I managed to catch the re-broadcast of CBC’s Q last night, where Jian Ghomeshi spoke (the first third of yesterday’s podcast)Â with Dave Zirin about the anti-immigration law, SB-1070, in Arizona, and reaction to it from the sports world, and Major League Baseball, specifically. It is really an interesting interview. Check it out…
Update: Stephanie Ernst posted quite a few interesting links, yesterday, on  Challenging Oppression. Check them out, too…
Today marks the opening of the 2010 Winter Paralymic Games in Vancouver. And in continuing its arrogant ways — by not catering to certain demographics, as I wrote last Monday — CTV is choosing to run regular programming, versus live coverage of the opening ceremonies. As wrong as that is, seeing they accepted government funding to cover the games (according to the CBC’s Radio One), yet still choosing to broadcast the ceremonies later, being tomorrow (Saturday), it’s beside the point I’m raising today…
As “we,” like my being a Canadian citizen has anything to do with the Canadian Olympic Hockey Teams performance, prepare to face the Slovakian squad in a semi-final match for the gold this evening, I’m painfully reminded of everything Canadian Pride involves.
You can’t pick and choose what to be patriotic about. It’s all or nothing. So before celebrating Canada’s potential victory tonight, read Yves Engler’s piece, Canada’s Neoconservative Turn, and actually consider everything being a proud Canadian really entails;
“‘Preemptive action’ is likely a euphemism for a bombing campaign. Canadian naval vessels are already running provocative maneuvers off Iran’s coast and by stating that ‘an attack on Israel would be considered an attack on Canada,’ Kent is trying to create the impression that Iran may attack Israel. But isn’t it Israel that possesses nuclear weapons and threatens to bomb Iran, not the other way around? Of course that would be a reality-based analysis, not something George W. Bush’s Canadian clones favor…”
I guess the two positive’s this article brings up, for me, is, 1) I hadn’t previously known Yves Engler had a new book out, Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid. Great news, that he wrote another book, not that he thought he had to. And 2) Don Cherry has, potentially years of further reason, ahead of him, to praise his main interest. The Canadian Military.
I can’t wait…
I was pointed to this video last weekend, where “[a]cclaimed Sports Illustrated and The Nation sportswriter,” Dave Zirin, was in Vancouver “speak[ing] about activism, sports and the Olympics as part of a series entitled ‘Politics in the Ring‘;”
“Zirin talked about the idea of activist athletes, what they’ve fought for, and what they’ve opposed. From feminist uprisings against wearing corsets in tennis, to Muhammad Ali’s activist conversion after his Olympic win, Zirin showed that sports has the power to extend beyond just spectacle. […]Â Versed in the history of sports, Zirin was critical of the hypocritical stance the International Olympic Committee has taken on several issues over the past century…”
Speaking as an individual who spent most of his childhood attention following and playing various “organized” — even playing hockey with a bunch of idiots in the street involves a little organization — sport, and being thoroughly uninterested in the whole idea of professional incarnations of sport, for going on 20 years, I found this “talk” quite interesting. Even refreshing.
Check it out…