April 2, 2017
Globe and Mail – Zosia Bielski
‘When will feminism stop enabling stupidity?’: Welcome to the feminist flame wars
Here’s an unusual view sure to enable a great deal of controversy. The thesis is in a new book called Unwanted Advances: Sexual Paranoia Comes to Campus by Laura Kipnis. Talking about campus sex while both persons are drunk prompts this response: “To say that women don’t have to be part of the solution is almost perverse.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/when-will-feminism-stop-enabling-stupidity-feminist-generation-gap/article34481903/?reqid=13471b08-78ee-47fd-8b82-3a0a6a2bd3f1 Related article: Globe and Mail – Margaret Wente Alcohol and assault: What all young women need to know http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/alcohol-and-assault-what-all-young-women-need-to-know/article34520890/
Globe and Mail – Jeff McIntosh
Undetermined
Coroners and medical examiners across the country have decided that the term “undetermined causes” will replace the term SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, much to the chagrin of parents. The new term leaves the status of SIDS, first defined in 1969, up in the air: Is there even such a condition or cause of death? Equally perplexing, what do we do to determine why these infants die, especially when we stop counting the deaths by SIDS? There does seem to be some common medical conditions many cases. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/canadian-coroners-stop-using-term-sids-to-classify-mysterious-infantdeaths/article34504758/
CBC News – Adetayo Bero
Indigenous book translates Cree laws to English – ‘The knowledge is disappearing with the elders and it needed to be talked about,’ says author
In the light of the disappearing Cree language, Nationhood Interrupted: Revitalizing Nêhiyaw Legal Systems seeks to preserve the Cree legal code normally passed down by word of mouth, song, pictographs, and customs significant to the Cree culture. Author Sylvia McAdam reminds us that the translation is not in the typical colonial manner but “the knowledge is disappearing with the elders and it [needs] to be talked about.” http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/indigenous-book-cree-law-sylvia-mcadam-1.4049897
The Bold Italic (US) – Christi Chan
Meet the San Quentin Inmates Who Are Learning to Code Behind Bars
Hailed as one of the most successful ever inmate programs, and called the Last Mile, this San Quentin prison program teaches inmates to do computer coding and responds to requests for services from significant big time clients. The program has a 0% recidivism rate and is en route to introduction in other state prisons. https://thebolditalic.com/meet-the-san-quentin-inmates-who-are-learning-to-code-behind-bars-photos-9ff6fda35c5c
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
UK still out-of-step on age of criminal responsibility
At what age is a child responsible for a crime? There seems considerable variation in standard throughout the world. Some countries have no minimum age for charging children. Some countries have picked age 7; others age 8. The UN says, in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, that age 12 should be the minimum age for charging. In Canada, it’s age 12; in the US, for federal crime it is age 11 and for state crime where most crime is prosecuted 35 of 50 states have set no minimum. The average minimum age for criminal responsibility (MACR) is 14. http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f3b97d02b5235c9e7c9b3a65b&id=597513a279&e=10ab936adc
Wellesley Institute – Anjana Aery
Innovations to Champion Access to Primary Care for Immigrants and Refugees
Access to health care can be confusing for those who grew up in Canada but for refugees and immigrants there are added problems. Aery offers a review of the literature on the distinctive needs of immigrants as well as the obstacles in getting access. There are ethnic and cultural obstacles but there are also systemic obstacles to access. http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Innovations-to-champion-access-to-primary-care-for-immigrant-and-refugees.pdf Related article: Toronto Star Editorial (March 29, 2017) Fix this flawed law https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2017/03/29/fix-this-flawed-law-editorial.html
Globe and Mail – Gemma Karstens-Smith
Amid opioid crisis, UBC students create wearable device that aims to save lives
Given that over 900 peopled overdosed in BC last year, a group of UBC students turned to technology to pursue a solution. They have invented an alert of an overdose, a device worn on the wrist and monitoring through a finger. The device is aimed at people who overdose alone or inside a residence. Fentanyl is the most frequent overdose drug. “The people who have naloxone kits and are trained to use them are not coming in frequent contact with the people who need to use them,” said Mr. Sampath Satti, one of the designers. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/amid-opioid-crisis-ubc-students-create-wearable-device-that-aims-to-save-lives/article34485590/
Globe and Mail – Erin Anderssen
What homelessness looks like for women in Canada
Here’s a link to an explanation of the homelessness problems and solutions as understood from the women’s perspective. The federal budget has offered some funding for the homelessness problems. The article looks at the variety of types of services currently available for different populations and in different geographic areas. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/why-some-women-fall-through-the-cracks-of-the-homelessnesssystem/article34487794/