"Watch it!"

Oh, I watch it? Let's not forget who barreled into me in the lunch line not two seconds ago.

It's always annoying when you're standing or sitting a really unobtrusive place, removed from the general flow of traffic, and then someone walks by you and positions themselves freakishly close to you, so when they make their next movement they bump into you and then glare at you like it's your fault that their elbow came into contact with the side of your coat.

Especially people carrying bags or purses or packs. It's like they don't realize that what their holding protrudes 2 feet off of their back or out of their ams, and that when they suddenly whip around they will ram their heavy backpack (probably full of cement chunks) into you. Why are people not aware of this?

Must you position yourself right next to me at such a close distance that I begin to wonder about your motives? Then do you really feel the need to back into me, slam into me, push me, or jostle me around because of your inability to see what's right in front of your friggin' face?

Stop it. YOU "watch it" once in a while. This will not only improve your chances of not being punched in the face by me on a bad day, but it will also greatly improve your driving skills as well.

Be aware of your surroundings people. It's not that hard. Just stop thinking about how many meat patties you want in your greasy burger for lunch and WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING DAMMIT!

90 Lashes for Bringing a Cellphone to School

A 13 year old Saudi Arabian school girl has been sentenced to 90 lashes in front of her classmates and 2 months in jail...all for bringing a cellphone to school. Cellphones are banned in her school, and apparently bringing one warrants such harsh punishment in this. Her punishment did not originally include the 2 months in jail, and it was only added on because of media attention brought to the case and the court decided to punish her for trying to draw attention to the case 'in revenge.'

Her punishment is harsher than many given to thieves and robbers. 

In more recent Saudi news, courts have refused to annul the marriage of an 8 year old girl to a 47 year old man to settle her father's debt.

All in all, none of this is really any surprise for a country with such a sad human rights record.

Haiti Destruction

The damage caused to Haiti by the recent earthquakes there is visible from Google Maps. Zoom in on Haiti far enough, and you can see crushed buildings and flattened homes.

The earthquake on the 12th was the most serious the country has had in 200 years. Foreign aid continues to pour in.

China yanks 2D Avatar from theatres

The Chinese government is pulling James Cameron's Avatar, so far the most successful film in the country, from the theatres. They are worried about its theme of rising up against forced evictions and fighting against the establishment. Only the 2D versions are being pulled. The movie that will be shown instead of Avatar is a Chinese one about Confucius, staring the famed actor Chow Yun Fat. There are only 20 foreign films shown in China each year, it's part of their government's policy of protecting domestic films which includes giving them only a 10 day run in theatres.

The trouble with the theme of forced evictions is that it's something that many many Chinese people are very familiar with. People continue to be uprooted to make room for government sponsored infrastructure projects and new high rises. Many were also forced out of their homes to make room for the facilities necessary for China to host the Olympics last year.

It's Six Minutes to Midnight!

Today at 10:00, the Doomsday Clock was moved back from 5 minutes to midnight to 6 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, who created the clock in 1947. It has moved 18 times since.

Quoth the BAS: "By shifting the hand back from midnight by only one additional minute, we emphasize how much needs to be accomplished, while at the same time recognizing signs of collaboration among the United States, Russia, the European Union, India, China, Brazil, and others on nuclear security and on climate stabilization."

There is still much to be done, as said, but this is "a more hopeful" sign for "world affairs" indeed.

Their official announcement can be read here.

Slaying Sattelites

India has recently announced that they have begun developing a special vehicle to knock enemy satellites out of orbit.

(Okay, it's not exactly "slaying" them, but it got your attention didn't it? Also, I'm admitting this, so that counts for something. Now back the story!)

The vehicle (a missile of some type) will be guided by a laser. The project still has a lot of work to do though, as none of their proposed devices actually exist yet within their program.

China and the US are already capable of this.

Winter Break

Yesterday was the last day of my 3 week winter break.

I went to sleep last night wishing that when I woke up, I'd find that there was another week to go.

Then I went back to school, and it wasn't that bad.