- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Thousands of ethnic Hungarians know where
it’s at and that’s why they have begun holding a series of vociferous rallies
in Romania to demand autonomy in the areas where they live. Sure, their logic
sounds bat-sh*t insane given that they’re living in a foreign country, but the
sight of these marches is still inspiring. Thousands upon thousands of angry
folks singing, waving Hungarian flags and riding horses and carriages is
uplifting no matter where in the world the rally takes place. Sunday’s
gatherings just so happened to take place in 14 communities of Transylvania,
including the town of Targu Secuiesc. Transylvania was part of the
Austro-Hungarian empire until after World War I, at which point the ethnic
Romania majority in Transylvania created Romania. Even now, seven decades
later, ethnic Hungarians make up about 6 percent of Romania's population. Their
leader, Kelemen Hunor, explained the purpose of Sunday’s rallies, saying that
the Hungarians he represents want territorial autonomy to maintain their ethnic
identity and grow economically. The goal seems like a modest one, but again,
THEY’RE LIVING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S COUNTRY. Oddly enough, Romanian officials have
expressed opposition to granting a foreign ethnic minority that privilege and
based on the response so far, it’s going to take more than a few rallies to
make this pipe dream a reality. Any time the Hungarians want to kick their
dissidence up a notch and mix in a few Molotov cocktails, a slew of overturned
and burned police cars and storefronts left in shambles by rioters and looters,
it would be a welcome sight. Such demonstrations tend to be very effective in
communicating all sorts of points…….
- It’s safe to say that $35 million doesn’t buy what it used
to in Major League Baseball. Tim
Lincecum looked nothing like a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner in either of
the past two seasons, going 10-14 with a 4.37 ERA and 193 strikeouts over 32
starts this year, his third straight season with a losing record. Somehow, that
was enough to earn him a new two-year, $35 million contract with the San
Francisco Giants. Giving that kind of money to any player is a huge investment,
but one no-hitter (July 13 at San Diego) amidst a season of dreadful starts
doesn’t seem to be enough to justify that kind of payday. Needless to say,
Lincecum was thrilled to sign the contract. "It gives you that freedom
that I've done it with this group before. I feel like we can do it again, and
personally I feel like I can succeed there again," Lincecum said. "As
a group, I feel like we have the right tools to make another push. Those are
the kind of things you look for when going after an organization. When I'm
already plugged into one, I don't have to look too far to see what they've done
and what I've been able to do with them." Not only did a pitcher with a
combined 33-43 record the past three season score major coin here, but he also
received a full no-trade clause and can earn an additional $250,000 each for
210 innings pitched and 220 innings. Oh, and Lincecum will also get a hotel
suite on the road. "This was targeted as a baseball signing," CEO
Larry Baer said. "This was the right thing for the Giants to keep the
rotation strong and keep the team's chances of winning strong. ... Timmy is a
very popular guy but I don't want it to be misinterpreted that this was done
because he's popular." Popular, sure. But is popularity and the
faintest whiffs of past greatness enough to justify $17 million this season and
$18 million next season? Probably not……..
- Finally….someone is stepping up to protect the national
treasure that is the lesser prairie chicken. Federal wildlife regulators and five
states where the rare grouse is found have agreed on a voluntary
conservation plan laced with financial incentives for landowners who manage
their property to benefit the species. The Western Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies' plan would provide a boost for the lesser prairie chicken,
which has been a candidate for federal protection for years and is now proposed
for inclusion under the Endangered Species Act. The plan also provides a
framework to minimize the effects of development activity, such as oil and gas
drilling, throughout the bird's range, which spans Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico,
Texas and Oklahoma. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Dan Ashe said
the agency will consider the plan's effectiveness when it makes a final
decision in March 2014 on whether to give the lesser prairie chicken protected
status under the Endangered Species Act. Additionally, the agency will
weigh the continued struggle of a bird that was once abundant across its five
range states in Great Plains. A large part of the lesser prairie chicken’s
decline has been the 84-percent reduction of its historical range of grasslands
and prairies. "The prairie chicken's decline tells us native grasslands in
the Great Plains are in trouble," Ashe said. "And by helping the lesser
prairie chicken, we'll also be working to restore the health of our native
grasslands — which support many hundreds of other species but also support the
local economies in the communities of that region of the country."
The plan would collect money from enrollments and impact fees to pay landowners
who implement conservation practices. Its ultimate goal is a population of
67,000 birds as an annual spring average over a 10-year time frame. Wildlife
officials believe this is a reachable goal, as the lesser prairie chicken
population was above this level as recently as 2006, he said. The number
had dipped to less than 45,000 by last December and a recent survey counted a
mere 18,000 lesser prairie chickens across the bird's range……..
- Upscale department stores, be forewarned. Al Sharpton is
coming for your ass and the over-the-top rhetoric is already flying. Sharpton
has loudly announced that his National Action Network plans to picket Barneys if
the store does. Additionally, the self-promoting Sharpton is seeking a meeting
with the CEO of Barneys in the wake of racial profiling claims by two shoppers
at its Manhattan location. All of this comes after two black shoppers accused
Barneys last week of detaining them after they made expensive purchases at the
store. Trayon Christian, 19, of Queens, appears to be the angrier of the two,
as he has filed a lawsuit over an incident in which he said he was wrongfully
detained after making an expensive purchase simply because he is a young black
man. According to his lawsuit, Christian went to Barneys on April 29 and
purchased a $350 Ferragamo belt. Upon exiting the store, he was allegedly accosted
by undercover NYPD officers, who said someone at the store had raised concerns
over the sale. In his lawsuit, he argued that he showed the receipt from the
purchase, the debit card he used to make it and identification to the officers,
but officers insisted his identification was false and "that he could not
afford to make such an expensive purchase." As Christian tells it, he was
held at a precinct in a cell for more than two hours before being released with
no charges filed against him. He is therefore claiming "discrimination
based on plaintiff's race and age as he was a young black American male."
Barneys has boldly denied that it was involved in any detention, saying
"that after carefully reviewing the incident of last April, it is clear
that no employee of Barneys New York was involved in the pursuit of any action
with the individual other than the sale." It has since added an official
statement courageously condemning any type of discrimination. "Barneys New
York has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination and we stand by our long
history in support of all human rights," the statement said. Amazingly,
once news of Christian’s lawsuit broke, Kayla Phillips, 21, of Brooklyn stepped
forward and claimed she had a similar experience after purchasing a $2,500
Celine handbag at the store in February. Don’t be surprised if these stories
keep rolling in………
- News flash: People still love Johnny Knoxville dressing up
and pulling absurd stunts on unsuspecting victims. That’s the only explanation
for “Jackass
Presents: Bad Grandpa” ending up at the top of the weekend earnings list
with $32 million in its debut. That was enough to bump “Gravity” down a notch
as the three-time box office champion fell to second with $20.3 million and has
made $199.8 million domestically through four weeks. “Captain Phillips” also declined
one spot to rank third, banking $11.8 million for a three-week haul of $70.1
million. The second newcomer in the top five was the flop-tastic “The
Counselor,” which could not ride the star power of Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and
Cameron Diaz any higher than fourth place with its weak $8 million intake. “Cloudy
with a Chance of Meatballs 2” remained in fifth place, adding $6.1 million to
its overall total to raise the number over the $100 million mark domestically
at $100.6 million and counting. The subpar performance continued for “Carrie,”
which earned $5.9 million for the weekend and has totaled $26 million through
two mediocre weeks. Geezer prison drama “Escape Plan” finished seventh in its
second weekend, rolling up $4.4 million to elevate its extremely modest overall
earnings total to $17.4 million. The much-acclaimed, Oscar-contending “12 Years
a Slave” somehow managed to claim the eighth spot despite showing in a mere 123
theaters. With $2.2 million, the period drama has now made $3.4 million in two
weeks of very limited release. “Enough Said” only said enough to earn $1.6
million, good for ninth place and also enough to raise the project’s total to
$13 million in six weeks. The final spot in the top 10 went to “Prisoners,” the
owner of $1.1 million in weekend earnings and $59.1 million overall since its
release six weeks ago. “Insidious Chapter 2” (No. 11), “The Fifth Estate” (No.
15) and “Runner Runner” all dropped out of last weekend’s top 10……..
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