Twitter / suzhawkins: As settlers… #idlenomore …. York University’s Suzanne Hawkins is my hero today for showing us all this amazing poster that succinctly describes how us non-indigenous settler folk can stand alongside with the world’s indigenous people seeking redress for generations of racism and discrimination. Solidarity matters! Dialogue matters!
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LeDaro: Idle No More: Native Issues
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, centre, with supporters Danny Matatawabin, left, and Angela Bercier in a teepee on Victoria Island in Ottawa during her hunger strike Julie Oliver/Postmedia News This is an insightful column from Chantal Hebert, on the Idle No More movement and the challenges it presents to Harper. She
Continue readingwmtc: enbridge line 9: all pain and no gain for ontario, quebec, and new england
Have you heard about Line 9? Enbridge has begun a process that would create a third option to get their dirty tarsands oil out of Alberta to sell to the rest of the world. The Keystone XL pipeline would stretch from Alberta to Nebraska. (Gee, what could go wrong?) The
Continue readingBryan Crockett: Congratulations Canada, we’re the first country to back out of Kyoto!
Remember that agreement that Canada signed, along with most other countries in the world? The one where we all agreed on climate change, and that something needed to be done about it. That one with specific goals? Yeah, we’ll we’re officially not in it anymore. And we’re also the first
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that to start the new year. – Lynn Stuart Parramore discusses the dangers of needless means-testing for basic social benefits: When I spoke to Joseph Stiglitz, he discussed the idea that “means-testing is mean.” Programs like Medicare and Social Security, he explained, are matters of political economy. They
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Three New Year’s Resolutions for Canada
I have never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. The practice always struck me as little more than an excuse to put off self-improvement until next year. But now, with year’s end upon us, and solutions nowhere in sight for the host of problems that we face as a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Michael Harris comments on Stephen Harper’s reckless choice to gamble that Theresa Spence in particular and First Nations issues in general will go away on their own, rather than exhibiting any leadership whatsoever: Stephen Harper has placed his bet. It is clear from
Continue readingWalking Turcot Yards: Seattle Says No To Oil & Gas
It has to be done. It’s no secret that the largest oil and gas corporations yield more power and influence than most governments, but quietly lurking in the shadows are their investors/shareholders. My theory is that a good chunk of the people who vote for Harper have their rrsps/mutual funds
Continue readingwmtc: chief theresa spence calling for solidarity actions on sunday, december 30
Media ReleaseFor Immediate Release December 28, 2012 Attawapiskat Chief Spence heading into day 19 of hunger strike and seeking Canadians, Members of Parliament and politicians to urge Prime Minister Harper to meet and commit to Nation to Nation relations with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples. Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, Ontario Chief Theresa Spence
Continue readingImpolitical: Navigable waters nightmare
Robin Rowland, a B.C. based journalist writes about an overlooked aspect of the omnibus Bill C-45, its drastic reduction of rivers, lakes and streams protected by the Navigable Waters Protection Act from 2.5 million to 159. This is one of the driving concerns underlying the Idle No More movement as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Ed Broadbent responds to the Fraser Institute’s attempts to minimize the importance of growing inequality: Economists tell us the chances of finding and keeping a good job today depend more than ever on a high level of education and skills required by
Continue readingwmtc: tell stephen harper you support chief theresa spence and idle no more
As Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence enters her twelfth day without food, solidarity actions with the IdleNoMore aboriginal movement are growing throughout Canada and around the globe. In Winnipeg, demonstrators blocked the Trans Canada Highway. In freezing weather in Edmonton, protesters filled downtown streets. At least 1,000 people came out in
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Why does ArcelorMittal hate Bosnia?
Pollution, people and tombstones in Zenica. Owned by the Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal is the world’s largest steel producer—creating some 93 billion USD of revenue as of 2011. Granted, steel is an essential building block of the modern world yet ArcelorMittal’s obscene profit margins do raise the question of
Continue readingAnother Step to Take: Why those who liked The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard should be supporting First Nations rights, right now.
If you were one of the millions of people who watched The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard and you thought, “yes, we need to take action to reduce the destruction we are doing on this planet,” then one way to do that is to support the First Nations in their
Continue readingWalking Turcot Yards: Clay Lipsky – Atomic Overlook
Clay Lipsky – Atomic Overlook All this reminds me of Alex Colville’s painting, Pacific. This fellow has evolved to where he now occupies the potential last chapter of history where the only options are waiting and suicide. He is the typical postarctic human no longer required to take action or
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Mayans, the ecological crisis and the end of the world: a little sanity please
It seems like a lot of people are going to extremes with regards to the Mayan predictions – and I mean the skeptics as well as the fanatics. Some are dismissive of the Mayans altogether, while others are taking a very literal and grossly overly simplistic view, and thinking the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: #skndpldr Roundup
With official forums on hold until January but the holiday lull not quite yet here, Saskatchewan’s NDP leadership candidates have been fairly active over the last little while. So let’s take a look at the latest developments. – The latest fund-raising numbers are available here, and charted by Alice below:
Continue readingEclectic Lip: Prius: a Crystal Anniversary (15 years)
A few Prius-inclined websites noted last week that Dec 10, 2012 marked the 15th anniversary of the Prius’ introduction in Japan. With the Prius (temporarily?) becoming the world’s 3rd-best-selling car brand in 2012, the anniversary probably deserves some reflection. 🙂 > As near as I can figure, Malcolm Gladwell-type book
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Marc’s Letter from 2040
The following comes from a short talk on a vision for a zero-carbon BC that I gave at a couple events this Fall. Many have asked for the text so I’ve posted it here, and we may try and turn it into a video. That said, I have been reluctant
Continue readingwmtc: fighting for democracy in the courts and in the street: #idlenomore, democracy 24/7
I no longer see TV news, but I have it on good authority that if your primary news source is CBC’s The National, you haven’t been hearing about two important developing – and exciting – stories. Idle No More is a campaign led by First Nations peoples to fight back
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