| Looking for a ride to Montreal! |
[28 Jun 2009|05:44pm] |
Myself and my partner are looking for a ride to Montreal from Ottawa Tuesday morning (june 30th). We're both easy-going, respectful people and are happy to pay (reasonably) for gas costs. We could also potentially leave monday night after 9pm.
Email is miraistar@gmail.com
phone is 613-797-5422.
Thanks!
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| Montreal! |
[14 May 2009|08:49pm] |
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I'm taking my friend to Montreal to see peaches on the 18th and we're looking to go up sunday and stay til tuesday morning.
Does anyone know anyone in montreal who could put us up for a night or two? We'll be clean and quiet.
I'm also looking for a rideshare up to montreal and possibly back, we'd split the cost of gas!
My email address is miraistar@gmail.com
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| More Burlesque! |
[29 Apr 2009|01:02pm] |
Hey Everyone!
I'm hoping some of you will come out tomorrow night (thursday the 30th) to check out the burlesque, short films, live music, art, and crafts at babylon for the indie night, ravenswing's annual DIY fair fundraiser!
Your's truly will be takin' it off on the stage so come and see!
<3
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| One Night Stand |
[04 Mar 2009|07:50pm] |
This Saturday, March 7th at 9pm the doors to 'One Night Stand', a night of music, burlesque, art, crafts, and live tattoos, open!
It should be a fun, beautiful, diverse, and sexy evening- please come out and support your local artists. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door, and yours truly will be singing, dancing, stripping, acting beligerently, and being tattood. Come see my home-made pasties ;)
You can get Tickets at any Classixxx location, both Compact Music stores (there's one in the glebe), Endhits on rideau, and Pirate City Tattoos by baseline station.
See you all there!
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[11 Feb 2009|03:17pm] |
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Does anyone know anyone who is driving to halifax from ottawa in march and may have space for two people who wouldn't split the cost of gas?
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| Wimmin's Events in Ottawa |
[17 Sep 2008|05:47pm] |
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BUSYBUSYBUSY
Take Back the Night will be over soon and I will have a lot more time on my hands! Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in helping out with this event at all.
Then soon after Take Back the Night will be... CLITICAL MASS! So excited. A Wimmin's only Critical Mass to reclaim the bike paths and to honour all of the wimmin and grrls who have been raped, killed, assaulted, abducted, etc... on bike paths. Again, if you are interested or know anyone who would be, to help organize this event, let me know! Contact me or give anyone the email address miraistar@gmail.com
Sisterhood Watch is pickin' up steam too- weehoooo!
excitement, stress, exhaustion, happiness, and fall romance.. *twinkle twinkle*
To all who bring negativity and drama to my life, I am very happy to say GOOD RIDDANCE!
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[31 Aug 2008|12:45pm] |
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Two mornings of breakfast surprises: vegan pancakes, then vegan french toast. And 3 mornings of waking up to more and more riot grrl on the computer, now a huge collection (I lost a lot of my CDs). I love my boyfriend :)
Best surprises EVER.
Food, music and lovin'. What could be better?
Take Back the Night is coming along nicely. It's taking up a lot of my time but it's worth it.
Pride took off pretty well. It forced us to get our asses in gear and now sisterhood watch has pamphlets and a banner. We're trying to decide whether to work on getting enough material for a table at take back the night, or to get the next self-defense workshop ready. Tough decision...
I've been getting into making tee-shirts again. Fun stuff, maded my first two riot grrl shirts the other day and I must say, I'm quite proud. It's nice to feel like I'm finally finding a balance within myself.
Because of all the work I've been doing with sisterhood watch and take back the night, I've come to the conclusion that we REALLY need a riot grrl night in Ottawa. Take Back the Night always has too many volunteers for speakers and performers for their rally and infofair... We need a space for wimmin to come and speak about injustices and actions, to come and perform with their bands, to dance, sing, recite poetry, display their art, to celebrate themselves and their sisters. On nights when we didn't have performers and/or speakers, we could spin some riot grrl, or other grrl-positive music and have a safe space to dance and chill out with allies.
Who wants to help me organize this? I'm sure the rest of sisterhood watch will be down..but we need as many people as possible, I think :)
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| fuck |
[27 Aug 2008|08:01am] |
Afghan President Pardons Men Convicted of Gang Rape
By Kate Clark, Independent UK
Posted on August 24, 2008, Printed on August 25, 2008
http://www. alternet. org/story/96208/
Kabul -- The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has pardoned three men who had been found guilty of gang raping a woman in the northern province of Samangan.
The woman, Sara, and her family found out about the pardon only when they saw the rapists back in their village.
"Everyone was shocked," said Sara's husband, Dilawar, who like many Afghans uses only one name. "These were men who had been sentenced and found guilty by the Supreme Court, walking around freely.
"
Sara's case highlights concerns about the close relationship between the Afghan president and men accused of war crimes and human rights abuses.
The men were freed discreetly but the rape itself was public and brutal. It took place in September 2005, in the run up to Afghanistan's first democratic parliamentary elections.
The most powerful local commander, Mawlawi Islam, was running for office despite being accused of scores of murders committed while he had been a mujahedeen commander in the 1980s and a Taliban governor in the 1990s, and since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Sara said one of his sub-commanders and body guards had been looking for young men to help in the election campaign.
"It was evening, around the time for the last prayer, when armed men came and took my son, Islamuddin, by force. I have eyewitness statements from nine people that he was there. From that night until now, my son has never been seen.
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Dilawar said his wife publicly harangued the commander twice about their missing son. After the second time, he said, they came for her. "The commander and three of his fighters came and took my wife out of our home and took her to their house about 200 meters away and, in front of these witnesses, raped her.
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Dilawar has a sheaf of legal papers, including a doctors' report, which said she had a 17mm wound in her private parts cut with a bayonet. Sara was left to stumble home, bleeding and without her trousers.
When I met the couple in May 2006, they were in hiding and struggling to pursue the four men through the courts, petitioning the parliament, the president, human rights organizations and the United Nations. Sara and Dilawar say that one of the men involved in the attack used money and connections to repeatedly evade justice, particularly after his boss, Mawlawi Islam, became an MP and, they allege, was fully able to protect him.
In January 2007, Mawlawi Islam was assassinated. However, the other three men accused of the gang rape were put on trial, found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Abdul Basir died in jail. The other two rapists, Nur Mohammad and Kheir Mohammad, were released last May. The commander was found not guilty.
A copy of the pardon was numbered, dated in May and appeared to bear the personal signature of Hamid Karzai. It recommended the men's release because, it said, "they had been forced to confess to their crimes.
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When showed copies of the presidential pardon and court papers, President Karzai's spokesman, Hamayun Hamidzada, was visibly shocked and said that if the documents proved genuine, Mr. Karzai would be "upset and appalled.
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He said it was impossible that President Karzai could knowingly have signed a pardon for rapists, but refused to speculate on how the pardon could have come about. He promised an investigation into all aspects of the case, including the -- as yet unsolved -- mystery of Sara's missing son.
He denied that there was one law for the rich and well-connected in Afghanistan and another for people like Sara. "There are difficulties -- we're rebuilding institutions, including our justice institutions and there are shortcomings, but the president and the government are committed to the rule of law on all equally.
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A UN human rights official said that, although she could not remember a similar case of the president giving a pardon in such a serious case, corruption in the police and courts was endemic.
The MP, Mir Ahmad Joyenda, said cases similar to Sara's were actually becoming more common. The police and the courts, he said, were usually under the sway of local commanders. "The commanders, the war criminals, still have armed groups," he said. "They're in the government. Karzai, the Americans, the British sit down with them. They have impunity. They've become very courageous and can do whatever crimes they like.
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Sara and Dilawar are again in hiding, having felt too vulnerable to stay in their village. Dilawar was prepared to discuss the case.
In Afghanistan, speaking about rape means risking further dishonor, but when asked whether he minded Sara's story being publicized, Dilawar said, "We've already lost our son, our honor, we've sold our land to pay for legal costs and we've lost our home -- what else can we lose?"
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| exciting! |
[26 Aug 2008|10:01pm] |
Tories abandon 'unborn victims' bill
BRODIE FENLON, Globe and Mail Update, August 25, 2008 at 4:23 PM EDT
The Harper government cut loose a contentious private member's bill that would have made it a crime to take the life of a fetus just as election speculation hits fever pitch.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced Monday that the government will draft a new bill to replace Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, so that it closes the debate about fetal rights and focuses instead on penalizing criminals who harm pregnant women.
The act, which was introduced last year by Tory MP Ken Epp of Edmonton and passed second reading in the spring, would make it a separate offence for killing an unborn child when a pregnant woman is slain.
Pro-abortion advocates have denounced it for giving the fetus some human rights. Last week, the Canadian Medical Association voted to oppose the bill, and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion spoke out against it, challenging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to clarify his own views on abortion.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson at a news conference Monday in Ottawa.
"We've heard criticism from across the country, including representatives of the medical community, that Mr. Epp's bill as presently drafted could be interpreted as instilling fetal rights. Let me be clear. Our government will not reopen the debate on abortion," Mr. Nicholson said.
"For this reason ... I'm announcing that the government will introduce legislation that will punish criminals who commit violence against pregnant women but do so in a way that leaves no room for the introduction of fetal rights."
A free vote in March on Mr. Epp's bill passed in the Commons 147 to 132. Mr. Harper voted in favour, as did more than 25 Liberals. Mr. Dion was absent. Four Conservatives, including cabinet ministers Lawrence Cannon, Gordon O'Connor and Josée Verner, voted against the bill.
Mr. Nicholson said the new bill will expand the list of aggravating factors to be considered by a sentencing judge to include the fact of a women's pregnancy. Other aggravating factors currently on the books include spousal abuse, violence against people under 18, and if the crime is motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or other similar factor.
But with an election looming amid Mr. Harper's complaints that Parliament is dysfunctional, it's unclear if the new bill will ever seen the light of day.
Asked by reporters if the bill is "political window dressing" on the eve of an election, Mr. Nicholson said that Mr. Dion has held the government under threat of an election for the last two years.
"Notwithstanding that, we have continued to move forward on our legislative agenda because tackling violent crime and fighting crime in this country is not just something that gets done when an election may be called or during an election," he said.
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| Take Back the Night Volunteers! |
[31 Jul 2008|11:00am] |
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Come out and help with the Heart Campaign to assist with outreach for Take Back the Night 2008.
We'll be making as many red cardboard hearts as we possibly can with slogans about take back the night and putting them up all over the city!
Yaaay, arts and crafts!
For those boys and men who wanted to help out with Take Back the Night, now's your chance! This event will be open to anyone and everyone who is respecftul and would like to help out. Materials will be provided, but feel free to bring any extra cardboard, paintbrushes, sharpies, etc.. that you have kicking around!
Date:
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Time:
10:00am - 3:00pm
Location:
Women's Resource Centre, University Centre at University of Ottawa 2nd floor room 220
City/Town:
Ottawa, ON
Contact me with any questions!
I also need volunteers to help with the event itself.
Here is a list! Please let me know ASAP if you'd like to get involved!
-Help with publicity (send out email/fax media release English and French)
-Calling local businesses - for placement and collection of donation tins
-Volunteers to do public handouts during march to people on sidewalks;
- Identify volunteers to be TBTN banner carriers
Identify volunteers to be cheerleaders and chant leaders-
-Person to staff the WEN table to provide info during the event
-Create indoor signs for (bathroom, donations requested, …) WEN and City Hall
-Volunteers to continue outreach to other women groups
-Volunteers with transportation to help pick up and distribute food and refreshments-
- Volunteer to be event photographer-
-Volunteer to book counsellors-
-Volunteers to do downtown and city-wide Postering- !! Huge Need!
-Volunteers to hand out brochures, at the rally;
-Volunteers needed to circulate in crowd to collect donations during the rally and at the info fair;
-Volunteers needed to assist with set up needs and clean up at city Hall;
-Volunteers needed to be runners, job description (Last Minute Accommodation Specialists)
~Francesca
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| Apache Boy Banned from School because of Long Hair |
[20 Jul 2008|01:44pm] |
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HOUSTON -- A Houston-area school board will decide if a boy's long hair should keep him from attending school after a superintendent denied the request, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.
The Needville Independent School District said 5-year-old Adriel Arocha's long locks violate school rules.
Adriel's parents said long hair is a sacred tradition in their Native American culture.
Kenny Arocha, Adriel's father, said long hair is a religious symbol for the Apache tribe that should only be cut at the time of a life-changing event.
"It's part of who we are. It's part of what we believe in. It's part of what makes us Native American," he said. "To strip our hair would be to strip our spirit, which is far beyond stripping any religion.
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Adriel said he knows that his long hair, which is often kept in braids, is about more than style.
"It tells me how long I've been here," he said.
But Needville ISD officials said a dress code guideline would require Adriel to cut his hair before he can enroll in kindergarten.
Needville superintendent Curtis Rhodes decided in June that the district would not make an exception in the case.
But Kenny Arocha plans to appeal the ruling before the school board on Wednesday.
"You have policies and procedures. Every district has them -- various variations, and to make exceptions, you have to be provided evidence of something, and to this point, I don't feel I've been provided evidence to make an exception," Rhodes said.
Arocha said he provided a DNA test to prove that he is Native American. But he said there is not much else he can do to plead his case.
"They want it in text somewhere, and unfortunately, there is none. All of our traditions were passed down orally, and it's really hard to provide them with something that doesn't exist," Arocha said.
The Arocha family lives in Stafford, but their home in Needville should be completed by next week.
They said they hope their son will be able to enter school with his hair and his beliefs in tact.
"We chose to make that our community and I just honestly hoped for more. I hoped for more tolerance, more understanding," Kenny Arocha said.
"If we have information provided to us that requires an exception be made, we're going to make that exception," Rhodes said.
School officials said that this is the first time anyone has challenged the dress code on the basis of religion.
The school board meeting will take place Wednesday at 7 p.m.
http://www. click2houston. com/news/16892676/detail. html
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| Profile of a rapist, stalker, abuser. |
[17 Jul 2008|10:04pm] |
In attempting to warn women against the danger, many rape crisis centers proclaim "all men are potential rapists.
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What a horrible way to live.
Who wants to go through life in fear of one half of the human race? Much less believe this about those we love and are intimate with. The idea behind any learning should be to improve the quality of life, not degrade it. To this end, let’s leave the wild paranoia of ‘possible’ rape scenarios and move onto the more solid footing of ‘probable’ and 'very likely' - and what you can do about it.
Someone rightly said, "Dishonest people are seldom dishonest in only one aspect of their lives." In the same vein, the predilections that can, and do, lead to rape are not isolated. They tend to permeate a person's character and be regularly displayed in many small ways and in other areas. These attitudes, behaviors and words are consistent among rapists and those who attack others. And IF you are willing to look, they are easy to spot.
The reason it is impossible to predict who will and won't sexually assault someone is because how these behaviors manifest is a matter of style and preference. One person might choose to be blatant and habitually physically attack others, while another might be more subtle but verbally attack others on a regular basis. The motives are the same, but the style is utterly different. And that is why it is hard to predict who will and won't use sexual assault.
What we can accurately predict is something bad will arise out of these character traits, the When, Where and How are impossible to predetermine.
If you see these behaviors in a person, take care. The more you see, the more care should be taken not to be alone him. Even if he doesn’t rape, these behaviors indicate serious character flaws.
Danger signs
1) Insensitivity for others/emphasis on self - Does this person put his wants above the needs, feelings or well being of others? Is getting his way more important to him than other people's welfare? Often this can go beyond mere selfishness and border nearly on an "assumed divine right." Often these people will justify a particularly vicious action with a flip comment like, "Hey, that's how the game is played." Such a person has no understanding that he must co-exist with others. Because he simply exists he thinks the world "owes" him whatever he wants. A common tactic of such a person it to make you feel bad for not doing what he wants.
2) Belittling behavior or attitudes towards others - Does this person habitually make nasty, belittling or degrading comments about others – especially under the guise of joking? Does this person think he is better than others? Does he look down on others? A nouveau riche aristocrat? Is he a racist? A person who thinks that race or social position makes him superior can also assume gender does too. When you think you are superior, an assumed right to ‘take’ what you want often follows.
3) Negating behavior or comments - Closely related to 1 and 2. Does he try to tell you what you are feeling or thinking? Or worse, tell you what you are not? Comments like "you don’t really mean that" are serious indicators of someone trying to negate you. A person who negates others is trying to take away the other person’s thoughts, feelings and needs and attempting to project his wants onto that person. The most obvious example of this is "Well even though she said ‘no’, she really meant ‘yes’".
4) Hostile and/or threatening language - What words does a person use? Choice of words convey subconscious assumptions about a particular topic. For example a man who generically refers to women as "bitches" does not have good assumptions about females (or much respect). It is all too easy to dismiss this behavior as just "blowing off steam." But if it is a constant behavior, it goes far beyond that. Someone who habitually uses violent or threatening language should be carefully watched for possible escalation. It’s on his mind already. It’s a uncomfortably short step from ‘thinking about’ to ‘doing’.
5) Bullying - This behavior is especially dangerous. Does this person use overt or subtle threats to get his way? A bully uses the threat of violence more than actual violence. Most often bullies are not willing to risk conflict with someone who can hurt them (an alpha male), and will instead chose to intimidate someone he considers weaker and safer. Someone who is bullying over other matters can easily turn to bullying you regarding sex.
6) Excessive anger - How easy does this person anger? Is he a "Short Fuse"? Does he boil over at the slightest problem? This is an indication of chronic anger. A person who explodes over a minor issue is like a full pot boiling over on the stove. It’s not that the issue is all that important, but that he has so much anger already, any more causes him to explode. Often people with chronic anger look for targets to vent their anger at. This could manifest as physical fights, abuse, or rape.
7) Brooding/ revenge - Does this person hang onto his anger long after the situation is over? Will he still be stewing over something while everyone else has moved onto other things? Will he become anti-social and glare at the source of his anger from across the room? Will he insist on taking revenge for real or imagined slights? Both indicate a petty and obsessive personality. A brooder fixates on something and then works himself into a frenzy over it. A person who seeks revenge "has to win" and is willing to take it to extremes. Refusing such a person’s sexual advances can turn this tendency towards you.
8) Obsession – This is a close cousin to number seven. It is a major factor with acquaintance rapes. This is the person who won’t leave you alone. He insists on ‘hitting on you’ long after you have told him no. He is always trying establish forced intimacy (see ‘bonding process’ below). Such obsessions easily turn into anger when his advances are rejected. One day he shows up in a fringe area, drunk and attacks.
9) Extreme mood swings - Beware someone who can go from wildly happy to deeply wounded at a moment's notice. This sort of personality can feel justified to commit an unlimited amount of violence and damage, because you "hurt his feelings." This is a common pattern among those with chronic anger about life.
10) Physical tantrums - How does this person get angry? Especially when denied "getting his way". Beware of a person who regularly physically assaults his environment i.e. hitting walls, kicking things etc. It is only a short step from striking a car to attacking you.
11) Jock or gorilla mentality - This mentality promotes both acceptance and encouragement for the use of violence. It is especially common among participants of contact sports. What is most insidious about this mentality is the "jock" receives, not only positive reinforcement, but out-and-out applause for being aggressive and violent. This can easily lead to a failure to differentiate between the playing field and real life. Mike Tyson’s comment is a prime example: "Nobody ever objected before.
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12) A mean drunk - Nearly all rape and abuse cases involve alcohol. Watch what surfaces when someone is intoxicated. It shows what is always lurking underneath. Do not put yourself into a situation where you would deal with such a person while he is intoxicated. Most importantly, don't allow your facilities to be diminished by alcohol or drugs in this person's presence.
13) Alcohol or drug abuse - To begin with drug and alcohol addiction can in be traced back to selfishness and a refusal to change one’s world view. Alcohol and drugs are not the cause of bad behavior, rather they are used as an excuse! Often the attacker intentionally became intoxicated to ignore the social restrictions and inhibitions regarding violence.
While there are others, these behaviors are serious indicators of a potential rapist. This short list should acquaint you with the basics. Not all men are rapists, but a person like this has a higher probability than others. You not only find these traits among rapists and abusers, but also professional criminals. Philosophically there is little difference between such, they are all selfish. Most often it is just a matter of degrees, style and choice of victims.
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| busybusybusy |
[17 Jul 2008|10:11am] |
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I've been taking on way too much these days. Space Gathering was the only real break from all of the projects I've been working on- and it was very much needed. Still trying to decide if I should go to Natura or not..
Right now, Sisterhood Watch (a direct action feminist supergroup I've recently started with some other riot grrls) has decided to march in the pride parade to raise awareness, celebrate our rad selves, and hopefully pull in some new members. If anyone is interested in marching with us and/or helping us paint a banner pleeeaaaase let me know! We'll rock that shit. Also, we need to let the committee know how many people will be marching and we have to let them know soon- so please let ME know soon!
I'm also this year's volunteer coordinator for Take Back the Night, which is beginning to be a lot of work..so again, if anyone is interested in volunteering for take back the night, let me know!! There are a lot of positions to fill and its an awesome event.
The YAG is also coming up next week..I'm taking 3 days off work so that I can facil for half of the YAG and run 2 workshops. I'm still not finished either workshop. Malorie and I were going to do a menstrual activism workshop which would have been super easy since we've been over it so many times..but of course we got carried away and we're now doing a feminist activism workshop..SO much more work! But it will be worth it. Eric and I are running a vegan cooking workshop, so that will be a lot easier and more laid back.
I'm also trying to organize the next workshop for the Womyns' self-defense collective..
too much! Why oh why do I do this to myself?
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[02 Jul 2008|08:12am] |
Conferring human rights on the foetus is an issue for public debate.
By Rachel Gouin, straigtgoods.ca, Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Between 2003 and 2005, seven anti-choice private member bills were introduced by Conservative MPs. On June 2, 2008, the Bureau du Collège des Médecins du Québec released an open letter to federal party leaders and media, expressing concern with respect to three independent member Bills being studied in parliament that would modify the criminal code and change the legal definition of a human being.
Bill C-338 — Act to amend the Criminal Code (procuring a miscarriage after twenty weeks of gestation), would criminalize abortion after 20 weeks. It defines abortion as "the death of a child before it has completely proceeded from the body of its mother."
Bill C-537 — Act to amend the Criminal Code (protection of conscience rights in the health care profession), defines human life as "the human organism at any stage of development, beginning at fertilization or creation."
Bill C-484 — Act to amend the Criminal Code (injuring or causing the death of an unborn child while committing an offence), has garnered much attention because it would also create legal precedence by conferring full human rights to foetuses. While Bill C-484 excludes the "lawful termination of pregnancy of the mother of the child to which the mother has consented," once a separate legal status is assigned to the foetus, the foundation for criminalising abortion, and any behaviour deemed harmful to the foetus, will be established.
But those promoting the Bill are missing this point, or avoiding it at all cost. Rona Ambrose, a supposedly 'progressive' Conservative MP has stated that the Bill is about crime, not abortion, and that her government is not interested in reopening the abortion debate. Let us at least be honest about what these Bills are attempting to do, or what the consequences of their adoption would be. Conservative MP Ken Epp did admit that his Bill C-484 would make it more difficult for women to defend their right to an abortion. Bill C-484 is about crime — it is about making it a crime to 'harm' a foetus. Bill C-537 is about conscience, the right to deny women their full human rights because of a personal belief that human life begins at the moment of conception (despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled otherwise). Bill C-338 is patently about an all-out attempt to re-inscribe abortion into the criminal code.
No matter what Conservative or Liberal MP s say, a quick investigation into the people putting forward and promoting these 'independent' Bills reveals anti-choice advocates and activists (Ken Epp, Conservative; Leon Benoit, Conservative; Paul Steckle, Liberal; Maurice Vellacott, Conservative; LifeCanada, Campaign Life Coalition, Western Standard Magazine). While the movement for re-criminalizing abortion crosses party lines, the fact that 70 percent of conservatives are anti-choice, means that independent bills are more likely to pass under a Conservative majority.
When women are seen as appendages to others, including the foetus they are carrying, their full humanity is denied. The Canadian Criminal Code clearly defines a human being as someone who has fully emerged, alive from a woman's body — a definition that has been upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada. In ascribing legal status to the foetus, Bills C-484, C-537, and C-338, are in conflict with this definition and as such will undermine women's established rights — including the right to terminate their pregnancies.
This insidious movement towards re-criminalization is happening without debate. The Conservatives are standing by an election promise not to reopen the issue, and the Liberals vow that they will not reopen the issue of a woman's right to decide. Considering that the three Bills will provide legal rights to foetuses, a national debate and discussion are exactly what is needed but is being swept under the carpet. If this issue is to be legislated, and if women's rights are to be undermined by creating a legal separation between them and their foetus, this is indeed an urgent issue for public debate.
These are not matters of 'conscience' but of women's equality and human rights. The rights of a woman, someone with dreams and aspirations for her future, must supersede the rights of the foetus she is carrying. Any other reality is a travesty to a woman's right to life, liberty, and security of the person, and in contravention of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canadians made this choice in 1988 and it has since been affirmed by the highest court in the land. We will defend it ferociously.
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| Sisterhood Watch Presents: A Personal Safety Workshop for Wimmin and Grrls! |
[20 Jun 2008|08:22am] |
Hey Wimmin!
Just reminding all you lovelies that we are having our first meeting/workshop this coming Monday at 6pm at Exile Infoshop:256 Bank St. Suite 200. with our special guests WISE Ottawa who are presenting A Personal Safety Workshop for Wimmin and Grrls!
Invite your friends! Mark it on your calendars! Bring your mothers, sisters, grrlfriends, nieces, grandmothers, daughters, lovers (if your lover(s) a grrl!) etc..
this group and all our events are open to all who identify as wimmin
See you all on monday! Comment or Message me with any inquiries!
<3,
~Francesca
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[04 Jun 2008|06:17pm] |
EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT!
The NDP has introduced a motion which would remove the anti-abortion/women bill C484 from the defunct Justice committee, and move it to the Status of Women committee.
The Status of Women committee would have a much higher chance of stopping the bill given the proportion of pro-choice women on it, and because it still meets, whereas the Justice committee chair has refused to hold meetings for months (Your parliament hard at work...)
Point being, if we are successful in transferring the bill from the Justice to Status of Women committee then we win!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Ok... so here is how you can make sure it gets transfered
CONTACT LIBERAL MPS!
- NDP and Bloc are on side, Torys are hopeless, Liberals are waffling on the issue. Calling each of these people takes literally 5 mins, and its the most effective way to get the job done. If you can't call due to long distance charges please feel free to email.
the targets are...
a)Anita Neville (613) 992-9475
b)Maria Minna (613) 992-2115
c)Glen Pearson (613) 992-0805
d)Yasmin Ratansi (613) 995-4988
-secondly if you are in the Ottawa area we need bodies to flood the chamber when they make the decision. If you are interested in showing up and holding them to account please join us Thursday June 5th at 10AM in Room 209 West Block. We will be meeting at the eternal flame at 9:20am if you want someone to go with.
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[13 May 2008|10:51am] |
Anti-Feminist Backlash Out in Full Force
By Katha Pollitt, The Nation
Posted on May 9, 2008, Printed on May 12, 2008
http://www. alternet. org/story/84984/
Washington University is giving Phyllis Schlafly an honorary doctorate. Let me run that by you again. Washington University, the distinguished 155-year-old seat of higher learning in St. Louis, is giving an honorary degree to Phyllis Schlafly -- archfoe of the Equal Rights Amendment, the United Nations, Darwinism and other newfangled notions, and the promoter of innumerable crackpot far-right conspiracy theories who called the Bomb "a marvelous gift that was given to our country by a wise God." Her eighty-two years haven't mellowed her one bit: last year she blamed the Virginia Tech massacre on the English department; called intellectual men "liberal slobs;" advocated banning women from traditionally male occupations like construction, firefighting and the military; and defended men's property rights over their wives' vaginas ("by getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape"). The campus is in an uproar, and no wonder. After four years of hard work, female seniors get to watch their school honor someone who thinks they should park their diplomas in the kitchen sink. Washington U might as well bring in mad misogynist Chris Matthews as commencement speaker. Oh. You mean...? No! Yes.
Tell me the backlash against feminism isn't crackling up a storm. I try to keep my eye on the big picture and the bottom line: education, employment, autonomy, power. Surely, I tell myself, the fact that half of all new med students are female is more important than Paris Hilton's omnipresent visage; that a woman has made the first viable run for the presidency says more about the United States than that media clowns like Matthews basically call her a crazy castrating bitch on a daily basis; or that Caitlin Flanagan, smarmy enemy of working mothers (and another big believer in compulsory sex for wives), won a National Magazine Award for reviews and criticism.
But sometimes I think we're truly going backward, as Republican hegemony, conservative Christianity and anti-feminist media propaganda take their cumulative toll. All those judges, all that money, all that shock jockery, all those magazines obsessively following stars' weight and baby bumps: it would be strange if they had no effect. As far as concrete setbacks go, look no further than the case of Lilly Ledbetter, whose right to sue for pay discrimination was denied by the Supreme Court last May. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Justices overturned the standard interpretation of existing law to declare that Ledbetter was twenty years too late: the victim of pay discrimination must sue within six months of the initial discriminatory act -- never mind whether she knew about it (many employers, including Ledbetter's, forbid workers from discussing their salaries; she found out she was paid less than any man at her level from an anonymous tip). Given the realities of life, the Court has given employers the nod to pay women less, as long as they can keep the women in the dark for 180 days. In April a bill to restore women's right to sue failed in the Senate, 56-to-42, because for some reason everything now needs sixty votes to become law. John McCain said the bill would lead to too many lawsuits (hello? all it would have done was restore the law we'd lived with for forty-four years); what women needed was more "education and training." Because right now, women are just too dumb to merit equal pay. As Dahlia Lithwick wrote in a coruscating piece in Slate, if women take this sitting down, maybe they really are dumb.
The suspicion that women are dim would explain why Oklahoma has just passed a law requiring not only that women seeking abortions be forced to view sonograms of their fetuses but that the picture be taken in the way most likely to reveal the clearest picture--often up their vaginas. In other antichoice news, an abortion ban will be on the ballot again in South Dakota, this time with narrow exceptions for rape and incest. And mark June 7 on your calendar -- it's Protest the Pill day, brought to you by the American Life League and other antichoice groups, which claim, despite the evidence, that "the Pill kills babies" by preventing implantation of fertilized eggs. Maybe it's good that the antichoice movement is outing itself as opposed to contraception, as prochoicers have long maintained and not many pundits have noted -- but it also shows that they believe they can come out of the closet and not be dismissed as lunatics. Look for more struggles over government birth-control funding -- already way down, thanks to budget cuts and inflation--as the antichoicers move the goal posts of how "life" is defined.
Yes, women are still making gains in education and -- slowly -- in politics and other areas. But longstanding feminist gains are eroding: battered women's shelters, for example, are closing for lack of funds. And the advances haven't made the difference once hoped for. There are more powerful female Hollywood executives than ever, but as Manohla Dargis pointed out in a splendid rant (her word) in York Times, the movies are relentlessly male-focused: the conventional Hollywood wisdom is "Women can't direct. Women can't open movies. Women are a niche." Culturally, there's misogyny wherever you look: Grand Theft Auto IV, which offers players the opportunity to have sex with prostitutes and kill them, got rave reviews and is expected to have $500 million in sales its first week out. If there's a pro-woman cultural event with that kind of reach and impact, I'd like to hear about it. It certainly wouldn't be Vanity Fair's photo of tween icon Miley Cyrus, clad in nothing but a bedsheet at all of 15 years old -- or the daily media onslaught urging women to focus on their babies like a Zen master contemplating a rock -- when not taking pole-dancing lessons, getting Botoxed or catching up on the latest "studies" purporting to prove that they lack the drive and brains to do anything better with their brief time on earth.
Feminism, please call home!
Katha Pollitt is a columnist for The Nation.
© 2008 The Nation All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www. alternet. org/story/84984/
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| Fight for our right to reproductive freedom! |
[05 May 2008|08:14am] |
Hey Everyone,
for those of you who oppose bill C-484, the government's underhanded attack on our reproductive rights, but couldn't make it to the protest this saturday- let me know if you can meet up with me somewhere and sign the official petition against passing this dangerous bill. We need as many signatures as possible, it's disgusting and frightening to see this even come up for questioning- especially in 2008 in Canada!
If you can sign the petition (please do!) or even if you want more information on the bill and/or why we should not let it through, just leave me a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP.
Thank you,
~Francesca
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| 'honour' killings |
[28 Apr 2008|08:15am] |
Her crime was to fall in love.
She paid with her life
When 17-year old Rand Abdel-Qader met a British soldier in Basra, she dreamt of romance. But five months later she was murdered in a savage attack by her father. But there will be no trial: this was an 'honour killing'.
Investigation by Afif Sarhan in Basra, Mark Townsend and Caroline Davies
* Afif Sarhan in Basra, Mark Townsend and Caroline Davies
* The Observer,
* Sunday April 27 2008
* Article history
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday April 27 2008 on p8 of the News section. It was last updated at 00:00 on April 27 2008.
Rand Abdel-Qader, 17, told her closest friend that she was in love from the moment she set eyes on the young British soldier working alongside her in Basra, and she dreamed of a future with him.
It was an innocent infatuation but five months after Rand, a student of English at Basra University, met Paul, a 22-year-old soldier posted to southern Iraq, she was dead. She was stamped on, suffocated and stabbed by her father. Several brutal knife wounds punctured her slender, bruised body - from her face to her feet. He had done it, he proclaimed to the neighbours who soon gathered round, to 'cleanse his honour'.
And as Rand was put into the ground, without ceremony, her uncles spat on her covered corpse because she had brought shame on the family. Her crime was the worst they could possibly imagine - she had fallen in love with a British soldier and dared to talk to him in public.
Rand was murdered last month. That the relationship was innocent was no defence. She had been seen conversing intimately with Paul. It was enough to condemn her, because he was British, a Christian, 'the invader', and the enemy. The two met while he was helping to deliver relief aid to displaced families in the city and she was working as a volunteer. They continued to meet through their relief work in the following months.
Rand last saw Paul in January, two months before her death. It was only on 16 March that her father, Abdel-Qader Ali, learned of their friendship. He was told by a friend, who worked closely with police, that Rand had been seen with Paul at one of the places they both worked as volunteers. Enraged, he headed straight home to demand an explanation from his daughter.
'When he entered the house, his eyes were bloodshot and he was trembling,' said Rand's mother, Leila Hussein, tears streaming down her face as she recalled her daughter's murder. 'I got worried and tried to speak to him but he headed straight for our daughter's room and he started to yell at her.
'
'He asked if it was true that she was having an affair with a British soldier. She started to cry. She was nervous and desperate. He got hold of her hair and started thumping her again and again.
'I screamed and called out for her two brothers so they could get their father away from her. But when he told them the reason, instead of saving her they helped him end her life,' she said.
She said Ali used his feet to press down hard on his own daughter's throat until she was suffocated. Then he called for a knife and began to cut at her body. All the time he was calling out that his honour was being cleansed.
'I just couldn't stand it. I fainted.' recalled Leila. 'I woke up in a blur later with dozens of neighbours at home and the local police.
'
According to Leila, her husband was initially arrested. 'But he was released two hours later because it was an "honour killing". And, unfortunately, that is something to be proud of for any Iraqi man.
'
At the police station where the father was held Sergeant Ali Jabbar told The Observer last week: 'Not much can be done when we have an "honour killing" case. You are in a Muslim society and women should live under religious laws.
'The father has very good contacts inside the Basra government and it wasn't hard for him to be released and what he did to be forgotten. Sorry but I cannot say more about the case.
'
Rand, considered impure, was given only a simple burial. To show their repugnance at her alleged crime, her family cancelled the traditional mourner ceremony.
Two weeks after the murder, Leila left Ali. She could no longer bear to live under the same roof as her daughter's killer and asked for a divorce. 'I was beaten and had my arm broken by him,' she said. 'No man can accept being left by a woman in Iraq. But I would prefer to be killed than sleep in the same bed with a man who was able to do what he did to his own daughter, who, over the years, had only given him unconditional love.
'
Now she works for a women's organisation campaigning against honour killings.
'I just want to try to stop other girls having the same fate as my beloved Rand,' said Leila who is forced to move regularly from friend to friend
A colleague of Leila's said: 'We prefer to change places each two weeks to prevent targeting. She has been threatened again by her husband's family and is very scared.
'
Throughout her friendship with Paul, Rand confided in only one person, her best friend Zeinab, 19. 'She used to say that her charity work had more than one meaning now. From the first time she saw him, she was helping needy families but also that Paul was helping her. With just a simple, caring smile, he was able to give her the sense of love, making her forget all about the hard and depressing life in Iraq,' said Zeinab.
The two teenagers had spent hours talking about him,' she said. 'She loved to speak about his blond hair, his honey eyes, his white skin and the sweet way he had of speaking.
'He was very different from the local men who usually are tough and illiterate. I was in heaven when she was speaking about him. Everything looked so beautiful.
'But, I always had to remind Rand that she was a Muslim and her family was never going to accept her marrying a Christian, British soldier'.
'Unfortunately she never wanted to hear me. Her mind was very far from reality, but closer to an impossible dream.
'
Paul gave Rand gifts. She kept them - and him - secret from her family and asked Zeinab to take care of these small tokens of his affection for her. He gave her a charming cuddly animal. 'She couldn't take it home so she asked me to keep it for her,' said Zeinab. 'It's hard to look at it every day,' she said.
Rand told Zeinab she and Paul had met only four times, though Zeinab doubts this. Their meetings were always in public and through the voluntary work that Paul carried out as part of his regiment's peacekeeping duties.
Rand had an excellent command of English and spoke it fluently and that, said Zeinab, allowed them to communicate freely without others around understanding what they were saying. 'She was the only one who could speak English and it made it easier for her to get closer "through words" to him,' she said.
Soon Rand began giving different and elaborate excuses to her family to enable her to continue her voluntary work. She persuaded her father that her work was vital in helping families. And she began paying daily visits to displacement camps, local aid agencies and hospitals in the hope of bumping into Paul.
'He used to tell her all about England. She told me his father had died from a disease and that it was a really sad story,' said Zeinab.
'She liked to speak about how couples could live together in his country. He told her that flowers could be found on every corner and he promised to take her one day to buy some in the streets of London. She was a fan of London and he told her about all the tourists attractions there.
'
'But the thing she used to like talking about best was how he praised her beauty and her intelligence. She told me he called her "princess".
'
Despite knowing how dangerous the consequences of her actions could be, and the punishment she faced if caught, her passion for Paul grew stronger, said Zeinab. 'She never did anything more than talk to him. She was proud to be a virgin and had a dream to give herself to the man she loved only after her marriage. But she was seen as an animal,' said Zeinab.
'What they did to her was ugly and pathetic. Rand was just a young girl with romantic dreams. She always kept her religion close to her heart. She would never even hurt a petal on a rose.
'
Last year 133 women were killed in Basra - 47 of them for so-called 'honour killings', according to the Basra Security Committee. Out of those 47 cases there have been only three convictions for murder.
Since January this year, 36 women have been killed.
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