Entries categorized as 'Fark'
September 14, 2007 · 2 Comments
On occasion, and sadly, not often enough, I derive enormous amounts of pleasure from snippets that I read on the Internet. Most articles that you read about kids consist of the doom and gloom about teenagers - how kids are on drugs, or teens are robbing liquor stores and putting it on YouTube, or students are shooting up high schools and colleges, or kids are apathetic general. You know the familar refrain.
This story is most definitely not about any of those topics.
This is a story about the best of our kids.
The Grade 9 student arrived for the first day of school last Wednesday and was set upon by a group of six to 10 older students who mocked him, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up.
The next day, Grade 12 students David Shepherd and Travis Price decided something had to be done about bullying.
“It’s my last year. I’ve stood around too long and I wanted to do something,” said David.
They used the Internet to encourage people to wear pink and bought 75 pink tank tops for male students to wear. They handed out the shirts in the lobby before class last Friday — even the bullied student had one.
Wait. There’s more.
“The bullies got angry,” said Travis. “One guy was throwing chairs (in the cafeteria). We’re glad we got the response we wanted.”
David said one of the bullies angrily asked him whether he knew pink on a male was a symbol of homosexuality.
He told the bully that didn’t matter to him and shouldn’t to anyone.
This bit of good news comes via Fark from the Chronicle Herald - in Nova Scotia. The only beef that I have with this is that it didn’t occur in the United States, so I could wave an American flag as I write.
Life imitates John Hughes. Can real life have mid-80’s new wave music playing in the background?
Today’s Hope For Humanity Award is hereby given to high school students David Shepherd and Travis Price. The world can learn a lot from you two kids. I applaud.
Categories: Culture · Education · Fark · Human Interest · Opinion · POW - The blog
EUGENE, Ore. — An Oregon State University study suggests that anti-smoking ads by the tobacco industry targeted at youths and their parents do not work and might actually encourage some teens to smoke.
At best, the ads have no effect, said Brian Flay, a professor in Oregon State’s department of public health in Corvallis, one of nine researchers who studied tobacco-industry ads. He said some ads, particularly those aimed at parents, may actually encourage smoking.
Cigarette maker Philip Morris USA disputes the results. Philip Morris says not only has it spent $1 billion to develop and disseminate advertising aimed at deterring youth smoking but it also has research that shows the ads work. It says the ads are based on widely accepted research and don’t carry hidden messages.
People:
1. Tell your children not to smoke.
2. Tell them more than once.
3. If you smoke, try like Hell to quit. It will kill you.
4. If you don’t smoke, don’t give people Hell that do. Believe me, they want to quit and can’t. Be encouraging if you can, though.
Categories: Fark · Health · Human Interest
PITTSBURGH - A city attorney is suing the creator of a Web site that lets women dish dirt on men they claim have wronged them, saying they made defamatory statements about him.
Attorney Todd J. Hollis sued because he contends two Pittsburgh-area women and other anonymous users posted items about him on http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com in which they claim he is unfaithful, among other things, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Thursday.
Yahoo News. Via, surprise of surprises,
Fark. Remember, kids! You have to sign up to see the comments!
Typically, I’m in favor of a little tit-for-tat. But how surprised can anyone be when they run a website like this in our hyper-litigous society?
I’m not going to defend the guy, though.
And… uh… I probably won’t go to the website. Probably, anyway.
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Categories: Fark · Internet
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A man made a mockery of the justice system when he tried to get removed from a jury pool in a death penalty case by claiming he is a heroin addict and a killer, a judge said.
Benjamin Ratliffe, 21, of Columbus, was charged with contempt of court and obstruction of justice and ordered to spend a night in jail.
Yahoo News. However, if you really want to read some hilarious reponses to this, head over to
Fark.
I am not a big fan of the American system of justice, for several reasons:
1. If have enough money, you can almost always beat the rap, unless it’s insider trading, fraud, or tax evasion.
2. The death penalty is a travesty of American justice, because it disproportonately is used against minorities and the poor. States shouldn’t be in death business, anyway.
3. I actually went to law school for a little while, and it was probably my biggest mistake. True quote from an attorney friend of mine: "Clark, you seem like a nice guy. Why the hell would you want to be a lawyer?!"
Granted, the American legal system is still probably one of the best, if not the best, in the world. But let’s be real. The rich people make all the rules. That’s it.
Of course, I’ve never had jury duty. I hear that’s it’s horrific, however.
I’d like to think that I’d go if called.
But, you know, sometimes I’m not quite sure.
Categories: Fark · Legal
Imagine a vaccine that would protect women from a serious gynecological cancer. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, both Merck and GlaxoSmithKline recently announced that they have conducted successful trials of vaccines that protect against the human papilloma virus. HPV is not only an incredibly widespread sexually transmitted infection but is responsible for at least 70 percent of cases of cervical cancer, which is diagnosed in 10,000 American women a year and kills 4,000. Wonderful, you are probably thinking, all we need to do is vaccinate girls (and boys too for good measure) before they become sexually active, around puberty, and HPV–and, in thirty or forty years, seven in ten cases of cervical cancer–goes poof. Not so fast: We’re living in God’s country now. The Christian right doesn’t like the sound of this vaccine at all. "Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful," Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council told the British magazine New Scientist, "because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.
Uh. Well.
*drumming fingers on desk, obviously needing a moment to compose himself…*
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.
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Surely, surely, you’re not telling me that the United State of America is not going to save people’s lives, women’s lives, because a vaccine that protects against HPV might make it safer to engage in sex? No, excuse me, premarital sex?
No, seriously.
So, then are you saying that there is going to be a political battle over this?
Really?
Oh, really?
Yeah, right. My daughter is getting vaccinated. You just try and stop me.
Once again, I’m embarrassed for the state of humanity today. I’d rant and rave about how many people’s lives could be saved (approximately 275,000), and spout off a bunch more fact and figures, but I’m tired. So very tired. Wake me when the Bird Flu hits.
Categories: Fark · Health · Politics
ORLANDO, Fla. - President Bush suggested Wednesday that he’d like to see his family’s White House legacy continue, perhaps with his younger brother Jeb as the chief executive.
The president said Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is well-suited for another office and would make “a great president.”
Here’s an idea that I can get behind. No more Bushes, no more Clintons. Let’s just, you know, figure out some decent candidates next time around. Please? I’m begging, here. Please.
Of course, ideally, the person that should be President is probably way, way too smart to run.
There’s an interesting idea.
Categories: Fark · Politics
I want a Freeware Utility to … 450+ common problems solved.
Extremely useful free utilities that do specific jobs really well and save time and money.
Open Source Software is listed separately.
Behold the beauty, and the terrible, terrible power that is
Fark.
Do not lose this post. Bookmark the above link. Use it. Love it. Do not forget it.
Categories: Fark · Free · Free Stuff · Human Interest · Open Source · Software
