This ad for Yoplait Light reduced-calorie yogurt, which I saw on TV last Sunday night, was supposedly pulled from circulation. The National Eating Disorder Association petitioned General Mills because the ad promotes a mindset associated with eating di…
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wmtc: another stranded canadian needs our help: naser bader al-raas
Naser Bader Al-Raas, a 28-year-old Canadian, is in prison in Bahrain. He has been tortured. His passport has been confiscated, so he cannot leave that country. He has a heart condition, and may be in desperate need of medical attention. He needs our he…
Continue readingwmtc: handmade soaps, equal marriage, and stop the tar sands: i discover lush
As part of my work for the video surveillance project, I was wandering around the Square One mall, when I saw this sign in the window of Lush.I went inside to ask for more information: there was a petition, a postcard drive, and an excellent pamphlet f…
Continue readingwmtc: lessons from canada post lock-out and back-to-work legislation
The members of Canadian Union of Postal Workers engage in labour actions. In response, their employer, Canada Post, locks them out. The Harper Government tables back-to-work legislation. The Opposition launches the longest filibuster in Canadian histor…
Continue readingwmtc: alice walker: why i’m sailing to gaza
Alice Walker has written a long, thoughtful essay about her experiences in the Palestinian territories, and her decision to participate in Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human, the international convoy of ships bringing hope and humanitarian aid to the bes…
Continue readingwmtc: pulitzer-prize winning u.s. journalist comes out as undocumented immigrant
There’s an excellent and eye-opening story in today’s New York Times Magazine. Jose Antonio Vargas was born in the Philippines, and came to the United States at age 12. He has lived the American dream, fighting for a quality education, pulling himself …
Continue readingwmtc: thank you, new york!!! marriage equality comes to my home state
New York State, thank you for doing the right thing! Forty-two years after Stonewall, same-sex couples have the legal right to marry in New York State. Whoo-hoo!New York is the state of birth, of my parents’ birth and even one grandparent’s, my home fo…
Continue readingwmtc: if the world sucks, why hasn’t anyone told me? i respond to joe denial
“If that’s really happening, why don’t I see it in the news?”I bet many of you may have encountered a question like this one. You’re speaking to a co-worker or a classmate, or discussing an issue on a blog, or you’ve wandered into the comments section …
Continue readingwmtc: harper government brings (more) international shame on canada, and kills untold numbers in the process
The Globe and Mail, emphasis mine:Standing Alone, Canada blocks push to label asbestos a hazardous chemical Canada has single-handedly blocked listing chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous chemical, the United Nations confirmed Wednesday, even as the Cons…
Continue readingwmtc: petition: negotiate, don’t legislate
Please sign a petition opposing the Harper Government’s back-to-work legistlation.Minister Lisa Raitt,I am urging your Government not to introduce or support back-to-work legislation aimed at ending Canada Post’s lockout of members of the Canadian Un…
Continue readingwmtc: why the canadian boat to gaza? david heap on cbc radio
My friend (and wmtc reader/commenter) David Heap was on CBC Ontario Morning radio yesterday, speaking from his hotel room in Athens, Greece, about why he’ll be on the Canadian Boat to Gaza, as part of Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human.Listen here.
Continue readingwmtc: rally for postal workers, rally for all workers, rally for public services
This morning in Toronto, locked-out postal workers and their supporters will rally at the legal offices of Canada Post, to protest the collusion of Canada Post and the Conservative Government to strip workers of their legal right to collective bargaini…
Continue readingwmtc: watching the watchers: ipsi research day today
The project I’ve been working on – my summer position as a research assistant – is in the spotlight today, as two of the IPSI research teams give a public progress report.IPSI Research Day – Proportionate Digital ID + Video SurveillanceSponsor: Identit…
Continue readingwmtc: gardenette update
My little garden-ette is going gangbusters.
Originally:
The rose bush is to Cody’s right.
Then:
Then:
Here you can see how pathetic the rose bush had become.
And now:
Continue readingwmtc: canadian boat to gaza send off today; female nobel laureates call on united nations to do the right thing
This morning in both Toronto and Montreal, many of the Canadian delegates of the Canadian ship Tahrir, will meet the media before boarding their flights to Turkey. The Tahrir will set sail for Gaza as part of Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human, an intern…
Continue readingwmtc: the big man is gone: clarence clemons dead at 69
What terrible, sad, shocking news. Clarence Clemons, the Big Man, the heart and soul of the E Street Band, has died.
My heart goes out to Bruce, who must have lost a brother today, as well as all the other E Streeters, and Clemons’ four sons.
Mr. Cl…
wmtc: bill ayers: "as public space contracts, the real victim becomes truth, honesty, integrity, curiosity, imagination, freedom"
A while back in my Intellectual Freedom and the Public Library course, I encountered an interesting shift of ideas. Larry Alexander, while arguing that freedom of expression is not a human right (I disagree!), points out that free speech is less about …
Continue readingwmtc: the true cost of tomatoes, or slavery and poverty continue to haunt the fast-food industry, and how you can help
I have blogged several times about the horrific conditions endured by the people who pick tomatoes in Immokalee, Florida, working for fast-food giants like Burger King, Taco Bell and McDonald’s, and supermarket giants like Kroger, Stop & Shop, Whole Fo…
Continue readingwmtc: canadian boat to gaza: we will not be intimidated by threats or lawsuits
A message from the Canadian Boat to Gaza, to anyone who thinks they can bully the boat into submission:
We will not be intimidated by threats or lawsuits
It has been brought to our attention that a lawsuit has been filed against the Canadian Boat to G…
Continue readingwmtc: "abortion saved my life" and other tales of human rights
What does abortion access look like to women who don’t have any? What does it mean to be unable to obtain an abortion when you need one?
The anti-choice movement in the US has succeeded beyond most of our worst nightmares. Although early abortion is …
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