Killer Karaoke

What does it say about a society that has a series of killings grouped around people who sing the Sinatra standard "My Way" out of tune? It's true unfortunately. This weird situation exists in the Philippines where a number of people have been killed in fights over poor renditions of the song. Authorities seem to blame it on a cultural bias where the people pride themselves on being good singers. Talk about a poor stereotype. But then if you read the full story, you find that you will find karaoke machines in back alleys and other weird places, reflecting the how the craze has affected the people. Kind of hard to swallow, but is there a better option? New York Times (Feb 7, 2010) - ... The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.” The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song? Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country’s many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation ... Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

The Catcher in the Dictionary

Maybe it's all too fitting that a California school district tried to ban the dictionary for its explicit comments just days before the famed JD Salinger died. Salinger of course was the author of The Catcher in the Rye, one of the most banned books in American schools. And because of his death, his famous novel from1951 about adolescence and growing up is back on the top 20 over at Amazon. It's interesting, I know all about the book but have never read it. Maybe I'll have to pick it up. Regardless, someone down in southern California made a complaint that the famous Mirriam-Webster's dictionary was too explicit and not age appropriate for younger children. One of the offending entries was for "oral sex" which was defined as oral stimulation of the genitals. Now you see, I can't really get outraged with this one, because it's just too stupid. Words aren't offensive, it how they are put together and what their intent is that can cause damage. I daresay that words like "penis", "masturbation" and "orgasm" have been in the dictionary for quite a few years. It doesn't make the dictionary or encyclopedia dirty or unworthy. I'm sure there is a portion of the population that disagree, but they're not on the internet and definitely not reading my blog. Fox News (Jan 27, 2010) - California School District Reverses Dictionary Ban After 'Oral Sex' Flap Embarrass. -verb 1. To cause confusion and shame; disconcert; abash. As in: A California school district was EMBARRASSED after it tried to ban America's classic dictionary from 4th- and 5th-grade classrooms because it worried the book contained "age-inappropriate" words. After conducting an investigation of the very wordy book, Menifee Union School District has reversed its decision and invited Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary back into bookcases at Oak Meadows Elementary School. ... Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

Political Correctness at McDonald's

Which Culture Should We Insult Today? This is one for the books. McDonald's created a series of 12 zodiac toys for their Happy Meals for the Chinese audience. The Chinese zodiac runs according to the full year in a 12 year cycle. Each of signs of the zodiac is represented by an animal, like the snake, rooster or monkey. And one of the signs is a pig. Which is verbotten to Muslims. So McDonald's decides to change the Chinese zodiac and replace the pig with Cupid. Can you imagine how the board meeting went: "Well, we can't insult the Muslims, so let's insult everyone else in China. Yeah, that's the thing to do." It's like someone representing the astrological zodiac using a frog instead of a bull for taurus.  Oh yeah, that would go over big. CNN (Jan 25, 2010) - McDonald's frantic backpedaling: The pig toy fiasco There is such a thing as being too culturally sensitive. The Straits Times reports that fast food giant McDonald's opened up a virtual beehive in Singapore when it deliberately omitted pig characters from its latest toy promotion, earning the ire of netizens and Chinese customers. The pig toy was suppose to be part of a 12-character Doraemon set depicting the animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar. However, management at the Golden Arches decided not to include the pig toy to avoid offending Muslim customers, and had a Doraemon Cupid toy in its place instead -- a move which seriously upset Chinese customers keen on collecting all 12 toys in the series. A flurry of irate emails and demands by collectors and customers followed, and now the fast food giant has reversed its decision, adding a pig toy back to the promotional line-up (Updated January 25, 2010). ... Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

Corner Parks are Now Responsible for Global Warming

Sometimes, I think these people should just shut up. In an effort to help the global warming cause, the University of California Irvine is releasing the results of their study that says that the park down on the corner of your street is contributing to the carbon in the air.  Yes, the green space actually helps to retain carbon, but the amount of carbon it takes to maintain the parks is greater than the amount of carbon it saves.  That's when you look at the mowing, fertilizing and other lawn care maintenance that goes on. I'm not going to dispute their findings, but did they really consider the impact their study would produce?  Look at just some of the headlines that already being produced:  "Urban 'green' spaces may contribute to global warming, UCI study finds", "City Parks May Be Bad for the Environment" and "Urban 'green' spaces not so environmentally friendly". In this world where few people read past the headlines, the impression is that city parks are bad and we should get rid of them.  Even worse, when you read the full articles, that's what the conclusion is.  We shouldn't have city parks. This is such a lame brain news release. Anyone who has the slightest doubts about global warming will be laughing at this.  How could they not?  How could this be taken seriously?  Talk about fuel for the fire.  This damages the global warming cause more than aids it.  Taking care of greenspaces are things a simple thing that the average joe can do and can relate to.  Now they are being told that greenspaces are bad. Let's take the study to its rightful conclusion, something that seems to be sorely lacking:  If you get rid of the park, what will replace it?  A family home?  A store?  A factory?  It's going to be something because they are not going to leave it as an overgrown path of weeds.  And then the real question becomes, what takes up more carbon, a playground or a factory? Duh. Studies like this do more damage to the global warming cause than good.  These people need to move past raw data and look at real life and real consequences. Like I said, I think these people should just shut up.  UCI (Jan 19, 2010) - Urban 'green' spaces may contribute to global warming, UCI study finds Dispelling the notion that urban “green” spaces help counteract greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found – in Southern California at least – that total emissions would be lower if lawns did not exist. Turfgrass lawns help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store it as organic carbon in soil, making them important “carbon sinks.” However, greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer production, mowing, leaf blowing and other lawn management practices are four times greater than the amount of carbon stored by ornamental grass in parks, a UC Irvine study shows. These emissions include nitrous oxide released from soil after fertilization. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that’s 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, the Earth’s most problematic climate warmer. “Lawns look great – they’re nice and green and healthy, and they’re photosynthesizing a lot of organic carbon. But the carbon-storing benefits of lawns are counteracted by fuel consumption,” said Amy Townsend-Small, Earth system science postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the study, forthcoming in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. . . . Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

Quebec suspends all new Haitian adoptions

I know, that got my hackles up at first also. What a headline considering the earthquakes. But then you read that the UN has requested countries be careful about any adoptions since it is hard to verify any personal information of the kids. Which can lead to child smuggling. Like what happened as a result of the tsunami in 2004. Disgusting. Just when you think we cannot sink any lower. There is a certain corner of hell reserved for child smugglers like that. Montreal Gazette, Jan 20, 2010 - By CHERYL CORNACCHIA The Quebec government has put on hold all new adoption applications of children in Haiti as part of an international effort to prevent a repeat of the child smuggling that occurred after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. On Monday, a United Nations agency urged caution with any new adoptions, given that the events unfolding in Haiti make it impossible to verify the personal and family situations of children. ... The federal government has announced it will expedite those pending applications by fast-tracking the visas and other paperwork that come under federal jurisdiction at the end of the international adoption process. Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

Jesus Rifles for Everyone

This makes two religious articles in two days. Somebody is going so smite me if I'm not careful. This story is about an American manuafacturer of rifle scopes engraving coded references to Bible quotes next to the serial number. Trijicon is a Michigan company that has putting these reference on their scopes for many years. It seems that gun enthusiasts have known and approved of this practice for years. ABC News - Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the U.S. military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found. The sights are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army. U.S. military rules specifically prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn up in order to prevent criticism that the U.S. was embarked on a religious "Crusade" in its war against al Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents. Read the full story here... I think this is so cool but so wrong at the same time. They say there are no atheists in a foxhole. I can see that and I can also see how having some Biblical connection for Christians would be comforting. It's almost like having your weapon blessed and feeling like you are invincible because you are protected by your God. Which of course is why it is so wrong. Any non-Christian would have the opposite reaction. Almost like the weapon is cursed. You can't mass produce something and expect it to please everyone. Religion is too touchy and is not something to be easily dismissed. Bil An Outraged Dad

Pat Robertson was Right

Gasp! That's right. I find myself in the in unenviable position of saying that Pat Robertson was correct in saying that Haiti is cursed. No, I don't personally think Haiti is cursed. Nor do I like Pat Robertson or his holier-than-thou type of religious preaching. However, Robertson is a religious leader speaking on a religious show to religious people. He is giving his spiritual view on the country of Haiti and honestly, I think he could say he wanted to (within certain limits) if could justify it within a religious context. Let's look at the facts, or rather the commonly held historical facts. Something that no one seems to care about these days. Haiti was once a slave colony of France. On August 14, 1791, a sacred Voodoo blood ceremony was performed to invoke Satan so that he would exterminate the French from the island. The Haitians eventually bought their way out of slavery and formed a country 13 years later. So from a Christian point of view, Haiti is cursed. Hey, in the every day Catholic mass we say that anyone who isn't a Christian will never make it to heaven. That's pretty opinionated also. But there's more. Because in Robertson's lifetime, in 1991, Haiti renewed it's pact with the devil when its new president Aristide, a defrocked Catholic priest, reinstated the 200-year-old pact with the devil. Not in a secret ceremony, but in public so that everyone knew that Voodoo was still the official religion of Haiti. American Daily, 2004 - Government Of The Devil, By The Devil, And For The Devil By Tom Barrett (03/11/04) "Haiti is the only country in the entire world that has dedicated its government to Satan. Demonic spirits have been consulted for political decisions, and have shaped the country's history." Thus speaks Reverend Doug Anderson, who grew up in Haiti with missionary parents, and served there along with his wife Dawn as a missionary until 1990. The leaders of Haiti make no attempt to hide their allegiance to Satan. Haiti's government is a government of the devil, by the devil, and for the devil. It is a matter of well-documented historical fact that the nation of Haiti was dedicated to Satan 200 years ago. On August 14, 1791, a group of houngans (voodoo priests), led by a former slave houngan named Boukman, made a pact with the Devil at a place called Bois-Caiman. All present vowed to exterminate all of the white Frenchmen on the island. They sacrificed a black pig in a voodoo ritual at which hundreds of slaves drank the pig's blood. In this ritual, Boukman asked Satan for his help in liberating Haiti from the French. In exchange, the voodoo priests offered to give the country to Satan for 200 years and swore to serve him. On January 1, 1804, the nation of Haiti was born and thus began a new demonic tyranny. Read the full story here... Listen, Pat Robertson can say that the grass is red for all I care.  It doesn't mean that grass is red. And I'm not going to get upset if he says it's red either. His observations about a curse causing an earthquake are about as relevant as any religious reader representing his views. But at least he did base his conclusion on fact. Bil An Outraged Dad