Links and Minifeatures 10 11 Thursday

Remember the last Links and Minifeatures, where I hypthesized that there was was least an 80% probability that the professor who found a noose on her office door was somehow a put-up job?

Columbia is refusing to turn over the security video. If there was a crime committed, turning the video over to the police is a logical step, wouldn't you think? The only reason not to turn it over is shielding someone. Given the environment at Columbia, where the entire campus has evidently come out to condemn the racist they're presuming must have put the noose there, and is demanding blood, what does that say about what the tape most likely shows? Do you have any belief whatsoever that they'd be doing this if the security video showed someone in Klan regalia? Or for that matter, the "rival teacher"? Furthermore, it's a delaying, losing tactic if the police go to court for it. Their only fallback will be for the tape to "mysteriously" have something happen to it. Accordingly, I'm going to treat such an event as likely vindication of my point of view.

Especially given the copycat nature of this to the Jena 6 (where it seems likely to me there's some real white racism going on. I'd be ashamed if I had anything to do with the area), the racist who most likely placed the noose was either the teacher herself, or someone doing so at her behest, to drum up the appearance of racism, and enable her to play the victim card, thereby getting a pass for abhorrent and inflammatory behavior.

I'll apologize, and make certain the apology is on all references to the incident, if it turns out I'm wrong. Reading between the lines, it appears as if the AP reporter is as skeptical as I am. Nonetheless, anyone want to bet me it won't fall down the memory hole if it turns out my suspicions are correct?

Woman seeks rich husband, banker says "crappy" deal

(I'm happily married myself. But from a business point of view, I love this analysis!)

The mystery banker, who said he fit the bill, offered the woman an analysis of her predicament, describing it as "plain and simple a crappy business deal."

"Your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity ... in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any more beautiful!" the banker wrote.

"So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset," he said. "Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!"

"It doesn't make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease," he said.

More and more men are realizing what a raw deal marriage has become. I deliberately disregarded this because I love and trust my wife, and I wanted to give our children a stable, committed family relationship. But if you approach it as a business deal (which the woman did) this kind of analysis is spot on..

If you want to learn more, go visit Dr. Helen, among others.

Air traffic control failure is examined

Ron Carpenter and his fellow air traffic controllers were busy keeping more than 200 airplanes on course over seven states when their communication system crashed. Suddenly they couldn't talk to pilots or call for help.

"Somebody just pulled out a cell phone," Carpenter said. "Then everybody else says, `Hey, that's not a bad idea.'"

So at a major Federal Aviation Administration center, controllers were reduced to using their personal cell phones to ask other centers to help keep planes on course and avert disaster.

Given that this is the FAA, whose bureaucracy is the one other government agencies point to in order to make themselves look good, is anybody surprised by this?

But no bodies on the ground this time. So business as usual will continue until there are. If you'd like to change this, ask your congresscritter to support a complete bureaucratic purge, because that's the only way the FAA will change for the better. Anybody currently in an administrative or supervisory role needs to be offered a choice: Back to the front lines, or out. Yes, they really are that dysfunctional that their bureaucracy needs to be rebuilt from person one.

Turkey recalls ambassador to U.S. over Armenians

Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations on Thursday after a vote in a U.S. congressional committee branded killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks genocide.

Maybe the Turkish Parliament can condemn the Moro Crater massacre in order to get an example to emulate of how to deal with the situation. Own up to it, accept responsibility, and move on. The US did that decades ago. Turkey hasn't.

I do want to mention this, however:

Turkey's prime minister will ask parliament next week to authorize a military push into north Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels although analysts say a large Turkish cross-border incursion remains unlikely

If we're giving rebels sanctuary in Iraq, it needs to stop now, or they're quite justified in this. Of course, the same logic applies, even more strongly, to Iran and the insurgents in Iraq. Iran is going quite a bit beyond merely allowing sanctuary.

Foreclosure filings nearly double

Nothing we didn't already know. In actuality, the headline is comparing September 2007 to September 2006, which is before most people were willing to admit what we were facing. In point of fact, the September 2007 filings are down from October 2007 by about 8 percent.

The damage has mostly been done. The people who are in trouble are well aware of it. We've still got a lot of pain, and a lot of court cases, and even more political speeches to go, but the more research I do, the more convinced I am that we've already seen the worst of it.

Here's a better written article on the same thing

Dog saves family from fire blamed on cat

That's it, time to start looting!

Two percent intriguingly said they would reach for some fatty food while another two percent decided, with just an hour's life to go, that it was time to start looting.

I'm surprised the looting figure was that low, especially given how stupid it is. Fatty foods, sex, spending time with your family, those I can consider. Enjoying yourself in the time you have left, all of them, and unlikely to do lasting harm if the predictions are mistaken. Looting? I have yet to hear of any bellhops on the way to any eternal resting place you might experience, and what happens if you survive? What, you're going to be proud of your new Ferrari for 58 minutes? You can really enjoy watching your new Rolex tick away the last 54 minutes?

If I was hungry or thirsty, I don't think the store clerks would likely be there to take our money. Leave a note, just in case, and move on. But for material objects you're going to have for less than an hour? There just isn't a reason that makes sense.

Somebody making sense on health care: Candidates' budget squabble skirts the real crisis. Hurray!

A guest over at Private Papers has more on the same subject.

Wizbang discusses what happens when Canada's socialized medicine can't cope. Anybody want to guess what happens?

overall about one out of every seven Canadian physicians sends someone to the United States every year for treatment."