From the mouths of conservatives…

Well one,albeit a some what important one -British PM David Cameron…

‘Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.’..[@].

You don’t say…my,my will “miracles” never cease .

Imagine  no longer can the reality be denied, not even by Conservatives ( Cnd PM Harper* regrettable not being one of em), i.e  the reality that is  Israel’s 60+ year-old occupation & it’s penchant for collective punishment and denying an entire People  the most basic of human rights.

Which begs the question, what would Israel  have done onto Palestinians  had it not been a  “democracy“  or had it not been “respectful/mindful” of the rule-of-law ?

I try not to be cynical, but hell sometimes its just impossible not to be. Does that make me anti-Semitic ?

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* But then again is Harper really a Conservative ,or is he just a confused  ideologue ? There is a difference after all …being Conservative does not imply  stupidity nor an unwillingness to face reality or  objective facts. The venerable  George Grant (1918-1988) comes to mind, and who can forget the “old man” himself, John Diefenbaker (1895-1979).

The Second Gaza War…

A war tells a people terrible truths about itself. That is why it is so difficult to listen.

We were determined to avoid an honest look at the first Gaza war. Now, in international waters and having opened fire on an international group of humanitarian aid workers and activists, we are fighting and losing the second. For Israel, in the end, this Second Gaza War could be far more costly and painful than the first….@

From Mondoweiss…

As for the fact that elite Israeli soldiers can in one instant be portrayed as invincible and yet the next as hapless victims — that is a paradox that can be resolved only in the minds of Israelis...@

From Andrew Sullivan…

It staggers me to read defenses of what the Israelis have done. They attacked a civilian flotilla in international waters breaking no law. When they met fierce if asymmetric resistance, they opened fire. And we are now being asked to regard the Israelis as the victims…@

Need more be said ?..damn don’t ya all just appreciate writing that gets to the motherf#*@ing  point !

Happy May Day

The more things change the more they stay the same.

That said there are different ways of thinking & being ,on which we could build & learn from. In fact the seeds of future possibilities exist right here in Canada. For example, to name but one…

The Iroquois Confederacy…

And a wonderful constitution it is, this gentile constitution, in all its childlike simplicity! No soldiers, no gendarmes or police, no nobles, kings, regents, prefects, or judges, no prisons, no lawsuits – and everything takes its orderly course. All quarrels and disputes are settled by the whole of the community affected, by the gens or the tribe, or by the gentes among themselves; only as an extreme and exceptional measure is blood revenge threatened-and our capital punishment is nothing but blood revenge in a civilized form, with all the advantages and drawbacks of civilization. Although there were many more matters to be settled in common than today – the household is maintained by a number of families in common, and is communistic, the land belongs to the tribe, only the small gardens are allotted provisionally to the households – yet there is no need for even a trace of our complicated administrative apparatus with all its ramifications. The decisions are taken by those concerned, and in most cases everything has been already settled by the custom of centuries. There cannot be any poor or needy – the communal household and the gens know their responsibilities towards the old, the sick, and those disabled in war. All are equal and free – the women included. There is no place yet for slaves, nor, as a rule, for the subjugation of other tribes. When, about the year 1651, the Iroquois had conquered the Eries and the “Neutral Nation,” they offered to accept them into the confederacy on equal terms; it was only after the defeated tribes had refused that they were driven from their territory. And what men and women such a society breeds is proved by the admiration inspired in all white people who have come into contact with unspoiled Indians, by the personal dignity, uprightness, strength of character, and courage of these barbarians….

Quote taken from Frederick Engels ; Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State 1884

On a side note this post has given me an idea for a series of posts.

That being an exploration,or a kinda of reconnaissance, of the relationship,from a left/progressive perspective, between Indigenous Peoples and ordinary/working Canadians/settlers. How can the two sides support each other, how does the discourse of the “left” , organized labor,etc…fit in with the Indigenous point of view. Indeed are they even on the same page ?

Personally I think not.. .

My reason’s for believing this will be the topic of my first post…stay tuned

In most places ones birth right is decided by birth ,in others it’s Legislated

There are many varieties of “Indians” as per the Indian Act…

There are status Indians ,sub-section 6(1) status Indians ,sub-section 6(2) status Indians, non-status Indians,Metis,halfbreeds,mixed race & urban Indians.

There are even belated Indians & temporary Indian.

And alas the definition of who is and who is not  Indian is about to change again. It should be said some of the changes in Bill C-3 are for the better. But that’s  not saying much,lol, when the very thing being changed (in response to the decades of activism by indigenous peoples & supporters) should never have happened in the first place. Never mind  having been allowed to continue till 2000 motherf@#king 10 !

Indeed the very idea ,that in this day and age &  in Canada of all places,that others namely the settler government/whites get to second guess indeed define  who is and who is not an Indian is just incomprehensible. Were talking birth-rights & people here,not inanimate commodities.

Indeed they the government/white people even have the nerve to call the “changes” a “New Entitlement“. Excuse me,”new entitlement” !

Hummm… if it walks like a duck ,quacks like a duck,self identifies as a duck, in all probability it is a duck , and always has been a duck, now there’s a “radical” concept for ya.

Has Canada no shame,no sense of fair play ! This type of shit never fails to blow my mind,my gawd the arrogance & racism  involved here , is truly astounding !

God Bless your heart Richard Warman

I understand you meant well and were motivated by good intentions,I believe that it’s usually best to give people the benefit of the doubt, during your much publicized  internet hunt for small-minded-fearful-get-your-intolerance-on-bigots.

That said I would like to draw your attention to a truism ,also called common sense, “the road to hell is often paved with good intentions”. You do realize that your very actions  ensured that these bigots received more publicity than they could have ever  dared hope for.

No need for me to link or name names,you made sure everyone knows whose being talking about.

Indeed  your love of drama, & section 13(1) are the best thing that could have ever happened to these clowns. Their names and web-sites are plastered everywhere,and I mean everywhere,indeed the CHR Tribunal has ruled in their favor,gee how ironic hey Mr Warman.

This said I gotta ask, now that the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that section13(1) of the Human Rights Act violates the right to freedom of expression,what are going to do for an encore ?

What ever that might be, next time round  do your homework, definitly plan a different strategy.

Perhaps you and Bernie Farber should get together,hell your both on the same page. And damn it between the two of ya ,I am sure you’ll be able to find a way to protect all us “easily-led-astray-peons” from the big bad bogey-man,dare he utter unpopular or controversial opinion.

Just one more law…

UPDATE (Sept 23)

Seems  Blazing Cat Fur has linked to my post he writes…

“Cheezus ! When you start losing NDP’ers

It’s time to throw Section 13 (1) in the trash

Excuse me… Since when did being “left/progressive” mean one must  or is predisposed to supporting censorship  or government regulation of freedom of expression ?

But then again loud-in-your-face political partisans such as Blazing Cat Fur just can’t be bothered with the facts,nor in understanding the actual positions  of their opponents. Their ideas of what it means to be “left/progressive ” are built on nothing other than a series of tired & threadbare canards,easily disproved ones at that.

No big surprise I suppose,after all those predisposed to labeling others with simplistic labels such as “right”,”left” etc, see most things in terms of absolutes.

Peru’s indigenious people’s facing their own Tiananmen

Five hundred+ years on.

And still the indigenous peoples of the America’s,in this case the Awajun & Wamis peoples,  are being murdered and dispossessed for the “crime” of  speaking out in defense of their traditional territories.

The Indians have been protesting for two months against a series of laws which open up their communal rainforests to oil and gas companies. In the last few years more than 70% of the Amazon has been parcelled out to oil and gas companies for exploration, and a series of large-scale finds threaten to transform much of the Indians’ virgin forests. Similar schemes in neighboring Ecuador have had a devastating effect on the rainforest, and led to chronic pollution and ill-health amongst the Indians who live there…@

Peruvian president, Alán García has the audacity to portray the struggle of the indigenous peoples as a conspiracy,lol…

“a conspiracy afoot to try to keep us from making use of our natural wealth.” He was referring to the fierce opposition by the country’s native peoples to 10 decrees issued by his government that open up indigenous land to private investment by oil, mining and logging companies and to agribusiness, including biofuel plantations.

“Free-trade” is a “wonderful” thing is it not,damn the locals all power to the corporations. Capital and private interests are free to do as they will,ordinary people are but a “nuisance”. A square-peg to  be pounded into a round hole ,violently or otherwise.

More indepth coverage here watch video here

The situation of indigenous peoples in Canada is not much different witness the criminalization of the Mohawk People ,for having the “audacity” to standup for their rights and autonomy.

Just  more of the same ol,same ol…

Treaties were expedients by which ignorant,intractable,and savage people were induced…to yield up what civilized people had the right to possess  –George Gilmer,governor of Georgia,c.1830

Lest we in Canada believe we are any different, the words of our first Prime Minister …

Indians are simply living on the benevolence and charity of the Canadian Parliament…beggars should not be choosers.–John A McDonald,1885

Like the saying goes,”the more things change the more they stay the same”.

Further info and context  @ Amazon Watch

Walk 4 Justice

On May 29 a group of aboriginal women set out on a 28 day Walk 4 Justice to Prince Rupert B.C  from Vancouver’s DTES(downtown east-side) a distance of 1,502 km/ 933 miles,the women are demanding a public inquiry into  the  cases of  3000+missing and murdered women & children that have taken place & gone unsolved over the  past ten years,80% of whom are aboriginal.

The walk will also raise more public awareness of the infamous 722km/449 mile stretch of highway 16 between Prince George & the port city of Prince Rupert(my home town),often referred to as the Highway of Tears due to the number of women who were murdered or have gone missing since 1988 in the vicinity of the highway. At least 32 of these women were aboriginal.

As the result of a symposium held in Prince George in March 2006, aboriginal Canadians along the route are advocating better rural bus service that would help reduce the number of young native women hitchhiking. In addition, spurred on by native leaders, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is officially investigating the unsolved murder or disappearance of nine women between the ages of 14 and 25 since 1974, most of whom were hitchhiking along Highway 16…@

The walk is of particular interest to me,as one of my closest friend’s mom is participating in the walk and my having personally known a couple of the girls who have gone missing or were murdered in the DTES,may they rest in peace.

Also read ;Walk 4 Justice demands answers to missing women cases

The Archipelago of Eastern Palestine

60 years of Israeli occupation and settlement construction(in violation of International law) has resulted in the total fragmentation of Palestinian lands. Indeed Israel’s appetite for Arab land will not be sated any time soon.

As Israeli greed gobbles up more and more land the chances of a two state solution,i.e an economically viable and contiguous Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state,becomes less and less likely if  at all even possible anymore.

The only humane, just and durable solution for this sixty-year old conflict is to re-create Palestine once more as one, integrated state, whose citizens irrespective of their religious or racial origin can enjoy equal rights before the law….@

Welcome to the Archipelago of Eastern Palestine…

A land of broken communities,fragmented  bantustan’s  separated by roadblocks,internal passports,a total lack of free movement,military zones,segregated water supplies (80 percent of West Bank water flows directly to Israel),strips of Jewish only settlements connected by Jewish only roads.

Least we forget Gaza,a prison totally disconnected  & isolated from the West Bank & Jerusalem, where the people are not even allowed to rebuild their homes after Israel subjected the people to collective punishment in the form of wholesale slaughter and destruction.

Want to know what full spectrum domination & humiliation looks like…view @ Strange Maps

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