Remembrance Day saw Extinction Rebellion defile London war memorials with political wreaths, drawing parallels to Westboro Baptist’s funeral protests, while the CBC and David Suzuki endorsed the move. Jeff Bezos’s Whole Foods Canada banned poppies despite a Legion donation, sparking outrage—veteran Lee Humphrey linked it to "woke" culture and Legion hall closures due to pandemic lockdowns (71% poppy participation this year vs. 85%). Public backlash forced policy reversals, but critics like the host warn of broader threats: globalist re-education, billionaire hypocrisy, and initiatives like bug-eating, framing resistance as a defense against eroding national values. [Automatically generated summary]
Extinction Rebellion's Grossest Remembrance Day Snub00:07:41
Hello my friends, it's Remembrance Day today.
It's a day to remember and my tradition is to read Tommy Atkins, a wonderful, powerful, and sad poem by Rudyard Kipling.
I do it every Remembrance Day.
Maybe you know that.
But I also look at the world around and I saw a shocking video out of London today.
Extinction Rebellion actually had a climate stunt photo op at a war memorial stepping over the Remembrance Day wreaths for their photo shoot.
It was the grossest thing I think I've ever seen.
You'll hear all about it.
I'll tell you about it because you're listening to a podcast, but I would like to invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus, which is the video version of the podcast.
I want you to see this video.
I want you to see Extinction Rebellion stepping over the real wreaths to put their global warming BS above all the rest.
You got to see the video.
Just go to RebelNews.com, click subscribe.
It's $8 a month.
It's less than Netflix.
You get my daily show plus weekly shows from Sheila Gunread and David Menzies.
And importantly, it helps us pay the bills here.
That's where we get our paychecks for the payroll around here.
So I'd be grateful if you signed up.
Thanks.
Okay, here's today's podcast.
Tonight, they hate the poppies because they hate us and our country.
It's Remembrance Day and you're watching the Ezra Levant show.
Why should others go to jail when you're the biggest carbon consumer I know?
There's 8,500 customers here and you won't give them an answer.
The only thing I have to say is government will walk publishing just because it's my bloody right to do so.
Why did Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man, who owns the grocery store called Whole Foods, why did he ban the wearing of poppies by staff at his Canadian outlets?
And they sure dug in on that.
Our own David Menzies went to one of these overpriced grocery stores in Toronto and they told him to shut up and get out.
Well, we can't do it inside.
Is that part of the Whole Foods policy?
You know what we're doing?
I'm not going to talk it with you, but can you have a picture?
This is private property.
We made a big donation to the Legion, and we'd like to hand them out to nice ladies like you that's what I need to be talking about stuff like this in the store.
It's a private property.
Okay.
We told you outside, but you can't do it inside the store.
I'm really sorry.
Can somebody come outside with me and interview me?
If you would like to do something outside the store, you can do it, but we're not doing it inside the store.
Because I was hoping to interview customers of Whole Foods.
What do you think of the poppy ban?
I'm talking about it with you.
Do you know you need to go outside the store to do stuff like this?
Okay, I'm really sorry.
Don't you think it's disrespectful to the veterans?
I can't really discuss that with you on television.
I need you to go outside.
Okay.
Well, she's not interested in talking, so we'll make our exit to wherever the exit is.
Whole Foods finally buckled under political pressure and reversed their ban, I think.
But I think it could have gone the other way just as easily.
I mean, Jeff Bezos and Amazon are regarded with plenty of justification as oligarchs and corporate predators, but they're very woke.
They're very anti-American.
Remember, it was Jeff Bezos who banned my book, China Virus, and then unbanned it for a week and then re-banned it with the official excuse both times that my book simply contradicted official sources, as in it criticized China, it criticized the China-controlled World Health Organization.
So yeah, Jeff Bezos doesn't really care about freedom.
He cares more about money and power.
He doesn't really believe in nation states at all.
He's bigger than most countries, just himself.
And I say, it could have gone either way, this poppy thing.
Bezos' staff blinked in this case, but Don Cherry, who, unlike Bezos, is 100% Canadian, well-loved, decades of fans, he was fired in the blink of an eye for telling people just to wear poppies.
Town Toronto, forget it, downtown Toronto.
Nobody wears a poppy.
You people love you.
They come here, whatever it is.
You love our way of life.
You love our milk and honey.
At least you could pay a couple of bucks for poppies or something like that.
These guys pay for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada.
These guys paid the biggest price.
So Cherry was knocked out by a woke mob that corporate Canada caved into.
I tell you, the Whole Foods ban on poppies could just as easily have gone the other way because the ban on the poppy really means a ban on remembering soldiers and remembering why they fought and died and why we love them for it.
Remembrance, remember what?
Well, remember freedom versus tyranny.
Remember national pride and sacrifice.
Even the concept of a nation state with an army at all.
All these things are remembered when we remember fallen soldiers, even the wars themselves.
And so every piece of that is now under attack.
Even masculinity itself.
Even the fact that they were overwhelmingly young men who engaged in a form of controlled patriotic violence against an enemy, that's sort of what a war is.
That itself is anathema today.
So yeah, Remembrance Day will not be remembered, or it will be transformed into something unrecognizable.
It'll be denatured.
Just like the NFL, the National Football League, was once the most patriotic place in America.
NASCAR, too.
NFL is destroyed by a blizzard of anti-American wokeness, taking a knee, hating police, hating America, the NBA, the basketball league, praising Communist China.
These institutions have been transformed.
I think they're going to do the same to Remembrance Day.
They'll change the poppy itself.
They already have white poppies for surrenderism, rainbow poppies, whatever that means.
If they can't destroy Remembrance Day, they will transform it into something different, something diabolical, so that in the end, I think everyone will hate it.
The left has always hated it.
And they'll make it so that the right walks away from it as the right has walked away from woke professional sports, to keep that analogy.
Look at this disgrace from London today.
Greta Thunberg's street gangs actually took today, Remembrance Day, as the day to have their global warming protest at a war memorial to use the fallen soldiers as a human backdrop for a photo shoot to literally walk into the sacred Ganava Memorial and to step over on this special day to step over real wreaths laid for real casualties of war and put their political stunt wreath right on top of them all.
Take a look at this.
How Disgraceful00:03:26
What is that?
How disgraceful.
As my friend Sheila Gunreed says, it's like the Westboro Baptist Church that, you know, they have political protests at other people's funerals.
Kooks who go to family funerals with signs that say insane things at funerals.
That is the league Greta Tunberg is in now.
And so David Suzuki and the CBC and every leftist who has ever supported Extinction Rebellion, that's on you.
Well, to hell with them, remembrance.
I'll long remember this.
And I hope you do too.
Anytime anyone ever talks about Extinction Rebellion, remind them of this disgraceful day.
Now, in a moment, I'll play for you an interview.
I recorded with Lee Humphrey, an outspoken veteran, political activist.
But first, let me do what I do every year on this day and read to you Rudyard Kipling's great poem called Tommy Atkins.
Ready?
I went into a public house to get a pint of beer.
The publican he up and says, We serve no red coats here.
The girls behind the bar, they laughed and giggled, fit to die.
I outs into the street again, and to myself, says I, oh, it's Tommy this and Tommy that, and Tommy go away.
But it's thank you, Mr. Atkins, when the band begins to play.
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play.
Oh, it's thank you, Mr. Atkins, when the band begins to play.
I went into a theater as sober as could be.
They gave a drunk civilian room, but hadn't none for me.
They sent me to the gallery around the music halls, but when it comes to fighting, Lord, they'll shove me in the stalls for it's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy wait outside.
But it's special train for Atkins when the trooper's on the tide.
The troop ship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide.
Oh, it's special train for Atkins when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, making mock of uniforms that guard you while you sleep is cheaper than them uniforms, and they're starvation cheap.
And hustling drunken soldiers when they're going large a bit is five times better business than parading infil kit.
Then it's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy outs your soul.
But it's thin red line of heroes when the drums begin to roll.
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll.
Oh, it's thin red line of heroes when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red heroes.
No, we aren't no blaggards too, but single men in barracks most remarkable like you.
And if sometimes our conduct isn't all your fancy paints, why single men and clerics don't grow into plaster saints?
While it's Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy fall behind, but it's pleased to walk in front, sir, when there's trouble in the wind.
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind.
Oh, it's pleased to walk in front, sir, when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk about better food for us and schools and fires and all.
We'll wait for extra rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cookroom slops, but prove it to our face.
The widow's uniform is not the soldier man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this and Tommy that, and chuck him out, the brute.
But it's savior of his country when the guns begin to shoot.
And it's Tommy this and Tommy that, and anything you please.
And Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool.
You bet that Tommy sees.
Well, I read that every year, and I well up a little bit when those last line gets me every time.
I think there is a cultural war against Remembrance Day for all the reasons I said earlier.
By the way, I'm about to play for you an interview I did with Lee Humphrey.
Justin Trudeau's Remembrance Day Concerns00:13:14
I recorded it yesterday when we did not know if Justin Trudeau would attend a Remembrance Day event at all.
And I can tell you that he did, thank goodness for small mercies.
So I should add that this interview you're about to see was recorded yesterday.
All right, stay with us.
that's ahead.
Welcome back.
Well, this footage is of Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, attending a Black Lives Matter rally and taking a knee on Parliament Hill.
This was at the height of the pandemic, as you can see.
There was no social distancing at all.
But it was very important for Trudeau to prostrate himself before a U.S.-based Marxist organization called Black Lives Matter that really has no meaning up here.
We did not have slavery.
We did not have a civil war over slavery.
In fact, we were the Underground Railway's destination for slaves who ran away from slavery.
Trudeau nonetheless thought it was important enough that he make a personal appearance.
I raise all this with you because the government of Canada has asked that Remembrance Day ceremonies around the country not be attended in person.
In fact, we won't know as of the moment we're filming this, but I understand that Trudeau himself does not plan to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony.
I stand to be corrected if that report is inaccurate.
I find this typical.
Trudeau, of course, stopped the annual commemoration of the murder of Nathan Cirillo, the Canadian soldier who was murdered at the National War Memorial.
That was a tradition that Stephen Harper started, and Justin Trudeau stopped.
Is this just another case of the Liberals not giving a damn about our veterans who'll join us now?
To talk about it is our friend Lee Humphrey, who is the founder of Veterans for the Conservative Party of Canada, the director of James International Security, and of course a military veteran himself.
Great to see you again, Lee.
Yeah, good to hear your voice, Arger.
Well, likewise, nice to have you here.
Remembrance Day, when I was a kid, was about the Second World War and Korea.
It felt very old time.
But these days, veterans are often my age or, frankly, much younger, having fought in Afghanistan and paid a terrible price there.
It's very relevant.
It's very modern.
And the fact that we're forgetting it so soon, I think, is a terrible statement of the fact that we're not living up to the name.
We are not remembering what we should.
Am I being too pessimistic here?
Boy, it's hard not to be pessimistic.
It was only a little bit more than a year ago that we had a famous voice in Canada kicked off the air because he didn't use politically correct speech when he was talking about the decline in the wearing of poppies to a series.
He's reporting another decline is expected in the wearing of the poppy.
We have a prime minister that can wade into some social settings and express his views, but can't go to the war memorial and take a knee where it's really truly appropriate.
Because at the end of the day, the people that allowed, whether it's Black Lives Matter or whether it's any other entity in Canada, to express their views, to protest, if you will, it's the soldier that ensured that right live on today.
So we have to remember that soldiers of all colors, creeds, sexual orientations, anything you want to come up with to distinguish them, they all serve together under one banner.
They all fought for us under one banner.
They all fought for freedom from oppression.
And the idea that we can't at least have folks out at every single cenotaph doing their part.
You can wear masks if you want.
You can social distance if you want.
You can do it throughout the day.
You can do it in your own way this time.
But please, for the love of God, get out there tomorrow and spend a couple of minutes.
You know, I'm worried about the state of the Legion itself.
I understand that because of the various pandemic lockdowns, legions that survive in part based on serving food and beverages and having events, that a large number of legions are facing closure.
Now, if they were, I don't know, a multi-billion dollar automaker or, I don't know, SNC Lavaland, they'd get a massive shot in the Bombardier.
But these Legions, have you heard anything about the fate of the Legions?
I've read reports that, I mean, a number of them in Alberta, a number of them across the country, for want of maybe $100,000 a pop, are risking being shut down forever.
Just the physical place, which is also all the memories and the place where veterans get together.
Do you have any news on that?
Yeah, so if I understand it correctly, legions do not qualify for any of the aid programs that have been put forward by the federal government.
Some provinces, if I understand it correctly, have stepped up.
I believe Saskatchewan has.
Some private donors have stepped up with some really large donations this year.
But unfortunately, a lot of those donations go to the most famous piece, which is the Poppy Fund.
And the Poppy Fund has severe limits on what it can do with that money.
That money can only go directly to help veterans.
So it cannot help local legions stay in business, if you will.
And as you said, one of the greatest problems that we'll see if a local legion shuts down is what happens to the history, the memorabilia, the art, all of it that's been collected for the generations.
Where does it go?
Will it just disappear?
And if it does, there goes our history and our remembrance.
You know, I remember I was speaking a couple years ago at the wonderful Legion Hall in Mississauga, right on the river.
And it was a gorgeous building, but it had fallen into some disrepair.
The location was incredible.
The architecture was incredible.
But that place needed a Renault.
And I'm not saying that out of any aesthetic sense.
It was getting run down.
And we had this meeting there, and I said to folks, you know what?
Omar Cotter got $10 million from Justin Trudeau.
That would be enough to redo, I don't know, 50 Legion halls.
I was very frustrated by it.
But I think it's the popular culture.
I mean, Whole Foods, which is a fancy grocery chain bought by Jeff Bezos and Amazon, they said that they weren't even going to allow their employees to wear a poppy.
Now, they backed down under withering criticism.
But the fact that the big brains over there who are so in touch with, you know, the Zeitgeist and the social media, the fact that this went through all their internal checks and no one in the company said, no, that's a bad idea to ban poppies.
I mean, yeah, they got an attitude adjustment from the public.
But, you know, Amazon, Whole Foods, these are very savvy, sophisticated customers.
For them to think, no, no, no, poppies are old.
That's, as Don Cherry, that's Don Cherry Canada.
We're a more woke Canada.
That's scary to me.
I'm glad they backed down, but the fact that they thought that was a good idea to begin with shows that we've really lost the universality of Remembrance Day.
Yeah, you know, I was stunned to wake up to that.
I was thrilled before the day ended to see them reverse their decision.
As per typical lefties, though, they couldn't even say sorry.
It's a simple friggin five-letter word.
But I was thrilled that not only politicians, but Canadians stood up on social media and slapped them down.
So I guess to the broader point of what we're talking about, it gives me some hope that Canadians, by and large, do care about their veterans and about our history.
While on the other hand, you know, this morning I woke up and read online that only 71% of people are expected to wear a poppy this year, down from 85% last year.
And I think 85% was optimistic as far as what I saw on the streets and when I traveled through Toronto and that area, airports, things like that.
But, you know, I guess we just have to hold on to the hope that this one year without massive celebration of the remembrance of what veterans have done for this country doesn't sidetrack this thing and doesn't get it off the rails.
And it's up to you and me and everybody else that has a small platform to keep at it and to keep reminding people that Justin Trudeau's words don't matter to us.
Actions matter.
And when Canadians turn out en masse on the 11th of November, that's a sign of hope for me.
Yeah.
Well, we do a few small things.
We like to have events at Legion Halls.
We've done that in various cities.
And a year or two ago, we bought a Legion membership for everyone here at Rebel News.
I'm pleased to say that a number of our staff had the membership before that.
But those are small things.
You know, I like Legions because they feel comfy.
You're not going to get screeched at for not being woke enough.
They always feel like an attic or a place where you put on comfy slippers.
The food and drink are always reasonably priced.
I really like them as like a hangout.
I mean, I don't get a lot of chance to go and hang out, but they just feel comfortable and welcoming.
And I love looking at the photographs of the young men and thinking of what would they have thought?
What were they thinking back then?
And what would they think of us now?
I love going to Legion Halls.
And I think that, you know, the word sacred generally applies to holy things, but there is something sacred about these living remembrances of veterans.
Last word to you.
Yeah, well, tomorrow, Ezra, my wife and I, who is also a veteran, will be at the Cenotath in Battalion Park on Signal Hill in Calgary.
And I hope that despite not having these formal ceremonies all over the places, people go to the field of crosses that's here or to the military museum.
They go to the local cenotaths in their neighborhoods around this country, and they demonstrate that we sure as heck don't need the government to run a Remembrance Day ceremony.
We just need Canadians to show up, bow their heads for two minutes, and remember what got us the country we have today.
Well said.
Well, thank you, my friend, and thank you for your service.
We've been talking to Lee Humphrey, the founder of Veterans for the Canadian, sorry, the Conservative Party of Canada and the director of James International Security.
Stay with us, Morgan.
Hey, welcome back on my monologue last night.
Sue Ann writes, you will own nothing and you will be happy.
If you show any unhappiness, it's off to a re-education camp for you.
Shut up and obey.
Very scary times are heading our way.
Oh yeah, and add to it things that were not in this video, but you'll have no privacy.
Hey, let's eat bugs.
There's these weird things coming down from these globalists, and they're always creepy, slightly diabolical, as in slightly anti-human.
I don't like it.
Pond writes to all the psychopathic billionaire WF psychophants out there, you first divest all your assets and let's see how happy it makes you.
Isn't that the truth?
It's quite something for the Jeff Bezos of the world to tell the rest of us.
You'll own nothing, but you'll really, really like it.