--- Ok, need to keep this short and sweet today—I actually have a
life today. Errands to run, shirts to iron, people to see, and the
husband is cooking Rosti for dinner tonight.

It̢۪s going to be a busy day, so I shall get to it.

--- How long did you think it’s going to take this to hit the mainstream press? Yeah, the Hindustan Times is a big paper in India, but, amazingly enough, this is the only place the husband and I can find itâ€Â¦and it’s an AP
story. Hmmmm.
It̢۪s a very vague article, and God only knows the Kuwaitis can be
maddening with their release of details. I can̢۪t imagine why they̢۪d
want to keep this one quiet, though, so eventually the details will be
released and---keep your fingers crossed---the mainstream, western
media will grab onto it.
What I want to know is which European country were the WMD̢۪s going to?

--- I̢۪m sneaking more Economist
today for you. The same rules apply. It̢۪s copyrighted by them, 2003,
and you̢۪re not going to rat on me for republishing it here without
their permission. Right? Right! This is too juicy for me to let slide.
We̢۪ve got a big ol̢۪ hypocrisy alert. Have a good laugh. I know I
did. Italian Fashion and Texan Justice: Dressed to Kill
Austin
From bright jerseys to last meals
If Benetton wanted attention, it has found it. In 2000, the fashion
company—famous for putting bloody newborn babies and the dying on its
billboards---ran a glossy advertisement featuring inmates from various
death rows around America. The ad campaign caused fury for its use of
convicted killers as fashion props---and the company apologized to the
families of their victims. Now comes the news that Carlo Benetton, the
company̢۪s deputy-chairman, has quietly sold his 11,000-acre Buffalo
Ranch to the state of Texas for use by its prison system, the largest
conveyor-belt of death in America. Mr. Benetton had apparently wanted
the prime river-bottom land to grow cotton for the company̢۪s clothing
line, until he discovered that, as a foreigner, he could not get
government subsidies. Now the farmland---which lies between Austin, the
state capitol, and Huntsville, home of the “Walls” Unit death
chamber---will produce cotton for prisoners̢۪ uniforms and corn for
their (last) meals. The large plantation house, complete with swimming
pool, will be used as a conference center for prison officials. If Mr.
Benetton had misgivings about selling the farm to purveyors of death,
he did not convey that to Tom Fordyce. Mr. Fordyce, who runs the Texas
prison system̢۪s massive farm operations (145,000 acres, 20m pounds of
vegetables a year, its own beef and pork processing plants) says the
fashion mogul was ready to sell “right on the spot”; “He’s a
business man, and this was a business transaction.”
Benetton officials in New York did not return telephone calls. Butnnot
the firm and the Texas prison warders are on such good terms, one can
only imagine the advertising possibilities.”
Oh, tee hee. If Benetton wants to rip the death penalty up one side and
down the other with their advertising, I don̢۪t really care all that
much. It̢۪s a free country. But, what I find incredibly funny is that
they̢۪re making money on the corrupt, immoral practice they condemned.
And if what Fordyce says happened, actually did happen, well, they were
damn happy about it, too. Particularly when they couldn̢۪t get the
American government to cough up for cotton subsidies. What do you want
to bet that if some enterprising reporter requested their tax records
for the property they̢۪d find that the company had claimed the whole
thing as a write-off, even though they were able to sell the land? ---
Here̢۪s your Chuckle for the Day.

So, what happens if the confiscation doesn̢۪t work? Will it escalate to shooting Fido̢۪s kneecaps? Pay up, or Fido gets it?
Sick, sick bastards. Although, I don̢۪t think the husband would mind
if they shot a few cats along the way: a few less in the world to make
him deathly ill would probably make his day a happy one
[post hijacked by "the husband"] Cats are t3h 3\/1| !!

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