A British scientist has come forth to reveal that she is Belle de Jour, the anonymous blogger whose stories of life as a call girl were turned into the television series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl." The woman's identity had been a well-kept secret for many years. On Sunday, however, Dr. Brooke Magnanti revealed the truth about herself because she was afraid that an ex-boyfriend would expose her.

Magnanti, 34, is a specialist in developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology in a hospital research group at the University of Bristol in western England. She turned to the sex trade in 2003 while finishing up her Ph.D. when she ran out of money.

Magnanti told the Sunday Times of London that when she could no longer pay the rent, she asked herself:

"What can I do that I can start doing straightaway, that doesn't require a great deal of training or investment to get started, that's cash in hand and that leaves me spare time to do my work in?"

She revealed that she worked as a $450 per hour call girl for an escort agency for more than a year, and decided to keep an online diary. This online diary forms the basis of three books and the TV series starring actress Billie Piper, which airs in the UK and on Showtime in the US.

#1 Seeded Vikings Have Inside Track at NCAA Tournament Berth

Cleveland State is hosting the 2009 Horizon League volleyball tournament. The winner of the tournament is will be awarded a berth in the NCAA Tournament field of 64. The Vikings have an inside track at the berth with a #1 seed and home field advantage. Here is the entire schedule of action next weekend.

(all matches at Woodling Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio)

Friday, Nov. 20 -- quarterfinals
Match 1 -- #3 Milwaukee vs. #6 Green Bay -- 5:00 p.m. ET
Match 2 -- #4 Butler vs. #5 UIC -- 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 21 -- semifinals
Match 3 -- #1 Cleveland State vs. lowest remaining seed -- 1:00 p.m. ET
Match 4 -- #2 Valparaiso vs. highest remaining seed -- 3:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, Nov. 22 -- championship
Match 5 -- Match 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner -- 1:00 p.m. ET

Click Here for the press release from the HL.

Click Here for the bracket.

See what I mean? Mayor Frank Jackson wants to charge $9.25 a month, or $111 a year for garbage pickup. Hitting the little guy because he’s afraid of tapping those who paid his campaign bills.

This is GARBAGE, Mayor Jackson! The same will go a weak-kneed City Council if it, as is likely, go along with it.

Is there a council member who has any regard for the people of Cleveland?

Jackson is trying to play a game by saying that he’s following a report of experts that are as bad as he is. See Henry Gomez’s story about Jackson’s tax your garbage GARBAGE: http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2009/11/cleveland_mayor_frank_jackson_7.html

I wrote the other day how politicians don’t go to the well off or the rich for tax increase, they go to the little guy. Regressive tax upon regressive tax. This is a tax! I outlined tax after tax that slams the little guy while the wealthy enjoy low taxes. Please take a look :http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/11962

Mayor Jackson has made a mistake that I hope wakes up some people in Cleveland. People should be angry. Damned angry.

Mayor Jackson, you can’t even pick up the garbage with the high, unjust taxes paid in Cleveland. This is a new low.

Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters has given the disclaimer not to judge his 2009-2010 team early and that is a good thing. The young Vikings took one on the chin tonight in Western New York falling to St. Bonaventure 72-62. The Vikings had only one lead all evening (2-0) and allowed an astounding 17-22 (77.3%) shooting from the floor in the first half in the loss.

Norris Cole lead the Vikings with 13 points in the losing effort. Aaaron Pogue and Jared Cunnigham both scored 11 points and grabbed 9 boards in solid debuts as Vikings. Trevon Harmon, who had a hot hand all preseason went scoreless and heralded sophomore Nigel Ajere was notably absent from the contest leaving the frontcourt of the Vikings thin.

The Bonnies shot 16 more free throws in the contest than the Vikings in the victory and were led by Jonathan Hall's 20 points and 8 boards. Heralded center Andrew Nicholson added 17 points and 7 rebounds.

The Vikings will host Division III sqaud Wilmington at 11:30 a.m. on Monday for the teams home opener.

The battle between Jon Gosselin and TLC continues to worsen. Jon has now officially filed a $5 million lawsuit against the television network, claiming that TLC damaged his reputation and career.

He is upset that TLC would not let him host parties or make public appearances for fees, and claims that TLC contacted various outlets and persuaded them not to hire him for anything.

Gosselin's attorney, Mark Heller, says:

"Their behavior has caused Jon great anguish and it has caused him financial losses. They had a cadre of lawyers so they had a one-sided agreement."

Jon Gosselin also claims that TLC still owes him $175,000 for shows that have already aired. He is supposed to get $22,500 for each half hour episode and $40,000 for each one-hour special. He says the network stopped paying.

Jon is due in court on December 14 for TLC's lawsuit against him.

The Cleveland State basketball program starts its regular season tonight against Saint Bonaventure. Bonaventure loos like it will be an improved team this season after a .500 finish last season. The Bonnies feature Andrew Nicholson who stands 6' 9'' and was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year last season. The Vikings are finding themselves learning on the fly with only two starters back and four players who gave big contributions in a season that won over the city with wins against ranked opponents such as Syracuse, Butler, and Wake Forest, who fell to the underdog Vikings in dramatic fashion in the NCAA Tournament last season.

Republican Party chairman Michael Steele told Republican National Committee staff to immediately put an end to providing RNC employees with insurance for elective abortions. After learning of the abortion coverage from a news report, late Thursday evening Steele issued a statement:

"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose. I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled."

According to RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho, Steele then instructed staff to let their insurance carrier know that the RNC wished to opt out of the elective abortion coverage. Gitcho said the policy had been in effect since 1991.

Traditionally, the GOP platform includes strong anti-abortion language. In a recent vote, all House Republicans, except for one, voted for an amendment that would impose restrictions of coverage for abortions in the health care bill passed by the House last Saturday.

Inclusion of abortion restrictions prompted backlash from liberal House Democrats, who are threatening to vote against a final bill if the restrictions are included.