Ominous signs and portents from the Muslim world

Very unpleasant to watch, but it must be done.  Here we go:

Turkey:

Battle lines are being drawn across the Middle East.

On one side sit the forces of stability, with Saudi Arabia at the helm. On the other sit the forces of revolution, with Iran prominent in leadership. The alliances they lead are well known: the Gulf Sheikhdoms and Jordan align with the Saudis; Syria, Hamas, and Hizbollah with Iran. While both sides are equally capable of espousing Islamism and of violating the most basic human rights, the difference between them is very real. The Saudi-led bloc is quite content with the existing global order and the petrodollars that it bestows. The Iranian-led bloc is committed to toppling that order.

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More new additions to the library

Imperial Roman Legionary AD 161-284, by Ross Cowan
Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome (2nd Edition), by M.C. Bishop and J.C.N. Coulston

UPDATED -- I want answers (It's Alexander the Great; see comments)

A follow up to my original post asking for help identifying this guy:

Unidentified bust in Rome's Aurelian wall on the Via Campagna caddycorner from the Hotel Victoria Roma.

The possibilities that I put forth were, since he is in the Aurelian Wall, like, the Emperor Aurelian (duh!), along with Alexander the Great, the Eastern Roman general Belisarius, and the Renaissance artist Raphael.
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A Pantheon Sundial

Yes, Rome has party places like the beautiful Piazza Navona (site of the Emperor Domitian's circus, now it has a Cafe Domitian), the Spanish Steps (by which I was not impressed) and the Trevi Fountain (no one goes there -- it's too crowded -- though it has a great shop for Roman legion T-shirts), but to me nothing beats the party at the Pantheon piazza (aka the Piazza della Rotunda).  Restaurants, music, singling, dancing, laughing, happiness, all underneath the Latin words "M.AGRIPPA.L.F.COS.TERTIUM.FECIT," which means "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, having been consul three times, built it."  This was Marcus Agrippa, Octavius Caesar Augustus' right hand man, who built it with Augustus after the Battle of Actium (Azio, in Italian).  The Pantheon has been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries.  This one dates from the Emperor Trajan (aka Trajanus, Traianus, Traiano; Trajan is very popular in Rome, second to only Julius Caesar) and should be credited to his architect Apollodorus of Damascus, who apparently preserved Agrippa's original work.  The Emperor Hadrian completed the reconstruction and kept Agrippa's name on the facade.
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Judicial independence? Or infallibility?

I have been getting caught up on my past issues of Indiana Lawyer and I came across an article from June discussing the impact of unpopular decisions like Barnes v. State on the judiciary.  The article is called "Touched by Controversy: 'Unpopular' rulings, public outcry can test courts and judicial independence." Sigh!

In the history of court controversies, a recent ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court has created public outcry and calls for change in ways that few others do.

But it’s not alone.

The courts have faced a handful of issues through the years pitting judges against public opinion, from a federal ruling on school desegregation in the 1970s to the governor criticizing a ruling that struck down the state’s voter ID law as unconstitutional in 2009. Trial and appellate judges once faced common law liens on their property from people upset about particular decisions, and the judiciary has stood up to attacks from lawmakers and residents who’ve taken issue with a holding that’s seen as “unpopular.”

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One picture explains why I love Rome

It's a Pantheon Party.  Every day.  Every night.  Antiquity and modernity mix in one swirl of fun!

Latest addition to the library

Rome: Day One, by Andrea Carandini