Canada

The Globe and Mail reports that the Conservatives are trying to engineer the defeat of their own government to force a mid-Spring election … Liberal Leader Stephane Dion vows that one-third of the party’s candidates in the next election will be women and various news sources report that the party is trying to attract current and former NDP candidates to run under the Liberal banner … NDP MP Peggy Nash (Parkdale-High Park) delivered a heart-shaped card to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Valentine’s Day as part of a feminist-led campaign to get the government to reconsider funding cuts to the Status of Women that were announced last September … At a conference at McGill University marking the 25th anniversary of the Charter, US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia criticized Canadian jurists for unrelenting judicial activism, saying: “It is blindingly clear that judges have no greater moral capacity than the rest of us to decide what is right” … The Responsible Gaming Council released survey data that found that 40 per cent of Ontario students have gambled for cash … The city of Victoria has employed sexually provocative ads in an attempt to spur tourism to the city. Ads that appeared in the American northwest, Vancouver and Alberta have included messages that read: “Your Search for the Perfect Orgasm.” Tourism Victoria vice president Melissa McLean defended the advertising campaign: “We want to catch someone’s attention.” Some ads are geared specifically for homosexual tourists … The board of education in Burnaby, B.C., has banned distribution of Bibles in its elementary schools ending the five decade practice of the Gideon International Bible Society handing out them out to students in the school system there  … The Ontario Ministry of Education forecasts 2010-2011 enrolment in the province’s schools will be 1,902,000 – representing nearly 100,000 fewer students than in 2002-2003.

United States

Catholics for a Free Choice president Frances Kissling is stepping down. The pro-abortion feminist and Catholic dissident began her activism in the 1970s, working for abortuaries. She later co-founded the National Abortion Federation, but in recent years her work has centred on trying to alter Catholic church’s teaching and seeking to have the Holy See removed from the United Nations, because of the Vatican’s opposition to family planning, abortion and gay rights … Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and a likely candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he is personally opposed to abortion – and even that he “would advise somebody against” it – but, “I believe in a woman’s right to choose. I think you have to ultimately not put a woman in jail for that, and I think ultimately you have to leave that to a disagreement of conscience and you have to respect the choice that somebody makes.” Giuliani added, however, he would appoint pro-life judges to the federal and Supreme courts … Another GOP presidential candidate, Senator Sam Brownback (Kansas) joined 34 senators in urging President George W. Bush to champion a pro-life agenda during his final two years in office, especially now that Congress is controlled by the Democrats. In a letter drafted by Brownback, the president was urged to send a letter to Congress to serve as a “powerful reminder that the United States is a country that is committed to protecting the dignity of human life” … Senator John McCain (Arizona), a leading contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has flip-flopped on wanting to see Roe v. Wadeoverturned. In 2000, he told the San Francisco Chronicle, “I would
not support repeal of Roe v. Wade.” Last month, however, he told MSNBC: “I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned”.

International

During a state visit to Ireland, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said the human race “would disappear if homosexuality was freely promoted,” thus acknowledging a link between natural sexual activity and the birth of children. He was swiftly denounced by Irish politicians. Senator David Norris, founder of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform, called Kaczynski’s comments “ignorant, unsophisticated and a disgrace,” while Vincent Jackson, mayor of Dublin, said, “Those beliefs are of a bygone age” … French Socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal said she supports legalizing euthanasia: “I would seek legislation which would allow people to face up with dignity to the most intense suffering.” Royal also supports same-sex “marriage” and adoption rights for homosexuals. Her opponent is Nicholas Sarkozy of the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement. He is a defender of religious rights and traditional moral values … A 13-year-old Italian girl, known simply as Valentina, was ordered to have an abortion against her wishes by Court of Minors Judge Giuseppe Cocilovo, after her parents petitioned the court to require it.