laurelrusswurm

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"We Need Transit, Not Transit Cops"

Sticker seen in Surrey, Canada

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Priceless.

folk hero really

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Greta Thunberg explains in 40 seconds why Western governments are colluding in genocide

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DONATE at https://radiowaterloo.ca/how-to/donate/ I created the audio track of this radio promo for the 2025 Spring Fundraiser for Waterloo Region's best Community Radio Station.

Radio Days

My mother appeared on the legendary CKNX Radio Station (home of the CKNX Barn Dance) in Wingham, Ontario before she'd even met my dad. A shared love of country music got my parents together, and they became the "Pine River Sweethearts."

My father hosted his own country & western music radio show on a (or maybe the) local radio station in Kitchener-Waterloo (which is now part of Waterloo Region).

CKMS Radio Waterloo

is a CRTC regulated Community Broadcaster, located at 102.7 on the FM dial, broadcasting over the airwaves in Waterloo Region, Ontario. Many of the shows generate podcasts or videos for the ⁨station's @RadioWaterloo⁩ Youtube Channel. In the 21st century it can also be streamed anywhere in the world online at https://radiowaterloo.ca/

Ordinarily a donation of $24 buys you a year long CKMS membership, which comes with a certificate to host your own broadcast radio show, which is why I've included the black and white photo of my Dad, Lynn Russwurm, with my brother Lance Russwurm, and mother, Laura Gaede Russwurm, performing on Dad's radio show. My promo centers around the CKMS opportunity, which cost just $20 during the week long fundraising campaign.

Although the fundraiser is over, the non-profit volunteer driven CKMS can always use any donation you care to make. (And if you mention this video, you might still be able to get the reduced rate!)

DONATE at https://radiowaterloo.ca/how-to/donate/

Picture Track

To turn it into a video, I added various photos I've taken at CKMS over the years, beginning with the Agriculture show, where host Jeff Stager interviewed my husband Bob Jonkman, when he was a candidate for the Green Party of Canada in 2015. These were photographed at the previous CKMS location in Waterloo (next door to Ethel's Lounge). In his post-politics life, Bob began volunteering at CKMS, and now involved in some show work, as well as providing technical support.

Photo Credits

Appearing in the video:

• Jeff Stager (CKMS "The Agriculture Show:) • Bob Jonkman (GPC 2015, GPO 2018, CKMS show host) • Michael Harris (2015 Ontario Progressive Conservative Party MP) • David Weber (Green Party of Ontario, 2018) • Lynn Russwurm • Lance Russwurm • Laura Gaede Russwurm • Ethan Russell (Green Party of Canada, 2025) • Maya Bozorgzad (New Democratic Party, 2025) • Darren Bondy (Maya's campaign manager)

With the exception of my b&w Russwurm family radio station photo and the two CKMS montage screencap sequences from CKMS shows featuring David Weber and Bob Jonkman (2015), and Maya Bozorgzad and Darren Bondy (2025).

Sound Credits:

I had a lot of fun putting this together, and would like to thank all the creators who shared their sound work under sharable free culture licenses at Freesound.

pistol_riccochet.ogg by Diboz https://freesound.org/s/213925/ License: Creative Commons 0 [ MPooman ] Horse Sounds (SE515) (High Quality) by MPooman https://freesound.org/s/681727/ License: Creative Commons 0 CGC-castanets by suonisordi https://freesound.org/s/737094/ License: Creative Commons 0

Because I used only the 1st musical phrase (a fraction of a second) from the following piece by LittleAlienXXX (credited below) I believe it would constitute a "fair use," and would not require attribution under copyright law. Regardless, as a free culture advocate, if at all possible I always provide attribution, even of public domain works.

The_good_the_bad_&_the_ugly_02.wav by LittleAlienXXX https://freesound.org/s/369402/ License: Attribution 3.0 I also used my own recording of wild birdsong in the morning in my own back yard... which I'm planning to upload to Freesound shortly, along with a few other sound files. (Licenced CC0, of course!)

DONATE at https://radiowaterloo.ca/how-to/donate/

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Nailed it.

Greta Thunberg explains in 40 seconds why Western governments are colluding in genocide

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That's a message being shared online by @rejectingrepublicans.

Except... the democrats are not a solution.

The actual problem is the two party system. How can 2 parties possibly represent a nation as diverse as the United States?

More American voters vote for one party than the other. And that party is the winner.

But when they annoy too many voters, the other party begins to win more votes than the first party. So the other party becomes the #WinnerWhoTakesAll.

When democrats tell you they aren't voting democrat because they're democrats, they neglect to mention that they actually are democrats.

What they aren't telling you is that you don't have to vote democrat to vote out republicans... all you need do is elect third party candidates who will represent you.

Granted, I'm a Canadian, but it seems to me the reason it has become so hard to elect democrats is because democrats have spectacularly failed far too many Americans.

Some voters who used to vote democrat simply stopped voting.

Other voters who used to vote democrat began voting republican.

Not because they like republican policies any better than democrat policies, but because the democrats have spectacularly failed them.

Seriously, why don't Americans have universal health care? President Obama was going to deliver it... which was why it was dubbed "Obamacare." And yet the healthcare he delivered was hardly universal.

President Obama was sold as "hope" for positive change, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for getting elected. And yet, this president approved more drone strikes in his first year in office than President George W. Bush carried out during his entire administration. Obama had no trouble passing a law giving American Presidents the power to order extra-judicial killing of American Citizens abroad, but rolled over for the powerful Insurance Industry.

Seriously, why did the social movements "Occupy Wall Street," an extended protest against economic inequality and the corruption of corporate law, and "Black Lives Matter" (seeking to address police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people), and the Standing Rock #NoDAPL Dakota Access Pipeline Protest movement, arise on President Obama's watch?

Seriously, why is the quality of life for many Americans in parts of the United States equivalent to third world countries?

"In his new book, The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy, Temin paints a bleak picture where one country has a bounty of resources and power, and the other toils day after day with minimal access to the long-coveted “American dream.”

​"In his view, the United States is shifting toward an economic and political makeup more similar to developing nations than the wealthy, economically stable nation it has long been."

The Obama "hope" was dashed by the harsh reality that American politics -- American democracy -- has been captured by special interests. The view from here, in Canada, suggests that Donald Trump is the ultimate protest vote. The people who elected him weren't any better off under his presidency, but electing him sent a message the democrats chose to ignore.

The American people are not being well served because neither of the two parties represent "the people," unless, of course, one considers serving the billionaire class to be serving the people. This time around, the Trump presidency is looking more like an existential threat than a middle finger salute to the elites. But re-electing the democratic party next time around is unlikely to change anything.

Much has been made of American democracy, but it has never been farther from delivering "government by the people, for the people" than it is now.

I'm certainly no expert on American politics, but it seems to me that country was built on a revolution intended to overthrow the control of foreign monarchy. Yet in many ways, the presidency has become monarchy 2.0 And yet, in the earliest years of that nation, there were no political parties at all. The people elected a president, who was given a great deal of personal power with which to govern.

The people also elected representatives meant to represent them in the legislature. The elected representatives who supported the president's policies sat on one side of the aisle in the legislature, while those who disagreed with the direction of the president's administration sat on the other.

Even without parties this had the effect of creating an adversarial House of Representatives that functioned much the same as the British Westminster Parliament, with the government on one side, and the official opposition on the other.

Ironically, even with its First Past The Post winner-take-all system, today 14 political parties as well as Independent candidates have seats today's UK Parliament, whereas our American friends still have but 2 parties in their legislature.

Mr Trump's 2024 re-election has imposed a great deal more change on the USA than he did in his first term as president. In his first term, he put more effort into appearing to play by the rules and looking like a President than now. After all, it is much easier to slash and burn government departments and infrastructure than build them up. Mr Trump doesn't seem to understand diplomacy, or perhaps he doesn't care. We'll have to wait ad see how this Administration will play out.

But even if the democrats succeed in voting every single republican out of office, ending up with a single party in power wouldn't bode well for their democracy.

And yet ordinary Americans might still vote themselves out of this mess. But to do that, they first need to throw off the shackles of propaganda and abandon the two party system that's abandoned them. And they could start voting third party for actual change. If nothing else, American voters deserve the opportunity to choose how to vote for themselves.

It could happen... especially if the thirty-some-odd-percent of eligible voters who traditionally don't vote vote... and vote for what they want.

But that would mean really voting them *all* out... republicans and democrats.

I wish our American friends the best of luck for the future.

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I remember watching this in the theatre and being horrified when people laughed.

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Open letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme

Dear Commissioner Duheme:

Why have you not publicly announced your investigation into those Canadians and Canadian organizations who have participated in Israel’s genocide under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program?

Where is the RCMP hotline?

Where is the dedicated RCMP webpage?

Where are the RCMP media interviews denouncing such breaches of Canadian Law?

Where are the RCMP questionnaires soliciting witness testimony from those trying to flee Israel, and/or the families that have not been able to get their loved ones out of danger?

You have done so much for the Ukrainians.

Why have you done so little for the besieged Palestinian civilians? Why isn’t the RCMP providing the same level of assistance to the victims of Israel’s genocide in Gaza?

Palestinians are being bombed and buried under the rubble of their homes.

Palestinians sheltering in schools have been blown up.

Palestinians are being burned to death in tents in refugee camps.

Palestinians are being starved, and then shot when trying to get humanitarian aid to feed their families?

Palestinians have been forced to evacuate of Gaza hospitals, sometimes leaving premature babies to die alone.

Palestinian medical professionals and their patients have had their hands ziptied and been bulldozed into mass graves in hospital courtyards.

Palestinian toddlers have been targeted and shot in both the chest and the head according to MSF doctors trying to save them.

In March of 2024 the UN determined that more children had been killed in Gaza in less than 6 months than all the children killed in four years of conflict in the rest of the world.

The International Court of Justice has ruled Israel's occupation of Gaza illegal.

Unlike Ukrainians, the people of Palestine have no air force, or air defence, nor do they have an army or navy with which to defend themselves from Israel's sophisticated aerial bombers, fighter jets, naval vessels, army tanks, artillery, and killer drones.

Palestinian Hospitals, Ambulances and medical workers are being targeted, and killed Palestinian Journalists are being targeted and killed.

Humanitarian Aid Workers are being targeted and killed.

Foreign media are locked out of Palestine, and yet there are many Canadians volunteering in the IDF, killing Palestinian civilians as part of the Israeli military attack. Canadians like me are helpless as we watch the dehumanization and massacre of innocent Palestinians, often recording their own Genocide in real time.

Why does the RCMP have such a poor track record of applying Canadian law when it comes to Isreal? Is Israel somehow above International Law? What happened to the formal legal complaint concerning individual Canadians violating the Foreign Enlistment Act by inducing Canadians to join the Israeli military?

I know I am disturbed at the thought Canadians participating in the carnage will be returning home and worse, disregarding Canadian Law because they will feel the same impunity for antisocial behavior here that they had enjoyed in the Middle East.

As Canada's premier law enforcement Agency, the RCMP must apply the law. Period.

The RCMP should not bow to political pressure or bullying from foreign countries or special interest groups. Nor should the RCMP's ties with the IDF influence the service's enforcement of Canadian Law. Having seen many videos of IDF soldiers routinely mistreating the innocent Indigenous population of Palestine, and learning Canadian law enforcement agencies send their members to be "trained" in Israel, perhaps such "training" has influenced RCMP scandals in which innocent civilians and Indigenous people have been similarly mistreated.

Canadian politicians claimed our nation is a Rule of Law country. But failure to enforce Canadian laws when it comes to friends like Israel undermines the credibility of both the Government of Canada and the RCMP.

Why should Canadians respect (much less follow) Canadian Law if the RCMP fails to enforce it?

There are no good reasons-- only disturbing possible reasons -- for RCMP's failure to investigate and enforcing Israel's violations of Canada’s War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act with the same vigor the RCMP has employed in respect of similar breaches of International Law in respect of Russian activity in the Ukraine. This is not a good look for a nation that prides itself for its diversity.

Especially when civilians in Gaza are enduring an active genocide.

If none of the above is of concern to the RCMP, perhaps the prospect of being charged with complicity for failure to enforce appropriate Canadian Humanitarian Laws at the International Court of Justice and/or the International Criminal Court should be of concern. As a Canadian citizen, I must insist your agency should do its job.

Sincerely, Laurel L Russwurm

_________________________________________________ My letter began with the the letter sponsored by Just Peace Activists and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute on the Action Network's The RCMP must investigate Israeli War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity letter campaign. They've provided a form letter (at the link below) which participants can send as is, or add to or edit as I a have. I encourage you to click the link below and send your own letter. In a democracy, even as poor a democracy as ours, we must hold our institutions accountable.

Free Palestine! https://actionnetwork.org/letters/rcmp-investigates-israeli-crimes-demand-they-apply-law

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Election Night in Canada

I am posting this final “Preliminary Election Result” table posted on the Elections Canada website on Election Night (April 28th, 2025) because they always remove the easily understandable table at some point after the election. The numbers will change/have changed as some polls are challenged and/or recounted, but this is what the data looked like at that point in time. Registered Political…

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Science fiction was not cool when I was in high school, but I grew up watching Star Trek in its original outing. I recall my older brother trying to explain to me just how big the Enterprise was to hold all those people, I cofounded the Canadian Trekkies Association when I was in high school. At the time, there was only 1 Star Trek, and we hoped there would be a movie one day. We got ourselves listed in the Trekkie fan bible, and suddenly we had people from across Canada writing to us, wanting to join our community.

So aside from writing letters back, we decided we had to do something more. Since my best friend's family owned a printery we decided to create our very own fanzine, cleverly called "Canektion" (from Canadian Trekkies Association).

Back in the day fanzines were created on typewriters and gestetner machines . Electric typewriters were pretty new. Pocket calculators were the leading edge of tech. There were no personal computers, almost no self publishing, no Internet (at least not open to the public) and we had no idea what we were getting into as publishers.

We created most of our own content, and invited our trekkies to contribute material, and they did. We were allowed to do it ourselves after hours, but we had never done it before, so we did have a few problems, but it still looked far more like a professional publication than anything I had ever seen.

In our first issue, we had asked our members from across Canada to share their Star Trek top ten list. And if memory serves, the number one episode on everybody's list, "The Trouble With Tribbles" but the next best episode, the one favored by older Trekkies was undoubtedly this one, the timeless "City on the Edge of Forever."

Stone knives and bearskins, eh?

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TODAY!!! The Ontario Court of Appeal will be hearing this important case at 10am

Sar-El Canada is allegedly breaking Canadian law by recruiting Canadian volunteers to go to Israel and support the IDF. But the Canadian Government refuses to enforce its own law.

There was a Canadian Parliamentary Petition asking it to uphold the law they ignored.

Two concerned Canadian citizens, Rabbi David Mivasair and Palestinian artist Rehab Nazzal, filed a complaint with the Toronto Police about Sar-El Canada's activities.

The police did nothing so they got lawyers to launch a private prosecution. Evidence on the alleged offence was presented at a hearing, and Sar-El Canada was formally charged.

No one has ever been able to get a criminal charge laid to stop illegal recruitment of Canadian volunteers for Israel's armed forces until now.

But politics wasn't having it. The Crown prosecution took over the case and withdrew the charge.

This is what is being appealed this morning.

It should not be this hard to get our governments to obey their own laws. ================================================

IMAGE ALT TEXT:

TODAY!!! Nov 7th, 2024 10am (Toronto Time)

Tweet: [twitter avatar] Shane Martínez @martinezdefence "It is a crime to recruit people in Canada to enlist or engage with a foreign army. However, the Attorney General refuses to prosecute those who allegedly recruit volunteers to assist the Israeli armed forces."

[thread] https://x.com/martinezdefence/status/1853949847599997103

watch on Zoom app: https://ca01web.zoom.us/postattendee?mn=DxLBMHb0oubtQVc9LpcHNVVEA0xHiD34tUln.dwOYELliHHFwVaX9 shortened URL: https://t.co/FD1Hum7Zcq

or on your Browser at https://app.zoom.us/wc/64669140821/join ?fromPWA=1&pwd =bBZXIR1rgnuxb3nrcQNy33TNPFX4zp.1

#CDNpoli #ONpoli #Shane Martínez

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A bus may have only a couple of passengers, especially at the beginning or end of its route. But let's also take fuel efficiency into account.

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This video is brilliant. And giving the proceeds to #UNWRAusa is too.

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This is a perfect video. Please watch and share.

Maclemore writes: All proceeds from the song are going to @unrwausa

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I haven't forgotten Hind Rajab.