All things must end, and we’ve had a great one. Most shows learn of their demise second-hand. CBC gave us the great gift of returning for a 10-week “final flight” and a last New Year’s Eve special – the show that started us on TV 16 years ago. Our 10 episodes this fall ranked us No. 3 on the network. And for New Year’s Eve Final Flight, who knows? If enough fans tune in Wednesday night at 8, we’ll go out at No. 1.
In 1928, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada, enacted the Sexual Sterilization Act. The Act, drafted to protect the gene pool, allowed for sterilization of mentally disabled persons in order to prevent the transmission of undesirable traits to offspring.
It took over 40 years to get this act repealed which effected almost 3,000 people with a slew of justifications including growing fear that new immigrants were inferior, generating fears over the protection of land and jobs. Many eugenics programs in North America were financed by the very wealthy Rockefeller family.
Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, recently spoke at a event for Tribute to Liberty, a recently established Canadian organization, whose first project is to have a permanent memorial built in Ottawa commemorating the Victims of the Crimes of Communism. He first brought Canadian government support for Tribute to Liberty into the public forum in his remarks on November 28th at the International Forum: My People Will Live Forever in Kyiv.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel went to St. Petersburg last week for meetings with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. The central question on the table was Germany’s position on NATO expansion, particularly with regard to Ukraine and Georgia. Merkel made it clear at a joint press conference that Germany would oppose NATO membership for both of these countries, and that it would even oppose placing the countries on the path to membership.
Under a proposed agreement with Kyiv, Libya would lease 247,000 acres of Ukraine’s rich black land to grow wheat. The harvest would then be shipped back to Libya, giving the desert nation a more secure supply of food in the face of predictions about higher food prices and potential shortages in decades to come. Ukraine, in turn, would get access to Libyan oil fields, helping free it from dependence on Russia for its energy needs.
The United States and Ukraine Friday signed what was termed a Charter of Strategic Partnership calling for cooperation in defense, energy, trade and other areas. The United States will set up a diplomatic mission in Ukraine’s Crimean region.
Got this e-mail from a teacher about the Orange Revolution in her lesson plans:
The Orange Revolution Project.
Lesson plans that explore the themes of Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance. Included is an online simulation using the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine as the context. Please go to: http://www.tiged.org/orange and http://www.teachmag.com
There is a neat little flash game that lets you make the decisions through the 2004 crisis, playing the roles of both Yushchenko and Yanukovich.
Remember those Canadian history vigenettes you (sed to see on TV? I almost forgot about the one featuring Myrnam Hospital – where the Ukrainian community in Alberta along with others volunteered their time and effort in the post depression era to provide all medical services, except hospitalization, for free.