This and that for your Thursday reading.
– Naomi Klein points out in the wake of London’s riots that there’s one kind of socially destructive looting that’s been rewarded rather than punished:
They are just about lawless kids taking advantage of a sit…
One of the most interesting questions following the NDP’s ascent to Official Opposition status was that of how the Cons would seek to attack a party which didn’t carry the Libs’ baggage. Now, it looks like we’re seeing the answer – and it’s worth quick…
Continue readingShorter Stephen Harper:
To anybody who dares question my free trade agreement with Colombia, I say this: you can’t make a free market omelet without breaking a few skulls. That’s the expression, right?
Continue readingAssorted content for your weekend reading.- L. Aaron Wright nicely contrasts the fabricated hysteria over Nycole Turmel against the choices of the Libs and Cons:Where was the outrage when Stephen Harper tried to recruit Mario Dumont of the ADQ in Quebe…
Continue readingWhen I saw this post, it reminded me of how I met up with a friend from elementary school last summer and, over the course of our conversations, we realized something unsettling was at work in the country.
I don’t really know what this phenomenon is c…
Continue readingIf you feel that one person can’t make a difference then you haven’t met Kim Jin-suk yetOn January 6, Kim Jin-suk began her sit-in against her employers plans to shed 400 workers, in the control room of crane No. 85. This was the same place where in O…
Continue readingFrom time to time, I sell things on Craigslist and Kijiji. I’ve given away scads of things on Freecycle, including, when we were packing up to move to Canada, a huge air conditioner, bedroom furniture, a couch, and other items considered gems by Freecy…
Continue readingAssorted content to start your long weekend.- Thomas Walkom highlights the message being sent to students as to what workers should expect in the years to come. And it’s well worth reflecting on whether the problem lies precisely with the politicians s…
Continue readingAssorted content to end your week.- Trish Hennessy crunches the numbers on vacation time for Canadians:47Percentage of Canadian workers who say they need a vacation more today than they’ve needed in four years. 10Number of statutory holidays Canadian…
Continue readingExcellent analysis from Torontoist:It is far too soon to tell whether the long, dense sequence of anger-inspiring comments, falsehoods, and dubious policy decisions Rob and Doug Ford have been responsible for this month will represent, in retrospect, s…
Continue readingMiscellaneous material to end your weekend.- Nick Falvo discusses the unfortunate theory that any talk of improving standards of living for the neediest Canadians is either fruitless or extreme politically:In reference to the Put Food In The Budget cam…
Continue readingJames posted this in comments yesterday, but it deserves its own thread: Top Five Ford Lies. If you haven’t seen it yet, please go read.Of course, politicians with a privatization agenda never let the facts get in the way of their profit-driven ideolog…
Continue readingINTERNATIONAL LABOUR GEORGIA:RESPECT WORKER RIGHTS IN GEORGIA:The now independent Caucasus republic of Georgia is (in)famous as the homeland of Soviet dictator Josep Stalin. Sorta like being noted as the homeland of malaria. Living down to this “fine” …
Continue reading[Sorry for the double-post. Had some unfixable errors in the previous version.]So, here we go with the Ontario PC Platform, the Changebook (warning: PDF). Or is that the Change Book? ChangeBook? I don’t know, and I don’t think they do, either.According…
Continue readingSo, here we go with the Ontario PC Platform, the Changebook. Or is that the Change Book? ChangeBook? I don’t know, and I don’t think they do, either.According to this, Tim Hudak was a Customs Officer at the Peace Bridge. I knew there was a good reason …
Continue readingAssorted content for your review.- Iglika Ivanova calculates the cost of poverty in British Columbia:My findings confirm what we’ve already suspected: poverty comes with a very high price tag. The cost of poverty to government alone is estimated to b…
Continue readingHere, on the need for Canadian workers to follow Kai Nagata’s example in valuing and insisting on the right to express their opinions.For further reading…- Sandra Thomas’ rebuttal to Nagata serves mostly to highlight why most workers can’t afford to …
Continue readingIssue of the DayMuch of the day’s debate was taken up with the final debate on the Cons’ budget legislation, with the NDP particularly highlighting provisions to subsidize private mortgage insurance – while the Cons responded at times by insisting that…
Continue readingMiscellaneous material for your Monday reading.- Janyce McGregor’s article on the perils of Senate reform is well worth a read in general. But let’s particularly highlight an issue I’ve raised before – if one which is no less glaring in the absence of …
Continue readingIt’s rather surprising to learn that donating money to a political party is considered a “questionable political tactic”. But I look forward to seeing the same standard applied to a single one of the Saskatchewan Party’s thousands of corporate donors.
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