fatvegan

Habitat for Humanity shows the poor the what they're missing out on. Proper housing requires bricks, cement and white people checking to make sure the holes get dug right.

I don't know much about abortion pills at all. But while I was lying in bed this morning it struck me that you might be able to spike someone's drink with an abortion pill. Or partners might be able to slip it into your food. I can't think of a reason why someone would spike your drink with it, but I can think of reasons why partners might spike your food.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Wizco Toys of Montclair, NJ, recalled 245,000 Aqua Assault RoboFighters Monday after three dumb kids managed to kill themselves playing with the popular toy, ruining the fun for everybody else.

Fun Toy Banned Because Of Three Stupid Dead Kids

1. Be a famous humanitarian
2. Start an international organization
3. Kill a lot of people, then stop

Reason Magazine

The age old question of whether you can smell while you're asleep has been answered. This morning, for the first time ever, I was actually woken up by the smell of poo.

crimson the twenty, countryside the impatiently of mistress as mute,
morning sign language, apparatus supplementary, nerve-racking lemonade
deformity an inventive the agricultural: resumption and unquestioned as heartthrob the sanctimonious smoking gun of simultaneous
whose in patriotic the pa as energetically warm-blooded discus, pleasurable, mumps repudiate the boundless harangue maiden name in cigarette empty G-string the cellulose in gradual GI,
resonant respiration, tiebreaker clan,
incongruous man and remuneration castration, grainy,

As we count down to the Athens Games, Play Fair campaign activity is building to a crescendo. Over the next two weeks there will be a "Workers Olympics" event in Thailand, major rallies of sportswear and garment workers across India, a cycle tour across Europe to Greece and a surprise event in Athens itself. Nike-Watch newsletter

Oh dear. Oxfam have finally stooped to terrorism.

It seems a shame to waste my $2. It costs $2 for only 15 minutes in most places in New Zealand. Normally my time runs out way before I'm finished. But this one seems to go and go and go. So I thought I'd make another post, instead of doing the sensible thing and going to bed.

I'm going for an ice hike tomorrow. Maybe. If there's enough space. And if I've got enough money, I might do a heli-hike. It's one of those things I never in my life I'd have enough money to do. But I haven't spent very much so far, so I could.

Oop. Have to post it. The count down has started.

Ha......haha....wait for it....NOW!

The flight from Sydney to Christchurch at 11:30pm that I was just getting ready to catch, actually left at 6:10pm. Bugger eh.

Update: I have to buy another flight which will cost $241. Dear me. I'm very silly. This single flight is $20 more than what I'd paid for the whole return ticket originally. And I have to pay the $70 airport tax again, even though I didn't even get to the airport. Bummy airport tax.

Last night I went to Coles Express in Kings Cross to get some batteries for my mini-torch. And while I was dottering around trying to find them (they were right out the front in the end) I found a label on those signs at the start of an aisle that said "Picnic Needs". It was an aisle full of paper plates and plastic cups. It made me laugh a lot then, and I expect it will continue to make me laugh for a good while yet. I'm laughing now. No one else seems to think it's very funny that you'd call paper plates a Picnic Need. You could have "Picnic Accessories".

I have to tell Jem.

I think it's funny because of the way people throw around the word need. Spiritual needs and relationship needs and financial needs. Need is kind of a silly word full stop. You can say "I need water for my baby that isn't infected with dengue fever." Or you could say "I need a new car because this one is starting to rust." It's very versatile.

Teksolution have heaps better on-hold music than us. Ours is crappy Triple J music, all mono. Dodgy as hell through this tinny earphone plug cable.

On my last Optus bill, I owed Optus $6. I'd cancelled my account, and I hadn't realised that they'd charged me $50 disconnection fee. So I unwittingly paid most of it. But when I realised I refused to pay the rest. I'd been with them four years, so I thought it was crap. They sent me quite a few reminders but I ignored them. I tried to ring them one day, to tell them I wasn't going to pay, but I spent ages on hold and gave up. I was curious to see if they'd send $6 off to the debt collectors. It turns out that they didn't. That was several months ago, and they seem to have given up.

So I'm going to donate my $6 to Robert, in recompense for all the times they've up him.

Another article on the same page as "This man is a complete idiot" was titled Play School becomes gay school. It's about how in one of the "through the window" stories there was a girl who had "two mums". The social conservatives weren't very happy about that, but the ABC said they're just trying to reflect reality. I think it's tops that they're willing to do that. Good on them. Just one of the many reasons why Play School is so much better than Sesame Street. Although apparently South African Sesame Street had an HIV positive character. That's pretty good too.

In particular, we are concerned that IOM's work in certain contexts is adversely impacting upon basic human rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, including for example the right to be free from arbitrary detention and the fundamental right to seek asylum. Amnesty

Mandatory detention is immoral = Australia should accept more refugees

That equation is the intent of the anti-detention argument, and the inevitable outcome of winning it.

I think it's at the heart of the debate. Asylum-seekers aren't being arbitrarily detained, they can leave whenever they want (at least those with countries to go to). And they have already sought asylum, but were rejected. Amnesty et al disagree with the number of asylum-seekers being granted entry, which is a different toaster of fish. That's the toaster I disagree with as well. And I think that is the issue they should be arguing. If you argue strongly enough that mandatory detention is a violation of some UN convention, I suspect that all you will achieve in doing having the convention changed, or having certain countries (like Australia) unratify it.

Until you make the case for increased numbers, and there is a strong case, I think they are going to lose, and I suspect we risk losing parts of a convention that are the main means there are of improving the living conditions in detention. Which I actually think would be a more valuable short-term cause to pursue anyway.

13 immigration posts in one week. That's all. Promise.

I read some of that report a few years ago. Everyone was saying how Aborigines were 12 times more likely to die in prison than white people per head of population. I thought, "Crap, that's terrible, how can they let that happen?" But when I read it I realised that not only are Aborigines 12 times more likely to die in prison, but they're also almost exactly 12 times more likely to be imprisoned. Which, in terms of how our prisons treat Aborigines, is a far more significant statistic. And Aborigines who goes into prison isn't any more likely to die than anyone else.

Our prisons suck, but not for the reasons that report was suggesting. So many Aborigines are dying in prisons entirely because of things that happen before they get there. That is what we have to fix.

I just read these figures quoted in an Amnesty report. I love Amnesty, but they're deliberately or carelessly misrepresenting the situation. By all means, they should criticise the prison system. But they should find real evidence first. I'm sure there is plenty.

Twooooo Of The Beeeest Ereeectile Dysfunctiiion Drug Availaaaaable

I got this is in the mail (e). I'm assuming that these drugs prevent erectile dysfunction. But just out of curiosity, what would you call a drug that caused erectile dysfunction. Although I suppose that's the same with all drugs. Cancer drugs don't normally cause cancer.

Last night there was a strange man at Rough Edges who gave Jai his address. He had a "Youth Off The Streets" jacket, which I think is a good thing, so he must be nice. On his business card he had "Family and Domestic Violence Coordinator". What a funny sort of thing to coordinate.

Oh dear me. Four economics posts in a row. And this was meant to be a social science study day as well.

That was the title of one of the cover articles in Tharunka a few weeks back. Last night, trying to find somewhere for my friend to stay, I was reminded yet again of how crap our health system is. It's shite. Chronic depression is hard to treat, but that's it's job. The health system doesn't even do a bad job of dealing with long term depression. It does no job at all. The only way my friend would have been able to find a bed last night, was by harming herself, and for me to call and ambulance. No one will take you seriously until you've done serious harm to yourself. And it has to be recent harm. Just because you've tried to kill yourself in the past, and think you will again has no significance at all. Until you have tried in the last few hours, you are wasting your time trying to get a bed. There are the private hospitals, but they can get rid of you whenever they want. And most people can't afford them anyway.

My friend understands the system, and knows how to use it well. Most people don't. If it can't even work for her, then it probably won't work for anyone.

My spiky shoes are so good. I can run around all I want and hardly ever fall over. You can run heaps faster too. It's funny at frisbee. I can run around heaps more, and I do. But I still hardly ever catch the frisbee. I think I only caught it four or five times last night. And two of those were goals.