WannaGo

So, meanwhile, charges against him have been dropped, so he's sitting in some luxury hotel in Bangkok?

The guy definitely is oily. He set up his own website, where he claims he's nothing but a guy trying to make a living who was framed by a disgruntled former associate:

Victor Bout is a Russian businessman who became one of the world’s famous on the basis of fictitious tales and stories which were generated from one source -- a corrupt United Nations contractor who was generously paid for the UN contracts he arranged with the help of others for Victor’s companies, and then became mad for vengeance when Victor refused to continue paying him. All you know about Victor Bout is traceable to Johan Peleman’s report, a report that was written as a novel and made Peleman an expert, a hero, and a very wealthy man.

Victor Bout is a dynamic, charismatic, spontaneous, well-dressed, well-spoken, and highly energetic person who can easily communicate in several languages including Russian, Portuguese, English, French, Arabic, among several others. He is a born salesman with undying love for aviation and eternal drive to succeed.

The Federation of American Scientists has gotten some of the documents related to the US case against him, including handwritten notes of the weapons and ammo he intended to supply.

The FAS blog makes a good point about why this case is important:

While the documents contain some important details and add texture to the unfolding drama in Bangkok, they shed little additional light on several key questions, including whether Bout and Smulian actually had access to the weapons that they allegedly promised to deliver to the FARC. This question is particularly important in regards to the 100 shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles, which, as explained in an earlier posting on the Strategic Security Blog, have been the focus of an international control campaign for nearly seven years because of the threat they pose to military and commercial aircraft. Confirmation that Bout had access to the missiles would suggest the need for renewed vigor in the global fight against shoulder-fired missile proliferation.

I would be willing to bet, if you managed to do away with the gown and flowers, there would be plenty of curves for you.

OK, let me put it another way. I like them a little thicker.

The problem is there are so many uneducated people in Thailand, especially in the northeast. They have no idea what Toxin has done and would continue to do to Thailand if he were ever to return to power.

What is it that you see him doing if that scenario ever played out?

...quoted Myanmar's leader as saying if Suu Kyi maintained "a good attitude" it was possible Myanmar authorities will relax current measures.

A good attitude, presumably, being that she doesn't speak openly about that pesky democracy subject or the democratic elections that were ignored by the junta 20 years ago.

Last month, China rapped the former Burma over the violence, demanding the government protect Chinese citizens and make sure such incidents did not happen again.

Isn't that sort of like Bill Clinton trying to lecture Mark Sanford on marital fidelity?

It's good if the junta is beginning to show signs of backing off its hard-line stance. And it's good that the Obama administration is making efforts to normalize relations. The US needs to start building some influence in Myanmar to counter the Chinese.

I wish I lived on a planet without religious fanatics of any sort.

Oh, and I also wish I lived on a planet where frogs shit marshmallows.

Bush may well be gone, but the damage he did lives on.

I think it will be years yet before we fully appreciate the extent of the damage.

Did I not read somewhere that there was a family history of this?

And I can tell you that using too many over-the-counter paid relievers can cause edema. I had a scare of this sort a few years ago because I was taking too much Motrin for back pain.

"In my state, for example, one must have an expert opinion in hand supporting the claim before one can even give notice that you intend to pursue a claim against a medical professional."

Yeah, and good luck finding a doctor willing to go on record criticizing the work of another doctor.

The deterrent is that that individual will never kill again. IMHO, people like Gacy, Dahmer, & Manson to name a few are better off dead and society is better off without them.

I agree with that 100%. That's why I would support the death penalty if we could ever get a reliable and equitable system figured out. But until then, I side with those who want a moratorium imposed.

I'll never forget this case from several years ago.

Kid and his buddy arranged a drug deal for the purpose of ripping off two dealers. Only, the dealers also planned to rip them off. They showed up, nobody had any dope or any cash. They pulled out guns and started shooting. The buddy and one of the dealers ended up dead.

Evidence couldn't show who started shooting first, only that all four had been shooting. But the live dealer struck a deal to testify against the kid, say he'd been the first to shoot.

The kid got charged with capital murder, convicted and sentenced to death. The whole thing took less than a week.

When it was over, I asked the prosecutor why he pushed for the death penalty on this, of all cases, when it wasn't clear the kid had acted with premeditation or intent. He said, "Murder offends me."

Any other county, any other prosecutor, any other time, that kid would have gotten 2nd degree and pulled 25, maybe life. It just happened to be his bad luck that this particular prosecutor got the case.

Not too long after that, another guy went to trial in that same courthouse (with a different prosecutor) for a shooting over drugs outside a nightclub. He got life. So did another guy who broke into a woman's home and strangled her because she resisted his attempts at rape.

There's just no rhyme or reason to who gets the death sentence and who doesn't.

Granted, she is a dim whitted bimbo, but why categorize her as low life?

Everyone has something they hate...for me, it's the vapid rich.

I see that kind of movie only because my bf likes them. Given my druthers, I would skip them. He sees movies with me that are not exactly his cup of tea also, so I can't refuse to go with him.

I bet he'll really dig Wolverine, then. Outstanding addition to the series.

I read all the early issues of X-Men comics. Good way for kids to learn to read.

I read them, too, back in the early 80s. Wish I still had them...they'd be worth a fortune.

poot mak mak...Google and Babelfish were useless...what's it mean?

I went to a strip club/sex shop called Sexyland in Frankfurt and got a little surprise when the "chick" took off her thong. Not as they appear, indeed.

I would be interested if anyone knows the conditions of Polanski's incarceration. What are the the housing conditions like ?

It can't be too bad..."Roman Polanski is attempting to complete his film 'The Ghost' from his jail cell in Zurich," according to the LA Times. Here's a link to an article with a picture of the facility where he's being held. Unfortunately, all you can see is the outside of the building.

but I heard of a pilot retiree for United that was making six figures when he hung up his wings.

That's for large jets with major airlines. Not for commuter plane pilots on smaller carriers. This was in the Baltimore Sun:

"My daughter is Captain on a regional jet...She is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University...It took my daughter five years to get promoted to Captain. This doubled her wages. After five years as a First Officer, she was making about $28K."

Tipping has gotten way out of hand. Even self service restaurants have tip jars on the counter. For what is the tip supposed to be?

I would laugh my ass off if I saw a tip jar in a McDonald's.

There's a little convenience store down the street from my house. Because it's right on the beach and gets a lot of tourist business, the prices are through the roof. I was too lazy to go to the grocery store yesterday, so I ran down there for a loaf of bread and a bag of pretzels. Cost me almost $7.

And there on the counter at the register is a tip jar. I pay, and promptly stick my change right back in my pocket, with the guy at the register eye-fucking me the whole time. But these guys don't pump gas, they don't help you shop. All they do is ring up your purchases and only put them in bag if you ask...so why the hell should they get tipped?

Beautiful face, skinny body. I likes 'em curvy.

Now, do we protest that they have an ad for a pedophile?

Tell us more about this, please?

I thought they'd already released the cause of death as pulmonary edema.

http://www.nathanielphilbrick.com/heartofthesea/index.html

This is a very well written and informative book. I highly recommend it.

Yep, that's the one I put on my list. Hope the library has it.

The death penalty sure deters the hell out of the killer who's executed. And I have no problem with the concept that if you take an innocent life, you must forfeit yours.

The problem is that the system is rife with mistakes that send the wrong people to death row, as we see every day in the work done by the outstanding Innocence Project. Even when they get the right person, the death penalty is applied so inconsistently as to be patently unjust.

By the way, while the Congressional Budget Office determined that malpractice tort reform would reduce health care costs by $11 billion this year, that actually only accounts for 1/2 of 1 percent of overall medical spending. So while it may help, it's not the urgent issue that the insurance lobbyists would have us believe.

I think the impact of malpractice litigation on overall healthcare costs is overstated by conservatives.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics looked at 43,000 cases from Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas that were closed between 2000 and 2004. The study concluded that:

Most medical malpractice claims were closed without any compensation provided to those claiming a medical injury. About a third of claims closed in Maine, Missouri and Nevada resulted in a payout.

Among persons receiving compensation, insurance payouts were highest for claimants who suffered lifelong major or grave permanent injuries. In Florida and Missouri claimants with these types of injuries received median payouts ranging from $278,000 to $350,000.

That hardly seems like a crisis to me.

Just saw Wolverine last night and loved it. What did you guys think?