Tag Archives | social issues

Animals shot in the wild

Animals are instantly killed for attacking people in the wild, recently 3 bear cubs. It’s unjust.

THERE have been several incidents of animals attacking humans recently. Several shark attacks; two incidents involving bears — one a polar bear attacking a young camper, and another bear and her cubs in Russia eating a young woman; there have been a spate of dog attacks; and elephants and tigers on rampages in India.

After most incidents the animals were shot dead. Even the bear cubs were shot for doing what their mum showed them to do.

I went into a state of grief over the shooting of the cubs and again with the polar bear, rare and precious as they now are. It’s not that I don’t feel profound grief for the parents of the children killed. As a mother of a teenager, my horror at the death of a child is unquestioned.

But where’s the justice? When people kill, they are given a fair trial. The judge hears about mitigating circumstances before a death sentence is pronounced. So let me argue for the animals. Continue Reading →

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Friendships have a use-by date

Cuba seriesHow it is that some relationships stand the test of time and others just don’t?

I RAN into an old friend the other day. It was a chance meeting. I consider this woman one of my true soul mates; someone I’ve shared so much with during the early days of my career. We have a similar sense of irony and humour, and see life through the same eyes.

We lost touch. The last time I had dinner with her was maybe two years ago. And yet the moment we sat down there was the same familiarity and comfort as if no years had gone by at all. We did the “OMG, what have you been doing?” thing for a while, and then reverted straight to the observations, laughter and social commentary that marked our friendship. I knew we would be friends to our death. Continue Reading →

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You can’t censor the Net

As I blogged last week Telstra and Optus are debating whether to enact their censorship filters this month and try to stop what they consider “undesirable content”.

While the big boys prevaricate, here’s what we humble internet users know: you can’t stop anything by trying to censor the web. My daughter found a site last week where tweenage girls post photos of themselves in pornographic poses. The blog has gone viral among teenage boys and found its way into our home via Facebook.

There seemed to be no commercial reason for the site. No pimping. Just another look-at- me, narcissistic blog-site, indicative of a generation of self-photographing girls. An amped-up version of Facebook which is full of pouting jailbait at the best of times. As a mother and feminist, I was pretty shattered. But its existence proves my point. It’s impossible to censor the Net, especially these days. Anyone can set up a site for free.

But far more importantly, once you censor one site, where do you draw the line? Racism, sexism… and then what? Anti Government sentiment, Erotica, art? And who’s to judge — certainly not the corporate world.

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And read my full opinion in Saturday’s The Australian

 

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Time Out

We all need time out. I’m off on a small holiday. Just a few days at a health retreat trying to shave a few inches of those thighs. Where do other people go for some R & R? I know friends who go away every other weekend – they drive to the country or stay with friends by the sea. Others who have money find places to fly to for the weekend and go away often.

Me I tend to go away on (very) extended breaks, often overseas, every year. But it often occurs to me that I’m almost dead before I get there. So I’ve decided to go on a refresher, good healthy food, lots of reading and a bit of exercise. But I am curious about other people. Do you make a habit of getting away on short holidays; and what sorts of ideas can you offer the workaholics who visit me here?

 

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7

Pet Friendly

Landlords continue to discriminate against pet owners. Often it becomes “the dog or the home”. Should bias be illegal?

 

I MET a woman recently who’d just moved to Sydney.

She’s a single mum with a dog, currently staying with friends while looking for a place to rent. I knew the drill as she started to tell her story. Her tired face said it all. I remember moving back to Sydney a few years ago and the nightmare I had trying to rent with two cats. I was always banished to the back of the queue.

“Friends said I should lie,” she admitted. “But he’s a sheep dog. How can I hide him? It has come down to a home or the dog,” she said, almost in tears.

I wonder why such discrimination is still possible, especially since landlords can take bonds to cover pet damage. Surely animals don’t do any more damage than young kids (or teenagers for that matter, after their drunken parties). Continue Reading →

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Nip and Tuck

Beauty comes from the inside, my mother told me. “Smiling is the best face lift,” she said. Wrong. I love my life. But smiling hasn’t taken the bags under my eyes overseas. Call me Judas for betraying my “natural ageing” beliefs, but I’m asking myself: To nip or not to nip. To betray one’s beliefs or look like a train wreck, the new computer or the new face? That is the question.

Share your views and experiences of cosmetic work and plastic surgery with me.

 

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