Critical Perspectives and Reflections

Bill Lee We (my wife Ceil and I) went to the BC Museum out in Victoria a little while ago. We had only a limited amount of time so we focused on the Indigenous exhibit which we heard to be a very good one (it is). There are all manner of incredibly interesting and beautiful artefacts, form pre and post contact, indications of rich sophisticated cultures here from throughout BC (with emphasis on lower mainland and Island First Nations). There was however one small item that caught my eye in particular and made me reflect. It consisted of two latch keys, one somehow crafted out of a sardine can opener and one out of something else I cannot remember. According to the little blurb accompanying the exhibit, they were secretly crafted by some kids in a residential school for the purpose of breaking into the institution’s larder. They needed to get some food. The kids who were interned in some of these schools were kept in such a state of hunger, practically starving. This was ...

Bill Lee   Much fuss is being made of the recent charges being levied against some of the worthies of FIFA (that would be the Fédération Internationale de Football Association). The president of this not for profit organization (I’m not kidding, you can look it up), “He who cannot be named” has even been forced to resign amid the swirl of the charges.  From one of my favorite shows on my favorite radio network (CBC) I hear that two of the big bold events (err, soccer world championships or cups or spectacles or whatever they’re called) scheduled for Russia and Qatar should be investigated for bidding corruption. Imagine, corruption related to these whacking great money making (for some) extravaganzas. Shocked, I am shocked I say. Oh come on. Are we being asked to believe (conned) that in these particular tournament bidding processes money changed hands for votes while all the previous ones were as clean as a whistle? Have we no imagination, or power of rational...