BLOG THIS | blog.thismagazine.ca: July 2007 Archives

First of all, we'd like to congratulate our friends over at the Ryerson Review of Journalism. The students and instructor Bill Reynolds took home five awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication student magazine contest. Yay.

Guardian columnist and climate change warrior George Monbiot rails against the rise of green consumerism. To him it's just a way for us to consume just as much as we did before, this time without all of that nagging guilt.

The people behind the very cool $100 laptop project might make their revolutionary gadget available by Christmas. The crank-powered laptop would be marked up to about $300-$500. We just hope that some (or all) of this money helps get these laptops into the hands of children around the world.

Finally, there's nothing like a little guerrilla gardening to make us happy.

More entries on: Weekend Links

July 26, 2007

Indexing air quality: Project Smog, week 2

Posted by mason at 01:04 PM ET | Comments (0)

How much can one little letter do to help improve air quality? In week 2 of our six-week Project Smog series, Jesse McLean asks just that. He looks at the AQHI (Air Quality Health Index), a new index that has replaced the AQI (Air Quality Index) in parts of B.C. and Toronto. What's different? From the story:

Where the existing system reflects a region's air quality in relation to provincial standards, AQHI will rate air quality based on its risk to human health--and that might make all the difference.

Click here to read the rest of the article, and remember to check back each Wednesday for the next instalment.

More entries on: Planet Earth | Project Smog | THIS matters

July 24, 2007

When the chips are down

Posted by shawnsyms at 12:14 PM ET | Comments (0)

A "detection device is needed to monitor the movements and sexual activities of people with HIV/AIDS." So says a new regulation currently under debate in the Indonesian province of Papua, according to today's Jakarta Post. The device they are considering? An implanted microchip.

A member of the working group currently considering Article 35 of new healthcare policy says the rising rates of HIV infection justify the restrictive measure. Dr John Manansang stated, "Now nearly 24 percent of the Papuan population has been infected with HIV/AIDS. It's time to try a different policy." Manansang added that only those who engage in unprotected sex or the sharing of needles would be chipped and tracked.

The heads of the National AIDS Committee as well the Papua Health Office have both pointed out their organizations have not been consulted about the legislation, and questioned how it could possibly be carried out. The Health Office's Bagus Sukaswara argued "Who will be in charge of implementing the policy? I'm sure no doctors will be willing to do so. Giving out the identity of the patients ... would be a violation of their oaths as doctors."

According to another Post report earlier this month, condoms are very hard to access in the remote province, and half of the populace has never even heard of HIV. Perhaps education and condom distribution might be a better starting point than an ineffective and misguided gross human-rights violation.

More entries on: HIV/AIDS

July 23, 2007

Smooch against homophobia!

Posted by Ariel Troster at 08:42 PM ET | Comments (2)

Last Thursday, I puckered up with my sweetie, and did some smooching for social change. The venue was a cheesy Mexican restaurant at Dow's Lake in Ottawa -- an unlikely venue for a queer kiss-fest. But after Adam Graham and Phillip Banks were asked to "cool it" for sharing a gentle kiss by the water, we didn't just get mad ... we organized!

Here's Adam and Phillip, explaining the situation that merited the kiss-fest:

It was such a fun action. Taking up space -- if even for an instant -- in a hetero-normative environment felt powerful. Taking direct action against the casual homophobia that many of us face every day felt like such a breath of fresh air. And not only was it hot, it was also a success. Check out xtra.ca for the full story.

More entries on: LGBT

July 21, 2007

Weekend links: When animators go on strike, Houston goes green (sort of), We love books and trees!

Posted by ron at 05:49 PM ET | Comments (3)

Boing Boing pointed us to this footage of a 1941 strike by Disney animators. Neat.

Houston has negotiated a contract to ensure that a third of that city's power comes from wind! Yes, you read that right. Houston, Texas. Now if they could only cut down on that sprawl and all those suburbs we'd have ourselves a green mecca.

Where was this prof when I was at university? Ron Hammond, a professor at Utah Valley State College, is saying no to expensive textbooks. He's culled together reading materials from journal articles and articles available online. He estimates it'll save the average student $900 a year. With all of the great stuff online now this makes sense, almost too much sense.

Finally, it's pretty clear that we love books. But we also really love trees and kind of feel guilty about all of the damage that our bibliophilia causes. Well a company called Eco-Libris wants to assuage some of our guilt. The company plants a tree for a minimal pledge, call it book-offsetting.

More entries on: Weekend Links

July 19, 2007

Introducing Project Smog

Posted by jessica at 02:22 PM ET | Comments (4)

Because it's time for some good, scary summer reading, this week This Magazine launches a six-week web feature on air quality. The first part of the in-depth series by This's own Jesse McLean is now online. Part I, "We don't need no regulation," challenges the myth of Canada as an environmental leader by looking at our air quality regulations -- or lack of them.

Future installments will explore -- among other things -- the effects of bad air on childhood asthma rates, transboundary pollution from the United States and the Aamjiwnaang people's deadly exposure to chemical plants.

So throw on that gas mask, and stay tuned.

More entries on: Planet Earth | Project Smog | THIS matters

July 18, 2007

Rape? Not funny.

Posted by shawnsyms at 09:28 PM ET | Comments (0)

Rape is never funny. (Perhaps unless you are Sarah Silverman. But that's a whole other post.)

Rape doesn't become funny when the target is a man. And in particular, it's not funny when the target is a male prisoner. Jokes about dropping the soap in the penitentiary shower room? Not funny.

If someone you disapprove of—ethically or politically—is going to jail, it's not appropriate to speculate in a supportive way that he might get raped while in prison. Sexual assault should not be considered vigilante justice. Rape is also not a metaphor for anything else.

Author T.J. Parcell recently penned a memoir of his experiences in a Michigan prison from 1978 till 1982. Purcell was jailed at age 17. He spoke up 25 years later after walking into a video store and witnessing a group of young boys laughing at a depiction of prison rape.

Parsell's first day in the general population, he was drugged and anally raped by a gang of men. Then the perpetrators flipped a coin to determine whose "property" he would become. It got worse from there. The reality of prison rape is that it's a brutal form of social control and sexual violence wielded against the prisoners least able to defend themselves.

No one deserves to be raped.

More entries on: Prisons

July 13, 2007

Friday Links: Birdies, cross-country SmartCar ride, kids do the most awesome things

Posted by ron at 08:01 PM ET | Comments (0)

Everyone loves birds, right? Well, what could be better than recycled birdhouses. These guys make birdhouses out of recycled materials

A couple make a trip from Halifax to Vancouver in a Smart car. Total diesel used, just 337 litres!

We're not a big fan of bottled water for many reasons. Apparently eco-conscious New Yorkers have stopped buying the stuff in restaurants and as a result restaurateurs are losing money. To counteract that they're gussying up tap water with things like charcoal filters and carbonation. We're not sure about the environmental impact of all this, but are intrigued.

Reality TV is pretty vapid most of the time but Kid Nation seems fascinating. A group of children are plopped into a ghost town and asked to form their own government, make their own decisions and get along. Apparently they do!

More entries on: Weekend Links

July 12, 2007

Alternate Routes: Small world

Posted by mason at 01:30 PM ET | Comments (0)

Shayna's first entry from the road appears below. From here on in, she and Dominique will be posting directly to the Alternate Routes blog. Enjoy!

We are somewhere in the middle of Quebec, on the Trans-Canada Highway. It's about 10 p.m. We've been on the road since 8 this morning. We are looking for a place to sleep.

My partner, Dominique, and I are on our way from Toronto to Halifax, about to begin a cross-country tour of intentional communities.

Why are we doing this, again? I ask myself.

I look at Mirinda and Phil, asleep in the back seat, and remember...

Mirinda and Phil came into our lives in a miraculously serendipitous moment walking down the street in Toronto's Kensington Market one day. The details are a bit long and convoluted, but it was one of those small world moments, where distant and separate social connections join together in one short but profound human interaction. They were looking for a room to rent for the summer, and a ride to Halifax. We were subletting our rooms and heading to the East Coast.

I feel like this trip is, in large part, about those small world moments. It's about manifesting more real relationships, and then relying on those relationships and embracing our inter-connectedness and inter-dependencey as human beings.

In preparing for this journey, we have relied heavily on our own social networks—for inspiration, for guidance, and for equipment. Almost everything we're bringing with us on this trip, including the car we're using for the first half, was borrowed or donated by friends and family, or else bought used.

In addition to environmental sustainability, and our limited financial resources, we were also thinking about this decision in terms of community-building. Since the idea for this trip was born, just a few months ago, we have received innumerable blessings, offers of support, and donations and loans of equipment. It all came from people we know, members of our various communities.

With a tent from our friend Lesa, travel mugs from Emily and Adam, a Coleman stove from Uncle Peter and Aunt Carolina, sleeping mats from Christine, a car from my parents, and a great deal of support from all of these people plus many more, we set off with a whole community of people behind us.

As we settle down in the parked car, all of our limbs intertwined with one another, finding pieces of sleep between suitcases and guitars and a steering wheel, I comfort myself with thoughts of this support network.

It's a wonderful feeling to have so many tangible expressions of love around us; and I have a feeling we'll be experiencing a lot more of it along the way.

More entries on: Alternate Routes

Ottawa City Council chooses NIMBYism over public health

Posted by Ariel Troster at 12:54 PM ET | Comments (7)

I can only describe my mood today as "infuriated, but not surprised." Yesterday, Ottawa City Council voted to shut down a crack pipe exchange program, despite the strenuous objections of city health officials and local community workers. This came on the heels of an anti-drug demonstration staged by the Sandy Hill Business Improvement Association, who argued that the program led to increased drug use in Ottawa's touristy Byward Market.

The business owners arrived to a sympathetic audience at city hall. Mayor Larry O'Brien had promised to end the program as part of his municipal election campaign, and yesterday, he teamed up with councillor Rick Chiarelli (and 13 others) to cancel a program that cost a mere $8,000 a year, and had the potential to save a significant number of lives.

Local bloggers are going apeshit about this. Vicky Smallman points out the fact that "Ottawa has an alarmingly high rate of HIV and Hepatitis C infection among Intravenous Drug users - at 21%, it is 9 times greater than Toronto's infection rate." Yep, you heard her right. Nine times higher.

And even through city councillors claimed that there was no evidence to suggest that the program was working, they simply chose to ignore a study that the city itself commissioned last year from epidemiologist Lynne Leonard. The study demonstrates that while the program did lead to an increase in crack smoking, it also radically reduced users' sharing of drug paraphernalia, providing "significant scientific evidence" that the program reduced the harm associated with crack smoking.

As Adam Graham from the AIDS Committee of Ottawa explains, pipe and needle exchange programs also act as a first point of contact between users and health professionals, allowing them to access health services, therefore increasing the likelihood that they'll also seek out addiction counselling. In the case of crack smoking, a program like this prevents people from using burning metal pipes and cans, which cause open sores, and lead to HIV and hepatitis transmission.

But of course, these rational, health-based, scientifically-proven arguments mean nothing to bunch of city councillors who are more concerned about the "messaging" associated with handing out crack pipes. They've chosen to protect knee-jerk sensibilities over people's lives. It's simply shameful.

Still, local activists haven't given up the fight. The AIDS Committee of Ottawa announced that it would continue the program, even without city funding. And the new Ottawa Police chief has urged the city to conduct another study before burying the program for good.

Let's hope that city council smartens up, and chooses to listen to the facts. I'm not holding my breath.

-- Cross posted to Dykes vs. Harper

More entries on: Harm reduction

July 11, 2007

We recruit!

Posted by Ariel Troster at 10:43 AM ET | Comments (0)

The internet has been going berzerk for the last few days, after Bill O'Reilly aired this report on CNN:

Yes, O'Reilly reported that "a lesbian gang called GTO, Gays Taking Over, are involved in raping young girls. And in Philadelphia, a lesbian gang called DTO, Dykes Taking Over, are allegedly terrorizing people, as well."

Yeah, well big emphasis on "alleged." After GLAAD raised a stink, "reporter" Rod Wheeler, issued an apology, saying, "I mentioned that there are 'over 150 of these gangs' in the greater Washington DC area. What I actually meant is that there are over 150 gangs in the Washington DC area, some of which are in fact lesbian gangs."

Wow, I kind of love this idea. It brings "we recruit" to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL. Maybe we could get the lesbian gangbangers to rescue some kids from Exodus International?

More entries on: LGBT

Alternate Routes: Meet Dom and Shayna

Posted by mason at 12:01 AM ET | Comments (0)

Throughout the summer, This Magazine is presenting a special blog chronicling the cross-Canada travels of Shayna and Dominique, a pair of wanderers who are setting out to discover what community is all about. Here, in their own words, is an introduction to the project:

We are thinkers, dreamers and poets, continuously questioning our place in this world. We both spend a lot of time watching and listening to the world around us. We love learning and have a deep passion for sharing what we learn with others through our respective arts -- Shayna through written word, and Dominique through photography.

We are traveling across Canada exploring the topic of community. Bartering our skills and labour for accommodation, food and transportation costs, we will make our way from coast to coast, community by community.

Specifically, we will be visiting various type of intentional communities (any group of people that has come together with community as a central uniting purpose). Many of these communities are seeking alternatives to the environmental destruction and social decay perpetuated by mainstream society; some seek to provide a community environment of love and support to people of diverse mental and physical abilities; others just want a place to share ideas and resources with people of a similar perspective -- religious, political or otherwise.

Along the way, we will record and share our experiences with This readers through a special blog, Alternate Routes.

You’ll find Dom and Shayna’s first road journal here on Blog This; expect the Alternate Routes blog to be launched shortly…

More entries on: Alternate Routes

July 07, 2007

Friday links: One really cool timeline, LED stoplights and greening your computer

Posted by ron at 01:18 PM ET | Comments (0)

This week's installment is a little late. I blame this very cool flash map that tells you the history of the Middle East from 3000 BCE to today, all in about 60 seconds.

Here in Toronto, one of my favourite neighbourhoods gets turned into a pedsetrian zones on Sundays during the summer. This little gem of an idea has spread to a few other parts of the city. If you're interested in spreading this idea elsewhere maybe you should check out this little manual from BEST.

Taiwanese traffic lights are going to be converted to LEDs. Saving power (up to 85%!) and hopefully lasting longer. Yes, red still means stop.

Finally, if you're reading this you're probably on a computer. This blog post looks at how you can green your computer by saving power.

More entries on: Weekend Links

July 06, 2007

William Shatner, Art Muse

Posted by joyceb at 12:30 PM ET | Comments (3)

William Shatner portrait by Zina Saunders

Calgary's Uppercase Gallery is currently hosting a collection of artwork by Canadian and American artists depicting my favourite Canadian, William Shatner.

The show runs until August 31 and features some beauties by This Magazine visual alum Raymond Biesinger and Dushan Milic. Many of the illustrations are for sale (I've got my eye on Raymond's collage of the OST-era phaser).

View and buy the art online, or read the Captain's Blog (genius!) where artists respond to the questions "Why is Shatner culturally important?" and "If you could be any Shatner character, who would you be?"

More entries on: Visual art

July 05, 2007

Roadtripping

Posted by aaron at 10:35 PM ET | Comments (0)

A week ago, my friend and I left Vancouver, planning to hit Seattle, Portland and the Oregon Coast.
One interesting thing about driving through rural America is the way the war manifests itself in the endless stream of bumper stickers, pins and billboards. In coffee-crazy Washington state, even the smallest hamlets have three or four drive-through espresso stands. The stereotype of Latte Liberals and Seven-Eleven-drip Republicans doesn't have much currency here. One stand we went to, in the parking lot of the "Faith in Action Thrift Store," dished out Cappucinos to guys in pick-up trucks. It's wall of local soldiers' names had turned into a shrine of sorts, flowers adorned with those little flags Americans love so much.

In the tiny town of Drain, Oregon, every filthy little thrift store was covered in "Support the Troops" stickers. A bridal boutique display had dresses in red, white and blue and the old man outside wore a stars and stripes singlet. Fifteen miles down the road, we arrived in a considerably different town: one with vegetarian cafes, a freshly painted pub/bakery/bookstore celebrating it's monthly Art Walk. Baby boomers and some even older dressed in the rural ideal (immaculate leather boots and LL Bean hats) waved large rainbow peace flags as they marched down the block with placards reading "Bring the Troops Home Now." We were the only audience.

The next day, in a suburb south of Tacoma on the edge of a highway on-ramp there was another flag waving ceremony, this one "in support of the troops." It's where I took this picture.

Another striking part of driving through the states is the trailer parks. Although we certainly have them in Canada (see The Trailer Park Boys), they're less apparent than the large fields of cheap siding and rust glimpsed from the interstate.

Jokes abound about bad weather and trailers, the most common is calling trailer parks, "tornado magnets" or "tornado bait." This is nonsense of course. Bad weather hits other buildings too, but it's the trailer parks usually suffer complete devastation. These are homes with no foundations, built from the flimsiest of materials and completely at the mercy of the weather.

I'm guilty myself of using the saying "attracted to him like a tornado to a trailer park." The implications of such quips never occured to me until this trip. I mean, all kinds of attention is given to the shanty-towns of the underdeveloped world, even the dilapidation of American inner cities; but I've never thought about the sheer number of rural and suburban North Americans who live in substandard housing. There aren't a lot of tornadoes here in the Pacific Northwest but there's consistent flooding. Images on local TV of mobile-homes being washed away is common. Outside the staggeringly wealthy centres of Seattle and Portland one can see whole towns, endless subdivisions of mobile and manufactured homes.

More entries on: Poverty

The journalists formerly known as gay

Posted by Ariel Troster at 12:23 PM ET | Comments (1)

When I read the news a couple of days ago the Michael Glatze, former editor of Young Gay America Magazine, and one of the filmmakers behind the incredible queer youth documentary Jim In Bold, had come out as "ex-gay," I was flabbergasted. That makes two editors of queer magazines in the last several months that have "found Jesus" and become poster children for the lunatic right. The other "journalist formerly known as gay" is Charlene Cothran, publisher of Venus Magazine, which used to be aimed at queer women of colour. After being miraculously cured of "the gay," Cothran has now re-focused the magazine to speak to women who want to escape "the life."

As a lesbian writer, I'm not sure what part of this story makes my skin crawl more. The idea that even journalists are susceptible to propaganda? The thought that that Glatze and Cothran's previous good work is now tainted by their own self-hatred and denial? The fact that queer teens are now being condemned by a couple of their former most trusted allies?

I also don't want to condemn Glatze and Cothran simply because they had a religious awakening. Lots of radicals (or former radicals) have discovered some sort of spiritual side -- most famously, American feminist Naomi Wolf, who recently described seeing a vision of herself as a 13-year-old boy confronting Jesus (I kid you not). Still, to my knowledge, Wolf hasn't sworn off feminism or told young girls that they should now ascribe to the "beauty myth." In fact, she seems a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, and has skillfully steered the rest of her public statements to focus on her work, rather than her private hallucinations.

I've been stumbling to find some way to analyze this, other than saying that's it's sad, upsetting, and puzzling. I especially feel bad for Benjie Nycum, who was co-editor of YGA Magazine, and co-producer of Jim In Bold. I used to sit on the board of directors of an LGBT rights organization with him, and once profiled him for Capital Xtra. I can only imagine what it feels like to wake up one morning, and see someone that you worked so closely with denounce everything that you strove to do together.

Wayne Besen has an interesting comment about this fiasco on 365gay.com. He maintains that both Glatze and Cothran went looking for God, after their long-term relationships failed. "In a sense," he writes, "it seems like these break-ups caused nervous breakdowns where the embittered party tried to punish an 'ex' by becoming ex-gay."

Still, it's never too late to say you're sorry. Last week, three former leaders of Exodus International (the most prominent "ex-gay" group in the U.S.) apologized for "the isolation, shame, fear and loss of faith that [the anti-gay] message creates."

The press conference featured Michael Bussee, the co-founder of Exodus, Jeremy Marks, former president of Exodus International Europe, and Darlene Bogle, the founder and former director of Paraklete Ministries, an Exodus referral agency based in California. Also present was Rev. Mel White, founder and president of the faith-based gay rights group Soulforce. White was the ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell's autobiography and later came out as gay.

Perhaps Bussee's approach holds out hope for a reconciliation between the newly converted and "formerly" gay:

"God's love and forgiveness does indeed change people," said Bussee. "It changed me. It just didn't make me straight."

-- Cross-posted to Dykes Against Harper

More entries on: LGBT

"Strawberry Quik" Methamphetamine: Anatomy of a moral panic

Posted by shawnsyms at 10:20 AM ET | Comments (5)

A few weeks ago, North American media outlets started running stories about the worst thing either law enforcement or parents could imagine. A new formulation of crystal meth had appeared on the scene, one that was pink and sweetened, dubbed "Strawberry Quik" and aimed at schoolkids.

According to police, it was poised to sweep the country. Even in harm-reduction circles, we started asking ourselves if this horrible-sounding phenomenon could really be happening.

It doesn't look like it. The US-based drug-policy group Join Together, a project of the Boston University School of Public Health, dug into the headlines a bit further and found less of a problem than had initially been suggested. They noted: "Flavored meth is somewhat akin to the Loch Ness Monster: everyone has heard of it, but firsthand sightings are hard to track down and verify."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency told Join Together they in fact had no confirmed seizures of "flavoured" methamphetamine. One drug expert told the agency that pink-coloured meth was a real possibility, but this was because of the dye that one precursor ingredient sometimes contains rather than any nefarious intentions.

The agency also talked to a former meth cook, who suggested the idea of "flavouring" meth—which is usually snorted, smoked or injected rather than eaten—made little sense and would be likely to hard to integrate into the manufacturing process of the drug.

The initial news story pitted evil drug dealers against vulnerable children. The reality, as usual, is more complex. To read the detailed investigation, go here.

PHOTO CREDIT: EROWID.ORG

More entries on: Harm reduction

July 03, 2007

Polley's heartbreak goes on; Toronto sucks in Montreal

Posted by annette at 10:36 AM ET | Comments (0)

July's Film Club newsletter is now up here.

While July is a bit of a slow month for new Canadian releases, Away from Her is still going strong. It's Sarah Polley's directorial debut about a woman suffering from Alheimer's disease who forgets her husband, the love of her life. Bring the tissues.

If you're in the Montreal area around July 12 - 22, you can catch some of Comedia, Just for Laughs' comedy film festival. This year's highlights include a showcase, the Best of Comedia, hosted by Marlon Wayans, and special screenings of Mr. Bean's Holiday and Canada's own Let's All Hate Toronto.

You can check out a blog by the latter's protagonist, Mr. Toronto (above), here.

More entries on: Film

July 02, 2007

Vote on Canada's most underrated rebellion

Posted by mason at 03:15 PM ET | Comments (1)

As Canadians, most of us have learned about such nation-defining events as the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada or the Red River Rebellion, but in the next issue of This, we chronicle four under-appreciated rebellions that explode the myth of Canada as a place with a peaceful (and boring) history.

The July/August issue of the magazine is set to hit stores soon, but right now you can read up on the chosen rebellions and vote for the one you think has had the most lasting impact on Canadian life.

More entries on: Aboriginal rights | Feminism | Labour days | THIS matters | War and peace

Previous month: June 2007
Next month: August 2007

THIS MAGAZINE. BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL

Please note that all writers hold the copyright for their pieces and it is illegal for any portion of them to be copied or distributed without their expressed permission. So please don't steal.

THIS MAGAZINE: BECAUSE EVERTHING IS POLITICAL

July 28, 2007

Weekend links: Congrats Ryerson Review, A $100 laptop for Xmas (sorta), mini guerilla gardening

July 26, 2007

Indexing air quality: Project Smog, week 2

July 24, 2007

When the chips are down

July 23, 2007

Smooch against homophobia!

July 21, 2007

Weekend links: When animators go on strike, Houston goes green (sort of), We love books and trees!

July 19, 2007

Introducing Project Smog

July 18, 2007

Rape? Not funny.

July 13, 2007

Friday Links: Birdies, cross-country SmartCar ride, kids do the most awesome things

July 12, 2007

Alternate Routes: Small world

Ottawa City Council chooses NIMBYism over public health

July 11, 2007

We recruit!

Alternate Routes: Meet Dom and Shayna

July 07, 2007

Friday links: One really cool timeline, LED stoplights and greening your computer

July 06, 2007

William Shatner, Art Muse

July 05, 2007

Roadtripping

The journalists formerly known as gay

"Strawberry Quik" Methamphetamine: Anatomy of a moral panic

July 03, 2007

Polley's heartbreak goes on; Toronto sucks in Montreal

July 02, 2007

Vote on Canada's most underrated rebellion