I don't know WHY

She is why I started to watch football!

She is why I started to watch football!

Fernanda Colombo UlianaEarly Doors has always been suspicious of football referees. Deciding to become one of the men in black has always seemed a peculiarly cruel bargain with the devil: sure, you get to be involved in football at a level that could be far higher than your own skill, and we can kind of understand getting a kick out of blowing the whistle and laying down the law.
But are those minor thrills really worth becoming the sporting equivalent of a traffic warden? Is the uniform and the whistle or flag adequate compensation for the constant barrage of abuse from fans and players, aggression that often borders on physical assault, and guaranteed public humiliation every time you make a mistake? It's not as if there's money in it: unless you get to the very highest level, the money on offer equates to little more than petrol expenses.
For a man in early middle age it all might be worth it, of course. But if you were a young, beautiful woman with the world at your feet, would you still give up your weekends to be a match official?
You would if you were 25-year-old Fernanda Colombo Uliana, an up-and-coming match official from Brazil who caused a minor earthquake on the internet when she ran the line at the Brazilian Cup match between Sao Paolo and CRB this week.
Fernanda has just been granted FIFA official status by the refereeing committee of the Brazilian FA (aka the CBF), hence her appearance in such a high profile match.
And rather than regretting the fact that she will now have to have abuse hurled at her from far larger crowds, she is delighted that her career has moved on to the next level - both for herself, and for women in general.
"It's one more step towards winning people over," she told local paper Diario Catarinense.
Fernanda still has a day job, working as a personal trainer specialising in hydro-fitness at a gym in Florianopolis, but it's clear she has eyes on a full-time career in football.
"It's the result of all the dedication I've shown. Who wouldn't want to receive recognition in their chosen career, after all? For me it's a huge victory."

When she is not refereeing, she is a model.

The dog ripped into the boy's leg, but was promptly chased away by a cat

The dog ripped into the boy's leg, but was promptly chased away by a cat

A brave feline has proven that cats can be just as loyal as man's best friend, by saving its young owner from a dog attack on a California street on Tuesday.

In the footage entitled My cat saved my son, which appears to have been shot by a CCTV camera, a young boy is seen riding his bike on a driveway next to a parked car.

A shot taken from a different angle then shows a sandy-coloured dog trot into view on the opposite side of the stationary vehicle, and run up to the child.

Suddenly, the animal viciously bites into the boy’s leg and drags him from his bike onto the tarmac.

Within seconds, the boy’s cat hurtles towards the dog and chases it away, while the boy’s mother tends to her son.

Having dealt with the dog, the cat returns to the boy, and the family flees the scene.

At the end of the footage, the boy's father assures viewers that his son is now safe and well - and shares a grisly photo of the boy's wound which required stitches.

The wound inflicted by the dog who attacked the small boy (YouTube)

Bakersfield police said the attacking dog, identified as an 8-month-old Labrador-Chow mix, had been surrendered by its owner's family after the Tuesday afternoon attack and was in quarantine and would ultimately be euthanized.

Police spokesman Sergeant Joseph Grubbs said the dog's owners, who live in the same neighborhood as the boy, said the dog did not like children or bicycles. He did not identify the owner by name.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/weird-news/video-shows-cat-save-boy-from-dog-attack-9373043.html

Cat Saves Little Boy From Being Attacked by Neighbor's Dog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSG_wBiTEE8

Beverly Hills demands Brunei Sultan sell hotel after hudud move

Beverly Hills demands Brunei Sultan sell hotel after hudud move 

LOS ANGELES: Beverly Hills is demanding that the Sultan of Brunei sell a hotel in the celebrity-rich US city, after he introduced a penal code incorporating Islamic sharia law, officials said Wednesday. 
Stars including Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres and business tycoon Richard Branson have also called for a boycott of the chain, which owns the Beverly Hills Hotel. But the head of the Dorchester Collection chain said that would be wrong-headed, and only harm hotel staff. 
"The actions you take have to be seriously considered because they will effect the livelihoods of these people," Christopher Cowdray told Beverly Hills city lawmakers at a council meeting Tuesday night. 
Brunei's all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced last week that he would push ahead with implementing sharia, despite criticism both at home and internationally. 

An initial phase officially came into effect Thursday, with a second phase including more stringent penalties, including the severing of limbs for theft and robbery, to begin later in the year. 
Late next year, punishments such as death by stoning for offenses including sodomy and adultery will be introduced. 
The Beverly Hills City Council passed a resolution Tuesday "condemning the government of Brunei for a series of laws that impose extremely harsh penalties, including death by stoning for homosexuality and adultery." 
"This resolution is calling for the (Brunei) government to change their laws or to divest themselves of the Beverly Hills Hotel to separate the fact that our iconic hotel is under their ownership," added Mayor Lili Bosse. 
Sultan Hassanal owns the historic Beverly Hills Hotel as well as the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles through his company Dorchester Collection, which also has branches in London, Paris, Milan and Rome. 
The city council said they would send the resolution to the State Department asking Washington to "take appropriate action to condemn the Brunei government's policies." 
The United States has "relayed our concerns privately to the government of Brunei," State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said Tuesday, but it will not follow a growing boycott of the Sultan's luxury hotel chain. 
Beverly Hills' mayor called the new laws "shocking, inhumane." 
"They must be met with a strong statement of support for human rights of the people of Brunei," she said.
The Dorchester Collection is reportedly owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, a sovereign wealth fund under the oil-rich sultanate's Ministry of Finance. 
The upmarket chain also includes the Bel Air Hotel, which is a few miles from the Beverly Hills Hotel although administratively in Los Angeles, rather than Beverly Hills. 
It also includes the Dorchester Hotel in London, Le Meurice and Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, Le Richemond in Geneva and the Hotel Eden in Rome. 
The sultan's support for sharia law has sparked rare domestic criticism of the fabulously wealthy ruler on the Muslim-majority country's active social media, and international condemnation including from the UN's human rights office. 
On Monday, former US talk show host Leno joined a growing list of celebrities vowing to boycott the luxury hotel chain. 
Virgin group founder Richard Branson tweeted at the weekend that Virgin employees would not stay at the hotel chain "until the Sultan abides by basic human rights," the British billionaire wrote. 
Others who have called for a boycott include talk show host DeGeneres, British comedian Stephen Fry and TV star Sharon Osbourne. - AFP