Attention Writers/Photographers/Illustrators/Activists!

Blackfly Magazine ( www.blackflymagazine.com) is looking for contributors for its fall 2007 issue.

As usual, we're looking for individuals who are willing to donate their time, talents, and energy to keep making this little magazine great.

If you don't know already, Blackfly's mission is to cover Ontario current events and political issues from a progressive perspective. That means we cover the news that mainstream media doesn't -- issues affecting marginalized communities (including, but not limited to, First Nations, women, people of colour, people with disabilities), as well as issues related to poverty, the environment, labour ( minimum wage/injuries at work/harassment in the workplace)social services (especially in small towns/rural/Northern Ontario), the impacts of government policy . . . the list goes on. We're also always looking for coverage of arts and indy projects.

So . . . if you have an idea, send us a pitch!

For our fall issue, pitches are due Friday, June 15.
Final articles are due Friday, July 13.

We accept pitches for articles ranging in length from 500 to 3000 words.
We do NOT reprint previously published articles. We are NOT looking for opinion pieces.
We ARE looking for news, feature articles, and interviews.

In your pitch please include information about:
- how you will structure your article
- how long your article will be
- how you will research your article (who you will contact, who you will interview)
- yourself and your writing experience.

We are also interested in other media for our website such as audio files, extra images, and extended interviews. When you pitch, please indicate if any of these things will be included.

If you're interested in contributing but writing isn't your thing, we're also looking for volunteers to review books, shoot photographs, and draw/paint illustrations. If this is you, we'd love to hear from you.

Unfortunately, Blackfly does not (yet!) have the means to financially compensate its contributors (or its staff) but, as a (small) token of appreciation for your work, we will send you a year's free subscription.

For more information about Blackfly, please visit our website: http://www.blackflymagazine.com

(Blackfly is also always accepting pitches for articles and audio/video files to appear on the "Web Exclusive" section of our website, especially regarding issues that are too time-sensitve to appear in a quarterly publication.)

Send any inquiries to the editor, Jenn Watt, at editor@blackflymagazine.com

Code of Silence Award

The Canadian Association of Journalists released the finalist list for the Code of Silence Award on May 15. The finalists are those government departments best at keeping information secret.

The finalists are:

1. The Department of Foreign Affairs for denying the existence of documents related to the treatment of Afghan detainees that were requested under federal Access to Information legislation. Even after complaints to the federal Information Commissioner, the department would only release a heavily excised version of a report to the Globe and Mail in which every reference to torture and abuse in Afghan prisons was blacked out. The federal Information Commissioner gave the Department of Foreign Affairs an "F" grade in his most recent annual report for failing to reply to 60 per cent of its access to information requests within the statutory deadlines, more than any other department audited last year.

2. The Immigration and Refugee Board for employing lengthy delays, misinformation, deceit and excessive fees to block Access to Information requests by journalist Roxana Olivera. In one case, the department claimed not to have any documents related to the granting of refugee status to Americans in Canada. Following a complaint to the Information Commissioner, the department confirmed it had conferred status upon four American citizens. The Information Commissioner also found "a serious deemed-refusal situation and lack of an up-to-date ATI support structure in the IRB's current policies, procedures, and technology."

3. The governments of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick for being the only remaining provinces in Canada that lack freedom of information legislation covering municipalities. As a result, the public in both provinces do not have the legally-backed right to know what municipalities are doing with their tax dollars.

4. Transport Canada for doggedly fighting for four years to keep basic aviation safety data out of the hands of journalists and the public. Following a formal request for the data by the Hamilton Spectator in 2001, the department dug in its heels, at one point claiming that information about commercial aircraft incidents constituted the personal information of the pilots flying the planes. Only a legal challenge before the Federal Court finally persuaded Transport Canada to release the data last year. Transport Canada was also nominated for failing to complete a Canadian Press request from February of last year for the new minister's briefing book on current issues and upcoming events.

5. The Ontario government for refusing to give the provincial ombudsman power to investigate hospitals. Ontario is the only Canadian province where hospitals aren't subject to the scrutiny of an ombudsman. Despite repeated public demands for greater transparency around one of the most costly and essential public sectors in the country's most populous province, Ontario hospitals remain outside the scope of both provincial freedom of information legislation and independent investigation.

Black Panther denied at Canadian border

Yesterday, the leader of the New Black Panthers was stopped at the Canadian border on his way to speak at a rally at Queen's Park. Malik Zulu Shabazz, a defence lawyer in the USA, was supposed to speak at a protest organized by New Black Youth Taking Action. The protest was organized around the unfairness of the education system to Black youth. Of concern is the Safe Schools Act, introduced by the Tory government, lack of Black studies in school, and the construction of a super-jail in Brampton.

Shabazz was stopped at the border because he was charged with a misdemeanour offence six years ago, according to the National Post. That same article also says that Shabazz recalls being confronted with newspaper clippings by officers at Pearson Airport about his controversial stances.

Most troubling of the claims against him are that he has made anti-Semitic statements, particularly about Jews having advance warning of the World Trade Centre destruction of 9/11. The Post also stated that some organizers at the rally - which went on without Shabazz - blame the Jewish lobby groups in Canada as being too powerful.

Doing a search on the internet brings up some contradictory claims on Shabazz. Some say that he is blatantly anti-Semitic. Others say he is anti-Zionist. These two things are distinctly different and it is unclear whether either has truth.

From looking at interviews with him, it seems that he has been vocally opposed to the state of Israel and quite pro-Palestinian. What is most unclear is whether he is also anti-Jew. If he is, then the Black Youth group organizing the rally has some serious issues to deal with now.

All of this is really very unfortunate, too, because what the rally was supposed to be about are some serious issues that are going unaddressed in our school systems. How Black youth are treated and educated has come under intense scrutiny over the past year from Black leaders in the province, but not so much has been done by the politicians.

But in all likelihood this will be overlooked due to the controversial speaker stopped at the border.

Jenn

As an example of the differing views on Shabazz:
Here is a very pro-Shabazz interview done by finalcall.com
And here is a list of quotes by the Anti-Defamation League (anti-Shabazz/pro-Israel)