May 2012
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Non Western economies as wild animals
I just got an email advertising the conference “Africa Works”. The first sentence in their website illustrates the premise behind the event:
Africa in the 21th century has already proven to be the source of endless possibilities and trends. In the first decade of the 21st century, the perception of Africa has changed dramatically from being the ‘hopeless continent’ to being a...
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“Too radical for Dutch media”
And “unpublishable”. Those were the words of two editors from two separate major media outlets in The Netherlands in response to something I co-wrote about racism in this country, as a social ecosystem (leaving out incriminating details to protect the innocent). And to think we had even tried to simplify our ideas to make them more accessible for a general audience.
Maybe this should now be my...
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The nature of Tumblr and insidious changes in...
My Tumblr posts are not always very well thought out (well, not that my non Tumblr posts are, but that’s another topic altogether). I sometimes respond to comments on the fly and don’t necessarily flesh out style or proper paragraph breaks. My Tumblr posts sometimes contain typos or kinda broken grammar (especially if I am working with sources in a language other than English and...
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Mi dislike of Damien Hirst is well documented
I read this Guardian review of his latest exhibition in London and all I have is a visual recreation of my reaction:
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“Several dozen masked individuals attacked the first sanctioned gay demonstration...”
– Attack on Gays in St. Petersburg Spreads to Migrant Workers | Society | RIA Novosti
From the article:
Police moved quickly and placed all the gays on a bus, which then drove off.
The frustrated homophobes attacked another bus stopped at a traffic light that they mistook for the departed vehicle....
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14kgoldnyc replied to your photo: I am out of Smints and this is a disgrace. Also,…
Are these like Altoids?
Kinda in that they are small minty lozenges. I prefer them to Altoids though because the flavor is slightly less intense.
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iamthecrime replied to your video: Just a reminder: tonight is the first Eurovision…
Plus there’s this matter: humanrightswatch.tumblr…
True. However, I am kind of exhausted with Europe presenting itself as a beacon of freedom and consequently, Europeans “boycotting” stuff to feel good about “doing something”. My contempt over this stems from the fact that the EU...
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See what I mean about the internet?
Point out that there are deep rooted racist depiction in porn that are hardly ever addressed by sex positive feminists, be told to STAY AWAY FROM MY SEXUALITY!!!@@@###$!!!!!
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Not feeling "teh internet"
Had to take time off because I had to lead a workshop this past Saturday (it went great, and I was surprised at how crowded it was) but now I feel meh. It’s like going back to a job you dislike after a vacation. I suppose I am mostly put off by trivial infighting, the endless loop of call out culture (did anyone ever change their ways by being called out? No, I am not asking, just wondering...
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My absolutely favorite Avengers moment
I didn’t write anything about Avengers since I saw it a week ago, but whatever, this is timeless and not bound by “date of exposure”. So, under the cut so as not to spoil it for those who might not have seen it yet.
[[MORE]]
My absolute favorite moment is when Loki tells Hulk that he is an “inferior creature” and the Hulk gives the only possible response: SMASH.
I...
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“Archaeologists Find Mayan Calendar Reaching Well beyond 2012”
– NewsRoomAmerica.com
Uh oh, that’s the collective roar of every New Age-y type who was awaiting doomsday. I wonder if they had already began stockpiling incense and crystals to avoid End of Days looting for their daily needs.
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Tiger Beatdown: Missing intersectionality in sex... →
CONTENT WARNING: THE PIECE AT THE LINK DISCUSSES RACIST SEXUAL VIOLENCE.
The last time I wrote a critique of porn, some people left comments saying I had no business criticizing the stuff because “they liked it” and being sex positive meant that if you like something, it is not OK to challenge it. Ever since, I’ve been thinking a lot about those comments, specifically because of...
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Argentina makes sex-change surgery a legal right
I woke up to this and you know, I did a little dance. Since this happened a few hours ago, in the middle of the night of most of Europe and the US, mainstream media hasn’t yet picked on it much. From San Jose Mercury News:
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Adults who want sex-change surgery or hormone therapy in Argentina will be able to get it as part of their public or private health care plans...
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The lord is testing me
Moments like this I wish I had a folder with GIFs to illustrate my facial expression.
Someone on Twitter is trying to argue with me that racism and sexism are not really connected and they are two separate issues.
And it is taking all my might not to break into full sudaca rage and scream “THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE FOR YOU BUT IT CERTAINLY ISN’T FOR ME, YOU IGNORAMUS”.
Instead, I...
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“One of the favourites to win [British show] The Voice has become the victim of...”
– Internet trolls in race attack on Voice star: Police called in after show favourite faces torrent of vile abuse on Twitter | Mail Online
From the article (I am purposefully leaving out the transcription of the racist insults and those related to her appearance, though):
She has now spoken out...
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OMG Opera dude is now inside my abode
Remember the painter that was working on the hallway yesterday? He just knocked the door because he also needs to paint the outside frame of all apartment doors and for that, he (rightfully) prefers to have it open so that he can access the whole thing. He is now treating me to a whistled (and hummed) version of “Oh mio bambino caro”. I would ask him to sing something but I don’t...
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Global Comment: “Vague Crimes”: Dominique Strauss... →
Next week, it’ll be a year since the initial rape accusations against Dominique Strauss Kahn, at the Sofitel Hotel in New York broke into mainstream media. Ever since, I have written enough for a small book about his deeds and further allegations of abuse. Now, if only he granted me an interview, my work about him would be done (I guess I can only dream, no?). Or, you know, it’d be...
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They are painting the hallway
And one of the guys working has been singing opera since 7 AM. He also whistles the instrumental parts. To be honest, he is not half as bad and I am amazed by the depth of his register and how well he can keep a tune. The only downside is that I had the set alarm for 7:30. But you know, minor inconvenience.
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Socialist candidate Francois Hollande won the...
And yet, I am highly skeptical of anything meaningful or valuable coming out of this. Why you may ask? Because this is the same Socialist Party that wanted Dominique Strauss Kahn for a candidate and lamented his “sex scandals” (i.e. multiple accusations of rape, harassment and abusive behavior) that prevented him from becoming the Party’s presidential runner. Also, DSK and...
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“The Latest DSK Accusations Are More Shocking Than Anything We’ve Heard...”
– Not going to include a quote because of graphic details of an alleged gang rape of which Dominique Strauss Kahn stands now accused.
Read at the link and then contrast and compare with France’s elimination of “sexual harassment” from the law earlier today. (and no, when I wrote...
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Racialicious: Racialicious Crush Of The Week:... →
racialicious:
If you haven’t seen this incredible Tumblrite on your dash, then I’m guessing you’re new around these parts or you just haven’t been properly introduced or the folks you do follow just don’t follow her.
Read ALL OF IT at the link!
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The fuck am I reading here?
So many spectacular troll checkboxes! “reverse racism”, “FREE SPEECH!”, “I ONLY SPEAK TRUTH!” “I AM NOTHING BUT A VICTIM!”
What is this? What is life? What is air? Someone has a lot of free time on their hands.
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Remember Jezebel’s “American guy in Paris freed from the idea of consent”? It looks it was prophetic. Now indeed, “consent is different in France”.
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And you know, about the legality of sexual...
DSK was explicit in his disdain for WoC and minorities, so I don’t need to tell you who is fair game now, without consequences.
Also, trans people? No legal protections now. Free for all.
Lesbian and queer women? Back to the closet for you because we know there will be consequences.
Sex workers? You better hide because now, no legal protection, no matter how flimsy for you.
Ugh, I could...
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Party at Dominique Strauss Kahn's tonight!
France eliminated sexual harassment from the penal code. From the article, in French (translation mine):
The Constitutional Council decided on Friday the immediate repeal of the law on sexual harassment that was considered too vague, effectively creating a loophole called catastrophic by feminist organizations. Today, all pending proceedings for sexual harassment have been canceled.
For an...
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hgavin replied to your post: Deliberate choice of images
I just read “How We Chose The Name Of Our Multi-Cultural Child” and it was awful, too.
I am not surprised. I had to close the site after seeing and documenting their choice of image because I was just too upset. But yeah, they seem to have a certain editorial direction, don’t they?
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Deliberate choice of images
There is this site, Role/ Reboot, where both Clarisse Thorn and Hugo Schwyzer write regularly. The site is supposedly devoted to issues of gender and sexuality. I don’t check it often but every now and then I see a link to it and click. This was the main page today when I checked it out.
I was all oh, finally they have brought some diversity to the site? Is this a young Black woman...
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“Bjork is exceptional and I keep wishing she’d do a duet with Bono or U2.”
– Someone on my FB timeline… unironically.
Now, imagine the degree of pretension in said duet. We would have to invent new words to critique that stuff because the ones we already have wouldn’t convey the smugness and “OUR COMBINED EGOS CANNOT FIT IN THIS PLANET” attitude.
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Dear Internet
It is OK not to have an opinion about certain topics. It is OK to say “I do not have enough information or knowledge of this subject to have an informed opinion”. It is totally acceptable to not say anything on those occasions when people are discussing issues you might have never been exposed to before or have no experience with. Just because the option of leaving a comment is...
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“Actress/musician Zooey Deschanel recently launched a female-oriented website,...”
– Zooey Deschanel Launches New Website for Women
I am ugly laughing.
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“Argentina received support across Latin America and the Caribbean today to...”
– Argentina elected to represent Latin America at UN Security Summit - BuenosAiresHerald.com
Also, from the article:
“The Republic of Argentina is committed to representing all of the relevant topics for the region and the Security Summit and its voice will be the voice of the people,” the...
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Tiger Beatdown: Remembering the dead: what have we... →
I wrote about current affairs in Europe in view of this week’s commemoration of the end of WWII. From the post intro:
This week, Europe commemorates the end of World War II, the event that marks a breaking point in contemporary history, the event that faced us with this reminder of humanity’s capability for evil. I don’t need to re-visit the significance of this war or the importance of...
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Stuff I blame the internet for
If I don’t like something (say, a musician or a writer, or a TV show), I need to clarify that “I don’t hate them” because we live in this culture where matters of personal taste are not just that, they are reason enough to preface said preferences by announcing “I HATE X”. Alternatively, hearing that someone “HATES X” is reason enough to hate them...
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“Tumblr is on the cusp of doing something quite incredible. Google searches...”
– ‘Tumblr’ Poised to Overtake ‘Blog’ on Google Searches
April 2012
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“On Racialicious, Carmen Van Kerckhove dubbed hipster racism one of 2006’s...”
– Gawker Calls Out Hipster Racism, Is Called Out for Hipster Racism | Bitch Media
Should we now also have “hipster appropriation” for those times when the works of WoC are appropriated without reference?