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Category: ethics
Bill Nye Explains Evolution with Emoji
The Science Guy says adults can believe what they want, no matter how little evidence there is for Creationism. But they shouldn’t push their faith on children.
One of the main arguments put forward by creationists is that something complex, the human eye for example, could only be created by a higher power.
Nye disagrees. He keeps it simple here.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Ireland votes to approve Gay marriage
There are plenty of good arguments against the word “marriage” being used for same sex couples.
I respect those who feel that way. But this battle is pretty much over. If a nation as Catholic as Ireland votes this way, almost every nation will. Homosexuality was illegal in Ireland until 1993 and abortion remains prohibited except where the mother’s life is in danger.
“leave behind smoking ruins and crying widows”
When Bill O’Reilly asked Lt. Col. Ralph Peters what his strategy would be to defeat the jihad, he said:
“You go wherever in the world the terrorists are and you kill them, you do your best to exterminate them, and then you leave behind smoking ruins and crying widows.”
Scientific American – How Can We Condemn Boston Murders But Excuse U.S. Bombing of Civilians?
Though I totally disagree with Ralph Peters, I respect his honesty. He admits innocents will be killed.
IF the USA wants to fight terrorists overseas, with drones or smart bombs, that’s probably the best way. Boots on the ground is the worst way.
Instead, foreign nations should isolate Islamic nations. Close embassies. Enforce boycotts. Freeze bank assets. Stop giving them an excuse for terrorism.
If you leave Islamic hotheads alone, it won’t be long before they are fighting each other.
Homeland security should be security within your own borders.
What Young Kids Do With Guns When Parents Aren’t Around
3yr-old shoots and kills 1yr-old sister. 😦
I see stories like this at least once a week.
No word yet whether the parents will be charged. I believe they should.
An experiment run by an Eckerd College professor … for ABC’s 20/20 on children and guns …
Doctor Marjorie Sanfilippo specializes in child psychology and her curiosity turned her to what children would do when adults are not around and they were told to not play with a clearly visible gun. …
Almost every kid went for the guns, waved them around and even pointed them at each other. …
Click PLAY or watch ABC News 20/20’s Young Guns on YouTube.
Gundamentalist National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent denies American statistics that there were at least 88 incidents just this year “in which a child 17 or under fired a gun unintentionally and someone was harmed as a result” …
Clinton Foundation questions
The Clinton Foundation (founded 2001) … is a nonprofit foundation established by former President of the United States Bill Clinton with the stated mission to “strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.” The Foundation focuses on improving global health and wellness, increasing opportunity for women and girls, reducing childhood obesity and preventable diseases, creating economic opportunity and growth, and helping communities address the effects of climate change. …
I foolishly got into an online debate on whether the Clinton Foundation spends around 15% on charity, 85% on overhead, a recent right wing talking point.
Sounded silly to me. It was.
politifact – The claim contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, so we rate it Mostly False.
I love it when rich people set up Foundations and do good works. Many Republicans have donated to the Clinton Foundation including Mitt Romney, John McCain, Donald Trump, James R. Murdoch, News Corporation Foundation (parent company of FOX News), etc. It’s a “not-for-profit” organization that should have nothing to do with the Democratic Party.
One of their partner organizations was the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
2005
Photo Credit: Courtesy Reuters, Richard Carson
There are some valid concerns about the Clinton Foundation.
WHAT ARE THE CLINTONS’ CRITICS SAYING?
Among the complaints:
— The foundation could serve as a backdoor for governments or foreign citizens hoping to influence a future president. U.S. law bans political campaigns from accepting foreign money.
— Many big donors to the foundation also lobbied the State Department while Clinton was in charge.
— Despite pledges of openness, names of foreign donors who contributed through a Canadian affiliate of the foundation haven’t been made public.
— Some of the foreign sums are mind-boggling. Canadian mining billionaire Frank Giustra, founder of the Canadian affiliate, has given the Clinton Foundation more than $31 million. Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk and the country of Saudi Arabia each gave between $10 million and $25 million, according to the foundation. …
— Donations from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Mideast nations that deny women equal rights have been criticized by Republican presidential candidates. Sen. Rand Paul said promoting women’s rights while taking millions from countries where “rape victims are publicly lashed” is “a grand hypocrisy.”
— Many of the foundation’s donors are companies and organizations that also paid Bill Clinton six-figure speaking fees while his wife was secretary of state. And several are big contributors to Hillary Clinton’s political campaigns.
— Clinton’s husband and daughter are still on the foundation board, leaving an opening for conflicts of interest. Bill and Chelsea Clinton just wrapped up a nine-day trip to Africa to highlight their charity’s good works. The former president said he would consider stepping down if his wife wins her own term in the Oval Office. …
WHAT DO THE CLINTONS SAY?
Hillary Clinton hasn’t responded to specific allegations. She dismissed the criticism generally as the kind of “distractions and attacks” to be expected during a presidential campaign. …Bill Clinton says he’s proud of his foundation’s work, and that 90 percent of donors give $100 or less.
And the big money? There’s nothing “sinister” about getting wealthy people and nations to help the poor in developing countries, Clinton said in an NBC News interview.
“There’s been a very deliberate attempt to take the foundation down,” he said. “And there’s almost no new fact that’s known now that wasn’t known when she ran for president the first time” in 2008.
The State Department said last month that officials conducted a review and found no evidence that any of Clinton’s actions as secretary of state were influenced by donations to the foundation. …
Clinton family foundation raises big money and big questions
related – Fact Check: Is The Clinton Foundation ‘The Most Transparent’?
Peele and Key – Negrotown
In “Negrotown,” main characters Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key imagine a utopia for black people where “you can walk the street without getting stopped, harassed or beat.” …
Mashable – Pointed ‘Key & Peele’ sketch slams police brutality
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
useless War on Drugs over?
1971 Richard Nixon fired the first shot in what became known as the “war on drugs” by declaring them “public enemy number one”.
In America and the other rich countries that fought by its side, the campaign meant strict laws and harsh sentences for small-time dealers and addicts. In the poor, chaotic countries that supplied their cocaine and heroin, it meant uprooting and spraying coca and poppy crops, and arming and training security forces.
Billions of wasted dollars and many destroyed lives later, illegal drugs are still available, and the anti-drug warriors are wearying. In America and western Europe addiction is increasingly seen as an illness. Marijuana has been legalised in a few places. Several countries may follow Portugal, which no longer treats drug use as a crime.
But even as one drug war begins to wind down, another is cranking up across Asia, Russia and the Middle East …
As always, follow the money. Who profits from a War on Drugs?
Day in the Life of the KKK
Carl, an imperial wizard of a Southern-based Ku Klux Klan realm (or state-level group), takes aim with a pellet gun at a large cockroach (on the piece of paper just below the clock), while his wife and goddaughter try to avoid getting struck by a possible ricochet. …
see more crazy photos by Anthony S. Karen – A Day in the Life of the Ku Klux Klan, Uncensored
Any racist who does no harm, breaks no laws, should be encouraged to put on a goofy costume. It’s a free country.
But if they do break laws, they should be prosecuted severely.
… the Klan’s numbers are steadily dropping. This decline has been attributed to the Klan’s lack of competence in the use of the Internet, their history of violence, a proliferation of competing hate groups, and a decline in the number of young racist activists who are willing to join groups at all. …
Rick McCharles 