Posts by TracyMac
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Not to start a bunfight on the whys and wherefores of homeopathy - yes, I'm a qualified homeopath (working in IT), no, no-one knows how it works, yes, you get f*ckhead homeopaths, like you get f*ckhead doctors, and no, I really don't care if it boils down to a a placebo effect or coincidence if no-one's being told (illegally) that homeopathy will Cure anything - but that optical illusion analogy linked to above was pretty irrelevant, actually.
I'm particularly peeved at the staring at the sun crack, actually. If homeopathic remedies don't do anything, they don't do anything, including harm anyone. A few idiots might tell people not to go to regular doctors, but it's unethical in the extreme. Some doctors won't refer people to specialists when they need them; virtually all homeopaths (yes, again, excepting a few individual f*ckheads) will refer people to real doctors when it is a matter of life or death, or they are out of their depth.
[Expunging several paragraphs more on people's ability to spend money on whatever they choose, if it's not harming them and they are not being wilfully cheated.]
Off to watch the Ted talk now on scientific denialism for some really scary stuff - add me (despite the foregoing) to the club of people who are horrified at what passes for scientific analysis in the media and general population these days.
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Going back upthread a bit to drop a note - with the discussion about the range of views in feminism on porn/prostitution and the like, sorry to have "disappeared" on the discussion. 50 hour work week not terribly conducive to hanging out on intarwebs.
Jolisa, by referring to the Sex Wars, I was really talking about the conference in the early 80s where the debate about what was "acceptable" feminist sexuality came to a head. At least these days I don't get told I'm "male-identified" because I'm butch (and not trans) and like having sex with femme women. Kinkily, at times. The sex wars then weren't about policing men's sexuality (e.g. prostitution).
But you're right that there is this dichotomy between what others sneeringly scare-quote call "sex-positive feminists" and the ones who appear to conflate all non-mainstream or commercial sex with rank oppression ... and all the shades of grey in between. I'm tired of it too.
I very much believe that the powers-that-be should go after the exploitation of labour and dodgy business practices wherever they find them. I feel quite certain that as authorities back up their stated aims - that they will inspect strip clubs, restaurant kitchens, hotel cleaners etc etc etc for underage, illegal immigrant, improperly paid, unsafe workers, then a fuckload of industries will start pulling their socks up.
Personally, I think places like Hooters in the US are vile with their commodification of women's bodies in a non-ostensibly-sexual context. But if those women are paid properly and have decent working conditions, fine. I still feel I have the right to criticise the business, and the reasons why women might feel they have to work in such places, but I would not want to enact legislation to put those women out of work. And, if I learn that someone is in the habit of going to places like Hooters, great, a one-shot test to weed that kind of tool out of my social acquaintance.
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I'm not even going to bother commenting on the vid o' shite, because I'm afraid violence-against-women as a cheap trope to cash in on is about as cre8ive, dude, as rape, partner abuse and family violence in general.
Regarding the Icelandic ban, eh, as a rabid but post-sex-wars feminist, it smacks as throwing the baby out with the bathwater. You're not buying and selling -women- in the club, you're buying their performance time.
As to how women might start working at the clubs, then investigate that aspect. Come down like a ton of bricks if people are being trafficked, health and safety regulations are being breached, the workers are not being paid properly, work excessive hours, etc. They got Al Capone through taxes in the end.
For prostitution, criminalising that is futile, although it does make more sense to penalise the punters rather than the pros. But prostitution will never be got rid of, so it should be dealt with in the same way as any other occupation.
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Um, it's 3D/del Naja doing the "chuntering". And that's ok, I would never have gone to a Lyndard Skynard concert. I'm not that fussed about certain rap artists making their opinions known about their hos either. So, funny thing, singing is often political.
Also, I thought the "classics" were ok, but I really like some of the new tracks. I really don't get why everyone was so enthused about Emo Chick doing Unfinished Sympathy. Yeah, powerful voice, but holy fuck she wanked on. Bring back Shara Nelson.
Also, sitting down towards the floor, the sound was shite. I feel sorry for the people dancing, although they gave it a good go.
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Somewhat OT: but how about some investment in a decent pop music venue or doing SOMETHING about the acoustics in the Vector Arena. The Massive were loudish last night, but the shitty distortion in the upper registers was horrible.
Also, the fact that the tools behind me did not STFU throughout the entire concert, even when I asked - and the fact that they were able to carry on an extremely audible conversation at all (can we discuss Martina Topley-Bird's relationship with Tricky AFTER the concert?!) - did not really enhance my listening pleasure.
A shame, because the crowd was good, but I was much more "immersed" in the sound in Canberra's wee venue last week, even though it was quieter. Also, people weren't yapping loudly the entire time, which helped.
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It's so nice to see some of these classic NZ music clips again.
Although I managed to miss that 3Ds clip the first time round, and it was obviously no great loss. It was fine until the gurning started halfway though. I think I prefer the vids with the band standing motionless and a single camera pointed head-on.
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Regarding the outing debate, I'm extremely happy with it when it is done at the expense of public figures who have promoted discrimination against queers, whether in the law, religion, business, whatever.
Actually, Giovanni, I read quite a bit of discussion at the time of Larry "Wide Stance" Craig about the deliciousness of that hypocritical arsehole being caught by the fascistic laws that he promoted. And good riddance.
But I don't think that because someone happens to be a public figure, their private life should be a matter of speculation. I didn't think much of Max Mosley in general, but I very much admired his handling of the outing of his SM practices. I also think he won the moral war (in the UK) about what should deemed to be in the "public interest" about public figures' private lives. Not that it's particularly slowed down the tabs over there.
Phillip, yeah, thanks for the quotes around "struggle" when it comes to describing one's coming to terms with one's sexual orientation and people's perception of it, you can stick it up your frigging jumper.
I'm as leftie as you can imagine, and plenty of these so-called left or liberal types have their little areas of bigotry. Try being a young dyke in a union meeting in the mid-80s when the brethren were still bitching about letting women into their trade, much less queers. Not to mention actual personal abuse/manifest discomfort -- and as Craig points out, we do live in a relatively liberal environment.
How nice for you that you haven't had to encounter that kind of difficulty personally. Perhaps you could STFU about how homosexuals are perceived and should behave until such time as you have something to say based on actual knowledge.
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Ahhhhh, yes, BitKeeper. The lovely hissy fit they had with old Linus and co. So pathetic. Thanks Julian - it was bugging me I couldn't remember the parties involved!
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Regarding "hacking = accessing publicly-accessible URL", something like that happened in the techie world.
Can't remember the details, but some tech outfit were suing another for "hacking" their super-duper system and writing an alternative client for it - perhaps a source control system? It turns out the people who wrote the alternative interface "hacked" it by telnetting to an open port and typing "?", which promptly listed all the inputs that were valid to the system. Which is the entirety of what they incorporated into their alternative interface to the product.
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Regarding the comment about censors being confused about the difference between female ejaculation and peeing, if the chick is thrashing around, making those ridiculous porno pleasure-shrieks, and doing the o-face, then yeah, maybe it could be confusing.
Speaking as someone who has seen both, I don't think they're that easy to confuse.
And regarding the dearth of information about female anatomy, it still galls me that I didn't know about a clitoris until I read a book designed to explain sexuality to teenage boys. The companion volume for teenage girls did not mention a single word about it. It was in the boys' book because it was all about "if you get to doing the sexxx0ring with a young woman you're really twuley in love with, but she doesn't seem to be enjoying it that much, here's the magic button" (slightly paraphrased). I don't seem to recall much of an explanation on the mechanics of the penis in the girls' book either. The books were published in the early 80s.