27 Marḥeshwan 5769: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women/Shopping Reminder Day

Greetings.

Worthy causes of the day: “TELL EPA TO REGULATE GREENHOUSE GASES UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT” and “Stop Unfair Practices by Credit Card Companies”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Secret Santa strikes again on NJ parkway”: Curious twist on decorating for Christmas.
   
2. “Outcry as songs are re-written for anti-Israel carol concert at famous church”: As it is written:

   Organisers of a Christmas carol concert being held in a famous church have been condemned for rewriting traditional verses to attack Israel.
   
   Far from bringing tidings of comfort and joy, the participants will instead sing about ‘war crimes’, ‘assassinations’ and the ‘oppression’ of Palestinians.

   Not only do many Christians find this detestable for rather missing the whole point of “good will on earth” and “peace towards men”, being highly inaccurate, and not helping in the least towards bringing an actual peace to the Middle East, but the real irony is that when Jesus was born, Israel was actually occupied—by the Romans. This ought to be blatantly obvious to anyone who has read the Gospels. The Gospels testify to Judea being a Jewish area, whether anti-Semites want to admit it or not. No “Palestinian” people is ever mentioned in the Gospels or the rest of the New Testament, which is rather embarrassing to modern “Palestinian” claims of having any rights to the area. I therefore question the religious and historical literacy of everyone, both Christians and secular Jews, participating in and supporting this concert.
   
3. “The family that dines together”
   
4. I know that Google AdSense is going to react evilly to this, but I cannot resist posting this criticism of The Secret, particularly its “law of attraction”: “The Secret - I Got Your Secret Right Here - Vinny Verelli”:
   
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Economic Pressure (1980)”
  
• “Scientists add emotions to robotic head”
  
• “Can nobody make a sandwich like McDonald's?”׃ No, I am not making this up. Here is the patent discussed in the article.
  
• “Musical mystery: Who abandoned piano in the woods?”
  
• “Live Piracy Map 2008”: Interesting use of Google Maps. Looks like the Yemenite navy really sucks.
  
• “Plenty of takers for man's basement pile of coal”
  
• “Mt Rushmore Hall of Records”
  
• This Modern World 2008-11-24
  
• “Alibhai-Brown's Media Outrage”
  

Today’s weird thing is “How the Death Star Works”. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron