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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

In the News (or it SHOULD be)

There are some stories in the news (or that should be in the news) that I'm somewhat involved in, even if it's peripherally, so I am short of material today because I don't want to discuss them.

So, I've decided to talk a little about some things of interest:

The Dog

My parents got a two-year old stray dropped off at their house by a well-meaning neighbor. They are now dog owners once more.

The Duke Lacrosse Team

Justice has finally been done. I haven't said much about this, because it's being said everywhere else. Obviously this is a typical case of reverse discrimination. What is sad is how many people raced to condemn these guys before the facts were all in. In a move to curry favor and be politically correct, Duke University had suspended the men accused without any proof of guilt. They have now settled with them for a substantial sum of money. It will be interesting to see if anyone else who jumped onto the bandwagon early may be sued for defamation of character, etc.

HOWEVER, these guys weren't exactly role models. Many of them have created their own defamation of character, in my humble opinion. After all, these were guys that not only hired strippers to come to them but also made some comments that makes me want to wash their mouths out with lye. Perhaps this is a lesson learned and they'll start behaving less like trash and more like responsible adults.

"Sir" Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie is to be knighted, which is inflaming a number of militant fundamentalist muslims. What can be said here? Let's just hope that the Queen government* doesn't cave. If she does, she sets the precedent for caving to terrorists everywhere.

In an article today, we are told "Hard-liners in Tehran say the death sentence still applies, and one group, the Committee to Commemorate Martyrs of the Muslim World, put a $150,000 bounty on the author's head in response to the knighthood." How disappointing for Rushdie. I would think a million dollar bounty would be more flattering.

*I was informed that the Queen doesn't do the knighting. So if the Queen doesn't even do that, what does she do? The concept of royalty seems so ... antiquated and useless to this pragmatic American.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

In regards to the Duke Lacrosse team, I agree with what Mike Lupica (I think it was him) said this weekend. The true victim of the whole fiasco is the next young lady who is assaulted by a famous person.

The Lazy Iguana said...

Dogs - too much trouble. Needy and smelly. Too dumb to find a place to hide from the rain. One of my cats was out for the worst part of Hurricane Katrina and did not even get wet.

Duke - I never really cared. On any level (high school, college, professional) jocks doing stupid and/or unacceptable things is not really news. It made the news rounds only because of the sports sickness that has infested America. Guilty or not guilty - why does the news think I give a crap? Why was it made an issue of national importance?

The Queen Of England (not Elton John but the other queen) - I am still wondering when I am slated to be knighted. What did that Salmon "fishy smell" dude do other than write a book that pissed off a bunch of crazy people? I could write a book that pisses off even more people! I know I could.

By the way, I got some links on my blog you may like. You need high speed internet however or the downloads will take a long time. One link is "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Play Set" and is in my Sunday post. I think you may know who this episode is about (not smutty by the way). The other link is for today's post and you may have seen it already. It is "Trapped In The Closet".

Herr Krokodil said...

Saur,

Your first paragraph has given me goose bumps.

If I ever hire a bunch of black strippers to perform at my party will you please slap me silly.

Thank you in advance.

Excellent post.

Daniel Hoffmann-Gill said...

The Queen doesn't pick who is knighted, the government does and the whole Salman Rushdie thing is a big fuss over nothing, a fuss that only feeds the anti-Islam movement and polarises a complicated debate.

Anonymous said...

"whole Salman Rushdie thing is a big fuss over nothing,"

Geez! Tell that to Salman Rushdie.

"...a fuss that only feeds the anti-Islam movement and polarises a complicated debate."

I get it. Because of the possibility that a discussion about the truth...the prevelance of violent and dangerous fanatics in power within the Muslim faith will be interpreted as more evidence of Islam gone crazy we need to keep our mouths shut. Well, why not just shut up Saur? After all, speaking the truth about the nature of atrocities committed by Islam can be a sentence of death. Just ask Salman Rushdie,Dutch journalists and ...

Much ado about nothing... I think not!

BTW, DGH ... what is your stand on freedom of expression?

Anonymous said...

Ouch! That is polarizes and prevalence. God, I hate it when I don't proof.

The Lazy Iguana said...

Well I still say I can write a book that pisses off more people! I can poke fun at most if not all religions.

I am sure I could get death threats from everyone EXCEPT the Buddhists.

Salman Rushdie limited his pissing off skills to Muslims. But making radical Muslims angry is about as hard and challenging as getting attacked by fire ants while you are standing on their mound.

Why are we supposed to give a crap about any of this stuff again? He wrote that book 50 years ago. Is it old news yet?

A.H. said...

No, the Salman Rushdie affair does not feed anti-Muslim sentiments. Anti-Muslim sentiments in the UK operate at a very basic level...among people who will never have heard of Salman Rushdie, let alone read the Satanic Verses. Now, if Rushdie had refused the knighthood and made a stand against such imperialistic, out-dated nonsense that would have been worth something. Rushdie hasn't restricted his "pissing off skills" to Muslims, oh no, he has gone beyond that. The Satanic Verses has left a huge wound in UK society--it isn't 50 years old--and the problem with literature is that is STAYS NEWS and continues to inflame, be that good or bad.

The Lazy Iguana said...

If a book makes you angry, don't read it. Over here the guy has been out of the news since it was discovered he was hiding out with Bono. The book has not been mentioned since the 80s, probably because of the title.

If what someone says pisses you off, do not listen. I do not watch Fox News for this reason. Well I watch some of the "news" because it is pretty much the same as any other (American) news source - but I do not listen to the "shows".

People keep the book in the news because they want to. No other reason. I know the book was written sometime in the mid 80s. It just seems like 100 years ago because it has been out of the news for so long here. Nobody cares.

The anti-Muslim element in the USA can't read, so books are a non issue for them. They are mostly stuck in the "my holy book is better and more truthful than your holy book" mentality. Talk about old, moldy, outdated, and crazy.

I still do not see how a book can leave a huge wound in the UK. It is after all only so many words on paper.

A.H. said...

Probably, you can't see it, Lazy Iguana,because you don't live in the UK, neither saw the damage that the book did nor live with its legacy. Not all world events centre on the egotistical USA. Just because you don't see it does not mean that it is not there.

Anonymous said...

"egotistical USA"

Come on!!! Is that really necessary? Your understanding and tolerance of this culture is sorely lacking. Clean up your own backyard.