In Meghan Murphy’s Globe and Mail op-ed of June 3rd, A prostitution solution: Outlaw the customers, not the hookers, she presents what is often referred to as the Swedish or Nordic model of legislation — removing penalties for those who sell sex but prosecuting the buying of it — as a compromise between the arguments for criminalization and those for legalization of sex work. Ironically, she phrases this as decriminalization, when it’s actually more of a lateral or distal form of criminalization… but one which still retains the pressure on sex workers to avoid the law and live (Read more…)
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Although he is addressing an audience in NYC, Cornell West‘s words are equally applicable on this side of the border. They seem especially important given the Harper regime’s many efforts to tear down Canadian values and the obligations we have to one another as both citizens and human beings. If you want to see his full address, you can access it here. H/t Jack Saturday Recommend this Post
Visiting the Downtown Eastside (DTES) has churned up some contradictions for me, and resolving those contradictions requires re-thinking some questions I thought I already knew the answers to: 1) To what extent do people choose to live in the DTES, and to what extent are they stuck there? 2) Does the DTES community strengthen its residents or weaken them? Does it help mitigate the impact of addiction and poverty, or does it help perpetuate addiction and poverty? I don’t know. Maybe they choose it and are stuck there. Maybe they are both strengthened and weakened by it. Maybe it mitigates (Read more…) Tiny socialist caucus raises ruckus at NDP convention Party forces protesting delegates to put away anti-drone banner By Laura Payton, CBC News What a bunch of middle of the road drones the NDP has become…now there is a muzzling of dissent? I have always voted NDP – not because I agreed with them on everything – since they are way too timid on many issues that need a strong voice and a strong response – but because they were closest to my personal philosophy of social justice..as the years went by, and the Party skewers further and further . . . → Read More: Left Over: Droning on and On at the NDP Convention…(but no drones, please!) I grew up in a Pentecostal church, so I remember the beginnings of some of the dominionist doctrines that characterize far right faith groups today. There was never any one principal compendium of theology that every church got behind (just as there’s no single denomination in the dominionist movement, and divisions exist), but rather there were different streams of thought that flowed in and gradually changed the course of the river of belief teachings. It filtered in through books by C. Peter Wagner, sermons by Oral Roberts, through Maranatha Ministries publications, through Youth For Christ media, and various . . . → Read More: Dented Blue Mercedes: Using scripture to rationalize slavery by the one percent Disclaimer: My memories have been assisted by Google and a piece of paper, 8-1/2″ x 11″ divided in half, on which is written the following: After signing up for The Movie Network again recently, I came upon the film “Vito: A Man For All Seasons”. I was immediately transported back to the early summer day in … … Continue reading → Well, perhaps it isn’t a coming out per-se, since it’s questionable as to whether they were ever “in.” But RoadKill Radio commentators Kari Simpson and Ron Gray have more or less made their position known on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill during an interview with Christian Heritage Party leader Jim Hnatiuk, who tacitly agreed. The interview highlighted the growing antipathy among Canadian Evangelicals toward Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Office of Religious Freedom, which will be a topic for another post. But here’s what they said (starts at 4:54 in the video): SIMPSON: The Minister responsible for this Office . . . → Read More: Dented Blue Mercedes: Canadian Evangelical audio program comes out in favour of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Sort of. A bit of point and counterpoint here, to provoke some thought. I thought this portion of a lecture given by Robert Sapolsky at Stanford University, given in 2010, would be worth posting for folks who found this blog recently, and/or aren’t familiar with some of the medical discoveriess since the late 1990s. It gives a very quick overview of some of the developments that have been happening in studying transsexualism.
This comes via Transadvocate, and h/t Zoe Brain. As a counterpoint, I was going to link to an article I wrote called Why “Born This Way” Is Not the . . . → Read More: Dented Blue Mercedes: Intersex Conditions within the Transsexual Brain / Why “Born This Way” Is Not the Point International Women’s Day: What’s the way forward? By Judy Rebick | March 8, 2013 As an aging feminist I am often asked to speak about the progress we have made as feminists and how much is left to do. It gets depressing sometimes because of the persistence of violence against women and economic inequality. I am despairing of the deep gendered divide in children’s toys and the heavy load placed upon young women expected to be beautiful, thin, successful, a great mom and too often chief cook and bottle washer at home. Not to mention daily viewing the old Reform . . . → Read More: Walking Turcot Yards: International Women’s Day 2013 By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive | March 3, 2013: Turns out Bradley Manning tried to leak to New York Times and the Washington Post before WikiLeaks. But he couldn’t breach the thick armor of the America’s mainstream media. Manning made the revelation in a 35-page statement he read to the military court on Thursday. Via the Guardian: Bradley Manning has READ MORE Rev Shaun Fryday has been selected by Montreal’s United Theological College to receive the award, established by my late brother, at the UTC Convocation on May 8th, 2013. Fittingly, the ceremonies will take place in Shaun’s congregation of Beaconsfield United Church. When he received the news, Shaun is said to have been deeply moved, recalling … … Continue reading → Been thinking about the people in Fort Chipewan today, and everyone who lives in Northern Alberta near the Tar Sands. Stumbled on this song and thought it seemed like a pretty good way of positively saying no to all the powers that are destroying everything in the name of greed. It sounds good now matter how it’s done. And there is a version for almost everyone here. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Dont+fence+me+in&view=detail&mid=B160E7CB3DDECA21ABD7B160E7CB3DDECA21ABD7&first=421&FORM=NVPFVR http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Dont+fence+me+in&view=detail&mid=66A8ACC3110122756A3E66A8ACC3110122756A3E&first=261&FORM=NVPFVR Guess that’s it for now.
. . . → Read More: Walking Turcot Yards: Don’t Fence Me In If you’ve frequented any LGBT media at all, you’ve heard about Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill (often referred to as the “Kill the Gays Bill”), and possibly other anti-gay legislative bills that have been debated in African nations. Perhaps you’ve signed on to petitions directed to various governments to urge them to put pressure on those nations to drop this type of legislation. And if you’ve been paying close attention, you’ll have seen that when governments do put the pressure on nations like Uganda, often the situation for LGBT Africans becomes worse, with political leaders vowing to enact extreme . . . → Read More: Dented Blue Mercedes: Doing something about anti-gay lobbying in Africa In August 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins entered the Family Research Council (FRC) headquarters and opened fire, injuring a security guard as he was tackled — fortunately, before he could cause any more damage. Periodically, I see people who I otherwise respect trying to dismiss the incident as insignificant, or even making excuses for Corkins. Violence is not an acceptable response to hate. I’ll add the caveat “unless someone is in direct danger.” I believe in the right to self-defense and accept that there could be extreme situations that preclude using the word “never,” i.e. mass criminalization and . . . → Read More: Dented Blue Mercedes: Violence is almost never an acceptable response. Neither is rationalizing it. New Secretary of State positioned to advance American climate leadership, should deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline By 350.org | Feb. 6, 2013: WASHINGTON – Sixty leading environmental, conservation, development, faith-based, and social justice organizations are congratulating Secretary of State John Kerry for his commitment to fight climate change and urging him to “spur bold READ MORE 
 350.org, Activism News, Advocacy, civil society, climate change, environment, Featured, Forward on Climate, Guest Blog, John Kerry, Keystone XL Pipeline, Natural Resources, Natural Resources Defense Council, Obama Administration, Press release, Secretary of State, Social Justice, Tar Sands Oil, United States A Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE) and Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) joint statement supporting the aspirations of Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island and their aspirations, currently being articulated by #IdleNoMore. by CASWE and CASW, Jan. 31, 2013: As social work educators and practitioners the members of the Canadian Association of Social Work READ MORE
Advocacy, Bill C45, Canada, Canada Politics, Canadian Association of Social Work Education, Canadian Association of Social Workers, Canadians, CASW, CASWE, Colonialism, Featured, First Nations, Guest Blog, Idle No More movement, indigenous peoples, Indigenous Rights, laws, Omnibus Budget Bill C-45, policies, Politics News, Press release, resources, rights, Social Justice, Social Needs, Turtle Island As a member of the United Church of Canada, my wife receives The United Church Observer, a monthly publication offering an array of interesting pieces and interviews. This month’s issue has an interview with renowned journalist and activist Chris Hedges, a man whose deep social convictions and activism I deeply admire and have written about previously. In the interview, echoing a theme found in his Death of the Liberal Class, Hedges discusses the failure of the so-called ‘liberal churches’ to confront the deeply entrenched problems we face today such as poverty, climate change, and the abuse of . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: Christ Hedges On The Failure of Churches The official statement from the family and partner of Aaron Swartz, the Reddit co-founder, Internet activist , programmer and extraordinary hacker, who committed suicide Friday night: Our beloved brother, son, friend, and partner Aaron Swartz hanged himself on Friday in his Brooklyn apartment. We are in shock, and have not yet come to terms with his passing. Aaron’s READ MORE By Joe Fantauzzi jjfantauzzi@gmail.com | @jjfantauzzi When a minority federal government facing a confidence vote over a rejected economic update suspended Parliament in 2008, a constitutional expert told CBC News the move had set a “dangerous precedent.”[1] Several years later, when a minority government in Ontario used the same procedure, known as prorogation, to pull (Read more…) . . . → Read More: Illuminated By Street Lamps: On Prorogation: A Solution To Hand The Power Back To The People One failed attempt at a shoe bomb, and we all take off our shoes at the airport; 31 school shootings since Columbine, and no change in our regulation of guns…- John Oliver * This is a quote taken from Dr King’s eulogy for the children killed in the Birmingham Alabama Baptist church bombing in 1963. [...] By South End Press Publisher: South End Press Pages: 368 ISBN: 978-0-89608-794-1 Format: Paperback original Release Date: 2011-05-01 Synopsis: The extent of the violence affecting our communities is staggering. Nearly one in three women in the United States will experience intimate violence in her lifetime. And while intimate violence affects relationships across the sexuality and gender spectrums, the likelihood [...] Geneviève Bergeron (1968-1989), civil engineering student Hélène Colgan (1966-1989), mechanical engineering student Nathalie Croteau (1966-1989), mechanical engineering student Barbara Daigneault (1967-1989), mechanical engineering student Anne-Marie Edward (1968-1989), chemical engineering student Maud Haviernick (1960-1989), materials engineering student Maryse Laganière (1964-1989), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique’s finance department Maryse Leclair (1966-1989), materials engineering student Anne-Marie Lemay (1967-1989), mechanical engineering student Sonia Pelletier (1961-1989), mechanical engineering student Michèle Richard (1968-1989), materials engineering student Annie St-Arneault (1966-1989), mechanical engineering student Annie Turcotte (1969-1989), materials engineering student Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (1958-1989), nursing student The subjugation of women is no man’s birthright.If you don’t “get” (Read more…) . . . → Read More: Illuminated By Street Lamps: Je Me Souviens/I Remember Dec. 6, 1989 Sometime after 4 p.m. on December 6, 1989, an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal’s École Polytechnique and killed 14 women. He separated the men from the women and before opening fire on the classroom of female engineering students he screamed, “I hate feminists.” Almost immediately, the Montreal Massacre became a galvanizing moment in which [...] The Province of Nova Scotia passed Bill 140, the Transgendered [sic] Persons Protection Act, today. The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP) commented on Facebook: “Bill 140 passed today with unanimous support in the Nova Scotia Legislature. “Debate” isn’t the right word to express what happened – it was an outpouring of support for adding The increasingly privatized delivery of social services under neoliberal governments is arguably doing real damage to the Canadian welfare state. Discussions about neoliberalism, which as the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics points out emphasize deregulation and a diminished role for the state[1], are often closely linked with the rise of lean and mean government policies in the 1980s. The ideology is also frequently connected to Thatcherism, named after United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which emphasized privatization and authoritarian social policy.[2] In a scathing indictment of neoliberal ideology, research released in 2006 by Karen Bridget (Read more…) |
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