'It is a dangerous myth that rabble-rousers and totalitarians cultivate since it easy to claim that one speaks for the faceless masses—as New People’s Army spokesmen always do. The Masses are Messiah? It was the masses that asked for Jesus’ head on that fateful day.'
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Rizal, Bonifacio and the ‘masa’ myth - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
Rizal, Bonifacio and the ‘masa’ myth - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
Justice - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
Justice - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
'... the point is not just to release all those who ought to be released, it is to jail all those who ought to be jailed. It is not just to reward the innocent, it is to punish the guilty. Then and now, there has only been one key to lasting peace.'
Monday, November 15, 2010
Nature keeps nurturing, people keep stereotyping
by Madeleine Bunting @ SMH 16 Nov 2010 [click here to read full article].
'Type "men" and "hardwired" into Google and you tap into a wonderfully absurd catalogue of assertions about male behaviour. Men are "hardwired" to cheat, ignore their wives, suspect infidelity, overspend, love money, pursue women and achieve supremacy in the workplace. Women are "hardwired" to worry about their weight and dump cheaters. All include the magic phrase "scientific studies show".
It is a snapshot of how science is being used and abused to legitimise gender stereotypes. It would be laughable if it did not signify how a form of biological determinism – the claim that differences between men and women have a basis in innate biological characteristics – has re-emerged and acquired popular currency."
"Good science will challenge the tendency to stereotype. The danger, though, is what Cameron refers to as "stereotype threat". If you tell women that women do less well in maths tests, they will do less well, confirming the claim. Do not tell them, and they do better. Stereotypes are dangerous; they become self-fulfilling."
'Type "men" and "hardwired" into Google and you tap into a wonderfully absurd catalogue of assertions about male behaviour. Men are "hardwired" to cheat, ignore their wives, suspect infidelity, overspend, love money, pursue women and achieve supremacy in the workplace. Women are "hardwired" to worry about their weight and dump cheaters. All include the magic phrase "scientific studies show".
It is a snapshot of how science is being used and abused to legitimise gender stereotypes. It would be laughable if it did not signify how a form of biological determinism – the claim that differences between men and women have a basis in innate biological characteristics – has re-emerged and acquired popular currency."
"Good science will challenge the tendency to stereotype. The danger, though, is what Cameron refers to as "stereotype threat". If you tell women that women do less well in maths tests, they will do less well, confirming the claim. Do not tell them, and they do better. Stereotypes are dangerous; they become self-fulfilling."
Friday, November 12, 2010
The World Won't Be Aging Gracefully. Just the Opposite.
By Neil Howe and Richard Jackson
Sunday, January 4, 2009
'The world is in crisis. A financial crash and a deepening recession are afflicting rich and poor countries alike. The threat of weapons of mass destruction looms ever larger. A bipartisan congressional panel announced last month that the odds of a nuclear or biological terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the year 2014 are better than 50-50. It looks as though we'll be grappling with these economic and geopolitical challenges well into the 2010s.
But if you think that things couldn't get any worse, wait till the 2020s. The economic and geopolitical climate could become even more threatening by then -- and this time the reason will be demographics.'
Another doom & gloom story? Read it here.
But if you think that things couldn't get any worse, wait till the 2020s. The economic and geopolitical climate could become even more threatening by then -- and this time the reason will be demographics.'
Another doom & gloom story? Read it here.
Monday, November 1, 2010
How to Make Stress Good for Your Health
"The whole idea of living a balanced life is not about becoming a monk and sitting on a mountaintop all day long. It is about having a career you love and also being healthy, having strong relationships, and enjoying life. And this fine art necessitates learning how to make stress work for you rather than against you."
"Author of De-stress Your Success: Get More of What You Want with Less Time, Stress and Effort, Sacha Crouch is a business, executive and life coach who helps people create the work and lives they love. For other free lifestyle resources visit www.activ8change.com.au and www.de-stressyoursuccess.com"
"Author of De-stress Your Success: Get More of What You Want with Less Time, Stress and Effort, Sacha Crouch is a business, executive and life coach who helps people create the work and lives they love. For other free lifestyle resources visit www.activ8change.com.au and www.de-stressyoursuccess.com"
Saturday, October 16, 2010
jenny Kleeman reports on Manila's overpopulation
Manila: A megacity where the living must share with the dead
As the world faces overpopulation, the Philippine capital highlights the problems it brings, as Jenny Kleeman discovered.
For what it's worth: Danny Russell on Mary
mX News Friday, 15 october 2010 [page 8]
'I have had a vested interest in Mary MacKillop. twice I have prayed to her for miracles; twice she has let me down.
The first was for my wife, Kerrie, who had terminal cancer.
It was almost five years ago, and I didn't pray alone.
My aunty, who knows about these things, organised a novena. Friends, family members and anyone we could muster would stop what they were doing at the same time every night for nine days and utter a devotional prayer to Mary MacKillop and ask her to cure Kerrie's cancer. Even my atheist brother took part.
It was a good deal both ways - Mary MacKillop, who had been beatified about 10 years earlier, could deliver a second miracle to ensure she became a saint, and Kerrie got to live.
Even though I wasn't a regular churchgoer or a man of unwavering faith, it didn't strike me as odd, or misguided, or even hypocritical to turn to such an intangible source for help.
When someone you love is slipping through your hands, what else can you do?
Kerrie, as was her way, felt a bit uncomfortable but mainly humbled that people cared enough about her to go to all this fuss.
She shouldn't have. It made people feel good.
Sadly, the prayers went unanswered.
The second time, I prayed alone.
The idea came to me after a day in Penola, visiting the Mary MacKillop Museum because we needed a rest from the beach while holiday in Robe. I figured I had a hotline [to] above.
During his prayer, I asked Kerrie that if she happened to run into Mary that it would be greatly appreciated if they could ask God to bless my second wife with a child.
We needed a miracle. Because of age, time was running out. Her body clock was nearing 12, and the window of opportunity was all but closed. We had even tried the miracle of science, IVF.
This prayer, too, went unanswered.
But I'm not bitter on Mary MacKillop. What would be the point?
Nor do I begrudge the Australians who claim they were granted miracles by the former Australian nun. I'm glad of their good fortune. How could you not be?
But I am sceptical it was Mary MacKillop who intervened.
Medical experts said they were bamboozled by these cases of miracle survival. But these are the same doctors who are at loss to explain exactly how it is we get cancer int he first place.
Attributing miracles to Mary MacKillop allows people to overlook her real work - for which she deserves to be a saint.
She was a woman, when alive, who could get things done.
She provided an education for children, who otherwise would have gone without.
She taught these underprivileged kids in a remote area of Australia during the 1800s how to read and write. In a barn.
From there she founded schools, developed a curriculum and established an order of nuns to help spread this 'education revolution'. All without financial gain.
So come Sunday, I won't be buying a souvenir mug, or keeping the reams of papers and posters dedicated to our new saint. I'll just be glad she is being recognised for what she did - on earth.
How could you not be?'
Danny Russell is an mX staffer who believes if he is struck by lightning tonight, it will probably just be a coincidence.
'I have had a vested interest in Mary MacKillop. twice I have prayed to her for miracles; twice she has let me down.
The first was for my wife, Kerrie, who had terminal cancer.
It was almost five years ago, and I didn't pray alone.
My aunty, who knows about these things, organised a novena. Friends, family members and anyone we could muster would stop what they were doing at the same time every night for nine days and utter a devotional prayer to Mary MacKillop and ask her to cure Kerrie's cancer. Even my atheist brother took part.
It was a good deal both ways - Mary MacKillop, who had been beatified about 10 years earlier, could deliver a second miracle to ensure she became a saint, and Kerrie got to live.
Even though I wasn't a regular churchgoer or a man of unwavering faith, it didn't strike me as odd, or misguided, or even hypocritical to turn to such an intangible source for help.
When someone you love is slipping through your hands, what else can you do?
Kerrie, as was her way, felt a bit uncomfortable but mainly humbled that people cared enough about her to go to all this fuss.
She shouldn't have. It made people feel good.
Sadly, the prayers went unanswered.
The second time, I prayed alone.
The idea came to me after a day in Penola, visiting the Mary MacKillop Museum because we needed a rest from the beach while holiday in Robe. I figured I had a hotline [to] above.
During his prayer, I asked Kerrie that if she happened to run into Mary that it would be greatly appreciated if they could ask God to bless my second wife with a child.
We needed a miracle. Because of age, time was running out. Her body clock was nearing 12, and the window of opportunity was all but closed. We had even tried the miracle of science, IVF.
This prayer, too, went unanswered.
But I'm not bitter on Mary MacKillop. What would be the point?
Nor do I begrudge the Australians who claim they were granted miracles by the former Australian nun. I'm glad of their good fortune. How could you not be?
But I am sceptical it was Mary MacKillop who intervened.
Medical experts said they were bamboozled by these cases of miracle survival. But these are the same doctors who are at loss to explain exactly how it is we get cancer int he first place.
Attributing miracles to Mary MacKillop allows people to overlook her real work - for which she deserves to be a saint.
She was a woman, when alive, who could get things done.
She provided an education for children, who otherwise would have gone without.
She taught these underprivileged kids in a remote area of Australia during the 1800s how to read and write. In a barn.
From there she founded schools, developed a curriculum and established an order of nuns to help spread this 'education revolution'. All without financial gain.
So come Sunday, I won't be buying a souvenir mug, or keeping the reams of papers and posters dedicated to our new saint. I'll just be glad she is being recognised for what she did - on earth.
How could you not be?'
Danny Russell is an mX staffer who believes if he is struck by lightning tonight, it will probably just be a coincidence.
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