The Beginning of the End

Volvo wants to make their cars mimic the behaviour of locusts.

Great. One minute I'm shopping for a car and the next I'm trapped in an automotive remake of a Bert I. Gordon film.

Divine Providence

BBC headline:

Abba will 'never' perform again

Thank God and all his ministering angels, we are delivered!

Blaming the Victim

Lars Vilks, the cartoonist at the centre of the Swedish Cartoon War, is interviewed by Paula Newton of CNN, who interjects this observation (emphasis added):

Still one could argue Vilks should have known better because of what happened in Denmark in 2005, when a cartoonist's depictions of the prophet sparked violent protests in the Muslim world and prompted death threats against that cartoonist's life.

Translation: How dare Mr. Vilks refuse to act the good dhimmi and draw the wrath of the Faithful upon his head. Remember what happened to the Danes!

It's as one with Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali's claim that Australian women who refuse to wear the hijab are "abandoned meat" and therefore deserve to be raped. I expect that sort of bile from a raving Jihadist, but from a respected Western news agency it is nothing less than counseling cowardice in a time of war.

Shooting One's Foot

Al Qaeda has not only moved the Swedish Cartoon War from a question of "sensitivity" to deadly serious by putting a price on the head of the cartoonist and his editor, but they've also responded to their waning support in Iraq by declaring war on the very Sunnis they claim to champion.

Yup. All the foresight of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March.

Where Patriotism Equals Racism

Sweden may have grown a spine in the latest round of the Cartoon Wars, but old habits die hard. Case in point: A school in Karlshamn has banned students from wearing the Swedish flag on their clothes because it is... wait for it.... "racist."

Since national flags may be perceived by some as xenophobic, eighth grade pupils in Karlshamn have been ordered to wear less inflammatory garb for a photo to be published in the school yearbook.

"Anybody looking at the photo could view it as a political demonstration," principal Pär Blondell from Strandskolan told news agency TT.

Anybody could view is as a political demonstration. Anybody could also view it as a 1924 open-top touring car filled with treacle. Perhaps we should instead confine ourselves to the views of sane people.

With all due respect to Principal Blondell, if he regards the flag of his nation as a racist symbol, I recommend that he emigrate to a country more congenial to his views.

Swedish Cartoon Wars

I haven't commented on the Swedish cartoon war that's brewing over a local paper's publication of cartoons of Mohammad to protest self-censorship by art galleries in the name of abject brown-trouser cowardice cultural sensitivity-- largely because the Muslim permanent outrage brigade was, predictably, outraged and Iran made demands that merely confirmed that they shouldn't be left in charge of a firecracker, much less nuclear weapons. In other word, same old story.

Far more important is how the civilised world reacts to such blather. Whether the Jihadists are greeted with the contempt they deserve or if we cave in to their calls for dhimmitude is the real point of contention. It's refreshing, therefore, to report that the Swedes have at last developed a spine, as shown from this statement from the Swedish Prime Minister in regard for Iran's demand that Sweden impose Sharia-style censorship on the press (translation via Little Green Footballs):

I think it is important to say two things. The first is that we have been very keen on a Sweden that will be a country where muslims and Christians, those that believe in God and those who don’t, can live side by side in mutual respect. We think that we have come very far. I have a responsibility for this to continue and to take initiative to deepen this reciprocity and respect.

At the same time we are very focused on standing up for freedom of expression which is a basic right in the law and which comes natural to us and which ensures that we do not make political decisions about what is published in newspapers. I want to keep it this way.

In diplomatese, this is a polite way of saying "naff off."

Postcards From The Edge

For some unexplained reason, Swedish scientists have developed talking paper.

Great, that's all I need; chatty postcards

Poultry Progress

Sweden shows that it has more going for it than Abba and flat-pack furniture as it unveils the world's first chicken-burning power plant.

Technology marches on!