Thursday, May 26, 2011
Caught!
Finally!
Please read some of the comments attached to the Guardian article. Quite a few appear (well, they DON'T appear) with the following message, "This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs"
After all of these years, there is still a high level of emotion concerning Mladic.
Frankly, I never thought this day would come. I'd assumed that he would have survived to a ripe old age and simply died, unlike a lot of his victims, of natural causes. Per a Croatian newspaper, he was unarmed at the time of capture, did not have a beard, and seemed as if he'd aged quite a bit. Unlike Kardzic, he had not taken up alternative medicine prosletizing or excessive hair growth.
Now, let's see how long before he's off to The Hague. Extradition can be an adventure on its own timeline.
Please read some of the comments attached to the Guardian article. Quite a few appear (well, they DON'T appear) with the following message, "This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs"
After all of these years, there is still a high level of emotion concerning Mladic.
Frankly, I never thought this day would come. I'd assumed that he would have survived to a ripe old age and simply died, unlike a lot of his victims, of natural causes. Per a Croatian newspaper, he was unarmed at the time of capture, did not have a beard, and seemed as if he'd aged quite a bit. Unlike Kardzic, he had not taken up alternative medicine prosletizing or excessive hair growth.
Now, let's see how long before he's off to The Hague. Extradition can be an adventure on its own timeline.
Labels: 2011-Peaking Over the Mole Hill
Monday, May 23, 2011
@ Yankee Stadium, You Can't
...it seems, bring a Kindle, Nook, or any other e-reader. Add that to the ever-lenghtening list of things you can't bring and it seems that the only thing you'll be allowed to bring is boatloads of money. Wonder if the Pinstripers have enough chutzpah to sell Kindle covers in Yankee logos?
The alleged reason, as put forth by the Yankee organization, is that some fan was beaned by a foul ball when he was reading his Kindle. So...reading a book, a souvenir media guide, or, God forbid, a newspaper will soon be banned as well. Keep in mind that this is the same organization that sold season tix to their fans without telling them that there may be a restaurant obstructing their view.
So......another reason to hate the Bronx Bombers is provided to you by their management team.
The alleged reason, as put forth by the Yankee organization, is that some fan was beaned by a foul ball when he was reading his Kindle. So...reading a book, a souvenir media guide, or, God forbid, a newspaper will soon be banned as well. Keep in mind that this is the same organization that sold season tix to their fans without telling them that there may be a restaurant obstructing their view.
So......another reason to hate the Bronx Bombers is provided to you by their management team.
Labels: 2011-Peaking Over the Mole Hill
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
So, needing a clarification on what's the difference between a lawyer and a judge?
Per today's piece in Writer's Almanac, a lawyer is an alleged learned professional who can argue that a tomato is a vegetable. A lawyer can also present the case that the tomato is a fruit.
But that's only an argument; I can present the case that I'm Brad Pitt.
So, it's up to a judge to pronounce the final answer to such foolishness, right? So, what is a judge?
A judge is the epitome of accumulated human knowledge who can decide that (regardless of the science of botany) that the tomato is a vegetable.
Per today's piece in Writer's Almanac, a lawyer is an alleged learned professional who can argue that a tomato is a vegetable. A lawyer can also present the case that the tomato is a fruit.
But that's only an argument; I can present the case that I'm Brad Pitt.
So, it's up to a judge to pronounce the final answer to such foolishness, right? So, what is a judge?
A judge is the epitome of accumulated human knowledge who can decide that (regardless of the science of botany) that the tomato is a vegetable.
Labels: 2011-Peaking Over the Mole Hill
Monday, May 09, 2011
Eunuchs & Tax Collection
For an insightful and throat-clutching synopsis on a short history of the USA and Pakistan's mutual "arrangement", this NewYorker article by Lawrence Wright, is quite helpful.
An excerpt:
"In a country of a hundred and eighty million people, fewer than two million citizens pay taxes, and Pakistan’s leaders are doing little to change the situation. In Karachi, the financial capital, the government recently inaugurated a program to appoint eunuchs as tax collectors. Eunuchs are considered relentless scolds in South Asia, and the threat of being hounded by one is somehow supposed to take the place of audits."
Imagine that. 1.1111% of Pakistanis pay income tax. The USA hands out over 1 billion dollars a year in aid (not counting the hard to track military aid given) to Pakistan. Just wondering if the late Osama bin Laden was one of the 1.111% contributing or was his "income" left untaxed?
Had the IRS been asked to get involved with bin Laden's capture I wonder if he would have been found earlier and suffered the same fate as Al Capone? (tongue firmly embedded in cheek, folks....)
An excerpt:
"In a country of a hundred and eighty million people, fewer than two million citizens pay taxes, and Pakistan’s leaders are doing little to change the situation. In Karachi, the financial capital, the government recently inaugurated a program to appoint eunuchs as tax collectors. Eunuchs are considered relentless scolds in South Asia, and the threat of being hounded by one is somehow supposed to take the place of audits."
Imagine that. 1.1111% of Pakistanis pay income tax. The USA hands out over 1 billion dollars a year in aid (not counting the hard to track military aid given) to Pakistan. Just wondering if the late Osama bin Laden was one of the 1.111% contributing or was his "income" left untaxed?
Had the IRS been asked to get involved with bin Laden's capture I wonder if he would have been found earlier and suffered the same fate as Al Capone? (tongue firmly embedded in cheek, folks....)
Labels: 2011-Peaking Over the Mole Hill
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Photos!? We Don't Need No Stinkin'....
I'm with Mr. Gourevitch on this. There is no purpose on releasing any photos of the dead Osama bin Laden. Proof of his demise? Photos would be no proof as evidenced by the fake photos that came out a nano-second after the raid was announced. It's too easy to fake a photo these days.
We aren't living back in the 1800's "Wild" West when photos of outlaws were regularly published as proof of the romantic outlaws' comeupance. bin Laden's gone; that chapter's closed. Terrorism is not gone; why provide the fuel for any furtherance of bin Laden's legacy?
Burial at sea, IMHO, was a brilliant stroke of thinking. The whole operation was brilliantly conceived and implemented down to the ability of the secret (and may they remain so!) Seals in dealing with the logistics problems encountered. The irritation of the pebble in our shoes has been removed. Let's just walk on.
We aren't living back in the 1800's "Wild" West when photos of outlaws were regularly published as proof of the romantic outlaws' comeupance. bin Laden's gone; that chapter's closed. Terrorism is not gone; why provide the fuel for any furtherance of bin Laden's legacy?
Burial at sea, IMHO, was a brilliant stroke of thinking. The whole operation was brilliantly conceived and implemented down to the ability of the secret (and may they remain so!) Seals in dealing with the logistics problems encountered. The irritation of the pebble in our shoes has been removed. Let's just walk on.
Labels: 2011-Peeking Over the Mole Hill
