This is my first unhappy “things i heard at the library” post. Today I saw a child being abused. It happened so fast, it was over and the parent gone before I had could clearly register what had happened. I was sitting on the edge of our lighthouse, the play
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wmtc: carolyn egan: we will leave no woman behind
On this day of remembrance of women lost to violence, here is Carolyn Egan, a woman I am proud to call friend and comrade, accepting the the Constance E. Hamilton Award on the Status of Women.
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the ghost map by steven johnson
Since quitting my horrible job, I’ve discovered that I actually can read for myself during the school term. I can’t read as much as I’d like to, but then, I never can. It was still amazing, in the middle of a school term, to put my feet up and read
Continue readingwmtc: doctors vs jason kenney: the fight continues
The Harper Government continues to scapegoat the most vulnerable among us, demonizing refugee claimants, denying them due process, forcing them out of Canada. Yesterday we heard that four people arrested at the border were part of a human smuggling ring. Peter Showler, director of the Refugee Forum at the University
Continue readingwmtc: teachers are not the problem. charter rights are for everyone. repeal bill 115.
The attacks on teachers and other educational professionals, now cropping up all over North America, are frightening. Teachers – whose work is so important, who are so underpaid and undervalued, who routinely use their own money and their own time to s…
Continue readingwmtc: greenwald on "both sides are wrong", hedges on the world as gaza
There are always at least two sides to every story. Long ago, in the American West, some pioneers and cowboys were killed by “Indians”. More recently, Iraqi “insurgents” have killed US soldiers. When I was growing up, Vietnamese “guerillas” – I believe…
Continue readingwmtc: this is what jason kenney’s canada looks like: family deported to libya, father is tortured, court cites bias and lies
A family that was ordered to leave Canada by Jason Kenney’s IRB was – as they predicted – separated and detained, and the father was tortured by Libyan authorities. The Benhmuda family lived in Canada for eight years, and included two children born in …
Continue readingwmtc: walmart workers, marvin miller, rob ford: important stuff that happened while i wasn’t blogging
As the title says, here are some things I thought about while I was taking a blogging break.● Marvin Miller died. Miller should be a hero of both the labour movement and baseball history. He should also be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Anyon…
Continue readingwmtc: i’m back and i’m done
Another semester is behind me! I’ve now completed seven of eight terms, 14 of 16 courses. The expression “can’t wait” doesn’t begin to describe how eager I am to finish my degree next spring.Quitting my oppressive law-firm job continues to pay dividend…
Continue readingwmtc: buy nothing day: support striking walmart workers near you
One more paper plus one fundraiser for the Children’s Book Bank will equal one more term behind me. Until then, I leave you with this excellent image of cultural imperialism, from The New Internationalist: another kind of D-Day.Today, occupiers all ove…
Continue readingwmtc: two pieces of good news: a ceasefire in gaza, and the megaquarry is stopped
Facing enormous and sustained public opposition, the company behind the Melancthon megaquarry has backed down. This is an enormous victory for the environment and the forces of reason – a victory of the people over profits.And the air strikes on Gaza e…
Continue readingwmtc: friday in the u.s.: support walmart workers
This Friday, on the biggest shopping day of the year (also known as International Buy Nothing Day), hundreds of courageous Walmart workers will stand up to their bullying employer and demand their right to organize, free of retaliation. The workers of …
Continue readingwmtc: saturday across canada: end the siege of gaza
This Saturday, across Canada and around the world, people will gather to condemn Israel’s massacre of Gaza. The call:Stop Israel’s war on Gaza!Stop the killing. End the blockade. Free Palestine. Support BDS.In Toronto:Rally & MarchSaturday, Novembe…
Continue readingwmtc: a good-news, bad-news update: buddha, the brockways, and iraq war resisters in canada
Last month, I took a little road trip with a few friends from the War Resisters Support Campaign, to welcome a new baby and meet a new dog. This nice little visit would be unremarkable – if it weren’t completely incredible. We visited the Brockway…
Continue readingwmtc: in mississauga: a people’s history of the war of 1812
The Harper Government has spent nearly $30 million promoting The War of 1812, all part of its overall effort to re-brand Canada as a “warrior nation”. History is always worth remembering, but who tells the story? What’s emphasized and what’s forgotten?…
Continue readingwmtc: in toronto: a fundraiser for iraq war resisters, featuring noah richler
The War Resisters Support Campaign presents “TELLING OUR STORY: A Fundraiser for U.S. Iraq War Resisters”, at Innis College Town Hall in Toronto, Friday, December 7, at 7:00 p.m. This very special evening features author Noah Richler reading from his n…
Continue readingwmtc: pollitt: when "pro-life" kills: honour savita’s memory with a donation to help other irish women
Who is more valuable, a living woman or a dying fetus? The Catholic Church has given its answer, and Savita Halapannavar is dead. If this was Islam, we’d never hear the end of it.Follow developments, including notifications about protests and demonst…
Continue readingwmtc: death by anti-choice: irish woman, denied termination during spontaneous miscarriage, dies
This is what no access to safe and legal abortion looks like.Two investigations are under way into the death of a woman who was 17 weeks pregnant, at University Hospital Galway last month.Savita Halappanavar (31), a dentist, presented with back pain at…
Continue readingwmtc: it’s open season on wyoming wolves: please help end the slaughter
Please watch this 45-second video, then sign a letter a to Ken Salazar, US Secretary of the Interior. Your click may or may not save the lives of wolves. But not clicking will surely allow the killing to continue. Sign here.
Continue readingwmtc: sam gordon, girls playing football, and the last bit of segregation we still tolerate
In case you haven’t seen this yet, it’s 9-year-old football sensation Sam Gordon, the only girl on her Utah football team. Dave Zirin raises the question: why do we assume gender segregation in sports is necessary? The historical perspective, plus the …
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