I am not the most ardent of soccer fans, but I do like to watch some of the World Cup games.
So far, in the 2010 events, almost every game I watched has had some questionable officiating, if not outright bad calls by the referees; and, it is not just me. Others have noticed the bad calls too.
These bad calls have brought up the subject of "instant replay" with millions of sports fans questioning why FIFA, the organization behind the World Cup contest, does not allow instant replay.
After all, it is 2010, and one would think that it is way past the time for FIFA to implement instant replay; so that two "off the field officials" can review calls, when requested to do so by the coach of a team.
For FIFA to continue to deny instant replay is not fair to the players, and it is not acceptable. There is no valid reason why FIFA could not set up an instant replay policy and procedure similar to that used in professional football in the USA.
Unfortunately, there are waaay tooo many ATNAs who are sports fans. Those are people who are ALL TALK, NO ACTION.
The millions of sports fans who are disappointed with the officiating at the World Cup events this year, need to let FIFA know about your thoughts and concerns. Now is the time to speak up and do that.
Here is the link to make comments to FIFA:
http://www.fifa.com/contact/form.html
Now, get off your dead butts and do something about it!!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
OIL OIL EVERYWHERE
If you have been asleep for the past few weeks, you’ve been missing the constant news about the oil well disaster off the coast of Louisiana; and the intricate web of finger pointing in an attempt to lay blame.
Some people blame the Bush administration, due to certain favoritism toward the big oil companies, of which Richard “Shotgun Dick” Cheney and George W. Bush have more than passing familiarity. Others blame the giant oil Company BP for having extremely lax policies about such disasters, (no preparedness), and the slow response to do something about it.
As BP scrambles to try to contain this spewing of natural resources that is devastating coastal and marine life for miles and miles, one has to ask a question: Why were there no adequate safeguards in place, in advance preparation for such a disaster?
Since almost forever, the oil companies have been licking their chops and salivating over the possibility of drilling off the California coastline. Fueled by the resolve of the NIMBYs, thankfully that has not happened yet, at least to any meaningful degree. Can you imagine what would be happening if this disaster were taking place off Venice Beach, Malibu Beach, or Big Sur? More than likely, the residents of the state of California would have voted to secede from the Union, and declare war on the U.S.
However, there is another aspect to this that others have not mentioned. Sabotage. This oil well disaster shows as a blueprint for terrorists who really want to cause havoc. Yes, they can fly a plane into a very tall building, and cause multiple deaths and destruction. Although, the chances of something like 9/11 happening again any time soon might be a tad remote.
So, what would happen if Islamic terrorists were to destroy four or five producing coastal oil wells? Would the ocean waters within a 10-mile radius of each well become contaminated? For all intents and purposes, would a much larger area of the ocean become dead for years and years into the future?
If anything, the BIG lesson about this disaster is the lack of security. Lack of security to protect these wells, and the lack of security of having a workable disaster plan. It looks like the U.S. government, and the oil companies – in addition to BP – were caught without any solid, meaningful, plan for such a disaster.
Despite the lessons and experiences involved with the Hexxon-Valdez incident years ago, it appears that zero, zip, nada, nothing has been done to substantially provide safeguards and action plans for such disasters.
As the late great political cartoonist Walk Kelly wrote, through little Pogo Possum, on Earth Day in 1970, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” For more information about Pogo, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_(comics)
Some people blame the Bush administration, due to certain favoritism toward the big oil companies, of which Richard “Shotgun Dick” Cheney and George W. Bush have more than passing familiarity. Others blame the giant oil Company BP for having extremely lax policies about such disasters, (no preparedness), and the slow response to do something about it.
As BP scrambles to try to contain this spewing of natural resources that is devastating coastal and marine life for miles and miles, one has to ask a question: Why were there no adequate safeguards in place, in advance preparation for such a disaster?
Since almost forever, the oil companies have been licking their chops and salivating over the possibility of drilling off the California coastline. Fueled by the resolve of the NIMBYs, thankfully that has not happened yet, at least to any meaningful degree. Can you imagine what would be happening if this disaster were taking place off Venice Beach, Malibu Beach, or Big Sur? More than likely, the residents of the state of California would have voted to secede from the Union, and declare war on the U.S.
However, there is another aspect to this that others have not mentioned. Sabotage. This oil well disaster shows as a blueprint for terrorists who really want to cause havoc. Yes, they can fly a plane into a very tall building, and cause multiple deaths and destruction. Although, the chances of something like 9/11 happening again any time soon might be a tad remote.
So, what would happen if Islamic terrorists were to destroy four or five producing coastal oil wells? Would the ocean waters within a 10-mile radius of each well become contaminated? For all intents and purposes, would a much larger area of the ocean become dead for years and years into the future?
If anything, the BIG lesson about this disaster is the lack of security. Lack of security to protect these wells, and the lack of security of having a workable disaster plan. It looks like the U.S. government, and the oil companies – in addition to BP – were caught without any solid, meaningful, plan for such a disaster.
Despite the lessons and experiences involved with the Hexxon-Valdez incident years ago, it appears that zero, zip, nada, nothing has been done to substantially provide safeguards and action plans for such disasters.
As the late great political cartoonist Walk Kelly wrote, through little Pogo Possum, on Earth Day in 1970, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” For more information about Pogo, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_(comics)
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