Now Commenting On:

Inflammation in elbow keeping Francisco off mound

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Though Frank Francisco reported to camp punctually on Tuesday, lingering health issues may prevent him from toeing a rubber any time soon.

It's a situation that could ultimately cost him his job.

Francisco, the incumbent closer, said that his right elbow is still inflamed following the operation he underwent in December to remove a bone spur. The right-hander tried throwing last week, without success, and the training staff has since advised him to cease all activity until the inflammation subsides.

He cannot estimate when that might be.

"I don't know," Francisco said. "The trainers are going to let me know when. We're going to talk and see day by day how I feel, how I progress, and then we'llTo put it crudely: The U.S. poisoned the planet for vanity projects.

The Iraq war, too, Hussain writes, “led to a spike in carbon dioxide emissions through U.S. military activity, it resulted in the widespread poisoning of the Iraqi environment through the use of toxic munitions and the same so-called burn pits on military bases that were used in Afghanistan.”

The injustices of invasion include environmental destruction. Hussain explains:

In addition to emitting millions of tons of carbon dioxide during the war, the U.S. military footprint contributed more directly to the immediate destruction of the Afghan environment. Deforestation has accelerated amid the chaos of the war and, through trash burning and other means, the U.S. armed forces released toxic pollutants into the air that are blamed for sickening Afghan civilians and