That’s What Your Mum Said

…makes one a very poor blogger.

What have I been doing?

A lot.

I managed to get my eyebrows waxed on Monday. For the first time in 10 months. Luckily they are fair and don’t grow very quickly.

I got a job in the best cafe in my town. Their coffee is magnificent, and the atmosphere is so relaxed it makes me happy. I missed making coffee, and now I get to do it a few hours a week. I also get free coffee. Life is so good sometimes.

I am totally immersed in the law. It is awesome most of the time. Sometimes I get tired, but always feel a renewed enthusiasm the next day. Except today. I am getting a cold. It is lame, and it sucks away the urge to get out of bed.

But things could be worse.

The election is doing my head in. The advertising is appalling. If I hear ‘stop the boats’ or ‘a sustainable Australia’ one more time I may cry. I wish the Greens could afford more advertising. They make pretty, emotional, useful and moving ads. Bob Brown is a true gentleman. Wow, I wonder who Adele will be voting for?

I am just faffing. Feeling my way into a post after so long away. I am embarrassed about my absence, but it just never felt like the right time, the right tale. Today, I am breaking the drought.

May it stay moist.

Last night I watched a current affairs program called ‘Four Corners’ and the title of their episode was “A Good Death”. It followed four people, ranging in age between mid-40′s to mid-80′s who have recently been told they only have a short time to live due to terminal illness. It documented their experiences and their stories in a truly honest and heartbreaking manner and managed to highlight the lack of palliative care in Australia (I dare say this is an issue in many Western nations).

This episode reminded me of two very important issues. One was the obvious notion that we have a very short time on this planet and it would be selfish and utterly ridiculous not to make the most of it. The other is that I truly believe humans should have the option to die a dignified and self-imposed death.

To me, it makes total sense. If I have been told I have a terminal illness and there is very little likelihood I will survive, I would like to be respected enough to make a decision regarding my life. I would like to know that I would not have to suffer unbearable pain with no quality of life simply because our politicians are conservative and wish to impose their beliefs on me. I am a mature, intelligent being and I would like to think I could be treated as one, even when it comes to the touchy subject of euthanasia.

Why is it that humans will put down an animal that is in extreme pain and has no chance of survival because it is the ‘humane’ thing to do? Why do we hold that this is totally different if we replaced the word animal with human? A friend has a mug that says ‘I want to die like a dog’ and I agree wholeheartedly.

I have been involved in this debate for many years and have heard arguments from many points of view. The one that seems to crop up the most is that God tells us not to kill and therefore euthanasia is wrong. If you believe in God I respect your stance however I do not agree. I don’t believe in an all supreme being, so shouldn’t I have the right to my beliefs and be allowed to carry them out with the respect of others who may not hold them?

Another argument that is often raised is that if euthanasia was allowed, people would be killing off their relations for material good such as money and property under the guise of ending suffering. Do the people that make this argument truly believe that a legislated and policed act could really lead to this? The simple solution to this highly unlikely problem is to have many layers of checks and balances in place so that an individual can prove they are of sound mind and are ready to end their life. It works in Switzerland, why not here?

This is such a dense and complicated topic and I could not hope to cover all of the bases often discussed in relation to it- I have really only skimmed the surface. I just wanted to highlight the problem and let the blog world know where I stand on this. I have put some links at the bottom, including the episode of ‘Four Corners’ from last night. More than anything, I would like to start a discussion and hear what you all have to say; I know this is a heavy topic but please comment and leave your thoughts/beliefs with regards to euthanasia. It needs to be discussed rather than ignored like our politicians manage to do so well.

Four Corners: A Good Death

Exit International – An organisation headed by Dr Philip Nitschke that advocates the right to choice regarding euthanasia

Where is euthanasia legal?

I’m back! New Zealand was truly kick ass in so many ways, and I really believe I could happily reside there. You Kiwi’s have insanely  beautiful scenery in every direction and you sell alcohol in supermarkets!! Australia is in the dark ages and blandly aesthetically ugly in comparison.

I have far too many photos (997 to be exact – seriously disappointed at not making it to 1000) however I will make a concerted effort to sort through them tomorrow and post some to highlight how much fun was had by all involved.

As for right now, I need food and sleep. We were up at 4.50am NZ time (2.50am Australian, yech) so I am a bit of a retard right now.

I survived 16 days, 24 hours a day with the partner and we didn’t kill each other with pocket knives or toothbrushes! Woot!

As for the heading, this is the lamest news ever. For all of you who don’t know Mr Abbott, all you need to know is that he is a far right-wing, extremely religio-fascist, woman-hating douche bag and he now has a chance at becoming Australia’s PM. Awesome.

Nappy nap nap time.

This comes courtesy of the ‘Q&A‘ mashup website and made me so very happy last night. Enjoy.

…they want to spend their day doing this with you.

This was a truly inspiring day filled with the most love and warmth I have experienced in a long time. The house itself was a respite from the rain (the wedding was originally meant to take place in a nearby park) and was an amazing setting of federation styling and beautiful art. The girls didn’t stop grinning like certified idiots all day and needless to say, a lot of tears were shed.

I love these people with all of my heart and I am so glad they are a part of my life. Perhaps one day the lawmakers of this nation will get off of their christian, moralistic high-horses and recognise that everyone deserves the right to be married. Of all the loves I know, theirs is the strongest and most pure and this makes me so happy and hopeful for the future.

I wish them every good thing possible for the rest of their years.

Last night the awesome group Anonymous brought down the Australian PM’s website for approximately an hour with a DDoS attack. They also targeted the website of the Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and that of the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The reasoning behind this attack was to protest against the proposed Internet filtering legislation that the K-Rudd Labor government wishes to enforce.

This is a shirt I bought a while ago and wear as often as possible - many people read it and it starts some great conversations. The more people that are aware, the better Australia can fight it. Go and buy one and get the message out!

For those of you not aware of this policy it is essentially akin to the Internet policies in China. Putting the legislation in place would involve all ISP’s filtering out a list of sites the government has deemed unsuitable and dangerous (the black list that they claim does not exist, yet has been leaked to the media). You know, terrible stuff such as information on abortion and art by Bill Henson (man, the Bill Henson saga is a whole other story – I strongly suggest you buy and read this book for a great insight into how media and public panics begin and grow in an uncontrollable nature). The guise for this plan is that the government needs to protect us and do the job that parents can do quite easily. The government also claims that is will stop child paedophilia in its tracks. Unfortunately, this piece of rhetorical bullshit propaganda tactic would be entirely useless and would only serve to stamp on civil liberties and slow down Internet speeds noticeably. It also wouldn’t do anything with peer to peer networks which is where child paedophilia is an issue – unfortunately the average member of the public doesn’t understand this and it happy to ‘be protected’.

I am so very grateful for groups like Anonymous who have brought this ridiculous legislative idea to the attention of the public. They have also highlighted the inadequacy of the mainstream media in Australia. This SMH piece claims that the PM’s website was ‘hacked’. I have heard this word used a few times this morning in relation to the attack, even on Triple J news (which I probably shouldn’t be surprised about considering this). Anonymous are not hackers. They are a group who plan and undertake coordinated attacks in order to highlight an issue and achieve a goal. The word hackers sounds so sharp and sensationalist so the media has grabbed on and won’t let go. Not surprising but so annoyingly lazy.

This video outlines the Anonymous goal perfectly and it presents a very strong message in a very impressive manner.

This provides some more information on Anonymous victories. Please be aware that the top of the linked page is totally NSFW and probably just totally gross for most people – it ensures that the mainstream media do not link to their page! Clever little ‘hackers’.

I don’t want my Internet filtered. I want information free and readily available and I want the choice as an adult to view this information 24/7. I am happy for parents to put filtering devices on their home connections until they feel their child is ready for the real world. As free individuals in a ‘free’ nation with civil liberties relatively unscathed they have that right. However I do not want my government to ‘protect’ me. It is the first step towards Orwellian style control and that is terrifying. If by some gross mistake this legislation makes it through the Senate (keep fighting the good fight Bob Brown) I will move to the Netherlands. At least they respect me and my free will.