This huants me every summer

Ethnography

Students of the University of California, Riverside took part in a peaceful protest against unfair fee hikes and budget cuts. Look hard enough and you'll find me (or not, avoided the cameras.) We marched from the main campus to the downtown districts. (Good thing public transportation was there, I was soooo not in the mood to walk back.)

Shoppers in Hillcrest San Diego.

Lao American girls attend at a Wat.

Indonesian youths participate in a rock band.

Idiot of the Day

Via Towleroad,

A student at Augusta State University, Jennifer Keeton, claims that the school is forcing her to abandon her religious belief by accepting homosexuality. The school, of course, feels that her writing are inappropriate for a her degree to become a councilor. She's demanding the school bend to to her religious belief. Wouldn't that be great? If schools bended to the beliefs of it's student. It means I can become a mathematician and claim π = 3. Hey the Bible claim that it is and forcing me not to believe it is oppression. But the idiot isn't done with her little whine-fest:

The letter also cites an email from Keeton in which she says: "my Christian
moral views are not just about me. I think the Bible's teaching is true for all
people and it shows the right way to live."

Well that's just dandy. She "thinks"it's the right way to live. So lets get this straight, she suing to defend her first amendment rights to revoke the first amendment rights of others? That's what it boils down to. Keeton and her ilks are the type who wants freedom of religion to herself and end the freedom of religion of others. If you don't think so, see how they react when government tries to include other religions in their program; these idiots goes foaming mad if a Buddhist or Hindu tries to express their religion. Sorry Keeton, if you truly think the Bible is the right way to live than go back to the kitchen as you have no business in a learning institute (1 Timothy 2:12). And I hope you don't wear pants, either (Deuteronomy 22:5). I mean if you're going to use Leviticus, you'll have to use those too. Here's hoping that ASU wins against Keeton's stupidity.

Textbook Ban in Cambodia

Via The Phnom Penh Post

The Education Ministry recently decided to pull out text book that deals with sensitive issues in Cambodia. The books poised questions about such issues as human rights and democracy in Cambodia. People opposing the ban feels that the are being cheated out of vital knowledge.

Pulling out textbooks and revising them for political means of course is hardly just a Cambodian problem. Here in the United States, we have the Texas Board of Education trying to turn textbooks in to creationist, right-winged propaganda and peddle it off to millions of American students. We have creationist constantly trying to ban textbook that reveals scientific facts that opposes their mythology. In the early 2000 Japan was notorious for what was considered "white washing" of Japanese atrocities committed in the late 19th early 20th century. Turkey omits the Armani an genocide in it's textbook.

Faith before Morals

If you all don't know, I'm a frequent commenter on Pharyngula, a blog headed by the self-proclaimed godless-liberal-biologist PZ. Now, I don't agree with PZ 100%. To be honest, there are times where I'm a tad bit accommodating. But I'm also not one for malicious slander. No sooner when PZ criticize missionary efforts in Haiti, an apologetic comes in spitting nonsense that this was somehow spewing hate. Professor Dendy of American River College in Sacramento, comes in a claims PZ is hate mongering. Why? Because PZ doesn't believe that giving electronic Bibles to Haitians is productive. So naturally, the commenters point out that he is utterly wrong, in which he claims persecution. He makes a dramatic exit and leaves us a link to his blog, claiming that the commenters a lying.
Well lets analyze the situation here. Dendy came in claiming PZ is spitting hateful venom, which is completely off topic and has no evidence to support. Commenters says WTF. He then claim that the death of the Haitians is God's plan and gives an anecdote about how he survived a life-threatening disease. Then he claims we're hatemongers (for which he only gives Raven, a ex-Christian, as an example). He leaves us with a link to his blog, but the blog doesn't link back to PZ. So he's lying, overacting, and dishonest. Lying because he made a false claim about hatemonger. Overacting because as soon as we criticize him, he claims persecution. Dishonest because he doesn't link back to the thread so that readers can see for themselves the actual occurrence.
People like Dendy scares me. Dendy is a professor, and is in a position of power to influence other. When such dishonest person has that power, they abuse it and distort the truth. I feel sorry for whatever student has him.

The Black Skull - A Window Into My Own Ignorance

If there was ever a display that represented the anthropology department at the University of California, Riverside, it is the replica of the Black Skull, a skull of a Paranthropus Aethiopicus, and a Macuahuitl (a large weapon used by Aztecs made of obsidian). When I finally got around to taking a biological anthro course, I was astound at the fact that the Hominidae family was so diverse. There were so many of us way back then in the Plioscene. I was also surprise to know that there was still much controversy about the origin of the genus Homo and the internal classification as a whole. The image of the Black Skull, a primitive fellow with a crest that, no doubt, looked foreign to modern Homo Sapiens, left such a great impression on me as a young scientist. Never in my education was I ever told before this the existence of such an array of proto-human. In fact I wasn't taught much at all. I did have a vague understanding of the formation of the Solar System, the geological history of the earth, and the evolution of life, but that was the gist of it. Understandably, it's only natural for general education to skim on details but I still felt cheated - more so by my teachers. Most of them didn't make the effort to inform me about such things. In fact only a biology teacher, a chem teacher, and a environmental science teacher every brought up evolution as a fact. Many of the others dodged the subject. One, another bio teacher, openly challenged the idea and even went as far as to show movies about 'intelligent design' being 'right.' So I grew up with an accurate depiction of the human evolution process. In fact, I could have sworn up to college, that the evolution of human lacked a lot of evidence, was a single transition from some primordial ape to modern human (with Neanderthals being a direct predecessor of Homo Sapien) and did NOT radiate. I guess there reason for this is easier to refute that image of evolution then it is to refute modern ones with more evidence. I went after all to a largely Christian high school that chastised me for being Buddhist (while other Buddhist chastised me for having an orthodox view of divinity) that was generally hostile to liberal, or scientific knowledge. It wasn't a lost for me as I eventually learned but I can't help pity the other student left behind.