I wrote a piece the other day on Attawapiskat, and how it enrages me. Not just the case in those communities, but how it’s representative of Canada’s largely racist relationship with first nations and, frankly, all “disposable” people. This, by the way, is an amazing piece with essential information about
Continue readingTag: A Better World is Needed
Politics, Re-Spun: Oh, Canada? Our Home and Racist Land
Canadians’ racist neglect of our first people’s seems unshakable. We had Davis Inlet, and we didn’t wake up to any systemic problems. That was just a one off? And now Attawapiskat? Perhaps it was just a tragedy of homelessness that happened in the last few weeks, so we couldn’t expect
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Fixing Vision Vancouver’s Democratic Deficit
Now that Vision Vancouver has self-actualized as a political party, it’s time to see if they’ll now address some longstanding democratic deficits. The complexion of the city changed markedly last night as Vision elected all its candidates, the Greens got a seat on council, the NPA increased its representation and
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Farcical Aquatic Ceremonies: Canadian “Democracy” and (not) You!
So, Ontario, Canada’s most unbearably self-righteous Province, just concluded another one of those spiffy “election” things everyone is getting so worked up over these days. As of this writing, it’s still not entirely clear just how low the voter turnout was but it seems to be definitely below 50%—the lowest in Provincial history. The McGuinty Liberals […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Occupy the Church, Occupy Together
Christians. Church. God. Jesus. Occupy. What do these words mean to you? For many, the connotations are negative. Personal experiences with judgemental, rigid, frozen people who identify themselves as Christians have left a bitter taste in their mouths. Memories of being harangued, condescended to and lectured linger long after their encounter. Media and political examples […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Why I Am Going to Attend Occupy Vancouver
I am white, middle class, educated and, by all accounts, an extremely fortunate woman. I live in Canada where my parents’ (sometimes life-threatening) health issues are covered by a provincial medical plan. My water and air are clean, and food is plentiful. My husband and I are employed. I am not desperate, but I am […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Girl Talk
Hey there, ladies. Women? Gals? Broads? Just… not girls, okay? We all stopped being girls a long time ago. Calling ourselves girls once we were old enough to menstruate was a slight stretch. Calling ourselves girls once we were old enough to vote was a bit ridiculous. But calling ourselves girls, perpetually? Grown women calling […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: 17 Federal NDP Leadership Possibilities
Jack Layton spent much time in his last days crafting his messages of hope, justice, optimism, equality and integrity: encouraging us to move on and build on the Orange Crush that he was such a key part of. So far I’ve heard of 17 who people are talking about considering as leadership contenders; few are […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Great Shopping Shift
I end each day quietly lamenting how I haven’t yet succeeded in completely reforming the global economy. Certainly, it’s a tall order. I search for economic and environmental sustainability. I explore no-growth, steady-state economics to see how we can transform our society’s deranged obsession with unlimited capitalist growth into a more eco-socialist model. I don’t […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Pubic Humiliation: The Case of the Ugly Vagina
Earlier in the month, when I clicked an inbox link to a webpage for a fundraising campaign, I did not expect to get lost in the political quagmire of women’s rights, feminism, grooming, surgical enhancement, self esteem and pop culture. A vaguely disinterested click of the mouse quickly sucked me into a black hole of […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Bridge Builders: Cultural Survival in Bosnia
This is as close to a eulogy and an ode as I can write for a place with which I struggle every day. As I write this, a now yearly procession is making its way to the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The remains of hundreds of men of all ages are making their way […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: On Riots & Anarchists: the Media’s Reactionary Propaganda
Good afternoon Vancouver, how’s your head? The hand-wringing and spinning has commenced in full force now in the wake of the riot which gripped the downtown core after the Canucks Game 7 loss. The narrative which emerged, both in the media and thanks to public statements by the Vancouver Police, is that—are you ready for […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Social Determinants of Health
(Note: This post contains a portion of the talk that I gave last month at the 16th International Conference of the Association of Psychology and Psychiatry for Adults and Children in Athens). Research has now clearly established that economic, and social variables – more than individual or family behavior – are the most salient factors […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Anonymous: The Commons and the Last of the Outlaws?
The ongoing attacks on net neutrality constitute a new round of enclosures of the modern commons. If the original enclosure movements during 16th and 17th centuries in England signified the opening overture of capitalism, then the contemporary attacks on the electronic commons are certainly part of its fully formed fruition. Taking what was once common, […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Nestlé’s War on Breastfeeding Mothers Takes Shameful New Turn
Infant formula is a medical necessity for those who are unable to breastfeed their infants. There are a host of medically sound reasons why a mother, in conjunction with her physician would choose to utilize infant formula in lieu of breast milk. The regulated manufacturing of infant feeding products has come a long way in […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Tonight, Live-Blogging COPE’s Re:Imagine Schools
I’ve already written about how much I’m looking forward to COPE’s Re:Imagine Schools event tonight. I’ll be live-blogging the event as well. You can scroll down to watch or participate in the live-blog! The COPE Education Committee Presents: Re:Imagine Schools – Defending the Potential of Public Education Imagine a chance to take a step back […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: A Snapshot of the Vulnerable Underclass of Foreign Workers in Canada
There are lots of ways to look at Canada’s checkered history with immigration. Europeans welcome, French to a lesser degree after they lost a war or something, Chinese railroad workers, the Komagata Maru, internment of Japanese-Canadians, residential schools and a variety of abuses of the First Nations who “we” tend to treat as lesser people, […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Leash Laws are for Chumps: The Credo of the Dog Owning Sociopath
Over the course of the last decade, I’ve allowed myself to become something of a chubby haus frau. I derive considerable pleasure in planting myself in front of the computer and not bothering to watch what I stuff in my face. Several times a year, something in my brain chemistry is rudely altered, and I […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Masturgate: The Little Scandal That Couldn’t
It’s election time and everyone is abuzz with the ostensibly shocking allegation that Jack Layton might have, possibly, received a happy ending at a rub-and-tug 15 years ago. Let’s let that sink in for a moment: The man might have, possibly, received a handy J from someone other than his wife a decade and a […]
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Political Economy of Professional Wrestling: Capital, Unions and Spandex
Wage Labour on the Fringes For all the attention it received, to my knowledge, no one provided much of a political analysis of Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 award-winning motion picture The Wrestler. I suspect this is largely a function of the subject matter of the film: professional wrestling has been a long standing punch-line, after all. […]
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