It’s the first weekend of November 2011; we’ve been talking about the Republican presidential race for the past six months and we still have a full year to go before the real deal. Anyone sick and tired of it all already? For three years we’ve witnessed the do little Democrats and the do nothing Republicans fight it out in the Senate and House as if the election was tomorrow. I can only assume this year; with unlimited ammunition being donated from corporations and two vocal, but leaderless grassroots organizations… there will be blood! Let’s start off with the Republican presidential nomination. You have…
Tag: US
We are The 99% and So Are You
At five in the morning on October 14, my Montreal based roommate Kamee Abrahamian (producer of the Blood Ballet Cabaret) and my native New York self crawled out of bed to head to Wall Street. We heard that chaos was going to go down before the sun even came up. We thought we would witness some arrests and be part of the fight for whatever these protests are about…
#OccupyWallStreet Photos, Video & More
The Occupy Wall Street protests are now entering their fourth week. The movement which began in New York City on September 17th has garnered the support of most of the big unions, numerous celebrities, intellectuals, the hactivist group Anonymous, and even some key politicians.
Occupy Wall Street has been growing rapidly and picking up steam as protests pop-up in more and more cities across North America and even Europe (the Occupy Montreal protest begins on Sat Oct 15th). Major media outlets have even started covering this movement seriously…
Riding the Lightning
With the emergence of Rick Perry in the race for the Republican presidential nomination and the fast approaching day of execution for Troy Davis, the debate revolving around the death penalty has begun to heat up yet again. The practice of capital punishment has been used by virtually every society since the dawn of civilization and continues on in modern times, but why is this ancient act of social revenge still present in some of our so-called “civil” societies…
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
It is becoming increasingly difficult not feel a fair amount of pity for American Christians. Having the fortune of spending several weeks in the Carolinas with my family, perhaps the most striking thing to a visitor traveling through “God’s Country” is the sheer number of churches. In one town, which was little more than a single extended road, I counted thirteen. In another, eight, including four on opposing corners from one another. It should go without saying then that despite advances…
Remember 9/11 but don’t forget the rest
Ten years ago I was working the night shift in a call centre. I had been up kind of late the night before and a phone call before 9am was not what I wanted, but it’s what I got. My initial reaction to news of a plane hitting the World Trade Center was blunt: “Yeah right, Jerry, I’m trying to sleep.” But he insisted that he wasn’t joking and that I turn on the TV…But he insisted that he wasn’t joking and that I turn on the TV. After a bit of groaning, I left my bed that I had only reached a few hours prior, went into the living room…
Closing the window on Irene
As the remnants of Tropical Storm Irene pounded Montreal this past Sunday, I hunkered down in my apartment. Listening to the winds blow and the rain fall, I thought to myself: “I should really close the living room window, my roommate’s XBox is getting wet.” If you were expecting my rainy day thoughts to be something more profound or at the very least profound-ish sounding and dealing with the nature of nature and its relationship to our very unnatural culture, well, that’s not the case here. And why should it be? Yeah, I had been outside earlier in the day. I had felt slightly stronger-than-usual winds press up against me as I ran some errands. I witnessed the closest thing my neighbourhood got to destruction…
Corporate Tax Cuts and the Facts
As the American political landscape continues to show no signs of stopping its descent into what can only be described as an increasingly reactionary and carnivalesque sideshow, one begins to wonder if the more measured and sober voices in Washington have finally decided to call it a day. Even on our own side of the border the divisions continue to grow deeper and more virulent with almost no position free from partisan embelishment. However, to those who would suggest that the truth always lies somewhere in the middleoften with rather…
Rick Perry: The New Mouth of the South
When Rick Perry announced he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States on August 13th, he did so with much publicity and fanfare, he even managed 700+ votes as a write in candidate in the Ames Straw Poll that same weekend. He was instantly dubbed as a man with charisma, a man of action, and a man who isn’t too shy to let his voice be heard, kind of like a George Bush that can speak English. Perry has deep corporate pockets and will be a formidable foe for the other conservatives aspiring for the top job, but…
The Enemy Within II: A Waco End-Game Scenario
I’ve been fascinated by the Siege at Waco and the Branch Davidians since I was eight years old and watched the tragic events unfold nearly-live on CNN in 1993. Admittedly, I was not as aware of the grave implications of the raid, stand-off and siege back then as I am today. Waco, in my eyes, is a catastrophe so epic it deserves to stay fresh in the minds of any concerned citizen living in a modern democratic nation. I think it would be too glib to call it an isolated event, and even if the threat from doomsday cults is generally a bit of a rarity, the lessons from the Waco Siege have broad implications, especially in regards to the responsibilities of modern media and the potential for State intervention therein…