Sean Penn and his El Chapo interview

[TragicMonkey]

And beat the crap out of Madonna.

Apparently that's urban legend. Madonna herself says it didn't happen, and efforts to trace the story all lead back to a single aside in a celebrity gossip magazine. There are reasons to dislike Sean Penn, but that's not one of them.

 

[The Big Dog]

Apparently that's urban legend. Madonna herself says it didn't happen, and efforts to trace the story all lead back to a single aside in a celebrity gossip magazine. There are reasons to dislike Sean Penn, but that's not one of them.

That is not actually true, there is no question that she called the sheriffs on him.

Plus he beat up several other people.

He is uneducated thug and vain self promoter.

 

[deaman]

Does anybody think that governments want certain "products" illegal, so that covert operation can have an untracable "fund source"?

Or, am I just thinking like a paranoid conspiracy theorist?

 

[TragicMonkey]

That is not actually true

Evidence?

Evidence against is recent sworn testimony from Madonna. You are claiming to know what happened to Madonna better than Madonna herself.

 

[Civet]

Does anybody think that governments want certain "products" illegal, so that covert operation can have an untracable "fund source"?

Or, am I just thinking like a paranoid conspiracy theorist?

Back when I was more open to conspiracy theories, this was one of the ones I found more believable. There are lots of holes in it, though. One that I could never resolve was why tyrannical countries (which would, presumably, not have to worry so much about paper trails) and countries that don't seem to have any particularly shady covert operations going on (like Switzerland, for example) follow prohibitionist policies if the goal is to generate untraceable funds.

 

[The Big Dog]

Evidence?

Evidence against is recent sworn testimony from Madonna. You are claiming to know what happened to Madonna better than Madonna herself.

Evidence that the cops went there?

 

[ddt]

Back when I was more open to conspiracy theories, this was one of the ones I found more believable. There are lots of holes in it, though. One that I could never resolve was why tyrannical countries (which would, presumably, not have to worry so much about paper trails) and countries that don't seem to have any particularly shady covert operations going on (like Switzerland, for example) follow prohibitionist policies if the goal is to generate untraceable funds.

Cough cough. Switzerland the state may not be know for having shady covert operations, but its bank secrecy laws, with things like numbered bank accounts, certainly enable their customers to hide shady operations and channel them through Switzerland.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Evidence that the cops went there?

Evidence that Sean Penn 'beat the crap out of Madonna'.

 

[newyorkguy]

My own feeling is -- and I'm probably wrong -- but I think Penn plans to make a film about Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and the cartels or a film based on El Chapo etc. I read the Rolling Stone article, I watched the Charlie Rose interview and one thing is clear to me: Sean Penn is a very talented actor and director but he is not a very good journalist.

 

[The Big Dog]

Evidence that Sean Penn 'beat the crap out of Madonna'.

But your claim was that it was all an urban legend. Weird.

 

[TragicMonkey]

But your claim was that it was all an urban legend. Weird.

Someone said Sean Penn 'beat the crap out of Madonna'. I pointed out that particular urban legend had been debunked. You responded 'that's not true'. What were you referring to? Sean Penn beating the crap out of Madonna, which is what had been said, or 'police visits', which wasn't mentioned by anyone until you said it in your post after saying 'that's not true'?

If you are attempting to save time by predebunking your own remarks we appreciate it.

 

[The Big Dog]

Someone said Sean Penn 'beat the crap out of Madonna'. I pointed out that particular urban legend had been debunked. You responded 'that's not true'. What were you referring to? Sean Penn beating the crap out of Madonna, which is what had been said, or 'police visits', which wasn't mentioned by anyone until you said it in your post after saying 'that's not true'?

If you are attempting to save time by predebunking your own remarks we appreciate it.

The mean the second part of the sentence I wrote?

What an odd response.

 

[The Big Dog]

http://gawker.com/did-sean-penn-beat-up-madonna-an-archaeology-of-hollyw-1748746261

 

[Roger Ramjets]

There is a huge demographic that would be totally opposed to it on moral grounds.

Not me. I support the legalization of all mind-altering substances. There is nothing I would like to see more than millions of Americans strung out on cheap drugs. Because I hate America.

OTOH the illegal drug trade is responsible for a lager number of murders, and legalizing drugs might reduce them. That's why I oppose gun laws. Millions of addicts running around with firearms should help to keep the death rate up.

We're decades away from any meaningful liberalization of drug laws.

That's a shame. What can we do to accelerate the destruction?

 

[Eddie Dane]

I'm sure everyone knows about this by now, but I haven't seen a thread dedicated to it and it's not being talked about in the most recent El Chapo thread (about his recapture).

I don't know if it deserves its own thread, but I'm creating this one because I was reading a recent CNN article about it and had an objection to comments made by both Penn and El Chapo.

Sean Penn on El Chapo scoop: 'My article failed'




I completely get the frustration of spending so much money and seeing so little results, but this is kind of dumb. It reads as if we shouldn't be going after people like El Chapo simply because other people are doing the same thing.

If I burned down a house, the fact that someone else burned down an entirely different house a week later does not absolve me of my crime, regardless of how much is being spent on firefighting efforts.




This is even dumber. If I burn down a house, the fact that the house won't magically repair itself the day I die does not absolve me of my crime.

Bad analogy.

There is no high-demand multi-billion dollar market for burned houses.

 

[Eddie Dane]

ETA: Penn is, of course, a self-centered asshat. On a par with D. Trump.

ETAA: That was supposed to be an edit, not a quote. Ethanol is bad for you.

Bad analogy

I wouldn't vote for Penn.

 

[marplots]

I wouldn't vote for Penn.

Teller, on the other hand...

 

[cullennz]

I thought Penn was piddly?

Hard to imagine him being that tough

 

[luchog]

I'm probably oversimplifying, but this sounds like a sort defeatism; that there's no solution to this problem, because it can't be effectively attacked from the supply side and can't be effectively attacked from the demand side.

Except of course, that's not true. It can be effectively attacked from both sides, and has been. The problem is that the US is not doing it effectively, and indeed acting in profoundly counterproductive ways for the most part. Drug addition is a medical problem, and this country in particular insists on treating it as a moral problem first, and a legal problem second, with medical not even getting a look-in.

Penn is really off in lala land with his particular article.

I can't entirely dislike Penn, because he has done some good out there; but he also frequently demonstrates an astounding cluelessness about a great deal of the world and the people in it. Criminals like El Chapo are vicious monsters not because of any particular circumstance, like Penn wants to paint them, but because they are so inherently selfish, narcissistic, and sociopathic. If people like him couldn't profit off the drug industry, they'd find some other human misery to profit off of; because that's just the sort of people they are.

 

[luchog]

Apparently that's urban legend. Madonna herself says it didn't happen, and efforts to trace the story all lead back to a single aside in a celebrity gossip magazine. There are reasons to dislike Sean Penn, but that's not one of them.

That's a reason to dislike Sean Penn?