A matter of conscience - depending on who's, I guess

[bcguy42 38594]

Watch this. I'm going to make a straight line between war rape and the Canadian Census.

 

From a CTV news story: The federal government will not fund overseas projects that give victims of rape during war or child brides access to abortions, International Development Minister Christian Paradis said Friday.

 

After a meeting of the Canadian Network on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Paradis said the government will continue with the funding guidelines it announced at the G8 summit in Muskoka three years ago.

 

In pledging $3 billion for maternal and child health initiatives at the close of the summit, Harper said projects that provide abortion services would be excluded because there were so many other important projects to support.

 

My first thought on hearing this news was that this was a bit churlish on the part of the Harper Government. Then it occurred to me maybe they were being sensitive to taxpayers who do not want their taxes paying for something they have moral qualms about.

 

But then there is the 89 year old lady being hauled to court because she objects to filling out a census form that will be processed using software from Lockheed Martin, a major arms manufacturer. She has moral qualms about supporting Lockheed.

 

So I guess the whole moral qualm thing only works if your morals match those of the Harper Government's.

[MightyPen 67414]

Yeah. The current government in Canada (I hate "Harper government", 'cause fuck that guy) pursues strictly its own narrow, conservative, lopsidedly male and socially unaware interests. So it recoils in uncomprehending horror from the prospect of giving women reproductive control, as if it was still 1890. It can't do anything about Canadian access right now, but we're not going to lift a finger to provide it to others.

 

So much for the "Promoting gender equality and empowering women" part of the Millennium Development Goals.

 

It's a shame, because Christopher Hitchens

in one of my favourite clips of him in a debate:

 

We all know there is a cure for poverty. It's a rudimentary one. It does work, though; it works everywhere for the same reason. It's colloquially called "the empowerment of women." It's the only thing that does work.

 

If you allow women some control over their cycle of reproduction, so that they're not chained by their husbands or by village custom to annual, animal-type pregnancies, early death, disease and so on... If you will free them from that, give them some basic health of that sort, and if you're generous enough to throw in perhaps a handful of seeds and a bit of credit.. [then] the whole floor, culturally, socially, medically, economically of that village will rise. It works every time.

 

But it's our fault we've got the government that we do, and the fault of the stumbling Liberals in the last election. We've got to come up with a credible alternative, and right now the left is fractured and ineffective. Let's see what we can do next time.

[WriteOn 3250]

It's a shame, because Christopher Hitchens

in one of my favourite clips of him in a debate:

 

Great clip and I miss Christopher Hitchens big time.

 

I think Pierre's boy will be PM soon, not sure what I think of him to be honest but he would be an upgrade, IMO.

[Chanel Reign 28097]

I do not believe that Justin has the focus or any better a moral compass than Harper. His agenda is his own, and will flip and flop with the wind to gain majority approval (ie kiss ass). The exact opposite of the Harper reign. Neither is a good fit for Canada in the present day. Unfortunately there is no viable alternative.

 

Although very young I went through the Trudeau years, but as an adult have seen the fallout first hand. Pierre was no better than his cronies during the day; and I was glad to see most of them leave politics in one way or another. If PT had been around in today's political climate he would have been crucified instead of given a sort of sainthood that so many did.

 

Loved C Hitchens but I sure can't discuss/debate him with some folks. They are so narrow minded as to not want to hear anything that doesn't fall into their happy little place.

[JoyfulC 132299]

I do not believe that Justin has the focus or any better a moral compass than Harper. His agenda is his own, and will flip and flop with the wind to gain majority approval (ie kiss ass). The exact opposite of the Harper reign. Neither is a good fit for Canada in the present day. Unfortunately there is no viable alternative.

 

I'm still not sure what I make of Justin Trudeau either, but I think it's a mistake to compare him to his father. He is a very different man, with very different life experience.

 

(And my squeaky, black old heart nearly burst when he trounced that mouthy little Brazeau punk.)

[Chanel Reign 28097]

I do admit to the jury still sort of being out, but in this case I do believe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

 

I am willing to be proven wrong. Without going into detail, I worked through past Liberal establishments and was up close and personal with the differences between the Conservatives and the Liberals way of doing things.

 

I'll just say that with the Conservatives, there were far less bottles of liquor in the desk drawer, less free for all open bar parties, standard gifts, and fudges in contracting; that with the Conservatives I frequently found myself in the Ministers office "chatting" because I would question them.

 

However, I don't know how this administration is run, nor how Trudeau would run his; as I have been out of this for over a decade. That was about the time I crossed the floor. I call myself a Conservital Liberative. ;)

[JoyfulC 132299]

Yeah, well, I think I read somewhere that Hitler was a teetotaller and a vegetarian. On the other side of the coin, FDR died in his mistress' bed, Jack Layton visited massage parlours, and Bill Clinton ... well!

 

I look at some of those stick-up-ass self-identifying Christians south of the border, with their uterus obsessions, and I think, please spare me from virtuous leadership!