Radical Ro

What does this poster mean?

2010-03-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

Saw this weird poster on the Danforth near Coxwell. Click to enlarge, or mouse over to read text. What does it mean? Ideas, anyone?

American Family Association demands special treatment for Christians

2009-10-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

The American Family Association is planning a boycott of a major retailer in the US which does not use the word "Christmas" in their displays during the holiday season.

For some reason the action alert they emailed is not posted on their site, so I'm reproducing it here:

Would you be willing to boycott stores that refuse to use the word 'Christmas'?

AFA will call for a boycott of a national retailer this Christmas

October 9, 2009
Dear ##my#name###,
Christians celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Christ. It's a federal holiday and has always held a special place in the hearts of Americans. Yet there are those companies which feel that a public recognition of the birthday of Christ is not appropriate. Why? Because a few people may be offended!
In early November, AFA will choose at least one national retailer and ask you to boycott it until it begins recognizing Christmas in its "holiday" advertising. Will you let us know you will support our efforts by participating in the boycott?
Would you be willing to boycott retailers which refuse to allow the word Christmas to be displayed in their stores? Give us your answer.
Take Action!

Would you be willing to boycott stores which refuse to allow the word Christmas to be displayed in their stores?
Click Here to take our online poll now!
Christians can take a stand and proclaim to our communities that Christmas is not just a winter holiday focused on materialism, but a "holy day" when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. We can do it in a gentle and effective way by wearing the "God's Gift - Merry Christmas" button.
Thank you for caring enough to get involved. If you feel our efforts are worthy of support, would you consider making a small tax-deductible contribution to help us continue?
Sincerely,
Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association

Poor oppressed Christians. How horrible that stores selling products for people of many different beliefs are choosing inclusive "holiday" displays, which apply not only to Christmas but also Chanukah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Yule, Winter Solstice, etc.?

The AFA accuses GLBT people of wanting "special" rights when they're merely seeking the same rights as cis straight people. Yet they have no problem with demanding that Christians get preferential treatment from retailers.

It's also interesting that they say their campaign is against materialism, so why are they hawking all kinds of "God's Gift: Merry Christmas" junk? (I noticed that although they call the prices "suggested donations", there is no way of making a smaller "donation". And judging by the prices of custom printed buttons (that's just the first site I found; no doubt if they shopped around they would pay even less), their donations don't just cover their costs but include a healthy profit. No wonder they rake in tens of millions of dollars every year.

The connection between gay marriage and mass murders

2009-04-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

Morality in Media has sent out their most ridiculous news release yet, which doesn't seem to be on their website so I am reproducing it in full.

Connecting the Dots: The Link Between Gay Marriage and Mass Murders

NEW YORK (April 9, 2009) – On April 4 the NY Times ran adjacent front-page articles on the Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing ‘gay marriage’ and the gunman who murdered 13 people in New York. That day the Times also ran an op ed article by Charles M. Blow who expressed concern about the negative impact that conservative media’s “talk of revolution” could have on “weak minds.”
Commenting on this is Morality in Media President Bob Peters:
“Having lived in New York City for more than 30 years, I am all too aware of the harm that firearms in the hands of criminals can cause. Having grown up in a small town in Illinois, where citizens owned guns without misusing them, I am also aware that guns aren’t the underlying problem. I am not an opponent of gun regulation; I am an opponent of making guns the scapegoat for mass murder.
“The underlying problem is that increasingly we live in a ‘post-Christian’ society, where Judeo-Christian faith and values have less and less influence. Among other things, Judaism and Christianity taught that murder was wrong and that included murder motivated by anger, hatred and revenge. Both religions also taught that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and to forgive others.
“For many citizens, what has replaced Judeo-Christian faith and values is the secular value system that is reflected in films, rap/music lyrics, and videogames and on TV and now the Internet, where the taking of human life for just about any reason is commonplace and is often portrayed in an appealing manner and in realistic detail. Murder motivated by hatred and revenge is also justified.
“This secular value system is also reflected in the ‘sexual revolution,’ which is the driving force behind the push for ‘gay marriage;’ and the Iowa Supreme Court decision is another indication that despite all the damage this revolution has caused to children, adults, family life and society (think abortion, divorce, pornography, rape, sexual abuse of children, sexually transmitted diseases, trafficking in women and children, unwed teen mothers and more), it continues to advance relentlessly.
“It most certainly is not my intention to blame the epidemic of mass murders on the gay rights movement! It is my intention to point out that the success of the sexual revolution is inversely proportional to the decline in morality; and it is the decline of morality (and the faith that so often under girds it) that is the underlying cause of our modern day epidemic of mass murders.
“I would add that if conservative media’s irresponsible talk of revolution can ‘poison weak minds,’ the liberal entertainment media’s irresponsible portrayal of mayhem can also poison weak minds.”

This is so ridiculous it is hard to respond to. He thinks that access to guns has nothing to do with murder (contrary to evidence) and gay marriage does? (I'd include a link about gay marriage and murder rates but I doubt anyone has researched such a ridiculous possibility.)

Supposedly the link is that the "secular morality" which permits gay marriage considers murder to be justified. Where he gets this idea from I have no idea. Note that he gives no evidence for this, because there is none! The few people I have ever heard of arguing in favour of gratuitous murder are either mentally ill (and most mentally ill people are no more violent than anyone else) or religious fanatics!

Only the twisted mind of a homophobe could see loving couples wanting to make a formal lifelong commitment to each other and connect that love to acts of violence and hate.

On the bright side, fewer and fewer people are buying into the homophobes arguments, which is perhaps what is making them so desperate. In the US, support for same-sex marriage is increasing, especially among younger people. Eventually it will be clear to everyone that legalizing same sex marriage, as we did here in Canada a few years ago, benefits people who want to marry someone of the same sex and has no effect on anyone else.

Theist vandalizes subway ad

2009-03-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

My sharp-eyed son spotted this vandalized PSA in subway car # 5077, eastbound on the Bloor-Danforth line, on Monday morning.

I hope that, given the cost of these ads, the TTC has a policy of replacing vandalized ads free of charge. I'm going to contact the Freethought Association of Canada about this.

Toys Toys Toys overcharges for Webkinz Emperor Dragon

2009-02-28T16:56:00.001-08:00

I used to think that Toys Toys Toys at the Eaton Centre had decent prices, because on their price tags they list what is suppposedly the usual price, and then their price, which is lower. I am now a lot less trusting of their tags, having done more comparison shopping.

The most egregious example I know of is their pricing on the Webkinz Emperor Dragon. It should cost about $15, the same as the other Webkinz. But Toys Toys Toys has jacked the price up to almost twice that: $29.99! (Sighted a couple of weeks ago.) They did something similar with the Webkinz Whimsy Dragon, though I don't think the price was quite this bad. My son had saved up enough money to buy the Whimsy Dragon, and we were both pretty upset when we saw that Toys Toys Toys was charging significantly more for it. (Luckily, he found it at the normal price at Indigo, also in the Eaton Centre.)

It seems to me that the Bionicles at Toys Toys Toys are priced a bit higher than elsewhere too. I will not be visiting this toy store very often in the future, and when I do I will check prices elsewhere first!

Will "pro-life" advocates helps support the Suleman octuplets?

2009-02-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

Nadya Suleman, single mother of six who recently gave birth to the longest surviving octuplets, has said that she decided to have so many embryos implanted so they wouldn't be destroyed. The "culture of life", which claims that an embryo at any stage of development, or even a morula is equivalent to a baby, should get some of the blame for this mess (obviously Suleman and her doctor are responsible as well).

For some reason, I haven't seen any pro-life organization stepping up to provide any kind of support, moral or financial, for Nadya Suleman's family, who exist because of Suleman's pro-life ideals. Pro-Life News currently has only one article about Suleman, and it's a call for greater regulation of fertility treatments to prevent families like Suleman's.

The pro-lifers I have seen commenting on Suleman take issue with her not having a father on the scene. So what, they think that the embryos of single women aren't babies? (And before anyone claims that single women shouldn't conceive: she was married when they were conceived.)

Pepsi supports Human Rights Campaign—the horror!

2009-02-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

The American Family Association is campaigning against Pepsi for supporting the Human Rights Campaign and PFLAG. According to AFA, HRC and PFLAG "promote the homosexual lifestyle in the workplace". They make it sound like these groups are organizing gay orgies in the office, but looking at their websites, they aren't promoting "the homosexual lifestyle" (whatever that is), just seeking basic fair treatment that heterosexuals take for granted.

AFA has also released a video, It's Not Gay, featuring an "ex-gay" man, Michael Johnston, who it turned out was having sex with men while working as an "ex-gay" advocate (he is now ex-gay again, or is that ex-ex-ex-gay?)

I don't get why these "family" groups get so worked up about homosexuality. It seems to me that homophobia breaks up more families that acceptance does--how many people are rejected by their homophobic parents for coming out? How does that strengthen families?

Students burned in shop class gone wrong

2009-01-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

5 BC students were burned in an accident that should never have happened. The students were working with molten aluminum outside in the snow. Some of the snow melted (of course). According to Donna Freeman of WorkSafeBC, the combination of molten aluminum and water is considered "risky". Students were sprayed with 2000° molten metal; some of the drops were as large as loonies.

The only safety equipment the kids had were goggles and long mitts. They should have had full face masks and aprons.

To make matters worse, school officials dallied for 45 minutes before taking the students for medical treatment. What were they thinking?

If something like this happened in a homeschooling family, there would be an outcry about how dangerous homeschooling is, how education should be left to "qualified" professionals. What kind of training did this teacher have that he would put the kids in a dangerous situation like this, without proper protective gear, and no burn kit on hand, and then not even taking the kids for immediate medical treatment?

Of course, many teachers are more safety-conscious than this one was. But the fact remains that the only way parents can be 100% certain that our children's teachers will be safety-conscious is to be those safety-conscious teachers ourselves.

Homeschooling a cover for abuse?

2009-01-23T10:50:00.000-08:00

UK Children's Minister Delyth Morgan speculates, without giving any evidence, that Home schooling 'could be a cover for child abuse and sexual exploitation'.

Of course, there are abusive parents, and some might very well (pretend to) be homeschooling as a way to conceal their evil doings.

However, Morgan fails to consider that pedophiles are also likely to seek out jobs where they can be around children—for example, teaching in the schools. There have been many, many documented cases of school teachers abusing the children entrusted to them, sexually and otherwise.

In addition, abuse by peers is rampant in institutional schooling; while some schools are starting to take this seriously, even the best teachers cannot know everything that goes on when there are twenty or thirty students for each staff member. And of course there are unfortunately some teachers who will blame the victim or tell them to toughen up rather than teaching the bullies to behave themselves.

Morgan's comments obviously won't deter parents from homeschooling if that is what they think is best for their family. As a homeschooling parent, I know that the chance of me abusing my son is zero; I could not say the same for any institutional school.

It defies common sense to claim the odds of being abused by a homeschooling parent are higher than the odds of being abused by any of the many teachers, other school staff, and fellow students. A child will be exposed to many more risky situations in even the best school than with a loving parent at home.

Encourage AARP to keep BetterSex.com advertisements

2009-01-19T10:04:00.001-08:00

Morality in Media has contacted AARP to protest the presence of an ad for BetterSex.com in the January 2009 issue of the AARP Bulletin. MIM's idea of "morality" means that even adults should not be allowed to see sexual images of consenting adults.

If, like me, you support the sexual rights of consenting adults, please write to AARP at 601 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20049, United States, or phone them at 1-888-OUR-AARP (1-888-687-2277).

Edward Current on phony Christians

2008-05-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

The brilliant Edward Current takes on fundamentalists who believe that every word of the Bible is literally true.

I mailed my request to Peter Popoff

2008-04-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

On the form he sent the other day, I asked for my income to be quintupled. I figure this is specific enough to tell clearly if it came true or not, and is unlikely to happen between now and May 18 (the timeframe he specified for my miracle to occur.)

After Nicky mailed the form for me, I realized I had forgotten to put in a cheque for Peter Popoff. Oops!

Peter Popoff sent me Aaron's Rod! Wow!

2008-04-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, I've been negligent. I got another "personal" letter from Peter Popoff about a week ago, but didn't open it until last night because the envelope looked boring and I was busy enjoying the first decent weather of the year. But now it's gotten cold again so I have time for Pete's correspondence.

This letter is shorter than the last one, thank goodness. And he sent me another gift!

Again, I'm posting the letter in full (with my personal info blurred out) for the benefit of anyone else who is getting these "personal" letters.

The opening line of this one is interesting: "What's going on? Haven't you received my last letter?" I don't recall him writing anything like this before, although I usually do not respond to his letters. Perhaps Peter Popoff Ministries has upgraded their client management software?

In the second paragraph, he specifically predicts two major changes in my life between April 28 (that's today) and May 18. I'll post on May 18 on whether or not this prediction came true.

In the fifth paragraph, he asks me to clear my mind of various things like "the worry over your need of a job". Whoops, looks like the computer put me in the wrong category for these mailings, since on the form I filled out way back when I'm pretty sure I said my biggest worry was my chronic health problems (which have lead to financial problems). Regardless of what I put on the form, since he has claimed numerous times that he is getting personal communication from God about my situation, he should know that my big worry is not getting a job, but getting well enough so that I can worry about getting a job. But I guess it's safer to promise jobs to the unemployed than to promise cures for the incurably ill.

He also mentions in the third paragraph "a family problem that has been at a stand still for a long time". I haven't a clue what this could be referring to.

In particular, he's promising what he calls a Numbers 17:8 miracle.

Here on page 2, he asks be a couple of personal questions:

"Have you been in a situation where all of your hopes were dashed instantly?" While there have been times when certain things have been hopeless, I can't recall ever having my hopes dashed instantly. More often I have foolishly maintained hopes of things improving when most people would have given up long before (e.g. my second marriage).

"Have you ever been in a situation where people who are really important to you just seem to, for no apparent reason, drift away from your grip?" Yes, though not right now, but like with the first "personal" question, he has described a situation in such generic terms that no doubt a large percentage of the population could identify it.

Of course he is hoping that I (and the thousands of others who no doubt received this letter) am thinking, "Wow, he really understands what I'm going through!" To bad for him that I have read too much about cold reading to be taken in.

In the bottom half of page 2, he starts his usual plea for money in general terms, ("things must be done", "There is at least one important thing you must do")

On page 3 he puts on the pressure. In fact, according to him, only he can solve my problems because he has a "supernatural anointing", whatever that means. Otherwise, "there is no way out". And if I do not read his whole letter and do what he says, I "may regret it for a long, long time, probably for the rest of your life".

On page 4, he asks me to press the "Numbers 17:8 Aaron's Rod" against my forehead and say a prayer. I actually did this. He also asks me to sleep with the rod under my pillow. I forgot to do it last night but I'll do it tonight, so that no one can claim that's why I didn't get my miracle. Then I'm to break the rod in half and mail half back to him.

If you're curious what Aaron's rod looks like, according to Popoff, here it is. To me it looks just like a piece of a bamboo skewer, the kind that sells at 100 for a dollar around here. But he did put it in some kind of cloth pouch. Interestingly, although this is supposedly like Aaron's Rod in Numbers 17:8, he doesn't promise that it will sprout and bear almonds.

And finally, at the bottom of page 4, he gets around to asking me for money. To be precise, he asks for "$17.08 to honor Numbers 17:8". Interestingly, he never asks for a donation to honour any verses from the first chapters of any of the books of the bible, I wonder why that is?

Here's the form he wants me to fill in, which asks not only for money but also for my "secret" requests, presumably so that he can show his "divine" knowledge of my situation in future letters. He even stuck on this post-it note to remind me to send as much money as possible. Gotta love that personal touch.

Then, at the very end of all this correspondence, he mentions that no one else should touch the Aaron's rod. Of course, he doesn't mention this until after I have spent 10 minutes reading his letter and my curious child has had lots of time to ask what's going on and handle the rod. Probably most people who got this letter who have kids have accidentally let the kids touch the thing. So that gives Popoff an easy out for when our Numbers 17:8 miracles doesn't come according to his prediction.

Petition to Wal-Mart about Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and other magazines that sex-negative people object to

2008-04-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Through Morality in Media I learned of this petition asking Wal-Mart to require their suppliers to cover up magazines with "ANY nudity OR sexually explicit language on the cover". The petitioner, Angie Smethers, started the petition because she was upset when her daughter saw the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover, shown.

Smethers believes that children need to be "protected" from images like this (without explaining why).

I, on the other hand, believe that children need to be protected from harmful ideas like that the body is shameful and must be hidden. What kind of message is this mother giving her daughter, when she indicates that while males routinely wear topless swimsuits, it is a terrible thing for a woman to do the same thing?

Wal-Mart is so huge that if they were to develop a policy requiring magazines to censor their covers to satisfy people who are unhappy and frightened about sex and nudity, it could well result in many magazines being censored--magazines are unlikely to produce a separate uncut edition for other retailers.

So please, take a minute to sign my petition asking Wal-Mart to continue selling law-abiding magazines such as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition rather than censoring them.

Sexpelled: No Intercourse Allowed (Expelled parody)

2008-04-18T13:02:00.001-07:00

Good news, bad news on Noellee Mowatt case

2008-04-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest on the Noellee Mowatt case. I wrote earlier about Mowatt's plight: after calling the police because her boyfriend was abusing her, she was jailed, while 9 months pregnant, to make sure she would show up at his trial to testify against him.

The good news: she appeared in court today and testified, which means that she was released from jail (on bail though--why? Who is the criminal here?)

The bad news: she recanted her earlier report of his abuse. This is common in domestic violence cases. Hopefully the courts understand that this does not prove Christopher Harbin is innocent, but given the inept handling of Noellee Mowatt's case so far, I am not optimistic.

Earlier, as she reported that "she was punched, kicked in the side, strangled, had her lips squeezed together hard when she tried to speak, and was 'chopped' in the foot when Harbin swung a knife at her to back up a threat but accidentally sliced her big toe." She also reported that he masturbated in front of her despite knowing that it upset her and was verbally abusive.

I hope that Mowatt's birth goes well and that she and her baby find a safe living situation.

A personal letter to me from Peter Popoff!

2008-04-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I filled out a form on Peter Popoff's website for a free "book", Prosperity Thinking (really a booklet).. Since then he has been my most frequent correspondent, sending me "personal" letters at least once a week, sometimes more. I've decided to post my "personal letters" here from now on, for the benefit of the other people who are no doubt getting exactly the same "personal" letters from Peter Popoff. Since he has sent a few little gifts in the past, when I saw this envelope I thought there might be a paper angel inside, but no, there was just... I'll reveal it later, he wanted me to read all of his letter before looking at the special envelope inside with the gift.

Here's his letter— you may have received one just like it. (Click to see larger version). Note the bright green faux handwriting... I've blurred out my personal information.

He writes, "I've never written you a letter like this before..." Really? I guess he's forgotten all the other letters he's sent me for the last few months...

He says God has a plan to solve my money problems, but to get this money I must be obedient to God, and "Obedience to God will involve sacrifice." I wonder what that could be? Could it be, oh, I don't know, sending money to Peter Popoff, just like he's asked in every other letter?

At the top of page 2, he writes, "You cannot deny that this letter contains things about you personally." Well, actually, the only personal information in the letter is my name, address, and that I am having unspecified money problems, all information he got from the form I filled out to order his free booklet. Which seems pretty strange since he is supposedly praying for me personally and getting visions from God about my situation.

Unfortunately he apparently is taking in a lot of people with these "personal letters". Peter Popoff Ministries raked in $23 million in 2005, according to Charity Navigator--Popoff himself got a salary of $628K, his wife Elizabeth made $203K, and his son Nickolas took in $182K.

On page 3, he finally reveals what was "terrifying" about the vision he had. The world is ending! But I will be "surrounded by a hedge of divine protection" IF I "enter into this 'endtime covenant' in the next 90 days." In other words, there's not much time left to think about it, I need to send him money soon or I'll be vulnerable to the "wars..., plagues and rivers of blood and insects". Of course my money problems won't matter then (though he claims that he "through faith... [has] found the money [I] need"), and certainly the donation he's asking for will be irrelevant when the endtime comes, while his divine protection won't be.

Here on the last page of the letter, he harps on and on about how I must be obedient and have faith. The miracle money that will bring me a glorious future (even though the world is ending?) and make me rich is "only for those who can give in strict obedience and faith". I'm guessing this is not just to guilttrip those who are having doubts about sending their money to this con-artist, but also to give him an out—if someone doesn't get their miracle money, he can claim it was because they did not have enough faith.

He usually includes a smaller envelope with something special inside which we are not supposed to open until we read his whole long letter (four pages, legal size). I suppose that opening this envelope without reading the whole long letter could be another excuse for the miracle money not coming. Inside the envelope are "Special Holy Instructions for Miracle New Millennium Money!" He wants me to burn some incense he's sent to me and mail him the ashes so he can "fast and pray in sackcloth and ashes... for miracle money for you!"

Now we get to the main point of this mailing: to get my miracle money, I have to send money to Peter Popoff. Not only that, but my offering will be rejected if it's not enough. "If the offering is rejected... there can be no harvest."

How much do I have to give? "Too many times people respond when they receive a ministry letter from me by just sending anything." I have give enough that it is a sacrifice to me. "If the gift you give to God does not move you... how can it move God?" (So now Peter Popoff is God?) In other words, give 'til it hurts (he suggests $50--i.e. perhaps a weeks grocery money for some person in dire financial need. I wonder how many poor people are going with out food to support this jerk's lavish salary?)

And here's the form I'm supposed to send back to him. (I occasionally do send the forms back, though never with any money.) He reassures me that "this is not a work of man... but it is the work of the Holy Spirit." (God sends form letters?) "I have not been called by God to take money from you..." (so why is he trying to do so?) "but ... to help get miracle money to you." How reassuring.

He warns me that "during the next few moments, satan [sic] is going to try to convince you that this is not of God... or that I'm only trying to get your money." Gee, why would we think that? It must be Satan's work.

And another guilt trip—my offering of sacrifice is to benefit not just me but also my "loved ones".

Not only does he want $50 now, but he wants me to pledge $1000, or $500, or $100. That makes $50 look almost reasonable.

On the back of the form, he asks for information about my debt (perhaps to insert in future form letters?) and testimonials. The lady at the bottom won a lottery of $7.2 million after sending $7 to Peter Popoff, and asks for "wisdom and insight as to what I should do with all this money." I'm sure that Peter Popoff will have a suggestion for her...

McKenzie Seeds for an invasive species available at Valu-Mart

2008-04-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today, I foolishly succumbed to temptation to buy some seeds for a pretty-looking plant I was unfamiliar with as I was shopping at Valu-Mart.

It turns out that Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus latifolius) is an invasive species here in Ontario, according to Evergreen.

I was shocked that a supposedly reputable company like McKenzie Seeds would sell an invasive species. I've already sent them a complaint; if you are concerned about invasive species too, you can contact customerservice@mckenzieseeds.com.

Free Noellee Mowatt

2008-04-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Noellee Mowatt, 19, is due to give birth to her second child April 15. In December, she called police to report that her boyfriend, Christopher Harbin, was abusing her. What does our so-called "justice" system do?

They put her in jail.

Mowatt, who is not charged with anything, is being held in a jail cell at Vanier Centre for Women in Milton, to make sure that she shows up to testify at her boyfriend's trial. According to her lawyer, Lydia Riva, "She's contracted the flu since she's been in jail. She already had to seek medical attention. [...] She's obviously stressed out and concerned about her pregnancy. She's afraid to have her baby in custody."

Why is this poor woman, who obviously has enough stress in her life already between raising two young children and coping with an abusive boyfriend, being victimized by the justice system, which should be protecting her?

If Noellee Mowatt was 30, and married, would she be treated so appallingly badly in these circumstances?

More confused thinking about veganism and honey

2008-04-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here's another person who identifies as vegan, but would be willing to make an exception for honey (though she hasn't yet). Laura, a university student writing for Taste Better argues that "...bees feel pretty much nothing..." and organic and small-scale beekeeping "isn't really exploitation", and besides "there really is no way... to live without harming others..."

But do bees really feel nothing? Their nervous system is a lot simpler than ours, which leads many to assume that they don't feel as much as we do. But there is no way for us to ever know what it is like perceiving the world from an apian perspective. However, even with such a simple nervous system, bees can communicate with each other in a surprisingly sophisticated way. As vegans, I think we should give bees the benefit of the doubt, just as we do with other invertebrates such as lobsters.

Laura's line of reasoning that organic/small scale beekeeping isn't so bad, and we can't live without harming others, could also be used to justify organic/small scale farming, etc. etc. and often is, though normally by omnivores. In the future, are we going to see omnivores calling themselves "vegan" because they consume only certain animals (fish, invertebrates), or because they "know" that their meat was raised "ethically"?

The misuse of "vegetarian" to include fish and chicken eaters already causes a lot of aggravation to people who really are vegetarian--years ago during a hospital stay, I was served "vegetarian" meals that included large amounts of nasty-smelling dead tuna fish. Now "vegan" is being misused. Already some "vegan" restaurants are serving honey, meaning that even in should-be vegan establishments, vegans have to go through the tedious questions about ingredients.

Go ahead and eat what you want, but if you're eating animal products like honey, please call yourself something other than vegan.

RIP Red Licorice

2006-10-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, to my shock, I discovered my son's rescued betta, Red Licorice, lying dead on the floor of the tank. He had shown no signs of illness and was swimming and eating well only the day before.

I tested the water quality today and it was perfect. I guess he just died of old age. (I don't know how old he was when we got him, 18 months ago. Probably over a year since male bettas are typically sold in petstores when they are a year old. Bettas have a typical lifespan of 2 years.)

Originally published in my journal at the late great Vegan Porn.

Oscillococcinum is not vegan

2005-10-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

Now that the weather's getting cold (at least in where I live), it's time for me to post a reminder that Oscillococcinum, a popular homeopathic remedy, is not vegan. It contains duck heart and liver.

Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.

Time to think about euthanasia

2005-05-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Jellybean (my betta fish) has been sick for some time now, and today he's looking really bad. On Saturday, he looked constipated again (bulging in front of the anus--but that could also be another tumour) so I'm trying the standard treatment of fasting for a few days and then feeding pieces of a cooked pea (for fibre), which really helped last time. But this time not only is he spending virtually all of his time lying at the bottom of the tank, he is having trouble swimming. When he comes up for air, he has trouble staying upright, sort of staggering all over the place, as though maybe his swim bladder has been affected.

It really looks like the time for euthanasia will be soon (if it hasn't come already). I hate the thought, and my son got furious when I explained that I will have the euthanize Jellybean soon, and what that means. He says I can't because I'm a vegan, and vegans don't kill animals. He wants Jellybean to die "normally".

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has had to make the euthanasia decision; I've had to make that choice once before. It doesn't get any less painful.

Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.

When the tank is ready, the betta will appear

2005-04-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

I've had a divided 10 gallon tank set up for months now, in the hopes of rescuing another couple of bettas.

Today my landlord gave me her brother-in-law's betta, which she described as half dead because "he forgot to change the water" (the water was full of debris).

Nicky has named the new betta Red Licorice, because of his colour and because Nicky likes candy (our first betta is called Jellybean). Red Licorice is noticeably smaller than Jellybean, I don't know if he is a lot younger, or if it's because of the conditions he was living in.

Unfortunately my digital camera is not working tonight and in any case my site is down so I have nowhere to host the image. :(

Anyway, please join me in welcoming Red Licorice!

Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.

Rejected by Chapters.Indigo.ca

2005-04-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

I wanted to become a bookstore affiliate and maybe make a bit of money off some book reviews on my website. I am boycotting Amazon.com until they stop selling foie gras, so I decided to go with Chapters.Indigo.ca.

Here's the reply from Performics (who runs their affiliate programme).

To Rosemary Amey.ca,

Thank you for your interest in the Performics Affiliate Program. At this time we cannot approve your application because of at least ONE of the following reasons:

1. At this time we do not see an appropriate fit with your site and our network of Clients.
2. We were unable to access and review your site from the URL provided in your application, or the site was incomplete.
3. Your site includes adult-related and/or pornographic content.
4. There is religious content on your site.

It is our policy to fully review each site before approval into our network. Please feel free to re-apply after you have made the necessary adjustments to your site.

If you have questions or comments, please contact us at affiliate@performics.com.

Sincerely,

Performics Affiliate Network...powered by ConnectCommerce
www.performics.com

I guess maybe the milk porn image on this page got me in trouble? (Even though it is no more explicit that the Ontario Milk Marketing Board picture on the same page which appeared all over public transit...) Or maybe it was the religious content?

Either way, it seems dumb to reject me for these reasons when Chapters.Indigo.ca sells sexually explicit books and religious books.

Oh well, it's their loss. I'm applying for Barnes and Noble next.

Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.

My betta is sick

2005-04-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today I was horrified to see that my betta, Jellybean, has a horribly swollen abdomen. He had been moping around at the bottom of the tank more than usual for the last week or so, but he was still eating well and the water tested okay so I was hoping it was nothing.

From what I've read, it could be constipation, or a tumour. I really hope it is just constipation. I recently started using a different betta food because the store was out of the kind I usually get. I hope that's all the problem is. But he is about 2 years old, which is the usual lifespan for bettas though some have lived up to 5 years.

Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.

Blaming mother

2005-03-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

As a single mom, not by choice, it has long irked me the way the media constantly blather about the problems suffered by children of single mothers, as though it is the mothers who are lacking, and not the fathers who abandoned their responsibilities in the first place.

For example, I recently attempted to read The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian, a book about parenting boys which apparently is intended for families in some parallel universe, where the chief problem experienced by boys is that they expected to act like (stereotypical) girls. (The solution is to accept their stereotypical boy qualities. Of course this doesn't seem to have much application for the universe I live in, where stereotypical boy qualities are not just accepted, they are often forced onto boys, and woe betide the boy who is sensitive, or likes ballet, or otherwise transgresses against the "boy code", as Elaine Aron put it.)

Gurian tries to be nice to us poor single moms, but his attitude is, sorry ladies, you haven't got what it takes. No where (as far as I can tell; I didn't finish the book) does he take the absent fathers to task for their actions (or inaction) which affect their children.

Of course, Gurian's approach is pretty standard these days. But CTV reached a new nadir today in mother blaming.

On March 6, Alnoor Amarsi threw his daugher Inara off a bridge before jumping after her to his death. Incredibly, Inara survived, though she is still in critical condition. In his suicide notes, he said he was going to kill Inara because he hated his estranged wife, Shamsha Amarsi.

To me, it's pretty obvious which is the problem parent here (duh). But evidently not to someone on the CTV.ca news staff, who wrote:

Earlier this month, CTV News Toronto reported that the incident started when the 48-year-old man asked his estranged wife for more time with their daughter.
She said no. That appeared to trigger the tragic chain of events—one which he had apparently threatened before.

Ah. So despite appearances, it was mom's fault that Inara was dropped off a bridge. I guess she shouldn't have selfishly refused to let dad spend more time with the kid. So what if he had already threatened to kill Inara before? Fathers have rights, you know.

Guillotines

2005-03-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today I succumbed to temptation and put Google Ads on my site.

Of course, because of the way the ads are chosen, some of them contradict my views.

The worst one is, however, is for guillotines to kill lab animals

They sell two models: a small one for rats and mice, and a larger one which will also handle cats, rabbits, and "larger subjects". And they invite vivs to ask them to custom make an even larger model!

Well, I'm hoping that these dumb ads will help bring out why vivisection is bad.

Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.

Today is Shrove Tuesday

2005-02-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

A great excuse to make pancakes for supper!

Here's my method:

Put a cup of flour or so into a liquid measuring cup.
Add a heaping spoonful of baking soda and a smidgen of salt.
Add enough soydrink to make into a batter. Thick batter=thick pancakes, thin batter=thin pancakes.
Heat frying pan on low, put in a blob of margarine, then pour on the desired amount of batter. Flip the pancakes when the top looks dry.
I add more margarine each time I pour in more batter.
Serve with real maple syrup.

Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.

Does institutionalized schooling help disabled kids, or create them?

2003-04-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

The current vogue for cochlear implants, and the associated difficult finding classes in Sign for intact Deaf children, is yet another example of how institutionalized schooling (and mainstream society) inevitably ends up imposing conformity on students. All kids assigned to the same grade (based on their date of birth) are expected to do and learn the same things at the time. Those who are on a different timetable, if they differ "too much", are diagnosed with "learning disabilities" (or "giftedness"). The ones who are too active to put up with sitting at a desk all day are drugged, and now the deaf kids are surgically altered to suit the system.

I know there is a big desire to mainstream disabled kids by getting them into the same schools as nondisabled kids, but the more I learn about institutionalized schooling the more I am convinced that it will always be problematic for everyone. Even the best teacher in the world cannot truly know and meet the needs of the 20 to 30 kids in the class.

I am determined to continue unschooling my son.

Recently, my landlord asked me, how can unschoolers know if their child is learning disabled?

I replied that the concept of learning disability is controversial. Kids vary a great deal in when they are ready to learn different things--for example, my son learned to walk when he was 16 months, but my landlord's daughter learned to walk when she was 10 months. This doesn't mean that my son is "walking disabled" or her daughter is "walking gifted"—they both learned to walk, and in the long run who cares what age they started? Kids also vary greatly in when they are developmentally ready to learn to read—some kids teach themselves at 4, others don't get it until they are 9 or 10 but in a few years you can't tell the teenagers who were early readers from those who started later. But by putting them in the institutionalized schooling system which demands that everyone do the same thing as their agemates, these differences suddenly become a problem, and are pathologized.

I would like to dismantle institutionalized schooling and the associated societal attitude that everyone should learn the same things and have the same abilities. Instead society seems to be moving in the other direction, with more drugs, surgeries, genetic screening, etc. to ensure our children are more uniform. And here in Canada there is talk of extending the school system to younger children. Maybe at some point in the future the 16-month-old walker will be diagnosed with some kind of disability because he isn't following the system's timetable.

This article first appeared in a slightly different form on the Bioethics Yahoo! Group.

Babies who love too much

2002-01-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

The other day, I was reading an article by another single mom about her son's infancy. She described waking up in bed with him, and how he gazed at her as if she were bliss personified.

My glow at remembering those own heady days when Nick was a baby were shortllived. The author concluded that her son was getting too attached to her, and that if she didn't get him out of her bed now (aged 6 months), she would be sleeping with an 18 year old! Her solution to the imagined problem was to force him to sleep alone, and ignore his heartrending cries.

I do not want to seem like I am trashing this mom, because I think this is a typical fear in our society. Indeed, I myself wondered at times if Nicky and I were too close. It is clear that she acted in what she thought was his best interests in pushing him to be more independent, even though it was something of a sacrifice for her.

Isn't our species messed up? What other mammal expects its infants to sleep alone? A six month old human cannot be independent--he is utterly dependent on adults for all of his needs. Does a mother lion or bear worry that her cubs are not independent enough when they are so little that they need to snuggle up to her at night? Do lions and bears grow up to be sissies?

When Nick was around 5 months old, I attempted to participate in a mothers' support group. The babies were expected to spend an hour and a half in the childcare room down the hall, which met all official guidelines, etc etc. Nicky was confused the first time we went. The second time, he had to be brought to me a couple of times. The third time, he freaked, screaming so loudly that everyone came out of their offices to see what was wrong.

The experts who ran the programme assured me that he would get used to it, that this stress now would prepare him for stress later on, he needed to be more independent, yadda yadda. It was obvious to me they were wrong. Nick was not getting used to it; he was getting more and more distressed each time we went there. He was clearly not ready to spend that time apart from me at such a tender age.

We didn't go back to that group.

Was Nick somehow harmed by my not forcing him to be more independent? Hardly. At 18 months, he was ready to enjoy a whole day at his daddy's house, by two he could handle me going out in the evening (which means bedtime without me and my magic sleep-inducing milk) and now he is taking a dance class with big kids (4 year olds)!

Why do we have so little faith that our babies will grow up? Why do we see intimacy, nurturing, and responding to our babies' needs as damaging rather than wholesome? Maybe it's the whole no pain, no gain idea - if the child is getting what he wants rather than screaming with despair, he won't learn what the "real world" is like.

I like to think that by letting Nick move to independence at his own pace, he will be more self-confident (by having success the first time he tries, rather than the difficulties that come from trying before he is ready), and that he will learn that he, and other people, deserve to be treated with respect.

Save the morula!

2001-07-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

Someone left a copy of the Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) newsletter on the subway today (probably hoping that a curious person like myself would pick it up--I do the same thing with animal rights magazines.)

The lead story? "Ontario easing access to abortifacents", referring to the emergency contraception pill (ECP), a.k.a. the "morning after pill".

Now, obviously, this newsletter is intended to preach to the converted, for they don't really explain what is wrong with the ECP. Their objection is that because the ECP, which is taken within a few days of possible conception, prevents a fertilized egg from implanting, which they consider a form of abortion.

I am not without sympathy to some "pro-life" claims--certainly, in my experience, my son showed signs that he was a sentient being with his own lively temperament by the second trimester. But the ECP does not abort a baby--it keeps a ball of undifferentiated cells (the morula) from implanting!

Of course, the CLC does not mention that the morula is not even remotely a baby, has no nervous system, no "beating heart" to be stopped by abortion. Probably they are counting on the ignorance of their readers, or maybe they are ignorant themselves (consider the riduculous image at the left, purported to be an 8 week old embryo, at the Nuremberg Files anti-abortion site, and compare to an actual image of an 8 week old embryo. At this stage, the embryo is only 15-20 mm long!)

So why is the CLC wasting its energy worrying about this--a treatment which would prevent abortions of more developed embryos who do have the beginnings of nervous systems and beating hearts?

I don't know for sure, but I have my suspicions.

On page 2 of the newsletter, they have an article titled "Provinces extend same sex 'rights'". What does this have to do with abortion? You would think that anti-abortion people, if they had a stand on homosexual relationships at all, would encourage them--how many exclusively homosexual people get abortions?

But no. (Surprise.) CLC says,

The unique position that marriage has traditionally held in society has been slowly eroded and this is the most aggressive attack on our most vital institution; when the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman is broken, any sexual coupling (or, as some have argued, why stop at marrying just two people) becomes worthy of recognition and rights in the eyes of the law.

So this is what it really comes down to. The CLC is concerned not so much about the "rights" of the morula which will not implant if the woman takes the ECP, but rather wants to enforce its view that sex is only legitimate if the participants are married and willing to have a(nother) child.

The CLC has a couple of "Action Items" which I would like to counteract with Action Items of my own:

Ontario residents should contact Health Minister Tony Clement (clement@titan.tcn.net 80 Grosvenor Street, Hepburn Block, 10th Floor, M7A 2C4. Fax: 416-326-1571) in support of the Ontario Women's Health Council study on the use of the ECP when provided at pharmacies without a prescription. The study currently involves 40 pharmacies in Toronto, and is funded by the Ontario Health Ministry.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents should right to their MLAs to support the recently introduced same sex rights bills (which the CLC refers to as "expansion of special privileges for homosexuals").

Is parenthood a career?

2000-03-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

Many parents who spend most of their time caring for their children, in lieu of paid employment, speak of parenthood as their career. In some ways, the description is apt: we work long hours, doing physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding tasks. A lot of us also engage in "professional development" by reading extensively about child development, psychology, health, nutrition, and education, and attending parenting support groups and conferences.

Despite these parallels, I feel there is a danger in analogizing parenthood to a career. Treating parenthood merely like a job can lead to the misconception that, like other jobs such as programming computers or fixing cars, it doesn't matter who does it, as long as it gets done. In some jurisdictions, this leads to low-income parents being pressured to place their children in the care of strangers, so that the parents can seek paid employment. If raising children were only a job, this wouldn't matter. But of course it does matter, a great deal, to the children and parents involved. This is because parenting, while hard work, is not a job, it is a relationship.

Nonparents seem to have trouble understanding why I insist on staying at home with my toddler, at considerable economic hardship, instead of seeking paid employment and placing my son in daycare.(1) After all, they seem to think, anyone could feed Nicky(2), change his diapers, play with him, read him stories, so what's the big deal? (Indeed, before I got pregnant I had planned to return to full-time employment when the baby was three months old, and put him in daycare.) But to Nicky, it is a big deal. He has always been more separation-sensitive than many babies. He wants mommy, and when I tried placing him in a daycare setting for an hour and a half a week so I could attend a mother's support group, he made this need loud and clear. Now that he is older, he spends more time with daddy, 16 hours a week, but he still needs familiar, safe, people, and lots of one-on-one adult attention. And it matters to me that he spend his infancy and toddlerhood forming deep bonds to me and his father, not an employee (which is not to denigrate parents who are comfortable sharing their children's love with a good, qualified, loving caregiver).

Right now, I consider motherhood as my primary occupation, as it occupies the vast majority of my time (152 hours a week). But motherhood is not my career, it is a relationship, one that will last our lifetimes, regardless of how much time it occupies.

Notes

(1) Actually, I have chronic health problems which interfere with my seeking employment, but I would probably not want to seek employment anyway.

(2) They wrongly assume that at his age (21 months), he is no longer breastfeeding. Actually, breastfeeding is an important part of his diet (we do not use nonhuman animal milks for ethical reasons) as well as being a signifiant source of comfort.

Veganism better for animals and people

1996-08-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

You know that adopting a vegan diet is best for the animals. But do you have to sacrifice your health to do it? Relax.

When people give up meat they often wonder where they will get their protein, or as one woman asked me, "How do you manage to eat six servings of legumes a day?" In fact, it's hard not to get enough protein. Centring your diet on whole grains, vegetables, and legumes (one or two servings a day) will give you protein to spare. The only ways a vegan could become protein deficient are to not eat enough calories, to eat only fruit, or to eat mostly junk food. (Of course, infants need to be breastfed or given a suitable formula until their digestive system is mature enough to process other foods.)

And forget fancy rules about protein combining, which even the American Dietetic Association acknowledges is unnecessary.

Thanks to the efforts of the Milk Marketing Board, you may think that giving up milk will doom you to osteoporosis. What they won't tell you is that older women in countries that have low milk consumption have less osteoporosis than older women in countries with high milk consumption, like Canada. Why? First of all, calcium is available from many foods besides milk, such as dark green vegetables (except spinach), legumes, nuts, seaweed, and figs. [Since this article was written, calcium-fortified soy drinks and orange juice have become widely available in Canada, making getting enough calcium very easy.] Secondly, a key risk factor for osteoporosis is high protein intake. High as in, eating meat on a regular basis. Excess protein causes calcium to be lost in the urine. Other risk factors are lack of exercise, smoking, soft drinks, and caffeine.

Getting enough vitamin B12 is one worry that may have a grain of truth. This vitamin is made by bacteria, and is abundant in corpses (meat), eggs, and mammary secretions (milk). Where vegans can get it is not so clear. Some vegans have gone for decades with no known source of B12, whereas others have developed a deficiency only a few years after becoming vegan. Since B12 deficiency is serious, play it safe and take a 25 microgram supplement every week. (Look for the words cobalamin or cyanocobalamin on the label.) [Or use a soy drink fortified with vitamin B12.]

Hopefully I've reassured you that veganism won't kill you. Now here's the good news--unless you're living on pop and chips, veganism is healthier!

Many of the most dreaded diseases of our society, including breast cancer, colon cancer, heart disease, non-insulin dependent diabetes, and stroke, are linked with the consumption of animal products. By becoming vegan, you can reduce the risk dramatically.

"Couldn't I just use leaner meats and skim milk?" you ask. That might do some good, but not as much as becoming vegan would. Evidence is mounting that animal protein is also a significant risk factor. In addition, plant foods contain higher levels of antioxidants, substances which protect the body from free-radicals and thus slow down the aging process and the progress of some degenerative diseases. And animal products contain none of the dietary fibre which is so important.

And you don't have to wait decades to see benefits from your vegan diet.

For example, if you've been starving yourself to become fashionably slim, starve no more! Vegans tend to be slimmer than nonvegans, because we eat more carbohydrates, which rev up our metabolisms, and because with few exceptions vegan food is lower in fat. What you eat is more important than how much.

The benefits I have noticed since becoming a vegan four years ago are typical. My cellulite disappeared, my painful ear infections are gone for good, and the mucus that used to clog my throat is a thing of the past. Provided I avoid french fries (my weakness), I have no PMS and no menstrual cramps. And best of all, I have much more energy as a vegan than I did as a meat-eater or lacto-ovo-vegetarian.

So what are you waiting for? Being vegan doesn't just save animals' lives--it can save your life, too!

This article originally appeared in a slightly different form in the February 8, 1996 issue of The Varsity, a student newspaper at the University of Toronto . Reproduced with permission.