Even God Enjoys a Laugh

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:            

1. He called everyone brother 

2. He liked Gospel 

3. He didn't get a fair trial  

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish: 

1. He went into His Father's business 

2. He lived at home until he was 33 

3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin, and his Mother was sure He was God

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian: 

1. He talked with His hands 

2. He had wine with His meals 

3. He used olive oil 

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian: 

1. He never cut His hair 

2. He walked around barefoot all the time 

3. He started a new religion 

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian: 

1. He was at peace with nature 

2. He ate a lot of fish 

3. He talked about the Great Spirit

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish: 

1. He never got married

2. He was always telling stories 

3. He loved green pastures 

 

But the most compelling evidence of all: 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman: 

1. She fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was virtually no food 

2. She kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it 

3. Even when She was dead, She had to get up because there was still work to do 

 

source: unknown

The Third World

Recent events in Russia, Ukraine and Crimea suggest to some a return to a Cold War that gave rise to formerly common notions, such as the Third World. 
 

The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned or neutral with either capitalism and NATO (which along with its allies represented the First World) or communism and the Soviet Union (which along with its allies represented the Second World). This definition provided a way of broadly categorizing the nations of the Earth into three groups based on social, political, and economic divisions. Although the term continues to be used to describe the poorest countries in the world, this usage is widely disparaged since the term no longer holds any verifiable meaning after the fall of the Soviet Union. While there is no identical contemporary replacement, common alternatives include developing world and Global South.  

 

From Threes, Chapter 5, "Threes in Psychology and Sociology”

Valuing the long-beaked echidna

The Economist (Feb. 22, 2014) author of the “free exchange” column writes about valuing nature.   

“Establishing the value of these goods is tricky, but there are ways of going about it.  First, if an ecosystem service has an output—such as pollinated crops—then it is often possible to work out the value of the input.  On that basis, a study by academics at Cornell University estimated that bees and other insects contributed $29 billion to the American economy in 2010.  Second, if market prices are affected by nature, a value can be derived from them.  Thus an apartment in New York with a view of Central Park is worth considerably more than one without such a view.  Third, people’s behavior—for instance the costs they are prepared to bear to visit a national park—reveals the value that they place on unpriced goods.”

“Some of the numbers derived from these methods are distinctly dodgy, but conservationists argue, fairly reasonably, that it is better to have mediocre estimates than none at all.”