Double standards are divisive
First of all I would like to apologise for the hiatus but I am flat out and snowed under at work. My new boss is a slave driver and I’ve been literally working 16 hours a day for these past 2 weeks.
Now that I got this out of the system, I can finally start to vent my frustrations again. As early as last Month, Comedy Central censored an episode of South Park because it mocked the Prophet Muhammed. Now this is bad, and it’s not the mockery of Muhammed I’m talking about, but the censorship. I believe that people should be free to make fun of symbols and leaders – be they political or religious – and I don’t agree with censorship on the basis that the humour may offend others.
I’m sure that any kind of joke on any subject is bound to offend someone at some point. The fish breeders association, for instance, may be offended by someone who links fish with stupidity because of their short term memory loss. This is the way I see it: if you feel offended by something you’re watching on TV, change channel. If you are offended by something that someone said during a live show in a theatre, walk out. You are actually free to do so.
I can never come to terms with the idea that some people want to stop others from doing what they do because the patronising idiots don’t like the other performer’s work. Get a life.
Having said that, I am completely allergic to double standards. So the same Comedy Central TV station that censored the South Park episode less than a month ago is now working on an animated series based on Christ. I’m no fan of any religion, but if South Park was censored on the basis of religion, why are they making a whole series to mock JC?
The Western world tends to be more tolerant than the Muslim world, and many people in the West think that it is OK to mock religion while the same cannot be said of the Muslim world. However, Comedy Central have now set a precedent and they should be consistent.
It is precisely this kind of behaviour from fellow Westerners that is fomenting religious divisions in different societies. Just because Muslims are VERY vociferous and dogmatic they should not get a special treatment. Comedy Central needs to have a clear policy on religious mockery. It should decide whether this is acceptable (and I agree it is), or not. Applying double standards is unjust and, ultimately, divisive.
The theocracy where ‘normal’ things don’t happen very often
Hahahaha. They didn’t question me.
Interrogati għax esprimew fehemthom dwar il-Papa
Il-Pulizija żammet u nterrogat persuni li fl-aħħar sigħat esprimew ħsibijiet ta’ kritika fil-konfront tal-Papa Benedittu XVI.
F’każ ieħor li jhedded il-libertà tal-espres sjoni, dawn il-persuni kienu miżmuma f’ċella, għal ftit sigħat, qabel imbagħad kienu interrogati.
Il-pulizija wissew lil dawn il-persuni dwar il-messaġġi tagħhom fuq in-network soċjali facebook. Liema messaġġi l-uffiċjali tal-Korp iddeskrivew bħala “antagonisti”.
Fost il-persuni nterrogati kien hemm min tkellem dwar l-aħħar każi ta’ abbuż sesswali fi ħdan il-Knisja.
Ma kinux wieħed u t-tnejn li esprimew id-diżappunt tagħhom għal mod kif il-knisja taħt it-tmexxija tal-aħħar żewġ Papiet imxiet f’dawn il-każi.
Intant wieħed mill-kummenti li l-pulizija ġabret persuna dwarhom, fejn saħansitra marret tfittxu f’daru u fuq il-post tax-xogħol, kien jgħid li l-“papa huwa kriminal u li għandu jgħaddi ġuri f’qorti ċivili.”
Jidher li l-kumment ta’ dan l-individwu huwa mnebbah mill-argumenti li għamel il-korrispondent tal-ġurnal influwenti Ingliż The Guardian, Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins stqarr li minkejja li l-Papa Benedittu XVI ma kienx wieħed mill-qassisin li abbużaw mit-tfal, il-Papa għandu jwieġeb bħala l-Kap tal-Knisja.
Huwa appella biex meta jżur l-Ingilterra ikun arrestat u jekk huwa innoċenti għandu jipprova dan fil-qorti.
Dawkins iżid isemmi l-każi li għalihom irid lill-Papa iwieġeb.
Anke jekk huma ħafna dawk li ma jaqblux mal-argumenti ta’ Dawkins, inkluż fl-Ingilterra, huwa la kien arrestat u lanqas interrogat mill-Pulizija, kif ġara f’Malta fl-aħħar sigħat.
It-TORĊA ppruvat tieħu l-kummenti tal-Kummissarju tal-Pulizija John Rizzo dwar dawn il-każ.
Minkejja dan kull attentat biex nagħmlu kuntatt miegħu sfuma fix-xejn.
F’intervista li ppubblikajna nhar il-Ħadd li għadda, Rizzo qal li l-pulizija għandha tara li kulħadd josserva l-liġi u jekk għandu jsir xi tibdil fil-liġi għandu jsir mil-leġiżlatur.
No comment
Pope falls asleep during mass
Pope Benedict XVI briefly nodded off in front of tens of thousands of people during an outdoor mass in Malta’s capital, Valletta.
By Nick Squires in Valletta
Published: 8:09PM BST 18 Apr 2010
The Pope slumped forward around halfway through the mass, which was held just outside the historic stone walls encircling the city.
He had to be roused by the Vatican’s master of ceremonies, Bishop Guido Marini, who was sitting next to him and gently nudged him.
“It was just for a few seconds,” said an onlooker. “He slumped forward onto his chest.”
Although the pontiff spent only 26 hours in Malta after flying in from Rome on Saturday, he had a busy and tiring schedule of events – meeting dignitaries and Malta’s president, waving to crowds from his “Pope-mobile” and expressing his sorrow to a group of sex abuse victims.
But his apparent exhaustion is also a reflection of his age – he turned 83 on Friday.
The Vatican announced recently that the Pope will not take his usual holiday in northern Italy this summer because officials do not want to over-tax him.
His health is generally good but he takes medication for a cardiovascular condition and last summer slipped and fell in his bedroom.
The Vatican had to allay fears over the his health in December after it was announced that he would celebrate Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve two hours earlier than normal.
The decision was taken in order to “alleviate a little the Pope’s tiredness”, said the Vatican’s official spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi.
Hunters shoot at anything. Period
I can’t understand why hunters get offended when we say that they shoot anything that moves. I guess that the truth hurts. Now that they can’t shoot birds in Spring, some of them are aiming their guns at different targets.
Someone shot at a cart in Manikata last Saturday, and it turns out that this was being used by Birdlife volunteers. I wonder who. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, Let me think. Elementary my dear Lino. If this poor car was moving, I would understand that the self-fulfilling prophecy must have got the better of some hunters (remember, they shoot at anything that moves). But this car was parked, for heaven’s sake. It wasn’t even moving or flying!
I guess that we have to update the saying to: hunters shoot at anything. Period.
We’re led by idiots
As you may be very well aware by now, I am not a fan of Josef Ratzinger detto “Nazinger”. Neither I am fond of the institution he represents. Having said that, I respect him as a Head of State, and as a religious leader of millions of people.
I think that by now, he must have been pinching himself incessantly, and he must have been asking his closest aides to slap him hard in the face to make sure that what he witnessed so far is real. In other words, he would want to confirm that he is not dreaming.
‘m more than sure that he must be thinking to himself that he was transported to the zone where normal things don’t happen very often.
When he met PM Gonzi earlier this evening, the Head of Government cracked the silliest of jokes. He said that “he hoped that the ash cloud currently causing air traffic chaos in Europe would delay his departure tomorrow, thus giving him the time to go to Gozo.” Acording to The Times online ” The joke was made during a private meeting at the Palace in Valletta before an exchange of gifts. The Pope smiled, but did not reply” – which is a clear indication that he was not amused. Let’s face it: this is the mother of all bad taste jokes. It’s a joke that one would crack with a friend or relative, or maybe (just maybe) an acquaintance, but not a dignitary. It sounds like a typical comment a classical nerd would pass to the gorgeous chick whom he has a big crush on.
But the best is yet to come. It seems to me that the two political leaders are challenging each other for the Twat of the Day Award. Joseph and Michelle Muscat were carrying their children while they went to meet the Pope. Worse still, Maltastar‘s bid to control the damage is even more ridiculous than their boss’s antics: “Commenting on the meeting, Dr Muscat said that he really appreciated the way the Pope treated and appreciated the presence of his children.” Where in the world would you see this? Not even Gaddafi or any like-minded eccentric idiot would do such a thing? I wonder whether this was a case of Nazinger passed a snide remark about the kids in the room, and the Muscats actually thinking that he was actually complimenting them for their innovative ideas. This is the sort of incident where a polite person would say: “ah! You brought your children. That’s interesting!”
This whole debacle looks like a typical scene out of Blackadder where Joey Baldrick pulls up a stunt to outdo his archrival after coming up with “a cunning plan” following the news that that Lorry Blackadder made an utter fool out of himself. They truly are dumb and dumber.
As Sir Alan Sugar would tell his (The Apprentice) candidates: “you’re a bloody disaster . . . . .”
The blue penis deceit
Fresh from The Times
Luqa ‘phallic’ monument hidden with banner
Members of the Neo Catechumenal Movement hid the infamous Luqa monument with a banner as the Pope passed through Luqa on his way to Valletta.
The large black and white banner carried the words “Cammino Neo Catecumenale” and a colour picture of the Madonna and child.
The phallic like structure in Luqa has made it to the international news in the past days after the mayor requested its removal.
Essentially, the messages that the Neo C sect is sending are:
- the Pope will interpret the Luqa phallus as a practical joke related to his paedophile subjects’ favourite tool
- the Pope is not old/mature enough to be exposed to sexual imagery
- the Pope lacks any intellectual ability to appreciate modern art
- it’s OK for all other Heads of state and common (Rocker) folk to be exposed to the blue penis, but the Pope is a cut above the rest
If Nazinger is allergic to blue penises, then he should not be allowed to watch Watchmen.
God on film
It seems that journalists at The Times are consistently failing to do a decent job on week-ends. They failed to follow-up on a story that could answer millions of questions to billions of people; a story that will undoubtedly bring peace and love to the whole world (or floods and pestilence – depending on the main character’s mood). And yet, they do nothing about it.
About an hour ago, The Times updated their website to keep us all informed about the Pope’s visit, and they publish a picture of . . . GOD HIMSELF! There’s no mention of an interview (planned or hastily carried out) with HIM. What is this? Are they afraid that the Pope will be pissed off because he was upstaged by his boss?
Let’s face it. Statistics show that Atheism is the third biggest religion, and God’s presence here on the Rock will definitely put an estimated 1.1 billion people out of their misery. I cannot possibly fathom how our illustrious journalists did nothing about this once-in-a-planet-lifetime event! God reveals himself to us and they ignore him because they’re too busy waiting for the Pope. There are so many questions they could have asked him. They could have also invited him to address the whole world . . . . after Ratzinger’s address, of course. This is a great opportunity to speak to everyone journalists from all corners of the world will be following Razzie in these next few hours; or shall I say minutes?
But what’s REALLY surprising is that for the first time in His life, God looks happy. He is ACTUALLY smiling. After decades of drowning people and handing out punishments like Kwiksave gifts, God is finally happy. And he got himself pictured in a miraculous t-shirt with the word “Paulus” written in reverse too!