A Mountain of Info

   Have you heard of The Melting Mountains Awareness Program? I just found out about it. It arose in response to the concern of climate change and how mountains are proving to be so vulnerable to it. Reinhold Messner, the first person to summit Mt. Everest solo without bottled oxygen, has recently signed on as a spokesperson for the Melting Mountains program.Of course, he has seen some of the impact first-hand, in the pursuit of his career Over the past 100 years glaciers in the Canadian Rockies have lost as much as 75 percent of their volume. That's only in Canada, but the effect is not limited to the true north. The importance of mountains can not be overstated. Over half of the world’s population relies upon fresh water flowing from them. We all need to take a good, long look at our treatment of the planet's resources, and maybe even do a one-eighty.

Meanderings

   I just found out that OZZY had some new ink done. He had a smiley face tattooed on each of his knees, so that when he is lonely and people don't want to talk to him he can "...pretend they're alive and talk to them." Apparently his son Jack just had the same tattoos done. What a proud Osbourne family tradition!


This one's just plain pathetic. Private enterprise is conducted by those smart enough to find a need and fill it, right? Well, Dr. Marc Liechtung has noticed the sad little need of so many celebrity-obsessed people to look as much as possible like their idols, and he has filled it. For the last seven months, the good doctor has been making replications of celebrity teeth for $3,000.00 a pop, and they're selling big. Currently, he crafts toothsome copies of such celebs as Demi Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow and Tom Cruise. The phonies clip on to the fronts of the fan's teeth and, according to Liechtung, cause no harm to the real teeth. Nonetheless, warns the enterprising doer of dentistry, the wannabes should brush their own pearly whites after removing those of their idol.


If you agree that the one about celeb copy-smiles is a little sad, wait til you read this one. The upcoming royal wedding on April 8th between big-ears and horsey-face is generating the production of memorabilia for sale. Check out this site to see all the "official" items, like china mugs and placemats. These items are only for the most die-hard royalist, or those who have far too much money and simply can't think of anything better to spend it on. If you wander a little bit about the site, you'll notice it carries pictures of the "GULIDHALL" (sic) where the two will exchange their vows. The farcical spelling is indeed a worthy comment on the whole occasion.

A Teensy Trivia Tidbit

   It was in the 1950's that TV shows first began to bank on laughter being contagious by adding laugh tracks.

A Few More Numbers

   Yesterday I spoke about the way that numbers are changing my world. Let me mention a few more numbers today, numbers that are changing your world too, whether you want them to or not. I'm talking about organic versus conventional agriculture, here in North America.
   You have to go back to the late 40's to see the real beginnings of this. It was then that pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic chemical fertilizers became widely available to farmers. Pesticide use increased 1000% (yup, that's one thousand) between 1945 and 1989, and there are currently 9,700 "approved" agricultural toxins in use. No-one mentioned that damn near every one of those pesticides and herbicides was brought into use without any long term testing being done on them first, or that chronic diseases associated with some pesticides may not manifest for DECADES after the exposure.
   The chemicals did do some of what they were supposed to, it is true. For instance, per acre corn yields rose from 26 bushels in 1926 to 127 bushels in 1996. The only problem is that they have also done a great deal of what they were not supposed to do. Some of those agri-toxins were found to be super efficient killers. They even "kill" the soil. Countless toxins are making their way to our tables every day. that's right, our tables. You see, they don't stay nicely put in the fields. They wash down into our groundwater, and then, there's no stopping them. Some of the U.S. Geological Survey data released in 1998 revealed that nearly every stream they studied contained one or more pesticides. A study of groundwater wells in 45 states found pesticide levels in 16,000 of them. What do you think? Could there be pesticides in your glass of drinking water?
   The part I get a laugh out of is the "federal limits" nonsense. Foods are studied and assigned an upper limit for safety. Pesticide content in the food is not supposed to go beyond that limit, and supposedly, if it doesn't, we'll all be safe. What seems to have been forgotten here is the fact that these poisons are in such widespread use, you can't just check the content in any one food at a time and feel safe. You have to get out a calculator and add up all the residues in all the foods you ingest during a day, and then watch that ephemeral safety fly out the window.
   Now before you dismiss that last statement as alarmist mumbo-jumbo, know this. The National Research Council came to the same conclusion in 1993. They declared that it was probable "children were ingesting enough pesticides to harm them, even though their food was within Federal limits." Our future, our precious children being exposed to god knows what? Hold on a minute! Who says this threat will limit itself to the children? (Read my entry from January 15th.) Multisystem atrophy is a "syndrome" as yet, meaning that medical science knows far too little about it. One thing that has been suggested about it is there may be a tie-in to environmental toxins.
   Now, having said all that, I have just one last question to ask. Are "certified organic" foods beginning to look better and better to you? They are to me.

Photo Update

   There's a new addition to the photo galleries. Take a minute to meet some of the noble mounts of the Saturday morning CARD program, where my youngest daughter volunteers every week. As well as the horses, you'll see some of the final hurrah of this year's winter - icicles decorating the eaves, and snow in the paddocks. You'll also see a wee winged creature, who was singing out his joy at winter's coming demise.

Numbers Are Changing My World

   My little corner of the world is here in Toronto. I have lived here all of my life, which now spans more than half a century. I have seen incredible changes take place here. When I was a schoolgirl, I went from kindergarten to grade ten before I saw any colour in the face of classmates other than that provided by a sprinkling of freckles or a little bit of suntan. I grew up in the last days of Toronto the White.
   The change in my world provided me with the opportunity to meet the man I love. My husband came here to Toronto from Guyana. He is one of so many who are taking part in the changing of my corner of the world. According to present numbers, StatsCan makes the following predictions about the further changes to come.
*Ontario's "visible minority" population will reach 57% of Canada's total and 45% of them will live here in the Greater Toronto Area.
*By the year 2017, 22% of Canada's total population will be immigrant.

   I say, vive la différence!

A Quote

   Former Toronto police chief Julian Fantino had this to say: “Criminals have no fear of the justice system, they hold it in undisguised contempt. It neither deters them or rehabilitates them.”
    I think a little addition of capital punishment and hard labour with no parole available might begin to help the situation. If you've read earlier entries here, you know I have great enthusiasm for the idea. As far as I'm concerned, once someone perpetrates a criminal act of violence, they have declared themselves willing to give up all their "rights" in exchange for the moment when they did the deed. That means that a lot of jail cells could be cleared out, first thing tomorrow morning. If they've been convicted, especially in this day of DNA evidence, then save the taxpayers' moeny and skip the "final meal" crap. Pull the trigger, flip the switch, drop the trap. Do whatever it takes. Clean the world up a little.

Yeah, Sure

  Dalton McGuinty, premier of Ontario, addressed Canada's Conference on Bullying last Tuesday, and emphasized his commitment to eradicating bullying behaviour from the school system. He has a son who went through the experience of being a victim of bullying, and this has become part of his pledging $9 million in provincial funding to the effort, as well as a promise to have bullying prevention programs in all schools by the end of the year. Yeah, yeah, sure. I'll believe this will work when I see it.
   When I was little, I was victimized. Eyeglasses, you know. "Four-eyes" and a lot more than that. When my one daughter was younger, she went through the experience too. Painfully so. None of my teachers helped me. None of her teachers helped either. As a teacher myself, I have seen the experience being played out year after year with each new group of kids I taught, and I have struggled against it.
    I have seen anti-bullying programs brought into the schools before. I have seen them succeed, but rarely. Mostly I have seen them fail. I have little to no faith in all the new miracle-programs because each and every one of them needs to be brought to effectiveness by the staff at the schools, and there are just too many teachers who don't buy into the programs. They cop out of giving it any effort with the usual whining about how much curricuclum they already have to teach and how they will need a 25-hour day to squeeze in even one more item. There are too many principals who are more concerned with saving face than with really caring about the kids. They cop out of it by buying off the bullies and their parents, and not calling the police when they should. There is just way too much "don't get me involved" attitude out there. So many staff, and parents too, refuse to acknowledge the problem, and get down to dealing with it. They prefer to keep their heads safely buried in the sand and hope it will all go away, without inconveniencing them too much before it does.
   Mr. McGuinty, do you really want to solve the problem? Give me a call and spend some time in conversation with me. Talk to others like me. Those of us who have been on the front lines have stories to tell, stories that you need to hear, if you are serious about what you say.

Get Real, Oprah!

   Oprah Winfrey ... you know. She's the one who is currently ranked as one of the world's richest women, earning over $300 million U.S. a year. She has apparently decided to go slumming. Her plan is to spend a month in a run-down apartment in one of Chicago's poorest areas. The experience will be filmed to provide her with footage to air. While I am sure the woman has great intentions, she should realize it will be anything but "reality" TV. For one thing, little Miss $300 million isn't going to be out there facing it all on her own, like the others who dwell in those apartments do. You know that, for sure. There will be camera crews focusing on her face and security guards close by. A spokesperson for the media mogul says the guards will be there to ensure Winfrey's safety. "In every other respect she will have to fend for herself," continues the spokesperson, "just like the many people who have to live in these sub-standard conditions." That's a joke. Those guards are going to take every bit of reality out of this little exercise in playacting.
   We might as well get a makeup artist and a lighting crew in on it, too. Wait a minute ... there will be all of the above. Say, maybe those great intentions aren't quite so great after all. Maybe she is after ratings, above all. If she wants to help the people who live in such places, there are much better ways to do it. Oprah already gives to others less fortunate, so she knows how to pursue philanthropic ends without making the people who need help into rating grabs. She's really falling short of the mark, this time.

Happy Easter!

   If you've ever wondered about how the date for Easter is determined each year, the following are the ecclesiastical rules used.'
* Easter must be on a Sunday
* This Sunday must follow the 14th day of the paschal moon
* It is the paschal moon when its 14th day, or full moon, falls on or next follows the day of the vernal equinox
* The equinox is fixed in the calendar as March 21
   In case you're interested in the amazing number of Easter traditions which have their origins in pagan customs, take a peek at this site. Whatever you're doing today, I hope your day is filled with sunshine and the nearness of loved ones.

   How do you feel about it? I am getting so tired of the endless twaddle about John Paul II. Could we give it a rest?
   Some maudlin types are swimming through their tears to get to the mike and tell us that the "suffering" of the pope is like unto that of Christ in his last hours. Really? Then the world is damn near swamped with christ-figures right now. There are all those who are at this moment making their way through an old age beset with frailty and disease, just as the pope is. There are all those who are dying far too young because of disease or man's inhumanity to man. There are those who are suffering the aftereffects of nature's fury, like the tsunami survivors. If those befuddled believers could just get a grip on reality, they would realize that and stop insulting their own intelligence with such moronic mumbo-jumbo. They would let the rest of us digest a meal in peace, instead of foisting on us the need to upchuck every time we open a newspaper or watch the news. I am getting so tired of it.
   Why don't they show the world some of the film footage extant of this man in his prime, instead of the current footage of him "suffering"? I can suggest just the right scene to resurrect. It shows a pope much younger than today's sad old figure; one still exuding health, and arrogance, and behaviour anything but that befitting the head of the church. It is film taken in a central american country when he was addressing a crowd. His words of wisdom were being interrupted by a group of women with babies on their hips. These poor people actually had hopes that the pope would help them. He wanted to thunder at them his message that birth control was a sin and that they should keep pumping out the babies so that they could watch more of them starve to death. The women wanted him to provide some help for them to feed the ones they already had. They stood together and began chanting "Feed our babies" and he reacted in such a compassionate manner. He ordered them to shut up and shook his fist at them, a gesture of threat and violence. So very christ-like, don't you think?
   No, this man is nothing like christ. He is only a very ordinary man, and not a very nice one, at that. It's time for him to get into his popemobile, and drive off into the sunset.
Go away, John Paul.

The Corset Comeback?

   Thank you, but ... no thank you. These little prisons masquerading as women's undergarments are trying to impinge on women's health and comfort again, thanks to the idiocy of performers like Madonna and designers like Marc Jacobs.
    The vicious concoctions of laces and whalebone stays were much in fashion during the later 1800's and early 1900's, when they caused a variety of health problems, such as visceroptosis, among the women who wore them. Visceroptosis is the medical term used for the displacement of internal organs, (that's right ... displacement!) and the problems associated with it. The shape of the corset could actually affect the shape of the spine. High-waisted corsets compressed the lungs, causing respiratory problems, and low-waisted corsets compressed the uterus, causing problems with menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth. Corsets also trapped blood below the waist and reduced blood flow to the brain, causing those of the "weaker sex" who wore them to faint easily. Public debates about the health affects of corsets finally began to arise and women began to search for an alternative.
   Enter Ida Rosenthal! Born in Minsk in 1886, she came to America with her family in 1904. She first set herself up as a seamstress in a small shop in Hoboken, but her business grew to a fashionable dress shop on East Fifty-Seventh Street in Manhattan, which is where she first designed the bra. Flapper dresses were all the rage in the early 1920's, but they were "user-friendly" only for the incredibly thin and small-chested. Women with a few more curves wanted a little more support, and Ida came up with the basic design that we're familiar with today. Ida made her creations by hand and actually gave them away at first, to promote dress sales in her shop. Customers soon began requesting the bras and were even willing to pay for them. Ida and her husband got together a start-up fund of $4,500.00, and the Maiden Form Brassiere Company was formed.
   Ida stood a mere 4 ft eleven inches tall, but every inch packed a punch. The story goes that she ordered male associates to sit so she would not have to look up at them in business discussions. She travelled the world promoting her business, which was ringing up sales in more than 100 countries by the 1960's. She continued representing the firm until she was well into her eighties.
   You can bet this feisty, shrewd woman would never be caught dead in a corset. What I want to know is, has Marc Jacobs tried one? Until he's willing to spend some time himself in one of those little torture chambers, or design an equivalent for a man's line of clothing, he should be a little more kind to his faithful followers. Just because they're too stupid to be discerning about how they spend their fashion budget, doesn't mean he has to be vicious at the drawing board.

Happy Holi, Andy!

   This one's for my sweetie!
This coming Sunday combines two special feast days into one 24-hour period. It is the Christian Easter, and the Hindu Phagwah, as well. This Hindu festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil. The story tells that a despotic ruler, King Hiranya Kasipu became so arrogant that he wanted everyone to worship him as God. His son Prince Prahalad, refused to do so and was ordered to be burnt alive. The Prince was miraculously saved and his triumph is celebrated each year in the festival. Phagwah, or Holi, is also the welcoming of spring, and a most joyful festival that celebrates romance and courtship.
   In Guyana and parts of the Caribbean where Phagwah is celebrated, sweetmeats such as gujia, poularie, gulgulla, and sugarcake,will be shared to mark the occasion, and the holi, or powder, hidden in pockets and little bottles, will be brought out. The holi is usually baby powder that has been dyed every color of the rainbow, to represent love, peace, and goodwill to all.
   Karna Singh, with the Rakjumari Cultural Center in Queens explains the use of the powder and the special day this way, "... a time when people try to heal any difference or disagreement or conflict that existed from the past. And the fun about it is that the way you do it is not by even discussing the problem, but just marching straight up to your, maybe, brother who you quarreled with or mother who you were angry with and take that colored powder and spray them or rub it onto them and hug them and kiss them.” If you have someone you want to wish a happy Holi to, visit this site to send them an e-card. If you have a yen for some gujia, roll up your sleeves, and take this recipe into your kitchen. If you have trouble finding khoya, here's an alternative. Heat two cups of ricotta cheese for about 10 minute in a 5L Teflon sauce pan Add 30 ml butter to it and 750 ml of carnation dry milk powder. Keep on stirring constantly, about 7 minutes on medium heat.

GUJIA
Ingredients :
500 gms flour
1kg khoya
3 tbsps raisins
200 gms almonds, slivered
6 tbsps cooking oil
200 ml water.
500 gms sugar.

Method
Mix six tablespoons of oil with flour. Using fingers, mix well so that the mixture becomes crumbly Add some water and knead lightly. Keep adding water as required and kneading, until you have a soft dough. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth.
Put the khoya in a deep-frying pan and fry to a light brown colour. Add the sugar to the khoya and mix well. Add almonds and raisins. Fry for a few minutes and remove from the heat. Let it cool.

Roll out the kneaded dough into a chapati, thicker and smaller than a normal chapati. Fill half the chapati with the khoya mixture, fold the chapati and seal the round, twisting the edges inwards and being careful not to let filling leak out.

Deep fry these gujjias, a few at a time, till they are a deep golden brown. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, draining the oil completely. Let them drain further on spread out paper. Enjoy!

Bits and Pieces

   On Saturday March 19th, Alysha Jamal, a 16-year-old high school student from Markham, was crowned Miss Canada Pakistan. Lizna Lakhani, 21, a McGill University communications student, and Noureen Karmali, 20, a nursing student at Centennial College in Toronto were the two runners-up. Because of threats of violence, (see Tuesday March 15 entry) a dozen police officers and security guards were on hand at Saturday's event, but it all went ahead without incident. Alysha, who is an aspiring occupational therapist, said, "I wanted to win even more after hearing the negative reaction to the pageant. Religion has no place in a beauty pageant. I want to be an agent of change for the Pakistani community." Congratulations, Alysha.


   U2's Bono is branching off in another direction, this time getting involved in Edun, a clothing line with a difference. The goal is to produce clothing that sells worldwide, while providing sustainable employment in developing areas of the world, by establishing stable factories, paying fair wages and rejecting child labour.
   The collection is co-designed by Bono's wife, Ali Hewson, and Rogan Gregory, an established designer. Edun's garments are designed with the capabilities of its factories in Lima, Peru, and Monastir, Tunisia in mind. Some of the T-shirts are being made using traditional Incan vegetable dyes. Production of the fall line will extend the undertaking to factories in Africa's Lesotho and Tanzania. Edun clothing will be available soon at Saks Fifth Avenue Stores nationwide, where the price tags range from $45 to $300. Edun will also make U2's concert t-shirts for the Vertigo Tour.


   Mukhtar Mai is the Pakistani woman who was raped in June 2002 by four men on the orders of a village council that wanted to punish her family for her younger brother's supposed affair with a woman from another family. The charges against the twelve-year-old brother were found to be false, and the men were convicted nearly three years ago, but they walked out of jail last Tuesday after a judge granted them bail. Mai has said she fears retaliation if the men remain free. On Friday, she met with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad to ask him to order the men's arrests. A local police official said police already had arrested the men late Thursday after receiving orders from provincial authorities. It is not clear on what legal grounds the four were detained this time, but the official said they would remain in custody pending a decision by the Supreme Court, the nation's highest court.
   Mai wants her attackers to be hanged near her village. I think it's a great idea. The only change I would make to it is to have all the men involved meet the hangman. Include every member of the village council who ordered her "punishment". Why not? They're just as guilty as the animals who carried out the orders. If Mai is interested, maybe she could be given the opportunity to pull the trapdoor for each one of them, and send them off one by one to meet their maker. I believe that She will greet them with disgust and turn Her back on them.

Happy 35th!

Happy birthday, one day late, to Queen Latifah, born on March 18th in 1970. The name Latifah means "delicate and sensitive" in Arabic, and she has used it since the age of 8. Sensitive she may be, but delicate she is not. She has already risen above the tough streets of her youth and a later tragedy in her family life to bring herself to the place in her life where she reigns as the Queen. What's her take on being as famous and accomplished a woman as she is? "My mom will make me walk the dogs or take out the trash when I go home. I'm not allowed to get a big head, I've still got to do the simple things in life."
All hail the Queen!

One Production to Ruin Them All

   A standing-room-only crowd gathered yesterday at Toronto's Princess of Wales theatre to see the "teaser" about the upcoming $27 million musical based on Tokein's "The Lord of the Rings". The project was brought together in England by British impresario Kevin Wallace. His choice of Toronto for its launch was based, among other things, on his memory of the Toronto of "Phantom" fame. He feels that Toronto has much more potential as a theatre-city than it has been able to achieve since the SARS scare. The Lord of the Rings could reach 832,000 people a year, and conservative estimates place the economic impact on the city as surpassing $700 million annually. All well and good, I suppose. But for a Tolkein fan like myself, who first read the Hobbit & the Trilogy decades ago, bringing it to screen was filled with more than enough nervous nail-biting. It made that transition with style because of the mastery of Peter Jackson, and because it is meant to be a sage of the spoken word, as well as one of action. To place the story in a book limits its scope only to the imagination of the reader, which can soar on great Gwaihir's wings. To take it to a movie screen places some limits on it, because it has been made visual; but at the same time, the technology used made scenes possible that could never be handled without wizardry, whether Gandalf's or Jackson's. To plunk it down on a stage, however, is to hobble and tether it. To then force the characters to warble away at odd moments is to heap insult on it. Will there be a carefully choreographed chorus of orcs finger-snapping and moving in sync across the stage while Boromir gasps his last breath? Will Shelob break into a hoary rendition of an anthem of hate as she sneaks up on Frodo?
    No! No! No! Say it isn't so! The Lord of the Rings a musical? Give the ring to Sauron before you demean this epic tale by writing some sour scales for the wraiths to intone. Run, Frodo, run!

The Miss Canada Pakistan Pageant

   This Saturday, March 19th, pageant co-ordinator Sonia Ahmed will bring the third annual Miss Canada Pakistan Pageant to Toronto. It will arrive amidst a furor over whether or not it should even happen. It seems that conservative Muslims hate the show on the grounds that it defies Islam's edicts requiring public modesty from its women. Of course, there are those who object to each and every pageant on the grounds that they objectify women, and they are busily vocalizing their opinions, as well.
   The pageant has been the target of hate mail and bomb threats. Ahmed refuses to be intimidated, although some past contestants have withdrawn from the pageant because of the threats. Ahmed sees the event as a bridge between Canadian and Pakistani culture, and has stories to tell of Christian and Muslim contestants working together and becoming friends.
She also feels the show serves the purpose of demonstrating that, “Muslim women can go on stage, can do their dancing, can do their singing and walk with confidence and pride.” Forty women, some from other cities, applied to be in this year's contest, and Ahmed picked thirteen. The eldest is 29, but most of them are teens, and almost all are Canadian-born. Some of them went against the wishes of fathers or uncles to enter the competition.
   According to Sandra Bullock, spokesperson for the Islamic Society of North America, women can participate in such events only in the company of other women, so having men in the audience is a problem "Men are not supposed to look at women in a desiring way and anything that creates an environment where that would be happening is wrong," says Bullock, who was raised Anglican but converted to hijab-wearing Islam.
   Come on, isn't it time for that line of manure to be tossed out? If men need so much protection from their own lustful proclivities, why aren't they the ones kept in isolation? Why aren't men kept away from society in general, so the chances of their being exposed to "lustful" stimuli are reduced to little or nothing. After all, it seems that the belief is the average male is incapable of controlling himself. If men are so weak and spineless in the face of "temptation" why are women expected to suffer for it? Why are women covered and veiled when they are only being what they were created to be - female? If a man sees a woman walking down the street with her hair uncovered, and he responds by thinking she looks beautiful, what the hell is the harm in that? If he responds by forcing attention on her, then he is little better than a pig or a goat, and entitled to no more "protection" from women than those animals are. If he is the type to react in such a way, than it is women who need protection from him. He and anyone like him would be better wearing shackles and slaving away on some chaingang, where he could divert his lustful energies into something productive, like breaking up boulders.
   Aftab Rizvi, a columnist for the newspaper, Akhbare , phrases it this way, "(The event) helps to portray a moderate image of Pakistan. When you come to Canada, you can't practise 100 per cent of what you were doing back home (emphasis my own). If people are opposed, they don't have to attend. Live and let live."
   Well said.

   The Nutrition Panel on food packaging here in Canada lists a daily value limit of 2,400 mg sodium. The American Heart Association suggests you not go above 3,000. Brits consume an average 9,000 mg of salt a day, while the average American ingests 4,000 mg a day. It is known that too much salt intake is linked to increases in blood pressure, leading to stroke and a variety of other health problems, ranging from osteoporosis to gastric cancers. The general rule of thumb taught by dietitians to patients who want to be sodium-savvy is that if a food has twice as much sodium as it does calories, its sodium content is too high. Keep that in mind.
   If you're trying to make careful choices about your food, even when you eat at a fast food joint, then there's a good chance you've been ordering a chicken burger. They're certainly a better choice than most of the beef burgers, but there is still more to know about them. For instance, were you aware that fast-food chicken is bathed in salt water to keep it moist?
   Let's look at a few figures. Burger King's grilled chicken will land a reasonable 320 calories on your plate, but it will also hit you with 950 mg of sodium. Wendy's ultimate chicken grill offers 350 calories for a sodium count of 1,030 mg. McDonald's chicken McGrill cuts its calories off at 380, but doesn't stop the sodium count until it reaches 980 mg. Do the math and you'll see that every single one of them breaks the dietitians' rule. It seems that even a chicken burger is something you might want to be wary of. The sodium count is yet another reason to approach fast food with caution.

Let's Rethink This One

   105,000,000 new $50 bills have just been issued by the Bank of Canada. They feature a design by Jorge Peral and a quote from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as an image of the scales of justice. The bills have been issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of "The Persons Case", and the backs showcase the Famous Five.
    Emily Murphy, one of the Five, was instrumental in the case being brought, in the first place, because she had found herself being subjected to gender-based discrimination. She fought against it, and won. Murphy began her fight in the Supreme Court of Canada, where she was initially denied her claim. Refusing to submit to the prejudice, she took the fight on to the judicial committee of England’s Privy Council, the highest court of appeal for Canada at the time. There, she won her case. The Council declared that the discrimination was a "relic of days more barbarous than ours." and should be erased.
   Now there are complaints being made about Murphy's image being shown on those bills. Murphy was a racist, as were one or two others of the Famous Five. Murphy, in particular, was most vocal about her racism. She wrote a book titled "The Black Candle" to outline her belief that multiculturalism was detrimental to the purity of the white race, and that all persons of colour should be banned from North America. Murphy, as well as two others of the Five, advocated forced sterilization and was instrumental in the adoption of the Alberta Sexual Sterilization Act in 1928, which was invoked by the court until 1971 in order to have 4,725 people sterilized, because they were not deemed up to the "standards" espoused by supremacists like Murphy.
   Are we not talking about a "relic of days more barbarous than ours" again? I think Murphy has no place on the new bills. The Five should be allowed to slip quietly into the dust bunnies at the back of the history shelves in the library. Emily Murphy herself, I am sure, would understand. She saw an injustice and fought to have it corrected. Give her acknowledgement for that, but don't turn a blind eye to her racism. There are other role models and feminine achievers for Canadian women to be far more proud of than her and her cronies. And don't waste time on the bullshit about her being a product of her times, either. There were all kinds of people, living at the very same time as her, who had a far more open and compassionate mind than she did. Not everyone accepted her belief in the rights of some to curtail the presence of others in this world. Change the name of The Famous Five Foundation, that gives out awards each year to Canadian women chosen as exemplifying the spirit of of the Persons Case. Either find a new name, or be honest and call it "The Racist Memorial Foundation". Let's stop painting all small and petty spirits with the whitewash of honour and glory. Let's move on from Murphy.
   

Not Again

   See "Be Warned" from March 9th, as well as this entry.
Toronto police are warning the public that a convicted pedophile was released on Tuesday. The warning is something to be aware of since this piece of slime has an extensive record and is fond of targeting 11 to 18 year old girls. The police warn that Walter Jacobson, a 62 year old white, should be regarded as a danger to youth. I want to know why this animal's face isn't being displayed on large billboards all over town? Why isn't more being done to make this creep's life hell? Why should anyone give a shit about "fair treatment" for him? You can sure as hell bet that was not his motivation when he inflicted his poisonous presence on the innocents he has already targeted. You can also bet this slimeball has NOT been rehabilitated. It just doesn't happen.

Let Me Introduce You!

   During this week, International Women's Week, I've just got to introduce you to a couple of amazing women. They have both truly broken the bonds of earth and soared above the limitations, physical and mental, that so many men would like to see placed on women. You may know about them already. I hope so, but in case you don't ...
   The first is the U.S.A.'s Mae Jemison, born October 17, 1956. Astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to enter space on the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor in September 1992. She holds a B. S. from Stanford University and is a graduate of the medical school at Cornell University. Jemison joined the Peace Corps, serving as its area medical officer from 1983 to 1985 in the West African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia. She served in NASA from 1987 to 1993.
    Jemison has gone on to found The Jemison Group, Inc., which developed ALAFIYA, a satellite-based telecommunications systems intended to improve health care delivery in developing nations. She has also held a position as a professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Dartmouth College, where she directed the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries. Jemison has even appeared on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The second is Canada's Julie Payette, born October 20, 1963. Her educational accomplishments are myriad. She earned an International Baccalaureate in 1982, at the United World International College of the Atlantic in South Wales, UK. Her Bachelor of Engineering - Electrical was added to the list in 1986, from McGill University, Montreal and a Master of Applied Science - Computer Engineering, in 1990, from the University of Toronto brought the list up to date.
    Payette first made her way to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas in August 1996, and flew on Space Shuttle Discovery from May 27 to June 6, 1999. During the mission, the crew performed the first manual docking of the Shuttle to the International Space Station, and delivered 4 tons of logistics and supplies to the Station. Payette served as a mission specialist, held responsibility for the Station systems and operated the Canadarm robotic arm on orbit. She became the first Canadian to participate in an ISS assembly mission and to board the Space Station.
   Currently, she is the Chief Astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency, as well as working as a Capsule Communicator at the Mission Control Center in Houston.
   Truly amazing women, indeed.

76 cents

   For every $1 earned by their male colleagues, women who work full time, year-round, will earn an average of 76 cents. That's the way it is in the great U. S. of A. Since we're never far behind the behemoth to the south, you can bet that nasty little statistic is pretty much the same north of the 49th. That sucks.

A Silver Lining?

   They say there's a silver lining in every cloud, if you can just look for it. Think of the Dec.26th tsunami as the cloud. It left behind its silver lining on the beaches of Tamil Nadu, near Karaikal, 15 km from Nagapattinam, the hardest hit area at the southern tip of India. Titanium ore, carried by the killer wave, was deposited along more than 300 miles of India's shoreline, and discovered there by Victor Loveson and his team of geologists who work for the Central Mining Research Institute. They were doing a routine survey, which has ended up being anything but routine. Some estimates place the amount of ore at 40 million tons. Obviously, this ore does not compensate for the lives lost, but it may help to ease a few lives.
   Titanium alloys are 45% lighter than steel, but just as strong. This makes them a favourite for use in cars, computers, sports equipment, and the aerospace industry. India now has a good share of a hot commodity to sell to the world. If only it had been brought by some other courier.

Give It a Rest

   The Vatican has announced that the Pope will give his usual Easter Sunday blessings, but did not make it clear whether or not he would actually appear in St. Peter's Square.
   I don't know how you feel about it, but isn't it time to give this whole thing a rest? The man is the age that he is and he has just had a tracheotomy. It's time to let the man be old. Let him retire. Make him retire. We're not talking someone who is still in vigorous good health here. We're talking a Parkinson's patient of advanced years. The hand-wringing Catholics who are carrying on about whether or not he can still give some traditional blessing need to get a life. If they really need something to worry about, there are lots of other, more salient issues to choose from - anything from terrorism or the AIDS epidemic in Africa; to the homeless in their own country or even ... whether or not they actually live out their own religion day-to-day. Stop making such a fuss about some poor old man. Stop flogging him for every last breath he can give to ostentatious pomp and ceremony.

Be Warned!

   Parkdale, here in Toronto, has been selected for the privilege of hosting a convicted killer in their midst. In April 199, at the age of 14, this character sawed off his stepfather's rifle, then used it to kill 17-year-old Jason Lang and injure another student at W. R. Myers High School, east of Lethbridge.
    The judge at yesterday's hearing in Cobourg said that he feels the 20-year-old is not ready for freedom, and yet he is being released and coming here to live in an open custody facility on Dovercourt Rd. Crown attorney David Thompson quoted a psychiatrist involved with the killer as saying "The concerns remain with regard to the pleasure he derives from violence. He continues to pose a significant risk to the public."
   Now the good folks on Dovercourt Road can begin their worrying and wondering. Will he strike again? Can you ever really feel sure that someone like that has been rehabilitated? I don't believe you can. If he decides to take up his old ways again, will there be any way to stop him, or is it just a matter of time before another sad story hits the headlines?
    I have big problems with this being done. Someone tell me why. If there are professionals on the case who are basically describing this guy as a walking danger to the public, why is he being sent back out into our midst? Why?

In Celebration of my Sisters

   Today is International Women's Day. I want to wish a day of peace for each and every one of my sisters, all around the globe. I wish I could wave a magic wand and give them all a day of wonder and plenty; a day without fear or pain; a day when they could see their children happy and healthy; and feel themselves surrounded by love.
   I know that for every woman who already has everything I wish, there are tragic numbers who can only ever dream of such things. But there is hope; always there is hope. We may have a long road to travel and incredible obstacles to overcome before we get to the end of the road, but we will get there. We will.
   Happy Women's Day!

Zero Tolerance

   I have used that phrase previously to bemoan the lack of verity in the claims made by the TCDSB that they promote such a policy toward violence and bullying in their schools. This time, however, I found the phrase in the sub-title of a book I just finished reading. The little volume titles itself , Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. It is written by Lynne Truss and includes a foreword by Frank McCourt, of "Angela's Ashes" fame.
   The book jacket makes the somewhat difficult-to-believe claim that the work is "The Runaway #1 British Bestseller". If it is, indeed, as the jacket claims, then there are far too many Brits who need to broaden their reading horizons. I read the book because someone had loaned it to me, but if I had been expected to pay for it, then I'm afraid I simply would never have encountered its content firsthand.
   There are 204 pages for you to make your way through, each one with large margins to left and right, bottom and top of the page. The font is perhaps a little larger than that of many a book, and yet, even with all of the aforementioned, the book is still too long by approximately 154 pages.
   Truss does give some humourous real-life examples of the pandemic pandemonium attendant on misuse of punctuation. "Dicks in tray", for instance, can give you an idea of the mayhem that could result from a misplaced apostrophe. There were other instances, however, where the humour jumped out at me even though I don't think Truss actually intended any. The number one use of the exclamation mark, says she, is in "involuntary ejaculations". I can just picture it now ... a multitude of the little marks hovering anxiously over a conjugal bed.
   Carrying on about such things as whether to place the period inside or outside a bracket, (and even whether or not to call it a bracket), or listing all 17 possible uses of the comma and 6 traditional uses of the exclamation mark just doesn't quite seem to justify this book's having 204 pages. Neither does it seem to be the stuff of which runaway bestsellers should be made.
   There are one or two interesting little nuggets hidden in Truss' caviling and carping. She points out that punctuation as we know it (or don't know it) today, is a relative newcomer to the world of print. She gives dates and quotes from experts, such as Cassiodorus, who held forth in the 6th century. Referring to punctuation as "intensely powerful ju-ju", she talks about the earliest copies of scripture being unpunctuated, and how St. Jerome, who translated the Bible in the 4th century, "introduced a system of punctuation of religious texts". Then she directs the attention of the reader to the scene of the crucifixion, when Jesus turned to the thief at his side and made a promise. The problem is that, with the simple placement of a comma, the meaning of the passage can be dramatically altered. As Truss phrases it, "Huge doctrinal differences hang on the placing of this comma". The Protestant interpretation of the passage punctuates it thusly: "Verily, I say unto thee, This day thous shalt be with me in Paradise." The Catholics justify their concept of Purgatory by punctuating it so: "Verily I say unto thee this day, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise." Ju-ju, indeed!
   Frank McCourt opens his foreword by saying, "If Lynne Truss were Catholic I'd nominate her for sainthood." I don't know about that, but I do know that if you suffer from insomnia, and prefer to find remedies that don't involve pill-popping, Truss' book is the answer for you. Crack open a copy of this one, and its soporific qualities will have you somnolent in no time.

Bride and Prejudice

   I just had the pleasure this afternoon of watching this treat for the eyes and ears with my handsome hubby. Don't bother going if you're a hard-to-please nit picker. If you can suspend disbelief for an hour or two and simply want to be entertained, then catch this one, directed by Gurinder Chadha, before it leaves the theatres. It's a take on Jane Austen with a twist, relocating the whole stuffy Brit's novels from the impossibly class-conscious England of the 1800's to the Amritsar of today's India, with sojourns in London and California thrown in for good measure. Austen's writing is a crashing bore. Chadha's movie is the closest I would ever want to get to it. It's all tongue-in-cheek, with scenes of entire marketplace throngs bursting into perfectly choreographed song-and-dance scenes, swirling their way around the beautiful and handsome young stars. The movie, quite simply, is a chance to feel good for a couple of hours. Take your sweetie along, and enjoy!

A Farewell

   This week's shooting of four Alberta RCMP officers is the worst loss in the force's history since 1885, when 17 officers made the supreme sacrifice in a shootout with the Metis at Duck Lake. As a teacher, I have taught many classes about that episode in our nation's history. I am so sorry to see that kind of history revisited. The four officers were all men who believed in a greater good, and lived out their beliefs. They were gunned down by a violent loner with a history of aggression and and law-breaking. When I was writing yesterday's entry "We Need Some Eye-for-an-Eye" I had not yet heard about the tragedy in Alberta. Reading the story only reenforces a thousand-fold everything I was feeling then. Maybe this story could have had a different ending.

    May the fallen heroes sleep well.

Bottoms Up!

   My stomach has been a little upset the last couple of days, and I was looking for a natural something to help with the problem. I found my help in the form of Reed's Extra Ginger Brew.
   Ginger has a long list of uses, if you accept natural remedies. It is used to treat ailments that include nausea, indigestion, morning sickness, hot flashes, menstrual cramps and gas. Research has been conducted to study its effectiveness in treating motion sickness and the nausea associated with chemotherapy. It has been shown to be helpful in treating motion sickness, but not in the alleviation of chemo-induced problems. In fact, taking ginger could be harmful for anyone with a low platelet count and nausea from chemo, since large doses of ginger could trigger gastrointestinal bleeding.
   As a youngster, apparently, Princess (now Queen) Elizabeth of England was subject to a nervous tummy. For some time, a monthly case of Canada Dry Ginger Ale was shipped from the "colony" to help the little Princess feel better. If it did help her, however, it was likely not because of the ginger content, since most pop uses artificial flavouring, and little or no real ginger.
   That's why Reed's is so great. The ingredient list reads like this: carbonated water, fructose, pineapple juice from concentrate, honey, fresh ginger, lemon and lime juices from concentrate, and spices. In fact, each 355 ml (12 oz.) bottle contains 26 grams of fresh ginger. The stuff is actually half good for you, and it tastes great, too. You don't need an upset anything to enjoy this brew. See if it's available in your neighbourhood, and try a swig.

We Need Some Eye-for-an-Eye

   I read two stories today about a couple of senior citizens and the brush each of them had with the criminal element. One was a 90-year-old woman who was severely injured after a purse-snatcher knocked her down the stairs of a Montreal subway station last weekend. The other was an 80-year-old shop owner in Peterborough, Ontario who found himself threatened by a knife-wielding would-be robber. The shop owner refused to be intimidated and threatened the miscreant right back, with a wooden baseball bat!
   The one senior came through his ordeal much better than the other, but either way, you can bet they were targeted because the they were perceived as an easy victim by their attackers. Now I know we are supposed to prosecute and punish such slimeballs within the confines of the modern-day legal system, but sometimes, just sometimes, don't you wish we could set all those constraints aside for a moment or two? Doesn't a little of the old "eye-for-an-eye" appeal every once in a while?
   People who would target the old are truly pariahs. I am gladdened beyond telling that the one who hid behind the knife found himself foiled by a bat being brandished in his face, but it's not enough. I would love to see those two creeps pay a little more heavily for what they did. A little time behind bars doesn't seem quite enough, either.
   Go through the whole trial process, of course, and make sure you've got them dead to rights. Then take the vile villain from Montreal back to the top of the subway stairs where he perpetrated his misdeed. Bind his hands behind his back, and give him one hell of a good shove. When he gets to the bottom, take him to a jail infirmary and bind his wounds before you lock him in the cell to begin serving his time. Take the other malefactor someplace where there's lots of room and blindfold him. Then let a couple of guys who are built like Vin Diesel pretend he's a pinata. Limit the swinging to just a minute or two, though. After all, we don't want to get disproportionate with our response.
   Maybe; maybe, a few well publicized incidents of this kind of justice might serve as a deterrent. The system we have now sure as hell isn't doing a whole lot.

Say Cheese!

   This one is addressed to my smiling fellow Canadians.
   Dacher Keltner is a psychology professor at the University of California at Berkeley who has made it his business to study smiles. After studying smiles for the past ten years, Keltner has declared that the American smile is more open, genuine and warm, the British smile is one that reflects modesty, decorum and politeness, and the Canadian smile apparently falls somewhere in the middle — a kind of hybrid of the two cultures that doesn't get much attention for Keltner.
   According to the learned professor, the average smile lasts only three seconds. During those three seconds, the Americans seem to make great use of the orbicularis oculi, the muscles around the eyes, while the Brits get more mileage out of the risorius muscle, which stretches their lips sideways when they smile. If we Canadians are supposed to be somewhere in the middle, it would seem to me that we must use all of the facial muscles equally, which would indicate the biggest, warmest, most genuine smiles have got to be those flashed north of the 49th!

Not "Sir" Bill!

   Queen Elizabeth II has just bestowed upon Bill Gates the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in recognition of his contributions to both business and charity. Business contributions are obvious, and many people have a general awareness that Gates is given to philanthropy, but did you know some of the numbers? The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment of about $28 billion and has so far committed $4.9 billion to various good causes.
   The latest big push being staged by the foundation is the immunization of children in third world countries. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a grant in January 2005, of $750-million to support the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, which the foundation helped to create in 2000. Projects to vaccinate children account for about a third of the amount the foundation has spent in the past five years.
   When the grant was announced, Gates urged wealthy nations to increase their contributions to global immunization programs. "Rich countries can and should increase immunization funding to give children in developing countries a better shot at a healthy life.", says Gates.
   Gates said "I am humbled and delighted" by the granting of the recognition, an award which dates back to 1917, when it was created to recognize those who had helped the British war effort. Although the award given to Gates is an honourary knighthood, Mr. Microsoft will not be called "Sir" Bill because he is neither a British nor Commonwealth citizen. He is entitled to use the letters KBE after his name.
   Can you picture the ceremony? "Arise, Sir ... no, no ,no ...I mean ... get up old chap!" I wonder just how Her Royal Liz-ship did phrase this one?

Duh!

   Two young men were busily pursuing their career in crime on Wednesday, Feb. 23rd, when things went all wrong for the poor laddies. It seems they had decided to break into a summer cabin near Kaldred, 90 kilometers west of Copenhagen. Happily involved in carrying their purloined selections to their car, they were brought up short by a passer-by who had witnessed the break-in, and taken the keys from the car in order to foil the would-be thieves. He demanded they return the stolen goods. They demanded he return the keys. He proved the more obdurate.
   Stuck between a rock and a hard-hearted Dane, the two then actually called the police. Just imagine that conversation ... "Officer, we'd like to report a robbery. Some bad man has taken our car keys and won't give them back ... yes, he's standing right here in front of us, holding them up ... he keeps saying he won't give them over 'til we put back the stuff we took ... oh, did we forget to mention what we were doing at the time? ... oops!"
   Chief Superintendent Asger Larsen says the two realized that leaving their car at the scene would lead the police right to them anyway, so they thought they might as well just shorten the process. Maybe while they do their time, these two brilliant types can try to think of another career.