Mubarak Sentenced To Life in Prison For Failing To Stop Brutal Crackdown

Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak will be spending the rest of his life behind bars. He was found guilty of doing nothing to stop the murder of unarmed protesters during the first six days of the protests against his regime. Despite the verdict against Mubarak, several others, including his sons, were found not guilty of similar charges. And there are reports that Mubarak's health condition has worsened and that his lawyers are likely to appeal the ruling:

It was the second verdict against an Arab ruler brought before the law by a popular revolt, after the conviction in absentia last year of Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, and for many Egyptians it may be the greatest achievement so far of the uprising that began 16 months ago. With the nation still awaiting the ratification of a new constitution, the election of a new president and the hand-over of power by its military rulers, the decision is Egypt’s most significant step yet toward establishing the principle that no leader is above the law. Yet lawyers critical of Mr. Mubarak immediately warned that the verdict may not survive an appeal. The judge acquitted several lower-ranking security officials of responsibility for the same deaths, raising questions about the chain of command. He also dismissed corruption charges against Mr. Mubarak and his sons on technical grounds, and by early afternoon protesters angry at the flimsiness of the decision were pouring into Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the revolt. Egyptian state television reported that within hours of the decision, Mr. Mubarak, 84, had suffered a "health crisis" as he was being flown by helicopter to a Cairo prison from the military hospital where he had awaited the verdict. He was being treated inside the helicopter which he refused to leave, the state network reported.

It's unlikely that Mubarak will ever set forth from a hospital or prison as a free man, though Mubarak's lawyers could have a good case considering the very low evidenciary standard used. Mubarak was sentenced to life as an accessory to murder in the killing of more than 240 protesters at the end of January 2011. At the same time, the judge acknowledged that prosecutors had no evidence showing that Mubarak or his top aides had directly ordered the killing of protesters.

Instead, the judge held Mr. Mubarak responsible for failing to stop the killing — an unusually low standard of proof for a murder conviction under either Egyptian or international law.

Despite the troubles with the case, it's an important step forward for Egyptians considering the decades of governance without regard to human rights and personal and political freedoms.

The Big Hole In Bloomberg's Health Kick

Just days after calling for an outright ban on super-sized soda portions in most New York City establishments, Mayor Mike Bloomberg saw fit to issue a proclamation honoring National Donut Day.

I'd say that's a huge hole in Bloomberg's health policy.

As it is, I doubt that Mayor Bloomberg would be willing to ban any serving of Waygu beef larger than 4 ounces (or any steak for that matter), considering that most 4oz portions of beef have as much calories as the size soda he's looking to ban (and beef has more fat, but more other nutrients as well).

If the issue is calories, why not ban super sized juices or milk shakes (those are exempt under the proposed rule). And if you're a soda maker, why not add other nutrients to show that the sodas aren't merely empty calories - one of the justifications for the ban/taxing of soda proposals.

Fact is that obesity is a problem but it's not only due to nutrition (or bad nutrition). The fact that so many people sit on their asses all day and don't get exercise is a major contributing factor. We simply eat far more than we burn off - and that packs on the pounds.

Portion control would go a long way, but that's personal choice too. And nothing is being done - either by individuals or the companies selling them - to deal with the super-sized portions at restaurants of all stripes. People keep consuming stuff without regard to the consequences. The calorie counts may help with that, but ultimately it comes down to the individual to decide what, and how much, to eat or drink.

Nothing is going to stop a person from buying multiple beverages other than the costs (which is an indirect tax on those who want to get those beverages).

However, if you're interested - both Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme are giving away free donuts (though I think you need to buy a beverage at DnD to get the freebie).

UPDATE:
Bloomberg is busy rationalizing the discrepancy between calling for a super-sized soda ban and honoring donuts. One donut may be as bad or worse than one of those super-sized sodas, depending on what that donut is.

The reason he thinks he can get away with a soda ban is that soda will continue to be sold in other sizes, but he can't ban donuts (or other regularly sold food products) because of the uproar had he even thought about it.

The Turbo Trains To Nowhere

Back when I was going to college in Albany, I had occasion to take Amtrak and from New York City. More than a few times, I was on a Turbo Train, which was faster than the standard service by about 10-15 minutes.

When Governor George Pataki was in office, he touted a proposal to upgrade the New York to Albany line for high speed rail and even had a deal in place with Amtrak to upgrade service, including refurbishing several of the Turbo trains for high speed service.

Well, needless to say, the project went off the rails. New York still lacks the high speed rail corridor, but the state is still on the hook for the costs of storing the four Turbo trains that it had obtained from Amtrak.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now dealing with the residual mess - and is going to be selling off the trains for scrap because they've been allowed to rust in place.

But the necessary track improvements never happened. Trains that the state paid $70 million to refurbish did not work. Then the state accused Amtrak of stealing several of them by towing them to Delaware and never bringing them back.

Four trains remain as monuments to the disastrous project. For years, the state paid more than $150,000 annually to rent a space to house the trains in Glenville, as well as a warehouse for spare parts in a Rotterdam industrial park.

“This is New York State’s $70 million train to nowhere,” said Howard B. Glaser, the director of state operations, who called the abandoned trains a glaring example of “waste and incompetence.”

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, has made a priority of consolidating government offices and trying to sell surplus state property, from automobiles to state prisons. His administration says it has already netted more than $1 million via an eBay store.

On Thursday, his aides said they would now try to sell the unused trains and their spare parts, probably for scrap.

Even by Albany standards, the high-speed line offers a reminder of how a much-heralded government project can fall apart — literally, in the case of the boarded-up, weed-infested trains. The state is still paying off bonds that financed a portion of the train project, even though it never succeeded, said Robert L. Megna, the state’s budget director.

The track improvements never happened and that meant that the locomotives couldn't ever get up to speed. New York was forced to cover storage costs at more than $150,000 a year.

The fact is that had the tracks been upgraded, it would have represented a clear opportunity for high speed rail. The line was uniquely suited for the purpose - it's a high traffic route that feeds into the NEC at New York Penn Station, and could have served as a demonstrator route for upgrades elsewhere in the country. But the project was starved of funding and Amtrak botched its end of the project almost as badly as the state botched its side.

But at least I can say that I took one of those Turbo trains before they went off the rails.

Assad's Loyalists Blame Houla Massacre On Rebels

Last week, more than 100 people were murdered in Houla. It's been reported that artillery was fired and subsequently roving militias came through to finish the job - executing dozens at close range with knives and small arms fire.

Is it any surprise that Bashar al-Assad's loyalists are claiming that the massacre was the result of rebel forces - not the government. The Assad-backed "investigation" claims that those killed were Assad loyalists and were unwilling to cooperate with the rebels, which is why they were targeted.

Meanwhile, China wants to give the failed Annan plan more time to work, even though the plan has been a miserable failure from the outset. It hasn't stopped the violence, and massacres continue. Human rights violations abound, and there's nothing that the UN observers can do to thwart war crimes or human rights violations because countries - like China and Russia are preventing anything more harsh than a strongly worded letter from being adopted by the Security Council.

That's even as the UN Secretary General concedes that war crimes and civil war are likely if both sides refuse to abide by the Annan plan. The fact is that UN observers aren't there to do anything more than observe. They can't force anyone to lower their weapons; they too have been targeted by both sides. The UN is in a no-win situation because Russia and China refuse to take stronger action against their client Assad.

I'd say that Syria is already seeing a civil war, and that war crimes and crimes against humanity are ongoing. Assad is doing everything within his power to stay in power - and that includes murdering those opposed to his regime.

If He Can't Tax It, Bloomberg Hopes To Ban Big Gulp-Sized Soda Sales

Mayor Mike Bloomberg continues his nanny-state ways. His latest proposal is to ban sales of super-sized sugary beverages:

The man behind calorie counts is set to announce a new public health initiative to battle obesity, taking aim at super-sized sugary drinks.

In other words, it may soon be time to say goodbye to those Big Gulps, those Slurpees or even Venti at Starbucks, CBS 2’s Derricke Dennis reported.

“That’s okay,” one person said.

No it’s not, according to Mayor Bloomberg, who is set to propose a ban on sugary drinks over 16 ounces everywhere, all across the city.

“I disagree with it, because it’s the right to choose. If you want to drink a Slurpee, you should be allowed to drink a Slurpee,” said Jamie Sawyer, a tourist from Oklahoma.

It's one thing to require calorie counts so that people can have the knowledge to choose products that may be healthier and lower in calories.

It's quite another to ban an entire size category - anything larger than 16 ounces. Nothing stops those who are already buying those products from simply buying two of the smaller size - and increasing the costs to the purchaser (which might be part of Bloomberg's strategy).

However, soda and sugary beverages aren't the sole culprit, or even the main culprit in an obesity epidemic. Consider that most folks aren't getting enough exercise. A sedentary lifestyle plays a far greater role than soda.

Then, there's the caloric intake due to super sized meal portions or even portions at high end restaurants that blow the scales on calories. Consider that a famed restaurant like Junior's in Brooklyn is notable for their desserts, including cheesecake. Those portions aren't small. In fact, a single serving could feed two or more people in many cases. We're not talking an insubstantial calorie count either.

How about the steakhouses around the city (either sole locations or chains). They offer up huge steak portions - thousands of calories, tons of fat, protein, and other nutrients. Those aren't even being considered.

So, does this in fact turn out to be a "tax" on those who are least able to afford food cost increases? Since many vendors charge far less for the largest sizes of beverages per ounce than those with the smaller sizes, sharing among family members or friends would be out of the question with Bloomberg's ban, and it would mean that customers would incur higher charges to get the same amount of product.

Moreover, there's no reason to single out sodas and sugary beverages from other products - like juices or milk-based products (like milk shakes) if we're talking strictly calorie counts - the basis of Bloomberg's premise behind the proposed ban.

It appears that the only reason that juice and milk-based products aren't included in the ban is because they have other nutrients. Yet, juice and milk shakes can contain as much or more calories per ounce than soda - and the fact that soda doesn't have any other nutrients could be altered if the soda manufacturers add other nutrients to them - to get around a proposed ban.

If Bloomberg goes ahead with this ban, watch soda manufacturers consider lawsuits seeking to overturn the ban, as well as consider adding vitamins or minerals to show that these aren't merely empty calories (and undermining Bloomberg's premise). UPDATE: To give you an idea of how asinine Bloomberg's proposal is, consider that a T-bone steak - 8 oz worth is 448 calories. That compares to 8 ounces of Coca Cola that runs 98 calories. It would take 32 ounces of soda to equal the steak, and the steak has other issues (namely fats that contribute to obesity, although there is protein and other nutritional value to steak in moderation.

Mitt Romney Takes Idiocy To New Level

At a campaign rally in Las Vegas yesterday, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney proposed a constitutional amendment that would make anyone who does not have a business background as ineligible for the White House as if they had been born in Kenya.

“I was speaking with one of these business owners who owns a couple of restaurants in town,” Romney said. “And he said ‘You know I’d like to change the Constitution, I’m not sure I can do it,’ he said. ‘I’d like to have a provision in the Constitution that in addition to the age of the president and the citizenship of the president and the birthplace of the president being set by the Constitution, I’d like it also to say that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he could become president of the United States.‘”

Romney continued: “You see then he or she would understand that the policies they’re putting in place have to encourage small business, make it easier for business to grow.

That's right folks, he'd make someone like Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, or even recent GOP candidates like John McCain, Mike Huckabee, or Rick Santorum ineligible to run for President because they lack so-called business experience.

Of course, this comes on the heels of Romney's courting of birther Donald Trump, so this isn't all that surprising. He's pandering to the extremists and thinks this is a winning strategy to win in November. It might help solidify his base, but it wont help him sway moderates or independents on which this election will depend (as it always done).

Far from moderating his positions to pull votes from the center, it seems that Romney is sticking to the hard right.

Romney's pushing this nonsense in an attempt to sway people on the economic conditions facing the nation, but his business experience isn't exactly the most sterling example of job creation. Bain Capital - the venture capital firm where he worked - was interested in making money for the firm - not job creation. Jobs were frequently killed in acquisitions and consolidations made by the firm. Creative destruction to be sure - someone made money on the transactions, but it doesn't help create jobs by shuttering factories.

NJ Transit Customer Survey Results Show Modest Improvement

NJ Transit released its latest customer survey results for 3Q 2012, and it shows significant improvement, with the bulk coming from rail commuters. Rail commuters have been among the most likely to score the agency poorly, particularly during disruptions.

Part of the reason that NJ Transit scores in the latest quarter are improved is that there were fewer major rail disruptions around the time that the survey was done.

The survey results will get touted around media outlets in the coming days, and it's important to note that a whopping 69% of rail commuters would be willing to recommend rail travel to others. That's a huge increase over the prior three quarters (60%, 57%, and 55%). Of particular note, the service on the Main/Bergen line has been much improved over the previous quarter - fewer disruptions and fewer delays.

It's amazing what a little more reliability will do for a rail commuters' sanity, health, and view of the oft-maligned agency.

Of course, now that the new survey is out, anyone want to guess if commuters will downgrade the agency over its handling of the air conditioning meltdown at NY Penn Station (due to Amtrak equipment failures) or other heat-related problems that have led to unbearable commutes over the past 24 hours.

Syrian Conflict Enters New Deadly Phase

The cease fire that UN Envoy Kofi Annan didn't amount to much and diplomats had been trying to paper over its failures for the past couple of weeks even as Syria's thug in charge Bashar al Assad's forces continue attacking rebel forces throughout the country.

All claims to suggest that the ceasefire exists should be repudiated after this weekend's deadly attacks in Houla. Assad's forces shelled the city and his militias then went door to door to murder more than 100 people. Many of those killed were women and children - killed with small arms fire and knives. Those figures are the conclusions of UN peacekeepers, who are unable to do any actual peace keeping but are able to give a rough estimate of how many people are dying in what has been a rebellion/civil war.

The diplomatic response was dramatic as several countries booted Syrian diplomats from their countries. Even Russia had to take the step of denouncing Assad (although they're still blocking any action in the UN beyond a harshly worded letter).

Annan is back in Syria trying to get a ceasefire agreement back on track, but that's a futile measure considering that Assad is unwilling to cede power and will do anything to remain in power. Rebel groups aren't going to relent on their demands that Assad step down and that Assad's forces have to lay down their weapons against civilian groups.

France, which has historical ties to the Levant, has called on Assad to step aside. The French Foreign Minister called Assad a murderer, which is some of the harshest language used against Assad by foreign diplomats to date. However, calling on Assad to relinquish power without actually pushing him out or giving the opposition the means to do so only means that the rhetoric remains just that - talk.

That's even as there are new and additional reports that Assad's engaging in still more war crimes and crimes against humanity, including using rape as a weapon against civilians from cities where the opposition has a foothold. Assad's security forces are carrying out rapes against detainees in detention facilities throughout the country.

The fighting in Syria has also threatened the fragile stability in neighboring Lebanon, where Assad's loyalists hold sway. The kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shi'ites may spark a new round of violence there, as have several rounds of cross-border attacks into Lebanon from Syria.

The Syrian crisis already has spilled across the border into Lebanon over the past three weeks, sparking deadly violence in a country that remains deeply divided over the 15-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

But the Shiites' abduction is potentially explosive, in part because it enflames Lebanon's fragile Sunni-Shiite fault line. It could also spark retaliatory attacks against the thousands of Syrians in Lebanon.

In recent days, members of Lebanon's powerful Shiite militant group, Hezbollah, have deployed at the entrances of Beirut's southern suburbs, a heavily Shiite area, to prevent any moves by angry protesters.

Hezbollah is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, where a predominantly Sunni uprising is trying to oust the Assad family dynasty. The families of the kidnapped Shiites blame Syria's Sunni rebels for abducting the men.

"The kidnapping is clearly intended to drag Hezbollah into the Syrian quagmire," said Ziad Baalbaki, a 37-year-old Lebanese insurance broker in Beirut. "The whole thing is fishy, everyone is worried what will happen if they are not released or they turn out to be dead."

The Lebanese men were on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran on May 22 when gunmen intercepted their buses in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, according to the women on the pilgrimage who were allowed to go free and arrived in Lebanon hours later.