Still intolerant

Freedom of religion does not exist in Afghanistan. The fear of Christianity spreading through was is an Islamic nation almost led to the execution of this man pictured on the left, Abdul Rahman. My dear friend Rob wrote about this very same subject just a few days ago. The Jedi Master is frustrated and probably a bit angry, that an Afghan court would seek to execute a man for converting to Christianity. Have we removed the Taliban from power only to see another group of intolerant Muslims oppress the Afghan people? I now have to say it appears that way, at least in this instance. As Rob said in his post "I believe that the outcome of this situation may reveal the true nature of Islam." You're probably asking yourself, why all the negativity? They let the guy go didn't they? Sure they let him go, only because of international pressure. They came up with some sort of lame cover that there was insufficient evidence. Well that begs the question, what if they had enough evidence? Were it not for international pressure, he would have surely been executed. So what am I saying? The Islamic fundamentalists that apparently still wield a lot of power learned a valuable lesson, the next time the trial will be short and secret. The convicted party will be executed quickly and we will not hear a word about it.

Dragon update

Tail of the Dragon update: I have a new helmet, the Icon Hooligan, in green of course. I have a new tank bag, tire pressure gauge and paint protecting film to go under the new tank bag, all from Iron Pony Motorsports in Columbus Ohio. I'm back on the weight loss program, I had a little setback regarding my 41 year old knees not cooperating, but they're all better now and I'm doing my walking and weightlifting again. I'm about 20 pounds away from my goal weight and miles away from how fit I would like to be. But I'm still working at it, and that's what counts!









<---- Hooligan

Shoot to kill boys

The spoiled frenchy French people are at it again. They are protesting a new law that would allow French employers to fire workers within the first 2 years of hire without cause. In other words, new employees would become what most of us have been all our lives... at will employees. Most of the people protesting (as far as I can see from the coverage, I have no actual hard numbers) are students. The French solution to civil matters.... BURN THE CARS! But this time they have gone too far, they have burned an innocent motorcycle. Shoot to kill boys!

You know I couldn't let this go by without comment. A species of rodent though to have been extinct for 11 million years has been discovered in central Laos. It has the face of the rat and the tail of a squirrel and long whiskers. Handsome little guy isn't he.

The dragon is calling

You may be wondering why I haven't posted in a while. I'm planning a trip to North Carolina, to the infamous Tail of the Dragon. This particular section of U.S. 129 has 318 turns in 11 miles, in other words, a sportbiker's paradise. I'm preparing in the same manner as Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman did in the BBC series, the Long Way Round, just on a much smaller scale. I won't be needing sponsors or a chase vehicle like Ewan and Charley because my trip if only a few hundred miles away. Despite the proximity I am trying to make the ride to the dragon as interesting as the ride on the dragon by avoiding major highways and using state routes and back roads. All of that is still in the planning stages. First I need to lose about 20 pounds, get a tankbag and other luggage and a new helmet. I will keep you updated.