Of Course Will Smith Doesnt 'Love' Hitler
Will Smith, America's next top Scientologist, is in the news because of some comments he made to a Scottish reporter about Adolf Hitler. (Why are celebrities discussing Hitler in their press junkets?)
Smith told Scotland's Daily Record: "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'Let me do the most evil thing I can do today. I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was good. Stuff like that just needs reprogramming."
Okay, the "reprogramming" comment sounds a little bit like Scientology. We know that Smith and Tom Cruise are buddies and that in order to be a friend of Cruise you at least have to look down the rabbit hole.
What about Scientology do you embrace? Access Hollywoods Shaun Robinson asked the I Am Legend star.
When I sit and I talk with Tom Cruise, he is one of the greatest spirits that Ive ever met someone who is committed to making the world better, Will said. You have people [that] are attacking and wanna fight that dont know nothing how you gonna not know nothing about Scientology and attack somebody? Its dangerous and its ignorant.
How can I condemn someone for what they believe and I believe that God was born from a pregnant virgin? Will continued.
Before I go on with my original point, let me stop here. "Don't know nothing?" "How you gonna not know nothing
?" Will Smith, those questions, posed in the double negative, have plagued many seekers for years. Thanks for bringing them up. I personally dont know how I'm not gonna know nothing about no Scientology and still attack somebody - it's not not dangerous and ignorant, that's not not for sure.
But bad grammar and friendships founded on brainwash aside, I'm actually here to defend Will Smith a tiny bit.
Many groups are up in arms about Will's comments.
The Jewish Defense League is calling on Barack Obama to repudiate Smith's comments, and wants theaters to pull Smith's new flick "I Am Legend" from their screens.
Smith's words, say the JDL, "spit on the memory of every person murdered by the Nazis. His disgusting words stick a knife in the backs of every veteran who fought (and sometimes died) to save the world from the intentions of Adolf Hitler."
I see their point. Imagine that at your shitty public school, the Holocaust is no longer part of the curriculum. Imagine that you only seem to hear about the Holocaust when celebrities are interviewed for their press junkets. (Again, why?) Imagine that Will Smith talks of a heady concept of getting into the origins of evil in a one-sentence sound bite which almost, humanizes Hitler so much that you never get to fully absorb the atrocity that his regime caused. The concept that all people are basically born good is a little too mature for young minds (and apparently older minds too who are freaking out about his comments.)
Will Smith should avoid pontificating about Hitler's intentions when doing press junkets but what he said isn't completely off-base from a psychological (sorry Scientologists, we know you dont approve of it) standpoint. Most evil is really the result of fear and ignorance and some diabolical need to control.
Most world religions do tip-toe around the idea that (unfortunately) God loves everybody, from the organic farmer to the dictator. We dont know if there is Heaven or Hell or God or anything. Evil humans might be "born" evil. Evil humans might pay for their sins in some kind of afterlife scenario. Evil humans may just die with no consequence to their soul. Evil humans might be reincarnated into a tapeworm. We dont know but it's always interesting to turn over in our minds but let's save that for when we're drunk, high, or writing a college paper, not in the press.
But I think Will was trying to have a semi-philosophical discussion around the fact that the origin of evil or evil-doing might not always be in the front lobe of the evil-doers conscience. I think it is important to think about what might have stopped Hitler - perhaps we can use it to stop the obliteration of democracy in our own countries. I do think it is irresponsible to think of what might have stopped Hitler in terms of his personal daily mental health regime. Of course we can psychoanalyze Hitler to death and popular culture has attempted this many times, but what is more important is to look at what the apathetic people who fell under his spell - allowing him to come to power.
Will did eventually try to explain away his statement:
"It is an awful and disgusting lie," Smith said in a statement Monday provided by his publicist. "It speaks to the dangerous power of an ignorant person with a pen. I am incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such ludicrous misinterpretation."
"Adolf Hitler was a vile, heinous vicious killer responsible for one of the greatest acts of evil committed on this planet," read the statement.
I think Will Smith's biggest mistakes here are:
1.) Trying to have a philosophical discussion with a reporter about the mind of a man who commits genocide.
2.) Hanging out with Tom Cruise and rehashing that sophomoric argument that 'all religions are basically messed up fairy tales so what's wrong with Scientology?'
I dont see what good it's going to do to have Barack Obama come to the rescue or for the masses to boycott I Am Legend. It seems like Will Smith is just another victim of Tom Cruise's web of influence. Let's all say a prayer to Xenu that this thetan will come around eventually and be the everyman we once loved.
Marilyn Manson Wants You to Know He's Still Scary
Shock rock singer Marilyn Manson has been accused of squandering his band's profit on a child's skeleton and masks made of human skin.
Isn't this sort of what he's supposed to be doing? I mean, it's been awhile since he's shocked someone or since anyone thought he was an actual demon or sorcerer. This puts him right back in the "insane, maybe he's a monster, whoa scary!" mix.
At a certain point, "showbiz scary-types" have to give up the horror gimmick for a new one. Like Alice Cooper and his golf or Ozzy and his stuttering/stumbling antics. Or, you re-mark your territory. You buckle down, get yerself a virgin antelope carcass and you have sex with it on the president's lawn... or something.
Keyboardist Stephen "Pogo" Bier filed a breach of contract lawsuit in August in which he accused Manson of taking cash belonging to the rest of the band to pay for the "sick and disturbing" purchases.
I thought "sick and disturbing" paid the bills around their house-- err, mansion. Castle? Nether realm?
This shtick is gonna help the whole band, so the whole band should kick in.
His lawyer Keith Fink has now filed additional papers adding to a list of artefacts bought by the goth singer- many of which are illegal in the US.
As well as the skeleton and masks, Manson is said to have bought a range of stuffed animals, including a grizzly bear and two baboons.
Grizzly bear? What's weird about that? Unless the bear was gay or one of those bike-riding circus bears or something, what's the big deal?
He is also accused of using band funds to pay for a collection of Nazi memorabilia.
Well... maybe he was just buying the stuff to smash it up in public. You know, like, to take a stand and say, "Fuck you, Hitler!" before crushing the plate beneath his platform boot.
Swastika wall tiles with matching custom rugs and Nazi government coat hangers owned by Adolf Hitler are allegedly on display in Manson's Californian mansion, according to legal papers.
Okay... maybe he's a weirdo... who loves Nazis.
Guy 1- "Ahh that ain't Hitler's hanger!"
Guy 2- "Sure it is, look closer."
Zoom in on tiny, crudely sharpied-in swastika.
Guy 2- "Okay, maybe it's not. Still works, though. Gimme a dollar for it?"
When interviewed on MTV after Bier filed the original lawsuit, Manson said: "The fact that he's claiming that I've treated him unfairly, financially, is really ridiculous."
"And I would never spend my money on a Chinese girl skeleton. That would be crossing the line. It's a Chinese boy, for the record."
Hmmm, I'm a big advocate for anything potentially being funny, if done the right way. However, when discussing your illegally purchased, Chinese boy skeleton on national television, I think you probably wanna tread lightly...
Bier is seeking damages and lawyers fees from millionaire Manson as well as his slice of the successful band's profit.
My guess is he settles for one of the baboons and the Hitler hanger.
TheCoolerKing is on the fence about what's actually worse; being a Nazi, or being a guy who thinks it's cool to ironically own Nazi memorabilia.
Asshole Fuckface Roundup!
The time has come for you to set your gaze upon this weeks worst people alive. Every week I dig through the news to find Asshole Fuckfaces and bring their disturbing acts to you. It causes me great pain and suffering. The amount of sickening, horrible acts that I have to wade through to find the worst would drive most humans insane. But I am strong. So, put on your rubber apron because this is going to be ugly.
For our first Asshole Fuckface, we head to the insane state of Texas.
Claude Jones was executed by the state of Texas in December 2000 for a 1989 liquor store robbery and murder. He was convicted due to the testimony of a witness and a single hair.
The witness told police that Jones told him he robbed the store and committed the murder. But that was 1989. In 2004, the witness changed his story and said Jones never said any such thing. It was really bad timing because Jones had been executed four years before. So, a thank you was not coming.
The lone hair on the counter turned out to have once been living on Jones head. That is what is known as a coinkydink. But the hair was not DNA tested because it was 1989. During the trial, an expert said the hair was consistent with the hair from Jones skull. The jury bought it and Jones is now dead.
Recently, the Innocence Project became involved. They wanted a DNA test done on the hair in order to find out if Jones was actually guilty. That is when the San Jacinto County DA said he was going to destroy the hair. Now, that is an asshole fuckface who loves the truth.
The Innocence Project filed a motion to stop the DA from destroying the hair and a judge agreed. On October 3rd, a hearing will be held to decide whether or not DNA tests should be performed. Texas has executed 403 people since 1982. Since 1994, 29 people in Texas have been exonerated through DNA testing. But why slow down, right?
The next asshole fuckfaces on the agenda are an old classic: The Republican Party!
Hey, if you cant win an election in California, why not try to break the law to get a few electoral votes? California Republicans think it is a good idea to change the states allocation of electoral votes from winner take all to divvying them up by district. Currently Republicans stand no chance of getting anything out of California, but if they were to pull this off they might end up with 22 electoral votes. That is more than enough to swing an election. The GOP is moving closer to getting their plan placed on the June 2008 ballot as an initiative. Theres just one big hang up.
It's patently unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution prohibits a ballot measure that would trump a state legislature's chosen method of appointing electors. In Article II, Section 1, the Constitution declares that electors shall be appointed by states "in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct." That's legislature.
The hilarious thing about this Republican attempt to steal electoral votes is that the Supreme Court recently affirmed a previous ruling about the power the Constitution gives to state legislatures in choosing electors. It occurred in a little case called Bush vs. Gore.
In the case that ended the battle over the outcome of the 2000 presidential election, the majority reaffirmed McPherson, stressing that state legislatures have plenary power to choose the manner of appointment of federal electors.
Although the ruling certainly wont slow the Republicans because the Constitution hasnt exactly stopped them from taking action recently
Next up, whats worse than Christian family values? How about asshole fuckface Nazi family values?
Eva Herman is a conservative talk show host in Germany who was recently promoting her latest book The Noah's Ark Principle -- Why We Must Save the Family, when she said that Hitlers family policies were good for the country. Herman claimed Hitlers cash bonuses for extra children and the death penalty for abortions were examples of good Nazi "pro-family" policies.
It was a horrible time with a manic and dangerous leader who led the Germans into ruin. ... But values like family, children and motherhood were promoted in the Third Reich and were destroyed in the 1960s. Much that was of value from that time was destroyed.
And nothing says family values like murdering six million mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, daughters and sons.
Poor Eva was fired from her show. Sad.
Speaking of family values, good old West Virginia is home to the worst asshole fuckface family of all time.
The Brewster family of Big Creek had a little torture session in their trailer last week. It all started when Bobbys latest lady, Megan Williams, stopped by the pad. The family decided to hold her captive and have some fun.
For an entire week, Williams was raped, knifed, choked and beaten. She was also forced to eat rat and dog shit, drink from the toilet and had boiling hot water poured on her. To top it off, they called her nigger while they committed their heinous acts.
Police arrested Danny J. Combs, 20; George A. Messer, 27; Karen Burton, 46, and her daughter Alisha Burton, 23; Bobby R. Brewster, 24, and his mother Frankie Brewster, 49, at Frankie Brewster's home. Brewster, his mom and Combs could all receive life in prison for kidnapping and sexual assault. The others face various charges.
Williams has been in the hospital since the attack and is a mess.
"Mentally, she still wakes up at night crying and making sure I'm near her," Carmen Williams said. "She still hollers, 'Ma, what they did to me was bad.'
The Brewster family and their friends are a dark stain on the face of the planet. Altogether, the six people have been charged with 108 separate offenses since 1991.
Four months ago, Brewster allegedly attacked his mother at her home with a machete, court records indicate. He was charged with domestic assault, brandishing a deadly weapon and obstructing an officer. Frankie Brewster shot and killed the elderly mother of the man she was living with in 1996, and Bobby Brewster shot and killed that man, his father, in 1998.
It would not be so bad if they were all killed in prison.
Each of this week's winners get a FearTheReaper cat collar. Congrats!
Putin Takes A Dive Into Lake Hitler
Heres a delightful image. What if the United States had 120,000 male teenage Ann Coulters running around? Sounds like the ultimate nightmare, doesnt it? That is what seems to be happening in Russia. They are known as Nashi and they speak the same extremist language as Coulter. They fanatically support Putin, call the political opposition traitors and fascists and demonize foreign powers. The only difference between Coulter and the Nashi, is that the Nashi have no problem with using physical force to make their point.
The Nashi arent the only group. There are also the Young Guard and Walking Together. The one thing these groups have in common is their fanatical devotion to Putin, much like the Sturmabteilungs fanatical devotion to Hitler.
They are highly disciplined and sponsored by the Kremlin. They must receive basic military training before they can become members. The Nashi also have a volunteer police force, who patrol and if necessary beat hooligans." These young militants form what is essentially a private army, devoted to one man: Putin.
Meanwhile, Putin is stoking the fires of anti-Americanism. At a recent military parade, Putin made comments about new threats to the world as during the time of the Third Reich. Pretty much the same kind of talk Adolph was spewing out during his rise to power. And the crowd at the Independence Day parade soaked it up. Mostly because the only people allowed into Red Square that day were members of the youth groups. The kids are catching on to Putins message.
"It is time to put an end to America being the strongest and most influential empire. We won't let America make Russia another one of its colonies."
Super and totally not creepy.
The Nashi claim they are fighting against fascism. (Exactly the same claim made in the early days of the Nazi party and by Benito Mussolinis Blackshirts.) Unfortunately, fascists seem to only be defined as people who criticize Putin.
Meanwhile, the kids are doing some really quality work in Russia.
With parliamentary and presidential elections coming up, Nashi and its sibling movements have an obvious targetanyone who presumes to challenge Putin and his ruling clique for power. Who might they be? Nashi recently issued a leaflet identifying them. This "Gallery of Traitors," appearing in print and online, featured twisted portraits of such opposition leaders as former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and radical writer Eduard Limonov. They were declared enemies of the people, scheming to subvert their nation and turn it over to foreign spies and conspirators. Among them, too, are exiled Yeltsin-era oligarch Boris Berezovsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former billionaire brought down after he began funding opposition to Putin in 2004.
And the Young Guards are doing their thing. They have staged training sessions in how to handle an Orange Revolution. At the end of one training session, the Young Guards grabbed baseball bats and smashed up a mock Orange tent camp. That might discourage any future protestors a bit.
The Nashi are also using technology in ways the Nazis could have only dreamed of. They pass out brochures and SIM cards in Moscow. The SIM cards allow users to text the Kremlin, where Nashi volunteers are waiting to receive the word of whatever horrible event is occurring on the streets and respond. If any Orange revolution activity is seen, the Nashi will send out texts to their foot soldiers to respond. (Might be a really great use for the new iphones, by the way)
The Nashi are also taking their message to outlying village schools, to teach the young minds about the truth.
"Putin is a lonely wolf surrounded by rats," says Panchenko to the schoolchildren. "Russia has become too corruptit is time to change things, time for stronger leaders, like us."
You cant really argue with that description of Putin. Poor, little, lonely wolf. Its really quite scary if you think about all the rats. The Kremlin has given $220 million to help fund these little fascists. And they get some sweet perks.
Members enjoy free admission to various schools of management, where they study government, business administration or public relations. They go on to allocated internships in top state enterprises such as Gazprom, Rosneft, state-owned television stations and even the Kremlin.
The Nashi are now paying off in spades. In May, Estonia removed a statue of a WWII Soviet soldier in Tallin. The small country suddenly found itself overwhelmed by a cyber attack. Servers went down and NATO Internet security experts were brought in to combat the assault. Russian sponsored protests in Estonia left 1 dead and 99 injured. In Moscow, Estonias ambassador was attacked by the Nashi and were only stopped when the ambassadors bodyguards sprayed them with mace. The ambassador and his staff were forced to flee the country. Nashi barriers shut down the highway from Moscow to Estonia. They created a large sign that read, You are driving toward fascist Estonia. This all happened because Estonia took down a statue. What if the small country had actually really done something negative toward Moscow. What would the reaction been then?
The world is, understandably, a little freaked out.
"Everyone is frankly scared of the way which Russia is going, but no one knows what to do about it," says one European diplomat in Moscow, not authorized to speak on the record.
Well, what can you do? This shit is off and running. Its 1933 Germany all over again.
And you thought Bush was bad news
.
Dine Out in Style at the Hitler Bar & Grill
I've never been a big fan of theme restaurants. Sure, it's mildly diverting to see Meatloaf's thong in a glass display case as you chomp burgers at the Hard Rock, but it always seems as if these joints put more time and money into the decor than they do the actual food.
Even though the Hard Rock started in the U.K., we can never make as good a job of such restaurants as our American cousins. We had a John Lennon Bar in London (ominously stalked by the Mark Chapman Bistro further down the road). There was even talk of a Dracula restaurant opening, but it never saw the light of day.
One place I definitely won't be visiting is the new Hitler restaurant that has opened up in Mumbai, India.
Hitlers Cross, which opened last week, serves up a wide range of continental fare and a big helping of controversy, thanks to a name the owners say they chose to stand out among hundreds of Mumbai eateries.
We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in peoples minds, owner Punit Shablok told Reuters.
We are not promoting Hitler. But we want to tell people we are different in the way he was different.
How charming. A genocidal, racist restaurant. Well it is different, I guess. Of course none of this is going down well with India's Jewish population.
This signifies a severe lack of awareness of the agony of millions of Jews caused by one man, said Jonathan Solomon, chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation, the communitys umbrella organization.
We are going to stop this deification of Hitler, he said without elaborating.
Quite right too, but in case you're wondering what the experience of dining at Chez Adolf would be like, the article provides some clues.
The small restaurant, its interior done out in the Nazi colors of red, white and black, also has a lounge for smoking the Indian water pipe or hookah.
Posters line the road leading up to it, featuring a red swastika carved in the name of the eatery. One slogan reads: From Small Bites to Mega Joys.
A huge portrait of a stern-looking Füehrer greets visitors at the door. The cross in the restaurants name refers to the swastika that symbolized the Nazi regime.
This place is not about wars or crimes, but where people come to relax and enjoy a meal, said restaurant manager Fatima Kabani, adding that they were planning to turn the eaterys name into a brand with more branches in Mumbai.
I dread to imagine which Nazi-related snacks are on the menu.
God Wins, Hitler Loses...Or is it the Other Way Around?
Hmm. Did I miss a memo about this being Hitler week? In the past few days, I've stumbled upon three different Hitler-related stories.
There were the two 18-year old high school seniors who included quotes from Hitler's Mein Kampf beneath their yearbook pictures.
The quotes were picked by Christopher Koulermos and Philip Compton, both 18. Koulermos' read "Strength lies not in defense, but in attack." Compton chose "The great masses of people ... will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one."
"It's our responsibility and we failed miserably," said Northport High School principal Irene McLaughlin. "The fact that the book went out in the form it did was a grave mistake on our part."
Officials are considering either reprinting that section of the yearbook, or providing "special tape" to people who want to obscure the quotes in their own yearbooks. That sounds like a plan--just "cover it up" and "pretend it's not there." Perhaps they should ask those who are offended by this kind of idiocy to simply wrap their heads in the "special tape." The best part is that Philip Compton's father dismissed the incident as mere childs play.
Compton's father, Steven, said that his son meant no harm in picking the quote. "I guess he didn't seriously consider the source; he was more interested in the quote," he said. "He's a child."
I love how when it's your 18-year old acting like an asshole, he's just a "child" who doesn't know any better, but when someone else's progeny screws up, we want them tried as adults.
In this week's other Hitler news, the site of Hitler's bunker in Berlin was marked publicly for the first time, an event that has spawned some ambiguous articles about former SS officer Rochus Misch, the 88-year old Berlin resident who faithfully served as a bodyguard to Hitler throughout the war and who "remains a controversial figure in Germany for his dogged faithfulness to the memory of a man who was responsible for the deaths and persecution of millions."
Misch, who witnessed so much, is still haunted by images from the past: like the deaths of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels' six children.
"The Goebbels children were made ready to die in my room. I know all about (it). Frau (Magda) Goebbels could not prepare them where they were sleeping, there were still staff there.... So she came down to the bunker -- nobody came there -- and she prepared the children for their deaths in peace. That happened in my room."
Misch faced fierce criticism in calling for a plaque to commemorate the children -- Helga, Hilde, Helmut, Hedda, Holde and Heide -- and still seems upset by the memory of the days leading up to the children's deaths by poisoning.
"It was such a drama, there were tears, you can't imagine," he said.
Um--can't imagine drama and tears associated with WWII? Is he serious? I mean, sure--lament the sad fate of the innocent Goebbels children, but really, why is this man being quoted?
Hitler's Bunker, 2003
Hitler's Bunker, 2006
And don't forget the already infamous Hitler farmer who wanted to turn some of his Wisconsin land into a memorial.
Ted Junker, 87, plans a grand opening June 25 and says his goal is to clear up what he says are inaccuracies about the war and Hitlers role in it.
Junker's junk of a plan was, of course, met with a blitzkrieg of criticism and protest, and he has allegedly scrapped the idea, although my guess is that it will still happen, just without all of the Hitler hoo-hah and in an underground-bunker-the-war-is-lost sort of way.