I don’t like Pauline Marois. I never have. Frankly, she reminds me of a teacher I had in grade 6 who ruled the classroom through fear and intimidation … and she keeps on using political tactics that reek of the same stupidity. Today’s entry into the race for the bottom
Continue readingTag: bigotry
wmtc: march 19, 2003: don’t call it a failure. it was a huge success for so many.
Eleven years ago today, the US invaded Iraq. This unprovoked invasion of another country that had not threatened the United States was justified by the pretense of finding weapons of mass destruction (which the US knew did not exist), and as payback for 9/11 (which the US knew Iraq had
Continue readingwmtc: ny times letters on the movement against israeli apartheid
The New York Times recently ran a heavy dose of letters in support of the movement against Israeli apartheid, many of them written by Jewish North Americans. Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss suggests the Times is seeking to balance two recent articles it ran about the boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) movement.
Continue readingwmtc: read dave kopay’s open letter to michael sam
Did I celebrate Michael Sam’s coming out on Facebook and Twitter, and forget to mention it on wmtc?? Ack! Social media run amok! The news that a top NFL prospect has come out as gay in advance of the draft is electrifying. The support for Sam among NFL players is
Continue readingwmtc: shirley temple black, breast cancer activist, former child star, 1928-2014
Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson Growing up watching old movies, I was a big fan of Shirley Temple, whose dimples, singing, and tap-dancing charmed my parents’ generation. Temple danced with some of the tap greats, African-American men who Hollywood cast as servants, yassuh-ing their way into the dance scenes.
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Day Rob Ford Was Exposed as a Bestial Bigot
When I went past Toronto's City Hall today I was happy to see the beautiful rainbow flag flying, like it is in so many other Canadian cities from St John's to Vancouver.As a gesture of solidarity with the brutally oppressed LGBT people of Russia.So you can imagine how angry I
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Jesse Ventura Is On Our Side On Racist Team Names
More support for changing the name of the NFL team in Washington comes from Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Yesterday, I wrote about how incredibly easy it would be to change the racist name of any kind of team. It’s really not that hard. Imagine the reverse, though. Imagine changing the
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Quebec Charter and the Religion that Kills
I think I can safely say that in the icy heart of this Harperland winter, just about the last thing I want to think about, talk about, or write about is the Quebec's Secular Charter.I've written about it before, and no doubt I'll write about it again. But not tonight.Tonight I'll
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Ezra Levant and the Shame of the Canadian University Press
The Canadian University Press is the oldest student newswire service in the world, and the oldest national student organization in North America.And when I was a cub reporter at the McGill Daily, I vaguely remember attending one of its conventions and meeting some great young progressives, and having a really
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Unspeakable Foulness of Ezra Levant
It's the kind of tragedy than can strike many families, particularly at this time of the year. Politicians from all parties and levels of government are paying tribute to Christopher Peloso, the husband of Ontario's former deputy premier George Smitherman, after Peloso was found dead following a long struggle with
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the immortal life of henrietta lacks, by roberta skloot
I’ve just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. I’m sure many of you have read it, but if you have not, please run to your local library or bookstore or website and borrow, purchase, or download a copy immediately. This book is literary nonfiction of the
Continue readingwmtc: herbert: mandela and king were not warm and fuzzy, they were hard-core revolutionaries
Bob Herbert in Jacobin: I knew that the tributes would be pouring in immediately from around the world, and I also knew that most of them would try to do to Mandela what has been done to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: turn him into a lovable, platitudinous
Continue readingwmtc: nelson mandela, 1918-2013
“The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our
Continue readingwmtc: thoughts on "the central park five": new york city, the central park jogger, and me
We’ve just seen “The Central Park Five,” the Ken Burns film about five young men of colour who were wrongfully arrested, indicted, and convicted of rape and attempted murder, and who served seven, and in one case, thirteen years, in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. There was virtually
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m watching: ken burns’ "prohibition", an excellent documentary
This week we finished Ken Burns’ excellent documentary “Prohibition,” and I recommend it highly to everyone who enjoys history. Most of us know at least something about Prohibition, especially how it failed, but I’d bet that much of this film will be eye-opening. And, if you aren’t a regular viewer
Continue readingwmtc: the harper government’s vision of canada, in our passports and in our wallets
Some years ago, I analyzed the “Discover Canada”, the most recent guide for immigrants studying for the Canadian citizenship exam. I compared the booklet to the previous citizenship guide, “A Look At Canada”, and found within its pages the Harper Government’s vision of Canada. Later, we learned that the citizenship
Continue readingLeDaro: Pauline Marois: Her proposed Charter of Hate-Values
It is already having an impact as a Muslim woman was harassed on a city bus by a bigoted moron. Also a mosque in Saguenay was attacked and disfigured. “A substance that appears to be pig’s blood was sprayed on the front of the mosque Saturday, and a letter containing hate
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Russia: The Westboro Baptist of Nations
Ms.Betty Bowers thoughts on the 2014 Olympics. Filed under: Ethics, Gender Issues, International Affairs Tagged: bigotry, discrimination, Olympics, Russia
Continue readingMontreal Simon: My Kind of Way to Fight the Quebec Charter of Values
I really like this photo. And I'm glad some Quebecers took to the streets today to protest against the PQ's exclusionary so-called Charter of Quebec Values. And although I am an atheist if I had been in Montreal today I might have marched with them. Because I will not let
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The Bottom Line on the Parti Québécois Proposed Values Charter
I was going to write a long blog post on this but since so much has been written about it I think this captures the spirit and intent of the proposal succinctly. The bottom line on Quebec’s proposed values charter is that you can visit a hospital named after a
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