A big fuck you goes out to ezra levant. On his pseudo newsy, jive-ass, racist show recently, ezra thought it would be ok, to use a picture of mine, without properly attributing it. Now, I have a creative commons watermark on all my pictures, which would normally require that media personalities, such as this goof, have to attribute those who's work he uses.
He didn't do that. In fact, he lied, and said it was the "official" page of the Aamjinwnaang Rail blockade. In fact, it was The Indignants Facebook group, which has nothing to do with Idle No More in particular. We're a media group. Yet sun news let him run with it.
I'm asking for a proper attribution, and an apology for not respecting Creative Commons licensing. Ezra, for a lawyer, don't you want to comply with the law? Because technically, you just broke it. LAW BREAKER!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Long live Free Speech! Free speech is dead!
Did you know, that in London, Ontario, you can be charged with "contempt of cop?" Well, now you can! Just think, you're walking down the street, and you say fuck a few times in conversation with someone, and you too can be charged with contempt of cop. Yes, that's right, if there's a cop in the vicinity and you say fuck, maybe even in conversation with the cop, you too can get a summons to court!
But in all seriousness, since when is using profanity against the law? I was taught that we live in a free country, where free speech is paramount to a free and democratic society. This doesn't mean that agents of the state get to decide what amounts to free speech and what doesn't. The cops would have let the fuckin' nazi's march in our streets, in a mistaken belief that hate speech is free speech, for fucks sake.
Here's the encounter that's led to this fucked up situation for those interested in what a police state looks like:
A little background now. For the previous few months before this, the police had been very interested in all things Occupy. I fail to see how an uninvited group would think it's ok to "observe" and "monitor" a peaceful group of activists. They wonder why I'm so outspoken and critical? Maybe because they forgot what police work is really about. Like catching real criminals. Like kidnappers, rapists, and murderers.
But this is easy work. Watching a bunch of people rally. Not like you have to do much. Just stand there, and be a reminder that if you try to do anything "bad" we're gonna getcha. Oh, better not march on the streets now, better not be too loud, better not FUCKING SWEAR! Ooops.. I'm sooooo sorry.
And you know, if you want to say,"Oh, well, you're in the wrong, they were just doing their job", well, sorry, but you'll have to excuse me when I say this is classic intimidation tactics by the state. This is how it starts people. With the surveillance and persecution of peaceful activists. To believe otherwise, is to be truly naive and ignorant. A history lesson might be in order. But that'll have to be another post. For now, lets just say, I don't believe in standing idly by, while someone violates me. In any way, shape, or form.
A few weeks ago, I was walking downtown. I noticed a woman being questioned by the police. As I was walking by, the one cop started calling my name, and said, "hey, I've got a ticket for you". He was lying to me. There was never any ticket. It was an weak attempt at trying to get me to stop to intimidate me. I ignored him, and continued about my business.
So I went to pay my bill. When I was in the store, I saw the cornelius nieuwland walk by the door in the hallway and hesitate when he saw me. He continued and I finished paying my bill. As I walked out the store, mike pottruff started following me, and calling my name. I got fed up, and took out my phone and started filming. I hit the record button twice by accident, so didn't get any footage of my first discussion. I turned the other direction and walked away. I started filming myself at this point, to try and document my experience, and noticed that mike had also turned around. cornelius was waiting at the corner(right beside a "No Loitering sign ironicly) and mike went to join him. Anyway, you can watch that vid here:
mike says that he's got a summons for me at this point. I'm well aware that no fucking beat pig is going to have a summons on his person, and therefore, has no reason to stop and harass me, other than to practice intimidation techniques.
I don't respond well to so called "authority" figures overstepping their mandates. Fuck bacon. You want to intimidate and harass peaceful activist's, you've got another thing coming. I'll fight this, because it is the right thing to do. We let cops violate our rights, then we are asking for trouble. The only thing I am guilty of, is "contempt of cop" and that's not a fucking crime pigs.
See ya in court.
mike pottruff #109322 cornelius nieuwland #303838
But in all seriousness, since when is using profanity against the law? I was taught that we live in a free country, where free speech is paramount to a free and democratic society. This doesn't mean that agents of the state get to decide what amounts to free speech and what doesn't. The cops would have let the fuckin' nazi's march in our streets, in a mistaken belief that hate speech is free speech, for fucks sake.
Here's the encounter that's led to this fucked up situation for those interested in what a police state looks like:
A little background now. For the previous few months before this, the police had been very interested in all things Occupy. I fail to see how an uninvited group would think it's ok to "observe" and "monitor" a peaceful group of activists. They wonder why I'm so outspoken and critical? Maybe because they forgot what police work is really about. Like catching real criminals. Like kidnappers, rapists, and murderers.
But this is easy work. Watching a bunch of people rally. Not like you have to do much. Just stand there, and be a reminder that if you try to do anything "bad" we're gonna getcha. Oh, better not march on the streets now, better not be too loud, better not FUCKING SWEAR! Ooops.. I'm sooooo sorry.
And you know, if you want to say,"Oh, well, you're in the wrong, they were just doing their job", well, sorry, but you'll have to excuse me when I say this is classic intimidation tactics by the state. This is how it starts people. With the surveillance and persecution of peaceful activists. To believe otherwise, is to be truly naive and ignorant. A history lesson might be in order. But that'll have to be another post. For now, lets just say, I don't believe in standing idly by, while someone violates me. In any way, shape, or form.
A few weeks ago, I was walking downtown. I noticed a woman being questioned by the police. As I was walking by, the one cop started calling my name, and said, "hey, I've got a ticket for you". He was lying to me. There was never any ticket. It was an weak attempt at trying to get me to stop to intimidate me. I ignored him, and continued about my business.
So I went to pay my bill. When I was in the store, I saw the cornelius nieuwland walk by the door in the hallway and hesitate when he saw me. He continued and I finished paying my bill. As I walked out the store, mike pottruff started following me, and calling my name. I got fed up, and took out my phone and started filming. I hit the record button twice by accident, so didn't get any footage of my first discussion. I turned the other direction and walked away. I started filming myself at this point, to try and document my experience, and noticed that mike had also turned around. cornelius was waiting at the corner(right beside a "No Loitering sign ironicly) and mike went to join him. Anyway, you can watch that vid here:
mike says that he's got a summons for me at this point. I'm well aware that no fucking beat pig is going to have a summons on his person, and therefore, has no reason to stop and harass me, other than to practice intimidation techniques.
I don't respond well to so called "authority" figures overstepping their mandates. Fuck bacon. You want to intimidate and harass peaceful activist's, you've got another thing coming. I'll fight this, because it is the right thing to do. We let cops violate our rights, then we are asking for trouble. The only thing I am guilty of, is "contempt of cop" and that's not a fucking crime pigs.
See ya in court.
Join the Facebook Solidarity Event!
mike pottruff #109322 cornelius nieuwland #303838
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Fixing the world, isn't hard. Unless you love money.
Colonization has to end. Now. NOT End Civ(great video though). END COLONIZATION! Live together, without fucking over the Original People. Without fucking over immigrants, or women, or minorities, or temporary farm labourers, or doctors, or teachers, or unions, or hospitals. Don't fix the economy, dismantle it. Slowly enough so the pain isn't felt, but quick enough to actually make meaningful change. Like, say, food for everyone. There is NO FUCKING REASON, why ANYONE should have to go hungry in this world. MONEY and the ECONOMY, are the only things that stop it. Attawaspiskat needs houses. But they won't get houses, because they don't have the money. Chemical valley needs some huge changes. But they won't, because they're FUCKING ADDICTED to MONEY. The kids from Davis Inlet still have problems. And what the gov't did, errr, wait a sec, DIDN'T do to help them(but really could have with all that money they spent on RELOCATING?#!#$!????? them), fucking disgusts me. Don't you think it's time for a new paradigm?
Stop living the lie. Stop perpetuating the lies. Harper is bad, yes, but the system he works in is far, far worse. Unless you'd rather argue that wars a good thing? How we should go off into other countries, just because we need their oil? Oh, but I guess it must be ok to go "liberate" people who don't want, nor require, our "liberation's".
Micheal Moore wrote an excellent status on facebook. I'll repost in it's entirety at the bottom for those of you not on the book o' faces. Now, facebook's automated system has given him a slap, because some group of idiots have reported him. WTF? I've had this happen myself. Mostly for nudity, or near nudity. :O Kinda annoying when fb cuts off your account for a month, because of some boob. I like boob. I'm a man. I'm not afraid to admit it. Ok ok, breasts... I happen to enjoy the female form. Kinda makes me feel funny... Like that we used to climb the rope in gym class man. Anyway, hitting some borders with that last one. This all started as a post on fb. Fitting that it should about me talking about it. peace out y'all. Strong are the farts of this one, hmmm.
I don't support the troops, America, and neither do you. I am tired of the ruse we are playing on these brave citizens in our armed forces. And guess what -- a lot of these soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines see right through the bullshit of those words, “I support the troops!,” spoken by Americans with such false sincerity -- false because our actions don’t match our words. These young men and women sign up to risk their very lives to protect us -- and this is what they get in return:
1. They get sent off to wars that have NOTHING to do with defending America or saving our lives. They are used as pawns so that the military-industrial complex can make billions of dollars and the rich here can expand their empire. By “supporting the troops,” that means I’m supposed to shut up, don’t ask questions, do nothing to stop the madness, and sit by and watch thousands of them die? Well, I’ve done an awful lot to try and end this. But the only way you can honestly say you support the troops is to work night and day to get them out of these hell holes they’ve been sent to. And what have I done this week to bring the troops home? Nothing. So if I say “I support the troops," don't believe me -- I clearly don't support the troops because I’ve got more important things to do today, like return an iPhone that doesn’t work and take my car in for a tune up.
2. While the troops we claim to “support” are serving their country, bankers who say they too "support the troops," foreclose on the actual homes of these soldiers and evict their families while they are overseas! ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/bank-of-america-illegal-foreclosures_n_1118471.html ) Have I gone and stood in front of the sheriff's deputy as he is throwing a military family out of their home? No. And there's your proof that I don't “support the troops,” because if I did, I would organize mass sit-ins to block the doors of these homes. Instead, I'm having Chilean sea bass tonight.
3. How many of you who say you "support the troops" have visited a VA hospital to bring aid and comfort to the sick and wounded? ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172_pf.html ) I haven't. How many of you have any clue what it's like to deal with the VA? ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/us/veterans-wait-for-us-aid-amid-growing-backlog-of-claims.html ) I don't. Therefore, you would be safe to say that I don't “support the troops," and neither do you.
4. Who amongst you big enthusiastic “supporters of the troops” can tell me the approximate number of service women who have been raped while in the military? Answer: 19,000 (mostly) female troops are raped or sexually assaulted every year by fellow American troops. (http://public.cq.com/docs/weeklyreport/weeklyreport-000004169541.html ) What have you or I done to bring these criminals to justice? What's that you say -- out of sight, out of mind? These women have suffered, and I've done nothing. So don't ever let me get away with telling you I “support the troops” because, sadly, I don't. And neither do you.
5. Help a homeless vet today? How 'bout yesterday? Last week? Last year? Ever? But I thought you "support the troops!"? The number of homeless veterans is staggering -- on any given night, at least 60,000 veterans are sleeping on the streets of the country that proudly “supports the troops.” (http://nchv.org/index.php/news/media/background_and_statistics/ ) This is disgraceful and shameful, isn’t it? And it exposes all those "troop supporters" who always vote against social programs that would help these veterans. Tonight there are at least 12,700 Iraq/Afghanistan veterans homeless and sleeping on the street. I've never lent a helping hand to one of the many vets I've seen sleeping on the street. I can't bear to look, and I walk past them very quickly. That's called *not* “supporting the troops,” which, I guess, I don't -- and neither do you.
6. And you know, the beautiful thing about all this "support" you and I have been giving the troops -- they feel this love and support so much, a record number of them are killing themselves every single week. In fact, there are now more soldiers killing themselves than soldiers being killed in combat (332 suicides in 2012 through November vs. about 210 combat deaths). Yes, you are more likely to die by your own hand in the United States military than by al Qaeda or the Taliban. And an estimated eighteen veterans kill themselves each day, or one in five of all U.S. suicides -- though no one really knows because we don't bother to keep track. Now, that's what I call support! These troops are really feeling the love, people! Lemme hear you say it again: "I support the troops!" Louder! "I SUPPORT THE TROOPS!!" There, that's better. I'm sure they heard us. Don't forget to fly our flag, wear your flag lapel pin, and never, ever let a service member pass you by without saying, "Thank you for your service!" I'm sure that's all they need to keep from putting a bullet in their heads. Do your best to keep your "support" up for the troops because, God knows, I certainly can't any longer.
I don't “support the troops” or any of those other hollow and hypocritical platitudes uttered by Republicans and frightened Democrats. Here's what I do support: I support them coming home. I support them being treated well. I support peace, and I beg any young person reading this who's thinking of joining the armed forces to please reconsider. Our war department has done little to show you they won’t recklessly put your young life in harm's way for a cause that has nothing to do with what you signed up for. They will not help you once they've used you and spit you back into society. If you're a woman, they will not protect you from rapists in their ranks. And because you have a conscience and you know right from wrong, you do not want yourself being used to kill civilians in other countries who never did anything to hurt us. We are currently involved in at least a half-dozen military actions around the world. Don't become the next statistic so that General Electric can post another record profit -- while paying no taxes -- taxes that otherwise would be paying for the artificial leg that they've kept you waiting for months to receive.
I support you, and will try to do more to be there for you. And the best way you can support me -- and the ideals our country says it believes in -- is to get out of the military as soon as you can and never look back.
And please, next time some “supporter of the troops” says to you with that concerned look on their face, “I thank you for your service,” you have my permission to punch their lights out (figuratively speaking, of course).
(There is something I've done to support the troops -- other than help lead the effort to stop these senseless wars. At the movie theater I run in Michigan, I became the first person in town to institute an affirmative action plan for hiring returning Iraq/Afghanistan vets. I am working to get more businesses in town to join with me in this effort to find jobs for these returning soldiers. I also let all service members in to the movies for free, everyday.)
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