Michigan's 2006 Ballot proposals - Starting with Proposal 1

With the mid-term election quickly approaching I thought it would be timely to discuss the five ballot proposals that will be voted on in Michigan this year.

Full disclosure: I am sadly not being paid for any of my opinions or endorsements of these proposals and my opinions are purely my own. If anyone actually wants to pay me for an endorsement (yeah, as if that would happen), please contact me soonest.

The ballot proposals can be read at the Michigan Secretary of State's Website.

Proposal 1 Reads

A PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE THAT
MONEY HELD IN CONSERVATION AND RECREATION FUNDS CAN
ONLY BE USED FOR THEIR INTENDED PURPOSES
The proposed constitutional amendment would:
-• Create a Conservation and Recreation Legacy Fund within the Constitution and
establish existing conservation and recreation accounts as components of the
- Use current funding sources such as state park entrance and camping fees;
snowmobile, ORV and boating registration fees; hunting and fishing license
fees; taxes and other revenues to fund accounts.
-• Establish the current Game and Fish Protection Fund and the Nongame Fish
and Wildlife Fund within the Constitution.
-• Provide that money held in Funds can only be used for specific purposes
related to conservation and recreation and cannot be used for any purpose other
Should this proposal be adopted?

A YES vote makes sense for this proposal. After all one of michigan's greatest assets is its natural beauty. Once you're outside of a city core you are surrounded by lakes, forests and other beaurtiful natural areas. Ensuring that the funds raised through licensing and fees for outdoor activities are actually used to promote and protect the great outdoors is a winning idea for Michigan. Such use of the funds will help preserve our natural resources and wildlife that adds much to the quality of life in this state.

After all, the latest Michigan ad campaign is "Pure Michigan" to help highlight the quality of the outdoor experiences we offer both to our residents and tourists. Yes, Michigan is a very nice state to visit if you like the outdoors. Lets use the funds where they should be used - to keep our wilderness and wildlife in good shape for Michiganians and visitors to our state to enjoy.

Proposal 1 - Vote YES.

Terror enabler Lynne Stewart gets a laughably light 28 month sentence

Andrew McCarthy at The National Review comments on a Federal Judge sentencing Lynne Stewart to only 28 Months in prison for assisting terrorists by acting as a willing and eager conduit for jailed terrorist leader Omar Abdel Rahman to communicate with his followers.

Treating this as a law enforcement problem with its resultant slap on the wrist sentence only shows how fundamentaly unserious we are regarding this "War on [dare we say Islamist?] Terror". To put it in perspective, the Justice Department was requesting 30 years.

While a darling of the leftists, Lynne Stewart enabled a jailed terorrist chief to get instructions to his followers to commit terrorist acts. Stewart has sullied her profession as a lawyer by colluding in this criminal act in violation not only of law but also the ethics and canons of professional responsibility for attorneys. 28 months is a joke for such actions.

Apparently Stewart is appealing her conviction. The Justice Department in turn should be appealing this sentence.

A New Blog - The Budget Wino

If you enjoy a glass of wine now and then but don't want to spend too much on it,

If you don't know a chardonay from a pinot noir, and maybe don't even care,

If you want a blog of unpretentious wine reviews written in good humor and with panache,

then:

Get thy browser pointed to The Budget Wino

The blogger there ain't heavy, and he is my brother.

Good for Wayne State University for standing against the "Divestment" Campaign

Wayne State University's President, in a letter to the Detroit Free Press has stated the university will not divest from Israel.

As a public institution that encourages learning, free expression and the exchange of ideas, Wayne State University recently was the site of a speech and protest by individuals opposed to the university's investment in Israel.

Wayne State opposes divestiture and has no intention of divesting itself of stocks in companies doing business with Israel or any other legitimate state.

We encourage our students to use their right to free speech, but accusations, acrimony and demands such as divestiture are counter to the intelligent dialogue and free discourse for which this university stands.

In a complex, international economy, divestiture is by no means a responsible approach to influence political or economic policy. Rather, it is my obligation to pursue legal, rational and productive investments on behalf of the institution.

Irvin D. Reid
President, Wayne State University

It should be noted that the group leading the protest Anti Racist Action was not a student organization but an outside one. They were apparently joined by Wayne State Alumni for Divestment coalition in the protest.

Good for Wayne State University for standing up and saying no to this riddiculous and one-sided demand for disinvestment against an American ally and fellow democracy.

Another example of the British elite loosing their collective mind

From Little Green Footballs:

A teenage schoolgirl was arrested by police for racism after refusing to sit with a group of Asian students because some of them did not speak English
....
According to Codie [the schoolgirl], the five - four boys and a girl - then began talking in a language she didnÂ’t understand, thought to be Urdu, so she went to speak to the teacher.

“"I said "I'’m not being funny, but can I change groups because I can'’t understand them?"’ But she started shouting and screaming, saying "‘It'’s racist, you'’re going to get done by the police"’."”

Codie said she went outside to calm down where another teacher found her and, after speaking to her class teacher, put her in isolation for the rest of the day.

A complaint was made to a police officer based full-time at the school, and more than a week after the incident on September 26 she was taken to Swinton police station and placed under arrest.

The British ruling elites have turned their back on the English traditions of liberty, thought and speech. It is amazing that the police seem to ignore real criminals yet hammer any English persons who exhibit "anti-social behavior" -- i.e. thoughtcrimes when directed to by a ultra-politically-correct educational system that here has clearly gone nuts. Being arrested because you didn't want to sit next to people, unbelievable.

At this point I'm glad that America's founders had the good sense to revolt and get away from this madness. It was very precognizant of them to do so and to enshrine free speech into the Bill of Rights after suceeding in driving the British elites out.

A Triumph of Good Sense Over Revenue

As Reported in the Detroit Free Press Article: Speed limit rises to match habits

The Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Transportation have been raising limits on freeways around the state, saying that properly set limits encourage more uniform traffic speeds and, therefore, fewer crashes.

Police say drivers are more likely to obey realistic speed limits, so raising the limits reduces the speed differences between those who obey low limits and those who drive faster. Reducing the differences in turn decreases the likelihood that faster drivers will change lanes, brake suddenly, tailgate slower drivers or otherwise engage in behaviors that can lead to crashes, State Police say.

Bravo to MDOT and the Michigan State police for an excellent decision. Speed limits will rise to where drivers were already going that speed. The change also makes a trip more uniform - Some Highways Here go from 70 to 55 to 70 to 65 in an eyeblink, with all sorts of problems as the limit changes.

A big thank you to MDOT and The MSP for this good traffic management in raising speeds to the new levels rather than chasing revenue from tickets agaisnt drivers who are already driving at that speed.

And Now for Something Completely Insane.....

The British Judicial System must have truly lost all sense of proportion, not to mention common sense.

From Of Arms and The Law Refering to this UK Daily Mail article:

Mother faces jail for swearing at neighbourhood yobs(Yobs is a Britishism for "Unruly Yutes")

A mother-of-two faces a possible prison sentence after swearing at yobs who have made her life a living hell
....
On a daily basis Donna claims her and her two children, James 14, and Holly, 12, have to put up with a 15 strong group of kids aged between 12 and 17 hanging around outside their three-bedroom semi-detached home.

Donna and her neighbours have had to endure paint been thrown on their walls, plants ruined from their gardens, and late night noise from the gang who stay up drinking on the streets.

On a daily basis Donna claims she has to put up with kids jumping over fences, trampling gardens, shouting, swearing, kicking footballs against windows and constant intimidating behaviour.

Things finally came to a head on March 30 when a desperate Donna finally lost her temper and told her tormentors to "please, just f*** off."

The youths ignored her but two weeks later officers called at her home. She was told a 13-year-old girl had made a complaint against her.

Donna was arrested and charged under public order offences.

She was handed an £80 fixed penalty notice but refused to pay and was taken to court last month. Magistrates then upped the sum to £120 pounds which Donna must now pay or face a possible jail term.
...
"When the police came I thought it was because I had complained. I never dreamed they had come to arrest me."

Donna claims she made countless complaints to police about the gang outside her home but nothing has ever been done about them.

Let's see, we have multiple acts of threats, vandalism, noise violations and no response from police and then this poor lady finally tells them to f-off and she gets charged, apparently for scaring these kids, with such tender feelings, by telling them to f-off.

And for the final crowning touch of insanity:

But Sgt Neil Haley of the Five Towns Neighbourhood Policing Team defended the fine.

He said: "Officers regularly patrol Knottingley. We appreciate that anti-social behaviour can be frustrating but people should not take the law into their own hands.

"We encourage people to report criminal or anti-social behaviour by contacting the NPT hotline on 01924 294518 or email us at 5towns.npt@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.
(Apparently You can report and the police will do nothing, but that's apparently besides the point)

Note well, swearing at a malfeasor in Britain is now considered by police to be taking "the law into your own hands". Notice also that crimes against a person's property is now simply anti-social behavior.

Unbelievable how far once proud Albion has fallen.

I Love this Kahr

A Kahr PM9 pistol in 9mm that is.

Weighing under 1 pound and only 5.3 inches in overall length, with a 3 inch barrel and a choice of a flush-fitting 6 round and extended 7 shot magazine this is perhaps the perfect concealed carry firearm. Nice and flat, it can conceal easily in a front jeans pocket in a decent holster or disappear under a shirt with a similarly good inside-the-waistband holster on.

After receiving my Kahr PM9, with the slide in the matte black Tungsten DLC finish and factory installed Trijicon night sights I was eager to take it to the range.

The gun arrived bone dry from the factory, with evidence of it having been fired for the useless ballistics identification program required by two states, and the brass from the test firing was in an envelope that came in the firearm case. The Kahr clearly needed some lubrication before taking it to the range.

Taking apart the Kahr PM9 is relatively simple: Line up the disassembly notch and then push the slide stop out of the frame. This required a bit of work as the slide stop is in tight, and needed a little encouragement in form of taps from a plastic hammer to work its way out. After swabbing the barrel to ensure there were no hidden obstructions, cleaning off the firing marks from the test firing and adding some Tetra lube to the slide rails and barrel hood, it was time to reassemble.

Reassembly took a little work, with lining up the slide on the frame and getting the striker assembly out of the way so the slide stop could be replaced and the slide move freely. With that done it was off to the range.

I brought with me 2 boxes of 100 round Winchester white box value pack 9mm fmj ammo and 1 box of 50 Federal Hydrashock hollowpoints.

As the manual said it takes 200 rounds to break in, I took it at its word. On the first magazine there was one glitch where on the final shot the fired brass failed to eject but sat on top of the magazine and was easily cleared. This did not happen again during the session.

On firing the Hydrashocks I was in for a bit of a shock – the muzzle flash from those rounds was significant, so much so that it appeared that I was using a flamethrower. This would not be good in a night time situation as the flash was very visible in the relatively good light of the indoor range. In addition, of the 50 rounds fired there were two failures where the slide failed to go back into battery and pick up a new round, so I would not consider this batch of Hydrashocks as reliable carry ammo for this gun at this point – maybe it was the 250 round break in. On the upside, the Hydrashocks were as controllable as the white box ammo with similar accuracy.

The PM9, despite its small size was easily controllable with either the flush fitting magazine and even more controllable with the extended seven round magazine, and quite accurate at 10 yards, as can be seen from the accompanying photo of the target below. The trigger pull on the Kahr was a bit long but very, very smooth – certainly the best pocket pistol trigger I’ve ever shot, easily besting my comparably sized Hungarian made Walther PPK-clone and my Russian Makarov. There was no real significant recoil issues and controlled pairs of shots or even rapid strings were easily made and still accurately hitting the target.



The only downside to the Kahr are its array of sharp edges – the magazine feedlips are razor-like in sharpness (as the cut on my finger can attest), presumably on the theory that if you run out of ammunition you can pull out the magazine and use it as a last-ditch knife. In addition the top of the slide release, where you push down to release the slide is likewise sharp, as are the slide serrations for pulling the slide back. A little smoothing of the edges on this not-cheap and otherwise excellent firearm is certainly called for and would be an excellent improvement in the user-friedliness and carryability of the product.

Others at the range also tried it and was impressed with both its controllability and its small size. The firearm is similar in size to many .380 caliber handguns and packs a more effective round and a better trigger as well. In short this is possibly the finest pocket gun available, sharp edges and all, and I highly recommend it for those looking for an easily concealable firearm to accompany your carry permit.

First Major Trial Victory!

My first large trial took place and lasted for the last two weeks in Macomb County Circuit Court. I did the trial as the second-seat along with a Partner from the firm as first chair. The partner has excellent trial skills that I highly respect and he did a fantastic job.

This case had it all: Plaintiff's multiple claims, Our multiple counterclaims and mountains of email documents, police reports, domain names and websites.

Some things juries never see: The massive amounts of hours that go into preparation both before and during the trial. A 16 hour day was commonplace. In addition, there was lots of evidence that was not admissible at trial under the hearsay rule dealing with police reports, all of which made for very interesting reading in the case and none of which could be seen by the jury.

I handled plaintiff's expert witness on cross examination and almost got him Daubert'ed out and disqualified. But even better, I showed the jury that his value estimate was not based on any real information and he was completely speculating and far outside of his area of specialization. In fact, he even admitted that he never had spoken with the Plaintiff to get an actual estimate of the hours spent or the fact that plaintiff had always represented himself, including during his criminal preliminary examination, as a volunteer. I also did the direct exams for one of our Detectives and our expert.

After two long weeks, the jury, after deliberating for almost 4 hours, gave our side a no cause -- that we were not liable for any of Plaintiff's claims, and found that Plaintiff had committed fraud against us, but the jury awarded no damages.

I believe the main reason why we won and that we got to the right result is that the jury trusted us and saw that the Plaintiff was continually lying and being evasive thoroughout the history of the case and even during trial. This jury was sharp - very focussed even after 2 weeks of testimony and very alert for evasions. Remember - never underestimate a jury - think of it as (in this case we had a jury of 8) 8 fully functioning BS-detectors that will catch you if you lie or prevaricate.

In addition, Judge Miller ran the court like a true gentleman and distinguished jurist, treating the litigants well and respectfully, and keeping everything on schedule.

To read about the results of the trial as reported you can click here for The Macomb Daily's Report

How I spent Labor Day: Diving the S.S. Wexford

For my birthday, my wife gave me a fine present: a Wreck Dive Trip. This was no small present, not only was there a cost, but for me to be out of the house with a newborn afoot and a toddler under foot was quite a loving sacrifice on her part.

So thorough my local dive shop Sea The World Scuba, I signed up for many a wreck dive, only to see them cancelled for lack of participation. Finally on Labor Day one was going to go! I immediately signed up.

This was my first Great Lakes Dive, and my first boat dive. The charter was with Rec & Tec Dive Charters, Inc, and it departed from Port Sanilac at 8 am to proceed to the wreck of the SS Wexford.

I made the trip up to Port Sanilac starting at 5:30 am and arrived at 7:30 and found the Sylvia Anne, Rec & Tec's vessel. I then filled out the waiver and started loading my gear, and the 10 divers and crew then departed the shore.

The SS Wexford, built in sank in the Great Storm of 1913 and was discovered in 2000. It is located off of grand Bend in Ontario, on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. The ship is 250 feet long. The wreck lies upright, the only wreck from the storm of 1913 that does so. All 22 of her crew were lost with her. The ship lies in 78 feet of water, on a north/south orientation. For the story of her discovery and excellent photos and images see: The Wexford

For a first wreck dive, it was absolute heaven. While the water at 46 degrees was a touch cool for a wetsuit (I had the only wetsuit on the charter, everyone else dove dry), the visibility was fantastic.

In addition to my dive buddy, the divemaster from the crew kept a close eye on me as I was the newbie on board, which certainly added to the safety factor and was quite comforting. Everyone was very helpful to me as the new guy from showing me how to stow the gear to other necessary things.

The first dive began with a giant stride off the bow and into the cold water of Lake Huron. Of course, it wouldn't go perfectly and my mask was slightly dislodged and I got a face-full of cold lake water as a welcome. 46 degree water in the face caused quite a double take, but I warmed up quite quickly. With the mask issue cleared up and united with my dive buddy and the Divemaster, we went down the mooring line towards the stern. This first dive was on the stern of the ship and we saw some sight glasses used to peer into the boilers, and many other artifacts strewn about. The upper deck has multiple holes in it for easy penetration, and for safe exiting. After about 22 minutes I was back on board after a safety stop at 20 feet.

The second dive, after a one hour surface interval was at the bow. We approached down a cable to the bow and proceeded amidships. It was there my dive buddy and I found a white china plate, mostly buried in silt. The plate on the back read "Royal Ironware Sheffield England". Given the ship was built in England in 1883, this could have even been an original plate. There was no date on the plate sadly so its not possible to tell when the earliest time when it could have come to the ship. We left the plate where it was found for other divers to inspect in the future, and given the good ethics of the divers who visit this wreck, I expect it will still be there on my next visit.

The dives were simply incredible, and the weather cooperated magnificently, with calm seas and a warm sun. It was a fantastic first wreck diving experience, and I certainly plan to dive the Wexford again. Rec & Tec runs a fantastic charter, if you are in the area I highly recommend them.

Why Blogging has been slow Lately...

Leah, Daughter #2, born August 17, healthy and happy.

Jimmy Carter erroneously says Bush is pursuing an erroneous Mideast policy

Jimmy Carter, certainly the worst living president, had this to say about the current crisis in Lebanon. (Quick summary - it's Bush's fault)

From YNet, and previously read in the dead tree edition of the Oakland Press: Former US President Jimmy Carter, who helped broker the historic Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt, said US President George W. Bush has pursued an "erroneous policy" that has fostered violence in the Middle East.

"In my opinion, maybe the worst ally Israel has had in Washington has been the George W. Bush administration, which hasn't worked to bring a permanent peace to Israel," Carter told The Grand Rapids Press in an interview Friday.

The mind boggles. If anything Bush has been an excellent ally of Israel and is helping Israel gain a permanent peace to the region by recognising the root cause - Islamic Terror, and refusing to follow the old, time-worn US policy of pressuring Israel into a cease-fire whever they are on the verge of winning.

The Oakland Press article had additional information including this quote:

It depends on whether world opinion is strong enough to get the administration to change its erroneous policy, which has been to encourage the continuation of attacks on both sides"

Again, a mind-boggling and riddiculous statement. Bush is hardly encouraging both sides. Demanding that Hezballah return the kidnapped Israeli soldiers and cease rocket attacks on israel, and for the Lebanese and the World to enforce the Security Council resolution that Hezballah was to be disarmed is hardly encouragment to Hezballah to continue its attacks.

Jimmy Carter folks, making sure he keeps the title of worst living President.

The Keeper of Lagniappe's Lair Hurt in Vehicle Accident

The keeper of Lagniappe's Lair was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident while on the job.

While he has suffered very severe injuries he is going to make it, much to my relief as his friend, and the relief of his family.

Your thoughts and prayers for him would be appreciated.

If there is anyone tough enough and good enough to get through this and come out even stronger than before, it's him.

May God bless him in this difficult time.

Now an Advanced Open Water Diver

After sucessfully passing the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course, I'm now an Advanced Open Diver.

The best part of the Advanced Open Course is that it shows you how much more you truly need to learn to become a proficient diver.

My Advanced course was composed of the following 5 dives: Navigation; Search and Recovery; Night; Deep; and Wreck. All of them certainly helped expose me to new skills and experiences. Diving at Night was very cool, as was the Deep dive. The course was held at Portage Quarry, which is a great place to get wet, practice skills, and learn. The Quarry had excellent visibility and plenty to see such as a school bus, cars, boats, airplane and silo.

In addition, during the weekend I went on two more dives with two divers who were taking their Open Water Course and their friend who was a very experienced diver. Lots of fun, and very good people to dive with.

I'm now booked on a Great Lakes wreck dive for August 11 to see the Regina and Sport. Should be fun.

Attack on Jewish Community Center in Seattle.

Yes the shooter was a member of the "Religion of Peace" - Islam. (Excellent Coverage at Little Green Footballs:
Six Shot, one killed at Seattle Jewish Federation

Six women were shot - one fatally - this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man who told a witness he was upset about "what was going on in Israel....When asked at a news conference if that meant the alleged shooter was Muslim, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said: "You could infer that."...Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a database coordinator for the center, told The Associated Press. "He said 'I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,' before opening fire on everyone," Meislin-Dietrich said. "He was randomly shooting at everyone.""

it turns out that the suspect is a Pakistani man with a criminal background. He is from the Tri-Cities but his citizenship is unknown.

How long before the local Muslim community half-heartedly "condems" the attack and then loudly worries about a backlash against Muslims?

Oh, they already did.

In a statement, the Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group said:

“We condemn this senseless attack on a religious institution and offer sincere condolences to the loved ones of those killed or injured. The American Muslim and Jewish communities must do whatever is within their power to prevent the current conflict in the Middle East from being transplanted to this country. We also urge local, state and national law enforcement authorities to step up security measures at synagogues, mosques and other religious institutions of both faiths.”

And the police of course buy into it:

Kerlikowske said police officers throughout the city were being asked to step up patrols of synagogues and mosques.
"We are protecting mosques because there is always concern about retaliatory activity," he said.

Yeah right, how many retailiatory attacks have we seen on mosques by Jews? Exactly...none.

This attack technique puts the western democracies in a very bad tactical situation - lots of Muslims within the gates, any of whom can go commit a terrorist act while the Muslim community then "condemns" it and then loudly worries about a backlash runs for protection from the authorities, and then another Muslim goes to perform another attack and the cycle contines with no response, which shows them that the tactic is working, and non-muslims keep dying.

At what point is the West going to wake up that this is not an isolated incident and actually make a response?

It should be announced that if this continues all non-citizen Muslims will be deported as enemy aliens. No, it is not a collective punishment, its self-defense from future attacks and will send a message that this type of attack tactic will not be tolerated and that there will be a response to these acts of terrorism. This is a non-violent and legal response, if "disproportionate". If we truly are in a War on (Islamist) Terror, we owe it to ourselves to protect ourselves from the agents of the enemy from our midst and to show trhat there will be consequences for terrorist attacks.

When Hezb'allah co-locates with your position, its time to leave

From Little Green Footballs

Retired Canadian Major General Lewis Mackenzie was interviewed on CBC radio, and had some very interesting news about the UN observer post hit by Israeli shells; the Canadian peacekeeper killed there had previously emailed Mackenzie telling him that Hizballah was using their post as cover.

The entire interview is a breath of fresh air:

We received emails from him a few days ago, and he was describing the fact that he was taking fire within, in one case, three meters of his position for tactical necessity, not being targeted. Now that’s veiled speech in the military. What he was telling us was Hezbollah soldiers were all over his position and the IDF were targeting them. And that’s a favorite trick by people who don’t have representation in the UN. They use the UN as shields knowing that they can’t be punished for it.

Not only does Hezb'allah hide behind women and children, they hide behind the UN. The UNIFIL troops have sadly become victims of Hezb'allah perfidy.

In addition, just to show how co-located many of these UN positions are with Hezb'allah, here's a picture of one of them:
I don't know if this was the same post that was hit but it is certainly an example of how close Hezb'allah was to these UN positions before this conflict even started. Today I would not be surprised if they are firing from within UN positions.

Why the UN has not loudly complained about, and condemned, Hezb'allah for using their positions and treoops as shields in this conflict is unknown, but the UN's ingrained bias against Israel is undoubtedly the most likely suspect, and secondly that the UNIFIL troops are essentially hostages to Hezballah likely also makes any condemnation of Hezb'allah's actions a risky proposition for the UNIFIL observers on the ground.

It is a sad loss that the 4 UNIFIL observers were killed, but the fault lies with Hezb'allah, not Israel.

Possibly Interviewing an American Criminal at The Hot Zone - No Exit

At Kevin Sites' blog in his article No Exit American citizens are caught in the crossfire in southern Lebanon while trying to flee the fighting. He seems to have made an interesting choice of an interview subject-

TYRE, Lebanon - For the Chahines, of Dearborn, Mich., spending summers in south Lebanon is a family tradition. It also helps to keep them in touch with their Arabic heritage. But this summer that tradition almost cost them their lives....

"Mr. Chahine, who came to the U.S. 32 years ago, built a business and raised a family there. "

Is this the same Talal Chahine of Dearborn who fled the US to Lebanon under indictment for tax fraud and funneling money to Hezb'allah?

I guess we know why he and his family are there if its the same "Chahine of Dearborn":

Defendant: Talal Khalil Chahine (La Shish Restaurant) OWNER AND FINANCIAL MANAGER OF “LA SHISH” RESTAURANT ARE CHARGED WITH TAX EVASION U.S. Department of Justice Federal charges were unsealed today in Detroit against Talal Khalil Chahine, 51, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan and the owner of the “La Shish” restaurant chain, and Elfat El Aouar, 39 of Plymouth, a “La Shish” financial manager and Chahine’s wife. Chahine and El Aouar are charged by the federal grand jury Indictment with four Counts each of Income Tax Evasion, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7201. Each Count carries a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Elfat El Aouar was arrested earlier today from her home in Plymouth. A bail hearing and arraignment is scheduled to occur at 1:00 p.m. in federal court. Talal Chahine is presently outside the United States and is believed to be in Lebanon. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The Detroit News also picked up the story of the indictment.

Now, did Sites know who Chahine was and fail to report this interesting bit of information? Cetainly it is somewhat suspicious as Sites report gives the first name of everyone else he talks with but not Chahine's. Given that Chahine is alleged to have funelled money to Hezb'Allah, his use as an interviewee without disclosing this information makes his story and credibility as an eyewitness quite suspect. Especially since Sites takes Chahine's assertion at face value.that

"I didn't see any Hezbollah fighters in our village," says Mr. Chahine, "so why are they bombing there?"

Hopefully Kevin Sites will be able to clarify if this is the same Chahine and why he did not use his first name in his report.

To The Circus

Last night, we went to the Carson & Barnes Circus held at Millford. The circus was held there to raise money for a bike trail. It was Abby's first circus.

On the way from the parking area, there were a few protestors from PETA on the sidewalk near the entrance protesting the circus. The were on the sidewalk, holding placards and asking if people wanted their literature. The protestors were well-behaved and polite, and the presence of Millford Police probably helped with that. While I disagree with them, it was commendable of the PETA protestors to behave in a proper and civilized manner.

Abby absolutely loved the circus. As a 2.5 year-old, she was amazed at the sight and size of the Elephants and the tricks by the Acrobats. She pointed at the Acrobats while they were at the top of a platform and said "Come down you're going to fall" - a very cute moment.

It was a fun circus and all the children present clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves. Oh, and the animals appeared well fed, healthy, and well treated. Simply a wonderful form of entertainment.

Does the Missile Threat end the idea of Land for Peace?

Given that the land Israel withdrew from in both Lebanon and Gaza is being used as a launching pad for missiles and rockets against israel, to cede further land would likely prove disastrous to Israel. The only reason longer range rockets are not being fired from Gaza is that Israel is preventing their importation through the port of Gaza.

Already, Hezballah is hitting civillians in Haifa with its rockets, 30 miles away from the Israel-lebanon Border. Missiles from Gaza are striking Sderot. If Israel were to complete a withdrawal from the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) to behind the security Fence, all of Israel would then be in range of missiles from the ceeded territory.

Don't beleive me? Then take a look at this map. As you can see, from the West Bank, Tel Aviv's airport is in range of the short-range Qassam rockets, and the entire county is in range of Katyushas, not to mention the longer range missiles.

Land for Peace, and the subsequent creation of a hostile state filled with anti-Israel sentiment with the capability to import Iranian missiles would be suicide for Israel. Until the Arabs learn to accept Israel's existence and cease attempting to destroy it and kill its people, the whole idea of land for peace cannot go forward.

The Nonsense of Proportionality

"The essence of war is violence. Moderation in war is imbecility." -- Admiral Sir John A. Fisher.

The current infatuation of the UN and much of the world with accusing Israel of violating the mythical rule of proportionality in warfare is part of the continuing attacks on Israel where it is held to a standard to which no other nation in the world is held. Indeed no other nation could long survive if it folowed these mythical stanards that the ret of the world blithely ignores - except of course, when they accuse Israel of violating them.

What is the proportinate response when an attacker hurls hundreds of missiles into your territory, all of them deliberately aimed at civillian targets? What is the porportionate response when an attacker crosses your border and kidnapps your soldiers, demanding that you release thousands of convicted criminals or terorist detainees in return for their release? Wouldn't you block roads, airports, and ports, knowing the intention of the kidnappers to move them out of the country? Would you not use as much force as necessary to end the conflict as quickly as possible and to bring security to your borders?

If the proportion of Hezballah is accepted, then for every Israeli killed in this conflict, 1000 Arabs should be killed. After all, Hezballah is arguing that each Israeli soldier os worth a thousand Arab terorrists. Obviously, Israel is clearly behind if this calculation is the correct proportionate response. With 37 Israelis killed and only 381 Lebanese (unfortunately including innocent Lebanese civillians but certainly this number includes a great many Hezballah members), clearly Israel has a lot of catching up to do to ensure its response is "proportionate".

Sadly for those who argue that Israel is disproportionate, it is not adopting the Hezballah calculation for 1000 Arbas for every Israeli. Instead Israel is trying to limit civilian casualties (while Hezballah is actively seeking to attack civillians) while attacking an enemy that hides among civilians and places its weapons and arsenals in mosques, hospitals, schools and private homes. The 'brave' guerrillas of Hezballah hide behind the skirts of their women and the toys of their children

Israel's response may not be "proportionate" but it is moral.

Not an Anti-War Rally

But an Anti-Israel one.

As predicted the Dearborn demonstration was full of textbook seething. Not anti-war, merely anti-Israel.

From The Detroit News
Thousands protest Lebanon bombing

Metro Detroiters, many with relatives caught in the violence, call for an end to Israel's attacks.

Calling for an end to the attacks with such charming chants as:

Along the 1.5-mile trek to the park, protesters chanted "Allahakbar,"
"Hezbollah" and "Stop the killing, stop the bombing" as they walked

.

No condemnation of the Hezb'allah raid and kidnappings that started the entire current conflict.

The religion of peace seemed a little tense as well:

There were tense moments briefly during the rally when two rabbis joined the
protest. A few of the marchers thought the two Jewish clerics had come to the
event as counter-demonstrators.

Hmm, how tolerant would they have been had they actually been counteprotesting - probably not very.

Instead they were two self-hating Jews.

Many in the crowd were surprised when they saw Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss and a
fellow rabbi joining the protest.

Weiss of Jews United Against Zionism of Monsey, N.Y., a group that believes the
quest for a Jewish state strained Arab and Jewish relations, said he came in
support of the protesters.

"We are here to show solidarity and support for the Palestinian people."

He is, of course, entitled to his wrong-headed, dhimmi-fied opinon, but I will maintain my opinion that 'Rabbi' Weiss is a total moonbat, lower than pondscum and that had he been born in an earlier era, he would have made a fine kapo.

Body of Scuba Diver Recovered From Lake

A sad loss of a Michigan Diver:

Divers recovered the body of a 51-year-old Waterford man Thursday in Maceday Lake, where he had been reported missing about 18 hours earlier.

The man, whose name was not released Thursday pending family notification, was found about 1:30 p.m. in about 100 feet of water in the area where he had been scuba diving with nine others, said Lt. Gordon Pizzini of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

I wasn't there, I do not know what happened, and am not about to start guessing. Hopefully the investigation results will be published or made known to the diving community and we can take steps and learn lessons from this accident to prevent others like it in the future.

In Dearborn the Seething begins

In the Detroit Free Press

Muslims attending a memorial service at a Dearborn mosque Sunday evening called upon businesses along Warren Avenue in Dearborn to shut down at 5 p.m. Tuesday to protest Israeli action in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

. . .

Speakers at the service criticized Israel and asked the U.S. government to help U.S. citizens trapped in Lebanon.

With picture slides behind him showing the attacks in Lebanon, Ned Fawaz, chairman of the board of the Islamic Center, urged the crowd to "call Washington, call all your senators ... send e-mails" voicing opposition to Israel's actions.

Mohammad Bazzi of Dearborn Heights said that business owners are planning to shut down at the start of a march scheduled for Tuesday along Warren Avenue -- the main commercial strip in east Dearborn.

Notice that of course, there was no criticism or opposition of Hizb'allah the group that brought this situation upon Lebanon from these Dearborn muslims.

Shutting down at 5pm, oh my, such a protest, they just watched "Working 9 to 5". They must have been inspired by the Cyndi Sheehan fast of the hour.

Their march on Tuesday should provide plenty of examples of Homo Islamicus and Homo Moonbaticus.

From The "You're New At This Aren't You?" File.

Robber Faints during Bank Hold up

From the Oakland Press:

A novice bank robber found out Thursday that he's not cut out for a life of crime.

With cash in hand, the alleged robber, an unemployed automotive designer, was headed out the door of the Lasalle Bank on Maple Road in Troy when he saw two police cars drive by. Lawrence C. Lawson, 60, of Madison Heights passed out. Employees called 9-1-1. "It was just by coincidence," said Troy police Lt. Gerry Scherlinck. "Just randomly, two police officers are driving by." Lawson was arraigned Friday on charges of bank robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

I just really want to know how much the officers were laughing while they arrested him.

How you can help Israel now

Israel is currently facing a war on at least two fronts against the same enemy the US faces: Islamists.

The Islamists (Hamas and Hizb'allah) are currently using rockets and missiles to attack civillian targets in Israel.

Should Israel be permitted to take the gloves off and fight this war, for it is indeed a war, with fronts in Gaza and southern Lebanon, it will most likely win.

You can help by donating to:

American Friends of Magen David Adom (Israel's Red Star of David - their own Red Cross organization). Funds are needed for medical assistance for victims of the missile and rocket attacks on israeli civillians.

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (provided recreational and religious facilities and scholarships for Israeli soldiers)

Amazing Comments by Putin on the Mid East Situation

In Bush Blocks Russia WTO Bid in Icy Exchange (interestingly enough, the Detroit Free press runs this under the headline: Bush, Putin differ on cease-fire. Putin says something that simply boggles the mind, hypocritical doesn't even come close to describe it, perhaps chutzpah sums it up best:

"At the same time," the Russian leader said, "we work under the assumption that the use of force should be balanced." The European Union - and France, in particular - has condemned Israel's attacks as excessive, putting Bush at odds with key allies.

Speaking to reporters after the summit's opening dinner, Putin stressed that significant efforts were needed to restore peace in Lebanon.

"However complicated the questions are, maximum efforts must be applied to resolve the situation in a peaceful way and I think all efforts have not been exhausted," he said.

The "use of force should be balanced"? I have but one word for Putin: Chechnya.

When did the Russia under Putin use "balanced force" in dealing with the Chechen Islamist issue? Heck, when did Russia ever use balanced force - the Russian way of way is throw as much steel at your enemy as you can, and keep doing it until you win.

Especially given the disregard in which the Russians have used heavy artillery against Islamists causing lots of noncombatant deathsin Chechnya, Putin's sudden belief in proportional force beggars belief.

Yes, Putin wants to keep playing the great power game and suck up to the Soviet Union's old allies, the Arabs, by criticising Israel, but really.

Someone needs to remind Putin that he is fighting a war against islamists today, and toadying up to other islamists will not win him many favors in the long run.

Bad, naughty, weight pouch!

So there I was, at 25 feet in Spring Mill Pond just off the bottom, Visibility at less than feet at best, diving with four other divers.

Suddenly, it gets silted up real bad, and visibility drops to zero, I could not see a thing. Then I all of a sudden get flipped onto my left side and start ascending pretty quickly - sideways! A fun ride and I break the surface with what I am sure was a very confused look on my face.

It turns out my weight pouch on my right side in my Dacor Talon BC decided it didn't like me face down and it came zipping out of the BC (so much for the retaining powers of Velcro).

Eventually the other divers noticed I was gone and one came up to see what was going on. Without the 10 pounds in the pouch i was too buoyant to descend, and when I tried, I always got flipped onto by left side, so I couldn't search for the pouch.

One of the divers searched for the pouch but failed to find it. The pouch alas is almost definetely buried in the muck and will not likely be found.

Personal Lessons learned: Even though the velcro quick release should be enough to hold the weights in, use the retaining clip - it prevents an instant release of the weights, by pulling on the release handle, instead to release you unclip the clip and pull with it- but it will save your pouches.

Now to go buy another wieght pouch and 10 pounds of weight...

And now for a completely different a burning.......

Chechen Terror Leader Shamil Basayev Killed in Russia

The details seem to indicate this was an effective Russian take-out
(with some unidentified foreign intelligence agency's help) of a very nasty piece of work, whose death is welll deserved.

Suffice to say after the terrorist outrages of the Moscow theater in 2002 in which dozens of hostages and militants died, the 2004 school hostage taking in Beslan that killed 331, and the seizure of about 1,000 hostages at a hospital in Budyonnovsk that killed about 100 and many other lesser reported atrocities, it is unquestionably good that Basayev is no longer sleeping but has been sent on to meet his maker or more likely is roasting in some dark, hot, pit of hell.

What do we do with Witches? - Pardon Them!

From Foxnews: Woman Accused of Witchcraft in Virginia in 1706 is Pardoned

It took 300 years, but Virginia's only convicted witch has finally been pardoned.

State Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was asked to exonerate Grace Sherwood, who was tried by water and accused of using her powers to cause a woman to miscarry. On Monday, the 300th anniversary of Sherwood's "ducking" trial, Kaine obliged....What happened to Sherwood after she was convicted is unclear. Some court records may have been lost to fire.

She weighed more than a duck and was therefore...a witch! (Ok, not that kind of ducking, but the Monty Python possibilities with this post are about endless)

Unlike in Monty Python and The Holy Grail, the authorites and mob of people who had been turned into newts were apparently not too hot to burn this witch - even after she had been convicted, as history shows she lived long past the trial:

She may have been jailed until 1714, when records show she paid back taxes on her property, Ferry Plantation House director Belinda Nash said. She then lived quietly until her death at 80.

Its certainly nice to see we can eventually get around, 300 years later, to pardoning people convicted of witchcraft and rectifying a rather embarrasing historic legal wrong.

It is not good to lose a submachinegun

Losing having two different law enforcement agencies in Southeast Michigan having one stolen from each of them within the same month is a definite embarrasment.

From the Detroit Free Press:

West Bloomfield police are still looking for a submachine gun stolen earlier this month from a police SUV while an off-duty officer was attending a Tigers game in Detroit.

Meanwhile, Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said Monday that a submachine gun stolen Thursday from a Monroe County sheriff's deputy's vehicle was found in a pond not far from where the weapon was stolen.

Be careful how you swear in Michigan

Or you might face a midsdemeanor charge:

MCL 750.103 Cursing and swearing.

Cursing and swearing—Any person who has arrived at the age of discretion, who shall profanely curse or damn or swear by the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. No such prosecution shall be sustained unless it shall be commenced within 5 days after the commission of such offense.

Luckily the statute of limitations for such an offense is five days -- or one thunderbolt.

Dive Report: Spring Mill Pond - June 14 06

Spring Mill Pond is located in the Island Lake Recreation Area near Brighton, Michigan.

It is a great place to practice diving: no powerboats or speeding PWC's (Seadoos)with owners that don't know what a dive flag means to run you down. The depth of the pond is 30 feet, which is ample for basic dive practice in between going to farther away quarries, the Great Lakes etc.

So off I went. Diving with my instructor, who has a standing offer if the weather is good to be there on Wednesday nights to dive, we descended into the pond. Visibility was 6-10 feet and very silty. Some brown trout were visible, and the Instructor showed me where the sunken snowmobile, paddle boat and scuba tank were located (if you don't know where they are, good luck finding them in that viz!).

Its great place to work on your buoyancy control and basic maneuvers.

It turns out that with 26 ponds of lead I was little light by the end of the dive. (Air has weight, when you use it up underwater, your aluminum tank becomes positively buoyant by 4 pounds.) I had a bit of fun keeping level during the safety stop, and immediately went off and bought 4 more pounds of weight, which should do the trick.

Its a fun place to dive and it was good to get wet again after my certification dives.

if this evil cold clears up, I'll be off to dive it again tomorrow.

Most People Were Relieved when Zarqawi went to meet his maker

Indeed, most newspapers in print and online had headlines such as "Zarqawi Dead"

What was the headline the Toronto Star chose to run?

Zarqawi's followers defiant

I guess they need to act in a more Dhimmi-like fashion since 17 Muslims were just caught in the midst of planning terrorist attacks in Toronto.

Nice one there Toronto Star headline authors you wouldn't want to offend those out there planning to kill you I guess.

While Zarqawi's death isn't the end of the Islamist threat, it may mark the end of the beginning. Not only did Zarqawi get caught but also "several aides, including spiritual adviser Sheik Abdul Rahman, were killed Wednesday evening."

Meanwhile, here in Michigan, Zarqawi's demise was celebrated by firing up the BBQ and having Zarqawi burgers. What are those you ask? Simple, the burgers are burnt, and broken up into pieces. Good riddance to a very evil murderous man, and kudos to the Iraqis and the United States military on a very fine job.

Now a Certified Diver

Thanks to the incredible instructors at Sea The World Scuba Center, I am now a certified Open Water Diver. Charlie at SeaThe World was a great instructor and the store is first-rate for equipment and excellet customer service. Of you're in the Detroit, Michigan area and want to learn how to dive, ujts the place to go.

I'm signed up for the Advanced Open Water Course in July.

Tomorrow I'm off to my first post-certification dive in Spring Mill Pond at the Island Lake Recreation area in Brighton, Michigan.

Judge in Da Vinci Code case issues an order with a code of his own

You simply have to admire a Judge that can issue such an opinion:

Judge Smith ruled that the Da Vinci Code did not infringe on the copyright of the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and he issued his ruling with an interesting twist: He inserted his own code into it.

From the New York Times

Embedded in the first 13½ pages of the ruling is Justice Smith's very own secret code, one that when partly solved reveals its name: the Smithy Code.

The code is contained in italics in the text of the opinion, which can be read here.
No one has yet solved all of the Judge Smithy code.

[Update April 28, 2006] That was quick - the code has been solved. For the answer see the Wikipedia Article on the Smithy Code.

Department of Unfortunate or Unlucky Names

In a tragedy in Southfield, Michigan, a 16 month old boy died after a fall from an apartment window. Police have ruled it an accident and a lawsuit by the parents agains tthe compex is likely.

The toddler's parents have quite typical names: Jennifer Holmes and Andrew Pitts.

The name of the child?

Saviour God-Scientific Allah.

Story from the Detroit Free Press.

United 93 - Ready or Not

Both the Detroit news and The Detroit Free Press offer front page coverage of the imminent release of the United 93 movie.

The Detroit News: 9-11 Are we ready to relive it?

The Detroit Free Press: United 93' takes a careful course

Both papers are concerned that the nation may not be ready -- 5 years after the terrorist attack to be exposed to a representation of what happened.

I think the "nation" can handle it. Heck after constant caterwauling in the media about Afghanistan and Iraq perhaps it will be a useful reminder to some as to Why We Fight the Islamist-terrorists over there rather than waiting for more attacks here.

Scuba Class Part 1 - Classroom and Confined Water

I'm glad to report that I've passed the classroom and confined water portions of the PADI Open Water Diver program with swimming colors.

I took the class with Sea The World Scuba Center. The instruction was first rate. We had a class of 4 new Open Water students and one student taking it as a refresher class - They were a great bunch of people to learn to dive with.

The instructor's name was Charlie F. and he was truly excellent both in getting concepts across in the classroom and helping students learn techniques in the pool. I will do my open water portion with him in May, and once I get my Open Water C-Card I will go for my Advanced Open Water.

The class was a lot of fun. The initial 200 yard swim and 10 minute treading water was a thrill most of us could have done without. But from that humble beginning as incredibly clumsy neophyte divers in the water we got better and better and were soon doing mask removals and clears underwater, and hovering with relative ease.

The class has been great so far and I look forward to my open water dives.

Meet The Author Night - Robert Kurson, The Author of Shadow Divers

Yesterday night, I had the opportunity and the pleasure of meeting Robert Kurson,
the Author of Shadow Divers. It was Meet the Author Night sponsored by my local library - the excellent West Bloomfield Township Public Library. Along with other Libraries in the area, the WBTPL had organized a "What Everybody's Reading" program where everyone reads and discusses the same boook and many events are planned around it. Shadow Divers was the book chosen and it was a fantastic choice.

Mr. Kurson is a masterful story teller, and the material for his true story is top rate - how Recreational Scuba Divers found a U-Boat, 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey in 230 feet of water that no one knew was there. The story of the discovery, and the six year long adventure of diving and identifying the wreck as the U-869, is told in a way that appeals to divers and non-divers alike.

The meeting was well attended and Mr. Kurson is a very engaging speaker and gave an excellent telling of how he came to write the book, his experiences with the two main divers in the story, - John Chatterton and Richie Kohler- and his own hilarious and very short foray into scuba diving.

Mr. Kurson also took the time to sign books and chatted engagingly with each person whose book he signed.

I highly recommend the book -- it was a driving factor in my getting into Scuba diving and is a fantastic can't-put-it-down read. In addition, a movie based on the book is due to come out in 2007 to be directed by Ridley Scott.

No one Expects the Belgian Inquisition!

hat tip: grayp on Little Green Footballs.

Brussels Prosecutes Aramaic Priest and Fugitive for Islamophobia

Father Samuel has been prosecuted for “incitement to racist hatred” by the Belgian government’s inquisition agency, the so-called Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR), because of a remark he made in a 2002 television interview when he said:

“Every thoroughly islamized Muslim child that is born in Europe is a time bomb for Western children in the future. The latter will be persecuted when they have become a minority.”

... the Belgian judiciary decided that the priest will have to stand trial before the penal court in Charleroi. He reacted by repeating his time bomb statement and added that he would be honoured if he had to go to jail for speaking his mind.

Father Samuel knows of what hew speaks: "he was born 1942 in Midyat, Turkey, as Samuel Ozdem" and later "fled to Belgium, claiming that the Aramaic Christians were being persecuted in Turkey".

Simply amazing prosecution on the part of the Belgians for something far less inflamatory than has been said by Muslims in Belgium.

For example:

“Leader of Arab-European group calls on Arabs to use Danish flag as substitute for toilet paper” (IRNA, Iranian national news agency, February 4, 2006)

The leader of the Belgium-based Arab- European League (AEL), Dyab Abou Jahjah, has condemned the double standards of the West regarding freedom of speech as far as Muslims are concerned… “Muslims and others in Europe cannot say everything they often want to say and they risk being arrested and prosecuted if they do.

“Muslims and other religious people cannot express their disgust from homosexuality and clearly state that they believe it’s a sickness and a deviation without being persecuted for being homophobic.

“People in Europe are not allowed to make a free historical examination of the Second World War and the holocaust and freely express an opinion on it that is different from the dominating dogmatic line…

“Yes Arabs and Muslims are uptight when you touch their religious and national symbols, but Europe had made of political correctness and the cult of the holocaust and Jew worshiping its alternative religion,” he went on to say.

Abou Jahjah concluded by saying, “I am for the absolute freedom of speech everywhere, and that’s why I call upon every free soul among Arabs to use the Danish flag as a substitute for toilet paper.”…

One wonders if Abou Jahjah was prosecuted for this speech.

When You're in a Hole, Stop Digging

Some people have never learned this basic truth (From the Detroit Free Press):

Detroiter is sentenced in court threat

A 29-year-old Detroit man who pleaded guilty Nov. 22 to threatening to blow up the federal courthouse in Detroit to avoid meeting with his probation officer was sentenced Wednesday to 87 months in prison.

. . .

Russell made three bomb threats in July and August 2004 while on supervised release from a 2-year prison sentence for cashing $93,243 in stolen DaimlerChrysler checks in 1998-99.

Mr. Russell your probation officer will see you now.....

So who did Harvard get?

The Instapundit reports on the troubling story of Yale University accepting the propaganda Minister for the Taliban as a special student. The reason Yale apparently gave for its accepting Mr. Hashemi is as follows:

Richard Shaw, Yale's dean of undergraduate admissions until he took the same post at Stanford last year, told the New York Times that Yale had another foreigner of Mr. Hashemi's caliber apply but "we lost him to Harvard" and "I didn't want that to happen again." Mr. Shaw won't return phone calls now, but emails he's exchanged with others offer insights into his thinking. . . .

Ok, its bad enough and an amazing showing of a lack of critical thinking skills among academia that Yale took in "Mr. Taliban" as a special student. But, the interesting question is who was the other "foreigner of Mr. Hashemi's caliber" that Yale lost to Harvard?

[Update: Thanks to all for visiting and Thanks to Prof. Reynolds for the Instalanche! Feel free to look around at the other posts while you're here, and feedback is always appreciated.]

Scuba show cancelled but the Scuba lessons must go on!

The North American Shipwreck and Dive Show set for saturday the 18th here in Michigan was cancelled. Of course I didn't hear about the cancellation and went to the facility and saw the sign that it was cancelled.

Unfazzed, I went on my merry way to Sea The World Scuba Center, a scuba shop that was going to be exhibitng at the show and also having a presenter on some amazing dive trips.

I entered the store to a party like atmosphere - food and drink, and very helpful staff. They were offering a show cancellation special on their open Water certification and after talking with them I signed right up.

I also bought the basics there- boots, fins, mask and snorkel, and a gear bag to carry it all in. The staff were very helpful in outfitting this complete Scuba newbie. The presenter had some very interesting DVDs showing amazing dive trips to exotic locales like Truk, with its plethora of Japanese WWII ships resting on the bottom, and carribeamn locations with many amazing fish.

I'm looking forward to the lessons and getting certified and will post about the experience as it goes.

Michigan bill introduced to ban Funeral protests

A bipartisan bill has been introduced in Michigan to ban protests within 500 feet of a funeral.

This bil was sparked by the contemptible actions of the Westboro Baptist Church, of Topeka, Kansas. These "church people" and I've put the terms in quotes as they seem to have forgotten any real church principles I've ever heard of, show up at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and disrupt the soldiers funerals. As reported in the Kalamazoo Gazette

Twice in one week protesters from Westboro Baptist Church came to Genesee County. They stood on American flags while holding signs condemning soldiers, the country and homosexuality at the funerals for Pfc. Allan Morr, 21, of Byron, on March 6 and for Sgt. Joshua Youmans, 26, of Flushing Township, on March 11.

Of course far more decent people show up to block these contemptible idiots from view of the mourning families.

Hundreds of people showed up at Youmans' funeral to support the family and shield funeral-goers from seeing and hearing the protesters.

Sadly, none of these protestors seem to have gotten their butts kicked back to Topeka, and given thier actions seem to fit the very definition of the fighting words doctrine, I'm amazed at the restraint of the decent people at the funerals who do not indicate their displeasure in a physical form.

The bill is a valid time, place, and management on such contemptible speech. Thankfully,

The American Civil Liberties Union has no objection to the proposals as they've been outlined so far, said Flint attorney Gregory T. Gibbs, of the Flint-area ACLU.

Good on the ACLU for being on the side of right this time.

Beware the Ides of March

Which is today. Try to avoid attending meetings with people who may have it in for you today, ok?




On the Ides of March in 44 BCE, Julius Caesar was assassinated.

This silver denarius, with a portrait of Julius Caesar was struck in 44 BCE prior to his death. P Sepullius was the moneyer who struck the coin.

On the Obverse: CAESAR [DICT PERPET]VO Head of Caesar wreathed and veiled facing right.

On the Reverse: [P S]EPVLLIVS [M]ACER Venus standing left holding Victory and scepter, shield on ground behind her.

The coin is in EF/gVF condition and currently on sale in Harlan J. Berk's Bid or Buy sale.

This coin and others depicting Caesar were the first Roman coins to depict living rulers rather than honoring ancestors or the roman deities. This was likely one of the many irritants and impetuses for the assassination, yet another sign that Caesar was intending to end the old ways of the Republic and instead be installed not just as a perpetual dictator but as a Tyrant.

No Takings on Souter's House

Voters in Justice Souter's hometown in New Hampshire have rejected a proposal to condemn his house and turn it into a hotel.

The taking was proposed by the group Natural-rights.org after the Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v New London, 125 S. Ct. 2655 (2005).

From Findlaw:

(AP) - WEARE, N.H.-In a largely symbolic gesture, voters in Supreme Court Justice David Souter's hometown on Tuesday rejected a proposal to seize his 200-year-old farmhouse as payback for a ruling that expanded government's authority to take property.
. . .
Originally, the ballot measure called for the seizure of Souter's home so that it could be turned into an inn called the Lost Liberty Hotel. But at a town meeting in February, residents of this town of 8,500 watered down the language.

Voters decided 1,167 to 493 in favor of the reworded measure that asked the Board of Selectmen not to use their power of eminent domain to take the farmhouse, and instead urged New Hampshire to adopt a law that forbids seizures of the sort sanctioned by the Supreme Court.

"It makes Souter the only person in the United States that would be given special protection against his own ruling," said Logan Darrow Clements of Los Angeles, a businessman who led the campaign to evict Souter.

British Museum Buys medieval Coin for £350,000

If you've never had a chance to visit, its a fact that the British Museum has an absolutely fantastic and impressive collection of ancient and medieval coins. If you're a numismatic enthusiast, a visit can take hours and is well worth it. To add to the fun, Ed at hobbyblog and other numismatists can play "got it, got it, need it, need it" with the collection :-)

The British Museum just added to their collection by purchasing a gold coin of King Coenwulf of Mercia for £350,000.



Understand of course that it wasn't necessarily the free market price that this coin might have actually brought had it been sold in a free and open market:

A metal detector enthusiast found it next to the River Ivel in Bedfordshire in 2001, and it was later bought by a US collector.

When the owner put it up for sale last year, the Government put a temporary export ban in place hoping it would be saved for the nation.

This coin is both wonderfully rare and historic:

It is one of eight known gold coins - of which the museum now owns seven - which date back to the mid to late Saxon period.

Hat Tip: London News and Things of Muse.

Puerto Plata Resort Pics

Ok, finally here's some pictures of the Bahia Principe Resort where we stayed in Puerto Plata.

Here's a view leading to one of the resort's 3 story villas (each villa has about 4 or 5 guestrooms on each floor).


Oh, did I mention it rained a lot?



The beach and ocean, when the weather cooperated was magnificent:



All in all a fantastic time and a great resort. Certainly the sunny pics will helpd us get through the remains of this year's Michigan winter.

Vaction Report - Puerto Plata

For our first real vacation in over three years, the Wife, kid, mother-in-law and myself went to The Bahia Principe Resort San Juan in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

The Bahia Principe resort was fantastic. While it rained for at least a third of the seven days wer were there, that's not the Resort's fault, merely the vagaries of the weather. In any case, torrential rain and 80 degrees beats snow, ice and bitter cold any day of the week. The all-inclusive resort had great food (ok we all had some minor illness but that happens during travel) and excellent service.

Interestingly enough, the resort is mainly visited by Canadians. Over 85% of the guests are from there with about 10% Brits and everyone else (Americans, Europenas etc) rounding out the remaining 5%

One of the best experiences in addition to the beaches and fine ocean swimming,was Scuba Diving. Run by Scuba Caribe, based out of the resort, I did the PADI Discover Scuba Diving class. 1 lesson in the pool (safety procedures and techniquest that are enough to keep you from doing something stupid while under supervision of a Instructor) and an Open water dive.

Of course, it was raining the day of the dive and the Ocean was way too rough to dive in, so instead we went to a freshwater lake that was formed when a cavern collapsed many hundreds of years ago. Impressively, the cavern has full sized trees and a cave system. We got to poke our heads into the cave but not go in, which made a lot of sense safety-wise.

Here's a picture of the sign at the road by the lake/cavern:


I had a cheapie Kodak MAX water/sport camera. As it has no flash, it is uniquely unsuited for diving pictures. It may suffice for waterparks and shallow pools but it is horrible for diving 10 meters down. It may be waterproff to 50 feet, but it won't take decent pictures when you get there. However, some of the 27 pictures taken did come out at least somewhat:

Two of the other divers who were on the dive with me. We had a party of 5 divers: 1 Instructor, 1 Rescue Diver, an Advanced diver (all from scuba Caribe) a newly certified open water diver from Canada and myself.
An amazing experience indeed.

Here I am underwater, about 10 meters down. (I'm the guy in front with the instructor right behind me).

I'll post some pictures of the beautiful grounds of the resort and more of the Puerto Plata area tomorrow.

Henry VII's Palace of Placentia uncovered in London

Interesting article from the BBC on a recent archaeological find in the City of London. The article highlights the finding of King Henry VII's Palace of Placentia located under the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College in an area that will soon be covered over to become a parking lot.

Hat Tip: London News and Things of Muse.

'Tis not wise to defy a Judge's order and post pictures on the net

In a clear example of how not to defy a Judge's order(From the Detroit Free Press):

The judge had chastised nine students caught drinking at a Troy high school prom last spring. That would be the end of it, he figured.

It was, until Judge Michael Martone stumbled across a Web site weeks after the students had been sentenced to probation. Leering back at him from his computer screen were some of the same students from Troy Athens High School, now in college.

On the site, they were giving him the finger. They were toasting him with cups of beer and chugging shots of Jagermeister liqueur. They were posing with beer cans stacked almost to the ceiling, and retching into toilets at Michigan State University.

A judge's contempt power can be either "ruthless or toothless". Mocking the order and the judge, online no less, that you cannot drink while under probation for a minor in possession charge is a certain way to feel the ruthless side of a judge's contempt power.

One can understand why the Judge ordered these minors to refrain from alcohol use. Nevermind that its against the law for minors to consume alcohol, if they so lack basic judgmental skills when not under the influence that they post pictures of themselves drinking and mocking the court's order, one can only wonder at how dumb they can be under the influence.

Oh, and the penalty for their contempt? The sentences ranged from 10 to 30 days in jail.

Netflix Gripes

As I've written before, I'm a subscriber to, and generally a fan of, Netflix. Usually I'm very pleased with their service, at least until recently.

It seems to me that the level of service they provide is declining.

Every one of the last three discs I was sent had problems:

1. The first Disc failed to arrive, after a 5 day estimated arrival time from the date it was shipped. Netflix usual arrival time is one day after shipping.

2. One disc had a small crack in it, along with a matching crack in the disc sleeve. There were no obvious tears in the envelope so it appears it was sent in its cracked state. The crack made it unplayable.

3. One disc was cracked completely through from center to edge. Once again you can't play such a broken disc.

I also noticed that Netflix instead of shipping new titles the same day they receive the return, typically will not ship until the next day, which obviously slows down the service considerably.

So out of three discs, one never arrived and two were broken. Not good. I've seen an increase in cracked/severely scratched DVDs from Netflix recently, some so broken that they actually folded themselves in half once removed from the sleeve. Anyone else having a similar experience?

Michael Moore Bank Bandit Busted

Not actually Michael Moore, but on first glance it certainly looks like him:

They apparently have caught the guy, otherwise Moore is taking up a new career.

Local police and FBI agents are investigating to see if the man who robbed an Okemos bank Friday is the "Michael Moore bandit."

An armed man drove away in a gray 1990s BMW after robbing National City Bank, 2260 Jolly Oak Road, at about 1 p.m. Friday, Meridian Township police Sgt. Al Spencer said.

Police would not release what the man was armed with or how much money he took but said he gave a bank teller a note requesting money.

No one was hurt, Meridian Township police Sgt. Greg Frenger said.

The next day a man was arrested for the armed robbery of a Key Bank in Ypsilanti Township, Washtenaw County Sheriff's Commander David Egeler said.

Source: The Statenews

Conservatives win a minority government in Canada

As the Toronto Star Reports, the Conservatives have won a minotrity govenrment in the election.

Interestingly, the onservatives were completely shut out of Toronto, failing to win any seats in the ridsings there, and very few seats in the surrounding suburbs. This failure to win Toronto seats, is not surprising given the incredible pro-Liberal tilt of the Toronto Star, along with its editorials of gloom and doom should the Conservatives win.

The Maritime provinces having been beat down by the Liberals on multiple occaisions (who can forget Chretein threatening them if they failed to elect the liberals there?), like a battered wife voted fot the Liberals yet again.

For a nicely done website showing the results that can be broken down to a riding-by- riding basis, you can check out the election results here.

Unfortunately this resulted in the Conservatives formiung a minority government, which will likely dilute the Coservative program. Given there is no other right of center party (even as the Conservatives are truly only slightly right of center themselves)to form a coalition with governing should be interesting to say the least. Either the Conservatives will move cautiously and make alliances where they can, or move boldly and when defeated request a larger mandate in order to enact some badly needed reforms. My bet is they will begin cautiously in order to make the current Liberal scare tactics evaporate.

However, one area the Conservatives should move boldly in is forging a stronger relationship with the US and repair the damage caused by the Liberals' anti-american rhetoric of this past election cycle.

Hopefully with clean government the Conservatives will be able to win a majority in the next election. Good luck and may Canada be a better place due to their governance.

DOJ's white paper on NSA surveillance program

The US Department of Justice has released a white paper detailing the legal authorities for the NSA surveillance program (source: Findlaw).

The paper heavily relies upon the Authorization for Use of Military Force, and points out the power of the Executive to act under the Youngstown Supreme Court case analysis. Further, the analysis points out that the surveillance program does not violate the FISA statute, and as it intercepts international communications going into and out of the United States fits with the already established special needs exceptions to the Fourth Amendment.

its a well-written and convincing document that many of those who are misinformed about the surveillance program should read.

Detroit ordinance banning selling tickets for or below value is overturned

From the Detroit News:

A federal judge declared the city of Detroit's ban on selling tickets at or below face value to events unconstitutional Wednesday -- a ruling that could cost the city more than $1.5 million. Detroit's ordinance applied to such ticket sales within 500 feet of sporting and music venues.

"The city offers no explanation how the (anti-scalping) ordinance with its broad reach directly advances its alleged interest in traffic safety and security," U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara wrote in a 17-page opinion.

"Therefore, the ordinance is unconstitutional."

The judge's order on the city's ordinance has no effect on state law and the companion city ordinance that bans scalping tickets above face value.

Some of the examples of the heavy-handedness involved in enforcing this improper ordinance is incredible. It also made buying such tickets illegal as well:

Wayne Schreck had sought to buy two tickets to a Thanksgiving Day game at Ford Field. Instead, he got a ticket from the police.

. . .

Others who attempted to buy tickets also were cited and fined. One Kentucky resident drove to watch a 2003 Michigan State University basketball game in Detroit with his wife. She attended with their only ticket; he was detained for three hours by police after he attempted to buy a ticket from an undercover officer, Cecil said.

One would have thought that with Detroit's growing violent crime rate the Police would focus more on the violent criminals rather than going after people trying to buy sporting events tickets. Then again, there was far more revenue to be made from citing these ticket buyers and sellers than .

A class action for all those victimized by this law is ongoing, and it looks like the City will be facing millions in damages, especially as it continued to enforce the law even after a Federal Magistrate issued a preliminary ruling holding it unconstitutional.

Did the Liberals manufacture an incident with the US for political gain?

It's starting to look that way.
Check out Paul Martin's Spat With The US - Was It A Setup? at Small Dead Animals for details.

As predicted the Anti-American Card Comes out

As I mentioned in a previous post, whenever a Canadian politician thinks he's losing he pulls out the Anti-American card.

Indeed, the liberals and Prime Minister Martin, on the verge of being defeated, began playing anti-american advertising for his campaign:

Trailing in polls, Canadian premier plays anti-Bush card

With a militant drumbeat and an ominous tone, a campaign ad here warns that election of Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper "would bring a smile to George W. Bush's face."

Well behind in the polls heading into a parliamentary election, the governing Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Paul Martin brought what in Canadian politics is a most damning indictment: Martin's opponent is too close to the Americans, the party's ads say.

"Mr. Harper, the United States is our neighbor, not our nation," warns one.

Harper is "pro-Iraqi war, anti-Kyoto, socially conservative ... Bush's new best friend," says another ad Yet another ad speculates that Harper may have received illegal campaign funds from American conservatives. The ads are running before an election in which Martin's party appears likely to lose its hold on the government. After Christmas, the Conservatives, the main opposition, jumped suddenly from behind and lead the Liberals by 10 percentage points, 38 percent to 28 percent, according to a poll for the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Roman Coins found in British Field

Old Roman coins dug up in field
From the BBC:

A handful of ancient Roman coins have been dug up in a playing field in West Wickham, near Bromley, south London.

The artefacts may have been thrown into water for good luck by superstitious Romans, an archaeologist suggested.

They were discovered at the Sparrow's Den field during work by Thames Water to reduce flooding risk from sewers.

The low denomination coins, two of which depict Roman emperors Constantine and Diocletian, are said to date back to the Third and Fourth Centuries.

The BBC has a nice picture of one of the coins in uncleaned condition, to give you an example of what they look like when they are discovered.

It must be nice to be in a country where ancient coins are inadvertantly dug up out of the ground every now and then.

Hat Tip: London News and Things of Muse

Nagin's "God Wants a Chocolate City"

As reported by the Associated Press and posted on Breitbart.com:

Nagin also promised that New Orleans will be a "chocolate" city again. Many of the city's black neighborhoods were heavily damaged by Katrina.

"It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans _ the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," the mayor said. "This city will be a majority African American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."

One would think that invoking God's will after a veritable "Act of God" hammered the city (including the heavily "chocolate" sections) is presumptuous as to the true nature of God's will. So now not only does Pat Roberston know God's will, but so does Nagin. The two deserve each other and both are about as credible as authorities on what God wants. Mind you, niehter Pat Robertson nor God left 500 buses to be washed out when they could have been used to get people out of the city, and they both certainly didn't drop the ball on Nagin's lacksadasical and incompetent disaster planning.

Interestingly, neither of the major Detroit local papers feature the chocolate city comment.
The Detroit News buries Nagin's comments but leaves out the chocolate line11 paragraphs down in a story on Martin Luther King commemorations throughout the United States.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called on black people to rebuild the city, which was more than 60 percent black before Katrina displaced about three-quarters of its population.

"This city will be a majority African American city," Nagin told a crowd at City Hall. "It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."

The Detroit Free Press does not mention Nagin's comments at all. One would think such an assinine comment would be of interest to Detroiters.

Coin: A Legionary Denarius of Septimius Severus

193-211 AD, Legionary denarius, Rome, 193 AD, 2.98g. BM-7, C-256 (10 Fr.), RIC-2.
On the Reverse: LEG I ADIVT TR P COS Legionary eagle between two standards.
On the Obverse: Head of Septimius right, bearded with diadem.
Condition: Good VF

The support of the Legions was vital for the Emperors of Rome to maintain, and a great deal of the coins produced by Rome went to pay the soldiers to ensure their loyalty.

To that end many of the coins struck featured the Emperor's military virtues and appealed to the loyalty of the armies.

Few emperors struck coins that actually named the Legions. Mark Anthony, while not a Roman Emperor was the first to issue a series of Legionary Denarius, and his series are the most famous. The later Roman Emperors Gallienus and Septimius Severus also struck coins naming individual legions. In Severus' case the legions depicted on the coins were those that supported him in the civil war of 193-194 CE.

This Coin honors Legio I Adiutirx. It is currently for sale, along with a number of other of Severus' Legionary Denarii by Harlan J. Berk in the Company's current bid or buy sale. This coin has a top buy price of $550.00

The Severus legionary series is the scarcer of the legionary denarius issues and such a group of them being offered for sale is quite a rare occurrence.

Michigan Spammer heading to Jail

In a first under the CAN-SPAM Act, a Michigan resident will likely receive jail time for spamming. As reported in the Detroit News: Feds to send spammer to slammer

A West Bloomfield man, the lead defendant in the nation's first anti-spam prosecution brought under a 2004 law, has reached a plea deal that will result in at least two years in prison.

Daniel J. Lin is expected to plead guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to three felony counts, including two charges of fraud in connection with electronic mail, according to a court filing and his Detroit attorney, Juan Mateo.

Lin was charged with three other West Bloomfield men in April 2004 with sending millions of illegal spam e-mails.

Interestingly enough, Lin was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and that charge will be a part of the plea agreement.

While its a positive step, considering this is just the result of the first prosecution since 2003, its time for the Feds to step up prosecuting spammers. One down, many more sources of spam flooding my inbox to go.

Update (1/17/06): Blogger Expatriate Owl emails that one of the problems with CAN-SPAM is that it lacks a private right of action allowing those who are spammed to sue the spammers. I couldn't agree more. Instead of the having just the Federal Government, with its relatively limited resources to worry about (after all the FBI has more important things to investigate than spammers) imagine if the spammers could be sued by everyone to whom they sent spam illegally to. I'd think the amount of spam would drop dramatically.