8. The Nitty Gritty: Capitalism & Fascism

We are now into the third week of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ that has besieged downtown Ottawa. What we have witnessed is a total abdication of responsibility by all levels of government, exacerbated by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has cowered in the face of any crisis that was not artificially manufactured by himself and his party.

The anti-mandate protests in Ottawa and across Canada—the various forces vying for control—the threats and opportunities the situation presents.

Thousands of truckers are being hijacked by anti-vax loonies and encouraged to parade through red state America in search of any remaining Covid-19 restrictions to protest. The so-called “People’s Convoy” is scheduled to leave Barstow, California, on Wednesday, February 23, and meander eastward, picking up truckers as they go for a final jamboree and road-blocking in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 – the day of Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address. Are these the same organizers that brought us Canada’s “Freedom Convoy,” blocking the streets of the capital, Ottawa, for weeks and blocking border crossings to the U.S.? No, those organizers were arrested. Those trucks were confiscated. Those protesters have been debanked and uninsured. This is a whole new crop of American Made truckers.

Everything happening in the United States comes to Canada, only a little later and a tad more politely. The rage that erupted in a Presidential-endorsed riot in Washington on 6 January 2021 has now exploded to the north. Fueled by a confused swirl of resentment against the array of pandemic protocols that all advanced capitalist states have invoked to curb and contain Covid-19 – including vaccination passports, mandatory masking, business lockdowns, and cross-border restrictions – so-called “Freedom Convoys” have descended on the nation’s capital Ottawa, holding the city hostage. US-Canada border crossings have been blocked in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and the convoys have staged sporadic protests across the country, from Fredericton, New Brunswick to Surrey, British Columbia.

I have spent time listening to leaders and activists from across this country, and I have learned one thing: we as civil society must step up and provide courageous leadership in this time of crisis. Unions, racial and climate justice organizations, faith leaders, students, residents’ groups, health care activists – all of us have a role to play to help overcome this polarization, to bridge divides and to focus on crucial issues of  social justice. We need to start organizing at the national and local level – bringing together people from all walks of life to determine strategies that will address the realities of each region of our country. There is no magic slogan that can turn this around. It’s about deep organizing. We know that public health measures are about saving lives, just as mandatory seatbelt laws save lives.

Vaccine trains would stop at every station and inoculate railroad workers, who didn't protest

Conservatives in the U.S. have fallen in love with the fringe protests led by Canadian truckers. It is a cause that unites the libertarian and extremist wings of the GOP and offers a new front in the culture wars

Leading Republicans, right-wing influencers and white supremacist groups have jumped at the chance to promote the standoff in Ottawa to a global audience.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reshaping our world. Will we harness that urgency for climate action or succumb to one last deadly oil and gas boom?

Documents compiled by protest organisers give a glimpse into a conspiracy theory-drenched outlook

If a crackdown on protesters goes bad, the negative consequences may not be confined to the country.

As a writer, I’ve explored political rage at a distance. The anti-vax trucker convoy brought it up close and personal.

Our investigation reveals how months of planning drew convoys to Canada’s capital, leading to an unprecedented weeks-long occupation of some streets around P...

The case points to how authorities need to engage such individuals respectfully, to acknowledge that frustration at pandemic restrictions is felt even by the more s…

As a growing group of truckers and supporters make their way to Ottawa in a protest against vaccine mandates, experts say the rhetoric online concerning the convoy is getting increasingly worrisome.

The protestors represent a larger problem for the Conservatives, who keep pandering to the extremist elements of their base.

Most Canadians support government measures to help control the spread of COVID-19, according to a public opinion study. But they’re growing weary of the pandemic.

Elon Musk has announced he is leaving his government role at DOGE as his authorization for Special Government Employee status expires.

As Mr. Musk entered President Trump’s orbit, his private life grew increasingly tumultuous and his drug use was more intense than previously known.

Before the formation of the Israel Defense Forces in 1948, there were three underground Zionist militias - The Haganah, the Irgun and the Lehi.They differed ...

More details have emerged of a lawsuit launched by an anti-vaccination advocacy group that alleges that many of the government-imposed measures to counter the coronavirus were extreme, unwarranted and not based on science and caused more harm than the virus itself.

The slide towards extremism is going to get slipperier as the feds grapple with making vaccines mandatory to contain the pandemic

An outrageous claim has been quickly shut down as anti-vaccination mandate protesters pack up and leave Canberra.

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From the “throne” of Parliament, one of the richest men in the world read a speech written by one of the richest men in Canada. This was heralded as a victory for Canadian identity and sovereignty against threats by another rich and anti-democratic man in Washington DC. What does this mean for the rest of us?  King Charles inherited the wealth created by the enslaved and colonized people the world over.

Donald Trump has pushed American democracy to its breaking point… but are we *technically* still a democracy? Have we *officially* crossed the line into auth...