Interesting article on Stop the War coalition site this week entitled Yes it’s true, the United States really is the greatest country in the world – but in what? The article includes stats and links to demonstrate that when it comes to “violence and preparations for violence” the USA is
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Sketchy Thoughts: Justice for Jennifer Laude
on the main Kersplebedeb website: http://ift.tt/1sRiLW7
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What I Am Thankful For
This weekend, I am thankful for folks in Seattle who know how to transform the imperialist Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples’ Day. May we all learn this for next year! “We are all citizens in a democracy, we are all here to work with each other, and by making this
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Harper, Militarism and the New Toonie
Harper continues to ignore, demean and disrespect soldiers while once again sending them into one of his neo-conservative “wars,” which is good for a PM heading into an election, needing to solidifying his base that loves him to kill the evildoers. But his long-term plan to militarize Canadian culture [Winnipeg
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: US Support of Fundamental Islam – The Alternative is Worse.
In the crazy fun house world of imperial politics nationalist regimes are less preferable than radical religious ones. Noam Chomsky and Andre Vltchek discuss the motivations of empire in the Middle East in this selection from the book: On Western Terrorism – From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare. “Noam Chomsky: “Anyhow,
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Obama’s Estonia claim that ‘Russia trying to reclaim lands lost in the 19th century’ funny and wrong
Since the crisis in Ukraine made the headlines Russia has been cast as the villain with predictable stereotypes and misconceptions about things Russian showing up on MSM. From a Russian perspective a lot of it must seem clueless, tiresome or outright offensive but such “insights” add to a tabloid narrative
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Middle East Backgrounder – Mission Accomplished…
The chickens of western colonialism are coming home to roost. Excerpt from “The Guns of August” – by Matthew Stevenson via Counterpunch “Doubts about the sincerity of Americans in Iraq probably began when President Ronald Reagan dispatched his former national security advisor Robert C. “Bud” McFarlane to Tehran in
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Welcome to the 1,000th Politics, Re-Spun Editorial!
Steve Harper, the greatest threat to Canadian security in the modern era. Happy August! Happy Day! I have a few comments about this, the 1,000th editorial at Politics, Re-Spun. But you can read them below, about my sabbatical plan, new visions for this almost 12-year-old website, and other things. But
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Israel: Rogue State
Why It Matters That Norman Finkelstein Just Got Arrested Outside the Israeli Consulate Israel has the right to defend itself. Arguably, so does every nation. Israel, however, gets a free pass for going well beyond defending itself. I’ll leave the West Bank alone right now. Gaza: Is an open-air prison,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: BC’s Deep Deep Racism, Shhhh!
Shhh, this is uncomfortable. It might make you ashamed. Hopefully it will anger you to action? First Nations burial grounds in BC have less protection than settler cemeteries. Along with desecration at a Musqueam burial site, someone is building their home on top of another burial ground on Grace Islet
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Occupy Movement Has Changed the Narrative, But We’re Not Done
Recently, with the WEF spending the last few years acknowledging global income inequality is a problem, I’ve declared a kind of victory for the Occupy Movement: getting the lexicon on the 1% and inequality on the tongues of the sly gazillionaires who rule the world, and into mass consumption. Now
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The 1% Has More Solidarity Than We Do
In Davos, the 1% rule the world. Literally. They also have the guns. The 1% are claiming we have it out for them; that if we don’t tone down the rhetoric and stop calling them names like “the contemptuous rich,” we might end up starting a class war. But they
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: My Deepest Apology to Stephen Harper, Military Genius
Yes? For years I have been openly mocking our prime minister. He believes he’s the combined reincarnation of General Douglas MacArthur and Winston Churchill, often touting things like the Canadian victory in the War of 1812, even though Canada wouldn’t exist for another 55 years. Pish posh. In reality, I
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Avoiding Another Imbroglio: A Mound Of Sound Guest Post
This note from the Mound of Sound accompanied the post that follows: Some of the course material I’ve been going through lately got me thinking about the conflicts raging in Syria and Iraq. I got thinking about them in the context of water and food security as well as climate
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How the Tsilhqot’in Land Title Ruling Can Help Kill Enbridge
Watch Pam Palmater’s response to the SCC ruling. Click above. Stephen Harper had about a week to enjoy the glory of his remarkably understated whispery notification that the Enbridge climate killing pipeline will proceed. Yesterday the Supreme Court shut down the prime minister, which they have a tendency to do
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: 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: 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: Calling For An Occupy Vancouver General Assembly
It’s now Friday, April 4, 2014. Greetings, world, the reboot of the Occupy Movement, the Worldwide #WaveOfAction [follow it live in Twitter here], has begun in a variety of places around the world! And it will last for 3 months while it evolves its next phase. But as it turns
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How the Conservative Government Dishonours the Military
So Canada is leaving its occupation of Afghanistan. I never liked the mission. I never liked the context. I never liked the propaganda. I never liked the transformation of some kind of Canada into this occupying Canada. 162 killed and 2,179 wounded? But here’s the very very hard question. Who
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