This is the year.

Yesterday, an Ontario judge ruled against the Occupy Toronto protesters, arguing that a removal order against tent-city was constitutional and could apply immediately. Occupy Toronto called on citizens to come down to the park to protect the occupation. As an individual who agrees with what I see to be the fundamental goals of the movement - an end to injustice and equity - it is disheartening that the debate now revolves around the Occupy movement’s physical encampment. The strength of the original Occupy Movement was that it would represent the plight of an increasingly marginalized majority - the 99%. Appalling levels of inequality, rampant poverty, and a relatively inaccessible political system are very important issues, but it seems like very few citizens support Occupy Toronto. Why? The average citizen may have a different understanding of the goals of the movement than its protesters. The lack of leadership and clear directed message makes analysis difficult, but three que...

Just thought I'd write a short little update on how the research project is going. I just got back from a great few days in New York. Since we've been back in Canada, we heard really encouraging feedback about our research. In Uganda, we promised everyone we spoke to that we'd spread the word about the continuing problems in the country as widely as possible --- so when we got the opportunity to present at the UN, we were so excited! Today, we had the opportunity to present to staff at UNICEF, UNOHCHR (Human Rights and Justice) and the Special Representative's office to the Secretary General on children in armed conflict. It was so interested in to present and discuss these important issues with individuals who are so knowledgeable. We're working on a report that will be distributed to NGOs/UN/anyone else who is interested on the research so it was great to hear feedback on our data and initial thoughts on what should be done. I also thought it was so important ...