- Border tensions are sky high in South America and both
sides are pissed off in the ongoing duel between neighbors Venezuela and
Colombia. In a pissing match where two countries known for despotic governance
and the ability to produce all manner of illegal narcotics are involved, the
potential for bureaucratic pyrotechnics is high. Venezuela started the tiff by
closing its border with Colombia at night to fight contraband and that
decision is already ruffling feathers on both sides of the border. The decision
went into effect Monday and Venezuela began shutting down the 1,500-mile border
from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to crack down on the smuggling of heavily-subsidized
gasoline and food. Yes, gasoline and food. Not illegal substances, not humans
being trafficked and sold into slavery, but gas and grub. According to Venezuela,
the closure is a 30-day trial designed to measure its effectiveness, but even
in temporary form, the natives are restless. Venezuela has the world’s cheapest
gas and perhaps is tired of seeing is smuggled across the border. The border
closure has already affected the Venezuelan border town of Urena, where Chamber
of Commerce president Isidoro Teres says dozens of 24-hour factories that make
glass, plastic and other products may no longer be able to operate at night. On
the other side of the border, the chief security official for Colombia's Norte
de Santander state, Nohora Oliveros, said state officials there strongly oppose
the change. Venezuelan officials don’t seem to give a damn so far, although
that is subject to change………..
- The NBA and its charities can always use some additional
income. If that extra cash has to come from a thoroughly ridiculous fine for
something that was more laughable than harmful, so be it. The $25,000 the NBA
will be relocating from the pockets of Toronto Raptors team ambassador Drake to one of its many worth charities is changing
hands not because the so-so rapper and 2014 ESPYs host did anything illegal or
unethical, but because of some hollow words Drake uttered from the stage at his
show last week in Toronto. "Before we leave, I just want to show one of my
brothers something," Drake told the crowd with Oklahoma City star Kevin
Durant in the crowd. "You know, my brother Kevin Durant was kind enough to
come to the show tonight and watch us. I just want him to see what would happen
if he came to play in Toronto. Let him know what would happen." The crowd
gave the reigning NBA MVP a length ovation that included a "KD" chant
and those words echoed well beyond the confines of the Air Canada Centre, all
the way to the league offices in New York City. League officials ruled that the
comments constituted a violation of their anti-tampering rules and dished out
the corresponding $25,000 fine. Deeming what Drake did to be a public
recruiting pitch that could unduly influence a player under contract with
another team is as absurd as it is lame, even if Durant will be the subject of
a massive bidding war when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer
of 2016. Various teams -- notably his home-state Washington Wizards as well as
the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers – are expected to be
in on the chase, but no one expects the Raptors to have any chance at all………
- It’s a battle as old as time: Women who take their clothes
off for money versus legalistic followers of God. In the tiny hamlet of Warsaw,
Ohio, this fight is getting nasty and the normally docile skanks who work brass
poles for lecherous businessmen have decided to shed their meek outer shell and
make their voices heard. For months now, members of the New Beginnings Ministries church have
showed up outside the Foxhole North strip club to oppose the business on the
grounds that it is immoral. The church's pastor, the Rev. Bill Dunfee, and his
flock are adamant that the sort of filth being purveyed on stage in nearby New
Castle must go, but they’re not the only ones who feel strongly about the
subject. A group of strippers from the club took the fight to the people of God
on Sunday by doing what comes naturally to them. Six strippers from the club
took off their tops and marched from a street corner to the edge of the church
parking lot where two of them remained sans shirt and 30 others joined them
with signs held aloft. Church members were prepared for the demonstration and
lest they have to witness the debauchery in front of their place of worship,
they hung tarps to shield the church from the topless women. Several people
came out of the church and exchanged words with the protestors, but the club’s
owner believes this fight is far from being over. "I don't have a problem
with people expressing their First Amendment rights, but at what point does it
become harassment," owner Thomas George said, adding that four years ago,
club dancers in bikinis protested and held signs outside the church, but that
didn't stop the church from picketing his business. "But they backed us in
a corner, and we have no recourse at law." Here’s hoping for more scenes
of naked strippers and pantsuit-clad church ladies clashing are on the way………..
- Ryan Adams has been a fixture on the indie rock scene for
longer than many current hipster favorite acts have been old enough to drive a
car. He’s readying his 14th studio album for release and with the project set
to drop on Sept. 8, the singer-songwriter is letting the world know that he
(allegedly) doesn’t give a damn whether they like it or not. The self-titled
record was recorded at Adams' own Pax-Am studio in Los Angeles, where he
produced the entire effort and will release it on his own label named after the
studio. According to Adams, the album has a new sound and a different direction
than fans may be accustomed to, but the reaction it receives (allegedly) could
not matter less to him. "I'm too old to care who likes my records,"
he said. "It's all bullsh*t anyway. People make judgments about records
but the music is eternal. I like 'Be Here Now.’ I don't even care if Noel
Gallagher doesn't like it, because you know what? I will take two bong hits and
that record will blow my mind." Any comment that involves someone
promising to do bong rips is a good one, even if that person is defending the
possible commercial failure of a project on which they claim to have spent
"$100,000 or more" simply to craft a version of the album that they
later scrapped because it was “slow, adult sh*t.” Adams said he is “over that”
sort of music, so expect an album that is neither slow nor adult and one that
your opinion of is totally irrelevant……..
No comments:
Post a Comment