Beware of a three-hour tour

Greetings.

Jewish date:  28 ’Av 5769.

Today’s holidays:  Feast Days of Roderic Borgia and Pope Alexander VI.

Today’s quasi-holiday:  Bad Poetry Day.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:  More religious intolerance and paranoia:  “India: Hindu Extremists Attack Pastors, Manhandle Women”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Meet Bustadrive, a home-made hard disk destroyer”
  
• “In Need of a Reality Check”
  

Today’s weird thing is Gilligan's Island the Musical.  (It seems they will turn anything into a musical these days.)  Included on the site are some samples of songs.  Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

Beware of robots

Greetings.

Jewish date:  24 ’Av 5769.

Today’s holidays:  Forefeast of the Dormition.

Worthy cause of the day:  “Repower America | Email Your Senator”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. Religious oppression never ends:  “S Korea deports Falun Gong pair”, “KYRGYZSTAN: 'Don't meet for worship'”, “India hit over religious violence”, “Girl Flees Father for Religious Freedom” (video)
2. “Mayoral Candidate Anna Falling Wants Creationism Exhibit”:  She wants an exhibit promoting creationism at the zoo in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  And she is treating it as a campaign issue.  Putting aside the fact that creationism is wrong (as I have noted over and over again), how is this not a violation of separation of church and state?

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Hamas is conducting a “smile spin” for the West, particularly the United States”
  
• “Facial Expressions: East Doesn't Meet West”
  

Today’s weird thing is The Robot Egg.  Enjoy, share the weirdness, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

9 ’Av

Jewish date:  9 ’Av 5769.

Today’s holiday:  The Fast of 9 ’Av.

Relevant to today’s holiday:  A message from the National Council of Young Israel.

Today’s quasi-holiday:  National Cheesecake Day (very poor choice).

Worthy causes of the day:  “CNN: Dump Lou Dobbs”, “CNN: Deal with your Lou Dobbs problem”, “5% FOR THE WORLD'S MOST VULNERABLE:  ASK YOUR SENATORS”, and “Tell the Gang of 6: Give back your dirty insurance money.” I had not planned to post today at all, but all these worthy causes ganged up on me.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. More religious oppression:  “Hindu Temple and families ransacked and looted”, “UZBEKISTAN: 'Joy' children's holiday camp attacked”, and “Sudan 'trousers trial' adjourned”.  I am not making that last one up; in Sudan, they arrested a woman for wearing pants.  It may sound like a joke, but Islamic morality police are anything but funny, especially when someone may get 40 lashes just for dressing wrong.  One may think it not right for women to wear pants (I suppose), but surely Sudan has more urgent problems to deal with, e.g., genocide?
2. The strangest “honor killing” of which I have heard yet:  “Rights groups: Gaza man suspected of killing daughter for owning cellphone”.  Anything I could say to explain this would be pure guesswork.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Despite confession, Kasab remains 'gunman' for NYT”
  

Weird things will resume after the Nine Days.

Aaron

3 ’Av

Greetings.

Jewish date:  3 ’Av 5769.

Today’s holiday:  The Nine Days.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  Cousin’s Day, Pioneer Day.

Worthy causes of the day:  “Protect Hawaiian Sea Turtles”, “Obama Finally Admits That Only Single Payer Health Care Will Work”, and “Demand Strong Climate and Energy Legislation Now!”

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Naked girls plough fields in India for rain”:  I cannot make something like this up.  I also suspect that some critical information is left out of this article because it is not obvious why naked girls plowing fields would be embarrassing to the Hindu weather gods—embarrassing to the girls would be more obvious—or why an embarrassed god would respond with rain rather than, say, a lightning bolt.
   
2. “Adventist Origins of Young Earth Creationism”:  There is a critical distinction between a popular belief and a historically authentic belief.  Creationism is currently a popular belief among Fundamentalist Christians, but this essay argues that early Fundamentalism did not reject evolution or the Earth being billions of years old and that modern creationism actually got started in Seventh-Day Adventism.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Why False Positive Results Are So Common In Medicine”
  
• “Expulsion of Jews (1992)”
  
• “He Hath Spoken”
  

Weird things will resume after the Nine Days.  Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

Beware of exotic silverware

Greetings.

Jewish date:  18 Tammuz 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Friday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time.

Today’s quasi-holiday:  Don’t Step on a Bee Day.

Worthy cause of the day:  “Guarantee Every Child Has Access to the Services They Need” and “Urge the chief of the Forest Service to end the policy of hazing and killing buffalo.”

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “now would be a good time to call :”
   
   and “Apparently, Basement cat felt that 4”
   
   I really have no idea how black cats ended up as symbols of evil.  If anyone knows, please tell me.
2. “Plan to ban Uluru climb sparks debate”:  Uluru is a mountain sacred to Australian aborigines.  It is understandable that some would prefer that people did not treat it as a mere tourist attraction and challenge in mountain climbing.
   
3. More religious oppression:  “UZBEKISTAN: Banned from meeting fellow-believers”, “Malaysia Sikhs lose fight against man's conversion”, “Hamas tries to detain woman on beach in feared imposing of strict Islamic law”.
   
4. “Syria Increases Penalty for Honour Killings”:  This article is remarkable for two reasons.  The first is that the title is misleading, given that the increase in penalty is to a mere two years in jail.  (Bernie Madoff got 150 years, and he did even kill anyone.)  The second is that the article completely fails to mention anything about the, shall we say, provenance of honor killings.  Syrians are predominantly Muslim, and Muslims are the group most associated with honor killings.  They do occur occasionally among other groups, but Syria is not record as having appreciable numbers of Sikhs or Hindus.  Nowhere in the text is there any mention of Islam, Muslims, or Arabs at all.  I smell whitewashing.
   
5. “Pope orders reform after Holocaust denial flap”:  Took him long enough.
   
6. “Hindus demand removal of 'offensive ad' by Burger King”:  People do not usually approve of their deity being used to sell food.  Not to mention the idea is tackier than climbing a sacred mountain.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Blog based on Time Magazine’s cover story on Divorce”
  
• “Michael Jackson”
  
• “Orchestra plays live soundtrack to horse race”
  
• “Bottled up: Data on contaminants in bottled water still lacking, government says”
  
• “Frenemy, locavore among new words in Webster's”
  
• “Presidential Commandments (1989)”
  
• “Debunking the Domino Theory”
  
• “Anonymous Sources on Resettling Refugees”
  
• “Turtles crawl on runway, delay flights at JFK”
  
• “Did China's Nuclear Tests Kill Thousands and Doom Future Generations?”
  

Today’s weird things have been prompted by “Silverware in Conjunction”:

Given enough humans and enough time, they will invent practically anything.  I was aware before this of sporks, but now I have discovered that people have gone to the trouble of inventing and even selling spifes, knorks, and what this quasi-Venn diagram calls “knipoonorks”:  Splayds.  Enjoy (or wonder why such things were invented in the first place), share the weirdness, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

The meaning of life

Greetings.

Jewish date:  15 Tammuz 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time.

Today’s quasi-holiday:  Father and Daughter Take a Walk Day.

Worthy cause of the day:  “A NUCLEAR FREE WORLD”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “ISNA's Reform Hasn't Shed It of Radical Ideologues”:  Whether or not the “true” Islam, is pro-terrorism, people who are pro-terrorism are not our friends and should not be treated as such.
   
2. “World's oldest Christian Bible digitized”:  (Submitted by David.)  The Codex Sinaiticus, a copy of the Christian Bible in Greek from the 4th century, has now been made freely available on-line.  This should be a boon to scholars.
   
3. “TV gameshow offers atheists 'salvation'”:  This is at best in poor taste.  Religion is about the truth, not a contest for followers.
   
4. More intolerance:  “Three die in Karnataka violence” and “Faisalabad, a Christian tortured and detained on false charges of blasphemy”.
   
5. For those of you who were wondering about the Ethiopian Orthodox Church revealing the Ark of the Covenant, they claim they were not going to do that.  See  “Ethiopian Ark of the Covenant Not To Be Revealed After All”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Collision Course (1989)”
  
• “10 Business Lessons I Learned from Playing Dungeons & Dragons”
  
• “No Holds Barred: The Eulogy you won't hear for Michael Jackson”
  

Today’s weird thing is a little religious humor:  “LOLZ, Cheezebugers and Naps?”.

Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

Beware of Soundwave

Greetings.

Jewish date:  6 Tammuz 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  Paul Bunyan Day, Summer Fairy Fun Day.

Worthy cause of the day:  “Ask your Senators to Co-Sponsor the forthcoming Senate version of the Mercury Pollution Reduction Act”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. New tactic:  “Churches use social networking to sell themselves to a new generation”.
2. This is somewhat disturbing, and I do not seem to be alone in thinking so:  “Seeking funds and congregants, the Church of England turns steeples into billboards”.
3. “Clergy appeal over organ donors”
4. More religious intolerance:  “Pakistan: Tortured Christian Languishing On False Charges”.
5. “Jewish school broke race laws by refusing boy whose mother had converted”:  This case is an example of blatant judicial incompetence.  A boy has been refused admission to a Jewish school for the simple reason that he is not Jewish, period.  To be Jewish under Jewish law (not “custom) one has to be either born Jewish (i.e., one’s mother is Jewish when one is being born) or a convert.  His mother is a “Progressive” convert, and since “Progressive” is a gloss for “heretical”, her conversion is invalid.  Therefore the boy is not Jewish.  Calling it a race issue is untenable, as no one cares what race the boy or his mother belong to.  Judaism has no concept of race and welcomes converts of every ancestral background.  What Judaism does have a concept of is that converts must seriously and genuinely accept upon themselves to believe in Judaism and practice it.  What this case is really about is an attempt by heretics to abuse the law by mischaracterizing their case to try to force people to accept their heresy as valid.  Shame on them!

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Car Exhaust Associated With Premature Births in Southern California”
• ““You take it – No, you take it”: the Bir Tawil Trapezoid”
• “Smartphones Get Killer App”
• “The tragic end of Michael Jackson”
• “Special Report: CBC Issues On-Air Clarification After HRC Complaint”

Today’s weird thing is Today’s weird thing is the text a reply to the recent statement by Autobot Commander Optimus Prime, included below.  Enjoy (or be scared or disgusted or something) and share the weirdness.

Aaron

---

Greetings, people of Earth.

There have been numerous reports in the human media regarding the recent assault on the Cybertonian embassy-at-large.  These have been, at best, inaccurate.  Much of the information in these reports was supplied by Optimus Prime, who was removed from our custody in the attack.  Although those controlling the media in much of Earth have been uncooperative in providing an unprejudiced view, we, the duly appointed representatives of the Republic of Cybertron, feel it important to correct these errors.  A number of commonly reported points are inaccurate, not only in sanctioned Autobot press releases, but also statements personally made by Optimus Prime himself, such as in his recent appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.  A few of the more important ones are addressed below.

• Optimus Prime was not a political prisoner, and neither was any Autobot in our custody.  Cybertron recognizes no political parties and allows full freedom of conscience.  All citizens are permitted opinions on matters of governance.  It is actions, however, on which they have run afoul of the law.  All the Autobots who settled on Earth have been targeted for arrest for serious criminal acts.  Copies of the warrant for their arrest and removal have been presented in many nations, and the original print version has been delivered to the headquarters of the United Nations.
• The crimes listed on the warrant are sufficiently grievous to require an interstellar police action.  The presence of the Autobots on Earth constitutes an illegal settlement under Cybertonian law.  The Autobots left Cybertron with no intention of returning and intentionally settled on an inhabited planet without prior consent of its inhabitants.  The support of autocratic governments, mercenary actions, subversion of democracy, and murder are also illegal.  Under Cybertonian law we have universal jurisdiction in these matters.  Out of respect, we have been minimal in our intrusions into the territories of other countries.  The incursion into United States territory that resulted in the arrest of Optimus Prime actually saved him from suicide, for which all should be thankful.  Human governments also use such practices; “extraordinary rendition” by the United States sets the precedent for its acceptability.
• At no time was Optimus Prime or any other Autobot in our custody mistreated, let alone tortured.  All coercive practices are forbidden in interrogation by Cybertonian law.  Aside from moral concerns, it does not produce reliable results, whereas more appetitive methods may be more effective.  The brig aboard the Cybertonian embassy, which has been enlarged to contain the Autobot population on Earth, is reasonably spacious, and a basic level of power, nutrition, and comfort is guaranteed.  Additional privileges are provided based on cooperation and progress at reform.  The goal of imprisonment is rehabilitation, and many Autobots who have been arrested have been successfully graduated into law-abiding citizens.  Several Autobots who have surrendered to us claimed to have done so as they found this a better alternative to continuing to live under oppressive Autobot rule.
  It should be noted that Optimus Prime was not cooperative during his stay.  We made numerous attempts to counsel him and treat his psychological issues.  As has been previously noted, Optimus has had to cope with conflicting roles, which he was not able to resolve adequately.  Had he been more cooperative, we believe he could have been successfully treated.  However, he spent most of his time while in custody refusing to interact with anyone.  His lack of progress is sufficiently serious that we have already sent warning to certain former human associates that it is not safe to be near him.  Jazz was similarly uncooperative.  He made numerous unsuccessful escape attempts and was unable to converse without making elaborate and improbable threats.  Regardless of the situation, he would divert to talking of politics and religion, especially how the Autobot god Primus would destroy the “Decepticons.”  His progress was equally small.
• Media reports of how the assault on the Cybertonian embassy-at-large was conducted are at best incomplete.  The Autobots used diversionary tactics, assembling several robots in an isolated area that we were monitoring.  Several officers under the command of Constable Starscream were dispatched to arrest them.  The Autobot assembly included several hidden participants who emerged when the officers arrived, including Huffer, Ultra Magnus, and Inferno.  The Autobots were able to effectively occupy the officers while the real assault by a contingent of flying Autobots occurred.  This included Silverbolt, Powerglide, and Buttmonkey, among the largest Autobots in existence.  Following a missile strike, they were able to penetrate the embassy and free several Autobot prisoners from the brig.  Not as many were freed as they portrayed (actually just six), and there were four Autobots executed by other Autobots during the incident.  This included Mirage, who may have been seen as a traitor for his cooperation.  During the attack, the Autobots used flamethrowers similar to the one cobbled together by Arcee.  The damage inflicted on those guarding the embassy-at-large was severe. Ambassador Megatron was among those critically injured, and three guards were murdered.
• An attack on an embassy is generally considered forbidden on Earth, especially one which is unprovoked.  However, this is not the most disturbing aspect of the operation.  We have analyzed the remains of the missile and determined it that was built by the Military Arms Research Syndicate (MARS), a weapons supplier with numerous customers, including the United States military.  A marking on a recovered missile fragment indicates it came from the terrorist organization Cobra, which is responsible for the deaths of thousands of humans.  As we have previously revealed, the Autobots are associated with the arms dealer James McMullen XXIV, head of MARS and frequent associate of the Cobra commander.  We suggest McMullen used his connections with Cobra to help the Autobots with the assault.  McMullen regularly receives income from the United States government’s use of the Autobots, of which he is considered their “owner.”  He thus is motivated to protect his investment in them.

These are difficult times for the Autobots.  In the schism of the Autobots two years ago, several on both sides were severely damaged.  The true Autobot commander, Ironhide, was damaged beyond repair.  Ultra Magnus, the nominal Autobot commander for the humans, proved completely incapable, and for some time the Dinobot Grimlock was effectively in charge.  Bumblebee, the Autobot communicator, was also damaged but was repaired and repainted.  He has taken over as Autobot commander under the name “Goldbug.”  The Autobot spymaster Elita One appears to still be operating in that role, though we have reason to believe she has expanded her role to more fully monitor the Autobot population.  The rebuilding of the Autobot forces has been slow following the schism, especially as Ratchet and Wheeljack were themselves injured.  Neither of them is a true medic, and First Aid, who has more of a medical background, has been overwhelmed by the complexity of the repairs.

The number of Autobots still under the control of the hierarchy may be more diminished than previously believed.  The renegade Autobots in hiding have been reformatting themselves, usually through cannibalizing existing vehicles.  The discarded parts, of course, must go somewhere.  Piles of exterior plates have been found in some junkyards, the removed pieces of Tracks were located in a storage unit, and parts from Wheelie were left in the backlot tour of Universal Studios, where they were unnoticed as such for several weeks.  Some of these pieces have ended up in the hands of mechanics and dealers and have made their way into the marketplace.  There are photographs showing that former talk show host Jay Leno has purchased the discarded exterior plates of Arcee and Hot Rod and had them mounted on new vehicles.  The sheer number of Transformer parts appearing on eBay indicates that the number of renegade Autobots is very large, perhaps a quarter of the population previously housed at Groom Lake.  With so many Autobots missing, their value as a fighting force is severely decreased.  It is little wonder that the Autobot hierarchy wished to retrieve some of their most skilled warriors which were in our custody, such as Jazz and Sideswipe.

Public relations with the humans have also suffered.  The new United States president Barack Obama has said he is willing to talk to the renegade Autobots and the Cybertonian embassy-at-large, contradicting the unyielding and simplistic views of his predecessor.  The behavior of some Autobots in public has also gotten worse.  The Dinobots in particular have roamed farther from the Groom Lake facility than previously and have caused traffic problems on both local streets and Interstate 15.  Snarl and Slag have frequently taken it upon themselves to “inspect” vehicles to determine if they are “Decepticons.”  This has resulted in several innocent motorists having their vehicles damaged.  There was also an incident at Nellis Air Force Base where Grimlock held up operations as he thoroughly inspected the aircraft for signs of “Decepticon” infiltration.  Additionally, Cliffjumper and Brawn have taken to making embarrassing public statements.  It is understandable humans do not like being called “puny” or told that “you’ll make great pets” and especially not that “they make a cool crunching noise when my tires roll over them.”  They have also been less than tactful making statements such as telling humans “you look like a bunch of little monkeys.”  While humans are biologically classified as primates, the comparison for historical reasons may be considered racist and offensive.

The timing of the movie Transformers:  Revenge of the Fallen may relate to these factors.  It is a transparent attempt to project a more positive view of the Autobots at the expense of the “Decepticons.”  Once again, Michael Bay has returned as director, and this continues to show how little they think of the public.  Like all Michael Bay films, it is mindless and loud, with the aim of trumpeting one specific and simplistic view.  It contains all the worst elements of the first movie and multiplies them.  This one is louder, longer, has more Transformers, and is even less plausible.  The overall effect is far from satisfactory.

I will not attempt to fully describe the plot, in part because there is no point.  While the plot is semicoherent, it is so poorly told that even seasoned critics have a difficult time following it, or caring.  There is a complicated backstory that greatly adds to the length of the movie without improving it.  The movie has an evil Transformer named the Fallen (played by Razor Face) visit Earth thousands of years ago, trying to use a device to extract “energon” by destroying the sun.  The energon is supposed to be essential to Transformer reproduction and the survival of the species.  (This, of course, is silly.  All we need for that is raw materials and electricity.)  The Fallen was defeated and appears to have been living on one of Saturn’s moons, apparently not repaired in all these thousands of years.  Using a piece of the Allspark from the previous movie that was somehow (incompetently) overlooked, the “Decepticons” revive Megatron (played by Omni Imperator) and begin a plan to activate this device, which is hidden in one of the pyramids at Giza.  The situation is complicated by the death of Optimus Prime, who is the only one who can defeat the Fallen (apparently using a missile or an explosive device is never suggested as a plausible alternative), and his resurrection involves the use of magic dust found at Petra, which has to be carried by a human, on foot, in a sock, without adequate coverage (making repairs and rebooting him was never considered).   There is, of course, more to the story, but discussing it further would not make the movie sound any better.  A slight advantage to this movie over the last one is the increased number of lines given to robot characters, especially Starscream (played by Buttmonkey).  In all likelihood this was a response to demands from the Autobot actors, any of whom could easily crush Bay.  This might potentially give them a chance to be more fully developed as characters, but Bay squanders this opportunity.  So one-dimensional are all characters that some critics have made the understandable but prejudiced suggestion that the human actors are actually robots.

There are numerous points in the movie that make one seriously question what is wrong with Bay.  That he is racist is obvious.  The token Hispanic character (played by Ramón Rodríguez) is panicky and wimpy and has a humiliating scene where he appears publicly with his pants and underpants at his ankles.  While there is a token African-American character (Tyrese Gibson), he does not do much.  However, Autobot characters Mudflap and Skids (Kingfish and Crunk) are portrayed as googly-eyed, big-eared, and bucktoothed, using African-American English slang and acting out negative stereotypes (especially being characterized as illiterate, violent, and stupid), a type of portrayal which harkens back to minstrel shows.  The treatment of feminine characters is also generally negative.  Sam Witwicky’s mother (Julie White) spends most of her time onscreen being fussy and foolish.  The “Decepticon” Alice, who can make herself look like a human, acts out the femme fatale stereotype.  The Autobot Arcee, portrayed as a trio of robots who turn into motorcycles (Buttercup, Zap, and Thrillkill) gets few lines and is the only Autobot to suffer a graphic onscreen death.  (We believe this is in retaliation for the real Arcee’s leading role in the Autobot schism.)  Even the character of Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), the “good” female human, is completely uninteresting and seems to exist only to repeatedly demand her boyfriend Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) tell her he love her, give him someone to cheat on, and run in slow motion next to him from explosions.  Among all the poor acting in the movie, hers is especially wooden.  There is also a surprising amount of sex-related material, even for a movie rated PG-13 by the MPAA.  Nothing in the story is helped by portraying two dogs engaging in homosexual relations (we kid you not), nor by showing two wrecking balls hanging between Devastator’s legs like testicles (we kid you not), nor even by having a small robot humping Fox’s leg (we kid you not).  Nevertheless Bay has included such gratuitous material, which indicates much about his character.

Additionally, Bay’s view of the military is disturbing.  The United States military (with token input from Great Britain) is shown operating with impunity across the planet.  This includes intruding into independent countries such as Egypt and China without any objections.  So effective is the military that incursions can take place almost instantly regardless of location.  The United States can even order the militaries of other countries to do its bidding.  This is the same troublesome disregard and hubris which got the United States into serious trouble under the previous president George W. Bush.  Under such conditions the behavior of the “good guys” can be shocking.  The Autobots and their (United States) human allies are shown hunting down “Decepticons” across the planet and summarily executing them.  An early scene of such a robot-hunt in Shanghai has a long chase through populated areas causing considerable damage, followed by Optimus Prime dramatically parachuting in (!) and graphically killing the “Decepticon.”  Outside of an actual war, such actions, without probable cause, warrants, or opportunities to surrender peacefully, amount to police brutality and murder.  It is shocking to see the United States portrayed using a death squad, one of the crimes former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was accused of.

There is also the issue of trust and belief.  Witwicky is somehow “chosen” and destined.  The entire Autobot-human death squad changes its operation to serve his whim without any justification.  This includes soldiers hijacking an airplane, acting without authorization, and abandoning a superior in a foreign country.  This is all so Witwicky can have explosions going on all around him for his glory while he runs across a stretch of desert (without even sweating) with a sock full of magic dust.  It is difficult to imagine the military acting with that kind of disregard for the chain of command, not to mention the severe lack of justification.  Even in Iraq War II reasons were given before proceeding, albeit fraudulent ones.  It is only because people trust him so completely that this can happen, even though in the context set up by the film, his reason for what he is doing makes no sense.  (The “matrix of leadership” found in Petra is supposed to be necessary to revive Optimus.  However, it crumbles into dust at his touch.  Logically then he cannot revive Optimus.  However, he collects the magic dust anyway and is able to revive Optimus.  Why?  Because he believes he can, and this works what amounts to magic.)  None of the characters around him, though, should believe this will work but they conveniently trust him anyway.  What message people should get from this is unclear.  Perhaps Bay idealizes the gullible and the foolish.  Or perhaps they should just know who should is the “chosen one” and follow regardless of logic.  This is certainly the reasoning of many politicians who want to be supported regardless of their actions.  It is also the type of reasoning the Autobot hierarchy depends on.

This sort of movie offering is beyond libelous.  It is a love song to illegal military operations, brutality, and blindly following those who in real life would not be worthy; it is propaganda passed off as entertainment.  It is not merely a bad movie, but transcendentally bad, going beyond mere overblown plotting, stereotyping, complete lack of character development, and excessive use of explosions and special effects.  Virtually nothing that appears in this movie is remotely plausible, from the absurd way a college class is conducted (one wonders if he ever attended a college class) to alien symbols appearing all over Earth throughout history but never being noticed by archaeologists.  Bizarre events are pointlessly used the same way an addict takes drugs, from a former government agent having a secret basement full of classified material (he would never be able to accumulate so much without it being known, let alone the problem of installing the basement) to a robot committing suicide so his parts may be used by another like a magical suit of armor (such an exchange of parts would require considerable amount of time to install.)  I have even been told (credit to Microtron) that the Witwicky-Banes relationship is unlikely as “there is no way someone as boring as Shia LeBeouf could ever get someone as hot as Megan Fox.”  Unlike the previous movie, this one resorted to using computer-generated characters, such as a giant sand-sucking monster formed from multiple vehicles (“Devastator”) because the designs were ones no robot would actually take and would be difficult or impossible to engineer.  There are so many things seriously wrong that to fully explore them would require a lengthy work, and with each viewing one might find even more wrong aspects that were previously missed.  He has thus reached a state of sublime abomination that has surpassed even the worst films of Ed Wood.  He should easily win at the next Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony.

Some might enjoy this movie for its shock value, or as a form of anti-art.  However, as anything more than the basest entertainment, it works as nothing more than pro-Autobot propaganda.  Truthfulness aside, the human population has better ways to waste its time than this.

We wish you well.

--Soundwave, Cybertonian Communicator

Beware of James T. Kirk dancing

Greetings.

Jewish date:  20 Siwan 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Friday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  Crowded Nest Awareness Day, Magic Day, World Day Against Child Labour.

Worthy causes of the day:  “Protect Our Children - Every One Deserves Healthcare” and “Sign the Strengthen It Now! Clean Energy Letter”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Egypt: Policemen Sentenced To Only Five Years For Killing”:  Translation:  the law in Egypt considers the lives of Copts to be worth very little.
   
2. “Court Says Ten Commandments Monument Endorses Religion”:  Duh!
   
3. More religious intolerance:  “Ahmadiyah refugees kept in misery, seek Jakarta help”, “Orissa: tensions in Kandhamal. Christians still targeted by extremists”.
   
4. “Tribes lose Snowbowl battle”:  Thus is it written:
   
   

   Would artificial snow made from purified wastewater defile a mountain Native Americans hold sacred?

   All those who cannot see how “yes” would be a reasonable answer, stand on your heads.  The idea of skiing on sacred mountains is itself hard enough to imagine.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “King Hussein's Legacy (1999)”
  
• “Boomerang”
  
• “Being Green: 11 Environmentally Friendly Habits”
  
• “Wild Orbits: Stars Not From Around Here”
  
• “Fire fighters battle snakes in police station”:  I cannot make anything like this up.
  
• “Deceased Albanians still eligible to vote”:  I would not dare make something like this up.
  

Today’s weird thing is The James T. Kirk Macarena Page, which is recommended(?) by William Shatner in his book Get a Life.  They even quote him on it.  Enjoy (or be horrified), share the weirdness, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

Beware of the man in the steel mask

Greetings.

Jewish date:  12 Siwan 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Thursday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  Clean Air Day, International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

Worthy cause of the day:  “Support the U.S.'s Decision to Join the UN Human Rights Council” and “Put a People-Powered Internet First”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Drought-hit India's frog wedding”:  I could have easily made this today’s weird thing, because I have no clue why a Hindu rain god would be appeased by a wedding for two frogs.  Then again, arguably what any god wants is somewhat arbitrary.  A real deity (one not of our universe) would have no physical need for anything we could provide.  As such, anything a real deity would find meritorious would have to fall into other categories, such as wisdom, inculcation of proper behavior, or beauty.  Intuition suggests that the last alternative, that the rain god is supposed to enjoy frogs getting married, is the most likely.  (Any Hindu or otherwise properly knowledgeable person reading this, please let me know if I am wrong.)
2. Some countries never learn anything about freedom of religion:  “KYRGYZSTAN: Crackdown follows new Religion Law”.
3. “US cancer teen 'to get treatment'”:  Just in case you did not hear about this on the news.  Daniel Hauser, the boy with Hodgkin’s lymphoma who turned down chemotherapy for religious reasons, and his mother are no longer on the run.  Daniel is now getting proper treatment.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Bureaucrats get training in stand-up comedy”
  
• “Health insurers want you to keep smoking, Harvard doctors say”:  Insurance companies holding stock in tobacco companies is a conflict of interest and a moral disgrace.
  
• “Should Vaccines Be Compulsory?”:  Yes.  Otherwise it will be a lot harder to wipe out preventable infectious diseases, and many people will suffer needlessly and die as a result.
  
• “Mosquitoes adapt and expand diet, threatening Galapagos Islands' reptiles”
  

Today’s weird thing was provided for me by a masked man with a machine gun and included below.  Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

---

From:  James McCullen XXIV, Military Arms Research Syndicate

To:  Everyone

To whom it may concern:

Once again my good name is being defamed, and I am getting pretty tired of it.  Yes, I know, every public figure must endure some kind of insults and derision, but this is really too much.  Instead of new action figures or a cartoon series, it’s an all-new movie, and I am once again being portrayed as the villain.

G. I. Joe:  The Rise of Cobra, what a tacky name.  That’s a mere step above that of another upcoming and probably equally insipid film, Transformers:  Revenge of the Fallen.  They might as well chosen something more fitting such as Lapses of Sense and Things Blowing Up.  That’s the level this thing will be at if the trailer tells right.  Let me give you an overview based on the bloody thing.

Myself, played by Christopher Eccleston (brilliant in Doctor Who but doesn’t look or sound a thing like me) looks a bit peeved as I say “When I’m finished, this world will never forget,” and then things happen.  There are lapses of sense and things blowing up.  Some sort of fictitious acid eats away the whole Eiffel Tower.  Things blow up.  Sienna Miller, playing my wife Anastasia, keeps appearing as things blow up.  A bunch of people assemble to deal with the threat of Sienna Miller and things blowing up.  They have special “accelerator suits” which turn them into superheroes.  And so the battle begins to save something or other.

I can’t understate how much of a nutter whoever made this piece of tripe is.  Forget the acid and the accelerator suits.  The personal attacks are really too much.  I am an honest business men, nothing more, certainly not a terrorist.  And my wife, she does not go running about wearing a skin-tight leather jumpsuit in public.  Though not in the trailer, I don’t look forward to the inevitable shot of Christopher Eccleston in a steel mask.  These are things which are odd and improper and we simply do not go out wearing.  As for what we do in the privacy of our own home, that is no one else’s business.  The smears against us have been very trying on our family, and I do not care for what this will do to our grandchildren.  The past few decades have been very trying with children and grandchildren asking for everything from rides on giant larvae to help in creating a new headmaster in school from the DNA of much better tutors.  Enough is enough.

There is also the larger issue of the depiction of terrorism.  On neither side of the pond does anyone with the least involvement in politics seem to have the slightest understanding of terrorists. and whay they do what they do.  Here in Britain they seem happy to appease the unfriendlies and let them into our country.  America is no better.  You have the Republicans (Fascists) who are either simplistically for or against something, quite willing to bomb anyone who is currently against them and send the children of the poor in to die so long as they get rich off the whole affair.  They’re willing to overlook any atrocities so long as they are done by someone on their side.  And then you have the Democrats (Socialists), who would rather talk things over and assume everyone else is rational and wants peace no matter how obviously crazy they are.  They’re also willing to overlook any atrocities so long as they are done by someone on their side.  To the Socialists, the issue is always about economics or some kind of misunderstanding, while the Fascists always say the terrorists hate freedom and liberty (even through the Fascists themselves are great enemies of freedom of liberty).

Poppycock.

Let us take the very real terrorist organization that is Cobra.  They are not “haters of freedom and liberty” any more than the Fascists.  Actually they very much enjoy it, at least so far as it serves them.  Like the Fascists, they completely oppose it for anyone who opposes them, of course.  Simply treating them as “bad guys” never deals with what about them makes them “bad.”  Yes, they kill people, but so the soldiers of the so-called free world.  Indeed, killing Cobra soldiers is often followed by others joining Cobra and going out to kill people themselves, “radicalizing” it’s called.  Nor do they really want peace or a particular piece of territory or anything like that.  Of course, they say they do, but once they get these things, are they ever satisfied?  Certainly not.  They walk away from treaties or simply ignore them and go right back to exactly what they were doing.

What no one seems to understand is that Cobra is not merely a terrorist organization, but a religious one as well.  They have definite beliefs about their place in the universe and how everyone else fits into it.  People outside of Cobra are not merely inferior, but subhuman, they same way European-Americans used to regard their African slaves.  By dominating these subhumans, the Cobraists do their religious duty and receive their eternal reward.  It is madness, of course, but more shocking still is the madness of those dealing with them.

Citing any religious reason for terrorism is politically incorrect.  The Fascists themselves make religious appeals and don’t want to portray religion as a bad thing.  The Socialists try to acknowledge and value everyone’s differences, holding them as all equally valid, no matter how hateful, offensive, or backwards they are.  And so no one will acknowledge what should be obvious, and no one does anything to address the real problem.  Indeed, they encourage those who have to deal with Cobra firsthand to try to compromise, make deals, or otherwise commit suicide.

No one with any sense tries to compromise with someone with no respect for you.  You don’t ask for a timeout from the madman with a butcher knife or make nice with your rapist.  All the free world has gained from this approach is making itself look weak and stupid, because it is weak and stupid.  Is it any wonder that Cobra keeps coming back, spilling blood, blowing things up, all the while blaming the free world for its actions?  You bloody imbeciles, by not dealing with Cobra as it really is, you‘re damn right you are responsible.

True enough, I am a weapons dealer, and I sell quite happily to Cobra.  I sell to you as well, anyone really.  As I’ve said, you’re all quite mad, so there really is no difference.  I can’t change you, and you’re all going to blow each other up in the end, so why fight it?  You want to make each other dead for stupid reasons, fine with me, it’s not like world gives one whit about anything they say is really important.  I’m just going to sit back, and if things get really bad, I got myself one nice cozy bunker to wait it out.  Enjoy.

Let’s see you address that in your stupid movie.

Beware of annoyed cats

Greetings.

Jewish date: 26 ’Iyyar 5769.

Today’s holiday: Day 41 of the ‘Omer.

Today’s quasi-holidays: Weights and Measures Day, Eliza Doolittle Day.

Worthy causes of the day: “Stop Starbucks”, “WHAT HAPPENED TO OBAMA'S
ENERGY PLAN?”, “Loaded weapons in our National Parks? Your action is needed today!”, “Tell Republicans to Stop Their Conspiracy Theories!”

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Fall TV cheat sheet: What's in? What's out?”: Cupid, Reaper, and Kings have all been canceled. On the bright side, this gives me three less things to worry about. And I have to repeat, Reaper is no big loss. It may be amusing, but the premise is so incredibly stupid that I have gained an appreciation for how well the premise-botched Buffy the Vampire Slayer was.
   
2. “The Ten Commandments: An interesting insight into the cold war”: This is an historically-based review of The Ten Commandments, with the history both in terms of the setting the story is supposed to take place in and the setting the movie was actually made in. I had not considered that there might be a Cold War aspect to this film.
   
3. More religious persecution: “In Iraq, an exodus of Christians”, “Pakistan's religious minorities report violence”, “An armed band kidnap a Christian teacher in Kirkuk”, “Chinese lawyers say they were beaten, detained”,
   
4. “Should Universal Health Care Cover Faith Healing?”: The answer is “no”, since it does not work.
5. “AA is Faith-Based, Not Evidence-Based”: Apparently Alcoholics Anonymous does not work either, plus courts mandating it is a violation of separation of church and state. The criticism that Alcoholics Anonymous encourages a weak sort of repentance that avoids the penitent taking the responsibility to change his/her ways is a valid one.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Netanyahu Must Find the Metal to Resist Obama’s Pressure”: For the record, I did not expect Obama to be any more a real friend of Israel than any of the past several presidents the United States has had. Nor did I suspect McCain would be any better on this issue.
  
• “Mixed Feelings ”
  
• “Elderly Who Forget Age Remember Better”
  
• “Peace With Syria (1994)” and “Obama's Failure”
  
• “Komodo dragon kills with venom, not bacteria”
  
• “Are Your "Secret Questions" Too Easily Answered?”
  
• “Ball and chain to force children to study”
  

Today’s weird thing is “Advanced Cat Yodeling”.

Enjoy, share the weirdness, and consider whether you really want to annoy your cat.

Aaron

WE’RE OFF TO ZAP THE WIZARD

Greetings.

Jewish date:  16 ’Iyyar 5769.

Today’s holidays:  Day 31 of the ‘Omer, Fifth Sunday of Easter.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  Mother’s Day, Golden Spike Day.

Worthy causes of the day:  “Support the EPA's Stand Against Big Oil and Coal” and The Big Read.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Witch hunts, murder and evil in Papua New Guinea”:  This is indecent:  people being killed with neither trial nor even a solid basis for believing they are an imminent danger to anyone else.  And the government is not putting the resources into stopping this travesty of justice.
   
2. More governmental religious intolerance:  “Devout Hindu loses cremation bid” and “Somalia: Kenyan Pastor Beaten At Somaliland Border”.
3. This looks like an attempt to defuse free publicity for Angels and Demons before it happens:  “Demons 'harmless', says Vatican”.
4. “Archbishop says Obama advancing anti-life agenda”:  With all respect due to Archbishop Raymond Burke, never has there been a truly “anti-life” or “anti-family” politician.  When was the last time anyone saw a politician give a speech praising abortion or condemning families?  We are all entitled to our own opinions, but not to dictate the opinions of other people.
5. “Commandments bill passes”:  The Capitol of Oklahoma is getting a Ten Commandments monument.  Critics are right in condemning this as a violation of separation of church and state.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Montreal Metro Issues Photo Gaffe Clarification”
  
• “Why don't trees lean toward the equator?”
• “Giant spiders invade Australian Outback town”

Today’s weird thing is “Dalek Invasion Of Oz 1939”. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and EXTERMINATE!

Aaron

Beware of the cat

Greetings.

Jewish date:  5 ’Iyyar 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Israeli Independence Day.

Today’s quasi-holiday:  National/International Dance Day.

Worthy causes of the day:  “This Mother's Day - Help Stop Poverty Now” and “May 9 is the deadline to roll back Bush regulations on endangered species”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. More religious intolerance:  “Yemen's Jews uneasy as Muslim hostility grows”, “Catholics fear Hindu 'Taliban'”, “Protestant clergyman and wife killed with machetes”
   
2. “Survey: Half of U.S. adults have switched religions”:  It is a cliché that people normally follow the religion of their parents.  Apparently that is not true, at least in the United States.  What the article does not make clear is how many people are switching for the only right reason:  objective truth, i.e., leaving one’s religion because one comes to the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that it is false or converting to another religion because one comes to the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that it is true or at least a good approximation of the truth.  Large numbers of people drift away from their original religion, find another they like more, or leave because are dissatisfied with religious teachings, but no information is given on how rational or emotional these decisions really are.  Also to be noted is that the survey reports mainly (due to sample size considerations) on Catholicism and Protestantism.  Exactly how big a change in beliefs and whether rites are required for it to be considered for someone to have converted is not stated.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Israel Independence Day”
  
• “Snowrollers”

Today’s weird thing is “O hai,”:

If only real firewalls worked this way...  Enjoy, share the weirdness, and happy Israeli Independence Day.

Aaron

Beware of babies

Greetings.

Jewish date:  3 ’Iyyar 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Day 18 of the ‘Omer.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  Write an Old Friend Today Day, Babe Ruth Day.

Worthy cause of the day: “Urge the Obama Administration to Protect Polar Bears and Other Vulnerable Wildlife”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. Bad idea:  “Religious Revolt: New Christian Sect Battles Demons, Raises the Dead, Campaigns for Sarah Palin”.  People ought to know by now that the evidence for the existence of demons and witchcraft is nil and that faith-healing is a fraud.  On the bright side, at least some Christian pastors are fighting back against the darkness:  “Nigerian Withcraft: Pastor fights deceitful counterparts”.
   
2. Religious intolerance:  “Hindu radicals attack old church”.
   
3. Time for a few comments on the latest episode of Kings, “Judgement Day”.  There does not seem to be much of anything in this episode directly traceable to Samuel.  King Silas sitting in judgement over his people is more reminiscent of Shelomoh (Solomon) than Sha’ul (Saul).  Jack continues to play politics in a very un-Yonathan (Jonathan)-like manner with little regard for the lives of other people, making a big mess for Michelle/Mikhal and David/Dawidh to deal with.  This episode reflects largely on the themes of God, justice, and the rule of law, with Silas, Michelle, and David all put in dilemmas about whether it is more moral to play by the rules or whether it is sometimes necessary to subvert them.  Silas considers himself God’s representative while judging, and in the end, satisfied with Silas’s judgement, declares that God works through the king.  Michelle also reveals to David that she is promised to someone else, a major roadblock to progress on their relationship.  We will have to wait until June 14 to find out what happens next.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Swine Flu?” and “What is swine flu? US declares public health emergency”:  Paradoxically, there is very little to worry about from swine flu, avian flu, or other new infectious diseases for the very reason that governments are so worried about them.  The response of governments is to quarantine every new case, because there is no way in Hell they are going to let swine flu or any such disease spread.  The easiest way to kill an epidemic disease is to keep it from ever becoming an epidemic—and the last thing any nation or humanity as a whole needs, on top of everything else going wrong on this planet, is another epidemic.  Because humanity’s governments have gone crazy clamping down on new infectious diseases, humanity in general has very little to worry about them.
  
• “New Statesman: Israel = Racist”
  
• “Jewish legacy inscribed on genes?”:  Submitted by Dad.  Interesting notion.  Time and research will tell whether the hypothesis is correct.
  
• “Found: Missing link ancestor of modern sea lions, seals and walrus”
  
• “Bionic penguins take to the water – and the skies”
  

Today’s weird thing is “BWAINZ!!!”.


Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

“Graffiti Win”

Greetings.

Jewish date:  13 Nisan 5769.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  World Health Day, No Housework Day.  The latter is ironic since today is a major cleaning day before Pesaḥ.

Worthy cause of the day:  “Support the Global Eradication of Polio”.  Remember, once we wipe out the polio virus, no one will ever get it again, thus saving future generations from one cause of needless suffering.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Happy Easter (1989)”:  This cartoon is correct.  Wishing someone a happy holiday, whatever that holiday is, is only a wish for that person to have a happy holiday.  E.g., if I wish a Christian a “Merry Christmas”, it is only a wish that the person should have a merry Christmas.  It is not a pro-Christian statement, since it merely acknowledges the holiday and hopes the hearer finds it pleasant, without any actual endorsement.  Neither is it an anti-non-Christian statement, since there is no denial of other holidays and certainly no wish that non-Christians should have a rotten December 25th.  There is also no implicit political agenda in the statement; celebration of Christmas is not limited to any political group, as there are Christians found in a wide variety of political parties.  All a wish like “Merry Christmas” is is a polite wish and nothing more.  Do note that one can (and some do) wish that others have happy holidays from a variety of religions or even for holidays specific to the religion of the person being addressed.
   
2. More freedom of religion disasters:  “Five Christians killed as Kirkuk archbishop questions US withdrawal” and “Orissa: murderer of missionary Graham Staines runs for election”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Rwandan genocide: Never again?”:  Feeling horror at genocide is cheap.  Taking action to stop or prevent it is a different matter altogether.
  
• “How similar was Neandertal behavior to that of modern humans?”
  
• “Nine Words You Might Think Came from Science but Which Are Really from Science Fiction
”
  
• “Muhammad al-Dura: Theater of the Absurd?”
  

Today’s weird thing, submitted by Barry, is “Graffiti Win”.

Enjoy, share the weirdness, and happy Pesaḥ, Easter, or whatever holiday you may be celebrating soon.

Aaron

“Richard Crumb: Multidimensional Investment Banker”

Greetings.

Jewish date: 8 Nisan 5769.

Today’s quasi-holiday: National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. Countries behaving badly: “Police arrest underground Zhengding bishop Jia Zhiguo”, “Laos: Police Destroy Church Building In Village”, “UZBEKISTAN: Cleric takes part in police raid on religious community”, “Saudi government cracks down on Shiite dissidents”, and “Young Christian man killed in Orissa in what police describe as an 'accident'”. And for a lot more, “US names religious freedom violators”
2. “Rhode Island Episcopal Priest Expelled From Church For Devotion to Islam”. Serves her right for the blatant contradiction.
   
3. “Cults or Alternative Religions?”: This article correctly notes that “cult“ is a term which indicates how one feels about a religion but says nothing about what the religion is like.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Netanyahu (1996)”
  
• “Pockets of Vaccine Noncompliance in California” and “In Jenny McCarthy’s own words”
  
• “Scientists Find 'Baffling' Link between Autism and Vinyl Flooring”
  
• “Bedbugs transmit bites and angst, but not disease, study says”
  

Today’s weird thing is “Richard Crumb: Multidimensional Investment Banker”.



Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

We are not going downhill morally and technophobia is nonsense

Jewish date: 4 Nisan 5769

Quasi-holidays: Rocky and Bullwinkle Day (instituted by me, last week), National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day

Greetings.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. WARNING: SPOILER ALERT FOR THE LAST EPISODE OF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW SERIES).
   I will refrain from talking about the whole of Battlestar Galactica (new series), as I have not seen it. (I got into it very late, due to no one telling me how infused with religion it is.) However, the last episode, part 2 of “Daybreak” has a very abrupt resolution. Having reached Earth (= Terra = Sol III, not the Earth which Kara previously visited and died on) 150,000 years in our past, Admiral Adama decides without consulting anyone that ever one, human and Cylon, will disembark, abandon all their technology, and assimilate into the local population, which miraculously can interbreed with the humans from the fleet. Adama’s rationalization for this that technological progress has outstripped moral progress, so to avoid disaster it is necessary to abandon technology. And while I can accept some of what happens in what I have seen of the show on the basis of fictional license, this idea is complete nonsense. People have been complaining about morals going downhill since ancient times, so one would think that people today should be the most rotten people to ever live. I beg to disagree, using Jewish ideals as my moral criteria. And while there is no such thing as objective morality, much of my criteria enjoy popular appeal:
   
   
   • In hunter-gatherer societies, at least until recently, murder was a leading cause of death. Today, on much of the planet, being murdered is a remote worry.
   • While caution is still necessary, being assaulted and robbed is less of a worry.
   • Torture is banned on much of the planet.
   • We have wiped out smallpox and are close to wiping out polio, thereby saving all future generations from suffering and dying from them.
   • Human sacrifice is widely considered an abomination.
   • Much of the planet has no concept of worshipping inanimate objects.
   • Most countries subscribe to the concept of human rights. While I reject the concept of natural rights as being anything but natural, the concept of legal rights pushes people and governments to demand better behavior of humans and governments. While implementation still leaves much to be desired, the ideal helps drive better behavior.
   • Caste systems have disappeared for many and are in decay for others.
   • The ideal of an absolute monarch has disappeared for many.
   • War has lost its appeal as an ideal for most.
   • Slavery is abominated on much of the planet.
   • The idea that women are somehow inferior to men is under assault, even in traditional strongholds of the idea.
   • Child marriage has experienced a strong decline.
   • Forced marriage is considered an abomination by many.
   Notice that these improvements have been made despite great leaps ahead technologically. Wiping out diseases the way we have has only been made possible through technology. Does humanity have progress to make morally? Absolutely yes. But we have made progress, and YHWH willing, we will continue to improve.
   END SPOILER.
2. More countries having no clue on freedom of religion: “Tajikistan criticised over restrictive religion law”, and “Second Yezidi man found murdered near Mosul”.
   
3. “Goa to crack down on beachwear 'hurting religious sentiments'”: I can appreciate the affront Hindus feel at the misappropriation of their religion, even though I disagree with the arrests. Gods and scripture are not good subjects for secular tourist souvenirs.
4. Sometimes it takes a while for the US courts to understand freedom of religion: “Religious freedom wins out”.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Spider May Have Survived Months in Space”
  
• “Where’s the outrage?”
  
• “Rhinos and tigers and bears. Oh my.”
  
• “Rumors bites! Headmaster denies vampires at school”
  
• “Romanians halt elevators to save money in crisis”
  
• “Hungry shrimp eat climate change experiment”
  
• “Cheese beats Baboon Metaphysics in odd book prize”
  
• “Pizza-making machine has chefs in a spin”
  
• “Bird Naps: How Migratory Flyers Catch Up on Sleep”
  

Today’s weird thing, submitted by Barry, is the Aquarium Coffee Table. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

29 ’Adhar 5769: Pecan Day

Greetings.

Worthy causes of the day: “Support Encore Careers for America”, “Obama at the G20”, and “Tell Secretary Salazar to Put a Stop to Oil and Gas Activity in the Arctic”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. More incidents of countries behaving badly (as if anyone really expected freedom of religion to catch on overnight): “Iraq’s most ancient sect in need of protection to escape extinction”, “Saudis awaiting change from religious police”, “China Prepares for Post-Dalai Lama Era”, “Hindu fights for pyre 'dignity'”, and “Suffocating the Baha'i”.
   
2. “'Leader' of Italian religious group in court accused of helping Swiss gigolo”: This is a disaster caused by a severe lack of critical thinking skills. Thus is it written:
   

   Investigators believe Ernani Barretta, 64, holds the key to where Swiss con man Helg Sgarbi hid the fortune he swindled out of a succession of ultra-rich society women and industrialists' wives.
   
   The Italian businessman called himself the "Instrument of God", according to police, and told his 30 followers that he had special faith healing powers, could walk on water and was capable of being in two places at the same time.
   
   He will face court in Pescara, on Italy's Adriatic coast, where the regional Flying Squad called its investigation "Operation Sect".
   
   Mr Barretta, who carried business cards describing himself as a "medium", has been charged with fraud, criminal association and extortion.

   Mr. Sgarbi’s claims are extraordinary, but they are testable. It is not too hard to ask someone to walk across a swimming pool to prove he can actually do it. I have no clue what his victims were thinking in trusting him.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Pirate Captain”
  
• “"War Crimes" and Shoddy Journalism”
  
• “Etymology of Exception Proves the Rule”
  
• “Involuntary Treatment – Civil Rights or Civil Wrongs?”
  
• “On Campus: The Pro-Palestinians' Real Agenda”: Being against something is not the same as being for something else.
  
• “Drilling the Arctic for Energy: Does tapping Alaskan oil to increase energy independence come at our peril?”
  
• “Marking Wall's fall by toppling giant "dominos"”
  
• “An "extinct" plant species is saved, just in time”
  

Today’s weird thing, submitted by Barry, is “Time spent grading student essays”:


Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

21 ’Adhar 5769: Submarine Day/St. Patrick’s Day

Greetings.

My apologies to those of you who received an earlier, incomplete version of this post via E-mail. Blogger did something stupid and published without authorization.

Worthy cause of the day: “Stop the AIG Bonuses”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. Some countries are making no effort to implement freedom of religion: “TAJIKISTAN: 'This Law will worsen the situation with religious liberties”, “RUSSIA: Nationwide strike at Jehovah's Witnesses”, and “Egyptian Christian's recognition struggle”
2. More intolerance: “Minister beaten after clashing with Muslims on his TV show” and “Hindu extremists wreck plans for statue of 'Christian' Charlie Chaplin”
   
3. “Bishop orders Episcopal priest to renounce Islamic faith”: It should be common knowledge that Christianity and Islam are not logically consistent and thus anyone trying to practice both Christianity and Islam is being inconsistent. Those who have any doubts as to this should see Why I Am Not a Muslim by Ibn Warraq, which lists on pages 215-216 lists a number of anti-Christian verses in the Qur’an: 5:75, 5:51, 5:56-64, 9:29-30. I Am Not a Muslim also gives a good summary as to Islamic attitudes towards non-Muslims as well. It is no wonder that this Episcopal priest who is trying to practice both Christianity and Islam is under a well-deserved threat of defrocking.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “The Search”
  
• “No Holds Barred: Why the silence when AIPAC is attacked?”
  
• “Dino Mites: A Diminutive Dinosaur in North America and a Rare Mass Death of Young Relatives in China”
  
• “Can traffic up your heart attack risk?”
  
• “Snapshot of galactic doom”
  
• “Glasshouse injects 3D representation of data into a virtual world”: This is a cool way of dealing with data.
  
• “Japanese 'female' robot walks, shows emotions”: This was bound to happen sooner or later.
  
• “The sanctity of AIG's contracts” and “The Semtex in the AIG Retention Contracts”
  
• “If there were no Israel”
  
• “Man, 71, fends off young robber with ice scraper”
  
• “College Students Dish Out Free Flattery”: Interesting public service project.
  

Today’s weird thing is “Cat Twitter app for iPhone lets cats post thoughts”. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron