Two names to be added to Craig Chaplin Memorial Award

This spring’s presentation of the award in my brother’s memory will include a couple of firsts – two individuals are being cited and they’re from across the Canada-U.S. border in neighbouring Vermont. To be more accurate, one-half of the couple of Dr. Delores Barbeau and Carol Olstad, R.N. will be honoured posthumously as Carol, who [...]

So three lawyers walk into the Ontario Legislature…

…but this is no joke! There’s a friendly exercise each morning that the Ontario Legislature sits when Members have the opportunity to introduce guests seated in the gallery – family members of one of the high school student pages, perhaps a visiting township reeve, or dignitaries representing other governments, be they in Canada or elsewhere. [...]

A letter to Canadians from the Honourable Jack Layton

August 20, 2011 Toronto, Ontario Dear Friends, Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, [...]

Recording resistance and history through music in Palestine

Songs from a Lost Homeland, which originally aired on Al Jazeera English last year, is in the programming rotation again this weekend. Is there a song in the west right now with even a small percentage of the punch of these musicians? I hope you get a chance to see the entire documentary. There’s another [...]

Music of the movement

One of the first activists’ songs that had any resonance for me was “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” (1961) and then “Give Peace A Chance” (1969). Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” (1963) was an anthem, if ever there was one, and I remember making a connection with “One Tin Soldier” in 1969. While grown-ups [...]

As Libya and neighbours seethe, CPT reports on West Bank demolitions by Israel

CPTnet 23 February 2011 SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Israeli military demolishes village of Amniyr Amniyr, South Hebron Hills, West Bank At 5:00 a.m. yesterday morning, the Israeli army, accompanied by members of the Israeli District Coordinating Office, arrived at the village of Amniyr and demolished five tent-houses, two cisterns and the village’s olive trees. The demolitions [...]

Awesome task (or perhaps not): bridging the perspective gap

Excerpts from my tweets (and a RT) from early this afternoon: Death by daily repression and near-starvation or death by desperate martyrdom via the State responsible? Your choice? #Bahrain #Libya #Yemen MD from #Bahrain: “Pls, pls, where is the #UN; we need the world; ppl are being killed in the streets!” Ambu’s BLOCKED frm #PearlRoundabout [...]

Feeling powerless so far away from Egypt? Help change the Canadian government’s response!

Like so much of the world I have been transfixed on the dramatic events in Egypt, but feeling a little powerless to help – until I read about the Harper government’s response (which, I guess, we shouldn’t be surprised about)! What follows came from the Canadian Peace Alliance. Stephen Harper backs Mubarak’s ‘transition’ plan Contact [...]

World AIDS Day 2010 – Stories – 5 – “World AIDS Day 2010″ by Aless Piper

Each writer in this series has generously given me permission to post their work. The views and experiences shared are their own. Where applicable, links will also be provided at the end of the piece. Tony Kushner wrote in the Playwright’s Notes for Act 2 of Angels in America – Perestroika that Harold Bloom translated [...]

Perhaps my most difficult topic yet (for Tyler Clementi)

Let’s talk about suicide! The single-most read entry of this blog – ever – is seeing an up-tick in hits as the one year anniversary of this local tragedy looms large. Today, with the recovery of his body, social media are decrying the suicide, and circumstances behind it, of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, a [...]

Clearly Hazel McCallion has been hanging around Don Cherry too much!

CBC News – Toronto – Police re-investigate abuse claims in Mississauga. First of all, why is “hazing” not treated as the bodily, sometimes sexual, assault that it clearly is?  Not criminal?  C’mon! Hurricane Hazel’s best-before date has long since passed.  She’s clearly staying on as Mayor only to break some kind of geezer record and [...]

As seen on Facebook (from others who, like me, remember 1981)

Open Letter to Pride Toronto from founders of Pride in 1981 As founding members of the Toronto Lesbian and Gay Pride Day Committee, and people involved in organizing the first Pride event in Toronto at the end of June in 1981, we stand totally opposed to the decision of the current Toronto Pride Committee to [...]

Unearthing one of my early newspaper appearances

  After the cathartic experience here this morning of again recalling Craig’s struggles, in the early days of his ministry, I was remembering some of what was going on in my life 700 km away from Craig.  In the raucous days of an Ontario Human Rights Code amendment debate, giving gays and lesbians protection in [...]

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day

Tomorrow, December 1, is World AIDS Day. Let us remember that HIV/AIDS remains an issue the world over 364 other days of the year. Promising treatments have extended the survival of people in the wealthiest nations of the world but, where available, are only starting to have an effect in poorer nations. Canada’s promise to [...]

Would you help? Cutting and pasting is mostly all that’s required!

Except for the first paragraph, which I wrote, this letter is available for you to cut and paste here at http://www.essentialmedicine.org/add-your-voice/camr/ Don’t worry about the October 23 deadline having passed. The bill is only at the committee stage. Here’s my letter: Dear Legislator, As a Canadian living with HIV for the last 20 years I [...]