The Lilith eZine Sunday Edition
Letter from the Editor
This week we've brought you something important, but often ignored. The increasing privatization and commodification of schools and education, not just in North America but from vistas all over the world.
A team of university students from York University have voiced their scholarly opinions on the growing trend of private schools and as a high school teacher myself I am quite worried about this trend.
I taught chemistry at a private school in Richmond Hill (Ontario, Canada) briefly and it was not a pleasant place in retrospect. Dress code alone was almost intolerable. Apparently I can't wear sandals when I teach but high heels are perfectly acceptable.
I now teach at a Toronto high school and despite the larger classes and the smaller computer labs, overall the students are basically the same. They may not have parents who pick them everyday in the family SUV, but their reasons for being there remain the same. They all struggle to learn, most of them want to be there and they are all looking forward to college, university and/or the future.
The one defining difference is that some of the private school students have a sense of snobbery, that somehow they are superior just because they have wealth and a supposedly better education (although seriously, the margin of difference can be measured in the size and shape of the computers and computer monitors in the classrooms/labs). To me private schools are a matter of wastefulness and prestige. They don't get you from diapers to university better than a regular school, they just get you there in luxury.
The problems these days however is that there is a growing trend (pressure from the private school industry) to create more private schools and buyout/convert public schools into private schools. Corrupt politicians who favour private schools for their own children are part of the problem. They see the results of their own children going through private schools and assume falsely that the private school is better.
Private school students have more free time, better computers, more complete libraries and pricier sports equipment and more school trips. Those things can make a difference in how much a student learns and how motivated they are to learn, but it is no guarantee they will learn to be successful in life.
And while we waste all that precious cash on wealthy kids what is happening to the impoverishing children who don't even have computers and barely have enough food to eat, let alone cash for the latest school trip? Poverty is a real threat these days and the more we ignore it the larger the problem becomes. Poverty and lack of education leads to crime, destitution, welfare and beggars on the streets.
Many criminals can trace the root of their problems back to school when they were basically told they were too poor / too average intelligence to ever amount to anything of value. Wealthy parents will have little problem sending their kids to university or college (no matter how brain dead their kids are) and the smarter kids will get bursaries and scholarships to go to the schools of their choice. So where does this leave the poor and average students?
It leaves them in crippling debt or worse.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
Editor of the Lilith eZine
The Art History Archive
Chinese Landscape Painting
Dong Qichang - Chinese Artist
Gong Xian - Chinese Artist
Hua Yan - Chinese Artist
Huang Gongwang - Chinese Artist
Huang Tingjian - Chinese Artist
Giuseppe Castiglione - Italian-Chinese Artist
Ni Zan - Chinese Artist
The Canada eZine
Education as a Commodity in North America
The Erosion of Public Schools in Ontario
The Fashion eZine
How to be a Fashion Model
The Feminist eZine
Why Feminism is Good for Men
The Politics eZine
Disaster Capitalism in the United States
The Impact of Disaster Capitalism on Hong Kong's Education System
Privatizing Education in China
Privatizing Education in Sweden
New Orleans: Natural Disaster or Disaster Capitalism?
Disaster Capitalism in Brazil's Education System
Privatizing Education in New Orleans
The Shock Doctrine Revisited
Interesting Facts about China
The Religion eZine
The History of Crucifixion
The Technology eZine
Xcor Spaceship Unveiled
Organic Life found on Saturn's Moon
March 23rd 2008
The Lilith eZine Sunday Edition
Letter from the Editor
The next 12 years are going to be exciting ones.
It is not like the 1960s when people thought we'd be driving flying cars or visiting Mars for our vacations. No, now we have much more practical aspirations. We're going to communicate more through the internet, text messaging and cell phones will become increasingly cheaper and affordable world wide.
We're going to watch the rise of hydrogen power filling stations across continents and car manufacturers switch to a clean burning fuel that doesn't pollute. A whole new hydrogen industry which will bolster electricity production and renewable energy.
We're going to see the world develop less borders, not more. The success of the European Union has shown that there is economic benefits of working together. South America, Africa, Asian and Middle Eastern countries are already discussing trade unions. Immigration between continents (and the flow of communication) will become more commonplace.
We're going to see education, literacy and women's rights slowly spreading across the poorest nations of the world. It won't be rapid progress (it never is) and there will be roadblocks and problems along the way, but like Pandora's box it is something that has been unleashed and is unstoppable.
We're also going to see governments stop playing this stupid game of global warming "denialism". There will still be scientific stooges from the oil and coal industries that deny it, but with time (and lots of wild weather and droughts) politicians and people will see that we've made some disastrous mistakes and now we have to change our ways. The economic consequences of ignoring it will outweigh the economic benefits of using cheap coal to make electricity (coal-electricity plants is responsible for roughly 30% of greenhouse gases).
This era of inter-continental trade will begin to take its toll on the economy. Already the United States is feeling the effect of cheap consumer goods from China and overseas. Continents need to learn to trade amongst themselves and form continental trade unions. It may be cheaper to build things in Malayasia, but it is not worth it when you could build the same products in Mexico or Canada and still reap the economic benefits in the same continent. We will still be trading raw materials like wood, minerals and metals, but we need to stop outsourcing our manufacturing needs to other countries. It may take longer to realize this, but it is something governments should be thinking about.
Lastly there is the issue of technology. Mankind has made some dramatic steps in the last 12 years in terms of genetics and DNA research. Scientists just this month discovered how to prevent blindness in mice. Will we be seeing a future that blindness is no longer a problem? I don't know. We will make small steps over the years, but we will likely see some dramatic results.
I personally think that we need to be studying the DNA breakdown in cancerous cells from samples taken from cancer patients. I think there is a lot of potential to learn how cancer and DNA effect each other and we can possibly find solutions and cures wherein we could discover the direct causes of cancer (different types of toxins and toxicity levels in the cancerous cells) and maybe even reverse the effects of some kinds of cancer.
Scientists have already determined that there is a direct link between toxicity in our air, water and food and the amount of cancer cells in our bodies. Regular smoking for example roughly doubles a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. Which is silly frankly. Why smoke cancer-causing cigarettes when scientists have already managed to create Smokeless Cigarettes? All the nicotine without the carcinogenic smoke.
Surely if we can make smoke-free cigarettes that scientists can think of other ways to better our society? It is whether governments pay attention however that is the problem. Sometimes the public has to shout really loud to get politicians to pay attention.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
Editor of the Lilith eZine
The Art History Archive
Armenian Artists - Soviet Artists from the Middle East
Azerbaijani Artists - Soviet Artists from the Middle East
How to Draw and Paint People
The Automotive eZine
Hydrogen Power becoming a Reality
Laws pushing zero-emission cars
Is hydrogen power the future?
Cost, infrastructure hinder hydrogen
China auto makers roll out 'clean' cars
Fuel-cell work on track
Iceland's hydrogen ship heralds fossil-free future
The Canada eZine
Canada's Worker Shortages and the Influx of Immigrants
The Entertainment eZine
Online Poker Games and Gambling Addiction
The Environmental eZine
Hot Hot Hot 2005: Canada's Hottest Year
The Fashion eZine
White Clothing and Fashion
Brent Chua - Male Supermodel
Kivanc Tatlitug - Male Supermodel
The Feminist eZine
Women in Transition From Post Feminism to Past Femininity
The Health eZine
Calories: Food Vs. Exercise - How Much Exercise do you need to burn off that cheeseburger?
The History of Breastfeeding, plus Breastfeeding Tips for Young Mothers
Worth Repeating: Smokeless Cigarettes
The Politics eZine
America's Economic Meltdown - Five Reasons to Worry about the State of America's Economy
The Impact of Disaster Capitalism on England's Education System
The History of Oil Prices - Lows and Record Highs in the Oil Industry
The Religion eZine
Atlantis Forgotten - The Search for Atlantis and Eden
The Sex eZine
Sex Jokes and Cartoons IV - Because Sex is Hilarious!
The Technology eZine
Blu Ray Disc Boycott - Why purchase something that will be obsolete in 2 years anyway?
Letter from the Editor
The next 12 years are going to be exciting ones.
It is not like the 1960s when people thought we'd be driving flying cars or visiting Mars for our vacations. No, now we have much more practical aspirations. We're going to communicate more through the internet, text messaging and cell phones will become increasingly cheaper and affordable world wide.
We're going to watch the rise of hydrogen power filling stations across continents and car manufacturers switch to a clean burning fuel that doesn't pollute. A whole new hydrogen industry which will bolster electricity production and renewable energy.
We're going to see the world develop less borders, not more. The success of the European Union has shown that there is economic benefits of working together. South America, Africa, Asian and Middle Eastern countries are already discussing trade unions. Immigration between continents (and the flow of communication) will become more commonplace.
We're going to see education, literacy and women's rights slowly spreading across the poorest nations of the world. It won't be rapid progress (it never is) and there will be roadblocks and problems along the way, but like Pandora's box it is something that has been unleashed and is unstoppable.
We're also going to see governments stop playing this stupid game of global warming "denialism". There will still be scientific stooges from the oil and coal industries that deny it, but with time (and lots of wild weather and droughts) politicians and people will see that we've made some disastrous mistakes and now we have to change our ways. The economic consequences of ignoring it will outweigh the economic benefits of using cheap coal to make electricity (coal-electricity plants is responsible for roughly 30% of greenhouse gases).
This era of inter-continental trade will begin to take its toll on the economy. Already the United States is feeling the effect of cheap consumer goods from China and overseas. Continents need to learn to trade amongst themselves and form continental trade unions. It may be cheaper to build things in Malayasia, but it is not worth it when you could build the same products in Mexico or Canada and still reap the economic benefits in the same continent. We will still be trading raw materials like wood, minerals and metals, but we need to stop outsourcing our manufacturing needs to other countries. It may take longer to realize this, but it is something governments should be thinking about.
Lastly there is the issue of technology. Mankind has made some dramatic steps in the last 12 years in terms of genetics and DNA research. Scientists just this month discovered how to prevent blindness in mice. Will we be seeing a future that blindness is no longer a problem? I don't know. We will make small steps over the years, but we will likely see some dramatic results.
I personally think that we need to be studying the DNA breakdown in cancerous cells from samples taken from cancer patients. I think there is a lot of potential to learn how cancer and DNA effect each other and we can possibly find solutions and cures wherein we could discover the direct causes of cancer (different types of toxins and toxicity levels in the cancerous cells) and maybe even reverse the effects of some kinds of cancer.
Scientists have already determined that there is a direct link between toxicity in our air, water and food and the amount of cancer cells in our bodies. Regular smoking for example roughly doubles a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. Which is silly frankly. Why smoke cancer-causing cigarettes when scientists have already managed to create Smokeless Cigarettes? All the nicotine without the carcinogenic smoke.
Surely if we can make smoke-free cigarettes that scientists can think of other ways to better our society? It is whether governments pay attention however that is the problem. Sometimes the public has to shout really loud to get politicians to pay attention.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
Editor of the Lilith eZine
The Art History Archive
Armenian Artists - Soviet Artists from the Middle East
Azerbaijani Artists - Soviet Artists from the Middle East
How to Draw and Paint People
The Automotive eZine
Hydrogen Power becoming a Reality
Laws pushing zero-emission cars
Is hydrogen power the future?
Cost, infrastructure hinder hydrogen
China auto makers roll out 'clean' cars
Fuel-cell work on track
Iceland's hydrogen ship heralds fossil-free future
The Canada eZine
Canada's Worker Shortages and the Influx of Immigrants
The Entertainment eZine
Online Poker Games and Gambling Addiction
The Environmental eZine
Hot Hot Hot 2005: Canada's Hottest Year
The Fashion eZine
White Clothing and Fashion
Brent Chua - Male Supermodel
Kivanc Tatlitug - Male Supermodel
The Feminist eZine
Women in Transition From Post Feminism to Past Femininity
The Health eZine
Calories: Food Vs. Exercise - How Much Exercise do you need to burn off that cheeseburger?
The History of Breastfeeding, plus Breastfeeding Tips for Young Mothers
Worth Repeating: Smokeless Cigarettes
The Politics eZine
America's Economic Meltdown - Five Reasons to Worry about the State of America's Economy
The Impact of Disaster Capitalism on England's Education System
The History of Oil Prices - Lows and Record Highs in the Oil Industry
The Religion eZine
Atlantis Forgotten - The Search for Atlantis and Eden
The Sex eZine
Sex Jokes and Cartoons IV - Because Sex is Hilarious!
The Technology eZine
Blu Ray Disc Boycott - Why purchase something that will be obsolete in 2 years anyway?
March 16th 2008
The Lilith eZine Sunday Edition
Letter from the Editor
Years ago I kept overhearing people talking about a hotel in Paris. I wondered why they kept mentioning the Paris Hilton this, Paris Hilton that, until I eventually clued in... Oh, some idiot billionaire named his daughter Paris Hilton, and she's one of the heirs to the Hilton hotel chain.
The amount of media attention dedicated to Paris Hilton (and Britney Spears) is ridiculous. Certainly we have better things to talk about than some snobbish rich person's sex video and drunk driving charges?
Like the war in Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or the American Recession. Or obesity rates in Canada and the United States. Or global warming and climate change.
Except we can only take so much of such topics. Sometimes we just want to tune them out and listen/watch/read something that is braindead and vaguely humourous. That is where Paris Hilton comes in. She satisfies the basic human desires of curiousity and mocking rich people. It is entertainment in the lowest form, but we still enjoy to mock celebrities and their mistakes (and in Paris Hilton's case mock how she even became famous).
We should talk more about controversial issues, but will it do any good in some instances? In many cases lengthy talks always end in stalemates and nothing happens. Wars continue, the White House continues to ignore the economy, fat people still eat more and more because they're depressed and corporations refuse to change or slowly change.
So reading the latest braindead gossip about Paris Hilton is basically a favourite past-time for some people. It keeps their minds off of issues that bother them, but can't do anything about. We can protest the war all we want and demand George W. Bush pay more attention to the economy, but Bush doesn't listen to polls, or protests and doesn't give a shit about the economy.
But hearing the latest stupid thing a celebrity did brightens our existence for the moment and take our minds off these pressing concerns. We laugh, and laughter may not fix the economy or bring peace to the world in a hurry, but it certainly helps. Paris Hilton reminds us that we are human, alive and that we all make stupid mistakes.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
Editor of the Lilith eZine
The Art History Archive
Mordechai Ardon - Polish-Israeli Abstract Painter
The Canada eZine
Lose Weight Canada, Get Lower Taxes
Canadian Obesity Statistics
Should We Stop Coddling the Obese?
The Entertainment eZine
Paris Hilton - Socialite and Tabloid Star
The Fashion eZine
Nike Sweatshops in China
Lars Burmeister - Male Supermodel
The Feminist eZine
The Ten Worst Countries for Women to Live In.
The Politics eZine
American Economy Collapsing - The US Dollar slipped 18% in 2007 and GDP went up 2.2% = Economy Down approx. 16%.
Don't Teach English in South Korea
The Sex eZine
Sex Jokes and Cartoons III
Letter from the Editor
Years ago I kept overhearing people talking about a hotel in Paris. I wondered why they kept mentioning the Paris Hilton this, Paris Hilton that, until I eventually clued in... Oh, some idiot billionaire named his daughter Paris Hilton, and she's one of the heirs to the Hilton hotel chain.
The amount of media attention dedicated to Paris Hilton (and Britney Spears) is ridiculous. Certainly we have better things to talk about than some snobbish rich person's sex video and drunk driving charges?
Like the war in Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or the American Recession. Or obesity rates in Canada and the United States. Or global warming and climate change.
Except we can only take so much of such topics. Sometimes we just want to tune them out and listen/watch/read something that is braindead and vaguely humourous. That is where Paris Hilton comes in. She satisfies the basic human desires of curiousity and mocking rich people. It is entertainment in the lowest form, but we still enjoy to mock celebrities and their mistakes (and in Paris Hilton's case mock how she even became famous).
We should talk more about controversial issues, but will it do any good in some instances? In many cases lengthy talks always end in stalemates and nothing happens. Wars continue, the White House continues to ignore the economy, fat people still eat more and more because they're depressed and corporations refuse to change or slowly change.
So reading the latest braindead gossip about Paris Hilton is basically a favourite past-time for some people. It keeps their minds off of issues that bother them, but can't do anything about. We can protest the war all we want and demand George W. Bush pay more attention to the economy, but Bush doesn't listen to polls, or protests and doesn't give a shit about the economy.
But hearing the latest stupid thing a celebrity did brightens our existence for the moment and take our minds off these pressing concerns. We laugh, and laughter may not fix the economy or bring peace to the world in a hurry, but it certainly helps. Paris Hilton reminds us that we are human, alive and that we all make stupid mistakes.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
Editor of the Lilith eZine
The Art History Archive
Mordechai Ardon - Polish-Israeli Abstract Painter
The Canada eZine
Lose Weight Canada, Get Lower Taxes
Canadian Obesity Statistics
Should We Stop Coddling the Obese?
The Entertainment eZine
Paris Hilton - Socialite and Tabloid Star
The Fashion eZine
Nike Sweatshops in China
Lars Burmeister - Male Supermodel
The Feminist eZine
The Ten Worst Countries for Women to Live In.
The Politics eZine
American Economy Collapsing - The US Dollar slipped 18% in 2007 and GDP went up 2.2% = Economy Down approx. 16%.
Don't Teach English in South Korea
The Sex eZine
Sex Jokes and Cartoons III
March 9th 2008
The Lilith eZine Sunday Edition
Letter from the Editor
I know I've hit the nail on the head when I start getting a tonne of hatemail. It means I've provoked people to actually think about the subject and possibly have made some great insight.
In this case it is not so great as it is: "Why didn't I realize this sooner?"
For over 11 years now I've been writing about feminist issues. Then back in January I decided to go "behind enemy lines" and do some research. I went to anti-feminist websites and started recording the major complaints and keeping track of which ones were the most frequent complaints. It was a non-scientific survey, but it garnered interesting results.
Child support and spousal support ranked at the top, vastly outnumbering all the other complaints put together. The complaints included a variety of smaller comments about lack of money, that spousal support was like "ex-husband slavery", that they weren't sure if the kids were even theirs because they thought their ex-wife/ex-girlfriend was a slut/bitch/c-word, that women are just looking for free money/blank cheques, that they were tricked into marrying their ex-wives, that their girlfriend forgot to take their birth control pill and just wanted their money, etc.
Which made me realize that the anti-feminists, despite all the posing and maliciousness, were mostly just a bunch of Deadbeat Dads paying (or refusing to pay) child support.
So I wrote an article called "Dealing with Anti-Feminism" in which I explained my results. And then the hatemail started pouring in... from guess who? Deadbeat Dads.
Surprisingly they didn't refute my results. They didn't disagree at all. Instead they just bashed me, told me to go back to the kitchen, called me a lying c-word, a lesbian, compared me to Hitler (like WTF?) and accused me of being a communist.
It all made me laugh and I pondered the question: How does communist countries with dictatorships deal with deadbeat dads? I believe the only remaining countries where this applies is Cuba and North Korea. Do they execute them? Put them in work camps? Do they get off Scot-free?
Somehow I doubt men in Cuba and North Korea are going around impregnating women without paying some kind of social consequence.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
Editor of the Lilith eZine
The Art History Archive
The Christian Art History Archive
Albrecht Altdorfer: Painter of Christian Mythology
The Fashion eZine
Shock Absorbing Sports Bras: Get the support you Need.
The Feminist eZine
Feminist Film Theory: Looking Back at the History of Film
Feminism and The Female Eunuch: Book Review
Where have all the Feminists Gone?
The Health eZine
Bulimia and Depression: Symptoms and Treatment
Women's Fitness, plus 12 Daily Healthy Activities
The Politics eZine
Redefining a Recession: The United States is in a Recession, but not the normal definition of one.
The Sex eZine
Sex Jokes and Cartoons 2
Older Women Getting Trophy Boy Toys
The Technology eZine
The Most Popular Keywords Online - What are people searching for?
Letter from the Editor
I know I've hit the nail on the head when I start getting a tonne of hatemail. It means I've provoked people to actually think about the subject and possibly have made some great insight.
In this case it is not so great as it is: "Why didn't I realize this sooner?"
For over 11 years now I've been writing about feminist issues. Then back in January I decided to go "behind enemy lines" and do some research. I went to anti-feminist websites and started recording the major complaints and keeping track of which ones were the most frequent complaints. It was a non-scientific survey, but it garnered interesting results.
Child support and spousal support ranked at the top, vastly outnumbering all the other complaints put together. The complaints included a variety of smaller comments about lack of money, that spousal support was like "ex-husband slavery", that they weren't sure if the kids were even theirs because they thought their ex-wife/ex-girlfriend was a slut/bitch/c-word, that women are just looking for free money/blank cheques, that they were tricked into marrying their ex-wives, that their girlfriend forgot to take their birth control pill and just wanted their money, etc.
Which made me realize that the anti-feminists, despite all the posing and maliciousness, were mostly just a bunch of Deadbeat Dads paying (or refusing to pay) child support.
So I wrote an article called "Dealing with Anti-Feminism" in which I explained my results. And then the hatemail started pouring in... from guess who? Deadbeat Dads.
Surprisingly they didn't refute my results. They didn't disagree at all. Instead they just bashed me, told me to go back to the kitchen, called me a lying c-word, a lesbian, compared me to Hitler (like WTF?) and accused me of being a communist.
It all made me laugh and I pondered the question: How does communist countries with dictatorships deal with deadbeat dads? I believe the only remaining countries where this applies is Cuba and North Korea. Do they execute them? Put them in work camps? Do they get off Scot-free?
Somehow I doubt men in Cuba and North Korea are going around impregnating women without paying some kind of social consequence.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
Editor of the Lilith eZine
The Art History Archive
The Christian Art History Archive
Albrecht Altdorfer: Painter of Christian Mythology
The Fashion eZine
Shock Absorbing Sports Bras: Get the support you Need.
The Feminist eZine
Feminist Film Theory: Looking Back at the History of Film
Feminism and The Female Eunuch: Book Review
Where have all the Feminists Gone?
The Health eZine
Bulimia and Depression: Symptoms and Treatment
Women's Fitness, plus 12 Daily Healthy Activities
The Politics eZine
Redefining a Recession: The United States is in a Recession, but not the normal definition of one.
The Sex eZine
Sex Jokes and Cartoons 2
Older Women Getting Trophy Boy Toys
The Technology eZine
The Most Popular Keywords Online - What are people searching for?
March 2nd 2008
The Lilith eZine Sunday Edition
Letter from the Editor
I am so upset I feel like screaming.
A fundamentalist Christian group called the Canada Family Action Coalition has succeeded in convincing the Canadian conservative government in passing a bill that will see tax refunds be pulled for any movie that contains sex, violence or homosexuality... basically anything that is remotely controversial. The end result is that any Canadian film containing sex, violence or homosexuality will be censored.
A prime example is the movie "Breakfast with Scot", a comedy about two gay men (one of which is a hockey player) raising a young boy.
On television today Charles McVety, the president of the Canada Family Action Coalition verbally attacked the director of "Breakfast with Scot", saying that the new bill would cut funding for such controversial films that promote "gay propaganda". McVety claims that the gay men in the movie molested the boy, but he obviously hasn't even seen the movie at all. It is a COMEDY! Not a porn film.
So apparently gays and lesbians can get married in Canada, but we can't make movies about it?
Unlike the United States, Canada has a very unstable film industry. We NEED the government tax credits to make films in Canada. Without them our directors and producers would make their movies in the USA or overseas where it is cheaper.
Charles McVety argues that he doesn't want his tax dollars going towards filth and pornography... except Canada's porn industry doesn't get these tax credits (please note they are TAX CREDITS, not tax dollars as he claims).
Currently, the federal heritage department tax credit program excludes talk shows, game shows, advertising, corporate videos and pornography from receiving tax credit support. The new bill would also exclude films containing any sexual, violent or homosexual content.
Canadian actors and movie directors are not taking this action lying down. Canadian directors David Cronenberg and Sarah Polley are actively protesting the proposed changes which are currently before the Canadian senate.
Under the new changes directors making any film that contains sex or violence would be financially impossible. Canada's film industry would fall apart and only boring non-controversial films would be made. Anything controversial would have to be made in the USA or overseas.
It makes me so angry... I wish religious wackos would just mind their own business. The rest of us still enjoy those movies and we have rights too.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
The Art History Archive
Iraqi Artists: Suad al-Attar, Ala Bashir, Faeq Hassan and Abdul Qadir Al Rassam.
Vann Nath: The Cambodian Artist who was forced to paint propaganda for the Khmer Rouge.
The Canada eZine
Conservative Christian groups want to censor sex, homosexuality and violence in Canadian films.
The Environmental eZine
Climate Change, Food Shortages and Overpopulation
Skyrocketing Commodities Prices
The Fashion eZine
Carre Otis: A Supermodel's Journey from Anorexia to Healthy
Carre Otis: Anorexia out of Control
The Health eZine
Obesity in China Skyrocketing - Doubled in 15 years.
The Politics eZine
Oil Prices spike at $103 per barrel.
The Technology eZine
A Beginner's Guide to HTML and Website Design
Tech Savvy Teens Vs. Adults: Who is really more technology inclined?
Crackberries Blackberries - Addicted to your Blackberry? You are not alone.
Letter from the Editor
I am so upset I feel like screaming.
A fundamentalist Christian group called the Canada Family Action Coalition has succeeded in convincing the Canadian conservative government in passing a bill that will see tax refunds be pulled for any movie that contains sex, violence or homosexuality... basically anything that is remotely controversial. The end result is that any Canadian film containing sex, violence or homosexuality will be censored.
A prime example is the movie "Breakfast with Scot", a comedy about two gay men (one of which is a hockey player) raising a young boy.
On television today Charles McVety, the president of the Canada Family Action Coalition verbally attacked the director of "Breakfast with Scot", saying that the new bill would cut funding for such controversial films that promote "gay propaganda". McVety claims that the gay men in the movie molested the boy, but he obviously hasn't even seen the movie at all. It is a COMEDY! Not a porn film.
So apparently gays and lesbians can get married in Canada, but we can't make movies about it?
Unlike the United States, Canada has a very unstable film industry. We NEED the government tax credits to make films in Canada. Without them our directors and producers would make their movies in the USA or overseas where it is cheaper.
Charles McVety argues that he doesn't want his tax dollars going towards filth and pornography... except Canada's porn industry doesn't get these tax credits (please note they are TAX CREDITS, not tax dollars as he claims).
Currently, the federal heritage department tax credit program excludes talk shows, game shows, advertising, corporate videos and pornography from receiving tax credit support. The new bill would also exclude films containing any sexual, violent or homosexual content.
Canadian actors and movie directors are not taking this action lying down. Canadian directors David Cronenberg and Sarah Polley are actively protesting the proposed changes which are currently before the Canadian senate.
Under the new changes directors making any film that contains sex or violence would be financially impossible. Canada's film industry would fall apart and only boring non-controversial films would be made. Anything controversial would have to be made in the USA or overseas.
It makes me so angry... I wish religious wackos would just mind their own business. The rest of us still enjoy those movies and we have rights too.
Sincerely,
Suzanne MacNevin
The Art History Archive
Iraqi Artists: Suad al-Attar, Ala Bashir, Faeq Hassan and Abdul Qadir Al Rassam.
Vann Nath: The Cambodian Artist who was forced to paint propaganda for the Khmer Rouge.
The Canada eZine
Conservative Christian groups want to censor sex, homosexuality and violence in Canadian films.
The Environmental eZine
Climate Change, Food Shortages and Overpopulation
Skyrocketing Commodities Prices
The Fashion eZine
Carre Otis: A Supermodel's Journey from Anorexia to Healthy
Carre Otis: Anorexia out of Control
The Health eZine
Obesity in China Skyrocketing - Doubled in 15 years.
The Politics eZine
Oil Prices spike at $103 per barrel.
The Technology eZine
A Beginner's Guide to HTML and Website Design
Tech Savvy Teens Vs. Adults: Who is really more technology inclined?
Crackberries Blackberries - Addicted to your Blackberry? You are not alone.
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