duplicity

When an MP (M. Chong) can stand up in parkiament and berate the idea of a mega quarry and demand that it's development be stopped while at the same time tell us that GMOs are feeding the world - not true - that they are in 70 to 80% of our foods - sadly, true - and that they are also good for the soil they are grown in - not true - all this only underscores the need of the "Occupy Movement".

Suggest you google "Illnesses caused by GMOs"
"What doctors think about GMOs"
"Monsanto in India"

View: The World According to Monsanto
The Future of Food

Read: Thomas Pawlick's, "The End of Food"

To Learn from and for Occupy I...

Brigette wrote, "It is not surprising that cities built to maintain the status quo are trying to evict Occupiers -- they feel threatened by an empowered and awakened mass."

Snert old boy, the working masses have ever been but "rabble" to the Shaughnessy Heights set, however we folks manifest ourselves... Unless its cap in hand and head bowed to our betters of course, grateful for whatever crumbs they allow us. But then, everyone here knows where you are coming from.

But on to the more intelligent observations of Brigette.

It is really interesting how all of us engaged with Occupy in one way or another, are coming to, correctly in my view, understand the significance of Occupy, and roughly at least, where it goes from here. Certainly this is just the opening round of the emerging class struggle, and none should be surprise or worry over much by the fact that the ruling class State and its armed defenders, sanctioned by its tamed courts, have succeeded in shutting Occupy down on the public grounds it has occupied. When push comes to shove, these so-called "free world" States do and will ever behave in relation to "the people aroused" not one whole hell of a lot differently than any authoritarian Arab regime. The same ruling class privilege and interests are what they are really all about and defending after-all. There should be no surprise here.

Secondly, that all important and prerequisite "critical mass" is still not in place. While there is a slow "awakening" going on amongst us working folks, and many are seriously hurting under the impact of Conservative/fascist and economically imploding capitalism policy, there is really a high state of disbelieving incredulity out here. It seems all unbelievable and surreal on the heels of the working class expectations created in the prosperity social democratic State period of the postwar II. Though it is dying, there remains a lingering hope that soon, it will all turn out to have been but a passing phase, and that what was will return, and everything re-right itself. So there needs to be some natural "catching up with reality" go on here amongst probably most working people still... never an easy or straight forward process. (Nobody in their right mind wants a bitter, possibly bloody fight if it can be avoided.)

But.... if one is paying attention to what is going on within the global corporate system, the ongoing corruption, bank failures, missing small investor funds, and the spreading debt crises now finally lapping at the shores of the largest debtor nation in the world, the US Empire, (even starting to effect "untouchable" Germany), you know this is NOT over. Nor is it to be anytime soon at all. And the lives of the working masses even within "advanced" capitalism are about to take serious hits and deteriorate rather seriously.

continued next post...

To Learn From and For Occupy II...

continuing from previous post...

Similarly, all the signs of global relations "within" major parts of the capitalist world, that now include China, Russia and Iran, are showing signs of seriously building war pressures. And as the global economic system deteriorates further, the tensions and competition for resources and markets is going to further inflame this danger. Already is between the US Empire and China especially. So we can expect, in response to economic issues at home and growing tension abroad, a growing attempt to stimulate growth at home and intimidate competing capitalist States abroad... through "militarization" of the major national economies of capitalism, including us "lap dogs of the Beast", as is Canada. With which of course, up will exponentially rise the world war risk.

So Brigitte, this is indeed far from over. Occupy was in fact but the initial opening round, imperfect perhaps as it was, pointing the way to the needed "peoples" response in the very near future.

Some exchange of experience and analysis needs to go on amongst all of us, to learn from what has transpired and is still ongoing... in order to further advance "the people's interest" here.

Note:

I see large numbers of union workers have joined Occupy in Toronto, to assist in preventing the dismantling of their camp. Bloody good show. When you see that union workers, typically the better paid and generally more well off, are out to defend street actions like Occupy, you know that more vulnerable "unorganized" workers can't be far behind in understanding what is happening here.

A tip of my hat to union workers in Toronto.

The 99% hope it is only the beginning, the 1% hope it is the end

We still have a long way to go and if past is prologue, pepper spray is also just the tip of the ice-berg. Whether people realize it or not the occupy movement does represent their interests, now the farmers have to get together with the Postal Worker's who have to get together with Air Canada workers who have to get together with all the workers.....all at once.
"Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth, like dew
Which in sleep had fall'n on you:
Ye are many - they are few."

art

Just as the image of the pepper spraying cop has become a powerful icon, appearing as he has in so much art, I would like to see the Canadian equivalent appearing as a positive image: Brigette and her sign imposed on the tar sands and anywhere else people can put her. Perhaps the Tyee can be a platform for this.

Uh huh. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As usual, Ms DePape confuses her opinions with facts and reality.

This group of Occu-losers represents the disillusioned young adults who have been raised to believe they are "special". Raised in an environment that perpetrated the myth that "everyone wins", "everybody gets a ribbon". They all graduated with degrees in "Entitlement". THEN, they hit the bricks, rudely discovering that there actually IS "competition" in the real world, that 100k salaries are NOT automatic with their Entitlement Degree. That "on the street" someone REALLY IS "keeping score". They are the unprepared, the unemployable, the current and future welfare bums, the entitled who will live by their survival instincts off anyone and everyone they can. They will never be able or willing to produce or contribute. They have managed to use the "shotgun method" of developing their "protest issues" in a desperate attempt to garner support from any and everyone they can(sound familiar?).

Not falling for their scam, EVER. They can go back to living in Mommy's basement, shovelling fast food at their McClerk job(that they are unqualified for) so they can buy their dope and continue to live in their drug-induced illusion of self-relevancy .
By the way, did you know that 94% of Canada's millionaires were "self-made" ? Which means THEY WORKED AT IT.

Come back when the REAL "focus" is on tearing down the Corporate Welfare Bums and breachers of the public trust in Victoria.

Homelessness is no walk in the park

"the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others"

Justice Big Mac makes her ruling using the Charter to say there is no right to housing so they needed to shut-up and Go Home because society is in real danger from the youth sleeping in tents rather than dying on the streets.
Which is kinda bizarre because Coleman gets a ruling saying the police may accompany the homeless to a safe place and here you have justice putting them back on the streets while Coleman mays cuts to shelters. What is with that?

However a walk in the park on a cold, dark winter day is a must in a just society. Just imagine the harm being done by the homeless expressing their right to equal opportunity while they are fighting for their lives on cold dark city streets.

This wouldn't be the first time for justice Big Mac makes her ruling to suit the 1% as she derails the public from the truth by putting a ban on BC Rail.

My generation marched to protest the Vietnam War

and today's young generation are protesting inequality in society. I support them.

What is there not to like about people protesting derivative trading on the NYSE, or the bundling of bad morgtages into a bottle of poison pills, then selling them on the interational market? The sub-prime mortgage sales were nothing more than criminal activity dressed up in a bowler hat. It is major league white collar crime gone beserk.

The Wall Street bankers who were bailed out gave themselves multi-million dollar bonuses with the money. [ADVOCATING VIOLENCE IS NOT ALLOWED IN THIS FORUM. COMMENT REMOVED. -MODERATOR.] Their contempt for the rest of us is beyond words. They are no better than drug dealers.

The Occupy people have man different issues but they all want to be recognised and to get our attention. In that regard they are no different from the dozens of registered charities that regale us every day on television and in the mail, asking for money to cure disease. The latest campaign is called, "Make Death Wait". I think death should take a vacation, personally, but it is part of life and we should stop trying to defy nature.

The Occupy Movement lacks focus, but I hope they get their act together, run for office and get elected. Get will get my vote. Here in Nanaimo we have a couple of brand-new councillors. One of them is George Anderson, a highly-articulate postal worker who happens to be black. He got my vote and I wish him well. We need Brigette de Pape and her friends to remind us that we must change out ways, and fast.

The Baby Boomers should start giving some of their toys up for the things that really count, like fresh air.

On the wrong side of history, cboo

Every movement that has improved peoples lives has been slandered by unthinking people like cboo. See http://www.straightgoods.ca/2011/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=920

Brigette, great to see you

Brigette, great to see you writing again, here and on this. I continue to admire your involvement, persistence and insight.

It is encouraging to hear your optimism and to be reminded of the movement through your eyes. From you I am given the vision of a rumbling mountain slowly waking up. While your dad is correct, grave inequality does remains, as with any real problem, the first step is awareness; In this case as you say "a recognition of the systemic causes of inequality" is indeed an achievement. At the same time we need to stop allowing ourselves to be lulled into ignorance, lulled back to sleep.

Your optimism reminds me that even as the various Occupy Sites gets hit with eviction notices and slowly disbanded, as will be the case, the masses are on the move, albeit baby steps, but those baby steps can lay a strong foundation and can help to create a strong, unstoppable movement.

Thanks for joining the Canadian Youth Delegation at COP17. Best of luck there. Please keep contributing to the Tyee. Your voice and leadership is appreciated.

Protecting the homeless from death

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Housing/2009/12/04/Homeless-apprehensions-could-begin-this-weekend/

Nobody can become a

Nobody can become a millionaire by "making" only by "taking" it.

Ed Deak.

good work! but avoid the temptation to re-politicize via science

we have new hopefulness [for a return to sane social organizing] to celebrate in the ‘occupy’ movement and brigette, your activism seems to have sprouted into blossom with just the right timing to help fertilize this social transformation.

the birth of central-authority-directed cities and states has long historical roots, which go back to the unnatural overthrow (inverting) of an ‘inhabitory’ evolutionary dynamic, where the dynamics of habitat, what is really [actually, physically] going on, orchestrates the dynamics of the inhabitants ... replacing it with a top-down intellectual-theoretic political model (see Gary Snyder’s essay ‘Re-Inhabitation’).

today social health and welfare is driven top-down by economic and political theory that refuses to allow our social dynamic to be evolved in a physical reality centered/orchestrated way. the ‘occupy’ movement, by making no ‘demands’ is, in essence, suspending the troublesome intellectual-theoretic top-down forcing of change, ... and eliciting support, instead, for a physical reality induced evolution of the social dynamic, as associates with mutual aid and direct action orchestrated by unique situational particulars [which cannot be generalized by way of some intellectual-theoretic model and imposed top-down].

this inverting of the sourcing influence of social organization, from top-down political-economic theory to physical-reality induced living space dynamics (‘re-inhabitation’), is at the very core of the transformative ‘occupy’ pulse.

with regard to Occupy COP17, it is worth noting that the advocacy of the top-down imposing of the intellectual-theoretic greenhouse gas (AGW) model on the world is the inverse of the emerging global ‘occupy’ pulse, a pulse that implies a return to letting our behaviours be ‘earth-centered’, orchestrated by what is really, physically occurring. theories developed by experts (pick your favourite climate expert or political climate scientist clique) impose their projections on our intellect [not on physical reality]. so, one word of caution, brigette, the greenhouse gas model is a highly simplified ‘theoretical model’ that we impose on our mental modeling, that is not imposed on nature. beware of the temptation to ‘politicize’ this over-simplistic intellectual-theoretic-model so as to impose it top-down on the global collective, rather than cultivating a ‘re-inhabitory’ return to letting our behaviours be orchestrated by the ‘reality’ of what is actually physically unfolding, to restore the attuning of our behaviours to the real physical world we share inclusion in.

Obfuscation

Emile, for someone who encourages consensus rather than top-down decision-making, I find it curious that you would be so arrogant. If there is an obfuscation award to be given, you'd take it.

Obfuscation aside,

emile has identified a critical point the occupiers need to keep in mind. Contrary to popular belief about the similarities to past progressive movements (the union movement, civil rights movement, women's movement, peace movement, gay rights movement and environmental movement), the Occupy Movement has one significant difference; it is asking for a complete “inversion of top-down political-economic theory”. The OM may be following a model similar to that used in previous movements; starting with groups sharing concerns over moral, economic and political issues, but that’s as far as the similarity goes.

Reclaiming agency at the community level, if it’s going to have an impact, means folks have to take a role in commuity politics that involves more than showing up at the polling station once every three years. Considering that approx 23% of voters turned out to vote in my municipality, the Occupy Movement has it’s work cut out. As Jerry Munro points out, if this movement is going to succeed, getting boots on the ground is essential,

However, in the greater picture that may be a minor problem. Most, if not all, communities have ceased to be self-sufficient which means a complete restructuring of all inter-community dialogue. Trade in resources and consumer goods may suffer from protectionist pressure which may lead to an increase in global conflict.

It’s one thing to topple repressive regimes, it’s another to come up with something better.

Jerry Munro

Fancy that, you're intimidated by wealth, aren't you? Interesting.

Back to the Bell Curve, it'll always be there. There'll always be someone on the top and someone on the bottom. The bulge in the middle might change shape from time to time, though.

In this case it's only about 1% of the top 1% that really needs to be dealt with and unfortunately that will never drag the corresponding 1% up from the bottom.

Well there goes your credibility?

kwd has it right

we can't have our cake and eat it too. if we are part of a group that wishes to subsume the top-down imposing of theory' and liberate ourselves so that we can proceed on the basis of;

“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path.” ― Joseph Campbell

... then once we have a 'quorum' on that basis, we can't, as a sub-collective, take our favourite environmental protection theory or labour union theory and install it as a top-down imposed set of directives, since the apparatus we must then assemble to do that is the self-same apparatus that the Occupy pulse is trying to subsume.

with respect to rekindling an inhabitory community, the 'occupy' pulse is conditioning a non-top-down reflex, so that if collapse comes, and people are split between (a) spending their time lobbying for action from the central government, and (b) re-kindling inhabitory community; i.e. the occupy pulse is conditioning our reflex so that the split will be more oriented to (b) than to (a), reversing the historical tendency to this point, of imploring a power greater than us to come to our rescue while we stay paralyzed in the security of our homes, hoping and praying for salvation. this being an invitation for power-hungry politicians to grow themselves god-like status.

A couple thoughts

First, another excellent post, Jerry. One of your best lately.

...that all important and prerequisite "critical mass" is still not in place. While there is a slow "awakening" going on amongst us working folks, and many are seriously hurting under the impact of Conservative/fascist and economically imploding capitalism policy, there is really a high state of disbelieving incredulity out here. It seems all unbelievable and surreal on the heels of the working class expectations created in the prosperity social democratic State period of the postwar II.

I agree. 'The beginning is near.'

Christophe, on the problems you see I generally agree. But I cannot help but find you, and others, looking at the banking and corporate crimes, the CDOs and other fraudulent instruments, the rampant corruption, and abuses of position and power as the disease rather than symptom.

Politics has morphed so rapidly into something beyond our control, the conventional thinking, and tools like voting in this format, will not do. No doubt there is a system of governance where voting works, where the will of the people is routinely reflected in the governing body's conduct. It's just not our system.

When a government is not responsive to the will of the people -- would anyone dare suggest it is? -- it either does not care about the people or the people have no control over the political body itself. Perhaps you think a change in the line-up will help. Is that it?

Returning to the polls when called, giving my thumbs up to this faux-democracy, this bought and paid for republican system brandishing a cheap tiara, by participating, is a march along the road toward destruction because the system is unfit.

The faithful body politic have the battered woman syndrome. The state routinely and systemically manipulates them, short-changes them, lies to them, threatens them, robs from them, cheats on them and generally abuses them, but they keep going back for more. There is another way. We could build a more direct democracy, a more horizontal democracy starting with our own actions and at the grass-roots level. But it means turning away from the damaged and unsuitable super-structure.

This is a unique time in history despite many overlaps historically. The convergence of ecological destruction, global warfare and the ever-present threat of the nuclear button, the inevitable economic meltdown, and the population expansion insist on almost immediate change. We simply are not prepared cognitively for what lies ahead.

And cboo44, well, nevermind. There's not much I can say without being rude about your ignorance and lack of understanding, or about your predisposition to blame the victims of our vile political machination. So I won't except that much disillusionment, and no just with the youth, is not with the failings of entitlement, but with the cultural lies propagandizing the Horatio Alger myth.

snert, are you completely blind?

"Fancy that, you're intimidated by wealth, aren't you? Interesting."

What's interesting about that? Depending on the richness, they are immune from all accountability for their acts. George W Bush is a raving mass-murderer and he gets a couple hundred thousand dollars per speaking engagement. Whereas a guy born as the bottom of the class pool (and almost invariably must stay there) if he carries around the wrong vegetation in his pocket, he gets incarcerated.

Sorry, but at a certain level only a moron would not find that completely intimidating.

Opposing status quo is now a crime?

Jerry said: "... the ruling class State and its armed defenders, sanctioned by its tamed courts, have succeeded in shutting Occupy down on the public grounds it has occupied."

You got that right. The government lawyer arguing in court the other day for a blanket injunction against the Vancouver protesters was Craig Jones. In 1997, while he was studying at UBC he was arrested during the APEC protests for holding up a sign. Essentially, he was protesting the same anti-democracy and economic inequalities as the Occupy movement today. By the way, those protests introduced Sgt. Pepper to the world, whose abusive method of crowd control was used just the other day against peaceful student protesters in California.

Now here Jones is, an officer of the court, in service to anti-democratic forces doing his best to shut down protests that he was once part of.

Consider how the courts across this country have impeded the rights of Occupy protesters and see that in relation to how G20 summit protesters were treated by the police and courts, (remember how a police officer told one protester "this ain't Canada right now" http://chainthedogma.blogspot.com/2010/10/constitutional-expert-says-beware-of.html)

This is a truly frightening time if anyone who opposes the status quo and current distribution of power in society can be branded criminal extremists. Here is what a police intelligent report on the G8 summit protests had to say about that:

"The 2010 G8 summit in Huntsville ... will likely be subject to actions taken by criminal extremists motivated by a variety of radical ideologies," reads a JIG report from June 2009, before the G20 summit was scheduled, that sets out the intelligence group's mission. "These ideologies may include variants of anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism, nihilism, socialism and/or communism.

"The important commonality is that these ideologies ... place these individuals and/or organizations at odds with the status quo and the current distribution of power in society."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/11/22/g20-police-operation.html

Ignorance is bliss

The nay sayers above are like other groups of people in history who couldn't see things like the deception used to start the Vietnam war, couldn't see the need for civil rights, couldn't see the lies and deceptions used by Bush and company to illegally invade Iraq, refused to see the criminal behavior by banks and Wall street that nearly bankrupt the USA. At this point in time those same people can't see the value in the occupy movement. But ask those same people if they or their folks collect old age pension, ask them if they're willing to tear up their medicare cards and pay for their own medical needs, ask them if they collect CPP or any other type of pension. All these benefits were fought for by people like Brigette.

The nay sayers obviously don't see their cushy lives being threatened...........YET. So they chirp from the sidelines and criticize things they know little or nothing about. But when the greedy corporations and the bought and paid for politicians get around to taking their comforts away then we'll all hear from them. They'll want help from people like Brigette et al.

There always has been and

There always has been and will be inequality between people, and never worse than it was under the communist regimes, where people were supposed to be "equal"

But there's a limit to everything. The old, Platonian theory was that the highest paid
shouldn't get more that 10 times of the lowest.

There may have been a larger gaps between the highest and the lowest paid 40-50 years ago, but most people were still making a decent living and nobody complained.

Now when the gap widens to several hundred times, while almost a million line up at the foodbanks and Canada has some of the biggest child poverty numbers, that's daylight robbery and obscenity.

Can anybody make an excuse for the $45. million salary of the head of the Royal Bank 2-3 years ago ? Or that the lowest paid of John Manley's Chief executives steals some $2. million from the pubic ?

Don't people realize that the public pays all salaries, one way, or another, even when
they never have anything to do with certain businesses ?

Everybody pays for everybody, therefore the public has the right to know and decide what the gaps should be and tax the hell out of some. When we were living in England from 1948 to 55, some people were taxed 90% and survived very nicely.

Look at them now..........

Ed Deak.

Bang on Perry!

Most of us are agreeable to being governed according to the rule of law, no?

But when the rule of law is determined by and in the interests of the 'few', problems must manifest. The 'few' are allowed, by rule of law, to operate behind closed doors, in small cliques, within and beyond the governmental body itself, often taking great pains to be as secretive as possible on important issues.

Yet the 'many' become subject to these new rules always after the fact. And the 'many' have no effective channel available to undo the 'rules'. The controlling rules of the 'few' are not conducive to the desires of the 'many'. And so we end up right where we are: living in an increasingly fascist, corporatist state ruled by a portion of the 'plutocratic few' who control our governance and our behaviour.

For along the way, the system effectively co-opts plenty of the 'many' through propaganda, effectively and systematically controlling with their rules and wealth what gets easily heard and what doesn't. These 'many' co-opted folks (predominantly white collar) operate as the guards to the system, whether knowingly or not. They are not bad people on the whole, they are just steered to operate against the interests of attaining a better society.

Often this happens simply because the message we learn and believe is that these are respectable positions within society; and respect is worthy of pursuit. The folks who do succeed to these positions become worthy of our collective respect simply because of the costume they wear. Their true character is not in question.

But who ever seriously asks why a lawyer or a banker or the profit-driven businessman should make multiples more than the person who provides the food we eat or clothes we wear or builds the shelter we live in?

Few of the 'successful' ones will admit their achievements were gained primarily because of the class they were born into, and secondarily because of the work they did. To most of them, hard work and diligence will take you to the top, for those are the only necessary prerequisites needed to succeed. That is what they learned, and it accounts for their success. And so there is the proof in the most circular way.

Not to belittle the efforts many of them made, but the respect and rewards granted to these sorts of positions of respect are completely disproportional to those of many other equally important occupations. There are millions of similarly talented people working in Canada, around the world, who are relegated to subsistence occupations, or worse.

It boils down to one's opportunity and, regrettably, opportunity is relative to class; and to a self-perpetuating system of governance which prefers to keep things just as the are.

So how can the exploited 'many' participate in the direction of their own lives when always needing to conform to rules designed and enforced by the same political system, controlled by the same class of the 'few', which perpetuates them?

Perry

Or (to paraphrase snert): "Fancy that, he's mesmerized by wealth, isn't he?"

Added Observations...

Great comments from so many. A change IS underway... not least importantly, in much of the thinking of many us.(Myself included. :-)

I do want to acknowledge my old friend KWD though, and emile, both of whom touch on that very important point of first, the prerequisite to build critical mass, but secondly KWD on the very important and more difficult point of the social and economic model that needs to be aimed for, based on community (and I would add "national") self-sufficiency. Which is where, there at the community level of the future, in my view, that the beating heart of a real workable and "direct" democracy needs to be established as well. (And in their, hopefully, new "co-operative" economic enterprises to encourage this "self-sufficiency" and replace the crushing vulnerabilites imposed by corporate capitalism and hierarchical democracy memes.

If there are two watchwords to the future I think, they are "self-sufficiency" and real working "direct democracy" across all society and its economy.

Ms. DePape: Inspiring and Motivating

We are privileged to see the courage and tenacity of Canada's budding intellectuals stepping forward.

Ms. DePape, joined by Kai Nagata and others, are filling the void created by the consumeristic world of TV and mainstream media propaganda. Her insights are right on.

We must join them and all do what we can to save ourselves from the 1%.

Excellent essay.

law-based society is what is in question

i would echo jerry munro’s observation that the commentaries in a dialogue like this are reflecting the birthing of a more comprehensive way of thinking.

in my view, it is no longer a given that we should accept being governed by the rule of law as a means of sustaining harmonious organization in the social dynamic. as chuang tzu observed, laws and morals that are imposed breed crime because they apply to ‘what people do’ (i.e. what individuals do), while ‘what people don’t do’ is the greater influence on the social dynamic. Amassing, not sharing wealth by fencing off and gating nature’s bounty can create multitudes of desperate, needy people, setting up a have-have-not gradient that induces the growth of prostitution, thievery, and desperation (and associated drug problems).

wealth is a primary source of power and control and a materialist society programs everyone for growing their wealth. because law orients to ‘what people do’, those that ‘do nothing’ in an environment of increasing imbalance are not violating any laws, but as more people become more desperate and more disillusioned with the entrenchment of growing disparity, they will be the ones who violate the law and become criminals. historically, when social disparity becomes extreme enough, there is revolution. as desperation rises on the way to revolution, the law becomes more important in ‘keeping the peace’ because of the growth of agitation in the desperate/disillusioned sector of the populace; i.e. laws apply to ‘what people do’, and ‘the have-nots’ are forced to ‘do something’ in order to get a handout from ‘the haves.’ prostitution is immoral and illegal in many places, but ‘the johns’ sector of the populace manages to maintain ‘respectability’ by being the law and having privileged access to the media microphone.

law-based organizing is not the only choice of social organizing architecture; the organization in aboriginal communities, as in nature’s ecosystems is ‘beyond good and evil’, orienting directly to the cultivating and sustaining of balance and harmony. law-based societies organize on the basis of intellectual assessments as to whether a particular behaviour is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and only the central authority who makes up all this stuff up can decide under what conditions it is ‘good’ to kill and to seize property.

”Teaching love and duty provides a fitting language with which to prove that robbery is really for the general good. A poor man must swing, for stealing a belt buckle, But if a rich man steals a whole state He is acclaimed as statesman of the year.” --- Chuang Tzu

Igbymac: this is NOT a unique time in history. Just the opposite

I am sure every generation has fallen into that trap, over and over again. We see ourselves at a crossroads, just like everyone before us did. That is because we have freewill and the option to determine our own fate and future. There is nothing unique in that. We have the right to vote once every three or four years and to run for office if we choose. We can succeed or fail at our own discretion, but it takes hard work to succeed.

My biggest concern at the moment is how Winston Blackmore can get away with behaving like Brigham Young or the Sheikh of Arabia, while living in BC.

That is freedom for you!

Christophe

You are right, this isn't a unique time.

The Empire always had a 1000+ military outposts watching and threatening the planet.

As always, the nuclear arsenals are in the hands of more nations than ever.

The escalating ecological destruction driven by global capitalism is as always.

The need to consume, and thus waste more, has always existed.

Our minds have always been persuaded to consume recklessly despite our consumption doubling this last 50 years.

The population demanding resources has always been over 7 billion people.

In percentages, fewer people have the ability or the means to sustain themselves in the most basic of ways -- as always.

Warfare has always been conducted from 12,000 kms away from A/C army offices in the Nevada desert, with the drone pilots required to wear their jumpsuits for effect (on their mindset, of course), effectively making the murder of innocents and strangers easier and easier.

The state has always been able to immobilize masses of people with sound cannons and electrical shocks with virtually no risk to themselves.

The people have always been able to be tracked and their speech monitored while talking on their cells.

The people of our militaristic, dominant culture have always been living with minds shaped after a 100 year propaganda campaign has been raging against their thinking.

I could go on, but why? The proof of our unique time in history, facing challenges that have never converged at once, is everywhere.

Yes, Christophe, these times are old hat. Stop the pipeline but support the suicidal political machine. We have all the tools at our disposal to solve the woes of our redundant times if only we'd go vote. /sarcasm

The problem, I believe, is in our understanding of our politics and our role within the geo-political landscape. Like always, our understanding is derived from what we learn. But the vast majority of the dis-information we consume is tactically fed to us by the exact same forces that control the political machine.

In many ways, our minds have suffered from Taylorism: cut apart and compartmentalized. When it comes to comprehending our world, being able to look at only a component or two of the political sphere is dangerous. One is no more able to diagnose what's systemically wrong with our political-culture than an assembly-plant tire installer can likely build a car.

I'm not saying I have many answers. Nor am I saying voting, per se, is bad.(It isn't.) But I am saying this comprehensive understanding of the forces effecting our politics should be sought by all. And I am saying voting works only when there is timely and appropriate accountability in exchange for your support.

Again, the biggest concern we all must try to conquer is, and remains, the bludgeoning force of propaganda found everywhere.

Whatever one's view, 'go vote' IS the establishment's propagandized position. Now ask why? Is it perhaps a distraction like TV?

Igby

Good points all, but we have always had new technology to kill with. Gunpowder was seriously believed to be the end of the world as it was then known. Nuclear weapons really ARE the ultimate weapon, and remote-controlled drones are a new and novel way to kill, but we have not changed and human nature has not changed since August 1945 when Japan took delivery of the first big firework. In that sense, nothing has changed.

Citizen engagement starts with voting, but it should not end there. We don't need an exotic conspiracy theory when 75% of us don't even bother to vote at all. Canadians just don't appreciate what they have is all.

Things are pretty good here, but we are vulnerable to manipulation and control if we don't even pay attention to politics at all.

I think we need a Canadian Nazi Party or a CKKK to start beating people up and burning crosses, just to break through our complacency.

Granville, but the question remains

You say, "Things are pretty good here". Now let's look at the big picture: the global reality of humanity sharing a planet.

In our corner of the planet most say, 'things are pretty good here'. OK. Why? Why are things good in Canada and not so good in Iraq, for example?

[Assuming one thinks things in Canada are good which, I suggest, is somewhat delusional once examined with a more comprehensive view of affairs.]

Most of the good attributable to our society comes at the expense of things being pretty bad for millions more elsewhere. It is not anything significantly noble we do that makes things pretty good. Quite the contrary.

In a nutshell, we are first told, and secondly believe, we have it good. Somehow we ignore the fact our nation resides upon, steals and hoards wealth far better than most. We can thank our ethnocentric world view and complicity with the Empire.

Surely all thieves enjoy the spoils of their crime if left unapprehended!

I agree "we are vulnerable to manipulation and control" but I take issue when you say it can be cured by "paying attention to politics". Politics is the dominant sideshow going on in our world. Politics is propaganda.

The cure? for propaganda is not to pay attention to it, but to understand it. Until then, we cannot identify nor recognize how it is being used. Without that ability, we can never question its influencing message, nor make the appropriate choices in our decisions to combat its manipulative powers.

I'll leave you with these words from an unknown source:

"Salvation is saving yourself from the decisions of others by making your own."

igbymac

Wars can be launched for any number of nefarious reasons. Some of them may even appear to be directly associated with "certain people's wealth and treasures" but in the long run they are usually over diminishing resources or territorial encroachment.

Wars might be momentarily prevented by redistributing the "wealth and treasures" but then again that would only provide temporary relief and then the pressures would just build again. What would come next?

In theory we are smart enough to avoid war however practically we still have a long hard road to travel and cherry picking by blaming the 'wealthy' will not speed up the process.

It's not about the wealth, any how. It's all about power and powerlessness. Money can't buy happiness but it does buy freedom (to do what you choose).