Rosinha de Valença - Acalanto (1966)

Rosinha de Valença was a Brazilian artist who was especially prominent in the 60s. She toured with Sergio Mendes and Brasil 65 for eight months in America, recording two albums with them along the way. She spent the next couple of years touring Europe, Africa and the Middle East, eventually returning to Brazil, where she alternated between recording and touring until brain damage due to a heart attack forced her to abandon her musical career in 1992.

On the Upcoming Elections in the US and Canada: A Gentle Reminder to Women Voters

Some of my younger friends don't believe me when I point out that women in Canada were only granted the right to vote less than a century ago. It was in 1918. Women in Québec were only allowed to join in 22 years later, in 1940. Women in the US were only guaranteed the right to vote in all US states by 1920. In fact, in the West, most women have only been guaranteed the right to vote within the past 30-90 years (in Switzerland, for instance, women were only granted the right to vote in federal elections within my own lifetime -- in 1973). Yet as recently as 2004, only 65% of American women voted in federal elections (with the percentage lower for lower age groups). In 2006, 4 million Canadian women eligible to vote did not do so.

According to the International Women's Democracy Centre, out of 189 governments in this world today, only 13 are led by women. In this world today, women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to vote. Women in Brunei have been denied the right to vote or run for elections since 1962. In Lebanon, women are only allowed to vote if they can prove they've received elementary education -- something which is not required of Lebanese men.

So? So the luxury of voting ain't so much a luxury in other parts of the world. Take a few minutes out of your day and exercise your right on October 14 (in Canada) and November 4 (in the United States). There are women in the world today who sure as hell wish they shared a fraction of the freedom possessed by the women in North America right now:
A Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia is now calling for one-eyed veils for women, since showing both eyes supposedly encourages women to wear eye makeup to look seductive. In Saudi Arabia, adult women still need to get permission from a guardian (i.e. father, brother or husband) to study, work, travel, marry or even obtain basic health care).

In countries like Libya, girls and women are locked up in "social rehabilitation centres" after having been deemed "vulnerable to engaging in moral misconduct". In some cases, all these women have "done" is that they've been raped and then rejected by their families for having been "tainted". These women have no access to lawyers or the legal system, and are only released from these jail-like institutions if a male family member comes forward to get them (which happens almost never), or if a stranger comes looking for a wife (i.e. shopping for a wife-slave).

For five years, women and girls in Darfur have remained under the constant threat of violent rape from the government's own soldiers and allied militias. Neither the government nor international peace-keepers have done anything about this and the women and girls in question have no means for legal redress.

These women could be you or me. Please, just vote.

Cropping and Docking: A Backgrounder and the Global Status Quo

I decided to research this topic further and found that the American Veterinary Medical Association's stance on cropping and docking is for vets to counsel people requesting them that the procedures cause ''pain and distress'', but AVMA stops short of condemning them.

According to the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (which does indeed condemn both), the procedures have been illegal in Newfoundland and Labrador since 1978 and are outlawed in many European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. There are, of course, exceptions for medically justifiable reasons.

In Indiana, in 2002, a defendant was convicted of animal cruelty for cropping the ears of several puppies with office scissors without anesthesia. Furthermore: The court held that the evidence supported conviction for cruelty under the definition of "torture." Further evidence supported conviction for unauthorized practice where defendant engaged in a traditional veterinary surgical procedure and received remuneration for his services. I wonder if there've been similar cases in Canada?

For more information on the issues surrounding the practices of ear cropping and tail docking, check out "Cropping and Docking: A Discussion of the Controversy and the Role of Law in Preventing Unnecessary Cosmetic Surgery on Dogs" at the absolutely amazing Animal Law Web Centre. It discusses the history and legal status of the procedures. The UK's Anti Docking Alliance website features an article from a 1996 issue of the Australian Veterinary Journal that goes into greater detail about the medical issues related to tail docking, as well as the pain and suffering inherent in the procedure.

I commend the NBVMA's members for having taken the stance they have. I hope that the rest of the veterinary associations in Canada follow suit soon.

No more cosmetic surgery for dogs in NB

According to the CBC, tail docking and ear cropping are cosmetic procedures that will soon no longer be performed by veterinarians in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association (NBVMA) reached this decision recently, prompted in part by the recommendations of Canada's national body of veterinarians. According to one vet who

cringes whenever dogs come in for these procedures because she believes they are painful [:]

"Usually, when it's done, it's done between three and five days old. It's done without the benefit of anesthesia. People say it doesn't really hurt them, but they scream when you do it," she said.

So far, the only folks who seem to be complaining are the breeders and kennel clubs -- people who raise animals expected to fit into a certain aesthetically acceptable image. And they're responding with fearmongering:

Judy Burn from the Saint John area, a judge at Canadian Kennel Club competitions, said the province-wide policy is unfair to breeders, and may even put dogs at risk if owners try to do the procedures themselves.

"They may attempt it themselves and probably end up a mess on their hands that the vet will end up seeing anyway. Then you get breeders, or someone that knows someone that can do it, and infections set in. To me, the dog ends up suffering," Burns said.

It seems to me that if the vets in the province have deemed these procedures cruel and unnecessary that people attempting to submit the dogs in the care to them through other means should be punished under current animal cruelty legislation. I decided to send an email to the NB SPCA to inquire about this -- to ask whether current legislation would prohibit breeders from doing this themselves, and if not, what could be done to alter current animal cruelty legislation so that breeders could be prohibited from mutilating their dogs themselves (or have them mutilated by others). I encourage interested readers to do the same. The NB SPCA's contact form is available here. I'll post an update with any response I received from them as soon as I do.

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performing the theme to Shaft

Sometimes a gal just needs to kick back and enjoy the cheese. (The guy on bass and the singer seem to be the only two members of the orchestra really getting into it, unfortunately.)

Jesus Camp

I went to see Religulous last night. I'll blog a bit about it later. I mentioned to my friend J. this afternoon that I'd gone to see it and he brought up another documentary about religious fundamentalism that he said had really had an impact on him. Jesus Camp lost out to An Inconvenient Truth for the Academy Award in 2006, they say. It's about the "Kids on Fire School of Ministry", which holds summer camps for born again kids to teach them all about taking back America for Jesus Christ. It's probably one of the spookiest things I've seen in a long time. Here's some info on it.

And here's the thing itself:

Are you a good vegetarian guest?

This article in Thailand's Pataya Daily News on how to be a gracious vegetarian guest applies to anyone anywhere in this big ol' world. Years ago, shortly after first transitioning to vegetarianism, I used to feel a certain amount of anxiety upon receiving dinner invitations. Vegetarianism was new to me and not as widely known and accepted as it seems to be now. These days, I lose track of how often people tell me they have a niece who's vegetarian, or about how their teenager's boyfriend is a vegan -- that sort of thing. I used to feel awkward telling someone about my diet, wary of offering up an unwelcome hassle. Thankfully, I've learned to become a somewhat decent cook so that bringing a dish along not only lessens any potential burden on my host, but often triggers a light conversation about vegan cooking.People always seem pleasantly surprised that it's neither bland nor repulsive. Go figure!

Bill Maher's New Film: Religulous: Movie Trailer

Opening this Friday, boys and girls!! I've been anticipating this one.

Planet saving penny pinching

I splurged last week and bought a 4-pack of compact fluorescent lights (commonly called compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs). I plan to make some sort of environmentally beneficial change in my lifestyle or surroundings at least once a week between now and the end of the year. Better yet, I'll see what I can squeeze in and report it here once a week. It's part of my commitment to the Unplug Yourself initiative kick-started by blogger extraordinaire Jennifer over at Veg*n Cooking and Other Random Musings.

So the lights were on sale for $10. I have incandescent bulbs everywhere in my home -- mostly 60 watt bulbs since I opted to avoid 100 watt bulbs a few years ago, hoping to cut back a little that way. I replaced four of my 60 watt incandescents with these four 14 watt lights. I replaced the main light in my office, the main light in my dining room, my bedroom light and the kitchen light. My bathroom's lit with a vanity light strip above my mirror that uses big ol' globular bulbs; I'll have to see what I can dig up to replace those. I think you can get globe-shaped CFLs? I also want to replace the 40 watt bulbs in some of my other lamps with 11 watt CFLs and may do so this weekend.

I was worried about the mercury they contain, but the amount is apparently less than you'd find in a thermometer or watch battery. The issue gets discussed in greater detail in the Wikipedia entry on CFLs to which I've linked in the first paragraph of this post. The pros outweighed the cons for me. For even more information on CFLs, check out this entry at TreeHugger.

The light mine emit is cooler with regards to colour temperature than the old incandescents, but you can buy some that have a warmer light. I don't mind it. It's almost like adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls. Heheh.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich on Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman interviewed Rep. Dennis Kucinich just before the vote took place on whether to approve the $700 bailout. He voted against it and here's why.

Richard Heinberg's take on the $700 billion bailout

So is the sky falling yet? The House rejected the bailout package and the whole process starts over again in a few days.

Me? All I can think of is how I should get my hands on some home heating oil pronto now that oil's dipped down below $100 US a barrel today.

Incidentally, here's what Richard Heinberg had to say about it this whole $700 billion bailout scenario a few days ago.

More veganism in the news

Jane Glenn Haas of the OC Register is continuing with her 21 day vegan cleanse (à la Oprah and inspired by Kathy Freston). I wrote about it a few days ago after spotting her column online. In her most recent column, Haas mentions how amazed she is at the emails she's received from people telling her to stop what she's doing and to go back to eating meat, while on the other hand, she's been receiving heaps of support from vegans and vegetarians offering her tips and kudos.

Haas admits that although she started the cleanse "to mimic Oprah", one of the other reasons she's attempting it is that she's scheduled to introduce Freston at a women's luncheon. She felt compelled to mention, as well, that although people have commended her on lessening her contribution to animal suffering that "animals had nothing to do" with her decision to do this. I wonder what Freston, a personal growth and spirituality counsellor who is very much concerned with the animal cruelty inherent in the animal slaughter industry would think of someone advocating her cleanse for such shallow reasons?

As far as I'm concerned, any lessening of the consumption of animals is great, and I guess Haas has to be commended for -- at the very least -- being honest that she's merely jumping on last month's celebrity bandwagon for the sake of appearances, but it seems to defeat the whole purpose of Freston's book, which makes it seem a little pointless and pathetic.

----------------

The UK's Times Online had a decent (albeit short) interview yesterday with one of my favourite vegan environmentalist celebrities, Woody Harrelson. He and his wife founded a group called VoiceYourself and have a great website well worth checking out. They promote veganism, organic living, peak oil awareness and community. They also emphasize the power (and accountability) each and every one of us has as a consumer -- something so many seem to either shrug off or forget when feeling overwhelmed by this global mess we've let snowball.

Learning to listen

A piece from the Zen Moments website got my attention earlier this evening, and I've been mulling it over ever since. It's about the importance of learning to listen to others.

From it:

Unless you listen, you can’t know anybody. Oh, you will know facts and what is in the newspapers and all of history, perhaps, but you will not know one single person.

and

Now, how to listen. It is harder than you think. Creative listeners are those who want you to be recklessly yourself, even at your very worst, even vituperative, bad- tempered. They are laughing and just delighted with any manifestation of yourself, bad or good. For true listeners know that if you are bad-tempered it does not mean that you are always so. They don’t love you just when you are nice; they love all of you.

Seasonal spoils!

It's been a pretty busy week. Between dealing with preserving the tomatoes from my garden and taking advantage of cheap produce at the farmer's market, I've been donning my invisible apron more often than usual. The nights have been getting more and more chilly over the past few weeks, so after harvesting some straggler-veggies early one evening, a good old frost warning led me to pick all of the rest of my tomatoes. (The photo of the tomatoes is after my having indulged in tabouli and / or tomato salad over 2-3 days.)
My first project with the tomatoes was to try oven-drying some for the first time earlier this week. I never did get around to building a solar dryer (a project for this winter, maybe?) and the days are cool and my vacation days have run out, so regular old sun drying (something else I've yet to try) seemed as if it would be a bit tricky to attempt. After Googling a few times, I realized that the simplest thing to do would be to slice the plum tomatoes lengthwise and set them on a tray with the cut side facing up, then heat them at the lowest oven setting (140 F) until they seemed about right -- sort of leathery. Various websites stated they'd take 8-9 hours. Some of the tomatoes were a bit large (next time I'll use more common sense and choose tomatoes of the same size), so the whole thing actually took 9-10 hours. They supposedly keep really well if you cover them in a high quality olive oil in clean jars. I just stuck mine in a baggy and tossed them in the fridge. I figured they wouldn't last very long and was right -- I'm now around halfway through them! They're delicious, but I figure that considering the energy used to dry them in the oven that I won't repeat this experiment. If I dry any next season, it'll be without gobbling up that much electricity. All sustainability issues aside, there's also the more practical point that it would probably cost me less to buy the sun-dried organic tomatoes one of my local health food sells than run my oven at 140 F for 9-10 hours. I've also been doing a bit of canning. I pickled (and froze) around 10 lbs of beets, made around 3-1/2 quarts of Lady Ashburn Pickles and pickled a small bunch of zucchini using my mom's friend's recipe. This week, I plan to pickle and freeze another 5 lbs of beets and deal with the rest of my tomatoes -- maybe make salsa.

Got tea bags?

I've mostly given up coffee. Over the years I've gone from being an indiscriminate 4-5 cup a day coffee freak to sipping on organic green tea throughout the day. For the longest time, I was buying green tea bags that weren't individually wrapped. Unfortunately, I've been having a hard time finding organic green tea bags that aren't individually wrapped, and am thinking that the way to go will be to buy loose tea, even thought I'm pretty sure that I've only seen it sold by Lipton's (or some other similar company). The smart thing to do would be to give it up altogether. Maybe someday.

So we recycle paper at work and I've been throwing my little tea bag wrappers into the bin (and even bringing the ones I use at home). Then I stumbled across this neat idea on the Instructables website and think that I may very well give it a try this weekend. The instructables' creator even has some images up on her website for Xmas card ideas. I decided to nose around a little and ended up finding this website that contains links to other sites devoted to tea bag folding. More Google searches showed me that tea bag folding (aka kaleidoscope folding) is apparently quite a popular hobby and has been so for years -- especially for folks who like things like origami. Unfortunately, a lot of people print out their own ''tiles'' to use instead of recycling tea bags or reusing decorative paper, which would sort of defeat my own purpose in trying this out at all.