test blog #10

One more week until both my final papers are due. I'm on pace to turn in two beautiful papers, on time. Amazingly, to me, I'm even enjoying the writing. Whatever extra time I can squeeze out, I'm choosing to put into the Campaign instead of blogging. I'll have a crazy-long list of things to blog about, beginning April 7! Meanwhile, if you care about US war resisters in Canada - if you care about peace - if you want Canada to reflect your Canadian values - please do this today . * * * * E-mail your M.P. now to support Iraq War resisters and Bill C-440 In only a matter of a few weeks, Parliament could be debating and voting on Bill C-440, a bill that would make legally binding two motions that have already passed in the House of Commons in support of U.S. Iraq War resisters. Bill C-440 sends a message to the Harper government that the will of the majority in support of war resisters cannot be ignored. In addition to the nearly 10,000 Bill C-440 postcards that supporters...

In the throne speech earlier this month, the Conservatives alluded to an overhaul of Canada's refugee system (emphasis mine). To remove the years of uncertainty often faced by refugees in genuine need, while closing off avenues for those simply seeking a back door into the country, our Government will propose comprehensive reforms to the refugee system. Immigration and Refugee Minister Jason Kenney plans to introduce a bill calling for blocking refugee claims from so-called "safe" countries. The War Resisters Support Campaign has information that the bill will be tabled as early as this Tuesday, March 30. This is obviously linked to Kenney's campaign against LGBT refugees, US war resisters, Mexican people fleeing from government-backed violence, and an array of other claimants whose plights Kenney deems unacceptable to his right-wing vision of Canada. The Campaign is mobilizing all our resources and our many allies to organize and fight against this. We will join f...

Many readers seem to want me to post about the Ann Coulter incident: her recent speech in London, Ontario, the cancellation of her appearance in Ottawa, her "human rights" (quotes necessary!) complaint with fellow wingnut Ezra Levant, free speech issues, and so on. Of course I have no time to write anything, with two deadlines looming, but if you'd like to discuss it here, feel free! I can only offer a huge cheer for the students at University of Ottawa who used their freedom of speech to say no to bigoted buffoonery. I have no problem with Coulter being allowed in Canada. Why not? If there's no audience for her "ideas" (yeah, right), they won't be heard, as the students in Ottawa showed. But Ann Wright, George Galloway, and Amy Goodman should have no problem getting in either. Okay, that's more writing than I should have done. Enjoy.

Several wmtc readers in various venues have asked about our citizenship applications. There's been no word yet. The timeline so far is very brief. We applied in November 2008, the earliest date we were both eligible. In March 2009 we received notification that our application is in the queue. That form letter said processing time is 8-12 months. We're now at 12 months. Here's something I wrote last summer: I'd like to think the delay is down to an understaffed CIC and a slow-moving bureaucracy, rather than something more sinister . (CIC, what do you think??) In the 1980s, many of my activist friends - who were all older than me - were paranoid about being spied on, even though nothing we were doing was even marginally illegal. They wouldn't talk our activities on the phone, and were always suspicious when a new person joined the group. My attitude was: Don't flatter yourself, we're not that important. Not that I knew we weren't being spied on. I just ...

Last night, in anger and frustration, I tossed up a post with a press release from NOW . I'm trying to stay focused on writing my two final papers, both due on the same day, so I figured the press release plus a little venting would be a reasonable stand-in for coherent thinking of my own. Now an interesting discussion has developed, and it's very revealing of the various (in my opinion, mistaken) impressions people have about the bill. Please feel free to join us here. I'm mostly staying out of it (focus, focus) so you're in little danger of having your head bitten off.

It's no surprise, but it's still shameful and unconscionable. Health Care Reform Victory Comes with Tragic Setback for Women's Rights Statement of NOW President Terry O'Neill March 21, 2010 As a longtime proponent of health care reform, I truly wish that the National Organization for Women could join in celebrating the historic passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It pains me to have to stand against what many see as a major achievement. But feminist, progressive principles are in direct conflict with many of the compromises built into and tacked onto this legislation. The health care reform bill passed by Congress today offers a number of good solutions to our nation's critical health care problems, but it also fails in many important respects. After a full year of controversy and compromise, the result is a highly flawed, diminished piece of legislation that continues reliance on a failing, profit-driven private insurance system and rewards t...

This is a must-read for anyone who is pro-choice and anti-war - that is to say, anyone who is truly pro-life. Informed consent by William Blum About half the states in the US require that a woman seeking an abortion be told certain things before she can obtain the medical procedure. In South Dakota, for example, until a few months ago, staff was required to tell women: "The abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being"; the pregnant woman has "an existing relationship with that unborn human being," a relationship protected by the U.S. Constitution and the laws of South Dakota; and a "known medical risk" of abortion is an "increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide." A federal judge has now eliminated the second and third required assertions, calling them "untruthful and misleading." I personally would question even the first assertion about a fetus or an embryo being a human being, but that's...

The supposedly anti-government, anti-public-spending crowd in the US shows its true face. Representative Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat, told a reporter that as he left the Cannon House Office Building with Georgia Democratic Representative John Lewis, a leader of the civil rights era, some among the crowd chanted “the N-word, the N-word, 15 times.” Both Mr. Carson and Mr. Lewis are black. “It was like going into the time machine with John Lewis,” said Mr. Carson, a large former police officer who said he wasn't frightened; he said he worried about the 70-year-old Mr. Lewis, who is twice his age. “He said it reminded him of another time.” Kristie Greco, spokeswoman for Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, said a protester spit on Representative Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who is black. Mr. Cleaver's office said the protester was arrested but said the congressman won't press charges. Mr. Clyburn, who led fellow black students in integrating South Carolina's public facilities a h...

The Big Picture does the 2010 Paralympic Games .

Yes, that's an ad for Wii. On a banana. Is this really necessary? I mean, really. Come on. Note to self: buy fruit without advertising on it.

The majority of Canadians support the use of contraceptives, and Impudent Strumpet proves it . What were they thinking?

From No One Is Illegal - Montreal : Subject: Jason Kenney disrupted and confronted over two days in Montreal -> Jason Kenney is disrupted and confronted over two days in Montreal -> Kenney intends to bring in Refugee Appeals Division to distract from previous and upcoming attacks on migrant rights MONTREAL, Friday, March 19, 2010 -- Conservative Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) Minister Jason Kenney was confronted and disrupted, over two days, during a visit to Montreal for the Metropolis Conference. Today, two migrant justice and Palestine solidarity organizers were able to enter an elevator with Jason Kenney and his entourage as he prepared to make a policy address at the Sheraton Hotel. Immediately, the community organizers confronted Kenney about his pandering to racists and bigots in Canada with his comments and policies. They highlighted the prejudging of refugee claimants (such as recent claimants from Mexico, Sri Lanka and the Czech Republic) as well as highlighting two ...

The War Resisters Support Campaign had a great event in Toronto last night - good food shared with good friends, moving and enlightening talks, and a much-needed infusion of funds to continue our work. Here's a report on the evening, but please see below for another important way you can help the Campaign . War resister Robin Long chatted with us from San Francisco via Skype. Robin, you may recall, was the first war resister deported by the Harper Government. He reminded us how the specific actions of the Canadian government led to more aggravating charges being laid against him, and harsher sentencing. Robin served 15 months in a US military prison; a sentence of more than a year means he cannot return to Canada for 10 years, and he has a Canadian-born son. Robin's time in prison has left him with anxiety and agoraphobia, among other issues. But Robin hasn't given up and walked away. Working with other Iraq War veterans and resisters, he formed Veteran Artists - a veteran...

On the 7th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, Ron Kovic - Vietnam veteran, author, peace activist and disability-rights activist - speaks to U.S. war resisters in Canada, and to all of us who support them. Let Them Stay!

Listen to war resister Chuck Wiley , interviewed by John Bonnar, on the movie "Green Zone". This weekend, two very special war resister events are taking place in Toronto and Vancouver this weekend. Friday, March 19 Iraq War Resisters in Canada: WHY THIS FIGHT MATTERS Fundraising dinner and campaign update Steelworkers Hall 25 Cecil Street, Toronto 6:30 pm Dinner 7:30 pm Programme Featuring lawyer Alyssa Manning and Iraq war resisters Robin Long (by Skype) and Phil McDowell $20 suggested donation • raffle prizes • refreshments * * * * * * * Sunday, March 21 On the 7th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq: VETERAN RESISTERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST WAR In Toronto Friends Meeting House 60 Lowther Avenue (north of Bloor at Bedford – St. George subway) 4:00 pm In Vancouver Maritime Labour Centre 1880 Triumph Street 1:00 pm Seven years ago, millions of people around the world protested the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Over 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died, as have thousand...

L: I wanted to post about this, but school + war resisters = all my time. [redsock guest post] Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon explains why contraception will be excluded from the Harper government's initiative (to be presented at June's G8 summit) to improve the health of women in poor countries: [Contraception] does not deal in any way, shape or form with family planning. Indeed, the purpose of this is to be able to save lives. Mr. Cannon is a liar and a buffoon and supports the torture of innocent people, but I find it difficult to accept that he truly believes birth control has nothing whatsoever to do with a couple planning how many children to have and when to have them. It's like saying breathing has nothing to do with remaining alive. Katherine McDonald, executive director of Action Canada for Population and Development: "This is really playing to the base in tractor-loads rather than with shovels." An editorial in the Globe and Mail wonders if the ...

I recently heard a Canadian friend remark, "You'd think after a movie like 'Sicko' Americans would wake up and demand change." What I should have said: "You'd think after a movie like ' Capitalism: A Love Story ', Canadians would understand that Americans are powerless to demand anything." Unfortunately, I hadn't yet seen Michael Moore 's latest movie, so I wasn't able to make this clever juxtaposition. Instead, I said, "Millions of Americans have woken up, but they are powerless. Their representatives are controlled by industry, and don't listen to them." I liked the movie a lot. It's not a perfect film, but it doesn't have to be. I felt, as I usually do about Moore's films, that it might be many people's first exposure to making connections between disparate events and the conditions of their lives, and to thinking about the alternatives. The pieces Moore chooses to illustrate the evils of unchecked...

We watched "Precious (based...)" last night. I haven't read the book yet, and I purposely stayed away from reviews, as I always do before I see a movie. I found the film compelling, convincing, and very authentic. "Precious" is a story of self-emancipation from degrading and soul-destroying experience. It's hopeful, but still realistic. "Precious" is not the standard-issue heroic-teacher movie, where the iconoclastic teacher never quits on the toughest rebel cases, and together they forge a bond to pass the big test and change their lives. The character Precious makes her own decision to change her life. That is, indeed, the only way change happens. Of course she has help. No one ever does it alone. No one of any age gets out of a trapping situation without support and assistance, and certainly not a teenager. It can't be done. But the will to accept help and explore options must come from within. I thought the movie showed that. Precious deci...

I have a presentation due tomorrow, so I can't write anything new today. Which is fine, because what can I possibly say about this issue that hasn't been said hundreds and millions of times? If you oppose the slaughter of seals for fur (not for sustenance), please take a moment of your day to contact your MP and Senators about it. From the Humane Society International / Canada: + + + + Lobby Day for Seals March 15, 2010 On March 15th, Humane Society International/Canada is asking you to help save the seals. The overwhelming majority of Canadians oppose the commercial seal hunt — yet our government ignores our views, using our tax dollars to prop up the sealing industry. In their shameful pandering to this marginal industry, Canadian politicians are arrogantly turning their backs on the very people they expect to vote for them in the next election. We need to send a clear message to our government. Tell your officials that they need to represent the views of all Canadians, not j...

Pogge has it. I would like to leave a comment at Pogge, but can't seem to get past the new moderating system. A commenter wonders why Master Harper doesn't reel in his loud-mouthed CIC Minister. I've always assumed that Kenney does Harper's bidding (a possibility the commenter also notes), or we wouldn't see so much of him. What's more, many people think Kenney is positioning himself for a run as future Leader, and he's putting himself on display with that in mind. Regardless, a federal court review of his undue influence could be very interesting.

I've seen quite a few bloggers alerting people to the recent work of the Texas Board of "Education" - and if ever there was a need for scare quotes, this is it. If you haven't heard, the radical right, radical white, faction of the Texas Board has succeeded in re-writing US history. What many people may not realize is that the implications of this classroom coup reaches far beyond the Lone Star State. Because Texas is the second-largest buyer of textbooks in the US, and purchasing decisions are made at the state (not local) level, textbook publishers can't survive without the Texas seal of approval. To guarantee that approval, they adopt Texas Board of Ed standards as their own. In other words, what young Texans read, young people all over the country read, too. In my freelancing days, I had some work editing textbooks. Copy-editors kept the Texas Board of Education requirements on-hand as a checklist, and everything we turned in had to meet that checklist. I have...

I love the Paralympics! For me, this is the real Olympics - amateur athletes, ordinary people who compete because their talents and drive compels them to. Inevitably, some of the problems I have with the Olympics have crept into the Paralympic Games, but to much lesser and more tolerable degree. Shortly after we moved to Canada, I watched much of the Torino Olympics, and first learned that "Olympics" in Canada means the winter Games. It was also my first live exposure to a country that understands the Paralympics as great sport, not a giant pity party. I had always heard from athletes that this was the case in Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, and other countries, but seeing it for myself was very exciting. (Another thing I discovered during those games: Newfoundland! It was the advertising blitz during Torino that eventually led to our trip to The Rock in 2008.) At the 2006 closing ceremonies, I was awed to see Sam Sullivan, then mayor of Vancouver, wave the Maple Leaf. I ...

I'm always posting about war resister events in Toronto, but next Sunday's event is taking place in Vancouver, Toronto, and L.A. On the 7th anniversary of the Iraq War: Veteran Resisters Speak Out WHEN: Sunday March 21, 1:00 PM WHERE: Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph Street, Vancouver. [ Toronto info here. ] Seven years ago, millions of people around the world protested the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Over 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died, as have thousands of US and other soldiers – all for a war based on lies. While Bush and Blair, the architects of this crime walk free, Iraq war resisters are still being jailed for their opposition to the war. Join veteran US soldiers and war resisters Ron Kovic, Rodney Watson and Jeremy Hinzman for an interactive discussion on the campaign to allow US Iraq war resisters to stay in Canada. Live from Los Angeles: Ron Kovic Ron Kovic served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He returned home wounded and became an an...

There's something very disturbing going on in my hometown. Here's Bob Herbert to tell you about it. The speaker of the New York City Council and the head of the Council’s Public Safety Committee are calling on Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to get rid of his huge, noxious database of completely innocent New Yorkers who are stopped, questioned and often frisked by the police. The stops themselves are an outrage and a continuing affront to black and Hispanic New Yorkers, who are the ones most frequently singled-out by the police for this public humiliation. But Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Member Peter Vallone Jr., the committee’s chairman, are focusing on the computerized files that the Police Department is keeping on people who are stopped but found to have done nothing at all wrong. This is not a small problem. The cops are making more than a half-million of these stops every year. A vast majority of the people targeted — close to 90 percent — are completely innocent. T...

I don't know the back story to this, but I love it. I like it so much, I'm breaking my usual shunning of all things Palin to post it. Andrea Fay Friedman, the voice actress who played the role of "Ellen" -- the character depicted as having Down syndrome on the Valentine's Day episode of Family Guy, has responded to the criticism of sometime-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Of special significance, Friedman herself has Down syndrome. Palingates has Friedman's complete response: My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in "Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governo...

The Montreal Gazette calls the debate over whether Quebecers and Canadians should tolerate a woman wearing a niqab "the new flashpoint". As a devout Muslim who wore a hijab, or head scarf, Miriam Abushaban was used to having strangers tell her: "Go back to your own country!" But when she started wearing a face-covering niqab a year ago, the insulting remarks escalated into aggressive confrontations. "One person said I look like I'm going to slit someone's throat," says the 22-year-old Concordia University student who comes from New Jersey, where she was raised in a Muslim home by a Palestinian-American father and a Hispanic-American mother who converted to Islam when Miriam was two. Another time, a woman cursed and shoved her, accusing her of being an "underdeveloped monkey." Men and women alike have accused her of promoting oppression. "French Québécois women come up to me and say, 'We really worked hard to get our women's ...

The following is an open letter from Marc Hall. Hall, a US Army veteran, spoke out about the Army's "stop-loss" (involuntary re-enlistment) policy, and was forcibly taken to Kuwait for court martial and either jail time, or deployment, or both. (My most recent post about Hall is here .) He wrote this letter through Courage to Resist. I never thought that I would join the Army only to one day be incarcerated by the Army. I have never been to jail in my life, until now. The Army is charging me with Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, "communicating threats" towards my chain of command. Yet I was only communicating how I felt about what I have experienced in the Army and how I felt about the Army’s "Stop-loss" policy. That policy meant that I could not leave the Army when I was supposed to, and after I had already served in Iraq for 14 months. I guess this all started with a hard core "rap" song I made about the Army’s very unp...

Iraq War Resisters in Canada: WHY THIS FIGHT MATTERS Fundraising dinner and campaign update Friday, March 19 Steelworkers Hall 25 Cecil Street, Toronto 6:30 pm Dinner 7:30 pm Programme Featuring lawyer Alyssa Manning and Iraq war resisters Robin Long (by Skype) and Phil McDowell $20 suggested donation • raffle prizes • refreshments * * * * * * * On the 7th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq: VETERAN RESISTERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST WAR Sunday, March 21 Friends Meeting House 60 Lowther Avenue (north of Bloor at Bedford – St. George subway) 4:00 pm • Live from LA: RON KOVIC, Vietnam veteran and author of Born on the Fourth of July • Live from Vancouver: RODNEY WATSON, US Iraq war resister in sanctuary • Live in Toronto: JEREMY HINZMAN, first US Iraq war resister to seek asylum in Canada Followed by Q&A. Admission by donation, pay what you can. War Resisters Support Campaign Support Bill C-440

You remember this post, a brief history of wmtc trolls ? It was reprinted in shorter (better) version at The Mark . Many of the trolls featured in that story are still around, continuing to post comments that I reject, unread. Some of them have been doing this for years . Hard to believe, but true. I still wonder about the psychology behind this, but anything I come up with is pure conjecture. There's another species of obsession that I find through Statcounter. In "came from" I will find the URL of a forum, where someone has shared a wmtc link and is slagging me. The wmtc-hating post is completely off-topic; it never has any connection to the thread. The poster clearly has taken more than a passing glance at wmtc, although he's not one of the regular trolls whose coments I reject. He knows the topics I write about, whatever I share of my personal life, my opinions on various things. He (I'm sure he's male) claims to hate me and everything I stand for. So why...

In January, I co-organized a war resisters event in Mississauga . We had a small turnout, but a very engaging discussion, we got a little local media coverage , and felt it was a successful event. There were three surprise attendees: a friend we know through our Red Sox community , his girlfriend, and a friend of theirs. The two women were so moved by what they heard at the Mississauga meeting, that they decided to organize their own event at the University of Waterloo. This was very gratifying to me as an organizer, and it speaks to the power of the war resisters' stories. If you're in the K-W area, you can hear many of these stories for yourself tomorrow night. Two war resisters will be there to speak and answer questions, and there will be a screening of "War Resisters Speak Out," a film of a past event, in which (former) CBC radio host and former Vietnam War deserter Andy Barrie interviews a dozen war resisters. Details here - a cool website to check out whether ...

All right, boys and girls, put your thinking caps on. There will be a quiz. Jews are people. Whether they are adherents to the religion of Judaism, or identify as ethnically Jewish, or both, Jews are people. Advocating harm, discrimination, or the infringement of rights of Jewish people = anti-Semitism. Hatred of people because they are Jews = anti-Semitism. Pre-judging people because they are Jews = anti-Semitism. Characterizing a person one does not know as having certain traits because he or she is Jewish = anti-Semitism. Israel is a country, a modern nation-state. That country is run by a government. That government has policies. Criticism of those policies is no different than criticism of the policies of the US, Canada, France, South Africa, the Netherlands, or any other country. You see? It's actually very simple. Here's the quiz. Let's do it together. "Death to Jews" ? Anti-Semitism. "Jews are cheap and will try to swindle you." ? Anti-Semitism. ...

Earlier this week, we visited Jungle Cat World , about an hour east of Toronto, with our friend J. Last summer, J and I discovered we shared a love of wild canines, and when I told her there was a wolf centre in driving distance from Toronto - long on my to-do list - we immediately started making plans. In July, J and her partner C (who are both war resisters) and Allan and I had a great day at the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre , and we all vowed to return in the winter, when the wolves' coats are thick and the animals are much more active. Since then, I had been planning on doing this - we started to make plans - then learned the Wolf Centre is only open on weekends in the winter. I was sooo disappointed. There's no way I can take a day off work for that. Somewhat as a consolation prize, J suggested we go to Jungle Cat World. J is a regular visitor there - the staff knows her by name, and she knows all the animals' names, their histories, and their personalities. It was p...

I'm still working out my own Facebook friend policy. I'm also curious about yours. Facebook users, I have three questions for you. 1. How do you deal with friend requests on Facebook? a. I confirm all friend requests. b. If I don't know the person, I try to find out why they are friending me (how they know me, what circles we have in common). Depending on their answer, I might confirm or might ignore. c. If I don't know the person, I always ignore the request. I only friend people I know. d. I ignore all friend requests. e. Some other answer. Which is...? 2. To whom do you send friend requests? a. I friend anyone I know. b. The above, plus anyone who my friends know. c. The above, plus I look at the friend suggestions and may send requests to some of those. d. I am very selective about who I friend. e. Some other answer. Please share! 3. Have you ever ignored a friend request from someone you know or used to know? a. Yes. b. No. Thanks for sharing.