Issues news

Not Megan - Julie Gale, founder of "Kids Free 2B Kids", a not-for-profit organisation of Australians "concerned about the increasing sexualisation of kids in the media, advertising, and clothing industries".

You may remember the fallout after The Australia Institute published a report in 2006 titled "Letting Children Be Children: Stopping the sexualisation of children in Australia". A number of major retailers were accused of intentionally sexualising children - girls in particular - as young as 10 in their advertising material. (Having primary schoolers look all pouty and seductive while they modelled kids clothes made for better sales.) The folks at David Jones were especially unhappy about being accused of "corporate paedophilia" and sued the institute. The move backfired and DJs dropped the lawsuit after realising that all it was really doing was generating more news stories linking the David Jones brand with paedophilia.

At the time, DJs insisted they never "knowingly cause the publication of material which can be used by paedophiles for their s-xual gratification." But Gale didn't buy it - she dug further, using Freedom of Information laws to obtain documents relating to one of their kidswear ad shoots. After much to-ing and fro-ing and initial attempts to withold the stuff she was really after, her hard work has finally paid off.

The David Jones/Saatchi & Saatchi brief for the shoot in question states that "The age is from 10 to 12 years so slightly more adult and sexy." A freelance photographer has been cited as the author (read: scapegoat) of the memo.

Read all about it at Crikey.

I recently read Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. If you've read it, you'll understand how unsettling the premise is. A post-apocalyptic world where 'society' is obssessed with genetic engineering and the creation of transgenic animals for all sorts of exploitative reasons.

A couple of recent news stories give weight to her argument that it is a book which should be classified as speculative fiction rather than science fiction, because it "invents nothing we haven't already invented or started to invent".

Are wolvogs and rakunks really that far off the reality of fluorescent puppies and green-glowing monkeys?

Apparently Atwood is working on a sequel. Perhaps it will answer the questions she asked through Oryx and Crake:

"What if we continue down the road we're already on? How slippery is the slope? What are our saving graces? Who's got the will to stop us?"

Freaky days.

Has anybody else noticed the sudden influx of foolish women popping up in the media lately? First we had beer mat mum, the epitome of everything that embarrasses me about some Australian travelers abroad? Then it was Clare "Miss White Australia 2009" Werbeloff doing her bit to promote inter-racial tolerance and uphold journalistic integrity. Now, to put the sugar-substitute cherry on top, 23-year-old Brooke Robertson of Auckland, New Zealand has recently lost a bucket-load of weight because she drank nothing but Red Bull for eight months... oh I forgot... sometimes consumed with a handful of Honey Puffs in case she was feeling a bit peckish. And despite having a minor heart attack, in her words "I don't regret it because I got to a weight I was happy with." WTF!!! Who are these women? Why do they get so much attention for being so blatantly moronic. They're letting the team down.

I've had cats that are more worldly.

reason
noun
2 the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic

Have you got a brain, a camera, and the desire to win $10,000?

Consider entering The Reason Project's video contest, and do your part "to encourage critical thinking and erode the influence of dogmatism, superstition, and bigotry in our world".

Anyone who cares about the future of independent music in Australia (and that should be ALL of you) is probably a little on edge with the news that Sydney radio station FBi is in financial trouble. What can you do? Well those FBi wags are running a campaign to get Brit billionaire Richard Branson to donate $1 million. The person who ultimately gets Branson to put his hand in his pocket reaps a cool $50,000 for their effort.

 Not sure if this has been done before, but please check it out.

Just when you thought people had fried all the Mars Bars and Coca Cola they could, someone comes along and proves that the common vice among humankind is gluttony. Take a look at this if you are ever curious about what heart attacking foods are out there for you to try. Remember to be healthy and eat well.



"Turbaconucken" - Chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, all wrapped in bacon. PETA would have a conniption.