Tag-Archive for » rape «

May 02nd, 2010 | Author: sarcozona

Anti-vaxxers are a blast from the past – who knew whooping cough would still be killing people in developed countries in the 21st century?

Important information that your intro stats professor likely didn’t mention.

While cutting classes and entire programs, reducing pay for already underpaid professors, and laying people off right and left, my university decided to spend $85,000 to install a high tech attendance system.

The lack of real access to high speed internet in the US is going to bite us in the ass someday.

How US income tax brackets have changed since the beginning of the 20th century: a lot.

I’m going to need a new computer soon, and I love my mac, but this makes me a bit reluctant to get another one.

I don’t qualify for poor-people health insurance because of scholarships, which is unreasonable because scholarships can technically only be used for expenses related to education.  This woman now has $20,000 in medical bills because of that nonsensical rule.

People who try to back up racist ideas about intelligence with science have a fundamental misunderstanding of heredity.

Why it’s so hard to break down class barriers: powerful people cheat, but judge others harshly.  Normal people hold themselves to high standards and are more forgiving of others.

Leopards are adorable as kittens, but they'll eat you when they grow up.

Leopards are adorable as kittens, but they'll eat you when they grow up.

Things to keep in mind when reading social networking studies.

More sexism in science.  It’s demoralizing how often this sort of thing happens.

A very different approach to dealing with migraine triggers: don’t avoid them, get used to them.  It doesn’t seem to work with pressure changes.

Americans tend to assume that all hispanic immigrants are illegals from Mexico and are generally down with all kinds of mistreatment of these people.  Mexico has a similar attitude towards the Central American immigrants trying to get through to the US.

The Boy Scouts banned gays, but readily accepted and protected pedophiles.

Overpopulation is putting far more pressure on food and energy resources than can possibly be sustained.

Christian advice on the relationship between scrubbing the toilet and sex.  I’m pretty sure it’s directed at the ladies.

A clear example from America’s long history of anti-immigrant sentiment and the social construction of race.

Modern Appliances by Jared

Modern Appliances by Jared

April 03rd, 2010 | Author: sarcozona

The rapists who don’t get caught are smart, misogynist predators, not confused young men. (via Michael Alan Miller)

Teaching teenagers about healthy relationships reduces teen pregnancy. (via OPT) Unfortunately, about the only people who get a decent sex education in the US grow up on a farm.

Thamnolia vermicularis

Thamnolia vermicularis (whiteworm lichen) on Botany Photo of the Day

Obama gives the go-ahead for offshore drilling, reneging on his campaign promise in a bid to get the Republicans to vote for climate change legislation. First of all, a potential three years of oil is NOT worth that much environmental damage.  But perhaps more importantly, shouldn’t you wait until you’ve got the votes to hand over the prize?

The Jews were never slaves in Egypt (and they were probably Canaanites to boot).  But Happy Passover anyway!

The crazies on the right think returning your census form is like the jackets from the V‘s Peace Ambassadors, but still stop efforts to model the population instead.

Ovulation

Girls are outperforming boys in school and some white guys think we should change the system because of it.  Lindsay Beyerstein has a spot on analysis of the situation: “Maybe boys are acting out and underperforming because they’ve been taught from an early age that the world should change to suit them.”

A fantastic series of lectures from a Berkeley Biological Anthropology course taught by Terrence Deacon is available online (you can also get it through iTunesU).  I’ve been listening to it on my walk to school in the mornings.

From a beautiful series by Sophia Wallace

People we “rescued” from Haiti are currently prisoners of our royally fucked immigration system because of a paperwork problem.

I’m not going to have kids and I’m happy about it. Are you?

Five ways the world didn’t end when the Large Hadron Collider turned on.

Gay marriage in the British Cavalry. Romantic!

March 13th, 2010 | Author: sarcozona

Religious bastards in Virginia are handing out tracts telling women that the way we dress causes rape.  Those people should be arrested.  Or kicked in the face.

I’m always amazed by studies that show how easy it is to manipulate people’s views. Then I start wondering how I can take over the world.

Agricultural subsidies need some serious rethinking: first the government pays to make unhealthy food cheap, then it pays for obesity related disease through health care.

Maybe the problem with Toyota isn’t Toyota, but elderly drivers.

Science is getting way better at reading minds.

A very fun post on autoantonyms for all the word lovers.

January 30th, 2010 | Author: sarcozona

Dollhouse is over.  It was a great show.

When Americans say they want to cut NASA’s budget, they think they’re talking about a budget of more than 600 billion instead of about 15 billion.

Female orgasm described as ‘abhorent’ and  banned on film in Australia along with small breasted women.  Unsurprisingly, the standard does not apply to male orgasms or small penises.

Homoerotic subtext isn’t enough:

I want those main characters to fall in love and make out because it means that fans of their characters will have to come to terms with their gayness, exactly like they would have to do in real life. It’s one thing to start out a book … introducing your main characters as gay from the start. Because from the outset the reader knows, the reader can choose whether they approve, or tolerate, or whatever. They can put that book down and walk away.

But reality doesn’t let you choose. Reality is when your best friend turns to you and says, “the thing is, I’m gay,” and your entire world turns upside down.

The phenomenon of mansplaining; I am never sure whether to laugh at or smack the men that do this.

Women today aren’t more promiscuous than 60 years ago. They just don’t have to hide it.

bookstore

This is what my favorite used bookstore/cafe looked like after the 3rd day of snow. Then it snowed 2 more feet and flooded the place.

Pirates buy more music. The only music I don’t buy is music from labels in the RIAA.

We know remarkably little about soil, so very cool and basic discoveries happen all the time.  We just figured out that we were very wrong about which water is where when in the soil.

Suicide is labeled the #1 cause of death among Nepalese women.  A better label would probably be sexism or oppression.

owl wow

Rotifers are extraordinary.

Late term abortions in America are almost impossible to get and very dangerous to perform, despite their legality.

Toxification of our environment is a much more serious issue than most people realize.  This is just a little too close to A Handmaid’s Tale for comfort.

Michele De Lucchi

Michele De Lucchi

Transportation costs associated with sprawl probably contributed to the mortgage crisis.

Ghandi may have been good for India, but he was horrible for women.

Disgusting things like this are why mandatory partner notification for abortion is a bad, bad idea.

Stop blaming the victim!

Left to my own devices, I never would have been raped. The rapist was really the key component to the whole thing. I was sober; I was wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt; I was at home; my sexual history was, literally, nonexistent—I was a virgin; I struggled; I said no. There have been times since when I have been walking home, alone, after a few drinks, wearing something that might have shown a bit of leg or cleavage, and I wasn’t raped. The difference was not in what I was doing. The difference was the presence of a rapist.

Domination without hegemony?

truth

Senator Jim DeMint: If we have the government making decisions about the most personal and private part of our lives, it is so naive to think that that coverage is not going to include a number of things that cause people of faith a lot of heartburn, whether it's funding abortions, whether it's rationing care, whether it's funding medical marijuana, whether it's euthanasia

January 23rd, 2010 | Author: sarcozona

Most people who want to help in a disaster actually make things worse.

The United States just legalized corruption.  Really government, corporations AREN’T PEOPLE.

If a person was knowingly endangering the water supply of so many people, he/she would get more than a slap on the wrist fine.

Interestingly, corporations fight hard for their own personhood, but not for the personhood of actual people, like Yemenese women and girls.

This really just makes me want to accuse fervently praying people in airports of suspicious behavior.

Solving complex networking problems with slime mold is genius.

Rita Trudgett, wicket keeper, Australia, 1930s by Sam Hood

Rita Trudgett, wicket keeper, Australia, 1930s by Sam Hood

Overpopulation and lack of family planning services in Pakistan hurt education and breed religious fundamentalism.

Cops and prosecutors in New Orleans are disgusting.

A great post on what patriarchy is and why getting rid of it is good for women AND men.

A recent study on why men pay for sex turns up a whole lot of misogyny. Interestingly, while feminists are often blamed for the idea that all men are potential rapists, some men in this study make a similar, but more disturbing claim – that without sex, men can’t help but rape. Most feminists today would argue that men are actual human beings, as opposed to animals that can’t possibly contain their “urges.”

Debunking the “God must exist because Earth is perfect for life” myth.

Losing species can create dangerous feedback loops.  The loss or decline of a number of plant species has created a poorer diet for honeybees, leading to a decline in their population. Fewer honeybees means fewer pollinators means fewer seeds means fewer plants.

This week I was glad I have a steep roof.

A very good account of the Creation Museum.  Especially good, I think, is the way it describes how the particular breed of Christianity that promotes creationism is very, very far from what could be considered good things in religion – a sense of unity, beauty, and a universe bigger than ourselves – and is instead “more replete with proof than a Soviet show trial” and “bereft of any soul.”

Prison rape isn’t funny and it’s a real problem.  This is a fantastic ad campaign dealing with the issue.

Grandma and Grandpa and the old Ford Explorer

October 24th, 2009 | Author: sarcozona

Lights on how the Christian community accepts rapists and vilifies their victims.

Green spaces make you healthier. I wonder if houseplants help.

Banning abortion doesn’t make it rarer, but it does make it more dangerous: unsafe abortions kill 70,000 women a year.  A lack of access to contraceptives leads to 60 million unintended pregnancies a year and increases abortion rates, often in unsafe conditions. If Christians really wanted to save lives, they’d be mailing condoms instead of gospel tracts.

Homeless people deserve better.  I hope that so many people losing their homes will lead to improved services for the homeless.

Proposed budget cuts in AZ target the poor and include wonderfully ironic cuts like “eliminating state supervision of loan originators, mortgage brokers and money transmitters.” Hawaii is dramatically shortening the school year because of budget cuts.

US drug policy blocks successful treatments for cluster headaches.

The difference between fields with lots of women and fields with few is other women.

Interpol hooked up with UN Peacekeeping.

Churches in Nigeria are torturing and killing children.  Isn’t God great?

So many of the same people who think blowing up all the Muslims is a great idea are also strongly anti-immigrant.  I guess they don’t realize how many immigrants are dying for their beliefs. Or they’re just racist.

The worst companies in the world.  Just in case you thought corporations were generally looking out for your best interests.

WWJD?

WWJD?

One week without health insurance was enough for this family to be denied real coverage for their daughter.

Wearing a bra is an evil deception deserving extreme punishment.

Garlic might actually help prevent colds, but the AIDS vaccine probably didn’t really work.

Companies with more women are better companies.

Thomas Hillier - The Emperor's Castle

Thomas Hillier - The Emperor's Castle

The Pansy Project: “Artist Paul Harfleet revisits city streets planting pansies at the site of homophobic abuse. Each location is photographed and named after the abuse received.”

If I go nuts, this is why.

September 19th, 2009 | Author: sarcozona

Sexual assault prevention tips guaranteed to work: men, don’t rape people; women, just stop having a vagina to tempt the rapists.

Postcards from a green future by Liam Young & Darryl Chen

Postcards from a green future by Liam Young & Darryl Chen

For as wealthy as the US is, you’d think we’d have safe drinking water.  But we really don’t.  Pollution is one reason why the popularity of bottled water is such a bad thing – people think that because they’re drinking bottled water they’re safe.  Then they stop worrying about the tap water until it’s too late.

fush suckerbutt by snickcluck on Flicrk

fush suckerbutt by snickcluck on Flickr

Churches and sexual abuse seem to go hand in hand.

Ive always wondered if wed recognize alien intelligence

I've always wondered if we'd recognize alien intelligence

Nation building is for the people who live in that nation.  Also, Afghanistan has a pretty awesome (and rather long) history.

What I think when I see women in games

What I think when I see women in games

August 29th, 2009 | Author: sarcozona

It doesn’t say anything good about our culture that sexual violence against women is eroticized and mainstream, but women choosing and enjoying sex is just too much for us.

A few songs are worth more than your life.  A lot more.  (via Michael Alan Miller) Oh, and Sweden took down pirate bay.

Well, this should change our lifestyles a bit.  Have I mentioned that overpopulation is a problem?

California is sacrificing education to prevent taxing big oil.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if our government thought just a little more long term? (via Edge of the American West)

Actually, money CAN buy happiness.

The Afghan elections weren’t fair.

Amino acids in space!

Cultural differences in interpretations of facial expressions.

Really, vaccines do not contain aborted fetal tissue.

Russia has some series race issues.

Just because change scares people doesn’t mean it should be slow.

By the way, were at war by bobster on flickr

By the way, we're at war by bobster on flickr

Music + politics = awesome

Think health care reform makes Democrats equivalent to Nazis?  Perhaps you need a quick history lesson.

Another reason to quit smoking: children pick the tobacco you smoke and it poisons them.

I really want to see this movie (via SublimeFemme):

An former health care executive comes clean. And yet another health care myth debunked.

We’re building a wall between Mexico and the US that doesn’t stop illegal immigrants, but is deadly to fragile wildlife populations.

The axolotl is about to go extinct in the wild

The axolotl is about to go extinct in the wild

American citizens in danger from chemical weapons – and they’re ours.

Iran is not a good place to be right now.

August 15th, 2009 | Author: sarcozona

Between things like steep fines and jail time for the “crimes” of being poor and/or a person of color and being unable to get a job because of poor credit, it’s almost impossible to escape poverty in the US.

Moonbow

Moonbow

Yesterday was the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in WWII.

Still sucks to be a woman in Afghanistan.

The Sri Lankan government doesn’t seem much better than the LTTE.

Plants can communicate and recognize self. Awesome.

No wonder we’re all addicted to the internet.

How and why patriarchy hurts men and who stands to benefit from feminism.

Scientists are grown-ups who refuse to give up their sense of wonder & curiosity.

It’s hard to keep believing Isreal is a “victim.”

Another evangelical caught fleecing his sheep.

from flickr user bobster855

from flickr user bobster855

I’m definitely going to make these cookies.

It’s hard to chastise other countries when you’re guilty too.

The Russian government doesn’t even try to hide it.

Attacking Iran would be idiotic.

Going home isn’t easy.

Cutting already insufficient education budgets means students pay more for less.

Odd and disturbing Time magazine cover.

David Trautrimas, Sprinkler House

David Trautrimas, Sprinkler House

Think people don’t use religion to escape responsibility for their actions? Think again.

Why taking physics is important:

Extreme Pool JumpCelebrity bloopers here

Major Prop 8 supporter gets divorce.

If ecology doesn’t work out, I’m applying at Netflix.

Incredible juxtoposition: US vs. Japanese representations of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Why we sleep: who knows?

May 23rd, 2009 | Author: sarcozona

A beautiful post on hierarchies and judgement within marginalized communities.

The Skeptic’s Book of Pooh-Pooh points out an awesome news story on the danger anti-vaxers create for children in their communities.  The anti-vaxers hypocrisy is also on display in their support of chemical castration for autistic boys.

We can’t expect toxic products to stop coming from China anytime soon.  Honesty and transparency are impossible with a government that actively represses knowledge of its own history.

Women continue to be kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and brutally murdered in Mexico.  Despite the hundreds of victims that are likely the victims of one or more serial killers, the police aren’t doing anything about it.

As the AZ legislature slashes education funding across the state, especially at the university level, the AZ Republic has a timely article about the importance of research – even if it sounds ridiculous.

Justice.”


Lindsay Beyerstein
explains that we do still need journalists and should be paying them – most bloggers provide commentary and synthesis, not reporting.

The role of partisanship in California’s economic crisis.

Something to have nightmares about: the rise of private policing in the US.

Right wing extremists kill more law enforcement officers.

Dr. Isis’s fantastic post Boys Talk About How Girls Should Talk About Science…

It’s easy to consider a civil discourse when you’ve never had your ass grabbed by a colleague, been called “young lady” in front of your peers, or been asked about your reproductive plans.  It’s easy to ask the participants to be calm, and minimize profanity, when you don’t have to keep in the back of you mind which which men to avoid at a meeting when they’ve been drinking.

Plants recognize themselves.

The representation of hetero men in conventional pornography vs. the spectrum of things hetero men actually enjoy.

FSP on “us and them.”

The next cake I’m going to bake.

Pennsylvania is starting to look like the deep south half a century ago.

Texas AND Alaska charge victims for their own rape kits.