War On Drugs Clock Shows All The Resources We Really Use

So I was skimming the interwebs and I came across this website, the war on drugs clock.  Basically it breaks down just how much money our government is spending to put away non-violent offenders, and just how many of them are in jail, arrested, and a bunch of other pretty staggering numbers.

Now look at these numbers, and tell me why we are in a massive economic crisis. 17 Billion Dollars?!?!? Are you fucking kidding me? That number is absolutely unreal to me, and that is only on a Federal level.  States have spent over 27 Billion on the drug war, do they realize it’s easier than ever to walk out one’s front door and have a bag in your hand within 10 minutes?  Do they realize that this will NEVER change?  Some states have, 13 at last count, with Michigan and Massachusetts on the way.  We are slowly catching on, but it certainly isn’t fast enough.

Am I asking to completely decriminalize the plant and put it in the hands of anyone and everyone?  No, absolutely not, it could easily be regulated at least as much as alcohol is to keep it out of the hands of the younger generation before they have developed to a point where they can responsibly use the drug.  But isn’t throwing almost 40 billion dollars a year at a losing battle absolutely gut wrenching?  I’d say so, especially for the number 2 cash crop in our nation.  Marijuana and hemp could easily be MAKING us billions of dollars in taxes, and stimulating our floundering economy.  Instead we choose to sit back and be robbed blind by our governments; state and federal, on a war that is more hopeless than Iraq and Afghanistan could ever imagine to be. [Read more]

Whale Wars: Eco-terrorism meets reality TV?

Greenpeace co-founder Paul Watson established the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in an effort to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans. Each winter the Sea Shepherd team and a group of volunteers head out to sea to protect these animals. Through innovative direct-action tactics, Watson and his fellow conservationists expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. Their most recent campaign focused on protecting the illegally hunted whales of the Antarctic. However, this time Discovery Channel was on board to capture it all in an action-packed seven part series called Whale Wars.

From stink bombs to flash grenades and hostages to capsized boats, Whale Wars captures the battles and the controversy surrounding not only the whaling industry but the Sea Shepherd’s “no holds barred” strategy. International whaling laws are interpreted by various countries and organizations in different ways. Over 20 years ago, Japan withdrew its opposition to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling. Just one year later, the Japanese announced a large-scale scientific whaling program designed to “assess” whale stocks.

Many conservationists like Watson don’t buy it and question the scientific validity of Japan’s research program. Is it nothing more than a front for whaling? Activist groups like Watson’s Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claim that Japan’s whaling practices violate international law. On the other hand, Japan claims the direct-action tactics of Sea Shepherd are illegal, in essence a form of eco-terrorism.

So who’s more in the wrong and less in the right? The Japanese or the “radical” Sea Shepherds? You be the judge. Tune-in to Animal Planet Friday nights at 9PM ET or head over to iTunes and watch the first episode for free. Warning: this show is addicting!

The Weed Bouquet Delivery

Marketing/PR geniuses! These hemp bouquets were sent out to press and media agencies to promote the premiere of the hit TV series Weeds. What’s next? Brownies?

Transgender Day of Remembrance

So its been a long while since I’ve posted, being so busy with work and a musical I am currently in. But I have been working on this article for a while and now I’m glad its ready. I hope it do it justice.

For most people November 20th, is just another day. People in the United States are prepping for the holidays possibly making sure they have all the right elements ready for Thanksgiving. People in Mexico might be observing the Anniversary of the Revolution, Unicef has their Children’s Day, and a small percentage of people, like me, will be observing November 20th as Transgender Day of Remembrance.

So what is Transgender Day of Remembrance? Its a day not just for those of us who are transgendered, or any other gender-variant. Its a day that that is set aside for EVERYONE to bind together and remember those killed due to anti-transgender hatred. It first started to honor Rita Hester, who was murdered in November of 1998. [Read more]

Climate change… A headache of global proportions

PBS/Frontline documentary HEAT is for all you haters who don’t believe in climate change. Experts say that we’ve experienced climate change before, but not with 6.5 billion people living on Earth. By 2035 the Himalayan glaciers will have lost 80 percent of their ice, drying up rivers which millions depend on. What can we do to prevent this? Reduce carbon emissions by 60 to 80 percent before mid-century. The task is quite daunting considering the process of creating cement is the 3rd largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions! With our government courting oil tycoons, the rapid growth of developing nations, our addiction to fossil fuels and the need for standard resources such as cement, the reversal process is a headache fever of global proportions.

Watch the entire program over at… http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/heat/

Post Urban Culture

Cell phones are lovely things when they keep you in contact with the proper people. Bill collectors, politicians looking to get elected and the occasionally crazy family member who wonders if now would be a good time to talk about some arcane piece of family fiction I don’t care about are the problems with being connected to the rest of the world on a constant basis. Yesterday, in an attempt to disconnect from everyone else in a world that is quickly slipping into anarchy, I left my phone at home for several hours. Of course, I missed a call that I wanted to take, in this case, Tomas, my former bartending partner who moved to New Orleans with his wife and daughters after she received an excellent job offer. “I’m walking on the street drinking a beer I got to go from a bar,” Tomas teased. “You can’t do that in NYC. Call me brother; it will be great to catch up.” I was kicking myself for not having my phone with me the one time in the past week I actually wanted to answer it.

Our game of phone tag ended a few days later. “Not only will she be working at an excellent salary in her field (psychology) but we’re near her family so it cuts down on the cost of babysitters,” he joked. After an hour or so of shooting the shit, I asked him how it was living back in the suburbs we both came from after being in the city for so long. “It’s peaceful. I’m working an adult joint and I don’t have to contend with kids asking for Long Island Ice Teas at 2 in the morning.” [Read more]

The Best Bongs Ever Created

Man I love that cheeba, and I love smokin it out of a freshly rolled dutch or maybe even a nice piece of glass.  Sometimes though, the time and place don’t call for that.  This is when it’s time for the pothead’s mind to spring into action.  When not thinking of what kind of munchies to grab or when the last time I took a shower was, my mind is always tossing around the best ways to hand make a great smoking device, and I know I’m not alone.  Here are some of my favorite home made weed tools of all time: [Read more]

The Definition of Insanity

Editor’s Note - The following article is a submission from RoneBreak reader Alex Zolas. Maybe you’re interested in writing for us but don’t have the time to fully commit or maybe you just want to share a great article you found. Either way, check out our submit page and give it a shot!

Like millions of Americans, I am currently under-employed. The supposition that I should feel lucky to have some sort of job in these tough economic times keeps running through my mind.

“Any port in a storm,” my friend Roddy O’Hare councils and he’s right.

With 6.1% of my fellow citizens looking for work, it is a daunting task to find any sort of gainful employment. Fortunately, I work in a profession that is nearly recession proof – bartending. Even better, the rarefied air I breathe is that of a fine dining New York barman. My job is to be food and wine geek while simultaneously be a ball buster, social director and marriage counselor; all the while, trying to remember that my main ethos is to that of a legal drug dealer. [Read more]

This post was submitted by Alex Zola.

How To: Take A Sick Day When You Are Not Sick

(From Lilit Marcus, Editor-in-Chief of SavetheAssistants.com, a Web site devoted to helping people navigate the unpleasant office environments.)

1. Always call your boss to tell them you’re not coming in; never e-mail. “An e-mail just seems really fake”. Some companies your boss might say, “Great: you’re on e-mail. Just work from home today,” which negates the purpose of taking your elective sick day.

A telephone call comes off as a little more truthful and a little more urgent. When you call, try to time it so that you can leave a voice mail — talking about the fact that you’re sick opens it up to the possibility of follow-up questions and debate.

2. Don’t be too specific. “Say ‘I have a migraine’ or ‘I have food poisoning,’ but don’t go into details. A lot of people get caught up in the details of the lie and feel like they have to specify what their symptoms are and such. But the more you talk, the faker it sounds. If you have the stomach flu, you’re probably too busy barfing to answer a lot of questions about your condition.”

3. Food poisoning is a good fake ailment. ”It’s quick; it lasts a day; people get grossed out by it; and it’s happened to them. So food poisoning is the way to go. Plus it’s really non-specific. It doesn’t say anything about a recurring condition that’s going to happen again. It’s a fluke. No one knows why it happened or what it was that they ate, so it’s a really good mystery disease.”

4. Don’t post your exploits from your sick day on Facebook. Remember this story? Don’t get caught in your lie by putting too much information where people can find it. [Read more]

Just Another Reason We Need To Legalize It

I’m not going to bore you at the moment with all of the other reasons that marijuana should be legalized, I think that most people believe that anyway. But here is another perfect example of the drug war having adverse effects on the lives of everyone in this country, and it isn’t going away. Grow operations on public land all over the country are completely unregulated, and in turn growers are using rat poison, other illegal chemicals, and poaching to make sure that their harvests yield the highest possible amount of marijuana.

The drug cartels that illegally grow aren’t going anywhere in the current situation. They will continue to find new locations to poison our environment to get their precious harvest. If we would just take a minute and think about this, it could all easily be avoided if the government opened marijuana and hemp up as a cash crop, tax it, and make sure that growers are not adversely effecting our environment and public health. [Read more]

The Politics of Weight Loss

A year has melted away since I left Singapore for England; with it, so has almost 50 lbs. I am still a plump girl. My underarms wobble, my tummy divides in an unsightly manner at the waist, and my thighs are too thick to be fashionable – but I am indubitably slimmer, at least, enough to have men ask for my number, or my relatives not to recognize me at family gatherings. When I last flew home for Christmas, my own mother, whilst slipping in the seat next to mine, asked my sister to introduce us.

Now would be an excellent opportunity for me to slap a ‘Before’ picture of myself next to an ‘After’: me with a big grin on my face and an old pair of jeans in an expansive puddle around my waist, perhaps. Then I could write a cute little pink book on how I lost x lbs in y days and how you can do it too, and how much more everyone will love you afterwards, thus finally allowing you to start loving yourself too. [Read more]

Let The Pumpkins… FLY!!!!!

Now that its officially October all I can think about is pumpkins.  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, Sam Adams Octoberfest beer. (which by the way is the BEST beer ever)  But there is an event that happens soon that gets me very excited!

Its a tradition in the area I live, and is now world famous.  It’s the World Championship Punkin’ Chunkin’!!  Yes, its exactly as it sounds.  Teams get together and construct massive catapults, air cannons, centrifugal machines and more, all just to see which team can  launch a pumpkin the farthest. [Read more]

Super Drummio Brother!

Tell me this guy is not bad-ass!  Amazing…he should be playing the halftime show at the VP debate tonight.  What…there’s no halftime show?

Stretching Out with The Skatalites

ROIR Records has just re-released some excellent live and historic Skatalites music on CD, LP, and digital download, which was previously only available on cassette. Stretching Out, from 1983, is historically significant because it is from the year when the band had just reconciled the differences that had driven their 2-year career apart in 1965. Peter Tosh’s manager, Herbie Miller tracked them all down to play at the 1983 Jamaica Sunplash. Prior to the big gig, the band got together for some rehearsal nightclub gigs at Miller’s Blue Monk Jazz Gallery in Kingston before a crowd of local fans, friends, and fellow musicians. There were no restrictions on the length of their sets, no barriers on soloing, and no boundaries in general…which led to a stretched out, spontaneously joyful Ska reunion. [Read more]

Like Father Like Pole Dancer?

Omar Bakri Mohammed was a British immigrant before being banned from country for his radical violent views. The Syrian born preacher first made waves when praising the 9/11 terrorists as the “Magnificent 19.” Bakri is a strict Muslim who requires his family to obey the laws of his religion, including the women wearing a veil and “cover all” clothes.

When his daughter was 16 he arranged a marriage for her with a Turkish man. But, whoops, that didn’t work out. Not only did Yasmin Fostok leave her arranged life to raise her son on her own but, she got on the pole. That’s right, Yasmin is a pole dancer. And, a drinker. And, is “willing to go topless if the venue is right.” And, as far as I can tell, none of these escapades are being done in her veil. [Read more]

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