- It cannot feel good to be the sole Russian deputy
to vote last year against the annexation of Crime, at least not any time beyond
a day or so following that vote. Enter Ilya Ponomarev, who is no longer viewed
as a bold, free thinker willing to stand alone in the face of a tyrannical
regime looking to perpetuate its quest for world domination, but rather as the
target of a parliament that has voted to allow legal action against him for
daring to go against the grain. The State Duma voted overwhelmingly to strip of
immunity against prosecution, paving the way for legal proceedings against him
that could cost him his seat, which is a nice way of saying his life is about
to become the seventh circle of hell. The Duma can say it was simply responding
to a prosecutors' request in a case in which he is accused of embezzlement
related to his work for a state-funded technological foundation. If those
charges seem cooked up against someone against whom the government now has a
major beef, then you’ve clearly seen the Russian government do business before.
The good news for Ponomarev is that he is currently in the United States and
therefore might consider just hanging out for a while and hoping this all blows
over. Then again, for one of the leaders behind the 2011-2012 anti-government
protests, that seems unlikely. Ponomarev says the motion is a politically
motivated attempt to kick him out of parliament and prevent his return from
abroad and will lose his seat only if the court finds him guilty, but Russian
judicial proceedings are typically not the most honest, straightforward
proceedings……….
- Shots fired, Catfish and the
Bottlemen singer Van McCann. A lot of people believe what just came out of the
indie rocker’s pie hole and have believed it for some time, but the question is
why McCann is so worked up about it now. After all, One Direction have existed for
years now and everyone knows the man band is "preconceived and controlled,” as McCann described
them. What seems to have set him off is a tweet from One Direction member Louis
Tomlinson that stated how much he loved
Catfish and the Bottlemen’s music. "Genuinely made up you like it
but we're here to do us best to get u lids out charts & bands in. I
promised Ma a jacuzzi seem," McCann replied. "We're here to f*ck you
lot off." Peel back the layers of British slang and you have some genuine
musical rage, rage that does not seem to have abated in the months since. You
lot won a competition. I've sat in a band of seven years while you queued up
outside Manchester Arena the did a bit of disco to a man behind a table who
then put a few dollar bills down your jacket," McCann added.
"Everything they do is preconceived and controlled. It's live
pantomime." The Welsh band recently released its debut album and while
creating an unnecessary feud with a group – albeit a hacky one with no
authenticity whatsoever – with a much bigger public profile could come off as a
contrived publicity stunt, McCann and his bandmates are fine with the blowback.
"We don't care if people don't like it," McCann said. "We're
resonating with young people because no one else is doing the big guitars and
chorus thing.” His music is based on a life growing up in his Welsh hometown of
Llandudno and is vastly superior to anything One Direction has ever cranked
out, so he can really say whatever he wants about them………
- Welcome to the newest edition of “There are a lot of
people who shouldn’t be parents.” Today’s participants are Aaron Tate and Rachel Jaajaa, Northeast Ohio residents who
clearly should’ve taken a pass on procreating or at least waited a decade or so
until they were no longer ignorant, selfish, immature ass hats who would do
something so patently moronic as leaving a 3-month-old in the parking lot of a
McDonald’s like she was a half-empty cup of Sprite that they were too lazy to
finish or throw away in the trash can 15 feet away. Instead, this
unfortunate infant's parents have been charged with child endangering after
police say they couldn't agree which one would take care of her over the
weekend and rather than one of them step up and do the job or at least drop her
off with someone who wasn’t a blight on humanity so that person could care for
the child, they both bolted the scene. Police in Elyria say Jaajaa was leaving
McDonald's after her shift ended Friday and Tate met her in the parking lot
with the child. He clearly had had enough of caring for the child while his
significant other was working a low-paying, dirty job to make money for the
infant’s needs and wanted to hand the baby off. Jaajaa refused to take the baby
because she had plans and clearly, that human being that lived inside her for
nine months and depends on her for sustenance did not fit into said plans. The
best part of the story – if there can be a best part of this dumpster fire of
adult incompetence and life failures – is what happened next. These two went
from the McDonald’s parking lot to a nearby Burger King, where an officer found
them continuing their dispute. What the hell? You didn’t think it was appropriate
to have this fight outside Mickey D’s, so you brought the home of the Whopper
into the mix? Did Round 3 occur at Arby’s before you finished things off with fisticuffs
at Jack in the Box The responsible parties in this story, for the first time in
human history, were the minimum wage-earners at McDonald’s, who called police. Jaajaa's
sister is now caring for the baby, which probably should have happened before
now, and if there is any justice this world, neither mom nor dad will be
allowed near the child again………..
- Cuba is about to get a firsthand taste of the United
States’ best export, the one in which America remains unquestionably the best
in the world: basketball. The NBA is set to become the first U.S. professional
sports league to visit Cuba since President Barack Obama ordered diplomatic
relations between the countries to be restored when the Association holds a
four-day development camp and host clinics for youth from April 23-26. While
the timing of the event won't exactly allow the league’s best to take part and
truly bring the highest level of hoops to the impoverished island nation, the
camp will have newly retired two-time MVP Steve Nash, newly elected Hall of
Famer Dikembe Mutombo and former WNBA star Ticha Penicheiro. No idea who Penicheiro
is, but sending a former WNBA player is probably better than sending no one at
all, even if she is flanked by coaches of two of the league’s most mediocre
teams, Quin Snyder of Utah and James Borrego of Orlando. Of all of the places
we've been to, it's amazing to think this is the first time the NBA will be
hosting events in that country," NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said. "While
we're in Cuba, we're going to teach the values of our game, things like
teamwork, respect, dedication. Our game is an inclusive, easy-to-understand
sport that has brought people together. We think this is a great opportunity to
bridge cultures through basketball." The NBA and FIBA, basketball's world
governing body, also plan to issue an invitation for a pair of players and a
coach from Cuba to participate in an upcoming Basketball without Borders camp
for the first time, further globalizing the one sport that stands above the
rest when it comes to being universal no matter where in the world one finds
themselves. It may not fire Americans up like the improved chance to get their
hands on some quality Cuban cigars, but it’s still pretty damn cool……..
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