A brewery in Guadalajara, Mexico has caused a bit of a stir over a new beer named for the patron saint of drug traffickers. The Minerva Brewery says that its Malverde Beer simply honors the Mexican legend of Jesús Malverde, a Robin Hood-type figure believed to have robbed from the rich and partied with the poor in the late 1800's. The only problem: drug smugglers in the western State of Sinaloa claim him as an inspiration - and vindication - of their violent narco-culture.
Of course, that's hardly a problem for its brewers, who have parlayed the manufactured controversy into worldwide awareness of a once minuscule brand. While the morally righteous retail giant Wal-Mart refuses to stock the stuff, it's widely available at convenience stores and upscale bars like the Red Pub in Guadalajara, and there are plans to export the European-style Pilsner to the United States as well.
Vicious narco-traffickers are a nasty bunch, and we're loathe to see their images elevated to an undeserved heroic status, but also don't see the point in banning sales of a beer named after someone who might not have ever actually existed. Where do you draw the line? If society didn't crumble after the Scarface and Godfather movies, we think polite beer-drinking folks in Mexico and beyond will see this for what it is as well: a publicity stunt.
Eder Rojas, a 19-year-old former Compass Airlines flight attendant accused of starting a fire in an airplane's lavatory while in flight, has slipped away from a Fargo halfway house and skipped a court appearance that was scheduled for Friday. Authorities have no idea where he is, but if there was any doubt in the court of public opinion that Rojas has a couple of screws loose in his noggin and shouldn't have a position of authority on an aircraft, it's pretty much gone now. Just like Rojas.
The charges stem from a May 7 flight from Minneapolis to Regina, during which Rojas allegedly used a lighter to set fire to some paper towels in the plane's lavatory because he was upset at having to work the route. The fire was extinguished and the plane diverted to Fargo with no injuries but plenty of white knuckles. You don't want a fire on your airplane.
It makes us wonder, were there no warning signs during his hiring and training process of his (allegedly) unstable mind? Did anybody in the chain of command get a feeling that Rojas was a little bit "off" and might not be the best fit for a job in which people's lives are on the line every day? We're 100% behind every measure that protects people from workplace bias, but in a position where so much is on the line, we'd hope that any glimmer of destructive behavior in a candidate would be addressed aggressively.
"One Day at a Time" star Mackenzie Phillips was arrested today in Terminal 4 of LAX after she tried to clear security while allegedly carrying heroin and cocaine.
The drugs were only discovered upon a secondary screening says an airport police spokesman:
During a second screening process, a small amount of what was believed to be heroin and cocaine was discovered on her person.
We've all heard that restaurants are bearing the brunt of the poor economy, with food prices rising and diners eating out less often. But Oakland restaurateurs have been getting hit especially hard--with a string of takeover-style robberies throughout the city.
There has been a string of crimes throughout the Lake Merritt and San Antonio neighborhoods, following numerous incident earlier this summer, but the one earlier this week was the first to hit an upscale dining area. The Rockridge District branch of Pasta Pomodoro (a West Coast Italian chain) was robbed by two men in masks and hoodies Monday night.
Let's hope this is one dining trend that doesn't go national!
Two American tourists prepping a sailboat for a cruise from Guatemala to the United States were allegedly attacked by four locals brandishing machetes on Lake Izabal. While Nancy Dryden survived the assault, her husband Perry was killed by the men, who demanded dollars, which the couple didn't have.
The four assailants then swam off, leaving the pair for dead, though Nancy was able to raise assistance on the vessel's radio. Local police say they are investigating, but this isn't the first incident involving tourists at the lake, the largest in the country.
Earlier this year, four Belgian tourists were kidnapped at Izabal by farmers hoping to use them as a bargaining chip. They were eventually released unharmed, but yikes!
Dead, decapitated goats are being found all over the town of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida baffling locals and police alike.
Some of the slaughtered animals have been discovered with their heads nearby, stuffed with twigs and leaves, leading one animal welfare official to wonder if the killings are related to some sort of religious practice. Still, she says:
This doesn't lend itself to any normal ritual.
A total of nine mutilated animals have been found so far.
We're actually headed to Ft. Walton Beach next week--and until now all we were worried about was hurricanes and jellyfish.
Do. Not. Want. Less than a week after a grizzly slaying in Canada, another decapitation, this time on Santorini, has tourists in Greece feeling skittish.
A 31-year-old Greek man allegedly beheaded his girlfriend before slashing a police officer with a clever and injuring two other women on the island. A police official told Reuters:
He was walking around, carrying her head and telling the astonished villagers not to stop him.
Another woman was hurt when an errant police bullet struck her as officers gunned down the suspect. The Greek Tourism Minister says he's working to stop violence on his islands before it has further impact on visitors.
Your bus was late? The bathroom wasn't working? Your driver veered from lane to lane? We don't wanna hear it anymore. Nothing can compare to the horror story told by passengers on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba: They watched as one passenger decapitated another as he slept leaning against a window.
