Category → General interest
Kim Jong dead, long live Kim Jong?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died this week, and his designated successor is his 27-year-old son, Kim Jong-eun. Well, that’s a minor difference and easy enough to learn.
The real question is, will his youth make him more sane, or less sane, than his father? It’s too early to tell. One could only hope for a greater degree of sanity with the new regime. Then again, there’s that saying about the apple not falling far from the crazy tree.
Or words to that effect. All I know is, from all the intrigue that seems to be surrounding this change of power in North Korea, I wouldn’t want to be the one charged with giving the man new life insurance rates. Yikes.
Anti-Qaddafi forces seem to be gaining ground
Forces aligned against Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi needs more than acne products that work, these days. As unrest in Libya grows, it appears anti-Qaddafi forces have taken control of an ever-growing area, including a town located only 30 miles away from the capital of Tripoli.
Qaddafi remains insistent on staying in control of his country, and has been waging a bloody path through anyone who dares oppose him. If we had a freedom-loving president, he would find a way to aid anti-Qaddafi forces in their efforts to bring freedom to Libya and an end to gross human rights abuses.
But hey, we have a president who’s willing to sit down with such dictators “without pre-conditions.” Translation: You’re on your own, anti-Qaddafi forces.
Farrakhan demagogues again
Nation of Islam loudmouth Louis Farrakhan never lets an opportunity for demagoguery against the US go to waste; he’s now sounding off about how the uprisings in the Middle East will soon come to the US.
Apparently unhappy that US President Barak Obama is not black enough, Islamic enough, or anti-American enough, Farrakhan is making it known that he still hates the US and wants to see an Islamic US rise from the ashes of the JudeoChristian US.
Yeah, sure, whatever. Take your meds, OK? And stop wearing nurses uniforms, Minister Farrakhan. They make your ankles look fat.
Another politicized Oscars
Well, no surprise, but Hollywood liberals politicized the Oscars this year. Again.
The only real surprise to this is who did it. It was not a loudmouth, ego-inflated star like Alec Baldwin. It was a loudmouthed, ego-inflated cinematographer, instead; and one who needed the best diet pills available, from all appearances.
Winning cinematographer and Hollywood-dweller Wally Pfister decided he had more insight into what’s good for Wisconsin than, well, Wisconsinites. Tilting his lance at Governor Scott Walker’s face-off with state unions, Pfister used his win to pontificate to the unwashed masses, saying, “I think that what is going on in Wisconsin is kind of madness right now.”
Hey, we get it; you’re a union guy and you’re showing solidarity. But you’re not a Wisconsin taxpayer, so just hush up, will you?
Koran-burning Florida pastor is an idiot
WonderfulPessimist.com is a bastion of conservative political discourse, and we’re not changing out stripes any time soon; but I have to say that the Florida pastor who threatened to hold a public burning of the Islamic holy book, the Koran, is a complete idiot. Am I pro-Koran and anti-Bible? Not at all. But to create a big fuss like this is just plain dumb.
Sure, he has postponed his plans, but it has nevertheless sparked a bunch of Islamic counter-protests around the world that are resulting in some very real deaths. Does this fellow have the Constitutional right to burn the Koran, or any other book he wants? Sure. And I’m not going to say that he doesn’t have the RIGHT to do it.
But I will say, at the same time, that it’s a completely idiotic act. It’s also not very Messiah-like for a fellow who claims to be following the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible. Yeshua (Jesus) taught that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and that’s true; but it’s a thin response and the Bible actually serves up a better parallel to this situation.
The Florida preacher’s desire to burn a Koran stems from left-over September 11 anger, especially in the wake of a new potential idiot move by government – establishing an Islamic mosque on the site of the terrorist attack. All of these events are filled with emotion, but what is the best response? (Short of advising them all to try a course of HCG shots Austin-style?)
Well, there is a parallel found in the book of Genesis. One of the patriarchs, Jacob (later to be renamed Israel) had twelve sons, and he also had at least one daughter. One day, as Jacob and his sons are away in the field, a prince from a neighboring village happens upon Abraham’s daughter, Dinah, and rapes her. It’s a terrible crime, no doubt about it.
So how do Abraham’s sons respond? Well, Hamor, the father of the rapist-prince, and Abraham sit down and negotiate a peace agreement. The deal is that Hamor and his son, Shechem, as well as their entire village, agree to merge their tribe with Abraham’s, and even offer to cast aside the worship of their gods and embrace the God of Jacob.
The brothers of Dinah deal dishonestly with Shechem and Hamor, and tell them it’s a deal, so long as they agree to be circumcised. This was, at the time, a painful procedure that would leave a person pretty much helpless for three or four days. But they agreed.
So, when the pain of circumcision was at its height and the city was defenseless, Simeon and Levi invade the city, killing every single man in it, while they are completely helpless.
Abraham’s reaction is not one of joy over the victory over his enemies, but anger at his unwise sons, who let their rage over their sister’s rape drive them to an act that was far beyond the scope of the original crime. To wipe out an entire village for one man’s crime was not the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” proportionate response that the Torah outlined.
Famously, he lamented, “You have made me stink in the eyes of my neighbors.”
In the same way, this Florida pastor is making Christians and Americans stink in the eyes of their neighbors. Not all Muslims are terrorists; in fact, it’s a pretty small percentage who are. To burn, or even threaten to burn, the Islamic holy book may bring this Florida pastor some sort of momentary satisfaction, but it’s the sort of act that can spur – and has even begun to spur – all sorts of hatred.
I’m not saying the terrorists would have left us alone had this fellow not threatened to do this; but it is an act that will insult and offend a whole lot more than just the terrorists.
And that’s why it’s unwise. And that’s why this fellow’s a complete idiot.
Bosnian teenager behind “puppy tossing” video
A Bosnian teenage girl has become infamous in a way she probably never expected after posting a video of her tossing a half-dozen puppies violently into a river, where they presumably drown. The video, posted earlier this week, set off a worldwide furor because of the girl’s cruelty; in the video she is seen to be laughing as she tosses the puppies into the river.
Now, Bosnian authorities have come forward and identified a teenage girl from the town of Bugojno, Bosnia, as the offender who apparently caused the death of six helpless puppies. According to Bosnian law, she could face a fine between anywhere from $18.50 to $6,410 USD equivalent, though it is unclear if that is for the whole event, or if it could be multiplied by the number of puppies killed.
A separate law against animal cruelty could add an even stiffer financial penalty, but it remains unclear whether Bosnian officials will be able to do more than fine the girl and/or her parents over the incident. Certainly one would hope some sort of educational component, counseling, and a stiffer penalty might be part of the solution. After all, no one that callous could understand the finer points of animal cruelty, loss of life or even a death benefit definition. It’s all a bit sad.
Van der Sloot a serial killer?
Five years after the murder/disappearance of Natalee Holloway, Joran Van der Sloot has been arrested in connection to the murder of Stephany Flores in Chile, and investigators behind his arrest have labeled him a serial killer.
Van der Sloot was the primary suspect five years ago when Holloway disappeared in Aruba, her body never recovered. A lack of evidence connecting him to the crime kept the Dutch national free of jail, if not exactly free of suspicion. Van der Sloot allegedly snapped the neck of Flores in his Lima hotel room on the fifth anniversary of Holloway’s disappearance.
According to online reports, “Flores, 21, was beaten so brutally that her neck was broken, and her battered body bore multiple bruises and scratches. No weapon was found, indicating the killer used his bare hands.”
When Holloway disappeared, Van der Sloot escaped due to a lack of connecting evidence; that’s not likely to be the outcome this time. Even a visit to www.naturaltestosterone.org won’t save Slick Vandy this time.
Egypt to strip citizenship from men married to Israeli Jewish women
An Egyptian judge has supported a ruling that will allow Egypt to strip Egyptian men married to Israeli Jewish women of their Egyptian citizenship, a landmark ruling that stands in stark contrast to the official peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which has been in place since the late 1970s.
Judge Mohammed al-Husseini, who allegedly could use a good dose of acne body wash, ruled that this ruling would not apply to Egyptian men married to Israeli Arab women.
“The case for (Egyptian) men married to Israeli Arab women is different to those married to Israeli women of Jewish origin because (Israeli Arabs) have lived under Israeli occupation,” Husseini told the court.
Husseini has ruled that each case would be considered separately, but as a judge on the Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court, his ruling cannot be appealed.
Between Helen Thomas and Judge Husseini, what the heck, did the whole world wake up on the anti-Semitic side of the bed today? Yeesh!
Helen Thomas displays anti-Semitic bias
White House press corps veteran Helen Thomas has long been known for her outspokenness. Many of my generation remember her questioning then-President Bill Clinton why his presidency was “going down the drain.” That would have seemed to seal her fate, but here we are a couple decades later and the 89-year-old is still there, giving journalism and the White House a bruised and dishonorable appearance.
Her latest gaffe – which would cost anyone else their job in a hot second – has nothing to do with suggesting the best fat burning supplement or anything useful like that, but has the old Hearst Newspapers columnist huffing and puffing with a decidedly anti-Semitic flair.
Reportedly, Thomas said the Jewish people should, “get the hell out of Palestine” and “go back home to Germany and Poland.”
The uneducated, idiotic nature of her comments should qualify her for immediate dismissal by Hearst Newspapers, but any reprisal is unlikely. In fact, given the lack of any word of condemnation by the anti-Israel Obama White House, look for Thomas to be nominated and likely win the Nobel Peace Prize for her latest gem of hate speech.
Netanyahu turns to Torah in Jerusalem debate
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a recent address to the Israeli Parliament, took the top fat burners to the political debate over who has the most spiritual connection to Jerusalem. He indicated that the Tenakh (Old Testament) refers to Jerusalem over 850 times. He then pointed out that Jerusalem is mentioned only 142 times in the Brit Hadasha (New Testament) and – maybe – once in the Koran.
Jerusalem is home to the Islamic Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site.
In explaining his turn to the Scriptures for connection to the city of Jerusalem, Netanyahu explained he was attempting to underscore the significant connection between the land and people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967′s Six Day War; they had previously held West Jerusalem since 1948, when the United Nations re-formed the state of Israel as a homeland to the Jewish people in the wake of the Holocaust of World War II.
Fifteen years later, Clinton still jousting with Limbaugh
The Oklahoma City Bombing was a national tragedy grossly mishandled by then-President Bill Clinton, who disingenuously tried to blame talk radio and Rush Limbaugh for the event. Now, fifteen years later, Clinton’s still jousting with Limbaugh long after anybody really cares.
Of course, no matter the outdoor décor they are surrounded by, Limbaugh certainly played into Clinton’s hands on Friday. To illustrate the absurdity of blaming talk radio and Limbaugh for the Oklahoma City bombing, Rush on Friday referred to a recent Clinton speech and said any future acts of domestic terrorism are, ipso facto, Clinton’s fault.
Of course, as they always do, Clinton, his handlers and his willing media accomplishes missed the irony of the parody and are taking it seriously. Too seriously, claiming Limbaugh meant it literally, rather than as he intended it… as an illustration of Clinton’s demagoguery of fifteen years ago.
What else is new?
Announcing Microsoft Taxation 2010!
Microsoft Vice President for Trustworthy Computing Scott Charney today unveiled the software giant’s latest venture: forming government taxation policy. Charney announced in San Francisco at a security conference that he believes the best way to pay for cyber-security programs is to… tax the American people via an Internet usage tax.
Even though the Web has thrived and been an economy-saver in many respects by existing free of most such measures, Microsoft Taxation 2010 would end the so-called “free ride.” Even Adipex reviews are more intriguing than a Charney speech, but this one raised a few eyebrows… one would presume MS Taxation 2010 would eventually be rolled into the Microsoft Office Suite – Big Government Edition.
Not to be outdone, Steve Jobs of Apple announced a new micro-gadget that would lock taxed voters out of Web space, to make more room for iTunes on the ‘net. The name of the new device? iWithoutRepresentation! Of course.
