Edmonton • Porn and religion
Pump Up Public Access

SEE rarely finds any common ground with conservative family groups, but when these groups make cogent arguments for freedom of speech, we have to get on board — even if that’s not what they intended in the first place.

The Canadian Family Action Coalition has called upon the Stephen Harper government to continue their proud tradition of prudishness and shut down recently approved porn channel Northern Peaks, owned by a Sherwood Park company.

The conservative group argues that porn channels get more play on public airwaves than religious channels because of ad revenue.

And we agree — that’s not right. Religion and sex should get as much play as anyone wants on television. Down with censorship! Orgasms and biblical instruction for all!

Rather than shut down the porn channel, why not allow more public access television so the programs that don’t get a lot of ad financing can still produce content?

After all, citizens own the airwaves.

Edmonton • Abortion rights
Unborn victims of crime bill shuttled

The federal Conservatives announced this week that they are putting aside Edmonton-Sherwood Park MP Ken Epp’s Unborn Victims of Crime bill. The controversial bill would have made the killing of a fetus a separate offence from an attack on a pregnant woman.

Pro-choice groups fought hard against the bill, and the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada called it a sneaky attempt to criminalize abortion.

The bill may be set aside for now, but the Conservatives will try again with another bill, one that clearly states that the bill has nothing to do with a woman’s right to choose.

But Epp’s bill also included a clause stating, in effect, that his bill had nothing to do with abortion rights, so it’s unclear what language the Conservatives could possibly cook up to get the bill passed.

But perhaps they are just waiting for a better time — say, when there’s not an election in the air.

World • Olympics
So over Beijing

The glowing media reports on how well the Chinese government organized the events were a little stomach-turning considering that 77 applications to stage protests were rejected by the Chinese government — two of them from grannies who were then sentenced to hard labour “re-education.”

Somehow, we’re all supposed to forget about human rights because China puts on a good show.

And let’s just be totally crass and talk about the money.

China’s $40-billion Olympic tab seems wildly out of control. Imagine what a $1 billion investment in Internet development for the country or even environmental cleanup would have meant to both China and the world.

Instead of being an encouragment for China to clean up their act in order to have a better relationship with the rest of the world, the Olympics have just legitimized the government without gaining any changes.