Friday, February 14, 2014

Slowing down college football, Italian turmoil and Microsoft double-clutches


- Score one for publicly viewed lesbian porn. The pervy patrons of the Orland Park (Ill.) public library won't have to worry about accessing their favorite girl-on-girl action thanks to a somewhat-mystifying 5-2 vote by the library’s board of directors to continue the current policy of filtering web content only on computers used by children and young adults. That means adult patrons can continue to view whatever filthy and devious content they so choose. Many libraries have heavy Internet filtering so patrons don’t have to risk the retina-burning sight of some soul-less degenerate pleasuring themselves to the freaky images of a fetish sight or risk sitting down in the same chair where a lonely creep just rubbed one out. In explaining its decision to keep the Internet truly unrestricted for grown-up patrons, the library leaned heavily on that popular refuge for all things controversial: the First Amendment. “Our board strongly believes in the First Amendment,” library spokeswoman Bridget Bittmann said after the Wednesday night vote. “We believe our existing safeguards are more than adequate for children and that adults should be free to make their own choices.” The only standard for content adults are allowed to access is that it must be legal. That means kiddie porn is off limits, but kids watching someone enjoy porn is totally cool at the library. Amazingly, the board chose to ignore repeated complaints from patrons who expressed concern about children being present while porn was being accessed. To bolster their decision, the board somehow found 100 other libraries whose Internet policies their compares favorably to and said their policies are more stringent that 80 percent of those libraries. Deviants, today is your day……….


- Nicki Minaj does not rely on actual musical talent to keep her career going. She, like fellow pop hacks such as Lady Gaga, thrives and sells albums based on creating drama and controversy around her “music” by saying and doing outlandish sh*t. With a new album on the way and a new single to promote, it was only a matter of time before Minaj went to some place controversial to generate interest in her subpar track. She obliged by sharing artwork for her new track "Lookin Ass N---a” on Instagram and got just the reaction she was looking for. Her initial post featured a photograph of Malcom X holding a rifle and looking out of the window of his Queens, N.Y. home. Predictably, some users took the bait and lashed out over a photo of the civil-rights activist being linked with the provocative song. In response, Minaj asked her critics to share the reasons for their anger. She noted that the image was never billed as official cover art, but kept the discussion going. "What seems to be the issue now? Do you have a problem with me referring to the people Malcolm X was ready to pull his gun out on as Lookin Ass N---z? Well, I apologize," she wrote. "That was never the official artwork nor is this an official single. This is a conversation. Not a single." In other words, I was baiting you and you bit, so who’s the sucker now? "I am in the video shooting at Lookin Ass N----z and there happened to be an iconic photo of Malcolm X ready to do the same thing for what he believed in!!!! It is in no way to undermine his efforts and legacy," Minaj added. She went on to apologize to Malcolm X’s estate for any offense, but added that she wanted to stir up debate over the use of the N-word. Some people did choose to respond to her obvious publicity grab in a rational way, but as always on the Internet, the loons and misfits were the loudest members of the mob………


- Microsoft would do well to operate under the basic principle that whatever decision it arrives at in a given situation, the best course is to then do the exact opposite. Following that pattern could have helped the maker of the world’s worst operating system avoid many mistakes, but it’s never too late to change. Another example of the principle has arrived just a few months after former CEO Steve Ballmer said Microsoft would build native Office editions for iPads and Android tablets. When the company’s marketing chief spoke about the idea four months later, it sounded like she and Ballmer hadn't exactly sat down and talked it out. Marketing Executive Vice President Tami Reller was asked about Microsoft’s willingness to revamp Office for other platforms even if that means tweaking its format and her response was decidedly unenthused. “With Windows, we’re obviously spending a lot of time thinking about how do we continue to differentiate the full Windows experience,” she said. She continued her run of vague answers by saying hose types of decisions will be made on a business-by-business and product-by-product basis. Reller rightlly pointed out that Office is one of Microsoft’s best assets and in truth, it is likely the only quality piece of software the company has ever offered up. Still, a non-committal response doesn’t jive with the unequivocal comments Ballmer made several months ago when he promised that the Office version for iPads and Android tablets would come after Microsoft delivered a touch-first version for Windows 8. To the cynic, it would appear that Microsoft is having second thoughts. Just know that may not be a bad thing…….


- Who wants a new government, Italy? It’s a trick question because whether you like it or not, you’re getting one. Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta announced his resignation Thursday, instantly inspiring market jitters over the economic policies of a government headed by a new prime minister. The early favorite to take the reins is Democratic Party secretary Matteo Renzi, but whoever the new prime minister is, he or she will head the country's third government in ten months. That’s the sort of instability rarely seen outside the Cleveland Browns organization and it has many Italians wondering whether their e new prime minister will be able to pull Italy out of its long-lasting economic malaise. Many members of Renzi’s party believe his youthful energy and leadership skills will enable him to get off to a quick start if he is selected. The task in front of him will be immense: reviving an economy that barely grew in the fourth quarter of 2013 and which has moderately optimistic forecasts for 2014. Oh, and that economy as a whole has shrunk in per capita terms over the past five years. Unemployment levels remain high and consumer confidence is at all-time lows. But hey, Renzi’s popularity numbers are through the roof, with a polling firm finding in a recent survey that  60 percent of Italians have a "very positive" or "somewhat positive" opinion of the fiery Tuscan while nobody else is above 40 percent. Maybe that public backing will help him push through the difficult reforms his country needs, but the challenge ahead is ominous under the best of circumstances. On top of it all, there is the residual panic from those hitting that bright right “Panic” button with a sledgehammer after learning that yet another prime minister was headed out the door without accomplishing much of anything……..


- Fast-paced college football offenses may be forced to slow their roll beginning next season. With an increasing number of teams going up-tempo and running plays within mere seconds of the previous play ending, the debate about the fairness and player safety in fast-paced games is heating up. To combat the inherent threat of offenses rushing to the point that defenses cannot substitute and must (allegedly) fake injuries to slow down their opponents, the NCAA football rules committee is proposing changes for the 2014 season that would allow defensive players to substitute within the first 10 seconds of the 40-second play clock, except for the final two minutes of each half. To facilitate this new rule, offenses that snap the ball before 29 seconds remain on the play clock would receive a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty. Currently, defensive players aren't guaranteed the opportunity to substitute unless the offense first substitutes. Under the guidelines of the new rule, the policy would remain when the play clock starts at 25 seconds. The proposed change is likely to delight haters such as Alabama's Nick Saban and Arkansas' Bret Bielema, who complained last summer that up-tempo offenses are likelier to cause injuries for defensive players who can't get off of the field in time. "This rules change is being made to enhance student-athlete safety by guaranteeing a small window for both teams to substitute," said Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, chair of the rules committee, in a prepared statement. "As the average number of plays per game has increased, this issue has been discussed with greater frequency by the committee in recent years and we felt like it was time to act in the interests of protecting our student-athletes." In response to its waiting critics, the committee said it believes 10 seconds of substitution time wouldn't inhibit offenses from operating quickly, citing research showing that offenses rarely snap the ball before 30 seconds remain on the play clock. On the opposing side of the debate are coaches like Arizona's Rich Rodriguez, who dismissed the proposal immediately. "It's ridiculous," Rodriguez said. As everyone knows, when the ever-truthful Rich Fraud-riguez speaks, you take it to the bank………

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