Musings from Brian J. Noggle

Compare and Contrast Assignment

Class, here's your compare and contrast assignment for tonight:

Police in the Middle West:

Three men from the West Coast were hauling more than horses Tuesday afternoon in their trailer, authorities said - they also had $835,500 in cash stashed in a hidden compartment.

An Illinois State Police trooper and U.S. Customs agents found the money after the trooper pulled the 1999 Dodge pickup over for speeding about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday on Interstate 55, north of Litchfield, said Trooper Doug Francis, a spokesman for the agency's District 18.

The discovery wasn't mere happenstance. U.S. Customs had tipped off police that the trailer might contain cash, Francis said.

When the three men allowed police to search the truck and trailer, a drug-sniffing dog alerted on the vehicle, Francis said. Officers did not find drugs, Francis said, but "something was there at one time or another."

The Illinois State Police seized the cash pending further investigation.

Lt. Brian Hollo, the district's interim commander, said that state and federal statutes give police the power to seize money if they believe it is drug-related.

Hollo said it was the largest cash seizure ever for the district, which covers Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin and Montgomery counties.

But police had no legal reason to hold the men or their three horses, so they were free to continue their trip, Francis said.

As for the money - Francis said, "If they can come up with proof that the money is theirs, we'll give it back to them."

Police in the Middle East:

At night, the police presence is most evident. On the city's central streets, they make high-speed patrols, at times in groups that make the task appear more like a joyride. There are no other cars to be seen and there's virtually no one on the streets, save the employees of Baghdad's single 24-hour shop and the handful of restaurants that stay open late, mostly to serve the cops.

The police, however, do not receive credit for the apparent drop in crime. "It's because no one stays out," said Hassan Mahdi, the owner of the 24-hour shop. "The police are no good."

But just because the streets are filled with police does not necessarily mean they're safe. A journalist walking back to his hotel at around 3am on a recent morning made the mistaken assumption that it would be fine because only police were out. He was stopped and asked for his identity card three times during the 10-minute stroll. The third group of police also took US$100 from his wallet, after he showed an American passport.

Extra credit if you can work in this joke (reprinted here from another essay:

I'm reminded of the joke about the man who offered a woman $1 million to sleep with him - her resonse was a hasty "Sure!" When he countered with an offer of only $50, her response changed to "Absolutely Not! What kind of woman do you think I am?" His response ... "Lady, we've already settled that question - now we're just haggling over price!

(Link to Iraqi story seen on The Art of Peace, where I browsed at the behest of Winds of Change.)

- posted by Brian J. @ 8:15 PM