A stark contrast

The following two stories appeared today on my Google News page separated only by a story on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The first story came out of the U.S. and bore this headline:

4 police officers shot dead at Wash. coffeehouse

The other described how a very controversial issue is threatening to tear Switzerland apart:

Swiss Vote to Ban New Minarets

Now, if you're unaware or unsure of what a minaret is, let me let you in on this explosive controversy. A minaret is a slender tower attached to a mosque that traditionally is used as a "call to prayer" for Muslims, but in modern times and modern countries, including Switzerland, minarets are not used for anything other than traditional "window dressing".

While I am sympathetic to Muslims, and appreciate the affront on the sensibilities of some of them (the 10% of Swiss Muslims that actually adhere to traditional Muslim codes), quite frankly, the contrast between these two stories was very vivid to me. Four people dedicated to serving the public and upholding the laws of the land were brutally attacked and savagely murdered in broad daylight is something I think all would agree is far more egregious than offending anyone's sensibilities.

Let's face it, the social issues that face America are and have always been far more grave than those of most countries, especially when you exclude third word countries whose extreme poverty is usually the cause of their problems. Such attacks as described in this story are not isolated but can be considered a way of life for Americans. My take is that when you treat people with less than the dignity human beings deserve, you should expect them to act in ways only subhumans would. Providing basic health care to all is a good step in the right direction.

From the aforementioned story...

Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.

The U.S. is the serial killer and mass murder capital of the world. This is no accident. You reap what you sow. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, but until Americans realize that it is their politics that drive people to such depths, they should expect the carnage to continue. No amount of cops and super prisons will fix this problem. Wake up, America.

And to Switzerland...Don't go spoiling the fine reputation you have spent more than half a century cultivating. It doesn't look good on you.


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Poker room chat

Three guys (Sweet Elias is a male) vying for the affections of a young woman (Alma) in a play money poker room...

Sean Stevens: hi sweetheart love u so much
Vinny Marino: I must have come to the dating site by mistake.
Sweet elias A: hi
C Alma Zaldivar: hi sweety
Sweet elias A: h r u ?
C Alma Zaldivar: im f9 and u
Sweet elias A: me to thax
C Alma Zaldivar: ty fot the comments u send me
Sweet elias A: always welcome
Sweet elias A: ty
Sean Stevens: flower for my lovely woman
Sweet elias A: nice
Jimmy Clarck: hi babe
Sean Stevens: back off clarck
Jimmy Clarck: our dog is here
Jimmy Clarck: hi Sean
Jimmy Clarck: plz Sean
Jimmy Clarck: can you bark little
Sean Stevens: now ur the dog who follow us
C Alma Zaldivar: shut up both of u
Jimmy Clarck: follow us?
Jimmy Clarck: ****
Sean Stevens: as u say sweetheart
Jimmy Clarck: she will not answer you
Jimmy Clarck: she ignore you
Jimmy Clarck: hunnie
Sean Stevens: she ask me not to talk to u bastered
Jimmy Clarck: is it right babe???
Jimmy Clarck: answer this shi t dog
C Alma Zaldivar: i said stop fighting like animals infront of others
Jimmy Clarck: is it right?
Jimmy Clarck: did you say this?
C Alma Zaldivar: i said to shut up both of u


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Home alone kitty

Being a cat lover, I had to share this...

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Michael Jackson stunt?

I have no idea whether this is a doctored image or not, but either way, it's spectacular--either for the extraordinary circumstances and moment captured, or for the amazing skill in photoshopping.





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Sign of the times

Today, on one of Canada's largest communications services company's web site, an item read "...click on it's corresponding button". Of course, "it's" should not have an apostrophe. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who can't write basic English is not to be trusted with anything more than taking out the garbage. If your web designer can't write in the English language, what makes you think he can competently write in computer languages which are orders of magnitude more complex? This might explain why so many programs don't work correctly.

If your developer's first language is not English, he may very well be a great programmer, but for darn sake, have someone check their English. In any case, it's very clear from the way the stench of bad code permeates throughout the web, that good developers are as rare as good writers of English.

Back in the day, to be a programmer, you needed a degree in computer science, a good score on an I.Q. test, to be personable, have good hygiene, own a blue suit and know someone. Today, you need...to know someone.

A lesson in photography

I'm a big fan of good photography and this is an example of excellent work. Notice the exquisite use of lighting; the contrasting colours; the breeze through the hair. The stark background with straight lines accentuate the curves of the subject in the foreground. The hard and jagged wall gives truth to the softness and smoothness before it.




Okay, I really posted this because she's so damn hott...and because of the great airbrush job...sorta. That and the fact she was staring at me from the page where I got the subject of my previous post. By the way, her name is Lucy Pinder.

Top Ten List

I came across by accident, as is often the case, an interesting "top ten" list. The list itself isn't so much intriguing, but some of the quotes and beliefs of some of the occupants of the list, are. The list is "Top Ten Manhaters". When I got down to about the 7th spot on the list, I could hardly imagine what could possibly outdo what I had already read. Here's just a smattering...

#10 Comedienne Joan Rivers: “I need a man to spoil me or I don’t need a man at all"

#8 Actress Sharon Stone: Stone was quoted saying men aren’t masculine enough anymore and that she’s considering dating a woman for a change.

#7 Politician Renuka Chowdhary: "You cannot trust men or your husbands to be sexually responsible."

#5 Author Marilyn French: One of her characters states: "All men are rapists, and that’s all they are. They rape us with their eyes, laws and codes.” In another work she says directly: "Men’s need to dominate women may be based on their own emptiness.

#3 Activist Nikki Craft: She aims to overthrow "male patriarchy". Craft is a follower of former radical feminist Andrea Dworkin -- who once claimed that all heterosexual sex is degrading to women and dooms women to be victims. She actually criticizes men who support her and the feminist cause.

#2 Sally Miller Gearhart: She wants to kill men. At least 10% of us, anyway. In a feminist manifesto, Gearhart calls for females to be given responsibility for the human species. As caretakers, they would then thin down our population by the magic 10% number.

#1 Professor Mary Daly: In 1998, Daly elevated herself to manhating fame at Boston College for refusing to teach men. She was quickly stripped of her tenure. In one of her books she claimed that men drain the life force of women. In an interview, she said "If life is to survive on this planet, it needs to decontaminate itself with a reduction of the male population.”

The full list is here.

No explanation required

Internet culture

I stumbled upon an apparent social networking site that appeared to me to be based in India. I glanced at a few home pages and marvelled at some of the profile names. Some appeared decidedly Indian in flavour, ironically because they lacked spice, while others I found to be amusing as they remind one of decadently western fare...or flair, as the case may be.

Before starting this post, I checked the suffix (.fr) from the site and found that it is, in fact, from Micronesia, for what it's worth. The name of the site is Shtyle. Your guess is as good as mine whether it has anything to do with "Style".

Names like **ANGEL** *LOVE U ALL* and The Brave Heart can be expected to be chosen by a person of any culture, though for some reason, they give me the impression of non-western choices.

Here's one that starts out sort of ambiguous and then ends somewhat American sounding: °o.O Maddy °o.O™ Keep honking. I'm reloading.

Here's one that is unambiguous to start and then quickly becomes western, spelling notwithstanding. On second thought, I guess misspelling is as western as it is anything else:
Dr.Sumit dalal (Jat Risky After Wisky)

As might be expected, a sprinkling of sexy/suggestive names is evident, like
the coolest chic in hell . In this case, the possible origin is hinted by the accompanying photo of a young woman's lower back with the name "Harshita" tattooed on it.

There's no doubt about this one: life is full of struggle..keep on learning

I had to go through about five pages of names to find a humorous one, although I'm fairly certain the owner meant it more as a political statement: ASIF....:: I GOT HIGH AND NOBODY DIED::