Ezra Levant Is The Right's Gift To The Left

Thanks, Ezra, for making right wing politics
even more unappealing!

Saw some coverage from the blogs Buckdog and Let Freedom Rain of the vile spectacle of a certain Ezra Levant on a Fox North show with Michael Coren. As you can see from the screen capture that I took from Buckdog, Levant was mocking people mourning the death of Jack Layton by wearing an orange wig and drinking a can of Orange Crush.

Levant probably believes that he's destroying the morale of the left by mocking a dead man who is held in high esteem but the reality is that, outside of far-right, deeply damaged people like Levant himself, most people across the political spectrum will just find him nauseating. In fact, guys like Levant - and Rob Ford - are actually a gift to the Left for the simple reason that they offend people who are in the middle of the road and make them more sympathetic to the Left.

I'm sure that Levant likes to think of himself as some sort of attack dog for the right. But the truth is, his incompetency and string of failed escapades reveals him for what he actually is, a fairly pathetic, unlikeable clown. When he isn't setting up magazines, like the Western Standard, that go bankrupt because nobody wants to read their tinfoil hat analysis, he's defending himself from multiple lawsuits. Levant can't open his mouth - or put pen to paper - without committing libel or defaming people - even other conservatives. This is the guy who got himself shit-canned from his position as Stockwell Day's communications director for releasing to the media a threatening letter he wrote to Conservative MP Chuck Strahl. You gotta be pretty fucking useless to get yourself fired by Day - after all, this is the guy who thought driving up to a press conference on a jet ski would make great optics.

So, keep on trucking Ezra! You're a great target and with any luck the Conservatives will be stupid enough to hire you again (unlikely). That alone would cause their national support to drop by a few percentage points. And if you ever get into some sort of position of responsibility - unlikely given your lack of business acumen (funny for a right winger) - you'll make it easy to mobilize people in opposition to you. Meantime, feel free to keep right on following the equally odious Glenn Beck - who compared the murdered teenagers in Norway to Hitler Youth and was turfed from Fox after his ratings tanked. 

Layton For PM. Then Keep His Feet To The Fire.

Shoot me. I wrote a brilliant piece of prose and f***ing Blogger had an error and deleted the whole damn thing.

Here's the short hand:
Layton could win - some polls put the NDP within three percentage points: YAY!
Remember Bob Rae (without fondness). The failure of the 1990-95 NDP government in Ontario was not just cause Rae is a skunk - it was their capitulation under pressure from the media, the corporate sector, the state bureaucracy. The only thing that could have saved them and us from the hell that was Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution would have been protests against the NDP betrayals. This happened towards the end of the NDPs tenure in office when they cocked up what should have been a shoe-in: same sex spousal benefits. The gay and lesbian community didn't have the institutional ties and baggage that the union leadership had and when it was clear that the NDP was going to betray them, thousands mobilized. That mobilization was the light in an otherwise pretty dark moment and when the Tories were elected it was no surprise that the first to demonstrate were gays and lesbians. If it weren't for that, there probably wouldn't have been a Days of Action movement, with its rolling one-day, citywide general strikes only a few months later. Ultimately that movement was sold down the tubes by the same union leadership that stomped on any attempts to fight the NDP when it was betraying workers, the poor, gays and lesbians, students, etc But all that demonstrates is the need to have clear-headed thinkers and organizers inside the union movement as well as in the gay and lesbian movement, who will resist ANY sell-out, no matter which party it comes from.
So, if the NDP wins the federal government we will have witnessed an exciting and historic event that will transform Canadian politics in ways we can't even understand - multiple party leaders will resign, the NDP will have been brought to office with a wave of sovereigntist MPs and votes (which will transform the NDP itself), and workers will suddenly realize that they can shake things up in a big way when they want to - and maybe not just at the ballot box. All this is incredible and important stuff. But we also don't want to end up with the Obama phenomenon where we elect an inspiring leader and then leave it to him, ending up in a situation where not only is our side thoroughly demoralized but the right wing comes back with a vengeance and viciousness that is the result of workers and progressives having dared to challenge their right to rule.
Let's make this election the beginning of the revolution, not the end.

CPC-NDP gap narrows to three points in dwindling hours of campaign | iPolitics

This initiative is an excellent idea. If the Tories and McGuinty won't hold an independent inquiry then the people should form their own independent inquiry as a focus for the anger that people continue to feel. If it can be connected to a campaign of mass mobilization, all the better. The Tories may be hoping that this issue is going to die in the summer heat but it seems clear that this particular fantasy of theirs isn't going to happen - not by a longshot.
There is to be a press conference today to launch the initiative - I'll keep you posted.

G20 PEOPLE'S INVESTIGATION

We are calling on the public to come forward with photos, video, and eye witness accounts of police violence against civilians during the G20 summits in Toronto. This evidence will be used to ensure that there are consequences for all those who beat and injured people, and for the masterminds who conspired to plan and give orders for the widespread police violence and repression that was experienced by thousands on the streets.

Can you identify these violent thugs?

Look at the images here. If you can identify one of these police officers, please emailg20policeviolence@gmail.com

Did you come in contact with the police or witnessed a police violence incident?

Please fill out this form and share widely with friends and networks. We know that 1,090 people were arrested and at least 275 were charged and are hoping to gain accounts of everyone of those as well as the intense violence that took place that did not result in formal arrests.

Do you have photographs of Police Violence?

You can share images through two ways:

1. Email pictures to g20PoliceViolence@gmail.com (Will not be shared unless you give us permission to do so)
2. If you've uploaded images on Flickr, please tag them #G20PoliceViolence

Do you have videos of Police Violence?

You can share images through two ways:

1. Email videos or links to videos to g20PoliceViolence@gmail.com (Will not be shared unless you give us permission to do so)
2. If you've uploaded images on YouTube, please tag them #G20PoliceViolence

If you would like to stay in touch, please add your email address to the mailing list (Scroll down on the tool bar to the right)

*Here are some videos you should see:
http://www.youtube.com/user/torontomobilize#grid/user/20DF3A28F9C558E6

Democracy: A Waste of Taxpayers Money

The Public Safety and National Security Committee met yesterday to debate setting up an inquiry into the decision-making that led to the G20 debacle. Unfortunately, the Conservatives on the committee prevented a vote being taken on the motion at hand by talking out the allotted time. Besides suggesting that any kind of public accountability would simply give a forum to "thugs and hooligans" they also suggested that accountability is just too darn expensive.

During Monday’s debate, the government side argued it would be premature to undertake a study and a waste of taxpayers money to hold hearings during the summer while MPs are supposed to be working in their constituencies."

Would it cost as much, say, as a $2 billion Summit in the biggest urban centre in the country? Or perhaps the problem is that the money would be used to spread anarchy since the NDP "seems to be lining itself up with anarchist groups" like Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, according to Tory MP Dean Del Mastro. Well, we certainly wouldn't want the government to spend money on anything that might cause anarchy.

Quebec's Tories Blow-Up Real Good

"Ooh, that hurts."

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE SOMETHING MORE SATISFYING than watching  a Tory party rip itself apart. I remember when the federal Tories imploded after the failure of Meech Lake in the 90s. It did mean that we were stuck with Mr. Charisma, Preston Manning, for several years before he was summarily knifed in the interests of the unity of right-wing scum everywhere. But for those few years when Reform and the Tories were kicking the hell out of each other, with no prospect of them ever forming a government...ah, the good old days.
So, you can imagine the pleasure I felt when I read about ongoing flame-out by Quebec's very own wing of the Conservative Party, the ADQ. The ADQ, you may remember, was formed by Mario Dumont when the Quebec Liberals proved to be too small a party for his enormous head, also back around the time of Meech. For a long time the ADQ was a rump and then had an explosive breakthrough in 2007, going from around 4 seats to 41 and becoming the Official Opposition in a minority government situation. However, being largely made up of inexperienced yahoos, they quickly exposed themselves as incompetent and when Premier Charest called a snap election in 2008, they were pretty much wiped out, with Mario Dumont resigning and leaving politics to become a newscaster (one look at his hair and you won't be surprised). Nobody should feel too sorry for them, since they put up posters during that campaign that said immigrants were responsible for a decline of French in Montreal and suggested that immigration be frozen, while Quebecoises should be encouraged to have more babies. Dumont also campaigned vociferously against a course in schools to teach students about religions and cultures other than their own.
That brings us to the present. One month ago the party selected a new leader, Gilles Taillon, who won by only two votes. Vincent Marissal, from La Presse, described it as being akin to "being promoted to captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg." Pretty much right away two of the ADQ's seven sitting MNAs dropped out of the party (Conservatives are such good sports). The reason: Taillon isn't right wing enough. It gets better. Sick of the infighting, Taillon has now also resigned from the leadership and has suggested that the party was engaged in illegal funding practices and was considering calling in the cops. Nice one, Taillon, don't forget to burn down the house on your way out.
This is a big monkey wrench in the gears of the federal Conservative Party. While the ADQ weren't officially affiliated to the federal Tories, everybody knew which side their bread was buttered on. Dumont said he voted Conservative and numerous MNAs campaigned for the Conservatives in the last election. After Taillon was elected leader the ADQ announced it would cut its ties to the federal Tories. I bet Stephen Harper can hear the sound of his majority galloping away from him. Taillon is my new favourite leader of a right-wing party. 

Nanos Poll: Only Thing Moving Are Liberals...Down

THIS POLL ON THE GLOBE AND MAIL webpage by Nik Nanos demonstrates two things: that the Tories and pretty much every party from the Bloc to the NDP is stuck in aspic in terms of support. Harper can't make the breakthrough he needs to win a majority - not unless the Bloc collapses in Quebec, an unlikely prospect. Or he has a major breakthrough in Ontario, also unlikely.
As part of the same phenomenon the chart shows that no party has caught the imagination of Canadian voters. This ought to be surprising. The recession is a doozy and people are hurting across the country. The Tories are mean, dishonest and incompetent. And yet, the NDP hasn't managed to inspire people beyond their core supporters.
The second thing confirms what I've said previously - that Ignatieff is in free fall and can't inspire anyone anywhere in any way. He has utterly destroyed the good will that was thrown his way after he was selected as Liberal Party leader. And in less than a year. Nice work, Iggy. With the recession continuing to bite deep it's possible that at some point things will break one way or the other. I hope it's to the left, though there is always a danger that without a serious fightback against the effects of the recession that people could turn to the right, towards scapegoating and surrender to the corporate agenda. But I'm certain - as long as Ignatieff is at the helm - there won't be a break towards the Liberals.

Attention Earthlings: Please Proceed To The Emergency Exits In A Disorderly Fashion

I'm not sure if you've noticed but the world is going to hell in a handbasket. We've already had Iceland go tits up, followed by its government after a few weeks of rioting and protests. And it looks like they won't be the last. Next on the list is jolly old Britain - affectionately called "Reykjavik-on-Thames":

"The question in Britain is no longer when the economy will enter a recession, but when it will enter a depression, with many bracing for a slump that could rival the 1930s in severity. GDP fell 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, and the European Union estimates it will contract another 2.8 percent in 2009. Unemployment is projected to balloon to more than 8 percent by year's end, and an estimated 23 percent of adult Britons currently consider their debt level 'unmanageable.'"

Also up for nomination as "Country Most Likely To Go Up In Flames" are Latvia and Greece - both scenes of recent rioting - the Ukraine (which is having gas pains, thanks to the Russians), and Nicaragua - have they ever really recovered from the US' illegal war against the Sandanistas. No wonder current president - and former Sandanista leader - Daniel Ortega has said that the financial meltdown is a sign that "God is punishing the United States". Not an unreasonable suggestion but I think it more accurate to say that greedy, asshole capitalists are the real source of America's (and our) problems.
The US Army would like to add to that list Mexico, which has been engaged in an increasingly violent and destabilizing war against "narco-gangsters." The Mexicans ought to hope that they don't get the same medicine as the Pakistanis, who are also on the "nearing collapse" list of the US Army. Their prescription involves repeated military incursions by the US military and CIA, firing missiles at local leaders who the US doesn't like.
Even Israel, which the Christian Fundamentalists would have you believe is watched over by God himself as his plan for the Second Coming unfolds, has just taken a kicking at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In case you don't know, the WEF is a big capitalist jaw wag where they politely discuss how they will carve up the planet. Well, this year the Prime Minister of Turkey, Israel's closest ally, told Israeli president Shimon Peres "When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill” before storming out of a panel discussion of the Gaza crisis.
But the greatest pleasure must be the massive general strike that swept over France today. It was something of a love letter to that country's president, Nikolas Sarkozy. As I understand it the first sentence went as follows: "Dear Sarko: Get your fucking act together and do something about the collapse of capitalism. Asshole." Of course, it sounds much more romantic in French. Anyway, 70% of the population supported the general strike and something like 300,000 demonstrated in Paris so that they could blow Sarkozy a kiss live and in person.
Meanwhile, here in exciting Canada, our government managed the biggest horseshit recession budget ever - look for the neo-liberal measures to have zero impact on the recession. Not to worry about any more crises or opposition coalitions - head Opposition Knob, Michael "I love torture as long as it doesn't hurt too much" Ignatieff, has told Harper he can do what he wants as long as he sends him a memo every so often telling him what he is doing. For a guy who thinks torture's OK as a policy tool, he sure is a wimp. Well, I guess that's what you get when the most defining feature of Canadian culture, besides hockey and constitutional crises, is just how darn polite we are. Seriously people, are we really gonna let France show us up while Harper can't work up a fart to save us from our imminent doom?

A "Fiscally Socialist Ideological Change Of Heart"

Ok, ok, wait a minute. WAIT A MINUTE! Now, let me get this straight. Stephen Harper, Canada's Conservative Prime Minister, the dude who used to head the crazy, neo-liberal, neo-conservative National Citizen's Coalition, is about to bring in the biggest federal budget deficit since, well, since Brian Mulroney.

Whoa. Isn't this the same guy who was saying during the election campaign that "we're not going into recession"? And didn't he also say his government would "not be running a deficit"? 

Of course, none of this indicates that Harper is dumb as a post or a liar. Nothing of the sort. It simply is a reflection of the fact that, according to Stephen, nobody knew Canada would be in a recession way back there in October. Nobody predicted it. Nobody. 

Oops, well, maybe a few people, according to this article from October 7: "Some of Canada's top economists predicted we're heading for a recession deeper and longer than anticipated, suggesting the economy may be hobbled till almost 2010."

Far be it from me to suggest that Steve was engaging in a little electioneering back in October and now, with the Liberals threatening to bring down the government, he's decided that he better look like he's doing something. However, that is the view of the right wing National Post, which wrote that "the budget and subsequent stimulus plans are a means of survival for the Conservative party, and not a fiscally socialist ideological change of heart from Stephen Harper." Whew, I was worried for a minute that the Conservatives had principles. Glad to hear that it's just about saving their fat paycheque.

Now, I leave you with a little medley of Stephen Harper's changing tune...