Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a prolific author who connects the personal with the political. Her work has taken her around the world. One of her best known works recounts her experiences in Nicaragua between 1982 and 1991. It's called Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra war.

She spoke with me about the history of liberation movements, her work with the UN Indigenous Rights working group, pipelines and the state of activism today. Ortiz spoke in Vancouver on March 8, 2014, International Women's Day. Her books can be found at www.reddirtsite.com

Alternative Radio host David Barsamian has been a voice of dissent heard across the airwaves around the world for over 28 years. Barsamian injects humour, poetry and outrage while addressing bleak topics like U.S. news propaganda, hypocrisy and climate refugees. He was at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver B.C. on March 28, 2014 for the Counter Culture Speaker Series, David Barsamian: Media, Capitalism, and Climate Change organized by Media Democracy Days. Find out more about Alternative Radio by going to www.alternativeradio.org

Last month B.C Ferries announced they would cut ferry services in British Columbia and discontinue the Discovery Coast Ferry located on the central coast. The Ferry services three routes along BC's northern coast. The cuts will have major consequences for coastal communities, many are First Nations who live and work in the Great Bear Rainforest. Tourism on B.C's central coast is essential to the region and the cuts will have detrimental effects on those living and working in remote regions of British Columbia. Those living in the most remote locations will will be hit the hardest. British Columbians have reacted with protests across the region and are campaigning against the cuts and the continuing hike in ticket fares.

Petrus Rykes is the Chair of Save the Discovery Ferry campaign, and Vice-President of West Chilcotin Tourism Association. He is also a partner in the Anahim Lake Eagle's Nest Resort.

To find out more about the campaign go to savethediscoverycoastferry.ca

TBD.

Ellen Besso is a life coach counsellor and author who helps women find new direction in their lives. Besso recently published An Indian Sojourn: One woman's spiritual experience of travel and volunteering a book detailing her travels with her partner in India and her work as a volunteer with Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala. Besso's volunteer work overseas came home with her.

When the government of Canada accepted 1000 Tibetan refugees, she along with others in the community of Gibsons became their sponsors. I spoke to Ellen Besso by skype from her home in Gibson's B.C. You can find An Indian Sojourn at ellenbesso.com and at Amazon.ca.

A new project in east Vancouver aims to collect and remember one neighbourhood's black history. The project starts with an online map and leads to videos that detail the black history of a number of iconic intersections.

It's called Black Strathcona: One Community, Six Decades, Ten stories.

The project was conceived by filmmaker Gordon McLennan over ten years ago and was brought to fruition with the help of author, historian and poet Wayde Compton, and local artist Esther Rausenberg. The project launch happened on February 22, 2014 across the street from Hogan's Alley.

The year 2014 has been proclaimed the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People by the United Nations.

In fall 2013, the Palestine Awareness Coalition posted four maps on Vancouver`s TransLink buses and SkyTrain stations entitled Disappearing Palestine.

Dr. Hani Faris, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, President of the independent American think tank Trans Arab Research Institute (TARI), & internationally recognized expert on the Palestine-Israel conflict lectured on the historical context of the maps at the event Historical Context of the Palestinian Maps: Fact and Fiction, on January 24 2014 in Vancouver, B.C.

Income-splitting, along with the government's zero dollar spending on child care, and detaxation is an attack on women's equality in Canada. Kathleen Lahey made that argument at the inaugural Women's Forum in Ottawa, Ontario in 2012.

Lahey is a specialist in feminist legal studies, teaching law and sexuality, and taxation and tax policy at Queen's University.

On December 20 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada in an unprecedented ruling, struck down three provisions in Canada's prostitution laws.

The Supreme Court of Canada found that bans on street soliciting, brothels and people living off the avails of prostitution create severe dangers for vulnerable women

A month after the ruling, a panel of experts gathered at the University of Toronto to talk about the change, what it would mean for sex workers in Canada, and what the future would hold. The panel also discussed the legal issues versus the reality on the street. There were six speakers on the panel, each with a distinct point of view on this issue.

The City of Vancouver, B.C. is having a food revolution.

For the past three years urban farms and gardens have expanded across the city to strengthen local food production.

Michael Abelman is a long time farmer and food activist and one of the founders of Sole Food street farms. Sole Food is doing something a little different from other urban farming ventures. Not only do they have a network of farms throughout the city that supply fresh food to residents,they are providing employment to 25 people who are dealing with drug addiction and mental illness. Abelman is an author, farmer and activist who lives, farms and teaches at Foxglove farm located on Saltspring Island. Abelman spoke with Tanya Hill at Ripe, a Farmers Market festival in Vancouver, B.C. in October 2013.