From Brendan O’Neill’s review of Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry by Laura María Agustín:
Most of us recognise the ideological under pinnings of old-style baiting of migrants. When newspaper hacks or populist politicians talk about evil Johnny Foreigners coming here and stealing our jobs or eating our swans, it does not take much effort to sniff out their xenophobic leanings. Agustín’s contention is that the new “discourse” on migrants (in which many of them, especially the women and children, are seen as “victims of trafficking” in need of rescue) is also built on ideological foundations. Like its demented cousin – tabloid hysteria about foreign scroungers – the trafficking scare is based on a deeply patronising view of migrants, rather than any hard statistical evidence that human trafficking is rife.
Via flutterby
Is anyone aware of a maker of an inflatable Bulletman suit?
Today, March 25, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee will consider legislation that would require gun owners to obtain a “permit-to-purchase” before buying handgun ammunition. Here’s the letter I wrote to the Public Safety Committee members, urging opposition:
Hi,
I’m writing to request that you vote against AB 2062. This bill will, among other things:
- require a $35 a year permit to buy ammo
- add a tax of $3 per transaction
- make it illegal to buy ammo online or out of state
- make it illegal to give a friend ammo.
By making if more difficult and costly to legally buy ammunition, it erodes the basic human right of all California citizens to defend themselves. As more people are discouraged from buying guns, due to the high costs, small gun shops will go out of business. Large retailers will stop offering ammunition for sale, in order to avoid the tax and regulatory hassle. As a result, our constitutional right as law-abiding citizens to “keep and bear arms” will be made worthless, for all practical purposes.
Consider who this will hurt:
- the abused spouse who wants to defend herself against an abusive ex,
- the small shopkeeper located in a high crime area of the city,
- the father whose home has been invaded by burglars.
If this bill passes, it will make it much more expensive for each of these people to acquire ammunition, and to practice safe gun handling skills. Many of the people hardest hit will be those who live in high crime areas, where police protection is inadequate, and the means to defend oneself is most necessary.
Moreover, this bill will do little to stop the actual criminals. Real criminals will have little problem violating the law, by purchasing on the black market or from out of state. The people it will hurt the most are those who obey the law.
So please, vote against this bill, uphold the Constitution, and help protect the right of California citizens to protect themselves.
Thanks for your time.
Chris
Press release below the cut:
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Although I’ve always been a strong 2nd Amendment supporter, it’s mostly been a philosophical position. I’ve never owned a gun (aside from a BB gun I owned when I was 12). My Dad owned a .22 rifle, but never shot it. Since I’ve lived on my own, learning to shoot has always been one of those things I thought I would learn “someday”. Today, I decided to do something about it:
D., the guy on the right, is a long time shooter. He showed me how to shoot a .22 Ruger pistol, a.22 rifle, a Glock 21, and a 1911. Now I really want to get a Glock 19 with a .22 conversion kit, and start practicing at Coyote Point.
Prepping for the John Smart’s toga party last weekend.
Evolved Disease-Avoidance Mechanisms and Contemporary Xenophobic Attitudes
Ethnic outgroups are often blamed for outbreaks of epidemic diseases, and these outbreaks can inspire violently xenophobic reactions to outsiders (Goldhagen, 1996; Markel, 1999; Oldstone, 1998). Foreigners are also associated with semantic concepts that connote disease. This association is evident in xenophobic propaganda, in which ethnic outgroups are likened to non-human vectors of disease, such as rats, flies, and lice (Suedfeld & Schaller, 2002). The associative link between foreign peoples and disease shows up consistently in the social science literature on immigration.
An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex
“I want sex,” he said on the recording. “One or two times. That’s all. You get your green card. You won’t have to see me anymore.”
She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex “now,” to “know that you’re serious.” And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.
