- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! A year of rage around the world
had its latest chapter written Sunday by hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews who
rallied in the streets of Jerusalem, blocking roads and paralyzing the city in
a huge show of force against plans to require them to serve in the Israeli
military. Conscripting people into military service is a reason to go virtually
anywhere in the world, but especially among Israel’s ultra-orthodox community.
A cultural war over the place of the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society is an
overarching concern in the chaos and army service is merely the latest vehicle
to bring that war to the forefront. Since Israel's founding in 1948, the
ultra-Orthodox, who make up about 8 percent of Israel's 8 million citizens, have
ducked the same compulsory military service that all Jewish men face in order
to pursue their religious studies. Older ultra-Orthodox men often don't work
and collect welfare stipends while continuing to study full-time. When pressed
on the issue of military service, ultra-Orthodox leaders claim their young men
serve the nation through prayer and study and maintaining the way of life that
is at the center of the Jewish existence. Those excuses are wearing thin with
secular Israelis who say the ultra-Orthodox are not contributing enough to the
country and the issue prompted heated debates during last year’s election. That
election produced a center-right government that has been pushing for reforms
that will require ultra-Orthodox to serve in the army. Parliament is expected
to vote on the conscription bill this month and that has enraged the
ultra-Orthodox community. "The change is beginning," said Ofer
Shelah, whose Yesh Atid party stands behind the push to draft the
ultra-Orthodox. "This (law) will create a deep cultural change in the
ultra-Orthodox public." In response, thousands of ultra-Orthodox
bum-rushed the entrance of Jerusalem clad in their traditional black suits and
hats, with some bowing and swaying in prayer as others danced in circles. They
held signs reading "the Torah shall not be forgotten” and police estimated
the number of protestors at 300,000. Sadly, no one marked the day with a
rousing acoustic version of “The Times They Are a-Changin’” by Bob Dylan………
- Liam Neeson traveling around the world and kicking ass as
he fights evil…sound familiar? It should and so should a movie featuring that
plot landing at the top of the weekend box office earnings list. “Non-Stop,”
featuring Neeson as an ass-kicking air marshal on a hijacked flight, scored the
top spot at the weekend box office with a $30 million debut. Fellow newcomer “Son
of God” snagged second place and while a movie about the messiah couldn’t be
more different than one about a terrorist killing a plane, their earnigns were
comparable as “Son of God” banked $26.5 million in its first weekend. Previous
earnings champ “The LEGO Movie” slipped to third with $21 million and has
amassed an impressive $209.3 million domestically in its first four weeks of
release. Fourth place went to “The Monuments Men,” which rose one place from
last weekend and added $5 million to its domestic total of $65.6 million in
four weeks of release. “3 Days to Kill” continued its underwhelming run with a
fifth-place finish and $4.9 million, good for a two-week haul of a mere $20.7
million. “RoboCop” has been similarly disappointing and it tumbled two spots to
sixth place this weekend, earning a scant $4.5 million for a three-week
domestic take of $51.2 million against a $100 million budget. “Pompeii” did its
best to make “RoboCop” feel better, as it ranked seventh with $4.3 million and
with the same $100 million budget hanging overhead, it has managed $17.7
million in two weeks. “Frozen” continued its juggernaut-like run in the top 10,
finishing eighth with $3.6 million in its 15th weekend of release. The animated
epic has amassed $388.7 million in domestic earnings and is already a huge
success. “About Last Night” took three steps back but hung on for ninth place
with $3.4 million. It’s three-week total of $43.7 million looks much better
when stacked up against its $12.5 million budget. The final spot in the top 10
went to “Ride Along” with a $3.1 million weekend and $127.1 million in total
earnings. “Endless Love” (No. 12) fell out from last weekend’s top 10……..
- Just relax and enjoy the pain-free ride, worrisome law enforcement
and medical experts. These uptight squares are wigging out about the imminent
release of a powerful new painkiller they believe will heighten the twin
epidemics of prescription drug and heroin abuse.
The new drug, Zohydro ER, is a
time-release form of hydrocodone that comes in doses as high as 50 mg. An
advisory committee of the federal Food and Drug Administration voted 11-2 last
March to reject the drug, the but agency green-lit it last fall in spite of the
recommendation. The attorneys general for 29 states signed a letter urging the
FDA to reconsider its approval, arguing that addicts often switch to heroin
when they can no longer obtain painkillers legally. Critics of the new drug
have argued that because Zohydro ER will likely not come in a tamper-resistant
form, addicts will be able to crush the tablets, snort the drug and get the
maximum dose all at once. FDA press officer Morgan Liscinsky said the agency
had determined "after careful consideration" that Zohydro ER
"meets our regulatory requirements" and believes the benefits outweigh
the potential consequences. According to the FDA, the drug should be reserved
for "severe pain requiring daily, around the clock, long-term treatment
and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate." The real
winner here, clearly, is the drug’s manufacturer. That would be Zogenix, which would
see its stock soar if the drug is widely accepted. Zohydro ER was approved as a
Schedule II controlled substance, which means it can only be dispensed with a
written prescription, and patients cannot get a refill. All aboard the less-pain
train, America……
- More walls, more towers and more guards. Those tenets
are at the core of the border control philosophy for states that shares a
border with Mexico and with some help from Israeli defense firm Elbit, one of those
states is getting more of all of the above. A $145 million contract by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security for a series of surveillance towers on
Arizona's border with Mexico was announced Sunday and the Integrated Fixed
Tower Project (IFT) is a doozy. The project will feature security posts
equipped with radars and cameras that can detect human movement along Arizona’s
southern frontier. Elbit's American subsidiary, Elbit Systems of America, will
helm the project, which is expected to take about one year. Arizona Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.) released a statement last week praising the project. "Arizonans
have been waiting more than a decade for the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to place the needed technology along our border to support the Border
Patrol and fully secure our Southern border," McCain said. "The
American people have long expected us to secure our borders. The awarding of
this contract is a step in the right direction.” Details about the project are
scarce, but it is expected to deploy a series of networked, integrated fixed
towers equipped with radar and cameras that will be able to detect a single,
walking, average-sized adult at a range of 5 miles to 7.5 miles during day or
night, while sending close to real-time video footage back to border patrol
agents manning a command post. Merely reaching completion would put the project
ahead of a previous border security program called the Secure Border initiative
(SBI), which was canceled in 2011 despite the government spending $1 billion
over the course of six years. That dumpster fire yielded just 53 miles of the
389-mile border covered by the program. Here’s to better than a 13.6-percent
completion rate this time……..
- The age limit debate is on again in the NBA. New
commissioner Adam Silver said last week he’s open to raising the league’s age
requirement from 19 years old and one year removed from high school to 20 years
old and two years past high school, and now the league’s most outspoken owner
is weighing in on another aspect of the debate. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes the oft-ignored NBA Development
League is a better option for top prospects than balling for one year in
college. The NBDL doesn’t really function as a true minor league for the NBA,
instead operating as a catch-all for players who fail to catch on in the
Association and past-their-prime competitors who are reaching for one last shot
at glory. Cuban wants to see that arrangement change. "I think what will
end up happening -- and this is my opinion, not that of the league -- is if the
colleges don't change from the one-and-done, we'll go after the one,"
Cuban said. "The NCAA rules are so hypocritical, there's absolutely no
reason for a kid to go [to college], because he's not going to class [and] he's
actually not even able to take advantage of all the fun because the first
semester he starts playing basketball. So if the goal is just to graduate to
the NBA or be an NBA player, go to the D-League." The minimum age for the
D-League is 18 and under Cuban’s plan, the NBA would take steps to make the
D-League a more attractive alternative to players who want to go straight from
high school to the pros. One of his suggestions is for the league to guarantee
college tuition for such players regardless of how their pro career turns out. "We
can get rid of all the hypocrisy and improve the education," Cuban said.
"If the whole plan is just to go to college for one year maybe or just the
first semester, that's not a student-athlete. That's ridiculous.” Cuban went on the denounce the myth of
the student-athlete and suggested that the NBA could full the roll of surrogate
educator for players so they have what they need to be successful in life away
from basketball. He tempered all of those suggestions by noting that his
preference is that the NBA minimum age limit moves to 21 and three years out of
high school…..
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