- Police
departments around the world are always thinking of ways to improve their
vehicle fleets, up their horsepower and empower their officers to efficiently
chase down the bad guys. The old, heavy-bodied Ford Crown Victoria sedans that
were once very popular have begun to fade from law enforcement motor pools and
in their place, departments are adding smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles
that still pack plenty of horsepower. Maybe the Abu Dhabi Police Department has
the next big idea for how to not only commute effectively, but to look damn
good while doing so. The department recently debuted a stunningly luxurious car
purportedly to raise awareness of its presence and also promote stricter
adherence to traffic laws, thereby achieving its departmental objectives and
make its municipality a safer place to be. Enter the Lykan Hypersport supercar,
one of just seven such vehicles ever made and stuck with a hefty price tag of $3.4 million. The car, produced
by the Lebanese-based company W Motors, can soon be seen on exhibit in a few
different locations and malls across Abu Dhabi. If it looks familiar, that’s
probably because you can see it in “Fast & Furious 7,” which filmed scenes
in Abu Dhabi, showing off the opulence and excess that has come to define and
personify the emirate globally. With the most sophisticated road networks and
infrastructure in the world, Abu Dhabi is definitely a place where this car is
at home. Captain Ahmed Abdullah Al Muhairi, chief of the Traffic Safety Section
at the Traffic Engineering and Safety Department, the Traffic and Patrols
Directorate of the Abu Dhabi Police Department, said the car is a prime example
of his department’s new concepts for awareness-raising work. “This marks a
shift from the traditional approaches towards developing new social-centered
initiatives, and ensuring full participation in the various social, cultural,
and sports activities,” he said. Whatever helps you justify that purchase,
Ahmed……….
- Liam
Gallagher needs something to do. The former Oasis and Beady Eye frontman has
been musically adrift since Beady Eye called it quits last year after a short,
unremarkable run that included two underwhelming albums from the group that
consisted of all the former members of Oasis, sans Liam’s estranged brother
Noel. He may have found something - or someone - to occupy his time for the
next couple of weeks, as Gallagher
and The Who frontman Roger Daltrey are reportedly forming a
supergroup for the upcoming “TFI
Friday” comeback episode. The British TV show confirmed that Gallagher
and Daltrey will perform 'My Generation' as part of a supergroup featuring The Lightning Seeds' Ian Broudie and
former Oasis drummer (and Ringo Starr's son) Zak Starkey. Chris Evans will host
the show and he should get a big thank you from Gallagher, who is reportedly
bored to tears with Beady Eye no longer together and rumors of an Oasis reunion
tough to sustain when the interest in such a happening is dwindling by the day.
The Daltrey-Gallagher supergroup doesn’t have name, but they will be joined on
the show by fellow musical guests Blur,
Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Mani, Rudimental and Years & Years. After
“TFI Friday,” there is no word on whether the quartet of Gallagher, Daltrey, Broudie
and Starkey will peform together or record, but given the obligations of its
four members, it doesn’t look to be a long-term fixture on the rock and roll
scene………..
- Here
in 2015, are there still big-eyed tourists who get snipered by the big-city
buzz and dangerous streets of New York City? Of course there are, but there are
also at least a few helpful, good Samaritans in Manhattan who are willing to
lend a hand, knee to the back or fist to the gut in the event that a visitor to
their fair city finds trouble. Jaime Cowgur, a mother of two visiting New York
last week, found herself in just such a spot when she made the trip from
Phoenix to spend a few days in the city that never sleeps. What she found
wasn’t a hot dog of questionable composition served by a street vendor, a walk
in Central Park or a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she encountered
Theodore Shearin, who is now accused of mugging Cowgur before dragging her down
half a city block. Cowgur's children were not with her during the incident,
which took place on West 35th Street, but the whole world can experience the
drama of the day because in the 21st century, everything is caught on camera
and there is footage of what happened after Shearin put his hand in Cowgur's rear pocket,
causing her to confront him and him to respond by trying to thieve her
backpack. Cowgur hit the ground, kept clutching the bag and was dragged until a
group of people stepped in to assist the damsel in distress. The footage shows one
man laying on the sidewalk, keeping his arm around the alleged mugger on top of
him. Others stood nearby to ensure that Shearin stayed down and prevent him
from escaping. “So many people came to my aid. Civilians who I don't know,
police officers, men and women who came over asking if I was all right. 'It was
pretty amazing. People were so warm. I still love New York. It's a great place,”
Cowgur said. In the video, someone asks her if she wants to press charges
against her attacker and she snaps, “Yes, he’s an asshole.” Just another day on
the mean streets of New York City………
- For
some reason, Dana White decided it was finally time to grab his hunting rifle
and take down the 10-ton elephant in the corner of his octagon. The UFC
president has spent years telling anyone who would listen that the glorified
street fighters who batter each other for money and glory inside the cage were
tested by the government for performance-enhancing drugs, yet hundreds of them
were predictably caught using PEDs.
Maybe that will change now that the UFC has hired the United States Anti-Doping
Agency (USADA) to beef up its drug testing policy. As of July 1, the UFC will
have the best anti-doping policy in sports, according to USADA chief executive
officer Travis Tygart. “I’d say that given the independence, the transparency
and the enforcement policies, it’s the top in all of professional sports,” Tygart
said. Tygart laid out a series of new policies aimed at eliminating drugs and
improving athlete safety in UFC. He revealed that UFC not only hired USADA at a cost of several
million dollars per year, but turned the program entirely over to the agency. That means the organization will have the
authority to randomly test any fighter at any time for any reason and because UFC
fighters are not unionized and there is no collective bargaining agreement,
there should be no hurdles in implementing the new policy. UFC officials won't
know who is being tested, when or how, and the UFC-USADA contract calls for 2,750 tests in a
calendar year, which equates to roughly 5 ½ tests per fighter per year. “The
UFC has literally removed themselves from the material operation of the
policy,” Tygart said. With blood and urine testing, athlete biological passports,
EPO analysis, human growth hormone analysis and more, maybe fans can finally
have some faith that the fights they’re seeing are clean and legit……….
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