December 30, 2009
PM’s Parliamentary prorogue plan provokes passionate public pugnacity
Sarah Palin/Stephen Harper mashup, courtesy Wayne MacPhail This morning several news sources reported that Prime Minister Stephen Harper planned to prorogue parliament until March 3. This story is a bit of a moving target today, so this is just a quick post to collect some of the thought we’ve seen bubbling around the web today: The PMO’s official announcement/non-announcement is now out. CBC... [More >>]
December 23, 2009
Body Politic #4: Is circumcision genital mutilation?
To snip or not to snip? Circumcision is a divisive procedure, and current science offers little help in the decision. A few years ago I was assigned a story about circumcision for a national women’s magazine. My research into the topic took me far beyond medical technicalities—circumcision in Canada is a controversial topic, surrounded by heated debate across provinces, religious lines and parental... [More >>]
December 18, 2009
Margin of Error #2: Why charter schools may not be as good as you think
The charter school movement is enjoying something of a renaissance in the United States. Charter schools—which receive public funding but are privately run, thus removing some features of normal public schools, notably established teachers’ unions—are one of President Obama’s priorities. They are also the cause du jour for New York City’s hedge fund managers. Education policy wonks are... [More >>]
December 18, 2009
EcoChamber in Copenhagen: The emerging “climate dictatorship”
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — It is our lives being decided here in Copenhagen, and we are being shut out or brutally silenced from the negotiations. This is not an international negotiation, but a climate dictatorship in the making. Wednesday, thousands of activists who attempted to hold a “people’s assembly” in front of the conference centre were beaten with batons, pepper-sprayed in the eyes, and... [More >>]
December 18, 2009
Stop Everything #14: The triumph of the status quo
Canadian Youth Climate Coalition members stage a "Lie-in" to protest the Canadian government's reduced carbon reduction targets. Creative Commons photo courtesy CYCC. Things are not going well in Copenhagen. I find nothing positive to report from any of my contacts at the conference. It seems that delegates are fighting on the behalf of unnamed interests—those who want to maintain their... [More >>]
December 17, 2009
Queerly Canadian #23: Uganda’s gay genocide in the making
Uganda may soon follow Nigeria in making homosexuality an offense punishable by death. The proposed legislation was apparently sparked by a visit from American members of the ex-gay movement, who believe homosexuality can be cured through therapy. Most of these groups though have since denounced the bill, which is perhaps a mark of how extreme it is. (The list of crimes introduced in the text include... [More >>]
December 15, 2009
Stop Everything #13: Beyond Copenhagen: It’s the institutions, stupid
Environmental activists hold a demonstration in the centre of Copenhagen on December 15, 2009 in Denmark World leaders started arriving today to attend the Climate Summit where they hope to work towards a global agreement. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) A lot of stock has been put into the current International Climate Change Conference. Not only a stake in our future, and the world as we... [More >>]
December 14, 2009
EcoChamber in Copenhagen: “This conference will probably be wrecked.”
Naomi Klein giving the opening keynote at KlimaForum09, the alternative climate change conference underway in Copenhagen. Photo courtesy KlimaForum. COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — The thread is being pulled on the climate talks here in Copenhagen, and the whole show is beginning to unravel. There are really several different conferences happening, and the cracks are showing. The developing world has been... [More >>]
December 11, 2009
Friday FTW: Polaris winners Fucked Up cover “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
Fucked Up, winners of the 2009 Polaris Prize, this week released their cover of the seminal 1984 Bob Geldof/Midge Ure song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” and it’s pretty great. The band used part of their $20,000 Polaris cheque to bankroll the recording, and are donating the proceeds to three important Canadian charities: Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women... [More >>]
December 10, 2009
Watch “EcoChamber” blogger Emily Hunter on MTV Canada tonight!
Emily Hunter with one of the huge earth-movers that's instrumental to Alberta Tar Sands development. Watch her documentary tonight on MTV. Emily Hunter, This Magazine’s resident environmental blogger, took an MTV Canada documentary crew to Alberta’s Tar Sands over the summer to see the devastation that’s unfolding there for herself. She’s currently working on a feature story... [More >>]
