Infrequent linkspam

The OH and I are going on a cruise in May, but I have misgivings because of the way cruise lines are reported to treat some of their workers.
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/15/cruise_from_hell_dont_pity_carnivals_passengers/
(beware the comments)

Linkspam via the OH:

http://www.salon.com/2013/03/31/new_york_times_obit_for_rocket_scientist_introduces_her_as_mom_and_cook_first/ (self-explanatory)


http://smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=1765767
I should probably keep my mouth shut about religions that I don't follow. So I'll just quote this.

at the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention facility in Rome...the 76-year-old Francis got down on his knees to wash and kiss the feet of 12 inmates, two of them women. The rite re-enacts Jesus’ washing of the feet of his 12 apostles during the Last Supper before his crucifixion, a sign of his love and service to them.
The church’s liturgical law holds that only men can participate in the rite, given that Jesus’ apostles were all male.

...

“If someone is washing the feet of any females ... he is in violation of the Holy Thursday rubrics,” [canon lawyer Edward] Peters wrote in a 2006 article that he reposted earlier this month on his blog.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/21/news/economy/stripper-labor-rights/
Strippers seek benefits:

As independent contractors, strippers' income comes solely from tips. Often, club owners' long list of fees take a big bite out of that too.
Hima B., a former stripper in San Francisco who is working on a documentary about strippers' labor rights, paid $5 "stage fee" for a six-hour shift when she started working in 1992....By the time she stopped working in 1999, she was paying $200 per shift....Sonja also paid stage fees, and more -- $80 for showing up late, $25 to dance one song and $60 for a half hour in a private room. Some strippers also have to pay DJs and other overhead costs like rent.
...
There are other professions where employees work for tips or have to pay for a spot -- like waiters and hairdressers. The difference is that these workers also earn wages.
...
Workers at The Lusty Lady, a San Francisco peep show, formed the Exotic Dancers Union in 1997. Soon after that, The Lusty Lady became fully owned and operated by its employees, who continue to vote on all business decisions.
"I get paid a little bit more than minimum wage hourly on top of my tips" said Victoria Privates, a dancer who started working at The Lusty Lady last year.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-21/fab-dot-com-winning-in-e-commerce-with-whimsy
Being a target demographic: I had a membership on fab.com for a brief period and I had to get rid of it because I wanted to buy so many of the things they sold. (None of which I actually needed.)

( trigger warning for descriptions of violence against women (advertising $fail) )