O Delicious Schadenfreude!

No, It's Not A German Recipe For Ginger Biscuits

You're thinking of Lebkuchen <gazes into the distance and slobbers sadly>.  No, 'Schadenfreude' is defined as 'The deliberate enjoyment of another person's misery and misfortune', which is very efficiently and succinctly put for the Teuton language.  To what do I refer?

     Gosh, I thought you'd never ask!  Art!

"Ouch."

     That's an illustration of schadenfreude at work.  

     ANYWAY I would like to recount a legal case in South Canada, that involved Citizen Trump and his senior lawyer, Alina Habba.  CT's primary criteria for hiring anyone is whether they look good on television, which Alina does.  Her legal background as an attorney is rather less solid.

     So, in 2020 CT tried to sue a tremendously long list of people for $72 million dollars, in a 193-page complaint.  His attorneys tried to 'judge-shop' to get a biased judge on the case, and failed.  Instead they got one Judge Donald Middlebrooks, who is known for not taking idiots under kind consideration.  He was utterly scathing about the original complaint and instructed AH to come up with an Amended Complaint, which he found to be even more bonkers than the first.  Art!

Alina feels sad

     The whole thing was dismissed as a piece of political theatre, with no legal merit, created purely to generate income from CT's loyal fanbase.  The judge was absolutely scathing in his dismissal of the case, including the fact that it was filed in 2020, four years after the alleged plot hatched by Hilary Clinton and thus outside the statute of limitations.  Art!

Someone is a bit biased in photo selection ...

     However, every single one of the people named on the original complaint had to hire attorneys, twice, to testify that it was a load of rubbish.  Art!

     This is expensive, because lawyers work for either blood by the pint or wheelbarrows of cash.

     Now, see that name 'Charles Halliday Dolan'?  Mister Dolan decided to sue, and he managed to obtain a sanction.  The judge fined CT and Habba $50,000 and added on $16,000 in fees and costs.  That's got to hurt.

     He also fined them an additional $938,000 to compensate the other people and entities on the list.  $1,000,400 total.  That's got to hurt 14.182 times worse.

     This sanction has not gone un-noticed.  CT's Florida attorneys were trying to file a complaint against the New York Attorney General, Letitia James.  The case went from State Court to Federal Court, and who do you think it came up in front of?

     Judge Donald Middlebrooks.  The case was instantly dropped.

     So, not only has it put Citizen Trump's legal team on the hook for the money - because he won't pay a cent if he can possibly avoid it - it has established a legal precedent that he files frivolous lawsuits.

     There you go, schadenfreude, entirely calorie-free.

Let's All Gang Up On Ruffia Part 2

Earlier today we mentioned the London street in W2 that's being re-named 'Kyiv Street'.  The Dutch decided on an action that was purely transient.  Art!

     This is the capital of the Netherlands, Den Haag.  That building in the background is the Ruffian embassy, full of staff who have come to appreciate Dutch lager and rollmop herrings.  That artefact in front of it is a barrel organ.  The flag on top is the Ukrainian national flag.

     The tune it played all day long was the Ukrainian national anthem.  Psych!

Here's A Question

One of the best sitcoms ever to come out of This Sceptred Isle was "Yes, Minister" followed by "Yes, Prime Minister".  They were political satire of the highest level, so accurate that leading politicians of the time loved to watch it.  These series encapsulated the endless struggle between the Civil Service and elected politicians, how politics embodies compromise at every level, what bland political pronouncements really mean, and how well-meaning idealist politicians can be stone-walled or diverted by policy, colleagues, the media and Sir Humphrey.  Imagine, if you will, "The Thick Of It" with no swearing.  Art!

The power behind the throne?

     The series came out whilst the Sinister Union was a going concern (if a little shaky on it's legs), and Conrad wonders if it ever got airtime over there?  If so I'm sure they would suck their teeth and nod when the issue of bureaucracy came up.

     Another question is whether Ruffians of today have ever seen it, and, if they have, what would they think of it?  They do have a 'parliament' of sorts in the Duma, but they also have a President, a position utterly alien to British political life.  They certainly have a Civil Service, although I doubt their civil servants are brave enough to challenge the politicians.  Art!

The PM flanked by civil servants

     There's a picture you'll never see Peter The Average staging.

"The Adventure Of The Dancing Men" By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

One of the short stories in "The Short Stories Of Sherlock Holmes", and one I have absolutely no recollection of.  Art!

     This cipher plays a key role in the story, and Conrad only realised when Sherlock is going through the solution that it's a Codeword, just one with no clues given.  I can solve a Codeword with only one letter identified, but without even that?  Statistically, as Sherlock points out, 'E' is the most common letter of the alphabet, which might have given me a start.  That above is the alphabet so I hope I haven't spoiled it too much for you.

"The Sea Of Sand"

The Doctor and Sarah are being marched at gunpoint to see Lieutenant Llewellyn, as their relations with the British army survivors at Mersa Martuba seem to have undergone a sea-change.

‘Miss Smith, I was working around the supply stacks at the W34 level and happened to discover you and Doctor Smith discussing ways to deliver this depot into enemy hands.’

          Sarah goggled in frank astonishment at this accusation.

          ‘What!  You think we’re a couple of German spies!’  She turned to spur the Doctor into a rebuttal.

          ‘We’re not spies, Lieutenant Llewellyn.  And, historically, this depot did fall into German hands.  We consequently need to make sure that is what happens, to remain historically correct.’

          Oh no! shouted Sarah internally.  He’s gone and blown the whole thing!

          ‘What do you mean, “did”?  “Historically”?’ asked Roger.  ‘Stop talking rubbish!’ 

          ‘I think we need to reveal our secret, Sarah,’ stage-whispered the Doctor.

          The Italians, minus Torrevechio, came to listen to the interesting argument going on between the English.

          ‘What secret!  How much the Huns are paying you?’ snapped Roger, not happy that he wasn’t being taken seriously.  If that woman wasn’t present –

          ‘We come from what you would call the future,’ announced the Doctor cheerily.  Sarah rolled her eyes in exasperation, worried that the Doctor, in his boundless enthusiasm and ingenousness, was going to get them both locked up.

          Roger merely sneered, whilst Davey nodded at Tam and grinned mockingly, tapping the side of his head.

         Don't worry, Sarah will save the day! 

Finally -

Just you wait.  I was sat taking notes about a vlog from 'DW', a Teuton Youtube channel that posts English-language content.  The guest was Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Yale School Of Management, an economist with a great deal of clout.  The subject matter was how the Ruffian economy is coping with conditions since February 2022 and there are a few rather startling facts that came out of it.  I may not lead with this tomorrow, and will probably do it as an item in two parts because it will be rather long and detailed.  Art!