rabble radio

On August 22, 2011, Jack Layton tragically died of cancer. His friends, family, and compatriots remember his courage. In his final words released in a letter penned two days before his death, he reminded us all of the values he held dear. He wrote, "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Making the Links' Don Kossick did this interview with Jack Layton many years ago when he first took over the leadership of the NDP. The interview demonstrates Jack's clarity of purpose, vision, and hope in fighting for a better Canada. Thanks to: Making the Links Radio can also be heard on on CFCR community radio at 90.5 FM in Saskatoon, on the Sasktel Max provincial cable network at channel 520, and streaming on the internet. Making the Links broadcasts on CFCR at 6 pm on Wednesdays and 7 pm on Fridays.

The complete audio from Jack Layton's funeral. Eulogies by Mike and Sarah Layton, Stephen Lewis and Karl Belanger.

There are very few humans who don't enjoy music. For most people, it offers relaxation, inspiration, enjoyment and in times of trouble, solace. Leah Abramson is an activist and documentary maker who works with women in prison, fostering their musical expression. In the documentary we're about to play for you, she takes us behind the prison walls to hear some of the music created by the women there. The Human books project aims to increase understanding between people. It's held at local libraries, where people volunteer to act as books. When you're a book, library-goers can sign you out for 30 minutes. In that time, you tell them about your life, and they can ask any question they want. rabble.ca's Noreen Mae Ritsema volunteered to head down to the Winnipeg library and talk to some of the people participating in the human books project. Here is one of her conversations. Today: Being a disability activist. You know, it seems that no matter where you go, independent bookstores are struggling. The forces working against them also seem familiar — mega bookstores, online buying, yadda yadda… but in Montreal, a local bookshop has survived the more familiar challenges, and is instead, its looking at a shut-down because it is being overtaken by a sports bar owned by a local developer. rabble.ca's Adam Bemma headed down to the shop to discuss the encroachment of new real estate, zoning laws, and urban planning on neighborhoods in general, and Terry Westcott's bookshop in particular. Here's their interview.

Murray Dobbin joined us on rabble radio a few times before the election got started. After the Conservative win and the orange crush happened, I called him up one more time for a talk about how Canada's future is shaping up, and what progressive people need to do in this new Conservative majority Canada. Here's our conversation. Did I mention that this year marks rabble.ca's 10th anniversary? It is! Last month rabble.ca held a celebration to mark the day, April 18, 2001 when rabble got its start. The event featured cake, music and a panel discussion moderated by Judy Rebick. Speakers were rabble.ca features editor Cathryn Atkinson, rabble co-founder and director of the Mozilla Foundation Mark Surman, rabble.ca writer and aboriginal activist Ben Powless. It also featured Olivia Nuamah, the Director of the Atkinson Foundation, which provided startup funds for rabble.ca. During the conversation, panelists mused allowed about the direction rabble.ca should take in the future. Nuamah laid out a challenge for rabble.ca. Here's what she had to say. The Human books project aims to increase understanding between people. It's held at local libraries, where people volunteer to be books. When you're a book, library goers can sign you out for 30 minutes. In that 30 minutes you can tell them about your life, and they can ask any question they want. rabble radio was quite intrigued by this project, so Noreen Mae Ritsema volunteered to head down to the Winnipeg library and talk to some human books. Here she is, speaking with Cherrilyn Ellie. Here's their conversation. You know the rabble.ca music podcast The Ruckus? It usually focuses on indie music… but the latest episode gets all opera on us. Here are some very cool cylinder recordings of opera. Test this out! Jaggi Singh's trial was held at the end of April. Singh was tried at Toronto's Old City Hall for statements he had made to the media about taking down the G20 "security fence." Singh pleaded guilty to urging people to take down the $5-million G20 summit fence last June. Carmelle Wolfson spoke to Singh just after his trial. Here's part of what he had to say.

There's an election, but we say: no depression. Murray Dobbin comes back to rabble radio to shed a bit of light in the electoral darkness. He's a lot more hopeful than last episode! Seriously. Recorded on the eve of the leader's debate, Dobbin talks about the campaign road ahead.

In this podcast: terrifying yet boring — the Canadian election. A new rabble radio contest. Cracking the cover of human books. Fukushima Daichi and alt power. An ode to the ipad deux. Canada is enduring its fourth election in seven years. While the NDP and the Liberal Parties grapple for the vote from the Left, the Conservative Party of Canada is reaching for a majority government. As polls stand now, though, they aren't going to get it. For the NGOs and government watchdogs that have seen their funding go unrenewed under a government dominated by the Conservative Party, that could provide a bit of welcome relief. But voting day isn't here yet. Murray Dobbin is a political commentator and on the board of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. We thought we'd check in with him about what he sees happening in the 2011 election campaign. If I had $1,000, 000. The song is relatively well-known in Canada. But a million dollars sounds like pocket change when you compare it to the 30 BILLION dollars that Canada paid for a few fighter jets not too long ago. So rabble.ca is rewriting the lyrics to the tune, hopefully with some help from you. Tell us what you'd spend 30 billion dollars on and we'll put your suggestions our version of this song. So what do you think? A national Childcare program? Funding for KAIROS? Solar power for the parliament buildings? Internet connectivity in the North? Candy for all? You tell us, and we'll put it in song. You can email billion@rabble.ca with your suggestions, or you can phone them in at 1-360-566-2214. Obviously, we take mp3 files too. Understanding breeds justice. That's the philosophy behind the human books project. The project is open to libraries all over the world. Here's how it works: Library visitors sign out a Human Book, and can ask their book any question they want. The books are volunteers who are willing to answer all kinds of questions about their lives. The Human Book Project recently came to Winnipeg. That's where Noreen Mae Ritsema stopped by the branch, and sat down with the human books there. She asked them what they're sharing and what kinds of questions they're fielding. The first human book she signed out was all about organic farming. Here's part of their discussion. Election aside, all eyes have been on Japan for the last month. The tsunami that swept away hundreds of thousands of people has passed, but the nuclear reactors on the countries east coast are still pumping radiation into the atmosphere and the water. Bottled water shortages and rolling blackouts have become facts of life in cities across the country. rabble.ca's redeye podcast had a few questions about Fukushima-Daiichi, so they called up Gordon Edwards, President of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. At the end of the interview, they talked about what the disaster will mean for the nuclear industry and other power generation options here at home. Here is that part of that conversation. The ipad 2 had only been in Canada a few days when Wayne used it to record a multi-track segment of Online Tools for the 21st century. Wayne says I'm crazy not to own one of these. Here's his column.

In this International Women's Day episode, we hear from Nahla Abdo on the continuing uprisings, and Palestinian Activist Reem Yumis talks about women's role in the current protests. Happy IWD, all! Nahla Abdo is an Arab-Canadian feminist. She took the time to call in her comments about the protests sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. Reem Yumis is a Palestinian Activist. She took spoke to the Asia Pacific Currents podcast about women's role in the continuing uprisings. In this episode of Online tools for the 21st century, Wayne finds two non-google ways to get your queries quelled. It's a Q and A from Wayne, and brought to you by the letter Q. Take it away, MacPhail.

Jase Tanner was in Tahrir square when pro-Mubarak forces came to break up the demonstrations. Code Pink's Medea Benjamin was in another part of the square. In this podcast, we hear their stories.

Tighe Barry was in Cairo as part of a Codepink delegation on its way to Gaza when the protests started. In this special edition of rabble radio, he describes his experience in the protests. By now most people have seen pictures of the pro-democracy protests in Egypt. The government has closed internet and cell phone access in the country. However, peace activist and blogger David Swanson managed to get in touch with one American taking part in the process. Tighe Barry part of activist delegation organized by CODEpink. The group was on its way to Gaza, but had stopped in Cairo when the protests started. Here is Tighe Barry, speaking with David Swanson earlier today.

In this episode of rabble radio: transit police in Vancouver accused of violence, a new report recommends protection for women and girls in Haiti, and Canada's government continues attempts to eject war resisters. Music this episode: Bad Cop. The lawyer working on the case of transit riders facing violence from Vancouver Transit Police talks about the case. You'll be shocked. Wayne's got some new webtools to help you get your photos online fast when it matters most. A report from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said that the Haitian Government has failed to provide adequate protection for women and girls in those camps. While a ruling might not make a difference, Brian Concannon believes that the report is going to make a difference. He talks about why. The Canadian government is developing more and more complex ways to stop Iraq war resisters from entering Canada. Allyssa Manning is a lawyer for Iraq War Resisters, and she spoke at a Day of Action for Iraq War Resisters. Here's some of what she said. Bad Cop are part of the final installment of a feature on ROIR records, brought to you by The Ruckus. The song is called Daylight.