Watching porn a 'worldwide phenomenon'!

So, it is official now. Everyone wants to watch porn stuff, come what may.  According to a report that appeared in Daily Mail, no matter how much risk it may involve, a lot of people watch pornography in offices. The report quotes a German expert who has claimed millions of people are surreptitiously viewing porn at the workplace.

The German sex therapist Christoph Ahlers was quoted as saying that around 60 million people log on to the world's largest free porn website everyday – and two-thirds of those are doing so from their desks.

Berlin-based Ahlers made the claim at a conference in Salzburg, Austria, on medicine and therapies for the treatment of sexual

behavioural issues.

"Modern viewing of porn is no longer something in which strange individuals are engaged in quiet rooms in video booths," he was quoted as saying. And porn watchers, nothing to be shy about watching it, for Ahlers says watching porn is now a "worldwide phenomenon".

Teens are always on Facebook!

In a startling revelation, a recent survey shows that Indian teens spend 86 per cent of their time daily on Facebook followed by 54 per cent on Twitter!

If you thought you were the only the parent who racks your brain over how to get your a teenage boy or girl out of Facebook addiction, you are wrong! You are one among millions of such parents across India. According to a latest survey, Indian teens spend 86 per cent of their time daily on Facebook followed by 54 per cent on Twitter!

It is found that around 45% of the teens surveyed use smart phones to access the Internet and on average open an account on Facebook by age 13, according to a survey conducted by McAfee last week.

McAfee's 'Secret Lives of Teens' survey says 97 per cent of teens have access to social network, while there is a growing digital divide between teens and their parents. "This divide is attributed to the fact that Indian teens are growing up as digital natives, with increasingly active online lives but lack  of parental assistance," the survey said.

The survey was carried out in seven cities -- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Chennai. A sample size of 757 teenagers and 750 parents were included in the survey.

The report says that close to half of surveyed teens (45 per cent) are now using their smart phones for internet access. It says there is an evident discrepancy between parental perception and actual reality regarding the online activities of the teenagers.

While parental concerns prevail, teens do end up sharing more dangerous information online, contrary to their parents’ belief, the survey said and added that 89 per cent of teens believe social network is safe whereas parents are less believing at 71 per cent.

The survey said 38 per cent teens have witnessed cruel behavior online, whereas only 16 per cent parents are aware of this. 87 per cent of this behaviour has been noticed on Facebook, 31 per cent on
Twitter and 23 per cent on email by teens. 

War on Men

Yes, men have done enough. I agree with Suzanne Venker. In his opinion piece for Fox News, "The War on Men," Venkar made it plain. Men are in big trouble. The world has changed. Modern society does not have space for men, it’s women everywhere.

Hey fellow men, we should have been alerted when Christina Hoff Sommers wrote The War Against Boys way back in 2000 that we were going to be end up soup. But we didn’t. And then Hanna Rosin said the same in her The End of Man. And now comes Venker’s outbursts.

The irony is despite the efforts of three generations of feminists, men still earn more than women. Yet he has been hurt, badly hurt. According to Pew Research Center, the share of women aging from eighteen to thirty-four that say having a successful marriage is one of the most important things in their lives rose nine percentage points since 1997 – from 28 percent to 37 percent. For men, the opposite occurred. The share voicing this opinion dropped, from 35 percent to 29 percent.

The fact of the matter is modern women want to get married whereas men don’t. Yes, it’s obvious that some women have serious trouble finding a man that they want to marry. But Venker says that it’s women who are to be blamed. Women aren’t women anymore.

According to a fellow blogger, women are no longer women, but she-demons, who come from the great land across the sea. They do not love, but rather devour their mates, bones and all. Who could love such a creature?

He says that contrary to what feminists like Hanna Rosin, author of The End of Men, say, the so-called rise of women has not threatened men. It has pissed them off. It has also undermined their ability to become self-sufficient in the hopes of someday supporting a family. Men want to love women, not compete with them. They want to provide for and protect their families – it’s in their DNA. But modern women won’t let them.

Save the wetlands of Bengal!

The magnificent flora and fauna that once were abundant in the wetland of India are fast diminishing. Several wildlife species are endangered, they are on the verge of extinct.

There was a time when leopards, tigers, elephants, river terrapins and many more used to flourish on the wetlands of Bengal, but unfortunately due to the heavy influx of migrants and infrastructure in the name of development has spelled doom.   

The wetlands have been rapidly disappearing for years. All in the name of people and development- it is high time to tell the state government to protect the wetlands.

Wetlands are crucial for wildlife, but they do so much more to help people too. They lessen the destructive power of floods, absorb carbon emissions and filter pollutants out of the water. Laws exist to protect wetlands, but they're rarely enforced. If we don't act now, scientists think they'll be gone by 2030.

If you want to tell the state government to protect the remaining wetlands for wildlife and humans to prevent ecological disaster, join Care2’s petition site.

Below goes the petition to Ms Mamta Banarjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, sponsored by Judith B, being signed now:

“Bengal is a region of productive agricultural land and rich biodiversity, with its wildlife including fishing cats, leopards, tigers, the river terrapin, the Himalayan salamander, elephants and hundreds of different birds. The survival of its wildlife and ecosystems, and in turn agriculture, depends on its natural wetlands. These wetlands, however, have been disappearing rapidly.

During the 1970s and 80s, a huge number of natural wetlands were filled in for development as people migrated from the newly independent Bangladesh. They still are disappearing and scientists predict that they will all be gone by 2030 unless action is taken.

The wetlands not only support an abundance of wild animals and plants, with the possibility for developing ecotourism, they also provide vital ecosystem services, including flood mitigation, carbon absorption and the filtering of pollutants. Letting the last ones go would be an ecological disaster.

Although laws exist to preserve wetland habitats, they are rarely enforced.

Tell the state government to take action immediately on this increasingly urgent issue.

Below goes the link for you to sign.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/727/269/524/save-the-wetlands-of-north-bengal/?z00m=20451625

Artistes arrested for ‘gay’ Jesus play in Greece

In the first place, I don’t know why someone wants to portray Jesus as gay. That is not my concern. But why the Church makes a hue and cry when such a thing happens is of course something that I would like to think about.

Nikos Kazantzakis was in the dock for his controversial novel ‘The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ’ and so was Salman Rushdie for his ‘Satanic Verses’. World-renowned Indian artist M F Hussein was often targeted by right-wing Hindus for his portrayal of Hindu goddesses in nude.

A director, actors and a producer who staged an American play depicting Jesus and his disciples as gay were arrested in Greece. Charges of blasphemy have been filed against them. Athens had imposed a ban on the controversial play “Corpus Christi” after weeks of daily protests by priests from Greece’s Orthodox Church, members of the far-right party, the Golden Dawn, and other right-wing protesters earlier this month. My fellow blogger Kristina Chew says that these demonstrations and the blasphemy charges, filed by Bishop Seraphim of Piraeus, are all more signs of a rise in right-wing sentiment in Greece, also evidenced in reports of violent attacks on immigrants and the government’s implementation of its “Xenios Zeus” policy, a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Albanian-born Laertis Vasiliou, who directed the play was reported to have expressed disbelief that authorities have made such a huge issue about the play. It may be remembered that Greece is struggling hard to tide over the economic crisis that prevails in the country, unemployment and other issues.

Though no specific date for a trial for the director Vasiliou and the others has yet been set, if convicted, they could face sentences of several months.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit against those involved in the “Corpus Christi” production follows the arrest of a 27-year-old man who created a Facebook page that mocked a deceased Orthodox monk. These incidents indicate a right-wing turn in the country, also apparent when Greek state TV censored a kiss between two men while airing a segment of the British period drama “Downton Abbey” in October, reports the agency.

Southern siren crosses 1 million mark on Facebook

Superstar and heart throb of South, Kajal Aggarwal who is known for movies like Singham and the recently released super hit Thupakki, has crossed the one million fans milestone on her official Facebook page, making her the first female lead actor from South India to do so.

What sets Kajal apart is her true endeavor to reach out to her fans extensively through the use of social media platform – Facebook.  Kajal shares images and videos, and also updates her status feed to engage in real-time conversations with her huge fan-base.

Kajal says, “I think Facebook is a great platform to connect with my fans and interact with them. Facebook has just got the world so much closer and conversations flow so easily. Social Media is a very good medium for actors to express their views and share a slice of their life with their fans. While for fans, it is another way of getting a little more up-close and personal with any personality that they admire. Also through my Facebook page I get so many reviews and feedback on my movies, roles, acting and style that it really sometimes makes me aware of my strengths and weaknesses as an actor.  I do personally interact with my fans, as and when time permits I also reply to their comments and post pictures regularly.”

Kajal’s Facebook page has several images and video links and her recent activities include sharing of exclusive images, and status updates on her recent visit to the International Film Festival of India in Goa where she was present for the inauguration of the event.

Kajal’s facebook page is at http://www.facebook.com/ImKajalAggarwal.

Stop overfishing, lest they will extinct

Fishing has been on the rise like never before in Indian seas, and it is time to raise our voice. People generally tend to overlook issues like this: but the fact is disturbing. Commercial fish like tuna and halibut are caught, processed and packaged at record speeds by large, factory like ships in Indian waters.

The huge ships arrive from everywhere and catch fish in large numbers, freeze, clean and package at one go! In the process, these ships are wrecking the fauna of the seas. They've severely damaged the ocean's remaining fish populations.

According to experts, overfishing upsets the balance of marine ecosystems to the point of destruction. In an attempt make the best of the occupation, governments offer subsidies and logistic support to these mammoth ships that are innumerable.

Yes, fish population in Indian seas is at the threat of extinction. Fish cannot repopulate quickly. And looking at the speed in which fish have been caught in large numbers, it is apparent that the seas will lose their ecological balance.

It requires time for fish and at least give them ample time to flourish their tribes. If the huge ships are allowed to continue operating in the same fashion, the depleting fish population will completely disappear.

Sharad Pawarjee! Do something to stop overfishing and restore balance to the sea's ecosystem as early as possible…