- So…..who wants to be the new prime minister of a
developing nation on the verge of joining the eurozone? Latvia needs a new
leader after Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis tearfully resigned in the aftermath of a
supermarket roof collapse killed 54 people and sparked public outrage. Dombrovskis
said he can no longer lead the country because of the circumstances surrounding
the disaster and proclaimed that the country needed a change in leadership. "Considering
the ... tragedy and all the related circumstances, the country needs a
government that has majority support in Parliament and can solve the situation
that has arisen," Dombrovskis said. But there has to be more to this
story, right? Latvia's longest-serving prime minister, a man credited with
steering the Baltic country from the brink of economic disaster since taking
power in 2009, doesn’t just walk away from the job because a roof collapses and
people are tragically killed in the process. Dig deeper, though, and it begins
to make sense. Dombrovskis has made extensive cuts to the government and
critics have alleged that the abolition of a state construction authority by
his budget-slashing government weakened oversight that might have caught
potential building flaws in the supermarket. Factor in escalating problems with
his ruling coalition and demands for changes to how the country issues
residence permits in exchange for support for next year's budget and the
picture becomes clearer. Right or wrong, Dombrovskis felt the tragedy at the
Maxima supermarket last week left his leadership too damaged to continue. His
resignation triggers the fall of the entire center-right government and could
stunt the development of the fastest-growing economy in the European Union. Meanwhile,
police have opened a criminal investigation into the cause of the tragedy,
which also wounded at least 40 people. Theories on the collapse include a
flawed design, substandard construction materials and corruption. Many
Latvians, distrustful of their own regime, have gone so far as to demand that
foreign engineers be invited to help the investigation………
- Replacing a band’s lead singer is inevitably difficult. Just
ask Scott Weiland and his former Stone Temple Pilots bandmates if you have any
doubts. For iconic hardcore punk band Black Flag, the process was downright
bizarre both in its timing and its location. Lead singer Ron Reyes had his gig
ripped from him mid-show….by a professional skateboarder. Reyes was fired onstage
during a show in Australia, according to a since-deleted Facebook post in which
he claimed that during a recent show in Australia, skateboarder Mike Vallely –
who sang with the band at a 2003 reunion show – took the microphone from him
and asked him to leave before finishing the set for him. "On November 24,
2013 the last night of the Australian Hits and Pits tour with two songs left in
the set Mike V comes onstage, stares me down, takes my mic and says, 'You're
done, party's over, get off it's over,'" Reyes wrote. Perhaps seeking to
put a positive spin on a wholly embarrassing incident by saying the firing was
a relief because hadn't been seeing eye to eye with the band's co-founder, Greg
Ginn, and the other members of the current incarnation of the seminal hardcore
band. "From the beginning I was happy for them and fully supported and
understood why they would want to rock those songs and have a good time with
friends and family,” Reyes added. “Yes, I questioned their use of the name and
logo but in no way questioned their motivation or right to do their thing. I
envy them for they have succeeded in ways that were never possible with Black
Flag.” The bastardized version of the band released its first new material
since 1985's “In My Head,” an album entitled “What The,” earlier this month………
- California, here is another chance for your cash-strapped
state to generate much-needed revenue. If the Golden State isn't going to
follow the example set by Colorado and Washington by legalizing marijuana, then
capitalizing on an already fight-happy prison system is a nice alternative. According
to public records, brawls and violent clashes are increasingly common in the
California penal system (incarceration alma mater of “Major League” icon Rick “Wild
Thing” Vaughn). Records show that many of the 10 counties that account for 70 percent
of California's total jail population have seen a large increase in the number
of inmate fights and attacks on jail employees. The increase follows changes to
the system that have led to thousands of offenders who previously would have
gone to state prisons instead being sent to county jails. The change is due to a
law championed by Gov. Jerry Brown in which lower-level offenders are sentenced
to county jails instead of state prisons. Brown made the move to realign the
state's penal system in response to federal court orders and in the process,
appears to have inadvertently launched a county jail fight club. Simply blaming
the surge in fighting on the overall growth in the jail population is misguided
by the avalanche of violence greatly outpaces the rise in the number of
inmates. The combined population grew 14 percent following Brown’s new law, while
inmate-on-inmate assaults rose 32 percent and inmate-on-staff assaults rose 27
percent. If the state can find a way to capitalize on this, perhaps by selling
tickets to fight nights at the county jail, selling them on pay-per-view or
filming the altercations and selling them on Blu-Ray or DVD, it could make a
nice contribution to the bottom lines of municipal, county and state government
agencies throughout California……..
- The Google Play store needs to lighten up this holiday
season and stop playing the role of Scrooge with cool apps developers serve up.
For example, the one-click Cyanogenmod installer hit the Google Play store two weeks ago,
allowing users to switch from the stock Android operating system to a more
free, more open version without any special expertise. In response, the
stick-up-the-butt suits at Google “asked” asked Cyanogenmod to remove the
installer on the grounds that it voids a device’s warranty. There have been
many other apps available in the Google Play store that root a device and
subsequently void the warranty, but this is the first time Google has made a
concerted effort to snuff one out. Blacklisting of Cyanogenmod or not, the Cyanogenmod's
installer can be "sideloaded" into a device without having to go
through the Play Store. Because Android does not prevent users from installing
unapproved software, there are plenty of workarounds. Before the decision by
Google to force the Cyanogenmod installer out the door, thousands of people
downloaded it and it will likely remain in use and available through many back
channels. Cyanogenmod released a statement explaining its interaction with
Google on the issue. “They advised us to voluntarily remove the application, or
they would be forced to remove it administratively. We have complied with their
wishes while we wait for a more favorable resolution,” the statement said. The
app’s singular purpose is to enable “ADB,” a built-in development and debugging
tool, guide users and navigate them to the desktop installer. The desktop
application then performs the installation of the CyanogenMod on their Android
device. Google’s official stance on the issue is that even though the app is
benign, it could not remain in the store because it encourages users to void
their warranty. As if they needed any encouragement……..
- Jason Kidd hasn’t exactly been a resounding success in his
first 15 games as an NBA head coach. Kidd, a future hall of famer as a player,
was suspended by the league for the first two games of the season after an
offseason DUI conviction and his team – with and without him on the bench – is a
disappointing 4-11 despite making major offseason roster changes. Maybe all of
that precipitated what happened with 8.3 seconds left in Wednesday's game
against the Los Angeles Lakers and his team out of timeouts. Kidd, with his
squad down one point, staged what can only be described as a blatant and ridiculous
attempt to score some much-needed time to discuss the game’s final seconds with
his team. While holding a cup of soda – not exactly common for an NBA coach
during a game – Kidd appeared to say "hit me" to point guard Tyshawn
Taylor in order spill his drink and to stop the game so the team could draw up
a last-second offensive play. Lakers guard Jodie Meeks made the first of a pair
of free throws to give his team a 96-94 lead and following the charity toss, Taylor
walked toward Kidd near the sideline and collided with his coach, spilling the
drink. That forced a stoppage while the soda was cleaned up and the coaching
staff drew up a last-second play. Taylor, having done his job, was subbed out
of the game for forward Mirza Teletovic. After Nets assistant John Welch drew
up the team's final play, Meeks then made the second free throw and on the
ensuing Brooklyn possession, Paul Pierce missed a 3-pointer that would've tied
the game with 2.2 seconds remaining. The Lakers won the game 99-94 and
afterward, Kidd feigned ignorance as to what he had done. "Cup slipped out
of my hand while I was getting Ty. Sweaty palms. I was never good with the
ball,” he lied. “In the heat of the battle, you're trying to get guys in and
out of the game, and the cup fell out of my hand." Yes, never mind that video
replays appeared to show Kidd saying "Hit me," because an NBA coach
would never do anything devious or underhanded to gain an edge……….
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