The two greatest threats to democracy and freedom in the West, or to peace, justice, equality, or even a viable future for humanity, are without question, the currently reigning de facto world government of neofeudal corporate oligarchy, also known as neoliberalism, and the fascist order which it is rapidly
Continue readingTag: history
Dead Wild Roses: Efficiency Versus Resilience
One of the many calculations going on in the background within varied historical contexts is the relationship between efficiency and resilience. Consider arch construction from Roman times and now. The Roman arch has a distinct set of design principles that focus on the utilitarian principles of usefulness and longevity in
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Reading History And Social Theory As If People, The Planet, Or The Future Mattered
A Review of Stephen Toulmin’s Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda Of Modernity, and, A Reading List For Thoughtful People Slow to get going, then increasingly fascinating, Toulmin’s Cosmopolis is a genuine must-read. As a history of culture and consciousness it is stellar. I’d give it four out of five stars,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Myth Of Progress – Pricking The Bubble
Again and again, I am reminded of the need for humility, as well as dignity and confidence. I am reminded not only by my own faults and errors, which are numerous enough, but also by many of the people I respect the most. Again, and again, I read an exceptionally
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Resilience: Another Lesson From The Heart Of The Renaissance
It’s interesting to me to reflect on the fact that Florence and Tuscany have weathered many, many storms and vicissitudes, and have seen empires come and go. Tuscany was culturally rich and ahead of the curve when Rome wasn’t even a village on a muddy river bank, much less a
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: political graphic nonfiction: emma goldman, muhammad ali, eugene v. debs
I have been collecting graphic nonfiction with leftist political themes. I just love these books and am indulging myself in buying them. I was planning to review them, but I’ve decided to simply post images of the covers, the names of the books and the creators, and a quote from
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Post From the Past: Tesla vs. Ford GM
https://twitter.com/mims/status/848971911975636992 https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-overtakes-gm-to-become-most-valuable-u-s-auto-maker-1491832043 These tweets brought to you by April 3rd, 2017, the past when I wrote this blog post, and probably have since forgotten about it. UPDATE Nov. 20, 2018, Mims deleted his tweet, sadly, so I don’t see the prediction he made any longer. ADDED: I think it must
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: graphic adaptation of anne frank’s diary
Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, is many things to many people. It’s the most widely read and recognizable Holocaust narrative. It’s one of the most common ways to teach young people about the Holocaust specifically and genocidal in general. It’s a book for all ages. I read
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Importance of Literacy – How the Inkas governed, thrived and fell without alphabetic writing
Christopher Given-Wilson writing in Aeon Magazine describes the how the Inkas rise and fell with their system of communication. “Instead of writing, the Inkas’ principal bureaucratic tool was the khipu. A khipu consists of a number of strings or cords, either cotton or wool, systematically punctuated with knots, hanging
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Central Challenge Of Our Time
What is the central challenge of our time? It is not what most people think it is. It is not race or gender, or climate change, or the environment broadly, or issues of war and peace, or poverty, or justice, or equality, or fighting terrorism, crime or violence, WMDs and
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Collapse of Modern Civilization
More than 150 years ago Thoreau commented, “Our sills are all rotten.” He was right. It is for that reason that Western, and Westernized, “modern” “civilization” is collapsing. This could be cataclysmic, of course, (as in, an ecological holocaust), or relatively peaceful, (akin to the Maya abandoning their great cities
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Understanding Power In Society – Jonathan Cook
Why does society work the way it does? Why is there such a disconnect between the common people and politics. Jonathan Cook examines the power structures in our society and how they work. “Rather than thinking in terms of individuals, power is better visualised as the deep waters of
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Latent Racism in the Better Homes in America Program
An interesting article over at JSTOR by Manisha Claire It reminds me that that the reality we live today were conscious choices that were made by people in the past. Part of the American zeitgeist is a strong emphasis on personal responsibility and ‘rugged individualism’. These qualities did not
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Dunkirk from German Perspective
Along the lines of the History Oversimplified, a more in depth view of one of the important battles during the early stages of World War II.
Continue readingwmtc: help nominate tommy douglas as the face of the next $5 bill
There’s a movement to put the face of Tommy Douglas on the next Canadian $5 bill. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? And wouldn’t it be a kick in the pants to those who seek to privatize our health care system? Go here to nominate Tommy Douglas.
Continue readingwmtc: help nominate tommy douglas as the face of the next $5 bill
There’s a movement to put the face of Tommy Douglas on the next Canadian $5 bill. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? And wouldn’t it be a kick in the pants to those who seek to privatize our health care system? Go here to nominate Tommy Douglas.
Continue readingwmtc: help nominate tommy douglas as the face of the next $5 bill
There’s a movement to put the face of Tommy Douglas on the next Canadian $5 bill. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? And wouldn’t it be a kick in the pants to those who seek to privatize our health care system? Go here to nominate Tommy Douglas.
Continue readingPostArctica: I Yam What I Yam
A film by Bryan Konefsky TRT 16.5 minutes, Bryan Konefsky 2005 In 1929 monocular vision was not limited to the gaze of telescopes (Edwin Hubble) or movie cameras (Dziga Vertov). 1929 was also the year that the one-eyed, “strong to the finish” sailor named Popeye was first introduced to the
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