Been thinking about the people in Fort Chipewan today, and everyone who lives in Northern Alberta near the Tar Sands. Stumbled on this song and thought it seemed like a pretty good way of positively saying no to all the powers that are destroying everything in the name of greed.
Continue readingTag: Social Justice
Dented Blue Mercedes: Doing something about anti-gay lobbying in Africa
If you’ve frequented any LGBT media at all, you’ve heard about Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill (often referred to as the “Kill the Gays Bill”), and possibly other anti-gay legislative bills that have been debated in African nations. Perhaps you’ve signed on to petitions directed to various governments to urge them
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Violence is almost never an acceptable response. Neither is rationalizing it.
In August 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins entered the Family Research Council (FRC) headquarters and opened fire, injuring a security guard as he was tackled — fortunately, before he could cause any more damage. Periodically, I see people who I otherwise respect trying to dismiss the incident as insignificant, or even
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: 60 Groups urge Kerry to continue strong leadership on climate change
New Secretary of State positioned to advance American climate leadership, should deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline By 350.org | Feb. 6, 2013: WASHINGTON – Sixty leading environmental, conservation, development, faith-based, and social justice organizations are congratulating Secretary of State John Kerry for his commitment to fight climate change and
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: CASWE and CASW joint statement supporting Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island
A Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE) and Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) joint statement supporting the aspirations of Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island and their aspirations, currently being articulated by #IdleNoMore. by CASWE and CASW, Jan. 31, 2013: As social work educators and practitioners the members of the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Christ Hedges On The Failure of Churches
As a member of the United Church of Canada, my wife receives The United Church Observer, a monthly publication offering an array of interesting pieces and interviews. This month’s issue has an interview with renowned journalist and activist Chris Hedges, a man whose deep social convictions and activism I deeply
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Official statement from Aaron Swartz’s family and partner
The official statement from the family and partner of Aaron Swartz, the Reddit co-founder, Internet activist , programmer and extraordinary hacker, who committed suicide Friday night: Our beloved brother, son, friend, and partner Aaron Swartz hanged himself on Friday in his Brooklyn apartment. We are in shock, and have not yet come to
Continue readingIlluminated By Street Lamps: On Prorogation: A Solution To Hand The Power Back To The People
By Joe Fantauzzi jjfantauzzi@gmail.com | @jjfantauzzi When a minority federal government facing a confidence vote over a rejected economic update suspended Parliament in 2008, a constitutional expert told CBC News the move had set a “dangerous precedent.”[1] Several years later, when a minority government in Ontario used the same procedure,
Continue reading350 or bust: The Day After Newton
One failed attempt at a shoe bomb, and we all take off our shoes at the airport; 31 school shootings since Columbine, and no change in our regulation of guns…- John Oliver * This is a quote taken from Dr King’s eulogy for the children killed in the Birmingham Alabama
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities
By South End Press Publisher: South End Press Pages: 368 ISBN: 978-0-89608-794-1 Format: Paperback original Release Date: 2011-05-01 Synopsis: The extent of the violence affecting our communities is staggering. Nearly one in three women in the United States will experience intimate violence in her lifetime. And while intimate violence affects relationships across the sexuality
Continue readingIlluminated By Street Lamps: Je Me Souviens/I Remember Dec. 6, 1989
Geneviève Bergeron (1968-1989), civil engineering student Hélène Colgan (1966-1989), mechanical engineering student Nathalie Croteau (1966-1989), mechanical engineering student Barbara Daigneault (1967-1989), mechanical engineering student Anne-Marie Edward (1968-1989), chemical engineering student Maud Haviernick (1960-1989), materials engineering student Maryse Laganière (1964-1989), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique’s finance department Maryse Leclair (1966-1989),
Continue reading350 or bust: National Day of Remembrance & Action On Violence Against Women
Sometime after 4 p.m. on December 6, 1989, an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal’s École Polytechnique and killed 14 women. He separated the men from the women and before opening fire on the classroom of female engineering students he screamed, “I hate feminists.” Almost immediately, the Montreal Massacre became
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans Human Rights in Canada: Progress, Stalls and Confustication.
The Province of Nova Scotia passed Bill 140, the Transgendered [sic] Persons Protection Act, today. The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP) commented on Facebook: “Bill 140 passed today with unanimous support in the Nova Scotia Legislature. “Debate” isn’t the right word to express what happened – it was an outpouring of support for adding 
Illuminated By Street Lamps: POSITION ANALYSIS: A Scathing Indictment of Neoliberalism And The Privatized Delivery of Social Services in Canada
The increasingly privatized delivery of social services under neoliberal governments is arguably doing real damage to the Canadian welfare state. Discussions about neoliberalism, which as the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics points out emphasize deregulation and a diminished role for the state[1], are often closely linked with the rise of
Continue readingIlluminated By Street Lamps: Why The Rob Ford Verdict Is Good For Canada
That Justice Charles Hackland found Mayor Rob Ford in violation of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act and ordered him removed from office bodes well for a more progressive Canada. [ Read the full text of the decision here. Thanks to Torontoist for posting the document. ] For the past
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: LGBT human rights in Uganda, and John Baird’s dilemma.
Recent attention from both ends of the political spectrum has focused on the efforts of the Harper government to safeguard the safety and human rights of lesbian and gay people around the world. I’ve commended Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird for taking the lead on this before, and without prompting. But what has been 
Dented Blue Mercedes: Trans Depathologization: the spark of change.
I watch a lot of news stories unfold, reading left-wing, centrist and right-wing media alike. In the course of a news story, issues ignite, blaze hotly and then smoulder into memory. After awhile, one develops some sense of when a campaign will spread like a prairie fire or when it
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: More on Atheism Plus – Cynical Romantic
Sometimes people manage to crystallize a thought or a notion into a wonderful passage that is explicit, yet concise all at the same time. The Cynical Romantic from an older discussion thread on Pharyngula manages to capture much about what Atheism plus is and why it has been formed. [fixed
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