h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thanks Guybrush, for that HappyMeal link to the work of artist Sally Davies. Have put a link to it in a diary thing I'm doing.

The Hobbit films are definately going ahead!

http://www.sfx.co.uk/2010/10/16/it’s-official-the-hobbit-will-be-going-there-and-back-again/

And PJ is directing!




Geggs

Mathematician - and inspiration for many a student's bedroom wall?

R I P

You're welcome effers. I thought you might like that

A 42-YEAR-OLD man from Blackburn has been charged with possessing octopus porn.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/8456630.Blackburn_man_on_octopus_porn_charge/


Oh my

I can't even get my head round that? An Octupus?!

Boat for sale

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HMS-Ark-Royal-/190458248846?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item2c58323e8e

I can't help but think that the headline on the octopus story is a reference to a certain type of uniquely Japanese cultural thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tentacle_erotica


Or so I've heard.

And in other news:

' Israeli Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in his weekly Saturday night sermon said that non-Jews exist to serve Jews.

“Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world; only to serve the People of Israel,” he said during a public discussion of what kind of work non-Jews are allowed to perform on Shabbat.

"Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat," he said to some laughter.

Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas Party and the former chief Sephardi rabbi of Israel, also said that the lives of non-Jews are protected in order to prevent financial loss to Jews.'

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/10/18/2741341/rabbi-yosef-non-jews-exist-to-serve-jews

Nothing like perpetuating a stereotype, Ovadia!

and, also on the religious side:

'He said the lichen-covered log bears what appears to be a robed image of Jesus with an outstretched hand. The head is near the center of the limb where the rings of the tree are lighter, giving an almost halo appearance.'

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2010/oct/16/lord-of-the-rings-ar-461146/


but

'but seriously. Halo, or no halo, that’s not Jesus.

That’s a Dalek.'


http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/10/16/man-sees-dalek-in-tree-trunk-mistakes-it-for-jesus

Calgary, Alberta, Canada elects a new Mayor, Naheed Nenshi:


'Nenshi is the first Muslim elected to lead a major Canadian city, an attribute he said did not turn out be a major issue on the campaign trail.

"I haven't shied away from anything in this campaign. And issues of race and religion have not come up very much — except, frankly, by the media," he said.

"I do hope that every kid who woke up this morning and their parents showed them the newspaper or turned on the TV — regardless of their background, regardless of their ethnicity or their income or what neighbourhood they live in this city — I hope every kid in the city said, 'Wow, in Calgary I can be anything,'" Nenshi said.'


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/10/19/calgary-election-mayor.html#ixzz12pJCpGXg

For interest's sake, Edmonton, Calgary's neighbor and the Capital of Alberta, elected to a third term their mayor, who happens to be Jewish.

As Mr. Nenshi mentions above, none of this has been of relevance to the elections for anyone except the media.

Hey look, the Guardian also has yikesers:

[Removed for legal reasons]
Wife-beating allowed under sharia law, UAE court rules

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/18/wife-beating-uae-sharia-law-court

Here is The National's report on the maybe same topic:

Court rules on domestic discipline

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/court-rules-on-domestic-discipline

The "Removed for legal reasons" bit is a quote from the Guardian's article, not something which happened here on h2g2 by the way.

Faux News' Bill O'Reilly has put his foot in his mouth about the Cordoba Center in Manhattan, but some how I don't think he'll ever admit it:

'Bill O’Reilly was still fixated on Muslims last night (10/19/10) as he discussed the “Muslim problem” with Deepak Chopra. Near the end of the interview, O’Reilly commanded that Chopra call up Imam Rauf, the imam of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, and tell him that if he comes on the Factor with Chopra, dedicates the project to peace and condemns the 9/11 attacks, “I’ll come down there with a saw and a hammer and help him.” Well, I certainly hope O’Reilly is getting out his tool box now. Because Rauf has already dedicated the project to peace and he has already condemned the 9/11 attacks'

http://www.newshounds.us/2010/10/20/can_we_expect_oreilly_to_grab_his_saw_and_hammer_to_help_build_the_ground_zero_mosque.php

ref 9607 looks like it was sold or removed from sale.

Jesus wept

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11597664

(Nadide Dorries MP) told the watchdog: "My blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact.

"It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire.

"I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another.



Well, now we know you're a ing liar so when are you going to resign?

How can you tell if a politician is lying?
















Their lips are moving!

And the truth shall set you free.
Or at least get you fired:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11600084

I have a serious problem when political correctness forces one
to hide the truth or lie about one's perfectly natural concerns.

Sad that a publicly funded corporation (National Public Radio)
feels it must put another African American out of work because he
admits to being (quite naturally) afraid when encountering Muslims
on a plane. He didn't say 'all Muslims are terrorists'; he said his
natural reaction to seeing a Muslim on a plane was to be reminded
of the possibilities.


~jwf~

It was, however, in the context of agreeing with Bill O'Reilly. Anyone who agrees with that man -- about anything -- deserves the most severe of punishments.

Guilt by professional association, eh.

What Bill OReilly said on The View, his gross generalisations
about all muslims was far more damning than admitting the sight
of traditional Islamic dress triggers memories at some very basic
level of survival instincts. When I seed a flame I am reminded that
fire can be dangerous and I should be able to say so without being
accused of screaming 'Fire!'


~jwf~