Talking about mansplaining…

… I ran into a charming mansplainer this week. I have just acquired a new computer for work, so I thought I should go best practice and get some surge protection, too. I dropped into my local hardware store a couple of weeks ago, and was shocked at the price difference between the top and [...]

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Amy Alkon was a perfect child, apparently

Shorter Amy Alkon: I didn’t get to scream in public when I was a child, so neither should anyone else. SRSLY. Of course, Ms Alkon is basing this on her recollection. I’m sure that, like most people, she doesn’t remember very much before the ages of 4 or 5, probably not daily events even after [...]

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Starting the day with horror and incredulity

There is a homeless guy who sits outside my building every morning. He says g’day to the people he recognises. I always say good morning. I’ve noticed other people sometimes stop to chat at length. He begs. Lately, he’s been getting a bit more insistent on the begging front. I hope he’s doing ok. This [...]

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Perceptions of medical risk

Note: Thanks to Lauredhel for encouraging me to write this post; otherwise, it might have slipped through the cracks of “other priorities”. —— For various reasons – mostly because I seem to have a lot of friends who are doctors – I’ve had the opportunity to chat to a number of doctors, nurses and midwives [...]

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And the answer to that implied question is: “not a lot”

What I know about women… Anthony Lapaglia on love and his 17 year relationship with Gia Carides. When I saw the headline and the tagline on the SMH home page, I was willing to give Lapaglia credit and place all the blame on the subbies. I then read the sexist joke with which the article [...]

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The power of language

In a post about how privilege can make someone less able to make decisions which take multiple angles into account (that precis doesn’t do it justice, so I recommend reading the whole thing!), Old Feminist said this: That’s why Americans not speaking English, or “Black English,” is so threatening. If the white male experience isn’t [...]

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Quick hit: women’s rights in Afghanistan under threat

Not that that’s news, particularly. Anyway, if this is true, it’s pretty awful: Karzai has reportedly signed a law that rolls back women’s rights. Apparently, the law has not yet been published, but it is understood to contain (among other things) provisions that legalise rape within marriage and provisions that prevent women from leaving their [...]

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Surprise! Intervention not working!

According to the numbers provided by the Sunrise Health Service, before the intervention, 20% of indigenous children in the area it serves were anaemic. All but one community in that area has suffered welfare quarantining since the intervention. Now, 55% of indigenous children in the area are anaemic. A call to the Federal Government: take [...]

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