So, then what???

People are born, they grow up, they have children, they endure hardships of all sorts - harsh weather, crop failures, financial failures, wars, epidemics, illnesses, crime - get old, then die. They also experience some joy along the way. Some have more hardships than joy. Others have more joy than hardships. Their children then repeat the process. There are great inequities in the world. The majority have less of the resources and wealth than the minority. It has been going on for six thousand years. So, what's the point? What is the punch line? Does anyone know?

Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution (at Stanford) since 1980 has written a new book - Dismantling America and Other Controversial Essays. I have not read the book but it sounds quite interesting. Sowell is a very fair-minded and smart man. He is also wise. How do I know? He does not take himself too seriously. He also has a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Khalil Museum

A famous Van Gogh painting has been stolen - again - from the Khalil Museum in Egypt. The previous theft happened in 1972. The thing was recovered ten years later. They say it is worth about 50 million dollars. The owner of the painting should really take better care of it, no?  The papers are saying the alarms in the museum were not working and only seven cameras were operating on Saturday when the thing was cut from its frame. Imagine that. It might be recovered again and let us hope in less than ten years this time.

Lori Berenson

The name Lori Berenson rings a bell. She was accused of aiding a rebel group in Peru long ago. She has been in prison for 15 years and now wants to come back to the U.S. for medical treatment - like the Lockerbie bomber, remember? She was initially sentenced to life but that sentence was reduced to 20 years when she was re-tried in a civilian court. She has been out on parole since May, 2010. She was 25 years old when first apprehended and is now 40. She says she is sorry for whatever it was she did. Most people don't believe her. I seem to remember someone asking me (a long, long time ago) if I could get her out of the country. Of course I said no. How could I???

Exaggeration for money

Stories are beginning to come out about how the Gulf of Mexico is already healing. According to many experts, the oil spill was supposed to ruin the gulf waters for years to come. It seems they underestimated the power of Nature. I am not surprised. Were the original claims of devastation greatly exaggerated to get more money from British Petroleum? Or were the scientists and environmentalists just being inept?