Anti-Harper Demonstration: Anonymous Report from the Marconi Club, May 2, 2014

Conservative "Volunteer" confronting anti-Harper demonstrators

Report on the Conservatives 3rd year anniversary party from the Marconi Club: In the line up there were some people who threw disgust at the protest but even more of them felt uncomfortable and nervous in the line so the protest had some effect. No microphones for questions from the audience and I have never seen so many RCMP and local police at an event in London before. They had what appeared to be the Western Conservative Club (Hitler Youth) on the stage behind where Harper spoke so the cameras could film the youngest Conservative contingent even though the crowd was predominantly 50+. They did however have the creme of London's political, business, academic and even members of London's non profit agencies there. 

Harper was way late in getting started, and he spoke, thankfully, for only about twenty minutes. What he didn't talk about was more interesting than he did talk about which are the Con's faithful, a strong stable economy, safer streets, etc. He did drone on about the economy but he never mentioned the oil and gas industry at all. He talked about making strong and preserving things for the future but he only gave one line to the environment in the way of preserving Canada's park system, the rest of the night was made up on the Con's talking points and the fact that the opposition fought him on all of the "great" things the Con's have done for Canada during this session. When he talked about the opposition he only talked about the NDP Party as a whole but Justin Trudeau only for the Liberals. 

He wanted the Party faithful to keep working for the Party but I am surprised he never mentioned anything about money for the next election. I would have figured that would have been the time to try and get those purses and wallets loosen up but I expect massive amounts of follow up requests. 

Harper's biggest round of applause was for his support for Israel against Arab terrorists (his words) and second biggest was for his support for the Ukraine. It seems that Cons believe everything western news outlets broadcast or publish.

For a news story on the demonstration click here.

Linda McQuaig: The Trouble With Billionaires

Poster: click here.

Citizens' Inquest and the London Chapter of the Council of Canadians is proud to present Linda McQuaig speaking on, “The Trouble with Billionaires: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic Inequality,” at the Wolf Auditorium, London Central Library on Thursday April 5, 2012 at 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Please mark your calenders. Linda McQuaig will also be speaking at the Vitali Student Lounge, Wemple Building, King's University College, 266 Epworth Ave., London on Thursday April 5, 2012 at 1:30 pm until 3:30 pm. Linda McQuaig well-known journalist and co-author of The Trouble with Billionaires. She will talk about how today’s extreme concentration of wealth at the top threatens the well-being of the 99 percent, and undermines our very democracy. Copies of her books will be available for purchase. Please forward to your friends and post on web sites and to your lists. Phone #: Contact Ed Corrigan Law Office 519-439-4015 Biographical Information on Linda McQuaig: Journalist and best-selling author Linda McQuaig has developed a reputation for challenging the establishment. As a reporter for The Globe and Mail, she won a National Newspaper Award in 1989 for writing a series of articles which sparked a public inquiry into the activities of Ontario political lobbyist Patti Starr, and eventually led to Starr's imprisonment. And as a Senior Writer for Maclean's magazine, McQuaig (and Ian Austen) wrote two cover stories probing the questionable business dealings of Conrad Black in connection with a U.S. takeover bid in the early 1980s. An irate Black suggested on CBC radio that McQuaig should be horsewhipped. In 1991, she was awarded an Atkinson Fellowship for Journalism in Public Policy to study the social welfare systems in Europe and North America.Since 2002, McQuaig has written an op-ed column for the Toronto Star. She is author of eight books on politics and economics – all national bestsellers – including Shooting the Hippo (short-listed for the Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction), The Cult of Impotence, All You Can Eat, It's the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil and the Fight for the Planet, and Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire. Her most recent book, co-authored with Neil Brooks, is The Trouble With Billionaires. Here is Linda McQuaig's recent article published by the Toronto Star on the London Electro-Motive locomotive, owned by US Multinational, Caterpillar, lock out in London, Ont. http://www.thestar.com/​opinion/editorialopinion/​article/​1116562--ottawa-favours-for​eign-businesses-over-canad​ian-employees Ottawa favours foreign businesses over Canadian employees Published On Mon Jan 16 2012 Locked-out workers at the Electro-Motive facility in London, Ont. U.S.-owned Caterpillar, Electro-Motive's parent company, wants to cut wages in half. Locked-out workers at the Electro-Motive facility in London, Ont. U.S.-owned Caterpillar, Electro-Motive's parent company, wants to cut wages in half. DAVE CHIDLEY/THE CANADIAN PRESS Image By Linda McQuaig Columnist Hundreds of shivering factory workers locked out of their plant by manufacturing giant Caterpillar in London, Ont., might well draw some warm comfort from — of all things — the sayings of Newt Gingrich. Of course, the conservative Republican presidential contender is no friend of labour or social justice; he recently proposed that poor children be schooled in the ways of free enterprise by being hired to clean school washrooms. Nonetheless, Gingrich, one of the stars of the Republican freak show, is desperate to defeat front-runner Mitt Romney. With the mitts off, Gingrich is denouncing Romney’s background as a Wall Street corporate raider, accusing him of practising a form of capitalism where “you basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers.” The multi-millionaire Romney showed his empathy for working people by noting, in a discussion about private health care, that “I like being able to fire people who provide services” and insisting that comments about the rich having too much money should be confined to “quiet rooms.” All this has unleashed an unexpected and fierce debate about the brutality of unbridled capitalism — a debate the Republican establishment is scrambling to sweep back into the quiet rooms as quickly as possible. Here in Canada, Stephen Harper has tried to head off a similar debate, dismissing the relevance of Occupy Wall Street on the grounds that “we have a very different situation here than the United States.” In fact, under the Harper government, the slightly milder Canadian version of capitalism is rapidly giving way to a more virulent U.S.-style variant, with even greater wealth concentration and fewer protections for working people. Indeed, Gingrich’s depiction of a capitalism where “you basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers” seems like a perfect description of what’s going on in London, where the highly profitable U.S.-owned Caterpillar is demanding its Canadian workforce accept a 50-per-cent wage cut. When the workers declined this take-it-or-leave-it offer, they were locked out on New Year’s Eve. If this isn’t ruthless, heartless capitalism — enough to make even Newt’s blood boil — it’s hard to imagine what is. Yet, as the 500 London workers have bundled up in the cold, the Harper government refuses to get involved, sitting silently on the sidelines as Caterpillar brings its notorious anti-union fervour to Canada. In fact, the Harper government is involved, having played a key role in bringing about this disaster for the London workers by approving the sale of the company, Electro-Motive Diesel, to foreign-owned Caterpillar in 2010, after supposedly investigating whether the deal was in Canada’s interests. The Canadian Auto Workers, which represents the locked out workers, believes Caterpillar purchased the plant with the intention of gaining technology and market share and then moving operations south. The Harper government also approved a foreign takeover by another notorious union-busting company, mining giant Rio Tinto, which has now locked out 800 workers in Alma, Que. The Canadian Labour Congress is demanding that Ottawa strengthen its foreign takeover laws to make the secretive review process more open, with public hearings in affected communities and publication of the conditions imposed — if any — on foreign owners. Ironically, the Harper government has complained forcefully about “foreign” interference from outside environmentalists protesting a proposed pipeline across the Rockies. But when it comes to foreign companies stripping Canadian workers of half their wages and then moving operations out of the country, the government hasn’t a negative word to say. Harper is of course staunchly pro-capitalist, and has aggressively lowered corporate tax rates, while refusing to link lower taxes to investment or job creation. But his anti-union stance, evident in disputes at Air Canada and the post office last summer, has been particularly provocative. He seems determined to turn Canada into an anti-union paradise — prompting the Ontario Federation of Labour to call for a mass rally at the Caterpillar plant in London this Saturday. As the PM gears up for his coming battle against federal public sector unions, he will no doubt draw inspiration from Mitt Romney’s stirring words: “I like to be able to fire people who provide services.”

MEGA-YACHT PROTEST

RT @Denise Savoie: Victoria paddlers and residents came out in force today to protest mega-yacht marina proposal - http://denisesavoie.ndp.ca/node/1163

There were something on the order of 200 protesters on land and 100 boats on the water! Very effective protest against corporate (developer) arrogance and disdain for democracy, destruction of a spectacularly beautiful harbour by the installation of a parking lot for the rich and their huge yachts blocking the view enjoyed by residents and tourists alike, the loss of recreational freedom of kayakers and other boaters to use the harbour, the loss of safety engendered by a far too congested harbour, and the environmental pollution of an already stressed waterway, to say nothing of the unconscionable use of fossil fuels to power gigantic toys for ridiculously wealthy overgrown boys! And all subsidized by the Campbell and Harper governments (our money), which are in power partly as a result of political donations from developers!

Official Statement on the 2010 Olympics

Written by Council of Canadians
Click here for full statement. Exerpt:
"As an organization focused on global justice we are especially concerned that the 2010 Olympics are providing a prime 'green‐washing' opportunity for corporations involved in the most egregious threats to the survival of humanity and the earth through their active participation in the privatization and commodification of water and massive environmental degradation exemplified by the exploitation of the tar sands... At a time of economic crisis when federal, provincial and municipal governments should focus on public projects that create a lasting positive social and economic foundation the 2010 Games appear set to leave a legacy of social and environmental destruction and massive debt that will hobble our ability to make positive change and respond to the serious challenges facing communities across the province and the country."

Torch Relay Protest

Above: Snakes in the Grass protesters wait for the Olympic torch at the Blue Bridge in Victoria, taking the opportunity to educate RCMP Constable Ross Wallace on the finer points of corporate bad behaviour.


On Friday, October 30, 2009, at the start of the Torch Relay in Victoria, snakesinthegrass.net staged two demonstrations against some of the worst sponsors of the Olympics and the overall outrageous spending on the relay at the expense of social services cuts. Early in the morning five hardy souls braved the cold and damp to be at the Blue Bridge when the torch was passed from one runner to the next and carried over the bridge. We were actually personally escorted to the other side of the entrance by Constable Wallace of the RCMP so that we would be better positioned when the torch arrived. (The above photo shows four of us just before we moved across the road.) The torch was an hour or two late in arriving, so we had lots of time to educate the RCMP and the media about our objections to various sponsors of the Olympics and our outrage at the $30 million cost of the torch relay, of which $20 million is taxpayer funded and the rest by mainly Coca Cola, notorious for unethical and criminal acts around the world, and RBC, the major financier of the Alberta tar sands, the most environmentally destructive mega-project on the planet.


Two vans full of cheerleaders passed by, the first loudly touting the virtues of Coke and the second singing the praises of RBC. Shouts of “SHAME!” and “BOO!” drowned them out as we waved and bobbed our protest signs right next to the vans. Here are some shots of a few of our signs.















As the torch carrier finally approached, the next runner engaged us in conversation, objecting to our negative view of many aspects of the Olympics. Naturally, he was completely oblivious to them and totally hyped about his role in the relay. At the passing of the flame from one torch to the next, we made a lot of noise and bobbed our signs up and down, attracting media attention and making it impossible for them to photograph the event without including us. All of this took place just a few feet away from the two relay runners.

In spite of a great deal of media attention, including multiple photographs, videos and interviews, our demonstration at the Blue Bridge was not reported on anywhere in the mainstream media, except for a few seconds of fame in a few of the local TV news reports.

In the afternoon we joined No2010 in “Five Ring Circus”, an anti-Olympics festival in Centennial Square at Victoria City Hall (see above). More of our protest signs are shown below.

Coffee Night Film

CoC Victoria Coffee Night: Tuesday, August 19

Written by John Pope

Great turnout for a warm summer evening - 31 people.

'The Yes Men' video documentary was greatly appreciated and applauded.

The coffee and the friendly co-mingling was also a hit.

The Coffee Night committee will now consider it's presentation options for September and October.

We hope to see you all again soon!

You are welcome to add a comment to this blog, especially if you saw the film and have an opinion on it and would like to share it with others. (To see all of the comments so far, click on the title of this blog.)

Note also the relationship between this film and our newest project, Snakes in the Grass (snakesinthegrass.net), the first action of which is described in the previous blog.

Snakes in the Grass First Action!

PNWER Protest, July 20-21, 2008

Written by snakesinthegrass.net
















SIG just completed its first action, a protest against the trade and security "public private partnership" (P3) called the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Summit in Vancouver, Sunday July 20 and Monday July 21. The purpose of this action was twofold: to educate the public about the real agenda of this P3 and its participants and its undermining and bypassing democracy; and to confront the summit attendees and make it known to them that SIG will do everything it can to place their nefarious activities in the public spotlight.

For a video of the interviews, songs and talks before the noisy part of our protest, click here.

Our SIG action in Vancouver on Sunday July 20 and Monday July 21 went well. We leafleted all over the place, including the 9 a.m. Sunday ferry to Tsawwassen, street corners, at the protest, on the Bayshore sea walk, and so on (all while wearing our SIG outfits, which consisted of black outfits under safety vests with our logo and web site on the backs and green pith helmets covered with rubber snakes). We sang our songs in many different places. We demonstrated LOUDLY with other groups (Sunday evening) outside the hotel where the PNWER Summit was taking place (a small crowd with a strong voice and lots of noise making). We sang our songs outside the hotel the next morning. After a day of leafleting and singing around the city, including at the art gallery, we took the 3 pm Monday ferry back to Swartz Bay. We attracted lots of attention, including radio, TV, and print media, filming, recording and interviewing!

The several RCMP officers at the hotel protest showed great restraint, even when the younger activists pummeled the back iron fence with pots (and they did damage it, according to the hotel managers). One of the younger protesters was detained, but only for a while (during the height of the protest, of course…), and rumour had it that he was already well known to the RCMP. Nobody stopped us from doing our thing until, on the ferry going back, one of the crew said we could not distribute our handbills because we did not obtain prior permission from BC Ferries. So we just walked around all of the decks wearing our outfits advertising our web site. If anyone was curious who we were, we could just tell them verbally what we were up to and refer them to the web site.

All in all, it was a very successful maiden voyage of Snakes in the Grass!

You are welcome to add a comment to this blog, especially if you have an opinion about Snakes in the Grass as a new project of the Council of Canadians. In addition, you can also register your opinion by taking the poll on our web site (victoriacouncilofcanadians.ca).