I find one sentence in the Quran article perplexing:
They've found that most Muslim suicide bombers are in fact students of the Quran who are motivated by its violent commands – making them, as strange as it sounds to the West, "rational actors" on the Islamic stage.
Why should that sound so strange? Speaking as a Catholic, I know that my holy book applauds martyrdom and - had I the full perspective on Truth that I ought - my earthly life should not be more important to me than my eternal one. Intellectually, I understand this truth and - if push came to shove - I would hope I'd have the strength to abide by it.
(That being said . . . my faith specifically disallows me both suicide and the killing of another person, so it would be inexcusably wrong for me - as an individual - to take another life unless I was placed in a necessitous position to save the life of myself or others. Just so we're clear on that.)
But I'm not in the least surprised that the more focused students of Islam find suicide a rational course of action. Islam - like Christianity - believes in the eternal and since these students have reasoned their way through a faith that says that the highest honors and delights await martyrs in the afterlife, why should we be astonished when they try to achieve it?
I only skimmed the article, so I'm not sure why a weightless surgery would be an advantage. It seems to me that the parabolic flight would make the surgical instruments fly hither and yon.
Nonetheless, it's cool that we can do it.
Does anyone really care that 7-Eleven, Inc. has dropped Citgo as their gasoline supplier?
Citgo Petroleum Corp. is a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run oil company and 7-Eleven is worried that anti-American comments made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might prompt motorists to fill-up elsewhere . . .
Instead, 7-Eleven, which sells gasoline at 2,100 of its 5,300 U.S. stores, will now purchase fuel from several distributors, including Tower Energy Group of Torrance, Calif., Sinclair Oil of Salt Lake City, and Houston-based Frontier Oil Corp.
The speculation is that they were worried about a boycott, which is not an unreasonable concern. Frankly, I probably would have boycotted them, simply because I don't have much investment in my gas supplier and I don't much care for Chavez. I was - at one time - a loyal Shell customer, but that ended after they forced the mom-n'-pop Shell stations out of business so they could focus on their sleek, overpriced megastations. Now, I don't care where I get my gas, so long as it's cheap.
But back to Venezuela: if they want to diss us on the international front, I see no reason to fund their efforts.
I've posted these in the past, but they delight me afresh: Weight Watchers Recipes from 1974!
Some brave souls have attempted them.
And if, perchance, those images have not convinced you to swear off food in its entirety, check out the Gallery of Regrettable Foods, particularly the Cooking with Dr. Pepper and The Other Other White Meat.
You even have the opportunity to visit The Institute of Official Cheer.
(Hat tip to Chris Edwards.)
A decidedly unpresidential Bill Clinton embarrassed himself on national news.
A decidedly poised Condoleezza Rice continues to enhance my admiration of her:
She also said Clinton's claims that Richard Clarke - the White House anti-terror guru hyped by Clinton as the country's "best guy" - had been demoted by Bush were bogus.
"Richard Clarke was the counterterrorism czar when 9/11 happened. And he left when he did not become deputy director of homeland security, some several months later," she said . . .
Rice cited the final 9/11 commission report to substantiate her claims, while Clinton relied on Clarke's book as the basis for many of his rehashing the events leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks . . .
Transitioning to the global war on terror, an animated Rice questioned, "When are we going to stop blaming ourselves for the rise of terrorism?" . . .
In Latin America, home to outrageous Venezuelan bomb thrower Hugo Chavez, Rice said the U.S. approach is to "spend as little time possible in talking about Chavez and more time talking about our positive agenda in Latin America," including several trade agreements.
I really admire her directness and simplicity. It's almost . . . presidential.
Last night, I saw Pretty in Pink last night for the first (and probably last) time.
Wow, she chose the wrong guy.
So . . . if I understand this correctly . . . last week, in a speech about the complement of faith and reason, Pope Benedict XVI referenced a dead theologian:
The Pope had referred to criticism of the Prophet Mohammad by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything the Prophet brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
So, in response to the suggestion that any followers of Islam might have coerced others with violence, outraged Muslims have:
Misha Voloshin makes a couple good points about the furor, including its portrayal in the press.
Today is international Talk Like a Pirate day.
Avast, ye lubbers.
I'm not sure what to think about the all-women talk radio network.
Greenstone Media, a radio company whose founders include social activist Gloria Steinem and actress Jane Fonda, has launched an all-women, all-talk network across the United States.
Steinem said the network, which is run by women, aims to provide an alternative to current radio talk, which she describes as "very argumentative, quite hostile, and very much male-dominated."
This network "has a different spirit. It has more community. It's more about information, about humor, about respect for different points of view and not constant arguing," Steinem told Reuters in an interview.
With Steinem and Fonda at the helm, I'm not expecting truly balanced and thought-provoking discussion. In fact, I would presume that this will become some sort of floofy Lifetime-like venture, or a self-congratulatory diatribe about how much better an all-girl station is now that those pesky men are out of the picture.
Of course, if they take the time to engage people like Eileen Byrne or Michelle Malkin, or even Camille Paglia, I could be proved entirely wrong. Heck, maybe they could add a dash of Ann Coulter - just to spice things up.
But as it stands, I don't think that Gloria Steinem has entirely thought this through. Were I attempting to promote female aptitude and dignity, Barbarella would hardly be the first person I would consult. Or the last. Or anywhere in between.
Well, that LonelyGirl15 mystery lasted all of five minutes.
It turns out the people behind the wildly popular website lonelygirl15 are not studio executives, Internet moguls or, as some suspected, Satanists. Instead, they are aspiring filmmakers who met at a mutual friend's birthday party in April . . .
The lonelygirl15 story began early this year, when Beckett hatched the idea of creating a mystery story online, one that could roll out small mock-confessional bites in real time . . .
The videos were shot on a shoestring at the bedroom of a home "in the Greater Los Angeles area," said Goodfried. Contrary to Internet speculation that the videos were all shot at once and rolled out in drips and drabs, the team revealed that each installment was filmed only after the previous one had been posted. The intent was to allow fan response posted in the comment section of lonelygirl15's YouTube and MySpace pages to determine the direction of each subsequent episode.
Clever that. It's too bad they couldn't keep it quiet a bit longer.
So did anyone get the Star Wars Original Trilogy DVD yesterday?
Honestly, I forgot about it until Mark Harris reminded me. I will probably get them, despite my recent loathing of George Lucas. They are classics.
If you haven't seen Episode 200 of Stargate: SG-1, then you haven't lived.
It's mind-blowingly brilliant!
I would recommend watching the whole episode, without introduction. But for those that were foolish enough not to download, tape or Tivo it, YouTube has some of the clips - in as close to episode-order as I can remember:
The Furlings Scene
The Zombie Scene
Invisible Jack
The Wizard of Oz Scene
The Star Trek Scene
The Teen Gate Scene
The FarScape Scene
The Punk'd Scene
The Puppet Scene
Jack is Back!
The Teal'c PI Scene
The Wedding Scene
And if that wasn't enough:
Stargate: SG-1 200 Promo
Stargate: SG-1 200 Promo 1
Stargate: SG-1 200 Promo 2
Stargate: SG-1 200 Promo 3
And if that wasn't enough.
More Video of Richard Dean Anderson's Special Apperances
Gee, I love that show.
I'm ever-so-slightly intrigued by LonelyGirl15 . . . and it probably is a publicity stunt.
It's a neat idea, but I don't like horror movies, so if it is a publicity stunt, I probably won't get to see the conclusion of it.
What happened to good, old-fashioned suspense?
I thought the body tricks were interesting.
It almost makes me want to catch a cold, get a toothache, eat a freezing cold popsicle, or make my hand fall asleep, just so I can try it!
Bruce Campbell has some down-to-earth advice.
(Hat tip to my mom.)
Will the Smintair business model really work?
[Alexander] Schoppmann, a German entrepreneur, is hoping to turn smokers' umbrage at ever-expanding efforts to stub out their habit into a highflying business proposal: Smoker's International Airways . . .
On-board smoking has been prohibited on most major airlines for years: Since 2000, all of the world's busiest international routes have been essentially smoke-free. Within the United States, the government has banned in-flight smoking for almost two decades. Most European carriers are not required by law to ban smoking but have voluntarily introduced no-smoking policies. In Japan, carriers stopped allowing smoking on most flights in the late 1990s . . .
By starting with service between Germany and Japan, two of the world's most smoker-filled countries, Schoppmann said he expected Smintair to profit from the steady flow of business travel between the two.
A lot of Germans and Japanese smoke, I suppose, but will corporate Europe support it? Will they allow their employees to choose this airline over another (potentially cheaper) one?
It sounds like a risky venture to me.
'Tis a pity about the death of Steve Irwin. What a way to go!
It was a freak accident. If the stingray hadn't directly pierced his heart, he would still be alive.
Crazy that. I never really considered that he was putting himself in really, truly dangerous situations.
Matt C. Abbott's column from Fr. James Farfaglia gave me pause:
[W]hat about the thousands of Catholic priests, young and old, who today and every day, are faithfully fulfilling their duties as Catholic priests? Why haven't they made national Internet news? What about all of us that are out there, doing their job, most of the time under very difficult circumstances? . . .
Every day we drag our tired bodies through the battles of modern America. We deal with our own sinfulness and weaknesses. Sometimes we fall, but we get back up again through the sacrament of confession. We find consolation and the strength through the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I really do have tremendous admiration for the faithful priests and religious of the Church. I respect most individuals who live a life faithful to their principles, but a visible life commitment to an undisclosed reality is the greatest witness of all, in my humble opinion. Such lives are a testament to the abundant graces available to those who live with conviction.
I can only stand in awe.