This week’s open thread is brought to you by Britain’s recovering wild otter population. I for one salute our new otter overlords.
Please feel free to use this thread to natter about anything your heart desires.
Politics
How to time a holiday in France
Petty personal considerations aside, the strikes in France illustrate a conflict that will be repeated across many nations who have had a raft of strong social safety net policies over many decades who are now struggling to finance those policies.
Not guilty!
Tegan Leach and her partner Sergie Brennan have been acquitted:
Intersectionality and Privilege: Addressing the Squishy Bits
Not all questions have clear answers. Sometimes, there is no “right” answer. Sometimes, every “right” answer carries a little bit of wrong in it too. This is especially true when we take a feminist approach informed by intersectionality; a feminism… Read More ›
Rally for Abortion Rights
On October the 9th this year, there is a National Day of Action being held in support of the Cairns couple who face legal action over sourcing RU486 from overseas, and in solidarity with Queensland women more generally. It’s also… Read More ›
Did you know people with artificial legs shouldn’t go hiking?
Funny. I thought the whole point of a prosthetic leg was to enable a person who needs it to do pretty much the same range of things as a person who doesn’t have a prosthetic leg. Sometimes, it enables the prosthetic-leg-user to do those things even better than non-prosthetic-leg-users.
If you can’t defend yourself, you shouldn’t be allowed to speak
James Massola’s outing of Grog’s Gamut‘s legal name and position in The Australian is an example of silencing of the less powerful: anyone who will not or cannot expose all of their words present and past, their name, their face, their body, their clothes, their family to mass scrutiny is being denied the ability to have political influence.
The ‘but he can’t be’ meme continues
Brett Stewart is currently on trial on sexual assault charges. I haven’t read a lot about the case and I don’t have a firm opinion his guilt or otherwise as will be determined by the court. What I do have a… Read More ›
Strange behaviour
TRIGGER WARNING.
This woman was 14 years old when her own daughter was born. She is 27 years old now.
Her daughter is 13 years old and has been sexually assaulted by her grandfather. (It is quite possible that the grandfather is also this woman’s father – you can’t tell from the limited information available).
It is a pretty safe bet that this woman has been through a lot recently.
Accessibility and Sydney’s public transport: knowing where you’re going
One thing that I particularly enjoy when I visit another place is figuring out how to use the public transport system. I like the fact that I can figure it out – that the tools provided are tools I am able to use. Some of the tools which are commonly available (sometimes online) are: timetables and route maps, route diagrams at stations/stops and in the relevant vehicle, stop announcements (visual and audio), signs at stations/stops.
Perhaps it’s ironic, but I think that Sydney is one of the worst places I’ve been when it comes to figuring that sort of thing out. This has a serious impact on the accessibility of our public transport.
Hoyden About Town 