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Originally uploaded by Jeffery Simpson.

With the election of the Stephen Harper there was much rejoicing that the west’s alienation from Ottawa was finally at an end. However clever people have pointed out that Harper doesn’t speak for the west, but rather for the right-wing Alberta voters who have quite a bit of power in the new government.

Which is why The Ubyssey’s article on Cascadia, the name of an imagined breakaway nation consisting of B.C., Washington State and Oregon, is interesting [Feature/feat.html">uby].

McCloskey is disappointed in politics especially the American red-blue divide, which he says “leaves people purple and bruised.” What really matters, he continues, is restoring the natural system, the trees and the reservoirs. It is important, he adds, to revitalise local communities and ecological regions. Cascadia, for McCloskey, is about the politics of the place, the building of the local relationships and a focus on larger issues and reference points. The focus on ecological health in the region is echoed by Koberstein who views Cascadia as the torchbearer of the ethics of conservationism and environmental justice. The Cascadia Times newspaper is a reflection of this ethos, which he believes is primordial to the Pacific Northwest.

Okay so it’s sort of hippy-ish and kind of vauge but it’s an interesting idea in the sort of Tom Clancy “What if China invaded Russia and Japan attacked America” world of hypnotethical global politics.

Perhaps we should begin working with Metroblogging Seattle [mbs] and Portland [mbp] to make this a reality.

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2. Are Vancouver’s bloggers political?
3. Test The Nation: Trivia
4. Kelowna hospital in krisis… errr… crisis
5. A website that tells you how to vote