I do have a new name for my blog, Zeitgeist Zephyr “Spirit of the Westward wind…”. I do have a new website for it, however I downloaded the wrong package, so I can’t blog on it for another month. It is at www.zeitgeistzephyr.com . Hopefully it’s up and running, for some reason it’s blocked here at school, so I can’t check on it!
Archive for January, 2008
American Bully
For any of you out there who doubt that bullying has longer lasting affects than merely causing emotional distress, please read this article. Bullying is a serious issue and it’s one that I can’t stand to witness. This story details why.
Both Sides of the Apocalypse
In the Iranian answer to “The Passion of the Christ”, “Jesus, The Spirit Of God” details the Islamic account of the life of Jesus Christ. Few people realize that the Qu’ran (Koran) and The Bible share quite a lot in common.
In the earliest days of Islam following the time that Muhammed had spent on Earth, most Muslims had a copy of the Qu’ran and a copy of The Bible. This is due to the fact that much of the foundation of Islam is based on Judaeism and Christianity. Many of the Qu’ran’s early prophets would be familiar to any one who is Jewish or Christian - Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Christ. The key difference is that Islam views Jesus as merely a prophet, and not the Son of God, and that it was Judas who was crucified.
What I found interesting about the article I read on this is that it brings up these similarities between Christianity and Islam, which are so rarely puplicized. The other reason is that it seems we have some common ground in current issues, namely dealing with the Apocalypse. The Apocalypse, according to Islam, will include the return of Imam Mahdi (Muslim prophet) with Jesus.
It has been the position of the Iranian government under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to hasten the return of Jesus and the Mahdi.
If you’re like me and believe that our President has (wrongly) used the Apocalypse as justification for getting involved in the Middle East, at least we know both sides are working towards a common goal…
Story
BreitBart
According to Michael Chertoff - I’m a con man
It’s stuff like this that infuriates me and makes me yearn for better days ahead, days when the Bush administration is a thing of the past.
What this comes down to is something that I’ve been vehemently against from day one, and that is the REAL ID Act. What it amounts to is being the first national ID card system by establishing uniform standards for drivers licenses.
So, what has happened in the happy world of politics to prompt me to write about this yet again? For one, I can’t stress enough how much power this gives the government, being able to monitor everything you do and purchase. Remember the novel 1984, by a guy called George Orwell. Pretty good stuff, talks about a government that kills people who don’t do explicitly what it expects them to, monitoring every aspect of their lives on video cameras and ID cards. Big Brother is watching.
Here’s the new propaganda. Fresh words from the heir to the prince of darkness himself, the Director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Michael Chertoff. He came out today and had this to say about opponents of the REAL ID Act.
“There are three categories of people who will be very unhappy about secure driver’s licenses: terrorists … illegal immigrants … and con men.”
Well, I know I’m not an illegal immigrant, and despite what DHS might think about my hobbies*, I’m not a terrorist. The only thing that leaves me as being at least somewhat American is a con man. That statement must also mean that the ACLU, which is against REAL ID, is a terrorist organization.
It’s this blatant rhetoric that makes me fear and despise to the point of hatred this administration. The moment I heard Chertoff speak those words on Fox News, I had to turn the TV off and go into another room so my head could explode without damaging the TV. If there is any one person in this government who should be impeached, it is Michael Chertoff. The ACLU has my back on this one.
ACLU REAL ID site
*As many of you know by now, I had a little visit from the Department of Homeland Security regarding a purchase I made for a small amount of potassium nitrate that I have honestly only used for the construction of very small model rocket engines (only a few grams of fuel per engine.) I still maintain that the batch of fuel I made has the explosive properties of those little snakes that you light on the Fourth of July. Needless to say, DHS is probably monitoring my blog and they probably aren’t too happy for me mentioning them. I should also mention that it took them 13 months before they decided to investigate my purchase. What kind of self respecting terrorist would wait 13 months before doing anything? Canada is looking more and more like a paradise…
No Mars Impact
Scientists announced today that asteroid WD5 2007 will not hit Mars on January 30. The odds dropped rather dramatically, from a 1 in 40 chance just yesterday to a 1 in 10,000 chance today. It is expected to pass just 2,000 miles from Mars.
While I am very disappointed, it definitely was a good exercise for scientists. It was just 100 years ago this June that a celestial object exploded over the Tunguska region of Siberia. With events of that nature happening roughly every hundred years or so, we are statistically due for another hit this year. While that is highly unlikely, our ability to track and predict the course of asteroids and comets is crucial. Someday it will happen again, and we don’t want to get caught off guard.
If the Tunguska “object” (the same size as WD5, 160 feet across) had hit just a few hours earlier, it would have decimated Moscow. Not good PR for any space program.
Of course, if it’s going to happen to Mars, we welcome it with open arms!