Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Abusing your police powers, Pam Anderson is bitter and Bolivia v. cocaine


- Credit to the Washington Redskins. Most people in their position would recognize that shamelessly defending racism in the name of capitalism is an unwinnable battle and one not worth fighting, but owner Daniel Snyder and his team of sycophants are holding the line like nobody’s business. Already under fire from the United States government, many within the world of football, activist groups and independent onlookers who don’t give a damn about the NFL but would prefer its team names not demean an entire race, there is new pressure on the Redskins to find a non-racist nickname. That pressure stems from a future fight for a possible new stadium and when asked about the possibility of not receiving public funds on account of that bigoted moniker, Redskins president Bruce Allen said the team will not reconsider changing its name -- even if it's a political barrier to a potential new stadium. Allen said the Redskins have started the process of finding a new home, exploring potential sites in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia, where they train.  "No," he said in response to the idea of changing the nickname in order to pave the way for tax dollars to fund a stadium Snyder - and every other owner of a professional sports franchise in America - can and should pay for entirely out of their own pocket. Seizing on Allen's comment, the organization Change the Mascot released a statement criticizing the team. "The team and its leaders are so obsessed with clinging to a dictionary-defined racial slur that they are willing to abandon their hometown and local fans in order to continue degrading Native Americans," said Joel Barkin, spokesman for the grassroots campaign. "Now that Bruce Allen has been relieved of day-to-day responsibilities as general manager he must have a lot of free time on his hands to double down on this racist moniker and try to figure out what to do about Native Americans returning donations from the team.” Oooh, sick burn, J. Nice coining of the phrase racist moniker too. Fact is, the Redskins’ current lease with Prince George's county runs through 2026, meaning it will be a while before this fight gets real……….


- Hope you’re happy, United Nations and Bolivian government. You targeted a thriving industry with a bright future and you’re steadily ruining it in a way that is truly heartbreaking. Specifially, this duo announced this week that Bolivia's eradication of unauthorized crops dropped the Andean nation's area under coca cultivation by 11 percent last year and by one-third since 2010. Coca production is sadly at its lowest in 13 years and to illustrate that point, the 79 square miles of the crop used to make cocaine is just 400 hectares more than what President Evo Morales' government considers legal. Despite the heat on the cocaine makers, their yield accounts for 15 percent of overall coca cultivation, by U.N. count. Thankfully, Colombia (52 percent) and Peru (33 percent) are going strong. The unfortunate success in Bolivia has Morales championing Bolivian-style coca eradication as more effective and humane than the U.S.-backed methods long employed in Colombia and Peru. Ironically, El Presidente once led a coca growers union and expelled the U.S. ambassador and Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008, accusing them of inciting the opposition. Under Bolivia’s approach, select coca growers are allowed limited acreage. It is preferred to "external military intervention,” i.e. foreigners with guns showing up to fix things. The top U.N. drugs and crime agency official in Bolivia, Antonino De Leo, stroeked Morales’ ego with words of praise. "Bolivia's success is explained by the efforts of the government and social control of the 'cocalero' unions and, more important, it's been done peacefully and with respect for human rights," he said. And yet, the battle against the cocaleros rolls on with no end in sight………..


- Nice spin job, Pammy Anderson. Anderson was not offered a role in the latest chapter of Hollywood’s Remake Mania, a big-screen version of the iconic 1990s beach porn/beach rescue show “Baywatch.” She of course played C.J. Parker, the blonde bombshell whose stilted dialogue and wooden acting helped make the character a staple of the show, but being left out of the movie version while Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Zac Efron are set to don the iconic red bathing trunks seems to have the aged-out Anderson more than a little bitter.  "No one appreciates the remakes," Anderson fumed before going on to describe the show's run as the best time of her life and the nineties a "simpler, sweeter time" for TV. While Anderson was left on the sidelines when casting for the show took place - seriously, not even a cheesy cameo? - one vital member of the beach patrol crew is reported to be willing to join the project if the studio pays him his money. That would be The Hoff, a.k.a. David Hasselhoff. Germany’s favorite foreign pop musical son is happy to ply his brand of awful acting for the right amount of money even though the movie reportedly won't take the show’s legacy seriously. It is purported to be a self-aware comedy that both celebrates and mocks the show, with the plot following a straight-laced lifeguard (The Rock) who teams up with a young hothead (Efron) to save their beach from falling into the clutches of an oil tycoon. Any doubt that it will be a comedy went out the window when “Horrible Bosses” director Seth Gordon was chosen to helm the project. Johnson is clearly the star and last week, he tweeted out a welcome to Efron for joining the cast, describing the describing the movie as "big, fun and RATED R. Just like me when I’m drunk.” Sounds like a definite winner…….


- If you can't shamelessly abuse your power for sexual benefits, why sign up to be an Ohio state trooper? Former trooper Bryan Lee knows what’s up and that’s probably why he’s accused of forcing female motorists into sexual acts in exchange for dropping traffic charges. According to court records, a man who probably should understand the law pretty well on account of being tasked with enforcing it used Craigslist to offer "traffic stop sex." My man, Craigslist might be a scary hell hole of depravity and darkness from which many never return, but you have to know that if you post sh*t like that online, people are going to find it. Those same records also show that trooper sent multiple Facebook messages to a female passenger he photographed without her shirt on, including one that let her know he'd been keeping an eye on her. Nothing like a super-creepy message from a man with vast access to resources and technology that allow him to stalk you at will, right? The State Highway Patrol released hundreds of pages of records which include the dashboard camera recording that launched the patrol's initial investigation in October 2013. Lee is long gone from the force, having resigned ahead of being fired and subsequently being prosecuted for his crimes. In the video, he can be heard flirting with a female driver and the passenger he later photographed. He’s now hanging with some of the very men he helped put behind bars, toiling under the yoke of a five-year prison sentence. As always, if you’re going to go to jail, at least be there for a really good reason……….

No comments: