With the fate of Occupy movements lingering in the hands of courts, governments and protesters, most movements have been dropped into a state of limbo, therefore slightly slowing the blog dashboard -- slightly. This week we jump from rural Canada to downtown Toronto to the Yukon and then over to Vancouver, visiting issues on community, Occupy evictions, political leaders and elections. We also welcome new bloggers Jessica Bell and Romeo Saganash to the rabble.ca community, and not to be forgotten, we see the passionate, hopeful and ultimately human side of numerous bloggers expressing opinions on Trans* Day of Remembrance, Occupy and Canadian injustices.

As the Great Blizzard of 2010 blanketed New York City, most residents were blissfully unaware that their city's 911 system was on the brink of collapse. The system fielded 50,000 calls in a single day, and at one point the backlog swelled to 1,300 calls. The mayor was called to account for the slow service and promised that it wouldn't happen again.

But David Rosen and Bruce Kushnick report in AlterNet that New York's close call is an example of a much broader and deeper problem. Cash-strapped state and local governments are raiding funds set aside for 911 service, and the system is hurting badly:

Dr. Clyde Hertzman is Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at the College for Interdisciplinary Studies at UBC; Canada Research Chair in Population Health and Human Development; and Professor in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. 

When it comes to the debate around health care, you've heard the same voices of pundits and politicians repeated on the morning and evening news.  You've seen a small group dominate the airwaves by shouting and spreading lies at town hall events.  You've even seen guns at presidential events enter the fray.

The Toronto Star's Public Editor, Kathy English, still doesn't get it. English, who has come under intense fire this week from right and left in the blogosphere and in letters to the Star, last week rushed to judgment with a poorly researched column in which she attacked Star journalist Antonia Zerbisias.