65% of Science teachers do not think it should be taught

New poll says 29% of science teachers believe creationism should be ‘taught’ in schools

Tired of giving useless gifts

I've had enough of the cargo cult. We have too much stuff in our lives.



The stuff you own ends up owning you.

I've started giving gifts from The Worlds most Useful Gift Catalogue

They're apparently Christians but the website assures me they don't proselytize.

Last year I got me ma a goat:

Relationships

Laugh, I nearly shat!

East V. West

I did a "cultural awareness" workshop for work and came across this simple illustration of the key differences between east and west. It was produced by Chinese-born graphic designer / artist, who lives in Germany. I thought it was a very apt interpretation.

Bio:

Yang Liu was born in 1976 in Beijing, China. Since 1990 she has lived in Germany. She studied at UWE at Bristol, UK and gradueted with Master degree for Design in 2000 at the University of Arts Berlin, with Prof. Holger Matthies, since 1999 she has worked with Derek Birdsall in London, 2000 -2002 with Thomas Manss London and Berlin, 2003 - 2004 Chermayeff & Geismar New York, since 2004 she has established Yang Liu Design in Berlin

bath-time

meal-time

queuing

restaurant chatter

parties

weekend street scene


relationships

self

boss

opinion

on time

problems

beauty

Internet Ethics

***WARNING: Some links in this post contain adult material.***

I might be showing how far behind the times I am here, but I came across a story recently, which might make you think about right and wrong online.

Some of you might know Craig's List. It's an internet bulletin board started in San Francisco and is now available all over the world.

In 2006, a couple of jokers in Seattle posted at ad posing as a submissive female looking for a dominant male to defile her. The aim was to see how many responses they could get in 24 hours.

They got 178 replies and 145 photos.

People sent email addresses from home and work, phone numbers as well as their real names in some cases.

Next they posted all the replies on a wiki-satire site called Encyclopaedia Dramatica, with the goal of getting people to identify the respondents in real life.

The ethical debate has been raging ever since. The story was picked up by various news outlets including the BBC.

Opinion:

This ain't cool.

The men who replied weren't doing anything illegal - the ad was posted by an apparently consenting adult seeking a consenting adult for an activity in their own home. If they were trying to out kiddy-fiddlers, I'd have a different opinion.

Even if this is what you are into, you don't need to have it broadcast to the world; possibly affecting all other aspects of their lives.

The issue here is within society as well. Why should your interest in any variety of legal sexual activity affect your professional or social life? Who are we to judge others by what they like with their privates?

Yet we still live in a world where hatred and intolerance are rife; where violence against those who are different still occurs.

An example: the British blogger who wrote "girl with a one track mind" anonymously. It describes here experience as a sexually active woman in London. The site became so popular that it was turned into a novel.

The day the book was released a bunch of flowers arrived at her door. The courier made her lean out the door to sign. What she didn't know, was that there was a photographer in her garden. The card on the flowers said: "Zoe (her pseudonym). Congratulations on the book."

The story broke the next day in the Sunday times. She was hounded by the press, received threatening letters and her family was even harassed. She lost her job working on the Harry Potter films on the grounds that they didn't want to be associated with her.

Yet at the same time, Danny Radcliffe can get his shlong out in the West-end with no worries at all.

This is an example of a double standard and how someone's personal life can ruin the other aspects of their life - for no good reason.

Let's leave Bill Clinton out for the time being.

People have sex.
Most likely not with you.

Get over it.

Lets work on that evolution people.

Prank #002

Join the Billboard Liberation Front

Why should they have a monopoly on public space?

Take some back.

From Bongo Benna

Kosovo Gains independence!

Right on!

Have a country.

Everyone grab a country:

Let’s make a Kurdistan

More power to southern Thailand

Freedom for Aceh

Give the Tamils some land

Free Tibet

UN for Taiwan

Disband the United States

Damn it! Western Australia Succeed!

Let everyone have a country.

Imaginary lines on the ground... can’t have too many.

If it would stop people killing each other, why not

It would be nice though for those seeking independence to look more towards

Gandhi than

Guevara

Evangelical Christians ...

...are protesting Heath Ledger’s funeral. They say he was a “gay enabler” for making a movie involving man-love. Last time I checked the bible dealt a lot more about wealth distribution than what cowboys did with their willies.

They rely heavily on Leviticus 20:13...

" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

... it goes on to say in Leviticus 20:17 –

" 'If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonoured his sister and will be held responsible.

...so members of the Westboro Baptist Church should be keeping a low profile.

Jesus Camp

Linguistic Mercenaries

Last week I was on the “Dave’s ESL Cafe” website scrolling through the jobs postings and checking out those phat middle east gigs for like 50 000 US tax free, masters preferred; when my eye was caught by a header: “Iraq – teach in the Green Zone”.

So I clicked to have a look. Seven thousand US dollars a month, six month contracts, teaching government officials, military experience preferred! WTF!

Those guys working on contracts in a war zone, driving trucks while wearing a flack jacket for some crazy amount of money can’t really turn around and complain when they get their heads chopped off.

Firstly, they are getting paid danger money and they knew this before they left.

Secondly, and more importantly, I’m sure there a plenty of Iraqis out there who know how to drive a truck and would be glad of the work.

This brings us to a more pertinent question: why are there military contractors like Blackwater in Iraq or anywhere else. Right now there are about 10 Blackwater employees to 1 US soldier in Iraq (BBC). These hired goons are immune from prosecution in Iraq and can’t be tried in the US, unlike a soldier.

Here are a group of men who wear no uniform, carry weapons and will treat everyone as a threat –pretty good definition of a “terrorist”.

The use of force is the ultimate expression of government power; the government being the will of the people. There is no justification for putting this power in the hands of private companies that operate for profit. What’s next: Coke vs. Pepsi in the final show down?

Correct me if I’m wrong.

For the time being however, I will pass on the gig in the Green Zone. I’m sure there a plenty of Iraqis who are more than able to teach government officials.