I find these kinds of stories fascinating. People choosing to ‘live poor’ (though of course with the capacity to leave when they want to, and also while equipped with the education, networks and self-esteem that a life of opportunity has… Read More ›
Politics
Opting Out
I’m not doing anything for Australia Day today, because I don’t want to be even potentially confused with one of the flag-waving jingoists.
Endangered Sundays: Manatees
A new feature for the blog: an irregular look at endangered species and how climate change is predicted to further affect them. Manatees are native to Florida, and have no native predators there. They are endangered because they are slow-moving… Read More ›
Quickhit: Icedancers with a new twist on blackface.
Via baby_elvis, this ice-dancing routine. From the news: Russian world ice-skating champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin have danced around the controversy surrounding their Aboriginal-themed routine, insisting they will still use it at the Winter Olympics. Aboriginal elders say the… Read More ›
Complacency, Indifference and Intent (or lack thereof)
various nay-sayers are arguing that the upswing in attacks on Indian students can’t have anything to do with structural racism in Australia, because none of the student visa laws that push overseas students into exploitative employment situations and allow deceptive “colleges” to fleece them while isolating them from Australian-born student bodies were intended to have a racialised separatist effect
Science! fluffy marsupials in treetops! with Crittercams!
The elusive tree kangaroos of Papua New Guinea are revealing more about themselves to scientists thanks to a new videocam technology project.
FeminismTM Fail?
No, not that kind of feminism. Not the theory of women’s equality or the history of suffrage or the First Wave or the Third Wave or 18 million tiny cracks in the glass ceiling.
I’m talking about FeminismTM, as in the largest feminist advocacy organizations in the country raising millions of dollars to fight on behalf of women.
Uluru nonsense
So, in case you haven’t been following along, there has been talk for quite some time about closing the Uluru climb. A whole lot of tourists, despite being educated about the issues the Anangu people have with the climb of… Read More ›
Question of the Day: Metaphors for Authoritarianism
What are all the connotations that spring to mind when you hear “Big Brother”? How about when you hear “Nanny State”? How do you think a newspaper cartoonist might represent these two different ideas as people? No need to edit… Read More ›
Won’t Somebody Think of the Round Doorknobs? Penn & Teller on Accessibility Legislation
Courtesy of Anna in her post Let’s Bust Some Myths: People with disabilities just want to sue the world into compliance, I found this video – the lowlights of Penn & Teller’s “Bullshit!” show on the Americans With Disabilities Act…. Read More ›
Hoyden About Town 