Season's Greetings

An Island ?

In all seriousness,

I must admit, I feel a great disquietude about Saddam Hussein’s trial in Baghdad.

When Napoleon escaped from exile to Elba, he returned to Paris and remobilized his troops. He then marched against the allied European forces led by Britain’s General Wellington and was soundly defeated at Waterloo. Surrendering to the Captain of a British warship, the HMS Bellerophon, he was taken to Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic, where he remained in enforced exile until he died on May 5, 1821. Nineteen years later, his remains were returned to Paris, where he is presently entombed.

When Saddam Hussein was brought out of hiding from a subterranean cesspool, he announced to his captors, "I am the President of Iraq." He was quickly taken to a secret location where he remains sequestered. And now he is undergoing trial by a panel of Iraqi judges, whose authority is "derived" from the Iraqi "government."

Having captured him alive, what to do with him became an immediate and pressing concern. Turning him over to The Hague was not viewed as an acceptable option, since that tribunal has foregone execution. Having the Iraqis try him seemed more appropriate, especially because it would provide all of Islam with a universally witnessed democratic proceeding.

But now that the trial has started, it is beginning to look like a not very good idea. Bearded and not immaculately attired, an angry Saddam is using his defendant’s gated section as a circus platform. Hostile and insolent, he incessantly attacks the judges. His retinue of co-defendants support and applaud him. In the meantime, judges, lawyers and witnesses are threatened and some have already been killed. Some witnesses are concealed from view. Their recorded voices are distorted to prevent recognition. Defense lawyers don't always have access to them. Adding to the surrealism of the setting, Ramsey Clark (who served as President Johnson’s Attorney General) has joined Saddam’s defense team and he keeps actively challenging the court's authority. In truth, not every Iraqi reviles Saddam. Indeed, increasing numbers of them seem to be moving toward his side. It pleases them and perhaps most of Middle East Islam to see Saddam embarrass the court and humiliate the Americans.

When and if a conviction is eventually obtained, the melodrama will surely gain passion and momentum. Whether or not to execute him, if that is the Court's verdict, will be debated and argued everywhere. Appeal will follow upon appeal. Discord will play upon discord. The focus will become blurred and the authorities who decided to place him on trial will probably begin to regret their decision to do so.

Perhaps a page or two should be taken from the saga of Napoleon. Why not place Saddam aboard the USS Cole and transport him to a remote island on one of our seven seas? There, under the watchful eyes of an internationally appointed committee, he could spend the remainder of his life in enforced exile. Then, how and where to entomb him will be subject to the imagination and perspicacity of those who must eventually make that decision. How he will be remembered by Iraqis and the rest of the world will depend on the conscience and perspectives of history.

What do you think?

Comments by: Dr Correoso and Attorney Kenney

Is this our Mission?

Just mouthing off . . .

Rome ~

During Rome’s first 600 years, right up to the time of Caesar and the birth of Christ, it was a genuine democratic republic. While legend attributes its founding to Romulus and Remus, Virgil claims that Aeneas of Troy played a significant part in its early years. The Roman republic was generally well governed by elected officials. It grew until it eventually occupied all of the Italian peninsula and neighboring lands. Following the assassination of Caesar, Rome became an empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it eventually embraced most of Europe, Greece, northern Africa and Asia Minor. Not until the 4th century A.D. did it finally undergo dissolution. The vacuum in its wake was filled by Christianity and the Holy Roman Empire.

Though Rome’s legions were militarily invincible, the empire’s growth derived from its cultural diversity and its energetic economy. It absorbed the civilization of Greece and amalgamated it with its own indigenous learning and experience. It did much the same with every region it overcame. Religiously tolerant, Rome developed a high degree of social order. While insurrections did erupt, they were quickly quelled. But peace generally prevailed everywhere. Conquered people were eager to become citizens of Rome. Much that we favor and even extol today, in our modern civilization, has its roots in Roman history. In an ironic twist of fate, the name of the last official emperor of Rome was Romulus Augustulus.

America ~
America is about 200 years old, but not until the turn of the 20th century did it become a major player on the world’s stage. The America(s) were "discovered" after Islam had spread to many parts of Europe. Indeed, maritime exploration was Europe’s effort to break out of its Islamic constraints. With the discovery of the New World, Europe prospered. It received added impetus from the Renaissance. But warfare on that continent remained pandemic. It took two major military interventions by America to break that cycle. By 1950, the U.S. brought democracy to Japan and then to S Korea. But it failed in Vietnam. Then after it engineered the downfall of communist Russia, America became the only Superpower of the world.

Squalor, poverty, disease and genocide, exist side by side with growth, wealth and prosperity on this planet. And now there is terrorism, havoc and devastation. Evidently, Islam is inclined to believe it has long been the prey of "crusading" colonialists and Zionists. Unable to compete on Western terms, it is now disposed to reduce the West to ashes. It has initiated a jihad against its "oppressors." At the same time, America appears to be persuading itself that because it is the strongest military and economic force in the world, it has the mandated "imperial" right and "duty" to be benevolently despotic. Coveting no territory, it seeks, perhaps quixotically, to inculcate and maintain peace, freedom and democracy everywhere.

= What do you think? Should America bring all of its foreign based troops home? Should it ignore the jihad and simply mind its own business? Should we provide all of our war prisoners with plush surroundings, gourmet food, around the clock legal services and uninterrupted access to our courts? Should their telephones be unmonitored? To cocoon ourselves more securely, should we erect fences to keep those who are out, out and those who are in, in? Be reminded, there are only 800 years left, to decide whether or not we want to emulate Rome!

Those "fasces" on both sides of the illustration are Roman symbols of magisterial authority. They are on the Seal of the United States Senate and they are mounted on the wall of the House of Representatives, flanking both sides of the Speaker’s platform.

Dear Lou,

Though this is a personal letter to Lou Michaels, a dear relative of ours, Lenore and I are not reluctant to share it with this blog's readers. During this season, most us are writing letters conveying love to our families and friends. We close this one with a genuinely sincere plea to all the Gods, to deal more compassionately with humanity.

Dear Lou,

I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you are terribly upset with me because I have been so dilatory about getting this letter written and sent.

You know that Lenore and I count you as one of our dearest relatives. We go back very many years and we have shared many happy and some very sad moments together. And even now, those techno-interrupted, non-working hearing aid, phone conversations that we struggle through every week are like precious pearls strung on a string. Needless to say, Lou, we still mourn and sorely miss your dear wife Evelyn whose death left a particularly large space in your life, an emptiness that will forever remain unfilled.

Although it has not yet come to pass, a visit by you with us here in Somers and/or a visit by Lenore and me with you in Richmond, are occasions we eagerly look forward to. But because we know you are not quite up to it, hopefully the eventual visit will be by us with you in Richmond. Regrettably, however, with our current health problems and our many holiday commitments, we will need to keep things temporarily on hold. But as sure as God created Adam and then Eve, we will be at your home soon, to spend some intimate, un-telephone-wired time together.

In the meantime, for your amusement, I have enclosed a few of the postings I wrote for my blog. You will glean from them that my sclerotic mind, like yours, is disposed to wander and visit unusual places. But my computer is a great joy to me. How I wish yours were not residing in an unreachable place in an inaccessible closet.

In some ways, my little laptop computer is like that "Magic Carpet" in Arabian nights. With it, I can float over the entire world, (not just Baghdad). Incidentally, I have a program that tells me who visits my blogsite and among many other things it checks, it tells me exactly where these folks are located and the language they speak. To date, it has amazed me to discover that I’m being read by people in nearly every country of the world. Up to now, however, there are no signs that The Hornblower is being circulated on Mars, Venus or Jupiter. But as Tonto used to say to the Lone Ranger, "Quien sabe?"

May this season relieve each of us of some of our discomfort and bring us all a bit of joy. But above all, may it induce Allah, and his fellow divinities, to bring this planet some much needed respite from war and destruction. And may these deities also strive to hold off with their hurricanes, fires, tsunamis and earthquakes.

With remembrance of things past, we drink to a happier future,

Dom and Lenore

Sen. Joe Lieberman

"Why hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah with the sword and hast taken his wife Bathsheba ..." were the words with which Nathan, sent by the Lord, admonished King David of Israel.

Senator Joe Lieberman, a latter day Nathan, was the first Democratic Senator to publicly upbraid Clinton for his sexual misconduct with Monica Lewinsky. And now, the Senator is being ruthlessly assailed by his party for supporting our government's continued involvement in the Mideast.

From even before ancient Egyptian times, Jews have been wandering nomads. Briefly settled in the Holy Land after their exodus from Egypt, their short term lease there, rapidly expired and after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD they resumed their diaspora. And now, although the modern state of Israel was created with the blessings and sanction of the United Nations, outspoken, militant Muslims everywhere, want Jews and their homeland to be wiped from the map.

Ostracized, ghettoized, pogromized and holocausted, Jews tend to feel more secure by identifying with their host nation's political left. But were they to be transplanted from America to modern day Israel, they would undoubtedly become politically more conservative. Here in America, most people on the left are disengenuous about what is clearly an unrelenting and spreading Islamic jihad against the West. But in Israel, completely surrounded by Muslims who are committed to their extinction, Jews are subjected nearly every day to murderous and devastating assaults. And Israel is more than acutely aware that it must depend almost entirely upon itself for its security and continued existence. In stark contrast to some of his obviously less informed political colleagues, the Senator needs no instruction about this omnipresent, calamitous situation!

Senator Joe Lieberman is by any standards an elder statesman. Possessed of great wisdom, experience and integrity, he is not likely to reverse his political course and become a Republican . Unlike more than a few in his party, he is no demagogue. Courageous, perceptive and extremely well grounded in secular and religious history, he is a proud, loyal and inspiring patriot. Take him very seriously; he walks exceedingly tall among us.

Be careful !

For reasons not too difficult to understand, driving during the winter on sunlit days can be especially bothersome (and dangerous) because of the ubiquitous and very intense glare of the low-lying sun.

On December 21 (winter solstice) the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, 23 degrees S (Rio de Janeiro). Observers in New York latitudes on that day will observe that the sun’s altitude over the horizon at 9am and 3pm can be as low as 12 degrees. In the illustration above, the blue line just below the word Winter is the altitude subtended by the sun at about 9am and 3pm on that day. The red line is the declination of the sun at 12:00 noon, its zenith for that date. This means that unless you are turned completely away from the sun, its incandescent beams are coming right through your windshield or the side windows.

In contrast, on June 21 (summer solstice) the sun is between 50 and 72 degrees above the horizon. Its beams bounce off the tops of our vehicles and our vision is not distracted by glare. Incidentally, (for reference) Havana is only a few miles south of the Tropic of Cancer, 23 degrees N. Whereas during the solstices, the sun is directly over those cities at 12:00 noon, the highest the sun rises over New York’s northern suburbs on June 21 is about 72 degrees. I must emphasize, the angles just quoted remain pretty much the same for about two weeks before and two weeks after the solstices.

By the way: Whatever you may think of its relevance, the illustration above was not the result of spontaneous generation. Needing a graphic image of a protractor, I checked in with Google, where I was able to copy an image from one of the many sources it offered. Taking it to my photo program, I edited out everything extraneous with a cloning tool and brought it to WordPerfect. While there, the four lines subtending through the arc of the protractor were easily inserted. The image of the Sun came from WP’s clipart disc and then, using the printed composite, I scanned it to file and placed it in my photo album. The blog program makes it a simple task to retrieve images for inclusion into postings. I wrote all of the above, to show people who are unfamiliar with these processes, how infinitely accessible and fascinating are a computer’s resources, even for such rank amateurs as you and I.

Globalization (!)

I stopped at Staples this morning to purchase ink cartridges for my Epson Printer. Finding the proper cartridges is not always easy, especially for oldsters who can no longer bend down without cracking their joints and whose vision lacks the acuity needed to sort out all the pertinent serial numbers.

So, it was serendipitous that I was met by an alert looking young man who immediately came up to me and cheerfully offered his assistance. He zeroed in quickly on what I needed but he had to make a quick trip elsewhere in inventory to obtain a color cartridge that was missing from the main package. All this was done with an alacrity and efficiency that was most gratifying to behold.

His name is Sumit Tandon and I correctly guessed that he is from India. I thanked him and we talked for several minutes about India’s current burgeoning economy. Indeed, I recalled for him that about 25 years ago, at a seminar conducted by the then popular lecturer, Roger Karas, it was agreed that India, like Bangladesh, was a "basket case" and that it could never possibly recover. So much for academic prescience! But who could have foretold that the vibrant economy that sweeps the world today is largely because of America’s initiative and support for globalization?

In any case, before I checked out, I looked for someone to whom I could explain how I had just been so helpfully assisted. When I found an employee who looked managerial, I tapped him on the shoulder and told him that I wished to convey to the manager that Sumit Tandon had been exceedingly accommodating. He smiled broadly as he responded, "Sumit Tandon is our Assistant General Manager."

Addendum: May I advise you backward looking jihadists and you isolationist politicos and journalists who guard an illusory status quo, stop deluding yourselves! Emerge from your myopic view of the world! America’s "benevolently despotic" presence in the heart of the Mideast is a mega-catalytic force that has the potential to bring this planet to levels of freedom and democracy it has never known before. Take pride, America! As long as people keep storming our gates to gain entrance, we must be doing something right!

Bienvenu Sumit Tandon!

Legal fog lifts ?

I asked my son-in-law Robert Bruce Kenney to explain why some convicted New York murderers are now being set free. Please refer to my recent post, 12.3.05, The Law, grrr.

THE GOOD, BAD AND THE GUILTY

• During October 2004, I represented Kenneth Payne before New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. The charges against him had arisen out of an incident where after an argument with his neighbor over the telephone, the defendant went to his closet, took out his twelve-gauge shotgun and then walked next door and confronted him. After heated words, Payne fired a single blast into the stomach of his old friend, killing him instantly.

• Since 1987 the Court of Appeals has tried to warn state prosecutors that a defendant cannot be convicted simultaneously of depraved indifference murder and intentional murder. It reasoned that if both counts are charged, they must be charged in the alternative because: one who acts intentionally in shooting a person to death [intentional murder] ~ cannot at the same time act recklessly (depraved indifference murder). The act is either intended or not! It cannot be both. Depraved murder results not from a conscious intent to cause death, but from an indifference to the risks of the defendant’s behavior (like driving a vehicle into a crowded street corner and killing a stranger).

• Since 1978, prosecutors in NY have been charging "twin-count" indictments, depraved and intentional in every murder case, where they cannot prove the intent to kill. Juries are drawn to compromise. When given both options, they may believe they are giving defendants a break by convicting them only of depraved murder. In fact, both charges carry the same sentence (25 years to life).

• Payne was clearly an intentional shooting. My client fired his "elephant gun" at point-blank range. If there was ever an intentional killing, this one was it! And the Court of Appeals agreed. However, unlike in previous cases, Payne had only this single charge and instead of a reduced sentence as in prior reversals, he was set FREE. Hence, the uproar! Murderer Walks!

• Sadly, NY lawyers are now on the Payne bandwagon. They are trying to have decisions applied retroactively to old murder convictions. Defense attorneys who long ago lost their state appeals are now going to federal court to challenge the convictions under this new ruling and they are having some success.

• But prosecutors in NY are now ceasing the practice of giving juries "twin-count" murder options. However, until this new legal principle is more clearly understood, other murderers will be set free.

Robert Bruce Kenney, Attorney at Law

I must say, you have really stirred the legal pot! And all this time, I thought you never inhaled - Papa

En passant

Dear Hornblower,

I just wanted to send you a quick e-mail to say that I read your profile, and I am just amazed at all that you have accomplished and experienced in your life. If you quickly read my profile you'll realize that right now I am just a bundle of ambition in search of her next adventure. In other words, what is your secret? I know this is presumptuous, but I have always sought the advice of those older and wiser. I'll be an avid reader!

Sincerely, Lindsey Russell

Posted 12.4.05 in Lindsey’s blog "Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde"

The Hornblower

The following is the latest and greatest post in my other Blog "Writings of a Misguided Blonde." I seem to be cross-pollinating tonight! What fun! Please enjoy all of my rambling writings.

Just amazing! The blog of an extremely accomplished 91 year-old man... It makes me dream of what I can achieve in the next 66/67 years. All I know is that I continually need to learn new things, acquire new skills and interests. As always, more later! His is one of the most truthful blogs I have ever come across. One great experiment in people's innermost thoughts. Quite intriguing, but then again, aren't they all???

Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde (Profile)

Name: Lindsey Russell Location: Bay City, Michigan, United States
I graduated from Michigan State University May 2004 with degrees in Supply Chain Management and Spanish. Currently, I am searching for a new job in Bay City, Michigan as my fiance and I are struggling to create a wonderful life for ourselves in Michigan. We are looking forward to buying a house in Bay City and planning our wedding! Before too long, I hope to start my own business as well. Currently, I would like to start a professional organizing business. I just hope Bay City is a large enough city to support such a business. I must admit, I am a bit apprehensive.

Dear Lindsey,

While I am greatly flattered by your warmly complimentary remarks, I must confess I really have no secrets (other than my 1.5 oz of Jack Daniels at dinner every night). Having read some of my postings, you have already noted that I am a firm disbeliever in self-isolating privacy. I like to let it all hang out. Or as the legals sometimes say, "Res ipse loquitur." What I do and say speaks for itself.

Because blogging is so self-illuminating and so easy to do, I try earnestly to persuade everyone I know, to start their own journal. There is truly no better way to stand beside yourself and gaze penetratingly within.

Dom Gabriele (Archangel Gabriel)

The Law, grrr

THE JOURNAL NEWS - December 3, 2005

WHITE PLAINS - Citing a legal technicality, a federal judge has tossed out the murder conviction of a reputed Tanglewood Boy’s gang member for the 1994 slaying of a college student outside a Yonkers bar.

U.S. District Judge Charles Brieant ruled that Anthony DiSimone, 39, the son of a reputed Lucchese crime family captain, was wrongly convicted of second-degree murder when a jury found him guilty of acting with "depraved indifference" in stabbing Louis Balancio to death February 4, 1994. DiSimone was cleared of intentionally killing Balancio.

In a different case decided last year, New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled that a defendant could not be legally convicted of a reckless murder charge when prosecutors present a slaying as being deliberate.

Brieant cited that ruling - the case of Kenneth Payne, who was convicted in 2000 of a Long Island killing - in making his decision, which was filed yesterday in federal court in White Plains.

It was my son-in-law Robert Bruce Kenney who argued before the New York Court of Appeals that Kenneth Payne was convicted of murder under the incorrect charge that he had committed the crime while in a state of "depraved indifference." He contended that Payne had "intentionally murdered" his victim. And so, because the original charge was inappropriate, the Court of Appeals overturned that conviction - but since Payne could not be retried for the same offense (double jeopardy) he had to be set free. A most ironic legal twist! And now, it is precisely because of that ruling, that DiSimone, another murderer, will soon, like Payne, be released from prison.

For background on this legal morass, please go to the Archives on the right side of this page and click on October 2004. Then scroll down to those postings dated October 4, 2004, Murder, yes...but (?) and October 19, A Murderer Walks. A third posting on this subject is dated November 29, 2004, Murder will out.

Allow me to ask ~ Moses, what thinkest thou?

Revisit your Brain

About 2 months ago, my daughter Lorna introduced me to Sudoku, a new, highly addictive Japanese puzzle that virus-like is spreading rapidly over our entire planet.

While at first, I was tentative about trying the puzzle, in no time flat it has completely possessed me. I take it to bed with me and I become oblivious to the fact that my spouse is beside me. Actually, she has a Sudoku on her own clipboard and she refuses to be interrupted while she is busy writing and erasing.

As most of you know, I am in my early nineties and I am able to say, with a modicum of pride, that I never "inhaled" and I never sniffed cocaine or injected myself with heroin. I don’t even know what Ecstasy is except that it is a word that describes high levels of pleasure. But Sudoku? It is on another level. It has to be experienced, to be believed.

If you have been stirred by what you are reading, there are several options available. It can be done online where you can compete with fellow denizens on the Internet or you can download the Sudoku Challenge for a free trial and an eventual purchase of about $20. That is the option I used. I find it infinitely more convenient and "exciting" to do the puzzles offline on my own computer screen. The program even allows you to print the puzzle at various levels of difficulty so that you can do it at your leisure while not seated at your computer.

Go to Google and type in "Sudoku Challenge." With the flick of a key or two, you’ll soon have the puzzle on your computer and from then on, believe me, you will no longer be the same person. But I guarantee that those little gray cells in your cerebral cortex will come to life and keep you from becoming senile, prematurely.

I have heard on the grapevine, that an effort is being made in Iraq to get the insurgents to try it. We have also heard that Osama bin Laden is up to his ears with scraps of Sudoku worksheets. There's no more room in his cave. Up, up and away, folks ~ all you have to know is how to count from one to nine!