conuly

We've been having spotty internet lately, and have finally tracked down the problem: My router, which was cheap when I bought it, is eight years obsolete. I need to get a new one. Well, they can't possibly have gone up in price, so it won't break the bank, I don't think.

Gave away a kitten today. Apparently, this was Evangeline's favorite kitten. Tough for her. I didn't say it to her face, but I'm sure he'll be happier in a home with three doting grown-up people who are at home all day than in a home where his needier siblings hog most of the attention and the only one who dotes is six years old and still thinks he likes being hugged. (No, I don't let her squeeze kittens around the middle, even though she wants to.)

Anyway, on to those links!

Israelis Facing a Seismic Rift Over Role of Women
There are pictures

( Read more... )

New Definition of Autism May Exclude Many, Study Suggests

( Read more... )

Here's an article about segregated housing for vegetarians only in Bombay

And one on Bastøy, a very free prison in Norway

State notes alarming spike in starvation of adopted children. They list the signs of potential starvation in a child, but of course it's worth noting that with adopted children, many of these psychological signs (like hoarding food or bolting it down quickly) could be a sign that they went hungry BEFORE being adopted.

Report: Medical Marijuana Laws Reduced Traffic Fatalities

Texas doctors lead open-notes movement

And finally, BSG (remake) as an 8-bit RPG!

But not really, the article has been updated.

The comments are pretty much what you'd expect. If you enjoy a completely uneven battle of wits with trolls and fools, have fun! Otherwise... happy Ramadan if you're celebrating this month.

High School Student Stands Up Against Prayer at Public School and Is Ostracized, Demeaned and Threatened

I could, at this point, cherrypick a few telling Bible quotes to show these guys up as raging hypocrites... but I'm not going to do that. You know the drill, do it on your own.

Now, coincidentally, the same day I read that article I picked up a new book for the nieces, Penina Levine is a Hard-Boiled Egg. Had I read the blurb more carefully I probably wouldn't've. It turned out to be an "issues" boo, with the issue being that Penina's teacher is an ignoramus. Those, for whatever reason, don't tend to be as good as ones that aren't dominated by a single Important conflict. And this book isn't that great. It's okay, it doesn't have any real flaws that I'm going to go "Wow, this book sucks!", but it's nothing to write home about.

It has two negative reviews over on Amazon. One of them ran "I don't think the teacher's reaction makes sense, and it makes no logical sense that Penina would refuse to do the stupid Easter bunny assignment but be willing to go to church with her friend one day. She shouldn't mix religion with friendship!" (Not an actual quote.)

Now, it turned out that what the reviewer meant about the teacher is that she thinks it makes no sense for the woman to do a 180 by the end of the book after Penina's mom calls the principal. This makes more sense than what I thought she meant, but I still disagree. The teacher never really gets a clue, and acts more like somebody who had her ass handed to her than somebody who really understands about not trampling on the rights of the minority.

As far as visiting with her friend at church, I don't see - and said so - that it's inconsistent at all. CHOOSING to go with your friend to church (and not participating in anything that conflicts with your beliefs or makes you uncomfortable) is not at all the same as being forced or coerced to act as though other people's beliefs are your own.

And this is what really bugs me, is when people say ONE thing and then, when you disagree, claim they said something else. In a reply, the reviewer says that it's just WRONG for Jewish children to ever willingly enter a church because it's condoning years of terrible things done by Christians to Jews, and that SHE grew up without ever inviting her non-Jewish friends over for her holidays or giving them Christmas gifts or anything, and Penina isn't a good example.

Now, quite aside from the fact that there is a wide range of opinions on whether or not it's ever appropriate to participate in somebody else's holidays or worship services (and to what degree), this is not what her original point was. What she said at first is that it's illogical and inconsistent. And now she's saying that what she meant was it's just a bad thing to do. Say what you mean and mean what you say, people! Don't say one thing and then claim you meant something entirely different!

Ugh.

But you know, this person at least seems to have thought a little before reviewing. I disagree with some things she said, but she didn't just say whatever.

Check this one out.

If you can work out what this woman is even attempting to get at, please let me know. All I could figure out is that apparently if your grandma survived the Holocaust by hiding in a Catholic school run by nuns, she was "treading on and upsetting personal religions TRADITIONS" (emphasis hers - and I kinda think that taking (or not taking) Communion is more than a "tradition") and you should be ashamed of her and not let her visit your classroom. Or something. It was a good laugh until I opened up page 127 and figured out what the heck she was trying to talk about in that sentence.

These two links don't really go together, except in that they do.

For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. What went wrong—and how we can fix it.

I'm not entirely sure I believe this article, but there it is.

Here's a video on blizzards and long-term methods for traffic calming.

NYPD Cops' Training Included an Anti-Muslim Horror Flick. Other than the disturbing nature of this, it's not really worth reading past the title (which sums up what you need to know) unless you are masochistically inclined towards comment-reading. Half of them say that Muslims and Islam and Obama are all evil-evil-evil, and the others say that this video is the work of Zionist Jews who, along with Obama, are all evil-evil-evil.

Teachers are (unreasonably) cautious about teaching evolution in school. Again, I warn you - don't read the comments.

And there's this interesting article on a school in the Bronx. Actually, I have to say, the really interesting part is the pictures. My god, that school has got to have the ugliest uniform I have ever seen in a school. Orange and blue plaid? I fully admit that this is a shallow worldview, but... wow.

More on the school profiled is at Wikipedia.

And let me just say that anybody who doesn't think that term is a little disturbing isn't thinking clearly about it. They're explicitly using a passage about having children like little arrows. If they were just about the kids, why not call themselves the "fruitful" movement?

It's a chart detailing the various contradictions in the Bible. Even clicking on the image doesn't make it very big, you'll want to open the PDF.