Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Friday, April 12, 2013

Unrest and direct democracy: white paper for People's Assembly

Unrest

How do we understand the recent tide of indignation in the province? It is something of a conundrum to Kathy Dunderdale (listen to her 11 April call to VOCM, if you enjoy the feeling of being spoken to as though you are a small child) but to other commentators as well. It has something to do with the recent budget and its associated cuts and layoffs, but this era of austerity in the province is understood to be less severe than previous iterations of the same (one of the questions Bill Rowe puts to the premier on the call).

Of course, this needs to be framed alongside Muskrat Falls and the price tag, which through some form of economic acrobatics, is nothing to do with the financial situation of the government, and therefore nothing to do with the necessity of cuts and layoffs.Granted that this is somewhat difficult for thinking people to accept, let us assume, for argument sake, this is so. Nonetheless, the proliferation of protest and resistance to the project, notably by the NCC, as well as potential corruption and political manipulation, impacts the way cuts, layoffs, and other austerity measures are perceived.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Something to Consider: "Capitalism is the Crisis"

Because you surely shouldn't believe absolutely everything that you hear, see, or read, here is something for you to consider. It's a documentary that discusses capitalism, the 2008 financial crisis, and government responses to the crisis, which have tended to focus on cutbacks in spending (though this has been the direction of politics in Britain and North America since at least the 1970s).

Not only does it offer a critical look at capitalism, it also shares some methods of resistance. The filmmakers, for example, go to the Mondragon, which is a collectively-owned and operated political bookstore and vegan restaurant in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

If this piques your interest, you can watch the film below. For more information, click here.

It's free, and the creators ask that the film be distributed. So if you like it, spread the word.





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