Should the Children be taken away from their family because of what their parents have taught them r told them what to believe.

Despite my disliking to what he has taught I think he has a right to teach his child whatever he feels fit. BUT not showing it in public or even in Private.

But there is and has been for quiet some time. I believe racism is created by the fear of the unknown. People consider the “different” as strangers and though out history people have made borders and strong defences to keep the strangers out. In the past the wealthy “white man” used black men and women as slaves working for no money. Which made the “white” man feel and be superior. i feel and believe  that attitude has lasted up until now and that’s where some racism comes from and its past down generation to generation.

Racism effects everyone, the dicriminator, the victim and the witnesses.

In many articles they write that the majority of the girls are of a native back ground, in not sure why but i know ill never going on highway 16 alone. there are still investigations happening. it has come up there is a chance the perpetrator is a serial killer, maybe its just a coincidence.(probably not)

I personally never had heard of  ‘Highway of  Tears’  until my Social Justice12 class so im not sure why but it seems like there has not been much media attention on this particular issue recently.

Initially, the investigation focused on Highway 16, west from Prince George to Prince Rupert, but some of the cases added are communities along Highway 97. Iinvestigations has expanded to include cases as far south as Kamloops and Merritt, and as far east as Hinton Alberta. (http://www.highwayoftears.ca/specialprobe.htm#Map)

GATINEAU, QUEBEC, December 1, 2008—The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, officially opened the Government of Canada’s Office for Disability Issues’ new accessible workplace today.

The new facility has been renovated to be a model of accessibility, offering a safe, user-friendly work environment that promotes equal opportunity and the participation of all employees, including those with disabilities.

“Our government is committed to breaking down the numerous barriers faced by persons with disabilities through various initiatives,” said Minister Finley. “I am proud to highlight this new facility as a model of accessibility and a stellar example of what can be done to meet the needs of Canadians with disabilities in a workplace.”

The Minister also highlighted the new Registered Disability Savings Plan, the Canada Disability Savings Grant and the Canada Disability Savings Bond, which will be offered this month through financial institutions.

Building on a commitment outlined in Budget 2007, the Government proposed the creation of the Registered Disability Savings Plan, the Canada Disability Savings Grant and the Canada Disability Savings Bond to help eligible individuals with disabilities, families and others to save for the long-term financial security of a person with a severe disability.

The Government of Canada provides a wide range of effective policies, programs and services that support opportunities for Canadians with disabilities to participate fully in society. It invests annually towards the full participation of Canadians with disabilities through programs and services delivered by over 28 departments and agencies.

Internationally, Canada plays a leadership role through its contribution to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Canada signed the Convention on March 30, 2007, signalling its commitment to work towards ratification. The Convention will help lead to the full inclusion and full participation of people with disabilities globally.

For information on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, please visit the United Nations Web site at http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=109.

More information on the Office for Disability Issues is available at www.hrsdc.gc.ca.

From the Privliged tax payers perpective I believe some may  love the idea

of making areas acsessable to everyone but some may not care. Some may not know

what they are paying for.

From the Underprivliged people with Disabilities’s prospective i believe they love the idea

that citizens are making it easier to mobilize  around in many more areas.

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services began an investigation into Love In Action, which advertises homosexual conversion therapy for adolescents, after a 16-year-old boy’s blog started causing a stir in the blogosphere.

“Zach” wrote in his blog that he was admitted into the facility by his parents after he told them he was gay.

He said he was to be admitted to Refuge, a camp associated with Love In Action on June 6 and was to remain there at least until June 20, according to a June 3 blog entry. According to some fellow bloggers who have been in intermittent contact with Zach, he gets dropped off at the facility daily and returns home with his parents.

Love In Action is supported by several Memphis-area churches, and accredited by Exodus International, an organization that describes itself as “a worldwide interdenominational, Christian organization called to encourage, strengthen, unify and equip Christians to minister the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ to those affected by homosexuality.”

“DCS dispatched its special investigations unit to the facility, and after conducting a full investigation, determined that the child abuse allegations were unfounded,” Rob Johnson, an agency spokesman, told The Associated Press.

John Smid, executive director of Love In Action, said the allegations were never described to him but he assumed they involved a complaint of psychological abuse.

The program, Smid said, “is to help kids to grow in their relationship with Christ.”

In a May 30 entry on Zach’s blog he posted the rules of the Refuge Program. Under a heading called Hygiene, it says, “1. All clients must maintain appropriate hygiene, including daily showering, use of deodorant, and brushing teeth twice daily.

Men: Men must remove all facial hair seven days weekly, and sideburns must not fall below the top of the ear (the top of the ear is defined as where the ear meets the face below the temple). Clean business-like haircuts must be worn at all times. Hair must be long enough to be pinched between two fingers.

Women: Women must shave legs and underarms at least twice weekly.

All: Only natural hair color is allowed. Hair that is colored, highlighted or streaked, must be dyed back to its original color, or the color must be cut out before entrance into the Refuge program.”

Officials from Love In Action appealed for tolerance at a June 16 news conference. Phone calls to Love In Action were not returned by press time.

“It is our spiritual conviction that sexual behavior outside of heterosexual marriage is considered wrong in the sight of God,” said John Smid, the program’s director, who describes himself as “ex-gay,” according to a transcript of the news conference available on the Love In Action Web site.

“This program is operated on the will of the guardian or parent. We will work with the minor children as long as they are not overtly distracting to their own program or the program of others,” Smid added. “If it is shown that the client is overtly treatment resistant, we will work with the parent towards alternative options for their care and overall relational health.”

For the past two weeks, a group called Queer Action Coalition, which was formed after hearing Zach’s story, has protested outside the camp.

“They claim to present themselves as an alternative to the gay lifestyle but then say you are going to have a miserable life if you live this lifestyle,” said Amanda Lefevre, spokeswoman for Queer Action Coalition.

Lefevre said that the group was organized after it heard about Zach’s blog.

Wayne Besen, who studies “ex-gay” camps, said that there are at least 100 ministries across the country that offer programs that attempt to make heterosexuals out of homosexuals. Some are live-in ministries while others are drop-off centers.

“These ministries are a bastion of abuse where the unqualified pose as mental health professionals,” he said. “It’s ruining lives and no one regulates it.”

He said the camps offer workshops created to train attendees.

“There are lipstick lesbian seminars and workshops for boys that tell them what kind of underwear they should wear,” he said. “They also offer tips like telling you to grocery shop just before closing so you will go at a time when there won’t likely be people you are attracted to.”

Zach has not entered anything in his blog since June 3.

On May 29, the teen wrote that his parents sat him down and told him he was going to a “fundamentalist Christian program for gays.”

“They tell me that there is something psychologically wrong with me, and they ‘raised me wrong.’ I’m a big screw up to them, who isn’t on the path God wants me to be on. So I’m sitting here in tears, [joining] the rest of those kids who complain about their parents on blogs — and I can’t help it,” Zach wrote.

His blog has received thousands of comments since it appeared.

Wow, It definaly seems like they need to still have an investigation! i like this article.

i never knew they had camps like these.. WOW!!!