12/4/2005: Obelisk condom

[Dagney]

Now gentlemen, I know you can't POSSIBLY be implying that there are dicks in DC.

No......not THAT.

/sarcasm off

[lawman]

Friends of mine just returned from a whitewater kayaking trip to Uganda where one of their observations was in regards to the negative influence of the neo-conservative US administration on the Ugandian people.

Prior to the Republicans gaining office, there was a very strong safe-sex campaign, promoting the use of condoms (which were freely available in a economically poor country). Part of this promotion consisted of large billboards with 'condom-sense' types of advertising.

In the last 6 years, however, health related funding from the US has been only given with the stipulation that abstinence be the only promoted anti-AIDS programs. Those 'condom-sense' billboards have been replastered with abstinence related messages. It's economic blackmail pushing conservative values onto a foreign country at the expense of the health (and lives) of it's citizens. And guess what - new HIV infection rates have reversed their downward trend.

Of course I have a bias against policies like these, and I'm no fan of the Bush administration, but the above is presented with true facts.

Here's a link to a page from Human Rights Watch that has much more information:

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/30/uganda10380.htm

[dar512]

Originally Posted by lawman

but the above is presented with true facts.

As opposed to all those false facts that keep turning up.

[glatt]

My understanding is that Bush, despite his many flaws - too numerous to mention here, has dramatically increased the funding that is available to fight AIDS in Africa. I also don't care for the strings he has attached to that money, but you have to give him credit for what he has done in the fight against AIDS. He could have just turned his back like everyone else.

[Troubleshooter]

So you're saying that more money spent in such a way that it won't work is better than a little money that would work?

[lawman]

Originally Posted by dar512

As opposed to all those false facts that keep turning up.

(DOH!) oops, I goofed! Good catch Dar. Although, false facts could also be referencing propoganda and spin doctoring.

just for fun I googled "false facts" and found this book:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A18828%3A21518

excerpt:
George Washington was not the first president of the United States.
Leap year does not occur every four years.
Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb.
Sound does not travel at the speed of sound.

those I do find particularily dubious - wonder what their answers are.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by lawman

George Washington was not the first president of the United States.

Oh, I know this one. John Hanson was the first President of the United States (under the Articles of Confederation.) Washington was 1st President of the United Stated (under the Constitution.) There were 7 Presidents between Hanson and Washington (all under the Articles.)

It's a little complicated.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by lawman

Sound does not travel at the speed of sound.

those I do find particularily dubious - wonder what their answers are.

I'm guessing this one is based on the fact that the speed of sound is relative to the density of the medium it travels through.

[hideouse]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

I'm guessing this one is based on the fact that the speed of sound is relative to the density of the medium it travels through.

I probably could pick a better way to introduce m'self, but this is a topic I got mildly interested in one day during an aircraft systems.
the speed of sound does not depend on density or temperature, except as how these things affect the stiffness of the medium. So warm rubber( quite dense) transmits sound slower that glass (less dense). Stiffness determines the speed of sound in any medium.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by hideouse

Stiffness determines the speed of sound in any medium.

So the humming will transmit faster if it's harder...hmmm....
Uh....thanks hideouse.....that calls for some experimenting.
Oh, and I second the welcome.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by hideouse

I probably could pick a better way to introduce m'self, but this is a topic I got mildly interested in one day during an aircraft systems.
the speed of sound does not depend on density or temperature, except as how these things affect the stiffness of the medium. So warm rubber( quite dense) transmits sound slower that glass (less dense). Stiffness determines the speed of sound in any medium.

I guess since you've shown me yours I'll show you mine...

I was a sonar technician on the USS City of Corpus Cristi for two years, so my study of acoustics is a bit more thorough.

If what you say is true, why is the speed of sound in water five times that of the speed of sound in air? Neither are very stiff. What you say is true on the surface, but when you dive a bit deeper it becomes more clear.

Check out this page here for information.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by lawman

just for fun I googled "false facts" and found this book:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A18828%3A21518

excerpt:
George Washington was not the first president of the United States.
Leap year does not occur every four years.
Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb.
Sound does not travel at the speed of sound.

those I do find particularily dubious - wonder what their answers are.

Cool. I love this kind of stuff. And one of the local libraries just got it in.