| Drugs chief: I quit after ministers failed me
Although Pearson announced his resignation earlier this year, few expected him to deliver such a devastating verdict on progress in the drugs war. His post as SCDEA director-general is unlikely to be filled for months. Pearson took up the job in March 2004 and he was not due to step down until 2010. He is credited with turning around the fortunes of the SCDEA, which seized Class A drugs worth more than £60m in the past 18 months. Explaining his reasons for stepping down in an exclusive interview with Scotland on Sunday, Pearson said: "The agency has never been fully staffed and I would say, on average, is about 10% down on what it should be. "One of the problems is that some of the forces find it difficult to release staff to us because the pressures, at force level, encourage forces to keep them there.
Lone rangers
The dating websites of five European countries have organised the Olympics of speed-dating. Singles Week has seized the French ski resort of Avoriaz by her breasts - and I am here, wearing a bobble hat. So what is it like, this cold buffet of Euro-love? When I arrive in Avoriaz, it looks like a pile of snow covered with Stasi interrogation bunkers. It appears to be empty. So I stumble to the tourist office, convinced the man of my dreams is waiting, in a matching bobble hat. Everything is covered in hearts and it is very cold. The singles, I am told by a snooty Parisian blonde, are all "air-dating". Air dating? Speed-dating on ski lifts. She waves me to the Wall. The Wall is covered with Polaroids of singles from France, Italy, Germany, the UK and Holland. They look out grimly, like missing persons, or persons with something missing.
10 Was graffiti sign to blame for child's tram accident?
A signpost that is high in the air (presumably to prevent it being vandalised ironically) was probably out of his field of vision. If he couldn't hear or see a tram approaching he can't have been paying attention to anything around him. Forgetting the child for the moment, my feelings go out to the driver, who is probably badly affected by this incident - more so if it turns out to be fatal. .
John McCain’s Vice Presidential Not-So-Short List
John Hawkins lists 24 candidates that John McCain might conceivably pick as his running mate with synopses as to the pros and cons of each. I'm rather sure the eventual choice is on that list, as there's nobody that I've heard of who isn't. Indeed, there are several people I haven't heard of on it. Frankly, the available choices are rather uninspiring. There are good reasons for bypassing each of McCain's big name opponents (Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee) and there aren't a lot of Republican governors who already come with name recognition. .
Don’t mess with Texas: NBA Southwest betting preview
The Warriors didn't expose any type of blueprint to beat Dallas. All they did was play their game – something the Mavericks didn't do. The books have the Mavs as a 4-to-1 favorite to win the championship and list their season win total at 57 ½ – the highest on the board. Sixty-seven wins probably won't be duplicated but 60-to-63 seems like a good bet. I'll cautiously take the over. Houston Rockets
52-30 SU, 38-43-1 ATS, 42-40 O/U The Jeff Van Gundy era is over in Houston and it's about time. I never understood the logic of having a defensive coach with offensive personnel. It'd be like making Chuck Daily the coach of the Phoenix Suns. The big wigs in Houston must have figured this out because Van Gundy's replacement is a man with a plan.
On Show 2004
The last four months of every year are jam-packed full of the latest cycling bikes, frames, parts and widgets, all rolled out and shown off at the main trade-shows of the year. Eurobike, EICMA, and especially Interbike, all attract the cycling world like bees to a honey-pot, with the major companies keeping their next-year's products tightly under wraps until at least one of these shows. As we do every year, Cyclingnews will have our reporters scouring the aisles of the shows on the lookout for the newest, best, shiniest and silliest products on display. Photographs, reports, and even a few interviews are in store, so keep your eyes peeled, and your bank-managers at the ready, as we go On Show for 2004. Show dates Eurobike Friedrichshafen: Sept 2-5
EICMA Milano: Sept 17-20
International Cycle Show UK: Sept 23-26
Interbike Las Vegas: Oct 4-8
Bicycling Australia show: Oct 20-24
Japan International Cycle Show: Nov 19-21 back to top .
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