Saturday, October 03, 2015

Detroit exports its despair, rejecting a "True Detective" offer and Russian athlete drunken antics


- Russians know how to drink. No one is ever going to question one of Vlad Putin’s people about his or her ability to pound copious amounts of alcohol without needing an emergency room trip, but that doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea to booze it up. For example, let’s say you’re a member of the Russian delegation on your way to the Military World Games that are to open in the South Korean city of Mungyeong and you’re making your way to the Korean Peninsula. Having not actually arrived in South Korea yet and while traveling aboard a giant metal tube hurtling through the air 35,000 feet above the ground, maybe you want to dial down your drunken ways just a bit so as to not embarrass yourself or your country. Nyet, said nine Russian athletes, trainers and others sent home from South Korea after allegedly being drunk and rowdy on a plane. South Korean police confirmed that the Russian group had been barred from entering South Korea shortly after arriving at Incheon International Airport aboard a Korean Air flight. According to the police, the Russian delegation made loud noises and blocked off an aisle in protest after crew members refused to serve them more alcohol. Weird, because drunks always react really well to being cut off, be it at the bar or while downing $12 cocktails six miles up in the air. The group turned away from the MWG included two female swimmers, both active duty soldiers who had planned to compete on Friday. Wait….these were a) Russians and b) soldiers? These gals were probably drunk before they packed their carry on full of vodka that morning…….


- Even for a scam artist who stole more than 40,000 pounds ($64,000) from the bank account of an elderly neighbor, this is low. Alan Knight of Swansea, Wales is not only the sort of person who would drain the life savings of an old person who trusted him, but now it seems he’s the special type of scumbag who will fake a coma to avoid prosecution. After he was arrested in 2011, Knight claimed to be quadriplegic and so sick he sometimes fell into a coma, a claim that should have been doubted from the start given his displayed lack of both character and humanity. But credit to Knight because he was committed to his next big scam, so much so that, along with his wife Helen, he checked himself into a hospital to avoid court appearances, saying he was having seizures. That may have actually worked had he thought that people would be checking in on him, but he seemed to believe being in the hospital meant no one would pay attention to him. Thus, his deceit was uncovered when police tracked the use of his supermarket card, and produced surveillance-camera footage of him driving and walking. In light of that revelation and the myriad evidence against him, last year he was sentenced to four years in prison for forgery, fraud and theft. Because of his additional scum-baggery, judge Huw Davies sentenced Knight to an additional 14 months, with Knight’s wife earning 10 months behind bars. But maybe these two can use their conniving ways to do quite well for themselves in prison………


- How very Hollywood of you, David Cronenberg.You had the chance to direct an episode of “True Detective,” one of the biggest shows on television right now, but you passed on it because you thought the script wasn’t good enough. Cronenberg, director of cult favorite films such as “Crash,” “Videodrome” and “Cosmopolis,” had an offer to direct the first episode of Season 2 of HBO’s big-name-heavy, hit drama, but he passed and that chance eventually went to an unlikely option in “Fast & Furious” directing veteran Justin Lin. "Last year I was approached to direct the first episode of the second season of True Detective," Cronenberg said. “I considered it but I thought that the script was bad, so I didn't do it. In TV, the director is just a traffic cop, but on the other hand it is work and there's a lot of it." This guy is both brutally honest and fairly full of himself, so much so that he wasn’t interested in the chance to helm a new cast led by Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams. The season premiere debuted over the summer and for the second season, show creator Nic Pizzolatto wrote or co-wrote all eight episodes. Pizzolatto must be so flattered to hear the nice things his pal David Cronenberg had to say about his work, although most critics tended to agree with Cronenberg and felt the second season was inferior to the first one. Even so, HBO is expected to renew Pizzolato's show for a third season, though there has been no official confirmation of that just yet…….


- The problems caused by Detroit being Detroit may never end. The biggest American city ever to go bankrupt, the one threatening to plunge an entire state into a fiscal abyss from which it may never recover, is now creating hydraulic havoc in nearby cities like Flint. In Flint, officials declared a public health emergency over the city of Flint's water, after months of resident complaints about its smell and taste, the latest headache in Flint water since the city decided last year to stop paying Detroit for its water service. Flint switched to water from the Flint river, a move of which Gov. Rick Snyder said the consequences weren't "fully understood.” The understanding improved drastically after tests that showed children with elevated levels of lead and Genesee County Commissioners recommended that people not use the water unless it first goes through an approved filter at taps. This all came a week after a group of doctors called a news conference to report high levels of lead in blood samples from children. The working theory is that the corrosive water is apparently releasing lead from old pipes in homes. Mayor Dayne Walling said residents should follow the county commission's declaration on using filters certified for lead removal, having water tested and flushing cold water for five minutes before drinking it, although getting the hell out of Flint is still a preferable option. Meanwhile, the situation is so dire that a coalition of local citizens and national groups petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to order Michigan and state environmental officials to reconnect Flint to Detroit water. Yes, Flint’s agua is so awful that Detroit water, reeking of bankruptcy and despair, is preferable. Detroit's water system serves about 4 million people in communities across southeastern Michigan, but Flint is one of several communities that have complained about the rising cost of Detroit's water and sewerage service. Back off Flint, Detroit has very little of value and has to extract every cent from the few desirable resources it has………..

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