I hope nobody here in these great United Stares takes the freedom of speech and of the press for granted.
In case you don’t know, Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman got slapped with four years in prison. Three for insulting Islam and the prophet Muhammad, and the fourth year for insulting the president of Egypt.
FreeKareem.org has more details.
Oh, and apparently he was hit by a guard moments after being sentenced.
Four years. For speaking (typing) his mind on a ‘blog. This is 2007, isn’t it? This is appalling.
I had a lot more to say, but most of it was vitriolic drivel criticizing the Left, which really has no place in this post.
Pray for Kareem, for his safety and his release.
A Valentine.
To all those in my friends and family who happen to have two “X” chromosomes, and especially to any of you feeling unspecial.
This Valentine’s day greeting is inspired by the message in this video: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/flat4.asp?id=6909
You are special.
You are special on the inside.
God created you, special and unique, as one of His own, and He loves you.
You are a wonderful person.
You are a bright spot in the world, and life would be darker without you.
I am a better person because I know you.
You are special on the outside.
Hollywood and fashion magazines are full of lies.
You don’t need makeup, or plastic surgery, or hair treatments, or the latest fashion fads.
You do not need to lose weight to look attractive.
Never believe anyone who tells you otherwise.
You are beautiful inside and out.
Happy Valentine’s day.
This group over on Flickr is teh awesome.
It’s also a time sink. I love the “hyper-real” sensation some HDR images can give. It’s almost dream-like, even without the halos & flatness many HDR images can have.
I wish I could afford Photoshop CS2. Heck, I can’t even plunk down the $99 for photomatix pro right now. Le sigh.
The “interestingness” browser at flickr is also an efficient time sink.
My “favorites” selections from other members have increased dramatically now.
I probably won’t be able to do any of these, especially in the near future, but these would all be amazing places to visit. And I’m sure I’ll never be able to do those two down in the second list …
… and then there’re the Extreme Travel destinations:
You know, this really is a fascinating time to be alive. There is a saying, supposedly an ancient Chinese curse (it’s not), that goes: “May you live in interesting times.” But I have to disagree. Interesting can be amazing. There are now, or soon will be, possibilities for the average (albeit financially secure) person that quite literally have never been possible before. Can you imagine:
- A week at an island resort, spending two nights in a room at the bottom of the ocean?
- Space tourism, which may be available within the next decade for as little as $20,000 for a 2.5-hour trip (or $1,000,000 for a week-long journey).
ah, to be über rich and to have time to spare … maybe someday … after I win the lottery. Can you win without buying tickets? Dang.
Edit: Woo! Two posts in one day! Check me out, I’m all bad now.
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” — C. S. Lewis
ArrMatey has an interesting post over at Stop the ACLU, pointing out the rising trend among State and Federal government to be the de-facto providers of relief efforts, and indeed to stop private citizens from helping out. What ever happened to our country’s proud history of self-reliance, civil liberties, and limited government? This is one of the dangers of over-dependence on Government.
From ArrMatey’s post:
Here’s my problem with all of this. Government is claiming a monopoly on, instead of a supporting role in, disaster recovery. I don’t like this trend. We used to help ourselves and our neighbors, and I’m sure people still do so where they can get away with it, but it seems that increasingly the government and the media would prefer it if private citizens who wish to take tangible, physical action just stay out of it.
We did not get here overnight. The trend really took off after Hurricane Katrina. I wrote at the time, in a piece I did for Free Market News Network, “Be careful what you wish for. In the case of political and press reaction to the horrific natural event called Hurricane Katrina, we need to be careful what we demand. I’ve been angry over the irrational path that many politicians and reporters are leading us down…a truly dangerous drumbeat of blame has erupted and promises to do much damage to all of us before subsiding. Why is it dangerous? Because, in the future, under this President, or the next, or the one after that, the political risks of “not acting quickly enough” will be far too high, and we will be living under a very different system of government, at least as long as the wind blows…I know that many libertarians and conservatives are familiar with the ‘frog in the slowly heated water’ theory of losing individual liberties. The week of coverage and pontificating following Hurricane Katrina has instead convinced me that we will lose the lion’s share of our liberties because we ourselves will loudly demand it.”
Amen. Democracies don’t collapse from the outside, they rot from within. Overextending Government’s reach — even with our own “best interests” at heart — is never a wise move.
