nelson mandela, 1918-2013
“The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not…
bigotry
thoughts on "the central park five": new york city, the central park jogger, and me
We’ve just seen “The Central Park Five,” the Ken Burns film about five young men of colour who were wrongfully arrested, indicted, and convicted of rape and attempted murder, and…
what i’m watching: ken burns’ "prohibition", an excellent documentary
This week we finished Ken Burns’ excellent documentary “Prohibition,” and I recommend it highly to everyone who enjoys history. Most of us know at least something about Prohibition, especially how…
the harper government’s vision of canada, in our passports and in our wallets
Some years ago, I analyzed the “Discover Canada”, the most recent guide for immigrants studying for the Canadian citizenship exam. I compared the booklet to the previous citizenship guide, “A…
Pauline Marois: Her proposed Charter of Hate-Values
It is already having an impact as a Muslim woman was harassed on a city bus by a bigoted moron. Also a mosque in Saguenay was attacked and disfigured. “A…
My Kind of Way to Fight the Quebec Charter of Values
I really like this photo. And I'm glad some Quebecers took to the streets today to protest against the PQ's exclusionary so-called Charter of Quebec Values. And although I am…
The Bottom Line on the Parti Québécois Proposed Values Charter
I was going to write a long blog post on this but since so much has been written about it I think this captures the spirit and intent of the…
The Bottom Line on the Parti Québécois Proposed Values Charter
I was going to write a long blog post on this but since so much has been written about it I think this captures the spirit and intent of the…
The Bottom Line on the Parti Québécois Proposed Values Charter
I was going to write a long blog post on this but since so much has been written about it I think this captures the spirit and intent of the…
fifty years later, king and his most famous speech are transformed into patriotic mush
Today, Americans will march on Washington in commemoration of the most famous March on Washington: August 28, 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his now-famous “I Have A…
dimanno: let’s make sochi the gay games
When I read Stephen Fry’s open letter to the IOC, and the continued calls to boycott or move the Sochi Games because of the horrendous and institutionalized homophobic violence within…
On bigotry and prejudice #nlpoli
The Telegram editorial last Friday offered a few comments on some recent examples of nasty words tossed at people not from one place or another. One was a letter that…
what i’m reading: two youth novels
There is so much truly excellent youth fiction out these days, and it’s not all vampires and zombies. Here are two wonderful teen novels in two totally different veins. There…
dear liberal public: there is nothing shocking about the george zimmerman verdict
Dear liberal public, The internet tells me you are shocked – shocked and outraged – about the verdict in the George Zimmerman case. Seriously? You are shocked? You have lived…
my journey to palestinian solidarity and the myth of the self-hating jew, part 3 and final
Part 1 here. Part 2 here. By now it should be clear that my abandonment of my ties to Israel, and my support for the liberation of Palestine, are not…
The Downfall of DOMA and the Triumph of Love
I've been studiously trying to ignore anything that happens in the United States these days.Because it's summer, the place is a mad house, and if I need crazy I've got…
my journey to palestinian solidarity and the myth of the self-hating jew, part 2
Part 1 here. For a while I had been reluctant to write this story, because it seemed so baggy and shapeless. The best essays are crisp, with a clearly defined…
my journey to palestinian solidarity and the myth of the self-hating jew, part 1
The Self-Hating Jew. This is what I am, according to some. There’s a line from an Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical: “I’ve been called many names, but they’re the strangest.”* I think…
Stephen Harper, Rob Ford, and the Little Canada
As I paddle my way through life I'm sorry to say that so far I don't have much to brag about eh?Whenever I toot my own horn there is always…