MarkTreitel.com

This is crazy

Lawyer for Saddam Co-Defendant Found Dead

The lawyer, Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, was abducted from his office by 10 masked gunmen Thursday evening, a day after he attended the first session of the trial, acting as the lawyer of one Saddam's seven co-defendants.
 
Al-Janabi's body, with two bullet shots to the head, was found hours later on a sidewalk near Fardous Mosque in the eastern neighborhood of Ur, near the site of his office, said police Maj. Falah al-Mohammedawi.
 
Diaa al-Saadi, senior official in the lawyers syndicate, said al-Janabi's family confirmed to him that he was dead. "This will have grave repercussions. This will hinder lawyers from defending those held for political reasons," al-Saadi warned.

Partiers in Cancun still drunk and stupid

Senor Frogs in Cancun sponsored a "Hurricane Wilma" party.

'Nuff said.

Death & Othering

This weekend's earthquake in Pakistan/India, has claimed (as of Sunday) between 20,000-30,000 lives.

Now reach down deep inside and ask yourself how do you feel when you hear about that number. Be honest.

Does it make you feel sad?

Which makes you feel sadder, that news, or the recent news of deaths in Hurricane Katrina or Rita? Which do you get an emotional twinge:

Injured people covered by shawls lay in the street, waiting for medical care. Residents carried bodies on wooden planks. The corpses of four children, aged between 4 and 6, lay under a sheet of corrugated iron. Relatives said they were trying to find sheets to wrap the bodies.

"We don't have anything to bury them with," said a cousin, Saqib Swati.

Or the much reported picture of the dead woman at the Superdome with a sheet wrapped over her?

Why is it that earthquake won't be discussed in graphic detail around watercoolers around the country tomorrow morning?

The number is huge. The destruction is devastating.

Yet you still are not feeling the same empathy.

What if the 30,000 dead would have been somewhere in California?

How would you feel then?

Once again, because we like to "other" societies who are "different" than us.  But for Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake might have gotten an even smaller news item, perhaps not even on the front page.

Why do we put up barriers so that news like this doesn't really affect us?

Ask yourself what is in our psyche that this news shouldn't touch us?

Now think of all the other times disasters, in your lifetime have happened, when you read tragedies on this massive scale, that you glance over. Now think of all the time and empathy you have ever given to any personal story on a small scale.

What stops us from identifying from people outside our nation's borders, our culture?

Is this societal or political?

Perhaps would she be asking ourselves these questions. Is it our family upbringings that make us not care? Or is this inherent in our societal structures?

Right now, because of the Internet, the global world is in our backyard, yet perhaps we need a new generation of people to start treating it like our backyard.

Perhaps, our next generation will feel for others they can identify with.

Forget Paris

The PR monster that is Paris Hilton has written a new chapter as she has ended her short engagement.

I predict it will be six months when she shall grace the covers of US Weekly and People again with a new love.

But will Paris become the train wreck of Tara Reid?

What would Scooter do?

The release of NY Times reporter Judith Miller, who will testify today, said in a statement that her source — identified by the Times as Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby — had released Miller from her promise of confidentially.

My question is why did Scotter let her stay in jail for 85 days, when Matthew Cooper's source, Karl Rove, released him from promise of confidiatiality at the outset? What Scooter couldn't get a message to Miller? Scotter didn't know what was going on? Scooter doesn't read a paper? And why am I not surprised that Cheney, however, tenuously, is involved.

What the hell is going on?!?

Houston, we have a cliche... (UPDATED)

How many newspaper headlines will we see over the next few days with the headline "Houston, we have a problem"?

Keep track of the cliche references with this handy-dandy Google News Link.

UPDATE: Already heard it today on CNN.

Future President of the United States Arrested

The future President of the United States of America, John Ellis Bush, (and son of the future President of the United States, Jeb Bush,) was arrested for being under the influence of alcohol, just like his Uncle, George Bush, the current President of the United States (in 1976). Just remember, when he does become President, say in 2030-2035, you read it here first.

AUSTIN, Texas -- (AP) The youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials said.

John Ellis Bush, 21, was arrested by agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. on a corner of Austin's Sixth Street bar district, said commission spokesman Roger Wade.
The nephew of President Bush was released on $2,500 bond for the resisting arrest charge, and on a personal recognizance bond for the public intoxication charge, officials said.

Wade said he had no further details about the charges.

Gov. Bush and his wife Columba appeared Friday evening at a museum reception in Miami.

"My son's doing fine. It's a private matter. We will support him. We're sad for him. But I'm not going to discuss it on the public square with 30 cameras," the governor told reporters.

It's not the first time Florida's first family has experienced legal problems with one of their children.

Noelle Bush, the governor's daughter, was arrested in January 2002 and accused of trying to pass a fraudulent prescription at a pharmacy to obtain the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. She completed a drug rehabilitation program in August 2003 and a judge dismissed the drug charges against her.

Back to the Future

Does nothing change? Read this excerpt from Bill Clinton's Autobiography, "My Life", page 428, from 1992, before the fall election... (Which I fortuitously read today over lunch).

...And I went to Florida a few days after President Bush did to observe the damage from Hurricane Andrew. I had dealt with a lot of natural disasters as governor, including floods, droughts, and tornado's, but I had never seen anything like this. As I walked down streets littered with the wet ruins of houses, I was surprised to hear complaints from both local officials and residents about how the Federal Emergency Management Agency was handling the aftermath of the hurricane. Traditionally, the job of FEMA director was given to a political supporter of the President who wanted some plum position but who had had no experience withe emergencies. I made a mental note to avoid that mistake if I won. Voters don't choose a President based on how he'll handle disasters, but if they're faced with one, it quickly becomes the most important issues of their lives. [Emphasis added].

How relevant is this excerpt, which was published last year, in 2003. Kudos to Clinton for pointing out something that seemed to escape the media when Michael Brown was originally appointed.

Clinton's FEMA Director, James Lee Witt, won national praise for how he handled the 1994 California Northridge Earthquake.

Looks like we're "Back To The Future" with Bush II making the same mistakes his father, Bush I did. And do we think Bush III, Jeb Bush, will act any different?

 

Yay! We will get fooled again!

This just in from L.A. Times... the cost of health insurance, coverage for a family of four has surpassed the income of a minimum-wage earner for the first time.

This year the [Kaiser] survey found that average annual premiums for [a] family [of four] coverage grew more than 9% since last year to $10,880. A minimum wage worker earns $10,712 before taxes.

That's cool. People with health insurance don't need to eat or buy things -- you can live off of tongue depressers and gauze at Doctor's offices. But it gets better...

According to Kaiser, the number of businesses offering health insurance to their workers continues to decline, with just three out of five businesses offering insurance to their workers. That's just 60% in 2005, down from 69% in 2000, the study found.

Great, now even if you get a job -- you're still on your own.

Note to self: Don't get sick.

Revised note to self: If get sick, say it was because I accidentally ate a finger I found at Wendy's.

The grass is always greener... (UPDATED)

"Runaway Bride" Jennifer Wilbanks has been ordered to mow the lawn at a government building in Lawrenceville, Ga., as part of her community service.

PHOTO ABOVE: She ain't runnin' now... bwahahah!

Meanwhile, in other news, ex-Hertz spokesperson, O.J. Simpson watched his lawn being mowed.

OJ's got a green thumb!