AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT

* The Orioles have signed a famous Japanese pitcher (famous there anyway) this spring and he has been quite a sensation already down in Ft Lauderdale. As you can see in the photo Koji Uehara is drawing a bunch of media - and about all of them are from Japan.

In Japanese baseball he was twice recognized as the best pitcher of the year and even though now 34 years old folks expect he will perform well for the O's. At least we hope so. Since pitching is in such demand in major league baseball, and especially with my losing team, the fans are thrilled to see him. It's gotten so bad the last few years that even I was offered a chance to pitch for the O's.....but turned down a $2 million offer so I could keep organizing......not.

* We are getting ready for our monthly Addams-Melman House potluck supper here today and have added a new twist to it - game night to follow the food. Suddenly people are coming out of the woodwork to attend. Little do they know that I won the Japanese award for best checker player twice in my career......not. The problem we have tonight is that the supper is at the same time a big snow storm, which is supposed to dump about eight inches more of the white stuff on us, is to hit. So only the hearty will show up. I hope they like checkers.

* I've got a busy week ahead. On Thursday five of us from Maine will travel south to Washington DC for the No Bases conference and while there we are also going to go to the March 2nd protest at the Capitol Hill coal power plant being organized by the Climate Change movement in the US. This protest is supposed to be big. I'll write more about it later this week. Three of us are taking the more carbon friendly Amtrak train to DC.