This picture, one that I took in Panama City a few years back, reminds me of the last description of the end of time for Earth as H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, where the time traveler is sitting in the time machine at the end of time at the edge of the ocean as the sun dims and is burning out. The traveler can hear the scratching of the crabs on the sled rails of the Time Machine having gone as far in the future as he dare.

2008-08-21

New Islamic Call for "Dialogue" Arouses Suspicion

A June 7, 2008, news release posted on middle-east-online.com was heralded with a Goebbelsian headline: Muslim scholars back Saudi call for interfaith dialogue. This very warm and fuzzy sounding concoction is meant to convey the idea that the Islamic scholars and the Saudis wish to encourage mutually beneficial dialogue. Simply put, there is nothing that could be further from the truth.

In the first paragraph, we are told that after a three-day meeting in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the scholars ended their conference by suggesting there should be "efforts to boost dialogue with Christians and Jews." This "feel-good" statement from Mecca—the Islamic Holy City that forbids entrance to Christians and Jews, and all other infidels for that matter—rings hollow.

An almost overwhelming amount of jaw jacking and useless speculation as of late has been forwarded about the possibility of “what could have been” had “The North Carolina Cad” been honest about his Bill Clinton/Gary Hart escapades with another Monica Lewinsky/Donna Rice wanna-be. Only this particular coquette ended up inconveniently gravid.  Edwards should have considered taking up Bill’s proclivity towards utilizing his mistresses as humidors and things might have “turned out differently.” Then again, speculation and wondering if “things would have turned out differently” is what recent “news” has been about.

The eyes of the world are upon Beijing. Images pour forth daily of new stadiums full of cheering fans, Olympic athletes giving their all and dazzling fireworks in a bustling modern city. The last thing spectators think of as they sit in the new stadiums in Beijing, are the barbaric practices of their hosts. Namely, the lucrative Chinese practice of harvesting and selling the body parts of executed prisoners.