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Starvation in the Midst of Plenty
2008-01-31 00:12:00
All of a sudden I've been getting all kinds of of traffic to my post about eating mud pies in Haiti. I'm not completely sure why, except that the issue was publicized yesterday in this article in the Miami Herald. So maybe people who read the article are doing research. This recent post from Dying in Haiti juxtaposes the spending of Shaquille O'Neal (for instance $24,300 per month on gasoline) with the incredible poverty in Haiti. One of those mud pies goes for about 5 cents. Rice is too expensive - Two cups costs 60 cents.The World Food Programme's Hunger - 10 Odd Facts mentions that in addition to the mud pies in Haiti, people have other coping mechanisms to manage their starvation. In Angola, leather furniture has been on the menu, and in southern Sudan, hungry people eat seeds which, normally toxic, become edible only after a ten day soak, while tree bark has been favoured in North Korea.Some mothers, who don't have any food, boil stones in the hope that their children wi...
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What They Said
2008-01-29 02:09:00
What she said, and what he said, and her too. And them, of course. And especially, what she and he said, and him too.Of course these are just a few of the thoughtful posts from today, the anniversary of the Morgentaler decision, in which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the abortion provision in the Criminal Code was unconstitutional, as it violated a woman's right to "security of person".Home

Canadian F-word Blog Awards now accepting nominations
2008-01-26 20:39:00
Know a good feminist blogger? Get thee to the Canadian F-Word Blog Awards and nominate her (or him).Many Categories: Best Canadian Feminist Blog Best International Feminist Blog Activist Blog Environmental Blog Entertainment Blog Culture Blog Group Blog Individual Blog Women of Colour -centered Blog Reproductive Liberty Blog Family Blog Political Blog LBGT Blog Humour blog Best Comment Thread Most Poignant Comment The "Why the fuck didn't I say that" comment Best Snark Comment Most Regressive "Progressive" The Support Bro Plus, if you donate to WISE, you can be entered into a contest to win these fabulous handcrafted tit pillows.Home
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send.a.message
2008-01-25 22:12:00
As their website says: "It was meant to keep people apart, now it also brings people together." For a donation of 30 euros, Palestinians in the West Bank spray paint your message on the wall. They will send you 3 digital pictures you can keep forever (long after the wall is gone). The money primarily goes to support local projects and organizations.The Wall won't fall just because your text is written on it. True. But your message reminds Palestinians trapped inside the Wall they have not been forgotten. You help to keep hope alive. 'Our' Palestinians want to send you one single, simple message: "we are human beings, just like you, with sense of humour and lust for life." That's why they do this, and enjoy it. Home
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Help stop the war in Iraq... support the troops who have the courage to res
2008-01-24 22:43:00
January 25-26 U.S.-Canada actions to support war resisters To my fellow Canadians, do you often feel helpless to do anything about the war in Iraq ? One thing you can do is demonstrate your support for the American troops who refuse to fight in the Iraq war. Help end the war by supporting the growing GI resistance movement today! There are events in the U.S. and Canada - January 25 (USA) and Jan 26 (Canada) event locations, times, and contacts. Sign the letter "Dear Canada: Let U.S. War Resisters Stay" and encourage others to sign. Americans, you can organize a delegation to a Canadian Consulate near you. Host an event or house-party in support of war resisters. Home
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Won't Somebody Please Think About the... Toys!?!
2008-01-23 20:38:00
Just when you think it can't get weirder.Right on the heels of the anniversary of Roe v Wade... From Torontoist, this lovely billboard:Toys without children? Boo-freaking-hoo. What about children without toys, without proper food and care, without loving parents and homes? That's a real tragedy. This abortions-make-toys-cry argument is just a bad joke.Home

Blogging for Choice: The Jane Collective
2008-01-23 05:22:00
I'm too tired to write a proper post (plus there's so much amazing stuff out there already today - a lot of really great stuff), so I'll just give you a video to watch on The Jane Collective , an underground abortion service which operated in Chicago from 1969 to 1973. During a time of dangerous illegal abortions, the women took matters into their own hands, and learned to perform abortions. They saved a lot of lives: "If you needed an abortion, for whatever reason, you took your life into your own hands ? and you were terrified, absolutely terrified," recounts a member of the collective of the late 1960s. "All you knew is that you might die, that this person didn't know what he was doing and you were going to pay hundreds of dollars... to bleed to death in some hotel room." Heather Booth, then a student at the University of Chicago involved in civil rights and antiwar movements, found herself sought out by a few young women who were pregnant, scared, and desperate. They had some...
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For Iraqis, Treatment for Trauma is Luxury
2008-01-22 20:35:00
The young woman was walking with her husband along a Baghdad street when she was abducted, held captive and raped repeatedly by five militia men for several days."Before, she was very proud of her body but now she is overweight -- she eats to protect herself and not to attract people," says therapist Sana Hamzeh about her 27-year-old Iraqi patient, who recently escaped to Lebanon as a refugee. "When she first came here she hated her body and was very isolated. She could not touch her husband. She sat rigidly, clenched; she could not relax or talk about her feelings." Hamzeh works at the recently opened Restart centre in Beirut, a charity funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) that provides free therapy and psychological therapy rehabilitation for up to 70 mostly Iraqi refugees who are victims of torture. The centre also gathers documentation to help argue their case for asylum. The centre is a brief respite for a few Iraqis fleeing torture, death sen...
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"Stories are wondrous things. And they are dangerous"
2008-01-20 16:46:00
We are the stories we tell ourselves. Or, as Thomas King puts it: "The truth about stories is that that's all we are." If I grow up being told I am a kind and generous person, always willing to lend a hand to help a fellow human in need, there's a good chance I will take this on as part of my identity, and become a kind and generous person. Certainly it is more likely than if I had been told all my life I am a mean and selfish goodfernuthin'. If we tell ourselves that what it means to be human is to be a rational self-interested individual, for which the greatest good is to act selfishly in the marketplace of life, well then we should not be surprised if we become greedy self-serving assholes, gleefully counting our giant SUVs and plasma TVs while children die of malnutrition outside our gated communities. If we tell ourselves a great epic story of the world as a Clash of Civilizations, we should not be surprised that our illustrious leaders invade other countries, you know, def...
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Six Degrees Traveler
2008-01-18 17:09:00
I love Six Degrees Traveler, the internet radio show available on itunes radio (under "electronic") or on live365. I must say, this week's program is exceptional:On this week's edition of Six Degrees Traveler, in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday, we spin a set based around gospel, blues and spirituals in both their traditional and hybrid forms. Featured artists include Boozoo Bajou, Euphoria, Japancakes, Nitin Sawhney, Daniel Lanois, Banzai Republic and many others.Enjoy!Home
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Fun Stuff at Laboratory Andre-Michelle
2008-01-18 00:18:00
Too much heaviness. I need some fun. Fortunately the interwebs have no shortage. This is all from Laboratory Andre -Michelle .Scratching Scratch a vinyl with actionscript. Unfortunatley you need a fast computer, since I tried to implement a very low latency time. Chillout Planet Earth - very zenNeed a rest? Watch these cute sound particles, representing notes from different patterns, which are mixed together to keep the suspense. This experiment is completely synthesized running a polyphonic synthesizer, based on this study and a stereo-delay on 16Bit, 22.050Khz.They are no external sources, just code. The size of the SWF is about 8kb. If your computer is too slow, try the video I?ve uploaded to youtube.Chill out planet earth! FL909 FL909 attempts to simulate the original sound of the Roland TR-909. This drumcomputer hits the market 1984 and was a long time the state of art in house and techno productions. Shift-Click the Step-buttons for accent triggers. Shift-Click-Move knobs for ...
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Suicide Bombing: Just Another Kind of Bombing?
2008-01-17 22:53:00
So I was listening to CBC this morning and the Current was continuing a discussion (it's mail day) about suicide bombing: causes, etc. Some comments I agreed with, some I didn't. But what struck me was how odd it is that we spend so much time analyzing the technique of suicide bombing (remember I do think it is a rational tactic). Why do we treat it so differently than, say, aerial bombing, such as by the US in Iraq or Israel in the Occupied Territories?Well, lets think about this for a moment. (And of course, first I need to make the requisite disclaimer: I do not condone suicide bombing, or civilian-targeting violence on the part of either terrorists or governments.)What is the difference between a bomb that falls from the airplane of a conventional army and a bomb that is meant to explode while still attached to a body? Why does the second attract such complete and vehement denunciation (just watch what kind of comments this post gets) while the first elicits barely a comment?...
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Happy Birthday to Gitmo: An astrological reading
2008-01-13 00:59:00
Wow. I feel so honoured to share my birthday (yesterday) with Guantanamo Bay. Indymedia:JANUARY 11, 2008 -- On the day six years ago that the first prisoners began arriving at the U.S. torture camp at Guantánamo, protests were staged across the country and around the world demanding that Guantanamo be shut down. Prisoners are kept in Guantanamo under horrific conditions for years without trial.That makes good old Gitmo a Capricorn, just like me. I think I'd like to offer an astrological reading, modified from wikipedia, which informs us that "According to astrological beliefs, celestial phenomena reflect or govern human activity on the principle of 'as above, so below', so that the twelve signs at the same time are held to represent twelve basic personality types or characteristic modes of expression." Celestial phenomena say that Gitmo is ambitious, and hard-working. (After all, those dang prisoners won't torture themselves.) It is methodical and focused, businesslike and perse...
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Rabbit of Seville
2008-01-11 17:39:00
This piece of nostalgia found via Torontoist: Everything Bugs Bunny Didn't Teach You About OperaHome

Top Ten Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2007
2008-01-09 01:18:00
From Chechnya to the Central African Republic, from Sri Lanka to Zimbabwe, the countries and contexts highlighted by MSF on this year's list accounted for just 18 minutes of coverage on the three major U.S. television networks' nightly newscasts from January through November 2007. For example: Graciela and her family are a few of the millions of Colombians who have had to flee their homes to escape fighting between government, rebel, and paramilitary forces. Armed groups fighting for territorial control have a stranglehold on many rural areas of Colombia, depriving civilians of access to health care by making roads impassable, forcibly conscripting children into militias, and murdering those suspected of collaborating with rivals.See the top ten most underreported humanitarian stories of 2007 in Images and text.Home
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Africa: Talking about "Tribe": Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis
2008-01-08 20:44:00
I have to say that overall the reporting of the crisis in Kenya has lacked depth and understanding. One particularly damaging word that was constantly in use was "tribal". This word has been used uncritically, perpetuating misleading stereotypes about Africa ns. Would we say that Europe is made up of tribes? Or that the English-French tensions within Canada is tribal conflict? Why not? It's about as sensible as assuming that Africa is made up of tribes. Well, apparently I'm not the only one irritated by this:The Kenyan election, wrote Jeffrey Gettleman for the New York Times in his December 31 dispatch from Nairobi, "seems to have tapped into an atavistic vein of tribal tension that always lay beneath the surface in Kenya but until now had not provoked widespread mayhem." Gettleman was not exceptional among those covering the post-election violence in his stress on "tribe." But his terminology was unusually explicit in revealing the assumption that such divisions are rooted in unch...
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An argument against essentialist modes of thinking
2008-01-08 00:13:00
From Typecasting: On the Arts and Sciences of Human Inequality*: Despite its aura of certitude, classification is never a neutral act. Naming is a form of exercising power, and the ways that things are named often reflect the outlook of the namer. This makes me think of Foucault's The Order of Things which contains an anecdote that I think well illustrates how our seemingly neutral and sensible methods of classification really are sort of odd and arbitrary: This passage quotes a "certain Chinese encyclopaedia" in which it is written that "animals are divided into: (a) belonging to the Emperor, (b) embalmed, (c) tame, (d) sucking pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous, (g) stray dogs, (h) included in the present classification, (i) frenzied, (j) innumerable, (k) drawn with a very fine camel hair brush, (l) et cetera, (m) having just broken the water pitcher, (n) that from a long way off look like flies". In the wonderment of this taxonomy, the thing we apprehend in one great leap, the thing...
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This Week in Intelligence
2008-01-04 23:17:00
And I don't meant the secret CIA kind - I mean the part of I.Q. that comes before "quotient".It's been a busy week for intelligence. To sum up: Men don't like intelligent women. This is, of course, the fault of teh feminists. (We pencilled the plan in our agendas, right after "Destroy the Family".)Also, Stupidity is the best defense against the left's pesky rationalityBut of course, I shouldn't worry my pretty little head about all of this, because my pretty little head holds a pretty little brain, which due to its cute and womanly IQ cannot possibly think about anything but shoes and lipstick. But fortunately I was born in Canada, where we have a respectable "national IQ". That almost makes up for the fact of my womanhood. Because can you imagine if I was born in, say, Kenya or Rwanda? Not that I can draw that conclusion by myself. Being a woman and all.Don't you just feel smarter already?Home
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American Electoral Politics - Mortal Kombat Style
2008-01-04 00:38:00
Considering how the media covers elections (much like a horse race), this cool flash game is probably better for exploring the real issues. Watch the intro, it's pretty funny.Unfortunately I keep losing. Damn Hillary is too slow. Her Bill Clinton attack is cool though - like a big blue ghost. Next up - I'm going to play as McCain.Via NeatoramaOther political video gamesHome
More About: Politics , Style , American , Mortal Kombat , Mortal

Children of Gaza rally for peace and and end to the siege
2008-01-03 01:58:00
Yesterday, as reported by the Popular Committee against sieges (PCAS), there was a rally for besieged children in the Gaza Strip. Apparently hundreds of children participated. The kids formed a human chain in the largest street in Gaza city for almost two hours. El Khoudary (Chair of PCAS) said about this rally:occupation is killing innocent Palestinian children day by day in all ways. Children are here today to tell the world we are being killed and you are completely silent. Children must be protected in all times and this is a guaranteed right by all humanitarian charters... On behalf of oppressed besieged Gazans, PCAS calls upon the free world to lift the tight illegitimate siege. This siege threatens lives of all Gaza residents. It's flagrant and obvious violation for all humanitarian charters and conventions.PCAS reports: The 7-year-old Hend started to cry when we tried to spoke to her, "All I need is to see my father back in Gaza, he is trapped in Egypt and not able to get ...
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Top Posts of 2007
2008-01-03 00:01:00
Most Popular/Most traffic:Jesus Camp: Review August 06, 2007White Woman's Burden June 03, 2007Economic Growth Creates Poverty In The World April 26, 2007 - and the related The Good Life and The Economy April 28, 2007Creepy Love Songs June 21, 2007Ten out of Ten Bears Prefer Beef Fat to Menstrual Blood February 20, 2007Most controversial/Most comments:Terrorism as a Rational Act of Resistance October 21, 2007Guilt, Privilege and the Pain of Living in a World of Domination July 04, 2007This upsets me so much I can't even think of a title for this post - (about so-called Parental Alienation Syndrome) May 22, 2007Punished for Electing the Wrong Leaders (Hamas) February 08, 2007 Some other popular posts I particularly like:How the Cult of Busy Protects Capitalism June 23, 2007Afghan Women: Used by the Taliban, Used by Us March 05, 2007Underpaid women: Stupid Letters to the Editor July 25, 2007She Hit Me First! And Other Poor Justifications for War May 07, 2007A Better Communic...
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Out with the old, in with the new (year, that is)
2008-01-01 17:59:00
I hadn't planned on posting any nostalgic summaries of 2007, ridiculous predictions for 2008, top whatever lists, or anything like that. But, because 2007 was such a good year for me personally, I guess I felt compelled to at least acknowledge the holiday. 2007 was a year of learning, and transformation. I quit my job to go back to school, saw some excellent films, read some amazing books, learned a lot, laughed a lot, cried a lot, travelled a bit, met new friends, saw friends I love move away, lived in the same city as my brother for the first time in 10 years, and spent the holidays with my family. So, Happy Time-to-get-a-new-calendar Day to the few loyal readers I have left (after my shameful December lack of posts). Yes, a good year for me. Not so much for the world. Here's Harper Magazine's year in review:Eight hundred ninety-nine U.S. troops and 18,610 Iraqi civilians were killed in the Iraq War. Eighty percent of Iraqis were reporting "attacks nearby" and it was estimated ...
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Free Ceasefire.ca Gear - Show your support and help get the word out
2007-12-30 21:50:00
Ceasefire.ca is an important part of Canada's anti-war movement. You can read about their work here Ceasefire.ca plays a crucial role in many campaigns, including preventing Canada from joining George W. Bush's "Star Wars" missile defence program. This important work could not be done without the help of our supporters.Ceasefire.ca needs your help to sign up new activists. We are making available Ceasefire.ca Gear ; which include sign-up cards and pins that can be handed out to friends and family. Each completed sign-up card you send back to us is an additional person who will join us in taking action on key issues facing our country.Please order your free Ceasefire.ca Gear, which includes 25 sign-up cards and 3 pins today! The pins are pretty snazzy.Red Jenny
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Special Coverage of Benazir Bhutto's Assassination
2007-12-27 19:41:00
Global Voices, the website that aggregates blog postings from all over the world, has set up a special coverage page for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. It has English language commentary from bloggers in Pakistan and other regions.Red Jenny
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It's Our Web
2007-12-05 15:28:00
Cute animation. Fight the restrictatrons (Like the evil Goozle) with the freedomtrons (like Wikiator, Foxator, and of course, Freespeech.org/ourweb).Red Jenny

Miss Landmine Angola
2007-12-05 00:26:00
In places in the world that have experienced war, especially if protracted as in Angol a , bodies are far less likely to be "whole" and more likely be missing limbs. Even here in the West, people with disabilities are too often invisible, and a "whole" or "perfect" body is a precondition for the designation "beautiful". When was the last time you saw a model in a magazine or an actress on television who was missing a limb, or was even in a wheelchair? Can we not bear the fact that bodies reflect their experiences, sometimes in very visible ways? Would we rather the scars stay psychological, intimate, secret - so we don't have to be invested in others' pain? Or can we not wrap our minds around the fact that a wounded body does not necessarily mean a victim to be pitied? Do we not also then miss out on something important - the strength and bravery and, indeed, beauty of survivors? A line at the upper left-hand corner of the picture reads "Everybody has the right to be beautiful." The...
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Greg Palast on the anti-Chavez Hysteria
2007-12-03 17:08:00
As Arturo Quiran, resident of a poor folks' housing complex, told me, "Ten, fifteen years ago... there was a lot of oil money here in Venezuela but we didn't see it." Notably, Quiran doesn't particularly agree with Chavez ' politics. But, he thought Americans should understand that under Chavez' Administration, there's a doctor's office in his building with "free operations, x-rays, medicines. Education also. People who never knew how to read and write now know how to sign their own papers."Not everyone is pleased. As one TV news anchor, violently anti-Chavez, told me in derisive tones, "Chavez gives them (the poor) bricks and bread!" - how dare he! - so, they vote for him.Big Oil has better ideas for Venezuela, best expressed in several Wall Street Journal articles attacking Chavez for spending his nation's oil wealth on "social programs" rather than on more drilling platforms to better fill the SUVs of Texas.Chavez has committed other crimes in Washington's eyes. Not only ...
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Too much aid to Afghanistan wasted on contractors' profits, expensive expat
2007-11-21 03:22:00
Despite more than $15 billion of aid pumped into Afghanistan since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001, many Afghans still suffer levels of poverty rarely seen outside sub-Saharan Africa."The development process has to date been too centralised, top-heavy and insufficient," said a report by Oxfam.By far the biggest donor, the United States approved a further $6.4 billion in Afghan aid this year, but the funds are spent in ways that are "ineffective or inefficient", Oxfam said.The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) allocates close to half its funds to the five largest U.S. contractors in Afghanistan."Too much aid is absorbed by profits of companies and sub-contractors, on non-Afghan resources and on high expatriate salaries and living costs," the report said.A full-time expatriate consultant can cost up to $500,000 a year, Oxfam said....Spending on development is dwarfed by that spent on fighting the Taliban. The U.S. military is spending $65,000 a...
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We Don't Negotiate With Dams
2007-11-19 00:27:00
According to the Washington Post, The largest dam in Iraq is in serious danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing thousands of people and flooding two of the largest cities in the country, according to new assessments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other U.S. officials. Even in a country gripped by daily bloodshed, the possibility of a catastrophic failure of the Mosul Dam has alarmed American officials, who have concluded that it could lead to as many as 500,000 civilian deaths by drowning Mosul under 65 feet of water and parts of Baghdad under 15 feet, said Abdulkhalik Thanoon Ayoub, the dam manager. "The Mosul dam is judged to have an unacceptable annual failure probability," in the dry wording of an Army Corps of Engineers draft report.Via the ever brilliant Bors BlogRed Jenny

Robert Jensen on Oppression
2007-11-11 14:33:00
How do we explain the fact that most people's stated philosophical and theological systems are rooted in concepts of justice, equality, and the inherent dignity of all people, yet we allow violence, exploitation, and oppression to flourish? Only a small percentage of people in any given society are truly sociopaths, engaging in cruel and oppressive behavior openly and with relish. Feminism helped me understand the complex process, which tends to work like this: --The systems and structures in which we live are hierarchical. --Hierarchical systems and structures deliver to those in the dominant class certain privileges, pleasures, and material benefits. --People are typically hesitant to give up such privileges, pleasures, and benefits. --But, those benefits clearly come at the expense of those in the subordinated class. --Given the widespread acceptance of basic notions of equality and human rights, the existence of hierarchy has to be justified in some way other than crass self-in...
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