And Sometimes, Life Parodies Itself

Sometimes writers and entertainers struggle to come up with content that illustrates the hidden absurdities in the news by drawing comparisons to fictional scenarios which are obviously absurd. However, it seems that more and more, the real news is so bizarre, and so difficult to believe on its own, that no fictional parody is required. Yes, sometimes, life parodies itself:

Saudi Arabia Asks For Financial Assistance

In one of the seemingly most audacious moves of all time, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is asking for financial help. Yes, that’s the same Saudi Arabia sitting atop one fourth of all the known oil in the world. Not to mention the $395 billion in foreign reserves they are holding – apparently because they don’t quite know how to spend it.

Why would Saudi Arabia ever need financial help? It seems they are worried about a reduction in oil demand that might occur if a “global climate change treaty” is enacted (heaven forbid), so they have been lobbying this week in Bangkok for the Saudi cause.

Let me get this straight, if we even think about trying to consume less oil, we have to pay for the oil we didn’t buy (but presumably would have bought) as well as pay for the oil we did buy because we had no other choice? Fantastic.

Obama Wins Peace Prize

Today, we learned, that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a community organizer from Chicago, who served less than three years as a US Senator and less than one year as President of the United States.

His main accomplishments promoting peace around the world include apologizing for perceived transgressions, appeasing Russia, and hoping for the best possible future for the world.

Past American recipients include a peanut farmer from Georgia, and the President who signed the Federal Reserve Act.

The Vaccine That Wasn’t

As the media hype the swine flu, citizens are left pondering:

• the known incompetency of the federal government to handle a real crisis
• the apparent ineffectiveness of flu shots in general
• the completely unknown effects of the new swine flu vaccine
• the propensity for the press to blow everything out of proportion
• the CDC’s track record and one’s own personal bias
• access to an endless stream of information, which, while seeming to provide a basis for sound decision-making, tends to add little to one’s knowledge and flood one’s ability to sift through data