What's the matter, can't you take a joke?

More gleanings from around the blogs.

First up is Australian team-blog Sisterhood and Solidarity, where "Helena Handbasket" critiques the rationale underlying Prime Minister John Howard's reaction to offensive videos of Australian soldiers serving in Iraq.

Helena comments on Howard's downplaying of the videos:

"Howard's 'let's not go waterboard—oops, I meant lets not throw kids overboard—ooops I meant let's not go overboard.' approach is the same as he took to the dancers in lingerie at the climate change conference dinner last week. It silences and dismisses complaints from marginalised groups (women, non-whites) by suggesting that their protests against offensive behavior are exaggerated, hyper-sensitive, and humourless." (link added by MAC)

I agree with Helena's position wholeheartedly. Read her full analysis at Sisterhood and Solidarity.

The Australian conference mentioned in the above quote was also blogged about at Molly Saves the Day, and she did a bloody good post on it as well. Swing by and read "When liberals aren't necessarily feminists".

Terry has been blogging up a storm lately at I See Invisible People. In keeping with the humor theme, check out this essay on the politics of humor. But brace yourself for some comedy icon-knocking: Lucille Ball, Monty Python, and Jackie Gleason all take a bit of a tumble.

Image: Sisterhood and Solidarity