Our Persian contact sent this to us this evening. (Thanks Shab) This man was whipped for drinking water during the day during the Muslim month of Ramadan where Muslims are instructed to skip lunch and stuff their faces every morning before sunrise and then again every night after sunset.
It looks like the Nikon D4 was dunked in butter chicken curry.
The Hobbit will be released as three movies.
370 million people without electricity:
Northern India's power grid crashed Monday, halting trains, forcing hospitals and airports onto backup power and providing a dark reminder of the nation's inability to feed a growing hunger for energy as it strives to become an economic power.
Losing power is not out of the ordinary for people in India. The big question: just how long will it take for the power to come back?
By evening, 15 hours after the outage began, officials said full power had been restored.
Not bad. From experience, it becomes stressful when power is lost for over 24 hours (with no backup).
Link via Instapundit.
Totally out of context.
Sun News via Jihad Watch:
Three liquor stores recently sold booze to a 14-year-old boy whose identity was hidden because he was wearing a full-length burka and face veil at the time, a Sun News Network exclusive has found.
Of course, it would have been RACISSSS! to check for ID.
I thought only guns were evil.
Slowly we are learning more about the 12 people killed in Aurora, Colorado. For four men, we are also learning how their ultimate sacrifice saved four lives by their using their own bodies to shield their girlfriends, and in one case, a fellow airman.
More:
We do not have any reports of women hurling themselves in front of their boyfriends or anyone else accompanying them.
We all know, deep down in our bones, that women are equally as courageous and selfless as men. Of course, some women would have sacrificed themselves to protect their boyfriends, were it not for the dreaded system that has kept them down for ages. Obviously, the blame lies with the PatriarchyTM.
It sounds like an exotic cereal. In reality, it's lightning fast internet connectivity: 1 Gbps Down and 1 Gbps Up!
It's shockingly not expensive at all given its speed.
Robert Spencer condenses the Islamic logic:
"According to the woman, the men issued threats and said: 'You are a bad Muslim', and 'you bring shame to Islam because you went to a party on a day of Ramadan.'"
Attending a party during Ramadan: haram. Beating up a young woman who attended a party during Ramadan: halal, and pleasing to Allah.
Women love and, of course, obey power:
The close cousin of lemmingitis (falling in step with fads) is obedience to authority. If you are apt to align your lifestyle with whatever is the latest fashion, (and ostracize those who don’t), you are probably also apt to blindly obey high status authority figures telling you what is good for you. If true, then we might speculate that women make better cultural foot soldiers for whichever elite authority is most tangible in their lives, owing to women’s greater propensity to accept authority dictums without question.
A TEACHER at a Blackburn mosque has admitted using beatings and torture positions as a form of discipline on four pupils.
This sort of treatment is quite common in Pakistan:
He used to strike the children around the back of the head and on the back with his fists during religious lessons at the mosque.
Depending on the circumstances, both photos can be 'good'. I, however, like the second shot. The compression effect of 40mm means that the tricycle no longer 'possesses' a fat butt.
The judges, as you'll see, give him 10 for effort.
South Africa thrash England by an innings. In England. Their bowling needs to click if they want to save the series and keep their ranking.
South Africa's domination has set a new record:
Against South Africa in this game, they took two wickets for 637 runs, an average of 318.50 runs per wicket. England's batsmen, on the other hand, averaged 31.25 in the match. The difference of 287.25 is the highest ever in a Test which has produced a result, which makes this the most comprehensive win ever.
Damn.
Soon, England won't be number one in Test cricket. In the last few days, the South Africans have nearly ground them into dust. The epic partnership between Kallis and Amla was stopped because Smith wants to push for victory. 637 for the loss of two wickets! What a miserable statement on England's bowling attack.
The Denver Batman shootings once more demonstrates that cardboard signs are an inadequate means of disarming mass killers
Clayton Cramer writes about the possible psychological factors involved.
A Canadian woman was refused cab rides because she had a dog. I wonder what religious beliefs those people held?
Image via You didn't build that.
Right Wing News emailed more than 260 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to rate 65 prominent people and organizations on the Right as either strongly liked, liked, disliked, or strongly disliked.
Another option would have improved the survey: no opinion or neutral.
Adam Carolla doesn't like the speech that Obama made recently.
He also takes apart the idea of the rich paying their "fair share".
The image here is just mean.
Amazon takes product shipping to a whole new level.
The Amazon support is quite hot, by the way.
Co-producer Philippa Boyens addressed some changes made for the movie adaptation, especially the addition of a new character or two, something that could be seen as heresy by the literary community or Tolkien fans. Boyens said the story felt weighed down by males, so they created a female elf, being played by Evangeline Lilly and seen briefly in the footage.
Vox Popoli has the proper response:
What. The. Fuck? Tolkien's novels are a masterpiece. A classic. They define a genre. So Philippa Fucking Boyens decides she can improve upon them by adding a female character to do what, discuss tampons and boy bands? Does Tokenlass spend her screen time regaling the dwarves with tedious gossip about elves that none of them have ever met? Does she have sex with Borin before making a hypergamous upgrade to Thorin [...]
I wonder if Hollywood wanted to make Lawrence of Arabia today, then would a woman be included in the movie to, you know, bring that ridiculous "feminine energy"?
Check it out. The capacity part is gold.
James Berardinelli reviews Nolan's epic:
Batman is more heroic, more flawed, and more conflicted than in either of the previous two movies. At times, he makes Hamlet look decisive. In the end, we get the character we yearn for, but a lot has to happen for the movie to get to that point. Jonathan Nolan admits to having been influenced by Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities when writing The Dark Knight Rises, but one line more than any other became the seed that germinated the final story. You don't have to wonder about it; it's referenced explicitly.
Sigh. I haven't read that work of Charles Dickens.
As you've never seen, er, heard him before.
A few more items in the never ending list of Things That Offend Muslims:
Play Station and IKEA are among the latest non-Muslim entities to offend Muslims. First, “a [Saudi] citizen was shocked when he bought an electronic Play Station game and found a stage that insults the Noble Koran,” claiming that “the game targets the Koran, specifically by opening fire on it.” The man lamented: “We are tired of saying ‘Who will take responsibility for this?’”
And IKEA is making a wine carrier which is called Omar!
It could be worse. Imagine if they started selling toilet paper under the name Muhammad.
Stating that "the time has come for a tonal shift" in the blockbuster series, director Christopher Nolan announced Thursday that the forthcoming Batman film The Dark Knight Rises would take a lighter, more humorous tone than its predecessors, and would be filled with "slapstick, primary colors, and just plain old fun."
Are you kidding me!?
"Needless to say, no one could ever replace Heath Ledger as the Joker," Nolan added, "but I have to say that Rob Schneider stepped up like a pro. He's just naturally funny and a real cutup, which is what you want in the Joker."
OMG.
Opening July 20, The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and the yet-to-be-announced winner of the Nickelodeon/Capri Sun "I Wanna Co-star with Batman" Sweepstakes as either Robin or Batgirl.
NOOOOOOO!
Too many Muslims forget that their religion teaches peace:
Julie Aftab was 16 and working in an office in Pakistan when a man walked in and asked her if she was Christian, spotting a small cross she wore around her neck. She replied that yes, she was and the man became abusive, shouting at her that she was living in the gutter and would go to hell for shunning Islam.
He left and returned half an hour later, clutching a bottle of battery acid which he savagely chucked over her head. As she ran screaming for the door a second man grabbed her by the hair and forced more of the liquid down her throat, searing her esophagus.
She survived. Those Muslims weren't merely savages. They were incompetent savages. Oh, and their feelings and pride took quite a blow.
On leaving the hospital she was labelled a pariah in her neighbourhood, her family was persecuted and their home was burnt down. 'They wanted to hang me,' she told the paper. 'They thought it would be an insult to Islam if I lived.'
The "insult" lives on.
Link via Vlad Tepes.
Quite a rare Disney perspective.
Samizdata:
This inscription is carved onto the Memorial to those who died serving in Bomber Command during World War II.
What I wrote last month:
I have to say that Apple laptops, especially their screens, look very nice. For far too long on the windows side of laptops the screen quality has been utter crap. Of course, windows laptops are also cheaper but often the better quality screens (IPS) are not even presented as a possible option. So, even if one is willing to spend more for the quality, the option doesn't exist.
Acer released a $1,400 laptop with a spectacularly atrocious screen. Fortunately, they're not getting any love in the comments at Anandtech.
I was reading Badger's account of a dating disaster and it occurred to me that most of the discussion, male and female, was missing the point. If you are a man who is searching for a partner, as opposed to a player seeking to score, then the entire subject of "what is the ideal place to take a first date" is fundamentally a category error.
So true.
I know a few guys who worry and put lots of thought into the first date. They want to make a "good" impression. Once, the first dinner date cost a fellow $100. That's crazy! Even if the gal is into you and agrees to meet up for a second date, what then? The next date, in monetary terms, will likely be a downgrade. That's the exact wrong way to go about it.
What is being dubbed as Egypt's "first sex-slave marriage" took place mere days after the Muslim Brotherhood's Muhammad Morsi was made president.
Last Monday, on the Egyptian TV show Al Haqiqa ("the Truth"), journalist Wael al-Ibrashi began the program by airing a video-clip of a man, Abd al-Rauf Awn, "marrying" his "slave." Before making the woman, who had a non-Egyptian accent, repeat the Koran's Surat al-Ikhlas after him, instead of saying the customary "I marry myself to you," the woman said "I enslave myself to you," and kissed him in front of an applauding audience.
Aww, isn't that sweet.
Awn further explained that sex-slave marriage is ideal for today's Egyptian society. He based his position on ijtihad, a recognized form of jurisprudence, whereby a Muslim scholar comes up with a new idea—one that is still rooted in the Koran and example of Muhammad—yet one that better fits the circumstances of contemporary society.
I wonder what Irshad Manji has to say about this latest use of ijtihad.
While this may be the first sex-slave marriage to take place in Egypt's recent history, it is certainly not the first call to revive the practice. Earlier, Egyptian Sheikh Huwaini, lamenting that the "good old days" of Islam are over, declared that, in an ideal Muslim society, "when I want a sex-slave [I should be able to go] to the market and pick whichever female I desire and buy her." Likewise, a Kuwaiti female politician advocated for reviving the institute of sex-slavery, suggesting that Muslims should bring female captives of war—specifically Russian women from the Chechnya war—and sell them to Muslim men in the markets of Kuwait.
Yeah, the West is so lame. All this talk of freedom but one is not free to walk into a market and simply buy a young sex-slave. These modern, innovative Muslims just might beat us in this arena.
Tambi Dude emailed this link to a video in which a wahabi describes life in janat -- heaven. It's a nice racket. Create and maintain a sexually repressed society in this world and promise a never-ending porn shoot in the afterlife.
When I was in high school and and later university, it was quite something to see and hear those who were smarter than me; those who grasped mathematical concepts almost effortlessly; those who clearly understood abstract economic theory in a matter of moments and those who didn't seem to have any errors in their academic logic.
It was as though my mind was like a dependable Toyota and theirs was a roaring Ferrari. Compared to us Tanishq's brilliance is like a mach 25 space shuttle. To compare, is to be silly. Understanding integral calculus at the age of 7! Attending a third year university course at the age of 9! Just incredible.
Love the 'Lucky Billy' part.
Hollywood wants to remake another action classic. Here's a small video to give you an idea of what's coming next year.
The new actor will need to have mountains of talent and skill to better Peter Weller's iconic take on the character.
Fred Reed:
Today I'm going to explain economics, society, and the pursuit of happiness, if any. Either pursuit or happiness. When I'm through, there won't be any questions left. You will know everything. Whole university departments will shutter their doors. And good riddance.
What follows is quite entertaining.
I'm guessing tomatoes are strict Catholics.
I think these people do not go nearly far enough. I think they should ban all food for Muslims as pretty much every single edible thing today is a direct result of genetic engineering, reaching back to the Catholic monk, Gregor Mendel, and right up to the (probably) atheist, Norman Borlogue, probably the greatest human being who ever lived by any rational standard. So I say “Go Muslim morons go! Ban all food altogether for Muslims! That will sure show us!
I bet that animal is called babe-ullah: Allah is the babe's ass!
I was think of buying this water "pitcher" since I've read rave reviews about it. Unforunately, I can't find it in any online store in Canada.
Even stranger, I can order it on the US Amazon site with ridiculous shipping charges but I can't order the filters!
You Tube: Eric Allen Bell speaks on his discovery of the true nature of Islam.
It's amazing how much one can learn by doing a little research.
Link via Vlad Tepes.
Lava tends to pump up the mercury.
Some men just want a tangerine.