This is Very Disturbing to Me

Among the plethora of disturbing things that seem to keep coming at us regularly these days. An excerpt from a Reuters article regarding the Madoff scandal:

Even investors who managed to pull their funds out of Madoff's firm two years ago, or more, may have to return money, said Jeff Marwil, a partner at law firm Winston & Strawn, which is representing a group of Madoff investors.

"It's about the equalization of harm," Marwil said.

CLAWING BACK LOSSES

Under U.S. bankruptcy code, investors that pulled money out of a fraudulent fund up to two years before it went under must give their money back, if they knew or should have known the fund was bogus, Winston & Strawn's Marwil said. And state law typically broadens that window to four to six years.

Marwil, who is representing the bankrupt Bayou Group of hedge funds, successfully took back funds from investors that had withdrawn money years before Bayou went under.

"Our view was there were sufficient red flags for any investor to know there was a problem at Bayou. I think a similar argument could be made here," Marwil said.

So my question is…how in god's name can you possibly argue that someone who was smart enough to pull money out of something (hence the "should have known" part of it) should in ANY WAY be responsible for helping out those who also "should have known".

Although I don't know why I'm at all surprised by this, when you consider that we've all been required to participate in the "equalization of harm" with the bailouts to the banks, homeowners and possibly the auto industry.

I may as well go live in Europe at this point. Oh wait, that's right…I am!! :-)

My thought for this morning

Try to always speak truth with respect and compassion.

KHAOS

A friend/coworker once gave me the nickname Khaos (a derivation of the word chaos obviously, and also transliterated greek for the goddess of air). He gave me this name because of my tendency to thrive on drama. I would get excited when there was upheaval in the office, liked to listen to the latest office rumors (and occasionally spread one or two myself, although never maliciously!), etc.

This nickname is appropriate in more ways than one, however. A trend seems to have developed back in 2002 when I was planning a trip to Madagascar and the country broke out in civil war. I had to cancel my trip and reschedule for the following summer, when the nation was once again fit for receiving visitors. Since then I've been in Burma when a small coup occurred, Turkey just before gunmen killed three cops at the US consulate in Istanbul, and now, as I prepare to move to Crete for six months, it looks as thought the citizenry of Greece has decided to revolt against the government. My dad jokes that if you want to topple a government, just invite me. Of course, I have nothing to do with any of these events (although the delusions of grandeur are somewhat fun to entertain); the world is just a chaotic place. But damn it...I really hope the Greeks get their shit together over the next few months. I'll still go if I can get a flight. But if I can't, then I'll go somewhere else. Turkey, maybe. Or Cyprus! Things have been pretty quiet there for a while...perhaps it's time for a little Khaos!!

Winner: Strangest Reproduction Ritual in the Animal Kingdom

A co-worker and I had a conversation today regarding which species has the strangest mating rituals. After considering the Black Widow spider, Praying Mantis, Binobo Monkey and whale, we decided that the garden slug takes top prize. This was copied and pasted from the following link: http://ifaq.wap.org/sex/sexandgardenslug.html

Sex and the Garden Slug

Now that it's garden season, here's an interesting tidbit from the Field Guide to the Slug.

Although slugs are hermaphroditic, each animal equipped with both male and female reproductive organs, they mate with themselves only if no other slugs are around. Given a choice, they seek partners with whom to trade genetic material, a move that, by favoring the passage of chromosomes from both parents to the offspring, nurtures a healthier pool of slug genes. The actual exchange of sperm is preceeded by an elaborate courtship ritual, which supposedly reduces the chance of two individuals of separate species mating and giving rise to hybrids.

During courtship, two slugs will circle each other ... with both partners engaged in ritualized bouts of lunging, nipping, and sideswiping with their tails. The two slugs may also display their disproportionately large sex organs. The great grey garden slug's penis is nearly half its total body length. In fact, penis size is reflected in the scientific name of one banana slug species: dolichophallus -- Latin for "long penis."

"The sight of a courting pair of slugs majestically circling one another ... while they solemnly wave their oversized penises overhead puts the most improbably athletic couples of Pompeii and Khajuraho into a more appropriate and severely diminished perspective," note researchers C. David Rollo and William G. Wellington. "Athletic" is an even more appropriate adjective for great grey garden slugs, which are able to copulate in midair, suspended by stretchy strands of mucus up to 17 3/4 inches long.

As courtship progresses, a banana slug pair intertwines ... stimulating each other for several more hours. Their genital areas swell as the pair move even closer together. Penetration takes place, then each slug alternately releases and receives sperm.

Now the slugs must disengage -- a challenge for two animals so amply endowed and thoroughly covered in sticky mucus. After long bouts of writhing and pulling, the pair may resort to ... apophallation. Translated, this means that one slug gnaws off the penis of the other.

Is there an advantage to such odd behavior? Yes, according to Adrian Forsyth, author of A Natural History of Sex. The apophallated slug, says Forsyth, "cannot regrow his penis and is now obligated to be a female and forced to offer eggs." ... In other animal species, gigantism has been a precursor to extinction. Only by submitting to the shears can banana slugs maintain their inordinate organs.