Today's Train of Thought- Oy! Oy! Oy! Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

Wouldn't you know it? Today happens to be Australia Day. January 26th marks the arrival of the first fleet of ships from England arriving with 1500 colonists (more than half of them convicts) to what is now Sydney Harbor in 1788. Although the early years were quote rough, Australia has grown from a backwards isolated colony where the British would dump their convicts to a leading exporter of minerals and a popular destination for tourists throughout the world. And let's face it- some of the scenery in Australia is simply amazing. Even without tourism, the Aussie economy is on strong footing due to rising commodity prices and voracious international demand for iron ore, gold, copper, zinc, uranium, bauxite or nickel.

With the growth of Australia as a colony (and ultimately and independent nation), many states built up their own rail networks- each of them using different standards and varying between broad gauge, narrow gauge and standard gauge. This proved to be problematic with the expansion of Australia's population and it's transportation network. For instance, the famous Indian Pacific wasn't able to complete it's transcontinental route until completion of a standard gauge route through South Australia in 1970. With the national network as a whole lacking a uniform track gauge until the mid 1990s, this hindered both interstate passenger and railfreight traffic. Some railways have found a way around this problem by installing dual-gauge tracks. Others, like in Tasmania and Western Australia, remain isolated from the national railway network.

One series of such railroads includes the network of iron ore mining railroads in the rugged northwestern corner of Western Australia- also known as the Pilbarra region. This is railroading on a massive scale in some of the most rugged conditions on earth. Companies like Fortescue Minreals, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton haul iron ore from their mines in the Chichester, Hammersley and Pillbara mountain ranges to waiting ships at Port Hedland for export in trains that routinely exceed 200 cars (only the railroads run by Brazil's VALE mining company comes close).

With that in mind, the Aussie mining companies have selected American horsepower to handle this daunting task for the past several decades. Railpictures.net contributor Phil Melling caught BHP Billiton iron ore SD70ace in 'new earth' livery leading a GE AC6000CW north through the red red earth of the Chichester Range in Munjina, Western Australia as she brings a loaded ore train towards Port Hedland.

Just to give you an idea of the scope of the Western Australia iron ore roads, here is some footage of a 224 car BHP Billiton iron ore train.

I think if the GE and EMD products in service there are reliable enough to survive the scorching, rugged conditions of the Australian outback, they can handle pretty much anything else that comes their way.

State of the Union and Obama's Sputnik Moment

Truth be told, I was only able to tune in for the last 10 minutes or so of the President' State of the Union Address, so I'm not sure what the two of them had in common besides crashing and burning in Wisconsin.

Oh wait....am I not supposed to use language like that in this new epoch of hypercivility?

Well anywhoo, my first response was to the State of the Union was 'My God- He's Still Talking?'. Like I said- I didn't tune in until the final 10 minutes and that only happened because I had assumed the speech was over and done with. And to be perfectly honest, I was listening on XM- the final moments of the address was only made tolerable by intermittent commentary from Cam and Company.

Apparently I had missed the first 45 minutes of vapid platitudes, contrived calls for bipartisanship, token nods towards American exceptionalism and contradictions galore. Since this was radio, I didn't get to actually see the 'high school dance' mentality of the Republican congressmen and senator mingling with their Democrat counterparts. Probably just as well, as that was a pretty stupid and pointless exercise. If the final 10 minutes were any indication, the speech seemed to be more about crowing about what the highly unpopular lame duck Congress was able to cram through last month than learning anything from the election results in November. The president also seemed to be taking credit for this month's referendum in South Sudan, which in fact was a key component of a 2005 ceasefire brokered by the USA. C'mon, progressives and Democrats...think back to 2005 when we had an unemployment rate that maxed out at 5.4%- who was in the White House again?

There were no huge surprises after the speech- Congressman Paul Ryan (R- WI, 1st District) delivered a pretty good rebuttal regarding the size and scope of government. President Obama's insipid media cheerleaders- many of whom he met with for lunch before the State of the Union- thought this was the greatest speech since Churchill while FOX news and the AP were skeptical.

It's one thing for me to be skeptical of the President, because I had no interest in sitting through what amounted to a 1 hour and 10 minute sales pitch for something I didn't want but was probably going to wind up with anyway. I'm just wondering how many independents or undecideds saw what I saw last night- teleprompter fuelled status quo.

What did you think?

Happy Australia Day from Not Another New England Sports Blog!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish my Australian visitors a happy Australia Day as well as to remind my non-Australian visitors that today is, in fact, Australia Day!

I've had the good fortune of visiting Australia myself awhile back and meeting some of their soldiers while I was still in the US Army. I mean, on top of everything else, how could you not love a country who's concept of meter maids is attractive women in sparkling gold bikinis putting money into parking meters?

For the record, the Australian Army has fought alongside their American counterparts since WWI, and as I'm writing this, Aussie diggers continue to serve in Afghanistan, Iraq and even closer to home where they have been doing search and rescue operations during the flooding in Queensland.

So throw another shrimp on the barbie and raise your pint of XXXX or Black Swan (as some of us know, Foster's is for the tourists) with your sheila and best mates...[did I leave out any Aussie-centric cliches?- NANESB!].

This American, at least, considers himself fortunate to count Australia one of his nation's closest allies.

REPORT: Egypt President Mubarak's Family Flees for UK

Barely two weeks after a series of protests toppled the government of Ben Ali in Tunisia, reports are circulating that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son has fled the country amid escalating clashes between thousands of protesters and police in Cairo.

This would be a significant development, as Gamal Mubarak was being groomed as Hosni's heir apparent. A report in a US-based Arabic language website said that Gamal, along with his wife and daughter departed for London from an airport in Western Cairo on Tuesday.

The escalating demonstrations in Egypt have been largely inspired by the Tunisian protests and riots earlier this month that chased autocratic ruler Ben Ali into exile in Saudi Arabia. Much of the organizing for the Tunisia protests was done through online social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. Twitter confirmed on Tuesday night that the online messaging site had been blocked in Egypt.

Hosni Mubarak assumed power in 1981 after Egyptian army officers assassinated president Anwar Al Sadat and has declared an ongoing state of emergency since Sadat's assassination. The emergency declaration gives Mubarak and his cabinet sweeping powers, such as outlawing political parties or detaining people indefinitely without trial. Since then, the Mubarak regime has been increasingly unpopular with Egyptians and his cabinet and family members have been implicated in a number of bribery and kickback scandals.

However, the 82 year old Mubarak's health has been deteriorating over the last few years and he had flown to Germany last year for gallbladder surgery.

Elections were already scheduled for September of this year- most candidates or parties opposing the Mubarak regime are typically left off the ballot. Many observers say that while technically outlawed, the Muslim Brotherhood is among the better organized opposition parties that would attempt to fill in the void in a post-Mubarak Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood is unambiguous about their plans for Islamicizing Egypt and compelling governments in other Egyptian countries to adhere to shari'a law.

[As an aside, I pretty much view the Mubarak regime much the same way I viewed Chile's Augusto Pinochet- very bad but keeping something worse and and far more destabilizing in check. I know that's not much more enlightened than the Cold War era mindset of 'he's a bastard, but he's our bastard', but don't expect me to break out the pom poms and start shouting 'Yay Muslim Brotherhood!' anytime soon- NANESB!]

[hat tip- Eat it or Wear It, Ace of Spades HQ]

South Sudan Makes it Official- Will Split From Khartoum

Talk to the hand! (Pete Muller- AP Photo)

Although the final tally may not be made official until Valentine's Day, voters in South Sudan chose overwhelmingly to break with the al-Bashir regime and the rest of Sudan in weeklong balloting. Sudanese refugees as far away as Ausrtalia, Tel Aviv, London, Boston and Chicago were also able to cast their ballots for or against independence.

South Sudan's unofficial boundaries are shown in green- Darfur's is shown in Blue

While already the South is facing challenges in the form of prices rising on food and consumer goods, the vote may be considered a setback for the al-Bashir regime in Khartoum as well. Some analysts speculate that al-Bashir becomes known as the man where Africa's largest nation split up under his watch, that could undermine his authority in the rest of Sudan and causing him to be forced out of power and replaced by somebody who may not honor the outcome of South Sudan's referendum.

Although this might've come up before, it's worth noting that while South Sudan is relatively oil-rich, it would continue to be dependent on the rest of Sudan to export in in the foreseeable future, as Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo would be the only other countries it borders that aren't landlocked. Links to other bordering countries like Uganda or Ethiopia involve highways that aren't even paved (or nonexistent in many cases).

However, the relatively peaceful (so far) transition from breakaway province to independent state in a particularly bloody region on a strife-torn continent is noteworthy in and of itself. Another issue that the South Sudanese have to deal with is whether or not to retain the name of the country they just broke away from or call them something different altogether.

31 Killed, 170 Wounded in Moscow Airport Blast

Photo- Daily Mail (UK)

An explosion at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport sent screws, ball bearings and shrapnel tearing through a crowd of travellers and airport personnel on Monday afternoon. One eyewitness said he saw a man with a suitcase that appeared to be engulfed in flames a moment before the blast tore through the international arrivals terminal. before the blast.

Artyom Zhilenkov, a 35-year-old driver, told The Associated Press he was just a few yards away from the explosion and saw a man who may have been the bomber.

"I saw the suitcase, the suitcase was on fire. So, either the man blew up something, or something went off on the man's body, or the suitcase went off." said Zhilenkov, whose clothes were soaked in blood.

"The guy standing next to me was torn to pieces," he added.

Russian officials put the death toll at 31 and said nearly 170 people were injured in the explosion Monday afternoon, while an airport spokesman reported 35 dead and about 46 wounded.

"From the preliminary information we have it was a terror attack," President Dmitry Medvedev told officials.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported that a head found at the site appears to belong to the bomber.

"We found the head of a man of Arab appearance, aged 30-35. It seems he detonated the explosive device," said the source.

Amateur video posted on YouTube showed the international arrivals terminal at Domodedovo Airport engulfed by smoke and splattered with body parts after the mid-afternoon terror attack sprayed shrapnel, screws and ball bearings at passengers and workers. Hundreds of people were in the loosely guarded area at the time.

The Daily Mail website is reporting that at least two British nationals were killed in the blast- a British Airways flight had arrived shortly before the blast. This is reportedly the first attack targeting Russian airline travellers since 2004, when two suicide bombers were able to sneak explosives on board a domestic flight departing Domodedovo airport and detonate while mid-air.

Domodedovo is Moscow's largest and busiest airport with flights from 77 airlines arriving and departing on a daily basis. Although it's early, Russian authorities suspect Chechen Islamic separatists are involved in the attack.

Crony Capitalism: Obama Names GE CEO Jeffery Immelt to Economic Panel; JP Morgan Exec Daley to Chief of Staff

I fleetingly saw on the front of some of the fish wraps this weekend that the punditocracy is reassuring us President Obama is supposedly going to move to the center in his upcoming State of the Union address by making job creation and the economy his top priority [Hmmmm....didn't we hear the same thing from the Administration right after the inauguration and then when 0bamacare passed?- NANESB!]. Apparently one of these indicators of a shift in the Administration's priorities is supposed to the selection of General Electric CEO Jeffery Immelt to head an economic panel. While CEO, General Electric was one of the top donors to Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign while it's subsidiaries at the networks of NBC, MSNBC and CNBC gave favorable, nearly uncritical coverage to both Obama the candidate and Obama the President. Immelt had also come out in favor of cap & trade in 2009, along with the NBC/Universal subsidiaries promoting week-long programming like the 'Green is Universal' media blitz during 'Green week'. GE was also the recipient of a number of grants and government contracts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act- aka the stimulus. According to the Alliance for American Manufacturing, the conglomerate has been steadily outsourcing jobs to China and elsewhere overseas under Immelt's watch as General Electric closed down 29 American factories in the last two years alone. The naming of Immelt to the economic panel comes about two weeks after the White House announced former JP Morgan Chase executive William Daley as the new White House chief of staff. William comes from Chicago's dynastic Daley family- his late father was the mayor for 21 years and his brother, Richard M Daley, is the outgoing mayor of Chicago. Prior to being selected for chief of staff, Daley was the Midwestern Chairman for JP Morgan Chase. The banking giant that Daley recently left is presently embroiled in a scandal where they overcharged active duty military personnel on mortgages and improperly foreclosed on homes of at least a dozen more military families.

Championship Chowdah Update- Train Rex Averted in Steel City; Green Bay Sends Bears Packing; Wizards Solve C's; B's Clear Avalanche

NFL: Screw the conference championship games, Tom Brady had surgery on his right foot this week! The surgery, performed on Thursday by team physician George Theodore, involved inserting a screw into Brady's problematic right foot. If all goes well, Brady's recovery timetable should be around three months or so, in time training camp in late July or early August.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL: Oh yea- it also happened to be Championship Sunday this weekend, so without any further ado:

AFC: I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the final few minutes of the AFC Championship game, even if it was alot closer then it should've been.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took a 24-3 lead into halftime for the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh on Sunday evening. It didn't look like it for awhile in the 4th quarter, but that was all the Steelers would need to get by the Jets- despite New York scoring 16 unanswered points in the second half (their first 3 came with only 9 seconds to go before halftime).

The Jets made it a 5 point game with just over 3 minutes to go in regulation, capping off a 4 and a half minute drive with a short pass from QB Mark Sanchez to WR Jerricho Cotchery to make it a 24-19 game. The Steelers would get the ball back with just under 3 minutes remaining- meaning that if the Jets could force a 3 and out, they would have enough time for a 2 minute drill. Roethlisberger managed to get the Steelers as far as the Jets 40 yard line at the two minute warning, bringing up and important 3rd and 6 in which Big Ben made a 14 yard completion to Antonio Brown, sending all sorts of headgear flying off of Rex Ryan before crashing to earth as the Steelers simply took a knee and iced the game from there.

NFC: Well....these guys probably had a heart attack. I mean.....well....a bigger one than usual:

I came in a little late on this one- by the time I tuned in, Cutler was already on the bench [let the speculation abound- NANESB!] and the Packers were up 14-0.

Things would get interesting when Bears backup QB Todd Collins was benched in favor of Caleb Hanie late in the 3rd, which paid dividends right away when the Bears started a TD drive from their own 33 to cut the Packers lead in half. However, pinned deep in their own territory, Haine would be picked off by Packers nose tackle BJ Raji, who rumbled into the end zone to put the Packers up 21-7. The Bears would strike again on a quick drive where Hanie connected with WR Earl Bennett for a 35 yard TD reception to once again make it a 1-score game with just under 5 minutes in regulation left.

Chicago's defense forced a fairly quick 3 and out from the Packers, giving the Bears the ball back with just under 3 minutes in regulation on their own 29. However, Green Bay would put the game away when Hanie was picked off by Packers CB Sam Shields deep in Green Bay territory ith 37 seconds remaining.

Green Bay wins the first postseason meeting of the Bears and Packers since the outbreak of WWII by a final of 21-14. Although Caled Hanie acquitted himself reasonably well (13-20, 153 yards, 1 TD but two costly interceptions), Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback that will be going to north Texas for the Superbowl. The Packers QB was 17-30 with 244 yards on the day and two INTs.

This means Superbowl XLV will feature a matchup between two vintage NFL clubs (Packers go as far back as 1919 while the Steelers date to '33). Superbowl XLI is scheduled to kick off from Cowboys Stadium at 6:30PM ET on Saturday, Feb 6th on FOX.

NBA: The Celtics had their 5 game winning streak come to a halt on Saturday night in Washington DC. Wizards rookie John Wall banked in a pivotal 3 pointer in the games final minute to help beat Boston by an 85-83 final.

The Celtics had finished up a homestand where they managed to beat the Kings, Bobcats, Magic, Pistons and wrapped up a 110-86 win over the Utah Jazz the night before travelling to Washington. They will next take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Tuesday night.

NHL: After completing the home/road sweep against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins had one more home game (where they lost to the Sabres on Thursday night) before their road trip out West got underway.

The change of scenery apparently did them some good as they came away 6-2 winners in Saturday night's game at Denver's Pepsi Center against the Colorado Avalanche. Although Colorado's Paul Stasny scored first, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand had two goals each (Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron would have goals as well). Tim Thomas stopped 32 of 34 shots faced on the night while the Avs pulled goalie Craig Anderson before the start of the 3rd.

The Bruins will next travel to the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday night to take on the LA Kings. Puck drops at 10:30 ET, 7:30 PT.

MLB: There's a 2004 Red Sox reunion of sorts taking place in the AL East, although not at Fenway Park. Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez have each agreed to separate one year deals with the Tampa Bay Rays this past week. SI.com reported that Damon's contract was worth $5.25 million with incentives while Manny's was in the neighborhood of $2 million. Both deals are pending a physical.

The Rays had lost Carl Crawford and Matt Garza to free agency earlier in the offseason.

Veenal Sins: Pakistani Actress Lashes out at Muslim Cleric Over Indian Reality Show Controversey

As the past month has shown, running afoul of religious figures in Pakistan can be hazardous to one's health.

Lollywood actress Veena Malik got into a heated exchange with an Islamic mufti during a talk show on Pakistan's Express TV this week after the Islamic cleric criticized her appearance on an Indian Big Brother-style reality show called Bigg Boss where she appeared to be cuddling with an Indian co-star.

Malik is no stranger to controversey, having testified in September in a probe by Cricket's international governing body involving her ex-boyfriend, who was involved in a match-fixing scandal.

"You have insulted Pakistan and Islam," Mufti Abdul Qawi accused her on the Express TV channel talk show via a television link. The exchange first aired Friday and then again Saturday.

A furious Malik shot back, saying Qawi targeted her because she is a woman, reminding him that the Quran admonishes men not to stare at a woman's beauty beyond a first glance, and telling him there were bigger problems in Pakistan, including the alleged rape of children at mosques [say what!? If this were the Catholic Church, these allegations would be above the fold headlines for the next 6 weeks- NANESB!]

During the exchange, Qawi admitted he had not seen the clips of the show but had heard about it from others.

"What does your Islam say, mufti sir?" the actress asked. "You issue edicts on the basis of hearsay."

Malik said she had read the Quran and she knew what lines not to cross as a Muslim as well as an entertainer in South Asia. She pointed out that she never kissed Patel, for instance.

"I am a Muslim woman, and I know my limits," she said. The cleric seemed unable to respond to her flood of words.

Malik's fierce outburst sparked a barrage of comments on Twitter. While some writers said they didn't agree with her and one called her a "porn star," others said she was brave for standing up to the Pakistani clerical establishment, especially when such an act can mean personal danger.

That's not mere hyperbole, either. The governor of Pakistan's wealthiest and most populous province was murdered by one of his own bodyguards on January 4th. Upon interrogation, the bodyguard told police that he was upset Governor Salman Taseer was opposed to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which call for imprisonment or even execution for 'defaming Islam'.

Taseer had supported leniency for Asia Bibi, a 45 year old Pakistani Christan woman sentenced to hang in late 2010 after being convicted of 'defaming the prophet Muhammed'.

Long Olberdue: MSNBC Announces Termination of Olberman's Contract, Cancellation of Show

Apparently the last episode of Countdown w/Kieth Olberman was on Friday night.

MSNBC issued a statement that it had ended its contract with the controversial host, with no further explanation. Olbermann hosted the network's most popular show, but his combative liberal opinions often made him a target of critics. Olbermann did not explain why he was leaving.

"MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," the network said.

A spokesman said Phil Griffin, MSNBC's president, would not comment on Olbermann's exit.

So in other words, Keith Olberman is out of a job [I know it's not nice to laugh at others' misfortunes, but what can I say? -NANESB!]. Maybe President Obama can pull some strings and arrange for him to get one of those 'Green Collar Jobs' his party has been promising the public for the last two years. Or maybe the White House can appoint him to the new position of 'Civility Czar'.

As for MSNBC, no word on whether or not Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik will be filling in Olberman's timeslot. Apparently Olberman's program was the top rated in the MSNBC lineup, but having the best ratings on MSNBC is a little like having the most Zimbabwean Dollars in Zimbabwe.

I actually have mixed feelings about this- while at first blush, an consistently dishonest obnoxious sociopathic blowhard of Olberman's caliber being off the air would seem like a good thing, it was also beneficial to have him out there screeching away like a little shit-flinging monkey every night as the face of the disturbed and unhinged American left.

Comcast has yet to announce any long-term plans regarding Olberman's replacement, let alone the future direction of MSNBC- and by extension the future of progressive hosts like Ed Shultz, Rachel Maddow or Chris 'Tingles' Matthews.

But with that in mind, I can't get this ditty out of my head for some reason: