H/T Jerry Coyne.
Why give up our voice, influence and opt for an uncertain future? I shall vote IN on 23rd June
4 June 2016 by Leave a Comment
By Geoffrey White a member of one of the “SY2E – Remain in the EU” groups.
I grew up in a time of post-war austerity. My country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was broke and virtually in ruins. Germans were still “the enemy” in children’s games. Bomb sites and abandoned air-raid shelters were our playgrounds. Nine years after the war ended butter, meat and sugar were still rationed. One couldn’t buy sweets without coupons issued by the government.
Portugal and Spain were fascist dictatorships. In Spain unauthorised gatherings of more than 3 people were illegal. A military junta later seized power in Greece.
Half of Europe was sealed off behind the Iron Curtain. I remember lying in bed at night, in my parents home, and hearing the roar of American warplanes flying overhead on their Cold War missions. We were told that, if the Russians unleashed…
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Brexit and the NIESR
2 June 2016 by Leave a Comment
I have been conducting a Facebook debate with some chums about Brexit. Two (who shall remain nameless), in particular, are fiercely pro-Brexit where I am firmly on the side of #Remain. One of these Brexistas made reference to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) referring to material by Angus Armstrong to support some point he was trying to make.
For those unfamiliar with the NIESR, this is from their website:
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research is Britain’s longest established independent research institute, founded in 1938. The vision of our founders was to carry out research to improve understanding of the economic and social forces that affect people’s lives, and the ways in which policy can bring about change.
I have spent the day trawling through some of the material on the NIESR website. There’s a load of stuff, but I tried to focus on recent, Brexit-related material. What follows is selected quotes (bold text is my emphasis) from the material. I admit to bias, but I have tried to use quotes that accurately reflect the meaning of the source.
I am posting this on ODDROPS because WordPress is easier to use than Facebook for this kind of article. [Read more…]
Review: Adult Colouring App
1 June 2016 by Leave a Comment
Colouring apps for adults seem to be increasingly popular. I decided to have a look around and see whether I’d have fun with one. Most of the apps that I looked at offer a free version with in app purchases required to unlock additional facilities. Some such as Pigment and Colorfy are subscription-based. But I thought £3 a week forever for something I wanted as an occasional diversion and not an obsession was over the top. I decided to go with Adult Colouring. The name is unfortunate as it suggests something naughty, which, of course, is not the case.
I installed Adult Colouring on my 12″ iPad Pro and worked with the Apple Pencil. I played around with the free version and decided that the price to unlock the full version was fair. [Read more…]
The Great EU Debate: Boris Johnson vs Boris Johnson
31 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
A little bit of fun at BoJo’s expense…
Here it is – the great EU referendum debate featuring two of the finest debaters on opposite sides of the EU argument:
Boris Johnson vs Boris Johnson
Question Number 1.
How necessary or important is it that this referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU takes place? Over to you first, Mr Boris Johnson …
What do you have to say to that, Mr Johnson?
Strong words from Boris for his opponent Boris Johnson. Now for question Number 2.
What would happen if Britain left the EU. Mr Johnson?
And what do you think Mr Johnson?
So a huge disagreement between Boris and his opponent Boris. Question Number 3.
Some people claim it would be too difficult in practical terms for Britain to leave the EU. Mr Johnson, do you agree?
Mr Johnson? Do you agree with Mr Johnson?
Question Number 4…
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Let’s Be Honest: 10 Questions Every Christian Needs To Answer
31 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
Skepticism is healthy. Any philosophy worth believing is worth questioning. These are 10 questions I have for believers to get them to see if their faith is valid and worth keeping. Chances are, you have some questions of your own that you would like those of a religious mindset to ponder as well.
Source: Let’s Be Honest: 10 Questions Every Christian Needs To Answer • The Thinker
Brexit
27 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
Thoughtful piece…
One of the problems with democracy, is that the average voter knows relatively little about the complex and nuanced realities of the economy and the wider world. The precarious balancing act of fiscal policy, domestic spending, diplomacy, taxation, trade and more, is like trying to blow a ball of jelly up a hill using trained ferrets with hairdryers strapped to their backs.
Fanciful concepts like closing borders, halving tax rates or disbanding government departments, can sound attractive when considered in isolation, but when understood from a wider position you realise that everything is linked and has a knock on effect. If every decision in this country went to a referendum, we would be bankrupt in a few years and before long degenerate into a failed, lawless state. Ok, so that is a slight exaggeration.
There exists a safety net. All of the main parties are relatively sensible, although they can wildly…
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7 Years
24 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
This is a beautiful song that I discovered watching Britain’s Got Talent (I know, I know). There’s a twofer as the first video shows Lukas singing, and the second shows the lyrics, so you can sing along. Unfortunately, embedded play seems to be disabled for these videos, so when you click the links YouTube will open in a new tab.
Baby otter reunited with family
24 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
This is just one big aaah…
Of course we’ll close the day with a heartwarmer—a video sent by reader Su. It tells the tale of a baby otter who became separated from its group. After some rearing—it took twenty people to effect the whole operation—it was brought back to good nick and released into the care of its previous group.
This all took place in Singapore, a place I hope to visit this fall.
If after seeing this you don’t have some restoration of your faith in humanity, you’re made of stone.
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Islamic Extremism – A Politically Incorrect Rant
16 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
A forceful argument that I find convincing…
Religious fundamentalists and extremists are people who practice the fundamentals of their religion extremely well.
I am becoming extremely agitated over the seemingly endless willful ignorance surrounding the seemingly endless atrocities committed by Islamists. You would think that after the hundredth time or so, and here I omit centuries of devastation wrought by this religion – but you would think that after all of the atrocities committed within last decade or so, that people would stop making excuses for a belief system that clearly fuels such violence. You would think that people might, just for a moment, put down their pretentious pandering and their pathetic platitudes and their mantras of political correctness, and have the courage to say, the problem is Islamism – the problem is Islam. How many more Islamic atrocities need we suffer before silent and cowardly scholars throw their hats into the discussion? How many more lives…
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oddrops 