Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post. I attempt to provide extra warnings for material like extreme violence/rape; however, your triggers/issues may vary, so please read with care.

Unreality Shout: Disability abuse- ignored and condoned. Have we learnt nothing from the Deaths of the Pilkingtons? [You can find video and a transcript here.]

On Big Brother’s Big Mouth Vinnie Jones describes Davina McCalls’ walk as being like a “retard” then gets up and demonstrates what he means. Awful complaints will follow.Jones will be forced to publicly apologise for his vile behaviour using the same word and gestures that were used against Fiona Pilkington and her disabled daughter which drove them to their deaths. Davina will lose her contracts and probably be removed from Comic Relief which sponsors projects for disabled people for her blatant disablism.

Sadly no.

The audience laughed as did Davina who then repeated the word.

NO action was taken.

No apology made.

stevenf.com: Shutup.css [works for sites and comment systems like Digg, Disqus, Youtube, Slashdot, CBC, CNet, Reddit, WaPo, Globe and Mail]:

shutup.css is a custom user stylesheet that can be applied to your browser to hide comments on many popular web sites without user intervention.

Turner and Kowalski: WordPress is killing me!!!

I really appreciate that WordPress offers a fuckton of useful features, but they’re really crap at explaining them which makes WordPress kind of inaccessible.

New York Times: For Some Survivors, Polio Won’t Fade Into the Past

But Ms. Lloyd [a historian] soon found that polio’s past was not dead and gone. It was not even past. In all the early interviews, people talked about an after-echo legacy of the disease called post-polio syndrome that had come back to hit them in their 60s and 70s. […]

[Dr Jacquelin Perry’s] conclusion about polio and age is that the people who worked hardest to overcome disability have in many cases been hit hardest by its second-wave attack, as over-used muscles and nerves gave out after decades of strain. Her observation is backed up by numerous studies.

“It’s overuse,” Dr. Perry said in a telephone interview. “The people who tried hardest to be normal, and pushed hardest, have been hit more with post-polio.”

KuwaitSamachar.com: Disabled citizens bring honor to Kuwait

[Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and State Minister for Development and Housing Affairs] indicated that enforcing the disability rights legislation is the best way of supporting this segment of society, saying that the new law will help to support the disabled socially and in terms of sports and leisure activities.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad asserted that the new legislation will ensure disabled citizens’ rights, and help them in becoming vital components of society, reported Al-Watan. The minister congratulated disabled citizens on the enforcement of the new legislation, acknowledging the cabinet’s and parliament’s roles in achieving this goal.

Abubakarr Messeh Kamara at Cocorioko.net: Time for Sierra Leone’s youths to put their case forward

My question is: where will the youth be to put their case across? I believe the Secretary General’s visit will mean nothing to Sierra Leone unless the youth (the future of Sierra Leone) are given the opportunity to be heard loud and clear on pertinent issues that affect their wellbeing. […]

Poor health services continuing to endanger the life of the youth; with limited access to care, medication and so on. The country’s HIV/AIDS rate remains high particularly amongst the youth. Unfortunately, most of the doctors have indulged in to the practice of operating their own private surgeries where more money could be incurred at the expense of saving the lives of the poor in public hospitals. I believe that a combination of factors such as proper health policy, free health service, care and education can help in the fight against diseases.

The issue of disabled persons rights and the huge number of street children sleeping in market stall is nothing good to talk about. The 2007 Child Rights Act and the 2009 Disability Rights Act have only become a black and white paper in the shelves of policy makers. I think we are failing in our responsibility.