Meet Madi Lussier, one of the two witnesses from the Canadian Immigration Report or CIReport.ca, barred from speaking before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration earlier this week. Lussier and her fellow witness were invited to speak before the committee. Then they traveled all the way from Toronto to Ottawa to make the
Continue readingTag: Racism
Politics, Re-Spun: Musqueam Burial Ground Win Makes the Developer Look Brutally Ignorant
The provincial government has finally relented in its dignity-crushing stance of continuing to allow a developer to pursue building condos on top of a Musqueam burial ground. And while this change of provincial policy does not extend to a solution of land ownership, this is a critical first step to
Continue readingArt Threat: Why the Paul Frank powwow apology matters
The rise of fast fashion is unfortunate for many reasons: the proliferation of disposable clothing; the unethical sweatshop labour required to keep up with it; the additional motivations for teenagers to spend their weekends loitering in a mall trend-hunting; haul videos. But the issue in the spotlight this week has
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Fair Weather Friends: Western Reaction(s) to the Middle East Protests
The ongoing protests in the parts of the Middle East and North Africa, ostensibly in the wake of a Z-list anti-Islam film produced in the US, have elicited the same tired, hackneyed response on the part significant portions of Western audiences and commentators. “Savages,” the refrain has been, “uncivilized barbarians!”
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What Has Changed Since September 11, 2001?
What Has Changed Since September 11, 2001? W2 Media Cafe and Siraat invite you to a public forum on Monday, September 10, 2012, looking at Canada’s racist legacy, as we mark 11 years after the events of September 11, 2001. 7pm at 111 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. Invited Panellists: Kat
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Jason Warick reports on how the Cons’ decison to gut federal environmental assessments will have a particularly acute effect on Saskatchewan: The federal government has cancelled nearly 700 environmental assessments in Saskatchewan for oil wells and pipelines, sewage lagoons, hydro projects, a major
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Quebec on the Wrong Side of History – Secular Charter Exceptions.
Maybe we should update our preferred torture methods, hanging perhaps? Our society is progressing ever so slowly (and will continue to do so if we don’t let the corporations win, restore the 25% tax rate please). I often look to the politics and citizenry of Quebec for cues on progressive
Continue readingLeft Over: Justice vs Collective Guilt-What Else is New?
Today in the CBC online media is an article about the quick response to a racist joke or two that appeared in a Legion newsletter; the perpetrator was quickly dismissed from his ‘volunteer’ job on the newsletter after complaints about these offensive jokes regarding First Nations. Much pearl-clutching ensues, and everything
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: The Problem With Racists
Focus groups are good at focusing. If there is a strong racist voice in the group, they might start to focus on race. When I heard the news this morning mention the Bank of Canada changed the image of a woman on the $100 because she wasn’t white-bread enough, I
Continue readingLeDaro: Multiculturism vs. Redneck – $100 Bill Too Asian?
Redneck prevails. Martine Warren, a scientific advisor for the Bank of Canada has a close look at the bank’s new circulating $100 bill, Canada’s first polymer bank note, in Toronto on Monday Nov. 14, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette. “OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada purged the image of an
Continue readingLeft Over: Dis-honouring Our Homemade Monsters
Here’s a headline from CBC online today, talking about a sticker campaign to point out the hypocrisy of naming things after history’s deviates. In this case, the target is former Lieutenant Governor of BC Joseph Trutch..someone who purposefully practiced his evil on our First Nations people, for a start…. Sticker
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Microaggressions – The Shit White Girls say to Black Girls
I keep telling myself, “Arbourist, you need to post more stuff you write as opposed to other things gleaned from the net”. The problem is that the net has a lot of awesome on it that does it better than I. Consider Sociological Images. They present a concept, concisely explain
Continue readingUnderlooked Stephen Harper quotes P3. Neo-nazis and right-wing extremists
Part three of the underlooked Stephen Harper quotes from the leaked documents.Part one and two here. Neo-nazis and right-wing extremists. He [Stephen Harper] likens the current anti-racism climate to medieval hysteria over witch-craft. ‘We’re talking about fighting unseen enemies,’ he says. ‘It’s getting spooky.’16/04/2001 To provide context, this was commentary
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: WTF? Justin Bieber says Aboriginal peoples get free gas in Canada
That’s what the 18-year-old Canadian pop star has told Rolling Stone magazine. The trouble is: our over-produced, over-exposed, man-made spoiled brat claims to have Aboriginal roots. But you know who’s to blame for Bieber’s ignorance? Girls. That’s right. Rolling Stone believes Bieber is “ready to be a grown-up superstar, if
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Act of Valor, Redux
“Before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that other men stop seeing you as dangerous….Dangerousness was sacred.” Last night I watched Act of Valor. I liveblogged it so you don’t have to watch it. You’re welcome. First there was The Lottery, a dystopic tale
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: London Olympics 2012: What the racist Swiss soccer player said
By now, most of you are aware that a second athlete from Europe has been ejected from the London Olympics for racism. Swill soccer player Michel Morganella got the boot yesterday for posting a racist message on Twitter insulting South Koreans after his team lost 2-1 to South Korea. But most of
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s Official White Supremacist Portrait: PHOTO
Our Ford, the (Lord) Mayor of Toronto is rabidly right-wing. No doubt about that. After all, he recently proposed exiling Toronto’s convicted criminals, most of whom tend to be persons of color. Fellow Conservative and immigrant-bashing minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jason Kenney, endorsed the idea. Still, I would never
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Statistics Canada: Crime rate reached its lowest level in 40 years in 2011
The evidence on the crime rate in Canada is out! Statistics Canada reported yesterday that rate of crimes reported to Canadian police forces across the country reached its lowest level last year. The incidents of serious crimes also dropped. By six per cent. That’s for most offences, including attempted murders,
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Sunday Disservice – “Just say no to Polio Vaccinations, Love Allah”
Watch what happens when you mix broken foreign policy with religion… “One of Pakistan’s most influential clerics has renounced his support for polio immunisation, claiming that the programme is a cover for American spies.” Pakistan needs less of this particular brand of religious stupidity. The stupid is compounded by the
Continue readingRedBedHead: Mayor Ford Is Mad. Mean Mad. And, Oh Yeah, A Racist.
I’m mad, really mad! Mayor Ford wants to clarify his comments from the other day, following the tragic shooting in Scarborough. Here’s what he said at the time: Asked how he planned to force gangsters out of Toronto, Mr. Ford said: “I don’t know and that’s what I’m going to sit
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