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Aug. 6th, 2009 @ 09:07 am
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Where do people post to tell the world that twitter is down? ;-) |
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I've read a lot about US and UK involvement in Iran, I've heard about how Iran is held as a pariah whilst Saudi is given free rein in turn for oil. I've heard plenty of people say that the election wasn't rigged. To all those who seek to justify Iran's actions, have a look at this. A full and free democracy does not kill its people for questioning its authority. It does not cut off communication with the outside world. The protestors in Estonia in their revolution against the USSR were protected by the communication channel they had to Helsinki and the outside world who could hear them sing. That communication froze the Soviet troops. Whilst the people of Iran are talking, it is our duty, as human beings, to keep listening. The Ayatollah claimed that Neda Soltan, the woman shot during a demonstration last Saturday, had been killed by fellow protesters because “government forces do not shoot at a lady standing in a side street”. Leading demonstrators must be executed, Ayatollah Khatami demands - Times Online
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I have a belief that the worst thing that can happen to any religion is for it to be adopted by the state, for it to become compulsary and taken under duress, to become a default and an arms of authority against which youngsters finding their feet will naturally rebel, pushing at it to find their own boundaries. It is a religion that has not been considered, has not been chosen, has not come to the believer through a decision of their own. In such a case, any belief is worthless.
If any religion is able to stand on its own feet and attract followers without resorting to punishment or favour, then it has made a stronger case for being something worth following, but whilst religion remains a tool of the state, the state cannot be considered impartial or democratic, and the religion cannot be considered a matter of faith.
In Europe there is a strong history of religion tied to the state and a modern disaffection that leads to fewer and fewer believers. In America, the state is offically separate from religion (and whilst in practice it is a wider division than seen in Europe in the past, it is not the pure secular state the constitution declares it to be), and in America faith thrives in all its forms.
Where would you rather live?
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I'm getting a bit slow on updating this in my old age, but I just wanted to give some thoughts on an article I saw in the Sunday Herald last weekend about the Catholic Church in Scotland withdrawing support for...
» Read more on Vox
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What is your favorite musical instrument?
Submitted by Chicago Shadow.
» Read more on Vox
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New version of Ubiquity released :-) titled New Ubiquity
Mar. 16th, 2009 @ 07:34 am
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Testing ubiquity blogging via ping.fm from http://ping.fm/8evZw
Feb. 26th, 2009 @ 03:38 am
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Isn't the DEC Gaza appeal getting more coverage on BBC and elsewhere than if the BBC had just run it in the first place?
Jan. 26th, 2009 @ 03:03 am
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Anyone want an invite to identi.ca ? It's twitter's open source, federated, leaner, meaner cousin.
Jan. 20th, 2009 @ 10:34 am
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| » World peace |
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With all the trouble in the world, how's this do an idea for peace? We need a man to collect a few (say ten) rules to live by. Simple rules that cannot be spun. Rules like no murder and no theft. And he could write them in stone so they cannot be changed. Wouldn't it be great if the majority of the world's population followed books based on these rules? Would that bring peace? @
Jan. 19th, 2009 @ 10:34 pm
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| » Happy birthday to the UDHR |
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To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights today, I've been posting up the 30 articles to identi.ca and twitter, and it's been interesting seeing the reaction of people as I've been posting them. I've also noticed that there's a few there that I felt uncomfortable putting up as I know there are people and organizations that I deal with that don't necessarily support those rights (except as far as they are required to by law), and that's brought home to me how important this document still is 60 years on. There's a lot still to fight for, but I'd say there's a lot to celebrate in the last 60 years.
If you want to read more, here's a lovely positive note from the folks at AmnestyUK.
Amnesty Blogs: Press release me, let me go : Cheer up: you are powerful
Dec. 10th, 2008 @ 02:04 pm
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id cards launch today. Any sweepstakes for time of the first data breach?
Nov. 25th, 2008 @ 03:12 am
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http://ping.fm/kBUQy Get the IT Crowd T-shirt from tonight's show from @rstevens
Nov. 21st, 2008 @ 03:51 pm
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Hitler's BNP membership gets leaked http://ping.fm/SvHbc
Nov. 21st, 2008 @ 06:06 am
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re-testing ping ubiquity command after ubiq update
Sep. 25th, 2008 @ 04:47 am
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A better approach to climate change, for people who want green for the future, not because they want to live in the stone age http://ping.fm/3zR9V
Sep. 8th, 2008 @ 05:42 am
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Anyone know any good use cases for corporate use of twitter / identi.ca?
Sep. 5th, 2008 @ 07:48 am
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Great discussion of interface usability. Share your scare stories : http://ping.fm/6KIyf
Sep. 4th, 2008 @ 03:27 am
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