- Montenegro done made a mistake. No, not believing that Russia
was involved in an alleged coup attempt on the country's election day. That
most likely happened because Russia loves to meddle in the affairs/invade/annex
various countries that used to be part of its evil empire back in the days of
the U.S.S.R., so thinking that they tried to covertly enable a coup to
overthrow your legitimate government is a fair belief. No, the problem is when Montenegro's
prime minister has the temerity to actually voice those suspicions and give
Russia a reason to hulk up and try to crush his country. So while it was
intellectually honest for Milo Djukanovic to say there was "a strong
connection of a foreign factor" in the Oct. 16 vote, which was marked by
the arrest of 20 people — including a former commander of Serbia's special police
forces — suspected of planning armed attacks against Djukanovic and his
supporters after parliamentary election results were announced, it was not
smart. Everyone knows that Russia has strongly opposed Montenegro's bid to join
NATO and that opposition leaders have made frequent visits to Moscow, but proving
Russia’s involvement in the alleged coup attempt will be dicey. Djukanovic said
authorities will investigate the extent of that involvement both on Russia’s
part and on the part of those within his country. In the meantime, his party
has won the vote, but will need coalition partners to continue ruling……..
- Marvel keeps rolling and Netflix keeps on building. Marvel
is expanding its universe almost daily and Netflix is trying to do the same.
Together, the two are working on “The Punisher,” the latest TV series featuring
Marvel characters. They’ve announced five cast members for the forthcoming
series, including some classic Marvel favorites. Those who know know that Frank
Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, is a popular antihero who made his Marvel Comics
debut in 1974 and has previously been played on screen by actors including
Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson. This series will mark the sixth
Marvel adaptation that’s been put together for the streaming service, following
“Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage” and the still-to-be-launched “Iron
Fist and The Defenders.” There are a few early cast entries for “Punisher,”
including “24” actor Paul Schulze as Rawlins, a CIA agent who often comes into
conflict with The Punisher’s one-man war on crime, Jason R. Moore as Curtis
Hoyle, a close friend of The Punisher and among the few who know he’s actually
still alive, Daniel Webber as war veteran Lewis Walcott and Michael Nathanson as
Homeland Security agent Dinah Madani’s partner Sam Stein. Add in Jaime Ray
Newman portraying Punisher ally Micro’s wife Sarah Lieberman and it’s a solid
mix so far. “We couldn’t have asked for a more talented group of actors to
round out the cast of Marvel’s The Punisher. It’s a thrill to watch them each
bring their characters to life with such layered, nuanced performances,” producer
Steve Lightfoot said. There is still time to go for the rest of the cast, as
the show will air some time next year on Netflix…….
- Rich people fighting over several Gilded Age mansions the
rest of us could never dream of owning…it’s the kind of legal battle that warms
the heart. It’s going on before Rhode Island's highest court, which heard
arguments earlier this week in a battle that has pitted dozens of members of
the Vanderbilt family against a nonprofit that owns in Newport. On one side of
this skirmish is the nonprofit Preservation Society of Newport Count, which
surely counts plenty of affluent folks among its membership, and they want to
build a visitors center on the grounds of The Breakers, a spectacular mansion
built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II. On the other side of the battlefield are dozens
of preservationists, as well as designer Gloria Vanderbilt and nearly four
dozen Vanderbilt relatives, who contend that the center as planned would
"permanently mar" the national historic landmark. To bolster the case
of those opposed to the center, two members of the Vanderbilt family attended
the arguments before the Rhode Island Supreme Court over two separate lawsuits.
However, those arguments involved zoning and licensing issues raised by
neighbors and the city, not the family's objections and the question of whether
the center would hurt the historical integrity of the site. The simple story is
that the Preservation Society wants to build the center to give visitors a
place to buy snacks and sandwiches, use accessible restrooms and buy tickets
indoors. Their argument is that The Breakers is a museum, and museums should be
allowed to serve food Daniel Prentiss, a lawyer for the neighbors' group, told
the Supreme Court that The Breakers is in a residential zone in "one of
the most famous neighborhoods in the country,” i.e. it’s home to a lot of rich
people in their mansions and bordered on one side by the Atlantic Ocean and
Cliff Walk. He wants to shut down the new structure and following the
arguments, the court is expected to issue a decision within 90 days……..
- The tradition that has never given anything of value to
anyone just won't stop giving. Ahead of the World Series, various elected
officials from the represented cities and states in baseball’s biggest event
did what previous practice dictated that they do, namely engage in the sort of
inane, moronic “bet” with their counterparts based on whose team wins the
series. You know, blowhard politicians trying to get a quicj chuckle and some
publicity out of betting something native to their city or state against a
similar item from the other state or city, to be won or lost based on the play
of athletes whose performance said politicians have no control over. Enter the
Republican governors of Illinois and Ohio betting cases of beer, pizza and
other ballpark favorites on the World Series beginning Tuesday between the Cubs
and the Indians. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner started the wacky hijinks by
posting a tweet in which he wagered a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza and
microbrew beer from Chicago if Cleveland wins, to which Ohio Gov. John Kasich
returned the challenge by promising to send Rauner "fan favorites" if
Chicago wins. According to a spokeswoman for the failed Republican presidential
candidate, those would include items such as local beer and ballpark mustard
from Cleveland. Not to be outdone, the states' two Democratic U.S. senators
also made a beer wager with one another, as did their Republican counterparts.
The Ohio lawmakers get Chicago beer if the Indian win, which their Illinois
counterparts get beer from Cleveland if the Cubs win. In the end though, with
lame-ass bets like this, everyone loses………
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