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rape

You are currently browsing articles tagged rape.

Look, about that damn topless gnome…

27 May 2009 in Human Nature, Project TOTO by Stilgherrian | 27 comments

“The greatest challenge to implementing social media within any organisation is the willingness for that organisation to accept the cultural change that will ultimately occur. And occur dramatically and at a rapid pace. Social media holds a mirror up to an organization from the external customers/clients/constituents that shows an authentic, and sometimes unexpected, face.” — Nick Hodge

“I’d add that that face is almost always unexpected.” — Mark Pesce (in private conversation)

Topless gnome Gnaomi, standing near the book The State of Africa by Martin Meredith, from the opening to Stilgherrian Live episode 48

Clearly I’m not going to get anything else written until I respond to The Gnome Situation. I’ve been reading the comments and mulling possible responses for days. It’s getting in the way of actual, productive work. So here we go.

No. I will not be removing Gnaomi from my desk.

Discussing an issue as important as rape through the proxy of an anthropomorphised piece of clay seems, to me, a poor tactic. Nor will I compromise the actual or perceived independence of my media output, no matter how worthy the cause.

There’ll probably be people at ActionAid who won’t like or understand that outcome, so here’s the long explanation…

Read the rest of this entry »

Clothe the Gnome?

23 May 2009 in Politics, Project TOTO by Stilgherrian | 1 comment

Photograph of Gnaomi the topless garden gnome

There have been objections to the presence in my video diary of Gnaomi the Gnome.

Gnaomi is topless and, it is alleged, this is symbolic of the degradation of women — inappropriate given what ActionAid stands for.

I will consider my response and post it in due course. However you may wish to join the fascinating discussion, as opinions differ.

Please post your comments over on the original thread so everything’s in the one place.

[Update 28 May 2008: I have now responded, in a post called Look, about that damn topless gnome… Do feel free to continue the conversation.]

Crikey: Who supports compulsory Internet filtering, exactly?

28 January 2009 in Internet, Politics by Stilgherrian | No comments

Crikey logo

“The field trials of the Rudd government’s compulsory Internet filters, which were completed just before Christmas… no, they started before Christmas… no, that’s not right either… when do they start? Senator Conroy? Anyone? Can’t say? Fat kid on the far right? Okay, The Australian says they’re ‘imminent’. So another Christmas then.”

So starts my piece in Crikey today on… yes, you guessed it… the Rudd government’s plan for compulsory censorship of the Internet. There’s some interesting background on where this push for censorship comes from, and links to a new survey of one ISP’s customers — who don’t like the idea at all.

The article is not behind Crikey’s paywall, so it’s free for all to read.

Jim Wallace’s pro-censorship lies and distortions

26 January 2009 in Internet, Politics by Stilgherrian | 23 comments

The Australian Christian Lobby’s Jim Wallace is on the Fairfax news sites today, telling the same old lies to support compulsory Internet filtering. Sigh.

Since Wallace promotes himself as a representative of good Christian values, I’ll allow that he may just be ignorant rather than a deliberate liar. Ignorance is no sin: it can be cured with knowledge. But he does use the familiar fraudulent propaganda techniques: misrepresenting his opponents; cherry-picking numbers; failing to explore the implications of those numbers; citing the same suspect Australia Institute report; and wrapping it up in the same old “protect the children” cant.

Those of us who’ve been covering this issue for more than a year now are getting sick of responding to the same easily-rebutted debating tricks. But, as I keep saying, politics is a marathon event. So if Jim’s rolling out the same material, we’ll point out the same flaws.

Again.

Read the rest of this entry »

OK, so the emo thing wasn’t the best headline of the week. This is: Man sentenced over wombat rape claim. “A New Zealand man has been sentenced to community service after telling police he had been raped by a wombat and the experience had caused him to start speaking ‘Australian’…” Hat-tip to The Road to Surfdom.

29 March 2008 by Stilgherrian | 2 comments