wtf

Just spent a rather creepy fifteen minutes looking for a friendship pin for teh mom-in-law (Australian and US flags together). What is it with badge/button/pin shops online flogging Nazi emblems?!

(no subject)

Huge disappointment and anger over the passing of Prop 8 is understandable, but the blamestorming in some quarters is disgraceful. It was the Mormons! It was the Blacks! As though there are no gay Mormons, as though there are no gay Blacks; as though Mormons didn't fight Prop 8, as though Blacks didn't fight Prop 8 - alongside people of all races, religions, and politics.

Here's what the No On Prop 8 campaign has to say:

"We achieve nothing if we isolate the people who did not stand with us in this fight. We only further divide our state if we attempt to blame people of faith, African American voters, rural communities and others for this loss. We know people of all faiths, races and backgrounds stand with us in our fight to end discrimination, and will continue to do so. Now more than ever it is critical that we work together and respect our differences that make us a diverse and unique society. Only with that understanding will we achieve justice and equality for all."

(To be fair, "Mormons Stole Our Rights" has two good points: it at least acknowledges that gay Mormons exist; and the rather clever idea of challenging the church's tax exempt status on the grounds that its primary activity is lobbying.)

(no subject)

Lots of refugee news lately, of which more shortly, but first I wanted to quote you a para from the latest Refugee Council of Australia newsletter:

Statistics fail to justify media obsession with boat arrivals

It was ironic that, while representatives of UNHCR, governments and NGOs were at the UNHCR ExCom meeting discussing the forced displacement of millions of people, the Australian media were giving great prominence to the recent arrival in Australian waters of two boatloads carrying 31 asylum seekers. By any measure, the number of people of arriving in Australia by boat to seek asylum is tiny. UNHCR reports that, at the end of 2007, there were 739,986 asylum seekers around the world with claims still pending. Australia had just 1516 people in this category (0.2% of the global total). During 2007, 468,597 asylum seekers were granted refugee status. Of these people, 1702 (or 0.4%) were granted protection in Australia. Of the relatively small numbers of people who seek asylum in Australia, the great majority arrive by air, generally with a valid short-term visa of some description, and have their protection visa application assessed with no public fanfare. Asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat currently make up fewer than 0.01% of the world's asylum seekers.