Events in Japan

 

I lived in a small apartment in Roppongi - which a crossing sign announced as a "high touch town" - for the best part of two years.  There were frequent quakes, and only one ever scared me.  I noticed while reading one night in my apartment, that the floor lamp was descending slowly toward the ground.  I simultaneously thought to grab it, and wondered what the hell would make a lamp fall that slowly?  Then the lamp was restored to its' upright position and I realized that an earthquake had occurred, then seconds later I realized that the earthquake WAS STILL occurring.  The building was older, with a long hallway to the stairs, and the doorways were a bit iffy so I stayed in my comfortable chair - it's not that I was either brave or indifferent - I thought that the building's corners might be the strongest place available.  That earthquake was a 6.2, and there was virtually no damage in Tokyo, the most prepared city in the world for preventing damage from quakes.

Now, seeing the Great Sendai Quake, and the tsunami which followed, and now the probable meltdown of reactors damaged by the tsunami, I feel a bit sickened.  Who doesn't?  I can't quite fathom that the only nation which has dealt with nuclear war, has now got to face a war with nature at the same time as it deals with one of the greatest natural disasters in memory.  I wonder about my friends in Japan, and the many people I met in office buildings all over the country.I fear for the consequences if the reactors meltdown and the plume reaches the area around Tokyo where over 39 million live.  Can 39 million people be evacuated?  I doubt it, which probably makes sup part off the reason that the Japanese are so prepared in their building codes, for earthquakes.

I hope that the radiation leaks are pushed out to sea by another, smaller divine wind, such as the one that drove the Chinese away many years ago (And I hope they settle quietly, neither reaching the winds aloft, of blowing as far as the US and Canada), and spare Tokyo dealing with radiation.

But, I must say as others have, that I cannot imagine another place on earth that the people would respond so brilliantly to Armageddon.  There has been no looting, no shoplifting of scarce rations.  Officials are being respected and though the lines are long, people are taking adversity calmly, and politely.  I suspect that the culture = likely the most nuanced, high-context culture in the world, is benefiting greatly from the respect for authority, calm and polite interaction...really, the zeitgeist that seems to value the person as an important part of an enormous organism (society), and as a result the first thought is all helping one another, versus "I'm gettin' mine."  Believe me, this trait can be very frustrating in business,  But I hope it brings out the resiliency it will take to rebuild and clean up.  I'm pretty sure it will.

Though it is not the New Year, I thought of the tradition, kadomatsu, consisting of a pine branch symbolizing longevity, a bamboo stalk symbolizing prosperity, and a plum blossom showing nobility.  The latter, there have been many examples of already.  The former two, in few words, I wish and hope for the people of Japan.

Technorati Tags: Japan,Japanese earthquake,Japanese tsunami,Japanese nuclear plant failure

Funerals, Births and Earthquakes

I remember where I was, just 10 years ago Monday.  I had just left my Grandmother's funeral, which took place just a few days before her 91st birthday.  She was the kindest person I have ever known, accepted life's ups and downs with the quiet confidence, compassion and understanding of the rhythms of life and death.  She was pretty healthy until about two weeks before she died.  She lived in her own home until her last day, and had accepted the subtle losses of capabilities that came with advanced years with grace and common sense that is often overwhelmed in people as we age by the frustration and pride that makes us deny even to ourselves that we are not quite up to doing some of the things we used to do. 

It was an emotional day - my brother and I led the memorial service - and it was amazing to me that although I was very sad, and felt a keen sense of loss, I also felt a profound sense of gratitude and a feeling of having been uplifted by the hours of reflection I'd done as I thought about her and what I wanted to say about her.  All the things we'd done together, the laughing; all those memories, happy memories of her.  I was surprised to find myself feeling that I had been lucky enough to be a part of that rarest of all things:  a life well lived.  Even at the end of her life, we took care of her in her own bed.  I think it was a comfort to her, and it was a deeply meaningful time for me as well.  She was at peace with what was happening, and told me in the middle of one night "I didn't think it would take so long." 

I have just one regret related to my Grandma.  I wish my kids had been given the chance to know her.  I was also struck by the feeling that as someone central to my life and who I am, was leaving this life just as I waited for someone to enter and become central to my life - my son.  My parents have made my grandparents home their own, and my son and daughter love to go to visit them, the small farm and their uncle (actually great-uncle, who along with my Grandpa shaped so many of my memories and sense of self as a boy).

I had left Pocatello and was in an area of patchy cell coverage near the Utah border with Idaho, driving to Salt Lake to catch a flight home to Seattle.  I heard the news of a big quake, and did what the emergency services people hate: I did my part to clog the phone lines and called my wife, who was then just over 7 months pregnant with our son.  At first it wasn't clear how much damage there was, and I was 650 miles away, having trouble getting my call through.  Finally I did, and learned that both mother and son were fine, and the house was fine, too.

Flights into Seattle were canceled that day, so I didn't get in until the next day.  As I drove along the very empty Alaskan Way Viaduct.  I noticed a bit of misalignment on the railings between sections of roadway, and wondered if the bridge was indeed safe to be driving on.  It's easier to be paranoid when you're the only car in sight on a viaduct that everyone says won't survive a major quake.    I guess it wasn't so safe after all, because the  bridge was under inspection at the time, and the engineers noted it too.  Not long after that it was closed until it could be repaired and retrofitted. 

I was glad, but surprised that there hadn't been more damage, after hearing about areas of liquefaction and the collapse of some masonry structures.  I remember a similar feeling on a more personal level:  though I'd been hundreds of miles away, and could do nothing to help Caty if she needed it, things had turned out okay.  I was so glad that she and the baby were unharmed; but I had such a helpless and anxious feeling that it was not until I was at home that I could relax.

I remember being glad that Seattle (and I) got a wake-up call that seems to have caused a lot of people to be much more aware of what could happen - what will happen in Seattle, but hopefully a more prepared and structurally sound version.

Local News | Dangerous ground: Hard lessons learned since the 2001 Nisqually quake | Seattle Times Newspaper

Sad News

Amidst the heavy economic, social justice, political and even basic survival problems to be found in Egypt today, I noted with sadness an inventory of stolen artifacts from the Egyptian Museum.  Dr. Zahi Hawass mentioned the sad news of theft (others have called the same events 'light-looting', which I might find humorous under other circumstances (Guard: "What are you doing here?" Looter: "Just a little light looting.  Really, it's nothing worth interrupting your marching!  I'll just take this item and get out of your hair!")  Except that the loss of items like those on the list published by Dr. Hawass last night isn't funny.  Victorious Armies and Revolutions have always been hard on museum pieces - especially gilded ones.  Damn shame.

The losses, as reported to Dr. Hawass by museum staff, are not insignificant.  And knowing of Hawass' well-known impatience with both suffering fools, and with anything which interferes with the preservation and restoration of the precious items he and his minions and colleagues collect.

The Army seems to be doing some collecting itself just now, though just what it is amassing is far more ephemeral:  Power.  By the end of the day today, generals tightened their grasp on power:  suspending the constitution, dissolving Parliament.  After all, the Parliament was the group elected in corrupt elections managed my former President Mubarak, would not the people be encouraged by the military rulers depriving the Parliament Mubarak had, after all, brought to power under cloudy, even shady elections.    Even as the council of generals responsible for ousting Mubarak after the weird, street shell game atmosphere which followed the former President's confused and rambling speech, the protestors seemed to view the intercession of the Armed Forces as a positive act; a first step to whatever the jumbled masses saw as democratic self-government.

Today, however, there may be reason for these same people becoming more subdued last night and today, as the military took steps to consolidate power and, though the requests were very politely communicated, the men in Army uniforms (not the hated police) began telling protestors to go home, to work, and not so much to the banks.  I am sure that as the bubbling Artesian well of joy at ousting former President Mubarak slowed to a trickle it must have occurred to at least some of the protestors that the generals who seized power from Hosni Mubarak were also men who had been promoted and assigned to their powerful positions by....indeed, by the former President of Egypt.  The 'military council' seemed to indicate neither any plan for the "free and fair" elections most of the protestors felt they'd been promised.

Indeed, one may interpret the actions of the military council as a shot across the bow of those of any group that expected an interim government led by civilians, or of any group that expected free and fair elections soon, or even in a future time (such as the six month transitional period expected to end with elections).  Instead, with the constitution suspended and the council of generals in charge, it was made clear that  any necessary governing issues would be dealt with as necessary by the issuance of decrees. 

We'll have to watch for the next steps, along with the world.  But, at least the military council edicts will be coming from a comfortable, well-known source:  Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, one of Mubarak's closest associates, leading the council of generals who achieved their prominence under the former President.  So, while the Parliament and constitution which had skewed power toward Mubarak, and even the cabinet has lost power, the military leadership will rule for an undetermined time, without constitution, civilian leadership or a time frame for elections.

And although it sounds like a scenario we would be quick to reject, I hope that we do not.  The military is the only stable and moderate institution in Egypt.  It is not a bad thing at this point to have the Armed Forces work to allow, facilitate and give time to put down roots other alternative organizations.  Otherwise, I fear the Muslim Brotherhood will be over-represented simply by virtue of being well organized and well funded.

Dr,  Zahi Hawass

The Independent

The Guardian

The Washington Post

 

Technorati Tags: Mubarak,Egypt,King Tut,Looting

Shop With A Cop in Pocatello | KIDK CBS 3

This sure seems like a wonderful program to me.  It gets needy children (economically disadvantaged kids that tend to have a higher risk of committing crime later in life) together with police officers in a great setting to facilitate not just a happier holiday season for both the kids and the officers, but to potentially setting the stage for a healthier, less adversarial interaction between the kids and the cops later in life.

Over forty Pocatello Police Officers and Bannock County Sheriff's Deputies took the kids shopping for gifts to give to their family members - something the young people would not otherwise have been able to afford.  The officers were giving of their time,  the kids were buying gifts to give to others.  And the giving didn't stop there.  The money to buy the gifts was donated by the local community, and the cheerleaders from Highland, Century and Pocatello High School were giving their time and effort to helping with the shopping, and with gift wrapping. 

This program works in so many ways - building positive relationships between kids and police officers, providing gifts where otherwise there may not be gifts - or the joy that comes from giving gifts to loved ones, the chance for community members to give to needy families, the cheer squads to perform a community service and the law enforcement professionals the opportunity to not only help needy families and exert a positive influence on the kids, but probably to help prevent some crime that may have resulted in the future from at-risk kids who had not had positive interaction with police officers.  A win-win-win-win-win-win deal. 

I admire our law enforcement professionals so much, for the work they do day in and day out, and when they give of their personal time to serve their community even further, my admiration only grows.  (For another excellent example of a police service program doing amazing things, check out http://sunshinedivision.org/) 

Oh, and the cops let the kids run the lights and sirens, and even use the radios.  Perfect.  Thank you to the Poky police and Bannock County deputies.  I may not live in Poky any more (though I was born there and enjoy visits every year), your efforts have even provided me with a benefit 600 miles away:  you've encouraged me, and reminded me that there are some wonderful people in this world, and more than an average percent of these are our law enforcement officers.  Thank you PPD and BCS, and the great community you serve. 

Technorati Tags: police volunteer services,Pocatello,Shop with a Cop,Idaho,law enforcement,Christmas giving programs

Shop With A Cop in Pocatello | KIDK CBS 3 - News, Weather and Sports - Idaho Falls - Pocatello - Blackfoot, ID - Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot - Idaho | communities

We Live in a New Age of Touchy/Feely

OMG this is getting out of hand.  Why in the hell don't we just get the top people from El Al and take notes?  The most targeted airline in the world is also the safest?  Maybe we should try some of their screening methods.  No, that's crazy, what am I talking about?  From the article below:  "Anyone who sets off the metal detectors is required to go through a physical pat down, but the TSA says they use a less aggressive touch for children under 12."

Does it bother anyone else that a sentence like that is treated like a normal thing to say, given the actions described in the article - patting the genitals, running the hand between underwear and skin, etc.?  Oh, and of course, we only do that to kids over 12.  WHAAAAT??????  Would you let some uniformed screener dude or gal stick his or her hands down your 13 year old's pants?  Isn't that what damn near bankrupted the Catholic Church?  Doesn't that sort of behavior get you sentenced and called a "Registered Sex Offender"?  Am I crazy?  Sure, there was a guy who tried to make explosive underwear.  Is groping every adolescent  that wants to fly the only way to make sure he/she is not wearing a dangerous diaper?
Oh, and when did it become okay just because it is after age 12,  to grope, pat, touch, etc. adolescent kids?  It is just wrong.  Oh, and much as I hate to mention it, what about past victims of sexual assault, trauma or rape - no matter what their age?  Can you imagine having bad some horrific act done to you and then at some later point, if you want to fly, being forced to submit to what would WITHOUT ANY DOUBT be a SEXUAL ASSAULT were it not being done by TSA at an airport? 

Since a guy tried to blow up a plane by putting a bomb in his shoes, will we soon be seeing foot fetishists not only relying on the removal and X-ray of the shoes, but requiring the person being screened to remove their socks and submit to a tongue inspection (to see if the foot tastes like explosives) of the foot?

I flew hundreds of thousands of miles for business and pleasure.  I was always polite, and willing to do what was asked of me in the interest of security.  I was waiting for a plane the morning of September 11, 2001, and I watched that day unfold convinced that I'd support whatever was needed to keep us safe in the skies and in the country.  But now I am second-guessing my blind obedience.  Why? 
There are better, more effective, less personally intrusive ways to screen passengers and ensure safety than to commit battery and sexual assault.  Plain and simple.  When my daughter is 13 how can I take her to fly somewhere knowing what I know may very well happen?  Will she be subjected to a virtually nude screening X-ray, visible to many?  Will it be worse, where she's forced to get molested in order to fly?  OMG!  How did it come to this?

I think that there ought to be a hue and cry from sea to shining sea, insisting that the BEST and BRIGHTEST security experts available be immediately brought together to develop systems to keep us safe.  Without having people putting their hands in people's underwear.  Is that too much to ask?  To fly without some guy or gal sticking their hand INSIDE your underwear, tapping and patting your junk? 
It's time to examine who is making the decisions, writing and training the procedures, choosing the technology and bickering over whether the airlines, airports or TSA should pay for technology to make us safer in the air.  All this virtually nude photography - will someone do a statistical analysis showing that a man is 12% more likely to be a terrorist if he "dresses right" (and by that I mean not that he buttons the right button with the right buttonhole, but that his junk rests naturally to the right side of the vertical midline of his body) - all this physical grabbing and groping...is this the best option we have for screening? 

In a word: NO.  It is not, and the people who can develop screening technology, use the currently available technology, and still keep us safe are out there, and they are willing and able.  And it is a dirty secret that there are frequent breaches of the system we use now - both in tests and just when the person next to us says, "Oh man, I forgot to take this out of my briefcase!" and parts the top of the case to show a five or six inch knife. 
We can do better, we can do better and be safe.  And whether the person being screened is under 12, adolescent or adult, we can do it without battery, assault and sexual molestation.  And we should.  And though some of this post is amusing and meant to be so, the topic and the practices that caused me to write it are not funny.  They are wrong.  And a helluva lot of us better stand as tall as we have to and shout "NO!  This is not acceptable, not in America."

http://www.kmov.com/news/mobile/Woman-says-her-Lambert-security-screening-was-sexual-assault--109114934.html

Technorati Tags: TSA Screening,Airport Safety,Passenger Screening,TSA

Britain's Oldest Person Dies Aged 111

Derek Andrews

Annie Turnbull has died just twenty days short of her 112nd birthday in a care home in Scotland, with one of her two daughters by her side. She also had four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Born when Queen Victoria was on the throne, she lived through Two World Wars, twenty-six Prime Ministers and four Monarchs. She will have received a congratulatory birthday telegram from Her Majesty on thirteen occasions starting on her 100th birthday.

Annie spent most of her working life in "service" and met Rudyard Kipling.

She only moved into the care home at age 109, having lived in sheltered accommodation (independent living but with a warden available) since age 92. Until she moved to the sheltered housing she had not known running water. Now at this point I have to say that I do not know why that was the case unless she perhaps lived in a very remote area; a farm or something similar.

I thought it might be fun to see what was happening in the world  every decade she celebrated her birthday, so here goes:

• September 1898: The Spanish-American War was in full swing.
• September 1908: Henry Ford produces the first Model T Ford.

• September 1918: Boston Red  Sox defeat the Chicago Cubs for the 1918 World Series championship, their last World Series win until 2004.  First World War ends in November.
• September 1928: Alexander Fleming invents penicillin.
• September 1938:     War looms again but meanwhile  Orson Welles's radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds is broadcast, causing panic in  various parts of the United States.
• September 1948: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is formally declared, with Kim Il-sung as Prime Minister.  Earlier in the year Miranda, the innermost moon of Uranus, is discovered. (Eventually all U.S. police officers would need to read those arrested their rights whilst staring into the Heavens.)
• September 1958:  The U.S.S.R. performs a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya.  Earlier in the year The first International House of Pancakes (IHOP) opens in Toluca  Lake, California. In February a plane carrying the team and officials of Manchester United crashes on take-off at Munich's Riem airport. There were 23 fatalities and many more injured.

• September 1968:  In this month both CBS 60 Minutes and the first Boeing 747 airliner are rolled out. Earlier in the year Manchester United wins the European Cup Final, becoming the first  English team to do so. They would go on to win it again in 1999 and 2008 but lose a further Final in 2009.
• September 1978: Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.  Earlier the body of assassinated Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro found in car trunk.
• September 1988:  The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea. In November George H. W. Bush is elected the 41st President of the United States after defeating Michael Dukakis.
• September 1998:  What was to become the behemoth Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergei Brin.

• September 2008:  Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  In November Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1310161/Britains-oldest-person-Annie-Turnbull-dies-weeks-112th-birthday.html

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Technorati Tags: Oldest Person,Oldest Woman in Britain,People

Northampton, England:My Kinda Town:

 

By Derek Andrews

And by the by, its Old England not New England we're talking about here !

Northampton has been around since the Iron Ages when it was just a few dwellings. Fast forward to the 11th century and it was a thriving town with a castle, market square and a Multi-Plex. No, I made that last bit up to check you're paying attention. The market square with its market every day except Sunday still thrives today and is one of the largest and oldest in the country. Way back in the early 12th century, Thomas Beckett (of whom  The Young King Henry in exasperation plead "Will no-one free me of this turbulent priest ?") was briefly imprisoned at the castle but escaped to London and then to the continent. Cue famous English joke based on truth about "Fog in Channel. Continent cut off". Brits an insular race? Heaven forbid.Later he was assassinated by several Knights in Canterbury Cathedral. Becketts Park is one of several noble parks in the town. The castle sadly has long gone. Strange that many castles in the UK are still standing proud but some have disappeared. I guess you got rogue builders even then.

In the middle-ages Northampton became a major centre for the shoe-making industry and at its hey-day supplied boots to the Kings army. I believe the King got his especially from Nieman Marcus though. The shoe trade has to all intents also collapsed though the Doc Marten factory is still here and several specialist shops such as Churchs. There is another small factory close to where I live that attracts even Italians, who know a thing or two about footwear. Recently Roberto Mancini, the manager of Premier League soccer club Manchester City (known as the noisy neighbours by supporters such as myself who worship at the Theatre of Dreams aka Old Trafford, home of Manchester United)was seen visiting there. My own street (well I don't actually own it, but you know what I mean) consists of terraced houses all of which were built in the 19th century for the out-workers of the shoe-trade. The local soccer team is affectionately known as the Cobblers. My house was built in 1888, the very year Jack the Ripper was doing his thing in Whitechapel. Kinda creepy association.

There was a Battle of Northampton in  1264 when King Henry 111 finished as the winner and the runners up mainly killed. A second Battle of Northampton was fought in 1460 at Delapre Abbey and King Henry V1 was captured. I expect he wished for some V1 rockets to aid him. The Civil War was fought in the mid 1600's between the army of King Charles 1 and the forces of  Oliver Cromwell. The defining battle of the conflict was at Naseby, just 12 miles from Northampton. The end of the end so to speak for the King came after being tried by Parliament and beheaded at the Banqueting House in London's Whitehall. Oh well, they say you can't take it with you.

Equidistant from the town are the grounds of Althorp House, the family home of the Spencers and where the late, much-missed Princess Diana is buried on an island in a lake. The day of her funeral brought the country to a halt, not least in Northampton where the market traders unanimously decided not to open their stalls on that emotional Saturday. For them to pay their respects in such a way, on their busiest day and for the first time in over 800 years, says much about Diana's place in the public psyche. Truly the Peoples Princess.

During the 1960's many of Britain's older  buildings were pulled down  and replaced with hideous concrete slabbed buildings. A decade when Britain gave so much to the world (well OK the Beatles and Carnaby Street) but destroyed a lot of its heritage. Sad and it will surely not happen again.

More recently the town is proud to be the home-town of Francis Crick, one of the two scientists who discovered the double-helix, leading to the realisation by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys of the properties and potential of DNA. Leicester University, where he worked is also very close to Northampton.

Major large companies who are headquartered in Northampton include Barclaycard, Carlsberg Brewery, Avon Products, Coca-Cola and Texas Instruments.

The population is about 200,000 but growing fast. In fact it will increase by two next May when my American wife and our cat arrive as permanent residents. My wife and I married at Northamptons Victorian Guildhall in November 2008.I think she will be the second most famous American to be associated with the town as Judy Carne has is permanently back in the UK and living here in Northampton, her home town.

.NOTE BY Mike Burt:

Northampton also has some personal meanings for me:  I have some direct ancestors from the mid-second millennium who also hailed from Northampton in the UK, and when my wife and I honeymooned in NEW England, we spent a couple days at Northampton, Mass.  While strolling about, we encountered a memorial to the last man to be killed by Indians in the valley wherein Northampton, Mass, rests.  His name was Bartlett, and as it happens he was descended from the UK Northampton family.  At the time, I didn’t know this – it wasn’t for another ten years that I would learn that the man memorialized was a great (x9) grandfather on my father’s side of the family.  I hope one day to spend some meaningful time in old Northampton!  - MB

Technorati Tags: Derek Andrews,Northampton

Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with 'force of 100m bombs' - Yahoo! India News

The current wave of “Mega-disaster” (after all, would people really watch tv shows and news reports if they were only reporting regular old disasters?) programs, books, articles and the now ubiquitous “internet chatter”, can now add to it this forecast for a very significant solar storm in 2012.  With space junk, magnetic pole reversal, asteroid and meteor and all the usual possible disasters that are possible, it surely seems that I might want to pull a Rip Van Winkle and snooze for the year in2012.

Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with 'force of 100m bombs' - Yahoo! India News

Technorati Tags: Solar Storm,disasters,science

Why Men Shouldn’t Write Advice Columns

Technorati Tags: humor,funny pictures

Whacker Crimes on the Rise

I remember just after learning to drive there was a string of assaults committed against women driving at night near our suburban home.  Not only were the crimes brazen – the perpetrator selected his intended victims as they drove by. He would then would follow them to a less populated or traveled area before assaulting them.  All of that was bad enough, but the most chilling thing to me was the method the assailant used to gain access to these women.  He posed as a cop. 

Over the course of a summer the rumors flew, and police spokespersons confirmed that several such attacks were reported.  At first I thought they were just rumors, but after two or three attacks, police realized they had to warn the public and provide some guidance.  Police advised motorists who were uncertain about whether the man attempting to pull them over was indeed a sworn officer to drive to a public place such as a grocery store, police station, etc., before pulling over.  It was frightening to all of the girls in my drivers ed. class, and regardless of the guidance police offered they wouldn’t really begin to feel safe until the assailant was captured. 

Eventually the assailant was captured – in a decommissioned police patrol car which he had outfitted with lights in the front grill and siren.  We all breathed a sigh of relief, but I think it was some years before most of us stopped thinking about it when we saw a traffic stop.  When I went to college the next year, I was studying in the library one night when I remembered the series of crimes and got curious how often it happened.  Looking at microfilm and microfiche of newspaper articles around the country allowed me to get an idea, though it was much more time-consuming than Googling.  I found stories in Houston, Dallas, San  Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Tulsa and Sacramento in addition to the series in the Seattle area.  In fact, I found articles from all of those cities detailing crimes which had occurred just in the decade of the seventies.  It was the first time I gave thought to the phenomenon that would eventually come to be known as “Wackers” – people posing as cops.

Recently, this came back to mind as a result of the murder for which Christopher Monfort has been arrested.  He had sought to become an officer in Los Angeles, and had studied criminal justice back in Seattle before becoming somehow violently disillusioned with police – so disillusioned that he apparently tried to kill random officers in two separate planned attacks – the murder of officer Tim Brenton and wounding of Officer Britt Sweeny – as well as the attempt to kill or injure officers responding to a decoy arson at the city maintenance lot.  Monfort drove a decommissioned former police black Crown Victoria, a car commonly used in police service nationwide.  Monfort was angry and frustrated, he said, with police brutality.  He cited the deputy since dismissed and charged with assault on a teenage girl in a holding cell in the letter he left at the scene of the arson. 

Christopher Monfort’s Datsun, which was used in the murder of officer Brenton, and his black Crown Vic with spotlight (penned in by an SPD unmarked)

This behavior made me think of a coworker some years ago who was a real hardcore wacker.  He drove an ex-police car, had a ‘replica’ badge, handcuffs, black tactical clothing, gloves and boots consistent with tactical police teams, and spoke frequently about his firearm prowess and the times he had felt compelled to take some action to promote orderly society.  At the time I thought his behavior was kind of sad, in the way we all can be kind of pathetic when we insist on being something we aren’t.  Some of us have rather harmless ways to manifest this – like telling people what a ladies man we are, or how much we can bench, or how big the fish we catch were.  In his case, it was both sad and creepy.  Especially since Ted Bundy was in the news a lot then, while on trial in Florida.  Handcuffs in the trunk didn’t seem harmless after that.  As far as I know, the wacker I worked with really was harmless.  The case of Christopher Monfort reminded me of this, and again today the news of criminals posing as police officers to commit crimes made the news in Seattle.

Recently, a series of crimes in Seattle and Tacoma have involved perpetrators posing as cops.  Most have been property crimes, small and not-so-small.  One included robbery and rape.  Seattle television station KING’s Chris Ingalls reported today on this topic, and outlined a group of crimes that certainly seem to indicate that there are multiple criminals using this ploy right now in the Seattle area.  The report can be read here: KING 5 News: Police Posers.  The story also links to a website which discusses wacker events – crimes by police imposters committed around the country:  http://policeposers.com/. 

In addition to recommendations made when I was young  (drive to a well-lit, public place before stopping), police today recommend calling 911 on a cell phone to verify that the officer stopping you is indeed an officer.  If you’re being stopped by an unmarked car, you can request a marked police unit to respond and make the stop – Pierce County Police have suggested this in response to some serious robberies and a rape committed using an unmarked vehicle recently.

Technorati Tags: Cop Wannabe,Police Imposter,Crime,True Crime,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,Christopher Monfort

First-Year Police Officer Britt Sweeny Ready to Return to Duty, Honor Fallen Comrade

I think most of us have idly thought at some point about how we would react if we were involved in a shooting incident.  Maybe not as the shooter, but perhaps because of a news story or television show or movie, the thought came unbidden.  We can’t really know until we know, as the saying goes, and may I add that I don’t want to know.  When Officer Britt Sweeny – on her second night with training officer Tim Brenton (#6699) – was faced with just that situation she learned, as the rest of the police force and the city learned how she would react.  Her partner was killed instantly, and without hesitation Officer Sweeny radioed the call for help “shots fired”, and she jumped from the patrol car and returned fire.  When detectives found the car used in the attack they also found that one of Officer Sweeny’s slugs had hit the fleeing vehicle.  How terrible it is that Officer Sweeny had to learn firsthand and unequivocally of her mettle, created by an internal strength that cannot be taught.  She will say that her training is responsible for her actions, and to an extent that is true.  It is also no doubt true that she reacted in a split second to a threat, called instantly for aid, and still managed to step out of the patrol car and return fire.  I’m sure there were many veterans, fine officers all, who privately wondered if they’d have responded so brilliantly in the same circumstances.  How sad that Officer Sweeny, in her first year as an officer, has had to learn what she has learned about herself.  I am certain she’d have loved to be one of those officers who have never fired their gun on duty.  But that wasn’t Officer Sweeny’s lot.  She drew a very short stick – only Officer Brenton’s was shorter – in a very high stakes situation, and she mastered it.  I believe that training is excellent.  It is exceeded in excellence by this officer and her sense of duty, and her courage.

Technorati Tags: Officer Brit Sweeny,Officer Tim Brenton,Christopher John Monfort,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,Crime,Criminals,Seattle Policeman Murdered

Local News | Rookie ready to 'fight the fight,' return to duty after officer's fatal shooting | Seattle Times Newspaper

Stagnating Temperatures: Irony puts a Silly Hat on Yet Another Global Climate Change Summit

Okay, so if I haven’t bored you with my lame metaphysical theory before, lucky you.  But not that lucky, as I will do it now.  After observing the world, the way it works, the way we interact; in fact the sum total of my education and experience from birth to the moment of epiphany went into this theory:  At the root, at the smallest possible level, we will someday learn that the universe and all of its’ components are built of this basic material.  What is it?  Irony.  Yes, irony.  Look closely enough at almost any situation and one finds irony of varying degrees.  For example, let’s say you were going to have a global summit to face the crisis of global warming.  You were going to invite Prince Charles to repeat his prediction of immanent disaster if we don’t reduce greenhouse gases dramatically this year.  Let’s say you are planning to press national governments to enact and enforce emissions standards projected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars at a time when the global economy is teetering on the brink of a huge depression.  What would be ironic, in this situation?  I think the subject of the following article does the trick nicely in showing us the irony of which we are all assembled.  According to this Spiegel article (and many other reports in news sources, journals and science magazines as well), the earth has stopped warming.  Just in time to make the people who have been predicting catastrophe look a bit silly and alarmist.  Whether you attribute this phenomena of stagnated temperatures to ocean current patterns, or the historic low levels of sunspot activity since 2000, you must admit that I may be right.  Irony might be the cause of the whole thing.

Stagnating Temperatures: Climatologists Baffled by Global Warming Time-Out - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Technorati Tags: Climate change reporting,global warming Controversy,Irony,Global temperature stagnates,Global Climate Summit

Monfort Paralyzed by Shooting, Prepared to Kill as Many Police Officers as Possible

Accused murderer Christopher John Monfort is paralyzed below the waist, according to a statement from his family released by his designated counsel, Julie Lawry.  "Chris Monfort's family, like any other family in the same position, is heartbroken for all parties and is struggling to understand this tragedy.  At the same time they love and stand by Chris and look forward to coming to a fuller understanding of recent events."

Monfort’s condition has been upgraded to satisfactory.  He remains at Harborview Medical Center under guard by King County Sherriff’s Deputies.  Monfort was wounded when he was approached by Seattle Police Department homicide detectives.  The detectives were present to follow up on a tip (now attributed to the apartment complex manager)  that a rare early eighties Datsun B210 was parked in Monfort’s apartment building lot, and that it had been covered for the first time just after the murder of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton. 

When Monfort left his apartment (just as the memorial service for Officer Brenton was concluding) he approached the Datsun and his main car which was parked next to it.  Monfort’s usual car is a black Crown Victoria, probably a former police unmarked car.  Detective identified themselves and said they had a few questions.  At that, Monfort drew a Glock nine millimeter pistol, pointed the muzzle directly into the face of Detective Sergeant Gary Nelson and pulled the trigger.  Monfort had sixteen rounds in the clip for the Glock – the magazine was full - but he had not drawn back, or ‘racked’ the slide mechanism on the weapon.  Thus, there was not round in the chamber and the firing pin simply made a small but emotionally deafening clicking sound.  When the gun did not discharge, Monfort ran to a stairwell and tried to reach his apartment.  He was blocked before he could reach it and when he turned and brought the pistol up again three detectives fired.  One shot hit Monfort in the cheek, another in the torso. 

Monfort was pulled into the parking lot by detectives and an ambulance arrived very quickly to take the man to Harborview, the city’s trauma hospital.   Reporters who had arrived at the Emergency entrance to Harborview reported that there was a very large volume of blood – an unusual quantity according to several.  That observation concerning heavy blood loss, as well as the news helicopter live feed that I watched and commented on in an earlier post was the only information available until Acting Chief Diaz reached Harborview.  He also indicated at that time that the car found under a cover was indeed “the car” used in the attack.  We now know that the car carried a bullet fired by the courageous and composed beyond her years on the force Britt Sweeny.  Monfort was immediately rushed into surgery, where he underwent a very long surgery to repair damage caused by the two bullets that had hit him.  He was listed in critical condition and was not upgraded to serious condition until the following evening.  Monfort was upgraded today to satisfactory today. 

Police have read him his Miranda rights, and say he has not requested an attorney.  Assistant Chief Pugel, responsible for the Investigations bureau of the Seattle Police Department has stated that Monfort is not being interrogated at this time – in response to speculation by defense attorneys that SPD might be sequestering Monfort for the purpose of getting him to confess.  The Assistant Chief’s manner suggested to me that there was so much physical evidence already that a confession is not of great importance to securing a conviction in the case.  A recap of the evidence, as it is known now:

• Datsun B210 matching the descriptions of witnesses  as well as the video of the car obtained from the dashboard camera in Officers Brenton and Sweeny’s unit and others responding to the shots fired radio call.  The Datsun was covered with a car tarp for the first time shortly after the Halloween shooting, and remained so in the space next to Monfort’s other car – a Crown Victoria which looks to be a retired unmarked police unit.
• A bullet recovered from the Datsun B210, matched to Officer Britt Sweeny’s service weapon.
• .223 rifle matched in ballistic testing with the rifle used to wound Officer Sweeny and kill Officer Brenton, found in Monfort’s apartment.
• Improvised explosive devices and the materials to make fire bombs, found in Monfort’s apartment.  Included was a notebook listing the time it took various fuse lengths to burn down.  Monfort’s apartment was booby trapped to detonate fire bombs on entry, and SPD used a robot to make entry.  Police also found several other incendiary materials including a fine powder accelerant used to create explosive force when confined to a small area (like, say, a pipe) and ignited.
• A long document expressing rage at police in general.  A copy has not been made available and police have offered no ‘on the record’ details'.  Some reports indicate the manifesto also threatened to attack officers, but I haven’t seen any confirmation of that.
• DNA from:
• a US flag left at the maintenance yard arson site;
• a threatening letter left at the maintenance yard;
• a Us flag bandana at the location of the shooting;
• water bottle and cap left at the maintenance yard;
• A copy of the letter left at the maintenance yard arson, decrying police brutality and threatening to kill officers, was found on Montfort’s printer, in his apartment when police entered.
• Materials were found in Monfort’s apartment matching the improvised explosives used at the maintenance yard firebombing that damaged a mobile command unit and three squad cars, and only narrowly missed injuring or killing police and firefighters responding to the arson call.
• Propane bottles matching the ones used in the fire bombing at the maintenance yard were found in Monfort’s apartment – some already assembled into an explosive device.
• Witness testimony indicating that a Datsun matching the description of the car provided by police dash camera videos and Officer Sweeny had been seen following a police patrol car several times in the half hour prior to the shooting.
• Witness testimony that this car – Monfort’s, as we have come to know because he hid the car, it contained a bullet from Officer Sweeny’s gun, etc. – had tailed Sweeny’s patrol car, stopped and reversed into a dark parking lot just behind the police vehicle.  He waited until the traffic stop was concluded, and then pulled alongside the police car and opened fire.  Witness also saw Monfort execute a 3point turn to avoid the dash cam (avoidance FAIL).  The appearance of the Datsun on Sweeny’s dash cam just fifteen minutes prior to the shooting corroborates the witness statement as well.
• Video of a traffic stop just two blocks from the site of the shooting nine days prior to Halloween.  The video documents that Monfort had come to the attention of an SPD unit on routine patrol because he had been driving around the area slowly, looking back and forth.  The officers thought he many be lost, and when he failed to signal a turn he was stopped.  From the first sentence, where and officer asked Monfort if he knew where he was trying to go was met with a snappish remark in return.  The video tends to document Monfort’s state of anger at police, as well as indicating that he may have been cruising the neighborhood.  Perhaps he was planning his escape route to Tukwila or perhaps looking for areas where he noticed police cars present.  In the light of the events which followed, this video tends to augment the other evidence above.
• A military style knife identical to one found at the maintenance yard was found in Monfort’s apartment.
• Though it is not evidence, the profile police of the unknown suspect in the shooting, and published along with the dash videos of the suspect’s Datsun, matched the suspect identified the next day as a result of the manager’s tip so closely it is hard to believe that the profile author(s) did not already have a suspect and reverse-engineered a profile.  I’ve never seen one this accurate in such detail.
• Monfort’s reaction when detectives approached him in the parking lot of his apartment building.  His response when the officers identified themselves and said they wanted to talk with him, was to draw a Glock, aim at a detective at close range and pull the trigger. Had Monfort remembered to charge the firing chamber when he loaded the magazine another officer would be injured or worse.  The reaction was immediate and showed no hesitation, and to me that says that Monfort was willing and ready to shoot an officer if he was approached.  He tried to run, and when hemmed in he reacted without hesitation and attempted to bring his pistol to bear again.  Flight has been treated as a consciousness of guilt in our justice system, and in this case it seems quite clear to me that Monfort’s first decision when police asked to speak with him was to attempt to kill a policeman – or God knows how many with sixteen rounds in one magazine before he’d need to reload.  His second reaction was to run, and when he was blocked from reaching his cache of weapons and explosive materials in his apartment, Monfort raised the Glock again.  Attempted murder, flight, attempt to shoot officer again adds up to a strong indicator of consciousness of guilt.
• Monfort made a presentation while studying criminal justice at the University of Washington (the presentation is posted in several places, just Google ‘Christopher Monfort jury nullification”).  The presentation supported the work of a professor at another university who has advocated jury nullification (a jury which disregards the judge’s instructions), and in fact Monfort wished to augment the professor’s work by advocating that juries acquit accused minority defendants regardless of the evidence or instructions of the judge.  He argues that the justice system is unfair to people of color, and because of this juries had a duty to level the playing field.  Monfort apparently was not picky about crimes in advocating jury nullification.  He included all crimes in his concept that juries should acquit.
• I expect that the state crime lab will be adding additional forensic evidence in the coming weeks, such as demonstrating that the composition (chemical constituents, manufacturing process, impurities or contaminations information, brands, etc.),  of the materials used at the fire bombing site and in Monfort’s apartment.   I don’t believe I’ve listed all the evidence in these bullet points, but I do think that I’ve explained why the Assistant Chief may have hinted that the family and Ms, Lawry need not worry that police were isolating Monfort to intimidate him into confessing.  I’m sure the Chief need not have hinted that not only were officers NOT talking with Monfort in an effort to get a confession, but of course the Seattle Police Department does not ever coerce confessions.  And in this case, I read the Chief’s non-verbal cues as conveying the impression that there was so much evidence that police didn’t need a confession to get a conviction.

Monfort’s mother answered some questions through Ms. Lawry, counsel appointed to his case.  Monfort is an only child (though a person claiming to be his half-brother with a shared father has been posting in forums about the case).  Lawry also made available some questions she had asked and answers given by Monfort’s mother:

“As a little boy it was Scouts, baseball, football, playing outside with friends at any chance. He loved putting model cars and airplanes together. He developed a major interest in ariplanes and collected books on them and later learned to sky dive and as an adult learned to love scuba diving, motorcycling and he loved to travel. While in Community College he began to paint and loved to paint to music and won a prize for one of his paintings at the school. He also is a lover of music - all genres and taught himself guitar and would often give gifts of music to friends and family.”

Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s statement at the press conference announcing that he would file aggravated first degree murder charges among others brought an unwelcome image to my mind of Waco, Texas and the Branch Davidian compound conflagration. According to Satterberg:

“This case is unique in that Monfort deliberately planned to confront police and kill as many officers as he could.  He was planning to make a final armed stand should he be discovered."

Monfort had booby trapped his apartment, had fire bombs waiting for use, as well as his .223 rifle.  In retrospect, the consequences of approaching Monfort to ask questions could have resulted in other deaths win the ranks of both the targeted group - police officers and a likely unintended group – other residents in the apartment building.  Had Monfort made it to his apartment, the scene I watched live as news helicopters hovered above the building might have been of a firefight followed by explosions and a very big fire in the apartment building rather than a brief view of the accused being stabilized for transport and then of the covered B210, and the dozens of police cars stacked up for several blocks on the road leading to the building.  The street was so jammed with vehicles that when the  SWAT and crime scene vehicles arrived, officers had to move some patrol cars just to get the larger vehicles to the scene.

That Monfort carefully planned these crimes is clear, and his letter to police, left at the scene of the arsons and on his printer, Monfort told police to:

“Start policing each other or get ready to attend a lot of police funerals."

Thankfully, an alert citizen and quick and careful police work by Seattle Police Department investigators brought down the curtain on Monfort’s play before anyone else could be harmed.

Technorati Tags: Christopher John Monfort,Murder,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,True Crime,Criminals,Death Penalty

I’m Pretty Sure I Just had an Aneurism!

So very seldom in life do we appreciate how unique are our experiences.  We get into a rut, thinking that everything we do, think, eat, read, watch has been done before.  Or at least a lot of it.  Well, maybe you don’t, but I tend to do so, and I am always glad of it when something unexpected and novel reminds me that I am constantly experiencing the unique, it is just that I forget to pay attention. 

Earlier this week, I came across a perfect little reminder of just how unexpected life really is.  Before you look closely at the photo below, I am going to make a prediction about you that will be 100% accurate.  100%.  If you are honest, you will be forced to admit that without even knowing you, or at least without knowing you well at all, I have been able to tell you something about yourself.  Something undeniable.  And at the same time, I am going to prove that we will have shared a unique experience, one that every last one of us will be forced to admit was both singular AND  unpredictable.  How can I make this claim?  How can it be true in every case?

Start by examining this photo:

(photo by Alexey Eliseev and caption from Improbable Research)

I know that in looking at the photo, there is something odd that trips a little alarm in the brain, alerting us to possible funny business.  Who are these people and what are they doing?  To set the scene, allow me to tell you how I came across the photo.  On a message board I frequently read and occasionally pollute with my own posts, I was reading a discussion of the Nobel committee’s decision honoring President Obama with the Peace Prize for this year.  As was the case in the papers, at water coolers around the country and on the television news programs, opinions were mixed about the committee’s decision.  I commented on it in an earlier entry here at the Bully Pulpit (The Bully Pulpit  - Obama-wins-Nobel-peace-prize), and at the message board most of the posts expressed either surprise or gratification.  One of my favorite members of the board, known there by the handle Seagull, added a very simple post.  It contained a link to a website called Improbable Research, and it was there that I first saw the photo shown above.  I nearly skipped the caption of the photo  and simply moved on to the article, but something in my subconscious caught the oddness of the picture and made me take another look.

Seconds later I was laughing and wiping coffee off of my chin, and being reminded that  I don’t care how many of us there are on this planet, there is no way that anyone woke up the morning of October 11, 2009 and thought they would see this, or anything like this.  The photo at the top of the website linked by Seagull makes my all-time list of INWHGIWIWU events (I-never-would-have-guessed-it-when-I-woke-up).   No, no way someone woke up thinking, ‘uh, I foresee three - no four - Nobel Laureates, several women removing their bras, dividing them in two and...now the women are giving everyone a cup to breathe through.’  Now take another close look at the photo and you will see that at the 2009 Nobel Prize ceremony, Public Health Prize winner Dr. Elena Bodnar demonstrates her invention — a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander. She is assisted by Nobel laureates Wolfgang Ketterle (left), Orhan Pamuk, and Paul Krugman (right).

Tell the truth, now, there is not a person among us that could possibly have awakened that morning thinking, ‘I bet I see four Nobel Prize winners at this year’s ceremony wearing bra cups on their faces to demonstrate a patent-pending invention meant to equip all (unliberated anyway) women with life-saving emergency equipment as well as life-enhancing comfort and support.’ So you see,our lives are not so very predictable at all. 

Insert gratuitous remarks HERE.   

Oh, and so what does the title have to do with the rest of this mess?  Well, think of it as a sort of Public Service Announcement to warn you not to do what I did.  Whether you have a mouthful of coffee or not, when you need to laugh, and laugh hard, DO NOT HOLD IT IN!  Nothing good will come of it, with results ranging from ruptured ear drum, to aneurism, to an (hopefully small) unintended deposit in the shorts, to, well…I think you get the idea. 

Technorati Tags: funny photos,funny pictures,humor,humorous pictures,Nobel Peace Prize,Obama Peace Prize,Barack Obama,WTF

Seahawks Injuries

Seattle Seahawks Coach Jim Mora spoke to reporters last week, and the topic right off the top was injuries.  Just as it has been through most of the last two seasons.  Mora began his press conference with a nearly five minute long monologue outlining the injuries and likeliness of each player to be available for today’s game with the Cardinals.  It was a mildly humorous opening for a press conference, but for Seahawks fans, players, coaches and management, it is bitter humor.  The injury situation had become so bad that Mora called it the worst he’s seen in his twenty-six years in football.  At times in recent weeks Mora has had eight, nine, even ten starters injured and possibly unable to play.  He’s commented more than once that the Seahawks might not be able to field 45 players due to injuries. 

All of this follows on a situation last year which saw entire positions on the depth chart virtually wiped out.  In 2008 Matt Hasselbeck was forced to throw to a group of receivers, not a one of whom had been on the roster in training camp.  Injuries hit many other positions as well, and most of us probably thought that we were seeing the sort of once-in-a-blue-moon kind of event, one we wouldn’t expect to have to face again for many years of Seahawks play.  And then this season began, and almost immediately it felt familiar and unwelcome.  This year, instead of a receiver corps (though nearly all of the receivers have had some injury that has kept them out of practice or a game to this point in the season), the entire left side of the offensive line has been wracked.  Not only has perpetual Pro-Bowler Walter Jones been injured, but for this week’s game the left guard and tackle protecting Hasselbeck’s broken ribs on the blind side included a player signed two weeks ago and another brought in off the Seahawk practice squad.  In today’s loss to the Cardinals, the Hawks lost the defensive quarterback, All-Pro Lofa Tatupu.  The defense’s signal caller will not be able to return in a couple of weeks to play through the pain, as Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has done.  Tatupu is lost for the season.  Below is a list of players who have missed time this season (off the top of my head, so I am betting there are even more football quarters lost to injury than those listed here):

1. Lofa Tatupu

2. Matt Hasselbeck

3. Leon Hill

4. Sean Locklear

5. Walter Jones

6. Chris Spenser

7. Marcus Trufant

8. Deon Branch

9. Brandon Mebane

10. Ken Lucas

11. Kelly Jennings

12. Rob Sims

13. Mansfield Wrotto

14. C.J. Wallace

15. Josh Wilson

16. Patrick Kearney

17. Brandon Frye

18. Jordan Babineaux

19. T.J. Houshmandzadeh

20. Derek Walker

It is a tough task to turn a team around from a season like last year.  How much more difficult is it when trying to make the turnaround with half the starting players missing from week to week?  It is amazing to hear an NFL coach muse about the possibility of not being able to find 45 healthy players for a game.  I suppose I’d have to say that a 2-4 record is disappointing, but I am not sure how disappointing it is.  In some ways I have a feeling that Mora is doing a pretty fine job at ad-libbing through a nearly crippling set of injuries.  The real question that keeps coming to my mind is why does Mora find himself having to manage through another year of catastrophic injuries?  Why are the ‘Hawks getting hurt so much, and so often?  Why is the moon blue yet again? 

Technorati Tags: NFL Football,Seahawks injuries,Jim Mora,Mike Holmgren,Seattle Seahawks

NFL Update – Blowouts Galore

Though I may never again be nearly as addicted to football as I was when I was a single and childless young man, I do still geek out on football sometimes.  When I can – meaning when I have time and no one else is using our television – I watch the Seahawks, and somewhat less often I watch other NFL or college games.  Most often I record the game and watch it later.  My favorite way to watch now includes both the television and my laptop.  I like to see the action live as well as use the CBS game channel to give me up-to-the play statistics.  This year I’ve also gotten used to watching baseball games this way.  The user interface with baseball is nice because it shows the strike zone and a 3D graphic of each pitch as it approaches the batter. 

The Seahawks played like they were down to a practice-squad left tackle on the offensive line (the first three guys at that position on the depth chart having been injured in prior weeks).  That left me with a lot of time when I’d normally be flinching or cussing, but now could use the time more gratifyingly by checking in on other games in progress.  There were a couple that stood out, but none more than the absolute pounding that the Patriots gave the Titans.  With just under eight minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, New England was leading 59 to zip.  Tom Brady threw for 5 touchdowns in the second quarter alone.  Just look at the scoring plays from the Pats up to the middle of the 3rd quarter:

TD
Laurence Maroney, 45 Yd run (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 5:51. Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards in 2:27.

FG
Stephen Gostkowski 33 Yd, 0:47. Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards in 4:10.

2nd Quarter
TD
Randy Moss, 40 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 9:56. Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards in 3:11.

TD
Randy Moss, 28 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 8:59. Drive: 2 plays, 31 yards in 0:44.

TD
Kevin Faulk, 38 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 6:20. Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards in 1:34.

TD
Wes Welker, 30 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 1:53. Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards in 2:49.

TD
Wes Welker, 5 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 0:12. Drive: 10 plays, 49 yards in 1:04.

3rd Quarter

TD
Randy Moss, 9 Yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 10:13. Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards in 4:47.

TD
Brian Hoyer, 1 Yd run (Stephen Gostkowski kick is good), 0:11. Drive: 12 plays, 61 yards in 7:42.

Brady threw for six touchdowns and over 380 yards in just over a half of football.  The 13-3 record posted by last year’s Titans seems much more distant than just a season, with the hapless Titans now winless in week six.

Not to be outgunned, the league’s hottest quarterback thus far in this season also threw for over 350 yards and four touchdowns against the top-ranked pass defense in the Saints 48-27 win over the previously undefeated Giants.  Drew Brees has been unbelievable all year, and today was nothing short of amazing.

I kept an eye on the Redskins progress against the Chiefs, and continued to feel badly for Jim Zorn – thrust into a position he just shouldn’t have allowed himself to accept.  I’ve liked Zorn since the Seahawks first season – Dad got our family season tickets and we went to see the expansion team with the unconventional head coach (Jack Patera), the mobile and exciting left-handed quarterback (Zorn) and the great Steve Largent.  Zorn is funny, quirky, genuine and I can see why his players asked Redskins owner Dan Snyder to give their coach a vote of confidence.  It is tough to watch the disheveled and disorganized ‘Skins lose to a previously winless team (again), and it is hard to see how Zorn could keep his job after this.  I am sure he’s a good QB coach (Mike Holmgren is as good a teacher as can be found at developing QB talent, and Zorn worked for Holmgren in Seattle these past five or six years), and I was looking forward to seeing how he did as the offensive coordinator.  It was likely an offer he couldn’t refuse when Snyder decided to make Zorn the Head Coach as well as offensive coordinator, but I sure wish Zorn had done so.  The team looks horrible, and seems to be regressing week to week.  Zorn is doing not just one, not just two, but three jobs he has never held before:  offensive coordinator, head coach and offensive play-caller. 

I do enjoy having a control panel that lets’ me keep real-time track of the game I am watching as well as all the other action around the league at the same time.  If you want to try it out, on most sports, just follow the link below:

NFL GameTracker - CBSSports.com

Technorati Tags: NFL Football,CBS,GameTracker,Jim Zorn,Mike Holmgren,Tom Brady,Drew Brees,Seattle Seahawks

'Ira' Spring Mountain of Trouble by Seattle Times Columnist Danny Westneat

I always enjoy Mr. Westneat’s writing and have at least twice agreed with him.  Once was at a poker game when I got him a beer and he said something like: “You’re alright, Tom”.  Though I admit I was on the verge of revoking my agreement because my name is Mike.  But then, who needs to be THAT hung up about names?  Curious?  I hope so, because if not you’ll miss this gem of a column by selfsame Danny Westneat. If you have the stomach for it, after reading Danny’s column, come back and read below the link to see what I think.  Wait!  I saw you thinking of just looking now, but trust me, Danny is the professional writer here, not me, so you’ll want to read him first.  The most intelligent of my readers will read him solely. 

Danny Westneat | 'Ira' Spring Mountain of trouble | Seattle Times Newspaper

I know that without a naming board we'd have even more strife over trivial matters (in the larger context of a human condition offering war, famine, disease, death, disability, crime...well, like that), but there's something forced about someone voting to reject honoring a person by naming something after him/her just because it "felt forced".   Maybe we should have a naming board appeal board, and then a sudden-death naming board trivia contest to determine which board gets to be the top board. With the exception of Danny's writing, which is always scintillating, the whole naming thing leaves me, well,  bored.   How about we leave it Mt. Spring, though all of us here in the Other Washington will know that Mt. Spring is really just an abbreviation for Mt. Ira Spring? Just a thought…MB

Technorati Tags: Seattle Times,Danny Westneat,Hiking,Trail guides,Opnion,Columnist,humor

OMG Moment Number 631

Don't know if you ever read the FML (F*** my Life! FML link) website but sometimes it cracks me up.  Now I know that some of you might not believe this one could happen, but let me assure you that it could.  According to one poster at the site:

"Today, my girlfriend of a year broke up with me because I didn't fight some guy that started hitting her right in front of me... In a dream. She was totally serious. FML"

I can vouch for the story not being too unbelievable because I once had an employee who quit suddenly.  I asked why, and she replied, "You were really mean to me."  Surprised, and because I hardly ever had contact with her, I asked her when my meanness had occurred.  "In my dream."  I started to laugh, but she didn't.  "You're quitting because I was mean to you in a dream?"  I thought about it just in time to stop myself from explaining how crazy that is, because it occurred to me: ‘do I really want this mental giant doing client work’?  The kicker was that she went to her psychic after the dream and the psychic affirmed her decision because it would be best for her to find a new dream boss who wouldn't be mean to her.  True story.  I nearly had a car wreck laughing about it.

Technorati Tags: OMG,WTF,dreams,psychic

Not Talking to Your Kids About Race Produces Racial Assumptions

In some ways this article presents the obvious, but I doubt most of us would assume that simply not mentioning race equality explicitly would lead our kids to assume we dislike or mistrust other racial groups.  Even avoiding the discussions because we don’t want kids to ‘notice’ skin color seems to produce the assumption that we dislike other skin colors.  And kids will notice the differences anyway.  Not discussing our views leaves them to make assumptions based on our unwillingness to acknowledge or discuss differences in skin color.  The Newsweek article:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/214989

Technorati Tags: Race,Racial Issues,Society

Boise State Starts Football Season with Big Win

In what will be the program’s only opportunity to face a major conference opponent this season, Boise State made a strong statement that may well boost them into the Top Ten this week.  It will be tough for the Broncos to get consideration for a national championship even if they manage to go undefeated this season – their schedule won’t play well in the BCS ranking system – but they definitely did themselves a favor with a national audience, proving that last year’s defeat of the dominant program in the Pacific Northwest was not a fluke.  Though the loss of temper by Oregon’s Blount will likely be the most memorable image of the game in most minds, the way the young Broncos dominated the line of scrimmage will likely help the program among voters in the polls all season long.

I thought that the way Boise State’s Haut was seen taunting Blount after the game was unsportsmanlike (though I admit to not knowing if Blount had said something to Haut before the camera caught up with them), as Coach Peterson must have thought while he was trying to pull Haut away from Blount,  but there is no excuse for the sort of cold-cock punch Blount threw.  Hitting a guy that isn’t even looking is always a chickenshit move, even if the guy did mouth off.  I think what got Blount suspended for the rest of the year (and, in effect, the rest of his college career), was the combination of the sucker punch AND the way he went after BSU fans as he left the field.  Even coming out of the locker room and apologizing was too little too late after such a prolonged and thuggish lapse.  Autzen Stadium has gained a reputation among the fans of Duck opponents as a thuggish crowd – there have been assaults, vandalism of vehicles, and it has been a likely place to get beer poured on your head if you are wearing the wrong color shirt – in recent years, but this was on the field, and by a player.  It may prove to be an expensive act of self-indulgence for Blount, potentially ending his hopes for being selected in the NFL draft. 

The fact that Boise State dominated on defense, played pretty well on offense, but had lots of room to improve (witness the fumbles, poor special teams play and some sloppy route-running and blocking), makes them right on schedule for this point in the year – game 1.  Oregon, on the other hand, found themselves dominated on the line by a WAC school, dysfunctional overall and unable to make big plays on either side of the ball.  The Ducks will have Purdue and Washington State at Eugene to get early wins, with a solid Utah team, and tough games with UCLA and Cal, the Huskies and then USC rounding out the first eight games.  It is not too hard to wonder if they may be 3-5 or 4-4 after eight games.   

One thing I do have to say that might get me a homer charge, is that unless there was a lot more to what Haut said or did than what we saw, the main reason you hear some calling for him to be punished is simply because Blount hit him.  If we kicked out or suspended every guy that trash-talked or taunted there’d be no one left to play the game (except maybe Jim Zorn and Kurt Warner).  You don’t have to have played football to know how much talking goes on, simply watching from the stands or the tube will suffice.  Do I think Haut was a lout for rubbing Blount’s nose in a bad performance and a tough loss?  Yes I do.  Do I think that justified the response (a blind-side punch to Haut, a punch to the helmet of a teammate, a struggle with policemen trying to escort him to the locker room and an attempt to get to a Boise State fan who taunted him) of Blount?  No way.  Nor any of the parts of his five-minute long tantrum that covered several hundred yards to the locker room.  Haut’s taunting was lame and not an example of good sportsmanship.  Unless there was more to it, that is all it was, and as such, it was probably one of a hundred examples of trash-talk that went between the teams.  He does not deserve to be punished for his taunt simply because of the lack of self-control – the way the guy he taunted went off like a rocket – at being taunted. 

Among the good articles I’ve seen on the game (and the Blount incident) this week:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilhn7WrzkOLbcgfZ56pYjlMK2kaQD9AHD9781

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/boises-win-lost-in-the-shadows/

http://www.idahostatesman.com/BSUFootball/story/889237.html

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/cityregion/19688111-57/story.csp

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2009/09/canzano_legarrette_blount_has.html

Technorati Tags: Blount,Haut,Boise State Football,Oregon Football,Boise State - Oregon game,BSU - Oregon,BSU football,Blount suspended,NCAA football