Don’t bother with the Robocop remake. The original–campy, sensationalized, mildly intolerable–still succeeds in one key element: examining class warfare. You’d think that in an era of post-2008, the 1% being called out as contemptuous greed-mongerers and the Occupy Movement, that a Robocop remake would examine in a contemporary frame, the
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Politics, Re-Spun: Hey, BC: Want More Jobs? Dump the LNG and Pipelines!
Well, I found yet another [like this] study showing how many MORE jobs we’d get by moving to a post-carbon energy infrastructure and dumping LNG, tarsands, pipelines and all the other Mordor Industrial Complex BC and Alberta are embracing. Not only is dumping the carbon energy infrastructure essential to do
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Pope, a Kardashian and Arianna Huffington Walk into a Bar
The pope, a Kardashian and Arianna Huffington walk into a bar. The Pope says, “Inequality is the root of social evil” as he’s trashing the global economic disorder, but since it was reported on Arianna Huffington’s website, we couldn’t help but be lured to a link photo of a Kardashian
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What Does Soft Fascism Look Like These Days?
We don’t see brown shirts and jackboots, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t seeing the de-democratization of our society. In Vancouver this month, armed police with guns drawn, raided a house because they suspected people inside not of being terrorists, but of spray painting “No Pipelines” all over the place.
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Denmark and Germany Show Us How Easy It Is
Seeking some climate justice and labour justice? You’ve come to the right place. Here’s how Denmark and Germany are showing us that it isn’t brain surgery. Why re-invent the wheel; just steal ideas from people who already get it. Simple! Denmark Someone once told me that Starbucks stores in Safeway
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: A Little Bit of Civil Terrorism…
A little bit of civil terrorism keeps the population docile, afraid of irrational and unjust behaviour from law enforcement [sic] but hey, it helps us all live more peacefully because if you’re not a terrorist, you have nothing to fear from police terrorism via unconstitutional and racially discriminatory persecution. Right?
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Occupy, For Democracy
Journalists protest the erosion of freedom of expression in Canada on Feb. 27 in Toronto. Photo Credit: Hiba Zayadin When I write about soft fascism, I sometimes feel too Canadian. I don’t want to be impolite and talk about hard or old school or 20th century fascism because frankly, when
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Occupy Vancouver Reboots Tonight!
Occupy Vancouver reboots tonight to join the worldwide #WaveOfAction that began on April 4 and runs [at least] to July 4, 2014. We will meet in Grandview Park on Commercial Drive in East Vancouver, unceded Coast Salish territories. 615pm is the start time, though honestly, I’ll be there a bit
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: When Blog Comment Spam Goes Bad
You know you want it! Someone really crossed the line from whoops, to nuclear codes. One of the15,000 weekly blog spam comments that never make it to the human eyes stage on this website, accidentally made it through. Sadly, it is a compendium of all the kinds of faux-sincere blog
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Let’s Play Cowboys and Indians
Why not? It seems to be working in Washington, DC. And you know what? They’ve got our backs. When ranchers are farmers and tribal communities realize that the tarsands and their toxic pipelines threaten us all, it’s pretty easy to figure out how working together gets things done. They’re even
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Help Conservative Senators Stop Harper’s Banana Republic
Emperor Stephen Harper and his double double. Interesting times indeed. 8 Conservative senators have decided that Emperor Stephen Harper has no clothes. The Emperor has whipped and intimidated his backbench, cabinet and senators for a long time. Senator Hugh Segal stood up to him on bad legislation. Though he left
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The World Economic Forum Is Now Occupy’s Mouthpiece
By the way, if you were keeping track, the World Economic Forum rules the world. They’re the richest corporations in the world getting together with governments to plan the world. And why not, they’re the elite. And it turns out, since you’re keeping track, that Occupy has been quite successful.
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Canadians will forever be indebted because of Jim…
Canadians will forever be indebted because of Jim Flaherty. Regardless of what one thinks of the recently deceased man on a personal level, if one uses objective, non-emotional criteria, it is clear that he was probably the worst finance minister in Canadian history. Unfortunately for us, his replacement, Joe Oliver,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Poor Kids, Poor Families and Shame
“When Centennial’s students found out Seymour couldn’t hold a pyjama day because many students didn’t have pyjamas, they fundraised to buy every Seymour student a pair last Christmas.” – When the Field Trip’s Too Pricey, Students ‘Self-Exclude’ BC’s disgusting and preventable child poverty crisis. Let’s stop coddling the rich! When
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Death of Jim Flaherty
“We are, of course, not in the world alone and our lives here are finite.” “Our individual and family responsibilities are primary. Yet the desire to accumulate private goods in the end does not lead to satisfaction simply because, as we all learn, enough is never enough.” – Jim Flaherty,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Expanding Our 2014 Boycott List: #BoycottLoblaws
First, it started with IKEA, which has been locking out its Richmond, BC workers for 11 months. Then it expanded to a white Richmond farmer who isn’t all that happy with all the non-white farmers changing the complexion of farming in BC. So we’re are committing to #BoycottIKEA and boycotting
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Once upon a time, there was a Vancouver Mayor who promised he’d end homelessness…
Once upon a time… There was a handsome young prince named Gregor Angus Bethune Robertson. He was a much envied prince. He represented his fiefdom, Vancouver-Fairview, for years before he, […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Occupying Homelessness?
Homelessness isn’t a policy thing regarding random people. It’s a thing for actual people. It’s not abstract, it’s in our face, yet we live in denial. Clearly, I’m no brain surgeon. But if there are homeless people, a civilized culture would find a way to use a progressive tax system
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Occupy Canada For May Day, With Bananas
A few days ago, I wrote about picking May Day as a good time for Occupy Vancouver to reboot itself and catch up with the Occupy Movement’s worldwide #WaveOfAction. But I think that idea can be bigger, it can be a day for all of Occupy Canada to reboot. Here’s
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Resistance is Futile: Steveston, Developers, PR flacks, and the Borg
The idyllic town of Steveston, located at the western tip of Richmond, is the site of what appears to be a battle for the ages: the City Council is facing an invasion of the Borg as they debate what to do with a developer’s plans for an historic district along the
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