- Wait….hang on….Russian politics are corrupt? That comes as
a complete shock, but it’s sadly true - at least according to Russia's top
investigative agency, which says a provincial governor has been arrested on
charges of taking a 400,000-euro ($454,000) bribe. Russian politics have always
been so upright and wholesome that it’s tough to believe that Kirov regional
Gov. Nikita Belykh was caught red-handed while accepting the money in a Moscow
restaurant. The Investigative Committee, which totally sounds like a made-up legal
entity from some futuristic, dystopian Tom Cruise movie, posted images of
Belykh at a table with piles of euro notes apparently marked by police in front
of him, which totally could have been Photoshopped or could simply by this guy
counting cash he was about to donate to his favorite charity. Investigative
Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin isn't buying that tale and while he
insisted that Belykh's case has nothing to do with politics, he accused the
governor of accepting the bribe in exchange for preferences to a local
businessman. Prior to becoming the regional governor in 2009, Belykh served as
the leader of the Union of Right Forces, a liberal party, an atypical work
history among Russia's provincial leaders. At least if he really did take a
bribe here in a sting operation, he did it for a sizeable amount of cash.
There’s nothing worse than losing your job AND going to jail for anything less
than six figures. Stay class and full of integrity, Russian political system…….
- Congress may not be doing a damn thing about gun control,
but at least individual states are taking action. Enter Hawaii, which has
become the first state in the U.S. to authorize county police departments to
enroll firearms applicants and individuals registering their firearms in a
criminal record monitoring service, according to Gov. David Ige. Ige signed SB
2954, locking Hawaii into a criminal record monitoring service also known as
the "Rap Back" system. The FBI
provides this service, which conducts continuous criminal record monitoring for
authorized government agencies such as law enforcement agencies. The service
alerts agencies when a firearm owner is arrested for a criminal offense
anywhere in the country, so police departments in Hawaii will be able to evaluate
whether the firearm owner may continue to legally possess and own firearms.
Also under the new law, the Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center will be able
to access firearm registration data. "This is about our community’s safety
and responsible gun ownership. This system will better enable our law
enforcement agencies to ensure the security of all Hawai‘i residents and
visitors to our islands,” Ige said. “This bill has undergone a rigorous legal
review process by our Attorney General’s office and we have determined that it
is our responsibility to approve this measure for the sake of our children and
families.” Ige also signed bills specifying that harassment by stalking and
sexual assault are among the offenses that disqualify a person from owning, possessing
or controlling any firearm or ammunition and requiring firearms owners to
surrender their firearms and ammunition to the chief of police if they have
been disqualified from owning a firearm and ammunition for various mental
health or health issues. Someone book the NRA’s top officials a flight to
Hawaii, because it’s time for a fight………
- The people have spoken and director Zack Snyder has
listened - sort of. Snyder is reportedly changing the tone of the forthcoming
Justice League movie based on the wall of scathing fan and critical hate that “Batman
v. Superman” received. That film came out in March and even though it has now
grossed over $870 million, critics and snarky movie fans have lavished waves of
hate on it, resulting in a 27-percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Comedian Chris
Rock recently cried out for relevance by ripping the movie during a panel at
the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City with “Star Trek” director J.J.
Abrams. “When Batman v Superman came out, I was like, 'Wow, okay, oof,’” Snyder
said. "It did catch me off guard. I have had to, in my mind, make an
adjustment. I do think that the tone of ‘Justice League’ has changed because of
what the fans have said. “Justice League” producer Deborah Snyder called the “Batman
v. Superman” backlash a "learning experience,” which sounds like a rather
expensive understatement. "The main thing we learned, I think: People
don't like to see their heroes deconstructed,” she said. Given the egotism that
so often prevails among Hollywood’s top directors, it’s nice to see that
someone actually gives a damn and doesn’t simply believe that he or she is so
much smarter than the masses that any criticism lobbed their way is merely the
ignorant ranting of the unwashed masses. That doesn’t mean “Justice League”
will be any better, but it’s a nice thought anyhow……..
- The Olympic experience can be a beautiful - i.e.
ridiculously expensive and fiscally devastating - for a host city and nation
long before the Games begin. This summer’s troubled, polluted and
hazardous-to-your-health Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil haven't even
started yet and already, the next Summer Games host is already having to take
drastic financial measures because the weight of trying to host the biggest
sporting event on the planet. The Tokyo metropolitan assembly, getting ready to
host the 2020 Summer Games, has decided not to send a group to the Rio de
Janeiro Olympics because of spiraling costs on the home front. Tokyo assembly
members were scheduled to observe the Olympics in August, but the chaos in
Japan forced them to reconsider that plan. Mix in the resignation of Tokyo Gov.
Yoichi Masuzoe over criticism of his misuse of political funds and expensive overseas
business trips and you have a clear-cut mandate to not use political funds to
take expensive overseas business trips. The assembly initially estimated a cost
of $610,000 for the trip, but recently determined that the amount would be much
higher due partly to surging hotel fees. The clincher was when a citizens'
ombudsman submitted a request to the assembly's president to have the trip
canceled, leaving the assembly members who still plan to attend the Games to go
at Rio on their own expense, on account of feeling the need to do so as members
of an assembly of the next host city. Nothing quite like paying your own way to
a place where the Zika virus, lethally polluted water, on-street muggings of
athletes and a national economic collapse are all threatening to make this the
most disastrous Olympics to date………
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