Kathy, I Wish You Were Here.

When I was 14 my world shifted on its axis.

Life up until that point had been more about survival than growth. Every day was a challenge, and although I sincerely doubt I could withstand the fear, pain and stress now that I did then, I'm a stronger and better person for having perservered.

I had help.

Kathy and I met, so the story was always told, when we were about 18 months old. Photographs told me that Kathy was a blue-eyed ringleted blonde princess. I was a dark haired tomboy, even as a baby. She was tiny, I was not. She was "good" (as all blue eyed blonde babies are meant to be), I was "difficult". Kathy loved dolls and stuffed bunnies. I liked dump trucks and real bunnies. We were, as my grandmother always said, "chalk and cheese."

From the time I understood the concept of love I adored her. I protected her, defended her, took the blame for her mistakes, and happily let her get us into one mess after another.

As we got older, Kathy became a witness to the horrors my brothers and I endured. She also became a victim, but that is another blog entry.....

By the age of six I knew that someday I would marry Kathy. I never waivered in my belief that we would grow up together, stay together, live together, die together. Kathy was not in agreement; she loved me, but figured she would marry a boy named Paul or one of the six or seven Josephs who adored her and tried to win her affection with candy and boquets featuring wilted wildflowers and dandelions.

The fact that I loved her and insisted that she would eventually come around to my way of thinking never fazed Kathy. She indulged me, and if she ever grew tired of my obsession, she didn't tell me.

We were inseperable. Even after my family moved to a community two hours away from Kathy's home, we maintained our relationship. I needed her like I needed oxygen, she kept the reality of my life just far enough removed so as to prevent it from crushing me.

When we were fourteen, my beautiful best friend was killed by a drunk driver.

Kathy and her sister Barbara were en route to my house for our monthly visit. A drunk ran a light, t-boned Barbie's car, crushing Kathy and severely injuring Barbara. Kathy died at the scene. She was decapitated by the force of the crash, her head was found about 15 feet from the car. Barbie suffered, among other injuries, a broken neck and devastating head trauma. She is a quadraplegic who uses breaths to maneuver her wheelchair and her eyes to communicate.

The bastard drunk who killed Kathy and all but killed Barbara walked away from the crash. Stumbled, really, his blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit.

My Kathy has been dead for almost twice as long as she was alive. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and miss her terribly. Death does not cause love to cease. I often wonder how my life would have progressed had Kathy not been murdered by the useless waste of space who destroyed an entire family with his selfish, stupid, inexcuseable behaviour.

I miss you, Kathy. I miss you big.

This Can't Be Happening. The Pit Bull Ban In Ontario.

Irate dog breeders in Ontario are mounting a legal challenge to Ontario's controversial "Pit Bull" ban on the grounds that the law, which takes effect on Monday, violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Dog breeders, many of whom are money-hungry amateurs with little knowledge and less interest in breed enhancement, are not likely to garner much sympathy from the public or from government officials, but Pitties certainly deserve protection.

The plaintiffs and their supporters argue that the provincial law is so vague and unscientific that it's bound to affect many animals that have no "bully breed" blood in them at all.

The legislation has amped up an already heated debate across Canada about the dangers of Pit Bulls, as passionate and faithful owners square off against uneducated neighbours and critics who consider the breed a dangerous weapon.

As of Monday, it will be illegal for a Pit Bull to be imported into Ontario. Puppies born in Ontario before Nov. 27 will be allowed to stay on a restricted basis (sterilized and leashed and muzzled in public places), but dogs born after that date must be shipped out of the province, sent to "research facilities" or euthanized.

What the hell is going on? This travesty would be laughable if it were not so fucking obscene.

Under the new regulations, four breeds are defined as "Pit Bulls": Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and American Bull terriers. The legislation also bans dogs with physical characteristics that are "substantially similar to those dogs."

Does this mean American Bulldogs, Boxers, some Lab crosses and certain Mastiff breeds will be banned, too?

Damn straight.

There is no scientific way to prove a dog's breeding. DNA cannot distinguish breeds, so the public relies on "professionals" to determine an animal's background. Some people see every muscular 40-60 lb dog as a "Pit Bull", especially when they are frightened or anxious about the dog. There are dozens of variables at play when determining any given dog's breeding, and even Veterinarians and dog experts can make a wrong guess.

None of the debate over "what is a Pit Bull?" touches the other issue in this fiasco. Breed Specific Legislation is fundamentally wrong.

All puppies are born equal. Clean slates, blank canvasses, pick a cliche. Dogs are made into whatever type of animal their guardians choose to create. A Cocker Spaniel can be made into a killer, so can a Labrador Retriever, a Sheepdog or a Dalmation. Temperament and instinct do influence a dog's behaviour, but humans are responsible for most dog aggression. Simply put, bad owners make bad dogs.

Bull breed dogs are bred to be loyal and loving companions to humans. They are smart, playful and loving dogs who have been nanny-like guardians of children for decades. The breed has been corrupted by amoral people who choose to capitalize on the strength and tenacity of Pitties, by perverting positive attributes. Yes, some Pitties have been molded into vicious attack dogs, so have some Doberman Pinchers, some German Shepherd Dogs, some Rottweilers, some Akitas, some Chows and some Great Danes.

Pit Bulls attract certain "types" of people who want a powerful and "scary" dog. They also attract families who want loyal and reliable pets. To ban a breed because some people exploit it is the height of victim blaming. Any and all people who use animals as weapons should be prosecuted for their crimes, no doubt about that, but the dogs have no voice in their exploitation, they simply do what they are trained and conditioned to do.

Blame the deed, not the breed.

Why Civilized Countries Reject Capital Punishment

The Quebec government is about to compensate the family of a mentally challenged man who has been cleared of sexual assault after spending five years in prison. Simon Marshall was sentenced to serve 62 months after he confessed to committing six sexual assaults in the 1990s.

When a police investigation later revealed Marshall's DNA did not match that found on any of the assault survivors, he was aquitted.

Had this sad situation happened in Texas, Florida, or any other death penalty state in the U.S., Simon Marshall may well have died by lethal injection for crimes he did not commit. The fact that he confessed means nothing, there are hundreds of documented cases in both Canada and the U.S., of people making false confessions. Some do it out of some mental-illness-driven or attention seeking motivation, but others do it just to end soul-destroying interrogations. In a state that considers sexual assault a capital crime, a challenged man, innocent of any crime, might have died because of a tragic error. Were Mr. Marshall black or hispanic, his chances of losing his life over a false confession would be greatly multiplied.

There is no way to eliminate human error, racism, classism, sexism or stupidity from the judicial system, and since it is far from failsafe, there is no place for capital punishment. Enlightened countries understand this simple concept. Others do not.

Manon Beaudoin, Simon Marshall's mother and legal guardian, has said the money offered as compensation will be used to ensure her son is cared for over the course of his life. The government of Quebes cannot give Mr. Marshall the past five years of his life back, it cannot erase the doubtless horrors he has witnessed as a vulnerable man in an environment designed to destroy the weak.

If Mr. Marshall had been convicted in a bloodthirsty death penalty state, his mother might be choosing a headstone for her son's grave.

PETA. The Ends Do Not Justify The Means.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has made another huge, ugly, stupid move.

Surprise!

PETA subscribes to a philosophy that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment. That mission statement seems pretty innocuous, but PETA considers keeping pets "human entertainment" and in some cases has euthanized dogs to keep them from becoming "prisoners" in loving homes. To PETA, my well loved, raw fed, bed-sleeping, socialized, regularly exercised, healthy, happy dogs, my cherished family members are abused simply because they "belong" to me. News flash, Skippy, I belong to them!

PETA uses guerrilla tactics to raise awareness. Throwing blood (or red paint) on people wearing fur. "Liberating" animals used for experimentation. Erecting billboards with grotesque images of factory farms. Producing cartoons about fat, acne scarred, inactive kids destroyed by drinking milk. The organization believes in veganism, and whereas Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry, Vegans, in addition to being vegetarian, do not use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products. For health, environmental and ethical reasons, Vegans eschew any and all animal products, but PETA has gone a step further and condemns humans having pets.

True to their revolutionary methods of garnering attention, PETA has launched a new campaign aimed at discouraging pet ownership. "Are Animals the New Slaves?" involves a tour of the United States and features a display in which comparisons are drawn between various human uses of animals, and the suffering endured by black slaves during the Colonial era in North America. The campaign has drawn the ire of the NAACP, much like that of the Anti-Defamation League when PETA ran the "Holocaust on Your Plate" campaign, which drew parallels between the treatment of farm animals confined and slaughtered for food production and the treatment of Jews and other victims of the Holocaust.

Opinions about PETA vary greatly. Its supporters say that the organization has brought greater attention to animal-rights issues, and has encouraged many people to become vegan. They also claim that critics fail to address their fundamental belief that animals deserve moral consideration.

Critics frequently point out that PETA has made financial contributions to "Eco-Terrorist" groups such as the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front. Critics also point to a statement from Alex Pacheco, one of PETA's founders, that "arson, property destruction, burglary, and theft are acceptable crimes when used for the animal cause."

Animal cruelty is a sad fact of life, and society must bring to justice those individuals and companies that treat animals inhumanely, but PETA's insensitive, thoughtless comparison of keeping pets to the brutalization of human beings does nothing to help the cause.

If PETA is looking for attention, they got it, if they are looking for results, they have failed, miserably.

The Lockout, Or, Mayhem At The Mothercorp.

The lockout at the CBC may turn into a long and ugly drama. Unfortunately, the CBC is known for producing long and ugly dramas.

Right now, it appears as if the only people interested in the problems plaguing Canada's network are news junkies, those engrossed in labour relations and/or political maneuvering and the faithful fans of CBC Radio.

Wait until hockey season starts.

In a little over a month, when Canadians who can't even spell CBC settle in to watch goons on skates and to listen to Don Cherry make an ass of himself over and over again, but instead get goons on skates with no commentary, or worse, play-by-play provided by Chester M. Gumby, Manager of Paper Clip Procurement in Lower Hooperville, New Brunswick, there will be bloodshed. Unfortunately, for many Hockey Night in Canada IS the CBC.

Meanwhile, more than 5500 employees of the Canadian Broadcasting Company are being kept from making a living. People in far flung areas of the country are without the only channel their televisions receive. People searching for an alternative to Shock Jock, Crap Talk, Top 40 or Hip Hop or ,God save us, Country Radio stations are cast adrift. Many people count on CBC Radio for news, information, entertainment and intellectual stimulation. As one particularly pathetic person, who shall remain nameless, but whose initials are C.I.T., recently moaned "I miss my friends..."

Some very important news stories, such as the removal-by-force of Jewish settlers from Gaza, are not being covered by the CBC. For those of us who gather information from various sources while trying to understand the realities of "news", the loss of the CBC perspective is tough. As a Canadian, I appreciate a Canadian point of view, and the CBC has a reputation for fair, balanced coverage of current events. Try finding clear, concise, unbiased reporting on other Canadian networks, or, for an impossible challenge, look to the American networks. Good luck with that....

Aside from the fact that the CBC is an institution in Canada, the fact is that the powers-that-be have shut unionized employees out of their workplaces and are not willing to negotiate. That's not acceptable.

"Focus On The Family" Is Obscene.

The "Focus on the Family" drones, (you know who they are, the members of the cult of personality run by James Dobson who think they, and only they, have God's private cell number), are dispensing advice to parents whose children might be gay. Yes ho-mo-sex-u-al, *gasp*! The horror, the horror!

Dobson believes, basically, that homosexuality is a "disease", and often refers to it as a "condition" ( like stupidity and arrogance, both of which afflict him?). As a disease, it can be prevented, and in Dobson's view, prevention means that boys must be raised in such a way that they grow to adulthood as manly men, and girls must be raised to be ladylike.

Golly Wally, gosh Beaver, if my mom had worn pearls while she vacuumed in her high heels, maybe I'd be straight! Jeepers Creepers, am I ever steamed!

Focus on the Family, whom I shall hereafter refer to as FUCK (Fundamentally Useless Christian Kooks) counsels parents to discourage "effeminate" character traits in their sons. There is a laundry list of "gay-encouraging" qualities that must be avoided if fathers want their sons to become masculine, macho men. Among the taboo behaviours: being "unaggressive", "uninterested in rough and tumble play", and "unathletic". Boys who are "artistically talented", sensitive and "overly careful" need more time with dad, less time with mom, and maybe a psychiatrist.

"Prehomosexual" effeminate boys and "masculinized" girls can be "helped", according to FUCK. If their families and churches can make them fully understand the fact that heaven will be out of reach because God won't accept them as practicing homosexuals, they'll willingly accept whatever "treatment" is necessary to put them back on the straight and narrow.

FUCK believes that girls who are forced to wear skirts and dresses, emulate their perfect mommies by cooking, cleaning and waiting on their brothers and daddies, maintaining good grades in Home Economics, the soft sciences and humanities, attending church regularly (daily where possible) and refraining from dating until their wedding days will grow up to be respectable straight women.

Boys who wear their fair hair short (but not too short), their pants long (but not baggy), play team sports (especially football), save themselves for marriage while making girls swoon over them, keep their blue eyes on the heavenly prize of meeting God upon death, all while acting like stereotypical Neanderthals by hunting, fishing and lifting heavy stuff, will grow up to be respectable straight men.

Focus on the Family's chauvenistic, homophobic, bigoted, self-serving swill would be laughable if it were not so damned obscene.

I Think I Understand The Term"Crime Of Passion" Now.

First things first. This is a rant, a vent, I do not intend to take action or follow through on threats, I just need to get this vitriol out of my system. I need to spew venom.

The construction project at our Co-Op is going to be the end of me.

I don't care that the crews here are "just doing their jobs", I hate them. It is true that saws don't cut stuff, people with saws cut stuff, and they have finally cut my last tie with civility.

I really, truly want the earth to open up and swallow every one of the carpenters, roofers, jackhammerers, tradespersons and gofers employed by the contractor who has decided to destroy not only this summer, but next summer and the connecting year for every poor inmate who is unfortunate enough to live here.

They are destroying my sanity, but what is far worse is that they are making my dogs' lives a walking nightmare. Poor Clio is terrified from 7:30 AM until 4:00 PM daily, and no longer has a yard in which to "do her thing". Kirby is losing fur in clumps, and will soon resemble a very large Mexican Hairless dog.

Intellectually I understand that the building is not safe and needs these huge repairs, and, as Christine often states, we did know this project would be happening before we moved in. I don't care, I don't give a flying fuck, they are making everyone miserable and it sucks.

I want the scaffolding gone. I want the stupid bridges made of plywood and planks gone. I want the piles of sand and rubble gone. I want to shove each and every hammer, rip saw, jackhammer and drill so far down the throat of the nearest tormentor, I don't care who he or she is.

I keep saying we should file a class action suit against whoever the criminals were that conspired to allow this place to be built so badly. I really do believe we deserve compensation for the 18 months of hell this will end up being. Every weekday is the same God damned unending litany of unbearable noise, dirt, inconvenience and people in our space. Eventually it will end, but the simmering hostility caused by this assault on our membership is growing daily. We have Members crawling catwalks to get to their homes, we have Members with no access to their own patio doors, who have to settle for whatever air circulates through their windows. We have Members who have lost all privacy, and whose homes have been stripped down to plywood.

I understand how people are driven to kill, I really do.

Proactive Missing Persons Reports

This is what the Downtown Eastside has come to. Just when one thinks it is as bad as it can ever possibly get, it gets worse.

A group called the Society for the Advancement of Marginalized Persons has begun a new initiative. The Self-Monitoring Program registers women who are considered at-risk, have those women fill out a missing persons report, have their photographs taken, and have the women provide a lock of hair to provide a DNA sample. Then the women are contracted to call in several times daily to let organizers know they are alive and well, or at least alive. Any and all women who feel they fit the profile of potential victim are encouraged to register.

All to provide these women with some reassurance that, in the event that they go missing, someone will actually notice and take steps to find them.

This is one of the saddest projects about which I have ever heard.

It is absolutely appalling that some women are so totally dehumanized that they have come to accept the fact that the only people who can and will look out for them are themselves. The disappearances of sixty-three women from the little piece of hell these women call home proved to them that they are on their own.

Every person with an IQ in the double digits knows that Robert Pickton did not act alone in the serial murders of the 23 women he stands accused of killing. The man hasn't got the brains God gave a turnip, he had help with this atrocity, or he was the "help". That means the women of the Downtown Eastside are still vulnerable, not only to the daily violence that is part of their reality, but to the threat of horrible, senseless death at the hands of a monster.

That these women are forced to check in with strangers in order to get searchers out looking for them in the event of a disappearance is monumentally tragic. If a women is "reliable" with her call-ins, a search will be launched the evening of her disappearance (after the final call-in time has lapsed). If a woman has proven herself to be "unreliable", the search will not begin until the next day.

Of course there should be no lapse in time for the search to begin for a missing human being, but the fact that there are no mothers, fathers, siblings, friends or lovers raising the alarm over the disappearances of these women is heartbreaking.

As if anyone needed further proof that the Downtown Eastside is a cesspool. Goddess forgive us.

Will Dubya Blink?

Sadly no, it's not likely.

Cindy Sheehan, a California mother whose 24 year old son Casey died in Sadr City, Baghdad on his fifth day fighting George Bush's battle for bragging rights, is camping out at Dubya's ranch in Crawford, Texas. She wants to talk to her President about his war games, and the fact that he is using and ending the lives of young Americans in what is really no more than a pissing contest run amok.

Richard Nixon is infamous for his "I am not a crook" speech. Dubya seems intent on saying "I am not a wuss."

He's not much of a human being either. War criminals so seldom are.

The Commander in Chief of the United States of America has taken to avoiding Ms Sheehan by flying in and out of the ranch in a helicopter. Nice use of public funds, and the actions of a coward. He hasn't got the balls to speak with this grieving mother, because, he says, he cannot tell her what she wants to hear, that the war in Iraq will end, that no more young American lives will be sacrificed to this "noble cause".

Ms Sheehan lost her son over oil and ego, and she will not give up her vigil until Dubya talks to her about the reality of losing a child in a military action that never should have started. She wants to ask him why his daughters, twin party girls Barbara and Jenna, are not facing death in Baghdad. She wants to know how this bloody war will usher in peace "in the long run".

The President has sent lackeys to, at first, humour Ms Sheehan, then to plead with her, bully her and threaten her. They warned her she could be considered a threat to national security if she didn't end her peaceful protest. Bruising Dubya's pride is not exactly the same as levelling the World Trade Centre, but with an ego as big as his, it comes close.

The only way the President can come out of this public relations disaster with any shred of integrity intact is to meet with Ms Sheehan.

He won't. The man has no conscience. That's why Casey Sheehan is dead.

Religion Is An Institution, Just Like Prisons, Just Like Psychiatric Hospitals.

They are still at it! The religious right is still trying to bully, harass and piss off anyone that takes exception to their limited, narrow, self-serving veiwpoints about any number of subjects.

Get over yourselves, people! You are not only annoying, your beliefs are totally immaterial to the reality of life in Canada in 2005.

It is my belief that religion, be it organized, unorganized, or disorganized should be given no more power in a democratic society than any other club or association.

People attend temples, mosques, synagogues, and churches to be with other people who share a common passion, just like sports clubs, book clubs, glee clubs and motorcycle clubs. Religious groups just have more protection and more perks, all unearned. People should have the right to do whatever they like, as long as it is legal, while with members of their organization, but there should be no doubt as to the fact that their club rules are for their members only, and they have no right (or standing) to push their agendas, whatever those agendas might entail.

If we, as a society, refuse to bow to their attempts to influence our world, maybe religious nuts of every persuasian will eventually get the message and leave the running of the countries in which they live to the people chosen to do so. Over the past several centuries, "The Church" has lost a great deal of respect, support, power and relevance, all because intelligence has overtaken superstition, fact has overtaken fallacy, and power imbalances have been identified as unfair, unjust and something to be rectified.

It is time to put religious minorities into perspective. Adults who worship whatever diety they choose have the right to live in the manner they choose, as long as they break no laws that apply to all citizens. Those who feel they are "religious" are in a minority in Canada, according to recent polls. They do not represent the views or opinions of the majority and they need to understand that their beliefs, although significant to themselves and their fellow believers (of whatever) mean nothing to the rest of us.

So, devout and pious members of every denomination, sect, and holy order, go nuts! Be fruitful, multiply, make joyful noises, cast stones, keep track of your shalts, shalt nots, honour, obey, do whtever the hell makes you feel the spirit.

Just leave me and every other secular Canadian off your list of "people to save". We're fine on our own, thanks.

Our Girls And Young Women Need Better Role Models.

It must be very difficult for female children and young adults to find heroes. There appears to be a dearth of positive role models, and an abundance of walking object lessons.

Society want girls to grow up feeling confident, strong and secure. Families encourage education, hard work, honesty, integrity and loyalty. We want girls to grow into women who love and value themselves, women who respect their bodies and minds.

Then our young women turn on their televisions and see vapid, vain Paris Hilton, who has made a lucratative career out of being a spoiled, nasty, lazy and dim-witted human Barbie Doll.

They watch Jessica Simpson prove that sex sells, and the fewer brain cells a woman has, the better. T & A, girls, not IQ is what matters.

Britney Spears. Lindsay Lohan. Hilary Duff. Jennifer Lopez. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Pop culture is full to overflowing with young women who prove that a little (sometimes very little) talent, a little luck (or a rich family) and a nice rack (and a nice ass) is the ticket to fame and fortune. Forget good grades, a healthy lifestyle, community involvement, decency.

This is where one argues that our young women should not be looking to television, movie or music stars for role models. Maybe not, but the reality is that young people idolize performers, and that won't change unless we, as a society, have the appetite to alter our hero-worshipping ways. I'm not holding my breath.

Trying to raise emotionally healthy, productive and responsible women is tough, but the alternative is unthinkable. We lose too many girls and young adult women to drugs, prostitution, self mutilation, eating disorders, suicide, abusive relationships, and early pregnancies because they feel they have no future, so why bother trying?

We have to keep working at raising awareness of the struggles our girls and young women face. "It takes a village to raise a child" may be a cliche, but some cliches are rooted in truth.

Hang on little sisters. You are the hope for a better tomorrow, maybe you will do better by your daughters than your parents and grandparents did.

Hey Jerk! Thanks For Ruining Our Time At The Park!

It's hotter than the hubs of hell, but I'm a doggy mommy, and as such, I have a responsibility to give my dogs ample opportunity to run, socialize and play. So I take them to our local off-leash park where I can make sure their needs are met.

Most dogs and their people are great. Some are awesome.

Some are jerks.

My dogs and I were having fun, enjoying each other, trying not to melt into various sizes of puddles on the grass. MacKenzie was, as always, chasing her ball. This is what she does, every time we go to any park, without fail. She's obsessed, and I'm fine with that, it makes tiring her out easier, and all dog guardians know that a tired dog is a good dog.

The jerk showed up about 45 minutes after we did. With him was his beautiful Golden Retriever. His dog is as ball obsessed as Kenzie, and he is a far stronger swimmer. Sam's dad did not bring balls with him to the park, because, as he later bragged, he never has to buy balls, Sam just steals them from slower, older or dumber dogs.

Nice.

I always take at least three or four balls with me, some get thrown too far into the lake and MacKenzie won't retrieve them, some are lost, some get punctured and sink, sometimes I give one to a dog without a ball. No big deal. Sam snatched one ball, and I let it go, it's only a ball, after all. Then he stole a second one, so I went to Sam's dad and said, politely, I thought, "Your dog has two of my dog's balls." He replied, not at all politely, "If my dog has two balls, they are my dog's balls. Keep throwing, he can fit four in his mouth."

It's people like this guy that give dogs and dog owners a bad name. Sam was doing what he has been encouraged to do, I certainly don't blame him. His human, on the other hand, is a bully and an asshole, and he doesn't deserve a dog as great as Sam.

Jerk.

The Rankin Inlet Brain Trust In Action

A child in Rankin Inlet was recently bitten by a rabid stray dog.

While it is tragic that the little girl was bitten and has to undergo treatment and deal with the trauma, it is also tragic that a dog has been destroyed due to ignorance and neglect of a community that places very little value on the lives of their animals.

A spokeswoman for the territorial Health Department in Rankin Inlet said that authorities will now take a "tough stand" on the problem of stray and roaming dogs. The citizens of Rankin Inlet have been warned that dogs at large will be shot. The solution put forward? The authorities are telling people to vaccinate and tie up their dogs.

There is so much wrong with this situation, it is difficult to decide where to start. Dogs are social creatures who need to be with their families, it is inhumane and irresponsible to tether them as a method of keeping them at home. The real problem in Rankin Inlet is that dogs are not routinely spayed or neutered and there are untold numbers of unwanted animals fending for themselves in a harsh and dangerous climate. Until officials take a stand on animal rights, sad situations like this one will continue. What exactly do the powers that be hope to accomplish by murdering innocent dogs in huge numbers? Until people are educated about responsible pet guardianship, there will always be more unwanted dogs to replace those shot by knee-jerk reactionaries.

People in Rankin Inlet need to take stock of themselves and their behaviour regarding pet ownership. They cannot blame dogs for being infected with rabies. It is a terribly painful disease that strikes dogs who are at the mercy of an uncaring and irresponsible community. It is the fault of the person responsible for this dog that a child has been injured. If the dog's owner had gotten this animal vaccinated and kept the animal at home, this incident would not have happened. Human stupidity has caused a horrible, unnecessary death for a dog, and a serious injury to a child. It was totally preventable.

If the people of Rankin Inlet cannot afford Veterinary care for their dogs, if they are not prepared to treat dogs as members of their families and choose to let them wander, threatened by wildlife, nature and gun-toting idiots, they simply should not become dog owners.

Canada's 27th Governor General

Prime Minister Paul Martin has made an inspired choice in appointing Michaelle Jean to the position of Governor General.

Only the third woman and first black GG, Ms Jean brings so much more than that to her new posting. She is fluent in five languages, is an award-winning journalist, producer, university lecturer, and documentary film-maker. Her family escaped Papa Doc Duvalier's reign of terror in Haiti when they emigrated to Canada in 1968. She is a world traveller, an intellectual and a woman who understands what it means to be marginalized. As a woman of colour living in Quebec, an immigrant, and part of a mixed-race family, Ms Jean understands many of the struggles facing large numbers of Canadians.

Michaelle Jean has dedicated her time and talent to address the needs of women and children at risk. She is extremely committed to bringing attention to the plight of urban Aboriginals, the poverty, lack of opportunity, drug dependency and lack of services Aboriginals face when they leave reserves. She is a fierce advocate of children's rights, and human rights across the globe. She has a well documented history of fighting for the dignity and respect of all people, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, sexual preference or political beliefs.

Madame Jean hopes to be a positive role model for immigrants, children of colour, and women all over Canada. She wants every child to experience the same opportunities as her daughter, and she wants her daughter to grow up proud of who she is.

The post of Governor General may be largely ceremonial, but it looks as if Madame Jean will use her power to further causes everyone views as vital to the fabric of Canada: equality, tolerance, fairness.

Well done, Mr. Martin!

Bell Mobility PimpTones.

What WERE they thinking?

Bell Mobility has taken a great deal of well-deserved heat over its decision to offer downloadable "PimpTones" ring selections. The ring tones featured actors portraying pimps and talking about bitches, "hos", skanks and players.

And I thought I'd lose it if I heard "Flight of the Bumblebee" one more time.

Little gangsta wannabes with cell phones dehumanizing women with every incoming call. Men, well aware of the power a penis gives them, find yet one more venue for their unabashed sexism, chauvinism and disrespect.

How could any business feel it is appropriate to further the degradation of women in such a blatant manner? Young men are being encouraged to share their contempt for women in every public arena that cell phones are used (and cell phones, as we all know, are everywhere). Meanwhile, young women are listening as their gender is characterized as prostitutes.

The subjugation of women, the erosion of equality is painfully obvious when 12 year old boys are permitted to replace their cell phone ring tones with some guy casually referring to women as whores. This is not a satirical look at the culture of the sex trade, this is a snapshot of society's inability to police itself.

Bell Mobility owes an apology to every woman on the planet.

Kirby's Mr. Winkey

I love my boy. Kirby is my heart dog, and my life is fuller, richer and much more beautiful because he is in it.

I hate his Mr. Winkey. He is in love with his Mr. Winkey.

Way too many times per week, Mr. Winkey makes an unwelcome appearance. My sweet, dim-bulb boy becomes a different creature when Winkey takes over, he can't walk, he goes into spasms, he becomes such a dog.

There really seems to be no obvious rhyme or reason around Mr Winkey's unscheduled arrivals, but when Kirby gets excited (a visiting friend, a belly rub, the sun shining) there it is.

Yuck!

When our female canines are aroused, they back into the nearest useable object (a human leg, a canine face....) and wiggle, in what I'm sure they believe is a provocative manner. It's not subtle, but it's not terribly embarrassing, either. When Kirby's body is possessed by Mr. Winkey, everything and anything is fair game, and if he can't find an object with which to do the testosterone tango, he'll hump the air.

Lucky for this rambunctious Romeo that he is so damn cute!

The DEA Should Be DOA In Canada.

Regardless of one's personal beliefs regarding the use, abuse and legality of marijuana, the fact that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is bullying its way into Canada's legal arena should be cause for outrage.

The DEA wants to extradite Marc Emery, a well-known proponent of legalizing marijuana use in Canada, for selling marijuana seeds in the U.S. In Canada he has been arrested 13 times, and spent 3 months in jail. In the U.S. he faces a 20 year sentence if convicted.

Canadians are not Americans. We are not a very large 51st state of the Union, and we are more dissimilar than similar. We cannot change the right-wing menace that rules the White House, we do not offer advice to the Republicans, or criticize all the half-assed initiatives and immoral and/or illegal military actions instigated by Dubya and his band of bloodthirsty goons. We can't stop the American government from trampling the rights of its citizens.

We sure as hell can stop the American government from trampling the rights of Canadians, though.

The DEA should be told, directly, bluntly and forcefully, to go back to their own country and stay there. Marijuana has been legalized in several countries, and it will eventually be legalized here, as well. The DEA can continue to preach about the evils of pot, it can huff and puff (as long as it doesn't inhale) and make mountains out of molehills, but it needs to confine itself to its own backyard.

Canadians don't need help from Uncle Sam or any of his henchmen. We are a country of smarter, shrewder, more sophisticated people, and we know what is best for us. Americans really need to fix the multitude of problems their own country faces before barging in, uninvited, to a land that, for the most part, has its shit together.

Maybe they all need to experience the healing power of BC bud.