THE MIDWEEK MULL
The minimum read for the maximum knowledge.
Welcome to another week - you made it, I made it, we made it! Congrats! Another wordy email for you, apologies. But there are several gifs and a must-watch video, so all in all, the words are worth it. (NB to self - words are ALWAYS worth it) If you can think of a friend that may enjoy the Midweek Mull, by all means, forward it on to them or have them sign up here. I am striving for it truly to be a weekly occurrence. Also, if you have any feedback or would like more of something (words?) and less of something (blatant opinions?) shoot me a line.
Let's jump in!
Jess xo
1. What on earth is happening in Nicaragua?
Good question - what on earth IS happening in Nicaragua? Well!The key stats, according to the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights and Amnesty International are that over 110 people are dead, in addition to at least 850 injured, 430 arrested and an unknown number have disappeared since April. But why?Well, similar to Venezuela and Cuba, there is an elderly statesman in charge - President Ortega - that, although elected democratically, has fallen out of favour since he got in corruption cahoots with the Catholic Church and senior business figures, and now the people are taking to the streets to protest. Specifically, protests started on April 18th against changes to social security, which sees an increase in worker payments but a decrease in future pension payouts. The protests have been led mostly by students, but pensioners and businessmen (and women) have joined in.The government's response? Live bullets. Oh and hitting protestors with sticks and cutting the tv channel that was airing the protests.Since their response, more people have taken to the streets, but have been met with stronger government crackdown. When unarmed protestors were walking past a soccer stadium, snipers from within took potshots with live ammunition.In the past few days, the Mormon Church has pulled all their missionaries out of Nicaragua (is that a big deal? I'm not sure. I saw Book of Mormon but I don't really feel any more educated on the subject...) and the deaths continue. Something has to give shortly, but I feel as though there will be too many more unnecessary deaths between now and then.
2. It's a YES in Ireland
Last week, the Republic of Ireland voted successfully to repeal the eighth, meaning shortly abortion will be legal in Ireland.Over the day of the vote, there were heartwarming scenes from Irish airports (well, Dublin airport), of expats coming home to vote 'Yes', stating that they were doing the opposite of what many young women had faced over the history of Ireland. But what exactly does that mean?Well, due to abortion - in all cases (rape, incest, medical emergencies) - being illegal in Ireland, many young women have had to travel to the UK in order to receive a safe termination. Or worse, have had to rely on backyard methods. The reason that there was a popular vote was largely because of the death of Savita Halappnavar, an Indian woman who, in 2012 and at 17 weeks pregnant, went to hospital with backpain and was diagnosed with an inevitable miscarriage. Irish law prevents termination unless the mother's life is in danger, so despite her requests, doctors did nothing and expected Ms Halappnavar to give birth to a stillborn. During labour, Savita developed an infection and then sepsis. She became increasingly sicker. The hospital provided a drug to speed up the labour and on 24th October Savita gave birth to a stillborn girl. Her infection worsened and on 28th October, Savita died from a cardiac arrest caused by the sepsis. Her death was entirely preventable.The law considers the life of the mother and the foetus equally, so while there is a heartbeat in the womb, even if it is known, in this case, that the foetus will not survive childbirth, then termination is illegal.For years, little changed despite the outrage, mostly because Ireland was 'a Catholic country', but in 2016 Amanda Mellet had to travel to the UK for the termination of a foetus with fatal abnormalities. She was then forced to leave the remains of her child behind before they were delivered by courier at a later date.The UN then called for the strict rules to be reversed, and abortion to be legalised.So! In what was expected to be a close-run thing, the Yes vote won 66.4% to 33.6%. The PM, who was a Yes campaigner, hopes to pass the legislation in 6 months, which will allow Irish women to receive a termination before 12 weeks (with a three-day waiting period). Between 12 and 24 weeks, abortions will be carried out if there is a serious risk to the mother's life or health, and two doctors approve. An abortion after 24 weeks will be available for fatal foetal abnormalities.On Friday 25th May, Irish women became a little closer to being in charge of their own bodies, and have paved the way for a similar change in Northern Ireland. Yaaaaasss!
Also, here is a beautiful video that shows WHY people went #HomeToVote. Watch it. And be prepared to tear up.
3. Who is Sir Doug Nicholls
For those of you that do not follow AFL, you may not have known that last week was the Indigenous Round, or rather, the Sir Doug Nicholls Round. When chatting with an old colleague while watching the Dreamtime Match, I wondered - who exactly was Sir Doug Nicholls?Sir Nicholls was a Yorta Yorta man, who was also a professional athlete, pastor, ceremonial man and staunch campaigner for reconciliation. Doug played footy for Fitzroy, after training with Carlton and North Melbourne - and came third in the 1934 Brownlow. He was also a sprinter and renowned boxer in the off-seasons.He was the first Indigenous Australian to be knighted, and also the first to 'serve the Queen' in the position of Governor of South Australia. He was the pastor of the first Aboriginal Church of Christ in Australia, working in Fitzroy and Northcote as a social worker to help those in trouble with the police or with alcohol or gambling problems. It was because of this work that he was recognised with an MBE and an OBE.Sir Doug died in 1988 and was honoured with a state funeral. A statue of him stands in the East Melbourne Parliament Gardens, so if you're in Melbourne and find yourself nearby, do yourself a favour and give Sir Doug a nod. He might be recognised with one AFL round a year, but the man surely deserves a lot more.
Each year in Sir Doug Nicholls round, all AFL teams wear an Indigenous guernsey (in what is meant to be seen as more than just tokenism, I am sure). Click above to see all the jumpers from 2018.Each one is designed by an Indigenous artist and most actually have a great connection to the team/place.
Amusing Things / Recommendations
You know what, it's another week without Amusing Things but WITH recommendations. They seem to be better received. I am not sure what it is about you all that does not like Amusing Things, but here we are.
To read:
Last week I shared an article related to #metoo - in a way that highlighted the everyday, everywoman #metoos, and a lot of you had reactions. So this week I want to share an article that you may have read before - but I want you to read it again, and if possible, read it out loud to someone. In 2015, a woman was raped by Brock Turner at her university after/during a party. This is the letter that she wrote him. And you should read it several times a year and to everyone you know. She has more grace, strength and power than I could ever hope to have. Bow down.
To listen:
I listed this last week, but since then I have finished it and OH MY GOD - you need to download it straight away and listen. I sat in my car at work for 10 minutes to listen to the end of a segment and honestly, it is so damning and powerful and the reporting is fantastic. Even if you don't know anything about bikram yoga or podcasts, do it. It honestly is brilliant. (All of the below is a link. So get to it.) 30 for 30 has just released a new podcast series on Bikram Choudhury, the 'inventor' of Bikram Yoga. The series of 5 episodes accounts Choudhury's incredible rise - and fall - to fame, with a focus on the numerous rape allegations against him. As a fan of bikram yoga, I admit that rumours if his behaviour did make me stop attending classes when I first heard of them several years ago.
To watch:
If you want a feel good video, this is it. '84 Year Old Husband Now Does My Makeup'. Slay.
Also to read/look at:
So if you have not yet realised, this email is a subtle chance for me to spruik my own stuff. This week, I shared some photos from my 2015 trip to Sri Lanka, and some of the people there that - and this is not being inflammatory - changed my life. Have a gander.
As of June 5th 2018, 28 women in Australia have been killed due to domestic violence. That is one death every five and a half days.
