Boobies Begone In B.C.

From Canoe.ca:

VICTORIA — On the same day B.C.’s first aboriginal lieutenant-governor is to be sworn in, murals of bare-breasted native women at the B.C. legislature were hidden from view.

[...]

Chief Ed John, of the First Nations Summit, called the cloaking a “significant gesture.”

A bit of back story. The murals in question are a series of four paintings done by British Columbia artist George Southwell back in 1932. By rendering several of the female figures in them topless, he was going for the "idealized native" look that one finds in the work of Paul Gauguin. Almost since the day these paintings were unveiled, however, they have attracted protests from the B.C. First Nations, and in April of this year the B.C. government voted to have them removed and stored at a cost of $280,000.

However, to frame the issue as a matter of covering up nakedness, as the Canoe story does, and as local journalists have done repeatedly since the decision was announced, deliberately cheapens native concerns. A February release from the B.C. First Nation's summit makes clear that it is not the nudity in the murals which renders them offensive:

“First Nations have always maintained the murals in the rotunda of the legislative buildings
are demeaning and degrading and do nothing more than uphold negative

stereotypes of First Nations as a conquered and subservient people.

If you look closely at the picture above, it is quite clear that the natives in it are performing menial and possibly slave labor for their white masters. That's what got people cheesed off.

PS. Why am I writing about this, other than that I am an unreconstructed boob man? My own conflicted history with the murals at the B.C. Legislature can be found here.

The Stupidest Thing She's Said Today

Chantal Hebert, who predicted an overwhelming victory by Charest until it looked like it wouldn't happen, and then predicted it wouldn't happen, who argued that S. Dion would tank in Quebec several hours after polls showed that he was regarded as a good choice for Lib Leader in that province, is now claiming that...wait for it...the provinces can no longer "blame Ottawa for poor services" now that Harper has coughed up high dough in the 2007 Federal budget.

Oh Chantal you silly rabbit! For one thing, not all the provinces were dealt with equally. Quebec got almost half the pie this year, and my province, the province of Ontario, the province that's always giving handouts to the other provinces when they whine, the only province without a separatist movement other than Newfoundland, the province that has played the historic role of holding the country together (along with the newfies)... we just got screwed slightly less than usual this time around. That billion bucks of oil money dropped from helicopters over Toronto and Ottawa? Chickenfeed, considering what we've done for this nation of miserable ingrates! Of course we want more... mo money mo money mo money! And Harper's the guy to take it from. Go get 'em Dalton McGuinty!

Furthermore, d'you think a would-be Premier of any province could run on a platform of "its not Ottawa's fault"? Bullshit! Hosing the feds for cash is what being a Premier is all about! It's tradition, a part of our national character. D'you think Harper's pathetic gesture is going to change a hundred years of Canadian history? Chantal, you are like a little child. The 2007 budget wasn't a french kiss; it didn't even involve any tongue! You should see what the Premiers are going ask Harper to do next year.