tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-347250132024-02-06T21:32:48.724-08:00Another Useless SubhumanRantings, ravings and ruminations from Gerry Hannah of the Subhumans (Canada)Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-79316505442324340372018-10-04T22:10:00.001-07:002018-10-05T18:07:02.386-07:00Left-wing Essentializing: Guilt By Association<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Arial;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Arial;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:14.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt;
mso-header-margin:36.0pt;
mso-footer-margin:36.0pt;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vwo1lwHq7Xg46pbTL4Hk8rmdH2yRE_udvvQaDmwBbFssKFsET0amlPZqnJOI5UC2khqWdyME51hNJ5Nq4m-oTsVWBtSeKaGQsUZtnj3R01AEaCIhA01se-HS5d5fKh-m4Hwy4A/s1600/Finger+Pointing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vwo1lwHq7Xg46pbTL4Hk8rmdH2yRE_udvvQaDmwBbFssKFsET0amlPZqnJOI5UC2khqWdyME51hNJ5Nq4m-oTsVWBtSeKaGQsUZtnj3R01AEaCIhA01se-HS5d5fKh-m4Hwy4A/s1600/Finger+Pointing.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
I guess the time has come for me to speak up about a phenomenon that I keep
encountering on social media; one that I find troubling and potentially
dangerous to the Left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my knowledge a
term for this sort of activity hasn’t been coined yet, but it’s definitely
entwined with the more extreme versions of “Call Out Culture and Identity
Politics”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And please believe me, I
bring up this issue with great reluctance. It’s a messy, emotionally charged
subject and I’m bound to irritate some people, but I feel enough is enough.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
going to call this phenomenon, “left-wing essentializing”, for lack of a better
term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I realize it’s not a particularly
“sexy”, comprehensive, or even necessarily a technically accurate term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it’s the best I can come up with right
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And
before I start, let me make something very clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like everyone else, I too have racist and
sexist tendencies and I’m not trying to claim otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m critiquing a specific political strategy
here; I’m not trying to claim that I shouldn’t be examining my day-to-day
behaviour and making improvements as required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
first encountered the phenomenon of left-wing essentializing in 2016, while
looking at various friends’ posts on Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I came across an article that my friend (a white dude, let’s call him Jim), had
shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The article was about the subtle
forms of racism that white people might not be aware that they’re engaging
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No problem with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, potentially a great idea, as racism
can be very subtle and it’s possible to engage in it without knowing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem I had with the article was the
headline, “Don’t Kid Yourself, All White People Are Racists”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a quote from a trans, person of colour,
who was being interviewed in the article.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
found the second half of the headline disturbing and I said so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My comment went like this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All people are racist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words; all people have racist
tendencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The difference is that some
folks acknowledge it, accept that it’s undesirable and work to change it, while
others don’t—regardless of their race. I went on to say, that I don’t believe
in what I called “racial essentialism”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By racial essentialism, I meant the attributing of a wholly subjective,
negative quality, to a particular race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I pointed out that this reminded me of early separatist feminism,
when men in the Left were unequivocally told that “all men are rapists”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said it’s time to move beyond such
unhelpful rhetoric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This
led to a back and forth between Jim and I, with him finally asking for clarification
on my comment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I reiterated my points as
best I could and went on to give him numerous examples showing how white people
do not have a monopoly on racism. I argued that to state that white people are
racist, without any qualification, is itself racist, as it is a negative
generalization of a racial group. I went on to say, “If what you and others are
trying to say is that the dominant power structure in the West, favours white
people and tends to disenfranchise non-white people, then say that and I won’t
argue with you”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Suddenly,
one of Jim’s Facebook friends, a young, white woman (let’s call her Emily),
wades into the discussion and says that I’m accusing a person of colour of
racism and therefore, I deserve to be publicly insulted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She goes on to call me an “old white
dinosaur” and “a bigot”. Finally, she makes a very dramatic pronouncement: “I
shall have to block you”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she then
proceeds to do so, as though I’m some kind of stalker or something. This is
part of the reason I’ve been reluctant to bring up this subject by the
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who the hell wants to be treated
like that?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
to be fair to Jim, he often posts great articles that I find interesting and
insightful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe his heart is
generally in the right place and although he posted the article and debated me
on a number of my points, his comments followed some sort of logic and he was
quite civil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t try to demonize
me or ridicule me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he didn’t come to
my defense even once, while Emily did her very best to portray me as some vile,
old boys club racist, even though he knew that the accusation was
unfounded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why did he remain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>silent while Emily was “calling me out”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe it was out of fear; fear of being
called out himself and fear of being excommunicated from his peer group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we will see, it may be that his fear was
well founded.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2usINWPdRNi1xh6_FawpRmkspyDB-cOVvkpV9iCGGX4h6cw_HX1K5fBusSIJCmavQRfUnNR6UOtMJdBz3q94fD-jy5HhcrZhlbhMY3qU1EN38GtkYG2aUSNDhRdS7KTPNfN-4ew/s1600/Echo+Chamber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2usINWPdRNi1xh6_FawpRmkspyDB-cOVvkpV9iCGGX4h6cw_HX1K5fBusSIJCmavQRfUnNR6UOtMJdBz3q94fD-jy5HhcrZhlbhMY3qU1EN38GtkYG2aUSNDhRdS7KTPNfN-4ew/s1600/Echo+Chamber.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So
over the next few years I see a growing number of progressives on social media,
posting and sharing similar articles, tweets and comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I say nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to say something, or at least “like”
the occasional comment I see challenging the posts, but I don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I procrastinate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t quite ready for another onslaught
like the one I got from Emily. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But
eventually I come across a similar type of share on Facebook by another friend
of mine (let’s call him Frank).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now
again, Frank is basically a decent person and often posts threads that I like a
lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this particular post reminded
me even more of the “all men are rapists” essentializing of the early
separatist feminists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one consisted
of a shared Tweet posted by a person of colour (I’m not sure of their gender),
in which he/she essentially claims, that men say that they don’t live in a
pedophile culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He/she goes on to
propose, that because men make fun of women with saggy boobs, are disgusted at
body hair on women, only like women a lot younger than themselves, prey on
minors and watch teen porn, that men are essentially pedophiles.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So
I ask Frank if the author is talking about men in general, a lot of men, or
some specific men in particular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank
responds by posting yet another article, which mocks the notion that one need
be specific in calling out oppressors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The article asserts that everyone knows that individuals who list the
negative attributes of men, don’t mean all men, just like if you were to say,
“dogs peed on my rose bushes”, one wouldn’t take it to mean every dog in the
world peed on your rose bushes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
responded by asking Frank that if I said, “Dogs are vicious”, would he take
that to mean that I felt that dogs in general were vicious, or just the ones
who killed my cat?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or how about if
someone said, “black people are lazy”, or “First Nations people are
drunks”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would that be acceptable
too?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I explained to him that I object to
all subjective generalizations based on gender, race, language, ethnicity,
nationality and sexual orientation, and that he should as well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So
this led to a back and forth between Frank and I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than actually answer my questions, he
claimed that these generalizations are everywhere you look, for all sorts of
people and that they’re commonly and harmlessly used for illustrative
purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I reiterated my point, that it
wasn’t acceptable in the case of the target groups I had just mentioned—whether
it was commonly done or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went on
to state that I was being disingenuous and repeatedly pointed out, that because
of my objections, I sounded suspiciously like various anti-feminist men’s
groups on Twitter—implying that I shared their views.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I explained that I never look at Twitter and
my thoughts are my own.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At
this point, a close friend of Frank’s (let’s call her Pam), posted the comment,
“Keep a close eye on how people react to posts like this”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked her if she could clarify her comment
for me, but she refused to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I
asked Frank if he could tell me what she was getting at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took a long time getting back to me, but
finally, he explained to me that he learns something about people who object to
this sort of post and that he judges them by their reactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says that it’s like when white people cry,
“oh my God, #NotAllWhitePeople”, or #NotAllMen.” And then he says, “I find the
defensiveness weird”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave up at that
point and that was the end of the exchange, but I’ve since discovered that
Frank has unfriended me on Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve known Frank and been on good terms with him for almost 40
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But apparently, questioning the
doctrine of left-wing essentializing is a crime punishable by excommunication.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMvS74HOjNDFUC1-q1WmbfC2EwLCp8KmvONCWXApI_2omQGCEeUXv6Y4K5hHwNFY2xKpKRFPJfjxAearNPktTWIrNU1qL9p-MbSXdctnUHo45ghfPRVjDq6y4NqyVhqf1zTsm8w/s1600/rsz_ostracism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="420" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMvS74HOjNDFUC1-q1WmbfC2EwLCp8KmvONCWXApI_2omQGCEeUXv6Y4K5hHwNFY2xKpKRFPJfjxAearNPktTWIrNU1qL9p-MbSXdctnUHo45ghfPRVjDq6y4NqyVhqf1zTsm8w/s320/rsz_ostracism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So
it seems pretty clear that what Frank actually meant by, “I find their
defensiveness weird”, is that when people challenge left-wing essentializing,
he concludes that their politics are suspect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In other words, though they may appear to be left-wing progressives or
even radicals, the fact that they object to subjective, negative,
generalizations of race, gender, or sexual orientation, suggests that they are
in fact closet racists, sexists, or homophobes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course—and this is the unacknowledged,
rather large elephant in the room—this is only true when the generalizations
are about white people, men and heterosexuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If someone were to make the same sort of generalizations about people of
colour, women or gays, these same people who claim that these generalizations are
just fine, would be up in arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so
they should be. But I strongly believe in the saying, “What‘s good for the goose is good for
the gander”. Play by the rules you expect others to play by and be consistent. If one wants to be truly progressive, one needs to set a good
example and exhibit fairness, not just through their actions, but through their
language as well.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And
I believe that the reason Frank and Pam initially hesitated, and then were very
coy about explaining to me what they meant by “keeping a close eye on how
people react”, was because, perhaps, unlike the usual challenger, I brought a
fair amount of “street cred” with me into the discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be a lot harder to claim, in my
case, that I was only raising objections to the post, because I was some kind
of knuckle-dragging, sexist creep, worried that their generalizations were
hitting too close to home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, my
history as an activist demonstrated otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So better to just keep the usual, more strident calling-out under wraps
on this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
also found it interesting, that no matter how many times I repeated my concerns
about how this generalizing was a slippery slope and dangerous, no matter how
many examples I gave Frank of how essentializing men was inappropriate for the
same reasons that it would be to essentialize women, no matter how many times I
tried to explain to him that it was totally unnecessary to essentialize in
order to make his point, he remained totally fixated on the idea that I was
objecting to it simply because I personally didn’t like being called
sexist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had me neatly packed away in
his<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#NotAllMen box and all he seemed to
hear were their voices, not mine. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTwP2F1S0BhSuvQi1cg7fK_Xma2H7xQgSzEvL36yt92demIlJrTbti9uFdiRR1qUdLNyydMsHWn6xM3_mGOgt20fC2tWzuevK7ysl8R7EQRBk4TYHnTSCu8Aoz3D-9PyZOdIuLQ/s1600/angry+judge+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTwP2F1S0BhSuvQi1cg7fK_Xma2H7xQgSzEvL36yt92demIlJrTbti9uFdiRR1qUdLNyydMsHWn6xM3_mGOgt20fC2tWzuevK7ysl8R7EQRBk4TYHnTSCu8Aoz3D-9PyZOdIuLQ/s1600/angry+judge+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Once
this guilt by association process comes into play, real discussion becomes
impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you say something like,
“I don’t like the colour blue,” you’re immediately slotted under the
#wedon’tlikethecolourblue social media group and nothing you say beyond that is
heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just assumed that you hold
the exact same views as the people calling themselves #wedon’tlikethecolourblue
and from that point on, you’ll be treated as such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems there’s little room for nuance or
independent thought in the left-wing essentializing/extreme Identity Politics
camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Veering even slightly from the
entrenched doctrine is seen as reactionary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I think we on the Left are kidding ourselves if we think this
activity isn’t driving potential allies away—or even to the other side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t building bridges, it’s burning
them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Also,
I have to say; this activity seems more like performance, than a serious
attempt at building a just and egalitarian society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It actually looks a lot more like a somewhat
desperate attempt to score points with one’s peers; as if to say, “Look, I’m
way more woke than the rest of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
stand shoulder to shoulder with the oppressed”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sorry, but it seems to me that by standing off to one side, pointing
your finger accusingly and loudly proclaiming that your gender or racial group
is inherently oppressive, you’re actually, in a sense, loudly proclaiming that
you are not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But
this isn’t a game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not some
competitive sport where the most woke progressive wins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is serious business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fascism is coming to a town near you—if it
hasn’t already arrived there. Sitting in front of your computer with your
thumbs in your ears, wiggling your fingers, shouting nah-nah-nah-nah-nah at
your enemies—real or imagined— achieves nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t going to stop human-driven climate
change from flooding coastal cities and drying up most of the crops that you
and others rely on for food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor is it
going to stop pension plans, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and education
budgets from being clawed back or discontinued outright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it sure as hell isn’t going to stop gangs
of black-shirted thugs from marching through your neighborhood, throwing rocks
and Molotov cocktails at mosques, synagogues, abortion clinics and yes, your
house.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBa79eW8MHubD-Syb2d_tn0hP8c9iKFMbwUsHZ89GZ7mxNLFOfTWZoQeRCBez0Efo3t-NkCwl-N4UNGl-zTe4fGVAskHIOO_-2tAm7n_WL9jrEFQ21eQj7k_9rDS1ER9dGWMPu6Q/s1600/white+supremacists+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBa79eW8MHubD-Syb2d_tn0hP8c9iKFMbwUsHZ89GZ7mxNLFOfTWZoQeRCBez0Efo3t-NkCwl-N4UNGl-zTe4fGVAskHIOO_-2tAm7n_WL9jrEFQ21eQj7k_9rDS1ER9dGWMPu6Q/s1600/white+supremacists+2.jpg" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So
do we live in a patriarchy that benefits men at the expense of women?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You bet. Is that acceptable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not on your life. Does structural racism
exist that benefits white people at the expense of people of colour?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Absolutely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is it acceptable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fuck no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do white men (in particular, but not
exclusively), need to fully understand these truths and struggle against
them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it obvious—of course!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s part of the holistic revolutionary
process that many of us have been advocating for for years. But by making
sweeping generalizations about race and gender, you’re not building the
revolution, you’re endangering it; you’re using, bolstering and giving
credibility to the very tools the Right has been using for years to keep women,
people of colour—and the working class—oppressed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Now
is it possible that I’ve over reacted to these and other posts, or that I’m
being too picky about language when it’s used in the service of political
activism?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, after all, I’m only
human and completely capable of grand fuck-ups like everybody else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I don’t think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that left-wing essentializing, along
with the reckless use of calling-out tactics and engaging in extreme Identity
Politics, are all serving to split the Left at a moment in history when it’s
absolutely crucial that we put forward a united front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now if you think I’m wrong, feel free to tell
me why I’m wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you think I’m
right, please, stop posting and/or “liking” threads that essentialize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, if you’re a brave soul, maybe even
consider challenging the person that’s posting them.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3xVAOJVUfwvUw96EyrmfR8cPd-lLtX1G5e8sHLTUcH7QCjhPOITwllbZja-LqobZ9ztIP3KqLeE03ORaSKuNAtqRUKNeM5FicMJHRfmi_dL7ErG9HkxcWTQ879PrxNX5o6Fn7w/s1600/Beware+of+Dogma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="121" data-original-width="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3xVAOJVUfwvUw96EyrmfR8cPd-lLtX1G5e8sHLTUcH7QCjhPOITwllbZja-LqobZ9ztIP3KqLeE03ORaSKuNAtqRUKNeM5FicMJHRfmi_dL7ErG9HkxcWTQ879PrxNX5o6Fn7w/s1600/Beware+of+Dogma.jpg" /></a></span></div>
Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-18883302290954499902015-10-12T21:22:00.001-07:002015-10-12T23:26:08.914-07:00On October 19th, Stop Harper!<div class="MsoNormal">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Times New Roman";
panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Arial;
panose-1:0 2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:0 2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Arial;}
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-parent:"";
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:S</style><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ok, enough about my "new" album Coming Home. Let’s move on to something else more important for the time being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if what I’m about to say sounds
overly alarmist to you, read my post from 2011 titled, "Harper Wins Majority (Yikes!) and see if my “alarmist” predictions
back then didn’t pretty much all come to pass.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">On Monday, October 19</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">,
Canada will hold what may be the most important federal election in the history
of this country.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">On that day,
Canadians will either elect a government that has, at least, some fleeting
respect for honesty, justice and equality, (NDP, Liberal, or a coalition
between the two) or a government that admires and emulates the worst aspects of
American politics and is borderline fascist (the Conservatives).</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"></span></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjipyO-HKRS4UKTwxF1ApYXGAbQkTpEbwNiYMf32TflDlVgARuS_cs3T97s7KDYWwkxA4bzfnmwunnXjQ2LziTa3ARZ_0D9UN1pVP0Pi0gfB3A4SAT3qHt_2NR6bgZXHuEFkIqQ/s1600/Fascist+Saluting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjipyO-HKRS4UKTwxF1ApYXGAbQkTpEbwNiYMf32TflDlVgARuS_cs3T97s7KDYWwkxA4bzfnmwunnXjQ2LziTa3ARZ_0D9UN1pVP0Pi0gfB3A4SAT3qHt_2NR6bgZXHuEFkIqQ/s1600/Fascist+Saluting.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Yes, I know fascist is a
heavy word with heavy connotations and I know its an over used word as well, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it is a duck.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Of course,
Stephen Harper will claim that he believes in the lofty notions of democracy,
diplomacy and human rights, but the facts tell quite a different story.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">For instance, Stephen Harper
is largely considered to be Israel’s strongest supporter in the West. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">While
Israel is often touted by right-wingers as being the only democracy </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Middle East—an untrue assertion—its’ occupation of Palestine and it’s treatment
of Palestinians is anything but democratic.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">If you’re an Arab/Israeli (Palestinian) living in Israel you
do not have the same rights as a Jew and if you’re a Palestinian living in the
Occupied Territories (Palestine), you have virtually no rights at all. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">You can be arbitrarily arrested at any
time, imprisoned indefinitely without trial, you can have your home demolished,
your land confiscated and you can be shot dead for protesting, all at the whim
of the Israeli military—and all of these things happen on a regular basis.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpkccn14Kn3VCplqyVhyGKfePYluESBTXwXOYTlUJfacGJFJrLyT_3PskyPhOdMwAevk7w8F5SHr8XLdrUs5s9fNQT15OkYwywmNLviR_S6aHy_sQDV3uA8-TcXXZFkcgcJuwAg/s1600/Israeli+Soldier+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpkccn14Kn3VCplqyVhyGKfePYluESBTXwXOYTlUJfacGJFJrLyT_3PskyPhOdMwAevk7w8F5SHr8XLdrUs5s9fNQT15OkYwywmNLviR_S6aHy_sQDV3uA8-TcXXZFkcgcJuwAg/s200/Israeli+Soldier+2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJQNK9lhHgg_sO3KchvGbhrpZayuZBltYg-KYQ80mVhJZM9xPqKJBoFQWW3WmKoq_4tJQCnNM0FsjcSgoJSjVZ4jnmjdqnF-DqTQrHmdF8FhZYe_ByeW0g1XhHxqMatUfMp0RAQ/s1600/Israeli+Soldiers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJQNK9lhHgg_sO3KchvGbhrpZayuZBltYg-KYQ80mVhJZM9xPqKJBoFQWW3WmKoq_4tJQCnNM0FsjcSgoJSjVZ4jnmjdqnF-DqTQrHmdF8FhZYe_ByeW0g1XhHxqMatUfMp0RAQ/s200/Israeli+Soldiers+1.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPIPdpH3Gzgbh-RfGZOBgDixHIrY619Y2Ls-HfbP_90648k2hcCxFkMFwvA_xyXnJz_qDdLaObMtt_AA8rYgduwI3feiHZaqcTW_OJw8hB7FUVaZpKHsmpU1DK_5SN5YDEfM2kig/s1600/Israeli+Soldier+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPIPdpH3Gzgbh-RfGZOBgDixHIrY619Y2Ls-HfbP_90648k2hcCxFkMFwvA_xyXnJz_qDdLaObMtt_AA8rYgduwI3feiHZaqcTW_OJw8hB7FUVaZpKHsmpU1DK_5SN5YDEfM2kig/s200/Israeli+Soldier+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">These are exactly the sorts
of things that fascist countries like Nazi Germany, Italy under Mussolini,
Spain under Franco, Guatemala under Rios Mont and Chile under Pinochet are
famous for perpetrating against populations under their control.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Harper apparently has no problem with
any of this and has never criticized Israel for either its’ continued occupation
of Palestine or its’ oppressive policies toward the Palestinians.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">At the same time, Israel
continues to break international law, refuses to end its’ illegal occupation
of the West Bank, continues to blockade Gaza and routinely carries out massive
military invasions of its’ neighbours.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Yes, the invasions are in response to small-scale attacks launched
against Israel.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Many Arabs are
pissed-off with Israel over its’ occupation of Palestine. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">But the response to these attacks is
always massively disproportionate on the part of Israel, with many civilian
deaths and intensive destruction of infrastructure.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Again, Stephen Harper doesn’t seem to have a problem with
this and often, even acts as a cheerleader for the Israelis during these
intensely bloody campaigns.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNvXDLqhQWXve0n7SxsCugoGXGkUbo6smC1Uby1koLa5TQsmDTYXyooinIoGhXrGcQl4zDOS4NMP6JB2mlfmgdhp8TA0Md3ULTYdxa9qOyEbGhgk_8OXLL3XCIq8vkenB9Oy14w/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNvXDLqhQWXve0n7SxsCugoGXGkUbo6smC1Uby1koLa5TQsmDTYXyooinIoGhXrGcQl4zDOS4NMP6JB2mlfmgdhp8TA0Md3ULTYdxa9qOyEbGhgk_8OXLL3XCIq8vkenB9Oy14w/s1600/images-1.jpeg" /></a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">In 2006, Hezbollah ambushed an
Israeli patrol near the southern border of Lebanon.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Several Israeli soldiers were killed and two soldiers were
captured and held by Hezbollah in the hopes that they could pressure Israel to
do a prisoner exchange.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Israel
responded by invading Lebanon by air, sea and land, unleashing an overwhelming
and largely indiscriminate level of firepower against the Lebanese
population.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Approximately 1200
Lebanese were killed, most of them civilians. Many, many more were horribly
injured and/or made homeless.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Much
of southern Lebanon’s infrastructure lay in smoldering ruins.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Meanwhile, 165 Israelis were killed in
the invasion, most of them soldiers, and Israel’s infrastructure went largely
unscathed.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Stephen Harper referred
to this as “a measured response” by Israel.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Near the end of 2008, Israel
invaded the Gaza Strip in an effort to stop rocket attacks originating from
there. During that year, Palestinian militants protesting the continued
blockade by Israel of the Gaza Strip had fired many rockets into Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the most part, the rockets were
inaccurate and largely ineffectual, although over the course of the year they
had killed four Israelis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Again, Israel’s response was
disproportionate and indiscriminate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the end of the war, 1300 Palestinians had been killed, most of them
civilians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>13 Israelis were
killed, 10 of them soldiers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Infrastructure was severely damaged by Israeli artillery and
aircraft—including a UN food storage facility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>White phosphorus—a burning compound that is very difficult to
extinguish—was fired directly into populated areas—including the UN compound—in
contravention of international law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Many Palestinians were horribly burned as a result—some of them to
death.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWCdWRyIWP89sxzjwxWhNe0bYRDxORHtx09pTMtkCEbp5V5OT0K1junGRcczS_1S77anTRt6etTAVguNrb8NeDanWKI9bWRuPskSeC1hx6uv7SwgvbkA8zUmw9jgtnZuAydMbfg/s1600/white+phos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWCdWRyIWP89sxzjwxWhNe0bYRDxORHtx09pTMtkCEbp5V5OT0K1junGRcczS_1S77anTRt6etTAVguNrb8NeDanWKI9bWRuPskSeC1hx6uv7SwgvbkA8zUmw9jgtnZuAydMbfg/s320/white+phos.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lawrence Cannon, Harper’s Foreign
Affairs Minister, speaking on behalf of the Conservative government stated that
Israel had a “clear right to defend itself” and that “first and foremost those
(Palestinian militants’) rocket attacks must stop”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t say anything about Israel’s white phosphorus
attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WFYJmwXO75Yk_G3VzRUTywoqxTXBWIs4cA_5QwSUPXU9vLza1FKlZyPTN-Fy0isvlH65lOCpGMWl0x-qduL5JpryHiB-5HXpVwe6bicYu1Un9mpa509qZ1ZaSkwuOWi1kdROBw/s1600/images-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WFYJmwXO75Yk_G3VzRUTywoqxTXBWIs4cA_5QwSUPXU9vLza1FKlZyPTN-Fy0isvlH65lOCpGMWl0x-qduL5JpryHiB-5HXpVwe6bicYu1Un9mpa509qZ1ZaSkwuOWi1kdROBw/s200/images-4.jpeg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When Israel invaded Palestine
again in 2014—again, in response to ineffectual rocket attacks as well as
smuggling tunnels—they pretty much bombed Gaza into the Stone Age. Huge
sections of most large communities in Gaza became absolutely
uninhabitable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>520,000
Palestinians were made homeless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Running water and electricity became almost nonexistent. Corpses, along with the wounded, lay on
the street and under tons of debris for days, with no one able to get to them
do to the constant Israeli barrage. In the end, 2200 Palestinians were killed,
mostly civilians, while 71 Israelis were killed, mostly soldiers. While most
other world leaders were calling on both sides to cease hostilities, Harper’s only
comment was "Canada is unequivocally behind Israel"</span><span style="color: #303030; font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Stephen Harper likes to
support and encourage other fascists too; when General Abdel Fattah el Sisi
overthrew the democratically elected government of Egypt in a military coup,
Stephen Harper’s only comment was that the coup had brought “stability” to
Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it didn’t bring
stability to the over 800 protesters that were shot dead by el Sisi’s
troops.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDuz10d8THyM55CvTwgjuSQtsHl-O4r_YWdanZMSavpeuoTNqr9JdNNR4gcErj5SYTreBqHMB7Lhkmpbr51332_J1OqRYRrbQnPoPIfMUW20J2QXvLw2l4FCCRK1rtOZlqSm2kQ/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDuz10d8THyM55CvTwgjuSQtsHl-O4r_YWdanZMSavpeuoTNqr9JdNNR4gcErj5SYTreBqHMB7Lhkmpbr51332_J1OqRYRrbQnPoPIfMUW20J2QXvLw2l4FCCRK1rtOZlqSm2kQ/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Nor did it bring stability
to the thousands of political activists responsible for organizing the “Arab
Spring”—a peaceful, pro-democracy revolt against dictatorship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead the coup brought them lengthy
prison sentences and in some cases, torture and death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor did the coup bring stability to
journalists in Egypt that tried to do their job and show what was actually
happening in the streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
lengthy and ridiculous show trials, many of them also found themselves behind
bars.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Most recently, Harper agreed
to sell the Saudis $15 billion in military equipment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He claims the Saudis are our “allies” and hence, deserve our
support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saudi Arabia is probably
the most authoritarian regime in the Middle East—certainly if you happen to be
a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a dictatorship run
by a royal family with zero tolerance for dissent, where executions in the form
of beheadings are frequent and where one of the most extreme forms of fundamentalist
Islam—Wahhabism—is the state religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Really, we want to be allies with a regime like this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to sell a repressive
dictatorship weapons so it can be even more repressive and maintain its’ dictatorship
indefinitely?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently Harper
does.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Closer to home, Stephen
Harper continues to demonstrate his affinity with things fascist by promising
to set up a snitch line if he’s elected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Citizens will be able to phone the RCMP and report “barbaric cultural
practices” to them.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FAAxsw8aR7VxT9-NIdmtOuTrYfw55uWwFCeYht_x0DVEDlOGLJbpJXoD9_9uaiFh_BKSXawAm71Rwfk_Ud1z6D694hKQCDnuYRaqLpLSe4L7KJmwjRoszy0cS4MPZ0zp-KpLag/s1600/Snooping+Neighbour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FAAxsw8aR7VxT9-NIdmtOuTrYfw55uWwFCeYht_x0DVEDlOGLJbpJXoD9_9uaiFh_BKSXawAm71Rwfk_Ud1z6D694hKQCDnuYRaqLpLSe4L7KJmwjRoszy0cS4MPZ0zp-KpLag/s200/Snooping+Neighbour.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is
obviously just a crass attempt on Harper’s part to appeal to his hysterical,
misinformed, Islamophobic base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
really has hit rock bottom with this incredibly divisive, unworkable and
pointless proposal. It would be funny, if it weren’t so chillingly Orwellian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Citizens anonymously ratting on their
neighbours to the government for behaving in some “un-Canadian manner”, really,
that’s a page right out of the fascist handbook.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When I consider all of these things,
it cinches it for me; Stephen Harper and his inner circle of ministers and
aids, are so driven by their extreme right-wing ideology, their penchant for
military might and violence and their psychopathic need to win elections, that they are damn near
capable of anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about
that word, “anything” and use your imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knows where he will take us if he’s elected for another
four years? Lets not go
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On October 19<sup>th</sup>,
vote carefully, vote strategically, vote him out!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc8iU4l31yEd6ZDX8lBRMCbMvnfgKyHo0TgQnbk62np703OuKQHWY-rpFC0WIIbs2oci19nJ1qEGAgXa8W25gLng3d7x3RS7yVgt_rFVLVzxAVnrZJjiCHxyXqC4Y3dEmKoiiUw/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc8iU4l31yEd6ZDX8lBRMCbMvnfgKyHo0TgQnbk62np703OuKQHWY-rpFC0WIIbs2oci19nJ1qEGAgXa8W25gLng3d7x3RS7yVgt_rFVLVzxAVnrZJjiCHxyXqC4Y3dEmKoiiUw/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">(PS, and I’m not even mentioning his muzzling of
Canadian scientists, inaction on climate change, cutting of crucial social
programs, privatizing the wheat board, poor management of the economy,
uncritical support for oil-sands development, etc, etc, etc.)</span>
Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-39906902007296640482014-10-16T00:11:00.003-07:002014-11-11T22:21:08.809-08:00Coming Home new album by Gerry HannahHey all,<br />
<br />
It's been a <u>really long time</u> this time since I wrote a new post here. It's not that I didn't have anything to say. Those who know me know that's rarely the case. It's because I've been really busy and haven't had a lot of time to say anything here. <br />
<br />
The main thing I've been busy with, is working on a new solo album. And it's finally done! It's titled <b>Coming Home</b> and it consists of 14 original songs ranging in style from kind of country/folk, to folk/rock, to alternative. It's not punk rock. I want to make that perfectly clear so no one buys it hoping to hear new music from me in the vein of the Subhumans only to be disappointed.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKoqTFXfIjdwJ2B7WR6x2fB5BkJKOGuSbYbgdUlfzIrXBlPa2oreFTchyX9WDnEymdps4jGEvYX4DFfnljEF_oYSIN8SGfhVAvFL-uohLKdzIE4qUzWVxE_1shnsHzWmlABC7tw/s1600/gerry_hannah_coming_home_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKoqTFXfIjdwJ2B7WR6x2fB5BkJKOGuSbYbgdUlfzIrXBlPa2oreFTchyX9WDnEymdps4jGEvYX4DFfnljEF_oYSIN8SGfhVAvFL-uohLKdzIE4qUzWVxE_1shnsHzWmlABC7tw/s1600/gerry_hannah_coming_home_cover.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm very happy with it overall. I had a lot of really great musicians on it helping me out. Some of them were friends and some of them were session players and they did a great job of making my rudimentary guitar playing and singing sound pretty good. I also had 2 great recording engineers and a great mastering engineer help to get the sound I was after.<br />
<br />
Of the 14 songs on <b>Coming Home</b>, 7 of them were originally recorded and released on a cassette tape I made while I was in prison. (For those of you who don't know the story, I was sentenced in 1984 to ten years federal prison time for my involvement with the armed revolutionary group Direct Action, aka the Squamish Five). The cassette tape was titled <b>Songs From Underground</b>. While I always felt the songs were strong and a surprising number of people liked the tape, the recording and production qualities of <b>Songs From Underground</b> were pretty shoddy. It was all recorded on a 4-track cassette recorder with crappy microphones, poor facilities (you can imagine) and not a whole lot of experienced studio musicians to choose from. Ever since the tape's release, I was hoping for a chance to redo the songs. With <b>Coming Home</b> I got that chance and I think it turned out great. Huge improvement.<br />
<br />
Of the other 7 songs, some of them were written while I was still in prison, but written after the release of <b>Songs From Underground</b>, and the rest were written since my release. Most of the 14 songs somehow relate to my prison experiences, if not directly, then at lest in terms of my having to relearn how to navigate through the outside world with it's complex political and social realities. I'm still learning and while I definitely have a lot of very strong opinions about many things, I realize as I get older that I actually know very little. I think the album reflects this sentiment as well.<br />
<br />
Besides encompassing diverse musical styles, this album also has huge mood swings ranging from very upbeat optimistic messages, to very dark pessimistic thoughts as well. That's probably partly a result of trying to keep a brave face on while actually cowering in a prison cell. But it's also because, although I believe we must keep on trying to make the world a better place through political activism, I've never been a terribly optimistic person. I find I have a powerful need to express my negative feelings too and even if that becomes a bit odious from time to time, it's better than being in denial.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsrNvcx6XQ3GCXVg3d3YTfTqMQU8R_onAtggsrATnKdIozxocd6w_g12o9GLZIK_6EVXbMuDMjhmHt8GFZGqu_Sr0H1gcAlrR-PtCj0vd4hhfLz_B9FQW3AaaBSoVHJ2sNso_lQ/s1600/Gerry+Hannah+0103+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsrNvcx6XQ3GCXVg3d3YTfTqMQU8R_onAtggsrATnKdIozxocd6w_g12o9GLZIK_6EVXbMuDMjhmHt8GFZGqu_Sr0H1gcAlrR-PtCj0vd4hhfLz_B9FQW3AaaBSoVHJ2sNso_lQ/s1600/Gerry+Hannah+0103+cropped.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Coming Home</b> will be available in digital download form and as a physical CD via CD Baby's distribution network on December 2/2014. If you get the physical CD, you'll get a more in depth background to the album in the liner notes and short explanations of what each individual song is about. It kind of reads like a little history book. The album may also one day be available on vinyl (depending on whether or not some rich benefactor or crowd sourcing folks decide to help me out. I'm not going to hold my breath!). I do hope you'll check it out when you get a chance. Keep on looking for and proclaiming the truth behind appearances. Shout above the noise. All the best. Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-92063561219902187072011-05-04T01:12:00.000-07:002011-05-04T01:42:32.768-07:00Harper Wins Majority (Yikes!)<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 127px; height: 99px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNw9JWc1sXXfm4ElJCqkWpGtUARLByVPgE7LvMIU0vwescsDmkXW2uC8C2Gliv-I7V71LkAVDDlkLwaPeCS7ul_bUVtQd7UreRvSM8O9X3qFv3GS_G5hz_kpQ3dVPtj4AQ_O6a3w/s320/DownloadedFile" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602774606658032226" /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Well then, if that isn’t depressing I don’t know what is. On May 2nd, the Conservatives won a majority government here in Canada. Stephen Harper, drunk on his special brand of “fascism-lite” and having thrownoff his restraints (a minority government), is in the driver’s seat for the next four years with the pedal to the metal. I have to say that this is probably the single biggest and most dangerous setback for progressive politics (and indeed, democracy) in Canada that I’ve witnessed in my entire lifetime (and I’m 54 years old).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In four years time there is a very good chance that this country will be politically and socially unrecognizable as the country it once was, both to us, and the rest of the world. Get ready for a real US Republican style greed-fest, where facts are irrelevant, history is forgotten, hypocrisy runs rampant, morality only exists in that it is self serving, and debate--when it’s permitted, is neither based on reason nor logic. Autocracy and extreme ideology will rule the day. And of course, the poor will get poorer (and their number will grow) and the rich will get a lot richer. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Over the next few hours, days and months, we are likely to hear Stephen Harper claiming over and over again that he and the Conservative party have received a strong mandate from the Canadian people. He will argue that because he won a comfortable majority, Canadians have demonstrated their approval of the policies he and his party advocate. This will embolden him to push through some of the most right wing legislation that this country has ever seen. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In reality though, nothing could be further from the truth. Harper and the Conservatives did not receive a strong mandate from the Canadian people to push through their right wing agenda and to suggest otherwise is based either on ignorance, or deceit, or both. This is not just my opinion. This is a fact. A systematic and mathematical exploration of voter percentages across Canada proves my point.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">If we divide all of the major political parties in Canada into 2 groups: Group #1 (those that inhabit the political spectrum from the centre to the right), and Group #2 (those that inhabit the political spectrum from the centre to the left), we see that in Group #1 we have the Conservatives, while in Group #2 we have the Liberals, the NDP, The Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">According to the CBC’s calculations, the Conservatives won 39.62% of the vote. While the Liberals won 18.91%, the NDP won 30.62%, The Bloc won 6.05% and the Greens won 3.91%. So, if we add up the total percentage of votes cast for Group #1 (the Conservatives), we get 39.62%. While if we add up the total percentage of votes cast for Group #2 (the Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc and the Greens), we get 59.49%.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This means that while 39.62% of Canadians voted for a centre right government, 59.49% voted for a centre left government. In other words, of the 61% of Canadians that actually voted, roughly two thirds of them voted for a government that would be likely to enact legislation ranging from centrist to leftist, while only one third of them voted for a government that would tend to enact legislation that ranged from centrist to rightwing. As I said earlier, the Conservatives did not receive a strong mandate from the Canadian people to push through their rightwing agenda. The majority of Canadians clearly prefer more of a middle of the road to leftwing approach.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now some may argue that the Liberals are a purely centrist party and not leftwing at all. I disagree. In terms of economic policy, sure, the Liberals are pretty damn centrist, but in terms of social policy, foreign policy, the environment and respect for democratic process, they are clearly to the left of the Conservatives. And if you’re a Conservative supporter you’d better not be trying to argue now that the Liberals are a centrist party, because throughout the entire election campaign your party was arguing precisely the opposite. You can’t have it both ways.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And I know that the Green Party has at times, maintained that it is not a leftwing party, but come on, its stand on the environment, its stand on corporate taxes and regulation, its stand on the treatment of First Nations peoples all put the party pretty squarely in the leftwing camp. I think most Canadians would agree the Green Party is certainly to the left of the Conservatives.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So when Harper claims in the future that he’s dutifully expressing the will of the Canadian people as he pushes through some thoroughly regressive legislation on say increasing penalties for possessing pot or whittling away at public health care, or silencing political opponents, or promoting Islamophobia, or undermining any meaningful attempts at reducing green house gases, just remember, it’s bullshit. And he needs to be called on it every single time. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">When I look at Stephen Harper I'm reminded of some lyrics from an old Leonard Cohen song, "...and one eye filled with blueprints and one eye filled with night". </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span>Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-45135886869981096222010-10-02T23:07:00.000-07:002010-10-02T23:51:34.282-07:00Thank-you!Hey all,<div><br /></div><div>The Subhumans just got back from our <b>Same Thoughts Different Day</b> tour in central Canada. Things went pretty well for us this time around. We got to visit with some old friends and meet lots of cool new friends as well. And none of us got sick this time! The audiences weren't always big, but they were always very enthusiastic (especially in Montreal and Quebec and that was awesome. Merci)!</div><div><br /></div><div>Mike already thanked a bunch of you that helped us out along the way on our website, but there are a few more I'd like to mention. Thanks to all the staff at Lee's Palace and Katacombes for being friendly and helpful. Thanks especially to Janick, Pete, Claudia and Belinda. Thanks to Michele (Wax from Hell) in Montreal and Ian in Quebec City. Thanks to the various media people that showed interest in us. Thanks to the many fans that made us feel welcome, loved, and appreciated. And thanks, one more time to James, Melanie, David, Nora and Marie (and thanks to Riccarda for driving across Toronto to have coffee with me). You guys are all great!</div><div><br /></div><div>Looks like we have one more show to complete this tour. We'll be playing At the Rickshaw in Vancouver with <b>Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine</b> on Saturday, October 16th. We hope all of our fans in Vancouver will come on out to this one. It should be a very special show!</div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers. </div>Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-73452738183794769272010-04-10T01:42:00.000-07:002010-04-24T00:23:51.015-07:00Same Thoughts Different Day<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Yes, I know it’s been a ridiculously long time since I’ve written anything on this blog, but listen, for those of you that are serious Subhumans (Canada) fans, I have some news that may have been worth waiting for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We have a new album coming out in the next few weeks on Alternative Tentacles Records titled <b><i>Same Thoughts Different Day</i></b></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It includes re-recorded versions of all of our songs that originally appeared on our album <b><i>Incorrect Thoughts</i></b></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">, plus 6 bonus tracks from our early days that were never before properly recorded.</span></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPs-g5OWFAzMpSzH8Lh4CrNZSRa3TM56NId7ths7E8ZgbNN5dKYAzSWeC3IPNhEHPWcntQzvPPD2-NaQ1Y_4gupVtVI9PHn8qrfVeslhA4Z30lGg3uaF-0hGZRtAR4GG2FLvSMA/s1600/Same+Thoughts+Different+Day+cover.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPs-g5OWFAzMpSzH8Lh4CrNZSRa3TM56NId7ths7E8ZgbNN5dKYAzSWeC3IPNhEHPWcntQzvPPD2-NaQ1Y_4gupVtVI9PHn8qrfVeslhA4Z30lGg3uaF-0hGZRtAR4GG2FLvSMA/s320/Same+Thoughts+Different+Day+cover.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458427846123527410" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 100px; " /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">For many years now, Subhumans fans have been asking us to re-release our album <i>Incorrect Thoughts</i></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It seems that it’s been almost impossible to buy of late and when it is available, either the price is ridiculously high, or it’s a version of the album unauthorized by the band (yes, that does actually matter to some people!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yet of all of our record releases to date, Incorrect Thoughts,<b><i> </i></b></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">first released in 1980, is probably the best known and seems to be many people’s favourite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was our first full-length album, it was raw, passionate, reflected the spirit of the times and it was fairly well promoted and distributed in its day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;">We wanted to re-release it some time ago, but there was just one little problem: ownership of the master tapes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While we had safety copies of the masters, we didn’t have the actual masters in our possession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Originally, the masters had been the property of Roy Atkinson of Friends Records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He had financed the recording and released it on his label.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But several years later (after the original band had broken up in 1982), Incorrect Thoughts was re-released by a guy named Dave Ferguson in San Francisco on his label, CD Presents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As some of the individual tracks seemed to have been remixed on his re-release, clearly, Dave Ferguson had at that point, some how gained possession of the masters.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">How exactly this had come about was and continues to be, a mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>None of the original members of the band had ever been notified that the masters were being sold, given or lent to Dave Ferguson, nor was the band given the chance to buy back the masters at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Roy Atkinson swears that he didn’t sell the masters to Dave Ferguson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He actually gave Brian Goble a signed statement to that effect several years ago that we still have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">While we doubted that we had ever signed a document granting Atkinson ownership of the masters <b>in perpetuity</b></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> (we were young and dumb, but we don’t think we were that dumb!), we couldn’t be completely sure of the fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had no documents pertaining specifically to that matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As a result, we couldn’t be sure that Ferguson hadn’t inherited some sort of document along with the masters that granted him the rights to those masters forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Without such a document, Ferguson might well possess the masters, but he would have no legal claim to the rights to them (at least in Canadian copyright law).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But if he actually did have a valid document in his possession, signed by the members of the band, granting the owner of the masters the rights to them in perpetuity <b>and</b></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> if he could prove that he was now the legitimate owner of the masters, we would not be able to legally re-release those recordings without his permission.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog6Eo3IKayIn5d2O07AjfpfOsNIcR6UYllSG01TuJIoxyU90eC-awjsmKeg50BulXAYLSsScTzZ9EWzXZvpE9bvLp4i_dr1a5wzpquFxMxbmYJmT0SedSzlV7vvOneQonREGt0g/s1600/Incorrect+Thoughts+cover.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog6Eo3IKayIn5d2O07AjfpfOsNIcR6UYllSG01TuJIoxyU90eC-awjsmKeg50BulXAYLSsScTzZ9EWzXZvpE9bvLp4i_dr1a5wzpquFxMxbmYJmT0SedSzlV7vvOneQonREGt0g/s320/Incorrect+Thoughts+cover.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458430739456085474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 104px; height: 104px; " /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Consequently, we were initially convinced that there was no way Ferguson could or would make a claim to owning the rights to the masters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact, we had always felt that the CD Presents version of Incorrect Thoughts was little more than an unauthorized bootleg of the record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So we began to make plans to re-release the record from the safety copies that we had in our possession and we started to talk to various record labels in the alternative scene to see if anyone was interested in the project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">It was then that a number of people in the business warned us that Ferguson was both an experienced and energetic litigator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They cautioned us against re-releasing the album without checking with him first to see if he intended to claim the rights to the masters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was pointed out, that while Ferguson may not have any valid claim to them, if he intended to claim that he did, it could be a royal pain in the ass for us and for the record label that released a record derived from those masters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While the odds might be against him actually winning a court case against us, if he had even the flimsiest case and decided to initiate legal proceedings, it could quite possibly be a long, exhausting and costly affair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As well, it might easily hold up the release of the record for years. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">It was suggested that we have a lawyer draft and send a letter to Ferguson stating that we were claiming clear ownership to the masters and that we intended to re-release the record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So in March 2007, we did just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ferguson’s response to our letter was swift and came via his lawyer Tony Berman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Essentially, he told us that his client claimed sole ownership of the masters and that any re-release of the recording by us could result in legal action against us.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He went on to say, “You are hereby ordered to cease and desist from engaging in any reproduction, distribution, use or other exploitation of the Masters”.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">At that point, it was clear that Ferguson was indeed claiming ownership of the masters and it seemed likely that he would make trouble for us if we re-released the recording.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As well, although our lawyer had requested some sort of proof of ownership from Ferguson should he intend to make a claim of ownership, no such proof was furnished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nor was any explanation given as to how Ferguson had come to own the masters.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">After a good deal of discussion we decided that rather than pushing the issue and potentially entering into a protracted legal battle, maybe the easiest thing to do at that point, was to see what it would take for Ferguson to wave his claim to the masters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We figured that after all, he must know that there wasn’t going to be much money generated from a re-release, so hopefully he wouldn’t ask for that much money to allow us to go ahead with the project unhindered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As well, because he had yet to offer any proof of ownership, we thought that there was a distinct possibility that he was bluffing about that and that he might be only too happy to receive some easy money without having to actually produce documentation to support his claim.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">So in September 2007, we asked our lawyer to contact Ferguson’s lawyer and offer $1000 to Ferguson to waive his claim and allow us to re-release the album.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We realized that this was a fairly small sum to be offering someone to forgo a <b>legitimate</b></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> claim to ownership of master tapes, but we still doubted that Ferguson’s claim was legitimate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As well, it was only intended to be an initial offer to start off negotiations.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">We received a response the next day from Berman: “Thank you for your call yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have discussed your clients’ offer of $1000 with my client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The offer is rejected”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He went on to reiterate his warning that if we went ahead and re-released the recording we could face legal action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That was it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There was no counter offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There wasn’t even any indication given as to whether or not they were willing to negotiate.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEx7NsVhpeaFdhxB5XkaEzw3hqYl5_OGLpykv7OrNgthBvtYAF2m9Efl81vwQEmcG_gUOgRfe06UD2_WGVKyFaF_NfFLb7CfDYx5NQQw8rzxcYuzid-3hIvTQy0UuU7GTD-Y4FSQ/s1600/Leeches+Suck.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEx7NsVhpeaFdhxB5XkaEzw3hqYl5_OGLpykv7OrNgthBvtYAF2m9Efl81vwQEmcG_gUOgRfe06UD2_WGVKyFaF_NfFLb7CfDYx5NQQw8rzxcYuzid-3hIvTQy0UuU7GTD-Y4FSQ/s320/Leeches+Suck.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458429063345590850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 110px; height: 108px; " /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">It was then that we fully realized that this was Ferguson’s game, he was a skilled player and we weren’t going to win it. It didn’t matter whether he actually had a legitimate claim to ownership or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He had the power, we didn’t. It seemed obvious that to continue going down this path would be fruitless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The relatively inexpensive, fast and some would argue, more authentic process of re-releasing Incorrect Thoughts using the original masters was no longer an option for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">It seemed we now had only two options left to us: abandon the project entirely and accept that these songs might never again be available to the public as a package, or re-record all the songs from scratch and release it as a brand new album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The first option would save us from spending a lot more time and money on a project that we weren’t even sure any label would be interested in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But it was a bitter pill to swallow; these songs seemed like too important a part of the band’s history to just turn our backs on and walk away from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As well, we felt that we needed to somehow regain control over these songs as recordings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So, after a few weeks of debate, we decided to go ahead with the second option and Same Thoughts, Different Day was the result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-dP9trJDfEDJcKKJFLNyGhS8j3H_hcnmFOc1vJB_eMzLnhm_bNxy4CD4IuUaK_v1mA-SUHfSoebYuEhLDIb0hQZ531G4zSEuCgBzoKo-GEXEd5L71WSJAmYwTm4OMjQQc7mXhA/s1600/IMG_0081.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-dP9trJDfEDJcKKJFLNyGhS8j3H_hcnmFOc1vJB_eMzLnhm_bNxy4CD4IuUaK_v1mA-SUHfSoebYuEhLDIb0hQZ531G4zSEuCgBzoKo-GEXEd5L71WSJAmYwTm4OMjQQc7mXhA/s200/IMG_0081.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458430036074009698" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Actually, we had a lot of fun making this new album and we think it turned out really, really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact, in my opinion, it turned out much better than the original in terms of both performance and production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Re-recording these songs ended up providing us with an opportunity to improve on many of the things that we were never that happy with on the original recordings.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As well, it gave us the chance to include some other songs of ours from that era that we’ve always loved and that we felt needed to be re-recorded and made available to our fans. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Lyy_Pd5Q-lJPLjMb6tO-lWdMIPdA_fcRbx9z8gNvj7tWSTgCtScdHXGRGkllYiZgFjHJVJV5EJ8juDB70qyc4iojzxc0KoE1flrDr6sF5m59atzJHzFgwb-DZfuJOwTv1_yKpA/s320/sub184.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463600556999551554" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Anyways, I hope you check get a chance to check it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Even if you’re a die-hard skeptic when it comes to re-recorded albums, I think there’s a real good chance you’ll dig this one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Enjoy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I should also mention that the opinions expressed here by me on this posting are solely my own and do not necessarily represent either the opinions of the Subhumans Canada or of Alternative Tentacles Records.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Oh yeah, and for the record, we have yet to receive a single cent in mechanical royalties from Ferguson for all of the copies of Incorrect Thoughts he has sold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But then again, he’s only had twenty-five years to pay them to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maybe he needs a little more time….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-32271208689428060982009-01-20T21:07:00.000-08:002009-01-21T19:11:51.787-08:00New Rules For RascalsOkay, new rules for posting on this blog: personal attacks made against me that have nothing to do with current issues being discussed here, that are based on 30 year old information/disinformation and that are posted by <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">anonymous</span> individuals, will no longer be published. Individuals who wish to engage in such attacks in the future, will have to use their real name and a real contact address (i.e. a blog spot, a website, an emailing address etc.). Otherwise, your post will be deleted. And I will be checking to make sure that the names and addresses are for real.<div><br /></div><div>After all, if you are going to scrutinize my life for incongruities (real or imagined) and gleefully submit them as "evidence" that I am a total asshole, then it's only fair that I should be able to do the same to you. Individuals too cowardly to share with us their true identities, will not be permitted to use this blog as a vehicle from which to launch their personal vendettas.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you still feel the overwhelming need to trash someone from the safety of anonymity, may I suggest that you get a paper bag and cut two eye holes out of it, put it over your head (make sure the eye holes are actually where your eyes are!), face a mirror and tell the person you see in the mirror what a mean-spirited coward they are. This will serve two very useful purposes: it will allow you to work out some of that bile that you pack around with you (it can't be very good for your health) and you'll be trashing someone who really deserves it.</div>Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-53904843009419645092008-10-26T14:30:00.000-07:002008-10-26T14:42:33.571-07:00Canadian Election: Harper's Power playI just want to make a quick comment on the recent federal election because I think it begs to be commented on. Can you believe it? Three million dollars later and we’re right back where we were before. After wasting all of this time, energy and a shit load of money for over a month on an election that almost nobody wanted, we once again have a minority Conservative government.<br /><br />And a piss poor time to be wasting energy and money too as it turned out. Instead of focusing on how we can best deal with the current financial turmoil in the US and how it might effect Canada, we were busy farting around with a federal election, just because Stephen Harper and the Conservatives thought they just might have a chance of getting a majority government if they called it right now. Never mind that they broke their very own new election law designed supposedly to prevent just this sort of partisan opportunism, this was at last a chance for Harper to unleash his own special brand of ultra conservatism on Canadians with no holds barred. He just couldn’t resist the temptation.<br /><br />Of course, Harper claimed that he called the election because he couldn’t accomplish anything with a minority government and he needed a stronger mandate from the Canadian people to get stuff done. But then when he was asked if he thought the Conservatives were likely to win a majority this time around, he said no. Clearly this explanation makes no sense at all. Now while I’ve always believed Stephen Harper is rather simple, I don’t believe he’s that simple. I believe he thought the time was right to capitalize on Stephan Dion’s unpopularity with the hope of winning a majority. And it seemed perfectly fine to Harper that you (the Canadian taxpayer) should finance his little power play.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgitG5Dy7IhKUs1haOaAOVmRRDgtwuGYxwIc6wnqtFtu7PaYHfSRvfK01CYq1zwMKBr8eag_KtqhuiXetILkJRHc1B4eD3FsZ_sh8uo7rVt9Q3YpXbFekWak63o5PXYI34okxrw/s1600-h/images.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 103px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgitG5Dy7IhKUs1haOaAOVmRRDgtwuGYxwIc6wnqtFtu7PaYHfSRvfK01CYq1zwMKBr8eag_KtqhuiXetILkJRHc1B4eD3FsZ_sh8uo7rVt9Q3YpXbFekWak63o5PXYI34okxrw/s320/images.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261579419628654354" border="0" /></a>Let’s not forget that Harper loves to talk about fiscal responsibility, government accountability and how the taxpayers should ultimately call the shots on how their money is spent. This cynical move on his part proves once again, that this kind of talk is nothing more than that—talk. This is yet another reason to make sure that this man and his party never secures a majority government. (PS. The kitty may be cuddly and innocent Steve, but you're not)Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-4663663340328298372007-09-26T15:02:00.000-07:002008-12-11T01:40:49.801-08:00Bighouse For Bush And His Buddies!Your prayers have been answered. The Subhumans (Canada) are on tour once again and coming to a city near you (if you live in western Canada that is). If you're interested (and I just know you are), you can look up the dates, cities and venues at our website at <a href="http://www.subhumans.ca/">http://www.subhumans.ca/</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIADlVp2dzqx0EkNbfeDypx9QXBk5oNFGrXFuZSNE5APsltZUcc3MSNtQE79ZP7DqQm5YJTlOAolFqQYeZ1MHUBYC_mIjU9Yhegfi3B8ek3fCSNbruLntWnoY4k1CGZs-exdgzQ/s1600-h/superscam.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114637274580345778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIADlVp2dzqx0EkNbfeDypx9QXBk5oNFGrXFuZSNE5APsltZUcc3MSNtQE79ZP7DqQm5YJTlOAolFqQYeZ1MHUBYC_mIjU9Yhegfi3B8ek3fCSNbruLntWnoY4k1CGZs-exdgzQ/s320/superscam.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Okay, so slowly, but surely we are moving toward a post president Bush world. Thank god! Many of us will breathe a sigh of relief when we reach that point. But the question of the decade then (if not the century), is what happens to George W. Bush and his cronies. What happens to Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and John Bolton to name a few? Will they go free and be permitted to carry on schmoozing, plotting, and fund raising in the circles of the American power elite as many of them have been since the Reagan years? Or will they be tried, convicted and imprisoned as the criminals they obviously are?<br /><br />Every day, people in America are thrown in jail for relatively small offences like possessing pot, shoplifting and stealing cars. Bush and his cronies pushed for and engaged in an illegal war that has left close to a million people dead and thousands more disabled and mutilated. They lied to other branches of government and to the American people repeatedly to support their military campaign. They oversaw and implemented programs of unlawful confinement and torture that ruined (and continue to ruin) hundreds of people's lives. They are directly responsible for the slaughter of not just Iraqis, but Americans as well. Are these crimes not vastly more serious than petty crimes such as those mentioned above that can still land you in jail? If so, one would think that these people should go to jail for a long, long time.<br /><br />One thing is almost for sure, if these guys get off with a mere slap on the wrist (or worse yet, no reprimand at all), they, or people very much like them will be back to bite us in the future. If they get away with this, it will be a clear signal to them and other right-wing war mongers like them that there's no reason not to try this again (once the dust settles and they've managed to install another malleable Republican president in the Whitehouse). If they get away with this, count on another Iraq or Vietnam within the next 10 or 20 years. These people believe in US world domination at all most any cost (if you don't believe me check out their own websites like "Project for a New American Century" or "American Enterprise Institute") and they will continue working towards that goal behind the scenes until they are stopped.<br /></div><br /><div>That's why it's crucial that Bush and his cronies are actually brought to justice. These individuals must be made to answer for their criminal arrogance and deceit. Those of us that see this bogus war as the crime it is, need to seriously push toward this goal. We need to make sure that justice is actually done (unlike in Nixon's case) and that it is done swiftly (unlike in Pinochet's case). For the sake of the dead, the living and the unborn, let's nip this malignancy in the bud. And besides, even Paris Hilton had to go to jail.</div>Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-19965054383260297402007-03-21T19:55:00.000-07:002008-12-11T01:40:50.441-08:00Hey there Georgy boy, look at all the bullshit you employ!Here's a good one for you. While loudly trumpeting itself as the world leader of the "War on Terror" and castigating other countries that are supposedly soft on terrorists, the Bush administration itself appears to be funding and/or protecting terrorist groups within Iran and elsewhere in an attempt to destabilize the Iranian government.<br /><br />According to a number of news reporters including one from the Sunday Telegraph, several guerrilla groups within Iran that have been involved in terrorist type actions against the Iranian government are receiving funding directly from the CIA. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp4cAEtEoQnipFP4F1euSyZumob0OioiDUbYWp_Llt-fwHZUqj7wEg85LXj_81uRermNbrOz2fjjcpYb5pN5ACc3B4wCA5Sgpi6WzKHJZXp5Y5nAm0nrA04EltlembcKTPrSUgQ/s1600-h/Better+Bombed+Bus+in+Iran.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044580439719599810" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp4cAEtEoQnipFP4F1euSyZumob0OioiDUbYWp_Llt-fwHZUqj7wEg85LXj_81uRermNbrOz2fjjcpYb5pN5ACc3B4wCA5Sgpi6WzKHJZXp5Y5nAm0nrA04EltlembcKTPrSUgQ/s320/Better+Bombed+Bus+in+Iran.jpg" border="0" /></a> Many of these guerilla organizations consist of ethnic minority groups such as the Kurds, the Ahwazi and the Baluchis who oppose the current Iranian government. Some of the actions carried out by these groups include kidnappings, executions and bombings. Most of the attacks have been directed towards Iranian soldiers and government officials, but of course civilians that happen to be in the way are often injured or killed as well. A Baluchi group calling itself Jundallah (Army of God) recently claimed responsibility for the bombing of a bus carrying Revolutionary Guards in Zahedan, Iran which killed 11 people and injured many more.<br /><br />At the same time, over 3000 members of a guerilla group calling itself Mujahedin-e Khalq (The People's Freedom Fighters) or MEK who are responsible for numerous attacks against Iranian officials (and some Americans), enjoy safe haven in Iraq, courtesy of the US military. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMN8ko5ZVCvZ3s2IQeogGl3ZYl1tTla2lGhKonc3FZeAaq-oQUAzuKwC0Ix4FGwncqhiGZVyzo_GXwlQOF8koAwF9I7qQf_K1nEcy3NVgtaw6UDybRxbOCsre7aHjr7SAvicCxg/s1600-h/MEK+Fighter.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044585134118854354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMN8ko5ZVCvZ3s2IQeogGl3ZYl1tTla2lGhKonc3FZeAaq-oQUAzuKwC0Ix4FGwncqhiGZVyzo_GXwlQOF8koAwF9I7qQf_K1nEcy3NVgtaw6UDybRxbOCsre7aHjr7SAvicCxg/s320/MEK+Fighter.jpg" border="0" /></a>Despite repeated requests from the Iranian government for the handing over of MEK members to stand trial in Iran for their actions, the US government has yet to comply. Declared a terrorist organization by the US State Department in 1997, the MEK appear to have more recently become useful allies of Washington in its "cold war" against Iran—particularly since the MEK were the first ones to claim that the current Iranian governments' nuclear ambitions were anything but peaceful.<br /><br />Now while I have to admit I'm no great lover of the current repressive government of Iran, nor the ultra conservative Ayatollahs, nor the brutal, fanatical Revolutionary Guards and while I do have some sympathy for some of the stated goals of the MEK, I do find this double standard on the part of the Bush administration to be just a <strong>tad</strong> hypocritical. You can't be truly against terrorism and be supporting it at the same time. But of course, as a <strong>true</strong> study of history will show, neither Bush nor previous US administrations have actually been against terrorism (state terrorism or otherwise). Despite what they say, they're just against terrorism that is against them or runs counter to their interests. And it's precisely this double standard that successive US administrations feel perfectly comfortable in engaging in, that is one of the main reasons why so many people around the world are fucking furious with the US.<br /><br />Besides being blatantly hypocritical, this policy of supporting "good" terrorists is dangerous as well; it's backfired on the US more than once in the past with all sorts of nasty consequences for a lot of people. One of the more recent and memorable instances of this is when the Reagan administration provided funds and armaments to a bunch of hardened, Islamist warriors (also calling themselves "Mujahedin") in Afghanistan who were fighting against the Najibullah government and its Soviet backers. The Soviets finally gave up and left the country and the Najibullah government eventually fell. Victory for the USA? Hardly; newly emboldened and armed, many of those same Mujahedin fighters went on to form an extremely conservative, repressive, militant Islamic government in Afghanistan. This same government provided safe haven and moral support to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda while they prepared for the September 11th, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. The name of this government in Afghanistan? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9aZ7auG4tTRGldSLg3BCT8DYTj6EGfw2aCE9DXKyVKf5gVMgb8FrD9BN8_nnoodvoWC_NJPSnmeDOgj34SeNhNNQeILoRHKBDZ9OQeOVQF00qU4hr5QJBv89d2897vKdTSkk-Q/s1600-h/taleban.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044586246515384034" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9aZ7auG4tTRGldSLg3BCT8DYTj6EGfw2aCE9DXKyVKf5gVMgb8FrD9BN8_nnoodvoWC_NJPSnmeDOgj34SeNhNNQeILoRHKBDZ9OQeOVQF00qU4hr5QJBv89d2897vKdTSkk-Q/s320/taleban.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div>You got it; the Taliban! In other words, the Reagan administration, employing the same type of brilliant foreign policy back then against Afghanistan as the Bush administration is now employing against Iran, inadvertently helped to lay the groundwork for the 9/11 attacks. As well, they helped to create the mess in Afghanistan that NATO countries (including Canada) are now expected to help cleanup at great cost and loss of life.<br /><br />It's time the Bush administration (and all US administrations to come) stop supporting violent opposition groups (terrorists) in other countries as proxies to destabilize governments they don't like. It's time they start showing <strong>real</strong> respect (instead of mere lip service) for concepts like sovereignty, multilateralism and democracy. Otherwise they can't expect their enemies (imagined or real) to show respect for such concepts either. The rules have to apply to <strong>everyone</strong>, otherwise they can't possibly work and the violence will only escalate. Countries that claim to have the moral high ground need to set a good example. Because, as everyone the world over knows (outside of Washington that is), "what's good for the goose is good for the gander".<br /></div><br /><div>(For a sort of musical version of this posting, check out the Subhumans song, "Moving Forward" from our new album, <strong>New Dark Age Parade</strong>. You can hear it at our Myspace site at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/subhumanscanaduh">www.myspace.com/subhumanscanaduh</a>.)</div></div></div>Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-1164187059490903352006-11-22T01:07:00.000-08:002006-11-22T01:17:39.503-08:00The Subhumans Are Home!There's no place like home. Finally I'm well enough to write here again. We all got brutally ill on the New Dark Age Parade tour and I'm only just starting to recover. This is gonna be short. I'll talk about the tour and other stuff later. I just wanted to say thanks to all of the excellent people that helped us out on the tour and thanks to all of our dedicated fans that braved all sorts of weather to come out and see us. You people made it worthwhile and are greatly appreciated. We'll talk more soon.Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-1160475742919562212006-10-10T01:30:00.000-07:002006-10-11T01:18:16.146-07:00Subhumans (Canada) "New Dark Age Parade" TourWell here we are, merely a few days away from heading out on our cross-Canuckistan tour in support of out new CD, <strong>New Dark Age Parade</strong>. We'll be starting the tour with a show this Friday, October 13th (how fitting) at the Lamplighter in Vancouver. From there, it will be over to Victoria for a show the following night and then it's off to points east, eventually going as far as Montreal. The tour will be 3 weeks long ending on November 4th with a show in Calgary. Jeez, it'll pretty much be winter by then. Good thing we gotten ourselves some good transportation lined up!<br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/320/oxcart.0.jpg" border="0" /><br />Yep, solid, reliable and good on gas too. Of course, we would've liked to have played all of the great urban centers of this vast land, but time constraints just wouldn't allow it (we couldn't pry Jon away from his new job as beer taster for Big Rock Brewery for any longer than 3 weeks). But hopefully we'll be coming to either your town, or a town near you. This will be the first time the Subhumans (Canada) have played Toronto in 25 years and our very first time ever to play Montreal! Needless to say, we'll be playing only the finest rock and roll establishments on our journey, such as this happening joint in Duck Ass Lake, AB. </p><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/320/outhouse.jpg" border="0" />Looks like a good place to empty out our Stephen Harper porta-potty. It should be pretty near full by then. Yes indeed. For a detailed list of our tour dates, check out our website at <a href="http://www.subhumanscanada.com">www.subhumanscanada.com</a>. </p><p>So we're working really hard, getting ready for this tour. We've spent many long and hard hours locked in our dingy, dirty rehearsal space denying ourselves life's little pleasures so that we would be prepared for this tour (and we practised a couple of songs while we were in there as well). Besides playing many of our old favourites, we'll being playing quite a few new tunes from <strong>New Dark Age Parade</strong> as well. And of course, Brian will be doing his much loved and widely celebrated, fully flatulented rendition of "Having My Baby" while riding unicycle and eating tapioca pudding in the nude. A sight and sound extravaganza not to be missed! So all and all it promises to be a series of delightful shows you simply won't want to miss. And besides, at our age, who knows if we'll make it back to your town again; it gets tougher and tougher to haul around those wheelchairs, I.V. bags and bedpans everytime! So come on out and see the show!!</p>Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-1159079486214876242006-09-23T23:25:00.002-07:002006-09-24T00:27:15.560-07:00We're All Subhumans Now<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/1600/Twin%20Towers.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/320/Twin%20Towers.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />"We're all Americans now." (French magazine Le Monde, September 2001,<br />in aftermath of 9/11 attacks) <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/1600/George%20W.%20Bush.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/1600/George%20W.%20Bush.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 88px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 111px" height="111" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/320/George%20W.%20Bush.0.jpg" width="35" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />"You're either with us or against us...." (George W. Bush, November 2001)<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 167px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px" height="174" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/320/leb6.jpg" width="225" border="0" /></p><br /><br /><p>"We're all subhumans now." (myself, September 2006, in the aftermath of Israel's attacks on Lebanon)</p>Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34725013.post-1158742545584245952006-09-19T23:31:00.000-07:002006-09-23T02:28:21.690-07:00New Dark Age Parade<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/1600/NDAP%20Front%20Cover.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/136/3836/320/NDAP%20Front%20Cover.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Well, seeing as how this is my first entry I'd better get right to the important stuff. My name is Gerry Hannah aka "Gerry Useless". I'm the bass player and one of the three song writers for the <strong>original</strong> Subhumans from Vancouver, Canada. We've just released a new, 14 song CD titled <strong>New Dark Age Parade</strong> on G7 Welcoming Committee Records in Canada and on Alternative Tentacles Records in the rest of the world. It's the first time the band has released brand new material since 1982!<br /><br />I think this record is really, really good. Now, of course you'd expect me to say that, me being a member of the band and what not, but the truth is, I don't plug records I don't like. In fact, shortly after our first album, <strong>Incorrect Thoughts</strong> came out in 1981, I was asked what I thought of the album on a live radio interview in Texas. My response was, "I wouldn't buy it" (of course, that comment was <strong>very</strong> popular with the rest of the band!). I only really liked about 3/4 of the songs on the album and I was really disappointed with most of the production. I actually like that album now, but back then I didn't and I said so. So when I say that I think New Dark Age Parade is really, really good, I do mean it.<br /><br />From a musical standpoint, New Dark Age Parade is for the most part, mid tempo with a few faster punk rock forays here and there, as well as a couple of slightly slower tunes too. It's mostly hard driving rock (without the posturing and without trying to be slick) and there's a bit of a garage pop sound in there too. I would say the album draws on influences as diverse as the Clash (circa Complete Control days), to the New York Dolls (circa their first album), to Steppenwolf (Monster), to Bowie (Man Who Sold the World), to Stereolab (circa Refried Ectoplasm, without the keyboards and Latietia Sadier's angelic vocals). Now of course, that's just my opinion. You may disagree and indeed, my bandmates may disagree, but I'm just trying to give you an idea of the sound of the damned thing.<br /><br />Lyrically, the album speaks on topics ranging from poverty and drug addiction, to alienation from one's self and society, to unity and a sense of belonging, to psychological healing, to macho posturing, to religious fanaticism (both christian and muslim) and last, but not least, to war! (how could there not be songs about war on a Subhumans album, when clearly, we live in a world at war?). I guess you could say that the record from a lyrical standpoint is just a tad "political", which will come as no surprise to those of you that are familiar with our earlier stuff. None of the songs are anti-American in content though (as has been suggested by some reviewers), but a few of them critique American foreign policy, both current and past (how could any sane person not critique 60 years of madness?).<br /><br />Anyways, if this CD sounds interesting to you, I urge you to go out and <strong>buy </strong>it from your favourite record store or order it from G7 or Alternative Tentacles. If you like us and/or like the record, please don't pirate the damn thing. Honestly, how do you expect indie bands and labels to keep on going if they can't make any money from record sales? More about that on another posting perhaps.... I guess that's all for now.Gerry Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17167374678266453070noreply@blogger.com14