Searching for Bigfoot

A long article, yes, but fairly easy to read. (And it’s from my home state.)   So what do you think is the likelihood that a large humanoid or ape-like species is alive on our planet and remains undiscovered?  Do humans have a need for such mysteries, which verifying could destroy, as the author hints in the end?   It seems that people believe in such things the world over (I also found a recent article about the Yeti in Tajikistan).  What about Slovakia?  Have you ever gone out in the woods looking for something?  Would you join an expedition like this?

Privatize! Privatize!

Here’s an article on the current government plans to privatize more publicly owned companies in Slovakia.  Since this is from the Spectator, a newspaper which often caters to an international businessperson readership, it is unsurprising (at least to me) that the article mainly quotes experts on the privatization side of this controversial issue.  What is the opposite side of this coin?  Are there certain types of services, such as transportation, utilities and health that should remain public?  Are there disadvantages to privatization?  (Some of the arguments on the opposite side that I sometimes hear is that public ownership prevents privately-owned monopolies in certain services where competition is not possible --the local bus companies mentioned in the article might fall into this category--, that it guarantees essential services, that it allows the public some democratic say in these sorts of companies since voters elect politicians who are at least indirectly in charge of them and can criticize their actions as public figures, and that it provides income and stability to the government.) What is your opinion on this issue in general, and also in the particular context of today’s Slovakia?

Near-death experiences explained

Lots to react to here.  Have you ever heard such stories from family or friends? Would you agree with the scientist’s answers to these questions?  How would you answer them?  Does this make the pro-God or pro-religion argument weaker?  What do you think the relationship should be between religion and science?  Do scientists have a harder time being religious?

Abortion rate in the US has stopped falling during the recent recession

Several theories have been advanced for this, including the cost of raising a child, the cost of contraceptives and the greater palatability of an abortion through medication rather than surgery.  What is your opinion?  You are welcome to weigh in on the abortion issue itself and whether or not you think it should remain legal, but in recent years some groups in the US have gotten together on both sides of this divide to attempt to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to encourage alternatives so that this option is used less often.  Why do you think people have abortions, and what can be done to discourage women or couples from taking this step?   Do you think the abortion rate is likely to rise or fall in the future, in the US, in Slovakia and/or globally?

Banning babies from the flight

This is the last one you can comment on for January.

What do you think of this idea?  Would you pay a bit extra so that you would not have to sit next to a screaming child?  Have you had any particularly bad (or good) travel experiences concerning kids?  Is this a new form of elitism?  Essentially, is separating yourself from the more dirty unpleasant masses what first class travel is all about?  (They used to have first class cars on the metro in Paris, and the only difference was who you had to sit with.)  Should travelers be more tolerant, or should parents be more strict?