AN UNREASONABLE MAN
“…all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” ‑George Bernard Shaw A Must-See for Americans.
I DEMAND A RECOUNT
In what I allege to be a complete and utter mockery of the democratic process, The Beaver magazine has proclaimed former Canadian Prime Minister (and current dead guy) Pierre Elliot Trudeau the Worst Canadian In History. They contend that Trudeau narrowly edged me out by a few hundred votes. Excuse my French, but…
AS IF.
It is now apparent that a concerted and forceful program of fraud and abuse was enacted with either the leadership or cooperation of the Beaver Editorial Staff.
As a concerned citizen, a poor sport and of course as the true worst Canadian, I ask that you do everything diplomatically possible to have Beaver Magazine arrange for an honest RECOUNT in the presence of international observers.
Thank you.
Chris
ps. I beat Stephen Harper. I actually beat Stephen Harper.
A Little Summer Post..
So, What’s new since I last talked to you?
I mean in your life not mine. Eh!
We’re hard at it over here, choosing to use summer as our musical fiesta! So when we’re not trying to find ways to sneak off to various beaches we are hard at work on the tunes. It’s very, hot here right now which reminds me today that soon we will be in Beautiful South America. The dates and plans are being set as I type so if anyone has anything to say speak now or forever hold your piece. haha…
Our friend, Analia, has made this webpage for Argentina. With a photo like that we’re garaunteed success!
Our Friend, Erica, has made this website for Brazil
And our good buddy, Cesar, has made this site for South America
Keep in mind that we have NO Myspace page of our own. All the ones put up are by people who listen to the band. So when some of them claim to be us talking it’s not. Cesar is the most official one, as you can see by the link to Razor, and Sacrifice. Haha.. If you want to email the band do it here on our page, not to peoples’ Myspace pages, unless it’s Cesars page. We appreciate anyone putting up a page for us, it’s just not us, that’s all.
Take care, everybody, enjoy the Summer!
“Chocolate Rain..doot doot doot dooty doot..” eh, man.
SLEEP OF REASON
From: Deborah Simmons
I bring terrible news that Dave Brophy, member of the Winnipeg Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement, member of the New Socialist Group, and dear friend, has suddenly died. I first met Dave at a political study group in Winnipeg in the summer of 2004. He had been a supporter of the blockade against clearcutting in Grassy Narrows territory since its inception in December 2002. He was clearly outraged by injustices that he had witnessed in building solidarity with the Anishinaabe people of Grassy Narrows, and was struggling to come to grips with what history and theory can teach about strategies for social change that could address oppression and environmental destruction. He came to the conclusion that the system of profit and competition that is capitalism is the root of these destructive forms. His knowledge of indigenous communal traditions inspired him to fight for an alternative society.
Dave’s dedication to both activist movement building and the battle of ideas was remarkable in a milieu where it has been the fashion to adopt radicalism as individual lifestyle choice rather than a collective way of making history. Dave was an outstanding and passionate organizer, always willing take on the thankless behind the scenes tasks. For this he was much appreciated by his women comrades. If he believed in a political event, he would work tirelessly to making it a rousing success regardless of whether others were able to help. One of his great successes was the Winnipeg launch of Sheila Wilmot’s book Taking Responsibility, Taking Direction: White Anti-Racism in Canada on April 29, 2006. Dave was determined to use the book as an occasion to carve out a space for discussion and debate about strategies for building solidarity, so he single-handedly raised funds to bring Wilmot to Winnipeg, and postered the entire city to promote the event. His hard work paid off; more than fifty people packed the room, and there was a lively discussion that built new bonds of trust and solidarity among a unique mix of anti-racists. This was a critical counterpoint to the increasing racism being stirred up by the media and police under cover of an anti-crime campaign in the city. Dave was highly respected by many indigenous activists in the city, who knew they could always rely on his support when needed.
I very much regret that Dave was not able to attend a Wasáse gathering. This new radical indigenous movement was a dream come true for Dave, who recognized that true solidarity in the battle for indigenous self-determination is only possible under the leadership of a radical indigenous movement. And he was very much honoured that Taiaiake Alfred invited him to mentor other young solidarity activists at the founding gathering of the Wasáse movement. Dave would have been a strong champion of the strategic discussions now taking place among Wasáse members and supporters about anarchist and socialist strategies for addressing oppression, since such discussions would shed light on his own political experiments.
Most importantly, Dave wanted to bring together his political life and his personal life. He was conscious of his positioning as a white person and a man, and made special efforts to practice respect for others. As a friend, he was generous to a fault. I’ve been wishing that I could recruit him to work with me in the Northwest Territories, where I knew that he’d be instantly liked by my indigenous collaborators for his humility, sense of humour, and willingness to work hard — physically and intellectually. It is rare to find a non-indigenous person who has such an ability to bridge cultural and social divides.
Dave was wrestling with dark demons in the months before his death. The lonely burden of building radical movements during this period of apathy, quiescence and despair was often too much to bear. He was one of those countless people in Manitoba — and in Canada — who fell through the cracks of the underfunded social welfare system. This is despite his great capacities and talents. He was excessively modest, so I had to learn about several of his achievements from his mother. He was an outstanding basketball player and athlete; he played guitar; he was an accomplished academic who had recently completed his Masters Degree based on fieldwork with indigenous communities in Peru. He had hoped to return to Peru to present the results of his research to the communities.
This is a time for mourning the loss of a great comrade whose candle burned too bright and too brief. But it is also a time for those of us who share his politics to renew our commitment to building the kind of radical resistance and solidarity that Dave dreamed of — the kind of collective resistance that can lead to revolution. In this way we will keep alive Dave’s memory, and the memory of countless other victims of this brutal capitalist system.
Condolences can be sent to nsg@newsocialist.org please cc: website@newsocialist.org 
The attached photo of Dave preparing signs for the Winnipeg Caledonia protest is from The Drum. Dave’s three-part series of articles about Indigenous struggle in what is now known as Northwestern Ontario can be found online. The first article, in the Feb/March/April 2005 issue of New Socialist Magazine, provided some history of the relationship between the Anishinaabe and the Canadian state during the years leading up to and following the signing of Treaty 3 in 1873, including the Canadian state’s violations of the agreement and the state-led campaign to destroy the Anishinaabe’s indigenous economy. The second article, in the May/June 2005 issue of NS, examined how the Canadian state continues to undermine the livelihoods of the Anishinaabe and the political factors that are shaping Grassy Narrows’ present fight for their lands. The final article, in the July/August issue of NS, looked at the Friends of Grassy Narrows, the group now called Winnipeg Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement, which works in solidarity with the Anishinaabe. A summary of Dave’s Masters research in the rural Indigenous community of Choquecancha in the region of Cuzco, Peru entitled North-South, First World-Fourth World Engagement: Working towards Solidarity is posted on the University of Manitoba Environmental Conservation Laboratory site. Dave’s article on the Seventh Generation Earth Day Walk: Celebrating Mother Earth and Her Caretakers and Protectors that took place on April 22 was published online by Winnipeg Indymedia. His article analyzing the politics of the recent Assembly of First Nations Day of Action June 29th: Day of Action or Launching Pad for Sustained Campaign of Political Confrontation? was published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba office) Youth Voices.
The ups and the downs!
Today is Canada Day. Haha.. Enjoy some lame celebrations while you can, Shlongs. Soon the Americans will arrive slaying everyone for Albertas oil, the globally warmed, Northwest Passage, the water, or perhaps the trees.…
Beave has just left my place, this fine day, and is heading back to his dam. He played me a great new tune he wrote! There is good reason we got this little freak into our “fold”. We’re in better shape right now that we’ve ever been before in this stage of writing songs. We’ve got lots of music on the go and all of it seems like we’re very well on the right track. I’ve got 4 tunes and a couple tapes worth of riffs I’ve been filtering through, Hannahs got a whole bunch of stuff, Beaves got a bunch. All is looking sharp. Usually we have 2 – 4 riffs that we’re not sure about at this point! Haha.. So, yeah. Expect the next record to rip! Anyway, I’m excited and figured I’d tell you about it!
Be prepared to see us show up in cardboard boxes on wheels. Tax enforcer very cruel to skids. This is the downside of our week.
Anyway, Have a good ern’. Save some black hair dye for Snord.
Thunder And Lightning
Like thunder and lightning God damn, its so exciting It hits you like a hammer God damn Eh-men.
It's Official!
Here’s the “official” World Refugee Day announcement for Winnipeg (below).
Come and Celebrate!
We invite you to join us in celebrating World Refugee Day June 20, 2007, beginning at 4:00 until 8:00 pm in Central Park. Featuring Rabi the Caribbean Drummer, Burundi dancers, a drama by Somali playwright Muuxi Adam, performance by Mijok aka Hot Dog from Sudan, Nicaraguan folk ballet dancers, Rodrigo Munoz and Papa Mambo, keynote speaker, refugee stories and more. Every year on June 20 the world honours the courage, resilience and strength of refugees. The province of Manitoba brings in over 10,000 newcomers every year, individuals and families who become part of our communities. World Refugee Day is a chance to get to know some of the newcomers to our province, and to come together to focus global attention not only on the plight of refugees and the causes of their exile, but also on their determination and will to survive and on the contributions they make to their host communities. Come visit Central Park, for a special event organized by the Institute for Community Peacebuilding, Central Park Market, Knox Centre, with the help of a number of individuals in the community and support from MIIC, Welcome Place. Our world refugee day event will be held from 4:00 to 8:00 pm on Wednesday, June 20th in solidarity with events being held all over the world. Drop by after work to celebrate the strength and resilience of the newcomers who enrich our communities in so many ways. For more information contact David at 953‑3865 or Janine at 475‑3816.
World Refugee Day!
Hello, Shirleys and other people!
As you see above, Wednesday June 20th is World Refugee Day! Over 100 countries celebrate the achievements and acknowledge the efforts of the worlds 17 million refugees.
At this years “celebration” there will be a bunch of singers from all over the world including the singer “Hotdog”. A portion of Hotdogs story is that he came to the ‘Peg after making his way through Sudan at the age of 6 when his parents were killed in the war. He is awesome, heavy, and heartfelt, and always delivering the goods in a really intense way.
In our glorious little city of Winnipeg the festivities will be from 4 – 8 pm in Central Park (by the way if you press on this link check out the “blue marker” on Kennedy and Sargent to see a great interview with our friend Asili Gelle. She is awesome. Also check out the marker on the south side of Qu’appelle avenue for another interview with Somalian refugee, Mayran Kalah. As soon as you’re done that check out the east side of Carlton street to see The Welcome Place where we, Proragrandhises, donate our RUN FOR RIGHTS pledges, some other coinage, and spend a lot of time volunteering. If you keep thumbing around you can find some more cool interviews with people around here including the awesome Immigrant Womans Sewing Collective.)
I’d like to suggest a book called Human Cargo as part of my build up to World Refugee Day. What a truly great book.
A refugee is someone with “no durable solution” to the problems that face them in their home country. At some point in your life your world may turn upside down and you may possibly find yourself seeking refuge somewhere very unfamiliar. It is absolutely our job as citizens of this city to make newcomers feel welcome and make their introduction to our city the best in can possibly be. A lot of people come here having faced severe and painful pasts and are looking forward to a life here. It’s devastating to see some of these dreams slowly erode when the reality of this place sinks in.
People endlessly email us asking “what can I do?” in regards to helping make the world a better place. I’ll suggest that you could check out a refugee welcoming center in your area is a good place to start. From there you will meet people from all over the world and see tons of stuff going on in your city that you may have never known existed. Certainly many opportunities will arise. I can tell you that my life has improved about 1 million percent since I have been volunteering. To me, there is nothing better . If you have no friends, and you probably don’t if you’re visiting a Propagandhi webpage, here’s a good way to get some. And you don’t have to listen to anybody talk about their record collection! Yay! Hahaha.. jest jokin.
O.K. let’s get to it! There’s a lot going on in this world. Find the World Refugee Day celebration in your town/city and head out! See you ‘Peggers in Central Park!
…Oh yeah, by the way, Hannah will be cleaning toilets so come and take a giant, rotten, dump at intermission!! yeehawhaw…
‑Hamroid.
1st Week Home...
Hello, Everyone..
Thanks to everyone who came out to see us on tour. We had a great time and played pretty well MOST nights. GFK and Hiretsukan were awesome and really nice. It was nice to travel in some nice weather for once. Soon we’ll post some photos from the tour. Now we’re just sorting out the details of our trip to SOUTH AMERICA which will be in Late September or early October. That will be awesome. Our friend Cesar in Brazil has made this website. It’s excellento.
So we’re back to normal here in the Peg, I suppose. What does that mean exactly? I’m not so sure. This week since being home we all ran 10km in the RUN FOR RIGHTS raising a bunch of money for The Canada Haiti Action Network and The Welcome Place. With no pre-race practice We ran hard, we ran well. After the race Jordo had a barbecue in his yard. Today was the PRIDE day parade. It seemed like there was at least 3500 people or so there. That’s awesome.
On the stranger side of the week, I went to a Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball game, half way through we took off to catch the bus. I’m sitting there talking to a guy and all of sudden I’m cracked in the head super hard! I says, “AAARGH”, I looks around and there’s a baseball rolling down the sidewalk. the goddman thing was hit over all the bleachers and lights and came right down on the back of my ugly head! Jesus! Have you ever ever wondered if a baseball to the head hurts? Yes it does! To top that one I was bitten on the arm by this man I am not kidding. What does someone do in such a situation? go get a rabies test? Saw their arm off?
So like I says all is normal back here in the Peg! We’re just trucking along. It’s good to be 34…