Immigrants. F.H Varley.
If a family of refugees can thrive in Canada, surely our system is fair and just. Right? An honest recounting of my family’s experience reveals that our success depended on the charity of close friends. It was not the Canadian government or capitalism that lifted us out of poverty. It was two ladies.
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Cottage Interior with Seated Woman. Max Liebermann.
Graduate students at the University of Toronto are poorly remunerated for our scientific labour. Our stipend is a poverty wage, and we are ripe for financial exploitation. This desperation drives graduate students to the gig economy for the money they need to survive. In the freelance editing world, trainees can expect low payouts and stressful deadlines. We need to provide a living salary for all scientists, even those who are still in training.
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Portrait of a young man. Jan Lievans.
From poverty to climate change, many threats to the current insulin supply exist. Biological medications are controlled by monopolies and produced by for-profit companies dependent on international trade. Can communities produce their own insulin in accordance with decentralized, non-hierarchical practices?
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Les Salinieres near Trouville. Richard Parkes Bonington.
(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay is an undisputed masterpiece by Otis Redding. Yet, a casual listen my conjure feelings of relaxation or zen. Rather, lyrical tricks of repetitiveness and omission, combined with grim descriptions underly a morose, bleak hymn. It is clear that the dock of the bay is more prison than paradise.
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Saint Bride. John Duncan. The modern scientific process saving lives. Not pictured: Profit and exploitation.
Myths are made out of courageous scientists fighting against pestilence and famine. These myths naturalize the problems of the world and hides the economic and political motivations behind many famous scientific “breakthroughs.” By deconstructing the myths of science, such as the Green Revolution, we begin to ask economics-based questions about contemporary science, such as the recent development of nicotine-free GMO tobacco.
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