Get Uppity, BC, or Get Screwed Again

I’ve written about being “uppity” many times before. It’s a controversial word. It’s been used to insult women and people of colour who don’t know their place. Who don’t know they should keep quiet and not try to cut back on white male entitlement. Don’t ya know. The fear of being uppity creates a chill … Continue reading Get Uppity, BC, or Get Screwed Again

What If We Treated Harper Like We Treated Haiti’s Aristide?

Just imagine! Imagine if, one day, US President Obama sent in the Marines to Ottawa [with support from, say, the Maldives, the UK and Peru, and other Coalition of the Willing partners], who then strolled up to 24 Sussex Drive, liberated Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his family from their residence, spirited them off to … Continue reading What If We Treated Harper Like We Treated Haiti’s Aristide?

The Risks of Hiring Women Instead of Men

Hiring women is risky, so it goes. Generally, they aren’t as reliable as men. They get pregnant and suck your benefits plan dry, then you need to train someone to fill in for them for 12 months, then displace that worker. Then when their kids get sick they often take days off claiming to be … Continue reading The Risks of Hiring Women Instead of Men

COPE: A Tonic for NPA Dispossession

The Solidarity Notes choir performed three songs before the Annual General Meeting of Vancouver’s progressive political party, the Coalition of Progressive Electors on Sunday, April 23, 2006. The second was about Coca-Cola and accusations of how the company uses Colombian para-military death squads to murder union organizers. Two lines were spectacular: “Some folks say it’s … Continue reading COPE: A Tonic for NPA Dispossession

Approaching the End of Public Education: The Sequel

Unions–especially public sector unions–are a diarrhea stain for advocates of neoliberal globalization efforts to maximize free markets, minimize government social programs and spending, and commodify the commons. Unions posit that human beings–after a century and a half of human rights advances–deserve basic rights such as the right to collectively organize into unions to negotiate wages … Continue reading Approaching the End of Public Education: The Sequel