This morning I listened to a Naomi Klein interview from this week about her very different type of book, while reading a prescient Geroge Monbiot article that he reposted from last March. There’s a striking amount of overlap. Both are about the new right-wing alliances being formed, and the furthest
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Accidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Damian Carrington reports on a “scientific health check” showing that Earth’s life support systems are well outside what’s safe for humanity. But Jonathan Cook discusses how an obsession with growth over health and well-being is preventing us from taking any meaningful steps to
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: There is No Trans Genocide
The conclusion from an essay by Talia Nava. Her conclusion lines up with the observation that the TQ+ activist set are, in fact, their own worst enemies as their dissonant activism has created a counter movement that directly opposes their goals and is acting as a stabilizing force in
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Sinead O’Connor’s Fight to Bring Truth to Light
The very first CD I ever got was a gift from a boyfriend after he bought us our very first CD player: He woke me up one morning back in 1990 with Sinead O’Connors’ I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. I wrote about the fond memory 10 years ago
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Extremist Group Criteria
A mom delegated at a school board meeting in the states about the group, Moms for Liberty. Here’s the Tiktok video (but also at the link in case – I wish TikTok embedded more reliably): @nowthispolitics A mother in Wilson County, TN, read out some of the homophobic and demeaning
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: The Difficulty of Knowing
The main character from Camus’ The Plague, a medical doctor spending his days and nights helping the sick, said, “A man can’t cure and know at the same time. So let’s cure as quickly as we can. That’s the more urgent job.” This hit me as particularly poignant as we’re
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Plus C’est la Même Chose
It’s the 80s all over again. We’ve got a killer virus that people are largely ignoring despite a small group of people continuing to fight for protections and medications. We’ve got a big conflict with Russia that could affect us in a nuclear sort of way. And now we’ve got
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Lost Counterculture
Henry Madison, just some random dude on twitter, wrote an interesting bit on concerts and the enmeshment of generations. I disagree with several of his claims below: Blondie “Imagine a 77-year old favourite of the boomers’ parents, playing at Woodstock in the 1960s. The oldest performer at Woodstock was Ravi
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – John Dearing, Gregory Cooper and Simon Willcock discuss the doom loop which is seeing worse-than-predicted effects of the climate breakdown resulting in vicious cycles of ecosystem collapse. J. Besl writes about new research showing that coastal flooding may be faster and more severe
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the story of jane: the legendary underground feminist abortion service
When I first got involved in pro-choice activism, way back in 1981*, I heard about a group called Jane. Or maybe the Jane Collective. Or maybe Call Jane. No one knew for certain what they were called, only what they did. The women of Jane learned how to perform abortions,
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Recommitting to Canadian Values – Josh Dehaas
Identity politics sow division and strife within society. We need to revisit the idea that we are all Canadians first and foremost. We come in all different shapes, beliefs, and abilities. Those differences and the acceptance of our actual diversity is what makes Canada a wonderful place to live and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Caitlin Johnstone offers a grim but fair evaluation of the barely-existent left in the U.S. and elsewhere – while recognizing that the obvious implication is the need to build capacity to demand systemic change. And David Suzuki discusses how an obsession with perpetually
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Martin Sandhu writes about the development of degrowth as a viable economic organizing principle. And Kevin Drum offers a reminder that the growth we’ve been trained to demand has been entirely funneled into corporate coffers for over four decades, rather than creating
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Still Hopeful
I went to a book talk via Zoom tonight to see Maude Barlow talk about her recent book, Still Hopeful: Lessons from a Lifetime of Activism. I last saw her in person, seven years ago, when she worked to try to get Nestle out of Guelph. This time her book
Continue readingKen Chapman: FINDING OUR WAY IN UNCHARTED TIMES
FINDING OUR WAY IN UNCHARTED TIMES A sextant was an indispensable navigation tool in the early days of European ocean going discovery. Unlike Heisenberg’s Theory of Uncertainty, a sextant could tell you both where you are and where you’re going. Are you on or off course and what do you
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Hannah Davis et al. review what we know so far about long COVID – and how much work remains to be done in making treatments and support available. And Phil Tank discusses some of the myths and distortions which continue to distract people
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Teresa Wright sets out the wish list of ER doctors who have been dealing with avoidable COVID waves for years. Tiffany Hsu discusses the dangers of COVID-19 misinformation both in the course of the ongoing pandemic, and in its spillover effects as to public perception
Continue readingwmtc: in which i have nothing new to say: just write for rights #w4r22
It’s that time of year again: time to Write for Rights. Looking back on my write for rights posts for the last several years, it appears that I’ve been recycling ideas for a long time! And I’m about to do it again. Why spend more time writing this annual blog
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Winnie Byanyima discusses the importance of cooperation and coordination in responding to a pandemic. But Michael Lee contrasts the consistent message from doctors against the recalcitrance of governments in refusing to implement any public health measures as COVID and other respiratory illnesses
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: The Price One Pays: Liquidation of the Uncompetitive
I’m saving this excellent thread by Dr. Satoshi Akima FRACP. It’s tongue-in-cheek, but of course some are sharing bits of it as proof that we need to let ‘er rip! missing the point that this is what it looks like to bring some inane views to fruition. The unmistakable tip
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