We live in tumultuous times: Ferguson and other non-indictments of white police who murdered people of colour ISIL and other extremism Stephen Harper’s continued assault on democracy and embrace of soft fascism [has he had CRA audit YOUR favourite progressive group yet?] Accusations against Jian Ghomeshi Accusations against Bill Cosby
Continue readingAuthor: Stephen Elliott-Buckley
Politics, Re-Spun: Does Cuba Get an MLB Team Now?
So, there have been 181 Major League Baseball players from Cuba [population 11 million], 230 from Puerto Rico [population 3.5 million] [which is kind of like America, despite its second class political status], and 557 from the Dominican Republic [population 9.5 million]. My friend, who cares not about baseball, asked
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Imagine, Re-Imagine the Strawberries
i’m imagining it again tonight the mosaic tiles in strawberry fields in my ether in the intersection of idealist moonbeams and #BlackLivesMatter marchers swirling under the Manhatten hum [or is it a pulse?] feeling the tranquility of the mosaic despite being just steps from the Dakota. i didn’t know then
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Even Capitalists Are Starting to See the Zombies in the Tarsands!
What kind of oil investments become zombies with cheap oil? [Shhh, it’s the Solstice today, but don’t tell the carbon energy sector!] Extracting and burning oil, gas and coal [the carbon criminals destroying our climate] is a bad move. Capitalists, zombies themselves seeking to maximize shareholder wealth at the expense
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Do You Want To Be A Better Mentor?
Probably. But maybe you don’t actually know that you are a mentor now. You probably are, but if you are more mindful of relationships with your informal apprenticeships, you will realize all the people who are getting wisdom from you. Maybe you think you’re too young, or too busy, or
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Is It Time YOU Write With Politics, Re-Spun?
Hello! It’s time. Time to consider writing with us. We’re expanding our crew and you may be the kind of person we’re looking for. How would you know? Here are the four steps. Read the About Politics, Re-Spun page. If you understand that, you’ve passed #1! Read George Monbiot’s essay
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Alberta Government Begins to Sunset Oil Production
Edmonton’s Eastgate: What are those cylinders in the background? This week, as an early Christmas present to the province, the world and future generations, the Alberta government has begun the process of completely ending oil, coal and gas production in the province within a generation. Citing its historic mismanagement of
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Confusing People with a Die-In in a Mall?
Shoppers didn’t quite know what to make of the whole thing. via Protesters Bring West London To Standstill In Solidarity With Eric Garner And Michael Brown – BuzzFeed News. I can see their faces, up on that top floor. Looking down. Confused. Concerned. Or…moved to silence? Were they unsure of
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Why Are Capitalists So Lazy?
Entrepreneurialism, innovation, competition, insight, optimization, excellence? These are the self-satisfying hallmarks of our jackboot triumphal capitalism. But what’s with the laziest of the lazy capitalists? You know, the ones who run the fossil fuel sector. The science is in. They’re causing much of the climate change we’re seeing, except of
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How Selfish Are Old People?
It’s not so cut and arid. It’s not like old people didn’t create EarthShip. But this graphic, that’s not the only study that shows how younger people aren’t so yuppie, so individualist, so consumerist, so selfish. If you don’t have enough under-40s in your life, work on it. The fall
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What Kind of Politicians Ignore THEIR OWN SCIENTISTS?
In BC and Canada, politicians actively ignore the people and their own scientists. Why? OK, you tell me. What do you call politicians who ignore their own scientists? It’s not a trick question. What if scientists tell their political bosses about the climate impacts of ramping up a mythical $1
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: International Day of Action for Burnaby Mountain and ALL Land Defenders
This is an international day of action, so check the event page to see what’s up in your town, for TOMORROW! And if there’s nothing at your home, be the change! Let’s consolidate our recent victories and continue moving public opinion to transitioning to the post-carbon energy infrastructure: wind, solar,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Entitlements? What About Understanding UNentitlements?
Punishing irony. OK, I’m fine admitting it. I focus on entitlements a lot. I’m often trying to encourage people to examine our unexamined entitlements: race, age, economic class, gender, sexuality, etc. But one way to understand entitlements is to understand how unentitlements work. I’m guilty of overlooking this. Until today.
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: More of Harper’s First Nations Racism
The federal government tells CBC News that 84 First Nations have until Wednesday to post their audited financial statements for the last fiscal year, including the salaries and expenses of their chiefs and councillors. Pam Palmater is one of the most important voices in Canada in this young century so
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Ferguson?
If there’s anything you can learn from Ferguson this morning, it’s that we need to check our race- and class-based social, political and economic entitlements. It’s the least we can do this morning. "If racism is something you're sick of hearing about, imagine how exhausting it must be living it
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Who Are the Main Caregivers for People with a Parkinson’s Diagnosis?
It’s women, of course, who pick up the slack when our healthcare system neglects people. It’s either picking up the slack or being the excuse for systemic neglect. The main informal caregiver was typically a woman (62%), lived in the same household (72%), and provided assistance on a daily basis
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Canada: The Eternal Rebuilding Project
Personal relationships enrich us, work makes us feel useful, and goals give us purpose via Lecture 1 – Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship | Ideas with Paul Kennedy | CBC Radio. Adrienne Clarkson speaks in this Massey Lecture about belonging. The first peoples were here first. They established a sense
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Whitby-Oshawa Shows the Need for Active NDP-Liberal Cooperation
The Pundits Guide has a spectacular analysis of what it takes to almost take out a strong Conservative seat in a by-election. See below. It shows that a relatively weak NDP campaign with a very strong Liberal campaign almost is enough. What more does it take? Ask Nathan Cullen and
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Yes Means Yes: A Reading to Start Your Week
If you read anything about Yes Means Yes, this week, read this paragraph, then click the link to read it all. We all need to be talking about this around the water cooler this week. We’ve come a long way in our acceptance of all manner of sexual relationships and
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Kirk LaPointe’s Credibility Problem: the NPA
Don’t vote for the NPA. Any of them. LaPointe is the NPA’s mayoral candidate. The NPA stands for the Non-Partisan Association. If you actually believe the NPA has no partisan ideology, please don’t vote. For almost a decade I’ve been writing about how the brand notion of the NPA is
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