Facts, and Opinions, that matter this week

When American police officers shot dead two black men – Anton Sterling and Philando Castile – within 24 hours in the sweltering heat of July, thousands took to the streets to protest against the violence that they say is predominantly aimed at African Americans. Two days later, a sniper killed five police officers, who were guarding a demonstration. His aim? To kills as many white cops as possible. The reciprocal violence exposes a raw inflamed wound, where many hoped there was a scar. Photo by Ruth Hopkins, © 2016
When American police officers shot dead two black men – Anton Sterling and Philando Castile – within 24 hours in the sweltering heat of July, thousands took to the streets to protest against the violence that they say is predominantly aimed at African Americans. Two days later, a sniper killed five police officers, who were guarding a demonstration. His aim? To kills as many white cops as possible.
The reciprocal violence exposes a raw inflamed wound, where many hoped there was a scar. Above, a demonstration in New York. Photo by Ruth Hopkins, © 2016

New York’s Colour Line, Between Black and Blue, by Ruth Hopkins  Magazine 

When American police officers shot dead two black men – Anton Sterling and Philando Castile – within 24 hours in the sweltering heat of July, thousands took to the streets to protest against the violence that they say is predominantly aimed at African Americans. Two days later, a sniper killed five police officers, who were guarding a demonstration. His aim? To kills as many white cops as possible.
The reciprocal violence exposes a raw inflamed wound, where many hoped there was a scar. Ruth Hopkins reports from New York

Fair and Foul in Edinburgh: Shakespeare's Many Guises. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Fair and Foul in Edinburgh: Shakespeare’s Many Guises. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Democracy as Laboratory, by Jim McNiven, Thoughtlines  column

“It is one of the happy accidents of the federal system that a single, courageous State may, if the citizens choose, serve as a laboratory…” noted  United States Justice Louis Brandeis in a dissenting opinion from a 1932 Supreme Court decision. His statement is as applicable in any other federation, and the experiments going on in Canada with carbon emissions reduction serve to underscore the value of Brandeis’ observation.

‘The killing has to stop:’ Canada’s missing women’s inquiry, by Penney Kome, Over Easy column

“The killing has to stop,” said Nicole Robertson, naming the most urgent goal of Canada’s inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) at a panel discussion in Calgary.

An Ancient Fossil’s Lessons About Cancer,  by Richard Gunderman, Loose Leaf column

The finding of cancer in the bone of a 1.7-million-year-old human relative isn’t just a biological oddity – it is a reminder of what it means to be both alive and human. Life is fraught with hazards. Thriving biologically (and biographically) does not mean eliminating all risks but managing the ones we can, both to reduce harm and promote a full life.

Corpspeak, Technosputter,  MeMyBlah: Words as Spam, by Louise Katz, Arts report

Our current cultural and political reality is one of neoconservative instrumentalism, and to maintain it we have to talk the talk. Here then, is my linguistic guide to this neoliberal world.

Fair and Foul in Edinburgh: Shakespeare’s Many Guises, by Elisabeth O’Leary and Zoe Daniel

Rapping, drunkenness and “Star Wars” are some of the twists given to William Shakespeare’s plays at the Edinburgh festival this year, marking the 400th anniversary of his death.

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