While some may wonder about the practical utility of the Occupy Movement and where it is headed, I believe that in its current form, its chief value lies in the raising of consciousness about the gross inequities that exist in the world today, and ending the isolation and separateness that people feel in their disaffection with the status quo.
Renowned thinker and activist Noam Chomsky, whose voice is rarely heard in the mainstream media these days, offered some encouragement and realistic advice for the Occupy Movement in a recent speech to Occupy Boston. His message: build and educate first, think about striking later. You can read the full text of that speech here.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Toronto G20 and the Vindication of Michael Puddy
Kafkaesque is a term loosely and regularly bandied about, usually denoting a process whereby an innocent person is subjected to unfathomable persecution/arrest. It seems an apt word to describe what Michael Puddy endured in Toronto during the G20 protests of June 2010. Not even a part of the protest, Puddy was swept up in a nightmare that saw him incarcerated for two days and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon.
Despite what was the largest mass arrest and violation of Charter Rights in Canadian history, those chiefly responsible for it, Toronto Chief Bill Blair, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper remain completely unaccountable, refusing to consider a full inquiry into it.
You can read the full story and see a video here.
Despite what was the largest mass arrest and violation of Charter Rights in Canadian history, those chiefly responsible for it, Toronto Chief Bill Blair, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper remain completely unaccountable, refusing to consider a full inquiry into it.
You can read the full story and see a video here.
Canada Continues to Export Death
The NDP motion read as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) ban the use and export of asbestos; (b) support international efforts to add chrysotile asbestos to the list of hazardous chemical products under the Rotterdam Convention; (c) assist affected workers by developing a Just Transition Plan with measures to accommodate their re-entry into the workforce; (d) introduce measures dedicated to affected older workers, through the employment insurance program, to assure them of a decent standard of living until retirement; and (e) support communities and municipalities in asbestos producing regions through an investment fund for regional economic diversification.
Predictably, the Harper-led Conservative majority defeated the motion, with a final vote of 152-123. No report on how Conservative M.P Dr. Kellie Leitch voted, but my guess is with her government.
The immorality continues; Canada continues to kill in our name.
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) ban the use and export of asbestos; (b) support international efforts to add chrysotile asbestos to the list of hazardous chemical products under the Rotterdam Convention; (c) assist affected workers by developing a Just Transition Plan with measures to accommodate their re-entry into the workforce; (d) introduce measures dedicated to affected older workers, through the employment insurance program, to assure them of a decent standard of living until retirement; and (e) support communities and municipalities in asbestos producing regions through an investment fund for regional economic diversification.
Predictably, the Harper-led Conservative majority defeated the motion, with a final vote of 152-123. No report on how Conservative M.P Dr. Kellie Leitch voted, but my guess is with her government.
The immorality continues; Canada continues to kill in our name.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
A Tax on Financial Transactions
The Globe and Mail has an online story reporting Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's adamant opposition to any consideration of a tax on financial transactions at the G20. Although the article doesn't provide details, most of what I have read about such a measure would involve the following: 0.1 per cent tax on transactions of stocks and bonds and 0.01 per cent on derivatives.
While the advocates of unfettered capitalism are always reluctant to share, given the preferential tax treatment capital gains and dividends receive, such a measure would hardly be punitive, and would contribute substantially to efforts to relieve the grinding poverty in which much of the world lives. In the West, the revenues from the tax could be used for many purposes, including better funding for healthcare, climate change adaptation and costs, etc.
However, just as with proposals to combat climate change, I suspect that nothing will come of the G20 discussion for the same reason, namely that without universal application of such a tax, it would be unfair and counterproductive, or so we are told.
Clearly the North American powers-that-be have not been paying attention to the the needs of the people, as recently reflected in the Occupy Movement.
While the advocates of unfettered capitalism are always reluctant to share, given the preferential tax treatment capital gains and dividends receive, such a measure would hardly be punitive, and would contribute substantially to efforts to relieve the grinding poverty in which much of the world lives. In the West, the revenues from the tax could be used for many purposes, including better funding for healthcare, climate change adaptation and costs, etc.
However, just as with proposals to combat climate change, I suspect that nothing will come of the G20 discussion for the same reason, namely that without universal application of such a tax, it would be unfair and counterproductive, or so we are told.
Clearly the North American powers-that-be have not been paying attention to the the needs of the people, as recently reflected in the Occupy Movement.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Seattle Police and the OWS Movement
Many thanks to Roxy Katt for her post and link to a story and video showing Seattle Police arresting a woman for opening up an umbrella while on the ground in a park, a practice recently banned by the city.
While watching the video, I initially had the sense that the police were behaving so gingerly in making the arrest because a camera was filming the action. Then I started to wonder whether or not it might also be indicative of their ambivalence about what they had to do. Did they too think the new law, which they are required to enforce, is an oppressive response to peaceful protest?
While watching the video, I initially had the sense that the police were behaving so gingerly in making the arrest because a camera was filming the action. Then I started to wonder whether or not it might also be indicative of their ambivalence about what they had to do. Did they too think the new law, which they are required to enforce, is an oppressive response to peaceful protest?
Saturday, October 29, 2011
A Video That Police In All Democracies Should be Required To Watch
Sometimes sweet justice prevails. Watch this video from Democracy Now's Amy Goodman to see how.
Reasons To Occupy Toronto
There are many Canadians, most prominently Prime Minister Harper, who dismiss the Occupy Movement as having little or no relevance for Canadians. In a column specifically directed toward the young, but of significance to all progressives, The Star's Heather Mallick, with both style and considerable humour, today offers a wealth of reasons that counter this notion.
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