Saturday, December 31, 2016

Putin's cheating sports regime, robots to help Arizona's homeless and Sherlock Holmes gets nicer


- It may be landlocked in the center of Europe, but that doesn’t mean Austria doesn’t like to party. No, they don’t have the all-day party reputation of the nation geographically ignorant people too often confuse them with, Australia, but Austrians are clearly big fans of all manner of illegal drugs and that’s why Austrian police have arrested 50 people and seized cocaine, heroin, marijuana and amphetamines following a three-year investigation into a suspected drug-smuggling ring. While the world at large may not think of Vienna as the place to party in central Europe, local police announced a collection of detainees that includes 10 suspected couriers, who transported drugs to the city from the Netherlands, Nigeria and Cameroon, and three organizers, extradited to Austria from the Netherlands. This was a multi-dimensional criminal outfit, as the arrested group also included two people who confessed to robbing a bank in Austria. The drug seizure that accompanied the arrests should put a serious dent in Europe’s party scene for the immediate future, as authorities say they seized 37.5 pounds of cocaine and 8.8 pounds of heroin as well as marijuana and amphetamines worth some 100,000 euros ($104,500). They also uncovered evidence that the ring smuggled a total of 123 pounds of heroin and cocaine with a street value of at least 6 million euros ($6.3 million), proving without a doubt that even landlocked central European nations know how to have a good time and enjoy a quality high………


- A man who is occasionally cited as one of the most punchable faces in Hollywood promises that he - or at least his current TV character - will be “less of a dick” going forward. Benedict Cumberbatch has spoken about the upcoming fourth season of “Sherlock,” which begins tomorrow in both Europe and the United States, picking up where Season 3 left off, when Sherlock Holmes was briefly exiled from the United Kingdom before returning as a “Did you miss me?” message from Moriarty spread across the country. As part of the promotional process for the fourth season, Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Amanda Abbington and creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss discussed what lies ahead for the show and when Cumberbatch suggested his character would be “less of a dick,” the cast joked it should be a tagline for the series. The official word was also that the new season would grow darker throughout, although “not in an entirely unfunny way,” according to Gatiss. Cumberbatch added that Holmes, “is becoming, in a very clear way, responsible for his actions. But I think he understands that it’s a slow, slow process that began in the very first instance when he met John [Watson].” According to Cumberbatch, his character found the “needed missing part of the jigsaw that is him,” which was the catalyst for a friendship that “has been a humanizing element all the way through.” Given the persistent rumors that the new season could also be the show’s last, fans should clearly savor the ride and enjoy this new version of Holmes………


- Those are dwell at or below the poverty line tend to have great empathy for those below them on the socioeconomic ladder. Tempe, Arizona artist Alexi Devilliers is a man who admits that he makes less than $20,000 a year, yet he’s one of the people making a concerted effort to reach out to the city’s homeless community - when he’s not busy with his own art. He spends much of his time in his backyard shed creating robots composed of canned foods, scrap metal and other random parts he can find, turning discarded household items and decorations into the money needed to help Phoenix’s Justa Center. "This is what generates the funding to keep feeding the people for the last seven years," Devilliers said. With the money he makes from his art, he and his family live, but he also pays for more than 100 home-cooked meals for elderly homeless people at the center. "[We're at] 40,000 meals and counting," Devilliers said. "The robots pick up the cost of the food; I cook it and I serve it." On Saturdays, Devilliers wakes up around 5 a.m. to prepare the meals by hand and delivers them to those in need in the area around the Justa Center, located at 1001 W. Jefferson Street. The facility is a day resource center for seniors 55 and older who are homeless in the greater Phoenix area and helps its clients find appropriate housing, employment and other needed services. It runs solely on financial support from people such as Devilliers, who also has a wife and young son to support. Helping out the center is something of a self-sustaining cycle when it comes to his art, as the empty cans used for the meals he makes generate additional material for new robots………


- Does Russia do anything by the rules or do Vlad Putin and his crew refuse to acknowledge that rules even exist in any realm? At the end of a week in which the Obama administration announced punitive sanctions against Russia for its involvement in hacking aimed at influencing the outcome of the recent American presidential election, four Russian skeleton athletes have been provisionally suspended by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation for alleged doping rule violations at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The federation announced in a statement that it took action after being informed by the International Olympic Committee that investigations had been opened into the four athletes, without naming them publicly. This all comes in the wake of the publication earlier this month of a second report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren into Russian doping. McLaren laid out vast state-backed cheating in Russian sports, including swapping athletes' tainted samples for clean urine through the testing laboratory at Sochi. There was already plenty of forensic evidence of manipulation of samples at the 2014 Winter Games,  but laying out once more how sealed doping bottles were opened with special tools by intelligence agents and tainted urine was replaced with clean urine to beat the drug-testing system never hurts your case. "It has been a hard time for all of us in sports after the publication of the McLaren Report," IBSF President Ivo Ferriani said in the statement. "The IBSF is fully committed to ensure all necessary steps will be taken to gain back the integrity of sport.” The odds of this being the last time Russian athletes are suspended based on what happened in Sochi are probably lower than the odds that Russia will operate a clean program in all of its sports going forward……..

Friday, December 30, 2016

Francis Badwan's shoe paranoia, Burundi is bur-angry and axing Bob Bradley


- The coach of a professional sports team has to do something extremely offensive to get himself fired just 12 weeks after his hiring. For a case study in how to make it happen, take a close look at former U.S. men’s national team and now-former Swansea City coach Bob Bradley. Swansea broke off the American bench boss just 85 days after being brought on board because the Swans accumulated just eight points during Bradley's 11 games in charge. How does a coach, even in the high-pressure world of European professional soccer, wear out his welcome in less than three months? According to Bradley, he knew about the negativity surrounding Swansea, brought on in part by the sale of the club to Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien earlier this year, but he believes owners Kaplan and Levien, as well as chairman Huw Jenkins, lost their nerve and fired him in a panic move. A four-point haul from the club's first seven games and poor performance of late has slotted Swansea in 19th place, firmly in the relegation zone and ahead of last-placed Hull City only on goal differential. Bradley had just returned home from training when Jenkins summoned him to the team's academy for a meeting and like many employees summoned suddenly into a murky meeting by their boss, he was well aware the end was near. "As soon as I got the message I knew what was happening," Bradley said.  "When Huw and I met, he just talked about the fact that [I] came into a tough situation, that there was at this point, such a negative atmosphere around the club and as a result felt they needed to make a change." The veteran coach believed the team could have bolstered its roster during the upcoming January transfer window and rallied back up the standings, but now that task will fall to someone else…….


- Times are hard in Florida and even elementary school-age children trying to make a quick buck selling lemonade in their front yard need to have their head on a freaking swivel while on the clock. That means you, Lucas White, and your 9-year-old friend who were selling lemonade at a stand in their neighborhood in Hillsborough County when a pair of teenage suspects robbed them of their small stash of cash. The suspects, 19-year-old Deante Small and a 16-year-old cohort, made their brazen cash grab at an apartment complex on Livingston Avenue, but this was no ordinary lemonade stand robbery. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, a verbal argument ensued when the suspects weren't happy with how much drink they were given and at that point, one of the proprietors of the stand did what 9 year olds are wont to do in times of disagreement, throwing a temper tantrum by hurling a cup of lemonade on the juvenile suspect. Rather than act like the person in the incident much closer to adulthood, the juvenile pushed the child to the ground and grabbed an iPod from the stand before fleeing. Small grabbed a cup that contained about $13, then followed suit with a reprehensible drink-and-dash. White and his friend told the nearest responsible adult, who called police. Officers were soon able to locate the suspects, but they didn’t find the money or iPod. Still, Small was charged with robbery by sudden snatching, and the juvenile was charged with battery and petit theft. In the end, the incident proved to be a business boon for the two children, who saw sales skyrocket as people in the community heard about their plight and reached out to buy some watered-down, warm lemonade from two kids on the side of the road………


- Anyone who’s ever seen British indie rockers The Horrors live knows that eccentric frontman Faris Badwan is a man who often has fashion on his mind. The shaggy-haired rocker is renowned for always rocking skinny jeans and is on the record as saying that he always sticks to wearing black as he looks ”very ill” in other colors. “I like jeans that stop at the ankles and I love drainpipes. My favorite jeans are Levi’s,” Badwan said. “I stick to wearing black because brown makes me look very ill, and I already have a tendency to look ill anyway.” However, as much attention as he clearly pays to his own jeans and sartorial choices, apparently he doesn’t feel the same way about other parts of the wardrobe. In the world according to Badwan, he can’t understand why people wear shoes to make a fashion statement. In fact, the opinionated frontman says he’s always suspicious of “experimental footwear,” preferring to stick to more tried-and-true means of protecting his feet from the elements. “I’m very suspicious if anyone who is experimental with footwear. I prefer to stick to smart, classic and British styles,” he said. Rock stars are known for being eccentric, but this is an odd take on the idea. Badwan has had himself a busy year despite The Horrors not releasing any new music, as he released a new album with his side project Cat’s Eyes. The album was recorded at Real World Studios in 2015 and was produced and mixed by Steve Osborne and was Cat’s Eyes first studio album since their self-titled debut LP in 2011. It makes you wonder what kind of footwear everyone was rocking in the studio……..


- If you’re the president of Burundi, you don’t have a ton of clout. When you do have a chance to exert your über-limited influence, you clearly have to take it and thus, Burundi's president has threatened to pull out almost 5,500 troops contributing to African Union forces in Somalia over unpaid allowances. President Pierre Nkurunziza threw down the gauntlet, vowing that if there is no payment by January, Burundi will recall the more than 5,400 troops from the 22,000-strong regional force protecting Somalia's weak government from al-Shabab extremist attacks. Pulling security forces from a tenuous situation where every last peacekeeper is valuable is a shady move, but Nkurunziza claimed that Burundi's troops have not been paid allowances for 11 months amid a standoff between Burundi's government and the European Union over the EU accusing Burundian authorities of human rights abuses. Yes, but who can be expected to respect human rights in their country while also sending troops across borders to help keep the peace in other countries? The problem for Burundi is that the EU is the largest donor to the African Union force in Somalia and Nkurunziza and his dubious regime have faced mounting international criticism over the deadly political turmoil that followed his pursuit of a third term last year, which many in the country called unconstitutional. Hundreds have been killed in the ensuing dispute and the situation remains combustible at best. The EU antagonizing Nkurunziza probably won't help calm things down, but at this point, battle lines have been drawn………

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Wentz's gun gifts, Argentine rock riots and Deadpool + Wolverine


- Well played, Mars candy company. You know that America is morbidly obese in an alarming way and while your mission of selling all manner of unhealthy, sugar-coated treats to the masses overtly contributes to that problem, you’re trying to find a way to offset the damage your products do - all while making it look like you're just a bunch of negligent f*ck-ups. The official story is that Toole, Utah resident Kassidy Maxfield rolled up on a local grocery store, purchased a bag of fun-size Snickers bars and on Christamas day, busted that bag open and was about to pop one of those too-small excuses for a candy bar into her mouth when she discovered a thumbtack inside the sweet treat. “That's the last thing I thought we would ever find,”
Maxfield said. But stop and realize that this woman was hungry and rather than eat a salad or a boneless, skinless grilled chicken breast, she grabbed a few Snickers candies from her 2-year-old's Christmas stocking. “Grabbed a couple pieces and the first pieces were fine,” Maxfield said. Had she stopped at two pieces of candy, she would have temporarily averted disaster, but she plowed ahead into that third candy bar and bit through the milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel and nougat and discovered an extra ingredient. She claims to have found a small gold thumb tack right in the middle of the bar and spit it out before it could do any damage to her teeth. Maxfield insists the wrapper hadn’t been tampered with and seems to imply that she didn’t plant the tack, so she called Mars and the company offered to send her coupons to get more Snickers. “I'm not interested in eating that candy anymore,” Maxfield said. Problem solved. Now, pick up that salad fork…….


- Superhero crossovers are box office gold these days. As such, trying to marry two über-popular heroes - albeit one of them a foul-mouthed anti-hero - in any form makes sense for everyone involved and thus, a Deadpool and Wolverine crossover could be happening - just not as a feature film. The word on the streets is that Ryan Reynolds shot a scene with “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch and that scene will be shown during the credits at the end of new Wolverine film “Logan.” While 20th Century Fox has not made any official comment on rumor yet, allowing it to waft into the air for fanboys all around the world to build buzz is a smart play. Reynolds, who plays the titular Deadpool, previsoly asked fans to lobby Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine, to not give up the role after the release of “Logan,” something Jackman is keen on doing. “I want Deapdool and Wolverine in a movie together,” Reynolds said. “What we’re gonna have to do is convince Hugh. If anything, I’m going to need to do what I can to get my Internet friends back on board to help rally another cause down the line. He noted that Jackman is “one of the best human beings” and said part of the reason he wanted a combo movie is because he just thinks Hugh is a swell guy. Whatever fills its credits, “Logan” will hit theaters in March, while “Deadpool 2” isn't due out until next year. That’s plenty of time for Jackman to film an extra outtake to round out its credits……..


- Sometimes, a rebel just needs to go Cro-Magnon in his efforts to force The Man to hear his voice. An angry mob in rural Argentina knows this to be true and these bold souls took that lesson to heart by attacking a vehicle carrying President Mauricio Macri as the president was heading to a ceremony to inaugurate a tourist information center in the southern town of Villa Traful, about 1,000 miles southwest of the capital of Buenos Aires. According to the president’s office, Macri was  attacked by rock-wielding protesters who broke two windows of his official vehicle, but the president himself was not injured. The official story is that about 10 people were involved in the attack, but if you can bring together 10 truly enraged people and some old-school tools of protest and you can bring the fight to the nation’s highest-ranking elected official, then the world will take notice for at least a moment. In this case, Macri continued with his normal schedule, but it’s safe to say that he won’t forget his visit to Villa Traful any time soon. The protestors’ aims weren’t immediately clear, but the conservative president took office a year ago and has been struggling with high inflation and a sluggish economy, so there is no shortage of fuel for those who feel like the government isn’t doing nearly enough to help them and better their lives in the midst of a hailstorm of problems and daily struggles……..


- Give gifts based on the recipient and not on your redneck roots. Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz chose to ignore that simple rule when following the popular trend of giving one’s offensive linemen extravagant presents for keeping him healthy and upright during the course of an NFL season. Thus, Wentz gave each of his offensive linemen a Beretta shotgun for Christmas, each gun personalized with the player's number engraved on the butt of the gun. One of those linemen, Allen Barbre, is a fellow hunter like Wentz, who spent the team’s bye week this season hunting back home in North Dakota and is clearly a camo-loving country boy who doesn’t mind spending to give his five linemen the Beretta model is a Silver Pigeon, which retails for around two thousand dollars a pop. Even if Barbre is a hunter and fellow lineman Brandon Brooks likes to “go clay shooting and stuff,” giving people guns for Christmas or end-of-the-work-year occasions just sends a bad message - namely, think of me when you go blasting away at animals or projected clay spheres. While Wentz may have been lying in a cornfield hunting geese when he got the call that Sam Bradford would be traded and that he would be named the starter prior to the season, was there really any harm in giving away 80-inch, 4K HD televisions, new motorcycles or an iced-out watch rather than a bullet-hurling instrument of death to a group of guys who may not all be card-carrying NRA members? Besides, a team that sits at 6-9 entering the final week of the season probably hasn’t accomplished anything truly gift-worthy……..

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Cambodia stifles dissent, John Williams tunes out and underhanded hoops


- Were they animal lovers or simply smart thieves who knew where and when to strike? Let’s go with option B after a late-night break in at one of the most expensive furrier shops in the country, located on Madison Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Surveillance footage shows two men hurling a huge rock through the glass front door, then bursting instead to make the heist. One of the thieves was smacked in the head by the heavy steel bar at the top of the door frame, but that didn’t stop he and his partner in crime as they made off with more than $1 million worth of top-of-the-line designer furs. In surveillance footage from the Dennis Basso boutique, the two thieves can be seen toting out all of their stolen furs in less than a minute. According to a store manager, the store has identified about 20 major pieces that were missing and it’s clear the thieves knew what they were doing because they targeted the very expensive sable coats and chinchillas. Owner Dennis Basso noted that the thieves made off with several Russian sable coats, some of which were valued as high as $200,000, but amazingly, police don’t have any suspects and are short on leads as to who is responsible for the thefts. Store executive Achilleas Georgiades said he can't believe something like this happened on the "civilized" Madison Avenue proving that he either hasn’t been in Manhattan too long or doesn’t venture outside of his little bubble too often……..


- It was an underhanded debut for Houston Rockets rookie center Chinanu Onuaku - and he’s totally cool with that. Onuaku made his NBA debut in eight fourth-quarter minutes of a 131-115 blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns, notching six points and grabbing three rebounds. Still, it was the two underhanded free throws he made with 2:46 to play that stood out. "I was nervous as hell," Onuaku said. "I'm just happy that I made them." He received an enthusiastic reaction from the Toyota Center crowd after making that shots, becoming the first NBA player since Hall of Famer Rick Barry (1966-80) to attempt underhanded free throws in a game. Barry did so regularly and with great success, but it took more than three decades for the trend to be revived as Onuaku brought the style back. He’s been doing it for some time and began after his freshman season at Louisville, when he made just 46.7 percent of his foul shots. After making the change, Onuaku improved his foul shooting (58.9 percent) and he hasn’t looked back. His teammates were slightly amused at the sight, but those who spoke about Onuaku’s debut said that as long as he makes the shots, they don’t really care how he does it. After all, if Hall of Famers George Mikan and Wilt Chamberlain also tried it for a time, then maybe it’s not so bad after all. Of the many, many terrible free throw shooters who populate the NBA on an annual basis, it’s nice to see one of them willing to try something that looks ridiculous but just might help their game……..


- Artists, actors and other creative souls can be funny when it comes to watching, listening to or otherwise taking in their work once they complete it. “Star Wars” composer John Williams falls under that heading and despite scoring the iconic sci-fi films, “Indiana Jones” films and many other movies, he says he’s never watched a single “Star Wars” movie in which iconic themes such as “The Imperial March,” “Rebel Fanfare” and “Overture” have been heard. Why? According to Williams, he likes to leave a film behind entirely when he’s finished working on it. “When I’m finished with a film, I’ve been living with it, we’ve been dubbing it, recording to it, and so on,” he said. “You walk out of the studio and, “Ah, it’s finished. I have not looked at the Star Wars films and that’s absolutely true. I’m not particularly proud of that, I have to say, but it’s also part of the fact that I finished Star Wars now and I’m already working on Spielberg’s new film and I don’t want to listen to music or see films.” At 83 years old and with plenty of awards and nominations in his back pocket, Williams can handle his musical products however he sees fit, but maybe his refusal to watch movies with his music in them stems from the artist’s perennial quest for perfection. “You hope that you’ve gotten 90% of it or as close to it as you can. But at least with me, and I think with most writers of any kind, you really don’t say “Eureka! This is it,” Williams added. At the end of the day, the checks still clear either way, so Williams can exist in whatever isolated world he chooses to occupy……..


- That’s one way to stifle dissent, Cambodia. Ask anyone not a part of the current reign of terror by Prime Minister Hun Sen or responding out of sheer fear of reprisal by the regime and you’ll quickly learn that the prime minister is working awfully hard to weaken his opponents ahead of local elections next year. That crusade has taken on various forms, the latest of which happened this week when a Cambodian court sentenced the country's exiled opposition leader to five years in prison after finding him guilty of conspiring to incite chaos by posting misleading documents on his Facebook page. While convicting a guy who isn't actually there to defend himself is a bit hollow, the conviction is the latest legal problem for Sam Rainsy, head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party. There are several cases against him and pressing forward with those cases is generally considered part of Hun Sen’s plan to undermine the efforts of the opposition and minimize the threat to his power in next year’s elections. As for Rainsy, his “crime” occurred when his Facebook page reposted from a fellow party member several poorly translated documents suggesting that Hun Sen's government had signed a treaty ceding territory to neighboring Vietnam, Cambodia's traditional enemy. That sort of action, albeit a digital one, is clearly viewed as a massive affront to the prime minister and as such, worth prosecuting whether the accused is in the courtroom or in another country. Keep shutting down critical voices, Cambodia, and keep doing you……..

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Cross-country skiing rage, prison toilet escapes and Linkin Park's Hall of Fame self-induction


- What do Sarajevo, Paris and Beijing have in common this year? Aside from being places many Americans would have locating on a map without the assistance of Google, they’re all places that have spent at least part of the year coping with serious pollution problems that have led to government officials instituting severe driving restrictions or bans aimed at curbing the wheels of large numbers of their respective cities’ drivers for certain days of the week. Beijing led the way, Paris followed within the past few weeks and now, Sarajevo authorities have banned half of the city's cars from driving on city streets in an attempt to ease air pollution. The local government ordered the introduction of alternative driving days for cars with even and odd numbered license plates and made public transportation free until the situation improves, nearly identical to the measures Paris has implemented and other cities have utilized as a method of trying to lessen the level of toxicity in their air. As part of Sarajevo’s efforts, some outdoor construction work has also been halted and in a city located in a narrow valley that hinders the free flow of air, every small step is helpful in combating the dense fog that has obscured the view of the city from surrounding hills for more than a week. If you’re someone who actually believes official government statistics in situations like this, Sarajevo’s numbers from the past seven days show that the concentration of hazardous air particles have been between six and 10 times above the acceptable limit. Assume it’s at least 50 percent worse than that and you have an idea of what we’re dealing with here………


- Is Chester Bennington the one who always raps or the one who always screams? It’s hard to remember, but either way, the co-frontman of nu-metal/electronica band Linkin Park is confident that in a few years, when he, Mike Shinoda and the fellas are eligible for induction into the wholly meaningless vacuum of musical memorabilia that is the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, they’ll be inducted alongside the scores of disco, pop, jazz and dance music artists who already crowd the Hall’s halls and have their lunchboxes, jumpsuits and instruments on display inside plastic cases. Artists have been inducted every year since 1986, with performers becoming eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their debut album. Recent inductees include Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground and Joni Mitchell and if you ask Bennington, Linkin Park are a lock to join their ranks. “There’s no way that we can’t be,” Bennington said. “Biggest-debuting album of the 21st century. I mean, how can you not get in?” He added that the band’s chances of future induction are at “a hundred percent,” although that honor will have to wait until at least 2025, when the band’s debut album, “Hybrid Theory,” turns 25. That album has racked up 27 million sales worldwide and Linkin Park has somehow won two Grammys amongst many industry honors it has achieved. Self-inducting your band into the Hall of Fame is a bit presumptuous, but given the low threshold the hall has set over the years, it really isn't a stretch to imagine the Park getting voted in…….


- What a story from Tennessee, where a toilet, Cock(e) and prison escape all came together over the holiday weekend. Yes, excitement was high in Cocke County, where six inmates escaped from the Cocke County Jail Annex during the early morning hours through an escape plan that has been utilized by prisoners for almost as long as there have been prisons, creating a hole behind the toilet in their cell and using it to get into the prison’s inner workings, thereby making their getaway. According to investigators, the inmates escaped through a hole behind a stainless steel toilet, with a little help from their old friend opportunity. "The inmates escaped after a water leak occurred behind a wall unit stainless steel toilet. Apparently the bolts holding the unit rusted out and there was prior damage to the concrete due to plumbing repairs,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement. “The inmates vandalized the lavatory removing it from the wall and gained access to a hole which led outside of the facility." Sadly, three of the inmates proved that they were much better at escaping prison than remaining free, as John Mark Speir was caught at a home in Cosby and Steven Lewis was captured after a foot chase in the Carson Springs community. A third inmate, Eric S. Click, was captured the next day and two men, Daniel Speir and Jarred Schoondermark, were charged with harboring a fugitive following Speir's arrest. Three other escapees, John Thomas Shehee, Harce Wade Allen, and David Wayne Frazier, have been able to keep their temporary freedom going longer than the rest of their friends, but look for them all to be reunited behind bars very soon……..


- Never underestimate the ire of cross-country skiiers. They strap on giant-ass skis, they fight the cold and powder across extreme distances and they do it all wearing full-body spandex. They have reason to be chafed and right now, the target of their outrage is the International Olympic Committee's approach to anti-doping issues. That approach has inspired more than 100 cross-country ski athletes from eight nations to sign their name to a letter demanding a meeting with the leadership of skiing's world governing body, FIS, in the wake of controversial comments by its longtime president. "We believe a soft-handed approach to anti-doping is allowing cheating to persist in our sport," the letter stated. "We request stronger leadership by both the FIS and the IOC." The letter’s credibility is bolstered by the signatures of Olympic medalists from several of the sport's strongholds -- Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland and France -- along with dozens of other athletes who added their names during a signature-gathering effort conducted at World Cup competitions this month. In a wonderfully ironic twist, among them are four Russian athletes, all women, including 2010 Olympic team sprint bronze medalist Natalia Korosteleva. Russia opposing rather than systematically engaging in doping is a new concept, but maybe it’s legit. There are also 13 U.S. athletes on the list, including Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins, the 2013 team sprint world champions. The pissed-off posse of pole-toters wants a meeting with FIS president Gian-Franco Kasper at the February world championships in Finland and there, will join the growing number of athletes from across the sporting world pushing for a World Anti-Doping Agency with more power and autonomy………

Monday, December 26, 2016

Pot brownies + art class, Nine Inch Nails back at it and Iran forgets how it's done


- Normally, NHL violence is limited to what happens on the ice. But over the holiday weekend, the rage was real from former NHL forward Steve Downie against hockey commentator Don Cherry and the Arizona Coyotes, both of whom he attacked in a lengthy Twitter rant in which he lamented  the culture of violence that he believes Cherry perpetuates through his "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em" series of videos. Downie, who played parts of eight seasons in the NHL, quickly drew the ire of a fan who tweeted an animated GIF of Downie bodychecking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Dean McAmmond in 2007, a play that left McAmmond concussed and Downie suspended for 20 games. Downie didn’t duck the criticism, retweeting the GIF and expressing his regrets from the play. "That hit is what happens when you watch don cherry rock em sock em videos from age 5 to 18. Nothing good comes from those vids," Downie said from his verified account. "I just did what I had to do to play. I still think about what I did to Dean macomond and what I caused him to go through with his family. "But again, I did what don cherry said to do every Saturday night. Just ... disgusted when I look back. Wish I never played." Trying to push blame off on Cherry didn’t come across well, but it’s clear Downie’s issues with the commentator run deep, as he then took Cherry to task for his stance against visors. "Sorry Don, but you called me a p---y for wearing a visor and trying to protect my eyes. Sad thing is I listened to you," Downie said. All of this from a former first-round draft pick who played for five teams, including 26 games with the Coyotes last season. Downie clearly has a good knowledge base from which to speak, but he also has a very deep reservoir of anger………


- It’s been a while, Iran, so maybe you can have a pass on not knowing how the whole multi-billion-dollar international business deal works. According to official state news in the embattled, dictator-led Middle East nation, Iran’s deputy transport minister is bumping his gums about a massive deal the country has with Boeing, saying the country will only pay half of the announced price for 80 new Boeing planes, given the reductions in its purchasing options. In the world according to Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, despite an initial $16.8 billion deal with Boeing to purchase 80 passenger planes, "Regarding the style of our order and its options, the purchase contract for 80 Boeing aircraft is worth about 50 percent of the amount." It’s a cryptic remark and one on which Kashan did not elaborate. Were the cup holders not available on the planes, as was originally promised? Maybe the leather seats weren’t offered in the right color, or perhaps the seat warmer option was discontinued for this edition of the planes? It’s a bit surprising for Iran to take this stance now, given that it announced earlier this month that it had finalized the deal, which was made possible by last year's landmark nuclear agreement. Being able to make these kinds of major deals once again, it’s understandable that perhaps Iran has forgotten how they go, but welching on the largest single contract with an U.S. company since the 1979 revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy isn't a great way to reintroduce yourself to the international business world……..


- The Nails will be pounding in the new year, according to frontman Trent Reznor. Reznor said Nine Inch Nails are set to release “two new major” projects in 2017 following the release of the “Not the Actual Events” EP just before Christmas. “I’m teeing up the next quote I’ll have to live up to, but the idea has been for two new major works come out next year,” Reznor said, adding that both would be “under the Nine Inch Nails umbrella.” The frontman said there are no plans to tour this coming year with new music, but whenever the band returns to touring, it will do so with longtime collaborator Atticus Ross as an official member of Nine Inch Nails. “I greatly respect his friendship and talent, and I think we complement each other creatively in a way that is invaluable,” Reznor said. Despite the “Actual Events” release, NIN haven’t released a full album since “Hesitation Marks all the way back in 2013 as the band’s members have spent the past three-plus years working on their own various side projects and personal endeavors. The “Actual Events” EP is a solid example, as it features collaborations with Dave Grohl, Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro and Reznor’s How To Destroy Angels bandmate Mariqueen Maandig. Coming back together with the rest of NIN to churn out some more industrial rock and recapture the oft-heavy, maudlin sound that has made them such a force in rock over the years…….


- Pot brownies at the office are a possibly hilarious prank that can lead to rare sights like Terry in accounting actually cracking a smile and talking about something other than spreadsheets and fiduciary responsibility. Pot brownies - and candies - at your middle school are decidedly less funny and odds are, also a criminal act. That valuable life lesson is being learned after several children became sick after allegedly eating pot brownies from a classmate at Bentley Middle School in Burton, Michigan. Teachers and office staff became suspicious when several children came to the office claiming to be sick and police now believe brownies and lollipops laced with marijuana were passed around at the school. Parents whose children were affected by ingesting a little THC want criminal charges against those involved, including the parents of the children who brought the ganja goodies to school. Police took a portion of the treats to the Michigan State Police crime lab in Bridgeport for testing and several students suspected of involvement in taking the treats to school are now facing severe punishment from the school district. Investigators noted that this is far from the first time they’ve dealt with such an incident and say that such occurrences are becoming more and more common. Sadly, any possible jokes about how much your average middle school teacher would enjoy having a bunch of mellow, sedated students to cope with rather than the ramped-up, emotional teens and pre-teens they typically deal with have to be shelved here, what with children being rushed to the hospital and what not……..

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Soccer v. soccer rage, India wastes money on monuments and "Bad Moms" gets a sequel


- Well, at least they didn’t get stopped and frisked. New York City resident Kimberly Santiago and her family became the unwitting, unwilling and unsuspecting stars of the New York Police Department’s social media feed just before Christmas when officers raided their apartment by mistake and posted a photo on social media with the caption "Merry Christmas Its NYPD." According to Santiago, the NYPD’s warrant squad showed up at her Brooklyn apartment in the middle of the morning and informed the residents that they were looking for an individual neither she nor her family knows and who doesn’t live at the residence. That didn’t stop the NYPD officers from handcuffing everyone in the apartment and while they were on premises, the police posted two photos of the botched raid on Snapchat. The second photo was captioned "warrant sweeps,” but like all other social media users, clearly the NYPD needs to think and check its facts before sending out a snap, because by the end of their raid, they had succeeded only in wasting three hours of their time and bringing a healthy dose of fear into the lives of a family who seem to be guilty only of being home at the time when some overzealous, underinformed police officers kicked down their door and turned their holiday season into a nightmare. A police spokeswoman says the department's internal affairs bureau is investigating the incident, but it’s going to be awfully difficult for the NYPD to apologize for this one…….


- It was certain to happen, the when was all that needed to be determined. After “Bad Moms” proved to be  one of the highest-grossing comedy films of the year, making more than $180 million worldwide, it was a certainty that there would be a sequel. When a movie costs $20 million and brings in an 800-percent return on that investment, the race to green-light a sequel is on and so it is that a Christmas-themed edition of the film will be released in 2017. Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn starred in the original movie, which came out earlier this year, playing a trio of mothers struggling with balancing work, family life and keeping their children happy. Production company STX Entertainment confirmed the festive sequel, “A Bad Moms Christmas,” with all three leading ladies returning for the November release as their characters attempt to cope with parenting during the Christmas period and the stress of visits by their own mothers. To keep the continuity going, the script will be written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, writers of “Bad Moms.”
That dynamic duo will also direct the film, as they did on the original movie, and one of their stars is clearly fired up about the film. “Get ready. It’s about to get festive as a mother. A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS coming for ya winter 2017!” Bell tweeted. Before the sequel hits theaters, STX Entertainment will also crank out a “Bad Dads” movie, set to hit theaters this summer and prove that the hijinks and adventures of overwhelmed fathers can be funny too………


- Score one for wretched excess in India. Amidst cries of money being wasted in a country that could badly use some extra cash on more immediate needs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a massive memorial of a medieval warrior king that's expected to cost billions of rupees. The statue has drawn the ire of environmental activists and others who oppose a 630-foot-tall statue of Shivaji, a 16th century ruler from western India, being built off the coast of Mumbai on land reclaimed from the Arabian Sea. The memorial is expected to be completed by 2019 and the government of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, is expected to spend about 36 billion rupees ($530 million) on the statue. That money will be spent over the objections of some 25,900 people who have signed a Change.org petition asking that the government spend the money on infrastructure and development instead. "Apart from a waste of money, this statue is going to be terrible for the environment, for the traffic situation in South Bombay and a security nightmare," the petition reads. Yes, but can you really put a price tag or true value on a statue that, when complete, will be more than twice the height of the Statue of Liberty? As part of the stone-laying ceremony, Modi also performed a Hindu religious ritual called "Bhoomipujan," or worshipping the land. It’s a ritual performed by devout Hindus before the start of any construction project and one with which Modi is family. Back in 2014, shortly after he became prime minister, the national budget set aside about 2 billion rupees ($34 million) to build a massive structure to honor independence leader Vallabbhai Patel. That project is underway and currently slated to cost about 10 times the amount set aside in the budget. But never mind that, because this one will definitely (not) stay on budget………


- Soccer is known for plenty of qualities, most of them negative and ridiculous, as a sport. According to a prominent face in the game, the sport’s governing body may be mulling rule changes to eliminate some of the absurdity that makes the average sports fan hate soccer. Former Netherlands striker and manager Marco van Basten says FIFA is considering introducing further measures to improve player behavior towards officials, i.e. a bunch of mulleted, flopping divas storming up to the referee every time they don’t get a call they want, get called for a foul they disagree with or otherwise have a beef with how the game is being called. Van Basten is the world governing body's chief officer for technical development and he believes that soccer could learn from rugby, which allows only captains to speak to referees. "There are a lot of players now who are complaining during a game,'' Van Basten said. "I am sure the behavior of the players can be better -- we are thinking about putting it back in the right direction.'' He noted that soccer must “confront the problem,” noting that television replays to assist referees were used for the first time in FIFA competition during this month's Club World Cup in Japan, while in English football referees were given the power to issue red cards to confrontational players. "This is what we have to do to help the referees,'' Van Basten said about rule changes. "We try to make a good product -- dynamic, exciting, but in the end also honest. "There's a lot of emotion in the game and that's what's good -- but we have to control it also.'' Yes, let’s channel that emotion where it belongs - into lame, asinine and moronic goal celebrations involving using soccer balls as fake babies, wild fist pumps and pretend rides in the team minivan……..

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Justice League adds A-listers, a cash-smuggling pilot and Uber v. Paris


- Rage at Uber has been a common response around the world - but mostly in impoverished, underdeveloped and Third World nations. But what the hell is going on with you, Paris? Not a great look when protesting Uber drivers are disrupting access to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport to ask the company for higher ride fares. How jamming up traffic at an airport the company doesn’t run is supposed to put immense pressure on Uber to pay drivers more is unclear, but the revolting quasi-taxi drivers later headed over to Uber's French headquarters in northern Paris to further make their voices heard. The AMT association of chauffeurs also called on drivers to "disconnect" from Uber's website as a further means of protest, continuing several days of similar protests by the drivers, who complain about low ride fares and Uber's decision to raise the commission it charges drivers from 20 percent to 25 percent. In a city teeming with life and where there will never be a shortage of both tourists and locals in need of a quick ride across town or to any of the city’s dozens of famed attractions, all of this haggling over a few euros might not seem like a huge deal, but for the men and women turning their Fiats and Smart Cars into mobile money making machines, it’s clear that allowing Uber to dominate the debate is something they’re unwilling to allow……..


- Who’d guess that after winning a fourth-tier bowl game in the ultimate flyover state, a college football player wouldn’t be in the greatest of moods? After all, Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan had just won the prestigious Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, besting Colorado State 61-50 in a thrilling, defense-free contest. Yet what was on the quarterback’s mind wasn’t the Vandals' bowl victory, but rather his school's downward move to the Football Championship Subdivision. "We belong in FBS, period. That's what I believe, that's what everyone believes," Linehan said. "We know we can compete, we belong here. No matter what anyone thinks, even our tone-deaf president. Maybe he doesn't think we belong here, but I think we belong here.” Those comments came in response to Idaho president Chuck Staben announcing Idaho's move in April from the Football Bowl Subdivision, college football’s highest level, to the second-tier FCS. "Our relevance will be complemented by our football program, not defined by it,” Staben said at the time. What’s interesting is that the Vandals will become the first school to make the drop when they return to the Big Sky Conference, where they played from 1963 to 1995, for the 2018 season. By the time Linehan took to the podium for the postgame news conference, someone from the coaching or media relations staff had gotten to him and prevailed on him to tone down his rhetoric, so he apologized to Staben and tried to redirect everyone’s focus away from his angry remarks and toward a meaningless win in a pointless bowl game……


- What good is flying international routes for a pilot if you can't use your job to pad your bank account with gains from illegal activities made possible by said job? No one needs to tell that to pilot Anthony Warner, a Dallas resident who pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark to a charge of bulk cash smuggling. Prosecutors accused Warner of smuggling more than $195,000 in cash into the U.S. through New Jersey's Newark International Airport and he later admitted to the allegations, for which he faces up to five years in federal prison when sentenced in April. The secret to his smuggling success was his participation in Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program designed to speed up entry into the country for certain pre-approved travelers. As a regular border jumper and someone employed to transport other safely across thousands of miles, he seemed to be a great fit for the program. Had he been able to use that service on Jan. 10, he likely would still be smuggling money into the United States. Sadly for him, on that date, the Global Entry terminal at the airport was down and he had to present his customs declaration to officials. During that encounter, officers found $195,736 in U.S. bills wrapped inside a newspaper in Warner's laptop bag. Given that haul, it’s safe to say that the odds of Warner ferrying millions of dollars in illegal cash into the country are high……..


- The big names just keep on joining the upcoming Justice League film. A movie that already has Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Ben Affleck as Batman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon could be content with its cadre of A-listers, but DC wants to continue to up its star value and thus, Jesse Eisenberg and Connie Nielson have been confirmed as additions to the cast. Eisenberg will reprise his “Batman v. Superman” role as villain Lex Luthor while Nielson, who will appear in the upcoming DC film “Wonder Woman” as Queen Hippolyta (the mother of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman) will bring her character to the Justice League world. The film, which is due out in November, is set a few months after the events of “Batman v. Superman” and follows Batman and Wonder Woman as they create a team of superheroes to face the villain Steppenwolf and the threat of Parademons. Eisenberg has orbited around the project for months and previously hinted at his involvement with the film. “I don’t know what I’m allowed to say, because I feel like there’s probably some drone following me from DC, and if I say anything wrong I get, you know, picked off. But yeah I think so, and I love it, and I love everybody who’s in it. You know, it’s a really talented group of people,” he said earlier this year. Simmons made headlines when photos of him training in the gym for his role went viral and his personal trainer later said his goal was to have “sick arms.” It appears that everyone is aiming to look their best on a set where determining the biggest star could be challenging………

Friday, December 23, 2016

Beauty queen rage, Arctic Monkeys back together and Russia praises itself


- For some time now, observers have wondered if the NFL would ever follow the example of its major American sports peers and establish a viable minor league or developmental league system. The reality of a full-fledged minor league system is still light years from ever happening, but apparently professional football will launch a spring development league in 2017, providing a place for aspiring NFLers to develop their skills and possibly earn the attention of teams interested in bringing them in for training camp in the summer. The NFL Management Council notified teams that the unimaginatively named "Spring League" will have four teams consisting of veteran free-agent players and those four teams will train at Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, from April 5 through April 26. It’s a short-term endeavor in a place known for attracting tourists rather than aspiring professional football players seeking a second chance in the league, but this won't be a league in which teams can develop their own young players. None of the NFL’s 32 clubs will be allowed to allocate players to the league, so all of those taking part will theoretically be free agents who are trying to prove that they can still contribute to a team enough to justify a roster spot. During the course of the three weeks of the Spring League, the four teams will play a total of six games, providing a limited chance to see if any of the players are worth picking up…….


- The only flaw in Russian despot/President Vlad Putin’s bold proclamation to an annual end-of-year meeting Thursday with defense chiefs is that he apparently made it with a shirt on. Putin, in the dictator’s version of a company retreat, told the leaders of his country’s military that their forces can overpower any potential foe but should still strengthen their nuclear arsenal. "We can say with certainty: We are stronger now than any potential aggressor," Putin told the meeting. "Anyone." The despot’s remarks came at the tail end of a year in which tensions between Russia and the West have remained on edge over the civil war in Syria, with Putin ramping up his rhetoric amidst allegations of Russian hacking and interference in the just-completed American presidential election. Topics such as Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and surreptitious support of separatists in eastern Ukraine, Russia launching an air offensive in Syria to support President Bashar Assad and Russia conducting a flurry of military drills near its borders this past year have only amplified tensions. This gathering, held at the defense ministry's headquarters in Moscow, featured Putin declaring that Russia should be swift in "adjusting plans to neutralize potential threats to our country." The current story is that Russia is merely responding to a growing NATO threat, which even Putin can’t actually believe. "We need to enhance the combat capability of strategic nuclear forces, primarily by strengthening missile complexes that will be guaranteed to penetrate existing and future missile defense systems," Putin said. Once Putin finished his grandstanding at the meeting, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented an annual report that lauded Russian military achievements in Syria and ongoing efforts to modernize the army……….


- Could the Monkeys be back together? Word on the social media street is that Arctic Monkeys have been spotted around their native Sheffield, enjoying each other’s company and a few nights out on the town and sparking rumors that they may have commenced work on their first album in nearly four years. They released “AM” back in 2013 and toured in support of the album, but elected not to follow that up with another album, instead staying busy with side-projects – as Matt Helders played with Iggy Pop for the ‘Post Pop Depression’ album and tour, while Alex Turner released an album and EP with The Last Shadow Puppets. Yet last summer, revived rumors of Arctic Monkeys returning to the studio together rose up despite Turner insisting that there was no rush to record a new release. “No, there aren’t really, not yet,” he said when asked about plans for the band’s sixth album. “But there will be at some point. I mean, we’ll see with that. No rush.” Taking sightings around Sheffield and various social media posts as definitive evidence that a new album is underway is the height of optimistic speculation, especially amongst those in the band’s hometown, but for one of the best indie rock bands on the scene, the prospect of new music after nearly four years apart is something worth looking forward to…….


- Do NOT f*ck with Miss Miami Lakes. Beauty queens are known for going hard and possessing an extreme sense of entitlement, but perhaps no one embodies that ideal of taking minimal actual achievement and blending it with A-lister boorish behavior quite as well as Vanessa Barcelo, who is charged with attacking a man during a drunken party at her home. Barcelo was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery and battery, all stemming from an incident in which a party at her home got out of control in a hurry. The Miss Florida USA 2017 contestant was reportedly hosting a party when a guest raised her ire - possibly by not being attractive enough, maybe by being not nearly stylish enough - and inspired Barcelo to demand that the man leave. According to the police report, most of the guests, including Barcelo, were "very intoxicated,” which goes a long way toward explaining why Barcelo and another man allegedly pushed the guest down the stairs and Barcelo then swung a baseball bat at the guest and punched him. For her part, Barcelo denied hitting the man while he was on the ground. If this is how she’s acting now, when the only thing she’s won is an über-small-time beauty pageant and is merely one of many contestants for Miss Florida USA, just imagine what kind of over-the-top behavior she would be exhibiting if she actually won something that actually matters in the beauty pageant world……..

Thursday, December 22, 2016

College football stoners, cities robbing retirees and a "Dunes" remake director


- Since when does an 85-foot-tall artificial Christmas tree serve as a monument to peace and harmony? Since a Muslim businessman who erects it declares his faux-tree stationed in the middle of Baghdad as a symbol of solidarity with Christians this holiday season. According to Yassi Saad, he wanted to put the tallest tree in the Iraqi city with the aim at “joining our Christian brothers in their holiday celebrations and helping Iraqis forget their anguish, especially the war in Mosul.” It was a nice gesture - and one that will be lucky to survive the holiday season without being bombed to hell or burned down - and here’s hoping it inspires the sort of sentiment Saad clearly feels. The tree has a diameter of 33 feet and was erected in the center of an amusement park in the Iraqi capital at a cost of around $24,000. One local teacher took her students to visit the tree and they posed for photos in front of it while expressing hopes that Iraqi Christians an return to Iraq and live normal and peaceful lives. The country’s Christian community has steadily dwindled since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, largely because Christians have been targeted by Islamic extremists on several occasions and have fled the country for both security reasons and better economic opportunities. One of the most noteworthy exoduses came when thousands of Christians fled Mosul and surrounding areas when IS swept across northern Iraq in the summer of 2014. The extremist/terrorist group forces Christians to convert to Islam or pay a special tax and often confiscates their property. The few Christians who have managed to return to villages outside of Mosul that have been retaken by Iraqi forces have come back only to find that their homes and churches have been ransacked. Maybe a fake tree can be a catalyst for change…….


- Ah, another Hollywood remake. The next one in the assembly line process is “Dune,” which was previously adapted into a 1984 film by David Lynch, who lined up a large ensemble cast including Francesca Annis, Kyle MacLachlan, Sting and Patrick Stewart. The “Dune” remake will likely be helmed by Denis Villeneuve, director of next year’s “Blade Runner 2049,” whose new thing is apparently directing remakes of various iconic sci-fi movies. Villeneuve is in talks to direct the remake after Legendary Pictures secured a new deal for the film and TV rights to Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel and should he agree to take on the project, it would be his third sci-fi effort in a row following this year’s “Arrival” and next year’s “Blade Runner” sequel. To knock the recycling of “Dunes” is not to knock Villeneuve, who has done some bang-up work on films such as “Sicario,” “Enemy” and “Prisoners.” He may well craft something worthwhile out of this unimaginative, unoriginal effort, but it doesn’t lessen the lameness of continuing the remake and regurgitate every damn movie ever made in lieu of actually trying to craft something original. Yes, “Dune” has reached the enviable status of the best-selling sci-fi novel of all time, which is great, but it was also made into both a movie and  a three-part TV mini-series in 2000. In other words, it’s been done to death and it’s time to strike out in search of something that hasn’t been done before…….


- There’s nothing quite so bureaucratic/government-esque as a municipality coming back years after the fact to demand that dozens of retirees - including former police officers and firefighters — pay back a combined $1 million the city claims it errantly paid them nearly a decade ago. Such is life for former city of San Jose employees who are receiving very unwelcome messages from their former employer after an audit revealed the city messed up, overpaying retirees almost $1 million. Resolving this issue will take money from the pockets of about 300 retired San Jose police and firefighters and the city is mighty cold and detached about all of this. “The miscalculations were based on incorrect data that was being furnished from our payroll system to the retirement system,” said David Vossbrink, the city’s director of communications. In true, slow-moving governmental fashion, the city first found out about the problem in 2009 and only let retirees know about it last month. “It’s taken us several years to replace the incorrect data with a complete set of new data so the calculations could be completely accurate,” Vossbrink said. In a statement about the matter, Association of Retired San Jose Police Officers and Firefighters president Mike Alford said, “Our association is working to ensure that the mistake is promptly fixed in a legal and fair manner and that no retiree be placed in financial hardship because of the city’s mistake.” According to Vossbrink, the city has no choice but to pursue repayment, which the amount charged to each person ranging from a few hundred dollars to thousands. The city plans to host a series of public meetings inviting all affected retirees to talk about how they plan to repay the funds and in an ironic twist, some retirees also were underpaid and those individuals will now be reimbursed for lost wages………


- Few things are more hazardous to a college football player’s eligibility than the time off between the end of the regular season and their team’s bowl game. Since much of that time also comes with classes having ended for the semester, there is free time galore and what’s a college student-athlete to do during their down time other than be up to no good? Enter Texas A&M wide receiver Speedy Noil, who has been suspended from the team after he was charged with misdemeanor drug possession. Granted, his crime wasn’t exactly a serve one, but he is charged with possession of less than two ounces of marijuana. That could simply mean he and his freidns had already smoked most of their stash before police responded to a call regarding a disturbance at his off-campus apartment. Upon arriving, officers said they smelled marijuana and when Noil refused to allow them inside, they obtained a warrant and found the drugs. Noil, a junior from New Orleans, surrendered to College Station police, posted a $2,000 bond and was released, but it’s hardly the first time he’s been on the wrong side of the law since arriving in College Station. He suspended before a postseason game last year and missed the Aggies' 2016 season opener, so no one should be surprised that Noil has been foiled once more and will be AWOL when Texas A&M plays Kansas State on Dec. 28 at the Texas Bowl in Houston. At this point, he might want to use his time off to decide whether playing football is more important to him than getting high………

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Visitors heart Portugal, the BBC grasps for reality karaoke TV straws and .217 Patriots


- When you need a healthy wide receiver under your Christmas tree at this time of the year, you don’t give a damn if Santa brings you a guy who nearly shattered the breathalyzer during a recent traffic stop. The NFL’s best team is a squad in need of another pass catcher as the season enters its final two weeks and thus, the New England Patriots are totally OK with the fact that newly signed receiver Michael Floyd had a blood-alcohol level of .217 when he was arrested after falling asleep in the driver's seat of his vehicle while stopped at a traffic signal on Dec. 12. The Scottsdale Police Department confirmed those facts of the case involving Floyd, who was subsequently released by the Arizona Cardinals and has since been claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots. On the fateful night, he was arrested and charged with obstructing a roadway, DUI impaired to the slightest degree, DUI blood-alcohol content above .08 and failure to obey a police officer. In a video released by police, an officer knocked on the window with his flashlight in an attempt to awaken Floyd, but was unsuccessful and had to pound on the window with his fist to awaken a startled Floyd, who then struggled mightily with instructions to put his car in park and turn it off - or even to place his hands on the steering wheel and leave them there. Based on that display, he’s staring down Arizona state law which brings harsh penalties, including jail time, for having a blood-alcohol level over .15 and even tougher penalties for a BAC over .20. A guy who had a BAC of .19 when he was arrested on campus at Notre Dame in 2011 may be convicted for a first offense of operating a motor vehicle with a BAC over .20 and if so, would face a mandatory jail sentence of at least 45 days, have to use an ignition interlock system, pay a $500 fine and contribute $1,000 to a prison construction fund and $1,000 to a public safety equipment fund. But until then, he can chase a Super Bowl ring with the 12-2 Pats………


- Three people and apparently three combined IQ points. They are the three men allegedly spotted stealing TVs from a Sand Springs, Oklahoma Walmart. One of this genius trio is clinging to life in critical condition at a local hospital, while his compatriots are already in custody and staring down grand larceny and felony eluding charges. The fun began early in the morning with a report of three people stealing televisions at the Walmart and because crime has a way of happening often at this particular business’ locations, police weren’t far away and responded to the scene to find the criminal trip wrapping up the grab portion of their smash-and-grab operation. When they saw the fuzz coming their way, the thieves fled the scene and quickly made their way to Highway 51, where they tried to put distance between themselves and the long arm of the law by driving at speeds up to 120 mph. Unfortunately for these three, they’re even worse at high-speed driving than they are at planning a successful theft and as a result, an accident ensued. The interesting aspect of the crash is that, according to investigators, the driver could not see well because the car was so full of TVs. Maybe next time, steal a cargo van or at least a minivan and you’ll have more space for your loots, fellas. In the crash, one person - police believe it to be the driver - was ejected from the car and now resides in critical conditions in a hospital bed. The crash shut down two lanes of the highway for several hours and needless to say, the stolen TVs weren’t in any real condition to be returned to the store and sold. Next thing the thieves have to do with TV will likely be making a video court appearance for the start of their criminal case……..


- Is there a reality karaoke show quota for British television networks we don’t know about? Otherwise, the BBC just looks panicky and reactionary for commissioning a new singing competition following its loss of “The Voice” to rival ITV. Thus, a show with the working title “Pitch Battle,” which sadly has nothing to do with either baseball or cricket, but will instead have the noble goal of finding the United Kingdom’s best singing group, regardless of its genre or origin. It could be a pop karaoke outfit, a country/folk karaoke pop group, a children’s karaoke choir or a barbershop quartet karaoke outfit. It’s all inspired by the movie “Pitch Perfect,” so the show will feature a number of choral challenges including ones derived from the movie. There will be riff-offs, a soloist’s challenge and an a capella round over the course of five hour-long heat episodes before culminating in a live finale. The show will slide directly into the Saturday primetime slot vacated by the departure of “The Voice” and it comes rom production company Today’s Child, run by Karen Smith, a former “Strictly Come Dancing” executive producer. “After a divisive, depressing 2016, we’re bringing some humor and harmony to 2017 in a contemporary new format with story, scale and spelling-binding, hairs-on-the-back-of-your neck performances,” Smith said. It truly has been a rough year for the BBC, which lost another of its flagship series, “The Great British Bake Off,” earlier this year after Channel 4 secured the rights to the hit show. At this point, the BBC is clearly scrambling and attempting to plug the many, many holes in its reality television dam with whatever half-baked ideas it can hatch………


- No matter how poorly governed it may be, the fact remains that people love to visit Portugal. As a result, the Iberian Peninsula nation’s fragile economy is getting a tonic from tourism this year, with revenue up by more than 10 percent through October including a 20 percent jump in visitors from the United States. Accoring to tourism minister Ana Mendes Godinho, the sector brought in some 11 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in the first 10 months of 2016 and for a country that is clearly hurting fiscally, seeing revenues in any area increase by 1 billion euros over the same period last year is exactly the kind of music that will have Portuguese dancing in the streets of Lisbon, Faro, Sagres, Tunes and beyond. Mendes Godinho said in a statement that beyond the 20-percent jump in American visitors, the number of French visitors increased by almost 18 percent. The biggest chunk of the credit for Portugal’s sudden surge in tourists is the country’s mid-Atlantic Azores Islands, which posted the strongest growth with a 30-percent increase. News like this makes the Portuguese government seems slightly less insane when it espouses hope that the economy will grow 1.2 percent this year. For a country for which government debt is 133 percent of GDP, one of the European Union's highest marks, turning the economy around is a long-term proposition built on hundreds of small steps, of which this this just might be one of the first………

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Portland(ia) Runs the Jewels, Christmas scumbags and Pro Bowl evasions


- As long as you say you’re innocent, that’s all that matters, eh Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala? Sala, the embattled mayor of one of Italy’s largest cities, voluntarily suspended himself from the job last week after media reported he was a suspect in an investigation around the Expo 2015 World Fair, which Milan hosted. Yet after sitting down with prosecutors, Sala concluded he could properly do his job and after boldly, self-servingly and meaninglessly declaring his innocence over that probe of construction contracts, he’s back at work as if nothing is wrong. Not only that, he declared his innocence via no less a venue than social meda, posting on Facebook that he was going back to the job "certain about my innocence." Nothing slams the door on suspicion quite like a bold Facebook page, topped off with a thank-you message for some 400 Italian mayors and fellow Milanese citizens who urged his return. All of this heated up when Sala's name was added to a list of suspects after a judge rebuffed a prosecutor's request to shelve the case. Despite that effort to duck the assigned job of dishing out justice, this case will move forward, although Sala is trying to move on, including a visit to the German consulate in Milan to express solidarity following the attack on a Berlin Christmas market. While the mayor tries to pretend all is well with the world, he does so with this massive black cloud hanging over his head……..


- Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert is merely saying what everyone else is already thinking. Eiffert, who could be selected for the Pro Bowl for the second straight season, wants voters to know that he’d love to be selected for a second Pro Bowl, but he has zero interest in actually playing in the game. Like all of his peers, he’d love the recognition of being tabbed as one of the best players at his position in the NFL - and the salary bonus that comes with it as per his contract - but he doesn’t want to put his healthy in jeopardy by actually stepping onto the field during the week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.  "I'd like to make it, but I'm not going to go if I got asked," Eifert said. For a guy who suffered an ankle injury in last season's Pro Bowl that required surgery and put him out of commission for the entire offseason, skipping the Pro Bowl going forward just makes sense. Ironically, he’s saying all of this even though he’s played in a mere eight games this season, catching 24 passes for 394 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers pale in comparison to last year, when he enjoyed the best season of his career, catching 52 passes for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns. Saying this now could merely be an effort to gain attention, win votes and earn bonus money for being selected, yet Eifert said even prior to the season that he would never go back. He’s sticking to it.  "It was one of the best experiences I've ever had," he said of last season's Pro Bowl. "But it's just not worth it." Oddly enough, he could be speaking not only for himself, but all of his peers and fans……..


- Every year, there is no shortage of scumbags around the holiday season. This year, one of the biggest among them is Tammy Strickland, an Eagle Lake, Florida woman who is staring down a mountain of criminal charges after sheriff’s deputies said  she illegally attempted to collect more than 100 toys from Toys for Tots. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, this scam involved Strickland using 140 fictitious children’s names and 28 fictitious adult names on falsified Toys for Tots applications. She carried out the scam by picking up said toys, loading them into a trailer at the Toys for Tots warehouse and hauling them away. For that, she faces charges of grand theft, 28 counts of providing false statement to obtain property, obtaining property by fraud and 164 counts of possessing counterfeit /fictitious identification.   "Children in need. Toys for Tots. These things are synonymous with Christmas," Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said. "Sadly, in this case, so is The Grinch. Tammy Strickland spent a long time filling out fraudulent applications for nonexistent children to receive toys. Now she’ll be spending a lot of time in jail." Ah, a wannabe wordsmith sheriff trying to invoke children’s literature references and sound like he’s auditioning for his own reality series in the process. Police received a tip that Strickland had submitted a large number of applications requesting assistance from Toys for Tots on behalf of dozens of children and was listed as the contact person on each of them. A deputy called her posing as a Toys for Tots volunteer, setting up a meeting at the Toys for Tots warehouse in the Eagle Lake area. Strickland and her idiot posse of family members arrived, loaded the trailer and she soon recorded her fourth arrest since 2006. All in all, proof that scumbags and a-holes are one of the holiday season’s most abundant commodities……


- They’re two irreverent entities, willing to use their word skills to slice and dice their enemies…and now, they’re going to unite. Run The Jewels, a pair of hard-edged hip-hop rebels, will guest star in the next season of “Portlandia,” the cult favorite IFC comedy starring Sleater-Kinney‘s Carrie Brownstein and Saturday Night Live alumnus Fred Armisen. The show debuted in 2011 and has chugged along with vast appreciation for those who admire a good, cheeky comedy with a quirky point of view. It’s sixth season is set to debut on Jan. 5, with a guest spot from RTJ. “Portlandia” uses the wide variety of alternative lifestyles in the notoriously liberal northwestern city of Portland, Oregon as the base for its laughs and its unique style has drawn in a wide range of guest stars from the world of music including Jack White, Aimee Mann, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and No Doubt. The star power will keep flowing in Season 6, as  rockers The B-52’s have also been announced as guest stars for this season. The end is in sight for the show, as Brownstein and Armisen have said it will end with its eighth season in 2018. The guest appearance comes at a wonderfully conveneit time for RTJ, who announced earlier this month that they will return in January with third album ‘RTJ3.’ To mark the “Portlandia” announcement, the rap duo shared a new song, “Legend Has It,” so maybe they’ll perform it on the show……..