Twenty-somethings in Vancouver, B.C. fear they can't grapple with a cold, unfeeling city government because the city council (bless 'em) has just voted to axe the $150,000 per annum youth advocacy office. Yeh...Robert's Rules of Order, meeting notices and draft ordinance texts are just frickin' mind-boggling, I agree. Especially if all you read is on your Crackberry.

"Animal rights activists" who've for months been picketing Shumacher's, a fur coat store in Portland, Oregon, say they'll back off, but only if the store puts labels inside each coat telling "exactly how the animals lived and died." Sure, why not? And how about the same sort of labels on flank steak, chicken livers, and leather shoes?

Stockholm's Modern Museum wants 50 million kroner to purchase more art, but only art produced by females. Myself, I'm just as partial to paintings and sculptures OF females. (Hat tip: Gay and Right).

In the great socialist welfare state that is Sweden, citizen initiative appears numbingly absent. In front of many other passengers, the purse of a visibly pregnant woman was snatched on the Stockholm subway. She held onto it, and was thus dragged down the aisle by the petty thief. As he tried to escape, with her still hanging on, the door closed. He was on the outside, pulling at the purse's strap; she on the inside, still gripping the rest of the purse. The door opened, he escaped with the purse, no one did anything to help her, at any point. I guess we wouldn't really have wanted the Swedish with us in Iraq, anyway, huh?

Political Affairs, purveyors of "Marxist Thought Online," reports the World Peace Forum will be held in late June in Vancouver. B.C. Representatives of member cities will convene to formulate plans for the passage by more city councils of of advisory resolutions in favor of peace. They will also discuss a campaign against military bases, and delve into sustainability and women's rights issues. They hope that U.S. progressives in attendance will come away inspired to take back their country; and also, very much want Canadian non-whites to attend the forum. The article disparagingly notes that Vancouver's "right wing mayor" Sam Sullivan, led a successful effort to rescind the city's financial support of some forum events. Keep at it, World Peace Forum. What you and your ilk are doing for Canada, you can do for the U.S. in 2008.

TECHNORATI TAGS: VANCOUVER, YOUTH ADVOCATE, ANIMAL RIGHTS, FUR, SCHUMACHER'S, PORTLAND, OREGON, STOCKHOLM, FEMALE ART, SUBWAY, PREGNANT ROBBERY VICTIM, WORLD PEACE FORUM, SAM SULLIVAN