It takes political transparency to a whole new level.

The piece appeared to draw out the art critic in many Canucks.

STORY: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/baring-painting-prime-minister-nude-causes-stir-161037709.html

VIDEO: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/canews-22424922/nude-harper-portrait-makes-a-stir-29342442.html

In 2009 four of the world’s last seven northern white rhinos were moved from a zoo in the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. At the time conservationists expressed hope that returning the rhinos to semi-wild lives under their native African skies would help inspire the animals to mate and, if they were extremely lucky, save the species from extinction.

But now something incredible has happened. Not only have two rhinos suddenly started expressing interest in each other, they have actually gone ahead and mated. Ol Pejeta Conservancy posted this bow-chicka-wow-wow video on April 30:

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kSv7sHpp7Y

STORY: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2012/04/30/the-most-eagerly-awaited-rhino-porn-of-all-time/

Unexplained Noise Spurs Diplomatic Fracas At Detroit Border; Americans Can't Hear It

WINDSOR, Ontario—Last month, Bob Dechert, a senior aide to Canada's foreign minister, was dispatched to Detroit with an important diplomatic mission: To stop a highly annoying noise.

"The government of Canada takes this issue seriously," Mr. Dechert said after his recent fact-finding trip, which included a visit to a heavily industrialized area on the American side of the river that some Canadian scientists believe is to blame for the hum.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303990604577370182557339816.html

Yours truly, three months ago—

If we trade for Cousins, we could have a taller, fatter Iverson.
by PS on Jan 2, 2012 8:46 PM EST

http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2012/1/2/2677659/magic-at-pistons-the-dwight-howard-speculation-train-arrives-in#87394786

Bill Simmons, today—

The truth is, Kobe turned into a taller Iverson last season and it's staying that way.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7770130/handicapping-nba-mvp-race

Canada penny drops in federal budget as Jim Flaherty signals end of one cent coin

The penny coin, loved by some but an annoyance to many, will be withdrawn from circulation this year because it costs too much to make and is a pecuniary pest.

"The penny is a currency without any currency in Canada," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Thursday.

Ottawa said the penny retained only one twentieth of its original purchasing power. It costs 1.6 Canadian cents to produce each one cent coin and stamping out the penny will save around C$11 million ($11 million) a year.

A slice of pear between my index finger and thumb, I gingerly held out my hand and held my breath. Little claws hooked into my stockings and an enormous grin spread across my face as a red panda took a bite.

While all 'Close Encounter' participants are allowed into the enclosure, getting within touching distance is entirely up to how obliging/hungry the animals are feeling.

http://www.3news.co.nz/A-close-encounter-with-red-pandas-at-Wellington-Zoo/tabid/1160/articleID/244906/Default.aspx

...the Sacramento Kings forward "allegedly" decided to engage in an unsolicited game of "show and tell" with self proclaimed "model/dancer" Asia Monroe...

Blaha: Bill Laimbeer and I were broadcasting the game down by the Pistons bench. Everything happened on the other end of press row. And the reason I wasn't particularly shook up about it is because Bill Laimbeer didn't seem to be particularly bothered by it. He was kind of nonplussed by the whole thing.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7612311/view/full/an-oral-history-malice-palace

In December, dealing with dizziness, Machado went to see a neurologist and an ophthalmologist, both on the same day. To his relief, nothing appeared on the neurologist’s magnetic resonance imaging scan. But the eye doctor prescribed something new: glasses.

"Wow, that’s actually pretty funny," Manhattan Coach Steve Masiello said. "The best point guard in the country couldn’t see. He sure doesn’t show it."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/sports/ncaabasketball/iona-guard-scott-machado-passes-his-way-to-prominence.html?_r=1&hpw

HINT: Wherever Garrett is.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/valentines-day/where-is-canadas-most-romantic-city/article2329848/

An agitated moose ran down and stomped a well-known Bush pilot from Willow, but he was saved when his wife grabbed a shovel from their pickup truck and whacked the big animal until it backed off.

http://www.adn.com/2012/01/22/2277726/wife-stops-moose-stomping-with.html

Putting the ball on the floor to counter a defense scrambling to contest his shot is theoretically a smart move by Daye, as his height and handle would -– again, theoretically -– allow him to finish inside with ease or throw passes over the top of his defender.

The 6-11 Daye –- who made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts last year -– should be able to rise and fire against anything other than a hard closeout from a quick-footed big man or a long-armed wing player. Instead, he’s putting the ball on the floor, and often wasting a potentially efficient opportunity...

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/pistons-to-daye-please-dont-take-the-ball-to-the-basket/

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eQS5w-jpo78

Tayshaun Prince, SF, Detroit Pistons

Prince is on a reasonable contract (four years, $28 million), and he provides a veteran presence. But he’s also standing in the way of some young guys, especially Austin Daye, and he’d be more valuable in a limited role on a good team.

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/01/20/some-failing-to-live-up-to-expectations/

The red panda turned up at the home of a Chinese family in the suburbs of Leshan, a city located in southwest China's Sichuan Province, last week.

"We were having a meal outside our home and saw it climbing down the slope toward us. We approached it slowly, leaving the door of our house open, and then the red panda suddenly rushed inside," said the homeowner.

VIDEO: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8978071/Red-panda-becomes-surprise-house-guest-in-China.html

Greg Monroe is having a monster season. The numbers are ridiculous:

• He has assisted on 19.4 percent of Detroit’s baskets while on the floor Among players 6-foot-9 or taller, only Hedo Turkoglu and Brad Miller posted higher assist rates last season. One of those guys isn’t a traditional big man, and the other barely eked out 1000 minutes.

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/01/13/big-man-greg-monroe-has-quietly-become-a-force-in-detroit/

http://www.ourdecision.ca/

Stop foreign billionaires from sabotaging Canada’s national interest! Public hearings into a proposal for an energy pipeline from the oil sands to Canada’s west coast are being manipulated by foreign special interests. Foreign billionaires are hiring front groups to swamp the hearings to block the Northern Gateway pipeline project.

DETROIT—After kicking the tires on a shiny new train system, the Motor City has decided to take the cheaper bus instead.

This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Mayor Dave Bing suddenly abandoned a roughly $600 million plan to build a light-rail line along a key corridor that supporters had insisted would attract new residents and jump-start economic growth. Instead, they proposed a less-expensive plan for a network of express buses to deliver workers from the city to the job-rich suburbs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204844504577100660265044228.html

Marbury is in a great space: his own driver, an apartment in Beijing in the equivalent of the Wall Street district and a team that could help him win his first pro basketball championship.

"It’s beautiful when you can tell your own story," he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/sports/basketball/stephon-marbury-finding-success-and-serenity-in-china.html?pagewanted=print

When ESPN.com reported on Tuesday that the Celtics would be willing to trade point guard Rajon Rondo for the right player, it surprised anyone who had seen the sixth-year player's mastery of the team's system in recent years.

Ainge, the sources say, has recently discussed trading Rondo in a deal that nets Paul, but the Hornets don't appear interested in a two-team deal in which Rondo -- who has four years worth approximately $46 million left on his contract -- and Paul would switch places. So Ainge has been on the prowl for a third team that could provide the sort of young pieces Hornets general manager Dell Demps would covet as part of his possible rebuilding plan. The more pressing question, of course, is whether Paul, who can become a free agent after this season, would consider signing an extension with Boston.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/11/29/chris.paul.celtics/index.html

It is a sport in which the contestants sometimes lie down in the middle of the field, unmotivated and bemused.

"You have to get the cat to focus on the toy," said Anthony Hutcherson, who raises Bengal cats in Port Tobacco, Md., and whose oldest cat, Justin, has run the course in nine seconds. "Cats will pretty much chase a feather on a string anywhere."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/sports/in-feline-agility-competitions-the-biggest-obstacle-can-be-the-cat.html?gwh=0B4F97FD3C09861D62CCF389DD610E41

* no extend-and-trade
* no sign-and-trade for teams that are paying luxury tax
* less lucrative Bird rights
* no player options for max deals
* 4-year contract length (5 for Bird deals)
* 3-/4-year midlevel exception
* one contract amnesty per team
* "stretch" multi-year expensing for contracts of cut players
* etc.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/sports/basketball/what-nba-could-be-like-under-a-new-labor-deal.html?hp

Austin Daye discusses playing in Russia, getting acclimated to Moscow, and hoping for a resolution to the NBA lockout.

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/zarrabi/2011/11/10/austin-daye-im-eager-to-come-home/

A faction of 50 N.B.A. players is threatening to dissolve the union if it compromises further on player salaries. The league is facing an equivalent threat from a trenchant group of owners, who are vowing to oppose any deal that gives players more than 50 percent of revenue.

The owners’ faction includes between 10 and 14 owners and is being led by Charlotte’s Michael Jordan, according to a person who has spoken with the owners. That group wanted the players’ share set no higher than 47 percent, and it was upset when league negotiators proposed a 50-50 split last month.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/sports/basketball/hard-line-factions-threaten-latest-nba-negotiations.html?hpw