Daily Blend: Thursday, June 03, 2010

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama

Yesterday on The Daily Show, Charles Krauthammer was shown claiming on Faux News that the humanitarian flotilla that was attacked by Israel whilst en route to Gaza had no purpose because (paraphrasing from memory) “there’s no crisis in Gaza” and “no-one there is starving”. At which point Jon Stewart aired footage of the devastation and suffering there and remarked, “If you can’t see the suffering there, your heart is so dead that tourists flock there to float on their backs in it”. And yet, people like that ghoul are folks Sarah Palin wants us to listen to. You know, “2learn other side”. Other side of what, m’dear? Reality? Compassion? Decency?

• Let’s see: in America, endless scandals of fraud, adultery and incompetence are shrugged off. In Japan, one broken promise regarding the failure to relocate a military base is enough to prompt the Prime Minister himself [pictured] to resign. Must be a cultural thing where the latter country actually values things like integrity and honesty in its politicians and so on. (Also, could his kooky wife have anything to do with staining his reputation?)

• I don’t fully agree with this [pic, 800×600], but it is rather disturbing.
  (via Diaphanitas)

• And we think we’re so clever and advanced, when the Mesoamerican people perfected rubber processing over 3,000 years ago.
  (via The Daily Grail)

• As if porn needed any more bad press.
  (via @BreakingNews)

• The Tea Party: Angry, scared, racist and homophobic. Yes, such groundbreaking poll results.
  (via @todayspolitics)

• Morgan Freeman has an interview on CNN where he corrects the anchor, informing him that he is not a “man of God”, but a “man of faith” – in science. (And yes, the irony of yet another celebrity atheist having played a decidedly godly role before is quite amusing.)

• You just can’t make enough of these.
  (via @VeritasKnight)

• Also, stop reminding America how crummy it is, Veritas!
  (via @VeritasKnight)

• WWII claims its latest three victims. My sympathies to the late heroes.
  (via The Daily Grail)

• Government asks director James Cameron to find a solution for the Gulf oil spill! … amongst a group of 20+ scientists, and Cameron’s expertise is limited to underwater filming and robotics technology. Still impressive and his experience can certainly be useful, but again with the sensationalism.
  (via The Daily Grail)

• Personally, I wish we weren’t so quick to dismiss the nuclear option. To quote Fringe: “[s]ometimes, the only choices we have left are bad ones”. This certainly looks more and more to be one of those times.
  (via The Daily Grail)

• Why we need more (and better) sex ed in schools: more and more teens choose to use the “rhythm method” (ie. limiting their sexual activities during ovulation and so on), basically an improved (but still deficient) form of abstinence. I predict a corresponding upswing in teenage pregnancy levels. Shocking, I know.

As always, if you have any story suggestions, feel free to send them in.