I Have a Bad Feeling About This- Disney buys Lucasfilm

Disney has bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 (£2.5) billion and have announced Star Wars  Episode VII in 2015 followed by a film every two to three years forever

The Star Wars saga is one of the greatest masterpieces of American cinema but outside of the movies, has been tarnished by the Expanded Universe; examples include:

***Spoilers***

1. Luke Skywalker getting married to a Jedi Assasin named Mara Jade while Han and Leia marry and have children; the fact we had a young Anakin Skywalker and a young Luke makes it depressing the characters age. One of the kids also becomes a Sith and those kids have kids too (GREAT-Grandparents Anakin and Padmé?)

2. Palpatine survives and has many clones (making Vader's death pointless-the lightsabre fight in Episode VI was too short anyway and made Vader look weak, especially after he was kicked down the stairs).

3. Another war takes place against aliens who are undetectable by the force.

4. Luke's Jedi powers mean he can move entire planets and create black holes (kind of lame and an insult to the original where by luck he could destroy the Death Star. Palpatine has these powers too.

5. Darth Maul returns THREE TIMES: he comes back in the Clone Wars TV series, fights Darth Vader after Episode III and fights Luke as a hologram

6. Boba Fett blasts his way out of the Sarlaac, gets married and has a daughter and grand daughter (really?). He becomes friends with Han too (really?!) >.>

7. Chewie gets crushed to death by a planet trying to evacuate everyone else.

8. General Grievous' body is reused several times between Episodes II and III.

9. Somehow Asajj Ventress survives the ass kickings she has against Anakin and Obi Wan but manages to get the better of Jedi Masters in combat.

10. Darth Maul's brother Savage can beat Jedi Masters in combat but is no match for Ventress or Dooku.

Making any post Return of the Jedi story into a movie is like putting gasoline on a fire or throwing mud on already tarnished gold. That and the fact that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are too old and not interested doesn't help.

Romney's Binders Cost Him Presidential Debate

After a debate on the state of the economy under President Obama, as well as the administration's foreign policy, Mitt Romney and the President seemed to have both stalemated one another after Mitt's debate victory on October 4th. However, Romney makes a second blunder that was almost as bad as the quote on 47% of Americans being,

'dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. '

or his viewpoint of

'Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel'

This time,  Romney says,

'I went to a number of women's groups and said, "Can you help us find folks," and they brought us whole binders full of women...I was proud of the fact that after I staffed my Cabinet and my senior staff, that the University of New York in Albany did a survey of all 50 states, and concluded that mine had more women in senior leadership positions than any other state in America'

Within hours this quote made internet memes and as of writing, has over 316,000  'fans' on facebook.

Here are the memes

So far polls show Romney leading at 46-50% with Obama at 46-48%; different estimations come from different companies. So far electoral votes are at 237 for Obama to 191 for Romney. The offical votes do not start until November 6 so polls or electoral votes so far are only performance indicators.

Ban on Kate Middleton Photos in France

 Royals Win First Injunction

The Royals have won their first battle against France's Closer Magazine for the latter's publication of topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. This was only weeks after Prince Harry was photographed naked in Las Vegas.

The Royals have fined the French publication €2000 and given them a day to  hand over the original prints or be fined €10,000 for every day elapsed. An additional €10,000 will be charged daily if the photos are still published.

The photos are were still printed in Italy and Ireland though the latter has had their editor of the Daily Star, Michael O'Kane suspended.

The reason this is more severe than Prince Harry's escapade in Las Vegas is because the Duchess was photographed at her own private residence, away from all eyes except William. With Harry he was in a public place.

Those disappointed with not seeing a nude or semi nude Kate may be satisfied with Playboy photos of her distant Aunt/cousin, Katrina Darling, a Burlesque dancer who is related to Kate by being a second cousin once removed (her grandmother is sister to the duchess’s great grandfather Thomas Harrison.)

 

UPDATE: 'Innocence of Muslims' riot

The Connection between 'Innocence of Muslims' Riot and Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda's new second in command Said Ali al-Shihri was killed on September 10th 2012 after a drone strike in Yemen, three months after their successful drone strike in North Waziristan killed their previous number 2, Abu Yahya al-Libi. The problem was al-Shihri was sent to Saudi Arabia on November 9th, 2007 for repatriation into society after 6 years in Guantanamo; after a seemingly successful year he escaped and became a much more prominent member in Al Qaeda.
 After his death Al Qaeda conducted an attack on the US Embassy in Libya and killed four Americans, two of which were SEALs (not from team 6) and one of which was the Ambassador,Christopher Stevens; the attacks were a planned and executed at the time when other Muslims were protesting in Afghanistan,Iraq,Yemen (4 killed),Palestine,Indonesia,India,Morocco,Tunisia (4 killed),Niger,Somalia,Egypt,Sudan and Australia against a film called 'The Innocence of Muslims'. Originally called 'Desert Warrior' and produced by Alan  Roberts, a man with softcore pornography as part of his portfolio of work, it was  redubbed by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a Coptic Egyptian to insult Islam and Prophet Muhammed by labelling him as a violent adulterer,pedophile and homosexual with the Qu'ran being a mixture of nonsensical verses from the Torah and New Testament. Al Qaeda struck at the 'right' time. As well as this, Iran increased the bounty on Salman Rushdie's head from
 $500,000 to $3.3 million (even though he and 'The Satanic Verses' were nothing to do with this) ,in a mall and Lebanese Muslims burnt down American food joints KFC;Hardee's and Krispy Kreme.

Actors in the original cut of the film have considered suing Nakoula while  one of the actresss,Cindy Lee Garcia, has been forced into hiding due to death threats.

Indeed this movie should be banned for being hateful and Nakoula fined and imprisoned for starting riots resulting in at least eight dead, but those protesting should learn better than to blame an entire country for one man's actions, especially when that man's not even American.

The fifteen minutes of the movie are available on youtube.

A similar situation occured in 2010 when Comedy Central censored two South Park episodes for basing a story around showing Muhammed uncensored; they said Trey Parker and Matt Stone had indeed drew Muhammed in the two episodes but the censoring of his name in the second episode was intentional. Comedy Central censored the images for their own safety although an episode in 2001 was not censored.

To Infinity and Beyond-Rocketman Armstrong passes on

One of Americas the World's great heroes has been lost; Neil Armstrong, the first man to ever set foot on the Moon has passed away at the age of 82 after complications from heart surgery to unblock his arteries.

Famous for the infamous saying 'So that's one small step for man...one giant leap for mankind', Armstrong was like Christopher Columbus: they found somewhere they wanted to go (the Moon for Armstrong and India for Columbus) and got there in a unique way (Armstrong via space ship and Columbus by sailing West as opposed to East); the difference between the two is that only Europe,Africa and Asia were on the map at the time and the Earth was considered flat; instead of reaching India by going West, Columbus found North and South America and the native Americans (which were appropriately called Red Indians due to looking different to Indians from India).

Ideally Armstrong should be temporarily buried or cremated and then his remains sent to the Moon. In case that does not happen, give the Moon a wink next time you see it in memory of Neil.

As Breivik is found Sane, Man Opens Fire Outside Empire State Building

 Breivik Found Sane

After a trail, on Friday 24th August 2012 Anders Behring Breivik, the 33 year old responsible for the death of 77 people in Oslo (car-bomb blast) and Utoya (shooting) was deemed sane and sent down for 10-21 years, depending on his behaviour (at the end of the term the Norweigan government can extend the term on grounds of 'preventative detention'). Brievik's motive for the shooting was the Islamisation of the West and Norway but he had a variety of complex views: he was an anti-racist, anti-Nazi Zionist against communism and democracy. Brievik seemed to particularly target Muslims but was influenced by the works of Al Qaeda (who in turn care not for Palestinians or Muslims due to the fact their ideology states secular Muslims must die).
The importance of Breivik being found guilty are twofold:  Breivik himself wanted to be found sane because being found insane would mean people would not take him or his agenda seriously and try to change him through psychiatric treatment; the victims and their family also wanted him to be ruled sane so he could get life imprisonment as opposed to being put in a mental hospital.
Unfortunately people support this man, as seen by 'fan mail' to him and most recently, from a Kent-based BNP supporting, EDL member named Philip Horn who commented on a facebook photo of Brievik ,“Well done Anders Breivik. I take my hat off to you sir...
“You proved you were not insane, and that you are just one of many like myself who wish their country to return to the way it was before it was invaded by the Muslim population. Respect to you.”

In response to being asked how he could condone killing children, he said (from an interview with the Sun Newspaper):
(on the children killed on Utoya Island) “They were Norwegian children being groomed for political brain washing. He done what he thought was right.

“To a certain extent I do defend what he’s done. Go back 40-50 years ago to Norway, would you have seen people walking around in burkas and all that?
“I am a racist to a certain extent. Of course it’s wrong to kill children, but if he had to do it that way to get his point across, so be it.

“If someone came to my door in a uniform and said they were going to bang me up for six months then fine. I’m not going to retract any remarks I made."

 

2 Dead and 9 Wounded in Empire State Building Shooting

 

 

 

 A 58 year old man named Jeffrey Johnson shot dead his ex-boss Steve Ercolino, 41 and wounded 9 others outside the Empire State Building in Manhattan,New York before being shot dead by the police.
Johnson shot Ercolino five times in the head and once in the chest with a .45-caliber Star 1911 pistol due to being given an eviction notice two years after being fired at clothing company Hazan Import Corp. Johnson believed Ercolino did not push his designs enough and was the cause in him losing his job in the weak global market.

Neighbors and co-workers said that Johnson claimed to have a military past and former landlord, Kathleen Walsh said that Johnson claimed to be a sharpshooter.
'He was in the Marines, or Special Forces,' said one co-worker.
'He was in Vietnam. There'd be things he'd say - 'Oh, that's not the way it's done', or 'I can't talk about that.'
The Army, Navy and Marines said Friday that there was no record of his service; a law enforcement official however, said he may have served in the Coast Guard.

Link to video: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2193065/Empire-State-shooting-First-picture-shooter-video-shows-moment-police-gunned-Jeffrey-Johnson.html

 

 

2012 DOOM AND GLOOM: Multiple tragedies in one week

 Justice for Tia Sharp

Tia Sharp's grandmother and step-grandfather have been held in custody after the 12 year old's body was found on the 10th August in her grandmother's house, 7 days after her Grandmother's boyfriend and Mother's ex-boyfriend Stuart Hazell, said she had left the house just for the day to buy shoes in Croydon (five miles away). Grandmother Christine Sharp (46), next door neighbour Paul Meehan (39) and Stuart Hazell (37) were arrested for questioning. Christine and Paul have been released on bail.

Texas Massacres

On the 14th August 2012, two people were killed near Texas A&M University when 35 year old Thomas Alton Caffall III shot Brazos County Constable Brian Bachmann (age 41) and Caffall's landlord Chris Northcliffe (43); as well as the two aforementioned, Caffall himself died from retaliation fire by the police. Three other law enforcement officers and a 55 year old woman were injured. The motives for the attack is from Caffall being unwilling to be evicted from his home; Bachmann went to give him his eviction notice before Caffall opened fire.  Caffall's stepfather, Richard Weaver, told CBS station KHOU that the Caffall refused to work after quitting his job less than a year ago and shut himself away from society, playing video games to the extent that "it seemed to be warping his sense of reality".

Sadly, on the 18th August there was another gun crime in Texas where one man was killed and
two wounded early Saturday in a shooting at Music Hall Shopping Mall in the west Texas town of Odessa. The shooter was 24 year old Braushlyon Richards and the casualty 23 year old Pablo Jimenez. Police arrived after receiving reports about people refusing to leave a Sports bar (the staff unlikely knowing that people arrived for shelter from the shooting);several 911 calls came in about shots being fired in the mall parking lot. Richards handed himself in.

Unfortunately, a THIRD shooting has occured in the space of a week in Texas-4 people have been shot and injured at a Wall Mart in Cedar Park, Central Texas.At 4.30 AM police arrived at the scene of the crime and arrested the suspect. Nobody seems to have any life-threatening injuries.

Kai-Tak Strikes

Typhoon Kai-Tak has so far claimed 27 lives in North Vietnam and 2 in Southern China while leaving hundreds homeless from flooding. Condolences to the victims.

Russia's Islamic Tragedy

In Russia eight people have been killed and eleven wounded through a suicide bombing when policemen were at a funeral of a colleague in Caucasus. This was following a same-day attack on a Mosque when two masked gunmen opened fire in a Mosque in the nearby Dagestan region,killing one and wounding eight. A bomb was found but deactivated. The Dagestan area of Russia (in the North Caucasus region) has been having problems with Islamic insurgents and it seems these same insurgents did this as a retaliation. Russia has always have strained relations with Muslims and like America, have been troubled by Al Qaeda affiliates for Russia was at war with Afghanistan during the Cold War and also supported Bosnia-Herzegovina who, at the time, commited genocide of Bosnian Muslims between 1992 and 1995, killing over 8,300 and expelling 25-30,000 in Srebrenica.

Japan and China-New Disputes

Finally, enemies-turned-friends-turned-frenenemies Japan and China have been caught in a week-long dispute that looks extremely volatile. The islands,  known as Senkaku in Japan and Daioyu in China have been claimed by each country, particularly as they are a source of natural gas. Since 1972 the islands have been administered by the Japanese even though they have been nearer to China. The Chinese from Peoples' Republic of China and Taiwan (a sovereign state with its own system and government but claimed by the Chinese to this day) state the Islands were discovered by them from the 14th Century. The islands are uninhabited but a recent dispute has occured due to 10 Japanese activists planting flags there, one week after Japan arrested 14 Chinese activists. The reason this is a serious situation is the fact that thousands of Chinese have took to protest on the streets and have also attacked Japanese businesses and vandalised Japanese cars; although they have $160 billion worth of trade each way (China is Japan's largest trading partner) China and Japan have been to war twice, once between 1894 and 1895, and once in World War II.
Japan has controlled Okinawa (now part of Japan), Taiwan and both North and South Korea so it would seem from that, and their wars with China, that history is not on their side. However, China to this day has occupied Tibet and Kashmir (areas claiming to be independant and also having been part of India) while claiming Taiwan even though the latter has its own economy and government while previously having ruled China before Mao's Communist Party. Considering the areas Japan have relinquished after 'knowing better' after the wars, it seems China is at fault for trying to claim islands that were never originally part of the 'modern' or 'official' Qin Dynasty China.

2012 really does seem to be the year of doom and gloom