Broker payments face scrutiny

Some of the UK's leading stockbrokers are participating in commission deals on international share trades that are seemingly to face scrutiny by the City regulator, over concerns regarding conflicts of interest.

Let's really save Half Dome

Environmentalists everywhere are concerned with saving stuff. They are conservationists; they want to conserve things, like mountains and peaches. They are true conservatives, battling with an overreaching government and its allies in private business in an effort to keep the land the way it was.

Talk about original intent! Environmentalists are all over it.

But now along comes this organization called SaveHalfDome, and it wants to save Half Dome by anchoring another cable into its bare and lovely flanks. In what sense does that save Half Dome? It makes it easier for more people to daily flock to the summit, each person degrading the experience of all the other people.

Or such is my experience. When I want to go out into the wilderness, I do not want to do it with seven tour buses full of strangers. I want a few close friends, maybe just one close friend, and a lot of quiet hiking and gazing. It ain't no movie premiere, if you know what I mean.

Environmentalists, in my experience, wish to be far from the madding crowd, particularly when that crowd is, in addition to being as crazy as a rabid Jack Russell terrier, mad.

Half Dome is, as I understand it, a schlep. Were it an ordinary sort of place, you'd go there to see the view and to say that you had done it. But there are two cables in the mountain already. People swarm up and down those cables. It's a 17-mile round trip, and people are often tired, thirsty and questioning their decision-making ability before they even reach the rock. Reports have reached me of snappish behavior.

Snappish behavior and wilderness appreciation - not a great combo.

Plus: Death lurks on every side. The drop-offs on either side of the cables are sheer in places, and the number of useful handholds smaller than would be ideal. In other words, it's a place where fewer people, not more, should be encouraged to spend their leisure time.

And yet, according to a story by Peter Fimrite in this very newspaper, SaveHalfDome exists in order to lobby for a third cable, which would, as it sees it, permit more people on the dome every day.

The problem here, I think, is frustration with the reservation system. You have to buy a spot on the mountain - I think that's where the whole wilderness-experience thing begins to break down - and the ticketing mechanism is subject to manipulation by the unscrupulous. Buy in bunches, sell on Craigslist, good old American capitalism at work. It's unfair, of course, but most things involving tickets in this country are unfair. If you're a regular person and you don't know any rich people and you can't afford those what-the-market-will-bear prices, then probably you're going to see your favorite entertainer from row QQQ - unless your favorite entertainer works Tuesday nights at Freight & Salvage.

But here's the thing about Half Dome - it's sort of like star-boffing. Yosemite is a big place, and it's surrounded by the Sierra, which has miles of unoccupied trails and mountain peaks for every taste. Why do Half Dome? Yes, in the abstract, it's a great climb and a great view, but we don't live in the abstract. We live in a world where mobs of people attempt to ascend the summit of Half Dome every day.

It's like Everest, in a way. Everest has lots of ladders and bridges made of ladders and rope lines and everything to help the traveler along, plus Sherpas who are on hand with advice and drayage, and people still die every year. Put more people on Half Dome, even with a third line, and more people will die.

Make it easier for the marginally fit to attempt a climb way above their pay grade; bad things will happen. This is not a particularly arcane prediction.

Anyway, it's not going to happen. The Park Service won't even consider a third cable. Part of its job is to preserve and maintain wilderness areas, and a third cable is more like a tourist value. There are plenty of perfectly lovely places in the Sierra for people to go without endangering themselves or others. Half Dome has been saved.

Let's save Mount Rushmore by putting an elevator up Lincoln's nose.

The sea, which such a storm as his bare head, in hell-black night endured, would have buoy'd up and quencht jcarroll@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page E - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Yoko talks candidly about John Lennon's death to Anderson Cooper

In a very candid conversation with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Yoko Ono talks about her last day with John Lennon, what is was like at the hospital when he died, how she went into denial after his death and how he should be remembered. You can see excerpts of the conversation in the video at left. 

Cooper even brings up the name of John's murderer, mentioning the autograph he got from John and discusses with Yoko her feelings about him being paroled. Yoko, of course, says she doesn't want that.

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Liam Neeson Replaces Mel Gibson for Hangover 2 Cameo

How do you cure a hangover? Call in the A–Team.

Liam Neeson is now doing a cameo in The Hangover 2 after Mel Gibson's appearance got canceled due to complaints by cast and crew. Neeson was invited by his A-Team costar Bradley Cooper, who's also in the Hangover sequel.

"I just got a call to do a one-day shoot on Hangover 2 as a tattooist in Thailand, and that's all I know about it," Neeson tells Daily Variety. "I just laughed my leg off when I saw The Hangover, I was shooting in Berlin earlier this year and rented it on the hotel TV."

Neeson left his New York home on Thursday for the Hangover 2 set.

RELATED: Did Zach Galifianakis Want Mel Gibson's Hangover 2 Cameo Canceled?

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Spanish World Cup team wins Prince of Asturias prize

In what is regarded in the Ibero-American world as an equivalent of the Nobel Prizes, the Prince of Asturias prize in sport went to the Spanish World Cup team.  Ethics as a basis for overcoming the economic crisis was the focus at the 30th annual awards ceremony in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo.  HRH Crown Prince Felipe encouraged his fellow Spaniards to strengthen their institutions, “to seek moderation where excess has reigned” and to observe “ethics where there has been abuse” in order to overcome the crisis.  The coach of Spain’s champion soccer team, Vicente del Bosque, said that his squad, has made “modesty a weapon as powerful as its own dazzling style of play.”  He also stated the following:

“The team that is receiving the Prince of Asturias Prize today is the repository of values that go beyond specific successes and their material value, but is also the legitimate heir of a tradition that does us honor.”

Del Bosque was accompanied by 10 players from the 23-man squad, including captain Iker Casillas, to accept the award.  The sports award is one of eight Asturias prizes granted each year in categories such as arts, literature, communications and scientific research.   Rafael Nadal is a previous winner of the award.  TRH the Prince and Princess of Asturias were on hand, as well as HM Queen Sofia.

Want to read more of the latest royal news? Then hit the "subscribe" button at the top of the page! You can also follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

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Alex McCord: Salahis Ruined Real Housewives of DC

After watching the second hour of the Real Housewives of DC reunion, I have to agree with Mary – this season was hijacked. The antics of the Salahis and their absolute refusal to take responsibility for any of their actions, was amazing.

Now that we've all seen the sit-down, now that there has been an opportunity for Tareq and Michaele to open up and try to redeem themselves, can we please pull the plug on them? When faced with direct statements from the Redskins, the Congressional Black Caucus, the White House, etc., this couple stated that everyone lied. You know, one person could lie. Perhaps even multiple people connected to one event could all stick to a made-up story. But when every single story you hear about a couple is dismissed as a lie or a smear, you stop believing them. I know I stopped a good while ago.

It's really sad that an entire season can be overshadowed by one couple's bad behavior. I wanted to see more fun events, more interpersonal drama, more of the minutiae of these women's lives. That's what makes the Real Housewives shows fun. I want to see more of Lynda and Ebong's relationship, and Rich and Mary dealing with the closet, the dog and the daughter. Let's watch Erika go after Cat, or Cat torture Republican lobbyists – all of that is much more fun than watching someone lie over and over again.

I think that by the time the show producers and Bravo figured the Salahis out, it was probably too late. The entire season revolved around everyone else's reaction to "Bonnie and Lied."

There is one silver lining here. The polarizing effect of the Salahis probably sped up the bonding among the other women. Stacie, Cat, Mary and Lynda had immediate common ground – and that's not something you can say about all the other shows. If the DC franchise is renewed, the ladies will come from a stronger place having been through the coup d'Salahi. I hope they get that chance, with a new Housewife and without Michaele.

For more about The Real Housewives of D.C. and New York City, visit BravoTV.com. For more on Alex, including her book, Little Kids, Big City, visit her Web site or follow her on Twitter

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TJ Lavin Is Speaking, Breathing on His Own

TJ Lavin has taken some big steps on the long road to recovery.

The BMX rider and MTV host is now able to breathe and be fed without tubes, which were removed Thursday. And now he has started mumbling words to his family.

"He's answering questions," friend and business partner Chas Aday tells PEOPLE. "He'll say 'yes' a little bit and he knows where he is, but he's not opening his eyes yet."

Lavin, 33, has been in the trauma unit of a Las Vegas hospital since Oct. 14 following a horrific bike crash that led him to be put into a medically induced coma to reduce brain swelling.

RELATED: TJ Lavin Will Recover with Help of 'Good Karma,' Pal Says

Though doctors don't expect brain damage from the crash, Lavin will likely need to attend rehab in order for his brain "to get it back to normal," says Aday.

Doctors have yet to set a timetable on when Lavin could be released from the hospital. First, the three-time X Games champion will need surgery on his shattered wrist.

"We're waiting on the orthopedic surgeon on when they're going to do that," Aday says. "Then we'll see when he'll be [released]. He may be there another week."

Still, Aday remains positive about Lavin's recovery, saying, "We're moving along and everything is looking up."

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