Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons January 6-8, 2012 Vancouver/Burnaby All panelist biographies are here: Below are some lessons learned and observations from the sessions. Friday: The opening panel is recorded in the Twitter storify here. Saturday: Opening Panel A Global Tradition: History of the Commons Silvia Federici
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Canadian Progressive World: January 21 is London Day of Labour Action: OFL Rally Against Caterpillar Inc.
PRESS RELEASE (LONDON, ONTARIO, Jan. 6, 2012) — The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) today issued a call to workers across Ontario to mobilize for a massive rally in London, Ontario on Saturday, January 21 …Read More
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Opening Panel from the Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
This weekend I attended Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons community gathering in Vancouver and Burnaby, sponsored by these groups and people. The basic premise is not so much that capitalism is broken, and we just need to fix it, but that neoliberal market fundamentalism is inherently broken
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Occupy Ottawa: It is 2012 and this is why we are still here
In 2011, Occupy Ottawa, OWS and other Occupy movements challenged the mass injustice inflicted upon us by corporate forces in Canada and the world. We built a global movement for economic, social, political and environmental …Read More
Continue readingArt Threat: The Noise of Cairo explores art in revolution
The Noise of Cairo is an upcoming documentary about the Cairo art scene after the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Produced by scenesfrom, this “cinematic kaleidoscope” interviews a dozen artists and explores the role played by creatives during the revolution. Via African Digital Art.
Continue readingTeresa Healy's Blog: “…and every generation’s got to win it again”
I can’t remember whether we travelled by bus or in Joe’s silver diesel Rabbit. I don’t recall where we slept, ate, or how long we stayed, but my first visit to New York City left an unmistakable mark on my life. It was June 1982, and the United Nations was
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: A Happy Birthday for Haiti
So I’ve just turned 45. What a sweet age! Instead of asking people to only bring a quirky 45rpm record to my party next month, I’d rather give people an opportunity to donate money to the Canadian Red Cross for Haitian earthquake relief. As many of you know, the case
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How You Can Support the Gitxsan Blockade
Photo courtesy of Gitxsan Against Enbridge website. Despite very public chest thumping, trumpeting and proclamations by Enbridge, mainstream media and Hereditary Chief Elmer Derrick, the song remains the same: the Northern Gateway Project is unwelcome in Northern B.C. As the angry, indignant and brave members of the Gitxsan Nation
Continue reading350 or bust: Deck The Jails With Wall Street Bankers: The 99% Choir Goes Christmas Caroling
This youtube gem came my way via MyFireDogLake.com, and I knew I had to share it. Here’s the 99% Choir, made up of members from The Backbone Campaign, Washington Community Action Network, Seattle Labor Chorus, and The Other 98%, singing their renditions of some familiar Christmas tunes in front of
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Fight for Internet freedom, ditch GoDaddy now
Have you ditched GoDaddy yet? You should. Now. The sleazeball internet domain registrar endorsed the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, otherwise known as SOPA, an internet-killing bill currently being debated in the US Congress. Access …Read More
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Book Review: Suffled How it Gush: A North American Anarchist in the Balkans
“I think Hannah Arendt did say somewhere in The Origins of Totalitarianism that the thesis of the modern state is: ‘Everyone should die.’” –Suffled How it Gush (pg. 74) I have joked with my partner that I have a certain amount of angst regarding my future as any sort of
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Occupy #Attawapiskat, Phase Two
Clearly, the people living in Attawapiskat are existing in a crisis that represents Canada’s dysfunctional relationship with the first peoples. How can we truly “fix” Attawapiskat? By fixing the underlying broken relationship. Occupying #Attawapiskat in Twitter two weeks ago was a great start to engaging in serious improvements. Phase two
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Quote of the year: “We are the 99 per cent”
Fred Shapiro, associate librarian at Yale Law School has declared “We are the 99 per cent”, the political slogan of the Global Occupy movement, the heavy weight champ of the quotes for 2011. It’s another unavoidable …Read More
Continue readingwmtc: the daily show, all-american muslim and lowe’s: watch, laugh, and write
The episode of The Daily Show that I mentioned here can be seen here. The part I found hilarious begins at about 6:00. Many thanks to David H for the link! After you enjoy that laugh, please write to Lowe’s. Lowe’s contact form here Email: WeCare@lowes.com Robert A. Niblock, Chairman
Continue readingwmtc: stand against islamophobia: boycott lowe’s… and more
By now you’ve probably heard about the “All-American Muslim” TV show vs. Lowe’s Home Improvement vs. Florida Family Association craziness. I know “The Daily Show” has been tracking the story (of course the video is not available in Canada). But in case you haven’t heard about this particular bit of
Continue readingwmtc: write for rights: spotlight on reggie clemons
Black man. White murder victims. No physical evidence. Sentenced to death despite very compelling doubts about guilt. If this sounds like Troy Davis 2.0, that’s because Troy Davis was not an anomaly. His death was business-as-usual in the US’s sorry excuse for a justice system. Meet Reggie Clemons. Like Troy
Continue readingwmtc: write for rights: celebrate human rights day with amnesty
Are you participating in Write for Rights? This annual event is a simple, hands-on way you can stand up for global human rights at least once a year. Be a part of the world’s largest human rights event: Write for Rights.
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: All is not lost as Conservatives’ omnibus crime Bill C-10 clears Commons
My immediate reaction to the passage of the Conservatives omnibus crime Bill C-10 yesterday was: “See you all in jail!” It’s the worst reaction by an avowed lifelong social-political activist. That’s because, even in the …Read More
Continue readingwmtc: peace & prosperity, not war & austerity: help the canadian peace alliance fight the harper military agenda
Amid the deluge of fundraising appeals that arrive via email and paper mail this time of year, the letter from the Canadian Peace Alliance stood out for me. Under the “Canada First Defence Strategy,” Harper plans to spend $480 billion on the military, open up eight new Canadian military bases,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Is Withholding Sex Now Sex Abuse?
Or, Is Lysistrata A Sex Offender? I attended today, along with Alex, a discussion panel to remember the Montreal Massacre where Marc Lepine murdered fourteen women at the École Polytechnique simply because they were women and he thought that they had prevented him from attending the school. A lot of
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