September 12, 2013 PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is thankfully becoming less stigmatized due to increased awareness, but like most mental health issues, there stigma that prevents open discussion about mental health is profound. But I recall 2-3 decades ago it was far worse. There are a few PTSD events
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Politics, Re-Spun: Untangling the Temporary Foreign Worker Knot
Banks as predators? Surely, no! Temporary foreign workers have become a lightning-rod topic in Canadian labour in recent months with the high-profile news of the Royal Bank of Canada replacing staff with TFWs. But the issue is not about RBC, which is merely the latest flashpoint. The temporary foreign worker
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Chemical Weapons in Syria? Merely a Pretext [Iran, Shhh.]
” It’s the Economy, Stupid.” [Or oil, or gas, or energy…] If you think you know why Syria is happening [and happening NOW], you’re probably missing a number of the elements at play. Don’t expect western governments or the corporate media to enumerate these. Sure, chemical weapons are horrible, but
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Minimum Wage: Not Just for Kids Anymore!
The 1% and their media apologists and think tank lackeys would have us all believe that minimum wage is for kids. It’s for unskilled labour in entry level jobs.And it’s ok. We shouldn’t worry. They’re just kids after all: no families or mortgages. They don’t have much training or life
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: New Prime Minister Tells Canadians- No War With Syria
What should military service actually be for? Wouldn’t it be amazing if Canada were Canada again? Wouldn’t it be even better if Canada would step up and be a better Canada than we had ever been in the past? Wouldn’t it be just spectacular if we could step up and
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: You Aren’t Sufficiently Critical of the #Media
You need to trust the media less. Almost a year ago, and before the last US presidential election, Gallup determined that there has been a stunning decline in citizens’ mistrust of the media [see below]. It crossed over from mostly trust to not so much trust around 2004-2005. If you
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Labour Day 2013: Say Hello to the Pavement!
Workers in Canada and around the world have been under assault for decades, but most of our recent tactics to stop the bleeding have been ineffective. Are we lazy, complacent, overworked, obedient, compliant, subdued, afraid, docile, or fully tamed and intimidated by the one per cent? If we don’t get
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: The un-Canadian Harper Conservatives recently announced they are…
The un-Canadian Harper Conservatives recently announced they are giving away $1.5 million of our tax dollars to fund a politically motivated monument with the misleading name Memorial to Victims of Communism—Canada, a Land of Refuge. It’s not “victims of Stalinism”, “victims of totalitarianism”, “victims of dictatorships”, “victims of the Soviet
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Happy Labour Day weekend to all working class women and men. In…
Happy Labour Day weekend to all working class women and men. In this corrupt age of ultra-capitalism, globalization, neo-feudalism and unrestrained class war, we need the labour movement more than ever! Now is the time to stick together and take what’s ours, instead of continuing to fight each other over
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Hudson’s Bay Retail Sweatshop
Sweatshops ‘R Us! Ripping off employees by paying them less than a living wage [the Metro Vancouver 2013 living wage is $19,64], all to pad shareholder profits, is the glory of exploitative capitalism! Long live capitalism! Oh wait, what happens when your own employees can’t afford to shop at your
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The First Day of School, 2013: Beware!
Well, a new school year is about to begin, so it’s time to analyze just how much destruction the 1% will visit upon public education this year. Defunding, corporatization of curriculum, standardization of curriculum and experience, high-stakes testing, homogenization of experience…you know, the same old nonsense that drove me from
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Who Are the Leaders with an Authentic Way Forward?
What are they saying to the growing inequalities of the 21st century? “I want Dr. King to know that I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Content of Their Character
Represent! I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. – Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963 What has been most
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Occupy Movement Vs. Maquiladoras
Workplace justice: a pipe dream, or something to build solidarity to fight for? I had the distinct, and creepy, pleasure of sitting in front of a group of fellows yesterday in, ironically, the cheap seats at the Seattle Mariners game. They were discussing business. One fellow, who of course may
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The 1%, Their Cottages, and the Occupy Movement
You aren’t middle class if you own a cottage. Remember that. If I need to single-handedly reboot the Occupy Movement for this one, I’ll do it, I tell ya [emphasis is mine]: A month ago, I had a conversation with Deb Hutton, wife of PC leader Tim Hudak, who said
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: MexAmeriCanada, Version 2013
Welcome to the United States of MexAmeriCanada. Represent! I was just thinking a few days ago how I haven’t used the MexAmeriCanada tag for a while. Did I cause this to happen, in some cosmic kind of way? In the old days it was Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Are You Just Too Tired? We’ve Known Why for Decades
You actually do deserve a break today. What ails us? A large proportion of the total produce goes to a small minority of the population, many of whom do no work at all. Owing to the absence of any central control over production, we produce hosts of things that are
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Why Do They Want Us To Shut Up?
If we were harmless, the riot cops would stay home. It’s Friday. It’s been a long week. Like most weeks. We are taught to fit in and obey. We are told that individuality and the search for social justice will get us in trouble, either by government surveillance or social
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Class War: US$11.5 Trillion Hidden in Tax Havens
Which tax haven is right for you? Class war is alive and well. I have this rose-coloured, nostalgic dream of history. Once upon a time we emerged from feudalism with a democratic revolution. All were equal. Well, most. But the hope of democracy was to rid the world of the
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Red Wings Fiddle While Detroit Burns
The new iconic photo of post-crash Detroit. Listen, can you hear the footsteps of Robocop? We can’t really blame just the Red Wings. We have to blame the Tigers and the Lions too, but really the 1% who own them. Detroit is bankrupt. Services will be privatized to privateer leeches.
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