The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and Health Law Club worked with the Office of the Minister of Health Promotion for the Minister to come to Western. Minister Margarett Best was educated at U of T and Osgoode Hall, and has an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica.

Margarett Best and Omar Ha-Redeye during the 2007 Provincial Election

She was a First Vice-President of the Black Business and Professional Association, member of the board of Urban Financial Services Coalition, sat on the Law Society of Upper Canada Solicitors’ Examination Blueprint Committee, and on the board of the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre of Durham (WMRCC).

In 2007, Minister Best was nominated for the Lincoln Alexander Medal and she was awarded an African Canadian Achievement Award in 2006.

Over 200 people heard Min. Best speak at UWO.

Omar Ha-Redeye is the President of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and Health Law Club.

The International Law Association (ILA) hosted a guest presentation by Dr. Joanna Quinn, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, Department of Political Science.

For the past several years, Dr. Quinn’s research has focused on various mechanisms of transitional justice, including Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, Peace Negotiations and War Crimes Tribunals. In particular, Dr. Quinn has had extensive involvement in the Northern Ugandan peace and reconstruction process.

Omar heard Dr. Quinn speak in the summar of 2007 at a conference, Cross-Purposes? International Law and Political Settlements conference.  He posted his notes from the conference, which were subsequently referenced by someone else in Wikipedia under the Rwandan Genocide.

Omar Ha-Redeye participated in the Cherniak Cup Trial Advocacy competition at UWO. The competition is Western’s only trial advocacy competition.

A hypothetical fact situation is presented to the participants, who pair off in teams. Witnesses are examined and cross-examined, and each participant provides either an opening or closing statement. The competition is judged by practicing lawyers or real judges.

Omar Ha-Redeye teamed up with Lawrence Gridin, who was one of the finalists last year, and as a result represented Western in the 2008 OTLA Cup in Ottawa, sponsored by Doucet McBride LLP and Cooligan Ryan LLP.

The fact scenario this year involved in a plaintiff that went bungee jumping with his corporate peers.  He violated a number of the safety rules, including participation with a precluded medical condition (hypertension) and failing to extend the arms during the jump.  He also drank some alcohol prior to the jump, which was contraindicated by his allergy medications, and signed a waiver.

The bungee operator however had a history of violating the safety code.  In this specific instance, an automated machine indicated that the time between jumps had been reduced by the operator.  The time is what allowed the cord to retract to its original length, providing adequate elasticity.  The plaintiff in this case fell through the water to the rocks below, suffering a serious neck injury.

Omar did the examination-in-chief and closing statements for the event.

The Western News, the University of Western Ontario’s newspaper, covered the release of Omar’s new book, Population Health, Communities, and Health Promotion.

Omar is the author of Chapter 6 in the university textbook, Needs of Health Professionals.

Africa is a continent poorly understood by many in North America.

Although Sarah Palin apparently did know Africa is a continent, many people found it plausible that she did not when this news broke last week.

Few people here understand the conflict in Darfur, its causes, the factors, and potential solutions.  Another very serious African conflict, and one which does not receive the attention here that it probably should, is the civil war in Liberia.

The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) did a review piece by film critic Peter Rainer of a documentary on the Liberian conflict, Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

The film’s website describes what it is about,

Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country.

Thousands of women – ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim – came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside the Presidential Palace.  Armed with only white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they took on the warlords nonviolently forced a resolution during the stalled peace talks.

A story of sacrifice, unity, and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honours the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia.  Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.

Rainer’s review gives the film an A-.  He praises the lucid way the documentary portrays the peaceful resolution of conflict in this war torn nation.  But his characterization of the antagonists goes a step further.  He says,

Liberia, the West African country of 3 million people that was founded in 1847 by freed American slaves, suffered a civil war in 1989 that gave rise to Charles Taylor, who was elected president in 1996 and rapidly descended to dictatorship. A second civil war devastated the country all over again. Rival, mostly Muslim warlords, attempting to depose Taylor, a Christian, raped and pillaged the populace. A quarter of a million people were killed; another million were displaced.

Omar Ha-Redeye found this characterization to be inaccurate and misleading.  In a letter to the CSM he elaborated,

Regarding the Nov. 7 film review, ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’: I object to author Peter Rainer’s characterization of Muslim warlords raping and pillaging to depose the Christian Charles Taylor in Liberia.

Although it’s true that the group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) has been accused of atrocities and is comprised of 70 percent Muslim Mandingos, the basis for the conflict was hardly religious in nature. For example, former LURD leader Sekou Conneh was raised and educated in Christian and Methodist schools. The southern rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, has links to Christian politicians in Ivory Coast. Government forces under Mr. Taylor also engaged in widespread rape and recruitment of child soldiers, especially in Bushrod Island. But Taylor has been described by some as a supporter of Muslims, having close ties to Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, and providing them with facilities and radio broadcasting in his country.

Rainer’s review does present a touching perspective of people working together for peace across religious lines. But the best way to propagate this kind of peace is to avoid characterizing conflicts in religious terms when there is no basis for it.

Africa unfortunately remains the “dark continent,” surrounded by mystery and poorly understood by many in the West.  African leaders claim that media coverage focuses unfairly on negative aspects of African current events, and the reports are highly unbalanced.

It’s not surprising then that such misunderstandings would occur.  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched a project last month to help address these perceptions, which obviously affect policy makers around the world.

Perhaps eventually activists and commentators will more deeply consult people with backgrounds in African conflicts before attempting to address them in the media and the political stage.

The Mature Students Club hosted a Puisine Denning at The Runt Club.

Fanshawe student media were present to ask questions about the experiences of mature students.

Omar Ha-Redeye is the President of the Mature Students Club at UWO.

UWO Law students and friends and The Runt Club

The video from the Progressive Bloggers Meetup has been posted by Garry Wise.

The video features Deb Prothero of Seeing Red in Southwest, Omar Ha-Redeye of Law is Cool and Slaw, and Jennifer Smith of Runesmith’s Canadian Content.

The topic of the interviews was the impending election in the U.S.  Everyone interviewed supported Obama of course.

Another interview from the last Podcaster Meetup in Toronto just went live.  NinjaRadio of Hot Fossils and Rebel Matter Show has an interview with Omar Ha-Redeye, Connie Crosby (Community Divas) and Shadow and James.

Strangely, the conversation turns to Omar’s voice, but also podcasting and podcamps, Twitter and of course a touch of  politics considering the time of year.

There’s also a really neat picture that just had to be reproduced here.

A fundraising dinner was held for London War Resisters.

A documentary video, Let Them Stay, was shown to the large crowd that came out for the event.

War resisters Josh Randall and Tim Richard spoke to attendees about their stories and experiences in Iraq and being stop-lossed to go back.

Reuben Apple of the Eye Weekly said in a story last year,

Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau welcomed soldiers who deserted during the Vietnam War, saying, “Canada should be a refuge from militarism.” The story goes that when President Richard Nixon said Trudeau was an “asshole,” Trudeau observed that he had “been called worse things by better people.”

…For the 50,000 young Americans we took in during the war in Vietnam, we provided dear relief. In the short term, it was a small contribution for peace, much better than none. That example remains available to us.

Decades later, we saved lives by not joining the invasion of Iraq, but we would save more if today we opposed the violence actually and not just in principle. Further, protecting conscientious deserters will make future commanders-in-chief and dictators pause to wonder how many of their troops would follow an illegal order.

The historic and legal precedent set by Trudeau, the merit of the resisters’ cases, and the benefits to Canada and the larger world are reasons to think deserters should be allowed to stay, but the best argument may be the character of the soldiers themselves. They are typical American youth who have made unusual sacrifices, first to fight, as they thought, for their country, and now to resist war. Resister Ryan Johnson says Canadians “need to wake up and get involved with something, nuclear disarmament, the Canadian Peace Alliance, the War Resisters Support Campaign, anything, because it’s the people that can end this.” In his place, facing 2,000 days within three cement walls and a fourth of iron, would I be thinking about nuclear disarmament? Maybe.

Prof. Moin Yahya of the University of Alberta law selected this post for best Canadian analysis of the recent election.