Japan creates perfect accessory for female caddies!

The Nice Cup-In-Bra is a bra that turns into a putting green

Civil Union still too Gay for Opponents

Not that this is gonna shock anyone-but there's just not pleasing folks that don't want to sign off on any sort of same sex partnership

~Coalition to Oppose Bill 185~
Contact: Tim Rohr FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel: (671) 477-7647 November 9, 2009
Mobile: (671) 777-7647
tim@ibosc.com
RESPONSE TO THE REVISION OF BILL 185
The need to clarify the Church’s position
While the Coalition to Oppose Bill 185 doesnot speak for the Catholic Church, the
founder of the opposition group, Tim Rohr, wants to make it very clear that Archbishop
Apuron's position on Bill 185 is NOT the personal position of the Archbishop.
Rohr says that the Archbishop Apuron’sopposition to the bill is simply the local
application of an instruction contained in the Vatican document CONSIDERATIONS
REGARDING PROPOSALS TO GIVE LEGAL RECOGNITION TO UNIONS
BETWEEN HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS, which states "...all Catholics must oppose the
legal recognition of homosexual unions..."
This document was authored by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the
Church's highest office in such matters, and promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 2003.
Rohr emphasized that the Catholic Church does NOT just oppose "homosexual
marriages", butuniversally opposes the “legal recognition ofhomosexual unions"
regardless of what they are called.
“Not only does the Archbishop NOT have the authority to change this teaching, the Pope
doesn't either,” said Rohr.“Thus no amount of revisions, vigils, petitions, or branches
filled with olives, will appease the Church. It's a dead discussion.”
Rohr challenged the proponents of the bill to leave the Church and the Archbishop out of
the discussion and move on to confronting the real civil issues that Bill 185 raises such as
the economic impact of creatinga whole new class of dependents on an already burdened
GovGuam retirement system.
The Vatican document can be found at www.vatican.va
# # #
If you would like more information or to schedule an interview with Tim Rohr please call
him at 477-7647, or email at tim@ibosc.com

Pew Study Validates Nerds!

Press Release: Social Isolation and New Technology Nov 4, 2009 (Washington) People who use modern information and communication technologies have larger and more diverse social networks, according to new national survey findings that for the first time explore how people use the internet and mobile phones to interact with key family and friends. These new finding challenge fears that use of new technologies has contributed to a long-term increase in social isolation in the United States. The new findings from the Pew Internet & American Life Project show that, on average, the size of people's discussion networks – those with whom people discuss important matters– is 12% larger amongst mobile phone users, 9% larger for those who share photos online, and 9% bigger for those who use instant messaging. The diversity of people's core networks – their closest and most significant confidants – tends to be 25% larger for mobile phone users, 15% larger for basic internet users, and even larger for frequent internet users, those who use instant messaging, and those who share digital photos online. The survey was conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, led by Keith N. Hampton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication and the Pew Internet Project. The survey also probed larger issues related to the extent of social isolation in America: At one level, the results challenge previous work. The Pew Internet survey found that Americans are not as isolated as has been previously reported and social isolation has hardly changed since 1985. Only 6% of the adult population has no one with whom they can discuss important matters or who they consider to be "especially significant" in their life. At another level, the findings confirm that Americans' discussion networks have shrunk by about a third since 1985 and have become less diverse because they contain fewer non-family members. However, contrary to the widespread speculation that the new technology is tied to shrinking social networks and declining network diversity, the Pew Internet study finds that ownership of a mobile phone and participation in a variety of internet activities are associated with larger and more diverse core discussion networks. "There is a tendency by critics to blame technology first when social change occurs," argued Prof. Keith Hampton, the lead author of the Pew Internet report, Social Isolation and New Technology. "This is the first research that actually explores the connection between technology use and social isolation and we find the opposite. It turns out that those who use the internet and mobile phones have notable social advantages. People use the technology to stay in touch and share information in ways that keep them socially active and connected to their communities." Here are some of the other key findings in the Pew Internet report: • Some have worried that internet use limits people's participation in their local communities, but the Pew Internet report finds that most internet activities have little or a positive relationship to local activity. For instance, internet users are as likely as anyone else to visit with their neighbors in person. Cell phone users, those who use the internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association, such as a youth group or a charitable organization.  However, we find some evidence that use of social networking services (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) substitutes for some neighborhood involvement. • Challenging the assumption that internet use encourages social contact across vast distances, this study shows that many internet technologies are used as much for local contact as they are for distant communication. • Internet use does not pull people away from public places. Rather, use is associated with frequent visits to places such as parks, cafes, and restaurants, the kinds of locales where research shows that people are likely to encounter a wider array of people and diverse points of view. Indeed, internet access has become a common component of people's experiences within many public spaces. For instance, of those Americans who have been in a library within the past month, 38% logged on to the internet while they were there, 18% have done so in a café or coffee shop. • People's mobile phone use outpaces their use of landline phones as a primary method of staying in touch with their closest family and friends, but face-to-face contact still trumps all other methods. On average in a typical year, people have in-person contact with their core network ties on about 210 days; they have mobile-phone contact on 195 days of the year; landline phone contact on 125 days; text-messaging contact on the mobile phone 125 days; email contact 72 days; instant messaging contact 55 days; contact via social networking websites 39 days; and contact via letters or cards on 8 days. • Social media activities are associated with several beneficial social activities, including having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds. For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. Those who share photos online are more likely to report that they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party.  • While participation in traditional social settings, like neighborhoods, voluntary organizations, and public spaces, remain the strongest predictors for the overall diversity of people's social networks, internet use, and specifically use of social networking services like Facebook, are also associated with knowing more people from a wider variety of backgrounds. "All the evidence points in one direction," said Prof. Hampton. "People's social worlds are enhanced by new communication technologies. It is a mistake to believe that internet use and mobile phones plunge people into a spiral of isolation."
-Travis

Facebook Fan Page-Hmmm

Not wanting my blog to be left in the internet dust, I'm creating a Big Show fan Page-so all the goofy stuff I post might actually be seen by actual people. It's a work in progress, we'll see!

Could Gay Marriage already be legal?

Attorney Howard Trapp claims a law passed in the !4th Guam Legislature could mean same sex marriage is already legal on Guam

He cites GCA 2-§2106 (b)

SOURCE: GC§ 1103. 

§ 2106. Equal Rights for Women. 

(a) The Legislature finds that the proposed "Equal Rights Amendment" 

to the United States Constitution whereby women are to be treated under 

law equally with men is an appropriate expression of law that should apply 

to Guam, but also finds that even if such amendment is ratified by the 

necessary number of States, it is not at all clear that the provisions thereof 

will apply to Guam,since not all of the U. S. Constitution so applies and the 

proposed amendment itself speaks only of a "State."The Legislature has 

therefore determined to enact as local law the provisions of the proposed 

amendment. 

(b) Equality of Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on 

account of sex. All laws, rules, regulations and executive orders with the 

force of law which are inconsistent with this section are hereby repealed to 

the extent of such inconsistency.