Wine Theft in Napa Valley Targets Prized Vintages

Screaming Eagle

The Napa Valley restaurant known as The French Laundry did not have a merry Christmas. Thieves entered the boutique establishment and stole the highest of high-end wines, including Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon and Romanee-Conti. The story became far more public today, with CBS News showing a segment on the caper.

A sfgate.com story about the theft offers more details than the CBS report provided. Here are some details:

• The restaurant was closed when the incident occurred, as was the bakery next door to The French Laundry.
• The robbery took place in broad daylight.
• The thieves used a cart to get the wine to their getaway vehicle.
• The alarm to the wine room was not active during the heist.
• The thieves entered the restaurant through a door that was not actively connected to the restaurant's alarm system. Apparently, the crooks used a primitive crowbar-style entry through the door (that's the one detail CBS did note that was not available elsewhere).

The restaurant let the world know in detail about its losses, probably to diminish the black market for the goods. Whether or not insurance will pay French Laundry and its owner, uber-chef Thomas Keller, partially or fully for the lost items will be an interesting sidebar to the story.

For restaurants holding prestigious wines, the investment is tricky. The bottles typically snooze in the wine cellar for a long time, tying up funds and requiring special care. The possibility of an inside job, perhaps related to a restaurant's need for money, cannot be immediately discounted.

Meanwhile, one wonders what details the police have omitted from the public details of the case. Those details are signatures that only the perps, any prospective clients for their stolen goods, and detectives attempting to apprehend them would know.

Christie and Cuomo Deliver Tag-Team Veto to Port Authority Reform Drive

Batman vs. Penguin mayoral election debate
(Image: dtvusaform.com)

Just before midnight on a holiday Saturday, the political patronage machine known as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) received, figuratively speaking, two governors' pardon. The issue was the reform of the bistate agency in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal. Curiously, the Republican Chris Christie and Democratic Andrew Cuomo, both of whom have presidential ambitions, found common ground in their respective vetoes. They cited their alternative reform plans, which critics asserted would water down the effort to shine light on the PA's often opaque award and management of lucrative contracts.

According to The New York Times' report on the vetoes, the far stronger reforms had received unanimous approval votes from each state's respective legislatures. Due to the arcane nature of the PA's charter, change requires approval from both states' governors and legislatures. Unanimously positive votes are extremely rare. However, the shadow vote -- the fixers and deep pockets who appear on the PA's board of directors and executive positions -- was most likely unanimously negative.

Recently, I've been reading Italian crime fiction. The works often offer a window into the corruption that characterizes the Italian political process. Unlike Italians, Americans largely remain in denial of its embrace of a wink-and-nod society. While "networking" has become a watchword in American life, the implications of that concept, especially in relation to back-door deals and opaque transactions, has largely gone unexplored. The Port Authority reform episode demonstrates that "networked" crony corruption remains very alive and well, and transcends left-wing or right-wing rhetoric.

Egypt and Morocco Censor New "Exodus" Film

Exodus in Rabat, Morocco
(Image: corriere.it)

Ridley Scott's Exodus has been recently censored in two North African countries, according to the Milanese newspaper Corriere della Sera. Morocco officially frowned on the Biblical epic on the grounds that the movie included a visual depiction of God. Egypt's Minister of Culture banned Exodus because, in his view, the film was a vehicle for "Zionist" propaganda. You don't suppose the inevitable climax of the Moses vs. Pharaoh plot line might have influenced the minster's perspective?

Maybe the minister is just a sore loser.

NSA Provides Heavily Redacted Report on Its "Improper Surveillance" of Americans

The elves at the NSA were certainly busy this holiday season. Besides their usual snooping activities, the agency prepared a report on instances of its "improper surveillance" of American citizens. The NSA did not exactly go into this project willingly; it was compelled via a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The agency released its heavily redacted report on who was naughty or nice on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. A story about the information appeared in Bloomberg; the piece was later linked in a Washington Post roundup. The timing virtually guaranteed minimal public attention to an issue on which left-wing occupiers and right-wing liberty lovers should theoretically find common ground.

The NSA would not have even entertained providing these crumbs of knowledge of its business, except that Edward Snowden's revelations forced its hand. Coincidentally (or maybe not), a former naval officer filed suit this week in Kansas against the producers of Citizenfour, the Laura Poitras-directed documentary about Snowden's efforts to make public what the NSA most devoutly wished to reamin concealed. The suit alleges, among other things, the producers' intent to profiteer from the film. The story about the litigation appears in commondreams.org; a link to a PDF of the court papers appears courtesy of the information technology news website theregister.co.uk.

The Neapolitan Christmas Gift Called "Caffe Sospeso"

An article in today's New York Times features a positive act of humanity that could easily be copied elsewhere. The simple notion stems from Italy's coffee culture, as different from Starbucks as a legit latte macchiato is from some overwrought, overroasted junk.

Caffe sospeso
(Image: femaleworld.it)

The appealing custom, which originated in Naples, consists of paying for two cups of the coffee of one's choice, and leaving the receipt for the second cup for a needy individual. The gift, known as "caffe sospeso," is both shared and anonymous.

The story reminds me of a time my wife and I paid a toll on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. At that time, EZ Pass had not yet become part of car culture. My wife doubled down on the toll, and told the human collecting the tariff that she was offering an "act of kindness" to the next driver. Apparently, my wife had once been on the receiving end of such an act, and did not forget.

The spirit in the New Jersey and Naples examples seems in sync with "doing the right thing" during the year-end holidays. With that thought in mind, Merry Christmas to all!

PS. In case you're unfamiliar with Euro terminology, the "Roma" in the Times story refers to Gypsies. They are subject to considerable animosity in Italy and elsewhere in Western Europe, as the linked Der Spiegel story outlines.

When Nixon Asked Robert Altman for a Copy of "Nashville"

My wife generally works the Netflix account pretty vigorously. Our movie watching patterns were recently affected when our DVD return did not reach Netflix in the usual prompt manner. I wondered if a little inside game would have helped our chances.

I wouldn't know who to contact at Netflix. However, in a different era, it was possible to contact a human being and cut through red tape. Evidence on behalf of this proposition was recently demonstrated by the movie maestros at the Criterion Collection. They posted via Facebook a reproduction of correspondence from the one and only Richard Nixon to Robert Altman. Tricky Dick asked the very liberal film director if he could forward him a copy of Nashville. If you didn't see the request in print, you would have imagined this was a Hollywood barroom gag.

It's not, and you can see the proof above.

Obama Calls Only on Women During Recent Press Conference

For years -- well, really forever -- men have dominated the White House press corps. Helen Thomas (the bane of the right-wing) broke into the male-only WHPC club about a half-century ago. It's been a tough fight for women on the White House beat to get the power and the respect from their gender opposites. A measure of come-uppence occurred on Friday, when President Obama held a news conference at the White House. 44 only called on women for questions; he then left town for Christmas in Hawaii.

The Washington Post carried the story, and the women (including the superb Gwen Ifill) who asked the questions managed to quickly let the world know via their Twitter accounts. Apparently, the President's tactic displeased some media men. Notably, The New York Times' male White House reporter either did not file a story or his editors did not think the article was fit to print. Just to keep matters fair and balanced, the Fox News journalist was predictably PO'd. Ironically, he expressed his grievance on air to Megyn Kelly.

Can Birds "Hear" Tornadoes Before The Storms Arrive?

It's known that certain animals sense when stormy weather looms. I had imagined that the predicted meteorological phenomena involved rain. However, a recent report in the scientific journal Current Biology and reported by the BBC noted how a rare songbird can anticipate well in advance the arrival of a tornado. Apparently, the bird's ability to hear low-frequently is the key to its storm-avoidance technique.

What Do Pay Pal Founder Peter Thiel and Baseball Star A-Rod Have in Common?

Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel is something of a self-made zillionaire, thanks to his early investments in Pay Pal and Facebook. He's outspoken, as only an openly gay, openly Libertarian billionaire can be. Among his concepts is the creation of a republic on a yet-to-be-made man-made island, a sort of Atlantis in the Pacific. More recently, Thiel shared with Bloomberg's Silicon Valley talking head Emily Chang his quest to extend his life expectancy beyond normal actuarial standards. (The interview was presented in a boiled down version by siliconvalley.com's Michelle Quinn.) The magic ingredient is none other than HGH, or human growth hormone. Thiel noted its ability to help one maintain muscle mass.

HGH made its reputation, for better or worse, through its association with Major League Baseball players. They knew or believed the hormome had the potential to enhance their ability to perform and extend their careers. A number of stars took HGH, none brighter than Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod eventually became MLB's sacrificial lamb to demonstrate it didn't want players gaining advantage via the use of biochemical aids. Maybe Alex Rodriguez should have played the markets instead of hardball.

Did US International Aid Exec Resign Over Obama's Cuban Gambit?

Rajiv Shah
(Image: politico.com)

Rajiv Shah is not a household name, unless one follows Washington's careerist ladder. Mr. Shah currently runs the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is essentially our government's overseas humanitarian arm. On the day President Obama declared his intention to expand diplomatic relations with Cuba, the 41-year-old Indian-American decided to announce his departure from USAID in February, 2015. His departure, if a recent Foreign Policy piece by John Hudson is any indication, will be met with regret from both right-wing and left-wing American politicians and policy wonks.

Shah's timing is curious. Alan Gross, whose release was part of the Obama-Castro deal, was an USAID employee. For Shah, was Gross' freedom a feeling of "mission accomplished"?

In the background is the agency's dicey history with Cuba. During Shah's tenure, USAID was involved in an embarrassing attempt to "promote democracy" in Fidel Castro's homeland by "infiltrating" Cuba's hip-hop audience. There are other episodes that have cumulatively contributed to the Communist regime's mistrust of yanqui government representatives.

Tom Wheelock
(Image: Creative Associates International)

During Shah's USAID leadership, one of the enterprises contracted to provide "content" for USAID's efforts in Castro's workers paradise was Creative Associates International. (Fox News, in today's article on Shah's resignation, included the AP story about CAI and its role in Cuban projects.) The Washington-DC based firm is dedicated to humanitarian projects throughout the world. Some of its key leadership figures hail from Argentina. A notable exception is Senior VP Tom Wheelock, a West Point grad and former faculty member whose resume features a 2001-2003 stint as USAID's Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction Project director. According to CAI's biographical information about Wheelock, he also served as a Middle East expert at the National Security Agency.

Clearly, Wheelock is no stranger to the inside political game. Neither is Shah. His pedigree prior to joining Team Obama included high-level positions at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and health care advising for Al Gore during the former VP's ill-fated presidential run against George W. Bush. While some have speculated Shah intends to join a private equity firm, the USAID head has not spoken about his plans. We don't even know if Shah plans to enjoy a Cuban cigar on his final day on the job.

Uber Raised Rates During Sydney Hostage Siege

Image: blog.uber.com

The controversial car service Uber gained traction among the hip and wired as the new wave of getting from point A to point B. A mere whiff of an IPO created a valuation frenzy unsettlingly similar to the turn of the century Internet stock bubble. Uber has publicly maintained its mission is the provision of cheaper car service fares, leveraging shared ridership and app-generated demand. However, Uber operates much more like an airline utilizing "yield management" techniques. In simplest terms, transportation firms charge higher fares during peak periods. Uber has asserted this approach, muscularly defending it as a way to attract more drivers to work for Uber.

People on expense accounts (Uber's prime demographic) don't care about rates that double or triple during "peak" times. Meanwhile, Uber's definition of "peak" seems arbitrary, leaving ordinary citizens who've bought into the Uber concept paying more than they would have in a metered cab.

The "peak" concept came into ugly focus during the recent hostage siege in Sydney, Australia. Those who attempted to leave the city's central business district during the incident were dismayed to learn their Uber fares would be anywhere from double to quadruple the regular fare, as a vator.tv report noted. This repellent exploitation became another in a series of very public black eyes for Uber. Recently, an Uber driver in India allegedly raped a passenger. Earlier this fall, an Uber executive publicly suggested hiring detectives to discredit journalists who post pieces that displease Uber.

Uber is another example of privatization's dark side. In this case, arrogant, tech-driven greed masquerades as a public good. My suggestion is a simple one: buyer beware.

The Day Chris Christie Lost His Presidential Bid

Jerry Jones (left) and Chris Christie
at yesterday's Cowboys-Eagles game in Philadephia
(Image: cbssports.com)

One had the hope that New Jersey governor Chris Christie would abandon thoughts of running for the land's highest office. The Soprano state's caudillo didn't seem to project global gravitas. Severe doubts about how his bellicosity would play with, say, Vladimir Putin, suggested that surely the Republican Party could do better than the Man from Mendham. A little over a year ago, some of Christie's senior operatives, a number of whom came from the Rudy Giuliani camp, embarked on the act of political thuggery known as "Bridgegate." Once the governor's aides' shameless hardball actions were outed, Christie's star dimmed. However, a rehabilitation campaign skillfully denied the governor's culpability while quietly reassuring Christie's backers that the opera would not end until the fat man sings.

Thus, Chris Christie has again emerged as a presidential player. I think he blew his chances yesterday, when he attended a Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game in The City of Brotherly Love. The governor sat in a luxury box with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, openly rooting for the Texas team. Well, them's figthtin' words in Philly. For Philadelphia fans, and many others throughout the nation, the distaste and visceral contempt for the Cowboys runs deep. If you support Dallas, well you've just lost those fans' votes. And yes, many of them are white males, the core GOP constituency.

An argument could be made that the Cowboys have a strong, vocal national following, and they vote, too. Just don't offer that proposition in the Northeast, Wisconsin, or both Washingtons, during what promises to be a rough GOP presidential primary in 2016. Football fans have long memories, and loyalties to their teams. Would voters choose another candidate other than Citizen Christie on the basis of a pro football preference?

As Sarah Palin said (remember her?), "You betcha."

NBA Stars Showcase "I Can't Breathe" Shirts

LeBron James, Barclays Center, Brooklyn
(Image: chicagotribune.com)

In the past few days, a number of pro basketball players ahve worn "I Can't Breathe" shirts during pre-game activities. The tops refer to the Eric Garner case, in which an undercover New York City policeman used a fatal chokehold on a man arrested for illegally selling loose cigarettes. The stars included LeBron James (who also spoke out after the George Zimmerman "stand your ground" case), Kevin Garnett, and Deron Williams. The first out of the gate, so to speak, was Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, who wore the shirt at the Bulls' Saturday night game. Today's Chicago Tribune noted the tributes, as well as Rose's role as the first NBA player to go public with the shirt.

To HD or Not HD? That's a Question for HBO and "The Wire" Creator David Simon

As an avid fan of the HBO series The Wire, every impulse in me would want to obtain the HD version of the series. HBO is creating such a product, but it's worth considering show creator David Simon's perspective on HD vs. a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Simon expands on this conundrum in his blog, the gist of which was captured in a recent post on theverge.com. Some of Simon's concerns about how technical advantages of 4:3 play into The Wire's depiction of character and narrative. The series was also shot so that splitting the display between HD and plain vanilla 4:3 would disrupt The Wire's visual continuity. While Simon disliked the divided format, he did see some of the HD look's virtues.

It's an interesting piece, both for its discussion of the series' technical background and its clips to demonstrate the differences between high-def and "regular."

Hockey Legend Jean Beliveau -- RIP

Jean Beliveau with the Stanley Cup
(Image: cbc.ca)

A half-century ago, Montreal Canadiens captain Jean Beliveau epitomized pro hockey's best aspects. He commanded respect from his play, his dignity, and his poise. His greatness was so apparent that the Hockey Hall of Fame waved its three-year waiting period and inducted Beliveau immediately after his retirement from playing. However, he never really retired from the game. The Quebec native remained an active, highly visible member of the Canadiens' front office. He proudly upheld sportsmanship and the right way to play the game. That "way" coincided with ten Stanley Cups, as Beliveau bridged the generation between Rocket Richard and Henri Richard.

Those Montreal teams represented the heart and soul of French-speaking Canada. In Beliveau's playing days, the Canadiens could skim the cream of Quebec's ice hockey talent. There was no doubt that the Canadiens represented the Quebecois against English-speaking Canada. It was no coincidence that Montreal's lineup featured mainly French surnames, with a sprinkling of Anglos who protected the team's stars from their opponents' bully boys. The Canadiens at that time played in the Montreal Forum on Rue St. Catherine, which was for hockey what old Yankee Stadium was to baseball. Those Canadiens squads were often brilliant.

I had the good fortune to see Beliveau skate in a playoff game against the New York Rangers. He was splendid, with an enviable combination of size, grace, and savvy. The Canadiens happened to win the game in overtime. No, Beliveau did not score the winner, but that hardly mattered. I knew, even then, that I had witnessed a great player in action. I've always remembered that game.

Jean Beliveau passed away in Montreal yesterday. His obit and associated stories in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail are worth reading, as they offer the context of Beliveau's career and impact on all Canadians.

Grand Jury Begins LAUSD-iPad Probe

John Deasy
(Image: educationnews.org)

Former Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) superintendent John Deasy might need an attorney specializing in federal criminal cases. According to an Associated Press story posted in siliconvalley.com, FBI agents "seized 20 boxes of documents" related to LAUSD's iPad project. (LA Times reporter Howard Blume's story on the episode adds significant detail to the seizure.) A grand jury probe will review the documents.

The billion dollar initiative intended to put an iPad in the hands of each of the district's students and faculty. Apparently, Deasy thought it appropriate to speak extensively with Apple representatives before the district issued a request for proposal. One could reasonably suspect that the superintendent and Apple essentially attempted to game LAUSD's procurement and bidding systems. As it happened, Apple won a splendid deal, providing gadgets that would be obsolete in a couple of years, thus requiring an "upgrade" that would force the district to pony up even more millions. The deal did not include software, for which the district had to pay an additional fee. The iPads didn't have keyboards, so of course -- cha ching! -- an extra fee was required.

Who said there was no money in education?

Five NFL Players Stage Pre-Game Ferguson Protest

The St. Louis "Five's" Protest
Over the Michael Brown-Darren Wilson Incident
in Ferguson, Missouri
(Image: nbcnews.com)

On November 30th, five St. Louis Rams players walked onto their hometown field with their hands up. The gesture imitated the "don't shoot" protest style seen recently in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri. The five made their visual statement before the game against the Oakland Raiders began.

NFL headquarters wisely dodged the issue when quizzed for its response. For a league that has fined players for wearing accessories the NFL did not sanction, its matador PR move was highly unusual. Alas, a spokesperson for St. Louis police officers reacted in ways long on anger and desperately short on brains.

Major pro sports arguably have the highest profile for race relations in the United States. In the 1980s,  many NBA fans were divided along racial lines in the Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird debate. Some Caucasian baseball players openly expressed their displeasure about an Obama presidency, including a few who repeated the lie about BO "not being one of us." NFL players have traditionally been condemned to political silence via restrictive contracts and reactionary owners; the St. Louis "Five's" actions should be considered in that context.

The majority of pro athletes come from less than prosperous backgrounds. In the case of African-American players, it's safe to say most are making more money and have achieved more prominence than anyone in their family, among their friends, or in their original neighborhoods. Their material success is often fleeting, while hard times and mean streets stubbornly endure. The black athlete also viscerally understands how young African-American males are viewed by police officers.

It's a wonder that more NFL and NBA players didn't express their opinion about the Ferguson incident during their most recent games. However, one should not interpret their silence as acquiescence to a society that once imagined itself "post-racial".