The Non-Debate Abortion Debate: Beyond the Thunderdome by Alex

There is an abortion debate happening in Canada right now. It might be shrouded in coded language and denied by the Prime Minister but it is happening. Stephen Woodworth, an anti-choice conservative MP for Kitchener-Waterloo proposed a private members motion (M-312) to create a committee whose purpose is to redefine personhood. Canadian law considers a person to be a person once they check out of the womb by way of the vaginal canal. Woodworth thinks that it's a pretty dated definition considering the advances of modern medicine and science (science! Super important when taking away women and Trans* people's bodily autonomy! Meaningless when put up against creationism and climate change!) which, ok fair enough, the definition doesn't account for c-section births or the stork babies or cabbage patch kids but this isn't about being a stickler for medical science: it's about criminalizing abortion. The definition he's all grumpy about is found in Section 223 of the Criminal Code, the section that defines homicide. Make no mistake, if the definition of person is extended to fetuses, at all, abortion will be criminalized.

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One Thought on Julian Assange Before I Lose My Goddamn Mind and Start Weeping in a Corner Because Preserving Rape Culture is More Important Than Anything, EVER by Alex

Perhaps I am still too much of an optimist, or something, too naive maybe, but if the message of Wikileaks is that transparency must and will exist in government and military communications and operations, and freedom of speech, and democracy, and accountability, and the people vs the man, then isn't it a bit hinderance to place so much importance on Julian Assange alone? Will Wikileaks fall if he's tried and found guilty of rape? Does the organization consist only of him? I realize that he is the director and founder and editor-in-chief, but is he completely irreplaceable? Is he completely above the law? What if he was brought up on murder charges? Pedophilia? What is the line?

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The Hypocrisy of the Right, Again: That Old Chestnut by Alex Snider

Hustler is disgusting. Larry Flynt is vile. This picture that was photoshopped of SE Cupp, the conservative commentator, is horrible and reprehensible. Sexualizing and dehumanizing a woman no matter what her views, is wrong. Full stop. I'm especially repulsed by the stunt because the accompanying text is chastising Cupp for her anti-choice, anti-Planned Parenthood stance. Seriously, photoshopping a dick into a woman's mouth in defence of feminist ideals, in defence of my rights is as big of a fuck you to women as any of the filth that Cupp spills on a daily basis.

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And Another Reason to Love Stephen King Posted by Alex Snider

Stephen King: weaver of nightmares, emphatic teller of truth, has won my heart again. His  recent post at The Daily Beast, in which he skewers the (ridiculous) arguments against taxing rich folk is full of scorn, snark and the word "fuck" in its many forms. An excerpt:  

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An Open Letter to Cyclists by Alex Snider

My Fellow Cyclists,

It's that time of year again when we will once again be riding our evil, law-flouting, rage-inducing machines en masse, tearing up the pavement to the horror of small children, the elderly and hapless motorists. Before you ready for the season by greasing your chains with the blood of the innocent, here are a few things to remember:

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Rant of the Day: Mommy Wars by Alex Snider

Well, now this is happening:

The so-called war on women escalated Thursday onto a new front, after a Democratic strategist and cable-television pundit declared that Ann Romney, the stay-at-home, mother-of-five wife of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, had “never worked a day in her life.”

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On the War on Women by Alex Snider

This doesn't happen in a vacuum. This didn't come out of nowhere. The attack on contraception, the numerous attempts to outlaw a woman's right to govern her own choices, her own body undertaken by the American government and individual States is not a fucking surprise. 

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Don't Watch the Grammys by Alex Snider

Three years ago, Chris Brown attacked his then-girlfriend Rihanna the night before the Grammys (where they were both set to perform) putting her in the hospital and him on five years of probation for assault. Brown has since made a comeback (although it is debatable whether he ever suffered any real repercussions, certainly he has always had a lot of vocal support and has shown little public contrition) with two albums (debuting at #7 and #1) and being named Billboard's Artist of the Year in 2011. 

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Dear Lady Soccer Players, Make the Fans Respect You! by Alex Snider

I was going to write about Shania Twain's Party For Two today (seriously) but that's going to have to wait because instead I came across this infuriating article in the Toronto Star, Finally we find the hate in the women's game. Cathal Kelly writes about the Women's World Cup game between Brazil and America and what I gather was a rather intense game stirring many emotions from the crowd. Kelly sees that as a step in the right direction for women's soccer, a step towards being taken as seriously as the men.

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The 100 Bestest Ever Male Characters In Movies Ever by Alex Snider

Orson says relax

Total Film recently released the top 100 greatest female character list or as I think it should be called, "Dude, it's so awesome when chicks I want to bang kill people!" and it inspired me to come up with my list of the 100 greatest male characters which, like the sacrificial virgins to a volcano, shall be released every full moon in installments of ten.

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Say "No" to Rape Apologists Posted by Rebekah Hakkenberg

If the recent reckless statements made by a Toronto Police Officer at 31 Division has you just as upset as we are, then please consider taking the time to send a letter or an email to the following people, demanding more than just a slap on the wrist for the officer in question. Feel free to copy and paste!

This letter should be addressed to

Constable Wendy Drummond, Toronto Police Service spokesperson

wendy.drummond@torontopolice.on.ca

Director of Communications, Toronto Police Service

mark.pugash@torontopolice.on.ca

Chief of Police, Toronto Police Service

william.blair@torontopolice.on.ca

Office of the independent Police Review Unit

OIPRD@ontario.ca

professionalstandards@torontopolice.on.ca

Mario Sergio, MPP York West,

PA to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services

msergio.mpp@liberal.ola.org

Fiona Crean, Toronto Ombudsman

ombuds@toronto.ca

Every 17 minutes, a woman in Canada is raped.  This letter is meant to address the conduct of a Toronto police officer from 31 Division during a talk at Osgoode Hall on January 24, 2011.  

We are extremely concerned that a public officer and community protector could make such abhorrent remarks suggesting sexual assault victims were responsible for dressing like “sluts.”  The remarkable public response is indicative that the public, too, find the officer’s behaviour disgusting.  As an ambassador of the Toronto Police Service, his words have discredited the oath he took:

• To act with honesty and integrity
• To treat people with respect
• Not to abuse the extraordinary powers and authority police officers are granted
• To act in a manner that does not discredit or undermine public confidence in the police service.

These statements made to a selective audience of students and staff at York University have now become of major public concern, given the officer’s publicly-funded position.

Toronto Police Service has indicated the officer will be issuing a written statement of apology to the students and staff of Osgoode Law School and will be “disciplined.”  Misogyny has no place on a police force, especially given that almost 1 in 4 women in Toronto will be the victim of sexual assault in her lifetime.  Public servants, especially those in positions of power, must be held to a higher standard of conduct and must be held accountable.

We wish to request instead that the Toronto Police Service ask for the officer’s immediate resignation.   The public has lost confidence that this officer can adequately advocate for or act to protect victims of sexual assault.  

Sincerely,

Some Things to Learn from Egypt by Alex Snider

Stephen Harper, seconds before biting off the head of that innocent kitten

I find it absolutely heartening and inspiring to watch major protests in countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Albania, Zimbabwe and Iran (and many, many, many others); countries in which protesters who challenge the status quo run the risk of jail, bodily harm, death unto themselves and their families, yet there they are: standing up for what they believe in, fighting for their right to have a say in their lives, countries and futures. (more after the jump)

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Not to Harp on About Feminism or Anything But... by Alex Snider

Have you ever had something, an idea, an opinion, a cause, anything, that was really important to you and you wanted to tell lots of people about it so they could understand you a little better? And, has that something, whatever it may be, affected your life? How about the lives of people you love? Or people that are in really horrible situations and need extra support because they're busy struggling to just survive? What about those who haven't been born yet, your future children, nieces, nephews?

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Really, Colbert? Really? by Alex Snider

Oh man, how disappointing is it when someone, in this huge world filled with jerks, you admire lets you down? Take for instance, last night on the Colbert Report, when Stephen Colbert talked about Obama endorsing the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People  (ok, horrifyingly enough, the declaration is from 2007). 

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How to Shop and Be a Decent Human Being

I've spent the last six Christmas' working in retail and I have some lil' pearls of wisdom that I'd really like to pass on. Spoiler alert! Every scenario is a true story, your fellow human beings can be real dick holes.

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Consent is Not a Grey Area by Alex Snider

The past week the feminist blogosphere has been afire with outrage (and very rightly so) over a post over at Jezebel. Basically the piece was written by this dude who has trouble wrapping his head around the fact that women in America get all worked up about their right to consent to sex. Silly boner-killing harpies! See, in Paris, where this prize-pig of a man spent a summer, ladies totes get off on being constantly harassed and molested by strange men. It's called EMPOWERMENT, bitches, if you can wrap your tiny, feminazi minds around that! American women should be waaay less uptight about being raped so that this fuckwit can get laid a little more.

Long story short, the post was rape-advocating bullshit, Jezebel was really wrong in publishing it without any sort of context and many and many blogs have had awesome take-downs. Like here, here and here. Oh, and Jezebel did run an apology that was without any actual 'sorry', thanks for that! (More after the jump)

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The Economics of Obesity

You know what has really been getting a lot of traction these days? The anti-obesity movement or as I like to call it, Fat-shaming Jerks Go Judge-y.

There are many, many problems with the so-called obesity wars and really, it's not anyone's damn business if a person is overweight or obese (yes, even in the Canada where it can be a "strain on the healthcare system", cough cough *bullshit*) outside of that person's very close loved ones. But, the issue that has really been getting my goat lately has been the judge Reinhold's who are suggesting that poor people are fat because they are:
a) stupid
b) irresponsible
c) lazy
d) too in love with teh cheezburgerz
e) all of the above

In reality, accessibility to healthy food is the number one factor in a 'poverty diet'. It is easy to eat healthy if one has access to healthy food (I really hope that statement sounds as ridiculously obvious to everyone as it does to me).

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