Animal advocacy, religious teaching, & cultural insecurity collide in Belgium BRUSSELS, Belgium––Is Belgium moving rapidly to ban slaughter without pre-stunning out of concern for animals? Or are prohibitions of the traditional kosher and halal slaughter methods rooted in latent anti-Semitism and Islamophobia? Slaughter without pre-stunning becomes illegal Whatever the political truth is, legal reality […]
Pit bulls, bunnies, & advice from Ann Landers on her 100th birthday
“Wake up & smell the coffee” Wrote Sioux City Journal editor Bruce Miller on July 4, 2018, marking the 100th anniversary of the birthdays of identical twin sisters Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren, “When it comes to common sense, no one topped Ann Landers and Dear Abby. The two native Sioux Cityans dispensed miles of […]
How the Pit Bull Federation of South Africa views Galunker
by Barbara Kay [Montreal resident Barbara Kay is a columnist for The National Post, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.] On November 5, Montreal’s mayoral election produced a surprise upset, and by a significant margin, for incumbent Denis Coderre. The new mayor, Valérie Plante, is a relative newcomer to urban politics. Plante is a genuinely nice individual, […]
Montreal pit bull ban likely to fall after upset mayoral defeat
Proposed provincial pit bull ban introduced in April 2017 remains pending MONTREAL, Quebec––The November 6, 2017 upset defeat of incumbent Montreal mayor Denis Coderre by challenger Valerie Plante is “A devastating loss to the people of Montreal and victims of pit bull attacks everywhere,” the victim advocacy organization National Pit Bull Victim Awareness predicts, […]
Galunker, by Douglas Anthony Cooper
Reviewed by Barbara Kay [Barbara Kay is a columnist for The National Post, of Toronto, Ontario. See also her reviews “Good Dog Carl” books should be sold like cigarettes, with warnings and Rotten, by Michael Northrop.) Up until now, the charm offensive by intellectuals in the pit bull advocacy movement (PBAM) has been confined to publications targeting […]
“Good Dog Carl” books should be sold like cigarettes, with warnings
Promoting “nanny dogs” is a threat to public health by Barbara Kay Very young children do not see animals as “other.” It seems natural to them that stories should feature animals who speak and wear clothing. There is no harm in that. Babar, Curious George, Paddington Bear: toddlers don’t actually get up close and personal […]
About robotic sex dolls & gadgets to help people talk to their dogs
Amazon.com bets on profits in plug-in relationships SEATTLE––The Amazon.com folks, with revenue of $136 billion a year, know a thing or two about sales and communication. Futurologist Will Higham must also know a thing or two about sales and communication, because Amazon.com recently hired Higham to help them figure out how to make more […]
Breed-specific legislation: the view from Montreal
by Barbara Kay Amid the ongoing controversy about the passage of Montreal ordinance to ban pit bulls, the September 2016 edition of The Montrealer featured a column by family lawyer Linda Hammerschmid, provocatively entitled “Banning dog breeds – knee ‘jerk’ political decisions.” Without prejudice against Hammerschmid personally, her essay and arguments followed a familiar litany […]
Who Stole My Religion?
Revitalizing Judaism and applying Jewish values to help heal our imperiled planet by Richard H. Schwartz with Rabbi Yonassan Gershom and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz Reviewed by Barbara Kay Richard Schwartz, principal author of Who Stole My Religion?, is a rather odd polemical duck. He has two great passions in life: Judaism and environmentalism, […]
The RSPCA recommends you & your pets for a pit bull’s dinner
Breed Specific Legislation: A Dog’s Dinner by the Royal SPCA of Britain (no individual author credited) Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Free download from: https://www.rspca.org.uk/webContent/staticImages/Downloads/BSL_Report.pdf The Royal SPCA of Britain could scarcely have chosen a title more dismissive of dog attack victims, both animal and human, under which to try once again to dismantle […]