“Conservative” governments never like to let a crisis go to waste. Dr. John Cowell, sole administrator of Alberta Health Services (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Hence the concept of “disaster capitalism,” which author Naomi Klein so chillingly described in 2007 as the end result of the Shock Doctrine of modern neoliberal economics.
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Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Melody Schreiber writes about the perfectly awful timing of Joe Biden’s wrong-headed declaration that the COVID-19 pandemic is “over” even as a particularly damaging wave was cresting. And Troy Farah reports on new research showing that the treatments which previously offered some means
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Dhruv Khullar interviews Ashish Jha about what’s to come in the COVID-19 pandemic – including the desperate need for mitigation measures to reduce an unsustainable amount of spread. And Alexander Quon reports on the increase in COVID deaths in Saskatchewan from 2021 to 2022
Continue readingAlberta Politics: That rumble you hear is the sound of the Shock Doctrine artillery softening up Alberta for austerity on steroids
In trench warfare, before the shock troops go over the top, the artillery softens up the defenders with a barrage at the point of the attack. In the midst of a great struggle with a mysterious coronavirus that threatens all mankind, we are being subjected to such a barrage by
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Annie Lowrey writes about the long-term effects of the millennial generation facing a second economic shock in the years which would normally serve as the base for personal stability and growth. – Polly Toynbee weighs in on the holes exposed in social
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The new two-tier medicine: real physicians for the rich, an Internet app for the rest of us?
Get ready for the new two-tier medicine! Real doctors for the rich; Internet apps of the rest of us. Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro (Photo: Government of Alberta). You think I’m kidding? Wednesday night, I found an email in my inbox from Telus Corp., the corporate monstrosity based in the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: A little shock therapy for the masses
Thoughts on Trump, the Deep State, Psyops & the Virus: Explains what is happening now…. The Shock Doctrine (film). The deep state steers Trump. (Demonstrated fact.) Smart move would be to nudge him to dismiss the coronavirus as over-hyped. (Speculative as to nudging, but he did.) Then the lemmings will
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Appointment of conservative economist Jack Mintz to head Jason Kenney’s latest economic panel is not a good augury for Alberta
Come into my office, Alberta, and sit down. I’m sorry to have to tell you that your prognosis is not good. I’m not talking about coronavirus. That will be painful, but you’re strong and young and I’m confident you could survive coronavirus … Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (Photo: David J.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Richard Partington discusses the rise of inequality and some of the options to combat it. And PressProgress points out the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s conclusion that the NDP’s plan for a wealth tax can turn money currently being hoarded by the ultra-rich into tens
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Brad Delong writes that political choices – not a lack of resources – are responsible for the limited progress being made toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. – Matt Bruenig weighs in on the U.S.’ unprecedented levels of wealth inequality. And Bill
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Matt Bruenig examines who is living in poverty in the U.S. – and how policy choices result in many people who can’t feasibly earn wages being stuck below the poverty line: (C)hildren, elderly, disabled people, and students make up around 70 percent
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Naomi Klein offers her take on why we need to talk about climate change when its effects are most visible: (E)very time we act as if an unprecedented weather event is hitting us out of the blue, as some sort of Act of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Naomi Klein highlights how capital and power combine to turn disasters into profit-making opportunities – while noting that the Trump presidency is just such a disaster. And Linda McQuaig discusses why we should see the income tax and other collective funding mechanisms as
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Naomi Klein on Neoliberalism, the Shock Doctrine and Disaster Capitalism
Normally I post only essays that I have written on my blog, but this deserves to be an exception to the rule. This is a true Must-Watch. Naomi Klein clarifies the history of neoliberalism and the current state of the world in a few short minutes. 100,000 protests a year
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta’s big problem is the same as Russia’s – so what’s Stephen Harper doing about it?
Keep those wells a-pumpin! Keep those oil prices low! Squeeze those Russkies! Uh … just a minute. … isn’t that bad for Alberta’s many varieties of Conservative? Below: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Mr. Harper’s hero, Margaret Thatcher. The Globe and Mail, tireless cheerleader for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Paul Krugman draws a much-needed connection between austerity politics and Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine: What Smith didn’t note, somewhat surprisingly, is that his argument is very close to Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine, with its argument that elites systematically exploit disasters to push through
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