http://www.minke.tv/blog/ ]]> en-us 2012-02-06T14:30:10+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2012_02.html#003198 From the Department of I'm Sorry, What?, a quote from the Guardian: In an 11-page document setting out a provisional defence for a case that could affect the position of hundreds of thousands of jobseekers in a similar position, the DWP has argued that having benefits docked does not equate to forcing the unemployed to work. "Where a person is required to perform a task and, if he or she does not do so, loses benefit, that is not forcing a person to work."... mia 2012-02-06T14:30:10+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2012_01.html#003197 In which Lucy Mangan reveals the emperor's new clothes: only in a closed environment and entirely self-validating community can the existence of George Osborne et al ever make true sense, even to them. Outside, there is always a good chance that someone is going to point a quivering finger and cry disbelievingly, "You!? You??!?? Chancellor of the exchequer of a G8 country? You?!?" or cause an incredulous and dangerously disconcerted crowd to gather round David Cameron - perhaps out on one of his date nights with Sam - by shouting, "They made you PM? But... but... but... I thought all... london mia 2012-01-29T14:22:12+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2012_01.html#003196 Written because 'Duke University Press ends its influential Series Q this month', Queer and Then? is well worth a read to see how far society, and theory, has come (and what we risk losing still), but also particularly for this 'anonymous, photocopied broadside' from 1992, written by Zoe Leonard, 'a member of Fierce Pussy, a lesbian feminist group with roots in Act Up': I want a dyke for president. I want a person with aids for president and I want a fag for vice president and I want someone with no health insurance and I want someone who grew up... mia 2012-01-05T17:18:53+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2011_05.html#003195 There is a significant moment when one of the mass of dancers, a woman, notices the camera, and stares, horrified, straight into the intrusive lens. Suddenly, there are intimations of another London, of the coming surveillance society. The future is visible in that one brief shot, the shocking realisation that an unguarded, intimate occasion can be recorded, catalogued, exploited in some way over which the involuntary actor will have no control. From The Festival of Britain, 60 years on. (Yes, it's been ages since I posted - life has gotten in the way of many things).... mia 2011-05-24T11:32:00+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2011_01.html#003194 Imagine having to write this when you should be left to grieve: ''Jo's life was cut short tragically but the finger-pointing and character assassination by social and news media of as yet innocent men has been shameful. ''It has made me lose a lot of faith in the morality of the British Press and those that spend their time fixed to the internet in this modern age. ''I hope in the future they will show a more sensitive and impartial view to those involved in such heart-breaking events and especially in the lead-up to potentially high-profile court cases. Source: Full... mia 2011-01-05T22:21:57+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_11.html#003193 Really interesting piece in Jezebel about The Problem With Being "Sexy But Not Sexual": Paris Hilton's remarkably perceptive remark about herself that she was "sexy, but not sexual." ... Young women with the Paris Paradox were raised in a culture that promised sexual freedom, but what they ended up with looked a lot more like obligation than opportunity. ... Not every young girl experiences herself as an object of desire. But virtually every young girl is aware that young women are "supposed" to be desired. Unprecedented opportunities to compete on an equal playing field educationally, socially and financially with men... 'feminist' is not a rude word mia 2010-11-12T16:46:57+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_10.html#003192 This article is full of lots of examples of protests working, even if the results weren't obvious at the time. The most important lesson seems to be that it's important just to make a start, even if it's small and feels feeble. As it says, "Protest raises the political price for governments making bad decisions". Johann Hari: Protest works. Just look at the proof: protest can have an invisible ripple-effect that lasts for generations. A small group of women from Iowa lost their sons early in the Vietnam war, and they decided to set up an organization of mothers opposing... mia 2010-10-30T13:13:49+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_10.html#003191 Don't trust those 'back scatter' scanners that effectively show you naked? Might be hard to choose the pat-down option... From For the First Time, the TSA Meets Resistance: everal TSA officers heard me choose the pat-down, and they reacted in a way meant to make the ordinary passenger feel very badly about his decision. One officer said to a colleague who was obviously going to be assigned to me, "Get new gloves, man, you're going to need them where you're going." ... the effectiveness of pat-downs does not matter very much, because the obvious goal of the TSA is to... travel mia 2010-10-30T12:54:12+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_09.html#003190 In the Guardian today - Why more and more straight women are fantasising about lesbians claims "the image of the gay woman is finally going mainstream. Britain, therefore, is duly amending its fantasies". Once I'd started to rant it was too long for a tweet, so here goes: No longer do lesbians just exist in the minds of the Nuts reader [phew, because that made life really complicated - I don't know how lesbians survived when they only existed in the mind of other queer women], but in the real-life world of pap shots, society pages and telly ... Their... 'feminist' is not a rude word mia 2010-09-26T12:32:42+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_08.html#003189 From The Age, The genius of the Australian people The leaders would not lead - so the voters would not elect. ... In an election of policy nothingness, the voters returned the nothingness... Ms Gillard said it's hard to understand what the Australian people said when they spoke on Saturday. I disagree. The message was clear: neither of you are good enough. ... It will take time to sink in, but the major parties will have to seriously rethink what they are up to by the time the next election comes around. This outcome is the best Australia could have... melbourne mia 2010-08-23T22:51:26+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_08.html#003188 It sucks because it's true... "The debate on same-sex marriage is being led by right-wing Christian lobby groups who have dominated politics for way too long and have been holding Australia back" Danby talks up prospect of gay marriage, then retreats... mia 2010-08-12T12:42:41+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_06.html#003187 ...is that you can't have a moment of disillusionment when you realise the politician you had such high hopes for is actually a selfish, avaricious, jealous, ambitious fool, just like the rest of them.... london mia 2010-06-14T22:32:28+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_04.html#003186 If you're a UK voter and aren't sure how to vote, try Vote for policies. I already had a feeling about how I was going to vote and it's just confirmed it for me. After the Digital Economy bill passed a third 'reading' last night and through the House of Lords today, my vote isn't going to be Labour. In particular, it isn't going to be Meg Hillier. I'm not a one-issue person, and I've kept a vague eye on the voting habits of my MP since I moved to the UK, so her vote for the digital economy bill... london mia 2010-04-08T23:14:55+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_04.html#003185 Consider signing up to the Fawcett Society's 'What About Women' campaign. As they say, "Worried about parental leave? Think the rape conviction rate's a scandal? Whether you have a minute, an hour or a day, you can add your voice to the What About Women campaign." The What About Women campaign is calling on politicians to take women seriously in drawing up their election policies. The Fawcett Society is coordinating a movement to get women up the political agenda - we want thousands of women to sign up so we can get politicians to give us some proof they are... 'feminist' is not a rude word mia 2010-04-02T16:56:04+00:00 http://www.minke.tv/blog/archives/2010_03.html#003184 I realised I hadn't posted since January - I'm still here, just really, boringly, busy. Normal-ish life will resume around June, with any luck just in time for the English 'summer'.... mia 2010-03-20T14:11:25+00:00