Monday, January 16, 2017

Riot Watch! Bahrain, Riot Watch! UC Davis and Mad Max rolls on

- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! It’s getting real in Bahrain, where demonstrators have marched to protest the pending executions of three men found guilty of a deadly attack on police in 2014. That may seem like the surest strategy to ensure that there are more people destined for the firing squad, but it’s also a way to fight against the unjust demise of three men at the hands of a government that the protestors view as unjust. Images of the uprising spread on social media and messaging apps, with a nice blend of some protesters marching peacefully and others blocking roads and clashing with police. All were there in support of inmates Abbas al-Samea, Sami Mushaima and Ali al-Signace, who were found guilty in 2015 of killing two Bahraini and an Emirati policeman in a 2014 bomb attack. The catalyst for the uprising was a decision to uphold their sentences by a Bahraini court last week. The better part of this decade has been full of chaos and unrest in this tiny, Sunni-ruled island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia, with the starting point a 2011 uprising led by its majority Shiite population. When one branch of Islam is in charge and its rival comprises the majority of the population, go ahead and assume that there won't be an abundant supply of peace, love and harmony. These protests are neither the first nor the last, just the most recent…….


- Listen to the disgraced, former frat-party-crashing, (alleged) alcoholic college basketball coach. That would be Colorado State men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy, a man who once flushed his Iowa State gig down the tubes by showing up at a campus frat party with cheap beer in one hand and his other wrapped around a college chick, but who has bounced around the college coaching ranks since then and currently coaches a middling Colorado State squad. But the reason people are talking about the Rams isn't because of their thoroughly average brand of basketball, but rather Eustachy’s claims that New Mexico assistant Terrence Rencher tried to instigate a fight with a Rams player outside the Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado, following a particularly forgettable Mountain West Conference game. According to coach Pistachio, Rencher was trash-talking with Colorado State players before and during the game, a claim Colorado State senior forward Emmanuel Omogbo supported. "After the game, walking out of the athletic center towards home, the same New Mexico coach was standing right outside the door, and we made eye contact, and he smirked at me and said, 'Take that L, boy,' and after that I exploded," Omogbo said. "After that, both the coach and myself exchanged words back and forth until coach Larry Eustachy intervened, and I continued walking home." The game itself was heated and included a second-half skirmish between the teams. Rencher and another New Mexico coach were ejected during the brawl and as Colorado State tells it, Rencher was standing by the New Mexico team bus and re-started the pyrotechnics as Eustachy and Omogbo were walking to their cars. The conference says it's looking into the incident and thankfully, there is hastily shot video by local media outlets........


- It’s almost as if authorities at the University of California-Davis wanted to spark a riot on campus. Why else would you schedule an event featuring a speech by right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos and an appearance by world-class subhuman/former pharmaceutical executive, Martin Shkreli, the man known for screwing over everyone from Wu Tang Clan to terminally ill people? Not surprisingly, the event ended before it began thanks to a massive on-campus protest by students and activists who weren't down with having the tech editor for über-right-wing “news” outlet Breitbart come onto their campus and spew all manner of bigoted nonsense. The UC Davis College Republicans were behind the event, but had to pull the plug 30 minutes prior to its scheduled start after consulting with the university's police department and student affairs officials. "I am deeply disappointed with the events of this evening," said interim chancellor Ralph J. Hexter. "Our community is founded on principles of respect for all views, even those that we personally find repellent. As I have stated repeatedly, a university is at its best when it listens to and critically engages opposing views, especially ones that many of us find upsetting or even offensive." Oh, these people have listened to Breitbart’s take on the world, which is why protesters blocked access to the venue, carried signs and "Say it loud, say it clear, racists are not welcome here." Welcome to the America you can expect for the next four years or so……..


- Everyone know there would be a sequel to “2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road,” it was merely a question of how soon it would happen. Tom Hardy, the revived franchise’s star, was well-received for his titular role in the Oscar-winning movie, which was directed by George Miller. He’s busy promoting his new series, “Taboo,” but said during his promotional tour that he’s eager to find out when the next chapter in the Mad Max saga will be written. “There’s mythology to do with Mad Max that spans copious amounts of tales,” Hardy said. “What’s wonderful about George is that he’s created sagas for Max and sagas for Furiosa [played by Charlize Theron], so it’s what he chooses to focus in on. I’m really just waiting for the call like, ‘All right, let’s get the leathers on and get back out there and do some more.’ It’s there. I’m just waiting for it and looking forward to it.” Not only is Hardy excited about the massive payday that will come with the next film in the franchise, but he’s actually committed to appear in two more Mad Max Movies. “Fury Road” won six Oscars last year and was nominated for 10 total, making it one of the rare films that did well both commercially and critically despite an immense amount of hype and being wholly unoriginal/merely cashing in on the brand and notoriety of an existing film franchise. There’s no word on how many of Hardy’s fellow cast members will return for the next two films, but as long as the big names are there, the peripheral pieces can be switched out and replaced without too much damage to the bottom line……..

No comments: