- Wherever
Chinese government representatives go, the trampling of human rights seems to
follow. Much like celebrites and athletes have their brand, China has its and
that brand is based on ignoring and demolishing the basic rights of its
citizens, something Czech center-right opposition parties have ironically
accused Prague police of during a recent visit of the Chinese president.
Opposition groups have decried what they call an excessive use of police force
against citizens protesting China's human rights record when President Xi
Jinping was in town last month. What no one can question is that there were
numerous violent clashes between Czech protesters and what appeared to be
well-organized groups of Chinese people supporting their leader, with police doing
something resembling trying to restore order through whatever means they deemed
necessary. According to law enforcement, 23 people were detained in total from
both camps, but no one really agrees on the facts of this story. According to the
opposition Civic Democratic Party and TOP 09, police sided with the Chinese.
They’re demanding to know if that plan was ordered by the government and who to
blame for Czechs being denied their protest rights. Interior Minister Milan
Chovanec is doing what a true government stooge does, denying any wrongdoing
and admitting to only one “minor” mistake. All in all, a truly shady response
to a situation that should surprise no one, given that China is involved and
people are demanding the right for dissenting opinions to be heard……..
- Wrong
move, anonymous Canadian post-punk rockers formerly
known as Viet Cong. This unknown outfit previously went by a moniker derived
from the political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that
fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam
War, but have decided to change their name to the forgettable, progressive
rock-sounding Preoccupations. Why? Because they feel like their former name was
hurting their game and causing some promoters to cancel their shows. They
received a fair amount of heat for the Viet Cong name and yet, it’s pretty much
the only reason anyone knows who the hell they are. Changing the name draws
even more attention to their ignored career and the band released a statement explaining
the change. “We apologize to those who were adversely affected by our former
band name. This was never anticipated nor our intent,” the band said in its
statement. “We are artists and not politicians, we understand that the name
reflected pain to some individuals and we are happy to change it and move on
and focus on our music.” The band had promised to change their name before the
release of their next record and are pleading naiveté on the whole matter.
Frontman Matt Flegel claimed the band were not
fully aware of the context of their former name. "We were pretty naive, and pretty ignorant on the subject. We
know a lot more now. If we knew what we know now then we would definitely not
call the band that,” he said. But bro, the only way you pick that name is if
you’ve heard it somewhere and if you heard it, then chances are pretty good you
didn’t hear it in a positive context. Nice try, though……..
- Oh,
the double-talk and scheming of the kosher food world. The dastardly plotting
and conniving never ends as people and companies angle for control of this most
lucrative of markets. The latest shenanigans come from Newark, New Jersey,
where a recently fired rabbi is accusing kosher
foods manufacturer Manischewitz of pushing him out as its longtime inspector of
holiday matzos after he complained it wasn't sticking to strict Jewish
religious practices. Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz is taking the legal fight to The
Manischewitz Co., where he worked for the Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations of America as the chief supervising rabbi. The UOJCA supplies
supervising clergy to independently ensure kosher standards are kept at food
producers and because of how seriously Jewish folks take the purity of their
food, it’s an important gig. It’s also worth noting that adhering to those
standards means food companies spend more to produce their grub than they
otherwise would, so cutting a corner or two in the name of profit is both
unethical and lucrative. Horowitz is claiming that’s what Manischewitz Co. did
and he’s now suing both the company and his union in New York City, seeking millions
of dollars in compensation for emotional distress and damage to the his
reputation. In response, the UOJCA insists the lawsuit is "entirely
without merit" and Manischewitz meets the highest kosher standards.
Meanwhile, the worry-prone Jewish men and women who rely on Manischewitz for
their cuisine now have something else to stress about………
- Athletes
walking away from their sport to enlist in the military is not a new idea. Pat
Tillman famously did it when he left the NFL to become an Army Ranger and later
lost his life in combat. Former NFL offensive tackle Darren Colledge recently
walked away from football to join the Army National Guard. MMA star Benson
Henderson is joining their club, although he has altered his previous pledge to
retire from the sport at the age of 33. His designated birthday is nearing and
yet, here he is getting ready to start his new career as a Bellator fighter
this weekend against Andrey Koreshkov for the welterweight title. Henderson has
also expressed a desire to join the military, but thought that there were age
limitations for join. He has since learned that it is possible for him to
enlist and now plans to do so, yet still continue his MMA career. “I thought I
would have to leave MMA but I talked to a few recruiters and the let me know
that there [aren’t age limitations],” Henderson said. After defecting from the
UFC to Bellator in free agency, he wants to chase both the welterweight and lightweight titles
and should he win tonight, he hopes to
get a shot at the lightweight title, currently held by Will Brooks, later this
year. Somewhere in that mix, he’s going to go to basic training it seems.
"Every 22-year old says [they want to join the military],” Henderson said.
“It’s something that I always felt. When I’m older, when I’m 50, I want to tell
my kids and my grandkids [that] you have a civic duty to your country.” He said
he has talked to his wife and will do whatever the military asks him to do,
which odds are will be less violent than what he currently does for a
living……..
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