Clipmarks | shankargallery's Pops

Churches allowed to discriminate

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:50:50 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: "cease being able to discriminate on the basis of race, age, disability, political beliefs, breastfeeding and physical features"
Never to be enforced, unless some one is willing to blow the whistle against these terror groups (churches). Just political claptrap.

Clip Source: www.smh.com.au

The Victorian government is expected to announce today that religious groups will be allowed to discriminate against gays and single mothers in a controversial compromise reached on workers' rights.

Attorney-General Rob Hulls has approved of a plan to let church-run organisations refuse employment to anyone they believe undermines their beliefs, The Sunday Age says.

The newspaper says the plan will allow church groups to discriminate on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, marital status and parental status, but in return these groups will cease being able to discriminate on the basis of race, age, disability, political beliefs, breastfeeding and physical features.

The expected changes to Victoria's equal opportunity laws come several weeks before a report by a state parliament committee into the issue is due to be released.

The changes have angered critics, but church leaders applauded the decision.

Tags: politics

Top 100 most dangerous websites for your PC

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:02:36 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: rest at site...(as released by Norton)

Clip Source: in.news.yahoo.com

Norton released a sample of the dirtiest websites:

17ebook.com

aladel.net

bpwhamburgorchardpark.org

clicnews.com

dfwdiesel.net

divineenterprises.net

fantasticfilms.ru

gardensrestaurantandcatering.com

ginedis.com

gncr.org

hdvideoforums.org

hihanin.com

kingfamilyphotoalbum.com

likaraoke.com

mactep.org

magic4you.nu

marbling.pe.kr

nacjalneg.info

pronline.ru

purplehoodie.com

qsng.cn

seksburada.net

sportsmansclub.net

stock888.cn

tathli.com

Hundreds storm China smelter after lead poisoning

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:46:07 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Their children are precious. I wonder what the carbon monoxide readings are inside the schools and preschools that are built on major roads. Never heard of any research in this area.

Clip Source: www.theage.com.au

Hundreds of villagers broke into a smelting plant in north China blamed for the lead poisoning of more than 600 children, smashing trucks in protest, state media reported today.

About 100 policemen were deployed after the villagers in Shaanxi province's Changqing township destroyed fencing around a special plant railway to gain access to the facility, the official Xinhua news agency said.

At least 10 trucks were damaged, the report said.

A policeman in Changqing township, who refused to be named, told Agence France-Presse the villagers had dispersed.

"Police are maintaining order at the scene," he said, refusing to provide further details.

The local government refused to comment.

Tests have shown that at least 615 children out of 731 living in two villages near the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co plant have excessive lead levels in their blood.

A total of 166 were hospitalised while the rest are to be treated at home.

Tags: pollution

10 most historically inaccurate movies

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:48:18 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly
clipper's remarks: more: Braveheart, 1995

Not only was the Scottish hero William Wallace gruesomely executed in 1305, having been captured by the English at Falkirk, but seven centuries later his memory was exhumed, smeared with blue face paint and mutilated by Mel Gibson. Wallace was not the poor villager the film depicts, but a landowner and minor knight. The litany of fibs extends from Wallace’s love interest (Queen Isabella would have been about two-years-old at the time) to his kilt – a garment not developed for another three centuries. The historian Sharon L. Krossa likens it to “a film about Colonial America showing the colonial men wearing 20th century business suits.”

Clip Source: entertainment.timesonline.co.uk

U-571, 2000

Rather cynically, American screenwriter David Ayer depicted American rather than British naval officers capturing the first Enigma machine, “in order to drive the movie for an American audience.” The first Enigma machine was in fact seized by officers from HMS Bulldog in 1941 and by the time the USA joined the war later that year, Britain had cracked the code. The post-release furore led Tony Blair, Prime Minister at the time, to agree that it was “an affront to the memories” of those involved and Bill Clinton, then US President, to write a letter emphasising the film’s fictional nature. In 2006, Ayer told the BBC he had come to regret the alteration: “Both my grandparents were officers in World War II, and I would be personally offended if somebody distorted their achievements.”

No cash for medical bills? Bartering pays

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:03:25 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Even with a steep discount on the clinic’s sliding scale for fees, the debt threatened to swamp the fragile finances of the uninsured Goshen High School student and her family, who struggle to get by on her father’s wages from a local scrap yard.

And it’s a bill that might have remained unpaid – along with the others that will follow — if not for an innovative program that allows cash-strapped patients to swap skills and services to reduce what they owe.

“I help out and I get paid,” said Stephany, who fills in as a receptionist two afternoons a week at a local homeless outreach agency, earning $10 an hour in medical credits. “They lower the cost and it makes it easier.”

Dubbed “More than Money,” the clinic’s program was started last fall after it became clear that the deepening recession was forcing growing numbers of patients to default on their medical bills,

“We have all these people who are unemployed and desperate,” said Gingerich.

Tags: healthcare, medical, bartering, economy

Hello From Earth

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:44:55 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Send a Personal Message to the Planet Gliese 581D (A tip of the hat to user Koheli for the original clip. I thought it better to clip the main site.)

Clip Source: www.hellofromearth.net

Welcome to HELLO FROM EARTH.

This site is collecting messages that will be transmitted to Gliese 581d, a planet outside our Solar System which may support life. Comments are moderated: inappropriate messages will de rejected, and messages must be in English (so we can evaluate them).

Register here to send your message before the deadline: 5pm Monday 24 August 2009 Sydney time (07:00 GMT Monday 24 August 2009)

An artist’s impression of Gliese 581d, an exoplanet about 20.3 light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Libra.

Swarms of Earthquakes Lately

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:54:08 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: Today Indonesia had 12 quakes over 5.0, including one of 6.7. This week Japan had a 6.7, India a 7.6, and the last 30 days includes many more within the U.S., and around the Pacific Rim.

Only one article addressing this was found here: Quakes and Typhoons: What's Up with Mother Nature?

Typhoon Morakot was the first to strike, slamming into Taiwan Sunday ...

a 7.1-magnitude earthquake rumbled off the Japan coast, also on Sunday. On Tuesday, Japan was struck again by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that triggered a small tsunami..., according to news

Minutes before, another earthquake had ruptured in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, north of India's Andaman Islands. the magnitude of that temblor at 7.6.
Clip Source: neic.usgs.gov
Recent Earthquakes - Last 8-30 Days

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com
Tokyo Quakes Raise Residents’ Fears Over ‘Big One’ (Update2)

Clip Source: www.mercurynews.com
New data: Mega-quake could strike near Seattle
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted: 08/15/2009 07:13:05 PM PDT
WASHINGTON — Using sophisticated seismometers and GPS devices, scientists have been able to track minute movements along two massive tectonic plates colliding 25 miles or so underneath Washington state's Puget Sound basin. Their early findings suggest that a mega-earthquake could strike closer to the Seattle-Tacoma area, home to some 3.6 million people, than was thought earlier.
When they snap, scientists say, it could produce a massive 9.0 or greater earthquake and a tsunami.
Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk
6.4 has struck central and eastern Japan
Clip Source: www.newson6.com
Earthquake near Midwest City
Clip Source: www.thejakartapost.com
Be alert for a bigger earthquake in W. Sumatra: Expert
Clip Source: news.google.com
USGS: huge earthquake hits in Indian Ocean The Associated Press
Clip Source: neic.usgs.gov
4.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
5.7 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
6.9 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
2.5 UTAH
2.3 VIRGINIA
2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA

Tags: earthquakes, tectonics, pacific plate

The Art of Beauty

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:24:33 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: For all young girls to see. It's not real.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Swiss bank to give Justice Dept secret names of rich US tax-cheaters

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:35:22 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Good government doing its job: Bravo, US Dept of Justice, for aggressively pursuing lawsuit against secretive UBS, in order to track down tens of thousands of super-rich Americans suspected of offshore tax dodges. Some tax-dodgers have come forward already, seeking lower penalties in return for 'fessing up. Justice says $20 billion is hidden in offshore accounts.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The Swiss banking giant UBS and the Justice Department said Wednesday that they had reached an accord that would force the bank to disclose names of American clients suspected of tax evasion.

It is unclear how many client names UBS will ultimately reveal or whether it will pay a fine. UBS and the Swiss government have been fighting efforts by the Justice Department to force it to disclose the names of 52,000 wealthy American clients of UBS suspected of offshore tax evasion, which came in a civil lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in February.

In February, UBS agreed to pay $780 million to settle charges that it helped wealthy Americans evade taxes on nearly $20 billion hidden in offshore accounts. One day later, the Justice Department filed a civil suit seeking to force UBS to disclose 52,000 client names. Of the names on the agency’s original list, prosecutors are focused on several thousand Americans with offshore accounts containing tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Tags: offshore, tax

Sex abuse priest 'allowed back into fold'

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:20:40 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Questions are emerging about the Catholic Church's handling of the case of a Newcastle priest who pleaded guilty to 29 child sex charges last month.

One of Denham's victims says that even though the priest was handed a suspended sentence, the church allowed him back.

In 1979, Tim, as he would prefer to be known, was molested by his school teacher Denham.

Tim says the assault, at a school in Newcastle, was brushed under the carpet.

"Denham was then moved on to another school, which appeared to be the norm for this era," he said.

"They basically relocate the problem and allow the abuse to continue elsewhere."

In 2000, Denham was given a two-year suspended sentence for assault.

Tim expected the church would finally expel the man who harmed him, but he was shocked to discover Denham was still an active member of the church.

Last month Denham pleaded guilty to 29 separate sex assault charges dating back to the 1980s.

These occurred at a different school.

Tags: says, a, lot

Gorilla HIV strain jumps to humans

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:05:12 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: You can get TB from wild pigs in Australia. And swine flu.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

A team of French and English scientists have discovered a new strain of HIV transmitted to humans from gorillas.

Until now, all strains of HIV1, the main virus that causes AIDS, have been linked to chimpanzees.

There is already scientific evidence linking HIV to the central African trade in bush meat, that includes the flesh of gorillas and chimpanzees.

Dr David Robertson, a co-author of the study, said the new virus subtype was found in a woman who migrated to France from Cameroon in West Africa.

The findings have been published in the American journal, Nature Medicine.

"It shows that HIV1 as entering the population not just from chimpanzees, but also from gorillas," Dr Robertson said.

"We have just one case at the moment, so the important thing is here to monitor for other cases."

Professor Stephen Kent, an expert in infectious diseases and HIV from the University of Melbourne. says the discovery is a major breakthrough.

Tags: don't, eat, the, wildlife

Trees are like sponges. Our survival depends on them (via @Marcariel)

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:21:35 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: This clip is from an excellent article that explains how the over utilization of trees contributed to the downfall of the Maya. Unfortunately, history seems to be repeating itself.

Clip Source: www.happynews.com

So what led to the downfall of the Maya?

“The world is like a flat surface with all the trees acting as sponges on it. The trees absorb the water. Without the trees, there is no buffer to stop the water from runoff. That causes soil erosion, which then chokes the rivers and streams. With no trees, you lose water retention in the soil or aquifers so the ground dries up and then there is less transpiration, so therefore less rainfall as well.”

Just as forests provided essential resources for the ancient Maya, the same is true for our civilization today.”

Tags: forest, maya, nature, trees

Mysterious ancient altar found in Roman fort

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:16:38 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

A massive altar dedicated to an eastern cult deity has emerged during excavations of a Roman fort in northern England.

Weighing 1.5 tons, the four-foot high ornately carved stone relic, was unearthed at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which was built by order of the Emperor Hadrian between 122-30 A.D.

A jar and a shallow dish is depicted on one side of the altar, while the other side shows a god-like figure standing on the back of a bull, with a thunderbolt in one hand and a battle axe in the other.

Romans called this god Juppiter Dolichenus, but it was originally an ancient weather god, known to the Semitic peoples of the Middle East as Hadad and to the Hittites as Teshab.

It was in its war-like representation that the Anatolian god Juppiter of Doliche became a favorite deity among Roman soldiers.

Originally worshiped as a weather god

Juppiter of Doliche began attracting Roman worshipers by the early second century AD.

Tags: rome, altar, pagan, deity, history

Church and state clash over equality laws

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:12:13 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Faith bases discrimination is ok?

Clip Source: www.theage.com.au

A CONTROVERSIAL review of Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act is threatening to become a political headache for the Brumby Government, with many churches, religious leaders, parents and private schools vowing to defend discrimination based on faith.

The parliamentary review, covering all areas of discrimination — including whether private men's clubs can continue to exclude women — has sparked widespread alarm among religious Victorians, from the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne to Islamic, Christian and Jewish schools, and faith-based hospitals and aged-care centres.

At stake, these groups say, is their religious freedom to discriminate within churches, schools and church-run welfare services.

Under the 53 exceptions and exemptions to the Equal Opportunity Act, a religious organisation can insist on staff sharing its belief. A Christian private school, for example, can legally discriminate by refusing a Muslim a job as a teacher, receptionist or cleaner.

Tags: religion

Is There an Undiscovered "Weird Life" on Earth? Leading Expert Says It Could Be Biggest Discovery Si

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:57:27 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Anti life, as in anti matter?

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

"The concept of a shadow biosphere is still just a theory. If someone discovers shadow life or weird life it will be the biggest sensation in biology since Darwin. We are simply saying, 'Why not let's take a look for it?' It doesn't cost much (compared to looking for weird life on Mars, say), and, it might be right under our noses."

Paul Davies, director -Arizona State University -BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science

Whenever we talk about the origins of life we assume that there was only one - the one which led to us. This isn't pure egocentricity, though, as there is a complete lack of evidence of any other kind of life. Paul Davies says that may be because we don't recognize what we're seeing.

"Life as we know it appears to have had a single common ancestor, yet, could life on Earth have started many times? Might it exist on Earth today in extreme environments and remain undetected because our techniques are customized to the biochemistry of known life?"

Tags: dunno