Charities' guilt gifts overstep the bounds

My fiancée received an interesting gift in the mail recently from a charity called Plan Canada. They were asking for money to lift poor girls from around the world out of poverty.

 

The gift was "a small friendship bracelet of hope," accompanied by a picture of a cute young girl. The back of the photo reads, "This is Lina from Peru. She has already found a sponsor. Please sponsor a child like her. Many thanks."

Don't blame women

I have lacked inspiration for blog posts over the last couple months, but a Times Colonist article today has got me worked up enough to end my two-month hiatus. In a nutshell, there was a horrific crime in Victoria over the weekend; police allege four men forced a female university student into a car, driving around while repeatedly sexually assaulting her.

The crime is disturbing and does not require further commentary. What does is the warning issued by police after the crime:

"Police issued several warnings to women following the attack. Women are advised to travel in groups and stick to well-lit areas, carry a cellphone, refuse drinks from strangers and not leave drinks unattended. If drinking alcohol, women are urged to plan a safe ride home by cab or with people they know."