- A bad weekend for drug addicts and lovers everywhere just got worse. Less than 48 hours after Honduran anti-drug officials seized a cocaine-filled submarine containing 7.3 million tons of the Colombian nose candy, state and federal authorities in northern California announced a sweeping campaign that over the past few weeks raided dozens of marijuana farms in and around the Mendocino National Forest. Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for Northern California, announced the attack at a press conference Friday. Haag claimed more than 460,000 pot plants were destroyed and 101 people arrested in the raids, which supposedly came in response to a proliferation of marijuana farms that are destroying ecosystems and scaring hikers away. "The Mendocino National Forest is under attack by drug traffickers," Haag said at the news conference. "Visitors to the forest are increasingly intimidated by the prospect of armed drug traffickers and illegal cultivation sites. I've warned people who come up here during the summer to be careful when they go hiking." Oh, so some hybrid-driving, granola-eating, tree-hugging nature hippies are afraid of running into a drug trafficker or two out on the trails, eh? What about all of the loveable stoners out there who just want to veg out on their couch, get baked, do a few bong rips and watch Beavis & Butthead reruns while slamming a bag of Cheetos? Who’s looking out for them? Stoners aren’t looking to hurt anyone, so why is The Man so intent on jamming them up? “There are those who believe that growing marijuana is a harmless, peaceful activity in harmony with nature," Haag proclaimed. "This notion is, in a word, wrong." No Haag, you’re the one who is wrong. You can take your little Operation Full Court Press, as you dubbed it, and cram it up you…..well, you get the point. All told, state and federal authorities targeted 56 growing sites across six Northern California counties and in addition to the nearly half a million put plants and more than 100 arrests, agents also seized 27 guns, 11 vehicles and large quantities of fertilizers, chemical pesticides and rat poison. Not only did agents and officers seize all of this, but also ripped up 22 miles of irrigation pipes and 13 man-made dams used for marijuana farms raided in the operation. Farms of this type have existed in California forests for years, but suddenly they’re a huge issue that has to be tackled now. Hopefully all involved in this little sting operation are pleased with themselves because millions of stoners won't be……whenever they sober up and finish with their all-important game of hacky sack……….
- There are many weekends wherein movie fans have ample reason to be ashamed when they look at the box office earnings list, but none more so than this particular three-day frame. When a movie about war between cowboys and aliens is not only green-lit and released by a studio but is also the top-earning film for a weekend, the world of cinema is in a dark, dark place. Such is the case this weekend, when the über-crappy Cowboys & Aliens debuted in first place with $36.3 million, beating out fellow newcomer The Smurfs for the top spot. Smurfs landed in second place in its opening frame with a modest take of $36.2 million, somewhat disappointing considering the marketing push Sony put behind the film. Captain America, last weekend’s top movie, slid to third place after debuting in the top spot just one weekend ago. This time around, the superhero flick garnered $24.9 million, a 62-percent decline. Dork magnet Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 finished fourth, padding its overflowing coffers with another $21.9 million to blow right past the $300 million mark in domestic earnings at $318.4 million and counting after three weeks. Crazy, Stupid, Love was the third newcomer in the top five and made $19.3 million in its first weekend with Steve Carrell leading the way. The latter half of the top 10 was equally unimpressive, populated by: Friends With Benefits (No. 6 with a scant $9.3 million in its second weekend of release and $38.2 million for two weeks of work), Horrible Bosses (No. 7 with $7.1 million and $96.2 million in cumulative earnings for four weeks), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (falling four spots to No. 8 with $5.9 million and a whopping $337.9 million in domestic earnings after just five weeks), the absurdly and exponentially awful Zookeeper (No. 9 with $4.2 million and $68.7 million one month into its one-month-too-long-and-counting run in theaters) and Cars 2 BV (No. 10 with $2.3 million and $182 million for its first six weeks of release). Dropping out of the top 10 from last week were the mega-disappointing Winnie the Pooh (No. 11), Midnight in Paris (No. 12) and Bad Teacher (No. 14)……………
- The Chinese government was bound to go back to what it knows best. After being drenched by the towering wave of public criticism over last month’s high-speed train crash and the government’s reaction, Chinese authorities have reverted to their usual form by attempting to quash any and all dissent and criticism. To make that happen, they have put in place a virtual news blackout on the disaster except for positive stories or information officially released by the government. You know, the sorts of positive stories that are always plentiful and easy to find in a major disaster where 40 people die and nearly 200 more are injured. Courtesy of the Communist Party’s publicity department, those stories will be the only ones that can be told from here on out. Spineless newspaper editors were forced to scrap their planned front page layouts for their Saturday editions after the decree from the commies came down Friday. Instead of investigative articles and commentaries about the accident that killed 40 people in eastern China, cartoons or innocuous news stories were frantically crammed into the suddenly open white space on newspaper pages. The blackout even affected Xinhua, the government’s news agency, which reportedly had to postpone the publication of an article on the crash. How the government went this long without muzzling the media and trying fruitlessly to prevent any negative or critical pieces on the crash is something of a mystery. The crash and subsequent coverage of it has become something of a symbol for many Chinese of growing concerns about whether the government is sacrificing people’s lives and safety in pursuit of fast-paced economic development and hiding its failures under a cloak secrecy or an onslaught of propaganda. Twitter has become a forum for these complaints, a site for 140-character mini-rants on how the rescue effort after the train crash was mishandled. Dozens of journalists now have reason to join the chorus of outraged because they too have been silenced and many took to the Internet to voice their anger. That anger has largely been focused on the government’s unrelenting drive to construct high-speed rail lines as part of the world’s largest public works project. At least one bold voice ignored the government’s “happy news only” mandate on Saturday. The Beijing-based Economic Observer rolled out nine pages of accident coverage, highlighted by a report labeling the Railway Ministry as a runaway operation and a reconstruction of the events in Wenzhou from the viewpoint of dozens of survivors. An accompanying commentary carried the headline: “We are all passengers in this high-speed train.” Passengers, perhaps……but heading in which direction? After all, only Thursday, Premier Wen Jiabao proclaimed during a press conference in Wenzhou that the “investigation into the accident should be open, transparent and monitored by the public.” Hmm, sounds like a conflicting message to say the least…………
- Hot dogs are disgusting, there is no doubting that reality. Cramming various animal parts and meat products into a small tube with a quasi-food casing and then dropping it onto a bun for consumption just sounds wrong and according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, it could be more than wrong - it could be deadly. The Washington, D.C. group preventive medicine and a vegan diet, so their take on hot dogs is admittedly skewed in a negative direction. Keep that in mind while listening to the group’s confrontational campaign focused on none other than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The PCRM unveiled a billboard last week near the famed race track bearing the advisory: "Warning: Hot dogs can wreck your health." On the billboard is a picture of hot dogs in a cigarette pack inscribed with skull and crossbones. The PCRM would have the public believe that there is a strong link between colorectal cancer and hot dogs, so strong that hot dogs should come with a "warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk," just like cigarettes. Those words of wisdom were spewed out by Susan Levin, the committee's nutrition education director. Oddly enough, most health experts don’t agree with that assessment. "It is not necessary to eliminate consumption of red or processed meat; rather the message is that these foods should not be the mainstay of your diet," American Cancer Society guidelines state. In other words, hot dogs may not be health food, but neither are they toxic merchants of death like cigarettes. Yes, they are high in salt and if a person was to eat hot dogs every day for every one of their meals, then hot dogs could definitely lead to hypertension and heart disease. One lingering question about the PCRM’s campaign is why the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is at the heart of the effort. Hot dogs are definitely a big part of events at the race track and last year, more than 1.1 million hot dogs were sold during the Indianapolis 500. Not only does the committee want the public to stop eating hot dogs, but deli meats, ham, sausage, bacon and pepperoni are also on the list. Lots of success in achieving that goal, you vegan kooks…………
- The threats have been made by NBA players from the league’s superstars to its role players and now, the words can officially be matched by action. As the Association’s lockout drags on and all involved parties seem resigned to a long and contentious work stoppage, players have taken the idea of playing abroad during the lockout to varying degrees. Some, like Nets All-Star guard Deron Williams, have signed contracts with foreign clubs. Others, like Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Oklahoma City forward and reigning NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, have merely teased the idea of playing in a foreign professional league. Hovering over all of those situations was the legality of such moves - until now. FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, announced Friday it would clear NBA players under contract to play in its leagues during the work stoppage, provided the deals they sign come with opt-out clauses. Players can now earn a living playing basketball while the NBA remains on hiatus, but must do so at their own risk of injury. "As the world governing body for basketball, we strongly hope that the labor dispute will be resolved as soon as possible, and that the NBA season is able to begin as scheduled," secretary general Patrick Baumann said in a statement. "In view of our role to promote basketball worldwide, we support any player wishing to play the game, wherever and whenever. We do so while obviously taking the interests, rights and obligations of all parties into account." To this point, many league executives have laughed off the idea of players going abroad, believing it to be nothing more than a negotiating ploy on the part of the players. Even after Williams signed a deal with Turkish club Besiktas -- which is also courting Bryant - that belief remained unchanged. Union executive director Billy Hunter has endorsed the idea as well and players are confident that signing with foreign teams will boost their negotiating position because owners will see that their players have options elsewhere. "Our players are gratified by today's announcement by FIBA, although it comes as no surprise," Hunter said in a statement. "We have consistently advised our members that in the event of a lockout they would have the right to be compensated for playing basketball irrespective of whether they were under contract to an NBA team or not. We have encouraged all of our players to pursue such opportunities and will continue to do so." Pursuing those opportunities is one thing, but finding them will likely be much different. Most foreign leagues have a quota on the number of American players allowed on a roster and few professional teams outside the United States are financially solvent enough to pay NBA players suitable wages. However, with the lockout not close to ending in any way, shape or form, other options are still needed. The league and players have not met at all in recent weeks and won't get back to the bargaining table until Monday…………
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