When fascists eat their young

May 18th, 2005

I had a rare politically inspired giggle today when I read how intolerant Alex Hawke the national president of the Young Liberals is.
Mr. Hawke had this to say about being a Liberal,

"The party should adopt tougher stands on social issues such as drugs and abortion so people know what we stand for. Nobody joins the Liberal Party to be left-wing. If you stand for compulsory student unionism, drug-injecting rooms and lowering the [homosexual] age of consent, you can choose the Greens, Labor or the Democrats."

Earlier, we prepared this elected, successful dish of Liberal MP.
MP Robyn Parker, who is part of the moderate Liberal faction and a former president of the Liberal Women’s Council, said recent discussions on abortion had been highly offensive to women and had taken place for the wrong reasons. Ms. Parker stated that,

"Any debate on abortion should be about supporting women and their choices, and it should ultimately be a decision made between a woman and her doctor, not a topic used to obtain political advantage on a ballot or anywhere else."

Tension has been simmering since the conservatives gained control of the Young Liberals.

Mr Hawke later denied that his criticism extended to the state leader, John Brogden, a moderate who has previously supported injecting-room trials and lowering the homosexual age of consent.

Typical fascist…
Kiss up
Kick down

Placing a woman central to her right not to be abused

May 7th, 2005

Late one night in the NSW parliament women gained protection from violence without losing their right to reproductive choice.

The Government refused to consider an amendment by Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile, and backed by most Coalition MPs, that would have redefined the fetus as "a child in utero".

The Government alleged that MPs with an anti-abortion agenda were trying to hijack the debate.

Thank you Carr and Co., you saw the agenda coming and gave it no life.


Image from here

Let’s bury John Paul II’s misogyny with the world’s largest requiem mass.

April 8th, 2005

Pope John Paul II is being buried today.

Let’s bury with him the Catholic church’s view on abortion, contraception and women’s reproductive rights.
Found here, here, here, here and here.

"Abortion is the last bastion of papal misogyny and megalomania."

-Beatrix Campbell.


Image from here

Merriwa pharmacist pitches tent next to horny citizens outside Mayor’s office.

April 1st, 2005

A pharmacist, in rural NSW was today surprised to find that all the good camping sites outside the Mayor’s office had already been staked out by residents of the town of Merriwa.

News just in reports that people described as

"sex-obsessed, coquettish, flirty, libidinous, nymphomaniac, philandering, floozies, harlots, hookers, loose women, molls, painted women, party girls, scarlet women, sluts, streetwalkers, strumpets, tarts, tramps, trollops, and whores were seen frollicking in readiness for the arrival of the postie."

Bill, a local, commented on the scene by saying:

"I haven’t seen so many happy people since the drought of ’53 broke."


Image from here

Wellness is a holistic notion

March 9th, 2005

Yesterday on International Women’s day women celebrated. As with most hearty celebrations, the day after is rough.

If we assess data from the Women in Australia 2004 report released by Kay Patterson, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women’s Issues, the current state of the mental health status of Australian women is of particular concern.

Older Australian women present with the highest rate of anxiety disorders with 16% of women 45-54 years of age reporting Agorophobia, Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Social Phobia (page 172).

This data is also disturbing when we look at overall mental health figures for women. Women have higher rates (than men) of mental and behavioural problems (page 171).
These include Bipolar Affective Disorder, Depression, Dysthymia, Hypomania and Mania (page 173).

I wonder how much of a causal link can be drawn between mental health wellness and workforce participation.

With outcomes such as these The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act, introduced into Parliament on 22 September 1999, replacing the Affirmative Action Act 1986 gathers much dust under the Prime Minister and his Minister assisting.

I would advocate for more mental health initiatives starting with the tripling of Community health centre funding. CHS centres could offer stress relief massages, reading and blogging groups and other ‘pampering’ events.
Workplace counseling options could be expanded to include a monthly ‘celebrating achievements’ session. Mentoring programs, a real commitment to work-life balance…

"All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
-Arthur Schopenhauer