- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Today’s edition is domestic and it features some very angry Philadelphians who are none too happy about fracking. Fracking, of course, is the process of initiating and subsequently propagating a fracture in a rock layer, by means of a pressurized fluid, in order to release petroleum, natural gas, coal seam gas, or other substances for extraction. The controversial process poses a myriad of enviornmental concerns and a group of 2,000 people showed up Thursday morning the Philadelphia’s city center to protest the natural gas industry and fracking. The city is the site for a gathering of heavy hitters in the natural gas industry and thus a prime target for a protest. After former Pennsylvania governor and industry consultant Tom Ridge opened the convention by calling for an “energy revolution” that will help release the United States from the “vicegrip of our dependence on foreign oil,” protestors stole the show by turning out en masse and making their voice heard. They wanted no part of Ridge’s call for a heavier reliance on natural gas and other homegrown sources of energy for the United States and his claim that such a paradigm shift is vital to national security. Ridge, in turn, dismissed protestors’ concerns about the environmental and public health impacts of drilling as “phony hysteria.” As protestors gathered for their demonstration outside the convention center, some of the whinier members of the group shared their stories with media members covering the protest. The chief concern seemed to by the possibility of contaminated water due to fracking, with some protestors claiming their homes’ tap water already contains more than double the allowable limit of barium and nearly four times the limit for strontium. Rather than embrace the prospect of free extra minerals in the water and the possible benefits of consuming barium and strontium (which have to be healthy, right?), these complainers are lashing out. Still, anyone who cares enough about an issue to show up on the street for a protest can’t be all bad, so rage on, anti-frackers, rage on…………
- Any time the words “Courtney Love fills in for” and the next two words aren't the name of some equally camera-whorish, attention-starved, musically mediocre soul, that is what is typically called a trade down. Even if the person Love is filling in for is the bloated, downward-trending frontman of what used to be a great rock band but is now a shell of its former self, the move is still a negative one. Thus, condolences to those who attended a launch event for New York Fashion Week on Tuesday expecting to see Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil perform. Instead, those assembled were informed that Neil was ill and had lost his voice, meaning he would not be performing at the One Model Management 10th anniversary party at the Hiro Ballroom. Instead, Love and her band Hole were tabbed to play instead and the crowd was subjected to…..well, what Hole mistakenly calls rock music. Love, famous solely because she latched on to Kurt Cobain’s rising star and rode it until Cobain’s tragic death (and has continued to do so beyond as much as she possibly can), put on a truly forgettable show in which she was able to dedicate the song 'Skinny Little Bitch' to her 19 year old daughter Frances Bean Cobain.
In a truly touching moment, Love explained that the Bean was “my f**king only child” before adding, "I'm so glad she didn't get that nose job." Aww, what a touching moment. Considering the tempestuous relationship between mother and daughter, that might actually pass for a heartfelt moment. Frances Bean Cobain has been under the guardianship of Kurt's mother since 2009, when she and her mother had a falling out. Love also recently spoke about her heroin addiction, which she has kicked but which she claims happened after attending a party at actor Charlie Sheen's house. All in all, the night was a disappointing knock-off for everyone who thought they were going to see a once-good, has-been rock star perform and try not to lose his breath on account of being über-FAT and instead saw a never-was, camera whore, gravy trainer do her thing…………
- Do Droid users really need another gadget to further accessorize their smartphone? Verizon is banking on it with the debut of a Lapdock accessory for the Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone. Verizon began selling the device for Thursday and for a mere $300 it can be yours. Depending upon who you ask, the idea is either revolutionary or an abysmal concept destined for epic failure. In short, the Lapdock extends the capabilities of the Droid Bionic's dual-core processor by adding an 11.6-inch display and large keyboard, adding the capability to edit documents and email, browse the Web and view videos. The Lapdock requires Motorola's Webtop software, which was introduced in January but has not been highly publicized since. Both the Lapdock and requisite software will also be offered for the Motorola Atrix 4G smartphone sold by AT&T and the Motorola Photon 4G device sold by Sprint. Motorola cited a positive reception to the Lapdock among customers and a Motorola Mobility spokeswoman forecasted a sunny future for the device. "We have seen that many consumers appreciate the portability and convenience of the built-in keyboard and larger screen that the Lapdock provides when it comes to sending email, browsing the Web and multi-tasking with their phone," the spokeswoman stated. Motorola believes the Lapdock will appeal to both consumer and business users, although the $300 price could be a deterrent for some. While its security policies and productivity features are seemingly business-friendly and its GotoMeeting feature could help a remote Bionic user quickly find a bigger display to view presentations on the Lapdock, paying that much for a makeshift laptop when most businesspeople already have a lapper of their own may be a non-starter. Even with an HD station for home use that allows for the sharing of photos and videos, Motorola appears to be taking a major risk. Verizon has priced the HD Station at $100, which is at least a cheaper option than the Lapdock itself. Whether this is the next step in the evolution of the smartphone and something all iPhone, Droid or BlackBerry users will soon demand is up for debate, but Motorola certainly isn't waiting around for more information…………
- Now is not an optimal time to be a member of the New York Giants defensive unit. Well, if you value your health and well-being, it’s actually a terrible time to be a Giants’ defender. If earning a million dollars or more to wear street clothes and stand on the sideline because you’ve suffered a season-ending injury, then the Giants are the team to play for. The preseason has wreaked havoc on the G-Men and the defense has borne the brunt of that burden, losing nearly half of its starting 11 to major injuries. Prior to this week, the defense had already lost linebacker Clint Sintim, tackle Marvin Austin and cornerbacks Terrell Thomas, Bruce Johnson and Brian Witherspoon to season-ending injuries. Additionally, defensive end Osi Umenyiora will miss Sunday's season opener as he continues to recover from arthroscopic knee surgery and cornerback Prince Amukamara, the Giants' first-round pick, is out indefinitely with a broken foot. The news got worse Wednesday, when the team learned that starting middle linebacker Jonathan Goff will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, suffered during practice Monday. Giants coach Tom Coughlin admitted the blow was a harsh one but did his best to put a positive spin on another major setback for his team. "You do have your moments," the Giants coach said. "We didn't find this out until late in the afternoon and we had to move fast and think fast and make some decisions there. Not under the best of circumstances, but nevertheless, that is what we are charged with, so here we are." Less than five days from their season opener against Washington, the Giants must now decide how to fill yet another gap on their defense. They could bring back a former Giant like Kawika Mitchell, Chase Blackburn, Dhani Jones, Keith Bulluck or Phillip Dillard, or they could sign former Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu, now a free agent. No matter who they bring in, the obvious question is how quickly that player can get up to speed. "It depends on the individual and their recall," Coughlin said. "But it would take naturally a little while." For now, rookie Greg Jones will start against the Redskins and hopefully avoid snapping a knee ligament or tearing an ACL……………
- If you can read this, congrats. That means that you’re ahead of the curve on International Literacy Day, a day whose focus is helping those around the world who don’t read so good. Every year, the world comes together and seeks to shine a light on the power of literacy as a tool for personal empowerment and a means to total human development and every year, the world ignores the occasion and continues its violent uprisings, wars and attempts to stave off financial ruin. With nations across the Middle East and Africa locked in bitter civil wars and uprisings and many others on the brink of financial collapse, odds are this year’s International Literacy Day will go by largely unnoticed as well. Should anyone actually pay attention, they will learn that this year’s celebration is all about the need to adopt the REFLECT model for adult education, which somehow is supposed to be an acronym for Freirean Literacy Through Empowering Community Techniques (FLTECT). REFLECT (or FLTECT) is a system that is supposed to identify and plan literacy lessons without using primers and other predetermined reading materials which have to be produced every year at huge costs. In other words, its purpose is making literacy cheaper and more effective to the masses. That way, they can read insightful tweets about things like inserting the name of various breakfast foods into band names, athletes bashing each other’s personal appearance and famous people whining about how hard their lives are. Countries around the world, especially those where illiteracy is still a major issue, are being called upon to adopt the REFLECT model so their people can read and write and according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizatio, that is still a relevant problem. Current UNESCO statistics show that one in five adults is still not literate and about two thirds of them are women of which 67 point four million are out of school. Let’s band together, world, amidst looking for new ways to blow each other up, and make sure everyone is able to read and write at a basic level…………
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