Racism: Double Talk, Double Standards.

I have always been proud to tell people that I was going to Queens' University. But since my graduation this past spring, I have had the opportunity to view the actions of the university and its student body as a sane individual, capable of rational thought, not blinded by my love for the institution that I had learned to live and breathe for 5 years.

Queens' and its culture of whiteness has been spotlighted in the national media twice this past year. Another high profile event occurred this past week, however it shows a different side to the problem of racism at my alma mater.

...MAP vice-president (university affairs) candidate Suhail Panjwani made [comments] last August on Facebook.

The comment, part of a conversation with a friend, said “yo nigga im fine …ive beat these Indian rapest off with bamboo sticks.”

Mr. Panjwani is not black. He comes from an Indian background. (The use of the n-word by a black man is a separate issue on its own). However, what shocks me the most in this entire story is the fact that his use of the n-word IS NOT the talking point in the Queen's Journal article: Click Here.

The article has chosen instead to implicate the individuals responsible for the leak of the Facebook comment, members of the opposition campaign team for the AMS elections, headed by President candidate Michael Ceci. Since when did it become WRONG to blow the whistle on objectionable conduct? When the accuser is white. This is simply a double standard, a reaction to the perceived racism of attacking a brown individual.

The Queen's Journal simply refuses to be seen siding with a white person over a brown person in a matter of race relations. The quick, and gutless, reaction is to automatically place blame on the white individual. But in this case, Mr. Panjwani's words were simply detestable, and unfit for an individual seeking a position of leadership.

Fond goodbye to 2008

Reasons why 2009 won't be better than 2008.

Why 2008 was such a good year:

• The Dark Knight. Legendary Film.
  
• Wall-E. Another instant classic film.
  
• Giants over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Tyree Catch.
  
• Feed the Animals by Girl Talk. GO DOWNLOAD THIS ALBUM NOW, name your own price!
  
• Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
  
• Beijing's coming out party (Summer Olympics, minus fake fireworks, lip syncing, and underage girls)
  
• I graduated!!!
  

Why 2009 won't be a good year:

• Sadly, President-elect Obama cannot live up to expectations, although he will be a welcome change for many.
  
• We will feel the real effects of the market slowdown (instead of just the hysteria, as we have felt so far)
  
• Black people no longer have an excuse.... but they (as an overgeneralized stereotypical group) will continue to blame "The Man." Heck the President of the most powerful country in the world (AKA "The Man") is half black.
  
• Censorship will become an issue worldwide. See Australia and the UK.
  
• No Formula One race in North America
  

The Winter Classic: Pregame

What a start to this year's edition of the Winter Classic, between the Detroit Red Wings and the host Chicago Blackhawks, held at the legendary Ivy covered red-brick Wrigley Field. This is the 3rd time the NHL has done this, the first being the Habs-Oilers matchup in the Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium. Each time it just gets bigger and better.

The national anthems were just completed, and wow. The crowd is simply hyped! There are many Canadians in the crowd, and they sung our national anthem loud and proud. The Americans, not to be outdone on their own soil, cheered throughout the entire Star Spangeled Banner. Very rousing start to this game.

It seems fitting that this game is being held in Chicago. It seems like Chicago has made an amazing step into the conciousness of America and the world, thanks largely in part to the rise of President-elect Obama. GQ named Chicago it's "City of the Year" for this reason, as well as the hotbed of new Democratic power brokers. I also like to mention Dark Knight, which used Chicago to portray Gotham City, and it does so beautifully.

Anyway, back to the hockey game, it's a good one so far!

Rainy Saturday in Vancouver

I've had quite the adventure over the last 2 1/2 hours in the cold rainy Saturday that will typify winter here in Vancouver.

I attended the Rally for Canada at Library Square. Only half of the speakers were MPs, I was rather impressed. The most rousing speech came from an average citizen. One of those young, formerly disengaged, Facebook types. He started a group that now has 15,000 members opposed to the Liberal-NDP (propped up by the Bloq) coalition. The best moment came from a member of the Korean-Canadian community. She used the term "Jack and Gilles".... Jack and Jill... get it? Funny. Anyway...

There were a good number of people out, even in what one would call the worst weather Vancouver gets. Leaving the square, I got a pamphlet in support of BC-STV, the proposed single transferable vote system that some in BC want to implement, instead of the traditional first past the post (FPTP). An interesting concept that would see multiple MLAs (they are like MPPs), hopefully of different political parties, representing each riding. So you could approach any, or all, with your concerns. It would of course aid the Green Party most, but would give people the comfort to approach someone who is at least affiliated with the same political stripes as themselves. Check out: stv.ca

On my way home, I ran into Hedy Fry, MP for Vancouver Centre, while shopping at The Bay. I had about a 10 minute discussion with her. Nothing new, really. But she was willing to talk for quite a while. Mostly lecture. But what I did get from my chat with her was that the Coalition is now more of a tool to be used in their negotiations on the upcoming budget and stimulus package. But if Harper isn't willing to play ball with them (which remains to be seen, either way), she claims they are still willing to pull the plug. Time will tell.

Finally, I got another little ad about DreamBank. Their slogan: "Give Dreams. Not Stuff" is catchy. But it's not much of a site. It's like a wedding registry, but for Christmas. Boo'urns.

It's not even 3pm... I feel so accomplished for today. Time to relax and watch some hockey.

Divisions

The whole unity issue is starting to surface again, due to this latest political crisis. Quebec separatism mysteriously received a boost, when Charest sided with the Coalition and derided Harper's comments about making a deal with the separatists.

Charest, you have fallen far my friend.

Western alienation is also starting to reach a furor. Just read the Western Standard.

As for Atlantic Canada.... they're feeling a bit left out. This is the best quote that I've heard, from a commentor on the CTV website:

Shayne
What about Atlantic Canadians or do we matter?

Maybe Tommy Douglas was right. Canada is like a cow. The West feeds, Ontario and Quebec milk it and we all know about happens in the Maritimes.

Tale of the Tape

I implore you. Find the video of the two National Addresses from last night. Mr. Harper came off Prime Ministerial. Mr Dion, PM-in-hiding, came across like a high school student council president putting up a video on youtube. CBC, CTV and The Star each have links to the videos on their websites.

In other, mathematically related news, the Liberals clearly CAN NOT control this coalition. The separatists and socialists have MORE VOTES than they do. I believe the numbers come down to 86 - 75.

That, and 74% of Canadians voted AGAINST Dion's leadership.

Simply stated, this coalition is a disaster in the making.

The GG's decision to prorogue government at the request of PM Harper is good news for the LPC. If the coalition had taken over today (or whenever the non-confidence motion was to be voted on), it would surely have collapsed by spring-time, and most pundits are willing to guarantee that the Conservatives would win a clear majority in that scenario. As it stands, if the coalition falls apart before the budget is presented to Parliament (which is at the end of January, more importantly AFTER President-elect Obama's economic stimulus is announced) only Dion is likely to lose face, and not the entire party.

In the end, I'm still hoping to attend the Liberal Leadership Convention in May. It's going to be an exciting time!

Say What?!?! A long discussion on the foreseeable political future

The most exciting moments in Canadian politics in my lifetime...

This past weekend has been the cold shower that I needed to get back into Canadian politics. My initial reaction to the whole mess: Shock. Disbelief. Curiosity.

No need to go over the gory details of what have happened to lead up to the upcoming coalition government of the Liberals, NDP and Bloq. If you have the opportunity, listen to what Rex Murphy had to say in Monday night's piece on The National. I'll include a few of his points in my discussion.

Most importantly, yes, this is all a partisan game. For both sides. Anyone who denies this fact is either lying or kidding themselves.

Stephen Harper saw an opportunity to further decimate the organization of the LPC. The merits of public financing of political parties aside, his move was simply an attempt to further weaken the Liberal Party, perhaps to the brink of existence. He was, simply, completing his mission as Leader of the CPC. Which brings me to my subpoint, on his continued leadership of the CPC.

I believe that Stephen Harper has run his course as Leader of the Conservative Party. He has done many great things for the party, most notably being his efforts in bringing together the remains of the former PC party. He was instrumental in returning the right-of-centre ideologies to the forefront of the national consciousness. He has also succeeded in taming the far-right ideologues that threatened to take over the combined party in its infancy (although some of these people have found homes online). His mandate as leader has always been to bring the Tory voice back to the prominence it had enjoyed in the early part of Canadian history. He may not have delivered a majority government, but he has placed the party in a position where it is capable of virtually anything in the immediate future. Every party requires new blood and new ideas, especially coming out of a transformation like the one the CPC has undergone. Now appears to be the time.

Back to the main point about this being a partisan game. No, the Liberals did not make this move to try to fix the economy because this fiscal update does nothing to fix the current economic problems that Canada is facing. They simply did not want to lose their funding. They currently have very little grassroots fundraising support, which is a sign of a stagnant base. They would not have been able to mount anything close to a decent campaign next time around without the additional funding. This might have impacted them for a generation to come. This is the scenario that the LPC is so desparate to avoid. This coalition ploy is just that, a partisan attempt to keep the party alive. It has nothing to do with the economy.

The NDP on the other hand have no reasonable excuse to join the coalition, other than power. The NDP now has the power (for the 2nd straight government) to push pieces of their agenda. This should be a scary proposition for the average working Canadian (who the NDP love to talk about all the time). Their positions on the economy are based in some fanciful world where government income does not come from the very people they claim to be so worried about. Once again, their participation in the coalition is simply to appear to be a useful political party, and become part of the Cabinet.

The Bloq. What can I say? The very Separatists that want to tear this country asunder. Having a formal arrangement with them is troubling. All the conjecture and insinuations can be found elsewhere (deal with the devil, etc), but my point about them will be about the ideological bankruptcy of their party. Yes, they too need the funding, but WHY DO THEY STILL EXIST? Everything that they have done over the past 3 or 4 years goes to show the futility of their efforts. Not only did Harper one up them with the recognition of the uniqueness of the Quebec peoples (who will argue that?), but now they have signed a deal with the very man who crafted the Clarity Act. Dion is the enemy of the sovereignty movement. The Clarity Act is one of their most hated pieces of legislation. And yet here they are, handing him the keys of power. If you really believed in the sovereignty of the Quebec nation, why would you be in bed with the man who made it virtually impossible for you to separate?

Well... a lot said there. (Maybe not, I dont know) The bottom line I think is this: Yes, they can do what they want, it is within their constitutional rights. Should they? As their initial response to the funding measures, yes. Now that the offending piece of the bill has been removed, probably not. But it is too late to back down from their stated intent. What we are witnessing is one of the grandest moments in Canadian political history. Not the prettiest moment, but they will definitely be teaching this one in Gr. 10 history for generations to come.