Not so long ago, my friend Becca was shopping at her local Loblaws store (Real Canadian Superstore, for those of us who live in the West.) Like many people I know, Becca approves of their Joe Fresh clothing line, which offers Canadians the opportunity to buy stylish and seasonal clothing
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Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 25, 2011
Friday, November 25 saw the House of Commons debate two NDP ideas: one to allow for meaningful debate and consideration of legislation in Parliament, the other to give effect to a principle the Cons are looking to punt to a committee in the apparent hope that it’ll never surface again.
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: A changing psychology of economics
My 96 year old grandmother, after selling the old family farm late in her life, doesn’t need to worry about money. Yet, she worries about it constantly going to great lengths to save every possible penny. She is a child of the depression – which she speaks of whenever she
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Spain Pushes the Consumer "Reset" Button
Spain, like Italy, and especially Greece and Ireland, is in the throes of an austerity purge. Some 64% of working Spaniards now take home about a thousand Euros per month. For a country that was riding high for the past two decades, that’s a big hit. Spanish consumers have responded
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Day Three of Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
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: My notes are here. Sunday: Opening Panel Radical Squares: Reflections on
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Day Two of Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
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
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 readingFiscal demonization of @OccupyTO continues on CTV | #classwarfare
Like clockwork, the corporate media are swinging into action. Or perhaps like robots. Either way, the narrative is being reinforced and amplified. Just now on CTV a “news” report is pegging the cost of Occupy at something over $714,000. Police, EMS, landscaping, etc. Cue the manufactured resentment and the divide-and-conquer
Continue readingtheKrellant.ca: A Very Krellant Kristmas
In this special Christmas episode of The Krellant, Frank Feltman tells a story of holiday mishap, and his rescue from one unlikely cat…in verse!
Continue reading350 or bust: An Advent Conspiracy – Mending the World
As this is the season for traditions, here is a reposting from last December: There is a Hebrew phrase, Tikkun Olam, which means mending or perfecting the world. For many of the Jewish faith, Tikkun Olam has come to connote social action and the pursuit of social justice. Yesterday was
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Another Message From The Ministry of Truth
To all Canadian Consumers: Season’s Greetings. All is still well. Shop until you drop. We repeat, Season’s Greetings. All is still well. Shop until you drop. Your dollars help to support good-paying Canadian service jobs and bring much-needed employment to residents of developing countries, who we should be thinking of
Continue readingbastard.logic: Priorities. They Can Has.
by matttbastard Noted w/o comment: Time Magazine covers – December 5, 2011 h/t
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Black Friday: Searching for community in a consumer world
Can’t Black Friday, one of the most consumer centered days on the calendar, just be about consumerism? Sure, on Boxing Day we can pretend it is really about lofty ideals of family and the great Judeo-Christian ethic opposed to a mad fury to acquire as much stuff as cheaply as possible.
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Black Friday
According to the AP: “A record number of shoppers could head to stores across the country to take advantage of deals during the kickoff to the holiday shopping weekend.” Interesting to think that 10,000 rabid consumers lined up outside Macy’s in the dead of night eager to save a few
Continue readingThe Skwib: Sad Spaceman needs to cut the cord
Alltop just watches youtube all day.
Continue readingThings Are Good: What We Truly Need
Every person has a different take on what one truly needs as opposed to what they want. Over time as a culture we collectively define our needs and those needs change over time. The never-ending question is ultimately what do we need to live and what do we need to be happy.
Obviously, we support looking […]
cmkl: I am one of the four million people who bought an iPhone 4S last weekend
Or at least I put a deposit down on the thing. Apparently it’ll be showing up in a Rogers store near me some time soon.
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 readingThe Skwib: The Cybernetic Thought Projection Hat
from the 2037 Hammacher Schlemmer Glaven catalog This hat recalls the iconic headgear worn by the Cognition Brigade during the Second Robotic War. First developed for long distance thought projection, hats of this design were worn by countless Though Soldiers during the war, preferred for its ability to combat the medulla-inhibiting freeze rays of the […]
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 […]
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