Thursday, March 10, 2005
If only they had GPS
This morning's newspapers yielded a whopping 9 stories that I found interesting for a variety of reasons. I am sure if I were to actually get a subscription to one of the larger Dutch newspapers, I'd have more to write about, but I'm cheap.
China has plans to review death sentence
In a country plagued by over population, the government is reviewing its death sentence policy. All death sentences have to go through the highest court instead of just the provincial ones. It has to be noted though that most Chinese provinces are larger than most countries. The next thing that will be reviewed are China's policy of re-education through hard labour. Last year more than 810.000 people were arrested for state undermining or terrorist activities. I am not sure the big corporations are going to want to see such a cheap and plentiful source of labour go though. Perhaps China can off-shore to Germany, there seems to be a bit of a surplus labour there at the moment.
Minister promotes watching TV
The minister of education in Malaysia has started a campaign to get young people to spend more time in front of the TV. This sounds crazy to most people but there's a good reason for it. He wants people to watch more English programs to further their proficiency of the language. I am sure this will go down with the ministry of sports.
A detonator a day...
A Vietnamese man who was adamant to prove that detonators do not, well, detonate, was proven to be in error. After inserting the device in his mouth and asking his friend to insert the rusty power leads into a wall socket, it exploded. His yaws were removed and he died on his way to the hospital. This is proof that Darwin was right.
South Park rules
The South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut has the dubious record of having the largest number of cuss words in it. No less than 399 of them, in fact. Not bad for an 80 minute movie. That's four bad words a minute. Not even Terrence Tarantino movies come close to that. It doesn't get the record for most frequently sold movie, though. That goes to "Home Alone". It's a pity the tape and DVD boxes were not equipped with homing devices. No one should be subjected to that tripe and those who watch it voluntarily, well, don't even get me started on them.
Blame Canada
Approximately 320,000 baby seals are expected to be bludgeoned to death this year in Canada. This might explain the relative lack of gun violence in Canada. They just take their frustrations out on helpless seal puppies. Fur is for animals.
Polygamy could save government money
To prove that higher education does indeed produce enlightened individuals a professor of psychology at the Dutch university of Tilburg has come to the conclusion that polygamy could save the government money. His reasoning behind the statement is that the women could share their household duties with other women, allowing them to also have a job outside the house. That's real 21st century thinking.
Kill people and get away with it
Vietnam is not the only country that lets people get away with murder. In the Netherlands there's a trial going on against a man who ran full speed into a stationary car, killing 2 occupants instantly and a third on his way to the hospital. The attorney only asked for a mere four months conditional with two years probation, a 180 hour community service and two years driving ban. The defendant showed no emotion when the surviving family members of the victims poured their hearts out in court. The guy will probably only get about half of what the attorney asked for.
My kingdom for a GPS
17 Cuban refugees tried to reach the Florida coast on barely floating rafts and ended up in Mexico instead. Due to the currents and winds they floated off-course and onto the peninsula of Yucatan. If only they'd had a GPS and an outboard engine...
China has plans to review death sentence
In a country plagued by over population, the government is reviewing its death sentence policy. All death sentences have to go through the highest court instead of just the provincial ones. It has to be noted though that most Chinese provinces are larger than most countries. The next thing that will be reviewed are China's policy of re-education through hard labour. Last year more than 810.000 people were arrested for state undermining or terrorist activities. I am not sure the big corporations are going to want to see such a cheap and plentiful source of labour go though. Perhaps China can off-shore to Germany, there seems to be a bit of a surplus labour there at the moment.
Minister promotes watching TV
The minister of education in Malaysia has started a campaign to get young people to spend more time in front of the TV. This sounds crazy to most people but there's a good reason for it. He wants people to watch more English programs to further their proficiency of the language. I am sure this will go down with the ministry of sports.
A detonator a day...
A Vietnamese man who was adamant to prove that detonators do not, well, detonate, was proven to be in error. After inserting the device in his mouth and asking his friend to insert the rusty power leads into a wall socket, it exploded. His yaws were removed and he died on his way to the hospital. This is proof that Darwin was right.
South Park rules
The South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut has the dubious record of having the largest number of cuss words in it. No less than 399 of them, in fact. Not bad for an 80 minute movie. That's four bad words a minute. Not even Terrence Tarantino movies come close to that. It doesn't get the record for most frequently sold movie, though. That goes to "Home Alone". It's a pity the tape and DVD boxes were not equipped with homing devices. No one should be subjected to that tripe and those who watch it voluntarily, well, don't even get me started on them.
Blame Canada
Approximately 320,000 baby seals are expected to be bludgeoned to death this year in Canada. This might explain the relative lack of gun violence in Canada. They just take their frustrations out on helpless seal puppies. Fur is for animals.
Polygamy could save government money
To prove that higher education does indeed produce enlightened individuals a professor of psychology at the Dutch university of Tilburg has come to the conclusion that polygamy could save the government money. His reasoning behind the statement is that the women could share their household duties with other women, allowing them to also have a job outside the house. That's real 21st century thinking.
Kill people and get away with it
Vietnam is not the only country that lets people get away with murder. In the Netherlands there's a trial going on against a man who ran full speed into a stationary car, killing 2 occupants instantly and a third on his way to the hospital. The attorney only asked for a mere four months conditional with two years probation, a 180 hour community service and two years driving ban. The defendant showed no emotion when the surviving family members of the victims poured their hearts out in court. The guy will probably only get about half of what the attorney asked for.
My kingdom for a GPS
17 Cuban refugees tried to reach the Florida coast on barely floating rafts and ended up in Mexico instead. Due to the currents and winds they floated off-course and onto the peninsula of Yucatan. If only they'd had a GPS and an outboard engine...
posted by Xander Soldaat at 07:44
