- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Normally, Germans and Poles don’t
team up for uprisings against any cause given their shady history in terms of
attempted genocides, concentration camps and the like. But for at least one day
this weekend, the dark days of the past were left behind as several thousand people formed a human chain across the German-Polish
border to protest the expansion of open-cast mining for brown coal in the
region. The uplifting display saw more than 7,500 people linked up in a 5-mile
chain between Kerkwitz, Germany, and Grabice, Poland — two villages that
activists fear will be evacuated to make way for further brown coal mines. Organizers
hailed the event as a success and who can fault them after aquatically minded
protestors waded into the Neisse river, which divides the two countries, as
part of the chain. As one would expect in a fight against brown coal, also
known as lignite, the event was heavily attended by members of environmental
groups including Germany's opposition Green party. Coal and lignite both play
significant roles in the energy mix of both Germany and Poland, but they are
often denounced as dirty fuels by bleeding heart, liberal environmentalists who
would prefer the world be powered by sunshine, positive feelings and rainbows. The
answer likely lies somewhere in between and if there are more protests with
kooks wading into rivers along the way to finding that solution, then maybe
everyone can emerge from this muddled mess of environmental issues with a smile
on their face………
- What the hell is HBO thinking? One of its current hit
dramas succeeds because it exists in a dark, twisted, f*cked-up place where
insane things happen with hot people at the center. So why is HBO programming
director Michael Lombardo saying that Season 2 of “True Detective” will be
“less dark” than its predecessor? Lombardo addressed a crowd at the Guardian
International Television Festival in Edinburgh and revealed the show is due to
start shooting next month and air next summer with final casting announcements
to be made soon. He suggested that the second stanza will not be as inherently
dark as the first, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. “It’s still dark,"
Lombardo said. "It’s not as dark, but it’s not a light ride. Nic likes
looking into the crevices of the soul.” Nic would be show creator Nic
Pizzolatto, who has been working to add Vince
Vaughn and “Mad Men” starlet Elisabeth
Moss in leading roles for the new season. According to Lombardo, the second
season will begin shooting next month and it will shift to a new setting. "It’s
set in California, all of California,” Lombardo added. “There are three cops.
One of the characters is female. I think that’s probably all I’m allowed to say.”
Along with Vaughn and Moss, Colin Farrell and Taylor Kitsch are reportedly in
the mix and who can blame them with the show nominated for five Emmy Awards,
including best drama series and best lead actor for both Woody Harrelson and
Matthew McConaughey? Whether the show wins those awards or not, its next
installment will arrive with an immense about of hype and attention………
- Portland is a bizarre place full of hippies, liberal
policies and relaxed social norms. Sometimes, that curious culture yields
creative solutions to pressing problems. This could be one such occasion. City
officials know they have an issue to deal with when it comes to the number of
homeless people in their city and as such, those officials are considering a plan to build tiny houses for
the indigent to help get them off the streets. These modest abodes would be
about 200 square feet and look a lot like the ones at The Caravan Tiny House
Hotel in northeast Portland. Creating micro communities is the brainchild of Michael
Withey of Micro Community Concepts. Withey pitched the concept to the city
council. He suggested that the houses be built on surplus land owned by the
city, with a monthly rent of between $250 and $350. In this working model, the
entire idea is self-sustaining. "Half the rents we collect from these
homes will go into a fund to fund the next microcommunity that will help the
next set of people that need help," Withey said. While that may
theoretically be possible, getting the project started is expected to require
$1 million – just the sort of money cities are loathe to spend on projects such
as this. Mayor Charlie Hales and his administration are unsure how they would
fund the effort. "Whether it's city money, state money or federal money,
we're going to try and get creative and figure out all the places where we can
bring money into this to try different kinds of pilots for different kinds of
housing needs," said Josh Alpert, the city’s strategic initiatives
director. The concept for micro communities remains in the early stages, but
there is enough merit in the idea to plow ahead with it for now, at least in
the eyes of the powers that be………
- “Austin Powers” villain Dr. Evil’s father infamously
called chestnuts lazy. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho must be a fan of that movie because he did
the exact same thing to his players after they struggled to beat Premier League
newcomers Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Mourinho was not content
with the three points his side earned from the win and didn’t seem impressed by
second-half goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard to keep the Blues perfect
through two games. Initially, Mourinho fingered the mild late-August London
weather for his side's lethargy in the opening 45 minutes, but eventually
shifted his focus to what he saw as a lack of effort from his roster. "We
were lazy in the first half and I told them it was not enough to win the
game," Mourinho said. "In the second half, we were more aggressive,
we won the second ball, the possession of the ball was good, it was fast.” From
there, Mourinho went on an extended and meandering rant in which he accused his
side of sleepwalking through the first half and mused on the fact that he
prefers to train in the morning, but switched to afternoons this week because “I
suspected this would not be the best weather to play football.” It was all a
bit confusing and seemed like a coach who hadn't gotten enough time to sort out
his frustrations from a lackluster performance, so maybe a few more hours to
cool down and ponder the final result will do Mourinho good. A long Premier
League season awaits and there will be many more chances to accuse Chelsea
players of laziness and other crimes against humanity………
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