September 2010, No. 64
Targeting Iran: Tensions build, but is “the nuclear threat” real?
Around the globe an ominous build-up of military might is taking place, and it is doing so almost entirely beneath the radar of public attention.
Since 2005, there has been a large scale deployment and stockpiling of advanced weapons systems throughout the territories and seas surrounding Russia, China, and Iran. These include (as a bare outline): major US weapons transfers to Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and India; US Patriot missiles in Poland; an early missile warning system in the Czech Republic; US troops and weapons in Georgia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia; US-made Aegis missiles in Taiwan; new US naval deployments in the Black Sea; new US weapons systems situated in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia; a formidable naval deployment in the Persian Gulf including Israeli submarines (bearing nuclear weapons) targeted at Iran; and a host of new US air and ship-based anti-ballistic missile systems located on US fleets throughout the Mediterranean, the Sea of Japan, the Taiwan St., and the South China Sea.
Boys in Pink
Walk into any major store that sells children’s apparel, and you will immediately notice the wide chasm that separates the colours in the boys’ and girls’ sections. Pink for girls, blue for boys - this practice of colour-coding young children in North America is so pervasive that it is impossible to escape.
Canada Jails Refugees
This May, The MV Sun Sea departed from Sri Lanka carrying 492 men, women, and children, giving up their sovereign identities for a dangerous and uncertain journey. After being denied permission to dock in Thailand and Australia, the Tamil refugees approached British Columbia, hoping to find asylum.
Knowing the Land is Resistance: Don River
Dear readers, we left off last knowing many reasons to celebrate a faint pulse returning to this urban river that was once deemed dead. Our story paused just before entering a golf course, ever nearing the downtown. So have courage friends, as we step into this strange openness, towards the fate of this water...
Hamilton at a Crossroads
When I first moved to Hamilton two years ago, I had the pleasure of knocking on doors for Greenpeace and talking to folks about the state of the world. I was amazed at the depth of knowledge and insight the average citizen shared about their city.
It was a refreshing change from Toronto. Most folks I met there would rather smile and nod before politely shutting the door in your face. People here, on the other hand are not too busy to come out on the porch and tell you exactly what they want from their city. The will was there, but unfortunately for our fundraising office, the money was not.
Conscious Communities: Three Evenings of Local Inspiring Ideas and Actions
Great Community Ideas
Hamilton Centre for Teaching Peace is proud to announce “Conscious Communities”, a three-night series of local community organizers sharing ideas with short, free and open public presentations to be held November 11-13, 2010 at a number of locations in downtown Hamilton.
Memoir: The Missing Page
On a Friday afternoon this past spring, during an unusual but welcome heat wave, my daughter’s French teacher announced to her class that they would begin a new project --a scrapbook called “Ma Famille.” My daughter arrived home from school that day bubbling with excitement, eager to create her masterpiece. The following day, we visited the craft store for an empty book, fancy paper, stickers, and ribbons. We looked through our photo albums and my daughter carefully chose photos she thought captured the personalities of each of our family members.
For a solid week she worked on her scrapbook, logging many hours of homework time, until the evening of the annual school open house where the unveiling would take place. My daughter was beaming with pride as she showed me her finished work and the A+ that she achieved. I looked through each page with amazement that my daughter had created something so wonderful! Yet it was the missing page that perhaps touched my heart the most--the page that should have been for my sister.