Great article David! I'm up here in Canada where deficit terrorism has been the norm since the mid 80s. Hot buttons, once made and disseminated, are so hard to destroy. Even with the debunking of the neoliberals' cant on this subject, via books and numerous commentaries by numerous people, the press is still full of dire warnings about deficits. But you will also find plenty of plain talk about the need for deficits sometimes! The Right is, indeed, shameless. There's not much we can do. Here in my neck of the woods, Whenever I'm in the second hand bookshop, I have …
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Arby
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Well, We are having a federal election here in Canada too, just because Stephen Harper (who, in dropping the writ, violates his own, new law about fixed election dates) thinks now's the time for him to act in order to secure a majority Conservative government. Listening to Eilzabeth May, the Green Party leader in an interview on TVOntario, I heard her complain about Americans, especially Nader supporters, who exclaimed: 'Gore or Bush, What was the difference?' I expect that from the Green Party leader. Her delivery was certainly dramatic. My thought was there is no difference, since there's no difference between …
Posted to Unholy Allies
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You have to love special interests. The planet is burning, people are starving, capitalists are sucking the life out of everything, and the special (capitalist) interests just shrug and continue on with business. In this case, agrobusiness.
Posted to Biofuels Are No Cure for Climate Change
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Smart cookie, that Chinese student. I wish more Chinese citizens were as skeptical as he is. Correct me if 'we' are wrong, but Wasn't Nancy Pelosi instrumental in ensuring that funding for George W. Bush's criminal (in my view) war enterprise in Iraq continue uninterrupted - 'after' she made noises suggesting that she would do what she could to thwart the warmonger? My understanding is that defunding the 'war', which came to be within the power of resurgent Democrats, was a way for them to stop Bush et al in their tracks and that Pelosi and others had that in mind, …
Posted to A View on Pelosi from a World Away
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Interesting comments above. I read enough articles on this subject not long ago, as did many of us of course. Did Bush win the election or not? I agree totally that private companies should not be involved in the voting process. And any reasonable person who has looked at the companies involved and their histories will be appropriately mortified that they are. I'm actually more familiar with the American system in that regard than I am with my own Canadian system. Although I'm sure that the same companies operate here. It does seem a shame, however, that we can't use modern …
Posted to Do you think electronic voting can be accurate?
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Starbucks is a good symbol of capitalism. It's all about marketing. It's about taking, not giving. The product is crap. I don't know why exactly, although I suspect it's just the same old story of cost cutting. They probably use cheap coffee on top of cheap labor (growers and baristas). If, on top of that, they don't know what they're doing with it, then you're not going to get a good product, because coffee is already easy to get wrong. It's simply a temperamental food. But boy is it profitable! You just have to pay the growers and baristas nothing and …
Posted to Starbucks Gets Wobbly
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I hate the term 'neocon'. I suspect Liberals like it, since it it means essentially the same thing as 'neoliberal', but has the partisan advantage, when it is used instead of 'neoliberal', of not reminding people that Liberals are just as Conservative as Conservatives. The politics of the Republicans and Democrats (Liberals) are the same. The only difference, which is not one of importance, is that 'neocon' refers to a person who identifies him- or herself as a Conservative, rather than a Liberal. So what? Republicrats follow a neoliberal agenda, where the 'liberal' in neoliberal refers not to the party origin …
Posted to The Neocons Lexicon
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I've grappled with the meaning of 'Left' for some time. Since most parties move rightward over time, I guess we need to be aware of that. It's hard enough to stay focussed when various groups get creative with language, so that progressive can mean regressive, etc.. This is why media, such as In These Times, is powerful, a fact that we need to appreciate. Therefore, I won't argue with those who want to call In These Times (which I've read, on and off, for many years now) a progressive journal. And I won't argue with it's idea of what 'progressive' means. …
Posted to The New Funding Heresies
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From Mark Winne's article: "It is becoming increasingly certain that the water will run out..." No. It's certain, period. It's good to see people care. It's not good to see that the problem is capitalism, which those who care believe in. How are you going to fix this mess? Are you going to create a benign capitalism? Are you going to simply make everyone care enough? I don't think so. I liked the article, nevertheless. It's certainly scary when the food we depend on for our survival is threatened in so many ways. Agribusiness is de-naturing the livestock, the seafood and …
Posted to Meat-Industrial Complex
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A very timely, well stated article. I've read a number of books on the food system, and am just finishing up SECRET INGREDIENTS - THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF INDUSTRIAL FARMING, by Stuart Laidlaw, who writes for The Toronto Star. I'm totally convinced from all that I've read and seen that neoliberal capitalism (privatization, deregulation of business) and industrial farming is nothing but destructive and perverted.
Posted to Plowing for Profits
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"The most effective way to control corporations will be to restore citizen democracy and to reclaim the once widely accepted principle that corporations are but creatures of the state, chartered under the premise that they will serve the public good, and entitled to only those rights and privileges granted by citizen-controlled governments. Only by doing so will we be able to create the just and sustainable economy that we seek, an economy driven by the values of human life and community and democracy instead of the current suicide economy driven only by the relentless pursuit of financial profit at any cost." …
Posted to The People's Business
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Those are good links guys!
Posted to The People's Business
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I don't think it's any great secret that George Bush is a liar and that politics is dirty and politicians are often dishonest. Although it amazes me that those who talk about George Bush's religiosity always come around to the absurd conclusion that Bush is a true believer. I'm not saying Zizec has done that. (I don't know what Zizec says about that.) I'm only making observations. You'd have to extract Bush's brain for him to not know that mass murder, and big time lying that leads to mass murder, gets you in God's bad book. However stupid Bush is, he …
Posted to The Not-So-Quiet American
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"We have enough of that now." Indeed. It's called democracy. It's fair to say that you don't know enough of my views for me to think that you've been terribly critical of them. Which isn't to say that what I did post was unintelligible. I don't believe in democracy, and nothing that has come from man's rule over man inspires me to think that this is the way. I think that folks who think that they, collectively, are God, represents the greatest hubris. (See Luke 14:7-11 and 22:14-27 to get an idea what Jesus's thoughts on hubris are. There are many, …
Posted to The Not-So-Quiet American
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Bush is toast. And I don't mind saying so. I don't want anyone to simply accept what I say because I say it. (There's two ways to teach. You can be authoritarian and tell people that "This is how it is because I say so. Period." Or you can be authoritative - not in the "I am special" sense - and tell people that "This is how it is and I'll try to explain to you why I think so. Let's dialog." I believe in the latter approach.) My brand of Christianity, for what it's worth, includes all of the Bible's …
Posted to The Not-So-Quiet American
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This may interest you Pat. 5 trillion dollars (approximately $500 billion of which is American) sit in offshore tax havens, protected by George W. Bush, while 'leaders' whine that they can't afford social spending! There is so much theft by those with talent it's unbelievable. Here in Canada, Corporate Canada owes billions in deferred taxes, most of which will never be paid. Meanwhile, Little people have to pay all their taxes. Americans especially, but Canadians too, might be interested in a website I discovered a few years back. Check out www.howdarethey.org. The following paragraph is an excerpt from their archives section, …
Posted to The Not-So-Quiet American
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Didn't I just direct you to it? I don't have to join it in some formal fashion in order to subscribe to it's general thrust. There's many sites and organizations that I direct folks to, whose ideas, more or less, I think are important, but which I haven't formally joined. If you're thinking of donations, While I'd like to donate, often, to organizations I think are doing important work, unfortunately I don't have a spare dime. (One that I would like to donate to immediately, and may, is International Socialist Review. It's a great mag. Lots of bang for the buck, …
Posted to The Not-So-Quiet American
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I don't see a solution to the Middle East conflict. There isn't enough love. There aren't enough principles. That, incidentally, is where the fight should take place. Throwing stones at dog soldiers who we all know will often respond with deadly force isn't resistance to evil. It's more evil. And it's stupid. While I'm on the subject of stupidity, Palestinians demonstrate that they have little respect for life when they fire off guns into the air, which they do all the time for all kinds of reasons, as far as I can tell. A scripture in the Christian Bible states that …
Posted to The Writing on the Wall
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Israel is occupying Palestine, and is much, much more powerful. Suicide bombers are abhorrent. But Palestinians have no defenses against this aggressor, who just happens to be backed up by the world's largest superpower. Israel: Get your hands off of Palestine and get out of Palestine. That's absolutely the first thing that needs to be done here. No excuses. If someone brings up the suicide bombers as an excuse, on behalf of Israel, for Israel to not quit oppressing Palestinians, then that someone is far too morally challenged to contribute usefully to the solution, or a discussion of the solution, in …
Posted to The Writing on the Wall
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I liked some of Christopher Cook's article, namely the part about fair taxation and taking away some of the power of corporations. As a member of the working class, that means something to me. Corporations, with their codified greed (fiduciary responsibility) and the power to do whatever they want, just don't care about society. Society is where you offload your costs, while you privatize the profits. Capitalist profiteers are stealing the entire public sector (paid for by the public), with the assistance of their partners in politics. George W Bush told folks 'hands off' in regard to offshore tax havens, where …
Posted to The Next Campaign: Ideas
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Liberal outfits like In These Times, The Progressive and The Nation magazine (and our Toronto Star) are part of the problem. They offer the solution of the Democratic Party to the problem of the Republican Party (and in Canada, they offer the solution of the Liberals to the Conservatives). Joel's article, and I've read - profitably, I might add - many of Joel's articles over the years, illustrates the reason why the solution offered isn't the right solution. The real problem here is capitalism, and capitalists are not comfortable attacking a system that they've chosen to believe in and support. And …
Posted to Time for a Purge?
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This will be offputting, but I believe in frank and full disclosure. I don't believe in democracy. Democracy means mankind's rule over mankind, and holds no place (in actuality) for God. George W Bush is a fervent believer in democracy. He is not a (full) believer in God. He has chosen a democratic path. And I hope no one thinks he's honest. (I also like to remind folks that there's the 'operational' definition of democracy and the textbook definition. The operational definition means 'what you see a thing is' and not what the dictionary, or someone or some organization says a …
Posted to Time for a Purge?
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It's something for democrats to worry about. I'm not a democrat. I'm just someone who cares and who believes that the real task that lies before us, if we should wish to accept it, is to deserve to be here when this system of things is destroyed. That's not a plan for doing nothing. You do not become deserving for doing nothing. But there's actions I'll take and actions that I won't take, and my actions won't always be the same as others. In fact, I'm very much a non conformist. But I'm a sociable one.
Posted to Time for a Purge?
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Hmmm. The one thing that has bothered me about all of this, since the media started reporting on it (who can follow everything happening in the world?), is the substitution of drama for information. Who is the pro west Yuschenko? Personally, If pro west means pro US (pro neoliberal capitalism), then I've got a serious problem with the guy. He's a former banker?! Ppppff!! Pro east vs pro west means what? Communists versus capitalists? Putin versus Bush? Undeveloped and chaotic Russia versus developed (it's relative I suppose) and stable and prosperous Europe? I think folks had better think on this some. …
Posted to Deep Divide
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I'm happy to see that you said 'usually' and not 'always'. ;-)
Posted to Deep Divide
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In These Times is a great magazine, but it's relative. When liberal magazines like ITT and The Nation go on and on about the problem of the Republicans and then offer the solution of the Democrats, I want to cry and scream at once. This is worse than useless. You have a problem with your Republicrats the same way we here in Canada have a problem with our Coniberals (Conservatives + Liberals). And capitalists couldn't be happier. 'Liberal'. What is that? It's about as useful as 'democratic'. Well, Not quite. Everyone (from Hitler to the Pope) claims to be democratic. Conservatives …
Posted to Take a Breath
- Joined August 25, 2004
- Last Visit October 13, 2009
- URL
- Location Toronto, Canada
- Occupation wage slave
- Interests simple things that don't hurt my health or anyone else's
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