Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Human rights violations] Detroit's decision to turn off water to residents in arrears, at a rate of 3,000 residents per week, in the middle of summer is a human rights violation. It doesn't take the United Nations weighing in to recognize that, but they have. And now the Council of Canadians is stepping in to fight the turnoffs, because "our water is their water." This is an absolute fucking disgrace. The US is an absurdly wealthy country, and no one should have to go without water. No one.
[CN: Racism] A float featuring an outhouse labeled "Obama Presidential Library" won an award in a Fourth of July parade in Norfolk, Nebraska, over the weekend. Parade committee member Rick Konopasek defended the float and wants to know: "So should we deny the 95% of those that liked it their rights just for the 5% of people who are upset?" 1. Yes. 2. There is no guaranteed "right" to enjoy racist parade floats, dipshit.
[CN: Guns; violence] Chicago had another weekend of alarming gun violence, during which "at least 11 people were killed and 60 others wounded citywide." I strongly recommend checking out @Karnythia's TL for important commentary on violence (and the surrounding politics) in Chicago.
[CN: Terrorism; violence] Nigeria's military has claimed it killed "53 fighters from the armed group Boko Haram when it repelled an attack on a military base in the northeast Nigerian town of Damboa. A statement from defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade added that five soldiers and a senior military officer had also been killed in an exchange of fire Friday night. The military often reports high casualty figures for the rebels and relatively low ones on its own side. It is usually not possible to verify these reports independently." This ongoing battle with Boko Haram is just devastating for the region. In related news, the 200+ abducted girls still remain in Boko Haram's possession.
[CN: War on agency; misogyny] Dreading this big time: "The US Supreme Court will decide next term whether the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) requires an employer to provide workplace accommodations to pregnant employees if that employer also provides comparable accommodations to non-pregnant employees who become temporarily unable to perform their jobs without the accommodation."
[CN: Clergy abuse] Pope Francis met with survivors of Catholic clergy sex abuse in order to ask for forgiveness and promise accountability. Some survivors groups are rightly questioning whether this is just another publicity stunt from the Pope who, mere months ago, was still defensively quantifying how few priests have committed sex abuse.
[CN: Fat bias; misogyny] Andi Zeisler's review of Melissa McCarthy's new film Tammy is terrific: "Tammy Is Not a Great Film—But It Is a Radical One." I haven't seen the film yet, but I find it very interesting, ahem, that the complaints McCarthy is doing "the same character" have only arisen now that she's doing that character as a co-lead with an older and further aged woman (Susan Sarandon), instead of a beautiful thin woman (Sandra Bullock in The Heat) or a handsome thin man (Jason Bateman in Identity Thief). It's like suddenly time to criticize her when she's saying LOOK RIGHT AT ME. That's no coincidence.
Ten percent of USians are totally disengaged from politics: "Overall, 10% of Americans are what we call Bystanders, or the politically disengaged, according to Pew Research Center's Political Typology report. None of this cohort say they're registered to vote, and none say they follow government and public affairs most of the time (this compares with 48% of Americans overall). Virtually all of this group (96%) say they've never contributed money to a candidate running for public office." One part of me feels like how can anyone be so disengaged from politics when politics affects everything, and one part of me feels like I can't fucking blame them, lolsob.
Pink Floyd will be releasing its first album in 20 years later this year. Neat!
[CN: Fire; injury] Firefighter Major Kyle Durham adopted a badly injured puppy he rescued from a fire. All the blubs forever.
And finally: This USB Keyboard Will Bring Back the Nostalgic Clicks of a Vintage Typewriter. WANT!!!
In the News
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Colonialism.]
"It only took 150 years, but we look forward to a much brighter future. ...I didn't think it would be so definitive. I was actually prepared for something much less. It's not very often that I'm without words, and I'm quite overwhelmed at the moment."—Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, on the Supreme Court of Canada's decision today to grant "declaration of aboriginal title to more than 1,700 square kilometres of land in British Columbia to the Tsilhqot'in First Nation, the first time the court has made such a ruling regarding aboriginal land."
In addition to establishing "what title means, including the right to the benefits associated with the land, and the right to use it, enjoy it and profit from it," the decision "places a greater burden on governments to justify economic development on aboriginal land."
Additionally, Vancouver's city council has unanimously voted "to acknowledge that the city is on unceded Aboriginal territory. ...'Underlying all other truths spoken during the Year of Reconciliation is the truth that the modern city of Vancouver was founded on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations and that these territories were never ceded through treaty, war or surrender,' reads part of the motion from the city."
It is terrible that such an acknowledgment should be remarkable, but so it is. Let it be the first of many such acknowledgments, in Canada and the US.
[H/T for the first link to Shaker Aphra via email and Shaker Annafel in comments, and for the second link to Jonathan Lavallee on Twitter.]
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Guns; shooting; death] Another man has gone on a shooting spree in Seattle at Seattle Pacific University, leaving four people injured and one dead. "A lone gunman armed with a shotgun opened fire Thursday in a building at Seattle Pacific University, wounding multiple people before a student subdued him with pepper spray as he tried to reload, police said. The 26-year-old gunman, Aaron Ybarra, was obsessed with the Columbine High School shootings and had even traveled to the Colorado site where two student gunmen killed 15 and injured another 21 fellow students in April 1999, police sources told KIRO 7."
[CN: Guns; shooting; death] And in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, Justin Bourque, 24, has been arrested after going on a shooting spree in which three RCMP officers were killed and two others were wounded.
I don't even know what to say anymore. My condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the victims, and I hope the survivors of these incidents have the support and resources that they need.
[CN: Carcerality; armed robbery] In a case reminiscent of that of Cornealious Michael Anderson's, Colorado man Rene Lima-Marin was set free via a court error, after serving 10 years of what was erroneously marked as a 16-year sentence for armed robbery (with an unloaded gun, in which no one was hurt), and has now been returned to prison to finish a 98-year-sentence. Lima-Martin had a perfect record while serving time, and, in the intervening years, has committed no crime, has gotten married and had kids, and lived an upstanding life. His case "was aggressively prosecuted under a program call COP (chronic offender program) that's no longer in use." Get this guy outta there. For fuck's sake.
[CN: Misogyny] OMG: The Utah high school who altered female students' yearbook photos to make them "more modest" allowed male students to appear bare-chested and revealing their underpants in a section headlined: "Wasatch Stud Life: Studs doin' what studs do best!" Because of course they did.
[CN: Surveillance] Welp: Vodafone reveals existence of secret wires that allow state surveillance. Neat!
[CN: Misogyny; rape culture] It continues to be a real mystery why Republicans aren't connecting with a majority of female voters: Three Michigan state Republican lawmakers, all of whom "voted to approve a controversial provision dubbed 'rape insurance' that bars private insurers from covering almost all abortions," posed for a photo in which they're holding women's fashion magazines, captioned, "Don't say we don't understand women."
[CN: Misogyny; victim-blaming; slut-shaming; reproductive coercion; choice policing] This lady has some great advice for young women on how to find a husband. And by "great advice," I mean terrible, terrible advice. Deeply contemptuous advice. Horrendous advice.
[VIDEO] This baby goat IS NOT wimpy, and don't even try to tell hir that zie is!
Stephen Harper's War On Environmental Science
You know, there's nothing like trashing a huge library of material on environmental science when you want to say, 'I am very serious about good government!'
The Harper government has dismantled one of the world's top aquatic and fishery libraries as part of its agenda to reduce government as well as limit the role of environmental science in policy decision-making.Last week the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is closing five of its seven libraries, allowed scientists, consultants and members of the public to scavenge through what remained of Eric Marshall Library belonging to the Freshwater Institute at the University of Manitoba.
One woman showed up to pick up Christmas gifts for a son interested in environmental science. Other material went into dumpsters. Consultants walked home with piles of "grey material" such as 30-year-old reports on Arctic gas drilling.
Nearly 40,000 books and papers were relocated to a federal library in Sidney, B.C.
"It was a world class library with some of the finest environmental science and freshwater book collections in the world. It was certainly the best in Canada, but it's no more," said Burt Ayles, a 68-year-old retired research scientist and former regional director general for freshwaters in central Canada and the Arctic.
Sweet Jesus, I hate Stephen Harper.
He's the perfect face of modern conservatism. He grew up benefiting from the vast investments made in Canadian science, culture, education, health, environmental conservation and social security during the 1960s and 1970s. And then he's made it his lifelong work to tear it all down. I swear that someday dictionaries will list "Harper Government" as a synonym for the phrase "trash the joint."
I mean, don't get me wrong. I bet "Fuck YOU, Just Society!" sounded great when shouted at undergraduate parties after vast amounts of beer had been consumed. But it's a shitty basis for policy decisions.
[ETA: H/t to ST.]
Update on Aboriginal People's Rights and Anti-Fracking in New Brunswick
[CN: racism, colonialism, police violence. Video link in first para includes brief images of armed police, and of a woman showing bruises received from police.]
A judge refused an indefinite injunction against protestors at Rexton, NB Monday, dashing the hopes of SWN and the government of New Brunswick that the demonstrations could be permanently blocked. It is a significant victory:
“We were crying in the courtroom,” said Susan Levi-Peters, former chief of Elsipogtog. “It’s been a long fight.”She said that although the injunction has been lifted and SWN has removed their equipment, the encampment will leave when seismic testing stops.
“Everybody said, as long as there’s no testing done, we’re not going to protest,” said Levi-Peters. “If the testing continues and there’s no dialogue or anything like that then we’ll probably be standing at the picket line again.”
Sacred Fire New Brunswick has a first-person account of Monday’s courtroom here. An excerpt:
While waiting in court for the proceedings to begin, we chatted with the sheriff. He seemed like a really nice guy, so we asked if we could sing. He said sure, as long as it wasn’t too loud, as to bother the other court sessions going on on the same floor. We sang the Mother Earth Song. The sheriff said we should take it on the road and sooth some of the uprising in prisons, because it was such a soothing song. Once that proceeding was over (held over) we quickly headed to the swn court room.The swn court room was packed. The same sheriff came in, and said “if you guys want to sing in this room too, it’s okay with me” and we sang the Strong Woman Song. It was beautiful.
The swn lawyer looked defeated. Judge Rideout didn’t read his entire decision, but quickly said the injunction was denied, and people could read his entire decision later. Copies were made available.
The swn lawyer rode the elevator with two women who were talking about the love in the room. He asked “do you still love me?” and they gave him a hug, and told him he still had time to come over to our side. Priceless!
@Stimulator has more from the courtroom on Twitter.
SWN has removed their equipment from the site. Meanwhile, 9 of those arrested are still in jail, awaiting bail hearings today and tomorrow.
The Assembly of First Nations Chiefs called for New Brunswick to suspend the permits granted to SWN. A petition against further RCMP violence has reached 20,000 signatures as of this morning. Solidarity protests have continued across Canada. A very few: in Nova Scotia at the102; in Corner Brook, Newfoundland; in Montreal. If you are looking for a way to show support, Idle No More has suggestions.
Although he’s only Tweeting infrequently, it may be of interest that actor Tahmoh Penikett (Continuum, Man of Steel, Bomb Girls, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, etc) (@tahmohPenikett), whose mother is from the White River First Nation, has tweeted his support. (If anyone knows of other internationally-known First Nations actors/performers/figures who are supporting this cause, feel free to leave that information in comments.)
The CBC has some legal background here. The key point: although the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet nations signed treaties with the British in 1760 and 1761, they did so as sovereign nations who did not surrender their land, but rather granted permission for the British to settle it. A variety of hard-fought court decisions have confirmed this principle and its implications:
Rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada and lower courts have established a duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal people when development is considered on their land, even non-reserve traditional lands. Since the mid-'80s, aboriginal groups have recorded 186 victories in lawsuits over resource development, a 90 per cent success rate.
Over at the Guardian, Martin Lukacs reminds us that the images of burning cars were always a distraction from the real motives behind last week’s raid:
There is only one reason the police were unleashed. Not because of the New Brunswick Premier's claims about the dangers of an "armed encampment"; protestors had been unswervingly non-violent for months. Ever since 2010, when New Brunswick handed out 1.4 million hectares of land – one-seventh of the province – to shale gas exploration, opposition had been mounting. Petitions, town hall meetings, marches on legislature had slowly transformed to civil disobedience, and in October, to the blockade of equipment that Texan SNW Resources was using for seismic testing. The company was losing $60,000 daily, and the non-violent defiance had put a wrinkle in the Premier's plans for a resource boom. The blockade had to go.
By the way, those “violent” Native people? Voluntarily removed the burned-out cars using shovels and a tow truck. “ ‘I took it on my own personally, just being a good neighbour to the people of Rexton, NB.,’ said [Chief Arron] Sock.”
Please feel free to leave your own news, links, and teaspooning opportunities in the comments. This is an ongoing situation. As always, make sure to include the appropriate content notes and respect the safe space; wishes of violence against any person are never welcomed here.
#Oct7ProClaim I Stand With Idle No More
Today, October 7, is a Day of Action for the Idle No More movement:
The Idle No More movement has plans for over 63 protests and actions across Canada today, with solidarity events expected in over 12 countries....Idle No More began a year ago with an email exchange between four women in Saskatchewan, growing very quickly into one of the biggest protest movements Canada has seen in years. Idle No More uses social media as a key organizing tool, as it has for today's events.
Oct. 7 was chosen because that's the date 250 years ago that King George III signed the Royal Proclamation, which, in its concluding paragraphs, sets out policy for the Crown's relationship with the "nations or tribes of Indians" and the lands "reserved to them."
A "purpose of Idle No More was to reinvent the relationship between indigenous peoples and Canada," movement activist Niigaan Sinclair told CBC News.
Idle No More also formed to oppose federal legislation they see as further eroding treaty and indigenous rights, and to push for emergency situations at some First Nations communities to be stabilized.
The Day of Action also coincides with the arrival of UN fact-finder James Anaya in Canada, as he takes stock of Aboriginal rights. His visit comes in the midst of Mi'kmaq protests against fracking, of outrage at the Harper government's continued indifference to violence against Aboriginal Women, and ongoing barriers to basics basics like clean drinking water, education, and health care.
If you have not already made plans to support Idle No More and wish to do so, here are some possibilities:
You can find events across Canada, as well as in the U.S.A., the U.K., India, and Croatia here.
You can follow Idle No More on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow Idle No More News on Twitter.
You can Tweet or Facebook your support with the hashtag #Oct7ProClaim.
You can read the Idle No More website for news, networking resources, a donation link, and much more, including a history of the movement.
If you are participating in the Day of Action, feel free to share your teaspooning in the comments below. If you have suggestions for other resources, feel free to leave those as well.
Rape, the Academy, and "Chants Misogynistic"
[Content note: rape, rape culture, suicide, hazing]
Last Thursday, news broke about a pro-rape chant performed during frosh week at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The chant, which has been in circulation since at least 2009, celebrates the SMU men who "like them young"; in the process of spelling out "young," the chant includes lines like "U is for underage" and "N is for no consent."
There are many problematic issues to address in this story. The fact that many media outlets, including CBC, are referring in their headlines to this as an "underage sex" reference, rather than to rape. (Nope!) The fact that a nearly identical pro-rape chant also surfaced at the University of British Columbia's frosh week, where students were told that the chant was fine, as long as it was kept out of the public eye. (Nope!) The fact that the defenders of these chants still think, in the year 2013, that rape is hilarious. (Nope!)
As an academic, however, what troubles me most is the apparent inability of the chant-defenders to draw the connections between the song they're defending and actual rapes. With the gang rape, and subsequent suicide, of Rehtaeh Parsons. With Steubenville and Richmond. With the appalling facts of university rape, where 1 in 5 women (perhaps as many as 1 in 4) will experience rape or attempted rape during their time as undergraduate students. With surveys that find six percent of college men will openly admit to rape or attempted rape. (Some studies report even more appalling statistics.) In short, I am deeply concerned that academic culture, dedicated to learning and thought, is still addressing rape culture so ineffectively.
In response to the chant, Saint Mary's professor Dr. Peter Twohig addressed the wider social context of this incident on Twitter and in his classroom, on the very first day of class. (Full disclosure: Peter is a friend; I have previously posted links to his humor blog, Weird Shit in Historic Newspapers, in this space.) In a blog post at Atlantic Canada Studies, he described his attempts to help students make those connections, and called the frosh week songs part of the larger "chants misogynistic" our society employs against women and girls:
The chant misogynistic was not the product of a few individual "student leaders" (and I am using the term lightly), although I am personally glad to see them go. There were lots of people participating and I am sure many of them regret this. But in the aftermath of the chant misogynistic, I still heard students defending it as no big deal, funny, or harmless. We could choose to vilify these students. We could say, as some have, that it was simply "stupid students behaving in a stupid fashion." Or we could instead ask why university-calibre students lack the consciousness to think about what they are saying, to understand the power of their words and the harm that they could do.(The whole thing is worth a read.)The chant misogynistic is the product of a culture that routinely objectifies and denigrates women and children, that tolerates violence against women, and is ambivalent about women's equality. Until that changes, the chant misogynistic will go on -- maybe not on a football field in the heart of a university campus -- but it will continue to be whispered.
Saint Mary's President Colin Dodds has announced the formation of a a task force on the problem of sexual violence on the SMU campus. I believe he is honest in his efforts, and I sincerely hope the task force is effective. It would be wonderful if St. Mary's led the way in addressing a problem that many other schools have consistently fumbled. It would be nice if St. Mary's could show Princeton how it's done. But based on the rather dismal record of North American universities in aggregate, I cannot be optimistic. And that is a problem.
Because if universities – places where, in theory, thoughtfulness and learning are encouraged — cannot meaningfully challenge the culture of sexual assault, then where else can we expect to address it? If universities continue to treat rape culture and rape as mere PR problems, rather than as violations of their students' basic human rights, then how can we expect rape culture to change in sports, in entertainment, and in the military? If campus rapists are tacitly told during the very first week of school that their attitudes are normal and their crimes "just fun," then what do university authorities expect other than continued rapes and sexual assaults? If first-year women learn in that same week that their right to bodily autonomy may be the price of their degree, then why pretend that women have equal access to higher education?
Bonus Cute: Bear Scritchin' Party!
So, Alberta Parks released this video, from a time-stop camera set up by Park Ranger Glenn Naylor. It shows what happens in the woods when humans aren't around... and apparently, this camera just happened to be set up at the BEST bear-scritchin' spot. Several animals wander by, but only the bears stop for back scritches. There's even a scritchin' party! (Note: There is no violence or growling in the video, but if bears bother you, then you'll probably want to skip this one.)
Canada Day Open Thread
[Photo description: Canadian flag fluttering in the breeze in a blue sky. Taken by me at Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS in summer 2010.]
Happy Canada Day, Shakers! Have you been celebrating over the weekend? Have you been/will you be celebrating today? Feel free to use this thread to share your Canada Day fun!
R.I.P. Rita MacNeil
[Content Note: fat hatred.]
Rita MacNeil, folk singer and Cape Breton icon, has passed away at age 68. Gifted with a beautiful voice, great stage presence, and what seemed to be a genuinely warm personality, she overcome extreme shyness to become a widely-beloved figure in Canadian music:
MacNeil was famously shy, but said her parents helped her overcome that trait by constantly reminding her to believe in herself.MacNeil's themes were frequently rooted in the experiences of impoverished Atlantic Canadians, but her sweet, church choir-like delivery gave her songs a distinctive sound in the crowded field of Canadian folk music:
"You can be shy," she said. "You can work through all kinds of struggle. But somewhere deep down, you have to have belief or nothing's going to happen."
...MacNeil recorded 24 albums and sold millions of records over the course of her career.
She hosted a CBC-TV variety program, Rita and Friends, which ran from 1994 to 1997 and drew regular audiences of one million viewers. MacNeil's Christmas variety shows drew loyal viewers.
MacNeil was a member of the Order of Canada and the recipient of five honorary doctorates. In 1986, she opened Rita’s Tea Room in her hometown of Big Pond, where she also gave performances.
Once she got onstage or behind a microphone in the recording studio, “she became a force of nature,” LeBlanc said, her crystal-clear alto sweetly delivering an often-anthemic mix of hard truths and sentiment that could soften the coldest heart.And, of course, there was the body shame and fat hatred lobbed at her, even by those who admired her music. Such a lovely voice...too bad she is so fat, etc. It must have hurt tremendously, but MacNeil persevered. I note that, even with her death the Globe and Mail tribute to her keeps mentioning that she was not attractive, a framing Rita herself rejected:
Yet as sweet as that voice was, “it had something in it that was more than just pleasant, a little bit extra,” said long-time Globe and Mail and CBC Radio music contributor Robert Harris. “What intrigues us in the pop world is ambiguity and contradiction … two things that should be separate from each other but are together.” So while a major MacNeil song such as 1982’s Working Man was about the tough lives of Cape Breton coal miners, it “was presented in this angelic, church-choir voice … The sound she [was] making [was] so different from the experiences being described. That’s moving because the brain processes the two.”
MacIntyre’s best memory of MacNeil, date unspecified, happened on CBC-TV’s the fifth estate when the late Eric Malling asked MacNeil “if she might have been more successful were she, um, beautiful. She replied without hesitation: ‘But, Eric, I am beautiful.’ And from that moment on, if not before, she was.”Beautiful? Yes. She certainly was.
[VIDEO: Rita MacNeil and Men of the Deep perform 'Working Man,'
to a slideshow of mining images.]
[Note: If there are more negative things to be said about MacNeil, they are excluded because I am not aware of them, not because of any desire to cover them up. Please feel free to comment on the entirety of her life and work in this thread.]
Justin Trudeau Wins Liberal Leadership; Stephen Harper Poops Pants
[CN: disableism]
It's official: Justin Trudeau has won the leadership of the Liberal party. And what a win:
When the envelope was finally opened just after 6 p.m. Sunday on the stage of the Liberal party convention at the Westin Hotel, the suspense was not about which name would be read, but only about the margin. And that still managed to produce a wow: Justin Trudeau won 80 per cent of the votes for his first-ballot landslide....Wasting no time to begin using the authority of his overwhelming mandate, the 41-year-old, second-generation Liberal leader told the party that they can only win if they are far more unified than they have been in recent years.
“Canadians will not suffer fools gladly,” he said in his victory speech. “Canadians turned away from us because we turned away from them. Liberals were more focused on fighting with each other than then fighting for Canadians.
“Well, I don’t care if you think my father was great or arrogant,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you were a Chretien-Liberal, a Turner-Liberal, a Martin-Liberal, or any other kind of Liberal. The era of hyphenated Liberals ends right here, right now, tonight!
Did the Harper Conservatives have a totes brilliant response? Of course they did!
In a statement, the party said “Justin Trudeau may have a famous last name, but in a time of global economic uncertainty, he doesn’t have the judgment or experience to be prime minister.”
Hahahahaha perfect. In a time of global uncertainty, we need GARBAGE politics that we can count on, people! Why, if Justin manages to rebuild the Liberals into something not-garbage, we just won't know what to do! VOTE HARPERCON!
In all seriousness, this does indeed feel like a moment of change, but it's hard to say if that perception will prove true, or if the change will be a good one. In his op-ed in today's Globe and Mail, Justin focuses heavily on the middle class and their economic concerns, while also renewing his commitment to seeking answers from all swaths of Canadian society in building the new Liberal platform. (He seems to be taking the advice that David Climenhaga offered to both the Liberals and NDP: Hammer Harper on the economy.) Regardless, he has a whole lot of work to do just to rebuild the party, let alone challenge the NDP's place as the Official Opposition. I'd still rather see Tom Mulcair as the next PM, to be honest, but a Liberal Party that's rebuilt into a serious and trustworthy centre-left party does not seem to me a bad thing.
But let me make an observation about an irritating media narrative regarding Justin Trudeau: the tendency to act as if he emerged, Athena-like, from the forehead of his father. This ignores his his mother, Margaret Sinclair Trudeau (herself of a political family). Margaret Trudeau's sometimes-erratic, sometimes-charming political behavior played a not-insignificant role in her husband's political career until their divorce. In recent years, she has opened up about her bipolar disorder and emerged as a passionate advocate for mental health issues. Perhaps we're still too embarrassed about mental illness to see her as anything but a liability, as "crazy Maggie." Judging from his appearances in public with her, Justin doesn't seem to feel that way. The fact that Justin is the son of Margaret does not make me think worse of him; if anything, it gives me hope that his compassion and empathy are much more than an act for the political stage.
[Photo credit: Adrian Wyld, CP, Vancouver Sun.]
Have at it in comments, Shakers. Does this news leave you glad, sad, or indifferent? Should the Liberals just go away, or could Trudeau change the party for the better? Will this inspire the NDP to work even harder, climb even higher, or is this bad news for the left?
And most pressing of all: exactly how much laundry detergent will be spent washing out the poopy undies at 24 Sussex Drive today?
Ontario's Kathleen Wynne Makes History
Congratulations are in order for Kathleen Wynne, who triumphed in a hard-won leadership battle to become premier-designate of Ontario on Saturday. She will be Ontario's first female premier and Canada's first openly gay provincial premier.
Wynne, a former school board trustee who has served in several provincial cabinet positions, thanked her partner Jane Rounthwaite, and addressed diversity in her acceptance speech:
"Is Ontario ready for a gay premier? You've all heard that question... Not surprisingly, I have an answer to that question," Wynne said to cheers from her supporters."I do not believe that the people of Ontario judge their leaders on the basis of race, sexual orientation, colour or religion. I don't believe they hold that prejudice in their hearts," Wynne said. "They judge us on our merits."
For those readers who may be unfamiliar with Canadian politics, Wynne will be leading one of Canada's largest and economically powerful provinces. She will, however, be heading a minority government, succeeding a less-than-popular leader, and is sure to be pressed by many controversial issues:
She already faces big challenges on several fronts, including dealing with Ontario's deficit, the state of the province's manufacturing sector, and the fractured relations with the province's teachers — where Wynne's Harvard University mediation training may come in handy.
Regardless of what the future holds, Ms. Wynne is making history. I congratulate her and wish the best for Ontario under her leadership.
[Photo Credit: Canadian Film Centre. Hat tip to Shaker Fionnabhair for breaking news of Ms. Wynne's victory on this blog.]
RIP Laurier LaPierre
Laurier LaPierre, the broadcast journalist and academic who also served as Canada's first openly gay Senator, has died at 83. He was a long-time activist with Egale and an outspoken supporter of First Nations causes. As a journalist on the news program This Hour Has Seven Days he became a media icon; he also played a then-controversial role in the debate over ending the death penalty:
It was being touched by emotion that famously led to LaPierre’s firing from the CBC, and the end of This Hour. In an interview with the mother of Stephen Truscott, a 14-year-old facing a death sentence for murder, he wiped tears from his eyes while noting a bill to abolish the death penalty was before Parliament. The CBC’s president cited it as evidence he was unprofessional, and the show was soon cancelled.Among other causes he supported in his long and varied career, LaPierre was especially vocal in his support for expanding the hate crimes definition to include sexual orientation.
But it had made its mark. “This put CBC television into the major leagues,” said Ian Morrison, spokesman for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. “It was an exciting thing to watch – fearless, gutsy.”
[Note: If there are less flattering things to be said about LaPierre, they have been excluded because I am unaware of them, not as the result of any deliberate intent to whitewash his life. Please feel welcome to comment on the entirety of his work and life in this thread.]
"...And I Am In Love With Canada."
Last night Justin Trudeau made it official: he is running for the leadership of the Liberal Party. And he launched his run with a doozy of a speech.
You can see the full speech-- en francais and in English-- here. The full English transcript is available at Trudeau's website, here. En francais, ici.
I would be lying if I didn't say it gave me goosebumps and that I am officially glad he's in the running. So much about this speech seems right to me. The acknowledgement of national accomplishments in terms of the social safety net, the economy, and multiculturalism. The acknowledgement of shortcomings, especially in regards to First Nations Canadians. The invocation of trust and community as basic Canadian values. The determination to restore faith in government as an agent of positive change.
I'd also be lying if I wasn't made profoundly uncomfortable by aspects of this speech. The invocation of the Canadian middle class seemed heavy-handed to me; I understand the Liberal Party's traditional appeal to wide swaths of the middle class, but shutting out working class voters doesn't seem like a win. The attacks on the NDP seemed awkward and nonsensical ("stoking resentment" and "blaming the successful"? Uh, no, Justin, I don't think that's a fair critique of the NDP's positions. Fail.)
Much better, I thought, was the repudiation of Liberal arrogance as the party that "built" Canada. Emphasizing the accomplishments of all Canadians strikes me as a much better way of attracting those same Canadians into the Liberal Party, rather than, explicitly or implicitly, defining the Liberal Party's constituency by class.
Still, it was an absolutely well-done, and genuinely moving speech from someone who, I am prepared to believe, is absolutely genuine in his desire to serve his country. Most of the values he invoked are also me at the heart of what I also love about Canada, and I suspect I am not alone in his audience. It has been a very long time since the Liberals had a leader who could wield genuine empathy and charisma alongside intellect and political skill. It's been a long time since I saw a Liberal who could outline a dream and make me want to come along with him on the journey of achieving it. Put simply, the speech moved and inspired me. I wish Mr. Trudeau luck in re-invigorating the Liberal leadership race.
(Again, full text is available at Justin.ca, Trudeau's website.)
Favourite quotes below:
Justin Trudeau's Leadership Bid (or Not)
In today's news comes a report that Justin Trudeau, Liberal MP for Papineau (and son of Margaret Sinclair and the late former PM Pierre Trudeau) is throwing his hat into the arena for leadership of the Liberal Party. Then again, there's his announcement of a non-announcement as well.
I've really not had time to digest this information or formulate much analysis of it, but I thought that Canadian Shakers (and other Shakers interested in Canadian politics) might want to discuss the strong-ish possibility of a Trudeau run.
My initial reaction to the idea of a Trudeau leadership is cautiously enthusiastic. I've been impressed with the way he grappled with a family background that inevitably thrust him into the spotlight. He's made a career of trying to wield his influence, his intellect, and his considerable charisma for good at home and abroad. (His official biography, for those who are interested. His Wikipedia entry.) if his enthusiasm and drive could rejuvenate the Libeals, i think that would be for the best. Although my own politics lean more NDP, I do not think it's good for Canada to have a less-than-healthy Liberal Party; it makes it easier for the Harpercons to shift the "centre" steadily rightward.
That's not to say his leadership would be without problems. He's been heavily and bluntly critical of Quebec sovereignty, complicating the party's prospects in francophone Quebec. He's still inexperienced, a quality which has doomed many a politician. I'm not keen on this back-and-forth dance about stepping into the ring, either.
(And he may well have other disadvantages or negative qualities which I am leaving out, not from a desire to whitewash, but because I am (a) not aware of them or (b) because my brain is a leaky sieve of slowly disappearing information and I can't think of them this morning.)
Still: Trudeau makes me feel inspired and optimistic--and that is no small thing in today's world. I very much like the Canada he seems to believe in. It sounds a lot like he one I believe in, too.
Any thoughts, Shakers?
Happy Canada Day!
Happy Canada Day, Shakers!
I've spent Canada Days past at community celebrations as big as the one at Parliament Hill and as small as the one at Shelburne Harbour, but this year, I'm stuck in the States for the holiday, so a private Canada Day Across America it is for me, with friends over for Maritime baked beans, brown bread, and butter tarts.
If you are Canadian or living in Canada, and you celebrated over the weekend or are celebrating today, feel free to use this thread to share how you are marking the occasion. "Sleeping" or "doing absolutely nothing" or the like are, of course, perfectly legitimate answers!
Quote of the Day
In honour of Black history month, and reflecting my own take on it as a Canadian:
"The thing about being first is that there are some people that take exception to you being there."- Zanana Akande ( 1937- ) The first Black woman to be elected to the Ontario legislature, and first Canadian Black woman to be appointed to a provincial government cabinet position - but not until 1990, lest any of my fellow Canadians get too excited over this "first".
It's a good time, if you haven't already, to take a look at the contributions of your Black compatriots (wherever you live) to the country you have today. For my fellow Canadians, a good starting place might be Viola Desmond, who took a stand (well, a seat!) against public racism very much like that of Rosa Parks - in 1946, some years before Ms. Parks took her renowned seat.
H/t for the suggestion from Renee of Womanist Musings and Fangs for the Fantasy.
Not Quite Daily Teaspoon Report
Hi Shakers - I've been pondering trying to get started reposting these, and thought today was as good a day to start as any.
But since I support the SOPA Strike along with Liss and the other Shakesville contributors, this is actually a post to say there won't be an NQDTR today. I'm a creative person myself, I'm even performing on stage this Friday night, and I believe strongly in my right to determine the use of my own work. But I believe there are far better ways to serve my needs as a creator of content and owner of IP than this piece of corporate shill work.
Netizens of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your freedom!
Being a not-USan, I thought I'd bring you who share that trait with me the idea that if you're outside the US, you will still be greatly affected by this bad legislation. I suggest contacting your own governmental representatives in your own country, and telling them to let your $FOREIGN_AFFAIRS people know that you want pressure put on the US to not allow censorship of the world's Net, by the content corporations or by totalitarian governments. IP Protection is an important area of law, and it should be done right, not in a hurry and in service to the giant corporations of the mainstream media, or to repressive governments' wish to limit the Net freedom of their citizens. Knowledge is power, and they know it: opposing this legislation helps keep that avenue to civil liberties open.
In Canada, you can find your Member of Parliament through this page here, ou ici en français. Urge them politely but firmly to put pressure on the US to stop this flawed legislation, and start again with a better proposal.
I encourage you to leave similar links for your own countries here, non-USan Shakers, for the use of your compatriots.
Canadian Women Take Soccer Gold at Pan Am Games
Alright, this is Caitie the football* fan here, and Caitie the Canuck too, saying "Go Canada Go" to our talented women's team. Shockingly turfed out of the World Cup this summer in no uncertain terms, a big surprise coming after our second Gold Cup championship in 2010, this didn't look like it was going to be much of a year for Karina LeBlanc and the women footballers of Canada.
But then they sent half of the World Cup team to the Pan Am Games, a competition open to nations up and down the Americas, athletes from anywhere between Ellesmere Island and Tierra del Fuego. The US team didn't attend, and Brasil were without their stellar forward and five-time World Player of the Year, Marta, but in Thursday night's final in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Canadian goalkeeper (LeBlanc) stopped two penalties by Brasil's shooters, while the Canadians put all theirs into the net, for a 4-3 victory in the shootout.
The game had looked a disaster for Canada early, giving up a goal only four minutes in, but control went back and forth before Christine Sinclair (Canada's all-time top scorer, with 117 goals in 163 appearances, as of June 30 this year) managed to finally head home a corner taken by fierce terrier/midfielder Diana Matheson (another long-time veteran of the Canadian team - all 5'0.25" of her) in the 88th minute. Two 15-minute periods of extra time settled nothing, though both sides had chances, leading to the penalty shootout.
Speaking personally as a goalkeeper, I understand LeBlanc's statement that she enjoys shootouts. I hate them as a fan, hate the tension and the irrelevance to the game, but as a player, they thrill me. The only championship my current team won, for several years, was a cup competition in which we endured two penalty shootouts - the semi-final and the final. In both - I swear this is literally true, every word - I saved all five of my opponents' shots, and scored the only one of five for us. Best two games I ever played, stopping ten penalties. Time used to be that when stopping penalties, the strategy for keepers was to guess-and-leap, hoping you'd got the right direction. Some keepers, and I'm among them, have come more recently to the conclusion that, in fact, they're the easiest shots keepers ever face, in some ways. Consider: you know when it's coming, who's taking it, there's no one else in the way, and you don't have to worry about a rebound (as the ball is dead when it ceases forward motion in shootouts). Every advantage is mine.
Well, except for the 24-foot wide net, with the crossbar eight feet up. But other than that...
Anyway, big congratulations to the Canadian women's team for their stellar success throughout the tournament, almost completely unnoticed by our national media - five games in seven days! What a grueling schedule.
* AKA soccer, for you folk who think a game where only a very few people ever touch the ball with their feet should be called "football": see NFL/gridiron, CFL-Canadian style, et c.. :)
Happy Thanksgiving, Eh?
In honour of this holiday, on which we labour not, I'll ask you:
How are you celebrating/observing/keeping Canadian Thanksgiving this year, eh?
Me, I'm doing a great big bucket of bupkes. My American partner is visiting, because we had a wedding to go to on Saturday afternoon (which was very beautiful, and had a wonderful meal...mmmm), but we're neither of us inclined to do much in the way of some giant meal or something. We're relaxing together, watching stuff: Supernatural (anime and live-action!), Doctor Who, Criminal Minds, Primeval, and for the day's obligatory Can-con, Being Erica.
We'll probably do a Thanksgiving meal together with our polyamourous constellation around our neighbours' version of the holiday, late in November. Which always seems like an odd time to hold a harvest festival to me, when there's already snow on the ground! But there's no accounting for USans, I guess.
Edit: I forgot to include the wonderful comic today at Canada's own gamer webcomic Weregeek!
