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By Karen Fricker Theatre Critic Wed., Jan. 2, 2019 A year ago this week, news broke that shook Canadian theatre to its core. Four actors — Diana Bentley, Kristin Booth, Patricia Fagan and Hannah Miller — filed civil lawsuits alleging that Soulpepper Theatre’s founding artistic director, Albert Schultz, had sexually harassed and assaulted them, some claims going back decades. Soulpepper Theatre itself was named in the statements of claim, which referred to Schultz as a “serial sexual predator.” Schultz resigned on Jan. 4, the day after the suits were filed, and Soulpepper severed its relationship with Leslie Lester, the theatre’s executive director and Schultz’s wife, two days after that. The suits were quietly settled out of court in June. Soulpepper continued to operate through and beyond the crisis, with associate artistic director Alan Dilworth stepping in as acting artistic director and the theatre committing … [Read more...] about One year after Soulpepper, what stage have we reached?
Civil rights how far have we come
What have we learned so far?
MANILA, Philippines — After almost a decade since the destructive Typhoon Ondoy, two decades since the millennials started making an impact, and three decades since the first People Power Revolution (and the birth of The Philippine STAR), defining the Filipino has only become more complicated. We gathered insights from Filipinos who embody unconditional resiliency and advocate empowerment in the face of modern challenges; local globetrotters who have traveled around the world, to refine our idea on where we stand at present; multi-hyphenate individuals, whose list of accomplishments may give us an idea on how to improve ourselves; and modern Filipino heroes, to ground us through our continuous search for peace and freedom. * * * Manny Gonzalez How can Filipinos positively impact the nation and the whole world? Filipinos blame our problems and our poor economic performance on everything and everyone but themselves. But most of the symptomatic problems — drugs, corruption … [Read more...] about What have we learned so far?
Civil rights organization urges city hall to delay purchase of gunshot-location technology
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By Wendy Gillis Crime Reporter Mon., July 23, 2018 Calling the technology a “fundamental shift to state surveillance,” the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is urging city hall to delay the purchase of equipment that detects gunshot locations through a network of publicly placed microphones. In a letter sent to Mayor John Tory over the weekend, the civil rights organization criticized the Toronto police board’s last-minute decision Thursday to approve “privacy invasive technologies” — the “ShotSpotter” microphone system, as well as the purchase of 40 new surveillance cameras to be placed across the city. ShotSpotter is American proprietary technology that feeds police real-time information about the location of gunfire by installing a series of gunshot-detecting sensors in public places. According to a list of municipal clients on ShotSpotter’s website, the technology has never been used in Canada. … [Read more...] about Civil rights organization urges city hall to delay purchase of gunshot-location technology
20 Years Since Beginning of Reformasi, How Far Have We Come?
Jakarta. This year, the month of May comes with a bittersweet blend of history and progress, as Indonesia observes the 20th anniversary since the downfall of Suharto's regime and the start of political reforms known as reformasi. The regime change was triggered by months of financial crisis that rattled Asian countries, leading to mass protests, which resulted in political turmoil and power games marred by social unrest, riots and forced disappearances of activists. During Suharto's 32-year rule, the Indonesian economy experienced rapid growth, reduction poverty and huge expansion of higher education and health care. However, the same period was also rife with restrictions on freedom of press and expression, human rights abuses, rigged elections and rampant corruption. When the New Order regime fell and an opportunity for major reform became possible, the nation called for a number of changes, including: amendments to the 1945 … [Read more...] about 20 Years Since Beginning of Reformasi, How Far Have We Come?
Book excerpt: How Birmingham shaped MLK’s civil rights’ struggle
“By early 1963, Martin Luther King had stalled and – particularly to younger activists in the SNCC – seemed increasingly irrelevant. He needed to shake things up.” writes David Margolick in “The Promise and the Dream: The Untold Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.” King chose Birmingham, Alabama, which he called the worst big city in race relations in the United States, as the place to do that. In this excerpt from the book, Margolick examines how the Birmingham campaign pushed the Kennedy administration to introduce its bill on civil rights.THE UNKINDEST CUTEverything changed in Birmingham with one tactical decision: to allow black youths to join the depleted and insufficiently fervent ranks of adult marchers, an idea first promoted by the SCLC’s James Bevel. Schoolchildren as young as kindergarteners were recruited for the effort with flyers that beckoned “Fight for your freedom first then go to school.” … [Read more...] about Book excerpt: How Birmingham shaped MLK’s civil rights’ struggle