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Dru Oja Jay

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September 1, 2005 Media Analysis

New Orleans is sinking, man, and I don't wanna talk about climate change

Hurricane_Katrina_fp.jpg Dru Oja Jay looks at coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Canadian media ignore scientific debate

April 14, 2005 Français

Le Canada légitime la répression en Haïti: cinéaste

pina-paup_fp.jpg « S'ils intéressaient à ce côté-là de l'histoire, ils feraient des reportages là-dessus. Et ils ne le font pas. » -- cinéaste Kevin Pina

February 20, 2005 Media Analysis

Canada is Legitimizing Suppression of Haitian Democracy: Filmmaker

pina-paup_fp.jpg Dru Oja Jay interviews filmmaker Kevin Pina about Canada's role in the overthrow of Haiti's government.

Kevin Pina slams role of Canadian government, media

February 17, 2005 Arts

The Architecture of "Basic Human Pleasure"

skateboard-mtl_fp.jpg Thanks to overzealous insurance agencies, skateboarders have been driven to the margins of cities. Dru Oja Jay looks at some proposed alternatives.

Godzilla vs. Skateboarder showcases the art and politics of skateboarding

December 19, 2004 Media Analysis

Manufacturing Democracy

Ukrainian politics have been the subject of relentless media attention in recent weeks. Dru Oja Jay wonders what is missing.

The politics of media coverage: Haiti, Ukraine, Georgia

December 12, 2004 Français

Latortue provoque la colére à son passage à Montréal

«Latortue assassin, Paul Martin complice!» Tel était le mot d'ordre de choix des centaines de membres de la diaspora haïtienne (de Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto et des États-Unis) qui ont tenu une vigoureuse et bruyante manifestation devant le Centre Mont-Royal à Montréal samedi dernier.

November 6, 2004 Media Analysis

Counterbalance to Reality

Canadian media present two pictures of Haiti: helpless victim and land of violent "gangs". Dru Oja Jay compares their story to the facts on the ground.

Canadian Media on Haiti

September 30, 2004 Labour

Labour News

Labour updates from Iraq, Haiti, Canada, Israel, and many more.

September 30, 2004 Media Analysis

Starving for Journalism

Dru Oja Jay looks at Canadian media coverage of the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike.

Canadian media avoid fundamentals of Palestinian Prisoners

August 25, 2004 Labour

Aliant Loses $13 Million

In labour news, the Aliant strike drags on, Quebec's union's cancel a plan for a general strike against Charest, Parks Canada workers go on strike, along with home care workers in Newfoundland and health-sector workers in York Region.

Aliant Loses $13 Million on Strike, refuses to negotiate

August 25, 2004 Media Analysis

Missing History in Action

Joseph Pannell is being threatened with extradition to the United States for a crime he allegedly committed thirty years ago. Dru Oja Jay looks at the assumptions that the media brings to the case.

Canadian coverage of Joseph Pannell and the Black Panther Party

May 27, 2004 Features

Accounts Unsettled

Independent reporting from Iraq

ambulance_fp.jpgThe past two weeks have seen a remarkable effort on the part of the US government and numerous media outlets to directly contradict reality. The single most remarkable instance of the contradiction came from US military spokesman Mark Kimmitt, who said that "the stations that are showing Americans intentionally killing women and children are not legitimate news sources. That is propaganda, and that is lies."

Independent reporting from Iraq

April 6, 2004 Environment

Direct Action: Tre Arrow Arrested

trearrow_fp.jpgOn March 10th, a man calling himself Joshua Murray was arrested for shoplifting in a Victoria Canadian Tire outlet. According to police, fingerprints identified him as Tre Arrow, an Oregon environmental activist listed on the FBI's most wanted list with a reward of $25 000 for information leading to his arrest.
- by Dru Oja Jay -

FBI labels prominent anti-logging activist as "eco-terrorist"

February 25, 2004 Accounts

Privatization in South Africa: Starting Over

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Less than a decade after the end of Apartheid in South Africa, popular resistance movements are growing again. This time, the enemy is privatization.

February 25, 2004 Features

Paul Martin, Ethics and Democracy

An Interview with Democracy Watch's Duff Conacher
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by Dru Oja Jay

Duff Conacher is the Coordinator of Democracy Watch, an Ottawa-based group that has advocated for "democratic reform, government accountability and corporate responsibility" for a decade.

What can we learn from Paul Martin's past record on ethics and democratic reform?

That Martin has lied about maintaining high ethical standards, that he has broken ethics rules, and that he surrounds himself with corporate lobbyists, all of whom are representing corporations that have specific private interests that are not the public interest. And so he is tied directly to the private interests of several corporations in Canada.

by Dru Oja Jay

An Interview with Democracy Watch's Duff Conacher

January 13, 2004 Accounts

A letter from the editor

A letter from the editor: Every media organization has a way of deciding what stories are important enough to be news. The editor of the Globe and Mail, Edward Greenspon, has said that "if it happened yesterday, it isn't news."

December 22, 2003 Features

Understanding Cuba

Revolution and Misinformation
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    Cuba: A revolution in motion
    by Isaac Saney
    Fernwood Books 2003
Cuba. A small island nation. Cigars that Americans have to smuggle into their own country; sublime music played by old men; Caribbean vacations; quaint old buildings. They had a revolution, years ago. Some guys named Che Guevara and Fidel Castro were involved. There were others, but what were their names again? They overthrew Batista, the guy with the solid gold telephone in The Godfather: part II. They seemed to have good ideals at the beginning, but eventually turned into yet another corrupt communist dictatorship. Castro the despot rules with an iron fist, jailing those who dare to defy him. The country remains poor due to outdated, inefficient socialist policies. The US and others are biding their time, waiting for Castro to die so that democracy can be restored, and the Cuban people freed from his authoritarian grip.

Aside from the cigars and music, these are a few of the well-worn images of Cuba that Isaac Saney, a history professor at Dalhousie, would like you to reconsider.

- Reviewed by Dru Oja Jay -

Revolution and Misinformation

November 10, 2003 Accounts

Journalists Question Media Ownership in Canada

"Media concentration is worse in Canada than in other industrialized countries; in New Brunswick, way worse."

August 23, 2003 Features

How the Liberal Party Works

We hold elections, but do our political parties practice democracy?

ballot_fp.jpgIn November 2003, Paul Martin will--barring unimaginable circumstances--be chosen as Canada's next Prime Minister. Legally and politically, this choice is not made by the Canadian public at large, but rather by a private club known as the Liberal Party of Canada. Even given that the Liberal Party has over 500,000 members (according to recent reports, a larger membership than any political party in Canadian history), most Canadians will not have a say in this decision. Indeed, it is already too late for anyone who wanted to vote in the party's leadership election -- to vote, members had to join by last June. And if you had the foresight to join the party four months before the election, you also have to pay a membership fee, and be prepared for a potentially long journey on voting day in order to cast a ballot.
- by Dru Oja Jay -

We hold elections, but do our political parties practice democracy?

June 26, 2003 Features

Gouging Together a Living

How banks get away with making you pay for your savings account

bank_fp.jpgMost Canadians don't need to be told that bank fees are rising, while interest rates paid on deposits--even in long term savings accounts--have diminished to the point of being inconsequential. Since the early nineties, the "big five" banks in Canada (Toronto Dominion, Royal Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Montreal) have been accelerating a collective move away from traditional retail banking, which is based on the premise that depositors lend their money to a bank and receive interest and certain services in return.Instead, the trend has been to charge increasing service fees while moving customers into areas more lucrative for banks such as credit cards, mutual funds, money market accounts, and stock market investments. Simply storing money in chequing and savings accounts is no longer a considered as a mutually beneficial arrangement; it is now a service to be paid for. - by Dru Oja Jay -

How banks get away with making you pay for your savings account

May 16, 2003 Features

"A Dream Only American Power Can Inspire"

pnac_sm.gifCritics of US foreign policy no longer need to make the argument that the US is trying to undermine the UN and international law, while making active use of global military dominance; the Project for the New American Century is doing it for them. Founded in 1997 on the premise that "too few political leaders today are making the case for [American] global leadership", the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) is a right wing, Washington-based think tank committed to "promoting the idea that American leadership is good both for America and for the world." - by Dru Oja Jay -

Faces of the New American Century: Francis Fukuyama, William Kristol, Dick Cheney

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The Dominion is a monthly paper published by an incipient network of independent journalists in Canada. It aims to provide accurate, critical coverage that is accountable to its readers and the subjects it tackles. Taking its name from Canada's official status as both a colony and a colonial force, the Dominion examines politics, culture and daily life with a view to understanding the exercise of power.

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