From Canadian Press last night: “Flaherty digs in heels on calls to pony up more bailout money for euro zone.” Jim is all talk to the hand, Eurozone: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty had some tough talk on Thursday for the 17 euro zone countries, saying Canada and other non-euro nations
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The Disaffected Lib: Krugman Puts Europe on Suicide Watch
Princeton economist, New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman wonders if Europe’s political leadership has a death wish. “The question then was whether this brave and effective action [of the European Central Bank] would be the start of a broader rethink, whether European leaders would use the breathing
Continue readingDrive-by Planet: Swiss mag uses Roma child with a gun to push scare story
Die Weltwoche, a conservative Swiss magazine with ties to the right-wing Swiss People’s Party recently published an alarmist article under the title – “The Roma Are Coming: Plunder in Switzerland.” The photo accompanying the article shows a Roma child who looks to be about 4 years-old pointing a handgun at
Continue readingPolygonic: La France Forte, or Why You Desperately Need Sarko Standing On the Beach
The French presidential campaign is kicking into high gear, and Nicolas Sarkozy has one key message for his ungrateful people: vote him back in, and he promises to spend his second term standing on the beach, like a magnificant granite Colossus, liquifying overseas demons with the sheer power of his
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Amy Minsky uncovers some suspicious-looking spending patterns underlying Robocon, while Postmedia also points out that election results in at least a couple of seats may plausibly be subject to challenge. Emma Pullman offers some more details on the Manning Centre’s voter suppression
Continue readingArt Threat: The dirty truth as visual essay – Canada’s govt continues aggressive pro-Tar Sands campaign
In the face of all evidence to the contrary, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government continues to shake the shoulders of critics, eliciting the lonely, pitiful cry: “The Alberta Tar Sands are clean and friendly!” Now the Canadian government is even going up against the EU, the newest Tar Sands nay-sayer, and
Continue readingCanadian Dimension Feed: Greek Lessons
It is a truism to say that democracy began with the Greeks – less so to say that it originated in popular rebellion against debt and debt-bondage. Yet, with the Greek people ensnared once more in the vice-grip of rich debt-holders, it may be useful to recall that fact. For
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to close out your weekend. – Erica Alini points out that the effect of the Cons’ lobbying on behalf of the tar sands has been solely to make sure that the absolute worst polluters force the public to pay the cost of their activities, as anybody actually operating
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Damian Carrington reports on the Harper Cons’ sad efforts to prevent the European Union from accurately accounting for greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands, offering in particular a look at how Canada’s actions look to our global neighbours who don’t operate from
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: European Youth Reeling
We’re flooded with stories about Greece and the Euro and the European Union leaders and their deals. Blah, blah, blah. What these stories almost always overlook are the real victims, Europe’s young people. They are on the verge of truly becoming a “lost generation.” A report in The Guardian reveals
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Davos Speech
The Prime Minister’s speech at Davos was, I would bet, written by Stephen Harper himself. It bore the stamp of his long standing contempt for the European welfare state. He all but said that the Europeans had brought the crisis on themselves through trying to live beyond their fiscal means: As I
Continue readingThings Are Good: Victory for Chickens in Europe
Being a chicken who’s sole purpose is egg-laying can be hard because of the horrible living conditions. Too many animals, in this case chickens, are held in enclosures that don’t allow for movement. This is starting to change for chickens in Europe as they have now been granted better enclosures
Continue readingDrive-by Planet: Etam lingerie models flash Renoir
The French lingerie company Etam has been using “flash flash” ad campaigns to get the message out and judging from the coverage of their recent unofficial “show” at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris it’s grabbing attention, both positive and negative. Museum visitors had their contemplation of impressionist masters interrupted when
Continue readingImpolitical: Harper government flips and flops on Europe
Yesterday: “Canada could pay into IMF Europe fund, Flaherty says.” Hmmm, maybe they should have been a little more open-minded initially. Here in early November was Harper’s shortsighted message at the G20: “Harper says no Canadian money for European bailout.” Harper was pretty definitive at the time: “We see absolutely
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – It’s bad enough that what’s passing for climate change discussion is an agreement to keep meeting for years on end that doesn’t really advance matters any from the early ’90s. – But lest there be any doubt, the Cons aren’t quite happy enough
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Next Euro Debate
An astute piece from Andy Watt. He thinks that we shall indeed soon see what markets are anticipating – the long deferred grand bargain, in which the ECB backstops euro bonds (thus averting a banking and sovereign debt crisis), in return for which euro countries agree to much enhanced surveillance
Continue readingMolly'sBlog: Molly’sBlog 2011-11-30 21:38:00
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: DEMOCRACY VERSUS THE BANKERS: The following item on the international finamcial crisis is from the Anarkismo website. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Europe & the BankersThe limits of democracy in Project Europe When the Arab peoples began to agitate at the start of the year, European countries quickly began to distance themselves from
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Apocalypse Soon?
The OECD’s new assessment of the macro-economic situation makes for pretty grim reading. And their forecast of very sluggish global growth (just 1.6% for the OECD area in 2012) is based on an increasingly incredible view that the Eurozone will “muddle through”and experience only a mild recession. They do not
Continue readingImpolitical: Speech of the week
A must see speech from the European parliament, November 16th. It’s Nigel Farage a member of the UK Independence Party who holds nothing back. It’s entertaining, sure, but they’re not laughing much in the EU these days. It is a good point that he raises, about the democratic legitimacy of
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