic:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($27,200,430)
UPDATE Maximum non-Cap Space with J.J. Redick hold and Barnes opted out: ($34,118,654)
Notable Free Agents UPDATE: J.J. Redick's sweet touch [$2,839,408]
Albatross: Ahahaha.
S&T bait: No, in a bad way.
Summary: Man, next year is gonna hurt.
Final Verdict: As with the Detroit fans, Orlando fans may not want to gaze directly at the ORL salary chart. UPDATE: Like seriously, don't look.

Philadelphia 76ers :
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($10,735,638)
Notable Free Agents: Allen Iverson [$650,686]
Albatross: Aaaaahahahaha-
S&T bait: Sorta?
Summary: Even if players opt our from their options, the 76ers still would be stuck this off-season with their same crappy crew.
Final Verdict: Nothing's changed, pretty much screwed for the next 3 years.

Phoenix Suns:
Current Maximum Cap Space (assumes Amar'e opts out) UPDATE: $14,461,055 $11,221,055 (Grant Hill picked up option)
UPDATE Maximum non-Cap Space with Amar'e max hold: ($5,502,582)
Notable Free Agents: LOU!
Albatross: Not really
S&T bait: Yes.
Summary: Didn't think the Suns could pull off getting under the cap and come close to offering a max contract. UPDATE: Not close anymore, but for the love of God please let go of Amar''''''e's cap hold!
Final Verdict: Rebounding and defense, rebounding and defense...

Portland Trail Blazers:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space: ($11,862,668)
Notable Free Agents: None.
Albatross: Lamarcus Aldridge [$10,744,000, through 2015]
S&T bait: Andre Miller [$7,269,264], Joel Przybilla [$7,405,300 player option]
Summary: Maybe Kevin Pritchard did try to screw Portland on his way out, as his draft day trades ultimately put the Blazers about $7 million even more over the cap.
Final Verdict: *tears ACL*

Sacramento Kings:
Current Maximum Cap Space UPDATE: $15,366,159
Notable Free Agents: [This section is intentionally left blank]
Albatross: Beno Udrih [$6,478,600, through 2012/13], Francisco Garcia [$5,500,000, through 2013].
S&T bait UPDATE: Samuel Dalembert [$13,278,129], Carl Landry [$3,000,000]
Summary UPDATE: Lost about $3 million in cap space, probably not gonna find a good use for the cap space. Maybe fight Minnesota for Gay? (This is quite possibly the most favorite sentence I've ever written.)
Final Verdict: Who'd want to come to a team that gets screwed by the refs anyways?

San Antonio Spurs:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space UPDATE: ($13,802,086) $1,343,330
Notable Free Agents UPDATE: No. LOL RJ.
Albatross: Manu? Duncan?
S&T bait: Richard Jefferson [$15,200,000], Tony Parker [$13,650,000]
Summary: Gonna assume Richard Jefferson picks up his player option here, unless I missed something. They might start a trend of when being over the cap by $13 million, saying instead "one Tony Parker over the cap". UPDATE: Aaaaaaahahahahahaha Richard Jefferson probably should have asked Bonzi Wells for advice before this decision. Or like anyone with two eyes.
Final Verdict: Lots of sign and trade opportunity.

Toronto Raptors:
Current Maximum Cap Space: $6,243,868
Notable Free Agents: Summit tag-a-long Member #3 [$15,779,912]
Albatross: My eyes...
S&T bait: Eh.
Summary: Just look at all that Albatross! A core of Hedo, Calderon, Bargs, and Jarrett Jack through 2013?! And you thought LeBron played with some bad teammates!
Final Verdict: More like, sign and trade away.

Utah Jazz:
Current Maximum non-Cap Space UPDATE: ($5,518,526) ($6,176,046) (2 qualifying offers)
Notable Free Agents: Carlos Boozer [$12,323,900, no player option], Kyle Korver [$5,163,636, no player option]
Albatross: Paul Millsap [$7,600,000, through 2013]
S&T bait: Maybe
Summary: Doesn't look like there's much to do here, maybe leverage Kirilenko's expiring for a swingman to make way for Gordon Hayward. Also to buy Fesenko some shake weights.
Final Verdict: Well at least you've got some nice green jazzy mountains.

Washington Wizards:
Current Maximum Cap Space UPDATED: $14,861,038
Maximum Cap Space if that completely stupid trade with Chicago is true UPDATED: $5,032,042
Notable Free Agents: Are there markets for Josh Howard and Mike Miller?
Albatross: *points upwards at BasketBawful banner* [$17,730,693, through 2014, player option in 2013]
S&T bait: Ugh, who cares anymore.
Summary: So, back to this trade again. It becomes official July 8th or something, but with the Yi trade it pretty much shows how desperate the Wiz are to fill the slots. In complete give-up mode. On the plus side, I hope to see tons of John Wall driving and kicking it to Yi for the missed shot, followed by awkwardly looking at each other.
Final Verdict: Abandon all hope all ye who enter here.


-AnacondaHL

Quechua speaker / WED 6-30-10 / Mendeleev's tabulation / Pigeonholed in moviedom / Singer of Casta diva aria / 1943 penny material

Constructor: Kristian House

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: Doing stuff to one-named singers — common phrases are clued as actions performed on one-named singers


Word of the Day: Quechua (22D: Quechua speaker => INCA) —

Quechua is a Native American language family spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably some 6 to 8 million speakers (estimates vary widely). Some speakers of Quechua also call it 'runa simi' (or regional variants thereof), literally 'people speech', although 'runa' here has the more specific sense of indigenous Andean people.

• • •

Well that was easy. Mid-4s on paper, a good 10-15 seconds faster than yesterday's puzzle. Started writing with 1A: Harry James's "___ the Craziest Dream" ("I HAD") and never really stopped — though I hesitated a few times toward the end. Finished up in the W, where I didn't know (i.e. didn't remember) ERIC Carle (43D: Children's author Carle) and didn't know IRINA (figured it had to be ELENA) (27D: "Three Sisters" sister), and couldn't remember (at first) why the hell Mendeleev was important (38D: Mendeleev's tabulation=> ELEMENTS). Only other sticky clue in the whole grid for me was the one on NORMA — and that's opera, so no shocker there (31D: Singer of the "Casta diva" aria). I wonder if this puzzle is going to skew easy for young(er) people and tough(er) for older people. All the one-named singers whose names are being punned on have a post-1989 fame (chronological order of fame, by my internal clock, goes HAMMER (ca. '89), SEAL (ca. '91), JEWEL (mid-90s?), and PINK (2000s). Notice how my dates get vaguer the farther I get away from college. Individual years were clearly delineated before I graduated college. Afterward, less so. By the 2000s, everything becomes a big blur, punctuated by major life events / national trauma.


["I HAD a dream, I had an awesome dream ..."; warning, if you are scared of clowns, Do Not Play]

Theme answers:

• 17A: Conk the "You Were Meant for Me" singer? (CROWN JEWEL)

• 10D: Protect the "Kiss From a Rose" singer from the cops? (HARBOR SEAL)

• 28D: Amuse the "Get the Party Started" singer? (TICKLE PINK)

• 62A: Scratch the "2 Legit 2 Quit" rapper? (CLAW HAMMER)

So ... I liked this puzzle a lot. Clever theme, nicely executed. Good fill. Solid. Does Not look like a (mere) 74-worder. Fill seems overwhelmingly short (mostly 4s and 5s). But there are four cheater squares (NW/SE and N/S), and then a couple of long answers paralleling theme answers in the NE and SW, so I guess that explains how the grid can look and feel 76/78 but really be 74. That distinction may seem minor, but it's not. 78s are easy to construct/fill, 76s a bit tougher, 74s tougher still. You'll rarely see themed puzzles at 72, and almost never lower.

Bullets:

• 39A: 1943 penny material (STEEL) — I did not know that. Just that one year? Was it a war-time thing? Yes! Acc. to wikipedia: "The 1943 steel cent, also known as a steelie, was a variety of the U.S. one-cent coin which was struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper."
• 53A: Pigeonholed, in moviedom (TYPECAST) — great answer. "Moviedom" is a terrible word, but "Pigeonholed" is wonderful, so it evens out.
  
• 57A: Site of a 1976 South African uprising (SOWETO) — Little bits of South African history being dispensed between football matches all month long on ESPN and ABC. Enjoying watching matches, but was reminded again today (uh, yesterday) how deeply unsatisfying it is to see a match decided by penalty kicks. Mark of a non-real sport (sorry, hockey).
  
• 4D: White Label Scotch maker (DEWAR'S) — We have this bottle of something called Yukon Jack in our liquor cabinet, which I think I bought believing it was whiskey. It isn't. It's some kind of liqueur that you drink only if you are a desperate lonely cold Canadian lumberjack. Still, it'll get drunk.
• 22D: Quechua speaker (INCA) – I know this as a contemporary language of South America. Didn't know INCAs spoke it. Only reason I know the language name at all is because my ex-girlfriend studied with Sabine MacCormack, who wrote "Religion in the Andes," among many other books.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

FUNK DECIMATOR: GROOVIN' WITH KEN

My thanks to Don, again the funk decimator, for brightening up a dull work day (and you do know what all work and no play, or writing, makes Dennis, right?) with this powerful account of the summer’s biggest breakout star, Ken. He’s not just an accessory anymore. He’s his own man, and then some. If you don’t believe me, click play and start Groovin’ with Ken.



(This week leading up to July 4 finds Your Humble Narrator happy to say he’s loaded down with work. But he’s also loaded with things to write about and damn little time to do so. So come the end of the week (and maybe even before then) I'll have some new posts including a look at the summer so far, perhaps even some answers to the last quiz—- you know, the one I posted this past spring-- to keep at least myself, and hopefully you, amused in lieu of actual good movies to go out and see. I hear Tilda Swinton in I Am Love is a should-not-miss. And when a thing is as sure as Toy Story 3, why not see it again? I can’t wait.)

*******************************************

From Rachel Maddow Blog "Folk reporting about BP"

Maddow Blog Home
Folk reporting about BP
News Type: Event — Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:54 PM EDT
By Laura Conaway

Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen posts this video of a recent flight over the Gulf of Mexico. I don't necessarily agree with all of Wathen's conclusions, and I could have done without the souping-up at the end. Still, a lot of what you need to see about the Deepwater Horizon disaster is right here -- the bad booming, the dolphins and whales swimming in oil, the slick and sheen and gunk spilling night and day into the water.

If you're looking for the big critters, start around minute six.




[Wathen's BP Slick blog]
[Wathen's amazing first footage]

Photos from the flight can be seen here.

War News for Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The DoD is reporting the death of Pfc. Robert K. L. Repkie who died from a non-combat related incident at Forward Operating Base Farah, Farah province, Afghanistan on Thursday, June 24th.


Protest in Kabul against NATO forces in Afghanistan turns violent

100 soldiers die in Afghanistan in June

11,000 Afghan bound NATO containers with goods worth 220 bln

With Shift in Afghanistan, Talk Turns to Exit

Both houses of Congress to debate war


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: An Iraqi army officer was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded in Kazimiyah, the primarily Shiite district north of Baghdad, police and hospital officials said.

A brigadier general in the Iraqi army was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded in northwestern Baghdad in the Kadhumiya neighborhood, Interior Ministry officials said.

#2: They said a civilian was also killed in a similar attack when a bomb attached to his car detonated in Hurriyah, another mainly Shiite district in the north of the capital.

One civilian was killed on Tuesday and two others were wounded when a sticky bomb went off in northern Baghdad.

#3: In the Dora neighborhood in southern Baghdad, a car explosion killed one civilian and wounded four others.

#4: Police forces on Tuesday defused a roadside bomb in central Baghdad, without causing any casualties. “The bomb was found and defused in the al-Rasheed Street, central Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: At least five people were seriously injured by a bomb attack on an Iraqi policeman's home in the city of Abu Ghraib, just west of the capital of Baghdad, police said. Gunmen attacked the home of a police officer with explosive devices at dawn, leaving him, his wife, and three of their children seriously injured. They have been taken to a hospital for treatment.


Baiji:
#1: Four policemen have been killed in one of a series of fatal attacks in Iraq, officials said. The officers died and seven civilians were wounded when an explosives-laden car detonated next to a police patrol in the town of Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad.

"Among those killed was Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Ahmed Hussein, the head of the intelligence department of the police of Baiji, and a tribal leader," a police source in Baiji said, asking not to be identified.

#2: In a separate incident, police said gunmen opened fire on an oil truck travelling on a highway just outside Beiji, killing its driver.

#3: Separately, fire fighters were able to put out a fire caused by an attack on an oil pipeline carrying oil from Bayji to the area of Rashidiya. "A pipeline carrying crude oil in the area of Bayji was attacked by militants with explosives. Thirty fire brigade teams participated in putting out the fire," Qassem Atta, a military spokesperson, said in a press statement.


Irbil Prv:
#1: Turkish warplanes have bombarded northern Iraq as Ankara pushes forward with its campaign against the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group. The attacks targeted the Sidakan district of Arbil province in the mountainous northeast of Iraq. "The bombing targeted Kurdish nomads in the border area," PKK spokesman Ahmed Denis said of Monday's air raids, AFP reported. "We don't yet know the extent of the damage or casualties."


Mosul:
#1: An Iraqi soldier was wounded on Monday in a car bomb explosion in north of Mosul, according to a security source. “A car crammed with explosives went off near an Iraqi army checkpoint in Talkief district in north of Mosul, injuring a soldier,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One policeman was wounded on Monday in a bomb explosion in western Mosul, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Monday targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Islah al-Zerai neighborhood in western Mosul, injuring a policeman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: A police force found on Monday a body of a worker in eastern Mosul, according to a police source. “Policemen found a bullet-riddled corpse of a textile factory’s worker in al-Nabi Younis market, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A U.N. vehicle was shot up at a busy traffic circle in Afghanistan's capital Tuesday, and at least one person was wounded, witnesses said. The windows were shattered on the white pickup truck, with a blue U.N. logo painted on the side, and blood was spattered inside. The attack came at a time of heavy traffic around Massoud circle, an intersection near the U.S. Embassy and an American military base. Two people were in the vehicle, but only the driver was hit, said a man who saw the shooting. He only gave one name, Mirajudin. Mirajudin said he and the passenger of the U.N. vehicle helped pull the driver out. "I saw that the driver was shot in his eye," said Mirajudin, who still had blood smeared on his arms."He was bleeding from the eye and from the nose. I helped him and we put him in an ambulance."

#2: Suspected US missiles have struck a house in a Pakistani tribal region along the Afghan border, killing at least 10 suspected militants including a possible al Qaida operative, intelligence officials said. Two missiles struck the house near Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal area, where the Pakistan army has been battling Taliban fighters. The house was believed to have been frequented by al Qaida members. Aside from saying one of the dead was believed to be an al Qaida operative, the officials would not speculate on the identities of those killed, but added that they included Arabs, Turkmen and Pakistanis. Four militants were wounded in the attack, the anonymous officials said.

#3: Two civilians were killed and two wounded on Tuesday when a roadside bomb struck a vehicle in the Khakrez district of the southern province of Kandahar, Zalmai Ayobi, spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.

#4: In the southern province of Zabul, insurgents attacked a security company vehicle in the Shahr-e-Safa district on Monday, killing six security guards and wounding five, provincial spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar said.

#5: On Monday, six policemen were killed by a roadside bomb that ripped through their pickup truck in the Bala Buluk district of the western province of Farah, said local police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi.

#6: A bomb blast also hit a motorcycle in Bala Buluk the same day, killing two civilians, he said.

#7: Elsewhere in Farah province, seven Taliban militants including a local commander, were killed, three wounded and two arrested after they ambushed a police convoy on Monday, provincial police chief Mohammad Faqir Askar said.

#8: A TVNZ reporter and cameraman came under fire from enemy forces along with New Zealand bomb disposal experts in eastern Afghanistan late yesterday. ONE News’ defence reporter Michael Parkin and cameraman Blair Martin – both of TVNZ’s Wellington unit – were travelling with the bomb disposal experts as part of an assignment covering the work their soldiers are doing in Afghanistan. The New Zealand Defence Force has described the attack as “sporadic and ineffective”.

#9: The assault represents one of the largest in eastern Afghanistan in the past several years and reflects growing concern among U.S. commanders and Afghan leaders that Taliban insurgents are seeking to intensify pressure in the east as troops prepare for a tough summer of fighting in the south. The U.S. and Afghan troops, flown in on Black Hawk helicopters, seized the mountainous high ground in Konar province's Marawara district in the pre-dawn hours Sunday and were soon attacked by a force of as many as 200 insurgents. Two U.S. troops died in the assault, and as many as 150 insurgent fighters were killed by the U.S. and Afghan troops in what U.S. officials said was one of the most intense battles of the past year. "Once the battle began, others from the area tried to maneuver into the area," said Col. Andrew P. Poppas, who commands a swath of territory the size of Massachusetts along the border with Pakistan. "This was a tough fight."

The Afghan army, police and border force made up about 60 percent of the attacking force and played a central role in planning the assault, U.S. officials said. The district subgovernor in the valley had been a mujaheddin commander decades earlier and battled occupying Soviet forces in the same mountains. "He knows the valley so well," Poppas said. "Our guys were on the key high ground before the sun even came up." U.S. officials said that the heaviest fighting in the district had ended by Monday morning and that U.S. and Afghan forces had shifted their effort to reestablishing the Afghan police and local government in the district's main village. "The tough part is still ahead," Poppas said.

#10: At least 11 militants were killed and another four injured Tuesday in a clash with Pakistani security force in the northwest tribal areas of Pakistan, local media reported, citing official sources. Militants clashed with Pakistani troops in Ghorogundi area of Central Kurram agency bordering Afghanistan. Three vehicles owned by militants were also destroyed in the military action in Central Kurram.

#11: A Danish soldier was wounded today by an accidental shot. The relatives are informed. The precise circumstances of the accident is still not clear, but it was a shot from the soldier's own weapon that wounded him.



MoD: Corporal Jamie Kirkpatrick

DoD: Staff Sgt. Edwardo Loredo

DoD: Sgt. Joseph D. Caskey

DoD: Spc. Blair D. Thompson

DoD: Spc. Jared C. Plunk

DoD: Cpl. Daane A. Deboer

DoD: Lance Cpl. William T. Richards

DoD: Pfc. Robert K. L. Repkie