With the gasping number of reported HIV/AIDS infections around the world, President George W. Bush has asked the US Congress to set aside $30bn over five years for the global fight against HIV/Aids – twice the amount allotted in 2003.
Although it’s commendable that in his final year in office, President Bush’s “swan song” would include a financial package helping AIDS ravaged African countries, Congress has other plans; a portion, yet to be specified, will go into teaching abstinence-only sex education in American classrooms. Instead of teaching safe-sex and the risks of transmission of the virus, or giving more access to condoms, programs focused on perpetrating the notion that any sexual act (safe or not) outside the sanctity of marriage is immoral and wrong will be benefiting from the funding. Secular educators argue that teaching safe-sex would only encourage children to begin having sex and therefore further promiscuity, homosexuality and lead to higher occurrences of HIV/AIDS (although there is some studies that have suggested that proper sex education does lead to a slight increase in sexual activity in young teens, the numbers also seem to indicate that a greater portion of them will engage in safer sex). However, teaching abstinence doesn’t lead to abstinence; instead, adolescents often engage in other tertiary sexual activities that are even more likely to transmit the disease (such as unprotected anal sex, which some consider an acceptable alternative to traditional intercourse). Read the rest of this entry »
Remember those good old days when you were a small child, listening to Mickey Mouse as he chanted, in a raspy, high pitched voice, calling for men, women and children to drink the blood of their Zionist enemies? Well, if you don’t, you’re in luck: in Hamas controlled Palestine, your favorite racist and Orwellian rippoff is on the air, happily indoctrinating children to believe their neighbors are their enemies.
Don’t you hate it when you get asked tough yes or no questions? This must be particularly tough for politicians, especially when asked about the touchy subject of evolution (in the US of course. Elsewhere in the world, posing the question of the reality of evolution is tantamount to questioning the reality of gravity). Although it is still a giant 18 months before the presidential election, the GOP held an informal debate where the famous question “do you believe in evolution?” was asked (click here to see the video). Three of the candidates lifted up their hands (Brownback, Tancredo and Huckabee), and although that may seem shocking to us, we should recall that 3 out of 10 is still lower then the average American populus, where 6 out of 10 either flatly deny it, or are unsure.
What struck me was the reaction from the candidates themselves, particularly John McCain. Although this is merely speculative on my part, I could see, for a moment, a degree of fear in McCain’s eyes as he realized the precarious situation this question put him in. After all, a large percentage of Americans either disbelieve, or are unsure about whether or not Evolution is true, and most of the disbelievers make up a core demographic of the Republican membership. They are primarily the huge Evangelical movement, which now numbers well over 50 million strong.
After his torturous “yes” answer, there was a show of hands for how many people did not believe in Evolution. What seemed funny to me was not the fact that three put their hands up (and these are senators and congressmen, people), but that each one appeared deeply uncomfortable, no doubt wrestling over whether or not to lift up their hand. There is no doubt in my mind that even the others who did not still have no real understanding of Evolution by means of Natural Selection. They probably believe in Intelligent Design, the laughingly unscientific idea the claims that God’s hand guided evolution to eventually lead to the creation of humans.
The struggle McCain and the others faced demonstrates the strange dichotomy of the US: on one side, the adherence to good science, education and secularization, while the other attempts to dismantle the findings of science, re-integrate politics with religion, and banish the teachings of evolution from classrooms. Although a man like McCain probably stands more for the former, his political base is the latter,. It is why, after the question is raised, he asks if he can clarify his position. In reality, he wants only to muddle it, so that his personal beliefs, and that of his constituents, can remain as invisible as possible.
There are few things more ridiculous then indecency laws, particularly in countries where such laws are generously distributed for something as silly as a kiss. Luckily, the government of India is willing to show to the world both its lack of maturity and sense of humor by issuing an arrest warrant after actor Richard Gere kissed Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty for an AIDS awareness event last month. Now, I’m not the biggest Gere fan, but the charges could net the actor 3 months in jail plus a fine, seem pretty over the top for kissing a woman repeatedly on the cheek. What seems equally ridiculous is that following his creepy display of affection, a riot broke out, and effigies of the actor were burned, with people yelling “death to Shilpa Shetty”.
Why is it that burning Gere dolls and issuing death threats are somehow acceptable, but kissing someone on the cheek (on an event meant to help save people’s lives) merit the ire of all? India may excuse itself with the “tradition” defense, but there is something powerfully telling about a society that punishes an action intended to be affectionate, and condones others marred with violence and anger.
source:”Gere faces Indian arrest warrant” BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6596163.stm, Thursday, 26 April 2007
With the gasping number of reported HIV/AIDS infections around the world, President George W. Bush has asked the US Congress to set aside $30bn over five years for the global fight against HIV/Aids – twice the amount allotted in 2003.
Don’t you hate it when you get asked tough yes or no questions? This must be particularly tough for politicians, especially when asked about the touchy subject of evolution (in the US of course. Elsewhere in the world, posing the question of the reality of evolution is tantamount to questioning the reality of gravity). Although it is still a giant 18 months before the presidential election, the GOP held an informal debate where the famous question “do you believe in evolution?” was asked (click 