Feminist Toronto

Women Against Poverty Collective: Housing Takeover Day

2007-06-09T01:31:00.000-04:00

More coverage of the women's housing takeover!

Demanding Shelter

2007-06-08T00:55:00.000-04:00

A women and trans-folk only housing squat in Toronto attracted about 300 participants on Sunday, and a large number of police. Despite a strong anti-violence message, protesters were forcibly evicted from the squatted house at 4 Howard Street (Bloor and Sherbourne Sts.) after occupying the site for several hours.

Afghan journalist killed for giving voice to women

2007-06-08T00:51:00.000-04:00

The murder of two female journalists in Afghanistan in the space of a week has brought home the risks that newswomen face in a country where women are not expected to ask questions.

Zakia Zaki, 35, was shot seven times as she slept in her bed with her young son late Tuesday. A respected journalist and human-rights activist in the province of Parwan just north of the capital, she headed the U.S.-funded Peace Radio. She was also the principal of a local school and ran for parliament in 2005.

This is so frightening. I don't support the current Canadian presence in Afghanistan - in its military role - but I do acknowledge that things in that country are scary. The treatment of women there is particularly scary.

A Fat Rant.

2007-06-01T23:16:00.000-04:00

My friend Jill posted this video on her Facebook. It's called A Fat Rant.

It was made by a woman named Joy Nash and is around eight minutes long. There are also many video responses to her "rant." I haven't watched them all, but this one Re: A Fat Rant is my favourite.

One of the things Joy talks about in her video is shopping. How hard it is to find something larger than 14. I am a size 14, and I still have a hard time finding anything.

The best part about her rant is that she talks about not being ashamed of fatness, and not allowing it to be a definition. Like those who reclaim words, like "queer" or "cunt," this follows with the reclamation. Joy offers that we shouldn't hide our weight, but state it like we'd state a hair colour.

An amazing video.

And, to join in, I weigh 184 and my hair is brown.

Look where we are now!

2007-05-27T23:40:00.001-04:00

BlogTO asked me to do a small interview. Here it is! Was a pleasure to do.

The period debate

2007-05-21T23:22:00.000-04:00

According to reports out of the U.S., the FDA is about to approve a drug that will allow women to greatly reduce or shorten all together their menstrual bleeding.

"Women are proactive about their bodies much more so, as they should be," Knatz says. "They're saying, ' . . . I don't want my period. How can I stop that from happening?' "

Still, many women view menstruation as a natural part of life and are reluctant to shut it down artificially, at least to a prolonged degree. Some experts warn that little is known about any health risks from suppressing periods for a lengthy time. Experts interviewed say these medications would not hamper getting pregnant once women stop taking them.

The Arizona Republic

I personally find these types of medications questionable. Is there a good reason to have a period? What does it do for the body? Is it useful?

Science has yet to give us a good answer on this one (draw your own conclusions why) so why would we suppress periods without knowing what benefit we draw from them?

Mourners hold candlelight procession in Toronto to honour June Callwood

2007-04-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

Hundreds people walked through the streets of downtown Toronto on Tuesday evening in a candlelight procession to honour the memory of journalist and social activist June Callwood.

Callwood, a well known social activist and journalist, passed away early Saturday at the age of 82 after a long battle with cancer.

Known as a tireless campaigner for social justice issues, Callwood will be remembered as a procession moves through the city between Jessie's Centre for Teenagers and Casey House, facilities she helped to establish.

Jessie's Centre provides support to pregnant teens and Casey House is a hospice for people with AIDS and HIV.
CTV

TVO will be repeating an interview with Callwood:

June Callwood on Paula Todd Person 2 Person
Friday April 20, 2007 at 10 pm
Repeated Saturday April 21 at 6 pm and Sunday April 22 at 3 am

And in remembrance of another great woman:

A Memorial Service for Doris Anderson will be held on
May 12 at 2:00pm, Convocation Hall, University of Toronto
FAFIA

University of Western's Gazette misogyny

2007-04-08T16:02:00.000-04:00

God, am I ever sick of campus media leading the charge to embrace homophobia and incredible sexism. This time it comes from London, Ont.'s University of Western Ontario. Its student paper, The Gazette raised a stir (thankfully) over its spoof paper in late March.

Here's what Craig Ashbourne writes on rabble.ca about it:

The Gazette, the University of Western Ontario student newspaper, published an issue on Friday March 30, 2007 which claimed to be a satirical issue, intending no harm to anyone involved in the stories. However, it then proceeded to violate both the Ontario Human Rights Code regarding harassment on the grounds of both gender and sexual orientation.

Following a series of misogynistic and homophobic articles, the editors then proceeded to include an article entitled “Western Girl Likes the Taste of Rohypnol: She's a real knockout!” [Rohypnol is the name of a date rape drug.] This, despite recent studies from the University of Victoria placing the rate of sexual assault among female university students at between one in six and one in four.

Soap Box Spinster blogs about this issue here.

This is part of a letter written in to the Gazette:

As a member of Western’s student body, I’m writing to let you know I’m disgusted by The Gazette’s Friday, March 30 “satirical” issue. The issue presents a series of articles making light of date rape, violence against women and homosexuality. These jokes are used every day to justify violence against women and queer people.

From The Gazette's webpage

I've tried, but I can't find the "spoof" issue on the internet. Perhaps they had the good sense to take it down.

South Asian women rally in Vancouver against violence

2007-04-06T14:13:00.000-04:00

"A message is being sent to us [that] violent attacks against women are a backlash to our gains," said Raveen Mandair, a member of the group South Asian Women Against Male Violence, which organized the rally.

The rally was about bringing to light the violence that happens in South Asian families that is rarely made public.

One of the most shocking cases, that this event was in memorial of was the case of Rajwar Gakhal.

On April 5, 1996, Gakhal's family was massacred by her husband.

This is from a paper published from Simon Fraser University by Yasmin Jiwani, Ph.D. in 1997.

Rajwar Gakhal challenged that authority when she left her husband and filed for divorce. Yet, rather than focusing on the bravery of this woman, existing accounts simply blame the victim by suggesting that she was remiss in not laying charges. The fear of taking such an action is dismissed. However, when compared to existing research, it is apparent that many women are afraid to press charges for fear of retaliation from their ex-spouses. Because of this fear, many cases either do not proceed to court or result in a stay of proceedings. And it is precisely because of this fear that the British Columbia Attorney General's office issued a mandatory charging policy in 1993. According to this policy, police have to investigate a case where there is suspicion of violence in an intimate relationship. Further, they have to report the case to Crown Counsel which then pursues it in court.

Most media reports have focused on gun control laws and how effective they have been in suppressing the number of women's deaths.

From The Province on Apr. 2, 2006:

Statistics show 85 women killed by firearms in 1991, dropping to 32 in 2004, a decline of 62 per cent. In that same time, the number of women murdered without a firearm dropped by just 10 per cent.

But can this drop be seen as success? We aren't given the number of women killed without a firearm to know what this 10 per cent drop means. And 32 women killed a year with firearms is still too many. And, how do we know it was changes in firearm legislation that did this?

Pride Toronto Honored Dyke

2007-03-30T16:04:00.000-04:00

The Pride Toronto Dyke March Committee invites all members of the
women's and trans' LGBTTIQQ2S communities to come hear from, and vote
for, this year's unstoppable Honoured Dyke and Honoured Group
nominees.

Presentations and voting will take place at the Pride Toronto General
Meeting:

TUESDAY, APRIL 3rd, 7pm, 519 COMMUNITY CENTRE

Additionally, voting will be open April 3rd from 4pm to 6pm at the
Pride Office 65 Wellesley Street East, Suite 501.

In the scheduling of the Honoured Dyke and Honoured Group voting,
Stephanie and I were late to recognize that April 3rd is a day of
celebration for the Jewish Community. We sincerely apologize for this
oversight, and hope that the additional afternoon voting period will
allow those who attend Seder an opportunity to participate in the selection
process. As always, please let us know if there any questions or concerns.

Both the Pride Office and the 519 Community Centre are accessible spaces
for people with mobility dis/abilities.
Child care will not be provided, but children are welcome to attend.
This is a trans positive space.

What Canada did on IWD

2007-03-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

The rally and march haven't happened in Toronto yet, but Internation Women's Day did bring some fun surprises.

The members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) who spent International Women's Day in Status of Women Minister Bev Oda's constituency office say it was a day well spent.
"Since Minister Oda didn't ask us to celebrate International Women's Day
with her, we decided to invite ourselves," says PSAC Regional Executive
Vice-President for Ontario Gerry Halabecki, one of the members installed in
the office. "We felt she needed to hear first hand how the Harper government
is failing women." - PSAC

One reporter called International Women's Day "Beat Up on Bev Oda Day."

International Women's Day became Beat Up On Bev Oda Day, as politicians and advocacy groups lined up to blast the Conservative cabinet minister for cuts and mandate changes at Status of Women Canada.

Oda's constituency office in Bowmanville, Ont. was occupied for several hours Thursday by members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada protesting the moves.

A day earlier, Oda had announced a $5-million increase in grants the agency distributes for women's projects. The money amounts to a redirection of a $5-million cut to Status of Women's administrative budget last September, resulting in the closure of 12 of 16 regional offices on April 1. - Canada.com

I somehow missed the news that Oda had given the $5 million back in a ideologically-based apology. "Equality" hasn't been added back into the language of women's programs and the grants still can't be used for advocacy. It must go to band-aid solutions, not sociological change. Nice.

In Iran, women were arrested in clash with police on IWD:

Iranian police and activists clash on women's day

International Women's Day . . .

2007-03-08T17:12:00.000-05:00

I feel bad. I'm not doing anything remotely women-positive today: International Women's Day. And there's this curious thing called "Blog Against Sexism Day" which I don't quite understand. How does blogging one way or another do anything when you only do it on a specific day?

It's like telling people: "Today is talk all about your mother day." What does that mean? Why would I do it today and not tomorrow? Is this day at all useful?

Given that my blog is about blogging against sexism, I think I'll pass on the "celebration" of blogging against sexism.

As for IWD, that seems more understandable to me. It's not really every day that you get to rally.

In Toronto, though, today has no rally or march. It's on Saturday. I'm assuming that's so everyone can attend. Unless you work weekends, like many minimum wage earners do. Then, well, I guess you're not coming.

Interestingly, one of the platforms of this year's march is increasing the minimum wage to $10. Something Ontario should really be doing anyway.

For those looking to go to the march, here's the info:

The International Women's Day (IWD) Toronto Committee and Women Working with Immigrant Women are pleased to announce the 29th Annual International Women's Day March & Rally on Saturday, March 10, 2007. The day begins with the IWD 2007 Rally at 11:00 am (Toronto, OISE Auditorium, Bloor St. W. & St. George subway) proceeding with the IWD 2007 March at 1:00 pm through Toronto's downtown core and concluding with the IWD 2007 Fair at 1:30-4:30 pm (Ryerson's University Student Centre).

So, do we think that the march is going to send Harper back to the drawing board with the cuts to Status of Women Canada? Do we think the minimum wage is going to go up? Do we think peace will reign? Of course none of us do. But getting together to show our strength, size and commitment might just boost the morale. I think that's all that matters.

Magazines: where are the women writers?

2007-03-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

Heather Mallick has written a great piece on women writers in American magazines. About a year ago, I noticed this trend when reading The Atlantic. Where are the women writers?

Mallick's article unveils a surprising disinterest amongst editors of the big "liberal" magazines in the US to make the effort to include a more diverse group of writers.

I can't say I'm surprised.

Last year, an American website, WomenTK, began tracking the ratio of male to female writers in Harper's, The Atlantic, The NYT Magazine, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. Arguably, the ratio should be more or less one to one because that's what life is like. As it turned out:

* Vanity Fair 2.7:1.

* The New Yorker 4.1:1.

* The Atlantic 3.6:1.

* Harper's 6.9:1 (118 male bylines, only 17 female). Fully six of its 12 issues from September '05 to August '06 had one or no female writers.

The numbers, as Ruth Davis Konigsberg of WomenTK writes, prove Ursula K. Le Guin's remark that “when women speak more than 30 per cent of the time, men perceive them as dominating the conversation.”

The excerpt above is taken from rabble.ca's republishing of Mallick's article which originally ran on CBC.ca.

For a thorough analysis of The Atlantic, Harpers, New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker and Vanity Fair and women writers go to: WomenTK.

Doris Anderson dies at 85

2007-03-03T16:02:00.000-05:00

Champion of women's rights, Doris Anderson, a former Toronto Star columnist and editor of Chatelaine magazine died of cancer yesterday.

Anderson and her team of writers looked at everything from abortion to sexism and made it appealing to everyone from the "prairie housewife to the Toronto sophisticate," Landsberg said. "She brought forward all the key issues for women and made them palatable and understandable ... To her, equality just made sense. It was a question of human rights and fairness."

Anderson had a profound impact on the face of Canadian feminism.

She agitated for the creation of a Royal Commission on the Status of Women through the 1960s. That commission's report eventually launched Canada's feminist revolution. - Toronto Star

Women Occupy the Status of Women Office in St. John's

2007-02-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

HELP NEEDED!!!

Women Occupy the Status of Women Office in St. John's

Both Petrina Beals, the Coordinator of the Women's Centre and Janet
O'Donnell,
Treasurer and long-time member of the Mokami Status of Women Council, are
involved in the occupation. They need your help!

Although Minister Oda claims they are putting the savings from the cuts back
into services for women, the closure of the regional office in our province
hurts us. Centralization of decision-making about women's issues is bad for
Labrador. It means that decisions about funding for women's services or
programmes will be made in New Brunswick. That doesn't make sense to us.

The current conservative government has also opened the door for private
companies to apply for funding from the Status of Women Canada. That
doesn't
make sense to us either.

The Minister didn't consult with women to make these decisions. She says
women
are already equal and the struggle for women's equality is over. We don't
think
so.

Please call or email the Minister for the Status of Women, Beverly Oda, to
tell
her you support the women in Labrador who are occupying the Status of Women
office in St. John's. Her email address is: Oda.B@parl.gc.ca

Thanks for your support,
Claudia Mann,
Mokami Status of Women Council
claudiajmann@yahoo.ca

Tennis catches up

2007-02-22T23:55:00.000-05:00

Wimbledon will pay men and women tennis players the same prize money this year, bringing the tournament in line with the three other Grand Slams...
The Australian and U.S. Opens pay the sexes the same. The French Open last year paid its champions equal prize money while retaining a differential during earlier rounds. Wimbledon men's champion Roger Federer won 655,000 pounds ($1.2 million) last year, 30,000 pounds more than women's counterpart Amelie Mauresmo. Prize money for 2007 has yet to be set.Bloomberg

It's sad, but I'm not even surprised that there was a difference (though I was unaware of the discrepency before this story).

Remember the big poo-bah about a woman playing golf with the men a couple of years ago?

And women's sports rarely get the coverage or viewership that men's do.

So why be surprised that women are paid less in tennis?

Positive move though.

Pro-life adopts small baby

2007-02-21T22:47:00.000-05:00

The case of a tiny baby born at just 22 weeks has made the news, and looking at the picture, I can see why. That baby's feet are translucent!

Disturbing, though, is how pro-lifers have jumped on the survival of the baby as a reason to ban abortions.

Meanwhile, although it doesn't often happen, the Abortion Act allows terminations to be carried out until 24 weeks in Britain; any time after that there must be incontrovertible medical evidence that it would be dangerous to continue. The law in the US is predictably fraught and unclear, and in any case varies from state to state. Roe v Wade bans it after the foetus is viable, which, as Amillia has shown, is something of a contestable point.Guardian Unlimited

So, perhaps if women don't want to carry their baby to term, they can just have it removed and pro-lifers can try to rescue them all. It's really the only solution I can see.

Pickton trial coverage misses the point

2007-02-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

I've been following the trial of Robert Pickton in the deaths of six women from Vancouver with frustration and, at many times in many ways, in horror.

The case involves lots of material to sensationalize: remains of the women Pickton is accused of killing were found all around his pig farm in B.C.

This case brings up many, many issues.

One of those is the way the media is dealing with the graphic details they are learning. Since I get the Toronto Star at home, my knowledge of these deaths has mostly been filtered through columnist Rosie DiManno. I'm not sure why the Star insists on putting a controversial columnist on a serious, important case, but that's beside the point.

After I read her account of the first day, I swore I would read no more by her on this subject. She recalled everything. Every little detail.

I was sickened.

What is the purpose of such description of the violation of women. It seems to be amazingly disrespectful of those who had died: of their bodies, their experiences and their deaths.

Now, of course, at this point DiManno really had no way of avoiding these descriptions. The rest of the media is reporting it and if she doesn't, the Star loses some readership.

But maybe that's the way it should go. Maybe one media outlet needs to make a stand.

I will continue to follow the trial, but not from DiManno. I can't handle it.

We are not a 'Special Interest' Group

2007-01-17T17:24:00.000-05:00

Feminist organizations nationwide are protesting the latest in a series of attacks on Status of Women Canada (SWC).

by Anna Carastathis
Marching on Ottawa Hill on December 10 to protest Harper's cuts to SWC. Photo: CUPEDavid-James Fernandes

On October 11, the Dominion reported that the Conservative government imposed a 40 per cent reduction of SWC's operating budget over two years, as well as new restrictions on the agency's grant program. In what might be described as an effort to de-politicize SWC, the government has forbidden the agency from funding groups that undertake advocacy or lobbying for women's rights. It has also removed the word "equality" from the agency's mandate.

Following these cuts and restrictions, on November 28, Bev Oda, the minister responsible for SWC, announced the closure of 12 of 16 SWC regional offices, to take effect on March 31, 2007. Almost half of SWC's employees -- 61 of 131 -- will lose their jobs. The four remaining regional offices (in Edmonton, Montréal, Moncton and Ottawa) will be required to provide services to expanded -- critics say unmanageable -- jurisdictions. In the most extreme case, the Edmonton office will serve women and women's groups across British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, in addition to those based in Alberta. This is an area of over 4.7 million square kilometres, constituting almost half -- 47 per cent -- of the total territory occupied by Canada. Despite the foreseeable increased workload, there are no plans at present to hire additional personnel to staff the Edmonton office, according to a SWC official. The Moncton office will serve Atlantic Canada; the Montréal office will serve Québec and Nunavut; and the Ottawa office will serve Ontario and national feminist and women's organizations. Justifying this decision, Oda maintained that the regional office closures will help the SWC remain within its severely restricted operating budget, saving approximately $700,000 in rent and utility bills.

Implying that the SWC is a "special interest" agency, Oda told the CBC that "[we] don't need to separate the men from the women in this country." However, on January 18, 2006, during his campaign, Stephen Harper vowed, if elected, to "take concrete and immediate measures [...] to ensure that Canada fully upholds its commitments to women in Canada." Now, the Conservative government is claiming that downsizing SWC will actually better serve the goal of achieving women's equality. As quoted in the Ottawa Citizen, Oda suggested that running a separate agency devoted to researching and mobilizing to improve conditions facing women's issues actually "weakens the ability of the equality of women to be instilled throughout the government departments, agencies, and offices."

See the rest by visiting the link below at the Dominion.

Treatment keeps girl child-sized

2007-01-04T11:09:00.000-05:00

Parents of a severely disabled girl in the US have revealed that they are keeping her child-sized in order to give her a better life.

The nine-year-old, named Ashley, has the mental ability of a three-month-old baby and cannot walk or talk.

Along with hormone doses to limit her growth, Ashley's parents also opted for surgery to block breast growth and had her uterus and appendix removed.

They say the treatment will help to improve her quality of life.

The parents apparently have a blog about their choices, but the story doesn't reveal where the blog is.

Disability issues are really hard to form opinion on. On one hand, it's easy to see and sympathize with the parents. Of course, if you're going to be taking care of your daughter for the rest of your life, it makes sense to try to make life easier for everyone.

At the same time, these medical procedures are not minor. Removing the uterus, breast buds -- those are big decisions. Major surgery. I guess we have to take them at their word that these are in the best interests of their child.

But it doesn't feel quite right.

Two moms? No prob.

2007-01-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

2007, you're starting out good!

A child can legally have three parents, Ontario's highest court ruled in a landmark decision Tuesday.

In the so-called "two-mother" ruling, the Ontario Court of Appeal said the biological mother of a five-year-old boy and her same-sex partner can both be legally recognized as mothers of the child. The boy's biological father is still recognized as his dad. -CBC

The case also brought to light "gaps" in different custody laws in Ontario. For example, if the lesbian couple adopted the child, the biological father would be cut out.

Initially, the case went to the Ontario Superior Court, but was turned away because the judge said he didn't have jurisdiction over such a case. It was then appealed.

The appeal was amicable, with all three parents supporting it.

Who smiles like this?

2007-01-03T00:25:00.000-05:00

This man has been charged with murdering two women in Edmonton, Alberta. This photograph was taken after a hearing earlier in the year. His name is George Svekia.

The latest charge was over a 19-year-old prostitute named Rachel Quinney.

Since 1988, there have been at least 14 unsolved murders of women -- most of them prostitutes -- in the Greater Edmonton Area.

Most of the slain women have been discovered in rural fields and ditches east of Edmonton, and at least two were burned.-The Globe and Mail

Even if this man is innocent, who smiles like that? He is charged with murder. And with committing "indignities" to at least one of their corpses.

It doesn't really get worse than this.

Holiday hosts minorities

2007-01-02T14:49:00.000-05:00

I watched a lot of TV over the holidays. And perhaps I'm wrong about this, but it seemed to me that many of the hosts of TV (and radio) programs during this time were all non-white.

For example, on New Year's eve, CTV's 6:00 Toronto (the most multicultural city in Canada) news instead of anchors Christine Bentley (white)and Ken Shaw (white); sports reporter Lance Brown (white) and weather man Dave Devall (white); we saw Andria Case (Black) as anchor, Suneel Joshi on sports (East Indian), and someone on weather who was (again) not white, but I can't locate his name online.

Certainly, this is not a concerted effort by the networks to only give white people holidays off (though Sandie Rinaldo and Lloyd Robertson, both national anchors who are white haven't been on-air for a week). Rather, it is more likely that it signals where people of different origins stand on the hierarchy at the networks in general.

Who chooses the anchors? Why are they always white?

You can also judge how prestigious a position is by what colour the person is who occupies it. National late-night news? Highly prestigious: Lloyd and Sandie.

But local late-night news, less so. Pauline Chan (Asian) and Bill Hutchinson host that one. Subsequently, that news program is advertised far less than the 6:00 all-white line-up with Christine and Ken.

Do you think that in 10 years everything will even out and those minorities will capture the top spots?

When I'm in my 40s, will the national news anchor be a woman from Botswana?

I hope so, but I'm skeptical.

One might do well to look up "lesbian" in the dictionary...

2006-12-08T14:47:00.000-05:00

Great post from Pandagon.

Click the link below.

Black women in prison

2006-12-02T15:35:00.000-05:00

Earl Ofari Hutchinson has written an intelligent piece on the Huffington Post about Black women in prison in the US.

I think that much of what is said in his article can be applied to Canada as well, with a particular emphasis on Aboriginal women instead.

Unfortunately, the tepid public debate over the consequence of locking up so many women is riddled with misconceptions. One is that women commit violent crimes for the same reasons that men do. They don't. Women are less likely than men to assault or murder strangers while committing crimes. Two-thirds of the women jailed assaulted or killed relatives or intimates. Their victims were often spouses, lovers, or boyfriends. In many cases they committed violence defending themselves against sexual or physical abuse.

I don't think that women are incapable of the same horrific acts of rape and murder that men are, but it's true that women are much less likely to do those things.

While in 2003‐2004, 41% of non‐Aboriginal prisoners are serving their sentences on conditional release in the community, only 31% of those on conditional release are Aboriginal.

Aboriginal women are over‐represented in the federal correctional system, representing only 2% of women in Canada and 29% of women in federal prisons in July, 2003. In July, 2003, 60% of Aboriginal women serving federal sentences were in prison.

Those facts from the Elizabeth Fry Society.

Dec. 6 Toronto Events

2006-12-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

If you click the link at the bottom of this post, you can find a list of December 6 events to attend to remember the Montreal Massacre.

A lot of the events on the list revolve around universities, but there's one that doesn't, which is the one most appealing to me.

Societal Indifference: Is It Costing Native Women Their Lives

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, 8:00-10:00 pm following the Candlelight Vigil*

Tories shutting Status of Women offices

2006-12-02T00:21:00.000-05:00

The Conservative government is closing down most of its Status of Women Canada offices, saying they are not doing enough to serve women directly.

Twelve of the agency's 16 offices will close by April 1, Heritage Minister Bev Oda said Wednesday.

"What these offices don't necessarily provide is the help directly to women. There was a lot of lobbying groups, there was a lot of advocacy," Oda said.

"We don't need to separate the men from the women in this country.… This government as a whole is responsible to develop policies and programs that address the needs of both men and women."

I absolutely hate the argument that having services for a marginalized group is somehow perpetuating discrimination. It's like reverse-racism. All crap.

It also adds to the government's tendency to eliminate any sort of "watchdog" that may call into question the government's policies. It plays along with Harper's anti-media stance, amongst other things.

Red jenny's done it again

2006-11-19T01:22:00.000-05:00

Follow the "link" below for a fantastic blog entry by Red Jenny. It's called "Microcredit and Women Empowerment."

This is a hot topic right now because Muhammad Yunus won the nobel prize for his work on microcredit.

It's been disputed as a way of breaking the poor out of their poverty and the linked post articulates the issues (of particular interest to women, since they are the poorest group in the world).

Think Before You Pink

2006-11-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

I was just alerted to this campaign by the Breast Cancer Action group, based in the US.

Think Before You Pink is a critical campaign of the "buy pink" phenomenon. It could also apply to all of the other colour-based campaigns -- like the red campaign that includes Apple (MacIntosh computers) and The Gap clothing store.

There are some videos and downloadable ads about this Think Before You Pink campaign on the site as well as tons of great material like "Critical Questions to Ask" and a list of pink products.

Here's an excerpt from the critical questions section:

How much money from each product sold actually goes toward breast cancer?

For example, Yoplait donates ten cents for every pink yogurt lid mailed back to the company—it would take 4 lids just to make up for the price of the stamp. If a company is not giving as much as you think it should, you might choose to give directly to an organization or charity instead.

It raises important questions about the ways we address social problems today. I am a firm believer that the role of the government is to fund programs for the social good (instead of, say, sending people to space or developing weapons to kill other people).

BUT, if I do feel like giving my money to a charity that researches cancer or vaccinates children or provides HIV medication to people in Africa, this campaign is very poignant.

There are those that argue that in our capitalist, consumerist culture, the only way to get people to support charities is to couple giving with taking (aka buying).

I don't think this is the right way to go. You're not actually changing people's ideas about the world and their role in it. You're simply making people feel better about consuming more than they need and, actually, encouraging more of the same.

Of course, the worst part of all this is the profits the companies are making and the very small amount that is being given to the charities those companies "support."

Why don't these companies just donate money straight up? Then we'd know exactly how much they actually care about the issues.

More of the same, with a few exceptions

2006-11-13T21:54:00.000-05:00

Surprise, surprise, Miller is in and most incumbents, too.

Is there much to celebrate?

Perhaps only celebrating who didn't get in, like Pitfield and her anti-homeless policies.

I can't really blog about something so dull.

Sorry.

Vote!

2006-11-13T07:20:00.000-05:00

I don't have a lot of faith in politicians. Not even progressive, feminist politicians. But despite that, I still vote, because they're going to get elected one way or another and my abstention only makes sure that the regressive conservative candidates have an easier time getting elected.

So, whoever you vote for, just vote. There are actually some alright candidates out there.

Even better, there are lots of good websites:

Spacing votes

See how your councillor has voted before

Toronto Public Space Committee's elections page

Who Runs This Town?

And good commentary:

Royson James' picks and pans

Election Day 2006: what kind of city do you want?

Close council races

If nothing else, it gives you a reason to leave work early.

Thought this was clever...

2006-11-04T22:49:00.001-05:00

Feminist news o' the day.

2006-11-03T00:13:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling very uninspired right now, so I'm just going to outline some feminist news for your reading pleasure.

Women's deaths spur greater focus on domestic violence in ethnic communities

The deaths of three South Asian women in less than two weeks is prompting many more to go public with tales of abuse in the home.

Women claim brutal treatment from police

Two Russian immigrant women say the treatment they received at the hands of Edmonton cops last year was at a level of police brutality unheard of in Russia.

“Things like that would never happen in Russia, never. A Russian police officer who respects himself will never beat up a woman,” said Alexandra Andruchow, 36.

Health Canada grants manufacturers Class IV licences with conditions to market silicone gel-filled breast implants"

Health Canada announced today that it will grant licences with conditions to Inamed Corporation and Mentor Medical Systems to market their silicone gel-filled breast implants in Canada

Dogs and Bitches

2006-10-31T22:56:00.000-05:00

The big scandal in Canada right now is over whether it is OK (or appropriate) to call Liberal MP Belinda Stronach a bitch.

It started out simply enough. Stronach was a Conservative MP, dating another Conservative -- Peter MacKay.

Then Stronach decided to "cross the floor" and switch to the Liberal party. The day she announced this move, the press went to town with MacKay, who posed on his farm with his dog looking woeful.

That was in the spring of 2005.

Jump to last week. This is how the whole bitch debacle started.

The besieged Tory MP was once again forced to deny he ever called his ex-girlfriend - and now Liberal - Belinda Stronach a dog in an off mike joke in the House of Commons last week.

The barely audible exchange supposedly has MacKay being asked by a Liberal "What about your dog?"

A voice can be heard saying something like "You have her" and critics charge MacKay pointed to her ex's empty seat as he said it.

- CityNews

Then, just as it seemed the issue was going to pass, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel (for the Conservative Mulroney government of the 1980s), Norman Spector, comes out on a Vancouver radio station calling Stronach a bitch.

He doesn't just say it once, but over and over.

Spector told a Vancouver radio talk show that Stronach's public breakup last year with Peter MacKay, who is now foreign affairs minister, as well as a role she is alleged to have had in the marital problems of former Toronto Maple Leaf Tie Domi, means she is a bitch.

"I think she's a bitch. It's as simple as that," Spector said. He added that he believed 90 per cent of men would agree, considering her involvement with the former National Hockey League player and her break-up with MacKay.

-Toronto Star

In case you're not privy to the Tie Domi thing -- basically, Stronach is dating the former Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player. He is going through a break up with his wife. For some reason, this makes Stronach a bitch.

So, what's with all of the fuss about Stronach? Why has she suddenly become the most attacked woman in Canadian politics? Is it because of her blonde hair? Her money? Her looks?

We know nothing about other MPs personal lives -- not the men nor the women -- and for all we know, they could lead just as interesting lives.

They probably do.

So, to Mr. Spector, I say: Get a life.

The veil.

2006-10-28T02:33:00.000-04:00

Photo from Slate.com
Yikes! I'm surprised that this debate keeps coming up. I felt after we invaded Afghanistan we'd been through this veil debate enough. Apparently not.

Strangely, for some reason it seems it's the white people who keep harping on this. As if there aren't feminists in the Muslim community who could raise this themselves if they felt it was a pressing issue.

To summarize:

It all started with a British politician named Jack Straw who said he would prefer it if Muslim women would not wear the niqab when they came to his office because it hindered communication and was a "mark of segregation."

Tony Blair echoed the sentiments.

In Canada, not nearly as much has happened around the issue, but there have been outspoken anti- and pro- scarf writers/commentators coming out with their opinions.

One of the best I've read is from the HindustanTimes.com called, predictably, "Behind the Veil." The writer is Barkha Dutt.

...9/11 shook the world, and I was in New York. This time, there were threats too, but of an entirely different kind. Muslim women were being compelled to discard the safety and comfort of the hijab. At the city’s community centre for Arab-Americans, social workers advised women to dress in a way that would blend them into the mainstream: no headscarves, skirts and dresses, if possible. At a peace vigil, I met a Bangladeshi woman who suddenly broke down and wept; it was the first time she had stepped out of her house without wearing the customary salwar-kameez...
So, when Jack Straw says that the full veil is a “mark of separation” and a custom that segregates the community, it raises all sorts of other questions. The assimilation debate is always a dangerous one: must Muslims conform to an Anglicised notion of dress to be considered ‘regular’ people?

I highly recommend reading the article in full.

In my opinion, feminism should foster environments where religion can be questioned, but not environments where culture and religion are gutted in the name of secular society or integration.

Still thinkin' about the cuts...

2006-10-28T02:24:00.000-04:00

I haven't heard much about organizing against the Conservative cuts to the Status of Women Canada. There have been a few good articles and some discussion here and there. But, I'm not sure that anything is actually being done about it.

There is an informative and attractive website, that was pointed out to me by a reader: Status Report

An excerpt:

Beverley Oda, Minister of Heritage and Status of Women, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have taken drastic steps away from women's equality.

On September 25, 2006, the federal government announced a 5 million dollar (40%) cut to SWC's administrative budget.

On October 3rd, they removed the very word "equality" from SWC's mandate and changed the rules so that women's groups cannot use federal funding to do advocacy or lobbying.

All of this takes place nine months after Harper committed to take concrete and immediate steps to increase women's equality in Canada.

I suggest visiting it.

I don't know what is going on in this country. I'm not sure why there wasn't more outrage at the cuts. Many other good programs were cut as well. The youth employment initiative, the museums assistance program, the court challenges program...

What can we do?

Girls, to the kitchen. Gays, back to the closet

2006-10-21T15:07:00.000-04:00

The excerpt below is by Linda McQuaig for the Toronto Star which is also picked up by rabble.ca.

I'm so glad that McQuaig exists. There really hasn't been much uproar about the big cuts to the Status of Women -- and there really should be. What's the problem?

How is this going to affect our feminist groups?

But when there's no war to peddle, Harper doesn't give a piffle about women's equality. Indeed, he seems downright opposed to it.

In a recent move that got relatively little attention, the Harper government actually removed the word “equality” from the list of goals of Status of Women Canada, ending decades of advocacy for equality on the part of that federal agency.

Such advocacy itself is now under attack. The Harper government has cut off funding for advocacy done by women's organizations, which have fought hard to overcome discrimination that has, for instance, left women earning substantially less than men, regardless of occupation, age or education. Canadian women earn 72 cents for every dollar a man earns.

This pay gap exists despite federal and provincial pay equity laws, and would undoubtedly be bigger if it weren't for women's groups pressuring governments to enforce and strengthen these laws, despite opposition from business.

The Conservatives have also stopped funding women's groups that carry out research about women's status. Evidently, the less women know about their inferior status, the better. These moves are aimed at appealing to Harper's base of social conservatives and religious right wingers, but are wildly out of sync with the Canadian mainstream.

Great idea!

2006-10-17T23:29:00.000-04:00

I saw this on a womb of her own blog and had to post it here.

Cuuuuuttteee!

Good-bye Status of Women

2006-10-04T14:24:00.000-04:00

New Federal Guidelines Bar Advocacy and Lobbying
by Women’s Groups

October 4, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa: At a meeting yesterday with women’s groups, Beverley Oda, Minister
Responsible for the Status of Women (SWC), informed representatives that new
federal guidelines for funding will prohibit them from engaging in any
advocacy or lobbying activities with federal funds. Women were also told
that the federal government has no intention of reversing a 5 million dollar
cut to the department’s budget, despite wide-spread pressure to do so.

“The Minister’s narrowing of the rules severely limits our ability to
advocate for systemic change when it comes to justice, legal and other
matters of concern to women in Canada,” said Alia Hogben, Executive Director
of the Canadian Council of the Muslim Women.

“The prohibition on advocacy or lobbying with federal dollars is
undemocratic – and punitive to those with the least resources,” added
Edeltraud Neal of the Canadian Federation of University Women- Ottawa.

Last week, the government announced a 38.5% cut to Status of Women Canada’s
budget, signaling what women’s groups regard as an effort to undermine some
longstanding women’s equality initiatives. “In the absence of a critical
mass of women in either Parliament or the Cabinet, advocacy by women’s
groups has been a hallmark of Canada’s democracy,” said Neal.

Women’s organizations have received federal funds over the years to analyze
government policies, develop proposals that reflect the needs of women in
their communities, and advocate for change.

“It is clear to us that this government is out of touch with the realities
of ordinary women in Québec and Canada. Minister Oda does not appear to
fully understand that systemic discrimination for women still persists, as
documented by a widely respected Statistics Canada report in March 2006,”
remarked Michèle Asselin, President of la Fédération des femmes du Québec,
the largest women’s organization in Québec.

In response, women’s organizations have immediately requested a meeting with
Prime Minister Harper. In a written statement to FAFIA during the last
federal election, the Prime Minister committed to “support women's human
rights” and “take concrete and immediate measures, as recommended by the
United Nations, to ensure that Canada fully upholds its commitments to women
in Canada.”

“Recent actions of the federal government are not consistent with this
commitment,” said Bonnie Diamond of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for
International Action (FAFIA). “We would like Mr. Harper to be accountable to
women.”

Yesterday’s meeting with the Minister included representatives from the
Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Canadian Federation of University Women,
Canadian Research Institute of the Advancement of Women, FAFIA, Fédération
des femmes du Québec, National Association of Women and the Law, National
Council of Women, and the National Organization of Immigrant and Visible
Minority Women.

For further information, contact 613-232-9505, x222 or 613-292-7941 (cell).

Cut, cut, cut

2006-09-28T14:28:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted for a really long time. That's because I haven't been a feminist in Toronto, I've been a feminist in Owen Sound, ON. But the funding cuts to Status of Women Canada have got me hot under the collar.

The Tory government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the cuts on Monday, predicting they would help save $1 billion within two years.

Among the changes, Ottaw chopped $5 million from Status of Women Canada, a federal government agency that promotes gender equality and opportunities for women.

CBC

Jim Flaherty is notorious for cuts -- afterall, he was part of the Harris government. And I can't say I'm all that surprised about his big cuts here. But if Ottawa has such a surplus anyway, why make these insignificant (relative to the federal budget, not the Status of Women budget) overall cuts? It's far more ideological than anything else.

We are deeply concerned about the gutting of the
only federal agency that addresses critical questions pertaining to equality
and about what it suggests about what this government's true intentions are
for equality matters in Canada.

Media Release by concerned groups

Oh, Conservatives...

The Federal Government must Renew the Women's Program!

2006-09-17T00:09:00.000-04:00

Right now, I'm not in Toronto. My apologies for being so tardy with posts.

For your reading enjoyment, take a look at these links, provided by the DisAbled Women's Network Ontario.

Intro

The Women`s Program

Standing Committee on the Status of Women Recommendations to improve the
Women's program

The Context : women's inequality remains deeply entrenched

A Lack of Political Will to Address the problem

And this was Brought to you by the Women's Movement

Past Federal Acknowledgment of the Important Role played by Women's Groups

International support for the funding of Women's Groups

Conclusion

TAKE ACTION
Contact Bev Oda, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women Canada

* Email: Oda.B@parl.gc.ca
* Address: House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
* Fax: 613.992.2794

Wednesdsay: OCAP Women of Etobicoke Demonstration

2006-08-27T21:29:00.000-04:00

REMINDER THIS WEDNESDAY AUGUST 30

Please join the OCAP women of Etobicoke:

If the government can spend 17+ million on a new police station why don't
they spend money on the youth?

The City gives more money to police than they do to our kids'
recreation centre and programs. The kids are just sitting around with
nothing to do, meanwhile they get harassed by the cops.

The basket ball court at Mount olive housing complex has been out of order
since the summer of 2005. If the city won't fix it up, we will.

Join us as we demonstrate against the police and city on August 30th.

IF YOU ARE COMING FROM DOWNTOWN: MEET AT 9:45 AM AT KIPLING SUBWAY
STATION,UPSTAIRS.

If you wish to go directly meet at Mount Olive basketball court
(Mount Olive housing project is just north of Finch, West off Kipling)

10 AM: Demonstration

3pm:BBQ and court make over.

For more information please contact the OCAP Women of Etobicoke 416.749.7770

The OCAP Women of Etobicoke organizes to fight poor people's daily
struggles to survive, and against the governments responsible for that
poverty. Based in North Etobicoke, one of the city's poorest and largely
immigrant suburbs the organization is run by Somali mothers living in the
area.

For those living in North Etobicoke police abuse is nothing new, but in
recent months in the name of so called anti gang measures the largest
police operations in Toronto's history have been carried out in these
communities. Actions on August 30th are a part of the OCAP Women of
Etobicoke's everyday resistance against Toronto police racism and
violence.

Forbes magazine on career women: don't marry them.

2006-08-26T22:03:00.000-04:00

It's almost amusing how cyclical these misogynist articles are. About every six months some columnist decides to write something disgustingly sexist. Everyone condemns him (and sometimes her) -- a few fringe right-wingers applaud -- and we wait another six months for the next one.

Forbes appears to be the leader this time.

Last Tuesday, [Forbes] published on its Web site an article titled "Don't Marry Career Women," written by Michael Noer, executive editor of news for Forbes.com. The essay -- about 1,000 words summarizing recent social science research -- was illustrated with an online slide show depicting the unhappy life of a career woman's spouse: an unkempt living room, a miserable wife (with a tear on her cheek) and other undesirable fates. Response was so "heated," according to Forbes.com, that the site took Noer's article off its "Careers" pages and re-posted it in its opinion section three hours later. It became the "point" of Forbes senior editor Elizabeth Corcoran's "counterpoint" article, "Don't Marry a Lazy Man." The articles drew hundreds of online comments. One poster wrote that "the only conclusion I can draw from it is 'Don't Read Forbes.' "

-"Forbes Takes on Working Girls," by Rachel Dry in the Washington Post Sunday, August 27, 2006

YIKES!

Canada's shameful AIDS response

2006-08-13T23:25:00.000-04:00

The 16th International Conference on AIDS started in Toronto today. The annual event has drawn some of the wealthiest and most famous people from around the world: Bill and Melinda Gates, Bill Clinton, Stephen Lewis, Warren Buffett, and Richard Gere. Of course there are also the lesser known doctors and activists.

Conspicuously absent was our prime minister, Conservative leader Stephen Harper, who decided to tour Nunavut instead of attend the opening of the conference as his predecessors had before him.

Luckily we have another famous Steve -- Stephen Lewis -- who can make up for the lackluster response of our official leader.

And as though the absenteeism of our PM wasn't enough, there is also the embarrassing truancy of Canada on its commitments to send cheap HIV/AIDS drugs to Africa. Remember that?

It was on that note that protestors gathered in Toronto today to demand a better and more honest response to AIDS. Here are some of their demands, according to Monsters and Critics:

According to UNAIDS, the United Nations organization set up to combat the disease, some 18 billion dollars will be needed to fight AIDS in 2007, rising to 22.1 billion in 2008.

A total of 20,000 specially trained medical staff are needed to fill the gap in the number of doctors and nurses required to help people living with the virus, the petition said. The lack of doctors is one of the leading problems in combatting the disease.

The petition signatories are also demanding 1 billion voluntary and free HIV tests.

Another demand is that the pharmaceutical industry lower its prices. For example, Mexico and India are middle-income countries, but anti-AIDS medicines are beyond the reach of many people in those countries.

More licences to produce drugs and cheaper generic brands would be of great help in poorer countries, according to the protestors.

And, of course, we always have to reflect on who is most affected by this disease. It is the women, the poor, the queer communities and people of colour. No wonder the PM isn't there.

Feminist content...

2006-08-11T03:04:00.000-04:00

I haven't been updating lately partially because I'm busy and partially because the world events of late don't seem to have a direct feminist application. At least, I was of the mind that they didn't. When bombs hit Beirut, what can a feminist blog contribute? I am not of the mind that as feminists we should deplore war because of the innocent "women and children" -- it should just be deplored for what it is: a total breakdown of humanity. (Why always point out that women have died? I don't really understand that.)

But I've been thinking a bit about it and I've made up my mind that a feminist analysis, as I interpret it, does not have to focus on women. A feminist analysis is about looking at the world in a certain way that allows for freedom of each person to be who she wants to be and as long as war and racism threaten that freedom, it will be a feminist issue.

So, as the UK government arrests dozens of people for planning terrorist activities; as Israel bombs Lebanese cities indiscriminately; as our government holds prisoners without charge, feminists have to stand up.

I'm not sure if the world is getting scarier or if I'm just more aware. It seems nonsensical that as soon as the police or a government agency says someone is planning terrorism it is automatically true. Sure, be careful. I think that's fine. But listening to the CBC and BBC radio today, I've been struck by how accepting both broadcasters are of what the British police tell them.

Instead of asking more questions on who was arrested and what the charges are (how they are backed up) they are talking about whether we got them all. Whether we found all of the terrorists and whether they will bomb us tomorrow if we didn't catch them all. Where was the questioning of the state? Why aren't we getting the facts before we start asking these questions? The police are clamping down on the airports. The national security level has been raised to "critical" (or high) in the UK. Now let's do some journalism and figure out WHY.

This is a feminist issue because it is the unequal distribution of the law and the unbalanced power of the people versus the state in the media. It is feminist because the BBC decided to mention that a few of the arrested people had "connections to Pakistan" -- probably a few had connections to the USA too, but no mention. It is amazing how unchecked all of this is.

For now I'll be keeping an eye on all of this. Is anti-terrorism our new anti-communism? Or is it far, far worse?

If only I knew what they were writing...

2006-08-03T09:08:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Savana for finding these.

These are Israeli girls writing messages to the future victims.

India sets bar high

2006-07-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

A special Women's meeting was held in India's province of Madhya Pradesh today:

Bhopal, July 28 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh is set to hold its first women's panchayat Sunday to encourage their participation in politics at the grass-roots level.

As many as 10 women representatives from every district have been invited for the panchayat where several issues, including new schemes to ensure safe motherhood and prevent malnourishment among children, would be discussed, said an official statement.

-Madhya Pradesh to hold first women's panchayat
And according to Monsters and Critics, the numbers of women holding formal positions is being increased to 50%.

Bhopal, July 30 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Sunday said reservations for women in local bodies would be hiked from 33 percent to 50 percent, and 10 percent of police posts would be reserved for women.

If only we could get a policy like that!

Sunday's protest

2006-07-30T21:12:00.000-04:00

This picture is from the Toronto Star. It accompanies a story on protests over Israel's latest round of civilian bombings (Gaza and Lebanon).

I wanted to copy an image here that I saw about a week ago, but I can't find it. It is of Israeli girls writing messages on bombs that are about to be launched at Lebanon. I don't know what the messages said, but the girls were smiling, so I don't think it's an anti-war message...I'll keep looking. They are very potent images.

Israeli/Lebanese Coffin Counter

2006-07-27T16:58:00.000-04:00

Puts things into perspective.

Feminist given Order of Canada

2006-07-25T07:43:00.000-04:00

In light of the terrible news of late (from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, specifically) -- a tiny glimmer of hope.

Former Toronto Star columnist and unabashed feminist Michele Landsberg was one of 77 people named to the Order of Canada by Governor General Michaëlle Jean yesterday.

- Toronto StarLandsberg to get Order of Canada Jul. 25, 2006

Toronto rally against Israel bombing Lebanon

2006-07-22T01:28:00.000-04:00

Israel out of GAZA! WEST BANK! LEBANON! SYRIA!
Don't attack IRAN!

MASS RALLY: Saturday, July 22

1:00pm
Israeli Consulate
180 Bloor Street West
(west of Avenue Road, north side of Bloor)

The situation in the Middle East has rapidly escalated into an international
crisis that threatens to pull the entire region into full-scale war. In response
to the capture of one of its soldiers, Israel has attacked Gaza - bombing water
and electricity stations, bridges, roads and other vital infrastructure,
creating a humanitarian disaster for hundreds of thousands of people. Israel has
now spread its attack to Lebanon - bombing Beirut's international airport, major
highways and other civilian infrastructure, at the same time issuing threats to
Syria and Iran.

Scores of innocent people in both Gaza and Lebanon have now been
killed by Israeli bombs. These are war crimes.

Join the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War and its allies for an emergency mass
rally on Saturday to demand an immediate stop to Israel's attack on Gaza and
Lebanon and to oppose an attack on Syria and Iran.

Organised by:
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War

Endorsed by:
Canadian Arab Federation
Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
Muslim Unity Group - Toronto

For more information or to endorse, please e-mail stopthewar@sympatico.ca.
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
TCSW is Toronto's city-wide anti-war coalition,
comprised of more than fifty labour, faith and community organisations,
and a member of the Canadian Peace Alliance.
www.nowar.ca stopthewar@sympatico.ca 416-795-5863

Wading into Lebanon waters

2006-07-18T20:33:00.000-04:00

As you can tell my looking in the right hand margin, I'm reading The Great War for Civilisation" by Robert Fisk.

Last night, I got to a passage that just floored me because of its relevance on Lebanon.

Note that this book was written before Hezbollah kidnapped soldiers -- before Hamas became the government of Palestine.

"The same skewed semantics were applied to the July 1993 Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon. In revenge for the killing of nine Israeli soldiers inside its occupation zone in Lebanon, Israel attacked the villages of southern Lebanon, killing more than 100 men, women and children -- and putting 300,000 refugees on the road to Beirut...And President Clinton's reaction? He blamed the Hizballah -- which killed the nine Israeli soldiers -- for all the deaths, then called on 'all sides' to exercise 'restraint'."

pp. 506-507

Does that not take your breath away?

For those of you not doggedly reading reports currently, let me excerpt to you what the G8 leaders (of the world) said at their recent meeting about the bombing of Lebanon.

'THE joint statement by the G8 leaders meeting in St Petersburg calling on Hezbollah to return two captured Israeli soldiers and cease all rocket attacks on Israel's northern cities, while at the same time calling on Israel to exercise "maximum restraint"'(bolding mine)

- G8 statement marks a victory for Bush, Michael Gawenda, Washington, July 18, 2006

By the way, the link at the bottom of this post is for Electronic Lebanon, which gives up-to-date reports from Lebanon.

The sexism of violence

2006-07-17T00:01:00.000-04:00

I have just finished reading The Story of Jane Doe, published by Random House about the rape of a Toronto woman who took the police to court for negligence in duty and discrimination against women.

It is one of the best books I've read. Absolutely amazing.

I'm a little too young to remember the Balcony Rapist, who raped women in the Church St./Wellesley area in 1986, but many of the key players at the time (police, politicians, feminists, lawyers) are still kicking around Toronto.

The book chronicles everything that happened to one of the women raped (Jane Doe) before and after. It took her eleven years to see the civil trial through and she encountered a weighty amount of sexism (among other things) along the way. Everyone from other feminists to psychologists to close friends at some point turned out to be too scared of the system or too internally misogynist to be of any help to Doe along the way.

Finally, she wins. The judge awards $220,000 in damages to Doe because of the police's obvious discrimination and negligence in the case. They had refused to warn women in the area that there was a serial rapist active -- though they had lots of information that could have helped women avoid being raped.

It is a brave, funny, creative, strong book. It's also rather enjoyable to read. It turns out Jane Doe is a talented writer as well as amazing activist and feminist.

---

So I finished reading the book yesterday. Turned on the news today and heard that a 20 year old woman's body was found in a garbage bag in a housing complex in Toronto. She was stabbed to death in the throat.

Her name is Yasmin Ashareh, and police say the 20 year old was stabbed several times in the neck before her body was left in garbage bags near Martingrove and Finch.

-640 News

What does it take to stop this? Why is this not outrageous to most people? I swear there is more news coverage of which type of alarm clock to buy on the news than on the pandemic of violence against women.

I also am disgusted by the mixed reports about this woman's death. Earlier, some media (including the Toronto Star) reported that her body was dismembered. Now CTV says it was intact. This is an utterly inhumane thing that was done to this woman and some news sources couldn't take the time to get the facts straight.

I feel so helpless.

Abortion in leftist Latin America

2006-07-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

Judy Rebick has a new blog documenting her time in Latin America as she writes a book on social justice struggles.

Her most recent post is on abortion in the area. She is currently in Bolivia. Here is an excerpt:

A terrible story has been in the news here. A ten year old girl raped by a ten year old boy got pregnant (children here reach puberty earlier) : Her parents have gone public through their lawyer demanding that she be given an abortion. The doctors refuse becuase it is against their professional code of ethics and the law.

It is a good reminder that we can't just get caught up in the positives of the new leftist sweep of that continent, but need to look at all aspects of society.

In 2004, Women's E-News featured an article on the widespread illegality of abortion in Latin America.

Across Latin America, an estimated 5,000 women die every year as a result of clandestine abortions, according International Planned Parenthood Federation. An estimated 800,000 are hospitalized due to complications, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, based in New York and Washington.

Abortion is prohibited across most of Latin America. Cuba and Puerto Rico are the exceptions. While some countries allow abortion in cases of rape or danger to the mother's life, there are no exceptions in Chile, Colombia and El Salvador. These countries prosecute hundreds of women for having abortions.

But before we get all high and mighty in Canada, it should be noted that in some provinces, abortions aren't even available as was reported in 2001 by the Canadian Medical Association Journal:

In Prince Edward Island, women have nowhere to go to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. In Newfoundland, a woman from an outport on the other side of the island must drive up to 12 hours to have an abortion in St. John's. In New Brunswick, she has to get approval from 2 doctors before she can get a publicly funded abortion in a hospital — unless she can afford the $400 to $700 charged for an abortion in the province's single clinic in Fredericton. In Saskatchewan, she must make her way to 1 of only 2 hospitals that will perform the procedure. And in Nova Scotia, Dr. Christina Toplack of Planned Parenthood says she often has to counsel pregnant teenagers from rural parts of the province who have no money, are afraid to go to their parents and are worried that their family doctor will not support their decision.

Some other good reading on Canadian abortion service:
Reproductive Choice Is Not a Reality in Rural and Remote Regions

2006-06-30T15:44:00.000-04:00

Today I got my period. It's always an interesting day. Painful, but interesting.

It got me to thinking: should women get a day off for the first day of menstruation each month?

It didn't take long for me to think, yes, yes we should.

Would that mean that we'd be less productive in the workplace or homeplace? Not at all.

I did a search of the internet to see if there was anyone out there who had thought through the whole menstrual day idea and (suprisingly) there was.

Menstrual Benefits in the Workplace

Menstrual benefits could include an employee receiving the first day of her period off each month, or maybe only a half-day; menstrual flex-time, if a woman wanted to divide her working life into “workmonths” and “monthends,” rather than simply workweeks and weekends; ergonomically designed office chairs available, which have built-in heating pads/vibrators where the chair comes in contact with the small of the back; perhaps an extra 20 minutes of breaks throughout the day to do a few stretching exercises, or meditate, or get a back massage.

AMWU promotes menstrual leave
I have to say that I disagree with the comments left at this site (if you visit it), but the excerpt below is interesting.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has put a claim in for 12 days menstrual leave for those women who suffer from chronic problems during their menstrual cycle.
“It’s a tough, hot dangerous job and we believe that this is a sensible claim that’s good for the company because it will improve productivity, it will improve quality and it will improve health and safety.”

Luna Yoga

In modern civilization the discrimination against women and their cycles manifest in many different ways. In the United States, for example, there are very few companies that offer fully paid maternity leave (sometimes classified as "disability leave"), and no workplaces that give time off for the menstrual cycle. The message we are given via the media and in the workplace is that we are to keep our cycles hidden (as in the tampon commercials) so we can be like men (who don't bleed). Of course our bodies express such conflict and this disturbed relationship manifests in disharmonies of our uterus, ovaries, menses, fertility.

Why not get the day off? Some of the comments on the Feministe site (the one that reported on the Australian day-off case) suggest that this idea is somehow suspicious and "fishy" -- that it will create some sort of animosity against female workers.

Well, first off, anything that is specifically "female" or special for women will make some men angry. But that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be anything female or special. It just means that we have to work on education so that society knows why women deserve to have the one day a month off.

I suppose if they'd like we can just stop having babies and cut off the labour force altogether -- or we need to be recognized for what we have the ability to do: reproduce. And with that reproduction comes bleeding. So, deal with it and give me the f*&!ing day off!

Whew! Now I feel better. :)

Another amazing post from blac(k)ademic

2006-06-30T14:35:00.000-04:00

I don't get CNN. I use a tv antenna here in the heart of Toronto. As a quick plug for antenna suppliers, I get eight channels and that's all I ever need. But, because I don't have cable/satellite, I don't get the American channels including CNN and FOX News and have fewer reasons to be enraged than others. Ignorance is bliss of course, but in the age of the internet, if something outrageous happens on TV people will blog about it.

In the case of blac(k)ademic, watching CNN and Dr. John McWhorter got her writing. I really recommend her blog, it is usually amazing. Though, not being American and therefore not being exposed to the same level of ridiculously right-wing content, sometimes I don't get all of the references.

Here is a brief excerpt from the publisher of McWhorter's book, Authentically Black: Essays for the Black Silent Majority

According to the author, nearly forty years after the Civil Rights Act, African-Americans in this country still remain "a race apart." He feels that modern black Americans have internalized a tacit message: "authentically black" people stress initiative in private but cloak the race in victimhood in public in order to protect black people from an ever-looming white backlash. He terms this the "New Double Consciousness" in homage to W.E.B. DuBois' description of a different kind of double consciousness in blacks a century ago.

And it is these ideas that blac(k)ademic addresses in her blog. Though I haven't seen the CNN interview with McWhorter, it seems that he must have expressed opinions similar to those quoted above based on blac(k)ademic's reactions:

you started off your speech referencing slavery and its relationship to contemporary black america. you argued that slavery happened so long ago, that we need to stop relying on that tired narrative as an excuse for the black condition. like you, i realize that slavery happened a few centuries ago, and that shouldn't be an excuse for failure. but unlike you, i realize that like a wound, slavery has left scars on the collective memory of this country. us descendants of slaves, are left with a legacy of pain and inferiority and the descendants of those who owned slaves, were left with a belief that they are superior and more powerful than us dirty blacks. those are the same people who benefit from contemporary institutions that were strengthened by legally denying blacks our right of political and economic power. thus, to ignore how slavery has aided in sustaining white supremacy and black inferiority, only takes away from your lazy critque. we do need to move beyond blaming slavery for everything, but we cannot move forward if we don't realize that it did, indeed, leave its legacy within all of us.

But I won't spoil the whole thing for you. Just follow the link and read it yourself.

Canada's "terrorists" still makin' news

2006-06-27T21:17:00.000-04:00

I'll start today's post with a link to a great Robert Fisk article (How Racism Has Invaded Canada). The Independent doesn't let you read it online, but Al Jazeera has a full copy you can read here.

For those of you who don't have time to read it (and I assure you, you should find the time) here is a choice quote.

Of course, the Muslim-bashers have laced this nonsense with the usual pious concern for the rights of the accused. “Before I go on, one disclaimer,” purred the Globe and Mail’s Margaret Wente. “Nothing has been proved and nobody should rush to judgment.” Which, needless to say, Wente then went on to do in the same paragraph. “The exposure of our very own home-grown terrorists, if that’s what the men aspired to be, was both predictably shocking and shockingly predictable.” And just in case we missed the point of this hypocrisy, Wente ended her column by announcing that “Canada is not exempt from home-grown terrorism”.

Oh, Margaret Wente. You are just so bad. Why do newspapers insist on having these columnists that do nothing but blather ill-informed opinions, taking up precious space?!?

I digress.

Now onto the Miami "terrorists."
The American media was quite quick to call these men another terrorist group that wanted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago. As Democracy Now reports, all it seems the prosecution has is a conversation -- no explosives or weapons and no bombs in the Sears tower.

David Markus, let's begin with you. Can you explain exactly what went down on Thursday? What are the charges? What has been shown?

DAVID MARKUS: Well, they’ve alleged in a 13-page indictment that these seven individuals have connections to terrorists and were funding terrorists and were going to be involved in blowing up different places. And as you mentioned, there are no weapons, no connection to al-Qaeda. You see a lot of scary words in the indictment, like “jihad” and “loyalty oath” and “Osama bin Laden,” but what we have is the traditional informant going in and talking to a bunch of guys, and what's going to come out in the next couple weeks is actually what was said, and that’s going to be the critical part to the case.

All of this talk of terrorists is scaring me. Not because I'm scared of a terrorist attack, but I'm scared of what it is turning Canadians (not to mention Americans, Britons, etc) into.

Liberal introduced anti-abortion bill

2006-06-24T02:37:00.000-04:00

Alas, this fight shall not die.

Good post (and lots of anti-choicers responding) at Politics n' Poetry.

Click the link. :)

UN human rights commissioner denounces treatment of terrorism suspects

2006-06-24T02:18:00.000-04:00

The CBC is reporting that UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Louise Arbour has called upon states to obey their own laws when dealing with terrorism suspects. Included in her statement was a nod to those kept in prisons without charge or trial.

Though the article says it was obvious Arbor was referencing the US on its dismal treatment of prisoners at "Gitmo" I think this can also apply to Canada and the five men who have been held for years without charge or trial. Afterall, Arbour was a Supreme Court justice before she left for the UN.

Excerpt:

Arbour said countries must respect the absolute ban against torture and the right to a fair trial.

"It is vital that at all times governments anchor in law their response to terrorism," Arbour told the newly formed Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.

Wear your condoms!

2006-06-23T03:32:00.000-04:00

According to USA Today:

Women whose partners always used a condom were 70% less likely to acquire an HPV infection than women whose partners used condoms less than 5% of the time, the University of Washington researchers found.

Just one more reason...

Also, see my previous post on HPV and the new "saviour" vaccine: Cervical Cancer Vaccine: Will it work?

Just in time for Pride Week

2006-06-23T03:19:00.000-04:00

Protests as ethicist Margaret Somerville awarded honorary degree by Ryerson

Erin Atack, Canadian Press
Published: Monday, June 19, 2006

TORONTO (CP) - Gay-rights activists and academics alike showed their disapproval Monday as renowned ethicist Margaret Somerville, known for her opposition to same-sex marriage, received an honorary doctorate from Ryerson University.

If you didn't hear already, this week (June 19-25) is Toronto's Pride Week and an honorary degree for an anti-gay marriage academic just doesn't seem right.

There have been lots of arguments that Ryerson should give her the award because of academic freedom and the work she has done on ethics, but unfortunately, when you honour a person, you honour everything -- not just what they've written that you agree with.

Ultimately, it seems that Ryerson just wasn't diligent in checking out the person they were honouring. They released a statement about the degree to students. Here is an excerpt.

That said, several things have become abundantly clear in the weeks since the Committee chose to award an honorary degree to Dr Somerville. One is that the Committee was unaware of some positions for which she has advocated in the press and before Parliament - positions that would have given Committee members serious pause before approving the award. In light of this, the Committee will review its procedures and report to Academic Council.

Better news for Caledonia?

2006-06-16T20:42:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Star is reporting that the province of Ontario plans to buy out the developer of land at Caledonia.

If you've been under a rock for the past five months, Caledonia is a place of great turmoil around Six Nations land claims. Aboriginal peoples say that the land is theirs and -- of course -- the developer disagrees.

Here is what the article says.

CAYUGA - The provincial government has agreed to purchase a tract of land that has been the subject of a long-standing and sometimes-violent land dispute in Caledonia.

A lawyer for the provincial attorney general’s office announced the deal at a special court hearing this morning.

The lawyer, Dennis Brown, would not say how much the province will pay for the land, which developers say has a market value of $45 million.

....

“They haven’t begun to resolve anything with us, but as a far as corporate Canada — they’ve done everything to appease them,” Jamieson said.

“Of course they would pay several million dollars to appease the developers and the business people. They would spend that amount of money before they would even begin to resolve the land issue, which is the meat of the story anyway.”

The Ontario minister responsible for aboriginal affairs, David Ramsay, said the deal should alleviate some of the tension in Caledonia, where some incidents of violence have occurred, including recent assaults on two television cameramen and the alleged attempted murder of a police officer.

While it is true that the land still hasn't been returned to Six Nations peoples, I think it is better in the hands of the government than a developer.

Hopefully we will still be hearing about the negotiations after the government takes over the land....

Security Certificates: Supreme Court Challenge

2006-06-12T01:56:00.000-04:00

There is a very important Supreme Court Charter challenge happening this week in Ottawa. It surrounds the legality of holding terrorism suspects without charge for indeterminent lengths of time.

CBC's legal viewpoint writer, Michelle Mann, summarizes the three day trial as follows:

From June 13 through 15, security certificate detainees Adil Charkaoui, Hassan Almrei and Mohammed Harkat will have their constitutional challenges heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the government may use a security certificate to detain and deport a non-citizen considered a risk to Canadian security. Certificates are reviewed for reasonability by a judge; standard protections such as formal charges, the presumption of innocence and knowing the evidence against you do not apply.

Charkaoui received bail on his fourth attempt in February, after having spent 21 months in detention. Almrei, similarly detained for approximately 4½ years, has been unsuccessful in his attempts to obtain bail while Harkat, held in jail for nearly 31 months, was granted tightly supervised bail May 23.

All three men are fighting deportation to their countries of origin on the basis they will be tortured or killed.

In today's Toronto Star:

The three-day hearing beginning on Tuesday follows the dramatic arrests in Toronto last weekend and a week of sensational headlines around the world about what police are calling an alleged "homegrown terrorist cell."

Some lawyers, including Jackman, say the timing couldn't be worse — the fear caused by allegations that a group of 17, born or raised here, were planning to bomb Canadian targets will overshadow any concern over the constitutional issues raised at the Supreme Court.

Some civil rights activists, however, say the timing couldn't be better. "It will be a challenge for Canadians to not blur the two, thinking they're the same thing," says documentary filmmaker Alexandre Trudeau.

Indeed, these are two separate issues. The 17 men are charged, whereas the three men challenging the security certificates have been sitting in prison for years with no charges -- or disclosed evidence.

Ruling on detainee hits home, By JON WILLING, OTTAWA SUN June 10, 2006

Harkat, an Algerian native, was arrested in December 2002 on a controversial security certificate based on allegations of links to al-Qaida. He has been in custody ever since, although he hasn't been charged.

On May 23, a federal court judge approved Harkat's bail, citing "unexplained delays" in the case.

The ministries of Citizenship and Immigration and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness quickly launched an appeal of the bail release and tried to convince the court to keep Harkat in custody until the appeal is heard July 13.

Decary told a packed courtroom yesterday there's "absolutely no evidence" to suggest Harkat's release is a threat or danger to national security.

If nothing else, this week and last will get Canadians thinking about how we treat terrorism suspects: what's fair, what's unfair. Does our justice system work? How pre-emptive should we be when protecting ourselves? Are there cases where the protection of society unjustly tramples the rights of the individual?

Links:

Justice for Mohamed Harkat
No One Is Illegal website
Justice for Adil Charkaoui
Citizen Shift videos on Canadian security measures
Project Threadbare

Evidence before judgment

2006-06-10T02:21:00.000-04:00

rabble.ca has two clippings on its website about pre-judging the terrorism suspects.

I think that both are worth the read.

Controversy in the Comments

2006-06-10T02:03:00.000-04:00

Heather Mallick, former Globe and Mail columnist who now writes for the opinions section of CBC online, most recently wrote about a private member's bill on fetal killings.

The MP who introduced the bill (which is unconstitutional and therefore cannot actually pass), Leon Benoit, says the bill is about further protecting pregnant women from violence by charging their killers with two counts of murder rather than one. Read about it here.

Mallick's article addressed this strange thinking and its implications for abortion in Canada if it were able to pass.

What has become the big issue over Mallick's column is not the content (though of course there are many who oppose her pro-abortion stance) but rather who is able to comment on her column.

According to some feminists who have written supporting comments to Mallick's article, their comments are being censored by CBC, while anti-Mallick comments are being posted.

These commentors feel that CBC is actually choosing whose thoughts should be expressed and whose should not.

But don't take it from me. Click the link and check it out yourself.

Breast cancer 20% more likely to kill black women than white women

2006-06-07T13:27:00.000-04:00

Today's Toronto Star reports that young black women, though less likely than white women to get breast cancer, tend to get deadlier forms of the cancer when they do get it. There is no mention of other women (Asian, Aboriginal, Latina for example).

Younger black women hit by deadlier breast cancer: Study, Jun. 7, 2006 CARLA K. JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

The findings suggest that biology may help explain why breast cancer is deadlier in black women younger than 55 than it is in white women in the same age group. Other studies have blamed inadequate screening rates.

Since 1990, the average annual breast cancer death rate for younger black women in the United States has been 15.4 deaths per 100,000 population, versus 9.3 per 100,000 for younger white women.

"It's been long known that breast cancer in African American women is a far less common disease than in white women. But when it occurs, it seems to be more aggressive and harder to treat," said study co-author Dr. Lisa Carey of the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In a similar story written for the Canadian Women's Health Network newsletter, a more thorough analysis of black women and breast cancer was given. This excerpt comes from Newsletter #89–December 2005/January 2006
Struggling to Survive: African American Women and Breast Cancer by Jane Sprague Zones

The effects of socioeconomic status (SES)—income, education, occupation—are heavily entwined with race, and most research does not distinguish between the two. As with African heritage, low SES is associated with poor health status. This is in no small measure affected by lack of insurance and poor access to quality health care.

An excellent meta-analysis by Lisa Newman and colleagues in a 2002 issue of the journal Cancer,3 however, reviewed 14 studies (which together included over 10,000 African American women and over 40,000 white women) that had examined the relationship between African American and white American women with breast cancer. After adjusting for SES, researchers found that race was an independent predictor of breast cancer mortality. There was a significant odds ratio of 1.22 for the effect of African American ethnicity on breast cancer mortality, meaning that black women have a 20 percent higher likelihood of dying than white women after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

It's good to see this issue in the mainstream media. Such a disparity in such a devastating disease should be thoroughly examined, especially since it is unclear why exactly black women have a higher rate of death from breast cancer.

Terrorists in Toronto?

2006-06-06T19:07:00.000-04:00

I don't want to blog about this. But it seems it is all anyone's talking about.

17 Muslim men were arrested in the Greater Toronto Area for planning acts of terrorism. If you click on the title of this post or the link at the bottom, you can see the latest news. Allegedly at least one of them wanted to behead Prime Minister Harper.

But I am skeptical. I'm skeptical of the police, of the media and of our leaders, who have all embraced this as a success of Canada's security system. PM Harper also reportedly was "happy" that they were arrested.

The problem is: they haven't been convicted. They haven't even been tried yet. We don't have any official information. We have a lot of photographs of fertilizer and boots. We have images of the men from their yearbooks. We've heard their neighbours say they were nice or not nice, social or not social.

Does this amount to terrorism? No.

As usual, I turn to Thomas Walkom of the Toronto Star. In his article published on Sunday, titled So many possibilities . . . for courtshe says:

During the next few days, much will be written and broadcast on the 17. Their lives will be re-examined through the prism of the arrests as reporters try to retrace the steps that allegedly led them to violent jihad. Unnamed security sources will leak details designed to bolster the police case. Families and friends will proclaim the innocence of those charged.

Take it all with a grain of salt. We know that police arrested people. We know they seized some materials — all legal — that can be used to make explosives. So far, we don't know much else.

So, these men are being held. They are going to be tried. I think we all need to take a deep breath and stop the wild finger-pointing. Let's be watchful of the courts, make sure a fair trial is taking place, but please, no more fear-mongering and islamophobia.

Upcoming Toronto Events to Pencil In

2006-06-02T22:21:00.000-04:00

1. >Call to ACTION to
END WOMENS POVERTY
June 7, 2006
12:00 2:00 p.m.
A Woman Stuck In Poverty...
...Is A Woman Stuck In Abuse
----------------------------------------------
2. SIMPLY PEOPLE
CELEBRATING OUR LIVES & IDENTITIES

3rd annual disability celebration for all to attend!
This FREE outdoor event will feature several guest speakers and a
diversity of performers.

Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 from 5:30PM to 7:30PM
Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto (Queen St. W. & Bay St.)

Guest Speakers-City of Toronto Mayor David Miller, Toronto City
Councillor Joe Mihevc, Disability Rights Activist/Advocate David
Lepofsky (Human Rights Reform Representative for the Accessibility for
Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance)

Performers-Libby Thaw and the Houseband, Christina Doyle, Emma Cook,
Last Friday, Luna

NOTE: ASL interpretation will be provided.

If you have any questions/concerns or if you have any other particular
accessibility requirements, please contact Uzma Khan at:
simplypeople@yahoo.ca or 416-890-2733
-----------------------------------------
3. Pride Toronto West 2006
Saturday, 10 June 2006 (7 pm to 3 am)
Rhino Bar and Grille
1249 Queen Street West

The Gay West Community Network is presenting the 1st Annual Parkdale Queer Pride Party

Toronto Star follows up on the YWCA story.

2006-06-02T22:08:00.000-04:00

"People see shelters as the answer," said Leslie Tutty, the principal researcher on the study and a professor in the faculty of social work at the University of Calgary. "They do a lot, but they can't do everything once the women leave."

....

"Women who seek shelters are often balancing violence and poverty," said Rhonda Roffey, executive director of Women's Habitat, a shelter in Etobicoke, "and we know they return to an abusive relationship because they can't face the poverty."

blac (k) ademic--black lesbians say what?: we are brilliant, too

2006-06-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

blac (k) ademic--black lesbians say what?: we are brilliant, too

Even shelters are scary

2006-06-01T21:33:00.000-04:00

The YWCA released a report today on Canada's shelters, violence and the women that are forced to use them. The results are frightening.

A study that found more than three-quarters of women surveyed in shelters believed they were at risk of being murdered should be a wake-up call to the federal government, advocates say.

The YWCA study released Thursday states that of the 368 women interviewed at shelters across the country from January to August 2005, 77 per cent said they feared they were in “serious danger of homicide” from an abusive partner.
- Toronto Star June 1st, 2006

Upon further reading of the executive summary, released today, the YWCA has highlighted some other grave inadequacies in the social assistance programs of the country.

One reason that women continue to have problems with abusive partners outside of shelters (by the way, the average allowable shelter stay is around three months):

On leaving the shelter, women are often faced with inadequate housing and financial support that leaves them with a choice between homelessness and returning to the abusive partner. Homeless women are often former shelter residents who failed to find adequate and/or safe housing (Breton & Bunston, 1992; Charles, 1994). But even after having been established in the community for a while, if the housing or finances are not adequate, women may return to an abusive partner to sustain themselves and their children more appropriately, supporting the following recommendations for better access to housing, social assistance and education.

Additionally, the study says that public education about violence and abuse against women could change the way survivors of abuse find help and make decisions. The study says that friends and family are the most important source of help for these women:

Most commonly, the women in the study sought assistance from friends and family, making it critical that the general public have access to accurate information about woman abuse. Prior to their current shelter stay, the residents had sought help by talking to friends (two thirds found this helpful), and family members (a little more than half found them helpful), raising questions about how much members of the general public know about how to assist relatives or friends who disclose woman abuse. The relatively disappointing quality of assistance from family members and friends in the current study supports the need for more awareness campaigns directed to members of the general public.

Furthermore, education of support professions need better training and need to learn where to refer women who are being abused:

Perhaps disturbingly, few professionals working in services not specific to abused women, such as counselling agencies, suggested shelters as a resource, even though over half of the women had been in counselling or sought assistance from professionals such as doctors, nurses and the police prior to going to the shelter. Many social work, medical, nursing and psychology programs do not have courses in violence against women. These front-line workers are the ones women abused by intimate partners are most likely to encounter, whether applying for social assistance, seeking marital or individual counselling or dealing with child welfare authorities.

(bolded by me)

The executive summary of this report is very telling and concrete. Brava to the YWCA for this. Now let's get moving.

Event worth going to

2006-05-30T15:14:00.000-04:00

Feminist Read-In
for the Miss G___ Project

06.06.06 - 11AM - Queen's Park, Toronto
On June 6th, you and yours are cordially invited to the very big, very bold "Feminist Read-In" at Queen's Park in Toronto. Be there at 11 a.m. and head out whenever the music stops or the sun goes down.

What's a Read-In you ask? Imagine your typical sit-in, but without the force-feeding and free love. Supporters of the project from everywhere and anywhere are invited to join us on the front lawn of Queen's Park to demonstrate for change and to show the government what we want to see in education -- feminist and queer-positive literature, and women's histories.

Bring your books, your blankies, your friends and family. We want hundreds -- nay, thousands there! The day will be complete with solidarity-enhancing entertainment to dazzle the eye and warm the heart, including musical performances (more details on that to come), poetry readings (such as from most fabulous up-and-comer Tanis Rideout), and book readings by some of the women authors who matter to us. It will be the fabulous, feminist, education-focused, all-ages, geek-chic, refined but riotous, irreverent-to-the-bone Woodstock of our times.

Teachers, now is the time to start making arrangements for field trips. Students, now is the time to start bugging your teachers to start making arrangements for field trips.

If you're part of an organization (Women's, education, advocacy, labour union, etc.), please let your like-minded colleagues know and winkle a day-off out of your boss (and if you are the boss, declare June 6 'Feminist Activism Day' and release your employees into the streets, with a banner from your group in hand).

Everyone else, now is the time to start spreading the word like a highly contagious infection your mother used to warn you about. Below you can download posters and flyers advertising the event for your printing and posting needs. Please print and post. Everywhere.

Also, we know we planted the June 1 date in your heads, but due to plot-twists beyond our control (down on the QP end), we've had to move the Big Day back a bit. Unforeeable, but so it goes. If "one" was the number in your head before, please replace it now with "six."

Go shout it from the rooftops: Patriarchy beware. Miss G__ is coming. See you on the sixth!

Currently, the confirmed musical line-up
includes:

- Jill Barber (http://www.jillbarber.com/) , who's been praised by NOW
magazine for "vocal sophistication you can't buy, with smoky, jazz-inflected
undertones like a heroine from an old black-and-white movie."

- Carmen Elle and Brescia N. Reid of the Whoremoans
three rawking femmes with tunes you can dance to (because there is always
dancing at our revolution).

- Evalyn Parry (http://www.evalynparry.com/evalyn.htm), award-winning
artist, whose song and spokenword pieces have been called "equally funny and
disturbing," by CBC Radio.

- Karyn Ellis (http://www.karynellis.com/), songstress with a golden sound
both seductive and uplifting; called "twangy and cool and unpredictable" by
Indie-Music.com.

- Elena Juatco: talented feminist troubadour of Canadian Idol fame.

**
*Step Five: Read*
And between chapters, listen. These women write the revolution, and on
06.06.06, they'll perform readings of their work:

- Emma Donoghue, nominated for the 2003 Stonewall Book Award for *The Woman Who Gave Birth
to Rabbits*, and winner of the 1997 American Library Association's Gay,
Lesbian and Bisexual Book Award for *Hood*. " Already a prolific novelist…
Emma Donoghue is distinguished by her generous sympathy for her characters,
sinuous prose and an imaginative range that may soon rival that of A.S.
Byatt or Margaret Atwood." –* Publishers Weekly *

- Angela Rawlings writer, poet, and multidisciplinary artist, whose work was recently
praised as "breath-taking" and " a fresh combination of unashamedly brainy
and unabashedly horny" by the *Globe and Mail.*

- Tanis Rideout: sly yet candourous verse for the
comic-book heroine at heart. Sarah Harmer has called her work "poetry that
purrs-- dangerous, desperate, sassy and star-crossed."

Salivating yet? Note, as well, that these are the confirmed
performers (ie. there's no telling when/if a surprise guest may drop
in). What better way to ring in revolution? What better way to take the
streets? The Read-In will be a day to both celebrate our foremothers and
their achievements and to draw attention to the disservice our current
education system (like most of our systems) does them.

06.06.06: Bring your three cents. And demand change.

How the mall made me more feminist (how could it not?)

2006-05-26T02:26:00.000-04:00

I've never liked the mall. The Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto is particularly bad. It has many floors, spans a city block, and smells like a mix of CK perfume and pizza.

This time was much worse, though.

I had to buy a suit. I've never really owned a suit before, but I figured that since I'm getting to be an adult and have (gasp) weddings to go to and such I should own ONE pair of dress pants and a nice shirt. (The crumby shirts and hole-ridden jeans just aren't cutting it for the formal stuff.)

So I went to the mall.

First place I went was Fairweather. I always remembered it as being a welcoming, motherly place. Not so much anymore. It seems to be aiming a little younger now than when I was a teenager. Anyway, I scurry around picking out shirts, pants and jackets to create a dazzling outfit. I fit almost everything except for the jacket. It was a size 12, but apparently I'm a 14.

So I ask the salesperson whether she can get me a 14. She says she'll be right back. I stand in the stall, waiting. I wait, and wait. She never knocks. So I poke my head out into the dressing room: "Did you find a 14?"

"Oh. No. We don't have 14's," she replies.

Now, I already feel bad enough returning to the consumer world, only to find I don't fit into it anymore. Plus, I have to feel silly that I even suggested I could fit. Ever.

I go to Sears. I go to the third floor. The third floor is for "plus size women" -- and I've never thought of myself as plus size. As I ride the escalator I imagine all of the exercise I'm going to have to do to get out of the plus size section. I'll have to stop eating ice cream. I'll have to ride my bike to High Park every day.

I'm feeling terrible at this point. I get to the plus size floor and am hit by a wall of polyester and pastel. I wander aimlessly, muttering under my breath at the fashion industry. I find a jacket that might work for me. Price: $129 -- for JUST the jacket!

So I leave Sears. I'm sad, I'm desperate. I feel terrible about myself and my body.

Then I see something beautiful. Addition Elle. I see a woman about my size walking out with a smile on her face. I go in (sheepishly, I have to admit -- I'm still not happy at being "plus" or "addition") and the sales women are round. The people shopping for clothes are real looking. They have messy hair, they have old purses swinging from their arms, they are chatting with one another. Ahh. I relaxed.

I didn't find anything I liked at Addition Elle, but as I was walking to yet another store (I eventually found a whole outfit that FIT ME at Reitman's, if you were interested) when I realized how prone I am to women-hating, even when I work so hard to push for feminism.

I let a clothing store make me feel ugly. Sears, of all places, made me think the most important thing in my life is to work out and stop eating. I know these messages are present and still I fell for them. That nasty mall made me hate myself -- and by extension other women -- just because they don't design good clothing for women over size 12.

And so what if I'm "plus" size? What is plus anyway? What are they adding it to? How am I an "addition" to the a woman? There's nothing additional about my body -- my body is me, so carry my damn size!

So then I just got steaming angry. I walked into that last store and I was getting my suit! And you know what? I did get it. And then I got out of there.

Harper has lost it, UN says Canada sucks, the Eaton Centre is the devil.

2006-05-26T01:48:00.000-04:00

There is an amazing amount to blog about and I don't know if I'm up to the task tonight, but I'm just so bursting with energy that I'll give it a shot.

The three topics are:
1. Harper & the Media Round ... 13?
2. UN jumps on board saying Canada's social safety net isn't very safe
3. I tried to buy clothes at the mall. I hate the mall. Scroll down to find out more (ooo -- that's enticing!)

Harper
I have to admit, I'm already wary of Stephen Harper and the Conservative government. They are pretty scary, as I've outlined in many, many posts.

But the latest actions have made him scarier. And power-hungry.

This is from Reuters Canada:

At issue is a government demand to draw up lists of who will question Prime Minister Stephen Harper at public events, something which the media fears could be used to sideline critics. The government says the Ottawa press corps is biased against it, and calls some journalists lazy.

"Unfortunately, the press gallery has taken the view they are going to be the opposition to the government," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a local television network in London, Ontario on Wednesday. ...

Harper made clear on Wednesday that he would focus on local media and ignore the Ottawa press. Many journalists this week reacted to the dispute by boycotting an announcement by Harper after it became clear that he would not take questions.

In response, Harper's office circulated a memo to friendly lobbyists asking them to make the point that the journalists who walked out were lazy.

"It's clear that some reporters are complaining about too much work," said the note, which was obtained by the Globe and Mail newspaper.

How Bush-esque is Harper going to get? We already hear horror stories coming from the White House -- that there is no news at press conferences, that only favourable reporters get to ask questions, etc.

I don't think our journalists are being lazy. I think it's about time they stood up to the PM. Journalists exist because the public does not have the time to go from place to place, attending all the meetings. It is the job of the journalist to ask the questions that the public should be able to ask. By shutting out journalists, Harper is shutting out the citizens of Canada. We deserve to have questions asked. We deserve a critical press corps.

Ahem.

#2. The United Nations

A week after a multi-partisan taskforce came out strongly against the current social safety net in Canada, the UN does it too.

This is from the CBC Online:

Despite Canada's economic prosperity, the report says, roughly 11.2 per cent of the population lived in poverty in 2004. That is a drop from 13.7 per cent in 1998.

It says " poverty rates remain very high among disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups such as Aboriginal peoples, African-Canadians, immigrants, persons with disabilities, youth, low-income women and single mothers."

The report also criticizes Canada's Employment Insurance program, saying in 2001, only 39 per cent of unemployed Canadians were eligible for EI benefits. Many groups have a difficult time getting benefits even though they pay into the plan, including migrant workers, and part-time workers, especially women, the report says.

Hurrah!

Of course, most of us knew this already, but perhaps this will tip the balance slightly? Get Harper thinking? Or maybe just inspire a few of us to start shouting (more) at him and his government.

#3. The Mall.

I have moved the mall section to the next post. I was too impassioned. It got too long. New post!

14 years later, women workers get equity

2006-05-16T18:29:00.000-04:00

Bell Canada and the union representing women workers who have been underpaid because of their sex have finally reached a settlement.

It only took 14 years of fighting for it.

Working Poor finally highlighted

2006-05-16T18:14:00.000-04:00

Today the Toronto Star spent a lot of time and alloted two pages of space to a new report on Canada's social assistance programs and how they don't help the working poor.

Of particular interest, the employment insurance system (which every Canadian pays into, but only 40% of unemployed people can access -- 20% in Toronto) and health benefits.

The taskforce said that billions of dollars have to be spent at the provincial and federal levels to make social assistance work for people who are the working poor, or just plain poor.

One recommendation was to set the minimum wage to automatically increase as inflation does, thus making wages match living expenses. Another was for dental and health benefits available to all poor people, paid for by the state.

Of course, this doesn't mean anything will happen, but at least it's on the agenda. I doubt we'll see much money out of the federal Conservatives -- or the provincial Liberals for that matter.

Here are two really good responses to the report:

Why our strategy is short-sighted May 16, 2006 THOMAS WALKOM, Toronto Star

Too bad you can't eat the report May 16, 2006 JOE FIORITO, Toronto Star

Homelessness panel boots Pitfield

2006-05-16T18:09:00.000-04:00

Today, the Toronto Homelessness Advisory Committee decided that Pitfield shouldn't be co-chairing their committee. As I wrote in my last entry, Pitfield wanted to have panhandlers removed from the streets because it was hurting the quality of life for those who aren't poor.

Pitfield refused to leave her post -- though, I don't see why. I doubt there is much respect for her after the panhandler incident. How can you work to help the poor, while at the same time trying to remove them from the streets forcefully?

Women politicians aren't the answer...

2006-05-15T23:40:00.000-04:00

It's been publicized a lot lately that Jane Pitfield, a current Toronto city councillor is going to run for mayor against the overly popular David Miller.

While there will always be those feminists who feel like a woman is better than a man in politics no matter what, I think at this point most disagree.

In case you weren't sure with Pitfield, this was in the Toronto Star today, written by progressive lawyer Peter Rosenthal. The article appeared in the comment section and was titled "Dealing with poverty: Carrots or sticks?"

It seems unbelievable, but Toronto's City Council is considering a motion requesting that the city solicitor investigate the possibility that the city enact a by law that would include a provision that "no person can impede any other person's reasonable enjoyment of day-to-day activities through panhandling."

The same motion requests that city officials consult with police and report on measures that can be introduced to "discourage panhandling.

This motion, moved by city councillor and wannabe mayor Jane Pitfield, is scheduled to be debated at the next meeting of council.

(bolding mine)

Natural caregiver? Not this woman, that's for sure.

Why is it that whenever women step up to the political plate there always seems to be something nasty like discrimination souring the whole bid. I don't know too much about her politics, so I can't give a lot more context than this article already does.

It seems for every one good woman in politics we get another five sour ones.

DAWN Ontario Takes Back Mother's Day

2006-05-10T22:14:00.000-04:00

This is an excerpt from the DisAbled Women's Network - Ontario announcement of Take Back Mother's Day

For most Canadians, Mother's Day is a time when families honour their mother's hard work. But for many of low income families find that on Mother's Day, peace and joy is in very short supply, especially now that more than 30,000 of their youngsters languish in foster homes.

We did not lose our children because of abuse, rather we lost our children because of poverty, lack of affordable adequate housing, being single, being young, having a child with special needs, being in recovery from substance abuse issues, having survived an abusive partner, or having worked in the Adult Entertainment Industry.

On Sunday, May 14, 2006 mothers across Toronto (and their supporters) will rally in front of the Children's Aid Society at 15 Huntley St. at 2:00 pm

More information: takebackmothersday@hotmail.com

Update from Six Nations

2006-05-10T22:11:00.000-04:00

I received this e-mail forward the other day. Those who are following the land dispute in Caledonia, Ontario may find this interesting.
-----------

Greetings from Grand River From Hazel

Date: Wed, 3 May 2006 00:21

Greetings from Grand River

Thought i'd better give an update on the land reclaimation at Six Nations. Things are very quiet around the camp. Maybe too quiet?

I've been very busy trying to ensure that messages are being relayed to all parties, working closely with the clanmothers on the site in keeping the peace, getting paperwork together and meeting with the delegates of the "negotiating team" to ensure that the voice of the people is being heard.

Here's an update.

Yesterday, there was a meeting with opp, prov, fed, elective band council reps, traditional council reps (delegated chiefs and clanmothers), as well as delegates from the site. From what i understand there were a couple of things put to the government for consideration.

Government officials are still trying to get the road opened (hwy#6 running through caledonia in front of site). Alan MacNaughton reminded them of Oka, and how even though talks were happending, the road was opened, they still moved the army in. trust issues!!!

Some of the clanmothers talked about our health and welfare, the land, the water etc. the daughter of one of the delegates in attendance talked about the good changes that are happening to our people, she shared about a friend of hers who was into drugs and alcohol, and how since he started helping out at the site, has not had the desire for such. pretty much small talk.

Today the developers lawyer was at the table. he wanted his clients files and computer from the site. he was interviewed later and shown on national tv that the compensation that the government provided to his clients WAS NOT a buy out. it was intended to cover some of the losses that they have suffered since the "occupation". He was quoted as saying that they fully intend on finishing the 300 proposed houses on the site.

The henning brothers themselves were interviewed and told "don't worry Caledonia, we'll be back building the houses within 2 weeks". Wonder what he knows huh!

In light of that statement, i thought i'd better share some other observations i have been making.

Last Friday night when the residents of caledonia were rallying, they handed out flyers with "KKK" jargon and pictures telling caledonia that the next rally they're to "wear your best sheets". While it could be just another attempt at getting us to respond, my concern is more historical in nature. i am told that when that happened in Chateagauy in 1990, it wasn't long after that the army rolled in. Just an observation so if you're talking to canada, let them know "the eye of the eagle is upon them, and to govern themselves accordingly!".

There has been definite attempts to discredit, plant evidence etc. at the site, but i give credit to our men who are doing an awsome job with security. they see a situation, they deal with it immediately, if they require the women's help, we do so together. It is really a wonderful display of respect with each other and for the Law.

There was another people's meeting tonight, i was not able to attend but sent a recorder in, so hopefully i will be sending out another "minutes of meeting" to all so they can keep abreast of what is happening.

Past band council land's researcher Phil Monture was making a presentation tonight, and even according to "Canadian law" he say's the town of caledonia is definitely unceded. So i hope that the people who were talking about relocation of us "indians" will consider their own options when the time comes.

I must be tired cause normally i keep a good mind so forgive my indulgence in "back atcha" statements. at least one helicopter overhead today. Dick immediately called opp to remind them of our 'no-fly' zone. There was also a weird looking plane (glider) above. not too sure what that was about. OPP representative Ron George insists there is no army that they've called in, the rcmp have moved back. But don't you think if they seriously wanted to look at this situation they'd send their opp home too?

As far as the people are concerned, their options are simple. STOP THE CONSTRUCTION. Then we'll talk.

Would make life easier on everyone. I've always said, life is simple, it's people who make it complicated.

On a more serious note, we have had a company known for its work in "dowsing" wells and graves to the site last week. they are coming back to the site tomorrow to meet with the people designated to pursue the area of graves. Estimated 3700 - 3800 bodies in the lands. there is also a team (?) of archelogical people, professors? Coming from Trent University tomorrow with whatever research maps etc. They have on this particular land as well.

Interestingly enough, after the dowsing company was in over a week ago, one of our local elders, Earl MacNaughton who is also familar with the practice walked the site accompanied by a couple of the onondaga clan. without any knowledge of the other companies report, he pretty much said the same thing. henceforth, we are bringing them together for a conference.

Alan MacNaughton did put it to the government that they should pay for one of those sonar(?) machine's that travels over land to determine where graves are (should have already been done by henco), and we will be proceeding with that.

Rest assured that we will not allow any digging or excavating of the site. we just want to be able to mark it out so that we aren't disrespecting the resting places of our ancestors. Iknow that there are some under the road that henco has built as well as more than likely where some of the houses were built already. We are also taking care of our ancestors spiritually and they know we are looking after them, and we know they are looking after us.

Talks will resume tommorrow as far as the "preliminary" discussion and i myself am concerned more over the "who" is sitting at the table. no sense talking to opp, prov., feds etc. they really need to show more respect to the nation to nation dialogue we have insisted upon.

....

As i've said, things are quiet and the message hasn't changed. we're staying. the land is ours.

And i want to remind everyone of you how important your help and support has been throughout all of this. keep the e-mails going. keep the prayers going. i can assure you that we do not intend on rushing into anything. like Karl VanEvery said, lets make them wait 200 years.

Good nite all. hazel

Universal daycare in Canada: we almost had it

2006-05-06T14:40:00.000-04:00

Now, I don't like the Liberal Party. I don't particularly like any of the parties we have in Canada. The party system is messed up and our democracy has been broken for a long time.

However, I will say that, in an effort to stay in government, the Liberal Party was on the right track when they introduced the universal daycare plan just before they got booted from government.

Now that the conservatives have the reins, we're back to square one -- almost.

In case you're not familiar with Canada's daycare fiasco, it goes like this.

Liberals before January 2006: introduced daycare plan
Conservatives after forming minority government: each parent with a child under 6 gets $100/month per child to facilitate "choice."

It is also summarized well by Carol Goar in the Toronto Star "Daycare activists have to adapt" May 1, 2006

Well, anyone who can count will know that $100 a month might be nice to get, but it's not going to pay for daycare. AND, since this is all about choice and how women don't need to use daycare, $100 a month doesn't go far in buying food either.

So either way you look at it, $100/month doesn't do much of anything.

BUT as always, the Conservatives throw money at people and hope for the best. This was witnessed by the federal budget, where there were tax cuts galore - even to the Government Sales Tax by 1%.

Now, of course, the government has less income to use for social programs and we're all facing two terrible years to come (it is suggested that the minority government will only last two years).

TO make matters worse with the daycare debacle, Conservatives are calling their plan to sell-out childcare as "universal child care" and the press, as gullible as they can be, just pick up on the message.

Witness the Ottawa Citizen: "Tories back universal child care: Stay-at-home parents will be the biggest beneficiaries of the new federal plan"

And, the government propaganda: http://www.universalchildcare.ca/en/home.shtml

It's so sad how close we got to something better. Good voting, Canada.

Canadian Federal Budget Sucks

2006-05-03T00:39:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I took a vacation. It was lovely.

While I was gone a lot happened. Caledonia, Ontario became a battlefield (briefly) with Ontario Provincial Police moving in on a Six Nations blockade. Things have calmed down significantly since then. David Peterson, a former premier for Ontario has been named the negotiator for Canada. Many are touting him as being of great reputation with Native leaders, but it doesn't seem that it really matters in this situation. The Hamilton Spectator said this of Peterson and the negotiations (May 2, 2006 "Petersons' reputation on line over talks")

Hazel Hill, a spokesperson for the native protesters, says she was indifferent to Peterson's appointment.

"I guess it's a way of trying to show they're serious about the talks because of the respect he comes with in your Canadian system," she said.

Hill said while she doesn't know Peterson's background, leaders in her culture don't carry the same cache because everyone is seen as equal. She just wants to see the federal government get serious about talks.

Totally Separately, the Canadian Federal Budget was released

Of course, it was less-than-savoury. "Highlights" include:

1. Money for Kyoto being changed to tax credits for people who ride transit. Yeah, unfortunately, prime minister Harper thinks pulling out of Kyoto is a good idea -- just like Bush.
2. More money for defense An additional $5.3 BILLION over the next 5 years.
3. Scrapping the national child care plan in exchange for $100 per month for each child under 6 years old.
4. Tax cuts GALORE! Even for the corporations.

Luckily, there is always the Centre for Policy Alternatives (independent, non-partisan research group) and their alternative budget.

Strangely, they believe that we should re-invest our yearly $15 billion surplus into social programs instead of cutting taxes. They also note that the Conservative government's tax cuts will actually require cutting current programs to fund.

Here is a quote from today's press release (AFB stands for Alternative Federal Budget):

“A $300 or $400 net tax cut is small compensation for being unable to find a childcare space when you need it, or send your child to university, or afford decent housing,” says AFB Coordinator Judy Randall.

This year’s AFB highlights the significant progress made in 2004-05 on childcare, First Nations, the environment, young Canadians and workers, and cities and communities and calls on the government to honour these commitments.

The AFB will build on these priorities and invest a net total of an additional $36 billion in Canada’s social and environmental quality of life over three years while maintaining a balanced budget in every year and with no increase in overall taxes.

Wow. So, why are we cutting the taxes again?

Sara Anderson ends hunger strike

2006-04-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, hunger striker Sara Anderson of Sudbury, Ontario ended her protest because (according to the DisAbled Women's Network - Ontario) a First Nations elder told her it was not her time to die.

She has been on hunger strike for two and a half weeks.

She refused to eat because of the cutback of the Special Diet Supplement by the Ontario Liberal government after many people on social assistance began accessing money for additional food.

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty has been working on increasing access to a government fund called the Special Diet Supplement, which initially was for those with specific nutritional needs above the average person. OCAP made the argument that everyone who is living on welfare needs more money than they are currently getting to eat.

Anderson was one of those people and after the government cut the access to the Supplement, she found she didn't have enough money to eat -- so she stopped eating altogether.

Yesterday, she began eating again.

This campaign to raise social assistance rates and restore the Special Diet Supplement is of utmost importance to Ontario women. As most will already know, women are far more often poor and usually have the additional burden of feeding their children.

Though Anderson has quit her formal hunger strike, there is no doubt she will still be hungry next month and every month after until the provincial government does something to help those who are on welfare in this province.

Canadian Prime Minister vs. the Media

2006-04-11T19:33:00.000-04:00

Stephen Harper, the newly elected Canadian Conservative Prime Minister, has not only been particularly regressive in his proposed policies, but has also become increasingly beligerent toward the Canadian media.

Mirroring tactics used by US President George W. Bush, Harper has quickly become known as difficult and manipulative regarding the media and his message. It is now quite apparent that Harper is not interested in allowing the media to report, but rather wants the media to become a spin machine, as is the case in the USA.

Today, Harper held a "press conference" about his new accountability bill. Here is a report by the Ottawa Citizen of what happened.

Harper opted to overlook reporters who had lined up in front of the room to ask a question, and called upon another journalist sitting behind them...

The prime minister ultimately took questions from two journalists waiting in a lineup, then left. He has taken over a dozen questions at each of his previous press conferences...

Officials in the prime minister's office have been picking who asks questions at news conferences since he was sworn in Feb. 6. Reporters advised prime ministerial aides before the news conference that they would refuse to play by Harper's rules.

Harper's chosen system would closely resemble the current practice at the White House, where a presidential spokesman selects questioners at news conferences. ..

Under Harper, the date and time of cabinet meetings are now being kept secret.

The move allows Harper to circumvent a rule that lets journalists wait outside the cabinet room and question ministers as they enter and leave.

Under Harper's practice, ministers can avoid the media as they please and face their cameras and notepads only if they choose to do so.

If this was the only incident of evasion, we could assume Harper is simply hiding something. That's easy enough to get around. Unfortunately, there is a pattern emerging and this is particularly problematic, since he just took office a couple months ago.

Here is another sad indicator of the Tory's feelings about the media from the Daily Courier in Kelowna, BC:

Soon after proclaiming some journalists should be thrown in jail, Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes apologized for his comments.
In its Friday editions, The Daily Courier in Kelowna and Vernon published Mayes’ comments about jailing journalists, which appeared in a column the rookie MP had sent to eight North Okanagan media outlets...

n the column, Mayes wrote: “Boy, would the public get accurate and true information if a few reporters were hauled away to jail!
“Maybe it is time that we hauled off in handcuffs reporters that fabricate stories or twist information and even falsely accuse citizens.
“We know this will never happen because the media would cry ‘censorship,’ ‘authoritarian state,’ and all would be aghast, but the truth is we need ethical leadership from the media, too!”

On his website, Colin Mayes, former mayor of Salmon Arm, BC, describes himself as "visionary" and his interests are "involved in local church" and "enjoy spending time with family." He says nothing of his general hatred of journalists.

As alluded to above, Harper has also made cabinet meetings secret, saying he is exercising a constitutional right to do so. This appeared on CTV

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canadians have no right to know when the federal cabinet is meeting.

In an ongoing battle with the parliamentary press gallery over media access, the Conservatives held the first unannounced meeting of the full cabinet in recent memory Tuesday.

"Meetings of cabinet are private. It's a constitutional thing," the prime minister argued at a mid-day availability.

The brewing dispute is really about image control and resetting the parameters within which the national media is permitted to do its job.

Personally, I don't care whether he has a right to deny the media. Public leaders should be scrutinized heavily by the media. They have all of the power and control and our money. They should be watched and they should be open. It scares me when the press is suddenly pushed out of decision-making processes. This shouldn't happen in a "democratic" country. Perhaps we should question this version of democracy.

Female Chauvinist Pigs

2006-04-10T23:30:00.000-04:00

I'm on page 71 of Ariel Levy's new book, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. She writes very well and I'm enjoying it -- with reservations.

The book's premise is that women are purposely objectifying themselves in the name of feminist progress, though they may not voice it exactly that way. While in the 1960s women had to fight to get men not to objectify them sexually, today's young women do it to themselves and think it means they are expressing their sexuality. Levy thinks otherwise.

What was almost more surprising than the change itself were the responses I got when I started interviewing the men and --often-- the women who edit magazines like Maxim and make programs like The Man Show and Girls Gone Wild. This new raunch culture didn't mark the death of feminism, they told me; it was evidence that the feminist project had already been achieved. We'd earned the right to look at Playboy; we were empowered enough to get Brazilian bikini waxes.

As a 20-something woman, I have heard this argument a few times. Women seem to use it most to justify getting plastic surgery, but it also seems to apply to acting "raunchy."

I personally hate the beauty myth (not the book, but the myth) and do everything I can to promote healthy body image to anyone who might look to me as an example. Of course, I also have those days where I think I'm the ugliest (and therefore most stupid, uninteresting, boring) person in the world. And I have to fight it. And I'm white. If I was a woman of colour or a woman with visible disablities, I would have to fight pop culture DOUBLY. It really blows my mind.

Now, on to the criticism of the book up to page 71.

Levy seems to idolize the feminists of yesteryear. That's fine, but I'm not a fan of idolizing anyone. People and people's opinions have flaws and society grows and we can't hold people up and expect them to stay figureheads for a movement fifty years down the line.

Writing about New York's radical feminists of the 1970s, Levy says (p. 61)

"Pornography is the theory, rape is the practice," was one of their slogans, coined by Robin Morgan. The idea behiind the mantra was also a theme in Brownmiller's first book. In 1975, after four years of squeezing research and writing into her schedule of activism and journalism, Brownmiller published Against Our Will...In it, Brownmiller argued that rape was not just an isolated crime like robbery or murder, but a systematic process of demoralization.

Levy loves Brownmiller. She quotes Brownmiller and seems at awe that she stood up to Hugh Hefner back in the day. But the problem is that Brownmiller wasn't big on pornography and so far, she has been the most pro-porn feminist voice in the book.

Now, I have my fingers crossed that Levy will bring it back and give us some balance, because nowadays, porn and feminism can be good friends and the radical factions of feminism pretty much accept that pornography can be grrreat.

Does that make them chauvinist pigs too?

I'll only find out as I keep reading...

For your reference, some timely articles and pro-porn feminists:

Oprah's discussion board on Pink's Stupid Girl music video and Levy's book
Link to Book at Toronto Women's Bookstore
The always-amazing Annie Sprinkle
February 2, 2005
Thus I Refute Chyng Sun
Feminists for Porn
By NINA HARTLEY
Feministing.com weighs in

War and women

2006-04-09T23:12:00.000-04:00

Amnesty International has this quick, informative quiz on how much you know about women in war zones.

I answered a few questions incorrectly and sadly I overestimated how much help women get in war zones. There are some surprising figures.

Worth the read

2006-04-05T23:16:00.000-04:00

Jan Wong has launched a five part series on working as a maid in Toronto. There are parts that are arrogant and naive, but on the whole, very good stuff. And in the Globe and Mail, no less.

Cervical cancer vaccine: will it work?

2006-04-05T22:29:00.000-04:00

The Herald reported today that a vaccine for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) can be used safely by women and will protect these women from cervical cancer caused by HPV.

According to research published in the Lancet today, trials suggest the vaccine protects women for up to four and half years and against a greater incidence of the disease.
Cancer groups yesterday hailed the success of tests as "extremely exciting" and a significant step towards tackling a major health concern for women.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease and can manifest itself in genital warts as well as cause cervical cancer. The Pap smear that many women get yearly checks for the presence of this virus and has the potential to save many women's lives.

The Canadian Women's Health Network disagrees with the excitement over this new vaccine because HPV is both preventable and the rate of HPV in women is concentrated in poor populations and women in developing countries. They question whether the drug companies are truly concerned about this population of women that will probably be unable to purchase this medication.

HPV may be the most common sexually transmitted disease worldwide, infecting 75% of sexually active women at some point in their lives, but for the majority of women who contract HPV, the body's natural defenses are enough to beat the virus.

In North America, the women who are most likely to die of cervical cancer are poor and lack the resources needed for good health, such as food security and adequate nutrition, access to health care, including regular Pap tests, and, most likely, any new vaccine.

As well, an estimated 80% of deaths from cervical cancer occur in the developing world, where Pap tests and cancer screening are rare and a woman’s overall health is more likely to be compromised because of poverty. Will the vaccine be available to these women?

As usual, we have to question everything that modern medicine holds up as amazing and follow the money.

For more information on HPV, you can visit here.

Categories:HPV, women's health, cervical cancer

Ontario Human Rights Commission to be eliminated

2006-04-02T22:55:00.000-04:00

The Ontario government plans to dismantle the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which was the first step in human rights complaints in Ontario. Now favouring a much smaller system with private lawyers with very little consultation, the government is set to release a bill that would degrade our already failing human rights system.

The most frightening thing about all of this, is that we've heard so little about it. We, being Torontonians.

Scroll to the bottom of this post to get info on a meeting happening in Toronto on Wednesday.

Here is the small amount of press and call-outs I've been able to find -- both pro and con regarding the change to the OHRC.

"Rights debate marred by Chicken Littles," Toronto Star April 1, 2006 by Helen Henderson

"Human rights body needs fixing, not dismantling," Toronto Star March 13, 2006 by AVVY YAO-YAO GO, MARGARET PARSONS AND UZMA SHAKIR

Human Rights Reform Action Kit developed by the DisAbled Women's Network of Ontario.

http://www.aodaalliance.org/reform/attend.asp

ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006 AT 5:30 P.M.
AT UNITED STEELWORKERS HALL
25 CECIL STREET (SPADINA & COLLEGE AREA)
(LIGHT REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED)

GUEST SPEAKER: MARY-WOO SIMS
FORMER CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF THE
B.C. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

PANEL RESPONSE:
MARGARET PARSONS, AFRICAN CANADIAN LEGAL CLINIC
DAVID LAPOFSKY, DISABILITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST
AVVY GO, METRO TORONTO CHINESE & SOUTHEAST ASIAN LEGL CLINIC

HOSTED BY:
THE ONTARIO FEDERATION OF LABOUR &
SAM

GINDIN, CHAIR IN SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY,
RYERSON UNIVERSITY

* McGuinty's Government has announced plans to dismantle Ontario Human Rights Commission and move to a 'direct access' model.
* This means no more access to free investigation, mediation and legal representation through the Commission, forcing people to hire lawyers to represent them at the Tribunal.
* This means bigger barriers for people whose rights have been violated.
* We need a solution that improves human rights protection, not one that puts money in the hands of lawyers at the expense of most Ontarians.
* We are calling for immediate public consultation before any legislation is tabled.

Discussion will follow
ASL Interpreters

PLEASE CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE WITH
MARGARET LAW AT (416) 443-7656 OR mlaw@ofl.ca
TERRY DOWNEY & JUDY REBICK (CO-MODERATORS)

Working women have destroyed the world

2006-04-02T22:34:00.000-04:00

In the Toronto Star's on-again, off-again Ideas section, this artice appeared in Sunday's edition.

The author, Alison Wolf, compiles opinions to prove that women entering and succeeding in the workforce have had devastating effects on Western society.

Three consequences get far less attention than they deserve: the death of sisterhood, or an end to the millennia during which women of all classes shared the same major life experiences to a far greater degree than did their men. the erosion of "female altruism," the service ethos that has been profoundly important to modern industrial societies, particularly in the education of their young and the care of their old and sick. the impact of employment change on childbearing. We are familiar with the prospect of demographic decline, yet we ignore — sometimes wilfully — the extent to which educated women face disincentives to bear children.

And while women in the workforce aren't necessarily bad, they are changing the way our society functions. Wolf discusses how women working has drained our social safety net and have stopped reproducing -- leaving all of the babies born in the West to live in uneducated households and become drains on the system.

According to Wolf, women used to have a spirit of altruism and volunteerism that contributed to a healthy, helpful society. Now that we demand to be paid for these services, our countries can't afford to keep the system running. Health care is down the tubes because we want to be paid for our work.

Similarly, women who are highly educated don't want to be the caregivers and mothers anymore. Here is what she says about uneducated women having children.

There is no reason to believe that teenage and uneducated mothers are any less loving and devoted than others. But there is plenty of evidence that their children are likely to be relatively unproductive future citizens, less skilled in their turn, and more likely to experience unemployment.

Strangely, Wolf doesn't tell us where she got this "evidence" which apparently is "plenty."

And here is her slightly apologetic conclusion.

But it is striking how little anyone mentions, let alone tries to quantify, the offsetting losses when women choose work over family. This is stupid.

Women today are no more homogeneous a group than men, and the service ethic that traditionally supported civil society and public service has weakened. Families remain central to the care of the old and sick, as well as raising the next generation, and yet our economy and society steer ever more educated women away from marriage or childbearing.

The repercussions for our futures are enormous, and we should at least recognize this fact. This has brought enormous benefits.

She blames feminists and economists for this. Feminists discourage women from staying at home with the kids because it is bending to the forces of patriarchy to do so (though I've never heard a feminist say this). Economists don't show childrearing in GDP and it's therefore undervalued (which I agree with, but don't see why it affects what women decide to do with their lives).

The article is strange because it is very long and full of references to other sources, but no quotes by the sources. It also doesn't seem to have a point -- other than to raise our attention to a phenomenon that is more theory than fact.

It seems to me like a test balloon, floated into the sea of newspaper readers to find out whether there is an appetite to blame women for our failing social safety net.

I say I'm not hungry.

Another clue about the Harper conservatives

2006-03-31T09:53:00.000-05:00

Tory MP suggests jailing bad journalists
Canadian Press

Vernon, B.C. — A backbench Conservative MP, blasting the media for its testy relationship with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has suggested reporters who write distorted articles be jailed.

In a brief column sent to several newspapers in his Okanagan-Shuswap riding, Colin Mayes said that might help the public “get accurate and true information.”

Mr. Mayes seemed to suggesting in his column that the media be covered by something like the Conservative government's proposed Federal Accountability Act, which would prosecute elected officials and senior public servants who break the public trust.

“Maybe it is time that we hauled off in handcuffs reporters that fabricate stories, or twist information and even falsely accuse citizens,” he writes.

-------------
Now that is frightening. Truly, truly frightening.

More police issues in Ontario

2006-03-30T15:40:00.000-05:00

I didn't initially blog about this incident because I wasn't sure legally what I can and cannot write about cops and alleged violence they commit on the general public.

But, I have come to the conclusion that this needs to be discussed, or at least out there for people to potentially discuss. Since the officer accused by Freeborn has not actually been formally accused, I'm removing his name from the statement below.

If a formal case comes against him, I will by all means be publishing his name.

On March 11, I received an e-mail about a female protester from the group Guelph Union of Tenants and Supporters. She had been at a demonstration in Guelph and was arrested by police. Her account of the situation is available at the GUTS website. I've tried to post excerpts here, but blogger keeps giving me error messages, so please go the the site and read it.

There have been some articles written about this by the Guelph Mercury

Province to probe alleged police assault by MAGDA KONIECZNA Mar 17, 2006

Police Chief Rob Davis has asked the province's Special Investigations Unit to look into allegations that a member of the Guelph Union of Tenants and Supporters was sexually assaulted by a Guelph police officer.

GUTS member Nicole Freeborn alleges she was sexually assaulted as she and four others were being arrested at a protest over social assistance rates on March 8....

Freeborn, who has not filed an official complaint, said she met with Guelph Police Wednesday night to discuss the incident and was contacted by representatives of the Special Investigations Unit yesterday.

She said, however, she is still frustrated by the process.

"Just based on the response so far, I don't think they're taking it as seriously as they should be. It seems like it's going to take a long time," Freeborn said.

Probe underway into alleged assault by MAGDA KONIECZNA Mar 18, 2006

"As a long-standing policy, we don't identify the involved officers in our investigation because at this stage they haven't been accused of anything," Bliss said.

Bliss said nine other officers have been identified as witnesses.

"They'll be interviewed to shed some light as to what the police's version of events is as to what happened that day," Bliss said....
Bliss would not indicate how long the investigation could take, saying only that each investigation is different. Once the information has been gathered, the director of the SIU will determine whether there are grounds to lay charges.

In 2005, the SIU investigated 195 cases, including incidents like shooting deaths and injuries, vehicular deaths and injuries and sexual assaults, Bliss said. Of those, 14 were allegations of sexual assault against officers.

There has also been a bustling discussion about it on rabble.ca's babble forum.

It is so important that we feminists treat this case with all the sensitivity and anger (seems contradictory, but it's not) that we can. I know that on the babble forum there was a lot of questioning of the victim, who I think we should believe as a default. I have struggled a lot about whether to put the name of the officer on this post. Surely, if you're interested you can find it online yourself, since his name has been in various e-mails and call-outs. I decided, though, that on this blog I wouldn't post the name. It's a very difficult decision. When it comes to police, they are given so much power by the state, that they should be held to a higher standard than regular citizens. That means when there's a complaint against an officer, I think it should be public knowlege.

However, risking legal prosecution on defamation charges means that this blog wouldn't exist at all. So, if you look for it, you can find his name, but it's not here.

I hope I'm making the right decision.

As a note of good news though, the police chief in Guelph had to close down his e-mail address because so many people sent e-mails demanding the police fire the officer in question -- or at least suspend him.

reappropriate

2006-03-29T23:46:00.000-05:00

As usual, Jenn at reappropriate.com found something interesting an insightful. Since I'm trying to concentrate on Toronto issues, I think it fits quite well.

Read and enjoy.

reappropriate

Harassment, what harassment?

2006-03-29T00:02:00.000-05:00

At risk of being too personal, I'm going to share a story about something that happened to me today that made my blood boil and the feminist in me want to kick some ass. Because it's about me, I'm changing the names of people, but other than that, it's all true and fucked up.

There's been this pesky guy named Bert who seems to endlessly wander the streets day and night (though I don't think he's homeless). He often stops by my house while my housemate and I are out smoking. We don't like him. We tell him we don't like him. We tell him to leave us alone, get lost, no, goodbye...all of that stuff. He still stops by every time he sees us outside.

So today I called the cops. 14th Division. I got this really unhelpful officer named B.S. Ralph. He listened to me say that this guy has been stopping by the house about 3-4 times per week from September 2005 to today. He heard me say that Bert makes sexual remarks, asks to come in, asks to go on dates, doesn't leave when asked. He listened to me say that I've tried everything: I give him smokes so he leaves, I ignore him, I'm blunt and mean.

Then Officer Ralph decided that I was asking for it. Well, my first mistake was that I talked to Bert when he talked to me. "Should have nipped it in the bud back in September," Officer Ralph said. "That was your first mistake." MY first mistake? It was my mistake that this man has been harassing me since SEPTEMBER? "Well, obviously you didn't make it clear to him that you didn't want him to stop by." I said go away...what else is there to say? "Well, you should have ignored him." Yes, that's classic, just ignore the bully and he'll go away.

The entire ordeal was just brutal. Then the cop told me that I should wait for Bert to come back on my property and then tell him to leave or I'll call the cops. Then, wait for him to come on my property AGAIN. Then I can call them (the cops) back.

According to Officer Ralph, I've just done the wrong thing every time. I wasn't forceful enough, I wasn't patient enough, I didn't ignore him enough.

I called back and spoke to the Sergeant. He was far more helpful and promised to open a file on my complaint. He also said if Bert comes back I can get trespassing or mischief charges laid against him.

So, I guess the Sergeant prevented a complaint to the Toronto Police (which I had already printed off and filled out) -- for now.

This reminds me of how little protection women have against stalkers/harassment. Or anyone has for that matter. Unless I receive a threat, or sustain bodily harm, there is nothing I can do. He's also not a stalker because he only bothers me at home, not over the phone or at my workplace.

Basically, I don't know when my own safety is at risk. I can only really know once my safety is gone. Then the cops will help. Jeez, thanks a lot, boys.

Categories: police, harassment, violence against women, stalking

Another response to firefighter harassment strike

2006-03-28T01:52:00.000-05:00

I've blogged quite a bit about this firefighter strike in Richmond, BC because I think it symbolizes a lot of the issues around harassment.

First, it is surprising that women firefighter are being harassed on the job because we come to respect firefighters as doing an altruistic job. Of course, I should have noted that it is also a very masculine job -- full of big egos and false notions of what physically is needed to save lives.

Second, the female firefighters walked off the job in March because they were fed up. There are so few of them and so many male firefighters, it must have been very intimidating, but they had enough.

Third, one female firefighter killed herself last year because of stress. It wasn't directly attributed to the workplace, but she had been harassed at work.

(For more info, please read my previous entry on this.)

So, the more people who keep talking about this, the better. That is why I'm happy to share some excerpts from a Toronto Star article by Michael Kaufman, who trained a UN staff on how to make a workplace safe.

No profession and no location is immune. Firefighters are reportedly the most trusted occupation in Canada. Yet, allegedly, there are some who think their job it is not only to respond to emergencies, but to put their excrement in women's boots and display hard-core pornography.

In workplaces that, traditionally, were male-dominated, some men still think women are infringing on "their" jobs and should pay a price.

Kaufman goes on to recommend some changes in anti-harassment training:

Effective remedies to all these problems require a commitment of time, money, and energy. My own experiences doing training of staff and management, as well as coaching work with individuals found responsible for harassment, is that most people want a harassment-free environment. Most welcome a chance to learn about these issues in a respectful way. Most managers want tools to deal with the problem. As for costs, education is much cheaper than picking up the pieces after problems occur.

That training must be designed to be engaging and even entertaining. After all, it's to make our workplaces better, not make them even more of a drudge. That training must focus on the subtleties and nuances of harassment and on the underlying gender issues. It must create a climate where staff feel encouraged to speak out against harassment and to seek support.

Now, if we could only somehow make this happen...

Feminist-hating women

2006-03-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

Anyone who hasn't heard of Christina Hoff-Sommers and Kate O'Beirne should count herself lucky. The right-wing anti-feminist authors seems to be all over the place, offering up ridiculous arguments as to why feminists are ruining the world. Margaret Wente probably reads Hoff-Sommers and O'Beirne religiously.

That's why when I read a great critique of these authors I get excited. Ideally, no one would write anything about them because their arguments are so silly and baseless that simply ignoring them might say more than constantly bashing their writing.

Nevertheless, the terrible two give the right-wing ammunition against feminism and that's a bad thing.

Today on the Houston Chronicle's website, a columnist named Meghan Daum came forward with a snappy article against the anti-feminists.

CALL me a masochist, but I spent a recent weekend reading a book called Women Who Make the World Worse: and How their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports.

I knew I really should have been dusting the blades of my ceiling fan, but after months of hearing about author Kate O'Beirne and her "battles with the man-hating 'sisterhood,' " I figured it was time I saw what the fuss was about.

O'Beirne, the Washington editor of the National Review and former vice president of the Heritage Foundation, is by many accounts a charming and witty person. In a recent interview with Salon.com, she justified her views by saying, "I think we were better protected by traditional mores and chivalry than we are by laws and lawsuits."

Fair enough. But between the hard covers of her book (illustrated with caricatures of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw that border on the anti-Semitic), this sentiment apparently translates into the notion that all assertive women are litigious, motherhood-resistant and either oversexed or undersexed. Peppered with didactic pronouncements — "the modern women's movement is totalitarian in its methods, radical in its aims and dishonest in its advocacy" — and chestnuts from the fringes of 1970s-era extremism (she refers to feminist scholar Catharine MacKinnon's line about all heterosexual sex being rape, which is actually a notorious misquote), O'Beirne's book did for me what no book had done in a long time. It made me want to dust my ceiling fan.

The whole article is great. Highly recommended reading :)

Category: feminist, columnists

If you live in Canada...

2006-03-23T15:34:00.000-05:00

these people need your support.

Here are some excerpts of an e-mail I received today.

URGENT CALL TO ACTION TO PREVENT MILITARY AND POLICE INCURSION ON
MOHAWK TERRITORIES

March 2006

The Coalition in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty Native Caucus is
asking that you take some time to phone, email or fax the authorities
below (Prime Minister Harper, Jim Prentice - Minister in Indian Affairs and Northern Development) to register your objection to a potential incursion onto Mohawk
Territories this spring and at any other time.

This request comes as a result of warnings by community leaders in
Akwesasne, Kahnawake, Kanehsatake and Tyendinega who are preparing for a
joint Canadian Forces/RCMP raid on April 1, the latest in a series of
actions designed to destroy the Mohawk tobacco trade.
*The Indian Act was and is an instrument of genocide*. Likewise, the
system of reserves, band councils and taxes are all tools of genocide.
At best, the levying of taxes by Canada or the provinces on commercial
activities within and among First Nations communities is an infringement
of sovereignty as well as a violation of the treaties that exist, not to
mention the inherent rights of First Nations people.

This is particularly objectionable when the levying of taxes applies to
transactions involving tobacco. It was First Nations people who
developed, cultivated and cared for tobacco plants. Our ancestors were
the first to understand and benefit from the use of tobacco in ceremony
(even in times when our ceremonies were illegal). Canada now assumes it
has a right to control the tobacco trade, which is consistent with its
assumption that it has a right to control the lives of First Nations
people. Now that tobacco is being used to generate income and sustain
First Nations-owned businesses (an anti-genocidal activity), Ottawa
wants to step in and crush the initiative.

We reject the portrayal of Mohawk communities as divided between the
minions of organized crime and law-abiding citizens. Mainstream media
and Canadian authorities would have us believe that thugs are defying
legally elected First Nations governments and Canadian laws. Such an
analysis does not acknowledge the impact of a band council system,
imposed, funded and controlled by Ottawa. It does nothing to educate us
on the long history of genocide that remains official policy in this
country. It does not examine Ottawa's historic role in sabotaging
activities that contribute to the economic independence of First Nations
people.

Nia:wen / meegwich / thank you for your support. For more information
contact: daryljamesbucar@yahoo.ca or
amadahy@rogers.com .

Category: aboriginal, Mohawk, Category: Native rights

New CARNIVAL!

2006-03-22T23:48:00.000-05:00

Angry for a reason is hosting the TENTH carnival of feminists! Go see it. Now!

CBC readers respond to firefighter story

2006-03-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

An update on the firefighter harassment story from BC. The CBC posted comments from its readers online. Here are someexcerpts of those comments.

If I was in charge, they would all be fired without pay, and subjected to fines and never be permitted to practice in their professions again. After all, these are men and women that young people look up to. - Michael Kelly | Victoria

To Sandra Janesen and her female colleagues I'd like to say, "keep fighting the good fight." As a professional woman I can say that we(women)have all faced this,in one form or another, in the work place. I commend your courage for taking a stand and doing the right thing. I want you to know that women everywhere understand your struggle and support you. Keep going!

ÂMelanie Winkfield | Guelph, Ont.

And to think, after recently watching "North Country" with my daughters, I told them that thank goodness we lived in a time and place that this sort of behaviour is not tolerated and we discussed the gains we(women) have made in regards to rights and quality of life.

As for these firefighters, I am disgusted with the lot of them and hope that action is swift and meaningful! My father was a fire Captain for many many years in my home town and I know that he too is disgusted with this behaviour.

ÂDiane | Kingston, Ont.

Ahh, isn't that wonderful? Not thharassmentnt...but such overwhelming support. I should note though there was one comment from a reader who didn't want a woman to save him from a burning building because ... well, he didn't say. Oh well, maybe she won't next time.

Category: harassment

We may be allowed in the workplace, but...

2006-03-22T02:14:00.000-05:00

The fire chief in Richmond, B.C., is promising changes after all of his female firefighters walked off the job, many citing widespread sexual harassment from their male colleagues.

There are only half a dozen women firefighters in Richmond and about 200 men. But according to a CBC report on March 21, this is a long-standing and incredibly severe problem in Richmond -- and quite probably in all of Canada.

Two female firefighters have taken formal action against the Richmond fire service:

Sandra Jansen filed a discrimination complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
Jeanette Moznik went to the B.C. Supreme Court alleging that male firefighters committed lewd, pornographic and even life-threatening acts of harassment against her.

Among other things, Moznik alleged in her statement of claim that other firefighters cut off the water supply to a hose she was using to battle a blaze, put human feces in her boots and pants, and displayed hard-core pornography in her presence.

Last year around this time there was a harrassment case against Burnaby firefighters by a female firefighter. At that point, the woman said that her female co-workers publicly came out against her. Georgie Binks wrote a good viewpoint article for the CBC about it.

The fire chief, Jim Hancock, seems to be supporting the women and is adjusting the environment for them by installing new washrooms and giving sensitivity training to the workers.

Seriously though, will sensitivity training really fix what is broken? I do believe that people can change, but can you really expect sensitivity training to stop the firemen from filling a co-workers boots with HUMAN FECES? There are bigger problems than washrooms here and though I applaud Hancock for at least trying to fix things, where was he when these problems began?

A woman on the same fire department killed herself last year. Hancock says her suicide had nothing to do with her job, though her job could have contributed to her stress.

Perhaps that's true. But what if it isn't? What kind of volatile place are women enduring to be in the working world?

But apparently we're liberated over here in the West. Let's fight those Afghans to save their women.

Categories: sexism harassment women work