Check and Mate?

Yeah, I haven't updated my blog for a while. It's mostly because since joining Facebook, I've been using the status updates to write tidbits of my thoughts more often. It is so much easier, since I'm limited in length as to what I have to share, and blogging, well, takes so much more time and energy.

Anyway, this post is a relatively easy one, because it's mostly a copy-and-paste job. On Wednesday, both a Facebook friend and I found out about this horrendous news regarding a raid on a dog fighting ring here in Chicago. I posted a status update, as usual, with a funny twist: "John Ho just learned that we have an 'Animal Crimes Unit' here in Chicago!!! When is NBC going to add Law & Order: ACU?!?"

My Facebook friend also posted something related to this a few minutes later. And from there, a heated discussion ensued in the comments section, which I have detailed here below. Of course, names have been changed to protect the strange.


Status update @ Wed at 1:54pm:
Daniella just found out that police busted another dog fighting ring in the Chicago area. I'm really starting to hate people - how can you be so cruel to an animal?


Following below are comments on said Facebook status update:


Daniella's Friend #1 @ Wed at 2:00pm: boooooo!

John Ho @ Wed at 2:05pm: It wasn't just an animal. 9 dogs!!! They even used 4 puppies barely a month old as bait for the fighting! And it wasn't just a house, but the neighbor next to the day care is also in on it, because they found a modified treadmill used strictly to train fight dogs! Disgusting what people can do, huh?

Daniella's Friend #2 @ Wed at 2:10pm: The guff was empty the day they were born. First dogs, then people!!!

Daniella's Friend #3 @ Wed at 2:10pm: They should put the culprits between two angry pits that don't know who they are as punishment and see what it feels like to be torn apart!

Daniella's Friend #4 @ Wed at 3:10pm: i have a pit. sweetest, most loving (and intelligent) dog i have ever owned. a dogs character is that of the owner. most fighting pits are intentionaly inbred so they are born all eff'd up. the others you hear about attacking have ignorant, dumb ass owners. furthermore, you never hear about other breeds who attack, which happens all the time. ... Read Moreonly pits...the media, as usual, warp the reality for shock value. pits have a bad rep. on a related note...michael vick should still be in prison much less on a football field! he killed his dogs my hanging, drowning and slitting there throats. hes a piece of shit as a human being...hes evil. theres my rant of the day! lol

John Ho @ Wed at 7:52pm: So what I'm understanding here is that even after someone has paid his/her dues for the crimes he/she commits, it's still not enough? Sure, Vick did something that is very detestable in my books, but he served his time. Why are people still harping on that? Sounds to me like even after someone has paid his/her due for a given crime, you simply can't forgive. Nobody is perfect. But he did his time for his crime. Let's just get over it. For otherwise, capital punishment would be in place for every petty crime, including the kid who steals $2.

Mutual Friend #1 @ Wed at 7:52pm: How can people be so cruel to other people?

Daniella's Friend #5 @ Wed at 8:23pm: What John said!

Daniella's Friend #6 @ Wed at 8:47pm: Hate people? Wow. How 'bout hate people's behaviors? Ya, it's pretty disgusting what things are done.

Daniella @ Thu at 9:09am: John - Vick didn't serve time for animal cruelty, he served time for federal racketeering. I don't care if this makes me sound like the biggest bitch, but if someone kills another living being, they should not be able to go back to their cushy NFL job. He sucks as a QB anyway...

Daniella @ Thu at 9:09am: And I just realized that my above statement doesn't make me sound like too much of a bitch - but sorry, yes I hate certain people AND their behaviors. He's a piece of shit.

John Ho @ Thu at 9:19am: Then you're a mass murderer! Think about the number of living beings you have killed every time you killed a bug, or poisoned a bug with bug sprays, etc. Think of how many living things you have killed when you de-worm your dog. ;-) In some religions, that is considered bad, because whether it's a bug, fly, or whatever, anything that is a living thing has a soul. Think about that...

Daniella @ Thu at 9:34am: Wow, really reaching for an argument aren't you?

Daniella's Friend #4 @ Thu at 10:10am: bugs??? holy hell. soft, bleeding hearts. some sick rapist kidnaps your child, rapes then murders them? lets see how forgiving you are then. There are white souls, grey souls & black souls in this life. The black souls are just shells, their job, unbeknowest to them, is to try and smother the light of the others...the good in this world. They bring anxiety, depression & anger into our lives when they are near us - like moths to a flame. There IS evil in this world, and punishment is justifiable. When it comes to evil, they are NOT our equals! If I would get a DUI, my time would be much longer than Vicks. If it was I who did what he did, rest assured, I would still be in prison. Who gives a fuck hes an nfl player. Our society is so addicted to celebrity its sick...this countries ablility to turn a blind eye to cruelity and immoral behavior by these assholes amazes me. again...bugs?!?!? come on man

Daniella's Friend #4 @ Thu at 10:16am: by the way daniella...you dont sound like a bitch. you sound like someone who'e passionate about their convictions and beliefs...

John Ho @ Thu at 10:26am: Nope, not reaching for an argument. Just using your argument, that's all.

Hey, I'm not saying that when I'm a victim, I will have the mentality to keep things in perspective. If my child is raped and murdered, I can't say for sure that I'll let the judicial system work it out for me. But I also can't say for sure that I'll just go grab a shotgun and kill the rapist in the courtroom. I won't know what I'll do until it hits me directly.

But for now, I'm taking the route of letting the judicial system work its way out. We all have an opinion. Your opinion is that there's nothing he can do to return to his "cushy" job. My opinion is that he served time, and he is working extra hard to use this experience to talk to kids and others in the public community to discourage animal cruelty and dog fighting. I think, in my opinion, that this is good. Learning to forgive is not easy, but worth a damn. Hating forever, well, is kinda sad.

Daniella @ Thu at 11:12am: A) Once again he did not serve his time for animal cruelty. B) The talking to kids about what he did thing is the biggest piece of PR bs I’ve ever heard of. C) I’m a huge supporter of rescue organizations,and the things I hear about what people have done to dogs, cats, etc is enough to, yes, make me hate other human beings. I’m sorry, but I just can’t forgive the guy for what he, and so many other subhumans like him, have done. Forgiveness is not easy in my book and if that makes me a sad person, then so be it. It’s not sad to have a passion or have convictions, sorry. We’re just going to agree to disagree I guess. I’ll make sure to hug my dog, who was starved, dehydrated and living in filthy conditions for a year extra tight for you tonight, John.

John Ho @ Thu at 3:40pm: Good for you for rescuing your dog. We need more people like you.

But let's make the facts clear. In federal criminal case number 3:07CR274, he is indicted for dog fighting, including the money, gambling, transportation and animal cruelty aspects of dog fighting. And on August 24, 2007, he pleaded guilty to all charges, and the judge sentenced him (which, by the way, exceeded the sentencing guidelines). So I'm not quite sure where you got the fact that he did not serve his time for animal cruelty.

Here's the indictment document: http://news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/sports/usvick71707ind.html
Here's the plea agreement document: http://news.findlaw.com/wp/docs/sports/usvick82407plea.html

Let's not forget that double jeopardy doesn't apply in the state of VA when it comes to charges coming from state prosecution. So he also pleaded guilty there and paid his dues as well on state level.

John Ho [cont'd from above because Facebook has a text limit]: Dog fighting is an underground activity that, unfortunately, is more widespread than ever. Not only is the "sport" itself cruel, but it is often tied to other vices, like gambling, gangs and criminal activities. It is a sad, sad thing that despite tougher laws enacted, this activity still continues.

You have to look at the silver lining though. Without the NFL's most highly paid player's case in the matter, dog fighting as a public issue would not have gotten such attention and awareness. And on top of that, Michael Vick not only apologizes and has paid his dues to society, but he is working with the Humane Society in speaking against the "sport." Because of this, more police officers than ever have elected to get special law enforcement training related to animal cruelty.

Even after all the good that can come out of him, you still can't forgive? The Humane Society has. Let's focus on the positive outcome of this so that more dog fights can be stopped with his message.

Another Reason Why I Hate American Airlines

In my seven years of traveling professionally, I have come to loath United Airlines for various reasons. It seemed like an overwhelming majority of the flight attendants on United Airlines were downright mean spirited and had piss poor attitude. Not only did they publicly display how much they hate their job, and how they don't care for what they do, they also treat passengers like people who got in their way of completing their crossword puzzles and catching up on celebrity gossip. On top of that, they roll their eyes if you ask for another cup of water, as if four ounces was considered way too much for any passenger on a four hour flight.

I avoided United Airlines as much as I could in those seven years. If I could help it, I would always fly Southwest Airlines. Besides a few rotten apples in their flight attendant squadron (which I encountered perhaps once every 15 flights), the overall experience has been phenomenally awesome. And if business dictated a trip to a location where Southwest Airlines did not fly to, I would try to fly either Northwest Airlines or Continental Airlines. Third on the preference list was American Airlines.

Well, after the wonderful encounter on February 20 with an American Airlines flight attendant, I began to wonder if her personality was morphed due to the morale at work. But today, I think my suspicion is correct. Her racist and demeaning attitude was not only a reflection of herself, but a reflection of the workplace environment too. Just ask Carine Desir. All she wanted was oxygen in time of medical need, yet the American Airlines flight attendant refused her request twice. The flight attendant only decided to provide oxygen after other passengers became agitated at him/her. And to put the cherry on the top, the flight attendant gave Carine two empty canisters of oxygen!!!

Right...... I will not fly American Airlines ever, if I can help it, because A) the odds of having rude flight attendants on board is probably pretty high, and B) they don't have functional safety equipment on board!!! Nice... Real nice... I hope the FAA and NTSB get on AMR like white on rice.

If You Wear a Trench Coat...

Sometimes I wonder if certain people you know are racists or the kind to stereotype people in their ids. Do you ever have a friend who you know pretty well, and you know he/she in general does not have tendencies to stereotype, yet you sometimes catch him/her implicitly reveal the silent racist in him/her?

For example, what relevance is there for stressing that someone is black when telling the story of how you got cut off in a line for the restroom at a concert? Wouldn't the story still be the same if you leave out the "black" part? Why even mention the aggressor's race at all?

From my point of view, by even being that specific, the person telling the story just revealed that deep down, he/she has some racist tendencies. Or in general, tendencies to stereotype. I'm not saying that in every similar case, the person is a racist. Just a tendency. Being specific also defines a good story teller, and is in no way, shape or form to indicate one's prejudices. But you wonder sometimes...

Well, what prompted this analogy was MTV's reporting of a recent school shooting by a 14 year old boy in Cleveland today. As a reporter or journalist, Gil Kaufman has a duty to report facts objectively. Although the news was heartbreaking, she needs to remain objective and control how information is presented after gathering the necessary information from various interviews.

Specifically, was it necessary for Gil Kaufman to include this quote by a student?

"I knew that dude was crazy, man. He always wore a trench coat."

To me, that is absolutely unethical in terms of professionalism in journalism. Were it be reported in other sections of MTV.com, I would not have any problem, but to include that in the news section kind of reduce its legitimacy as a news outlet. That statement was made by a student who clearly was prejudicial. And it was only an opinion, not a fact.

News agencies and their agents have the fiduciary obligation to present facts, not opinions. This simply perpetuates fear mongering amongst the public to be wary of those who wear trench coats. Because, like MTV and the kid, anybody who wears trench coats are simply crazy people!

Be very careful of trench coats... Next thing you know, it may attack you from the rack when you go shopping for clothes at your neighborhood mall.

A Slow Gotham Sunday?

Unlike families with little tykes or lovers who share the night at the Hilton Times Square, I woke up real late this Sunday morning. As usual, I rushed down to the Hilton restaurant at 11:35 for my free breakfast, a perk of being a Dimaond VIP, which would otherwise end at noon. [I suppose I'm glad that half of year of non-travel did not demote my elite status!]

Hot cheese blintze, Spanish omelette, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, smoked salmon, fresh fruits and yogurt. Yum! I took a bagel, cream cheese, capers and the smoked salmon and made them into a delicious breakfast sandwich that most restaurants will gladly charge almost a $10 premium. I love my creative thinking. Outside the box... Notice that I did not get anything healthy for me, like cereal or oatmeal, which were sitting there whispering, "John, you know better than to eat all those other foods. Shame on you!"

I suppose I sort of redeemed myself later on, as I didn't eat all of the sausages and bacon on my plate. The sausage was cold and tasted sweet. Maybe it was those maple apple flavor kind? And the bacon was crisp and hard like a dip stick. Does nobody know how to cook proper bacon these days? They should be kind of soft and chewy.

While not wanting to be bored all alone, I decided to keep myself entertained. So I went to the front desk and saw before my eyes a large stack of the Friday edition of USA Today, and a lone pile of the New York Times Sunday paper. I thought fresh news was better than two-day old news, so I reached for the New York Times. As I grabbed it, I thought Holy Shit! It was the one and only last copy of the New York Times! Yet somehow, it sat taller than the stack of six or seven copies of the USA Today!

The cute front desk girl saw the unspoken reaction on my face, so she struck up a small chatter. I asked if that whole thing was the entire Sunday paper. She replied, "Yeah, I know, right? It has been a slow day! Even the morning news anchor opened today with, 'Well folks, it has been a real slooow weekend.'"

I had to gather myself for a second and process what she said. Here I was, with a single copy of the New York Times without the adverts thicker than the typical Chicago Tribune Sunday paper with all its glorious adverts, and she said it has been a slow news day. Was she being sarcastic? But soon enough, I realized that if this is what a slow news day looks like, I really wouldn't want to be the Sunday paper route boy working for the New York Times when it had been a busy news day!


Holy shit, indeed!

I'm Moving to Memphis! Buying a House With a HUGE Front Yard!

So I decided on a whim today to sell my condominium here in Chicago, pack up my shit, and just move on down to Tennessee. Memphis, to be precise. And I'm looking for a house with the biggest front yard there possibly can be had. Preferably with a nice front porch with a great view overlooking said yard. I know I hate doing yard work, let alone lawn mowing, but it is not gonna matter in Memphis.

Why? About twice a month, I'll just make myself a nice, spiked pitcher of lemonade, pull on some bad ass looking sunglasses, and lounge out on the porch. And watch other people do my lawn. To be precise, the fine employees of Tiger Time Lawn Care business!

I almost shat my trousers when I read the news about Tiger Time lawn Care... And I was definitely paying attention when I watched the news clip from WMC-TV Memphis! Just watch the news below for yourself!!!


After all, who wouldn't mind watching a little bit of this?


Seriously though... Who the hell rides a lawn mower while squeezing her boobs together?!?

The Most Legal Porn at Work?

Once in a while, I'll scan the headlines at Google News. And today, I saw something new that is interesting: It is quite possible the gene responsible for breast cancer may come from the paternal parent as well, not just maternal. Interesting.

But then, the report on this subject matter on eCanadaNow.com had a rather revealing graphic to go along with it. The image is more revealing than any US news outlet will allow. But since this is news, it cannot be censored at work right? So does this mean this is the most legal form of porn that we corporate American citizens will get to see without reprimand? You decide; click here for the article, or scroll down below for the image: