Obama and Same-Sex Marriage

“Every single American — gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender — every single American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of our society.”

President Barack Obama has always been a controversial President. Not only is he the first Democrat in awhile to run the country, he is also the first Black president. Obama is the most recent-and most prominent- politician to express his endorsement of same-sex marriage

As the current presidential campaign heats up, Obama and Mitt Romney have been the top picks for the election. Both candidates have expressed their opinions on same-sex marriage. Obama has actually caused uproars in the churches of the southern United States. Same-sex marriage is one of the most diverse national controversies in the USA. It has been an ongoing debate for the past two decades and finally, a president has backed gay marriage. The next great concern about the issue is how far Obama will take his opinion in Congress.

Obama also recently ended restrictions against gays serving openly in the military. This was a huge step in the American military system. The same-sex marriage issue has now become part of the Democratic Party platform. Mitt Romney, of the Republicans, has shown his support for passing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Many gay rights supporters have shown nothing but praise for Barack Obama’s opinion, but some worry that it could receive a huge backlash throughout religious groups.

With an election around the corner, the voters of America are faced with a choice, vote for Obama and the right for gay marriage, or vote for Romney and put a ban on gay marriage. We just have to wait and see what happens come election time.

Luka Rocco Magnotta

Luka Rocco Magnotta

            Luka Magnotta is a 29 year old suspected for killing Jun Lin, a Chinese university student in Montreal.  Montreal Police claimed that Magnotta was having a relationship with his victim. Luca filmed and broadcasted the alleged act, and has been mailing Jun Lin’s body parts to Canadian political parties and even directly to Stephen Harper. Luka’s film has been circulating around internet gore sites and shows signs of cannibalism. Luka ran off to Europe and was caught by Inter-pol in Berlin (coincidentally Germany has the most cannibals in the world) and didn’t even struggle. Luka is being held in Berlin Jail and asked for solitary confinement until he is extradited back to Canada. Did Luka Magnotta want to be found? Does he want to be extradited? Or is Magnotta just a crazy homicidal cannibal who is angry at the government and several Vancouver schools?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/06/05/magnotta-germany-judge-berlin.html

Euphemisms and Dysphemisms

A pleasantly plump man’s best friend and a gargantuan flee bag. Both mean the same thing, a fat dog, but invoke two completely different feelings. By describing things in a certain way, we are also conveying our opinion on the specific topic. In an argument, euphemisms can be used to be polite or to make the issue seem more pleasant to encourage persuasion on their argument. Dysphemisms are used to demonstrate the negative opinions on something and make it seem worse than it is. In the military, the soldiers wouldn’t describe killing other soldiers as murder; they would refer to it as neutralizing the opponent. For hippies, they would probably opt to use a dysphemism such as, cold-blooded murder, to describe the happenings on a battlefield. We use euphemisms to avoid insulting somebody; instead of using the word ‘retarded’ we would say someone has a ‘mental illness’. Perhaps we build these euphemisms surrounding the stigmas in our society to make ourselves feel more comfortable when speaking of them. We seem to even make up words to make awkward topics much easier to speak of; topics like sex, death and pooh, to be blunt.

Euphemisms first began in old Greece. They believed that by replacing religious taboo words with euphemisms they would avoid fatal consequences. It was almost like magical thinking, and soon euphemisms became popular in disguising less socially accepted words. And soon became a political tool.

It is especially important in health care to avoid euphemisms. An example would be using a procedure with a much more confusing scientific name, rather than informing the patient of a less expensive procedure with a much more simple name. Sure a doctor can advertise, but it would be breaching the rules of informed consent by giving a fancier name to an expensive treatment, rather than using the normal name for a less costly one. The patient doesn’t know exactly what they are getting with the procedure with a euphemism.

There comes a point when our euphemisms and dysphemisms become lies, like “making murder respectable”.

Where child sacrifice is a business

 

Where child sacrifice is a business

In Kampala, the capital of Uganda, the witch doctors get paid to abduct the innocent children in villages and farming communities. These children are the victims of the ritual murders of what is called the child sacrifice business. Their decapitated bodies are buried in the side of the roads or the local fields. The children are closely watched by their teachers and parents on their way to and from their schools to prevent any more abductions as well as innocent sacrifices.

Many people believe that the witch doctors get paid to commit such crimes by the members of the country’s new elite to provide increased wealth with their big sums of money. According to a pastor named Peter Sewakiyanga at the Kyampisi Childcare Ministries church, child sacrifice followed by the ritual abductions and murders has risen due to people’s strong ambitions for money. They have a belief that they could get much richer if they sell their children to people who are actually willing to buy these children for a price, which made the child sacrifice become a commercial business, an inappropriate one.

This kind of belief and rituals that some of the Ugandan people have go against the principle of autonomy and respect as well as the principle of equality and justice. They do not respect the rights of the innocent children and treat them without any equality or justice by murdering them inhumanely. They disregard the freedom of the children and see the value of their lives as trivial things.

Not many Ugandans in the Ugandan villages and farming communities are wealthy enough. However, it is not righteous to use the children for commercial business purposes and sell them around just to increase their wealth. This kind of abductions and murders must stop for the protection of the children’s rights and justice.

Did you know, that on average, a person lies about 14.5 times a day? That would be my third today.

Regardless, we all know that lying is something we do at least once a day. Big lies, small lies, white lies, hurtful lies, I'm saying all kinds of lying (and yes, even those you say to protect others). Its probably one of the most common wrong acts to carry out. Daily.

If all truth was good, which in this case, would make lying bad, things would be much simpler. Don't lie. 

Parents always seem to teach their children, "always tell the truth". Yet, as we get older, we start to realize that telling the truth often has to be nuanced..

The truth isn't always beneficial, and it hurts half the time. That's where white lies come into play. An accurate definition or white lies would be a harmless or trivial lie, especially one told to avoid hurting someone's feelings. I think we can all agree that in some situations, lying could be the more appropriate ethical response to a conflict, than telling the truth.

Although white lies are mostly told to avoid conflict or to protect someone, it is, still lying itself. Even if telling a white lie might be beneficial to the person you are telling it to, most of the times, they would have to face the truth sooner or later, which is arguably more hurtful than telling them the truth in the first place. 

This has been debated lots, and people all over the world of all ages have different opinions on this. Personally, I try to avoid lying, that would cause trouble on a later date. Telling someone the hurtful truth, is certainly much better than keeping it from them. You can't keep a secret forever, nor can you lie for a lifetime. One thing that some of us realize is that no matter what kind of lies are told, it breaks the trust between the liar and the receiver of the lie.

On the ethical side of things. There are many different ways an ethicist can look at lying. For example, utilitarians would look at the consequences of a lie, to tell whether the lie is a good one or a bad one. in contrast, a deontologist although, would not agree with looking at the consequences. But they generally accept 'do not tell lies', simply. Same with virtue ethicists.

So, what's your take on lies? Any exceptions to your rule?

If you're undecided, take a look at this article by the BBC, that lays it all out for you.

The Power of Yoga

Yoga is the practice of physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. It originated from India and the earliest evidence of yoga has been traced back all the way to 3000 B.C. It is practiced in many parts of the world and is very popular amongst women. It is said that yoga can help improve your health, balance, flexibility, fitness, and many other things.

Yoga has benefited a woman named Carolyn LaFleur who was involved in a car accident and while physical therapy and massage therapy helped her hip and neck to recover, it did not make the pain in her head go away. Her headaches did subside however, when she started practicing yoga and she claims that doing yoga has given her strength. Doctors say that yoga can lower your tension and it relaxes the tone of your muscle. It also helps bring down stress levels, which makes arteries relax so there is more blood flow everywhere, so everything becomes better.

While therapy and medication work pretty well to relieve pain and stress, yoga can also help with your health conditions as well. It is often underestimated as a good way of treatment and it can also become an enjoyable method for fitness. If yoga is practiced regularly, it can greatly benefit a person’s well being.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/07/21/yoga.pain.management.cohen/index.html

http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/yogahistory.asp

To Steal, or not to steal?

The picture above asks a question. The question is as follows: " It is 1933. You are in Berlin, Germany. Somehow, you find yourself in a position where you can effortlessly steal Adolf Hitler's wallet. This theft will not effect Hitler's rise to power, the nature of World War II, or the Holocaust. There is no important identification in the wallet, but the act will cost Hitler forty Reichsmarks (german currency back then) and completely ruin his evening. You do not need the money. The odds that you will be caught committing this crime are less than 2 percent.
Are you ethically obligated to steal Hitler's wallet? 


This question is difficult to answer, maybe even impossible. It leads to many other ethical questions that could be asked such as; Why would that be an obligation? Because Hitler did bad things, is stealing his wallet justified?
Of course we know he is responsible for the largest genocide in history, but if we had an opportunity to do something bad to him in return, knowing what he did, we assume that anyone would do it. It is expected of everyone that if they had the chance to subject Hitler to some sort of inconvenience, even if it is as insignificant as stealing a wallet, they would. Why? 
It is has been taught to us as children that what he did and who is was, was bad. We are programmed to give a negative connotation to his name whenever it is spoken. But we have never been taught how to respond if an opportunity is presented. It is a thing of the past, and why would we ever need to know how to deal with something that has already happened and over with? But once we are faced with a question like this, we do not know how to answer. Though most would steal the wallet, many would stop to think, "what's the point?" If it doesn't affect anything about the war or the holocaust, why do it? Because somehow we think that stealing a wallet will compensate for a fraction of the crimes that he committed, and that somehow makes us some sort of hero. So before you go to bed tonight, demand an answer from yourself to this question, and ask yourself why. You may be like me, and not be able to come up with an actual reasons for your "yes of course I would."

Trick of the Mind

Derren Brown is a British psychological illusionist, mentalist, artist, painter, writer, skeptic and television presenter. He is well known around the world for his ability to read people’s minds. However Derren Brown frequently states that he possesses no psychic or paranormal abilities. He uses his knowledge and skills through which he is able to influence people’s thoughts through subtle suggestion, and read body language or psychological signs that indicate what a person is feeling or thinking. He is what is known as a “modern day magician” because he is able to do some things that people would believe to be ‘magical’. In some of his TV specials he manipulates the mind in ways the subjects could never imagine. For example he trained the minds of four average people to rob a person carrying money from a bank. 3 of the 4 people were successfully manipulated to take the briefcase whereas one managed to control the urges of wanting to take the money. He is able to read body language like a person can read a book with really large print. This man truly has a talent that the world really admires. He is a true magician. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Ul9HJtP-g&feature=endscreen&NR=1&list=UU_RhBfwbg5029C5JL6uAtyw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derren_Brown

http://derrenbrown.co.uk/

The Ancient Alien Theory

Some writers propose that intelligent extraterrestrial beings have visited earth in prehistory and made contact with humans. Such visitors are called ancient atronauts or ancient aliens. Believers suggest that this contact influenced the development of human cultures, technologies and religions.  

Erich von Daniken was one of the main figures in popularizing the ancient alien theory. His book “Chariot of the Gods” was an instant best seller and made people share his point of view.

-          

      Believers argue that the evidence for ancient astronauts 

      comes from supposed gaps in historical and archaeological records. They also explain absent or incomplete historical

     data. Such as the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Nazca lines

     in Peru

I think this whole theory is complete bogus. There is a much simpler reason to as why there are pyramids standing in Egypt: The ancient Egyptians were a very accomplished civilization, they proved they were capable mathematicians 

and architects with all their other work.

The Power behind knowing

No-one knows what the future holds because after all it is the unknown. It is meant to be hidden until the present reveals it. There are certain things that people believe that are able tell the future, stuff    like: Astrology, The crystal ball, Palm reading, Psychics,  and Tarot or oracle cards. There are so many things out there that are believed to have a way of telling the future but are these things actually credible sources for knowing the unknown? The answer can be up to you. It is a decision you have to make all on your own because there are no facts to prove the future can be told, there are only beliefs and superstitions. The question is should the future be something the world should know?

If the future could be predicted, we would know whether  the human race would survive the predicted end of the world in 2012. We would be able to know so much more of what is to come then we do today but that doesn't make knowing what is coming better. If the future really could be predicted people would begin to alter their lives in order to side step an accident that was foreseen. As humans we live for the future, we live until we die, its just the circle of life,but if the future could be seen we could take what has been found in the years ahead and use it today. Discoveries and new inventions that were ment to arrive in hundreds of years would be made and factorized before their alleged time.  The world would turn into chaos with everyone trying to figure out the next best thing and selling it. Just think of how the world could get out of hand if everyone knew everything that was to happen. There would be a rush of people looking into the next inventions of the future of the future. So in a way it is a plus that we do not know what is to come. Its a good thing that these ways that are thought to predict the future are actually not reliable. Not knowing the future does have its perks. Leaving the day someone is to die to the unknown keeps you from counting the days till it happens which makes you live life as you would with no extra worries about knowing what is coming. For now the future should be kept in the unknown, after all y.o.l.o. 

History Rewritten

      The Holocaust: tragically one of the most well known events in history. The slaughter of millions of Jewish, disabled and civilian people during Nazi occupation of most of Europe. Yet, to this day there are the minority who believe that the “alleged” event was produced as propaganda after the war. These people know as Neo-Nazis argue that the gas chambers at concentration camps were not used for the murders they had been known for. The gas chambers were never in use and even if they were in use, no remains have been found.

     One must assess claims like these in order to decipher the true meaning behind their thoughts. The party stating these claims isn’t ‘interested’ but does wish for you to join their cause. It is part of their belief system so should you believe it? No. Just because an opinion or belief is stated doesn’t mean you should follow it.

 

For example:

• There have been traces of chemicals used for gassing at these sites
• The witness accounts of the gassings are reliable
• There hasn’t been any witness statements going against the gassing claims

The moral of the story:

Don’t follow whatever you find on the internet, whether it be the new face-wash “proven” by “experts” to clear your face or something as complicated as arguing whether the holocaust existed. You have to decided for yourself, true of false?


READ MORE HERE!

Neo-Nazism

Questions regarding Holocaust

Gods vs. Aliens

Often we merely ignore ideas different to our own because it’s easier. Without really questioning, and re-thinking what brought us to believe what we believe in the first place. 

We categorize people who do this as: narrow-minded, intolerable and petty. Generally, anyone who is unable to view things from a different perspective. 

Yet then, so many of us, turn around, and act like the before mentioned adjectives towards subject topics we think too ridiculous to be deserving of our attention. 

Example:

Erich Von Daniken claims that the large geoglyphs sketched into the arid plateau of 

Peru were created by ancient Peruvians on the instruction of their extraterrestrial gods who consequently used the geoglyphs as landing strips for their space crafts. 

I know, this seems ridiculous. And yes, if you met someone who believed in aliens having contact with humans, you would probably immediately make a mental note to never talk to that person again. 

BUT when we compare Dankness belief to other religions around the world you can’t help but notice the similarities.

First of all neither the existence of aliens or Gods can be proven; either you believe or you don’t. 

Secondly, both the aliens and most of the gods in religions across the world God disssend from heaven; using different methods of transport of course. 

And lastly, both the aliens and our more traditional gods had knowledge superior to the civilization they interacted with; aliens knew about the universe and our Gods knew about the after life. 

In fact, because of all of these undeniable similarities many people claim that the deities represented in so many cultures are aliens that have been mistaken for Gods. Simply because they had no other explanation for what they observed and experienced. 

Yet regardless of this belief, these comparisons ultimately ask one question: 

Why do we believe in God and not aliens if both of these beliefs lack equal amounts of evidence?

In the end it really comes down to two things:

1. How long the claim has been around for.
2. 1. The number of supporters a claim has.

After all, it’s far more likely that you are going to believe an idea supported by a lot of other people compared to a claim believed by only a few #safety in numbers

For more information you can watch an episode on the History Channels TV series :

"Ancient Aliens"

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LeHm3yVrSg

OR

Research Erich von Daniken here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_Däniken

Baroness Greenfield, junk neuroscience, and the dangers of video games

Technology has become a major part of the majority of our lives. We spend our spare time in front of the screens to get rid of our stress from a long period of working or to just kill some time, which is quite normal for not just the teenagers but also everyone nowadays. However, according to the former director of the Royal Institution, Baroness Greenfield, video games as well as other technological recreations are deteriorating our brains and damaging the nerve connections in the brain.
Greenfield says that the technology, such as video games, which sometimes strongly affects the sense, could give a temporary or permanent damage to our brain nerve connections, and could addict people to have more screen-based lives. She also says that people would get a habit of sitting in front of a screen for a long time instead of doing activities and the average child would spend approximately 2,000 hours with such technology between his or her tenth and eleventh birthday.
Of course, this report about such negative effects of video games and technology on the brains is probably written to aim at the teenagers rather than other age groups. Yes, Greenfield focuses more on the negative impact of video games than actual technological devices. However, technology is now one of our most important necessities and few people spend time in front of a screen to the point where they could actually “damage their brains”. The majority nowadays do spend their leisure time on their phones, tablets, computers, etc. for their entertainment or relaxation. Spending 2,000 hours in front a screen in a year means that one would spend five and a half hours every day, but it doesn’t necessarily imply that he or she games for that long every single day. Such technology could be addicting and attract our hands anytime, but this is the reality; we are all already living in the screen-based world in which the technology plays a major role.
This report written by Greenfield is quite ambiguous and not persuasive enough in terms of clarity of each point. However, this provides us a good opportunity to just ponder carefully about how much time we spend using our technological devices and to remind ourselves of how to use not only the time but also our technology effectively.

Cats VS. Dogs

People are always arguing about whether cats are better than dogs or vice versa. Although mostly everyone’s choice is their personal opinion, there have been many studies and surveys conducted that show how cats and dogs can affect your life so maybe, it can help you choose which kind of animal you want as a pet when you have to decide between buying a cat or a dog.

In America, around 77.5 million people own dogs while a much larger number of 93.6 million people own cats. The upkeep for a cat generally costs less than a dog and recent studies from the University of Bristol in England showed that people who owned cats are more likely to have university degrees than dog people. On the other hand, a study from Queen’s university in Ireland said that people with dogs have lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and suffer fewer serious medical problems so they are usually healthier. Ownership of a dog can lead to increases in physical activity, which results in better fitness. In another survey with 4,500 participants, people answered questions about their personality and the results were that people who possessed dogs tend to be more social and outgoing while cat people are more likely to be creative and philosophical. This could be because dogs are companionable and enjoy being with their owners while cats usually keep to themselves and if they hang out with you, they leave whenever they feel like it.

Dogs and cats have a bigger role in your life than you think they do. They are not just cute and cuddly and nice to have around but they also help you in different ways. Hopefully, this can give you a little more insight into whether owning a dog or a cat is better for you.

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-13/health/cat.dog.personality_1_cat-people-dog-neuroticism?_s=PM:HEALTH

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6279701.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8501042.stm

Behind the Crystal Ball

Is there a science on predicting the future? Or is everything just a ploy to take your money? Psychics claim that they have a gift that they want to share with the world. All the things that all psychics say and their actions to their customers are just things to make you think that what they are saying is true. For example holding the clients hands helps the reader feel the customer’s physical reactions to certain statements; the subject thinks that the hand holding is a way to establish a connection between themselves and the reader. Another trick that the psychics will use is called “shotgunning.” It is a technique where the say lots of random things hoping that one of the things they say is true. All of the statements they say are vague so that it will apply to more people than a very specific statement because the more vague the more likely it will be true. For example saying “You will go on a great trip.” What the prediction leaves out is when you shall go, where, and what makes it a good trip. This statement applies to most of the world’s population. Our brains also tend to forget the incorrect predictions psychics give us and we focus on the one’s that are true. So the next time you go for a psychic think of what they say and watch their body language because what you might be paying for is a very expensive guess.

http://www.ehow.com/way_5263245_psychic-reading-tricks.html

http://www.psychic-experiences.com/psychic-articles/genuine-fraud-psychics.php

http://listverse.com/2008/04/10/top-10-psychic-debunkings/

Kony Is Overrated

Kony, Syria uprising, riots in Egypt and revolution in Libya; what do all of these have in common? All are recent events that are occurring or have occurred on the vast continent of Africa. These events and the people related to them are directly responsible for thousands of deaths. American NATO and Canadian forces have intervened in the conflict at Libya and a small detachement of US soldiers was sent to Uganda to track Joseph Kony. The Invisible Children Foundation was set up to stop Joseph Kony from using children as both soldiers and sex slaves. Lets be realistic now what else are children good for? As my father always told me, "Your the next best thing to useless". The man that set up this foundation is named Jason Russel. Jason Russel was born in California. Lets have a look at life in California compared to life in Uganda. California- No sex slavery, No child soldiers. Uganda- Sex slaves, Child soldiers. Now lets look at China- Chinese food. Now in China they eat a very different kind of food then we eat in North America, that does not meen Chinese food should have a website built committing itself to its downfall and a biased video created on youtube designed to pull the heart strings of it's viewers. Just like Chinese food belongs culturally to China in the same way child soldiers and sex slaves belong culturally to Uganda. The video that went viral slandering Joseph Kony and his ideals managed to brain wash its viewers in such a way that many took it upon themselves to pass the word and preach how evil and how Kony must be stopped. non of these people looked at the ambiguity and bias of what they are hearing. Jason Russel, the man who took it upon himself to make a change that is honestly futile and miniscule in comparison to some of the other types of conflict in Africa such as the East African food crisis, the unrest in Northen Africa and Middle East and the list goes on. Is every thing Jason says about Joseph the truth? After all he was just found masturbating and vandalizing vehicles in San Diego (click here). People need to analyze the credibility, bias and ambiguity of what they hear before they post on the internet and commit themselves to a cause that they have never heard of before they watched a 29 minute long video.

Like Wild Fire

We've all heard them. 9/11 was allowed by the government and is proven by the way the towers fell, the Apollo moon landing never happened and was staged in order to encourage patriotism, etc. but conspiracy theories are more than they appear to be. Though they seem like a tale concocted by some clever, pretentious wiseacre that had nothing better to do, they actually have an alarming amount of evidence to support them. For example, the theory that the earth is flat at first thought seems like an absurd impossibility, but perhaps we are just convinced because we have been told by people who were sure of what they think they know, and who are we to question those who came before us? Well perhaps we should. The flat earth theory is surprisingly convincing and has some valid arguments. Assuming the earth is flat, for example, the south pole makes up the outside of the earth and the north pole is at its centre. This statement resembles a fairly poor attempt at establishing any kind of credibility for this particular theory at first, but actually is supported by the fact that no plane has ever flown in a straight line across the south pole. Maybe a while ago we would have been able to blame the conditions or climate on the lack of achievement, but with technology that we have today, compared to travelling through space, flying across the South Pole should be an easy feat, unless, of course, that is where the earth ends, in which case it is impossible and would offer an easy explanation.

Wether or not they are true however, it is undebatable that conspiracies get passed on as easily as gravy on thanksgiving. Once you have one person convinced you have everybody convinced. Especially with all the idiotic stories in the media lately, who wouldn't believe a well backed-up argument about how the U.S. government somehow caused the 2004 Tsunami? No matter what you are told, or how unreasonably stupid it is, you will consider its existence for even a little while.

The World Will Stop At Nothing

Millions of posts flood the cyberworld via social networking.The whole world wants to make a change and they will stop at nothing to do so. Its the only choice we have. Come together or face the worst. I watched a video last night that had more impact on me then almost any video that I have viewed on youtube but i think that was the point. It is the video that has exploded overnight on facebook and has over a million hits on youtube. So today I am going to become like everyone out there. I am going to help make Kony famous.

The point of this video that I watched was not to get you to donate money to the organization Invisible Children but to raise awareness to this criminal and for everyone one to know his name and understand what he has done. Some people out there might still be wondering "Who is this Kony? What is so bad about him?", well just take 30 minutes to sit down, watch a video that has spiralled around the world and discover what this man is doing and why he needs to become famous. Yes I understand that these events have been taking place for years now but is it such a problem that we are finally doing something about it? If you can see, the reason why everyone is reposting this video on their facebook walls is so it spreads, and it has. I was watching the views of the Kony 2012 video on youtube it took less than six hours before the number reached 7 million. So it has spread around the world. Friends show it to their friends and so on. So now, basically his name is out there. One mission accomplished.

The question is, Is it right that over thousands of children fear for their lives? the answer should be no. Just imagine if you were in their shoes. How would it feel if everyday you were terrified you would be abducted? What would it be like to have a gun thrust into your hands and then were instructed to point it at your parents and pull the trigger. Take that feeling and times it by thousands because thats one of the many things Kony has done.

What this man is doing is not right and it is definitely not for the greater good. How could it be? If you can tell me how in-slaving ( sex slaves, army slaves etc...) over 30,000 children could be for the greater good, please comment at the bottom of this blog.

I know this is a typical topic of today to blog about but if I am able to get one person to join with the rest of the world and make Kony famous, even if one person learns his name after reading this, these words will have done their job.

If you really want to help click on this . Join with the rest of the world share what he did. Prove why he should be caught.

Here is his face. Now lets make him famous.

Swearing: A Technique of Persuasion?

What better way could you think of ending off your argument by saying your opposition is, “Complete and utter bull#@*!”. Obviously Showtime’s Penn and Teller do not hesitate to use this word to demonstrate to their audience the nonsense of their challenger. But is it an effective method of persuasion?

According to Scherer and Sagarin’s, 2006 experiment on this technique, a light swearing increases a speaker’s persuasiveness and has no effect on the speaker’s credibility. But why, why would humans believe someone who is prone to using obscenities to express oneself? The Persuasive Power of Swearing agrees that it all depends on a person’s passion and intensity; the audience sees this expression of words as a way to show their beliefs and passion on a certain subject. It will almost seem as if you are so engulfed in your arguments and opinions that you cannot help but swear as you would when talking about it everyday. This causes the audience to feel a connection with your thoughts and is capable of putting real emotion behind your words, as swearing is a part of humans tendencies.

According to some statistics the amount of swearing increased by 94.8% during the family hour on television, which means swearing is a normal occurrence in our lives. So it is apparent that swearing is human, and humans tend to believe humans, and perhaps the reality of Penn and Teller’s show is the reason they are so effective in persuading their viewers.

One must keep in mind the levels of severity of the swear words chosen to put across a point. Of course going off on a rampage of curse words would not be effective. But some say you shouldn’t use swears at all because it will throw off your audience. But that audience isn’t being thrown off, their attention is being grabbed. And how can grabbing someone’s attention not be employed in any persuasive technique?