(no subject)

Good morning all, and welcome to Radio Free Monday! It's been a busy week for charitable-giving discussions on LJ this week and, while I've stayed out of that particular rumpus, I have a lot of links to share today!

First up, a couple of Cafe members linked me to an entry on DeviantART, binarism, and transphobia posted by Transfinite on DW. The question of gender is a long-running issue on social networking sites; it's something most of them ask and many of them don't offer appropriate options for, but DeviantART was unusually asshattish about it when responding to a user's request. They have since apologised but still insist, as Transfinite says, "that deviantART needs to know what its users' genitals look like." As social media users this is something that you may want to be aware of; Transfinite is also offering links to alternatives to DA.

alt_universe_me linked me to a post on ONTD Political about Sakineh Astiani, who has been sentenced to death by stoning in Iran, for adultery and as accessory to murder. There's a lot of iffiness surrounding the legality of her arrest and trial; while I always hesitate to condemn another country's and culture's politics, I think I feel safe in saying that nobody should be stoned to death. Ever. You can find more information and instructions on how to register protests against this execution at the link.

In happier news, Phi on DW let me know that the Carl Brandon Society is raising funds to support the Octavia Butler scholarship, which sends two spec fic writers of colour to the Clarion workshops every year. They are raffling off five e-readers loaded with fiction from big-name writers; tickets are $1 each. I'm not familiar with the Carl Brandon society but Octavia Butler was the heroine of my teen years, and I think this is well worth supporting. (And if you've never read any Octavia Butler, may I recommend Parable Of The Sower?)

lwdagreat let me know that Safe Horizon, the nation's leading provider of services to those affected by domestic violence, is doing a drive to provide disadvantaged parents with gift certificates so that they can buy their kids some presents for the holidays. This Saturday and Sunday, the 13th and 14th, all purchases made at Borders Books using this voucher (or online code SAHO1113Q) will have a percentage donated as gift certificates to shelters in the NYC area.

essayel knows my love of theatre well, and asked me to link to Gwent Theatre in Wales, where I understand Gareth David-Lloyd got his start. The theatre has lost its funding and is scrambling to save itself; you can see a little ad for Save Gwent here, and sign the e-petition here.

tuppenneyrice let me know about Save Snow's Sanity, a drive to help fund psychiatric treatment for snowcoma. There's a donate button and auctions going up, and I have to say that while I link to this kind of thing all the time I was particularly charmed by Grace's signoff -- "Thank you, and may Deity and/or Science bless you."

Dienne, one of our Cafe, let me know about Therin, an actress who is trying out for a show that requires a video be made and voted on by the internet. You can view the video and vote, once a day, here. It's a pretty fun video. :)

off_coloratura is doing knitting commissions! She'll even source patterns and design ideas if you give her an idea.

mk_tortie reminds me that it is Movember!

Last week I mentioned via Simon that Apple had endorsed a transphobic app in their iStore. It led to arsenicjade mentioning to me that Apple uses conflict minerals in its technology. The link there is about conflict minerals rather than about Apple's use of them; I can't find a list anywhere of companies known to use conflict minerals but if anyone out there has one please link in comments?

ellid wanted me to let everyone know that the quilt raffle they're holding to help offset medical bills for friends has raised a little over $500. Tickets are still being sold -- the raffle is on December 4th -- and only cost a dollar for a chance to win a quilt designed after some of the earliest evidence of patchwork quilting in Europe. It's pretty sexy.

It is fast becoming tradition to end Radio Free Monday with links to dog welfare, and this week stgreyhounds reminded me of the terrible ways racing greyhounds are treated in this country and pointed me at GPAEC, which broke the story, and the wider Greyhound Pets of America, the largest single non-profit Greyhound adoption group worldwide. I mean really. Look at these faces.

PHEW THAT WAS A LOT OF RADIO FREE MONDAY. Thanks for your time, everyone! And remember, you can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how best to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help.