- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Don’t sleep on Mali when it comes
to angry uprisings led by people with little to lose and plenty to set on fire
– literally, don’t sleep on or around them. Odds are that they will either
light you on fire, use you as a projectile or otherwise maim you in the name of
their cause. That cause at the moment is the outrage of Tuareg separatists who have
sought to turn the country upside down for the past year in the aftermath of a
French-led war to oust extremists from power. Witnesses on the ground in Mali said
rioters protesting against an intensifying rebellion in northern Mali shifted
their anger toward shops owned by ethnic Tuaregs and Arabs. Monday’s violence
struck in the town of Gao and served as a reminder that the unrest in the
country more than a year after the war is miles from being over. The day’s
festivities commenced after dissidents kidnapped 30 civil servants in the town
of Kidal. The specific purpose of the rally as to denounce that violence and
encourage Malian soldiers to try to retake control of Kidal. In other words,
people on every side are taking it to the streets and trying to use their furious
voices and ability to burn, smash and throw sh*t as a means of getting their
message across. Reports from the scene painted a terrifying picture of
merchants fleeing their shops to a nearby army base in the hopes of saving
their life even if it meant sacrificing their business’ well-being in the
process. Arabs and Tuaregs remain popular scapegoats for the unrest that gripped
Mali in 2012 and 2013 and black Malians clearly still hold them responsible for
all that went down………..
- Who has a major case of World Cup fever? For British
model Anara Atanes, fever might be better defined as social media rage and her
rage is currently directed at French national team coach Didier Deschamps, who
made the truly offensive decision to leave Atanes’ beloved boyfriend Samir
Nasri of the roster for the biggest event in soccer. Spots on any nation’s
World Cup team are prized and plenty of great players missed the cut for their
respective country, but only one had his über-hot, world-famous girlfriend
unleash a profanity-laden Twitter tirade against the coach who left him off the
roster. Hours after France's World Cup lineup was announced, Atanes went
nuclear in 140 character or less. . "F*** France and F*** Deschamps! What
a s*** manager," the 26-year-old posted on her Twitter account. "They
are idiots! We all know what you meant! F*** the national team and that stupid
coach! Nasri is a great player," she tweeted. Well said, A.A. It’s well
said even though Atanes quickly backed down and said her words were not
"aimed at the nation as a whole." Funny, but she mentioned Deschamps
by name in her meltdown and not just Fracne. That apology landed on deaf ears
with Deschamps, who responded by filing a civil lawsuit against his social
media adversary. The suit claims that Atanes publicly insulted him and his lawyer, Carlo Alberto Brusa, said that
the lawsuit was filed due to the "seriousness of her comments." In
spinning her remarks Atanes tried to pretend it was all about respect. “Lets
just get this straight! Im not mad i get my bf for 2 months.... I just think
theres a level of respect to be had!” she added. T he French Football
Federation said it supports Deschamps' decision to file the suit and issued a
statement on its website condemning Atanes’ comments. Deschamps defended his
decision to bypass Nasri, whom he described as a quality player,” but added
that “is performance on the French national team is not at the same level as
that at (his English club) Manchester City.” In other words, dude plays much
harder when you pay him a lot of money……….
- Michigan needs money. The state anchored quite literally
by the United States first totally broke city – big ups to you, Detroit – is
grasping for spare change in rusty storm drains and turning over every couch
cushion in sight to make ends meet and part of its push is finding new and lucrative
ways to add money to its road budget. One could argue that with fewer and fewer
Michiganders able to afford either cars or gas, there is less need to actually
have useable roads, but state officials insist on keeping them around. To
supplement the money brought in by toll
roads and gas taxes, another potential money-making idea is on the horizon. The
University of Michigan is prepared to release a report that would lay out a
plan under which motorists would pay a fee based on the number of miles they
drive. Such an extortion scam, er, innovative idea would be the first of its
kind in the U.S. European cities and even major American cities often impose
tolls to drive through the their respective city centers, but trying to monitor
how many miles a specific person drives and taxing them for it seems
un-American in the most un-American of ways. This bogus report cites the
increasing fuel efficency of many cars and notes that as a result, the state’s
robust gas tax isn't delivering quite the payday it once provided. Should this
malicious proposal actually be taken up by the state’s legislature and become
law in the future, the state would charge drivers by the number of miles
driven. The time of day a person drives, the route they take and the weight of
the vehicle could also be factored into the equation, but the real casualty
here could be privacy concerns. Folks tend to get antsy if the government is monitoring
their every move every time they hop behind the wheel………
- Say it ain't so, Led Zep. One of the biggest rock bands in
the history of rock bands and the authors of a track that has been played at
more proms and homecoming dances than all of Lil Wayne, Kanye and Eminem’s
tracks combined and multiplied by 10 is the target of some ugly claims from a
’60s rock band that no one has actually heard of. Yes, Led Zeppelin is staring
down the barrel of a lawsuit over claims that their iconic 1971 hit “Stairway
to Heaven” was a blatant rip-off of a 1968 track by a band called Spirit. Lawyer Francis Alexander
Molofiy – possibly his real name, possibly the villain in a lost Harry Potter
book – is trying to block the upcoming re-release of “Led Zeppelin IV” on the
ground that his client, late Spirit guitarist Randy Alexander, should be given
a writing credit on the track, as it resembles Spirit's 1968 song “Taurus.” To
rectify this wrong, Molofiy is pursuing a copyright infringement lawsuit.
"The idea behind this is to make sure that Randy California is given a
writing credit on 'Stairway to Heaven,'" Malofiy said. "Its been a
long time coming." Mark Andes, one of Spirit’s living members, believes
Led Zep would have heard “Taurus” when the two bands toured together in the
late 1960s. “It would typically come after a big forceful number and always got
a good response. They would have seen it in that context," Andes
explained. “"The clarity seems to be a present-day clarity, not at the
time of infringement. I can't explain it. It is fairly blatant, and note for
note. It would just be nice if the Led Zeppelin guys gave Randy a little nod.
That would be lovely." As would be expected for rock icons and millionaires
like Robert Page and Jimmy Plant, Led Zeppelin has stayed away from commenting
on the case and a representative for the band declined to address the subject
when asked. The band are currently enveloped in their own drama over Page blasting Plant for delaying Led
Zeppelin reunion plans. Thanks for continuing to entertain four-decades into
your run, guys…….
- World, the United Nations' leading voice on hunger has news
for you. You’re fat. Really, really fat. Olivier De Schutter, special
rapporteur to the U.N. on the right to food, has urged the international
community to mobilize to combat obesity and unhealthy diets rather than
focusing on a lack of food. De Schutter called for a "bold framework"
of regulations limiting access to salty, sugary foods that are high in
saturated fats and contribute to obesity.” In other words, he wants to get rid
of 90 percent of what Americans eat on a daily basis. The conversation then
turned in a bizarre direction as De Schutter linked this issue to the global
struggle against tobacco use, saying the latter offered a model for efforts to
stem the rising tide of obesity and poor nutrition in countries both developed
and developing. This isn't new ground, as De Schutter made the same suggestions
in a 2012 report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the
imposition of taxes and other regulations on unhealthy foods, crackdowns on the
marketing of junk foods and an overhaul of agricultural subsidies that drive
down the costs and drive up availability of some unhealthy foods. The crusade
to alter what the world puts on its table is growing in size, as Consumers
International is poised to release a slate of recommendations, titled
"Towards a Global Convention to Protect and Promote Healthy Diets,"
in Geneva on Wednesday. The consumer watchdog organization has teamed with the
World Obesity Federation to push for healthier grub in pots and pans across the
plenty. But it was De Schutter who delivered the biggest blast as he denounced unhealthy
diets as "a greater threat to global health than tobacco." Words
hurt, Olivier, words hurt…………
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