Stuff I'd like to say but can't.

I'm having some sort of blogger's withdrawal.  I keep reading things, get excited about giving my two cents worth, then slump into a minor depression when I remember that I'm supposed to be purely thesisising.

Stuff I'd have loved to blog about over the last couple of weeks:

My disgust that 80% of the submissions to the Law Reform Commission were from vocal pro-life minorities. Many more articles on the Victorian legalisation issue can be found by searching for "abortion" on The Age and Herald Sun websites.  I like Peter Singer.  And, hey, what about the vote in the UK? Not the end result I'd like of course (totally up to the woman), but definitely not bad news considering the alternative (more restrictions).

More on the fallacy of life beginning at fertilisation.

Big Pharma's turning ordinary women's sexual problems into medical conditions so that they can expand their viagra market. 

The latest on my Mum who is sliding into an alcohol induced dementia and how to get help dealing with it. 

My opinion on the effectiveness of a tax on alcopops (from the point of view of someone from a family of real problem drinkers).

Fundamentalist style pro-life arguments and why I like to practise countering them.

*sigh*  One day, when I've completed this little honours thing.

It's a milk making appendage you morons.

Abusive title? Probably. I'm stressed, tired, and my epiphenomenalism exegesis isn't going in the right direction.

About half of Americans (according to this article) and some Australians that I know, are adverse to women breastfeeding their babies in public because a breast is a sexual thing, and the general public shouldn't be exposed to sexual things they don't want to see.

Better take down all those city billboards screaming, "Want longer lasting sex?" not to mention the countless gigantesque half dressed women selling everything from politics to palm pilots to cars to actual sex.

We're happy to accept pictures of half naked women as long as it makes someone money, but if you want to feed your baby we'd prefer you went to the toilet, m'kay?

My tired brain cannot find the words for these uptight people. I can only recommend rectal surgery to remove whatever cleaning implement they rammed up their darker orifices... and tell this short story.

Once upon a time, I prepared to feed my new and hungry daughter at a family gathering. My brother-in-law became a little flustered and betrayed his surprise that I hadn't removed myself from the group by saying, "When a women starts breast-feeding in front of you, you just don't know where to look!" My gorgeous, darling, feminist husband replied, "Look them in the eye, mate, in the eye."

Look at the picture above.  Breastfeeding? Or cuddling? You'd have to be up real close to tell the difference.  Close enough to know me well enough not to care. 

If ever you wonder, "What can one person do?" Remember Harvey Karman.

It can be pretty depressing (not to mention lonely) fighting the forced-birthers with nothing more than a computer and a passion for reproductive autonomy, so I was consoled when I read this obituary. I never thought I'd know who invented menstrual extraction, so I'm pretty pleased to have found out.

More detailed posts after mid-July peeps as I'm beyond back of Burke busy at the moment :-(

...and the Buffy Character... Rupert Giles

Though I needed a tie-breaker question as I'm also rather like Anya. This concurs with my tendency to be utterly tactless on occasion. Luckily I've refined the art of back-peddling.

Again, I don't know what's wrong with their html. Written for Explorer probably.

Which Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Are You Most Like!? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Rupert Giles You're very wise. Though you've only recently begun thinking about yourself, you're always there to help. Everyone around you holds you in high regard. You've always pulled through. Anya 83% Rupert Giles 83% Willow Rosenberg 75% Buffy Summers 75% Tara Maclay 50% Dawn Summers 50% Spike 50% Xander Harris 42%

My Firefly Character? Dr Simon Tam

I always knew I wasn't good with the ladies, now it's official!
No, I don't know what's wrong with the quiz master's html... sorry....

Your results:
You are Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)

Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 100% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 90% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 60% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 60% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 60% River (Stowaway) 50% Alliance 40% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 30% Inara Serra (Companion) 30% Wash (Ship Pilot) 30% A Reaver (Cannibal) 20%

Medicine and physical healing are your game, but wooing women isn't a strong suit.

Click here to take the "Which Serenity character are you?" quiz...

Less is more - cut cut cut...

The Age is reporting that families are cutting spending and feeling the pinch.

About time. This has been happening to us for months. Creeping petrol and food costs have us repeatedly dipping into cash reserves to the delight of the bank who makes a mint from all the money shuffling. More than once this month I've been gobsmacked at the total at the supermarket checkout, having to fish out the "emergency" credit card to pay for the blowout. Utility bills have reached crippling with a $75 overall increase per bill in the past three months. The only thing that hasn't gone up is the phone bill, but we're waiting. It's depressing I tell you!

On payday I used to save via the tried and test method of "pay yourself first". Some money was set aside for the kids, some for us, set aside rent, enough for food, pay the bills, the rest was treats... there was always enough.

Now payday is "fend off the debtors day" as I spend the bulk of it on the phone to people we owe money trying to keep everyone happy while avoiding those (apparently illegal) overdue fees. For the first time ever I've had to fill out a Medicare form and wait for the cheque instead of smugly queuing at the Medicare office with my paid medical bill. For the first time in living memory I went for two weeks without fruit, saving what was left for the kids while I put off going to the shops. For the first time in ages, when exhausted and thinking take-away might be nice, I have to look hard at the $30 and wonder whether I'll need it later.

Middle-class whining? Of course it is. There are some people on the verge of losing their homes and I'm complaining about my lack of fish and chips? Wow, times are tough eh?

Actually, yes, they are tough. The problem with my family, is that we've gone soft. We have oodles of bad habits brought on by being too comfortable aided and abetted by being children in the last recession. Last time money was this tight we sailed through it thanks to the cushioning of the adults around us. Compound this by both sets of parents abjectly failing to educate us about money and you have a couple of fiscal losers. Here's a great example of my financial stupidity: When interest rates on savings accounts were at 14% I withdrew my thousand dollars savings out of the bank and bought a dress on a whim that I never wore, ever. If my son tried anything that stupid he'd be the figurative equivalent of horse-whipped for it. Then again, my son probably wouldn't because he has me to talk to about things like that. We're trying to make sure he has good habits. Lets hope he doesn't follow our example.

We are slowly but surely changing our habits - and we have some BAD habits. Saturday sleep ins are now "drag yourself out of bed and get to the market" days; mobile phone calls are short and abrupt; we bring our own food everywhere; fast food is less take-away and more opening of tins; we speculate as to how many luxury bought coffees a saving of $10 will buy; walk when we would have driven; drink herbal tea instead of boutique beers; are draconian about switching off lights and heaters, and save money on overdue fines at the video shop by renting our DVDs via the mail.

When I look at that list there are at least three things on it that are going to make us healthier people - this can only be a good thing, right? Will having less make us more disciplined, healthier, dare I say, superior people? I tell you it had bloody better, or the next person who cheerfully  tells me, "Less is more!" might just get a hard flick on the nose.

Voluntary euthanasia or murder?

When I read this article my first response was to groan, "Give the poor girls a break..." But when the initial indignation had settled and I actually thought about it, I realised that the issue of Voluntary Euthanasia is probably going to be settled by beginning in the criminal courts, and so it should be. There are two reasons I see as important, the first is that the real murderers need to be screened out somehow; without a system for the monitoring of voluntary euthenasia the criminal court is all Australia has. Secondly, the public needs to be reassured that voluntary euthanasia is not murder, and what better way than to convict someone of the lesser crime of assisting a suicide? Eventually someone who matters is going to realise that we're filling our prisons with well meaning people who said "yes" when people they loved asked for help with hastening death. They will realise that prison for these people is stupid (finally) and legislate to change the situation. But before that can happen they need to understand that assisted suicide is not murder, or at least, not murder in the morally meaningful sense that the person murdered did not want to die.

There are some folk out there who will think that distinction is meaningless, that murder is murder, period. That's nice dears *pats them on the head* go away and come back when you can handle a world that's not morally black and white, that is, the real world. In the real world palliative care does not work for everyone, some people would rather suffer because they are afraid of death, but there are some who would welcome the relief. Some people can do it on their own, some need help. In my opinion, those who fear death have every right to prolong their suffering; those in their right minds who wish to die have a right to that too.

The Netherlands has a system where one can make a formal request for assisted suicide. One is assessed by at least one doctor and one psychiatrist and more requests are denied than granted. The Netherlands has now produced data showing that the slippery slope many people feared did not eventuate. Peter Singer's Rethinking Life and Death has a good chapter on assisted suicide in the Netherlands, and is worth checking out for anyone interested in having an informed opinion on the topic.

Update 13/5/2008

I didn't want to be right (ok, ok, I really do like to be right), but this and this are both reasons why we need the criminal justice system at the moment, and strong regulation and control of voluntary euthanasia in the future.

Travel restrictions on Muslim women - but lets not blame religion.

It's a frequent refrain, both in Australia and other countries where moderate muslims reside, "There is nothing in Islam that discriminates against women, it's the culture that's the problem."

Tosh. Bollocks. Balderdash.

There are loads of sites giving quotes and references for discrimination of women in the Quran. This is one of my favourites because it's concise. Try this attempt to justify sexual discrimination in Islam for a quick look at the view from the other side. And this from Islamic Studies at Oxford for a little balance.

The Age reports that Malaysia is considering making it a requirement for women to get written consent from their family or employer to travel alone overseas. They claim it is to reduce incidences where women traveling alone are duped into acting as drug smugglers. Islamic women's groups are vocal about the discrimination, saying that men are also duped. But when asked if the decision has a religious premise? They "declined to speculate" (you can decline to comment, but can you decline to speculate? hmmm), and said that only the person proposing the new regulation knows whether it is based on his understanding of Islam or rather a lack of understanding of gender issues.

To my mind this is a complete cop out. There are Hadith's that are specific about limiting a woman's movement without a mahram, how fiercely this is enforced depends heavily on how one interprets the Hadith.

This is one popular quote by men who would have women leave the house only the in the company of men who are relatives:

The general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “No woman should travel unless she has a mahram with her, and no man should enter upon her unless her mahram is present.” A man stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, my wife has gone out for Hajj, and I want to go out with such and such an army.” He said: “Go and do Hajj with your wife.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1862.

That is just one of course, there are more for those who look.

The proposed solution to the drug smuggling problem is to require ONLY WOMEN to have written permission from their families or employers. But Islam is not the reason for that, no no no no..... For goodness sake, put two and two together, how hard can it be?

Dear 8742041**@gmail.com...

...who sent me:

Hi

may i talk with you?

You email address is spamish, your email is spamish, you are probably spam. I do not reply to spam.

Just in case you're not, I'm posting a response here. Of course I can be contacted privately, it's why I put the mailing address on my profile. However, I tend to take personal emails more seriously if they are from email addresses containing actual words, and have actual questions or points in them.

If you are shy and genuinely wish to converse outside the blog, please email back with your discourse, I look forward to it! If you're spam, you won't read this post and won't mind me telling you to take your email and stick it somewhere dark and smelly.

:-)

Good article on how Pro-Life groups use pictures of foetuses.

I knew that Pro-Life groups used pictures of butchered second trimester foetuses to make their point (as Ron has done AGAIN on Tell the Truth - bored now). But the idea that they had taken the foetus out of the context of the womb in order to exaggerate the idea of person-hood is a new one to me.

Check it out.

Contribution to paid maternity leave discussion at The Age.

Wow. Lots of conservative "pay your own way" types posting here!

I know one of those. The type to bark at every opportunity that she paid her own way, why shouldn't everyone else? She's getting to thirty and still lives (rent free) with her Mummy and Daddy. She takes their input into her lifestyle completely for granted, and assumes that everyone's had it just as "tough" as her, she just "works harder". I'm sure people here will recognize the type. Most, but not all, are single or DINKs.

Those who are touting the "pay for your children yourselves!" line, or the "don't be fooled! stay home and look after your little darlings!" line, reek of an anachronistic conservatism that would have mothers invisible and undervalued while their men went off to work and rule the world. Are you missing your androcentric dark ages darlings?

Time to wake up. The world is different, men want more to do with their children, women want more of a life outside the home, society will have to adjust and one way to adjust is to provide parental leave. I know it's one step up from maternity leave, but hey, I'm hopeful.

I'm sorry you people don't like the idea of paying for a little bit of paid respite for women who give birth. Especially since 14 weeks is barely enough recovery time for the shock of a first baby - and yes, it's more of a rude shock than a holiday, darlings.

14 weeks is very little to ask, given that:

My children will cost me $450,000 (out of pocket) all up and I'm a conservative spender. My children and many others will be paying taxes to care for those of my generation who have remained childless for whatever reason. They will also be caring for them in aged care since childless people are rarely nursed at home by a relative... and I'm not finished... the children born now will be providing infrastructure (shelter), manufacturing products (food, the odd catheter), transport (delivery of said catheter), medical services (insertion of said catheter), cleaning (for before you get the catheter), and governance (organizing access to medical care in the first place)... just to name a few of the odds and ends that make up the elderly support network.

I will have paid tax AND spent $450,000 (not to mention the back breaking work of "merely" parenting and the dedication and time that entails), to provide three of the people who will support you in your old age. Not that supporting you whiners is why I had them, it's just a happy side effect that you are going to enjoy at my expense.

You people live your comparatively carefree single or DINKs lives and begrudge paying for a few weeks off after giving birth? Get real, get in the now, and grow up a bit. We all benefit from contributing to the welfare of children.

Emma

PS to those two who mentioned speedboats? I'd like to see a speedboat wipe your bottom for you when you can no longer do it yourself.

If this is true, this is scary.

It became evident from some of the threads on Tell The Truth that members of the Religious Right believe that there is no population problem, and that the problem with food shortages is one of distribution, not quantity.  Thus, the problems that would inevitably (I believe) occur due to the population spike if all pregnancies were brought to term will not ensue, and are merely scare-mongering by people who stand to lose money if abortion is made illegal.

I beg to differ.  Crime goes up as more families have children they cannot afford, food availability goes down and the price goes up as there is less food per person, which in turn bolsters the crime rate as more of the poor must steal to feed themselves.  What are they thinking?  That we'll solve the problem like the old colonials and put a penal colony somewhere? on the moon maybe?

This is from my InvestSmart Newsletter:

"Some food for thought :

• There are now 80 million new mouths to feed every year³.
• By 2030, the United Nations estimates the demand for agricultural products will be about 60% higher than today⁴.
• Rising income in developing markets is creating an increase in annual protein intake of 11% to 15%⁵.
• In 2030, China's meat consumption will be more than double the 1997 levels of 41kg per person⁶.
• We now have about half the arable land per person that we had 40 years ago⁷."

So, anyone for investing in Agribusiness?

3. Population Reference Bureau (PRB) World Population Clock 2006 Datasheet 
4. http://newsletters.fairfax.com.au/cgi-bin16/DM/y/hBa6r0W3z2W03oa0QlIc0Ex 
5. CBA, Commonwealth Research, 2005 
6. SOW-VU website (http://newsletters.fairfax.com.au/cgi-bin16/DM/y/hBa6r0W3z2W03oa0QlId0Ey (Centre for World Food Studies Amsterdam), Brief: China's rapidly growing meat demand: a domestic or an international challenge? 
7. United Nations Food and Ahttp://newsletters.fairfax.com.au/cgi-bin16/DM/y/hBa6r0W3z2W03oa0QlId0Eygricultural Division: Dimensions of need: An atlas of food and agriculture. Rome, FAO, 1995. p. 16-98