Public Smoking Banned in France

French Surrender without a fight. Why am I not surprised?

Clark Kent, Call Your Service

What could be worse than having CCTV cameras everwhere you turn?

How about X-ray CCTV cameras!

Robogarage

New York City's Chinatown will soon see the world's second robot parking garage. That's a garage where robots do the parking, not one for parking your robots.

The first one, you may recall, was in Hoboken, New Jersey. That one had to shut down when the firm that handled the garage's software went out of business, resulting in the first building crash that did not involve an earthquake or enemy action.

Cybersimian

Lonely? Can't get a date? Looking for that certain someone? Then you need robomonkey.

We don't mean you date the monkey. It's for breaking the ice; that sort of thing. Still, if you need a robot monkey for that, maybe dating it is your best option.

Thought They Were Your Children? Think Again.

If you live in Britain and you have overweight children and you failed to follow the Party's State's orders to put them on a diet, then get ready for a visit from the Thought Police. Now those are grounds for putting your kids on a child protection register and you run the risk of having them taken away from you entirely.

Yesterday's Judge Dredd comic has become today's official policy.

Super Duck

Dear Lord, it's a duck with powers far beyond those of mortal poultry!

Geek Alert

I am: Hal Clement (Harry C. Stubbs) A quiet and underrated master of "hard science" fiction who, among other things, foresaw integrated circuits back in the 1940s.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Sickening Idea

From the Independent:

A leading Islamic doctor is urging British Muslims not to vaccinate their children against diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella because they contain substances making them unlawful for Muslims to take.

What is a devout Muslim to do?

Dr.Katme, an NHS psychiatrist, said: "If you breastfeed your child for two years - as the Koran says - and you eat Koranic food like olives and black seed, and you do ablution each time you pray, then you will have a strong defence system."

And this man works for the NHS?!?

Oh, right. What was I thinking?

Poster Girl II

Looks like Beccy Cole is not only the Poster Girl, but also the Single of the Year and the APRA Song of the Year Girl as well.

Congratulations.

Dribbling Idiocy

Concurring that liberty is a horrible thing, Burnham Grammar School in Buckinghamshire has banned football on the off chance that someone might get hurt.

I don't see how, given that the school uniform is made of eight-inch thick foam rubber.

Another Nail

Britney Spears is rumoured to play a group of sex-mad aliens in an upcoming Doctor Who.

Please, dear God, no!

John Kerry: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Now that John Kerry has given up his hopes of the presidency he's free to soar like an eagle:

When we walk away from global warming, Kyoto, when we are irresponsibly slow in moving toward AIDS in Africa, when we don't advance and live up to our own rhetoric and standards, we set a terrible message of duplicity and hypocrisy.

So we have a crisis of confidence in the Middle East - in the world, really. I've never seen our country as isolated, as much as a sort of international pariah for a number of reasons as it is today.

Not surprisingly, M. Kerry forgot that he himself voted against Kyoto during the Clinton administration, that the Bush administration more than doubled AIDS funding, and that it's not a good idea to spout about the Middle East while you're giving your autograph to former president Khatami of Iran.

Yup, he's still got it!

Silent Films

Andrew Klavan on the refusal reluctance of Hollywood to admit that the Jihadists even exist.

Wake Up Call

A splash of cold water in the face regarding the West's fecklessness in the face of the Jihadists:

Objectively speaking, the cartoon controversy was a tempest in a teacup. But subjectively it was a show of strength and, in the context of the "clash of civilizations," a dress rehearsal for the real thing. The Muslims demonstrated how quickly and effectively they can mobilize the masses, and the free West showed that it has nothing to counter the offensive -- nothing but fear, cowardice and an overriding concern about the balance of trade. Now the Islamists know that they are dealing with a paper tiger whose roar is nothing but a tape recording.

As different as the West's reactions to the Muslim protests were, what they had in common were origins in feelings of powerlessness and helplessness. Critical souls who only yesterday agreed with Marx that religion is the opium of the masses suddenly insisted that religious sensibilities must be taken into account, especially when accompanied by violence. The representatives of open societies reacted like the inhabitants of an island about to be hit by a hurricane. Powerless against the forces of nature, they stocked up on supplies, nailed doors and windows shut and hoped that the storm would soon pass. Of course, whereas such a reaction may be an appropriate response to natural disasters, such a lack of resistance merely encourages fundamentalists. It completely justifies their view of the West as weak, decadent and completely unwilling to defend itself.

...

In 1972, more than three decades ago, Danish lawyer and part-time politician Mogens Glistrup had an idea that brought him instant fame. To save taxes, he proposed that the Danish army be disbanded and an answering machine be set up in the defense ministry that would play the following message: "We capitulate!" Not only would it save money, Glistrup argued, but it would also save lives in an emergency. On the strength of this "program," Glistrup's Progress Party managed to become the second-most powerful political party in the Danish parliament in the 1973 elections.

Glistrup had the right idea, but he was a number of years premature. Now would be the right time to set up his answering machine.

The frightening thing is, this had to be pointed out to us by a German.

Raygun Department

Not exactly a death ray; more of a stings-a-bit ray.

Bleep Save the Queen

It finally happened. The word "God" has been censored from a film.

This time it was accidental, but...

Signature News

Nascent Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has proof positive that Fidel Castro is in incredibly good shape for a dead sick man.

His proof? Castro's autograph.

Well, I'm convinced.

Year of the Dhimmi

Dhimmitude has even penetrated the Celestial Kingdom. It may be the year of the pig, but you wouldn't know it in China, where references to porcine individuals are being removed to avoid offending Muslims.

It's always easier to sink than to swim, isn't it?

Update: The Sydney Morning Herald confirms.

Is Sarah Connor in Singapore?

From Shortnews.com:

Singapore's Defense Science and Technology Agency recently announced that they will pay anyone who can submit the best design for a "robot that can operate autonomously in urban warfare conditions."

Something like this, perhaps?

Stand By for Infinite Regression

In a beautiful example of disappearing up one's own backside, Scotland is now installing CCTV cameras to guard speed cameras from being vandalised.

Stay tuned for the announcement of a second batch of CCTV cameras to guard the first lot.