We had some family stuff come up and didn’t record the podcast until Thursday night, as opposed to our usual Tuesday. So now it’s Saturday morning, and I’m hammering away in the office while my wife and 3 1/2 year old are watching Mickey in the living room. That may sound like some martyr crap, but I assure you, I’ve seen more than enough Mickey Mouse Playhouse to last a lifetime! We do a segment of news this week for the first time, and keep pretty close to an hour.
News Items:
How a Bill becomes a Vagina Monologue
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A state lawmaker who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying “vagina” during debate over anti-abortion legislation performed “The Vagina Monologues” on the Statehouse steps — with a hand from the author.
Eve Ensler, whose groundbreaking play about women’s sexuality still packs theaters 16 years after it debuted, oversaw Monday night’s performance by Democratic state Rep. Lisa Brown, 10 other lawmakers and several actresses.
We really didn’t see eye to eye on this one. To Matt, she’s standing up and pointing out the ridiculous and male-dominated nature of her silencing. To Brian, she’s not showing her position the respect it deserves. We totally throw blows.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP43bb2c62463a4121a3b80db77cbbbb01.html
Not just anybody can be an exorcist, can they?
St. Petersburg, Florida — A teacher at a neighborhood family center was arrested after police say she burned and cut teens during a bizarre ritual to remove their demons.
Authorities say Danielle Harkins brought the group of teens to an area near the St. Pete Pier Saturday before dusk. They gathered around a small fire and that’s when she told them to cut their skin to let the evil spirits out. After they cut their skin, she said they would need to burn the wounds to ensure they would not return.
Brian points out that she is more crazy crazy than religious crazy, and I agree. She’s a nut. I still wonder if what these people would come up with without the silly religious imagery floating around their subconscious minds would be better or worse for themselves and their victims.
News from around the Islamic World
The Muslim Brotherhood declared early Monday that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won Egypt’s presidential election, which would be the first victory of an Islamist as head of state in the stunning wave of protests demanding democracy that swept the Middle East the past year. But the military handed itself the lion’s share power over the new president, sharpening the possibility of confrontation.
In case you’re not familiar with the Muslim Brotherhood… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood
The Brotherhood’s credo was and is, “God is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations.” The Brotherhood’s English language website describes the “principles of the Muslim Brotherhood” as including firstly the introduction of the Islamic Shari`ah as “the basis controlling the affairs of state and society;” and secondly work to unify “Islamic countries and states, mainly among the Arab states, and liberating them from foreign imperialism”.
Really?! Arab Spring my ass. These guys are such assholes, Brian and I can’t figure out if we’re happy the military is holding on to all the real power despite the election results.
A cleric in Pakistan’s Punjab province has warned that a jihad would be launched against polio vaccination teams at a time when the World Health Organisation has expressed concern at the emergence of new cases of the disease across the country.
Maulvi Ibrahim Chisti of Muzaffargarh district declared the anti-polio campaign as “un-Islamic” and announced at the local mosque that jihad (holy war) should be carried out against the polio vaccination team.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Are you kidding me? You want kids getting Polio. Yes, you are a fantastic human being.
Saudi man executed for witchcraft and adultery
Saudi Arabia executed a man for practising witchcraft and committing adultery, the state news agency said on Tuesday citing a statement from the Interior Ministry.
“Mareeh bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri (Saudi national) practised witchcraft and sorcery, and was in possession of books and talismans from which he learnt to harm God’s worshippers and admitted adultery with two women,” said the statement.
Oh, well if he had talismans… I thought this was going to be some BS, but apparently, this guy had books and talismans. Clearly, he needed his head removed. At least this was in nutty, fringe-of-the-Arab-world Saudi, not some supposedly-mainstream, friend-to-the-US country like Iran. Oh, wait… Continue reading
Podcast: Play in new window | Download