Which One Is Dad?

The question above could take on an interesting twist in New Brunswick soon. Proposed amendments to the province's adoption laws, announced on Tuesday by Minister of Family and Community Services Carmel Robichaud, would give the same rights as married couples to same-sex partners when it comes to adopting children.
Previously, only one member of the couple could legally adopt a child, and therefore, only that one was considered to be a parent to the child. In July 2004, however, a lesbian couple won the right to be the legal co-parents of a child born to them with reproductive assistance. If anyone can have that state of affairs, then everyone should be entitled to it. Now that the precedent has been set, how could the courts go back on it?
Of course, there will be a chorus of protest raised by the scorched-cat voices of those unable to see past the sexual orientation of the adoptive parents-to-be. You have to wonder where those righteously indignant types are, however, when people like the pedophile father from Toronto are being sentenced. For sexually assaulting his daughter and infecting her with gonorrhea, he was given only three years of incarceration. He was not castrated, so where's the guarantee that he won't create another life and then mistreat it the same horrendous way as he did his daughter? Why don't the nay-sayers lined up against same-sex adoption put their vocal talents to better use and protest the lax sentences given to "straight" parents who abuse their children?
Biological creation of children by heterosexual couples gives no guarantees that the children will be loved or cared for in any better way than they could be a loving set of same-sex parents. It's all a crap shoot. At least same-sex couples who want to adopt have to go through a screening process that might weed out some of those who should not parent a little more effectively than the horizontal mambo does.

Shoot the Bastard

A Toronto man has been convicted of sexually assault causing bodily harm. I know the reaction - what, another one of these stories? Bear with me. This one has a difference to it. Most animals who feel the need to assault females target adults. There are those who target children, however, and as soon as I know the animal is of the pedophile variety, it instantly raises every hackle I know. It gives the word 'despicable' new meaning to victimize the defenceless.
The nameless creep central to this story took it all even one step further and victimized his own daughter. That action alone is not the depth of depravity this piece of human refuse took it to, unfortunately. This revolting criminal gave his daughter gonorrhea.
The sentence he was given? He got three years. That's it. That's all.
Except for the fact that it's totally lacking in humour, you might think the sentence was a joke. It certainly is a travesty of justice. That child's life has been forever altered for the worse. There will never be a complete escape for her from the hell to which her own father consigned her.
The pedophile is nameless because of his daughter's age, in order to protect her identity. It's too late to protect her innocence and her childhood. They have been brutally taken away from her and can never be returned.
Her father should not be sitting in a cell. He should not be sitting anywhere other than for a very short period of time in front of a firing squad. Yes, sitting. He uses a motorized wheelchair, you see, and you can bet that factored into his defense. It sure as hell did nothing to defend his daughter from his twisted carnal appetite. Why should he be given life? Why should he be given even one more day to freely draw breath?
They've got DNA evidence. Drive the vicious evildoer's chair out back of the courthouse, line him up in the cross hairs, and pull the trigger. He deserves nothing more.

Dying to Eat One?

The CSPI has just published a little blurb on the back page of their April "Nutrition Action Health Letter" that will make you think twice before opening wide for the Swiss Chalet Charbroiled Chalet Burger with Bacon & Cheese. Y'all ready for this?
Each burger has close to 1 & 1/2 days' worth of killer fat, weighing in at 24 grams of saturated fat plus 3 & 1/2 grams of trans fat. Seems bad enough, right? Hold onto your arteries, it ain't over yet!
Calorie count is as follows:
*630 for the meat, bacon and cheese
*240 for the white bread bun (no fiber, no whole grains, no taste)
*70 for the coleslaw
*30 for the dipping sauce
*470 for the "freedom fries"
Do the math, folks. We're talking 1,400 calories for a meal that gives you negligible food value in return. Is this really a meal you want to dump on your your waistline and your butt?
One last number for you to be aware of is the meal's 2,100 milligrams of sodium, which is more than a day's worth. The U.S. Institute of Medicine currently recommends you ingest only 1,500 milligrams of sodium in a day.
Visit the Swiss Chalet website and you'll see their slogan, "Taste It Once. Love It Forever." Maybe you could get away with it just once, eating one of those burger meals, but if you make too much of a habit of it, the slogan might be better worded this way - Taste It Today, Regret It Forever.
What do you think?

Quite the Science Project

Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo, both New Zealand schoolgirls, decided to conduct a science experiment in 2004, meant to prove their hypothesis that cheaper brands of blackcurrant cordial would be less healthy than more expensive brands. The one against which all others were expected to fall short was to be Ribena.
Three years later and the makers of Ribena blackcurrant cordial, GlaxoSmithKline, find themselves in a court in Auckland facing 15 charges relating to misleading advertising. The firm could get their wrists slapped with up to NZF$3 million in fines. Quite the science project!
The girls had chosen Ribena as their gold standard because of its claims that "the blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges". What they found instead was that the Ribena contained only a minimal amount of the vitamin, while the orange juice of a rival company contained almost four times more. Finding the inverse of Ribena's claims not being what they had expected, the girls, then 14-year-olds, repeated the testing, but still found the same results.
Up to this point, the whole situation could still have been retrievable for GSK, but they made the mistake of thinking they were too big to bother with a couple of little pests. Children! No-one they had to listen to. When the girls tried to get feedback from GSK, the great sage at the other end of the phone line hung up on them. Bad decision.
The next group to get involved was "Fair Go" a TV consumer affairs programme, which suggested they take their experiment findings to the government commerce commission. This watchdog's investigation found, among other things, that ready-to-drink Ribena contained no detectable levels of vitamin C.
GSK has now admitted that its claims about Ribena may have misled consumers. They have also brought the two girls in for a visit to GSK to thank them for bringing the whole problem to their attention. I think the girls were rather adventurous to accept the invitation. I mean, there could have a dreadful accident that saw the girls "slipping" on a walkway over the vats of Ribena cordial. They may have drowned before they could be fished out, much to the unspeakable sorrow of GSK, but at least they would not have been submitted to the torture of death by vitamin C overdose.
GSK has also issued statements meant to reassure its loyal imbibers that its products other than in Australia and New Zealand are all trustworthy. They say they have "conducted thorough laboratory testing of vitamin C levels in Ribena in all other markets" and proven that the contents match the label claims.
Of course, for some of us, that first trip to court is all we need to lose our trust, completely. GSK might find a large number of its former customers crossing the grocery store aisle to pick up cordial bottled by the competition.
When I was standing in front of a class of grade eight students who were telling me that they were powerless to change anything in the world created for them by their parents, this is exactly the kind of story I would be thrilled to find. I would tell them all about it, and point out to them that even one person on their own is never completely without power. The only time anyone is totally without a voice is when they fail to raise it.
Why aren't these girls being given as much media coverage right now as spoiled-brat Spears and camera-hungry Jolie? They have both done something worth knowing about, something to show to young women as an example worth following. What they did took mental process and intelligence. It didn't require an unrealistic thinness or more money than most of us will ever have. It simply took some intelligence.
Why aren't Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo all across the pages of every mag out there right now?

The True Nature of a House

Yesterday was a gray day here in the GTA, with no break in the clouds all day for any bright rays to peek through. Hubby and I drove north and west of the city, to check out the progress winter is making in clearing itself out of spring's way. Tendrils of fog spread their fingers across the road at random intervals, sometimes hindering our view of the drive ahead. Like a child covering someone's eyes from behind with their hands, the fog spread its fingers across our windshield. I almost expected a whispering voice to declare, "Surprise!", as we rounded the bend in the road and the fog lifted.
Up around the thriving little metropolis of Sandford, we found ourselves on a dirt road. The countryside around us was covered with a lacework of farmers' fields. Outlined against the dull skies were the various outbuildings and the houses the families call home. Small and square; big and rambling, the houses stood ready at the end of each winding driveway, waiting to welcome back each family member who had stepped out of the doorway during that gloomy day.
Looking at those houses as we passed, I was vouchsafed an understanding of their nature that had not been given to me before. Houses are not structures built to plan, as they would have us believe. They are, instead, space that has been captured by someone talented enough to throw the right shape of net over a house-shaped space and cage it round with walls.
A builder of houses must be able to see the ethereal outline of a house-to-be as it tries to hide itself in the great outdoors. A builder of houses must know how to drive the nails just right to hold the walls strong and snug around the space as it struggles to free itself, until it settles into its new confinement and resigns itself to being lived in.
A builder of houses knows, however, what every house-dweller must understand as well. Space trapped by man-made walls will stay only so long before it demands its freedom again. That is why foundations shift with the passing years as the space pushes against them and seeks out the weakest joints, the best places to begin a crack that can grow into an escape route with the passage of time.
The span of years given to any human who might dwell within such a space is finite. Even multiple generations will one day all pass away and the space will finally be left, unhindered in its quest to return to the great outdoors from whence it was taken.
The true nature of a house is not to be a home, no matter what sentimental characteristics we humans might try to impose on it. No. The true nature of a house is only the brief taming of a wild, free space into a dwelling place, while it deigns to serve as a home.

My Good Samaritan

I was raised by a mother who always looked at the world through shit-coloured glasses. One of her favourite sayings was, "The world is a rotten place." I have spent too many years of my life trying to stop that little gem and others like it from playing a continuous loop in my mind.
Sometimes the world steps in to help me in my efforts, and last Saturday was one of those times. I had been to my bank in the morning and used the ATM, then gone to the coffee shop in the same little plaza with my daughter for a morning libation. We enjoyed an hour of great conversation and then it was time to go.
That was when I realized I no longer had my keys with me. I knew immediately that I must have left them on the counter in front of the bank machine. A quick return to check the counter, however, showed only a disappointingly empty space there. We checked at every one of the businesses along the row but no-one said there had been any keys turned in.
There was nothing on my key chain to I.D. the keys in any way, so that at least was one less thing to worry about. I crossed my fingers and waited for this morning to arrive so I could go into the bank and enquire if a good samaritan had turned them in.
At the information desk, I said to the woman there, "I was here on Saturday morning using the ATM." I had barely finished those words when she reached over under the counter. I saw the motion and said, "You have my keys here, don't you?" She answered, "I might.", so I told her about the Maple Leafs key chain to prove my claim to it.
She brought them out then and handed them to me, telling me that another client of the bank had picked them up there on Saturday and turned them in this morning. I thanked her happily and headed off with my keys clutched safely in hand.
Yes, Mother, there are all sorts of "rotten" people out there, but there are decent, honest people out there, too, and they're the ones who make this world a much nicer place for everyone around them.
I wish I could meet my good samaritan and say a heartfelt thank-you to them. Whoever you are, you have made my day, my week, my month!

The Baby's Too Dark?

Thomas and Nancy Andrews of Commack New York are suing the Manhattan Clinic, New York Medical Services for Reproductive Medicine, claiming the clinic screwed up. DNA tests confirmed that Thomas ain't the papa, and now they've got their knickers in a knot because they are forced (forced?) to raise a child who isn't "the same race, nationality. colour" as they are. Apparently the couple are trying to claim they love the baby, but "are reminded of this terrible mistake each and every time (they) look at her".
My question is, did they actually want a baby, or not? I would assume if they were dealing with a fertility clinic then there was some kind of problem interfering with their creating offspring in the usual way. They went to this clinic because they wanted a baby more than anything else in the world, didn't they? The answer to that one might not necessarily be affirmative. They were perhaps looking for a status symbol, a baby to have simply because "that's what you do" and they didn't want to fall behind the Jones family in meeting societally approved milestones along the status quo freeway.
It would seem to me that if they really did love the baby, they would look at her and see a little treasure; a little princess each and every time they looked at her. Instead they say themselves that they look at her and see a mistake. What the hell kind of a family is that to foist on the poor innocent who has had the great misfortune to be born to these two mean-minded whiners?
Maybe what they are actually seeing when they look at the little one is a chance to make some money off her existence, to use her like a cash-cow. Maybe the judge who is allowing this case should also be looking for new parents for the wee one. The ones she has now do not sound like the ones she deserves. Simply by right of her birth, she is deserving of love and respect. Parents who look at their baby and see a mistake neither love nor respect the life they are responsible for bringing into this world. No matter whose sperm the clinic used, the Andrews are ultimately the ones responsible for this baby's existence. The clinic would not have had or used eggs from this woman if she had not voluntarily given them and then okayed their being fertilized.
If the clinic did use another man's sperm to impregnate Nancy Andrews, and they just can't get over that, then they should not be the ones to raise the baby. Either shit or get off the pot, people. You went to a fertility clinic in order to conceive. How many women go that route and still come away with empty arms? How many unhappy women, lacking the money necessary to pay for the services of such a clinic, are left with empty arms?
Ms Andrews came away from that clinic with an armful of baby to love, and she's suing because the baby isn't the colour she needs it to be before she can love it. Life's a bitch.

Prisons Before Schools?

The provincial government of British Columbia seems to have its priorities a little out of kilter. Apparently it conducted an audit and found that 311 of the 864 schools in the province's earthquake zones failed their exams. These schools are at high risk of severe damage during a moderate to strong quake.
The Liberal government promised a $1.5 billion program two years ago to upgrade these substandard schools, 80 of which were ranked as "high-priority", but only four have been completed to date and 48 have made it no further than feasibility studies. The government has, however, managed to upgrade various tunnels, bridges and prisons. Yup, prisons. The convicts, apparently, rank higher on the government's list of priorities than the children do.
The legislature in Victoria has been scheduled for upgrades too, but you can bet they won't drag on like the school repairs are doing. God forbid anything should threaten the safety of the politicians.
A parent-led advocacy group, Families for School Seismic Safety, is working to prod the foot-dragging government into a little more determined effort to come through on their promise. They're encouraging parents to lobby for change and have a form letter available on their website for parents to use in writing to the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of B.C. Visit the website for the full results of the government assessment of schools at risk, as well as details on the "Classroom Bucket Project".
If you have kids in an earthquake zone school, this might be a really good cause for you to know about and involve yourself in. If you live outside of B.C, but you have a minute or two to spare, this would be a good cause for you, too. Take a little time to write to the P.M. Send an e-mail to pm@pm.gc.ca and ask for the work on these schools to be expedited. It's an investment in the future.

Ooh, Baby!

Gotta' love the group at the Cambridge Women Pornography Cooperative. Seems they decided to take porn back from the "gold-chained, hairy-chested, mouth-breathing knuckleheads" and so they went out in search of the answer to what turns women on. The result is the book "Porn for Women" sold by McNally Robinson for $16.95. The steamy volume contains pics of male eye-candy cooking, vacuuming, and asking for directions, among other goodies. The pictures are accompanied by turn-on captions like "I love a clean house."
Sounds like make-believe to me, but you can't blame a woman for dreaming.

Painting Since She Could Breathe

Let me introduce you to one very talented woman. Her name is Anne Abbott, and if I were still teaching, I'd be inviting her to come and speak to the members of the girls' club I used to mentor. She would be a great role model, someone really worthwhile for them to meet. If I can quote an old cliche here, life has given Anne lemons, by the bucketful, but instead of bemoaning her fate, she has used them to make lemonade.
I met Anne this past weekend at the St. Lawrence Market. I came around the corner and saw her sitting there in her wheelchair, an older version of the young lady I taught several years ago now, with one huge difference. Instead of parents who wrap their daughter in smotheringly protective layers of batting, Anne obviously had parents who sent her out to meet the world head-on and make a place in it for herself.
When I said good morning to her, and commented on her cat-cover note cards, she answered me by using the symbols on a Bliss board, and by giving me a beautiful, big smile. It doesn't matter how we talk or what language we use, a smile is a universal way to break down barriers.
When I asked her how long she has been producing her works of art, she said, "Ever since I could breathe." She's obviously an artist of note since some of her works hang in the halls of the University of Toronto, and she has been featured on Breakfast TV, as well as in Ryerson's McLung's magazine.
If you're in the market for a painting to grace your walls, or just a few notecards to drop a line or two to friends, you should take a minute to visit Anne's site and view her work. Maybe, you'll come away with an original or two. For sure, you'll come away a smile.

Maintaining a Position of Disparity

In 1948, George Kennan, wrote the U.S. State Department Policy Planning Study 23, then a top secret document. It is now easily enough available, and it makes fascinating reading. I can imagine that one of its most enthusiastic readers is ol' George W. himself. I'd be willing to bet he keeps it beside his bed, on top of the bible. He probably has the little wife read his favourite passage to him, in place of a bedtime story, every night. I can just see him falling asleep, clutching the pages to his chest like a sleepy tot would their teddy bear.
The lines George W. would love the most have been the subject of heated debate; some using them as proof of the greed of the U.S.; and others insisting they are misquoted to prove entirely the wrong supposition about the U.S. of lofty principles, the saviour of the world. Noam Chomsky and David Korten are among those who quote them as proof of the driving ambition for empire-like hegemony that rules everything the U.S. does.
In his concluding paragraphs, Kennan describes the U.S. as a country "older, mellower, and more advanced... a nation for which the concept of order, as opposed to power, has value and meaning". Doesn't sound too bad. In fact, you could even begin to see the hawk-like nation turning over a peaceful new leaf until you get to the next line wherein he affirms that if his nation does "not have the strength to seize and hold real leadership" then Plato's mournful prediction that humanity will never have rest from evil will come true. George W., I am sure, loves the idea of the U.S.asserting that power, marching in and using the stealth weaponry of international debt and unconscionable trade agreements to take whatever they want wherever they want it, under the guise of saving the world from evil.
The particular lines George would underline in red are as follows:
"...we have about 50% of the world's wealth but only 6.3% of its population. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our national security. To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives. We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world-benefaction.
...we would be better off to dispense now with a number of the concepts which have underlined our thinking... We should dispense with the aspiration to “be liked” or to be regarded as the repository of a high-minded international altruism. We should stop putting ourselves in the position of being our brothers' keeper and refrain from offering moral and ideological advice. We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization."
Before any supporters of Bush and his conquering country get on my case for misquoting, I will say right up front that I omitted the mention of the Far East in the foregoing passage, written by Kennan specifically in relation to that part of the world. That detail wouldn't stop Bush from applying the sentiment expressed to every country the States wants to rob of some natural resource, any more than it has stopped all the other people who have quoted the passage sans the term "Far East".
The lines that loom the largest, in my mind, are, "The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better." I get such a picture of George W. when I read those lines. I see him sitting on the side of his bed, in his little jammies with the feet in them, holding the Planning Study to his chest, rocking rhythmically back and forth, giggling just a little while he wipes away a trace of spit and chants the lines over and over in sing-song style.
God help the U.S. God help us all.

One Village at a Time

DNA testing recently brought Isaiah Washington to the realization that his roots lie in Sierra Leone among the Mende people. Sierra Leone is perhaps the poorest country on the globe; one that rates last in every rating of quality of life done by the UN. Life expectancy in Sierra Leone, for instance, stands at the forlorn figure of 39. It is in a region of Africa that was hard hit by the greed of the Western world's colony builders and their "need" for slave labour.
Washington has already stepped up to the plate for Sierra Leone with the establishment of his non-profit organization Gondobay Manga Foundation that seeks to achieve improvement in the lives of the people of Sierra Leone, "one village at a time". The foundation strives to "draw the attention of the international community to ... issues such as road building, water supply and electricity" in the devastating poverty left behind by european colonialism.
To further that awareness, Washington has just given @25,000.00 US to a computer animation project aimed at detailing the Atlantic slave trade. Bunce Island, an 18th century slave-trading castle was part of the network that sent hapless Africans to a life of slavery, and it will be the focus of this project. Joseph Opala and Gary Chatelain, both professors at James Madison University in Virginia, will be directing the animation that will show Bunce as it was in the early 1800's. Once the work is completed, it should be made required viewing at every high school in the western world. The awareness Washington seeks to raise is sadly lacking. The next generation is a great place to sow seeds for it.

Kudos to The Bus Driver

Late last week, a TTC driver called police after seeing a man breaking windows at the Chabad of Midtown Jewish Centre. The disgusting little anit-Semite was arrested within minutes. He was easy to apprehend for two reasons. One was the refusal of the bus driver to condone the malicious behaviour by not getting involved. The other was the fact that this nasty piece of garbage was wearing clothing emblazoned with swastikas. The incident has been branded a hate crime, meaning a harsher sentence will be imposed if the thug is convicted.
The big hero of the piece, without exaggeration, is that bus driver. We've all seen incidents when people look away and mumble about not wanting to get involved. There are far too many of them. When someone does make the personal effort to make our country a better place for everyone who lives here, they deserve special recognition.
Just as the media coverage of such hate crimes can contribute to copy-cat crimes, hyping some coverage of the decision not to stand idly by and let them happen could also inspire some copy-catting, but of a nature we could all benefit from.

Idiot File Update

I know, I know. I've already put the name of Pope Benny and other catholic clergy in for membership in the files, but that doesn't mean there's any kind of a shortage of these narrow-minded numbnuts lining up for inclusion. Today I'd like to include the entire Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, previously headed up by Ratzinger, everyone's favourite former Nazi.
First of all, you should know that the CDF is today's name for what used to be called the Holy Office of the Inquisition. (Is it just me or does anyone else see it as an oxymoron to put "holy" and "inquisition" together?) Anyway, it was established in 1542 by Pope Paul III to "maintain and defend the integrity of the faith". (emphasis my own) What a proud tradition they have of doing that, especially with the number of victims they burned at the stake, in order to keep the faith pure and unsullied. Human blood staining the hands of the Office's prefects surely was an indicator of just how well they were doing at "safeguarding the morals throughout the catholic world". Since the excesses of the Inquisition faded away into history, the Office has done nothing worth note toward ensuring "the experience of the church shines with a singular brightness".
The CDF has come forward with yet another proof of its collective worthiness of membership in the Idiot Files with its March 14 declaration, called a "Notification", to the faithful that the writings of the Jesuit priest Jon Sobrino, a liberation theologian, are now to be avoided like the plague. The specific works to beware of are "Jesus the Liberator" and "Christ the Liberator".
Citing the wide diffusion of Father Sobrino's works, particularly in Latin America, the CDF denounces them as being rife with methodological deficiencies, one of which is Sobrino's failure to bow deeply at the waist every time the early councils of the church are mentioned. We all know about the council of Nicea, right? That's the one where the wise leaders of the church actually gathered to vote on the vexing question of whether or not Jesus was divine. We also know the vote was not unanimous. There were two dissenters, but there is no record extant of them being struck down by divinely hurled lightning for their nay-saying.
I do not accept the declaration of the CDF that Sobrino's writings could "be of grave danger to the faithful". I do not believe the CDF have the best interests of the faithful at heart. I do believe they are pissed off with Father Sobrino, especially for one statement he made in an interview published in the German weekly "Freitag" on May 23, 2003. "The accumulation of riches," said he,"is a horrible scandal". Since the Wall Street Journal has said the Vatican's financial deals in the U.S. alone have been so big that it has bought or sold gold in lots of a million or more dollars at a time, it is very possible that the CDF feels Sobrino is pointing his finger right at them, among others. Tsk, tsk, such a naughty he is to criticize those who regard themselves as beyond reproach.
The members of CDF are stuck back in the days of Pius IX. That worthy's Syllabus of Errors and his declaration that the idea of freedom of thought was "an insanity" fill these idiots with nostalgia for the good old days of the Office of the Inquisition. The Idiot Files may be populous, but they still have room to spare for these latest eager beavers who want us all to know how minimal their mental might really is.

Pet Food Recall

If you own a dog or cat and you feed it canned food, you should know about this. Menu Foods, a leading producer of wet pet-food products supplies its products to 17 of the top 20 retailers in North America for sale under store labels such as Master Choice, Compliments and Select. They're recalling products now because several deaths have occured in pets that eat those products. Follow this link to find a one-eight-six-six number to call for more info. You'll also find a list of the brands to avoid for both cats and dogs. Keep Fluffy and Fido safe.

St. Patrick's Day Protest

Let me introduce you to a gentleman and a scholar, indeed. Mr. Alan Rainey, an adjunct professor and small publisher from West Lafayette, Ind. was one of the thousands of protestors who marched to the Pentagon on Saturday to mark both the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the 40th anniversary of the march along the same route to ptotest the war in Viet Nam.
What told me for certain that Rainey is a fine broth of a man, an individual I'd be proud to break bread with is the sign that he carried in that march. Festooned with green clover, it bore images of snakes wearing the faces of Bush and Cheney, and said, "Help drive the snakes out of the White House.". The good man himself told an interviewer, "This war is criminal. We impeached Clinton for a little indiscretion with an adult."
Such a good, decent man; such an intellectual individual. Who's up for starting a "Rainey for President" campaign?

The Essence of Relaxation

If you're like most of us, you run through too many of your days, without enough spare time to stop long enough for a really deep breath. Unfortunately, those stressful days tend to come one after another, with little time between for you to unwind and get yourself sufficiently relaxed before you take another run at it all. If that is true for you, then you're probably pumping a lot of cortisol.
Nicknamed the stress hormone, cortisol is the "fight or flight" hormone. When it's present in small amounts, it can do good things for you like heighten your memory and grant a temporarily lower sensitivity to pain. When your body just doesn't get enough of a rest from cortisol, however, it can backfire on you with a list of nasties which includes impairing cognitive performance; creating a blood sugar imbalance; increasing abdominal fat; and decreasing bone density, among others.
Before you start getting more stressed out over this, let me share (with you GTA residents at least) a perfectly wonderful cortisol control I recently found. Called the Essence Spa, it meekly presents its shy little edifice at 986 Bloor Street West. As you walk or drive along Bloor, you have to watch carefully on your first trip there, or you might overshoot it. Once you've been inside, however, and visited the unforgettable oasis of peaceful calm that's tucked away there, you'd never have that problem ever again.
Of course, you could make the trip on your own, if that felt right for you, but I went with a good friend, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone that they do the same. Sharing the experience only added to the pleasure.
As soon as you walk in the door, peaceful tendrils of tranquility reach out to enfold you. Walking down the short flight of steps leaves the world as far behind as though you had made an epic trek. The two beauty therapists who worked with us, Kerri and Lisa, were gentle presences in the next two and a half hours of our day who made us both feel as though they were armed with magic potions rather than fragrant lotions.
Both of these young women were totally enthusiastic and sincere about their craft, and it came through in their every touch. After Kerri's gentle ministrations during a facial, the headache that had been playing havoc with me for two days was banished. (Since I don't often get a migraine to make its exit without either prescription help or stoic suffering sans drugs, I did enquire at one point if Kerri would consider being a live-in headache healer.)
The conversation was always upbeat and, at times, most informative as well, when it turned to skin care and the products best to use. The young artists of aesthetics suggested some spa products to try, but neither of them pushed any on us. The time slipped by without either my friend or I being aware of its passage. Before we left, we each availed ourselves of a half-hour massage under Steve's therapeutic touch.
When we were finally ready to walk back up those stairs and rejoin the world outside, it would have been no effort at all for us to smile beneficently at our most vexing source of stress. The mellow mood floated us through the rest of the day without a single ripple of discontent ruffling the calm left by our spa experience.
Contact them and set up your own oasis of serenity for an afternoon. I think the spa is a bit of a Toronto secret, so you can share it or keep it to yourself, but you really want to go. There aren't too many ways better than this to treat yourself to a little pampering, and banish some cortisol, all at the same time.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

That's the policy that was instituted in 1993 by the Pentagon after legislation passed by Congress and signed by Bill Clinton allowed gay men and lesbians to serve in the military. The "don't ask, don't tell" referred to the stricture placed on these individuals to neither openly display nor discuss their sexual orientation. That way everyone could play nice and pretend they were all serving a government concerned with fairness for all. There has been a growing debate over whether or not the policy should remain in place, with some retired officers and members of Congress adding their voice to the chorus demanding it be made history.
General Peter Pace, highest ranking military officer in the U.S. threw some fuel on the fire with his recent comments about homosexual conduct being immoral. Said the good general, allowing openly gay individuals to serve "says that we (the military) would be condoning what I believe is immoral activity". The demands for an apology flew after Pace opened his big mouth, with everyone from gay advocacy groups to people like Senator John Warner, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, joining in.
Pace did release a statement on Tuesday in which he supposedly apologized for his verbal diarrhoea, but read it carefully and you see it is not at all apologetic. He says, "I should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views." He does not say he was wrong. He continues, "People have a wide range of opinions on this sensitive subject." He does not say he was wrong; that he should have known better than to use his official position as a forum to air his intolerance. Pace has no idea of how to offer an apology.
What I'd like to know is who died and made Pace the moral guardian of those in uniform? If it is alright for the straight types to display their pin-ups and their preference, it should be alright for the gays and lesbians, too. If it's not alright for them, it should not be alright for anyone. Officially condoning inconsistency in the treatment of the members of the armed forces is opening a door that is better left closed. If Pace wants to venture into the field of moral guardianship, maybe he should contact some radical cleric for a few lessons on how best to police absolutely everyone, and how best to punish any and all who stray. If he's unwilling to take it that far, then he should back off completely on the expression of sexual orientation.
One thing I am curious about is how the website of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network got the number they did. They denounced Pace's comments as"insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serving in our armed forces". Did all of those 65,000 have to identify themselves in some way when they enlisted? Did they all come forward in protest against Pace and his dark ages attitude? If that number is correct, then the old don't ask, don't tell has already slipped from its enshrined position.
Another part to this debate that I have to wonder at was contributed by General John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs when the policy was adopted. Writing in the New York Times on January 2, Shalikashvili did a little true confession. Saying that conversations with gay soldiers and marines had shown him that they could be accepted by their peers, he announced "I now believe ... they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces." It almost sounds like a change of heart, doesn't it? Makes you think the old warrior has seen the light; had an epiphany; opened his mind and his heart.
I'd like to put a spin on that one, if I could. There was one other line in his writing that stopped me short. It reminded me of another similar situation I learned of just recently. You only need to look to the 761st tank battalion, sent from the United States to the battlefields of WWII, to see an example of just how wrong things can go when there is inconsistency in the treatment of the troops. The men of this battalion were thought of as cannon fodder by far too many, when all they wanted to do was serve their country.
It's the cannon fodder part that went ricocheting around inside my head when I read that other line penned by Shalikashvili. He makes no reference to any personal change oh heart when he talks about now being willing to welcome the openly gay and lesbian into the armed forces. What he does say is, "Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."
Is it just suspicious old me, or does anyone else think Shalikashvili might be envisioning a whole new source of cannon fodder?

Happy Pi Day!

The Greek letter Pi, symbol for the ratio of a circle to its diameter is usually calculated to 3 digits - 3.14. That makes today, the 14th day of the third month, Pi Day. So have some fun marking the occasion.

You could start your festivities with some Pi Day songs, courtesy of one of the math teachers at Windom Area High School, Windom, Mn.

Obviously, you'll want to serve something like shepherd's pie for your entree and follow it up with a fruit pie for dessert. Once the physical hunger of those you invite to your Pi day celebration has been sated, you can all take out pencil and paper, and have a wonderful time satisfying your hunger for digits. Pi, being an irrational number, will continue indefinitely without repeating, but some enterprising souls have used computers (shame) to calculate it to over one trillion digits.

How far can you take it?

The 360 Degree Procedure

"Once round and from top to bottom. It's a bit like a car wash," says Jan Vinzenz Krause as he describes how his invention works. Krause and his team from Germany's Institute for Condom Consultancy have come up with a spray-on condom. It comes in a spray can device that will coat your prize possession with latex from all sides if you remember to use the 360 degree procedure. Then all you have to do is twiddle your thumbs for 5 seconds while you wait for the product to be ready for action. Krause proudly declares his product to be extra-effective since it will be made to measure for each and every user.
Testing is still being conducted to make sure the latex sprays on evenly before the little condom-in-a-can hits store shelves, but Krause is hoping for 2008 to be the year when his invention comes to a store near you. It will be available in different colours, so for those with a creative flair, they could mix and match and make a real fashion statement just before they get down to taking care of business.

Amnesty in Afghanistan?

On Saturday an overwhelming majority of the members present in Afghanistan's lower house of parliament voted into law a resolution calling for amnesty for groups suspected of war crimes during the previous 25 years of fighting. The resolution also recognizes the right of victims to seek justice for crimes perpetrated against them during the bloody quarter century, as long as they are prepared to press charges and assume the burden of proof.
It sounds like at least a small step forward, until you learn about some of the parliamentarians voting on this issue. Vice President Karim Khalili and army chief of staff Abdul Rashid Dostum, as well as Energy Minister Ismail Khan and security adviser Mohammed Qasim Fahim are all listed as some of the "worst perpetrators" by Human Rights Watch.
The resolution applies only to those who accept Afghanistan's constitution and the authority of the government. Since a number of former war lords have been elevated to seats in the government, it adds quite the interesting little twist to the passing of this resolution. It's rather like it would be to bring Hitler to trial and then ask him to decide the verdict. These people are writing their own ticket to act in any way they want and do it with total impunity.
What a travesty.

Guluwalk Update

Led by founder Adrian Bradbury, a small team of GuluWalk representatives arrived in northern Uganda Monday to get a glimpse of the current situation in the war-torn region. Stalled peace talks between the LRA and the Ugandan government has created a feeling of uneasiness once again; one in which GuluWalk will experience firsthand over the next two weeks (March 12-26).During the two-week trip, which will include visits to Gulu, Pader and Kitgum districts, Bradbury will connect with local officials and spend time with residents directly affected by the war. The GuluWalk founder expects to spend half his time immersed in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps attempting to understand the realities of life for the children in the region.The trip will also allow GuluWalk to see the programs in which it has directly funded. These include: the ‘Girls Education Initiative Project’ and the ‘Northern Uganda Child Legal Defence Project’ in partnership with War Child Canada; ‘Health for Night Commuters Program’ and ‘Promoting Girls Education for Better Health’ through AMREF; and the ‘By Youth for Youth’ peacebuilding project in partnership with CPAR. In 2006, GuluWalk contributed over $75,000 to each of these three major partners. As well, GuluWalk will be involved in planning meetings for the first-ever ‘Youth Cultural Centre’ in northern Uganda. This latest project is in partnership with the Liu Institute, in conjunction with the Gulu District NGO Forum. The aim of this expanded program is to empower the local community, specifically youth, and provide an unbreakable link to Acholi history and culture. GuluWalk contributed $100,000 to the Liu Institute last year to help fund this major project.For more detailed information on GuluWalk programs, visit www.guluwalk.com/programs
Bradbury will keep an online diary during the trip and an accompanying photographer will capture photos along the way. Stay tuned to www.guluwalk.com for all trip updates.

A Green Wedding Gown?

If your big day is looming on the horizon, you'll be needing a gown. Ever thought of making it an eco-friendly gown? For those interested, there are some interesting options. You could start your hunt for the perfect gown in your Mother's closet. Sometimes a little altering is all you need to get yourself a great retro-chic look at an absolute fraction of the cost that could otherwise hit your wallet.
Of course, even when you dress second-hand up by calling it retro-chic, it just doesn't do it for some of us. There are still green options to consider for the brand-new-or-nothing crowd. You need to know first of all that just because silk is a "natural", it doesn't necessarily qualify as green. Silk fibres can be bleached and dyed with nasty chemicals that negate all the little silk worm's best intents. Speaking of the silk worm, of course, if you're a vegan or just a gentle-hearted soul, you also need to know that silk fibres are usually sourced from boiled silk moth cocoons. Definitely not a great way for little creatures to die just so that you can sashay down the aisle clad in silk. So, what other choice is there for an environmentally aware bride?
One possibility to consider is finding yourself a good DIY pattern. The best of "The Brides of Marfy" will give you patterns from "fresh and carefree Botticelli to gowns worthy of a princess". If you're not quite that good with a needle and thread, find a good seamstress. Either way, consider buying a length of hemp-silk blend. Hemp requires much less water than cotton and once it's blended with silk, the resultant fabric has a sheen just right for a wedding gown. The fabric is 60% hemp, 40% silk, and is 59" wide. Sold at the Toronto Hemp Company for $19.95 CAD, it will be friendly to your wallet as well as to the environment.
Back to the wee worms who laboured on your silk. If the idea of boiling them alive has got you feeling a little queasy, you might be interested in peace silk. This is sourced without any boiling of cocoons, so the life cycle is uninterrupted and the crafty creatures can live to die of old age. Ahimsa Peace Silk informs the visitor that all their fabrics are made by non-violent and eco-friendly processes, and gives an incredible choice of colours. AuroraSilk.com will help any kid(s) in your life put together a "killer" science fair project (you'll be their favourite adult!) and let you custom dye your choice for the gown.
Of course, DIY is not for all of us, either, but there is still another choice. You could get yourself off to the nearest bridal boutique to start shopping, but you might not get that environmentally-friendly choice you want. If you're cool with shopping online, a trip to Olivia Luca.com will take you to a designer site that will allow you to design your own gown, using fabrics like organic cotton sateen, produced with low-impact inks and dyes in accordance with the Organic Trade Association's Fiber Processing Standards; or hemp-silk charmeuse that drapes like satin and bonus! is 100% Sustainable Biodegradable Product. When you start your adventure in the Design Studio, the first step you'll be guided through is specifying your skin tone, so you just know this dress is going to be perfect for you.
Of course there are other sites that will let you design your own environmentally friendly wedding gown. I only mentioned one, because the one you choose is not as important as is the choice to make your gown an eco-friendly creation. I've been emphasizing the fact that supporting sustainability does not have to have a negative impact on your lifestyle. I thought the eco-friendly gown was a great example of just what I've been talking about.

Let's see now; who might find something worthwhile at this link? Well, if you're a woman, or a man who has a mother, then there's definitely reading material here for you. The site is the "Status of Women: Canada" list of publications, which are available in HTML or PDF. The list includes titles like *Social Policy, Gender Inequality and Poverty; *Measuring Violence Against Women: Statistical Trends; *Trafficking in Women in Canada: A Critical Analysis of the Legal Framework Governing Immigrant Live-In Caregivers and Mail-Order Brides; and so many more.
Canada is a country that treats the distaff side of its population better than many do, but it still has more miles to traverse before the end goal of true gender equality is reached. Take a little time and make yourself more aware, then join in the effort. Every one of us fits the above list of who might find this site worthwhile.

Give It a Rest, Guys

I've ranted on about this before and I wouldn't bore you with it again, except that I just saw some new info on the topic. I'm talking about the move to fast track the late John Paul the II to canonization.
Shortly after his death almost two years ago, the bleating began to stick an "ST." in front of his name and so the current papal mental midget waived the five-year waiting period to open the case. Now comes the announcement from Rome Cardinal Camillo Ruini that the Rome diocese has wrapped up its examination of the "virtues" of John Paul. They're actually going to have a ceremony in St. John's Lateran Basilica on April 2nd to mark the end of the work as a step closer to sainthood for the silly old bugger. Why don't they put the money they'll spend on the ceremony to better use and buy a couple of cases of condoms to send to AIDS-ravaged catholics in Africa?
The hierarchy of the RC church has never shown itself as good for much other than this kind of idiocy. If they really want to bestow sainthood on someone actually worth the title, they wouldn't have to look any further than their own doorstep to find Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty.
John Paul was a nasty, narcissistic waste of time and money while he was alive. Now that he's had the decency to knock off, why is anyone giving him a second thought?

International Women's Day

Today I want to wish some things for my sisters all around the world.
May the sun touch your face today with a gentle caress of warmth. May you and yours have enough to eat and a quiet, peaceful place to sleep. May you be surrounded by love and kindness, and feel hope and pride in your heart. May your God give you a day to remember always with a smile on your face and joy in your soul.
May each one of you be happy today, sisters mine.

The Most Environmentally Responsible Company Possible

Saving the Earth is a topic on so many lips right now, but far too many people take it no further than lip service. The reasons so many continue to ignore the need for action range from simple laziness and/or ignorance, to the fear that joining the fight may have negative impact on hedonistic lifestyles.
Sometimes invoking the law is a step that has to be taken in order to get people on board the ecology train. The province of Ontario is aware of that, as shown by their recent look at joining Australia in banning the incandescent light bulb in order to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Each compact fluorescent bulb used in place of an incandescent one prevents the emission of half a tonne of carbon dioxide. After the warning issued in February by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, you'd think everyone would have gone tearing off to their nearest hardware store in a run on fluorescent bulbs, but it hasn't happened. Unfortunately, it seems that short of getting the law involved, it isn't likely to happen, either

Only 55% of Ontario's households have replaced five or more incandescents with fluorescent bulbs, even though there are savings to be had. Why does it seem so impossible to motivate the general populace to action? If it weren't for the occasional bright light shining through the darkness, it would be all too easy to succumb to a fatalistic despair about efforts to save the planet.

There are some bright lights, however, to look to for example and hope, people who work toward saving the earth for the next seven generations not just because a law is passed, but because it is the right thing to do. I wrote earlier about Ray Anderson, the founder of InterFace, and his "Climbing Mount Sustainability". He found he could move his company toward saving the planet and still make a profit. He is proof that thinking globally does not have to mean the end of your personal comfort zone. Another bright light illuminating the way for those who want to see it is Toronto designer Linda Lundström.

The words of the title give you the goal expressed by Lundström. She's a pioneer of the green movement in the clothing industry, still taking to heart her mother's admonition "Waste not, want not" when she and her design team create their fashions. Linda, famous for her signature LaParka coat, had noticed waste happening when the coats were cut. A little creative reduce and re-use approach to the problem resulted in the LaBarka, the latest for the well-dressed canine. That one was a simple little touch, but Lundström takes it much farther than that.

Her company is always looking for textiles that are beautiful and "ecologically kind", textiles produced without chemicals. Her 2007 spring collection is 26% environmentally friendly, and the plan is for the figure to reach 50% by spring 2008. She has begun making use of bamboo grown without pesticides to make items like her soft, breathable La Hoodie.

Her company is doing even more with the production of the Paris Wrap. Made of Eco-Yukon Fleece, the wrap helps to lessen the load taken to the garbage dump because the fleece is 80% recycled plastic pop bottles.

Rather than resting on her environmental laurels, Lundström involves herself in the community as well, through the KIISHIK fund and her support of women's shelters. Kiishik means "light" in Ojibway, and the fund carries out initiatives to shed light on Native culture and heritage. Native design is used on the LaParka. Perhaps one of the most wonderful outreach efforts conducted by Linda Lundström Inc. is their giving of stock overages to women's shelters rather than selling them to discounters.

Being kind to the environment and to our fellow wayfarers does not have to equate with pain or loss. Just look at Anderson and Lundström it you need any proof of that.

Ascending Into Heaven or Mouldering in the Grave?

On March 4, the Discovery Channel aired a documentary titled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus". Produced by James Cameron, the man who brought us those intellectually uplifting epics, "The Titanic" and "The Terminator", it airs the claim of Simcha Jacobovici to have unearthed the final resting place of the Nazarene, his wife and son.

Before you slap your forehead in annoyance at having missed it, be informed that it will air again tonight on Vision TV. If tonight's no good for you either, you can hustle off to Chapters and grab a copy of "The Jesus Family Tomb", co-authored by Cameron and Jacobovici.

The whole thing started in 1980 when workers at a construction site south of Jerusalem found ten ossuaries. Six of the bone boxes are marked with names. Yeshua bar Yosef (Jesus, son of Joseph); Marya; Matya (Matthew); Yose; Mariamene e Mara; and Yehuda bar Yeshua (Judah, son of Jesus) are the inscriptions that Cameron and Jacobovici take to the screen.

Historians assertions that those names were the Tom, Dick and Harry of that time but the intrepid film makers are undeterred by that. They prefer to stake their all on the consulted statistician's pronouncement that the chances of such names all being found together in the same tomb and not belonging to the Jesus of the Gospels is one in 600. For Cameron and Jacobovici, that constitutes proof that their assumptions are correct.

Since DNA experts established that there was no link between the residue in the two boxes labelled as Yeshua and Mariamene, the two interpret that as establishing that the remains belonged to man and wife - in this case, Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Even before the March 4 airing, the program content had many up in arms. People have been queueing up to denounce the various claims made in the film. Some are cloaking their denunciation in scientific sounding terms; some in bemused wonderment at yet another Dan Brown-esque "mystery", while others simply sputter in outrage.

One thing you can count on, however. No matter how many christians express their feelings over this film that puts in question dogma held by christianity as unquestionable for 2,000 years, there will be no fatwa issued by any christian cleric declaring a death sentence on Cameron and Jacobovici. The two are free to question all they want, just like we are all free to choose whether or not we will listen to their claims.

WGARA?

In December 2005 the Canadian government deported Panchalingam Nagalingam, sending him back to his native Sri Lanka. Apparently the word has come back to Andrew Brouwer, one of Nagalingam's lawyers that he has suffered abuse in Sri Lanka. Poor little Nagalingam is "terrified and is hiding out", says Brouwer. Says I, who gives a rat's ass?
While he was here Nagalingam was part of an organized crime group, working as an enforcer for the Tamil gang AK Kannan. The AK part stands for the AK-47 assault rifle much loved by the gang's founder and Kannan means god. If you needed a hint, that gives you a good idea as to what the gang stood for. The gang's warfare with rivals took more than a dozen lives in the late 90's, until the police swooped down on them in a massive raid in October 2001; the raid in which Nagalingam's freedom to operate as a thug here in Canada was brought to a halt.
Part of his attempt to defend himself against being deported was to claim that he might face torture if sent home. The team of lawyers (who's paying them, BTW?) working for this creep continue to bleat on about that possibility. What it boils down to is that Nagalingam is afraid of meeting someone just like himself, but in Sri Lanka instead of here in Canada. He specialized in involvement with a group that didn't give a good goddamn about anyone else's rights, so why should he expect us to care if someone violates his?