I Still Don’t Believe Mets’ Owners “Knew” - George Vecsey

The great Times sports writer George Vecsey has been around New York baseball for a long time.  He has s somewhat sympathetic view of Messrs. Wilpon and Katz.  I don't know them.  I think they"should have known" that their good buddy Bernie Madoff was a creep: doesn't character show when you see people up close and over a long period of time?  
But I am nonetheless inclined to agree that greed blinded them - the Madoff constant (high) rate of return was rationalized: and they put themselves and their families at enormous risk - and, ultiamtely, great loss. - GWC
I Still Don’t Believe Mets’ Owners “Knew” - George Vecsey: "I think I am old enough to recognize a stricken look.

That is what I have seen on the faces of Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz in the past two years. They are of my generation – although a tad more wealthy – and I think I can tell the look of two people who felt betrayed by a friend. They have seen ruin and even death up close, to people they know.

Now they have settled their case, and perhaps they and the Mets can move on. Or not. But I come to this stage still unconvinced that Wilpon and Katz “knew” Madoff was cheating.

My belief is not based on their including Sandy Koufax in the Madoff web. That’s just one small piece of it.

I have read documents filed by the trustee, listing all the accounts held by Wilpon and his brother-in-law, Katz. The accounts are in the names of Wilpons and Katzes and other people clearly related to these two partners. The next generations, living mostly in favored suburbs of New York. "

'via Blog this'

Defend the Magnuson Stevens Act - and our wild fish stocks

From NRDC Switchboard

For the first time in a generation, fish populations are getting healthier – science-based management and rebuilding requirements have led to the recovery of 23 fish species since 2000, according to NOAA Fisheries. This list includes popular fish like New England sea scallop, which comprises the second most valuable commercial fishery in the country, and summer flounder, a favorite for recreational anglers and local seafood markets in the Mid-Atlantic.

And it’s all thanks to the bipartisan, 36-year-old Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that’s helped to bring America’s marine fish populations back from the brink of collapse.

That law, however, is under attack right now by fishing lobbying groups that have organized a rally in Washington, D.C. today.  Preserving the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) is the most effective way to keep fishermen fishing by ensuring that enough fish remain in the sea to spawn the next generation. 

In fact, recreational fishing trips have actually increased since the major conservation provisions were added to the law.  In the Mid-Atlantic, for example, the number of recreational angler trips increased by nearly one-third (from 15 million to nearly 20 million trips) from the 1990s, when popular fish species were depleted, to the 2000s, as fish species were recovering to healthy levels.  Most interestingly, while the number of fish permitted to be brought ashore was restricted to allow populations to recover, the overall number of fish caught (including those thrown back) kept increasing along with the growing number of fishermen. 

Peter, Nancy & George near the Russian River

i/a 2007?