It is with great sadness that we learned today of the passing of an Internet legend: Zyra is no more.
I never knew Zyra the person, for which I am no doubt the poorer; but found Zyra the site highly inspirational. Not because it was slick and polished and full of bells and whistles (it isn't). Not because it was a mine of more or less useful or useless information, in which it was possible to while away many an hour without really minding about being lost, just because the scenery was so interesting (although it is).
No, I fell in love with the site because this evidently belonged to somebody who wasn't going to put up with that s#!t. And a unilateral declaration of independence is something to be admired.
If you haven't seen the site, I recommend you take a look before it disappears from the Internet forever. Make sure you have quick and easy food and your favourite pharmaceutical products handy, you aren't expecting visitors and the recorder is programmed for your favourite TV shows; then jump feet-first down the rabbit hole, click on a link and get exploring.
If my hat wasn't already doffed, I'd have to tip it to Twitter user @sophiabotha.
Paramol -- the one over-the-counter opiate to rule them all -- is finally back on shelves behind UK pharmacy counters, after a prolonged hiatus due to licensing issues.
Packs of 32 pills, still bearing the familiar "pinned-out eye" logo, were seen in a major high street chemist today.
And lo, there was much rejoicing in the heart of Julie.
Unfortunately, I have a good reason to be very careful what I buy from that particular branch; but there are other stores in other towns.
Drew was one of the stars of the 2011 Channel 4 TV series, My Transsexual Summer. But what is so great, so refreshing about the article is that it makes only scant mention of this.
And this, of course, is exactly how it should be. It is an article is about make-up, not about anyone's gender or sexuality. Just a beautiful woman, passing on some of her best advice about cosmetics. The fact of her being trans is neither here nor there.
Some people are going to use the tragic shooting of two police officers in Manchester as an excuse to call for police to be routinely armed.
This is an extremely bad idea.
Even among criminals, there is still a strong feeling that shooting an unarmed person is an extremely cowardly act. Never mind the threat of an automatic custodial sentence for carrying firearms – people going out intending to commit a crime don't think they are going to get caught anyway. The reason why most criminals don't carry guns, is because the police don't carry guns. You don't shoot first. You just don't. Well, not unless you're the worst kind of sociopath. Or by accident.
Arming police would change all that in an instant. There would now be a very real threat of escalation. And it would legitimise the carrying of guns by criminals – you don't shoot first, but there's nothing wrong with returning fire. More armed police will mean more armed criminals. More armed people will mean more gunfighting. More gunfighting means more police officers – and more innocent bystanders – getting shot.
The ability to put real names and faces to real victims distorts things. It's much easier to lump together nameless, hypothetical victims that might or might not be as just so much "collateral damage" than it is to think of Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes as anything but individual human beings. Yet to do so would be to commit a kind of reverse stereotyping fallacy.
Two actual victims seems much worse than some unknown number of hypothetical victims. Until they stop being hypothetical and you start having to count them.
The simple fact is, very few British police officers are shot in the line of duty. That's why this is news in the first place.
And that is why we must resist calls for police to be routinely armed.
Today is not a good day to be homeless, as new laws criminalising squatting in residential premises come into force.
It was already a criminal offence to squat in a home where there was a Displaced Residential Occupant – someone who had nipped out to Waitrose for more champagne and oysters and on their return, found the house has been occupied in the meantime by someone else – or a Protected Intending Occupant – someone who has a valid purchase or tenancy agreement, but is prevented from moving in by (and only by) the physical presence of an existing occupant. What this law changes is, now there need not be a D.R.O. or P.I.O. to escalate what ought rightfully to be a civil matter between the owner and occupier to criminal status. In cases where a D.R.O. / P.I.O. exists, the legal machinery is unlikely to move any faster in practice as a result of the new law.
(Side question; Why did nobody carry out "practice runs" by issuing fake tenancy agreements to create bogus P.I.O.s in order to evict squatters?)
What the new law will do, is make it easier for rich "investors" who make a business of taking out loans to buy dilapidated buildings and letting them out at extortionate rents far in excess of the interest on the loans, to keep their properties empty in search of even higher rents. And divide communities and tear families apart, as some of the poorest and most vulnerable are turned into criminals by default.
My personal angle: Many years ago, when houses were cheap and mortgages expensive, I – while renting a house – decided to purchase a different house. There followed a nightmare of recalcitrant legal personnel, requiring me to take out an extension on my tenancy until completion on the new house. The house, though advertised as vacant possession, was in fact occupied; though not by squatters in the strictest sense, as they had secured he vendor's permission to remain there rent-free until the sale was completed. In the event, some heavy-duty remedial work (required as a condition of the mortgage) required them to move out. The legal process over-ran the extension, and I was forced into one of two positions: Remain as a squatter in the rented house with a P.I.O. looming (and due to move in the day after I eventually moved out), or enter the house I was buying as both a squatter and (someone with a good claim to be) P.I.O. Needless to say, I chose the latter on account of me being unlikely to attempt to evict myself.
This situation cannot be unique in the history of homebuying. If property conveyancing is still taking a long time, people are going to be at risk of arrest for occupying houses they do not yet legally own. Informal rent-free occupants by licence will also be at risk of arrest, if the police disbelieve their stories; as will tenants with incorrectly-completed paperwork.
And all so a few rich wankers can continue to get richer .....
This reminds me of the first time the Tories tried to pull this shit. So let's have a song.
This week just gone has been a bit of a bummer for me. I've had a bad case of what I've heard described as "boymirror", in conjunction with The Fear.
Sure, I could just go back to being a guy and not have to worry about so much of this shit ..... But could I ever really be happy that way? Which way is "letting the side down" worse?
Still, it looks like I've turned the corner, so I'm going to treat myself to some proper girly stuff. And review it. Watch this space!
This morning's Metro featured a particularly obnoxious advertisement for Sainsburys.
The text reads "I like red lollies and green lollies. But not yellow ones. Girls like yellow ones."
I find this hugely problematic because it is a symptom of the way the gender binary (and hence, sexist attitudes in general) is being instilled into children from birth. The thing is, there really are boys who think that they are not supposed to like things because girls like them.
If this is what five-year-olds think, and it goes unchallenged, what sorts of sexist drivel might they be spouting by the time they are older?
If you also find this offensive, you may wish to contact the following people:
Advertising Standards Authority Ltd,
Mid City Place,
71 High Holborn,
London
WC1V 6QT
And, as dirty as it makes me feel to have to say this, you may also wish to shop at Tesco.
