After hearing about Kate Beaton on CBC’s radio program, Q by Jian Ghomeshi, we had to share some of her comics and memorable quotes with you.
Now, she has come out with a graphic novel of stories inspired by history. Kate Beaton has created a whole new literary genre, that of…
The question on many a mind is whether Zimmerman can get a fair trial. But the question plaguing me is why the Trayvon Martins of the world are not afforded a fair trail before execution. Before there was Martin, there was Rodney King and Amadou Diallo and many an unknown victim of prejudice.
As a matter of fact, I became aware of Martin’s murder because someone sent an email to me asking whether his killing was this generation’s “Emmett Till moment”. When people ask this question, they are already conceding legal defeat. Till was killed when he was 14 years old in 1955 while visiting Money, Mississippi. Till was from Chicago and didn’t know the ways of the south. He committed the “crime” of flirting with a white woman. He paid for that with his life when he was kidnapped from is grandfather’s home by two armed white men, beaten, tortured, and murdered. His corpse was later found bloated and disfigured in the river. The picture of Till in his casket, famous for being published in Jet magazine with his mother’s permission, garnered national attention. His murderers where put on trail and, as expected, acquitted. Some time later, they confessed to the murder to a journalist once assured that double jeopardy meant they could not be tried again.
I expect much of the same for Martin’s case. I fear that legal pundits will say that the evidence the police bothered to collect is inconclusive, that any potential jury pool has been tainted. And then there is the issue of Florida’s “stand your ground” law absolving people of crimes against those they fear. In 1950s Mississippi, Jim Crow public segregation laws demanded the acquittal of Till’s murderers. In 2012, we have stand your ground and a general acceptance that young black men bring violence upon themselves to shield justice from light and provide cover for those who meet out vigilante justice.
• Pamela Merritt (aka blogger Angry Black Bitch) ponders George Zimmerman’s possible upcoming trial, and the concept of justice
Photograph: Yunus Emre Caylak/Demotix/Corbis
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My husband, Khadr Adnan, has now become a household name across the world. Four months ago he was unknown outside of our homeland, Palestine. His hunger strike of 66 days has now transformed him into a towering global figure and a shining symbol of my people’s struggle.
Our life was turned upside down on 17 December 2011 when Israeli troops raided our home in Araba village, south of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. It was about 3am when they broke down the doors and stormed into our house.
The havoc they wreaked would always remain etched on the minds of our two daughters, Ma’ali, aged four and Baysan, one and a half years old. I would not be surprised if even our unborn baby which I now bear will also be affected. Such was the trauma that accompanied the Israeli raid.
"— Randa Musa is married to hungerstriker Khadr Adnan, who is 66 days in his protest. Read the rest of her piece here. (via guardiancomment)
The history of the Christmas tree - three bet you didn’t know that facts!
1. First appearing in England 1840, the tree was introducted by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria German husband, who’s family had one growing up.
2. The first ever Christmas tree in North America appeared the winter of 1781 in Sorel, Quebec.
3. Perhaps the first electronically lit Christmas tree in Canada was erected in Westmount, Quebec, in 1896.
To learn more about the history of Christmas trees of Holiday traditions in Canada, visit The Canadian Encyclopedia.
There’s no better time to support a great program than the holiday season.
Our friends at Blackstone, the television drama series that explores First Nations’ power and politics, have generously launched a new campaign in support of the Canadian Aboriginal Writing & Arts Challenge!
For every new ‘Like’ on Blackstone’s Facebook page from now until February 1, 2012, Blackstone will donate $2 to the Challenge! The goal is to reach 1500 new ‘Likes’, which will see $3,000 go to the program and help encourage Aboriginal youth to showcase their talent and explore their heritage in creative way.
Visit the Blackstone Facebook page to show your support.
Please help us spread the word - a simple ‘Like’ goes a long way!
To view the winners of 2010’s Canadian Aboriginal Writing & Arts Challenge and their wonderful work, visit our website or click here.
Well written piece from Dean, especially agree with this part: ”to be effective at social networking, and to become a player on every platform, you have to play nice”
I’m not sure we can handle another world-changing social network, but they keep coming anyway. And they keep going. But not all of them.
So why do some stay, and others go?
The reasons, and many there are, aren’t quite what they used to be. The reasons Google+ is becoming more of a ghost town…
La Global Conference est un forum international sur le développement durable très attendu. Son format a été crée par le think-tank Les Ateliers de la Terre et soutenue par près de 60 partenaires (Danone, GDF SUEZ, Bolloré, etc).
La mission du think-tank Les Ateliers de la Terre est d’accélérer la prise de conscience, de fédérer un réseau mondial d’acteurs économiques, politiques et médiatiques pour accompagner les projets concrets de développement durable (exemple : La Revue de la Terre, l’association E-Durable, projet de formation à l’agroécologie à la Tapoa, etc).
Cette année, 920 personnes se sont retrouvées à Evian, lieu traditionnel de cette rencontre. La Global Conference s’articule chaque année autour d’un thème différent. Au regard des évènements qui se sont produits dans les pays arabes ainsi que les nombreuses élections présidentielles qui auront lieu en 2012, le thème a porté sur “gouvernance et développement durable”.
Ce forum qui se tient sur 3 jours favorise les rencontres d’un réseau mondial de 60 nationalités différentes. Ainsi la promotion du développement durable passe par la présentation de projets d’acteurs majeurs du développement durable, de grand témoin d’évènements inspirants et de conférences (de différent format) pour faire avancer la réflexion vers un monde durable.
Le forum évolue d’année en année avec les retours des participants. Voici quelques nouveautés :
- Le forum a lieu plus tôt (en septembre au lien de novembre) ce qui permet de mettre à profit le cadre naturel des lieux et de bénéficier du climat doux de l’arrière saison.
- Green Dating : un PDG expose son projet en 5 min. Il est ensuite possible de lui poser des questions pendant 25 min.
- Garden Talks : rencontre en plein air, plus convivial et laissant libre cours à une certaine spontanéité.
Les journées commencent dès 8h45 pour se terminer à 20h30 le soir. Bien que présent pendant les trois jours du forum, il ne m’a pas été possible d’assister à toutes les conférences ni même de rencontrer toutes les personnalités. Néanmoins, je vais m’attacher à donner une vue d’ensemble sur les personnalités, les projets et les idées qui ont marqué la 6ème édition de la Global Conference d’Evian.
Note sur les fondateurs et l’équipe
Eric Bazin et George J. Gendelman sont les 2 fondateurs du think tank Les Ateliers de la Terre. Grâce à leur expertise journalistique et à leur réseau, la Global Conference a pu voir le jour, car ils ont su convaincre des grands acteurs du développement durable de l’importance d’une telle rencontre.
Cette année l’équipe encadrante s’est enrichie de présence féminine avec Joëlle Charbonneau et Roxane Grioche, ce qui a indéniablement ajouté un plus tant sur la convivialité de l’organisation que sur la sensibilité d’écoute aux remarques constructives.
![longreads:
[Fiction] A favor from an ex, with a catch:
DENNIS
Let me guess. Is this about money? Now that I have it? Or do you suddenly need me on some emotional level heretofore unrealized?
Pause.
JOSH
Yes. I need money.
Silence.
“Turnabout.” — Daniel Reitz, Guernica
See more #fiction #longreads](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lze3s0tZxd1qf4hl5o1_250.jpg)
[Fiction] A favor from an ex, with a catch:
DENNIS
Let me guess. Is this about money? Now that I have it? Or do you suddenly need me on some emotional level heretofore unrealized?
Pause.
JOSH
Yes. I need money.
Silence.
(via longreads)
Congress in the Archives will feature a monthly staff post on our blog. March’s post comes from Center reference archivist Rod Ross.
This blog highlights an 1845 petition to Congress from members of the Illinois bar which serves as a great teaching tool for those doing research in the records at the Center for Legislative Archives. The petitioners asked the Federal Government to purchase and distribute copies of the privately-printed work Reports and Decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Among the signers were Abraham Lincoln and state Supreme Court Justice Samuel D. Lockwood.
The petition has been tri-folded with annotated summary written on its middle fold. In the 19th century clerks tied such documents into bundles with red ribbon - the original “red tape.” The annotation on the back of the petition indicates that Senate Sidney Breese (D-IL) introduced it on the Senate floor, where the presiding officer referred it to the Committee on the Judiciary. On February 6, 1845, that committee came up with a bill (S. 119) which met the request of the petitioners.
Through A Center of Lawmaking for a New Nation researchers can view the text of S. 119 for the 28th Congress, 2nd session, as well as see entries on the bill in the Senate Legislative Journal of that session (pages 137, 161, 168) and in the House Journal (pages 377, 396, 466, 561). However, neither the House nor the Senate Journal record debate. By learning the dates from the journals, a researcher can then seek out debate information as recorded in the Congressional Globe, a predecessor of the Congressional Records.
If you are wondering what ever happened to S. 119, the bill passed the Senate but, sadly for the petitions, died in the House.
Petition from members of the Illinois state bar, 1845, Sen 28A-G7.1, Records of the U.S. Senate
