Are carrots orange?

Actually, not always. Any more than hen's eggs are brown (if you're British) or white (if you're USAmerican). I've been telling people for a couple of years in those odd 'did you know...' moments that carrots used to be purple. Well, and more. And it could be that there is a political angel to this. Are carrots protestant? | Culture Making:

"the long orange carrot of supermarket and snowman-nose and Bugs Bunney fame was popularized by Dutch breeders in the 17th century, perhaps as a tribute to William of Orange, the the Dutch independance leader who became a Calvinist and helped get the 80 years war started. His grandson William III ruled the Netherlands and, later on, the British Isles, where he was responsible for the introduction of orange as the favored color of Irish protestants."

Picture: Wikipedia

Social Attitudes, News Headlines and Moral Relativism

I think my old friend Doug is right about this:
Social Attitudes, News Headlines and Moral Relativism:

"Imagine, for example, that the report had contained a series of questions like this – all relating to the sort of stories we might see in our headlines.

Do you believe there there are some circumstances when a sexual relationship between an adult and an child is right?
Do you believe that there are some circumstances where children may justifiably torture other children?
Do you believe that it is an acceptable means of protest or conflict to blow yourself up in a crowded tube station?

And then the question were asked: “Do you believe right and wrong is a matter of personal choice?”"

He's put his finger on something I think is fundamentally correct: if I can express it in terms more familiar to me; our society's ideology says 'it all depends', but our guts in certain cases say 'die heretic-miscreant'. That is 'we' collectively believe some acts are absolutely wrong: paedophilia, child abuse, violent/lethal protest. I think Doug's idea that there is some redefinition of morality is intriguing. However, I think it is simply that we are 'built' for absolutes but we have an ideology which justifies the breaking of a certain set of outgoing cultural taboos. Come back in 40 years and it could feel different again. What Doug's getting at I think I agree with: that there is a redrawing of boundaries between 'wrong' and 'sometimes acceptable' if I can put it that way, and '(perfectly) normal' at the other end of a spectrum. I think that the term 'normal' is important here: the ideologies relating to moral and ethical choices are heavily informed by concepts of 'natural' and 'normal' on the one hand and 'if it harms none' on the other. Perhaps the real offence of paedophilia and abuse for many is actually that it harms and that informed consent cannot be gained from one party. Similarly with violent protest...

Thinking out loud, don't shoot, muse with ...

10:10 | sign up or come up with excuses for your grandchildren

Go here. Sign up. It's simple and you have to do it. 10:10 | Cutting 10% of emissions in 2010: "It’s simple: We all cut our carbon by 10% this year. You, me, that bloke walking his dog outside, your work, your kids’ school, the council, the church, the chip shop. Everyone."

Global deep freeze threatens 2010 food supply

It's time to start thinking about simplifying our diets. Recall that a Christian response is called for ...Global deep freeze threatens 2010 food supply: "The global deep freeze now striking North America, Europe, China and other regions may lead to severe food shortages and price hikes throughout 2010. Right now, rare freezing temperatures are destroying root crops in their ground, wiping out citrus orchards and devastating food producers around the world. The upshot of it all? Expect food shortages and rising food prices throughout 2010."

Language structure is partly determined by social structure

This is so intriguing, but now I've looked a bit more at the article:Language structure is partly determined by social structure I recall that it chimes with informal observations: "human languages may adapt more like biological organisms than previously thought and that the more common and popular the language, the simpler its construction to facilitate its survival."
The main issue is determining simplicity of grammar; this seems to be taken to mean less tense, number etc inflection and less pronouns. The upshot is "anguages with long histories of adult learners have become easier to learn over time. Although a number of researchers have predicted such relationships between social and language structure, this is the first large-scale statistical test of this idea." Which makes intuitive sense. The interesting thing therefore is the implication that languages like English have evolved partly because of having non-native speakers: in a sense, I would venture, by a degree of creolisation. There may be issues of cultural transfer implied in this: that such forms are more widely adopted because of association with prestigious cultural artefacts (objects, music etc).
Of course this means that 'purist' approaches to English language may have to bow to the multi-cultural history ...

Self-centred Buddhism and the introspective conscience of the West?

This is definitely worth adding to your clip-book of articles on Buddhism:Self-centred Buddhism | Mark Vernon | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.
There's a really nice exposition of western Buddhism through an encounter with a retreat centre and it has a concise and helpful guide to the central beliefs of this religion-philosophy. Then comes an outline of why it might be appealing in contemporary western culture:

It's religion as a kind of therapy, and points to one of the reasons that Buddhism is finding such a ready audience in the west. Modernity has damaged many egos, perhaps as a result of the Enlightenment teaching that we are autonomous selves, capable of self-creation, control and consolation

Pleasinngly for me, this is rather similar to things I've been saying and writing (especially). One particularly pleasing part of the article is the way that it picks out a central issue in the interface between Western culture and Buddhism:

... it comes with risk. Meditation-as-therapy flirts with narcissism when it is devoted to observing yourself, for that can lead to self-absorption and self-obsession.

In fact the issue is a contradiction -or perhaps paradox-

I suspect this is a key paradox with which western Buddhism is currently grappling: the practice that tells you the self is a delusion could, in the modern context, deepen the very attitude it seeks to dislodge. It's a risk compounded when self-concern is arguably the secret of western Buddhism's current success.

. I think that is quite right. And, as I've also pointed up before,

a God-centred spiritual practice might offer a better way to get over yourself, and in turn offer a more satisfying "therapy".

Haiti: stick this in your prayers and say 'em

Of course, and rightly, people are praying for Haiti (pr Ha-eetee, please, not hate-ee). Can I encourage to take the risk of plunging some of your praying into the arena of the Powers? Check out this article: Haiti needs water, not occupation | Mark Weisbrot | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Here's some of the most salient points in praying with Thrones and Dominions in mind:

The US, together with Canada and France, conspired openly for four years to topple Haiti's elected government, cutting off almost all international aid in order to destroy the economy and make the country ungovernable. They succeeded. For those who wonder why there are no Haitian government institutions to help with the earthquake relief efforts, this is a big reason. ... Washington's fear of democracy in Haiti may explain why the US is now sending 10,000 troops and prioritising "security" over other needs. This military occupation by US troops will raise other concerns in the hemisphere, ... non-governmental organisations have raised other issues about the proposed reconstruction: understandably they want Haiti's remaining debt cancelled, and grants rather than loans (the IMF has proposed a $100m dollar loan). Reconstruction needs will be in the billions of dollars: will Washington encourage the establishment of a functioning government? Or will it prevent that, channelling aid through NGOs and taking over various functions itself, because it of its long-standing opposition to Haitian self-rule?

What I don't yet get is why the USA should be so against Haitian democracy (apart from it being more lefty than they like)? I've not been 'following' the region; I'm hoping the NI will do a piece on it soon.