To The Point, from KCRW, has an informative discussion on drug policy this week, specifically the past racial inequities of of crack vs. cocaine prosecution:
Congress has relaxed overly harsh and discriminatory penalties for crack, as opposed to powder cocaine. But federal prisons are still full of blacks and whites serving different sentences for the same crimes. Should sentencing guidelines be made retroactive? Would that lead to the sudden release of 20,000 prisoners, crowding the courts and increasing crime? Also, a transit strike in France, and some big decisions for Michael Mukasey, the new Attorney General. Were Blackwater guards unjustified in killing Iraqi civilians? Can they be prosecuted?
You can listen to the program at KCRW.com
I just saw a well made documentary on Japanese host boys, a western Japanese sub-cultural phenomenon.
The film looks at (economically) exclusive clubs wherein younger women pay larges amounts of money ($2,000-10,000 a night) to spend time with handsome, youthful, and entertaining young men. For the most part, the women are paying for attention, but sex is also involved.
The men at these clubs seem youthfully resilient, yet tired and disillusioned. The men are very aware of the powers at play in what they do. They say forthrightly that they sell dreams and happiness in the form of romantic attention. The best liked and asked for of these men make $50,000 a month for their services.
Several of the hosting clubs have advertisements for the men online:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBXn48CY-vM&rel=1]
A rather interesting ripple in the story is that the majority of the women entertained at host boy clubs are themselves entertainers, whether hostesses, exotic dancers, or prostitutes (the categories bleed significantly). So much of the money they make entertaining men is spend on their on need for more-genuine friendship and sexual attention.
I’ll be posting more on this topic…
Additionally, if you have a Netflix account, this documentary is available for “Instant” watching online.
I normally don’t post videos like this. But I’m completely captured by these people who use winged-suit to glide off mountains.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt692UuRMyg&rel=1]
This list turned up at a local coffee house.
