- My prediction for the fight? Pain. That seems to be the
philosophy for General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi,
Egypt's armed forces chief, when it comes to the country’s current political
crisis. Speaking about the crisis, al-Sisi warned that the crisis "could lead
to a collapse of the state.” He posted those words on the military's
Facebook page and cautioned that such a collapse could "threaten future
generations.” Before the words became public, the military deployed a large
number of troops in three cities along the Suez Canal where a state of
emergency has been declared. So far, more than 50 people have died in recent
weeks as a result of protests and violence. Port Said is the current flashpoint
for much of the drama because of death sentences handed down to 21 participants
in soccer riots last year that left 74 dead and many more injured. President
Mohammed Morsi imposed a curfew to slow the violent reaction to the sentences,
but thousands of people in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez ignored the curfew and
took to the streets Monday night to rage against the machine. In response,
al-Sisi attempted to both threaten those rising up and instill a sense of
confidence in Egyptians about the capability of their military. "The
continuing conflict between political forces and their differences concerning
the management of the country could lead to a collapse of the state and
threaten future generations," said al-Sisi, who is also Egypt's defense
minister. He added that the challenges facing Egypt represent "a real
threat to the security of Egypt and the cohesiveness of the Egyptian state.”
Despite being not-so-covertly threatened by a high-ranking military leader,
Egyptians can undoubtedly feel reassured to know that the military deployment along the Suez Canal is meant only
to protect the key shipping route, one of Egypt's main sources of foreign
revenue, according to al-Sisi. Arguably the most humorous part of an otherwise
humorless situation is the fact that the current unrest stems from a soccer
match. Granted, it is a soccer match in which fans of the local club al-Masry
brought weapons to a game, were allowed to carry them by security officials
also sentenced to death and then attacked when stadium workers shut off the
lights over the section housing fans from rival club al-Ahly, but it’s still
soccer. Oh, and feel free to view this as further proof that Americans are wise
when they purposefully have nothing to do with the sport……..
- That didn’t last long. Rob Ryan looked like he had himself
a new gig last week when the St. Louis Rams reportedly decided to hire him as
their defensive coordinator. Ryan, who boldly (and foolishly) proclaimed after
being fired by the Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 8 that he would “be out of work for like five minutes,”
seemed to have landed a new gig running the defense for head coach Jeff Fisher.
Multiple media outlets ran with the story and there seemed to be no reason to
doubt it…until today, when the Rams changed their mind and reversed field on
Ryan. After a second meeting with the bombastic Ryan on Monday, the team’s
coaching staff determined that his addition was not a good "scheme
fit," according to Fisher. The veteran coach pointed out that the team
never made an official announcement on the hiring of Ryan, but it’s rare that a
coach is all but hired only to have that chance yanked away like Lucy pulling
the football back from Charlie Brown’s right foot. Never mind Ryan’s faulty
math about being unemployed for five minutes; he wasn’t able to keep his new
job that he never officially had for five seconds. Ryan may have been one of
the scapegoats in Dallas after owner Jerry Jones said he would make major
changes to a team that finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs, but the fact that
he has now gone three weeks and counting without finding a new job suggests
that there is something off-putting about him. The Rams didn’t even have a
defensive coordinator this season after defensive coordinator Gregg Williams
was suspended by the NFL for his role in the New Orleans Saints' bounty
scandal. The Rams broke Williams off earlier this month and judging by the way
they dispatched Ryan, no team in the NFL is more proficient at turning away
unwanted coaches than St. Louis……..
- FAT people, here’s some evidence for you to use in your
never-ending effort to avoid eating healthy food items. According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach and kale
accounted for the most food-borne illnesses nationwide from 1998 through 2008.
While dairy products accounted for the most hospitalizations and the most
deaths were linked to poultry, obese folks who prefer Taco Bell or the local
all-you-can-eat buffet over a salad and grilled chicken breast will undoubtedly
point to the dangers of leafy greens as another reason they can’t stop
consuming unhealthy sh*t. Even though CDC food-borne disease expert and lead
study author Patricia Griffin said the study isn't meant to be a "risk of
illness per serving" list for consumers, 687 percent of people tend to
make up facts and statistics and use them for whatever serves their purpose. Whether
or not regulators and the food industry use the findings to improve food safety
remains to be seen, but Griffin insisted most meals are not a health hazard. "The
vast majority of meals are safe," she said. "Eating them (leafy
greens) is so important to a healthy diet. They're linked to reduced risk of
heart attacks, stroke and cancer." For the study, Griffin and her team examined
4,887 outbreaks that caused 128,269 illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths when
the food that caused them was known or suspected. CDC epidemiologists found
that leafy greens accounted for 23 percent of illnesses and dairy products 14
percent. Leafy greens received a boost when the study’s focus shifted solely to
hospitalizations, where dairy products were responsible for 16 percent of
hospitalizations followed by leafy vegetables at 14 percent and poultry 12
percent. A total of 277 people died from food-borne illnesses linked to poultry
and 140 from illnesses linked to dairy products during those years. Combined
with the ongoing implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, which requires
the Food and Drug Administration to focus its regulatory efforts on the
highest-risk food products, the study should create some traction in gaining a
greater focus for food-borne illnesses, which tend to have their spotlight
stolen by more high-profile maladies…….
- Add another entry to the list of kooks who believe they
have seen the Almighty in a random place in nature or on a piece of breakfast
food. Rebecca Archer of Albuquerque,
N.M. is the latest fool to delude herself into believing that heaven has come
down to Earth on a piece of toast or in a pile of grass clippings. Archer was
doing yard work with her husband outside their northeast Albuquerque home when
they found what they (delusionally) believe to be an image of the Virgin Mary
inside one of the tree limbs they were clearing. "I see a picture of
Mother Mary. No mistake,” Archer said. "It almost became a split log for
the fireplace. I am so grateful that it didn't.” The Archers believe the
(non-existent) image of the mother of Jesus was hanging over their house for years
without them even knowing. As with so many gullible fools who fall for this
sort of nonsense, Archer is facing various stressful life situations and
latched on to the supposed miracle as a positive sign in her search for a job
as well as encouragement after her mother passed away a few weeks ago. She
views the (not really there) image as a positive sign for her job search and a
source of hope in a time of personal loss. As Archer tells the story, the image
is complete with a halo, veil and a well-known likeness of a sacred heart. "I
think it's because she knows, she needs to be here for us right now," she
said in explaining the (fake) appearance of Mary. Rebecca Archer plan to keep
the log on the fireplace mantle next to her mother's urn and she and her
husband plan to build a special box to store the branch in. Lots of luck
finding in the many miracles that sawed-off piece of lumber will bring,
kook……..
- The last thing a person wants to do in a difficult time in
their life is to lose perspective and make outrageous claims or statements. A
bad day is no reason to say something regrettable that may haunt you for the
rest of your life. No one understands this better than pop singer Chris Brown,
who occasionally takes time away from assaulting women the feud with other
musicians the very way he’s beefing with fellow pop singer Frank Ocean at the
moment. Brown and Ocean reportedly got into an altercation over a parking space at a recording studio in West
Hollywood Sunday night and Brown is accused of punching Ocean during the resulting
fracas. Aside from serving as proof that famous people are just like the rest
of us and fight over stupid sh*t, the incident has yielded yet another
forgettable public moment for Brown. In response to the heat he is taking for
the fight, Brown took to Instagram on Monday and posted a photo of Jesus on the
cross with the caption, “The way I feel today,” later adding, “Focus on what
matters!" What should matter to Brown, aside from possibly violating the
terms of his probation for beating up on-again, off-again lady friend Rihanna
in 2009, is that he now appears to be a delusional kook who believes that he is
being persecuted like the Son of God. Brown does not appear to have been tried
and wrongly convicted for crimes against the Roman Empire and crucified on a
cross alongside two common criminals, so his Instagram photo seems off base.
Instagram users were largely divided over the image Brown posted, with some
mocking his use of Christ-centric imagery in response to a fight over a parking
space while others asked for patience and understanding for their favorite
singer. Police say Brown was one of six men involved in the brawl at the
Westlake Studio around 8 p.m. and he allegedly became enraged after Ocean
refused to shake his hand after the two had a verbal pissing match over parking
lot protocol. Ocean allegedly laughed at Brown and in response, Brown punched
him in the face. "Got jumped by chris and a couple guys. lol. I only wish
everest was there," Ocean later wrote on Twitter, referring to his dog. The
beef between the two is long-running and Ocean, a member of the rap duo Odd
Future, hasn’t backed down from Brown in the past. Brown’s habit of fighting
with his peers is becoming disturbingly frequent and his fight at a Manhattan
club last year with Drake nearly left San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker blind
in one eye. At least this time, no one nearly had an eye put out………
No comments:
Post a Comment