The following patches have been approved by the Boy Scouts as of today;
1. A patch emblazoned with the Qur’ an for preaching tolerance of Muzlums.
2. A patch emblazoned with the Sword and Crescent for memorizing the verses in the Qur’ an regarding killing the Jew.
3. A patch with an image of Mohammad – oops, can’t do that – rather, you get a prayer rug for actually killing a Jew.
4. A patch emblazoned with a phallus for marching in the annual NYC Gay Pride Parade.
5. A patch emblazoned with a gerbil and duct tape for living with a gay couple fow a week.

Thee_Bruno on October 24, 2006 at 1:02 pm

those evil gays sure do love their gerbils.

Descent on October 24, 2006 at 1:05 pm

They sure do: I read all about it in my son’s First-Grade textbook mandated by the NYC public school system – “Daddy’s Roommate”. That’s the book that they approved right after that other gem: “Heather Has Two Mommies”.
Talk about “shoving an agenda down someone’s throat”!

Thee_Bruno on October 24, 2006 at 1:13 pm

Uh, if we are going to be mad about ignoring the terrorist threat and the vacuous nature of hollywood, can we think of something better to ridicule?
I mean it is stealing intellectual property when cds are pirated and downloaded illegally. I am sure a lot of rich entertainers and music execs could handle losing a little money but they are not the only ones that suffer whn kids and adults simply copy a disc or illegally share it instead of paying for it.
And are we not the party of law and order? We ought not to neglect the “small laws” simply because people want to destroy us. Vent about terrorism please! But do not mock the few kids who are willing to forego pirated and illegally downloaded media by talking as if it is something less than stealing.

mbredmond on October 24, 2006 at 5:30 pm

Watching clips of Hezbollah fighters scaling buildings, of kids’ weapons training and indoctrination (http://www.tc.umn.edu/~nahm0002/child_abuse.html) does make the piracy issue look rather pale.

Jeremiah on October 24, 2006 at 5:55 pm

Last time I was at the theater they had a little short before the main feature. It was a mini-drama about a stage hand who worries about losing his job because of movie piracy. The film left me absolutely baffled. At first glance you might think that the purpose of this film was to convince people not to make or buy illegal copies of movies. But … this was produced by Hollywood, the same people who have been telling us for 40 years that what people see on the big screen doesn’t affect their behavior. They assure us that watching 90 minutes or two hours that glorify promiscuous sex as fun and liberating and violence as fun and exciting, that this will not in any way encourage anyone to engage in such behavior, that everyone who sees it views it as fantasy irrelevant to their real lives. They have extensive studies proving this. They ridicule anyone who claims otherwise. So they can’t possibly believe that a little two minute movie about illegal movie copies is going to change anyone’s behavior. So why did they make this film? What was the point?

jayj on October 24, 2006 at 7:58 pm

So, the Boy Scouts is now bad because they allow kids to earn a badge for not stealing intellectual property?
The “it’s not as pressing as terrorism” argument is nonsense. No matter what you do, there’s always going to be something that you could say is “more important.” Think of that next time you write movie reviews here; couldn’t you be spending that time telling us more important things?
Besides, this Boy Scout merit badge appears to be about self-improvement. While education about terrorist threats would no doubt be useful, I doubt it would get many kids to do much differently in their own lives. Teaching kids why they shouldn’t steal, even from large, faceless corporations seems far more likely to affect positive change in their behavior.
NO, IT’S NOT ABOUT NOT STEALING. THAT WOULD BE A GREAT BADGE ACTIVITY. IT’S ABOUT NOT STEALING FROM *HOLLYWOOD*. STEALING FROM EVERYONE ELSE, NO BIGGIE. THIS IS ABOUT L.A. AREA HOLLYWOOD EXECS PRESSURING THE L.A. AREA SCOUTS TO PROPAGANDIZE THEIR SCOUT TROOPS ABOUT THEIR INDUSTRY. IF THAT’S THE BOY SCOUTS, THESE DAYS, WHO NEEDS IT?
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL

Dan on October 25, 2006 at 2:05 am

I think there are a couple reasons this is an issue:
1. From my understanding, this is just a troop in LA. I’m sure that some of the kids parents work for the movie, television, or music industry over there, and I’m sure they’re all concerned about how piracy affects their jobs. And who are the pirates? Mostly teens.
2. What’s the difference if I steal from Hollywood or the corner store? It’s ok to steal from Hollywood because they have the money? That doesn’t seem right. Also, internet piracy is 100% easier than stealing anything out of the real world, and because it seems less tangible than stealing a pack of gum, or a cd from a store, is more prevalant, because kids don’t feel the full impact of their actions. They need to be taught that it’s no different than any other type of stealing.

Descent on October 25, 2006 at 10:32 am