Beware of typos

Greetings.

Jewish date:  13 ’Elul 5769.

Today’s holiday:  Wednesday of the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time.

Today’s quasi-holidays:  Calendar Adjustment Day, National Beheading Day.  (Don’t ask me about the latter.  I have no clue where such a quasi-holiday comes from.)

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Taiwan: China cancels events over Dalai Lama visit”:  Essentially the government of People’s Republic of China is throwing a snit over the fact that the Dalai Lama is visiting Taiwan.  The atheistic government of China has the idea that it should have complete control over religion in China, completely against the notion of freedom of religion, not to mention that it is not within the purview of any government to dictate truth.  Since the Dalai Lama does not submit to their control and remains outside of China where they cannot control him, the Chinese government tends to collectively act like an unhappy spoiled brat who yells and screams and tries to get everyone else to do what he/she wants.
2. “Iranian Journo 'Validates' Medical Impossibility?”:  More on the anti-Semitic libel from Sweden.  The claims keep getting harder and harder to believe.  General rule:  If you are going to lie, do serious research first to make sure you say something credible.
   
3. I am still planning (hoping?) to spin off a separate Divine Misconceptions blog by (around?) Ro’sh hashShanah.  Someone please poke me with a sharp object a few times to motivate me into making progress along these lines.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Recession: Just What the Doctor Ordered?”:  There is a bright side to the recession:  people have less money to spend on things which are bad for them.
• “Sick mobile app tracks H1N1, other outbreaks near you”:  Interesting approach.
• “Gilad Shalit”

Today’s weird thing is “CHANCES I’LL CATCH MY TYPOS”.

Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

PS:  Where’s that sharp object?

Beware of hoop snakes

Greetings.

Jewish date: 14 Nisan 5769.

Today’s real holiday: The Fast of the Firstborn (day before Pesaḥ/Passover).

NOTE: Due to observance of Pesaḥ, there will be no posts until Sunday.

Today’s quasi-holiday: International Feng Shui Awareness Day.

Worthy causes of the day: “Give It Up, Norm Coleman!”, “Ratify the Treaty for the Rights of Women”, “Mercury Levels in Seals Rising - Reverse the Trend”, and “Hey, Hey, Let's Reopen the OTA! (with citizen input)”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Palestinian” Muslims are spreading a blood libel again: “BloodLibel Hamas”
   
   (Tip of the hat to Media Backspin.) It should go without saying that lying never makes a lie true. Furthermore, repeating a lie over and over again likewise never makes the lie true. (Those who disagree are invited to lie to everyone about the sky being covered with purple and yellow flowers and see if that really works.) It is a solid induction that anyone who attacks someone using a lie has no legitimate accusation to make against the accused. If the accuser could make a legitimate accusation, he/she would probably make a legitimate accusation instead rather than risk being caught in a lie.
   
2. “Obama: 'Notion that everything is the fault of the Israelis lacks balance'”: Kudos to our president for not buying into a persistent “Palestinian” lie. Now let us pray that he is never tempted to try to strong-arm Israel into doing something stupid...
   
3. “The "bunny" hop: Resurrecting the Easter Bilby”: Interesting local variation on a lie Christian parents tell their children in order to help save an endangered species. NOTE: Anyone out there who can tell me what the point of lying to children about the existence of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny/Bilby, and the Tooth Fairy, please help me out. I have no clue why anyone would do such a thing other than copying everyone else doing it.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Pessah Sameah”
  
• “GM, Segway roll out an electric scooter built for two”
  
• “Snakebit: Southern California sees a rise in extratoxic venom”
  
• “How Conflicts Escalate: Overreacting to Perceived Slights”
  
• “5 Years After: Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Policy Shows Positive Results”

Today’s weird thing is the hoop snake. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and ḥagh kasher wesameaḥ.

Aaron