- Clearly, organizers of Rome's bid for the 2024 Olympics have seen
what happened in major American cities previously in the running for hosting
the Games. After Boston bailed on being a candidate to host the next Summer
Olympics in large part because public officials refused to rally behind the
city footing the bill for the inevitable cost overruns the Games incur and
public opposition to the idea soared, Roman government official Luca Cordero di
Montezemolo moved quickly to shoot down the idea of the public weighing in on
whether their city should throw its hat in the ring. Rome's city council voted
"nearly unanimously" in support of the bid last year and Montezemolo
said “the government has expressed maximum support, so we don't see the
necessity” of holding a public
referendum on the candidacy. That comment came after the small, left-wing
movement Radicali Italiani called for a referendum on the Rome bid, citing
spiraling costs of recent Olympics. It was the same on-point criticism that has
been levied by so many who opposed having the Olympics come to their town, yet Montezemolo
dismissed it with malice. "If someone wants to make publicity in an
electoral campaign, let them do it," Montezemolo said. "But we're
accustomed to dealing with institutions. I don't see the necessity for a
referendum right now." Why? Just because the German port city of Hamburg
dropped out of the 2024 race in November after the bid was defeated in a
referendum and Budapest, Hungary, another 2024 bidder, is also facing calls for
a referendum, that’s no reason to refuse to allow the public to have its say on
the issue……….
- There are just some things in life you have to hold to a
higher standard, even if it means greasing the tracks of the train taking you
back to prison. Ohio resident Donald "Chip" Pugh knows this to be
true and he simply had to take a stand after a mugshot from his recent arrest
in Lima, Ohio was released and painted him in an unflattering light. Rather
than accept that no one looks good in a mugshot because that’s kind of not the
point - thus, the terrible lighting in police stations - Pugh decided to snap a
selfie showing him in a sport coat and sunglasses to replace the mugshot
police had made public and send it to the Lima Police Department. The
department was more than happy to share the new photos along with a message
that read, "We thank [Pugh] for being helpful, but now we would appreciate
it if he would come speak to us at the LPD about his charges." Yes, this
genius was wanted in Ohio for failure to appear at a scheduled Dec. 28 court
hearing in Lima in connection with a drunk-driving charge and later said he simply
"chose not to go" to the hearing, electing to flee south. That’s
where he was arrested outside a public library in Century, Fla., just across
the border from Alabama. For a guy who is a person of interest in several other
cases, pulling a Brick Tamland in the aftermath of the “Anchorman” news team
brawl and finding a safe house to lay low for a while would have been the best
choice, but when a man’s appearance is being painted in a negative light, he often
feels the need to rise up and defend his honor……….
- It’s difficult to decide whether to applaud Victoria Beckham
for having the integrity to say no to a bad idea or mock her for trying to act
as if she’s above it. Beckham is the lone member of 1990s British girl pop
group the Spice Girls who won't be a part of a reunion that is one of the most
shameless cash grabs imaginable. This just happens to be the 20th anniversary
of the group's
breakthrough single 'Wannabe', which was released in July 1996, and months of
speculation have finally given way to confirmation that live dates will happen.
Those rumors suggested that Beckham is too busy for a reunion and fellow Spice
Girl Geri Halliwell (now known by her married name of Geri Horner) has
confirmed that the regroup will just be "the four of us.” Better known as
Ginger Spice, said there's nothing "definite or concrete" but
"when it's definite we'll announce it together.” It’s not as if Beckham
has gone on to be a transcendent superstar who has disassociated herself from
all things Spice Girls since the group disbanded, as they originally reformed
for a tour in 2007 and she appeared alongside her bandmates in 2012 at the
London Olympics closing ceremony, performing a medley of their songs. Yes, she
married one of the most famous athletes in the world and has had a couple of
kids, but she should still have plenty of time to lip sync to bad pop songs.
Instead, she said last year that “you've got to know when it's time to leave
the party,” suggesting that the Olympics were the perfect jumping-off point for
her with the group……….
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Somehow, Lebanon’s months-long trash
collection crisis is still a thing and given that the country still has no idea
how to handle its unwanted garbage surplus, it’s understandable why a throng of
angry citizens clashed with police in downtown Beirut before the end of the
week. The riot went down after a group of protesters entered the environment
ministry to stage a sit-in inside, timing their protest d to coincide with a
Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue. It was a smart move because it was
guaranteed to garner plenty of attention to the issue and because the most
recent idea for resolving the crisis — a proposal to export the waste
temporarily, which was agreed on in December — has stalled because of disputes.
Pile up enough filthy, unsanitary waste around the country and someone is going
to riot, a fact the government either doesn’t care about or is simply oblivious
to given its lack of urgency in finding a fix. The good news for the rest of us
is that this lack of action precipitated a massive riot in which many
demonstrators were detained while others were beaten by baton-wielding riot
police who chased them away. This situation has been festering since July, when
after authorities closed the primary landfill for Beirut and the surrounding
coastal governorate without providing an alternative. Maybe they didn’t realize
how quickly all of this would spiral out of control or maybe they overestimated
their ability to fix the situation, but the whole issue stinks and the public
is doing all it can to push for a resolution………
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