We are Talking About: Time Banks
Have you ever wondered how much an hour really costs? Have you ever wondered why your work pays so low by the hour when some people do less and earn more? If you have wondered about the value of time, then read our latest Feature story: Time Banks. We are talking about time banking, a system where the value of an hour is the same for everyone. Time Banks are about trust and about the idea that time is money. Time Banks are systems to exchange time, services and skills. Time Banks are an alternative to our money driven society, a fair exchange rate. Discover Time Banks in our Feature Story. We are talking about Time Banks.
Filed Under SPECIAL FEATURE
Divorce for the unmarried
I was beginning to blame myself. I thought, with age and the accumulation of bad experiences, I was growing more wary and weary of relationships. But then news like this pops up and I am assured it isn’t only myself, it’s this crazy millennium we live in. There’s more to worry about. It’s easier to grow suspicious, and greedy and angry. There’s more ways to destroy the one you “love.”
“Unmarried couples will be able to make divorce-style financial claims against each other after they have split up under legislation planned by the government,” reports Britain’s “the Guardian.”
With proof that one had suffered financial disadvantage or that their partner had gained a financial advantage within the relationship, couples that lived together would be able to claim lump sums, property shares, shares of their partner’s pension, and so on.
Filed Under Modern Life
N word goes online
No! “The only time I would consider it is if it comes to the point where everyone is offended by it.” This was the response of Tyrone, after he was questioned about his idea known as Niggaspace.com. He won’t change the name nor will he reconsider it. Niggaspace.com is and alternative online networking community such as Myspace. According to the website, “You definitely don’t have to be black to join! We just want to embrace the black culture that continues to innovate and strive!” So I guess its all for the culture. White people and black people are part of this network, would something like this remove the stigma of the N* word? Would Niggaspace.com make the N* word common talk? Accepted talk?
Filed Under Modern Life
No free hugs in China
The international Free Hug Campaign has been a very successful and interesting phenomenon around the world. Except in China. The campaign claims that we all need a hug sometimes, so we should give it or ask for it. However, the chinese culture is not at ease with close touch. Huggers have been arrested and interrogated as they approach people to hug as part of this campaign. I believe this is an excellent example of how international campaigns sometimes cross national boundaries and affect local traditions. You can hug me, but please ask first. I guess it’s the same in China… if they understand what it is all about, if not they might call the cops. This is a fair hug warning.
Filed Under Modern Life
Freedom of war speech
A Milbolg is a blog written by present or former active duty military personnel. This sounds pretty much like freedom of speech, don’t you think? So close to freedom of speech that some of them might be closed. The blogs of former members of a Virginia National Guard Unit have been checked: the Army’s Web Risk Assessment Cell (AWRAC) looked for text, photos or videos that might have given away sensitive information.
Those blogs have been very important during Iraq war, and they give to the audience an uncommon voice from the soldiers. I imagine somewhere there are power centers that find it scary. In fact it seems like always more often military men have to experiment what censorship is.
Meanwhile, until the Milbloggers are still able to speak, you can find a compendium of their voices on Blackfive: The Blog of War. (there’s also a book, with the same title, collecting posts about Iraq and Afghanistan).
Filed Under Media & Society
The private blogging generation
Google Generation, as they call it.
One feels like talking to the whole world. And here comes the blog.
One feels like sharing him/herself and find friends online. And here comes myspace, or face.
And after putting his words in the World Wide Web, one decides too many strangers can know who he/she is and all that.
And here come the private page.
The trend now is not anymoe to talk to anyone, but to give people the key code to access private talks.
The last program is called Vox and belongs to Six Apart: it’s like a blog, but you need a key to read it.
So basically the Google generation is still Google but with intimacy.
Filed Under Media & Society
Separated by slavery, reconnected online
From lost relatives to the origin of a family, one needs records of all sorts to understand where people came from. In a country like the US, where migration formed most families, records play a great roll for genealogists. When the families and the records are of the slave population, the records acquire a special value. Slaves were relocated, sent to places, separated from their families, thus any record of their movements would facilitate finding the roots of thousands of families. The records of the Freedmen Bureau are used to reconnect people and families, and soon they will be available online. This would facilitate the work of reconnecting generations with their past and possibly even future. I would love to have records of the origin of my own family. They are said to have been a converted Jewish family of Spain, but I don’t now more than that.
Filed Under History & traditions, Modern Life