test blog #10

What could be more shameful than slaughtering people trying to bring aid to a trapped and dispossessed people? The apartheid system that dispossesses those people in the first place. This from the "only democracy in the Middle East". From the "light unto the nations" I learned about as a young person. Shame, shame, shame. Boycott - Divest - Sanction . What you do will not be much, but what we all do will have an impact. Details on public response to the massacre will be updated on the Gaza Freedom March website . UPDATE. In Toronto, meet at the Israeli Consulate, 180 Bloor Street West. Vigil at noon. Rally at 5:00. On Facebook, Outrage over the Freedom Flotilla Massacre, May 31 2010 will have updates of protests around the globe.

On Memorial Day in the United States, Vietnam War resister and lifelong peace activist Bruce Beyer reminds us: War Resisters Are Veterans, Too . Excellent photos by Russell . Many thanks to Buffalo Rising for courageously publishing this on Memorial Day. Here's to a future where memorials for dead soldiers are no longer necessary.

Yesterday, Eri Yoshida became the first woman to play professional baseball in the United States since Ila Borders ended her career in 2000. She is only 18 years old. Very exciting! I blogged about Yoshida here and here . You can read about her debut here on JoS .

There's an excellent article in the New York Times about how the industrial food chain influences and damages our health. The processed-food industry depends on the use of massive, hidden amounts of salt to manufacture their fake-food products. And they're currently spending millions of dollars, as they have many times before, to lie to consumers about the effects of salt and to influence public policy about it. If you are interested in food, health and the influence of corporate profit in the most basic and important areas of our lives, you'll want to read this. With salt under attack for its ill effects on the nation’s health, the food giant Cargill kicked off a campaign last November to spread its own message. “Salt is a pretty amazing compound,” Alton Brown, a Food Network star, gushes in a Cargill video called Salt 101. “So make sure you have plenty of salt in your kitchen at all times.” The campaign by Cargill, which both produces and uses salt, promotes salt as “lif...

Please read this excellent column from yesterday's Calgary Sun . Yes, you read that correctly, Calgary Sun. Many thanks to Bill Kaufman for his intelligence, common sense and compassion. Deserter pins blame on U.S. government By Bill Kaufman Taking refuge in the Canadian city most enamoured with his country’s invasion of Iraq, Mike’s chosen his words carefully in public. Even as the first Calgary-settled U.S war resister to speak out publicly, the man in the Bud Light baseball cap won’t go full-bore and reveal his entire name. Since he went AWOL from the U.S. Army, avoiding what he thought was an inevitable second tour of Iraq, Mike’s been looking over his shoulder, hiding in plain sight. “It’s pretty much a prison with a big backyard,” says Mike, 37, surveying his northeast Calgary home. In 2002-2003, he did a tour as a paratrooper signaller at Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase, where he saw hooded prisoners trucked in and dealt the occasional rifle butt to the head. After that, the Fl...

MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj speaks on behalf of US war resisters in Canada outside Jeremy Hinzman's court hearing. (If it looks sparesely attended, it's because most people who attended the rally are already inside the courtroom.) Last year, Borys (along with NDP MP Olivia Chow) traveled on his own dime to San Diego to visit war resister Robin Long - deported by Harper government - in prison. Borys a staunch supporter of war resisters, and he deserves our thanks.

Today, I am very pleased to be attending Marxism 2010: A Planet to Save, A World to Win . The Marxism conference is an annual Toronto event organized by the International Socialists . Many of the principal organizers are friends or acquaintances of mine from the peace and activist communities. I usually can't go because of my work schedule, but this year I'm going today, Friday, as well as Saturday night. I'm excited! And I will report.

We took the test! Like every step in the lengthy process of immigrating to Canada and becoming a Canadian citizen, this involved a lot of waiting. We'll know the results in about two months. * * * * There were about 50 people waiting at the CIC office with us, faces and accents representing the global village of Mississauga. Many people seemed nervous and excited. Some people were studying their "Discover Canada" guide. It was amusing to be doing this at the same place I once protested , waiting for our pal Jason Kenney to appear! First we waited to be checked in, which went pretty quickly, simply matching names on the letters we had received to our CIC files. Then we waited to be interviewed by a CIC officer. The woman we saw was - like every service person I have dealt with in Canada - pleasant, friendly, encouraging, and seemed to actually enjoy her job. I always expect Patty and Selma at the DMV, but we left them behind in New York City. Ms Nice CIC Person checked o...

Allan and I are taking the test writing the exam for citizenship today. We've been scoring 90% or 100% on all our practice tests, so it shouldn't be too much of an ordeal. According to Wikipedia: The test lasts for 30 minutes and contains 20 multiple choice questions. Applicants for citizenship must answer at least 60%, or 12 questions, correctly in order to pass the test. They must also answer correctly the first two questions, both of which deal with the electoral system. The failure rate on the citizenship test is low; in 2008, approximately 4% of the 145,000 test takers failed. I have no idea how long it will be until we are called for a swearing-in ceremony. Reports vary widely. There has been much merriment in our home and among my Campaign friends about the "special test" the CIC will have waiting for us today. One question, pass/fail. "Name every Leader of the Opposition beginning with Confederation..." Fail? You're deported! We've also be...

We've known for a long time that a government staffer is reading this blog. Believe me, never once did I imagine wmtc was unique in this way. On the contrary, I assumed that if someone at CIC is being paid to monitor the War Resisters Support Campaign via wmtc, then all kind of government flunkies in all kinds of agencies are carrying out similar tasks with other issues. At last, we have proof. And - surprise, surprise - we're paying for it, too. Our tax dollars at work. And why you should never care about comments on online news stories. When Canadians say that Stephen Harper wants to turn Canada into the US, I wonder if they imagine this. It is strictly out of the Cheney playbook: remember Armstrong Williams ?. Harper government monitoring online chats about politics Correcting what it calls 'misinformation' The Harper government has been monitoring political messages online, and even correcting what it considers misinformation. One local expert says the government i...

Yesterday was a big day for US war resisters in Canada and their supporters. In the morning, about 50 people gathered in front of the Federal Court building in Toronto. We held a huge banner bearing thousands of SUPPORT BILL C-440 postcards. I'll collect photos from and post them later in the week. Jeremy Hinzman was there, of course, with his partner Nga Nguyen and their two children, Liam and Canadian-born Meghan. War resisters Phil McDowell, Chuck Wiley, Dale Landry and Kimberly Rivera were also there, along with many people from Jeremy's Quaker community, Catholics for Peace and other peace activists. MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj also attended the rally and addressed supporters. Borys' support for war resisters is steadfast and impressive: along with Olivia Chow and a Campaigner, he traveled to San Diego at his own expense to visit jailed war resister Robin Long. We were all surprised and joyed that Bruce and Russell drove in from Buffalo for the rally and hearing. Bruce refu...

If you're in Toronto, please join us tomorrow morning for a rally outside the Federal Court building. Jeremy Hinzman's case be heard in the Federal Court of Appeals, and the later the same day, Bill C-440 will begin second reading in the House of Commons. Join us as we will stand in solidarity with the Hinzman family and with all war resisters, and as we call on the Government to pass Bill C-440 and Let Them Stay . When: Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 8:00 am to 10:00 am Where: Federal Court Building, 180 Queen Street West (west of University Ave, Osgoode subway), Toronto Facebook event here. Jeremy Hinzman was the first US Iraq War resister to seek refuge in Canada because he refused to participate in the illegal and immoral Iraq war. After unsuccessfully trying to be reassigned or recognized as a conscientious objector by the US military, Jeremy moved to Toronto with his wife and young son in January 2004. In 2008 they welcomed a new, Canadian daughter into their family. A majority...

This story is on the front page of today's USA Today . The writer spent considerable time in Toronto, interviewing US war resisters from both the Iraq and Vietnam wars. We've been waiting a long time for the story to appear, but the timing couldn't be better: tomorrow is both Jeremy Hinzman's Federal Court of Appeal hearing and the beginning (first hour of debate) of the second reading Bill C-440 . In Canada once more, U.S. troops fleeing a war By Judy Keen, USA TODAY TORONTO — Patrick Hart came here in 2005, when he couldn't face a second deployment to Iraq. A U.S. Army sergeant with almost 10 years of active duty, he would rather stay in Canada forever than return to a war he thinks is wrong. Hart, 36, knows that some people think he is a traitor, but he has no regrets. "I've bled for my country, I've sweated for my country, I've cried myself to sleep for my country — which is a lot more than some people who are passing judgment on me have done,...

For those not following the debate raging around this year's Pride celebration in Toronto, the forces aligned against free speech and the free exchange of ideas have triumphed, at least for now. Pride Toronto is forbidding Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from marching under their own banner. Indeed the actual words "Israel Apartheid" have been banned from any Pride event. For the first time in its 30-year history , Pride Toronto has banned an LGBT community group from the parade. The board of directors voted on Friday to ban the words ‘Israeli Apartheid’ from any Pride events, including the Pride parade, dyke march, and trans march – directly targeting the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid. This follows a year of intense pressure from Toronto City Hall (one of Pride’s main funders) and Israel lobbyists, who claim that criticisms of the Israeli government amount to hate and discrimination. By caving to their demands, Pride Toronto has not only silenced the voices of...

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks , has had his passport confiscated by Australian authorities . WikiLeaks is the truth-telling website that recently grabbed headlines when it released video of the US military murdering civilians by helicopter. Assange has no fixed address, and spends most of his time traveling, running the website from his laptop. The confiscation of his passport effectively consigns Assange to house arrest - with no due process. No charges, no hearing, no right to representation. Australian immigration officials told Assange his passport was looking worn and kept it, although they also told him his passport was classified as "normal". Some reports say Assange's passport will be cancelled. From what I can find online, the actual status is unclear. Shortly after his passport was not returned, Assange received a letter from the Australian Communication Ministry informing him that WikiLeak's recent disclosure of a list of websites the Australian...

Watching baseball together, Allan and I have long wondered who will be the first active Major League player to come out as gay. It will have to be someone great, unassailable from a player-performance perspective. Someone very personable and likeable, unassailable from a fan-friendly point of view. And someone very brave, because the second he comes out, no matter what year or what century it is, he will find himself at the centre of a firestorm. I do think reaction will be more positive than negative, but it will still be very rough. I can't wait to see it and to cheer him on. I've also wondered who would be the first male athlete to come out in any team sport, and now that question has been answered. Gareth Thomas, Welsh and British rugby star, has told the world that he is gay. Thomas gave the Daily Mail an exclusive before the story rocketed through the gay community, the world of sport and the overlap between the two. Gareth Thomas is a sporting legend. He captained Wal...

In these months between my winter and fall terms, I want nothing more than hours and hours of uninterrupted time to read whatever I want. But of course time is limited, and my concentration is very poor, and I'm out of the habit of reading for myself, as opposed to for school. (That last is shocking to me, a lifelong, voracious reader.) So I haven't been reading nearly enough, but I am determined to keep trying. Last year, coming home from work late on Sunday nights and casting around for something to half-watch on TV - television being my sleep-inducing substance of choice - I came upon a Masterpiece adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit . (This is the PBS series known to older folks as Masterpiece Theatre.) I watched only a few brief bits and was instantly hooked. When it comes to Dickens, it doesn't take much for me, and his work lends itself so perfectly mini-serieses. It was adapted by Andrew Davies, who also did Bleak House , my favourite Dickens novel an...

Resistance to unjust laws takes many forms, and no one is more courageous than the people who stand up against their own institutions. Sister Margaret McBride was a Catholic nun and a hospital administrator in Phoenix, Arizona. McBride has been excommunicated by Bishop Thomas Olmsted, after she agreed with a hospital ethics committee that an 11-week-old pregnancy needed to be terminated in order save a woman's life. The Bishop said McBride was "automatically excommunicated"; she has also been demoted professionally. The patient (often referred to in news stories as "the mother") was a 27-year-old woman with a rare, often fatal condition in which pregnancy can lead to death. Although she was being treated at a Catholic hospital, doctors and administrators there applied compassion and common sense, and approved the termination. Catholics for Choice calls the decision to excommunicate McBride "very troubling". While not all the facts are available, it is ...

Another war resister - there are thousands in the US - needs our support. This is a letter from GI Rights Lawyer James Branum, who represents many war resisters in the US at either no cost or at deeply discounted rates. James represented both Robin Long and Cliff Cornell, the two war resisters deported by the Harper Government. Robin and Cliff were both incarcerated, but James managed to get both sentences reduced - in Robin's case, from 30 months to 15 months. James has worked with the War Resisters Support Campaign , Courage to Resist , Veterans for Peace , and other military resister groups. He writes: I am writing on behalf of a pro-bono client of mine, SPC Nicole Mitchell. SPC Mitchell was sentenced to 30 days in jail today in a Summary Court-Martial proceeding at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for the offense of AWOL. But this is not your typical AWOL case. It began some time ago. SPC Mitchell was an M.P. [military police] in the US Army. She served well until she went on a deploym...

Courage To Resist is circulating an audio clip of Iraq War veteran Marc Hall , a/k/a Hip Hop artist Marc Watercus. Hall was a victim of stop-loss - a/k/a involuntarily re-enlistment - a/k/a the back-door draft - and wrote a song protesting it. For this, Hall was jailed, then sent to Iraq for court martial. Hall was eventually discharged, but it was a tough and scary fight. Because he wrote a protest song. Because he fulfilled the terms of his contract and wanted to get out of the Army. Courage To Resist feels that public outcry over Hall's punishment and the outpouring of support - including funds raised for his legal defense - made a big difference in the case. Most stop-lossed soldiers have no recourse. More than 185,000 troops have been affected by stop-loss since the Iraq War began. In 2006, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates promised to minimize stop-loss, but by April 2008 the use of stop-lossed troops had increased by 43%. Gates is now Secretary of Defense in the Obama Admini...

You may have noticed wmtc is a bit thin lately. One of my sources of extra income - legal transcription - is busy again, so I'm typing my little fingers off. After weeks of futile job hunting and emailing of contacts, I'm relieved to get this work. The pay is only moderate, but it's easy, I work at home, and there's no long-term commitment. I'd love to spend my summer working only on weekends - goddess knows I have plenty to do without work getting in the way - but we sorely need more income. At the same time, I must make sure I carve out time for the things I most wanted to do this summer - reading, swimming, taking long walks with Tala, getting things done around the house. And of course there is lots of activism to do on many fronts. This all means that wmtc takes a back seat, at least for new material. But blogging will be here when I need it, and hopefully you will be, too.

Merci, Quebec! The Quebec National Assembly has unanimously passed this motion, with a vote of 109-0. That [Quebec's] National Assembly reaffirms the right of women to free choice and to free and accessible abortion services, and asks the federal government and the prime minister of Canada to put an end to the current ambiguity on this issue, and that the National Assembly reaffirms that the fact of supporting women's right to an abortion should not in any case be used by the federal government to cut funding to a women's group. Good wrap-up from Canadian Press , via The Tyee.

I really enjoyed this. To appreciate it, you have to click through and scroll down. "Something else" , by Rick Moranis (Canadian) Other funny things by Rick Moranis here .

Tuesday, May 25 is a big day for the War Resisters Support Campaign. Bill C-440 goes to second reading and war resister Jeremy Hinzman has a hearing in the Federal Court of Appeals. The Campaign will be gathering outside the Federal Court on Tuesday morning, to show solidarity with Jeremy and with all the Iraq War resisters in Canada, and to call on the House of Commons to support C-440. Please join us. * * * * RALLY FOR U.S. WAR RESISTER JEREMY HINZMAN AT FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL When: Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 8:00 am to 10:00 am Where: Federal Court Building, 180 Queen Street West (west of University Ave, Osgoode subway), Toronto Facebook event here. Jeremy Hinzman was the first US Iraq War resister to seek refuge in Canada because he refused to participate in the illegal and immoral Iraq war. After unsuccessfully trying to be reassigned or recognized as a conscientious objector by the US military, Jeremy moved to Toronto with his wife and young son in January 2004. In 2008 they welc...

The movement to Boycott - Divest - Sanction Israeli apartheid gained some important traction this week, and a great songwriter showed himself to be a person of principle. Elvis Costello, in his own words: It is after considerable contemplation that I have lately arrived at the decision that I must withdraw from the two performances scheduled in Israel on the 30th of June and the 1st of July. One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament. Then there are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent. I must believe that the audience for the coming concerts would have contained many people who question the policies of their government on settlement and deplore conditions that visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian ...

The Harper Government is trying to ram through its dangerous refugee "reform" bill, and the Liberals can't help them enough. The bill contains some highly suspect, unjust provisions. It's a centrepiece in the Conservative agenda to remake Canada in its own image, and it's being rushed through in the undemocratic manner that is the hallmark of this government. The NDP and the Bloc are insisting on more debate and amendments. The only reason the bill even went to committee was through the leadership and tenacity of NDP Immigration Critic Olivia Chow. But the outcome is all up to the Liberals. How sad that the fate of so many refugee claimants should be left in such weak and ineffectual hands. Can Ignatieff show a little backbone and force his lame-duck Critic to do his job? Here are two former immigration ministers, writing in the Ottawa Citizen . Emphasis mine. Don't ram through refugee reforms By Elinor Caplan and Flora MacDonald There are few areas of law an...

The Joy of Sox community looks at the title of this post and rolls their eyes. Here she goes. Whether it makes them smile or cringe, they're expecting a pep talk, or a thrashing, or at least a lecture on fat ladies singing and 162 games. Sorry. No can do. If the Red Sox manage to seriously contend this season, if we make a run at the division or the wild card and make the playoffs, it will be an amazing comeback. But so many things would have to happen for that to occur – the Sox playing much better than they appear to be able to do, and more than one other team hitting a prolonged slide. It's looking highly unlikely. So no, this post isn't about how we all must believe to the bitter end. But all the talk of giving up – whether or not we have given up, when we will, why we won't, and so on - got me thinking about what we mean when we say we're giving up on a season. The Red Sox are going to do what they're going to do whether or not we declare ourselves still o...