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hillarybain's blog

March 18, 2009 Weblog:

A media in crisis

The CBC's board of directors have approved a budget that will result in deep cuts.

"[CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix] has said that selling assets, increasing advertising and cutting jobs and programs could help bridge part of the budget shortfall. Media reports circulating this week indicated the broadcaster was looking at 600 to 1,200 job cuts, although this has not been confirmed."

and...

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer - the 12th most read newspaper in the US - printed its last newspaper.

"The crisis in the US newspaper industry has accelerated in the past few weeks. The collapse in advertising revenue, along with the longer-term problem of declining readership, is the major reason."

March 16, 2009 Weblog:

Harper's Private Thoughts

Harper attacks Liberals, Obama in private speech to party

Jennifer Ditchburn
THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – Stephen Harper made two very different sales pitches for his economic plan this week: one a public pep talk to jittery Canadians, the other a private smoothing-of-the-feathers for uneasy conservatives.

The marquee speech Canadians saw on television Tuesday or read about the next day was about how the economy would recover swiftly and strongly through targeted spending in the budget.

The other was behind closed doors Thursday evening to a group of key conservatives – sharply partisan remarks that ripped into the Liberals, libertarians, the Obama administration's tax policies and Wall Street.

The prime minister spoke at a conference sponsored by the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, a conservative think-tank run by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning.

The prime minister's office did not signal beforehand that he was giving the speech, and refused to make his remarks available afterward.

In a recording obtained by The Canadian Press, Harper goes after the Liberals in a election-campaign style attack, saying the current situation would be much worse had they been in power.

"Imagine the stance Canada would have taken when Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. Imagine how many Liberal insiders and ideologues would be now in the Senate, the courts and countless other federal institutions and agencies – I should say, how many more," Harper said to laughter.

"Imagine the costs of going through with the Kyoto and Kelowna accords with no plan to actually achieve anything on either the environment or aboriginal affairs. Imagine what a carbon tax would be doing to our economy in the middle of a global recession."

» continue reading "Harper's Private Thoughts"

December 17, 2008 Weblog:

The Big 3

big.jpg

ha!

June 17, 2008 Weblog:

APOLOGIZE THIS

Arlo Yuzicapi Fayant response to the apology

Well here I am recovering 36 hours after receiving the Apology.

Apparently, I appear to be one of few who felt quite unsatisfied with the long awaited and quite eloquent script from Prime Minister Stephen Harper regarding Indian Residential Schools in Canada. It was like one of those moments where one truly needs, and is ready, to sneeze and then is suddenly circumvented.

I guess it is because in any other country, these past actions would be considered genocidal, outright war crimes or just plain mean.

Don’t get me wrong. I do not doubt the sincerity in every word issued in the Apology. It brought tears to my eyes along with most everyone who witnessed this epic event at the House of Commons or on big screens throughout Canada. Or for others who faithfully reviewed and re-winded for hours on CPAC and CBC just to make sure one heard it accurately.

The pomp and pageantry just made me want to weep with pride. Especially the old Inuit doing his first drum dance ever, live on national TV with a humidex of 38 degrees to boot. And the beautiful Metis violinist who defied the code by playing something other than the Red River Jig.

The interviews with the survivors were especially poignant. I would know, I come from 4 generations of them.

What makes me crazy is they only said sorry. I should feel elated like my many relations who travelled here to our nation’s capital to hear the mea culpa in person. We have been demanding some kind of a formal apology since the 80’s and yesterday we got what we wanted. A big fat one.

» continue reading "APOLOGIZE THIS"

June 27, 2007 Weblog:

PHILIPPINES: Battle of the Ballot Box A report-back event in Montreal

*Presentations, * Film-Screening, * Debate, * Discussion, * Translation*

THURSDAY, June 28th, 7pm Location: St-Paul's Anglican Church, 3970 Côte-Ste-Catherine Métro Côte-Ste-Catherine Suggested Donation, 5-10$

» continue reading "PHILIPPINES: Battle of the Ballot Box A report-back event in Montreal"

March 15, 2007 Weblog:

Deaths In Police Firing In Nandigram, India

...maddening way to begin the International Day Against Police Brutality...

Amnesty International India is concerned at reports that atleast fifteen people were killed in police firing today in Nandigram which has been the scene of protests for the last few months against possible displacement due to a new chemical project in a proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Reports say that atleast fifteen people (there are varying reports on the number of people killed) were killed and over hundred people injured in police firing today in Nandigram, Eastern Midnapore district, West Bengal where farmers have been protesting an initiative by the West Bengal state government to acquire land.

» continue reading "Deaths In Police Firing In Nandigram, India"

March 5, 2007 Weblog:

Mohawk grandmother remains in hiding, defying arrest warrant

Akwesasne/Kahnawake, Mohawk Territory; March 5, 2007 -- A Mohawk woman from the Akwesasne Community remains in hiding, defying an arrest warrant from the Superior Court of Ontario in Cornwall.

"Katenies" (whose Mohawk name means "she changes things around") refused to appear in court on customs and border violations this past January 18, 2007. Instead, she served her own "Motion to Dismiss," questioning the jurisdiction of the courts and border officials over sovereign Mohawk peoples and their land.

Katenies is a mother and grandmother -- her third grandchild was born just 5 days ago on February 28 -- and a researcher with Mohawk Nation News.

» continue reading "Mohawk grandmother remains in hiding, defying arrest warrant"

February 23, 2007 Weblog:

CEOs want Canada to import temporary workers to oil patch

The Globe and Mail is reporting that Canadian CEOs want "to import temporary Mexican energy workers" to Alberta.

Nothing like cheap labour for a project making CEOs millions.

February 20, 2007 Weblog:

Arms makers see opportunity in Gulf tension

You can always count on the business section of the Globe to give you the real news, without the spin.

February 14, 2007 Weblog:

Google News: Iran

I did a Google News search for "Iran." The results are pretty telling regarding what Bush -- and the media -- are building towards.

February 13, 2007 Weblog:

"The Virgin Earth Challenge" -- Yeesh!

Newsflash: The owner of Virgin Airlines and Virgin Galactic (a space tourism project) is going to save the planet from climate change with the Virgin Earth Challenge. Branson's offering a $25 million prize to the person who can come up with a "commercially viable design which results in the removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases so as to contribute materially to the stability of Earth’s climate."

So, science will save the day once again? Too bad Branson'

» continue reading ""The Virgin Earth Challenge" -- Yeesh!"

January 18, 2007 Weblog:

Barbara McDougall on Six Nations

Another interesting interview on the Autonomy & Solidarity website.

This is a very interesting interview done by CBC with Barbara McDougall who is representing the Canadian government at the negotiating table. She says some quite positive things about Six Nations and also critiques the people in Caledonia who are stirring up trouble...

January 18, 2007 Weblog:

Video Footage from Six Nations

I just came across some great interviews with people from Six Nations. I found Janie Jamison's words particularly kick-ass.