You wouldn't dream of driving your children anywhere without buckling them in first. So why on earth aren't the buses that we entrust to safely transport our kids to school every day fitted with seat belts? That's the burning question many are asking after a crash in Calgary injured three children.
“I think it’s something that needs to be revisited,” said University of Alberta researcher and ER physician Dr. Louis Francescutti. “Obviously if a child’s seriously injured, the question begs itself: would a seat belt have made a difference?”
According to an article in Global, nearly 300,000 kids in Alberta alone board a bus every day to get to school. And yet no seat belts have been fitted.
For Edmonton mom of four, Shannon Whiting, it's a no-brainer:
"...you’re in a plane, you wear a seat belt, you’re in a roller coaster, you wear a seat belt, you’re in a car, you wear a seat belt. Just about every other vehicle that you’re in you have to wear a seat belt. So, why are school buses so special that you don’t have to wear seat belts on them?”
Of course there's always the possibility that belts could put kids at greater risk if they aren't worn or fitted properly. But isn't that a risk worth taking?
So far the province's Transport Minister Ric McIver is reluctant to react, as studies about belts on buses are "conflicting.”
What's your feeling about this issue?
Can sex be construed as art? A 19-year-old Londoner thinks so. According to an article in the CBC, Clayton Pettet has safeguarded his virginity for so long, he doesn't want to let it go easily. Hence the headline grabbing installation entitled "Art School Stole My Virginity," which will see the St Martins student having sex for the first time in front of an audience of between 50 and 100 on Jan. 25, 2013.
"Since culturally we do hold quite a lot of value to the idea of virginity I have decided to use mine and the loss of it to create a piece that I think will stimulate interesting debate and questions regarding the subject," Pettet said.
In yet another cautionary tale of watch what you post, a Teacher's Assistant at the University of Iowa grabbed headlines after accidentally attaching a graphic image of herself instead of answers to a homework assignment. Whoopsie!
According to an article in Gawker, the Pentacrest TA was horrified at the slip. Apparently the GIFs feature her good naked self in a compromising position during a cybersex session with her boyfriend captured in a Google+ Hangout.
A study guide, of sorts.
Of course the TA, who deeply "regrets her actions," has since requested that students who received the email "kindly delete it" and avoid the temptation to share it.
This kind of thing happens all the time. It's just too easy to attach the wrong file or leave your phone lying around.
If you have incriminating or compromising images on your phone or computer, do safeguard them with your life—or you might as well hand them over to your mother-in-law and boss right now.
Case in point: My husband once glimpsed more of a female colleague than he wanted to while she was showing him and another male a photo. Smart phone, dumb move.
Ever have an email or image get into the wrong hands? Do share. Humiliation loves company.
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