- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Sudan isn't only feuding with its
former friends who seceded and formed the new nation of Southern Sudan, it is
also tearing apart from the inside. Both the government and the president found
themselves on the receiving end of some pointed rage from their constituents
throughout this past week. The uprising culminated in violent clashes Saturday
between police and protestors who gathered to demonstrate against
government austerity measures and call for the president's ouster. An increasing
number of angry Sudanese have rallied in the capital against government
spending cuts and other measures over the past seven days and many of them were
angry enough to lob rocks at police, burn tires and police trucks and block off
roads. Friday’s festivities began after Friday prayers, with crowds pushing for
the toppling of President Omar al-Bashir. "Leave, Bashir, leave!"
they chanted. "Khartoum, people, please revolt against humiliation and
dictatorship." That led to head of Sudan's police force having a little
Saturday refresher course with his officers on how to deal with riots, groups
targeting property and arbitrary road closures by protesters "in
accordance with the laws." Gen. Hashim Osman Hussein also made a public
plea with citizens to "cooperate with the police in doing its job to
enforce the law aimed at securing the homeland and its citizens.” Bzzzzzzzzzz!
Wrong-O, Gen. Hussein. If the people need to rise up and brawl with The Man to
make their voice heard, so be it. Officers responded with a typical show of
excessive force, detaining a number of opposition figures and using batons to
beat down as many protestors as possible. None of Saturday’s excitement would
have been possible without a televised speech on state media last week in which
al-Bashir pleaded with citizens to understand the new harsh austerity measures,
which lifted fuel subsidies and cut the Cabinet by half to reduce expenses.
Instead, opposition groups continued the buildup toward their vow to hold mass
rallies June 30, when the ruling party celebrates 24 years in power. Looks like
more good times are straight ahead……….
- Major League Baseball now has its own bounty problems. Well,
assuming that players putting a $5,000 bounty on knocking a baseball out of the
park is a problem. That’s the amount Philadelphia Phillies closer
Jonathan Papelbon paid teammate Jim Thome for saving the Philadelphia Phillies
on Saturday after Papelbon blew a two-run lead in the top of the ninth inning. Thome,
in his 22nd season and set to turn 42 later this year, hit a pinch-hit home run
leading off the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Phillies to a 7-6 win over
the Tampa Bay Rays after Papelbon blew his first save chance in 18 tries this
season. Prior to Thome stepping to the plate as a pinch-hitter, Papelbon
informed him in the on-deck circle that he would give him $5,000 if he hit a
homer. "That was a huge pickup by Jim Thome," Papelbon said. "I
couldn't be happier for anybody in the clubhouse." Papelbon said he wrote
the check in the clubhouse while admitting he needed to step his game up for
the struggling Phillies, who are four games below .500 and 8.5 games out of
first place in the National League East. "I've got to do a better
job," Papelbon said. He needn’t be too harsh on himself, as the outing was
the first one in which he allowed earned runs in a save situation this season.
Thome, as he had done 12 times previously in his Hall of Fame-bound career, homered
to win the game. His opposite-field blast off Jake McGee for home run No. 609
tied Sammy Sosa for seventh place on baseball's career list. "You never
forget them," Thome said. "These are moments you never know how long
you'll have them." Maybe Bud Selig doesn’t need to look in to this
particular bounty after all……….
- Kooks of PETA, it has been not long enough. Your
kook-tacular ways are never welcome, never sensible and never worth anyone’s
time. So when a
number of animals at a Duluth, Minn. zoo were killed amid flash flooding, it
was only a matter of time before People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stuck
their nose in the middle of a tragedy and demanded that the zoo be held
accountable for a natural disaster. Right on cue, PETA issued a press release
calling for “appropriate charges” in response to the deaths of several animals
at Lake Superior Zoo earlier this week after zoo workers reported several
barnyard animals — which included a donkey, sheep, and goats — were killed
Wednesday morning. A mini-horse named Darla was the only barn animal from the
zoo that survived, although a number of other animals escaped their enclosures
during the flooding, including Berlin the polar bear and Feisty and Vivian, a
pair of seals. Why does PETA want charges pressed against zoo employees?
Because apparently they should have been aware of the danger their animals
faced due to flooding from the nearby creek two years ago. “The zoo failed to
take necessary action to safeguard these animals’ lives, and those responsible
must be criminally charged,” said Daphna Nachminovitch, vice president of
cruelty investigations with PETA. Vice President Ass Hat and her cohorts
believe the zoo violated Minnesota’s cruelty-to-animals statute and now, they
want someone to pay…………
- It was a “Brave” new world at the movies this weekend as
the animated flick from Disney debuted in first place, making $66.7 million in
its first weekend. “Brave” trounced the competition and was the first part of a
two-pronged animated grip on the top of the earning list, followed by “Madagascar
3: Europe's Most Wanted” in second place. By adding another $20.2 million to
its coffers, “Madagascar” upped its three-week total to $157.6 million.
Newcomer and historical abomination “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” scored a
third-place finish in its opening weekend with $16.5 million, a modest
beginning for a much-hyped movie. “Prometheus” fell two spots to No. 4 and made
$10 million to boost its three-week domestic total to $108.5 million. Tom Cruise’s
portrayal of an ‘80s rock star continued to not impress audiences as “Rock of
Ages” dipped to fifth place, making $8.2 million for a two-week haul of $28.7
million. Sixth place belonged to “Snow White and the Huntsman,” which notched
an $8 million take and has fairy-taled its way to $137.1 million in one month
of work. Not surprisingly, the last terrible Adam Sandler movie, the
bomb-tastic “That’s My Boy,” went from fourth place in its opening weekend to
seventh place in its second weekend, managing just $7.9 million and a two-week
total of $28.1 million so far. “The Avengers” ranked eighth and added $7
million to its ginormous cumulative total of $598.3 million and counting. “MIB
3” held down the ninth spot with $5.6 million, while the Steve Carrell-led newcomer
“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” wrapped up the top 10 with $3.9
million. “Moonrise Kingdom” (No. 11), “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (No. 12)
and “Battleship” (No. 14) all dropped out from last week’s top 10…………
- Raise a glass, mothers-to-be. Science now says it’s OK
for you to consume a low or moderate level of alcohol in early pregnancy. A
Danish study suggested one to eight drinks a week was not linked to developmental
problems in 5 year olds. Granted, the study was done in a country where, “Have
another beer” is pretty much the national mantra, but never mind that. In
Denmark a standard drink has 12g of alcohol and lead authors Ulrik Schiøler
Kesmodel of Aarhus University and Prof Erik Lykke Mortensen of the University
of Copenhagen wrote in their findings that women should be able to safely drink
no more than one or two units, once or twice a week. Binge drinking during
pregnancy is still a bad idea, what with being inked to miscarriage, fetal
alcohol syndrome and low birth weight, but drinking in moderation is not,
according to Kesmodel and Mortensen. More than 1,600 pregnant women took part
in the study after being recruited at their first antenatal visit. Half of them
were first-time mothers and more than 500 were dumb enough to smoke during
their pregnancy. However, this study was not about excoriating them for their
stupidity and was instead about asking them questions concerning their alcohol
intake. For purposes of the study, low average consumption was defined as one
to four per week, moderate as five to eight drinks and high levels as nine or
more per week. Binge drinking was defined as having five or more drinks on one
occasion. During the study, researchers measured the effects of alcohol on IQ,
attention span, executive functions such as planning, organization, and
self-control in the five-year-olds who took part. For mothers who engaged in low
to moderate weekly drinking in early pregnancy, there was no significant effect
on neurodevelopment of children at the age of five. There were likewise no
differences in IQ test results in children whose mothers drank one to four
units per week or five to eight units per week in pregnancy compared with
children of abstaining mothers. However, mothers who downed more than nine
drinks per week had children with a significantly lower attention span. "High
prenatal exposure to alcohol has consistently been associated with adverse
effects on neurodevelopment,” Kesmodel and Mortensen wrote. "Areas such as
intelligence, attention and executive functions have been found to be
particularly vulnerable. Our findings show that low to moderate drinking is not
associated with adverse effects on the children aged five." So instead of
pouring one out, mothers in waiting can down pour one (or two) down the hatch
and not be worried about harming their baby………..
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