- When American politics fulfill their potential, it is a
beautiful thing. Take as a prime example, a group that may as well be called
the
"unicorners." These lovers of mythical creatures commonly found near
rainbows and birthday parties for 5-year-old girls are a liberal group that
claims it has collected more than 19,000 e-mails requesting Arizona officials
to confirm Mitt Romney is not a unicorn. This pertinent question has been raised
in response to efforts by "birthers," who continue to raise the already-settled
issue of whether President Barack Obama meets the Constitution's requirements
for citizenship. The so-called “unicorners” are officially known as Left Action
and they are demanding truth on the issue of whether or not Romney is a magical
horse-like creature with a single horn sprouting from his forehead. "I
feel like we've tried logic with the birthers for too long," Left Action
founder John Hlinko said Wednesday. "Now it's time to take their arguments
to the logical extreme to show how absurd they are." The entire debate
sounds absurd, but it’s not, and not only because unicorns do exist and Romney
just might be one. Dating back to before Obama's election in 2008, some
conservatives have questioned whether he was born in the United States. If he
wasn’t, he would be ineligible to serve as president. Despite evidence to the
contrary, these kooks have refused to budge from their position, buoyed by
support from prominent Republican figures. Pompous windbag, comb-over king and
Rosie O’Donnell eviscerater Donald Trump led a campaign on the birther issue
last year and raised the issue again last week. When challenged by CNN beard
champion Wolf Blitzer on the issue, Trump turned the tables after being called
ridiculous. "You are, Wolf," Trump fired back. "Let me tell you
something, I think you sound ridiculous." And so the issue stays alive and
it may be the only way to ascertain Romney’s unicorn or non-unicorn heritage.
Simply put, questions such as this are why American politics exist………
- Birds: Amazing creatures of flight to be admired or simply be
dinosaurs that never grew up? That question was tackled in a recent study by
wicked-smaht researchers from Harvard University. These Ivy Leaguers compared fossilized
skulls of juvenile dinosaurs with those of birds and found remarkable
similarities they believe indicate that arguments about birds being evolutionary
descendants of dinosaurs are accurate. Evolutionary biologist Arkhat Abzhanov
of Harvard and his team theorized that rapid maturation altered the expression
of genes, changing the physical characteristics of the animals and keeping them
much smaller in size. He pointed to the fact that at least 22 bones are found
only in birds and dinosaurs, and in no other animals. Past expeditions have found
fossils of feathered dinosaurs, fossils of dinosaurs with other bird-like
features, and fossils of primitive birds with dinosaur-like features. It is the
similarities in the skulls of juvenile dinosaurs and adult birds they examined
that pushed Abzhanov’s team toward its conclusion. "We examined skulls
form the entire lineage that gave rise to modern birds," Abzhanov said.
"We looked back approximately 250 million years, to the Archosaurs, the
group which gave rise to crocodiles and alligators as well as modern birds. Our
goal was to look at these skulls to see how they changed, and try to understand
exactly what happened during the evolution of the bird skull." He and graduate
student Bhart-Anjan Bhullar used CT scanners to examine dozens of skulls from
various birds and dinosaurs. They tracked changes in skull structures over the
years anf found that dinosaurs’ snouts grew longer and their heads grew flatter
as they aged. However, the skulls of juvenile and adult birds are remarkably
similar. Abzhanov and Bhullar labeled the evolutionary changes that produced
birds as a phenomenon known as paedomorphosis. "We can see that the adults
of a species look increasingly like the juveniles of their ancestors,"
Abzhanov said. "When we look at birds, we are actually looking at juvenile
dinosaurs." The study’s findings are published in the latest issue of the journal
Nature……...
- Soccer rarely gives the world anything of worth. It’s
the flopping-filled, soft-to-the-core sport played by long-haired, one-name
prima donnas who fall to the ground as if they’ve been shot any time an
opposing player passes within 10 feet of them. Too often, it turns in 0-0
(nil-nil in soccer terms) ties in which the offensive firepower on the pitch
(the field) is as absent as former Ass Hat in Chief W.’s ability to correctly
pronounced the names of foreign leaders. But every once in a while, soccer does
something positive. Sunday was one of those days. During the Soccer Aid game
in Manchester, England, professional soccer players competed alongside
out-of-shape celebrities and quite frankly, one of the most awesome plays ever
to occur on a soccer field took place. Gordon Ramsay, the loudmouth, blowhard chef
and host of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen," was wandering slowly across the
pitch when he f suffered a particularly hard tackle from former professional
soccer player Teddy Sheringham. Sheringham blasted Ramsay from behind and the
chef went down like a sack of potatoes. Unable to get back up, Ramsay became
quite possibly the first soccer player ever to actually be injured and require
medical assistance. He was carried off the field with an oxygen mask on ended
up in the hospital. He somehow survived his injuries and tweeted out his appreciation
for the support of his fans when he was released from the hospital on Monday. "Thx
4 all the messages. Out of hospital after receiving amazing care from medics at
ground & hospital. Bit sore but fine Gx," he wrote. The day was a
dangerous one for the celebrities in the game, as Will Ferrell also suffered a
leg injury during the same match, which raised $6.4 million for the charity
UNICEF. Perhaps Ramsay can parlay his injury into some sympathy as he
begins to promote
the upcoming seasons of his two Fox shows, the 10th season of "Hell's
Kitchen" and the third season of "MasterChef," both of which
premiere on Monday…………
- Morocco: Where fairness is not welcome and hypocrisy
always has a home. On one hand, the northern African nation is hosting its
annual Mawazine
international music festival with nine days of showcasing some of music’s
biggest names (and has-beens) like Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. After 11
years, the "Rhythms of the
World" festival in the capital Rabat has come to symbolize the inherent
contradictions in Morocco’s social and governmental policies. The country
spends millions of dollars to lure major artists to perform at generally free
concerts, yet most of its populace lives in poverty. Not only that, officials
have spouted a message of freedom of expression as the theme of this year’s
festival despite the fact that one week before the festival began, Human Rights
Watch slammed Morocco for sentencing a rapper to a year in prison for lyrics
deemed insulting to police. Somewhere, the members of NWA are shaking their
heads, as are the hundreds of rappers around the world who have vented against
The Man in their songs. Morocco can have Elton John and Shakira perform, but
Lord forbid it allow a no-name native rapper to speak his mind. "Morocco
hosts one famous international music festival after another each spring, but
meanwhile it imprisons one of its own singers solely because of lyrics and
images that displease the authorities," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Mideast
director of Human Rights Watch. "Morocco should be known as a haven for
world music, not for locking up singers with a political message." The man
at the center of the lyrical sh*t storm is Moroccan rapper Mouad Belghouat,
known as El-Haqed, or "The Enraged." He was convicted on May 11 of
"showing contempt" to public servants with his song "Dogs of the
State" about police corruption. In the aftermath of his conviction,
dissident poet Youssef Belkhdim was convicted of attacking police at a sit-in
he organized in support of Belghouat and sentenced to two years in prison.
Coincidentally, both men belonged to Morocco's pro-democracy February 20
movement that saw thousands take to the streets in protest. Some of those same
streets have been packed the past few days with festival goers at the $7 million event funded largely by
corporate sponsors with strong ties to the state. "It's a celebration.
It's a celebration of the city, a celebration of Morocco and it reflects a bit
Morocco's good life to the world," said program director Mahmoud
Lemseffer. "It is a vehicle to present the image of our country, of its
hospitality and tolerance." Tolerance? This guy has to be joking…………
- What the frak is going on with metal rockers Queensryche? Fans
of the band would definitely like to know in light of a few recent incidents of
supposed intra-band drama. The first alleged hiccup came on May 13 with reports
of an alleged altercation among some of the band's members prior to taking the
stage at an April 14 show in Brazil. That report claimed that four members of
the band - guitarists Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren, bassist Eddie Jackson
and drummer Scott Rockenfeld – informed singer Geoff Tate he was being fired.
Tate allegedly assault two of his bandmates in retaliation. All was apparently
quiet for two weeks, but at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Okla., during
Memorial Day weekend, Tate addressed the crowd during the band’s set, telling
them, "You guys suck." Despite a few forced chuckles to show he was
allegedly joking, Tate continued, "C'mon! I know it's Sunday. You've gotta
go to work tomorrow. You're gonna let that stop you? My God. You only live
once, man… Anyway, nice to be here on a Sunday." A video of his remarks
spread quickly on YouTube and shortly thereafter, news broke through various
metal sites that Wilton, Rockenfield, Lundgren and Jackson were forming the
band Rising West with Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre, and would play
material from Queenryche's first five albums at Seattle's Hard Rock Cafe on
June 8-9. The band was supposedly going to hit the studio this summer, but la
Torre muddied those waters with a statement in which he insisted he wasn't
leaving Crimson Glory. "I am embarking on another musical endeavor with
the members of Queensryche. I am proud and honored to be a part of this!"
his statement said. "Crimson Glory is still writing new material for our
record, DO NOT WORRY :) This is going to be an amazing new chapter. \m/ Thank
you for all of your support!" A Queensryche spokesman tried to spin the
situation by saying Tate is focusing on his “solo acoustic material” while the
other members of the band embark on a side project. Sure enough, Tate is headed
out on a solo tour and the drama is far from resolved………
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