Travis Buck and Oakland

Rumor has it that Buck will be called up from the minors, soon. He's only in his 2nd season in the minors but he's been batted .320 in 84 games, last year. On the downside, he only played 84 games due to injuries...which leaves me wondering if he's being pushed too hard and his body is not ready for the demands of a full season in the majors. Ultimately, what may affect his call-up prospects more is the health and productivity of Oakland's bench. Last year, Thomas accounted for a great deal of the A's RBI and HR production, while Payton, Kendall, Swisher and crew rounded out the production. While the lineup certainly wasn't spectacular, it got the job done, day to day - and it was good enough to win 93 games and clinch the division, last year. But - with Kotsay now out for back surgery - this may be Buck's cue to step up to the plate.

The EU and 'Binding' greenhouse gas cuts

I'm unsure if I'm more upset with the EU politicians or with the news organizations that are reporting on them.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=1e812c5b-a431-4b78-abd6-714585cbce3e&k=60485

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070309/sc_nm/energy_eu_dc_16

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL0436578520070309

http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-20/0703094163195906.htm

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2007/03/09/afx3501709.html

http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/eu-bold-commitment-climate-renewables/article-162373

I've obviously read several articles and here's my take:
1. They all appear to be the SAME article. Right down to the verbage and the quotes.
In fact most were written by Ingrid Melander and Jeff Mason. The Forbes article appears to be slightly different...but not by much.

2. All of the articles discuss the 'breaktrough' and how this is 'historic' agreement is being 'hailed' by the environmental groups. What NONE of them mention is how the deal is, in any way, binding. Binding implies that you are going to do what is asked of you...and if you don't, there is some repercussion.

3. Given that this is a quote coming out of the session: "...developed countries [ of Europe ] are urged to 'commit themselves to comparable emissions reductions', with 'advanced developing nations' contributing 'adequately'." This doesn't seem to imply binding anyone to do anything.

So...two questions for you:
- How much weight do you think that the leaders of the EU actually give to the issue of CO2 reduction if all they are willing to do is 'urge' their nations to hit the 'goals' laid out on paper?

- What reporter would ever think about allowing a title that uses words like 'commit' and 'binding' without asking (and printing the response to the question), "Well, what happens if they don't reach the goals?"

Beer, Baseball & Politics

Alright - so it's finally up - the forum server, that is.

Beer, Baseball & Politics is born. Middle-Matt is my first 'co-admin' and we are ready to start having fun. Do you like baseball? Do you like fantasy baseball? Beer? Brewing? Politics? Or do you despise it all? Tell us. Tell the world. Get it off your chest - Just make sure that you have fun in the process!:)

I did make some compromises - The fantasy baseball module never made it into the site; neither did the image upload section. Ah well....I suppose that's the start of a good 'to-do' list. LOL.

Later.