A Few Stories Before The Weekend

I'll shortly be heading out of town to visit my family over the Easter weekend.  Meanwhile, here are some things in the news:

From the Military Times, a U.N. arms trade treaty gets some opposition - from Iran and North Korea.

From CNN, a former U.S. soldier has been charged with firing an RPG in Syria.

From Prophecy News Watch, there are only 57 churches left in Iraq.

Business Insider reveals what is the most hacked mobile device.

From the Christian Science Monitor, actress Ashley Judd has decided against running for the Senate against Mitch McConnell (R-KY), but the Democrats have found another potential challenger.

From the New York Post, some artifacts belonging to the author William Faulkner will be auctioned off, including an unpublished story.

From Heritage Action, 75 Senators have voted for what might be called the "shop China bill".

From the Associated Press, the American economy grew at a 0.4% annual rate during the last quarter of 2012, up from a previous estimate of 0.1%.  (via Gateway Pundit)

The Washington Times reports that Food Stamp use has increased 70% during the Obama presidency.

From Natural News, that old saying about "an apple a day" is starting to make a lot of sense.

From Fox 8 in Cleveland, I tawt I taw a putty tat.

And from Duh Progressive, some satire aimed at the Mayor of New York.

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Like Father, Like Son

In a case of the apple falling not far from the tree, Hopper Penn, son of actor and Hugo Chavez admirer Sean Penn, had an altercation with a photographer.  While the incident was mostly verbal, some of the younger Penn's words were downright foul.  Read the story and watch the video at TMZ, but watch out for the NSFW language.

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Obamacare Draft Application Includes Voter Registration

Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA), who leads the Ways and Means subcommittee on Oversight, while reviewing a draft application for Obamacare benefits, found something that in his view seemed to be a bit odd.  On page 59 of the 61-page draft, there was the question "Would you like to register to vote?"  Nowhere in the healthcare law is voting or registration mentioned.  Boustany apparently believes the question to be misleading in that it could cause some applicants to believe that they must register to vote in order to receive the healthcare benefits.  Currently under the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, states must offer voter registration through any office that provides public assistance.  This application, however, was drafted by the Department of Health and Human Services, part of the federal government.

Read more at the Washington Examiner and The Hill.

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Thursday Links

A few stories in the news:

From CNN, the Chinese solar energy company Soltech Power's Wuxi subsidiary has gone into bankruptcy.

From the Washington Times, Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes has converted to Islam.

From The Blaze, while in Israel discussing Israeli-Palestinian relations, President Obama evokes the relationship between the United States and Canada.  That's funny, I don't recall any Canadians launching rockets at American towns full of civilians, or any Canadian suicide bombers.

From Time, the Palestinians aren't all that pleased with Obama.

From World Net Daily, in a speech to young Israelis, the president quotes Saul Alinsky.

From Fox News, in southern Idaho, nearly 40 dogs have mysteriously disappeared, with some of them eventually turning up dead.

From CBS Bay Area, CVS pharmacy is ordering its employees to reveal their health information.

From Liberty News, congressman Charles Rangel claims that "millions of kids" have been shot down by "assault weapons", a number that is actually way off the mark.

From MSN News, Chicago school officials announce plans to close 54 schools, due to a billion-dollar deficit.

From the Military Times, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has found no proof that the Navy's use of bombing ranges on the island of Vieques has caused its inhabitants to get sick.

From the New York Post, Saudi Arabia, despite being the homeland of most of the 9/11 hijackers, will become just the fifth nation to receive "trusted traveller" status.

And from Phillyburbs, the up-for-reelection Bucks County Sheriff has been petitioned to remove his nickname from the upcoming ballot.

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Presidential Limo Hits SNAFU

On President Obama's current visit to Israel, his official limousine, known as "The Beast", appears to have run head-on into Murphy's Law.  According to reports, the diesel-powered car was mistakenly filled with gasoline, and is not currently able to be driven.  Obama was not in the limo when the malfunction occurred.

Read more at Fox News, the Telegraph, Autoblog, the Washington Times and the International Business Times.

There has been no word yet as to whether this SNAFU has been blamed on the Sequester, or on problems inherited from President George W. Bush.

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Does Satan Look Like Obama?

No, but the actor playing Satan in the miniseries The Bible seems to have some resemblance to the president.  Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the married couple who are the show's producers, flatly deny any any intention of making a political statement.  Let's keep in mind that the actor's on-screen appearance is likely to some extent to be the result of makeup.  Still, Moroccan actor Mehdi Ouzaani does appear to look somewhat like Barry, but if you ask me, a few years older.  Read the story at the New York Post, the Independent, MSNBC and the Daily Beast, and judge for yourself.

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Music Break

Resuming last month's theme of songs that are less well known that they might deserve, this first one is Trinity by Fleetwood Mac.  Written and sung by Danny Kirwan, played in concert in 1971, and then recorded during the sessions for their 1972 album Bare Trees, it was for some reason left off the album.  It would eventually be included 25 Years: The Chain, a compilation released in 1992.

From John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, Crippled Inside features a dobro and a honky tonk piano.

Recorded during the 1960's and later appearing in a commercial for Hewlett-Packard is Picture Book by the Kinks.

Moving up to the 1980's, this is TV Dinners by ZZ Top, consisting of Billy Gibbons (guitar & vocals), Dusty Hill (bass & vocals) and Frank Beard (drums).  On this one, Gibbons sings the lead vocal and Hill plays keyboards.

Also from the 1980's is Men Without Shame by Phantom, Rocker and Slick, consisting of Slim Jim Phantom (drums), Lee Rocker (bass & vocals) and Earl Slick (guitar).  Phantom (real name James McDonnell) and Rocker (real name Leon Drucker) had previously been in the Stray Cats with guitarist-singer Brian Setzer.  Slick (real name Frank Madeloni) had previously recorded or performed with David Bowie and the above-mentioned John Lennon.

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