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I never cared that much about New Year's Eve. When I was a teenager or in university, I went to parties, even hosted a party one year when my parents were out of town. But as I got older, I didn't like the forced hilarity, the pressure to have something lined up, the implication to feel dejected if you didn't. Allan and I always stay home New Year's Eve, with a bottle of champagne and some fun food. Our anniversary is January 3, and we always save our celebration for that. But my attitude about New Year's Eve changed on December 31, 1999, and from a TV broadcast, of all things. We had the TV on all day, watching people around the globe celebrate that giant odometer click. From the Fiji Islanders to Australia, through Asia, then the great cities of Europe, then over to Newfoundland, to New York... I don't think I made it past Chicago! But I really caught the spirit of the moment: the whole world celebrating one occasion. Not religious, not nationalistic, just a v

Two months ago, there was a flurry of media interest in this blog, as reporters searched for US ex-pats to pose that vital question, "If Obama wins, will you return to the US?" I would have thought the question was beyond asking , but some people only pretend to read blogs. Now year's end seems to have revived the story. Two people sent me this from the Hartford, Connecticut Courant . Each time George W. Bush won the presidency, some people swore they would move to Canada. Most of it was just talk. But there are those who actually made good on their threats. So now that Bush is leaving the White House, will the expats be coming home? Kaitlin Duck Sherwood, now a computer programming consultant in Vancouver, was among those who moved north. When she was living in Palo Alto, Calif., Sherwood was vexed by Bush policies that she saw as eroding individual rights. When he beat John Kerry for a second term, she started applying to grad schools in Canada. It wasn't just Bush

Here's John Hagan , author of Northern Passage: American Vietnam War Resisters in Canada (among other books), writing in the Toronto Sun . (Support can come in the strangest places!) Please read the whole thing. Hagan writes about developments I haven't blogged about before. Until recently, the federal government toed a careful line on its claim to fairly treat American Iraq war resisters who are seeking refuge and sanctuary in Canada. The party line was each resister would receive individualized and fair consideration to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. There presumably was no "one fits all" outcome for the former soldiers fleeing America in search of protection as conscientious objectors -- a protection they realize it is impossible to attain south of the border. Diane Finley, minister of citizenship and immigration until October, guaranteed in Parliament and during election forums each war resister would be entitled to access current immi

Jon Swift's annual best-Of round-up is out. Each year, the talented and generous Mr Swift loosens his satirical robes - just a little - to highlight the best of the progressive blogosphere, as chosen by bloggers ourselves. The post represents a huge effort, and reflects the best spirit of blogosphere. Treat yourself to some good solid time there . Last year, I asked for your help in choosing my best post, but this year I forgot all about it until the deadline, then had no time to consult with you. But no matter, I can ask your opinions retroactively. Which of these would you vote for as wmtc's Best Post of 2008? (a) January 18: on liberals, conservatives, good blogosphere citizens and free speech (b) January 28: moral illogic: supporting peace, but not war resistance (c) February 21: on raising consciousness and wanting a new cell phone (d) March 18: why i won't watch the beijing olympics (e) July 3: either margaret wente needs a fact-checker or the entire united states

From the Associated Press. Child maid trafficking spreads from Africa to US By Rukmini Callimachi, Associated Press Writer IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- Late at night, the neighbors saw a little girl at the kitchen sink of the house next door. They watched through their window as the child rinsed plates under the open faucet. She wasn't much taller than the counter and the soapy water swallowed her slender arms. To put the dishes away, she climbed on a chair. But she was not the daughter of the couple next door doing chores. She was their maid. Shyima was 10 when a wealthy Egyptian couple brought her from a poor village in northern Egypt to work in their California home. She awoke before dawn and often worked past midnight to iron their clothes, mop the marble floors and dust the family's crystal. She earned $45 a month working up to 20 hours a day. She had no breaks during the day and no days off. The trafficking of children for domestic labor in the U.S. is an extension of an illega

Perhaps the only thing shocking about Israel's massive and sustained attack on Gaza is that some Canadians and Americans still defend Israel's actions. This is, supposedly, self-defense. It's simply mind-boggling. I find it difficult to respond in any coherent way. It leaves me speechless and head-shaking, so I'll borrow other people's words. Here are two letters from today's Globe and Mail . If Israel was really interested in the security of its people, it would have had direct talks with Hamas (it was already in indirect talks with Hamas over its captured soldier) to end the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the Palestinian militant rocket attacks, both of which are violations of international law. This would have avoided the unnecessary bloodshed and escalation of violence we are now witnessing. Israel knows it cannot avoid harm to innocent Palestinian civilians by "targeting" Hamas security centres in urban areas, given that roughly half of the 1.5 mil

As you may have noticed, I'm in a bit of a blogging lull. I'm just popping in to say: Oh no you don't. Oh no you won't. The new chairman of a secretive Parliamentary caucus opposed to abortion is pledging to rekindle the abortion debate in Canada and bring "more value" to the lives of unborn children. Although Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he's not interested in reopening the divisive issue, Winnipeg MP Rod Bruinooge told The Canadian Press people need to be better educated about Canada's abortion stance, which he says puts the country in a "class of its own." "Very few Canadians appreciate the fact that essentially until a child takes its first breath, it has less value than a kidney," says Mr. Bruinooge. "In Canada you can't remove your kidney and put it on eBay and auction it off. That is illegal. Whereas you actually can end a beating heart of an unborn child the second before it's delivered. Most Canadian

I signed up for this person's email list. I don't want to miss a single rant. The Annotated Rant As they say on TV, "...may contain coarse language. Viewer discretion is advised".

From a PRNewswire-USNewswire release run on the New York Times website, December 20, 2008. Bush Insider Who Planned To Tell All Killed In Plane Crash: Non-Profit Demands Full Federal Investigation Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell's activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how he can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that George Bush and Dick Cheney would "throw [him] under the bus." A tipster close to the McCain campaign disclosed to VR in July that Mr. Connell's life was in jeopardy and that Karl Rove had threatened him and his wi

Allan found an interview Studs Terkel did with Odetta in September, 1957. The interview segments are between songs. It's almost an hour long. You can upload it here. Enjoy.

As I mentioned here , Osborn Elliott died earlier this year. I didn't write about him when he passed away at the end of September, and I want to share a few personal memories of him now. Oz's primary background was as a journalist and editor. He took over the editorship of Newsweek magazine and changed it from a little-read, stodgy also-ran into Time 's major competition. He was dean of Columbia University's School of Journalism, and deputy mayor of the City of New York under mayor Abe Beame. The Asia Society, which he was involved with for many years, established the Osborn Elliott Award for Excellence in Journalism on Asia in his name. Oz was also the person on whose story playwright John Guare based his play (and later, movie) " Six Degrees of Separation ". The person claiming to be Sidney Poitier's son - but who was actually a con artist - showed up at Oz's door one night. In the movie, at the dinner party you'll see a quick shot of a senior

I don't know who wrote this or where it's from. I found it in Allan's office. He doesn't know where it came from either. HOW TO FEEL MISERABLE AS AN ARTIST (Or, what not to do.) 1. Constantly compare yourself to other artists. 2. Talk to your family about what you do and expect them to cheer you on. 3. Base the success of your entire career on one project. 4. Stick with what you know. 5. Undervalue your expertise. 6. Let money dictate what you do. 7. Bow to societal pressures. 8. Only do work that your family would love. 9. Do whatever the client/customer/gallery owner/patron/publisher/investor asks. 10. Set unachievable/overwhelming goals. To be accomplished by tomorrow. For more excellent guideposts on the creative process, see Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland, and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Update: This great list was seen here , at Keri Smith's blog, The Wish Jar . Thanks to Lee for spotting it - and for still checking in with wmtc!

I'm sure you all saw that the great Eartha Kitt has died . If you haven't listened to her music before, or don't know her life story, treat yourself to learning about both. The passing of many people whose work I grew up with is a sad and interesting phenomenon. These are not people I know from history, like when you hear someone died, but don't know much about them, or maybe never heard of them, and you try to understand who they were and why the death is noteworthy. They're also not people from my own generation, like when a death hits you personally, and you shudder at the realization of your own mortality and fragility. These are people I came of age reading, listening to, being challenged by, admiring, learning from, or just enjoying. It's a generation passing. Passings like that for me this year: Clive Barnes, George Carlin, Bo Diddley, John Leonard, Del Martin, Mitch Mitchell, Paul Newman, Odetta, Oscar Peterson (end of 2007), Utah Phillips, Harold Pinter

I was very sorry to hear that Harold Pinter has died at the age of 78 . In addition to being one of the greatest playwrights of our time, Pinter was a steadfast and vehement voice for peace and democracy. When he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, his Nobel Lecture was a scathing condemnation of US Empire, and a perspective on US history one seldom hears in the mainstream. You can read it here , or watch the address on video here . Pinter's passing marks a big loss for literature, theatre and the struggle for justice, but he gave us tremendous amounts of all three. Update: New York Times obit .

Although this day means nothing to me, it's nice to have some extra time off, and an excuse to eat dim sum. The traditional New York Jewish Christmas - Chinese food and a movie - translated very well to Mississauga, where the dim sum houses are packed on Christmas Day. We live very near the most popular place, and today we'll be one of the few non-Chinese families there. I have a ton of links in my in-box, but very little desire to blog at the moment. So, a short break. I hope everyone who celebrates this day is enjoying it, and everyone who doesn't is enjoying that, too.

What the hell is Canada doing in Afghanistan? Lethal air strikes and "abusive" nighttime raids by coalition forces in Afghanistan threaten to turn the local population against foreign troops, according to a report released Tuesday. The report, released in Kabul by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission , questions U.S. and NATO air strikes and nighttime searches of civilian houses. "Afghan families experienced their family members killed or injured, their houses or other property destroyed, or homes invaded at night without any perceived justification or legal authorization," the report says. "They often did not know who perpetrated the acts against the family or why. ... To their knowledge and perception those who perpetrated the acts were never punished, nor prevented from repeating them." The 55-page report says the night raids frequently involve "abusive behaviour and violent breaking and entry," which it says stoke almost as mu

This story is getting a lot of well-deserved attention. Allan posted it in comments here , but I wanted to make sure everyone who reads this blog sees it. This week in The Nation , please read A. C. Thompson's "Katrina's Hidden Race War" . After Hurricane Katrina, white vigilante groups patrolled New Orleans, blockaded streets, and shot at least eleven black men. The existence of this little army isn't a secret --in 2005 a few newspaper reporters wrote up the group's activities in glowing terms in articles that showed up on an array of pro-gun blogs; one Cox News story called it "the ultimate neighborhood watch." Herrington, for his part, recounted his ordeal in Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke. But until now no one has ever seriously scrutinized what happened in Algiers Point during those days, and nobody has asked the obvious questions. Were the gunmen, as they claim, just trying to fend off looters? Or does Herrington's experi

Let me add my voice to the chorus calling Stephen Harper a hypocrite of mammoth proportions. Hypocrite hardly seems like the word. There ought to be a bigger, more expansive word to express hypocrisy of this magnitude. The man repeatedly states he will not appoint anyone to the Senate because he is committed to Senate reform. Then he dissolves Parliament to avoid a no-confidence vote. Then, while he shouldn't be doing any government business, since he's governing by himself, he appoints a record number of Senators , many of them clearly patronage gifts. And, after repeatedly stating that Supreme Court of Canada appointments should be subject to Parliamentary review, he appoints a Supreme Court Justice on the same day. And may I just say, Mike Duffy? That Mike Duffy?? I thought there must be some other Mike Duffy, besides the Conservative media hack. But no. I don't know who to credit for this little bit of brilliance, but some smart blogger said CTV stands for "Canad

Whew. Cliff Cornell's deportation date has been deferred until January 22, thanks to his lawyer, who moved fast and skillfully, and to all of you who wrote, called, and emailed Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. The deferral gives Cliff's lawyer time to prepare a court challenge - and it gives us more time to mobilize support for Cliff and the other war resisters threatened with deportation. To summarize: January 7 : Kim Rivera and her family, including newborn daughter Katie, will receive a decision on their Pre-Removal Risk Assessment and Humanitarian and Compassionate Application. We hope it will be a positive one, but our experience is that it is likely to be another deportation date. January 15 : Patrick and Jill Hart and their 6-year old son Rian are supposed to leave Canada or face deportation. They are working with their lawyer to get a court hearing or other postponement. So far no word on that. January 22 : Cliff Cornell is supposed to leave Canada or face deportation

Gregg Moynagh lived in Port Credit , Mississauga, around the corner from where we used to live, a few kilometers from where we live now. He was 25 years old. He suffered from mental illness. Yesterday he was yelling and throwing things off his balcony. Police say he was lunging at them. "Knives were recovered" at the scene, as the vague expression goes. Whether or not Gregg Moynagh was holding one of them, we don't know. We do know the police shot and killed him. There were four police officers. Mr. Moynagh was alone. Was there no other way to subdue this poor soul than to kill him? Of course this will be investigated. By the police. Update and correction. This is being investigated by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), a civilian review board, not the police. I'm not convinced of the SIU's impartiality or independence, but it's not an internal investigation, as I originally thought. Some people see the low incidence of SIU findings against police officer

Having recently seen this movie , my old trope about the US turning into a third-world country is heavily on my mind. If you haven't seen Spike Lee's " When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts ," see it, and soon. And how does the other 1% live? For a taste, read Amy Goodman on the latest bailout outrage. Emphasis mine. The $700-billion financial bailout package, TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program), was supposed to mandate the elimination of exorbitant executive compensation and "golden parachutes." As U.S. taxpayers pony up their hard-earned dollars, highflying executives and corporate boards are now considering whether to give themselves multimillion-dollar bonuses. According to The Washington Post, the specific language in the TARP law that forbade such payouts was changed at the last minute, with a small but significant one-sentence edit made by the Bush administration. . . . . House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said recently, "The Treasury Departm

Me: Moral illogic part 1 : supporting peace but not supporting war resisters because "they signed a contract". Moral illogic part 2 : supporting freedom, but only in a quiet, orderly fashion. Moral illogic part 3 : outrage over throwing a shoe at a war criminal. Glenn Greenwald: prostitution vs. war crimes. ...yesterday, TNR published a finger-wagging sermon by former Sun reporter Jacob Gershman, who vigorously objects that Eliot Spitzer is allowed to appear in public and even write a Slate column so soon after exposure of his grave and monumental sin of hiring adult prostitutes. Gershman's column -- entitled: "Why Eliot Spitzer's attempt to be taken seriously again won't work--and doesn't deserve to" -- illustrates how warped our public morality has become. As a result of his minor, consensual, victimless, private crime (not because of his actual sin of hypocrisy as a former persecutor of prostitution rings), Spitzer was forced to resign as Governo

The headline reads, " Troops find 2.3 tonnes of marijuana in Afghan school ". But the first sentence of the story says, "Afghan and coalition troops found and destroyed nearly 2.3 tonnes of marijuana in an abandoned school in southern Afghanistan, while coalition troops killed four militants elsewhere in the south, officials said Sunday." "Coalition troops killed four militants..." If four Canadian soldiers were killed, you can bet your last nickel bag that it would be a more important headline than how much weed was found in a school. I like the Canadian media's focus on Canadian deaths in Afghanistan. Those deaths are important, and it should be major news. But Afghan deaths in Afghanistan, caused by Canada's presence there, are equally important. Unless we label them "militants". Then we don't have to care, right? And, although every person's life and death is equally important, the Canadian Forces chose to be there. I hope and

WhoWeAre.ca wants to show the many faces that comprise Canada, and to give a voice to cultural minorities. To those ends, they are requesting proposals for videos. People whose proposals are selected will be asked to produce a video. After production, each contributor will receive a $1,000 grant, funds that WhoWeAre has obtained from the National Film Board of Canada . Video proposals should address themes of cultural diversity, immigration and multiculturalism. WhoWeAre envisions becoming "a sort of YouTube for cultural diversity and immigrant experiences," when their website is fully operational in February. (It's in beta now.) The videos that are produced through this process will get the ball rolling. They also envision having an open platform, where anyone will be able to upload videos to the site. I don't know the exact number of proposals that will be chosen; I'm told it's "between 10 and 20". For details and more information, go here .

I was very interested in your comments to my post i hate christmas, part 2 . Some of them surprised me, but it was interesting to see the range of reaction. Even more surprising, I had an unsatisfactory answer from human resources, which I posted in comments on that post. Today I exchanged little holiday cards with a few co-workers. A woman I used to work with left a card for me. We were friendly when we worked together, then she had a schedule change, and we haven't seen each other in many months. The pre-printed part of her card reads: Celebrate the season... Worship the Reason... Experience the joy... She wrote "Dear Laura" and "Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed 2009" in red - and underlined the words "Worship the Reason", also in red. The R in Reason is upper-case. And the bottom of the card, in small type, is printed: "Rejoice in the Lord always." Philippians 4:4 . She also underlined the quote in red. She knows I'm Je

I just heard that my beloved great aunt passed away. As many of you know, this is the tough part of long-distance. Jewish funerals are immediately after the death, so there's no way I can make it to the funeral. Whether or not I can make a shiva call - the Jewish post-funeral period of family visitation and mourning - I don't know. Lillian was my grandmother's youngest sister, the last surviving of five siblings. She and I had a special relationship. We were "pen pals" (what an old expression!) when I was 8, 9, 10 years old, writing letters back and forth between Brooklyn and the New York suburbs. And we stayed close over the years. It was just a special thing we had. I find Lillian's death especially sad because in her last years, she was very depressed. She withdrew from everybody except her daughter and her sister Ida, with whom she lived at a senior home. When Ida died five years ago, Lillian withdrew from everybody. Allan and I used to visit them once or

I have a letter in today's Globe and Mail . John Ibbitson writes that Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver an invocation at his inauguration reflects Mr. Obama's efforts "to craft an administration that hews to the centre." This implies that same-sex marriage is an extreme position, pitting anti-gay right-wingers against a radical left. But equality under the law is not a radical idea or a leftist idea. Equality under the law is supposed to be a bedrock value of the United States. There is no centre ground when it comes to equal rights. One either has them or one does not. The bullshit I was responding to is here . I remember when Bill Clinton was first elected in 1992, how thrilled we were that the Reagan-Bush era was over, how hopeful we were for change. Fellow activists who were older than us were more muted. I remember a friend saying, "I'm very happy that Bush is out of a job, but I don't expect much to change." Then in his first

How to enjoy winter. Best enjoyed on mute, in my opinion.

Update. We originally heard that war resister Cliff Cornell received a deportation date of December 24. This afternoon we learned that Cliff's deportation date was today . His lawyer went to court to try to win a deferral, so he can finish his appeals process. No word yet if those efforts were successful. As of right now, Cliff is still in Canada. I will update when I hear anything more. News release from the Peace Alliance of Winnipeg . Subject: News Release: Harper government denies war resisters' rights to safe haven while Harper turns the sod at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (Winnipeg, December 19, 2008) On the day that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is turning the sod at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg, his government is forcibly deporting American war resister Clifford Cornell. Despite Mr. Harper's pretensions as a patron of human rights, his government has completely ignored a motion, passed by Parliament June 3, 2008, that called on the Canadia

This makes me so sad. It's so wrong - and so completely unnecessary. A disgrace. It's a dirty business killing wolves and the British Columbia government would rather the public didn't think about it much. Reports on how many wolves are being shot, trapped, sterilized, and otherwise hounded out of existence under predator-control programs in beautiful B.C. aren't readily available. When they do occasionally surface, it is a reminder of just how grim the battle is that is being waged out there against wolves. Anne Sherrod, a researcher with Valhalla Wilderness Watch, was recently leaked a government PowerPoint presentation on a wolf-control program being conducted by the Ministry of Environment. The document shows that between 2001 and 2004, as part of an effort to save endangered mountain caribou, the government killed 30 wolves and sterilized 16 others in the Quesnel Highlands area in central B.C. Ms. Sherrod said the government report refers to "live trapping&quo

Activism works, especially when it causes a lot of bad publicity. Perhaps you recall the story of Debbie Shank; I blogged about it here and here . Shank is a former Wal-Mart employee, now permanently disabled and brain-damaged, and living in a nursing home. After her family won a small settlement to help pay for her care, Wal-Mart sued them for that claim. It takes Wal-Mart all of 38 seconds to earn the $470,000 that they spent on Shank's care. But they sued her husband to get that money back - and they got away with it. From Wal-Mart Watch: It took a massive media outcry and the voices of thousands of Americans, but Wal-Mart has finally taken a small step in the right direction with a change to its 2009 health care plan, which should prevent the company from putting another family through the agony it put Debbie Shank's family. The new rule is an exception to the company's right to subrogate against a covered person completely in cases of 1) paraplegia or quadriplegia; 2

Iraq War resister Cliff Cornell has been given a deportation date of December 24, 2008. War resister Kimberly Rivera will receive a decision on her Humanitarian and Compassionate Application and Pre-Removal Risk Assessment on January 7. War resister Patrick Hart and his family are scheduled for deportation on January 15. War resister Dean Walcott is scheduled for deportation on January 30. Here are some things you can do to raise your voice in protest, and to show solidarity and support for Cliff, Kim, Patrick, Dean and all the other Iraq War resisters in Canada. 1. Everyone: Send a holiday greeting to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney! Tell him to respect the will of Parliament, which passed a motion in June calling on the government to cease all deportation proceedings against war resisters and to allow them to stay legally in Canada. Tell him you want a Canada that respects democracy and welcomes people of peace and conscience! Copy the Immigration critics and the Wa