On Euroscepticism
One of the most influential books I’ve read in the past couple years was Steven Pinker’s Better Angels of our Nature. In it, he attempts first to build the case…
europe
Merkel’s Victory, Everyone’s Loss: The Burden Of German Mercantilism On Europe
Merkel’s Victory, Everyone’s Loss: The Burden Of German Mercantilism On Europe. John Weeks The electoral victory of Angela Merkel brings bad news to the rest of Europe. Without doubt it…
Scotland Starts Europe’s Largest Tidal Wave Energy Installation
Tidal wave energy installations are nothing new, but installing it on a scale that can power 42,000 homes is. The other day, the Scottish government gave the go ahead for…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – The Economist takes a look at the effect of a “lean in” philosophy toward work – and finds that we’d get better results…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Ethan Cox discusses how the Lac-Mégantic tragedy was a predictable – if not inevitable – outcome of a self-regulated (or un-regulated) rail system:…
Housing Policy Under Harper
Today I gave a presentation on Canadian housing policy at the annual conference of the European Network for Housing Research. Points raised in the presentation include the following: -Fiscal context,…
Will CETA Help Tories… Or Hurt Them??
With Prime Minister Harper making the diplomatic rounds in Europe, media interest has heightened this week regarding the potential free trade agreement which his government is trying to negotiate with…
Alter Summit: A People’s Manifesto
Europe stands on the edge of a precipice, looking into the abyss. Austerity policies drive the people of Europe into poverty, undercut democracy and dismantle social policies. Rising inequalities endanger…
Alter Summit: A People’s Manifesto
Europe stands on the edge of a precipice, looking into the abyss. Austerity policies drive the people of Europe into poverty, undercut democracy and dismantle social policies. Rising inequalities endanger…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Karl Nerenberg reports on the House Finance Committee’s hearings into income inequality in Canada, featuring a few familiar themes which we should…
Capitalism is self-destructing: Richard Wolff on the ways
It doesn’t require a Trotskyist or a laid off worker to tell you that capitalism isn’t working. Not only does it not work, it is destroying societies… it is destroying…
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Friday reading. – Zoe Williams questions when being poor became grounds for deliberate discrimination and ritual public humiliation (h/t to Mound of Sound): What I cannot…
Excessive corporate rights in Canada-EU CETA trade deal unacceptable to Canadians and Europeans
Transatlantic Statement Opposing Excessive Corporate Rights (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) in the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) By Trade Justice Network | Feb. 5, 2013: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM and OTTAWA,…
Art at War surveys creativity under Nazi occupation, from Picasso to Dubuffet
“History isn’t the lies of the victors … I know that now. It’s more the memories of the survivors, most of whom are neither victorious nor defeated.” – The Sense…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Jeffrey Simpson rightly notes that Alberta (like other resource-heavy jurisdictions) should be trying to diversify its revenue sources and economic development instead…
Sony hatches ploy to keep Bob Dylan out of the public domain
Bob Dylan has a new album out, but you’re not supposed to listen to it. Sony Music has released a box set of demos by the artist, entitled The 50th…
In Ireland, Carbon Tax Means Less Waste and More Revenue
Modern economies indirectly subsidize environmentally damaging corporate practices by ignoring the environmental costs ( younger generations have to deal with the environmental damage), this can be seen in everything from…
Carrot loophole saves theatre from tax hike
Austerity measures in Spain have increased taxes on nearly everything. Tax on theatre tickets was bumped from 8 to 21 percent, and in an already challenging economy, theatre companies were…
Girls with guns, boys with blow dryers – Is this gender-neutral toy catalog just a holiday publicity stunt?
Designing a toy catalog — or most any mass-market consumer catalog for that matter — is usually an exercise deeply rooted in the status quo. Top-Toy, the largest toy retailer…