There’s hope for the AP yet: This is the single most balanced piece by the AP on Israel I’ve read in years. It’s about Netanyahu withdrawing from the upcoming nuclear conference in Washington to prevent Arab nations from making the conference about Israel. At least, that’s the stated reason. I suspect the avoidance of Obama may be the real reason. Best thing about the AP: It mentions Mordecai Vanunu and does not call him a “nuclear whistleblower.” (And yes, I wrote the AP about that issue as well. Did it have an effect? Well, they’re calling him a nuclear technician now. Keep those cards and letters coming, boys and girls. They work.)
Yemeni child bride bleeds to death four days after wedding night: Need I say more? Fine. It’s a despicable, despicable thing to marry off children. The article says more than 25% of Yemeni females marry before age 15. It doesn’t say how many die after their wedding night. Now there’s a great religious tradition. And oh yeah—a group of clerics said people who think girls are getting married too young are apostates. So this custom won’t be changing anytime soon.
I guess he should have seen this coming: A Lebanese “psychic” is on death row in Saudi Arabia for practicing witchcraft. Wow, what a great, modern country that is: You can be beheaded for practicing witchcraft, even though there is no such thing as witchcraft. Say, Maureen Dowd, can you write another column on how great and modern Saudi Arabia is compared to Israel?
I’m guessing that Deepak Chopra won’t be visiting Saudi Arabia anytime soon.
I actually had an acquaintance tell me, “Since you’re such a big fan of ‘The Amazing Randi,’ you must support the death penalty verdict for the Lebanese psychic.”
I replied, “James Randi never demanded Uri Geller be executed. In fact, he’s spoken out against the death penalty for ‘witchcraft,’ even the fraudulent kind, several times. Besides, he’s a psychic magician himself, and probably doesn’t want to kill himself for that.”
Said acquaintance started ranting about how the “humiliation” Randi inflicted on “real” alternative-treatment therapists was not just a death penalty, but genocide. I don’t need psychic powers to predict he won’t be going from “acquaintance” to “respected authority on any subject” in my book at any point in the foreseeable future.