Needs No Introduction

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.

The United States is on its way to a revolution, according to Chris Hedges. The Pulitzer prize-winning reporter has written and reported around the globe. For his latest project, he traveled to some of America's most economically depressed areas with co-author Joe Sacco, then wrote about what he found. The book is called Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.

The author, educator, journalist and activist to spoke in Ottawa this month at the Southminster United Church. The lecture was hosted by Octopus Books. Here's what Chris Hedges had to say about his latest journey.

This episode features a panel discussion which looks at undercover issues in the B.C. election and what our province's independent media outlets can offer to counter the more limited coverage in the mainstream media.

The panel was presented as part of the CounterCulture Speaker Series run by the Media Democracy Project, the SFU School of Communication, and the SFU Institute for the Humanities and took place at SFU's Vancouver campus on May 3, 2013. Panelists include Gwen Barlee (Wilderness Committee), Bob Hackett (Simon Fraser University and Newswatch Canada), Jarrah Hodge (Gender Focus), and Andrew MacLeod (The Tyee). The panel is moderated by Derrick O'Keefe, editor of rabble.ca.

This talk, by Richard Wilkinson, was recorded at at a three-day conference on Labour Rights and Their Impact on Democracy, Economic Equality and Social Justice, which was held in Toronto from March 26 -28, 2013.

Wilkinson is one of the world's most respected researchers on social inequalities, and is the author of Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone. His keynote talk brings in extensive data that shows how economic inequality harms our lives and societies and discusses how societies with more equal distribution of incomes have better health, fewer social problems, and are more productive than ones which have a greater gap between the rich and the poor.

Wilkinson is Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, Honorary Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, and Visiting Professor at University of York. He's also co-founder of The Equality Trust, which works to reduce income inequality in order to improve the quality of life in the UK.

The conference was hosted by The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights and was sponsored by the National Union of Public and General Employees, United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the Canadian Teachers' Federation.

rabble.ca editor Derrick O'Keefe and Jahanzeb Hussain of W2 Media Mornings interview journalist Robert Fisk about Stephen Harper's foreign policy, the Arab Spring, and the wars in Syria, Mali and Afghanistan. Fisk is currently completing a cross-Canada speaking tour organized by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME).

Barack Obama recently declared January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Recognized as a modern day version of slavery, human trafficking is an issue that impacts the most poor and vulnerable globally. For women, trafficking most often means prostitution.

On January 14, Lila Shahani, of the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Human Development & Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster of the Philippine Government, spoke about human trafficking in a Philippine, Canadian and Global Context.

For more on Lila's work on trafficking and the Philippines, you can read her paper: "Situating Human Trafficking in the Philippines: Global, National and Personal Contexts"

The talk was held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver B.C. and was recorded by Krystle Alarcon.