woman flogged on video circulating in Pakistan

Not sure what is more sick about this, that the woman was flogged or that it was supposed to be done by a boy who had not yet reached puberty.

Gifted Children Shape Their Personalities According To Social Stigma

Gifted youths already know what they want to be when they grow up. They usually choose to study applied sciences, but when they are asked why they made their choices, they are not able to explain. "Society identifies the gifted child with high intelligence and is often hasty to identify this intelligence with specific subjects, especially exact or prestigious sciences. The maturing children are quick to adopt this identity, renouncing the process of building self-identity."

I don't know why this is shocking.

In any event, why wouldn't we gravitate toward fields in which we naturally excel, like academics, and which may be designed specifically for the gifted? I'm confused. I mean, people bitch at me all the time about "lacking focus" and here these people are complaining that I became "focused" too soon. Make up your damn minds!

Facebook retracts claim to users data

Under fire from tens of thousands of its users, the social networking site Facebook said it is reverting to its old policy on user information. "Your content belongs to you," said company spokesman Barry Schnitt. Facebook sparked a content-rights battle after revealing it was granting itself permanent rights to users' photos, wall posts and other information.

After their privacy policy fiasco, and now this... you don't think they will try to find another way to take advantage of users? By comparison LJ is a paragon of virtue. And that's sad, because LJ is no saint.

I heard a report about the young American woman being charged with murdering her roommate in Italy, and what I heard does not give me a lot of faith in the Italian justice system...

The defendant was responding to charges by witnesses that she had poor hygeine.

Poor hygeine makes you a murderer??

Boy, I'm in trouble then.

Court hears case of 13-year-old strip-searched at school by officials looking for ibuprofen.

Yet another example of how zero-tolerance policies are inherently stupid.