For those new to this blog, there are a couple of days where I post a thread to let the viewers ask questions or post anything on the topic.

On Tuesdays…Tech Tuesdays. As a gadget guy I do my best to answer all questions tech and at the same time highlight a product that you might be interested in checking out.

So, on Sundays, it’s all about sports. One of the bigger stories of the week is the fact that there still will not be a college football championship game.

Some college presidents make the argument that it makes college football professional and takes away the whole student athlete opportunity. As a former college athlete, those comments need to be seriously scrutinized. With league championships with huge sponsorships and millions of dollars pouring into some programs, those concerns are a bit tardy.

So what do you think? Also, what do you think of the playoffs in the NBA or NHL, or the beginning of baseball season so far?

OK….a couple of things. First I went back through and made some comments and answered questions in previous posts. Second, I was on a plane and traveling much of today, so where am I am what am I doing for work? OH….I am sure looking forward to a few of your responses….imaginations can run wild on this blog. Also, Greta and a couple of others have suggested we change the name to adamwire….what do you think? Finally, what did you think about the O’Reilly interview last night with Hillary Clinton? On the ‘Caruso Brothers’ thread, one of their brothers in Italy posted in italian…go figure. Problem is….I don’t speak italian…can someone translate? A ton of questions…so have at it.

We have reported about the flights that go between Tehran and Caracas and the fact that there are inaccurate passenger lists (or none at all) and many times no cargo lists. This violates international law. I have been told by our connections in Venezuela that this cooperation is only growing and now this report:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have agreed by telephone to meet soon to boost cooperation on several levels, the Venezuelan foreign ministry said .

“Presidents Ahmadinejad and Chavez agreed to meet as soon as possible to continue boosting their industrial, scientific and technological development plans in benefit of their two nations,” the ministry said in a statement Sunday.

The two leaders have often met, the last time was in November in Tehran. They share a profound hatred of the United States and both their countries are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In their telephone conversation, Ahmadinejad congratulated Chavez for Venezuela’s “victory over ExxonMobil, and ratified his solidarity with Venezuela’s fight to secure its natural resources,” the foreign ministry said.

A London judge in March lifted a freeze on 12 billion dollars in global assets of Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA ExxonMobil had requested as compensation for a Venezuelan 2006 law forcing foreign oil companies to give PDVSA at least a 60 percent share in their operations at oil fields in the Orinoco basin.

I have wanted to introduce you to the Caruso brothers for some time.

They have been tailors since the Eisenhower Administration and they are truly amazing with a sewing machine. For six years I have brought my suits to the guys and have bought a couple myself also. They travel each year to Milan to see family and choose the fabric/suits to come to America.

Now, while this is a fun post, I will have some more serious info about Colombia to come this afternoon.  Also, we are headed out for a story and will be going live from Southern California all day tomorrow.

So as you watch and enjoy this video, what story do you think I will be covering?

For about three weeks the delay’s and cancellations have plagued the airline world here in the states. We were in England when they opened the new Heathrow terminal and the chaos that followed.

My experience with American Airlines has generally been fine, I fly them all the time. However, I had another bad flying experience when headed across the pond. Virgin Atlantic lost our bag and it took nearly a week to get it back. We never had any idea IF and WHEN we would get the bag.

They wouldn’t deliver it to the hotel, so it cost not one, but two cab trips to the airport because the only phone number for Virgin Atlantic is a baggage hotline that gets routed to a call center in India. There are no customer relations phone numbers and we were told to send any concerns to an e-mail address. As of yet, our concerns and bills, which mount (including international phone calls and tips to the concierge) to more than $350, have yet to be returned. I also sent a fax with no response as of this writing.

Oh….my bag arrived with multiple rips in it.

Not a fun arrival in London, but at least we landed safely. Unfortunately, international or domestic, these types of stories seem to only be getting more numerous.

What are some of your travel nightmares and what can be done to remedy this situation?

This comes from Assemblyman Chuck DeVore here in California, who on this subject is on the same side as the sometimes controversial Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

It seems DeVore and others in the State Assembly are trying to pass Resolution 119 which marks “Tibet Day.” ACR 119 is bottled up by Assemblymember Ted Lieu’s (D-El Segundo) Rules Committee, with the Democratic leadership in Sacramento refusing to allow a vote on the measure due to its controversy.

Meantime, at the same time the Democrats in the The California State Assembly hold up the condemnation of China, it passed a measure that memorializes the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to list both polar bears and penguins as needing protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. ACR 119 marks the People’s Republic of China:

…egregious violations of human rights including the repression of political, civic, and religious groups such as Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Falun Gong practitioners, Muslims, democracy advocates, labor organizers, lawyers, journalists, environmental activists, political dissidents, and other innocent people; the illegal harvesting of vital body organs and coercive third-trimester abortions; the perpetuation of slave labor camps; and the deprivation of basic fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and religious beliefs…
Keep Reading …

We haven’t posted a political thread in a while and as you know, I cannot comment on this one…so it is all yours. According to multiple studies, the 2008 election and campaigns are being more widely covered by the media than in any other election in U.S. history. Whether on TV, Radio or here on the web, people have been consumed with the process. There are so many reasons for this interest, which also extends around the globe. While in Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England….all in recent months…the newspapers, radio and televisions have all focused on our election. This one is a doozy. The Hoover Institution has posted some interesting opinions and articles on this…check out that site here.

Gotta love these. I was passed this along, true actions of those looking for a place to work. This should lighten your day a bit. My brother and dad also have some great stories of a few who have come up with some amazing ways….not to get hired. Feel free to add your own stories.

The list, based on a survey of 3,061 U.S. hiring managers and human resources professionals by research company Harris Interactive, found the top 10 most outrageous mistakes were:
- Candidate answered cell phone and asked the interviewer to leave her own office because it was a “private” conversation.
- Candidate told the interviewer he wouldn’t be able to stay with the job long because he thought he might get an inheritance if his uncle died — and his uncle wasn’t “looking too good.”
- Candidate asked the interviewer for a ride home after the interview.
- Candidate smelled his armpits on the way to the interview room. Keep Reading …

Remember the East Coast vs. West Coast rap wars during the mid-1990s that lead to the eventual deaths of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur?

Well, don’t blame Sean “P. Diddy” Combs for the violence!

The Los Angeles Times put an apology on its front page today, after reporting on March 17 that Combs and others were behind a 1994 attack on Shakur that kicked off the rap wars. The newspaper says its report “was partially based on documents that appear to have been fabricated.”

This, after Web site www.TheSmokingGun.com reported the L.A. Times had been fooled by con man — and current federal prisoner — Jimmy Sabatino. The Web site reports Sabatino provided forged FBI documents to the newspaper, one of a very long list of scams by the felon. The site also reports that Sabatino’s many other crimes include conning Nextel out of 1000 cell phones — and doing it while already behind bars on another charge.

In addition to discussing this story with Shepard Smith on FOX Report at 7:45pmET, I’ll be visiting Sabatino’s MySpace page, where he claims he helped launched the career of the Notorious B.I.G. Check it out if you dare, but remember, don’t fall for any cons!

While I’m researching the story, some of the men named in the article may be preparing lawsuits against the Times. Diddy’s lawyer has made statements that may indicate a libel suit is in the works. The lawyer for a talent manager named in the article stated Wednesday that the reporter and editors behind the story should “immediately print an apology and get out their checkbooks — or brace themselves for an epic lawsuit.”

As you might have heard, Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the U.S. this April. As the Religion Correspondent, I’ve been busy helping put together a special scheduled to air Sunday, April 13.

The special called Mission to America: Pope Benedict XVI, will be hosted by Chris Wallace. I’m handling the U.S. side of things, while Greg Burke, the Fox Rome Correspondent, is busy with the European elements. Meanwhile our stunning producer Rachel Feldman is working feverishly to pull it all together!

This visit is the first by Benedict since he was elected Pope three years ago, after the death of John Paul II. In fact, Pope Benedict will celebrate his third anniversary as the Vicar of Christ and his 81st birthday, on U.S. soil. Although he has visited the U.S. a few times as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, this will be his first, and maybe his only trip to America as Pope.

One of the greatest challenges in creating a special about the Pope’s visit is trying to figure out what he’s going to say. The Vatican is none to eager to hand us the Pope’s talking points. So we’re left with asking various high-level sources some probing questions, like “What’s on the Pope’s mind?” “What does he want to tell Americans?” “Will he reprimand wayward Catholics?”

But one thing’s for certain … this Pope wants to inspire a resurgence of faith in Christianity and, of course in Catholicism, in America.

In the course of research, I’ve learned lots about this Pope, and have tremendous respect for him. Even many who don’t agree with his theology, acknowledge that he’s the “go to guy” when it comes to peaceful religious dialogue.

But if you want to learn more about the Holy Father, I can suggest you read one or some of his many books. He’s truly a scholar, the professor pope, who’s written practically a library of materials. Some good reading would be Milestones, which is his memoirs as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, before he was elected pope. But another interesting tome was not actually written by him but was an interview he did with a journalist. It’s called The Salt of the Earth. And the Pope’s latest book Jesus of Nazareth, is a great read for getting inside his theological mind and also to understand how personal faith is for him.

You can get a detailed schedule of the Pope’s five-day papal pilgrimage from the websites of The Archdioceses of Washington, D.C. and New York . The Holy Father will be arriving in the nation’s capitol on the evening of Tuesday, April 15.

During his two days in D.C. he’ll greet the president at the White House, meet with Catholic educators, Bishops and say Mass at Washington Nationals Stadium. He’ll also have an interfaith meeting with representatives from other religions. The centerpiece of his U.S. visit, and the initial reason for coming, is to speak at the United Nations in New York. That will happen on Friday, April 18. He’ll depart New York for Rome on Sunday April 20th after celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium.

(Photo credit: AP)