This Week on GR
June 25, 2020
Welcome again to Gorilla Radio’s continuing efforts, NOT broadcast live from CFUV Radio in the basement of the Student Union Building at the University of Victoria, but emanating live-to-tape via Skype from our home-based … studios on this date, June 1st, 2020.
A World on fire; as our southern neighbour’s cities roil, the citizenry outraged again by the great gulf between the professed and practiced ethos of America, can Canadians afford smug superiority?
There is too racism and injustice at the heart and in the marrow of our society. The great difference is only one of scope and news coverage.
Though Canada still enjoys a reputation as a good and fair country, the Trudeau government’s embrace of neo-liberal internationalism has both diminished the country’s independence and necessitated increasingly brutal domestic policies, especially where global capital is threatened by indigenous resistance.
Listen. Hear.
Arnold August is a Canadian journalist, lecturer and author whose titles include: ‘Democracy in Cuba and the 1997–98 Elections’, ‘Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion’ and, ‘Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond’. His essays appear at websites in Latin America, Europe, North America and the Middle East, and at the Orinoco Tribune, where I found his recent article, ‘Trudeau in Pre-, Current and Post-Covid-19: Colonialism at Home, Imperialism Abroad – Need for Change’.
Arnold August in the first half.
And; while midwest Machiavelli, Rahm Emanuel is credited with saying,
“you never want a serious crisis to go to waste” it’s a concept as old as politics; and a nonpartisan one too. Donald Trump’s political hero, (no, the other one) Winston Churchill also expressed the value of leveraging crises to do, as Emanuel helpfully reminds,
“things that you think you could not do before.” Our Covid-19 moment is just such an opportunity, and not just for Chicago operators, or D.C. pols.
From every crevice it seems, snake-oil salesmen and politicians of all stripes are breaking cover to get things done while everyone is looking the other way. And even here in Victoria – or near here anyway. The City of Langford has decided to ditch for the lockdown duration the encumbrance of public hearings, at least where it comes to trivialities like tax and spend, and development issues. That’s right. Due to social distancing concerns, council members are good for now with phoning in their proxies in the form of voice-tallied aye ayes for Mayor Young’s boundless building ambitions.
Ross Crockford is an award-winning journalist, editor, author, civic activist and co-founder of the watchdog website,
JohnsonStreetBridge.org. He’s the recipient of a Western Magazine Award for business writing, the Jack Webster Award of Distinction for investigative reporting, and is a National Magazine Awardee for sports writing. Ross’ book, ‘Victoria: The Unknown City’ is THE alt. guidebook to both the seemly and less so sides of town both past and present, and he is too a regular contributor to Victoria’s finest publication, Focus Magazine where his latest article, ‘Is public input on developments a potential casualty of COVID-19?’ appears.
Ross Crockford and local democracy as Coronavirus victim in the second half.
And; long-time Gorilla Radio contributor and ‘Green Vegan Grandma’ YouTuber, 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 Victoria in the coming week. But first, Arnold August and observing Canada under Covid: A Flagrant Fusion of Colonialism and Imperialism.
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/
