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Layton to NDP convention: We'll form the next government
Inequality in Canada and Germany worst among 30 capitalist countries
She's known around here as "Nettie," but a Barbie doll keeps beating her in elections.
On the 'socialist' thread - good discussion on behind-closed-doors maneuvering. I thought that was how Liberals behave.
So what time is the socialism resolution?
Thanks for the clarification. Being a bit of a curmudgeon, I still would have voted "no"
I think the provincial party and/or whatever the Ontario equivalent of the Council of Federal Ridings is should have been tapped for the funding rather than the federal caucus. Given relative party strength in various regions and the ability of caucuses within those regions to raise funds I think this is a poor allocation of resources. (Damn, I have spent way too much time at ANDP budget committee meetings, haven't I?)
In your role as provincial caucus rep, did you request the federal caucus to press the leader's handlers to make room on the schedule to ensure the leader would be present at these events? That would be something I would have voted for.
Very strong resolutions on climate change, against the Enbridge pipeline and tanker traffic, water resource protection, and more. One delegate pointed out that with a majority behind him, Harper can win all these arguments - but he can't win against 'people power' standing up against him - an echo of what Brigette DePape said - for example standing against the Enbridge pipeline in solidarity with the First Nations.
ETA: great speech from Ken Georgetti, reminding us that the NDP has always been in solidarity with labour.
ETA: strong words from Nathan Cullen on the environment. He'd make a great leader.
ETA: I didn't catch the name of the delegate who spoke against the tar sands, but he was awesome.
ETA: why can't the NDP be consistently progressive? All this great stuff at convention - but the headline stuff that I mentioned in an earlier post, why does Layton (and others) take such a regressive world view on some things?
I think that's scheduled for Sunday.
Brad Lavigne made his presentation, showing NDP vote up right across the country - even in Alberta, but especially Quebec.
During the policy resolutions debates, a lot of calls to abolish the Senate.
It seems there's a resolution coming up later this afternoon to endorse the NDP parliamentary position on Libya. That debate should be full of fireworks!
abolish that House which is full of loser candidates, party hacks and bagmen.
...and thwarts the democratic will of the House of Commons!
Lavigne's a smart guy, and if I trusted him more I'd be glad he's on my side, but currently I'm in a bit of confusion about whose side he's on. During his press conference he was going on about how the party loves open debate and would never stifle it. Gag me. (I mean, literally.)
Maybe backroom insiders can decide what measures we can express our 'democratic will' on before we go saying someone is thwarting it...
International resolutions coming up now. If I'm understanding correctly, the resolution on the boat to Gaza was bumped down the order paper from no. 2 to no. 10 without consultation. Tension brewing.
And Paul Dewar. Seriously, the NDP needs to do better than Paul Dewar.
Can't watch CPAC as it's off the air here due to bad weather conditions - fog, wind, heavy rain. I'll rely on your reporting.
CPAC has been showing pages from the NDP policy book - which is shown on the big screen to delegates - and I'm impressed. Someone about a year ago made reference to this as the most progressive policy book out there (Stockholm maybe?) and it really shows the heart of the NDP. If you're a progressive, aside from the NDP, at the federal level, who else is there? I think it's important that the NDP get its message together on hot-button issues like Gaza, Libya, and others with some consistency if it's going to eventually govern. And it needs to be consistent on Quebec, both from within the province, and outside, because people are watching.
It looks like they ran out of time on the resolutions and have moved on to other business. The Libya resolution didn't even make it to the floor.
Another thing: MPs were monopolizing the mics. When regular delegates spoke, it was almost always points of order about WTF is going on? Why can't we vote? that didn't receive satisfactory answers.
On domestic policy, the NDP has it together. Internationally, it's a shambles and an embarrassment.
Its hard to support Gaza(one of the poorest regions in the Arab world) with a Hamas goverment in power. Its not that Israel's right wing govt deserves praise, its that they simply have a bigger,gutless, shameful lobby and massive influence in the media.
Yeah, I was just going to say that. I suspect that if the NDP endorsed the Freedom Flotilla, they will be raked over the coals endlessly by the Canadian media - and we will have endless condemnations emanating from Harper and his caucus, and probably from the Liberals as well. And all this negativity will sidetrack from the NDP's positive domestic policies, and forcing the party to play an endless game of defense. It's a shitty situation to be in, and shows just how unfair the MSM is to the NDP.
The issue isn't just "supporting Gaza". It's also the necessity to make a clear statement that it is totally, universally unacceptable to deliberately impose hardship on a civilian population because those making the imposition don't like that leadership. That is not negotiable.
Besides which, the objective of such an imposition(that is, to starve the civilian population into rising against said leadership)has never been achieved anywhere in which such tactics have been used.
You don't have to like Hamas to support the flotilla.
The hypocrisy of the executive not trusting the membership, while claiming to love open debate, is what sticks with me.
They should make a statement like this "We support aid to Gaza but not aid that lands in the hands of Hamas" But the reality is that some of it will unfortunately end up in the hands of the rich Hamas. Some weapons might be unfortunatly smuggled on board as well. If it was Fatah, it would be 100% easier to support the flotilla.
Anyways, the debate on PR is interesting. It mentions the far right in Europe which has seats due to PR. What type of pr are they proposing though?
Oh, the long form census is run by Lockheed Martin, I learn something new every day.
Then again, the far right in Canada has a majority under FPTP. And the obvious answer to that is to use the German idea of a threshhold. In Germany, it's 5%...in Canada or the U.S. I'd say that 4% or 3% might be better. And also, Canada doesn't have an organized neo-Nazi movement that could get its act together enough to take advantage of pr.
Maybe the NDP should say they support giving aid to Gazans, regardless of who they elected as their democratically legitimate government. Rather than parrot the Zionist propaganda that has swamped the discourse on Palestine in the western world, the NDP could take a principled, objective stand on the issue of aid to Gaza.
...the "democratic will of the House of Commons" being, of course, a synonym for the "undemocratic will of the pseudo-majority Conservatives in the House of Commons".
What made me respond was a comment by Nathan Cullen during the policy session today that the Senate killed a bill on fighting climate change - I can't remember correctly, but I think it was something along the lines of "Climate Change Accountability Act". It was passed in the House of Commons, and killed in the Senate.
Hamas has developed a democratic wing of the organization and won election in the 2000s. The west is not happy with this adventure into legitimate politics. Our warmongering leaders preferred it when Hamas was just a militant organization and even terrorists, which for all intents and purposes they still are. And the Russians support them and Hezbollah through Iran.
And yet we have people wanting the NDP to pick sides in this one. The right would propagandize hell out of such maneuvering by the NDP. Imagine how right wing newz media and political stooges for Uncle Sam/Israeli fascists would play this up for political gain. The Rooskies and NDP arm-in-arm against team freedom and democracy here in the west. There are people who would love nothing better than for the NDP to open themselves up to a colder war propaganda campaign against the left.
It's as if Marx said to go out and fuck things up for the social democrats trying to win the battle of democracy. Of course, he said no such thing and which leads us to believe some people are either novice Marxists or just full of baloney, one or the other.