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By John Klein, on March 18, 2013, at 8:50 am I think it’s fair to call the money paid by the Conservatives back to Canadians, in lieu of disgraced Minister Peter Penashue repaying us, as hush money, akin to bribery. The Conservatives inexplicably are signalling that they’ll welcome Penashue as their candidate in the upcoming Labrador byelection, despite the fact that it seems probable that he’ll be found guilty of election fraud at some point in the coming years (because the wheels of Elections Canada justice turn that ridiculously slow). They are framing the situation as one where if Penashue wins his seat in a byelection, it
. . . → Read More: Saskboy’s Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Penashue Hush Money From Conservatives – Working Closely with #RoboCon
By John Klein, on March 17, 2013, at 11:50 am Conservative #CPC brand Election Shampoo: CHEAT, RINSE, REPEAT! Endorsed by Cheater Peter.
Also available is #CPC brand Hide Detergent. If the opposition is throwing dirt, use Hide.
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Here’s my list of election crimes in Canada recently, and what’s (not) been done about them.
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See Penashue when asked a question.
Here’s a TV campaign ad.
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Here’s a nice clip of PM Harper misleading the country about coalition governments.
By Larry Hubich, on March 14, 2013, at 9:58 pm
By John Klein, on March 14, 2013, at 4:29 pm The country could hold its breath, but would probably pass out for waiting. When will Conservatives be charged for their election fraud crimes? Here’s a summary from Sixth Estate listing the allegations Penashue has admitted were correct today, as he guiltily stepped down. Canadians should not let Elections Canada off the hook by letting them write another compliance agreement with a criminal Minister.
Elections Canada was pursuing this business with Penashue. Will there be a compliance agreement? Is this part of it?— Stephen Maher (@stphnmaher) March 14, 2013
.@TraceyKent Going by Penashue and Van Loan "punishments", Fantino (if
. . . → Read More: Saskboy’s Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Peter Penashue Stepping Down #RoboCon #elxnfraud
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on March 11, 2013, at 4:00 pm
Donald Smith was protesting a sign at Glenmore Landing in Calgary’s southwest Sunday that bans political demonstrations. [CBC]
The privately owned parking lot near the prime minister’s constituency office asserts that protesting is prohibited. On the surface, this looks like the prime minister is impeding the constitutional rights of expression and peaceful assembly.
I’m sure he finds this all quite convenient, but a large hidden issue in this is the privatization of public space.
Can I prohibit protest in a space I own? Possibly.
Can I lament at the amount of space deemed to be public [parking lot, shopping mall] (Read more…)
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on March 7, 2013, at 6:35 pm Hugo Chavez died of cancer on March 5, 2013. He represented an ideological pushback against neoliberal globalization. He pursued a progressive hemispheric trade agenda. He raised oil royalties dramatically to improve the social capacity of people in and around Venezuela. He revolutionized and democratized Venezuela’s constitution. He attracted the ire of American imperialists who supported an amateurish, botched coup. And while we never saw the formation of Cubazuela or some kind of socio-economic cooperation that would elevate Haiti out of its status of hemispheric whipping boy, though that may be on its way, his legacy begins this week.
Thanks (Read more…)
By Obert Madondo, on March 5, 2013, at 9:12 pm “Now, the death of Hugo Chavez offers the promise of domestic oil market changes that could roil the energy world and place substantial opportunities at the feet of Canadian oil companies whose expertise in heavy crude is directly applicable to Venezuela’s Orinoco oil fields.” – Globe and Mail By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive | March 5, 2013: READ MORE
By Song of the Watermelon, on March 2, 2013, at 4:09 am In Ottawa’s latest uptick of political drama, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair called on MP Claude Patry to resign his seat Thursday, after the latter joined the Bloc Quebecois. Noting that Patry, while still a New Democrat, voted with the rest of the caucus last year to ban the practice of floor crossing, Mulcair said, “We call upon him to have the courage of those convictions, to step down from his seat in Jonquiere-Alma, and run in a by-election if he thinks the people of his riding support him.”
In principle, I happen to agree with the NDP position (Read more…)
By Travis, on March 1, 2013, at 5:17 am
I am not writing this blog post with the idea that the right to free speech, or expression is without limit. Tom Flanagan proves that in exercising that right, the social consequences can be swifter and less judicious than any of the hate speech crimes we have on the books in Canada.
Nor am I writing to defend Mr. Flanagan’s comments. Rather, I want to point out what I think the reaction to his comments reveal about the deep hypocrisy at work in our social body politic (if I may be permitted to use such an awkward formation).
On
. . . → Read More: Relentlessly Progressive Political Economy: Flanagan’s flop reveals deeper truth about the nature of hypocrisy in Canada
By jtoddring, on February 25, 2013, at 8:13 pm There is a global war on democracy underway, and if it is not addressed, our future will be bleak. But let us start with the ground work of democracy, and follow from there. Simple majority rule is accurately described as the tyranny of the majority; hence the need for constitutional democracy, where the rights and [...]
By thescottross.blogspot.com, on February 20, 2013, at 3:26 am “Washington is broken.” – Barack Obama
Looking at the Canadian Senate in isolation might motivate many to question it, but compared to the American Senate, Canadians should be proud of their upper chamber.
Besides the fact that googling “Ottawa is broken” brings zero related results, the American Senate is so dysfunctional quite a few of its members, like former Senators Olivia Snowe and Evan Bayh, have actually quit, citing that the American institution is just too broken.
From the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s to bringing the world’s largest economy to the brink of collapse in the fiscal crisis
. . . → Read More: The Scott Ross: Why Canada Needs An Elected Senate Just Like America’s
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on February 13, 2013, at 1:23 pm I don’t know. Do you? No.
And, it seems, we won’t be permitted to determine if the BC Liberal government is lying to us about their future vision of rolling in billions in fresh new LNG tax money because the supporting reports won’t be released. So much for accountability and open government.
We also won’t be able to determine if these independent reports were actually independent, or if their spreadsheets included rainbow juice and unicorn tears to come up with this credibility-challenged $1 trillion LNG industry.
If the BC Liberals want to be credible and not continue to be painted as the BC Lieberals, they should release these reports. If they don’t, people will merely conclude they’re making this all up. And that’s what I’m concluding until the government dials down their contempt for transparency and the public, and releases the data behind these wild plans. Maybe the budget next . . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: Is Christy Clark Lying to Us About the LNG Tax Windfall?
By John Klein, on February 7, 2013, at 4:28 pm If you need your blood pressure raised, Daniel Dickin has just the treatment for you. The persistent hack, perpetual election fraud defender, suggests that because there are no resulting charges for the misdirecting robocalls that Conservative supporters ran across the country on May 2, 2011, the investigators’ expenses should be put under a microscope. Yes, a “journalist” suggests that crime is expensive to investigate, so if there are not results, the investigation of a fraud, is a fraud itself. Well, he may well be onto something, because 651 days to investigate a major national crime, with no charges is kinda
. . . → Read More: Saskboy’s Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Investigate the Investigation? #RoboCon
By Rob Maguire, on February 7, 2013, at 2:59 pm A new digital media challenge is looking for creative work that addresses the need to improve democracy in the United States.
And as it is with American democracy in practice, large sums of money are at stake — $100,000 in cash prizes will go to “the most fresh and creative submissions.”
Looking@Democracy is a national competition offering a total of $100,000 in prize money for short, provocative media submissions designed to spark a national conversation about why government is important to our lives, or how individuals and communities can come together to strengthen American democracy. Launching today, February 4, 2013, (Read more…)
By Guest Blog, on February 7, 2013, at 10:31 am Transatlantic Statement Opposing Excessive Corporate Rights (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) in the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) By Trade Justice Network | Feb. 5, 2013: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM and OTTAWA, ONTARIO and MONTREAL, QUEBEC – Labour, environmental, Indigenous, women’s, academic, health sector and fair trade organizations from Europe, Canada and Quebec representing more than 65 million READ MORE
By The Mound of Sound, on February 6, 2013, at 7:41 pm
If you have any faith in government you’re suffering from an affliction, a potentially dangerous malaise.
Writing in this month’s Vanity Fair, Todd Purdom addresses the enormous changes underway, some of them quite possiblycivilization ending, none of which our leaders seem to take seriously. Purdom writes of his United States but most of his observations also ring true for federal and provincial politics here in Canada.
As Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office for his second term as president, his country and the planet as a whole are experiencing a transformation every bit as
. . . → Read More: The Disaffected Lib: Nobody Has Your Back Any Longer
By John Klein, on February 6, 2013, at 4:18 pm One of Regina’s 3 finest Conservative MPs has fingered Jenni Byrne as ultimately responsible for the misleading push-poll by “Chase Research” which has apparent ties to RackNine in Alberta.
Lukiwski throws Ottawa CPC official under the bus for robocalls; calls tactic deceptive. ottawacitizen.com/news/story.htm… #skpoli #cdnpoli— Murray Mandryk (@MMandryk) February 06, 2013
Byrne ran the Conservative election campaign in 2011 which just happened to be boosted by anonymous Conservative supporters running illegal robocalls that fraudulently pretended to be from Elections Canada, and misdirected electors away from their correct polling stations. The result of those robocalls was enough to
. . . → Read More: Saskboy’s Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: #RoboCon RoboBus Meets #Jennimandering
By John Klein, on February 6, 2013, at 1:39 pm Last week I got a robocall from “Chase Research” and listened to it all, taking notes when I realized it was a Conservative push-poll and would cause a scandal. I waited for the number to push to repeat the message or options, but pressing 9 just erroneously thanked me for responding, provided a contact phone number (306-993-2392) and hung up. I called the number to find out more, right away, and got a message that it was Chase Research and to leave a message, which I did. A friend’s place I was at an hour later also got the call
. . . → Read More: Saskboy’s Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: RoboCall Boundary Edition #RoboCon 650 days and counting
By matttbastard, on February 5, 2013, at 10:03 am
The NY Times:
Several recent polls and studies suggest that long waiting times in some places depressed turnout in 2012 and that lines were longest in cities, where Democrats outnumber Republicans. In a New York Times/CBS News poll taken shortly after Election Day, 18 percent of Democrats said they waited at least a half-hour to vote, compared with 11 percent of independents and 9 percent of Republicans.
Wait — it gets better:
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology analysis determined that blacks and Hispanics waited nearly twice as long in line to vote on average than whites. Florida had the
. . . → Read More: bastard.logic: SHOCKING: Republican Voter Suppression Efforts Suppress Democratic Votes
By Obert Madondo, on February 3, 2013, at 6:42 am Video available on YouTube The Canadian Progressive recommends: Human Rights Watch: Challenges for Rights After Arab Spring Canada’s Human Rights Reputation is Fast Becoming a Myth Cornel West Is Upset Obama Was Sworn In On Martin Luther King’s Bible U.S. pressuring Bradley Manning to implicate Julian Assange (VIDEO) The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur On Obama’s READ MORE
By Guest Blog, on February 3, 2013, at 6:21 am The willingness of new governments to respect rights will determine whether those uprisings give birth to genuine democracy or simply spawn authoritarianism in new forms.
By kevin harding, on January 31, 2013, at 10:35 pm The following is a piece written by contributor Kevin Harding and guest contributor Natalie Gan. The piece was written in 2010, but is being published on Politics Respun for the first time.
The issue of controversial corporate donations to public universities is a live one, with the Munk School at the U of T, the Ridell Program in Political Management at Carleton, and others being more and more discussed. Below is a discussion of the Goldcorp donation to Simon Fraser University.
We don’t want your dirty gold!
The pervasiveness of neoliberal capitalism and its continued impacts on every facet of our daily lives are realities that seem to be, all at once, immediately pressing, immense, and impossible to challenge. Recent experiences at Canadian universities and in the arts reinforce the immensity of the challenge, with corporate ‘donations’ being offered to cash-strapped institutions, continuing both the precariousness of public education as . . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: We don’t want your dirty gold: corporate donations and the university
By Ian Chadwick, on January 30, 2013, at 5:49 pm When I hear a call for a public meeting, my first thought is to ask why we need it. Is the issue something that absolutely needs more public input above and beyond what is already widely available? Public meetings require considerable … Continue reading →
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on January 30, 2013, at 12:00 pm
Should academic work be locked up like Disney[tm] artifacts?
I’ve been quite inspired by this very good analysis of the context surrounding Aaron Swartz’s suicide.
As news spread last week that digital rights activist Aaron Swartz had killed himself ahead of a federal trial on charges that he illegally downloaded a large database of scholarly articles with the intent to freely disseminate its contents, thousands of academics began posting free copies of their work online, coalescing around the Twitter hashtag #pdftribute.
via How academia betrayed and continues to betray Aaron Swartz « The Berkeley Blog.
The willingness of scholars
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: Aaron Swartz, Intellectual Property and the Public Good
By Ian Chadwick, on January 30, 2013, at 7:07 am Representational democracy, says Wikipedia, is “…founded on the principle of elected people representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. All modern Western style democracies are various types of representative democracies…” And so is Canada, and by extension … Continue reading →
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