- Damn,
El Salvador. Seriously, damn. There are dangerous countries, there are
countries you wouldn’t travel unless you had an armored convoy and then there’s
the murderous Central American nation that just submitted a 635-murder month of
May, averaging nearly 20 - 20! - homicides a day. While there is no Elias
Sports Bureau to keep track of such statistics on a national or international
level and no advanced murder metrics to break down the grisly, gory details,
that number is believed to be the most violent deaths for a single month since
the Central American nation's civil war ended in 1992. The reasons for the
surge in people maliciously sending their fellow man shuffling off this mortal
coil vary depending upon whom you ask, with justice Minister Benito Lara
attributing the violence to gang turf wars and national police director
Mauricio Ramirez Landaverde pointing to what he calls a deliberate attempt by
criminal organizations to ramp up violence. It makes sense, after all, because violence
is kind of what criminals do and if they don’t use the best skills they have,
then what’s the point of being an outlaw? Landaverde noted that 60 percent of
the homicide victims were gang members and if that’s accurate, then maybe this isn't
as sad an occasion as it could have been. Still, it’s stunning to see 635
murders when just three months ago in March El Salvador recorded 481 homicides, at the
time the highest monthly toll in at least a decade. That number dipped to a mere 421 in April, but
surged by more than 50 percent in May. As always, April showers bring May
floods of blood running through the streets………
- Forget
those extra sleds, skeleton and bobsled professionals of the sports world. You
may think you’re entitled to that third entry into bobsled and skeleton's world
championships and Olympic races, but as of 2017, that extra weight on your team
is getting cut. Nations will be capped at two sleds in each race at those
events starting in 2017 thanks to an executive smackdown delivered by the
International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation's executive committee. The
committee voted to eliminate the possibility of third sleds in all disciplines
and the lone remaining hurdle between the world and much shorter bobsled and
skeleton events on the international stage is International Olympic Committee approval,
which is expected. When it comes to World
Cup events, nations will still be able to have three sleds entered in keeping
with longstanding customs, but ripping that third sled will force team to trim
their rosters and will allow fans to spend less time on the side of a cold
mountain or hill some place around the world waiting to see whoever the hell
the top bobsledders and skeleton competitors in the world are right now. Oh, and
whoever is in the sleds on the ladies’ side of the meet, it’s time to come
correct on your diet and start beefing up your cardio routine because the FIBT
also voted to reduce the maximum permitted combined weight for sleds and crew
in women's bobsledding by 66 pounds, a change that will be phased in over the
next two seasons. All in all, a truly great day for bobsled, bobsleigh and
skeleton courses around the globe………
- There
are lots of places babies should not be: next to me on planes, front row at a
strip club, inside the tiger enclosure at the local zoo….but on the front of a
beer bottle is not on that list. That face seems to have eluded New Hampshire Gov.
Maggie Hassan, who made the foolish mistake of vetoing a measure that would
have allowed some images of minors to grace alcoholic beverage labels as long
as they didn't encourage young people to drink. Specifically, this bill was a self-serving
effort fronted by Republican state Rep. Keith Murphy, who runs a popular tavern
and sponsored the bill because he wanted to be able to buy Breakfast Stout,
crafted by Founders Brewery Co. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Murphy’s would-be
acquisition features a label depicting a
chubby Norman Rockwell-esque baby scooping oatmeal into his mouth and while it’s
easy to argue that such an image isn't exactly enticing anyone, child or adult,
to consume alcohol, the state’s Democratic governor believes that allowing the
images could undermine the state's efforts to fight underage drinking. Really
Maggie? What teenager who’s on the fence about having an illegal beer at the
party their buddy Kyle throws when his parents are out of town for the weekend
is going to decide to go bottoms up because he sees a fat baby on the label of
the bottle? Murphy says the veto is an overreach and smartly pointed out that neighboring
Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont sell the beer in question. So is this merely
an example of government missing the point and using the legislative process in
a thinly veiled attempt to serve personal interests? Yes, and it’s a shame Gov.
Hassan is doing so………..
- Music
videos are not what they used to be. There was a time when hot groupies,
expensive cars, premium alcohol and off-the-wall parties were the primary
fodder for videos and there was little actual point to what happened on the
screen other than serving as a vehicle from promoting a band’s newest single. Maybe
Rage Against The Machine bassist
Tim Commerford could return to those happier days instead of using his side
project’s latest song as a vehicle to rip the American healthcare system in a video
that shows him getting actual spinal surgery after rupturing a disc in his
back. Commerford is currently fronting the band Future User and released the
video as a tandem entry alongside the band’s song “Voodoo Juju.” It depicts
former Rage frontman Tom Morello as a money-grabbing doctor the who explains to
Commerford that, because the band hasn't played since 2011, his health
insurance has expired. Dr. Morello then informs his patient that he will have
to pay massive fees for his medical care and the clip also sees cameos from
Rush members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, spliced together with über-graphic
footage of Commerford's actual surgery. "I got the idea for the video
after I ruptured a disc in my back and needed emergency surgery," Commerford
said in a statement. "As someone who often goes under the knife, I’ve
always been a bit overwhelmed by the process, paperwork, approvals and costs.
Luckily, I have insurance, but it got me thinking about all the people in this
country who can’t afford medical treatment.” Yes, but where are the ho’s and
blow? That’s what music videos are supposed to have, man……….
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