Egypt or anywhere

February 3, 2011

“The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adopted his guidelines, are fearful of freedom. Freedom would require them to eject his image and replace it with autonomy and responsibility. Freedom is acquired by conquest, not by gift. It must be pursued constantly and responsibly. Freedom is not an ideal located outside of [...]

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The milk warriors of British Columbia

January 24, 2011

Three agents wearing HAZMAT masks and gloves arrived at the restaurant on 1600 MacKay Road in North Vancouver flashing badges. They demanded that the staff lead them to the back. They seized some samples, and dumped the rest down the drain and down the toilet. The agents were from the Fraser Health Authority, and the [...]

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Next up

January 22, 2011

We’re starting to get out itinerary finalized for our reporting trip to India. At this point it looks like we’ll depart on February 10, and return near the end of the month. I’ll try to keep a reporting diary here, but it may deteriorate to the odd tweet or location update. I might get the [...]

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Merry Christmas…

December 22, 2010

to everyone. And thanks to all who have taken interest in my journalism and in my pursuits throughout 2010. I appreciate your support and encouragement. A special thank you to the folks at Embassy Magazine in Ottawa. Especially to Lee Berthiaume, Embassy’s  energetic, thoughtful and resourceful editor. He gave me time, space, and opportunity—elusive benefits [...]

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Breathing room (updated)

December 15, 2010

A quiet day off. Evan Solomon and Justin Trudeau are yacking about something on TV (the sound is off). It’s 2:17 in the afternoon and I’m wearing pjs. I’m onto my third cup of coffee, and my only task of the day is to get my Vancouver Canucks squad back on track and string some [...]

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Wow

November 29, 2010

This is the sum of government secrecy, communication technology, and the un-tamable velocity of both.

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Change of plans

November 27, 2010

Looks like I’ll be in Vancouver for December after all. Scheduled to depart for India on December 9 to begin our shoot, it now seems we won’t get our filming permits or our visas in time. Disappointing at first, but the delay gives us time to think more about our shooting schedule and our reporting. [...]

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Ever wonder where your shrimp comes from?

November 21, 2010

If you share some of my tastes, you may be a shrimp enthusiast. If so, you should check out this documentary featured by the Globe and Mail on the darker aspects of the Thai shrimp farming industry. It was reported and produced by a group of my colleagues at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism [...]

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Christmas in India

November 21, 2010

Heading to India in December to report for a documentary on global health. As part of the UBC School of Journalism’s international reporting course, three colleagues and I will be tramping around India reporting on the opium industry and palliative health care. At the same time we’ll have two other teams abroad. One in Uganda, [...]

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‘Inept throughout…’

October 28, 2010

Those were the words of Romeo Dallaire while speaking about the Omar Khadr situation on The Current this morning. The Liberal Senator and former Commander of the lame-duck United Nations peacekeeping force during the 1994 Rwandan genocide was speaking, in particular, to the role of the Canadian government and its unwillingness to repatriate Khadr. The [...]

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