Retro Harley Cross Bones

Harley's new Softail Cross Bones Motorcycles exudes raw Harley Davidson DNA through and through. Featuring the lowest suspension of any Softail, the bike features a 1584cc Twin Cam 96B engine coupled with a 6 speed Cruise Drive transmission and Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection Standard. The Cross Bones also features retro inspired details such as a chopped front fender, classic air cleaner cover, and an adjustable sprung solo seat with leather lacing. [$16,795] (www.acquire.com)

The Italians and Their Garbage

The Italian city of Naples now has over 100,000 metric tons of garbage disintegrating in the street. Strombolis, gucci purses, and Peroni bottles all just left out to rot. Imagine trying to enjoy some fine beef carpaccio or ride your moped with a bunch of garbage in your face. At the heart of the problem is the lack of facilities to dispose of the garbage, the mafia, men in speedos and women with unshaven armpits and pubis. Landfills have filled up thanks to the illegal dumping of the mafia, and the government does not have any incinerators to burn the garbage. They came up with the idea to put the garbage in an old rubbish dump in the suburb of Pianura, but residents have blocked access to that dump. Just like in the Sopranos, the garbage business in Italy is controlled by the mafia. The Camorra, the Naples equivalent of the Cosa Nostra mafia of Sicily, has been turning filth into cash for decades in the city. By undercutting legitimate operators, the Camorra won a host of local authority contracts and ended up in charge of the region's then-privately owned landfills. The Camorra isn't actually that interested in household waste but it is interested in controlling the waste cycle, controlling the dumps. The Camorra filled the dumps, not just with household trash but also with industrial waste trucked in from around Italy. This traffic remains one of organized crime's most lucrative activities rivaling, and possibly exceeding, narcotics for profitability. A state of emergency, declared in 1994, was meant to tackle the problem by taking waste dumps into public hands and defining a coherent waste strategy. But six successive trash tsars have been unable to banish the Camorra from the sector.

Democracy is for Babies

As I often do on my days off, I was perusing a six month old article out of 'The Nation' where some idiot blathers about how we need to repair the damage done to our democracy by Bush II. I was reminded of an article from Sept 2004 in the Economist, in which they bitch about how our democracy was broken then. The Economist cleverly dubbed our government, 'Pyongyang on the Potomac'. The Economist found it funny that our Congress had an incumbency rate of over 90% for a number of years. They thought that gerrymandering was abhorrent and reduced our integrity as a democracy. I do think gerrymandering is ridiculous, but I disagreed with their sentiment and wrote this letter to the Economist. "This publication suffers from an endemic flaw in contemporary Western thinking. As illustrated by the Economists’ condemnation of lack of democracy in Hong Kong, Egypt, Russia, and the United States, too many people accept as inimitable truth that democracy is the only acceptable form of government to maintain a society with freedom and civil liberties. Need anyone point further than the Patriot Act to illustrate that a democracy can just as easily curtail civil liberties as the most corrupt post-Soviet kleptocracy? The voters were never the ones to stand against unlawful search and seizure. The federal court system, an appointed organization largely independent of democracy, saved the voters from curtailing their own civil liberties. Less democracy may be exactly what America needs. Moreover, it is naïve to think that democracy is the most desirable government for regions where there is no history of democratic institutions. Since 1918, Russia, ruled by Tsars for nearly 1,000 years, has consistently found new ways to ruin attempts at democracy as President Putin has recently demonstrated. France, which had little experience with democracy prior to July 1789, slipped into a very bloody revolution, an insult to the enlightenment ideals proclaimed by the revolutionaries. To date, France has been through five republics. The United States have only had some success (the Economist has aptly pointed out American failings) because the House of Burgesses had been founded over 150 years before July 4, 1776. For Americans, democracy was simply the way things had been done from the beginning." It didn't get published. Maybe it was too long or maybe they thought I was stupid. Either way, I can't understand why so few people see this fact. Elected leaders aren't always that smart or well intended. Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Hugo Chavez, Napoleon Bonaparte, Oliver Cromwell, and many other monsters were democratically elected (initially). A democracy killed Socrates, a democracy caused both World Wars, a democracy enslaved people based on race, a parliamentary democracy supported the occupation of a third of the world, a democracy created and supported apartheid, and a democracy (ours) interned its own citizens without charge. In light of this, someone tell me why George Bush said democracy was, "a gift from God." Then the left turns around saying, "we need to fix our democracy." With the above track record, I'd say we're doing pretty well. All we've done recently is ignore multiple genocides, incite Arab violence, support Israel's use of violence against them, ruin the lives of some poppy farmers in Afghanistan, and make everyone hate us. However, the answer to our problems isn't more democracy. The answer is less democracy. The word demokratia in Greek originally had a negative connotation. It more or less meant mob rule. Isonomia (equality under the law) is what the designers of democracy themselves sought. What we need is laws and actions that make sense. By make sense, I mean that the laws and acts of the US should not be geared toward temporarily placating the fickle gripes and appetites of the majority. They should be geared toward long term goals that create a healthier, more educated, introspective, and disciplined society. Sometimes that sort of law requires pissing off voters. Therefore, I have but one question to ask you. How many politicians are willing to piss off voters for their own good? -Eric Ewing

They make me laugh.

Coolness

I want to join the Mara Salvatrucha

I have been living L.A for almost two years now. I feel as though it's time to get respect on the streets. I get none, unless I start shouting like a madman about someone fucking up my soy latte at Starbucks. Then they give me a new one. That's about it. I can't freely cut people off on the 101, or just walk around the metal detectors at clubs. Thus, I decided that it was a good idea to join a gang. First, I thought joining the Bloods or the Crips was a splendid idea until I realized that they vanished when I was 12. So I decided to seek out the MS-13, also know as the Mara Salvatrucha. I talked with those guys and told them I have been to El Salvador surfing and eating pupusas (tortilla pancakes with beans and cheeses). They were not impressed. I went back to their corner the next day with some marker drawings on my face of 4 tears drops. Their reaction was serious. They asked me where I killed. I told them the tears stood for the four hard years I did at prep school in Connecticut. They were confused, and called me "loco chino." I was not pleased.

The Dutch and Their Urination

The Dutch proclaim to be civilized people who have mastered the art of shipping imports and exports around the world. Even those bastards from the Wire Season 2 will agree that they are pretty good stevedores. If you have been to Amsterdam, you will agree that the city is beautiful with a bunch of open minded Euro trash. I say Euro trash, because I am an American living in the best place ever, the USA. In all fairness, despite their $8 croissants and mint tea, the place seems peaceful. They ride their cute bikes to get their milk from a store, rather than ride H2s to the motherfucking Ralph's like we do. I do respect that. The Dutch also have good beer, and liberating understanding of human needs. People will get high and bang hos, so let's have it legal. Fair enough. But there is one thing that I just cannot get over. There are urinals in public places in Amsterdam, where you can just unleash your dong and pee in front of random strangers. I kid you not. What happens if your grade school teacher or your neighbor walks by recognizes you when you are pissing your last Heineken out of your pee hole? Do you shake hands? I wonder.

New York's Worst Spot For a Date

If you find yourself in a pickle where you are forced to go out on a double date, and you are 100% not into the girl, you can end that shit very quickly by going to Bar None NYC. This place claims to be America's #1 bar. This place would be #1 if you are 16 years of age. The last time I was there, it was filled with underage NYU students, and some small time thugs who thought their dicks were big as their stupidity. They have classic douche bag offers such as 3 shots for $12. You can check out their website. Oh, I almost forgot. This poop-hole also attracts many underage Long Island twats who spike their hair like Dragon Ball Z characters.

Honda Releases 40th Anniversary Mini-Bike

Hey kid want to really Fly? Honda has released its 40th Anniversary 49cc Monkey bike for £1,995.00 ($4,000). The dollar is real weak and I am not feeling the tartan. For the price of the Monkey you can afford 16

Favorite Old Media Concerning New York Drug Trafficking

I thought I would kick off this site with a review of some of my favorite old media concerning drug trafficking in New York. While I’m sure many of you have heard of Carlito’s Way, the 1993 Brian DePalma film starring Al Pacino, you might be surprised to learn that the movie is based on two books written by Edwin Torres, Carlitos Way and After Hours. In addition to being a remarkable author, Edwin Torres is a Supreme Court Justice representing the Twelfth Judicial District in New York City. He says his life growing up in El Barrio then working as an assistant district attorney before becoming a judge has provided him with considerable fodder for his novels. He claims that most of the characters were based on people he grew up with in East Harlem and people he came in contact working in the Judicial System. The 1993 movie is based on the second novel After Hours, while the first novel Carlitos Way covers Carlitos’s early involvement with the mafia and subsequent incarceration. Carlitos Way the novel is the basis of unfortunately bad 2005 straight to video release called Carlitos Way: Rise to Power starring Diddy. I know that this post reeks of privileged voyeurism, but to really understand American history you have to look at all segments of society. But also I will be honest, the books provide a lot of exciting crime drama. If you’ve seen American Gangster you might be interested to know that the producers of the film are being sued by several DEA agents claiming that the film grossly misrepresents the truth about Frank Lucas’s role in testifying against corrupt cops. The film is based on the story told by an August 2000 New York Magazine article by Mark Jacobson about Lucas and his supposed connect with the golden triangle in Southeast Asia.