COPE 343 Continue to Fight For Justice

No justice, no peace. The fight continues...

Please watch until the end. The music stops, but pictures and text continues.

Support the Bloc

Uncorrected Proofs is wondering aloud if the Bloc accepts donations from those residing outside of Quebec. Of course, he wonders this because Blcoquiste incumbent Vivian Barbot will be in another gritty battle in her working-class Montreal area riding, as Justin Trudeau will be running for the Liberal Party. By all accounts, this progressive, labour-friendly feminist would be a far better MP for Papineau than lil' Trudeau.

If we consider ourselves to be left-wing and progressive, the choice of who we back in Papineau is pretty obvious. We cannot honestly claim to be progressive, left-wingers while not supporting Barbot in what will soon be her re-election bid. To support Barbot's re-election campaign, you'll want to send a cheque to one of the following places.

Bureau 325, Édifice Confédération
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Téléphone : 613 995-8872
Télécopieur : 613 995-9926
Courriel : barbov0@parl.gc.ca

177, rue Jean-Talon Est
Montréal, Québec H2R 1S8
Téléphone : 514 277-6020
Télécopieur : 514 277-3454
Courriel : barbov@parl.gc.ca

Meanwhile this blogger skews Proofs words, and is wondering if the NDP will bother to run a candidate in Papineau in light Trudeau's win. He seems to suggest that this would be a vindictive attack on Trudeau and the Liberals and help secure Barbot' re-election, but I'm not so sure it would. In fact, many anglo-federalists who vote NDP would likely support Trudeau instead of Barbot, so I don't think that the NDP deciding to run a candidate is of any benefit to Barbot. However, financial donations from people not living in Quebec would be hot hot hot (and helpful).

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to a fellow blogger and good friend. I hope Friday night was a good time.

Goodbye Stephen, Hello Steve

By now we all know that Canadian tax-payers are paying for Stephen Harper's personal stylist (although we're not being told how much), but Harper seems to be getting an image makeover from all over.

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams has taken to referring to the Prime Minister only as 'Steve.' While this is admittedly out of the same disdain that Williams claims the Prime Minister treats Newfoundlanders with, I think that Steve Harper has a much more rugged and youthful touch to it than what Stephen Harper does.

Some snazy general grooming, a chic wardrobe, and a new name would go a long way in making Harper seem cool.

Margaret Atwood vs. The Tories

Canadian literary powerhouse Margaret Atwood takes a strip off the Tories in this article. She is critical of their hesitancy to support the arts, as evidenced by various government spending cutbacks. Interestingly enough, perhaps adopting the language of monetarism and capitalism of the governing party, her rational for continuing to support the arts has more to do with the arts as a revenue generating mechanism than as an entity that provides knowledge and cultural enrichment.

"When selling artistic things abroad, that money comes into Canada and is taxed in Canada, so it’s a net gain for Canada," she said. "Would they like to guess how much Yann Martel’s novel The Life of Pi generated abroad? Would they like to know …how much my foreign editions bring in? Would they like to know how much [Canadian producer] Robert LePage generates abroad?"

Anyone Who's Anyone Reads...

...The Red Menace. It seems that I'm already listed as one of his comrades, so it's time I repay the favour and add him to my list. For some reason I have yet to do so. However, his blog is top-notch, so even I wasn't a comrade, the Red Menace would be a recommended read.

Edit: You may also want to check out Thought Interrupted. This blogger gave the ol' hat tip to the video I posted on abortion and Mexico's working-class women, which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Abortion in Mexico- EZLN Documentary

"The Other Campaign" was a movement spurred by the Zapatista Liberation Army that sought to unite progressive movements in Mexico for the purpose of change and social justice. In this clip from an ELZN documentary, a Mexican woman speaks about the need for women to have autonomy and control over their own bodies. She also makes a compelling argument about the barriers that working-class women face in the realm of abortion politics. Mexico City has just made abortion in the first-trimester legal (see previous post), and has recognized the barriers that the poor and working-class face by making the procedure free/affordable to those facing economic hardship.

"When we talk about rebellion, put the word abortion on the table."

Mexico City legalizes abortion

I normally don't focus much on Latin American politics, but this story caught my eye. Mexico City now joins Cuba and Guyana as the only places in all of Latin and Central America where abortion is legal. Furthermore, the procedure will be almost free for poor or uninsured city residents. While it is a step forward, we shouldn't get too excited.

Abortion will only be legal in the first-trimester, and women having an abortion after 12 weeks will face punishment of three to six months in jail, while those performing abortions after that period would face one to three years in jail. Various Catholic, right-wing, and anti-choice advocates also vow to take the case to court.

That being said, the left-dominated Mexico City legislature has made a wise choice in respecting a women's right to chose (well, for three months at least). As for this law's likelihood of heightening church-state tensions in the Roman Catholic nation, I can only say bring on the tension.

"Yes, we did it!" pro-choice advocates chanted at a monument to 19th-century anti-clerical reformer Benito Juarez in downtown Mexico City after the vote.

"I feel happy, because this is a step forward, not backward, for a woman's right and freedom to choose ... about her body and her life," said demonstrator Gabriela Cruz, 36.

"Decriminalizing abortion is a historic triumph, a triumph of the left," said city legislator Jorge Diaz Cuervo, a leftist social democrat who voted for the bill. "Today, there is a new atmosphere in this city. It is the atmosphere of freedom.''

Young Trudeau faces challenge in Papineau

The Montreal area riding of Papineau will hold its Liberal nomination meeting this Sunday night, and little Trudeau faces a significant challenge in this working-class riding, and he hasn't even been elected. Rumours have a common-front deal between is two opponents Mary Deros, a city councillor and community activist who has worked in the area for 20 years, and Basilio Giordano, a former city councillor and publisher of the local Italian-language newspaper in the making. The deal would see the two support one another in a bid to oust the bourgeois outsider who has parachuted into the riding.

"It's an anybody-but-Trudeau story," a local Liberal organizer told the Star. "The thing that will make the difference is the deal making." Trudeau said in an interview yesterday that he knows he has critics but that he has worked hard to build "street cred" in the urban riding by meeting with cultural groups and listening to their concerns.

"Street cred" or not, giving baby Trudeau the nod in Papineau is bad news in more than one way. Canada already has far too many Trudeau liberals in the parliament, and an actual Trudeau would make it even worse. Of course, the situation is made worse by the fact that the sitting MP in Papineau is Vivian Barbot, who would naturally lose her seat if Trudeau (or any Liberal) were to be elected. Aside from being my personal favorite MP in parliament, this Haitian immigrant is a member of SPQ Libre, the former vice president of the Quebec Federation of Women, and an activist for women's, cultural and labour issues. A Barbot defeat, by any candidate, is bad news.

Sadly, baby Trudeau can run on the coat tails of his father and tap into this romantic notion of Trudeaumania. But before we get weak in the knees thinking about P.E.T., let's not forget about the War Measures Act, wage and price controls, and the six-and-five program...

Hopefully this common-front opposition to Trudeau comes to be and Papineau Liberals defeat his nomination bid.

Which Side Are You On?

Dropkick Murphys- Live in Boston- 2001

Our father was a union man some day I'll be one too.
The bosses fired daddy what's our family gonna do?
Come all you good workers good news to you I'll tell
Of how the good old union has come in here to dwell.

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

My daddy was miner and I'm a miner's son
and I'll stick with the union 'til every battles done.

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

They say in Harlan County there are no neutrals there
you'll either be a union man or a thug for J.H. Blair

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

Oh workers can you stand it? Oh tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab or will you be a man?

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

Don't scab for the bosses don't listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven't got a chance unless we organize.

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

Abortion politics and working-class women

In 1988, abortion became a private choice between a woman and her doctor- which is exactly the way it should be. However, I'm a firm believer that we must go beyond protection of abortion services, and focus on their expansion. Case in point is New Brunswick, and its the subject of this excellent article written by Heather Mallick. While abortion may be legal, its a relatively moot if access cannot be had.

Anti-choice advocates are attacking not a woman's right to choose, but her ability to gain safe, timely, and publicly funded abortions. Sadly, they are in lockstep with the provincial government. The unfortunate victim of this attack on a woman's right to choose are working class women, who face various barriers should they decide to seek an abortion.

Since almost no New Brunswick hospitals perform abortions anyway, women must
discover their pregnancy very early, find a local doctor who'll refer them (difficult), and travel to a city to find another doctor to sign for them (expensive), and then book the operation (sometimes cancelled and impossible to rebook).

While these barriers affect all women, the time and money associated with the procedure is one that poses a more significant challenge for working-class women. This one, however, is going to the Supreme Court, as the Morgentaler Clinic has sued the provincial government. At the moment, the young premier's lawyers are arguing that since Henry Morgentaler is not a woman, he should have no standing in the case. That is perhaps the silliest argument I've heard, and one that I hope (and suspect) the Supreme Court will not side with.

Mallick concludes, and I agree, that:

Women are losing control over their own bodies, in Canada, in Britain and in the U.S. But the Canadian fight back begins in a courtroom in May. In the cabinet room of the New Brunswick Liberals, this could be put right with a mere signature. I shall now use the word "shame" appropriately. Shame on you, Premier Shawn Graham.

What remains of the British Empire...

I stumbled across this on the CBC. It's an examination (albeit a brief one) of what remains if the British Empire, along with various other colonies that are still part of Empire. Interestingly the article didn't mention the U.S.'s current imperial conquest in Iraq....

A certain friend of mine might appreciate going to sleep tonight knowing that Britannia still lives.

COPE 343 Strike Update

COPE Local 343 employees at First Ontario Credit Union in Hamilton have been on strike for six months. Yesterday, a handful of employees occupied the Mountain East branch, using a chain to padlock the doors shut. No customers, but a handful of managers were inside.

The 70 emplpyees have been on strike for six months over such issues as sick pay, benefits and language protecting full-time positions. Since the strike has lasted for six months, First Ontario can legally deny employment to the striking workers, although it claims it will not do that.

Don Fraser, president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council, was among those who occupied the branch, and was charged with obstructing police. The female employees were not arrested, though 'remain under investigation.'

Brenda Moulton, who worked in mortgage administration, broke down and cried. "The reason I did this is because I have four kids. I'm on strike. My husband lost his job. I had to do something. They have no idea what I'm going through."

Negotiations continue as we speak. Blog updates will continue as well.

WalMart hit with setback in anti-union campaign

WalMart has lost a bid to challenge the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board over a union effort to organize company stores in the province. The corporation hoped the Supreme Court of Canada would hear the case, as they argued the SLRB was biased against them.

While this doesn't mean that workers (potential UFCW Local 1400) members are any closer to having a certified bargaining agent, they are not any further back.

Andrew Coyne on Proportional Representation

While I disagree with this guy on pretty much everything else, his support for proportional representation earns him a thumbs up. At least one columnist in this country has some principle when it comes to electoral reform and democratic debate.

And just for that, I'm adding him to my 'Anyone Who's Anyone Reads' Column. Like I say, for 99% of the time I totally disagree with him, but he's provocative enough on most issues to warrant a read (and correct on this one to warrant a thumbs up).

Accident Waiting to Happen

I couldn't find a video of Billy Bragg singing it, so this living room cover will have to suffice. It's really the lyrical content that interests me....

Goodbye and good luck to all the rubbish that you've spoken
Goodbye and good luck to all the promises
you've broken
Your life has lost its dignity, its beauty and its passion
You're an accident waiting to happen

Ummmm, yep. I couldn't have put it better if I tried.

Popular Liberal Blogger Jim Curran Arrested

No, sadly it wasn't Liberal blogger Jason Cherniak, but James Curran (a.k.a 'The What Do I Know Grit') was arrested yesterday afternoon at his Portage Road real estate office in Niagara Falls, Ontario and charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000. However, Cherniak is reminding us that the Charter presumes innocence until guilt is proven. He doesn't tell us why he has specifically chosen to commemorate section 11 d) of the Charter, but it seems pretty obvious.

While Curran is indeed innocent until proven guilty, he has already dropped out of the running for the Liberal Party nomination (of which he was to be acclaimed) "for the sake of my family, the party and our members. Curran is also the president of the Niagara Falls Federal Liberal Riding Association. His blog has been taken down.

However, I'm not surprised that Curran is in trouble. He has been a trainwreck waiting to happen for some time. With rubbish like this, this, and this, it was only time before the train skipped of the tracks.

A response to anti-choice advocates

In response to a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court (see previous post), I've decided to post this. Either make abortions legal and accesible, or this is what will happen.

U.S. Supreme Court Restricts Abortion

Not a surprising decision, considering Bush has been stockpiling the Supreme Court with social conservatives. This, of course, is bad news for anyone remotely progressive, as well as women, whose inherent right to choose is under attack.

A unified secular school system

Horst Klaus of the Niagara Secular Humanists has written this excellent letter to the editor on the need for a unified secular school system in Ontario. He also explains the role that religious educational would/should play in such a system.

Such a system is one that I fully support, and one that this blogger is praying for (err...hoping for).

For anyone who thinks government is a neutral entity...

You're wrong. Once again a government comes down on the side of capital instead of on the side of labour.

"This bill appears to be intended to pave the way for CN Rail to attack our rights," UTU vice-president John Armstrong said in a statement released after the vote. "They want to break up our bargaining unit in order to weaken the workers' ability to stop management from pushing older workers out of the way and manipulating work rules and schedules at workers' expense."

The outlook of the above quote, however, is correct.

David Miller leaves the NDP

As someone interested in intra-party and inter-party relations, as well as intra-governmental and inter-governmental relations, I found the following to be of interest. Mayor David Miller, a former card carrying New Democrat, has left the party, although he maintains that he still supports the party's social democratic philosophy.

"There are very critical inter-governmental issues for the City of Toronto, and I don't want to be in a position where people could accuse me of being partisan. I haven't been. But I want it to be very clear I'm not. My role as mayor inter-governmentally is far too important right now...But there are provincial and federal elections coming up, and provincial and federal politicians become exceptionally partisan during elections. And given it's such a critical time right now for Toronto I don't want to be accused of it."

Miller is clear- and correct- on one thing. Optics. This move will lead to few- if any- substantive results for Torontonians, but it looks much better for Miller. However, history has shown us that party affiliations have little impact on inter-governmental relationships, at least between the federal and provincial governments. I'm curious to see how these relationships at the municipal level effect political discourse. As the municipalities become more visible and powerful entities, partisanship might possibly play a bigger role.

Liberals continue to hijack electoral reform

It first began with the Liberals establishing a 60% 'super majority' threshold for the referendum to pass, and the they've now decided that cabinet- and cabinet only- will create the wording of the question that will appear on the ballot. While Democratic Renewal Minister Marie Bountrogianni has stated that the question"...will be simple, clear, concise," and that the premier has told her, " if [your] mother can’t understand it, we’re not doing it," it seems to me that the process is flawed- or at the very least the optics are flawed- when the governing party sets the terms of the referendum question on democratic renewal.

I believe that an all-party legislative committee or a non-partisan outsider would be better equipped to draw up the question. While this does not guarantee that they question will be more fair, I think that the optics of fairness are much improved. However, I would suggest that all-party consensus or the advice of a neutral, non-partisan outsider would be an improvement to cabinet. After all, this referendum is about democracy and not elite control!

Commemorating the Charter....

This week marks the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the Conservative government isn't doing much commemorating, which driving this dude crazy. He complains that "We're celebrating the 25th anniversary this week and they don't want to have anything to do about it. It's just kind of shocking."

The Daily Dissidence would like to commemorate the Charter, but mainly for what it failed to provide to working-class Canadians, including:

- the right to collective bargaining
- the right to strike
- the right to a job
- the right to a living wage

The Charter is also a failure for failing to guarantee the signature of Quebec, leaving a major void in the country's constitution. After brokering a deal behind this man's back, Chretien shouldn't be doing much celebrating. And for the Charter's failure to provide substantive positive rights to Canadians, we shouldn't be doing much celebrating either.

A letter to Rene Levesque

After the most recent national election in Quebec, I think that this song (sadly) rings true more than ever. Until the next time....

Stephan Dion on corruption

Jean Chretien, I mean Stephane 'Beaker' Dion, sets the record straight.

Electoral Reform in Ontario

For once, Ian Urquhart doesn't crap all over proportional representation, but he hardly endorses it. At least he's talking about it, which is more than what I can say about other media sources. He's definitely correct about one thing though...

Now comes the hard part, however: selling the assembly's recommendation to the public in a referendum this fall. And the Liberal government at Queen's Park, which created the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, has made that task even harder by requiring a "super majority" (60 per cent) for the measure to pass.

Stephane Dion: What a Bonehead

Linwood Barclay has written this satirical column about Stephane Dion's decision not to run a Liberal candidate as to give Green Party Elizabeth May a better chance to defeat Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay (ha!). It looks like Dion's actions have inspired others....

- Discount retailer Costco has decided to close its operation in Ontario, so as to let Hank's Dry Goods of Omemee crush the province's Wal-Marts.

- Toyota is pulling out of the province of Manitoba to give Kia a chance at toppling Honda.

- Global TV says it is going to block out its own programming in several markets, including Vancouver, Toronto, and Halifax, to give CPAC, the parliamentary channel, the nudge it needs to topple CTV.

- Tim Hortons, conceding that it has a respectable share of the double-double market, is closing its outlets in Mississauga to allow Biff's Catering Wagon ("Where the Elite Meet to Eat") to put a dent in Starbucks' business. Instead of hitting just construction sites all day, Biff plans to do slow trolls through such places as Port Credit, drawing customers out of trendy coffee shops. He's also pledging to fix the hinges on the truck's "awning" so there are no more unfortunate broken-neck mishaps.

- Finally, the National Post is pulling its freebie copies out of car repair shops so that Muffler Monthly can stick it to the Post's arch enemy, the Globe and Mail.

Way to go Stephane. We couldn't have done better!

Ontario Electoral Reform: Referendum this Fall

Ontarians will be voting in a referendum this fall to decide the fate of the province's electoral system. By a margin of 94-8 (with one missing member), the Ontario Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform has endorsed the mixed-member proportionality system.

While it is not, in my opinion, the best choice, it is a much improved system compared to the current (yet outdated) single-member plurality system. As such, it definitely deserves our support.

Sadly, in an illustration of elite control, the Liberal Party has set the bar artificially high. For the referendum to pass, it will need at a 60 per cent majority, with more than 50 per cent of ballots needing to be cast in at least 64 ridings. Interestingly enough, the Liberals were elected to a false majority government with only 46.4% of the vote. Talk about hypocrisy.

Troops out of Afghanistan

For the most part, Thomas Walkom got it right. Let's hope that the Tories and war-hawk Liberals get it right too and get Canadian forces out of Afghanistan.

Canada's current fighting role in Afghanistan cannot be sustained. The reasons are not military. They are political. The death of eight soldiers this week underlies this stark fact....NATO military efforts are serving only to further alienate the people we are supposed to be helping.

"Green Insanity" Looms

Buzz Hargrove vs. Hippies (and opportunistic politicians).

The upcoming elections are fuelling a lot of rhetoric as politicians try to "out green" one another, Hargrove said, adding that "Politicians are running with it now because Canadians are saying it's a key issue in the upcoming election and it just infuriates me."

It infuriates me too. Not that I have a problem with the environment, but until manufacturing is regulated, little will be done as far as substantive imprpovements to the environment are concerned. We can yell at people driving SUVs all we'd like adn tax them to death (death of the auto industry that is), but the problem itself lays with industry. However, industry cannot be regulated until we have fair trade. If industry is excessively regulated in Ontario/Canada vis-a-vis other jurisdictions, they will simply pack up and move elsewhere. Thus, we first need to establish fair trade before we can target regulating industry.

It infuriates me even more that, for the most part, these so-called Green politicians are just pragmatic and couldn't give a damn about the environment. However, they 'care' only because it gets them votes.

Meanwhile, "We stand to lose 150,000 jobs in our auto industry if the insanity of this environmental movement is allowed to continue," in addition to the 333,000 jobs that have been lost in the last four years.

Batman says 'NO' to abortion!

A few friends and I had a brief debate about superheroes. One friend said that he liked Batman, and others quicky reminded him that Batman was a bit too bourgeoisie. However, after watching this, Batman gets major bonus points for mocking these anti-choice protestors.

AFSCME Local 3299- In Action

This union illustrates that they don't take shit from nobody.

LIUNA vs. CAW

The gloves are off in this grudge match.

Take a look at this LIUNA ad, attacking Hargrove and the CAW for supporting the new Canadian Construction Workers Union.

The ad has appeared in many newspapers, especially in areas with CAW locals. I first saw it in the St. Catharines Standard, my hometown paper, which is home to CAW locals 199 and 676.

Yet another challenge for the Ontario NDP- Buzz Hargrove

Premier Dalton McGuinty is scheduled to speak to the Canadian Auto Workers council at the union's conference centre in Port Elgin, and is the first Ontario premier to do so (not even Bob Rae spoke there). This could potentially be disastrous for the Ontario NDP, as the CAW executive, once staunchly pro-NDP, has become much more pragmatic over the past few years, and a formal endorsement for the Liberals isn't too far out of the realm of possibility. Part of the problem is Howard Hampton, a leader who the CAW has never really warmed up to (and for good reason). Additionally, giving Hargove the old heave ho' from the party certainly did little to help steer the relationship between the NDP and the CAW in a positive direction.

Asked this week whether he could see himself sharing a platform with McGuinty during the election campaign, Hargrove responded: "Of course," adding, "He (McGuinty) is the only political leader in the province or in the country who understands the importance of the manufacturing sector, especially the auto industry."

You can read Ian Urquahrt's column here, but I think it paints too rosy of a picture for the dippers, but does provide some analysis (especially of the Windsor ridings).

For example, he states "There is, of course, no guarantee that Hargrove's views will translate into rank-and-file support for the Liberals in the provincial election. Many CAW members remain card-carrying New Democrats as individuals, notwithstanding their union's departure from the fold, and past loyalties die hard."

Are you kidding me Ian? The exact opposite is true. Years and years of CAW support for the NDP has done little in terms of member support translating into seats, save a few industrial area ridings. The biggest benefit the NDP has recieved has been paid CAW staff working for the party and numerous other volunteers, which they now don't recieve as a result of giving Hargrove the boot. However, many, perhaps even most CAW members don't vote NDP anyways. For example my riding, St. Catharines, has never been won by an NDP (not even in 1990), despite the fact we have a CAW local which, in its hayday had well over 6 000 members working at GM alone. Local 199 still remains strong (having organized other workplaces) and is still one of the CAW locals still formally affiliated with the NDP. That being said, institutional links between the NDP and CAW have not always translated into seats. In fact, one of the reasons why Hargrove began to question the CAW-NDP alliance was fueled by the fact that most autoworkers don't support the NDP ('let's be honest with where we're at' Hargrove stated at the 2002 CLC convention).

A CAW endorsement of the Liberals is potentially disastrous for the NDP. A lot of CAW members vote Liberal anyways, but a formal endorsement by Buzz certainly wouldn't hurt the Liberals.

Ontario NDP to face yet another challenge- Glen Murray

According to recent reports, former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray will be running for the Ontario Liberals in the next provincial election. It has also been reported that they are targetting one of the four Toronto area ridings currently held by the NDP. All of this has yet to be confirmed by Murray, but he recently moved to Toronto and ran (unsuccessfully) for the Liberals federally in 2006, so it wouldn't be much of a surprise.

This is not good news for New Democrats. Three of the four ridings have been won in by-elections (all from Liberals), so we're not talking about solid orange territory here. Murray is also seen as a left-leaning progressive by many, which also hurts NDP chances. Yet, the Star claims that unseating the NDP won't be all that easy.

However, I've said it before, and I'll say it again...If the NDP can't distinguish itself from left-leaning liberals, Greens, and other so-called 'progressives,' the party is in trouble.

The Hypocrisy of War

Fifteen British soliders have recently been banned from speaking to the media for a price regarding their kidnapping in Iran.

Officials banned further paid interviews as critics complained that the
fees, reportedly as high as six figures, were unseemly and a slap at families of
military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.The appearance of the first
paid interviews also brought new criticism that the 15 crew members yielded too
easily to Iranian pressure to make confessions and apologies. Some worried the
crew's actions revealed a loss of Britain's famed "stiff upper lip" in tough
times."The sailors and marines held in Iran have been so compliant and have
already said so much that they have caused excruciating embarrassment to many
people in this country," a retired colonel, Bob Stewart, wrote in The Times
newspaper.

Nothing says freedom quite like muzzling the truth and someone's ability to speak. You'd hate for citizens to hear from the soliders about the realities of war, instead of hearing rhetoric from government spinsters about how great is it and how the good guys are winning. Sometimes the truth hurts, in which case authoritarian governments are forced to clamp down.

Aren't soliders supposedly fighting for liberty and freedom? Good thing they're afforded that same right at home. I guess that whole line about freedom was just a farce.

The NDP- Dirty, Filthy Communists

Vist MondoPolitico to read this hilarious (albeit serious) critique of the NDP. The mission statement of MondoPolitico is "Your government may the most expensive thing you'll ever purchase. Let MondoPolitico help you compare before you buy," so it is pretty clear what the ideological foundation of the web-site is. The following is a sample of what the web-site says about the NDP....


In short, the NDP believes that equality can be attained by controlling the production and distribution of goods in Canada, and by government ownership. Like the Communist Party of Canada, it opposes profit and supports government ownership of capital (it calls government ownership "social ownership", which has a friendlier ring to it). A critique of the NDP's economic model is in order...The phrase used by economists to describe government control of the production and distribution of goods is "central planning". It should be noted that the quintessential and most thoroughly centrally planned economy in history is arguably the Soviet Union (the USSR), whose economy collapsed. Chief among the well respected economists who have argued that central planning cannot succeed, even in theory, are Ludwig von Mises (see his book entitled "Socialism") and Friedrich von Hayek's famous "The Road to Serfdom".

If only it were true. Too bad social democracy and the 'third way' has caught most dippers like wildfire.

Labour and Management sitting in a tree...

By 2012? Shit, Americans needed health care long ago.

And why is labour working with management? I firmly believe that all citizens need health care, but unions working in a parntership with corporations such as Wal-Mart is a sad sight. If Wal-Mart wants to fight for health care (so it can continue to justify paying its workers poverty wages), fine, but labour should be running their own campaign.

The CEO Hunter

Let's hope that he doesn't fall victim to what he hunts in the same way Steve Irwin did.

Oh, and what was with the lament about the loss of CEOs who were moving to other countries? And what was with letting him go after he was caught? Perhaps Jimmy is already falling victim.

Tory Attack Ad

If only Bob Rae had won the Liberal leadership race, this would have been a great attack ad. However, you could just as easily replace Rae's face with Dion's.

Electoral Reform in Ontario

The Ontario Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform has recently voted to back the mixed-member plurality system. Sadly voting reform gets little to no media attention.

In one of the few columns on the issue, Ian Urquhart notes,

"While hardly anyone is paying attention, we are well on our way to a radical overhaul of our electoral system – one with a potentially wide range of consequences, foreseeable and unforeseeable, good and bad."

I'm a bit less skeptical than Urquhart, and I believe that the good definitely outweighs the bad. Furthermore, even under First Past the Post, nothing is entirely foreseeable. That being said, while I support MMP, I'd much rather see a Single Transferable Vote (+) system put into place. But then again, anything is better than the current system.

However, the ultra-undemocratic super majority imposed by the governing Liberals will be a major hurdle to jump. Good thing the government has poured so much money into educating voters on electoral reform....oh wait....never mind that last point, they haven't.

Another union commercial...

'Proud to serve you' vs. ' We don't take shit from nobody.'

Personally, I like it old school.

Best Union Commercial Ever

This union don't take shit from nobody....and they fuckin' work for you!