This week @ rabble.ca: What's really going on in Ottawa?

Details: Published on Friday, 10 October 2014 16:40; Written by editor

10 Oct 2014

Hey rabble readers,

As the Harper government lays out its Iraq war plan, our Parliamentary Bureau is ready to cover Harper's policies to the fullest and report on what's really going on in Ottawa. But we need your support. Donate to keep independent media on the Hill!

At the Good Jobs Summit last week, people from across the country gathered to examine the question: what does it mean to have a "good job"? rabble.ca was there to cover the dialogue around the employment challenges affecting millions. Catch up on all of our reports here!

We're expanding our coverage at rabble.ca -- with beat editors across Canada! Our beat editors will connect us to local progressive issues, and serve as rabble.ca's eyes and ears in their region. Join us in welcoming our first nationwide set of editors: Prairie beat editor Véronique Émond-Sioufi, Northern beat editor George Lessard, Atlantic beat editor Katie Mazer, and Quebec beat editor Mathieu Murphy-Perron.

The Vancouver International Film Festival is wrapping up, but there's still time to catch our sponsored film, Charlie's Country. It's playing 6:30 p.m. PST on Friday, October 10. Get your tickets here.

This week's top news

Feel Good Friday roundup: Long weekend edition
Happy Feel Good Friday! Here's all the good news you can handle.
By Kaitlin McNabb

Olivia Chow can win Toronto's mayoral race
John Tory isn't the only option to beat Doug Ford. If progressive women, people of colour and young people get out to vote, Olivia Chow can win. Here's why Judy Rebick thinks it's worth it.
By Judy Rebick

One year in: Jerry Dias on Unifor's first year and its future
A year after Unifor's founding convention, Unifor President Jerry Dias reflects on the year, what Unifor can achieve for the workers it represents and the rest of Canada.
By H.G. Watson

Vital Signs Reports paint a stark picture of youth unemployment across Canada
Stability is not in the cards for Canadian workers, with young workers particularly affected, according to this year's Vital Signs Reports from the Community Foundations of Canada.
By Ella Bedard

Harper's Iraq war plan: Save people by killing them?
The Harper government announced its Iraq war plan, basically, saving people by killing people. But what other options are available? Consider these.
By Gregory Shupak

Why don't women's issues matter in the Toronto mayoral election?
John Tory and Doug Ford sit idly by as racist and sexist comments are hurled at Olivia Chow. Tory and Ford ignore women's issues, while Chow continues to fight for them. What gives?
By Michele Landsberg

Podcast: The #GoodJobs Debate at the Good Jobs Summit
Moderated by Trish Hennessey at the opening of the Good Jobs Summit, Bottom Line panelists tackle the question of what constitutes a good job.
By rabble staff

This week's top blogs

Suncor sneaks tar sands tankers into St. Lawrence and Great Lakes
Suncor is setting a precedent around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin with its new shipments of bitumen on the St. Lawrence River.
By Emma Lui

Mansbridge takes money from... and other reasons we need a reporter on the Hill for the rest of us
Parliament is back in session, and we hope that we can count on you to help ensure that we have a top-notch team of independent and ethical journalists to really challenge Stephen Harper's agenda.
By rabble staff

Indian & Cowboy: Making and taking space for alternative Indigenous media
"Red Man Laughing" podcaster Ryan McMahon got tired of seeing media that doesn't represent Aboriginal experiences. So he just went ahead and made his own.
By Âpihtawikosisân

New Environment Commissioner slams Harper with frank and tough words
The new Environment Commissioner, Julie Gelfand, picks up where her predecessors left off. On Tuesday she forcefully bemoaned Harper's abject failure to meet emission reduction targets.
By Karl Nerenberg

The Postmedia-Quebecor deal: Welcome to newspaper hell
Really, $316 million compared with the airy heights of $3.5 billion starts to sound like Postmedia paid for the value of Sun Media's real estate and not much else.
By David J. Climenhaga

Revolution 101: The People's Climate March, the unheard protest
One of the most important rules to keep in mind when changing the system is that we should not cooperate with those who work to uphold it. Why would we work with those who work against us?
By Bailey Lamon

Statement on precarious work at the Good Jobs Summit
I have asked for this statement to be read at the new models of organizing session at the Good Jobs Summit.
By Nora Loreto

This week's top columns

From 2001 to today: The never-ending War on Terror
The new war in Iraq isn't really a war on ISIL or their barbaric methods. It's the third part of an ongoing War on Terror, to recapture what is left of the Middle East after two disastrous wars.
By Monia Mazigh

The Right pushes more austerity, despite surplus
Tax-slashing has been the pattern in Canada for decades. No wonder we can't afford European-style social programs. Public revenue has been vanishing into the pockets of corporations and the very rich.
By Linda McQuaig

A remembrance of webs past
A lot of the recent talk about Ello, an upstart social media site, has been about how the nascent community reminds members of the early days of the Internet.
By Wayne MacPhail

Fracking is proceeding without research into its effects, says study
A decade into North America's fracking boom, the impact on wildlife and the environment remains largely unknown, according to a new study.
By Stephen Leahy

Partisan military intervention: A first for Canada
Canada is going to war. That we know, and not enough more. In voicing support for military intervention in Iraq and possibly Syria, the House of Commons divided along partisan lines.
By Duncan Cameron

CETA: Putting corporations ahead of Canadians
CETA's domestic regulation chapter is full of provisions so biased in favour of corporations, it would more aptly be called "Gifts for the Oil and Gas Industry."
By Murray Dobbin

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This week's top podcasts

Uncovering Calgary's queer history
Teresa Maillie and Kevin Allen talk about the work of the community-based Calgary Gay History Project.
By Scott Neigh

Van Jones speaks to the Good Jobs Summit
Van Jones says he came here to speak to the Good Jobs Summit because "you've got a crazy dude up here, and it's not Rob Ford." Here is his keynote address from Saturday, October 4, 2014.
By Victoria Fenner

Aja in Wonderland: Aja Monet on poetry in social transformation and Tupac Shakur
Aja Monet, the current "cool girl" of spoken-word poetry, discusses the political philosophy of poetry and the legacy of Tupac Shakur.
By Andrew Sayo, Charlene Sayo, Eirene Cloma

Good Jobs Summit: Friday night debate
Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting some of the many discussions which took place at the Good Jobs Summit. We begin with the Good Jobs Debate on Friday, October 3, 2014.
By Victoria Fenner

This week's top rabbletv

Watch: Maude Barlow challenges Lone Pine to the Fracking Wastewater Bucket Challenge!
Leading up to the Global Frackdown on October 11, National Chairperson of Council of Canadians Maude Barlow nominates Lone Pine Resources for the Fracking Wastewater Bucket Challenge.
By Council of Canadians

This week's top books

Why the 'War on Drugs' is a total failure
What can be done and what is being done in Canada to move on from the failed "War on Drugs"? Paula Mallea discusses better alternatives in this excerpt.
By Paula Mallea

In this issue

Upcoming events

VancouverKnow your rights for non-violent direct action
If you are interested in taking direct action, and want to learn about your rights, the legal process and legal support, we invite you to come to this free workshop.
By Greenpeace Canada

OttawaLaunch of 'Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing into Thunderbird' with Armand Garnet Ruffo
Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing Into Thunderbird is an innovative and rich biography of a charismatic and troubled figure.
By Octopus Books

HalifaxNocturne: Art at Night
Nocturne: Art at Night is a fall festival that brings art and energy to the streets of Halifax between 6 p.m.-midnight. The 2014 event will take place on Saturday October 18.
By Nocturne

This week's top in cahoots

Senators need to defeat Bill C-377
Senators are once again debating Bill C-377 after it lay dormant in the Senate for a year. The bill would force unions to provide excessively detailed and intrusive reports to the CRA.
By Public Service Alliance of Canada

Invest in jobs, not war
We know that public investment in infrastructure, education, health care, social services and jobs is a precondition to peace and stability everywhere in the world. We should invest in peace.
By Canadian Union of Public Employees

Stop precarious work!
Fight to pass legislation that protects Canadian and American jobs, and overhauls the temporary/guestworker programs to ensure they are provided with the rights that all workers deserve.
By United Steelworkers