- Your move, Iran. The United Nations Security Council voted Wednesday to impose new sanctions on your nation in order to convince dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and crew to suspend the country’s nuclear program. President Barack Obama seemed pretty pumped up about the sanctions, calling them "the toughest sanctions ever faced by Iran." His views were not shared by Ahmadinejad, who pulled out a curious and illogical analogy by likening the penalties to a "used handkerchief that should be dumped in a garbage can.” Now maybe something was lost in translation there, but to me, that comparison just lacks punch, panache and Ahmadinejad’s usual menacing presence. "They cannot harm the Iranian nation," he added of the sanctions. The vote was nearly a clean sweep for proponents of the sanctions, 12-2 in favor of them with Lebanon abstaining. Only Brazil and Turkey opposed the sanctions, which was expected going into the vote. This is the fourth set of measures against Iran since 2006 and based on past experience, I’d guess these aren’t going to achieve their intended purpose either. "True security will not come through nuclear weapons," Obama said. Obama then piled on by mocking Iran as the only signer of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty "that cannot convince the IAEA that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes." The IAEA would be the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, which serves as a nuclear watchdog for the world. After the vote, Obama and various Iranian leaders traded barbs, with the Iranians arguing, as always, that their nuclear program is for peaceful, energy purposes only and Obama refuting every one of those arguments. Prior to the vote, Iran warned that it would break off negotiations with the United States and its allies if new sanctions were put in place and now, it’s up to them to make good on that threat. Bottom line here is that we simply have more of the same and everyone in the world remains convinced that Iran wants nuclear capabilities to bomb the s**t out of Israel, nothing less. The true question is when we will hit the breaking point that pushes Iran over the edge and pushes it to become openly and irrevocably hostile to the world at large in such a manner to commence World War III. I know my man Kim Jong Il and North Korea are watching because that’s a distinction they very much want for themselves…………
- Rip them as unoriginal, say that they’ve gone nowhere but downhill since their debut album, but you can no longer call New York City rockers The Strokes dormant any longer. The band ended a three-and-a-half-year hiatus Wednesday night, performing a surprise show in London, their first public performance since October 2006. Rumors about the show spread throughout the early part of the week, but the band attempted to keep the gig quiet and low-key by booking it under the fake name “Venison.” Still, true fans got word of the show and were treated to a lengthy, 18-song set that didn’t feature any new material but is still being hailed as a positive sign that the long-promised fourth album from the band is on the way. As for the crowd, it was exactly what The Strokes wanted, a 500-person gathering that was filmed and has made its way to YouTube, where it hasn’t exactly gone viral yet but is still drawing plenty of attention. All told, the band sounded solid after three-plus years off and banged out old favorites like “Is This It” without much trouble. In the weeks ahead, The Strokes will hit up several festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, including a gig in Chicago at Lollapalooza in August. Now all that’s left to determine is whether they can win over detractors who have been ripping them as being on the decline ever since their 2001 debut album. That feat will be tougher than a surprise underground gig before 500 fans and will also take significantly longer…………
- As the debacle in the Gulf of Mexico continues to unfold, the question of what to do with oil-coated marine life lingers on and will likely continue to linger for months to come. For the most part, we’ve seen oil-soaked birds and dead fish floating in the gulf, but not a lot of attention has been paid to some of the other denizens of the sea, including turtles. But sooner or later, turtles harmed by the oil will begin surfacing and when they do, they will likely end up at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Fla. And why will they end up there? Because the Turtle Hospital is the only licensed turtle hospital in the U.S. "I can honestly say we're as prepared as we can possibly be," said Ryan Butts, a staffer at The Turtle Hospital. The hospital has two new 30,000-gallon tanks ready for a possible influx of sea turtles injured by oil and tar from BP's burgeoning underwater plumes of death. "The oil will weigh them down, but they usually are strong enough where they can stay buoyant and they will float. Eventually, the toxins in the oil are what will eventually do them in," Butts said. In other words, just because no injured turtles have surfaced yet in the Gulf, don’t take that to mean there aren’t any. Workers don’t know when affected turtles may begin arriving at the facility, but when they do roll in, a plan is in place. Workers at the hospital plan to clean oil from the turtles using mayonnaise, which is made of mostly oil and eggs. "It will actually bond to the oil on the turtle, and you put it on there, bond it, wipe it a few times, and you can actually wipe it off," Butts said. Besides having oil sticking to their exterior, some marine wildlife experts are concerned that turtles might mistake tar patties for food and eat them. Also, over time the crude oil could contaminate sea grass habitats and create difficult living conditions for turtles in coastal areas. Yes BP, the hits just keep on coming for you………….
- In the real estate game of today, a seller must do anything he or she can in order to make a for-sale property seem as attractive as possible to potential buyers. Fibbing, exaggerating or outright lying are commonplace and all too often, those buyers show up to find a property that is nothing like the one they read about online. When you factor in the component of realty listings on a notorious scum magnet like Craigslist, well……I think you can see where this might go a bit wrong. However, it appears that one dubious ad on the site is in fact legit…..sort of. The add screams "LIVE LIKE A PRESIDENT!" in the Morningside Heights apartment President Barack Obama crashed in when he attended Columbia University. "YES LIVE WHERE PRESIDENT OBAMA LIVED !!!" the listing boasts. "TRUE STORY." Funny thing is, the claim is true. The New York Times did some digging and confirmed that Obama once lived in the small apartment. He resided there while earning his undergraduate degree from the Ivy League school on Manhattan’s Upper West side, graduating in 1983. So the presidential vibe in the place may be very faint, but that doesn’t make the asking price any lower. It’s still Manhattan and so a two-bedroom, one-bathroom second-floor apartment located on West 109th Street that will become available on June 15 will run you $1,899 per month. However, the pad does feature "great light, big windows," hardwood floors and a kitchen furnished with "new appliances and cabinets." Real estate agent Dalila Bella is the woman you want to talk to, but she wants would-be buyers to know that the apartment is still occupied by the soon-to-depart tenants. If interested (and I’ve been through this neighborhood; it would be a nice place to live, near Morningside Park), an open house is scheduled for June 12. So all who have a hankering to live in Manhattan but can’t afford a pricy Trump-owned property in midtown Manhattan, this could be your chance……….
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