The latest dead Russian journalist, Ivan Safronov, fell from the fifth floor of his apartment building on March second. Authorities claimed it was a suicide but nobody believes this. He was, at the time, working on an article about Russian arms sales to the Middle East, making him the twenty second working journalist to die […] More »
Over the past month, I got into the habit of reading Richard Dawkins‘ book The God Delusion on the bus and streetcar most mornings. I try to walk to work as much as I can but it’s been just too cold! It’s proven to be a very controversial book, and with its shiny cover with […] More »
(image courtesy Frank Magazine, apparently) The pro-Conrad Black website www.supportlordblack.com is a truly brilliant Frank Magazine hoax, proving once again that if it seems too funny to be true… D.B. Scott’s magazine blog reveals the saddest detail, which is that it appears Lord Black himself sent the site a note of thanks and a t-shirt […] More »
Getting the word out about a free hospital for pregnant Haitian women (photo by Isabelle Jeanson for Médecins sans Frontières) The poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has suffered as a result of international intervention for over five hundred years. The damage continues to this day, in the form of desperate poverty and extreme […] More »
In honour of International Women’s Day tomorrow, I would like to designate today as “The Day in Honour of Megan Reback, Elan Stahl and Hannah Levinson.” These gutsy gals have just been suspended from a Cross, River, N.Y. high school for defying their principal’s orders, and reading out the following passage (in unison!) during a […] More »
Researcher Cory Alan Johnson The history of AIDS in Africa is a story intertwined with the ongoing legacy of colonialism, poverty, racial discrimination and other systemic ills. Including homophobia, according to the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). People often point to the African situation as “proof” that “AIDS isn’t a gay disease,” […] More »
This Magazine — Call for Submissions Calling all writers: critics, commentators, essayists, troublemakers and political pundits — This Magazine wants you! We are looking for smart, quirky or fun pitches on political topics of national relevance. This Magazine articles are well researched, have a strong analysis at their core, and a Canadian angle. We welcome […] More »
The CounterCulture lecture series is organized by the Simon Fraser University School of Communication. Last thursday the speakers were Donald Gutstein and Jamie Peck, two leading researchers of neo-liberal think tanks. While I already knew how evil the Fraser Institute was before, it’s never been put to me in such an urgent way. These think […] More »
As we all await Lord Black’s day in court (March 14th, or as I like to think of it , 3 days before Guinness Day), we sadly mourn the death of ironic comment and hope that Rick Mercer can do something to bring it back to life. A while back, I posted here about a […] More »
My heart sank a few days ago when I learned of the death of longtime lesbian activist Chris Bearchell. I remember seeing Bearchell on the streets at a demo back in the late eighties and being too timid to approach her. I was shy, and she was already a legend in political circles by then. […] More »
I did a double-take when I came across a headline on the Medecins Sans Frontieres website the other day: “Medecins Sans Frontieres welcomes the introduction of a new open-source user-friendly drug combination against malaria.” The notion of “open source” is very familiar to me in my day-to-day work as a web-server administrator, conjuring up thoughts […] More »