A CANADIAN DILEMMA

It looks like homosexual "rights" trump Islamic rights. I guess I am glad something does. It seems to me that the rights of Bible-believing Christians and Jews are also being trampled on, however

In a cross-cultural clash of family values, Muslim parents at a downtown school want the Toronto District School Board to exclude their children from discussions of same-sex families. But at a meeting last night, board officials refused to exclude Muslim students at Market Lane Public School from what the board calls "anti-homophobia education." To allow some students to be removed from those discussions would violate the rights of children of same-sex parents, board officials said. While the board has a policy to consider accommodation based on religious rights, "religious beliefs do not trump human rights," said Patricia Hayes, a rights expert with the school board.

About 150 parents packed a gym at the St. Lawrence Community Centre last night, but some Muslim parents leaving the meeting said they felt their religious beliefs were receiving less respect than homosexual families. "They showed a gay lifestyle to the kids without the knowledge of the parents," said Mohamed Yassin, a father of three. "They're willing to help gay students with support. Gay people have their rights. I have my rights." Yassin was referring to a series of videos shown by a school board social worker that depicted the feelings of children around their same-sex families and the taunts they receive at school.

Market Lane principal David Crichton said he requested a social worker review the material after school staff heard children being ridiculed at school about their same-sex parents. To let parents know in advance that the subject could come up so they can keep their children home "sends a clear message to the students in my school that may have same-sex parents," he added. All the material was age appropriate and none of the adults interviewed in the films were depicted kissing or having sexual contact, said Crichton.....

But one father said he objected to the board making the issue specifically about Muslims. "They are trying to make it a Muslim issue, but a Christian or Jew would feel the same," said Omer Amir, whose 5-year-old daughter attends the school. "Would they allow me to teach my religion at school? No they would not." This morning, Ontario's education minister urged Muslim parents to reconsider, Canadian Press reported. "Ultimately, our civil values include respect for sexual orientation," Kennedy said. "I don't think there's any harm done to parents who find their children exposed to ideas that are different than the ones they teach at home." .....

Of the 560 students at Market Lane, about 10 to 15 per cent are Muslim. Many of their families are from North Africa, said the principal. While many parents praised the school for organizing the meeting last night and Muslim parents stressed they teach their children to respect others, one man complained the board's human rights and equity policies were being delivered too late. The information should have been sent to families the first day of school and the material should be translated into other languages, he said.....

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FAST AND LOOSE WITH THE FACTS ABOUT FAST FOOD

Eric Schlosser's bestselling diatribe [Fast Food Nation] against the fast food industry is a monumental self-contradiction built on inconsistencies and misleading statements reported as facts.

* Most fundamentally, Schlosser bemoans the homogenization of American culture and alleges a decline of American individualism, and then advocates a fundamental rejection of the individual freedom which allowed those traits to flourish in favor of government mandated diversity.

* Make no mistake: Schlosser's solution to the problems he alleges is an unprecedented expansion of government bureaucracy and a monumental growth of government regulation of what we choose to eat and drink.

* Schlosser even urges an outright government ban on advertising of certain kinds of food. No freedom is more fundamental than the freedom of speech, but Schlosser would gladly cast this right aside to achieve his vision of America.

* Schlosser conjures or claims a corporate conspiracy around every corner to explain every wrong that he perceives. He implies or alleges conspiracies between Disney and McDonald's, between poultry processors and meatpackers, between government and big corporations.

* Schlosser praises the spirit which led entrepreneurs to build successful companies and then spends most of his book attacking their successes.

* He also seeks to undermine their accomplishments by suggesting - in every single case - that the government significantly aided their success.

* In just one example of a number of factual errors and misleading statements, Schlosser faults fast food companies for supposedly trying to prevent hourly employees from working more than 40 hours per week in order to avoid paying overtime. Later, he praises labor unions. But he ignores the fact that unions - aiming to have companies hire more workers instead of working existing employees longer - have been the leading advocate for the 40 hour work week and current overtime regulations designed to punish employers who work employees more than 40 hours per week.

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