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In the fiefdom known as the province of Alberta, the current right-wing King is stepping down. Ed Stelmach for glancing once to often toward the center has been ousted by the more radical elements(?) of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party. But really, does it matter? Certainly the fracture between the PC’s (right) and the Wild Rose Party (further right) will allow some electoral fresh air into the next election.
Doubtful at best.
Thanks to an amazing job of jerrymandering the rural/urban ridings and a political climate laced with near terminal apathy, Alberta is in line for yet another Oil pandering, business friendly (read raping the public-trust friendly) conservative premier. Full marks to the CBC for attempting to make people care about the upcoming election, going through the motions has never sounded so exciting.
“Ted Morton’s appeal to supporters of the Wildrose Alliance could lead to split loyalties for the province’s federal Tories The province’s former finance minister, who resigned from cabinet in order to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, said he plans to bring Wildrose Alliance members back into the Progressive Conservative fold.”
Isn’t that cute! They are arguing who gets to wear the boot that continues to stomp on the face of ordinary Albertans. I mean there is the serious consideration of who is going to run the province for the benefit of the oil conglomerates and business, plus differing influence peddling price structures are in place to ensure the correct business policy becomes Alberta Government Policy.
“There isn’t going to be any chance at all that the Wildrose is simply going to fold into the PC Party,” Smith said in an interview broadcast Saturday on CBC Radio’s The House. “People, myself included, were very hopeful that Ted would be able to lead a movement from within the PC Party to get them back on track. And I think that what we’ve seen is he’s not been effective doing that.
This could spell trouble for federal Tories in the province, some of whom have been quietly supporting Wildrose to the detriment of the provincial PCs. But now that Morton hopes to lead the PC Party, those federal Conservatives may have to pick a side.”
Oh the Drama! Which brand of proto-fascism will make it into the Great Leaders Chair? I can only bitterly contemplate this poisonous choice and wonder when if, ever, the population of Alberta will finally have enough of one party rule.
Considering the usual abuse of logic and science on the behest of the fetus – fetish crowd, it is really quite unsurprising that on yet another of their talking points – The majority of women who have abortions are emotionally scarred for life – is bunk. The Guttmacher Institute sent this little gem out via email.
“An authoritative new study from researchers in Denmark, noteworthy for its exceptionally strong methodology, confirms what the best scientific evidence has long shown—that there is no causal link between abortion and mental health problems. The new study, “Induced First-Trimester Abortion and Risk of Mental Disorder,” by Trine Munk-Olsen and colleagues, was published in the January 27, 2011, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.”
The study succeeds in addressing several critical limitations that have afflicted some other studies that purport to show causation between abortion and subsequent mental health problems. It can be viewed as unusually rigorous for this type of research for several reasons.”
Wow, correlation does not equal causation. The review of the study continues:
• The sample was very large, comprising 84,620 women who had first-time, first-trimester abortions between 1995 and 2007.
• It did not rely on retrospective self-reports from women, who typically underreport abortions. Instead, it was based on complete patient medical registries, which include virtually all mental health disorders, births and abortions experienced by the Danish population: the Danish Psychiatric Central Register and the Danish National Register of Patients.
• The study has strong controls for women’s mental health prior to abortion, a critical factor that many other studies do not control for sufficiently, if at all.
The study found no higher rate of mental health problems among Danish women in the 12 months following an abortion than in the nine months prior to the procedure.
So, yet another talking point dispatched. Score another for science and truth.
“Not all studies on the mental health impact of abortion are created equal. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, methodological flaws are “pervasive in the literature on abortion and mental health.” Antiabortion activists often attempt to capitalize on the fact that the public and many policymakers cannot distinguish between studies that allow legitimate conclusions to be drawn about the effects of abortion and those that show only associations between abortion and mental health outcomes.”
The forced birthers not being academically or scientifically honest? Admittedly, there are not many other options to take considering the frail house of cards most anti-choice positions are built on.
“Antiabortion activists have relied on questionable science in their efforts to push inclusion of the concept of “postabortion syndrome” in both clinical practice and law. This latest study strongly confirms the existing body of methodologically sound evidence in clearly refuting the idea that abortion causes harm to women’s mental health. The body of evidence is now so robust that researchers should consider shifting their focus to related issues that might be more valuable to explore, such as the factors that cause women to experience mental health problems in the first place.
Of course, the anti-choicers won’t, as the health and welfare of women are secondary to their mendaciously insipid assault on women’s rights.
Thailand: Back Alley Abortions - Unsafe, Unhygienic but supported by the religious so its OK!
The state of Thailand has been restricting the rights of half their population since the 1950’s. Considering the influence of their religion the lower status of women is hardly a surprise.
“As most abortion is illegal in Thailand, the case has shone a spotlight on a massive backstreet industry and sparked national debate about the country’s current abortion laws, which date from the 1950s.”
A hat tip to those courageous individuals who brace social disgrace and negative pressure to exercise their rights as human beings. Outlawing abortion is sexist, patriarchal and ultimately ineffective.
“Religion has played a significant social and political role in this debate. Theravada Buddhism in Thailand is a socially conservative force. About 95 per cent of the population are Buddhist and Buddhism remains closely tied to the state.
The Buddhist nation has strict laws on abortion and views it as a sin.
“In Buddhism, we see abortion as a sin. It definitely violates our religious belief. Killing is a sin. It doesn’t matter whether the killing takes place inside or outside the womb, it’s a sin,” Phra Kru Wichitsorakul, the abbot of Phai Ngern temple, says.”
And there we have the douchebaggery otherwise known as organized religion frakking things up as usual. Religion is a close second only to Patriarchy for the disenfranchisement of women.
“Illegal abortion is a huge problem in Thailand, a country of 67 million people. Official statistics suggest around 300,000 abortions are carried out each year in Thailand, the vast majority in backstreet clinics.
And with hundreds of unwanted pregnancies illegally terminated every day….”
You see the anti-woman crowd in North America pushing for this scenario, it boggles the mind on how repressive and misogynistic their goals actually are.
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