Linking It All Together
This Texas Oil Tycoon has recently fessed up to the oil-for-food thing that happened years ago. Depending on how the convictions go, he may spend the rest of his life, which may not be very long, in prison. If only all Texas Oil Tycoons had his conscience.
Meanwhile, this 88 year old man is currently in prison for life, due to a murder he apparently committed 31 years ago. Prior to that he had spent 36 years in prison for the dubious crime of Sodomy, meaning that he's been in prison for 67 years of his life, and given how long term prisoners tend to fair in the real world after such long institutionalization, is probably better off dying there. His race is black, according to that website -- didn't know "black" was a race, but apparently things are different in Georgia prisons than they are in California.
On the other side of the universe, Britney Spears, after making a fool of herself at the MTV Music Video Awards, has lost custody of her children to her ex, lost her manager, and lost her lawyer.
Continuing on the topic of people who are having difficultly with reality, Bush recently told the rest of the world that making measurable progress against global warming is an important goal. Apparently his plan is that global warming will be stopped without harming economic growth. I assume he is unaware of the irony here: he's essentially declared a second unwinnable war against a foe that is of our own creation, evidently since the first one has been so good for economic growth. At least this time his goals are shared by most of the world, even if they belie unbalanced priorities.
The US Dollar is hovering around record lows against the Euro, and has been surpassed in value by the Canadian Dollar. Frankly, if I was the rest of the world, I wouldn't want to trade with us either.
And tying everything together, the meltdown in Burma seems to have ended well or badly depending on whose side your on, or which media source you trust. The monastic-led rebellion hearkens to mind the tale of Mimi LaValley and 100 Nuns (mp3 @ myspace) -- a song by the Prince Myshkins which is based loosely on a peaceful rebellion against the SOA in which military power was temporarily flummoxed by peaceful protesters.
Unfortunately, the real life version of the story doesn't end quite as happily as the song does -- the monks lost their peaceful battle in Burma, and Mimi LaValley was sent to prison. Still, one hopes, and keeps on hoping, that the world as a whole is slowly but surely becoming a more peaceful place to live in.
Meanwhile, this 88 year old man is currently in prison for life, due to a murder he apparently committed 31 years ago. Prior to that he had spent 36 years in prison for the dubious crime of Sodomy, meaning that he's been in prison for 67 years of his life, and given how long term prisoners tend to fair in the real world after such long institutionalization, is probably better off dying there. His race is black, according to that website -- didn't know "black" was a race, but apparently things are different in Georgia prisons than they are in California.
On the other side of the universe, Britney Spears, after making a fool of herself at the MTV Music Video Awards, has lost custody of her children to her ex, lost her manager, and lost her lawyer.
Continuing on the topic of people who are having difficultly with reality, Bush recently told the rest of the world that making measurable progress against global warming is an important goal. Apparently his plan is that global warming will be stopped without harming economic growth. I assume he is unaware of the irony here: he's essentially declared a second unwinnable war against a foe that is of our own creation, evidently since the first one has been so good for economic growth. At least this time his goals are shared by most of the world, even if they belie unbalanced priorities.
The US Dollar is hovering around record lows against the Euro, and has been surpassed in value by the Canadian Dollar. Frankly, if I was the rest of the world, I wouldn't want to trade with us either.
And tying everything together, the meltdown in Burma seems to have ended well or badly depending on whose side your on, or which media source you trust. The monastic-led rebellion hearkens to mind the tale of Mimi LaValley and 100 Nuns (mp3 @ myspace) -- a song by the Prince Myshkins which is based loosely on a peaceful rebellion against the SOA in which military power was temporarily flummoxed by peaceful protesters.
Unfortunately, the real life version of the story doesn't end quite as happily as the song does -- the monks lost their peaceful battle in Burma, and Mimi LaValley was sent to prison. Still, one hopes, and keeps on hoping, that the world as a whole is slowly but surely becoming a more peaceful place to live in.