happy birthday, bradley manning
Today is the third birthday that courageous military whistleblower Bradley Manning has spent in prison. By the time his court martial begins in March, he will have been imprisoned almost…
human rights
Idle No More: A Drumbeat Is Heard Across The Nation
There are a lot of things I could write about on this crisp winter morning; NOAA’s updated 2012 Arctic Report Card, for example (hint: it ain’t lookin’ good) or the…
Canada’s Human Rights Reputation is Fast Becoming a Myth
by Ontario Federation of Labour: This year, as the global community recognizes December 10 as International Human Rights Day, many Canadians struggle with a vanishing sense of pride in Canada’s…
Canada’s new refugee system unfair to refugees
by Canadian Council for Refugees AND Amnesty International Canada: On the eve of the introduction of important changes to Canada’s refugee determination system, the Canadian Council for Refugees and Amnesty…
Amnesty International goes Gangnam Style for Chinese dissidents
I’m tired of Gangnam Style. Especially so since Psy denounced his past anti-war performances in South Korea — presumably because criticizing the US military doesn’t jive with his newfound pop…
Toronto solidarity fast in support of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence
The details, from the organizers: Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence has begun her hunger strike in Ottawa today and she has pledged to continue until Prime Minister Stephen Harper (and the…
Obert Madondo’s Canada crime Bill C-10 hunger strike: Response from the Minister of Justice
On June 6, I ended my 85-day hunger strike against Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s New Jim Crow-style crime Bill C-10, the deceptively christened “Safe Streets and Communities Act”. Two of…
U.S.: Cutting through the indefinite detention and NDAA controversy
by Cora Currier | ProPublica: Last Tuesday, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a yearly military spending bill. Last year, the bill affirmed the U.S.’s authority…
international human rights day: write a letter, save a life
Join the biggest human rights event of the year. Write a letter. Save a life. Write For Rights FAQ People you can write for. Don’t: – be intimidated by the…
ten years too many: stop secret trials in canada
Today, International Human Rights Day, marks ten years since Mohamed Harkat was arrested under a so-called Security Certificate. Security Certificates allow for arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonments outside the rule of…
carolyn egan: we will leave no woman behind
On this day of remembrance of women lost to violence, here is Carolyn Egan, a woman I am proud to call friend and comrade, accepting the the Constance E. Hamilton…
doctors vs jason kenney: the fight continues
The Harper Government continues to scapegoat the most vulnerable among us, demonizing refugee claimants, denying them due process, forcing them out of Canada. Yesterday we heard that four people arrested…
Jewish human rights group condemns Harper government’s UN vote on Palestine
by Independent Jewish Voices | December 3, 2012 A Canadian Jewish human rights group is condemning the Harper government’s opposition to giving Palestine non-member observer state status at the United…
this is what jason kenney’s canada looks like: family deported to libya, father is tortured, court cites bias and lies
A family that was ordered to leave Canada by Jason Kenney's IRB was - as they predicted - separated and detained, and the father was tortured by Libyan authorities. The…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.- Louise Story reports on tax goodies and direct giveaways to businesses at the local level (which of course seldom deliver the promised economic…
Trans Human Rights in Canada: Progress, Stalls and Confustication.
The Province of Nova Scotia passed Bill 140, the Transgendered Persons Protection Act, today. The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP) commented on Facebook: “Bill 140 passed today with unanimous…
New column day
Here, on the need to question both the importance of trade agreements compared to other forms of interjurisdictional cooperation in general, and the Cons' warped priorities in particular.For further reading...-…