Sunday, January 31, 2016

But you know these things about Canada - right?!?

28 Things You Never Knew About Canada That May Surprise You.

1. Canada consumes more macaroni and cheese than any other nation in the world.
2. Canada is the world's most educated country by percentage: over half its residents have college degrees.
3. Police departments in Canada give out "positive tickets" when they see people doing something positive.
4. Canada's lowest recorded temperature was -81.4 degrees fahrenheit (-63 celsius) in 1947.
5. Canada is the second largest country in the world, right after Russia.
6. Residents of Churchill, Manitoba leave their cars unlocked to offer escape for pedestrians who might encounter polar bears.
7. Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world's lakes combined.
8. The first Canadian casualties of the Afghanistan war were from an American pilot bombing a training exercise.
9. License plates in the Northwest Territories are shaped like polar bears.
10. In 2010, a Canadian man rescued a newborn baby from a dumpster, only to find out he was the father. 
11. Canada has the largest coastline in the world.
12. Sometimes in Newfoundland the Atlantic Ocean freezes so people play hockey on it.
13. Until 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records considered Yonge Street in Ontario as the longest street in the world at 1,896 km (1,178 mi).
14. The Mall of America is owned by Canadians.
15. The US/Canada border is the longest international border in the world and it lacks military defense.
16. Canada has no weapons of mass destruction since 1984 and has signed treaties repudiating their possession.
17. After the attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII, Canada declared war on Japan before the U.S. did.
18. "Canada" is an Iroquoian language word meaning "village".
19. Canada's official phone number is 1-800-O-CANADA.
20. Large parts of Canada have less gravity than the rest of Earth. The phenomenon was discovered in the 1960s.
21. Prostitution is legal in Canada. Buying the services of a prostitute is not.
22. Americans have invaded Canada twice, in 1775 and 1812. They lost both times.
23. Canada has the third largest oil reserves of any country in the world after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
24. The third country in space, after the US and USSR, was Canada, which was considered to have the most advanced space program in 1962.
25. In Canada, Mexico, India, Russia, and Israel, bank notes have Braille-like markings on them for the blind.
26. Canada has fewer people than Tokyo's metropolitan area.
27. During WWII, Canada gave out buttons to people who tried to enlist but were refused due to medical reasons to show their willingness to fight.
28. The Eiffel Tower was almost temporarily relocated to Canada in 1967.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Debating the Safe Abortion Bill

The Safe Abortion Bill was passed unanimously by the people's representatives in Parliament in December 2015. The President, after last-minute lobbying by some religious leaders, refused to sign the Bill and sent it back to Parliament.

Today, some religious leaders presented information to a Parliamentary Committee and urged other "anti-Bill" followers to demonstrate. On the other hand, supporters of the Bill - women's groups, men's associations, CSOs, NGOs, etc., came out to demonstrate their support for the passing of the Bill.

What's astounding to me is the "sameness" of the arguments presented... same as the U.S., Canada, South Africa, U.K., other African countries, etc. These and many other countries have wrestled with the moral, health, development and legal arguments before... and it's clear that countries that have a law regulating abortions have better human rights records, better maternal health statistics, more development for women and children... and ultimately a better society. I just don't see the necessity to re-hash all of these arguments...

Let's just get on with it... make Sierra Leone a better place for women and children... But, this is Sierra Leone...

These pictures are from the rallies at Parliament...