news roundup: 25 Feb 08.

News

• Muslim scholars decry terrorism [BBC News]
  Islam is not about suicide bombers and death to its enemies. Is this news?
Obama camp claims smear over turban photograph [The Guardian UK]
We have childish choices.
• New Marxist president seeks to quell Cypriots' economic fears [The Guardian UK]
  "Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think this island would turn red."
• Italy celebrates World Slow Day [ANSA.it]
  I pictured everyone actually walking slow-motion all day. That would be awesome.
• Too pretty to fly? [CNN.com Video]
  No. You're not.
• When is your favorite show coming back? [Chicago Tribune]
  Goodbye, Bionic Woman. May your desperate and painfully flagrant invoking of "grrl power" be silenced for good.
• FCC fines Fox stations for raunchy reality show [Reuters, via The Feed]
  How are the networks going to hint at nudity and profanity to the non-Puritan audience if we have to pixelate until the entire figure is unrecognizable or (gasp) cut the "offensive" material out?
• Israeli MP blames quakes on gays [BBC News]
  Laughable religious intolerance: it's not just for America anymore.

Old News

• US hails Hezbollah leader's death [BBC News]
  To me, this sounded a little immature for a country run by grown ups. Even if the world would be a better place, you don't have to come out and say it. That's not making any friends. Have we stopped believing in political capital?

Not News

In continuing the trend of making fun of the most popular comic strip tabby in the funnies, here is Garfield minus Garfield, a series of Garfield strips without Garfield in them, revealing Jon Arbuckle as the truly schizophrenic person he is (dude has conversations with a cat and feeds him lasagna).

the swiss invade lichtenstein!

BBC News: Swiss in Liechtenstein 'invasion'

Troop: We've been walking for hours. Where the heck are we?
Officer: Fall in line, soldier.
T: Fall in line? The exercise was supposed to end like two hours ago. It's cold ...
O: What are you? A wuss? You're the defender of mother Switzerland's freedom! Cowboy up!
T: I don't recognize any of this.
O: Never been outside the country?
T: Of course I have. I've been to Austria, Italy, Germany ...
O: Apparently never Lichtenstein.
T: Lichten ... we're in freaking Lichtenstein?
O: About a kilometer and a half inside.
T: We're going to get in so much trouble.
O: Don't worry. I have a plan.
T: What's that?
O: We're going to take it.
T: Take what?
O: We're going to take Lichtenstein!
T: Take Lichtenstein? We're barely qualified to take a bath. Look at our party here.
O: What about it?
T: Dietzinger left to take a whiz half an hour ago, Stussi stopped somewhere to make a sandwich and three other guys hurt themselves picking their nose.
O: Really? Picking their noses?
T: They had to lie down.
O: They just need a leader!
T: No!
O: Someone they can believe in!
T: That's false!
O: Some motivation!
T: We're not taking Lichtenstein!
O: I don't appreciate your negativity.