This would almost be laughable, were it not so grotesque

Not long ago, D posted on the case of the Hamas Mickey Mouse lookalike. The show has now ended its run in stereotypical Hamas fashion; Farfour (the faux Mickey) is "beaten to death" by an actor portraying an Israeli official. That should get Hamas off the hook with Disney, but it's a hell of a display to put on in front of preschoolers. I can't imagine how children so subjected will escape growing up warped. Shameful!

As this topic seems to be a magnet for propagandists (note the responses on both linked posts,) it will be interesting to see if bringing this up again brings any commenters of that stripe out of the woodwork. Some people have way too much time on their hands--or is combox propaganda a growth industry among islamists?

Yer wastin' your time, dudes--Little Green Footballs this blog ain't.

Lost in Translation

I had an errand to run this morning, and when I returned found Baby slumped on the sofa in front of one of the mind-numbing morning news magazine shows (an annoying state of affairs, to be sure!) It wasn't so bad as it turns out, because she was able to provide me with a language funny that gave me an excuse to post.

Actor Morgan Freeman was an interview subject today--not sure which program. He described his first trip to Germany, during which the friendliness--and apparent knowledge of American cinema--of the people made quite an impression.

On his first day there, Freeman walked out of his hotel room and headed down for his continental breakfast (in Germany, that would be a ham and cheese sandwich, not bad coffee and a Dolley Madison Danish in plastic.) Everyone he passed addressed him, and seemed to know his name: "Morgan." "Morgan." "Morgan." He eventually figured out what it was all about when the desk clerk greeted him: "Guten morgen."

I have to assume Freeman was not in southern Germany, where everybody would have just said "Gruss Gott" (excuse the missing umlaut, please) and there would have been no confusion.

I'll deal with that meme below later. I have a couple of rooms to paint first.