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Archive for Political Events
26 November 2011 at 4:10 pm · Filed under Organizing Thoughts (Occupy Edmonton), Political Events and tagged: global tv edmonton, occupy edmonton, occupy edmonton 27 november 2011 rally, occupy edmonton arrests, occupy edmonton general assembly, occupy edmonton phase 2
After early morning arrests on Friday, 25 November 2011 from the square at 102nd Street and Jasper Avenue in Edmonton, Occupy Edmonton got straight back to work. It held its first off-camp General Assembly last night, from 6:30 until 9, in the main cafeteria at Grant MacEwan University. We started by hearing what had been everyone’s favourite moment from the last 42 days. Somebody quipped that it was nice to see what everyone looked like in the light. We then got down to planning new Actions.
A reporter from Global TV Edmonton joined us saying Global really wants to be able to tell our story. Thank you, Global.
Of course, we’d prefer if everyone comes and helps make the story. Please join us tomorrow at Ezio Faraone Park, on the NW side of High Level Bridge, at 1p.m. for a rally in a park with a stunning view, then march with us over the High Level Bridge for our second off-camp assembly at the University of Alberta at 3 p.m.
13 April 2011 at 8:58 pm · Filed under Political Events, Rabble-Rousing and tagged: canada 2011 election, canada election blog, canada election commentary, canada election debate 2011, canada parliament, canadian democracy, democracy, harper canada, harper government, harper threat to democracy, ignatieff, liberal party of canada, michael ignatieff, parliamentary democracy, rep by pop, representation by population, stephen harper
Stephen Harper is a liar. We all know that. But we were treated to something of a surprise last night when we learned during the election debate (12 April 2011) that there is one lie to which even our Majestic Liar will not stoop. Confronted several times by Michael Ignatieff as a liar and control freak who threatens the very institutions and processes of democracy in Canada with his duplicity and disrespect for Canadians, not once did Harper make even the slightest effort to rebut the claim.
Earlier generations — you know, those generations that cared about things such as self-respect and honour — would have been aghast, and the ensuing political commentary would have cried down a political figure not decent enough to have sufficient dignity and self-respect to respond to a claim that strikes to the core of his reputation, and the essence of who he is as a man. But what did Harper do? Well, he didn’t so much as blush!
And what have our official political commentators being doing in the immediate aftermath: they have been declaring Harper’s performance last night “strong.” If that was strength we witnessed last night as Harper simply ignored the charges levelled at him, most powerfully by Ignatieff, the strength we witnessed was the strength of a shark, a wolf, a cobra — the strength of an inhuman creature who does not know what honour is, or what it means to be ashamed. That cool, contemptuous refusal to so much as acknowledge the challenge to him makes me agree, emphatically, with Ignatieff, and indeed applaud Ignatieff for saying something daring and true last night: in Harper we have a politician who ought to send shivers down all of our spines. Let’s not give him the chance to do it when (as Ignatieff suggested) he passes an omnibus crime bill in the first hundred days of a new term.
And if — God forbid! — Canadians are so foolish as to cast enough votes for the Conservative Party that Harper gets yet another chance at forming a government, let us all remember a little lesson he taught us last night. For amidst all of his evasions and his — yawn! — claims about his so-called successes, Stephen Harper performed a vital service for us all last night, by calling attention to something importantly wrong about our current electoral system. Harping on the fact that “the party that wins the most seats forms the government,” he reminded us that we are in the midst of the fourth election in seven years because our current system permits a minority party —a party not elected by the majority of Canadians and a party that has consistently dismissed, with contempt, the voices of our other elected representatives in Parliament — to form a government.
I am holding out hope that Canadians send a clear message on election day that they care about democracy, and are not going to let a Wolf drown out, with his baying at the moon on a single subject, the economy, the voices of those standing up for democracy. (The economy would have done just fine, by the way, for the last several years no matter who was at the helm.) But if we are not yet capable of standing up for democracy in this way, I hope we’ll all take careful note of his claim, for “the system” of which he is so proud, “the system” that keeps permitting him to form minority governments even when he has been found in contempt of Parliament, is a broken one. If he wins again, let’s get cracking on fixing the system that keeps making minority rule by a man of such dishonour possible. In the meantime, let’s be grateful that Ignatieff showed us last night that a Gentleman may be able to get sufficiently scrappy to help save us all from the Wolf.
Canada Election 2011: Liar, Liar (or the Man who could not Blush)
13 April 2011 at 8:58 pm · Filed under Political Events, Rabble-Rousing and tagged: canada 2011 election, canada election blog, canada election commentary, canada election debate 2011, canada parliament, canadian democracy, democracy, harper canada, harper government, harper threat to democracy, ignatieff, liberal party of canada, michael ignatieff, parliamentary democracy, rep by pop, representation by population, stephen harper
Stephen Harper is a liar. We all know that. But we were treated to something of a surprise last night when we learned during the election debate (12 April 2011) that there is one lie to which even our Majestic Liar will not stoop. Confronted several times by Michael Ignatieff as a liar and control freak who threatens the very institutions and processes of democracy in Canada with his duplicity and disrespect for Canadians, not once did Harper make even the slightest effort to rebut the claim.
Earlier generations — you know, those generations that cared about things such as self-respect and honour — would have been aghast, and the ensuing political commentary would have cried down a political figure not decent enough to have sufficient dignity and self-respect to respond to a claim that strikes to the core of his reputation, and the essence of who he is as a man. But what did Harper do? Well, he didn’t so much as blush!
And what have our official political commentators being doing in the immediate aftermath: they have been declaring Harper’s performance last night “strong.” If that was strength we witnessed last night as Harper simply ignored the charges levelled at him, most powerfully by Ignatieff, the strength we witnessed was the strength of a shark, a wolf, a cobra — the strength of an inhuman creature who does not know what honour is, or what it means to be ashamed. That cool, contemptuous refusal to so much as acknowledge the challenge to him makes me agree, emphatically, with Ignatieff, and indeed applaud Ignatieff for saying something daring and true last night: in Harper we have a politician who ought to send shivers down all of our spines. Let’s not give him the chance to do it when (as Ignatieff suggested) he passes an omnibus crime bill in the first hundred days of a new term.
And if — God forbid! — Canadians are so foolish as to cast enough votes for the Conservative Party that Harper gets yet another chance at forming a government, let us all remember a little lesson he taught us last night. For amidst all of his evasions and his — yawn! — claims about his so-called successes, Stephen Harper performed a vital service for us all last night, by calling attention to something importantly wrong about our current electoral system. Harping on the fact that “the party that wins the most seats forms the government,” he reminded us that we are in the midst of the fourth election in seven years because our current system permits a minority party —a party not elected by the majority of Canadians and a party that has consistently dismissed, with contempt, the voices of our other elected representatives in Parliament — to form a government.
I am holding out hope that Canadians send a clear message on election day that they care about democracy, and are not going to let a Wolf drown out, with his baying at the moon on a single subject, the economy, the voices of those standing up for democracy. (The economy would have done just fine, by the way, for the last several years no matter who was at the helm.) But if we are not yet capable of standing up for democracy in this way, I hope we’ll all take careful note of his claim, for “the system” of which he is so proud, “the system” that keeps permitting him to form minority governments even when he has been found in contempt of Parliament, is a broken one. If he wins again, let’s get cracking on fixing the system that keeps making minority rule by a man of such dishonour possible. In the meantime, let’s be grateful that Ignatieff showed us last night that a Gentleman may be able to get sufficiently scrappy to help save us all from the Wolf.
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