Profiling . . .

. . . our politicians . . .


(from No One Left To Lie To; The Values of the Worst Family by Christopher Hitchens)
". . . Two full terms of Clintonism and of "triangulation" and of loveless dogged bipartisanship, reduced the American scene to the point where politicians had become to politics what lawyers had become to the law: professionalized parasites battening on an exhausted system that had lost any relationship to its original purpose (democracy or popular sovereignty in the first instance; justice or equity in the second). The permanent political class and its ancillaries held all the cards by the 2000 campaign, controlled all the money, decided on all the predigested questions in all the manipulated polls. They did their job almost too well, leaving insufficient room for illusion and inadequate grounds for maintaining any steady or principled party allegiance. As a result, the only realists were the cynics. And this in turn permitted some alarming honesties to be committed in public. . ."

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A Real Winer . . .

(Thanks to Elizabeth Chuck http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/phony-wine-seller-waits-find-out-how-much-prison-time-n117391)
Hear about Rudy Kurniawan who went from being one of the world's most respected collectors of aged and premier wines to being found guilty last year of fraud for selling counterfeit wines and defrauding a finance company?

Lawyers on both sides are unable to say exactly how much fake wine Kurniawan sold, in part because only one of his victims, billionaire William Koch, has come forward and documented how much he believes was schemed out of.  Kurniawan's attorney said. But, he added, Kurniawan has $3.4 million worth of wine left in his warehouse, leaving about $36 million worth of wine unaccounted for. In a letter to the judge, prosecuters argued there is "reliable evidence" that Kurniawan earned millions more from his scheme, "above and beyond the $20,730,000 that the government seeks in forfeiture."

Kurniawan was once one of the top five wine collectors in the elite world of world of fine vintage wine, according to AFP. Through sales at auctions and directly to collectors, he sold more than 1,000 fake bottles that he blended in his kitchen on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In her 2006 Los Angeles Times article, Brown profiled Kurniawan, his expensive dinner parties, and his collection of cars — a Bentley and a Ferrari were among them — along with his aspirations for continued success in the wine business.

Kurniawan had become "almost compulsive" by 2003 and said he was drawn to selling counterfeit wine because expectations had risen so high about the wine he had, and he wanted to keep the friends he had made through his wine business. "Bringing extraordinary wines brought acceptance and recognition," the filing said. "Rudy liked the feeling of being the center of attention. It gave him a feeling of achievement and belonging that he had never before experienced."

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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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Babbling? . . .

. . . like the brook . .

 “Whew!!  Mmm, mmm,” I faintly heard from the curb as the car, which came from behind the utility truck in the right lane across the intersection at about forty miles-per-hour, zoomed by me not three feet ahead.  “Not a very good case.  Outside the crosswalk AND against the light. Not much I can do with this one!  Ah, now it’s green.  Of course I’m still OUTside the walk but you’re inside.  Too many lawyers in Baltimore!” 

I said nothing.  In spite of coming within twenty-eight inches of my life, all I could do was laugh.

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AMBIENCE & WINE
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