Showing 1 - 10 of 69
Evil personified
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 10/01/2020
» When the terms genocide and war criminals are mentioned, the connections that usually come to mind are the Third Reich and Nuremberg. Japan too, and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. Today a permanent process for prosecuting crimes against humanity has been established at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The kids aren't alright
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 08/11/2019
» Crime is not limited by gender or age. Men, women and children can all end up behind bars for committing criminal acts. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Many jurists advocate that laws be reconsidered periodically to determine whether they are still applicable. Some turn into the Blue Laws of yore, still on the books but no longer enforced. Others get overturned.
Up to par
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 01/11/2019
» The first thing I did when becoming a newspaper film reviewer was to import a shortcut from the West: evaluating movies with stars. One Trink star was for the very worst motion picture, five Trink stars for the very best. Which was followed by a paragraph explanation. Readers approving my cinema tastes thus knew on what to spend -- or save -- their earnings.
America's saviour
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 18/10/2019
» Bill Clinton wasn't the best president of the United States of America, nor was he the worst. Nor was he the most oversexed. John F. Kennedy had more pillow-mates by far. Yet Jackie Kennedy and Hillary Clinton didn't make a fuss about it.
How honest are you?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 16/08/2019
» Those finding a wallet or purse, particularly when stuffed with money or gems, have their honesty sorely tested when the owner's ID is included. Ought they notify him or her? They need the valuables themselves. Was it just luck? Didn't God mean for them to have it? Likely as not the loser is rich and shrugged it off to experience. Or not.
What if?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 25/07/2019
» A cine buff -- contemporary, silent, foreign -- since my childhood in the Big Apple, still with a good but not photographic memory, I recall a French movie about a wealthy widow who decided to satisfy her curiosity by looking up her old boyfriends. She wondered what would her life have been like had she married one of them.
Desert graveyard
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 27/06/2019
» While not as prestigious as Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer Prize awardees are highly regarded in the US. The annual recipients are rewarded for works a giant step above their colleagues.
Ravens' feast
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 27/12/2018
» This reviewer's understanding of historical novels is that the authors do historical research on their topic, using actual figures and imaginary ones where need-be, to write essentially factual and hopefully interesting stories. But not all historical novelists follow this form. Some are more concerned about their own largely fictitious story than the actual events behind it.
Isis destroyed
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 06/09/2018
» As most of the hijackers responsible for the 9/11 outrage were Saudi Arabian, it stands to reason that the US would take the kingdom to task. Instead, Washington turned its ire on Afghanistan and Iraq. How could that be? In fact, it made sense. America is Saudi's biggest oil customer and didn't want it to stop flowing, the more than 3,000 dead at New York's Twin Towers notwithstanding.
Action-packed
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/06/2018
» When a popular author passes away, his/her estate seeks a replacement to keep generating income. Hopefully, one who can step into the shoes with nary a squeak. Alas, there have been more than a few squeaks and the replacement -- a competent scribe for the stories he's accustomed to writing -- is unable to make the change. The estate may try others with the same result.