links for 2009-03-18

"[A] panel at the annual meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication considered the question of “Empty Rhetoric and Academic Bullshit: Strategies for Composition’s Self-Representation in National Arenas.” In the discussion, participants differed on how much of a problem their language is – and because this is a meeting of language and rhetoric experts, the discussion referenced issues that were personal to scholars’ work and values."

"Sure, pissing about AIG’s bonuses is populist grandstanding on some level. Beneath the momentary gratification of looking for villains, however, there are some more serious principles at stake. If you’re the kind of person who argued that folks who take economic risks should accept the consequences and that labor markets dictate the value of skilled employees, you should be the first person throwing rotten tomatoes at bonus payments to any managers at any of the bailed-out companies. The companies themselves are the front lines where risk and markets are being tested. "

"The most charitable way of putting the anti-abortion argument is that a women who gets pregnant via unprotected, consenting sex should have to live with the consequences of the decision she made. I bet you’d get close to fifty percent agreement with that statement if you put it to a nationwide poll. If you phrased it a little differently, you might get a different response: “Pregnancy and childbirth are fitting punishments for women who have unprotected sex.”"

A circumcision is a pretty intense procedure (Pieter introduced us to the process with a sock, his fist, and a very large wrench, thank you Pieter), especially for a rural clinic. Everything is very complicated relative to the US operating room in which Pieter practiced – sterilization, trained assistants, anesthesia, communication, etc. Despite the complications, all the procedures ended well and I think everyone was happy after the fact.