It's a national treasure:

Just a random doodle I drew while on "hold" to a government department.

(It's a parsnip. If you don't get it, that would be because you don't hang with the cool kids enough. But it's ok, dweebs, today is your lucky day. I'm going to let you in on the joke. During June a current affairs program 60 minutes run this great report on vaccination in Australia. It's worth watching the entire film, but pay particular attention around 2:15. Listen out of the mention of a "National teasure" and see if you can spot the parsnip box. I hope you find it as entertaining as we did )

Let's admit it, it's not like you'll use it again

It's come up a couple of times on twitter now. The topic of body donation to a university for Medical teaching. Death really isn't something that people like to talk about much. But in my relatively short time in the skeptical and atheist (and admittedly nerd-tastic) community I've found that these reasonable people seem to be the most comfortable with their imminent demise.

These skeptics are overwhelming pro-science and medicine. Many of them have chosen careers in these fields. They understand the importance of medical research and high quality training for student doctors. They are also amazingly generous. With their time and skills devoted to the education and promotion of science, or the public debunking of misinformation and pseudo-science. They are also generous with their blood and tissues (ewww icky bodily stuff) with many proudly proclaiming that they donate plasma, platelets and blood regularly and are on the organ donor register.

However, few are aware that you can make advance preparations to send your body off to the local Uni. Furthermore, the Unis will collect the tab for the transport your life-less form, embalming and cremation. That's right, it's on the house. They only keep you around for about four years. Then they pack up your ashes and send them to your loved ones (I've asked mine to then plant a tree with burnt-up little me at the bottom of the hole for fertilizer. I wonder what your relatives will do with you?)

If you are interested, here are some links for body donation information at a University near you. And why not? By the time those slimy med students get their hands on your body, you won't be around to care.
Brisbane ; Newcastle ; Sydney ; Wollongong ; Melbourne ; Adelaide ; Tasmania   ; Perth

Edit: James Cook University in North Queensland wants you too.
And if you plant a tree on someone's ashes you need to know how acid/alkaline that plant likes its soil, or you could kill the poor thing.

Now we're a criminal gang of hypocrites*

Well, yesterday, Meryl Dorey blogged about the recent false DMCA's filed against the Stop the Australian Vaccination Network (SAVN).  "In two hours, I filed approximately 50 copyright claims against various Facebook members for using screenshots of my posts without my permission." (Dorey, M, 2011). I had wondered how long it would take the person responsible to own up. Only a couple of Days apparently. It is clear that Ms Dorey believes that anything she says or does is automatically copyright. "I know that my words, my images and my posts are my own and they have no right to use them for any purpose without my express permission."(Dorey M,2011) This includes the comments I highlighted, made on the ABC 4corners forum (I wonder if the ABC has Ms Dorey's express permission to archive her forum responses?). It is also apparent that she doesn't understand that concept of Fair Use (as it is known as in the US) or Fair Dealing (essentially the same in Australian). If you've been following this saga, you'll know that the reproduction of material that is copyright is allowable for the propose of criticism, and that I went to some length to ensure the screenshot was properly referenced. There was no doubt about where it had come from, are who had made the statement "Measles is NOT a serious disease" (Dorey M, 2005). 


The blog titled "Hypocrisy- thy name is 'SAVN'" Describes the extreme lengths that AVN members have had to go through to feel safe using the social networking site. I too have worried about my family being victimsed, and blocked access to photos for anyone outside a customised list of approved viewers. I have increased security has strongly as I can, I have blocked accounts of known harassers, I blog and tweet under the alias Eggrings (admittedly, it's not a particularly good alias). One can make the links between the "real" me and Eggrings, but I didn't want it to be easy. My point is, this is nasty. Both sides are feeling that insure on the internet. But, really, learning to protect yourself on the internet isn't a bad skill to have anyway.

Ms Dorey also continues to harp on about the pornographic images Personal Messaged to her, and fellow AVN members. This did happen. Ms Dorey has every right to be appalled, offended, and pursue any legal action she sees fitting. At the time that this occurred, I was still new to the SAVN, and didn't really catch everything that was unfolding. What I DO know is that this behavior was never condoned by the SAVN. In fact most members of the SAVN facebook page were appalled and offended too.  Ms Dorey only quickly mentions that this was a "member of the SAVN page (to be fair, SAVN did kick this person off after they were alerted to his abusive messages) "(Dorey M, 2011) As one Facebook member of the SAVN said "blink and you'll miss it".  From Ms Dorey's blog, one could be easily lead to believe this was common practice on our group site "Indeed, abuse and harassment is their stock in trade."(Dorey M, 2011). 


Finally, Ms Dorey has missed the fact that she my in fact be committing an illegal act by lodging these DMCA's. Without an understanding of the acceptable grounds of Fair Dealing and Fair Use of copyright material, it could be easy to see why the posting of someone else's comments may appear to be an infringement of copyright. But, for the reasons I've already outlined, I believe I was within the law when I posted the screenshot. This being the case, Ms Dorey has filed a false DMCA against me- and 50 other images on the SAVN website. This is illegal.


In closing:

The AVN has gone and spoiled all of their fun and they are not going to come out and play any more until Facebook says they are sorry and returns all of their vile posts to where they were previously.   
Nearly right Meryl. I am using the Facebook appeal process because the 'rights and responsibilities' page says that I can. They don't need to say 'sorry', just do the right thing, in accordance with their own rules. But I do want the "...vile posts [returned] to where they were.."(Dorey M,2011) Because you are the author of a great many of the comments contained in these images.    


The following is referenced is using the Chicago system, and has been carefully denoted at the bottom of my blog, for the benefit of Ms Meryl Dorey and her loyal AVN members:
Dorey. M., 2011, "Hypocrisy- thy name is SAVN" in Living Wisdom [blog], May 2, available World Wide Web URL: http://avn.org.au/nocompulsoryvaccination/?p=1015 (accessed 3 May, 2011) 


*Please note that Ms Dorey didn't coin this term. Nor did she call the SAVN 'a gang' at any point in this blog (well, no where that I saw)


  
  

I am NOT a criminal

So, after a full day of Public Relations down at the park in my SES uniform. I've come home and filed a DMCA counter-notice with facebook. Addressing the fact that the image was reproduced for the purpose of commentary and criticism and therefore came under Fair Use under Part 3 Division 3 of the Australian copyright act 1968 . I have also pointed out:

"The Facebook group from which my image was removed has had several allegations made against them. I believe that is it another organisation, or perhaps simply one member of this organisation, misusing Facebook's reporting tool as a way of bullying and intimidating our members"...


..That I consider it harassment. Furthermore, I don't take lightly, the allegation that I was involved criminal activity. I also implored Facebook conduct a thorough investigation, and if it was uncovered that the repeated DMCA submissions were baseless, malicious and false that the offender face appropriate disciplinary actions.  


The free market of ideas will triumph!

That is all for now.