Interesting Links for 15-02-2012

[andrewducker]

• When will experiences replace movie theaters?
  I think people enjoy passive entertainment a lot, so I don't expect movies to go anywhere. It would be nice to see more "experiences", but I suspect that their cost is going to remain a chunk higher than a movie ticket.
  (tags: movies experience life fun museums culture )
• Some detail on what people who identify as "Christian" in the census actually believe
  (tags: religion uk census poll )
• Dutch government calls for loosening of copyright law. Could the tide be turning?
  (tags: copyright netherlands law government )
• Online RPGs WILL DESTROY YOUR RELATIONSHIP. Unless you play together, of course.
  (tags: relationships mmorpg )
• Some common sense on prayer and councils.
  What occurred to me, when reading someone else's journal, was that atheists are merely going to be irked by compulsory Christian prayers - but think about the effect it has on a Muslim, Sikh, etc. that in order to represent their constituents they have to sit through the prayers of a different religion.
  (tags: religion politics uk )
• Game of Thrones Valentine's Day cards
  (tags: gameofthrones valentines_day )
• The UK devolved rights to Antarctica to Scotland - by mistake. Now they want them back.
  (tags: scotland antarctic uk oil )
• The BBC replaces the word "Palestine" with the sound of breaking glass. No, really.
  (tags: bbc palestine israel censorship )
• Firefox Roadmap for 2012
  (tags: firefox web 2012 )
• This video is genius. Horrific, hilarious, genius. I can't say more than that without spoiling it.
  (tags: horror funny nsfw video )
• What If All the Cats in the World Suddenly Died?
  (tags: cats )
• Chocolate + Apple = best valentine's present evar.
  (tags: valentines_day apple chocolate ipad )
• Shitstorm 'best English gift to German language'
  (tags: english german language )
• Being left/right-handed affects your preferences
  (tags: handedness psychology )
• Game Developer Gives 7-Year-Old Best Birthday Present Ever
  (tags: awesome children computer_games )
• 9 Essential Skills Kids Should Learn
  (tags: children development )

Comments

[andrewducker]

I'm not actually sure what the letter of the law is here - it seems to be saying that they can't make "Prayer" an item on the agenda, not that an individual can't pray while the meeting is going on.

Which would match the case in US schools and suchlike, where schools cannot have prayer sessions, but individuals can pray if they feel like.

IANAL, of course.

[steer.livejournal.com]

I guess I interpreted from "prayers can be said as long as councillors are not made formally to attend" (the ruling I think) that prayers could not be said when councillors were formally made to attend -- that is prayers could not be said in that part of the meeting at which was compulsory. Perhaps that is too strong an interpretation.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I dunno either. And banning "the saying of prayers" could be taken either way - and hopefully wouldn't cover people saying them silently in their heads. But lots of things I hope turn out to not be true :->

[steer.livejournal.com]

Indeed, we can only hope it has found the correct balance between forcing others to attend (or worse participate) in ceremonies they find offensive on the one hand and, on the other hand, allowing a non-disruptive freedom to pursue beliefs.

[andrewducker]

Yeah - it's a hard line to walk. And I don't like some of the decisions made recently (I object to people getting in trouble over expressing opinions, even if they are ones I find disgusting). But I can hope :->