Saudi King pardons vicitm

A few weeks ago I posted a story about a woman who had been gang raped and then was sentenced to 90 lashes for the rape. Today I read this story from CTV news about the Saudi King pardoning the victim.

Snowy Lantern

 

Winter Scene

 

Todays Snowstorm

 

Green Party congratulates Australia on Kyoto ratification

03.12.2007

OTTAWA – Green Party leader Elizabeth May extended congratulations to Australia for ratifying the Kyoto protocol and urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to rethink his strategy to block international action on climate change.

“Newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ratified the Kyoto protocol in his first act after being sworn in,” said Ms. May. “Mr. Rudd has pledged to do everything in his power to ensure Australia is a leader on taking action against climate change. Unfortunately for Canadians, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has taken the opposite approach. He has damaged Canada’s reputation since the day he took office by obstructing action to arrest the climate crisis.”

Ms. May added that there is every indication the Conservative government will continue to act as global saboteur as negotiations on the second phase of Kyoto begin at the United Nations climate change conference Bali. She noted that today, on the opening day of the conference, Canada has the shame of being awarded the third-place Fossil of the Day award from Climate Action Network International, behind only the United States and Saudi Arabia.

“Mr. Harper must drop his disgraceful stance on Kyoto and climate change and follow Australia’s lead by honouring Kyoto and playing a constructive – not obstructive – role in the second phase negotiations.”

UPDATE: Abducted Child

I have just received new information from the Melanie Persaud, Manager, Communications Children's Aid Society of Toronto:

"The child was not abducted during a supervised visitation. She was
abducted in the parking lot before the visit was to begin."

It will be interesting to see if CTV follows up on this. I have written to CTV news, and also replied to Melanie, suggesting that she may want to have them clarify.

Parents abduct daughter during 'supervised' visitation

This story began a couple of weeks ago when the parents of a five year old sick child abducted her during a routine 'supervised' visitation. Click the title link for the details and the full story from CTV.

I'd like to know, how it is that a child is abducted, from a child protection agency, during a supervied visit? I have written to them and will let you know what they have to say, should I hear back from them.

I'd also like to know why the CTV story doesn't even address this very obvious question?

Unrepentant theif Black gets 6 1/2 years.

To quote an animated cartoon character, "Ha ha" ~Nelson from The Simpsons.

Conrad Black sentenced to 6 1/2 years for fraud and obstruction of justice

Keg Mansion Holiday Dinner

Here are the pics from last nights dinner at the Keg Mansion. Everyone (except me) was on such good behaviour, dressed so nicely and respectable, that I thought I should not delay in getting these pics out to the masses.

If you click on the title or the slideshow you will go to ...theDaye... Picassa web album where you will be able to download all the pics and read all of my witty and entertaining comments.

Since you're already here please vote in my weekly poll (its on the top right). Also read/comment on my blog if you wish and gain insight on the inner workings of the mind of the man who is me!

Happy Holiday's to all, and may (insert favorite deity here) bless you all and two hall will soothe a sore throat, or blah, blah, blah....

Please send the link to other friends who may be interested as I don't have email addresses for everyone in the whole entire world who might (probably will) want to see them.

TTFN

2007 Keg Mansion Friends Dinner

Human Rights Day

URGENT: Click here for Amnesty Internationals

10 things you can do to support Human Rights Day!

Have your say!

Have your say!
Vote in this weeks ...the Daye...Poll.

Share your thoughts by posting a comment on the death penalty story.

World leader in child executions: Iran

I read today, a story at gay.com/news about a 21-year-old man who was convicted, in what I would suspect was a very unfair trial of 'raping' three boys when the man was age 13.

According to Human Rights Watch Makwan Moloudzadeh was hung late Tuesday of this week.
His family was notified on Wednesday to come and retreive the mans body. "We were expecting an order for retrial by the Supreme Court,'' Saeed Eqbali, the lawyer of the sentenced man said.

What came to my mind was a statement my Mother once made about the Pride parade. "I don't see why they need to have a parade" she said. Quite obviously not yet at a point where I was part of her condescending they. I was offended and don't remember what I said, but I know I wasn't happy with my answer and it has always bothered me.

When I read this story it reminded me of a sign that someone was carrying during the 2006 Pride Toronto parade which read: "We march for those who can't". I don't recall what group this person was with, but the marchers following him were carrying signs each with the name of a country and below it some statistic or fact about it like how many gays they had murdered. You can see Dave Raetsens 2006 Pride Toronto video of this here.

My point is this. We have a parade and celebrate who we are and our lives for many reasons. As many people often do, without having to give or have a specific reason, other than to celebrate. Just because it is fun. Some do have very specific reasons, for others they need no reason.

I feel that our parade has now evolved to a more developed state where it is not all protest and rights motivated, and we must not take that lightly. The fact that we are fortunate enough to be able to relax and party instead of having to fight for our lives is not enough. Now we must show the world that it is unacceptable to treat any minority in any unfair or unjust way. Especially when governments are murdering people for so called crimes, which are really just normal human behaviour.

I have never supported the death penalty and this is just one more case of why I made that choice.

What gives any state the authority to say who gets to live and who gets to die?

A criminal, any criminal is still human and is a product of the world that we all create, and for creating that world we all must accept our part, whether that part be big or small, one of passivity and blandness or a part that involves action and using your life to make a difference.

Davids 42 Birthday

Montreal case first test of new anti-piracy law

The first charges ever laid under Canada's new anti-piracy law have been filed in Montreal, CTV News has learned.
The city is known among police and Hollywood studios as a hotbed of film piracy, where movie premieres are routinely recorded using digital camcorders and later sold on the black market or shared on the Internet.
At Guzzo Cinemas in the east-end of the city, management only keeps a single copy of each film they screen. During a recent premiere of "Dan in Real Life," police arrested an audience member allegedly recording the movie.

Read the full story from CTV news here.

Have your say!

Vote in this weeks ...the Daye...Poll now and share your thoughts on the piracy issue.

The Universal Library

An international consortium of universities and libraries announced Tuesday they have digitized more than 1.5 million books and made them available through a single website.
The Million Book Project, also known as the Universal Digital Library, said the collection includes books in more than 20 languages, with titles ranging from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to The Analects of Confucius.

Read the full story at the CBC.ca Arts site.

Sherbourne Street Bridge

'Virtuous' Saudis defend 200 lashes for rape victim

Reacting to West's criticism, justice ministry says 19-year-old broke Islamic law by having an affair

Nov 25, 2007 04:30 AM
RIYADH–Saudi Arabia is defending a court's decision to sentence a woman who was gang-raped to 200 lashes, saying she was having an extramarital affair in violation of Islamic laws.

The case of the 19-year-old Shiite woman who, along with a male companion, was abducted and raped by seven men has drawn international attention. Canada has denounced the "barbaric" sentence and even the United States, a close ally of the conservative kingdom, offered mild criticism.

"The woman in the case is married and has confessed to establishing a relationship in violation of sharia law," the Saudi Justice Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

It said she and her companion were alone in a dark area outdoors when they were noticed by the men who later raped them.

Read the full story from the Toronto Star.

Wake Up

Cities for life

Reel Awareness

Amnesty International presents:
Reel Awareness - Toronto's Human Rights Film Festival, 22nd to 25th November 2007

7:30 - 10:00 pm RADIO OKAPI, THE PEACE WEAPON
Pierre Guyot / France/ 2006 / 52min
Toronto premiere

In 1994 “the thousand hills radio” in Rwanda followed minute by minute the last genocide of the 20th century when over a million people died. The Democratic Republic of Congo also experienced a devastating civil war that produced millions of victims. With the help of journalists, Radio Okapi was born from a will to do things differently: to bring people fair and balanced information and to make radio an instrument of peace.

“Autrement Vu” Award, Festival International du Grand Reportage et du Documentaire de Societe (France)
Special Jury Prize, Festival International du Film des Droits de l’Homme de Bangui (Central African Republic)
GUEST SPEAKERS: Olivia Ward, Foreign Affairs writer, Toronto Star; Daniel Baird, Arts Literature Editor,
WALRUS Magazine; Beth Berton-Hunter, Media Officer, Amnesty International

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25

2:30 - 4:30 pm CHILD SLAVERY
Richard Alwyn/BBC/UK /2007/ 90min


It's almost 200 years since the abolition of slavery in most countries. But across the world, the slave trade is booming like never before - a business worth billions of dollars a year. As many as 14 million children are enslaved today worldwide - more than at any time in history. Children are bought and sold like bags of sugar. They break stones in quarries, clean and cook for their owners, work the plantations and service Western sex tourists. They are beaten, abused, denied any contact with their family and often worked to death. Many of their captors do not see the practice as wrong. This film tells five extraordinary stories of children around the world, who share their experiences of slavery in their own words.

Q&A session after the film with Renee Saviour, Amnesty International

A Clever Banner Ad

Clever mac banner ad from Amit Gupta on Vimeo.

Photos From My 40th birthday

David, Patrick & Mark on the glass floor of the CN Tower

View the rest of the birthday photos here.

Snow in the city

Snow has arrived downtown, following a very soggy day yesterday. I took this photo of the Sherbourne St. bridge facing Rosedale this morning.

Toronto Cycling Union

Literally, A Web Log

About This Site
Misuse of the word “literally” gets my blood boiling (no, not literally). It started as a nit-picking distraction, grew to a frustrating obsession, and finally resulted in the creation of this blog.

What’s the problem?
According to the wonderful web site Common Errors in English:
“literally” has been so overused as a sort of vague intensifier that it is in danger of losing its literal meaning. It should be used to distinguish between a figurative and a literal meaning of a phrase. It should not be used as a synonym for “actually” or “really.”

U.S. reading skills, comprehension declining: study

The following is from CBC. CAAmericans are reading less and reading skills are deteriorating, especially among young people, according to a comprehensive U.S.-wide study of reading skills by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
The study found only 52 per cent of Americans aged 18 to 24 read a book voluntarily in 2002, down from 59 per cent a decade earlier.
The slide is even sharper among younger readers — less than one-third of 13-year-olds read every day, down 14 per cent in the last 20 years.
At the same time, reading scores for American adults have deteriorated, even among well-educated people.

The study, To Read or Not to Read, is based on data collected from government, academic and foundation studies on reading and reading comprehension.
The sole bright spot was among nine-year-olds, whose reading scores have soared since the 1990s, with 54 per cent of them reporting they read every day for fun.
"I think there's been an enormous investment in teaching kids to read in elementary school," said NEA chairman Dana Gioia.
"Kids are doing better at nine and at 11. At 13, they're doing no worse, but then you see this catastrophic falloff … If kids are put into this electronic culture without any counterbalancing efforts, they will stop reading."

People who read are more likely to exercise, visit art museums, keep up with current events, vote in presidential elections and perform volunteer work, she said.

A Lifetime of Secrets: Part II

Back in October, I posted a You Tube link to an ad for a book; A Lifetime of Secrets by Frank Warren. His Postsecret blog asks readers to send him a postcard with a secret on it that they have never revealed to anyone.

Having never seen the book, I posted the clip anyway as I thought it seemed provocative and interesting. A short time later, my friend Paul told me that he had gone out and bought the book and loved it.

On Saturday, I turned 40, I received the book as a gift, and it is very, very moving. My son, Patrick was here for the weekend and read the entire book cover to cover and also loved it. It does make a great gift and a definite insight on the human condition.

Buy the book here.

Should See TV

Nova recently aired a program entitled "Judgement Day: Intelligent Design on Trial". This was an excellent program covering the court case of; Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover School District, et al. Take a look at the Judgement Day "Links & Books" page and you can see how this program and PBS in general, is one of the few media outlets today (in the United States or elsewhere) that presents unbiased and fair journalism.

WGBH Boston Evolution Site

Nicole Testifies

SYDNEY, Australia -- Nicole Kidman told a courtroom Monday how she was reduced to tears and feared a car accident after a celebrity photographer pursued her two years ago.
Kidman, who divides her time between Los Angeles and her hometown of Sydney, Australia, was testifying in the photographer's defamation suit against a Sydney newspaper that slammed him for allegedly hounding the Oscar-winning actress.

Read the full story at CTV.CA