On The Other Hand

Women in poverty are falling into debtors' prison, reports Elizabeth Fry Society

Penney Kome — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 23:37:00 +0000

Women are going to jail in Canada, especially Indigenous women, because they are unable to pay fines for small infractions. So says the Calgary Elizabeth Fry Society. And once a woman is put into the justice system, she often runs into complications that prevent her getting out.

The situation would be much worse if it weren't for the 24 non-profit Elizabeth Fry Societies, who offer hope, counselling and practical help to women caught up in the justice system. Most of their clients are women and youth who face charges or jail time for petty crimes, crimes of poverty and survival, such as stealing food, public urination, shoplifting, panhandling or soliciting.

The shattered mirror

Penney Kome — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 05:18:09 +0000

This article is part two of "Media literacy in a post-fact age."

Media literacy in a post-fact age

Penney Kome — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 03:08:20 +0000

Fake news is as old as the Internet. From the 1990s, I remember spam, scams, and ghost ship "rolling" petitions that sailed the white-font-on-black-background PINE and LYNX seas -- almost as soon as the first e-list was compiled.

Spam couldn't easily penetrate Usenet -- the threaded online discussion Bulletin Boards, or BBSes that scientists used before email. When email lists proliferated, however, spamsters found ways to hop on board other people's trains, at open relays.

Millions march to tell Trump: Tweet women with respect

Penney Kome — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 04:31:06 +0000

Mark January 21 on your calendar as the first global women's march, because it probably won't be the last. Women who once used the PTA phone tree to become city councillors now can use social media to mobilize millions in only two or three months -- with staggering results.

"I expected maybe 200 people," said the guy with the big DSLR camera next to me balanced on the concrete planter beside the stairs to Calgary's City Hall. Our cameras were picking out our favourite signs among the sea of pink-capped people rolling towards us, 10 abreast, wave after wave rising along the pedestrian mall, farther back than the eye could see.

The Internet's oldest 'sharing economy'

Penney Kome — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 20:45:11 +0000

With all the manufacturing, management, academic and professional positions disappearing, the public is impatient for the digital economy to produce some real jobs. Uber and Airbnb are often held up as examples of a new "sharing economy," where individuals can earn money by sharing their homes or cars with strangers. Although sharing is not a typical Western society trait, debt is at high levels these days, and renting out a room or a ride may help make ends meet.

When Christmas becomes 'Excessmass'

Penney Kome — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:11:49 +0000

Not long ago historically, on this very continent, the economy was based upon gifts, not salaries. Great leaders on the West Coast invited their communities together for seasonal ceremonies, weddings, births and deaths, and gave away their wealth to all who attended. They gave away names, rank and status, and hunting and fishing rights. They gave away firearms, blankets, canoes, food, or carved cedar boxes. Their power came from sharing, not hoarding -- caring for everyone in the community.

Preventing chronic pain in the workplace would go long way in solving prescription opioid crisis

Penney Kome — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:38:48 +0000

This article is the second in a two-part series on chronic pain and the prescription opioid crisis. Part one argues that chronic pain is not a given, it's a public health catastrophe. Read it here.

As more and more workers were injured by repetitive motion, and filed complaints, unions like the (US) AFL-CIO negotiated for ergonomic improvements to their workplaces. Some employers recognized that inefficient workplaces caused the workers' injuries.

Failure to treat chronic pain real issue behind prescription opioid epidemic

Penney Kome — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:20:52 +0000

Among all the stories I've seen about the prescription opioid epidemic, only a few touch briefly and lightly on the major factor driving all the prescriptions -- chronic pain -- before they skip on to recommend better patient and physician education.

We may already have 'green rights' under the Charter

Penney Kome — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 22:57:11 +0000

Here's a new reason to be proud of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Environmentalists are inviting the courts to look at Section 7's guarantee of life, liberty and security of the person -- and read into that section, recognition of "green rights," the right to a healthy planet. Although Canada and the U.S. are not among the 180 nations that legally recognize environmental rights, their court decisions are already leaning that way. And that, says author and filmmaker Silver Donald Cameron, could be the key to saving the earth, and all our lives.

If Donald Trump's election sounds like a story out of the supermarket tabloids, the truth is even weirder

Penney Kome — Sat, 12 Nov 2016 20:04:34 +0000

Donald Trump's election as President of the United States has caused almost as much grief and consternation as Nelson Mandela’s death did -- more, perhaps, because death is inevitable and Trump's election was, even to his supporters, unexplainable, "a miracle." The day after he won the election, demonstrations bloomed spontaneously in 30 U.S. cities. Ten thousand demonstrators marched in New York, chanting, "We. Reject. The President-Elect." To all but the estimated one-third of the U.S. population that voted for him, Trump’s elevation seems a catastrophe. "It’s like when your dad dies," said comedian Trevor Noah.

Election Protection standing by to protect voters' rights on Tuesday

Penney Kome — Sat, 05 Nov 2016 23:21:39 +0000

The European Union is sending almost 500 experienced election observers to watch the U.S. election in 10 states in particular. One of the world's leading humanitarian organizations, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) has increased the size of its usual delegation due to very unusual circumstances.

A tale of two foundations

Penney Kome — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 06:09:41 +0000

“I’m happy to talk about the Clinton Foundation,” said Hillary Clinton during the third presidential debate.

The new five letter word: Trump

Penney Kome — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 19:51:44 +0000

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Missing and Murdered Indigenous women vigil displays 1,500 pairs of shoes

Penney Kome — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 18:21:20 +0000

How the Calgary Sisters in Spirit vigil has grown! The 12th annual vigil drew about 500 participants to a mid-day mid-week march and demonstration downtown.

Office workers at lunch looked out of restaurant windows and up from chilly street benches as marchers streamed by carrying orange life-sized woman-shaped cut-outs, and posters with pictures of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Clinton's debate performance excels -- like a man's, except done 'backwards, and in high heels'

Penney Kome — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 23:48:09 +0000

We reached the "Democrats Abroad" meeting just before the debate started. The TV screens clicked on as debate moderator Lester Holt introduced presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Clinton was resplendent in red, after wearing mostly muted shades during the Democratic convention. Donald Trump was his usual self, spray tanned and bottle blonde in a slightly rumpled business suit.

Canada's Charter is helping to create a language of rights around the world

Penney Kome — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 22:12:14 +0000

"All the rights and freedoms recognized herein are equally guaranteed to male and female Indigenous individuals."

Donald Trump's Katrina moment

Penney Kome — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 18:48:15 +0000

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Sugar industry's massive deception proves once again the free market has no conscience

Penney Kome — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 15:55:50 +0000

Time to give up the "fat bad, sugar neutral" mantra for weight control. After 40 years of doctors blaming fat (like butter, eggs and beef fat) for clogged arteries, in 2013, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) led the way in publishing studies that showed researchers could find no actual correlation between heart conditions and dietary fat.

Now out of prison, Mohamed Fahmy continues his fight for free expression

Penney Kome — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:23:13 +0000

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'The killing has to stop': National inquiry needs broad support to end murder of Indigenous women

Penney Kome — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 05:46:46 +0000

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"The killing has to stop," said Nicole Robertson, naming the most urgent goal of the new national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).

Can the Republican party survive the 2016 election?

Penney Kome — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 18:53:48 +0000

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U.S. commentators grapple with rare political term: 'decency'

Penney Kome — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 03:04:10 +0000

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Hillary Clinton chooses VP with bilingual advantage

Penney Kome — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 18:11:28 +0000

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While the biggest question raised by Donald Trump's candidacy seems to be whether he can really ruin the Republican Party in one election, the election remains the Democrats' to win as much as it is the Republicans' to lose. Though Bernie Sanders and his fans may be disappointed he was not picked as the Democrat’s Vice-Presidential candidate, Canadians may be intrigued to see bilingualism become a political advantage in the USA.

A tale of two very different conventions

Penney Kome — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 18:00:49 +0000

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Singing for the Pulse Orlando victims

Penney Kome — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 18:53:58 +0000

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"We have decided that, in light of what happened in Orlando this morning, the only thing we can do is to sing," said Jane Perry, our music director.

Muhammad Ali, the world's greatest ever boxer, was a leading war resister

Penney Kome — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 21:55:08 +0000

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As a young teen studying at the Illinois School of Ballet, I didn't follow sports much, which is probably why I didn't recognize the big man right away. He was standing on the outside sidewalk of Hyde Park's new Harper Court shopping mall, looking out, streetward.

Uninsured and armed to the teeth -- the soaring mortality rate of middle-aged Americans

Penney Kome — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 05:06:27 +0000

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Deepa Mehta stirs up controversy again with new film on Indo-Canadian gangsters

Penney Kome — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 07:56:50 +0000

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For Valentine's Day and every day

Penney Kome — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 05:10:59 +0000

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Calgary residents learn 'we are all treaty people'

Penney Kome — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 18:01:24 +0000

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