Rob Ford's Weight

Look people, we all know that the ridiculously ridiculous Mayor of Toronto (or IS he? Well, at the moment he still is), Mr. Rob Ford is a large man. But COME ON, surely there are other things that people can focus on, like, maybe the fact that he puts his football team before, you know, the well being and inner workings of the largest city in Canada. Making fun of his weight? That's just silly, petty playground "bullying" kind of stuff.

In this day and age when we must fight so hard for body image acceptance, the first thing that people want to pick on when it comes to this incompetent buffoon is his weight. Look, he's a big guy, we all know that. We know that for health reasons it's most likely the best idea to lose some weight, but physically he is who he is. Attacking the guy based on his weight is much akin to attacking someone like Barak Obama for the colour of his skin. How does Ford's weight come into play here?

Please, people, the guy has enough ridiculousness surrounding him that there is no need to go after his weight. If there is one way in which we should accept him, it is as who he is physically, even if we don't accept his politics. I feel for kids who turn on the TV or go to "social media" or whatever they are calling it these days, and see people making fun of Ford for his weight. If they happen to be on the larger side, they read this, look at themselves and....well, I wonder what they think?

Anyway, that's it. That's all. I don't like Rob Ford. I don't like his personality, his politics or his politics and his personality....and definitely his personality....and politics. But I accept him for who he is physically and don't believe that it plays any role in his personality....and politics. Leave him be on the weight issue people! Let's love our bodies for what they are! 

No More Rockets, No More Hamas!

I woke up a few mornings ago to see that prominent Hamas armed wing leader Ahmed Al-Jaabari had been assassinated when an Israeli missile hit his car in the Gaza strip. Blammo. This has come after at least a week of escalation in violence between Israel and Gaza militants that had seen an increase in rockets being fired into Israel and then retaliation by Israel. Hamas has a missile problem. They like to randomly fire these things into Israel with seeming no rhyme or reason and with no particular destination. Sometimes it is in retaliation, sometimes it is for....I have no clue what reason.

Anyway, since then, of course, all hell has broken loose, with rockets being fired wildly into Israel, some reaching Tel Aviv and at least one reaching Jerusalem. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israel has bombed the snot out of several hundred targets, which they claim are key militant sites which, for the most part, I tend to believe. However, clearly the population of Gaza are getting the brunt of the destruction with at least 16 dead and a hundred injured. Seems not all of the bombs are hitting their mark, and/or the dense population of the strip means that injury and death is unavoidable. If Israel is, for some ridiculously stupid reason, intentionally targeting civilians, then clearly they are idiots. I don't believe however that this is what they are doing. Regardless, people in Gaza are dying and being injured and it is a sad, sad situation. At the same time, the Israeli death toll is at three. Of course it's not as high, but these deaths as well are very sad. The fact that anyone is dying here is unfortunate.

So all of this leads me to ask: Hamas and Islamic Jihad (and whatever other militant groups there are in Gaza), may I ask, how has firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel working out for you and the people of Gaza? At what point will you see that these rockets you insist on shooting off are suicidal? How many times must Gaza be struck by Israel before the point is made that the rockets achieve nothing? How many people must die? For some reason, there are those in Gaza and those who support Palestinians who believe that these rockets are justified and show strength and determination or some crazy thing. They are seen as an act of defense instead of what they really are which is an act of offense that leads to retaliation. And, when Israel does retaliate because rockets are fired at them, the world screams “Israel is attacking Gaza!” Well, no kidding! They are trying desperately to stop these rockets! You can’t fire rockets into Israel and expect no response. Whether you like it or not, Israel can outgun you! Be reasonable!

The common argument is that these rockets are just small, crude devices and Israel is showing disproportionate force. The answer is, don’t fire rockets! There seems to be an implication that Israel should just accept rockets being fired into it because, meh, they aren't that big of a deal. That is completely unrealistic. There are those who say that Gaza has been treated like a concentration camp and that their grip on power over the strip is inhumane. Yes, I can see that. However, the grip tightened significantly, and understandably, when Hamas took over power of the strip. Hamas has virtually dedicated itself to the destruction of Israel. Can people not see the connection here? Again, what is Israel to do? At what point will people see that Hamas is not helping Palestinians as a whole in any way shape or form. They are not offering security, that’s for sure. They are not offering a better life for the people of Gaza. They are offering war and destruction. And for all the talk of Israel’s iron grip, there is little mention of the grip Hamas has over its people. Somehow, Hamas gets a free ride in how it treats it's own citizens at times and the way it has dealt with Fatah, it's rival in the fight over control of Palestinians. Their actions against their own citizens, such as a heavy crackdown not long ago against protesters in Gaza that dared to call for peace and reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah makes me scratch my head at how anyone can not see that Hamas are a bunch of dicks!

Am I a firm supporter of Israel? No. I do support its existence. I do see it as an independent country. I see Israel as a move by Jews to have an independent state where they were no longer at the mercy of the rest of the world, including the Muslim world. It seems that as long as Jews were under Muslim control, paid their taxes to their overlords and knew their place everything was cool. But when Jews said "enough is enough" and declared independence, that's wasn't cool. The fact is, many Jews have also been expelled from "Arab" lands, having their property taken and being sent off, generally as refugees to Israel. Over 50 percent of the population of Israel are Jewish refugees pushed out of "Arab" lands. This seems to be forgotten for some bizarre, strange reason.

But at the same time, I believe that Israel has done many wrongs over the years that are intolerable and disgusting. Israel is no angel that is for sure! In the saga of Israel/Palestine, there truly are two sides doing ridiculous, horrible things. But for Gaza, I believe strongly that the answer to progress is to get rid of Hamas, get rid of Islamic Jihad, get rid of rockets and work on becoming a state that Israel can live beside peacefully, like it does with most of its other neighbours. At the same time, Israel has a responsibility to stop expanding beyond its borders and to not be quite as heavy handed as they can sometimes be. It would be nice to see the blockade and sanctions against Gaza lifted, but how can they be as long as Hamas is determined to destroy Israel? At the same time, should all in the strip be forced to live in an intolerable state because of Hamas? Can Israel afford to lift the blockade? Can Israel afford not too as public opinion sways against it?

I have little faith that we will see peace in the Middle East anytime soon. Divisions are so deep, polarized and steeped in a cycle of violence that it is entrenched in the societies and cultures. Both sides in the Israel/Palestine situation are stubborn and hot headed. There are solutions. I believe I have presented a few. There, however, is much more to do beyond that. But, as long as rockets are being shot off into Israel indiscriminately and Hamas is in power, there is little hope of peace, little room for negotiation. It’s time for Gaza and Palestinians to step back and rethink their futile strategy. Then, hopefully, life can improve for Palestinians.

With All Apologies to Kyle Petty

Oh man, social media, you can be a harsh mistress.

So, here's the story. Yesterday, I see a tweet to a driver/broadcaster/charity dude and member of one of the biggest families in motorsports, Kyle Petty. A lady, or a gent, not sure which, asked Mr. Petty what year he started his charity motorcycle ride. Mr. Petty sent a brief answer: "95 or 96". When I saw that, I laughed, and I laughed and I....well, okay, I'm exaggerating. I just had a chuckle. That's a pretty short answer, right? Am I right? I'm not the only one thinking that, right? Please tell me that I'm right on that one? Right?

Anyway, so I sent back a twitter message saying "That's going to be a short story!". Now, Mr. Petty sent a tweet saying "No! its about me, NOT you... that would be short.." Ouch! Okay, you still following me with all of this? So to sum up what we got at this point: Writer asks Petty for info for a story, writer gets short answer which is understandable on twitter, me thinks this is funny, me sends ill thought out tweet, me get reply back, me obviously been misinterpreted.

Now, really, in the grand scheme of things, this ain't a big deal, right? And, I'm sure all participants involved except me have forgotten about it, or don't care, which is understandable. But, you know when you get a tweet from a celebrity who has been part of your life, from a distance, but still, part of your life for as long as you can remember, and it's for all the wrong reasons because your tweet was misinterpreted? I'm not the only one, right? I'm sure others have had this terribly agonizing dilemma  no?  It has to happen a million times a day, correct? Work with me here people! Validate my concerns!

So, how does one deal with such an embarrassment? A blog post! Voila, here you have it! Now, with all of this stated, to make this terrible mistake right, I would like to formally, and publicly apologize to Mr. Kyle Petty for this misunderstanding. I don't believe a story about his endeavors would be short. I also believe that it would be quite interesting and worth reading. As the original tweeter pointed out later "[My story is] at nearly a thousand words and I haven't even gotten to his off-track endeavors with charity and music." Aha! There you go! See! Plenty to write about there. I will not deny that! See? See what I'm saying here? Thank you. I appreciate the understanding.

And now my mind is clear. 

Mhamad (Mohamed) Eskandar and HELEM Montreal

Oh MAN, why do people have to be so overwhelmingly horrible at times? I came across a well written letter by HELEM Montreal. I have never heard of HELEM until now. This is what the organization is about, and based on this and everything I read about them, I like them and they have my support:

HELEM Montreal is a Lebanese Canadian LGBT, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization registered in Quebec since 2004. We lead a peaceful advocacy movement for the liberation of the Lebanese and Middle-Eastern LGBT community from all sorts of legal, social and cultural discrimination. 

Now, they have great concerns, for good reason, about one Mhamad Eskandar coming to Montreal and Ottawa to perform. ("... at Place Vertu Center on September 1, 2012, and at restaurant Mazaj in Ottawa on September 2, 2012."). Said Eskandar has a history of writing writing and recording homophobic and sexist songs. One that has, in particular, raised concerns is Dodd Al Ounf. According to this video, helping mom do the dishes when you are a kid and wearing high heels for two minutes turns you gay. According to the letter linked above:

"Mr. Mhamad Eskandar released in 2012 a homophobic song entitled “Dod El 3enf” which translates to “Against Violence”; a slogan commonly used by the LGBT community in its advocacy against discrimination. The title was purposely used to ridicule the LGBT cause and advocacy efforts. The song starts by depicting two parents fighting because of their son’s sexual orientation and blaming the gay son for the disputes and separation of his parents. The song then describes the son as a “lover against violence” who resembles a female. Although he looks like a man, he displays the mannerism of a woman. The song also provides that from the time men stopped enlisting in the army, they became contaminated with a “disease of softness” and lost 50% of their masculinity. It also encourages the physical abuse of boys displaying any femininity."  

Ya, that ain't cool buddy. In fact, that's being a complete asshole. Anyway, this kind of crap pisses me off, as you probably know from previous posts on the subject. Why do assholes like this wish to perpetuate stereotypes, dehumanize gays and put "Machismo" above anything else?? It's bullshit. And, I feel very bad for LGBT folks in the Lebanese community in Canada who want to stay away from this homophobic crap by living in Canada, but have an idiot like this follow them to play near them. I mean, this kind of homophobia is bullshit regardless of the community it is negatively impacting. I'm not calling for him not to come. But, I am pissed off that people actually want to see this idiot perform. I mean, his music is utter and complete crap anyway to start with. But, then when you combine the fact that he has a long history of homophobia and sexism, you can't help but question who would pay to see this guy. And, I hope he is met with protests and I hope that people everywhere are made aware of the content of his lyrics and his views. It's just ridiculously stupid that a grown man is so sadly homophobic and misogynistic. Grow up, dude.

As a Canadian, I am saddened whenever I hear about homophobia in this country (or anywhere for that matter). But, when it's being imported, it pisses me off that much more. Fine, come to Canada, make your money off of your crappy homophobic music, leave with a smug smile thinking your hot shit because you have an "international" following. Whatever. Plain and simple, your a dick and I'm disappointed you will be performing in Canada.

Not Again! Oh, Masterpiece Cake Shop, You Leave a Bad Taste in My Mouth.

Oh come on. This is getting ridiculous. As the story goes, and it seems to be confirmed by a number of sources, Masterpiece Cake Shop in Lakewood, Colorado refused to sell a gay couple a cake for their wedding. Really? Seriously? Come on. You can't even make a cake for a loving couple to share on their wedding day because you have some kind of issues with same sex marriage? Let it go. This is not right. It's exactly, EXACTLY the same as not selling a cake to someone who is black. Once again, as if it really needs to be stated again (though it appears that it does have to be), sexuality is not a choice, just like you don't choose your skin color, of your eye color. Why cause a loving couple who wish to celebrate the love they have for one another grief by discriminating against them? Discrimination hurts. That's not a nice atmosphere to plan a wedding in.

Now, there are plenty of people who are going to back Masterpiece Cake Shop because they "stood up for what they believe in" and weren't "bullied by those trying to shove homosexuality down peoples throats". It's sad that people have these views and attitudes. How would they feel if they were discriminated against? They wouldn't like it one bit, and would probably be the first to scream about it. Remember the golden rule: do unto others as they would have them do unto you. It's not nice to do this to people.

I'm disappointed to hear about yet another story of discrimination towards couples who just want to celebrate their love. Masterpiece Cake Shop, I have to be honest, your actions disgust me. Ya, your rights, bla, bla, bla, your free to serve whoever you want, bla, bla, bla, whatever. Just, make your stupid cakes and enjoy your righteous homophobia or whatever it is that is going on with you guys. It's sad that this stuff is still happening in society. Get with the program folks, the world is changing for the better, and your trying to hold it back. Please don't. Your just going to get trampled. Don't be the people who still think the world is flat and dinosaurs hung out with Jesus. Be the kind of people who help celebrate love, unity, friendship, commitment and happiness. You might find you feel a whole lot better about yourselves and your cakes will taste better as well! 

GCC Dress Codes: Part Deux

Yesterday, I wrote a post about the current campaign going on in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) encouraging locals and foreigners to wear more clothing in public areas. I feel that I only managed to make half the points that I wanted to make in that post, hence a second part to my contribution on the debate.

I won't pretend that I know Islam well. I have been trying to learn, as it is a fascinating religion, although I must confess, I am not what I would call a religious person (agnostic with heavy leanings towards atheism). But, from my understanding, part of Islam is living a life that does not get wrapped up in material items. Living modestly is more than just clothing...it's about everything around you. At least, this is my understanding/interpretation. Okay, fine. So, now we have this campaign, with religious undertones, trying to tell people that they should dress modestly....in megalithic, lavish, overpriced, materialistic malls!!! Does anyone else see the irony here?? I mean, Dubai is hardly what I would call an Islamic city in any way, shape or form. It's known as a glitzy center of overindulgence and extreme material wealth, and a party, tourist destination. I don't believe Dubai fits into what Islam is asking for in the slightest. So, why, with all of this extreme, insane material wealth, is the focus firmly put on what people are wearing? Where are the calls for less elaborate buildings or a more modest skyline?? This seems overly selective to me. Obviously, if one of the main focuses of this campaign targets people in malls, these "modest" individuals are shopping in these materialistic Mecca's (pun intended). Is this not hypocritical?? Yes, I believe it is. I believe this is called Cherry Picking your cultural battles. And, of course, when this issue is raised, I have repeatedly been told that I am envious of the wealth and success of the UAE. I am going to be completely honest here: No, I am not. I have been wearing the same t-shirts for the past three years, and I like it that way. I am not exactly a fancy dresser. In Canada, I own a 1999 Saturn, and am thrilled with it. Sure, I like the looks of a Ferrari, but I see no practical use in owning one, or owning an item of clothing that would cost me the price of a vacation. No, I am not jealous. I hate malls. I try to avoid them like the plague. They are filled with piles of useless stuff that I don't want, in generic, bland stores, playing generic, bland autotuned pop music!! No jealousy here at all. In fact, most of the time, I feel more Muslim than most of these folks who claim to be Muslim.

The next big issue to me are the moral judgments that have been going on with this campaign. The underlying message, by many supporters, ranges from "Dressing immodestly shows that you have little class and think poorly of yourself", to out and out implying that people are sluts and whores asking to be raped by wearing the wrong clothes. Yes, this bothers me. Look, if you, individually feel it is important to dress a certain way based on YOUR moral ideas, that is fine. But judging others character and morals on what they choose to wear is just wrong, in many ways. It's cruel, it's mean, it's uncalled for, and it makes a complete mockery of the campaign and instantly loses my support. If someone is not dressed the way you like, covering up for sensitivity reasons is one thing, while covering up because people are implying that you are of poor moral character is a complete other ball of wax. And sadly, over and over, supporters have stated that women who wear provocative clothing are asking for sexual harassment or worse. This really pisses me off to no end, and I really wish someone would start a Slut Walk campaign or something to challenge these ridiculously misogynistic, and outright dangerous ideas! And, again, I must ask, is THIS what their religion is teaching these folks?? If so, it makes Islam look very unappealing from my perspective. So, once again, we have a specific campaign calling for people to be respectful, while showing absolutely little respect for others.

Finally, there is the issue of culture. I am in no way against the idea of preserving culture, but why are clothes the main focus here? Much of the culture has been decimated by fast food restaurants, giant SUVs, attempts to constantly build the world's tallest buildings, bars, malls, you name it. And, then there is the fact, as mentioned in my previous post that the overwhelming vast majority of the population aren't even from the country! That helps to kill culture pretty quick, regardless of what dress codes some wish to implement by law. Clothes really are superficial in this equation. Culture is far deeper than a few inches of cloth. And the frustrating thing is, Emiratis seem to like all of the fancy buildings and great stuff that gets built or comes with all of these foreigners, but there seems to be a general feeling of resentment and dislike towards the foreigners who are building all this stuff or bringing in things that are desired. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone; not all in the Emirates think this way, obviously. But, in the end, if the Gulf drastically decreased the number of foreigners coming in, stopped building like crazy, started making sure that jobs that foreigners are doing are being done by locals (including construction, taxi driving, menial labor, service jobs, etc.), regulated the number of chain stores and restaurants, and more, THEN, we are talking about preserving culture in a far more meaningful and effective way. Is that happening? No. Instead you have a group who feels that preserving culture is by telling people what to wear.

Again, I do not live in the UAE, or, thankfully, in the Gulf at all anymore. I am presenting my opinion. This opinion really doesn't matter. These are just my views on this subject, which strikes a chord with me because I have been, until just a few days ago, living in the Gulf. I am still rather absorbed in the issues and current events in the Gulf. This is why I have taken such an interest and have developed strong opinions. But, when all is said and done, that is all they are....opinions. 

GCC Dress Codes: To Support or Oppose?

When I first heard that activists in the United Arab Emirates had started a campaign to educate locals and foreigners about proper dressing and being respectful of the UAE dress code, I thought, "I can back this. I think cultural preservation is a good thing." Perhaps it was partly out of that thing sometimes referred to as "white guilt" where you can't help but want to distance yourself after centuries of colonialism and all the issues that has caused on the planet. "Yes! Let's preserve culture! I support you!" And so I started to follow the #UAEDressCode thread on Twitter where information about the campaign is spread.

And then, my views began to change...

You see, the folks who are calling for this dress code to be monitored, enforced and even turned into law are the very same type of people I would oppose pretty much everywhere else on the planet: Social (religious) conservatives who are more concerned about how others dress than actual important issues. In this case, the religion is Islam. But, it happens with all religions. So, no, I don't support this. And then I see locals in the UAE who are against laws that would impose a dress standard. Then, I thought, "Wait a minute, the UAE is NOT just made up of conservatives. It really is a diverse place and not everyone acts or thinks the same way, and by ME supporting this dress code, I am saying it's okay to have rules imposed on people I would normally support!" Why on earth would I do that?

The vision of the UAE Dress Code campaign is outlined in their twitter profile: "Freedom and Respect are given as long as you are not abusing them. Support #UAEDressCode for decency in public and for the UAE." One of the key words for me is Respect. Okay, respect. Sounds good. But, whoa, wait a minute. Respect? Okay, let's stop here. Now this is a country well known for it's abuse, mistreatment and exploitation of migrant laborers and domestic servants (check out this Human Rights Watch report for starters. Or, this article as another example among many that can be found). Where is the respect here? How is this continued mistreatment of workers showing any amount of respect? And the answers from Code supporters when this issue is raised? Consistently the same: "These people are being paid, given security and a good life. They can go home if they don't like it here." What?? The reality is, there are millions of people who have come to the UAE and the rest of the Gulf who have worked 10 plus hour days, often for much less than 7 dollars a day, 6 days a week usually in brutal conditions, such as extreme heat. Too often they end up living in worker slums. They often have their passports taken away until they have paid off the debt that they went into to try and get to the UAE to get the good job they were promised, which basically turns out to be a lie. And, while there, they have helped build the country, the whole REGION, virtually by hand, doing jobs that locals find too demeaning. Yes, workers are desperate to get to the UAE to try and make some money to help their families at home. That doesn't give the UAE or any other country the right to use, abuse, mistreat and exploit this source of labor. Too many people are dying of heat exhaustion, abuse or suicide as the result of these actions! And the Coders don't seem to care or understand this! Furthermore, these are supposed to be Islamic countries. Where in Islam does it say that this type of treatment is acceptable? This is NOT Islamic. So, when this campaign talks about respect (in a social and RELIGIOUS context), all they really care is about respect for themselves, and that is it. There is no respect in the Gulf if you are a migrant laborer, period. All you have to do is spend some time in the Gulf to know that this is true. And I have written about it before in a previous post as well.

Now, I do not live in the UAE. Until the other day, I did live in the Gulf and I have to be completely honest to say that I am very happy to no longer be there. Ultimately, of course, I have no say, and my opinion is just that, an opinion. My views will have no impact, and I understand and am perfectly okay with that. Because I have been living in the Gulf I have been more aware of and informed about what has been going on there than I have been my own country these days. What I saw while in the Gulf disgusted me. I have never seen such a level of racism, social and economic apartheid, exploitation, abuse, cruelty and lack of empathy or understanding. Now, of course it has been raised that my own country of Canada has not had a stellar history when it comes to how Native Canadians have been treated. I can't argue with that at all. It's true, and it is an issue that continues to haunt Canada. So, yes, there is some hypocrisy of my own as a Canadian when bringing up issues of human rights. But, I feel at least I, and many other Canadians, acknowledge that great wrongs have been done (though there are many who, sadly, don't). I know there are people in the Gulf who also can see the human rights abuses there and have concern. But, thus far, in communicating with people who support "The Code" I haven't found anyone who even cares, or is willing to admit the hard work and sacrifices that many have given to build a country that it isn't even theirs! Why??

So, between wanting to control fellow locals through religious and social conservatism and completely disregarding the idea of respect for a vast majority of the UAE's actually population (it is estimated that over 85 percent of people in the UAE are foreign workers with a massive number of these being migrant laborers and domestic servants from poor countries) I can't help but look at this campaign with a certain amount of disgust and frustration. All I can say is, if you demand respect, then it's a good idea to GIVE respect FIRST to the majority of people who aren't receiving it at the moment. If you love the UAE, great....thank a laborer, thank a nanny, thank a driver, thank one of the many who have given up so much (including their lives) to create the UAE that you love. Respect!!!