…that anti-choicers aren’t all that hot to stop abortion, they just want women to stop fucking for any reason other than procreation — more recently-enacted so-called “conscience laws” allowing pharmacists to refuse to do their jobs: On July 12, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a “conscience protection” law that gives health-care providers and institutions the right to refuse services on religious or moral grounds. Same goes for Arizona. On July 13, Gov. Jan Brewer signed a measure that allows pharmacists to deny a woman any birth control method that they …
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A guest post on the Waging Nonviolence web site - “Toronto’s “garbage strike” elicits public outrage and labour disunity” (To be fair, I should point out that I edited that write-up with Bryan Farrell.  There are words in there which he had added himself while we were editing it.) …
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If you find this outrageous, HERE is a petition that you can sign asking Facebook to revert to its original neutral position. Please share! …
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As Ma'am is no doubt aware...A group of eminent economists has written to the Queen explaining why no one foresaw the timing, extent and severity of the recession.The three-page missive, which blames "a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people", was sent after the Queen asked, during a visit to the London School of Economics, why no one had predicted the credit crunch.Signed by LSE professor Tim Besley, a member of the Bank of England monetary policy committee, and the eminent historian of government Peter Hennessy, the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the …
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Dr. Dawg asks, "who is Lawrence Cannon?", wondering if 'Mr. Cannon' is really a Canadian and not some sort of imposter.The question has bugged me since I read it. I keep thinking that I've seen that face somewhere before. Only I think the lips the lips and hair are a little different. Still, they might want to double check that guy in The Hague. …
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The 10th annual Luminara festival was completely amazing as usual, but it was without a doubt the wettest Luminara I have attended.  It was a clear and warm but intensely humid evening by the time my Liberal friend Wendy arrived to pick me up for the event.  She has lived here all her life and this was her 1st Luminara so I feel bad it was so wet for her.  It weird because this morning it’s once again absolutely gorgeous and baking outside. We started off with a drink at the spag and visited a bit with my daughter who has worked there for several years now.  Then we headed up to St …
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if I sit this one out… …
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The week before last, Bill Moyers interviewed Robert Wright, author of the new book, The Evolution of God (which I haven't yet read).It was an interesting discussion but what stood out for me, as an atheist buddhist (yes, there are such creatures), was this exchange:BILL MOYERS: But you're not saying that one has to be religious to be moral?ROBERT WRIGHT: I'm absolutely not. I'm absolutely not. One of my own closer contacts with, I would say, a form of consciousness that's closer to the truth than everyday consciousness, came at a Buddhist meditation center. These were essentially secular …
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The BC Paramedic dispute was in the spotlight on Vancouver’s CFUN Radio 1410 AM Monday morning. And among the angles discussed …   my Blog this past week about the unfairness in the system that forces paramedics to work but denies them adequate mechanisms for requiring fair bargaining or outside binding arbitration. Harv Oberfeld …
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Great, so it looks like Harper’s chest beating on Arctic sovereignty has kickstarted a new cold war. With Denmark becoming the latest nation to reveal major plans to sharpen its Arctic military capabilities, a global buildup in the tools of northern warfare has experts concerned about an increased risk of conflict. “The question is whether these moves, which are built on a kind of mistrust and a worry about one’s own possession, might accumulate in a way that could bring on a more conflicted Arctic,” says author and retired University of Toronto professor Franklyn …
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Why a woman’s right to choose matters now more than ever.Perhaps Sgt. Crowley has even more explaining to do than originally thought.Dear Global Warming Denialists: Actual scientists are researching whether or not our little planet is moving into a new "vicious cycle" of warming. Since no definitive conclusions have been reached, more research will be necessary. This, oddly enough, is how science should work.Dilbert creator Scott Adam's struggle to regain his voice.Health care statistics courtesy of the boys at Sadly, No. …
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It looks like the Harper recession is taking its toll on the hate industry. Since all our troubles started, the economy has taken a nose dive. Another friend of mine just got laid off, joining me, my husband, my co-author and pretty much everyone I know in the Right Wing Jobless Club. I know many of my readers are in the same situtation. Who would of guessed there was an upside to a recession. …
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Torchwood Children of Earth, Image from Coventry Telegraph.netSPOILER ALERT: Do not read this blog if you intend to watch Torchwood: Children of Earth but have not yet done so.The BBC's 5 episode Torchwood: Children of Earth series played in Canada this week on the Space television channel. It was good science fiction, using the fantastic plot themes and story lines permitted by science fiction to ask serious questions about the nature of humanity and the difficult choices we make. In Children of Earth the world's leaders are required to decide whether to sacrifice 10% of earth's …
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The oppression of the Iranian people and their courageous stand of the past weeks is one non-autism story that I feel compelled to acknowledge on this autism dedicated site.Protests took place around the world yesterday protesting the Iranian regime's oppression of the Iranian people. Global protests condemn Iran crackdown Hundreds stage protest march in New York against Iran regimeChicago joins world in rallying for Iraniansautism …
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Just for KEv. …
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Quitbull! If there is a God, it will be Palin and Joe the Plumber in 2012. One can always dream. …
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Blogging Tory "Dante" gets all sanctimonious about accuracy. Those of us who are painfully familiar with Dante's BT bunkmate Kate McMillan simply roll our eyes. …
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Blogging Tory "Hunter" gets all panty-tuggy and shrieky when brown people are murdered for ideological reasons. When white people are killed similarly, eh, not so much.How ... curious. I'm guessing it's a context thing.P.S. Does anyone else find it odd that the same folks who don't even like brown people to begin with are this upset when they're killed? That seems awfully inconsistent, don't you think?AH, THE IRONY: You'd think that yappy, screechy harridans like "Hunter" who profess to be terribly, terribly concerned about the plight of women might be supportive of government …
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From the ‘Editor’s blog’: I’ve left the escalating feud over Israeli settlements uncommented upon so far, but the US has now warned Israel that any attempt to expand settlement activity in the so-called E–1 corridor (between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim) would be “extremely damaging” and “corrosive.” This follows by less than a week US warnings against construction of apartments on the site of the Shepherd Hotel in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah district, a move which led to sharp reactions on the part of Bibi Netanyahu and the rather odd …
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These are worth a read: here and here. To those people who devise such plans, whether we are gay or not, we are nothing but sheep to be herded here or there in the service of whatever grand scheme they have in mind. Pathetic … and despicable! They really must despise and hate the rest of us! …
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Clashing Visions and Competing Interests …
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.Abdelrazik wants the federal government to help him get his name removed from a United Nations terror watch list so he can lead a normal life again.You know - get a job, go to a doctor, get on a plane, have a bank account, accept anything from anyone without risk of their being charged with being in violation of the UN's 1267 shunning regulations. .Above are the responses to Abdelrazik's lawyers from Minister of Public Security Peter Van Loan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon telling them to piss off. Click em to read em, courtesy of The Peoples Commission via the indefatigable …
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Schedule for tomorrow morning is to hang out early at Times Square to possibly score cheap tickets to "Rock of Ages." I'm sure PSA is intensely jealous. REO Speedwagon! Journey! Styx! Bon Jovi! Boo-yah!"Don't stop ... beleeeeevin' ..." …
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Blowback?  Or collateral damage?   Both?: I am NOT Shona Holmes. Waterdown resident Palmira Holmes wants angry callers to know she is not the same Holmes from Waterdown whose problems with Canadian health care have made her the U.S. poster girl for forces opposed to President Barack Obama’s health-care plan. Palmira Holmes has been inundated with phone calls from people trying to express their fury over Shona Holmes’ decision to become the face of an aggressive American TV ad that slams Canadian-style health care. Palmira Holmes says “it was like being bombarded” …
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The amount of overblown, wingnut-like hyperbole flying around in the so-called "progressive" American blogosphere over the arrest of Henry Gates has risen to such hysterical levels that it isn't even possible to discuss the facts in a rational manner.Take this exchange:Amen (13+ / 0-)seems to me that this idea of not placing all the blame on the officer sounds alot like the attitude back in the 70's of women who were raped or beaten that perhaps they were to blameby Bluerall on Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 08:34:05 AM MDT * that's asinine (0+ / 0-) The comparison doesn't even compute. by …
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The British government has commissioned a shocking new report from the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (EISCA) which among other things argues that the law should be changed so that political commentators cannot draw comparisons between the actions of the Israeli state and those of Nazi Germany. Antony Lerman writes: “If you said ‘the way the IDF operated in Gaza was like the way the SS acted in Poland’ and a Jew found this offensive, hurtful or harmful, you could, in theory, go to jail.” However that is neither the most shocking or …
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As some of you have undoubtedly figured out, the problem with purely-instrumental songs is: No lyrics, so you can't look them up online. And so, I've decided to play some instrumental oldies ... chances are, you've heard these tunes your whole life and never knew the titles. One of the most pleasant parts of aging is knowing these arcane remnants of pop-culture. Young people I work with invariably call me on the extension: What's the name of that? (I am regularly called on to identify all kinds of music, spanning decades.) I have included a couple of tunes here that I am always asked …
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... when it’s done properly. …
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[Click on image for details] A follow-up … and another one. …
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Two pictures, allegedly of Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Clearly two different people. Note the narrow jaw in the second picture, and the sunken cheeks.Where is the proof that the man calling the shots at DFAIT today is really Lawrence Cannon? How do we know that he's even a Canadian citizen? …
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Good morning, darlings.As much as I might’ve enjoyed the thunderstorm last night -- I love thunderstorms -- I have to wonder if everyone is as sick of rain as I am. Coffee? …
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BC Ferries employee Wing Sun's wonderful little garden on the concrete wingwall wedged between berths two and three at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.As ferries load and offload on either side of him, he sprouts seeds, tends his plants, creates garden art out of found objects discarded by travellers, and paints designs in praise of nature on available outdoor walls. All done on his own time and dime during his coffee breaks and lunch hours, it's a lovely oasis in the otherwise quite unlovely ferry terminal.Thank you, Wing Sun, and to BC Ferries for seeing the value in his labour of love.. …
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Maybe those who no longer vote in civic, provincial or federal elections are right. Ask them why, and most will tell you our politicians are liars and crooks, more interested in catering to big business or big unions,  lining their own pockets and rewarding their friends. Now I still think we should vote: we owe it to those who [...] …
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Since it’s once again a hot topic in Canada and the knuckledragging Muslim haters are out in full force, here’s a couple of interesting bits of info on the subject that will help you combat their bigotry. An article on the website Gendercide Watch points out where the root of honour killings lies. “Honour” killings of women (and occasionally their male “partners in crime”) reflect longstanding patriarchal-tribal traditions. In a “bizarre duality,” women are viewed “on the one hand as fragile creatures who need protection and on the other as …
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Document the dumbassitude.JESUS CHRIST, the level of stupid and evil in the comments section over there is truly breathtaking. Blogging Tory "General Brock" seems singularly ignorant about what this issue is all about, and it doesn't appear that anyone can clue him in.Ah, well ... he's a Blogging Tory ... being a painfully retarded dumbshit goes with the territory. "Hunter" and Dr. Roy taught me that.JUST FOR THE FUN (AND PROFIT) OF IT, I think that every gay couple in Saskatchewan that wants to get married should now seek out Mr. Orville Nichols to perform the civil ceremony. Given that he …
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The Pork Party: Formerly Known As The Conservative Party I guess the butcher shop is needed to help him dole out all that pork. The federal minister responsible for economic development in Quebec has dished out more than $6 million worth of cheques to his own riding in the past two weeks, including nearly $100,000 for a butcher shop. Denis Lebel, MP for Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean and the minister of state for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the regions of Quebec, announced this week À l’Orée des Champs, a restaurant specializing in locally raised lamb dishes, will receive …
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As the tweet I saw about this item said, YAY! YAY! YAY!: The U.S. House, taking aim at one of former President George W. Bush’s signature initiatives, voted to slash funding for abstinence-only sex education programs. The chamber voted 264-153 to approve an annual health and education spending bill that would eliminate a $99 million initiative providing grants to public and private organizations that encourage teens to abstain from premarital sex. FINALLY.   So-called “abstinence-only” sex “education” (and calling it “education” is a real stretch) is …
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[Via The Free Gaza Movement] …
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