Kick Right-Wing Butt!

I created a Stephen Harper boxing game over at PlayMyGame.com . Political junkies can have lots of fun harpooning their least favourite politicians in a variety of interactive games.

Charest and Dumont are "Drunk" With Power

Hilarious.

Political Post Secrets

Frank Warren's very powerful post secret blog was featured on CBC's The Hour last night. I visit this blog about once a month because it has more than its fair share of political secrets. I thought I'd share my favourite from this week.

Municipal Compliance Audits

Yesterday, I took part in a press conference at Metro Hall hosted by Vote Toronto on the subject of municipal campaign finance reform. Ironically, back home I learned that a compliance audit application was being filed against Niagara Falls Councillor Wayne Thomson. Thomson is no stranger to compliance audits. In fact, people like him are responsible for groups like Vote Toronto who are calling for an overhaul of Ontario's system of municipal campaign finance. Given the history, this should be interesting.

The Only Sport That Matters

German political theorists take on ancient Greek political theorists in a game of soccer.

Beach is Closed, Well Not Really...

The Niagara Falls Review featured a story today under the heading E. coli closes Fort Erie beaches. However, if you actually read the article, you will notice the following sentence within it: "It also doesn't mean the beach is closed. " I know reporters don't write their own headlines, but I couldn't help to shake my head when I read this. The Review is such a terrible newspaper.

Niagara Hotel Workers Demonstrate

Members of UNITE HERE 2347 hosted one of the largest labour rallies in Niagara Falls earlier this month. Niagara Centre NDP MPP Peter Kormos, flanked by UNITE HERE Canada Vice President Alex Dagg, spoke at the rally of hotel workers protesting the anti-union tactics of Canadian Niagara Hotels. The rally also featured a surprise appearance by Niagara Falls Liberal MPP Kim Craitor who reminded the crowd that he had been the president of three unions as well as head of the local labour council before being elected to Queen's Park in 2003.

Is Outremont a Liberal Stronghold?

Hardly. Although it's true that the Liberals have dominated in Outremont historically, the party did lose the seat to the Conservatives in 1988 and Liberal support in Outremont has declined in every election since 1997. The NDP, on the other hand, has never come close to winning in Outremont, but the riding is the NDP's number one target in Quebec and the party has significantly increased its share of the vote in Outremont in recent years. Expect the NDP to throw everything at Outremont. If the Liberals think they can cruise to victory based on history alone, they are in for a rude awakening, espcially when they are facing the toughest NDP candidate in recent history in Thomas Mulcair.

Please, Someone Take Away This Guy's Show...

Dr. Phil's House of Hate

Six individuals with different judgments and prejudices move into The Dr. Phil House together, with cameras capturing every move as they struggle to challenge their own beliefs and values. Gary is a white supremacist, and B. is an African-American who hates white people. Staci is thin and hates fat people, and John is over 600 pounds and hates skinny people. Christina fears and hates homosexuals, and Tessa is a lesbian who hates straight people. They all work together in various assignments from Dr. Phil. Will they break down the walls of hatred and intolerance and learn to accept one another?

Is the "Working Class" Still Relevant?

Political activist John Throne talks about the relevance of the working class, religion, and imperialism in today's political climate.

The Future of Social Democracy in Quebec

Le Devoir has a great feature on the future of social democracy in Quebec.

This is an important discussion in light of Pauline Marois's contention that the PQ must embrace social democracy to reconnect with its base while it rethinks its strategy vis-a-vis constitutional questions. However, what does Marois means when she talks about social democracy? Many on the left fear that she plans to follow the lead on Tony Blair and implement a Third Way course for Quebec.

You can read three articles on the future of the left in Quebec:

Les dilemmes de la gauche

Rendre la social-démocratie «durable»

Tony Blair peut-il être encore un modèle?

Another Republican Gay Abortion Conspiracy Theory

h/t to the Daily Dissidence.

Socialism Still a Viable Option: Poll

Shocker:

Is socialism still a viable political alternative for the major industrial nations?

Yes
(60%) 8088 votes

No
(40%) 5402 votes

Total votes: 13490


Globe & Mail readers recently agreed overwhelmingly that socialism is still a viable political alternative in advanced industrial nations. Unscientific? Yes, but still shocking given the current political climate.

What Kind of Lefty Are You?

Via Nag on the Lake

Take the quiz and find out which of the following breeds you most resemble...

1. You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.

2. You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or hippie. You believe in stopping American imperial conquest and supporting our troops by bringing them home.

3. You are an Eco-Avenger, also known as an environmentalist or tree hugger. You believe in saving the planet from the clutches of air-fouling, oil-drilling, earth-raping conservative fossil fools.

4. You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.

5. You are a Working Class Warrior, also known as a blue-collar Democrat. You believe that the little guy is getting screwed by conservative greed-mongers and corporate criminals, and you’re not going to take it anymore.

It's Official: Mulcair Will Run in Outremont

But is an Quebec NDP breakthrough on the horizon? Don't count on it.

The federal NDP's worst kept secret in Quebec is no longer a secret. Former Quebec Liberal Environment Minster Thomas Mulcair will run for the party in Outremont, where a by-election is expected to be called shortly. A Mulcair NDP victory is still a long shot at this point,but certainly not out of the question. An unprecedented vote split is what the New Democrats will be praying for.

The Religious Right's Link Between Feminism and Homosexuality

The "toilet seat preacher" surely drives more and more people away from religion with this kind of analysis...

Saskatchewan NDP Hypocrisy on Broken Promises

Lorne Clavert isn't going to get away with this kind of crap.

From the Globe & Mail:

But Mr. Calvert said he expects politicians to keep their promises.

“I can't accept that they didn't understand what they were promising. This promise was made by [Prime Minister] Stephen Harper who understands, of anybody in Canada, the role of the non-renewable natural resource sector,” said the premier.

“What has changed their mind? It may well be simply the politics of where the seats are. We don't have many seats in Saskatchewan and there are a lot more seats elsewhere and it may simply be a political decision to maintain seats.”

Funny, a Sasktchewan NDP premier criticizing someone for broken promises... I seem to recall a few NDP broken promises in Saskatchewan. Here's the most recent one:

Saskatchewan's NDP government has caved in to pressure from the business community and scrapped so-called available hours legislation to help part-time workers.

"By backing down to the corporate bullies, the (Lorne) Calvert government has abandoned the very people who need a courageous government in their corner," says Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. The Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU/NUPGE) was among labour unions across the province pushing to have the legislation proclaimed into law.

Although the bill was passed by the legislature, the cabinet stalled on bringing it into effect because of strong resistance from business and from opposition political parties.

Launch a Revolutionary Storm in Education

Watch this clip from the old socialist Chinese film "Breaking With Old Ideas".

Porn Star Jameson Endorses Hillary

Jenna Jameson is a big name, but who will Ron Jeremy support?

Communist Super Hero Action Figure

His name is Vanguard.

Marvel Comics describes him as follows:

Vanguard is a mutant with the ability to repel any force which is directed at him. He can construct an invisible force field around his body, which can reflect energy or moving objects. He can focus and magnify his powers through the hammer and
sickle he carries with him by crossing them over each other. The full potential of his powers has not been tested yet. In Soviet Super-Soldiers #1, he displayed the ability to fly by repelling the Earth.