Today, December 10, is Human Rights Day. The date commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, the first document of its kind. Every year on December 10, Amnesty International holds a global letter-writing event: Write For Rights (in Canada). Hundreds of thousands of
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wmtc: toni morrison on good and evil in literature
Graphic viaStudents Exploring Inequality in Canada For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by stories of forgiveness and redemption. I believe endlessly in the human capacity for redemption, and that belief that has only been strengthened as I’ve seen more of the world. The stories that
Continue readingwmtc: retro blog part 1: maya moore’s activism
Long ago (in internet terms), in the early days of what we then called the Blogosphere, one of the primary functions of blogs was to share other posts and articles of interest that we came across online. Social media has taken over that function — and much less effectively. How
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the marrow thieves, the glass beads
Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves, winner of multiple Canadian awards, is a brilliant book — and a frightening one. Set in a future Canada after climate change has devastated the planet, Indigenous people are being hunted. The government believes Indigenous people are useful for survival. “Recruiters” kidnap them, and force
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: you can now borrow video games from your library
I am very pleased to announce that all Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) branches now offer video games! You can request and borrow games for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Video games are a great fit for the public library. You — our customers — want media. Whether
Continue readingwmtc: in which i reflect on many one-year anniversaries of a big life change
It’s November. Here at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, the days are getting mighty short. It’s not cold — most days still reach 9 or 10 C — but the gray sky and low sun feel like winter. This time last year, everything was happening. I was buzzing with
Continue readingwmtc: 11.11: there is no glory in war
Eleven people, on war. * * * * Imprisoned for opposing U.S. involvement in thewar in Europe, Debs ran for President from jail. He garnered 1,000,000 votes, at a time whenthe US population was 103,208,000, andonly men could vote. These are the gentry who are today wrapped up in the
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the birth of the pill by jonathan eig
The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution by Jonathan Eig was a fascinating and very readable look at how oral contraceptives — otherwise known as The Pill — came to be. The Pill changed the world. It was the first contraception that was
Continue readingwmtc: listening to joni: #11: wild things run fast
Wild Things Run Fast, 1982 Front Cover Wild Things Run Fast feels like the beginning of a new Joni era. Mingus ended a trajectory. After Mingus, Joni toured, and took a break from recording. From now on she would release an album every three or four years, rather than annually as she
Continue readingwmtc: bcgeu 100: six short videos about labour history in the province of bc
I love history — the history of anything that I’m interested in. Music, baseball, science and technology, and of course, the history of people’s movements. Women, peace, civil rights, LGBT — and above all, I love labour history. Learning about how working people organized and fought for justice in the
Continue readingwmtc: #elxn43: my (completely mundane) thoughts on the results
Since I posted my useless blather just before the recent Canadian federal election, I feel like I should weigh in on the outcome. My thoughts are not trenchant or incisive, but then, neither are the thoughts of 95 percent of the pundits out there, whether employed by CBC or writing
Continue readingwmtc: #elxn43: the choice is clear, as always: progressives who vote liberal are not progressive at all
Jagmeet Singh marching with striking hotel workersin Vancouver. For weeks now, I’ve ignored all commentary and punditry about the upcoming Canadian federal election. I feel that literally no one has anything new or interesting thing to say. I ignored polls for weeks, knowing that they are pretty much proven to be
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: awil’gola open house: celebrate first nations communities at the library
On Thursday, October 24, the Port Hardy Library will host Awil’gola Open House, a celebration of local Indigenous cultures. Awil’gola is a Kwak’wala word loosely translated as “in celebration”, “being with one another,” or “all being together”. We will be celebrating beautiful new Cultural Literacy Kits focusing on the Kwakwaka’wakw,
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: computer help in port alice, woss… and everywhere
These days, basic computer skills are as essential as knowing how to boil water. Whether it’s sending an email, using Skype to chat with a grandchild, or taking care of banking, computers have great potential to make our lives easier. Sometimes, computer use is a necessity. When the residents of
Continue readingwmtc: listening to joni: #10: mingus
Mingus, 1979 Mingus is unique in Joni’s work, in that she wrote lyrics to someone else’s instrumental music. Four of the six tracks on Mingus were written collaboratively by Joni and Charles Mingus. Charles Mingus was a jazz composer and band leader. He was enormously influential, and anyone following contemporary
Continue readingwmtc: orange shirt day: because reconciliation matters
Get the story at OrangeShirtDay.org.
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: ahoy there, matey! you can learn how to talk like a pirate – plus lots of fun facts about real pirates – through free apps from your library
Can you talk like a pirate? September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, a bit of fun invented by two friends in 1995 and spread around the globe via the internet. Typical “pirate-speak” are growly phrases like Arrr Matey, Avast Ye Landlubbers, and the ever-popular Shiver Me Timbers.
Continue readingwmtc: september 28: international safe abortion day
Today is International Safe Abortion Day. Because without access to safe, legal abortion, women can never be free. In North America, you can help ensure that women are able to access safe abortions, is to donate to abortion funds. The National Network of Abortion Funds (N-NAF) can show you how.
Continue readingwmtc: "how dare you": thank you, greta thunberg and #climatestrikers
Also: Why is Greta Thunberg so triggering for certain men, Jennifer O’Connell, Irish TimesCanada’s #climatestrike day is Friday, September 27.
Continue readingwmtc: picket lines, pupdates, and the 51st parallel: 10 things on my mind
It’s been a while. 1. Mom went home. My mom went home two weeks ago, after spending seven weeks here. I was sad to see her go! We had a great time, and it got better as we went along and settled into a routine. The dogs must especially miss
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