So surreal even Dali said whoa...!

Two pieces in the NY Times today caught my eye...and I read them together...and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

First was this piece called "Savage Rapes Stoke Trauma of Congo War"...

Here's the first two paragraphs, they are not easy to read:

"BUKAVU, Congo — Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, cannot bear to listen to the stories his patients tell him anymore.

Every day, 10 new women and girls who have been raped show up at his hospital. Many have been so sadistically attacked from the inside out, butchered by bayonets and assaulted with chunks of wood, that their reproductive and digestive systems are beyond repair."

Then I read another story, in the same paper, on the same day titled, "$6 Million for the Co-op, Then Start to Renovate" and I quote the first two paragraphs....

"Julia Kim rapped her spiked Gucci heels along the floor of a Midtown furniture showroom earlier this year as she approached a $30,000 custom wraparound couch that will be the centerpiece of the Manhattan co-op apartment she plans to share with her fiancé, Stephen Rushmore.

With advice from Mr. Rushmore and their decorator, John Barman, Ms. Kim deliberated for more than half an hour over details like the density of the cushions, the number of pillows and the height of the seating."

As humans, we have gotten lost somewhere along the way. No big news here, but what worries me, is the greater tolerance we have for the extremes these days.

Nothing Happened. No....really.

So, the story is that Israel sent a couple of jets, into Syria. Dropped some ordinance on something, which apparently blew up well.

Benjamin Netanyahu gave a backhanded compliment and got scolded for it. The US Defense Department acknowledged that something went bang, the Syrians reserved the right to "retaliate at a time and place of their choosing," and that that was about it.

The theories are as such:

1. North Korea was hiding nuclear stuff from the inspection teams and was trying to put it in a closet somewhere in Syria.

2. Iranians were shipping arms to Hizbollah and the Israelis found out and blew it up.

3. Israelis were making a trial run (for the U.S) to test the new Pantsyr anti-missile defense the Syrians and Iranians have recently acquired from the Russians.

Or...maybe a combination of all three.

What's most interesting about this incident is that EVERYONE agrees that something went down. No one is going on the record as to what or why. It's like the proverbial 800 pound gorilla in the living room that no one wants to notice.

But after while, no one can deny that there's this funny smell.....

Anyone? Bueller?

Business As Usual

And so it continues. In Iraq another 170 bodies on Wednesday, another 30 today.

And we don't even flinch.

We flinched BIG TIME for Virginia Tech. As well we should have. And certainly, we are more aware of it because it is right here at home, but we should be flinching for those bodies in Iraq as well. That's over 5 Virginia Techs! Each one, someone's family member.

I grow numb.

What is this predilection that earthlings have for killing and maiming each other?

I mean, really....at some point doesn't even the most callous heart say, "enough is enough?"

It seems a simple enough question.

Tell Me Why I Don't Like Mondays...

Thirty-two dead.

As news of the Virginia Tech shootings spread across the news grid, everyone, understandably, received the news with shock and horror.

Television programs were pre-empted, satellite trucks were sent racing to the campus. Commentators, pundits, average people all had their opinions. Politicians added their two cents.

But at the end of the day, there were still thirty-two bodies.

And as the shock wears off, the gun control debate will once again be heard and once again nothing will be done.

And still, there are thirty-two dead.

Thirty-two dead. The nation is shocked. Europe is aghast. Asia shakes its head.

It really is a hard number to wrap your brain around.

Thirty-two dead.

But here's the irony....in Baghdad....that's a good Monday.

Na na hey hey...

So what happens when Iran just up and quits the United Nations?

I mean, what's stopping them? It's not like they're getting a lot from being a member. And think of the money they'll save by not having to maintain apartments in Manhattan AND Geneva.

This is all conjecture of course, but if you really think about it...why do they need the U.N.?

How would their life be different? What would change?

All those sanctions?

"Not our problem!" they'd say. We don't belong to that club.

I doubt they will leave because there are still a few rational heads over there, but you never know. And what would the world do? Impose sanctions?

Oh. Right.

Defenestration Redux

OK...been away for a while writing movies. There's lot's going on, and I'll try to get back to the blogging thing.

More bad news from Russia....

Having done some journalism in my time, I take it personally when my colleagues die. And too many have been dying recently.

Russia seems to be a particularly bad place to practice the craft these days. Word came today of the death of Ivan Safronov, the military affairs writer for Kommersant. He criticized the Russian military.

Then he apparently fell out of his 5th story window.

According to the AP story on the CBS News website, "Safronov's colleagues and relatives have described him as a strong, cheerful person who would be extremely unlikely to kill himself."

Oh yeah. Those are exactly the type of folks who jump out of a window. In their own apartment.

Last October, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was fatally shot. In her apartment. For criticizing the Russian military.

Coincidence?

You be the judge.

Of course in the long run...the bad guys can't win. They never do.