I’ve never liked the comparison of control freak Stephen Harper to figurehead Resident George W. Bush. I understand where it comes from, of course, but if Canada is becoming the United States, as progressive Canadians love to say, then it’s the United States of 20, 25 years ago. My comrade
Continue readingAuthor: laura k
wmtc: we like lists: lists of lists of lists
On our DIY top-ten list, M@ made a top-10 list of top-10 lists. David Weinberger, author of Everything Is Miscellaneous, takes it up a level, with a top ten list of top ten lists of top ten lists! I haven’t read that book yet, but I probably will over the
Continue readingwmtc: tell the toronto star: punish the deed, not the breed
This editorial in the Toronto Star is based on the same misinformation and hysteria that led to the pit bull death sentence in the first place. If you care about this issue, please take a moment to write to the Star and inform of them of the facts. Write to
Continue readingwmtc: you can fight your excessive water bill
I’m posting this for Googleability. If you’ve received an excessive water bill, there may be an error in your reading, even if the water meter is working correctly. My partner and I recently filed a small claims lawsuit against the Region of Peel to recover excessive water charges we were
Continue readingwmtc: robogate: vote suppression must be investigated, by-elections must be held
What will be done about RoboGate? Has Stephen Harper’s well-documented pattern of giving democracy the finger finally gone too far? Thanks to an excellent election post-mortem by Matt Peters and Ryan Boldt on rabble.ca last year, we know that the Conservative Party won by a very narrow margin in dozens
Continue readingwmtc: stop the pipeline: "do you see what we are doing here? we are destroying future generations."
This is an absolute must read or must see: the testimony of a 26-year-old man, the son of a Canadian oil executive, to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel hearings. The Vancouver Observer, progressive independent media, has the transcript and the video. One such day on the refinery stood
Continue readingwmtc: in which we kick peel’s butt!
Win? That doesn’t even begin to describe it. This was a rout. When the smoke cleared, we were celebrating and they were gasping for air. $429 and change that we should never have been charged? Check. $175 in court costs? Check. But wait, there’s more… $100 for our preparation time,
Continue readingwmtc: cause for rejoicing! hershey’s bill passes second reading!
Hershey’s Law, the private member’s bill that would repeal the worst of the Dog Owners’ Liability Act – that is, the pit bull death sentence – has passed second reading in the Ontario Parliament. My heartfelt thanks to all the dog lovers who worked so hard to make this happen.
Continue readingwmtc: our day in court
Remember our crazy water bill? And how tried to fight it? In the end, we had no choice. We had to pay the bill or Peel would have disconnected our water. After that, our only recourse was to file in small claims court to try to recover the excess payment.
Continue readingwmtc: sir michael philip at the white house
I’m sure you’ve seen this everywhere already, but damn, how could I not post it. I love this man and I love this music. He may be short of breath, but consider that he’s almost 70 years old… and still smokin’ hot. Nice to hear the great Hubert Sumlin invoked
Continue readingwmtc: love a librarian: keep toronto public library public
Tell Mayor Ford you want a free, public Toronto Public Library. Go here.
Continue readingwmtc: what we talk about when we talk about jeremy lin
Even if you live in a sports-free universe, the name Jeremy Lin may have seeped in through osmosis. The 24-year-old Harvard grad and point guard for the New York Knicks basketball team has inspired a wave of Lin-sanity and Lin-spiration around North America and much of the world. Lin is
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: # 3
“What are you doing?” “Putting books away.” “Why are you doing that?” “So people can find them later.” “Do you have any books about fishing?” “Books on fishing… let’s see. Oh look, here’s one with Winnie the Pooh fishing.” “I put that there!” “You did?” “I did! I put that
Continue readingwmtc: when all else fails, kiss a pitbull
Thanks to James and Stephanie and everyone else who sent me these. From Peace Love & Pitbulls.
Continue readingwmtc: dr. dawg on vikileaks
In case you haven’t done so already, you’ll want to read Dr. Dawg on the Vic Toews phony scandal, internet surveillance, and the mind-boggling hypocrisy of the both the Conservatives and the mainstream media: On hypocrisy, politicians and the media. I’m not even going to quote from it, because you’ve
Continue readingwmtc: in which i call rogers to check on my disconnect order
Further to the saga of dumping Rogers, this morning I ordered internet service through TekSavvy. (I had already called for information on how to switch and called Rogers to cancel my service.) The customer service rep was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I wasn’t 100% certain of my disconnect date with
Continue readingwmtc: dear leadnow: i’m not sure i want to cooperate
Like many Canadian activists, I am currently being bombarded with emails from Leadnow and Avaaz, pushing their “Cooperate for Canada” campaign. We are being urged to join the political party of our choice, then to encourage the parties to “cooperate” in the next election, in order to defeat the Conservatives.
Continue readingwmtc: rob ford’s latest strategy in the war on toronto public library: slash, downsize, then try to privatize
From Maureen O’Reilly, library workers’ union, Toronto Public Library (emphasis mine): + + + + + It hasn’t taken Ford and company long before launching a new attack on our public library. Frustrated that we stopped him last month from wreaking massive reductions to open hours and slashing programs and
Continue readingwmtc: jason kenney is at it again again: each refugee claim must be decided individually, not by country of origin
The Harperites have resurrected the unjust, immoral, and, according to international treaties to which Canada is a signatory, illegal bill formerly known as C-11. Jason Kenney doesn’t want so much riff-raff allowed into Canada. So first he let positions on the Immigration and Refugee Board go vacant, so there weren’t
Continue readingwmtc: results of poll on immigration shows conservative anti-immigrant policies are out of step with dominant canadian view
I was pleased to see the results of a recent Environics survey about Canadians’ attitudes towards immigrants and new Canadians. It’s reassuring to know that the attitudes that led to an attack on a Muslim woman in Mississauga and the directive forbidding women to wear veils at a citizenship ceremony
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