Ontario’s Health and Physical Education Curriculum

Hello my 2 or 3 followers. How have you been? Here is my upteenth atempt and upping my follower count to at least 5.

So there has been a lot of noise lately about the newly introduced Health and Physical Education in the province of Ontario. I had ignored it up till today. Considering that my daughter will be directly impacted, I thought let me look into this issue.

My main concern is the reason behind the change. Why was it done?

Turns out the previous curriculum  has been in place since 1998 (elementary schools).  That’s not too recent right? Actually, it is far too old. Do you know what has happened since 1998? Digital revolution!

• Mobile phones
• Tablets
• Myspace
• Myspace died
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• On and on and on.

Man, I bet you have upgraded your car twice since 1998.

Well, turns out the government thinks so too. So our civil service did what any “civil” service would do, research the hell out of it. The research culminated in April 2010 (link) but it’s finding were quickly quashed and key sections relating to health and sex were blown away :

In April 2010, after misinformation was used to attack the Human Development and Sexual Health section of the elementary health and physical education (H&PE) curriculum, the Ministry of Education withdrew that portion of the document. A few months later, they also backed away from releasing the secondary H&PE curriculum. Ever since, teachers have been using all or part of a 15-year-old document 1998 (elementary) and 1999/2000 (secondary) to teach sexual health and all other components of the grades 9-12 H&PE curriculum which is now out-of-date and well behind the standards set in other provinces.

After much deliberation (read : political haggling) on 23-Feb-2015, the government revealed the new Health and Physical Education curriculum. The idea behind the new curriculum was to update it for “today’s child”. The key aspects of it are <Link> :

Benign so far!

Well, as it turns out, the civil service/government and scientists and public health agencies and studies from WHO and studies from UN and parents and students have produced sufficient evidence that Ontario is severely lagging in the area of sex education (Link).

Here is a quick comparison with other provinces under Sexual Diversity.

Given that all students, including those from families with same-sex parents, should see themselves reflected in what they learn at school, references to families with same-sex parents or sexual orientation and gender identity were included in expectations, examples and/or prompts at all divisions (primary, junior and intermediate). In subjects across provincial curricula, diversity, mutual understanding and empathy are encouraged and celebrated.

Ontario’s 1998 Curriculum Grade 8 : distinguish the similarities and differences between themselves and others (e.g., in terms of body size or gender)

2010 Revised Ontario Curriculum (now part of the 2015 curriculum) requires students in grade 3 to describe how visible and invisible differences make each person unique (including sexual orientation) and identify ways of showing respect for differences in others.

Notice how in the new curriculum, it is in grade 3 that students should identify the differences in sexual orientation. While in the older curriculum, this was taught in grade 8? This is astonishing. My daughter, a 12 year old, would be taught now that there are people out there with different sexual identity. A fact that she has already learnt from books/tv/talking to peers. Utter bullshit.

This is but one example. Another one that really scares me is that although teen pregnancy has dropped significantly, STIs have increased 79% in from 2001 to 2011 (link). This is really scary. So children and teens are careful not to get pregnant but are not careful enough to avoid STIs. This is a simple WTF. It was found out that kids and teens are regularly indulging in oral and anal sex as a misguided attempt at not getting pregnant. This is crazy. Thankfully, that gap will be closed by teaching the kids in grade 8 the dangers of this kind of thinking.

So why are some citizens up in arms about the new curriculum?

Their core argument boils down to : let kids be kids. But there is no mistake. This is a fight between research based curriculum and religious dogma.

The people protesting are headed by Campaign Life Coalition (a rabid anti-abortion group). And heavily helped by conservatives in the society.

I would urge you to spend 30 minutes and read this document (link) which clearly lists down what is being taught and why.

To me the idea behind the change is to bring the Physical and Health education standard upto to 21 century where kids experiment with sex no matter what the parent say. It is better to prepare them for the consequences in a classroom setting than the dinner table.

Updates to follow.

To Hate Is To Be Patriotic

<Link>

New Canadians will be required to remove veils before swearing the oath of citizenship, Jason Kenney, the minister of citizenship and immigration announced on Monday.

Mr. Kenney said he had heard concern from citizenship judges that some Muslim women wearing face-covering garments may not actually be reciting the oath when taking part in the ceremony.

“They told me last month that it’s a fairly common problem. Every week, in every region of the country, we’re dealing with situations where applicants arrive with a veil on,” Mr. Kenney said. “Frankly, I found it bizarre that the rules allowed people to take the oath with a veil on.”

In recent years, the face-covering garments worn by some Muslim women have come under increasing scrutiny, as governments and courts have wrangled over when women should be allowed to cover their faces.

Mr. Kenney, who made the announcement in Montreal, dismissed questions of religious freedom.

“When Muslim women do the Haj (pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia) they’re required not to wear a veil. They’re required to show their face,” he said. “The idea this is a religious requirement I do not accept.”

Additionally, Canadian law takes precedence over religious edict, Mr. Kenney said. He also announced measures to boost language testing for new immigrants.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

So far the headline and the articles I have read are “no veils allowed during the OATH CEREMONY”. Why? After the identities have been verified, the due process of citizenship is done, why is it truly necessary for a “no veil” policy?

I have been to a citizenship ceremony. It’s a CEREMONY. Nothing really happens there except your name is called and you are handed your
citizenship certificate and you may get your photograph taken with the judge. There are usually 300 people at the ceremony. Do we need ceremony monitors to ensure all the 300 people are reciting the oath? If saying the oath is so important, may I suggest that we recite the oath individually in front of the judge? That would make far more sense. But the armchair patriots want to throw up a tantrum over the fact that some from the crowd of 300 or so are not reciting the oath hence they are not Canadians! Absolute crock!

It’s this kind of stupid jingoism by the Tories that makes me cringe.

Harper’s Latest CON Job

Here’s why I hate the Harper’s government (link coming up soon) :

The Conservatives have used their clout in the Senate stacked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to kill an NDP climate change bill that was passed by a majority of the House of Commons.

It is the first time that the unelected Conservative senators have used
their near-majority to kill a bill passed by elected politicians. The
absence of more than 15 Liberals from the Senate allowed the bill to be
defeated by a margin of 43 to 32.

Wow! So much for “Transparency” and “Accountability”.

I think the only reason he is getting away with this kind of shit is
because there is no leader to oppose him. I mean the Liberals have Iggy.
Canada’s version of Sen. Kerry. I mean his speeches are so devoid of
charisma that they are used to put babies to sleep. And Jack Layton of the
NDP? He is basically your “do as I say and not as I do” kinda guy.
Canadians need to remove Harper’s administration from power but I cannot
see anyone better taking his place.

Sad, sad day for Canada.

More (broken) Harper Promises

<Link>

“What’s becoming apparent is that the Conservative stimulus program is biased, unfair, targeted to Conservative ridings and shameless in the way it uses party logos to promote a stimulus program that ought to benefit all of Canadians,” Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said in Regina on Wednesday.

Conservative MPs have been orchestrating cheque-presentation ceremonies, in which the oversized ceremonial cheque contains the picture of the MP, the signature of the MP, Conservative Party logos or a combination of all three.

One of those MPs, Nova Scotia’s Gerald Keddy, said the $300,000 cheque he presented for an arena upgrade mistakenly contained his party’s logo and he could not explain how his signature ended up on the cheque.

“I think the member (of Parliament) in question admitted that was a mistake and should not be repeated,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday while visiting Edmonton.

“So Keddy’s not going to do it again, but what about the rest of them?” said NDP MP Peter Stoffer. Stoffer filed a complaint with the ethics commissioner this week. “It blows me away that they could be so blatant, using your tax dollars to promote themselves.”

And this is the same political party that howled incessantly on the Liberal Party sponsorship scandal. It’s one thing to try and win an election but this is blatantly politicising an infrastructure program. I hope Harper is investigated oh wait that can’t happen because of all the cronies now in place.

And this just proves why it’s so easy to detest the Harper adminsitration:

In one case, B.C. Conservative MP Colin Mayes handed over a cheque with the Conservative party logo and his own picture on it.

In Ontario, Conservative MPs Scott Reid and Larry Miller dispensed with party logos altogether, but put their own names in large print in the top left corner of ceremonial cheques they posed with, making it seem as if the cheques were drawn on their personal accounts.

“These are the tax dollars of Canadians,” said Easter. “They’re not Conservative dollars . . . just to be used for the Harper propaganda and messaging machine.”

Abdelrazik Sues Ottawa

<Link>

Abousfian Abdelrazik is suing the government – and Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon personally – for $27-million over Canada’s role in his arrest and alleged torture in Sudan and for violating his constitutional right to come home.

Mr. Abdelrazik, who spent nearly six years in prison or forced exile while his attempts to come home were thwarted, returned to Canada in June after Ottawa was ordered by a federal judge to repatriate the 47-year-old Sudanese-Canadian.

I knew it was a matter of time before Abdelrazik sued Ottawa but what’s surprising is the lawsuit includes Cannon! Good for Abdelrazik. Cannon has displayed over and over again that he is all about “CONservative compassion” – of course, he means only for the non-dark skinned folks.

I don’t know why some anglo-Canadians do not reconcile with the fact that Canada (and USA) is changing. Both these countries are now going to be different shades of colours and to stay fixated on “your own kind of folks” is small mindedness and stupid.

Having said that, this statement is also true for Canadian or other colours. I mean, we Canadians from north India are one of the most racist folks in the world!! Try having a conversation about south Indians (who are a shade darker than north Indians) amongst people from Delhi and Punjab (northern states in India). Oh boy, some of the things I have heard said are so politically incorrect that they would be down right hate speech!!

CONservative’s Hypocrisy At Display……

….and this is why we make soooooo much fun of them.

Conservatives labeled Bloc Québécois “separatists, socialists, leftist” when the Bloc was part of the coalition to bring down the conservative government, but when the Bloc supports the Conservatives, they are partners!!!

Pathetic.

Tim Hortons Playing Politics?

<Link>

Tim Hortons is scrubbing its hands of a Rhode Island event opposing same-sex marriage after an online outcry went viral yesterday.

The iconic Canadian coffee shop was listed as a sponsor for a “Marriage and Family Day” hosted by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), an organization that campaigns against gay marriage.

Tim Hortons had agreed to provide free coffee for the Aug. 16 event in Warwick, R.I., but pulled out yesterday as the news spread and complaints came flooding in.

Tim Hortons said it would no longer be a sponsor, citing a policy not to sponsor events “representing religious groups, political affiliates or lobby groups.”

Well this is really good news. I was ready to ban Timmies from my life is they had not withdrawn the sponsorship. It would have been difficult but I would have done it. And here is a statement from the organisers :

“We had no idea that we would cause an international incident by having coffee donated,” said Chris Plante, director of the Rhode Island chapter of NOM.

They had planned for 250 cups of coffee, he said.

On the brochure, the iconic “Tim Hortons” signature is printed next to the event’s intended purpose: “To take a stand for marriage as it was created to be.”

“Oooooh, it’s just coffee”. “Why would anyone be offended by having coffee served to gay hating, homophobic people?” I am glad that the TDL corporation nixed in the bud (even though they took their own time to do it).

And for all those twitter naysayers :

News of the sponsorship set off a furious stream of angry “tweets” about what appeared to be the Canadian company’s partisan involvement in a controversial political battle.

Many of the comments, which were coming at a rate of a dozen every minute, were demanding the company pull the sponsorship. But others went further, accusing the company of homophobia and saying they would boycott the company.

Yesterday afternoon, Tim Hortons released a statement saying the sponsorship had been cancelled and that the franchise owner had run afoul of corporate policy. The company does not allow sponsorship of religious, political or lobby groups.

CONservatives Agenda

Nope there is no “hidden” agenda from the conservatives. It’s business as usual.

A gay and lesbian arts festival that was told it met all government criteria under a new tourism stimulus program learned today it was rejected for funding.

The news arrived at Montreal’s Divers-Cite a few weeks after tension swept the Conservative caucus over funding for Toronto’s Pride week, and just days before the beginning of their event.

“We met all the criteria – this is a democracy,” said Girard. “They changed the rules as they went along.

“I feel like I’ve been had.”

Clement’s office was not immediately available for comment Tuesday evening.

Clement took over the new tourism funding envelope late last month, after members of the Tory caucus complained that junior minister Diane Ablonczy had approved funding for Toronto’s Pride week festivities.

MP Brad Trost told a socially conservative news website that Ablonczy had been stripped of the portfolio. The government said the plan was to move the envelope to Clement all along.

WTF

<Link>

The federal government is telling the courts to back off when it comes to the Omar Khadr case and leave foreign affairs decisions to the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

In a hearing yesterday, Justice Department lawyer Doreen Mueller urged the Federal Court of Appeal to reject the Federal Court’s April ruling that the government should request Mr. Khadr’s return from the United States.

Ms. Mueller said the Crown rejects the view that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies when Canadians face charges outside the country.

“There is clearly no duty to protect citizens under international law,” Ms. Mueller told the court.

“No duty to protect citizens under international law”? Wow!! And then they ask me why I detest conservatives. So, the government is not interested in defending it’s own citizens. This guy may be a monster, but he is our monster and we should deal with him they way our constitution demands. But, oh no, that’s not a-ok by our piss-in-pants conservatives. And here is why:

Ms. Mueller argued that it is constitutionally inappropriate for the courts to interfere in foreign policy, which she said is the exclusive jurisdiction of the executive branch of government. The executive is made up of the Prime Minister and cabinet.

What. The. Fuck.

“Inappropriate for courts to interfere in foreign policy.” May I ask what happened to your cojones when this issue came up last week ?

After weeks of pressure by his supporters, the federal government said yesterday it would comply with a court order to bring Abousfian Abdelrazik back to Canada.

Moreover, newly declassified documents revealed yesterday that the Montreal man, who has been stranded at the Canadian Embassy in Sudan for more than a year, was placed on a United Nations no-fly list at the request of the U.S. government.

A scathing Federal Court ruling ordered the Conservative government on June 4 to repatriate Abdelrazik, a Sudanese-born Canadian citizen, within 30 days, and it gave them until today to come up with a travel plan for his return.

So, in this case, your conservative government acquiesced to a court’s “interference in foreign policy” but when it comes to a similar situation, they say “oh nos. We cannot piss of the US”.

What a bunch of cowards.

Christie Blatchford : Dumb Fucking Stupid

Update (1MAy2013) : Man I seem to sound like  one of those hyperventilating fear mongers from FOX or SUN news. Apologies to Ms. Blatchford. I must have been really upset to write trash talk like this.

How many times are we going to have to point to globeandmail the obvious? On a personal level I have no idea what kind of person she is but on a professional level, Christie Blatchford is dumb fucking stupid.

Here is her latest shit regarding the controversy surrounding taped conversations of Lisa Raitt (the minister for Natural Resources) :

On the tape, Ms. MacDonnell said the isotope issue is confusing to a lot of people. “But it’s sexy,” Ms. Raitt replied. “Radioactive leaks. Cancer.” It was clear as a bell she wasn’t talking about cancer being sexy. About Ms. Aglukkaq, Ms. Raitt said, “Oh. Leona. I’m so disappointed.” Ms. MacDonnell said, “I wonder if it’s her staff trying to shield her from it or whether she is just terrified.”

Ms. Raitt replied: “I think her staff is trying to shield her. Oh God. She’s such a capable woman, but it’s hard for her to come out of a co-operative government into this rough-and-tumble. She had a question in the House yesterday, or two days ago, that planked. I really hope she never gets anything hot.”

This is irresponsible? Disparaging? Disgusting? This is what prompted Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe to yesterday invoke the spectre of breast-cancer patients needing tests being told that a cabinet minister called their disease sexy; now, that’s disgusting.

Irresponsible – errrrr, yes.

Disparaging – errrrr, of course.

Disgusting – errrr, yeah.

I don’t think Christie has a clue what the fuck she is talking about. And hearing her use that screeching voice on The Bill Carroll show (another apologist for Lisa Raitt and the conservatives in general) this morning to say over and over again “she did nothing wrong” is  moronic on many levels.

The minister WAS referring to cancer as being a sexy ISSUE for her which, in political jargon means, “lots of public attention for me”. How the hell can anyone be idiotic enough to talk about an issue of life and death for the advancement of her political career in such a cavalier way in front of her aides, driver, etc.? I have listened to the conversations and it was fairly obvious she is trying to say – this is a great issue as it will get a me a lot of publicity as soon as I fix it.

The problem is, a few months later from that conversation, she is nowhere near fixing it. In fact, Canada is ready to bring in private parties and transfer the knowledge of isotopes production to them!! Instead of fixing the problem, she has ended up mucking it further and that’s why we on the progressive side are having this fit of outrage.

And, Christie, please don’t throw her brother’s death by cancer in our face. We are not exactly stupid to immediately say “oooooh her brother died of cancer so she is never going to use any issue with cancer to advance her career”.

From what I understand from your nonsensical piece on the globeandmail.com today, you are saying “oh what the hell. She was just being herself. We are all like that so leave her alone”. And if that really is your defense, then you are more idiotic than I thought.

Because all said and done, there is nothing on that tape that can’t be put to rest with the correct apology. All the minister had to say was, it was a private conversation and she is sorry if some people got hurt because of it. That’s all. But conservatives being blockheads, they had to put on a display of sheer arogance. They went to the court to try and stop the release of the tape!!! Why? Because the public might hear a private conversation??? BTW, it’s not private when you are talking in front of a driver as the judge has confirmed.

This is what is wrong with this whole issue. The conservative government is not trying to govern Canada. Rather they are trying to RULE Canada. They want their agenda, their policies, their opinions thrust on everyone even though 65% of the Canadian population opposes them.

And that’s what you fail to understand, Ms Blatchford. And that’s why you are dumb fucking stupid.

Update : She finally apologised. I think we can now put the matter to rest.

Flip Flop : Your Conservatives At Work (for the month of May 2009)

Jim Flaherty Then :

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was facing a deficit of $5.9-billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, according to the fiscal update he released last fall. To achieve a surplus, Mr. Flaherty pledged to reduce government spending by $4.3-billion and predicted the government would earn $1.6-billion from changes to public sector compensation and the gains on purchases of insured mortgages from banks.

Jim Flaherty Now :

Mr. Flaherty revised his projection again this week, citing a deeper-than-expected recession, higher-than-anticipated employment insurance payments and the rescues of Chrysler and General Motors.

Lisa Riatt Then (UPDATE : here she is trying to sound the alarm bells about how the isotopes shortfall is a “really, really” bad thing)

“Ensuring that the Canadian medical community receives a consistent and reliable supply of medical isotopes has been of critical importance to me,” (Lisa) Raitt said

Lisa Raitt Now (UPDATE : Here she is saying, a few months later, “not to worry. There is no shortage of isotopes in the world”)

During this extended outage at Chalk River, other isotope-producing countries have the capacity to assist in minimizing production shortfall.

These countries all have different sets of constraints and capacity, and we will need to work through those. There is good will amongst all and a willingness to be helpful. They also fully recognize that Canada stepped up to the plate and provided a significant amount of additional isotope capacity when the Petten reactor in the Netherlands was down.

I know it’s very easy to beat up conservatives because they waffle sooooooooooooo much but I think Flaherty got a raw deal. The poor guy probably made inane statements about how everything was a-ok after being asked to by the big guy PM Harper and now he is paying for it. It’s not Flaherty’s fault that we have a deficit of $50 billion, but he is at fault for saying Canada is at a better state than it really was.

It’s not Lisa Raitt’s fault that she inherited a leaky and crumbling nuclear reactor but then to go claim that the safety would be reviewed and a plan would be put into action which is TO SELL THE NUCLEAR PLANT TO A PRIVATE PARTY!!!! That’s the dumbest thing I have ever heard. So much for ensuring a ensuring safety and a steady supply of isotopes. Let’s shut down the reactor and find some buyer who would restart the reactor as it is now.

Just go through the interview (Liveblogging Lisa Raitt on the sale of AECL’s reactor building division) and get ready to swear over Lisa’s incompetent handling of the crisis.

And when the National Post is making fun of the conservatives, then you KNOW there is trouble brewing.

Canada’s Bestest Blogger

Link

Thousands of Tamil protesters have left Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, after surging onto the highway to call attention to the escalating civilian death toll in Sri Lanka.

Around midnight, protesters began making their way down an on-ramp as police monitored the situation. Some told ctvtoronto.ca they planned to take their demonstration to Queen’s Park.

Reporters and witnesses at the scene said the demonstration was largely peaceful. However, police arrested at least one person and video taken from a nearby highrise showed a bicycle being thrown at officers.

And what does Canada’s all time favourite blog have to say?

Kate McMilan

Hey Sri Lanka, would you just hurry up and finish them off so traffic can get back to normal?

Because it is necessary for Kate to get to work/home therefore, killing a few brown babies is no big issue for her. And the comments left on her post :

As a law abiding citizen, I explicity convey to the government a monopoly on the use of force to use accordingly in the pursuit of peace and justice.

So I’m getting a little tired of groups using force to get their message across: Indians at Caledonia, Tamils in Ottawa and Toronto. Who’s next? A precedent has been set.

Uh huh. I especially like “Indians in Caledonia” comment. Cause it’s not their land to begin with……

I’m having a hard time believing no one could find a big snowplow to clear the road.

Yes, killing a few brown people is no big deal. After all, the roads need to remain open on Sundays evenings.

I don’t really hate anyone but having read Kate’s blog over the last few months and having seen her on TV, I can truly say that I hate Kate and each of her racist followers. And as a Canadian it shames me to call these fuckers my fellow citizens.

As to the genocide going on in Sri Lanka. I don’t care either way. (UPDATE : I meant to say I don’t care which side is right or wrong not that I don’t care about the genocide!!). Both sides have royally fucked and mucked the issue. Tamils in SL have valid concerns and so does the SL government. And the SL problem has, to a large degree, had an adverse affect on India so, in my mind it would be prudent that the problem is solved soon. Since, the government has an upper hand (after many, many years) there is no way they are going to sit for negotiations.

And to the Tamils here in Canada. I think they are looking for some moral support from the government (like Harper gave to the Israelis in the last intifada) which they are definitely not going to get if the Tamil supporters in Canada are going to wave the flag of LTTE, a violent terrorist organisation.

And to Bill Carroll and his cahoots, fuck you and your moralising – “OH MY GOD!!!!!! THERE ARE CHILDREN ON THE GARDINER EXPRESS!!!!!”. Because there have never been crowds with kids on the roads and highways after a rare win by the Maple Leafs.

Brain Drain In Full Speed

The brain drain from Canada to the US just kicked into high gear!!

One of Canada’s top AIDS researchers is moving to the United States, taking as many as 25 scientists on his team with him.

The University of Montreal’s Rafick-Pierre Sékaly says he is leaving in part because of federal cuts in science funding and hopes his departure will be a wake-up call.

“I hope it will trigger some kind of movement that will foster a deep soul searching and investment,” he said in an interview.

He expects to more than double his $3.5-million research budget in his new position as scientific director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Florida, but will also keep a lab going at the University of Montreal.

Of course the brain drain has been going on for years. The simple fact is that there are more jobs in US and more money. But the truth is that Canada was still able to retain top talent especially in the Bush years. Now that the war on science in US is over and is continuing under Stephen Harper in Canada, we are watching the end of the leadership in science.

Congratulations to Harper on his win against science. I expect that Canada will turn to evangelical science soon.

I Hate Wingnuts

(via CC)

Why I hate wingnuts. This is a comment by one of Canada’s premier wingnuts.

[pre-emptive note… to the usual anonymous trolls]

this is, indisputably… a terrible loss for the family & friends of these brave soldiers… but let’s also try to keep a little perspective.

before you go all “taliban jack” here… try to remember that, statistically, we have lost less than 20 soldiers per year since 2001.

in contrast…

“nineteen snowmobilers have died in avalanches in B.C. and Alberta just this winter.”and if you want a real wakeup call… read a book about world war one… or snakes.

Here’s my comment :

“we have lost less than 20 soldiers per year since 2001.”

Neo. How many of them were your kids/relatives/uncles/aunts/neighbours/people you know?

..dumbest comments EVAH!! Keep digging that hole, Neo, keep digging that hole…….

…..aaaand the response from Neo.

oh, look… agsharma… another empty blogger profile set up exclusively for drive-by trolling.

hey mr troll… let’s go with the complete quote, shall we?

begin quote…

[pre-emptive note… to the usual anonymous trolls]

this is, indisputably… a terrible loss for the family & friends of these brave soldiers… but let’s also try to keep a little perspective.

before you go all “taliban jack” here… try to remember that, statistically, we have lost less than 20 soldiers per year since 2001.

in contrast…

“nineteen snowmobilers have died in avalanches in B.C. and Alberta just this winter.”and if you want a real wakeup call… read a book about world war one… or snakes.end quote…

which of the facts here are you disputing? you’re suggesting i don’t support the troops?

oh, that’s right… you’re not disputing anything factually. you’re just using the infamous, leftbot… “you’re a big poopyhead”… gambit.

you guys are just so pathetic.

It never ceases to amaze me how the right wing thinks.

My point was how could this blogger say “just” 20 deaths per year? It almost seems like this blogger says, because there were a few deaths, we should continue letting soldiers die out there even if it means that the probability of a soldier dying each year is 0.571% ((20/3500)*100). This is precisely why I hate politicians (and idiotic bloggers) who think this probability is low enough to continue a war that has lost it’s meaning. And that’s why I do not support this war. The soldiers, yes. But not the war.

And what the hell is the meaning of comparing deaths on the battlefield with accidental deaths in BC?

I have been warned not to engage the wingnuts because their screams and moans do wake up the dead. I usually do not leave comments on their sites. But I could not resist this time.  My excuse is that I had not finished my morning coffee yet!!

Robert Dziekanski

I have been following the Robert Dziekanski saga for a while now.

Right from the start, RCMP has been on the back foot and tried to play defense until a few days ago. It’s quite obvious what the lawyers of the RCMP officers are doing, painting the victim as a person of dubious character.

My question is not if this guy was of dubious character? Or he was drunk? Or what if he was mentally unstable? My question is why the fuck did 4 police officers have to taser a guy armed with a stapler?

If the best defense that the officers have to offer is to attack the victim’s “character”, then they have already lost.

Updated and pointed analysis can be found at Dr. Dawg’s.

Minister Of Science And Technology?

Continuing from yesterday’s post about Evolution, here is a prime example of Conservative moral depravity :

Canada’s science minister, the man at the centre of the controversy over federal funding cuts to researchers, won’t say if he believes in evolution.

“I’m not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don’t think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate,” Gary Goodyear, the federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.

The question was do you believe in Evolution. Who the fuck asked about your religion? You are the SCIENCE minister. If you have troubling saying right off the bat about your belief (or in this case non-belief) in Evolution then you have every reason to go back to your Chiropractor job.

I love this doctor’s response to the crap that Goodyear spewed :

Evolution is a scientific fact, Dr. Alters said, and the foundation of modern biology, genetics and paleontology. It is taught at universities and accepted by many of the world’s major religions, he said.

“It is the same as asking the gentleman, ‘Do you believe the world is flat?’ and he doesn’t answer on religious grounds,” said Dr. Alters. “Or gravity, or plate tectonics, or that the Earth goes around the sun.”

Lol!!! That’s a good smack down.

Anyway, I googled Goodyear this morning and saw that the minister now all of a sudden does not believe that asking his views on Evolution is a violation of his religious beliefs :

OTTAWA — Canada’s science minister moved to cut short a brewing controversy Tuesday over his views on evolution.

Gary Goodyear raised eyebrows when he refused to tell a national newspaper if he believed in the science of evolution.

But the minister of state for science and technology clarified Tuesday that he does indeed believe in evolution.

“We’re evolving all the time,” Goodyear said in an interview.

“Of course I believe in evolution.”

I wonder how many Hail Marys he had to say after such blasphemous talk!!! Now that your “faith” in science has been restored, can we not cut the research budget? Supporting science and research is what is going to help Canada be a stronger country not praying for a miracle.

Absolutely Pitiful

I find it hard to believe that in a progressive and educated country like Canada, this would happen (Update: finally, some positive results, at the last count 55% believed in evolution):

4,367 so far have said “no”. It really irritates and bugs me to no end that people in this day and age would say that evolution did not happen. I mean, for gods sake, what is it going to take for these buffoons to understand that the Theory Of Evolution rests on unshakable scientific facts.

I don’t profess to know everything about the Theory Of Evolution but I am implicit and explicitly trust scientists who do understand the theory very well. And before you say “ah ha, this prick is trusting some fucking expert”. Well, yes, I do trust someone who is an authority on the Evolution theory, who knows what the details of the theory are just as I would trust an aircraft engineer who tells me that the theory of flight is based on scientific and well tested facts to enable me to climb into an aircraft without uttering a prayer.

At the same time, when someone says they do not believe in the Theory Of Evolution because it “does not sound true”, I call that kind of a statement absolutely full of crap. Just because you think it “does not sound true” does not make it bogus. E=MC2 never sounded true to anyone when Einstein came up with it, but it has since been tested and utilised very well as the nuclear strikes in Nagasaki and Hiroshima have demonstrated.

I found this very interesting tit-bit on the net and may explain why the question of the validity of evolution never was raised in India.

That’s not to say that the Indian society is not religious. I would say that religion in India is at the same level as it is in the US. However, science and religion have had a comfortable co-existence with some minor flare ups every  now and then.

And here is a complete and utter bullshit version of revisionism by the fucking elite of United States Of Amerika.

UPDATED:

Woohoo!! Check this out. Guess I am wrong about Canadians (yes, yes, I know that this is an unscientific poll, but what the hell. Let me enjoy the moment)

Bush In Canada

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George W. Bush, who left office with one of the lowest popularity ratings in U.S. history, will officially kick off his unofficial post-presidential image rehabilitation tour with a speech in Calgary on Tuesday.

But some protesters who plan to be on hand at the city’s convention centre say “Dubya” doesn’t deserve a soapbox — he should be in handcuffs.

When Mr. Bush steps up to the podium at a closely controlled private event, he’ll face 1,500 friendly faces brought in by organizers and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Tickets reportedly sold for $400 each and were made available exclusively by invitation.

Those invitations say Mr. Bush will share his thoughts “on eight momentous years in the Oval Office.” The former president will also speak about “the challenges facing the world in the 21st century.”

Protesters promise to be out in full force.

It’s a war criminal being invited to Canada by a municipal representative body, to come and have a chat,” said Toby Pollett, who argues Mr. Bush should be arrested at the border over the alleged torture of prisoners in U.S. military camps.

It’s ludicrous, really, when you look at it.”

What I find amusing of this escapade is when 50 Cents was banned from performing in Toronto because of his violent lyrics and his celebration of the “gangsta” culture 2 or 3 years ago. And here we have a preson who freely admits that war in Iraq war was wrong.  A war in which 100,000’s are dead, a war in which 4,000 US citizens have been killed, a war that encouraged torture and “any means necessary” to extract information….and what do the yahoos in Calgary do? They invite this potential mass murderer for a speech!! No protest from the government about the presence of a mass murderer in this case.

Ransom?

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Chrysler LLC threatened last night to pull the company’s production out of Canada – a move that would throw 9,000 employees out of work – unless governments here provide $2.3-billion (U.S.) in loans and its Canadian union agrees to slash labour costs by 25 per cent.

At a parliamentary committee hearing last night, Chrysler president Thomas LaSorda said the company would commit to maintaining roughly a quarter of its North American production in Canada if its “needs” are met.

Ah, yes.  The “you want these jobs to stay in Canada, you gotta pay for it” routine. We have seen it from GM and now from Chrysler. Boy, these companies sure are prudent in the art of blackmail.

In my opinion, these companies are on their way out, either way. We can throw money at them, give them tax benefits, or maybe give them the whole nine yards, these companies WILL fail. If not now, then sometime in the near future. So why does it seem like a good idea by the government to put money (our money) in this business? I would rather that the government spend those billions of dollars in repatriating the displaced workers!! Why is that so hard to do?

Part of the problem is probably the workers themselves. They are unionised and losing these companies would make a dent in their status quo. I have no clue how much these workers are paid but I have heard that the amounts are way above the average in Canada. Moreover, their voices in the political spectrum is loud. They represent a block of votes that could easily go the other way if an MP does not do their biding.

I am all for unions but this is getting ridiculous. Seems like these unions need to be taken to the washers kicking and screaming. I know there is going to be a huge impact on the Ontario economy (I have a couple of relatives working in the auto related industries) but I’d rather have the impact now when the economy is down in the dumps, than when it is recovering 2 years from now.

If I understand this correctly, to save their voting bank, the MPs are going to allow the GM deal to go through and, most likely, the Chrysler deal too. And we, the tax payors, will get shafted.

WTF Post Of The Day

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What started as a young girl’s letter to the editor has since turned into a national debate, all after a New Brunswick elementary school cancelled its daily singing of O Canada.

The anthem was pulled for the start of the 2007 school year at Belleisle Elementary, a school with some 200 students in Springfield.

But after a letter to the local paper, one mother has become the de facto spokesperson on a story that’s exploded across the country.

“I can’t believe we’re fighting this battle,” Susan Boyd said.

Her daughter Kara, 14, wrote the letter, while daughter Julia, 11, attends the school. The girls’ cousin, Private David Greenslade, was killed last year in Afghanistan, and the family sees the anthem as a message of support. “We should be singing the anthem just as loud as ever.”

The decision was made by the school’s principal, who has said parents complained that their children shouldn’t have to take part.

“Sometimes we have students whose parents, because of their beliefs, don’t want their children to participate,” superintendent Zoë Watson told CTV.

Veteran Affairs Minister Greg Thompson called Thursday for the anthem to be reinstated, and Education Minister Kelly Lamrock said he’d consider recommending a change.

“The school should play the national anthem, quite frankly,” he told CTV.

That’s all fine to Ms. Boyd, who wants it made mandatory in all schools and is getting calls of support from coast to coast.

“Just from all over Canada, people are calling,” she said. “I had no idea it would get this far.”

The school management is obviously over-reacting to a complaint. It’s like the complaint about Margaret Atwood’s Hand Maid Tale from one single (idiotic) parent led to the Toronto School Board to review the book that started the whole hullabaloo about the book.

Instead of saying, get more signatures and then we will talk, the above mentioned school tried to be politically correct instead of being smart.

I have no idea what the complaint about Oh Canada would be except for the fact that there is a reference to god in the anthem and that might have led some parents to object to the anthem. Personally, I do not like that reference at all. But this is the national anthem and for that reason alone I am willing to let it slide by.  Am I a hypocrite? Definitely, but I am kind of a sentimentalist that way.

This reminds of the controversy related to the Indian national anthem. In south India some students refused to sing the national anthem (because of religious reasons) and were expelled from school. The school district refused to admit the students to any school in the state and the parents sued. The case went all the way to the supreme court which threw the case out and ruled in the favour of the students saying that not singing the national anthem is not against the law.

Maybe that’s what should happen in Canada. If you do not want to sing the national anthem, you do not have to but, by god, you cannot stop others from singing it!!