On 2011-05-23 13:57, balducci wrote:

Quote:

On 2011-05-23 13:28, RS1963 wrote:

Here is an over looked fact. What was the name of the horse that Mohamed ascended to heaven on? Barak.

I think your over looked fact may be a little off.

Barack means Blessed. Barack is of African origin, and is a form of the Hebrew name Baruch. Baruch is also the name of one of the Catholic deuterocanonical scriptural texts.

Borak is of Arabic origin, and means "the lightning". Al Borak or Al-Burâq was the name of the heavenly winged horse.

On 2011-05-23 14:06, Woland wrote:
Let me take this thread back to the subject of the arrest of DSK, and also to a higher level.

Whatever you might think this sordid episode says about the qualities of the leading men of our generation, we are still privileged to live in a society, and at a time, when a crime committed by one of the high-and-mighty against a foreign chambermaid could bring down all of the force of the impartial law.

I daresay that would not have been the case for most of the preceeding two or three thousand years of recorded history.

So as they say in New York, Excelsior!

Woland

On 2011-05-26 11:41, critter wrote:
Isn't "Excelsior!" Stan Lee's catch phrase?

On 2011-05-26 13:07, Woland wrote:

Yes, "ever upwards," or something like that. I thought New York could be very proud of 1)the hotel personnel, and 2)the police, and 3)the culture of justice and fairness which makes a reality of the equality of all persons before the majesty of the law that the people have made. This is not the story of a sordid sex crime, it is a demonstration that our civilization has reached a pinnacle to which countless millions of people have yearned in vain through dark centuries of feudal, seigneurial oppression.

I think there’s an important point in the comic value: The people who think they’re smart enough, and morally superior enough, to run everyone else’s lives are risible. They’re not smart enough, and they’re actually, overall, morally inferior — I mean, John Edwards, DSK, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barney Frank, Tax Cheat Tim Geithner, just go down the list — and mocking them is inherently valuable. They pursue power, and they exercise power, as much for deference as anything else. Deny them that, and make it painful for them whenever possible. That’s my take.

On 2011-06-04 10:09, Woland wrote:
"Weinergate" does not rise to the level of the Strauss-Kahn case, so to speak, but it did prompt a thoughtful comment this morning from Professor Glenn Reynolds:

Quote:

I think there’s an important point in the comic value: The people who think they’re smart enough, and morally superior enough, to run everyone else’s lives are risible. They’re not smart enough, and they’re actually, overall, morally inferior — I mean, John Edwards, DSK, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barney Frank, Tax Cheat Tim Geithner, just go down the list — and mocking them is inherently valuable. They pursue power, and they exercise power, as much for deference as anything else. Deny them that, and make it painful for them whenever possible. That’s my take.

Woland