Today is White Ribbon Day, when it’s the menfolks’ turn to demonstrate all over the world against domestic violence and pledge to be better people. To that end, I have the following links for you to peruse and enjoy:
First up, at We Hunted the Mammoth, something to make your blood boil. Paul Fucking Elam, who is most certainly NOT against men beating up women, is now accusing the Australian White Ribbon Campaign of fraud. Considering that his own Menz Rightzer fake White Ribbon site is an actual fraud, this either the world’s sickest joke, or else Paulie is a masochist, just begging to be dragged into a court of law. Stay tuned, this one’s gonna get ugly.
Next, the Toronto Star has a couple of hopeful notes for us: Jian Ghomeshi has dropped his chutzpah-laden $55 million suit against his former employer, CBC. He’s now on the hook for at least $18,000 in legal expenses. No word on when and how he plans to “directly address” the accusations of all the women who say he abused them. Meanwhile, another famous female-abuser, Bill Cosby, remains silent as ever, but his biographer has stepped up to apologize for not addressing the assault allegations against the former voice of Fat Albert. No word on whether any revisions are planned. (The book might sell markedly better if it included them, IMO.)
Also at the Star, something less hopeful: One of the NDP MPs who was sexually assaulted by a Liberal counterpart has come out with more details of the incident, involving Massimo Pacetti. She describes it as “sex without explicit consent”. Uh, that would be rape, would it not? Meanwhile, the other Liberal MP accused of sexual assault, Scott Andrews, allegedly groped his victim’s crotch and verbally harassed her. More still to come? Bet on it.
Back to the Ghomeshi case, and the Financial Post has some interesting predictions of what is likely to happen now that the wrongful-dismissal suit (which Ghomeshi wasn’t even legally entitled to file, as a unionized media personage) has been dropped.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, a member of their parliament has come out in favor of barring Julien Blanc entry so he can’t teach Irishmen the not-so-fine “art” of grabbing women by the throat and mashing their faces into one’s crotch. Billy Kelleher, the health spokesman for his party, has called Blanc “sick and abusive” and hints strongly at following the British example and denying Blanc a work visa.
And finally, back to Australia, where Victoria’s police commissioner, Ken Lay, has told it like it is, calling Julien Blanc “sexually insecure” and drawing parallels between him and the domestic abusers that his own police officers have seen all too many of already. Looks like Australia did right in drop-kicking his ass out of country, eh?
