12/22/2009

Ingmar Lee: Why I Climbed the Flagpole

By INGMAR LEE

I climbed the flagpole because I'm unhappily ashamed to be a 'Canadian.' Although I've never trended much towards any nationalist or patriotic proclivity, I'll admit to a slight twinge of pride of nation was when a former Prime Minister, in spite of overwhelming pressure, said 'fuck you' to GWB when he wanted Canada to join in with his attack, invasion, occupation, torture, rape and massacre of Iraq. But given our current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper's recent cowardly, grudging and sneering performance at Copenhagen, I'm utterly embarrassed to be a member of this country.

(read more)
Ingmar Lee: Why I Climbed the Flagpole

Harper acting like an elected dictator - thestar.com

By Haroon Siddiqui

When Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Jean Chrétien were in power, conservative commentators used to complain that both tended to be dictatorial, courtesy of our parliamentary system that made the prime minister too powerful, more so in some respects than the president of the United States.

Where are those pundits when we really need them? Stephen Harper is centralizing power in the PMO on an unprecedented scale; defying Parliament (by refusing to comply with a Commons vote demanding the files on Afghan prisoner abuse); derailing public inquiries (by a parliamentary committee and the Military Police Complaints Commission); muzzling/firing civil servants; demonizing critics; and dragging the military into the line of partisan political fire.

Siddiqui: Harper acting like an elected dictator - thestar.com

12/20/2009

War in Afghanistan: Evolving Military Marriage between Canada and the US

July 2011 and beyond, no country will have been more closely integrated with U.S. President Barack Obama and Gen. Stanley McChrystal's counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan than the Canadians. Shortly after McChrystal took over as commanding general of all NATO and U.S. troops occupying Afghanistan earlier this year, he praised the Canadian Forces for their implementation of “population-centric counterinsurgency (COIN)” in the southern part of the country.

War in Afghanistan: Evolving Military Marriage between Canada and the US

12/18/2009

CBC Radio | The Sunday Edition | 20 Pieces

I heard a few of these shows. interesting.

One of the most popular features on The Sunday Edition this past year and a half has been , 20 Pieces of Music that Changed the World.

The Sunday Edition's very own musical guru, Robert Harris took us on a cultural journey -- discussing the importance of music from Beethoven to Disco, and from Depression-era classics to rap.

The entire series is soon to be released as a boxed set of CDs. In the meantime, click here and have and listen!

CBC Radio | The Sunday Edition | 20 Pieces

Crossing lines of decency

Yet more outstanding press for canada on the world stage

For anyone who thought that the cuts to KAIROS, the Canadian ecumenical social justice group that works on international human rights issues, were just a matter of run of the mill cutbacks, think again. Jason Kenney has boldly provided the government's rationale:

Impolitical: Crossing lines of decency

The Top 100 Videos of 2009 in Less Than 3 Minutes - compilations - Gawker.TV

The Ugly Canadian

By Murray Dobbin - 17 December 2009

It was really just a matter of time. The deep well of affection and respect around the world that Canada has drawn on for decades has been slowly poisoned by the Harper government...and the world is now taking serious notice...The Copenhagen conference may just be the final burden that brings us to critical mass, that qualitative leap where Canada is suddenly seen as a mean-spirited, disingenuous, and reactionary force in the family of nations.

The Ugly Canadian | Mostly Water

12/17/2009

Insurgents Intercept Drone Video in King-Size Security Breach

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military depends on an array of drones to snoop on and stalk insurgents. Now it looks as if insurgents are tapping into those same drones’ broadcasts, to see what the flying robot spies see. If true — and widespread — it’s potentially one of the most serious military security breaches in years.

Using cheap, downloadable programs like SkyGrabber, militants were apparently able to watch and record the video feed — and potentially be tipped off when U.S. and coalition forces are stalking them. The $26 software was originally designed to let users download movies and songs off of the internet. Turns out, the program lets you nab Predator drone feeds just as easily as pirated copies of The Hangover.

Insurgents Intercept Drone Video in King-Size Security Breach | Danger Room | Wired.com

Democracy Canadian-style: How do you like it so far?

by Lawrence Martin

When you think about it, the way to make governing easy is to dispense as much as is possible with the demands of democracy. The d-word is a drag. It gets in the way of the exercise of power. Ways need be found to circumvent it.

Democracy Canadian-style: How do you like it so far? - The Globe and Mail

12/16/2009

Canadian Government Funding Climate Change Denial Lobby Group

While the world’s attention is focused on Copenhagen for the Climate Change Conference, back at home Sierra Club Canada and the Rideau Institute are calling on Prime Minister Harper to stop funding an organization that promotes denial of climate change. The Chrysotile Institute is a registered lobby group fo

“Only a few days ago Minister Prentice told the Commons Environment Committee he believes in science-based policy. Yet, his government is paying a lobby group to spread discredited misinformation and promote climate change denial,” said John Bennett, executive director of Sierra Club Canada.

Canadian Government Funding Climate Change Denial Lobby Group | Mostly Water

12/15/2009

Content for the people, by the people

The digital revolution of the 00s saw the rise of creative, collaborative communities, with information scarcity a thing of the past

By Andrew Potter, Citizen Special

Content for the people, by the people

France to Digitize Its Own Literary Works - NYTimes.com

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged nearly $1.1 billion on Monday toward the computer scanning of French literary works, audiovisual archives and historical documents, an announcement that underscored his government’s desire to maintain control over France’s cultural heritage in an era of digitization.

France to Digitize Its Own Literary Works - NYTimes.com

ZNet - Canadian Press Disappears Honduras

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

By Joe Emersberger - December 10, 2009 It would be a great challenge, to put it mildly, to learn much about the struggle for democracy in Honduras by reading the Canadian press during the months that followed the coup...According to a Lexis Nexis search for "Zelaya" and "Honduras", Canada's five..

ZNet - Canadian Press Disappears Honduras

Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor

Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer.

Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result.

Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor

ALBA Alliance Forgoes US Dollar

The member nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, ALBA, have decided to give up the US dollar in trading between them.

They will instead use the sucre conventional monetary unit. The first international sucre transaction has already been made, with Cuba signing a contract with Venezuela on buying a consignment of rice.

The agreement on a single system of regional payments is to be signed during an ALBA countries’ summit due in the Venezuelan city of Kumana next April.

The financial mechanism will become operational next year to promote dollar-free cost-accounting.

The ALBA alliance comprises the Latin American and Caribbean nations that seek to promote trade and cooperation among the participants and counteract the continually US-advanced free-trade areas. The ALBA alliance was initiated by Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro back in 2004.

ALBA Alliance Forgoes US Dollar

12/14/2009

We Need a Global Tax on Financial Speculation

By Amitabh Pal, December 11, 2009

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled an eminently sensible proposal this week: to place a 50 percent tax on all bankers’ bonuses in his country. But another, even more sensible idea of his last month was shot down by other nations, notably the United States.

This is a global tax on speculative financial transactions, also often called the “Tobin Tax” after the Nobel-winning economist James Tobin, who first came up with the idea. The notion has been around since the 1970s in one form or the other (I have a decade-old poster for the tax up in my office), but Brown deserves credit for attempting to resuscitate it.

We Need a Global Tax on Financial Speculation | The Progressive

China’s 863 Program, a crash program for clean energy

n March 3, 1986, four of China’s top weapons scientists—each a veteran of the missile and space programs—sent a private letter to Deng Xiaoping, the leader of the country. Their letter was a warning: Decades of relentless focus on militarization had crippled the country’s civilian scientific establishment; China must join the world’s xin jishu geming, the “new technological revolution,” they said, or it would be left behind. They called for an élite project devoted to technology ranging from biotech to space research. Deng agreed, and scribbled on the letter, “Action must be taken on this now.” This was China’s “Sputnik moment,” and the project was code-named the 863 Program, for the year and month of its birth.

Québec solidaire: A Left-of-the-Left Formation?

The first decade of the 21st century has seen the rise of new ‘left of the left’ formations in several Western countries. The best known cases are the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA) in France and Die Linke (The Left) in Germany. These new parties share some common traits: they are based on an explicit rejection of the institutional left in their respective countries, take a good deal of inspiration from the post-Seattle anti-globalization movement and exhibit a coalition character with membership drawn from several social and political movements (feminist, ecological, antiwar, far left, libertarians, community groups).

Québec solidaire (QS), though not as well-known as the NPA or Die Linke, shares a surprising number of traits with these formations. This includes a growing electoral presence which irks and worries the party fulfilling the role of the ‘institutional left’ in Quebec, the sovereignist Parti québécois (PQ).

Québec solidaire: A Left-of-the-Left Formation?

12/13/2009

What Not to Wear - ironic teeshirts

What Not to Wear [Funny] | ÜberPix

12/12/2009

Mary Margaret O' Hara

To be or not to be- actor Brian Cox teaches Hamlet's soliliquy

12/09/2009

HONDURAS: Starting to Miss Hillary and Ian? They’re Back! « HONDURAS OYE!

by magbana

For your reading pleasure and it’s all on Honduras. First item is Clinton during a press availability this morning with the foreign minister of Ukraine at which she spoke about Honduras. Soundbites from her remarks follow directly. The second item is a video of Clinton making the remarks. The third item is the excerpt on Honduras from today’s daily briefing with Ian Kelly in which one of the reporters asked Kelly to clarify something that Clinton said earlier in the press availability.

HONDURAS: Starting to Miss Hillary and Ian? They’re Back! « HONDURAS OYE!

The Noughtie List: the 2000s in Review (kottke.org)

"the best of..."
we all love lists- what's all that about?
knock yourself out.
here's some noughty (the 2000s) lists to mull through.

The Noughtie List: the 2000s in Review (kottke.org)

The Greek Insurrection

If you haven't been following the events in Greece the past year here is an outline.

The Greek Insurrection

By Jake Carman; December 08, 2009 - Znet
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23314

Source: Boston Anti-Authoritarian Movement (BAAM)

On Dec. 6, 2008, the Athens police's murder of 15-year-old anarchist Alexandros Grigoropoulos sparked a broad social uprising that raged all month, has been simmering ever since, and is now flaring up again. Before the killing, Greece was already a heavily polarized country. On one side, anarchists strongly influenced workers and youth, maintaining entire "free neighborhoods," such as Exarcheia in Athens, where Alexandros was shot. On the other side, there was a far right-wing government, and police - including the one who shot Alexandros - who were often members or supporters of fascist organizations like Golden Dawn.

The Greek Insurrection | Mostly Water

Obama’s response to Honduran presidential election is disappointing

By Ana C. Perez, December 3, 2009

The U.S. response to the recent presidential election in Honduras shows that not much has changed under President Obama.

Obama’s response to Honduran presidential election is disappointing | The Progressive

12/08/2009

Former ambassadors condemn Ottawa's attack on diplomat - The Globe and Mail

Twenty-three former ambassadors are speaking out against the Conservative government's attacks on the credibility of diplomat Richard Colvin, saying Ottawa's response to his Afghan detainee abuse testimony threatens to cast a chill over Canada's foreign service.

Former ambassadors condemn Ottawa's attack on diplomat - The Globe and Mail

Nano Snowman

U.S. pay czar to exempt some AIG execs from salary cap: report - Yahoo! Canada Finance

That's it, boys- a little tantrum is in order.

Reuters) - Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration's pay czar, will exempt some executives at American International Group from a $500,000 salary cap after at least five employees threatened to quit, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

U.S. pay czar to exempt some AIG execs from salary cap: report - Yahoo! Canada Finance

The Stranger Within by Ron Graham

Who is Michael Ignatieff? Why does he want to run the country? And does he have what it takes, not only to defeat Stephen Harper, but also — first things first — to bring peace to his own party? Let us step away for a moment from the ear-splitting racket of the political racetrack, the huffing a...[More]

The Walrus » January/February 2010 » The Stranger Within by Ron Graham

12/07/2009

A Wider and Unnecessary War

By PATRICK COCKBURN

It will be a long and unnecessary war. President Obama is sending 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan to prove that the US can impose its will on the country and crush by military means what is still a relatively small scale insurrection.

The real reasons for escalating the conflict are very different from those declared by Mr Obama. He claims that al-Qa’ida might re-establish itself in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban and once again threaten the US and its allies with a repeat of 9/11. But there is no evidence that this is happening.

Patrick Cockburn: The March of Folly

Gnome Chomsky

Michael Geist - Canadian Recording Industry Faces $60 Billion Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Chet Baker was a leading jazz musician in the 1950s, playing trumpet and providing vocals. Baker died in 1988, yet he is about to add a new claim to fame as the lead plaintiff in possibly the largest copyright infringement case in Canadian history.

At $20,000 per infringement (the amount owed on some songs exceed this amount), potential liability exceeds $60 billion. These numbers may sound outrageous, yet they are based on the same rules that has led the recording industry to claim a single file sharer is liable for millions in damages.

Michael Geist - Canadian Recording Industry Faces $60 Billion Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Leftist Win in Uruguay Elections

Uruguay's left wing political coalition, the Broad Front party (Frente Amplio), retained control of the presidency in the November elections. This wasn't just any election. The winner, flower farmer Jose "Pepe" Mujica, was the victim of imprisonment and torture during Operation Condor in the 1970's as a result of his efforts as a Tupamaro rebel. During that period of military dictatorship, the new president spent fourteen years in prison, including two years confined at the bottom of a well.

Leftist Win in Uruguay Elections