Okay, the FIG has gone off its rocker. They’re asking Paul Hamm to relinquish his gold medal because of their judging mistake. As has been widely reported (including articles everywhere, from one in the Washington Post to another in the Turkish Press), the United States is not happy about this. The IOC is on Hamm’s side, too, but they’re ruling out the most obvious solution: give duplicate medals to Hamm and Yang Tae Young. But the idea that Paul Hamm should suffer for the FIG judges’ mistake is preposterous. This should have been the best moment of his young life (the glow on his face when he saw he won the gold is truly memorable), and they’re ruining it.

A column in USA Today and an article in Pakistan’s Daily Times have also made reference to the fact that the United States is basically an 800 pound gorilla in the Olympics. We can sit pretty much anywhere we want to, and nobody can do a damn thing about it. To be frank, though, I’m inclined to agree with the rest of the world. We are already the most powerful nation in the world. Do we really need to win the most medals, too? American athletes are the best in the world (except our basketball players, apparently) because our culture supports full time training, sponsorship deals (Michael Phelps is a very rich young man), the best equipment, coaches, and trainers, and other things that the rest of the world’s athletes simply can’t get or afford. A Reuters article suggests that third world countries should receive assistance so everyone can compete on a truly equal playing field. That said, though, Paul Hamm should still keep his medal. One athlete shouldn’t be penalized for the mistake of two judges.

The Guardian has an article about the first woman from Afghanistan to compete in the Olympic Games. Her name is Friba Razayee, and she lost the judo competition in 42 seconds. The only other female competitor from the country is Robina Muqimyar (her official profile is interesting), who will be participating in the 100-meter heats of the track and field races. Afghanistan isn’t likely to win any medals - there are only six athletes from the country in attendance and none of them are standouts in their sport. But it’s good to see them return to the Games twelve years after they were barred for discrimination against women. [via swirlspice]

All this fuss over Reagan’s death is driving me crazy. Granted I’ve never been alive for a state funeral before - the only other president to die in my lifetime was Nixon, and he didn’t get a state funeral - but they are making such a fuss about Reagan. I’m trying to accept that it’s normal, and I’m considering that maybe I just don’t like the fuss because I didn’t like Reagan’s policies or actions as president. But it still seems like a lot to go through.

1. The federal government will be closed on Friday in his memory.
2. I’ve heard rumors in my DoD office that some employees will be taking off on Thursday as well so they can go see the casket at the Capitol.
3. The flag will be flown at half-staff on all DoD buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and abroad for a month - until July 4th.
4. On Fort Belvoir, cannon salutes are being fired every thirty minutes today from reveille to retreat as part of the tribute.
5. After the hearse drops off Reagan’s casket at the Ellipse on Friday, the casket will be taken by horse-drawn caisson along Constitution Avenue to the Capitol. This will obviously close down traffic in a busy part of the city for a long time.

And then there’s the hours and hours of radio and TV coverage of the whole thing.

Holy crap! Less than an hour and a half ago, one of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor water taxis capsized near Fort McHenry. The bad weather obviously had something to do with it, and there are two people (one adult and one child) in cardiac arrest - probably because of the cold water. (This is why even though dozens people were out jogging in Georgetown last weekend, I don’t get to start my outdoor sport yet.) They think some people were able to swim to shore, but divers are looking for others. I always wanted to take the Water Taxi, but I never got to. I’m sure they’re still safe - they just shouldn’t have been operating with the storm that had been predicted!

I’m finding the variety of reports about Malvo rather interesting. The Jamaica Gleaner reports the story as The Tragedy of Lee Boyd Malvo, and CBS points out that his life sentence is a holiday gift in their story Merry Christmas, Lee Boyd Malvo. The jury was apparently split on the sentencing phase, but analysis from the Washington Post claims age was the deciding factor that saved Malvo’s life.

How do I feel? I’m fine with it. I’m not sure what my opinion is on the death penalty. I think if any state would have handed it down, Virginia would have, although the Associated Press has a story that suggests Alabama may also get to try the snipers, and that it also has a strong death penalty law.

Today’s edition of the public radio program The World included an interview with Sergei Khrushchev, the son of Nikita “We Will Bury You” Khrushchev. He says that Soviet citizens weren’t as afraid of Americans as we were of them during the Cold War - he claims it’s because they expected the news was all propaganda, but I think it might be because they were too busy with internal dilemmas (e.g., the failure of Communism leaving people poor unless they were valued, like athletes).

I remember a little bit of the hatred of Soviets that was rampant before the end of the cold war. I was very young, of course, but I do have some memories of it. Mostly I didn’t understand, I think. I do remember being interested in Soviet Life magazine, which was carried by my local library.

How stupid can a person be? After killing Joshua Ford and Martha Crutchley, 25-year-old Erika Sifrit kept their personal effects, including both driver’s licenses. Hello?! She even kept the bullet casings from the murders. Idiot woman - the prosecutor was dead-on in calling her “Little Miss Scrapbook.” Ryan, who attended college with Erika Sifrit, keeps an archive of information about the case. What I found especially entertaining was comparing her 1998 yearbook picture with the more recent photo that’s circulating in the news. My, how people change.

It seems extremely likely that there are hazardous materials in Iraqi villages following the looting of the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center. I’m surprised that people are turning in what they have for just $3/barrel - then again, that’s probably a lot of money to them - but also disappointed that there are still people holding on to their new toys.

CNN loves reporting on young Ali Ismail Abbas Hamza, a 12-year-old Iraqi boy who lost his arms and most of his family when Coalition forces bombed his home. Although Ali has a negative mindset for now - “if I don’t get a pair of hands, I will commit suicide” - he is still CNN’s media darling, which seems unusual for an American media outlet that usually prefers to focus on the plucky youngsters who are beating the odds.

Today on TV, I heard another CNN report about Ali. He’s apparently a little happier now that he’s received a gift, one which makes him feel more like a normal boy. This puzzles me, because the gift was apparently a Playstation - wouldn’t that just remind him that he’s not normal anymore, because he lacks hands to work the controllers? Maybe he’s figured out how to work the analog sticks with his toes, or something. Maybe he just enjoys watching others play games.

A 26-year-old Singaporean woman turns out to be the closest thing SARS has to a Patient Zero. She is one of three “superspreaders” who transmitted the disease to more than 100 people, but Esther Mok is unique because she’s still alive. An article from The Independent likens her to Typhoid Mary, noting that although Mok has recovered she is still quarantined in a hospital. The other two superspreaders - a Canadian and an American - have both died, and doctors have yet to determine why Mok isn’t dead as well. Her longevity (not a word usually applied to a 26-year-old) may well lead to her attaining lasting notoriety similar to that of Gaetan Dugas, the Québécois flight attendant who is popularly regarded as the originator of AIDS in North America.

Yes, I know it’s entirely up in the air whether or not Dugas really was the culprit - or if there was any Patient Zero at all. His role in the AIDS epidemic was highlighted by Randy Shilts in his book And the Band Played On, which was turned into one of TIME Magazine’s top stories, The Appalling Story of Patient Zero. But scientists reviewing Dugas and the cluster studies decided there may never have been a Patient Zero in the first place. TIME also published an article called Strange Trip Back to the Future, which admitted the first U.S. case of AIDS might have been a black teenager in Missouri who died in 1969. But as far as most Americans are concerned, Dugas is the one to blame for the AIDS epidemic.