She was miscarrying at 17 weeks gestation, there was no way to save the dying foetus, but it still had a heartbeat, so the Catholic doctors refused to terminate the pregnancy, allowing septicaemia to develop and eventually kill her.
culture wars
Broadly, conservatism vs progressives / social liberties vs authoritarianism / social justice vs elitist marginalisation.
Conroy backs down on internet filter
It’s good to see Stephen Conroy finally face the facts: his filter proposal was about as clever as equipping a blue whale to pursue a vulture.
Argument is the human condition, but public argument is not (until the Internet arrived)
A fascinating long post from Clay Shirky on the information age’s transformation of the media landscape, via @Colvinius who referenced it as part of his 2012 Andrew Olle Media Lecture.
Dic abuse – prescriptivists vs descriptivists rematch – ‘misogyny’ definition edition
When you get to my age seeing the pearl-clutchers swoon angrily over dictionaries having the temerity to change something gets old, especially when it’s yet another round of people just showing that they don’t understand what lexicographers actually do.
Moral panic stifles useful dialogue on social media “trolling”
From work I’ve been doing for a forthcoming book on new media and Australian politics, I have some useful data that may partially inform this discussion in the form of Facebook wallposts from 600 Australians collected before this recent debate took off (late 2011). In recent days I’ve reanalysed this dataset to shed some light on the treatment of women in the social media space.
Surprise, surprise – Lindsay Foyle reports threats from Tony Abbott too
This late-1970s attempt at intimidation was witnessed by a bunch of other journalists working for The Bulletin at the time. Yeah, the idea that Abbott could have punched the wall beside a woman’s head to intimidate her as his political rival just seems soooo unlikely, amirite?
#dataretention is worthless #securitytheatre – how-to guides for Tor, VPN and https
To show how easy it is for any punk kid (or middle-aged feminist blogger) who just doesn’t want to play along with Roxon’s plans for an expanded surveillance culture, please do some googling on the search strings below.
The odds aren’t stacked against you, you’re just thinking wrong.
Are you thinking positively enough and other bullshit.
Biology Fail and #legitimaterape apologism: Todd Akin
Todd Akin, US congressman and senatorial nominee claimed in an interview that victims of “legitimate rape” have unnamed biological defenses that prevent pregnancy.
Media Circus: Island prisons
Disgusted. As usual for media circus threads, please share your bouquets and brickbats for particular items in the mass media, or highlight cogent analysis elsewhere, on any current sociopolitical issue.
Hoyden About Town 