Sport

Death In The Ring

Chris Iorfida of the CBC has penned a thoughtful piece on the death of “Mixed Martial Arts” fighter Tim Hague. It was with great sadness that we learned of this tragedy. There will be an investigation and it’s looking like somebody responsible for the sanctioning of the contest is going to be up against some hard questions but in spite of the grilling, I suggest that the public at large needs to take a hard look at the savagery of these bouts and the appeal they have for their entertainment dollar. When UFC (Ultimate Fighting Challenge) first came out, I was frankly aghast. Call me conceited or pollyannaish but my instinct at the time was, “don’t these people have better things to do than watch their kindred get pummeled? Where have we gone as a society? What are we teaching our children? What would our bona fide soldiers from history think of our sense of amusement toward their means of sacrifice for our liberty?”

I recall sitting in a first year “ethics in sport” university class among fellow idealists of youth while witnessing the result of a poll conducted by our professor. “Who thinks boxing should be outlawed?” The result was overwhelmingly in favor. Appreciably, as Mr. Iorfida points out in his article, there are governing bodies set up with criteria in place for the purpose of ensuring that mismatches do not occur.  However; something may have gone awry here and there’s nothing to say that the same outcome could not arise even if competitors are equally matched. I was a big football fan until the evidence started to pour in that men’s lives after football were being detrimentally affected because of the impact of repetitive brain blows.  It took a class action law suit for the NFL elites to finally pay attention. I do actually adjust my way of thinking in lieu of facts as they are presented. Hopefully, the market for this kind of thing starts to dry up because of people’s refute of indignity while the aesthetic purity and tight regulatory execution of formal disciplines of “martial arts” thrives.

Uncategorized

Some News Satire for June 20, 2017

“Trump is averaging 2.1 false claims per day” (The Toronto Star).  You wouldn’t say.

Attorney General of the U.S. Jeff Sessions hires a private lawyer.  LOL.

Matador gets killed on the job.  News worthy?  Have you seen what they do for a living?

Megyn Kelly takes on Alex Jones over Sandy Hook.  Thanks for givin’ it the good ‘ol college try Megyn.

Jason Kenney calls for strict candidate screening for new Alberta party.  The smaller the field, better chances for him perhaps?

Calgary deploys flood mitigation effort.  Little late wouldn’t you say?

Baby fighting for first breath underwater in bath tub birth develops Legionnaires disease.  Perhaps, there’s a message here somewhere.

NTSB decides not to draw a conclusion after self driving Tesla car crashes in Florida having learned that system commander recommended seven times that driver take over.

Politics

Trump’s Pickle Put Plainly

Allow me to draw some logic to the legitimacy of the Trump presidency. Trump empathizes with Vladimir Putin as a credible leader during election campaign. Russian public demonstrates in the streets over corruptive behavior of Russian government. FBI investigators cast no doubt on Russia’s covert attempt at influencing the 2016 general election. The FBI head (Comey) is fired having firmly established in his mind that the Russian attempt to influence the U.S. election is of national significance and should be provided resources accordingly. One particular individual close to Trump who had been assigned the position of National Security Adviser lied to the Pentagon regarding income he had received from Russia and lied as well referencing “insubstantial contact” with foreign nationals when in fact he had sat two months earlier beside President Putin at a national gala (NY Times).  Today we learn that Trump untrue to his word has not yet isolated himself from his business empire which possesses international sources of revenue.  The conflict of interest arising incites law suits from two state attorney generals.  Per Comey testimony, Trump asked ex FBI Director Comey for his “loyalty”. Trump, as testified by ex FBI Director Comey, requested Comey to drop any investigation of disgraced ex National Security Adviser Flynn in spite of Flynn’s association with Russia and deceit with U.S. authorities.  Then there’s whatever else could be lurking and not yet presented.

Lifestyle, Politics

If The Flames Leave

You know it’s not going to happen because Calgary is a good market for an NHL franchise and the whole executive of the Flames organization knows it.  Brian Burke would be well served to keep his tongue wagging about hockey instead of what he thinks Calgarians need.  There are enough marginalized hockey fans in Calgary obediently paying their income tax, their excise tax, their property tax, their GST, while transferring wealth toward some neighbour’s Child Tax Benefit payment in our socialized way of life that if you piss him off just a little bit more, he’s likely to just give you the finger and walk away from those season tickets.

Here in Calgary there’s been a destructive force working on city revenues, namely commercial property tax from an office sector which is staggering through vacancies in the downtown core.  Consequently, the city has had to shift the tax burden outward and if you don’t think they’ll come for you out there in the burbs, think again once saddled (pardon the pun) with an enormous capital expenditure via one new unnecessary arena. We’ve become a people of want instead of need.  We want to keep up with the Jones’.  We want the upgraded BMW.  We want to have a nicer arena just like our rivals because our ego is bruised when the competition comes to town and they know what we know about their nice place.

Income taxes went up in 2016.  The top marginal rate is now 47 per cent and this is only of those pesky income taxes you get to pay.  Yes, the rate grows incrementally until you get there, but it was supposed to be temporary to fund world war one.  Then you and yours decided you needed an awful lot from your governments like sports arenas and a health care system that has doctors laughing at you for paying them so much.  That’s okay. They laugh in private.

Here you are in a conundrum because your favourite musician is skipping the Saddledome because of some idiosyncrasy associated with this practical structure of strength seating some 17,000.  Some beer glutton thinks he needs the extended bathroom that a new facility would provide ’cause he apparently can’t be entertained on anything less than a six pack of Molson’s best.  Then there’s the “revenue model” referenced by the silver haired hockey has beens now execs sitting lofty in their glass enclosed perches claiming more from the parking, more from concession, and more from the city ’cause “we are the culture that Canada craves”.

I say no.  I say call their bluff with a Bon Voyage to Quebec City – that market that couldn’t sustain the Nordiques back in the ’90’s.  We know that the Stampede can pack the Saddledome for the first two weeks of July.  For some reason acts still show up.  The Hitmen and Roughnecks would retain their home turf while the Circus, the Cirque….and soccer could find fame from the departed Flame. Yes Soccer and the River Dance and more music with more dates on the calendar.  There could be variety shows, acrobats, art shows and exhibits.  A modernization of the Dome’s innards could accommodate for sets made to order.  Figure skating competitions and showcases could return with frequency.  Events representing human splendour and wonder could grace a stage tired from the moribund movement of a puck too many days out of the year.  Your venue could be revived as a city centre piece for cultural reform with a return on investment actualized through solid management and imagination.

 

Politics

ABC Reports Cringe Worthy Comey Testimony

I’d call it something different than “cringe worthy”.  I’d call the details espoused by Comey in his testimony of Donald Trump nothing more than the typical bully like egocentric behavior representative of Trump’s conduct throughout the presidential campaign and what also seems now apparent in his business conduct throughout the years evidenced by the volume of law suits thrown at him.

I’ll let the lawyers dual on the subject of “obstruction of justice” but as far as my coherent rational mind sees it, if a sitting president makes a request of the FBI to drop an investigation, one should not even need to delve into the motive for such a request.  The FBI is independent of the White House and operates on behalf of the security of the nation with classified information which passes between and throughout presidential tenures.  If the FBI is confronted with data which it deems is compromising to the security of the nation, it has an incumbent responsibility to act on the data while incorporating its sense of relevancy.  These men and women are specialists in what they do and should be availed necessary funding if at their core they believe a matter requires investigation in the spirit of defending their country.

The United States citizens chose a president with values inconsistent with those necessary to occupy the oval office. It’s that simple.  However; in the two party system, I would place the blame entirely on the delegates bestowed a responsibility for anointing a genuine leader with integrity.  The sad footnote to the story is that some of the man’s ad hoc platform is what the U.S could use but now with Trump’s credibility undermined, the execution of such platform is cast in doubt.  How does the old saying go….if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it’s a duck.  If it tweets like a child, emotes like a child, insults like a child, and refers to its genitalia like a child, then it’s likely a child.  Unfortunately, more drama at the executive branch will be unfolding while the U.S. copes with a national debt growth rate at the highest in its history and a dysfunctional parliament refusing to cooperate for the good of the nation.