What is Pride Toronto so afraid of?

"I cannot be part of the silencing our communities. Our diversity is our strength; our struggles to end war, make peace, justice and freedom ring in every land. We as queers live, love and die in every land and I will not be silenced or stand in silent complicity while others are oppressed and silenced by those wanting corporate trinkets." Faith Nolan on returning her 2009 award to Pride Toronto.

The battle over free speech at Toronto's Gay Pride parade is heating up. Over 20 current and former honorees have returned their awards to Pride Toronto, along with an award of their own to the committee: the first ever Shame Award. And what was Pride Toronto's response? Well, they kept a low profile, as in their office was locked and they were nowhere to be found, although they did manage to call the police to say they were worried about acts of vandalism to their office. Oh please.

Why is Tracey Sandilands and the 4 members of Pride Toronto who supported censorship so afraid of the community they purport to represent? Why are they afraid of the very backbone of the community, the people who are largely responsible for the existence of Gay Pride? And why did they attempt to frame the symbolic gesture of returning the awards as something that could lead to violence?

I met a member of the committee at a party this past weekend. Because it was a social setting and because I was sure she'd had more than her fill of talking about this issue, I didn't bring it up. But when one of the honorees joined us, they soon got into it and for them the over-riding issue was that of censorship. Censorship has been fundamental to suppressing minorities since basically forever, and the fact that the Pride Toronto committee embraced it, without even putting up a fight was both chilling and extremely depressing to both. As it is to me.

Pride's executive director Tracey Sandilands has said that funding was in jeopardy putting the whole event in question. She's referring to a Toronto city council motion put forward by Giorgio Mammoliti to make the city's funding contingent on banning the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA). The motion was referred to executive committee. It has not even been adopted, and in fact there was a good likelihood that it would not have been. But Sandilands and other members of the board decided to take pre-emptive action, and in a 4-3 vote, they banned QuAIA and introduced censorship.

At a meeting prior to returning the honours, Jane Farrow said that all performers at Pride Toronto (notice how the word gay is not even part of the name anymore) must sign an agreement promising not to say anything offensive or political. I guess being queer is just a lifestyle choice now, and the decades of political struggle are something that needs to be shoved under the rug, or into the closet.

Below is a video of most of the meeting, or you can watch and read more at Xtra! who have been covering this issue in depth. QuAIA has a complete list of all the honorees who returned their awards, with statements from each. There are so many trailblazers there, so many who defied the homophobia of the times to get us to where we are today. It's a shame that where we are is in denial.

Watch live streaming video from xtraonline at livestream.com

EDITED AT 1:10 PM TO FIX VIDEO WIDTH

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Spineless. Liberals duck the budget vote. Again.

Congratulations Michael Ignatieff and the pathetic excuse for an opposition party you lead. Your Dion-era shenanigans of ducking the budget vote like it's some kind of freaking strategy, while you cower in fear of an election is about the only thing in Ottawa these days that is actually transparent. Utterly so in fact.

And just so you know - Harper's going to call an election this fall anyway. Why else do you think it's been raining cash? So you see, you've staved off nothing. You've achieved nothing. You've stood for nothing.

I did not vote Liberal in the last election because I wanted someone who would look away while Harper was beating the shit out of democracy, or due process, or women's groups, or Afghan detainees or any of the other CRAP you spineless enablers allow to continue. I voted for someone who would do everything within his power to put a stop to that megalomaniac.

Oh yes, Mr Ignatieff, you're so very articulate in your faux outrage about "abuse of power", but when it comes time to follow words with actions, your party does sweet fuck all. Forgive me if I'm not quite so articulate as you, but I can assure you that my words will be followed up by action. The kind of action made by marking a ballot.

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Harper's fake lake a (belly) flop

Well, I snuck into the fake lake site today, and who did I see but our Glorious and All-Powerful Leader diving into the water! I'm a bit surprised he chose to do a giant belly flop instead of simply walking over it, but then it occurred to me that maybe the Church of the Holy Nutbars hasn't conferred those powers on him yet. I'm pretty sure the Armageddon calendar lists the dates when the various super-powers are bestowed on the idiots who believe that crap believers, but I don't have my copy yet.

Anyway, I wonder who left that unauthorized ducky in the water? Don't tell me they let Flaherty into the pool first!
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Some advice for Harper at his $2 Billion Photo-op

Try not to lock yourself in the toilet this time, okay?

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Toronto rolls up its sidewalks for the G20

Overheard: one side of a phone conversation taking place just outside Toronto City Hall. Sounded like an advance man for some US media outlet. Let's listen in....

"Wow, the G20 summit is shaping up to be a real showcase for this city. I mean you can't buy that kinda publicity! ......... Sorry, what? Two billion? Yeah, that is a lotta coin."

"Well anyway, it'll be a fantastic showcase for all the business and culture stuff. We could cover that big art gallery and the theatre district, and your stock exchange, not to mention you are the capital of Ontario and there's those historic legislature buildings and all."

"They're what? They're closed? All of them? Geeze, well, okay, I guess there's always the Blue Jays stadium, or what about the Royal Ontario Museum? I hear they fixed up the dinosaur exhibit."

"Closed too huh? Crap. Wait, I know! Union Station - a ride on the GO Train…."

"My god, is there anything open that we could cover?"

"Oh, okay, yeah that could work, but where's Scarborough?"

"I guess, but I gotta tell ya, the guys are getting kinda bored with Hooters."

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Lake Wattawaistawampum

Who can place a value on the Canadian wilderness experience? Sitting around the shores of an indoor lake, gathered around a painted fire pretending to roast sushi on a stick, while singing "Eat the Poor"? It's who we are. And if you don't get that, then I guess you're not a Real Canadian.

This magical experience will send the world's press corps home with hearts aglow, and the wonderful words they'll write about their Canadian experience will generate millions in tourist dollars, especially from Japan, where they are sure to marvel at the blackfly nano-robots.

The average person may want to point out that there's a REAL lake a stone's throw from the fake one, a little pool we call Lake Ontario. What? Where's the money in that? This is why you people need the guiding hand of someone who understands economics. Someone like Stephen Harper who, in the midst of a recession, has the boldness, the vision, to pour over a billion dollars into the ultimate photo-op. He understands that true fiscal restraint can never be achieved until there is no money left in the kitty.

That's why million dollar bogus lakes, gazebos in the middle of nowhere and a security deployment that surpasses our military presence in Afghanistan is good for the country. Try to get with the program, eh?
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Maclean's Magazine - WTF???

I dunno, maybe I'm late to the party, the right-wing party going on at Macleans. I have to confess I quit reading years ago because of the smarmy idiocy of a certain Lady Black, and the sycophantic puff pieces by professional groupie Peter Newman. So yeah, I guess I've known for years that they leaned right. But yesterday a free issue showed up at my door, so, silly me, I opened it, only to find that in the interim they've leaned so far that they've fallen right over the railing - mag overboard! - into the tar and tea-bag stained waters of the right-wing Kafka revival.

First they named John Baird as parliamentarian of the year. Really Macleans? John Baird. The screaming pitbull of parliamentary destruction whose mental toolbox consists of a big monkey wrench and whose constipated countenance resembles nothing more that a sandbox bully in full meltdown  - that's your choice?

Then there was this incredible article about Rand Paul, discussing in complete seriousness his opportunity to become the first US politician to found an anti-government dynasty. Scanning, scanning for irony… nope. Reading closer now, looking for a mention of his racist politics. Not finding it. I mean Rand Paul is the guy causing a shitstorm in the US media because he thinks property rights should allow business owners to decline service to anyone they don't like the look of…. people whose skin is, you know, not white.

So what's up? Why the omission? Do they think it's an irrelevant fact, unnecessary knowledge up here in comfy, complacent Canada? Are we not on the need to know list? Do they think we don't have access to US news, or that newfangled gadget, the "internets"?

Jeezus. I can't even take a dump in peace anymore.
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