There is an op-ed piece in the New York Times about President Bush and something called signing documents. I'd never heard of such things before but am completely dumbfounded that this is permitted in a democracry.
"The signing statements are documents that earlier presidents generally used to trumpet their pleasure at signing a law, or to explain how it would be enforced. More than any of his predecessors, the current chief executive has used the pronouncements in a passive-aggressive way to undermine the power of Congress."
According to the piece, which you can read here, Bush has issued 100s of these documents and does so whenever he believes a newly passed law "impinges on his constitutional powers."
I must be naive. How can the leader of a democratic country ignore its legislation?
The op-ed piece goes on to discuss the latest signing documents. The first Bush signed was against a Congress-sanctioned commission to look into the fraud, waste and abuse surrounding contracting in Iraq; the second, a law that would protect those who expose this type of fraud, waste and abuse; and the third, a measure that would require intelligence officials to respond to queries from the Armed Services Committees of Congress. If those acts weren't evil enough, Bush rejected a piece of legislation -- "which states that none of the money authorized for military purposes may be used to establish permanent military bases in Iraq."
Q: When is the U.S. pulling out of Iraq?
A: Never, ever, ever.
At least if Bush were to have his way. Good thing the American pres can only hang around for eight years.
Now don't mess up in November, people! Get out there and vote; don't leave your country in the hands of the religious right. With a possible recession on the way, the last thing you want a right-winger to have at his disposal is the economic advantage of keeping on with a war to bolster the economy.
Colleen
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Free Rice
My students alerted me to a website, www.freerice.com, wherein you attempt to select the correct definition to a series of increasingly difficult words. Each correct answer results in 10 grains of rice being donated to the United Nations World Food Program, the largest food aid agency in the world. Advertising on the site generates income to buy the rice.
I played for the first time this morning. I made it to level 42. The highest level is 50.
Have fun and feed the world.
C
I played for the first time this morning. I made it to level 42. The highest level is 50.
Have fun and feed the world.
C
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Truth and Reconciliation: Binding a seeping wound
Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) gets underway later this month.
I can barely bring myself to write about it, but feel I must. We all must face this horrible past that has such a profound impact on our present and will continue to affect us into the future if we don't put honest words to it.
The TRC has been set-up to create an accurate historical account of the residential school experience and to allow a period of healing to begin.
But I can't help but wonder if anything has really changed since the last residential school closed in the mid-90s.
This afternoon, I drove down Gottigen Street to Cornwallis -- the street named after our hero, General Cornwallis, the man who offered a bounty on Mi'maq scalps and the man who issued smallpox infested blankets to the few who remained. I wondered why we haven't changed the name of that street. I wondered why we haven't removed his statue. It couldn't be because we don't really care, could it?
It gave me pause to contemplate, in complete wonderment, the tenacity and enduring strength of First Nations Peoples to have survived so much evil -- purposeful starvation, degradation, overwhelming loss, murder, hate and so much more.
Nearly every time I attempt to discuss such issues with others of my race, I am met by such staggering ignorance that I often retreat -- too overcome by the task of informing the uninformed. Because the history leading up to today is vast and complex.
I hear statements like: "I don't mind helping those who have been hurt by the residential school system, but the others? They need to quit complaining and shape up." Those who haven't been hurt? Who can't have been damaged by that system?
An estimated 80,000 children went through the IRS system. Some estimates claim that as many as 50 per cent of these children died or were murdered. Ninety per cent of legal claims cite physical and/or sexual abuse.
I can't begin to comprehend such horror.
And others can't bother to begin to contemplate it.
I have pondered at length about what to write about the Commission. Words fill my head in volumes, but here I sit knowing that nothing can articulate the suffering that has been caused and that continues.
Instead of many words, what I will offer is my respect to the many individuals and tribes who have survived to tell their tales. You and your ancestors have prevailed. The truth will be heard. You will live on.
Colleen
I can barely bring myself to write about it, but feel I must. We all must face this horrible past that has such a profound impact on our present and will continue to affect us into the future if we don't put honest words to it.
The TRC has been set-up to create an accurate historical account of the residential school experience and to allow a period of healing to begin.
But I can't help but wonder if anything has really changed since the last residential school closed in the mid-90s.
This afternoon, I drove down Gottigen Street to Cornwallis -- the street named after our hero, General Cornwallis, the man who offered a bounty on Mi'maq scalps and the man who issued smallpox infested blankets to the few who remained. I wondered why we haven't changed the name of that street. I wondered why we haven't removed his statue. It couldn't be because we don't really care, could it?
It gave me pause to contemplate, in complete wonderment, the tenacity and enduring strength of First Nations Peoples to have survived so much evil -- purposeful starvation, degradation, overwhelming loss, murder, hate and so much more.
Nearly every time I attempt to discuss such issues with others of my race, I am met by such staggering ignorance that I often retreat -- too overcome by the task of informing the uninformed. Because the history leading up to today is vast and complex.
I hear statements like: "I don't mind helping those who have been hurt by the residential school system, but the others? They need to quit complaining and shape up." Those who haven't been hurt? Who can't have been damaged by that system?
An estimated 80,000 children went through the IRS system. Some estimates claim that as many as 50 per cent of these children died or were murdered. Ninety per cent of legal claims cite physical and/or sexual abuse.
I can't begin to comprehend such horror.
And others can't bother to begin to contemplate it.
I have pondered at length about what to write about the Commission. Words fill my head in volumes, but here I sit knowing that nothing can articulate the suffering that has been caused and that continues.
Instead of many words, what I will offer is my respect to the many individuals and tribes who have survived to tell their tales. You and your ancestors have prevailed. The truth will be heard. You will live on.
Colleen
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Coming Soon to Texas: A Master's Degree in Creation Science
From Mother Jones (http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/12/6651_coming_soon_to_1.html?src=email&link=hed_20071221_ts5_Coming%20Soon%20to%20Texas%3A%20A%20Master%27s%20Degree%20in%20Creation%20Science)
Because Baylor University is not doing enough to plumb the seas for Noah's Ark, an advisory committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has recommended that the Institute for Creation Research be given the authority to grant Master's degrees in science education. Perhaps the training will help graduates stay employed in the Lone Star State, rather than getting fired like the state's former director of science curricula, a shameless Darwin booster.
Is Texas devolving? Not at all. According to the Institute's mission statement, it will only enroll the self-motivated, responsible student who "is more self-disciplined ('whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God;' I Cor. 10:31) and takes education seriously ('And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;' Colossians 3:23)."
The Texas Observer reports that the same guys brought us the Creation Museum in Kentucky (see Adam frolic with the dinosaurs!), and are at work stumping for Mike Huckabee in Iowa.
_______________________________
Just wait till the first grads with the bogus Master's degree start writing books and educating children. The degree will validate their ignorant drivel, thereby creating more ignorance in their wake.
Rise up and celebrate! The end of rational thought is nigh!
C
Because Baylor University is not doing enough to plumb the seas for Noah's Ark, an advisory committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has recommended that the Institute for Creation Research be given the authority to grant Master's degrees in science education. Perhaps the training will help graduates stay employed in the Lone Star State, rather than getting fired like the state's former director of science curricula, a shameless Darwin booster.
Is Texas devolving? Not at all. According to the Institute's mission statement, it will only enroll the self-motivated, responsible student who "is more self-disciplined ('whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God;' I Cor. 10:31) and takes education seriously ('And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;' Colossians 3:23)."
The Texas Observer reports that the same guys brought us the Creation Museum in Kentucky (see Adam frolic with the dinosaurs!), and are at work stumping for Mike Huckabee in Iowa.
_______________________________
Just wait till the first grads with the bogus Master's degree start writing books and educating children. The degree will validate their ignorant drivel, thereby creating more ignorance in their wake.
Rise up and celebrate! The end of rational thought is nigh!
C
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Lighting the candle for human rights
By NADINE BARNES
Published Wed. Dec 5 - 6:38 AM in the Chronicle Herald
Picture a frightened woman with two small children entering the squat, brown building of Canada Customs at a border crossing between Canada and the U.S. Her shoulders slump with fatigue. Her eyes dart about with fear. She jumps as the door slams shut behind her. She shushes the whimpering toddler perched on her hip and reaffirms her grip on her older child’s hand. She approaches the counter, her heart hammering, praying for things to go well. She is about to be disappointed.
Under the 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S., the Customs agent will have to turn her back to the U.S., where she has less hope of receiving protection. The agreement stopped refugees from claiming asylum in Canada – where refugee laws are more favourable than in the U.S. – if they enter Canada from a country considered to be a safe haven for refugees. Since the U.S. has more international flights than does Canada, many refugees land there before entering here.
But with International Human Rights Day just around the corner, a 124-page ruling by Justice Michael Phelan of the Federal Court of Canada, that has struck down the Safe Third Country Agreement, couldn’t have come at a better time. According to the ruling, the U.S. does not meet international refugee protection requirements, nor does it respect international conventions against torture.
Justice Phelan also faulted the Canadian government for neglecting to review U.S. status. Given American policy to deport individuals to countries where they are at risk of torture, to deny protection to women who are afraid of domestic violence, and to exclude many persons from having refugee status for a wide range of reasons, Justice Phelan found "that the Governor-in-Council acted unreasonably in concluding that the United States complied with Article 33 of the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture."
The case against the government of Canada was brought by the Canadian Council for Refugees, the Canadian Council of Churches, Amnesty International and John Doe.
Refugees are among the most vulnerable people in the world. They are defined as those who fear for their lives or safety in their home country, where authorities are unable to provide them with effective protection, or indeed are the source of their fears. I echo the words of Karen Hamilton of the Canadian Council of Churches, who asks Ottawa not to rush to appeal the decision, but to take this opportunity to allow Canada to reassert its position as a staunch defender of human rights.
I also invite everyone to support human rights by joining Amnesty’s annual International Human Rights Day celebration, Write for Rights, to be held Dec. 9, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at Just Us! Café at 5896 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax. The goal for the day is to write 500 letters to Light a Candle for Human Rights by requesting the release of people who have been wrongfully detained, and to influence world leaders to protect individuals or people whose human rights have been denied.
Amnesty will provide all the information you need to write a letter. Just Us! will provide a free coffee or tea for each donation to Amnesty International. (We hope to raise enough to pay for the postage for the letters.)
I hope that by this time next year, Justice Phelan’s ruling has been put in place and refugees have a better chance at a safe future in Canada.
Nadine Barnes is an Amnesty International volunteer and co-ordinator of Halifax Action Circle’s Write for Rights event.
Published Wed. Dec 5 - 6:38 AM in the Chronicle Herald
Picture a frightened woman with two small children entering the squat, brown building of Canada Customs at a border crossing between Canada and the U.S. Her shoulders slump with fatigue. Her eyes dart about with fear. She jumps as the door slams shut behind her. She shushes the whimpering toddler perched on her hip and reaffirms her grip on her older child’s hand. She approaches the counter, her heart hammering, praying for things to go well. She is about to be disappointed.
Under the 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S., the Customs agent will have to turn her back to the U.S., where she has less hope of receiving protection. The agreement stopped refugees from claiming asylum in Canada – where refugee laws are more favourable than in the U.S. – if they enter Canada from a country considered to be a safe haven for refugees. Since the U.S. has more international flights than does Canada, many refugees land there before entering here.
But with International Human Rights Day just around the corner, a 124-page ruling by Justice Michael Phelan of the Federal Court of Canada, that has struck down the Safe Third Country Agreement, couldn’t have come at a better time. According to the ruling, the U.S. does not meet international refugee protection requirements, nor does it respect international conventions against torture.
Justice Phelan also faulted the Canadian government for neglecting to review U.S. status. Given American policy to deport individuals to countries where they are at risk of torture, to deny protection to women who are afraid of domestic violence, and to exclude many persons from having refugee status for a wide range of reasons, Justice Phelan found "that the Governor-in-Council acted unreasonably in concluding that the United States complied with Article 33 of the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture."
The case against the government of Canada was brought by the Canadian Council for Refugees, the Canadian Council of Churches, Amnesty International and John Doe.
Refugees are among the most vulnerable people in the world. They are defined as those who fear for their lives or safety in their home country, where authorities are unable to provide them with effective protection, or indeed are the source of their fears. I echo the words of Karen Hamilton of the Canadian Council of Churches, who asks Ottawa not to rush to appeal the decision, but to take this opportunity to allow Canada to reassert its position as a staunch defender of human rights.
I also invite everyone to support human rights by joining Amnesty’s annual International Human Rights Day celebration, Write for Rights, to be held Dec. 9, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at Just Us! Café at 5896 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax. The goal for the day is to write 500 letters to Light a Candle for Human Rights by requesting the release of people who have been wrongfully detained, and to influence world leaders to protect individuals or people whose human rights have been denied.
Amnesty will provide all the information you need to write a letter. Just Us! will provide a free coffee or tea for each donation to Amnesty International. (We hope to raise enough to pay for the postage for the letters.)
I hope that by this time next year, Justice Phelan’s ruling has been put in place and refugees have a better chance at a safe future in Canada.
Nadine Barnes is an Amnesty International volunteer and co-ordinator of Halifax Action Circle’s Write for Rights event.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Amnesty International: Write for RIghts Day
WRITE FOR RIGHTS IN SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
Halifax, NS. – December 10 is International Human Rights Day and the date of Amnesty International’s biggest letter writing event: Write for Rights. This year, the Halifax Action Circle, a chapter of AI, will host an event December 9, 2007 at Just Us! Café, 5896 Spring Garden Rd. from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It’s goal is to write 500 letters and raise money to pay for the postage required to mail the letters.
Write for Rights unites people from around the globe on Human Rights Day to use the power of letter-writing to help release those who have been wrongfully detained and to influence world leaders to protect individuals or people whose human rights have been denied.
“Letter writing can have a profound effect on the lives of real people,” says Nadine Barnes, Amnesty member and organizer of this year’s event in Halifax. “World leaders who think they are operating with impunity can have quite an awakening when the international spotlight hits them in the form of hundreds or thousands of letters landing on their desks. Prisoners can be released or receive needed medical attention or have their lives otherwise improved when the world shouts together.”
Here are a few examples of the power of letter writing. Thai authorities released Sok Yoeun, a Cambodian opposition party member following an Amnesty letter-writing campaign. Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, was released after six years in prison for political activities. Vietnamese authorities released Le Chi Quang who had been arrested by police in an Internet café and accused of distributing anti-government propaganda.
“We know that persistent letter writing helps to improve the lives of at least one-third of those we try to help,” says Barnes.
The focus of this year’s Write for Rights campaign includes, among others,:
- The Lubicon Cree of northern Alberta who have seen their their health, economy and traditional way of life devastated by logging and large-scale oil and gas exploitation. There is no treaty between the Lubicon and the Government of Canada despite promises dating back 70 years.
- Coquette Nsinga is a 25-year-old student. Police officers arrested and beat her, detained her in isolation, and raped her, all because she belongs to an opposition political party, the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC).
- Shi Tao is a freelance journalist, writer, and poet from Taiyuan, Shanxi province who has been imprisoned for sending an email regarding the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Can't make it to Just Us!? You can access case files on the Amnesty website. (http://www.amnesty.ca/writeathon/)
As well, Amnesty has created a 30-minute video loop with clips that interlaces comments from people who have been helped by the power of letter writing with information pieces. This can be found at Right for Writes T.V. at: http://www.amnesty.ca/writeathon/w4rtv.php. Examples of good news stories can be found here: http://www.amnesty.ca/take_action/good_news/.
For Write for Rights television, please tune into: http://www.amnesty.ca/writeathon/w4rtv.php.
Colleen
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