yesterday i promised you a translation of victor jara’s canto libre. here it is (and here is the MP3 version). my verse is a dove looking for a place to nest. and with a roar it opens its wings to fly, to fly. my song is free and wants to give itself to whoever… Continue reading the last remembrance day song for 2007: canto libre by victor jara
Category: peace, environment, social justice et al
remembrance day songs for a different kind of soldier
don’t know why remembrance day fascinates me so – at any rate, here’s another post about it, following the one last week and this and this last year. today i’d like to honour some soldiers for peace and democracy who died upholding their convictions. ephialtes, a fighter for democracy 400 BCE martin luther king, fighter… Continue reading remembrance day songs for a different kind of soldier
remembrance day songs for 2007
a few days from now is remembrance day – november 11 here in canada, when we remember our soldiers in the war. and when we imagine a future without war. i know, it sounds crazy. just this morning i was reading about paul tibbets, the man who threw the atomic bomb on hiroshima and who… Continue reading remembrance day songs for 2007
guilt, cheney and guantanamo bay
junebugkitty, one of my stumbleupon friends, had some interesting comments on the topic of guilt that we started discussing here a few days ago. he mentioned the famous milgram experiment, where subjects in a psychological experiment were required to administer electrical shocks to their fellows when told so by an authority. over 50% followed those… Continue reading guilt, cheney and guantanamo bay
the last hallowe’en treats – going to louisiana
okay, last day today for stepping in hootin’ annie’s footsteps of giving out hallowe’en treats to strangers. there’s just a few more left in the bag. today i’m giving out link treats to bloggers who have written about the history of slavery in louisiana. give me a few days and i’ll explain why. in the… Continue reading the last hallowe’en treats – going to louisiana
homelessness and mental health
i recently found out that my friend aaron zacharias wrote an article on mental health and homelessness. you can find it at heretohelp, an e-zine dedicated to mental health. the article shows very clearly how mental health and homelessness interact. tenuous mental health, especially when coupled with adverse events such as divorce, workplace accidents, or,… Continue reading homelessness and mental health
blog action day: interdependence with the environment
today is blog action day, a day on which bloggers worldwide post on topics concerning the environment. what is “the environment”? here is a merriam-webster definition the circumstances, objects or conditions by which one is surrounded; the complex of climatic, edaphic and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately… Continue reading blog action day: interdependence with the environment
bloggers for burma
today is a day when worldwide, bloggers blog about burma. it’s also a day that is so busy that normally, i’d forgo a post. but this is important. i’ll just leave you with one impression. this event in burma appears to me a manifestation of the old, tragic fight between good and evil, on a… Continue reading bloggers for burma
PTSD and restorative justice
scott from finding your marbles just sent me an email wondering about my thoughts on the development of this story about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) as grounds for acquittal. a groundbreaking ruling that found a former soldier not criminally responsible for a sex assault he admitted to committing was overturned by the manitoba court… Continue reading PTSD and restorative justice
change something: the lives of people with mental illness
today, gentle ladies and men, you’re going to have to go somewhere else for my blog post. changeeverything, an interesting local site that is dedicated to social change, has issued a challenge to write about an issue close to your heart. if it makes the cut, a charity of your choice gets $1,000. i couldn’t… Continue reading change something: the lives of people with mental illness