…One topic that dominated the DTES LAP discussions last night was the 60/40 (Social/ market rate housing split) and the definition of affordable housing … All the usual suspects always caution against social housing. Developers are constantly talking about how it is not possible to build social housing without other
Continue readingTag: race
Melissa Fong: Overheard in Vancouver’s Chinatown
White girl in the bathroom stall to friend washing her hands beside me: “Oh… is that place good? I heard it was just full of a bunch of Chinese […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Black boys deserve our tears: On White privilege & police brutality
Sometimes I cry when reading the news. I cry because so many horrendous things happen to people and I can’t possibly understand why this world is SUCH a horrible place. There are countless stories about the negative stereotypes and police brutality that Black men must endure… but this really broke
Continue readingMelissa Fong: SNL and Black female comedians
Kerry Washington hosted SNL tonight and she was good. They poked fun about this scandal- that SNL didn’t hire any black women. That was a funny enough sketch. But what I found MOST refreshing was that we got to see a black woman just act and not have to be
Continue readingArt Threat: Tanishq ad for second wedding strikes a chord
Across the pond and over the hills to India, a new ad by jeweller Tanishq is the talk of the town for pushing boundaries. Created by one of India’s largest communication groups, LOWE Lintas, Tanishq’s latest ad features a gorgeous dusky bride on her wedding day. After having her
Continue readingThings Are Good: How Racing Cars Helps Babies
For the most part, Formula 1 is just entertainment, but every now and then something really nifty comes out of it. Using models and algorithms developed to monitor an F1 car’s performance, some engineers figured out how to apply them to hospitals. During a Formula 1 race, a car sends
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Why am I not allowed to have a personality?
Why am I not allowed to have a personality? He smiles at me, “Hey girl, where are you from?” I reply, “Vancouver… Canada.” I’m partly hopeful this will be the end of the interaction… but it has happened so many times that I can see his demise. Why do I
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: In the US, an “open season on black boys” after Zimmerman acquittal
by: Obert Madondo | Twitter: @Obiemad: (AP Photo/Javier Galeano) In the US, an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, is murdered in cold blood. The jury finds the alleged murderer, Florida neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman, not guilty. President Barack Obama calls for “calm reflection”. He mentions neither “George Zimmerman” nor the issue at the heart
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Racism and the US Civil Rights movement retold
As I read through Rick Perlstein’s book, Nixonland, about American politics and life in the 1950s and 60s, the Civil Rights movement and the reaction to it by white Americans, the narrative astounds me. Such anger, such violence. Such sadness. … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: After layoffs, racialized immigrant workers face precarious employment, poverty wages
by: CAW & Ryerson University | Press Release: TORONTO, June 25, 2013 – Older immigrant workers who have been laid off are falling through the cracks of Canada’s employment system, with many of them ending up in temporary jobs with few benefits, finds a new study released today at Ryerson University’s
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Are Looks Everything – Maybe not, Sayeth Cameron Russell
Cameron Russell shows us the power of image and how our perceptions shape our reality. Filed under: Education Tagged: Power, Privilege, Race, The importance of Looks
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: NOT Offended By Brad Paisley and LL Cool J’s “Accidental Racist” Lyrics
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Last week “Accidental Racist”, the new duet by country singer Brad Paisley and rapper LL Cool J made a lot of people uncomfortable. Angry even. It caused an online backlash. A pop music critic with the Toronto Star said: ‘Accidental Racist’ makes Brad Paisley and LL Cool
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Change will not come from government and this policy or that – only from extra-congressional, extra-parliamentary strategies.
Here is a two-part interview with Stephanie Seguino, who, though focusing squarely on income inequality and its racial and gender implications, is not a revolutionary transformer of capitalism but a technical reformer in the Krugman…
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Change will not come from government and this policy or that – only from extra-congressional, extra-parliamentary strategies.
Here is a two-part interview with Stephanie Seguino, who, though focusing squarely on income inequality and its racial and gender implications, is not a revolutionary transformer of capitalism but a technical reformer in the Krugman Keynesian tradition. Like Krugman, she advocates closely monitored public spending as a way to stimulate the economy. An interesting argument
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Change will not come from government and this policy or that – only from extra-congressional, extra-parliamentary strategies.
Here is a two-part interview with Stephanie Seguino, who, though focusing squarely on income inequality and its racial and gender implications, is not a revolutionary transformer of capitalism but a technical reformer in the Krugman Keynesian tradition. Like Krugman, she advocates closely monitored public spending as a way to stimulate the economy. An interesting argument
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Asian eyes
So something entertaining happened yesterday. A friend of mine sent me a link to this Cabbage Patch Doll site. [3] Go ahead and click on the link and then look at the list of “eye colour” available. Yeah… How is “ASIAN” and eye colour? [Note, I’m not going to cover
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Racist humour, Racial humour and Anti-Racist humour: #KondaboluKnows
Racist humour, Racial humour and Anti-Racist humour: #KondaboluKnows I have struggled a long time with stand-up comics and their use of race in jokes. I have had some downright sexist and racist remarks used against me in comedy clubs very much similar to this incident. (Yes, I DO understand the
Continue readingbastard.logic: SHOCKING: Republican Voter Suppression Efforts Suppress Democratic Votes
The NY Times: Several recent polls and studies suggest that long waiting times in some places depressed turnout in 2012 and that lines were longest in cities, where Democrats outnumber Republicans. In a New York Times/CBS News poll taken shortly after Election Day, 18 percent of Democrats said they waited
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Wynne-ing Like It’s 2006…And Losing Like It’s 2008
Today Ontario Liberals chose their next leader, but if 2006 is any indication, they might have just chosen their next loser. Similarities between Kathleen Wynne’s recent victory in the Ontario leadership race and Stephane Dion’s in the federal Liberal leadership contest in 2006 suggest a just as similar electoral future.
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: U.S. Election 2012: Chris Rock’s Message For White Voters
Comedian Chris Rock has a special message white voters who may that U.S. President Barack Obama “is just too Black a candidate for them.” Relax. Obama “is juuuuuuuuuust WHITE”. Watch. RELATED: The Obert Report: Harper and Obama…
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