ANARCHIST THEORY: DIFFERENT SORTS OF FREEDOM: My dear mother, God rest her soul, used to regale me with stories of the most stupid family in the patch of geography where she grew up. She was born near Simferopal Crimea and grew up in northwest Saskatchewan where you could go 200
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wmtc: "capitalism, in its current form, no longer fits the world around us"
Capitalism, in its current form, no longer fits the world around us. When a high priest of Davos says this, I can’t help but wonder. Has the idea reached a tipping point? Harper may have “unveiled his grand plans to reshape Canada” – come on, Globe and Mail, he’s been
Continue readingRedBedHead: Year One Of The Egyptian Revolution
There will be gobs and gobs of text filling the pages, websites and on air coverage today about the 1 year anniversary of the start of the Egyptian revolution. A lot of it, particularly in North America, will be stupid, low level stuff – fears of the Islamists taking power,
Continue readingwmtc: belafonte on obama: "a dagger in our sense of justice"
On a recommendation from a friend, I watched Harry Belafonte interviewed by Charlie Rose in New York City. Belafonte – musician, actor, social-justice activist, radical – is a joy to hear, and his life story is a march through history. Here’s one terrific thing I learned. Belafonte was still searching
Continue readingwmtc: the iron lady was an enemy of the people and should not be celebrated as a hero
This week, the movie “The Iron Lady” opens, a big-budget biopic starring Meryl Streep as former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. No technical or directorial skills, nor the inevitable genius of Streep’s performance, could justify my seeing this movie. Its very existence as a myth-making celebration of a dangerous, war-mongering,
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Philosophical Reflection – Wouldn’t that be nice in North America?
The lack of reflection in North American society reflects in our policies and economic choices. Countries that have experienced the ripsaw of neo-liberal capitalism (essentially the unbalanced “free-market” reforms that we impose on other countries to savage their people and exploit their resources) are contemplating life after the free marketers
Continue readingwmtc: how can we live without polar bears? bbc’s planet earth gets political
In October, I blogged about my impressions of the BBC nature series “Planet Earth”. I loved the show, but criticized the producers for making it completely apolitical. There was not a single mention of habitat conservation, climate change or any human-caused environmental disruption, which struck me as a terrible missed
Continue readingwmtc: income inequality in canada sinks to 30-year high
The rich grow richer, the poor grow more numerous. The income gap widens – and our entire society is poorer because of it. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development released a study yesterday demonstrating that income inequality is increasing around the globe, and Canada is among the worst offenders.
Continue readingwmtc: beyond occupy: out of the parks, into our lives
Shortly after the Occupy Movement began to make headlines, my friend and comrade Dr. J wrote this on his blog your heart’s on the left: Is occupation a tactic or a principle? Should the focus be on the internal procedures of those actively occupying, or outreach to broader communities and
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Oh hey, Socialism good for business – Social Safety Nets and Business Start-Ups
Grabbed from Sociological Images – Again, more evidence that egalitarian policies are good not only for people, but for business. “George W. Bush did not really say, “The problem with the French is that they have no word for entrepreneur.” But that statement does fit with the American tendency to view our country as […]
Continue readingwmtc: infographic: the u.s. should be ashamed, but canada has little to brag about
I found this telling infographic in a column by Charles Blow in the New York Times called “America’s Exploding Pipe Dream”. If you can’t read it here, go here and click on the pop-up box.We have not taken care of the least among us. We have allowed a r…
Continue readingwmtc: greetings from occupy toronto
I’m writing this from the IS encampment at Occupy Toronto, in St. James Park. It’s chilly and wet out today, but people here are warm and energized. There are at least 75 tents set up, and I’ve heard that number is growing every day. There are tents fo…
Continue readingwmtc: occupy movement: some answers to cynics and detractors
While at work this past weekend, I spent some time reading comments and posts written by people who dislike the Occupy movement. Most of these comments were angry, or cynical, or dismissive. I thought I’d address a few of them here.Laziness. Supposedly…
Continue readingwmtc: occupy wall street: a view from nyc and how you can participate, even if you can’t physically occupy
Last night we attended a meeting of the Toronto International Socialists, because I wanted to hear a report-back from a member who has just returned from New York, where he spent a day at Occupy Wall Street. C is 19 years old, originally from New Jerse…
Continue readingwmtc: occupy wall street: the most important thing in the world right now
In case you missed any of these, here’s some great stuff on the Occupy Wall Street movement.Naomi Klein: Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now: If there is one thing I know, it is that the 1 percent loves a crisis. When people a…
Continue readingwmtc: right-wing editor admits to playing provocateur, instigating violence at protest
We all know that agent provocateurs are a reality, but whenever we are offered hard evidence, we should spread it far and wide. A right-wing “journalist” has admitted to infiltrating a protest group and claims to have personally instigated events that …
Continue readingwmtc: saturday october 15: occupy together!
A few views of the mass arrests in New York City this weekend. Even the official versions are great.In the US, the Occupy Wall Street movement – now Occupy Together has sprouted in more than 100 locations. A list of current or planned occupations can b…
Continue readingwmtc: massive union presence to joins wall street occupation
The ongoing protest at New York City’s financial district is receiving a huge boost from labour unions. The Transit Workers Union voted unanimously to support Occupy Wall Street and the United Auto Workers is expected to do so soon. In addition, two pr…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Socialism Works! – Blinkered Americans Can Safely Ignore this Post.
Having been pointed to a neat new site called Remapping Debate by Intransigentia, I’m please to share the treasure trove of fact laden articles with my fair readership here. Denmark is a social-democratic state, it believes in protecting its people and prioritizing the needs of a healthy society ahead of the corporate greed and unsustainable […]
Continue readingwmtc: wall street occupation day 8 turns ugly: cops move on protesters
The occupation of Wall Street turned ugly yesterday when police moved on protesters, complete with pepper spray, kettling, random brutality, and mass arrests. Reading about this, it occured to me that I’ve neglected to blog about it at all. So here’s w…
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