Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford thinks his city has more libraries than donut shops. In fact:When the Urban Affairs branch closes, Toronto will have 3.9 libraries per 100,000 people, which is what Vancouver has. Halifax has 4.3 libraries per 100,000 …
Continue readingAuthor: laura k
wmtc: canada moving backwards on youth crime plans that are proven failures
Further to my last post, how can we build a world without hate when the people in power are moving in the opposite direction?Last year I stumbled on a CPAC broadcast of hearings being held in the Canadian Senate. A former head of “corrections” (read: p…
Continue readingwmtc: survivor of hate crime fighting to save assailant’s life: join his mission for a world without hate
In Texas, the survivor of a vicious hate crime is campaigning to spare the life of his assailant, who murdered two other people and is scheduled to be executed today.I collect these kinds of stories, and one day I’d like to write more about why I find …
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: "moby duck" and the permanence of plastic
I’ve just started reading a remarkable book, one that can’t wait until I finish to share it with you: Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,000 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists and Fools, including the Author, …
Continue readingwmtc: help protect tpl from ford’s privatization rampage
Mayor Rob Ford is out to privatize the living daylights out of Toronto. Privatization is a great deal for the corporations that pick up lucrative contracts, and a very bad deal for everyone else. As privatization grows, quality of life erodes.Next on F…
Continue readingwmtc: walkom: we sent our soldiers to die to impress our largest trading partner
This is probably the strongest truth-telling about Canada’s experience in Afghanistan – and the revolting response to it at home – that I have seen in the mainstream media. Thank you, Thomas Walkom! On Tuesday, Canada officially ended its combat missio…
Continue readingwmtc: pupdate: mississauga squirrels continue to rejoice
We’ve just returned from our consult with an orthopedic specialist at the OVC in Guelph. Tal has been doing so well, she seems so improved, that I think many people would have cancelled the appointment. But remembering the kind of pain she was in two w…
Continue readingwmtc: trials of a student librarian: in which i confess to practicing my alphabet
In addition to writing a large portion of the final report for the “Private Eyes” research project, I’ve been stressing over something else – something I decided not to share, until today. I finally have an interview for a page position at the Mississa…
Continue readingwmtc: boycott mlb all star game to protest arizona’s racist anti-brown-people law
Many good reasons to boycott tonight’s Major League All Star Game: Arizona, The All-Star Game, And Speaking Up For Human Rights at Joy of Sox.
Continue readingwmtc: at the break
As we baseball fans say, we are “at the break”. The All Star Break begins today: three days without real baseball, plus this year an extra day off for our Red Sox. Although the actual halfway point of the season came last week, the All Star Break is a …
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: cradle of gold, story of re-discovery of machu picchu
One hundred years ago, this week – July 7, 1911, to be exact – an American man named Hiram Bingham found the ruins of an ancient ceremonial city, mostly overgrown with Peruvian jungle. Some indigenous families were living on the site, tending small sub…
Continue readingwmtc: stop the mega-quarry: deadline for comments is midnight tonight
The deadline to submit comments to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, voicing your opposition to the Melancthon mega-quarry, is midnight tonight. Please:1. Sign the Avaaz petition: here.2. Submit your comment to the Ministry: here.3. Share thes…
Continue readingwmtc: help stop u.s. company’s mega-quarry from poisoning ontario’s farms and water
Avaaz, the Council of Canadians, and other concerned groups are alerting Canadians to a threat to Ontario’s farmland and fresh water supply. Please read, sign the petition and circulate it in any way you can.From Avaaz:An American hedge fund is about t…
Continue readingwmtc: personal update, freakout, apology, open thread
I have been asked to write the final report for my portion of the research project that I’ve been working on this summer. There’s a strict deadline – the grant ends on July 23 – and many, many loose threads to tie up. It’s a great challenge.In keeping …
Continue readingwmtc: this week on tvo: "war of the mind", canadian documentary on ptsd
This Wednesday, July 6 TVO, Ontario’s public television station, will broadcast “War in the Mind,” a Canadian documentary about post-traumatic stress, depression and the rising suicide rate among soldiers and veterans. “War in the Mind,” by British Col…
Continue readingwmtc: report on war resisters fundraising dinner from u.s. peace activist bruce beyer
This past week, the Toronto chapter of the War Resisters Support Campaign hosted a fundraising dinner at the United Steelworkers Hall. These dinners, which we hold four times a year, are informal gatherings of friends and supporters, with music, campai…
Continue readingwmtc: canada causes cancer: sign a petition to ban canada’s asbestos industry
From Canada Causes Cancer:Asbestos causes cancer and other deadly lung diseases.That’s why asbestos has been banned in 52 nations, including the European Union. Not to mention, the Canadian government removed it from Parliament and the Prime Minister’s…
Continue readingwmtc: red sox "it gets better" video
“Once you make it through the hard parts, the rest of life is so much more fantastic than anything you can imagine.” I agree. The hard parts don’t go away, but they’re the same hard parts everyone goes through, not a punishment inflicted especially on …
Continue readingwmtc: pupdate: good news for squirrels
My poor little Bo! Earlier this week, Tala wasn’t able to put any weight on her right hind leg. I suspected a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament, i.e., main knee ligament). It’s a not-uncommon injury in larger dogs, something we went through with our…
Continue reading