The Daily GRRR! - Nov. 24, 2014 - Your “Ugh, Monday Morning” Edition

Welcome back to SoundFM! You are now listening to The Daily GRRR! live on the airwaves at 100.3fm, CKMS in Waterloo, Ontario, and SoundFM.ca on the web. This is Kathryn and I’ll be your host on this Monday morning show for November 24, 2014.

As always, we are broadcasting from the heart of the Haldimand Tract, the occupied Grand River Territory of the Six Nations, which we continue to recognize as Haudenosaunee land.

The Daily GRRR! is a project of the Grand River Media Collective and is supported by the Community Radio Fund of Canada and CKMS.

We will begin today with headlines:
The Daily GRRR!
HEADLINES for Nov. 24, 2014 
1. Eleven protesters charged with terrorism at mass demo in Mexico
2. Canada, US & Ukraine vote against UN’s anti-Nazi resolution
3. Tweeted photos of teen boy coming out to his best “bro” go viral
4. (Not My) Laurier hosts roundtable discussion on toxic masculinity
5. Centre in the Square refuses to cancel Cosby show despite rape claims
6. Misogynistic “pickup artist” denied entry to Britain after public outcry
7. Railways given huge gap of 2 years to get safety certification

1. Eleven protesters charged with terrorism at mass demo in Mexico

This past Thursday, eleven individuals were arrested during clashes with police in Mexico City’s central “El Zocalo” square, under charges of terrorism, organized crime, homicide attempt and mutiny, which prevents them from making bail. The number of detainees was confirmed by Alejandro Jimenez, lawyer from the Mexican Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, and these eleven protesters were temporarily held at a Specialized Investigation Deputy Attorney for Organized Crime facility, before being sent to high security prisons in the states of Veracruz and Nayarit. A number of demonstrations have been held in the days since, demanding the release of these detainees.

Earlier on Thursday, other 15 individuals were arrested during clashes close to the Mexico City International Airport, where they clashed with the police and threw molotov cocktails. These other detainees were charged with disrupting the peace, making and carrying makeshift weapons and assaulting law officials. Since none of those are considered as a serious offense, 11 of the fifteen made bail and by Friday night only four were still being held, which has fueled suspicions of infiltrators put there to incite violence by the state due to the disparity of the charges laid.

2. Canada, US & Ukraine vote against UN’s anti-Nazi resolution

This past Friday, there was a draft resolution put to the vote before a UN plenary committee. With respect to its purpose, the resolution reads, “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.” Of the 173 nations who participated in the UN vote, 115 voted yes, including such countries as Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iraq, Russia, Serbia, and post-apartheid South Africa. A further 55 nations abstained for unknown reasons, including settler colonial Australia and New Zealand, Chad, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Finally, a mere 3 nations boldly and despicably voted no to “combating (the) glorification of Nazism, neo-nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,” and I beg your forgiveness for that repetition of the resolution’s language verbatim but it does bear repeating given the countries that did not consent to this worthy effort. Those nations are the Ukraine, the U.S., and our own home on native land that calls itself Canada. This is noteworthy for the worst reasons and yet, shamefully, not surprising at all, given the Harper government’s xenophobic domestic and foreign policy, as well their irresponsibly “tolerant” views on free speech (a.k.a. hate speech). And yet, given both North American nations’ pro-Israel positions, isn’t it ironic that they would vote against a resolution that would endeavour to fight Holocaust deniers and the rise of neo-nazism?

We’ve linked to the full list of responses given in the UN vote, so if you’re wondering about the views of any other countries on the subject of racism, it’s there for you to check it out.

http://www.un.org/en/ga/third/69/docs/voting_sheets/L56.Rev1.pdf

3. Tweeted photos of teen boy coming out to his best “bro” go viral

Last week, a Twitter user got sisterly permission to post screencaptures of a text message conversation between her 13-year-old little brother and his best friend. It reads as follows:

Boy: “im only telling this to you so please don’t tell anyone else. I trust you bro. it’s that I feel different? I don’t know how to put it but it’s bad different…..”

“I don’t feel the same way other boys feel about girls it’s not normal right? :( I don’t know”

“and bro I don’t want you to not be my friend anymore because…..I feel the same how boys feel about girls...but to boys. Im so weird it feels weird and bad”

“I like boys. this is so embarassing for me to say but that’s my secret and I was so scared of telling because your my best friend bro and I don’t want you to think im weird and just leave or anything”

Best Bro: “Bro we hav been friends for 3 years and im glad you told me this. Who the fuck cares what people are going to say? Youre awesome no matter what bro and im happy that your my best friend. Dont be ashamed theres nothint to be embarrassed about. As a bro im gonna stick by you. Aint nothing wrong with being gay my friend

4. (Not My) Laurier hosts roundtable discussion on toxic masculinity

As explained on their Facebook event page, “Laurier's own Not My Laurier: Golden Hawks Combatting Gender Violence and Women & Gender Studies Student Association are coming together to open a discussion on toxic masculinity; what does masculinity mean? How can masculinity reinforce and support systemic forms of sexism, classism, racism, cissexism? How does our participation in performing masculinity a/effect gender-based violence?

“Masculinity isn't the issue; its the status, the roles, the value, the erasure of others, the visibility of central/neutral masculinity that is the issue. Let us learn, unlearn and relearn together. Let's come together to openly talk about issues of masculinity, concerns of diverse masculinities, masculine performativity, and how we all are affected by masculine narratives. All bodies; queer, (dis)abled, transgender, intersex, non-binary, size, and cisgender humans welcome.”

This event will be held on Thursday from 5-6:30 p.m. at Wilf’s Den on the Laurier main campus in Waterloo. We’ve also linked to the Facebook event on our podcast page here at grandrivermc.ca: https://www.facebook.com/events/1517093641895676/?ref=22

5. Centre in the Square refuses to cancel Cosby show despite rape claims

This story comes to us from a concise and decisive letter to the editor published on Saturday by The Record, which reads as follows:

“With so many women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault, their allegations cannot be ignored.

“Although I was looking forward to seeing him perform on Jan. 7 at Centre in the Square, I cannot sit in the audience and applaud someone facing such allegations. Therefore, I decided to ask management at Centre in the Square to cancel his performance and refund ticket prices. I was told that the show will go on, even though they have had other calls concerning this issue.

“Once again, profit trumps morals.”

This appears to be sad and, unsurprisingly, true in this case. As many of our listeners have probably heard by now, the numerous and growing allegations against Bill Cosby as a sexual predator are not even news, but rather well-worn discussions that have ebbed and flowed in the media for years. They have been getting more coverage lately though, after a fellow comedian called Cosby a rapist onstage during a performance last fall and more allegations were made public since then. According to an extensive article in the Saturday edition of The Washington Post, “Sixteen women have publicly stated that Cosby, now 77, sexually assaulted them, with 12 saying he drugged them first and another saying he tried to” and in due diligence to their journalism, the paper personally interviewed five of these women who “agreed to speak on the record and have their identities revealed” -- not that this matters, because it is never anyone’s place to question the truth of a survivor’s story, but it is likely stated so explicitly in an effort to fend off the gross and vicious criticism so often levied against survivors who make their stories public. It is a sad and despicable reality now that a predominant arts and culture institution like the Centre in the Square is, in effect, joining the ranks of those disbelieving critics by publicly and profitably supporting a frequently identified repeat sex offender. While the editorial read earlier indicates that they are unlikely to change their silencing tune, between now and the impending show date of January 7, the Centre in the Square may well be the target of more public outcry from survivors and those working to end sexual violence in our region.

6. Misogynistic “pickup artist” (HAS BEEN) denied entry to Britain after public outcry

In the forthright words of The New York Times, “This week, Julien Blanc became possibly the first man ever denied a visa on grounds of sexism.” And he’s not just a misogynist, he’s a demonstrated racist too, having recently told an audience of men in Tokyo that his tactics will work wonders because “if you’re a white male, you can do what you want.”

Amid a public outcry over his abusive techniques, which some say verge on rape promotion, and an online petition with over 150,000 signatures, the British government on Wednesday barred this dangerous idiot from entering the country for a series of events scheduled there. Officials said people could be denied entry on the grounds that their presence was “not conducive to the public good,” a rare power usually reserved for far-right activists and terrorism suspects.

The decision by the British Home Office came after the Australian government hastily withdrew Mr. Blanc’s visa and forced him to leave the country, as we reported last week. Photos he had shared on social media showing him pretending to choke a series of women went viral on Twitter under the hashtag #ChokingGirlsAroundTheWorld, and since then, women and men in several countries where he had scheduled events in the coming months, including Canada, have started campaigns to deny him entry. They appear to have reached victory already, at least for now, as he has canceled the remainder of his tour -- to which we say, good riddance to misogynist rubbish.

7. Railways given huge gap of 2 years to get safety certification

Canadian railways will have until Jan. 1, 2017, to obtain an operating certificate from Transport Canada under new safety rules announced by Transport Minister Lisa Raitt last week. This doesn’t sound like much of a story, but consider the double-standard here: New railway entrants to the Canadian market must obtain a "Railway Operating Certificate" before they hit the tracks, but Canada's existing 66 rail companies have been given two years to meet the regulations, which come into force in the new year. The operating certificates were first recommended all the way back in 2008, and at long last, in November of last year, the auditor general called for proper regulations governing when a railway is granted such a certificate.

So what finally made this an issue worth addressing? Well, the audit report came in the wake of the devastating derailment of an unattended oil train in Lac Megantic, Que., which claimed 47 lives. Remember that? The disaster that right-wing Sun News pundit Ezra Levant accused environmental activists of causing for propaganda purposes? Yeah, that one, and Lisa Raitt even explained that the new regulations were instituted “to ensure that railway operations are being conducted in the safest manner possible”. So why are companies being given a full two years to complete the application form which, according to a government backgrounder, will take only an hour to complete — including six minutes by management and 54 minutes by clerical staff? Moreover, it doesn’t even require documentation proving that rail companies will meet safety standards -- which then begs the question of what kind of efficacy these regulations could possibly enforce. And the government fails us once again. Big shocker, right?

Midway Music: Hit Me by Molotov

Feature: “Zapatistas open their hearts to Ayotzinapa” by Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés c/o LastRealIndians.com
http://lastrealindians.com/zapatistas-open-their-hearts-to-ayotzinapa/

Closing Song: Revolution Has Come by Rebel Diaz