Showing posts with label current events. Show all posts

Monday, July 18, 2011

Links - July 18, 2011 Updated

Links July 18, 2011

The F Word: Feminist Media Collective "Of course pornography is a prisoner's right. Because women aren't actually human beings"

Excerpt:
‘Only in America’, I thought immediately. Only in America would a person be so selfish, so deluded, to think that their individual rights should exist at the expense of the human rights of others. And this is exactly what pornography does. It removes the rights of women to be human. Women in pornography are not represented as whole human beings, they are represented as things to ejaculate onto or into. Women, in pornography, are not represented as women, they are represented as body parts.

The F Word: Feminist Media Collective "Burlesque: They tell me it's just for fun...Except I'm not having any"

Excerpt:
I have seen several burlesque shows in Vancouver. And Ariana and I went again, for research purposes; to check out what’s happening on the scene these days. Hoping we would find all sorts of subversion, you know, challenges to gender norms, maybe some comedy, something even remotely feministish. What we found was a stage and some women awkwardly taking off their clothes, with smiles pasted across their faces so we knew they were enjoying themselves. A man in a business suit ‘hosted’ the evening, and introduced all the ‘girls’. He remained clothed throughout the evening. A male MC was also allowed the privilege of keeping his clothes on. One after another, ‘girl’ after ‘girl’ got up on stage, unzipped her dress and, by the end of the ‘show’ was in pasties and a g-string, posing for a cheering crowd. Let’s play find the subversion! There is nothing new here. It’s just the same old thing. And I wasn’t having any fun.

Nimbostratus Parade "Dude Sentencing or Why real Justice Eludes Women"

Excerpt:
I just read about one Xavier Robert Bissonnette, a fifty-six year old Calgary man who raped a seventeen year old girl he was corresponding with over the internet. The story apparently is newsworthy only because Bissonnette is HIV positive. He was diagnosed in 1998. He has most likely signed the death warrant of the child he raped. The charges he is facing in a court of law?
Aggravated sexual assault.
That's it. That's all. The only charge.

Womon On a Journey "On rape fantasies and BDSM"

Excerpt:

Clearly, our fantasies arise fromsomewhere, and since we have the capability of changing our fantasies, they are not biologically programmed.
Perhaps to the BDSM crowd, radfems seem perfect, as though we never think an “unpure” thought (to use a moralistic term) regarding sex. This just simply isn’t so. Plus, I have met women who used to be really into BDSM as a way to cope with abuse, who now have embraced radical feminism and feel much freerer for it. However, we can never expect radical feminism to have the appeal that sex-pozzie “feminism” has, because “sex pozzie” feminism does not seek to challenge the patriarchial values we are surrounded in like a fish in water.

I Blame the Patriarchy "A Bit of Lighthearted Fun"

Excerpt:

"The true nature of our status as the sex class is, by the way, that we are imprisoned in a rape continuum. This continuum ranges from the “voluntary” performance of femininity (which quantifies women’s usefulness to men), to compulsory heterosexuality (which ensures availability to men), to pornography (which eroticizes inequality), to violent sexual assault (which is at the apex of the Global Accords Governing Fair Use of Women)."

Sociological Images "Racism and Jingoism Among U.S Soccer Fans"

Excerpt:

"After the tsunami in March, we featured a series of hateful Facebook updates suggesting that the Japanese deserved the devastation. Yesterday Japan won the women’s World Cup against the U.S. and we’re seeing the same rhetoric. The collection below, and more, was up on Buzzfeed as of yesterday night."

In the News

The Guardian "Doctors' anti-abortion views could impact on women's access to service"

Excerpt:

"A survey of medical students has found that almost half believe doctors should be allowed to refuse to perform any procedure to which they object on moral, cultural or religious grounds, such as prescribing contraception or treating someone who is drunk or high on drugs."

Ottawa Citizen "Hudak says he 'may have' signed anti-abortion petition"

Excerpt:

"Ontario Tory leader Tim Hudak was grilled over his stance on abortion Monday, as he staged a press conference to tout a policy targeting convicted sex offenders. Hudak, entering his first provincial election campaign as party leader, told a group on the Christian right in 2009 he was opposed to abortion and had signed petitions calling for the defunding of abortions."

Newsweek "The Growing Demand for Prostitution"

Excerpt:

"One man in the study explained why he likes to buy prostitutes: “You can have a good time with the servitude,” he said. A contrasting view was expressed by another man as the reason he doesn’t buy sex: “You’re supporting a system of degradation,” he said."

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Links - June 16, 2011

Links for June 16, 2011

Cherry Blossom Life "A Use For The Word Empowerment"

Gender Trender "Boys Just Want To Have Fun as Fake Lesbians"

Rad Fem Hub "Queering Women Invisible"

Nimbostratusparade "A Second Flush on Yesterday's Shitty News" (Prostitution Laws in Canada)

News

Anthony Weiner to Resign

Flaherty sells Canada in New York as low-tax jurisdiction for corporations

NDP and Health Activists Call For Asbestos Ban

Saudi Arabia Must Fulfill Its Promise To Let Women Drive

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Harper's Power Trip

photo found here

Harper is "legislating" striking workers "back to work" and "prostitution may become legitimate business in Canada"

Under Harper's regime, it's all about destroying unions and slashing worker's rights and putting women back in their "place"

Welcome to the post-election, authoritarian disaster that Canada is becoming.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Kids Are Not All Right TRIGGER WARNING

**Trigger Warning for Self-Harm, Abuse, EDs and Suicide**

Self-injury now outnumbers strokes in the number of hospitalizations per year in Canada. A recent study has found that more than 45 people a day are hospitalized in Canada for self-harm and the average age range is 15-19 years old - kids, basically. A revealing report claims that 85% of these self-injury cases involved poisonings and 9 out of 10 of these self-injury cases were attributed to prescription or non-prescription medication. 10% of the self-injuries included cutting or piercing and 2% were caused by strangulation. Currently, Canada is the only industrialized country to not have a national strategy for suicide or organizing the current prevention services that are available (CBC News). The CIHI Health Indicator Report shows that the numbers of self-injury hospitalizations between women and men differ significantly in all of the provinces of Canada. Here are the 2009 numbers - these are per 100,000 people.

Graph from here

Note: The bottom axis simply lists every single province and various hospitals within each province. As you can see the differences are staggering. Keep in mind that these results are taken from hospitalizations and not everyone who self-injures is hospitalized for various reasons. Nevertheless, it is difficult to argue with these numbers. One of the most alarming differences was in Parkland, Manitoba where 390 per 100,000 females were hospitalized for self-injury compared to the non-existent numbers or "†" for numbers that were suppressed "due to small numbers or incomplete data" for males. This is in one year.

For a chart including all figures see full report

Rates per Province, Image from CBC News

With more and more kids trying to kill themselves and harm themselves, more real conversations are needed to create REAL and lasting solutions. An increase in government spending for better medical care for all (including improved therapy without immediate reliance on medication) would be an obvious starting point - but it is clear that this self-harm epidemic is stemming from our larger cultural climate, particularly in the "developed" world.
In the same article, the journalists made a note to include what the Canadian government wants to do to solve the problem [I will put my commentary in bold]:

Canada is providing $27 million aimed at improving mental health of youth across the country.

[I think funding is great, but 27 million dollars could be increased if Harper bothered to properly tax the Big Oil companies existing in Canada. This likely will not happen because of the loyal camaraderie that the Oil companies have with the Harper regime. It is true that more funding is necessary to provide more programs dedicated to mental health and finding long-lasting solutions instead of rushing to medicate kids, but for having no national strategy in place, more money will likely be needed. This should not even be up for discussion - the health of the people should be a top priority]

The federal government is funding the projects through the Public Health Agency of Canada to support projects that focus on fostering mental health for children, youth and families in rural and northern communities, aboriginal communities, and those of low socio-economic status, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced separately Wednesday in Toronto..

[Again, government funding is good but it will cost a lot and with Harper's recent "cut-backs" to public spending we may not see it happen. Throwing a bunch of social workers and public health workers into First Nations reserves with anti-self injury and anti-suicide campaigns are going to be merely scratching the surface of larger, systematic problems. When health workers leave the reserves will they also take all of the poverty, malnutrition and abuse? Will they take away the isolation and racism experienced on reserves? Will their money and campaigns truly end suicides and self-injury in Aboriginal youth? How will it shift the social consequences of institutionalized racism? How will those caught in the cycle of poverty be assisted by public health campaigns put out by the same government that requires them to work 2 jobs and still not have enough money to live? How can their needs truly be met when society is the real culprit?]

The projects address bullying, change and loss, substance abuse and suicide, and seek to strengthen family and community interactions and promote healthy relationships.

[I find it difficult to believe that these anti-bullying programs will end bullying, particularly online bullying. I would be interested into hearing about how they plan to tackle cyber-bullying.

This money should also be used to create programs in schools and communities, like those mentioned above and create ones that challenge the status quo and call for Ottawa to take mental health seriously. Excuse me, I'm clearly being idealistic here, but it is just so brutally necessary. One can only dream of radical shifts in how we think and how we deal with one another]

For a full-list of programs and initiatives see here

These programs, if they are ever implemented, will likely not significantly decrease the incidences of self-harm because the culture -- this culture need to fundamentally change. This culture has an ever-growing love for violence, money, greed and power. In fact, this Western culture has provided a never ending buffet of self-hatred, apathy and loneliness sustained by a dominant class obsessed with self-starvation, sexy violence and out-of-control consumerism.

To deal with this we must address and critique the societal factors at play. 'First-World' children and teenagers from all socio-economic backgrounds are taking part in this harming behavior.

Why?

Young girls are starving, cutting and poisoning themselves while being abused and exploited en masse and yet we still collectively ask ourselves, why? Why would girls and women experience so much self-hatred, shame and trauma? why why why!?
Of course, there are differences in experiences and reasons for harming oneself. But, despite our diverse reasons and experiences, I can confidently declare that there is nothing inevitable or natural that causes women and girls to harm and hate themselves at such high frequencies. This hatred and desire to harm or damage oneself or to escape one's reality , my readers, is a result of the ruins of the male operated capitalist machine that has lead to the mass-scale destruction of civilization - both of the natural world and everything that dwells within it.

Women and girls as a sex-class have been and continue to be oppressed in various ways, some subtle and some horribly evident; Oppressed by delirious and out-dated institutions. Evidently, The Mass-Media Machine continues the practice of pop-culture driven woman-hating. The Mass Media Machine asserts that we, as women and girls, do not own our bodies - our bodies are wrong, dirty, degraded, too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall; too-freckled, too black, too brown, too muscular. These bodies, our bodies are viewed and accepted as commodities under our current system. Likely this internalized commodification is a result of endlessly staring at ourselves; contorted, starved and constructed, plastered all over bus-stops and magazines - typically in pieces.

Self-harming behavior, in my opinion, must be looked at within the culture that sustains it. The culture, our Western culture that sexualizes and normalizes violence and rape. It normalizes the abuse that can often lead to self-harming behavior. This culture is one that seems to require that any new horror film must include footage of a woman being viciously attacked or brutally raped. But, the evidence is everywhere and if you're not a horror-movie fan, fear not - you could just turn on a television to see an episode of CSI. Or why not wander into the gas-station to look at the latest issue of FHM or playboy? The propaganda is endless.

One cannot help but ask what if men were portrayed in the same ways and at the same frequency as women? What if males were self-injuring themselves at the same frequencies females are? There would be an outcry!

But I digress.

Along with more funding, we must start to think critically and radically. New ideas are necessary - radical ideas.

But, is it even possible?

Is a world where rape and violence against women is not considered sexy even possible? I want a world where young women do not feel obliged to starve themselves only to feed the beauty industry - a world where kids don't feel it necessary to poison themselves to escape from their pain. I want that world.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

ATTN: Have You Seen Madison Scott? Missing Woman*

To all of my Canadian readers, particularly those living in British Columbia, please please please spread this message along or just keep your eyes open for this young woman. Please help find Madison safe and sound!

PLEASE HELP US FIND MADISON SCOTT of Vanderhoof BC

File #2011-1508

Investigative efforts continue in the search for 20 year old Madison Scott from Vanderhoof. Madison was reported missing on Sunday May 29th when she failed to return from a party at Hogsback Lake about 25 km south of Vanderhoof.

Vanderhoof RCMP along with Search and Rescue Teams from Vanderhoof, Prince George, Burns Lake and Fort St. James conducted extensive air, water and ground searches on Sunday and all day Monday. Upwards of 150 volunteers searched, including horseback patrols, of the shorelines, walking and ATV trails and the logging roads in the area. Water areas were also explored with boats and side scanning sonar. Despite search efforts of the area, Madison is still missing.

At this time a physical search of the area has been suspended until new information can be obtained that would allow searchers to focus their efforts in another direction than already considered.

The investigation has determined that Madison attended a party on Friday night in an area well known and used by locals. The area is a former Forestry campsite, which also has a parking lot and boat launch area. Madison was last seen by those at the party around 3:00 a.m. Saturday. Police also know that another party was held there Saturday night. RCMP would like to speak to anyone who may have attended either party, was camping in the area or was in the area over the weekend for recreational purposes.

“We believe someone who was in the area this weekend may have seen Madison or even spoken to her, “says Sgt. Rob Vermeulen, spokesperson with E Division. “It is important that we determine what happened that night, what her plans were for Saturday and the rest of the weekend. We have conducted some interviews, but it is important that we speak to anyone and everyone who will help piece together the bigger picture. We still have many questions as does Madison’s family”.

Vanderhoof RCMP along with members of the North District Major Crime investigators continues to make this a priority investigation.

Madison Scott is described as 20 year old Caucasian, 5 foot 4, 170 lbs with ginger hair. She was last seen wearing a black t-shirt and blue jean Capri pants. She was driving an off-white early 1990s model F-150 pickup truck and had a two-tone blue tent; both were left at the site and are now in police custody.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen Madison or may know of her whereabouts to contact the Vanderhoof RCMP immediately at (250) 567-2222.

Released by

Sgt. Rob VERMEULEN
Senior Media Relations Officer
"E" Div Strategic Communications
5255 Heather Street, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K6
Office: 604-264-2929
Fax: 604-264-3200
Email:bcrcmp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Canadian Couple Raises Child Genderless and The Media Goes Wild!

Yesterday, as I was browsing through the daily current events, I came across an article about a couple raising their child "genderless." The parents of the child, 4 month old Storm, have decided to withhold their child's sex so that the child can grow up and discover life without the constraints of gender, including stereotyping and everything else that comes with it. "We've decided not to share Storm's sex for now -- a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime" stated Storm's parents in an interview.

(photo of Storm and her parents found here)

Herds of "Child Experts" are continuing to attack the parents, screaming amongst themselves about biological essentialist nonsense that has no hard evidence supporting it. One mother even wrote that she felt it was a "lab experiment" and thus unethical. A news reader wrote "The world around us has been set by thousands of years of social evolution. To try to undo this evolution through your child is very selfish and very inconsiderate to the child." This statement is based on sociobiology, or as it is better known as, evolutionary psychology which purports that human cultures are biologically hard-wired (and thus fixed) and that all humans follow the same rules of nature (based on social Darwinist priniciples) as other species do, even socially and culturally. However, the commentary continues. A Columnist from the Toronto Star announced her condescending "warnings" for the parents, "Without boundaries, I wonder if little 4-month-old Storm will wander aimlessly, like so many of my thirty-something friends"

Indeed, because bringing up your child in the same old and tired format is so damn effective, since you know, our kids are turning out so happy these days - what with suicides, self-harming, eating disorders, bullying, depression and so forth. In any other situation, people would likely not feel so inclined to stick their nose so far into a stranger's parenting techniques, but there you go. Also, in response to the columnist, why do kids need gender boundaries? All that these boundaries accomplish is limiting children's self-expression and cause them to build a self-concept based upon unequal gender expectations. Our kids are more miserable than ever before, so what possible DAMAGE could these radical parents possibly cause? How is allowing your child to grow up free of social bondage a bad thing? They are not choosing the child's gender (the angry mobs fail to realize gender and sex are not mutually exclusive) these parents are allowing the child to grow into whoever they want to be, not who society tells them they they should be.

(look pretty happy to me! photo found here )

After recieving enormous helpings of hostile and foaming-at-the-mouth responses, Kathy, Storm's mother, wondered "Isn't defensiveness sometimes a first sign of learning or changing behaviour, so even the ‘rabid' responses may have a place in making the world a more thoughtful place." I applaud her ability to be the bigger person in the face of media-driven criticism and realize that anger can often spark real change - sometimes you need to offend people to make them think.

Regardless, the amount of crap these parents are enduring right now really shows that there are people who are willing to work against the status quo and do what they feel is best for their child. Allowing a child to grow up without the burdens of gender is a commendable action. This way, the kid has the free choice (something they are often robbed of) to discover their own identities and goals based on their status as a human being, with full humanity - not some social label that is apparently "hardwired." But, what also boggles my mind, is how these "Child Experts" would view cultural differences in regards to gender and other social constructions. Have they ever took the time to ponder that not everyone in the world follows the West's rigid two-gender assumptions? These experts set the "first world" as the default for everyone else, since you know, we're just so "modern." We're so modern that our kids are killing, cutting and starving themselves.

These parents are leaders in revolutionary parenting and making grassroot radical changes. If more people followed their lead, we would be closer to reaching an egalitarian society based on human worth, not harmful social constructs that lead to extreme oppression and dehumanization. Luckily, a case like this has popped up before in Sweden in 2009. A couple decided to raise their child "Pop" genderless, despite media outpour asking, "What are the effects of growing up genderless" - well, likely less harmful than the current model!

The gender binary is toxic to everyone and kids end up bearing the heaviest burden as they form their identities and bonds with others. This couple is an inspiration to me, as they have given me a glimpse of hope for our future.

If you want to check out more of the disturbing commentary, you can do so here

(last photo of baby Storm found here)

Monday, April 25, 2011

Canadian Election 2011: Harper "Controversial" Quotes Leaked (Healthcare, Abortion and Bilingualism)

Stephen Harper is known for keeping his followers quiet and in check - he forbids all of his party members from speaking to the press or even commenting. This silence has contributed to Harper's lack of transparency and inability to be honest and upfront with Canadians. Today has revealed, however, that Harper's converts were sharing some of the Prime Minister's most "controversial" quotes. I have the parenthesis to indicate that I personally feel the comments are offensive and completely terrifying, not simply "controversial."

Here are some of those quotes

found here

Here are some more of Harpers quotes from the CBC.ca website:

From the Jan. 7, 2004 update, page 12 - on health:
"The solution is to have a healthcare system where people pay some of the costs themselves." "If we had a healthcare system based on insurance and we paid for these services out of our own pocket, this would be a non-issue." - referring to what the article's writer called broad-brush swipes at people whose behaviour is deemed costly (March 22, 1999)

5. From the June 26, 2003 update, page 18 - on social conservatism:
"We need to rediscover Burkean or social conservatism because a growing body of evidence points to the damage the welfare state is having on your most important institutions, particularly the family. Conservatives have to give much higher place to confronting threats posed by modern Liberals to this building block of our society." Jan. 6, 2003

7. From Aug. 28, 2003 - page 3 - on Elections Canada and then-Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley:
'"The jackasses at Elections Canada are out of control." Please excuse my language, but when I learned Elections Canada's bureaucrats have pressed charges against a Canadian citizen, I just blew my cool. That is the exact language I used ... This is not the first attack on freedom by Elections Canada. Its heavy-handed chief, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, has been an advocate of the most minute of controls and regulations - and stiff punishments - on every aspect of "free" elections.' 08/2001

Voting day is May 2, Canadians! Go out and vote!!!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Canadian Politics: The Youth Vote, Global Interest, and Coming Together

photo from here

A Canadian federal election is looming overhead and I am trying not to see the dark clouds. The possible storm would be a majority government for the Conservative party of Canada. This, of course, likely mirrors more of American Democrat values. In Canada, however, this is considered pretty right-wing. As a political junkie and a Canadian citizen, I feel an intense urge to participate in this election. This urge does not stem from nationalism or even pride of being a Canadian, although it’s hard to pinpoint a universal Canadian Identity; it stems from the recognition of a right that many people in the world do not have. A right to have some kind of say in who runs a country, what rights the people have within a country and so forth. In addition, I find that elections really bring Canadians out of our shells. Our voices are usually subdued by the loud howling of the United States, which truly dominates the world’s interest, whether it be politically based or situated in a Hollywood scandal.

In Canada, it is rare that we actually become aware of Stephen Harper and his activities in parliament. Luckily, the campaign trail has lead to the revealing of the Conservative Party’s misdeeds. Usually our political arena is quiet; we seem to be content with staring idly at the television, listening to Obama battle it out with the Tea Partiers. All the while Mr Harper purchases war planes and violates human rights at the G8 summit.

The month of April has revealed its ability to wake up Canadians - particularly those in my age group (b. 1980s). Suddenly, "vote-mobs" have been breaking out on campuses - shocking, since the young adult voter turnout in the last Canadian election was feeble to say the least. What is making people interested? Could it be the Canadian youth are closely watching the UK's student movement or picking up cues from the activists fighting for a stop to cuts in the U.S? Maybe we can look even further, to Egypt, where the people (predominantly 30 years old and younger) decided to revolt. They demanded change. Clearly, Canadian elections do not compare to the struggles in Egypt - but within a global society, where one can interact with someone thousands of miles away in mere seconds, we can easily be inspired by the actions of others. Youth apathy is becoming more a myth than a reality and the proof of this is only building. Is apathy really of value in our world right now, when so much is changing so fast?

With the constant flow of tragic news in 2011, from the disaster in Japan, the continuing bloodshed in Libya and the Ivory Coast and tensions in other parts of the Middle East, we can find solace in coming together to reach a common goal. The common goal varies – as so many issues need to be addressed immediately. The safety of our food, the liveability of our planet and the possibility of peace are all at stake in a constantly evolving world. We cannot afford to be apathetic, even in Canada. In Canada, much of the youth vote is for a government that will support real democracy. What we have in Canada right now, under the Harper regime, is not democracy.

Several days ago, at U of G or the University of Guelph in Ontario, a Conservative party member attempted to confiscate a ballot box that was set up by Elections Canada for an advanced poll in the U of G. This advanced polling has taken place for several years at the University with no problems reported in the past. In Canada, as in many other countries, tampering with election boxes or ballots is illegal. Not only is it illegal, but it is downright undemocratic and terribly repressive. This is the kind of deceitful and totalitarian behaviour that personifies the Conservative Party of Canada or as it is better known as, the Harper Government of Canada. Harper actually managed to change the government’s name, but that is another post all together.

Harper's politics resemble more of the American, Laissez-Faire model that promotes little to no government intervention - in fact, the opposition parties have been calling Harper's reign the "Americanization" of Canada. This of course reflects the value we place on universal healthcare in this country. Harper wants to start to privatize healthcare services and continue to advocate corporate relations similar to the U.S. Relations that do not support many regulations being required for businesses and corporations. Harper would rather invest in dirty oil and energy than focus sustainable energy resources; he has even gone so far to say that Canada still holds a high ranking in environmental sustainability!

But I digress.

Despite our usually calm political waters, Canadians - particularly young Canadians, have proven to have political opinions after all. It is reprehensible that the Conservative Party has attempted to shut down the youth vote in Guelph, but at the same time, the attempts to literally throw away votes has sparked something profound in many young voters. People are actually coming together, discussing important issues and coming up with ideas. It really demonstrates how politics can enrage us and while bringing us together - at least long enough to crack off a joke about the English-language debate or how Stephen Harper's hair has its own life-force. And, while we may not make US headlines with our political debates (both French and English) regarding Quebec separatism, the economy, universal health care or First Nations rights - we manage to reach out to others, even some from south of the border (i.e. Michael Moore) who find interest in our politics. Regardless of how much the American media cares about Canadian elections – it’s big news here and it’s getting Canadians all riled up, which just doesn’t happen enough anymore.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Updates: Novel and News

I just finished a fantastic novel called "In search of April Raintree" by Beatrice Culleton Mosionier. It was actually assigned from my women's studies professor to read for the end of the semester, but once I started the book, I couldn't put it down.

The work of fiction follows April and her sister Cheryl as they struggle with moving from foster home to foster home after being removed from their parents' abode. April and Cheryl are both Métis; Cheryl grows up proud of her heritage, while April attempts to fit into white society and hide her heritage. The book examines racism, white supremacy, sexism, first-nations issues in Canada and the foster system. It is a well-written piece that is worth a read...So, give it one. Seriously.

In other news, I read that there was a huge bombing in Moscow airport - many people have been killed. I don't know about everyone else, but the news has been quite upsetting lately. The revelations about the "peace" talks between Palestinians and Israelis has been revealed, the Italian president has been accused of having sex with an underage woman (while he gains popularity) and the issues in Haiti are accelerating because of political turmoil and the return of Baby Doc Duvalier. I realize the news is always congested with new stories, but this year seems to have started off with a lot of issues. Tunisia is revolting and others are taking their cue. UK students are revolting and people world-wide are getting fed up. Canada may be entering an election and Australia is picking up after mass flooding tore through parts of the country. This is a lot to take in during a few weeks time.

I suppose that I just have a feeling some changes are coming. I have a feeling we are going to drastically change the way we see the government, our food, our consumption and so forth.

What do you, faithful readers, think about all of these big news headlines? Is life going to change? If so, how? Do you have any particular political predictions of the new year? Please share them!

Finally, I want to know what you think will come of the alleged Moscow suicide bombing? How will the media handle it?