While on an extended holiday break from blogging, the world most definitely did not stop, with mediators and arbitrators staying in the news.
In New York, an arbitrator decided that Alex Rodriguez was guilty as sin, but 49 games less guilty than originally decreed by the baseball commissioner. Arbitration and arbitrary share six letters but they are not supposed to synonymous. Wonder if he felt pressure not to relieve the Yankees of too much salary burden...
In Jerusalem, surrogates for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled the mediation move of the year. Faced with apparent pressure from Secretary of State John Kerry, the Israeli side moved to “expand the pie” by making the mediator pay! Somehow, it seems, that if only the United States would kick in clemency for Jonathan Pollard, peace with Palestinians would be at hand. Guess that’s what happens when the “mediator” has skin in the game…
In Geneva, mediators struggle to get the antagonists in Syria to look at each other….
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie’s invoked the dreary “mistakes were made”, after his staff shut the GW Bridge as political payback, or more aptly, after they were caught at it. Any idea what those mistakes were and who made them? Almost as meaningless as “I take full responsibility”…
Speaking of poor apologies, in Washington, President Barack Obama actually said that “No one is more upset than me” about the tragi-comic ACA website rollout. Nothing like telling an angry public that, really, you are more a victim than they. It makes us nostalgic for “I feel your pain”. And the grammar…
No bit of random reflection is complete without some reference to NSA metadata. Can you imagine the next U.S. Senate battle over a Supreme Court nominee when the Judiciary Committee has access to all of his or her email, texts, cell phone chatter and url history? Or the 2016 presidential race…
While waiting for that rush of new alimony cases from the Massachusetts appellate courts, one last, belated Happy New Year to you!
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