Prostitutes take their desires to the Supreme Court

(revised Jan 25, 2012)

Laws limiting prostitution protect most vulnerable

Prostitution has been decriminalized, although laws surrounding it involve illegal activity. That's what some prostitutes want to have changed. They want to challenge the laws that ban keeping a bawdy house, communicating for the purpose of prostitution, and living off the avails of prostitution and procurement. If they accomplish their aim of making these legal, then what's to stop poor people (young women) from being further exploited in society. Sure, some women may be in this career by choice, or as a temporary measure to pay off debts, but we have to think about how it will affect those with fewer choices in life who have virtually no alternative if they want to survive. Don't make this easy for those who see the prostitution as a legitimate, objective exchange of money for what should be seen as an intimate act. For the sake of our next generation, there needs to be a distinction between legitimate forms of employment and this.

Above is the letter I submitted to the editor of the London Free Press today, in response to 'Sex workers turn to Supreme Court' (see reference list).  Letter posted to the LFP website Jan 23, published in The London Free Press on Jan. 25, 2012.
 

The news story came out in different forms at more or less the same time. My comments to the CBC report, submitted hours apart, were not published. No comments were published on the page following the article itself which contained selected comments, though the story itself was changed after a day or so to what you see there now, explaining that "roughly 76 per cent of 1770 respondents said 'Yes, activities like keeping a bawdy house and communicating for prostitution should be legal'."    (CBC, Community Reaction).

While the CTV news site did not publish my comment (CTV, Sex-trade workers), 45 others were, before Comments were closed.

The Toronto Sun was more liberal, publishing mine in with 37 other comments (See Toronto Sun, Sex Workers, comments section).

This is a serious matter, and if the issues do not get the attention they deserve, then society will suffer - or should we say the poor in society will suffer.

Community reaction to sex-trade workers' Supreme Court appearance
By Community Team
CBC News
January 20, 2012
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/01/community-reaction-to-sex-trade-workers-arguments-to-the-supreme-court.html

Laws limiting prostitution protect most vulnerable
By Susan A McPherson
LFP letters
London Free Press
Jan 23, 2012 (Jan 25 in the LFP hard copy).
http://www.lfpress.com/comment/letters/home.html?p=48457&x=letters&l_publish_date=&s_publish_date=&s_keywords=&s_topic=&s_letter_type=Letter

Sex workers turn to Supreme Court
By Kris Sims, Parliamentary Bureau
London Free Press
January 19, 2012
http://www.lfpress.com/news/canada/2012/01/19/19268456.html

Sex-trade workers take case to Canada's top court
By CTV News.ca Staff
CTV News
Jan. 19 2012
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120119/sex-trade-workers-court-20119/

Sex workers turn to Supreme Court
By Kris Sims ,Parliamentary Bureau
Toronto Sun
January 19, 2012
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/01/19/sex-workers-turn-to-supreme-court#disqus_thread

The Occupy Movement: UWO's Klatt and Hammond, and other perspectives

[revised Jan 12, 2012]

In November, 2011, Heinz Klatt, retired professor, wrote a piece for Western News (UWO, London, Ont), with the title 'Occupy movement may be most vapid of all,' Nov 24, in which he complained about the Occupiers, ending with a suggestion that they might, after all, be on the same side, against the 1%.

Klatt was critical of the Occupiers not being able to articulate their concerns well or comprehend their aims sufficiently. But we all speak from our own knowledge base - from ‘education,’ the media, our own experience, and elsewhere. If the Occupiers are pursuing a particular path (placing blame on the 1%) and still sorting out where their movement is heading, then we should consider that normal, under the circumstances. Which revolutionary movement ever strated out being well organized and knowing exactly what their aims were and how they could be accomplished. Take the women's liberation movement as an example of a movement that has been chaotic at times, with no clear direction or organization in its early years. Chaining themselves to gates and throwing themselves in front of horses may not appear to us to be well thought-out strategies for success, but look at them now. As the Occupiers continue to discuss, listen to others, reflect on what they want for themselves and society, and to organize, no doubt their movement will progress in achieving their aims and their ability to express them.

The media’s emphasis, Klatt’s, and Bernie Hammond's, whose Nov 17 piece was the instigator of this discussion, all claim that the 1% is the problem, not that there could be many reasons why social inequality is worse now than in recent decades. As the division between the classes widens, there is bound to be increasing disatisfaction among those lower down, while those at the top (eg top 30-50%) reap the benefits of the 'good life.' Yet this fact of life, that the struggle for scarce resources exists at every level of society, has yet to be recognized as a contributing factor to the problem of social inequality in general.

Feminism is one contributing factor - beginning with the women's liberation movement that formed in opposition to men's dominance in society, and which now is in many ways dominant itself, if not over men of their own class, then over men and women lower down in terms of economic standing. Unfortunately, the real numbers of good careers and jobs in society has not increased, even though many more women are now working alongside men, and marrying them, resulting in increased numbers of the well-off dual-career, dual-income family and their assumptions of entitlement.

Feminism has achieved much for women's independence, but not for all women. And while men used to be dominant, in general, that dominance is now shared with women. We no longer live in a world where the man is breadwinner with a wife at home. In fact, most young people do not understand the way things were. Nor do many in the middle classes comprehend (or perhaps would rather not admit) that there are many capable people out there being pushed out, while they edge their way upwards.


Don't shrug off the power of the Occupy movement
By Bernie Hammond
Opinion, Western news
November 17, 2011
http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/opinions/2011/November/hammond_dont_shrug_off__the_power_of_the_occupy_movement.html

Occupy movement may be most vapid of all
By Heinz Klatt
Opinions, Western News
November 24, 2011
http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/opinions/2011/November/klatt_occupy_movement_may_be_most_vapid_of_all_.html

Income inequality: deep, complex and growing
By Jeffrey Simpson
Globe and Mail
Dec 09, 2011
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/jeffrey-simpson/income-inequality-deep-complex-and-growing/article2264938/

The poor are doing better than you think [comments section]
By Margaret Wente [and concerned readers]
Globe and Mail
Dec 10, 2011
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/margaret-wente/the-poor-are-doing-better-than-you-think/article2266245/comments/

What Justin Bieber and Gold Diggers Can Teach Us About Feminism

or
What Justin Bieber and feminism can tell us about gold diggers

In this Huffington Post piece by Keli Goff, the incident involving Justin Bieber and his alleged paternity has introduced issues concerning feminist views on 'gold diggers. But as I see it, the situation Bieber was involved in is not the main issue. The phenomenon of gold digging is. And I don't see feminists sitting outside of that one. I see them as being as deeply involved as anyone else.

Kanye West's video about gold digging, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY&feature=relmfu , came out a few years ago, before Justin Bieber made headlines over his 'women problems'. The term 'gold diggers' appears to have vague meanings, but rather than being strictly about situations such as Justin Bieber's, the term seem to be about life in general, about how some men and women conduct themselves in normal human relationships. As an aside, the girls in the video don't look as though their thoughts are on motherhood.

Gold diggers used to be seen as women who sought to marry a man for his money. Sometimes this seemed obvious, when the man was 80 or more and the woman in her 20s or 30s. I believe Hugh Hefner might fall into this category. of course, everything has changed now, since feminism has got women into the workforce in increasing numbers, many of them taking positions alongside men in a professional capacity. But to some extent, don't most women of today seek to marry men who can offer them the most, in terms of security and access to financial resources, even if the women themselves have a good career? Doesn't the thought of marrying well hold the possibility of an even more 'secure' lifestyle?

Years ago, say in the 50s and 60s, marrying a man for money might have been the only way a woman could be sure of achieving financial security, as so many women didn't work but relied on men as the 'breadwinners'. But today's world is different, thanks to feminism. In some ways, it seems as though the tables are turned. It used to be men who received encouragement and had more opportunities. But feminism has changed that. Their emphasis has been women, though of course, mainly on women from the middle classes.

I don't see 'gold digging' as mainly being about women who have sex for the purpose of getting pregnant, then getting the man to marry her, as has been claimed to be Mariah Yeater's aim. She now has a son, Tristyn, she claims to be Justin Bieber's. Any man should be suspicious of that kind of claim in today's world, now that contraceptives are generally available. That kind of claim might have worked years ago, in the 50's, before contraception became available, but no longer.

Nevertheless, good jobs and financially secure husbands may be hard to come by in todays's world, where unemployment is rife and feminism's impact has led to the dual-career, dual-income family doing well, on one side, and men and women struggling for subsistence on the other - the class divide.

Women in general, who have few other resources but whose sexual appeal is high (see video, Gold Digger by Kanye West), could well use that to get a man marry her, although basing a marriage on sexual attraction may not be the best way to go about it. But first has to acknowledge that men are often swayed by women's sexuality in order to accept this view. And then, the term 'gold digger' could be applied to that situation if the motivation for marriage was seen to be money, rather than compatibility, love, etc.

What I'm leading up to is this, that it is not just the overtly sexual woman with no college education who is seeking the best mate possible. In today's world, it's a fact of life that most women will seek to enhance their own assets, even if they have good prospects for a profitable career. Marrying a partner on his way up the corporate ladder may even help her own career. But is that seen as gold digging, or is that term kept (reserved) for the uneducated woman, who overtly displays her sexual assets, or who would have little opportunity to make her way in a tradtional career, or who chooses not to?

It isn't just women of today who are seeking partners with the most to offer. Men who need power on their side, and who desire a mutually-enhancing relationship, might also seek out a female partner based on their place on the income scale. After all,it is human nature to seek the best partner one can, under the circumstances, isn't it. So,. should the term gold diggers still be used, as it relaly applies to women of earlier generations who had so few choices in life?

Rather than look at Justin Bieber's experience as typical of 'gold digger' circumstances, I think it is not typical at all.

This is what I am suggesting the term 'gold digger' applies to, in general: Gold digging behaviour is surely more an accepted part of life that applies to all sort of women, from the poor, sexy uneducated young woman to the professional woman seeking the best partner she can acquire. Kanye West made a video about it not because it is unusual, but because it is what women do. And men love it.

Income, or personal assets, is one of the main criteria for choosing a partner. What if internet dating sites did not include these criteria as part of their set of 'characteristics,' to assist in selecting or excluding certain potential candidates from selection. What if people chose mates without taking into consideration their earning potential or material wealth, as so many of us did in the 60s?

Men and women marry for all sorts of reasons. In today's postfeminist society, men marry for a regular source of sex, or to have a trophy woman on his arm when he goes out, for companionship, for financial security, etc. Women marry men, not for sex, probably, but for financial security, and as trophies, too, and to have the good life - part of the dual career, dual income class in our society. It's what men and women do. 'Gold digging', if you still want to call it that, is one aspect of finding a partner.


What Justin Bieber and Gold Diggers Can Teach Us About Feminism
by Keli Goff
Huffington Post - Culture
Nov 15, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keli-goff/what-justin-bieber-and-go_b_1094032.html?ref=daily-brief?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=111511&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BlogEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief

Ageism, Class, and the Wealth Gap Between the Young and Old

The only place in Huffington Post that the generation gap, or aging, or ageism, is being discussed is in the business section. And even so, this piece (the US Wealth Gap) written by Hope Yen could actually be about so many things, and not just about the division of wealth between the old and the young. It is a false division, more than likely intended to create division between the generations instead of explain it.

We all know there are seniors who are living in poverty, just as we know there are under 35-year-old­s who have too much money to spend. Manipulati­ng statistics to arrive at the conclusion one wants to isn't clever. It is devious, it is cunning, and it may even work (depending on one's agenda), but how can people have respect for such a person who writes this nonsense, or for the Huff Post editors who condone it, even encourage it. After all, isn't what counts the amount of reader interest, the number of comments (over 8,000).

Furthermore, why is there still a section called 'Women' in the Living category of this paper? Why isn't it called Gender? And how about one called 'Couples and Singledom'­?

And why isn't there a category called 'Aging' or the 'Generatio­n Gap'? Why are the difference­s between the young and the old all made to come down to money? I would like to talk about aging itself, and not simply about the differences in income between the generations that some writers are treating as the main issue.

The other piece referred to below is another piece of nonsense, placing the blame squarely on the high worth of the top 1% of households in the US. Yet the problem is not the top 1%. The problem is all around us. The problem is in the way some of the higher income earners in the 99% treat others in this immense category, which includes doctors, lawyers, service workers, and receptionists. It reflects the struggle of life, the quest for more, and the effort for some to stop others from getting even a small share fo the scarce resources our world has to offer.

The problem is not that the healthcare workers are overworked. It is that they spend their effort on taks that are non-productive, on trying to give more to some individuals and making sure others get less. The system is not so much overburdened with too may sick or old people. It is overburdened with too many who have health insurance making sure they get every dollar's worth, and then some.

I don't believe that 'generational warfare' was designed by the 1% to distract the rest of us from looking at class differences, as stated in 'One Percent.' The complexity of our world is such that different agendas collide as they pursue their own interests, and sometimes join forces to gang up on one group - usually the most vulnerable, and for the purpose for protecting their own interests. Get people to blame the 1% and they won't be so ready to place the responsibility where it lies - in the way boys and girls are raised, and indoctrinated, into pushing their way forward, seeking more money, and more power. What's more, the main divide isn't between the young and old; it isn't a generational divide. It's between each level of society, between those struggling for more and those who have it and are trying to keep it!


The One Percent Turns Class War Into Generational War
By Dean Baker
Huffington Post - Business
Nov 7, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/the-one-percent-turns-cla_b_1080141.html

U.S. Wealth Gap Between Young, Old Is Widest Ever
By Hope Yen
Huffington Post - Business
Nov 7, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/us-wealth-gap-young-old_n_1079372.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=110711&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeatureTitle&utm_term=Daily%20Brief#comments  

Widest-ever wealth gap between young and old in the US

This very one-sided article has appeared in numerous newspapers' websites today. It places blame for economic disparity between the young and the old strictly on the shoulders of the old, regardless of income, home ownership, marital status, or work history.

One reason the economic division between young and old can be seen as increasing over the last 30 to 50 years is the effect of feminism and increasing numbers of women in the workforce - changing norms, in other words.

Whereas 50 years ago a wealthy man might have a wife who stayed home and did charity work, now, older men are sought out by women for what they have to offer - in the firm, or as an influential, hidden, character reference for other careers. Thus the household with the head at age 65 plus might have a 45year old wife with high earning power in today's world.

I am not surprised that whoever wrote this piece didn't want to include this probable effect. It's not something the middle class really wants to deal with. And as women continue to marry men with the best resources, how can we ever expect the situation to get better. One of the side effects of feminism. What's that called again - oh, collateral damage.

Another problem with this article - something omitted - is that many old people, particularly older women, live in poverty. They may not be in debt, and so would not be included in the 8% mentioned in the last sentence. But despite receiving old age benefits, many will be struggling to get by.

So often we see articles and blogs that onlty serve to create more antagonism between the generations. Would I be right in assuming that the author of this piece is under 40, and female, and has her own agenda?

One other issue is the comment made by Harry Holzer, labor economist and public policy prof at Georgetown University, who is quoted as saying "It makes us wonder whether the extraordinary amount of resources we spend on retirees and their health care should be at least partially reallocated to those who are hurting worse than them." Apparently he called magnitude of the wealth gap "striking."

Note that he, like the other 'experts' mentioned in this piece, places the blame on old people in general, when it is obvious that the ones who will lose out if money allocated for healthcare is taken away are those with limited resources. It will be the ones without private medical insurance who will have to try to make do with even less proper healthcare.

I don't know if we can assume that the situation is the same in Canada., regarding health care matters and more importantly, the gap between the old and the young, but knowing the effects that feminism has caused in Canada, it sounds as though it could be the same here as in the US.

This article is available through a number of sites. The only difference would be the comments made, if they are allowed at all.

U.S. Wealth Gap Between Young, Old Is Widest Ever
By Hope Yen, Associated Press
Huffingtom Post Business
Nov 7, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/us-wealth-gap-young-old_n_1079372.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=110711&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeatureTitle&utm_term=Daily%20Brief#comments


U.S. Wealth Gap Between Young, Old Is Widest Ever
Hope Yen, Washington — The Associated Press
Globe and Mail
Nov. 07, 2011
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/wealth-gap-between-young-and-old-americans-widest-on-record/article2227903/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=World&utm_content=2227903

Gender, sex and aging: What do we owe our spouses?

A trio of stories on the Huffington Post drew my interest recently, all related matters, to do with gender, sex, and aging. Sex was the drawing card in D A Wolf's 'Do We Owe Our Spouses Sex?', and is an inviting resource for anyone wanting to know what other readers think about sex between two people in a relationship. The comments section attracted an enthusiastic crowd, each one either telling their own personal story, or making one up, or simply letting everyone know what they thought about the subject of Wolf's piece.

But in the next piece on sex, the attitude of readers/commenters changed considerably. This one was about sex among the baby boomers, and for that reason, it appears, became the target of jokes and ridicule. Could it be that the approach was wrong, and not simply that older citizens are the target of jokes in this ageist society of ours? In an attempt to persuade the world that baby boomers can have sex just like anyone else, and enjoy it, the writers, whoever they were, may have been just a bit on the defensive. What formed the basis of the piece were myths that were then dispelled by the writers' claims. We don't hear who the writers were, and the format of the piece was awkward to read, being fairly short but, including the comments section, split up over 7 pages.

As with the first piece on the subject of sex, this second piece was also clearly about people within the state of coupledom. Those without partners had no real need to peruse the pieces, let alone comment on them, unless they still had hope, or at least intentions, to become half of a couple sometime in the future. This was my main objection to both these pieces, that single men and women were left out or left hanging on the margins, although in the 'ageless' couples and sex article, at least that was a topic many of us knew something about from previous experience. It doesn't seem to even occur to the writers of the boomers' sex piece that most older people aren't going to have casual sex, just for the fun of it (despite what the quoted lavalifePRIME says).

The final point about these two stories is that, as usual with such stories, there is little or no analysis of the society in which it all takes place. We all take for granted that we live in western society and that both men and women have certain freedoms, but there are still the remnants of traditional marriage present in our ways of thinking, as well as the modern ways of looking at our experiences through the eyes of feminism. Thus, women are seen (and speak) from both the perspective of not being equal with men in ways of dealing with sexual matters, as well as at times acting like men and taking on men's ways of dealing with sexual matters.

And that leads us to the last of the stories, also about the older generation, about women in particular. Once again, this piece incorporates aspects of old-fashioned tradition, of a woman being a homemaker, but about doing so after having had a fulfilling career. I think one aim of it was truly to justify and uphold the legitimate choice of women to be homemakers, but quite a number of readers comments were negative about the choices available to the writer, and particularly about the perceived uselessness of her choice, to stay home. At this point in our society, in which the economy has still not rebounded, if some women express the desire to remain at home to be homemakers and/or raise children, it doesn't help to treat them like pariahs. Just as some homemakers may not take their work seriously, or do a good job, so are there women in the workforce who aren't conscientious, or doing their work to the best of their ability. It isn't work per se that makes one person better than another. It isn't the paycheque that a person brings home, or the taxes they pay, that makes them better than someone else. It might lead them to be seen as different, to be living a lifestyle that's not the norm, in this society where occupation and financial resources are the determinants of a person's identity and worth. It's much easier to do after having a career, than rely on an ex to provide a reference, but it's still good to hear about women living this way, so that society does not forget how things were done in the past.

Do We Owe Our Spouses Sex?
by D A Wolf
Huffington Post Divorce
Oct 15, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/d-a-wolf/do-we-owe-our-spouses-sex_b_927484.html?ref=love--sex

Most Common Sex Myths About Baby Boomers
Huffington Post Fifty
Oct 29, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/the-most-common-sex-myths_n_1057479.html

Words With Friends and Back to Home-Ec
by Jamie Lee Curtis
Huffington Post Fifty
Oct 11, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-curtis/50s-housewives-home-ec-_b_1006209.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=101211&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BlogEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief

Serena Williams penalized at the 2011 US Open tennis finals

The story of Serena Williams has dominated tennis news since Sept 11 when she railed against the umpire she suspected of having unfairly penalized her during the women's final at the US Open which was held over the last two weeks in New York. Serena let out a yelp, at the very moment her opponent was preparing to hit the ball back to Serena's side of the court. The umpire deemed the noise to be a 'hinderance' and gave the point to her opponent, Australian Samantha Stosur, at which point Serena let loose with a diatribe of accusations and insults against the umpire. Sam Stosur went on to win the match, and was already one set up at the time of the incident. Serena was fined $2000 for her outburst. Her earnings for participating in the US Open were $1.4 million.

Discussions were held at more than one newspaper site, with many viewpoints and sensitive feelings exposed. At this particular Huffington Post comment site (see below), I was surprised to see support for Serena from black people who placed blame on white people for Serena's outburst - a result of longstanding racist discrimination against her, one claimed. A heated discussion developed from such comments which I, among others, engaged in, but with no resolution. Try as I might, I could not get my point across about the concept of reverse racism. To me, Serena's comments reflected an antagonism towards the umpire that at the very least bordered on racial difference, discrimination, or intolerance.

It seemed that no matter how well off a black person became, or how successful, any perceived slight or insensitive remark could be interpreted as racist. Once again, in this sense, racism reverts simply to the colour of the skin and no other basis at all. On a wider level, racism is about denying opportunity to people on the basis of their cultural or national background or religion (or however you want to word it), but one can hardly say that Serena is still experiencing this level of racism, having reached the highest levels of international tennis tournaments. Yet here she is, letting loose on the umpire, in a similar vein as in 2009, against a linesperson.

Another aspect of the discussion was her behaviour seemingly taken out of context. Alone, with no explanation, her behaviour was described as a child's, yet Serena is a poweful woman, not just physically but in the world, having support from her family, friends, tennis support team, blacks in America no doubt, and fans of tennis eveywhere. So when a person holding such power oversteps the limit of decency and good behaviour, isn't that different than when someone with little or no power oversteps it. Are we expecting too much to want the people we admire and respect for their skills and talent to also engage in good behaviour? Do such people ever get punished to the same extent that powerless people do, or are the powerless punished more because they have no contribution to society to draw upon to excuse their bad behaviour?

So far, on this brief report alone, nearly 1800 comments have been submitted by readers. Many of them are very unhappy with her behaviour. Many others remain loyal to her. But at least people have had the opportunity, and the freedom, to give their views on this controversial incident.


Serena Williams Loses Cool With Chair Umpire In U.S. Open Final (VIDEO)
Huffington Post
Sept 11, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/11/serena-williams-loses-cool_n_957772.html

Memory stick loss at Western's clinic for children

Personal information of clients - children - of a speech and hearing clinic at UWO, has gone missing. The data was being kept on a USB memory stick at an employee's desk, and was misplaced when office space was being re-organized. It has been said that when bad things happen, the main concern then is how people respond to it - what they do about it.

In this case, an attempt was made by campus security to locate the tiny stick, without success, and eventually, letters were sent out to the parents of the 4500 children involved. Various experts have given their views, from a health-systems management expert, a medical officer of health, university officials, and Ontario's information and privacy commissioner. Precautions the family can take have been suggested (Kids' personal info, April 19), while blame has been placed on 'technology' itself (Clinic security breach, Apr 19), and the actions taken by staff working with the data. Lastly, as so many people state when bad things happen to them, the University is determined that nothing like this will ever happen again, saying,

"Western is taking steps to ensure nothing like this happens again. We will conduct a complete review of this incident, reiterating patient privacy protocols with all of our health care professionals and their staff, as well as determine what additional steps we can take to improve our existing protocols, designed to ensure each client’s privacy in our clinics" (University statement, Apr 18).

One other piece of information I'd like to add to all this is that there is another way of looking at this incident, if you recall the case of Kitty Genovese, who was murdered in NY in 1964. At least a dozen persons living in nearby buildings heard parts of the prolonged attack but didn't report it to the authorities. People saw it as an example of apathy, that no one in her community cared. Later, social psychologists gave it the name 'bystander effect' and 'diffusion of responsibility,' whereby all involved think that someone else will make the phone call or ensure the data is secure, or do whatever is needed.

It's not that members of the staff may not care, and indeed, in this situation it was children who were involved, making it less likely that someone had intended to do harm. Mistakes happen all the time. It's just not that often that the potential for harm is as great as it is in this event. And often, rules and ways the organization functions may seem to be working just fine, until this kind of situation happens.

A few days ago, I was driving out of town, intent on following a lead for a medical centre that was accepting new patients, as I am new to London and don't have a family doctor. I passed by a woman and her vehicle by the side of the road, and a dog lying in the middle of the road, not moving at all. I slowed down, as other drivers did, and then drove on. It wasn't that I didn't care. Numerous reasons flashed through my mind as to why I didn't stop, and couldn't stop. I felt guilty, as I felt the eyes of the one sole concerned human being on me. And she was still there, with a police car, on my return trip. I might just as well have stopped, for all the good that trip did me. Diffusion of responsibility. Bystander effect.

The point is, it's not technology to blame, or lack of competence of the staff, or one person's mistake or forgetfulness. It's just the way things are as an organization grows larger and more complex. Add into that the division of labour, and one employee may not know what the other one does or is supposed to do, and may think that someone else will do the particular task that wasn't getting done, this day, that led to this catastrophe.



Security breach of kids' info raises alarm
By Jennifer O'Brien
London Free Press
April 19, 2011
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/04/18/18032821.html
(http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2011/04/19/18038951.html: Clinic security breach raises alarm)


University statement regarding H.A. Leeper Speech and Hearing Clinic
By Communications Staff
Western News, UWO
April 18, 2011
http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/stories/2011/April/university_statement_regarding_ha_leeper_speech_and_hearing_clinic.html

The London Slut Walk - The 'S' word should be SEX, not slut

I was just about to post a comment this evening on an article in the London Free Press (Walker objects, Apr 8) when comments were cut off, after only 4 had been posted - all by men. The article was not the first on the local response to the apparent remark by a Toronto cop addressing law students, that 'women should avoid dressing like “sluts” if they didn’t want to be victimized' (What starts with an ‘s’, April 8, LFP).

Following is my comment, mainly in response to comments made by others.

I'm not sure if Jeff is trying to say there should be a Slut Walk? (Megan Walker doesn't like the idea, and Jeff doesn't approve of her kind of activism, he says, so I gather he's all for the Walk by that name). Are you sure you won't be tempted to refer to the marchers as Sluts, Jeff?

There must be a better way to handle this situation.

Mick, the word slut has different connotations according to gender. Men have always been allowed to be proud of their sexual exploits. Not so with women. Most keep quiet about them so they won't be judged.

That's all I wrote. And my response to the other article today by Kelly Pedro is also lacking, in part due to word limits placed on contributions. I would have liked to have added that the s word in question should probably not be 'slut' at all but rather, 'sex'. Focusing on the word slut is distorting the problem, taking the emphasis off a topic that really needs to be discussed, as demonstrated by the lack of understanding by more than one commenter.

It's too bad the comment made by one commenter got deleted. It illustrated some of the attitudes that need to be addressed, instead of women simply demanding their rights to dress provocatively without considering negative consequences. Removing the derogatory comments, what remains of his comment is this:

"Now if I pin money to my shirt,walk late at night and get mugged, can the 'it shouldn't be the way I dress' excuse work too??????"

Nowhere has it been mentioned that women's behaviour is also part of the problem. Being sexually provocative might also result in unwanted attention, just as their attire might. When it comes to sexual violence, it's not always the clothing that matters. If a woman appears vulnerable, or available, she might be more likely to be seen as a target.

One issue I have concern with, regarding the Value Women campaign initiated by Megan Walker, is that it's not inclusive of the idea of 'slut,' or at least of the idea that women are sexual (and may be seen as 'sluttish'). Pushing the problem away is not a solution, either, no more than the opposite, which appears to be that of embracing the notion of women as sluts, as in the Slut Walk.

When women dress in hot outfits, that is exactly what men are thinking of when they use the word 'slut'. And that's probably what the cop meant when he used it and got into trouble for doing so. The word is used so commonly that he obviously used it in the wrong manner, and definitely in the wrong place.

Men don't think like women in matters pertaining to sex. A woman can believe she has rights (as men do too, of course), but if they act as though no one can take away those rights, or that men 'shouldn't', by dressing as they have a right to, sexually provocatively, in the wrong place at the wrong time, they may be increase the chances of being noticed, and place themslves at risk. There is a difference between 'should' and 'what is', and women are being warned by the police that men don't always think or behave rationally when it comes to sex. and if men won't be considerate of women, in such circumstances, then women have to take precautions.

Feminists claim that men have always been in awe of women's sexuality and the power it has over them, so that's one reason why, in general, some men intentionally demean women by referring to them as sluts - putting them in their place, so to speak.

It probably makes some men angry just to see the attitudes of women participating in the Slut Walk. How does that help the problem of 'violence against women.' And how did the walk itself help educate the public about violence against women?


Campaign counters Slut Walk
By Kelly Pedro
London Free Press
April 8, 2011
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/04/08/17922886.html

Slutwalk: "Because We've had Enough"
By Thomas Cermak
London Fuse
April 10, 2011
http://londonfuse.ca/images/slutwalk-because-weve-had-enough

Walker objects to women being called 'sluts'
By Kelly Pedro
The London Free Press
April 8, 2011
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/04/07/17916251.html

What starts with an ‘s’ and divides women’s groups?
By Kelly Pedro
London Free Press
April 8, 2011
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/04/07/17914086.html#/news/london/2011/04/07/pf-17916296.html
-----------------------------------------------
added May 19, 2011

Sex and the SlutWalk (with comments)
by Agenda intern Andrew Lynes
TVO - The Agenda
May 6, 2011
http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cfm?page_id=3&action=blog&subaction=viewpost&post_id=15290&blog_id=323

Mature students: fast tracked though 'Prior Learning' programs

Further to my previous piece on this subject (Mature Students: getting a degree, Sept 12), a few more insights have been mentioned in the press, in the UK, about the USA's innovations in the area of 'higher education.' In 'Older, wiser, jobless . . ,' a new program endorsed by City University of Seattle commends and rewards the older student who has gained experienced in life in various kinds of ways, apparently, though the article itself mentions only the valuable contribution of the older wiser person who has previously had a career.

It seems that the original meaning of 'mature student' that was familiar to many of us at Western, that of the older student who was permitted to register for a BA without having a graduation certificate, has now been changed, or gotten lost in the intricate application program that neglects to mention this aspect of 'mature student.' True, this article is about the United States, not Canada or Britain. And the emphaiss seems to be on the older person who has previously had a career and now wants a degree so she or he can use it to advance their career or regain one. The essential part of this process - the PLA or Prior Learning Assessment - is based on the candidate having an advisor. But I wonder how easy it is to get an advisor at university who could understand the value of one's life experience and want to see the student progress. I never had such a person, who was willing to take the time to understand and go through it with me, and despite having graduated from high school, and achieved a BA and MA, never got to either continue my education or have a career. This kind of mentorship is the foundation of the Prior Learning program in the USA.

It seems to me that the focus will be on only those students the advisor can relate to, can understand without it having to take up too much time or throught processes. That sounds as though a good many qualified individuals will be excluded, for not having the right network, or not living in the right neighbourhood, or having the right husband (not the mention not previously had the right kind of life experience - the career.) How do we know this isn't just another program created for the benefit of a certain segment in society, or certain individuals, so they can be fast tracked through the educational system, while their initial lack of qualifications stand a good chance of getting lost in the process.

In Canada, a related matter has occurred, whereby a student at the University of Manitoba was given a PhD despite not being able to handle certain situations during the educational process. If all PhD candidates' weaknesses and deficiencies are overlooked or forgiven, then what would be the state of those who get to educate the next generation.

What of favouritism in the higher eduational process? Is it what we want? Or if we are one of the favoured would we, too, look the other way. The comments sections following the articles 'Court battle' and 'Older, wiser, jobless' offer insights into what the people think.


Court battle over PhD
By Aldo Santin
Winnipeg Free Press
Oct 30, 2010
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/court-battle-over-phd-106366028.html?path=/local&id=106366028&sortBy=rank

Mature Students: getting a degree, or a lifetime of 'continuing education'
By Sue McPherson
Sue's Views on the News
Sept 12, 2010
http://suemcpherson.blogspot.com/2010/09/mature-students-getting-degree-or.html

Older, wiser, jobless: US adults drawn by degrees
By Jon Marcus
THE (Times Higher Education)
December 2, 2010
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=414424

University defends giving PhD to student who failed
By Nick Martin, Winnipeg Free Press
Vancouver Sun
Nov 18, 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/University+defends+giving+student+failed/3847406/story.html

Russell Williams: voices of authority and privilege dictating on his right to live

News coverage of the Russell Williams murder case has been deemed to be appropriate (Majority feel, Globe and Mail, Oct 25). Viewers comments have occasionally been restricted, yet it is under the auspices of one of the national newspapers itself that the greatest injustice and perhaps even, crime, has been committed. Of the three pieces in the Full Comment pages recently, on the murderer and former colonel Russell Williams, only one expresses worthwhile ideas.

Barbara Kay has judged Russell Williams's sense of morality, based, I suppose, on her own scarcity of it. If we examine that piece in more depth, we realize it is not the fact that he killed that bothers her most, for she herself is advocating that he be killed; it is something else that concerns her. If not the fact that he committed murder, what it is it exactly that she objects to? She doesn't care for his manner of carrying out his crimes, with efficiency, premeditation, and lack of feeling (see Russell Williams deserves, National Post, Oct 25, 2010). In my comments on a different piece (Should we kill, NP, Oct 31, 2010), I referred to Kay's column on the subject as being similar to Hitler's sense of morality, a point of view that was not warmly received. Let me explain further.

It has struck me that there's something not quite right about someone using their position to advocate a certain position, and one that involves executing someone. Yet this is what Barbara is doing, and apparently with the approval of the National Post. If Williams is seen to 'deserve' the death penalty, then in Kay's view it seems it would be morally acceptable to execute him if done 'humanely.' If this is the case, how do you cause someone's life to end humanely? Is it best to sneak up on them and hit them over the head from behind, or not tell them that you're going to inject them with a drug that will end their life, as Harold Shipman did in England? Or should one place them on death row for years on end, so they will know for certain (almost) that they will never live a normal life ever again but must simply wait for the grim reaper, though when he does come, presumably the physical pain the death row convict will feel will not even come close to what his own tortured victims suffered. It is the physical pain Barbara Kay is concerned about, isn't it? Not the emotional pain of the condemned man, or possibly even that of his victims and the families of his victims. Is Kay's aim to see justice done, or to present her own views for others to consider, or to try to convince readers of her own beliefs, at the same time ridding herself of the emotional distress caused by hearing what this man Russell Williams did.

Kay refers to Williams as evil, thus deserving of capital punishment in her view. But who is she to decide who is evil or not, or even whether evil truly exists in our world or whether anyone is wholly evil. Which one of us is wholly evil, or wholly innocent? No one. Williams conducted himself well doing his job; in fact, he had a highly successful military careeer (Col. Russell Williams, The Record, Feb 13). Should this count for him, or are the bad deeds men do the only ones people should remember? Should a man who has committed such atrocities be given the death penalty so that others learn from that, or to rid the world of people like him, or because he is seen to be evil and morally inferior?

If anyone focuses on the weaknesses or moral frailties of any other person, is that acceptable? If we advocate death for that person, in a country where the death penalty is not lawful, and if we do so in a forum which is read by countless readers, is that permissable? Is that 'freedom of speech' or is using the power of one's position to pursue one's own agenda, one that involves the killing of another human being, an action that should be depored? Who, indeed, has the right to determine who should have to die (see Williams doesn’t, NP, Oct 27, 2010).

Russell Williams is being made a scapegoat, someone to take on all the hatred and emotional turmoil that can't be placed elsewhere, by people who have the power to address this situation rationally and sensibly rather than as something 'evil. The fact that his escapades involved sexuality, however warped and deviant people may see that, suggests that what we need from this man, and his family, friends, and colleagues, is as much information we can get so we can understand this better. Furthermore, setting up a dichotomy between execution and brain malfunction doesn't even make sense (Should we kill, NP, Oct 31, 2010).

Are Opinions' pages of newspapers permitted to present views that could incite hatred? How is it that individual writers or journalists are allowed to write on subjects they know nothing about, or are permitted to present their thoughts on important topics in a disoriented, or thoughtless, yet persuasive manner. If, as they might well claim, these are simply their opinions, why is it such a newspaper as the National Post pays them to promote such meaningless thoughts or possibly dangerous ideas? It seems what counts most is selling newspapers.

Col. Russell Williams: Who is this man?
By Raveena Aulakh, David Bruser and Katie Daubs
The Record
February 13, 2010
http://news.therecord.com/article/670127

Majority feel Russell Williams coverage struck ‘right balance’
By Jane Taber
Globe and Mail
October 25, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/majority-feel-russell-williams-coverage-struck-right-balance/article1771996/

Russell Williams deserves to die
By Barbara Kay
National Post Full Comment
October 25, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/10/25/barbara-kay-russell-williams-deserves-to-die/

Should we kill a serial killer, or does the fault lie within his brain?
By Paul Russell
National Post Full Comment
October 31, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/10/31/paul-russell-should-we-kill-a-serial-killer-or-does-the-fault-lie-within-his-brain/#more-16442

Williams doesn’t deserve to die
By John Moore
National Post Full Comment
October 27, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/10/27/john-moore-williams-doesnt-deserve-to-die/#more-16083

Jessica Dunkley: exceptional achiever and champion for women, Métis and the deaf, or a misuse of funds?

Jessical Dunkley is a high achiever, a role model, and a champion for more than one social group. But is there a limit to how much money should be given to support her high career aspirations?

Jessica is an example to the deaf everywhere, and to Métis, having shown how well these groups can do in the educational system, and in the workplace, with the necessary support to help deal with their physical limitations. Within the category 'women,' many role models, champions and achievers over the years have made their way into the public sphere and are considered role models for their achievements and/or contributions to society. The deaf community and aboriginals, however, are fairly new in their quest for recognition within society, and acknowledgment that they, too, have the ability not just to succeed but to surpass achievements made by most Canadians.

A recent article on this topic appeared in the Globe and Mail (Skilled-interpreter shortage, Sept 22, 2010), followed by a discussion which is also available online. Since then, I have come across three websites online (see list following), which refer to Jessica's struggles and achievements as a deaf person and an aboriginal.

According to the Globe and Mail article, Jessica wants to be able to pursue her ambition to become a dermatologist, and is seeking funding to do so. What it fails to mention, however, is that Jessica is a physiotherapist (see 2008 Recipients). She has already trained and found herself a career, so what would be the advantages and disadvantages of her continuing.

As the article from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine informs us, "there are six Aboriginal students in this year’s graduating class, the second cohort since the inception of the program, whose goal is to graduate 100 Aboriginal students by 2020." If each of these students require funding, and are seeking careers, will any of them be disadvantaged by Jessica's need for training for a second career? It looks as though NAAF only provides the Métis award one time only (see Special One-time Métis Health), so all students get an opportunity to have one, and perhaps that is why the Globe and Mail article was written, to take the matter to the wider public and try and get support for it.

Read the comments at the link provided at the end of the G&M article to see what others think about the issue as it was presented.

I can't help but wonder if this is a matter for the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF), rather than other groups such as the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) or members of society in general. There are so many students seeking funding who don't get it despite their ability and need, and in fact, so many deaf people, probably, who never receive educational assistance, that it creates a real dilemma as to whether or not granting Jessica the money for a specialized signing interpreter throughout her dermatology program is a wise decision.

Certainly, having persons who can be looked up to, in the deaf community to in the Métis or aboriginal community, is a worthwhile cause, but at whose expense, and how many others? Jessica uses two sign languages, Quebec and American (see A glimpse at the class of 2010), and can speak English (see 2008 Recipients). The cost of having signing interpreters for her program could be as much as $250,000 a year (Skilled-Interpreter shortage). And what happens after that, when she is working with the public, we don't know. How much financial assistance a deaf person could receive due to her disability while working as a dermatologist is another issue.

On the other hand, would it be worthwhile for the deaf and for aboriginals to have this role model who will have exceeded even her own original aspirations when she has completed the degree, being qualified then not for just one, but two careers. If it would help bring down barriers to people with disabilities and to aboriginals, would it be worth the cost? Or would it better to finance more students, so more of them can achieve their goals, even if they are lesser? What does our country value more - helping one go as far as she can, or helping many so that they can work and earn a living?



2008 Recipients
Stacey Levitt Women And Sport Memorial Scholarship 2008
Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS)
http://www.caaws.ca/e/grants/levitt/2008.cfm
accessed Sept 24, 2010

A glimpse at the class of 2010
University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine celebrates 147 graduating doctors
University of Ottawa News Releases & Announcements
May 19, 2010
http://www.media.uottawa.ca/mediaroom/news-details_1976.html
accessed Sept 24, 2010

Special One-time Métis Health Careers Award recipients 2009
National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF)
http://www.naaf.ca/node/211
accessed Sept 24, 2010

Skilled-interpreter shortage presents hurdle in deaf MD’s quest to become dermatologist
By Wendy Stueck in Vancouver
Globe and Mail
Sep. 22, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/skilled-interpreter-shortage-presents-hurdle-in-deaf-mds-quest-to-become-dermatologist/article1717651

Mature Students: getting a degree, or a lifetime of 'continuing education'

A recent article in the Globe and Mail (Kickin' it old-school, Sept 3, 2010), about mature students going to university to get their degree, brought forth discussion about two kinds of education later on in life. Students are permitted to go to university after they have been out of school for a number of years, their life experience counting towards their acceptance into the undergraduate programs at many universities. The other kind of education for older, or mature students, would be for night courses and other types of 'continuing education' courses, often held at high schools or perhaps colleges as well as universities.

The 'mature students' you might run into at university, taking regular classes along with the younger students, might not always be mature, within themselves. Most of us at Western were not, as I recall, when I went there in the late 80s and early 90s. But we were older than most. Some of us might have had the proper qualifications, the high school graduation certificate, but it seems to me we were all lumped together, regardless.

The idea of 'continung education' encompasses all kinds of education that adults get into later on. It is, in fact, a concept that encompasses the cultural norm in Canada of being involved in education practically from birth to death. It is encouraged by one and all in our society to value education and to partake of it at every opportunity, especially as one grows older and has time on one's hands. To negate it seems to oppose all that we have been brought up to appreciate and believe in. But the reality is, don't expect that it will automatically improve your life. Mature students who return to get their higher education after years away from education may find it tough going trying to make use of their credentials afterwards.

Another recent newspaper article focuses on the new full-day kindergarten programs that are starting up in Canada, another aspect of the idea of 'continuing education,' this time, the decision being made by our government to introduce full-time education (or baby-sitting as some commenters wrote) for 5 year olds. Really, does anyone think our children need this? (See All-day kindergarten, National Post, Sept 8, 2010).

All right, so one more article is required at this point - on home-schooling, or 'unschooling' as some call it! (See More families are deciding, Globe and Mail, Sept 10, 2010). Viewpoints in the article and the comments section on both sides of the issue - worth a read, considering the cultural norm on education that currently presides in Canada. This article rounds out the discussion on education per se, as being of great value according to most people, though what the proponents of unschooling think of mature returners or continuing education classes I wouldn't know.

Finally, this article (The new girl power, Sept 9, 2010) from a British newspaper, The Independent, brings in gender, and youth. In these matters, there couldn't be that much difference between Canada and Britain. I agree - it is a young woman's world. That doesn't mean it's good for our world, and it may not even be good for women. If the women aren't working at what they're good at and enjoy, and if they're constantly struggling for something that's not going to happen - pay parity with men - will they ever be content with what they have achieved?

The baby boomers had better have something more substantial to tell the younger generation, other than the value of 'continuing education.' What have we achieved. What is our legacy? And what happens next?


All-day kindergarten is a waste of money
By Marni Soupcoff
National Post
Sept 8, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/09/08/marni-soupcoff-all-day-kindergarten-is-a-waste-of-money/#more-11052

Kickin' it old-school: The rise of the mature student
By Natalie Stechyson
Globe and Mail
Sept 03, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/back-to-school/kickin-it-old-school-the-rise-of-the-mature-student/article1694734

More families are deciding that school’s out – forever
By Kate Hammer
Globe and Mail
Sept 10, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/back-to-school/more-families-are-deciding-that-schools-out-forever/article1703185/

The new girl power: Why we're living in a young woman's world
By Alice-Azania Jarvis
The Independent
September 9, 2010
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/the-new-girl-power-why-were-living-in-a-young-womans-world-2074042.html

See, also, this article added Sept 15, 2010.

Not everyone needs a debt-financed university degree to be complete
By Matt Gurney
National Post Full Comment
Sept 14, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/09/14/matt-gurney-not-everyone-needs-a-debt-financed-university-degree-to-be-complete/#more-10914

Survey: can Canadian baby-boomers survive our health-care system?

A heavy topic in today's newspapers. Each time the subject crops up the babyboomers are in for it again - taking the blame for the inadequacies of the system and the ageist attitudes of health-care workers, the media, and the government itself.

Following are three comments I have left in comments sections of various newspapers today, before I go off the local swimming pool to get some exercise.

1.
It's no wonder people surveyed see the babyboomers as the ones responsible for the problems of the medical system. It's the only perception of this important social issue that news and opinion articles impart to the public. I don't believe the CMA really wants a national debate (see article - "on the kind of health-care system Canadians want"). Why, otherwise, have they waited so long to say this. I became interested in aging while a student at university in the early 1990's. Even then, we could see there would be a problem at some point, if nothing was done. And so now, finally, when Canada's citizens are riled up from reading about the problems "caused" by the babyboomers, the CMA says it wants to hear what Canadians have to say? One thing that would help would be if health-care workers did their jobs to the best of their ability (and got them in the first place on that basis - that they were good at what they did). (Canadians bracing, National Post, Aug 23, 2010).

2.
Mary wrote "The health care system in Canada gives each patient a rating when admitted."

I had thought it was more informal than that, that it was the hospital staff, or the doctor's, who rated the patient according to the knowledge they had on hand at that moment. They must look at social ratings - does this person work, have children, a husband, own a home, or is well-established within the community. All these things count. Then, of course, we have to deal with the biases of hosptial staff themselves. If I break an ankle, can I, an older woman without a husband, a job, or home that I own, expect to be treated fairly by an orthopedic surgeon who got his training at a university in Libya? Not only am I dealing with ageist, sexist, and class-based biases from people who grw up Canadian, but I also have to deal with foregn attitudes of the medical staff.

Being able to walk and have the independence that allows is important for older people. To have that taken away at the whim of the medical staff, and other health-care practitioners, is the fault of the attitudes that actuallyu seem to be enouraged in our country. Canada is not a nice place to live, for many of us. (comment, Most Canadians, CTV, Aug 23, 2010).

3.
pkmills (8/23/2010 8:57:16 AM) has hit the nail on the head. Not just politicians, but anyone who is not liked, for whatever reason - the work they do, where they live, their beliefs - can end up having inadequate or dangerous decisions made about them by health-care workers. It's such an arbitrary process that some people without insurance can get what they need from the medical system, without paying extra, while others just won't get it no matter how hard they try. I'm talking about people such as unliked political figures, people who raise controversial issues about society, immigrants, the homeless, the unemployed, and so on.

What I would hope is that people who work in the medical system would do their job as best they can, and not let personal or political biases get in the way. For older people getting helpful treatment in the community is not always that easy, when ageism and other factors result in games being played that place obstacles in the way of their getting what they need. In the end, what causes an unecessary drain on the system is having increasing numbers of babyboomers who don't getr the proper information and so become less able to remain mobile and independent in their homes and out of them. (comment, Survey finds, G&M, Aug 23, 2010).

4. added Aug 28, 2010
Possibly there's something to this 'Charter for Patient Centred Care'. It might seem obvious to most of us, but to citizens age 30 and under it might not. Just as every new generation has to learn the basics, perhaps this generation of young men and women in docs' offices and hospitals also have to learn. Hence the 3 items listed in the article.

If all health-care workers followed these guidelines instead of current norms in society which enourage the playing of mindgames and language games, and using one's power in whatever way one chooses, hospitals and doctors' offices would be better places. When there's no religious beliefs to direct a person through their lifetime - a sense of alienation, Marx would say - anything can happen. Health workers have the the ability, knowledge, and skills for the job they are hired to do. So it's a matter of using them the right way to get the job done. (comment, Baby steps, Nat Post, August 26, 2010).

Aug 29, 2010
One of the ways people manage to silence the ones they wish would stop talking is to make life so hard that it becomes a real struggle to survive. Continuous obstacles set in one's path take up most of one's time and energy. Some cause one's health to suffer. Even those who should be on your side end up benefitting by making life harder for you. When they can't win by intimidating, or by skillful or not-so-skillful manipulation of the English language, they do so by lying outright, turning people against you and destroying your reputation. I know people this has happened to. Some commit suicide, some suffer silently, and some conform and laugh about it while in public. Some kill. But still the world carries on, blindly. Why doesn't anyone listen?


Canadians bracing for health-care system 'silver tsunami'
By Meagan Fitzpatrick, Postmedia News
National Post
Aug. 23, 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Canadians+bracing+health+care+system+silver+tsunami/3429598/story.html

Most Canadians fear for health system: report card
By CTV.ca News Staff
CTV.ca
Aug. 23 2010
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStoriesV2/20100823/cma-health-report-100823/

Survey finds most fear boomers will cripple health-care system
By André Picard, Niagara Falls, Ont.
Globe and Mail
Aug. 23, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/survey-finds-most-fear-boomers-will-cripple-health-care-system/article1681662/


Added Aug 28, 2010

Baby steps to better health care, but still a long way to go
By Tasha Kheiriddin
National Post Full Comment
August 26, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/08/26/tasha-kheiriddin-baby-steps-to-better-health-care-but-still-a-long-way-to-go/#more-9955

Doctors and medicare
Toronto Star
Aug 27, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/853120--doctors-and-medicare

'You can’t be cured by an idea’
Toronto Star
Aug 28, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/853146--you-can-t-be-cured-by-an-idea

Immigrants and refugees - and Canadians: cultural norms and employment

On the individual level, people from other countries can be lovely people, but what about our attitudes towards them in general, we - as self-perceived true Canadians, and what do they think of us and being in Canada? Furthermore, is it being foreign that matters, or is what matters what such travellers bring with them when they come - money, resources, access to culture in foreign lands, or important connections. Are foreigners disliked because we don't understand their culture or their goals in coming here, or are they disliked because they are strangers, a burden on our medical and employment systems, or just because they are different.

These are just a few articles I have linked to, below, some for the content and some for the comments.

Beware the colonizers
By George Jonas
National Post, Full Comment
August 18, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/08/18/george-jonas-beware-the-colonizers/#more-9296

Immigrants want success now, not tomorrow
By Ratna Omidvar
Globe and Mail
Aug. 04, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/immigrants-want-success-now-not-tomorrow/article1660760

Poll shows Canadians are nasty, anti-immigrant SOBs
By Kelly McParland
National Post, Full Comment
August 20, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/08/20/kelly-mcparland-poll-shows-canadians-are-nasty-anti-immigrant-sobs/#more-9523

Scenes from the Canadian gold mine
By George Jonas
National Post, Full Comment
August 11, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/08/11/george-jonas-scenes-from-the-canadian-gold-mine/

Cory McMullan: Belleville police chief victim of a violent incident

Belleville, Ontario, police Chief Cory McMullan suffered a broken arm in an incident one week ago. She says she was the victim of domestic violence, but it is likely that it was simply an 'incident,' using police terms, and not the kind of violence against women that so many women in society have to endure, due to powerlessness in their home circumstances. One has to wonder what her retired 53-year old husband has experienced himself, in this new kind of society where men are more likely to leave work early, while the wife continues the family career.

Mrs McMullan apparently stated that, "given her position in the community, 'it is important to acknowledge that I am the victim' " (Belleville police chief victim, CBC, Aug 11, 2010). But it may well have been that there were two victims in this case. It is hard to believe that the husband, retired police officer Dave McMullen, would use violence intentionally to try to control his police chief wife. If this was a situation of domestic violence, it wasn't the traditional kind that many wives experienced before they gained financial independence in their lives.

In my comment submitted to the CBC online article, at 8:53 am ET Aug 13, I wrote the following:

Eliza Doolittle writes, "I suggest we wait until the other side of the story is told before jumping to any conclusions."

The problem here is that her arm got broken, and in our society, that kind of violence is usually the deciding factor in any cases of abuse. Psychological, emotional, sexual, or economic abuse is less likely to be recognized, particularly as is applies to men being victimized. Our society has changed so much in the last 30 or 40 years, with women often working past the time when their husbands retire. We don't know the situation here, but we do know how difficult it can be for any man who retires at an early age. The woman, Cory McMullan, has apparently stated, "it is important to acknowledge that I am the victim." Like many women of today, and men of yesteryear, it may be difficult for her to see that there might be another side to the story.
END OF COMMENT

See related story on my blog, June 9, 2010: Domestic Violence’ narratives: the murders of Lois Mordue and Dave Lucio. http://suemcpherson.blogspot.com/2010/06/domestic-violence-narratives-murders-of.html

Belleville Police Chief speaks out as a domestic abuse victim
Natalie Stechyson and Adrian Morrow, Toronto and Belleville
Globe and Mail
Aug. 12, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/belleville-police-chief-speaks-out-as-a-domestic-abuse-victim/article1671473/

Belleville police chief victim of 'domestic incident'
CBC.ca. The Canadian Press
August 11, 2010
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/08/11/ot-belleville-chief.html

Belleville’s abuzz over police chief as victim of domestic violence
Carola Vyhnak, Staff Reporter
Toronto Star
Aug 12, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/846418--belleville-s-abuzz-over-police-chief-as-victim-of-domestic-violence

Ontario police chief says she was victim of domestic abuse

By QMI Agency
canoe.ca
Aug 11, 2010
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/08/11/14989296.html

Public life, public victim
By Joseph Brean
Financial Post
Aug. 12, 2010
http://www.financialpost.com/related/topics/Public+life+public+victim/3388045/story.html

Added Aug 24, 2010

Belleville Mayor denies affair with police chief
Carola Vyhnak, Urban Affairs Reporter
Toronto Star
Aug 23 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/851519--belleville-mayor-denies-affair-with-police-chief?bn=1

Belleville mayor denies having affair with police chief
By W. Brice Mcvicar, QMI Agency
Peterborough Examiner
Aug 24, 2010
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2726196

Belleville mayor denies rumours of affair with police chief
By Adrian Morrow, Belleville
Globe and Mail
Aug. 23, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/belleville-mayor-denies-rumours-of-affair-with-police-chief/article1682780/

Motherhood, aging, and resentful adult children: Shirley Anderson's story

Shirley Anderson is suing her adult children for support. An ancient law in Alberta regards this as the children's duty. The media has picked on an example of bad parenting, committed by Ken Anderson's mother and father when he was just 15 years old to support the argument of the four adult children being sued, that they shouldn't have to pay support (A bad mother's right, National Post, July 27, 2010).

Ken was left behind when his parents moved from Osoyoos to West Kootenay in BC - abandoned, as they describe it. Shirley Anderson took her second-youngest son, Darryl, with her, apparently against her husband Gary's wishes (What do we owe, Vancouver Sun, July 24, 2010). Shirley Anderson raised five children, developed lupus along the way (Payback time, MacLeans, June 24, 2010), and never worked. At age 71, she now has nothing. Gary, her ex, gave her alimony when they divorced, though his boss, Labbatts, needed encouragment to split his pension with her. He has since died.

Shirley went into debt with her credit card. Her attempts to get support have been going on for ten years now. Darryl has been in and out of jail and is not being sued. Ken is 46, married with children, not wealthy but hard-working, and resents the additional burden supporting his mother presents. Daughter Donna Anderson "breaks down in tears when she recalls her tumultuous childhood with the 'mother we never had' " (What do we owe, Vancouver Sun, July 24, 2010). She went to university and is raising two children.

Son Brian bought her a fridge once, in an attempt to build a relationship. Donna and her mother attended counselling together. But nothing worked, the children say. Keith hasn't talked to her in years. "She doesn't even know we're alive," he is quoted as saying (What do we owe,Vancouver Sun, July 24, 2010), though it appears she does. He adds, "She never worked and she's never worked at her family either."

It's suprising that she managed to raise such enterprising children - none got put into foster homes, only one in trouble with the law. They have educated themselves and worked hard, formed relationships and raised families. They also seem to have little tolerance for women of that era, who often did stay home with the children while the husband worked - cooking, cleaning, driving the children to school functions, community events, and to the doctor and dentist - shopping, sewing, mending, filling out forms for school, getting them their shots at the doctor's, putting on birthday parties, and so on. And she had five children to worry about! At the time Shirley was raising her family, the one-salary family was the quite typical, the man being the breadwinner, his earnings enough for the entire family. That changed, in the 70's probably, until we reached this time where it takes two incomes for a family to feel they have enough.

There is uncertainty about this kind of law, though Surrey, BC, lawyer David Greig says that a child must have means to pay support before they are made to (Payback time, MacLeans, June 24, 2010). Unfortunately, it's part of the human condition for people to always think they need more. And whether the reason the children are so critical of their mother is, in part, due to their not wanting to have to pay her, we don't know. Whether it should be the children's responsibility or the system's, is the larger question.

Shirley's lawyer, Donald McLeod, says "My interest quite frankly is to see that someone is treated right, and that's all I care about . . . I don't know very many people that would not be happy to support an aged parent. The duty to support and assist an elderly parent transcends everything else" (What do we owe, Vancouver Sun, July 24, 2010). And finally he says, "What kind of mother she was, or is, shouldn't matter. To engage in any analysis of who is at fault, I think that is a useless exercise."

"Do vengeance and vindictiveness have a place in the lives of otherwise decent people?" is the question asked in another piece on this subject (Forgiveness, Vancouver Sun, July 29, 2010). If Shirley was as bad as the children's stories suggest and this was not simply about money, the eye-for-an-eye retribution seems to be a little extreme. It is a symptom of our times - this hatred towards the older generation, especially women or anyone who is isolated and cannot defend themselves. Read the comments with the articles, for an idea of how our society thinks about them. It makes one wonder just how civilized we are.

A bad mother's right to support from her children
By Adrian MacNair
National Post, Full comment
July 27, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/27/adrian-macnair-a-bad-mothers-right-to-support-from-her-children/#more-7817

Forgiveness for an errant elder
By Catherine A. Mori
Vancouver Sun
July 29, 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Forgiveness+errant+elder/3335593/story.htm

Payback time for parents
By Nancy Macdonald
MacLeans
June 24, 2010
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/06/24/payback-time-for-parents/

What do we owe our parents?
By Denise Ryan
Vancouver Sun
July 24, 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/What+parents/3318018/story.html

What's wrong with the Pamela Anderson PETA ad: plus the Rylstone and District Women's Institute calendar and the female Czech politicians calendar

The ad depicting bikini-clad Pamela Anderson as a piece of meat, the names of the cuts such as 'rump' and 'breast' displayed on her body, has been denied a public display by a Montreal agency. An animal rights group, PETA, had wanted to use the poster to gain interest in its cause, animal rights. On the basis of it being sexist, PETA was denied a permit, thus forbidding the group to use the poster, officially, in the launch of its campaign in Montreal at Place Jacques-Cartier in front of the City Hall (Pam poster, Globe and Mail, July 16, 2010). Instead, the launch is scheduled for a local restaurant.

Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, has argued that "true feminists should be more concerned about the plight of female livestock than an image likening Ms. Anderson to a side of beef" (Montreal agency rejects, National Post, July 14, 2010). But considering how women have historically been depicted as 'meat,' this was a poor way to gain attention for their cause. I should think that the problem is not that feminists are unconcerned about the treatment of animals but they are concerned about human females being treated objectively and referred to as meat. To start, do an internet search on 'meat and slang,' 'meat' being slang for a woman to be used for sex - a piece of meat.

Check out the double entendre in this McDonald's ad which illustrates its meat in a manner opposite to the way the PETA ad does (Piece of meat, Slang City, 2005). Ingrid Newkirk and the PETA bunch don't seem to have any regard for human females. If they did, they wouldn't use sex in this manner to draw attention to animal rights. Continuing to perpetuate the idea that women are pieces of meat in men's eyes is harmful to women - not to women who have the financial means and the support to remain safe but to the ones who have to rely on men for their survival and who have little power on their side.

It will be interesting to see how well the sale of the poster goes on the PETA website (http://www.peta.org). Will people buy it just because the proceeds go to PETA, or because it is a poster of a beautiful Pamela Anderson, or do they enjoy the joke behind it more, that women are often talked of as being pieces of meat for the sexual use of men and here it is, in a poster endorsed by PETA? This is not the time controversial images have been used by PETA (see PETA women-as-meat, Sociological Images, June 14, 2008). No doubt the poster will enhance Pamela Anderson's reputation, as the PETA site claims, giving her the opportunity to show off "her outer-and inner-beauty to promote a vegetarian diet and point out the similarities between humans and animals" (Pamela Anderson Shows, PETA, July 17, 2010). But it's not doing the rest of us any favours.

Scantily-clad women are all over the internet. Female Czech politicians have made the news recently, promoting their risqué 2011 calendar (Czechmates, Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2010) to highlight the presence of women in politics. One of the women who appears in the calendar is Marketa Reedova, a 42-year-old Prague city councilwoman now running for mayor. She says "Women's political influence is growing. Why not show we are women who aren't afraid of being sexy? . . . Czechs are open-minded."

Why not show it? Maybe because being sexy isn't simply about showing it. Surely it's closer to being porn than being sexual, if we see porn as something men seek for their own needs while women perform, while being sexy is more to do with the person and her partner. Nevertheless, Czechs are following the lead of the west, the article claims, resisting "the unglamorous trappings and enforced unisex treatment imposed by socialism" (Czechmates, Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2010). Taking steps to 'prove' they are sexual, in such a public manner, would surely be a sign of insecurity, nothing like the kind of behaviour shown by Pamela Anderson, who surely has nothing more to prove in that respect. For an update on how well the calendar is being accepted see Backlash Begins, New Europe, July 19, 2010.

A decade ago another group of women, members of the Rylstone and District Women's Institute, published a nude calendar (see http://www.seecalendargirls.com/). It was a magnificent success! I found the calendar to be a sensitive yet bold way of capturing older women's qualities and strengths (see Beer and Tea, July, 2001). A recent newspaper article tells how the calendar, still being published, has changed over time, and explores the effects of the calendar on various groups also using nude calendars to raise money for a cause. (Calendar girls galore, The Guardian, April 24, 2010). The motives vary, of course, and the ways of creating a calendar are diverse. It's not always easy to figure out why some appeal to us and others don't, or which ones we wish to support.

Pamela Anderson has said, "In a city that is known for its exotic dancing and for being progressive and edgy, how sad that a woman would be banned from using her own body in a political protest over the suffering of cows and chickens" (Pamela Anderson's sexy, NY Daily News, July 15, 2010). Women's embodied presence can be a source of power to them. But it can also be exploited, and the images as well as the thoughts behind them might do harm to others. As society continues to deteriorate, under the guise of progress and freedom, one would do well to consider and reflect upon some of these issues.


References

Backlash Begins for Czech Calendar MPs
By Leos Rousek
New Europe (US edition)
July 19, 2010
http://blogs.wsj.com/new-europe/2010/07/19/backlash-begins-for-czech-calendar-mps/

Beer and Tea: Harmony and Contradiction Among Two Unlikely Counterparts
By Sue McPherson
July 2001
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/EssaysandWriting/2001BeerandTeaSueMcPherson.doc

Calendar girls galore
The Guardian
April 24, 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/24/calender-girls-galore

Czechmates: These Political Figures Star in Their Own Racy Calendar
By Gordon Fairclough and Sean Carney
Wall Street Journal
July 9, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704334604575339011352332760.html#articleTabs_slideshow%3D%26articleTabs%3Darticle

Montreal agency rejects Pamela Anderson PETA ad as sexist
By Graeme Hamilton
National Post
July 14, 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Montreal+agency+rejects+Pamela+Anderson+PETA+sexist/3278754/story.html

Pamela Anderson Shows That All Animals Have the Same Parts
PETA
July 17, 2010
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3205

Pamela Anderson's sexy body-baring PETA ad gets banned in Canada
By Kristie Cavanagh
NY Daily News
July 15, 2010
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/07/15/2010-07-15_pamela_andersons_racy_peta_ad_banned_in_montreal.html

Pam poster too sexist for Montreal
By Sidhartha Banerjee
Montreal — The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
July 16, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/pam-poster-too-sexist-for-montreal/article1642017/

PETA women-as-meat demonstration
By Gwen Sharp
Sociological Images by Lisa Wade and Gwen Sharp
June 14, 2008
http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/06/14/peta-women-as-meat-demonstration/

Piece of Meat
Slang City
2005
http://www.slangcity.com/realenglish/print/piece_of_meat.htm

Men's rights versus children's safety: BA deals with the possibility of perverts

BA Airline has been in a spot of trouble for its handling of a delicate social issue. My response here is mainly to the National Post article on the subject - 'You’re male. You must be a pervert,' by Barbara Kay.

I almost didn't respond to this in the section following the article, but I did, in response to another commenter, then got drawn into the topic of discussion - men's rights versus children's. I found the title to be unsettling - an exaggeration of a social problem men don't like to discuss.

I thought this was worthy of telling about here as it is an example of men who cannot see beyond their own needs and their own egos.

It was also an example of how women (one woman - Barbara Kay) can dismiss anyone else's concerns in order that her favourite cause - men's rights - be upheld. I say, Good for the airline for doing what they can to protect children travelling alone!

Finally, it is an example of how rules should not always be followed blindly (though they are good as guidlelines, in certain circumstances, letting them go is best for everyone). There can be extentuating circumstances which following the rules leading. (I know; I came to Oshawa as a stranger and was treated like a criminal, a threat, as someone worthy only of second-class treatment, or less, often by people doing their jobs which means followng the rules without thought.) In this case, the man had been travelling with his pregnant wife and they had switched seats so that she could be more comfortable by the window. The flight attendant was either unable or unwilling to consider the situation in its entirety. He ordered the man back to his original seat.

According to the Daily Mail, the male passenger said "I was made to feel like a criminal in front of other passengers. It was totally humiliating. Neither myself or my wife dared to speak to the boy in case the cabin crew forced us from our seats. The poor child must have thought we were extremely rude and unfriendly."

The male traveller backed off, which was the only thing he could do without looking like a - well - pervert, demanding to be seated next to the unaccompanied child. He did the right thing, and was recompensed for it later, so I fail to see why the situation is still being treated as problematic. The rule itself was not the problem, but the way the situation was handled. He was lucky to be able to sue and recieve justice. There are many people in this world - in Canada - who get treated badly every single day, who dare not speak for fear they will be punished, or who get blamed for anything bad that happens.

The discussion itself raised another issue, of conflicting rights. Sometimes, one person's rights (or one group's) can be stepped on by another person (or group) demanding theirs. In the discussion following the article, one of the commenters argued that if he had been accosted by airline staff about sitting next to an unaccompanied child he would have loudly complained then and there that he was being discriminated against, for being a man, or as news articles have put it - a pervert. Quite a lesson for the boy travelling alone to have to contend with. The male passenger did the only thing he could - he backed off, and was able to sue later.

My final comment on the National Post article was one I had submitted earlier in the discussion but which had been ignored, the commenter accusing me of being a "feminist propagandist" and needing a psychiatrist. So I will leave readers with this.

"I don't know how much feminists have had to do with such rules being created, but there has been increased awareness in society of how boys and girls can be taken advantage of, sexually, when they are left in close quarters with men who are sexual predators. Do you have a better way that the airline can deal with this?" (Sue McP)

Businessman sues BA 'for treating men like perverts'
By Sophie Borland
Daily Mail UK
16th January 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243625/Businessman-Mirko-Fischer-sues-British-Airwars-treating-men-like-perverts.html

You’re male. You must be a pervert
By Barbara Kay
National Post Full Comment
July 2, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/02/barbara-kay-youre-male-you-must-be-a-pervert/#more-5616