History Of World's Disabled

From Wikipedia:

"Timeline of disability rights outside the United States"

1940s:

• 1947 - The School Education Law (Law No. 26) was enacted in Japan, and it provided education for disabled children such as general classes, special classes, non-residential classes, special schools and itinerant teaching, etc.
• 1947 - The Workmen's Accident Compensation Insurance Law (Law No. 50) was enacted in Japan, and it provided disability pension and disability lump-sum payments, as well as welfare services such as special allowance, medical services, health care, supply of prosthetic appliance, etc.
• 1947 - The Mail Law (Law No. 165) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that postage for Braille paper and recorded mail for visually impaired persons are free of charge, and parcels for disabled people can be mailed at half the cost. The postage for periodicals published by disabled person groups can be mailed at a small charge.
• 1949 - The Law for the Welfare of Physically Disabled Persons (Law No. 283) was enacted in Japan, and it provided the issuing of a "physically disabled persons' handbook", various counseling services, a grant of prosthetic appliances such as wheelchairs, canes, hearing aids and artificial limbs, technical aids for daily living such as bathtubs, toilet facility, beds and communication aids (e. g. talking machines and word processors, rehabilitation training, services necessary for participation in society such as sign language interpreter, translation Braille, guide helper and modification of motor vehicles, work opportunities, specialized facilities for nursing care, and living places.

1950s:

• 1950 - The Inheritance Tax Law (Law No. 73) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that inheritance tax is reduced in the case of disabled persons' heir. Up to 70 years of age - ¥60,000 per year (¥120,000 for specified disabled persons.)
• 1950 - The Local Tax Law (Law No. 226) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that Local Resident Tax is reduced (disabled persons with annual incomes of ¥1,250,000 or less get a tax exemption). The Local Resident Tax exemption amounts are as follows: Specified disabled persons - ¥280,000 Other disabled persons - ¥260,000 There are cases of reduction or exemption from automobile taxes, light mobile taxes and automobile purchase taxes.
• 1950 - The Daily Life Security Law (Law No. 144) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that families who have difficulties in daily life because of their low income are given Public Assistant Benefit to ensure the minimum standard of living, and there is a system of supplemental allowance for disabled persons according to the condition of disability.
• 1950 - The Public Housing Law (Law No. 193) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that when living in public housing, disabled persons are given special consideration. There is a standard of larger living space for families with persons with disabilities. In addition, local public entities give priority in providing to disabled persons public housing and lowering of rent.
• 1954 - The Employees' Pension Law (Law No. 115) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that: According to the degree of the insured disability, Employee Disability Pension and Disability Allowance (a one time lump sum for minimal disabilities) are paid.
• 1957 - The Special Measures Act concerning Temporary Taxation (Law No. 26) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that regarding the Income Tax Law of 1965 (see below), those living severely disabled persons may get supplemental allowance. Supplemental allowance - ¥300,000
• 1959 - The National Pension Law (Law No. 1412) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that: There is the Basic Disability Pension, which is granted after having joined the insurance program (Case A) or when a certain degree of disability has occurred prior to the age of 20 years (Case B). In the latter case; however, there is an income limitation. 1st grade - ¥981,900 (¥81,825 per month, 1997) 2nd grade - ¥785,490 (¥65,458 per month, 1997) These grades are different from the degrees indicated in the physically disabled person's handbook.

1960s:

• 1960 - The Law for Employment Promotion, etc. of the Disabled Persons (Law No. 123) was enacted in Japan, and it provided:

(1) The Quota System: General employers including the government and municipal offices are obligated to employ disabled workers in excess of the quota. The legal quota was: Governmental bodies - 2. 0% (Non-clerical - 1. 9%) Private enterprises - 1. 6% (Specialized juridical person - 1. 9%) The quota was changed in 1998 as follows: Governmental bodies - 2. 1% (Non-clerical - 1. 9%) Private enterprises - 1. 8% (Specialized juridical person - 2. 1%) This ratio does not include mentally ill persons. Employers are obligated to report the number of disabled workers they employ to the head of the Public Employment Security Office annually. This office may announce to the public the names of enterprises who fail to meet the quota and request them to draw up plan for employment of disabled persons to meet the quota.
(2) The Levy and Grant System: This system works by collecting levy from those enterprises that fail to achieve the quota of disabled workers. The funds created by the levy system are used to encourage employers who employ disabled persons above the quota and to promote disabled workers' employment and improve working conditions. Collection of Levies: ¥50,000 a month per person (with more than 300 full-time employees.) Payment of Adjustment Allowance: ¥25,000 per month per person will be paid to the employers who employ disabled workers more than the legal quota (with more than 300 full-time employees). Payment of Rewards: ¥17,000 per month per person will be paid to the employers who employ disabled workers in excess of the fixed number (with less than 300 full-time employees). Payment of Grants: For establishment of work facilities, special employment management, vocational adjustment, ability development, etc. to promote such employment.
(3) Public Vocational Training Allowance for disabled persons and a loan system of funds for purchasing of technical aids and equipments.

• 1960 - The Law for the Welfare of Mentally Retarded Persons (Law No. 37) was enacted in Japan, and it provided specialized counseling provided by Social Welfare Offices and Rehabilitation Consultation Centers, training for independent life, in-house services such as home helper, day care and short stay programs, etc., technical aids for daily living such as electric toothbrush and special type mat, etc., living space such as welfare homes and group homes, etc., and specialized facilities to help daily life such as residential facilities for rehabilitation, nonresidential facilities and so on.
• 1960 - The Road Traffic Law (Law No. 105)was enacted in Japan, and it provided safe transportation for visually impaired persons. Thus, sighted persons are prohibited to walk with a white or yellow cane, and to walk with a guide dog.
• 1964 - The Special Child Rearing Allowance Law (Law No. 134) was enacted in Japan, and it provided - Special Allowance for Disabled Persons: Provided to those 20 years of age and over with degrees of disability requiring special care and attention in daily life due to serious disability either mental or physical. ¥26,230 per month with income limitation (1997). Special Child Rearing Allowance: Granted to parents or guardians of children, under 20 years of age with moderate/severe disability. ¥50,350 per month for those with severe disability (1997). ¥33,530 per month for those with moderate disability (1997). Welfare Allowance for Disabled Children: ¥14,270 per month is granted to children with severe disabilities.
• 1965 - The Income Tax Law (Law No. 33) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that taxpayers with disability or who have a disabled family member may get exemption from income tax. The exemptions are as follows: Specified disabled persons, that is (a) Grade 1 or 2 in a physically disabled person's handbook or (b) Severe level in a handbook for people with mental retardation - ¥350,000 Disabled persons other than above - ¥270,000
• 1966 - The Employment Countermeasures Law (Law No. 132) was enacted in Japan, and it provided measures to improve vocational training for people with disabilities and assist them to find employment, vocational training facilities and improvement of training contents, training of guidance workers and the enhancement of their quality, the supply of an allowance for adjustment training, and the supply of a training allowance to employers.
• 1969 - The Human Resources Development Promotion Law (Law No. 64) was enacted in Japan, and it established Vocational Ability Development Centers for Disabled Persons.

1970s:

• 1970 - The Disabled Persons' Fundamental Law (Law No. 84; major revision in 1993) was enacted in Japan. It includes:

"Article 2 (Definition): "Disabled persons" as used in this Law means persons whose daily life or life in society is substantially limited over the long term due to a physical disability, mental retardation or mental disability.
Article 3 (Fundamental Principles): The dignity of all disabled persons shall be respected. They shall have the right to be treated accordingly. All disabled persons shall, as members of society, be provided with opportunities to fully participate in such a manner.
Article 4 (Responsibilities of the State and Local Public Entities): The State and local public bodies shall be responsible for promoting the welfare of disabled persons and for preventing disabilities.
Article 5 (Responsibilities of the Nation): The nation shall, on the basis of the principle of social solidarity, endeavor to cooperate in promoting the welfare of disabled persons.
Article 6 (Efforts to Achieve Independence): Disabled persons shall endeavor to participate actively in social and economic activities by making effective use of the abilities they possess. The family members of disabled persons shall endeavor to promote independence of disabled persons.
Article 6-2 (Disabled Persons' Day): Disabled Persons' Day shall be established for the purpose of raising the public awareness to the welfare of disabled persons and stimulating disabled persons' desire to actively participate in social, economic, cultural and other areas of activity.
Article 7 (Fundamental Policies): The measures regarding the welfare of disabled persons shall be carried out according to their age and to the types and severity of disabilities."
There are other fundamental principles in this law regarding programs for persons with disability covering the State, Metropolitan and prefectural governments, and cities, towns and villages; as well as those regarding medicine, education, employment, pension, housing, public facilities, information, culture, sports, etc. The total number of the Articles of this law is 29.

1980s:

• 1981 - The United Nations established this year as the International Year of Disabled Persons. At the conclusion of the year the UN called on member nations to establish in their own countries organizations for and about people with disabilities.
• 1981 - Argentina enacted "Comprehensive Protection System for the Disabled" in order to give disabled people health care, education, and social security.
• 1982 - The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms declared physical or mental disability as a prohibited reason for discrimination; this was the first time that such a right was guaranteed in the Constitution of a country. Section 15 of the Charter makes it illegal for any governments in Canada to discriminate against persons with disabilities in their laws and programs.
• 1984 - The Telecommunication Service Law (Law No. 86) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that disabled persons may get NTT telephone directory service for a free of charge, and persons with speech disorder may get lower fee of usage fee of public telephone through calling by credit.
• 1985 - The Canadian Human Rights Act was enacted, and it banned discrimination against people due to their physical or mental disability. Furthermore, the Act requires federally regulated employers to prevent discrimination and to provide access and support to individuals with disabilities.
• 1988 - The Consumption Tax Law (Law No. 108) was enacted in Japan, and it provided that items for disabled persons (e. g. prosthesis, cane, artificial eyes, Braille writer and wheelchair) are exempted from consumption tax.

1990s:

• 1990 - China enacted the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons, which (among other provisions) declared that China must "provide disabled persons with special assistance by adopting supplementary methods and supportive measures with a view to alleviating or eliminating the effects of their disabilities and external barriers and ensuring the realization of their rights...provide special assurance, treatment and pension to wounded or disabled servicemen and persons disabled while on duty or for protecting the interests of the State and people...guarantee the right of disabled persons to education...[and] guarantee disabled persons' right to work," as well as banning discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, engagement, status regularization, promotion, determining technical or professional titles, payment for labor, welfare, labor insurance or in other aspects.
• 1992 - The Disability Discrimination Act became law in Australia, and it banned discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, education, access to premises, accommodation, buying or selling land, activities of clubs, sport, administration of Commonwealth laws and programs, provision of goods, and services and facilities.
• 1993 - The Law for Promoting Businesses that Facilitate the Use of Communications and Broadcast Services by the Physically Disabled Persons (Law No. 54) was enacted in Japan, and it promoted services to make media like telecommunications and broadcast accessible to people with disabilities. For instance, it provided subsidies for the production of superimposed television programs or those with narrations explaining the action.
• 1993 - New Zealand passes the Human Rights Act 1993, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities, except in cases of insurance policies. HIV status is also included within the legislation. Discrimination is banned within accommodation, employment and goods and service provision.
• 1994 - The Law for Buildings Accessible to and Usable by the Elderly and Physically Disabled Persons (Law No. 44) was enacted in Japan. It aims to build public buildings which meet the needs of people with disabilities. It is also called the "Heartful Building Law."
• 1995 - The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995) became law in the United Kingdom. This made it unlawful in the United Kingdom to discriminate against people with disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education, and transport. The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides support for this Act. Equivalent legislation exists in Northern Ireland, which is enforced by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission.
• 1997 - In Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General) [1997] 2 S.C.R. 624, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that sign language interpreters must be provided in the delivery of medical services where doing so is necessary to ensure effective communication.
• 1999 - The Disability Rights Commission Act 1999 abolished the National Disability Council and replaced it with a Disability Rights Commission. Like the Council, the Commission covered England, Scotland and Wales. However unlike the Council it also had power to support individuals seeking to enforce their rights (Disability Rights Commission Act 1999 s.7) and powers of investigation (Disability Rights Commission Act 1999 s.3).

2000s:

• 2001 - In R. v. Latimer [2001] 1 S.C.R. 3, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Robert Latimer's crime of murdering his disabled daughter Tracy Latimer could not be justified through the defence of necessity. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of Canada found that despite the special circumstances of the case, the lengthy prison sentence given to Mr. Latimer was not cruel and unusual, and therefore not a breach of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• 2003 - In Starson v. Swayze, 2003 SCC 32, [2003] 1 S.C.R. 722, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Mr. Starson had the right to refuse psychiatric medication because the Consent and Capacity board did not have enough evidence to support its finding that Mr. Starson was incapable of deciding on treatment.
• 2005 - The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 is a statute enacted in 2005 for the purpose of improving accessibility standards for Ontarians with physical and mental disabilities to all public establishments by 2025. Some employers began taking steps to bring their organizations into compliance in 2005.
• 2006 - The Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 strengthened and extended the coverage of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, increasing the scope of legislation to include more people with disabilities, such as people diagnosed with cancer, HIV, and multiple sclerosis (MS), but not yet showing signs of their illness. Also, people with mental ill health no longer had to prove their condition was “clinically well-recognised”. The new laws also provided extra protection for disabled people in other areas such as private clubs and in discriminatory job advertisements, and provided that all trains will have to be fully accessible to the disabled by 2020.
• 2006 - The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the United Nations in 2006.
• 2006 - The Equality Act 2006 was passed in the United Kingdom. The 2006 Act is a precursor to the Equality Act 2010, which combines all of the equality enactments within Great Britain and provides comparable protections across all equality strands. Those explicitly mentioned by the Equality Act 2006 include age; disability; gender; proposed, commenced or completed gender reassignment; race; religion or belief and sexual orientation. The changes it made included creating the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), merging the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission.

2010s:

• 2010 - The Disability Discrimination (Transport Vehicles) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 came into operation on 25 January 2010. These Regulations lift the exemption which applied to transport providers from Part 3 of the DDA. This means that from 25 January 2010 transport providers must not discriminate against disabled people when providing goods, facilities, and services.
• 2010- The Equality Act 2010 was passed in the United Kingdom. The primary purpose of the Act is to consolidate the complicated and numerous array of Acts and Regulations which formed the basis of anti-discrimination law in Great Britain.
• 2012 - The Supreme Court of India declared that a deaf and mute person need not be prevented from being presented as a witness in court merely on account of their physical disability. The court explained that a deaf and mute person can testify in writing or through gestures.
• 2012 - The government of England announced a £2.6 million fund from 2012 until March 2014 to help people with disabilities become MPs, councillors, and police and crime commissioners.
• 2012 - Canada's Department of Veterans Affairs ended its policy of deducting the amount of disabled veterans' pensions from benefits for lost earnings and Canadian Forces income support, which were introduced in 2006 under the New Veterans Charter.
• 2013 - Turkey officially removed words considered insulting to people with disabilities (such as “gimp” and “faulty”) from over 95 of its laws.

           ^ It is pretty sad that Japan was really the only country from the 1940s-1980s that did anything (officially) to protect the disabled. It is interesting to see what other countries have done in the past 30 years though. ^


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_disability_rights_outside_the_United_States

Obama's Problems

From Yahoo:
"For Obama, world looks far different than expected"

Nearly five years into his presidency, Barack Obama confronts a world far different from what he envisioned when he first took office. U.S. influence is declining in the Middle East as violence and instability rock Arab countries. An ambitious attempt to reset U.S. relations with Russia faltered and failed. Even in Obama-friendly Europe, there's deep skepticism about Washington's government surveillance programs. In some cases, the current climate has been driven by factors outside the White House's control. But missteps by the president also are to blame, say foreign policy analysts, including some who worked for the Obama administration. Among them: miscalculating the fallout from the Arab Spring uprisings, publicly setting unrealistic expectations for improved ties with Russia and a reactive decision-making process that can leave the White House appearing to veer from crisis to crisis without a broader strategy. Rosa Brooks, a former Defense Department official who left the administration in 2011, said that while the shrinking U.S. leverage overseas predates the current president, "Obama has sometimes equated 'we have no leverage' with 'there's no point to really doing anything'." The strongest challenge to Obama's philosophy on intervention has come from the deepening tumult in the Middle East and North Africa. The president saw great promise in the region when he first took office and pledged "a new beginning" with the Arab world when he traveled to Cairo in 2009. But the democracy protests that spread across the region quickly scrambled Obama's efforts. While the U.S. has consistently backed the rights of people seeking democracy, the violence that followed has often left the Obama administration unsure of its next move or taking tentative steps that do little to change the situation on the ground. In Syria, where more than 100,000 people have been killed during the two-and-a-half year civil war, Obama's pledges that President Bashar Assad will be held accountable have failed to push the Syrian leader from office. And despite warning that Assad's use of chemical weapons would cross a "red line" in Syria, there was scant American retaliation when he did use the toxic gases. On Sunday senior administration official said there is "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in an incident that killed at least a hundred people last week. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly.  Few foreign policy experts predicted the Arab uprisings, and it's unlikely the U.S. could have — or should have — done anything to prevent the protests. But analysts say Obama misjudged the movements' next stages, including Assad's ability to cling to power and the strength of Islamist political parties in Egypt. "The president has not had a long-term strategic vision," said Vali Nasr, who advised the Obama administration on foreign policy in the first term and now serves as dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. "They're moving issue to issue and reacting as situations come up." But the perception of a president lacking in international influence extends beyond the Arab world, particularly to Russia. Since reassuming the presidency last year, Vladimir Putin has blocked U.S. efforts to seek action against Syria at the United Nations and has balked at Obama's efforts to seek new agreements on arms control.  Michael O'Hanlon, a national security analyst at The Brookings Institution, said the president miscalculated in assuming that a few signs of improved ties would be enough to overcome years of distrust with the Russians. "The issue here is one of raised expectations, unrealistically high expectations that Obama himself deliberately stoked," O'Hanlon said. "He hoped that a more pragmatic, disciplined, less interventionist foreign policy would appease the Russians." The White House's ties with Russia were further damaged this summer when Moscow granted temporary asylum to Edward Snowden, the former government contractor accused of leaking documents detailing secret U.S. surveillance programs. In retaliation, Obama canceled plans to meet with Putin in Moscow next month, though he will still attend the meeting of leading rich and developing nations in St. Petersburg, Russia.

^ It is not surprising that Obama has done more harm then good for both the US and the world. At least people are starting to say it out loud.^


http://news.yahoo.com/obama-world-looks-far-different-expected-130102553.html

Music Within (2007)

This movie is about Richard Pimentel and the work he has done and continues to do for the disabled. It stars Ron Livingston as Pimentel and deals with how the disabled are perceived by others. Pimentel was a Vietnam War vet who lost his hearing there and eventually came to meet other disabled people (like his friend, Art) who helped him realize that the handicapped/disabled deserve the same rights and chances as everyone else and so he not only created and taught a system to companies and governments on how they can benefit with having the disabled working with them, but he also helped make the ADA (the Americans With Disabilities Act) law in 1990. Pimentel is the leader and most famous activist for the disabled's rights in the US. Before he came along, people could and did treat the disabled as third-class citizens or not even as people. While there are still many obstacles (both physical as well as mentally) the disabled have to overcome today - especially trying to educated the non-disabled to treat them as the regular people they are - so much as changed in the past 40 years and that is thanks to Richard Pimentel.

I worked as a counselor at an overnight summer camp for the mentally and physical disabled for four summers right out of high school and through college. I remember exactly what I was doing when I first saw the job notice at school. I had just walked down the highway and saw some students making fun of the Special Ed. class that was also walking to their next class. While I heard what the other kids said and knew it was wrong I did nothing. Right after that I went to the next hallway and saw the job announcement hanging on the wall and decided that I would give it a try. Many people (friends and family) didn't think I would last at such a job and some told me so, but I went anyways and while the work was very hard (sometimes you worked 22 hours a day) it was very rewarding - I know that sounds cliché but it's the truth. I liked working with the disabled campers so much I went back 3 more summers. Not only did I prove my friends and family wrong - I did "stick it out" and even thrived there I also like to think that I made up (at least in a small way) for not doing anything when those kids where making fun of the disabled.

This movie shows people that the disabled can do many the same things as everyone else and that they just need to be given a voice and a chance to do it.

Black Ribbon Day

Today is Black Ribbon Day in Europe and Canada. It is a National Day of Remembrance. The purpose of the Day of Remembrance is to preserve the memory of the victims of mass deportations and exterminations (committed by the Nazi and Soviet dictatorships), while promoting democratic values with the aim of reinforcing peace and stability in Europe - and Canada. So why August 23rd? The date was chosen because it was when the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed between Hitler's Nazi Germany and Stalin's Communist Soviet Union. Why today is a working holiday it is becoming more wide-known within both the EU and Canada. Most of the EU was once occupied by the Nazis and also behind the Iron Curtain and the memories of those awful times are still fresh in the majority of people. Canada made it a Day of Remembrance in 2009 due mostly because lots of refugees fleeing the Nazis, the Soviets or both went into exile in Canada (mostly from the Baltics.) There is a motion underway in the US Congress to make it a National Day of Remembrance there too (as it as always been a land for the oppressed to flee to.)

While it has been 60+ years since the end of Nazism and 20+ years since the end of Communism (in Europe) a lot more needs to be done. The legacies of both Nazism and Communism haven't been addressed that much  - especially those dealing with Communism - and until each country that went through those terrible years"airs it's laundry" and works to compensate for their past mistakes then not much will truly be changed.

Town

The construction in town has finally ended and it only took 4 straight months. First , I should say that it is not my town - it is the next town from me and has what mine doesn't (ie the Post Office, gas station, handful of restaurants, etc.) Also my town and the next one share a Zip Code. With that said: people call it "my town" regardless. Now back to the work. The towns' website admitted earlier in the month what anyone who drove through the center of town already knew - that there were many mistakes made by both the town and the contractors. Apparently, the town was paying the contractor "by the hour" which isn't the smartest or cheapest way since it doesn't give any incentive to the contractor to work hard or fast. The town also didn't have a final plan on how it wanted the downtown area to look when it was finished. They tried several dumb projects that they eventually admitted they messed up on and got rid of. Well, the construction is finally done and yet the town's square doesn't look any better. At least it got done before the kids went back to school - today - or the town's Old Home Day this Saturday (Old Home Day is when each town has a mini-celebration to welcome back residents who moved away, etc.) I went to our town's Old Home Day once years ago and it very boring.

The people - at least the ones I have personally dealt with -  in my state (especially the local area) do not seem to be all that intelligent. They are very simple-minded and not very friendly (not even in the "country/rural" sort of way.) When people talk about how bad America's Education System is they should come here since the majority of people can't read, write and don't understand numbers. They put up signs that say "Work to Start on August 26th" and then it starts on August 22nd. They put up "One Lane Road" signs when they mean to put up "Road Closed." It would be one thing if they were hard-working and just not that smart, but people here only seem to like to complain about not having enough money and yet when you want to pay them to do the job they advertise they do everything in their power not to do the work and just "disappear." I guess they think it is better to get Food Stamps then do an honest day's work.

This is not what I expected when we first moved here years ago. I expected to live in the mountains where people are at first skeptical of "out-siders" but in the end would warm-up to you. That there would be a sense of community and hard-working people who only want to make a better life for themselves and their children. I was wrong. I knew it wouldn't be easy - especially for me (as I'm not a country person) -  our mailbox is 1 mile down our mountain (which gets ice, snow and mud), we get an average of 1-1/2 feet of snow at a time,  the Post Office is 23 minutes away, the hospitals are 45-50 minutes away (along with the main supermarkets) and there are no real jobs in the area. There are times when you can't even get down our mountain to even get to the mailbox because the town hasn't plowed or put dirt on the ice or because of all the mud during Mud Season (I had never heard of Mud Season until we moved here - it's not surprising that mud is a big problem because 86% of the state's roads are dirt.)

I guess I should give these people more slack because they aren't that intelligent (and by that I don't mean book smarts vs street smarts) they don't seem to have basic common sense. I worked with the mentally and physically disabled at an overnight summer camp for 4 summers when I was in college and found more of them to have more common sense then anyone I have met here. With that said there are a handful people who have been consistently friendly, helpful and do a professional job. One of the 3 woman at the Post Office (who retired a few months ago), the co-owners of the local diner and the owner of the dog kennel  - which is only 2 miles from my house. I wish there were more, friendly, helpful people here, but I haven't found them yet. Some people may say that I must be the reason the locals aren't nice and friendly, but even when my sister, dad or mom deal with the locals - and not me - they are treated the same way.

While this town is not the stereotypical Norman Rockwell small, mountain town I still like it here (mostly because of our house and the view.) I can live with the locals because of the first two things.

America's Languages

From the State Department:

"New Interactive Map Shows Languages Spoken in America"

The U.S. Census Bureau released an interactive, online map August 6 pinpointing the wide array of languages spoken in homes across the United States, along with a detailed report on rates of English proficiency and the growing number of speakers of other languages. The map and the report, Language Use in the United States: 2011, were described in a Commerce Department blog post the same day. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the Commerce Department. The report shows that Spanish and Chinese are the top non-English languages spoken in the United States, and most of the U.S. population is English-proficient. “This study provides evidence of the growing role of languages other than English in the national fabric,” said Camille Ryan, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Education and Social Stratification Branch and the report’s author. “Yet, at the same time that more people are speaking languages other than English at home, the percentage of people speaking English proficiently has remained steady.” The map, called the “2011 Language Mapper,” shows where people speaking specific languages other than English live, with dots representing how many people speak each of 15 different languages. For each language, it shows the concentration of those who say they speak English less than “very well,” a measure of English proficiency. The tool uses data collected through the American Community Survey from 2007 to 2011. The languages available in the interactive map include Spanish, French, French Creole, Italian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Polish, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Arabic. After selecting one of these languages from the menu, users will see a national population density map, with each dot representing about 100 people who speak the language at home placed where these speakers are concentrated. The map also allows users to zoom in to a smaller geographic area, where each dot represents 10 people. The dots were placed in a random location within census tracts to protect the confidentiality of speakers. The report details the number of people speaking languages other than English at home and their ability to speak English, by selected social and demographic characteristics. It shows that more than half (58 percent) of U.S. residents 5 and older who speak a language other than English at home also speak English “very well.”

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT:

• In addition to English and Spanish, there were six languages in 2011 spoken at home by at least 1 million people: Chinese (2.9 million), Tagalog (1.6 million), Vietnamese (1.4 million), French (1.3 million), German (1.1 million) and Korean (1.1 million).

• The prevalence of people speaking non-English languages at home varied widely across states, from 44 percent of the population in California to 2 percent in West Virginia.

• Laredo, Texas, led all metro areas, with 92 percent of residents age 5 and older speaking a language other than English at home.

• Metro and micro areas in the West, South and Northeast tended to have higher levels of people speaking non-English languages at home. Those in the Midwest tended to have lower levels, with the exception of Illinois.

• Of Spanish speakers, 45 percent of foreign-born naturalized citizens spoke English “very well,” compared with 23 percent of foreign-born noncitizens. Those who were native-born, had at least a bachelor’s degree or were not in poverty were more likely to speak English “very well.”

• Eighty percent or more of French and German speakers spoke English “very well.” In contrast, less than 50 percent of those who spoke Korean, Chinese or Vietnamese spoke English “very well.” The rate for Spanish speakers was 56 percent.

^ This shows that English is the main, unifying language of the US. Many states have it has their official state language (the Federal Government should also make it the sole official language.) With that said I also believe that Americans need to do more to learn and use foreign languages (especially while overseas.) ^

http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2013/08/20130808280294.html#axzz2chwSe1Tk

Keep AJA Out!

I keep seeing commercials for Al Jazeera America - apparently my satellite TV company now offers it. The commercials show the poor and down-trodden Americans and how no one helps them. Why doesn't AJA report about the awful conditions in their own backyard? I have been to the Middle East and seen how they treat their migrant workers - from India and Pakistan - and how they treat non-Muslims and women. Those are the kinds of issues that need to be addressed. I think it is just plain disgusting to let such a network air in the US - or any country that loves freedom, is against violence and terrorism. AJA is clearly on the side of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups that only want to kill and destroy us. AJA tries to portray itself as "neutral" yet they constantly show videos that the terrorists send them (either with their propaganda messages or killing innocent people.) By airing any of these AJA is aiding the terrorists (they are helping to spread the message of hate and murder) and should not be aired on any self-respecting TV/Internet provider around the world.

Manning Sentenced

From the BBC:
"Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in Wikileaks case"

The US soldier convicted of handing a trove of secret government documents to anti-secrecy website Wikileaks has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. Pte First Class Bradley Manning, 25, was convicted in July of 20 charges against him, including espionage. In a statement read by his lawyer after the sentencing, Pte Manning said he had acted "out of love for our country". Pte Manning will receive a credit against his sentence of about three and a half years, including time he has already served in jail and 112 days in recompense for the harsh conditions of his initial confinement. His defence lawyer David Coombs said Pte Manning would first be eligible for parole in about seven years.  Prosecutors had asked for a 60-year sentence in order to send a message to future potential leakers, and Wikileaks called the 35-year sentence a "significant strategic victory". Military prosecutors did not immediately comment.  In addition to the prison sentence, likely to be served at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Judge Col Denise Lind sentenced Pte Manning to be demoted to private and dishonourably discharged from the US Army, and to forfeit his pay. While stationed in Iraq in 2010, the junior intelligence analyst passed hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, the pro-transparency group headed by Julian Assange. Pte Manning has said he leaked the secret files in the hopes of sparking a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.

^ Manning is lucky that he only got 35 years and not the death penalty. What he did is treason plain and simple. If he felt so strongly about reforming the US military and its foreign policy he could have released the documents to an American group - while that is still treason at least it won't have aided another country. The only bad thing here is that if her gets out in 7 years he can flee to the UK as he is a dual citizen - although I always thought you couldn't have access to secret documents/information if you either had dual citizenship or weren't an American at all. I guess someone on the US side messed that up and now we are all paying for it. Manning and Snowden should have their last names changed to "Quisling." If you don't know that reference then you should look it up on Wikipedia. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23784288

Attacking Coptics

From DW:
"Egypt's Coptic Christians live in fear"

Islamist attacks on Christian churches and facilities in Egypt are on the rise following the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi. They are not protected by the police or the justice system.   Life has never been easy for Coptic Christians in Egypt. But what has been going on in the country since the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi has reached a new low. According to Ishak Ibrahim of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), there have been at least 44 attacks on Christian churches since the massacre of hundreds of Islamist protesters on August 14 - and that is counting only attacks that totally or almost completely destroyed the churches, not attacks with minor damage or attacks on houses and businesses. The situation has worsened dramatically since Morsi's ouster on July 3. Ibrahim, a scientist at EIPR's research program for the freedom of religion, witnessed leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood agitate against Copts. "They give their supporters the impression that the Copts worked hand-in-hand with the military to overthrow Muslim Brother Morsi in order to end Islamic rule."

^ It is good that the Muslim Brotherhood was removed from power and that it was done by the Egyptians themselves. It looks like a civil war is going to start in Egypt and the main group that will be in danger are the Coptic Christians. The Coptics have been discriminated against in their own country for so long that many just accept it yet the same measures the Nazis used against the Jews in the 1930s is happening to the Coptics now. I guess the slogan "Never Again" is just that a slogan people and countries use to help them feel better for doing nothing during the Holocaust (and yet they still say it while a possible new Holocaust - against the Coptics - is forming in Egypt.) ^

http://www.dw.de/egypts-coptic-christians-live-in-fear/a-17037766

School Uniforms

From USA Today:

"What to wear? Schools increasingly making that decision"

As students head back to school in the next few weeks, they're more likely than ever to arrive dressed in a school-sanctioned uniform, an increasingly popular policy that may not improve schools as advertised. Nearly one in five public schools required uniforms in 2010, up from just one in eight a decade earlier, according to the most recent findings from the U.S. Department of Education. The 60% growth in uniform requirements at school comes despite the fact that research on their effectiveness for safety and school climate is inconclusive. Overall, more than half of public schools enforce some sort of dress code, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. About 57% of schools now have a "strict dress code," researchers found, up from just more than 47% a decade earlier. The idea of requiring public school students to wear uniforms was first envisioned in the 1980s by then-Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry, who believed standardized dress might help public school students succeed as well as those in the city's Catholic schools. The idea flopped, but in 1987, Cherry Hill Elementary School in Baltimore implemented the first known schoolwide uniform policy "as a means of reducing clothing costs and social pressures on children," writes David Brunsma, a Virginia Tech sociologist and author of the 2004 book The School Uniform Movement and What It Tells Us About American Education. School officials hoped uniforms would lead to "better grades, better behavior, increased self-esteem and school pride," he says. But Brunsma's review of nearly a decade's worth of research found that uniforms' effects were either unknown, statistically insignificant or, in the case of a few studies, negative. In one study, uniforms correlated with more negative perceptions of school safety and climate by middle-school principals. In another, they were associated with worse academic results in 10th grade. Brunsma calls school uniforms "a policy that is simplistic, readily understandable, cost-free (to taxpayers) and appealing to common sense," but which made it impossible to implement more costly solutions that "demand energy and a willingness to change on the part of school faculty and parents." Longtime school safety consultant Ken Trump said educators like uniforms because they simplify their jobs, saving them from having to punish kids for too-short skirts or shorts, for instance. "Kids are trying so hard to one-up each other on everything from hair styles to shoes," he says. "It takes away the daily fashion show and helps level the playing field a little bit with the haves and have-nots." Trump's children attend a Cleveland-area Catholic school and are allowed to show up out of uniform as an occasional reward for good behavior. He says administrators there tell him the school climate deteriorates when too many kids are out of uniform. Trump, who has been consulting with schools in Ohio and elsewhere for nearly 30 years, said uniform policies are often unpopular with parents at first but that parents come to appreciate them. "A couple of months down the road, the parents absolutely love it because they spend a whole lot less time fighting with their children over what they're going to wear," he says.

Despite what the research might suggest, uniforms remain popular with educators, he says. "I've never heard a school administrator whose school went in the direction of uniforms say, 'This has created more problems for us.' On the contrary, it's been a blessing."

^ I have attended schools where I had to wear a strict uniform and where I could choose what to wear. At the time that I had to wear a uniform I didn't want to wear one - I guess no little kid really does - but after moving to Germany and being able to wear anything I wanted  - I wanted to go back to a uniform. In Germany there were 3 levels of clothing: the best and coolest kids got their clothes from the States (either in person or by mail order) the second were those that wore clothes from the PX and the last group were those that got their clothes from German stores - they were made fun of very often. A uniform would have reduced this strict 3-tier system. When I moved back to the States I lived in a rich suburb. The 3-tier system was changed. Instead it was replaced by those that wore "labels" and those that got clothes from cheaper stores. I remember a girl from my class making fun of students for wearing a shirt from Old Navy and a skirt from the Gap (it was ironic because this girl lived in a trailer park and thus should have been at the bottom of the social ladder at the school.) A uniform at that school would have eliminated the need to tell who had money and who didn't. With all this said I think the schools that have a relaxed uniform system (ie my nephew went to a school in Texas where he had to wear a white shirt and khaki pants or shorts) is a good compromise between having a strict uniform policy and having no policy a all. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/18/more-school-uniforms/2662387/

Blessed Are The Peacemakers

I just finished this book (that was recommended and given to me by a friend.) While it was an interesting book it did have a very biased, one-sided viewpoint (as most books about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict tend to.)  It is about a Palestinian Christian and his life first in British-Mandate Palestine, then in the Jordan-occupied West Bank and then the Israeli-ruled West Bank. The man, Audeh Rantisi, was forced out of Lydda (present-day Lod) by the Israeli military (or as he always refers to them - the Zionist military) in 1948 when he was 11 years old and lived in a refugee camp in Ramallah, West Bank. While 90% of Palestinians are Muslim he and his family are Christian and he worked to help the needy and the poor in Ramallah. Unlike most Palestinians (Muslim or Christian) he was able to study in both Wales and the US and those contacts (along with his British-born wife) helped his school continue despite war and "military occupation.) During the 1967 Six Day War Israel took control of East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and effectively made all the people living there Permanent Residents of Israel and subjected them to countless rules and laws that ordinary Israelis did not have to follow. I have read countless books on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and, as I stated above, each side writes with a bias. The Israeli Jews show only themselves as the victims while the Palestinian Muslims and Christians do the same in their accounts. The only truly unbiased accounts tend to come from outside Israel and the Middle East.

Both sides have done things to one another that have hurt and killed. It is understandable for Israeli Jews to feel a constant sense of danger as every Middle Eastern nation (save Turkey) has called on the complete destruction of Israel and the Jews since 1948 and have started numerous wars to try and achieve their goal. Today only Egypt and Jordan (and again Turkey) have peace treaties with Israel while the rest of the Middle East would still like to see the Jews gone. Any group of people/country that has suffered numerous wars, suicide bombings, missile attacks since it was founded over 60 years ago would feel the same way. The Palestinians have helped spread the paranoia by accepting terrorism (ie electing Arafat and then Hezbollah - both known terrorists) and so the Israelis have done what they thought they needed to in order to protect themselves. The current situation is a little different. Arafat is dead and Hezbollah only governs the Gaza Strip. The West Bank seems ready to finally achieve their goal of a separate country through non-violence. If that trend continues Israel will have to give it to them. I support a two-state Israel (or Palestine depending on which side you are on) as long as the suicide bombers and missile attacks stop from the Gaza Stripe - or at least the two-state includes only the West Bank because it has rejected terrorism.

Rantisi continuously states (in his account) that he is for the Israeli Jews while at the same time he calls them a "Zionist military" or "a Zionist occupation." That is like someone saying they aren't racist because they know a black person. He is trying to say he doesn't hate Jews because he knows at least one. Also Rantisi uses references to the Bible (the Christian Bible) throughout the book which has an unsettling feeling as the Muslims tend to quote the Koran and the Jews the Torah to prove they are right in this Conflict. I am not saying that he and his family haven't suffered under the Israeli state, but his views on history aren't always correct. He talks about how things were peaceful until right after World War 2 and how it took the Holocaust to bring the Zionists to Palestine. He forgets the 1936-39 Arab riots when Muslim and Christian Arabs  attacked and murdered innocent Jews and forced the British to stop all, but a handful of legal immigration to Palestine. He also doesn't mention how the main Palestinian leaders at the time (mostly Muslim) openly supported Hitler and his goal of exterminating the Jews (the Grand Mufti even lived in Nazi Germany.) This happened at a time that the few Jews in Palestine lived side-by-side, peacefully with the Palestinians - Rantisi's words. How can you live peacefully with people who call for your destruction knowing full-well that you aren't a threat?  Had the Jews from Europe been allowed to go to Palestine legally and been welcomed by the Arabs then the Holocaust wouldn't have killed over 6 million of them and I don't think the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict would have been as severe as it has come to. While things wouldn't have been perfect for both sides it would have led to a two-state Israel/Palestine and more peace than there currently is. .

After finishing the book I still do not understand the title. Who, does Rantisi believe, are the peacemakers? Are they Israeli Jews, Palestinian Muslims and Christians or outside countries/organizations?

Like I wrote above, this book was an interesting account of one man's story in the wide Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, but does not give any new insights or means to a peaceful co-existence between the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians. I do, however, appreciate reading such books that make me see a different side  -whether I agree with that side or their "facts" or not. People (including me sometimes) tend to not question things and simply believe things because that is how they are taught. Learning about how all the sides have been affected helps see the bigger picture and hopefully will lead to something better for everyone.

Russians Anti-Law

From Yahoo:
"Russian gold medalists kiss on medal stand at world championships to protest anti-gay laws"

Kseniya Ryzhova and Tatyana Firov won a world championship as a part of the 4x400-meter relay team at the IAAF track championships in Moscow. The edged out the American and British teams for the gold. While on the medal stand, they kissed to protest their own country's anti-gay propaganda laws. This isn't the first protest of Russia's laws that penalize anyone for talking about homosexuality in front of children, but it's the most visible one done by Russian athletes. U.S. runner Nick Symmonds dedicated his silver medal in the 800 meters to his gay friends back home, and Swedish high jumper Emma Green Tregaro painted her nails in a rainbow in honor of LGBT pride.  One of the reasons many LGBT sports leaders are against a boycott of the upcoming Olympics in Sochi, Russia, is because more can be accomplished by LGBT athletes and their allies standing atop the medal stand with pride. Ryzhova and Firov put that idea into action in Moscow.

^ It is one thing for non-Russians to protest against this anti-homosexuality law and another for Russians themselves to do so. Just because you are against this pro-gay discrimination law doesn't mean you are gay (it is along the same lines of Christians helping Jews in Nazi Germany or whites helping blacks in the American South or in Apartheid South Africa.) Hopefully, this current show of un-support for the new anti-gay law will show other Russians that they should voice their opinions - in a non- violent way.) Unfortunately, I don't think many Russians would because it is not part of their character. They have always had a leader to hold power over them and tell them exactly what to do - whether it was in Czarist times, Communist times or modern times - and many just live by the saying "we will live and we will see" which basically means "don't rock the boat no matter what, but hope things will change eventually." ^

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/russian-gold-medalists-kiss-medal-stand-world-championships-132337366.html

Misconceptions

From Wikipedia:

"List of common misconceptions"

-          Christopher Columbus's efforts to obtain support for his voyages were not hampered by a European belief in a flat Earth. Sailors and navigators of the time knew that the Earth was roughly spherical, but (correctly) disagreed with Columbus's estimate of the distance to India, which was approximately one-sixth of the actual distance. Many of the educated classes believed the Earth was spherical since the works of the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle.  Eratosthenes made an accurate estimate of the Earth's diameter in approximately 240 BCE.

 

-          Columbus did not "discover America" in the sense of identifying a new continent. Although some historians argue he knew he had found a land between Europe and Asia, most of his writings show he thought he reached the eastern coast of Asia. Most of the landings Columbus made on his four voyages, including the initial October 12, 1492 landing (the anniversary of which forms the basis of Columbus Day), were in the Caribbean Islands. Columbus was not the first European to visit the Americas: at least one explorer, Leif Ericson, preceded him by reaching what today is believed to be Newfoundland.

-          The Thanksgiving at Plymouth Colony, widely believed to be the "First Thanksgiving", was not the first day of thanksgiving on the North American continent. Preceding thanksgiving days were held at the Spanish colony of Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565,  in Frobisher Bay in 1578, in French Canada beginning in 1604, in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, and at Berkeley Hundred in 1619, in addition to numerous similarly themed indigenous celebrations. The association of Thanksgiving Day with the Plymouth celebration was largely the work of 19th-century writer Sarah Josepha Hale, who campaigned over multiple decades for a permanent national Thanksgiving holiday.

-          Marie Antoinette did not say "let them eat cake" when she heard that the French peasantry were starving due to a shortage of bread. The phrase was first published in Rousseau's Confessions when Marie was only 10 years old and most scholars believe that Rousseau coined it himself, or that it was said by Maria-Theresa, the wife of Louis XIV. Even Rousseau (or Maria-Theresa) did not use the exact words but actually Qu'ils mangent de la brioche ("Let them eat brioche [a rich type of bread]").

-          George Washington did not have wooden teeth. His dentures were made of gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, and human and animal teeth (including horse and donkey teeth).

-          The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence did not occur on July 4, 1776. The final language of the document was approved by the Second Continental Congress on that date and it was printed and distributed on July 4 and 5, but the actual signing occurred on August 2, 1776.

-          The United States Constitution was written on parchment, not hemp paper. However, drafts were likely written on hemp paper, as most paper at the time was made from hemp.

-          Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, but the celebration of the Mexican Army's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Mexico's Independence from Spain is celebrated on September 16.

-          The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was not caused by Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicking over a lantern. A newspaper reporter invented the story to make colorful copy.

-          The popular image of Santa Claus was not created by The Coca-Cola Company as an advertising gimmick; by the time Coca-Cola began using Santa Claus's image in the 1930s, Santa Claus had already taken his modern form in popular culture, having already seen extensive use in other companies' advertisements and other mass media.

-          There is no evidence of Polish cavalry mounting a brave but futile charge against German tanks using lances and sabres during the German invasion of Poland in 1939. This story may have originated from German propaganda efforts following the charge at Krojanty in which a Polish cavalry brigade surprised German infantry in the open and charged with sabres until driven off by armoured cars. While Polish cavalry still carried the sabre for such opportunities, they were trained to fight as highly mobile, dismounted cavalry (dragoons) and issued with light anti-tank weapons.

-          During the occupation of Denmark by the Nazis during World War II, King Christian X of Denmark did not thwart Nazi attempts to identify Jews by wearing a yellow star himself. Jews in Denmark were never forced to wear the Star of David. The Danish resistance did help most Jews flee the country before the end of the war.

-          Albert Einstein did not fail mathematics in school, as is commonly believed. Upon being shown a column claiming this fact, Einstein said "I never failed in mathematics... Before I was fifteen I had mastered differential and integral calculus."  Einstein did however fail his first entrance exam into Federal Polytechnic School in 1895, although at the time he was two years younger than his fellow students and did exceedingly well in mathematics and science on the exam.

-          John F. Kennedy's words "Ich bin ein Berliner" are standard German for "I am a Berliner."  An urban legend has it that due to his use of the indefinite article ein, Berliner is translated as jelly doughnut, and that the population of Berlin was amused by the supposed mistake. The word Berliner is not commonly used in Berlin to refer to the Berliner Pfannkuchen; they are usually called ein Pfannkuchen.

-          Despite appearance to the contrary, death per capita due to warfare was much higher in earlier times. A common misconception often quoted by media, politicians, activists is that violence is on the rise and has historically been much lower. Similarly, the trend in post-colonial anthropology has been to regard historically indigenous and tribal societies as more peaceful than contemporary Western society. However, archaeological evidence shows that previous societies had very high level of violence.

-          It is rarely necessary to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person's report; in instances where there is evidence of violence or of an unusual absence, law enforcement agencies in the United States often stress the importance of beginning an investigation promptly. The UK government Web site says explicitly in large type "You don’t have to wait 24 hours before contacting the police".

-          Entrapment law in the United States does not require police officers to identify themselves as police in the case of a sting or other undercover work. The law is specifically concerned with enticing people to commit crimes they would not have considered in the normal course of events.

-          Embassies and consulates are not the territory of the country they represent, but remain part of the host country, although they do enjoy special legal protections in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, such as inviolability of diplomatic premises, which dictates that agents of the host state cannot enter without permission from the country represented.

-          Some people believe that food items cooked with wine or liquor will be totally non-alcoholic, because alcohol's low boiling point causes it to evaporate quickly when heated. However, a study found that some of the alcohol remains: 25 percent after one hour of baking or simmering, and 10 percent after two hours.

-          Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has a widespread reputation for triggering migraine headache exacerbations, but there are no consistent data to support this relationship. Although there have been reports of an MSG-sensitive subset of the population, this has not been demonstrated in placebo-controlled trials.

-          The Twinkie does not have an infinite shelf life; its listed shelf life is approximately 45 days (25 in its original formulation)  and generally remains on a store shelf for only 7 to 10 days.

-          "420" did not originate as the Los Angeles police or penal code for marijuana use. Police Code 420 means "juvenile disturbance", and California Penal Code section 420 prohibits the obstruction of access to public land. The use of "420" started in 1971 at San Rafael High School, where it indicated the time 4:20 pm, when a group of students would go to smoke under the statue of Louis Pasteur.

-          "Xmas" is not a secular plan to "take the Christ out of Christmas".  X stands for the Greek letter Chi, the starting letter of Χριστός, or "Christ" in Greek. The use of the word "Xmas" can be traced to the year 1021 when "monks in Great Britain...used the X while transcribing classical manuscripts into Old English" in place of "Christ".  The Oxford English Dictionary's "first recorded use of 'Xmas' for 'Christmas' dates back to 1551."

-    The expression "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" does not come from an ancient Arab saying. Instead it comes from the Indian Kautilya. 

-          Bulls are not enraged by the color red, used in capes by professional matadors. Cattle are dichromats, so red does not stand out as a bright color. It is not the color of the cape, but the perceived threat by the matador that incites it to charge.

-          Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not sweat by salivating. It is not true that dogs do not have sweat glands or have sweat glands only on their tongues. They do sweat, mainly through the footpads. However, dogs do primarily regulate their body temperature through panting.

-          Lemmings do not engage in mass suicidal dives off cliffs when migrating. They will, however, occasionally unintentionally fall off cliffs when venturing into unknown territory, with no knowledge of the boundaries of the environment. 

-          Bats are not blind. While many (most) bat species use echolocation as a primary sense, all bat species have eyes and are capable of sight. Furthermore, not all bats can echolocate and these bats have excellent night vision.

-          Ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand to hide from enemies. This misconception was probably promulgated by Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79), who wrote that ostriches "imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed."

-          It is not harmful to baby birds to pick them up and return them to their nests, despite the common belief that doing so will cause the mother to reject them. Some birds have limited sense of smell, and many species primarily rely on visual cues. It is however still best to leave a baby bird alone, as the parents will usually be close by.

-          Waking sleepwalkers does not harm them. While it is true that a person may be confused or disoriented for a short time after awakening, this does not cause them further harm. In contrast, sleepwalkers may injure themselves if they trip over objects or lose their balance while sleepwalking. Such injuries are common among sleepwalkers.

-          Eating less than an hour before swimming does not increase the risk of experiencing muscle cramps or drowning. One study shows a correlation between alcohol consumption and drowning, but there is no evidence cited regarding stomach cramps or the consumption of food.

-          Alcoholic beverages do not make one warmer. The reason that alcoholic drinks create the sensation of warmth is that they cause blood vessels to dilate and stimulate nerve endings near the surface of the skin with an influx of warm blood. This can actually result in making the core body temperature lower, as it allows for easier heat exchange with a cold external environment.

-          Swallowed chewing gum does not take seven years to digest. In fact, chewing gum is mostly indigestible, and passes through the digestive system at the same rate as other matter.

-          Neither cracking one's knuckles nor exercising while in good health causes osteoarthritis.

-          The idea that lightning never strikes the same place twice is one of the oldest and most well-known superstitions about lightning. There is no reason that lightning would not be able to strike the same place twice; if there is a thunderstorm in a given area, then objects and places which are more prominent or conductive (and therefore minimize distance) are more likely to be struck. For instance, lightning strikes the Empire State Building in New York City about 100 times per year.-

-          A penny dropped from the Empire State Building will not kill a person or crack the sidewalk. The terminal velocity of a falling penny is about 30–50 miles per hour (48–80 km/h), and the penny will not exceed that speed regardless of the height from which it is dropped. At that speed, its energy is not enough to penetrate a human skull or crack concrete, as demonstrated on an episode of MythBusters. As MythBusters noted, the Empire State Building is a particularly poor setting for this misconception, since its tapered shape would make it impossible to drop anything directly from the top to street level.

-          The historical Buddha was not obese. The "chubby Buddha" or "laughing Buddha" is a 10th-century Chinese folk hero by the name of Budai. In Chinese Buddhist culture, Budai came to be revered as an incarnation of Maitreya, the Bodhisattva who will become a Buddha to restore Buddhism after the teachings of the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, have passed away.

-          There is no evidence that Jesus was born on December 25.  The Bible never claims a date of December 25, but may imply a date closer to September. The fixed date is attributed to Pope Julius the First because in the year 350 CE he declared the twenty-fifth of December the official date of celebration. The date may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after Christians believe Jesus to have been conceived, the date of the Roman winter solstice,  or one of various ancient winter festivals.

-          Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute. She is often confused with a different, unnamed woman in the Gospel of Luke (immediately before Mary Magdalene's introduction) who indeed was a prostitute. The misconception stems from a 6th-century homily from Pope Gregory I, who assumed that the seven demons that Jesus cast out of Mary Magdalene corresponded to the still-nascent concept of the seven deadly sins.

-          Frankenstein was not the name of the monster in the novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley; rather it was the surname of the monster's creator, Victor Frankenstein. The monster is instead called Frankenstein's monster. Additionally, Frankenstein was a medical student in the novel, not a doctor as frequently portrayed.

-          "Edelweiss" is not the national anthem of Austria, but is in fact an original composition created for the musical The Sound of Music. The actual Austrian national anthem is "Land der Berge, Land am Strome.”

-          George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter, though he reputedly discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more for soybeans, pecans, and sweet potatoes.

-          Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet; flushing toilets were first used in the Indus Valley Civilization, around the 26th century BCE. Crapper, however, did much to increase its popularity and came up with some related inventions, such as the ballcock mechanism used to fill toilet tanks. The derivation of the word 'crap' is unrelated to his name; this is mere coincidence.

-    Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb. He did, however, develop the first practical light bulb in 1880 (employing a carbonized bamboo filament), shortly prior to Joseph Swan, who invented an even more efficient bulb in 1881 (which used a cellulose filament).

-          Henry Ford did not invent either the automobile or the assembly line. He did improve the assembly line process substantially, sometimes through his own engineering but more often through sponsoring the work of his employees. Karl Benz (co-founder of Mercedes-Benz) is credited with the invention of the first modern automobile, and the assembly line has existed throughout history.

-          Toilet waste is never intentionally jettisoned from an aircraft. All waste is collected in tanks which are emptied on the ground by toilet waste vehicles.  Blue ice is caused by accidental leakage from the waste tank. Passenger trains, on the other hand, have historically flushed onto the tracks; however, modern trains usually have retention tanks on board.

^ These were interesting. I already knew many of them, but some I didn't. ^

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions