The beauty of recycling… chandeliers
There’s a funky glass chandelier hanging above my dining room table. It’s big, it’s bold, and – in my humble opinion, at least – it’s beautiful. We’ve had it for years, so the regular...
Category: Themes
Waterboarding IS torture
Eric Holder answered the important questions right in his confirmation hearing. In his sworn testimony, under questioning from Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, Holder stated unequivocally...
Hamas at the Tipping Point
For those of you just in from outer space, Israeli air strikes began against Hamas, a militant Islamist group, in the Gaza Strip on December 27 in response, the Israelis say, to the relentless but...
Oscar Grant, police violence and the war on black men
In the United States, there are more black men in prison than there are in college. There are racists that would attribute this phenomenon to the supposed "natural criminal instinct" of black...
Superhero President: the commodification of Barack Obama
Picture courtesy of Amanda Jaffe. When the presidential primaries started, Barack Obama was already something of a celebrity. And from the beginning, his campaign's posters and Web site were...
Under siege: on Oscar Grant and other victims
Cold. Blooded. Murder. What else can you call what occurred on New Year's Day in Oakland? A BART officer caught on tape shooting transit passenger Oscar Grant in the back, while Grant lay flat on his...
Dear Palestine: Damn us as we have damned you
Originally published in The National. Reprinted with permission. Dear Palestine, I am sorry I cannot help you this time either. I apologise for the non-existence of my support; my excuse is not the...
If Party Flyers Could Be Any More Awesome…
This might surprise you, but I’m not exactly the star of the club scene. I know a lot of you have imagined me as the center of attention, lowering my sunglasses to playfully scold supermodels for...
How Zombies Ate My Christmas
Forget traditional Christmas movies like "Miracle On 34th Street." Put all memories of "The Great Escape" aside. Even the umpteenth rerun of Bond cannot defeat the new holiday season favourite: the...
On the passing of Jett Travolta and the world’s forgotten children
I was watching CNN the other day when I learned that John Travolta had suffered a personal loss. It seems his sixteen year old had a seizure and died in the bathroom. The loss of a child is something...