In "Turning the page on Harpoon", Walt showed you the video of young Brigette DePape, a page -- well, ex-page, now -- in the Canadian Senate, daring to protest against the continuation of the misrule of Prime Minister "Call me Steve" Harper's Tory government.
It was very brave of her to hold up her "Stop Harper!" sign in the middle of the Governor-General's Speech from the Throne. She has won many fans and admirers, including famed doc-maker Michael Moore. And now, it seems, she has inspired some copycat protesters.
Actually this is a meme, but a damn good one! PhotoShop rules!
Walt predicts that, like Kilroy in the late 40s, "Stop Harper!" will be showing up here, there and everywhere. If you've got one, send it to Walt and we'll show the world -- or at least our little chunk of it.
Canada's new Parliament opened yesterday with the traditional Speech from the Throne, in which Prime Minister "Call me Steve" Harper outlined his government's -- make that "his" -- plans for his régime's term in office.
During the election, concerns were expressed that the damage Mr Harpoon inflicted on his country while he had only the limited power of a minority government would be compounded if he got his long-sought majority. Well, he did get his majority. He now has carte blanche to set up a 1000-year Conservative reich in the land that fun forgot.
Such, at any rate, is the fear of young (21) Brigette DePape, who until yesterday had been working as a page in the Senate, the venue for the Throne Speech. Ms DePape felt it was a good time to demonstrate her disapproval of the Harpoon agenda. Here's how she did it.
And this is what she said, in a statement released following her unceremonious ejection. “This country needs a Canadian version of an Arab Spring, a flowering of popular movements that demonstrate that real power to change things lies not with Harper but in the hands of the people, when we act together in our streets, neighbourhoods and workplaces.”
The Canadian Prime Minister, sometimes compared to "Margaret Thatcher before the sex change", proved to have even less of a sense of humour than was thought. Ms DePape was fired from her position that very afternoon, and only after it appeared that the Sergeant-at-Arms's sword is only for ceremonial purposes, not sufficiently sharp to effect the removal of the page's head.
Note from Ed. about the ad: Sometimes when we embed a video clip, an ad comes along with it. Fair enough. But that doesn't mean that Walt endorses whatever it is that's being flogged. Walt doesn't endorse anything!
