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The Religious and Other Beliefs of Americans 2003 |
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| Topic: Society |
1:45 pm EST, Nov 27, 2004 |
This Harris poll offers more useful data than the CBS poll. That very large majorities of the American public, and almost all (but not all) Christians believe in God, the survival of the soul after death, miracles, heaven, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Virgin birth will come as no great surprise. What may be more surprising is that half of all adults believe in ghosts, almost a third believe in astrology, and more than a quarter believe in reincarnation -- that they were themselves reincarnated from other people. Of those aged 25 to 29, 43% believe in astrology and 40% believe in reincarnation. I should start a mock petition campaign to have astrology, ghosts, UFOs, and reincarnation inserted into high school science textbooks. The Religious and Other Beliefs of Americans 2003 |
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Passionate Peeping Into Others' Depths |
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| Topic: Society |
12:58 pm EST, Nov 27, 2004 |
"[These are from] the late 70's and early 80's. Why did they appear in the late 90's? Why the granny panties? So many questions." Passionate Peeping Into Others' Depths |
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| Topic: Society |
10:40 pm EST, Nov 26, 2004 |
"My book is a wordless experience in remote Asia. The idea is that you open the book and fall into it. You become immersed in Asia." Watch the slideshow. Buy the book. Asia Grace |
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Is a meme still a meme when you know it's a meme? |
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| Topic: Society |
10:17 pm EST, Nov 26, 2004 |
I've been wondering this as I watch the cult of the viral idea spread across the blogosphere -- or maybe, at this point, the memesphere. For the online cognoscenti, memes have become self-conscious tools for waggish fun. Thanks to technology, one nifty notion can globally infect tens of thousands of nerds within hours. Do memes really signify the death of meaningful information, or just a bit of symbiotic fun? One way or another, viral ideas affect the thoughtscape, dude. They change it, they push it, they retard it. Some think this unchecked replication will inevitably bite its own tail, transforming culture in a giant, cannibalistic meme. Me, I like to hope that technology will take memesis to the next level, transforming it into an outsider's method of creating culture, one that moves too fast to become homogenized. We'll see. Is a meme still a meme when you know it's a meme? |
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| Topic: Society |
5:15 pm EST, Nov 26, 2004 |
Map of corporate connections between boards of directors and people. Click on "Open They Rule 2004" to begin using the tool. They Rule |
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Long Way Round : Chasing Shadows Across the World |
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| Topic: Society |
8:04 pm EST, Nov 25, 2004 |
Actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman left London by motorbike in April 2004, heading east. They traveled across Europe and Asia, flew over the Pacific and continued across North America to New York, all in four months. Eastern Europe and Asia -- the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Siberia -- were a moment-by-moment challenge, even with the authors riding top-of-the-line BMW cycles. Long Way Round : Chasing Shadows Across the World |
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On the Road in China | NPR |
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| Topic: Society |
2:32 pm EST, Nov 25, 2004 |
China, considered the next world superpower in the making, has surpassed Japan as Asia's economic dynamo. In a seven-part series on Morning Edition, NPR's Rob Gifford sets out on a 3,000-mile, 14-day trek across China, and discovers just how far the world's most populous nation has to go to catch up with its potential. This excellent radio series aired on NPR back in August. Definitely worth checking out. I always enjoy Rob Gifford's reporting, and this trek provides him with first-rate material. On the Road in China | NPR |
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The Under-Funded Global Fund to fight AIDS |
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| Topic: Society |
8:40 am EST, Nov 22, 2004 |
The secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, had said in early 2002, when he announced the formation of the fund, that he hoped it would increase global financing for AIDS to as much as $10 billion a year. The reality has been a far more modest average of about $1 billion annually at the fund. That is far below the $20 billion or more a year that it is estimated the world will soon need to combat AIDS. The Under-Funded Global Fund to fight AIDS |
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| Topic: Society |
8:37 am EST, Nov 22, 2004 |
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Web site (as of Sept. 4, 2004), the total federal inmate population is 180,318. About 54 percent of that population are drug felons. The total cost for each prisoner was $61 per day; for the entire population, almost $11 million a day or $4 billion a year. It is predicted that by 2010 there will be more than 216,000 individuals serving time in federal prisons. Thirty years ago, the prison population was less than 200,000. But mandatory sentencing policies for drug offenses have driven the prison population across the nation to a staggering 1.4 million. Among the 10 states that have experienced the most prison growth, there are more than a dozen counties where at least one in five "residents" is an inmate. Rehab Justice |
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| Topic: Society |
10:31 am EST, Nov 7, 2004 |
A BILL To define and protect the institution of baptism. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the "Defense of Baptism Act". SEC. 2. POWERS RESERVED TO THE STATES. (a) IN GENERAL. -- Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1738B the following: Section 1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof "No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a washing away of original sin from persons of child or adult age that is treated as a baptism under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such washing." (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT. -- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1738B the following new item: "1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof." SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF BAPTISM. (a) IN GENERAL. -- Chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: "Section 7. Definition of 'baptism' and 'water' "In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'baptism' means only a full water immersion of the body of a child or adult during which the name of Jesus is spoken, and the word 'water' refers only to the liquid form of the substance formed by the molecular bonding of two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom." (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT. -- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 6 the following new item: "7. Definition of 'baptism' and 'water'." |
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