- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Mali is the place and Tuareg
separatists who drove the Malian military out of Kidal 16 months ago are the
driving force in this story. These dissidents were back in the spirit of rising
up on Saturday, protesting against the soldiers' return to their northern town.
They gathered outside the camp where soldiers are staying while most locals remained
inside their homes for fear of violence the day after the Malian soldiers came
back to the town. Kidal has remained under rebel control months after the
French-led military operation in northern Mali, but the soldiers seem intent on
changing that. Their army is overwhelmingly made-up of soldiers from southern
Malian ethnicities and stands accused of carrying out reprisal killings against
Arab and Tuareg civilians in the other northern towns they retook earlier this
year. Those who marched out of the city to confront the soldiers are demanding
that the army leave, but that seems unlikely given the fact that Mali has a
presidential election scheduled to take place in just three weeks. Having an
important provincial capital in the hands of rebels while holding an important
election is notoriously difficult to do, meaning the army and its camp aren't
likely to go anywhere any time soon. With campaigning set to start for the
election, Mali's government on Saturday also lifted the state of emergency that
had been put into place back in January after al-Qaida-linked militants
attacked a series of southern towns. Election or not, the Tuareg separatists
seem intent on rejecting the army's presence and making sure they leave as soon
as possible. As Saturday’s protest took place, the city’s main market closed
and many residents stayed indoors to avoid danger. Kidal had remained in rebel
hands over the past six months despite a military intervention by French
fighters to free northern Mali. Tuareg rebels re-entered Kidal in February and
March of this year and have built roadblocks, collected taxes and continued to
seek an independent Tuareg state…….
- Chasing an NFL career is challenging for most any
athlete, let alone chasing one while juggling a commitment to the military and
death threats. Washington Redskins
fullback Eric Kettani is attempting to do all three. Kettani, an officer in the
Navy Reserve, revealed in a recent interview that he has received "hate
mail" for spending time away from the military to pursue a spot in the
NFL. The Navy has agreed to allow Kettani to work in public affairs for seven
years in the reserves while he tries to make an NFL roster. He spent time on the
New England Patriots' reserve/military list while serving three years of active
duty after his 2009 graduation from the Naval Academy before moving to Washington's
practice squad last season after being released by the Patriots. It is clear
that not everyone is a fan of his arrangement with the military. The hate mail
said, 'Go back to the military and what you signed up for,'" Kettani said.
"They have every right to say that." Despite the hate mail, he has
continued to pursue his dream and says he has no plans to stop now. "As a
child, everybody has a dream and my dream was to play football. I'm taking
advantage of that now," he said. Kettani has spent time on active duty,
including 6 ½ months
circumnavigating South America aboard the USS Klakring. "We were out there
surveilling and trying to find go-fasters … drug boats that were trying to
carry drugs from South America, Central America to the United States," he
added. Then in June, he invited Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and running backs
coach Bobby Turner to participate in the ceremony in which he was commissioned
as a lieutenant. The Mentor, Ohio native has done enough to convince Shanahan that
he deserves an opportunity to compete for a roster spot when training camp opens
later this month………
- Microsoft has an invitation for Xbox Live members from all around the world. The invitation is to
participate in the public beta testing for the Xbox 360 2013 update. Details
are sketchy are this point and no one is sure what exactly the update will
offer, but the overall aim is believed to be improving the system’s overall
performance and adding to the ability to conduct transactions using local
currency. The latter of those developments is aimed at paving the way for the
retirement of the Microsoft Points system, set to be put out to pasture later
this year. Users interested in signing up for the beta testing process can
access it through the Xbox 360 console. As one might expect, there are a
limited number of spots available and once those spots are filled, the testing
process will be closed to the public. Xbox Live members from any of the 41
Live-enabled markets will be able to participate, but those who do will be
forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement before they can participate.
After that, it’s simply a matter of finding the Xbox Beta Program tile on the Home hub of the Xbox Dashboard and going
through the process of signing up and using the program to find potential bugs,
holes and flaws. Getting paid for all of this would be nice, but participants
will have to settle for the satisfaction of knowing that they have helped a
multi-billion-dollar corporate behemoth refine its new product in the quest to
make itself even more mountains of money………
- When you’re both, hot, sweaty and tired is generally not
considered an optimal time to propose to the love of one’s life. Oregon
resident Jason
Bell flew in the face of that thinking after finishing Thursday’s Butte to
Butte 10K in just over 40 minutes. With a pace of less than seven minutes per
mile, he had just about 10 minutes to wipe away the sweat and find a place to
change out of his running clothes and into a suit. He completed the change and
shortly after his girlfriend Riley Swanson crossed the finish line, he found
her and got down on one knee. Swanson was caught completely by surprise,
perhaps because she has been living in Hawaii and flew to Oregon just for the
race. "I didn't see this coming at all," she said. "I thought it
was going to happen tonight, but I had no idea it was going to be like this.”
Bell explained that he was driving through the area where the race was to take
place when the idea for the proposal popped into his mind. He sent out 11 cards
to Swanson's friends and asked them to tie the cards to 11 red roses. The 11
friends than scattered on streets along the last two miles of the race course
and handed the cards and roses to her as she passed by. "I was like 'No
way, is he really doing this?'" she said after the race. "I was
completely caught off-guard. I did not see this coming at all." Bell
planned ahead enough that both his and Swanson’s families were at the race. As
Bell dropped down on one knee to propose, a crowd gathered around him and his
bride-to-be. Once Swanson said yes, the crowd erupted in cheers and the two
embraced in the middle of the park where the race course ended. The couple
concluded their day with a trip to the nearby city of Bend to visit Swanson’s
grandparents for a casual dinner and fireworks…….
- Anyone for whom seeing “Star Trek Into
Darkness” in three dimensions on the big screen wasn’t enough can now look
forward to an expended dork-tastic experience. Michael
Giacchino, who scored the sci-fi sequel, will have his soundtrack performed live by the 21st
Century Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus while JJ Abrams' film is shown in HD on
the big screen at London's Royal Albert Hall on May 30, 2014. The outer-space
flick starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto was released in May and has now
grossed a shade under $440 million worldwide. It’s the follow-up to Abrams'
first “Star Trek” movie, which coincidentally
will show on the same screen the day before while Giacchino's score for it will
be performed live. "To hear Michael Giacchino's music, the secret weapon
of the Star Trek series,
performed live in Royal Albert Hall, will be, I promise, a thrill," Abrams
said in a written statement. "The full orchestra scoring sessions for the
films have been among my favorite life experiences. To give the public a chance
to hear this incredible music performed live is a wonderful thing. I cannot
wait to go and celebrate Michael's truly remarkable achievements."
Giacchino added that his 13-year run working with Abrams will make the event “so
rewarding.” Tickets for the concert-movie mash-up are already on sale, with
prices ranging from $22-$82. Royal Albert Hall has previously hosted similar
events for “The Matrix,” the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Singin' In The Rain.” Maybe
the dorks will come a-flockin’ this time……..
No comments:
Post a Comment