Yes, of course they're Canuck fans. Anyone who works for a living knows what replica jerseys cost in the real world....A great many people in the crowd throwing bottles, smashing windows and grinning happily for the cameras were happily showing off their Canucks jerseys.
"This isn't the Vancouver I know; we're better than this, I thought we had grown up in the past 17 years," was another. This could only be said by someone who keeps his eyes closed when he wanders outside: Vancouver not only has a seedy underbelly; it is right there for anyone willing to see it.
Could it happen in any other Canadian city? Yes it could. So what we really need to ask ourselves is why have we allowed our national sport to become such an ugly game. And such an unhealthy obsession.
This is the dark side of our national obsession with the game of hockey. It is our greatest source of collective pride when we win. And when we don’t, it looses our collective rage at … what, exactly?
Rather than a post-mortem on what went wrong on Wednesday — we already know that — it would be more helpful to take stock of why so many of us are so goddamned angry.
Because this was the dirtiest Stanley Cup final I have ever watched, after one of the dirtiest seasons ever. A season of cheap shots and concussions, that saw good players like Sidney Crosby mowed down by goons, while the NHL did practically nothing to stop it. Because violence SELLS.
We also really need to ask ourselves why we have allowed Con clowns like Don Cherry and Stephen Harper to weave that thuggish version of our sport into our national fabric, pump it up with cheap jingoism, conflate it with a ridiculous sense of destiny, poison it with a winner take all mentality.
We also need to ask why the media whipped the Stanley Cup final into such a big Canada Vs The World contest, when it was just a contest between two cities. Why they made such a big deal about it. Why even the CBC News led its newscasts with hockey nonsense when hundreds were being massacred in Syria. And farmers in Western Canada were drowning.
Because it's cheap, it's absurd, it makes us look like pathetic losers with an inferiority complex the size of a house. Or like a mob when we're disappointed.
And Canada is much much more than just hockey.
But then that's our beautiful country eh? There are some truths we would rather not face. We'd rather not ask why a Stephen Harper ad looks like a hockey/beer commercial.
What it says about what we are becoming, and where it is leading us...
Because hockey is Canada !!!!!!!!! And we're number ONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh well. Until the NHL cleans up its act, until so many in this country regain their sanity, hockey will only mean one thing to me.
The great Canadian game, that we play with our friends.
Oh.My.Godzilla. Where's Barney when we need him? It seems the right-wingers in this country can't stop lumbering after Brigette DePape.
When they're not bellowing "Canada is not EGYPT !!!!!!" they're calling her a political extremist.
DePape repeatedly talked about stopping, what she termed, the "Harper Agenda." She called for Canadians to engage in civil disobedience, going so far as to claim Canada needs an "Arab Spring" and comparing the situation to the Civil Rights Movement.
Regardless of where one stands on the policies of the Conservative government, it is clear that this sort of talk is at best hyperbolic and at worst offensive. The way the protesters spoke, it's almost as if the Harper government is planning to shred the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Yet there are people, mostly young Canadians, who agree with these sentiments.
Or just young and dumb.
As if there wasn't a Harper Agenda, as if his regime hadn't already begun shredding the Charter of Rights, as if he hadn't acted like a dictator by treating Parliament with contempt.
As if she ever said Canada was Egypt:
This country needs a Canadian version of an Arab Spring, a flowering of popular movements that demonstrate that real power to change things lies not with Harper, but in the hands of the people, when we act together in our streets, neighbourhoods, and workplaces.
Instead of just calling on progressives to organize, restrain Harper from dismantling our country with just 39 percent support, and unite to eventually defeat him.
As if her only real crime, apart from shocking those Con porkers in the Senate, wasn't daring to speak truth to power in a country where too many Canadians don't want to hear it.
By my observations, most Canadians are afraid to speak up, and many find the very act of speaking up distasteful. A common sentiment is that public protesters are objects of ridicule and disgust, and that they need to be controlled. Order is valued above all, at almost any cost.
In that context, DePape's actions were heroic. In a society where people are even afraid to ask their employer for a raise, DePape stood up – alone – and spoke truth to power. She knew her protest would have grave consequences, but she did it anyway, and in an elegant and peaceful way.
A country where those who attack her are the real threat to democracy:
Calling a country a democracy does not make it so. In a healthy democracy, great masses of votes are not wiped out when voters happen to be the minority voice in their geographic location. In a healthy democracy, people are not afraid to protest. In a healthy democracy, people do not express horror and anguish at the sight of a young woman holding a sign.
Because when Jason Kenney calls you a kook you know you are doing the right thing eh?
And because NOTHING could be dumber than thinking that a man who walks like a dictator, and quacks like a dictator, couldn't act even more like a dictator now that he has a majority.
Yup. Those right wingers can bellow like dinosaurs, but in a country where complacency is eroding our democracy, Brigette DePape is an excellent example for young AND old progressives.
It was a grey and rainy Monday, so imagine how great it was to stumble home from work, and see this beautiful rainbow streaming down on my island.
Especially since I know that a sight like that must drive these rainbow chasers CRAZY.
A Canadian Catholic school has banned pupils from using rainbows, the symbol of the gay pride movement.
However, clever pupils led by 16-year-old Leanne Iskander found a novel way to get their message across – by using food dyes to make cupcakes with a secret rainbow centre.
But the way I see it eh? If those nasty bigots don't like that rainbow.
Can you believe those Reform homophobes? Voting unanimously to take away the rights of gay people, while calling themselves mainstream, and Canada's party. Gimme a break.
Oh sure. I know that a lot of people think they won't ban gay marriage or severely restrict access to abortion. But I don't believe that for a moment.
As I'm always pointing out, by cutting party subsidies the Cons will make themselves even more dependent on donations from their rabid religious base. And those crazed fanatics WILL demand their pound of bloody flesh. The writing is on the wall. And those who can't see it are either suckers or collaborators.
Oh well. What can we do ? Except help our LGBT kids any way we can.
And if the bigots don't like our freedom rainbow. And they won't choke on those cupcakes.
We'll just have to take to the streets.
And wave this one in their faces...
Because I couldn't be more ready eh?
The Gay Brigade will join forces with the Brigette Brigade.
It was a compelling story. A young Syrian-American lesbian blogging about life and love in the darkness of a police state, only to be kidnapped.
Arraf wrote a blog called "A Gay Girl in Damascus," a mixture of erotic prose and updates about Syria's violent uprising, including her participation in anti-regime protests. She was detained after weeks on the run in the Syrian capital, family members said Tuesday.
Except that Amina wasn't wasn't Amina. She wasn't kidnapped. And the Gay Girl in Damascus was written by a guy.
The Gay Straight Girl Guy in Damascus Scotland claims his motives were noble.
I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voıce may have been fictional, the facts on thıs blog are true and not mısleading as to the situation on the ground. I do not believe that I have harmed anyone -- I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.
Because of you, Mr. MacMaster, a lot of the real activists in the LGBT community became under the spotlight of the authorities in Syria. These activists, among them myself, had to change so much in their attitude and their lives to protect themselves from the positional harm your little stunt created. You have, sir, put a lot of lives, mine and some friends included, in harm's way so you can play your little game of fictional writing.
As for me I don't know what to think. The fact is that blog focused a lot of international attention on the fascist Syrian regime, and the oppression of LGBT people. Which is great eh? Unless you live there, and the international community won't do anything to save you.
And then there's this:
But at least these things are true.
All kind of people are being oppressed and murdered in Syria, including a lot of real gay girls in Damascus. While the world looks on helplessly.
The truth may or may not be stranger than fiction. But only it will set us free.
I see that after having been buried by an avalanche of criticism, Tracy Morgan has apologized for his hideous homophobic rant.
"I'm not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context,"
"Stand-up comics may have the right to 'work out' their material in its ugliest and rawest form in front of an audience,' said Fey in a statement, "but the violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me ... "
"I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian coworkers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket."
Now I like Tina a lot. But when I first read her statement I wasn't sure I could be that generous to a second-rate rate comedian who would think it funny to say such hateful things.
Not when so many gay kids are bullied to death. Or beaten and thrown out of their homes by their parents.
Or forced to live alone among many...
But then I read this from the gay producer and screenwriter Ron Nyswana
Yesterday, on the set of our movie, I sat in a minivan with Tracy Morgan, who wept as he told me about his violent childhood. I cannot understand the brutality of dire poverty or the soul-killing experience of growing up black in racist America. And Tracy cannot understand the pain of a gay child raised in homophobic America, under the constant barrage of taunts, threats of violence, and the ever-present fear of being exposed and rejected.
His pain is not mine and mine is not his. Neither of us reached adulthood unscathed by the shared prejudices of our culture. We've arrived at manhood slightly distorted, wounded and limited by our battles. We have been hurt. We make mistakes. But our mistakes are made in a cultural context.
Yesterday, while the world Tweeted away, issuing accusations and condemnations, a black, straight comic and a white, gay writer sat in a minivan, crying and trying to understand.
And then I had to admit that I do believe in the power of redemption. Because without it this world would be unlivable. I hate racism just as much as I hate homophobia. And the important thing is that the message has gone out again: bullying is bad, and bigotry is EVIL.
So what more could I want eh?
And besides there's a BONUS.
This tweet from Ana Matronic of the Scissor sisters...
Which not only makes me smile.
But also, since it's Saturday night...
I believe gives me a VERY good excuse to play one of my favourite music videos...
Yup. I admit it. I do believe in the power of redemption. Damn.
And I'd give ANYTHING to dance around with those feathers stuck to my tail.
Well it wasn't Nuremberg. It was Ottawa. But the message from Great Deranged Leader to his adoring followers was the same. Now that we have conquered Germany Canada, we must conquer the WORLD !!!!!!
Harper painted a dark picture of the world around Canada near the end of his mostly upbeat speech, and said there are forces rising that Canada must resist.
Canada's purpose "is no longer to please every dictator with a vote at the United Nations," Harper said, adding he never understood why others felt that was in Canada's national interest.
"Our party’s great purpose is nothing less than to prepare our nation to shoulder a bigger load, in a world that will require it of us," he said.
Great eh? Canada Uber Alles. From pariah nation to rogue nation. We're still spending billions in Afghanistan. The bill for the war in over Libya is clicking like a taxi meter.
And now he's planning to spend billions projecting our military power all over the globe?
Oh. Mein. Gott. Of all Harper's multiple personalities, I knew the one where he thinks he is a great military leader would be the end of us. Or the end of the medicare system when the Con war machine bankrupts the country. Which of course is his secret plan.
And which dictator will he attack next I wonder? The one in Iran, who by threatening Israel is threatening the return of the Christian Messiah?
And then launch an all-out assault on North Korea...or Haiti....or Hong Kong.
Oh wait. Too late.
There he goes now...
You know that little charred ball is probably what the planet will look like after Great Maniac Leader is finished with it. Because if he can hasten The Rapture you KNOW he will.
Yikes. Thank goodness for Brigette and the real majority.
"It's people coming together to say that we're going to resist the Harper agenda, to make sure that the Conservatives know that we won't back down..."
He said that there is no way a woman could love and have sexual desire for another woman, that’s just a woman pretending because she hates a fucking man. He took time to visit the bullshit of this bullying stuff and informed us that the gays needed to quit being pussies and not be whining about something as insignificant as bullying.
He mentioned that gay was something kids learn from the media and programming, and that bullied kids should just bust some ass and beat those other little fuckers that bully them, not whine about it. He said if his son that was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man and not [he mimicked a gay, high pitched voice] or he would pull out a knife and stab that little N (one word I refuse to use) to death.
He mentioned that Barack Obama needed to man up and quit being all down with this just because he has a wife and two daughters. All of this being followed by thunderous cheer and “You go Tracys”. Tracy then said he didn’t fucking care if he pissed off some gays, because if they can take a fucking dick up their ass… they can take a fucking joke.
Because misogyny and homophobia are no joke. And he's just PATHETIC.
The scary part is that so many in the audience would encourage him.
But then homophobia is a frighteningly common disease that infects millions all over the world.
Well at least now nobody can deny what lying hogs they are.
So the G8 legacy for Baird and Clement is complete — pork barreling, deceit and promotions.
Toronto’s G20 legacy is still unfolding, but it will include heavy-handed police tactics, unnecessary detention of law-abiding citizens, a city under siege, vandalism, small businesses denied compensation, an international black eye and the back of the hand from the Harper government.
The contempt they have for Parliament. And the truth.
And nobody can avoid the question that demands an answer:
How could the officially anointed King of Pork, a man who rained this $50 million in goodies throughout his riding under a bogus premise, with no paper trail or rationale, be promoted and put in charge of cutting government waste?
At least now we know the threat we face in the next four years.
“This is a special responsibility for you, the grassroots of our party, to ensure that sure our government does not waiver and that we stay true to our conservative principles,” Mr. Kenney told the crowd at the Ottawa convention centre.
From those who would put the values of their Godzilla before the values of most Canadians. From those who would turn Canada into a JUNGLE...
“We don’t depend on the bloated bureaucracies of the nanny state; we thrive on our freedom and are upheld by the law,” he said.
“We don’t assume that history began in the Summer of Love; we honour a tradition reaching back to the Magna Carta.”
From those who have violated the laws of Parliament, raped our values, and would treat us like The Enemy.
“Our adversaries were focused on the obsessions of the chattering classes – like Taliban prisoners – rather than the practical bread-and-butter concerns of hard-working families.”
And most importantly, now at least we know what we must do if we want to STOP HARPER.
The thousands of positive comments shared online, the printing of “Stop Harper” buttons and stickers and lawn signs, and the many calls for further action convinced me that this is not merely a country of people dissatisfied with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s vision for Canada.
It is a country of people burning with desire for change.
Media and politicians have argued that I tarnished the throne speech, a solemn Canadian tradition. I now believe more in another tradition — the tradition of ordinary people in this country fighting to create a more just and sustainable world, using peaceful direct action and civil disobedience.
It’s important to bring to your attention, though, the fact that Sun News is providing a much-needed service in Canada. If you’ve got a devilish sense of humour, it is the most hilarious news channel you’ve ever, ever seen. You want weird comedy? You got it by the bucketful with these people.
And how about that Krista Erickson?
Recently, the channel’s Krista Erickson accosted dancer Margie Gillis on air about arts funding and tried to beat her up, verbally. This was comedy of the raw sort.
Erickson then went wacky. She waved her arms around in a lame attempt to mimic dance movement. Not a wizard at the arm ballet is Krista, believe me. She looked like the Martin Short character Ed Grimley getting excited. “This whole thing,” she barked, while frantically waved her arms, “Why does it cost $1.2-million over 13 years?” Then she shouted at Gillis to try to drown out the response.
And then it got worse.
Then Erickson went full-bore Monty Python. She denounced Gillis for being a dancer and having an opinion about Canada. The thrust of her argument was expressed as this: “We have lost more than 150 soldiers who have served in Afghanistan! They have put their lives on the line and, you know, it is, frankly, quite a serious business compared with people dancing on a stage!”
But my advice is take John Doyle's word for it, because life is too short, they pay him to watch this stuff. And he has some good advice for Erickson.
Memo to Krista Erickson: Get out of Sun News now. Before your name becomes synonymous with Monty Python-style TV gags and the hilarity that ensues. But, before you go, do that attempted arm ballet thing again. Man, that’s funny.
Because when they start laughing at you it's OVER.
And Ezra Levant is funny enough...
As for Kory Teneycke, my advice to him is to start polishing his resume, like he used to polish Stephen Harper's fleshy buttocks. Because this has to be the biggest bomb in the history of Canadian television.
And goodness knows who he'll hire next...
Sun Nooz TV, the lonely voice of the conservative movement.
Oh dear. I see Stephen Harper jetted off with his entourage to Boston today, to try to revive the flagging fortunes of the Vancouver Canucks. Only to curse them further.
