Outlawing Reincarnation

In the movie "Dead Again," Robin Williams has a line where he points out "a lot more people believe in past lives than don't." The Chinese government is trying to change that. China has banned Buddhist monks from reincarnating without state permission.

According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."

The stupidity of this act is mind-blowing. Forgetting the ethical dilemma of legislating one's beliefs, how do you prove someone did something illegally when you can't prove it was done in the first place? This blatant attempt by the Chinese government to choose who the next Dalai Lama will be violates both human rights and common sense. Maybe the Chinese government should spend less time trying to oppress its citizens and more time stopping their businesses from shipping poisonous items all over the world.

Why Can't PETA Read?

PETA is adding a new argument to their arsenal. The group, who tries to convince people that being a vegetarian is the only proper way to be, is now arguing that eating meat is causing global warming. Where did this argument come from? The source is a November 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The problem is it appears that no one at PETA actually read the whole report.

The report states that the livestock industry creates more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined. That's apparently where the PETA folks stopped reading. The rest of the report goes into the various ways that the industry can reduce their emissions, as well as ways to utilize those gases for power. Captured methane gas is a growing source of energy which not only keeps the greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, but cut down on fossil fuels. The main source for this methane is currently the livestock industry.

They also fail to read the conclusion which states, "Livestock products are a welcome addition to the diets of many poor and under- or malnourished people who frequently suffer from protein and vitamin deficiencies as well as from lack of important trace minerals. Children in particular have shown to benefit greatly in terms of physical and mental health when modest amounts of milk, meat or eggs are added to their diets, as shown by long-term research carried out in Kenya (Neumann, 2003)."

So according to the report that PETA is using, it is NOT advised for people to cut meat out of their diets, and certainly not advisable to consume a vegan diet.

Maybe there's a correlation between PETA's preferred diet and a lack of reading skills.

Get A Sense Of Humor

The Washington Post and several other newspapers around the country pulled Sunday's edition of the cartoon "Opus" because it might offend Muslim readers. The same papers had no problem with the strip a few weeks ago when it made fun of Reverend Jerry Falwell. Why is it okay to poke fun at one group but not another?

Check out the strip here: http://www.comics.com/wash/opus/index.html

The problem is that radical Muslims have no sense of humor. If they could laugh at themselves, they wouldn't be radical. It isn't just radical Muslims that have this problem. I've seen the same thing in radical Christians, radical environmentalists, and many other groups. You'll note the common thread isn't Muslim, it's radical. Radical anything can be a problem.

But we don't kowtow to other radical groups, why should we defer to radical Muslims? An Islamic activist argued today that newspapers have the right to not print what they don't want to print, regardless of reason. It's their freedom of speech. Others are arguing that cartoonist Berkeley Breathed's freedom of speech was infringed on by not printing the cartoon. The issue isn't freedom of speech. Yes, Breathed has the right to make fun of whatever topic he chooses. Yes, the newspapers have the right not to print it. That's not the issue. The issue is this wouldn't have happened with any group other than Muslims.

We live in a world of humor. Sometimes a joke is told to you; sometimes a joke is told about you. It isn't prejudice if you pick on everybody equally.

Get a sense of humor.

France Surrenders Iraq

Only the French could surrender in a war they're not in. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is calling for a timetable for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq.

Shocking. a country that didn't want us in Iraq in the first place wants to announce to the terrorists when we're leaving. Sarkozy also made recommendation to the European Union how things should be run there.

Does he realize France is not a major power anymore. Sarkozy seems to be trying to convince the world that France, which has been described by diplomats as a "mid-level power," still matters. How? By attempting to takeover the EU and influence U.S. military decisions. But French military advice is pretty much limited to raising a white flag, so that's what they suggest.