It is not the “crimes” Aaron (Swartz) may have committed that made him a target of federal prosecution, but his ideas – elaborated in his “Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto” – that the government has found so dangerous. By Jeremy Hammond – #18729-424 | Metropolitan Correctional Center, Feb. 20, 2013: The tragic
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The Canadian Progressive: Sierra Club Greets President Obama In Atlanta With Climate Message
By Sierra Club | Feb. 14, 2013: ATLANTA, GA – As President Obama visits Decatur today, members of the Georgia Beyond Coal Campaign will rally around the downtown Decatur MARTA station to call on the president to protect future generations by addressing climate disruption with bold executive action to hold fossil fuel
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Keystone XL pipeline: Leaders in historical act of civil disobedience in front of White House
48 environmental, civil rights, and community leaders engage in historic act of civil disobedience to stop Keystone XL pipeline. Julian Bond, Bill McKibben, Michael Brune, and others arrested in front of White House in call for action on climate. By Sierra Club | Feb. 13, 2013: WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, 48 environmental,
Continue readingWalking Turcot Yards: Idle No More This Sunday In Montreal
Idle No More Quebec is launching this call for solidarity to invite you to publicly demonstrate and to join us! WHEN: Idle No More Demonstration in Montreal – Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 1:00 pm WHERE: Phillips Square, 585 Ste-Catherine Street West, Montreal (in front of the store The Bay)
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio February 7 2012: Liveable Ottawa | Shell oil rig Alaskan disaster
Download: earthgauge-podcast-feb7-2013.mp3 This week on Earthgauge Radio, we’re talking about the Shell drilling rig that ran aground near Alaska’s Kodiak Island at the end of December and we discuss the City of Ottawa’s “Liveable Ottawa” plan. We also have a special guest editorial from Grist.org columnist David Roberts who will
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Gyasi Ross: The Future of ‘Idle No More’ (VIDEO)
Indian Country Today and Huffington Post contributor Gyasi Ross discusses the future and impact of the Idle No More movement, and the lived experiences of First Nations in Canada and the United States: Video available on YouTube The Canadian Progressive recommends: Stephen Harper Launches Major First Nations Termination Plan In Canada,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Ray Grigg explains how Idle No More and other decentralized social movements may make for a crucial counterweight to the Harper Cons and their command-and-control philosophy: Systems are always bigger and more complex than the individuals who try to control them. So political
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Fractured Land: A Dene warrior battles Big Oil and neo-colonialism
by Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Feb 1, 2013: This is the trailer of Fractured Land a film that tells the story of Caleb Behn, a young Dene warrior from northeastern British Columbia, “taking on Big Oil and Gas to protect his ancestral land and people from the ravages of neocolonialism.” I met Behn
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: We don’t want your dirty gold: corporate donations and the university
The following is a piece written by contributor Kevin Harding and guest contributor Natalie Gan. The piece was written in 2010, but is being published on Politics Respun for the first time. The issue of controversial corporate donations to public universities is a live one, with the Munk School at
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio January 31 2013: Obama and climate change | Lisa Friedman | Idle No More
Download: earthgauge-podcast-jan31-2013.mp3 This week on Earthgauge Radio, we’re talking about President Obama’s new commitment to climate change, the growing problem of environmental “refugees”, and the environmental dimensions of the Idle No More aboriginal movement. We have 3 interviews on today’s show: Lisa Friedman, Deputy Editor of ClimateWire Stephen Hazell, environmental lawyer
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Alison highlights the attempts of Sun TV to rally the most extreme reactionary movements in the country behind its bid for mandatory carriage. And the question of whether we want to publicly sanction a network beholden to such interest groups would seem to
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Aaron Swartz, Intellectual Property and the Public Good
Should academic work be locked up like Disney[tm] artifacts? I’ve been quite inspired by this very good analysis of the context surrounding Aaron Swartz’s suicide. As news spread last week that digital rights activist Aaron Swartz had killed himself ahead of a federal trial on charges that he illegally downloaded
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: CUPE Alberta to support ‘Common Causes’
by CUPE | Jan. 29, 2013: EDMONTON – The President of the Alberta Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has pledged her support for ‘Common Causes’ a network of progressive activists looking for a change in direction on Aboriginal, environmental and democratic issues in Canada. “We can’t fight
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Geography of Emotions, A Conversation with Colin Mills
Saturday night, I spent almost two hours discussing the Geography of Emotions with Colin Mills. We explored the ubiquitousness of emotions, the male crisis around emotions, how emotions relate with cognition, and the betweeness of emotions. It was a fascinating conversation about a topic with wide implications for society, culture,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Foundation Skills Assessment: Another Dirty Trick
By Rachel Goodine The FSAs, or Foundation Skills Assessment tests, administered annually in British Columbia since 2000 to students in grades 4 and 7, are once again under way. They began on January 14 and will continue until February 22, 2013. In the meantime, the debate is on. For many,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Maude Barlow offers some background to the Common Causes protests happening across Canada this week: Over the last two years, we have witnessed amazing organizing and mobilizing in Canada — from student movements in Québec, to the “Defend Our Coast” struggle against tar sands pipelines
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: “We Steal Secrets”: The Story of WikiLeaks (VIDEO)
by Guest Blogger | Jan 27, 2013: Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney discusses his new documentary, “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks” with Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now! The film examines the key players involved in the whistleblowing website’s release of hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables to
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Operation Last Resort: Anonymous Declares ‘War’ On U.S. Government
Hacktivist collective threatens massive WikiLeaks-style exposure of potentially-damaging secrets. by Guest Blogger | Jan 27, 2013 In response to the death of Internet activist , Reddit programmer and extraordinary hacker, Aaron Swartz, Anonymous has declared “war” on the U.S. government with an operation code-named “Operation Last Resort”. Late Friday the hacktivist collective hacked
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Chief Theresa Spence Ends 43-Day Hunger Strike With Declaration “Towards Fundamental Change”
by Guest Blogger | The Canadian Progressive, Jan 25, 2013 Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence signed the First Nations declaration that ended her 43-day hunger strike at Ottawa’s Victoria Island . The 13-point declaration, entitled “First Nations: Working Towards Fundamental Change”, was signed jointly with First Nations leaders and Canada’s federal opposition parties.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canadian warships should get out of the Middle East: Peace activist
by Guest Blogger | Jan 25, 2013: Halifax – A local peace activist is denouncing the deployment of the HMCS Toronto on Monday. The Canadian frigate left the Halifax port for a 6-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. “There should be no Canadian warships in the Middle East,” says Tamara Lorincz, a
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