This Friday, October 22 at 7pm, my partner Penny and I are hosting a virtual screening of The Rankin File: Legacy of a Radical, a documentary film about my hero and mentor, Harry Rankin. You can register to join us and see this wonderful film here, which will be followed by a political panel and…
Category: socialism
Cuban solidarity is an example to the world
Last Monday, on a beautiful summer evening my partner Penny and I had the great honour of hosting Cuban Embassy officials David Aldama Pando, Third Secretary, and Areadna Quitana Castañeda, Press Attaché, as guests in our home. It was two hours of informative, intellectually stimulating discussion about a wide range of topics. The main topic…
The real reason Cubans are taking to the streets
For the seventh day in a row, thousands of Cubans have taken to their streets to demonstrate. The Western media was very quick to frame their actions as demonstrations against socialism. These media portrayals could not be further from the truth. For example, on July 14 the New York Times published an opinion piece by…
Subconscious socialism
As many of you may know, I have long been committed to the ideals of socialism and consider myself a socialist. It has been said that the essence of socialism is the same as that of many great religions – a commitment to putting others ahead of one’s own self interest. At one point in…
BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT: “The price of failure is just too great to imagine.”
Most of you may know that I’m a very big fan of Bernie Sanders. I don’t normally pay a lot of attention to politics south of the border, but the 2016 primaries totally grabbed my attention. Senator Bernie Sanders seemingly came out of nowhere, then went on to nearly capture the Democratic nomination for president….
Svend Robinson’s SFU appointment is a breath of fresh air
On Tuesday, I learned that my hero, Svend Robinson, has been appointed as the new J. S. Woodsworth Resident Scholar for the 2020–21 academic year at Simon Fraser University. It’s such a fitting appointment: James S. Woodsworth was a pioneer of Canada’s progressive social movement. A Member of Parliament and a founder of the social-democratic…
COVID-19: The neighbourhood catastrophe waiting to happen
For weeks, the coronavirus pandemic has been totally transforming our lives and devastating economies worldwide, right down to our own local neighbourhoods. COVID-19 is a neighbourhood catastrophe waiting to happen in the DTES. Its first confirmed case appeared yesterday. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, for most of the residents there to keep a safe…