Christie Lee Charles sings her baby girl to sleep every night. Unlike the usual mom, she does it in a language only a handful of people in the world know. Charles, 27, speaks the Musqueam dialect of the Coast Salish First Nations language family. She learned the language at the feet of her great-uncle and [...]
Roma Hall in Vancouver celebrates eight decades on May 8. The Hall was then known as Italian Mutual Aid Society but as Italian immigration ceased in 1970s the hall changed character to become the hub of cultural activities and celebratory events. There have been two major renovations done on the hall to create a larger [...]
In the good ol’ days before 9/11, religion and spirituality used to be the very definition of soft news. As in Zzzzz…. Located near the back of the Saturday paper, the weekly “Religion” section might include a feature of some ‘radical’ clergyman who believed science and faith need not conflict (gasp!). Oh yeah! Plus the [...]
What do birthday parties and heated anti-Israel demonstrations have in common? They can both, fairly easily, be organized as Facebook events. This was proven in a recent New York Times article that looked into the use of social networking websites by young activists as a tool for gathering support for political causes and for planning [...]
North American Chinese immigrants have come a long way. Some were once railway workers losing their lives in the process of building better countries for Westerners. Some were once gold miners living their American dreams all the way from the other side of the globe to the Golden Gate Bridge. Now a lot of are [...]
At the end of November 2008, Canada’s political system was thrown into disarray when the Liberals and NDP threatened to topple the minority Conservative government with a coalition that would be propped-up by the Bloc Quebecois. This proved to be an extremely polarizing issue for Canadians. For weeks the issue dominated the headlines and the [...]
By Erin Empey Canada’s political parties have embraced the digital age in the upcoming election through slick flash animated websites and social networking sites, yet the new technology has done little to update time-tested political strategies. While ridiculing opponents, taking images and quotes out of context and using suggestive imagery are nothing new to election [...]
By Kerry Blackadar Political parties contesting this year’s federal election are adopting the language of the internet and moving their attack campaigns online. The Conservative website NotaLeader.ca, which received a lot of attention for pooping puffins, and the Liberal site Scandalpedia.ca are using Web 2.0 tools to attract younger generations. Yet neither site offers the [...]
By Rebecca teBrake Oct. 14 will be the first time Stefani Zhu can vote as a Canadian citizen, but as she heads to the ballot box, China is on her mind. Zhu, 22, moved to Vancouver from China with her father six years ago and attends classes at UBC and Langara College. She received her citizenship [...]
By Faiza Zia Khan Amber Afaq, a recent immigrant from Pakistan, is suffering from first-time voter panic. Afaq, a childcare worker, became a Canadian citizen last year and will be voting for the first time in this federal election. Her challenge is two-fold: how to understand the issues and processes and then decide which candidate [...]
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