Chatterbox

Urban legends about September 11 are common, but at least one of them is true: the image of Bert (from Sesame Street) appeared at a pro-bin Laden protest in Pakistan. A less-than-ingenious protestor decided to show his support for mass murderers by downloading pictures of his hero from the internet. Alas, one turned out to be from the “Bert is Evil” website, which promotes the theory that this evil muppet can be linked to virtually every act of horror in the 20th Century. Photographic proof is provided, with a little help from Photoshop, including the 1998 image of Bert and bin Laden.

Is Mitsubishi Learning about Disabilities?

Advocates for the learning disabled have protested an advertisement by Mitsubishi Motors. The ads, which ran on TV in September and continue on billboards in Houston and Los Angeles until the end of October, promote Mitsubishi’s new Lancer sedan: “It must think it’s dyslexic. It looks like a $41,000 car. But it’s really a $14,000 car.” Larry Silver, president of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, declared that Mitsubishi “has chosen to trivialize a serious and life-long disability in order to sell cars.” Moreover, dyslexia refers to a disability involving the use of language, and is not limited to transposing words or numbers. Mitsubishi’s response? “The ad is designed to demonstrate the extraordinary value of a Mitsubishi Lancer and was not intended in any way to belittle people with dyslexia.”

Disney’s Kids

Okay, so maybe this photo is a bit of an exaggeration. Disney does not actually employ small babies in its sweatshops. But if it takes a photo of a cute baby to get you to care about the children and adults abused in sweatshops, we’ll print it. Stop by the USAS meeting Mondays at 9pm (after the Indy) in Stevenson 211. And join a Disney protest on Oct. 30 at 5pm in Schroeder Hall.