Free Republic

NEW YORK – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has violated the league's personal-conduct policy. Goodell said on the Dan Patrick radio show Monday there has been a "violation" and the key issue is a "pattern of behavior." Last week, prosecutors in Georgia declined to charge Roethlisberger after a college student accused him of sexual assault in March. The NFL is expected to discipline Roethlisberger, although it says there is no timetable for such a decision.

Ogden police say an Ogden High School teacher has had 'inappropriate relationships' with at least six female students over the years, but none of them rise to criminal conduct. Lt. Scott Conley said Thursday that while the teacher's behavior is questionable under the school district's policy for professional conduct, his relationship with students is not criminal. He said investigators found the teacher had "inappropriate relationships" with at least six students dating back to 2000. He said the teacher used his influence to develop relationships with girls shortly before they turned 18. Police investigated allegations the teacher had been dating his...

A PAC to release a TV ad taking aim at the Obama syndicate. Should be interesting. Originally found here: PAC Ad Takes on Obama Administration’s 'Inexcusable Conduct'

President Obama says he wants to reverse "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the Clinton-era policy that prevents openly gay men and women from serving in the military. But so far the White House has been noncommittal about how and when he will try to make that happen. In an effort to prod the president and Congress to act, activists -- gay, straight, military and civilian -- will converge on Capitol Hill Friday to rally behind an effort in the House to overturn the policy, which has been a continuing source of controversy since it became law 15 years ago. "The repeal,...

Don’t annoy someone in Brighton city or you might get a ticket. The Brighton City Council approved a more stringent code for public conduct, and those who violate the rules – including annoying someone else – could be ticketed and fined. The ordinance was modeled after one in Royal Oak, where Brighton Police Chief Tom Wightman previously was employed. One of the sections reads, “It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose.” Another section states, “It shall...

OK...new rules for fans at the game: Don't be rude, don't get drunk, don't go on the field, don't throw stuff, follow directions and don't talk nasty talk. More details and blah, blah at the linky. Maybe they should worry more about the players and their criminal records, alcohol use, steriods, shooting people and themselves?

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – Showing appreciation for the men and women that risk their lives to defend the United States is essential, and yet rumors and fears about ethical restrictions that limit the amount of gift giving is a concern for many philanthropic organizations. Lee Bradley, director of the Department of Defense Ethics, Standards and Conduct Office came on ASYLive BlogTalkRadio yesterday to clarify some of these concerns. "I recognize that a whole lot of people believe that gift rules are very restrictive, ... but federal employees really live by the creed of ‘public service is a public...

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2007 – American and Afghan security forces teamed up to shut down a militant suicide-vehicle-bomb-making network during an operation in the Bati Kot area of Nangarhar province April 29, military officials reported. As the raid began, coalition troops trying to enter the militants’ compound came under small-arms fire, officials said. The coalition troops returned fire, killing four militants. Unfortunately, a woman and a teenager were killed in the crossfire, officials reported, and a young child and a teenage female were wounded. The injured Afghan civilians are being treated at a coalition medical facility. Coalition forces found...

NEW YORK - The NFL hopes to conduct pre-training camp neurological tests on players to determine susceptibility to concussions. Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday during a meeting with sports editors that the league's medical committee has been working on a way to implement mandatory tests, perhaps as early as this summer when training camps open. That comes after a session at March's league meetings in Arizona in which officials and coaches agreed that head injuries need the closest monitoring. "At no time should competitive issues override medical issues," Goodell said he told the coaches. "Safety comes first." The issue of...

MASON, Ohio — A Wayne Township volunteer firefighter has been charged with drunken driving, public indecency and disorderly conduct after being arrested in a park wearing a woman's blonde wig and bikini, officials said.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran plans to conduct missile war games during a three-day period beginning Sunday, state-run television reported. The war games will be carried out near Garmsar city, about 60 miles southeast of Tehran, according to the broadcast. "Zalzal and Fajr-5 missiles will be test fired in the war game," the broadcast quoted an unnamed military commander, as saying. Both are considered short-range missiles. The exercise will be the first by Iran since the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on December 23, which banned selling materials and technology that could be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programs and...

Israeli general quits over conduct of Lebanon war Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem Wednesday September 13, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Major General Udi Adam with Israeli soldiers on the border with southern Lebanon during the war. Photograph: EPA A senior Israeli army officer resigned today, the first high-ranking figure to quit in the fallout after the war in Lebanon. Major General Udi Adam was head of Israel's Northern Command, a key role in the war with Hizbullah, but faced criticism in the press for being overly cautious and hesitant. During the 34-day conflict he was effectively sidelined when another general was...

In a word, yes! Living in America (legally or illegally) does not make one an American. Accepting, adopting, understanding, believing in, living, promoting and defending real American foundational principles, (the American dream), makes one an American. Nothing less will do. One who works to stop others from smoking can’t be called anything short of anti-smoking. One who works to stop others from owning guns would certainly and appropriately be deemed anti-gun rights, or anti-Second Amendment. If you work to stop abortions, you are certainly anti-abortion and if you work to undermine fundamental American principles, you are obviously anti-American. Does this...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2006 – In separate operations yesterday and Aug. 6, Iraqi security forces captured 22 suspected terrorists and seized various weapons, U.S. military officials in Iraq reported. Iraqi security forces conducted an early morning raid in eastern Baghdad yesterday, capturing three individuals believed to be involved in punishment and torture cell activities. As they received sustained automatic weapons and rocket-propelled-grenade fire from several insurgent positions in the Sadr City neighborhood, Iraqi forces and coalition advisers detained three suspected insurgents, conducted intelligence gathering on the objective, and then departed the area. Iraqi forces seized one AK-47 assault rifle and...

WASHINGTON, August 6, 2006 – Coalition forces conducted raids today and yesterday in two areas of Iraq, seized a large weapons cache and captured four terrorists Aug. 4, and detained three terrorists Aug. 3, U.S. military officials in Iraq reported. Coalition forces killed one man during a raid north of Bayji, Iraq, this morning. Recent intelligence led troops to target terrorists responsible for an attack against an Iraqi army checkpoint near Hawija yesterday, officials said. The terrorists shot and killed five Iraqi soldiers and wounded two others during the attack. Intelligence led coalition forces to a location where the terrorists...

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 – More than 1,000 villagers in the Panjwayi and Zharey districts of Afghanistan received medical treatment and humanitarian assistance from Afghan and coalition personnel at clinics during the past weekend, military officials reported. A group of medical professionals from Kandahar hospitals, the Afghan National Army and the coalition spent July 15 at a school next to the Panjwayi District Centre at Bazaar-e-Panjwayi. They conducted another medical clinic in Zharey district on July 16. The group provided basic medical treatment to local people and livestock, dispensed medicine, and handed out food and other humanitarian supplies. During the...

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2006 – Iraqi army forces conducted an early morning raid today in eastern Baghdad, Iraqi police repelled a terrorist attack in Baghdad today, and coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained five during a raid yesterday, military officials reported. The Iraqi army raid was part of Operation Together Forward, the Iraqi government's plan to improve security conditions in Baghdad. Insurgents immediately engaged the forces, and a firefight ensued. The purpose of the raid was to capture an insurgent leader responsible for numerous deaths of Iraqi citizens, officials said. Police from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police...

HOR AL BASH, Iraq, May 14, 2006 – In another place and in another time, Army Staff Sgt. Timothy Long may have been loading up the family to take them to a Mother's Day brunch. Instead, he was briefing his C Troop, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry team on the mission they were about to perform. A cavalry scout escorts an Iraqi to his car near Taji, Iraq, during a Mothers Day "presence patrol." The car was broken down at the side of the road. Soldiers check out all of these in case the occupants are using a ruse to...

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers and police completed the fourth day of Operation Lion's Hunt in Mosul, Iraq, today. Elsewhere, a provincial governor survived an assasination attempt. Nearly 1,500 Iraqi soldiers and police officers worked together to conduct the mission. The goal of Lion's Hunt is to introduce a strong Iraqi security force presence in the city's diverse communities and clean out pockets of terrorists hiding among law-abiding residents, U.S. officials said. The Iraqi-planned effort has been well received in the areas searched so far, Iraqi Maj. Gen. Wathiq, provincial director of police for Ninewah province, said. He...

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this week called on California Energy Commission Chairman Joe Desmond to investigate possible price gouging by big oil companies, as gasoline prices across much of the state topped $3 a gallon. But Desmond has only two weeks left on the job--and likely won't be there to see the investigation through. Desmond's nomination must be confirmed by both the Senate Rules Committee and the full Senate before May 10 in order for him to keep his post. But the Senate, led by President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, has refused to even schedule a confirmation hearing. Without such...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 10, 2006) – Iraqi Security Forces continue to gain experience as they lead both small and large-scale, combined operations. Two recent examples are in the Julayba area and north of Baghdad along the Tigris River. Iraqi and Coalition Soldiers wrapped up a successful counter-insurgency operation in the Julayba area east of Ramadi April 6. Operation Bastogne began early in the morning with Soldiers of the 1st Iraqi Army Division and the U.S. 28th Infantry blocking off escape routes frequented by insurgents. The combined operation resulted in two insurgents killed and three others captured. The Soldiers also discovered...

BAGHDAD, March 26, 2006 – Iraqi special operations forces conducted a twilight raid today in the Adhamiyah neighborhood in northeast Baghdad to disrupt a terrorist cell responsible for attacks on Iraqi security and coalition forces and kidnapping Iraqi civilians in the local area. As elements of the 1st Iraqi Special Operations Forces Brigade entered their objective, they came under fire. In the ensuing exchange of fire, the Iraqi forces killed 16 insurgents. As they secured their objective, they detained 15 more individuals. Also, one individual being held hostage by the insurgents was freed. That person, a non-Westerner, whose identity was...

Iraqi, U.S. Soldiers Conduct Health Outreach In addition to providing medical care to local Iraqis, the program provided an ideal way for Iraqi troops to interact with the locals. By U.S. Army Maj. David Olson 1st Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division TAJI, Iraq, March 1, 2006 — Iraqi soldiers from 1st Mechanized Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, along with U.S. soldiers from elements of 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment and 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a combined operation to provide much needed medical care to a local Iraqi Sunni community north of...

TAJI, Iraq – During the recent, and highly publicized, sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite factions, a group of Iraqi and American Soldiers pushed aside the apprehension Feb. 23 to conduct a community health outreach program north of Baghdad. Soldiers from 1st Mechanized Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, along with Soldiers from elements of 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment and 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a combined operation to provide much needed medical care to a local Iraqi Sunni community, relieving tensions in the area while simultaneously fostering hope in a unified Iraq. Approximately...

2/17/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Air Force Uniform Board announced Feb. 6 that the Good Conduct Medal will no longer be awarded. The Air Force director of Airman development and sustainment recently explained the reasons behind this decision. "The quality of our enlisted personnel today is so high, we expect good conduct from our Airmen," said Brig. Gen Robert R. Allardice. "It begged the question, ‘Why do we have a Good Conduct Medal?’" "Having a medal for good conduct is almost to say we don't expect Airmen to do well, but if they're good we will give them a...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers and about 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) are conducting counterinsurgency operations in Iraq's Anbar province. Operation Koa Canyon began Jan. 15 to capture or kill insurgents and to locate and destroy their weapons caches in the western Euphrates River Valley, between the Jubbah/Baghdadi region and the city of Hit, officials said. This combined operation involves 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division, and the 22nd MEU's ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. Most forces...

Dems Ready Proposal on Code of Conduct By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent Sat Jan 14, 8:23 PM ET Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., emerges from the French Cafe' restaurant in Omaha's Old Market, following a news conference in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006. Reid called for more ethics in Washington during a visit to Omaha, part of a tour that took him to rural, Republican-voting states this week. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) WASHINGTON - Democrats intend to unveil a sweeping plan this week to tighten Congress' code of conduct, officials said Saturday night, including a ban on lobbyists'...

USS RONALD REAGAN, At sea (NNS) -- Sailors from USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), civilian mariners from USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7) and the pilots and aircrew of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 4 helped rescue a man who suffered from chest pains while aboard a civilian fishing vessel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean Jan 9. The victim, described only as a 35-year old Filipino male, had been suffering from chest pains while aboard the 85-foot fishing vessel Princess Jasmine. The vessel, along with its seven crew members, was located approximately 815 nautical miles northeast of Oahu, Hawaii, when they...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Dec. 20, 2005) -- The Marines were up early, bracing themselves against the cold-desert wind off the Euphrates River and waiting for the “all go” from headquarters. The sun was just breaking the horizon and painting the sky a splotchy pink and blue while word was passed that the mission would go off as planned. The first team of Combined Anti-Armor Team White, along with Company L’s 2nd Mobile Platoon exited the heavily fortified gates of Hurricane Point and began their part in Operation Block Party 6. Soon after the first two units left the base, the...

BAGHDAD, Oct. 1, 2005 – In the dead of night Sept. 24, Iraqi police with the 2nd Public Order Brigade conducted their first raid without oversight by coalition forces. The mission was directed against members of terrorist groups and criminal gangs in Medain, a district south of Baghdad. In all, the Iraqi police unit detained 20 suspects and confiscated several AK-47 assault rifles. "Medain is a very important area for us to secure - many people suspected of terrorism live in that region," said Brig. Gen. Hamed Aabdullah Abrahim, 2nd POB commander. "Our brigade is conducting qualitative operations, not quantitative,...

So Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois thinks our Guantanamo soldiers are like the Nazis? As a soldier stationed in Germany, the land where Hitler's Nazis once trod, I found my blood boiling by the words coming from the liberal Democratic senator from Illinois. Senator Durbin, along with the rest of his left wing and terrorist sympathizing party thinks President Bush should close the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, because--in his words--the soldiers at Gitmo are "acting like Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, Pol Pot, or others who had no concern for human beings." Two things here: Where is the outcry...

No national reaction to nose-blowingNorway's national soccer coach Åge Hareide has no intention of dropping controversial striker John Carew, who is now the focus of an investigation in Turkey, accused of blowing his nose on an opposing player.Carew has admitted to blowing, but not aiming. He has also claimed that photographs of the incident are manipulated, and display an unnatural amount of material being expelled toward an opponent, 19-year-old Turk Aytar Ac.Crew, currently at top Turkish club Besiktas, faces punitive action from the football federation there, where the incident has become a full-blown scandal.For the time being Norwegian football officials...

07:49 AM CST on Monday, February 7, 2005 Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. - Military officials have demoted a female member of a National Guard military police unit for indecent exposure after a mud-wrestling party at the Camp Bucca detention center in Iraq. Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for detainee operations at the U.S. Army-run camp did not released the name of the soldier. However, the New York Daily News identified her as Deanna Allen, 19, and Allen's mother, Ladyna Waldrop of Black Mountain, confirmed the identification. After an inquiry, Allen was demoted from specialist to private first class and placed...

U.S. Forces Conduct Raids in Mosul Sun Jan 16,11:48 AM ET By JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces carried out a series of raids in Iraq's troubled northern city of Mosul, the military said Sunday, as American and Iraqi authorities scramble to prepare for elections there in the face of mass resignations of polling staff and police. A Bradley Fighting Vehicle was damaged Sunday in the city when an explosion occurred as a U.S. convoy passed by, witnesses said. It was unclear whether there were casualties. U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz acknowledged that the security...

U.S. Senate Democrats Monday signaled they would continue to try and unofficially oversee the Bush administration. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced several oversight hearings on a range of subjects next hear. The minority party in Congress argued the Republican leadership has skirted its responsibility for administration oversight as defined in the Constitution. But the hearings -- eight this year on subjects ranging from the deficit to U.S. contracting in Iraq -- have had little impact beyond political show because they are highly partisan affairs with no subpoena power.

Hearings Shed Light on War BAGHDAD -- Members of the U.S. Army's 41st Regiment uncovered an AK-47 during a routine search in the dangerous Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Aug. 31. Finding a weapon was not unusual, but Sgt. Michael P. Williams, 25, said he felt danger when he saw a smirking Iraqi man in the house where the gun was found, according to the testimony of fellow soldiers. "I feel threatened," Williams declared, the soldiers recalled. The "Iraqi went for his weapon." Moments later, Williams shot the Iraqi man with two bullets to his head and chest, according...

Columbine victim's kin settle suit By The Denver Post Article Published: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 A civil lawsuit brought by the family of a Columbine High School shooting victim against a former Arapahoe County sheriff's deputy has been settled out of court. Sue Petrone and Brian Rohrbough, the parents of slain student Daniel Rohrbough, have dropped their suit against James Taylor. After the April 20, 1999, shootings, Taylor told the 15-year-old's family he was present when Daniel Rohrbough was shot. Taylor told the family he heard machine-gun fire, saw a Denver police officer in the area and watched Rohrbough go...

Others may have sympathized on learning that Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Middle East studies at Columbia University, felt threatened by a graduate student at his own university, but not me. The incident began late on Sept. 27, 2004, when Victor Luria, a Ph.D. candidate in genetics and a former soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, wrote Dabashi an e-mail taking strong exception to what Dabashi had written about the IDF in an article, "For a Fistful of Dust: A Passage to Palestine," he published in the Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram. In response, Luria wrote to Dabashi: I have rarely seen...

LOS ANGELES – University of California regents approved general guidelines for their expectations yesterday, briefly addressing issues including attendance, participation and ethics. The proposal was initiated by Regent Ward Connerly, who said he is concerned about inconsistent attendance and levels of participation among board members. The guidelines lacked any specific rules or means for discharge. The issue of absenteeism was raised earlier this summer when The San Diego Union-Tribune published an analysis showing some regents were missing two-thirds of their assigned committee and board meetings. One regent, Haim Saban, who had not attended a full board meeting in more than...

Archbishop Sheen Today! -- Sex and holy purity (Part Two) Barbara Kralis Barbara Kralis November 1, 2004 © Catholic Online 2004 It's impossible to discuss Holy Purity without visiting the The Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus taught the multitudes the twelve Beatitudes, He was speaking to all men of all ages on correct moral conduct. In number eight of the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," Christ was teaching of the cleanness of the whole person, not just his heart. The heart represents one's thought, words and deeds. Remember Sister Christine Joseph's morning...

Many on the left, most visibly Presidential contender John Kerry, often claim that the "coalition of the willing" is weak and that participation from the international community has been minimal if anything. Opponents of President Bush use such claims in order to discredit the legitimacy of this noble endeavor for freedom. It may not be such a bad idea to look at the state of our coalition, not in an effort to attack President Bush, but rather to conduct a healthy reassessment and critique of the coalition and our allies. Several weeks ago, Michael Rubin returned from the Coalition Provisional...

A New York City man became annoyed with a theme park worker dressed as Telly from "Sesame Street" and shoved an umbrella into the worker's stomach, police said. Hiram Cruz, of the Bronx, was cited for disorderly conduct for poking the 17-year-old employee Friday during a visit to Sesame Place outside Philadelphia, police said. The teen complained of minor stomach pain and was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Middletown Sgt. Ken Mellus said. "He felt that Telly was bothering him in some way," Mellus said. "I don't think he was trying to hurt the kid. He thought the...

This is a new thread dedicated to conservative parents of children/teens "at risk". I noticed in my FReeping that there are a lot of other conservative parents like me dealing with children or teens that are socially "at risk". Yes, there are other web sites out there dedicated to this, however they tend to be liberally/socialistically slanted. They have a whinning "poor pitful me" attitude. As conservatives, from talking with many of you, we take a different attitude and require our children to have that same attitude. I FReep Mailed Jim Robinson to get his "blessing" on this thread. If...

US forces secured the suspected chemical plant in Najah on Monday, as 12 civilians were caught attempting to transport a truckload of AK-47 rifles to the site. These dozen men were added to the 54 Iraqi officers and soldiers, including a general,who surrendered to the 2-7 mechanized infantry battalion during Sunday's raid of the huge camouflaged complex. Senior army sources told this reporter that the army is concerned with the sensitive status of the site. Specialists from an army "exploitation team" will arrive at the complex Tuesday to conduct comprehensive inspections, they said.

ALBANY — Wounded and limping after last month's jarring Spargo decision, the Commission on Judicial Conduct is now in the cross-hairs of a Capital Region attorney who accuses the disciplinary agency of promoting a left-wing political agenda and carrying water for the American Civil Liberties Union. The unusual broadside comes in the case of Troy City Court Judge Henry R. Bauer, who the agency contends trampled the rights of criminal defendants in 50 cases. Judge Bauer is charged with entering convictions against defendants who were not before him and who had not pleaded guilty, failing to advise citizens of their...

A few years ago, Congress passed a bill requiring them to obey all laws, rules and regulations, just like normal citizens. Therefore, we offer a few selected excerpts from Title 48, Volume 1, Parts 1 to 51 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Revised as of October 1, 1996, for your reading enjoyment. This is good stuff, folks. Because, if Congress (and the administration) is legally bound to obey each and every one of their petty little laws, rules and regulations, our question is this: Where do we go to file charges? Everyone in Congress is in violation of these...

umm...I'm a little concerned about some stuff on this website. why do we call democrats 'rats? they call us "repugnants" I think we're above that kind of childish namecalling. I think we're coming down a little too hard on the liberals too. I'm an Independent, and I try to find the truth. well, the TRUTH is that 90% of the time, conservatives are correct. why do i voice opposition? Aren't we above all this stuff that the democrats do? I think we need to prove to America that WE are controlled, clear thinking, intelligent, and sophistacted people. NOT people who...

Conduct questions up close and personal for two state politicians By STEVE GEISSINGERSACRAMENTO BUREAU SACRAMENTO -- For two state lawmakers -- one a Democrat and the other a Republican -- the issue of ethics has become very personal in recent weeks. Assemblyman Dean Florez, a Fresno-area Democrat, says he was fired from his role as head of the inquiry into the state's ill-fated Oracle software contract because he was too tough on Gov. Gray Davis' administration In another instance, Sen. Maurice Johannessen, a Redding Republican who faces term limits this year, sided with the dominant Senate Democrats on the state's...

Nasdaq closes stable door after horses bolt New rules for old boys By Adamson Rust: Friday 26 July 2002, 10:22 THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS of the Nasdaq stock market have issued 25 new rules for trading companies in a bid, we suppose, to avoid any dung flying its way. If the board of NASD approve the rules, they will be forwarded to the SEC Star Chamber for a bit of rubber stamping. The new rules are: $$$ Make the majority of board members independent $$$ Get independent directors to meet regularly$$$ Redefine the meaning of "independent" – no big shareholders,...