An Optimistic E-Mail About The Death Penalty In The United States
I have just received this e-mail about the death penalty from a abolitionists in the United States.
The famous phrase, “may you live in interesting times” is said to be a Chinese curse, but for a death penalty abolitionist the times are both interesting, and exciting!
Last Wednesday in Maryland the state Senate passed the death penalty repeal bill 27 to 20 and sent it to the House of Delegates. On Friday afternoon, the House Judiciary Committee passed it to the full House with a 14 to 8 vote. There are just two more big steps to go!
The countdown to repeal in Maryland continues with the second reading of the bill to take place starting around 6pm EDT tonight. The third reading and final vote in the House of Delegates is anticipated for Friday, where it is expected to pass and be sent to Governor O’Malley for his signature, making Maryland the 18th state without the death penalty!
We’ll keep you up-to-date as the Countdown to repeal moves forward.
ALSO THIS WEEK: Two more campaigns are introducing legislation to abolish the death penalty: Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and the Delaware Repeal Campaign. And last week, the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty launched its bill. The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has been deeply involved in all of these efforts and will bring you the details as they move forward.
Thank you for your support during these very “interesting” and exciting times for death penalty repeal in the United States.
Look for our updates throughout the week!
I hope that the optimistic nature of the e-mail is well-founded.
What A Surprise!
This story from the BBC web site doesn’t affect me, as I only drink the odd bottle of what is best described as a properly made gluten-free beer like Celia. Here’s the first couple of paragraphs.
Beer drinkers in the US have filed a $5m (£3.3m) lawsuit accusing Anheuser-Busch of watering down its beer.
The lawsuits, filed in Pennsylvania, California and other states, claim consumers have been cheated out of the alcohol content stated on beer labels.
The suit involves 10 Anheuser-Busch beers including Budweiser and Michelob.
It certainly reminds me of that joke about that terrible beer of the 1960s, Watney’s Red Barrel.
Why is drinking Watney’s Red Barrel, like having sex in a punt? They’re both f**king close to water.
Although, I suspect the joke has been updated several times since.
How Not To Interview Mo Farah
This article from the Sun, talks about and shows one of worst interviews I’ve ever seen.
It does show what a mild-mannered guy, Mo Farah must be! I wouldn’t have kept so calm!
The Austin Maxi That Didn’t Get Into The Film
The Sunday Times yesterday told the true story of Argo yesterday and like so many other American films, the role of Brits, Canadians and New Zealanders have been cut out. It would appear from the paper that the British Ambassador in Iran at the time; John Graham, is not amused. It would appear that one of the heroes was the orange Austin Maxi, used to ferry the American diplomats about.
It may not be very sexy, but it’s true.
So I can cut Argo off my list of films to see, as I don’t watch films where the truth is bent for American self-gratification.
They Do Things Big In Las Vegas
This story from Las Vegas shows one of the reasons why I will never go to that dump again. It really is a supremely tacky place, especially if you see it as it gets up in the morning, with the lights off.
I suppose a holiday in Syria might be a bit quieter.
The Enforcer From The World Bank
Thirty or so years ago, I was going to San Jose from San Francisco airport in a limo. There were four of us sharing and one was one of the most dodgy guys I’d seen in some time. He was tall, fit, tanned and about sixty, with a long grey pony-tail, wearing cowboy boots, immaculate blue jeans and a black shirt. His only luggage was a battered brown leather hold-all. He looked just like a Columbian drug baron straight out of Central Casting. But from his accent, we could tell he was an American.
One of the guys politely asked him what he did. It turned out he’d been a US Army Colonel and he’d been recruited by the World Bank to look after projects in the rain forest. He was absolutely fascinating as he told about his work. He said that if you slash and burn the rainforest, you make just a few thousand dollars an acre, but if you harvest it selectively using the local Indians, you make many times more. He told how trees would be left until maturity and how many of the plants were collected for pharmaceuticals, leaving enough behind to collect in following years.
But he said to do this properly you needed to make tracks, which of course allowed the slash and burn merchants access to the jungle.
He also said that a lot of the problems were down to money lenders and corrupt operators, who drive the eco-system for their own selfish ends.
It was an amazing education in a limousine.
Do You Have To Be Fat And Ugly To Play Rugby These Days?
I watched the England Scotland rugby last night on the iPlayer. It strikes me that the forwards are now getting to be so heavy that they wouldn’t be out of place in sumo wrestling. The backs too, aren’t small any more and would some of the great players of the past like Jeremy Guscott, Phil Bennett, the Underwoods or even Jonny Wilkinson ever get a game these days?
Clive Woodward wasn’t impressed either with the number of players with beards, who could have been extras in a film about the Vikings.
Rugby seems to be going the same route as American football, where size is everything. Parents, I suspect will start to keep their children away from the game, as it will get too dangerous, with all that weight running about. You read reports from the United States, where football is on the rise over the American version, simply because it is a safer game for normal people.
And talking about American football, why is the BBC spending my licence fee, on covering it so much?
Repeated Spam
When I cleaned out the spam in my blog, a few minutes ago, one of the most common bits of spam, I found was on this post about US sailors being drunk.
It was for various lawyers in Texas, who were offering their services for offences like drunk driving. As the chance, I’d get done for drunk driving in Texas, as much less than hell freezing over, someone is wasting their time and money.
And We Think It’s Cold Here!
Just look at this video from Chicago on the BBC’s web site.
It makes you cold, to look at it.
Does It Matter If Beyonce Mimed The National Anthem?
Of course not! But even the Guardian thinks it’s worth an article!
The Anonymous Widower 