Daily Commentary – Thursday November 30th, 2006

Dana Pretzer in his morning update asks

• How do the Holloways Feel When The AP Carries Inane Stories 

Snoop Dogg Arrested Again … What a Shock … CD Sales will Sky Rocket

Snoop Dogg … aka Calvin Broadus, was arrested as he left the NBC Studios after performing on the ‘Tonight Show’ with Jay Leno. What will come of all this? Nothing. Maybe Snoop will sell more CD’s and down-load more songs off the internet now that he has been arrested by the man again. The worse the behavior, the greater the rap sales. Such is the sad case of affairs within the rap community. Behaving badly is not only rewarded, its a badge of honor. Of course Snoop get to go back to his multi-million dollar crib, many of those that buy his music are not so fortunate.

The 35-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, and two members of his entourage were arrested around 6 p.m. Tuesday after a search of his Diamond Bar home and car, Sgt. Kevin Grandalski said.

Police seized a handgun and some illegal drugs, Grandalski said. He did not have details. (The Charlotte Observer)

See the pictorial Snoop Dogg “Rappers” Rap Sheet through the years.

No Body, No Crime … May Work in Aruba, not in the US … Hans Reiser Pleads Not Guilty to Murder of Nina Reiser

31 year old Nina Reiser has been missing for more than 2 months. Nina Reiser went missing on September 3, 2006 after she dropped her children off at her estranged husband home. Hans Reiser has since been arrested and charged in the murder of Nina Reiser.

Today Hans Reiser pleaded not guilty in the death of Nina Reiser. There is a catch, Nina Reiser is still missing. Her body has not yet been recovered. So it would appear that the premise “if there’s no body they don’t have a case” only seems to work in Aruba.

Joran says to the Kalpoe brothers: “That’s not true, the only thing he (Joran’s father) said that if there’s no body there don’t have a case.”

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Gray Lady Turning White? Fear of Hank Greenberg Running Rampant at New York Times

Insurance billionaire Hank Greenberg is in the midst of a power play aimed at taking over the New York Times, or at least forcing Pinch Sulzberger to give up some of the control he and his family have over the paper.

The New York Times has fallen from the paper of record into a liberal mess, losing circulation and profitability while getting ensconsed in scandals such as the Jason Blair affair. Greenberg is looking to turn around the fortunes of the paper if he succeeds in the take over.

Sources confirmed that the famously combative Greenberg has been buying hundreds of thousands of Times shares, but did not disclose the exact number or the size of the stake he wants to own.
Greenberg has both the assets – Forbes estimated his net worth at $3.2 billion – and the temperament to jump into a fight over the future of the stumbling newspaper giant.
A major stock position would put Greenberg in league with already angry Times’ shareholders, such as Morgan Stanley Investment Management, to battle the board over whether the founding Ochs-Sulzberger family should hold a powerful class of stock that accounts for a majority of the voting power at the company.   via the New York Post Online Edition:

Here is my question for the media? If Greenberg takes over the paper and turns it into a conservative newspaper, or even a moderate one, will the rest of the media still consider it the paper of record? Or will they quickly move on to another target that echos their world view?

Update: It looks like the folks over at Editors and Publishers are already worrying about Maurice Greenberg.

How Desperate is the Aruban Government for Money? Aruban Government attaches Marriott Sales Proceeds

Think the island of Aruba and the government is not desperate for revenue? I guess this can be added to the many reason to do business in Aruba and that “ideal market for investment” that was floated. According to Amigoe, the Aruban government has requested that a “Court of First Instance” be attached to the proceeds of the recent Marriott sale. We will do as we please, even if we do not have the documents. Why does this story sound so familiar?

The buildings were sold for 237 million dollars last week to a Caribbean investor in real estate.  The petition is dated November 24th, but has been submitted before that date, because it mentions the urgent reason for the sale of the buildings.

Of course there are many details in such deal and disputed opinions, comments and facts. However, the following comment from Aruban Prime Minister Nelson Oduber rings so loud and so common as what we have all seen from Aruban officials during the past 18 months. Trust me, I am telling the truth. Conveniently they do not have the necessary documents, they vanished. Yet, people are supposed to take them at their word of the ones they do have that benefit their position.

These proceeds are for the Country of Aruba, after the Netherlands is paid in connection with the loan furnished at that time.”  Oduber admits that the government does no longer have all the documentation concerning the loan.  But from some other documents that he has, he concludes that only Aruba is entitle to the proceeds.

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