The Curious Incident of the Racist Dog...

Not long ago I was waiting at a bus stop. There was one woman and her two children walking up the hill opposite me, and another woman and her two dogs walking down the hill opposite me. As they were approaching each other, the woman with the dogs crossed over to my side of the road.

I didn't think anything of it, until she whispered to me, conspiratorially, 'I had to cross over, he' (she indicated the huge dog), 'doesn't like Somalis'.

I looked back over the road at the woman and her kids. She could be from Somalia, she equally might not have been, but what the hell kind of dog could identify country of origin, and then discriminate on that basis?!

I was so bewildered that I couldn't, and didn't, say a word. The dog-owner carried on talking to me. I was presuming that she was projecting her own racism onto this dog, but she went on to tell me how he (the dog...) was fine with people of any other nationality, it was just Somalis he didn't like, and she had to cross over the road because he'd growl and bite their clothes, and she didn't want him to scare them.

She confided that she thought it was something to do with 'their' robes, that the dog didn't like.

She carried on nattering to me as she continued along her way, and I stood at the bus stop entirely struck dumb with the utter bizareness of what had happened.

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(See also, Pippa Reviews... The News Quiz.)

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Technorati tags: dogs; racism; incurable_hippie; weird.

David, Diesel, Gay, Greasy.

So, David Cameron has won the Tory leadership vote. Yaawwwwwn... But that's the UK Politics alert of the day out of the way. It was actually the top news story at 5pm, clearly more important than 100 people dying in Iran after a plane crashed into a block of flats.

I am annoyed at Robbie Williams. Apparently he has accepted substantial libel damages over claims that he is secretly homosexual. It reminds me of Jason Donovan suing The Face in 1992 over similar claims.

I mean, it is nothing to do with me whether either, both or neither of them are (or ever have been!) gay, but is it such an awful slur on their character that they have to sue people to stop them thinking or saying they are? It comes across as dreadfully heterosexist and downright offensive. It is not an insult, guys, if someone thinks you're gay. It probably just means you're cool ;-) (Ok that last bit's not true).

Diesel have launched an insensitive and highly inappropriate advertising campaign. See mediawatch for details.

There is now a new hippie 'link of the week' - click on the image down on the right to see it.

Also, see Pippa Reviews... GreasyPalm!

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Technorati tags: gay; homophobia; incurable_hippie; UK Politics; greasypalm.

Art, Africa and Acts of Law.

There was a quotation I read the other day, which entirely summed up my own insecurities and feelings about art...

Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid.
Jules Feiffer

I am getting better at crafty things - I'm quite the card-making star nowadays - and I draw daft cartoons, but actual a.r.t. - too scary. I feel like if I even tried, it would make people think that I was stupid enough to think I was any good at it. Like, even to try would be arrogant self-delusion.

Mmm, I clearly feel good about myself today! ;-)

In other, less self-obsessed news:

Britain criticised for accepting Nigerian debt repayments.

The British government has drawn sharp criticism from development charities for taking a debt repayment from Nigeria which dwarfs the UK's entire annual aid budget for the African continent.

[...]

Charity Jubilee Debt Campaign says the payments mean the G7 will receive more in six months from Nigeria than the 2005 Gleneagles G8 deal will provide to poor countries in a decade. The G8 is the G7 plus Russia. Trisha Rogers, Jubilee's director, said: "It is obscene for G7 countries to take billions of dollars from one of the poorest countries on earth. In particular this means the UK will take from Nigeria almost exactly twice as much as it is giving in aid to the whole of Africa in 2005." She urged Britain, which chairs the G7, to take the lead in refusing to accept the payments. (Read more...)

I hate this stupid government more each day. And I learn from red one that today's budget consisted of the following terrifying £number...

"Since September 11th we have doubled the budget for national security. Today we are making available an additional £135 million for security and counter-terrorism. And for the armed forces for Iraq, Afghanistan and other international obligations an additional £580 million."

Can't help but wonder if that's got anything to do with the Nigeria story above... or the other million cuts going on and being proposed lately.

And thanks to Crippled Monkey weblog, I hear,

Today sees another important date in the progression of the Disability Discrimination Act, as people with cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis will now get protection from discrimination, effectively from the point of diagnosis.

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As I understand it, until now people were only protected from disability discrimination in the law once they were actively being disabled by an illness, so it was actually not illegal to sack someone who had just been diagnosed with HIV, or cancer, as long as they weren't ill yet. There is lots of information on this at Point of Diagnosis and I think that this is a very positive move.

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Technorati tags: art; third world debt; incurable_hippie; Nigeria; budget; anti-war; disability rights.

Illustration Friday: Blue.

Illustration Friday. Original photo. Gimp.

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Technorati tags: Illustration Friday; blue; incurable_hippie; photography; fountains; gimp; Sheffield.

Photo Friday: Experimental

100_0869d
Originally uploaded by incurable_hippie.

Morris dancers at the Victorian Christmas Market at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield today.

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Original photo.
Other Victorian Christmas Market photos.

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Photo Friday.

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Technorati tags: Photo Friday; photography; incurable_hippie; experimental.

Rape Prevention Advice - Could be Triggering.

Periodically I will get an email forward about how, as a woman, I can stop myself getting raped.

Apparently if I wear my hair in a ponytail, or don't keep my outside shrubbery trimmed, or leave my drink unattended, allow people to intrude into my personal space or - heaven forbid - don't carry an umbrella then, frankly, if I get raped I have only myself to blame.

And the sometimes-weekly emails telling me all of the above tips (and more) will serve as a constant reminder to how stupid I was when I overfilled my arms with packages or I wore those damn dungarees.

So basically, emails like those are absolute bollocks. If you are raped it is nothing to do with your hair, your skirt length, your job, your response to being asked directions, or the state of your fucking shrubbery. Seriously.

And that's not even approaching the fact that the vast, vast majority of rapes are committed in a woman's home, by someone she knows.

Following is an angry, and very appropriate subversion of those awful emails, which I read chez Nella. I can only applaud and nod vigorously.

A lot has been said about how to prevent rape.
Women should learn self-defense. Women should lock themselves in their houses after dark. Women shouldn't have long hair and women shouldn't wear short skirts. Women shouldn't leave drinks unattended. Fuck, they shouldn't dare to get drunk at all.

Instead of that bullshit, how about:

If a woman is drunk, don't rape her.
If a woman is walking alone at night, don't rape her.
If a women is drugged and unconscious, don't rape her.
If a woman is wearing a short skirt, don't rape her.
If a woman is jogging in a park at 5 am, don't rape her.
If a woman looks like your ex-girlfriend you're still hung up on, don't rape her.
If a woman is asleep in her bed, don't rape her.
If a woman is asleep in your bed, don't rape her.
If a woman is doing her laundry, don't rape her.
If a woman is in a coma, don't rape her.
If a woman changes her mind in the middle of or about a particular activity, don't rape her.
If a woman has repeatedly refused a certain activity, don't rape her.

If a woman is not yet a woman, but a child, don't rape her.
If your girlfriend or wife is not in the mood, don't rape her.
If your step-daughter is watching tv, don't rape her.
If you break into a house and find a woman there, don't rape her.
If your friend thinks it's okay to rape someone, tell him it's not, and that he's not your friend.

If your "friend" tells you he raped someone, report him to the police.
If your frat-brother or another guy at the party tells you there's an unconscious woman upstairs and It's your turn, don't rape her, call the police and tell the guy he's a rapist.

Tell your sons, god-sons, nephews, grandsons, sons of friends it's not okay to rape someone.

Don't tell your women friends how to be safe and avoid rape.
Don't imply that she could have avoided it if she'd only done/not done x.
Don't imply that it's in any way her fault.
Don't let silence imply agreement when someone tells you he "got some" with the drunk girl.
Don't perpetuate a culture that tells you that you have no control over or responsibility for your actions. You can, too, help yourself.

If you agree, repost it. It's that important.

There are also great musings about this at I Blame the Patriarchy, by the way.

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Technorati tags: anti-rape; feminism; incurable_hippie; personal safety.

Spelling Fun!

These are way more sparkly and funky than I feel, but here goes...

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Spell With Flickr.

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Technorati tags: spelling; sparkly; incurable_hippie; letters.

Don't Bomb Al-Jazeera!

Heard the Word of Blog?

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Don't Bomb Us
Prepared to Publish
Boris Johnson will publish.

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Background:

Legal gag on Bush-Blair war row.
The attorney general last night threatened newspapers with the Official Secrets Act if they revealed the contents of a document allegedly relating to a dispute between Tony Blair and George Bush over the conduct of military operations in Iraq.

It is believed to be the first time the Blair government has threatened newspapers in this way. Though it has obtained court injunctions against newspapers, the government has never prosecuted editors for publishing the contents of leaked documents, including highly sensitive ones about the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.

The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, last night referred editors to newspaper reports yesterday that described the contents of a memo purporting to be at the centre of charges against two men under the secrets act.

Under the front-page headline "Bush plot to bomb his ally", the Daily Mirror reported that the US president last year planned to attack the Arabic television station al-Jazeera, which has its headquarters in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where US and British bombers were based.

Richard Wallace, editor of the Daily Mirror, said last night: "We made No 10 fully aware of the intention to publish and were given 'no comment' officially or unofficially. Suddenly 24 hours later we are threatened under section 5 [of the secrets act]".

Under section 5 it is an offence to have come into the possession of government information, or a document from a crown servant, if that person discloses it without lawful authority. The prosecution has to prove the disclosure was damaging.

The Mirror said the memo turned up in May last year at the constituency office of the former Labour MP for Northampton South, Tony Clarke. Last week, Leo O'Connor, a former researcher for Mr Clarke, was charged with receiving a document under section 5 of the act. David Keogh, a former Foreign Office official seconded to the Cabinet Office, was charged last week with making a "damaging disclosure of a document relating to international relations". Mr Keogh, 49, is accused of sending the document to Mr O'Connor, 42, between April 16 and May 28 2004.

Mr Clarke said yesterday that Mr O'Connor "did the right thing" by drawing the document to his attention. Mr Clarke, an anti-war MP who lost his seat at the last election, returned the document to the government. "As well as an MP, I am a special constable," he said.

Both men were released on police bail last Thursday to appear at Bow Street magistrates court on November 29. When they were charged, newspapers reported that the memo contained a transcript of a discussion between Mr Blair and Mr Bush.

The conversation was understood to have taken place during a meeting in the US. It is believed to reveal that Mr Blair disagreed with Mr Bush about aspects of the Iraq war. There was widespread comment at the time that the British government was angry about US military tactics there, particularly in the city of Falluja.

Charges under the secrets act have to have the consent of the attorney-general. His intervention yesterday suggests that the prosecution plans to ask the judge to hold part, if not all of the trial, in camera, with the public and press excluded.

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Technorati tags: anti-war; UK Politics; incurable_hippie; US politics; Boris Johnson; publishing the memo; anti-Blair; anti-Bush.

Protest Thomas Cook's 'sex tours' in Amsterdam.

Dear Thomas Cook,

I am writing to express my disgust that your company is selling and marketing 'sex tours' for adults and children visiting Amsterdam.

Your literature states that,

Of course, no visit to Amsterdam would be complete without a night-time visit to the famous Red Light District. One of the oldest and most beautiful parts of the city, the narrow, cobbled streets of this quarter fill with hordes of tourists on weekends and holidays. All come to gawk at the surreal display of scantily clad women who pose in the purply-red glow of their black-lit shop windows. Not unlike a bizarre zoo, the Red Light District is an unmissable experience, as attested by the packs of roving young men, couples holding hands, giggling groups of women, and busloads of Japanese tourists toting cameras. Spectacle notwithstanding, real business is done here at a steady pace, and those seeking a slightly more authentic experience should head for the area on a weeknight.

Such tours are not only irresponsible but downright offensive. Of women in prostitution, 50 - 85% experience violence, and more than 80% in the Netherlands are of foreign origin, a number of whom will have been trafficked into the sex trade.

The co-director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women states that "Women are sold as commodities in the Dutch sex industry, and Thomas Cook charges tourists (£12 for adults and £6 for children - under threes go free) to view the 'marketable products' and chuckle at the 'human merchandise'."

The women trapped in prostitution in Amsterdam do not deserve to have coachloads of tourists pointing and laughing at them, and indeed creating an official 'sex tourism' industry will only continue to normalise this abuse of women and make it appear more socially acceptable. Prostitution - in Amsterdam as elsewhere - is in fact violence against women. This is the truth of prostitution.

I am writing to you to request that you please withdraw from these appalling 'family tours' of Amsterdam's Red Light District, and instead focus on your own company's Responsible Business Policy in which you state that

by offering alternative, more virtuous and learning leisure activities, the lives of working people would be greatly improved if they became better educated through travel"

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It is disgusting that you are promoting and running tours such as this through Amsterdam's red light district. I hope that you will reconsider and cancel these tours immediately.

Yours sincerely,

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Further Information:
The Observer: Red Light Tour condemned as 'sick'
Thomas Cook Amsterdam page
Truth About Rape Thomas Cook page
Contact Thomas Cook.

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Technorati tags: Thomas Cook campaign; prostitution; incurable_hippie; anti-rape; feminism; ethical travel.

Illustration Friday: Small.

Illustration Friday.

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Technorati tags: Illustration Friday; small; incurable_hippie; drawing.

Freedom Finance: Their Words, My Order.

'We'll give you an extremely massive debt'

'Freedom Finance could give you severe credit problems'

'We would definitely repossess your home'.

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See previously subvertised debt envelopes...
Freedom Finance 1
Freedom Finance 2
Imagine Finance 1a
Imagine Finance 1b

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Technorati tags: debt; subvertising; incurable_hippie; anti-debt.