Re:Generator

Bayonet Humanitarianism

May 14th, 2008

by KK4

Crises can bring out the best, and the worst, that our human nature has to offer us. The current crisis in the international community is taking place in Burma (renamed by the junta as Myanmar), a nation in the south east of Asia sandwiched between Thailand, India, China, Bangladesh, and Laos, where on May 2 a cyclone made landfall and caused much devastation. Estimates by our own government claim that the death toll may rise as high as 100,000, and millions have been left homeless without food, clean water and shelter. Although aide has been offered from all corners of the earth the current regime of Burma, an unelected military junta which seized power in a coup d’etat forty years ago, has been dragging its feet in accepting and distributing aide. In the face of this, an Op/ed was written for TIME.com begging the question “Is it time to invade Burma?”

(more…)

Posted in International | 1 Comment »

Not all it’s cracked up to be

May 13th, 2008

by Robert Starvation

Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing has a message for serious writers everywhere: Sod the Nobel Prize. Lessing has experienced such difficulty writing a full novel due to the increased interest in her work that she is considering getting out of the profession altogether. The acclaimed Mrs. Lessing laments:

“All I do is give interviews and spend time being photographed.”

So does Paris Hilton, and she’s managed to put out a book and an album. The only discernible difference between the two authors is that Hilton hasn’t yet received a Nobel Prize, which leads me to suspect that the prize itself emits a subsonic frequency that compels the recipient to forgo creative ventures in pursuit of interviews with the national and international media.

Now you understand the precarious situation Lessing is in. She’d love to be in her study with a nice cuppa, working on her book, but like sailor to siren she is drawn to journalists and photographers every time.

Posted in Arts and Culture, The Written Word, International | 1 Comment »

Why does nature have it out for Asia?

May 12th, 2008

by Robert Starvation

First the cyclone in Myanmar, now a 7.8 earthquake in China… be wary, Korea.

Posted in Natural Disaster, International | 1 Comment »

Boris Johnson, buzzkill

May 12th, 2008

by Robert Starvation

See the crazy-looking man in the wrinkled suit who bears a passing resemblance to Gary Busey? That’s Boris Johnson, London’s new Mayor. As is the case with Americans and George W., you can’t help but wonder what was going through Londoner’s heads. One of Johnson’s first acts after assuming power was to ban the consumption of alcohol on public transportation, effective June 1.

Perhaps things are different in Jolly Ol’ LimeyLand, but in America you drink alcohol on public transportation to make it bearable. Take buses. Let’s say that (hypothetically) someone I may or may not be related to by blood is taking a bus to work in downtown Seattle. This person (hereafter referred to as “My Sister”) expects to arrive to work on time, but finds this to be impossible when the bus has to stop because a hobo fight has broken out.

It is not altogether irresponsible to suggest that “My Sister” would be better served by legal laxity that would allow her to assuage the mounting frustration a prolonged hobo scrap can engender with alcohol, which by and large is not permissible this side of the Atlantic. Londoners have a good thing going. A hobo fight breaks out on a bus or train, they can get perfectly sloshed while placing bets on which hobo is going to lose an eye.

Mayor “Crazyface” Johnson is urged to reconsider. If there’s anything worse than obnoxious public drunkenness, it’s having to deal with an angry dry drunk you can’t get away from (cue further references to George W.).

Posted in The War on Some Drugs, International | 3 Comments »

Don’t forget to fill out a reincarnation application before you die

May 12th, 2008

by Robert Starvation

The 1.3 billion-strong People’s Republic of China has taken government bureaucracy to heights surreal in their invasiveness and impossible in their enforceability. In their ongoing mission to quash Tibetan Buddhism, the State Administration for Religious Affairs has taken it upon themselves to regulate the reincarnation of Lamas.

Let’s prop up our argument on the shaky assumptions that a) reincarnation is indeed possible, b) the claims of Tibetan Buddhism has some foundation in the greater cosmic reality and c) the Dalai Lama is a reincarnate Lama outside the wheel of birth and death. How could China’s government practically exert control over the reincarnation process? Do they have aetheric certification that allows them to bend the entire process to their will?

Further, if China has control over the theological destiny of one religion, what’s to say they don’t have their hands in more than one spiritual honey pot? Has the Rapture been delayed by those power-mad commie bastards? Because that’s just not fair. Really, the faithful can move on to the next plane of existence. The sooner the better.

Posted in Religion, International | No Comments »