Green Party of BC Response to Unprecedented Protest Blockade of Legislature's Speech from the Throne

2020 Throne Speech Overwhelmed by Protests

by Adam Olsen, MLA

February 13, 2020

The 2020 Speech from the Throne was overwhelmed by the well-publicized protests that nearly shut down the British Columbia legislature.

For the most part the Speech was a recap of work that has been accomplished by our minority government through the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA) between the BC Green and BC NDP Caucuses.

Even in Defeat It's Win-Win for Klobuchar and Buttigieg in the Media

For Media in New Hampshire, Losing Is Winning and Winning Is Losing

by Alan MacLeod - FAIR

February 14, 2020

The results from the New Hampshire primary are in—mercifully quickly—showing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders victorious with 26% of the vote, ahead of former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg with 24%. However, it was third place Amy Klobuchar, with 20%, who seemed to draw the greatest media buzz.

 

The Minnesota senator has received a lot of press attention of late—almost all of it positive. 

Skripal in Prison: The Truth About the Infamous Poisoning in an English Country Square

SKRIPAL IN PRISON – THE FIRST BOOK TO REPORT THE TRUTH

by John Helmer - Dances with Bears

@bears_with

February 13, 2020

It is exactly two years since the case of two Russians, Sergei and Yulia Skripal, began with their collapse on a park bench in the middle of England on the afternoon of March 4, 2018.

On their anniversary it is necessary to tell this story. 

But it isn’t the story of what happened. This is because the only people who can tell that one, the Skripals, are locked away in isolation, guarded by determined men under secret government orders. Instead, this is the story of what didn’t happen – provably didn’t happen because it was quite impossible circumstantially; and because the legal papers warranting that it did have not been signed by a judge, tested in a court of law, or released in public.

Torturing Assange: UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Demolishes Phony Charges Against WikiLeaks Founder

‘Burned At The Stake’ – The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Demolishes The Fake Claims Targeting Julian Assange

by Media Lens

13th February 2020

On the face of it, the task seems almost hopeless. As Tolstoy wrote:

‘The power of the government is maintained by public opinion, and with this power the government, by means of its organs – its officials, law courts, schools, churches, even the press – can always maintain the public opinion which they need.’ (Leo Tolstoy, ‘Writings on Non-Violence and Civil Disobedience,’ New Society Publishers, 1987, p.111)

Last December, we witnessed the awesome capacity of state-corporate power to manipulate public opinion and undermine a democratic election with a ruthless propaganda campaign smearing Jeremy Corbyn, a passionate anti-racist. The campaign depicted Corbyn, not just as an anti-semite, but as someone who might ‘reopen Auschwitz’. The truth wasn’t just distorted, it was reversed.

Wall Street's Role in Wet'suwet'en Invasion

Wall Street Invading Wet’suwet’en Territory 

by Joyce Nelson - CounterPunch

February 12, 2020

The uprising across Canada in support of Wet’suwet’en First Nation land defenders shows no sign of stopping. As of February 11, ports, bridges, rail lines, highways and roads have been blockaded across much of the country by solidarity protesters, who have also occupied the offices of politicians and at least one bank.

Wet’suwet’en fishing site on Bulkley River and the entrance of 

Moricetown Canyon, in Moricetown, British Columbia, Canada

Photograph Source: Jerome Charaoui – FAL

These actions were prompted by the RCMP’s invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory on February 5, after which they began arresting Indigenous members opposed to the 670 kilometers (416-mile), $6.2 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline being constructed on their unceded territory in B.C.

The Wet’suwet’en have never signed a treaty and in 1997 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that they hold “Aboriginal title” to the land on which the pipeline is being built.

XRVI Call for Government Building Pickets in Solidarity with Wet'suwet'en

BC Government Shutdown -- Friday 8am- 12pm

by Howard Breen - XRVI

February 13, 2020

We are in a real social crisis. A deepening moral crisis. A state of indigenous and ecological emergency. And we need you! The Trudeau and Horgan governments recent oppressive treatment of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and their people have set a precedent for all indigenous sovereign nations from coast-to-coast.

 Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and Witset Band councillor Freda Huson. 

Photo: Unist’ot’en Camp Facebook  

We are all indeed in a very sad place. But we are not disempowered – if we act, together, boldly -- now. Our politicians don't deserve a smooth trip home from work, and a relaxed carefree evening at home – like nothing whatsoever has changed. 

Canadian State and Province Use of Violence and Arrest of Lawful Protest in Violation of International "Injunction"

Canada and BC violate UN “injunction” while lawful protesters arrested and threatened with armed force  

by Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC)

February 12, 2020

Canada and BC violate UN “injunction” while lawful protesters arrested and threatened with armed force

While peaceful protesters are arrested from coast to coast, Canada’s Minister of Transportation Marc Garneau calls the blockades in support of Wet’suwet’en land rights defenders illegal, citing the Railway Safety Act. He fails to mention that actions of the governments of Canada and British Columbia and the use and threatened use of force by the RCMP are themselves in violation of Canada’s binding international law obligations and therefore ”illegal.” The protesters, on the other hand, are exercising their legal rights to peacefully and strongly object to serious violations of the rights of the Wet’suwet’en.

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Molly Wickham, Kolin Sutherland-Wilson, Bonny Glambeck, Janine Bandcroft Feb. 13, 2020

This Week on GR

by C. L. Cook - Gorilla-Radio.com

February 13, 2020

The determination of the Wet'suwet'en to maintain their territorial and cultural sovereignty has stood in the face of the latest ambitions of the Canadian government and the petroleum interests it serves.

Using bribes, threats, the courts, and last week a paramilitary incursion against Unist'ot'en land defenders by the RCMP, the federal and provincial governments are revealed to be both willing to trample underfoot treaties and declarations of support for indigenous rights and self-determination, and trash cornerstone constitutional precepts like freedom of the press.

Reaction to the government's heavy-handed tactics has been swift and determined from coast to coast to coast, and abroad too.


           Listen. Hear.

Here in Victoria, members of Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en and their allies encamped on the front stairs of the BC Legislature, blockading Tuesday's legislative session opening Speech from the Throne to make their objections to the continuation of colonial violence unavoidable.

Kolin Sutherland-Wilson, is with Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en, and spent the last week in solidarity on the stairs of the Legislature.

Kolin Sutherland-Wilson in the first half.

And; Clayoquot Action has released a devastating report regarding the status of the Norwegian infectious disease piscine orthoreovirus, or PRV found in salmon field-tested at open-net fish farms in the Sound. One of the companies operating there showed infection rates of 90%; while the second revealed 100% contagion.

Bonny Glambeck is director of ClayoquotAction.org, an organization dedicated to: “Keep Clayoquot Sound clean and green for future generations, to preserve the diversity and integrity of the ecosystems, and to maintain and develop community and cultural richness.”

Bonny Glambeck and a virus in the Sound in the second half.

And; Victoria-based activist and long-time Gorilla Radio contributor, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour with the Left Coast Events Bulletin of some of the good things to be gotten up to in and around our town in the coming week. But first, Kolin Sutherland-Wilson and taking the Wet'suwet'en message straight to the ear of power.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.ca.  He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/

Going Viral: Virus Plagues Clayoquot Sound Fish Farms - PRV Contagion Found at 90% and 100% Levels

Harmful Norwegian Virus Found on Clayoquot Salmon Farms

by Clayoquot Action

February 5, 2020

The results: we found 90% of Cermaq’s active farms were PRV-infected; 100% of Creative Salmon’s farms were infected as well.

 

The goal of our ‘Going Viral’ Report was to establish the presence or absence of PRV on salmon farms in Clayoquot Sound. Samples were collected adjacent to stocked fish farms and sent to the Atlantic Veterinary College for testing by Dr. Fred Kibenge, one of the world’s leading salmon virologists.

Spain's Sanchez Beset by Strikes, Protest, and Threat of "Yellow Vest" Movement

Farmers protest Socialist Party-Podemos government in Madrid

by Alejandro López - WSWS

6 February 2020

Hundreds of farmers rallied outside the Agriculture Ministry in Madrid Wednesday to protest social conditions and economic problems facing the agriculture sector. This follows last week’s farmer protests in the regions of Galicia, Extremadura and Andalusia.

Farmers are protesting the fall in farm-gate prices and rising production costs. According to the Agriculture Ministry, farm income dropped 8.6 percent in 2019 alone. Large supermarkets and grocery chains are hiking their prices but slashing what they pay to farmers. According to Europa Press, in January, final sales prices of agricultural products were on average four times what supermarkets paid to farmers; for potatoes it was seven times more; and for meat, eggs and milk, three times.

Indigenous Youth Greet Legislature Opening with Rally Calling for Respect of Wet'suwet'en Law

Indigenous Youth, Supported by Leadership, to Host Rally outside the BC Legislature on Throne Speech Day Calling for Province to Respect Wet’suwet’en Law and End the Violence

by Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs

February 10, 2020
 

The RCMP are carrying out a violent raid on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory under Provincial and Federal watch to enforce Coastal GasLink’s injunction. Indigenous youth, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and allies including ENGOs, municipal, provincial and federal representatives will gather in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation. 

Speakers will respond to the unlawful escalation of the RCMP and violations of Wet’suwet’en law and Indigenous rights taking place under the orders of the injunction. They will also address the lands and waters at stake, and the responsibilities and roles of the Province.

WHEN: February 11, 2020
9:00 a.m. Press Conference
10:00 a.m. Rally

WHERE: Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 

(ceremonial front entrance where Indigenous youth standing 

with the Wet’suwet’en have been occupying for five days)
501 Belleville St, Victoria, BC V8V 2L8
Lekwungen Territories (Victoria) 

Passing: Kirk Douglas, "Subversive"

Leftist Neo-McCarthyite Witchhunters Hypocritically Mourn the Death of Kirk Douglas

by Matthew Ehret - SCF

February 9, 2020

Hollywood film legend Kirk Douglas’ passing on February 5th at the age of 103 has resulted in a sickening level of hypocrisy from the leftist mainstream media outlets. These outlets have written countless homages and memorials honoring the life of the man who “used his star power and influence in the late 1950s to help break the Hollywood blacklist” as CNN reported on February 6. Similar eulogies have followed this line from MSNBC, the NY Times, Washington Post, as well as many Hollywood celebrities.

What makes this so sickening is not that these memorials are untrue, but rather that it is these same MSM/Hollywood forces that are the heirs to the fascist McCarthyite machine which Kirk Douglas and his close network of collaborators fought so courageously against during their lives.