Mar. 3 Cindy Klassen: I read in the Metro today that
Canadian speed skater Cindy Klassen opened a women’s gym for Palestinian women
in Bethelehem. It costs $1.3 million
and the 1,300 square metre gym was funded by Canadian Luteran World Relief and Calgary’s
MT. Calvary
Lutheran Church.
My opinion: That’s good to open a gym and promote
fitness. Though I would probably open a
homeless shelter because homes are more important than fitness. At least to me.
Slashing spree: I read in the Metro today “Chinese
officials blame separatists for slashing spree.” 29 people were killed and 143 people were
wounded at a train station in Southern China on Mar. 2, 2014. The police shot and killed 4 of the
slashers. There were supposed to be at
least 5 more. Two of the assailants were
women, and one of them was detained.
Warehouse stabbing: I read in the Metro today
“Warehouse stabbing victims remembered” by Stephanie Dubois. Someone stabbed and killed Fizroy G. Harris
and Thierno on Feb. 28, 2014
at a West Edmonton Loblaw’s warehouse.
The assailant is believed to be another warehouse employee.
Mar. 4: Jayme Pasieka has been arrested with 2 more
attempted murder charges on him.
Mar. 8 Winnifred Stewart: I found this charity while
I was looking for a job. They help
people with disabilities.
Customized support offered through Winnifred Stewart Association's various community and facility-based programs assist individuals with disabilities to lead fulfilling lives and become integral members of their communities. These programs include, Day Services (recreational and leisure options and enclaves-paid or volunteer), Residential Services (variety of residential options) and Community Pathways (individualized employment, volunteering, living arrangements and recreational options.)
Winnifred Stewart Association is also dedicated to changing public perspectives through the work of the Winnifred Stewart Foundation. Fundraising programs, including Empties to WINN and Green Goods, create opportunities to increase public awareness.”
The Other Russia:
I was reading this article called “The Other Russia” by Alex Strachan on Mar. 1, 2014. It’s a documentary:
Gang members track down and abduct gay men, harass and humiliate them - or worse - and then post footage on the Internet. One such victim, a shy, unassuming man named Dima, was left blind in one eye after a homophobic attack and has since become the human face of Hunted in Russia.
In an especially revealing moment late in the film, Dima says he doesn't blame his attackers alone.
A culture of anti-gay propaganda and recent laws curtailing freedom of speech have created a climate of hatred and fear that inevitably leads to violence. Some of the most harrowing scenes are emotional, as when a lesbian couple, Svette and Yulia, admit they live in constant fear that the authorities will seize their three children from previous marriages, under the pretext of the newly passed propaganda law.
Hunted in Russia is hard to watch, but it's the kind of
hard-hitting documentary that makes one feel better informed for having seen
it.”
My opinion: That’s serious and scary. That is harsh. I didn’t know that’s what happens in Russia. Even if you don’t know that it happens there,
you know now.
This documentary is educational. By telling people about it, people know about
it so then there could be a solution to it.
Romanian orphans: I was reading in the Edmonton
Journal on Mar. 1, 2014 about
Romanian orphans. Here’s an excerpt by
Dene Moore:
"Three-year-olds didn't chew because they'd never had solid food," says Lucy LeMare, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University, near Vancouver. Under Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, the number of state orphanages had swelled to more than 600 grossly underfunded institutions. After he was executed by his own people on Christmas Day in 1989, childless western families flooded the country to adopt. Canadian families took in more than 1,400 children from Romania in 1990 and 1991, roughly half of them from orphanages.
The research so far has reaffirmed - in the extreme - that
the scars of early neglect run deep. The most recent survey, published in 2007,
found that about 40 per cent of Romanian adoptees had been diagnosed with a
mental disorder, compared with 15 per cent among the general youth population
in Canada.
Over the next few years, through her charitable
organization, she would help 350 Canadian and U.S.
families adopt about 500 children.
There are 2 more articles by Dene Moore:
Rape culture: I was reading in the Metro on Mar. 3, 2014 called “Ottawa
student says she is a ‘rape culture’ victim.”
Anne-Marie Roy is 24 yrs old and a student union leader and she got an
anonymous email where 5 male students had a sexual banter about the sexual
activities would have with Roy.
Roy got an
emailed apology from the men and that the comments were not actual threats
against her. She thought the apology
wasn’t enough and planned to distribute copies of the conversation to the board
of administration.
Four of the five individuals sent her a letter warning her
that the conversation was private and that sharing it with others was a
violation of their rights.
My opinion: That’s good she reported it. It’s about safety.
Predator: I was reading in the Globe and Mail essay
called “The Nest Robber” by Marlene O. Maier.
It’s not her real name to protect her daughter’s identity. In the essay she writes about an older family
member who tried to seduce her daughter when she was 14.
He started making comments on how she was acting “older” and
she thought that was a good thing. Later
he says to her: “I guess I should kiss you know. It’s getting pretty weird in front of your
parents.”
Later the daughter says: “I am so thankful I had people in
my life supporting me in order to get to a place where now I feel stronger than
ever. It has taken me years to feel okay
speaking openly…only maturity has helped relieve my sense of remorse.”
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