The Guardian has an article about the misrepresentations, half-truths and outrights lies going on in the US partisan debate on healthcare: ‘Evil and Orwellian’ – America’s right turns its fire on NHS (they don’t mention the Stephen Hawking faux pas).
Month: August 2009
An old story: the cruel and unusual punishment of prison rape
The distinctively memorable phrase “cruel and unusual punishment” may only appear in the USA’s bill of rights rather than within our own legal system, but surely that is something that any prisoner should be protected from? What else is a routine expectation of sexual assault within prisons but cruel and unusual punishment?
Virtual Travelling: kids and companion toys
I meant to put this up yesterday: this is a shot of Sprog the Elder back in 2003, on an outing to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney. You can see that he has a little friend helping him to subdue the scary statue.
Femmostroppo Reader – August 12, 2009
Items of interest found recently in my RSS feed. What did I miss? Please share what you've been reading (and writing!) in the comments. ETA – lots today! Read them after the cut:
Quickhit: victim-blaming a 12 year old
I’ve just put up a post over at Sack Kyle & Jackie O that addresses some of the questions being asked about whether the whole scandal still matters now that “Rachel” asked police last week to not investigate further and now the claims by family members on last night’s A Current Affair that she wasn’t raped, that the sex was “consensual”. A 12 year old, passed out drunk while at a party she’d lied about going to, had consensual sex with a (not much) older boy with other people in the room, according to them. So why didn’t any of those other people stop it?
We are dying
We are dying, and apparently it’s our own damn fault. As pointed to by Deborah in the latest Otterday thread, scooter users in Australia are dying. We are dying because footpaths obstructed by cars and tree prunings and rubbish force… Read More ›
11 August 2009: Yolngu Nation Federation
Edited to add 11 Aug 2136(+8): The Indigenous people of north-eastern Arnhem Land have formed a federation and declared self-government — and nobody noticed. There is almost complete radio silence in the media, blogs, twitter… everywhere. It’s rather eerie. SMH:… Read More ›
Femmostroppo Reader – August 11, 2009
Items of interest found recently in my RSS feed. What did I miss? Please share what you've been reading (and writing!) in the comments. Teenagers who are raped leave school at earlier age – because most schools don’t cope properly… Read More ›
Nong of the day: “socialised medicine” division
“People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.”
It’s all connected: story and song
Stuff I’m reading [click through to the links for context]: I’m reading girlejones at mynxii’s place: The arts are the mechanism through which individuals of society express themselves, commentate and protest. It’s what gives individuals a voice and it’s a… Read More ›
Hoyden About Town 