h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm reading Stephen Lewis' 2005 Massey Lectures right now and one bit stands out for me. Actually, it is all outstanding, but I feel moved to post one bit:

'Every cow in the European Union is subsidized to the tune of two dollars a day, while between four hundred and five hundred million Africans live on less than a dollar a day'

That's between four hundred and five hundred million African *human beings*.


There it is. We in the west value our cows more than we value human lives.




On a slightly related note, I'm planning to approach my MLA and MP quite soon in this new year concerning our Governments' legal obligation (under the Convention on the Rights of the Child) to provide compulsory, free elementary schooling to all children:

'States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:

(a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all; '

reads Article 28.


And Article 23, of particular relevence to my situation and the situation of many I know, reads:

' States Parties recognize the right of the disabled child to special care and shall encourage and ensure the extension, subject to available resources, to the eligible child and those responsible for his or her care, of assistance for which application is made and which is appropriate to the child's condition and to the circumstances of the parents or others caring for the child. 3. Recognizing the special needs of a disabled child, assistance extended in accordance with paragraph 2 of the present article *shall be provided free of charge,* whenever possible, taking into account the financial resources of the parents or others caring for the child, and shall be designed to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training, health care services, rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development, including his or her cultural and spiritual development'(emphasis added)

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm

The Convention on Rights of the Child has been ratified by Canada's Parliament and is the law of the land, binding on both Provincial and Federal Governments.

How many Canadian parents are still being hit by their children's schools for school supplies, textbooks, field trip expenses? How many are being pressured to volunteer at casinos? How many children come home with overpriced chocolates to sell?

I live in Alberta, the wealthiest province in the country, and I have been pressured for years to help feed the addiction of gambling addicts (on which the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, a government body, spends a huge amount of funds each year) in order to help pay for the education of, among others, children suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (on which the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, a government body, spends a huge amount of funds each year).

No.

The law of this land says that elementary education is free for *all* children, and it also says that children with disabilities get what they need *free of charge* if necessary.



And still parents are *required* to buy, as one example, two boxes of Kleenex at the beginning of each school year so the kids can wipe their snotty noses. This requirement is, of course, a clear abrogation of Governments' responsability under Article 24 of the Convention, which is concerned with Public Health.




It seems that we in the west also value our cows more than our children.

Your posts are always thought-provoking. Just this morning, I was wondering how difficult it might be to convince the Obamas that health care should be a civil right in the "greatest Nation in the world."

'Article 24
1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services.

2. States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures:

(a) To diminish infant and child mortality;

(b) To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care;

(c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution;

(d) To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers;

(e) To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of accidents;

(f) To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents and family planning education and services. . .'


It's already a Human Right for children under International Law but the U.S. has not ratified the Convention. Mr. Obama, however, is on record as wanting to push for ratification:

'he United States government played an active role in the drafting of the Convention and signed it on 16 February 1995, but has not ratified it. Opposition to the Convention is in part due to what are seen as potential conflicts with the constitution and because of opposition by some political and religious conservatives. The two reasons often given for the US Senate not ratifying the Convention were that the State of Texas allows children to be given the death penalty, which the Convention would not allow, and that it would undermine parents' rights. The Heritage Foundation sees the conflict as an issue of national control over domestic policy. President-elect Barack Obama has described the failure to ratify the Convention as 'embarrassing' and has promised to review this.

The US has signed and ratified both of the optional protocols to the Convention.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child#United_States