Video: Share a video that makes you laugh every time you watch it.
Just my sick sense of humour I suppose ....
A video which puts together some of the questions many of us have been asking about the real perpetrators of 'terrorist attacks' and the real implications of the so-called 'War on Terror.
UK Rolls Out Police Headcams
The following is an article from O'Reilly Radar:
It's been a while since I've written about the coming surveillance society, but I couldn't let an AP story in today's newspaper about British policemen equipped with helmet cams go by without comment.
By providing dramatic footage of victims, suspects and witnesses, judges and jurors will be able to ``see and hear the incident through the eyes and ears of the officer at the scene,'' Minister of State for Security Tony McNulty said.
Given various incidents of police brutality, you can see the additional upside that police might be more restrained if they knew someone was watching -- or they might just turn off the camera. The story also cites rowdy crowds quieting down when they realized they were being filmed, women having more confidence in pressing charges in domestic abuse cases, and so on. But, the article continues:
the national rollout will tighten Britain's web of video surveillance, already the most extensive in the world. The country is watched over by a network of some 4 million closed-circuit cameras, and privacy advocates complain the average Briton is recorded as many as 300 times a day.
and
The Home Office said it was exploring other uses for the devices, including fitting them with the ability to send video live to a command centre, or special license-plate recognition software which would enable police to identify stolen or suspicious vehicles just by looking at them.
The future is not going to be like the past. We can rush unthinking towards that future, or we can make conscious choices about what kind of future we want. There are trends too strong for any of us to stop, in which case we must think hard about how best to adapt. There are others where a small intervention at the right time can make all the difference. We can also set in place guidelines to mitigate harm. For example, in the case of the police headcams, "police were instructed to inform members of the public they were being recorded and that the footage not being used in an investigation had to be erased within a month of its creation" and
The Home Office said the cameras — which have enough memory to hold 24 hours of video — were not intended to record continuously. Officers would turn the devices on and off at their discretion, speaking into the camera after turning it on to explain where, when and why they were starting it. A second explanation was required before turning the device off.
The report also cautioned against taking extraneous video when entering private homes, and said officers should turn cameras off during strip searches. But it also threatened disciplinary action against officers who deliberately masked the camera's view or deleted video from the camera's memory.
How do you feel about a future in which you might always be on camera in any public space? What kinds of safeguards would you expect?
From: O'Reilly Radar
As for my comments? Well, I'm not at all surprised about the police in the UK searching for ever more ways of spying on the general public and that they receive backing and encouragement from the UK Government. This is just one more example of the takeover of UK citizens' rights, privacy and lives.
And for those that would answer: "what's there to worry about if you've got nothing to hide?", I would say that you may not think you have anything to hide, until someone decides otherwise.
I go back to the UK quite often and each time I go back there are new 'rules' in place. It saddens me. Britain used to pride itself (whether justified or not) on its 'free and open' society. The last 28 years have changed all that. Little by little all peoples rights have been stripped away. And under this Government events have escalated so that no one feels safe to say or do anything anymore.
Children in school still learn about the rise of Nazism in 1930's Germany, but few British people actually notice the resemblance between this and what is happening in Britain today and of those that do, most ask, "But what can we do about it anyway?"
I don't know, but I would say recognising what is happening and then thinking about what could be done (rather than what 'cannot be done') would be a start.
The whole situation makes me sad and very angry. For me, I am glad we got out, but for my family still living in the UK, I despair.
By SpenglerChristianity finds a fulcrum in Asia
"Ten thousand Chinese become Christians each day, according to a stunning report by the National Catholic Reporter's veteran correspondent John Allen, and 200 million Chinese may comprise the world's largest concentration of Christians by mid-century, and the largest missionary force in history. [1] If you read a single news article about China this year, make sure it is this one.
I suspect that even the most enthusiastic accounts err on the downside, and that Christianity will have become a Sino-centric religion two generations from now. China may be for the 21st century what Europe was during the 8th-11th centuries, and America has been during the past 200 years: the natural ground for mass evangelization. If this occurs, the world will change beyond our capacity to recognize it. Islam might defeat the western Europeans, simply by replacing their diminishing numbers with immigrants, but it will crumble beneath the challenge from the East.
China, devoured by hunger so many times in its history, now feels a spiritual hunger beneath the neon exterior of its suddenly great cities. Four hundred million Chinese on the prosperous coast have moved from poverty to affluence in a single generation, and 10 million to 15 million new migrants come from the countryside each year, the greatest movement of people in history. Despite a government stance that hovers somewhere between discouragement and persecution, more than 100 million of them have embraced a faith that regards this life as mere preparation for the next world. Given the immense effort the Chinese have devoted to achieving a tolerable life in the present world, this may seem anomalous. On the contrary: it is the great migration of peoples that prepares the ground for Christianity, just as it did during the barbarian invasions of Europe during the Middle Ages.
Last month's murder of reverend Bae Hyung-kyu, the leader of the missionaries still held hostage by Taliban kidnappers in Afghanistan, drew world attention to the work of South Korean Christians, who make up nearly 30% of that nation's population and send more evangelists to the world than any country except the United States. This is only a first tremor of the earthquake to come, as Chinese Christians turn their attention outward. Years ago I speculated that if Mecca ever is razed, it will be by an African army marching north; now the greatest danger to Islam is the prospect of a Chinese army marching west.
People do not live in a spiritual vacuum; where a spiritual vacuum exists, as in western Europe and the former Soviet Empire, people simply die, or fail to breed. In the traditional world, people see themselves as part of nature, unchangeable and constant, and worship their surroundings, their ancestors and themselves. When war or economics tear people away from their roots in traditional life, what once appeared constant now is shown to be ephemeral. Christianity is the great liquidator of traditional society, calling individuals out of their tribes and nations to join the ekklesia, which transcends race and nation. In China, communism leveled traditional society, and erased the great Confucian idea of society as an extension of the loyalties and responsibility of families. Children informing on their parents during the Cultural Revolution put paid to that.
Now the great migrations throw into the urban melting pot a half-dozen language groups who once lived isolated from one another. Not for more than a thousand years have so many people in the same place had such good reason to view as ephemeral all that they long considered to be fixed, and to ask themselves: "What is the purpose of my life?"
The World Christian Database offers by far the largest estimate of the number of Chinese Christians at 111 million, of whom 90% are Protestant, mostly Pentecostals. Other estimates are considerably lower, but no matter; what counts is the growth rate. This uniquely American denomination, which claims the inspiration to speak in tongues like Jesus' own disciples and to prophesy, is the world's fastest-growing religious movement, with 500,000 adherents. In contrast to Catholicism, which has a very long historic presence in China but whose growth has been slow, charismatic Protestantism has found its natural element in an atmosphere of official suppression. Barred from churches, Chinese began worshipping in homes, and five major "house church" movements and countless smaller ones now minister to as many as 100 million Christians. [2] This quasi-underground movement may now exceed in adherents the 75 million members of the Chinese Communist Party; in a generation it will be the most powerful force in the country.
While the Catholic Church has worked patiently for independence from the Chinese government, which sponsors a "Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association" with government-appointed bishops, the evangelicals have no infrastructure to suppress and no hierarchy to protect. In contrast to Catholic caution, John Allen observes, "Most Pentecostals would obviously welcome being arrested less frequently, but in general they are not waiting for legal or political reform before carrying out aggressive evangelization programs."
Allen adds:
Aikman reports that two Protestant seminaries secretly are training missionaries for deployment in Muslim countries.The most audacious even dream of carrying the gospel beyond the borders of China, along the old Silk Road into the Muslim world, in a campaign known as "Back to Jerusalem". As [Time correspondent David] Aikman explains in Jesus in Beijing, some Chinese evangelicals and Pentecostals believe that the basic movement of the gospel for the last 2,000 years has been westward: from Jerusalem to Antioch, from Antioch to Europe, from Europe to America, and from America to China. Now, they believe, it's their turn to complete the loop by carrying the gospel to Muslim lands, eventually arriving in Jerusalem. Once that happens, they believe, the gospel will have been preached to the entire world.
Where traditional society remains entrenched in China's most backward regions, Islam also is expanding. At the edge of the Gobi Desert and on China's western border with Central Asia, Islam claims perhaps 30 million adherents. If Christianity is the liquidator of traditional society, I have argued in the past, Islam is its defender against the encroachments of leveling imperial expansion. But Islam in China remains the religion of the economic losers, whose geographic remoteness isolates them from the economic transformation on the coasts. Christianity, by contrast, has burgeoned among the new middle class in China's cities, where the greatest wealth and productivity are concentrated. Islam has a thousand-year presence in China and has grown by natural increase rather than conversion; evangelical Protestantism had almost no adherents in China a generation ago.
China's Protestants evangelized at the risk of liberty and sometimes life, and possess a sort of fervor not seen in Christian ranks for centuries. Their pastors have been beaten and jailed, and they have had to create their own institutions through the "house church" movement. Two years ago I warned that China would have to wait for democracy. [3] I wrote:
China's network of house churches may turn out to be the leaven of democracy, like the radical Puritans of England who became the Congregationalists of New England. Freedom of worship is the first precondition for democracy, for it makes possible freedom of conscience. The fearless evangelists at the grassroots of China will, in the fullness of time, do more to bring US-style democracy to the world than all the nation-building bluster of President George W Bush and his advisers. "For a people to govern itself, it first must want to govern itself and want to do so with a passion. It also must know how to do so. Democracy requires an act of faith, or rather a whole set of acts of faith. The individual citizen must believe that a representative sitting far away in the capital will listen to his views, and know how to band together with other citizens to make their views known. That is why so-called civil society, the capillary network of associations that manage the ordinary affairs of life, is so essential to democracy. Americans elect their local school boards, create volunteer fire brigades and raise and spend tax dollars at the local level to provide parks or sewers.
In my opinion this is not a good thing at all.
I have no doubt that christian evangelists in China have been fearless, and for that I admire their determination .... but does China really need mass Christianity?
Wherever Christianity raises its head anew it brings oppression of 'unbelievers', wars, and promotion of rich over poor. There may well be a 'vacuum' within Chinese culture, considering the changes that have (and still are) taken place there over recent decades, but it certainly doesn't need to be filled by Christianity. Neither does the Chinese politial system 'need' to be taken over by 'US-style Democracy', which is not democracy as envisaged within political thought, more an ideology based on capitalist greed.
Do the Chinese need Christianity? No. They could well do without it.
Added 'Multiple Intelligences' to this one
Quite neat little bedges really.
Whether we believe the results or not is something else ......
So what exactly do they say these scores mean?
My two 'highest marks' were in Intrapersonal and Verbal/Linguisitc areas. Here are the definitions they give:
Intrapersonal Intelligence
People with intrapersonal intelligence are adept at looking inward and figuring out their own feelings, motivations and goals. They are introspective and seek understanding. They are intuitive and typically introverted. They learn best independently.
Common Characteristics
* Introverted
* Prefers working alone
* Philosophical
* Self-aware
* Perfectionistic
* Often thinks of self-employment
* Enjoys journaling
* Intuitive
* Independent
* Spends time thinking and reflecting
* Likes learning about self
Career Matches
* Psychologist
* Philosopher
* Writer
* Theologian
(can just see me as a theologian - not!)
Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence
People with Linguistic intelligence love and are talented with words. They enjoy reading, writing and learning languages. They have an ability to teach and explain things to others. They learn best by reading, taking notes and going to lectures.
Common Characteristics
* Notices grammatical mistakes
* Often speaks of what they have read
* Likes to use "fancy" words
* Loves word games
* Cherishes their book collection
* Easily remembers quotes and famous sayings
* Likes puns and rhymes
* Enjoys writing
* Enjoys foreign language
* Always enjoyed English class
Career Matches
* Writer (any type)
* Editor
* Public Speaker
* Politician
* Preacher
* Teacher
* Journalist
* Broadcaster
* English / Writing Tutor
* Actor / Actress
(not too bad I suppose ..... just can't see me as a Preacher somehow ....)
Truly INFP .............. if you believe these tests ......
Always comes out the same though ......
Here's Jung's definition of an INFP:
"creative, smart, idealist, loner, attracted to sad things, disorganized, avoidant, can be overwhelmed by unpleasant feelings..."
- INFP Jung Type Descriptions (similarminds.com)
Great eh? :)
When has your first impression of someone turned out to be completely wrong?
Submitted by Mana'olana.
When I met my (now) ex husband and decided that he was a kind, gentle, thoughtful and considerate man ........
But you do get a second chance; as long as you choose better the next time around. Thank god for learning by experience!
So I decided to write a little about my past. I dragged up some memories, wrote a reasonable (if meandering) blog entry about them ...... and now ......
The memories are here, now, right at the surface of my consciousness, scratching away at my sanity.
And I don't feel like writing now ...... at least for a while ......
Better stick to quizzes and humour I suppose ...... maybe ......
It's well worth a look,
if only to remind ourselves of all the crap that has
happened in this World.
Here's an example quote from the March 19th Calendar:
"1965 -- US: Beloved & Respected Comrade Leader Governor George Wallace tells Beloved & Respected Comrade Leader President Johnson that Alabama can not afford the expense of calling out the National Guard to protect civil rights marchers during a Selma-to-Montgomery march. Oddly, there never seemed to be a budget problem when business or state property was thought to be threatened"
And an image from the March 19th page:
Writing my comments on a previous entry, about political ideologies and how I think they sit within the political spectrum, acted like a wake-up call to my brain, or, at least, a reminder.
For the last year or so, I have been an 'interested spectator', slowly vegetating on the sidelines while other more active bloggers have got involved in political debates. And yet I used to be intensely political. I had (still have I suppose ...) a blog which I updated daily, full of my comments on political events. I even had a growing band of followers (and some regular opponents) who debated within my comments section. Although I'm (by birth anyway) a 'Brit' and (was) more knowledgeable about (and often insensed by) UK politics, it never stopped me commentating on Bush, Cheney, Coulter, et al; or on European or South American politics come to that. As someone with a decidedly 'leftist' and sceptical outlook, any case of political, social, racial, sexual, or, in fact, human injustice I encountered was fodder for my scathing comments and, if it was a 'slow news' day, or if I was too busy to write something myself, then I would always post part of an article, or a link with a small comment by the side.
In fact, I was a total 'political animal', devouring news and fighting injustice via the net. And, whenever I could, I joined rallies and sometimes even spoke at meetings on any cause I found worth fighting for, and, of course, there were many.
But then, in the words of that immortal song (for me anyway ...) by Jarvis Cocker, Something Changed. 'Life' took over in a big way.
My family developed a host of problems. My mother became ill and needed constant care; my children had various and often serious 'complications' in their lives that it seemed only I could help with; my husband suffered victimisation at work from a truly hateful new boss and eventually took voluntary redundancy as a consequence; my husband's own family also had problems which he had to deal with; and I, along with most of my department, lost my lecturing job due to funding cuts and ended up working as a temp, doing whatever jobs provided money to help pay the bills. Because of our severe drop in income, our finances suffered big time, and we ended up deeply in debt.
In fact, every day seemed to produce more strains on our resources and, eventually, on our ability to cope with life as we knew it. Me and my husband ended up in the depths of despair. And it seemed like there was no way out.
My husband 'coped' by playing his music loud and surfing the net, joining forums discussing anything from politics and technology to humour and (that great male internet 'stress-buster') porn. He mentally locked himself away from the world ... and eventually from me too.
In the end I didn't cope. I was worn out, overworked and underpaid, and it seemed that everyone (apart from my husband who didn't want to know anything or anyone) wanted a piece of me. I had no time for my own problems, including trying to recuperate from a couple of fairly major kidney operations. I had to be all things to all people .... except to myself it seemed. I floundered for a while, metaphorically trying to thrash my way through a sea of mud and shit .... and then I went under.
The 'breakdown' was actually a bit of a relief. Not at first maybe, as I was too paranoid to look at things from a rational perspective and see that it was my way of coping. I just completely 'shut down'. I staggered through the day on a diet of valium and anti-depressants, supplemented by the occasional visit to a therapist. Nothing got through that pill-enhanced haze: not my husband; not my children; not our financial problems; nothing. Nada. I had shut down the hatches, locked all the doors, and escaped within myself.
When I had typed my political blog, courageously (as I saw it) 'outing' the tyrants of this world, I had viewed the world from afar, closeted in what some would call my 'ivory tower' of academia, although it never was that; a working class woman working in academia and going home to 'real life' every day is never really closeted, but I could certainly remain a little detached from the harsh realities of life ......while everything was ok in my own.
But it takes a strong person to keep on going, to keep on fighting on behalf of others, when their own life is in tatters. I was not that strong.
The therapy, or the pills (or most probably just me) eventually worked and I slowly dug myself out of the pit of depression (nowadays it's always hovering like a spectre in the background, just waiting for its opportunity to pounce, but most of the time I can recognise the symptoms and steer my way through the bulk of it). But my husband still hadn't entirely climbed out of the pit he had dug himself. So I forced him to sit down and talk to me.
Well, we talked and argued and ranted at each other about our situation, but it helped, because eventually we came to a decision: 'Sod the lot of it!' My husband had been thinking about taking a contract for work in Spain, but had dismissed it because of finding funds to live out there as well as in the UK. Now we just looked around us and looked at what we had. We had families who we loved dearly but who were able to cope themselves (and if not, as in the case of my mum [who has alzheimers and has to live in a nursing home], we could set things in place to ensure that she was well-cared for). They were all adults, if some were only just, and would cope if they had to. At the present time they just weren't bothering, because they thought that I would bother for them.
So we made some harsh decisions, but they were survival decisions. Our survival.
We sold our house, paid off our debts and moved to Spain! From the little money we had left we bought a small village house, renovated it and moved in. We had loads of struggles learning to live in Spain (and still do), but we struggle together. And it was, after all, a struggle we couldn't afford to lose. We had torn ourselves away from everything and everyone we had known and loved just to survive; just to have something left that was ours. It damn well had to work!
And in time we got the pc up and running and a (rather limited) broadband service installed. And in time we again began to browse the net, each according to their own likes .... and I began to blog again ...... and I eventually arrived up here, taking political quizzes and writing a little about my thoughts on politics.
Maybe it's time to have another go at writing that blog......? Or maybe not ......
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canarygirl said:
WTH? LMAO! That should not be funny. But man! It so is. read more
on Vox Hunt: Always Good For A Laugh -
Sir2You said:
Sorry, I thought of more...there is on the books a law passed during the Reagan Administration, that allows the President... read more
on The London Bombings/Blair, Bush, and the so-called 'War on Terror -
Sir2You said:
I believe I read recently that the term 'conspiracy theorist' was made up by the people doing all the conspiring,... read more
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Writing-Resource. Great for freelance writing tips and w...
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Christianity finds a fulcrum in Asia By Spengler Ten ...
INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE....
News you won't see on CNN or Fox New. Information Clear...
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Our Daily Bleed... recall on this date..... "A wak...
loads of blogging advice here - if you want it.
on Vox Hunt: Always Good For A Laugh