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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Tweets To Mordor: #RNC2012 Day One by Alex

The tweets clogging up my Twitter feed last night, documenting the Republican National Convention opening ceremony were so hilarious I was actually compelled to watch. I only caught Ann Romney and Chris Christie (and Three Doors Down ???) but, man, did they ever bum me out. I mean, they can literally say anything as long as they use the right cadence and then crowd goes wild – it doesn't even have to make sense. Like, when Christie said "You see, Mr. President – real leaders don’t follow polls. Real leaders change polls", what the hell does that mean? Is he saying that a leader should be fudging the numbers or did he literally mean that a president should be constructing fire poles? 

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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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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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Thoughts on Kony 2012 and White Saviours vs. Allies by Alex Snider

I watched the Kony 2012 video this morning and I have to say the White saviour, colonial overtones made me extremely uncomfortable. Not to mention the lack of any consultation or even reference to any of the Ugandan groups who have been actively fighting against Kony for years. Even the way Invisible Children denies granting the two (!) Ugandan politicians further identification in the video. What party are they from? What role in government do they play? Why was there no mention of the president? Or of any other adult Ugandans? Why weren't Ugandans given the opportunity to speak for themselves? Why were they instead treated as props for the self-aggrandizing filmmaker and his friends? Merely showing images of nameless mutilated children, flashing them before the audience's eyes reduces and erases the children's humanity. This type of stomach-turning pity-porn is no way to bring attention to a cause. This is no way to treat those you wish to help. 

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Voter Suppression and the Harper Government: What Kind of Canada Do You Want by Alex Snider

I want you to think about Bill C-30, the internet surveillance bill that will grant government agencies access to Canadians' personal online activity (including emails and browser history) completely warrant-free. 

And to think about Bill C-10, the crime bill which will increase mandatory sentences, mandate prison time for non-violent and minor offences and require new prisons.

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Must Read: Rob Ford's War on Facts Posted by Rebekah Hakkenberg

I just couldn't stand to look at another picture of our less than
photogenic mayor.  So how about a picturesque view of the
fjords of Norway, instead? Much better, I think.

There is a riveting piece over on our companion blog, The Little Red Umbrella by Adam Bunch, on Rob Ford and the alarming trend in Conservative politics to disregard the facts. You should read it. Here is an excerpt:

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And Continuing My Saucy Post Titles: Fuck You, Rob Ford by Alex Snider

Fuck you, Rob Ford for getting your TTC board goons to fire Gary Webster because he didn't put “forward positions consistent with the position being proposed by the mayor". 

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Seriously, the Tar Sands and the Northern Gateway Pipeline are Bad News by Alex Snider

The boreal forest, also known as Taiga, covers 60% of Canada stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Southern Ontario to the Arctic (and majority of Russia and northern  Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and  Japan as well as most of Northern Europe) and is the world's largest terrestrial biome. More so than even the tropical rain forests, the Taiga is the earth's greatest carbon sink meaning that the forests sequester 22% of the carbon stored on the planet's surface. This means approximately 186 billion tonnes of carbon or 27 years worth of the emissions we burned in 2003 are held in the Boreal forests, wetlands and muskeg. Obviously, if carbon emissions are held in the Taiga, they are prevented from entering the atmosphere. Basically, Boreal forests are our best friends.

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Rob Ford Gives Voters Money Just 'Cuz by Alex Snider

This entire Sun article is a mess, brimming with all the preteen adulation, awkwardness and boners of a Tigerbeat profile but with Justin Beiber crossed out and replaced with Rob Ford.

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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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Rob Ford: Council's Meeting on Transit "Irrelevant" by Alex Snider

Awesome day for Toronto, crappy day for Rob Ford and a great day for those of us who love it when politicians say stupid things on camera. 

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"Bring on the Steamed Croutons" Posted by Alex Snider

BLR (BadLipReading) masterfully dubs inanities over random political speeches and music videos to create hilarious, nonsensical YouTube videos. Most notably the GOP 2012 candidates. The hardest part must be coming up with shit that's even more ridiculous than what the candidates have actually said.

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John Duncan is The Worst by Alex Snider

Current Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has a nasty habit of saying things that serve only to highlight just how uneducated and under qualified he is for his post. At this point it's hard to tell if he's just maliciously trying to shit all over Aboriginal communities and people or if he's just really fucking stupid. 

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"We Have to Address That the Basic Rights of These Community Members are Being Denied" by Alex Snider

"The greatest resource that we have in the North is not the oil sands, it's not the diamond mines, it's not the copper mines, it's the children who come from these reserves." Holy smokes. This. 

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Save the Port Lands by Alex Snider

Wow, Rob Ford and his cronies have been keeping us on our toes, huh? Grassroots activism geared towards saving libraries, the Riverdale farm, subsidized housing and bike lanes (to name a few). All nighters at City Hall where citizens had the chance of voicing their opinions about all the proposed cuts. Nearly every weekend offering an opportunity to get out and protest the blatant disregard and disrespect for democracy which our mayor has displayed over and over again, to call out the political thuggery that has taken hold of city council.

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A Headline is Worth a Thousand Words by Alex Snider

You can really tell a lot from each of these paper's headlines regarding Harper's recent Islamicism-is-killing-Canada fear-mongering interview and where they stand in the political spectrum/allegiances (not that there are any surprises to be had).

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Good Bye, Jack, Thanks For Everything by Alex Snider

Oh wow, sad news this morning: Jack Layton, leader of the Canadian New Democratic Party (the historically third tier lefty party that brought us such things as Universal Heath Care) succumbed to cancer this morning, only just two and a half months after an incredible, underdog (like, Mighty Ducks underdog) win over the Liberal party for the official opposition against the Conservative party and the lead cyborg, Stephen Harper. I cannot stress enough how amazing it was that the NDP, under Jack, and really, because of Jack given his integrity as a leader and a human being -- wow, this is such a staggering loss for Canada -- leapt from fourth place to second Federally, when few thought it possible. 

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