UTOPIANS

Against racism - think about it!

2010-12-05T22:09:00.003+02:00

Have you thought about racism?
Like really thought about it?

Let me try to explain it...

Your car is Japanese.
Your pizza is Italian.
Your potato is Irish.
Your wine is Chilean and Spanish.
Your democracy is Greek.
Your coffee is Brazilian.
Your tea is Sri Lankan.
Your watch is Swiss.
Your fashion is French.
Your shirt is Indian.
Your shoes are Chinese.
Your radio is Korean.

And then you complain that your neighbor is an immigrant?

Pull yourself together!

There are almost 100 people who "like" this status on Facebook: http://bit.ly/Anti-Racism

I am Wikilieaks. You are Wikilieaks. We are Wikilieaks.

2010-12-05T20:01:00.002+02:00

Censorship is not the answer!
"They" cannot control "US".
I am Wikilieaks. You are Wikilieaks. We are Wikilieaks.

Follow the global discussion:
http://twitter.com/search?q=imwikileaks

Some highlights:

All the censoring of WikiLeaks is more alarming than the actual content of the leaks. It only further justifies WL’s actions.

We elect Governments, not to dictate our freedoms, but to support our liberty. They serve us, we do not serve them.

Countries censoring the Net: China, North Korea, Iran... United States of America, France, Australia... New axis of evil?!

Information is the currency of democracy - Thomas Jefferson

It's not wrong to lie, cheat, steal, corrumpt, and torture. It's wrong to let people know about it.

There's now 74 mirrors of wikileaks http://goo.gl/TYVrr

they're closing in on the wikileaks guy, but not osama bin laden. that's really all you need to know.

Not only in the Netherlands - Bicycles are also popular in Copenhagen

2010-11-22T14:02:00.000+02:00

Every day 1.3 million km are cycled in Copenhagen, with 36% of all citizens commuting to work, school or university by bicycle. Cycling is generally perceived as a healthier, environmentally friendly, cheaper and often quicker way around town than by public transport or car and it is therefore municipal policy for the number of commuters by bike to go up to 40% by 2012 and 50% by 2015.

There are around 350 km of cycle paths in Copenhagen, separated from the car lanes as well as the pavement by curbs, while there are another 20 km of on-road cycle lanes, marked by a broad painted line.

Read more on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_Copenhagen

Amazon Green - eco-friendly, safe, healthy

2010-11-11T17:25:00.000+02:00

Amazon, the largest online store in the world has an entire Green section.

You can use this section to shop for eco-friendly, safe, and healthy items.

Online shopping is inherently more environmentally friendly than traditional retailing. The efficiencies of online shopping result in a greener shopping experience than traditional retailing.

AmazonGreen (www.amazon.com/green) is a cross-category program that includes a list of products that customers have selected as the best green products offered by Amazon.com and a place for customers to discover Amazon's entire green product selection. Customers can easily find products that meet U.S. environmental rating systems, including EPEAT® (the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool), ENERGY STAR®, WaterSense and USDA Organic, when shopping on Amazon.com.

Iceland PM marries. Gay marriage legalised

2010-06-28T19:36:00.000+03:00

from the Telegraph

Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland prime minister, married her long-time partner on Sunday as a new law legalising homosexual marriages came into force.

Miss Sigurdardottir, 68, formally married Jonina Leosdottir, a writer, after the couple submitted a demand for their civil union to be transformed into a marriage, the RUV broadcaster said.

Iceland's parliament on June 12 unanimously adopted legislation allowing gay marriage, in a law that came into force on Sunday.

Homosexual couples could previously enter into a civil partnership and benefit from the same rights as heterosexual couples, but this had not been considered a formal marriage.

Miss Sigurdardottir, born in 1942, took power in February 2009. She has lived with Miss Ledsdottir, who is in her fifties, for several years and the couple entered a civil union in 2002.

She is the world's first openly gay head of government.

The Salutation to the Dawn

2010-04-02T11:35:00.002+03:00

Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life,
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth
The glory of action
The splendor of achievement
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day!
Such is the salutation to the dawn.

Its source is ancient India, and it is called The Salutation to the Dawn. Were we to greet each day with words like these, we would never have time to complain that life was short. We would be too busy living our Humanism.

Homosexuality per se is an example of normal and positive variation in human sexual orientation

2010-03-22T13:56:00.000+02:00

American Psychological Association (APA)

The longstanding consensus of the behavioral and social sciences and the health and mental health professions is that homosexuality per se is a normal and positive variation of human sexual orientation (Bell, Weinberg & Hammersmith, 1981; Bullough, 1976; Ford & Beach 1951 ; Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948; Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, & Gebhard, 1953 ). Homosexuality per se is not a mental disorder (APA, 1975). Since 1974, the American Psychological Association (APA) has opposed stigma, prejudice, discrimination, and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and has taken a leadership role in supporting the equal rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (APA, 2005).

Homosexual behavior in animals (via Wikipedia)

Homosexual and bisexual behavior are widespread in the animal kingdom: a 1999 review by researcher Bruce Bagemihl shows that homosexual behavior has been observed in close to 1500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms, and is well documented for 500 of them. Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species. The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood, since most species have yet to be fully studied. According to Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity -- including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex -- than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept."

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - 21 March

2010-03-21T13:53:00.000+02:00

via Wikipedia

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws. Proclaiming the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

Two Girls Dance Together? Cancel the Prom!

2010-03-12T14:56:00.000+02:00

via care2.com

"We'd Rather Cancel the Prom Than Let a Girl Bring a Female Date"
This is the sentiment evoked by one Mississippi school that, this week, decided to cancel its annual prom rather than let a young female student, who self-identifies as lesbian, bring her partner to the prom.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Itawamba County School District announced the cancellation of the Itawamba Agricultural High School (IAHS) prom dance for junior and senior students.

“Due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events, the Itawamba County School District has decided to not host a prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School this year,” school board members said. The board made its decision after the ACLU of Mississippi had demanded a lesbian student be allowed to bring her girlfriend.

The student in question, Constance McMillen, 18, was informed by a February 5 memo to all students that dates must be "of the opposite sex." After appealing to the school, McMillen sort the ACLU's help, at which point the ACLU contacted the school, calling this a matter of fundamental rights:

“Ms. McMillen has informed us that IAHS's prom policy prohibits her from exercising her constitutional rights to bring a same-sex date,” the human rights group said in the letter. “As you know, students have the right under the First Amendment to bring a same-sex date to the prom.”

The school board has decided not to acquiesce and has instead said that it is the board's hope that students will hold a private dance. McMillen has said that she fears that this decision will impact her school life negatively:

"Oh, my God. That's really messed up because the message they are sending is that if they have to let gay people go to prom that they are not going to have one," she said. "A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this.

McMillen is accurate in her assessment. The school board has chosen to subject McMillen to the hostility of her fellow classmates by canceling the prom rather than allowing her to attend with her girlfriend who also goes to the school. Either she now backs down, or she faces potential bullying and a negative school experience. What they have done shows a casual disregard for their responsibility toward McMillen as a pupil at the school, and their requirement to provide a safe and nurturing environment.

Essentially, they have failed her in this regard. And by casually brushing this off as "distractions to the educational process" they have overlooked what it is that they are teaching here: that discriminating against gay and lesbian people is acceptable.

Take Action!
Care2 has created a petition addressed to the school board that demands that they reverse their decision. Click here to sign it.

Green Party in Romania

2010-03-09T12:14:00.000+02:00

Asking for your help.

Together with the President of the Green Party in Romania, Remus Cernea, I have created a PayPal account in order to encourage people to donate for the efforts of the Green Party in Romania.

Use the button below to donate via PayPal:

Thank you!

Uganda: Rights Not Repression

2010-02-15T18:41:00.000+02:00

Gay Ugandans may be sentenced to death if legislation being debated right now passes.

High level international condemnation has just pushed the President to send the bill for review, but Ugandan allies say only a worldwide outcry could tip Parliamentarians away from discrimination, alarming them with global isolation.

We have just days left -- sign the petition to oppose Uganda's anti-gay law below and send it on to friends and family and it will be delivered to Uganda's politicians, donors and embassies around the world.

267,102 people have signed in just a few days. Let's reach our new target of 350,000

Sign the Petition!
AVAAZ Uganda Petition

And also ask your friends to do it!

Are EU citizens ready for Enlargement?

2010-02-02T18:35:00.001+02:00

via the Facebook page of the European Parliament

The European Parliament regularly examines the candidates readiness for membership. See http://bit.ly/enlargeEU

But how ready are EU citizens? Do you feel that enlargement is a good thing? Who is welcome?

Follow a very interesting discussion on Facebook:
Ready for enlargement?

Some of your reactions on Facebook are to be quoted on the Parliament website this Thursday.

There are heated debates over countries from former Yugoslavia, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. Especially Russia and Turkey are subject to many contradicting opinions.

Of course my dream would be to have a European Union that would include all these countries and also smaller countries like Georgia and Moldova.

What do you think about this?

Is EU Enlargement positive?

I Love the World - The World Is Just Awesome - Boom De Ah Dah

2010-01-29T09:57:00.000+02:00

You should remember "I Love the World", the commercial from Discovery Channel launched in 2008.

I love the whole world
And all its sights and sounds

I love the whole world
It's such a brilliant place

Now let me introduce the second one - "The World Is Just Awesome", launched in 2009.

I love the whole world
So many things to see

I love the whole world
And being part of it

Religion has some rational voices. Syria's Mufti: Islam commands us to protect Judaism

2010-01-22T18:12:00.000+02:00

vie haaretz.com

"If the Prophet Mohammed had asked me to deem Christians or Jews heretics, I would have deemed Mohammed himself a heretic," Sheikh Ahmed Hassoun, the Mufti of Syria, was quoted as telling a delegation of American academics visiting Damascus.

Hassoun, the leader of Syria's majority Sunni Muslim community, also told the delegates that Islam was a religion of peace, adding: "If Mohammed had commanded us to kill people, I would have told him he was not a prophet."

Religious wars were the result of politics infiltrating systems of faith, he said, asking:
"Was Moses of Middle Eastern or European descent? Was Jesus a Protestant or a Catholic? Was Mohammed Shi'ite or Sunni?"

According to the Mufti, the conflict between Israel and its Arabs neighbors has nothing to do with an Islamic war against Judaism.

"Before you got American citizenship, and I got Syrian citizenship, we were all brothers under the dome of God" he said.

Jews had once lived in Syria peacefully and with fair treatment, he added, explaining that his own grandfather had a Jewish partner.

"Jews lived in Syria for years and they still have a role in Syrian society," he said.

Second Earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-20T15:51:00.002+02:00

This morning a strong aftershock magnitude 6.1 struck Haiti the United States Geological Survey said. The epicenter was at 60 km WSW of Port-au-Prince.

It happened at 06:03:44 AM local time.

You can find out more on the website of USGS, the United States Geological Survey.

Please consider donating for Haiti. There are countless options. You can chose the one that is most convenient for you. The Red Cross is the easiest way. Just go to the website of Red Cross in your country and you will find details.

A new "Tallest Building on Earth" is planned in Miami - Miapolis 975 m high

2010-01-20T14:12:00.000+02:00

Miapolis, the proposed world's tallest building at 3,200 FT (975 meters) high, is an icon building re-defining Miami as a cosmopolitan city, a worldwide tourist destination and an international financial center.

They have a lot of promises on the website. I am curious how much of this is true and how much is just PR bla-bla:

Miapolis is a metropolis in the sky, self-sufficient, "platinum green" sustainable, environmentally friendly and with a remarkable economic impact leaving no one behind.

Buildings have a surprisingly profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health and productivity. MIAPOLIS intends to be designed as a high performance green building through a LEED certified project.

MIAPOLIS will be on the cutting edge of sustainable design. This project will be the largest LEED-
certified structure at any rating level in the United States. As green buildings are recognized
increasingly by LEED and ENERGY STAR, the marketplace is expected to follow with a system of preferential pricing. Tremendous value is created for MIAPOLIS because it is being built to the highest standards:
LEED certification;
environmental management;
energy conservation and renewable
60% wind energy;
modular green roof; greenhouse gas management
water desalinization; storm water management
wastewater; solid waste management
transportation alternative fuel, electric trolleys
purchase carbon emissions offsets;
ecosystem management;
Carbon sequestratio.

You can read more on your won on their website: http://www.miapoliscity.com

Janis Joplin would have been 66 years old today

2010-01-19T23:32:00.002+02:00

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin was born 66 years ago

Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970)

She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

I'd trade all of my tomorrows for ONE single yesterday...
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose...

Enjoy!

Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee

The Biggest Black Hole in the Universe (It's BIG!)

2010-01-19T09:23:00.000+02:00

via Dailygalaxy.com

While there's theoretically no upper limit on how big a black hole can be, there are hard limits on how big they could have become by now. The universe has only existed for a finite amount of time, and even the most voracious black hole can only suck in matter at a certain rate.

Scientists have determined the mass of the largest things that could possibly exist in our universe. New results have placed an upper limit on the current size of black holes - and at fifty billion suns it's pretty damn big. That's a hundred thousand tredagrams, and you'll never get the chance to use that word in relation to anything else.

Based on this self-regulating maximum rate, scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Massachusetts, and the European Southern Observatory, Chile, have calculated an upper limit for these mega-mammoth masses. Fifty billion suns, that's 100 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kg, otherwise known as "ridiculously stupidly big" and triple the size of the largest observed black hole, OJ 287.

Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-004 Supermassive black hole at Milky Way core. The brightest white spot in the middle is the very center of the galaxy, which also marks the site of a supermassive black hole.

Satan's letter to Pat Robertson

2010-01-18T23:40:00.000+02:00

via StarTribune.com

Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action.

But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle.

Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.

You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best,
Satan

Racist bill: US Republicans want to ban immigrants from "terrorist" countries

2010-01-18T23:16:00.001+02:00

What exactly is a "terrorist" country? Apparently, Gresham Barrett (Republican) knows. And he's going back in time to reintroduce the Stop Terrorists Entry Program Act (STEP), which he originally authored back in 2003. This wrong STEP Act seeks to ban ALL travelers from countries on the State Department "terrorism" list. This includes Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria. Barrett is also adding Yemen and former detainees from Guantanamo Bay in his bill.

The National Iranian American Council has already launched an action against the proposed legislation, noting that no Iranian has ever committed an act of terror on American soil and this bill unfairly targets legal Iranian workers and students in the United States. They say:

The STEP would still make it illegal for Iranians to travel to the United States. At a time of increasing repression in Iran, this proposal will impose even greater burdens on Iranians seeking refuge.

STEP is a stupid idea. It is racist and it has no logic. People cannot be judge only based on their nationality. What about all the Iranians who were involved in the Green Revolution? Will they be banned from seeking refuge in US? If Neda would be alive right now, will she be banned from entering US?

I say it again. It is stupid and it has no logic. Even if this legislation would have been in place since 2001, it would have not prevented 9/11 as the hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, a country that is not on the list.

Deep Purple - Child in Time

2010-01-18T16:41:00.000+02:00

(1972... ten years before I was born) Deep Purple performing "Child in Time" live in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1972.

More than $20 million has been raised - Haiti Text Message Campaign

2010-01-18T15:00:00.000+02:00

The Red Cross text messaging campaign has raised more than $20 million as of Sunday evening EST.

Simple donations via text messaging combined with the viral spread of the campaign message on Twitter and Facebook have led to an unprecedented number of donations. It’s a model that will likely become the standard for disaster relief.

Katie J Stanton from the Office of Innovation at the State Department annonced this on her Twitter page http://twitter.com/KateAtState

MLK: Life's most urgent question is, what are you doing for others? Thank you, Americans, for answering w/ over $20m in donations for Haiti

If you're in the US and you’d like to donate to the Red Cross campaign, text “Haiti” to 90999.

An American Prayer - Jim Morrison

2010-01-18T09:54:00.002+02:00

.

Let's reinvent the gods, all the myths of the ages
Celebrate symbols from deep elder forests

Now listen to this...

O great creator of being
grant us one more hour to
perform our art
and perfect our lives

The moths & atheists are doubly divine
& dying
We live, we die
and death not ends it

I touched her thigh
and death smiled

We have assembled inside this ancient
& insane theatre
To propagate our lust for life
& flee the swarming wisdom
of the streets

Death makes angels of us all
and gives us wings
where we had shoulders
smooth as raven's
claws

The program for this evening
is not new. You have seen
This entertainment through and through.
You've seen your birth, your
life and death; you might recall
all of the rest — (did you
have a good world when you
died?) — enough to base
a movie on?

Always a playground instructor, never a Killer

Her cunt gripped him like a warm friendly hand.

Jim Morrison (excerpt from “An American Prayer”)

Facebook users are voting for charities that will receive $5 million

2010-01-17T11:12:00.000+02:00

Chase Community Giving is donating $5,000,000 to charities around the USA. Facebook users are voting for the recipients!

It can be incredibly rewarding when your vote has a local impact. Chase is giving away $5 million to various charities and needs you to help pick which ones. Simply vote for your favorite nonprofit and then get friends and others on Facebook to do the same. You can select from the top 100 charities from round one that focus on education, healthcare, housing, environmental issues, combating hunger, arts and culture, human services, and animal welfare. Give your charity the recognition it deserves and needs with Chase Community Giving.

View the Current Vote Leaders and chose your favorite 5! Vote Now!
Voting ends at 11:59pm ET on Jan 22, so be sure to cast your five votes by then.

“No need to scan us – we’re already naked” German Pirate Party protest

2010-01-15T23:45:00.001+02:00

via TheLocal.de

Pirate Party supporters demonstrated this month at several German airports to show their opposition to controversial “naked” scanners planned for security checks.

The protesters assembled at airports in Berlin, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. The participants stripped down to their underpants, marching behinds signs that read: “No need to scan us – we’re already naked.”

A statement on the party's website said they opposed the new security scanners because they threaten the “private sphere and the personal rights of passengers.”