Vancouver Restaurant Offers Free Meals to 50 Needy Residents

by Nomad

Matthew Robinson, reporter for the Vancouver Sun, tells us how the owner of one waterfront restaurant has decided to open his doors to the most needy in the community.

Now he is encouraging other restaurants to do the same.

Last Wednesday, Derek Oelmann and his staff at Vancouver's False Creek restaurant, Ten Ten Tapas,  hosted 50 low income and homeless people who live in the neighborhood. It was not the first time. Oelmann opened his doors twice since last December. 

In an interview, Oelmann said:

“What I’d like to see is this replicated by other restaurants...We did this relatively easily and inexpensively and could you (restaurateurs), once a month, open up your doors to the community?”

The idea is the flip side to new laws in the US against private citizens feeding the homeless.  Oelmann admits that there were some residents who were not exactly pleased. Homeless shelters have also had some of the locals upset apparently. However, other restaurant owners and private citizens have offered to help.

The Tragic Murder of Yoav Hattab and The Chain of Sorrow

by Nomad

A look at one of the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks and how his life connects three cultures.

The name, Yoav Hattab, might not be familiar to you. He happened to be one of the four murdered hostages at the kosher supermarket, Hyper Cacher, (The other victims were Yohan Cohen, Philippe Braham, and François-Michel Saada.)

That attack was connected with earlier carnage on the offices of a satirical magazine which left 12 people dead and 11 others wounded. 

When terrorist Amedy Coulibaly stormed into the suburban market, he knew only that it was a Jewish-owned. That was enough of a target as far as he was concerned. In his mind, as in the minds of all terrorists, his victims had no families, no friends, and no histories. 

So. like the priest in The Bridge of San Louis Rey, I wanted to take a moment to look at the life and the death of this stranger who became a victim. 

The most tragic aspect of the supermarket attacks- as with terrorism in general- was its random nature. The fact that location was a target was random. The victims too were random. The only real linkage, from the attackers' point of view, was that the workers and the customers were most likely to be Jewish. 

In Hattab's case, that's only half of the story. This 21-year-old man was not French but from the predominantly Muslim Tunisia. He had been living in Paris while completing his graduate degree in international business studies. He was clearly not afraid of life and was preparing himself for an interesting productive life.

Moshe Uzan, a 25-year-old friend, told one reporter that Yoav's character set him apart."There are those who stand back and watch their lives. But he, he played an active role."

UK Publisher to Writers: Please Don't Talk about the Pigs!

by Nomad

According to one report from the UK Standard, a top academic publisher, the Oxford University Press (OUP), has issued guidelines which prohibit the mention of pigs and pork in children's schoolbooks. 

The ban is apparently an effort not to offend Muslims and Jews.

Though it isn't clear whether or not the rule is new, the subject of cultural sensitivity comes at a time of heightened tensions. Last week, Paris was rocked by attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in which twelve staff members were massacred by an terrorists in the name of Islam. Their excuse for the slaughter was payback for insulting the Islamic prophet.

Phyllis Schlafly: the Queen of Conservatism Who Made Women Second-Class Citizens

by Nomad

At ninety years old, Phyllis Schlafly is still actively spreading her own gospel, persuading a younger generation of women that being second-class citizens is just Nature's way.  

It has been said that half of the work done in this world is to make things appear as they are not.

One of those who has spent her decades in this pursuit is Ms. Phyllis Schlafly. Here's a woman who has spend a good part of her life trying to convince people that equality for women is a dangerous thing. All in all, her mission. much to the dismay of feminists and progressives, has been surprisingly successful. 

To some, Schlafly is an annoying fossil from the apex of the Reagan era that should have been forgotten a long time ago.  

Schlafly and the ERA

Although she might these days be just another crackpot on the Far Right, Schlafly will always be famous (infamous) for the part she played in defeating the proposed amendment to the Constitution. The Equal Rights Amendment  (ERA) aimed at specifically protecting the rights of all women.

The 1868 14th amendment, which gave equal protection to all citizens, should have offered enough civil protections, but  women were not always thought of a specific class or a minority in need of protection.

However, this attitude began changing in America around the 1920s. Since that time, specific legislation had been debated whether women by virtue of their gender, needed specific protections. 

That debate lasted a full half century.

When the 1964 Civil Act became law protecting the civil rights of minorities, progressives and feminists demanded a new look at equality for women as well. When the   ERA passed both houses, it looked as though it was a sure thing.

Limited Tolerance for Intolerance: Westboro Church Protest in Oregon Ends Abruptly

by Nomad

Westboro Baptist Church is famous for its controversial protests aimed at attracting the maximum amount of attention. In Portland, Oregon, the demonstration didn't turn out quite as they had planned.  

According to the law, Westboro Baptist Church has as much right to free speech- no matter how abhorrent and mean-spirited- as anyone else. However, when members of the extremist Church showed up at a sporting event in Portland Oregon to protest gay marriage, they got a little taste of the free speech of other people. 

Several hundred angry people, actually.

Counter protesters showed little tolerance to the inflammatory Westboro message and a scuffle reportedly broke out between the two groups. After twenty minutes, the Westboro members made a hasty retreat.

The counter-protesters celebrated with dance party "complete with stage lights and speakers." 

A good time was had by (nearly) all.

Elliot Njus, writing for The Oregonian has the full story here.