When we left the theatre after seeing Wiebo’s War at VIFF (The Vancouver International Film Festival) the main thing on our lips was “that man is incredibly well spoken,” followed by “that is a seriously difficult situation”. Wiebo Ludwig is a stranger to few who live in BC and Alberta. The articulate bearded man was […]
Continue readingTag: protest
Occupy Wall Street—a Sixties moment?
Is Occupy Wall Street a Sixties’ moment? Will it bring about lasting change or simply fade away? Either way, it is overdue. Started in New York, inspired by the Arab Spring, it has now spread throughout the U.S. and beyond. The views of the participant…
Continue readingPop The Stack: What Are They So Angry About?
On October 15 the #occupywallstreet protests will arrive at cities around the world and in one of the birthplaces of the movement in downtown Vancouver. The Vancouver based magazine Adbusters actually inspired the protests that have been going on in New York. The decentralized nature of the protests has led to some
Continue readingPop The Stack: What Are They So Angry About?
On October 15 the #occupywallstreet protests will arrive at cities around the world and in one of the birthplaces of the movement in downtown Vancouver. The Vancouver based magazine Adbusters actually inspired the protests that have been going on in New York. The decentralized nature of the protests has led to some
Continue reading350 or bust: Dear Mr. Harper
Canada’s Prime Minister Harper has been receiving messages about halting the expansion of the Alberta tar sands from far and wide this week. First, it was the 400 Canadians who gathered on Parliament Hill this past Monday, 200 of whom put thems…
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: Mental Health Risks For Political Activists
Are social/political activists at elevated risk for certain mental health conditions and social problems?
Continue readingKim Jin-suk and her Hope Riders
If 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 readingArt Threat: Nude Wall Street performance art ends in arrests, charges
Three artists were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct Monday for participating in a site-specific performance designed to protest US and international financial institutions.
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Greek Sovereign Debt Crisis a Sovereignty Crisis
Greek Parliament, Syntagma Athens – by kouk News outlets around the world have focused heavily on the so-called Greek Sovereign debt crisis this week. The proposed solution–an IMF loan package requiring “austerity measures” and a fire-sale of public assets–has sparked massive unrest in the capital, where people from all walks
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Tahrir Square, June 28 Post-Script
Yesterday’s clashes in Tahrir square were covered here at WHR as breaking news. A more complete picture of the context and extent of the situation has emerged. As mentioned in the previous report, the protest began in Cairo as a peaceful demonstration and public mourning by the families of those
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Tahrir Square: Tantawi picks up where Mubarak left off
Cairo’s Tahrir square is once again tonight the scene of ordinary people making extraordinary efforts to free themselves from the militarist rentier regime still in power since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February. Earlier today in Tahrir began a protest by families of “martyrs,” which in this case refers
Continue readingpunditman: Chomsky: Only a Massive Uprising Will Change Our Politics
Are there enough progressives to stage a mass uprising in the U.S.A? Wisconsin seems to be the test. And in Wisconsin a majority of the citizens apparently elected a Republican/Tea Party dominated legislature. The eviseration of the labour movement in Wisconsin, and in your state or province might just be
Continue readingpunditman: Chomsky: Only a Massive Uprising Will Change Our Politics
Are there enough progressives to stage a mass uprising in the U.S.A? Wisconsin seems to be the test. And in Wisconsin a majority of the citizens apparently elected a Republican/Tea Party dominated legislature. The eviseration of the labour movement in Wisconsin, and in your state or province might just be
Continue readingpunditman: Chomsky: Only a Massive Uprising Will Change Our Politics
Are there enough progressives to stage a mass uprising in the U.S.A? Wisconsin seems to be the test. And in Wisconsin a majority of the citizens apparently elected a Republican/Tea Party dominated legislature. The eviseration of the labour movement in Wisconsin, and in your state or province might just be done democratically. That one percent of the U.S. that controls over 99 percent of the wealth, seems to have convinced the 99 percent that that is a normal and just state of affairs. Is this the last gasp of the labour movement in the U.S. (and soon in Canada), or is it the beginning of a re-birth. Peacenik is not feeling good about what is going down in Wisconsin. Editorials about Tea Party over-reach are not going to get it done. This is the pitch fork moment. But wait, who is on Dancing with The Stars. And did J-Lo really cry on American Idol this week. Is Charlie Sheen finished? Will Lindsay go to jail?
Chomsky: “What has to be done is what’s happening in Madison, or Tahrir Square. If there’s mass popular opposition, any political leader is going to have to respond.
NOAM CHOMSKY: We were talking about unions before. Union busting is criminal activity by the government, because they’re saying, “You can go ahead and do it; we’re not going to apply the laws,” effectively. And the COINTELPRO, which you mentioned, is actually the worst systematic and extended violation of basic civil rights by the federal government. It maybe compares with Wilson’s Red Scare. But COINTELPRO went on from the late ’50 right through all of the ’60s; it finally ended, at least theoretically ended, when the courts terminated it in the early ’70s. And it was serious.
It started, as is everything, going after the Communist Party, then the Puerto Rican Independence Party. Then it extended—the women’s movement, the New Left, but particularly black nationalists. And it ended up—didn’t end up, but one of the events was a straight Gestapo-style assassination of two black organizers, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, literally. The FBI set up the assassination. The Chicago police actually carried it out, broke into the apartment at 4:00 in the morning and murdered them. Fake information that came from the FBI about arms stores and so on. There was almost nothing about it. In fact, the information about this, remarkably, was released at about the same time as Watergate. I mean, as compared with this, Watergate was a tea party. There was nothing, you know?
Continue readingpunditman: The New Face of Revolution: After Tunisia and Egypt, the World
Ted Rall thinks there is hope for a revolution in the U.S.A. And every where else in the world. Peacenik thinks there is too. Peacenik was just reading about the normalization of tent cities in the U.S.A., and about how there are 11 million empty homes in the U.S.A., and
Continue readingpunditman: The New Face of Revolution: After Tunisia and Egypt, the World
Ted Rall thinks there is hope for a revolution in the U.S.A. And every where else in the world. Peacenik thinks there is too. Peacenik was just reading about the normalization of tent cities in the U.S.A., and about how there are 11 million empty homes in the U.S.A., and
Continue readingpunditman: The New Face of Revolution: After Tunisia and Egypt, the World
Ted Rall thinks there is hope for a revolution in the U.S.A. And every where else in the world. Peacenik thinks there is too. Peacenik was just reading about the normalization of tent cities in the U.S.A., and about how there are 11 million empty ho…
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Egypt and the Press: Stories and Stories
Coverage of the uprising in Egypt in its second week has become characterised by a number of types of reports, most of which paint colorful pictures, but do little to inform on the situation. There are the political discussions as to the West’s reaction, and how the uprising will unbalance
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Egypt, Tunisia, Thailand… Top 10 destinations for Social Upheaval
A Tide of civil unrest has swept through at least 11 nations in just the past week. Media focus has been on the successes of the “Jasmine Revolution” and developments in Egypt, which is populous, geopolitically significant, and in total upheaval; but nations far and wide are experiencing mass-protests and
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Revolution in Tunisia?
Zine el Abidine Ben Ali The President of Tunisia, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, has been driven from office. Following up on a previous article here at World Headlines Review about civil unrest in Tunisia, demonstrations only intensified in the face of the lethal force applied by police and military
Continue reading