Green blogger, web developer
The GPC launched the new and improved Vision Green today at few press conferences across the country.
One thing that really stood out to me was focus on the future. Policies addressing youth unemployment (currently at record highs) and the affordability of post-secondary education are desperately needed and the Green Party delivered. There can be no doubt that the best party for youth is the Green Party. With a policy like this it will be difficult for NDP front group CFS to dismiss us.
The political parties came to support it late in the game with the exception of Elizabeth May from the Green Party who is the only leader who seems to understand social movement politics
~ http://noprorogue.ca/a-great-day-for-democracy/
So yesterday I posted a short little thing about how CUPE telling people to get back to work is ironic (and funny). It is.
Let me get a few things straight. The weekend is a good thing. Safety regulations are a good thing. So are vacation pay, health care, and a slew of other great things that unions have gotten us. I like unions or I guess I should say I like the idea of unions. Perhaps a better way to say it is that I like what unions used to be.
I know what unions can do, two of my four parents are in unions. However there is a real difference between unions. CUPE is not the same as the USW. ATU is not the same as the UMW.
UMW and USW had created much better working conditions for thousands of Canadian (and American) industrial workers. There efforts have arguable made working conditions and compensation better for all of us.
I think it's great that so many Canadians are against proroguing parliament. I think it's great that so many Canadians are telling their MPs to get back to work.
However, when CUPE tells anyone to get back to work I have to laugh.
Update: Just in case you are unfamiliar with CUPE. They are a large union. Why am I calling them a friend of irony? Well I guess one reason would be that the image on their about page is a picture of the three people on strike.
So the theme that I had been using for this blog had a few problems:
I think this theme is pretty ugly however it's much quicker and the comments are nested better. 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Let me know if you like this theme more than the old one.
Late last week and over the weekend there was a kerfuffle regarding the layoffs in organizing. A facebook group attacking the director of organizing was created that was offensive and completely unacceptable. It was harassment, no doubt. What's more is that the complaint focused on the layoffs in organizing which truth be told are a result of party finances and have little do to with the director in question.
A new EKOS poll was released this morning that has the GPC at 13.4% nationally. I think it's awesome and probably related to Elizabeth speaking out so strongly and early against prorogation and Canadians' general dissatisfaction with the old line parties. What I find more promising than the national numbers are the provincial/regional breakdowns and the momentum.
I have been reading the Report on Greens blog for just a little over a year now but I'm done. I can't read it anymore. It's just not worth it.
They have always taken a rather adversarial approach to the GPC but they have simply gone too far. The main authors Mark Taylor and John Ogilvie like to believe they are actually doing some honest reporting but their reports muster about the same level of journalistic integrity as Glen Beck or in Ogilvie's case Ann Coulter.
I have noticed that on many mixed martial arts (MMA) related forums that fans generally and American fans specifically are at a loss to explain why MMA is so popular in Canada. This confusion has persisted in part due to week explanations from Canadian fans and a general lack of knowledge regarding sports culture in both countries. First I should point out that I am not an expert but I think I may have noticed some trends that help explain why MMA has become such a popular sport in Canada.
