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Stories about the Book of the Dead at the Royal Ontario Museum:
A little piece of the afterlife
This Book of the Dead spent 100 years in storage at the Royal Ontario Museum until a German PhD student spotted its rare and exquisite detail
Globe and Mail, February 24
The book that came back from the dead
The Royal Ontario Museum unveils an upscale Egyptian text that's been gathering dust for 23 centuries
National Post, February 25
Stories about the Handmaid's Tale controversy:
Atwood too cruel for school?
The Handmaid's Tale, a story about a totalitarian society where women have few rights, are subservient to men and are forced to bear babies for barren couples in a more elite class, was the subject of a recent review by the Toronto District School Board. A parent whose child was studying the novel in a Grade 12 class complained to Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute that he disapproved of its sexual content, violence and religious themes.
CanWest News Service, February 23
Fictional drivel
The parent thinks the novel, a futuristic fantasy of a totalitarian society --American, not Canadian!--in which women become the reproductive slaves of conservative patriarchs, is "fictional drivel." Well, of course it is, and so is much else in the gifted Ms. Atwood's diverse oeuvre, but the parent misses the greater point. The Handmaid's Tale isn't drivel because of the sex and violence that concerned the parent. It is drivel because it is a paranoiac fantasy whose principal purpose and effect is to stir up hatred of men.
Barbara Kay, National Post, February 25
Stories about medical and reproductive ethics:
Operating on faith
When good medicine and religious teachings collide at a Catholic hospital
National Post, February 21
Frozen embryos in limbo
In almost all areas of human reproduction, the Vatican is clear about what it expects from the faithful. No artificial birth control. No abortions. In December, it issued Dignitas Personae, which among other things reiterated its firm opposition to in vitro fertilization. But after 20 years of vagueness, many hoped for a definitive answer on the related issue of embryo adoption and what should be the proper response to the hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos left over from in vitro fertilization procedures.
National Post, February 21
Stories about the economic crisis and living with austerity:
Religion is the new money
We learned in the 1930s that of all the institutions ravaged by the economic catastrophe, the ones that escaped harm and even prospered were the authoritarian churches, which provided both an explanation for the troubles and a means for ameliorating, if not avoiding, the difficulties. We may be learning the lesson anew.
Peter Kavanagh, National Post, February 25
A little gospel for bailout beggars
Bailout is a contentious topic for Christian thought to wrestle with. At an early crisis in the story of God and the human race, God tells his human friend Adam that he's going to have to increase his productivity if he's to survive. As Adam ventured on his own enterprise, there was no magical money tree, no printing press to issue trillions; in fact, God warns Adam that access to money will not be the natural order of things. No exemptions from the divine selection of struggle.
Lorna Dueck, Globe and Mail, February 26
A means of grace
It is true that many of us could benefit, physically and financially, by living more austere lives. But where is the virtue in it? In the Christian year, it is during the 40 days of Lent when believers strive hardest to realize the virtue of austerity; they do so by giving up something otherwise important or pleasurable. By offering up such a small sacrifice, the virtue is in remembering more acutely the great sacrifice once made for us at Calvary.
Ian Hunter, National Post, February 26
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Stories about Islam and the West:
Stop funding fundamentalism
Today, the CAF, a great Canadian institution built as a meeting place for Canadian Arabs of all political and racial hues, has been turned into a mouthpiece for Hamas and Hezbollah in Canada. The CAF used to support the peace process in the Middle East and held healthy debates on the pros and cons of the Oslo peace accord, but these days any backer of the two-state solution is automatically branded a traitor to the Muslim cause.
Tarek Fatah, National Post, February 20
The Islamic world's malevolent zeitgeist
For over 60 years, Israel has been fighting to exist. For the same length of time, the Arab/Muslim world has been fighting for Israel not to exist. If peace came today, it would, by definition, be a victory for Israel. I don't think the Arab/Muslim world is emotionally ready for that.
George Jonas, National Post, February 21
Moderation urged for Canada's Muslims
Mainstream adherents should seize agenda from radicals, activist says
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, February 24
Our right to speak
Two pieces in the Feb. 20 edition of the National Post about the Canadian Arab Federation ("Stop funding fundamentalism" by Tarek Fatah, and "Cut off the Canadian Arab Federation" by the Post editorial board) have resorted to omission and decontextualization to present a distorted view of our organization. CAF was founded in 1967 to provide a united Arab Canadian voice, bring balance to lopsided media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict and challenge negative media depictions of Arabs as corrupt and barbaric proponents of terrorism. As long as these stereotypes exist, CAF must continue to challenge them.
Khaled Mouammar, National Post, February 26
Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West
Other stories from the past week:
Bus ban is the answer to atheists' prayers
On behalf of atheists everywhere, I would like to extend congratulations and warmest regards to Ottawa city councillors Marianne Wilkinson, Rainer Bloess, and Doug Thompson. On Thursday, the city's transit committee deadlocked on a motion to overturn OC Transpo's bizarre refusal to run bus ads bearing the bland statement: "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." Only the steadfast opposition of the Sensitive Three stood between the citizens of Ottawa and the psychological shock of being exposed to an unremarkable and politely expressed idea. The matter will now be considered by the full city council.
Dan Gardner, Ottawa Citizen, February 20
Earlier: Bus ads -- reflective and provocative
Fighting the new Anti-Semitism
The following is an edited excerpt of Jason Kenney's speech in London, England, at the inaugural conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission for Combating Anti-Semitism on Tuesday.
Jason Kenney, National Post, February 20
Earlier: Stories about anti-Semitism
A rising culture of fear
People are gunned down in public places as Metro Vancouver reels from a spate of targeted homicides. We're scared. How do we handle it?
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, February 21
Why I defy
A reader writes, "After considering your latest attack on Charles Darwin, I have to wonder, what did the man ever do to you?" I love letters like this, which immediately suggest that in addition to being totally opposed to my views, a reader may have a sense of humour.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, February 22
Earlier: Stories about evolution and the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin
Gay community welcomes Oscar victory
Clutching his statuette, Mr. Black spoke movingly of his upbringing in a strict Mormon household and of his mother's acceptance of his sexuality when he came out as a teen.
Globe and Mail, February 23
Should Obama investigate the Bush administration?
Why is it only the Germans, South Africans, Chileans and citizens of a few other countries who engage in national soul-searching? I've been asked that question a surprising amount in recent weeks.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, February 25
Dett Chorale lifts 'rough timber' of black spirituals
Ten years ago, Toronto choral conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor established a choir for the same purpose, and named it after Dett. On Wednesday, Blyden-Taylor and his 20 choristers gave an anniversary concert that featured several works by their namesake, as well as newer pieces of what Blyden-Taylor calls "Afrocentric music."
Globe and Mail, February 26
Accused polygamist looking for legal aid from B.C.
Winston Blackmore is also trying to get his passport back
Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun, February 26
Earlier: Stories about Bountiful and the polygamy trial
More than just a game
Hockey today is not like it was for a boy growing up in Calgary in the 1980s, when the Flames were arguably the second-best team in the world. Alas for us Calgarians, the best team in the world was in our division, just three hours up the highway in Edmonton. The rivalry now is not what it was then, but when last Saturday's "Hockey Day in Canada" promotion included the Battle of Alberta as part of its triple-header program, I stayed up late to watch. It was a good game, with the Flames winning in a shootout, the Oilers having managed the unusual feat of not getting a shot on goal in three attempts.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, February 26
New name for British Columbia should be aboriginal, says prof
UBC political scientist Paul Kopas has taken seriously the call for British Columbians to come up with a new name for our province -- a name that doesn't include the anachronistic "British."
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, February 26
February 26/2009
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