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Syria's Secret Library: Reading and Redemption in a Town Under Siege is a tribute to the power of books to heal, to offer refuge, and to nourish communities. It's also a tribute to the spirit of resistance to tyranny and oppression. In 2013, the Syrian town of Daraya was targeted by the country's dictator, Bashar al-Assad. Many residents managed to evacuate, but others stayed, determined to hold the historic and then-thriving town as a stronghold against the Assad regime. There, as their town was bombed and burned, a group of young men built an unlikely refuge: a library. The story of how these young Syrians salvaged and rescued books, often placing themselves in great danger to do so, is remarkable -- but even more remarkable is the community they built. Every book was catalogued, dated, and signed out when borrowed. The origin of every book was noted, so that its owners might reclaim it in happier times. There were book clubs and lectures. Some rebel fighters took books ...

Today, December 10, is Human Rights Day . The date commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, the first document of its kind. Every year on December 10, Amnesty International holds a global letter-writing event: Write For Rights ( in Canada ). Hundreds of thousands of people around the world write handwritten letters calling for action for victims of human rights abuses, and offering comfort and support to political prisoners. Every year at this time, I try to think of a different way to invite readers to participate in Write For Rights. All through this year, I've been struggling with cynicism and despair about the state of our planet and the state of democracy. So even though all the warm and fuzzy reasons  I've listed in the past (and below) are true and valid, the most important reason to Write For Rights is deadly serious. The world is seriously fucked up. Many, if not most, of us who care about the world feel helpless in...

Graphic via Students Exploring Inequality in Canada For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by stories of forgiveness and redemption. I believe endlessly in the human capacity for redemption, and that belief that has only been strengthened as I've seen more of the world. The stories that interest me the most are when people who suffer loss do not seek vengeance. I first came upon this idea in the book Dead Man Walking , the 1994 book by Sister Helen Prejean. Prejean is foundational for me, and this book had a profound influence on my worldview. (I already opposed capital punishment when I read it.) Stories of people who lost loved ones to violence, and opposed the execution of the murderer, always get my attention. I don't see them as often now, as I follow US news very closely.* But the Death Penalty Information Centre gives many examples of this . The National Coalition Against the Death Penalty has many resources  for and about people seeking an alternative to ...

Long ago (in internet terms), in the early days of what we then called the Blogosphere, one of the primary functions of blogs was to share other posts and articles of interest that we came across online. Social media has taken over that function -- and much less effectively. How many people actually read links they find on Twitter? While a meme or a short video may go viral, a lengthy think-piece becomes just another passing link in the endless feed. I stopped using this blog to share articles of interest, but sometimes I come upon something that I just can't let go. Then I need to send them out into the world again through wmtc. I have a couple of those right now. Here's the first one. * * * * Maya Moore, currently one of the best professional basketball players on the planet, stunned the WNBA and its fans when she announced she would not play in the 2019 season . Her reasons are even more surprising: Moore  left the game to focus on social justice . Specifically, justice for ...

My biography reading continues: I finally finished Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by the historian and Douglass scholar David Blight. It is a monumental work, not an easy read, but extremely enlightening and very satisfying. The book is notable for Blight's refusal to ignore or sugar-coat Douglass' flaws. Douglass was a genius, and a hero -- my vote for Greatest American -- but he was a human, and therefore imperfect. Blight's willingness to show us the whole man, including flaws and foibles, gives his work extra credibility. The Douglass of Prophet of Freedom is not a myth. Although his words and his work reached mythical proportions, the Douglass of this book is a man. Blight brings us the full man, not just the parts we admire. In our present culture that rejects anything but the illusion of moral purity, where heroes and world-class talents are discarded because of their failure to measure up to idealized standards, this is a bold choice. In addition, Blight a...

Today I attended a working meeting that included almost all the service providers in the region. These service providers were brought together by the Mount Waddington Health Network to build a coalition that will deal with the housing crisis. I was there mainly to stay informed and to network, and to keep the library visible -- and because so many groups that I will work with were also there. Three thoughts. * * * * These organizations are doing amazing work by working together rather than in silos -- more efficient (no duplication of effort), more strategic (not competing for the same funds), and stronger (speaking in one voice). This process -- a multi-year plan -- has seen real results in several places, and I expect it will in the North Island, too. The people are great -- sharp, committed, experienced, inclusive, taking a holistic view. I was so impressed. But. But I can't help thinking, all this would be unnecessary if housing were a human right in our society, and if this...

Resistance to the migrant concentration camps in the US seems to be growing. Or maybe I'm just seizing on anything that looks like hope. I wanted to collect all the examples I've seen so far, then I'll post more in real time. June 2018: No Kids In Cages marches July 2, 2019: #CloseTheCamps protests in advance of the July 4th holiday. July 12, 2019: Lights for Liberty . Americans: GO. Direct action to free people: post their bail ! Indianapolis church puts creche scene in a cage Kansas kids' lemonade stand raising funds to help "kids at the border" Never Again Is Now: Boston protest shuts down the city.  Similar protests happened in many US cities. I love that these Jewish activists are claiming the streets. Law firm offers pro bono representation to any ICE worker who resists participating in family separation. This photo circulated with a story on a protest in Boston, but was taken at a protest in San Francisco. Workers at Wayfair walk off jobs , protesting...

Canadians, contact the Senate. Urge them to work together to pass Private Member's Bill C-262 , "An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ".  My own letter included at the end of this post, in the hope that it will help you write your own. * * * * Is Canada serious about reconciliation? The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded in 2015. The Calls to Action have been made. Recommendations have been made. How will Canada proceed? Territorial acknowledgements , long a feature of labour and other progressive activism, have entered the mainstream. More Canadian children will learn about the system of forced family separation, indoctrination, and horrific abuse euphemistically called "the residential schools". Good, and good. But what of Canadian law? What of business practices? Will it be business as usual, or will anything change? The TRC offered 94 Calls to Action . How ...

Are you writing for rights? I almost gave myself a pass this year. I'm living out of a hotel room and I don't have easy access to a printer, and... what the hell? I'm one of the most privileged people on the planet. Surely I won't skip Write For Rights because it's a bit inconvenient! On December 10, 1948, the newly-formed United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first document of its kind in history. Every year, on and around December 10, people who have human rights use them to help others whose human rights have been violated or negated. Here are the 2018 Write For Rights cases. Notice anything different? Join me and thousands of others. Join the biggest human rights event on the planet. By giving 15 or 30 minutes of your time, you can join thousands of others who believe that all humans have rights, no matter who they are, where they live, and what they believe. The right to peaceful protest. The right to inform others. The right ...

With the resignation of US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, it is very likely that Roe v. Wade , the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, will be overturned. I'm getting frustrated by the spate of stories about how abortion will now be illegal -- with no mention of how Roe has become meaningless for so many women. I wrote this (below) on Common Dreams in 2005. I was off on the chronology -- it took longer to get to this point than I thought it would -- and the lack of access has undoubtedly gotten worse since then.  This piece in The Guardian will bring you up to date. * * * * * January 23, 2005 For Millions of American Women, Roe Is Already History By Laura Kaminker Thirty-two years ago yesterday, American women gained greater control over their bodies - and therefore, over their lives - when Roe v. Wade , the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, became the law of the land. The choice community celebrates the Roe anniversary as a kind of emancipation day, bu...

Trying to compose my annual Write For Rights post, I thought I would recycle a good one from 2014... only to learn I had already recycled it in 2015! And here it is again -- slightly edited, with new cases linked below. Tomorrow, December 10, is Human Rights Day . The date commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, the first document of its kind. Every year on December 10, Amnesty International holds a global letter-writing event: Write For Rights ( in Canada ). Thousands of people around the world write letters and sign petitions calling for action for victims of human rights abuses, and offering comfort and support to political prisoners. Here are 10 reasons you should participate in Write For Rights. 1. It's easy. Amnesty makes it really easy to participate. Read, type, send. 2. You can do do it from any device. No meetings to attend, no schedule to keep. Just more of something you do all the time anyway...

The African American experience in Los Angeles County, California: a brief and selected timeline of sorts.* From 1940-1960, thousands of African Americans migrated from Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, and other southern states to California, hoping to find decent jobs, affordable housing, and equality of opportunity. California was not quite as welcoming as advertised. Housing was strictly segregated. The Los Angeles Police Department under the governance of Chief William Parker functioned as an occupying army in all-Black neighbourhoods. The only contacts between the all-white police force and the black residents of L.A. were roundups, traffic stops, arrests, humiliations, and beatings. August 1965. With the community at a boiling point, a traffic stop gone awry precipitates the uprising known as the Watts Riots. During the riots, Parker says: "These people came in and flooded the community. We didn't ask these people to come here." ("These people" were Americans, w...

In case everyone hasn't seen this yet, written by someone named Ben Feral Selinger. July 6 Okay, I'm fucking sick of the idiocy and done with writing a diatribe every single time a friend posts about how they're upset that Trudeau is giving a terrorist $10m. You people are.... wilfully ignorant and hypocritical. Here's why. (And I thoroughly suggest reading the entire post. If you know me, you know I'm neither stupid, nor an apologist. I am pure fucking science, and this post is such. Read it before making an ass of yourself by posting about how we just gave a terrorist money). The story (the facts we know). * Canadian born Khadr was taken to Afghanistan at age 9, by his father. We don't know if he wanted to go, and we don't know why they went. There has been zero evidence put forth to suggest the trip had anything to do with terrorism. Regardless, as he was only 9, he had no choice in the matter. * Khadr, aged 15, was found in critical condition following a...

When I first heard the incarceration of African Americans in the United States referred to as a "new Jim Crow," I thought it must be hyperbole. So did Michelle Alexander, a fact she discloses in the introduction to her book. As Alexander researched the concept, the more she learned, the more she changed her mind. She changed my mind, too. In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness , Alexander builds an unassailable case that mass incarceration through the (so-called) War on Drugs is the third large-scale caste system that holds Black Americans in a second-class status. This is true even in a society that includes Oprah Winfrey, Clarence Thomas, and, of course, Barack Obama. The first caste system was slavery. The second was the laws and customs of segregation, discrimination, and terror known as Jim Crow. The third and current system is mass incarceration. This includes rules governing local policing, key court rulings, the court system itself, the p...

I read this on Facebook and absolutely love it. The author, Arun Gupta, understands and acknowledges cultural appropriation as a fact and a legitimate concern (as do I). But he also believes the "reactionary left" spreading lists of ethnic restaurants run by white people ...essentializes the notion of culture as rooted in the very soil of a place and not something that can travel or transcend boundaries. This hints at fascistic notions of blood and soil as what constitutes the nation. It is reactionary because the creators of this are implying there are timeless practices, rooted in a people, land and culture, that constitute only appropriate form of food. They want to fix all cultures as fossils in a museum, not allowing for adaptation, changing tastes, social roles, or fashion. It reminds me of how the National Front fetishizes a notion of the pure French nation. He's unpacked the food-as-cultural-appropriation concept perfectly. Please go read the whole post. I would ...

Many people have been discussing my recent post about cultural appropriation  on Facebook. I'm not surprised that many people disagree (that's why I wrote it, to put my countering opinion out there), but I have been surprised by how many progressive people do agree. From the negative comments, I can see that I wasn't clear on a few important points. 1. The entire post refers to white , first-world people calling out other first-worlders with accusations of cultural appropriation -- not  aboriginal people. I would not pass judgment or venture an opinion about a native person's judgment of appropriation of their own culture. I have no right to do so -- and I would not do so. I was referring what I see as a quite a large bandwagon, pointing self-righteous fingers at others -- by white people, and at white people. 2. The above might explain why I feel the words shaming  and bullying  are fair game. I wasn't suggesting that aboriginal people are bullying white people abo...