A Post for a Monday

Why not?

 Super-cool:

NASA's $2.5 billion Mars rover Sunday made a dramatic touchdown on the Red Planet, marking a successful end to the most sophisticated Mars attempt in history.

"Touchdown confirmed," said a member of mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as the room erupted in cheers. "We are wheels down on Mars. Oh, my God."

Zilla is your friend.

 

Sixty-seven years ago, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. The Second World War ended nine days later. Discuss.

 The IOC is the United Nations of sport and Wojdan Shaherkani is sad proof of it:

Judoka Wojdan Shaherkani, the first Saudi Arabian woman to compete at the Olympics, sobbed as she admitted to being overwhelmed by her historic debut which lasted just 82 seconds on Friday.

Looking nervous and wearing a black, swimming cap-style head covering, she was beaten by Melissa Mojica of Puerto Rico in the first round of the women’s under-78kg category.

After the fight, where she barely mustered a challenge, the 16-year-old broke down in tears as she embraced her father, himself a judo referee.

“I’m proud, I’m happy and I want to continue in judo. I want to thank the fans for their support,” she said.

“I was disturbed and afraid at the beginning, it was my first time in a big competition and there was a lot of pressure because of the hijab issue.

“I was not comfortable because I didn’t have any experience of big events. It took its toll on me.”

Shaherkani’s case sparked a huge controversy after International Judo Federation president Marius Vizer had said she would not be able to fight in a hijab, the traditional Muslim headscarf.

Judo rules ban any head-covering on safety grounds.

But Saudi officials had said their women – they have also sent 800m runner Sarah Attar – could only compete if they respected Islamic dress....

She was accompanied to the mat by her brother, who remained by her side throughout her media commitments.

The teenager has only been practising judo for two years and has a blue belt. If not for her special invitation, she would never have qualified for the Olympics.

I feel sorry for this sixteen year old pawn athlete. The young, inexperienced girl is not only disallowed from training outside her home but she is doomed for a Saudi-sized grilling when she returns.

 

The story doesn’t end there. From the pundit who brought you ‘Karla Homolka served her time, already!’:

Who cares? She wasn't a threat to any Christians in the Judo competition. sheesh... the Olympics are a farce anyway. Nothing but corporate sponsorship and boondoggles for politicians. The British actually have 300 security people just "defending" the Olympic logo. seriously

 Who said anything about Christianity, Christians, or the West for that matter? What boogey-man does this pundit think is hiding behind a corner? “Who cares”? Apparently, the Saudis do and so does the IOC who let them ram in an unqualified athlete with a hijab for good Islamist measure. The put-on indifference is so hipster (read: transparently evasive) but also very telling. Start with some unnecessary deriding of Christians and then finish with a dose of cynicism like some pudgy teen-ager getting back at dad by pressing all kinds of buttons. Whatever you do, though, don’t address the IOC’s or Saudi Arabia’s actions or motives. Certainly don’t question Saudi Arabia’s misogyny, bigotry or how a sixteen year-old will be imagined as a ground-breaker rather than a dupe, which is what she is. Those Saudi guys don’t screw around. For a leftists, it’s much better to shoot yourself in the foot with some absurd comment than look behind the mandatory veil.

 What is a bigger farce than the Olympics is the comment.

 Related: real threats to Christians in the Philippines.

 Also: there’s your Arab Spring for you.

 Like many things, it wasn’t about tolerance but acceptance or else. Over a chicken restaurant. And a douchebag tries apologising but it just doesn’t feel genuine. Probably because he’s done that before.

 

The “tolerant” among us make fun of a homeless black man:

 

While there, a group formed around an elderly African-American homeless man, who was reading his bible while seated along a fence rail off to the side of the protest. Some in the group confronted the man, who was reading the bible aloud, and engaged him in theological debates. A few others took the opportunity to mock the man, which I captured on video…

 

It wouldn’t be the first time we witnessed the love:

 It was like being at a klan rally except the klansmen were wearing Abercrombie polos and Birkenstocks. YOU NIGGER, one man shouted at men. If your people want to call me a FAGGOT, I will call you a nigger. Someone else said same thing to me on the next block near the temple...me and my friend were walking, he is also gay but Korean, and a young WeHo clone said after last night the niggers better not come to West Hollywood if they knew what was BEST for them.

Related: why hide one’s true motives?:

The author of a California bill that would forbid minors from seeking therapy to overcome unwanted feelings of same-sex attraction has admitted his intention was to undermine parental rights.

“The attack on parental rights is exactly the whole point of the bill, because we don’t want to let parents harm their children,” said State Senator Ted Lieu, D-Torrance.

Senate Bill 1172 would ban anyone under 18 from receiving reparative or sexual orientation conversion therapy, even if requested by the teens or their parents. The bill would label the treatment “unprofessional conduct” and “therapeutic deception.”

The bill passed the state Senate in June. It is now being considered in the state Assembly.

After likening the therapy to allowing children to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, the 43-year-old Taiwanese-born legislator said, ““We have these laws to stop parents from hurting their kids. 

Preventive therapy hurts children, so this bill allows us to stop parents from hurting their children.”…

…“This is not a matter of forcing a child to do something against his or her will,” [Dr. Michael Brown] said. “This is a matter of forbidding parents, professional therapists, and young people to have the right of choice.” …

Can we cut the crap that people aren’t targeting children and trying to drive a wedge between them and their families? It’s one of the most morally pernicious and arrogant things attempted and it’s beyond disgusting.

And now, this elephant doesn’t care about your or your pool party!

It's one thing to have a casual African pool party ... it's quite another when a giant elephant crashes it.

Video of a a giant elephant making a fashionably late entrance to a backyard get-together was first posted on YouTube in 2010, but has become viral since being posted on LiveLeak a couple of days ago.

In the video, the pesky pachyderm strolls casually up to the side of the pool for a quick drink before seemingly noticing that everyone is staring at him. He then shyly backs away and walks out the way he came in.

Clearly this elephant realized that he wasn't going to sneak in unnoticed. Hey, at least he brought his trunks!

 (With thanks to one and many)