December 2011
15 posts
2 tags
The End of the Second Period: The NDP Leadership...
So while Canadians sit around the table and contemplate good cheer and the year that passed us by, I’ve got my eyes firmly fixed to the NDP leadership race. Save your pity. This race is fun to watch. The sheer number of contenders is always enjoyable, albeit frustrating at times. Even with Robert Chisholm’s dropping-out this past week, eight fighters still remain. That’s a whole lot of...
Dec 25th
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And Then There Were Eight.
  Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press Well, the over-sized pack of painfully polite wolves has shrunk by a factor of one. Robert evidently saw the francophone writing on the wall and knew his campaign would never survive past the next french debate. That was a smart move. But one has to wonder exactly what Robert left behind. No doubt, some of the long-shot candidates entered the race as a...
Dec 22nd
1 tag
Harper Punishes UNESCO By Appointing Jean-Pierre...
Photo: Radio-Canada Good news, everyone! Harper has finalized the appointment for Jean-Pierre ‘I Hate Veterans’ Blackburn to the Palestinian-loving UN arts and culture body, UNESCO. It doesn’t take a genius to put this one together. Blackburn, a defeated MP who has no experience with education, arts or culture, is headed to sit on a body simply because the Harper government...
Dec 20th
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EthicalOil Boycotts Bananas, Canada Collectively...
Yes, really. I’ve written before about Ethical Oil and their magical campaign against logic. Now, with Alykhan Velshi departed for a cushy job in the Prime Minister’s office and new-kid-on-the-block Kathryn Marshall has taken the reigns. Marshall, according to her LinkedIn, has also worked for the Conservative government from time-to-time. She’s also worked for the right-wing...
Dec 18th
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The First NDP Leadership Poll
So the National Post buried the lede a bit and embedded the results of our first NDP leadership poll in a story about Paul Dewar. I mean, it’s sort of a non-poll, given that it’s a paltry sample size of 300 people who voted NDP in the last election. So, statistically, seven of those respondents are actually members. Not exactly representative. But, like any good pundit, I will...
Dec 17th
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No, The Solution To Attawapiskat Isn't Fucking...
via APTN Under the guise of this horrifying crisis in Attawapiskat, some of the Tories see an opportunity to ‘fix’ the reserve system. The reforms would allow for private property within the communal system of the reserves. The only significant change, it seems, is that it would allow the home-owners to mortgage them homes, gain equity and, best of all, put them up as collateral on...
Dec 15th
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Cynical Polls, Cotler Folds, Scheer Scolds
MITCHEL RAPHAEL, Maclean’s So today Speaker Scheer ruled that phone calls that have flooded Montreal Grit Irwin Cotler’s riding were not a breach of his parliamentary privilege and did not impede his work as an MP. Good. Honestly, this shtick has gone far enough. Cotler has a right to be angry about these calls. He, however, should stop wasting the House’s time with this. ...
Dec 13th
2 tags
On Head-Coverings, Hijabs and Hysterics; Another...
So the news breaks this week that Jason Kenney wants to force all people (read: Muslim women) to show their face during citizenship ceremonies. The reason given is that the Citizenship and Immigration officials need to see the soon-to-be-Canadians actually saying the oath.  Does that sound stupid to you? It is. I’ve never taken an oath where I’ve actually paid attention to what I...
Dec 13th
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Laurin Liu and the Durban Climate Change...
In April, Laurin Liu wasn’t expecting to go to Ottawa. In May, she wasn’t expecting to go to South Africa. But on election night, Liu was elected as the New Democrat MP for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. She joined four other McGill students in the House of Commons. And now, as deputy critic on the Environment, Liu is in Durban, South Africa for the most recent round of climate change negotiations. ...
Dec 10th
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Pinkwashing Foreign Aid and Updates From Durban!
I’ve got a new story up on the fantastic Gaily on Obama’s new directives for tying queer rights to foreign aid, check it out… Forget Black, Are Gays The New Afghani Women? The Pinkification of American Foreign Aid Good news, oppressed queens and dykes of the world, Barack Obama is coming to the rescue! Yessir, the Hope Man has announced that he’ll be prioritizing foreign aid...
Dec 8th
5 tags
NDP Leadership Debate Roundup
Just dumping two links here,  One from my Rabble.ca post-debate round-up. Any dreariness in the piece is due to; having to watch 9 people violently agree with each other, and from having to write the entire thing on the bus ride home. Not much [o]omph at the NDP leadership debate The next phase of the New Democratic leadership race limped out of the starting gate Sunday afternoon in Ottawa. ...
Dec 7th
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The Slogan War - A Bitter New Democrat Bloodsport.
Andrew Vaughn/The Canadian Press Canadian Leadership. Travaillons Ensemble. Those are some damn good slogans. Whoever replaces Jack has got to be capable of crafting an equally brilliant two-word platform. Robert Chisholm - A Real Leader. Ryan Taplin/Metro News In a stunningly creative move, Chisholm has gone for ‘A Real Leader’ - finally calling out all the other phony...
Dec 5th
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NDP Leadership Debate #1: Inequality!...
Photo: Chris Zacchia at www.forgetthebox.net The great Canadian left-wing Jack Layton memorial competition euphoria broke out of its hibernation this afternoon, and into the bold new world of niceties, talking points and pleasant agreement on everything. That’s right, the first installation of the oh-my-god-there-are-at-least-five-more-of-these debates came (and went) with a wimper this...
Dec 5th
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Debate Season: Complete With Bread Analogies!
The 9-headed pack of social democratic do-gooders is set to take the stage this afternoon for tea, crumpets and debates about monetary policy and trade relationships. Aside from the Macy’s Day Parade, this’ll be the most fun sunday afternoon all year. So what should we be expecting from the candidates? Thomas Mulcair The anointed front-runner that never was, Mulcair is going to...
Dec 4th
Ladies?
It was not long ago that I was lamenting about the over-saturation of straight, white dudes competing to lead the NDP. Yes, in those olden times, it seemed like Taxman Topp and THOMAS MULCAIR (proper syntax is to angrily yell his name) had this all sewn up. But this is December. The times they are a changin’. The world is a different place.  Niki Ashton - New Politics This young...
Dec 2nd