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Google is losing a lot of friends lately. Their recent decisions to discontinue iGoogle and Reader are making many people unhappy . Today, to the great dismay of many Gmail users , Gmail's new compose interface - a small box in the corner of your screen - became the default. Google says the previous compose style - the more typical large box in the centre of your screen - will be discontinued. Why? Why not give us options? If some people like to compose an email in a small box in the corner of their screen, that's grand. They can. And if other people prefer to compose an email in as large a space as possible, in the centre of their screen... well, why can't we? I do not understand Google's continuing drive to dictate to its users how they should use Google products. The technology to allow for customer choice clearly exists. Why not let users decide how best to use a product? Why does Google care where and how we type our emails? Why not let us decide? This actually af

If you're in the Mississauga area and you're interested in hearing this blog live and in person, I'm giving a talk on Tuesday, April 2, sponsored by the Mississauga chapter of the International Socialists. Here are the deets. * * * * It's Pro-Choice or No Choice – Protecting Our Rights Stephen Harper promised he wouldn't re-open the abortion debate, but one Conservative MP after the next has tabled motions that would limit - or even destroy - Canadian women's reproductive rights. What are those rights, and how are they threatened? What can Canadians learn from the state of reproductive rights in the U.S.? Join us for an informative talk by long-time pro-choice activist Laura Kaminker and a discussion of the issues. WHAT: "Pro-Choice Canada – Protecting Our Rights" WHEN: Tuesday, April 2, 7:00 p.m. WHERE: Room CL-2, Central Library, 301 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga Parking in the garage under the library is FREE after 6 pm. Sponsored by the Miss

Supporters of U.S. war resisters in Canada may be interested in hearing about the War Resisters Support Campaign  event earlier this week. A large crowd came out to share a meal, hear an update on the Campaign, and raise funds for legal fees for the court martial of war resister Kimberly Rivera. War resister Jules Tindungan kicked off the evening by speaking about the letter from Iraq War veteran and resister Tomas Young , which I'm sure you've all seen. We watched Young himself read the letter on Democracy Now ( here ). It was announced that war resister Justin Colby was sentenced to 15 months in prison, which his lawyer, James Branum , was able to get reduced to nine months. Justin returned to the U.S. "voluntarily," meaning he was not deported or technically forced out by the Harper Government, but had he been granted status in Canada, his decision might have been very different. Courage to Resist has posted about Justin.  They are asking supporters to write respec

The degree will not be official until May, but I've just completed my very last school assignment. This means... I. AM. DONE. Done!!!!! My apologies to everyone who already saw this at Facebook, but such momentous news must be posted on wmtc! I am honestly unable to express my joy and relief at finishing school. I sometimes wonder if I'm making a big fuss over something quite common, something people do every day. Then again, if people do return to school after nearly 30 years and pilot through a complete career change in their early 50s, every day, then good on them, because it isn't easy. I had a ton of help. The support and encouragement from friends - in person, on wmtc, on Facebook, or all three - helped so much. People did amazing things for me, like a Campaign friend who gave me a key to her house near campus and insisted I use her spare bedroom for a lie-down anytime I wanted. For my first two years of school, that rest and re-charge let me continue to attend WRS

Since blog comments are not a very useful way of sharing information, I'll post this again here. A list of alternatives to Google Reader can be found at ReplaceReader . I'm very interested in this, even though I stopped using Google Reader a long time ago. I tried several times, and each time found that using any feed service hugely exacerbated that feeling of drowning in too much information. Worse, using a feed reader triggered my anxiety about not having enough time, just about the last thing I need. Thus my own internet reading continues to be the only thing in my life that is purposely erratic, unmethodical, and disorganized - and that's the only way it works for me. Despite that, I hate that Google has discontinued Reader and iGoogle, and I hope another good feed reader service becomes hugely successful as a result.

A while back, I expressed my frustration with the current massive emphasis on mobile apps, and with organizations that use Facebook pages instead of web pages: the walled-off internet, or why facebook and mobile apps are good for them and bad for us . For a more complete view of this sad fact, you might want to read this 2010 article from Wired : The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet by Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff. It's old in internet terms, but more relevant than ever: If we’re moving away from the open Web, it’s at least in part because of the rising dominance of businesspeople more inclined to think in the all-or-nothing terms of traditional media than in the come-one-come-all collectivist utopianism of the Web. This is not just natural maturation but in many ways the result of a competing idea — one that rejects the Web’s ethic, technology, and business models. The control the Web took from the vertically integrated, top-down media world can, with a little rethinking o

photo by andreyohanes3 One in eight people on this planet do not have access to safe drinking water. Each day, 3,000 children under the age of five die from diseases caused by drinking unsafe water. Half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water. In a world of such great plenty, how can this be? It's not inevitable, and it's not beyond our power to change. Go to WaterDay.org to see an impressive photo gallery highlighting the global water crisis. In Canada, the Harper Government has removed protections from almost every lake and river in the country. They are trying to cut environmental assessments for massive projects (like pipelines) that endanger the fresh water supply. The Council of Canadians asks you to join the fight to protect Canada's water as a public commons, not a free giveaway for industry. Water is a human right.

Linda McQuaig recently wrote an excellent column about the blatantly false portrayal of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in the Western mainstream media. Chavez should be a hero to anyone who cares about social justice, but if your primary news sources are anywhere from CNN to the CBC to the New York Times , you might wonder why millions of Latin Americans mourned Chavez's passing rather than celebrating. You might imagine they were in the thrall of a charismatic tyrant. I found the mainstream media's description of Chavez as a "dictator" particularly rich, given the US endured at least two fraudulent elections in recent times. Toronto activist Judy Rebick had this excellent letter in the Globe and Mail : Your front-page article on the death of Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez (Death Of A Revolutionary – March 6), calls him “a polarizing dictator.” He was certainly polarizing, as is our own Prime Minister, but Mr. Chavez was never a dictator. Mr. Chavez wa

Yesterday, March 19, 2013, was the 10th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Looking for something to post, I sorted through about a dozen essays and stories online, but nothing reflected the anger and sadness and disgust and urgency and frustration I feel about everything connected with the ongoing Iraq War. I didn't write something myself, because it feels like I've said everything I have to say a good 50 times over. I'm going to leave my post to Tomas Young. Young is an Iraq war veteran, and he is dying. He was profiled in the documentary "Body of War," which I wrote about when we screened it as a fundraiser for the War Resisters Support Campaign and the local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Chris Hedges recently wrote about Young here: The Crucifixion of Tomas Young . In his powerful letter, Young writes to the architects and salesmen of the Iraq War. I don't agree with everything Young writes. I don't see the invasion of Afghanistan as j

On January 16, 2013, six young Cree men and an experienced guide left their community on Hudson's Bay, in the far north, on foot. Their destination: Parliament Hill, Ottawa. Along their route, other aboriginal youth joined them, and together, now almost 200 strong, they are still walking. This is the Journey of Nishiyuu, or, the Quest For Unity. The walkers will reach Ottawa on March 25, having walked more than 1500 kilometres in sub-zero temperatures. These impressive young people stand in solidarity with Idle No More, and seek to protect their land and their heritage, and to build unity among the indigenous peoples of Canada, and of the world. From their media release: As our ancestors did before them , the youths will encounter a lot of challenges and hardships along their journey that will attempt to stop them from completing their objectives, including having to confront the elements during the coldest and harshest months in our region. By facing these challenges that our peop

A while back, I asked: " how can we live without polar bears? ". The world has taken one step closer to that vision, helping the polar bear along the road to extinction. Stephen Harper's government was one of the worst offenders. From NRDC: As I wrote last week, the international community rejected a US proposal to ban the global commercial trade in polar bear parts (skins, teeth, claws, skulls) at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok, Thailand. For the second time in three years, parties to the convention turned their backs on the plight of polar bears and the threat over hunting poses to the species – a species that, according to the best science, will likely lose more than two-thirds of its population by 2050 as a result of climate change. It was this dual threat of climate change and over hunting that created one of the biggest challenges for the US proposal. Parties at CITES are used to assessing and analyzing

If you're in the Toronto area, please join us for an evening of community, information, and fundraising in support of war resister Kimberly Rivera. Kim is confined to the Fort Carson, Colorado army base, while her husband and four children (two of whom were born in Canada) are in Texas. We expect Kim's court martial to begin on April 29. WHAT: Ten Years Since the Invasion of Iraq: The case for U.S. war resisters: Fundraising dinner in support of Kimberly Rivera’s legal defense WHEN: Monday, March 25, 6:00 dinner, 7:00 programme WHERE: United Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto WITH: Alyssa Manning, lawyer representing Iraq War resisters in Canada, and James Branum, lawyer representing several Iraq war resisters facing court martial by the US military Suggested donation $20, but all supporters are welcome, no donation too small. Event on Facebook Amnesty International on Kimberly Rivera

This week in The Nation , Dave Zirin reports on some disturbing - and disgusting - behaviour from Israeli soccer fans. Not even in the earliest days of Jackie Robinson’s 1947 historic debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers did Brooklyn’s white fans walk out after number 42 stole a base or hit a home run. The Brooklyn faithful’s love of “Dem Bums” trumped any racism that simmered in the stands. What does it say that sixty-six years later, Israeli fans of the soccer club Beitar Jerusalem have not evolved to postwar-Brooklyn standards of human decency? Earlier this season, Beitar Jersulam broke their own version of the “color line” by signing the first two Muslim players in team history: Zaur Sadayev and Dzhabrail Kadiyev. Predictably, Beitar’s supporters were madder than the NRA in a school zone. Boos have rained down on Sadayev and Kadiyev every time they’ve taken the field or touched the ball. Several members of a team fan club flew a banner that read, “Beitar is pure forever.” Two others at

The Freedom of the Press Foundation has posted the leaked audio recording of Bradley Manning's statement to the military court in Ft. Meade. In it, Manning explains why he leaked more than 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks. FPF also has posted transcript highlights, in case you can't make it through the full 35-page statement. The US military "court" - that is, Manning's accusers - are trying to prevent public access to the proceedings, especially Manning's own statements. We can all help thwart their plans. Listen to the statement here. You can download Manning's statement, in part or in full, and embed the audio on your own website: Help Spread Bradley Manning's Words Across the Internet . For more information on the groups FPF is helping to fund, go here . For more on FPF itself, go here . A man speaks the truth about war crimes and murder, and he is persecuted, tortured, and imprisoned. The people who are responsible for those war crimes co

It's been a while since I've written about children's books, and an even longer while since I've done an interspecies love post, so why not combine the two? There's a spate of children's books depicting cross-species animal friendships, some excellent, some better avoided. Children love these stories for the same reasons we do. There is something so touching - and off-the-charts cute! - about these friendships between animals who should, by nature, be afraid of each other, or even in a very different kind of relationship - at mealtime. For kids, some of these books have a moral overlay, teaching about difference and tolerance. That's fine, as long as its done with a light touch. Children's books don't need to be didactic to get their message across. I've seen at least a dozen animal-friendship books, and there are probably a dozen more I haven't seen. I've chosen four good ones, and highlighted two others that are noteworthy for the wrong

To celebrate International Women's Day, read Judy Rebick's beautiful piece at Rabble, and watch an excellent video featuring Patrick Stewart, talking about the role men play in women's equality. International Women's Day: What's the way forward? by Judy Rebick As an aging feminist I am often asked to speak about the progress we have made as feminists and how much is left to do. It gets depressing sometimes because of the persistence of violence against women and economic inequality. I am despairing of the deep gendered divide in children's toys and the heavy load placed upon young women expected to be beautiful, thin, successful, a great mom and too often chief cook and bottle washer at home. Not to mention daily viewing the old Reform party anti-feminists running the country. During the 1993 CBC election coverage, when the Mulroney Tories were reduced to two seats (how I long to see that day again), I was asked what I thought of the new Reform Party members. &q

HSI Canada has announced a major step forward in the fight against puppy mills. PJ's Pets and Pets Unlimited, two sizable retail chains of pet-supply stores, will no longer sell puppies. This is a direct result of public education and small-scale, person-to-person activism. It should give us all hope that shutting down puppy mills by shutting down the retail demand for their "product" is possible. For readers who may not be informed about puppy mills, here's something I wrote a few years back, during a Puppy Mill Action Week. * * * * Puppy mills are places of horrible cruelty and deprivation. Adult dogs are forced to breed until they die of exhaustion or complications, often bleeding to death. The puppies are raised under horrendous conditions, in tiny, overcrowded, wire cages, in which they can't stand properly, with no medical attention, no human contact and barely adequate nutrition. The puppies are then cleaned up - superficially, so they appear presentable -

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, July 28, 1954 – March 5, 2013. Rest in peace. And thank you. From Derrick O'Keefe at Rabble: Hugo Chavez has died -- undefeated. Yes, undefeated. Chavez, no matter how many times the corporate media and the cheerleaders of the status quo call him a dictator, was elected repeatedly with overwhelming majorities. No matter how many times this slur is moronically or mendaciously repeated, people know the truth. No less than Jimmy Carter certified Venezuela's elections as amongst the most fair and transparent his organization has ever observed. And the voter turnouts that elected Chavez were usually far, far higher than those in the U.S. The voices that cheer and mock the death of Hugo Chavez are in fact mocking democracy and the people of Venezuela, who elected him and who have re-elected him time and time again -- most recently by a decisive majority in October, 2012 . But today we need not dwell on the disgusting carnival of necrophilia with which the ri

Page no more! I'm not a librarian yet, but I've managed to get out of the page level. I've landed a part-time position as a circulation clerk, doing circ and customer service at the front desk in a branch about 20 minutes from home. I'm thrilled. My hourly pay rate just doubled, and it will be a huge relief to my middle-aged back and knees. Another reason this is very important is it guarantees I will not be a page again. If I get a librarian position that is temporary, such as covering a maternity leave (a not-uncommon way to break in to the professional level), when that job ends, I can return to circulation clerk, rather than return to being a page. More than the paycheque, more than the security, the most important takeaway from this is the confidence boost it's given me. It's very difficult even to get an interview for these positions. Often managers don't even open the competition to pages, to avoid conducting 50 or 60 interviews for one spot. Pages ma

An historic moment in "what i'm watching" history: I've just seen my first-ever episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I finished watching Star Trek TOS, the whole series, in order. I was sad when it ended! I miss Mr. Spock! I want more! So after one Star Trek-less week, it seemed only right to begin anew. I remember when Star Trek TNG first came out. I read reviews and was very interested in the show. But it was 1987. I was busy running around New York, hearing live music, getting involved in activism, adopting our first dog. TV was unimportant. Over the years, I'd see random bits of TNG while flipping channels, so I knew what the characters looked like. And I love Patrick Stewart. But I always passed it by. Thanks to Netflix plus Roku plus our hacked router, tonight I started from Episode One. Hey, I said I'd let you know. * * * * If my posts seem a little thin these days, both in quantity and quality, well, it's March. But unlike my usual March an

This is such a good tip, I am almost reluctant to share it. Then again, most people probably won't use it. I like to remember people's birthdays. Long before Facebook kept track of birthdays for us - and I do mean long before, as in, most of my life - I have been in the habit of writing people's birthdays on my calendar, and buying, and sending birthday cards. This is something I learned from my mother, although I did not retain her habit of being responsible for other people's cards, too. It was my mother's job to remember my father's birthday obligations, too - his mother, his sister. I don't do this for Allan! But I do have dozens of birthdays on my calendar and I like to send each person a card. I always sent paper cards, and continued to do so, even after the advent of email. Then we moved to Canada, where the paper cards I like (preferably by Papyrus ) are crazy expensive, often $7 or $8 each, plus postage to the US is a loonie a pop. On months with m

Please watch Michael Ratner, the lawyer representing Julian Assange in the US, reporting on Bradley Manning's testimony yesterday. Ratner is President Emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in New York and the Chair of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights in Berlin.