Charles McVety, the best spokesman for the Conservative Party a partisan Liberal could ever hope for, has come out against censorship despite being for it.
Continue readingTag: censorship
The Progressive Right: Did PBS censor Tina Fey?
Tina Fey, winner of the 2010 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, had her speech edited during the PBS broadcast of the show.
Critics claim it’s due to the controversial nature of the speech where she addresses the rise of Sarah Palin to prominence; P…
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: TVO’s The Agenda: An Injection of Moralism – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
In this, my second broadcast essay for TVOntario’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, I argue that the efforts by the federal government to place emotion above reason and shut down Insite are unworthy of our country’s better traditions and higher responsibilities. It is little more than an effort to purchase
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: TVO’s The Agenda: An Injection of Moralism – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
In this, my second broadcast essay for TVOntario’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, I argue that the efforts by the federal government to place emotion above reason and shut down Insite are unworthy of our country’s better traditions and higher responsibilities. It is little more than an effort to purchase
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: TVO’s The Agenda: The Rights of Vulgar Little Cowards – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
In this, my maiden broadcast essay for TVOntario’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, I argue that freedom of expression is too fundamental a right to be casually abridged, and that the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal must be stripped of its power to regulate public expression.
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: TVO’s The Agenda: The Rights of Vulgar Little Cowards – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
In this, my maiden broadcast essay for TVOntario’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, I argue that freedom of expression is too fundamental a right to be casually abridged, and that the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal must be stripped of its power to regulate public expression.
Continue readingAndy Lehrer: Shepherd’s Grandaughter – new update
Back in March and again in April and June, I reported on efforts by Brian Henry, the B’nai Brith and Trustee Sheila Ward to have the Toronto District School Board ban the acclaimed children’s book’ The Shepherd’s Granddaughter because it tells the story of a Palestinian girl who suffers at
Continue readingCanadian Firebrand: Shepherd’s Grandaughter – new update
Back in March and again in April and June, I reported on efforts by Brian Henry, the B’nai Brith and Trustee Sheila Ward to have the Toronto District School Board ban the acclaimed children’s book’ The Shepherd’s Granddaughter because it tells the story of a Palestinian girl who suffers at
Continue readingAndy Lehrer: Shepherd’s Grandaughter – new update
Back in March and again in April and June, I reported on efforts by Brian Henry, the B’nai Brith and Trustee Sheila Ward to have the Toronto District School Board ban the acclaimed children’s book’ The Shepherd’s Granddaughter because it tells the story of a Palestinian girl who suffers at the hands of Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Officials of the TDSB reviewed the book and in April ruled that:
the Shepherd’s Granddaughter does not cross the line into literature promoting hate or animosity towards others. On the other hand, it has the potential to engage our Grade 7 and 8 students (a critical age for the development of social consciousness about human society) in understanding the complex issues of their world. The Shepherd’s Granddaughter contains several themes for creative discussions in our classrooms, such as multigenerational families and relationships, aging; experiencing loss; influences of religion and faith; gender roles, and gender stereotypes, effects of family separation through emigration, the value of education… As well, this book can certainly be used to explore issues of bias and prejudice, and that students can learn from such exploration… Having said that, we acknowledge that guidance from the teachers and teacher librarians is important in producing the desired outcomes described above.
That decision was appealed and an 11 member committee reviewed the book and advised TDSB Director Chris Spence that the book met the Board’s criteria for approval.
Spence issued his decision last week and informed the complainant, Brian Henry, that after reviewing the committee’s report and reading the book himself (something Trustee Ward failed to do before vowing to “move heaven and earth” to ban the book) he agrees with the committee that the book “has the potential to engage our Grade 7 and 8 students . . . in understanding the complex issues of their world.”
You’d think that would be the end of it but school trustee James Pasternak is urging Henry to appeal to trustees to overturn Spence’s decision claiming that the book “has no place in our schools.” Pasternak asserts that “we’ll have enough votes to overturn the decision.”
This should be an election issue. Contact the school trustees at the email addresses below and tell them what you think. You can find out who your trustee is here or you can write all the trustees using the email addresses below:
irene.atkinson@tdsb.on.ca, nadia.bello@tdsb.on.ca, chris@chrisbolton.ca, john.campbell@tdsb.on.ca, sheila.cary-meagher@tdsb.on.ca, shaun.chen@tdsb.on.ca, michael.coteau@tdsb.on.ca, gary.crawford@tdsb.on.ca, cathy.dandy@tdsb.on.ca, bruce.davis@tdsb.on.ca, gerri.gershon@tdsb.on.ca, howard.goodman@tdsb.on.ca, scott.harrison@tdsb.on.ca, john.hastings@tdsb.on.ca, josh@joshmatlow.ca, james.pasternak@tdsb.on.ca, stephnie.payne@tdsb.on.ca, maria.rodrigues@tdsb.on.ca, mari.rutka@tdsb.on.ca, chris.tonks@tdsb.on.ca, sheila.ward@tdsb.on.ca, soo.wong@tdsb.on.ca, gorick.ng@tdsb.on.ca, fan.wu@tdsb.on.ca, david.tomczak@tdsb.on.ca
Continue readingAndy Lehrer's Firebrand blog: Shepherd’s Grandaughter – new update
Back in March and again in April and June, I reported on efforts by Brian Henry, the B’nai Brith and Trustee Sheila Ward to have the Toronto District School Board ban the acclaimed children’s book’ The Shepherd’s Granddaughter because it tells the story of a Palestinian girl who suffers at
Continue readingElection time approaches!
I used to enjoy reading about politics. In high school, when I was just developing a conciousness about politics, I used to find the littlest, most menial government tasks absolutely fascinating, and I would exuberantly encourage my peers to read about…
Continue readingPop The Stack: Google Takes a Step to Reclaiming “Do No Evil” Status
Sometimes you think the world can never chance, companies and governments won’t ever really improve or open themselves to scrutiny, they’ll never backtrack because in the end all they care about are money and power. Well, maybe that’s true. And maybe, Google’s famous desire to “Do No Evil” is naive, pie-in-the-sky silliness. But today, Google […]
Continue readingMars at Night
Inhale thick smoke in a pensive positionAnd gaze unabashedly at skies overhead, wonderingAs I always do, without censor, at the originsSome nights my view is clear, others it is foggyAnd when it’s clear so much is explained, in thatPainstakingly instru…
Continue readingCanadian Firebrand: Trustee Sheila Ward wants to ban a book she hasn’t read
Toronto District School Board Trustee Sheila Ward (Toronto Centre) told the Jewish Tribune this week that she will “move heaven and earth to have The Shepherd’s Granddaughter taken off the school library shelves” in response to a demand by B’nai Brith Canada and parent Brian Henry that the book be
Continue readingAndy Lehrer's Firebrand blog: Trustee Sheila Ward wants to ban a book she hasn’t read
Toronto District School Board Trustee Sheila Ward (Toronto Centre) told the Jewish Tribune this week that she will “move heaven and earth to have The Shepherd’s Granddaughter taken off the school library shelves” in response to a demand by B’nai Brith Canada and parent Brian Henry that the book be
Continue readingCENSORED by your local Police Department…
David Bratzer, an active officer in the ranks of the Victoria Police Department, and also a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), was invited to speak at an event tomorrow night in Victoria. This event was sponsored and funded by the Ci…
Continue readingJacked Up: So much for freedom of the press
Since Harper has been Prime Minister, I don’t think anyone would argue, there has been a bit of a crackdown on journalists. First, he told Canada that he would no longer tolerate press conferences, because those pesky interviewers dared to ask him some tough questions. Then Conservatives had the RCMP
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