Hey! The games are in SCOTLAND!!!-------Scottie Dogs At Games 'Disrespectful' To Muslims

Scottie Dogs At Games 'Disrespectful' To Muslims - The Daily Beast
Malaysian politician says that including dogs in opening ceremony was 'disrespectful to Malaysia and Muslims'

The Commonwealth Games, which opened last week in Glasgow, Scotland in the presence of the Queen, was, like all sporting events these days, ushered into existence to the accompaniment of a lavish and visually impressive opening ceremony.
But amidst the dancing mechanical giants and gay kisses, the organizers also sought to celebrate Scottishness by having each team led out by Scottie dogs wearing tartan coats embroidered with the name of the team.
Social media, predictably, fell in love with the doggies, however now political and religious leaders in Malaysia have cried foul, and are accusing the organizers of disrespect towards Muslims by forcing their teams to be led out by a dog.
Matters were aggravated by the fact that the dog assigned to the Malaysian team refused to move and had to be carried around the stadium.
Some Muslims believe that dogs are unclean.
Mohamad Sabu, the deputy president of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, told The Daily Telegraph: 

“This is just so disrespectful to Malaysia and Muslims—especially as it happened during Ramadan. 

Muslims are not allowed to touch dogs, so the organiser should have been more aware and sensitive on this issue.”

Goldman Warns Of 6.5% Japanese GDP Collapse, Worst Since Lehman

Goldman Warns Of 6.5% Japanese GDP Collapse, Worst Since Lehman | Zero Hedge

From Goldman's Naohiko Baba:

Japan Focus of the Week: June wages disappoint; watch for BOJ’s economic assessment 

Slowdown in June wages, special wages disappoint

June total cash wages rose 0.4% yoy, decelerating slightly from May (+0.6%). Basic wages turned to a small growth, but overtime wages decelerated.  Special wage, reflecting summer bonuses disappointed with only a small +0.3% increase.

Real disposable income drops sharply again in June / large negative GDP growth unavoidable for Q2

Based on the Household Survey, Q1 real spending rose 4.6% qoq on rush demand before the tax hike, but the Q2 pullback was higher at -9.4% qoq. One explanation was decline in real disposable income, which declined -8.0% yoy in June and -6% yoy on average for Q2. The difficult income environment is reflecting in consumer behavior.

June production declines far steeper than expected

Production decreased 3.3% mom in June (May: +0.7%), a far steeper decline than the market consensus (-1.2%) and the production outlook (-0.7%). Producer shipments were also down 1.9% mom in June, and this resulted in a sharp rise in inventories (of +1.9%).

Just as Abenomics is preparing to hit its 2-year anniversary, Japan's economy is on the verge of recession. And here is Goldman's punchline, one whose arrival we warned was only a matter of time.

The greater-than-expected weakness in the consumption snapback signals significant downside risk to our forecast of 4.6% decline for Q2 real GDP (sequential annualized).While we expect lower imports, higher inventories, and other factors to support GDP to some extent, we see negative real GDP growth of around -6.5% as likely, based on the data currently available.

Leaked Memo Gives Away Dems' Weather Talking Points

Leaked Memo Gives Away Dems' Weather Talking Points | The Daily Caller:
"Democratic claims that “extreme weather” was becoming more common as carbon dioxide levels increase have been disputed by scientists who say the data tells a different story.
“It is misleading and just plain incorrect to claim that disasters associated with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or droughts have increased on climate timescales either in the United States or globally,” University of Colorado climate scientist Dr. Roger Pielke said in his testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last year.
“It is further incorrect to associate the increasing costs of disasters with the emission of greenhouse gases.”
“Hurricanes have not increased in the U.S. in frequency, intensity or normalized damage since at least 1900,” Pielke added.
“The same holds for tropical cyclones globally since at least 1970.”
But Democrats have not relented in their push to convince the public that extreme weather will continue to get worse. 
The Murray memo cites reports by the Risky Business group and the White House Council of Economic Advisors, both of which argue global warming will put high costs on the economy if nothing is immediately done to tackle the issue."

Today in GR-Seinfeld in Keds-------About Us - The Color Run™ - The Happiest 5K On The Planet!

About Us - The Color Run™ - The Happiest 5K On The Planet!:

Healthiness

While our 5k event is all about having fun, we also focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle. More than half of our participants are first-time 5k runners and the event is making headway on the national focus of improving health and wellness. We hope that The Color Run 5k event will be able to act as a catalyst for our participants to live an active, healthy lifestyle.

Happiness

Seeing how happy The Color Run has made people has been tremendously rewarding for us. It is an event for all fitness levels, ages and backgrounds. Our tag line, “The Happiest 5k on the planet”, was created after seeing the expressions of pure joy from participants. Want to add some happiness to your life? Click here to register.

Individuality

Color Runners vary in demographics and reasons for running. With no winners or official times, The Color Run caters to everyone –first time runners to seasoned athletes. Some Color Runners participate as a celebration and capstone of their healthy living accomplishments, while others participate for reasons unique to them. What are you running for? Tell us here.

Giving Back

As a for-profit event management company, we love the opportunity we have to partner with charities to help shine a light on their amazing work within society and highlight the causes they stand for. We have raised donations for more than 80 local and national charities since 2012. To date, The Color Run has donated more than $3 million to charity. For more information on how The Color Run works with charities, visit our Charity Page. Interested in nominating your charity for the event in your community? Click here.

National Ad Campaign Delivers Tough Message About the ‘True Nature of Hamas’ | TheBlaze.com

National Ad Campaign Delivers Tough Message About the ‘True Nature of Hamas’ | TheBlaze.com:
"A pro-Israel advocacy group in the United States launched a national ad campaign this week in an effort to “educate Americans about the true nature of Hamas.”
Christians United for Israel is placing full-page ads in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today, among other print and online outlets, in an effort to clear up some of the confusion it believes is being reported and perpetuated in media."

21 Ways To End The Phrase ‘Americans Are So Broke…’

21 Ways To End The Phrase ‘Americans Are So Broke…’
"Did you know that 77 million Americans have unpaid debts that are "in collections" and that Congress is actually thinking about letting post offices offer payday loans?
We live in a country where almost everyone is drowning in debt and where most people are either flat broke or very close to flat broke.
Years ago, "your Mama is so broke" jokes were all the rage, and at the rate we are going they could make a big comeback.
Some of my favorites were "your Mama is so broke she went to McDonald's and put a milkshake on layaway" and "your Mama is so broke your family ate cereal with a fork to save milk".  "

4. Americans are so broke that car dealers are having to go to extreme lengths to get new customers.  Last year, one out of every four auto loans in the United States was made to someone with subprime credit.
Read 'em all and weep for our country.

Worth learning about-----Michigan officials, insurers to rideshare app users: Be Uber cautious

Michigan officials, insurers to rideshare app users: Be Uber cautious | MLive.com:
"LANSING - The car service Uber, which launched in four Michigan cities Thursday, says its users are fully covered in case of accidents, but insurance industry groups in Michigan are urging caution before using the company or other ridesharing services.
Uber is a ride-sharing app that connects available drivers of commercial or private vehicles with passengers.
It deployed this week in Lansing/East Lansing, Flint, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids."

History for August 3

History for August 3 - On-This-Day.com 

Birth anniversaries of journalist Ernie Pyle (1900-45) and novelist Leon Uris (1924-2003).

 

Happy Birthday! Tony Bennett,  P.D. James, John McGinley

1492 - Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain with three ships. The voyage would lead him to what is now known as the Americas. He reached the Bahamas on October 12. 


1900 - Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. was founded. 


1923 - Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the U.S. after the sudden death of President Harding. 


1933 - The Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced for the price of $2.75. 


1936 - Jesse Owens won the first of his four Olympic gold medals. 


1943 - Gen. George S. Patton verbally abused and slapped a private. Later, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered him to apologize for the incident. 


1949 - The National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed. The league was formed by the merger between the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League. 


1981 - U.S. traffic controllers with PATCO, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, went on strike. They were fired just as U.S. President Reagan had warned. 


1984 - Mary Lou Retton won a gold medal at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. 


1985 - Mail service returned to a nudist colony in Paradise Lake, FL. Residents promised that they'd wear clothes or stay out of sight when the mailperson came to deliver. 

House Sends $694 Million Border Bill to An Empty Senate | TheBlaze.com

House Sends $694 Million Border Bill to An Empty Senate | TheBlaze.com:
"Obama said earlier in the day that with no agreement in Congress, he would “have to act alone” to reassign funding to ensure border operations can continue. The administration has said funding for key border operations would expire in mid-August unless Congress acts."

A Big Mac with a Side of Unionization: Labor Board Rules Against Franchise and Small Business Owners | TheBlaze.com

A Big Mac with a Side of Unionization: Labor Board Rules Against Franchise and Small Business Owners | TheBlaze.com:
"The National Labor Relations Board continues to outdo itself as it bends over backwards to cater to the interests of Big Labor bosses.
It might have been more prudent for the NLRB to avoid controversy, given that just last June the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that three of its former members – including now General Counsel Richard Griffin – had been unconstitutionally appointed by President Barack Obama."

The Surprising Thing a Customer Found on Her Diner Receipt That Is Capturing a Lot of Attention | TheBlaze.com

The Surprising Thing a Customer Found on Her Diner Receipt That Is Capturing a Lot of Attention | TheBlaze.com:
"Mary Haglund, owner of Mary’s Gourmet Diner in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, confirmed the price reduction in an interview with TheBlaze Friday, noting that she’s been offering it for the past four years without much fanfare.
“For me, every plate of food is a gift,” she explained. “And I never take that for granted and when I see someone in a restaurant honoring their gratefulness at my table … it touches my heart.”

We're doomed-------Police: Do not call us if Facebook is down

Police: Do not call us if Facebook is down - WFSB 3 Connecticut:
"MENLO PARK, CA (WFSB) -
An officer from Los Angeles County took to Twitter on Friday when Facebook users called for help to report that the social media website was down.
Sgt. Burton Brink, the public information officer in La Crescenta, CA, posted a Tweet reminding people about the reasons for calling them for help.
"#Facebook is not a Law Enforcement issue, please don't call us about it being down, we don't know when FB will be back up!" he wrote"

A First Grade Student Admits She Drew on Her Desk, But One Part of the Punishment That Was Secretly Handed Down to the Girl Has Her Mother Infuriated | TheBlaze.com

A First Grade Student Admits She Drew on Her Desk, But One Part of the Punishment That Was Secretly Handed Down to the Girl Has Her Mother Infuriated | TheBlaze.com:
"A Texas mother has hired an attorney and filed a grievance after she learned that her first-grade daughter was forced to spend weeks sitting on the ground as punishment for drawing on her desk.
According to KHOU-TV, the unidentified mother said she was emailed by her daughter’s teacher after her child drew a doodle on her desk."

Dr Kent Brantly gives up the only dose of experimental Ebola serum to his colleague

Dr Kent Brantly gives up the only dose of experimental Ebola serum to his colleague | Mail Online

Ebola victims heading to Atlanta: Infected pair controversially airlifted back to U.S. for treatment as hero doctor gives up the only dose of experimental serum for his American colleague

• A specially equipped jet reportedly took off from Georgia on Thursday to transport Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly to the U.S.
• En route the patients will remain inside isolation pods called aeromedical biological containment systems
• At least one of the Ebola victims will be treated in a super-high containment facility at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital near the CDC
• Brantly, a father-of-two from Fort Worth, Texas, ensured Writebol received the experimental drug instead of him
• A small amount of the serum arrived in Liberia Tuesday, the Samaritan's Purse charity said on Wednesday
• But on Thursday charity SIM said in a statement that Mrs Writebol's condition had worsened, despite the serum she is taking
• Dr Brantly's health also worsened overnight

A First Grade Student Admits She Drew on Her Desk, But One Part of the Punishment That Was Secretly Handed Down to the Girl Has Her Mother Infuriated

A First Grade Student Admits She Drew on Her Desk, But One Part of the Punishment That Was Secretly Handed Down to the Girl Has Her Mother Infuriated | TheBlaze.com:
"A Texas mother has hired an attorney and filed a grievance after she learned that her first-grade daughter was forced to spend weeks sitting on the ground as punishment for drawing on her desk.
According to KHOU-TV, the unidentified mother said she was emailed by her daughter’s teacher after her child drew a doodle on her desk.
“She lost her recess, she went to the principal’s office and then she had to wash the desk and that was it,” she said. “I was never told that her desk was removed.”"

Obama Administration Spent Thousands On Strippers, Boxing Tickets In Failed Sting On Border Patrol Agent

Obama Administration Spent Thousands On Strippers, Boxing Tickets In Failed Sting On Border Patrol Agent: "
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration abandoned a corruption case against an Arizona border patrol agent after his attorney accused federal agents of entrapping his client, and spending federal dollars on strippers, plane tickets, and tickets to a Manny Pacquiao fight as part of their investigation.
A federal judge dismissed money-laundering and corruption charges against Customs and Border Protection agent Lauro Tobias Tuesday in response to dismissal motions from both the Department of Justice and Tobias’ attorney, which were filed within hours of each other July 25.
Tobias, a 10-year veteran of the CBP who also served in the Air Force for two decades, was arrested in March 2013 after he took a trip from Phoenix to Las Vegas for a drug deal — 6 kilograms of cocaine were exchanged with unnamed persons for $100,000. Tobias was paid $4,000 for working as security during the deal, based on court documents.
Tobias has maintained he did not know the trip was for a drug deal, and that he was assured the exchange was legal.
But, based on court documents, the drug deal wasn’t real:
Everyone involved, aside from Tobias, appears to have been a part of a federal task force that has been attempting, with little success, to root out corruption within the Border Patrol along the Arizona-Mexico border.
It’s unclear why the Justice Department abruptly asked for the dismissal the same day as Tobias’ attorney filed his motion.

Trey Gowdy Interrogates Democrat-Invited Law Prof on IRS Scandal — Watch What Happens When the Witness Doesn’t Answer His Questions | Video | TheBlaze.com

Trey Gowdy Interrogates Democrat-Invited Law Prof on IRS Scandal — Watch What Happens When the Witness Doesn’t Answer His Questions | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) grilled a University of Baltimore law professor during a Wednesday House hearing and made a compelling case as to why a special counsel is needed to investigate the IRS scandal. At one point, he even offered the professor some “free litigation advice” when he refused to answer one of his questions that seemed pretty straightforward."





Worth Watching!

Goats in the city: Farms sprouting where schools once stood

Goats in the city: Farms sprouting where schools once stood | MLive.com:
 "MUSKEGON, MI -- Detroit Public Schools has settled on a new use for abandoned schools that Muskegon could take a lesson from: urban farms.
Already firmly entrenched in school gardening, Detroit school officials have a vision to transform the former Kettering High School property into a huge urban farm.
Betti Wiggins, the executive director of Detroit Public Schools' Office of School Nutrition, came to Muskegon Thursday to describe that vision -- and to encourage the expansion of school gardening here.
Like the Muskegon area, only on a much larger scale, Detroit is dotted with closed school buildings. And like Muskegon, Detroit has embraced urban farming.
Wiggins combined the two.
"Instead of leaving it to the vandals, we're going to repurpose it," Wiggins said of the 27-acre Kettering site.
The vision includes hoop houses and eventually even a food processing facility."

Gov. candidate Schauer says plan would generate "tens of thousands" of jobs; Snyder camp calls it "empty rhetoric"

Gov. candidate Schauer says plan would generate "tens of thousands" of jobs; Snyder camp calls it "empty rhetoric" | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer laid out his 10-point plan to create jobs Tuesday, a plan he said would generate “tens of thousands” of jobs.
“This is the blueprint that we will use to restore the Michigan dream,” Schauer said in front of a group of supporters at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 training facility in Lansing.
Schauer said he would reverse many of Gov. Rick Snyder’s policies, including right to work, the tax on some pension income, the elimination of the child tax credit, the roll back of the Homestead Property Tax credit, and what Schauer says have been cuts to education.
Schauer’s 10-point plan includes spending more on K-12 education, cutting taxes for middle class families, cutting taxes for small businesses, fixing roads and increasing the state’s clean energy standard to 35 percent by 2035.
Schauer wants to help attract jobs to the state by creating an initiative inside the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to assist businesses looking to expand here and bring jobs from other states or countries. He also wants to establish an innovation hub that would bring together the research arm of the state’s universities and the state’s largest companies, expand micro-lending to spur growth of high-tech companies and provide tax credits to small businesses.
The 24-page plan includes at least two dozen proposals that call for increased spending or reduced taxes, with far fewer proposals that would generate additional revenue or cut spending to pay for his initiatives.
When asked how he would pay for many of these proposals, Schauer’s answer often was to cut waste and fraud from state government and weed out unnecessary state spending."

"Religion of peace"--------Turkey: 'Women Shall Not Laugh in Public' says Erdogan's Deputy

Turkey: 'Women Shall Not Laugh in Public' says Erdogan's Deputy