| | | Good morning, Passengers.
Today, we have my latest article, a critical look at the protests in Iran and how they relate to Canada, and an episode of Canadaland focusing on the Quebec election.
Enjoy! | | | Davide Mastracci | Passage | October 6 | Around the time the Israeli military killed Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a bunch of Canadian members of parliament (MP) spoke out, calling it a tragedy and demanding an investigation. In the five months since then, there have been more than 10 such investigations, from all sorts of parties, all finding that Israel is, at the very least, highly likely to be responsible for the killing. And yet, almost none of these MPs have spoken about the issue again. For my latest article, I reached out to all of them to ask them why, and give them a chance to go on the record now.
I write, “Israel’s report into the killing admits that there’s a ‘high possibility’ they killed Abu Akleh, and that they’ve met with the sniper who did it. Yet they’ve noted that ‘there is no suspicion of a criminal offense that justifies the opening of a Military Police investigation.’ In fact, they added that they’re ‘very proud of the conduct of our soldiers’ who supposedly ‘were briefed and acted according to procedure.’ In short, they know who did it, they won’t punish them and they’re actually proud of them. Still, none of the MPs who called for the responsible party to be punished have said anything since they were explicitly informed that no such thing will happen.” (4 minute read) | | | Maria Iqbal | Toronto Star | October 4 | Here’s an interesting piece from the Toronto Star, written by Maria Iqbal, a Muslim journalist that wears a niqab. Her argument is simple, but worth listening to: women shouldn’t be forced to wear anything, but they also shouldn’t be barred from wearing anything either, and we need to fight for them in both cases. This is a point all too often overlooked, here and abroad (I have France in mind in particular, where many are acting in solidarity with the women in Iran, and yet ignoring laws that target Muslim women at home). Iqbal also offers a valuable critique of a pretty nasty article published at the Star last month, in which a columnist said that women who wear burqas look like they’re in “Halloween costumes.”
Maria Iqbal writes, “While I wholeheartedly agree that the events reported in Iran should be universally condemned, saying that every woman who wears a burqa, even in Toronto, must be doing so against her will is false and counter-productive. [...] Supporting women who choose to wear religious coverings in no way undermines the fight of other women against legislated dress codes. Saying that women shouldn’t wear something is just as problematic as saying that they should.” (3 minute read) | | | Emilie Nicolas and Toula Drimonis | Canadaland | October 6 | Emilie Nicolas is a voice I always enjoy hearing talk about politics in Quebec due to her interesting perspective as well as her ability to explain issues in an easily comprehensible manner. So, I’m sharing the latest episode of Canadaland, where she and Toula Drimonis discuss the results from the Quebec election. I think you’ll find it helpful. Here’s the episode description: “Emilie Nicolas and Toula Drimonis break down the Quebec election for those outside of the Quebec bubble. And is the CBC changing their Journalistic Standards and Practices or is this just part of the rumour mill?” (42 minute listen) | | | | Previous Digest Editions - October 5 | MPs and the housing crisis, Legault’s unearned majority, cancelled for criticizing Israel - Read here
- October 4 | Losing money to the ultra rich, nuclear war, the CAQ - Read here
- October 3 | Interspecies solidarity, undermining daycare, social solidarity for exclusion, a coup in Brazil? - Read here
- September 29 | Deleting Palestine, taking Canada to court, xenophobia and horror - Read here
- September 28 | The curse of renters, city councils and police budgets, the Labour files - Read here
- September 27 | Vacancy control, hurricanes, the far right in Italy - Read here
- September 26 | Dental care, fossil fuel execs, gentrification, teachers under attack - Read here
- September 23 | Poilievre and the central bank, hobbits and the far right, The Wailing - Read here
- September 22 | Real estate and MPs, femicide, Russia and Ukraine - Read here
- September 21 | Shireen Abu Akleh, mess in the U.K., breaking with the monarchy - Read here
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