ethics & philosophy

ideals, breaches, disappointments and inspirations

An old story: the cruel and unusual punishment of prison rape

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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?

Quickhit: victim-blaming a 12 year old

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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

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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 ›

Media Watch does K&J

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Media Watch made a point of showing the way that K&J trade in humiliation to the point of cruelty as part of their exploitation of their audience’s voyeuristic side. You can watch the Media Watch segment, read the transcript or… Read More ›