Most terrorism by factions in or at the edges of the Islamic world(s) is usually occasioned by fanatics who act in defense of Allah against heretics, the religious "other," and "infidels" who are seen or claimed to be blasphemers.
Shareholder meetings are not usually the occasion for utter candor -- or for that matter, arch sarcasm -- by chief executives.
Merce's birthday was usually the occasion for major fund-raising glitterfests, and there was never any question of his having enough to eat.
Dinner, served in the late afternoon, was usually an occasion to gather his daughter Martha and her 12 children, along with the inevitable visitors.
THE collapse of a major financial institution is usually an occasion for hand-wringing and tut-tutting over potential job losses, lower consumer spending and missed mortgage payments.
Celebrated as the "October victory" by Egyptians — despite the fact that Egypt's military advances were quickly reversed — the day is usually an occasion for martial pageantry and patriotic chest-thumping.
THE holiday season is usually an occasion for a traditional feast — be it roast beef, turkey, goose or other game — but an unusual flourish, even a small one, will brighten up the meal.
A papal visit is usually an occasion for the small Christian population in the Middle East to gather, but Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the top Roman Catholic official in neighboring Lebanon, is not expected to travel to Syria to see the pope.
Ever since Chaplin's The Kid, when a man is left to care for a child in a movie, it's usually an occasion for comedy or redemption and sometimes both.
So the question of just what Mr. Buffett saw in Mr. Sokol — and why he has supported him publicly — will surely be a persistent topic of conversation this weekend in Omaha, at the usually jubilant occasion known as the Woodstock of Capitalism.
