- North Korean despot Kim Jong Un is the best. Assuming that
executing one’s own uncle for what may well be completed trumped-up, fabricated
charges doesn’t exclude a dictator from being considered awesome, of course.
The artist known as K.J. Un showed he is on his way to becoming every bit the
paranoid, manipulative psychopath his late father was by executing his own
uncle, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The headline of "Traitor Jang Song Thaek
Executed" greeted the nation on Friday, proclaiming the untimely demise of
K.J. Un’s aunt’s husband for trying to overthrow the government. While not entirely
surprising because K.J. Un is a Grade-A whack job, offing a man viewed as the
nation's second-most powerful figure is still noteworthy. According to the
KCNA, a special military tribunal was held Thursday against the "traitor
for all ages," who was accused of trying to overthrow the state "by
all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods." In a not-at-all shocking
twist, the story claimed “All the crimes committed by the accused were proved
in the course of hearing and were admitted by him.” In a swift show of bogus
justice, Jang was immediately executed and branded as "despicable human
scum" and "worse than a dog.” His death sends an emphatic
message to anyone who might oppose K.J. Un and feels like the sort of homicidal
act by a powerful madman that typically happens in James Bond movies. Jang had
served as vice chairman of North Korea's top military body and had often been
pictured beside his famous nephew. K.J. Un has ruled North Korea since the
death in 2011 of his father, Kim Jong Il. A KCNA statement issued this week
featured K.J. Un accusing Jang and his allies of double-dealing behind the
scenes, "dreaming different dreams" and selling the country's
resources at cheap prices. Oh, and there were also charges of womanizing, drug
use, splurging on fine dining, undergoing medical treatment in a foreign
country and sharing porn amongst members of the conspiracy. Sounds like quite a
party………
- Surprise, surprise. Big Tobacco is feeling squeezed and
the cancer-causers in fancy suits in their corner offices are pushing back.
Wrecking the health of degenerate smokers and those around them is how the
industry makes its billions and it comes as no surprise that tobacco companies
are pushing back against a worldwide rise in antismoking laws. Their new
strategy is an obscure legal tactic predicated on warning countries that their
tobacco laws violate an expanding web of trade and investment treaties. The
approach is picking up momentum as developed nations have smartly clamped down
on smoking and developing countries have become the new target for tobacco
companies. Oh, and there is also the World Health Organization’s Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control, which aims to reduce smoking by encouraging
limits on advertising, packaging and sale of tobacco products. So far, 170 countries
have signed it since it took effect in 2005. WHO figures show that 5 million
people die annually of smoking-related causes, more than from AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis combined. Figures like that are what inspires Namibia and other
developing countries to pass tobacco control laws – laws that then lead to
terse warnings from the tobacco industry that the new statute violated the
country’s obligations under trade treaties. “We have bundles and bundles of
letters from them,” said Namibia’s health minister, Dr. Richard Kamwi. Because
of those threats, the government has still yet to carry out a single major
provision of the law, like limiting advertising or placing large health
warnings on cigarette packaging. Countries are fighting back and Uruguay,
Norway and Australia are among those locked in protracted legal scraps with the
tobacco industry. The Aussies have gone so far as to require cigarette
packaging to have brand names printed in uniform block letters on drab olive
backgrounds. “Removing our trademarks removes our assurance to customers of the
origin and quality of our lawfully available products, meaning they and their
characteristics become indistinguishable from those of our competitors,” said
Gareth Cooper, group head of regulation at British American Tobacco. Tough
luck, G. That’s what you get for building your industry on a product that
sickens, disgusts and kills both those who use it and those unfortunate enough
to sit next to people who use it………
- Russell Wilson has options and not merely the option of
which lucrative endorsement deals to take or which model to date. The talented
and fast-rising Seattle Seahawks
quarterback is the offensive leader of a team believed by many to be the
favorite to win the Super Bowl this year, but he could easily chase a possible
first championship by picking up a batting helmet and Louisville Slugger and
returning to the sport he once changed colleges to continue playing. The Texas
Rangers pulled a surprise this week by selecting Wilson in the minor league
phase of the Rule 5 draft. On Thursday at Walt Disney World, the Rangers
reached for some unlikely magic by snagging d the former second baseman from
the Colorado Rockies system. The move cost the Rangers $12,000 and Wilson goes
on the team’s restricted list because he's in the NFL. At one point, Wilson was
a prized prospect in the Rockies’ minor league system and transferred from
North Carolina State to Wisconsin for his senior season because the coaching
staff at North Carolina State demanded he forego playing baseball in the summer
in order to be part of their summer workout program. Despite his obvious talent
on the diamond, Wilson said he has no intention of going back to baseball or
chasing the dream of being a two-sport star. "I love baseball. It's a
relaxing sport and a good sport. I've played it my whole life. But football is
my first love," he said. In making that choice, Wilson is ignoring the
advice of a man who did the two-sport gig as well as anyone, Pro Football Hall
of Famer Deion Sanders. “If I were @DangeRussWilson i would seriously
consider baseball and weigh all options with the Texas Rangers. Truth,” Sanders
tweeted. Sanders famously played for the Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys and
San Francisco 49ers in the NFL and the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves in
MLB, but Wilson is not interested in emulating him. General manager Jon Daniels called Wilson
after making the pick and said Wilson did express a desire to come to spring
training and work out. Just don’t expect him to do anything to put his NFL
future in jeopardy………
- Good employees are tough to find, but very easy to fire –
at least for the Meijer grocery store in Gaylord, Colo. (go ahead and make your
favorite Gaylord joke here). The store used to employ David Bowers as a
greeter, but was able to get rid of him last month for having the audacity to
leave his post mid-shift to….wait for it….help a shopper whose car caught on
fire in the parking lot. Bowers said he
was fired from his job merely for doing what he considered was the right thing
to do during an emergency situation. He sprung into action even though he knew
that his actions were going against company policy. Of course, there is a solid
reason why a person tasked with standing inside the front door of a grocery
store to smile at people and say hello cannot leave his or her post to help put
out a car fire and that reason is….ummm….err….something profound. "When
the guy came in and said his dashboard was on fire I grabbed the fire
extinguisher and I followed him outside and sure enough his dashboard was on fire,"
Bowers said. He was able to put the fire out and returned to his post, but was later
called into the store director's office where he was suspended for his actions.
"The one supervisor told me that my heart was in the right place, but my
brain wasn't," Bowers said. Several days later, he was fired and while the
company refused to comment specifically on the case, it did release a statement
that read: "The safety of our customers and team members is a top priority
at Meijer. We have a very specific protocol in place for our team members to
follow when emergencies occur and we can't allow any deviation from the policy
that could put our customers or team members at risk.” In ripping Bowers’ job,
Meijer boldly ignored the thoughts of Ken Kuzon, the customer whose fire Bowers
helped put out. "My truck would've been completely burned that fire was
going," Kuzon said. "I just think it's ridiculous why should you be
penalized for being a good Samaritan.” Bowers did have a disciplinary history
at the store, having been suspended several years ago for leaving his post when
he chased after a shoplifter, but he still was shocked to lose his job. Aren't
major corporations awesome………..
- The long overdue “RoboCop” remake is almost here, with a
release date of Feb. 12. It has taken far too long to bring back the cyborg cop
trying to save a horrendous hellhole of a city (Detroit) using his artificial
powers, but star Joel Kinnaman and his co-stars are excited
about their version of the classic 1987 sci-fi film. However, Kinnaman
wants everyone to know that the new movie is not simply a recycling of the
original. In fact, “The Killing” star admitted he originally worried that the
new take on the idea would be too much of a carbon copy of the original. "When I
first heard there was gonna be a RoboCop
remake, I thought, 'Maybe I’ll see that somewhere down the line, but it’s
nothing I’m interested in pursuing myself,’” Kinnaman said. Kinnaman fills the role of Alex
Murphy, first made famous by Peter Weller. He has plenty of famous faces around
him, including Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish
and Jackie Earle Haley. He conceded that it wasn’t until he heard who was
directing the flick that he hopped on board. “When I heard it was José Padilha that was
gonna direct it, I became very interested. José has fought very hard and
succeeded in making something that has a point of view, and a political and
philosophical perspective,” Kinnaman said. "It's a great responsibility.
Especially in a world where there's a lot of remakes being made for cynical
economic reasons. But having José as a director washed away those fears.”
Kinnaman called the reboot an intelligent movie that is not merely filled with
old catchphrases, although a few were written into the script as a nod to fans
of the franchise. Padilha and his star-studded cast shot the movie in Toronto
and Detroit on an estimated budget of $120 million- more than nine times the
$13 million cost of the original film and about 120 million times more than
Detroit is worth at this point…….
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