Japan has been in the news because of the destructive earthquake. The news has described the calmness of the Japanese people and discussed their character in crisis. That brings to mind a Japanese dog, Hachiko who is famous in Japan. In fact, the people of Tokyo commissioned a statue of the dog which they placed in a popular location. Even Japanese children’s books make this dog a hero. Richard Gere starred in a 2009 movie of about the dog: Hachi:…
I was interested in Graham Bowley's writing about where world dictators "hide" their money in Sunday's NY Times. He notes that el Qaddafi has stashed away billions in U.S. and other currencies in Libya and the problem he would have moving it out of country in bulk. Imelda Marcos was charged with trying to move 22 crates of Philippine pasos when they fled to Hawaii in 1986. Jean Claude Duvalier and his wife took $33 Million from the Haiti bank…
I could rant about the elections and the dismal political future we face with the party of "NO" determined to obstruct everything, but it just makes me get angry and upset. I was planning to talk about the state elections and the initiatives, but I think we are all just sick and tired of politicians and politics. So, instead, since this is the blog that reports all the news, I have this story to report to you. I admit I’m a little…
Matt Emmons is a native of New Jersey, and an American competitive sport shooter. He began shooting competitively at high school. At 17 he became a member of the National Rifle Team. In college he won the NCCA a rifle championship four times when he in college. He has had an amazing career of success in his field. But, he also has had a bizarre history of bad luck in the Olympic shooting events. In the 2004 Summer Olympics he had…
You get all the news here. A couple of news items caught my eye this week. The first two involve a couple of guys who managed to shoot themselves in the testicles. How could they have done that, you ask? Well, to start with, it helps to not use common sense. Our first victim was a macho kind of guy who, for reasons I’ll never know, walked into a Lynnwood Lowe’s Home Improvement store with a handgun stuffed down the waistband of his pants. Maybe he had…
You’ve probably read or heard about the "cathedral of Junk" in Austin, Texas. I happened to be listening to public radio http://www.npr.org/ when an interview with the creator, Vince Hannemann, age 47, was broadcast. I hadn’t heard about it before the broadcast, but it was unusual enough I thought I’d check the internet about it. In an article in Roadside America http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/7816 it says that this arrangement of junk is in Hannermann’s back yard and was constructed over time using…
Do you remember the 1969 Woody Allen classic movie Take the Money and Run? Allen plays such a total loser that he even fails at trying to rob a bank because his handwriting is so bad on the hold up note the bank teller can’t read it. They argue about what the note says and Allen finally just gives up. That scene from the movie came to mind while reading the Spokesman Review newspaper in Spokane the other day. Lita…
Margaret Carlson (http://seattlepi.nwsouce.com/opinions/371647_carlson22.hml) has written in the Seattle PI about Gina Gray. She was the public affairs officer for Arlington National Cemetery who was first demoted and than fired for her activities in trying to ease restrictions preventing media coverage of burials for families of deceased soldiers. The three perpetrator’s behind the Iraq blunder, Bush, Cheney and Rumstead, following Karl Rove’s advice, created tactics to avoid public objection to the invasion of Iraq. In addition to outright lies and false documentation, the…
Renee Dudley has written (Islandpacket.com) about an incredible story involving two men, one heart and one wife. Dudley writes that in 1995, thirty three year old Terry Cottle shot himself, in a suicide attempt twelve years ago in the South Carolina home he occupied with his wife Cheryl. Cottle was put on life support in a Charleston hospital. At the of his suicide shooting, Sonny Graham, in Georgia, was suffering from congestive heart failure problems and was on a heart…
Today’s Seattle PI editorial comment on Iran is on point regarding the increasing drum beat regarding Iran. As it points out, on Sunday Face the Nation Sen. Lindsey Graham called Iran "The cancer of the Mideast" and Republican hopeful Sen. John McCain, has repeatedly blurred the lines between al-Qaida in Iraq with Iran. We forget the history of America’s role in that region. As the comment notes, we orchestrated the coup in Iran overthrowing an elected leader and re-installed the…
