April 2008
'Free Tibet' flags made in China →
nwsppr: Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say. The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning. But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they...
Cars now no more efficient than '60s →
Despite all the claims of improved fuel efficiency by the automotive industry, a recent study by the Paul Mees of Melbourne University has show that the fuel efficiency of cars has remained practically the same since 1963.
“She kept walking, of course, but she also heard some comments. The comments were...”
– Estelle Dragun says her daughter Charmaine’s anorexia seemed to start after being heckled by construction workers.
“How far should “religious freedom” go? When children are being treated like...”
– blurbomat.com : Polygamy and Utah, Hypocrisy Abounds (via aja) (via claudia)
“If you owe someone a lot of money, you better be real nice to them.”
– CNN founder Ted Turner, advising President George W. Bush to ignore calls for him to boycott the Beijing Olympics because of China’s human-rights record.
“Anyone who thinks it’s better to pay a prostitute than get married and have it...”
– “I’d rather hire a dog than a prostitute” by Jeremy Clarkson - Times Online
American National Prayer Day, non-Christians need... →
The group Jews on First is running a campaign for an “Inclusive National Day of Prayer”. Currently applications to be a coordinator for the National Day of Prayer Task Force requires the applicant to sign a statement saying ” I believe that the Holy Bible is the inerrant Word of The Living God. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only One by which I can obtain...
Tutor Needed
jessicalouise: jakoblodwick: I never learned the following subjects in school: physics, history, economics, philosophy. I am looking for an expert to tutor me on these subjects in one-on-one sessions, starting with the absolute basics. I want conversations, not lectures (ie, this will be nothing like textbooks or lectures). I ask lots of questions. Please contact me if you live in the NYC...
“Yet another factor working to widen income disparities has been the search for,...”
– Economics Explained, Robert Heilbroner and Lester Thurow. In the 1970’s the ratio of US CEO renumeration to that of the average worker was 40:1, by the 1990’s it was 225 to 1, I wonder what it is today? Recently a head of a US investment bank resigned after the company had to write off...
“Yet, even when it is sub-optimal, a minimum wage higher than the market rate...”
– Monopsony - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia: Minimum wage economics →
I’m in the “low-wage labour market is characterised by monopsonistic competition” group. And therefore I believe a minimum wage is required to prevent market failure, not to mention the social failure of having large numbers of working poor. Of course what that minimum wage should be and what other efforts should be made to move low skilled workers up the skills ladder is open to...
“[T]he Obama campaign has made an unprecedented assault on her [Hilary...”
– Geoff Garin, Clinton Strategist, about how it is the Obama team and not the Clinton team that is into character assassination.
'Sustainable' bio-plastic can damage the... →
An article by John Vidal in the British newspaper the Guardian makes the claim that eco-friendly “bioplastics” are hurting rather than helping the environment. There is a worldwide effort by industry to replace conventional oil-based plastic with more environmentally friendly bioplastics made from plants; such as maize, sugercane, wheat, corn and other crops. The concern is with...
“A paradox of the free market is that it needs a strong state authority to make...”
– Leading article, The Independent, 26 April 2008
Florida moves to ban fake testicles on vehicles →
Senators in Florida have voted to ban fake bull testicles that dangle from the trailer hitches of many trucks and cars in the US state. Republican Senator Cary Baker, a gun shop owner, called the adornments offensive and proposed the ban. Does the ban apply to non-fake bull’s testicles? Anybody know? UPDATE: Thanks to asprettyasasong for a link to another article on the subject which...
US Teacher accused of burning crosses into... →
A Mount Vernon (Ohio, US) science teacher who has refused to remove his personal Bible from the top of his school desk is now also accused of conducting a religious “healing session” at the school and burning crosses onto student’s arms. Administrators also claim that the science teacher taught his own religious beliefs in his classes. The burning is alleged to have occurred...
'Be Happy, Not Gay' →
A US federal court has granted permission for a Christian teenager to wear a t-shirt to school with the slogan “Be Happy, Not Gay”. The student wants to ware the shirt to class on the “Day of Truth” a Christian group’s anti-homosexuality response to the “Day of Silence” which is intended to raise awareness about discrimination against gays. The school...
“But religions admittedly appeal, not to conviction as the result of argument,...”
– Schopenhauer (via brigno) (via asprettyasasong) There’s a reason why only young children beleive in Santa Claus.
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others he...”
– Robert Kennedy, 1966
Unforgettable Speeches →
ABC Radio listeners voted on their top 20 unforgettable speeches. The number one speech as voted by the listeners was Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream speech”.
Investigating Atheism →
This University of Cambridge site aims to set the current “‘God Wars’ in their historical context, and to offer a range of perspectives (from all sides) on the chief issues raised by the ‘new atheists’. We hope this will encourage more informed opinion about the issues, discourage oversimplification of the debate, and deepen the interest in the subject.” While...
Newly Created Microbe Produces Cellulose And... →
esearches at the University of Texas at Austin, have put sugar producing genes into blue-green algae. The result are microbes that can produce glucose and sucrose for use in ethanol and designer fuel production. The microbe’s don’t need agricultural land and can in fact be grown in salty wate unsuitable for human consumption or crops. They use sunlight as an energy source and...
“I am angry about policies that consistently favor the wealthy and powerful over...”
– Obama on politics :: Fire and Knowledge (via claudia)
Excuse me, but...
jessicalouise: butterflyeffect: Aren’t Hillary and Barack supposed to be on the same side? I mean, you have to go around the whole country, spending a zillion dollars, having separate elections in X number of states just to work out who’s going to lead a party? Where I come from, all that crap is sorted out behind closed doors…. American politics does my head in. Tell me about it. It’s...
“I explained to him [Malaysia’s Ministry for Islamic Affairs] that...”
– Irfan Yusuf, Another legacy of Gallipoli Today is ANZAC day in Australia and New Zealand when we remember those who fought and died at Gallipolli. ”Lest we forget”
Are we going to cook or are we going to freeze? →
Not everybody thinks that global warming is the immediate threat that it’s made out to be. There are scientists who think we have a more immediate climate problem, namely a new ice age. The basis of their assessment is based on the correlation between Earth cooling events and the number of Sun spots. Sun spot activity seems to be based on 11-year cycles. We’ve just reached the end...
Israel bombed Syrian nuclear reactor. →
Rule 1 in nuclear safety: DON’T BOMB A NUCLEAR REACTOR You’d think this would be a fairly easy rule to understand but apparently not. It seems that towards the end of last year Israel bombed, beyond repair, a Syrian nuclear reactor. According to US sources the reactor could have become operational at any time. No mention is made as to if nuclear material was on site or if nuclear ...
The last thing I needed today...
sarahcroberts: My phone is broken. It’s almost 3 years old, it was inevitable. But it works fine — it just can’t be charged. Fuuuuck.I’d put money on the battery or charger (fixed a friends recently, bending of the cable had broken a wire inside).
“Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black...”
– Penis theft panic hits city, Reuters. Easily the strangest headline I’ve seen in years. (via sulciphur)
Pro-China thugs mar Australian torch run. →
It seems that the pro-Tibetan protesters in Canbarra (Australian Capital) got the message about peacful protest during yesterday’s torch run. Not so the 10,000 or so Chinese supporters shipped in to Canberra by “insert name of represive anti-human rights country here”. Groups of pro-Chinnese “students”, hassled, kicked, abused and generally intimidated the much...
“We have tantrum sex, in which the man whines unpleasantly until the woman...”
– Richard Glover, Spectrum Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald, April 25-28, 2008. Oh, how I relate.
“I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about...”
– Stephen Hawking (via raygrass) (via heather-rivers) (via auditinprogress) (via candyformonkeys)
Who won!
It’s 12:20am Wednesday the 23rd of April here in Oz and I have one question. Who won in Pennsylvania? Bed!
Society is to blame: Pope →
I note, with not much interest, that the Pope is currently US on his current world tour which brings him to Oz in July. He’ll be here for Catholic World Youth Day, which lasts a week and the tax payers of NSW, no matter their religion, will fork out a total of AUD$85 Million to hold the event. On the upside the Pope is bringing along at least one dead person, who they recently dug up, to act...