- How does a regime known it has drastically overstepped its bounds and gone above and beyond the call of duty in oppressing the basic human rights and freedoms of its people? When a call for restraint and fairness comes from freaking Iran, that’s how. That advice goes out to you, Syria, because Iran - which happens to be your closest ally - has called on your government to recognize your people’s “legitimate” demands. Iran’s remarks came Saturday from Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, and are the first such comments from Iran since the five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad started. If anyone knows oppressing people and ripping their basic rights, it’s Iranian despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and if his government is cautioning Syria to dial it down a notch, then the situation has clearly gotten out of hand. There is, of course a heavy dose of irony in Salehi’s remarks given Iran’s own unyielding crackdown on its dissidents. Even though Salehi did not advocate any specific changes, the fact that he had the chutzpah to say anything shows that Iran is as delusional as its Persian Gulf pal. It’s a picture-perfect example of, “Hell Mr. Pot, this is Kettle. You’re black.” On the other hand, Iran is just one of several nations in the region who are becoming increasingly concerned that Syria’s crisis could soon extend beyond its borders. Assad’s unrelenting quest to snuff out a determined opposition movement has only stoked the fire of dissent thus far and even as Iran joined the chorus of critics on Saturday, the violence continued as Syrian security forces opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators across the country, killing at least three people, according to activists. “The government should answer to the demands of its people, be it Syria, Yemen or other countries,” Salehi stated. “The people of these nations have legitimate demands, and the governments should answer these demands as soon as possible.” Salehi also warned of dangerous regional implications if the crisis in Syria was not solved peacefully, once again ignoring the identical situation going on in his own country. The United States and members of the European Union have called on Assad to step down and are weighing sanctions against the Syrian government and individuals and groups seen to be aiding it. In another ironic twist given Salehi’s comments, the European Union announced that it was putting sanctions on the secretive Al Quds wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, saying it was providing technical and material support for Syria’s crackdown on demonstrators. Seems that Iran might need a nice, long look in the mirror before issuing any further governing advice………….
- Keep it coming, rest of the world. Keep letting the United States know how FAT it is because that message is obviously not registering with the American people. The latest shameless attempt to pile on comes from the British medical journal the Lancet, which has predicted that, based on current trends, half of the adults in the United States will be obese by 2030 unless the government makes changing the food environment a policy priority. In a report released this week, the journal advocates changes that include making healthful foods cheaper and less-healthful foods more expensive largely through tax strategies, along with significant changes in the way foods are marketed. Those recommendations came from an international team of public health experts who also argued that the global obesity crisis will continue to grow worse and add substantial burdens to health-care systems and economies unless governments, international agencies and other major institutions take action to monitor, prevent and control the problem. The panel cited the creation of an “obesogenic” environment (an awesome term and a bitchin’ Scrabble word if you can manage it) in which personal willpower and efforts to maintain a healthful weight are largely impossible. That point is absolute bullsh*t, by the way, because it’s yet another means of excusing orca-FAT individuals for failing to take responsibility for their own condition. In other words, the international scientists who put this report together are part of the problem and may or may not be part of the eventual solution. The solution proposed in the report centers on revising the current weight-loss philosophy that reducing calorie intake by about 500 calories a day “will result in slow and steady weight loss of about 0.5 kg (about a pound) per week.” This line of thinking, researchers contend, fails to account for the way the body adapts to changes as a person ages. Specifically, the older a person gets, the fewer calories they can consume in order to lose weight or maintain weight loss. To address this concern, the report argues that weight loss should be viewed over a longer period of time and proposes a new “approximate rule of thumb” for an average overweight adult: that “every change of energy intake of [about 24 calories] per day will lead to an eventual bodyweight change of about 1 kg (just over two pounds) . . . with half of the weight change being achieved in about 1 year and 95 percent of the weight change in about 3 years.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. The bottom line is this report wants to blame governments for abdicating the responsibility for addressing obesity to individuals, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations. If a person is too weak-willed and undisciplined to put down the triple cheeseburger and hot-fudge sundae and get off the couch for a little exercise, then that is one them and not their government. A person who wants to eat unhealthily will find a way to do so no matter what taxes and governmental measures are put in place…………
- Technology and sports are becoming increasingly intertwined, from a larger role for instant replay in many sports to ginormous video boards dominating the scoreboard at most every pro and major college venue. It makes sense, then, that the growing popularity of tablet computers would impact the sports world in some way. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are leading the way on that front, with the NFL’s youngest head coach embracing the tablet revolution and using it to usurp one of the oldest of old-school football practices. For decades, coaches have been handing out playbooks to players and using binders and paper to distribute the offensive, defensive or special teams formations and play calls. Bucs coach Raheem Morris has elected instead to use iPads to provide his players with playbooks and after convincing the front office to invest $50,000 or so in tablets for 90 tablets for players and coaches. Not only will tablets make it easier to sync up information and make changes without having to print out and distribute new play sheets to players, but Morris sees another benefit of using the devices. “You’ve got a way to wipe [everything] off with the push of a button,” Morris said of the possibility of a player losing his playbook. Of course, the flip side of that debate is tablets can be hacked without a person ever coming into physical contact with the device. But the Bucs have clearly decided those risks are manageable and other NFL teams are likely to follow suit and embrace the digital age. The comedic potential is immense, with old-school coaches and older, less tech-savvy veteran players trying to embrace and understand how to operate their iPad. Maybe, just maybe, going to tablet playbooks will give the Bucs the boost they need to get over the hump and make the playoffs after finishing 10-6 last year and just missing the postseason…………
- The Marine Corps Ball in San Diego is going to be a star-studded event this year……and hey, Kristin Cavallari is going to be there too. After Marines extended invitations to Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake and had their prayers answered when both stars said yes to the request, Marine Jonathan Burkett decided to aim a little lower and shoot a request to former "Hills" cast member - and current parasite on the entertainment world because she won't accept that her 15 minutes are up and just go away - Cavallari. Burkett tweeted, "Wanted to know if you want to go the Marine Corps Ball with me in San Diego?! Would make a video but still deployed!" He followed with a second tweet, "Could have your friends come too and all go out in San Diego. Figured it would be a good time and its close by!" Burkett sent his tweets out to his “celebrity” crush on Aug. 25 and has already received an answer from Cavallari, who is newly single after the termination of her relationship with Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Perhaps not so surprisingly, Cavallari accepted, replying, "Would love to! When is it?" Of course she accepted; what else does Cavallari have to do right now? Sure, there are rumors about her becoming the latest D-lister to join the next season of ABC’s reality ballroom dancing show "Dancing With The (D-List) Stars," but is that really an upgrade over accompanying a brave Marine with questionable taste in women to the Marine Corps Ball in beautiful San Diego? Heading to the ball with Burkett on Nov. 17 is a brilliant play for Cavallari because she can hang with a couple of actual celebrities who will already be there, get some positive PR for her good deed and parlay that into even more reality TV opportunities. Or she might start a trend of lonely Marines picking out attractive, no-talent former reality cast members and inviting them to the ball. Either way, sounds like a win for all……….
- Don’t f*ck with sea lions, all. They may seem cute, quirky and fun-spirited when you see them at the zoo or Sea World, but they aren’t to be taken lightly and some of them are definitely rolling with a chip on their shoulder (even if sea lions don’t happen to have shoulders in the human sense). Just ask the unidentified couple who were attacked by one especially angry sea lion while swimming off of Venice Beach Thursday evening. The couple was out in relatively deep water, swimming just at 6:30 p.m. when the woman was bitten on her left leg by the sea lion. When the man saw his wife being attacked, he quickly swam over to help. The sea lion then turned its rage on a new target and the man was bitten on his hands, feet and head. The couple, described as in their 60's, were transported to a hospital for treatment. There is concern that the sea lion might be diseased and doctors, concerned about the possibility of infection, treated the victims with antibiotics. Thankfully, both victims have already been released from the hospital and are expected to make a full recovery. As for the angry, rogue sea lion, Los Angeles County Lifeguard officials say this is the first time they've heard of a sea lion attacking anyone in the local waters. Well, if it was going to happen anywhere, the nonstop freak show that is Venice Beach would be the place. In case this does signal the start of a major, concerted effort by ticked-off sea lions to exact some revenge for some of their brethren being captured and shanghaied into indentured servitude by amusement and water parks over the years, humans should probably formulate a plan of counterattack…………
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