So, we’ve got a classic good news/ bad news situation on our hands to share with you this fine august day.

The bad news is that due to a serious injury, we can’t play the Red River Rampage show in September. 13 years of judo-throwing 250-lb men and then defending jiujitsu guard-pass attempts by the same behemoths has finally caught up with Todd The Rod. He currently can’t even hold his bass for more than 10 seconds without excruciating pain in his back. He’s been trying to get answers from this eviscerated joke of a health-care system for months now to no avail. Thanks corporate-welfare/ social-capitalism!

We actually had to resort to sending him down the US to get a goddamn MRI at a private clinic to see what the hell was going on in his spine and surprise, surprise, he’s got bulging discs, tears and pinched nerves all over the place.

The good news is that the Red River Rampage organizers have bent over backwards to keep us in their plans and have moved the show to March 23rd. A long ways away, i know, but hopefully enough time for us to get Todd healthy in the long-term.

And that’s the good news: Todd is going full tilt on a structured physio program to get back to full capacity. It’s only been a couple weeks and he already feels small improvements in terms of the pain. Me, Beave and Jord have been keeping the song-writing juggernaut rolling in the background meanwhile. We’re still on track to rock out and make a ridiculously facemelting record this winter! So shut your pie-holes and hold on to you pantaloons people. The assault continues!

On December 7th, 2005, federal agents conducted a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front — an organization the FBI has called America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.” IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT is the remarkable story of the group’s rise and fall, told through the transformation and radicalization of one of its members, Daniel McGowan. Part coming-of-age tale, part cops-and-robbers thriller, the film interweaves a chronicle of McGowan facing life in prison with a dramatic investigation of the events that led to his involvement with the ELF. Using never-before-seen archival footage and intimate interviews — with cell members and with the prosecutor and detective who were chasing them — IF A TREE FALLS asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism.

My name is Katherine Geeraert, and I have started a Tsunami relief fund for students at the school where I teach in Japan. I am a teacher at Soma Higashi High School in Soma, Japan. I was at the school when the Earthquake and Tsunami hit the North East Coast of Japan.The effects of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake have been extreme throughout North Eastern Japan. In Soma, the Earthquake caused a 7.5 meter tsunami that destroyed much of the Soma Bay area and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Some of my students lived in these neighbourhoods. Many other students at Soma Higashi commute to school in Soma from other communities that lie along the coast, some in closer proximation to the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. As a result of these disasters, many students have either lost their homes and belongings, or are unable to return to their homes because of the 30 km. evacuation zone. Many of their parents have lost their jobs as a result of the either the extreme, detrimental effects of the Tsunami, or because their jobs are also within that 30 km radius. These students need simple necessities to return to school and to begin rebuilding their lives with their families. Friends of Soma gives 100% of it’s donations directly to these families through Soma Higashi High School. Any amount of support can make a huge difference.

The cables suggest, contrary to public pronouncements from the Gillard government, that the unbelievably good looking Canadian hard rock band Propagandhi have no time-line for withdrawal from their extremely unpopular mission in Australia.

Propagandhi have warned against handing over responsibility for security in Australia to any of the completely self-serving total assholes that tend to get involved in federal politics in the first place, insisting the transition must be tailored to the conditions on the ground.

Quoted in the heavily-redacted documents is Propagandhi’s Minister of Agriculture, Jordan D. Samolesky, who states that “Propagandhi will not abandon Australia. Propagandhi will not allow Australia to become a haven for terrorists. Propagandhi will remain engaged in Australia until everyone is either dead, maimed or incarcerated. Only then can democracy and freedom prevail. Now let us blaze!”

See either the “Shows” link above or the “Upcoming Shows” thing to the right for more info. Don’t say we never give you a wide range of redundant choices to see the details of our tour-dates.

Propagandhi tour date announcement. Recording updates. Beave brags about how awesome his guitar is. Todd explains why he can’t sleep. We interview a former Sudanese refugee about what’s going on in his homeland and why we it should matter to those of us over here in DisneyPunkland™.

Featuring music by Sacrifice, Deadstoolpigeon, Bob Marley and the Nels Cline Trio. Giv’er!

Prairie Artists Against Enbridge includes some of Canada’s finest bands and cultural workers, a governor general’s award-winning novelist, and a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber. They all attached their names to a letter, delivered today to the National Arts Centre, protesting Enbridge Pipeline’s sponsorship of its upcoming Prairie Scene! Festival to be held in Ottawa from April 6th to May 8th, 2011. The letter is endorsed by such notable NGO’s as the Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club Prairie, the Rainforest Action Network, Dogwood Initiative, Corporate Ethics International and the Polaris Institute.

For more information or media inquiries, contact: PrairieArtistsAgainstEnbridge@gmail.com

January 25th/ 2011

Mr. Christopher Dearlove/ Ms. Rosemary Thompson
National Arts Centre
P.O. Box 1534, Stn B
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1P 5W1

“Art gives people a language by which they can understand themselves and their society…and the corporate power structure is determined to make sure artists speak in a language that does not threaten their entitlement.”

-Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author

Dear Mr. Dearlove and Ms. Thompson,

We, the undersigned artists, musicians and performers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan respectfully request that the National Arts Centre reconsider its decision to partner with Enbridge Pipelines as a Prairie Scene! festival sponsor.

As Canada’s foremost showcase for the performing arts, the National Arts Centre should choose sponsors that help to promote its values as an innovator in community programming. Partnering with Enbridge Pipelines tarnishes that image with the company’s disastrous environmental record.

On July 26 2010, an Enbridge pipeline ruptured from unknown causes, gushing tar sands oil into a nearby creek for several hours before Enbridge contacted state authorities and shut off the flow. The EPA reports 1 million gallons of this dirty oil fouled more than 24 miles of Michigan’s Kalamazoo River, posing a threat to nearby Lake Michigan. Cleanup crews are still working hard to save Canada geese, muskrats, and other wildlife poisoned by the spill. The preventable disaster may be the worst oil spill in U.S. Midwest history.

Despite the spill, Enbridge Piplelines is still pushing for approval of a new 1,200 km pipeline to carry tar sands crude from Edmonton, Alberta to Kitimat, BC. The project, opposed by a wide coalition of aboriginal communities and businesses located along the pipeline corridor, would put Canada’s most sensitive wild salmon rivers at risk.

By associating with Enbridge, The National Arts Centre associates itself with the company’s irresponsible corporate behavior. For the sake of the Centre’s good reputation and for the sake of our environment, we urge you to reconsider partnering with Enbridge as a 2011 Prairie Scene! Festival Sponsor.

Thank you,

Prairie Artists Against Enbridge:

Mike Alexander — Musician

Brad Bellegard — Musician

Rob Bos — Artist

Craig Boychuk — Musician/Producer

Burnthe8track — Band

Susie Burpee — Choreographer/Dancer

Comeback Kid — Band

Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Milan — Performance Artists

Christine Fellows — Musician

Danny Fernandez — Musician

Eric Galbraith — Musician

Noam Gonick — Filmmaker

Dagan Harding — Musician

Head Hits Concrete – Band

Derek Hogue — Designer

Reghan Hincliffe — Musician

Charley Justice – Musician

Jonak Krieser — Musician

Pimpton — Musician

Greg Macpherson — Musician

Mama Cutsworth — DJ

Chris Merk — Musician

Robb Morrison — Sound Engineer/Producer

The Paperbacks — Band

Joel Passmore — Musician

Pip Skid — Musician

Propagandhi — Band

Riva Racette — Musician

Andrea Roberts — Musician

Wolbachia – Band

Thomas Roussin — Musician

Deborah Schnitzer — Writer/Educator

Kerri Senkow — Musician

Leo Sepulveda — Musician

Ramiro Sepulveda — Musician

Brad Skibinsky — Musician

Miriam Toews — Novelist

Molten Lava – Band

Volcanoeless in Canada — Band

The Weakerthans — Band

Ila Wenus — Musician

Troy Westwood — Musician/Athlete

This petition is endorsed by the Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club Prairie, the Rainforest Action Network, Dogwood Initiative, Corporate Ethics International and the Polaris Institute.

Next Thursday, Jan 13th, 7PM, at the Rudolph Rocker Cultural Center at 91 Albert St, 3rd Floor, they are presenting:

A Public Forum: Examining the Continuing Disaster in Haiti.
A year after the earthquake in Haiti, the country faces many challenges that are socially imposed. From the ongoing UN occupation and the emergence of cholera, to failed aid models, to sham elections that refuse to allow Haiti’s largest political party participation, Canadians have many reasons to be concerned about what is being done there under the rubric of humanitarianism.

Please join us for a short presentation and for an open discussion. Admission is FREE!!!

All those believing that Canada is acting as a benign force for democracy are strongly encouraged to attend.