TresSugar

Oh, Snap! William Gets Prince's Welcome

TresSugar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:00:00 -0700

Prince William was greeted by adoring fans as he visited the National Memorial Arboretum on April 24, 2009 near Lichfield, England.

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Is the War on Drugs Being Waged From the Wrong Battlefront?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:51:03 -0700

Just consider me Mary Poppins this morning: a little sweet Prince William to help the War on Drugs go down. The Prince is on the front lines of the battle - the warship the Prince is serving on just seized $80 million worth (almost two tons) of cocaine from a speedboat just north of Barbados.

William's ship is patrolling the waters of the West Indies looking for drug runners, and this score came early on in their mission. The ship's commanding officer said, "to have had a direct impact on the flow of cocaine into Europe just four days after we arrived in theatre shows the benefit the Royal Navy can have in the area of maritime security and counter drug operations."

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Sounds like Prince William is saving the world from drugs, right? Well, the war is a little more complicated than that - and we may be focusing efforts at the wrong stage of drug production to make any difference. To see what I mean, read more.

Though Prince William's seizure, and the White House both tout big coke scores as evidence the war is being won, other numbers paint a different picture.

A more expanded look at the data shows that cocaine use in the US isn't falling: the same percentage of Americans used coke in 2006 as they did in 2002, the number of high-school seniors using is growing, and drug shipments are up. Shipments have grown 39 percent from 2006 - that's enough to film a scene in Scarface for sure. Not to mention that drug related violence is sweeping through Mexico and Latin America; drug cartels are not scared of this "seize the powder" battle plan.

How could the war be fought more effectively? With less focus on the product (sorry William) and more focus on who's making it, and who's consuming it.

Spending more money on programs to wean coca farmers from the crop and while improving their lives is a start. By shelling out less money for security and policing, and more for economic development and a strengthening Mexico's judicial system, we could turn off the faucet at the tap, instead of bailing out the bathtub.

Where else? Focusing on the people in the tub. By expending more effort into curbing demand, emphasizing the treatment portion of the punishment for offenders, increasing education, and treating drug addiction more of public health problem than a law enforcement problem the customer base can be curbed.

Hey, I've seen The Wire and Nancy Reagan's guest appearance on Diff'rent Strokes - this War on Drugs thing is complicated. But focusing with a laser-intensity on the beginning of the supply, and the end user of the demand - we could make that giant pile of coke in the middle, just disappear.

What do you think? Is this war winnable?

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Sailor Prince William Headed to Caribbean to Take on Drugs!

LibertySugar — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:00:06 -0700

Prince William will be summering in the Caribbean! His next assignment with the Royal Navy will have him taking on drug traffickers in the Caribbean aboard the HMS Iron Duke . . . not exactly a vacation. The ship will sail on August 1.

Before he leaves, he'll have to undergo some basic sea safety training. The future king will learn how to navigate the sea, fight fires, and survive at sea during a catastrophe.

So what will life be like on this Royal Cruise? William will most likely be searching boats suspected of carrying cocaine. Navy officials admit that the days will be exhausting and austere. He'll even have to use a communal bathroom! Serious mission aside, the Love Boat duds are quite fetching. Ahoy matey, indeed!

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Prince Harry Shows His Military Medal. . .Your Favorite Prince?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:00:25 -0700

This morning Prince Harry was awarded a military service medal for his 10 weeks of frontline service in Afghanistan. The 23-year-old prince served in Afghanistan with other members of his Household Cavalry Regiment. British forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for six years - but recently they're struggling to hold out against a resurgent Taliban force - according to US intelligence assessments, the Taliban force now controls at least 10 percent of the country.

Harry's job in Afghanistan included flying secret missions working as a forward air controller - he would call in air strikes to let pilots know where their targets were. Until he was outed earlier this year, Harry was the first member of the royal family to see active war service since Prince Andrew flew helicopters during the Falklands war 26 years ago.

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His dad, brother, and his girlfriend Chelsy Davy attended the award service. Harry's brother William received his RAF wings recently and just last week paid a secret visit to British frontline troops.

Here's the burning (admittedly silly, yet completely necessary for a Monday morning) question: who's your favorite military prince? Are you a Team Harry, or a Team William? (Don't worry - Liberty and I have already had a protracted discussion about this - we've chosen sides, and we clearly need to know where y'all stand.)

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Prince William's Helicopter Fiasco - and More Royal News!

CitizenSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:15:31 -0700

Royal flyboy Prince William landed his helicopter in hot water over the weekend - that is a $20 million Chinook helicopter that he landed in his girlfriend Kate Middleton's garden.

Prince William flew through a series of landings and takeoffs in his RAF Chinook outside the Middleton family home in Buckinghamshire. Trying to explain the eyebrow raising behavio[u]r, a royal source said, "there's nothing more macho than landing a helicopter in your girlfriend's backyard."

And I thought just being the future King of England was enough. . . !

More royal news came out over the weekend - it appears that the UK is changing it up in regard to the laws on succession to the throne. To see how it might affect the potential offspring of Prince William and Kate, read more.

No longer will eldest girls be overlooked for their younger bros when it comes time to take the crown. If the new equality law makes it through the Commons, it would mean that if Prince William has a daughter, followed by a younger son, the daughter would get to be queen. Proponents of the new law call the old way of ignoring girls, "a load of rubbish."

Girls may be in, but Catholics still need not apply to any Royal posts. The ban on Catholics, or anyone married to a Catholic, succeeding to the throne is still alive and well. The late Cardinal Winning might have put it best when he condemned the law, saying it's "the grubby little secret which still shames our nation."

Is there still a place for royalty in modern society? If Prince William and Prince Harry weren't so . . . charismatic, would we be less interested in maintaining monarchies?

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Don't Let Them Eat Cake? 4 Ways Queen Handles Tough Times

LibertySugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0800

Even though she has a personal fortune of $475 million, Queen Elizabeth II has decreed a more austere lifestyle for the royal family. Hoping to stay in touch with her subjects dealing with tough economic times, the Queen of England has implemented the following restrictions, according to AFP:

Energy: All lights at Buckingham Palace must be turned off when rooms are empty.
Food: Left-over food from royal banquets must be reused.
Partying: The Queen has warned her grandsons Prince William and Harry against displays of extravagance, such as partying at London nightclubs while ordinary citizens struggle to get by.
Clothes: For a recent state banquet she asked her dressmakers to make her gown out of material she received more than 20 years ago. And during official appearances she's been seen sporting outfits already worn before, even though etiquette demands she never wears the same outfit twice.

Etiquette sure sounds expensive!

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Briefing Book! Knowing Is Half the Battle . . .

LibertySugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:30:56 -0700

Liberals: Do you hate Dan Quayle? Twenty-five reasons you might be a liberal. – Townhall
Royalty: Operation Party Time? Prince William is back in London, and partying with Kate Middleton. - PopSugar UK
McCain: One-term wonder? McCain not ruling out making a pledge to only serve one term. - 23/6
Iraq: As the situation in the Iraq improves, should George Bush feel vindicated in his decision to invade? Asking whether Iraq was worth it. - newsblog
Spain: Not content with leaving the news cycle? Spanish teams show remarkable (inappropriate) consistency. - Shanghaiist
China: Not allowed to make fuss over foreign leaders? The Chinese government's guide to Olympic journalism.

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Women Rule. Literally. Do You Know About Lady Leaders?

CitizenSugar — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:00:10 -0700

Though Hillary Clinton won't be added to this list this year, women are ruling the world over. Right now, there are there are reigning queens in three countries, six female presidents and seven female prime ministers - do you know who they are?

(Don't worry Hillary, president is cool and all but Queen? Better! If Prince William ever finds out about me and my benevolence maybe I'll wind up the job that gets curtsies yet. . . ) Take the quiz and find out if you rule at women who rule.

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Briefing Book! Knowing Is Half the Battle . . .

CitizenSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:30:13 -0700

Mermaids: Coney Island hosted a whale of a good time at the 105th Annual Mermaid Parade on Saturday. Not fishy at all. - Gothamist

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Buns and Guns: Hezbollah opens a new themed restaurant, Buns and Guns, selling terrorism-themed treats. The owner says, "they accuse us of terrorism, so let's serve terrorist bread, why not?" - Radar
Pundit Catch-Up: One-stop shopping for the best in weekend punditry, condensed for your comfort. - Daily Kos
Racy Campaign: Obama camp braces for race-based ads. Promise swift response, unlike 2004 not-so "Swift Boat" response. - Townhall
Royal Birthday: His royalness Prince William played it up to celebrate his 26th birthday this weekend. Tons of pictures. - PopSugar UK

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This Week's Wacky World of News

CitizenSugar — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:30:46 -0700

News is great, we love being informed, but sometimes the pursuit of the news produces some pretty wacky pictures. Bull Fighting! Prince William! Both! Check out the rest of this week's cool or inexplicable moments, and allow me to explicate the best way I can. After all, who says you had to be there?

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