Carpe Diem: Seize the Day: Willie Nelson's Pot

REBLOG=>Phil Andows

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Willie Nelson, renowned for singing about the merits of smoking pot in country and western music, is making his own brand of marijuana. The product features "high quality strains of marijuana," and will be on the shelves as "Willie's Reserve". It will be grown and sold in Colorado and Washington where it is legal to get stoned without a doctor's note, CNN Money reported on 20 April 2015. The motivated singer said, "I am looking forward to working with the best growers in Colorado and Washington to make sure our product is the best on the market". He founded the company out of a desire to get involved in the growing market for legal pot, Elaine Schock spokeswoman for "Willie's Reserve" told CNN Money.

Nelson,81, had gone a long way for pot. He has been an outspoken supporter of marijuana legalization and an advocate for industrial hemp production. Nelson will focus on the quality of the products, encouraging responsible use and pushing for legalization. "He will serve as more than a figurehead. His values and vision set the bar for everything the company does," Schock said. A new song, "It's All Going to Pot" which Nelson duets with Merle Haggard was on April 20 to coincide with his announcement. It will make 4/20 (April 20) an unofficially declared National Weed Day. In time to come the song may be the anthem for the National Weed Day but Nelson is not the first musician to lend his name to a marijuana brand. Last year, the estate of Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley struck a deal with a private equity firm to market and sell marijuana and other products under the name "Marley Natural."

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Amenda Steels' Comments

"It's All Going to Pot" may not be the Weeds Day’s anthem as there will be too many contenders.

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My Comments

I think "Puff the Magic Dragon" makes a good Weed Day's Anthem.

Seeking Enlightenment: Naked Wedding Celebrations

REBLOG=>Sophia Logica

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The South China Morning Post's article dated 24 March 2015 refers to it as "naked wedding celebrations" but it is actually a social protest. Ten couples, some were married for many years, took part in the event. The couples were covered in body paint and dressed only in undergarments for the event at Hangzhou Paradise amusement park in Zhejiang province. They are rejecting modern Chinese value that placed greater value on materialism as a criteria for marriage instead of love.

Materialism makes me think of Karl Marx. Operating under a demand driven economy, China like to think of themselves as a communist state. The term has no place for economic class struggle but after decades of opening to this system, people in China would aspire to own a house or a car before they get married. A naked wedding involves a couple marrying without possessing a house or car.

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My Comments

Given the current economic climate, getting a house and a car is not an easy task. This is a way to preserve the marriage institution.

On Empty Thoughts: FBI Ruse Violated Paul Phua Rights

REBLOG=>Guerrilla Gamblers

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"Law enforcement can't break something in your house and pose as repair people to get inside," David Chesnoff, defence attorney for Paul Phua Wei-seng's, said. Paul Phua was charged with illegally accepting bets on the World Cup Soccer. US District Judge Andrew Gordon said in a bluntly worded decision that "the government violated the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights" against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Gordon called the evidence collected last July from Paul Phua's high-security luxury villa at Caesars Palace "fruits of an unconstitutional search", and said it cannot be used if the government pressed forward with charges that Phua operated an illegal gambling business and transmitted wagering information. Chesnoff hailed the decision as a victory for freedom. The two charges each carry a penalty of up to seven years in prison.

Prosecutors said some US$13 million in bets had been wagered before the FBI, working with Nevada gambling regulators, raided three Caesars Palace villas where Phua, his son and several other people were staying. Agents seized computers, cellphones and cash. Phua, 50, was the last remaining defendant among eight people arrested in the case, including his son Darren Wai Kit Phua, 23. Darren Phua was the last of six defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges, forfeit large amounts of money and return to Asia under plea deals the Las Veags Sun reported on 17 April 2015.

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My Comments

Judge Andrew Gordon must be pissed at wasted time and resources when he said "fruits of an unconstitutional search"

Filling Bottles: Employers Ask Illegal Questions

REBLOG=>Sue DaJi

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One out of three surveyed didn't know the following questions are illegal to ask in a job interview:

• What is your political affiliation?
• What is your race, color or ethnicity?
• How old are you?
• Are you disabled?
• Are you married?
• Do you have children or plan to?
• Are you in debt?
• Do you social drink or smoke?

The finding was based on a nationwide survey of more than 2,100 hiring and human resource managers released Thursday by CareerBuilder, which commissioned Harris Poll, the CBS News reported 10 April 2015.

Discrimination of some form can be detected in the question asked. Not included in the list above is location. It is okay to ask if applicants are willing to relocate but not where the applicant live. This can be construed as a prejudice towards a certain residential address. Inquiring about long-term plans is acceptable but asking when interviewees plan to retire can be deems as biases to age.

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My Comments

Hiring an employee is the biggest pain.

Pest in Midst: Asian Beer Market

REBLOG=>XingCai Tang

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A legislative bill had been tabled to ban the sale of alcohol in Indonesia. The two Islamic parties supporting the bill cited “the protection of the children of the nation” as the reason. Bestowed with the world’s largest Muslim population, the parties recommended draconian jail sentences for offenders. Tourism officials are concerned about the economic effects of extending an alcohol ban to tourist spots like Bali.

A recent Nielsen survey found that just 2.2 percent of Indonesians over 20 had consumed alcohol in the past 12 months. Beer sales have increased by more than 50 percent over the past decade. The overall consumption is considered small for a population of over 250 million. Breweries giants Diageo, Carlsberg and Heineken are bracing for the worst in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country. On the brighter side, the beer market for China is growing fast and expected to overtake the United States by 2017 the Reuters reported on 14 April 2015.

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Sophia Logica's Comments

Humans are not the most logical creature because wrecking their brain seems to be a popular form of recreation. Heck, I do it too.

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My Comments

In contrast animals don't wreck their brains for fun. If you start pouring beer to your pet's water container, your pet will keep a distance from it the moment the come to sniffing range. Religion was invented to guide us to behave with animal instincts.

Time Is a Thief: Unusual Cargo Force Flight to Land

REBLOG=>Amenda Steels

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The pilot of Alaska Airline flight 448 requested an emergency for priority landing when heard screaming and banging from the cargo compartment. The flight took off at 3:15 p.m. Pacific Time in Seattle. After 14 minutes in flight the aircraft had to turn back and land in Seattle-Tacoma International.

After the plane landed a ramp agent, an employee of Menzies Aviation, was found inside the front cargo hold. According to Alaska Airlines the cargo hold is pressurized and temperature-controlled. The employee told authorities he had fallen asleep. The worker appeared OK but was taken to a hospital as a precaution the CBC News reported 13 April 2015.

This is going to cost the Airline dearly and it would certainly be investigated. It is hard to imagine that one can fall asleep without fellow workers realizing it. Did the employee actually sneaked into the cargo hold intentionally? Once he realized the compartment was pressurized and temperature-controlled he panicked and start banging away. Upon being rescued, he conveniently use sleeping-on-the-job as an excuse.

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My Comments

They should have more safety procedure to enter and exit pressurized and temperature-controlled cargo hold in future.

Light and Easy Talk: 3-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Baby Brother

REBLOG=>Veronica Glowsome

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A one-year-old boy was shot dead by his three-year-old brother on 12 April 2015. Chief Calvin Williams said, "It's a sad day for Cleveland. This fascination that we have with handguns, not just in this city but in this country, has to stop. This is a senseless loss of life." Investigation had not determined where the shooting came from and how it was left within reach of a child. Braylon Robinson was taken to a nearby hospital and later pronounced dead, the CBS News reported.

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My Comments

There are many unreported negligence of this nature. The question is when majority opinion will do something about it.