New, Better Jobs Building a Green Energy Infrastructure
Let’s go post-carbon and transform Big Carbon jobs into green jobs! We are so addicted to carbon-based energy: oil, gas, coal, LNG plants, fracking, pipelines, tanker spills. It gets so…
A Better World is Needed
We Failed Rwanda; Let’s Stand for the #Rohingya
Indonesia Muslim Rally It’s been almost 20 years since the Rwandan genocide. We were too stupid, callous, or indifferent to stop it, and Senator Dallaire has more than a few…
Canada Day +1, Our Quiet Genocide
A banner drop during last night’s Canada Day celebration in Toronto’s Mel Lastman Square. (Photo: IdleNoMore.ca) Canadians are so nice. We have such a happy, positive self-concept. This makes it…
Why Don’t People Respect Canada Anymore? Reason #766, Egypt
A huge crowd of protesters stretched along an avenue near the presidential palace in Cairo on Sunday evening If you ever wondered why Canada is losing international respect, here’s a…
Corporate Hypocrites Gone Wild: Syncrude Edition
Let’s say that you’re one of the world’s largest producers of synthetic crude and also Canada’s largest single-source producer of crude derived from oil sands. Imagine that you are also…
What Do We Do About Those Pesky, Apathetic Non-Voters?
I have heard lots of people blaming the following people for why we didn’t get a positive change in government in BC three weeks ago: apathetic, nihilistic young people apathetic…
Profits Before People: Richmond Ikea Lockout Enters Day 17
Generating enough media spin to rival a jet engine at take off, the management and PR folks at Ikea Canada want you to believe that their poor little corporation is…
Did Earth Day Not Quite Do It For You This Year?
Some years, Earth Day clicks for people in a profound way. I’ve spoken to a few who were distinctly non-plussed with how things didn’t come together for them and their…
A moment of fear
There’s a moment of fear that all women come to know. I know it well. I was once the only female member of a music band. One time at practice,…
Free Speech and the Privatization of Public Space
Donald Smith was protesting a sign at Glenmore Landing in Calgary’s southwest Sunday that bans political demonstrations. The privately owned parking lot near the prime minister’s constituency office asserts that…
GroupThink ReSpun: The Death of Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chavez died of cancer on March 5, 2013. He represented an ideological pushback against neoliberal globalization. He pursued a progressive hemispheric trade agenda. He raised oil royalties dramatically to…
We don’t want your dirty gold: corporate donations and the university
The following is a piece written by contributor Kevin Harding and guest contributor Natalie Gan. The piece was written in 2010, but is being published on Politics Respun for the…
Aaron Swartz, Intellectual Property and the Public Good
Should academic work be locked up like Disney artifacts? I’ve been quite inspired by this very good analysis of the context surrounding Aaron Swartz’s suicide. As news spread last week…
The Geography of Emotions, A Conversation with Colin Mills
Saturday night, I spent almost two hours discussing the Geography of Emotions with Colin Mills. We explored the ubiquitousness of emotions, the male crisis around emotions, how emotions relate with…
Foundation Skills Assessment: Another Dirty Trick
By Rachel Goodine The FSAs, or Foundation Skills Assessment tests, administered annually in British Columbia since 2000 to students in grades 4 and 7, are once again under way. They…
Attawapiskat Audit is Merely a Distraction
Green Party leader Elizabeth May published a well-thought out and clear article on Wednesday, breaking down the reasons why the ongoing media banter about Attiwapiskat fund mismanagement and Chief Theresa…
America the Not-So-Beautiful: God Shat His Grace On Thee
Close your eyes, and conjure up a mental image of the stereotype of the Ugly American. Loud. Large. Willfully ignorant of customs and countries that lie beyond the border of…
What Does Adbusters Ask of You in 2013?
From the people who suggested the modest idea of occupying Wall Street, Adbusters has sent out a new half dozen suggestions to fix the economic cancers of capitalism. Here’s my…
How Us Settlers Can Be In Solidarity With #IdleNoMore
Twitter / suzhawkins: As settlers… #idlenomore …. York University’s Suzanne Hawkins is my hero today for showing us all this amazing poster that succinctly describes how us non-indigenous settler folk…
The Most Read Politics, Re-Spun Posts of 2012, Engage!
Welcome to the most-read posts of 2012! As we move into a fresh, optimistic 2013, let’s look back at what made a difference last year! Thanks for reading over 950k…