Posts from — June 2019

Alabama woman loses unborn child after being shot, gets arrested; shooter goes free

Marshae Jones, a 27-year-old Birmingham woman, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on a manslaughter charge. She was taken into custody on Wednesday.

Though Jones didn’t fire the shots that killed her unborn baby girl, authorities say she initiated the dispute that led to the gunfire. Police initially charged 23-year-old Ebony Jemison with manslaughter, but the charge against Jemison was dismissed after the grand jury failed to indict her.

The local district attorney is reviewing the case and may choose not to prosecute, but what is wrong with the grand jury? Ms Jones may have started the fight, but getting shot and losing her child should be more than enough punishment for her “crimes”. What is the benefit to society that justifies prosecution?

It’s a doubleheader to finish the quarterfinals round.

Italy 0-2 Netherlands

All of the scoring was the result of Sherida Spitse’s free-kicks in the second half that were converted by headers from Vivianne Miedema and then Stefani van der Gragt. After an even first half, the Oranje Leeuwinnen (Orange Lionesses) took control of the pitch from Le Azzurre (The Blues). It is the middle of a heat wave in Europe which slowed things down. The Italian defense was pounded by 21 attempts, so they held up their end allowing only 2 goals in set pieces by the current European champion Oranje.

Germany 1-2 Sweden

The DFB Frauen struck first and led in possession 60-40, but the Blågult (Blue & Gold) did a better job of penetrating the German defense. It was hot and there were cooling breaks during the match, but the play was not nearly as spirited as it would have in the Fall in Berlin or Stockholm. Germany was missing Dzsenifer Marozsán, their star midfielder who is not 100% after an injury in an earlier game. She came in later in the game but the Frauen didn’t adjust to change in their game.

When asked in an interview if she was interested in going to the White House, Megan Rapinoe was very emphatic in her negative response.

This caused Trump to pick another fight:

“We haven’t yet invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose. Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear,” he wrote.

Ms Rapinoe is a more welcome “ambassador” of the United States throughout the world that Donald Trump. She plays at the top level of the most popular sport in the world – “the beautiful game.”

Unlike Trump, Ms Rapinoe has never called the White House “a dump”. It is the current Resident she disapproves of.

Ms Rapinoe doesn’t wear a flag because USWNT is aware of the law – 4 USC 8j: “No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform.” Oh, she also doesn’t use the flag for a pole dance as Trump has done multiple times.

Someone should inform the current Resident what Ms Rapinoe and her team do – they kick balls! They are very good at kicking balls. They kick balls with their insteps and occasionally their heels. They kick balls with power and with accuracy. I would be reluctant to annoy anyone who was as good as Ms Rapinoe at kicking balls. 😈

France 1 – 2 US

Les Bleues controlled the ball 60% of the time and looked great, but they couldn’t get the ball in the goal. The US had speed, reaction, and Megan Rapinoe. The US shifted to a five women defense at the end to maintain their lead and it worked.

This is the eighth consecutive Women’s World Cup in which the US reached the semi-finals.

Update: BBC Sports selected Crystal Dunn, US fullback, ‘Player of the match’ for shutting down the French offense.

Norway 0-3 England

Apparently stunned by a quick Lioness goal (2 minutes 7 seconds), the Grasshoppers couldn’t get their game together. They had opportunities but were thwarted by the England defenders. Norway is a better team than this game would lead you to believe.

England looked very confident and ready to go the distance.

Italy 2-0 China China just couldn’t convert. The stats were pretty much identical, but China was unable to take advantage of their opportunities. Italy executed when they saw an opportunity.

Netherlands 2-1 Japan The Netherlands are through to the quarterfinals due to a Japanese mistake that led to a penalty shot. Japan was the better team for most of the match, but at this level of play, it only takes one mistake.

Sweden 1-0 Canada Canada dominated the first half but couldn’t score. The Swedes drew blood in the second half and that was enough with Hedvig Lindahl protecting their goal. Lindahl won Player of the Match for an amazing stop on a Canadian penalty shot that would have tied the match.

Spain 1-2 USA The Roja’s Hermoso scored the first goal against the US in this World Cup. US scoring was two penalty shots by Megan Rapinoe. Spain is ready to play at this level. It wasn’t an elegant win by the US, but it was enough to move on to the quarterfinals.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un receives ‘excellent’ letter from Trump:

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un has received a personal letter from US President Donald Trump, state media has reported.

Mr. Kim praised the letter as “excellent” and said he would “seriously contemplate the interesting content,” the KCNA news agency said.

He also praised Mr. Trump’s “extraordinary courage”.

Earlier this month, Mr. Trump said a beautiful letter had been sent to him by the North Korean leader.

This is just creepy. They sound like tweens with crushes instead of national leaders discussing nuclear disarmament. This is not a healthy environment. The good news is neither one is capable of long walks in the moonlight. 😈

Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water pulled from stores:

Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., the company that makes this brand of bottled water, said Peñafiel unflavored mineral spring water products are involved in the market withdrawal. It wrote in a statement Friday that it is voluntarily pulling the products, which are sold at Target and Walmart, and possibly other vendors.

Gee, arsenic is a mineral, so what’s the problem? 😈

People keep thinking that water in a plastic bottle is safer than tap water. Most of the water in those bottles comes from underdeveloped countries, with underdeveloped pollution regulations. Any testing for purity is done by the bottler, and we all know how well self-regulation works.

France 2-1 Brazil. This was great football between two of the best in the world. After tying in regulation, the French scored the winner in the second half of overtime. The French appeared to be in better condition for the end of the match.

England 3-0 Cameroon. This was another example of people upset with calls being reversed by the use of VAR (video-assisted referee). When you learn to play under one set of rules and conditions, and then have to adjust to a different system for the most important games you play, mistakes are made and people get angry.

FYI: the little ball indicates the player scored. A green triangle indicates a substitute. The yellow rectangle is a yellow card and the red rectangle is a red card.

The biggest question is WHY? What is the US interest in attacking Iran (the “sanctions” on Iran are definitely attacks)? Iran gave up on expansion before the United States became a country. They lost land to the Russian Empire and the British Empire in the 19th century. In the 20th century despite being neutral in both World War I and II, Britain occupied parts of Iran to control the oil fields. During the Eisenhower administration, the CIA and MI6 organized a coup against the democratically elected prime minister of Iran and installed the last Shah. The US supported Iraq in the decade long Iraq-Iran War. I see why Iran doesn’t like the West, what’s the US excuse?

A question for the Pentagon PR people: If every country gets 12 nautical miles of coastal waters. how do you get international waters in a strait barely more than 20 nautical miles wide? The Strait of Hormuz is a problem for the US, a problem that should be avoided. Trump wants to go to war over a drone, but Iran didn’t attack the US after Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down while on a scheduled flight over the Persian Gulf. Who’s the aggressor?

There was an agreement in place that Iran was abiding with according to the international monitoring team. Iran didn’t break the deal, Trump did. If Israel and Saudi Arabia think Iran is going to build nuclear weapons now, it’s Trump fault.

We had the Allies, the Coalition of the Willing, and now the League of Unindicted Coconspirators. Netanyahu had to call for a new election when he was unable to form a government. He needs to stay in power long enough to give himself immunity from all of the corruption charges the Israeli attorney general is ready to file. The Trump gang are the only people on the planet who don’t admit MBS had Jamal Khashoggi murdered. Finally, indictments are definitely coming in New York state for the Trump gang, even if the Feds chicken out.

The final sixteen started playing today for positions in the quarterfinals.

Germany sent Nigeria home – final score 3-0. Nigeria came back in the second half, but the experience of the German team was too much on this day.

The second match today, Norway – Australia, ended in a 1-1 tie after full time and extra time. Norway won on penalty shots 4-1. Sam Kerr’s play will be missed.

England-Cameroon and France-Brazil are scheduled for tomorrow.

Today at 10:54AM [CDT] is the Summer Solstice, technically considered the “first day of Summer”, but the mid Summer by much of Europe.

Many Wiccans celebrate the day as Litha, while computer programmers honor their predecessors, the druids, who built the first solid-state computing devices, the megaliths, like Stonehenge.

The Slavs celebrate St. John’s Night, Иван Купала [Ivan Kupala], the battle between the White god [Белобог – Belobog] and the Black god [Чёрнобог – Chyornobog] for control of the Sun. The Black god always wins and the night begins to expand.

The sound track to the battle is Иванова Ночь на Лысой Горе [Night on Bald Mountain ] by Модест Петрович Мусоргский [Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky], which everyone should play very loudly.

Geraint Thomas crash: Defending champion will be fit for Tour de France

Defending champion Geraint Thomas says he will be fit to take part in the Tour de France despite crashing out of the Tour of Switzerland and being taken to hospital on Tuesday.

Team Ineos said the Welshman suffered “abrasions to his shoulder and a cut above his right eye”, but the 33-year-old escaped serious injury.

…

Thomas is expected to lead Team Ineos at the Tour de France after team-mate Chris Froome was badly injured in crash at the Criterium du Dauphine last week, ruling him out of action for at least six months.

Team Ineos is last year’s Team Sky. Sky Network dropped sponsorship after being bought by Comcast. They are a very talented team that has apparently used up their share of luck.