Interesting Links for 3-8-2011

[andrewducker]

• Ofcom says no to web-blocking - and some interesting stuff on copyright in the UK
  (tags: copyright web internet)
• Virgin wants to give free public wi-fi to London
  (tags: virgin wifi london)
• Swede detained for building nuclear reactor in his kitchen
  (tags: nuclear energy diy)
• Scientists Use LED Light Bulbs to Make 800Mbps Capable Wireless Network
  (tags: led network technology)
• On Rape Jokes
  (tags: Rape jokes)
• Birth Control Free for All (in the US, of course. Already free in civilised countries)
  (tags: contraception insurance usa)
• History is not a theme park for writers
  (tags: history scifi writing stories)
• What is history for?
  (tags: history academia KariSperring)
• Church claims that sex abuse inquiry is not needed - because they now know that child rape is not appropriate.
  (tags: Child_abuse catholic)
• Church child protection chief caught with 4,000 child porn pictures.
  (tags: Irony religion Child_abuse)
• Facebook will destroy your children's brains.
  (tags: facebook satire)
• Oxytocin - more complex than you might think
  (tags: oxytocin)
• The Problem With the word “Privilege.” (fascinating discussion beneath, too)
  (tags: privilege feminism language)
• New Statesman asks numerous atheists why they don't believe in God.
  (tags: atheism religion god)

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

You know, out of all the sick jokes I've ever heard, I don't think I've ever heard a rape joke.

Can't help but laugh at the Church child protection chief though, I had a huge argument a few years ago with a friend of a friend about the catholic church and child sex abuse, and why I was so very angry with Catholics for continuing to support their church. With all the stuff that's come out recently, and that statement by the Irish PM where he condemned it, I'm semi tempted to hunt that person down again and see if they still 100% stand behind their church.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

Well, doesn't it depend on what you define as a "rape joke" - I mean I've never heard anyone tell a joke about a woman getting dragged into an alley and raped, but there are certainly many popular jokes that get told in pubs that enter into areas of non-consent.

Any variation of The Aristocrats Joke for example and any description of the sexual act known as "Spiderman" or "The Chocolate Bronco" would come under that heading and I've heard all three while joking around with people at bars in my time.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Ah, of course, the Aristocrats joke. I'd forgotten about that.

Saw a fascinating documentary once on the history of that joke.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

That documentary is awesome - but nearly every variation of the joke in there involves rape to one degree or another, even the version told by Sarah Silverman.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Dana Perino, also speaking on Fox News, said that "if you can afford a $5 frappucino at Starbucks, you can pay your $5 co-pay."

Wow, Fox News can even try to make "people who can't afford to drink starbucks frappucinos aren't people" sound like a reasonable talking point :(

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Could the Aristocrats joke by the one exception, where rape in a joke is acceptable. Just because... this is why the Aristocrats joke exists. Hrmm. He said. Thoughtfully.

[yalovetz]

I'm a bit baffled that so many atheists give reasons to justify the fact that they don't believe in God. For me, there's no particular reason - I just don't. I simply can't assent to the proposition that God exists. Maybe if there were evidence for God then that would form a reason for me to assent to such a proposition, but the absence of such evidence isn't the reason I don't assent to it now. If anything, the reason I don't assent is probably because of how I was brought up and the beliefs I was taught.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

What if it involves a dead baby in some way?

[andrewducker]

Depends on the percentage of your target audience will be upset by you talking about dead babies :->

(I think the post boils down to "Know your audience, and be aware that you might be upsetting them." - there are numerous jokes I'd tell in person that I wouldn't broadcast online.)

[andrewducker]

I thought some of the responses boiled down to that "I don't believe in God for the same reasons I don't believe in leprechauns, there's no evidence that tells me I should."

But yes, some of them got more complex than they needed to.

[spacelem.livejournal.com]

You can go from a position of "I just don't believe" to "I believe that there isn't a god". It's subtle, but it's something that gets flinged at atheists quite frequently (the old "but atheism is just another religion" line), and it can be annoying. I assume that people want to qualify their exact position there.

Personally, I don't belive for pretty much the same reasons you do. Not through evidence or lack thereof (although it doesn't hurt), but just because I have no sense that compels me to believe in something.

I realise that's a sloppy argument, but maybe it helps.

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

Whenever I was asked "what is history for?", the answer I gave was that it is a record of what worked and what didn't work... so it can be a serious time-saver (and therefor money-saver) when looking for solutions to problems.

-- Steve then often ended up busting out the Santayana quote about being doomed to repeat it.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I love the fact that the Swedish chap thought that building the steam turbine would have been beyond him.

[cyprinella]

That was exactly what I took away from that too. And fuck, I wish my copays for birth control on my last insurance plan has been $5. Try $60, and they didn't cover the cost of my IUD at all.

[ajr.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever heard a rape joke.

One of the classic joke pickup lines is "Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?" And, if you think it through, clearly counts as a rape joke.

I'm pretty sure Frankie Boyle has done rape jokes a number of times, though I can't recall specific examples (there's one at the edge of my memory, but it won't come).

Then there's the infamous Penny Arcade strip which pulled down a shitstorm of controversy on the guys. And going back further than that strip, there's the character of the Fruit Fucker 2000, another form of rape joke.

If you've not heard any of those jokes, then, fair enough. :)

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

I've probably heard a Frankie Boyle rape joke, I watched a lot of Mock the Week, and you're right, he must have made rape jokes on there. Even though I can't recall any either. Although the wiki page has an article about his most controversial jokes, and none of them are rape related.

(I still don't know why the joke about the Queen got him in so much trouble.)

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

That article on the word privilege is making me dance around with glee.

[andrewducker]

Yay! I was worried it was going to kick off a minor war, and was slightly surprised I didn't get any comments at all...

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

I had a near miss when I reposted it in FB, and I'm sure several people I know are quitely biting their tongues rather than responding to me. But it was so worth it. DAMN that was validating to read.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I felt the same way :->

(And I just read your FB entry - you handled things very well)