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By Greg Fingas, on April 24, 2013, at 9:35 am Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- George Monbiot discusses the fallout from decades of corporate-controlled governments abdicating their responsibility to consider the public interest: In other ages, states sought to seize as much power as they could. Today, the self-hating state renounces its powers. Governments anathematise governance. They declare their role redundant and illegitimate. They launch furious assaults on their own branches, seeking wherever possible to lop them off.
This self-mutilation is a response to the fact that power has shifted. States now operate at the behest of others. Deregulation, privatisation, the shrinking of the scope, scale and spending (Read more…) the state: these are now seen as the only legitimate policies. The corporations and billionaires to whom governments defer will have it no other way.
Just as taxation tends to redistribute wealth, regulation tends to redistribute power. A democratic state controls and contains powerful interests on behalf of . . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
By The Arbourist, on April 20, 2013, at 8:06 am
Filed under: Gender Issues Tagged: Gender, PSA, Toys for Girls and Boys
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on March 8, 2013, at 1:00 pm Men, especially white men, sleep too easily at night while women earn 70 per cent of what we do. Secretly, I think we’d prefer to not have to talk about this much. Sure, March 8 and December 6 are days we set aside for reflecting on this, but, most likely, we don’t want to be bothered with it every other day of the year. Plus, the NHL is back.
One conversation I have never had, goes like this. I’m in the lunchroom at work with a group of men discussing workplace realities. The topics drifts around to how women in (Read more…)
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on January 29, 2013, at 12:00 pm Saturday night, I spent almost two hours discussing the Geography of Emotions with Colin Mills. We explored the ubiquitousness of emotions, the male crisis around emotions, how emotions relate with cognition, and the betweeness of emotions.
It was a fascinating conversation about a topic with wide implications for society, culture, human relations, activism, politics as well as relation, local, regional, national and world peace.
In the podcast, Colin refers to a couple folks you can read up on here: Jonathan Heidt, a moral psychologist, and Daniel Kahneman, a behavioural economist.
And I referred to the counselling technique, EMDR.
You
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: The Geography of Emotions, A Conversation with Colin Mills
By Art Threat, on January 9, 2013, at 6:04 am
It’s 2012 and close to four years after the Lilly ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law in the United States. Surely, the gender wage gap has been closed, right? Wrong.
Even with moves toward equalizing pay between men and women, men still make almost 20% more than women in nearly all industries. This is despite the fact that women receive the same education, with the same tuition price tags and levels of debt upon graduation. The only major differences are that there are more ladies in college and they have better average GPAs to boot. The benefits of (Read more…)
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on January 5, 2013, at 1:08 pm
Twitter / suzhawkins: As settlers… #idlenomore ….
York University’s Suzanne Hawkins is my hero today for showing us all this amazing poster that succinctly describes how us non-indigenous settler folk can stand alongside with the world’s indigenous people seeking redress for generations of racism and discrimination.
Solidarity matters! Dialogue matters!
Let’s make 2013 a year of reconciliation!
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on November 30, 2012, at 1:48 pm If you think popular media is still chauvinist or even misogynist, but you didn’t know about the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, you should look into them. I found out about their latest research study, Gender Roles & Occupations: A Look at Character Attributes and Job-Related Aspirations in Film and Television, and was not [...] . . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: “Female Characters Are Still Sidelined, Stereotyped, and Sexualized in Popular Entertainment Content”
By Guest Contributors, on November 27, 2012, at 3:25 pm [Here is what some of us have been wanting to say about Taylor Swift, but didn't because A. Lynn did it first, and perhaps best, reposted her with her kind permission. Thanks to Jarrah Hodge for pointing us to this piece of brilliance! Enjoy! - seb] I’ve been mentally composing this blog for forever and [...] . . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: No, Taylor Swift. No.
By Tia Everitt, on October 22, 2012, at 2:44 pm
Early political engagement is a hot button topic for a number of us here at Politics ReSpun. As parents and/or political animals, we spend a lot of time contemplating methods of public engagement that would draw youth into political culture, and foster both interest and comprehension of sociopolitical events. Apathy and disinterest are rampant in our culture, and the prevailing trend of co-mingling pop culture and celebrity in corporate controlled news media is daunting.
Is political engagement and activism a product of nature or nurture?
Are those of us who prefer to spend our afternoons yelling at CPAC or
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: Encouraging Early Political Engagement: I Have the Right to Be a Child
By The Arbourist, on September 18, 2012, at 8:05 am Okay, first of all, go to Jezebel and read the whole damn article. It is good and does not just apply to the gaming sub-culture, it works everywhere for the most part and is useful to have in the back of your mind as you see stuff go down around you. The excerpt deals with the online gaming community, but can easily be applied to meatspace and the silly douchy “objections” are in the same vein.
Now I’m going to address some objections from the very juvenile delinquents I’ve been talking about -– if any of them . . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Gamer objections to Feminism – Pwned.
By The Arbourist, on August 18, 2012, at 8:13 am
Well no not really, but his message is spot on.
Filed under: Gender Issues Tagged: Male Privilege, Patriarchy
By The Arbourist, on August 15, 2012, at 8:10 am Thank you to Slender Means for posting this, everything below this disclaimer is hers:
This is a very long post (linked below) but it is worth reading to see what some Christians still want to teach and believe about gender roles and norms, men’s rights to women’s bodies, and women and sex. Further down the post, racist beliefs are also discussed.
When Church teaching is about rape apology and white supremacy. You want to believe that it’s delusion and that we can all laugh at it and him but he has his followers and they believe every word of it. If you
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Christianity Supporting Rape and Slavery – Doug Wilson.
By Tia Everitt, on July 23, 2012, at 12:49 am Chattel.
That’s all you are, women.
The personal property of men.
If you dare to turn your attention to something as trivial as…a newborn baby?
YOU ARE LETTING YOUR KEEPER DOWN.
Your breasts are ALL his. All.
Stick some plastic in that kid’s cry-hole, STAT! Then get back to doing what you do best: being a walking pair of tits, for titillation.
Men, if she dares to try to use her breasts for functional purposes, stop her. RECLAIM her. Those are your jugs. You shouldn’t have to share your property with a screaming, red, angry sausage.
*Ahem*
If you
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: Gentleman! Step Up and Reclaim Your Wife! Pesky Newborns Be Damned!
By bleatmop, on July 7, 2012, at 8:00 am I am continually amazed by people and their ability to be rational in one aspect of their life and the ability to completely ignore rationality in other aspects of their life. The example that I often see is people who are in evidence based professions, especially the ones that require the application of scientific rigor, that ignore the same critical thinking skills when it comes to their theism. However I now have a new shining example of this and it saddens me because he used to be a person I had a lot of respect for.
What Happened!?!?
The person
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: What Happened To Thunderfoot?
By Jasmin Mujanovic, on May 23, 2012, at 6:51 pm In the 1990s, Bosnia-Herzegovina became synonymous with the horrific violence, ethnic cleansing and genocide which characterized the country’s experience within the broader dissolution of the Yugoslav state. In particular, the systematic rape and sexual violence of Bosnian women during the course of the war has continued to remain pertinent both in international legal affairs and as the subject of major Hollywood productions. Despite this, Bosnia remains a sort of static metaphor for bungled international responses to humanitarian crises—with solid, critical analyses of present day conditions being rare.
Frustrated by this fact, I recently reached out to Aleksandra Petrić, a
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: Women’s Rights in Bosnia: An Interview with Aleksandra Petrić
By Greg Fingas, on May 21, 2012, at 7:32 pm Thursday, April 26 saw ample discussion of private members’ business – and if the Cons are now cracking down on such debate, the results of the day’s proceedings might give us some clues as to why.
The Big Issue
While it didn’t receive as much media attention as another issue which was debated for substantially less time, Irene Mathyssen’s motion to reverse the Cons’ attacks on OAS produced plenty of noteworthy discussion. Mathyssen pointed out how the move would increase poverty rates among senior women in particular. Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe noted that private pension plans might not be designed to account
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 26, 2012
By Greg Fingas, on May 20, 2012, at 1:45 pm Tuesday, April 24 saw a day of debate focused on a relatively non-contentious piece of legislation: a citizen’s arrest bill which largely reflected Olivia Chow’s work after charges were laid against David Chen of the Lucky Moose.
The Big Issue
When it came to the substance of the bill, there was little disagreement among the three parties in Parliament. Leading off the discussion was Con MP Robert Goguen, who recognized that by working with the opposition parties in committee the government had managed to improve the initial wording of the legislation – raising an obvious question as to why they
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 24, 2012
By Greg Fingas, on May 14, 2012, at 11:06 am Thursday, April 5 was the final sitting day in the House of Commons before a two-week Easter break. And the debate was much less sharp than in previous days, as the primary bill up for discussion was supported by all parties.
The Big Issue
That bill was S-4, a bill on railway and transportation issues which had already been substantially debate in early 2011. And Francois Choquette, Kevin Lamoureux and Elizabeth May each confirmed that their respective parties were entirely willing to co-operate on bills which didn’t raise as many red flags as, say, the Cons’ omnibus budget-and-environment-gutting legislation.
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 5, 2012
By Greg Fingas, on May 13, 2012, at 4:32 pm After the Cons refused to listen to the opposition parties’ proposed amendments, Wednesday, April 4 saw a day of debate on the main budget motion in the second-last day before a Parliamentary break.
The Big Issue
Nycole Turmel rightly labeled the budget as being based entirely on (gratuitous) austerity, while Peggy Nash described the NDP’s proposed alternative to the Cons’ ill-advised choices. Andre Bellavance pointed out how cuts to both agriculture programs and food safety could create serious issues for Canada’s food supply. Dennis Bevington lamented the lack of investment in renewable energy, then wondered what happened to the Stephen
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 4, 2012
By Tia Everitt, on May 2, 2012, at 5:22 pm In an orgy of axe swinging and program bludgeoning last week, the federal government set their sights on taking a clean shot at the health and well-being of Canadian women. With all of the vitriol and paternalistic reigning in recently, one can’t help but wonder if the government has lumped people with two X chromosomes in with the other “radical” enemies of the state, like Dr. David Suzuki or people who like whales. The latest casualties? 6 federally funded women’s health programs, which fall under the umbrella of the Women’s Health Contribution Program.
The following programs from Halifax to
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: Are Canadian Women Also Radical Enemies of the State?
By Tia Everitt, on April 26, 2012, at 4:24 pm I have become very weary of being perpetually assaulted, all day long, and being utterly helpless to defend myself from the onslaught. If it isn’t advertisers shoving things I don’t want down my throat, it’s the bank ramming their hands in my pockets. The media fills my eyes and ears with sights and sounds that wage war on my mind. If I exercise my right to vocalize dissent against the corporate bedfellows and pet projects of the federal government, I find my hands are tied, and my mouth gagged. When I thought I couldn’t be violated more, I turned around
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: A Handmaid’s Tale: Intended as Fiction, Not a Guidebook
By bleatmop, on April 12, 2012, at 8:06 am There seems to be a lot of chatter in the blogosphere about abortion lately. I’m thinking it could possibly maybe be about CPC MP’s motion to discuss when life starts. This motion is, without a doubt, no matter what the detractors say, a backdoor attempt to try and take away Canadian women’s hard won human right to their own body. Attempts to paint this as anything but that are either disingenuous or misinformed. The only result of Woodworth managing to redefine when life begins at anything before birth is for him to carry on and propose a bill to then
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Progressive on Abortion?
By T. A. Everitt, on April 4, 2012, at 3:42 pm Not so long ago, my friend Becca was shopping at her local Loblaws store (Real Canadian Superstore, for those of us who live in the West.)
Like many people I know, Becca approves of their Joe Fresh clothing line, which offers Canadians the opportunity to buy stylish and seasonal clothing at reasonable prices. Always colourful, fairly hip, and relatively well made, Joe Fresh offers people of all ages and genders opportunity to dress in a manner that would usually cost much more at other retail establishments.
That day, Becca was perusing the children’s section, looking for something for her
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: Joe Fresh & Loblaws: Perpetuating the Early Marginalization of Women
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on March 2, 2012, at 11:10 am Politics, Re-Spun and The Rational will celebrate International Women’s Day early on Coop Radio on Monday, March 5, 2012 from 6pm to 7pm with an all-women show!
Loren Spagnuolo will have a piece celebrating Sesemiya Tracy Williams. The rest of the show will be devoted to a panel of Politics, Re-Spun and The Rational contributors in the Vancouver studio and around the country discussing All Things Women. Also, PoliticsReSpun.org will also be hosting a liveblog at the website for you to participate in the show.
Tell your friends!
No Related Posts
By The Arbourist, on February 23, 2012, at 8:30 am Even Jebus thinks you are bug-frak crazy.
Christianity is the religion that keeps on giving. By “giving” I mean keeps on festering. Christianity exudes an oozing rancid pus that encrapulates and taints those exposed to its toxic effects. Dogmatic religious beliefs, like those espoused by Christian Patriarchy, are the putrefying ichor that rots modern secular society.
Pleasantries aside, this is probably one of the worst things you will read all day. I’m going to re-post a article from No Longer Quivering about Matt, a young patriarch in training, and his thoughts on the role of women in a
. . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: Christian Patriarchy featuring Matt : Ball of Slime in Training
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