freedom of the press

some disturbing news concerning the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who arrived in Toronto today.

According to Andrew Chung of the Toronto Star, two media outlets sympathetic to the Falun Gong, banned in China, have been denied media accreditation for a dinner gala here in Toronto, to be attended by President Hu Jintao. Both outlets have offices in Canada, though they are based in New York. They are the Chinese- and English-published free broadsheet, The Epoch Times, and the New Tang Dynasty Television network, which broadcasts in the Chinese language.

From the article, it appears that the business organization putting on the dinner, the Canada-China Business Council, had the final say in media accreditation and denies political influence from Chinese authorities. That doesn't make me feel better.

rockin' at rye high

I probably won't be blogging as much as I've begun my six-week stint at the Ryersonian. But I will try, because blogging is fun.

First edition comes out Wednesday -- watch for it, folks!

labour day weekend

there are too many places to go and things to do on Labour Day weekend ...

I was Windsor-bound to spend a delightful weekend at my brother's home in Harrow. I'm a city girl until I get in the country, and Harrow, a town nestled in the centre of Essex County's farmlands, is simply idyllic. It's a small town, population 3,000, that is not dying and manages to stay vital to its inhabitants of all ages. There is a skateboard park for the teens, an active arena, baseball diamonds that are always full, and an occasional group riding by on horseback. Colio Winery is there, and a bar called, "No, He's Not Here" (or something like that). They support seven different church denominations, which isn't shabby for a town that size, and they've been fighting hard to keep Tim Hortons' out and the Harrow high school open.

As you can tell, I love the place. It has the best produce in the province and the Niagara Peninsula just has to settle for second spot.

And, it is the home of one of the best agricultural fairs ever put on. From Thursday to Sunday, there are cows and pigs and poultry, the biggest sunflower heads and zucchinis, dunk-tanks and home-made pies, horse shows with barrel racing, tractor pulls and lawnmower races, hokey country singers on their way up or down, and of course, a midway. There is a parade that the whole town comes out to watch or participate in -- over an hour of every kind of tractor and farm equipment imaginable -- red tractors, green tractors, blue tractors. The kids on the sidelines have so much candy thrown at them, they leave with bags of it, like Hallowe'en.

So, I spent a weekend basking in the aroma, pleasant and unpleasant, of hay and manure.

I made a side trip to Dearborn, outside of Detroit, and while passing through downtown Motown was fortunate enough to hear, for a few minutes anyway, the street sounds of the Detroit Jazz Festival. Oh, I wanted to stay there too, and hear the music bounce off the skyscrapers.

And, being in Harrow, I missed my beloved Erie Street bike races. Every Labour Day weekend on Sunday there is a well-established street race on a circuit through Windsor's Little Italy. Via Italia thrives with fine Italian eateries, shops, and gelato cafes. On the day of the Tour di Via Italia, all the Italians are out in their finest (why do they all seem to have such an innate sense of style?), parading up and down the street. Cyclists, their legs shaved smooth, meander and warm-up on their bikes along the side streets. I have gone to it religiously for years and have to come up, in the future, for a way to include the fair, the jazz festival, and the Tour di Via Italia.

Ah, the end of summer days!