Author Archives: linuskendall

What is rape?

THE COURT: All right. Let me tell you why I’m going to sentence Mr. Gurel to six years only in spite of the People’s request for –

MS. SNYDER: Sixteen.

THE COURT: – 16. And that is, I spent my last year and a half in the DA’s office in the sexual assault. I’ve seen sexual assault. I’ve seen women who have been ravaged and savaged whose vagina was shredded by the rape. I’m not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something: If someone doesn’t want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case. That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn’t necessarily willing, she didn’t put up a fight. And to treat this case like the rape cases that we all hear about is an insult to victims of rape. I think it’s an insult. I think it trivializes a rape.

via readersupportednews.org

I certainly know that this judge in California has absolutely no idea. For more read:

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/304-justice/15388-judge-demands-shred…

From today, packaged food will have ‘GM’ label

“Every package containing the genetically modified food shall bear at top of its principal display panel the words ‘GM’,” the notification under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) (2 {+n} {+d} Amendment) Rules 2012 said. Such packaged commodity rules are applicable to 19 products including biscuits, breads, cereals and pulses among others.

via thehindubusinessline.com

While GMO labeling is a bit of a distraction and in no way addresses the key issues at hand – it’s not overall bad. However, the fact that it covers only 19 product categories (albeit some of the most pervasive ones) can create trouble even if the consumer is aware of what the label means – if you look at a product not covered under the 19 heads you might assume that it lacks GMO because it lacks the label.

Naturally, as always, a rule is a rule but implementation will be a completely different matter. A shoddy implementation is worse than not having labeling at all, meaning again that this is mostly a distraction.

India gang rape suspects charged in court

Lawyers at the district court in New Delhi refused to defend the accused men — the bus driver, his brother and four of their friends, all residents of a south Delhi slum near the site of the attack.

“We have decided that no lawyer will stand up to defend the rape accused as it would be immoral to defend the case,” Sanjay Kumar, a lawyer and a member of the Saket District Bar Council, told AFP.

Kumar said the 2,500 advocates registered at the court have decided to “stay away” to ensure “speedy justice”, meaning the government would have to appoint outside lawyers for the defendants.

via france24.com

While there’s no sympathy for the perpetrators of the Delhi gang rape – ensuring at the very least a defence for the right to due process is the only appropriate response.

Sure, Mr Kumar says it’s simply a symbolic gesture, but to me – it’s a deeply problematic gesture – what if every counsel in the country would choose to do this?

Burning Plastic Causes Sexual Orientation Problems

Researchers have established that inhaling burnt plastic materials have altered sexual characters of some birds (from male to female). They have also revealed the same defects can easily occur in human beings. Plastics should never be burnt in the open air, there are recycling options available for disposal of these waste products.

via ezinearticles.com

Thank you Internet for providing a daily dose of stupid.

Broken Agriculture

I am fed up with people saying we need to produce more food. We already produce 4,600 calories per person per day which is twice as much food as we need. The problem of nearly a billion people going hungry is not for want of food but of access and equity. India produces excess foodgrains and yet it has the largest number of hungry people in the world. The US has 42 million hungry people. So what needs to change?

via downtoearth.org.in

Free market indeed

An area of 177 ha was acquired for POSCO (India) Limited in Jagatsinghpur district with a land acquisition cost of Rs 11.85 crore. The approximate present value of the said land parcel is Rs 64.22 crore.

via downtoearth.org.in

Anybody who promotes free market type interventions India must keep in mind that the so-called economically liberal, capitalist actors operate on a market which is anything but free. The idea of a free market anywhere is highly suspicious, but in India even more so.

The corporates for whom the promoters of the “free market” are working to create access for often rely on cosy (often corrupt) deals with government to make their business projections work.

Case in point – land acquisition at bargain prices as above.

We all create the conditions in which rapes can flourish

No amount of severe (capital) punishment, “improved” policing or Bollywood moral outrage will ever solve the problem as long as the systematic treatment of women as long as “the elaborate everyday control of women’s lives by families and institutions” is in place. 

While “marital rape, date rapes and the sexual violence that takes place within the family are systematically ignored” there are no safe places for women, or frankly speaking anybody else – especially not anybody in a vulnerable or subaltern position whether of an alternative sexuality, sex worker, muslim, working class or adivasi.

Especially if you’re in any position of power – whether that be upper middle class, educated, man or white (all four which I check) – you do certainly do have a share in the responsibility for the culture that creates the context in which these rapes are happening. 

Being supposedly outraged, calling for beheadings or speedy justice is nothing but trying to shirk that responsibility making this an isolated event perpetrated by people who have nothing to do with you. 

Read more:

http://www.sify.com/news/we-are-all-part-of-the-rape-culture-news-columns-mmsxrUdgfed.html

We got the peace prize mofos!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E2B_yI8jrI&feature=related]
And don’t mess with us, ’cause we’ll surround you and make you disappear you nasty brownies and chinks.

The burgers and the rest

The medieval cities and villages of the Kathmandu valley has adopted a practice of charging far-away people a large sum of money, not-so-far-away people a smaller sum of money and burgers, naturally, no money to enter their cities. Somehow it all reminded me of history lessons of city states of Europe of the medieval times. 

Not such a bad idea though, I try to tell myself that it's going to the upkeep and restauration works (and as claimed in Bhaktapur: waste management) so that I feel my over 2000 npr investment in Nepali historic infrastructure has not gone to some official's daughter's wedding.