Saturday, January 19, 2013

Pulverizing Spence



Like, Pavlov's dogs, the corporate media have bought the government's line that native Canadians are lazy parasites. Michael Harris writes:

Reading the media this week has been like having a picnic on the killing floor of an abattoir. By my count, Chief Spence has been fat-shamed, bitch-slapped, traduced and ridiculed. She has been demonized in a way that other minorities never would be and no one ever should be. Not in this country, nor anyplace else.

The National Post twisted the facts to fit the prime minister's narrative:

The lead of the piece says that Canadians don’t want more money sent to reserves without proper audits and financial accountability. It goes on to state that only 33 per cent of Canadians think the money is being well-managed by native leaders.

Buried toward the end of the Postmedia story is a fact that arguably should have been the lead: Only 27 per cent of Canadians think the Harper government is being fair and reasonable on First Nations issues. Which means 73 per cent think otherwise.

And here is another number toward the bottom of the story — 63 per cent of Canadians think Ottawa should act to raise the quality of life for aboriginals. Quite a different impression than the one created by the lead — that Canadians are sick of forking over their hard-earned moolah to casino-struck SUV owners posing as Indian chiefs.

Nowhere in the major papers will your read the following numbers:

In the case of Attawapiskat, DeBeers is developing a diamond mine with an expected GDP impact of just under $7 billion. For that, the company gives the band $2 million a year.

As for the Harper government, since it has come to power, it has transferred $90 million to Attawpiskat while Ontario gets the diamond revenue. Here’s what else the natives get: hard hats for some temporary jobs and a giant crater in their traditional lands after the company has taken the stuff that sparkles and blown town.

The rich and the powerful are lining up to pulverize Spence.

10 comments:

the salamander said...

The whole stinking mess is disgusting.

The woman .. an undeniable Canadian is in a tent.. on an island .. down below the Parliament buildings.. where Canada and Canadians are seemingly, supposedly.. represented.. defended by elected public servants..

I care not if she consumes fish broth, pizza, steak tartar or pasta. I care not what Stephen Harper ate last night

I care about the democratic and realistic health of this nation, the First Nations .. the tribe called Canada .. the land and environment that supports and protects our fragile place in the matrix of life ..

I recognize Chief Theresa Spence as an exemplar re what I care about... I see Stephen Harper and anyone who backs his play as an adversary ..

Owen Gray said...

Theresa Spence knows exactly who Stephen Harper is, salamander, unlike most of the opinion shapers in the press.

They are easy marks for this con man. Theresa Spence refuses to be conned.

Anonymous said...

"I care not what Stephen Harper ate last night."

But rest assured that this cheap, creepy bastard had his meal paid for by Canadian taxpayers.

Owen Gray said...

Those meals can get expensive, Anon. Remember Bev Oda's $16 glass of orange juice?

Anonymous said...

The D&T report supposedly found transgressions in the accounting from 2005 to 2011. The Dept. of Indian Affairs receives supposedly audited reports from the native bands annually. Any abuse of taxpayers' dollars should have been noted, and reported, a very long time ago.

Spence was Chief of her small band from late 2010, thus only for slightly over a year (she was Asst. Chief for some of the other years). Harper came into power in Jan. 2006, thus he was "Chief" of his government/Ind. Affairs for five of the six years of the reporting period. Clearly, Harper deserves more blame proportionately,if there had been any abuse of taxpayer money, than Spence.

However, don't blame Harper for this. Blame the 39% of voters who voted for this party (or 36%, according to today's Forum poll, which I do not trust because of Forum's record of being grossly wrong in the past).

It is amazing that the opposition still apparently has not learnt from what happened in the recent Calgary by-election where a vulnerable Cons candidate won with 31% of the votes because the Libs and the Greens split each others' votes. And the Greens were reportedly ecstatic because of their relatively high support. Meanwhile, both the Libs and the Dippers think they can win it on their own (with Justin, Mulcair). Sad.

Anonymous said...

People are too damned stupid to see? Chief Spence speaks for all of us. They are blind and don't see, we have less rights that the F.N. do. What say do we have in this country?

Harper is a monster, that is giving this country to, Communist China. China refuses to pay Canadian wages. Harper has permitted China to bring over, their cheap slave labor. Harper has permitted all company's to hire cheap Chinese labor. Harper's omnibull bill, gives China the right to sue, any Canadians, getting in China's way. China sued in BC, to take the mining jobs.

China's minimum wage is, $236 per month. I don't know what wage China and Harper decided on? However, it is a hell of a lot less, that Canadian resource workers get. All company's are chomping at the bit, to hire that cheap labor.

Harper is planning with China regarding, the rich resources in the High Arctic. Don't even think, Canadians will get those jobs either. He is also sharing with Russia.

The National Post, is no different than Goebbels propaganda machine. The hate messages towards the F.N. people, rival the hate speech against the Jewish people.

People who are supporting Chief Spence, should let Harper know. Harper's omnibull bill, gives himself the right, to invade every waterway, fish and F.N. hunting grounds. Harper can pollute any province, for Red China's benefit.

We will be out there ourselves. We will be, blocking highways and rail tracks, to get rid of Harper.

Owen Gray said...

As long as the opposition squabble among themselves, Anon, Harper will will continue to scapegoat others for his own failings.

And -- let's face it -- he has a talent for that.

thwap said...

I'm more certain that ever that Chief Spence will die if she waits for harper to do the right thing.

harper has convinced himself, just like all the other scum that surrounds him, that it is Chief Spence, rather than he, who is the corrupt, self-interested attention-seeker.

Having convinced himself of her venality, harper expects Chief Spence to see that her bluff has been called and to slink back to Attawapiskat.

The reality appears to be that Chief Spence (who called the state of emergency about her people's sufferings) will see no honourable way out but death and only her fear of death will decide the outcome of this fast.

Owen Gray said...

If Canadians are wise, Anon, they'll understand that the fight the first nations are waging is a fight for all Canadians.

But rest assured. The Harperites will do their best to drive a wedge between native and other Canadians.

They came into power by dividing Canadians, not uniting them.

Owen Gray said...

The powers that be have consistently underestimated Spence, thwap. They expect her to give in and give up. Something tells me she won't.

If she dies, Harper will have blood on his hands.