The Broken Chair

Unless a dramatic and perhaps historical flurry of activity occurs in the next 9 weeks, 2007 will rank as a historically inactive TC year for the Northern Hemisphere as a whole. During the past 30 years, only 1977, 1981, and 1983 have had less activity to date.

Myth 1: The Whites-Only Tree. There has never been a "whites-only" tree at Jena High School. Students of all races sat underneath this tree. When a student asked during an assembly at the start of school last year if anyone could sit under the tree, it evoked laughter from everyone present – blacks and whites. As reported by students in the assembly, the question was asked to make a joke and to drag out the assembly and avoid class.

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Myth 8: The Attack Is Linked to the Nooses. Nowhere in any of the evidence, including statements by witnesses and defendants, is there any reference to the noose incident that occurred three months prior. This was confirmed by the United States attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, Donald Washington, on numerous occasions.

Now comes the LA Times with allegations of a broad base of “poor” Chinese donors, some of whom seem to have scrounged up the money legitimately to get a photo op with the great lady, some of whom seem to have done so at the behest of “neighborhood associations” which exert “enormous influence” over recent immigrants, and some of whom — well, some of whom may not exist. Dummy businesses in Norman Hsu’s case, dummy donors here?

Yehuda Baruch, a professor of management at the University of East Anglia, and graduate Stuart Jenkins studied the use of profanity in the workplace and assessed its implications for managers.

They assessed that swearing would become more common as traditional taboos are broken down, but the key appeared to be knowing when such language was appropriate and when to turn to blind eye.

The pair said swearing in front of senior staff or customers should be seriously discouraged or banned, but in other circumstances it helped foster solidarity among employees and express frustration, stress or other feelings.

"Employees use swearing on a continuous basis, but not necessarily in a negative, abusive manner," said Baruch, who works in the university's business school in Norwich.

Banning swear words and reprimanding staff might represent strong leadership, but could remove key links between staff and impact on morale and motivation, he said.

"We hope that this study will serve not only to acknowledge the part that swearing plays in our work and our lives, but also to indicate that leaders sometimes need to 'think differently' and be open to intriguing ideas.

The Muslim scholars state: "As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them - so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes."

ROTTEN HATES EVERYTHING intellectually lazy, from the fat and stupid editors at Rolling Stone to the Hollywood liberals he encounters everyday back in his Venice Beach community. "You wouldn't believe the idiocy," he tells me on his umpteenth beer or vodka drink. "Imagine me at a parent/teacher conference trying to explain to them how to speak proper bloody English!"

How can I not admire a man who believes Americans are the most honest people in the world, and America is the greatest place to live (I am almost positive he said that, but I was drunk). He's lived here now for 30 years, and has no intention of leaving. Truly a Yank -- he prefers Steve Miller over Sting.

And he also believes, like me, that the real cause of terror is not religion, but lack of fun. These nutty extremists just need a more active social life. He wanted the Sex Pistols to play in Iraq, not just to troops, but to the people of Iraq. "I don't care if they hate us, but we have to do it. But no one would sponsor us. Not even Rolling Stone." Rotten may be the only rock legend who understands the threat of Islamofascism and is willing to go there and face it, without security and not behind a barbed wire fence. You don't hear Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen volunteering to do the same. And you never hear your basic sensitive and outspoken Hollywood celebrity -- the ones mouthing off about Bush and right-wing religious nuts -- speaking out against the way gays and women are treated in Islamic countries. Because they're cowards. Rotten isn't. He wants to change the world, despite having done a lot of that already.

Computers and photographs for director Steven Spielberg's upcoming fourth "Indiana Jones" film were stolen, and DreamWorks Pictures SKG has asked local law enforcement to investigate, a studio spokeswoman said.

"An investigation is being conducted by law enforcement," said Kristin Stark, a spokeswoman for DreamWorks.

Stark declined to say where and when the theft took place. Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department, the FBI and the Sheriff's Department could not immediately confirm that they were investigating.

Marvin Levy, Spielberg's spokesman, said the director was concerned that the thieves might be trying to sell the materials.

"We want to warn the media that anything that is offered is stolen property," Levy said. "We know it is out there."