[sicily] not what you might imagine

Welshcakes Limoncello, the lady who posts pics of that most delicious region of the world, had this to say in reply to a comment of mine:

I thought Sicily was poor before I first came here in 1992, too. Of course, poverty exists and you see beggars occasionally, but not as often as you see them in the UK these days.

The reality is that Sicily is rich in natural resources and imports hardly anything, foodwise. One of the main differences from the UK is that few people have mortgages: nearly everyone has some land left to them by their family and they build on that. Most people I know - professionals, admittedly - have 2 or even 3 houses and that's quite hard for me to take in, given how most of us struggle in Britain to keep one.

When I first brought students over on an exchange visit, the first thing they remarked on was the amount of open countryside that you see, with no buildings in sight. Another difference is that, as all over Italy, everybody eats well, because they eat and use what is available.

I think the only way to get to grips with the many contrasts that make up Sicily is to come and experience it. Part of my purpose on this site is to try to show people that it is very different to how they might imagine it.

[wesley snipes] unfairly targeted for not paying tax

Wesley Snipes was taken into custody by federal authorities Friday morning, after arriving at Orlando International Airport. Snipes said he was a scapegoat and unfairly targeted by prosecutors in connection with a federal tax fraud investigation. He’d been shooting a movie in Namibia.

Actually, Wesley was ‘unfairly targeted’ for failing to pay nearly $12 million in taxes, claiming refunds in 1996 and 1997 and then failing to file returns between 1999 and 2006. Seems those Feds just won’t leave a man alone, even after he unfairly targeted and wiped out half the vampire population.

Late News: The star of the 'Blade' vampire movies has reached an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whereby he will adhere to a payment plan in exchange for not serving a prison sentence, entertainment daily Variety reported. The deal will also enable Snipes, who is currently in Namibia shooting a horror movie, to continue working and travelling abroad.

Great that Wes could lay his hands on that sort of cash at short notice and that the IRS were so accommodating. So, if any of you are having a few problems out there, remember the IRS will cut deal with you – they'll do it with anyone. That much is clear.

[water on mars] but not a whole lot, it seems

According to NASA Mars Exploration Program lead scientist Michael Meyer, the latest evidence appears to reveal recent water flow on the surface of the red planet. Scientists examined photos sent by Global Surveyor and compared the latest photos with the ones sent seven years ago and observed that water had flowed through the 20 craters they detected recently.

NASA believes water may have come up from under the surface and flowed long enough to have left traces. Water on the red planet would freeze at the surface. Previously scientists proved there is water on Mars in the form of gas and ice. Global Surveyor was launched on Nov. 7 1997 to map the red planet and it has been operating for a long time.

Still, as the world population hovers around ten billion and the first shuttles lift off for the new colony, it’s reassuring that water droplets will be worth their weight in terrestrial gold - so that’s the currency issue sorted out already.

[thai monarch] eat your heart out, britain

King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX

King Bhumibol said simply, in his state of the union speech, that he was "bored" with political topics and went on to give his stamp of approval to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, referring to the former army commander and former member of the Privy Council as a "man of principle" and "strong personality. Between the lines, King Bhumibol's assessment that Surayud's government of mostly retired royalist bureaucrats is "superior" to a government run by "unqualified young people" was quite possibly a critical comparison to Thaksin's self-proclaimed "new generation" administration.

The anti-government street protests that contributed to Thaksin's downfall were first and foremost motivated by accusations that he had co-opted rituals and responsibilities that in Thai society were traditionally reserved for royalty. As political tensions mounted, Thaksin appeared to challenge the authority of the Privy Council when he accused an unnamed "charismatic figure" - widely perceived to be royal aide Prem Tinsulanonda - who was allegedly scheming to overthrow his government through extra-constitutional means.

The birth of Vajiralongkorn's son, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, in April 2005 has significantly assured an unbroken family line of succession to the throne. On top of that, the democratic experiment, regrettably implemented under the politically ambitious Thaksin, is nine years later now back at Square 1. When the King gently remonstrated an unnamed Thaksin, that was the beginning of the end. You don’t cross the Thai King and get away with it.

I’ve posted before that I was in Thailand in a minibus, in after work peak hour traffic, where two major arteries meet and the whole caboodle was stalled for just under an hour because the King was due to drive home for the evening. We laughed about it to the minibus driver, a young chap who could probably have been relied upon to share the joke. Not a bit of it. The King has the undying reference of each and almost every Thailander, excepting the Thaksins of the country of course and the young man first glared, then explained. The King finally having passed by, everyone respectfully resumed the road mayhem as before.

This post is dedicated to Chris Dillow.

[shocking revelation] end of the week closing in on us

End of the week! Yo! Well, tomorrow afternoon is the end of the week, to be pedantic but still - a person can dream of Sunday.

[litvinenko] the radioactive murk does not clear

It's surely asking too much to love all that your government does, all that’s happening in your society. One can love the country and not certain things in it and some decisions leave one shaking the head. However, this was surely predictable and I feel it would have been the same in reverse:

In Moscow there was a fresh twist to the story as Russian prosecutors opened their parallel murder investigation, raising the possibility of Russia sending its own detectives to London to pursue a separate inquiry.

UK Daily Pundit raised an interesting one as well:

Nearly two weeks ago the Chechen press and Russian radio station, Echo Moskvy, were reporting that ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko had converted to Islam. Only today, as family and friends said prayers at a central London Mosque before a private funeral for the Russian, have the MSM reported it. Why the secrecy? Was there a D-notice on it? And if so why?

This can't be discounted. Lady Ellee is a wonderful lady who can get to the heart of an issue but this Litvinenko matter has twists to it which will rake in the shekels for anyone who eventually writes the definitive book. One must sit on the fence for now and wait and see. It could go either way.