THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† Living In These Mad, Mad, Madoff Times: There are 30 percent fewer billionaires on Forbes list this year than last (1,125 vs. 793), reports the Houston Chronicle:
There was some jostling at the top. Bill Gates moved to No. 1 from No. 3, bumping investing guru Warren Buffett and Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. All of the top 10 billionaires saw their net worths fall
Forbes reported that those on the list of billionaires had an average net worth of $3 billion, down 23 percent.
On a percentage basis, the average person is in slightly better shape than the average billionaire: The Wall Street Journal reports that the household net worth dropped nearly 17.9 percent in 2008, largely due to declines in home values and stock prices.
Editorial Note: Today is the first day of the rest of Bernard Madoff’s life – in prison, after pleading guilty to 11 counts fraud, money laundering, perjury and theft. Ira Sorkin, Madoff’s attorney, was unsuccessful in convincing Southern District Judge Denny Chin that his client should be allowed to live in his Park Avenue penthouse until sentencing on June 16th – a decision that Sorkin plans to appeal. Madoff faces up to 150 years on the charges if the sentences are consecutive.
† Obama Administration’s Tactless Diplomatic Debut: In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, writer/producer Rob Long sympathizes with President Barack Obama’s inability to come up with a classier gift of state to give British Prime Minister Gordon Brown than a collection of moldy oldie movie DVDs:
[W]e've all been there. We've all been faced with finding a last-minute gift. We've all sprinted through the aisles of Walgreens, scanning the shelves for something - anything - that might possibly, if wrapped stylishly, qualify as a present. President Obama has the added burden of being almost completely broke, so it's only natural that his eye drifts to the discount bin at the video store.
Twenty-five classic movies? Some that he included, like "The Wizard of Oz" and "City Lights," are so old and so well-known that they're practically free. Perfect! Wrap them up in last year's Hanukkah paper - he's British; he won't notice - and presto: diplomatic crisis averted.
† What Freedom Of Speech Means To Muslims: In a secret proceeding, the Supreme Court in Afghanistan has upheld a 20-year prison sentence for Afghan university student journalist Parwiz Kambakhsh, 24, for blasphemy, reports The New York Times:
The student, from northern Afghanistan, was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to death for blasphemy after accusations that he had written and distributed an article about the role of women in Islam. Mr. Kambakhsh has denied having written the article and said he had downloaded it from the Internet. His family and lawyers say he has been denied a fair trial.
In 2008, an appeals court in Kabul commuted the death sentence to 20 years’ imprisonment, a decision that was upheld by a tribunal of the Supreme Court last month. …
The decision came to light only when the attorney general’s office issued orders to the northern province of Balkh to enforce the decision, Afzal Nooristani, a defense lawyer for Mr. Kambakhsh, said in a telephone interview.
“I was not allowed to talk with the judges and officials, which is a complete violation of law,” he said.
† Updates To Previous Posts (fourth item, We Fight Them Over There So We Don’t Have To Fight Them Over Here?: Over the past three years, a "small but significant" number of Somali-Americans nationwide have gone to Somalia to join the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, according to law enforcement and intelligence officials who testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, reports The Boston Globe:
[T]he law enforcement officials said they believe that the initial motivation of youths who returned to Somalia was to defend their native land from an invasion by neighboring Ethiopia two years ago, but that they could be indoctrinated and trained to return to the United States to mount terrorist attacks. …
"We are concerned that if Somali-American youth can be motivated to engage in such activities overseas . . . fellow travelers could return to the US and engage in terrorist activities here," Andrew Liepman, the deputy director of intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center, told the panel. …
Nationwide there are an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Somali-Americans. Youths are considered particularly vulnerable to religious or other community leaders who might sympathize with Al-Shabaab, which means "youth" in Arabic.
† Updates To Previous Posts (third item, The Right To Bear Arms Belongs To Us All: Part II): A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld (pdf) U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit by GeorgiaCarry.org seeking to permit licensed gun owners to carry in public areas of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, calling the appeal of the ruling "meritless," reports The Associated Press:
The legal feud erupted when a new state law took effect in July that allows people with gun permits to carry guns into restaurants and state parks and on public transportation.
Atlanta officials quickly declared the airport a "gun-free zone" and warned that anyone carrying a gun there would be arrested. GeorgiaCarry.org sued the city and the airport, claiming the airport qualifies as public transportation under the new state law.
The law's supporters said they would resume exploring other legal options, but signaled the fight will likely shift to the Georgia Legislature.
"If we have to incorporate this to make it specifically clear - if we need to spell it out - then we're going to do that," said state Rep. Tim Bearden, who co-sponsored the law.
Bearden has introduced a sweeping gun proposal, House Bill 615, that he expects could come to a vote for next year's legislative session. The measure, among other things, would ban the seizure of firearms during official states of emergency. But Bearden said it could eventually specifically allow firearms in parts of the airport.
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