It turns out that sex is so good that even pretending it doesn’t exist does not make it go away. Kids want to have sex; they will have sex even if they don’t know what they’re doing.

And guess what? If they don’t know what they’re doing, they will make more mistakes. Just Saturday, the BBC followed up with a report about policymakers debating “whether to cut government funding for health education programmes that promote sexual abstinence until marriage.

“The move follows a report earlier this year from America’s leading health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which revealed one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease.

“Opponents of abstinence education say the approach ignores the fact that teenagers are sexually active and fails to give them accurate medical information or advice on safer sex.

” “We get sex-ed classes in school and that should be where teens get the right information – but that isn’t happening,” says 15-year-old Mildred, from Arizona, who volunteers as a peer educator with the pro-choice organisation Planned Parenthood.

” “They don’t touch on subjects like sexuality, STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), birth control – it’s not allowed because of abstinence-only education. It leaves you on a cliff-hanger – and a lot of teenagers become sexually active in their middle school years.”

” “Teens are curious and they want to experiment and if they know what’s out there and they have the correct information, they’re going to know how to protect themselves and prevent an unwanted pregnancy and an STD,” adds Maryland high school student Melissa.

“Putting up a wall and saying ‘don’t have sex’ makes them more curious and wanting to know what it is. But if you tell them the straight facts they’re going to know how to protect themselves. It’s about taking care of yourself.”

Sigh. I wish we had a government that was better at helping us do that.

The silence about sexuality is a silence about our bodies, our origins and our futures. Why should there be shame so deeply entwined with our identities? Sex is not dirty but natural, and not profane but sacred. The empowerment of kids to make their own decisions about sex can only result in more informed choices about sex. That doesn’t sound too bad to me.

“The Earth Liberation Front published guidelines for action are:

* To inflict maximum economic damage on those profiting from the destruction and exploitation of the natural environment.

* To reveal to, and to educate the public about the atrocities committed against the earth and all species that populate it.

* To take all necessary precautions against harming any animal – human and nonhuman.

In its effort to engage in “economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the natural environment,” the Earth Liberation Front has allegedly launched a new attack in the suburbs of Seattle.” Allegedly, my ass: they’re putting signs up that say ELF, and since the organization itself has “no leadership, membership or official spokesperson,” anyone who claims to be ELF is.

Over at Bleudeterre,  the Canadians have helpfully published this map of ELF and the Animal Liberation Front’s actions in the past (below) but also note that the U.S. Government was investigating ecoterrorism in 2005 – and I’m sure that they haven’t forgotten about it, and although I respect ELF’s commitment not to hurt anybody, I’m slightly leery of their methods: the people who suffer in their attacks aren’t necessarily only the greedy capitalists, but also the underlings. . . okay, okay, people should be held responsible for their actions, but isn’t it also a bit strange to destroy resources that are just going to be rebuilt in the name of not exploiting resources? For more information, check out ELF’s website or read this interview with ELF’s founder.