Urbanagora » segen

No more term limits for elected officials in Venezuela

Segen — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:41:22 +0000

The Associated Press reported that a referendum removing term limits for electe d officials in Venezuela passed 54 to 46 today. This means that along with Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, we’re going to be seeing a lot of the same faces in Venezuela for the next several decades. I wish Chavez would stop being so narcissistic and realize the benefits of the regular transfer of power in creating a lasting and more responsive government. Chavez has lots of examples in history to turn to realize that this seizure of control will not create sustainable progress in Venezuela. Simply put, one-man shows only work while that one-man is around. Look at an even recent example of a one-man show going south– Trump Entertainment is filing for bankruptcy after Donald Trump resigned from the board, for example. What is happening to South America and how is this happening?

I think I am being targeted online.

Segen — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:17:41 +0000

Every time I check the New York Times, I confront an advertisement for animal rights. There are two rotating ads–one with a bear whose teeth have been ripped out and is attacked by vicious dogs for the excitement of the people who put bets on which animals will win. The other ad is of an emaciated dog tethered to a short chain.

The first time I saw this ad, I donated some money. Now it seems like all I ever see are these disturbing ads and they really make me queasy. I asked Billy and Josh to do a “New York Times advertisement test” and neither of the two get these ads on their NYT (strangely, they get credit score ads…got financial troubles, fellas?).

Am I being targeted for specific ads?

I know that Google has targeted ads based on words that appear in your google searches or in emails in gmail. I wonder if the NYTs has caught on to this strategy, too.

If it is true that I am somehow being targeted for ads based on my spending habits (donating) or any other source of information, I am extremely irritated by this. For me, these ads and seeing animals being tortured is incredibly disturbing. To illustrate, I once was out with Brenda in Vienna and we walked past an animal torture movie. I had to run down the street with my ears plugged because it hurts me emotionally to see and hear this sort of thing. She mentioned that she did not know how much that actually disturbed me before.

Is it right that these advertisers get to constantly throw items of pain in my face? Can we extrapolate what it means for me to see tortured animals to something other people are strongly concerned about…say…abortion? Would it be right to constantly bombard a pro-life person with grusome photos of abortions?

Do you think it is okay to have such targeted ads online? How are the advertising companies getting their information to target me in the first place? Does anyone know how targeting ads work and how I can guard against them? Is deleting my “cookies” good enough?

Drunk Driving in the Chicago ‘Burbs

Segen — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:20:37 +0000

I was in car accident this week. No one was hurt thankfully, but our cars were scraped up badly. Word got around about my accident and one of the first things a few acquaintances asked me was, “Were you drinking?” – my answer was an absolute, “No”. I was startled by the question believing it to be a character attack—but then realized the question was not out of line given how commonplace drunk driving is in suburban Chicago.

I looked up the numbers of drivers arrested for DUI in Cook, DuPage, and Kane Counties. These three counties’ DUI arrests combined amounted to 43% of the state’s DUI arrests between 2004 and 2006. (I do realize that these particular counties have large populations compared to the rest of the state and have not run numbers on DUI arrests compared to population yet.)

Here are the numbers from the 2008 Illinois DUI Fact Book (interesting read, by the way)

Drivers Arrested in Illinois for DUI

Cook County: 15,219 (2004) — 15,258 (2005) — 14,144 (2006)

DuPage County: 5,254 (2004) — 5,166 (2005) — 5,285 (2006)

Kane County: 1,240 (2004) — 1,497 (2005) — 1,702 (2006)

Cook, DuPage, & Kane: 21,713 (2004) – 21,921 (2005) – 21,131 (2006)

% of DUI of state totals: 43% 44% 42%

State-wide: 50,147 (2004) — 50,192 (2005) — 50,109 (2006)

I think the high prevalence of drunk driving in the Chicago suburbs is a by-product of not having reliable or accessible public transportation. (Sure, there are taxis, but I honestly only know one person who actually calls one when he has had a few too many.) Illinois has tough DUI laws like revoking licenses and my favorite—a new law requiring first-time DUI offenders to install a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device in their cars starting 1 January 2009. A DUI is embarrassing—there are clear stakes at hand. I think if potential drunk drivers had a choice to take public transportation or face a DUI, they would take the public transit.

My question is: where are the “late night” or “all-night” busses that stop at a variety of suburban locations or the inexpensive or free “impaired driver” taxi cab ride? Should the local government offer transportation assistance to those under the influence? Should places that serve liquor band together and create some safe transportation network for their patrons?

Gender-bending chemicals threat to many male species

Segen — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:40:08 +0000

A forthcoming scientific report says that pollutants in our water, air, food, and household products have “gender-bending” effects for animals and humans. Scientists have seen a remarkable trends in the feminizing of males.

Highlights from this article addressing the topic:

“Baby boys born to women exposed to widespread chemicals in pregnancy are born with smaller penises and feminized genitals.”

“Half the male fish in British lowland rivers have been found to be developing eggs in their testes; in some stretches all male roaches have been found to be changing sex in this way.”

“Male alligators exposed to pesticides in Florida have suffered from lower testosterone and higher oestrogen levels, abnormal testes, smaller penises and reproductive failures. Male snapping turtles have been found with female characteristics in the same state and around the Great Lakes, where wildlife has been found to be contaminated with more than 400 different chemicals. Male herring gulls and peregrine falcons have produced the female protein used to make egg yolks, while bald eagles have had difficulty reproducing in areas highly contaminated with chemicals.”

“Two-thirds of male Sitka black-tailed deer in Alaska have been found to have undescended testes and deformed antler growth, and roughly the same proportion of white-tailed deer in Montana were discovered to have genital abnormalities.”

“At the other end of the world, hermaphrodite polar bears – with penises and vaginas – have been discovered and gender-benders have been found to reduce sperm counts and penis lengths in those that remained male.”

What are examples of “gender bending” chemicals?

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Pesticides
Flame Retardants
Phthalates (plasticising chemicals)
Organochlorines
Dioxins
Alkylphenols

In what products are these chemicals found?

Cosmetics, shampoos, and toiletry products
Cleaning products
Pesticides, insecticides, herbicides
Plastics
Processed food
Pharmaceuticals
Chemicals for industrial use

This scares me. ~Segen

Illinois’ next U.S. Senator?

Segen — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:17:29 +0000

Any predictions about who will take over Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate?

Nude or Prude?

Segen — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 05:51:18 +0000

One thing I learned from living in Europe is that Europeans are much more comfortable with nudity than Americans. You see people in the buff on bus placards, magazines, daytime television, soft-core porn at night, the newspaper, and even at sporting events. What is even more striking is that you regularly see naked people in public parks—and older age or low fitness levels are not reasons to cover up or to be bashful at all. Even more interesting to me as an American who changed into her gym clothes in a stall to avoid showing any skin is the complete ease of being fully nude around family members and friends. I’ll never forget picking up a German friend’s family photo album and seeing her mom, dad, sisters, friends, and neighbors in a group shot with everything, and I mean everything, exposed. Even more shocking was to see my friend’s mom walk around their house without clothes on. Needless to say, I felt uncomfortable at first.

Many Europeans accept nudity as natural. Many Europeans also say that nudity and sex on television is totally okay. Sex is human. Bodies are ordinary—even naked ones. They do not understand Americans preoccupation of censoring all nudity on TV, while Americans allowing so much violence on television. (Child movie censors in Europe censor for violence, not nudity, while in the US, it is often the reverse. The movie “Chronicles of Narnia” in Germany is rated equivalent to the US’s PG13). The European illustration about TV censorship makes sense to me. Why DO we care so much about nudity? Why DO I feel bashful about being in the buff around others? Why wouldn’t I trust my friends and family to see me naked?

I think my shame of being nude stems from our culture. But why is it shameful to be nude in our culture? Why is it in some cases illegal to be nude in our culture? I’m tired of being prude. And I just decided that I will walk from the shower to my room in the morning without clothes or a towel on regardless of what the members of my household think.

Wedgies and Words

Segen — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:55:14 +0000

One of the most significant things I learned from traveling is that my thoughts are limited by the words in my language(s). You’ve probably heard the saying, “It’s hard to translate,” before. Some notions exist verbally in some languages and not others. Usually these translations involve subtleties, but sometimes it can be entire ideas, as well. If an idea is hard to translate from one language to another, imagine how hard it is to individually generate this idea if your language does not even have words to describe the idea!

A very crude personal illustration:

I was walking in Central Park with my German friend, when I found myself suffering from a wedgie. I asked him if we could stop a moment so I could pick it. Puzzled, he asked what a wedgie was. My explanation began, “Well, a wedgie is when your underwear gets shoved up your ass—and it usually happens while you are walking.” He paused a moment and then a lightbulb went off: “Oh, you mean, ‘Arsch frisst Hose!’” I then paused a moment, and said, “Yes, yes. ‘Ass eats pants.’” What was really astounding to me was that my whole life I considered the underwear as the “actor” in the wedgie process—the underwear shoves itself up the ass—, whereas my German friend saw the ass as the cause of the wedgie, while the underwear passively shoved by…

Moral of the story: the word “wedgie” is very limiting to explain the phenomenon of underwear being eaten by your ass.

**Shoutout to Billy Joe—who is finally getting his passport stamped for the first time this winter. I’m so happy for you!