CBC - Doc Zone - Episode - Sext Up Kids

Saw this documentary on CBC the other day and it was scary. Kids are overly sexualized and even hyper-sexualized from a young age and it is having hugely negative consequences. Watch below and let me know what you think.

As a teacher, seeing something like this is disturbing and makes you wonder what can be done to fight back against marketers and popular societal trends.

CBC - Doc Zone - Episode - Sext Up Kids

Human Rights Violation in Algeria

Here is another injustice that needs to be rectified! Activists and union members are being arrested in Algeria and I don't think we should stand for this sort of thing. Read more below and I will post the link to click if you want to get involved in an email campaign to protest this injustice after the blurb. Cheers.

Human Rights Activist, IUF representative in Algeria abducted


01-10-2012




On 1 October, Algerian IUF representative and human rights activist Yacine Zaïd was picked up off the street in Hassi Messaoud in the Ouargla province by unidentified men in a white Nissan 4x4 vehicle and has not been seen since. His location at this time is unknown. Zaïd had earlier been beaten upon being taken into custody by Algerian police prior to his release and subsequent abduction.

The IUF believes that Yacine Zaïd’s well-being and perhaps even his life is at risk because of his outspoken work in defence of human rights in Algeria and his long-standing defence of workers' rights, now as an IUF representative in that country.

The IUF calls on the Algerian authorities to act immediately to secure the release of Yacine Zaïd, guarantee his security and restore his full rights. We also call on authorities to investigate the matter fully and bring those responsible to justice.

You can help. Please send a message to the Algerian Government immediately to secure the safe release of Yacine Zaïd.

On Republican Senatorial hopeful Todd Akin's Medical Knowledge

Apparently Todd Akin, the Republican Senatorial candidate from the great state of Missouri, knows something of the magic of the female body that no scientist or doctor has ever figured out...the body magically shuts down and kicks out unwanted sperm when a woman is "legitimately raped"...therefore there is no need for the government to make abortion legal on the grounds that rape victims need a way to terminate their pregnancies.

So, according to Akin, not only are their "legitimate rapes", but the body magically knows when to accept a man's seed and when not to. Hmm...

Where do they find these guys?



To the credit of the G.O.P., they are trying to force Akin to give up his nomination by taking away his funding and badmouthing him to the media, but choosing him in the first place is still on them.

The party is shifting ever more to the radical, fringe right, which is just one more reason why Barack Obama MUST and WILL win in November. Hopefully the House and Senate will also go his way as Americans and the world are being shown what Republicans really believe.

On Rob Ford's REAL War on Cars

When Rob Ford took office last year, one of the ummm...controversial mayor's first pledges was to 'end the war on cars.' He cited streets cars, pedestrians and those useful scrambles they have at a few major intersections in Toronto (you know, the places where all the 'walk' signs are active at the same time whilst all motorists have a red light in their face) as problems making it hard for motorists to get into and drive around our fair city; however, it is my believe that the real war on cars, pedestrians and others drivers is being waged by the 'law-abiding' mayor himself. I see 2 possible reasons why he is doing this: either he is just a bad driver who is ignorant/doesn't care about the laws in the city he runs or this whole thing is a covert way to confuse and distract citizens and city councillors alike from all the odd, nonsensical and unrealistic things that Mayor Ford has done or tried to do since taking over.  
Don't believe me? Well, I think the evidence showing that other motorists should be terrified if they see the mayor operating a motor vehicle near them speaks for itself.

First off, we have a story running during the last mayoral election season bringing to light Rob Ford's past arrests for DUI and marijuana possession...

Next up we have Mr. Ford flipping off a woman and her daughter when they dare to tell him that he shouldn't be driving and chatting on his cell phone at the same time...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-rob-fords-finger-flipping-misunderstanding/article606343/

Then we have the more recent incident of Toronto's commander-in-chief not knowing the simple and commonly known rule of stopping behind street car doors when they are open, so as not wipe out people getting on or off the mass-transit device or other cars who are following the law...


And last but certainly not least we come to Tuesday's incident of Rob Ford reading important documents while driving to City Hall... 


He says he's a 'busy man' and was still 'paying attention to the road'. Sure, and I'm the great grandson twice removed of Joseph Stalin. Even if he didn't cause an accident, what he was doing was highly dangerous and quite illegal.

How Rob Ford still has a drivers licence and hasn't been charged with anything yet defies logic. Mayoral privilege I suppose.

The next time the happy-go-lucky man in charge talks about the 'war on cars', you know what he is REALLY referring to.

Music Break: The Birthday Massacre

This week's Music Break highlights one of Toronto's best kept rock secrets, the Birthday Massacre. They harmoniously blend goth industrial dark melancholy and horror film/fantasy lyrics with 80`s synth-pop sensibilities to create music that can make one chuckle, weep and grin within the span of the same song. The band members chose fantastic names to go along with their unique music. Lead singer Chibi`s name comes from a Japanese slang term meaning `short` or `miniature`, which suits her since she isn`t the tallest of women. Other band members include Rhim, Rainbow, Owen, Nate and Falcore (anybody remember the Neverending Story?). Here are videos of some of their biggest hits. Enjoy!

Blue


Looking Glass


In the Dark


Video Kid



Nevermind

An online campaign for workers' Rights: Light the flame for workers’ human rights

I belong to an organizartion called Labour Start, an organization that takes action to try to expose/prevent/correct horrible situations for workers the world over. The particular situation I want to address today involves workers in Sri Lanka and China that made pins, clothing and other merchandise for London 2012. Some factories used child labour, others didn't pay their workers enough to buy bare necessities like food and still others forced their workers to slave for ungodly hours each day to make soon-to-be-discarded trinkets for a world event that is supposed to be about unity and equality, not exploitation.

The link below provides more details and an opportunity to join the online campaign calling for an end to these travesties. Check it out and join in if you feel it's a good cause.

Light the flame for workers’ human rights

A little Air Time on CBC

So, Rob Ford is in hospital with "Asthma and swallowing issues" according to CBC and other news sources, and I just happened to be wandering the farmer's market outside Toronto City Hall on Wednesday when a reporter from the aforementioned Canadian Broadcast Corporation stopped me to ask a few questions about how much about the mayor's health the public has a right to know. I responded by saying that Rob Ford's health is the number one priority and that the public should be updated on his condition once he is proclaimed not in serious danger and doctors have had a chance to fully diagnose him, as people need to know how this will affect his ability to perform in his enlarged, cushy chair at city hall.

The interesting part of all of this is that CBC chose to use part of my response in their story on Ford. Wooo! 6.2 seconds of fame for me among anyone who happened to catch the 2 minute story on air or happened to watch the video on CBC.CA. Oh, and it would only matter to people who know and recognized me in the clip. And it's summer, so many people are off galavanting in exotic locales around the globe instead of intently scrutinizing Toronto news on CBC. And others don't watch CBC. Then there is the group that doesn't care about politics.... ... ...I guess what it boils down to is that I will be lucky if even 1 person I know saw the clip (I love you mom!)

I guess the only way to ensure I get those 6.2 seconds is by posting the clip on my blog. Shameless as it is, it is exhilirating for a formerly-shy, anonymous supply teacher and wannabe rockstar/political critic to see my face and hear my voice on a major news network, so I have decided to go ahead and post the video.

What do you think? Would you have posted it? How much do you think the public has the right to know about a politician's health? To me, people should be given the major details once the health of said politico has been stabilized. Their ability to work affects us all, after all.

My 6.2 seconds of fame!

You Don't Say... July 26, 2012

I'm not saying that I have any time for the gang warfare and shootings that have been going on in Scarborough this year, but I really don't think that kicking suspected criminals out of their homes is the answer...or legal for that matter. If someone commits a crime, last time I checked, they get arrested, have a trial and go to jail if found guilty. Rob Ford angrily telling them to leave the city or trying to figure out a way to craft a law to banish them from Toronto city limits will only draw cynical, sarcastic laughs from the aforementioned criminal element (and the majority of the public for that matter).

Now I'm not saying that Mayor Ford's heart is not in the right place and that something must be done, but it might be wise to start by having dialogues with politicians, police, educators and groups running social programs as well as the residents of the affected neighbourhoods about how best to deal with these problems. I think that, if asked, a large number of these people will suggest that spending money on social programs to re-direct young men and women away from gangs and into sports, hobbies and life skills would be much more effective than Ford's idea of asking businesses to set up shop in those areas to create more jobs. If only it were that simple...ol' Rob apparently thinks that it is easy to convince companies to open locations in working-class areas that have been plagued by violence this month. And how do you convince gang members that a McDonald's job is more lucrative or exciting than a life of crime? At least social programs can give young people legal activities that they enjoy doing and hopefully would provide some of the skills necessary for these people to go to post-secondary education so that they can chose jobs and profressions suited to them. Nothing will get everyone out of "the life", but our resources should be put into the most effective solution.

Too bad the Mayor voted to cut funding to a lot of groups that provide councelling and other programs, like the Boys and Girls Club of Scarborough. Is it coincidence that these programs get slashed over the past few years and suddenly gang violence errupts?


I'm not saying it's perfect, but I like some of John Tory's plan to revitalize Ontario Place. He wants to see the area become a free, four-seasons park that has a large Forum stage like in days gone by. He is also calling for low-rise residential buildings around the area and a better link to transit than the current Go and TTC stops at the CNE. The Forum stage and the idea of free shows and concerts intrigues me, as Ontario Place could become the Dundas Square of the Toronto waterfront. On the other hand, I am not sure about having residences and possibly a hotel on the site. They would seem to contradict the idea of a large, open, free park concept. We will see what happens as time goes on.


I'm not saying that The Dark Knight Rises had nothing to do with the movie theater shootings perpetrated by James Holmes last friday, but I think that the BBC, Huffington Post and other news outlets commited a great injustice when they branded this crime the "Batman shootings." I understand that the gun attack took place during the movie and I know the only truly important thing in all this is the victims and their families, but this was an isolated act commited by a mentally unstable individual that shouldn't prevent anyone from going to see a good film. The movie shouldn't get bad press for what happened, as Holmes could have easily chosen a Disney film to commit his heinous acts. What should happen is that this should be used by sensible politicians and activist groups as yet another reason to ban handguns and other dangerous weapons in American cities. Sure, if criminals really want guns they will find a way to get them, but making it illegal to own one would have made it much harder for James Holmes to do what he did. "Protection" and the oft abused "right to bear arms" are not good enough reasons to keep firearms legal any more. My condolences and best wishes go to the people close to the victims and I hope that society can find a way to prevent this tragedy and the recent gang killings in Scarborough from happening again. What's in a name? Everything apparently!

RIP

Music Break...The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins were my favourite band in my late teens and early twenties. Their music was angst-ridden and full of aggressive, catchy instrumentation that included countless sizzling guitar solos. Lead singer Billy Corgan's voice wasn't pretty, but it and his lyrics were full of honesty and raw emotion. I haven't listened to them nearly as much since then, so I wanted to bring some of their top hits out of the attic for another spin. You and I can be the judge of how well their sound and songs have aged.
The Pumpkins are still going and are still relevant, with songs appearing on the Transformers soundtrack and a new album, Oceania, just released; however, the only founding member left is Billy Corgan (who was the megalomaniac band dictator in charge of all decisions anyway) and they don't get nearly the same mainstream attention as in the past. Maybe that is what Mr. Corgan was going for all along: a large cult following and building a fan base on his own terms using creative means.

Anyway, onto the videos. Here is a selection of videos for songs from all points in their career. Let me know if you think they have aged well or need to be put on the nostalgia shelf and kept there.

 Cherub Rock



Today


Disarm



Tonight, Tonight



Bullet with Butterfly Wings


1979



Thirty-Three


Ava Adore


Perfect


The Everlasting Gaze



Stand Inside your Love


Untitled


And finally...a new song called Owata. It is from the concept album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which was released one track at a time on the band's website. As I said, a lot of the fire has gone out of the band, but they still produce interesting music and lyrics.

Owata