Fact is stranger than fiction

6May/110

Trouble in Tehran?

While the news this week in the US has understandably been dominated by the SEAL raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden it has perhaps overshadowed more intriguing events in Iran.

A few minutes ago on May 5, 2011, Arab TV announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini requested Iran's President Ahmadinejad to step down from his post. This has not been confirmed nor verified by Western media as yet, however, it has been reported that several of his close aides are already under arrest.

The UK Guardian reported today that many of Ahmadinejad's aides were accused of using 'supernatural powers', including invoking jinns (spirits) in an attempt to further the president's agenda against Khameini. This includes Irani Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei

Yes indeed, there's trouble in Tehran city, but mostly for Dinner-Jacket and his pals, and it starts with a "K" and ends with an "i". From the Guardian:

Several people said to be close to the president and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being "magicians" and invoking djinns (spirits).

Ayandeh, an Iranian news website, described one of the arrested men, Abbas Ghaffari, as "a man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with the unknown worlds".

Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, a hardline cleric close to Khamenei, warned that disobeying the supreme leader – who has the ultimate power in Iran – is equivalent to "apostasy from God".

But the feud has taken a metaphysical turn following the release of an Iranian documentary alleging the imminent return of the Hidden Imam Mahdi – the revered saviour of Shia Islam, whose reappearance is anticipated by believers in a manner comparable to that with which Christian fundamentalists anticipate the second coming of Jesus.

Conservative clerics, who say that the Mahdi's return cannot be predicted, have accused a "deviant current" within the president's inner circle, including Mashaei, of being responsible for the film.

Well, that sure settles it...I guess that Ahmadi-Nejad isn't the 12th Imam, or his analogue to John the Baptist, after all. Tough break, eh? And what kind of "sorcerey" and "metaphysical skills" do you think are being alluded to here?

Let's be clear about what's going on; this is a power struggle between Khameini and Ahmadi-Nejad. They've been fueding for the last 2 weeks, ever since Khameini over-ruled Dinner-Jacket and reinstated an intelligence minister he'd let go. My guess is that they're cooking up all of this demon-sorcery stuff in order to buttress the claim that Ahmadi-Nejad is no longer righteous and therefore unfit to rule. Which, as an aside, is why our system in the west of secular governance is better; because otherwise it can lead to folks citing religious reasons for political actions, and there is no arguing with them since they claim to be motivated by God and therefore enjoy absolute moral authority...

Now all of this is unconfirmed, and who knows what will ultimately happen or if whoever ascends to the Presidency would be any easier to deal with. But, let's just say, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy ...

So we'll be watching the situation; and making the popcorn :)

Your thoughts and opinions, as always, are welcome.

Rocketman

Tagged as: Fact is stranger than fiction, Iran, Islamic government No Comments

11Nov/106

Studies in potential hit youtube video themes

Click to enlarge

'Cuz, you know, MTV doesn't seem to play music videos anymore. Then again, perhaps I'm no longer with it...

But this flash of inspiration comes from Vanderleun's eclectic tumblr feed, KA-CHING! Does it remind anyone here of a then-revolutionary sequence from another time? Like the first video ever played on the nascent MTV?

Seriously, maybe this should be made into a youtube video. These store owners could do it to supplant the revenue they seem to contend the internet has cost them. I have an idea of a catchy tune that might just fit the lyrics and the bill...

That way MTV doesn't have to interrupt their broadcast of Jackass re-runs, RoadRulez re-runs, The Hills and Jersey Shore originals and reruns, and of course, progressive Democrat propaganda masked as "rocking the vote".

Rocketman

Tagged as: Fact is stranger than fiction, Vanderleun 6 Comments

9Nov/101

Google Wars!

And I'm not talking about an esoteric porn-search competition with Bing!, nor a new game show. I'm talking about an actual war:

Google Maps is fixing an error in its map of Central America that gave Nicaraguan commanders an excuse to invade a disputed area also claimed by Costa Rica.

A Google spokesman admitted that it had misplaced the border -- adding it corrected its mistake after viewing an official State Department map.

Costa Rica, which has no army, was pleased. But Nicaraguan authorities protested Google's correction -- saying the tech giant had it right the first time.

Well not quite a war I guess, since Costa Rica has no army. It reminds me of trying to have an argument with someone who won't speak to you. But still it was a bona-fide invasion.

Stop and think for a moment though, how pathetic it is when one country appeals to the metaphysical certitude of Google in matters of border disputes. I mean, haven't these folks ever heard of surveyors? Maybe they all left during the days when the Sandanistas were in control. After all, there's no need for surveyors if nobody owns private property.

Now obviously I'm being absurd. But what about this entry from the "fact is stranger than fiction" file isn't?

Rocketman

Tagged as: Fact is stranger than fiction, Google 1 Comment

29Jul/106

Memo to playahz: lying for sex can get you jail time as well

Douchebags hardest hit

At least, in Israel.

JERUSALEM – Lying for sex. It happens all the time.

Yet a married Palestinian man has been ordered jailed for 18 months for having sex with an Israeli woman after giving her the impression he too was Jewish, as well as single and interested in a relationship.

His conviction of "rape by deception" has drawn charges of racism and questions about whether courts should be delving into this fraught topic.

Saber Qashor, a 30-year-old father of two, says he was approached by the woman in September 2008 on a downtown Jerusalem street where he had parked his motorcycle, and introduced himself as "Dudu," a common Israeli Jewish nickname.

Within half an hour they were having sex in a Jerusalem office building stairwell.
[empasis-ed.]

Within a half hour !?! What was she thinking? That this was an episode of "Big Brother", or an MTV reality show? Either this dude, Dudu, is the smoothest guy in the known universe, armed with a golden pick-up line, or, well...

I won't go there.

But the Judge in the case saw matters, er, clearly

"If she hadn't thought the accused was a single Jewish man interested in a serious romantic relationship, she would not have cooperated," Judge Zvi Segal wrote in sentencing Qashor. The court must protect the public from "sophisticated and slick-tongued criminals who would lead innocent victims astray, at the unbearable price of the sanctity of their bodies and souls."

"Innocent victims"... Ones who "cooperate" 30 minutes later in an office building stairwell. Well, the judge's pronouncement is a construct that should cause sphincter tightening and member shrinkage in singles-bar-sharks everywhere. Because it could soon be coming to a place near you.

A bill before the Massachusetts state legislature would target those who employ deceit — and not just physical force — to engage in sex. But it's aimed at sociopaths, not people who falsely boast of being doctors or sports stars, says its sponsor, Rep. Peter Koutoujian.

Massachusetts...Will there be a Kennedy exemption, I wonder? And, how long before other deep-blue states pass similar laws? It certainly wouldn't surprise me if NOW forced this into the national Democratic platform.

So, just to recap, real Tort reform is out of bounds, the SEC no longer has to honor FOIA requests, Massachusetts has passed a law subordinating the choice of that states voters to the winner of the national popular vote, and they may make lying for conquest illegal...

All I can say is young men better start taking certified copies of their CV with them to the club. And, if by some chance they find themselves in a courtroom, accused of a similar offense, where a judge is questioning them as to their intentions, remember the legal wisdom once proferred by Redd Foxx when in a similar situation:

"Your honor, I never promised that woman I'd take her to Florida; I just said I was goin' to tampa with her ..."

Sage, indeed.