Not a Big Truck

The ongoing piracy saga off the Somalian coast fascinates me.  I am sure the newspaper industry is loving it — how often in the 21st century do they get to write stories about pirates?  Even though piracy is a serious problem in the region, and though everyone of course is concerned for the welfare of the merchant ship captain who is being held hostage on the lifeboat, I can’t help feeling that the whole situation is oddly comical.  Multiple U.S. Navy warships are surrounding this tiny lifeboat that has no fuel, three pirates and the captured captain.

The pirates have to know that they are basically out of options.  The U.S. Navy is not going to let them go anywhere and is not going to allow them to bring in reinforcements.  On the other hand, the U.S. Navy also doesn’t seem to have options other than trying to talk to the pirates and hoping they give in.

My solution: Sink ‘em!  Put some Navy SEALS with scuba gear in the water, send them down to fifty feet or so, and have them swim the few hundred yards over to the lifeboat.  They can come up underneath the boat and drill holes or otherwise do something that will cause it to sink.  This would be a minimal risk to the men carrying out the operation, as bullets do not travel well through water (Mythbusters did an episode about this, and it only takes a few feet of water, if that, for bullets to lose their penetrating power).  And, once the pirates’ boat has sunk and they are in the water, they will be forced to surrender to the U.S. Navy.

Noticed this gem on the Mariners website:

MINNEAPOLIS — Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki was the leadoff hitter for both teams in a five-inning Rookie League intrasquad game on Thursday afternoon in Peoria, Ariz.

He went 7-for-10 with two triples and one double

This isn’t even close to fair. Even recovering from a minor injury, Ichiro still managers to go SEVEN FOR 10 WITH TWO TRIPLES. I’m not sure this even qualifies as rehab, sounds more like T-Ball.

At least they let him play for both teams in order to keep things competitive.

You probably have enough gold medals by now to forge them into a really shiny bong.  Just an idea.

Even though I picked Missouri to advance to the Sweet 16, I was disappointed to see Marquette lose to them in the way they did.  A Missouri player made two free throws to put his team up by 2 with five seconds remaining.  Marquette was inbounding the ball for a chance to tie the game or win it outright at the end of regulation.  And what did the Marquette inbounder, Lazar Hayward, do?  Running side to side along the baseline, he carelessly stepped in bounds with his right foot while he was still holding the ball.  Violation.  Possession to Missouri.  Game over.

What a dumb and careless play, a la Chris Webber’s phantom timeout call in the 1993 national championship.  Nevertheless I felt bad for the Marquette player; hopefully he won’t be a pariah among his teammates or back on campus.

Mayor Bloomberg has a new plan out to turn Times Square (and nearby Herald Square) into pedestrian areas. Should be interesting to see what it looks like when built.

Israeli media is reporting that the centrist Kadima party has won today’s elections. Per an interview with the Turkish Foreign Minister in this week’s Newsweek this would seem to bode well for ongoing peace talks between Israel and Syria (facilitated by the Turks)

Should have been nominated for Best Picture, if for no other reason than to breath some fresh air into

Also, while I loved Milk, Josh Brolin did not deserve that nomination.  He wasn’t bad, but I thought there were at least two better supporting acting performances in that film: James Franco and, especially, Emile Hirsch.

Since Obama was sworn in by Roberts for the second time, some have been questioning whether his executive orders that were signed before the most recent swearing in are constitutionally legitimate.

First, even if this was fun from an intellectual/academic perspective, this is stupid if anyone thinks it should matter from a practical level.

Second, is there a law that mandates that the Chief Justice swear in the President? Article II doesn’t seem to say who has to swear in the President. Obama could very well say that one of his daughters swore him in and that would seemingly be constitutionally legitimate. 

Any of my fellow bloggers or our one reader know of any congressional law that would create more stringent guidelines regarding the oath?

A movie classic…that always deserves a look…

I was supporting Obama before this speech.  But, after this speech, I was totally in the tank…as the pros seem to say.  Coming off a completely devastating and disappointing loss, to deliver this speech required a confidence and political skill that I was definitely not accustomed to.

Expectations for him are so high. This speech on Tuesday will need to be amazing simply to meet those expectations. Even if the speech is mediocre, let’s hope he succeeds in governing competently.