This just in: The Chicago Bears are very quietly a decent football squad. They beat the struggling but still borderline-respectable Minnesota Hyperboreans last evening, and now can win the NFC North by winning out, including the regular season finale against the Packers…In two weeks, we shall have a match-up of timeless glory; Packers and Bears at the very end of December, at Lambeau Field in the snow for the division title.
Ready-made James Bond villain and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says that he will not return to Sweden to face questions over an alleged sexual assault case. Assange was arrested and detained two weeks ago before being released from prison on bail. He says he does not feel obliged to be at the “beck and call” of those accusing him of crimes. Assange was arrested just after the release of thousands of diplomatic cables that embarrassed hundreds of international diplomats, worrying US officials that their partners would resent US involvement. The Bohunk suspects they, perhaps, resent two wars, a massive trade advantage, the largest military in the world and the tendency to embargo any one who does not fall in line. But the cables could also be embarrassing, too. More news on Assange throughout the week…
Bond villain and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange…He ain’t going
nowhere….
In the on-going battle between science and religion, the University of Kentucky is facing a sizable lawsuit from C. Martin Gaskell, a professor who applied for the gig but was denied because of his belief in God. University board members pointed to a paper written by Gaskell that pointed out some ‘weak points’ in evolution, though many of these points had been explained and are accepted as the likely method for our becoming up-right. Board members believed that Gaskell’s belief in an old man in the sky with a long white beard may inhibit his views and research. His views, especially in his now infamous research paper, show that he holds certain beliefs that have been refuted by available evidence. Does anyone really win this battle? Religion and science seems to be getting only more divisive, though at least no one is getting burned at the stake anymore… At least in the US. Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern states still have blasphemy laws on the books, and have executed people for blasphemy (usually Christians) in the past five years. It’s a very, very backwards world…
Did you rise at 2 am last night to enjoy the lunar eclipse? The Bohunk slept comfortably through it, but many stargazers jumped at the chance to see the last lunar eclipse of 2010, and the first such eclipse to occur on the winter solstice since 1638. Another lunar eclipse will not be viewable in the US until April 15, 2014.
A Lunar Eclipse. Now you can say you saw it…
In another contribution to the Bohunk’s on-going series, the World Is Going to Hell Via Handbasket, Southerners from South Carolina met in Charleston to ‘celebrate’ the 150 year anniversary of the political beginning of the Civil War, the conflict which killed or wounded over a million Americans. Crazy rich folk met in expensive and ornate period dress to reenact South Carolina’s decision to secede from the Union. Though nearly all historians agree that the South’s secession was based almost entirely on the belief that individual states held the right to decide on the legality of holding slaves, and having the economic power that resulted in holding millions of slaves, many claimed the night, or the war itself, had anything to do with slavery. They said the shin-dig was to celebrate the bravery of people defending their homes…If they hadn’t seceded, there would have been no war. That is just plainly ignorant. And what would people think of German Americans having a party to remember the ‘bravery’ of Germany during the Holocaust? Or Japanese Americans celebrating Pearl Harbor? Same deal, and saying it isn’t is very unintelligent.
In the on-going piece on the development of the Christmas we now know, we have reached Roman influence. The Romans changed the pagan Solstice festival to coincide with their own feast, Saturnalia, in honor of the god Saturn. Saturn was a symbol of agriculture and the redistribution of food and wealth from the rich to poor, which made December and January the months of giving, feasting and having a good time. The rich held massive banquets to help feed the poor over the winter months, especially those who had a rough, unproductive harvest….
Apple has pulled the WikiLeaks app from its market, thought Android has let the app stay. The app only came online five days ago after struggling to stay on the Internet after being booted from many servers and being blocked by some governments. Apple gave no reason for pulling the app, which was selling for $1.99, half of which went to fund WikiLeaks. The app is still downloadable for Android, but even that site says the app ‘boarders legality’ though it is still quite popular. Some have said that this could make hackers go after Apple, though probably to little effect. No consumer boy-cot would do very much to hurt Apple and none is likely to be organized. Many experts believe this is just a part of the US plan to weaken Assange and eventually extradite him to face myriad charges in the States….
A quick note: Last night, Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears returned a punt to break the record for return touchdowns in NFL history, breaking the long-held record by Redskin Brian Mitchell. Mitchell took 223 games and over 1,000 returns to hit 13 TDs, while 74 games and 286 games to hit the mark. Hats off, Devin, one of the Bohunk’s favorite players in the league. A second kudos for teamsmanship; Hester’s first words were to thank the 10 other gentlemen who blocked for him, not just last night but throughout his career. What a stand-up character…
To the house and into the record books, the Gentlemanly Devin Hester…
Finally, a last plug for books this holiday season. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett is sure to be a classic, already a fixture on the NY Times Bestseller list and the first installment in the Century Trilogy following five interrelated families in their immigration to and settling in of America. If you’ve read other Follett masterpieces, like Pillars of the Earth, you know there are few authors who master characters and stories like Ken. Fall of Giants is still only available as a hardcover, but it is good enough to buy even at hard cover price, $18.36.
Thanks for reading and have a terrific Tuesday, the Bohunk shall return tomorrow. Chapeau, dear reader, chapeau.
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