- How great is it that the United States isn't the only
nation pissing its allies off by spying on them? Australia is also currently in
deep sh*t with one of its friends – Indonesia – after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono recalled his envoy from Canberra and warned of damaged ties with the
Aussies after news leaked that Australian spies tried to tap his phone. Let’s
just say that Prime Minister Tony Abbott didn’t exactly pull a hamstring leaping
out of his chair to apologize and keep Yudhoyono from leaving. “Australia
should not be expected to apologize for the steps we take to defend this
country,” Abbott said in a speech to his parliament in Canberra. Abbott did say
he regretted any embarrassment to Yudhoyono, but would not offer a mea culpa
for security measures implemented by past governments. Yudhoyono said on
Twitter that he rejected earlier efforts to defuse tensions and will review
areas of cooperation with Australia while awaiting an official response to the
spying reports. “I also regret the Australian prime minister’s statement that
downplays the tapping on Indonesia without a sense of remorse,” Yudhoyono said.
“The U.S. and Australia’s action really hurts the strategic partnership with
Indonesia.” Why is the president so pissed? All because of the small issue of
his mobile phone activity being tracked for 15 days in August 2009, according
to documents leaked by new Moscow Starbucks barista Edward Snowden. The bad
news for Australia is that its snooping attempts were an epic fail anyhow, with
intelligence agencies attempting to listen to a call that lasted less than a
minute and couldn’t be tapped. Such news could damage Abbott’s bid for a
free-trade agreement with Australia’s neighbor. The two countries’ trade
relationship netted $13.7 billion last year. Abbott’s government is also seeking
Jakarta’s help to stop asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia by boat.
Indonesia doesn’t seem too inclined to lend a helping hand at this point……..
- You simply cannot kill “The Killing.” AMC has tried –
twice – and yet, the popular crime drama has been saved from cancellation both
times. The third season ended in August with 1.5 million viewers tuning in, up
from the 1.4 million who watched the Season 2 finale. Unfortunately, AMC dug
deeper and looked at the show’s overall average for total viewers and that
number was slightly below that of Season 2 (1.53 million vs. 1.65 million).
After that thorough analysis, the powers that be at the network pulled the plug
on the show near the end of September. Just when it appeared that death knell
might actually be the show’s death knell, the new home for all
popular-yet-canceled cult favorites stepped in and gave “The Killing” a
temporary reprieve. Netflix has stepped in and revived “The Killing” for a
six-episode fourth and final season that will conclude the show’s twisty, turny
story for good. "The rich, serialized storytelling in The Killing thrives
on Netflix, and we believe that it is only fitting to give Sarah Linden and
Stephen Holder a proper send-off," said Cindy Holland, vice president of
original content for Netflix. "We are looking forward to offering fans -
both existing and new - a series that we know is perfectly suited for on-demand
viewing." The six-episode arc will give fans some closure, but questions
remain whether it can resuscitate the show’s damaged reputation that has never
recovered from its much-maligned Season 1 finale that angered fans and critics
alike by not resolving the central murder of Rosie Larsen. The story was wrapped
up in the June 2012 Season 2 finale, but the show’s first cancellation happened
shortly thereafter. Its first resurrection came when AMC and Fox Television
Studios hatched a deal with Netflix, which has now come to the show’s rescue
for (allegedly) the final time………
- Competition is stiff in Washington state for the right to
go into the ganja business. When the Washington State Department of
Revenue opened the application process on Monday, a total of 299 people
completed online applications by mid-afternoon and additional people applied in
person across the state. Monday was a hallmark day as the first to apply for
producer, processor and retailer marijuana licenses in the state. There is
still time to go for would-be chron retailers and producers, as they have until
Dec. 19 to submit their application, which is available through the Business
Licensing Service. The majority of first-day applications came on line as a
sadly small number of people turned in their application at the SDR’s 12
offices across the state. Monday’s applicant breakdown was thus: producer (16),
processor (62), retailer (70) and the multi-tasking producer AND processor
(151). The Department of Revenue is encouraging applicants to apply online,
possibly so its offices don’t start smelling like the dank and employees’
spouses don’t get a contact high merely from sitting down to dinner with their
husband or wife. In order to apply and become a pot professional, individuals
must first form a corporation or limited liability company by establishing
their company with the Secretary of State’s office. The licenses will be then approved
by the state’s Liquor Control Board, which began processing the licenses today.
Competition is expected to be most intense for the retail store licenses, with
only 334 to be issued. There will be no limit on the number of growers and
processors………..
- LeBron James might be the most famous athlete in the
civilized world, but even he can’t believe that bringing soccer to South Beach
is a good idea…right? Amazingly, the Miami Heat superstar is not only
considering the possibility, but he is in discussions with soccer icon David
Beckham to potentially bring an MLS franchise back to South Florida. James, who
fancies himself as a burgeoning business mogul, already has an ownership stake
with Liverpool of the English Premier League, but the EPL and MLS are two
entirely different animals. "There's some interest in both sides,"
James said of his talks with Beckham, who has attended several Miami Heat games
in recent seasons. "David has become a good friend of mine over the last
few years, and I think it would be great for this city to have a football club
for sure." James and Beckham clearly believe they can succeed where the
MLS previously failed in the region. The league had a franchise in South
Florida from 1998 to 2001, but the Fusion folded after playing in Fort
Lauderdale. James noted that there are “a lot of great youth soccer players
here,” which proves that he’s largely ignorant of the fact that the same is
true everywhere in America. Children love soccer, they play it until they’re 12
and by that time they are old enough to play sports that actually matter, like
football. They leave the Capri Sun pouches and orange wedges behind and move on
to better things. Loving soccer won't dent James’ image because it’s ironclad
at this point, so he can do things like secure a business partnership with
Fenway Sports Group to purchase Liverpool and spend time in England touring the
team's facilities and meeting with players and it won't come back to bite him.
Even looking to expand his empire and build his brand beyond basketball is fine
and smart, but expecting soccer to strike it big in Miami and become a power
player on the local sports scene is begging and then some……..
- The clock is ticking, Canadian polar bears. Your time as
the majority ethnic group in the über-small northern town of Churchill,
Manitoba, is coming to an end there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Polar
bears currently outnumber humans in Churchill, but climate change has sped up
the ice melting season in the town of about 800 residents and that’s bad news
for its 900 polar bears. According to scientific experts, the perennial thaw
now begins in mid-June, a full 30 days earlier than three decades ago. That
means the polar bears spend more time on land, eat less and give birth to smaller
cubs that are not as likely to survive. Dr. Steve Amstrup of the conservation
group Polar Bears International ranks the polar bears' weight on a 1-5 scale,
with one as starving and five as American, er, obese. Amstrup said most of the
bears he's seen this year are between 2 and 3, indicative of a bear that hasn’t
eaten in a few months. That isn't wholly uncommon, as polar bears rely on their
fat reserves for parts of the year when they are not on the ice eating seals.
The perils facing polar bears in Churchill parallel those facing their peers in
other parts of the world. The town attracts the animals because it sits right
on the coastline of Hudson Bay and polar bears follow the coast in search of
ice floes. They’re finding less ice these days and that means more bears stuck
on land to mix it up with local residents. That would explain the town’s two
bear attacks this year and why Bob Windsor, a natural resource officer at
Manitoba Conservation, sees about 30 to 40 polar bears a week come through
Churchill. Windsor chases the bears away using an air horn and his truck, but
one bear decided to stand its ground and jump on the hood of his vehicle. That
bear has no idea that global warming is about to b*tch-slap him so hard…….
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