Foreign Dispatches

Why Not Pardon Alan Turing?

It is now 60 years since Alan Turing - war hero and intellectual father of the theory of computing - was convicted on the charge of "gross indecency", which in 1950s terms simply meant that his sexual orientation was other than what was thought permissible by society at large at the time. As 2012 also marks the centenary of Alan Turing's birth, it seemed a particularly apposite time to make a request for his posthumous pardon, a request the Conservative justice minister has now rejected.

A Homage to the Weeaboo

It's not exactly surprising to hear me say that I am a great admirer of Japanese culture, especially the artistic and historic aspects, and have spent a great deal of time and effort mastering the Japanese language in order to deepen my understanding. I think that anyone with a sufficiently fine aesthetic sense cannot but fail to be captivated by reading tanka poems, learning about the tea ceremony, contemplating a rock garden or looking at ukiyo-e prints. What is more, as one learns more about Japan, one comes to realize that the aesthetic sensibilities underpinning all of these traditional aspects of the nation's culture survive into the present, and that they permeate life in modern Japan in a great many ways, from the way presents are wrapped in gift shops to the design of electronic goods made for export. Gaining a deeper understanding of Japan's history, language and culture can be a highly rewarding experience.

Unfortunately, as I've discovered, not everyone who claims to be an admirer of Japanese culture turns out to be interested in any but the most childish and facile aspects of said culture: on the contrary, what I've found is that the great majority of western "Japanophiles" happen to be immature idiots obsessed with anime and J-Pop in their least ambitious forms: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Morning Musume, AKB48, etc., and it is precisely these sorts of people - aka "weeaboos" - who constitute the targets of the video below.

Lady Gaga is Boring and Derivative

Commenting at length about the ephemera of popular culture isn't really what I have in mind to write about on here, but on this occasion I must make an exception, as Nathan Heller does such a superb job of explaining what it is I can't stand about Stefani Germanotta's "Lady Gaga" persona. Some choice excerpts:

Nonsense in the Netherlands

No one who has read this blog over the years can accuse me of having closed my eyes to the problems which have accompanied large-scale Muslim immigration to Europe, but there's a clear divide between taking sensible measures to contain a problem before it gets out of hand and pandering to the rawest prejudice - a line which Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party have marched right past.

Under current law the third generation children of immigrants in Holland are classified as Dutch, in terms of government statistics and entitlements, as long as both their parents were born there.

But the anti-Muslim Freedom Party is concerned that by treating the grandchildren of immigrants as Dutch, 80 per cent of whom are under 10 years old, it will stop being possible to measure their integration.

Shocker: Hugo Chavez is a Crook!

Who would ever have believed that our sainted Leader of the Bolivarian revolution(©) was just another thief bent on maximizing state power to his own ends? And yet here is the Guardian (of all papers) indicating as much.

[Wilmer] Azuaje has blown the whistle on what he claims is a kleptocratic dynasty in Barinas where farms, businesses, banks and government contracts have been pocketed by the president's parents and five brothers.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun is Run by Idiots

It's one thing to put up pay walls for your news offerings, as Rupert Murdoch is foolishly intent on doing with his British properties, but it's another level of stupidity altogether to also seek to ban linking to your articles, as the Nikkei Shimbun is apparently trying to do.

Josef Fritzl is a Sociopath

I'm sure that I don't need to tell anyone about Josef Fritzl, the Austrian monster who locked his own daughter into an underground dungeon at age 18, and then proceeded to rape her repeatedly over the course of some 24 years, siring some 7 children in the process. It is only normal to wonder the mindset of any person capable of inflicting such cruelty on another human being, let alone his own flesh and blood, and the latest story about Herr Fritzl* makes it abundantly clear, at least in this case: a create incapable of the slightest sympathy or concern about anything or anyone other than itself.

Every two weeks Fritzl, 74, pens a pleading note to daughter Elisabeth, 43, who suffered over 3,000 rapes at his hands and bore him seven incest children.

He says he needs money 'to study to be a lawyer so I can defend myself' – but Elisabeth never replies.

In some of the notes he asks for £3,500 to 'get me started' on his legal career.

He even moans about not being able to get special shampoo he claims he needs for his implanted hair.

Aw, poor thing! No sane person could ever be delusional enough to put such thoughts to paper after committing such vicious crimes, yet Fritzl has not only done so, but actually seems convinced that his daughter will feel sorry for him: it is clear as day that Josef Fritzl is utterly certain that his desires and frustrations ought to occupy pride of place in everyone else's attentions. It is very likely that the only thing which kept Josef Fritzl from simply killing his daughter after raping her was his desire to keep her alive in order to continue to have an outlet for his lust.

*Yes, I know I'm linking to the Daily Heil, but even a rag as disreputable as that one is capable of getting the odd story right once in a blue moon ...

Slavery in the Arab World

Reading this story, as much as I'd like to say that the mistreatment detailed therein took me by surprise, the truth is rather different: the Arab nations have long been notorious for the horrible treatment dished out to foreign workers from poorer countries, even when they happen to be fellow Muslims and not just "kufr" (infidels). In fact, this abuse of servants is so routine that it even occurs with wealthy Arabs living in Western countries; so ingrained is the "servant as slave" mentality that legal considerations seem to play no role in their thinking.

A Good Reason to Stay out of Prison

I'm sure you've all heard the jokes about "PMITA Prison", right? Well guess what - it's no joke! Exhibit number 1: a certain Fleece Johnson, aka "The Booty Warrior".

Even Google is Afraid of Islam

If Google's "auto suggest" feature is any indication, even the folks at Mountain View have a "respectful"* [sic] view of the Religion of Peace. Think I'm kidding? Take a look at this picture and see for yourself. Better yet, why not go ahead and try typing "X is" for any number of religions "X" and see which ones come up curiously empty? Supposedly the people in charge of Google Suggest have claimed that this is just a "bug", but it is rather strange that this particular "bug" should be restricted to one religion whose adherents turn up frequently in the news for all the wrong reasons ...

[Via Digg.]

*See CNN's shameful display of cowardice for what "respect for Islam" means in journalistic circles.