Russian dash-cams

Thanks to the prevalence of forward-facing dash cams in the cars of ordinary Russians, the world was able to see video of Friday's meteorite. But perhaps you found yourself wondering, as I did, why so many Russian drivers have these cameras in their cars. Apparently, they're popular for very good reasons.

One is that “psychopaths are abundant on Russian roads” and even the slightest perception of rude driving can quickly escalate into a fist fight or worse. The second reason, is that if you get injured or have your property damaged in such a fist fight, the best evidence in a Russian court is camera footage. Also, the website says, Russian websites are hungry for gory, horrifying footage of automobile accidents.

Russians also install dashboard cameras as a way to protect themselves from corrupt law enforcement officials.

So there you go. Gotta have a dash-cam in Russia. Who knew?

Religious fools will go wild

So there wasn't one meteor/asteroid event yesterday, there were two. You already know that. But you're wrong, Blanche, you're wrong. There were three.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba apparently experienced a phenomenon similar to the meteorite that detonated over Russia this week, island media reported, with startled residents describing a bright light in the sky and a loud explosion that shook windows and walls. 

This happened on Tuesday evening. Hoo boy! Are the religious loons gonna go nuts, or what? Three close passes, one of which almost hit. What could it mean? Is jeebus pranking us? Is he unhappy? I expect to see many priests saying stupid things today.

But why do they never say the obvious? The meteorite over Russia was god's way of warning Russians about the dangerous theocracy they're establishing. Jeebus was saying, "church and state don't mix!"

And the asteroid passing over Indonesia was god saying, "Muslim terrorism is an atrocity! Give up religion! Give up the idea of gods entirely!"

And as for Cuba, god is happy because travel to and from Cuba has resumed. This one was a form of celebratory fireworks. Now, let's see what the crazy priests have to say. Should be fun!

Russia's meteorite enlivens the priests

An foolish Russian priest is all over the meteorite story. It took him only minutes to realize this was a sign from jeebus.

YEKATERINBURG, February 15 (RIA Novosti) – A meteorite which injured hundreds of people in Russia's Chelyabinsk Region on Friday was "the Lord’s message to humanity," a senior local clergyman said.

“From the Scriptures, we know that the Lord often sends people signs and warnings via natural forces,” Metropolitan of Chelyabinsk and Zlatoust Feofan said in a statement released on Friday.

"I think that not only for the Ural [regions] residents, but for the whole of humanity, the meteorite is a reminder that we live in fragile and unpredictable world,” the clergyman said.

He called on people to support each other and pray to God in thanks for saving the world from a devastating disaster.

Wow, jeebus saved the world!! None of the media mentioned that important point. Give him a few more minutes and he'll connect the disaster to gay marriage. Folks, religion has never been right about anything. It belongs in the dust heap.

There are a lot of things out there in space, and sometimes they hit Earth. It's not mysterious at all. But they love to connect their god to disasters. Just love it.

Odd timing

So on a day when an asteroid will come very close to Earth in the afternoon, meteorite fragments harm people in Russia in the morning. Very odd, don't you think? Can you remember any other meteorites "striking" the Earth? Other than Tunguska, I can't. (Note: in neither case did they "strike"; they exploded in the air.)

MOSCOW — Bright objects, apparently debris from a meteorite, streaked through the sky in western Siberia early on Friday, accompanied by a boom that damaged buildings across a vast area of territory. Hundreds of people were reported to have been injured, most from breaking glass. 

This seems wildly improbable. Two completely separate close passes on the same day? Last night I watched a broadcast where they finally said what country will be under the asteroid as it passes. The answer is Indonesia. I hope NASA is right and it passes by without harming anyone. I'm going to watch the NASA feed this afternoon. It's scheduled to pass by at 2:24 pm EST. Interesting times we live in, eh?