It’s very interesting to see the work that has gone into a possible compromise to deal with the competing demands around the Musqueam midden burial site. See below. Several weeks ago there was quite a contentious debate about what to do with the site from the Musqueam perspective and from
Continue readingTag: Imperialism
Akaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: TVO’s The Agenda: The Raj, the Reich, and the Good Fight – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
Gandhi and Bose were brothers in the hunger for justice, and both had followers who were willing to die for freedom rather than live as slaves. But one group was so blinded by passion for its cause, that it was willing to join hands with regimes whose very names have
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: TVO’s The Agenda: The Raj, the Reich, and the Good Fight – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
Gandhi and Bose were brothers in the hunger for justice, and both had followers who were willing to die for freedom rather than live as slaves. But one group was so blinded by passion for its cause, that it was willing to join hands with regimes whose very names have
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Case Against Canada’s Armed Forces
The audible “umph” heard across Canada last night was the sound of the Federal budget dropping. With all the subtlety of a Bison taking a dumb in your morning cereal, the Harper administration took another concerted effort at making Canada that much worse of a place. Suffice it to say,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Stop the Condo Development on the Musqueam Burial Site
What kind of racist government issues a permit for a condo developer to bulldoze a Musqueum burial site? BC’s government. I visited c̓əsnaʔəm, the 1338 SW Marine Drive site this morning and had a chance to talk with some of the demonstrators. I learned a number of important points in
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Politics, Re-Spun on The Rational on Co-op Radio, March 12 Lineup
Politics, Re-Spun is on The Rational on Coop Radio on Monday, March 12, 2012 from 6pm to 7pm with an intriguing lineup! Listen live online or at 102.7fm in the Vancouver area. Here’s the lineup: 1. Dylan Penner will talk with Stephen Elliott-Buckley about the Canadian Boat for Gaza: why,
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Kochtopus Cato Institute Power Grab: A Historical Perspective
Kochtopus-3_0.png A new chapter is being added to the ongoing Kochtopus saga. On March 1 the Washington Post, in a story sure to fill the airwaves for the weeks and months to come, revealed the Kochtopus is suing the Cato Institute for control of the recently deceased and former Cato Chairman William Niskanen's ownership share in the think-tank.
Continue readingRedBedHead: Arab Dictatorships Want To Kill Syrian Revolution
The first thing that has to be said is that the Syrian people are bravely resisting and suffering under – first and foremost – the brutal Syrian regime. But the second thing that must be added is that they are suffering a second misery, which is to be the pawns
Continue readingRedBedHead: Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Drops The "H-Bomb"
I’m not talking about that other H-bomb, the one that the US government dropped on innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No, I’m talking about Adolph Hitler, yes, that H-Bomb. Every time our leaders want to justify a war against another people they whip out the Hitler’s name. He is
Continue readingRedBedHead: Is America Worried Israel Is Gonna Go Ape Shit On Iran?
Apparently the US Defence Secretary Leo Panetta is very worried that Israel will attack Iran come March. Those Israelis just can’t control themselves in the face of Iran’s intransigence over their – admittedly non-military – nuclear program. I mean, what if, you know, Iran decided down the road to make
Continue readingRedBedHead: Syrian Revolution: Caught Between Repression & Imperialism
The first and foremost thing that must be said is that the people of Syria, who have resisted an utterly vicious military repression of their aspirations for nearly a year, are some of the bravest people on the planet. Day after day the government of the Assad dynasty find new
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: My Canada Does Not Include Militarizing Canada Day
I have a great deal of respect for Canadian Forces personnel. I have generally disagreed with virtually every one of their foreign deployments in my lifetime, but that is a criticism I make of our political leaders who order our forces to go here and there. I support our troops
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Day Three of Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons January 6-8, 2012 Vancouver/Burnaby All panelist biographies are here. Below are some lessons learned and observations from the sessions. Friday: The opening panel is recorded in the Twitter storify here. Saturday: My notes are here. Sunday: Opening Panel Radical Squares: Reflections on
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Day Two of Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons January 6-8, 2012 Vancouver/Burnaby All panelist biographies are here: Below are some lessons learned and observations from the sessions. Friday: The opening panel is recorded in the Twitter storify here. Saturday: Opening Panel A Global Tradition: History of the Commons Silvia Federici
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Opening Panel from the Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
This weekend I attended Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons community gathering in Vancouver and Burnaby, sponsored by these groups and people. The basic premise is not so much that capitalism is broken, and we just need to fix it, but that neoliberal market fundamentalism is inherently broken
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: A Happy Birthday for Haiti
So I’ve just turned 45. What a sweet age! Instead of asking people to only bring a quirky 45rpm record to my party next month, I’d rather give people an opportunity to donate money to the Canadian Red Cross for Haitian earthquake relief. As many of you know, the case
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Book Review: Suffled How it Gush: A North American Anarchist in the Balkans
“I think Hannah Arendt did say somewhere in The Origins of Totalitarianism that the thesis of the modern state is: ‘Everyone should die.’” –Suffled How it Gush (pg. 74) I have joked with my partner that I have a certain amount of angst regarding my future as any sort of
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Occupy #Attawapiskat, Phase Two
Clearly, the people living in Attawapiskat are existing in a crisis that represents Canada’s dysfunctional relationship with the first peoples. How can we truly “fix” Attawapiskat? By fixing the underlying broken relationship. Occupying #Attawapiskat in Twitter two weeks ago was a great start to engaging in serious improvements. Phase two
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Let’s Occupy #Attawapiskat in Twitter on December 7
I wrote a piece the other day on Attawapiskat, and how it enrages me. Not just the case in those communities, but how it’s representative of Canada’s largely racist relationship with first nations and, frankly, all “disposable” people. This, by the way, is an amazing piece with essential information about
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Oh, Canada? Our Home and Racist Land
Canadians’ racist neglect of our first people’s seems unshakable. We had Davis Inlet, and we didn’t wake up to any systemic problems. That was just a one off? And now Attawapiskat? Perhaps it was just a tragedy of homelessness that happened in the last few weeks, so we couldn’t expect
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