Top Ten Excuses for Michael Richards' racist antics

By Aaron Berg

10. You think that's bad, you should a seen Newman's anti-Asian set at the Ha-Ha Hut.
9. Since when do you get in trouble for doing Mel Gibson impressions?
8. Look, I showed up at the club, had a drink, lost my mind, yadda yadda yadda ... now all the black people hate me.
7. Beats doing IKEA jokes.
6. Oh that's right ... slavery ... I forgot ... too soon?
5. Lesson learned. All proceeds from this show go to help the white survivors of Katrina.
4. I'm just working on stuff to open at Casino Rama for Bill O'Reilly.
3. Look, they didn't catch the opening of my set on video when I introduced the bit with "Hey guys! What if the Soup Nazi lived in Alabama? Well I think it'd go a little something like this ..."
2. Racist?!?!? My housekeeper's Filipino!
1. I said the N-word ... not that there's anything wrong with that!

Edugamement - Geosense

As I've long wanted to improve my paltry geographical knowledge, I'm delighted to have found an online game that is 'just the thing.'
Try Geosense and embrace your shame as a motivating factor.
;)

Perhaps adults need groundings for such reasons

click to enlarger or web

Bobby

Disagreeing with a couple of the reviews I've heard, I highly recommend Bobby. Know that it isn't a movie mostly about Robert Kennedy, but one that leisurely follows the lives of various people surrounding the events at the Ambassador Hotel. I thought Bobby was the first good movie I've seen in a long time. Robert Kennedy's words are inspiring and put to excellent use as socio-political commentary.

(Another plus was filling in some historical knowledge of which I was ignorant)

America's Anchors

Maureen Dowd interviews the pair for Rolling Stone.
Read and enjoy.

War Crimes, South African Gays & Conservative Boners

Representing a very significant move towards logical global moral consistency, German "civil rights activists filed suit Tuesday asking German prosecutors to open a war crimes investigation of outgoing U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and a host of other U.S. officials for their alleged roles in torture at U.S. prisons in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."

The tidbit of the story that does oh so much to inform how the world works:

"A case could not be brought with the International Criminal Court, because the United States is not a member..." and "The case could not be pursued through the UN because the U.S. has veto power..."

In unexpected and wonderful news, South Africa approved same-sex unions.

In unrelated news, Ralph Klein made an inappropriate but amusing joke.
"The joke, scripted by Klein's office staff, poked fun at Liberal MP Stronach for crossing the floor from the federal Conservatives.

"I don't think she ever did have a Conservative bone in her body. Well, except for one," Klein said to a mix of groans, laughter, claps and whistles. "Well, speaking of Peter MacKay..."

He added, "Hiyoooooo.... (thankfully) I'm not here all week."

Canada, The Stinky

In a recent ranking of the efforts of 56 countries to combat global warming, the only countries ranked below Canada are Kazakhstan, United States, China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

The Conspiracy Against Africa

This month's Walrus has an illuminating article, written with both breadth and depth, about the history and current problems of the deep quagmire known as Africa. I highly recommend reading The Conspiracy Against Africa by Gerald Caplan.

An excerpt:

If the West were truly serious about helping Africa, it would not use the World Trade Organization as a tool of the richest against the poorest. It would not dump its surplus food and clothing on African countries. It would not force down the price of African commodities sold on the world market. It would not insist on growth without redistribution. It would not tolerate tax havens and the massive tax evasion they facilitate. It would not strip Africa of its non-renewable resources without paying a fair price. It would not continue to drain away Africa’s best brains. It would not charge prohibitive prices for medicines. In a word, it would end the hundred and one ways in which the West quietly ensures that more wealth pours out of Africa each day than the West transfers to Africa.

Which story will get more coverage?

In what is surely to shock and surprise (in that, 'It took that long?" kind of way) many people, Donald Rumsfeld resigned today as U.S. defence secretary.

In what is surely to shock and surprise (in that, 'It took that long?" kind of way) many people (likely different from the above group), Britney Spears finally had her parasite removed... I mean filed for divorce from Kevin Federline.

Is Dawkins Drooling?

Recently, Reverend Ted Haggard has been fired from the New Life Church for "sexually immoral conduct." Yet again, a high-profile opponent of gay marriage has had homosexual relations. My reaction came as a shocked laugh, as it often is when I learn of vast hypocrisy.

Additionally, given that Haggard previously talked/debated with Dawkins in Dawkins' documentary The Root of All Evil, I thought, "Dawkins must be delighted!"
I've previously mentioned that the documentary could have been better and Dawkins could have presented himself better, but in this clip you can observe the arrogance/condescension of Haggard (the very thing of which he accuses Dawkins).

Given that so many are in pain in this world, I usually don't give jackasses much sympathy. Yet, my second (and third) thoughts on the issue were ones of concern and compassion. IF Haggard is truly 'warring' against himself because of this 'repulsive' part of his life, then he has lived a very pitiful existence. I feel sorry for him and wish him peace.

ps: No, I'm not obsessed with Dawkins, it just so happens there are many news items related to him.
pps: When I watch the clip, I still think Haggard sounds a bit like Travolta.

The Old Atheism

Wired's lead article is about the growing anti-religious movement. I found the article is a bit too antagonistic, but it is representative of two of those profiled: Dawkins and Harris. Dennett is also profiled but his view that religion isn't necessarily a bad thing is quite different from theirs.
Read it here.

An excerpt:

That's because when secular investigations take the lead, sacred doctrines collapse. There's barely a field of modern research -- cosmology, biology, archaeology, anthropology, psychology -- in which competing religious explanations have survived unscathed. Even the lowly humanities, which began the demolition job more than 200 years ago with textual criticism of the Bible, continue to make things difficult for believers through careful analysis of the historical origins of religious texts. While Collins and his fellow reconcilers can defend the notion of faith in the abstract, as soon as they get down to doctrine, the secular professors show up with their corrosive arguments. When it comes to concrete examples of exactly what we should believe, reason is a slippery slope, and at the bottom -- well, at the bottom is atheism.