Death penalty

A man named Akmal Shaikh is scheduled to be executed on or about December 29, 2009. He smuggled 9 pounds of heroin into China and was caught. He was sentenced to death back in October of 2008. The case has gone all the way up the chain in the Chinese justice system. The British Prime Minister has personally asked the Chinese government to show clemency. He was ignored. If he sends this topless woman with a pile of cash, they might listen, no?

Topless Women

This woman is out protesting for the right to go topless anywhere in public - not just at the beach. There is this organization called Go Topless dot ORG that promotes the rights of topless women. Tomorrow, they will have rallies in Chicago and New York and I don't know where else. Not here where I live.

Maybe next year.
I do not understand why women would want to uncover themselves in public. I understand why they would want to COVER up in public. That's what I understand.

This is sort of backward or opposite of what I expect.

They claim that a woman's breasts are not sexual but a man would have trouble comprehending that. Be that as it may, I am certainly not going to get in their way. If they want to show off and claim it is their Constitutional right, so be it. Let the courts decide. In the meantime, I will try not to stare. This woman's sign says: "War is Indecent, not my Breasts." I think she is wearing purple angel wings, too. Please.

He needs the money

From a Yahoo! News story: CHICAGO – "Gov. Rod Blagojevich was out jogging in Chicago as lawmakers in Springfield voted to impeach him. Upon returning from his jog, he likened his situation to long-distance running. Blagojevich refused to answer any specific questions about the 114-1 vote by which the House impeached him Friday. But he said: "Let me simply say I feel like the old Alan Sillitoe short story 'The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.' ... And that's what this is by the way, a long-distance run." He then promised to say more at an afternoon news conference. Earlier Friday, the 52-year-old Democrat emerged from his home in a black jogging suit and berated the media for bothering his neighbors before heading out on a jog. He now faces a Senate trial. If convicted, he'll be removed from office." What if he doesn't want to leave? I'm betting it will take at least a year to get him out. If he had a sense of shame or a good job waiting for him, he would be gone already. Someone please find this man an alternative job. You cannot find him a sense of shame - he is, after all, a politician. This woman is saying something like "What are you looking at?"

Bankruptcy Prediction

From a popular investor newsletter: "This Friday, Dec. 12th, the next stage of the financial crisis will begin. That's when one of America's biggest businesses (they operate in 44 states), will undoubtedly declare bankruptcy. How can I be so sure it will happen on Friday, December 12th? Two words: Un-payable debt. You see, the company I'm talking about, which is the 2nd biggest in its industry, and is headquartered in Chicago, has until Friday, December 12th at midnight to pay back a $900 MILLION loan. In the current market, this amount of debt is lethal. The company is currently paying over $1 billion per year in interest expenses to finance their debt—that's MORE THAN THEIR OPERATING INCOME. (That's like having a mortgage payment that's bigger than your entire paycheck.) There is absolutely no way the company can make this $900 million payment or raise this kind of money." Unfortunately, we are never told who it is although I remember reading a financial report a few days ago regarding this company, I don't remember who it was. It deals in commodities. In honor of black Friday, a black violin.

Carolina Herrera New York

Here's a short list of people who either live, lived, or have close relatives in El Paso. Are you ready? F. Murray Abraham, Ana Alicia, Julie Andrews, Rich Beem, Tony Bennett, Vicki Carr, Sam Donaldson, Albert B. Fall, Greg Foster, Bobby Fuller, Pat Garrett, Eddie Guerrero, Jack Handey, John Wesley Hardin, Don Haskins, Carolina Herrera, John Houser, Victoriano Huerta, Tom Lea, Benjamin Loeb, Lisa Loeb, Ron Lucas, Don Maynard, Cormac McCarthy, Sandra Day O'Connor, George S. Patton, John Pershing, Mike Price, Debbie Reynolds, Nolan Richardson, Gene Roddenberry, Omar Rodriguez, Pepe Romero, Irene Ryan, Willie Shoemaker, Urbici Soler, Nikki Sixx, Lee Trevino, and Pancho Villa. It's not much, but it's all I've got. The list would be ten times as long if the local population would just call in to let me know that they have a famous relative in Chicago or Atlanta or London or Moscow or wherever. Take my word for it.

Tell No One

Tell No One is a very thrilling movie that nobody believed in except Music Box Films out of Chicago, a small film distributor. The film and the music distributor just put each other on the map. I think it's called symbiosis. I have not seen the movie but if you have, let me know if it's really any good. The reviews are all great!!!