Category Archives: Media

Newsnanny knows best

June 25, 2008 – 11:31 pm

John Quiggin has a useful wrap-up on David Burchell’s peculiar piece of newsnannyism in the Oz. David and his fellow journalists are clearly the nannies, and clearly it’s their job to look after the news. No-one else gets a look in, presumably because we’re, ahem, not worthy. Burchell buckets all and sundry, albeit obliquely, while [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Blogging, Law | Comments (17)

A new way of policing “doof-doof”

June 17, 2008 – 8:20 pm

When my husband and I first moved in together, we lived in a set of terrace houses. We’d lived there about two years when new tenants moved in two doors down. The new tenants were Columbian exchange students, and I don’t think they took their studies seriously. What they did take seriously was partying hard [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in England, Fark!, Intellectual property, Law, Music, Personal liberty, Society | Comments (4)

What we call ‘the news’

June 9, 2008 – 6:50 am

This post from Nick at Club Troppo and this one from Mark at Larvatus Prodeo made me think of the funny below. Somehow, I don’t think there’s any going back.

What We Call the News | Funny Jokes at JibJab

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Technology | Comments (2)

Human rights and criticising Islam

June 7, 2008 – 12:20 am

I’ve been following the case brought by the Ontario-based Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) against Mark Steyn in the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. And as per Pete M’s request, I’m writing a post on it (in the middle of the night because I’m an insomniac). Perhaps, as per John Hasenkam’s comment in response to Pete, [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Free Speech, Human/Civil rights, Law, Personal liberty, Politics, Racism, Religion, Society | Comments (31)

Hysteria over obesity

May 31, 2008 – 11:20 pm

Before winter set in here in Melbourne, I picked up my daughter from creche.
The carer said, “She didn’t eat any lunch, but she ate all the afternoon tea, which was nachos.”
I was curious. “What was lunch?” I asked.
The carer sighed. “Salad,” she said. I gave her a wry look.
“Yes,” she said, interpreting my wry look [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Feminism, General, Motherhood, Popular culture | Comments (14)

Why, oh why? Juries and the reasons for their decisions

March 11, 2008 – 11:11 pm

It’s easy to be an armchair judge or jury member. I must admit that I was surprised when I read that Thomas Towle was found not guilty of six counts of culpable driving causing death. Instead, the jurors found him guilty of dangerous driving causing death, which is a lesser offence carrying a lesser sentence.
In [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Law | Comments (9)

Bloody Hell, the Bulletin is gone

January 24, 2008 – 9:51 pm

Just hopped over to LP to discover the Bully - an Australian institution of a type - has folded. Currently the internet is being blamed, but other magazines have been able to come through the internet and thrive. What gives?

By skepticlawyer | Comments (8)

Getting it wrong. Twice.

January 17, 2008 – 11:22 am

I’m not giving big ups to The Oxford Story, one of this town’s cheezier attractions (or erstwhile attractions, it’s gone tits up, as the website reveals). That said, this piece of deep-as-a-pat-of-butter travel journalism makes The Oxford Story look positively stellar.
The terribly instructive video presentation enlightens us as to what the Oxford student lifestyle is [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Society | Comments (12)

Monkey business no laughing matter

January 11, 2008 – 5:25 pm

This rather offensive picture comes from Josiah Clark Nott and George Robert Gliddon, Indigenous races of the earth (First published 1857). It illustrates scientific theories of racism in the 19th century, which continued into the early 20th century. Essentially, the theory is that Aryan “races” are superior in evolutionary terms to Black “races”, and that [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Cricket, History, Racism, Society | Comments (6)

Waxing lyrical

January 8, 2008 – 11:01 am

Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, but I’ve never understood the appeal of the Brazilian wax. In fact, I’m a bit disturbed by the thought that there might be guys out there who prefer women to be hairless. Do these guys like to imagine that the woman is very young? Erk.
There is a piece in The Age today [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Children, Feminism, Motherhood, Sex | Comments (15)