Saturday, June 27, 2015

Long-jumping NFLrs, diamond stash and runs and Kosovo f*cks up


- Swing and a miss, Kosovo, swing and a freaking miss. Your parliament had one very important job to do this week and it whiffed in prolific fashion when it failed to pass constitutional amendments that would allow the establishment of a special court to prosecute war crimes including the killing of hundreds of Serb civilians.  War crimes are kind of a big deal and this decision represents a major setback in relations between Kosovo and its main international backer, the United States. It wasn’t exactly a nail biter of a vote, either, as the 120-seat legislature voted 75-7 on Friday in favor of the amendments. Big ups to the 38 legislators without the balls or soul to show up and cast a pivotal vote, by the way. It’s because of those 38 cowards that the amendments fell short of the two-thirds majority of 80 votes that was needed to approve the changes.  Why does all of this matter? Oh, only because a European Union investigation probed alleged crimes committed during Kosovo's war for independence from Serbia, but the special court must be established to issue indictments. Back in 2010, a Council of Europe report claimed former rebel leader turned politician Hashim Thaci and other Kosovo guerrillas ran a criminal ring in 1999 that targeted Serbs, Romas and also ethnic Albanians, which definitely looks bad for Kosovo when it continues to fail on its basic duty to clear the way for anyone involved in such atrocities to be brought to justice by the international community. This isn't you failing to show up for a vote on John Boehner’s bill making orange the official skin color of America, Kosovo legislators. You f*cked this one up big time……….


- Just send a cookie bouquet next time, Jared Leto. Leto, occasionally the frontman of crappy and totally overrated quasi-rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, is also a member of the much-anticipated anti-hero movie “Suicide Squad.” He missed the start of shooting in Toronto in April, but just because he was AWOL when director David Ayer started shooting the super-villain movie doesn’t mean Leto was a total flake. His band duties kept him away in the early days of shooting, so Leto hit his co-stars up with some, um, rather unique gifts. In order to show his commitment to his role as The Joker in the film, he first sent a nice love letter with a black box with a rat in it - a live rat - to the über-hot Margot Robbie. He was just getting started, though, and sent bullets to Will Smith with a letter. Shipping bullets is generally a bad idea, but in this case it worked and Leto topped his display of munificence off by sending the entire cast a video message accompanied by a dead hog. "Basically, what he said was, 'Guys, I can't be there but I want you to know I'm doing my work as hard as you guys'. The video he showed is in character. It blew our minds away. Then we realized that day, this is real,” said Adam Beach, who stars as Slipnot in the film. Leto eventually showed up  on set in Toronto and Beach said he has been impressed by the actor's performance as The Joker. "He encompasses this beautiful man and he shows it in, 'Hello, how are you?,' but in an instant, he goes to psychotic behavior where you're in fear," Beach added.  Robbie will portray Harley Quinn, Smith will star as Deadshot, Jai Courtney will play Boomerang and Cara DeLevigne will be the film's Enchantress, with the linchpin role of Rick Flag being held down by Joel Kinnaman………



- Tuck and run, Bobbie Oskarson, tuck and run. That should have been the response when the Longmont, Colorado resident found an 8.52-carat diamond at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park at Murfreesboro. Park officials confirmed that the gem is the fifth-largest diamond found since the park was established in 1972 and that’s swell, but they never should have had that chance. Park interpreter Waymon Cox said Oskarson found the gem in the southwest corner of the 37.5-acre search field and named it Esperanza Diamond for her niece's name and the Spanish word for "hope,” but there’s a reason she didn’t name it after the Spanish word for savvy, cunning or smart. If she were any of those things, Oskarson would have jammed that diamond into her purse, backpack or pocket and made a run for it. The gem is a mere three-quarters of an inch long and as big around as a standard No. 2 pencil, so she definitely could have stashed it on her person and tried to leave the park. It may have been a tough assignment, but it was worth the risk given that b’otch’s value on the black market. While the stone may be dwarfed by the largest diamond found at the park - 16.37 carats and was discovered in 1975 - if Oskarson would have found the right fence, she could have turned her diamond into a tidy profit even though technically its discovery on land belonging to the government technically means it belongs to The Man. If ever there was a time to ignore that law, this was it…….


- Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin  can fly in more ways than one. Goodwin, who was picked by the Bills in the third round of the 2013 draft, has top-end speed and as he proved this week, he still has elite leaping ability. Goodwin was absent from the Bills’ activities this week but had a good reason, as he finished fourth at the U.S. championships in the long jump, narrowly missing out on a spot at worlds. His best attempt was 27 feet, 5 1/2 inches, behind winner Marquis Dendy of Florida, who won at 28-5 3/4. "Back to football," Goodwin said. "But words can't even explain how happy I am right now." Goodwin admitted that he’s been largely focused on learning the offensive system implemented by new head coach Rex Ryan and he hasn't competed since the 2012 London Games, but figured that a recent dunking session on a basketball court convinced him to give track another try.  "I was like, `I still have a little juice in the tank. I think I can make some noise," Goodwin said. "I believed." Had he made the world championships, his schedule would have been insane and then some, as the long jump final at the championships will be held Aug. 25 in Beijing and the Bills play a preseason game four days later against Pittsburgh. Goodwin got his chance to reunite with his first love of long jumping when event chairman Ed Gorman granted him a spot in the competition. He could come back to track and field next summer, when he has more practice under his belt and a spot at the Rio Games is on the line. "We know what's (coming up) next year. I expect big things," Goodwin said. "But football is my main deal right now." Yes, the the odds of the long jump leaving you with permanent brain damage and a shorter lifespan are much lower than those offered by football, M..........

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