Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Angelina Condemns Koran Burning Project

It may not be often that a liberal movie star like Angelina Jolie would agree with a leading member of the U.S. military brass like Gen. David Patraeus, but they are on the same page when it comes to being against the Rev. Terry Jones' dubious plans to burn copies of the Koran at his radical church in Gainesville, Fla., this weekend.

Jones has said that he is going to burn the Korans to protest Sept. 11th even though virtually the entire Muslim world, including an imam from Iznik, Turkey, who I spoke while visiting his historic village just days after the terrorist attacks, condemned the events of 9-11.

"The Gainesville Sun" (gainesville.com) tweeted that the star of "Salt" was agast with the news of Jones' proposition.

Jolie, 35, said the following to members of the media about the Koran burning project in Islamabad, Pakistan, where she is visiting after a trip to nothwest Pakistan where the movie star talked to refugees of the recent horrific flooding that occured in that region:

"I have hardly the words that somebody would do that to somebody's religious book."

Jolie's trip is part of her mission as a goodwill ambassador for The United Nations' refugee agency. The U.N. has issued a $460 million pledge to help the flood victims.

The Koran burning project, which has also been condemned by Vatican officials, has been the buzz of Twitter and other chatrooms/discussion boards.

On Twitter, Nathan Tabor, a Christian conservative activist in Winston-Salem, NC, asked his followers on Twitter if they thought the Koran burning project was a good idea or not.

The film critic Roger Ebert, also on Twitter, compared Rev. Jones to Satan for his actions.

I will simply add my two cents and say that as the son of a Muslim immigrant, I think Rev. Jones is a 'budala,' that's the Turkish word for idiot.

Rev. Jones is with the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, which contrary to its name is not a progressive religious organization. His efforts also come as Muslims around the world are concluding the month-long Ramadan holiday.

Ironically, the actor Terry Jones, as a member of Monty Python, appeared in the highly controversial 1979 satire film "Life of Brian," which was considered to be blasphemous by many Christian groups at the time.

Xenophobic Criminals in Greensboro?!

According to the police blotter in the Greensboro newspaper "Yes Weekly!," Greensboro police responded to an emergency call at 10:40 p.m. on June 29 from the Tienda Mexicana store on West Market Street which turned out to be an armed robbery.

Store employee Maria Ruiz and her 9-year-old sister were in the store when two black men in their late teens or early twenties came in and one of them pointed a gun at Ruiz's face. The second suspect jumped over the counter and demanded cash.

The two then sped off in a black four-door vehicle. Anyone who may have info is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (336.373.1000).

SIDEBAR ONE: We expect Glenn Beck's head will explode over this one (and, we would love to see that happen actually!) as the Mexican beer Tecate aired several ads en espanyol on ESPN-2 last night during Friday Night Fights.

SIDEBAR TWO: A Mexican waiter at a local Mexican restaurant, a Greek co-worker of mine and a Turkish friend of mine in Greensboro all think Spain will beat Holland- the team I am both picking and rooting for in the World Cup final tomorrow. We'll see what happens tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

TEASER: Next Saturday, we will be debuting a new series called "The Weekly Top Ten List." We will either go with our top ten favorite people to follow on Twitter or the my top ten favorite cities in North Carolina. Among the candidates for the top slot on my Top Ten Favorite people to follow on Twitter list are "Yes Weekly!" reporter Jordan Green, conservative activist Nathan Tabor of Winston-Salem (who I rarely agree with, but it's fun to see what's on his mind), comic strip character Zippy the Pinhead who we presume to really be his creator Bill Griffith or the acidic-tongued stand-up comedian Sarah Silverman.

Quote of the Week- Maya Angelou

This Quote of the Week which is being done in conjunction with the Fourth of July as we are quoting famous Americans on Mondays this month. Since Bastille Day, the French day of independence in on July 14th, we will be quoting famous French people on Wednesdays this month as well.

I thought this quote from poet Maya Angelou who teaches just down the proverbial road at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, would be appropriate since we are working on the laundry!:

"Achievement brings its own anticlimax."

SIDEBAR: The Twitter feeds were quite busy this p.m.

We learned that Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle is lobbying to win a new Best in Seattle poll in "Seattle Weekly."

Nathan Tabor, a conservative activist in Winston-Salem who I normally differ strongly with, had an interesting link about a Texas store which sold an American flag with 61 stars. I guess they're counting Guam and Puerto Rico and some other places!

Cartoonist Darrin Bell who pens "Candorville" said: "I'm alone in a Cosco and so scared."

While "Zippy the Pinhead" himself (an alternative comic strip from Bill Griffith) said: "The Korean War must have been fun!"

Lastly, we learned that University of Michigan gymnast Kari Pierce who is actually from Ann Arbor, Mich., had a birthday today. We don't know; however, if she is old enough to drink an Amstel Light at Applebee's just quite yet!