It’s no secret that the Harper government holds our natural environment in contempt. In fact, as Rick Mercer so saliently ranted recently, for many people the Conservative’s disdain for our environment is a significant selling point. Now if only, as Mercer put it, the Conservatives would stop insulting our collective intelligence by pretending to give a shit about climate change and sea turtles and the like, we could stop mocking their two faced hypocrisy.

"This is approaching absurdist comedy," tweeted Montreal Gazette reporter Christopher Curtis Friday night, trapped in a police kettle from which Montreal's finest inexplicably refused to release him as his deadline approached.

"Did they really, actually arrest Anarchopanda????" replied well known Québécoise pundit Josée Legault.

Of all the myriad and varied actions, blockades and events which have taken place since the Idle No More movement came together late last year, only one has resulted in charges being laid. This is the story of the only person in the country facing legal consequences for his role in Idle No More, and his efforts to raise enough money to pay for his defence.

On December 21st of last year members of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, located near Sarnia, Ontario, began a peaceful blockade of CN tracks as an expression of solidarity with Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike and the broader Idle No More movement.

In October of 2008, Iceland's economy collapsed. In that same month Hörður Torfason, an Icelandic actor and activist, stood out front of the parliament buildings asking two simple questions: what has happened to our country, and what are we going to do about it?

From there built a popular movement that would grow to sizes as yet unheard of in the tiny Nordic country, forcing the resignation of the government, and of the leadership of the financial authority and the national bank.

 A revolutionary folk hero at home, Torfason now spends much of his time touring the world, telling the bittersweet story of Iceland's Nordic Spring, and sharing tactics and strategies with activists in other countries.