- When
your country is the fictional homeland of the guy trying to scam millions of
people out of $5,000 as an “investment” to help him unlock his massive
inheritance he will then share with them, it’s kind of preposterous to try to
act like you’re offended when someone calls you corrupt…no names mentioned,
Nigeria. Yes, that Nigerian price is still waiting for your reply to his email
asking you to wire him your entire life savings, but Nigerian
President Muhammadu Buhari apparently isn't waiting on an apology after British
Prime Minister David Cameron called his country one of the world's most corrupt
nations. Cameron was the latest public figure to fall victim to a live
microphone at an reception ahead of an international anti-corruption summit he’s
hosting in London this week and the reckless-tongued PM was caught by a
television microphone saying "leaders of some fantastically corrupt
countries" were coming, referring to "Nigeria and Afghanistan —
possibly two of the most corrupt countries in the world." That could be a
problem at the summit, where Buhari is one of many world leaders coming
together to combat a problem that few would deny is major in his country. Yet
he’s not demanding a verbal apology from Cameron. "I am not going to
demand any apology from anybody,” Buhari said. "I need something
tangible" rather than an apology. According to the (allegedly) corrupt
leader, he is demanding "return of assets" held in British banks,
which is a rather vague demand and one that’s going to be tough to procure.
Looks like these two men won't be snapping any selfies to post on Instagram
this weekend……….
- Now
that he’s apologized to a TV producer he sucker-punched and settled a $150,000
racial discrimination and injury, lawsuit, it’s onward and upward for former “Top
Gear” host Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May's upcoming
Amazon Prime car show has lurched forward in recent months even as their old
show is revived with Matt LeBlanc and Eddie Jordan as its primary hosts and
now, the trio’s Prime show has a name. “The Grand Tour” sounds like quite an
idea and producer-assaulter Clarkson explained its origins. "Thing is -
We’ll be travelling the world hosting each episode in a different country, from
a giant tent. It’s a sort of 'grand tour', if you like,” Clarkson said. “So
we’ve decided to call it The Grand Tour.” Considering that Clarkson’s brawl was
the reason this dynamic trio was fired from their last show, it’s nice that
they’re willing to work together again. "We are like our pioneering and
prospecting forebears, sallying forth into a new frontier of broadcasting, and
making our home there,” Hammond said. Their naming options were a bit limited,
as Clarkson, Hammond and May were reportedly forbidden from using the word
‘Gear’ in the title of the new show by the BBC. Having their old show duel with
their new one should be an invigorating challenge for these three and the show
will debut on Amazon this fall. Streaming services have been enjoying quite a
run of late, so this is another bit of good news for the likes of Amazon, Netflix
and their growing list of rivals………
- D.C.
gridlock may be imminent and it has nothing to do with the Beltway - at least
not right now. Recently the subject of even more intense debate and snarky
commentary than normal, the embattled Washington
Metro subway system could be shut down completely if officials don’t follow the
safety measures ordered by the Transportation Department, Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx threatened. "We have the ability to withhold
(federal) funds from Metro. We have the ability to shut Metro down, and we're
not afraid to use the authority we have," Foxx said. "This is serious
business." You know dude means business because his last name has two x’s
at the end and those are the kinds of people you do NOT f*ck with. According to
Fo-double-X, officials haven’t identified the root cause of the incidents
involving the electrical arcing, smoke and fire, and have no plan for how to
fix the problem. It’s a reassuring reminder that those in power often don’t have
a clue, although DOT officials believe there might be too much electrical power
flowing through the subway system. A video recorded at the Federal Center
Southwest station shows a bright flash of electrical arcing followed by
billowing smoke in the same place where moments before a train had passed
through. Foxx described the video as “scary” and in its wake, the Federal
Transit Administration issued a slew of safety directives over the weekend in
response to the latest incident. One idea is to reduce the number of railcars
per train from eight to six, but that would lead to overcrowding problems,
especially during rush hour. Ah, the fascinating drama of governmental
ineptitude……….
- When
former major leaguers leave the United States to play abroad, it’s often as if
they fall off the baseball map. They end up in Mexico, Venezuela, Japan or some
other far-flung corner of the globe, toiling in a land where they don’t speak
the language and make a fraction of what they did in the majors. But that
doesn’t mean there aren't benefits and it doesn’t mean the world should forget
about them because sometimes, those ex-MLBers rise up, mash …. and earn
themselves a $10,000 bonus check and a year’s worth of free beer. Such is the
fortunate situation of Brandon Laird, last seen balling in MLB with the New
York Yankees in 2011 and the Houston Astros in 2012 and 2013. These days, the
former major leaguer plays for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan and
while baseball is huge in Japan and players can make a decent salary there,
it’s what Laird did this week that is going to make his life much better - and
raise its blood-alcohol content. Laird blasted a home run off a Kirin Beer sign
beyond the outfield wall in the Tokyo Dome and doing so earned him a year's
supply of beer and $10,000. The free suds are the benefit waiting for any
player who can go yard to deep left center and dent the display, but there are
actually multiple signs offering potential prizes of various shapes, sizes and
worth to those who hit them with a big fly. "Definitely
not drink it," Laird said, when asked what he'd do with his sudsy prize. "Maybe
give some to the batting practice pitchers or whoever wants it." Much like
a baseball Andy Dufresne, sharing his hard-won beer with his fictional fellow
inmates after tarring the roof of the license plate factory at the prison in “The
Shawshank Redemption,” Laird could score some big points with that sort of gift……….
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