Some Sunday Stuff

For Sunday... naturally...


North Korea declares war on Christmas via South Korea:

North Korea warned South Korea of "unexpected consequences" if Seoul displays Christmas lights near the tense border, and vowed to retaliate for what it called "psychological warfare".

The South's defence ministry said earlier it was considering a request by a Seoul church group to put up Christmas lights on a steel tower shaped like a tree atop a military-controlled hill near the border.

The North's official website, Uriminzokkiri, called the plan "a mean attempt for psychological warfare" against the communist state and threatened to retaliate immediately if the lights are switched on.

The 155-metre (511 feet) hill in the South, about three kilometres (two miles) from the border, is within range of North Korean gunfire.

The tree-shaped, 30-meter-high steel structure is illuminated by thousands of small light bulbs and can be seen from the North's major city of Kaesong just north of the border, according to media reports.

"The enemy warmongers... should be aware that they should be held responsible entirely for any unexpected consequences that may be caused by their scheme," it said.

"This issue... is not something to be ignored quietly," it said.

The two Koreas in 2004 reached a deal to halt official-level cross-border propaganda and the South stopped its annual Christmas illumination ceremony.

But Seoul resumed the ceremony last December amid high military tensions with Pyongyang.

Cross-border ties have been icy since the South accused the North of torpedoing its warship with the loss of 46 lives in March 2010.

Pyongyang angrily denied involvement, but went on to shell a border island in November 2010 that left four South Koreans dead and sparked fears of war.

The North has previously accused the South of displaying Christmas lights to spread Christianity among its people and soldiers.

The North's constitution provides for religious freedom, but the US State Department says this does not exist in practice.

Bad form, North Korea.



The ACLU could not be reached for comment.

"We declare war on Christmas... and South Korea!"

Related: Malaysian police don't approve of carolling:

The police must respect and not politicise long-held religious customs like Christmas carolling, DAP national secretary Teresa Kok said today.


She said a recent request by Klang district police for two churches there to hand over details of homeowners they would visit while carolling indicated an attempt to clamp down on religious freedom.

“While the requirement of providing detailed info of carolling activities and participants, and obtaining a police permit is tedious in itself, Christian churches and groups have adhered to this rule since the late ‘80s and have gone about spreading joy and peace to members’ homes without disturbing public order nor infringing on the religious freedoms of others in Malaysia.

“The supposed current need for further information and restrictions on carollers, such as the requirement to provide the police with details of names and contacts of homeowners whom the churches’ carolling groups will visit, is simply unnecessary and an abuse of power by the authorities,” she said in a statement.

Kok urged Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to clarify the need for churches to inform Bukit Aman police headquarters and the National Security Council of this “insignificant information”.

“This should not be practised nor tolerated by the government of Malaysia and further clarification must be delivered by the authorities should this episode be merely an act of overzealous police personnel,” she said.

The Malaysian Insider reported today two churches in Klang had received a memo from a district police officer earlier this week asking them to submit the names and contact details of homeowners they planned to visit.

Rev Father Michael Chua said the two parish churches — the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Church of the Holy Redeemer — were also told to inform Bukit Aman and the National Security Council of their plans.

Carollers are usually required to submit their full names, identity card numbers and details of total participants, dates, time and general areas of their visits.

The irregular condition imposed by the Klang district police officer this year has cast the spotlight on a recently passed law that governs peaceful assemblies, which many civil liberties groups claim is more restrictive than the law it replaced.

Malaysia, which established diplomatic ties with the Vatican earlier this year, has nearly a million Catholics out of its 28 million population.

Ladies and gentlemen, Lisa Ono.



I give this pinhead and others like him two minutes before running away  in horror from the car tires strewn over gravel yard, the scabies-ridden kid with a runny nose and the dog ambling about, looking for a place to die. Comment not on that which you know not.



And down with Chief Theresa Spence whose political hay-making, incompetence and theft would make her right at home with other banana republic generalissimos.



Seriously- these people must live in caves.




And now, get freaked out by this optical illusion floor rug, watch a husky get his own ice and prepare for the Christmas season with Chewbacca's rendition of "Silent Night".