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Yesterday's Globe And Mail mused on " Why the global rage hasn't engulfed Canada ". Some Canadian Muslim leaders weighed in. Why haven't Muslims in Canada taken to the streets in large numbers to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed? It's not because everyone in Canada is so nice to each other, say Canadian Muslim leaders and Islamic scholars. It's because Canada's multiculturalism is complex. They say Muslim immigration into Canada has been different. So has Muslim integration into Canadian society. And so has the political action of Canadian Muslim organizations around the highly sensitive issue of Islamic religious fundamentalism. The difference is illustrated by events in France in 2004 and Canada in 2005, said Tarek Fatah, a leader of the Muslim Canadian Congress. In France, few if any representative voices within the French Muslim community were heard in the news media speaking in favour of a law banning conspicuous religious symbols...

Speaking of nature, has everyone here seen March Of The Penguins ? We watched it last night, and it was as spectacular as I had heard. The movie itself left me with some questions, but the story is so mind-boggling, the landscape and animals so magnificent, that it hardly matters. This must be nature at its most beautiful and most mysterious. The filmmaking itself is an outsized creative feat. The DVD contains a long "making of" movie called Of Penguins And Men . It was a little overdone for our tastes, but it answers a lot of questions that you find yourself asking. (How did they get the underwater shots? How close did the penguins allow them?) At one point the filmmakers stay out too late and are caught in a winter storm: it takes them six hours to travel one kilometer. Even with all the high-tech deep-cold equipment - the Goretex, the special eyewear, the GPS technology - an emergency rescue team is required. They sustain severe frostbite and injuries, and clearly would ha...

Two million hectares - almost five million acres - of coastal rainforest in British Columbia will be protected from most logging and development. (The area is being called "three times the size of Prince Edward Island" or "twice the size of Yellowstone National Park," in Canadian and US media, respectively.) The move is hailed as a groundbreaking example of how competing land interests can be balanced. It ends a decade-long battle among environmentalists, industry, First Nations people and government. From the CBC story : [The protected areas] cover 1.2 million hectares, where habitat conservation, maintaining biodiversity, and the preservation of special landscape, recreation and cultural heritage features are a priority. That brings the total protected to 1.8 million hectares. The new areas include one of the largest intact temperate rainforests in the world, home to the Kermode or Spirit Bear, a black bear with white fur. "The agreement reached on these area...

US war resister Jeremy Hinzman will be in Federal court today , appealing the Canadian Immigration Board's decision to deny him refugee status. Hinzman is one of about 20 American soldiers whose objections to the invasion of Iraq brought them to Canada. (Hinzman's attorney, Jeffry House, says that another 150-180 people are watching the outcome of this case before they act.) The Immigration Board ruled that Hinzman does not qualify for political asylum, because he is not a conscientious objector or a pacifist - he objects to a specific war, not all war. In addition, they ruled that US is a democratic country and would provide Hinzman with a fair trial. Hinzman faces a court martial and five years in prison if he returns to the US. It's pretty clear that Canadian refugee law, although very generous, doesn't include a provision for Hinzman's circumstances. Naturally I wish it did. When I blogged about Hinzman back in March , a Toronto Star columnist had a good idea f...

I'll be downtown Toronto today, registering with the two big legal staffing agencies. One agency found Allan's job, the other kept him temping until that happened. They're competitors, so they'll both be working hard to find me something good. (Hooray for capitalism.) Thank you to everyone who has emailed me with writing ideas. I really appreciate it. Please don't interpret my not going for these opportunities as lack of interest or gratitude. Although I welcome opportunities to expand my little writing niche, many things are just too far out of my line. I chose a long time ago to separate my principal means of income from my writing goals, rather than write about anything just to make a living. This isn't because I'm so laden with integrity. I just can't motivate myself to write if I'm not really into it. I have to be really passionate about my subjects, really excited by and challenged by them, or I just can't bother. If it's "only...

Life is change. We are, all of us, in a constant state of flux, no matter how stable our lives appear to be. It often seems to me that the people who are most successful at living are those who are most adaptable. By successful, I don't mean materially, or even recognition in a chosen field. I mean, rock-bottom success. People making the most of their circumstances, whatever they are, shaping what's there and creating a new reality. For some people, success might mean nothing less than survival itself. I recently (within the past few weeks) saw two movies that illustrated this dramatically. The subjects were polar opposites, but I found a common theme. "Nobody Knows" is a Japanese film about four children, siblings, who are abandoned by their mother in a tiny Tokyo apartment. The children adapt to their new circumstances, then adapt again and again, as their world becomes increasingly desperate. It's a sad movie, but totally unsentimental, with a patient, everyda...

Mick Jagger, world's hottest 62-year-old. Every Stones performance I see, I scrutinize Mick for signs of aging. I saw some last night. Apparently he's human. If you watched yesterday's half time show, you know it was also notable for what you didn't hear: the full lyrics . After last year's Shocking Breast Incident, who would dare expose tender American ears to the word "come". I see the BBC (above) used a photo that makes Mick look old and tired indeed. He looks a little better here. But Mick's presence isn't captured best in photos. You have to see him move. Keith and Ronnie looked like they were having fun, too. Well, it was an enjoyable 12 minutes, not the Stones' best performance (which would be tough to manage in 12 minutes), nor their worst. More importantly, football is over, and I can watch subversive cartoons on Sunday nights again.