- The New York Jets are laying the groundwork in case they
get the ass-kicking this Sunday that the entire football world believes they
will suffer. As they prepare to face the New England Patriots, the Jets don’t
look or sound like a 3-3 team in a four-way clusterf*ck of a tie in the AFC
East that is taking on another 3-3 AFC East team for a shot to grab first place
in the division. Calling the Jets the worst 3-3 team in the NFL doesn’t seem
unrealistic given how much they have struggled this season and with their best
playmakers out on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball due to
season-ending injuries, the high-octane offense of the Patriots could leave
them on the wrong end of a world-class curb stomping. Linebacker Calvin Pace is
among the Jets defenders who could be humiliated in Foxboro on Sunday and he is
already seeking out excuses in the event that happens. "It's borderline illegal because sometimes the guys aren't always
set when they snap the ball," Pace said of the Patriots’ up-tempo offense
mirrored after the style the Oregon Ducks use for their own explosive offense. "But
it's smart. Why not hurry a team up? I wish we would do it. For a defense, it
just puts pressure on you." The Jets have attempted to mimic the approach
in practice this week, but simulating the breakneck pace Tom Brady works at is
difficult. Several Jets defenders commented on how quickly the Patriots ran
their offense two weeks ago against the Denver Broncos, when New England ran 94
plays and compiled a team-record 35 first downs. The Patriots commonly snap the
ball with more than 20 seconds left on the play clock, not allowing defenses to
substitute players between downs. "It's very difficult," linebacker
David Harris said. "You'll see defenses not even lined up and they're
already running a play. They get a lot of extra yardage because of it. It
causes guys to lose their mind. You can see it on film." Come Monday, what
the Jets may see on film is a series of shots of their backs as they chase
Stevan Ridley, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez racing into the
end zone……..
- Politics just became that much messier in Holyoke, Mass. Election
season is looming, mud is being slung in every direction and in Holyoke, the
lawsuits are flying. In this case, the lawsuit in question is being hurled at
Mayor Alex Morse over the city's needle exchange program. Council
members want the program shut down not because it is ineffective or doing harm,
but because they weren't included
in the July decision to approve the program. The program is simple, yet
inherently controversial because users can bring in a needle and get a sterile
one back. Because Holyoke has the third highest infection rate for HIV and
Hepatitis among Massachusetts needle users, it is also a necessary program even
though opponents argue it promotes drug use. Tapestry Health runs the needle
exchange program for the city, so angry council members can't argue that city
personnel are being dragged away from their jobs to run it. “This program is having an immediate
effect at reducing transmissions and it's very disappointing to see that,
especially for the City Councilors that support needle exchange, why they would
sign on to a lawsuit that could potentially shut the program down,” said
Timothy Purington, director of prevention services for Tapestry Health. The
company and Morse argue that the program helps to dispose of used needles
safely and properly so they don't end up out on the streets. Council member Daniel
Bresnahan does not agree and doesn’t seem happy that Holyoke has become an epicenter of programs for the sick and poor.
As always, when someone is unhappy in America, they can’t wait to go to
court……….
- War is looming in Europe – economic war, that is.
European leaders are gathering for a
summit in Brussels and as they make their way to the Belgian capital, these men
and women are lobbying hard for their point of view on the economic issues
vexing the European Union. France is the angriest at the moment, pushing back
against Germany's call for a new EU czar with far-reaching powers to veto
countries' budgets. German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed Parliament ahead
of the meeting and endorsed a proposal for the EU's monetary affairs
commissioner to become an enforcer of the bloc's budget rules. Surrendering
financial autonomy is more palatable for a nation unlikely to have its budget
vetoed and clearly, bailing out other nations is getting old for the Germans.
Merkel hopes that having a "budget czar" will prevent overspending in
places like Greece and avoid the need for expensive bailouts. France, which
seems to have rebounded from Germany running roughshod over it during World War
II, is opposing the idea of handing control over its finances to unelected
bureaucrats in a foreign capital. "I am astonished that, no sooner does someone make a progressive
proposal ... the cry immediately comes that this won't work, Germany is
isolated, we can't do it," Merkel said. President Francois Hollande of
France was adamant that the idea is not even up for discussion at this summit. "The
only decision that we have to take, to confirm, is putting in place a banking
union by the end of the year," he said. "The first step is a banking
supervisor.” In Hollande’s view, having a banking supervisor will allow struggling
financial institutions will be able to tap Europe's bailout fund directly.
Nations such as Spain would benefit greatly from that sort of arrangement, but
making it happen will mean winning over a group of doubting nations that now
includes Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. Gathering 27 national leaders in
Brussels on Thursday and Friday guarantees nothing and even Merkel insisted Thursday
that "quality must come before speed" in setting up the bank
supervisor. France and Germany used to walk in lockstep on economic policy and
work together to persuade other EU members, but that was Hollande, a Socialist,
was elected. Jose Manuel Barroso, who is president of the EU's executive arm,
the European Commission, ripped the slowness to act of EU members nations on
the bank supervisor issue. "There is not all over Europe the same sense of
urgency," said Barroso. Both Greece and Spain, coping with major financial
crises, would like to see that sense of urgency increase. Protests are sparking
up across the continent and while discussions on complete overhauls for the EU
sound grand, more immediate solutions are what the union truly needs………
- A sequel zeros and zeros of people have been clamoring for
is moving forward even if one of its biggest stars won't be a part of it.
“Ghostbusters 3” is heading toward filming even though one of the stars of the
first two films in the franchise, Bill Murray, will not be involved. Director Ivan Reitman is planning to shoot the
project next summer after he completes a new Kevin Costner movie called “Draft
Day” and while Murray will not be present, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are on board. The first two films,
released in 1984 and 1989, look cheesy and out of date, but that doesn’t mean
anyone was demanding a new one to bring the franchise up to date. It should
have been a hint that the third film has been stuck in development for over a
decade, reportedly because Aykroyd and Ramis failed to come up with a viable
script. Maybe their inability to pen one should have been a hint that there
just wasn’t a story left worth telling. Akroyd finally announced in July and
said then that the project had been handed to a new writing team and one month later, he predicted that “Ghostbusters 3” would
go into production "in the next
year.” He also conceded that Murray was a long shot to appear in the film. "It's
sad but we're passing it on to a new generation. Ghostbusters 3 can be a
successful movie without Bill. My preference would be to have him involved but
at this point he doesn't seem to be coming and we have to move on. It's time to
make the third one." No, Dan-O, it’s not time for that third one and
Murray knows it. Maybe it’s time you learned that as well………
- There isn't yet an app for everything, but the world
moves closer to the milestone every day and tech firm Uber moved the quest
forward Thursday by announcing the release of a taxi-hailing app for San Francisco. After
an unsuccessful attempt to launch the app in New York City, Uber is taking its
idea to the Bay Area and now, those in need of a cab will be able to request on
via the Uber app, which is available for iOS and Android devices. The company
already offers sedan and SUV-hailing options, although taxis are probably a
more likely choice for most in need of a ride. "Uber is all about a
convenient and efficient ride," Matt Hearns, community manager for Uber
San Francisco, wrote in a blog post Wednesday. "Some folks might have a
tough time describing San Francisco taxis in such terms. Uber SF would like to
do something about that." With the app, users plug in their location,
request a cab and drivers in the area are able to see the post and respond. The
app’s work continues at the end of the ride, when the driver inputs the fare on
the meter into their Uber iPhone app, along with a 20 percent gratuity and $1
booking fee, all of which are charged to the user's credit card. Before a
driver can use the system, Uber personally interviews that person and keeps a
record of their name, phone number and copies of their taxi cards. Users can
rate drivers as well, allowing Uber to evaulate them for future usage. However,
Uber officials admit the project "is a bit of an experiment for our users" and will
be not a magic solution to San Francisco's taxi-hailing woes. With only 1,500
medallions that allow taxis to operate in all of San Francisco, no app can
magically cause more taxis to materialize out of nowhere. "It'll still be
tough to get taxi drivers to come pick you up during peak demand times,"
Hearns wrote. New York City could have been the pioneer for the app, but
opposition from the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission ultimately won out
over public demand………
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