They showed extensive footage here. They tried to explain it. In the end all we understood is The Law came in on horses weilding big sticks. They couldn't explain it, apparently. The Man asked me, so uh, why exactly are they doing that? Not sure dear, something about a building permit.

We have many shady building permits along the coastline here. Villages sprouting up, homes there for decades. Sometimes they are razed, those ones that are just too damn close to the water. Others are made to pay back taxes and all is well. No whacking of the villagers on the head with big sticks. Was this really necessary? A court can over rule common sense? The rest of the village is still there. The boy who was in a coma is out of the coma. But the wounds run deep. Is Sharansky busy? I understand there is a PM job opening soon. I like him.

The Danish cartoons and subsequent burning. Danes drew them yet somebody (indovina chi) is now blaming the Jews. Un huh. Ibn Warraq has a fine op-ed piece on Spiegel Online - Democracy in a Cartoon.

The cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten raise the most important question of our times: freedom of expression. Are we in the west going to cave into pressure from societies with a medieval mindset, or are we going to defend our most precious freedom -- freedom of expression, a freedom for which thousands of people sacrificed their lives? Read it all.

Tavleen Singh chimes in on The India Express here - The right to laugh at gods. As Michelle points out (in Item Number 2), it happens every day in the rioter's papers and nobody reacts with burning, what's good for the goose gets the gander BBQed eh.

Uploaded pics from Saturday. Went for a walk with The Man and Kiddo to check out the candelore. It was the St. Agata aka Boob Cakes festival here in our citta. Photos posted to the Gallery starting here - St. Agata festa pics. Didn't actually see the saint. Sorry Dear.

On the way back to Casa Zib we stopped by the market and came home with a goldfish named Pierre. Sunday morning he was found floating at the bottom of his big honking jar. "What's wrong with my fish?!" "I think the fish might be dead, what do we tell her?" " I'll take care of it later, don't tell her anything." "Mommy what's wrong with my fish? He's sleeping ALOT!" There was a burial at sea around 11pm last night. This morning Kiddo asks.."Where'd my fish go?!" Oh, he was dead. WHY?? Uh, I don't know, it was too cold maybe. Oh, but Rosey and Romeo didn't get dead too. They have shells. Oh. Can we get a snail fish next time? That way they can swim around and keep warm in their shells. I don't think snail fish exist. So much for our foray into the fish world. The big honking jar is now back in The Closet.

Look, they are watching you.

Spinning wheel will come later, much much later after The Man and Kiddo got the spindle thing down pat. I shall have my energized singles yet! Plots! Gotta love 'em.

Rest in Peace, don Andrea Santoro.