Some up: April 12th – 18th

This week has been extremely challenging. We’re facing a third wave here and vaccines are still rolling out very slowly. Vaccine hesitancy is incredibly high especially with the blood clot issues that have been reported.

In the states, there was 13 year old boy killed by a police officer while the boy had his hands up, another person was killed when a police officer reached for their gun instead of their taser, a mass shooting occurred at a fedex facility, and the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin is defending what we all saw for over nine minutes.

Some weeks, the world feels so heavy and any joy I find feels like escapism in the face of an unjust world.

I have nothing profound to say, I have nothing to add. I’m just sad and struggling.

Press release: Remarks by President Biden on the Way Forward in Afghanistan (White House)

As the United States appears to finally be winding down the 20 year war in Afghanistan, I can’t help but wonder what this means for the region.

This comic by the nib is a difficult reminder of the realities of this war.

Article: Jeff Bezos, world’s richest man, asks public to donate to Amazon relief fund (The Independent)

This week in billionaires acting unethically, we see a fundraiser for covid relief from a corporation that has added billions to their net worth since the pandemic started. Ok great.

Article: She accused a university prof of sexual assault. Now he’s suing for defamation. Some fear the ‘landmark’ case could have a chilling effect (The Star)

I had completely forgotten about the initial allegations about Galloway – but this new development has the potential to affect legal precedent going forwards.

Action item: Support Families: Can The Spousal Cap!

Late last week, Facebook drew my attention to this page. I wasn’t previously aware that BC had a spousal cap in place for persons with disabilities. Please take a moment and review this information. If you feel comfortable, the website has information on writing to your MLA and appropriate ministers.

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard has an excellent video explaining how her financial status changed when she got married.

Related to the financial challenges facing disabled people, but not specifically about marriage, you may want to also read this CBC article titled “The ‘crip tax’: Everything has a cost, but for people with disabilities that’s quite literally the case”.

Finally, to learn more about the roots of disability activism in the United States, the critically acclaimed documentary “Crip Camp” is on Netflix Canada.

Book: The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

I won’t say too much about this because it’s for my book club and I don’t want my friends to hear my talking points ad nauseam.

Suffice to say, I thought it was beautiful, heart wrenching, perfect and the pace of it was totally disarming. Highly recommend.

A picture of the book cover. Heart’s invisible furies is in orange,  overlaid on an image of muted tones.  There are two men in jackets facing away from the camera.

Local treat: Bingsoo at Snowy Village

Ok, once you pay for the packing fee and the delivery on this one, it is NOT cheap. But if you want a snowy, sweet, super delightful shaved ice treat, this is my new favourite!

Layers of sweet shaved ice are topped with sweet sauces and crumbled toppings. They are MASSIVE, and generally I get 3-4 servings from each.

I particularly love both the Oreo and the cheesecake flavours. I would note that I think there are maybe almonds on the cheesecake one if you have food sensitivity or allergies.

A picture of me holding my bingsoo treat. It is a clear container larger than a regular to go cup with layers of Oreo and white shaved ice alternating.
Oreo Bingsoo!

To a better week ahead my dear friends!

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