July 1, 2007 - July 7, 2007

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Vang Pao devoted his life to fighting communism in Laos—until the U.S. government arrested him

Filed under: Crime

The most recent issue of Orange County Weekly features a story on former Royal Lao Army General Vang Pao and the recent arrest for his involvement in the secret purchase of millions of dollars worth of AK-47s, C-4 explosives and Stinger missiles. Dubbed Operation Popcorn, the armaments, along with hundreds of American mercenaries, would be smuggled from Thailand to Hmong insurgents in Laos. An excerpt: "If convicted, Vang faces a possible sentence of life in prison. Thousands of Hmong gathered in Sacramento to protest his arrest, many of them chanting, 'Free Vang Pao!' and charging the U.S. government with betraying Vang, who has for decades openly advocated a violent overthrow of the Laotian government. As recently as February 2007, the New Republic quoted Vang bragging that he would pull off a coup in Laos sometime this year. 'The U.S. has better rifles, better guns than the communists,' Vang said. 'If they give me the guns, I can conquer Laos in 2007. I still believe I can do it.' Despite this, Vang's lawyer, John Balazs, quickly released a statement declaring Vang's innocence." Read Nick Shou's story, The General's Last Stand, here.

Related: The Last Place on Earth, The Outsiders, Exodus

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 6, 2007 1:58 PM | Comments (0)

 

7/6 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Like the Gospel of Judas or the Dead Sea scrolls, Diablo Cody uncovers one of her early fictional blogs at Pussy Ranch.

The City Pages Media Taster lets you actually hear the great music you read about in City Pages—just launch, click, and listen. Simply download the Media Taster and you'll automatically receive a digital mixtape of music on a semi-regular basis (including free MP3s), legal and free of charge.

THESE DAYS

A new Minnesota state law requires all U.S. flags sold in the state to be manufactured in America.

The U.S. military is seeking to improve conditions for many Guantanamo Bay detainees by offering more recreation and activities, including a weekly movie night for the best-behaved.

A district judge in Washington state has allowed Jason Burrows to change his middle name to "Megatron."

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Paul Allen is an elementary teacher from Minneapolis who offers up punny one-panel cartoons three times a week at Brain Clouds.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Buy a beer for the baggage handler who helped a lone police officer subdue a suspected terrorist who drove a burning car into Scotland's Glasgow Airport last week.

Monty Python's Lumberjack Song in German

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"In America there's someone willing to pretend to be offended by everything and so we annoy people and that's part of the appeal. It's to entertain people and also to annoy a certain segment of the audience as well."

— Simpsons creator Matt Groening, on a scene in the upcoming Simpsons Movie which features Bart Simpson skateboarding through Springfield in the buff

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 6, 2007 6:20 AM | Comments (0)

 

Shane and Amy make a press release

Filed under: City Pages

Kevin Smith's latest film is to be called Zach and Miri Make a Porno. The script is apparently about a pair of 30-something slackers who, inspired by their upcoming 15-year high school reunion, decide to make a porn film. It's slated to begin filming in Minnesota in February.

According to Shane Bugbee, the movie was inspired by his experiences in Ely, Minnesota. Bugbee is the satanist-turned-blueberry-soda salesman who claims to have been run out of bucolic Ely, Minnesota fearing for his life after word of his past surfaced. (See "Sympathy for the Devil".) Bugbee then went to L.A. and produced a porn film, "The Witches Sabbath."

"It's a rare day in Hollywood to actually get paid and get credit for something like this," Bugbee says in a press release touting the purported connection. "This is a real testament to Kevin Smith's character!"

His wife, Amy, also chimes in on the forthcoming film. "The movie is loosely based on our tale of woe," she says, "and we are thrilled to be a part of it."

Of course, according to Smith, this is a bunch of hooey.

Posted by Paul Demko at July 5, 2007 2:07 PM | Comments (0)

 

Is too much water wasted in the creation of ethanol?

Filed under: City Pages

In this week's news feature, Sucked Dry, writer Conrad Wilson looks at the burgeoning ethanol industry in Minnesota, and wonders whether we're depleting one natural resource while trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. An exceprt: "The industry uses massive amounts of water. It's a key component during the fermentation and cooling stages of ethanol production. And most plants in the state are much less efficient than Granite Falls, which has the benefit of being located near another water source. Minnesota Energy, a plant in Buffalo Lake, uses 4.5 gallons of water to produce just one gallon of ethanol." Read the story here, then come back to join the conversation.

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 5, 2007 1:05 PM | Comments (11)

 

7/5 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Who won the latest Great Actors Smackdown between Tom Cruise and John Travolta? Couch Pundit has the answer.

We're adding new articles like DVD and game reviews every day. Use our Recent Article RSS feed to check for new content:

THESE DAYS

A Marion County judge said lap dances in Salem are protected by the free speech provisions of the Oregon Constitution.

A Winnipeg businessman has launched Porno Pizza, a delivery-only pizza business that places pornography where you would usually find only cardboard—under the pizza.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Aaron Landry shows off his sweet new iPhone at his eponymous blog.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

LOL metal bands

Top 10 Least Intelligent Dogs

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I found it under my pillow once, I found it in between the drapes and once I found it in the kitchen drawer."

— Colorado resident Flora Zimbelman, who traded the same uncooked hot dog with her sister Rose for 54 years until Rose's death earlier this year

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 5, 2007 6:37 AM | Comments (2)

 

7/4 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

John Doe and His Rockin' Band - "Fourth of July"
Dante's, Portland, OR - June 15, 2007

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

— excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 4, 2007 2:25 AM | Comments (0)

 

7/3 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

DVD reviews this week include Chancer: Series 1, Welcome to the Grindhouse, The Taste of Tea, and more.

Find out when any City Pages blogs have been updated by using the City Pages Blog RSS Feed:

THESE DAYS

Thieves in Myanmar's main city, Yangon, are taking advantage of outages often lasting for more than 20 hours a day to steal the copper power cables.

Over the weekend, 7-Eleven Inc. turned a dozen stores into Kwik-E-Marts to promote July 27 opening of The Simpsons Movie.

Cow pies used to produce ethanol in a small Nebraska town may soon be help to lower the price at the gas pump.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Dan Feidt blogs on presidential candidate Ron Paul, the Lone Gunmen, Middle East foreign policy, and Rosie O'Donnell as 9/11 conspiracy theorist at Hong Pong.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

1000 films to see before you die by the Guardian

The best foreign remakes of American films, also from the Guardian

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Rednecks love quality, too."

— Mike Schilling, owner of SchillingBridge Winery & MicroBrewery, on the launch of Git-R-Done beer, named for Larry the Cable Guy's catchphrase

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 3, 2007 6:32 AM | Comments (0)

 

7/2 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Steve Monaco has posted today's Monday Movie Quiz at Couch Pundit.

Find out when any City Pages blogs have been updated by using the City Pages Blog RSS Feed:

THESE DAYS

The FBI has sent a nationwide alert to scuba instructors to watch for a number of suspicious behaviors among diving students that the agency says could be signs of criminal activity.

Muslim boxer Omar Shaick was yesterday handed a two-year ban by Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority officials for refusing to give a urine sample because his religion prohibits him from exposing his genitals to strangers.

Space Adventures, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, is in negotiations with the customers who will fly the first private expedition to circumnavigate the moon at $100 million per passenger.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Erinclot lives in northeast Minneapolis and blogs about burning arm pits, pulling thirty pounds of pork, and company weight-loss contests at Stanley in the City.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The top 10 dead (or dying) computer skills according to ComputerWorld

Countdown from 100 with quotes from 100 movies [via Fimoculous]

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Canada could make exactly the same claim. The Canadians could say that the Lomonosov ridge is part of the Canadian shelf, which means Russia should in fact belong to Canada, together with the whole of Eurasia."

— Sergey Priamikov, the international co-operation director of Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg, on the Kremlin's recent conclusion that it owns part of the oil-rich North Pole

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 2, 2007 6:41 AM | Comments (0)

 

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