Just as interesting is how fickle people can be. Earlier this year, Twitter was having technical difficulties. As a result, several other "micro-blogs" popped up all over the internet. In a way, that's how we are today. Democrats vs. Republicans vs. Vice President choices. It's a maddening race for popularity.

Of course, for most of us it comes down to VALUES -- what do people and social networks stand for -- and where do I fit into their scheme? As a Follower of Christ, I am influenced by a standard, God's Word, the Bible. It has and continues to shape me. That message does not change or move.

I love it's anchor. In a world where there are no moral absolutes, where rules change, and where networks of people move around so much, I need that. I have also attempted to live by those standards.

Oh, no, I am not perfect, that's for sure. However, when I get off course I can look forward and strive toward a finish line that DID NOT move.

It can be confusing to follow the commands on the Bible. In fact there were like 1,630 of them listed. When Jesus was asked which was the most important He brought it down to a level we can all not only understand, but we can RELATE to it.

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Now THOSE SOCIAL NETWORKS ROCK!

"Extra, extra... Osny Guarnieri sempre foi careca" Grande Osny, Saudades...

Good Morning Friends, Sunday, September 07, 2008. I was reading following article on times of india’s website and I love to read it.

The idea that man needs God to tell us how to behave morally, to be kind and thoughtful towards our fellow man, to aid others without any promise of benefit to ourselves, is a central tenet of most religions.

To emphasize the point, we are told that if we do not obey God’s moral law, we will spend an eternity in hell while if we do obey the moral code, we will spend an eternity of bliss in heaven.

Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health is the head of the Human Genome Project responsible for sequencing the three billion base pairs of the human genome.

In 2007, this eminent scientist wrote a book titled ‘The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief ’. He recounts that in his early years as a scientist, he was an atheist but one day, he had an epiphany and came to believe that man could not be a moral animal without the aid of a god given moral law. As a result of this realization, he became of person of faith.

This epiphany blew me away because although he was a geneticist, he found the extensive genetic evidence that altruism was an inborn genetic trait unconvincing. He also believed that while the development of all other living organisms on earth was the result of Darwinian evolution, the evolution of man was special and was guided by the hand of God.

Surveys have shown that most scientists , especially those in the field of the biological and genetic sciences , are non-theists , partly because they so strongly believe that Darwinian evolution was responsible for the origin of the species, including man.

As a fellow geneticist, I was surprised that this eminent scientist was both disavowing the decades of research into the genetics of altruism and proposing that humans were so unique that God was required to guide the evolution of humans. This was uncomfortably close to the tenants of the Intelligent Design creationists.

I wish to just address the issue of altruism as an inborn genetic trait. Altruism is defined as aiding another individual while incurring personal costs to oneself. For example, if I jump into a raging river to save my son from drowning, I place myself at risk of drowning. This behaviour of being kind and helpful to others is a central tenet to of Christian thought, the golden rule, consisting of treating others, as you would like to be treated.

One of the best examples of altruism in the animal kingdom is the behaviour of sterile worker honeybees who sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the queen bee. Darwin was quite concerned about altruism, fearing that it seemed to directly contradict his theory of survival of the fittest, thus allowing better genes to be passed on to the next generation.

Worker bees are sterile and thus, derive no direct benefit for their altruistic acts and cannot pass on their genes. Darwin’s solution to this apparent contradiction of this theory was to suggest that the survival benefit did not always have to apply to the individual — it could also apply to the relatives of the individual. Thus, a sterile worker bee helping the queen to survive would help guarantee the preservation of the genes of the whole family.

This became known as the ‘kin selection’ theory. As if his general theory of the evolution of the species were not enough of a problem for religions to swallow, Darwin was now suggesting that selfsacrificial behaviour, generally considered only to be within the purview of religion, was also biologically controlled and could occur in animals was well as humans.

its continue...........

Ref: time of india, agents website design

Ca s'appelle la rentrée ca aussi, le retour les deux peids dans l'actualité...celle là n'est pas en passe de s'améliorer...Le combat de "NI PAUVRES NI SOUMIS" ne s'arrete pas...les revalorisations annoncées ressemblent à des miettes qu'on jette aux pigeons...et toujours envers ceux qui n'auront pas necessairement d'ouverture d'avenir pour que cela s'améliore.

Si certains des plus jeunes peuvent espérer, cela fait vivre parait il, quel lendemain pour ceux qui sont sur le déclin...et dont les retraites perdent un peu plus de pouvoir d'achat, tous ceux qui d'une manière ou d'une autre vivent le handicap chaque jour et que rien ni personne ne fera retrouver une autre vie...c'est à dire que se lever chaque matin ressemble surtout à un jour de plus , avec peut-être des choix en moins...et puis  bientôt on ne les verra plus...puisque ca fait pas bien...?

COMMUNIQUE DE NI PAUVRES NI SOUMIS

Pour ceux qui sont dans la région d'Orléans aujourd'hui alors un appel au rassemblement des malades solidaires dont j'ai copié l'article ci dessous:

Quant aux plus vulnérables d'entre eux.....surveillons attentivement l'application des textes des majeurs protégés qui arrive pour 2009, car le transfert vers des personnes privées de certaines de leurs protections risque de les ouvrir à d'autres risques encore tant que tout n'est pas calé dans les associations...

I love the discovery of something that so sums up what I'm thinking, how I'm feeling.

I hope Gamb doesn't mind me quoting her:

I needed to change the mood of my Blog for a while because I already don’t like to be down all the time..
I love Life & I love living it…I don’t want people to get that I am a pessimestic person or a Sad person who is always desperate & sad & bored & boring..I am the contrary of all of that…I love Smiling ,laughing jokes,photos,going out,making new adventures,trying new things & having new experiences,Coloring ,Drawing,Swimming & playing.
All the problem is that When I turn to write in my blog ,that is because I feel sad or I feel Bad in a way or another..That I don’t find somebody to talk to ..so i start to write .

Thank you Gamb for perfection in words that I don't know I could of found for myself.
Please click the link on the right for Gamb's Blog.

I'm 19, it's 1am in the morning - now a Sunday and I have just been asked a weird question. OK so I know your probably wondering why I'm in at one am on what was a Saturday morning. I was sleeping that's what, all day long I couldn't rouse myself so I just lied on the sofa comatosed and slept like a bear hibernating for all it's worth. I kind-of lied. The answer is no, I don't sleep with a stuffed toy, though there is one or two hidden under my bed. Now you know another secret, even though I have moved out of my mums, decorated my flat, working in central London, saving to travel. Look after fish and plants. Make sure the bills are paid and scheming to take over the world I have a stuffed toy and I wouldn't get rid of it for the simple fact of it being a gift.
The problem I have is that for some reason I thought it a good idea to light up the candles, finish the wine, put on Jack Johnson and relax because for some reason I'm feeling so detached. What do you do in those situations? personally I just pretend it's not happening and keep on rolling. You can only do so much really, and lets face it - home is home. I'm happy I have a base and the world is calling, so while everyone else my age is out getting plastered and STI's, I'm steadily filling my ISA account and planning to escape to the other side of the world and see where life takes me. Lets face it, everything I do is just passing the time till I can raise my family and teach them to be good people and to enjoy life to its fullest, don't worry about anything because this time next week, next month, next year. It won't make a blind bit of difference. Here's the full message log for anyone who's interested in the lie that I am so ashamed of I felt the need to blog it:

We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
lmao
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
please
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
ure listenin to jack jackson!
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
if anyone's getting into bed wid ME
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
...
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
here's a curious question?
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
do u sleep wid a stuffed toy?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:

Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
no i dont
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
aww
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
u adult u
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
did u ever sleep wid one?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
.........
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
here's a curious question
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
since when were you so interested in me......
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
stop asking personal questions
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
read my blog instead lol
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
what?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
your such a ghey
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:

Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
gos i miss you
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
no i just thought
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
ud ...sleep wid a stuffed toy?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
i dont
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
im straight
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
well
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
NO
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
its not THAT
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
contrary to all popular evidence
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
god
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
im just messing wid u bot ure queerness
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
lmao
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
i was like
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
how funny wouldi t be
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
alex drunk ass
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
and hugging his lil pooh bear in bed
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
its like
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
'fuck u ex gfs..i dun need u'
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
lol thats just mean
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
i have pooh bear
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
LMAOOO
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
cmon
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
it is FUNNey

There you have it....

There's always some road that needs repaving near you in the States, no matter where you are. Essentially, the roads are in a constant state of repair, because every few years the low-grade asphalt we use for our roads breaks down. What this means is more traffic jams and irritating logistics problems, especially when large streets (like nearby Ridge in my neighborhood) are half-closed for a year plus as the whole damn thing is repaved.

Compare this to Japan. They use a higher grade asphalt, most likely mastic asphalt, which is more expensive but lasts an order of magnitude longer. I'm not sure how much more it costs, but consider that you have to pay for labor each time the road is repaved, and you cause some loss of efficiency due to a main thoroughfare being partially or wholly shutdown, the amount of headache saved is well worth the money.

Now obviously, in the States, we have a lot of road. It is hardly cost-effective to pave all roads with mastic asphalt, considering we have about 4 million total miles of road in America (that's really astounding if you think about it.) Japan has a mere 728,000 miles of road, but despite its small size it is fifth in the world in terms of total road length, so we're still talking about a massive infrastructure investment, especially since Japan's GNP for its size is so high. It seems to me that deliberately paving high-traffic areas, such as city centers, major streets, and yes, the interstate system with high-grade asphalt in the US is a long term investment that will pay off severely.

But consider our crumbling infrastructure, aging airports, and other things that used to be the envy of the free world are now neglected almost past the point of repair, it's clear that responsibly investing in the future instead of cutting costs here and now is the only safe way to operate when you have, I don't know, the stake of an entire country's future on the line.

Just a little something to think about.

Edit: You probably noticed Japan has more road per square mile than the US. The US has slightly under 1 mile of road per square mile, whereas Japan has almost five miles of road per square mile. I assume this is the case in most countries where space is at a premium, but nevertheless is a clear commitment to not inconveniencing people with constant repairs, a Confucian philosophy (a commitment to not inconveniencing people, not to constant repairs) embedded in many Asian nations and often featured most prominently in Japan.

From his parked jet a brief case with plans of a suspension bridge between the Chief CEO's house in Male' and his House in Hulhumale was stolen. It is believed that a presidential candidate stole it for campaign purposes.

The bridge will take 20 years to complete and 10 more years to start operation. This self financed bridge by Chief CEO and Maramiyya Group would be the largest such structure in Maldives and South Asia.

"our Singapore architects have been working on this project for sometime", reveals Chief CEO who bought almost all the flat application forms from Maafannu avashu office.

More plans can be found here.

Phone service for relatives and associates of a jailed blind activist is curtailed before the Paralympics open.

HONG KONG— In the run-up to the Paralympic Games in Beijing, people close to a prominent jailed blind activist have suddenly found their access to telecommunications limited.

The wife of Chen Guangcheng, a human rights lawyer currently serving a four-year jail term, said her cell phone service is often cut off in the middle of calls.

“I recently discovered that from Aug. 30 my cell phone could be disconnected at any time, and that I am not alone—other cell phone users in our village have experienced the same problem,” Yuan Weijing said.

“Sometimes I can get through, but I don’t know when it might drop…Most of the time [my brother-in-law’s] cell phone shows no signal during the day,” she added.

Chen received a four-year, three-month sentence after documenting abuses by family planning officials during the 1980s and 90s. He is currently detained at Linyi Prison in China’s eastern province of Shandong.

In a statement, the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders condemned the Chinese authorities' apparent bid to prevent foreign journalists who will cover the Paralympics from getting in touch with those close to Chen.

Under Chinese law, he may seek parole halfway through his jail term, and Yuan recently appealed her husband’s case.

Constant surveillance

Yuan has been under constant surveillance since Chen was detained in June 2006. She said earlier that ahead of the Olympics Games as many as “40 people working two shifts” were keeping tabs on her.

One villager said Yuan, currently under house arrest, and her family are under close watch by scores of people and no one can get in.

“Her phone has been cut off and she has been tailed too,” said the villager, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Attempts to contact Yuan as recently as Sept. 2 have failed. A recorded message informs callers that Yuan’s telephone number isn’t working.

Li Fangping, Chen’s lawyer in Beijing, said his cell phone had been experiencing similar problems. He speculated that government officials may be wary of the handicapped activist creating a stir ahead of the Paralympics, which open Friday.

“Authorities may be concerned that Chen’s case would draw world attention,” Li said.

In January, a German television crew was denied access to Yuan’s home by the Yinan county Public Security Bureau.

Paperwork appealing for Chen’s parole will soon be delivered to prison officials, Li said.

- Original: Radio Free Asia

I think this chapter really delved into the issues that though many may be hesitant to try out new web 2.0 technologies in the classroom, especially with such focus on state mandated tests, these technologies can be implemented into the classroom with success. 

Richardson says,

On first blush, the tools on this new Web may not seem well suited to a climate of standardized test scores and government accountability...In reality, however, these tools have considerable relevance to state and local core content curriculum standards, and there is much reason to believe their implementation in schools will better prepare students for a slew of new literacies and competencies in their post-education lives (6). 

I think this point is  really critical when one is considering the pros and cons of introducing web-based technology into the classroom. Besides, "all around us kids are creating content in ways that most adults haven't yet tried" (6). With that said, we need to be able to step outside of our comfort zones to best meet the needs of our students. 

Though I do think schools need to have some sort of structure when deciding what is and is not allowed in schools as far as Internet access is concerned (and after all, there are national laws that regulate this!), I do think there should be more flexibility before a website is just banned and considered "useless." This thought arises after Richardson mentioned that some blogging sites, for example, are blocked from the school (when there are some legit, focused, and appropriate blogs that can be used in the classroom).

As I've mentioned before, yes, traditional classroom values should never be forgotten, but as educators, we can't be afraid to try new things and remember that we are all learners in the end!

The development of modern transportation and telecommunications has led to a steady growth of people motivated to move â€" and with the ability to do so. Not surprisingly, this growing surge of people across national boundaries has often raised fears and controversy in both sending and receiving countries.

This sensitive issue is fertile ground for those willing to pander to political populism and xenophobia.

Public perceptions of migration â€" whether based on evidence or emotions â€" play a critical role in determining policy choices available to governments in managing what is an unstoppable trend.

The world is changing at a rate that some of us might find discomforting, even bewildering.

International migration is playing a decisive role in speeding up that process of change. It is reshaping the economic, social and cultural profile of the familiar world we grew up in.

Since Azadi may mean different things to different people it is very essential that Kashmiri’s understand what exactly are they seeking. When we say, “we want freedom” what do we want freedom from and when someone like me says, “we want freedom from injustice and violence” I must be clear about what it means. Besides fighting injustice we must also identify the unjust, and besides opposing violence we must identify the violent. Who is responsible for this mess we are in, and who we will clear it for us. After all who is unjust to us and who is violent?

Since we have been fighting injustice and opposing violence since a long time now, why are we not succeeding in achieving our goals and why have we failed so far in achieving what everyone in this world deserves- the so-called birthright? Is it possible that we have not identified the unjust and the violent? Or is it not really injustice and violence?  Or is it that we don’t know how to claim our birthright? Or is it that we are lacking in something?  Something essential to deserve the birthright. I think it is a good exercise for all of us genuinely concerned about the situation in Kashmir to figure out answers for all the above.

My answers for all the above questions are,

Yes we have not identified the unjust and the violent because we ourselves are unjust and violent.

Yes it is not really injustice and violence because we ourselves have commited and are committing much more injustice and violence

Yes we don’t really know how to claim our birthright because we are busy claiming and enjoying various post birthrights.

Yes we are lacking the character needed to claim our birthright.

I shall elaborate each statement in more  posts to come.

Sin quitarle parte de razón a estas críticas, quiero reconducirlas más hacia la estructura política, económica y mediática, y a los procesos que en ella se dan, que hacia mis colegas periodistas. Hay profesionales de la información que detectan estas carencias y que trabajan para superarlas. Ejemplos hay miles. Empezando por los que se parten el alma cada día por introducir temas que no vengan en la agenda, o aquéllos que se aventuran en rutas de difícil solvencia económica aunque de indudable interés periodístico.

Si la función del periodista es acercar la realidad social a sus congéneres humanos... Observarla, desmenuzarla y contarla haciendo un esfuerzo intersubjetivo (teniendo en cuenta un abanico amplio de mentalidades). ¿Entonces que hacen los millones de periodistas de redacciones de todo el mundo que día a día acuden a ruedas de prensa o actos de difusión corporativista para reescribir sus noticias a partir de las notas de prensa que previamente han escrito los gabinetes de imagen de la institución o la empresa de turno? Dudaría mucho antes de calificar esta labor de periodística. 

De vez en cuando, estos periodistas tienen una oportunidad para sacar sus temas propios. Temas que reflejan el trabajo de una asociación sin ánimo de lucro, o se acercan a un hecho social que, por cotidiano, tiene rango menor según los criterios del jefe de redacción y del medio en general. Asuntos como la creciente pobreza, los hábitos de consumo o el fenómeno migratorio están presentes en las páginas de sociedad o quizá en economía, pero siempre en un tono de "anécdotas" o "curiosidades". Pocas veces un tema social es tratado con la importancia que merece, ahondando en su significado profundo, analizando el papel de sus actores, las causas y consecuencias del hecho...

En un país como Argentina, y en general en toda América Latina, esta disfunción entre realidad social y su representación en los medios de comunicación es todavía más acuciante. No olvidemos estos últimos años de tomadura de pelo continuada que el continente está viviendo a manos de las grandes corporaciones. ¿Quién levantó el país tras el corralito? ¿Quién se organizó y se mantuvo unido contra la adversidad? Con poco margen de error, diré que fue el pueblo. Y no los políticos, no los empresarios, no los diplomáticos.

De las evidencias que la historia nos regala nacen proyectos ilusionantes y con vocación transformadora, como Periodismo Social, una asociación que agrupa periodistas preocupados por darle el cambio al periodismo que la sociedad se merece.

Digg has reported that this rollout is occurring despite most users, after having tried the new design, opted back to the old format. Are we all so despondent to unfamiliarity? I don't think so. The new tabbed layout on people's profiles has taken the fun out of the real reason we all use Facebook: to spy on people.

Facebook has been a virtual class reunion since its inception. I can't tell you how many people from my high school class I have virtually befriended without ever communicating with them. The ability to read my homepage feed to find out every scintillating detail of their lives, leading me to peruse profiles from time to time to investigate new bumper stickers and party pictures keeps me abreast of the minutiae of (almost) strangers' lives without said strangers ever knowing how curious I really am.

The problem with NuFacebook being that in order to continue with this harmless spying via the new profile layout, is that everything is tabbed. One, it makes my interest level in my own life seem epically overblown--but it means in order to find out juicy deets on people you may or may not have ever really been friends with, you have to commit yourself to sifting through page after page of information. What may have been considered innocent snooping before is now more akin to a Dateline NBC sting operation.

Obviously, after spending tons of cash on web developers and finding a solution that seemed slick and sophisticated, the Facebook team is not going to abandon their perceived solution for anything short of user outrage, especially not just apathy. I like getting a nice, new, visually engaging change every now and then to treat my senses when familiar websites have become mundane and stale, but I just don't think this change quite hits the mark.

Picture by Shirley Buxton

I do not believe any one person at the Invesco Field Democratic convention deliberately caused thousands of American flags to be thrown into the trash. However, albeit probably accidental, such a deed was done.

Now the flags have been rescued; Boy Scouts have 84 trash bags full of tiny flags that will be distributed at the McCain rally in Colorado Springs.

John McCain’s campaign prepared to accuse Democrats Saturday of leaving behind 12,000 miniature American flags after Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech last Thursday in Denver.

Boy Scouts have arrived with 84 trash bags full of bundles of flags at the site of a McCain rally scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. local time in Colorado Springs.

The campaign says the flags were recovered from Invesco Field after the Democrats concluded their convention there, and they are going to be used as part of the warm-up ceremonies before McCain takes the stage for the rally.

FOX News has been told a vendor at Invesco Field found the flags, which were going to be thrown out, and turned them over to the McCain campaign.

Veterans in Colorado Springs are expected to distribute the flags to the audience at the rally.

Fox News

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My devotional blog is here.