(via digbicks)
Source: sandandglass
RETURN THE GAYZE: my summer in cape town: or, i am sorry for using you
They will ask you
Whether your project can inflict ‘harm’
And you will respond: “minor discomfort” to expedite the review process
Her name is Cym,
And the arc of her smile mirrors her painted eyebrows,
On Mondays she asks you what you did over the weekend.
You do not…
You don’t get paid for working hard or for being smart… you get paid for taking responsibility for people and decisions
Dr. Culbreth, my Quality Control professor at NC State’s Industrial Engineering department.
Heineken designed a beer bottle that doubled as a brick to address housing and recycling challenges in the Caribbean.
Coolest alcohol company.
Source: did-you-kno
“Expand and retain membership. This is the First and Greatest commandment”
The General Commission on United Methodist Men recently released a statement that they have changed their minds from earlier remarks in support of the policy change being considered by the Boy Scouts of America. The letter offers but one reason for their rescission of support from the policy change:
This potential shift from BSA places GCUMM’s primary goal, our core value- expansion and retention- at risk
I took the liberty of sending them some suggestions to help them achieve their primary goal and core value:
Dear Leadership of the General Commission on United Methodist Men,
I read a statement from the GCUMM executive committee explaining that “expansion and retention” constitute both your primary goal and core value. I wish I had known this earlier! I had mistakenly believed your goal centered around helping men grow in Christ. However, given that your organization exists only for the sake of becoming as big as possible, I have some recommendations for you:
- Lose this Jesus character. He’s controversial, and his ideas about money will scare off wealthy donors who will surely help your organization expand and retain membership.
- Sex sells. Have you seen the GoDaddy Superbowl commercials? The day after the superbowl this year was their greatest day of sales in history! Half-naked ladies are sure to keep men interested.
- Blame the Jews. Or another minority group. Get people fired up and angry at a common enemy, like the Nazis did with the Jews, and you can build a huge movement. Actually, I just realized you’re already on to a great scapegoat: gay youth!
I hope these suggestions help you accomplish your primary goal and core value!
The Reconciling Ministries Network has a great piece on their blog by Rev. Andy Oliver, where I first learned about GCUMM’s letter.
Empirical research does not suggest gay or bisexual men more likely to molest children.
Key points drawn from this review of research by Dr. Gregory Herek, Professor of Psychology at UCD:
Useful Background Info:
- Pedophiles do not always commit child molestation, and child molesters are not always pedophiles. Some people experience a sexual preference for children but never act upon it, and some people will molest a child despite not being sexually attracted to the child.
- Male-male molestation and male-female molestation are more appropriate terms than homosexual and heterosexual molestation because they do not make unwarranted assumptions about the sexual orientation of the offender.
- Many child molesters cannot be meaningfully classified as hetero- or homosexual because age, not gender, is the primary basis of their sexual attraction, and they are attracted to neither men nor women.
The Research:
- Groth and Birnbaum (1978) studied 175 adult males who were convicted in Massachusetts for sexual abuse of a child. Their findings: 47% of offenders were “fixated” (attracted only to children with no adult sexual orientation); 40% were heterosexual; 13% were bisexual; and 0% were homosexuals.
- A review of 352 Denver medical charts found that the adult molester was gay or lesbian in fewer than 1% of cases in which they could be identified (Jenny et al., 1994).
- A Canadian study that measured penis volume changes in response to images of prepubescent children coupled with audio describing an imaginary sexual encounter measured no difference in sexual arousal between heterosexual men presented with images of girls and homosexual men presented with images of boys (Freund et al., 1989).
THE TAKEAWAY: While male-male child molestations happen (albeit less than half as frequently than male-female child molestations), there is no evidence to suggest a homosexual men is more likely to be the molester. It is more likely that the offender is either heterosexual or has a sexual preference for children without regard to gender.
Boy Scouts of America is considering a policy change that would allow troops to decide to include gay individuals. If you call BSA’s National Service desk (972-580-2330), you will be asked, “Are you for or against the change in policy?” Please call and let them know you’re FOR the policy change. It takes 10 seconds!
Call and reblog! Source
"Dear Abby" Dead at 94
Worth remembering this classic:
Dear Abby: Two men who claim to be father and adopted son just bought an old mansion across the street and fixed it up. We notice a very suspicious mixture of company coming and going at all hours — blacks, whites, Orientals, women who look like men and men who look like women. This has always been considered one of the finest sections of San Francisco, and these weirdos are giving it a bad name. How can we improve the neighborhood? — Nob Hill Residents
Dear Residents: You could move.
As the potential output scenarios of 3D printing grow, our thoughts turn to input; while 3D printing replaces the need to use traditional, more costly resources like wood, the use of plastics isn’t the most eco-friendly. To help make the process more sustainable, Vermont Technical College student Tyler McNaney created The Filabot, a desktop machine that recycles common plastics into 3D printing filament.
More: Desktop Machine Recycles Plastic Into 3D Printing ‘Ink’ - PSFK
Paul Watson: What I learned the day a dying whale spared my life | Guardian
“We sat there in our little inflatable boats in the midst of the Soviet whaling fleet with the bodies of a half dozen sperm whales lying lifeless in the swell. I watched the sun begin to set in the west and I remembered that the Russians were killing whales primarily for the valuable spermaceti oil.
Spermaceti oil is valued for its high resistance to heat, and thus it is used in machinery where there is excessive heat. One of the demands for this oil by the Soviets was for use in the production on intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Here they were slaughtering these magnificent, intelligent, socially complex, wondrous sentient beings for the purpose of making a weapon designed for the mass extermination of human beings.
And I thought to myself, are we really this insane?
It is that thought, that unanswered question, that has haunted me every day since.
It is from what I saw in the eye of that whale that has led me to devote my entire adult life to the defence of the whales and the other creatures of the sea, because I know that if we cannot save the whales, the turtles, the sharks, the tuna, and the complex marine biodiversity, that the oceans will not survive. If the life in our oceans is diminished, humanity is diminished and if the oceans die, humanity will die; for we cannot survive on this planet with a dead ocean.”
Paul Watson is a giant.
Source: catherinewillis
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