Ground Zero Mosque - Jean Marbella Doesn't Get It

There has been a lot of uproar courtesy of Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich about a planned mosque in South Manhattan. This shouldn't be too much of a concern to most people, except that it is very close to "Ground Zero", thus earning the nickname The Ground Zero Mosque.

Jean Mirabella of the Baltimore Sun jumped onto the bandwagon supporting the mosque and shaming the critics. Her critique states that within the distance of the planned mosque and the actual ground zero, there is a nail salon and a gentleman's club, but they should not be considered The Ground Zero Nail Salon nor The Ground Zero Gentleman's Club.

But what Mirabella is ignoring (not realizing?) is that New York City and the World Trade Centers were not attacked by a nail salon. Three thousand people were not killed by a gentleman's club.

I know it's already been 9 years, so liberals like to forget the facts, but these events were caused by terrorists who were Muslims. And putting a Muslim place of worship near a hollowed ground, hallowed ground which was the direct result of Muslim terrorism, is offensive to a lot of people.

I'm not endorsing either side of the argument, but I think it's clear to say that Jean Mirabella is defending the argument based on invalid opinions.

You Can't Unzip in North Korea

I was working from home over the weekend trying to get a project wrapped up by the end of the year. I had a developer send me some files, which he zipped (compressed). My UnZip program wouldn't open it, so I downloaded another unzipping program to see if that would work. It didn't, but that's not relevant to this story.

What caught my attention was the EULA (End User License Agreement). It looks like the software companies are doing their part to stop terrorism, because this was a harsh warning. I know that most terrorists would be stopped dead in their tracks after reading this.

I hereby agree, certify, and warrant that:
I am not located in or a citizen/national of, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Sudan or Syria or any country that is subject to an embargo by the United States (the "Prohibited Destination"). I am not obtaining this software for any person who is located in or is a citizen/national of a Prohibited Destination. I am not obtaining this software for any entity located in a Prohibited Destination.
The United States Government has not suspended, revoked, or denied my Export Privileges. I am not obtaining this software for any person or entity whose Export privileges have been suspended, revoked, or denied by the United States.
I am not listed on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. I am not obtaining this software for any person or entity on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
The software will not be used for any nuclear activities or for the design, development, production, stockpiling, or use of missiles, chemical or biological weapons. Nor will the software be used at any facilities involved in such activities.
This software product(s) is (are) subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations. I will not export, reexport, or divert this software contrary to any such laws and regulations.