Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts

Friday, January 15, 2016

The Conversation On Drugs Sean Penn Wants

English: Sean Penn at the premier for Milk at ...
English: Sean Penn at the premier for Milk at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, October 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Bin Laden, And Now El Chapo
Does Sean Penn Play Sean Penn In The Sean Penn Movie?

First of all, I'd say, it is fair for US law enforcement to have thought of El Chapo a Bin Laden like figure. I have not read up much on the whole legalization of drugs thing, but I am pretty sure that debate does note venture beyond marijuana. Serious brain altering chemicals are a one way road to addiction that cripple you as a human being. If Bin Laden was the most wanted man in New York City, El Chapo was the most wanted man in Chicago. Lives have been destroyed in the wake of the drug trade. The intelligence craft that got El Chapo is rightly Zero Dark Thirty material. And let's get one thing off the bat, US law enforcement does not exactly have the luxury of taking part in the debate and discussion on the legalization of drugs. They are not lawmakers. A duly elected government pays them a salary and swears them to an oath. They have a job to do. It is a very difficult job requiring specialized skill, and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. The capture of El Chapo is a major victory for the forces of good.

Sean Penn Says El Chapo’s Capture Spoiled His Article




Sean Penn has "a terrible regret" about "El Chapo" meeting

America is a democracy. Of course we can talk about the War On Drugs, just like we can talk about everything else. Heck, I myself want to participate.

The number one thing is, we as a people, as a species, lag way behind when it comes to understanding and doing something about mental health. Mental health is still such a taboo topic. We know so much about the harmful effects of smoking. But what do we know about the effects of loneliness? When we catch a cold, we are aware of some over the counter stuff we can take. What are the mental health equivalents? Do we even become aware when we catch cold? Mental health is nowhere on par with physical health. Efforts should be made. One of the things that will emerge is we will put much more emphasis on our emotional infrastructure. We will look at family, friends, and colleagues in a new light. We will do more about self help groups, hotlines, and therapy and medication. A lot of the drug consumption is people going to the quack doctor because nothing else is available, people getting abortions and risking deaths, because abortion is illegal.

This is my primary thing to say.

As for the broad policy called the War On Drugs. I wish there were ways to get guns and drugs out of inner cities. I know people are trying. But what has been done is not enough. America supplies guns. America gets supplied drugs. These are humongous problems. The best people are at it, but the results are not good enough.

Does Sean Penn have a right to meet El Chapo? Of course he does. He went as a journalist. Journalists do have a right to meet and talk.

Fear Of Gun Violence Is Black Slavery Today
The Insanity Of Guns In America
The Genius Of The US Constitution

Monday, January 11, 2016

Bin Laden, And Now El Chapo



Bin Laden, And Now El Chapo

He got Bin Laden. And now El Chapo. Who is left standing? I don’t see anyone. This is a clean sweep. There’s noone else of stature left. Quick question: give me the name of the leader of ISIS. I don’t know either. We could both look it up, but my point has been proven.

I can see another movie coming out of this. Sean Penn got played. I mean, who does not want to be in a movie? I don’t know about you, but I do. A journalist and some Hollywood appeal to ego can do what massive intelligence can’t. It’s a needle in a haystack problem reoriented and turned into a let’s lure the bastard out of the rathole kind of thing. A haystack has nothing on a tropical jungle. Don’t let maps fool you.

Another Zero Dark Thirty is on its way.

I almost feel like this is why the Hollywood people make campaign contributions to people who end up being president. Look at the ROI, it’s HUGE! Software people would kill for this kind of margins!

While there is one less drug dealer out on the streets of Chicago. Some good got done. Because these organizations are so hierarchical, getting the top guy is a deep punch. El Chapo’s son, heir apparent, has feet that don’t fit the boots. Neither the drug trade nor his organization have been eliminated. But suddenly no Scarface is feeling safe anywhere in Latin America right now. Or in Miami, or in Chicago. Maybe they also grabbed notebooks with phone numbers in the sweepstakes.

The most wanted man in Chicago has been captured.








Sean Penn's secret interview with 'El Chapo' led to capture
Mexican drug lord’s dreams of biopic aided in his capture
After months of searching, it was Guzmán’s contact with movie producers and actresses about a biopic based on his life that ultimately helped authorities recapture the chief of the Sinaloa cartel along a highway outside a coastal city, according to Mexican attorney general Arely Gómez González. ....... Guzmán’s interview with Penn helped lead authorities to Guzmán’s whereabouts in Durango state in October. ....... Famous for his Houdini-like disappearing acts, Guzmán vanished down an escape hatch and into the sewer. It wasn’t until he popped up four blocks away, stole a car, and sped out of town that Mexican authorities finally captured him on the highway and ended six months of national humiliation for letting the world’s top drug lord go free. ....... “I never thought they’d catch him again,” said José Carlos Castro, a 29-year-old auto shop employee who worked across from the raided house. “Much less right here.” ....... According to the Rolling Stone article, Guzmán boasted to Penn about his drug empire. “I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world,” Guzmán said. “I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats.” ....... Guzmán’s capture was celebrated by law enforcement officials in Washington because Guzmán runs a drug-trafficking network with vast international reach that has been dumping tons of cocaine and heroin into U.S. cities for years. But more than that, it represented a massive vindication, at least symbolically, for a Mexican government that has often seemed incapable of alleviating the brutal drug war violence that has left some 100,000 dead in the past decade. ...... After two prison escapes, many expect the Mexican government to extradite Guzmán to the United States. ..... The Mexican attorney general’s office said in a statement Saturday that extradition procedures would begin. But that could take weeks or months, as the accusations against Guzmán must be reviewed and a judge needs to recommend a course of action. ...... Over the next weeks and months, as military operations focused on his home state of Sinaloa, authorities chipped away at the vast network of accomplices who helped Guzmán escape from a maximum-security prison. They arrested corrupt prison guards and officials, relatives who handed out bribes and oversaw tunnel construction, and his trusted pilots, who flew him to Sinaloa. ....... In October, they tracked him to a ranch house in the town of Pueblo Nuevo in the western state of Durango. ..... The neighborhood was upper middle class: The mayor and the governor’s mother lived nearby. The house also sat directly above the sewer tunnels. ........... “I thought we were in Syria,” said one neighbor who lived a block away and refused, like many others interviewed, to give her name out of fear for her safety. “This has been the biggest shock of my life. The world’s most-wanted man is my neighbor.” ........ A white sedan was stopped at the traffic light when they reached the street. Guzmán and Gastelum ordered a man and a woman out of the car and sped off through drizzling rain. ........ “I think it’s kind of stupid,” said a guest from Tijuana who refused to give his name for security reasons. “If you have that kind of money, why would you be here in Los Mochis? You’d be in Dubai or Switzerland.” ...... Guzmán was later flown to Mexico City and returned to Altiplano prison, the facility he escaped from in July. For a year and a half before that, he lived in a tiny concrete cell with a hole in the floor for a toilet. To free him, his accomplices cut through the floor of his shower stall and ferried him into a mile-long tunnel equipped with a motorcycle.
In Mexican town where ‘Chapo’ broke out of jail, admiration and awe
“A thief is someone who takes your watch, steals your phone,” he said. “This man gives work to thousands of people and raises the economy of the country.” ....... It’s people in the United States who buy his drugs, Medina added. ..... Amid the working-class neighborhoods and rolling farmlands surrounding the prison, there is support for Guzmán and fascination with his escape. Residents see him as the drug lord, not the assassin; the benefactor, not the extortionist; a world-famous Mexican celebrity who outsmarted and embarrassed a deeply unpopular government. ....... “He’s more than a drug trafficker. With this, many people will consider him a saint.” ...... he was in isolation under 24-hour video surveillance and wearing a tracking bracelet. But because of privacy and human rights concerns, Osorio Chong said, the cameras in Guzmán’s cell did not cover a small portion of the shower area, and it was in that tiny blind spot that his tunnelers made their entrance. ....... The record of the brutal recent years of Mexico’s drug war shows that Guzmán’s Sinaloa cartel — the wealthiest and most powerful drug-running operation — killed thousands of people. He has a long rap sheet in Mexico and the United States. And now he is again one of the world’s most-wanted criminals. ........ “Chapo is one of the narcos who doesn’t bother people,” said a man in a butcher shop who gave his name as Pablo. “They’re not all the same. He doesn’t kidnap, rob, kill. And he gives jobs.” ...... “He can come back and start a war,” she said. “He’s one of the big ones. It depends on how they treated him inside. If it was bad, he’s going to come back.”
Sean Penn Interview With “El Chapo” Helped Authorities Locate Drug Lord
The actor turned gonzo journalist carried out a seven-hour interview with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán—and the pair later kept in contact by phone and video—for a Rolling Stone piece published late Saturday night. The piece is accompanied by a two-minute video interview of Guzmán in which the drug lord answers questions that Penn sent via BlackBerry Messenger. ....... Now Mexican authorities are saying the meeting between the Hollywood star and the drug kingpin in October helped them locate Guzmán. Although they did not capture “El Chapo” at the time, apparently because authorities decided not to open fire as the drug lord was with two women and a child. But it proved to be a major breakthrough in the manhunt and helped officials track him down and eventually capture him on Friday, six months after his second escape from prison. Shortly after his capture, officials said that part of what helped officials locate the fugitive was his desire to make a movie about his life. ....... The head of the Sinaloa cartel had previously denied he was involved in drug trafficking, telling a group of journalists in 1993 that he was a farmer. ...... The cartel he leads may be among the world’s deadliest, but Guzmán insisted he is not a violent person. “Look, all I do is defend myself, nothing more,” he said. “But do I start trouble? Never.” Still, he evidently doesn’t want to pretend he’s a nobody. “I don’t want to be portrayed as a nun,” he tells Penn at one point. ........ Although he was evidently interested in making a movie about his life, Guzmán was “unimpressed with its financial yield,” writes Penn. ...... "Mexico is ready,” a Mexican official tells the Associated Press. “There are plans to cooperate with the U.S.”
El Chapo’s Vanity Got Him Caught: Drug Lord Wanted to Make Movie About His Life
In the end, his narcissism did him in. Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán—the world’s most notorious drug kingpin—was proud of what he had accomplished in his life and wanted the world to know his story. It was this desire to share his tale of going from poverty to one of the world’s richest men that helped authorities locate the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel at a dingy roadside motel, six months after his second escape from prison. ....... An “important element in determining El Chapo’s whereabouts was finding out that he wanted to film an autobiographical film,” Mexico’s Attorney General Arely Gómez González said at a news conference. “He established communication with actresses and producers, which became a new line of investigation.” The names of the actresses and producers were not revealed. ........ [Guzmán] had started the process of making a biopic on a life in which he went from rags to riches, from dropping out of school and selling oranges in the street to landing on the Forbes list of billionaires. It was as if he wanted his own version of Narcos, the popular Netflix series on the life of slain Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar—except while alive and able to influence the casting and script. ......... Authorities almost had him in October but decided not to pursue him because he was accompanied by two women and a young girl. ....... extraditing Guzmán was the only way to make sure his capture would have an effect on the drug trade.
Sean Penn and 'El Chapo' secret interview: What happens next

First came the arrest, then the publication of a bombshell interview in a mountainous Mexican jungle, and now the extradition process.

....... Before the interview came to light, two U.S. law enforcement officials had said tracking of cell phones and electronic exchanges of people close to him led to his recapture. Mexican authorities said they captured Guzman partly because his representatives contacted filmmakers and actors about making his biopic. ..... There have been conflicting reports on whether Mexican officials knew about the meeting...... But the timing of the interview coincides with reported sightings and near-misses. ........ In October, the same month Penn interviewed him, authorities said they almost caught Guzman but he slipped away.
Theatrics Surrounding El Chapo’s Capture Distract From Mexico’s Real Woes
Pinning down the meaning of Joaquín Guzmán Loera — the deadly and celebrated Mexican drug trafficker known as El Chapo — is a constant battle between tragedy and farce. ..... Many, though, seemed to take it as further justification for an abiding cynicism toward the government and its ability to combat drug traffickers who all too often seem not only above the law, but also stranger than fiction. ....... Social media buzzed with jokes about the capture and the interview, including a derogatory hashtag using Mr. Penn’s name in Spanish. ....... “But the main point is that we have an immense problem with drugs and crime in Mexico, with impunity and with the lack of the rule of law in the criminal system.” ..... To some, Mr. Penn’s account felt less like journalism than mythmaking, an extension of the Hollywood machine that Mr. Guzmán seemed eager to leverage. ...... Both the capture and the publication of the interview have fed the persistent international image of Mexico as a nation hopelessly trapped in the vicious tides of a drug war. The kingpins, with their resources, egos and catchy nicknames, never fail to capture the imagination of the world. ....... Analysts asked why, if the government could hunt down El Chapo, it could not locate 43 students who disappeared from a teachers college in the state of Guerrero. Or why it could not halt the peso’s slide against the dollar, down nearly 20 percent in the past year......... “Instead of focusing on one person and placing all this attention and effort on one guy, they should focus on more relevant issues like education,” said Jose Fuentes López, 22, who waits tables at a coffee shop in Monterrey. ......... “When you see this criminal being interviewed by a world-class actor you know something is not right, because everything is like a show,” he added. “He is a criminal, nothing else.” ....... Too many others still find him compelling. .....

In his home state of Sinaloa, for example, there was no sense of triumph in the arrest of a man many viewed as a native son. Feelings of shock gave way to worry.

....... “We were perfectly comfortable when El Chapo was here,” said a 16-year-old named Elvira, visiting a coffee shop in the city of Los Mochis, where Mr. Guzmán was captured. “Now we are worried someone else is going to come here and try to fill his spot.” ...... For many Mexicans, their government is an institution not to be trusted, and watching Mr. Guzmán consistently outsmart it was a favored pastime. Like elsewhere, people love an outlaw and Mr. Guzmán gave them a lot to love. ...... “Of the 120,000 people dead in the past decade, half come from the wars that the Sinaloa cartel opened” .......

Beyond the death toll, the cartels remain corrupting forces that exert control over every level of government. But unlike the government, which changes hands and switches players regularly, the cartels are far more permanent

...... And shortly after the interview was published Saturday night, Mexicans came up with the hashtag #NoSeanPenndejos, a play on the actor’s name that, roughly translated, means don’t be a jerk.
Sean Penn was right: Spying eyes were on him

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Whoever Wins California Will Win

Image representing YouTube as depicted in Crun...
Image via CrunchBase
That is the funniest tweet I read so far tonight. And I am retweeting it as a blog post title. Blogger says I misspelt retweeting.

That is also my prediction. That is how confident I am that my man Obama will win.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/election2012 is better than anything you can watch on TV, although I am doing both. http://www.youtube.com/politics is awesome. I skipped a party for YouTube Politics and Twitter.
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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Extrapolations To Reshma 2016

South façade of the White House, the executive...Image via Wikipedia
Nepal

In January of 2006 I predicted a "French Revolution" in Nepal with an organization that was the first organization I landed on after moving to the city, having been a Deaniac from 2004. (The French Revolution And DFNYC) These people had been driving me impatient. I was asking them to do small things like maybe raise a thousand dollars - one fucking thousand dollars! - and get some elected officials to write letters of support to the democracy movement in Nepal, and they would not budge! It was a we-simply-don't-care-one-way-or-the-other attitude. "Stuff happened in Rwanda, and I was not bothered" was one comment.

I was trying to argue that this was not just about Nepal. This was about the War On Terror. The only way the War On Terror is going to end is when all Arab countries have been turned into democracies. And we can get there the Bush way, a trillion dollars per country, or we can do it my way like in Nepal. This Nepal work boosts the progressive cause in America. All that logic fell on deaf ears. So I bootstrapped. I did what I could. Fundraising never having been one of my core strengths, I struggled.

The French Revolution did happen. In April 2006 over a course of 19 days one third of the country's 27 million people poured into the streets to completely shut the country down until the dictator bowed out. Every single village, town and city poured out.

The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal

I was of course holed up that entire time. I lost weight, I did not need to. I had to get glasses in the aftermath. I was too busy monitoring the situation. It was an intense experience. When it was over, I emerged. I showed up for a DFNYC event in Brooklyn. I was living in Brooklyn at the time. This was my first DFNYC event in Brooklyn. At the time I still had my car that I moved into the city with. I drove over. I had no idea what had happened in Nepal had also taken over the news spectrum in NYC. I had been trained by DFNYC to think people in NYC just did not care about Nepal. Nepal was too far away.

I saw Leila Noor at the event. I said, hey, thanks for that article on Nepal you forwarded to me over email. That was much appreciated. Told me you knew.

What are you talking about, she said. Everyone knew. It was a hit me moment. I then realized Nepal had been on TV, Nepal had been in the New York Times, Nepal had been everywhere.

Subsequently Howard Dean showed up at a DFNYC Mixer and this guy Josh was doing crowd control on me. I was the reason Howard Dean showed up in the first place and this mofo was doing crowd control on me! Mandela calls it "a thousand little indignities" in his book.

Barack

This was a much easier prediction to make. I predicted at the beginning of 2007 that he was going to be president. (Jupiter And Obama) Barack has this messiah quality to him. He even looked like one to me at the Washington Square Park rally with the bright lights in the background. (The Largest Rally In US Presidential Campaign History) When I watch a speech from him, it feels like a cool breeze is brushing against my face. It is a spiritual experience to watch him in action. He is Gandhiesque.

John

I was at John's victory party last year, and the thought first occurred to me. I remember thinking, this guy could be Mayor in four years. I blogged about it. At his inauguration he was still unsure because the smell of Thompson was still in the air, but no more. For now John gets to deliver the labor bosses to me, if possible.

John Liu: Mayor Of NYC: 2013

Reshma

Reshma 2010's victory on September 14 is going to be the biggest political event in New York City since Barack almost won Brooklyn in February of 2008. In many ways bigger because I don't hold that against him but Barack is a Chicago guy. September 14 is the day this country gives birth to The New Woman. The New Woman wants to, is able to, and takes equality for granted. The New Woman does not rest until that same has been achieved for women across the world.

Reshma was a White House intern as a college student at the Harvard of the Midwest, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I have walked around that campus, by the way. The Quad is so beautiful. Larry Ellison dropped out of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign like Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. (Larry Ellison, Larry Ellison's Personal Life, Larry Ellison's 1995 Network Computer Vision, Rich People's Kids) It bothers me when people only talk about Harvard and Yale when talking about Reshma. That East Coast bias has to go. She organized for Clinton Gore 96. She organized for Gore 2000. She was one of John Kerry's top 10 fundraisers in the country. She was a big shot with Hillary 08. This woman is not made for the legislative branch. This woman is custom made for the White House. But a run for the White House can not be your first run, and hence Congress. She is going to do the FDR thing of putting a New Yorker in the White House. She is going to do the Lincoln thing of going from the House to the White House. She is going to end the global trafficking of women like Lincoln ended slavery.

But I would like to mess up with her House to White House trajectory. I am going to make a case with Barack.

"Look, I suffered for you, I went on the cross for you. (The First Time I Heard The Obama Name, Obama, Reshma, Charlie Rangel: Motherfucker, Rangel Has Gone Radioactive) I want my woman on the ticket in 2012. Trust me, Joe will understand. He no longer has the foreign policy advantage that he once had if he ever did. You are a seasoned world stage player in your own right. By the way, can I take a look at your Nobel medal? Because I would like one for myself. You did construction work as a student in New York City and you have goat herder heritage. That is as working class as it gets for me. Barack the glass ceiling, I mean break the glass ceiling, put a woman on the ticket. (Barack The Glass Walls, Ceilings, Smash 'Em) It is about time. Putting Malia and Sasha into the White House has not just been about the self esteem of black children, it has also been about the self esteem of young girls across the world."

Reshma 2016 is the biggest rationale for Reshma 2010. If it is about Reshma, she could run in 2016, 2020, 2024 all the way to 2040. But it is not about Reshma. It is about the country and the world. And that makes 2016 her year. 2016 will be time for the first woman President Of The United States, and the top woman to watch in New York City is that woman. (Reshma Saujani: Top 10 Women To Watch In America)

I read the Ted Sorensen book Kennedy when I was in middle school. It is a thick book. I read it cover to cover.


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