Agrégateur de flux
A Lesson in Democracy from Brazil
Although I do not condone violence in any form, if you read the accompanying story you will see what happens when the citizens of a country feel strongly about something, in this case their opposition to the £10 billion being spent in preparation for the World Cup next year in Brazil. Can you imagine how our politicians would respond to such widespread expressions of discontent?
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The Scumbags in the Harper PMO Strike Again
Ever since I started blogging I have used the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch to illustrate Stephen Harper's PMO.
For nothing else can better portray the mixture of religious fanaticism and political degeneracy that reigns in that hellish place.
They have perverted our politics, they have violated our traditions, they are the foulest bullies this country has ever seen.
And just when you think they have emptied their bowels, they still keep on excreting.
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An Alleged Con Speaks About A Con
Thanks to Alison at Creekside for this and, of course, her ever-growing Harper's Parade of Perps.
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That fetus is doing WHAT?
As predicted, RAPEublicans can be funny about abortion, just not intentionally.
Get a load of this.
As the House of Representatives gears up for Tuesday’s debate on HR 1797, a bill that would outlaw virtually all abortions 20 weeks post fertilization, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) argued in favor of banning abortions even earlier in pregnancy because, he said, male fetuses that age were already, shall we say, spanking the monkey.
“Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful,” said Burgess, a former OB/GYN. “They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to believe that they could feel pain?”A former OB/GYN?
The jokes, as they say, just write themselves.
Get a load of this.
As the House of Representatives gears up for Tuesday’s debate on HR 1797, a bill that would outlaw virtually all abortions 20 weeks post fertilization, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) argued in favor of banning abortions even earlier in pregnancy because, he said, male fetuses that age were already, shall we say, spanking the monkey.
“Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful,” said Burgess, a former OB/GYN. “They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to believe that they could feel pain?”A former OB/GYN?
The jokes, as they say, just write themselves.
If you believe fetuses are babies, @LilaGraceRose, are you demanding that Rep @michaelcburgess be arrested for watching fetal boys wank
— Gen JC Christian (@JC_Christian) June 18, 2013If masturbation=rights, do we get more rights if we masturbate more? Asking for a friend.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) June 18, 2013
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Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- George Monbiot writes about the dangers of allowing wealthy and privileged individuals to speak as the voice of the poor and downtrodden:
As the UK chairs the G8 summit again, a campaign that Bono founded, with which Geldof works closely, appears to be whitewashing the G8's policies in Africa.
Last week I drew attention to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, launched in the US when it chaired the G8 meeting last year. The alliance is pushing African countries into agreements that allow foreign companies to grab their land, patent their seeds and monopolise their food markets. Ignoring the voices of their own people, six African governments have struck deals with companies such as Monsanto, Cargill, Dupont, Syngenta, Nestlé and Unilever, in return for promises of aid by the UK and other G8 nations.
A wide range of activists, both African and European, is furious about the New Alliance. But the ONE campaign, co-founded by Bono, stepped up to defend it. The article it wrote last week was remarkable in several respects: in its elision of the interests of African leaders and those of their people, in its exaggeration of the role of small African companies, but above all in failing even to mention the injustice at the heart of the New Alliance – its promotion of a new wave of land grabbing. My curiosity was piqued.
...
Bono claims to be "representing the poorest and most vulnerable people". But talking to a wide range of activists from both the poor and rich worlds since ONE published its article last week, I have heard the same complaint again and again: that Bono and others like him have seized the political space which might otherwise have been occupied by the Africans about whom they are talking. Because Bono is seen by world leaders as the representative of the poor, the poor are not invited to speak. This works very well for everyone – except them.
The ONE campaign looks to me like the sort of organisation that John le Carré or Robert Harris might have invented. It claims to work on behalf of the extremely poor. But its board is largely composed of multimillionaires, corporate aristocrats and US enforcers.- And Murray Dobbin likewise opines that progressive politics can't be oriented solely around formal party structures:
(T)he remnants of what were once robust and effective social movements are (with some important exceptions) increasingly weak, demoralized and isolated. Small wonder. The context for the creation of these single-issue movements was the early Trudeau era when governments actually listened to citizens' groups while expanding the social and economic role of governments. The efficacy of this kind of civil society organizing has however been in a steady decline since the signing of the FTA with the U.S. What is now needed is a broad social movement which incorporates all of the issues now dealt with by hundreds of disconnected organizations.
It all has to do with recovering community and the commons. The destruction of community has been the great success of the right. When Margaret Thatcher stated there was "no such thing as society" she was not describing current reality -- she was describing her goal. It has been largely achieved in English speaking developed countries. If we are to even begin to address our share of the global crises we will have to do it by creating a political culture that reinvents the commons and ends people's isolation from each other.- The Barrie Advance reveals one right-wing smear gone horribly wrong, as Stephen Harper's Prime Minister's Office is on the record using public resources to attack Justin Trudeau. And Susan Delacourt goes into detail about the Star's process in dealing with media manipulation.
- Margaret Flowers notes that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will serve largely to enshrine in an international treaty all kinds of corporate goodies which could never pass muster in a democratic process - which is why its contents are being kept secret until after they're binding on member states. But Stuart Trew points out one twist on the Cons' efforts to sell out Canadian interests abroad, as the constitutional duty to consult with First Nations seems to offer a rather promising basis for challenging treaties which exclude First Nations from the table.
- Finally, David Dayen discusses the lesson U.S. banks look to have learned from the 2008 financial crisis: that they can get away with large-scale fraud to access public money so long as they scare their employees into going along with the scheme.
- George Monbiot writes about the dangers of allowing wealthy and privileged individuals to speak as the voice of the poor and downtrodden:
As the UK chairs the G8 summit again, a campaign that Bono founded, with which Geldof works closely, appears to be whitewashing the G8's policies in Africa.
Last week I drew attention to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, launched in the US when it chaired the G8 meeting last year. The alliance is pushing African countries into agreements that allow foreign companies to grab their land, patent their seeds and monopolise their food markets. Ignoring the voices of their own people, six African governments have struck deals with companies such as Monsanto, Cargill, Dupont, Syngenta, Nestlé and Unilever, in return for promises of aid by the UK and other G8 nations.
A wide range of activists, both African and European, is furious about the New Alliance. But the ONE campaign, co-founded by Bono, stepped up to defend it. The article it wrote last week was remarkable in several respects: in its elision of the interests of African leaders and those of their people, in its exaggeration of the role of small African companies, but above all in failing even to mention the injustice at the heart of the New Alliance – its promotion of a new wave of land grabbing. My curiosity was piqued.
...
Bono claims to be "representing the poorest and most vulnerable people". But talking to a wide range of activists from both the poor and rich worlds since ONE published its article last week, I have heard the same complaint again and again: that Bono and others like him have seized the political space which might otherwise have been occupied by the Africans about whom they are talking. Because Bono is seen by world leaders as the representative of the poor, the poor are not invited to speak. This works very well for everyone – except them.
The ONE campaign looks to me like the sort of organisation that John le Carré or Robert Harris might have invented. It claims to work on behalf of the extremely poor. But its board is largely composed of multimillionaires, corporate aristocrats and US enforcers.- And Murray Dobbin likewise opines that progressive politics can't be oriented solely around formal party structures:
(T)he remnants of what were once robust and effective social movements are (with some important exceptions) increasingly weak, demoralized and isolated. Small wonder. The context for the creation of these single-issue movements was the early Trudeau era when governments actually listened to citizens' groups while expanding the social and economic role of governments. The efficacy of this kind of civil society organizing has however been in a steady decline since the signing of the FTA with the U.S. What is now needed is a broad social movement which incorporates all of the issues now dealt with by hundreds of disconnected organizations.
It all has to do with recovering community and the commons. The destruction of community has been the great success of the right. When Margaret Thatcher stated there was "no such thing as society" she was not describing current reality -- she was describing her goal. It has been largely achieved in English speaking developed countries. If we are to even begin to address our share of the global crises we will have to do it by creating a political culture that reinvents the commons and ends people's isolation from each other.- The Barrie Advance reveals one right-wing smear gone horribly wrong, as Stephen Harper's Prime Minister's Office is on the record using public resources to attack Justin Trudeau. And Susan Delacourt goes into detail about the Star's process in dealing with media manipulation.
- Margaret Flowers notes that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will serve largely to enshrine in an international treaty all kinds of corporate goodies which could never pass muster in a democratic process - which is why its contents are being kept secret until after they're binding on member states. But Stuart Trew points out one twist on the Cons' efforts to sell out Canadian interests abroad, as the constitutional duty to consult with First Nations seems to offer a rather promising basis for challenging treaties which exclude First Nations from the table.
- Finally, David Dayen discusses the lesson U.S. banks look to have learned from the 2008 financial crisis: that they can get away with large-scale fraud to access public money so long as they scare their employees into going along with the scheme.
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Nothing For Something
The Harper government has released ads touting its Canada Job Grants Program. The problem is that the program doesn't exist. Andrew Coyne writes in the Postmedia papers:
Ottawa proposes to foot only one-third of the cost of the grants; the remainder is contingent on the participation of the provinces and employers, which has yet to be negotiated.
What is more (less?), it appears some of the larger provinces may never sign on. Quebec has already signaled its outright refusal (but you knew that), while Ontario is promising to be difficult, at the least. A statement from the province’s minister of training released Monday complains the program, while potentially “a valuable tool,” would “force Ontario to re-direct funds currently geared to help the most vulnerable workers.”
The Harperites are intruding on provincial jurisdiction -- which is odd, because Stephen Harper says he believes in drawing clear lines between federal and provincial responsibilities. Coyne argues, if the Harperites truly believed in the program, they could fund their share -- something they did not do in the last budget.
No, what the government is doing is classic Harper strategy: selling nothing for something. The prime minister sold the country on accountability, but refused to give Kevin Page the information he needed to do his work. Ditto on Afghan prisoners and the prisons program. He claimed he was going to drain the swamp in Ottawa, and make the Senate more democratic. Then he gave us Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau.
What the Job Grant Program gives the government is another opportunity to shift the blame. If the program doesn't materialize, Mr. Harper will blame the provinces. And, most important of all, it allows Mr. Harper another opportunity to sell Canadians nothing for something -- the something being their own money.
Nothing for something. What a concept!
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James Moore and the Framing of Justin Trudeau
In the ghastly Orwellian circus that the Cons have turned our Parliament into, it was a wonderful moment.
There was James Moore, filling in for Stephen Harper, doing what he has been doing since Great Ugly Leader left for Europe in a hurry.
Answering every question by smearing the opposition.
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The smear is backfiring
Today's least surprising news story is that the nursing home foundation which sandbagged Justin Trudeau last week by complaining about how he owed them $20,000 has close ties to the Harper Cons.
Its pretty obvious what happened here -- the word went out from the PMO to the Con MPs "For heaven's or Harper's sake, please find something, anything, that we can smear Trudeau with so we can get Duffy off the front pages!"
So all of a sudden, Ottawa is buzzing about Trudeau's speaking fees. And Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall joined the chorus.
Trudeau initially gave the smear some legs by taking refuge in the "it wasn't me, it was the agency" excuse, and then the "it was perfectly legal" excuse before finally smartening up and declaring he would "make it right" for any charity who wanted to be reimbursed.
And today the smear is collapsing like a cheap suitcase:
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall had called on Trudeau on Friday to repay the money charged to the Literacy for Life conference, but a spokeswoman said the organization would not be asking for the money back.
“The conference met our objectives,” said Veronica Baker, a spokeswoman at Saskatoon Public Schools, which organized the event. “Mr. Trudeau was hired to speak as an education advocate, not as an MP.”
A spokesman for an Eastern Ontario Catholic school board that paid Trudeau $15,000 for a speech at a professional development conference in May 2010 also said it would not be asking for any money back.
“His speech was well received by those in attendance,” Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board director of education Jody DiRocco said in an email.
“Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board has not considered a request to be refunded for the speaking engagement.”
Its pretty obvious what happened here -- the word went out from the PMO to the Con MPs "For heaven's or Harper's sake, please find something, anything, that we can smear Trudeau with so we can get Duffy off the front pages!"
So all of a sudden, Ottawa is buzzing about Trudeau's speaking fees. And Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall joined the chorus.
Trudeau initially gave the smear some legs by taking refuge in the "it wasn't me, it was the agency" excuse, and then the "it was perfectly legal" excuse before finally smartening up and declaring he would "make it right" for any charity who wanted to be reimbursed.
And today the smear is collapsing like a cheap suitcase:
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall had called on Trudeau on Friday to repay the money charged to the Literacy for Life conference, but a spokeswoman said the organization would not be asking for the money back.
“The conference met our objectives,” said Veronica Baker, a spokeswoman at Saskatoon Public Schools, which organized the event. “Mr. Trudeau was hired to speak as an education advocate, not as an MP.”
A spokesman for an Eastern Ontario Catholic school board that paid Trudeau $15,000 for a speech at a professional development conference in May 2010 also said it would not be asking for any money back.
“His speech was well received by those in attendance,” Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board director of education Jody DiRocco said in an email.
“Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board has not considered a request to be refunded for the speaking engagement.”
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What The Harper Oil Enthusiasts Don't Want You To Think About
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Ethics, Shmethics: All Politicians are the Same (Not!)
You’ll have noticed how fixated the media is on the bright shiny object that is now-Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s speaking fees.
I can’t help but notice that during the time they’ve been fixated on that, one former Conservative candidate has been arrested on corruption charges and yet another sitting Conservative MP has been accused of stealing his election by exceeding his expense limit.
You’ll note that in one case, a backbench opposition MP did something legal, and in the other case, a backbench government MP did something that is (if true) clearly illegal.
I’m sure you’ll agree with me that the legal actions of Justin Trudeau are far more interesting and important than the illegal actions of government politicians.
Speaking of which, here’s my audition for being a real columnist: “leftist media liberal bias Trudeaumania-prone journalists blah blah blah.”
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Dear, Dear, Dear, Dear Me
Lordy, I see young Tim Hudak is hurling those sticks and stones again. Won't that boy ever try acting like a grown man?
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Oops . . .
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Harper's Parade of Perps with Perks #6
Bunch up everyone to make room for Steve's latest Perp with Perks, Saulie Zajdel.
Arrested today and facing five counts of corruption, breach of trust, and fraud from 2006 to 2011 in the anti-corruption sweep that also bagged the mayor of Montreal, Zajdel is better known to us as the guy who was put on the public payroll by Heritage Min James Moore for an alleged $60G's to act as the Cons' shadow pretend MP in Irving Cotler's riding after he lost to him in the 2011 election.
Here's Steve campaigning for Zajdel three days before Election Day.
After his election loss, Zajdel gave speeches in the riding, such as one advertised as : “How the Federal Government Relates to Israel.”
Steve and Saulie in happier times together in a photo op featuring brown paper bags - a prop usually avoided by the Cons after Brian Mulroney.
Photo h/t : Robert Jensen2
via Holly Stick in comments.
Previous Perps editions with bios.
.
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Hiding behind privilege
Parliamentary privilege is an important concept as it allows MPs to debate openly and without fear, however, as Dean Del Mastro's recent misuse of privilege demonstrates there needs to be some limits applied.
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Chicago's Busy Fathers' Day Weekend
Big Fathers' Day weekend in Chi-town. 46 people shot in under 72-hours. That's approaching Baghdad-level violence.
What do kids buy Dad for Fathers' Day in Chicago - ammo?
While mass shootings are more likely to attract the headlines — by ThinkProgress’ count there have been 14 since December — everyday gun violence in the U.S. adds up to a Newtown every single day (Slate counts more than 5,000 gun deaths since December).
Gun advocates tend to use Chicago to argue that gun violence laws are not effective. Chicago has some of the strictest laws in the nation — it had a ban on handguns until 2010 — but the city has long suffered from violence that is on an uptick the past two years. The total number of weekend’s shootings is actually slightly down compared to the same period last year, when 53 had been shot.
What do kids buy Dad for Fathers' Day in Chicago - ammo?
While mass shootings are more likely to attract the headlines — by ThinkProgress’ count there have been 14 since December — everyday gun violence in the U.S. adds up to a Newtown every single day (Slate counts more than 5,000 gun deaths since December).
Gun advocates tend to use Chicago to argue that gun violence laws are not effective. Chicago has some of the strictest laws in the nation — it had a ban on handguns until 2010 — but the city has long suffered from violence that is on an uptick the past two years. The total number of weekend’s shootings is actually slightly down compared to the same period last year, when 53 had been shot.
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And Speaking Of Contempt For Democracy ...
Does anyone remember this gem from 2011 when Mr. Harper essentially said that parliamentary democracy is of absolutely no consequence?
H/t Citizens Rallying To Unseat HarperRecommend this Post
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Have Canadians Won the Man-Powered Helicopter Challenge?
The Canadian team, AeroVelo, may have won the prize for the first, man-powered helicopter flight.
Here's the tweet they sent yesterday:
"Hit 3.3 metres & 65 sec on our flight. Submitted the flight to the American Helicopter Society; waiting for validation before commenting."
The competition requires helicopter flight, solely human-powered, to a height greater than 3-metres for a duration of 60-seconds. The helicopter has to remain within a small, 10-square metre area.
The winner takes the Sikorsky prize of $250,000. Here's the AeroVelo Atlas. The pilot is on the bicycle in the middle. It's impossible to see the structures that connect him to and drive the four rotors.
Here's the tweet they sent yesterday:
"Hit 3.3 metres & 65 sec on our flight. Submitted the flight to the American Helicopter Society; waiting for validation before commenting."
The competition requires helicopter flight, solely human-powered, to a height greater than 3-metres for a duration of 60-seconds. The helicopter has to remain within a small, 10-square metre area.
The winner takes the Sikorsky prize of $250,000. Here's the AeroVelo Atlas. The pilot is on the bicycle in the middle. It's impossible to see the structures that connect him to and drive the four rotors.
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Abortion? What a Riot!!!
Bloggers rejoice! What could possibly go wrong with the RAPEublicans' plan to make abortion funny.
“How do you make abortion funny?” That was a key question mulled at a major conservative gathering Friday on how to make social conservatism appealing to young people, after an election where Republicans got trounced in the battle for millennial voters (who are are moving even further and further away from the Christian-right on marriage and other issues).
Abortion has to be made funny, the thinking goes, because funny sells on social media, and that’s where one goes to court young people. “You can engage with sarcasm, it’s hard with the abortion issue, but you have to,” said Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins at a breakout panel at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington today on how to win millennial voters. “Unfortunately we have to, because this is the generation that we’ve been dealt.”If there's one thing conservatives cannot do, it's humour. And, as we know, the fetus fetishists among them are the most humour-impaired.
This is gonna be a gas. And not in the way they intend.
“How do you make abortion funny?” That was a key question mulled at a major conservative gathering Friday on how to make social conservatism appealing to young people, after an election where Republicans got trounced in the battle for millennial voters (who are are moving even further and further away from the Christian-right on marriage and other issues).
Abortion has to be made funny, the thinking goes, because funny sells on social media, and that’s where one goes to court young people. “You can engage with sarcasm, it’s hard with the abortion issue, but you have to,” said Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins at a breakout panel at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington today on how to win millennial voters. “Unfortunately we have to, because this is the generation that we’ve been dealt.”If there's one thing conservatives cannot do, it's humour. And, as we know, the fetus fetishists among them are the most humour-impaired.
This is gonna be a gas. And not in the way they intend.
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Out of This World - What Does Walt Natynczyk Have That Canada Needs for Space?
In my humble opinion, no Canadian general directly associated with the fiasco of our war in Afghanistan should be a candidate for government perks. That's certainly true for Rick Hiller who, by all accounts misled then prime minister Martin, into approving Canada's shoestring Kandahar combat caper. It should likewise hold true for the army general who succeeded Hillier and headed the armed forces for the past four years, Walt Natynczyk.
Afghanistan wasn't Walt's only failed war. He also led the 35,000 strong Multi-National Corps (Iraq) during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the disastrous Bush/Cheney/Blair conquest of Iraq that pretty much handed control of the region to Iran.
Harper has decided to reward Walt Nat for some reason by appointing a guy who has no aerospace credentials whatsoever the next head of the Canadian Space Agency. Walt Nat is a qualified paratrooper but I'm not sure that exactly qualifies him for the scientific aspects of space exploration.
Of course now that Harper is slashing funding for the Canadian Space Agency maybe what he was looking for was an undertaker.
Afghanistan wasn't Walt's only failed war. He also led the 35,000 strong Multi-National Corps (Iraq) during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the disastrous Bush/Cheney/Blair conquest of Iraq that pretty much handed control of the region to Iran.
Harper has decided to reward Walt Nat for some reason by appointing a guy who has no aerospace credentials whatsoever the next head of the Canadian Space Agency. Walt Nat is a qualified paratrooper but I'm not sure that exactly qualifies him for the scientific aspects of space exploration.
Of course now that Harper is slashing funding for the Canadian Space Agency maybe what he was looking for was an undertaker.
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