Blog Action Day 2013

Today is Blog Action Day. This year's topic is human rights and the aim is to encourage bloggers from around the world to raise awareness about human rights by posting something about it. I posted a Blog Action Day badge in my left hand column last week. I hope you guys have been clicking on it.

You may think that's a stupid question but it happens every day all around the world. Sadly, the chief targets are women, children and the poor. Violence, human trafficking, ethnic cleansing, child labour, the arrest, torture and in some cases killing of demonstrators against abuses of human rights are just some of the types of activities which impact on individuals' human rights.

But it doesn't just happen somewhere else. It happens in our own backyards too. Here in Canada I think of the plight of the poor and of Aboriginal people as two examples. In my province of Quebec, the government has come up with a Charter of Values that would forbid public employees from wearing religious and cultural artifacts in the workplace. This would include such items as kippas, turbans, burkas, hijabs and large crosses.

That's just plain silly. And it makes about as much sense as the following.

In one African nation, government officers wrap themselves in a cloak of invisibility while it tramples the human rights of their people. But I see through that.

Elsewhere, a Middle Eastern nation issues leather uniforms to their officers as Human Rights offences mount. But they can't hide from me.

Meanwhile, in a somewhat odd approach to force the population to bend to the will of the government enforcement officers' uniforms in another nation bear the digits 666 on the front and back. Ah, but I've got their number.

The issue of human rights violations is far more serious than my punny attempt at humour betrays. Think about it today. Visit the Blog Action Day website and see what other bloggers are saying. And leave your views in my comments.

In the meantime, take two and a half minutes to view this thoughtful video which summarizes the 30 articles of human rights...

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

I Am Charlie, I'm A Bore

Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Colin Farrel...you know the list, it goes on and on. The list of Hollywood hick-ups who not content to meltdown behind closed doors have to drag each and every detail out into the light of day and share it with all of us. Well, add Charlie Sheen to that luckless and lascivious list of losers. In the past few days he's been on every major media soapbox complaining abut how he's been treated and how he's misunderstood. Last night he spent an hour on ABC's 20/20 "in his own words". Charlie, you should have stuck to the script. "I have a highly evolved brain". You know I never did like that song by Helen Reddy in the 70s "I Am Woman". But I have to say the melody really leant itself well to a parody of Hollywood's latest flame-out, Charlie Sheen. Although I never thought I'd hear myself say this, my sincerest apologies to Helen Reddy. And now if you're ready (a little play on wor...

nonamedufus

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