Needs No Introduction

Freelance journalists face incredibly tough conditions in war zones around the world with limited resources and little in the way of safety nets. What they do have is a passion for the story.

"People's Journalism: Reporting Under Fire" is a panel discussion that took place in Toronto on March 14. The discussion focuses on the role of freelancing in war zones and commemorates the life of one such freelancer: Ali Mustafa.

Mustafa was a Toronto-based freelance photojournalist, activist and writer. He died along with seven others on March 9, 2014 in Aleppo, Syria in an aerial bombing. The panellists knew Mustafa personally.

Panelists were: independent journalist, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, of Democracy Now; Jihan Hafiz, who has reported for Al Jazeera America; and documentary filmmaker, Reed Lindsay. Their discussion is grounded in their relationship to Mustafa and the life he led as a freelance photojournalist in Palestine, Egypt and Syria.

This lecture was organized by the Ali Mustafa Collective who came together after his death to celebrate Mustafa's legacy. The panel was moderated by community organizer, Datejie Green.

For over 30 years, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund has been imposing their austerity agenda on countries around the world as a condition for economic assistance. Greece has been in the news most recently, but it's been going on for several decades now. Here in Canada, that same austerity agenda has also wreaked havoc on our country and its citizens.

Under the austerity agenda, social programs are cut, unions are attacked and working conditions get more and more precarious because eroding wages and working conditions is good for corporations. It's all about sacrificing the public good for corporate profits.

Unite Against Austerity is a campaign which brings people together to talk about the effects of austerity and support organizing efforts to increase public dialogue which will lead to change.

As part of the campaign, a panel discussion was held in Toronto on April 25, 2015 at the Steelworkers Hall. The panel addresses the questions: What are the austerity policies that you are dealing with in your community? And, what is their legacy. The panel featured speakers from labour, first nations, migrant worker and anti-poverty organizations.

Speakers:

Crystal Sinclair, a Cree woman from Manitoba and Activist and Organizer with Idle No More Toronto. She has a degree in social work and has been a social worker in Toronto for the past 15 years.

Jennie Miller, a member of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who sits on the executive of both the Greater Toronto Area Council and the Provincial Francophone Committee.

Chris Ramsaroop, an organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers and a member of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

John Clark of the Ontario Coaltion Against Poverty.

Avi Lewis, one of Canada's most eloquent and controversial media personalities who has been creating space for more radical voices in mainstream media for 25 years.

Unite Against Austerity, a panel discussion held in Toronto as part of a campaign of the same name with the following goals:

To make the austerity agenda the primary lens through which Canadians understand the country's political landscape and make political decisions

To support the expansion of alliances and strategic action in anti-austerity work in Canada

For more info, go to http://www.uniteagainstausterity.ca/

Thanks to Shaghayegh Tajvidi for recording this for Needs No Introduction.

On April 18 in Toronto, American cognitive linguist and author of Don't Think of an Elephant George Lakoff spoke to a crowd in Toronto about how conservative values have come to dominate public discourse. Accomplishing this, he said, has been as much about the construction of metaphors as it has been about policies. Conservatives in the US and Canada have crafted a worldview and adjusted politics to fit with the framework; progressives have yet to figure this out. When the progressive response is primarily criticism, said Lakoff, the debate is still framed in conservative terms. Progressives won't reclaim politics until they shift the conversation.

Around the world, and in Canada, progressives are fighting simply to hang on to hard-fought wins, while struggling to communicate progressive values in a political sphere largely dominated by successful conservative messages.

Why are conservatives so successful in communicating their messages? What do progressives need to do to communicate their values to large populations?

It's a big year for Canadian politics and electorally the stakes have never been higher.

Over the course of an hour, Lakoff discussed the effect of political metaphors on individual identity, how progressive views can be communicated in a political sphere dominated by conservative messages, and how these lessons can be applied to the upcoming federal election.

Sponsored by rabble.ca and our partnersCanadian Dimension Magazine.

Classes are ending. College and University students are putting away the books. It's been a difficult year as students, faculty and administration of several university campuses have had to deal with issues related to sexual violence on campus. St. Mary's University and Dalhousie University are this past school year's examples, but we've seen other incidents at other campuses too in the past few years.

Add that to this winter's arrest of Jian Ghomeshi, CBC's former host of Q on sexually related violence, and we're hearing a heightened level of discussion about the issue to an extent that we've never heard before. And while hearing about these incidents is horrifying and disturbing, the fact that we're now talking about these issues is a good thing.

When Sue Montgomery, along with fellow journalist Antonia Zerbisias, created the BeenRapedNeverReported Hashtag, even they were surprised by how quickly it took off. Many people, she said, don't realize how widespread and normalized sexual assault is even in a country like Canada. "We don't talk about it enough."

Yet the popularity of the Hashtag suggested that silence is coming to an end. Within 24 hours of its creation, the conversation had spread around the world, prompting thousands of people to share their own experiences. By making the conversation public, Montgomery hopes that women will stop blaming themselves for being sexually assaulted and feel empowered to seek help.

Montgomery was speaking as part of the Sexual Assault Awareness Week at Carleton University on February 26, 2015. In her presentation, Montgomery talked about her own experience as a survivor of sexual violence and the need for more support for survivors, the role of media in responsibly covering sexual assault, and the importance of these conversations in helping victims of sexual assault recover from their experiences.

Because the phenomenon is so widespread, said Montgomery, addressing it will never be accomplished without the participation of all Canadians. "It can't be just one gender that does this, it has to be everyone…Basically it comes down to respect."

Michael Harris and Donald Gutstein are authors of two critically acclaimed political books.

Michael Harris is the author of Party of One: Stephen Harper and Canada's Radical Makeover.

In Party of One, investigative journalist Michael Harris closely examines the majority government of a prime minister essentially unchecked by the opposition and empowered by the general election victory of May 2011. Harris looks at Harper's policies, instincts, and the often breathtaking gap between his stated political principles and his practices. Harris argues that Harper is more than a master of controlling information: he is a profoundly anti-democratic figure. Against the backdrop of a Conservative commitment to transparency and accountability, Harris exposes the ultra-secrecy, non-compliance, and dismissiveness of this prime minister. And with the Conservative majority in Parliament, the law is simple: what one man, the PM, says, goes.

Donald Gutstein has written Harperism: How Stephen Harper and his Think Tank Colleagues have Transformed Canada.

Margaret Thatcher transformed British political life forever. So did Ronald Reagan in the United States. Now Canada has experienced a similar, dramatic shift to a new kind of politics, which author Donald Gutstein terms Harperism. The success of Harperism is no accident. Donald Gutstein documents the links between the politicians, think tanks, journalists, academics, and researchers who nurture and promote each other's neoliberal ideas. They do so using funds provided by ultra-rich U.S. donors, by Canadian billionaires like Peter Munk, and by many big corporations -- all of whom stand to gain from the ideas and policies the Harperites develop and push.

This book casts new light on the last 10 years of Canadian politics. It documents the challenges that Harperism -- with or without Stephen Harper -- will continue to offer to the many Canadians who do not share this pro-market world view.

Both books take a hard look at the Harper regime and some of the tactics by the Conservative government to ensure their re-election, and promote their neoliberal views on how Canada should work.

Both authors appeared at a dynamic evening talk on March 24, 2015 at the Centretown United Church in Ottawa. It was called The Inconvenient Truth about Harper's Canada. It was co-sponsored by Octopus Books, the Council of Canadians, Public Service Alliance of Canada, the National Union of Public and General Employees, and rabble.ca.

The panel was moderated by Kathleen Monk, a prominent media commentator who regularly appears on CBC The National's The Insiders program.

On March 4, the Aboriginal Law and Feminist Law Students Associations at the University of Toronto organized a panel event titled "Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirits: What's the State of Law and the Role of Advocacy?" to discuss the socio-historical causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people in Canada and what role, if any, the federal government plays in addressing the problem.

The panel was moderated by Audrey Huntley of No More Silence and featured: Christa Big Canoe, Legal Advocacy Director of Aboriginal Legal Services Toronto; Pam Palmater, Mi'kmaw Lawyer and Associate Professor at Ryerson University; and Mary Eberts, Litigation Counsel, Native Women's Association of Canada and Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

The panel discussed the broad issues relating to violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people as well as practicable solutions to the problem. Part of the problem, they said, is a federal government and security apparatus that consciously refuses to consider the lives of Indigenous women important enough to act. The disrespect shown by the government, they said -- disrespect manifested in the government's ignoring expert recommendations to stop violence, and the Prime Minister's statement that the issue is not a priority -- is offensive to every Canadian, and it is up to every Canadian to take action in an effort led by the Indigenous women who live this experience every day.

"In May of 2011, Stephen Harper finally won his majority government. Not long after that, I got an email from an old friend telling me that rabble.ca, which had been a leading voice among Canada's alternative media for a decade, was planning to hire its first-ever parliamentary reporter. Might I be interested? It seemed like an intriguing idea. Making some effort to chronicle and analyze what Prime Minister Harper and his colleagues would do, now that they did not have to make the compromises necessary in a minority, would be a fascinating challenge -- in, perhaps, a Grand Guignolesque sort of way. " - Karl Nerenberg.

The very same year that Stephen Harper won his first majority government, rabble.ca hired Karl Nerenberg to be our first ever Parliamentary reporter.

Karl has seen a lot in his years on Parliament Hill. On February 18, a Panel discussion was held in Ottawa to mark the release of his new book, Harper vs. Canada: Five Ways of Looking at the Conservative Regime. Read an excerpt from the book here.

The Panel consisted of Karl Nerenberg, rabble's parliamentary reporter and author of Harper vs Canada; Maude Barlow, author, activist and National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians; and Mark Bourrie, academic, author and journalist whose latest book Kill The Messengers: Stephen Harper's Assault on Your Right to Know looks at the Harper government's control over information. The event was moderated by Stuart Trew.

The panel highlighted plenty of reasons to be worried, from the drastic reforms to international trade agreements and immigration policy to cuts in public spending, increase in state surveillance and the seemingly inexorable remaking of Canada in Harperps image. There is a risk, they said, that we're on the cusp of losing our country. But the panel stopped short of despair. It's essential to reject fear, they said, and remain committed to a future in which Harper, having tried to create a vision of Canada unacceptable to the majority of Canadians, will no longer be the leader of it.

"Stephen Harper will be gone one day," they said. "And he is not taking us with him."

On Saturday March 14, 2015, people gathered together in communities across Canada for an emergency Day of Action to stop the government's "secret police" law Bill C-51.

From Antigonish, Bancroft and Barrie, to Winnipeg, West Kootenays and Yellowknife, Days of Action were organized in over 50 communities across the country.

In Toronto, over 2,000 people gathered on a cold drizzly day. They gathered at Nathan Philips Square, and then marched to the U.S. Embassy and the Toronto CSIS headquarters. For those of you who couldn't be there, here is a recap of the speeches, music and poetry.

Speakers:

Pauline Shirt - Elder

Vanessa Gray, Young indigenous activist of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation

Suraia Sahar, Anti Racism activists who have been organizing against islamophobia

Riaz Siani Mulji: Anti Racism activists who have been organizing against islamophobia

Maryem Hassan Tollar, Juno Award winning Singer

Peggy Nash, NDP MP

Andrew Cash, NDP MP

Rathika Sitsabaeisan NDP MP

Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader

Marie Claire Walker, Canadian Labour Council

Sid Ryan, Ontario Federation of Labour

Nasim Asgari: Spoken word artist

Judy Rebick, Canadian journalist, political activist and feminist

Apologies to Paul Copeland, Human Rights lawyer who couldn't be included because of audio technical difficulties.

"So the reason why I'm talking about Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls today is because Canada is killing our people, and if Canadians don't stand up and stand beside us and stand in partnership with us, more people are going to die." - Dr. Pam Palmater.

Dr. Pam Palmater is a Mi'kmaw lawyer from Eel River Bar First Nation and holds the position of Chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University. Pam was one of the spokespeople, organizers and educators for Idle No More movement and a well-known social justice advocate.

The talk was titled "The Law's Role in Canada's Disgrace: Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women & Girls" and was part of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Shirley E. Greenberg Chair for Women and the Legal Profession Speaker Series.

Recorded on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 in Ottawa, unceded Algonquin territory, by Greg Macdougall.

You can also watch video recordings of a 12-minute interview and 73-minute talk with Pam Palmater discussing root causes/historical context, the current situation and public discourse, and furthering the urgent call for both a national inquiry and an emergency action plan on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada.

Malcolm X was assassinated at Harlem's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965. Fifty years after his death, the complex figure Malcolm X -- or, as he called himself after 1949, el Hajj Malik el Shabazz -- continues to inspire.

On February 21, the Halifax North Memorial Public Library -- a location chosen in part for its role as the location of the 1968 meeting that lead to the creation of the Black United Front, an organization that advocated for the Black community in Nova Scotia -- held a panel to mark the anniversary of Malcolm X's death. Titled "50 Years Since Malcolm X's Assassination: The Legacy Endures; The Struggle Continues!" the panel discussed Malcolm X's own life as a deeply religious individual, a revolutionary internationalist and a leader in the Black liberation struggle as well as his impact on a generation of Black activists, artists, revolutionaries and intellectuals.

Moderated by Dr. Rhonda Britton, pastor the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, the Panel consisted of Dr. Afua Cooper (JRJ Chair of Black Canadian Studies, Dalhousie University); El Jones (Halifax's Poet Laureate, prison rights activist and PhD candidate, Dalhousie University); Dr. John Munro (Assistant Professor of History, Saint Mary's University); Dr. Isaac Saney (Transition Year Program Director, Dalhousie University & Adjunct Professor of History, Saint Mary's University).

Photo: Ed Ford, World Telegram/Wikimedia Commons