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.
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wmtc: 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 readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Prisoners of Their Own Delusions #nlpoli
Another part of the Premier’s Office assault on reality Monday was a puff piece by Paul McLeod in the Chronicle Herald on Kathy Dunderdale. In some respects, the timing is a coincidence but the thing has been in the works since last month, at l…
Continue readingArt Threat: Do grassroots archives have a future? – Exhibition from archive of activist histories
About 30 people gathered in Toronto last night to discuss what many hope will grow into a movement for archiving grassroots histories. The public meeting was organized by Ulli Diemer of the Connexions Archive as a way to bring like-minded activists and scholars together to find strategies for preserving the heritage of social movements and marginalized communities in Toronto and across Canada. (Check out #Connexions for the twitter feed from the event.)
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Canada’s Greatest Losers
Last week, Martha Hall Findlay and Karen McCrimmon declared their candidacies for the Liberal leadership race. This week, George Takach has taken the plunge. I’ve posted one blog interview with David Merner, and will have others with David Bertschi and Alex Burton next week. Deborah Coyne, meanwhile, has already released more fresh ideas than we’ve seen from Stephen Harper during his entire tenure as Prime Minister. These are seven very different candidates with seven very different messages, but the one … →
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Canadians Enjoy Largest Oil Spill In History
Many British Columbians fear the possible environmental damage of the Northern Gateway pipeline running through their wilderness, yet paradoxically they and all other Canadians not only take pleasure from the largest oil spill in Canadian history, but …
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: 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 …
Continue readingAnother Step to Take: Tales From a Child of the Enemy
With Remembrance Day (and Veteran’s Day) coming up tomorrow, I find myself drawn back to a book I picked up a couple of years ago. It is a book of poetry called Tales from a Child of the Enemyby Ursula Duba. Ursula Duba was born in Germany at the outbreak of World
Continue readingwmtc: remembrance day: all the victims of war, not just the ones who did the killing
Richard Jackson:I would wear a red poppy if it was a symbol of remembrance for all the victims of war, and not just the ones who did the killing. By excluding the non-military victims of war from remembrance, the red poppy upholds a moral hierarchy of …
Continue readingwmtc: remembrance day: not denial and distortion, not spin and propaganda
David Watts: So despite the popular rallying “for King and country,” the outbreak of war in 1914 was not a coming together but a coming apart of a European order. Unlike in 1939 when there was belated admission that a unified effort was needed to stop …
Continue readingwmtc: remembrance day: one man’s view in memory of his father, a veteran
John Bell: When I was a little boy, my brothers and I were rummaging through boxes of old, packed-away stuff in our basement, and came across what we thought was a treasure trove: a sealed package containing shiny silver medals and a pin in the shape o…
Continue readingEclectic Lip: When billionaires brawl… (some US election thoughts)
So, the US elects its next President (or re-elects its current one) today. One hopes that our southern cousins avoid the fiascos of 2000 and 2004. As all but the young recall, the 2000 Gore vs. Bush US election hinged on Florida, where George Bush’s brother Jeb was governor. Before the election, Republican operatives had […]
Eclectic Lip: Lana Wachowski, Joe Simpson and our evolving social mores
The recent release of Cloud Atlas, piqued my interest in writing some thoughts about sexual identity. As has been fairly well publicized leading to the movie’s opening, Lana Wachowski (born Larry) underwent a gender transition (“sex change”) a few years ago; and from all accounts, seems the happier for it. The
Continue readingwmtc: voting for obama because of the supreme court? please check your math
When making the case for the differences between US Democrats and Republicans, many people’s first thought is the Supreme Court. High on their list of the importance of SCOTUS is usually Roe v. Wade, the case that established abortion rights for American women. There was a time when I would
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Leadership Races Through History (Part 3): King Chooses His Heir
Previously: Prologue, The 19th Century, An Elected King He may not have been a career politician, but Uncle Louis could still stage one heck of a photo op. The last blog post in this series took place at the 1919 Liberal leadership convention, during the aftermath of the Great War.
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: I Am the Leggman
There is no more tragic story from the early days of cycling than the legendary Vance (The Leggman) Leggstrong. For a period of nearly a decade, none could match his feats of strength, endurance and mind-bending willpower on the Penny … Continue reading →
Continue readingwmtc: we like lists: list # 18: words that were once people
I really enjoy learning about the origins of words and expressions. (I included this in our last list.) Several words now part of ordinary vocabulary started out as proper names. In 1880, a group of Irish tenant farmers organized a labour ostracism against the agent of an abusive absentee landlord.
Continue readingEclectic Lip: Muslims in America and other hidden ethnic histories
Yves at Naked Capitalism cross-posted a wonderful Alternet piece by Lynn Parramore, eviscerating the idea that Islam is new or alien to America. In truth, the Muslim faith has had a long (if lightly-populated) history in the United States. Islam arrived in America so early, the Puritans hadn’t even burnt
Continue readingFive of Five: "Feminist blogger calls iconic World War II kissing photo ‘sexual assault’"
A feminist blogger is taking serious heat for suggesting that Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famed photograph V-J Day in Times Square depicts anything but a jubilant embrace.
Last week, the London-based blogger known only as “Leopard” wrote the post “The Kissing Sailor, or ‘The Selective Blindness of Rape Culture.’”
Alternate post title: The Globe & Mail blows their
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