Gosh, what a day, eh? First, Farrah Fawcett, then Michael Jackson. I for one will try to remember the good things about him – at least for today. RIP

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJL6YjjK0c8]

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Andrea adds: Not everyone is inclined to be so charitable, and I have to admit, my thoughts are more in line with this commentary.

A 1970s icon disappears. Logan’s Run would not have been the same without her. RIP

The protests in Iran have little to do with our regular beat here at PWPL. But I wanted to say something about Neda – the young woman who was allegedly shot to death on the street in Tehran and whose death was recorded and posted to YouTube and countless other video-sharing sites (you can see it here – warning: graphic and not suitable for children).

From what I can tell, she wasn’t a protester. She wasn’t doing anything especially brave; just going about her business. But she was killed anyway, perhaps just because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She probably didn’t mean to become a symbol of bravery and defiance, but she has anyway. RIP

I’m having trouble finding the right words to comment on this:

One in four men in South Africa have admitted to rape and many confess to attacking more than one victim, according to a study that exposes the country’s endemic culture of sexual violence.

Three out of four rapists first attacked while still in their teens, the study found. One in 20 men said they had raped a woman or girl in the last year.

South Africa is notorious for having one of the highest levels of rape in the world. Only a fraction are reported, and only a fraction of those lead to a conviction.

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Rebecca adds: I’m not normally a huge fan of looking to celebs for wisdom or
political advice, but Charlize Theron’s pull-no-punches PSAs about rape in South Africa got the point across nicely.  When rape is considered a disgusting crime, and sex offenders are considered scum, your society may still have many faults, but at least it condemns rape.  When one man in four is a rapist, and this seems to be ok with the rest of them, you have a society-wide problem.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oZpuY97i_k]

I’ve never been big on quotas – I don’t actually care how many women run for office. But these people do. And they, well, blunder a bit, no?

Apparently “equal” now means 33%

For Immediate Release
June 18, 2009

Statement to the House of Commons on the Equal Voice Challenge

Mr. Speaker,

I rise in defence of a process of change and renewal that is as old as Parliament itself.

With the passage of time, this House has come increasingly to encompass the breadth of our country’s diversity-

-of language, gender, sexual orientation, race, creed, and culture.

But we must always desire to be more representative of the population.

And today, I stand before this House to act on part of that desire.

Today, on behalf of my party, I accept the Equal Voice Challenge.

The Liberal Party is committed to having more women in politics-

-in Parliament-

-and in government, after the next election.

Today, I pledge on behalf of my party, that in the next election, no fewer than one-third of our Liberal candidates will be women.

Thank you.

– 30 –

Contact:
Press Office
Office of the Leader of the Opposition
613-996-6740

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Rebecca adds: So essentially, the position of the Liberal Party is that it isn’t up to the electorate to decide whom they want to represent them, but rather that we have to narrow the options available to the unwashed masses in a manner that conforms to elite opinion about the optimal composition of the House. The ramifications of this are quite extraordinary, and wholly incompatible with meaningful democracy.

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Andrea adds: I personally am looking for more animal representation. Like those talking dogs from the movie Up. Loved them, and would see the movie again, just for this. That’s my concern and my weighty contribution to this discussion. (I do not care whether the dogs are male or female.)

Malcolm Muggeridge once said that had Hitler treated dogs the way he treated Jews, British people would have gone to war years earlier. I wonder what he’d say about this:

The residents of Guangzhou, one of China’s most affluent cities, are already used to sticking to the country’s strict one-child rule, but a new regulation is about to force many dog owners to make an impossible decision.

From next month, new regulations will come into action meaning households will be allowed only one dog, meaning anybody with two or more pooches will be allowed to keep only their favourite.

(buy a t-shirt)

Unsurprisingly, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an appeal against bubble zones around abortion clinics. Of course, freedom of choice in this country means you are not allowed to disagree with that choice (and for the record, I don’t believe anyone has the right to interfere with other people’s legal activities – it’s just that standing on a sidewalk with a sign does not constitute undue interference). So the Court probably felt comfortable not explaining its decision to dismiss the case. The Court has every right to dismiss without comment. But it doesn’t look very smart doing so.

This is hilarious:

With steep state budget cuts under debate in Sacramento, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to push for changes to CalWorks and other government aid programs they said would save nearly $270 million.

Included in their suggestions is a novel proposal: Put unemployed parents to work caring for their own children.

That’s so obvious! If we pay parents to look after their children, we turn them into paid professionals and suddenly all is well. Take that, Charles Pascal!

Your Mommy-War story for today:

Alberta’s Liberal leader is demanding an apology from Finance Minister Iris Evans, who suggested that in order to raise children “properly” one parent should stay at home while the other goes to work.

“If she really said these things, she must apologize. If she doesn’t apologize, the premier must fire her,” David Swann said in a statement Wednesday. “These are truly outrageous claims. I have never been as stunned by the sheer arrogance and ignorance of the Tories as I am today.

“In a sense, Iris Evans did us all a favour by revealing her contempt for the sacrifices made by hard-working Alberta families.”

[h/t Five Feet of Fury]