Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town Under Siege is a tribute to the power of books to heal, to offer refuge, and to nourish communities. It’s also a tribute to the spirit of resistance to tyranny and oppression. In 2013, the Syrian town of Daraya was targeted
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wmtc: what i’m reading: syria’s secret library: reading and redemption in a town under siege
Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town Under Siege is a tribute to the power of books to heal, to offer refuge, and to nourish communities. It’s also a tribute to the spirit of resistance to tyranny and oppression. In 2013, the Syrian town of Daraya was targeted
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: occupy nation by todd gitlin
Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit, and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street is a history and ethnography of Occupy Wall Street, and the Occupy movement. Author, sociologist, and longtime leftist activist Todd Gitlin has written an account of how a social movement was born, grew, and died. After reading
Continue readingwmtc: required reading for revolutionaries: jane mcalevey and micah white
I’ve wanted to write about these two books for a long time, but adequately summarizing them is a daunting task. I just want to say to every activist and organizer: READ THESE BOOKS. I don’t want to represent the authors’ ideas, I want you to read them yourself. No Shortcuts:
Continue readingwmtc: votepopup: voter education at the library
On the long list of anti-democratic policies the majority Harper Government has enacted, the Orwellian-named Fair Elections Act ranks near the top. More properly called a voter suppression law, the Act effectively disenfranchise tens of thousands of Canadians. The Council of Canadians has taken the issue to court, including an
Continue readingwmtc: update: mississauga library workers vote to form independent cupe local
When people are denied independence and told that they cannot govern themselves, it only makes them more determined to achieve their independence. This simple principle repeats itself in matters large and small, throughout all history and all cultures. The struggles of 430 library workers in the sprawling suburban city of
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: this changes everything by naomi klein, one of the most important books you’ll ever read
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, by Naomi Klein, is incredibly difficult to write about. I’ve been putting sticky notes beside important paragraphs as I read, and my copy now looks like an art project, bristling with coloured paper squares. I can say without exaggeration that this is one
Continue readingwmtc: rest in peace, canine with a brave rebel heart
When I blogged about him a few years back, he was called Kanellos, the Greek rebel dog. Somewhere along the way, English-language media dubbed him Riot Dog. He was also called Louk, short for Loukanikos. Louk, Kanellos, and also Thodoris may or may not have been the same dog. Whatever
Continue readingwmtc: revolutionary thoughts of the day: kareem abdul-jabbar, the new yorker, howard zinn
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has an excellent essay in Time, something only a big-name writer can get away with in the mainstream media. Abdul-Jabbar names the stark truths behind the uprising in Ferguson, Missouri. And the mere fact that this appears on Time.com is reason for hope. This fist-shaking of everyone’s racial
Continue readingwmtc: today: call your m.p.! stop the (un)fair elections act!
I trust by now you’ve all heard about Stephen Harper’s latest plan to undermine democracy in Canada, his electoral reform bill that the chief electoral officer of the country has called an affront to democracy. Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand told CBC: “My reading of the act is that I
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: more moyers: democracy and plutocracy don’t mix
I found the preceding rtod post buried in Blogger drafts, something Allan saved there years ago. I never got around to posting it, but I never had the heart to delete it, either. If you’re not familiar with Bill Moyers, he is an American independent journalist, producer, and public intellectual.
Continue readingwmtc: hedges: "when harper passes right-to-work, you must go on a massive general strike, or you’re finished"
Last night, I heard author, journalist, and activist Chris Hedges speak at the Bloor Street United Church in Toronto, sponsored by the excellent Canadian Dimension. Hedges is a radical intellectual, in the Chomsky vein, also compassionate and fearless, in the mode of Howard Zinn. He touched on many subjects –
Continue readingwmtc: happy canada day, a/k/a national stop harper day
This week, pollster Nik Nanos revealed that 51.5% of Canadian voters would not consider voting for the Conservative party, compared to 36.4% only seven months ago. I don’t play the national pastime – election prediction – so I won’t speculate about if or how this poll will translate on the
Continue readingwmtc: my journey to palestinian solidarity and the myth of the self-hating jew, part 3 and final
Part 1 here. Part 2 here. By now it should be clear that my abandonment of my ties to Israel, and my support for the liberation of Palestine, are not based on denial of my Jewish heritage or on anti-Semitism. This is a political issue, and a moral one. Jewish
Continue readingwmtc: my journey to palestinian solidarity and the myth of the self-hating jew, part 2
Part 1 here. For a while I had been reluctant to write this story, because it seemed so baggy and shapeless. The best essays are crisp, with a clearly defined turning point and an easily identifiable ah-ha moment. This story has none of those that I can see. A clear
Continue readingwmtc: rtod
Revolutionary thought of the day: No healthy democracy can endure when the most consequential acts of those in power remain secret and unaccountable. Glenn Greenwald
Continue readingwmtc: election fraud ruling: demand to know the truth
While everyone’s been glued to Rob Ford’s crack and Mike Duffy’s featherbedding, something even more important happened: the Federal Court confirmed that there was election fraud in the 2011 federal election. Not just “robocalls” – that diminutive buzzword that the media clings to – but election fraud: a deliberate, targeted
Continue readingwmtc: are we seeing the beginning of global people’s revolution?
“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear…” This week, I attended a talk put on by the International Socialists, featuring an organizer with OUR Walmart, by Skype from Texas, and a Toronto-based union activist. Both speakers were terrific and so inspiring, but although I took copious notes,
Continue readingwmtc: greenwald, ellsberg, and others launch freedom of press foundation to fight government censorship and secrecy
An important and exciting column by Glenn Greenwald. See original for more links. New press freedom group is launched to block US government attacks Nothing is more vital than enabling true transparency and adversarial journalism, and preventing further assaults on them Several weeks ago, I wrote about the steps taken
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