Shave the Date! Free from Bush!

We're pleased here in Canada that Bush is making his exit in January. Join our American sisters in this celebration! Mominatrix has initiated "Shave the Date: No Bush Left Behind".

Calgary Assault

Michelle Butterfield reports a tragic and bizarre story in the Calgary Herald this morning (see also the government press release). Shortly before midnight last Friday, a woman was attacked by Daryl Pichler and beaten unconscious. This is a sad and bizarre story. Two men took the woman and Pichler to their home and it wasn't until two hours later that EMS was called. This woman is in critical condition. From the police report it is foggy what happened on Friday night but why would a woman woman suffering life-threatening injuries be talken to her home with the man that inflicted them? It seems they share a home together but if home is where the heart is this woman's is broken and Pichler should find prison comfortable.

Update: Looking back into prior press releases, it is claimed that the men who drove the couple to their resience were "unaware of the incident"; but that just doesn't make sense:

The woman suffered extensive head injuries during the altercation, which rendered her unconscious; unable to speak or walk away from the area. At least two vehicles pulled over to assist the woman following the assault. Unaware of the incident, the two men inside one of the vehicles, possibly a beige-coloured Toyota Corolla or NissanAltima, drove the couple to their nearby home in Deer Run.

If she was unconscious, unable to speak or walk, how were these good samitans, then, unaware of the incident? I don't get it.

Diatribe

Brilliant diatribe from Photoshop Disasters via Feminist Philosophers this morning:

In a breathless deconstruction of the trite family self-portrait, USA PhotoHouse deftly excises the phallocentric father figure, leaving a single hand to signify - with profound semiotic irony - the hidden hand of capitalism. The camera is bereft of any screen or viewfinder in a de facto refutation of the omnipresent panopticon of male gaze, while the child points aimlessly out of the savaged image in a cathartic denunciation of the testosterone-poisoned concept of understanding directions. Marvellous.

A fine wordsmith.

ZP3 Jubilee

New Scientist reports that a new form of contraceptive (see also this story from 2007) for women may someday be available which does not interfere with hormones. For young women in their teens who chose to take a hormonal form of contraceptive, this is extremely exciting news in that menstrual cycles could maintain their natural way and females reproductive health could develop uninhibited by synthetic estrogen and progestin interfering with ovulation and the endocrine system, not to mention cases of decreased libido.

ZP3, the receptor in the zona pellucida and a protein in the coating of eggs which facilitates sperms' ability to bind and burrow, might be disrupted by a hormone-free drug which would bind to ZP3 and prevent conception.

This is HUGE so long as an abundance of research is done to confirm any and all negative side effects or issues with this that may be harmul to women's immediate and long term reproductive health.

Honk to End Violence

This morning approximately 120 Calgary Girl Guides lined Memorial Drive to mark Canada's National Day of Action and Remembrance on Violence Against Women. It was wonderfully inspiring to see children holding a "Honk to End Vioence" banner and whooping with excitement when vehicles responded with their horns. It is so important to have young girls learn about protesting and experience the power of raising our voices against somethig we feel strongly about. It is necessary to build confidence in our thoughts and convictions through dialogue and positive reaction. Kudos to the organizers of this event and to the little sparks, brownies and guides who gave a positive message to the community this morning.

Fit Throwing

Steven Harper wanted to shut down Parliament just because he does not agree with it. Some say this is unprecedented.

In fact, Harper is following parliamentary tradition.

Click here to visit Rabble and find out who else has been hissy...

Silence is Violence

Graceful, candid, intelligent and insightful, Sarah Ghabrial reflects on the death of Aqsa Parvez on the eve of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Some excerpts:

Genuine compassion or inquisitiveness regarding Aqsa's story dissipated all too quickly in the ensuing frenzy over the Canadian 'minority question.' The day after Aqsa's story broke, CityNews brandished a headline describing the "tradition and terror" behind the tragedy. A National Post columnist seeking to explain "the meaning of Aqsa Parvez" was quick to describe her death as an "honour killing" and elaborated on the "loathsome and barbaric" nature of the culture from which, according to this versions of the narrative, she was desperate to escape.

There is no doubt that Aqsa was desperate to escape - from her abusive home and tyrannical father. But as a young woman of colour, living at dangerous intersections of race and gender, belonging and exclusion, her options for escape were sadly limited. Women like Aqsa matter little in the grand scheme of things - until their deaths provide convenient grounds on which to mount xenophobic vitriol against Canada's dark Others.

...

In Canada, there exists a strange paradox: a tendency to view women of colour and 'immigrant' women - especially Muslim women - as particularly weak and vulnerable, due to the supposedly more intrinsic patriarchy of 'their' cultures; and a concurrent, stubborn unwillingness in our legal, emergency response and, most importantly, education systems to put forward solutions that reach out to women in these positions, rather than further marginalize them.

...

When certain persons must be imprisoned without trial, when certain countries must be invaded, when certain communities must be ostracized, even the vilest patriarchs are all too happy to invoke 'feminism' - or their weak understanding of it. Conservative leaders seem to have few qualms about vilifying feminism as the source of all things anti-family and awful, and then raising a feminist flag to front an amorphous 'war on terror.' It would be almost funny if not for the perplexing ways in which so many feminists - inevitably white feminists - willingly participate in such posturing. The sound heard from mainstream feminist camps in the wake of Aqsa's murder was a combination of racist muttering and bewildering silence.

Link Against Violence - Event Notice!

Saturday, December 6 marks Canada's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Girl Guide groups across Canada are forming a link to show strength and solidarity. In Calgary, come out and join the human link of Girl Guides on Memorial Drive.
See Press Release

When:
Saturday, December 6
Time: 9:00 AM
Where:
2188 Brownsea Drive NW (Girl Guide Club House; the link will be over the Pedestrian Bridge!)

You Know You are A Dreamer

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Dreaming of world peace? Dreaming of finding that perfect gift? Dreaming of peace in women's lives? There's still time to order your 2008 "Dreams for Women" calendar from British Columbia's Antigone Magazine before Christmas.

Visit Antigone Magazine today to order your beautiful calendars for your special someones!