Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Crackdowns in Egypt

This above image of a female Egyptian soccer fan with her head covered by a hijab undoubtedly reflect the cultural tensions in Egypt, where like fellow secular Muslim country Turkey, separation of mosque and state is always an issue.

But, perhaps surprisingly, the latest raids by Egyptian police in the capital city of Cairo have targeted Shia Muslims.

According to a tweet from Daily News Egypt, the police arrested four men, one of whom was Safaa Al-Awadi, 44, from Perth, Australia, as well as two Iraqi nationals for insulting and denying tenets of religion.

While many Christians, particularly fundamentalists, have emphasized the sometimes alleged, sometimes obvious persecution of Christian minorities in Muslim countries, many Sunni Muslim countries, such as Egypt, have strict laws regarding the practice of Shiia Islam.

Crackdowns of Shiias have been in place in both Egypt and Bahrain since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, where the majority of Shiia Muslims live. The Shiia Muslims are also the majority in Azerbaijan, and they have a large minority in Iraq.

Traditional Sunnis believe Shiism is blasphemy because Shia Muslims believe the Prophet Ali should have taken Mohammad's place instead of Abu Bakr, which is what the Sunnis believe. And, alas many people have died in war and strife as a result of the long-standing rift.

SIDEBAR: Washington Park High School in Racine, Wisc., is yet another one of our 'High Schools of the Week.' The school's mascot is The Panther, which originated with the class of 1949, who are now entering their 80s! The school's traditional rival is William Harlick HS. Kevin Barry of the Green Bay Packers is among the school's famous alumni in recent years.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Celeb Couples

None of us like to publicly profess it, but let's face it_ we all love celebrity couples. They seem to have it all don't they? Good looks. Good fashion. Great talent. Good lawyers.

Today, we focus on celeb couple numero uno Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Yes, we wonder how they can stand each other even though of a lot of people (not us, of course!) can't stand them.

Tom is best known for blockbuster films from "Risky Business" to "A Few Good Men." While, Katie is an alum of "Dawson's Creek" who has made some cute films here and there, but none of us here at the office in Bridgeport, Conn. (not where we really are) can't remember a single title of any of them!

SIDEBAR: This week's semi-official High School of the Week is Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Del., a state which is seeing a surprisingly interesting U.S. Senate race between Christine "I'm Not a Witch" O'Donnell, who seems to be the Katie Holmes of the Tea Party movement, and Chris Coons. According to "The Christian Science Monitor," Coons is substantially ahead (editorial comment: YAY!).

As for Brandywine HS, the school's famous alum includes none other than rocker George Thorogood who is best known for the song "Bad to the Bone," which seems to be our pet cat's theme song these days.

My own alma mater Glenvar High School from Salem, Va., lost a home game to Giles County High School by a 20-17 score last week. But, the UNC Tarheels beat Clemson so I get to jeer my cousin Mike, a rabid Clemson fan, even though I only root for the Tarheels when they are winning!

SIDEBAR TWO: We have now passed 150,000 hits...hooray!

Qoute of the Week- Woody Allen

We are far behind in our blogging, which means other aspects of lives are perhaps stronger now. But, we thought we'd post yet another great quote from Woody Allen (who is second to fellow filmamaker Jean-Luc Godard_who we have on occasion mistakenly called Jean Luc-Godard*___ in terms of being quoted on our two blogs).

I sense this quip was made a few decades ago, but like all quotes from the director of "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan," this one holds up quite well:

"How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter."

*- What a difference a hyphen makes! Of course, Jean-Luc Godard is correct!

Things We Learned From Twitter Today- Girls Will be Girls

According to a tweet from "The L.A. Weekly" a 16-year-old female high school student from Hart High School in Newhall, Calif., allegedly stabbed another girl at the school up to four times with an eight-inch knife over a boy!

Students told a Los Angeles area tv station that the alleged culprit seemed 'like the sweetest girl.'

Thankfully, the victim's wounds do not appear to be life-threatening.

And, we only thought high school girls acted like this over Justin Timberlake...?!

Top 10 Countries to Defect To...if Sarah Becomes Prez

Yes, much like Dubai oil, free time is becoming a rare commodity these days, but we had to blog about where we would go if the nightmare scenario of Sarah Palin becoming president were to happen. Much like actor Matt Damon, I have to agree that it would be 'like a bad Disney movie.'

I was actually planning to post this BEFORE the travel alert to Europe, but I would love to travel to these countries, six of which I've never been too (four of the countries are not actually in Europe, and one can dispute if Turkey is in Europe or not!):


1. Iceland (pictured...24 hours of daylight six months of the year!)
2. Norway
3. Costa Rica
4. Finland
5. Canada
6. France
7. Argentina
8. Turkey (well, I speak the language)
9. Greece (the recession there should make living there much cheaper!)*
10. Cuba (yes- we just put this up here to irk the right-wingers!)

*- Besides, I've always wanted to go to the island of Chios!

50 Beers From Around the World- Kronenbourg 1664 (France)

Kronenbourg 1664 Beer, France's best-selling brew, was started in the year 1664 in Strasbourg, France (not to be confused with Strasburg, Va., which is an hour south of Washington, DC).

KUDOS: Congrats to the Virginia Tech Hokies for beating the N.C. State Wolfpack 41-30on the road Saturday.

SIDEBAR: We would have more to say today, but it is a Monday and we have a lot of bogabok (which is Turkish for something associated with a type of cow) to take care of! Efes Pilsen, by the way, is the most popular beer in Turkey.

Quote of the Week_ Jean-Luc Godard

Yes, we usually run Quotes of the Week on Mondays, but we are pressed for time today so we will go ahead and quip French New Wave legend Jean-Luc Godard who will turn 80 on Dec. 3 as we features quotes from famous film directors this month:

"One of the most striking signs of the decay of art is when we see separate forms jumbled together."

SIDEBAR: We were saddened to learn of the death of another great film director Arthur Penn who died a short of his 88th birthday this week. Penn will be best known for directing "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1968, but he leaves behind a strong legacy of other films including "Alice's Restaurant" and "Mickey One," which was one of Warren Beatty's first big films. I had a chance to meet Penn at the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville several years ago. He was a class act, and he will be missed.

SIDEBAR TWO: My alma mater Glenvar High School did not have a good night on Friday as they lost a road game to Rural Retreat High School by a 27-20 margin. The late photographer O. Winston Link actually made Rural Retreat, Va., briefly famous when he took one of his famed train photographs there. Other high schools from the Roanoke, Va., area last night include Salem High School winning 27-21 over William Fleming; the Northside Vikings beating Hidden Valley HS 13-10, and Christiansburg HS trumped Patrick Henry HS of Roanoke by a 40-6 score.