A free-for-all push-and-punch fest broke out in the Ukrainian parliament this week when a communist leader, Pyotr Symonenko, blamed the nationalists for dividing the nation and aggravating tensions in the south-east. He said the seizure of buildings in Donetsk, Kharkov and Lugansk follows a precedent set when government buildings were
Continue readingTag: nationalism
drive-by planet: Ultra-nationalists and fascist thugs – tools of imperialist designs in Ukraine
The protests in the Ukraine that began last November in Kiev’s Independence Square – the Maidan – were staged to protest president Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to back out of a plan to join a trade agreement with the EU, in preference for joining the Eurasian Customs Union. As with most
Continue readingwmtc: government destruction of environmental archives: the harper govt’s war on facts marches on
At year’s end, The Tyee reported that a memo – marked “secret” and first reported on OCanada.com – cast grave doubts on the Harper Government’s claim that environmental archives were destroyed only after they had been preserved digitally. In other words, the memo proves what progressive and concerned Canadians have long
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: How not to promote immigration #nlpoli
The provincial Conservatives currently running the place have finally discovered what pretty well everyone else in government knew 20 years ago. The population is getting older, on average. That’s not good for a whole bunch of reasons. They decided to create something called a population growth strategy, which is supposed
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Imaginary Nation #nlpoli
Look at the shelves in any bookstore around town these days and you will likely see endless copies of Greg Malone’s book Don’t tell the Newfoundlanders. The piles of books show that few people are actually interested in Malone’s malarkey. Well, very few people beyond the crowd who – like
Continue readingwmtc: rtod
Revolutionary thought of the day: This war is murder, this conquest is robbery… If this war be called patriotism then blessed be treason. Clarence Darrow, 1898, on the Spanish-American war
Continue readingwmtc: boston, pakistan, terrorism, and perspective
From “A Tale of Two Terrorisms“ In the midst of tragedy, it’s hard to talk about perspective. My niece lives in Boston, a short walking distance from where the bombs went off. She was on the spot less than an hour before the explosions. And, having lived in New York
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: America’s Dangerous Hyper-Nationalism
We’re Number One, We’re Number One! No you’re bloody well not, no you’re bloody well not! The United States is many things but it’s not the greatest country in the world. It has a chequered past and a chequered present. Yet from mainstreet Hicksville, Arkansas to Capital Hill, Washington,
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Some Thoughts on Politics, Myth, and Identity #nlpoli
Your humble e-scribbler saw a couple of comments last week that said the NDP town hall on Muskrat Falls was a good argument against having a referendum on the megaproject. Some people were quite badly misinformed, so the commentary went, not just…
Continue readingwmtc: remembrance day: all the victims of war, not just the ones who did the killing
Richard Jackson:I would wear a red poppy if it was a symbol of remembrance for all the victims of war, and not just the ones who did the killing. By excluding the non-military victims of war from remembrance, the red poppy upholds a moral hierarchy of …
Continue readingcmkl: Museum of Civilization rebranding. Nope. Don’t like this one bit
Now it’s to be called the Canadian Museum of History. And the Harper government dangled $24 million in front of the museum management to make the change and they went for it. Don’t like it one bit. Nope.
Continue readingFive of Five: Karaoke Nationalism
Lips Karaoke Calgary, on 10th St SW made the news by putting up a sign which translates as:
"Diaoyu Island belongs to China. Japanese are not welcome."
I’ve been there a couple of times. What they probably don’t realize is that the average Calgarian won’t want to go there if they are displaying this kind of hostility to their fellow Canadians. It’s really a bad business move.
The thing
Continue readingFive of Five: Karaoke Nationalism
Lips Karaoke Calgary, on 10th St SW made the news by putting up a sign which translates as: “Diaoyu Island belongs to China. Japanese are not welcome.” I’ve been there a couple of times. What they probably don’t realize is that the average Calgarian won’t want to go there if
Continue readingTrashy's World: Rona and Lowes
I’m more than a little worried about Rona being taken over by the American retail giant, Lowes. I deliberately shop at Rona for my building and repair supplies- after my local Home Hardware default shop – Because. It. Is. Canadian. Laugh all you want. Tell me that I’m a dinosaur
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Harper Determined to Erase Pierre Trudeau From Public Consciousness
No doubt, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are determined to create a Canadian nationalism that is both socially conservative and loyal to the British Empire. Their key strategy is to radically revise history and suppress certain moments that do not identify with past Conservative leaders. This penchant for naked revisionism
Continue readingwmtc: olympics. not.
The 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics kick off today, with Opening Ceremonies that are supposed to be completely over-the-top. With a £27 million price tag ($42.5 million Canadian) for those three hours alone, they ought to be. We’re told that one billion people worldwide will watch the Opening Ceremonies. I
Continue readingwmtc: hedges: what happened to canada? (corporations have no borders)
Chris Hedges: What happened to Canada? It used to be the country we would flee to if life in the United States became unpalatable. No nuclear weapons. No huge military-industrial complex. Universal health care. Funding for the arts. A good record on the environment. But that was the old Canada.
Continue readingwmtc: the iron lady was an enemy of the people and should not be celebrated as a hero
This week, the movie “The Iron Lady” opens, a big-budget biopic starring Meryl Streep as former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. No technical or directorial skills, nor the inevitable genius of Streep’s performance, could justify my seeing this movie. Its very existence as a myth-making celebration of a dangerous, war-mongering,
Continue readingwmtc: chris hedges: we are what we loathe
Although the big 9/11 anniversary was weeks ago, Chris Hedges’ observations are relevant every day. This is a truly excellent piece. This excerpt is not the lede. The beginning of this essay may be triggering for some, as Hedges was at the World Trade …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Chris Hedges on the Aftermath of 9/11
I refused to watch any of yesterday’s ceremonies honouring those who were killed 10 years ago in New York. I refused, not out of disrespect for those who lost their lives and for all who still suffer tremendously as a result of that horrible attack. …
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