Category: Current Affairs

Unfortunately, the "F" word is question isn’t the all too common one. That word will likely remain all too common.

No, it seems that many UK teachers are as nutty–excuse me–as barmy as many US teachers.

The "F" word that they want to ban from the classroom is "Fail."

That word could be too traumatic for the wee ones, so instead, the teachers making the proposal wish to speak of students having "deferred success."

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It’ll be interesting if this passes and they start to be really rigorous in shielding the children from the "F" word.

It’d mean teaching them that the Nazis had deferred success in their takeover of Europe.

Considering the current state of the European Union, that might not be inaccurate.

Unfortunately, the "F" word is question isn’t the all too common one. That word will likely remain all too common.

No, it seems that many UK teachers are as nutty–excuse me–as barmy as many US teachers.

The "F" word that they want to ban from the classroom is "Fail."

That word could be too traumatic for the wee ones, so instead, the teachers making the proposal wish to speak of students having "deferred success."

GET THE STORY.

It’ll be interesting if this passes and they start to be really rigorous in shielding the children from the "F" word.

It’d mean teaching them that the Nazis had deferred success in their takeover of Europe.

Considering the current state of the European Union, that might not be inaccurate.

Actor James Doohan, best known for his role as "Scotty" on the original Star Trek, has died.

He was 85.

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In a scene eerily reminiscent of the demon-possessed swine who stampeded over a cliff to their deaths (cf. Matt. 8:28-33), a herd of sheep startled their Turkish shepherds by hurling themselves over a cliff:

"First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.

"In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.

"’There’s nothing we can do. They’re all wasted,’ Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam."

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Tempting as it is to be amused by this story, the loss of the sheep will be a difficult hardship for the local shepherds who lost over $100,000 in livestock.

LET US PRAY FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE LONDON BOMBINGS AND FOR ALL THE BRITISH PEOPLE.

No, don’t bother to check your calendar for the date of Parent’s Day. It is not an official holiday (yet). However, one Maryland pre-school has decided to spay and neuter Mother’s and Father’s Days into one jolly Parent’s Day for fear of offending families with Two Mommies and Two Daddies. (Or should I say "Two Parents"?)

"A pre-school in Maryland has lost at least one customer after a student’s father working on the school’s newsletter was told he must change a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ greeting in the publication to ‘Happy Parent’s Day.’

[…]

"The trouble began when [David] Becker [the student’s father], while typing the newsletter, changed a hand-written greeting from ‘Happy Parent’s Day!’ to ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’ After submitting the final draft, a teacher contacted Becker and said the greeting would have to be changed back to ‘Happy Parent’s Day!’

[…]

"Becker then asked the administrator: ‘Who would we be offending on Mother’s Day?’

"The response: ‘What about families with two fathers?’

"Becker then asked about Father’s Day. He says he was told: ‘You can’t say ‘Father’s Day’ either.’"

GET THE STORY.

One wonders how Mother’s and Father’s Days slipped beneath the radar of the the More-Sensitive-Than-Thou crowd for so long. Next on the chopping block will undoubtedly be Arbor Day for its outrageous preference for trees to the exclusion of flowers and grass. But wait! There is already the More Sensitive Option of Earth Day.

And so it goes in our society’s continuing ever-spiraling decline into irrelevance.

No, don’t bother to check your calendar for the date of Parent’s Day. It is not an official holiday (yet). However, one Maryland pre-school has decided to spay and neuter Mother’s and Father’s Days into one jolly Parent’s Day for fear of offending families with Two Mommies and Two Daddies. (Or should I say "Two Parents"?)

"A pre-school in Maryland has lost at least one customer after a student’s father working on the school’s newsletter was told he must change a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ greeting in the publication to ‘Happy Parent’s Day.’

[…]

"The trouble began when [David] Becker [the student’s father], while typing the newsletter, changed a hand-written greeting from ‘Happy Parent’s Day!’ to ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’ After submitting the final draft, a teacher contacted Becker and said the greeting would have to be changed back to ‘Happy Parent’s Day!’

[…]

"Becker then asked the administrator: ‘Who would we be offending on Mother’s Day?’

"The response: ‘What about families with two fathers?’

"Becker then asked about Father’s Day. He says he was told: ‘You can’t say ‘Father’s Day’ either.’"

GET THE STORY.

One wonders how Mother’s and Father’s Days slipped beneath the radar of the the More-Sensitive-Than-Thou crowd for so long. Next on the chopping block will undoubtedly be Arbor Day for its outrageous preference for trees to the exclusion of flowers and grass. But wait! There is already the More Sensitive Option of Earth Day.

And so it goes in our society’s continuing ever-spiraling decline into irrelevance.

Goats get a bad rap in the Bible, what with always being separated out from the sheep and sent off in shame. But in California, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is rejuvenating the goats’ image by turning nature’s lawnmower into wildfire fighters:

"From hilly San Francisco to more rural settings, California landowners, business and officials have hired the voracious animals to devour the grass and brush that fuels wildfires.

"Last year, more than 5,500 fires blackened over 168,000 acres in the most populous U.S. state.

"’Goats are just another tool in the toolbox for California and we try to use as many tools as possible,’ California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Michael Jarvis said in an interview last week."

GET THE STORY.

The meek who inherit the land will have the goats to thank.

Suppose that you are an Evil Overlord out to take over land that ain’t yours.

Suppose that you’ve been conducting a semi-secret military buildup to allow you to do this and, now, you are virtually ready to seize military control of a particular plot of land that you want under your control.

Suppose that your chief rival, who is publicly committed to stoping you from taking over this plot of land, is currently stretched militarily due to fighting a world war on several fronts.

When do you, the Evil Overlord, strike and try to take over that juicy plot of land? While your chief rival is still fighting that war on several fronts or afterwards, once he’s no longer distracted and has had a chance to recover militarily?

Before, of course! Don’t be silly!

Now suppose that your name is China and you want to take over a plot of land called Taiwan and your chief rival is named America and the world war is called the War on Terror.

Bill Gertz–an important journalist focusing on intelligence matters–is reporting that China may try to seize control of Taiwan in 2006 or 2007.

Further, he suggests its near-term warfare aims may not stop at Taiwan.

Y’know how the plots of a couple of Tom Clancey novels were eerily mirrored in the events of 2000-2001, what with a disputed election and a major terrorist attack involving slamming jets into things and biological warfare and all?

Well, Gertz is hearing from folks who are suggesting that the plot of another Tom Clancy novel ("The Bear and the Dragon") may also get eerily mirrored, with China contemplating the seizure of territory in eastern Russia to get its natural resources.

Michael Pillsbury, a former Pentagon official and specialist on China’s military, said the internal U.S. government debate on the issue and excessive Chinese secrecy about its military buildup "has cost us 10 years to figure out what to do"
   

"Everybody is starting to acknowledge the hard facts," Mr. Pillsbury said. "The China military buildup has been accelerating since 1999. As the buildup has gotten worse, China is trying hard to mask it."
   

Richard Fisher, vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said that in 10 years, the Chinese army has shifted from a defensive force to an advanced military soon capable of operations ranging from space warfare to global non-nuclear cruise-missile strikes.
   

"Let’s all wake up. The post-Cold War peace is over," Mr. Fisher said. "We are now in an arms race with a new superpower whose goal is to contain and overtake the United States."

GET THE WHOLE FRIGHTENING STORY.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Supreme Court’s current term, and there are expected to be some decisions on big, controversial cases. (That’s not unusual. The Court often leaves big, controversial cases to the end.)

We also might get a number of resignations tomorrow, but my guess is that whatever we’re likely to get will come the next day or later in the week. (Think about it: If you were a Supreme Court justice would you want ot announce your resignation on a day when you were handing down controversial decision and had all kinds of protesters at the Court building ready to cheer or scream at the news of your resignation and do either or both in front of waiting cameras so the media can hype it?)

So here’s a preview of what’s likely to come down tomorrow (unless, for some reason the justices hold a case over until the next term–e.g., for re-argument):

Justices have a few cases left to resolve, including two of the most-watched of the term: the Ten Commandments appeals from Texas and Kentucky and a case that will determine the liability of Internet file-sharing services for clients’ illegal swapping of songs and movies.

Also Monday, justices are expected to announce whether they will hear appeals from two journalists who may face jail time for refusing to reveal sources in the leak of an undercover CIA officer’s identity.

Rulings are also awaited in a Tennessee death penalty case, an appeal that will decide police departments’ liability for not enforcing restraining orders, and a challenge to the tight control cable companies hold over high-speed Internet service.

GET THE STORY.