My Goodness…Where to start?

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Do I start with Cameron’s announcement about the opt-in filter for porn at the ISP level?

Because I hate censorship. Of any kind. Anywhere. I am an adult. I am perfectly capable of deciding if I want to view porn or not. I am perfectly capable of keeping my son safe from things he is too young to understand.

My husband argues that censorship is already alive and well at the ISP and cellular data level. He’s not wrong. ISP’s can, and do, block peer to peer download sites. Mobile networks make you opt-in to view porn on 3/4G.

Do I hate that? Of course I do. However, the first instance has to do with legality. While the sites are not themselves illegal, the action of sharing copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal. Porn is not illegal.

The second instance is, I am fairly sure, a bandwidth issue. Unlike YouTube and similar video/picture heavy sites, most porn sites have no restriction on file size, video length or resolution. That can clog the mobile network very quickly, so they ask you to opt-in in order to, I am sure, get you to not use the network in that way.

I have to agree with the legal issue, especially as someone who holds copyrights and creates art. I don’t want others sharing my work without my knowledge or permission.

I don’t agree with the mobile broadband restriction, but have never bothered to opt-in. I may, though.

Because I will certainly opt-in at home, as soon as I am made to choose. Don’t tell me what I can and cannot view in my home. That way lies China and Nazi Germany.

Twitter

The Twitter Logo. Just because everyone says I need more pictures.

From: The Branding Source

In other ‘fuck now what?’ news, is the Twitter abuse button.

Let me start this bit by stating that what those Tweets said to Caroline Criado-Perez about a women on a banknote was appalling. To threaten someone, in public, over anything, is disgusting, horrible behaviour and I’m glad they caught the guy and are prosecuting him.

But.

But that only worked because he’s in the UK. That only worked because he was too stupid to take 3 seconds to set up a fake Twitter account to spread his hate. That only worked because he broke the law where he lived.

What if he lived in Ghana? Or Germany? Or Russia? Or even America? Would any of those governments have done anything to help put him in jail? Should they?

Twitter has announced they will add a ‘report abuse’ button to everyone’s home page. Raise your hand if you ever look at your Twitter homepage…

Most people I know use TweetDeck, which is a Twitter product, or Hootsuite or similar. I use both. I never go to my Twitter homepage except in extraordinary circumstances. Even if I did, who is going to answer the call if I click ‘report abuse’?

Twitter gets between 400 and 500m posts a day. What if even 1% of them are reported as abusive? The staff required is mind boggling.

So what’s the answer?

Fuck if I know.

I Am Back From Holiday

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It was awesome.

I have a deadline for a client this week, but then I’ll be letting y’all know what I think about Cameron’s Porn Filter.

I hate censorship. What do you think the post is going to say?

I am off on holiday…

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for the next 3 weeks.

So unless something really incredible happens, I doubt I’ll be blogging.

I’ll see you in August.

I Am Stuck…

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I have something I want to say. I’m not sure I should say it.

That makes a lot of people snigger. They seem to think I am never at a loss for words and/or say everything that comes into my head.

That’s not true.

Is your mind now boggling as to what I may actually be keeping to myself?

Good.

I Realized I Have More To Say

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About the links I posted yesterday.

People ask me if I would ever move back to America to live permanently. The answer is: probably not.

Why?

Well, because the place is terrifying. It’s flow from conservative to liberal and back again with no middle ground and very little notice scares the shit out of me.

Living in Northern Ireland is steady. We are a conservative, Christian country where people still throw petrol bombs.

Yeah. It can be physically scary. But politically? It’s going nowhere.

Abortion is illegal. It always will be.

We had to put my son’s religion on his school application, even though his school is integrated and we don’t, technically, have a religion. That field on the app will never disappear.

Northern Ireland isn’t going to suddenly become non-sectarian. It will matter, for centuries, if not forever, what religion you are, even if you have friends on both sides of the Peace Line. People care.

What Wendy Davis did was amazing. She stood up to the rich white majority of probably the richest whitest state in the union. And she won. And she continues to win as the Governer fires silos of hate at her.

Something similar will never happen here. Not in my lifetime. Not in my son’s. Even though we do have female politicians.

And as much as I hate a lot of stuff here, as much as it goes against my feminist ideals and my own wants and needs, it’s sort of comforting. The lack of change, the knowledge that it will always matter what religion you are or in what part of Belfast you live.

I hate change. And I’ve found the perfect country to live in to never have to worry about things changing.

This all probably sounds defeated and cynical and probably a cop out.

It all probably is.

Feel free to prove me wrong Northern Ireland. I’d be happy to eat my words.

But I am still not moving back to the US any time soon.

That place terrifies me.

What A Month, eh?

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SCOTUS kills some voting rights.

SCOTUS upholds some equality rights.

A state Senator kicks some Texas white boy ass.

Petrol bombs are thrown in Belfast, right along with the PM saying how peaceful we are.

I wonder what July will be like?

 

I Need Feminism Because…

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That’s the phrase of the hour. Day. Week. Month. Year.

There have been two news reports this week regarding feminism and that phrase. One has been incredibly positive and one that has been incredibly negative.

The second one terrifies me and makes me a bit ill. Mostly because of the school’s response. It should have been ‘Find out who those boys are and get them to stop and give them some sort of sanction’. It should not have been ‘Take your pictures down. You’re getting what you deserve.’

Victim blaming, in other words. From a girls school. To girls who are trying to make the world a bit better for themselves and everyone else.

So tired of the apologists. The victim blamers. The ignorant.

It’s like we’ve gone back in time to the early 1900s. I just checked. It’s still 2013.

A black man is President of the United States. A gay man just became the Mayor of a town here in Northern Ireland.

But women are still blamed for wearing short skirts and having a drink if they are raped.

Women are still fighting for control of their own bodies.

Women are still second class citizens in first world countries. Or less than second class.

Women are still paid less for the same work, called bitches when men would be called strong, expected to never age and not speak up. Ever.

Is this the world to raise our children in?

Is the world my own mother fought to create?

No.

So what are we doing about it?

Personally I am blogging and Tweeting and reading. I’m thinking and speaking.

I will not be quiet.

I will not be silenced.

Power to the women…

Dear:

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Nigella Lawson: If you haven’t already left? Leave. Pack a bag and get out. He’ll only get worse. Protect yourself. If he does that in public, was does he already do in private? Please. Get out.

Christina Odone: Just shut the fuck up. I am ashamed that we are both women. Any woman who sits there and tells another woman who has been attacked in public to make up and eat a fucking mars bar is not a woman I want to share the title with. Ever. You are stupid. And so is your article on the matter. To which I shall not link because I don’t want to give you any hits.

Every Other Person Who Is Victim Blaming Anyone: Shut up.

 

An American President In Belfast

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So this week, as you’ll know unless you’ve been living under a rock, is G8. When the 8 big leaders come together.

This year they come together in Northern Ireland, at Lough Erne in Enniskillen.

And to kick it off, President Obama gave a speech here in Belfast today.

I could go into a massive rant here about what that did to the city but it did what it does to any city he visits. It shut us down.

Still. It was nice to have him.

And his speech?

He rocked the Waterfront Hall.

Not just because he said ‘What’s the craic’ to 1,800 school children, making them cheer. He’s always been very with it, what with fist bumping Mrs O all the time and such.

But because he made the speech that only he could ever make.

He, not only as The President of the United States, but as the first black President of the United States.

A speech about acceptance and unity and ending conflict.

A speech about America’s past and Northern Ireland’s future.

All we can hope is that the people in the audience who still have open minds about this, the ones in school uniforms, were listening and listening well. Based on this BBC piece, they were.

This is a good thing. Because at this point? Their elders have stopped.

 

Letter to my Son – Adam – Four Years Old*

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Dear Adam

Four. Years. Old.

Holy. Cow.

Where is the time going? Just yesterday you needed me all the time. To eat, to dress, to sleep.

Now, every day, you need me a little less.

Oh you still need me. For one thing, you are not getting the potty very well yet. So you need a lot of cleaning.

And you can’t exactly cook. But you certainly feed yourself.

And you’re starting school. In preschool right now, but gearing up for P1 in September. And you are rapidly learning your numbers and letters.

We had your ‘meet and greet our new friends and teacher’ day at school last week. You headed right in without a backwards glance. Not even a wave.

I expect you’ll do the same in September.

There have been some issues with you and social interaction and communication. The word autism has been used. But we have decided to not get your diagnosed yet. You are being assessed for extra help in the classroom, which hopefully you’ll get.

You have two best friends at school now, who you do everything with, L and C. They will both be in P1 with you, so that’ll be fun!

Your very first birthday party was this past Saturday. It was so much fun watching you with your friends in our back garden. Maybe we’ll do it again next year.

Keep growing my son.

Love

Mummy

*I did say there would be an occasional personal post. 😀