Italy’s state-owned railway Trenitalia has decided to replace first and second class on its high speed trains with four categories – executive, business, premium and standard. The move by Trenitalia raised a few eyebrows because the passengers in fourth-class are so obviously at the bottom-end of the passenger pecking order…
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Drive-by Planet: Trenitalia: new ad criticized as ‘racist’
Italy’s state-owned railway Trenitalia has decided to replace first and second class on its high speed trains with four categories – executive, business, premium and standard. The move by Trenitalia raised a few eyebrows because the passengers in fourth-class are so obviously at the bottom-end of the passenger pecking order…
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: The Left and Ron Paul
There is an ongoing debate amoung the left on how to view Ron Paul. Should we like him or hate him, support him or reject him? The fundamental distinction in my mind is between viewing Ron Paul as sometimes useful in the propagation of certain ideas in the larger political discussion, and between finding Ron
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Racism is So Over…
When you tell someone they are being too sensitive…or they should just suck it up or you just dismiss what they are saying; you’re probably in the wrong. You and your privilege need to stand down, stop and think before you continue. Filed under: Social Science Tagged: Examine your
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 readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Reform Party Has Come Full Circle With Attacks on Quebec and First Nations
More than two decades ago, when the Reform Party was organizing, several protest groups formed to try to keep this group from gaining influence in Canada. It was well known that they were xenophobic, homophobic, misogynist and just plain weird. For the most part the media ignored them as just
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: ‘A pervasive culture of discriminatory bias’ – the justice model for Canada’s loony right
One of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies leads a prisoner, arrested for his shaky command of the English language, toward the chain gang. Racist and abusive Arizona police may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: “America’s toughest sheriff” hisself. Never forget that the Edmonton Sun, apparently a goodly portion of its
Continue readingWelcome to Harperland
How we embraced hate. I was watching the CBC News this morning, Suhana Meharchand was the host. Talking about Attawapiskat, she interviewed NDP/MP Charlie Angus. Hostilely, she asked him, “What would you do if you were Minister? Throw money at the problem?” His reply showed unflappable professionalism, indicating that he
Continue readingcmkl: Well it was redneck hot button day today, wasn’t it
First there was this. Combining flag waving patriotism with Islamophobia and use it to take a stab at “the other”. The Globe item has 1779 comments on it. I’m going to guess that a new dawn of cross cultural understanding is not rising there.
Continue readingA Cynical and Dangerous Game
The creation of enemies both at home and abroad during bad economic times is nothing new and that the Harper Conservatives would resort to this most dangerous of tactics is indeed no surprise. Governments have favoured it throughout time because it gives people who are justifiably angry an outlet with
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 readingShame on Canada! Shame on us all!
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan tells an outright lie in this chance encounter on the stairs at the CBC. As if that is not bad enough, the Minister goes on to blame the MP for that area, Charlie Angus, for not informing him of the issue! Those who follow politics,
Continue readingResources re: Attawapiskat
Trying to sort through the muck the HarperCons are spinning around the humanitarian crisis on the Attawapiskat First Nation and First Nations communities across the country? Well, here are two important resources. The first is a blog, âpihtawikosisân, in which the writer unravels the HarperCons’ racist spin, including a breakdown of
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
Continue readingRush Limbaugh: Michelle Obama booed at NASCAR for being ‘uppity’
You have to hand it to right-wing blowhards like Rush Limbaugh. They are not afraid to come right out and say racist things, PC be damned. After all to Rush (and Shaidle and Levant etc.) they are the ones who are the actual victims of racism at the hands of
Continue readingRight wing once again boos military. This time it’s Nascar.
Nascar has a nasty – and deserved – reputation for being a collection of racist rednecks. They’re the stuff of the old south, where ignorance and bliss arrive at the sound of a car engine going fast. You may remember not so long ago when several drivers refused an invitation
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Conservative Entitlement Whinge – Oh how the wealthy suffer!
Tim Wise has many things to say on the topic of racism in America. His analysis is deft and competent, I reprint the introduction to his essay “Getting What We Deserve? Wealth, Race and Entitlement in America” for the benefit of the education of my readership. Educational purposes aside, many
Continue readinggay persons of color: Video: Unhate Campaign – The Film, from Benetton
Just watch. .
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Equality and Education
We live in a society that now ostensibly accepts equality and egalitarianism as a normative moral basis for our society. Not just the founding principles of classical liberalism with equal rights to speech, association, religion, and the like, but a…
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