Primarily Political XXII

Have you noticed how everyone is picking on Donald Trump?
- A man with a sledge hammer  - defaced his star on the Hollywood Walk of "Fame".
-Joe Biden offered to take him behind the gym.
-The media is accused of bias.
-And now we learn of his data operation in San Antonio code named "The Alamo" - does he realize that The Alamo was not a winning battle?
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!
tjs

Hang on, Snoopy!

Last year about this time I wrote about the Peanuts gang reaching their 65th birthday. Now one year later we read that Snoopy is being sent out to pasture and will no longer appear on the Met Life blimp as the global insurer is going in a different direction. I hope Met Life gave him an annuity to keep him in dog food for the rest of his life.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/business/media/metlife-grounds-snoopy-curse-you-red-baron.html?_r=0

Rosemary & Time

In a small Italian village south of Naples there is a preponderance of citizenry ninety years of age or older.  Scientists have zeroed in on their diet - they use rosemary on everything they cook. Their quality of life is high and incidence of Alzheimer's disease is low. A professor of medicine was quoted "At 95, they have the brains of a 50 year old........and you're still thinking a lot about sex." Mamma Mia!
Dieticians take note!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/world/what-in-the-world/rosemary-and-time-does-this-italian-hamlet-have-a-recipe-for-long-life.html?src=me&_r=0

Deere, Hear This!

In the Indian countryside there are about 136 million farmers working small plots but unable to own their own tractors. In previous attempts to rent equipment they were subjected to price gouging. Now enter a Uber type company with a smartphone app Trringo which will furnish rental equipment on demand but with internet shortages they will also respond by phone - all for 700 rupees per hour.  So they can put their oxen out to pasture. How now John Deere!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/world/what-in-the-world/trringo-app-india.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=9&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F18%2Fworld%2Fwhat-in-the-world%2Ftrringo-app-india.html&eventName=Watching-article-click

Primarily Political XXI

Donald Trump's wife, in referring to the Hollywood tape, said she thought he was "egged" on by the host - and she wasn't "yolking."

Stay tuned for the third debate which we really don't need.
tjs

It's No Wonder.

The United Nations has just selected a new Secretary General to serve for five years. HE is a seasoned Portuguese diplomat. His election passed over seven female applicants but as a consolation offering they picked a cartoon character as its mascot: Wonder Woman! This follows in the wake of naming as social ambassadors such as Winnie the Pooh and Tinker Bell. So, while we may see a woman in the White House soon it seems unlikely to also see a lady in the U.N. chair.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/world/americas/wonder-woman-united-nations.html?ref=world

Lox Masters II

As a sequel to Zabar's I had a conversation with a medical professional who related his experience when in surgical training. They were having a session on skin grafting and new techniques were just arriving on the scene. But the old professor wanted him to spend several days in a Jewish deli observing the lox slicers who were truly artisans with the blade. And he did so and was duly impressed.
tjs

Lox Masters

Tomorrow our Jewish brethren celebrate the high holy day of Yom Kippur and Zabar's deli on the west side of Manhattan is bracing for the rush for lox and estimate they will sell 10,000 lbs. in the week prior @$42.00 per pound. The demand is so great that they have to add on extra slicers called out of retirement. A story is told of a fussy lady who asked for several slices, the slicer sliced and paused and she said "Cut, cut!" A few more cuts were made and he paused again. Again she said "Cut, cut!" and he accommodated her. Finally, she said "I'll take those two"! Not recommended when the man has a delicate blade in his hand.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/nyregion/a-high-holy-call-for-lox-and-old-hands-to-slice-it-at-zabars.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Potpourri XIII

Dateline - Mumbai, India: The police descended on a telephone calling center arresting dozens who were posing as I.R.S. auditors harassing unsuspecting taxpayers with threats. The occupants were stunned that they were raided. Perhaps insufficient rupees were paid off.

China (CHI-nah) for some time has had a policy of one child families - preferably male. Now they are startled to learn of some population shrinkage in outlying districts and are now urging comrades to increase the family size to two children. Another case of Big Brother in the bedroom.

A politician's greatest fears are Email and a "hot mic".
tjs

Brevity in Briefs

No, this is not about boxers vs. briefs - or Speedos!  In the world of legal appellate courts the maximum number of words permitted in a legal brief is 14,000. Some lawyers think it's not enough but let's have some pity on the judges who have to read through this legalese. Considering three briefs per case with a workload of 1200 cases annually, a judge might have to pour through 42 million words connected to his or her caseload. Speed reading might come in handy.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/business/dealbook/judges-push-brevity-in-briefs-and-get-a-torrent-of-arguments.html?ref=dealbook

A Prophecy Come True

At Sunday Mass the Old Testament reading was by the little known prophet Habakkuk who lived around 600 BC.  There were several lines that stood out and got my attention:...."there is strife and clamorous discord"....."the rash one has no integrity". Flash forward 2600 years (MMDC) and we find a "rash" individual on the political scene.
But that's what prophets do - they prophesy!
tjs