- Score one for removing what remains of the hideous Nazi philosophy
of hate, discrimination and evil from the world. In a result that should
displease exactly no one with a soul, a Long Island organization that was
historically known to only allow people of German descent to live on its land
will be forced to open the proverbial doors of its properties to individuals of
all races and nationalities. The German
American Settlement League (GASL) was put on notice by New York state Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman that it will have to change its policies that
discriminated against certain races, altering the core of a nonprofit
organization founded in the 1930s for the verrrrrry noble purpose of operating
as a summer camp that supported the Nazi regime. Y’know, some kids go to
basketball camp, others go to performing arts camps and others go to Nazi
camps, the usual. Previously, the GASL’s followed laws that would allow
individuals "primarily of German extraction and of good character and
reputation" from living on its land in Yaphank. "The GASL’s discriminatory practices
were a remnant of a disgraceful past that has no place in New York or
anywhere," Schneiderman said. It’s a decision that’s about 80 years
overdue, but it was put in motion when the attorney general's office began
investigating the organization in 2015 after it violated federal, state and
local laws. Investigators determined that homeowners were only allowed to
announce property listings at meetings or through internal flyers, so the
organization was ordered to revise its by-laws and policies after a 2016
settlement, only to make no changes of consequence, prompting the AG’s office
to compel those changes……..
- Any publicity for one of the most forgotten, ignored and
failed gadgets of this century is good publicity, maker of the world’s worst
operating system. Microsoft may not relish having its much-maligned (and
rightly so) Zune portable music player clowned in “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.
2,” but director James Gunn claims the tech company got rather pissy about the
scene in which Sean Gunn’s Kraglin gives Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill a Zune to
replace his broken Walkman, joking that it’s what everyone on earth is now
using to listen to music. According to Gunn, Microsoft objected to the
reference because it highlights what a flop the Zune was, failing to ever
become widely accepted or any sort of rival to the iPod or now, smartphones as
a means of hearing music. Gunn’s defense is that the Zune was an important part
in the scene, which occurs near the end of the movie, because it creates a
bonding moment between Peter Grill and Baby Groot. “As [Peter Quill] starts to
listen to the music… Baby Groot crawls into his lap,” Gunn explained. “And as
we see Peter Quill looking down at Baby Groot, we see a father’s love for his
son. And it is a very unselfish moment on the part of Peter Quill,” Gunn said.
“That’s why that moment is so important to me in the movie, and why it is so
important to the development of Peter Quill.” See there, Microsoft, the Zune
finally did some good for someone, even if it’s a fictional character talking
to a walking, talking infant tree root in a space movie……..
- Throw open those rain forest doors in the name of saving
your faltering economy, eh Brazil? With a country teetering on the fiscal brink
in the wake of years of poor leadership, horrible decisions to spend billions
of dollars to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, the South
American nation’s lower house of Congress has approved a measure significantly
reducing the size of a fully protected national park in the Amazon rain forest
and opening a big chunk of land for agriculture and other activities. The
Chamber of Deputies approved the measure, agreeing to convert 1.2 million acres
of the 3.2 million-acre Jamanxim National Park in Para state into what is
called an Environmental Protection Area, which is a bit of misnomer because
this change will allow the land to be used for the extraction of lumber, agriculture
and mining — activities not allowed in a fully protected national park. Nothing
screams protection quite like allowing logging companies to pillage the rain
forest and not surprisingly, this move is being hailed as a major win for
Congress' rural lobby representing agribusiness. The good news is that it isn’t
law quite yet, as the bill must still get approved by the Senate and ratified
by President Michel Temer. Still, it’s hard not to see this as a major step
back when it comes to protecting the environment…….
- Joel Embiid is the best. Not the best player or even the
best young prospect in the NBA, though some day he may achieve both on account
of his diverse and immense talents. No, he’s simply the best show in the
Association off the court, whether he’s dancing on stage at a Meek Mill concert
while also not playing for his team due to injury, tweeting at world-famous pop
stars or in this case, speaking directly out of his ass. Embiid held it down
for the Philadelphia 76ers on stage at the NBA draft lottery this week and
after his team scored the No. 3 pick in the upcoming draft, the perpetually
injured young center was busy bumping his gums about things well above his
team’s skill level. "We're gearing up at the right time. When we start
getting good, that's when Cleveland and LeBron will start going down,"
Embiid said. Embiid is apparently playing NBA meteorologist and forecasting
when Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James will fade from his status as the
best basketball player in the world, which will (theoretically) happen at some
point unless James truly is a basketball cyborg, but it’s probably not something
that needs to be flying out of the pie hole of a guy who has played in 31 games
in his three seasons in the Association even though he averaged 20.2 points,
7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in those 31 games he played this season
before his long-awaited rookie campaign was cut short by a torn left meniscus.
"When I say we are going to be ready to win when the Cavs are going down,
that doesn't mean, like, five years," Embiid said. "Next year I think
we are going to be ready to win." Right, but LBJ won't be on the decline
next year or the year after, J., and your team finished 28-54 this season. Its
top draft pick from last year, guard Ben Simmons, didn’t play at all this
season due to a foot injury and while both he and Embiid could start in the
Sixers’ opener next season, there’s just as much of a chance that both are
injured and unable to join whoever the team selects third overall this year,
assuming that player doesn’t get bitten by the Philly injury bug as well…….
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