When I was a teenager I spent a lot of time at public rallies and protests. Back then I really believed that if I raised a little hell the world would become a better place. I travelled all around North America, mobilizing other youth and standing up for what I believed was right and true. […] More »

My next couple of entries will offer a book review of the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest #6. If you want to read along and offer your more insightful comments, the journal is available for free online (but it's also very nice in print). More »

On Saturday night in any major city the world over, it’s not uncommon to see long line ups outside local kebab restaurants. With a belly full of beer, urbanites head bleary eyed to the nearest falafel shop in search of delicious ethnic cuisine. This practice is more than a tradition – it’s an institution, with […] More »

As I rushed to Union Station on Friday to join the throngs of commuters brushing by each other to get a seat on the gotrain, thousands of Sri Lankan protesters were just ending off their successful protest in downtown Toronto. The crowd hoped to draw attention to what is being called the genocide in Sri […] More »

pic courtesy of SHAGGY ISAAC It was a combination of two striking stories in the Toronto Star today that got me thinking about Red Thread. The first was Maher Arar’s public critique — he asks, if journalists aren’t looking out for the marginalized, who is? The second story was the gut-wrenching reports of gang rape […] More »

As an aspiring organic gardener/farmer, and a lover of good eats, I’m always taken in by news about food. I just want to explore three things here: biodiesel, peanuts, and corn syrup. This morning it was reported that Calgary is thinking about manufacturing biodiesel for city busses out of beef tallow. The idea is that […] More »

It’s not just the feds who are releasing their budget this week. It seems that both coffee dealers and buyers are doing an analysis of their pocketbooks and retro snappy purses, including the infamous Seattle-based Starbucks. Because of overexpansion that caused what is referred to as “cannibalization” (starbucks eating starbucks, or competing with itself) as […] More »

[Editor’s Note: From time to time we feature guest bloggers on the site. Eva Salinas, who edits news columns for the magazine, was in Washington D.C. for the Obama inauguration last week, and sends this dispatch about her experience. To propose guest blogs, email editor at thismagazine dot ca.] BY EVA SALINAS And what a […] More »

Get your own – Open publication You might have heard that educational reformer and Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers was turned back while trying to cross the Canadian border earlier this week. Ayers was on his way to a speaking engagement in Toronto at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, but border control agents […] More »

Welcome to our liveblog of the wildly anticipated/overhyped inauguration of the U.S.A.’s 44th president, Barack Obama. The blog will update automatically in the window below, so you don’t need to refresh your browser. You can also leave comments in real time by selecting “Make a comment.” More »

Just a brief programming note in advance of tomorrow’s all-day O-nauguration extravaganza: We’ll be doing a liveblog of the ceremony on Tuesday, January 20, starting right here at blog.thismagazine.ca at 11 AM. C’mon back and see us then. More »