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Teachers have god complex?

2006-10-23T22:16:00.000+08:00

In reaction to the story I wrote on ‘Fake News Reporting Encourages Fighting Teachers,’ Dendude posted his comment saying, he, too was detained for telling the truth. He questions the god complex of teachers. Here is his comment. My reply follows.

posted by Dendude on 10/23/2006 05:29
I have no doubt's that even if this note is fake, somewhere out there is a teacher that is incorrectly teaching exactly that. Example: When I was in 4th grade a science teacher was explaining to the class that the shadows created on the moon during the different phases were created by the earth casting a shadow, I said that I thought the shadows were created by the moon itself and that a lunar eclipse is the only time the earth casts a shadow on the moon. I too was labeled a trouble maker for daring to question their authority, even though I was right. I refused to back down and I too was given a detention....for being right.

It is my belief that all too many teachers suffer from the same affliction as doctor, it's called a God complex. They actually feel that they are superior to any of the students, and no student (especially a 9 year old one) could know more than themselves. Twenty five years later I am dating a woman with a 8 year old son, we were in the back yard one night and I was showing him the different constellations and he asked me about the moon. I explained the different phases of the moon and what caused the "shadow" that we see. I then asked him to ask his teacher the next day the same question......the answer??? The shadows on the moons surface are caused by the earth.

The ignorance is astounding

Hey, Dendude,

You made a very intelligent comment. But first, let's veer away from the issue of news legitimacy and shift to the teacher issue - because it is what you're dealing with.

I used to be a teacher in college - in Philosophy even. I would welcome questions and I would reward students who dared to challenge my views. I would intentionally write erroneous things on the board to see who of them were thinking.

You see, students had long been conditioned just to listen to teachers and therefore student talk is scarce. Nobody asks questions.

Yes, teachers do make errors. That's why they have to study their lessons always. Nobody ever claimed they are infallible.

Dendude, why don't you write about this thing? It would be an interesting feature. I'll be your first reader.

A statue is just a concrete block

2006-10-21T12:33:00.000+08:00

Jesus Statue Carries Cross After Storm

Posted by zzzx47 Fri Oct 20 14:50 MST

iTakNews.com

Original link for the story

Have you noticed that this "news" says –

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Do you know that this serves as a disclaimer? The "news" rating is dubious then. Zero credibility. The source does not even want to be responsible for the publication.

With sources like this, it is better not to re-distribute it even by way of linking.

And may I add: That's only a statue. It has no power over anything. It is just a concrete block.

Mainstream Media Credit not attractive anymore

2006-10-17T23:59:00.000+08:00

ARTICLE FEEDBACK
FOR
Vincent Maher
re Blogger's Investigation Ousts Swedish Minister

You have underscored “has not been credited” by mainstream media. As for me, I would not depend too much on them. Before, they were the kings. In the context of today, they are not.

The point is that production of information is not only for the powerful nowadays. It is only that they have the machinery, and the usual audience that are mostly advertisers. But today, with technology and open access to the Internet, citizens have learned that they do not have to kowtow anymore to traditional media which lords it over in mainstream media. Blogging is just as powerful. The information highways now have almost equalized access to ideas and their dissemination.

On constructive nudging, this is where we can play our part as bloggers. There are many issues around that are not touched by traditional journalists. In the Philippines, for example, no one is paying attention to the evil effects of block voting done by a religious sect that is courted even by presidential candidates. After elections, the sect collects in so many ways, putting its influence in many quarters in as sensitive as law enforcement and justice. I’ve done my part here. I’ve sent my challenge to investigative journalists. It remains to be seen if someone has the guts to follow up and act on it.

What religious freedom in the Philippines?

2006-09-17T19:14:00.000+08:00

Dear Jose Katigbak,
STAR, Washington Bureau

Funny story you wrote!

What religious freedom in the Philippines?

"Generally respected" is a neutral description but was blown up in your title to "praises" as to impress to the readers that the Philippines indeed is enjoying religious freedom. How could the US government be praising another government that prefers to practice selective perception?

It is not just to the Muslims that the Philippine government is failing to score in terms of religious freedom. The Movies and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) alone under the Office of the President and headed by Ma. Consoliza Laguardia is patently biased and along human rights and religious freedom has dismal, dispiriting scores. Laguardia has been partial to the Ang Dating Daan ever since, while favoring the interests of another group. Please read -

Church Politicking may Push RP as Country of Particular Concern

Soriano, the Great Communicator, Will Not Budge

Mangled Tapes set to make Muslims hit Christian Preacher

I hope you’ll get to know why these things are happening.

When the guys prefer to scratch each other’s back, then they begin to tear someone to pieces so that they can continue with their shenanigans.

This is what we call a system – an evil system – and there is no religious freedom in it.

Fury as academics claim 9/11 was 'inside job'

2006-09-07T12:26:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

An inside job would not be logical. But the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and whatever agencies involved - going all for the glory, never wanting to share data, secretly wanting to grab the limelight alone when one day they catch the big one - is logical.

A mere “inside job” speculation like this does not help any. It only confirms the West’s inability to distinguish moderate Islamists from the extremists and in so doing advance the cause of the latter. Ever heard of the new Muslim consciousness?

While much effort are being spent to understand the ideology of these people and make for sensible approaches toward solutions, careless talk and actions from the academe meanwhile gnaw faster to decimate such efforts without any idea how such talk can work to backfire. And how! In the end, bin Laden’s dreams, in the noise of all these theorizing, may see fulfillment as their hero’s statistics of American catch is toted up.

Harry Potter, signature of the king of darkness

2006-09-05T11:18:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Amen to that. Satan is the prince of the air, riding roughshod over communication lines - albeit subtly. If one is not careful over what he views and what he reads, then he or she may be influenced by these forms of broadcasts. Ever heard of subliminal messages? There are a lot on TV these days.

Let's say you are fond of viewing drama where people's language are corrupt and the characters are beautiful but the behavior is more base than that of an animal. Without your knowing it, eventually, you would be receiving the language and the behavior as normal and acceptable even, that you begin to internalize them as part of your system.

Now, I understand why my elders proscribed the viewing of such films. The mind is better kept pristine from the ways of this world. Really, one doesn't have to taste poison to know it's poison.

An Island Is Born

2006-09-05T05:53:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

I have been watching an island this size from a distance and the effect is poetic. The island changes shape. It's not the same throughout. Some days it looks like the letter O, sometimes a C, sometimes an L, sometimes an S. And sometimes you don't see it at all, but this is very rare. It all depends upon the play of tide on it. The island is very white at times too, and sometimes very pink. This is the effect of corals on it. I wrote a poem about this island, in fact.

I hope this one doesn't disappear.

Half-baked news foisted on us again

2006-09-02T03:07:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Home > Brian Ross Special Index > The Blotter

Once again, there is news with so many quotation marks for blind items and many loopholes. Who are "informed sources close to the mediations" that Hoda Osman used as sources?

Osman wrote >>>>>The U.S. secretly negotiated with the group through leaders of "the Palestinian popular resistance committees." Who are these leaders and these committees? What were this group's "real demands?"

Most of all, what are the identities of those two Fox News journalists in Gaza, supposedly kidnapped on August 14 that are the subjects of this news? With all these ambiguities in this account, this so-called “news” is half-baked!

So, when will traditional reporting of this kind change?

What are we to imitate?

2006-08-31T11:12:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

How could a mere homo sapiens imitate Jesus Christ on his walking on water? Remember, He is also spirit - of a level very much different from man's category, therefore capable of doing things man cannot do.

This is also not the point Christ wanted to make. We are not to imitate His miracles. If we are to imitate Him, it should be in loving our brother as He had exemplified. Love, He said, is the greatest commandment that man must follow.

The story exemplifies the great accountability of anyone preaching for Christ. If one lacks understanding, then he may not have been appointed for the job.

Hanging young girl for "having a sharp tongue"

2006-08-29T10:28:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Everywhere you go, you can read of Freedom of Speech being nailed to its cross many times over in a day. Or so they thought.

However, Freedom of Speech is a spirit.

It cannot die – as long as there are fighters willing to fight for it.

If the young girl's sin was only in reminding the religious judge “to punish the main perpetrators of moral corruption not the victims,” who do you think is more in the right?

Who has killed more, Satan or God?

2006-08-28T02:25:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Wrong mathematics! How could satan have killed only 10? Killing is not just physical! The worst kind of death is spiritual and satan has caused many to die that way - and is still at it.

Katrina rescuer is sued by boat owner

2006-08-28T02:17:00.000+08:00

>>>>> A Broadmoor man who said he rescued more than 200 residents after commandeering a boat left by a neighbor during the flood after Hurricane Katrina is being sued by the boat's owner for taking it "without...

In case of emergency, asking permission for the use of anything takes a backseat. Where life is at stake and societal interest is concerned, the owner of everything is the owner of owners. How base to stoop that low. Are the lives of 200 dependent on his measly permission?

Da Vinci coders vandalising

2006-08-28T00:51:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Such kind of treasure hunting now validates the brainsick effects of that Da Vinci novel. Meanwhile, Dan Brown can just laugh out loud at these fools believing every fairy tale he has churned out while he enjoys his money without any sense of responsibility.

Research - not an excuse for lazy bones

2006-08-28T00:39:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Young people need to be trained to wake up early. Therefore, they should sleep early to be able to do this. If melatonin after puberty does not show up until 9 or 10 p.m. or whatever time, the child is still responsible for seeing to it that he or she is out of bed to do his tasks at the proper time. Waking up early is a healthy habit to develop.

Classes are not the only reason for waking up early. There is making use of the daytime responsibly to consider.

Research on melatonin should not be used as an excuse for lazy bones. At best, melatonin comes on from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and one must take advantage of that by sleeping. Whatever one is doing at the time it comes on, it does not deflect from the fact that everyone is given an equal number of hours each day and an equal number of hours each week. It is then the lookout for everyone to use time responsibly.

Telephone and Internet communications intercepted

2006-08-23T22:31:00.000+08:00

August 18, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Detroit News

Bush wiretaps illegal

Feds will appeal Detroit judge's ruling

By GREGG KRUPA

Let’s see what happens next. This is great America. Let’s see the example she gives to the world. In other countries like Maharlika, the President can easily escape from persecution, thanks to her party mates and the influence of whatever church group favors her.

Where telephone and Internet communications are intercepted without warrants, in the local level, it can always be done. Now, this is a test case for America. Let's see how American justice can be any different.

For terrorism you say?

Johnny, How did you know?

2006-08-23T02:49:00.000+08:00

Tips For racial profiling (by BigBadJohnny)

My friend,

How did you know all these things? It looks like a case of just answering the police officer in a manner just to save one's skin. But after that, what? And how can you be so sure of your liberty after mouthing out lies?

Why should I deny that I believe in a Supreme Being? Will the police take my lie for his question?

Oh, Johnny, come on! You're like one teaching children with lollypops still in their mouths. Have you forgotten that people now stand more for their rights, and speak out their minds? Are you not tired of being bullied that long? I would rather tell the truth than expect lies to protect me.

Here's to freedom!

The Problem is that IQ is not EQ

2006-08-21T16:41:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Commendable! You can only find one in a million people like this. Unspoiled by materialism, power, and attention. However, I think he is over-doing it to the point of making such an attitude a liability.

If the story is true - 1) that he is unemployed, and 2) that he is depending on her mother’s $74 pension, then spurning a million-dollar prize for his solution to a century-old puzzle known as the Poincare Conjecture is indeed foolish.

Imagine what a million-dollar prize would do. If Grigory "Grisha" Perelman did not want the money, then he could just donate it to charity. Wouldn’t he be able to help his mother a lot with this money instead of being a burden to her financially? If his mother knew of his decision, would she be happy with this “innate modesty” of his son?

The story presents a side of him, too, as having been affected with what people thought of him. It is said he was not re-elected in the Steklov Institute in St Petersburg as a member in 2003 wherein he suffered a crisis of confidence and since then set himself apart.

Now that Perelman has shown himself smarter than most, his shunning a prize and lack of interest in it all the more shows him as proud and incapable of adjusting to the flaws of others. Well, after all, research says intelligence quotient is not necessarily emotional quotient.

When we think about it, our gifts are not exclusively ours. They were given for a noble purpose, therefore, should not be taken lightly as absolutely ours to decide what fate they would fall under. We could use our gifts and what influence and good they bring to help other people and society as a whole.

News . . . . Here it comes

2006-08-17T22:42:00.000+08:00

Animal Compassion Like no Other

2006-08-16T05:31:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

Man can learn from such show of animal compassion. It would do a lot of good for society if this kind of monitoring translate into documentaries and finally into movies for wider viewing. In our day-to-day concerns sometimes we lose awareness of others and show no concern for their suffering - much less want to do something, although we see them very much in need of our understanding.

Go, Research and Talk about Depleted Uranium

2006-08-14T12:33:00.000+08:00

Re: U.S. Soldiers are Sick of It

Associated Press 10:20 AM Aug, 12, 2006
Original link for the story

A letter to the soldiers:

Yes, please do research. That is the only recourse for anyone wanting answers. Radiation is really invisible, tasteless, has no smell and its presence very hard to prove.

One thing though that you have to be ready to face is this: Any stand on depleted uranium (DU) needs a study or research for basis. Research to be conclusive of its findings needs numbers “to be clinically significant." In this regard, you will hardly have the required percentage because the gargantuan total population of soldiers expected to have been subjected to depleted uranium must be considered. This is the tyranny in numbers.

A mild example that could be given for this is the case of a cosmetic drug suspected to induce suicidal tendencies. There were several adverse drug reaction reports on this that included psychotic tendencies received by the FDA but it could not stop its manufacture – because of numbers. The British Association of Dermatologists was saying it needed at least 80,000 volunteers to be tested for the drug for findings to be conclusive.

Now, in your case they laugh at your measly 32 because it is “far too small” But 32 is 32 lives, you say? Because the number of soldiers in both Iraq wars is more than 900,000 – and this becomes the so-called population from which you base your sample.

Right, go around and tell your comrades about DU – and its possibilities. Perhaps you might yet save others from becoming zombies like you. While others need numbers in order to move, you have your dear health at stake. There is nothing better than health that man needs to hold on to in order to survive. How else can you think when you also lose your brain to DU?

Postscript: Wired News had reported that this was written by Anonymous, perhaps because I had attended to posting first before updating my account then. Here was my follow up -

I wrote this letter. And I am responsible for...janeabao on 08/14/06 4:55 GMT

I wrote this letter. And I am responsible for what I wrote. I am wondering why it came out as written by "anonymous." Please make the necessary correction.
janeabao

And this guy backs me up!

"DU is 60% as radioactive as natural...yogrr on 08/15/06 8:53 GMT

"DU is 60% as radioactive as natural uranium". Technically true, but uranium can't be found in "pure" form in nature. It is mined from rocks containing about 0.1% uranium oxide. On the other hand, depleted uranium shells used by the U.S. Army contain 96.5% uranium. That explains why the alloy used in DU shells is actually hundreds of times more radioactive than any uranium ore found in nature.

None among the Foolish shall Understand

2006-08-13T18:45:00.000+08:00

Evangelicals urge museum to hide man's ancestors
By Mike Pflanz in Nairob

Original link for the story

From the title alone, Telegraph is in no better position to understand man’s creation than the reporter. To say “hide man’s ancestors” is already assuming that indeed man has evolved from apes! How ready are you to accept such a conclusion?

Granting that man has evolved, why did man today have to stop evolving from his present self that he fails to come to a higher level of understanding and insist on believing he has evolved?

There is no stopping those who prefer to remain fools. Those who refuse to believe that there is a higher being and that man has a better destiny than just evolve, are part of those prophesied to lack understanding. Indeed, the Bible says, none among the foolish shall understand.

Measuring the Preacher Soriano of Dating Daan

2006-08-13T10:19:00.000+08:00

Re: Movie-TV board suspends Brother Eli’s ‘Dating Daan’
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 00:54am (Mla time) 08/13/2006

Published on page F1 of the August 13, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The reporter wrote: Laguardia quoted the memo, which stated: “[The] utterances of Soriano… constitute a violation of Section 3, par. (c), v and vii of Presidential Decree No. 1986 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.”

When you write news and you mention a law or statute or whatever regulation you said is being violated, you should spell out or at least give a gist of the concerned regulation. At least when you do this, you preclude mistaking paragraphs that are supposed to be violated. In this regard, I think your writer is mixed up in mentioning the supposed paragraphs. Paragraph v is about drugs.

I have scanned for that regulation from the Internet and this is what it says of Section 3, par. (c), v and vii of Presidential Decree No. 1986

SECTION 3. Powers and Functions. - The BOARD shall have the following functions, powers and duties:

c) To approve or disapprove, delete objectionable portions from and/or prohibit the importation, exportation, production, copying, distribution, sale, lease, exhibition and/or television broadcast of the motion pictures, television programs and publicity materials subject of the preceding paragraph, which, in the judgment of the board applying contemporary Filipino cultural values as standard, are objectionable for being immoral, indecent, contrary to law and/or good customs, injurious to the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines or its people, or with a dangerous tendency to encourage the commission of violence or of wrong or crime, such as but not limited to:

i) Those which tend to incite subversion, insurrection, rebellion or sedition against the State, or otherwise threaten the economic and/or political stability of the State;

ii) Those which tend to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or the duly constituted authorities;

iii) Those which glorify criminals or condone crimes;

iv) Those which serve no other purpose but to satisfy the market for violence or pornography;

v) Those which tend to abet the traffic in and use of prohibited drugs;

vi) Those which are libelous or defamatory to the good name and reputation of any person, whether living or dead; and

vii) Those which may constitute contempt of court or of any quasi-judicial tribunal, or pertain to matter which are sub-judice in nature.

Provided, however, That deletions or cuts must not be made on the master negative of the films, and that such master negative shall be deposited with the Film Archives of the Philippines and shall be released for export purposes to the film owner only upon showing of the proper export permit; Provided, finally, That the film owner shall execute his own undertaking that such master negative shall be exclusively used for export purposes and not for local showing;

To supervise, regulate, and grant, deny or cancel, permits for the importation, exportation, production, copying, distribution, sale, lease, exhibition, and/or television broadcast of all motion pictures, television programs and publicity materials, to the end that no such pictures, programs and materials as are determined by the BOARD to be objectionable in accordance with paragraph (c) hereof shall be imported, exported, produced, copied, reproduced, distributed, sold, leased, exhibited and/or broadcast by television;

Respondent Eliseo Soriano can be better appreciated for his merits or demerits by looking into where he comes from.

First, Soriano is a preacher tasked to spread the word of God. Second, because of his mission, he has the Bible for his authority on the width and breadth of his speaking. Therefore, in case of conflict, he would take the first cause.

Telling the truth – if only to use it for the spread of God’s word, has no limits. For example, what bad practices he sees that must be stopped, Soriano would tell it as it is. Otherwise, he would fail in his mission.

This is the lot of a preacher faithful in his mission. He would willingly suffer than fail in his task. Let the whole world be against him but he has his God to satisfy. Laws that are man-made, if they contravene God’s word, are toothless. He has a more powerful God to obey.

Sharpening the Mind

2006-08-12T23:53:00.000+08:00

FOR Asad Yawar (AlexYawar)
Is the Internet killing the Protestant work ethic?
The World Wide Waste?

The Internet is viewed differently by each worker. It depends upon the individual really – whether she uses it for just playing, whiling away the time for chatting, trying to win games, or enjoying some shows.

There are others, however, who make use of the Internet in the most positive way, looking for ways to improve themselves. In between heavy writing tasks, they would take time to shift attention by reading publications, reacting to them, or developing their own blogs. I refer to this group that lately got media attention. In cyberspeak, they are referred to as bloggers that media now considers as possible source for news, opinions, and ideas.

These kinds usually are into many sites - of critical thinking organizations, of language experts, and of several writers’ groups and news organizations. They are there to read ideas, react, and contribute their share sometimes by writing. They do this as diversion. And in doing so, would they be considered wasting time?

In the long run, they can contribute to the organization just by developing their thinking. As such, they will have earned their salaries in a more profound and lasting manner as they use their minds in speaking at meetings, in writing for publications, in research, in proposing for changes, in reaching out to policy makers, and many more. The trick is in being able to set a balance so that work itself does not become the diversion while navigating the Internet becomes the rule.

The truth is, we do not measure productivity by constantly making sure that workers pound directly on the product. It is best that they take time to calibrate their mind, which is the necessary tool for thinking.

koteet, 2006/08/13 00:38

Don't abandon questions

2006-08-12T22:12:00.000+08:00

FOR Deepak Adhikari (deeplog)
A Nepali Journalist Abroad - OhmyNews International
An interview with Dharma Adhikari on blogs, citizen journalism and mainstream media

"So write with empathy, not cynicism."

I hope you don't mean readily believing what one sees and hears. When one is a critical thinker, she takes things slower than most others, asking herself why, why, why.

koteet, 2006/07/31 14:31

Female Bus Driver Accused of Raping Boy, 13

2006-08-12T10:59:00.000+08:00

Original link for the story

The details in the story are scanty. The writer should have written more backgrounder for reader appreciation. But the topic is quite alarming!

Male or female, the evil knows no gender. This is so because the adversary - who uses willing people - knows that he has but a short time left.