Ever since the world economy started crashing in 2008, a lot of news has been uncovered about Ponzi schemes, financial institutions ripping people off, crooked government bailouts, banks laundering money for gangs and terrorists, large-scale tax cheating, money hidden away in offshore numbered accounts, thefts from pension funds, politicians stealing
Continue readingTag: Class War
The Ranting Canadian: Wife of Bank of England governor turns herself into a guillotine-magnet
Wife of Bank of England governor turns herself into a guillotine-magnet: Diana Carney – wife of the new Bank of England governor (and former Bank of Canada head) – had a Mary Antoinette moment on March 25, 2013 when she whined on Twitter that she and her husband were having
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Pidgin Picket, the Housing Crisis and the State
The Role of The State in Gentrification, the Housing Crisis, and its Ability to Relieve or Maintain the Current Situation by Rachel Goodine Pidgin, a new fine-dining restaurant located on Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, moved in to the neighbourhood on February 1 of this year, prompting plenty of controversy. It’s
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Interview with Glen “the Hamilton Kid” of the Steeltown Spoilers
Interview with Glen “the Hamilton Kid” of the Steeltown Spoilers: The above link is to an interview with Glen “the Hamilton Kid” of the punk band Steeltown Spoilers. Glen talks about his band of course, but he also discusses the economic decline and political destruction of the city he loves.
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Free Speech and the Privatization of Public Space
Donald Smith was protesting a sign at Glenmore Landing in Calgary’s southwest Sunday that bans political demonstrations. [CBC] The privately owned parking lot near the prime minister’s constituency office asserts that protesting is prohibited. On the surface, this looks like the prime minister is impeding the constitutional rights of expression
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Inconvenient Truths for White Men
Men, especially white men, sleep too easily at night while women earn 70 per cent of what we do. Secretly, I think we’d prefer to not have to talk about this much. Sure, March 8 and December 6 are days we set aside for reflecting on this, but, most likely,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: GroupThink ReSpun: The Death of Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chavez died of cancer on March 5, 2013. He represented an ideological pushback against neoliberal globalization. He pursued a progressive hemispheric trade agenda. He raised oil royalties dramatically to improve the social capacity of people in and around Venezuela. He revolutionized and democratized Venezuela’s constitution. He attracted the ire
Continue readingShorter Waldmann on Yglesias and monteraism
The long version is here. Apparently Mr.. Waldmann was tricked into reading Matt Yglesias on monetary policy. Waldmann’s observation goes something like this in short from: Hey Matt you have been consistently wrong in your predictions on the power of monetary policy, if fact your predictions have been so wrong
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Inspired by news stories of the last week or so: What do the…
Inspired by news stories of the last week or so: What do the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Vatican, the Canadian senate, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Conservative Party of Canada have in common? They are antiquated, dysfunctional, corrupt, racist, sexist, homophobic, elitist, perverted, deceitful, abusive,
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Here’s some 2009 footage of Canadian Conservative Senator…
Here’s some 2009 footage of Canadian Conservative Senator Mike Duffy on CBC Newsworld’s Power & Politics. The title given to the Youtube video is 100% accurate: “a Drunken Mike Duffy attacks the Canadian Press, elected Members of Parliament”. I remember seeing it the first time it aired. Duffy was attempting
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Any fool who still says “better dead than red” in…
Any fool who still says “better dead than red” in this day and age should have to prove it. Try both options and get back to us.
Continue readingLooking for Dr. Goodpain? Check the Reflection in the Mirror Dr. Krugman
Far be it from me to cast a pox on what has been one of the only few bright lights in the last few years but premises matter. In Krugman’s recent Looking for Mr. Goodpain he presents a reasonable derision of those pushing austerity in the face of zero evidence
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Aaron Swartz, Intellectual Property and the Public Good
Should academic work be locked up like Disney[tm] artifacts? I’ve been quite inspired by this very good analysis of the context surrounding Aaron Swartz’s suicide. As news spread last week that digital rights activist Aaron Swartz had killed himself ahead of a federal trial on charges that he illegally downloaded
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Foundation Skills Assessment: Another Dirty Trick
By Rachel Goodine The FSAs, or Foundation Skills Assessment tests, administered annually in British Columbia since 2000 to students in grades 4 and 7, are once again under way. They began on January 14 and will continue until February 22, 2013. In the meantime, the debate is on. For many,
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Here are a few photos from the January 25, 2013 protest against…
Here are a few photos from the January 25, 2013 protest against the incompetent, unethical, non-progressive Ontario Liberal Party, outside their leadership convention in downtown Toronto. Hopefully our new temporary premier, Kathleen Wynne, will admit to the many mistakes that she and the Dalton McGuinty government have made, and will
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: There’s an over-used, often-modified, bullshit slogan…
There’s an over-used, often-modified, bullshit slogan along the lines of “If you are not a socialist at the age of 20 you have no heart; if you are still a socialist at the age of 40 you have no brain.” This pearl of supposed wisdom gets a lot of people’s
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What If We Treated Harper Like We Treated Haiti’s Aristide?
Supporters of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide chant and display signs outside the courthouse in Port au Prince on Wednesday, Jan. 9. When they learned that the prosecutor, Lucmane Delille, had gone to Aristide’s home to question him, a river of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people marched
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Attawapiskat Audit is Merely a Distraction
Green Party leader Elizabeth May published a well-thought out and clear article on Wednesday, breaking down the reasons why the ongoing media banter about Attiwapiskat fund mismanagement and Chief Theresa Spence are merely distractions from an ongoing legacy of government failure to protect indigenous people and the environment. Twitter and
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What Does Adbusters Ask of You in 2013?
From the people who suggested the modest idea of occupying Wall Street, Adbusters has sent out a new half dozen suggestions to fix the economic cancers of capitalism. Here’s my favourite, and it’s a little policy wonky:
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How Us Settlers Can Be In Solidarity With #IdleNoMore
Twitter / suzhawkins: As settlers… #idlenomore …. York University’s Suzanne Hawkins is my hero today for showing us all this amazing poster that succinctly describes how us non-indigenous settler folk can stand alongside with the world’s indigenous people seeking redress for generations of racism and discrimination. Solidarity matters! Dialogue matters!
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