tender is the night

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a photo of the night as we should all be seeing it, if only street lighting didn't cause so much light pollution.

I was lucky enough to see the stars like this once, on a visit to Dumfries and Galloway - but it should be available to everyone, everywhere - it's just a matter of putting proper shades on the streetlamps, which would direct more light down onto the street where it's needed, and probably save energy into the bargain.

good ethics down under

I have just received an update about the Iraqi interpreters that I blogged about previously.

Whilst the UK government has refused to help the Iraqi interpreters whose lives are in danger because they acted as translators for British troops in Iraq, the Australian government has offered resettlement packages in Australia to those who have worked with Australian forces in Iraq.

If you want to support the Iraqi interpreters betrayed by the British government, the petition is still open.

Light a candle for Tibet

I have always wanted Tibet to be free, ever since I read Heinrich Harrer's account of his visit there (Seven years in Tibet).

If you want to show solidarity for Tibet, on 8th August, on the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, place a candle in your window for Tibet. If millions of people do this, it might get onto the news. It's also an act of global consciousness.

Other things you can do: sign the Avaaz petition; donate to one of the organisations linked below; write to your MP.

• Free Tibet Campaign
• Tibetan Government in Exile's Official Web Site
• International Campaign for Tibet
• The Tibet Society
  

extreme bigotry

I was searching for information to verify this story about children's books about gay relationships being withdrawn from a school (which is bigoted enough), when I came across this story about a lesbian woman who was denied access to her dying partner by bigoted homophobic hospital staff.

The second story demonstrates why children need to be shown that there's nothing wrong with same-sex relationships, so they don't grow up to be the kind of bigot who would refuse to let a woman visit her dying partner.

Questionnaire

Are you a Pagan with views about science and religion? Would you be interested in completing my research questionnaire, "Pagans and science"? Thanks!

olympic spirit

Well done Nick Clegg. The Lib Dem leader has written to Gordon Brown telling him that he should not attend the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Ahead of the arrival of the Olympic torch in London this weekend, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has written to Gordon Brown urging him to pull out of the ceremony in the light of China's human rights record.

He added that he did not believe the Prime Minister could attend the Beijing Games 'in good conscience', unless and until the Chinese Government took steps to 'honour the spirit of the Olympics' in its conduct from Tibet to Darfur.

He further quotes the Charter of the Olympics:

Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."

This is all to the good, but it's not quite enough. I think Britain should withdraw from the Beijing Olympics altogether. I am sorry for the athletes who have trained for it and everything, but only withdrawal (and trade sanctions) would hit the Chinese government where it hurts the most - in their pockets.

So far the Chinese government's record on human rights has got worse in advance of the Olympics, not better.

• They have cracked down on protests in Tibet [sign Tibet petition];
  
• imprisoned Hu Jia, human rights activist [sign Hu Jia petition];
• had a general crackdown on human rights activists (Amnesty report);
  
• rounded up all the cats in Beijing (not just strays but domestic cats) and left them to die slowly in tiny cages [sign cat petition];
• sentenced a businessman to death for allegedly spying for Taiwan;
• arrested a Christian bookshop owner (December 2007); part of an ongoing campaign. (I am as irritated by Christian evangelism as the next person, but there's no need to torture and kill them.)
  

in memoriam

In memory of Martin Luther King Jr, murdered on this day in 1968.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Soulforce have a special update today reflecting on the relevance of Dr King's message to the struggle for LGBT equality; the parallels are quite startling.

While LGBT people defend their own dignity and struggle toward liberation, there are those within the Methodist denomination who would seek to attack the disenfranchised and label them "disrespectful, disruptive, and self-righteous."

Similarly...

In 1939, the Methodist Church told African Americans they were not welcome in the same church pews as whites and the Central Jurisdiction was formed as a racial compromise.

Chinese human rights activist jailed

Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia 胡嘉 has been jailed for "subversion" by the Chinese government.

He has long campaigned for the environment, religious freedom and for the rights of people with HIV and Aids.

BBC - Jail for Chinese rights activist

Sign the Reporters Sans Frontières petition.

When will the Chinese government realise that the more they suppress dissent, the more of it there will be, and the less impressed the rest of the world will be with their human rights record (both in China itself, and in Tibet)?

name meme

1. ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet, current car): Spicy Passat

2. GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite Kind of shoe): Ginger Doc Martens

3. HIPPY NAME: (what you ate for breakfast, fav tree): Jordans Birch

4. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Angharad Southampton (I haven't actually got a middle name but my dad wanted to call me Angharad)

5. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Abu Yv

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink): Green Green Tea

7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers/grandmothers): Felix Harold Mildred Doris

8. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Ylang-ylang Winegums

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 4th grade teacher’s last name, a city that starts with the same letter): Evans-Teush Edinburgh

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Beltane Cherry-blossom

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Sharon Hoodie

(Found at Copper's Klatsch and Catch-All)

ET loves Firefox

Even aliens prefer Firefox:

cheezburger kweschchun

Haz enywun akshly observd teh kittehs eatin teh cheezburgers? Must hav objektiv evidenz. Ai notiz that there iz no akshul kittehs in teh picturs akshly eatin cheezburgers. Simlurly, there iz no akshul evidenz of teh gendah of teh Ceilin Cat. Kthxbai

would you Adam and Eve it?

Parents in Manchester have complained about naked swimming, claiming that it's unhygienic (though it's obvious that the complaint is really just motivated by prudery).

The naked swimming is taking place in a private, closed session in a public pool (so no-one actually sees the naked people in public). The group concerned book the swimming pool of an evening.

Parents have complained that their children subsequently have to swim in the same pool. Well, as various commenters on the story have pointed out, swimming trunks are not an impermeable membrane - people's naked tackle is touched by the communal water when they've got swimming trunks on as well. Besides, that's what chlorine is for.

It's just a small-minded response to the idea of nudity. Though I wonder if the fact that the naked swimming group also happens to consist of gay men might have something to do with it.

The Secret

(warning: may cause explosive laughter)

And for those who don't know what The Secret is. You probably will by the end of the video.

I found this very funny indeed, as I am deeply irritated by the utter smugness of the Secret, cosmic ordering and all that. So basically, if bad things happen to you, it's your fault for not attracting good things to you. Yeah, let's kick the dispossessed while they're down.

Spotted by Alison