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Christmas Spirit, Pornography, Hair Sites, SAGE-AU, Xmas, Tsunami

Here's a great example of the Christmas spirit (from

rialian). N.C. Homeless Shelter Evicts Pregnant Woman, Three Sons: "The director of a homeless shelter says he was right to evict a 21-year-old pregnant woman and her three children after the woman violated one of the shelter's rules by allowing her children's uncle to visit in her room.

"We have to have order," said the Rev. Oliver S. Robinson, director of the Tabernacle of Faith Church Outreach Center...

Garland, eight months pregnant, began crying as she strapped her children into their car seats after loading the trunk of her car with belongings. She then left with Xavier, 1, Javonte, 3, and T'Keel, 5, still in their bedclothes....

"These people need tough love," Robinson said. "I don't feel comfortable with it. God don't get no pleasure punishing us. But he does it. Jesus would have done the same thing."

Once upon a time, I had a fleeting relationship with a person named Joyce. When it became clear to me that rather than being interested in human emancipation, she was more concerned with imposing her moral code on others, I called off the affair. Her reaction was to launch a public campaign against my defence of sexual expression and my suppport for the legal rights and working conditions of those in the sex/erotica industry. Recently I've discovered that an article written at the time (mostly about how I defend such morally objectionable ideas as human beings controlling their own body and workers having legal protection) has made it's way into Spinefix Press' Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography. My reputation improves even further!

On a sort of related note (because sensuality and style are related), designing James Nicholsons' website is proving a little more difficult that previously expected. Not due to the size or style of the website in questions, but because I'm working with a rather scattered collection of raw material, unscanned without proper documentation or temporal order. Of course, this shouldn't be surprising when dealing with a person who was the Australian Apprentice of the Year, an WA Government Sponsor for the Arts etc. More good news is that I'm conducting IT training for both James and friends and for Borderlands in the next two months.

Almost forgot. Sage Advice, the journal of SAGE-AU came out last week with two articles by yours truly; the interview with Richard Stallman and the article on webdesign standards.

Did the xmas thing with

severina_242 and her family which was a pretty mundane affair, rather than being a day of horror which I'd been led to believe.

severina_242 gave me "The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System" and

caseopaya gave a flash looking filofax. I'll accept both as early birthday presents, 'kay? On a related note, a nice crate of wine is heading my way courtesy of money spent by my credit card over the past year or so.

The death toll keeps climbing from the tsunami. Early reports were around the 10,000 fatality mark, now we're looking at 80,000 or more. Next steps in the disaster will undoubtably be disease through lack of fresh water and then... then the mosquitos will breed, bringing dengue and malaria. I'm more than half tempted to ring up an aid agency and volunteer my Herculean energies, my sheer bloody mindedness and my modicum of technical skills.

Isn't that US election over? Then why is Kerry preparing grounds to unconcede?.

Boom-crash. That's how the real estate cycle goes when you treat land as a commodity. "The shake-out is going to be sudden and harsh." No shit, sherlock.

Amusing brainbreaker of the week goes to

reddragdiva.
LARPing leads to furrydom!; "I don't know how people made interesting characters before templates and prestige classes"

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Nice book! How broad a hint did you have to drop?

Well, it was picked from the shelves after we discovered that the UNIX Administration Handbook hasn't had a new edition for a few years.

This is a good one tho'. Very little on anything immediately practical like administration, but a a lot of detail on kernel services, process/device/memory management, i/o, network filesystem/communication/protocols.

It's not for the faint-hearted. Written in a step-by-step, matter of fact manner, this is truly an o.s. engineer's delight

While I think that men who use prostitutes are probably rather pathetic, I cannot see why it is a less honourable form of wage labour than any other and I can't see the 'feminism' in trying to get it prohibited (i.e. driven underground where the women fall prey to real exploitation by the police and gansters).

Legalisation is very important if sex work is to be open (the customers probably don't want this). The women must be able to organise to protect themselves.

In Cambodia it is not illegal, but human trafficking is rife. The problem is not, however, in the legality or illegality, but in the underdevelopment of an economy and society in which gansterism is one of the principal means of capital accumulation. People who oppose prostitution in that context are not opposing the trade as such, but the form under which it occurs - namely, slavery.

These women (and men) should accept that there are people who *want* to work in the sex and erotica industries, and work towards removing the exploitation and health risks.

They'll say that they're either gender-traitors and/or insane, as no sane woman would want to work in the sex industry. Seriously, I've had this argument so many times.

Truthfully, any woman that would argue against anything like that has her head in the wrong place. I hate to say it, but it's in a woman's nature to garner attention and wages using her sexuality. How that came about, I am not sure, but it's always been and it will always be. How many super ugly actresses have you heard of? (That make a lot of money) The highest paid ones are sexy and young looking...now at the other end, I can name at least 7 ugly dudes that made it big.

Truthfully, any woman that would argue against anything like that has her head in the wrong place.

Ahh, you must understand that these people are also political lesbians. That is, they do not necessarily find sexuality a matter of preference or orientation, but rather its a political decision.

but it's in a woman's nature to garner attention and wages using her sexuality. How that came about, I am not sure

In a nutshell, there has been a huge historical disparity between men and women in terms of wages and wealth (around 90%/10% and 99%/1% respectively), mainly arising from the long standing existence of patriarchy* (i.e., women have been legally excluded from holding property or political rights). Under such circumstances many women have taken advantage their appearance for financial gain.

On the other hand, if one goes to Kuta beach in Bali (for example), a well-heeled Western woman will find herself approached by the famous "Kuta mosquitos" - young attractive Balinese men who seek financial compensation for their company and services. It's the same elsewhere, especially apparently in West Africa.

Basically sexual services are an economic relation. Whilst there are people who have the looks and want money and there are people who want to rent their labour, there will be sexual commerce.

How many super ugly actresses have you heard of? (That make a lot of money)

The one's that can act? ;-)

* Nota bene: I draw a very strict distinction between the noun patriarchy, a political system and the adjective patriarchial, which is a cultural more.

I cannot see why it is a less honourable form of wage labour than any other and I can't see the 'feminism' in trying to get it prohibited

Amen to that, sister. I have read and participated in enough debates suggesting that political and economic rights are the important issue and not the imposition some sort of cryptic cultural-moral code.

Excusing my old fashioned ideas, but I seem to recall that feminism is about ensuring political equality, furthering the standing of women in the economy, and even individual autonomy (especially wrt reproductive choice).

People who oppose prostitution in that context are not opposing the trade as such, but the form under which it occurs - namely, slavery.

Indeed. Nevertheless, the authors of said text will demand that the circumstances of literal slavery are also requisite however in other sexual acts - and specifically heterosexual acts*. They also don't have much time for transvestites or transexuals either. Oh, and women who do sex work voluntarily are "gender traitors".

I think it's very important your point that where sex work is not legal human trafficking is rife. Theoretically I imagine that said authors would be at a complete loss to explain why - because they don't understand political economy.

I actually expected you to make the comments that you have. You strike me as a pretty practical-minded person whose direct experience with the most dispossessed in this world would put your ideas in opposition to the interpretations of so-called "radical" feminism.

"...heterosexuality functions more effectively than oppressive systems
such as apartheid or capitalism" (Shiela Jeffreys, Anticlimax)

Ha! is there a new generation of political lesbians? Sheila's fundamental error is to confuse sexual exploitation with biology. This is precisely the crime of the sexists - to confuse biological difference with social inferiority.

Anyway she has an uphill battle to turn most of us into lesbians!!! Better to live in the real world methinks.

Ha! is there a new generation of political lesbians?

Yeah, they co-authored the book together. They all live in two storey run-down terrace house in the southern end of Northcote.

After all, there can only be one true vanguard!

Anyway she has an uphill battle to turn most of us into lesbians!

Yeah, I've often wondered what's the point to fight what is obviously a impossible battle. Surely politics is about practical solutions to problems, not granstanding..

Maybe I'm wrong! After all, they sure attract a lot of attention.. And so did Pauline Hanson!

I'm beginning to think more and more that Bush, and other Fundamentalists/Rapturists are the "antichrist" mentioned in Revelations. Strangely enough, their efforts are making me more of a "christian" —in the true sense of the word, by following his teachings. I hope they all burn in hell!

Unfortunately the hell they're creating is where the rest of us are going.

As a moral person, Jesus was far from perfect (indeed, his moral failings serve as useful proof of his humanity, rather than his divinity). Where these people like Rev. Robinson get off is that they claim that their immoral behaviour has divine justification. Now this is a big call; because both the divine justification and the immoral behaviour are subject to strident criticism.

Full legalisation for sex workers is only way the ppl who work will ever be given a full voice and coverage as far as legal and union rights are concerned. When australia decides to stop kicking the political football around and actually take action for the ppl in our communities that do work in the sex industry however is anyones guess.

I can see James site driving you insane very quickly. He has done so much.

I kind of go numb when ever i think tomuch about the suffering that must be going on after the tsunami. And yes it does not bode well for the long term if disease does take hold.
Very sad.

When australia decides to stop kicking the political football around and actually take action for the ppl in our communities that do work in the sex industry however is anyones guess.

It's state-by-state legislation.

I can see James site driving you insane very quickly. He has done so much.

I know, and being James he's not much of a writer (mind you he's damn good with hair). I'm having to write the content myself.

I kind of go numb when ever i think tomuch about the suffering that must be going on after the tsunami.

I'm waiting for an "economic rationalist" to suggest that it's their own fault, they should have taken out insurance..

Sure it is state by state legislation but who are all the other states waiting for the green light from. Our nations capital of course once that move is made then the rest have no excuse.

Well Joan Kirner did a lot of good work when she was premier. I hear that in WA things didn't quite work out the way the should have.

Basically, it's a politically difficult issue. Here in St Kilda, the residents and the workers are all in favour of a "tolerance zone" for street workers for example. Heck, there's one in practise as it is, and there has been for at least the last decade that I've either lived or visited this fine suburb..

But of course, actually try to raise the issue in a legal sense then the tabloid press go crazy. Sex sells, and "grubby sex" sells even better!

I'm waiting for an "economic rationalist" to suggest that it's their own fault, they should have taken out insurance..

Have Bush & co. managed to blame it on the terrorists yet?
Or
Have Bush & co. managed to claim it as punishment from God on the heathen terrorists?

Actually, I've read a conspiracy theory which is blaming HAARP.

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