Libya Endgame? Reports of Ghdaffi's Death Circulate As Rebles Encircle Tripoli

Rebels seeking to oust Libyan leader Mummar Ghdaffi have advanced to the outskirts of the capitol city of Tripoli while managing to cut off fuel and supplies not even a week after seizing the Western coastal city of Zawiyah.



Aided by NATO airstrikes and ferrying in weapons and supplies by tugboat, rebels surrounded the capital and began an assault on Ghdaffi's remaining stronghold on Sunday. Amid reports circulating that he had been killed, the defiant Libyan leader made a brief audio statement in state-run TV claiming that the rebel 'rats and vermin' in Tripoli 'have been eliminated'.



Rebel forces announced that they had captured one of Ghdaffi's sons, Seif al Islam Ghdaffi, in a raid that thrust into downtown Tripoli. The rebels had also been arming themselves after forces loyal to Ghdaffi abandoned checkpoints and arms depots in the suburbs around the city.



The rebel assault on the capital began on Saturday night at the Ben Nabi mosque near the heart of the city. As worshippers inside the mosque barricaded themselves and used the loudspeaker system to chant antigovernment slogans, loyalist troops converged and opened fire on the building. Rebels and local residents then moved in and attacked the Ghdaffi loyalists with machine guns and molotov cocktails, driving them back. From there, the rebels moved into Green Square and in a largely symbolic maneuver, raised the pre-Ghdaffi royal flag of Libya (below) that the rebels have adopted during the months-long uprising.



Green Square is where Ghdaffi held military parades and state-sponsored rallies throughout his rule.



From there, the rebels reportedly withdrew- but not before sending text messages and using mosque loudspeakers to call for a general uprising against the Ghdaffi regime. One rebel spokesman said that a small number of fighters and several caches of arms on the roads into and out of Tripoli were smuggled into the city in the days and weeks before the uprising.



Both the rebels and many international observes note that the rebel encirlcement of Libya represents an unprecedented challenge to Ghdaffi's 41 year rule, and that the collapse of his regime is only a matter of days if not hours.

ATF Awarding Promotions to Fast and Furious Architects?

Earlier this week, the Los Angles Times had reported that three supervisor level ATF officials from the agency's Phoenix office were promoted and transferred to Washington D.C.

The three supervisors have been given new management positions at the agency's headquarters in Washington. They are William G. McMahon, who was the ATF's deputy director of operations in the West, where the illegal trafficking program was focused, and William D. Newell and David Voth, both field supervisors who oversaw the program out of the agency's Phoenix office.

McMahon and Newell have acknowledged making serious mistakes in the program, which was dubbed Operation Fast and Furious.



"I share responsibility for mistakes that were made," McMahon testified to a House committee three weeks ago. "The advantage of hindsight, the benefit of a thorough review of the case, clearly points me to things that I would have done differently."



Three Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesmen did not return phone calls Monday asking about the promotions. But several agents said they found the timing of the promotions surprising, given the turmoil at the agency over the failed program.



McMahon was promoted Sunday to deputy assistant director of the ATF's Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations — the division that investigates misconduct by employees and other problems.



Kenneth E. Melson, the ATF's acting director, said in an agency-wide confidential email announcing the promotion that McMahon was among ATF employees being rewarded because of "the skills and abilities they have demonstrated throughout their careers."



Newell was the special agent in charge of the field office for Arizona and New Mexico, where Fast and Furious was conducted. On Aug. 1, the ATF announced he would become special assistant to the assistant director of the agency's Office of Management in Washington.



Voth was an on-the-ground team supervisor for the operation, and last month he was moved to Washington to become branch chief for the ATF's tobacco division.

Shortly after the Los Angeles Times article, the Justice department confirmed that the three had been transferred to D.C. but defined the move as a 'lateral transfer' to 'adminstrative duties'.



The ill-fated Operation Fast and Furious involved the agency allowing weapons purchased on the American side of the border to 'walk' into Mexico- in many cases against the wishes of ATF field agents- where they would supposedly be tracked to leaders of the different Mexican cartels. No cartel leaders were arrested as a result of Fast and Furous- the weapons instead turned up at the scene of the December 2010 shooting death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in Arizona and at several crime scenes south of the border.



Additional House Oversight Committee hearings on Operation Fast & Furious are scheduled for later on this year.



Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to the Justice Department demanding answers to reports that there were similar ATF "gun-walking" programs operated out of Texas.

“Until Attorney General (Eric) Holder and Justice Department officials come clean on all alleged gun-walking operations, including a detailed response to allegations of a Texas-based scheme, it is inconceivable to reward those who spearheaded this disastrous operation with cushy desks in Washington,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Last month, acting Director Kenneth Melson admitted to congressional investigators that his agency, in at least one instance, allowed sales of high-powered weapons without intercepting them. Melson accuses his superiors at the Justice Department of stonewalling Congress to protect political appointees in the scandal over those decisions.

Offense Spiraling Downward

The Giants were shut out in the series finale in Atlanta Thursday, and were once again held scoreless in Houston Friday night, as their offense continues a tailspin of epic proportions.



How this team is still 2.5 games out of first in the West with the way they've played since the calendar turned to August is beyond me. Perhaps the worst game of the stretch came Friday night, as the Giants rolled into Houston to take on the worst team in baseball, and had their rear-ends handed to them in a 6-0 loss. Within 24 hours of being shut down by Braves rookie left-hander Mike Minor, the Giants went up against another quality left-hander in Wandy Rodriguez, and were once again held scoreless. The batting order Bruce Bochy trotted out was one of the worst I've seen the Giants use in a couple of seasons at least, featuring a top-3 of Aaron Rowand, Mark DeRosa and Cody Ross. No Beltran, no Pablo and no Keppinger. In fact, Nate Schierholtz was the only hitter in Friday nights starting lineup with an average better than .244, so it really shouldn't surprise anyone that the Giants were held scoreless. There are some PCL lineups that would have had a better go of it than what the Giants showed Friday night, but that's what happens when your squad is banged up late in the year. The Giants had to put another player on the DL Friday after Eli Whiteside suffered a concussion, prompting the re-call of Hector Sanchez and I wouldn't mind seeing him get some at bats this time around. He was briefly called up earlier in the year, but had only a handful of at-bats before being sent back down to Fresno.



As far as the other injured Giants go, the Giants are desperately hoping to get their big fish, Carlos Beltran, back into the lineup when he's eligible to return from the DL Tuesday in San Francisco. Seeing that the wrist was supposedly barely bad enough to warrant the DL stint, I would expect him to be back Tuesday, or shortly thereafter. Hopefully by that time Pablo Sandoval and Jeff Keppinger will each be feeling a lot better too, and can resume their everyday roles, cause we're seeing what this offense is like without those guys in there and it's not pretty. I'm still very curious to see what's going to happen at the leadoff spot. Bochy has tried Rowand, he's tried Ross and he tried and re-tried Andres Torres, but they just can't seem to get anything consistently going in that spot. Torres is starting his rehab assignment in AAA and is eligible to return in 10 days, but he may not be returning to his starting center field spot. With the waiver-trade deadline approaching, and the Giants desperate for a spark for their offense, primarily in the form of a leadoff hitting center fielder, I wouldn't put it past Sabean to go out and grab someone. We talked before about Coco Crisp and Angel Pagan each going through waivers, and I really think either of those guys would help. If they can't get someone via waivers, it's time for Bochy and Sabes to consider giving Darren Ford a look see.



Catching Situation: With Whiteside now shelved for at least a week, it could prompt Sabean's search for a backstop on waivers. Chris Stewart is a fine defender and OK getting a start per week, but he's one of the worst hitters in the big leagues in an offense that's been putrid. 21 year-old Hector Sanchez should get another brief look, but Bochy probably won't give him too much time (Boch likes experience in pennant races). If the Giants weren't desperate for a catcher 2 weeks ago, they sure are getting there now and the guys I'm looking at are Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Doumit. I have no idea if either will go through waivers, but if they do, the Giants should kick the door down to obtain one.

Salty Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Royal Pains in Midwest; Things Get Uggla; Pats Keelhaul Bucs; Some Goodwill, Danica Leaving IndyCar?

RED SOX: After finishing their road trip with a whimper by dropping 2 out of 3 games to the Mariners, the Red Sox travelled home for a quick 3-game series against Tampa Bay (again, dropping two out of three) before heading to the heartland for a 4-game series in Kansas City.



Not unlike his start against Seattle, game one got off to a little bit of a choppy start with Josh Beckett on the mound as he gave up a leadoff double in the top of the 1st to 3B Alex Gordon. Gordon was brought home thanks to a sac bunt that moved him to third and a Billy Butler sac-fly to put KC in front 1-0.



The Sox got the equalizer in the top of the 2nd when Jason Varitek drove home Josh Reddick with an RBI single, although he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. The Red Sox then took the lead on a 2-RBI single from Dustin Pedroia in the 3rd before KC got it right back with a 2-run Alex Gordon homer in the bottom half of the inning. Pedroia would come to bat with Ellsbury on 2nd and two away in the top of the 5th and get what would be the game winning RBI with a single (that like Varitek, he was thrown out trying to stretch into a double).



Daniel Bard would come on in the 8th and Papelbon would close out the game in the 9th to preserve the 4-3 Boston lead. The 7 innings thrown by Beckett puts him at 10-5 while Papelbon's save was his 29th of the season.



On Friday night, KC got out to the early 1-0 lead on an RBI sac fly hit by Alex Gordon off of Andrew Miller, but that's all Miller and the bullpen would allow as they managed to tie the game up on a Darnell McDonald RBI triple before taking the lead on a Jacoby Ellsbury sac fly in the top of the 4th.



In the top of the 5th and with two out and two away, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia belted a 3-run homer to give the Red Sox plenty of insurance at 5-1. The Sox would get two more to make it a 7-1 final. Miller gets the win after giving up a run and 3 hits in 5 and ⅓ innings of work while Alfredo Aceves worked 3 and ⅔ scoreless innings allowing one hit and striking out 3 to preserve the 7-1 lead.



Boston takes the first two in KC, setting up a matchup tomorrow between Tim Wakefield (6-5; 4.90 ERA) who has gone winless in his last four starts and Kansas City's Felipe Paulino (1-9; 4.30 ERA).



OTHER SOX NEWS:: David Ortiz is expected to miss up to a week with bursitis in his right heel. He was scratched from the lineup right before the start of the day/night doubleheader with Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Ryan Lavarnaway was called up from Pawtucket and replaced Big Papi in the lineup on Thursday night's game at DH, going 0-4.



Kevin Youkilis was placed on the DL this week as well with back problems and is also expected to miss a week.







ELSEWHERE IN MLB- MINNESOTA: On Monday night's game against Detroit in Comerica park, Minnesota slugger Jim Thome managed to belt career home runs #599 and #600 as the Twins out dueled the Tigers by a 9-6 final. On the landmark knight for the veteran slugger, Thome went 3-4 with 5 RBI, accounting for most of the Twin's offensive output that evening.



Thome's 3-run shot off of Daniel Schelerth in the top of the 7th made him the 8th major leaguer to enter the 600 Home Run club.



ATLANTA: Braves 2B Dan Uggla's hitting streak stopped at 33 games over the weekend. The Chicago Cunbs kept the red hot Uggla hitless for the first time in a month. Uggla's hit streak in July/August stopped just shy of the 1949 hit streak mark set by Red Sox outfielder Dom DiMaggio (or more recently, Benito Santiago's 34-game hit streak with the San Diego Padres in 1987). Uggla's hit streak now stand as the longest in Braves history, surpassing outfielder Rico Carty's 31-game hit streak in 1970.



CHICAGO CUBS: Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano (9-7; 4.82 ERA) abruptly announced his retirement after getting shelled by the Braves a week ago. Zambrano didn't even last 5 innings and gave up 8 earned runs as well as a career worst 5 homers. Zambrano was ejected after throwing inside on consecutive pitches to Atlanta 3B Chipper Jones.



Within days, the Cubs placed Zambrano on the disqualified list when it became clear he wasn't going to walk back his comments about retiring. The Players Association is protesting the actions the Cubs have taken against the hotheaded hurler in an effort to reduce any sanctions or fines that might be forthcoming.



After the Zambrano fiasco, the Cubs also announced that General manager Jim Hendry was terminated on Friday afternoon. Curiously, owner Tom Ricketts claimed he reached the decision on July 22 and told Hendry that day, but for whatever reason both parties didn't make any public announcement until nearly 3 weeks later- after the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline as well as the August 15 deadline to sign this year's draft picks.





NFL: QB Tom Brady went 11 for 19 including two TD passes in Thursday night's preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady worked for the first half and connected with TE Aaron Hernandez for a 16 yard TD pass and then WR Chad Ochocinco for TD pass #2. Ben Jarvus Green Ellis had two rushing TDs of his own, including one to close out the first half in New England's 31-14 preseason win over Tampa Bay.



The next preseason game for New England will be at Ford Field against the Detroit Tigers on Sat. Aug 27th. at 8PM ET.



NCAA FOOTBALL: One time Miami Hurricanes booster and convicted money launderer Nevin Shapiro made good on a jailhouse threat to disclose to the NCAA and the press improper benefits he gave to Hurricanes players while they were still with the university including cash, merchandise and parties on a yacht he owned that featured prostitutes.



Shapiro pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering in September 2010 and was sentenced to a 20 year sentence in June. In a jailhouse interview, Shapiro detailed how he used funds from an ongoing Ponzi scheme going as far back as 2002 to finance donations to the University of Miami football and men's basketball programs in addition to giving out cash and favors to Hurricanes players.

The NCAA has notified University of Miami administrators that it's considering invoking a 'willful violators' clause to circumvent a 4 year statute of limitations on any investigation into the Miami athletic program. Traditionally, the NCAA’s bylaws would only allow it to sanction the Hurricanes for infractions that occurred during the four years prior to receiving a letter of inquiry from investigators. For example, if Miami received a letter of inquiry for a case on Sept. 1, 2011, the NCAA could only sanction the school for applicable violations dating back to Sept. 1, 2007. But the clause – reserved for “a pattern of willful violations” – can spin a probe back to the earliest applicable infractions.



Applied to the Shapiro allegations, it means the NCAA could reach as far back to early 2002, when the booster said he began funneling benefits to Hurricanes players. And if the probe stretched back to 2002, it would overlap with Miami’s two-year probationary period from the baseball program, which was leveled from February 2003 to February 2005. That could potentially tag the Hurricanes athletic program with a “repeat violator” label and make the school further susceptible to the NCAA’s so-called death penalty.

Only one Division one NCAA football program has been given the 'death penalty' before- the Southern Methodist University Mustangs in 1988. The NCAA banned the football team from taking the field in the 1987 season, and although away games were technically permitted the following season, SMU administrators decided it wasn't feasible to field a team for seven scheduled Away games that were already scheduled.



In 2003, the Miami Hurricanes baseball program was on probation from the NCAA for violations during the 1998-1999 seasons. If Shapiro's claims are true and the timeline match up, then he was funneling money to Miami players before the university even started probation.



NCAA HOOPS: Wow- if this is a 'Goodwill tour', I'd hate to see what the Georgetown Hoyas Malice Tour to China would look like.



The video above is from an altercation on Friday in Beijing between the Hoyas basketball team and the Shanghai Bayi Rockets- a squad that reportedly has ties to China's People's Liberation Army. The bench-clearing brawl erupted with less than 10 minutes to go in the game and the crowd threw plastic water bottles at the Hoyas as they left the court.







MOTORSPORTS: ESPN is reporting that Indy Car driver Danica Patrick is expected to announce a full-time move to NASCAR beginning next season. While the full details and terms of her contract have yet to be finalized, Patrick is expected to race primarily in the Nationwide series (something she's already appeared in) and make appearences in select Sprint Cup races.

Cubs Manager Jim Hendry Fired!

Time finally ran out for Jim Hendry, who was fired as general manager of the Chicago Cubs after too many questionable decisions and too few victories.

"It's professional baseball ... if you don't win enough games over a couple of years, you can't fight change," Hendry said Friday in an emotional news conference atWrigley Field.

Assistant GM Randy Bush will take over the job on an interim basis while the Cubs search for a permanent replacement, the team said.

Hendry, 56, said Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts notified him July 22 that he wouldn't be retained. He indicated that was one factor in deciding not to trade away veteran players at the deadline, figuring he should leave those decisions to his successor.

"We're here to win games, and in the last couple of years, we didn't win enough," Hendry said. "I will leave here with nothing but gratefulness for being part of this organization for 17 years. Not many people get a chance to do that."

Hendry called Ricketts "a fine man" and said he expected to retain a close relationship with the team's chairman.

Rickett said the "culture of accountability" in the organization led to the decision and they need "different perspectives."

"We just didn't win enough games," Ricketts said, echoing Hendry. "Nothing should diminish Jim's tenure here. We won three division titles while he was here. ... Jim is truly a first-class individual and we'll all miss seeing him here in the office."

Ricketts said the search for a new GM "effectively begins today" and that Bush would not be a candidate. He said there was no timeline or deadline for naming a successor. Ricketts said he would consult "industry veterans" in his search and that the new general manager would report directly to him, not team president Crane Kenney.

"We're going to keep it as a very private process," said Ricketts, adding that he would not be addressing any rumors that might arise along the way.

Ricketts said the decision was made in consultation with his siblings, who make up the board. Why did he let Hendry continue after being fired?

"At the moment I decided we had to make a change, I just thought the right thing to do, particularly given how much I respect Jim, was to just let him know," he said. "In the conversation, i said 'Look, we have work to do still. We had a good draft- a great draft- and we need someone to focus on making sure that those players get from that draftboard to our organization, and we have a trade deadline coming up.

"So I asked Jim if he would be able to keep executing his job for the next few weeks while we get through those hurdles, and he agreed to. He's been terrific. He's worked hard the last couple of weeks. I think it's really a credit to his character that we were able to operate under that awkward situation and do as well as we have done."

As for what qualities he will seek in the new GM, Ricketts listed player-development skills and a strong baseball analytical background. Hendry was not a proponent of sabermetrics.

Ricketts said that during the middle of July, he just felt "it was time to move on." He said the right thing to do was to inform Hendry immediately, but the two men agreed that he should stay on through the trade deadline and the signing of the team's draft choices.

"He never missed a beat; it's a credit to his character that we were able to operate the way we did and get the job done," Ricketts said. "We had the trade deadline coming up and I didn't think it made any sense to change horses in mid-stream."

Ricketts indicated that the new general manager would determine the fate of first-year manager Mike Quade, who has a year remaining on his contract. He also said he would like player-development executives Oneri Fleita and Tim Wilkin to stay on.

Quade said he received no advance notice of the change and said of Hendry, "I'll miss him a lot."

Asked about his own job status, Quade said, "This is not a day for me. I have no time to concern myself with me on a day like this. ... My future is the furthest thing from my mind on a day like this.

article by Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune

Today's Train of Thought- Smoke and Thunder, Aug 19, 2011

For the last 20 years, the Georgia Central has earned its living hauling clay, kaolin, chemicals, forestry products, and coal throughout Southern and Central Georgia. The 175-plus mile regional railway began operations in November 1990 on the former Seaboard Air Line route between Savannah and Macon, GA by way of Vidalia and Dublin, GA.



One of the things that separates the Georgia Central from other railroads is its penchant for some of the older GE products. Shortly after acquiring the line from CSX, the Georgia Central began operations with a small fleet of U30Bs- also from CSX. In the mid-1990s, the U30Bs gave way to more than a dozen high-hood former Norfolk Southern (nee Southern) U23Bs. In 2005, the Georgia Central was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming, although five years in there has been no sign of the trademark G&W orange and black showing up on the Georgia Central.



Some 15 years later, the high hood GE's are still soldiering on for the Georgia Central with a minimally modified Norfolk Southern paint scheme. Here, railpictures.net contributor Nikos Kavoori caught GC U23B #3959 leading a quartet of u-boats with an 80-car coal train during a break in a Georgia thunderstorm outside in Manassas, GA in July 2011. Tucked into the very end of the lashup is an SW1500 from nearby Genesee & Wyoming shortline Chatachoochee Industrial.

Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake Strikes Off Shore of Northeastern Japan; Money Continues Washing Ashore After Deadly March Tsunami

Japan's Meteorological Agency is reporting a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 struck the northeast coast of Japan.



A tsunami warning was issued by the agency for the Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures on Friday morning, but the advisory was lifted about a half hour later.



Tokyo Electric Power Co reported that there were no abnormalities and that key equipment in the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continued operating normally while key employees positioned outside were evacuated as a precaution.



Interestingly, nearly 6 months after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami which is thought to have killed at least 20,000 people in Northeastern Japan, survivors and volunteers have turned over to the authorities the equivalent of nearly US$80 million in cash that has washed up on shore or in the ruins of homes and apartments.

In the five months since the disaster struck, people have turned in thousands of wallets found in the debris, containing $48 million in cash.



More than 5,700 safes that washed ashore along Japan's tsunami-ravaged coast have also been hauled to police centers by volunteers and search and rescue crews. Inside those safes officials found $30 million in cash. One safe alone, contained the equivalent of $1 million.



The National Police Agency says nearly all the valuables found in the three hardest hit prefectures, have been returned to their owners.



"In most cases, the keyholes on these safes were filled with mud," said Koetsu Saiki with the Miyagi Prefectural Police. "We had to start by cutting apart the metal doors with grinders and other tools."



Determining who the safes belonged to, proved to be the easy part. Saiki says most kept bankbooks or land rights documents inside the boxes, containing their names and address. Tracking the owners down, was much more challenging.

With some police stations running out of room in their lost property areas, police are attempting to cross reference names and phone numbers documents found in safes and lockboxes with survivors of the quake and hoping to track down what shelter they were staying in.



Keeping cash at hand is fairly common practice in Japan, as many Japanese prefer to keep their money at home. A police spokesman explained that the number of boxes and safes that have been recovered seems especially high because many fishing companies in northeastern Japan also prefer to do business and pay employees in cash.