- Lower-tier
college football teams like the New Mexico State Aggies take massive paychecks
to play games like the one that took place over the weekend at the University
of Florida, accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for getting
their asses kicked. Maybe some angry UF students, staff members or general
campus lowlifes decided to level the fiscal playing field a bit…either that or
opportunistic scumbags saw an unoccupied New Mexico State football team bus parked
outside the stadium in a secure area and scored a quick payday by jacking
electronics and personal items. According to Gainesville police, computers and
other items were stolen from a team personnel bus during the game. "Dozens
of police cars were parked near the bus, so it seemingly took some gall to
enter the bus where it was parked," university police department spokesman
Brad Barber said. The thieves hit only the bus used by football staff members,
ignoring two other buses which carried New Mexico State players. New Mexico
State athletic director Mario Moccia confirmed that seven to 10 people had
items stolen and the victims included
administrators, boosters, the deputy athletic director and Moccia, who lost his
computer, work documents, an iPod, his passport and the keys to his home, work
and car. "The things underneath the bus were not touched," Moccia
said. On the field, Florida throttled New Mexico State 61-13 and while that was
happening a witness spotted one of the thieves entering the bus and leaving
moments later with electronic equipment, laptops, headphones and a small amount
of cash. The suspects haven't been identified, but other teams visiting Ben
Hill Griffin Stadium might want to bring extra security for their buses………
- Fraternity
Row at San Diego State University is about to get much more contemplative and
self-aware. One of the best party schools in America has plenty of bros and
soror-stitutes who have no idea what a Greek god or goddess actually is, but if
the founder of the Dharma Bum Temple in downtown San Diego has his way, a deity
from a different religion will soon have a house on the row. Jeff Zlotnik wants
to establish a Buddhist fraternity and sorority at the school, possibly even
offering classes in Buddhism and meditation to help college students cope with
stress, anxiety and depression. "We're not looking to start this heavy
religious organization," Zlotnik said. "This is a cultural
organization. We're not trying to create ordained Buddhists." Man, that is
a damn good spin job on something that is eventually going to devolve into a
morass of beer bongs, kegs, toga parties and streaking sessions across campus.
It’s almost as if Zlotnik believes what he envisions for these new
organizations to be possible. He first spoke to Abby Cervantes, a student at
the temple, about the idea because she started a sorority when she was in
college in 2011. Together, the duo began working on the houses that will be called
Delta Bet Tau fraternity and Delta Beta Theta sorority. The idea worked its way
up to professor Sandra Wawrytko, who has talked about the houses in Buddhism
and philosophy classes she teaches and believes some of her students are interested in joining.
"It can definitely help the fraternity and sororities on campuses to see
different models," she said. According to the North-American
Interfraternity Conference, there are no other Buddhist Greek organizations in
the United States, but Zlotnik is hopeful that this could be the first of many.
"It's a long process, but part of Buddhist practice is to be
patient," he said. How very philosophical of you, Z………..
- Getting
a meaty role in a Quentin Tarantino film should be a great career boost, even
for an already-established actress with plenty of quality roles on her resume
before working with the quirky director. It hasn’t quite worked out that way
for veteran actress Daryl Hannah, who played the role of one-eyed assassin Elle
Driver in Tarantino’s two-part action epic “Kill Bill” in 2003-04. Hannah was
one of those who had wronged Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo character and all of
those responsible parties were systematically hunted down and killed for their
actions. Hannah, who rose to fame in ‘80s classics such as “Blade Runner,”
Splash” and “Wall Street,” had her most high-profile role in “Kill Bill,” but
she says that both critical and fan acclaim for the movies and for her role,
she hasn’t seen any sort of boost in the roles she’s been offered over the past
decade. “Not really, because I've been working for a long time and, to a
certain extent, I'm satiated,” Hannah said, adding that the roles that she’s
been offered since 2004 have been “mostly crap… I'm not ambitious or desperate
to be working all the time, because I have a lot of other interests and
creative outlets. But, at the same time, it's insulting when you read a piece
of crap and you're like, 'Is this really what it’s come down to? Thanks a
lot.'" It’s not as if Hannah hasn’t acted at all of late and she recently
snagged a supporting role in the Wachowksi brothers’ Netflix series “Sense8,” which
launched on June 9. Like many new shows that aren’t mainstream creations, the
series has been a cult favorite online even though critics have largely panned
it. In spite of that critical hate, Netflix recently ordered a second season of
the sci-fi drama, so if Hannah thinks this role isn’t “mostly crap,” then
perhaps she can throw herself into it for the near future………
- To
the skeptical man, it might look like former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre is
either a) not a fan of the judicial process or b) doesn’t believe that the
court system is able to deliver a fair and just trial. Chad's former despotic
leader has denounced his trial on war crimes charges as being politically
motivated and his opposition to playing a willing role in the proceedings
hasn’t abated since then. The week began with a funny, yet not funny scene in
which security officers had to forcibly bring Habre into the courtroom as he
fought and struggled every step of the way. Security personnel had to hold down
the former Chadian leader, who resisted their efforts to restrain him, and the
Habre family opposition movement didn’t end there. The former dictator’s brother
and two other young men were removed from the courtroom by security guards, creating
a chaotic atmosphere in the process of bringing justice to a man who lived for
years in exile in Senegal's capital until he was arrested and ordered to go
before a special court. Habre is on trial because his government is accused of
being responsible for some 40,000 deaths during his rule, according to a truth
commission report. That something called a truth commission exists within the
context of a national government is something of an oxymoron, but Habre faces
charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture and the number of
deaths being held against him isn’t something you can credibly doubt………
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