Nelson Mandela, human rights activist and South Africa’s first democratically elected president, died yesterday at the age of 95, sparking responses from writers, activists and politicians around the world. On Alberta Diary, David J. Climenhaga asks us to remember “that Mr. Mandela is a towering figure in humanity’s memory not simply because of what he achieved, but because he achieved it despite the bitter opposition of people who hated who he was and what he stood for.”
Today is also December 6, National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women and the 24th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. See Campus Notes for an overview of memorials on university campuses, and check out Feminist Current for Meghan Murphy’s argument against using the term “gendered violence” to describe what is most often an issue of male on female violence.
This week was also the first birthday of Idle No More. Aaron Paquette looks to past triumphs and future challenges for the movement and discusses the rise of the Indigenous Nationhood Movement.
Still feel like shopping after Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Well, a robot may soon be delivering your groceries, which spells fewer jobs for humans the Amazonian empire, as Penney Kome writes in On the Other Hand. Meanwhile, new mother Nora Loreto reminds us why we should all just chill out and let babies be babies, pink frilly dresses, train onesies and gender-neutral snap-ups be damned.
Last but not least, parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg covers the latest Auditor General report, which depicts deplorable emergency services in many First Nations communities, while on Behind the Numbers Kayle Hatt paints a picture of Canada’s economic recovery that is very different from the official line in Ottawa.
Image: Flickr/un_photo
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