You may be wondering, "What is this"?!! I stumbled across the free version of this program a few years ago and used it for a while. The idea of organizing and simplifying the Desktop provides a sense of being able to exercise a little control on an ever expanding number of icons and options.
De-cluttering cleans out corners and makes money. Sometimes.
A series of books for primary schoolchildren, describing Charles Darwin as a Jew with a big nose who kept the company of monkeys and other historical figures in anti-Semitic terms, has caused outrage in Turkey amid fears of rising religious intolerance.
A teachers’ union is taking legal action over the distribution of the books last week to about 1,000 schoolchildren in the Maltepe district of Istanbul. The local education authority, which approved the books and ultimately answers to the central government, has denied knowledge of their content.
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But the incident has already made waves far beyond Maltepe. It follows previous attacks in Turkey on the theory of evolution; last year, an internet filter briefly restricted access to evolutionist websites.
It also comes in the wake of wide-ranging education reforms pushed through this year by the country’s Islamist-rooted government, which have increased the number of religious schools in Turkey and introduced optional lessons on the Prophet Mohammed in ordinary state schools.
Such changes are hailed by the government as increasing freedom of choice in a country that for decades excluded the religiously conservative majority. Opponents say the secular educational system is being threatened.
“The education system is becoming reactionary; imams are now teaching religion in schools,” said Mehmet Aydogan, an official in the union asking for the books to be impounded. “These books are discrediting worldwide accepted artists and scientists and forcing students to think unscientifically.”
The European Commission and other bodies have long complained that the traditional Turkish education textbooks are deeply flawed, painting minorities as untrustworthy and treacherous.
But the books in Maltepe, intended as potted biographies, go further. A book on Albert Einstein describes the physicist as “filthy and slovenly”. Immediately after saying that he ate soap, it adds: “The sad part is during that time the Gestapo was putting Jews into ovens and making them into soap.”
The book on Darwin says the proponent of natural selection “had two problems: first he was a Jew; second, he hated his prominent forehead, big nose and misshapen teeth.” It adds that he threw nuts to monkeys at the zoo rather than go to school. Darwin was not Jewish.
Speaking to Turkey’s Radikal newspaper, Faik Kaptan, Maltepe’s director of education, said he had not read the books, adding: “It is not possible to check all the books distributed in the district.”
But Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of law at Istanbul’s Bilgi university, said that the attack on Darwin came in the context of a more general assault on evolution, which many Turks associate with atheism. Mr Akdeniz represented Richard Dawkins, the British scientist, in a case that successfully reversed a two-year ban on Mr Dawkins’ website. “Evolution is the second most sensitive issue after sexually explicit material,” he said.
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1939 doesn't seem so far removed, after all. I'm not personally concerned whether Turkish schools teach evolution or not, but to portray Judaism as an enemy or a disease, in the guise of Charles Darwin, really bothers me. Sowing seeds of hate is insupportable.
I had the pleasure of attending one of Megan's seminars. You'll come away with an enhanced understanding of Family History and DNA!
Research Assistance
We are exploring better ways to provide community-driven research assistance to those who have specific genealogical questions. Please give Research Assistance a try and let us know how it goes.
(Requires a free FamilySearch account.)
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I have been interested in the development aspect of FamilySearch.org from the beginning. Some of the elements of FamilySearch were tried and then retired, probably because something better was on the way in. I love the FamilySearch Center locator, which is fairly new as far as I know. It is user friendly and interactive; a positive result of the software engineers that I think will stay around.
I love it when good people get together! They can accomplish understanding, good works, and who knows what else!
Historians and genealogists, I think, are fact finders. We try not to assume such and such is true because we know that as we continue to delve into our mysteries, new facts come to light. We wait to see what is going to develop, we collect evidence and see how our hypotheses stands up.
A fellow teacher (I teach for fun but he teaches at the college level), spoke, yesterday, of his discouragement with the education process in these United States. This process has evolved over a period of years (or should I say "devolved"), to a system in which there is little evidence of brainy-ism learning. We are watered down by many elements, it would seem. The quality of our students' efforts has been supplanted with false agendas.
Now all of this languaage is dressing for my sense that parents don't care about excellency in their children's learning. Or, could it be that there is so much out there competing for our children's attention? Is sociality the key that shouldn't have been turned? Are teachers dedicated enough to get through all the hoops and jumps they have to go through, to pull the mind of the student from wherever it is hidden.
Just what is the deal, here? I'm terrible in math, but with a good teacher, a book, plenty of practice time, and the kind of thinking that is crucial to being the steward of the world, even I can pass algebra. What does it matter? Where is passing algebra an important achievement?
I learned to read at an early age; not a child prodigy or anything, but the key was given to me by my parents and teachers...the key to love of reading, dependance on reading, appreciation for those who could transmit not just words, but ideas through their reading.
Dad always included us kids in his bedtime stories. He used the device of tone inflection to catch our interest and vanity to keep interest. We were the heroes, we were the action figures, and my dad who really should have been an actor or on stage with his wondrous way of weaving a tale, it all came together on the tails of the teacher's efforts. I'm sure I read Dick and Jane, but it was clear to me from the first that if I wanted more complex and interesting tales, I would and should make them up myself. I don't even consider myself very imaginative, but there must be a store of the stuff somewhere inside.
It was both a safe haven (reading at the piano instead of practicing), and a secret (hiding under the covers of my bed, throwing caution to the wind, usually with a book that was "too old" for me. The Agony and the Ecstasy at age 11? I was too young to be intimidated or daunted by fat books
.
The "Real" Housewives of New York or wherever. Faux Fur speaks to this generation, yes or no? A student's grades at Harvard: real, as in honestly they earned it, or real for the purpose of "getting by" in life. Has the value of real, as in genuine, been supplanted by what is acceptable, by what will pass, by the lasting value of the gold standard?
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September 02, 2012
Geni Adds Facebook Social Sharing
Geni users will be interested in the latest addition to the service. Here is the announcement written by Geni.com:
Today we’re excited to introduce Facebook Social Sharing on Geni – a new way to share your Geni experience with your friends and family!
Have you ever been working on a Geni project and wish you could share your progress with your friends? Or perhaps added your latest census discovery to your ancestor’s Geni profile and wanted to share it with your genealogy Facebook buddies? Facebook Social Sharing will easily allow you to share your public Geni activities with your friends and family on Facebook!
The Facebook Social Sharing button can be found at the top right of any Geni page. By default, Social Sharing is turned off for all current users. To activate the feature, simply click to toggle it on. Everyone may turn Social Sharing off at anytime - just click again to turn it off. Note if you already use Facebook Connect to log in to your Geni account, you will need to toggle it on to begin sharing on Facebook. Don’t see Social Sharing on your Geni page? Only Facebook users will see this option, so connect your Facebook account to your Geni account now to start sharing!If you enjoyed this article, please share it with others. Tweet it, share it on Google , Facebook or on your preferred social network.
Republishing of this article in newsletters, blogs, and elsewhere is allowed and encouraged, with a few minor restrictions. Details may be found at http://goo.gl/hoHH1.Of course, if you haven’t done so already, you should join my email newsletter mailing list to stay current on my latest articles and announcements. You can also cancel at any time within seconds. I promise to never, ever send you any unrequested e-mail, other than newsletter updates.
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We were some of us into this a while back; now that they have added social sharing, perhaps some of you will want to use Geni on a limited, private basis. Obviously, you should be thoughtful about what to share about whom, even if it is your own family. I'll give it a try later in the day.
(CNSNews.com) – The Social Security Administration posted a blog on Thursday to explain why it was planning to purchase 174,000 hollow point bullets.
SSA posted a "Request for Quote for Ammunition" on the FedBizOps.gov website on Aug. 7. The request listed the commodity that SSA desired as ".357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition." The quantity listed was "174 TH."
The SSA’s Office of the Inspector General’s said it posted a new blog on the agency’s website, “Beyond the Numbers,” “as we strive to be a transparent and accountable government organization for all of our stakeholders.
“With those goals in mind, we thought it would be appropriate to address recent media reports regarding the organization’s purchase of ammunition for our special agents’ duty weapons,” the blog post states.
The blog states that the SSA has 295 special agents who work in 66 offices across the United States.
“These investigators have full law enforcement authority, including executing search warrants and making arrests,” the blog post states. “Our investigators are similar to your State or local police officers.
“They use traditional investigative techniques, and they are armed when on official duty,” the blog post states.
Concern expressed in some media reports about the type of ammunition ordered by the agency is unfounded, the blog states, explaining that the .357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacked hollow point pistol ammunition is “standard issue for many law enforcement agencies” and is appropriate for the work agents perform.
“Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately,” the blog post states. “They not only investigate allegations of Social Security fraud, but they also are called to respond to threats against Social Security offices, employees, and customers.”
The blog also links to another post about a fight that broke out near an SSA office in Massachusetts that required action by law enforcement officials.
“SSA is processing more applications than ever, which means more traffic in SSA office,” the blog states. “Employee and visitor safety is the highest priority for OIG, which, together with the Federal Protective Services and local law enforcement, has jurisdiction over SSA workplaces.”
Prior to the blog being posted, CNSNews.com had asked the agency specific questions about its ammunition order. Although some of those questions were addressed by the information provided in the blog, the agency did not say why it needed 174,000 bullets and if that quantity was customary or had increased from previous orders.
I think the article speaks for itself. It's just weird that I never thought of the SSA having its own security force.
Could we ever learn the secrets of the Universe? Why this or Why that? This is pretty interesting if you can read through the scientific lingo.
Oh, okay...these are adorable and look totally dimensional. Even I could do some version of this!
No one gets into Scouting halfway.
You either are or you aren't, involved in Scouting. There is no "Scouting is skirting the fringes of my life" thing. You may not be an active participant in scouting at some periods of your life, but the fabric of your life has blue and gold threads running through it: you know the lingo:
"Arrow of Light"
"Order of the Arrow"
"Eagle Scout"
"Woodbadge"
"Merit Badge"
"Little Philmont"
Just a few weeks ago, my stepson attended "Little Philmont". Attended is probably too mild of a word. It's a learning experience, a test of your patience and skills, a primer for Leadership-ness. Mark is a grownup man with three jobs and a family, but he has chosen to make Scouting a part of his life. The ranks of Scoutmasters, Committee Members, and Merit Badge Counselors are filled with just tha kind of dedicated people. People who carve out a little time each week to develop and carry on a successful Scout program are people just like you and me--they are special because of their volunteership spirit, because they enjoy helping boys and girls be productive and engage.
You primarily remember the "bad" campouts. The ones that were held with the rain pouring down, with cars getting stuck in the sand, the ones when things didn't go perfectly. Scouting mimics life. If you can get through scouting, you are better prepared for the challenges ahead. Even if you think you were a half-hearted Scout, try attending an Eagle Court of Honor. The memories will flood back and a lot of them will be positive.
I'm the mother of Scouts (all grown up Scouts); my husband was a Scout Master and I was a den leader and committee member. I remember the night that I sat in a forest of trees at EucheeAnna Scout Camp. There was a blazing bonfire. There were whispers mingled with rowdy interruptions of restless Scouts. But when the ceremony began, you had better take it seriously. There was a solemnity about the occasion. Afterwards, jubilation and relief. Relief that another year was under your belt, sadness that tomorrow would be going-home day. The crickets are chiming in, the bonfire wanes, and the parents and other visitors are getting in their cars, laughing, talking, hugging their sons goodbye.
