Los Angeles Lakers invoking the Vienna Convention?

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Jorge Costales

Guest blogger, Wichi, weighs-in on World Peace’s battering of James Harden and what it says about society’s celebrity lust.

So how is the (latest) Artest criminal act not drawing the immediate attention of the Los Angeles police department?  Somewhere Kermit Washington must be wondering if he just threw his punch in the wrong era. The era with less valuable broadcast contracts.

Its incredulous that the only discussion about this vicious and cowardly assault involves the expected length of the suspension. No one is discussing the possibility of an arrest. Yes, an arrest. California indeed still prohibits one person from, unprovoked, hitting another person. Its called assault and battery. It’s a felony. And it was caught on national TV. Even Marcia Clark could get a conviction on this one.

As far as I know there is no immunity for criminal activity inside of the Staples Center. Does Staples Center technically qualify as an embassy [Buss rules?] as one of the perks for not relocating?  If Artest had clocked Harden at a club on the Sunset Strip, he most certainly would be locked up today. At an airport? Same result.

Yet there seems to be an unwritten immunity inside our American sports arenas. So, all I want is to clear up the rules.

And, if there is, does it apply to everyone inside the arena, or just the players?  If it’s a backup reserve player, is this unspoken immunity still in place, or just for the starters?

If a Lakers fan had hit a Thunder fan in the same fashion in the nosebleed section (pun fully intended) is that also immune from prosecution?  Or is there some sort of immunity for criminal activity that occurs in sports arenas as long as you are wearing an officially merchandised uniform and paying payroll taxes?

Diplomatic immunity grants a foreign country’s diplomats for crimes committed in the host country. As far as I know, Metta World Peace is not a diplomat, unless “uncontrollable rage” recently became a sovereign state.

So what gives?

Is the fact that the Lakers are in the hunt for going deep, perhaps even winning, the NBA playoffs a factor? What if the LA were tanking, would the DA consider charges then?

If this had been Perkins cold cocking Kobe, ending his season (if not career) would the LAPD still look the other way?

If Artest had pulled a knife, or gun, instead of a leveraged elbow, is still ok?

Its time our media, and our crime enforcement, manned up, got their celebrity lust under control, and took action. In our era of immediate video access on computers and phones, all of America is now aware of this awful episode. Granted, Artest is nuts. He likely has a serious mental problem. He has the right to use that apparent madness as a defense to the criminal charges that should be filed.

Does Harden need to be in a coma, or worse, for the police to act?

Artest has a well known history of beyond the pale behavior.  The clubbing of Harden was not “aggressive play.”  Anyone can see that.  This isn’t a “hard foul,” or “playoff basketball.”  Its just criminal activity dressed up in a salaried team uniform.

There is little difference between this and a gang banger, decked out in a Lakers #73 jersey, attacking a unsuspecting Thunders fan at an Ikea store. Is that ok?

Wichi

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Try selling this as a recovery

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Jorge Costales

 

Link from the Greg Mankiw blog.

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Quantifying change

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Jorge Costales

I never trust people’s memories, especially about anecdotal things like weather and how times have changed etc. But when change is quantified, as was done at the Asymco web site, the results are worth reflecting on.

So what’s the next item on that list? I don’t know about new technologies, but in the expanding tablet world, my friends in high [tech] places say virtual keyboards are virtually here.

H/T to Manny.

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Ozzie Guillen: The language made me do it

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Jorge Costales

I don’t have a problem with Ozzie Guillen remaining as the manager of the Marlins. I don’t have to like the manager to be a Marlins fans.  But I can’t do the wink wink about the press conference apology. Here’s what Guillen said:

It was misinterpreted. What I mean in Spanish, when he asked me in Spanish, I was thinking in Spanish

Which of course raises the question in what language did Chicago sports writer Rick Telander speak to him in 2008 when he replied with the same answer:

And I asked him this: “Who’s the toughest man you know?”
His response, which took me by surprise: “Fidel Castro.”
Why?
“He’s a bull—- dictator and everybody’s against him, and he still survives, has power. Still has a country behind him,” Ozzie replied. “Everywhere he goes, they roll out the red carpet. I don’t admire his philosophy; I admire him.”

As someone who’s been a big Marlins homer, disliking the manager will be a nice change of pace.  How big a homer have I been?  I was upset when John Boles was let go.  At least once a day, I lament Jorge Cantu not getting to 30 home runs in 2008, which would have meant that the Marlins entire infield accomplished the feat, a first in MLB history. 

So back off or ‘marcha asi atrás,’ in case Guillen is having this read to him.

The Marlins corporate strategy is the obvious big loser here. The fact that most [all?] of the local media who make their living directly or indirectly reporting on the Marlins support Guillen staying may just be a reflection of their first-hand knowledge of the man, but the fact that their opinions align so neatly with their self-interest is a little too convenient.

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Marlins fan spiritual defense kit

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Jorge Costales

Somewhere outside of Philadelphia on Monday, a goat’s life will come to an abrupt end because Heath Bell couldn’t keep his fastball down on Easter Sunday. Such are the realities of having a practicing Santero managing a MLB team. It’s a cut-throat business.

Now that some Marlins fans have come to see Ozzie Guillen as an adversary, we need to prepare in case we find ourselves cornered by the powerful Babalao. Fortunately, at a recent Little Havana garage sale, I came a cross a wonderful research paper, ‘A Study of Divination within Santería, an Afro-Cuban Religion, as a Psychotherapeutic System’ by Lawrence J. Levy, M.S. While reading the paper, I alternately imagined myself as Guy Montag and Beldar Conehead. It was heady stuff. Literally.

A core Santería belief is the following:

The seat of the soul is the head, and therefore to strengthen the ‘Orisha’ that lives in the head of every human, it must be fed a mixture of grated coconut, honey, and cocoa butter. This mixture is placed on the head and then covered by a white hat or kerchief. The process is called ‘rogación de la cabeza.’

Bang, there it was, our defense kit.

But first I had to get the thought out of my head that if Orel Hershiser had been given the ‘Orisha’ nickname instead of ‘Bulldog,’ he would be in Cooperstown today. Talk about an intimidation factor. Heck Tommy Lasorda, who gave him the Bulldog nickname, spent a lot of time in Cuba, why couldn’t he … I digress.

Never have to say you’re sorry to the neighborhood Babalao again


But knowing the ingredients for Babalao survival wasn’t enough. How to mass produce them and have them available at critical moments? Enter late night infomercials. I just want to note two things. The ingredients in the Glossy Locks shampoo are exactly what is needed to protect our inner Orisha’s and you don’t have to enter a botanica to obtain it. ‘Nuf said.

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Ozzie Guillen: Marlins Manager admires our enemy

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Jorge Costales

Update on April 10: Rick Telander with the Chicago Sun-Times reveals that Guillen made very similar comments about Fidel Castro back in 2008. So anyone arguing that his comments don’t reflect his beliefs, would be relying on something other than logic.

But I regret writing that Guillen was now “my enemy” in the original blog post. Too strong a word for the likes of a baseball manager, or an accountant for that matter.

I don’t believe the apology.  I don’t believe the PR cleanup efforts.  I do believe that Guillen’s comments had an intention.  I do believe that he was putting Cuban-Americans on notice.  I do believe that the same sort of brain which embraces Santería is more than capable of admiring Fidel Castro.  Ozzie Guillen is a friend of my enemy, so he is now my enemy.

I see it as a duty never to lose sight of the fact that the colorful Venezuelan is also a Castro “admiring” Santero.  I doubt this sentiment towards Guillen, especially in Little Havana, the new home of the Miami Marlins in case you haven’t heard, would make me unique.  But I do think I’m in a unique position [no readers or advertisers to worry about offending] to dispel some of the rationalizations which will attempt to suggest that Guillen misspoke when he volunteered his admiration for Fidel Castro:

  1. He can’t really admire Castro since “he has lived in Miami for 12 years.” — Miami has a very diverse Spanish speaking population. As in any other diverse community, there are rivalries and resentments among the different nationalities. As the first group to immigrate, the largest and most established, Cuban-Americans are a natural target for resentment. What is the best way to thumb your nose at Cuban-Americans? You speak well of a dictator and regime that has caused them [us] great pain. It’s a no-brainer. Which makes it an even more likely a tactic by a Santero.
  2. There is another word for “statements without intention.” — Beliefs.  Besides I believe that Guillen did have an intention with his comments.  He was putting Cuban-Americans in their [our] place and marking his territory.  Saying that about Castro sends the message, ‘I don’t care if it is Miami, I’m Ozzie and I don’t hold back, even [or especially] for you guys.’
  3. Read Guillen’s ‘denial’ carefully.  “I’m against the way he [Castro] treats people and the way [he has treated] his country for a long time. I’m against that 100 percent,” he said.  I can interpret that to mean that Castro had the right idea, but stumbled in the implementation.  That sentiment can co-exist with his admiration for his staying power.  Given Guillen’s background, beliefs and education, it’s a mistake to look for an intellectual rationale in anything he says.  But sending messages?  He’s all about that.
  4. Recall that Guillen was critical of the anti-communist community in Miami which voiced its displeasure with Magglio Ordonez during the World Baseball Classic in 2009.
  5. Temperamentally, admiring Castro would be consistent with someone who liked Hugo Chavez, as Guillen did in 2005.  He has since come around on Chavez, in part I assume because of the damage done to his country, Venezuela.  But since Guillen has no skin in the Cuban game [until now], the Castro admiration likely didn’t merit a similar reconsideration.  Again, no one ascribes actual thinking to any Guillen thoughts. He’s merely thumbing his nose at a rival Latin community in the most flippant manner possible.
  6. Still in the background, I expect this rationalization to gain steam during the week.  Guillen was drunk.  In an unrelated [to date] story, it was reported that Guillen is so frequently drunk on the road that it actually is seen as a positive in terms of his social skills.  Hey isn’t Miguel Cabrera a babalao too?  If Santería ever needs a sponsor, can I suggest Budweiser?

The Sun-Sentinel’s Dave Hyde posed the key question, “Can Ozzie get away with saying even this?” I hope not.  But if he stays, I hope fellow Marlins fans, especially those of us who have views about Cuba which are more heartfelt than those of the drunken Santero, will communicate our enmity towards Guillen whenever possible.  And let’s keep in mind that in order to truly earn Guillen’s admiration, it should be an enmity without an expiration date.

Here’s another thought. Having caught up to Frank Haith, did Karma catch up with Loria and Samson during the eternal cart ride with Ali on opening day?

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Castros si, dissidents no: What’s going on?

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Jorge Costales

For the same reasons I was disappointed in Pope Benedict’s failure to meet with any dissidents on his trip to Cuba, I looked forward to hearing a defense of the Benedict / Ortega / Wenski position, especially from people I respect. I saw it as part of the process of moving on from my anger and frustration over the Papal visit. Maybe I just need to read more, but I the ones I’ve read so far are making it worse.

The reason is that instead of tackling THE tough issue, the failure to meet with any dissidents, the Papal defenders I’ve read are engaging in Obamanesque techniques. Our president’s tactic of picking the most irresponsible sounding argument on the other side, attribute it to ‘some people say’ and focusing his rebuttal on that point. For those in politics, I dislike it, but get the why. But for those in the blogosphere, why be in the blogosphere if you can’t give the tough arguments your best shot?

Typical of this non-defense was an editorial on the Papal visit by The National Catholic Register. The editorial by the liberal Catholic publication literally did not mention dissidents. It did however begin a sentence with, “While many Cubans hoped the Holy Father would offer a more explicit critique of the island’s totalitarian government,” and then noted that the Pope did criticize Marxism from Mexico in a “widely reported statement.”

There’s a reason none of our bible readings note how Jesus left strongly worded memos to be read at an appropriate time.

So I will continue to be on the lookout for defenses of the Papal trip. In the meantime, be on the lookout for these straw men-type arguments:

  1. “It’s easy to criticize from the outside” — Is the problem the criticism or that it’s easy? Why focus on the relative effort required to make the criticism?  If the nature of the criticism is to give voice to those who are suffering in Cuba, the dissidents, then is it really a criticism from the outside?
  2. Please stop comparing Benedict in Cuba to Jesus [not necessarily a straw man, just my plea] —  It’s an embarrassing reach.  It would be an unfair comparison for anyone, but especially a Pope who gave a disingenuous excuse [lack of time] for not meeting with any dissidents while taking time to meet with the out of power Castro and comment on the political issue of most value to his hosts [embargo].
  3. “Cubans in Miami hoped that the Pope would criticize the regime.”  — Yes we did.  Does that type of hope invalidate other hopes?  Like the Vicar of Christ meeting with any of the oppressed?  Yeah we hope for a lot of things which don’t happen, i.e. Manning to the Dolphins.  What about the dissidents?
  4. “We don’t know what’s going on internally,” so we should reserve our judgments [p1] — If the reason we don’t know is that the regime — which Benedict notes “no longer responds to reality” — makes every effort to conceal that reality, why wouldn’t that be cause for alarm instead of patience?
  5. “We don’t know what’s going on internally,” so we should trust the Catholic Church in Cuba to do the right thing [p2] —   I believe that how my Church works best is by actively responding to the concerns of its flock.  I don’t understand how any Catholic in this period of time following the sex abuse scandals would advocate a “trust us” position given circumstances which appear at odds with Christian values.  In my opinion, watching the Cuban Catholic Church ignore Las Damas de Blanco and not ask ‘what’s going on,’ is the equivalent of watching an altar server leave a sacristy in tears and thinking it unnecessary to ask ‘what’s going on.’

Does the Cuban Catholic Church need VIRTUS training? Exactly how many additional parishes make it worth sacrificing part of the Church’s reputation as standing with the oppressed. How much hope do you think dissident Chinese Catholics are feeling today? How could Pope Benedict not meet with any dissidents? What’s going on?

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How the Vicar of Christ has evolved

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jorge Costales

How much has the Vicar of Christ evolved? He no longer feels the need to commiserate with the oppressed.

It was disheartening to observe the symbolism of Pope Benedict choosing to meet with aging dictators and none of the oppressed, especially Las Damas de Blanco, on his trip to Cuba. The belief that “we [laity] are the Church” takes on heightened significance. The good news is that we can dispense with the criticisms of Cardinal Ortega. He is a company man following company policy. Along those lines, Archbishop Wenski’s criticism of “Monday morning quarterbacking” by Cuban-Americans who questioned Ortega’s public acquiescence towards the regime, can now be seen as part of a concerted Church policy. I get it.

Fortunately, like politics, I believe that all worshiping is local, so this type of disappointment does not affect my faith. It also does not affect my commitment to my local Parish. It does affect how I respect Catholic Hierarchy. More perfunctory, less heartfelt. It does affect whom I choose to support with my thoughts and words. It does affect whom I choose to defend in the public square. It does affect where I direct my limited resources. See, I get it.

My Church speaks for me in matters of “definitive Magisterial teachings on faith and morals.” The Church does not speak for us on economics or politics. Mater si, Magistra, no! I get that too. I guess I’m evolving right along with Pope Benedict.

Benedict … hey, what’s in a name.

Update 03/29: Carlos Eire gets it – excerpt below – see blog post at Babalublog:

Today His Holiness Benedict XVI disowned Christ in Cuba. Today, he averted his eyes from the eleven million crucified Cubans in his midst, as he celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist. Today, he chose not to speak for the crucified, or to chasten their tormentors. Instead, he spent his time criticizing the so-called embargo, blessing the tyrants, and preaching a platitudinous sermon written for the theological faculty at the University of Regensburg rather than for the Cuban people.

Update 03/29: Andres Oppenheimer gets it – see excerpt from the Miami Herald:

Unless we learn in coming days that the pope did meet with the Ladies in White, the Vatican would have made a big mistake by not giving them at least the one-minute they were seeking. The Vatican has said that the pope is very much aware of their plight, but that there was not time in his agenda. Yet, the Vatican found time for the pope to hold an unscheduled 30 minute meeting Wednesday with Fidel Castro, who officially is no longer Cuba’s ruler, and was not scheduled to see him.

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Forbes March 2012 update: Recap of yearly reporting on Marlins since 2002

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Jorge Costales

April 2003

Recap of Forbes view on the Marlins based on their 2002 finances — Operating loss of $14 million and an *estimated franchise valuation of $136 million . *Jeffrey Loria purchased the team prior to the 2002 season for for $158 million:

Shoddy marketing delivered second lowest attendance in baseball. The Florida Marlins play in Pro Player Stadium.

April 2004

Recap of Forbes view on the Marlins based on their 2003 finances — Operating loss of $11 million and an estimated franchise valuation of $172 million:

Last year’s World Series title brought glory and slightly more revenue to the Florida Marlins. Give management credit. Unlike some other low-revenue owners who pocket the payouts from high-revenue teams, Jeffrey Loria invested in players like Pudge Rodriguez (since departed to the Detroit Tigers). But the long-term viability of this franchise in south Florida remains in question, unless the team can convince legislators and taxpayers to help finance a new ballpark.

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MLB in Little Havana: Walking through the Houses of the Holy

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jorge Costales

This Sunday I took a 4 mile walk in preparation for what I hope will be frequent nighttime walks during many MLB seasons to come. Since the possibility that a baseball stadium would rise up on the Orange Bowl grounds [The Battle for Evermore], I have looked forward to taking my walks around the new stadium even as I listened to radio or internet broadcasts of the game.

Those walks to come are already vivid in my head. I know that I will unhook my earphones as I pass homes who are watching the game or people outside their apartments listening like me. At first there will a series of imperceptible acknowledgements. But by June, my MLB fandom established, there will be waves, quick head-shakes inspired by Stanton and actual conversations.

Who knows, there might also be fellow bloggers along the path. Like Lourdes girls who know of Sandy Denny, they are rare but do exist, so sayeth the book of Daniela. I already have a few suggestions.

The Led Zeppelin song Houses of the Holy [see below] — through an admittedly parochial prism — written nearly 40 years ago, nicely captured my mood on the walk to the opening of a MLB park in my neighborhood.

Let me take you to the [Tower Theater] movies. Can I take you to the [Domino Park] show

Let me be yours ever truly. Can I make your garden [Brigade 2506 Memorial Park] grow

From the houses of the holy, we can watch the white doves [Giancarlo Stanton dingers] go

From the door comes Satan’s daughter [New York Yankees], and it only goes to show. You know.

There’s an angel on my shoulder [Miami-Dade County Hotel and Restaurant Taxes], In my hand a sword of gold [SEC investigation]

The song rambles on after that …

See what my Little Havana GPS reads like for the 2 mile [one way] walk:

  1. Start out going north on SW 26th Rd.
  2. Turn left at Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church.
  3. Turn right onto SW 13th Ave at the Anaut’s house.
  4. Go past the 2506 Brigade Memorial.
  5. Go past Calle Ocho / Olga Guillot Way.
  6. Go past Flagler St.
  7. Turn left at St John Bosco Catholic Church.
  8. Take right onto NW 14th Ave.
  9. The OB2 / Marlins Park is 3 blocks ahead.

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