Dear beloved resistance,
We now have a President and Cabinet who almost certainly have no interest in the safety or well-being of their people. Many of us marched in the streets last weekend in an awesome show of solidarity against Trump and all that he promises and stands for. It was, by several accounts, the largest global protest in history.
"Get a job!" jeered a dude donning a red "Make America Great Again" hat in the passenger's seat of a taxi driving down U Street. We were sitting on the sidewalk queuing for Jacobin Magazine's "Anti-Inauguration" event on the evening of January 20.
Half-focussed on a game we had begun playing to distract us from the brick sidewalk pressing against our thighs, we looked up to briefly lock eyes with the guy in the taxi. None of us could muster a response. We blinked. The taxi disappeared down 13th Street.
It is Day Six on the Women's Boat to Gaza's thousand-mile journey from Messina, Sicily to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. Sitting in the cockpit of our small sailboat are 13 women from 13 countries.
We have already covered another 700 miles in earlier parts of the journey to Gaza. We sailed with our first group of 13 women from Barcelona, Spain to Ajaccio, Corsica, France. The second group of 13 women sailed from Ajaccio, Corsica to Messina, Sicily, Italy. Among the participants were parliamentarians from Tunisia, Spain and Sweden and the European Parliament, notable members of the theatre and acting profession from Spain and the U.S., journalists from Spain and Israel, and activists from Canada and the U.S.
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When I was in my mid-20s I attended my very first women's bathhouse event, The Pussy Palace, which was raided that same night by the Toronto Police in 2000.
It has been just over two weeks since I woke up to a friend informing me that "there was a big shooting in Orlando." I was instantly filled with anxiety as I turned over in my bed and reluctantly responded, "Oh no. I really hope it wasn't my people."
I could already locate in my body a well-known heaviness that precedes the media wave of causal inquiry that consistently lands in the same place, laced with its own violent punches and cheers from its fixated audience.
I knew that within hours the media would begin making connections between Islam and terrorism in ways that implicate all Muslims as a matter of course.
With this knowledge, I deliberately postponed looking at anything on social media for an entire morning.
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It began with a welcome from Elder Evelyn Commanda, to the unceded and unconquered territory of the Algonquin nation. Her powerful statement reminded us why we were gathered: "We walk on our ancestors. And the dust of my ancestors is being used for war."
I wanted to spit in his face. And when he told me "sorry," I very nearly did. He'd treated me poorly -- taken my trust for granted, tried clumsily to spin gold out of straw. I told him to his face, sheepish and knowing, that there was to be nothing more between us, and with a sense of conviction I hadn't known before, I turned on my heels and stormed away.
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One of the worst violations of human rights, along with one of the biggest mass killings of civilians Europe has experienced since the Second World War, is taking place as we speak.
I have spoken to hundreds of refugees and they all have the same horrible stories to share.
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Responsible journalism is under attack in Nova Scotia.
Unfortunately, it's an inside job.
The Chronicle Herald and its husband-and-wife leadership team of CEO Mark Lever and publisher Sarah Dennis have forced nearly 60 newsroom staff into a defensive strike.
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