The Speak! team is happy to present this year’s print edition. You can view the journal by clicking the link here: Speak!_Vol. 11 Continue reading
Category Archives: Montreal
Montreal’s Taxi Industry Called into Question
After a 26-year-old women claimed she was assaulted by a taxi driver in Notre-Dame-de-Grace on October 9, concerns have been raised over Montreal’s taxi industry and the safety of female passengers. As reported by CTV, the 26-year-old woman described her attack in an interview with Montreal radio station CJAD, saying, “It happened very quickly, he … Continue reading
Indigenous Awareness Week: Audra Simpson Calls for a New Academic Standard
Audra Simpson’s lecture on aboriginals in academia was assuredly a highlight of this year’s Indigenous Awareness Week. Hosted at McGill and running from September 15th through to September 19th, this week’s events covered topics ranging from traditional dance to the impacts of the institutionalization of indigenous children. This year marked the 4th Indigenous Awareness Week … Continue reading
After Atrocity: Optimizing UN Action Toward Accountability for Human Rights Abuses
On September 17th, McGill University’s Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism was host to “After Atrocity: Optimizing UN Action Toward Accountability for Human Rights Abuses” presented by Mr. Steven Ratner, a Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law from the University of Michigan Law School. Held at the New Chancellor Day Hall, the lecture was … Continue reading
McGill University hosts Third Annual Indigenous Awareness Week
For its third consecutive year, McGill’s lower field was crowded with students, staff, and community members, coming together to witness an inclusive, colourful pow-wow that would launch Indigenous Awareness Week. From September 23rd to 27th, McGill was host to various events such as numerous informational talks by professionals in their fields, interactive workshops in making dream-catchers, … Continue reading
Speak! Volume 9, issue 3
Speak! Volume 9, issue 3 Continue reading
End Violence Against Women — Panel by Amnesty International and JHR
MARINA NEMAT – Author of The Prisoner of Tehran and After Tehran. http://www.marinanemat.com/ JUNIPER GLASS – Senior Director, Strategy and Partnerships of Girls Action Foundation http://girlsactionfoundation.ca/ SAMSAM AHMED – Former President of Women’s Place Ottawa, prominent human rights activist, and social worker. Professor NARENDRA SUBRAMANIAN: Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University. Expert in … Continue reading
Faith and Freedom: A Panel on Human Rights and Religion
Journalists for Human Rights in collaboration with Amnesty International presents Faith and Freedom. The areas of focus will include the intersection of religion and human rights in media (specifically: freedom of press), politics (fundamentalism, social movements and uprisings, religious tribunals), and daily practice (religious education, dress, etc.) We also hope to achieve a greater understanding … Continue reading
Pearl Eliadis: A World At War With Women — MWAA
Pearl Eliadis, in the context of the Muriel V. Roscoe Lecture presented by McGill Women’s Alumnae Association, discusses the forms that violence against women takes throughout the world, and reminds us that violence against women is a global phenomenon that takes place even in North America and Western Europe. The Muriel V. Roscoe Lecture honours … Continue reading
JHR @ McGill radio releases 2012 Radio Program
Listen to the two parts of Speak! Radio’s 2012 Radio Program here: Part 1 Part 2 Visit the Radio Team’s Web page for details on the show and how to get involved! Continue reading
Vigilante social media and the Vancouver Riots
As the final horn signaled the defeat of the Vancouver Canucks by the Boston Bruins at the Stanley Cup final on June 15, 2011, riots broke out in downtown Vancouver. About a hundred thousand people took to the streets. In the aftermath, 140 were injured, and close to 100 were arrested. These riots were not … Continue reading
Courage in censorship: an analysis of the career of Eskinder Nega
“Freedom is partial to no race. Freedom has no religion. Freedom favors no ethnicity. Freedom discriminates not between rich and poor countries. Inevitably freedom will overwhelm Ethiopia.” These are the words of Ethiopian journalist and dissident blogger Eskinder Nega, published in dissident blogs five days before he was arrested by Ethiopian authorities on charges of … Continue reading
Censorship or sensitivity? Twitter’s new policy
On Jan. 26, 2012, Twitter announced its new content policy in an online blog post. Due to its increasing global audience with varying ideas about freedom of expression, Twitter plans to censor tweets deemed controversial by a host country. However, instead of removing the offending post entirely, Twitter will only make its content unavailable for … Continue reading
Social media sites and censorship: a comparison
Twitter caused quite a buzz when it announced plans to introduce a geolocation policy. Formally known as Geolocation API, the policy has been monikered “geolocated censorship” by its critics, including media rights activist groups like Reporters Without Borders and concerned Twitter users. Conversely, the policy immediately drew approval from governments of countries such as Thailand and Brazil. Given the … Continue reading
Social media and the Arab Spring: an overview
The historical significance of the Arab Spring is undeniable. It marks the thawing of the icy authoritarianism that has gripped the Middle East since the end of World War II. Many questions have been raised regarding the unique social media strategies used by citizens to bring down more than half a century of dictatorial rule. … Continue reading
Social media and the Arab Spring: building real community?
The Arab Spring began as citizens across the Arab world become dissatisfied with their political and economic situations, and fed up with their repressive government regimes . Frustrated with the high income inequality and mass unemployment, the youth decided to finally take hold of their fate and contest the status quo. Fortunately for them, the … Continue reading
Facebook going public: what does this mean for users?
Since its launch eight years ago, Facebook has navigated an uneasy tension between profitability and privacy. This fun and free service has somehow compelled users to willingly reveal the most intimate details about themselves. Macleans blogger Jesse Brown wrote that Facebook “now owns the most comprehensive and accurate marketing database that the world has ever … Continue reading
A new platform of protest: how SOPA/PIPA rallied the Internet community
At the beginning of the semester it seemed like almost everyone on Facebook was up in arms over SOPA and PIPA. Statuses, photos and links referred to the limitations of Internet freedom that these bills could potentially bring about. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) were bills introduced in … Continue reading
The 101 on Bill C-11
After massive online lobbying on various Internet platforms, the controversial American bill, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), was quickly reneged, attesting to the democratic power of social media. A similar Canadian online piracy bill, Bill C-11, has garnered less public attention — until now. This proposed legislation has been in progress for many years but … Continue reading
Censorship in China: a timeline
This timeline shows the history of the Internet in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and various acts of censorship imposed on it by the PRC government. Censorship has limited freedoms of speech and expression, and numerous people have protested China’s restrictions. 1994 Internet Arrives in China for the First Time. January 23, 1996 China’s … Continue reading
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