World elsewhere update
You might not know it from the teevee news -- I don't think there's anybody left in the Outer Banks but anchors and journalists -- but the world goes on.
Set your irony detector on stun: North Koreans are the most notoriously underfed people on earth in a country not (technically) at war. But in South Korea, some young men are stuffing themselves with pizza and burgers in an attempt to fail their physicals. Everyone is supposed to do nearly two years of military service, with exemptions only for winners of classical music competitions and medalists in the Asian Games and Olympics -- no bullshit about "bone spurs" or ass boils. Now I understand the intensity of all those gymnasts and volleyball players. I'll have to pay more attention to classical music competitions.
Pope Francis met for an hour with some of his bishops to discuss the ever-growing child abuse scandal (now including Germany and dating back to the end of the war). No word on when he plans to meet with the victims; he may need more than an hour, and a larger venue than St. Peter's. Trouble is, the Catholic Church has never made up its mind who the victims are -- the traumatized people pursuing lawsuits and cooperating with prosecutors, or the Church itself, surrounded by scandal-mongers and heretics. So far, all the former have had from the Keeper of the Keys is the Roman equivalent of thoughts and prayers.
Friday quiz: Which of these applies to Donald J. Trump?
1. Lied about donating $10,000 to the Twin Towers Fund*, a charity for the children of victims of the 9/11 attacks
2. Collected $150,000 from the Empire State Development Corporation fund to assist small businesses affected by the attacks, because he allowed rescue workers to use 40 Wall Street (undamaged)
3. Claimed he lost "hundreds of friends" in the towers but never attended one memorial service
4. Claimed he saw "thousands of Muslims" celebrating the attacks in the streets of New Jersey
5. Boasted that he now owned the tallest building in lower Manhattan
6. Did not attend the annual memorial service in New York until 2016
7. Arrived in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, last Tuesday pumping his arms like a victorious wrestler, to read a speech in which he interpolated the phrase "radical Muslim terrorists"
All of them, Katie!
*Full disclosure: I donated $50 to the fund. When I learned that Giuliani had put his wife Judith in charge, and that she was to be paid $500,000 a year, I requested a refund. I never got it. Not only do grifters gotta grift, they look out for each other.
Set your irony detector on stun: North Koreans are the most notoriously underfed people on earth in a country not (technically) at war. But in South Korea, some young men are stuffing themselves with pizza and burgers in an attempt to fail their physicals. Everyone is supposed to do nearly two years of military service, with exemptions only for winners of classical music competitions and medalists in the Asian Games and Olympics -- no bullshit about "bone spurs" or ass boils. Now I understand the intensity of all those gymnasts and volleyball players. I'll have to pay more attention to classical music competitions.
Pope Francis met for an hour with some of his bishops to discuss the ever-growing child abuse scandal (now including Germany and dating back to the end of the war). No word on when he plans to meet with the victims; he may need more than an hour, and a larger venue than St. Peter's. Trouble is, the Catholic Church has never made up its mind who the victims are -- the traumatized people pursuing lawsuits and cooperating with prosecutors, or the Church itself, surrounded by scandal-mongers and heretics. So far, all the former have had from the Keeper of the Keys is the Roman equivalent of thoughts and prayers.
Friday quiz: Which of these applies to Donald J. Trump?
1. Lied about donating $10,000 to the Twin Towers Fund*, a charity for the children of victims of the 9/11 attacks
2. Collected $150,000 from the Empire State Development Corporation fund to assist small businesses affected by the attacks, because he allowed rescue workers to use 40 Wall Street (undamaged)
3. Claimed he lost "hundreds of friends" in the towers but never attended one memorial service
4. Claimed he saw "thousands of Muslims" celebrating the attacks in the streets of New Jersey
5. Boasted that he now owned the tallest building in lower Manhattan
6. Did not attend the annual memorial service in New York until 2016
7. Arrived in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, last Tuesday pumping his arms like a victorious wrestler, to read a speech in which he interpolated the phrase "radical Muslim terrorists"
All of them, Katie!
*Full disclosure: I donated $50 to the fund. When I learned that Giuliani had put his wife Judith in charge, and that she was to be paid $500,000 a year, I requested a refund. I never got it. Not only do grifters gotta grift, they look out for each other.
posted by Buttermilk Sky at 11:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home