LONDON, England (CNN) -- The cartoon series "South Park" has never been shy of courting controversy, but its latest episode has caused outrage by featuring the recently deceased Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin.
Swearing and random death and destruction are staples of the cartoon, which has been broadcast since 1997. Irwin, killed by a stingray's barb while snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef in September is the latest celebrity to be lampooned by the show.
The episode, aired in the U.S. earlier this week, shows Satan preparing to host a Halloween fancy dress party. Other guests include Princess Diana, Hitler and rapper Notorious B.I.G. Critics have been appalled by the Irwin character's depiction in a bloodstained shirt and with a stingray still attached to his chest.
John Beyer of UK TV watchdog Mediawatch said: "This is such bad taste and the makers of 'South Park' should review their decision to show it. Steve's family are still grieving.
"To lampoon somebody's death like that is unacceptable and so soon after the event is grossly insensitive.''
President Bush said the "sacred institution" of marriage between a man and awoman must be defended against what he called activist court rulings.
Bush briefly brought up the topic, unprompted, while raising money here for a Republican congressional candidate, a day after the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that same-sex couples must be given the same rights as married people.
The court left it up to the state's Legislature to decide whether to extend those rights under the structure of marriage, civil unions or something else.
The president said the ruling "raises doubts about the institution of marriage."
"I believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman," he said. "I believe it's a sacred institution that is critical to the health of our society and the well-being of families, and it must be defended."
Bush did not say how it must be defended. But he has advocated a federal ban on gay marriage. Earlier this year, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage failed to win the needed two-thirds support in both the Senate and House.
Yesterday, former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix described the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as a “pure failure” that left the country worse off than under the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein.
Mr. Blix said the situation would have been better if the war had not taken place.
“Saddam would still have been sitting in office. OK, that is negative and it would not have been joyful for the Iraqi people. But what we have gotten is undoubtedly worse,” he was quoted as saying.
Feeding right into the eager embrace of the liberal press and providing new fodder for the upcoming November elections.
Genocide is not joyful, but capturing Hussein was worse.
And how much worse could it have gotten under Hussein? Mass graves are still being excavated, and according to the Documental Center for Human Rights in Iraq, estimated counts of civilian executions lie around 600,000, during his regime.
That is just the number of executions. Now, what about the tortures?
In 2001, Amnesty International released a report outlining the Hussein regime's legacy of torture. This report stated "methods of torture include extinguishing of cigarettes on various parts of the body, extraction of finger nails and toenails and piercing of the hands with an electric drill. Some have been sexually abused and others have had objects, including broken bottles, forced into their anus. In addition to physical torture, detainees have been threatened with rape and subjected to mock executions."
and let's not forget about the plastic shredders . . .
What an absolutely irresponsible and utterly dumb statement to make, especially for Blix, who one would think might know better, no matter what argument anyone may have about the validity of the war in Iraq. Too bad this sort of backwards thinking could greatly affect us all in 2 weeks.
Curators say a Norwegian exhibition on homosexuality among animals has been well received, despite initial indications of strong opposition.So another chance for liberals, gays and gay "activists" to force their propaganda machine on little boys and girls by making the claim that since same-sex animals mate with each other, there shouldn't be any problem with human beings doing the same. Yet one can't think of a better argument regarding why homosexuality is wrong than to compare the behavior with animals. Which we aren't by the way, contrary to what the immoral Left (i.e. "Darwinists") might think.The Oslo Natural History Museum opened the show last week and says it has been well attended, not least by families. Organisers reported early criticism of the project, and being told by one opponent they would "burn in hell".
But there has been strong interest in an aspect of animal behaviour the museum says is quite common. It says homosexuality has been observed among 1,500 species, and that in 500 of those it is well documented. The exhibition - entitled Against Nature? - includes photographs of one male giraffe mounting another, of apes stimulating others of the same sex, and two aroused male right whales rubbing against each other.
"We hope to reject the all too well known argument that homosexual behaviour is a crime against nature."
- Oslo Natural History Museum"Homosexuality is a common and widespread phenomenon in the animal world," says an exhibition statement.
"Not only short-lived sexual relationships, but even long-lasting partnerships; partnerships that may last a lifetime." The museum says it is the first exhibition in the world to touch on a subject that has been taboo in the past.
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