Protecting the Unprotected

The Current today on CBC is going to be worth listening to. The murderer of the children in Merritt, BC, had violated a peace bond and yet the Merritt police were not informed of this when he was released from custody for threatening her daughter's school principal just days earlier. Check it out on your online media source or watch for the Podcast:

Two tragic stories of domestic violence have dominated the headlines this week: a woman in Toronto who has been jailed in order to get her to testify in her boyfriend's assault trial and the on-going hunt for a man from Merritt, British Columbia who is alleged to have killed his three children. We're taking a step back and looking at the most common way that courts deal with domestic violence, and asking if restraining orders help keep women safe or make them more vulnerable.

Horror Feminae

No need for feminism. Fuck that. A reminder to those stubborn 'why can't we all just get along and call it humanism?' hippies:

Women are discriminated against in almost every country around the world, a UN-commissioned report says.

It says that this is despite the fact that 185 UN member states pledged to outlaw laws favouring men by 2005.

It adds that 70% of the world's poor are women and they own just 1% of the world's titled land.

The report, which was prepared for UN Human Right Commissioner Louise Arbour, says rape within marriage has still not been made a crime in 53 nations.

A tip of the hat to Feminist Allies for the BBC link and full article.

Fetus Find

This morning's online Calgary Herald:

City crews at the Bonnybrook waste treatment facility made the disturbing discovery of a fetus. . . Police said the method of disposal is a concern, but medically at this stage of development, a fetus is considered a "product of conception" and not a matter for the medical examiner to investigate or issue a death certificate.

"Life and creation arguments do not form the basis of this investigation, rather, it is firmly rooted in the probability that this may have been the result of a spontaneous medical condition, a 'hidden' pregnancy situation, or a premeditated and or forced act upon an individual; the last of these three situations cannot be overlooked or end without police involvement and determination if a criminal act was committed," said Berti.

I feel for the woman who went through this miscarriage, be it a 'hidden' pregnancy or any of the possibilities described. Whether or not she wanted to have a child, she may have felt that our medical system could not be reliable, trusted, or affordable. In a case of potential violence I hope for her that she finds safety and protection. I appreciate the annunciation that this is not about "life and creation" but about the health of the woman who aborted outside of a hospital or abortion clinic, whatever the case may or should have been. Even with abortion servcies in Calgary, there can still be instances of limited access due to social pressures or knowing where and how to access those services. This is an interesting story and I will certainly be following up on the community's reaction to it.

Down wid' CPC's

Senator Robert Menendez introduced a bill in the Senate yesterday that would regulate the misleading advertising practices of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs).

Read the article here.
I should say. I had a woman in my office campaigning a few years ago for a "Crisis Pregnancy Centre". At the time I wasn't familiar with it so before committing to give any money I asked straight up, "Does it give abortion referrals?" Room went silent and she said, "No." And I said, "Well you won't get any of my money then." Since then I've learned more about CPC's sneaky rhetorical tactics and make sure I mention them whenever the topic arises. There's many people who aren't aware that CPC's are anti choice.

This House is Clean

It's 1982 and Steven Spielburg's Poltergeist is terrifying audiences and leaving a lasting impression of the fuzzy late-night T.V. screen in our nightmares when we wake up on the couch to the static sound of a snowy screen and a little girl's voice, "They're He-re..." A new study that will be published in the scientific journal, Neuroquantology, claims that Speilburg was on to something with Carol Anne being the vessel for creepy, paranormal activity. I can safely say I do not understand quantum physics (contrary to What the Bleep Do We Know and Deepak Chopra's claims to simplistic explanations), but still I consider this study to be bunk and sexist by this small paragraph:

"Poltergeist disturbances often occur in the neighbourhood of a pubescent child or a young woman," the authors note in their paper.

I can't wait to read about how adolescent girls and young women are the source of things that go bump in the night and all things creepy.
(Via Boing Boing)