Riots are the voice of the unheard.Martin Luther King, Jr.A comrade and friend posted this on Facebook:I just watched BBC coverage of [Edward] Miliband, leader of the British Labour Party, blaming the social unrest in England on “poor parenting” and a …
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wmtc: more pupdate, more where i’ve been
I hate being away from wmtc for so long! Between Tala and my mom’s visit, it’s been quite the week.Yesterday we went back to the OVC in Guelph for a consult with a neurologist. He feels the most likely diagnosis is degenerative disc disease, which seco…
Continue readingwmtc: pupdate and where i’ve been
This week is the annual Mom Visit, which I greatly look forward to. I have a special surprise planned, but just in case my mom is peeking in, it will remain a surprise.Tala’s rehab did not go as well as we had hoped. She seemed to be doing well on tota…
Continue readingwmtc: most important search string of the day ever
Search string of the day:doctors told me to get an abortion to save my life what should i doThis is what you should do: GET AN ABORTION.Your life is more important than a fetus. You can get pregnant again. If for some reason you can’t have biological c…
Continue readingwmtc: moby duck sails into the sunset
I’ve finished reading Moby Duck by Donovan Hohn, one of the very best books I’ve read in some time. In earlier posts about this book (here and here), I said it is about the permanence of plastic and the poisoning of the ocean, along withthe “marginaliz…
Continue readingwmtc: we like lists: list # 11: awesome art
I notice whenever I do a “we like lists” post that I’m never satisfied with my own list. On our hanging out in history list, I forgot Clarence Darrow. In our all-time celebrity crushes, I forgot Bruce Springsteen. In our list of the influential authors…
Continue readingwmtc: defend free speech: help the canadian arab federation beat jason kenney in court
From Defend Free Speech:Help CAF beat Jason Kenney in federal court!An urgent appeal for support. Please make a donation today.Over two years ago, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney unilaterally cut funding to the Canadian Arab Federa…
Continue readingwmtc: "the marriage vow": more racist myths about american slavery
Earlier this year, I blogged about a dangerous, racist myth about US history: that the southern states seceded from the union not because of slavery but because of “state’s rights”. This is a lie. Historical record leaves no doubt: there was only one r…
Continue readingwmtc: dear u.s.: tax corporations, tax the rich, end the useless wars. there, problem solved.
Letter to the Globe and Mail, July 30:It’s remarkable how in the current debate about the U.S. debt ceiling, the extravagance of American military spending is seldom even mentioned. In its fiscal 2010 budget, the United States gave $685-billion to the …
Continue readingwmtc: the only good bargaining is collective bargaining
From time to time, I sell things on Craigslist and Kijiji. I’ve given away scads of things on Freecycle, including, when we were packing up to move to Canada, a huge air conditioner, bedroom furniture, a couch, and other items considered gems by Freecy…
Continue readingwmtc: video: 14-year-old girl’s impassioned plea for public libraries
Annika Tabovaradan is an awesome force in the world. She is a girl willing to overcome her fears to defend her rights and the rights of others, a girl who sees herself as part of a community, who understands that we all depend on each other. Down the r…
Continue readingwmtc: get well jack
In case you haven’t already, you can send Jack Layton your good wishes.
Continue readingwmtc: at last, the search is over
Quite possibly the world’s cutest puppy.
Continue readingwmtc: good news! another positive federal court decision for u.s. war resister in canada
Last Monday, the Federal Court of Canada released a decision reaffirming there is evidence that war resisters are targets of punishment because of their political beliefs if forced to return to the United States.The judgment in the judicial review of U…
Continue readingwmtc: the ford brothers vs libraries, next installment: reason for hope
By now you’ve probably heard that the City of Toronto public budget hearings continued through the night and into the morning, making this the longest City Council meeting in the city’s history.The Star reports:Some 168 people took Mayor Rob Ford up on…
Continue readingwmtc: imp strump: the library as public oasis
Impudent Strumpet:If home is too crowded or noisy or uncomfortable or abusive or non-existent, having somewhere else to go – a perfectly respectable place to go and to be (compare the connotations of spending hours in the library vs. spending hours in …
Continue readingwmtc: torontoist: will the anger against ford be a tipping point? ten things to know
Excellent analysis from Torontoist:It is far too soon to tell whether the long, dense sequence of anger-inspiring comments, falsehoods, and dubious policy decisions Rob and Doug Ford have been responsible for this month will represent, in retrospect, s…
Continue readingwmtc: the ford brothers vs. libraries, continued
Doug Ford: Why do we need another little library in the middle of nowhere that no one uses?”Library users: We want our votes back.The Star is devoting some serious real estate to Fords vs. TPL. I happened to see a hard copy (at the library!) today, and…
Continue readingwmtc: trials of a student librarian: i can shelve
I passed the page test!I think it was a bit easier than I was led to believe. On the phone, I was told the test had to be completed in six minutes. But before the actual test, I was told I had “up to 10 minutes,” with points deducted for time over six …
Continue readingwmtc: support bradley manning: actions and updates
As I hope you know, accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning was transferred to Fort Leavenworth and is now reportedly being treated like other prisoners, no longer singled out for various tortures and degradations. This improvement was the dire…
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