marxism 2011 program notes: prospects for the left under a harper majority
These are my notes from the 2011 Marxism conference in Toronto. The series starts here. * * * * This was just weeks after the 2011 election, and is very…
labour.
marxism 2011 program notes: what would a socialist society look like?
These are my notes from the 2011 Marxism conference in Toronto. The series starts here. * * * * These notes are sketchier and rougher than the previous posts, as…
Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Gerald Caplan looks at the principled leadership which Stephen Harper embarrassingly made into an attack on the NDP as an example what Canada…
marxism 2011 program notes: workers fight back: lessons from wisconsin
I’ve decided to post my notes from last year’s Marxism conference after all. It’s always bothered me that I never found the time to post them, so why not. It’s…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – The Cons’ move to suppress Canadian wages by encouraging the use of disposable, temporary foreign labour is receiving plenty of due outcry.…
Parliament in Review – March 29, 2012
There’s been much ado about the NDP’s position on trade agreements based on the Cons’ recent publicly-funded cheerleading for free trade at any price. But for anybody looking for the…
what are people supposed to do? or, why we need socialism
As I read news stories, read blogs, skim headlines, one question keeps coming to my mind, over and over. What are people supposed to do? Income insecurity Wages have been…
On short-sightedness
Others have already drawn parallels between the Cons’ plan to require Employment Insurance recipients to accept whatever low-paying temporary work might be available as a condition of receiving the benefits…
ontarians, what are you doing this saturday? come to queen’s park to demand a fair budget
When Dalton McGuinty appointed a banker to assess the province’s budget priorities, he got exactly what he expected: a recommendation to cut jobs and shred public services, while leaving corporate…
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – If there’s any lesson we should all be able to draw from the past decade in Canadian politics, it’s that anything can happen.…
the lessons in tpl’s struggle
With the Toronto Public Library workers back at work after a ten-day strike, here is an assessment of their settlement, from a TPL librarian (my friend and comrade) who is…
Damn Peasants!
The Globe and Mail sniffs in outraged offense at the peons daring to inconvenience or insult their betters. Consider contacting the Globe and Mail and expressing how you feel about…
predictable ontario budget: formulated by the 1% for the 1%
Ontarians, already living so close to the bone, are being told we must sacrifice even more – because corporate tax hikes cannot even be discussed. Ask the 1% for a…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Fred Wilson weighs in on Thomas Mulcair’s mandate as the NDP’s new leader: (M)any progressives with no interest whatsoever in a “Blairist” agenda…
Stop hangin’ those picket signs on our trees!
Rocky Mountaineer sorry for illegally cut trees in Vancouver, Bob Mackin, Vancouver Courier, March 15, 2012 “The upscale tourist railway that sells rides through what it calls unspoiled scenery is…
Canadian family finances still under stress: Report
For many families in Canada, income security is an elusive dream, according to a new study released by the Vanier Institute for the Family. The report, The Current State of…
heckle the govt and lose your job? support air canada wildcat strike!
Three machinists, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, were suspended after “sarcastically applauding” Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt as she walked to her flight. They may…
how you can support striking tpl workers
An open letter from my friend and comrade Jonathon Hodge. See below for picket schedule. Dear friend/neighbor/colleague, Many of you are library users, or know someone who is, and so…