April 14, 2008
Making Our Cities Safer
Please take a minute to sign this petition asking the Prime Minister to ban handguns throughout Canada.
http://www.toronto.ca/handgunban/index.htm
You never know when or where violence will strike. In my case, it hit straight at home. Believe me when I say you don't want the same happening to you or your family. Please sign the petition.
Thank you.
Posted by Jason at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2008
Happy MLK Day
Today's the official day to take a few minutes to think about the man, the movement and its relevance in our current society.
For those interested in learning more, visit the King Papers Project.
Posted by Jason at 5:01 PM
August 6, 2007
Rewind: The Birth of the Atomic Age
In 1945, the US dropped "fatman" and "little boy" -- the code names for two atomic bombs -- on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing over 70,000 people. Wired magazine has a nice piece recounting these events from 62 years ago today.
Having studied the development of the bombs in my history of science courses during university, I'm still amazed by the technical accomplishment. That being said, my amazement is easily overshadowed by the inhumane decision to drop these bombs on heavily populated cities. August 6th, 1945 continues to mark the best and worst of humankind.
Posted by Jason at 2:20 PM
October 13, 2006
2006 Nobel Peace Prize: Muhammad Yunus
Thumbs up to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winners. Mr. Yunus won the award for pioneering the practice of microcredit to help the empoverished break free of the shackles imposed by poverty.
In many countries, people are relegated to slave status while repaying loans as little as tens to hundreds of dollars. To date, the lives of over 17 million people have been improved by microcredit programs.
Chalk one up for social-entrepreneurism!
Posted by Jason at 3:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 16, 2006
Happy MLK Day!
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This civic holiday honours one of the greatest catalysts of the civil rights movement. Unfortunately for many, it's just an extra day to hit the slopes.
In an era of sound bytes and guerrilla marketing, I fear that Dr. King's legacy is experiencing the same fate as Che Guevara's -- becoming more iconographic packaging for mass marketing than point of discussion for a still relevant struggle.
In any case, if you've ever really wanted to understand MLK Jr. and his ideas, then visit Stanford's Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project. The site contains a number of speeches, papers, an interactive timeline and even audio clips. For any educators out there who might be reading this blog, please check out the Liberation Curriculum. Lots of wonderful resources to help you teach what kids (and adults for that matter) should know.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King!!!
Posted by Jason at 7:16 PM
November 19, 2005
Saving Carlos
I cried during my breakfast this morning. I cried for a kid I don't even know. I cried for his family...
On the front page of the Toronto Star today were two stories:
The first -- An 18yr old boy was shot at the funeral of another young shooting victim. There were 300 mourners present.
The second -- The harrowing story of a young shooting victim, Carlos, and his recovery as one of the "lucky ones".
As many of you know, my brother-in-law is one of the "lucky ones". He remains in the hospital, his health improving at a snail's pace. Our hope for his full recovery shining ever so slightly brighter.
Please read Saving Carlos. I guarantee your perspective on gun violence will change. If this story impacts you the way it has me, please pass the link along to someone you know. There's a little activist in everyone.
Posted by Jason at 12:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 1, 2005
Report: U.S. "Dead Wrong" on WMDs in Iraq
Between the life and death of Terri Schiavo, and the deteriorating health of the Pope, one could not be blamed for overlooking this piece of news -- U.S. intelligence agencies were "dead wrong" about WMDs in Iraq.
Other than restating the obvious, this presidential commission does however shed more light on the attitude of the Bush Administration and members of Congress (including Democrats). I find it interesting that no blame was laid upon the President nor his administration. In fact, the report acts to distance the President from the issue arguing inter-agency "turf wars" and bungling were to blame. Bush apparently agreed with the report's findings stating that, "The central conclusion is one that I share...America's intelligence community needs fundamental change."
I can just see it now, more federal dollars will go to "revamp" America's ailing intelligence community. What's funny is Bush and his Republican supporters are the ones pushing for smaller government.
Bush's response to this report reminds me of former WorldCom exec, Bernie Ebbers. Before being convicted, Ebbers' defence for his unprecedented fraud was that he wasn't adept at the complexities of WorldCom's accounting. This coming from a guy who built a multi-billion dollar company from scratch. Fortunately, the courts didn't believe his ridiculous claim.
Bush's defence for the war on Iraq as it relates to intelligence is similar -- How is it the President's fault? After all wasn't he the victim of poor intelligence? The correct answer of course is: Yes, it is his fault. He's the President of the United States of America and it's his job to know what's going on in his own backyard!
It would seem that 'accountability' has been out of style in the business world for a while now. Pundits argue that the worse is yet to come. Bush has demonstrated (quite amazingly I might add) that accountability means very little in government today. As the Bush Administration pushes for privatization of government services (e.g. Social Security) America's future does indeed seem bleak. One can only wonder what it will take before its citizens step-up and cry, "Bullsh*t!" and make Bush accountable for his actions.
Posted by Jason at 10:19 AM
March 31, 2005
Diary of a Young Peacemaker
Bashar Iraqi is a Palestinian Arab Israeli youth living in Israel. He's written an uplifting piece that gives some insight into another view of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Despite the recent inroads, it would seem that the future of peace between these states lie in the hands of peacemakers like Bashar and organizations like Seeds of Peace.
Posted by Jason at 9:51 AM
February 8, 2005
"The Debt Relief Summit"
Led by UK chancellor Gordon Brown, the G7 finance ministers have agreed to back a plan to write off 100% of the debt accrued by some of Africa's poorest nations. Of course, the US declined to support this plan.
I must admit that I'm skeptical of the G7's sincerity. The following point is particularly troubling,
Some 37 countries could benefit after a case-by-case review by bodies including the World Bank and the IMF.
Arguably, the World Bank and the IMF are a part of the problem. Having them review a country's eligibility for debt relief is tantamount to the fox guarding the hen house. In some ways, this is reminiscent of the Kyoto Protocol and a country's ability to voluntarily opt-in and set their own policies using the protocol as a guide. For all of its world changing potential, the Kyoto Protocol is far from successful and the excuses for its failure continue to roll in. If sincere commitment and arms-length enforcement don't exist, doesn't this become an exercise in political posturing? I hope I'm wrong.
Check out this BBC article to learn more. Also, check out the comments section related to this article. You'll find some interesting, misinformed and shocking perspectives on Africa and its future.
Posted by Jason at 11:28 AM | Comments (1)
January 19, 2005
Homes Not Bombs: Resisting the Roots of War in Toronto
The Activist Magazine published an account of a peace demonstration held at SNC-Lavalin on MLK Jr. Day. SNC-Lavalin is the parent company of SNC-TEC, a Quebec-based company that produces bullets for U.S. occupation forces in Iraq. Written by Homes Not Bombs, the article (and demonstration) raises many important issues about corporate involvement in questionable (I'm being very kind) military offenses; involvement that is often ignored by the media and public at large.
The article also touches upon corporate involvement in medical research and public educational institutions; specifically The Ontario Institute for Educational Studies (OISE). Don't know a whole lot about this issue but I'll look into it and report my findings in future posts.
Posted by Jason at 1:19 PM
January 17, 2005
In Celebration of MLK Jr. Day
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This civic holiday honours one of the greatest catalysts of the civil rights movement. Unfortunately for many, it's just an extra day to hit the slopes.
In an era of sound bytes and guerrilla marketing, I fear that Dr. King's legacy is experiencing the same fate as Che Guevara's -- becoming more iconographic packaging for mass marketing than point of discussion for a still relevant struggle.
In any case, if you've ever really wanted to understand MLK Jr. and his ideas, then visit Stanford's Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project. The site contains a number of speeches, papers, an interactive timeline and even audio clips. For any educators out there who might be reading this blog, please check out the Liberation Curriculum. Lots of wonderful resources to help you teach what kids (and adults for that matter) should know.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King!!!
Posted by Jason at 12:18 PM
December 15, 2004
Congo Conflict: 1000 people dying a day
I saw this article on CBC.ca last week. The New York-based International Rescue Committee reports that the military conflict in the Congo is taking 1000 lives a day! Despite this astonishing death toll (think of how many people died in 9/11) the international response has been anemic. The report states that "during 2003, Iraq received aid worth the equivalent of $138 per person, while [the] Congo received roughly $3 per person in aid."
I try not to believe that the world doesn't value African lives but 1000 citizens a day and we're challenged to find an article about it in the mainstream press?! What's the UN doing about this (especially after Rwanda)? Where's the U.S involvement? Oh that's right...there's no oil to be pillaged. My bad.
Posted by Jason at 1:14 AM | Comments (1)