CounterPunch May 15, 2008

The Commissar Vanishes is a coffee table book for only the dourest of coffee tables. The hard-covered volume is a photographic compilation of the way that Josef Stalin systematically erased his chief political opponents, Leon Trotsky and his followers, from the history of the Russian Revolution. (Keep reading…)

Wall Street Journal
May 3, 2008; Page

Last December, I got a taste of what golfers are likely to experience, if not quite so starkly, in the years ahead. I played a course in Georgia whose fairways, due to strict drought restrictions across the northern third of the state, hadn’t been watered in months. (Keep reading…)

Canadian Dimension Magazine, November/December 2007

To paraphrase Bertolt Brecht, art can be a mirror to reflect reality or a hammer with which to shape it. The same could be said of sport. For a brief moment in July, Iraq was one: no Sunnis or Shiites, Arabs or Kurds, Christians or Muslims. United in their hopes of soccer glory, it was a moment that encapsulated the potential of sport to be a force for good — the Brechtian hammer. Huddled around their television sets, millions of Iraqis excitedly watched their national team defeat Saudi Arabia in the championship game of the Asian Cup of soccer. Together, Iraqis rejoiced. The dangerous and chaotic streets of Baghdad shed their danger, but none of their chaos. Cars clogged the roads, horns beeped in celebration and thousands of fans took to the streets waving the Iraqi flag, their troubled lives temporarily eased by a burst of national pride. As the team’s coach exclaimed, “When the football team is playing, there is no bombing in Iraq.” (Keep reading…)

Counterpunch August 24, 2007

Let’s get this out of the way early: I don’t support the fighting of dogs. I am not sitting here in a Michael Vick jersey snacking on Labrador fajitas thinking that his 12 month plea bargain is the greatest injustice since Sacco and Vanzetti. Please don’t send me emails saying that I hate dogs. Please don’t write that I am a “supporter” of Michael Vick, whatever the hell that means. I don’t love dogs. I don’t hate dogs. I will say I’m not a vegetarian. I love a good haggis. I gargle with gravy. I think short ribs are a “side.” None of that means I hate dogs or think Vick is some kind of political prisoner. Like many, I eat meat, abhor dog fighting, and am comfortable with that hypocrisy, (Keep reading…)

Prairie Dog July 5-18, 2007

World Wrestling Entertainment rarely takes nights off, but July 15 — the scheduled date of an ECW/Smackdown event at Regina’s Brandt Centre — will be an exception. (Keep reading…)

Globe and Mail April 14, 2007

Before there was a Wayne Gretzky, before there was a Bobby Orr or Maurice Richard, and even before there was a National Hockey League, Canada had an enduring sports legend. (Keep reading…)

The Dominion April 4, 2007

As the Vancouver Olympics approach, the building of highways, condos, and resorts have accelerated on land that Indigenous activists say is unceded territory. Photo: Rick Lippold The official website of the 2010 Olympics touts the “historic” and “unprecedented” participation of First Nations in the Vancouver games. According to the site, the collaboration between the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) and Aboriginals will include increased opportunities to “showcase art, language, traditions, history and culture” and “promote skills development and training related to the games.” (Keep reading…)

Canadian Dimension Magazine, January/February 2007 Issue

I admit to cheering (almost crying) when Tommy Douglas was announced as our Greatest Canadian on the popular CBC show. Hey, it’s gloomy times for the Left, and we take any victory we can get, no matter how small. Yet my celebrations were cut short when host Wendy Mesley conveyed the bad news: Don Cherry ranked seventh in the contest, just pipping Sir John A. and Alexander Graham Bell. I’ve always thought that the Rock’em Sock’em videos make a great contribution to nation-building, but surely they don’t surpass Confederation or the telephone? (Keep reading…)

Canadian Dimension Magazine, September/October 2006 Issue

In the age of sports superstars with multi-million-dollar salaries, we tend not to think of professional athletes as workers. But, like other workers, professional athletes sell their labour to capitalists in return for a wage. With fame and fortune, they may be the most peculiar proletariat capitalism has ever produced, but it is important to remember that, throughout sporting history, athletes, like other workers, have had to form trade unions to fight for decent wages, benefits, and working conditions. And, like national economies, sports leagues vary in terms of their capital-labour relations. In some leagues athletes are still without the protection of a union and are thus subject to serious exploitation. In other leagues, players have a strong voice in the direction of their league and the future of their livelihoods. (Keep reading…)

Rabble.ca June 9, 2006

Whether you’re cheering on the boys from Brazil or avoiding the television at all costs, keep an eye on the political dynamics of this year’s World Cup. (Keep reading…)