- Bad news, junkies in the Balkans and surrounding areas
of western Europe: The price of your next dime bag or 8-ball just went up. That
will happen when the cost of doing business goes up and that cost just got
bumped thanks to the arrest of the most wanted suspected drug lord in the Balkans. Darko
Saric is charged with smuggling 5.7 tons of cocaine from South America to
Europe and in a truly un-badass move, he was arraigned after agreeing to
surrender unconditionally following his location by several national security
agencies in an unidentified Latin American country. Having multiple governments
after you can be stressful, but turning oneself in is such a weak move,
especially when so many smack addicts and cokeheads in multiple countries are
relying on your product for their daily fix. Serbian officials were predictably
giddy when discussing their big news. "I would like to extend my special
thanks to the American intelligence agency CIA," said Aleksandar Vucic,
Serbia's deputy prime minister in charge of the country's security bodies.
Police video following the arrest showed a handcuffed Saric escorted from a
government jet that flew to Belgrade from neighboring Montenegro. Even the
details of his surrender were subpar, as Saric’s only demand for turning himself
in was to meet his family and his lawyer in his native Montenegro. For a man
who has been on the run since October 2009, when a shipment of 2.7 tons of
cocaine that he allegedly organized was disrupted near the Uruguayan Atlantic
coast in an international police operation, bigger demands should be expected.
The Balkans have long been a primary stop on the drug-smuggling transit routes
toward western Europe. Saric’s alleged totals of some 5.7 tons of cocaine
trafficked and $30 million laundered are impressive and so is the fact that 18
of his alleged gang members remain on the run. His alleged criminal empire
includes Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay, the Balkan countries and western
Europe. Now, it’s up to someone else to take up that coke-lined baton and run
with it………
- History is being made in Philadelphia and in the process,
new NBA commissioner Adam Silver is being made to look like a fool. Silver
famously said last week that tanking for better draft picks definitely does not
happen in his league and his comments came against the backdrop of the
Philadelphia 76ers staging a losing streak for the ages. The Sixers, who entered
the year with very little talent and traded several of their better players
before last month’s deadline, are a team clearly engineered to suck. The beauty
of their plan is that the front office assemble such an awful roster that no
matter how hard the players try and how good a job rookie head coach Brett Brown does, the team is still going
to lose games – lots of them. The end goal is a top draft pick, but that
doesn’t mean there aren’t milestones to reach along the way. After Monday
night, the worst team in the Association is a measly six losses from setting a
dubious mark that they should celebrate with a drink in each hand and safety
goggles over their eyes to keep them safe when the champagne is sprayed. Yes,
the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers now have the record for longest losing streak in
team history and are creeping up on the NBA record of 26 in a row, set by the
2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers. Still, Brown insisted he doesn't dwell on the
streak. It doesn’t really matter if he does or not because as Monday’s 99-90
loss to the Indiana Pacers proves, the Sixers can lose games whether they focus
on it or not. "It's hard because of a competitive thing, but in relation
to worrying about a record, we don't live in that world," Brown said.
"I don't bring that to that locker room once. I don't mention it to them,
I don't think about it often -- (but) you can't help but be aware of it."
Aware of it? For a team that hasn’t won since Jan. 29 at Boston and is working
toward its second consecutive winless month, it’s just about the only thing
worth paying attention to………
- Michigan is a classy place. How classy? Classy enough to
pass a law allowing restaurant patrons to bring their own box of wine when they
hit up the local eatery of their choice. The new law does not require
businesses to participate, but those that do can charge a so-called “cork fee”
for anyone trucking in a box or bottle of their wine of choice. As long as an
establishment has a liquor license, they can have an open door for people who
want to B.Y.O.W. Gov. Rick Snyder signed the law into effect Friday and so far, the
response has been mostly positive. Although it would seem that giving diners an
option rather than buy the drinks you mark up to ridiculous prices would be a
negative, many bar and restaurant owners have expressed positive feelings about
the law because it gives customers more options. Such laws are common in major
cities and any time there’s a way to establish even a tangential link between an
urban decay-riddled hellscape such as Detroit and actual major cities like
Chicago or New York City, it’s a brass ring to grasp for. Cork fees can vary,
but several eateries in the greater Grand Rapids area plan to charge a $12 cork
fee which covers for the table space taken up by the outside booze drinkers,
the time spent serving them and the glasses that have to be washed afterward. For
diners who can find a place willing to let them stop by the local Save-A-Lot or
Kroeger’s and pick up a cheap container of hooch, it’s a good way to save
money. It may not be classy, but this has little to do with class and
everything to do with cash. When they finish their meal, wine drinkers who
bring their own beverage will be able to take their unfinished bottles home, as
long as they’re capped. Maybe in the near future, the state will clear the way
for patrons to also bring their own bread, salad dressing and condiments in
case they don’t like what’s on the menu at the diner down the street………
- To consume saturated fat or not consume saturated fat? As
with every medical or health-related topic of any note, there are credible
parties on both sides of the issue and another respected group has jumped into
the fray on the pro-trans fat side. A team of researchers at the University of
Cambridge recently published the results of a study disputing previous research
suggesting that the intake of saturated fats may increase heart disease risk.
For their work, the Cambridge researchers reviewed 72 separate studies on heart
risk and intake of fatty acids and found no evidence that supports guidelines
that say people should restrict their saturated fat consumption for keeping
their heart safe. Not finding any evidence doesn’t exactly mean what most will
assume it to mean – that downing trans fats is a-OK – but it does suggest that
there is currently insufficient evidence to support guidelines that advise
eating more foods containing polyunsaturated fats (such as omega-3 and omega-6)
to reduce heart risk. The studies analyzed for the research included over
600,000 participants in 18 different countries. In their findings, the
Cambridge researchers wrote that current guidelines focus mainly on saturated
versus unsaturated fat amounts as opposed to concentrating on the food sources
of the types of fatty acid. “The new findings could open new lines of enquiry
that carefully question our current dietary guidelines,” said lead author Dr.
Rajiv Chowdhury of the University of Cambridge. Regardless of what fuels the
problem, cardiovascular disease remains the single leading cause of death and
disability worldwide and was responsible for more than 17 million deaths
globally in 2008. Less fat in general might help with that dilemma………
- The South by Southwest festival is both a hipster Mecca and a place for
artists, musicians and movie makers to promote their work to said hipsters, but
it has now become the battleground for two noted pop music hacks who lack
actual musical talent but have plenty to say nonetheless. Demi Lovato, she of
the “Camp Rock” D-list fame, is the protagonist in this little drama and her
target is none other than the not-so-dynamic duo of Lady Gaga and her pal Millie
Brown – a noted “vomit painter" – after their, um, performance at the
festival. Lady Gags to throw up some neon green liquid on her as she played the
drums and while the display produced the desired result of outrage and
pointless controversy, it drew the strongest reaction form Lovato, who called
out the Gagster for making light of eating disorders. “Sad…. As if we didn’t
have enough people glamorizing [eating] disorders already. Bottom line, it’s
not “cool” or “artsy” at all,” Lovato tweeted. In that sense, Lovato knows of
what she speaks. In 2010, she went to rehab to deal with her own struggles with
eating disorders. She drew a direct line between vomiting mocking eating
disorders and an addiction of a different kind. “Would you let someone bring a
needle and shoot up on you? Addiction is addiction,” Lovato added. ““Putting
the word ART in it isn't a free card to do whatever you want without
consequences.” After the Twitter rant, Lady Gags’ army of delusional fans rose
to her defense and attacked Lovato, accusing her of pandering for attention. In
response, Lovato refused to back down and went on an even longer rant
suggesting that the influence recording artists have should be used for good,
not destructive purposes. So far, only Brown has directly responded to the
issue, saying she used “my body to create something beautiful, to express
myself and feel powerful.” Whatever you need to tell yourself, M………
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