Category Archives: sad

Bizarre

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George Zimmerman, accused of murdering an unarmed teenager, has apparently lost his attorneys, according to the Wall Street Journal:

The lawyers for George Zimmerman, the member of a neighborhood watch group who killed an unarmed teenager, said they were withdrawing as his legal counsel, a surprise twist in a case that has riveted the nation.

“We’ve lost contact with him,” attorney Craig Sonner said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “He’s gone on his own.” Mr. Sonner said the last time he had communicated with his client was on Sunday. Since then, Mr. Zimmerman hadn’t returned phone calls, text messages or emails, he said.

What the hell? This comes on the same day that Zimmerman launched his own website, seeking donations for his legal defense.

Child abuse?

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This video, which was posted to YouTube only 6 days ago has been viewed more than 22 million times. Some argue it shows a form of domestic violence or child abuse. Others support the father. You can decide for yourself.

Note: this video will play the end portion of the video, but you can manually scroll back and watch the entire video if you want.

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Animal cruelty

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Project Nim, available on DVD, chronicles a 1970s (totally misguided) attempt to take an infant chimp away from its zoo mother, and teach it sign language while living among humans. The movie depicts the damage done by the various humans involved in this bizarre experiment, and the hubris and carelessness of those humans.

The film graphically depicts the horror when the helpless chimp, after attaining adulthood and fluency with sign language, but never having seen other chimpanzees, is summarily transported back to the zoo from whence he came. The lead researcher in the original study, Columbia University Professor Herbert Terrace, was (and is) a clearly a self-interested and despicable human being, and he is featured throughout voicing self-important, and false, self-justifications for his inhuman behavior, including a sexual relationship with at least one of of his teaching assistants.

To add insult to injury, a year after leaving Nim back at his zoo, in horrible conditions, Terrace shows up for a photo op with Nim. Nim reacts with relief, as if he will be released from prison. He was not released.  And eventually, a medical researcher targeted Nim and moved him to a New York Univiersity medical research center. You can guess the rest, but it is not a totally grim ending.

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Pepper spray is A-OK

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So if pepper spray is OK to use on peaceful protestors, why not fellow Wal-Mart shoppers?

This is so sad. But the constant barrage of advertisements calling for more shopping and deals that cannot be matched, coupled with the recession, is certainly an inducement for such behavior.

Meanwhile, an off-duty police officer pepper sprayed Wal-Mart shoppers in North Carolina.

God, I love the commercial nature of America. Merry Christmas.

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Nebraska suggesting fans not wear red (updated)

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Nebraska’s Athletic Director has advised its fans not to wear red tomorrow at the game with Penn State for fear of their safety.

Tom Osborne, Nebraska’s athletic director, has asked his team’s usually decked-out fans to refrain from wearing Nebraska’s trademark red. Osborne said he was not worried about the football team’s safety, but he wanted to make sure the team’s fans stayed safe.

“I just don’t know if it’s a good idea in this circumstance to stand out,” Osborne said to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Update:  And, oh, a new investigation has been opened in Texas with respect to the same former Penn State coach. And Paterno has reportedly lawyered up.

Generally speaking, it is easy for a scandal like this to become overblown and hysterical, identifying abusers everywhere and this argues in favor of restraint and care in evaluating exactly what happened and what is a false claim. In this case, however, we have an eyewitness to at least one abuse incident who was 28 years old at the time he saw the abuse first-hand, and at least 8 victims (now adults, not children) testifying. The compaining individual in the Texas event was not one of the 8 in the original indictment.

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Moody’s and Penn State

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Because of the child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State, Moody’s is reviewing whether a Penn State credit rating reduction is called for.

Moody’s Investors Service has placed the Aa1 revenue bond rating of Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) on review for possible downgrade to assess credit risks emanating from the announcement this week by the Pennsylvania Attorney General of the filing of criminal charges involving child sexual abuse against a former assistant football coach, as well as perjury and failure to report charges against two senior university officials, including the CFO of the university. The university board has also dismissed Penn State’s president and head football coach.

Over the next several months, Moody’s will evaluate the potential scope of reputational and financial risk arising from these events. While the full impact of these increased risks will only unfold over a period of years, we will also assess the degree of near and medium term risks to determine whether to downgrade the current Aa1 rating. We will monitor possible emerging risks emanating from potential lawsuits/settlements, weaker student demand, declines in philanthropic support, changes in state relationship and significant management or governance changes.

As of today, Penn State’s debt is rated Aa1 by Moody’s.

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