There’s a lot of information circulating from organizations accepting money for relief efforts in Port-au-Prince. Rather than going through giant communications corporations, why not donate directly to groups on the ground in Haiti?

In my search for social-justice oriented organizations, I’ve come up with the women’s organization Madre and The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. The Nation’s list of grassroots and progressive organizations is here.

Where will you be donating?

There are only 21 women’s bookstores worldwide, just three in Canada, and now, one is at risk of closing its doors for good. The Toronto Women’s Bookstore announced yesterday that it is so cash strapped, it may join the list of Toronto independent bookstores like Pages, that have been forced to close because of low sales and high rent. It’s not the first time the 36-year old Harbord Street landmark has had to overcome financial hurdles — among other challenges in the store’s rich past.

TWB started as a cooperative in 1973, and was accidentally destroyed by being in the crossfires of an anti-abortion terrorist firebomb that was meant for Henry Morgentaler’s abortion clinic formerly located beneath the non-profit store. TWB relocated,but was unable to balance its financial books, facing a possible closure on its twentieth birthday. Volunteer efforts made it possible to stay open.

The feminist institution is hoping the same thing will happen this time around. They are asking for donations and hope to raise $40,000 by January.

Donations can be made via their website, and a Facebook group has been created to support the cause.

“On December 17th 2009, sex workers and their allies across Canada will mark the 7th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This day draws attention to acts of violence that continue to be committed against sex workers worldwide, and to the stigma and discrimination perpetuated by prohibitionist laws against sex work, which endanger our lives and work.” - Rabble.ca

Check out more information at

Rabble.ca
SWOP (American, but with lots of good information)

and learn more about sex workers and sex workers’ rights in general at

Maggie’s (Toronto)
SWAN (American)

Hey ladies! Didn’t you know that you didn’t need a rugged, “manly” man? And that Feminism with a capital “F” has trained your brain to not only think for itself (!!) but to long for not-too-rugged jaw lines? Well, don’t fret because the New Male Beauty is here!

Ed Westwick’s GQ photoshoot remixed (Jezebel)

Straight from Jezebel, it seems that Irina Aleksander at the New York Observer has scoured the television for images of this new man. Her argument? They all look the same: girlie, non-threatening, and their faces are completely symmetrical.

Now, if you’re on the hunt trying to distinguish one of these beautiful boys from our popular culture here’s a list of traits to look for: “heavy upper eyelash and eyebrows, not super-strong cheekbones and very soft jaw lines”. According to a prominent scholar, nowadays women are interested in men who look like babies not those handsome, rugged manly men of the yesteryear like George Clooney and Brad Pitt!
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Amazon, already the scourge of small publishers and independent booksellers, has finally gone too far. No, I am not talking about the Kindle. That thing is just pointless. I am talking about Amazon’s new policy of labeling any and all LGBT printed matter as “Adult.” This policy strips the material of its sales rank, excluding it from bestseller lists and certain search results, and basically destroys its sales. This policy has not just been applied to erotica, but to general fiction, young adult novels, academic theory, political treatises, history books, dictionaries, and self-help books. Books that have not suffered the same fate include heterosexual romance novels by authors like Jackie Collins or even pornographic books published by Playboy.

Here is a constantly expanding list of books that have been stripped of their rank, classified as “Adult” for daring to contain mentions of the horrible, deviant behavior that is same sex love. Examples include classics such as Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle, James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, and Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Also marginalized are Brokeback Mountain, Stone Butch Blues, books by respected fiction authors like Sarah Waters and Christopher Isherwood, as well as non-fiction (and completely non-erotic) works by Kate Bornstein and Randy Shilts, including The Mayor of Castro Street, which certainly must have received a boost in sales after the release of the Oscar winning film, “Milk.”

Thank you Amazon, for first putting all my favorite bookstores out of business, and now trying to make it so that no one will ever publish LGBT books ever again. Because with profit margins tight and a terrible economy, why bother sinking money into a book that will never sell, because the largest bookseller in the world will declare it to be shameful porn and hide it on a dusty shelf behind a beaded curtain at the back of the store?

EDIT: Amazon has declared the de-ranking of almost all gay related titles to have been the result of a “computer glitch,” which is apparently what we get instead of an apology or an explanation. I think it is highly improbable that a simple “glitch” managed to somehow single out only titles that mention homosexuality in a positive light, but leave titles like A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality alone.

Pissed off about this new policy? Want an apology? Here’s what you can do:
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How much do I wish that the push for a coalition government had gone through last December? Harper’s back in action and his latest proposal has been to quietly usher through budget legislation that would effectively do away with pay equity for women in the public sector, making hard-won human rights into a negotiable issue for the bargaining table.

Basically, for those of us who have a hard time wading through the legalese, the proposed bill introduces some radical changes to current legislation that have profound effects on women in the workforce. Here are a few examples of the kinds of changes proposed:

- The criteria for work value assessment, once based on skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions, now include “qualifications and market forces,” which in addition to being very subjective are more easily argued off the table than hard skills.
- Pay equity will be something that is negotiated at the bargaining table rather than something that should be guaranteed.
- Women who wish to make pay equity complaints must do so without support; in fact, unions who decide a claim is worth pursuing and try to offer representation or counsel will be fined $50,000.
- Complaints will no longer be processed through the Human Rights Commission, but through the third party Public Service Labour Relations Board, supposedly to save time. This Board is a bargaining table facilitator, dedicated to resolving labour disputes, not to preserving human rights.

Women’s equality in the workplace should not be a bargaining chip to be held out or held back by employers. In fact, this sly little bit of the legislation holds no discernible advantage for the country’s flagging economy, so what is the benefit? PSAC is now running a petition and letter campaign to implore MPs to remove the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act from Bill C-10.

For more information, the following articles are helpful:
PSAC fact sheets and information on Bill C-10 and the proposed Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis takes on the Liberals, whose apathy during the decision-making process has been very destructive.
Treasury Board statement attempting to debunk fears surrounding proposed changes.
Toronto Star article on the underhandedness of Harper’s budget bill gives a good rundown of the issues.

It seems like every celebrity focused magazine and website is still obsessing over this story. This week MuchMusic is doing a half hour special about the topic of violence against women, specifically in relation to this celebrity incident.
I was part of the taping and I am really interested in how the piece is edited together. I had a lot of issues with the direction MuchMusic took the discussion but overall I’m glad they’re using their airtime to highlight the issue. Below are the details. I really look forward to hearing what people think about this tv special.

Chris Brown & Rihanna: Love Gone Wrong airs Wednesday, February 25 at 6 p.m. ET.
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In case you haven’t heard the reports about R&B megacouple Chris Brown and Rihanna:

“Singer Chris Brown has been booked on a felony charge of making criminal threats after turning himself in to Los Angeles police.

Brown, 19, was arrested at 6:30 PM Sunday and stands accused of felony battery, in which the alleged victim suffered visible injuries…Bail has been set at $50,000.

Both Chris and Rihanna bailed on their Grammy performances after the incident leading to Brown’s arrest. It remains unconfirmed whether Rihanna was the victim…”

While the LA Times says its “sources” have confirmed that Rihanna is the alleged victim in this case, neither Brown nor Rihanna have confirmed that.

So I’m not gonna comment on the personal lives of people I’ve never met (no matter how much I like the song We Ride, I have to admit Rihanna is not actually my friend). It’s still unconfirmed what actually happened.

But this is what I do think: if it is actually true that Chris Brown hit Rihanna in the face, I am slightly in awe of the courage it must’ve taken for Rihanna to report the incident.

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Last night I received a call from York University asking me for current alumni information (they are one of my Alma Maters) and to talk about “recent happenings at York University”. I told them that after the way the university has treated their striking workers over the last three months, I have no wish to have any affiliation with York University. Here’s why:

After a long and gruelling strike that saw a near complete lack of cooperation on the part of York administration towards CUPE 3903, the Ontario government has elected to legislate the striking workers back to work. Throughout the last few months the local presses have been filled with misconstruction about the strike, students and workers have been pitted against one another, and York itself has been both unwilling to negotiate a fair deal with the people upon whom its reputation and operation is dependent and unaccountable for its own irresponsibility to accommodate its workers. Shame!

Photo courtesy of Alex Pylyshyn.

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