Am Johal

The political strongman is back in fashion

amjohal — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 18:47:31 +0000

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The strongman is back in political fashion. From Erodogan in Turkey, Putin in Russia, Orban in Hungary, Modi in India, Trump in the U.S., Netanyahu in Israel, el-Sisi in Egypt, the call for the strong nation is back too.

On Bud Osborn: A poet never dies

amjohal — Tue, 13 May 2014 20:34:40 +0000

It's raining right now while I write this in that dreary Vancouver kind of way. On Tuesday May 6 at night, the city lost an irreplaceable giant and we are all diminished by this sad, sad news.

Justice at stake: Chief Theresa Spence passes Day 15 of hunger strike

amjohal — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 23:04:54 +0000

Launched in the shadows of Parliament Hill two weeks ago, the hunger strike by Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence goes on. There is little to be heard from the federal government or Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but a cowardly silence.

Chief Spence said she is willing to die in an attempt to get the federal government and aboriginal leaders to discuss the treaty process and make fundamental changes.

Spence’s protest was ignited by the recent passage of the government’s second omnibus budget bill and has the support of "Idle No More." Through flash mobs and round dances in shopping centres around the country, they have shown their ability to disrupt, to make noise, celebrate and engage thousands of people across the country.

A Healthy Society: An interview with Ryan Meili

amjohal — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:58:28 +0000

Today is a National Day of Action for a 2014 Health Accord. With this in mind, we bring you an interview with Ryan Meili, the author of A Healthy Society and an important voice in the debate about the future of medicare in Canada.

Am Johal: In your book, A Healthy Society, you argue that a focus on health can revive Canadian democracy. How so?

Q and A with Miloon Kothari, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing

amjohal — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 04:36:48 +0000

Miloon Kothari is the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. In 2007, Mr. Kothari led a mission to Canada to evaluate its human rights record related to housing.

Q. Now that you have been away from your former role as the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, what are some of your reflections on how the international human rights system supports the right to adequate housing?

On Islamophobia: An Interview with Daniel Tutt

amjohal — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:57:20 +0000

Daniel Tutt from the Unity Productions Foundations shares his views on combating Islamophobia in the United States.

Am Johal: You've been engaging in dialogues around Islamophobia and the general representation of Muslims in American society in a post 9-11 context for some time now. How would you describe the current context for Muslims in America, more than 10 years after the trauma of that event?

Celebrating Jack

amjohal — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:30:37 +0000

In a country like ours, we have little history of participating in collective mourning. It is neither fashionable, nor rooted in our traditions. For nations are built on founding myths which often distort history and deny certain historical suffering.

Today, Jack allowed us to cry together, to feel together, to mourn together -- to think of another world together.

Understanding Stephen Harper

rabble staff — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:45:14 +0000

One prime minister, two books.

Understanding Stephen Harper

Two questions with Chairman Bob

amjohal — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:53:23 +0000

Bob Williams is a former Vancouver City Councillor, former B.C. Cabinet Minister and is currently a board member with Vancity Credit Union, Canada's largest credit union. Am Johal interviewed him in Vancouver.

Up until the mid 60s, tenants couldn't run for public office in Vancouver. How did this change come about?

I was only on City Council for two years, I was a torpedo, and it was great fun. There had never been anyone on Council from the eastside since 1945. I beat out Harry Rankin so the Communists never forgave themselves. All 1,400 of them voted for me and I beat out Harry. This was back in 1964.

Understanding Stephen Harper

alex — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:06:14 +0000

January 13, 2011

Harperland: The politics of control

by Lawrence Martin (Viking Canada, 2010; $35.00)

As politics has shifted to the right since the early 1980s, the left remains sadly flat-footed as neo-liberal policies have proliferated around the western, democratic world. Where the right preached a gospel of smaller government, the left attempted to capture the political imagination by defending the role of the state. It was an important position to take, but as political strategy it has largely been a losing game. How can we deconstruct the neo-liberal rise to power and how do we rebuild a social democratic vision that inspires the country?

That is the central question of today's politics.

Two books on Stephen Harper provide a small window into the rise of the Conservative Party from the ashes of the Reform and Progressive Conservative parties: Harper's Team and Harperland.

Understanding Stephen Harper

amjohal — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 06:36:42 +0000

As politics has shifted to the right since the early 80's, the left has been sadly left flat-footed as neo-liberal policies have proliferated around the western, democratic world. Where the right preached a gospel of smaller government, the left attempted to capture the political imagination by defending the role of the state. It was an important position to take, but as political strategy it has largely been a losing game. How can we deconstruct the neo-liberal rise to power and how do we rebuild a social democratic vision that inspires the country?

That is the central question of today's politics.

Wikileaks reveals U.S. thoughts on Turkish Foreign Policy: 'Rolls Royce ambitions but Rover resources'

amjohal — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:41:59 +0000

Below is a confidential memo leaked by Wikileaks. In it, the analysis articulates that Turkey foreign policy has "Rolls Royce ambiitions but Rover resources."

B.C.'s in custody deaths crisis: Interview with SFU Criminologist David MacAlister

amjohal — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:44:17 +0000

David MacAlister holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Criminology from Simon Fraser University, an LL.B. from the University of British Columbia, and an LL.M.

Goodbye Campbell

amjohal — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:30:03 +0000

It came as a shock, even though it had been expected for some time. The mighty three term Premier had been felled -- mostly by his own missteps, but with an assist to former Social Credit Premier Bill Vanderzalm and his populist anti-HST movement.

Gordon Campbell has been a total piece of work in his time in office -- he leaves in his immediate wake an HST referendum which will take place next year and a cancelled BC Liberal convention which was to take place in a few weeks.

Circumstances Alter Photographs: Interview with Michael Barnholden

amjohal — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:05:51 +0000

Vancouver writer Michael Barnholden is the author of Gabriel Dumont Speaks (Talon Books 1993), On The Ropes (Coach House Books 1997) and Reading the Riot Act: A Brief History of Riots in Vancouver (Anvil Press 2005). He recently released Circumstances Alter Photographs: Captain James Peters' Reports from the War of 1885 from Vancouver's Talonbooks. He is currently the managing editor of West Coast Line.