Number 4. MSN dot com. Kim Jong-un executes citizens for watching foreign films.
It seems a little harsh, but maybe the North Koreans are on to something.
In America, the highest-grossing animated film ever (“anime” in the vernacular) brought in over $70 million last weekend when it was released. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba–Infinity Castle is said to be one of a three-part series to end a season of… probably of more of the same.
Apparently, the big draw is the action sequences, of which there appear to be a plethora.
I have no idea if Demon Slayer is one of those wicked foreign films outlawed in North Korea, but it seems it might be a good candidate. Kim Jong Un has determined that in his kingdom, viewing foreign-made films is punishable by death. The dictator has expanded the use of firing squads, which probably makes the public display, and therefore the incentive for obedience, a little more engaging.
On that note, executing his Defense Chief in 2013 with an anti-aircraft gun no doubt made quite a spectacle and served notice that falling asleep during a military rally (Hyon Yong-Chol’s offense) was on the no-no list.
While the big gun was probably no more lethal than a half-dozen AK-47s, it made a good show. Suggestions that Kim has also resorted to flamethrowers and packs of ravenous dogs to carry out public executions are claimed to be no more than rumors. Maybe.
Other offenses, besides watching American movies and taking a nap during a rally, also now qualify for the ultimate sacrifice. These include sporting unapproved hair styles and failing to display portraits of former NK leaders appropriately in your home. “Appropriately”, by the way, means they must be mounted high enough on the wall so that someone standing in front of one does not obscure the leader’s image.
In case you forget some of these guidelines, soldiers come calling regularly on inspection tours. Punishment for non-compliance is a whole-family affair.
I can’t give you much for the prospect of having to sit through a 2-hour anime cartoon filled with violence and improbable displays of strength, but at least in America, the worst it gets is that I will never be able to recover the lost time.
Much better than a firing squad at the end.
Number 3. Yahoo News. Woman accused of spending $6,200 from GoFundMe on Carnival cruise.
Intellectual brilliance is the hallmark of clever crooks only in movies. In real life, something much more mundane is probable.
A Pennsylvania woman’s cousin was seriously injured in a motorcycle wreck. Never one to let a crisis go to waste, the 29-year-old woman — Vanessa — compassionately started a GoFundMe account for him. Apparently her writing was good enough to draw in supporters, and soon the fund had accumulated $40,000.
No doubt reasoning that the hospital was obligated by law to care for the cousin whether he could pay the bill or not, Vanessa decided to put the cash to better use. She drafted $37,000 to her own bank account, more than enough to fund a cruise on the Carnival Line.
But why stop there? Everyone should really be able to participate in Vanessa’s once-in-a-lifetime fling, so she posted photos on social media… maybe Facebook. Probably she just forgot that she was also friends with the cousin’s dad. When he saw the pictures, he checked the GoFundMe account balance and saw it was down to only $3,000.
Now Vanessa faces charges of theft by deception and receiving stolen property. Penalties can amount to a $15,000 fine and up to 7 years in jail.
The cousin has reportedly received nothing from the account.
So… be smart about this. When you decide to swindle your friends and neighbors, you should always un-friend them first.
But I do marvel at Vanessa’s ability to write the GoFundMe page well enough to attract $40,000. Maybe while she does her time she can do a side hustle, perhaps writing appeals for her fellow inmates.
Number 2. The State dot com. Deputies shot woman armed with BB gun but killed 21-year-old cop.
This is disappointing and tragic.
A Florida woman was being served a warrant in her mobile home. Deputies knocked on the door, and while it was clear she was inside, she did not answer. Instead, she armed herself with a BB gun.
That seems a little counter-intuitive, but we have already discussed the low-IQ phenomenon in the previous story.
A roommate opened the door and let the squad in. The youngest officer, 21-year-old Blane Lane, with less than a year on the job, remained outside to provide backup in the event the woman attempted to escape.
Inside, the BB-gun-wielder hid behind a cabinet, then emerged and pointed the useless gun at officers, who were armed and ready. They fired, striking her. One of the bullets pierced the thin wall of the mobile home and struck Officer Lane outside, killing him.
Tragic. Lane leaves behind young children. Brilliant move with the BB gun; and now the woman is charged as an accessory to his murder.
An unrelated story came from the U.S. Naval Academy last week. A midshipman, outraged that he had been dismissed from the Academy, made on-line threats. Apparently he indicated that he was dressed as a military police officer and was going door-to-door on campus to take vengeance.
The kicked-out student was smart enough to use an IP address to make it look as though he was actually on the Academy grounds at the time of the threat. Word spread, and the Academy was put on lockdown.
People were alert for a fake cop.
When a real Navy police officer in uniform encountered an innocent student, the student assumed he was confronted by the offender and stuck out with the butt of a rifle. The real officer fired on the student, wounding him. Fortunately, it was not fatal.
Pretty clever, don’t you think? Fool the U.S. Naval Academy authorities into believing I am on campus by using a fake IP, and that way they’ll all get really scared, and I’m not even there.
And an innocent student pays the price.
Sort of like attacking a pair of Florida deputies with a BB gun, and their young brother officer doesn’t go home that night.
Enough serious stuff. Let’s lighten the mood.
Number 1. Popular Mechanics. A Scientist Says Aliens May Have Started Life on Earth.
I think the first time I read this plot I was about 12 years old and it was in a Ray Bradbury science fiction novel.
To dignify this with scientifical terminology, this is about the concept of abiogenesis. To break that word down, the “a” negates the “bio” and leaves us with a genesis that is NOT biological.
In other words, living things crawled out of non-living things.
This is a dominant theory in the formation of life on Earth. Scientist Robert Endres, a mathematician by training, set out to give credence to abiogenesis by means of mathematical models. The arithmetic was all good, but he ran into trouble with the fossil record.
Here is an excerpt (abridged for simplicity) highlighting the problem Endres ran into:
Many of the elements degrade so fast, they would have to form microbial life faster than expected. The trial and error that it would take for life to arise like this [does not] make sense with the fossil record.
The science here escapes a man of my humble intellect, but basically Endres determined that every computation he attempted was thwarted by conflicts that could be observed among actual fossils. He thus concluded that perhaps abiogenesis fell somewhat short in explaining the origin of life.
So… where else could life come from?
Well… from aliens! That must be it!
Interestingly, he discusses and then rejects Occam’s Razor, which is the truism that when everything logical is proven impossible, then whatever is left must be the truth, even if it’s an outlandish assumption.
The scientist’s theory of life being planted by ET seems to lean heavily on 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Star Trek plots. I’m an aficionado of both, but it never occurred to me to build a career around them.
I don’t really see that aliens planting life-pods in the primordial goo is any less outlandish than supposing an omnipotent God called the earth into being. It’s just that the God-perspective fits the evidence so much better, in the sense that there IS evidence. Whereas there is NONE for the aliens.
The wicked gnash their teeth, but the Lord laughs, for he knows their day is coming. (Psalm 37, also abridged.)
And Charlie Kirk…
Everyone else in the world seems to be talking Charlie Kirk this week, so I would probably be remiss not to mention his passing.
The right has risen in support of Kirk’s legacy. Turning Point USA was said to have 900 college chapters prior to last week. At this writing, they have received 37,000 applications for new chapters.
That is a trend not to be missed.
The assassination was an inexcusable act of evil. In some ways, it was also predictable. While there is an obvious, even astonishing, sudden upswing of interest among young followers of Charlie, there is also a dark side lurking. The shooter did not exist in a bubble; he had friends and associates who shared his world view. It remains to be seen how far that worldview has penetrated America.
I suspect it runs pretty deep and wide.
And on that sober note, thanks for joining The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, September 19, 2025.
Don’t miss the rest of Psalm 37:
The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
Have a good weekend!
