- What could possibly go wrong with a Drug Enforcement
Agency agent being heavily involved in a quality, upstanding establishment like
a strip club? Seriously, the best people on the planet always hang out at
joints where women are paid to take their clothes off and spin around on a
filthy brass poles while wearing translucent stilettos and allowing strangers
to shove money into their G-string. There are never any criminals, drug dealers
or scumbags hanging around such establishments, so why in the world was former
high-ranking DEA agent David Polos sentenced to one year of probation for
concealing his double-life as a strip club investor and manager? Seriously, why
was this guy apologizing and weeping openly before hearing his punishment in
federal court in Manhattan? Hell, his attorney even described him as a
"broken man,” which just seems wrong even though Polos was convicted at a
trial last year on charges he lied on national security forms that asked about
outside employment that might put him "in proximity to crime" and at
risk for getting blackmailed. Since when would anyone hanging out at a strip
club be so seedy and disreputable as to learn about the owner’s status as a DEA
agent and use that information against him? Besides, strip clubs and drugs
NEVER go together, so there could be no conflict there. Oh, there was the fact
that Polos’ New Jersey club, Twins Plus Go-Go Lounge, employed strippers from
Brazil or Russia who were in the country illegally and prosecutors said there
was evidence that private rooms were used for prostitution, but is that really
enough to ruin a (not a very good) DEA agent’s life and career……..
- Capitalism and fame don’t give a damn about politics. In
related news, Radiohead have announced plans to play a gig in Israel this
summer. Those who don’t pay attention to the convergence of regional politics
in the Middle East and iconic rock bands may not know that there is a growing movement
spearheaded by Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters to urge musicians to avoid
performing in Israel in protest of the country’s occupation of Palestinian
land. The group, called Artists For Palestine UK, recently made a public plea
to Chemical Brothers to pull out of a planned show in Israel. “Tel Aviv’s
hipster vibe is a bubble on the surface of a very deep security state that
drove out half the indigenous Palestinian population in 1948 and has no
intention of letting their descendants back in,” an open letter from the group
to Chemical Brothers opined. “If you go to Tel Aviv, your presence will be used
by the Israeli authorities to reassure their citizens that all’s right with the
world and nobody really cares that the Palestinians are suffering… Please don’t
go.” Clearly deciding that their desire to entertain Israelis and cash in big
with a gig at the Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv on July 19 trumps some activist
group’s quest to convince the world to support its views on the
Israel-Palestine conflict, Radiohead announced the show on Twitter and while
they’ll undoubtedly hear plenty of criticism for it ahead of the show, at
present their plans are clearly to rock on in the Promised Land……..
- Nations from around the world are routinely at odds with
one another, but it’s rare that anyone has a beef with the polite people of
Canada. They’re just so damn nice, they have a charmingly sad love of denim and
their bacon, while misnamed, is still delicious. So why is Brazil beefing with
the Canucks? Because Brazil is accusing Canada of providing unfair subsidies to
aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, an allegation laid out in a complaint Brazil has
filed with the World Trade Organization. According to a statement from Brazil's
Foreign Ministry, government subsidies to Bombardier have created distortions
in the international aeronautical market that are incompatible with WTO rules
and that negatively affect Brazil's interests. The problem stems from the fact
that Brazil's Embraer is a competitor of Bombardier and the foreign ministry
alleges that in 2016 alone, Bombardier received around $2.5 billion in Canadian
government support. The tipping point for this ongoing squabble came this week
when Canada announced its plans to give Bombardier $285 million in loans to
support its Global 7000 and CSeries programs and while the Brazilian statement
singled out the CSeries program, it elected to leave the latest loan as cannon
fodder for a future attack. Back in July, the Canadian government insisted that
it was following trade rules in the case, a claim that Brazil clearly didn’t buy
back then and isn't buying now, or else it wouldn’t be taking this battle to
the hallowed halls of the WTO………
- Either get good or get gone. Shaun White, 23-time X Games
medalist, is electing for the former even though he hasn’t been having a great
run of late. His fourth-place finish in Sochi at the last Winter Olympics was a
huge letdown, but that disappointment isn't preventing him from pondering a
return to the Games - and not necessarily the next Winter Olympics, which will
take place next year in South Korea. No, White is pondering departing the halfpipe
and competing at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in skateboarding. The 2020 Games
will be the Olympic debut for the sport and for a guy who has enjoyed plenty of
success both the snow and on the ramps, that’s an enticing possibility. Of
those 23 X Games medals, five came in vert at the Summer X Games. After
snowboarding became part of the Winter Olympics and none of his specialties
were part of the Summer Games, White channeled his energy to the cold-weather
sports and won gold medals in 2006 and 2010. Still, extreme sports are always
about the next wave of teenagers from around the world rising up and usurping
the stardom of established veterans like White and of late, his star has dimmed
a bit. With the International Olympic Committee adding street and park
skateboarding, White is leaning toward Summer Olympics glory even though none
of those sports are his specialty. Park skateboarding hinges on vertical jump
skills along with mastery of street features like rails and stairs, which White
admits will take a lot of learning. He’s still planning on vying for gold in next
year's Olympics in South Korea, but in the meantime, he’s hired a new coach and
done his best to propel himself back to the top of the mountain, or halfpipe,
or wherever else he competes………
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