Category Archives: Features

Something in between…

The First Female ‘Doctor Who’ Will Be Paid the Same As the Male Doctors

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It looks like things will remain equal on the TARDIS, as new female Doctor on Doctor Who will be paid the same as the male Doctors before her, because on Gallifrey there’s no 79 cents to the $1 rubbish.

In case you missed it, long running science fiction drama Doctor Who announced that, for the first time in its 54 year history, a woman would be taking on the lead role of the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker will take over from Peter Calpaldi as the 13th iteration of the Time Lord (or Time Lady, now) following the show’s Christmas special, something that we’re so desperately excited for.

While we wished that Doctor Who was real life, we have to remember that it’s actually a TV show.

And, as we know from previous examples, women on TV and in media (and in general, tbh) are often paid less than their male counterparts. However, it seems that this won’t be the case with Doctor Who.

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Canada’s Multi-Million-Dollar Pay-Out to a ‘Foreign Terrorist Fighter’

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The government of Canada recently issued an official apology — and acknowledged awarding an “undisclosed” sum of money — to Toronto-born Islamist terrorist Omar Khadr for his “ordeal” at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and “any resulting harm” he was caused by the “torture” (specifically, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement and threats) that led to his confession.

On July 7, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale released a statement announcing the “hope that this expression, and the negotiated settlement reached with the Government, will assist him in his efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in his life with his fellow Canadians.”

The civil settlement was reached with Khadr, 30, who was 10 when his family returned to the Middle East, and 15 when he was arrested fighting in Afghanistan with al Qaeda and the Taliban, the terrorist organizations to which his father was affiliated — on the basis of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 2003, Khadr confessed to throwing the grenade that killed U.S. Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer and caused Sgt. 1st Class Layne Morris to lose an eye. Years later, he retracted his confession, claiming it had been extracted under duress. In fact, it was part of a plea deal that enabled him to be extradited to Canada to serve the rest of his sentence there.

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Quebec Court Fines Jewish Salon Owner for Forcing Jewish Hairdresser to Take the Sabbath Off

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God gave us Shabbat for us to rest, but God also gave us free will, so that we can make our own decisions. And now, one Jew has decided that he’d like to spend his Shabbat working, because it’s his God-given right. Or, at the very least, his court-ordered right.

Richard Zilber, a hairstylist from Montreal, sued his Jewish employer, Iris Gressy, after she refused to let him work on Saturdays, and fired him when he complained. And now, the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal says she owes Zilber $12,500 in damages because employers aren’t permitted to impose their religious values on their employees, even if these values are all about taking a day off.

But working on Shabbat, Zilber said, was very much an expression of his Jewish identity. It was his “Jewish pride,” he told the Canadian Jewish News, that encouraged him to stand up for his rights. “A Jew has zero-tolerance for discrimination,” he said, “even if it’s among your own people.”

Zilber wanted to work on Saturdays, he added, because it is the busiest day of the week for the salon and because he wanted to build up his clientele. But Gessy implemented a new policy dictating that Saturdays would be a mandatory day off for her Jewish employees. Zilber mentioned the policy to a client some months later, and was then fired soon after for the “breach of confidentiality.”

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Catholic Churches in Jerusalem Blame Israel for Muslim Violence, Deny Biblical Roots of Temple Mount

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Amid the intensifying battles surrounding the Temple Mount, the Catholic Church expressed its concerns in terms that placed the blame entirely on Israel while referring to the site exclusively by its Muslim name. One bishop stated in an interview on Vatican Radio that there has, in fact, been no Palestinian violence.

On Sunday, Pope Francis addressed the crowd gathered in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, telling them that he viewed “with trepidation the grave tensions and violence” surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

“I feel the need to express a distressed appeal for moderation and dialogue,” the Pope said, calling on the people to pray for the sake of Jerusalem.

The violence the Pope is referring to began ten days ago when three Palestinian terrorists murdered two Druze Israeli policemen while they guarded the entrance to the Temple Mount. The Israeli police entered the site and, after a gunbattle, killed the three terrorists.

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World Council of Churches Endorses Palestinian Protests Over Temple Mount Security Measures

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The World Council of Churches (WCC) has declared its support for the Palestinian campaign against Israeli control of Jerusalem’s holy sites, describing new Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount as a “corrosive act in the midst of an already-fragile peace.”

“Keeping the historical status quo and supporting equal rights for Christians, Muslims and Jews at these holy sites is vitally important to maintaining peace and de-escalating violence,” said Fr. Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the WCC.

“Denying access to holy sites for thousands of people who have traveled far to pray is not only a violation of the rights of those individuals, but also a corrosive act in the midst of an already-fragile peace,” Fr. Sauca said.

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