The heroic Edward Snowden, in his own words, via Jesselyn Radack, at the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee in Brussels. I thank the European Parliament and the LIBE Committee for…
The children’s library where I work services a huge age-range of young people and their caregivers, from birth up to around age 12. I enjoy the full range – helping…
There’s a subgenre of youth books in which young people are cast into an alien and dangerous world, where they must struggle to understand their purpose, struggle to survive. If…
This post on the design blog Core77 brought back so many wonderful memories of our recent trip to Spain, especially my total infatuation with the city of Barcelona, and the…
There are two current trends that I seriously dislike, and wish we would all organize to change: retail self-checkout and the use of gift cards as thank-yous and gifts. Neither…
I’ve just finished reading Man’s Search for Meaning, a classic written by Dr. Viktor E. Frankl in 1959, republished with various forewords and epilogues in 1984, 1992, and 2006. It’s…
Today, September 28, women all over the world are taking action to demand the right to accessible, safe, and legal abortion. Women and our allies in more than 50 countries…
This is from the US, but it concerns every Canadian along with every USian. From The Nation, emphasis mine. The Nation’s interactive database of civilian casualties in Afghanistan is an…
Thanks for your service, soldier. Now shut up, and that’s an order. Canada’s wounded soldiers are being required to sign a form agreeing not to criticize their superiors on social…
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,…
One month ago, something happened that should trouble us gravely. Something happened that people who believe in democracy and free speech and an independent media and civil liberties and human…
Dear Richard Dawkins, If the sexual abuse you experienced as a child did not leave you with lasting scars, that’s very fortunate for you. However, you have no right to…
Today marks four years since Iraq War resister Rodney Watson requested sanctuary from the First United Church in Vancouver. Watson has been in sanctuary ever since. We can honour Watson’s…
I haven’t been writing much lately, so it’s good to know loyal wmtc readers are still reading every post. Well, one is, anyway. Yes folks, a full seven years after…
For many people in the world, especially people in South America, the date September 11 was significant long before 2001. On that date in 1973, Augusto Pinochet, with the help…
I think The Onion has outdone itself this time. From the Structural Steel Melt on Tower 7–Grain bread to the Twin Chowers cold cut combo with Ground Zero–Carb vinaigrette on…
We’ve moved! We’re renting a much larger, newer, and more comfortable house in central Mississauga. We’ve lost the huge backyard of our old rental home, but the backyard here is…
This week, port truckers went on strike in California, and fast-food workers in more than 60 cities walked off their jobs. Today in the US, Labor Day is Walmart’s last…
If you’re enjoying a long weekend, take a moment to acknowledge the blood, sweat, and tears of the women and men who made that possible. This page from a regional…
One type of TV show that I enjoy are detective murder mysteries. I don’t watch them all – that would be nearly impossible, Netflix carries so many – but I’m…
