Melanie_

Why is it important to label one as “more” than the other? Injustice anywhere is still injustice, regardless of who perpetuates it, and in whose name. And no, I can’t point to any feminist organization, as I don’t belong to any (but I don’t think REAL Women of Canada would appreciate you calling them feminists ). As a side note, FGM is not connected to Islam. It is a cultural construct that is often found in predominantly Muslim nations, but may also be practiced within those countries by Christians, Jews, and Animists. It isn't practiced universally throughout the Islamic world - this is a good example of why we need to focus on the specific injustice, rather than on surface characteristics. Wikipedia says:

I’m not sure what feminists you’ve been talking to, Lictor, but none that I know would ever support the practices you’ve described, regardless of who is carrying them out. Here’s my perspective as a feminist; I don’t speak for anyone but myself, but I do have an opinion about this. As a feminist, I believe a woman has the right to choose what to do with her life, and this includes reproductive and sexual choice. That means no one has the right to tell her what to do, or force her to do something she doesn’t want to. A woman has the right to choose when to have sex. Husbands, boyfriends, and even perfect strangers may think they have access to her body simply because she is there and she is female, but a woman is under no obligation to provide services on demand. A woman has the right to choose her own partner, according to her own preferences (i.e., not limited to someone of her own religion, ethnic background, SES, etc.; not limited to someone of the opposite sex). A woman has the right to choose when to become a mother, and how often. I read a statistic somewhere – no link – that stated that just under half of the married women in the world have access to birth control. The number of unmarried women who have access to birth control is much smaller. This is a clear example of how women are denied self determination. A woman has the right to an intact body – FGM is an abhorrent practice. This applies, in my opinion, to all women everywhere. You've brought this topic up in relation to Islam, but I really don’t care what religion we're talking about – I have no use for any religion that has a patriarchal starting point, and preaches that women have a duty to men.

So now Tango has been banned. I'm disappointed to see her go - particularly if the banning is the result of comments made in this thread (unless it has been edited, and I'm not seeing something?)

The world is full of sick people who will take advantage of the young and naive. Ethnic origin has nothing to do with it. I'm glad to see he got 59 years in prison; we need sentences like that here for sex offenders.

How did this guy get to start a thread? I thought new members had to post 5 times in existing threads before starting a new one themselves. Bring on the next election; hopefully we can get a majority this time so we don't have to go through this again in a year's time. (A Liberal majority, that is.)

I'm sure the Mexicans and Orientals and city folk and bus riders and animals are thankful. I'm not sure about the auto manufacturers.

I haven’t watched a lot of sci fi movies, so maybe my perspective is limited; what I have seen in terms of aliens having the hots for earth women has always had a pretty strong cheesiness factor. In District 9, the prostitution was portrayed in such a stark, realistic manner, I found it very disturbing...maybe if it had shown a true emotional connection between a “prawn” and a human, I would have felt differently. The prostitute was portrayed so casually, and she seemed to be resigned to just another customer, one is the same as the other, do the job and get it over with. When they make the inevitable “District 10” movie, I hope they explore the relationship between the prawn hybrid (Wikus) and his human wife – addressing some of Myata’s questions about interspecies love and attraction.

I don't think you have much in common with anyone, Mr. C. You are one of a kind.

I'm a farm girl transplanted to the city, so my tiny backyard is full of produce! We got lots of rhubarb and raspberries this year, some blueberries and strawberries, and a good amount of broccoli. But too much rain/not enough sun for most of my other "crops" - the tomatoes are still tiny, no pumpkins on my vines yet, and just a few jalapenos and peas.

Doesn't she only have one child, probably still in diapers? Too bad if she is leaving provincial politics; I don't know if she is ready to be leader, but she has done well in her portfolios so far.

Great movie. One of the more interesting pieces was how the Nigerians moved into the slums of District 9, taking advantage of the poverty to create a criminal underworld - although the thought of interspecies prostitution was a bit much, even for a bleeding heart liberal like me!

Duff Roblin will probably never really be replaced in people's minds as the best premier Manitoba ever had... at least until the generation that remembers him is completely gone. But Doer has been a good leader, and Manitobans aren't going to like the change to someone new. I wonder if he will run federally - somehow I doubt it, as it is hard to go from running a province for 12 years to sitting on a back bench. Dobbin is probably right - Axworthy will scoop him up for U of W as a sessional instructor. This will still leave him plenty of time for exploring options.

Here's a translation of Joe Cocker at Woodstock, singing "A Little Help from my Friends". He was definitely enjoying the "ambiance" of the day!

Embedding the link in the statements you've made here implies that the article supports the statements. It does not. There is nothing in this article to remotely support what you've said. I doubt anyone needs to be told that there is a connection between brains and genetic predispositions, but the article certainly doesn't link either to race. The article on children with the amino acid deficiency does not say anything about race, other than that the children studied were all of Asian descent. And the whole thing is a red herring, because the condition exists across all racial groups. As for IQ differences, this is a field of huge controversy and speculation. Traditional IQ tests were heavily biased, and as far as I know there still is no clear way to objectively measure intelligence. I'm willing to read any supporting evidence you have that there are objective, quantifiable differences in intelligence that are linked specifically to race, though. (But not until tomorrow. I'm off to bed now.)

You didn't quote from the Brain Atlas article. BiDil looks more like marketing than medicine, but anyway... And as to why the study was done on Asian children, it doesn't say in the article you've quoted, so you are making an assumption that this particular condition is more prevalent in that group. A quick Google search doesn't show any stronger connection of this particular condition to Asians. But despite your faulty citations, I haven't been arguing with you about whether or not there are physical differences dependent upon genetics. I certainly don't dispute that genetics are part of a person's physical make-up, but I don't see what that has to do with this thread. What specific point are you trying to make here, and what does it have to do with integration?

Did you read the articles you quoted here? There is nothing in the Brain Atlas article that remotely supports your position, and the article about "Asians being vulnerable to different types of cerebral ailments" is really about a common genetic disorder that is found in all populations, but this particular study was carried out on children of Asian descent. You'll need to do much better than this if your goal is to prove that one ethnic group is more intelligent than another.

I thought we weren't talking about my hypothetical son anymore, because he is unverifiable and anecdotal. But anyway, this stuff you've posted is meaningless in terms of the basic discussion of the thread - what constitutes good integration? I asked you what specific attributes you believe to be connected to ethnic background other than physical characteristics, as physical characteristics really don't have a role to play in cultural integration.

OK, what I have posted is unverifiable, and goes against your pet peeve of ethnic minorities taking advantage of the system. So lets talk in general terms instead. What specific attributes do you believe to be determined by genetics, other than physical characteristics?

Because his skin colour doesn't define who he is, and he doesn't see himself as a minority. That's the point - good integration results in discarding all the differential treatment, and treating each person according to his/her own merits rather than according to their ethnic background.

You're right, I worded that badly. My husband is an immigrant from India, and our children are varying shades of brown.

My husband is an immigrant, I'm white. Our son is in university, and was looking at scholarships, when I pointed out that he wasn't checking off the box that asked if he was a visible minority. His reaction was almost exactly what you said, Monkeyman, "Mom, I'm not a minority. I'm just a white guy with a tan." There's no doubt in his mind that he is just as Canadian as any one else on the street, and his skin colour is of no more significance than his eye colour. I agree with you, integration is happening all around us, but some people are only interested in the negative stories.

It sounds like there are a lot of questions about whether or not this guy actually was involved in the bombing. Winnipeg Free Press

Here's a yokel with a piano singing an anti war song... one that I find particularly moving. Billy Joel - Goodnight Saigon

A great remix, some classic Bob Marley.

Wow! Join a political party, receive an all purpose "Get Out of Jail Free" Card!