HALIFAX HERALD
Ottawa Citizen @OttawaCitizen
2015-01-06 - Editorial
Cartoon
DEMONT: Dental students’
fate tough to decide
JOHN DeMONT
Last Updated January 6, 2015
- 4:35pm
Something
occurred to me Monday as I made my way past the police cruisers on the
Dalhousie campus and moved through the 300 or so students gathered in front of
one of the school’s oldest buildings.
I
went to Dal. My memory is that the first day of a new academic term was usually
shot through with the kind of excitement that only a 20-year-old with
everything out there ahead of them truly feels.
Which
is why standing there amid the mostly female placard-waving crowd — whose
chants of “Hey, hey, ho, ho, misogyny has got to go” undoubtedly ensured
Dalhousie, for all the wrong reasons, again led the national news broadcasts —
helped me make up my mind: maybe somebody has to go.
It
gives me no pleasure to say this because there will be no happy ending to this
sad story.
That’s
why, as president Richard Florizone conceded in a news conference Monday, the
university has brought in heavyweight legal advice — and, no doubt, public
relations counsel — to staunch the damage.
Faculty
are outraged. Big-name alumni want action.
Much like the pre-Christmas
promise of restorative justice, Monday’s announcement that
the 13 members of the controversial male Facebook group are suspended from dental clinic work just seemed to
fan the fury in many quarters.
We’ve reached the point where no
one wants to hear about due process anymore. The administration surely
understands that in the winter of 2015, in this city already known for the saga of Rehtaeh Parsons and pro-date rape chanting students at Saint Mary’s University,
this story is not going to disappear.
They would know something else,
too: that a modern university is, in many ways, closer to a clanking, hissing
corporation owned by shareholders howling for profits than it is to Plato’s
Symposium.
It’s all about churn at a time
when universities everywhere are scrambling for students.
Being known across the land for
the dental school controversy — rather than cutting-edge research or a legion
of graduates setting the world on fire — is something Dalhousie simply can’t
afford for a whole bunch of reasons, including the fact that 65 per cent of
enrolment is female.
That same sort of rationale may
have had something to do with Colin Dodds’s announcement, in the wake of the
date-rape chant controversy, that he was returning to the classroom after his third
term as president of Saint Mary’s ends this summer.
I’m not in any way suggesting
that Florizone, a man so shaken by the dental school situation that he wept
about it during a televised news conference, or Dal’s dean of dentistry, Dr.
Thomas Boran, are at fault in this situation that requires the wisdom of
Solomon.
I just know that in corporate
situations like this, when major damage control is underway, the quick fix is
often finding a fall guy to take the blame.
In this case, that would be a
crying shame. Particularly when there could be another way.
Florizone said Monday that the
university hasn’t been in contact with lawyers representing any of the
dentistry students. It defies reason to believe that any of them, on the cusp
of pulling in a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year, haven’t yet lawyered
up.
For all I know, Dal doesn’t have
the legal means for outright expulsion. And the costs of losing a lawsuit that
would leave the school liable for the dentists of tomorrow’s millions in lost
earnings could outweigh the damage this whole mess does to future capital
campaigns.
One thing seems certain to this
layman: expelling the Dalhousie 13 would force the students to “out themselves”
if they chose to take legal action against the school.
It would be hard to be happy
about this. Florizone said Monday that the suspensions were delayed because the
university had received credible reports that some of the men at the centre of
the controversy were at risk of self-harm.
Nothing is quite as sad as a
young life gone off the rails. As the father of two, the notion of one of my
offspring paying such a huge price for some stupid thoughts and words is too
painful to consider.
But c’mon, if the Facebook
comments in question were about Jews, gays or African-Nova Scotians rather than
women, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.
So maybe Dal should just do
something else: tell us who in the “Gentlemen’s Club” was really responsible
for the offensive comments, and who just joined the group one day and promptly
forgot about it.
I know, I know: What about free speech? Boys will be boys. How much harm was
really done?
But I have to tell you that I
stood on the campus of a fine university on a day that should have been all
about promise. All I could hear was anger.
--------------------------------
Ottawa Citizen @OttawaCitizen
Dalhousie U. suspends 13 dentistry students over Facebook page: http://ow.ly/GPSWS
.jpg)
O precious Charlie Brown with ur teensy little tree with one little bulb... 2 honour Christmas and the spirit of humanity..... Michael de Adder - brilliant Canadian cartoonist says... it ...all... as us old women and gals from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.... weep once again..... ONE BILLION RISING....
Roughly 200 people showed up at a rally in opposition to Dalhousie
University's ... “Lots of times women ... Global News
repeatedly asked the university ...
-----
news.nationalpost.com/.../dalhousie-dentistry-students-who-made-sexually-violent-facebook-posts-face-restorative-justice-emotional-school-pre... - Cached
2 days ago ...
HALIFAX — Dalhousie University is proceeding with a restorative justice
process to resolve complaints about
sexually violent comments posted ...
UNIVERSITIES- WE ARE HITTING THE POCKETBOOK –
ALUMNIS-SAYING WOMEN EQUAL MEN IN CANADA- GAYS MATTER AS DO DISABLED- CLEAN UP
UR ACT OR LOSE $$$$$
thechronicleherald.ca/.../1258563-prominent-dal-alumni-may-cut-ties-after-controversy-at-dentistry-school - Cached
1 day ago ... Share
on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinMore Sharing Services ... He
did not comment specifically on the Dalhousie case.
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An affront to
Dal’s feminist pioneers
What would Lucy Maud Montgomery think of the caveman mentality that
still lurks in the building she frequented 118 years ago? (SEAL BANTAM BOOKS)
The ghost of Lucy
Maud Montgomery must surely be haunting the once-hallowed halls of Dalhousie
University’s Forrest Building.
Indeed, what would
the brilliant young author — who first walked through its imposing doors in
1896 — have to say to the present generation of male students who go to school
there?
Montgomery, too,
endured the wrath of her fellow male students during her year at Dalhousie.
(The term “gentleman” in those days suggested a much higher level of
intelligence and outlook, but it has been tragically demeaned by a certain club
at Dalhousie’s school of dentistry who frequent the Forrest Building in 2014.)
Here was a young
woman — an intellectual who should have been admired and praised by her male
peers. Instead, she was derided by them for daring to attend a school of higher
learning. Even male members of her own family opposed her — including her
cousin Murray MacNeil, who socially shunned her on campus for brazenly
attending his university, or any university, for that matter.
Imagine how shocked
Montgomery would be to know that after 118 years, a small group of supposedly
educated young men — after several years of university — would be so woefully
ignorant of the magnificent strides educated women have made, in all fields,
since her brave arrival at the Forrest Building.
Publication of
Montgomery’s first literary efforts occurred while she attended Dalhousie, and
regardless of male suppression of women’s rights during her era, she became a
successful and highly revered reporter for a Halifax newspaper in 1901. No
doubt, she was inspired by, and gave inspiration to, several of Canada’s
leading Suffragettes and female writers such as the formidable Haligonian Anna
Leonowens of The King and I fame, Margaret Saunders, a Dalhousie graduate who
was the first Canadian author to sell over a million copies of a novel
(Beautiful Joe) and the renowned Halifax activist and writer Edith Archibald.
Montgomery went on
to include her memories of Halifax in all her Anne of Green Gables novels —
with Halifax becoming her fictional Kingsport and Point Pleasant Park’s
red-topped bandstand becoming the setting where Anne turned down Gilbert’s
first proposal. English Canada’s most historic city’s bustling Barrington
Street became her St. John Street.
Dalhousie’s
founding was precedent-setting as a non-sectarian institution — open to all, it
has become one of the world’s leading and most admired universities for both
men and women. So naturally, it is a great disappointment that such a small
group of students has caused a loss of reputation for both the school and
themselves.
Let us hope that
they, too, will now look back to Lucy Maud Montgomery and to the Countess of
Dalhousie herself — who so symbolized the early 19th century’s movement for
equal rights for women in education — and realize that the first duty of an
educated person is to follow the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would
have them do unto you.
It would be a
fitting and noble memorial for Dalhousie University to raise a fine statue of
Lucy Maud Montgomery overlooking the Forrest Building. Montgomery’s eyes would
forever watch over and embrace all who enter Dalhousie’s temporarily tarnished
dentistry school. It would be a statue to look up to for all generations of
students to come.
Allan M. Doyle
lives in Halifax. He is a historian and a former public school teacher and has
retired after 39 years in the Halifax and Nova Scotia tourism industry.
---
BLOGGED; BLOGGED
BLOGGED; BLOGGED
CANADA’S SHAME- U
LET UR MALE STUDENTS DICTATE WHERE CANADA’S WOMEN CAN STUDY AND PARTICIPATE????
CANADA'S YORK UNIVERSITY- SHAME- SHAME ON U- WOMEN EQUAL
MEN IN OUR CANADA- SHAME ON U-- ONE BILLION RISING- NO MORE EXCUSES- AS
MINISTER PETER MACKAY SAY..IT'S WHY OUR TROOPS GO 2 WAR - 2 PROTECT LITTLE
GIRLS AND RIGHTS OF WOMEN- SHAME CANADA'S YORK UNIVERSITY
---------------
O CANADA- UR SCHOOLS- UR UNIVERSITIES- UR COLLEGES- UR
LEARNING CENTRES MUST STEP UP... THIS IS DISGUSTING WHEN STUDENT UNION SLAPS A
PROFESSOR DOWN WANTING 2 BRING RAPE CULTURE 2 THE TABLE OF DISCUSSION!
blogged:
F**k Canada Memorial University Student Union- PROFESSOR IS RIGHT- So is
the following teacher- The Day I taught my students- how NOT 2 rape- it needs
addressing in all schools and universities- IN THEIR FACES- 4 all the Rehtaeh
Parsons.... don't hide Student Unions- 5 Canada universities have brought
horrible shame- CANADA STUDENTS- man and woman up.... in class- all the time-
ONE BILLION RISING
------------------
LETHBRIDGE: Dal
needs root canal
Protesters march at Dalhousie University on Friday in the wake of
revelations that a group of fourth-year dentistry students posted offensive
comments on a Facebook site.(INGRID BULMER / Staff)
Part of me wants to
thank those Dalhousie dentistry men for unwittingly outing themselves as
threatened misogynist creeps and thugs.
Their hateful posts
lift the veil on poisonous attitudes that exist toward women — not just in the
Dal dentistry school — but everywhere in our society.
Thirteen male
students formed a Facebook group called the “Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen” and
used the venue to target female classmates with threats of rape, “hate sex” and
drugging them unconscious before raping them.
We can only assume
the irony was intended when they called themselves “gentlemen.”
I’m tempted to say
that a group of privileged elites — of all people —should know better than to
expose themselves as sexist goons and bullies.
But alas, stupidity
rules when hate, misogyny and threatened egos are motivators. And so the men
had to formalize it and share on a Facebook page. They must have been so
terribly pleased with themselves.
So, no, I won’t be
thanking those men (and they are men, not boys.)
Their actions
struck fear into the targeted women who now have to sit in the same classroom
with men who threatened to drug and rape them. And that fear will spread like a
virus to other women on campus and in the community.
They will look at
men and wonder: “Is that what’s really going on in their heads?”
Hate is such a
glutton and it dines on fear.
Their actions
smeared the faculty of dentistry, which happens to serve the public with paid
dental services provided by students, some of whom wrote the vile posts.
I’m not sure I’d
want to be on the receiving end of a needle held by a man whose idea of fun is
threatening to drug women with chloroform and then raping them. I daresay a
rape survivor wouldn’t either.
Their actions will
stick in the minds of parents wondering if they should send their daughters to
Dalhousie University.
So, well done, DDS
2015 Gentlemen. Not only have you achieved your goal of bullying and striking
fear in the hearts of classmates, but you’ve also set off a string of
unintended consequences that will haunt you for days, months and possibly years
to come.
But this is not to
let Dalhousie University off the hook. It would appear that President Richard
Florizone only took his swift action when the posts went public.
Complaints about
sexism in the dentistry school were brought to the university months ago, but
nothing was done because, well, there was no mechanism to investigate anonymous
complaints.
The lameness of
this is mind-boggling.
Would they respond
this way if there were an anonymous complaint about a terror plot? Or an
anonymous report about someone planning to commit murder? No.
But misogyny,
cyber-bullying, rape? Sorry, no can do, ladies. Next.
Dalhousie
University didn’t want to deal with this because it would open up a Pandora’s
box of reputation problems. So instead of investigating in a proactive manner,
it just put its head in the sand and let the lid blow off the thing.
President Florizone
has expressed regret and horror over what these women had to endure under his
watch. He will institute a presidential task force to nurture “an inclusive and
respectful community at Dalhousie.”
Sorry, but those
sentiments ring hollow. Why didn’t he launch his task force when he was first
informed? Wasn’t he horrified enough then?
And placing the
onus of discipline on the women who were targeted is just plain wrong, however
admirable restorative justice is.
Sure, ask the women
what they think, but Dalhousie University should have clear policies on sexism
and misogyny and it should exercise its authority to investigate and to mete
out appropriate discipline.
In the meantime,
these men should be suspended while the investigation is carried out and
decisions are reached.
And if Dalhousie is
serious about its reputation, that punishment had better match the crime.
BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Sep6- innie meenie minie mow- catch a
nig**r by the toe -in our day VS 2day's "Y is for your sister, O is for oh
so tight, U is for underage, N is for no consent, G is for grab that ass, SMU
boys we like them young." - Thx SMU students r couragely stepping up and
fixing the hurtin
Rehtaeh
Parsons vs St. Mary's University- and brilliant kids recognizing in the
'teen media hyped sex driven pretend world' -the real world reality
actually hurts kids and Canadians- The Real world will NOT tolerate
abuses of our kids ... or dumbed down excuses - ONE BILLION RISING- breaking
the chains... of abuse
the ugly even though was innocent chant: 1930s
ieenie, meenie, minnie, moe
catch a "NIGG**" by the toe
if he hollars, let him go...
OUT GOES Y....O....U....
you're it....
VS
the ugly even knowlegeable chant: 2009
A student chant at Saint Mary’s University that includes lines about sexual activity and "no consent" has sent shock waves through the campus and beyond.
The chant during orientation week activities had stu dents spelling the word "young" by saying "Y is for your sister, O is for oh so tight, U is for underage, N is for no consent, G is for grab that ass, SMU boys we like them young."
---------
the ugly even though was innocent chant: 1930s
ieenie, meenie, minnie, moe
catch a "NIGG**" by the toe
if he hollars, let him go...
OUT GOES Y....O....U....
you're it....
VS
the ugly even knowlegeable chant: 2009
A student chant at Saint Mary’s University that includes lines about sexual activity and "no consent" has sent shock waves through the campus and beyond.
The chant during orientation week activities had stu dents spelling the word "young" by saying "Y is for your sister, O is for oh so tight, U is for underage, N is for no consent, G is for grab that ass, SMU boys we like them young."
---------
comment: brilliant... realistic...
the touch of the common everyday people who just want life 2 be better and
thought it would by working so hard on human rights and equality 4 each and
all... when will United Nations consider women (64% of the planet) equal by
laws and acceptance... One Billion Rising.
One Billion Rising (Short Film) -
breaking the chains- no more abuses- no more excuses
John Baird’s speech to the United
Nations General Assembly
by macleans.ca on Monday, September
30, 2013 10:41am
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird
addressed the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 30,
2013 in New York City. Here is a copy of his speech, for the record:
As we gather near Ground Zero, site
of the World Trade Center mass murder, I wish first to honour the victims of
terrorism:
I honour all victims, everywhere,
including those killed and wounded at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi.
Tragically, we lost two Canadians,
including a Canadian diplomat.
There is no more fitting venue to
honour the life of Annemarie Desloges and her service than right here, in front
of these United Nations.
The crime of terror is an assault on
all people.
And, in its wake, the human family is
one.
One in pain. One in mourning. One in
our resolve that evil will never triumph.
At this moment of grief, the oneness
of humankind is the theme of my remarks today.
Allow me to begin with an observation
drawn from the Canadian experience.
The Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador was the last province to join Canada, but it is the site of the
earliest known European settlement in the New World. L’Anse aux Meadows is more
than a thousand years old.
We consider the province’s capital
city, St. John’s, to be the oldest English settlement in North America, dating
back to 1497.
The early Newfoundland settlements
are the subject of significant archeological activity. Among the artifacts
commonly found is a three-handled drinking mug, known as a “tyg.”
The three handles are designed for
sharing. During the 17th century, it was common to share eating and drinking
utensils.
Further research reveals the tyg mug
is not unique to Canadian and English history. On the contrary, cups with three
or more handles are common to many of the world’s cultures. Indeed, nearly
three millennia ago, Homer wrote in the Iliad of a multi-handled mug.
The tyg and its many counterparts
around the world are tangible reminders not just that eating and drinking are
social activities but that, as long as human beings have inhabited this planet,
sustenance and the necessaries of life have been community endeavours.
Human beings share from necessity. We
cooperate to survive. We form communities because that is our natural state.
As Cicero observed, “We were born to
unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race.”
Animated by the same spirit of
community, the Charter of the United Nations declares that our goals include
“to live together,” to be “neighbours,” and “to unite.”
The very first words of the UN
Charter make clear that this organization is a body of, by and for human
beings.
It begins, “We the peoples of the
United Nations.”
Not “We the countries.”
Or “We the governments.”
Not “We the political leaders.”
“We the peoples.”
An important reminder of why and on
whose behalf we are here.
Here at the UN, Canada targets its
efforts on securing tangible results for the human family. It is much more
important to consider what the United Nations is achieving than how the UN
arranges its affairs.
Canada’s government doesn’t seek to
have our values or our principled foreign policy validated by elites who would
rather “go along to get along.”
The billions who are hungry, or lack
access to clean water, or are displaced or cannot read and write do not care
how many members sit on the Security Council. But they do need to know that
their brothers and sisters in humankind will walk with them through the
darkness.
Peace, prosperity and freedom—these
are indeed the conditions that have been sought by human communities from the
beginning of recorded time: To live in peace. To live in prosperity. To live in
freedom.
Of these priorities, peace is the
foremost objective of the United Nations.
It is no surprise that the UN Charter
mentions the word “peace” four dozen times.
Sadly, “peace” the word is easier to
locate than “peace” the condition.
Since the moment this organization
was created, not a day has passed without the human family being pained by war
somewhere on this planet.
Almost always, the suffering is felt
by the most vulnerable among us.
And, far too often, this involves
women and violence.
In the context of war, rape and
serious sexual violence are war crimes. I have met girls who were victims of
this very war crime, and their stories are horrific. The war criminals involved
must be identified, pursued, prosecuted and punished.
Earlier this year, Canada and other
G-8 nations agreed to treat sexual violence in conflict as a violation of the
Geneva Conventions. I applaud the United Kingdom and U.K. Foreign Secretary
William Hague for their work in this area. But he would be the first to
acknowledge that the fight to eradicate this crime has been led by women,
including Special Representative [of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual
Violence in Conflict] Zainab Hawa Bangura.
Every year, millions of girls, some
as young as age nine, are forced into marriage.
Since I began these remarks, 100
children have been forced into marriage; 1,100 per hour; more than 26,000 per
day.
The effects of early forced marriage
are documented and beyond dispute. Early forced marriage harms health, halts
education, destroys opportunity and enslaves young women in a life of poverty.
A young woman once recounted her
wedding date. She remembered, “It was the day I left school.”
No country is immune from this
scourge.
This is a global problem. A problem for
humanity.
Forced marriage is rape; it is
violence against women. Early forced marriage is child rape, violence against
young girls. The practice is abhorrent and indefensible.
We condemn it.
Even though some might prefer that we
kept quiet.
The discomfort of the audience is of
small concern, particularly in the context of a crime that calls to heaven for
justice.
If this body does not act to protect
young girls, who will?
Another way to protect the vulnerable
is to improve the health of mothers, newborns and children so that we can
reduce the number of deaths.
I am proud that our Prime Minister,
Stephen Harper, has led a global effort—the Muskoka Initiative—to reduce
maternal and infant mortality and to improve the health of mothers and children
in the world’s poorest countries. It’s about half of the world’s population;
all of its potential.
While these efforts—to eradicate
sexual violence in conflict, to eliminate early forced marriage and to improve
maternal and newborn health—are essential, we must do more than react to
crises.
We must invest in opportunities for
women and girls.
We must ensure that women participate
fully in all parts of our society and in all the countries of these United
Nations. This will help us build a stronger, more secure, more prosperous and
more peaceful world.
It is in every nation’s self-interest
to ensure every young girl realizes her full potential.
And it is from the perspective of the
human family, one family, that we must address other threats to peace and security.
Among the most urgent crises remains
the violence in Syria.
Canada’s position is clear. We
support the Syrian people, the innocent people caught up in this senseless
violence, and those who work on their behalf. We will never support a brutal
and illegitimate regime that has unleashed weapons of mass destruction on its
own people. Nor will we tolerate extremism and terrorism as alternatives to
Assad’s tyranny.
The people of Canada have been
generous in helping those most in need.
When success is achieved, it is
important to recognize it. The near-impossible work of the UN World Food
Programme must be applauded, and Canada has responded by being the
second-largest single-country donor in the world. Their work in Syria is
paramount and has not gone unnoticed. I also commend the work of the UNHCR
[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] in providing assistance to the
refugees fleeing this terrible conflict, and the generosity of Syria’s
neighbours in providing safe haven.
Canada joins the entire world in
seeking a political resolution to the conflict. Canada supports a peaceful,
democratic and pluralistic Syria that protects the rights of all communities.
But let us not confuse a peaceful,
negotiated outcome with equivocation or moral uncertainty. There can be no
moral ambiguity about the use of chemical weapons on civilians.
Today, September 30, is a dark
reminder of the price of accommodation with evil.
It is the 75th anniversary of the
Munich Agreement, by which Czechoslovakia’s freedom was sacrificed to appease
the Nazi regime. The appeasers claimed they had won “peace for our time.” In
fact, their abandoning of principle was a calamity for the world.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel,
a Holocaust survivor who was imprisoned in Auschwitz, has been even more blunt:
“Neutrality helps the oppressor,
never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human
dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”
Just as we are not neutral or silent
on the crimes being committed against the Syrian people, neither is Canada
neutral on Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself.
There can be no bargaining over
Israel’s existence. While dialogue is a virtue, there can be no virtuous
discussion with anyone wedded to Israel’s destruction.
Today, the Jewish people are masters
of their own fate, like other nations, in their own sovereign Jewish state.
Like other nations, Israel has the right to defend itself, by itself.
Canada fundamentally believes peace
is achievable. That Palestinians and Israelis and their neighbours can live
side by side, in peace and security.
We, like many nations, wish to see a
prosperous Palestinian state living in peace with its Jewish neighbour.
That’s why, although we sometimes
have fundamental differences on how statehood is achieved, Canada is providing
significant assistance to build the institutions that are vital to the
establishment of a viable future state. In the West Bank, Canada is
contributing greatly to economic, security and justice initiatives.
Recent developments in negotiations
between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are encouraging. I salute the
leadership and courage of the Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and
the Palestinian Authority’s President [Mahmoud Abbas].
I commend U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry for his leadership in this area, and we must all commit ourselves to
this cause, united by the prospect of peace.
I look forward to the day when
Israeli and Palestinian children can live side by side in peace and security in
a Jewish and a Palestinian state.
Ladies and gentlemen, dialogue is
important, yes. But our dialogue must be a prelude to action. And action must
mean achieving results and making a difference.
Take the recent statements coming
from the regime in Iran.
Some observers see encouraging signs,
but sound bites do not remove threats to global security. Kind words, a smile
and a charm offensive are not a substitute for real action.
We will welcome and acknowledge
reform, if and when it comes.
By this we will know when genuine
reform has occurred: Has there been real, measurable, material improvement in
the lives of the Iranian people and in the security of the world?
Not yet!
We will judge the regime on the basis
of its action and results.
The P5+1 [the five permanent members
of the UN Security Council and Germany] has had five rounds of formal
negotiations with Iran in the past two years. While everyone says the meetings
have been “productive,” the fact remains we haven’t seen any change in Iran’s
actions.
Next year, nothing would make Canada
more pleased than to see a change in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. A change to its
terrible human rights record. And an end to Iran’s material support for
terrorism.
Now is the time for the global
community to maintain tough sanctions against Iran in order that it take a
different path on its nuclear program.
The Iranian people want peace. And
the Iranian people are suffering great hardship because of their government.
Canada wants the Iranian people to be
able to access a life of freedom and prosperity for themselves.
And how do we as a human family
achieve and maintain prosperity?
Through free trade among open
societies operating under transparent, consistent and fair rules.
Canada continues to diversify its
markets because it is a trading nation.
We are aggressively pursuing free
trade agreements with other nations.
Bounded by three oceans, with the
second-largest land mass in the world, Canada literally is open to the world.
We are both deepening existing
economic relationships and building new ones. Whether with China, now Canada’s
second-largest trading partner, or the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian
Nations] countries, where Canadian trade and investment ties are dramatically
increasing, or the Pacific Alliance, which provides new and exciting
opportunities, or the European Union, where we are negotiating a comprehensive
free trade agreement, Canada and Canadians are supporting market
liberalization. In the process, ordinary lives are becoming enriched, and
entire societies are becoming stronger.
But the quest for prosperity must
never come at the expense of our commitment to freedom.
Prosperity is also inextricably
linked to peace. After all, those who lack security usually lack the means to
provide for themselves and their families.
With economic opportunity, a fruit
vendor in Tunisia may not have felt compelled to end his life seeking the dignity
to provide for his family.
A young man in Afghanistan may never
feel compelled to join terrorist elements simply to raise his children—to
ensure their lives are better than the one he lived.
I will always remember the seven-year
old girl I met at Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Her parents had made the
difficult decision to leave their home and to seek refuge in another
country—braving hardship because they were motivated, like all parents, by the
desire to keep their family safe.
I asked how she was doing. With tears
in her eyes, she said, simply, “I don’t like it here. I want to go home.”
Heart-wrenching.
And millions of people are in the
same tragic position—millions of members of the human family who cannot even
begin to contemplate prosperity until a more basic need, their need for
security, is addressed.
The global family will never achieve
the prosperity that is our full potential unless we address the peace and
security concerns that shackle human opportunity.
Everyone has an interest in contributing
to the solution, because peace and security ultimately ensure the freedom of
the individual. That’s why we need the people of these United Nations gathered
here to promote this freedom.
For the people of these United
Nations, no minority is more sacred than the individual, and the freedom of the
individual.
Freedom from oppression. Freedom from
discrimination. Freedom to worship, to think, to speak, to love, to believe.
Freedom to be.
Human freedom can be exercised, and
sadly limited, in countless ways.
Religious persecution continues in
too many places.
Since we gathered here last year, the
world has witnessed:
•bombings of mosques in Iraq and
Pakistan and a Catholic church in Tanzania;
•attacks against Hindu, Buddhist and
Muslim places of worship in Burma and Bangladesh;
•the bloody persecution of Christians
in Syria;
•attacks on Coptic Christian churches
in Egypt;
•attacks on a mosque and on a
Catholic church in Sri Lanka;
•the detention of Sri Lankan Muslim
leader Azad Sally;
•the murders of Catholic worshippers
in Nigeria; and
•the Iranian regime’s ongoing
persecution of the Bahá’í.
Canada just this year opened an
Office of Religious Freedom. Its mandate: to promote freedom of religion and
belief as a foreign policy priority. To combat the enslavement into fear, by
those who seek to intimidate and undermine the right to worship freely. In
peace—and in harmony.
We reject the pernicious notion that
human dignity can be sliced up, compartmentalized or compromised.
In a pluralistic society it is
impossible to protect some human rights and freedoms while infringing others.
All freedoms are rooted in the
inherent dignity of human beings.
Whether the issue is religious
freedom, sexual freedom, political freedom or any other freedom, some people
ask:
What business is it of ours? What
interest do we have in events outside our borders?
Our business is a shared humanity.
Our interest is the dignity of humankind.
Many assaults on human dignity have
common roots. I refer to neo-fascist ideology, masquerading in different forms,
and the threat that it poses to individual freedom.
I spoke earlier of the anniversary of
the Munich Agreement.
What the signatories claimed as a
triumph of practical politics was in fact a craven capitulation that betrayed
human dignity and bankrupted the peace it purported to secure.
It was wrong then to underestimate
and to appease fascism, just as it is now to underestimate its modern
incarnation.
Extremism that subjugates human
dignity and crushes individual freedom beneath rigid ideology must be opposed
for what it is.
One year ago today, the world lost
the great Somali poet known as Gaarriye. Though his pen has been silenced, the
inspiring lyrics remain.
It was Gaarriye who wrote:
“And tell them this: our purpose is
peace; our password ‘Freedom’;
Our aim, equality;
Our way the way of light.”
In other words: Peace. Prosperity.
Freedom. Three universal human priorities.
Like three handles of a mug from
which we all drink. Three values that all humanity shares.
As I close, I cannot help but reflect
on three young girls, and my heart breaks for them:
The child bride: “It was the day I
left school.”
The girl who was a victim of rape and
sexual violence.
The refugee: “I want to go home.”
We are not here to achieve results
for governments or political leaders.
We are here to protect and defend
these three girls and seven billion other members of the human family. Let us
remember this as we embark on discussions to shape a new global agenda,
focusing on those most in need.
I am confident that everyone here
feels the overwhelming honour and privilege it is to serve our people. It is
not without great challenge and responsibility. But we all must stand up and
deliver on this unique mandate for the people, for it is the people who expect
nothing less.
Thank you.
and..
CONGO- 5.5 million women and children raped and
butchered....
One More Dead In The Time It Takes To
Watch This - 50% Chance
http://www.RaiseHopeforCongo.org - 5.5 million already dead over the last decade.
250,000 women and children raped. 1100+ more rapes this month...Another Death EVERY minute.
Whenever you uses a mobile phone, or
a PC or Laptop - whenever you watch YouTube, use FaceBook, MySpace or play a
video game, etc, etc...you may be unwittingly supporting the mass genocide in
the Democractic Republic of Congo through using equuipment made without moral
conscience. Many big electronics brands use minerals mined by virtual slaves
and exploited by the armed terrorist groups of the region, who propfit by
around US$150 million a year - to fund their devastating war.
Refuse to support this mass murderous
activity. Refuse to support the mass rape of women and children. Support the
call for manufacturers of electronic equipment to refuse to deal with the
rapists and murderers of the Congo.
and..
Congolese nun wins UN award for
helping LRA victims
The UN refugee agency has awarded
Angelique Namaika for helping thousands of women who had been abducted, raped
and abused by the LRA rebels in northeastern Congo. She, too, was once been a
victim of the conflict.
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COME ON AND DANCE.... DANCE... BREAK
THE CHAIN- Girl Power Rising
BREAK THE CHAIN - ONE BILLION
RISING.... NO MORE EXCUSES... NO MORE ABUSES
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Shelters/BULLYCIDE-BULLY HELP SITES/Homeless Shelters/UK /Australia/Canada- u
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chains- no more excuses- Nova Scotia honours Warrior Woman Rita MacNeil March
8th concert of remembrance/SEPT 22- NEWSFLASH- Justice 4 Rehtaeh Parson- one of
abusers pleads guilty
BEST COMMENT...
Posted 17 December 2014 - 08:23 PM
I fear that Dalhousie
doesn't quite know what to do here. I feel as though the consequences have to
be dire, and swift. Expulsion comes to mind. It shows a policy of no tolerance,
and keeps in mind long-term goals of maintaining trust within the dental
school, within Dalhousie, and within dentistry in general.
On the other hand,
harsh, swift punishment does little to right any wrongs. It's justice, but not
remedial. In a way expelling the students would just make them bitter, sour,
and all the more likely to blame others, perhaps women in general, for their
own wrongdoing. Harsh consequences often do little to quell any further
misbehaviour; these students--ahem--idiots, have to be shown and taught that
what they did/said is unacceptable and can never happen again in any realm of
school, work, or life.
At the same time,
all the terrible, deplorable things they said were said on Facebook, and have
since been deleted. They weren't on a school medium, on school property, or
anything else of the sort. Dalhousie rests on the problem of opening up
themselves to litigation if they decide to take strict punitive action on
something they technically don't have domain over, but at the same time, they
have an utmost responsibility to protect their students.
Maybe withhold
their degree until a lot of things take place: courses in gender equality,
community service, volunteering at a women's shelter or charity. A whole lot of
it. It strikes a balance between attempting to turn these idiots into
productive members of society and still showing the public that these scum aren't
appreciated and will suffer consequences. Their names should be out as well;
nothing is a greater motivaiton to get your act together than obvious negative
publicity that is directed purposefully toward you.
All in all it's a
very delicate and convoluted moral, political and social issue at this
point.
What a bunch of
idiots.
[Edit] Also, I'd
like to point out that it wasn't on the Dalhousie DDS Facebook group, but on a
private group involving a handful of students.
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NEW WORD IN VOCABULARY...
misogynistic
[mi-soj-uh-nis-tik, mahy‐] /mɪˌsɒdʒ əˈnɪs tɪk,
maɪ‐/ IPA
Syllables
·
Examples
adjective
1.
reflecting
or exhibiting hatred, dislike, mistrust, or mistreatment of women.
Expand
Sometimes,
misogynic, misogynous.
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REHTAEH PARSONS- 15 year old bullycide 17- free at last free
at last- Rehtaeh gets her name back- ONE BILLION RISING -Rest in peace sweet Nova
Scotia Child
ONE BILLION
RISING- NO MORE EXCUSES-NO MORE ABUSES- Our beloved Rehtaeh Parsons- destroyed
at 15 – bullycide at 17- FREE AT LAST- FREE AT LAST – millions took up the
fight – finally our Rehtaeh Parsons is free at last – Love u ANONYMOUS-
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