Archive - May 2009

Okay so it's true, moving day, and my birthday, both inevitably occur at the same time as my period. I am coming to terms with this. Nothing says "derail packing" like cramps and the desire to spend some quality time on the soon to be not mine couch watching Life and Times of Tim.

Also I am coming to terms with the fact that my brother and sister-in-law are coming to pick me up in about 24 hours, and my apartment is about 40% dismantled.

That is not a good percentage.

But if all that 'really happening to me' shit weren't enough. I just found this out:

Tara Hunt, founder of Citizen Media, inventor of Pinko Marketing...is karaoking her way across North America to move to Montreal

I admit that despite my HBO habit, and some questionable practices around where I get the discographies for platinum selling rock bands that don't really need my hard earned cash anyways.....

I find the whole copyright thing a little dry. I recognize the importance of the debate, and as a friend to artists and writers I believe that the debate should be about 'who benefits from the production and distribution of their work', not 'how to stop wide distribution at the expense of major manufacturers'.

But really, it's so complex, and seems such a perfect domain for ethically precise, rigorous types who enjoy discussing policy and 'pipes' and file locks and etc... I really don't.

*BUT* this new one is sooooo funny. The Conference Board of Canada, ahem "The foremost, independent, not-for-profit applied research organization in Canada" has produced three reports on copyright and intellectual property all of which contain sections plagiarized from a similar report issued by the US-based International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA).

THIS Friday 29 May 2009, from 7:00pm - 9:00pm
at Shaika Cafe, 5526 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC

The Sense Project at Head & Hands hosts its annual celebration event to recognize all of the dedication that this community has shown to our goal of breaking the silence surrounding sex, and to celebrate the Sense Project’s 2nd year anniversary of sex education workshops and youth peer-to-peer health support.

Sex in the media will be our focus, with the launch of the Sense Project’s new website, www.senseproject.org

This is a great chance to check out this amazing new online resource and community, which features a youth-led blog and an anonymous Q&A forum.

One thing I have always loved about being a Reform Jew, is that my people, have very little beef with same sex relationships. I mean sure it's written in the Torah that a community should stone homosexuals to death.

But there are 612 other laws, such as; "An Ammonite or Moabite shall never marry the daughter of an Israelite" that we conveniently ignore, and for quite some time now, the same sex stipulations have been pretty handily swept under the rug.

So how irritating is it (like seriously hair-pullingly frustrating and stupid) to read this article in Rabble about how the B'nai Brith is running around to different Pride sponsors trying to get them to pull support from the parade on the basis of one *float* that is critical of Israel. Not the who parade, just the views of one group.

Talk about back-stabbing
Talk about petty
Talk about denial of freedom of speech
Talk about hatred and prejudice obstructing vision and justice

If supporters of Israel continue to curry favor with people who use hate as a weapon, (and of course I am thinking of the evangelicals here), then I will not be surprised if the evangels turn out to be right and Israel becomes nothing more then a cog in the giant armageddon machine.

My People, what are you doing??

Since I happen to have all 613 commandments open in another window, let's take a look at what the Torah says about the Jews and property rights: