41
POPSTeaching hate - Proof ignorance exists among parents This photo and others like it make me very angry. Anger towards the parents that are using their children to promote hate and intolerance. Bigotry and hate are yet alive and well in our society and we need to ban together to aid in eliminating it. The photo is sad. The photo is a lie. I can hear Jesus now saying, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." And I am sure that these children have no clue what they are depicting by wearing these (rags) shirts. Shame on the parents or guardians of them! POP ME IF YOU AGREE!
31
POPSLab Freaks Gone Wild? “What was once only science fiction is now becoming a reality, and we need to ensure that experimentation and subsequent ramifications do not outpace ethical discussion and societal decisions.
23
POPSThe Mind-BlackBerry Problem - Why we think we can function in two worlds at once?? "If we don't want this two-worlds experiment to be regulated nature's way—by killing people—then we'd better regulate it ourselves. Here are a few proposed rules of the road. Multitasking is a glorious gift. We can't ban it, nor should we. Want to phone your spouse or your office while walking? Fine. The only life at stake is yours. Want to turn on your car radio or music player? Fine. Listening is easier than talking, and you can mentally or physically shut it off when necessary. Want to chat with your passenger? Fine again. Studies indicate that passenger conversations are less distracting than phone calls, apparently because you're sharing and often referring to the same environment.
22
POPSHymens: Now Made in China In places where honor killings are practiced against women who can't prove they were virgins on their wedding nights, this little, seemingly innocuous sex toy has opened quite a can of worms.
21
POPSChildhood "ending sooner", survey finds A survey finds that today's children stop believing in imaginary creatures much earlier than their parents did, and that many children are pressured by parents to perform well in school and extracurricular activities (this is new?).
21
POPSsperm made from human bone marrow! strictly no comments! ....And he warned that manipulating stem cells to develop into mature sperm could cause permanent genetic changes in the sperm, making the cells unsafe to use in fertility treatments.
21
POPSBan The Plastic Bag Bangladesh slapped an outright ban on all polythene bags in 2002 after they were found to have been the main culprit during the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged two-thirds of the country. Discarded bags had choked the country's drainage systems. Nylon fishing nets, fishing line, bags, 6-pack rings etc, kill hundreds of thousands of animals every year and will continue to do so for hundreds, if not thousands of years to come. Horrible, panicked and painful deaths by drowning, suffocation or internal damage. If Bangladesh can ban the plastic bag and get by, surely so could we!
19
POPSAbsinthe Goes From Banned Drug to Legal Liquor Breaux's research — finally published this spring in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (.pdf) — and that Wired story have helped change absinthe's image from drug to drink. The US has been slowly peeling away its ban, and in March, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved the sale of absinthes that were "thujone free" (containing less than 10 parts per million).
19
POPS Myanmar's fascist junta extends Suu Kyi house arrest Those who showed their incompetence to aid the cyclone victims, proving their determinism to oppress Myanmar people. If this knave, filthy junta still holds the power and dares to extend Suu Kyi's arrest arrogantly, only one thing can be said: Shame on the world.
19
POPSDutch cannabis coffee shops ban tourists In another unintended consequence, several border towns complain of the burdens associated with a weekly influx of tens of thousands of tourists, mainly Belgian, French and German. Among recent steps taken to deal with these problems, Amsterdam has said it would halve its number of coffee shops, citing criminality, while other cities are to close those within a certain radius of schools.
19
POPSSpelling Differences Between British and American English
These spelling differences drive me a little crazy at times, having grown up learning American English, reading and hearing British English, and now living in Canada where British English is used. This must be even more of a challenge for those whose first language is not English. I end up using a mixture of the two versions of English, which confuses me (and probably others). Even worse, sometimes I see a word and feel as if I've lost my ability to spell--I really doubt my own memory--when I have always prided myself on my spelling. The word that drove me to find this educational resource delineating the differences in spelling is "jewellery", which I often see advertised in Canada instead of "jewelry", the American version. Was I losing it? Had it always been jewellery, not jewelry, and I had simply forgotten how to spell the word? No, thank goodness. It's just one of the differences between the two versions of English. I hope that this resource helps you as much as it has me.
18
POPSProposed law to ban spanking Hooray for more government control. We can't be trusted to make any decisions anymore. I welcome the big inclusive handbook for Government Sanctioned Childrearing. Do you think NY and CA will get together and propose criminalizing feeding transfats to a child? Wouldn't it be safer and smarter to just take our kids away at birth and put them in a Government Controlled Childcare Facility? Why take a risk that parents might screw something up?
18
POPSThe battle for Wikipedia's soul "To create a new article on Wikipedia and be sure that it will survive, you need to be able to write a “deletionist-proof” entry and ensure that you have enough online backing (such as Google matches) to convince the increasingly picky Wikipedia people of its importance. This raises the threshold for writing articles so high that very few people actually do it. Many who are excited about contributing to the site end up on the “Missing Wikipedians” page: a constantly updated list of those who have decided to stop contributing. It serves as a reminder that frustration at having work removed prompts many people to abandon the project. Google has recently announced its own entry into the field, in the form of an encyclopedia-like project called “Knol” that will allow anybody to create entries on topics of their choice.But even if it does not turn out to be the Wikipedia-killer that some people imagine, it may push Wikipedia to rethink its editorial stance."