John Hunter on the World Peace Game | Video on TED.com

John Hunter on the World Peace Game | Video on TED.com

FDA pressured to combat rising 'food fraud' - washingtonpost.com

FDA pressured to combat rising 'food fraud' - washingtonpost.com

"The Ramen Girl" Screening & Ramen Demo at Rosen College

February 20, 2010 (RSVP required for cooking demo):

Women and Politics: Discretion, Please?

I'm a woman. I'm vastly proud of how far we've come in earning a place in society to have our say, and be heard. Especially in politics. While we may have had to exert extreme candor to get ourselves an audience on salient issues, and be pushy in communications to be taken seriously, there are just certain times when we should learn to simply keep our mouths shut: Ann. Hillary. Palin. Martha!!

I don't care which political party you support, think before you speak.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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Jon Stewart on Martha Coakley

See Penny on Santa's List

My daughter Penny made Santa's List "http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/176401-wackyfiasco/" - Send your Picture to Santa and See Which List You've Made This Year

Covenant House Gift Catalog - Covenant House

Covenant House Gift Catalog - Covenant House

You are able to specify how your donation is spent!

Rubbernecking on the Road: Safety and Ethics

Most of us get frustrated whenever drivers slow down to gawk at an accident or someone getting a ticket (or a pretty lady holding up a sign for something). There have been explanations about why people do it:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/390267/rubbernecks_exposed_why_people_gawk.html

I used to love watching horror films when I was younger, because it was so raw, shocking and novel, compared to all the cutesy and safe entertainment I had to be satisfied with before that, but I knew it wasn't real. The gory scenes were almost cartoon-like in their garishness, but eventually, the slasher-type gore-fests became rather mundane, scripted and monotonous, so as a true adult I came to prefer more suspense-based, more "probable" horror movies.

When "Faces Of Death" became popular in the 80's, however, I was disturbed, appalled and insulted. I refused to watch them: It was one thing to watch dramatized make-believe stuff, but someone real who was perhaps loved and had a life, with parents and people grieving for them was having their final moments exploited as a form of macabre entertainment, and I wasn't about to let anyone profit from me with something like that! Likewise, something about rubbernecking somehow to me is an affront to those unfortunate people's dignities. Educational documentaries are a different matter. I will usually watch those, about things like the Holocaust, unethical and animal abuses, but not for any curiosity about the spectacle of suffering and loss: It is painful for me to watch those, but it is important to know what really happens so that people will always remember what can happen and do what they can to prevent it from happening again.

My main concern with the type of voyeurism involved in an activity such as rubbernecking is the potential for desensitizing and apathy. Perhaps some things you shouldn't get used to (unless you have little choice in the matter, like for Police and Fire Rescue work), or you might not be affected enough to give a damn and do something about it when it really matters. Like an incident when one poor pedestrain was hit on the road and only 1 man came to his aid in a crowd of onlookers:



Nobody nearby knew basic First Aid??

I don't want us to become throw-backs to when "civilized" Rome watched gladiators kill each other for sport and watched Christians get eaten alive by hungry lions. The people in those collisions aren't willing participants in some reality TV show for your voyeurism.

Besides, your risk of getting into an accident greatly increases when you are distracted while driving, and that includes rubbernecking:

http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/personal_injury/car/statistics.html

"Car accident statistics indicate 98 percent of reported accidents involve a single distracted driver. Rubbernecking was the highest percentage of single distractions, followed by driver fatigue, looking at scenery or landmarks, passenger or child distractions, adjusting the radio or other music form, and cell phone use."

There are actually products (used before in states like Massachusetts) that are supposed to help prevent rubbernecking:

http://www.rubberneckless.com/index.htm

My suggestion to those tempted to concentrate their attention on an accident scene while driving: Show some class, stop ogling, and keep your eyes toward the direction in which you are traveling, please??

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