I mentioned this yesterday in my post about the Canadian Peace Alliance’s Peace & Prosperity not War & Austerity campaign, but it deserves special emphasis. In April 2010, I wrote about the Conservative government’s new citizenship guide. This is a booklet sent to all residents of Canada who have applied
Continue readingTag: war and peace
wmtc: peace & prosperity, not war & austerity: help the canadian peace alliance fight the harper military agenda
Amid the deluge of fundraising appeals that arrive via email and paper mail this time of year, the letter from the Canadian Peace Alliance stood out for me. Under the “Canada First Defence Strategy,” Harper plans to spend $480 billion on the military, open up eight new Canadian military bases,
Continue readingwmtc: remembrance on the other 364 days
There’s only one thing wrong with this cartoon: it shows an actual sticker, rather than a magnet. These folks usually don’t “support the troops” enough to glue a piece of plastic to their vehicles.
Continue readingwmtc: fisk: "heaven be thanked that the soldiers cannot return to discover how their sacrifice has been turned into fashion appendage"
It’s that time of year again, the week when no one dares show their face on Canadian television, or indeed in any public place in Canada, without a red poppy symbol dutifully stuck on his or her lapel. What was once (supposedly) a remembrance of the ho…
Continue readingwmtc: "she is my family" and other revelations of humanity: s. brian willson in toronto
Guest post: Allan reports on “An Evening with S. Brian Willson”, a benefit for the War Resisters Support Campaign, Monday, November 7, 2011.(Willson speaking at a church in San Francisco, July 2011)Brian Willson’s life changed forever on one afternoon …
Continue readingwmtc: monday in toronto: "my own government labeled me a terrorist and attempted to murder me"
My own government labeled me a terrorist and attempted to murder me. My story is strongly relevant for activists today in this climate of an unending ‘war on terror.’S. Brian Willson, Vietnam War veteran and peace activistS. Brian Willson, a Vietnam Wa…
Continue readingwmtc: monday, november 7 in toronto: a very special evening with s. brian willson
S. Brian Willson is a Vietnam veteran and peace activist. In September 1987, he lost both his legs when he was run over by a US government munitions train during a nonviolent blocking action. Willson recently published a memoir, Blood on the Tracks; yo…
Continue readingwmtc: "all those responsible for the libyan war ought to be charged with war crimes"
While the leaders of nations cheer at the death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the real face of the air war on Libya goes unreported. This unsparing article fails to mention Canada, but our country is once again a junior partner in an enterprise in which…
Continue readingwmtc: amnesty calls on canada to arrest george w. bush
I posted this in comments on the protest Dick Cheney thread, but it may have gotten buried. From the Department of If Only, cross-referenced under After The Revolution. Amnesty International is calling on Canada to arrest and either prosecute or extrad…
Continue readingwmtc: the f-word: famine is the real obscenity
Signing a petition seems such a paltry, insignificant act when measured against the massive starvation in Somalia. I remind myself of what Gandhi said: Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.Please sign the petit…
Continue readingwmtc: random notes: amira hass, ry cooder, planned parenthood, and more
Time to collect some of the scraps of paper scribbled all over my desk… Amira Hass will be speaking at the University of Toronto tomorrow night. Hass is an Israeli journalist based in Ramallah, and the only Israeli journalist to live in the occupied …
Continue readingwmtc: chris hedges: we are what we loathe
Although the big 9/11 anniversary was weeks ago, Chris Hedges’ observations are relevant every day. This is a truly excellent piece. This excerpt is not the lede. The beginning of this essay may be triggering for some, as Hedges was at the World Trade …
Continue readingwmtc: wikileaks: mentally ill canadian citizen held in bagram prison for 18 months, and counting
This morning CBC News reports that WikiLeaks has exposed that a Canadian is being held at the notorious Bagram prison, the US-run torture camp and holding tank for Afghans who were either trying to defend their country from foreign invaders or were in …
Continue readingwmtc: wall street occupation day 8 turns ugly: cops move on protesters
The occupation of Wall Street turned ugly yesterday when police moved on protesters, complete with pepper spray, kettling, random brutality, and mass arrests. Reading about this, it occured to me that I’ve neglected to blog about it at all. So here’s w…
Continue readingwmtc: war criminal coming to vancouver: ottawa won’t prosecute, but you can protest
Vancouver, a war criminal will be in your midst tomorrow, promoting his book. Join the welcoming committee.If you live elsewhere and don’t see the evil man himself, you might see his book in a bookstore. Re-shelve for resistance! It’s nice to see this …
Continue readingwmtc: war resister rodney watson in sanctuary two years today; leave a message of support
Today, September 18, 2011, is the second anniversary of the day Rodney Watson went into sanctuary in the First United Church of Vancouver. Rodney, after serving his tour in Iraq, knew that he could no longer continue to participate in the immoral, ille…
Continue readingwmtc: next weekend in toronto: conference on war resisters in north america
If you’re interested in the issue of war resistance and the history of war resisters in both Canada and the US, you’ll want to be at the Steelworkers Hall in Toronto next weekend, September 23 and 24. A major conference is taking place, organized by Hi…
Continue readingwmtc: 9.11.11: an anti-remembrance
Ten years on. Ten years of Islamophobia, endless war, the open rationalization of torture and massacre. Ten years of surveillance, insidiously creeping police state, witch hunts, shredding of personal freedoms. Nine years of torture, medical experiment…
Continue readingDear Jack…
I have tried three times this week to compose this letter, each time only to trail off in a cloud of tears. Here it goes.
First of all, I want to thank you for your selfless service to your country. We talked about service when I asked you about the F-35 sole sourced . . . → Read More: Dear Jack…
Continue readingwmtc: palestine 194: palestine must be recognized as a nation
The United Nations Security Council will soon meet for a second time to discuss Palestine’s bid to become the world’s 194th country. While I personally don’t believe that “two states for two peoples” is a path to peace and reconciliation, I do know tha…
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