Don’t Be Friendly or We’ll Take It the Wrong Way

May 13, 2013 in Gender, Human Rights, News, People, Society, Travel

I was casually scrolling through news.com.au one lunchtime, and came across an article entitled “Western women warned “friendliness’ confuses Indian men”. My first reaction was “huh?” which of course prompted me to read the article. In short, Indian men “often get the ‘wrong signal’ from female tourists who are simply being friendly”. Well that makes complete sense… In this day and age, women are constantly being told they can’t do things. We can’t expect to earn the same as men. We can’t expect to be treated with respect in our chosen career. We can’t expect other women to accept us [...]

Tony Abbott, Twitter, Women of Calibre and Click Bait

May 8, 2013 in Current Affairs, Human Rights, News, Politics

So yesterday I was noodling about the house, exhausted and exhilarated after surviving Satan’s own three ring circus of a weekend, when Twitter whooped out the Code Pink Alert. The Twisterhood (Twitter Sisterhood. You like it? I just made it up!) were Outraged! Again! World-Renowned Misogynist, Tony Abbott, announced a Paid Parental Leave scheme that would entitle new mothers earning $150,000 pa or less to six months maternity leave at full pay, plus super entitlements. He said, and I quote: “We do not educate women to higher degree level to deny them a career. If we want women of that [...]

Video: The Child Abuse Message Aimed at Children

May 7, 2013 in Children, Current Affairs, Health, Human Rights, News, Parenting

This video demonstrates a new anti-child abuse advertisement which contains a hidden message for children. When viewed from an adult’s height the image shows a sad child and the message “Sometimes child abuse is only visible to the child suffering it” but when viewed from a child’s height, or anyone under 4 foot 5 inches tall, the image shows a bruised child and the additional message “If somebody hurts you, phone us and we’ll help you” with the phone number. A really powerful message, a great idea and a wonderful way to reach children while they’re standing with the person [...]

Forget the Digital Divide, The Digital Bulldozer is coming

May 6, 2013 in Celebrity, Current Affairs, Entertainment, Music, News, Politics, Technology

I am worried about radio in the country. Not the WHOLE country, mind you, just the parts of it politicians don’t visit unless something is wet, burnt or wind blown, i.e. “the country”. What worries me is digital radio. In cities digital radio may be a wonderful thing, more choices, better quality, I hear you may even be able to pause a live broadcast. Wonderful things. What I am worried about is the thing that radio was meant to be for – getting across information. A few years ago, a lot of “regional” stations were bought up by radio networks. [...]

NDIS: It Could Happen To You

May 3, 2013 in Current Affairs, Health, Human Rights, News, Politics

The NDIS has come front and centre this week. And so it should. God know it’s hard enough on disabled people and their families, without the additional worry of how they will manage financially. When you see comments like this (responding to this article by Stella Young): Ashley of Darwin Posted at 5:51 PM April 30, 2013 $22,000 for a wheelchair? Really? a basic wheelchair? A brand new car can be bought for less… If you want all the bells and whistles you can stump the cost of it yourself. The government should only assist you getting the minimum you require to be mobile. Or The department store [...]

Australia: The Lucky Country

May 1, 2013 in Current Affairs, Health, News, Politics, Self

The past week or so my wisdom teeth have started growing again. I say again because mine tend to grow for a few days and then stop for months. I mean, growing is a tiring business for your poor teeth isn’t it? The problem is that this time, the wisdom tooth on my bottom right-hand side is being a bit of a tool. It’s hurting and aching and I want to pull it out stat. I decided that after not attending the dentist for a few years (in my defense, I had been to the dentist every fortnight over a [...]

Where Do You Draw the Line Between Tragedy and Stupidity?

April 29, 2013 in Family, Health, Lifestyle, News, People, Society, Work

Life can throw curve balls. You could be blissfully happy in your relationship, and next thing you know you are breaking up. You may have found the perfect job, only to be made redundant. You could be completely healthy until an accident renders you paraplegic. The above three things are devastating, but completely out of your control. The last one would even be considered a tragedy. But what if the “tragedy” is self inflicted? What if someone becomes brain damaged because of an overdose of drugs or alcohol? What if someone becomes a paraplegic because they were messing around when they knew better? [...]

ANZACs: Lest We Forget

April 25, 2013 in Current Affairs, News, People, Politics, Society

Often, ANZAC Day falls on a school day. And every time we have an assembly, I cry. Can’t help it. That minute’s silence and the Last Post get me every time. I actually stop and use that silence to try and comprehend what the diggers thought at Gallipoli. To put myself in their boots, running on fear and adrenalin. It’s something I simply can’t comprehend, and yet generations later, the action they took still ring solid and true. Their bravery is unparalleled. I think of war widows, telegram in hand, confirming their worst nightmare. I think of children who never [...]

Real Beauty Sketches by Dove: My Take

April 19, 2013 in Body, Body Image, Current Affairs, Face, Gender, Health, Mental Health, News, People, Self, Society

This week, Dove released a video called Real Beauty Sketches. I had been holding off watching this, purely because of the people’s reaction to this video. There were those who thought, while the message was lovely, “ERMAGHERD Dove is owned by the same company that make Lynx body spray! How can we listen to anything they say?” Apparently both brands being owned by Unilever is enough for people to miss the point Dove were trying to get across. Then there were those who were almost euphoric with how awesome it is, and how awesome the message was, and awesome Dove is, and [...]

Why I Care New Zealand Voted in Favour of Marriage Equality

April 18, 2013 in Dating, Family, Gender, Health, Human Rights, Marriage, Mental Health, News, People, Politics, Relationships, Sexuality

I’m sure you would know by now New Zealand has voted in favour of marriage equality, winning at 77 to 44. If you haven’t already heard about this, you can read all the details here, but I had to share this news with you even if you already know, purely because I am just so excited and so proud of the country my father is from. Well done New Zealand! I can’t explain how much this news has meant to me. Equality is something I am incredibly passionate about, whether it be discrimination based on race, gender, on gender identity, [...]