When I was a child care worker and I wanted to give a frustrated child a little space, a sense of some autonomy in what was often a very restricted setting, I'd seek to give them a couple of acceptable (to me) options. It often eased the frustration. Are voters in the upcoming US election - and many others - essentially limited to choices that sustain the corporate status quo? If you want to give this some serious thought, try this recent column by Chris Hedges.
If you haven't seen this video, it's worth a watch - for Hedges' example of handling a shallow and insulting interviewer, while still getting his point across. Below is a more recent interview by The Straight, which includes his current perspective on his experience at the CBC.
GS: Last year you were ambushed by the CBC. Were you aware of Kevin O’Leary’s reputation before you went on?
CH: I never heard of the guy. And it was really depressing because it was the CBC, and if it was the CBC that it used to be—the CBC or the BBC—and they wanted me, I would go, because I thought they were a first-class news organizations. And the next thing you know, I’m on with an idiot who should be on Fox News. And I was furious because I was in the middle of a huge Occupy demonstration in Washington, and I walked to the CBC studios from it, and it was a waste of my time. And unfortunately I think it’s just emblematic of Harper’s assault against journalism that somebody like this would ever be on a current-affairs program.
GS: We interviewed him here shortly after. He doesn’t think he did anything wrong.
CH: Well, these guys are idiots. They’re really idiots, and because they can’t compete with you on ideas they descend to insults and character assassination, because that’s the only level of discourse they can engage in. That’s why I don’t go on Fox News. I don’t put myself in those positions, because it doesn’t contribute to public discourse in any way.
As I post, I'm listening to an interview with Alanis Morissette given today at a women's conference. She is introduced as "one of the most influential female rock musicians in contemporary music." An articulate and warm conversation - impressively inclusive.
A study at University College London in the UK has found that conservatives' brains have larger amygdalas than the brains of liberals. Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" emotions. At the same time, conservatives' brains were also found to have a smaller anterior cingulate -- the part of the brain responsible for courage and optimism.
So much for personal choice!
I'd be interested in who the exceptions are - those who've gone beyond thier genetic programming. My guess is they would have a more enriched understanding and outlook.
Sometimes I am aware that a post does not meet the title of this blog because of the negligible amount of provocation involved. I think that this interview does qualify, by challenging much that many of us assume is OK. Importantly, it is filled with reason and a few questions - about an aspect of US conduct which is common to many other countries: the lies used to justify war.
David Swanson is the co-founder of the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition, and has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign. David is the author of "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union", and his latest book is called "War is a Lie", published in November 2010
It is a great pleasure to listen to people who have nothing to say. They ought to be what they are and not be judged for it; still less should one try to influence them. Keep your eyes wide open and let it all flow in, in all its senselessness, disorder, and futility. You can make sense of it only later, in your own imagination.
Informative and balancing review of mental illness, based on the book and the reviewer's experience.
Quote:
Canada is currently experiencing a crisis in mental health care. If Mark
were again wandering the streets of Vancouver in a delusional state, he
would barely be noticed. The devastating impact of untreated mental
illness has had its way with many homeless people who are constantly
visible. Since one of the most common characteristics of psychosis is
that people don’t understand that they are ill, people often refuse
treatment. Particular points of view about what constitutes human rights
have begun to prevail and it's becoming more difficult for ill people
to receive the treatment that their illnesses make them want to refuse. I
know many consumers and even more families who understand the deadly
consequences of protecting people's "rights" to be mentally ill. Many
families, including mine, have endured the painful struggles of helping
an ill family member receive treatment against their will; we are
rewarded when the person, well again, thanks us for fighting on their
behalf.
This development of charity as a "built-in" feature of our politico-economic system has been grinding away in my mind for a while. It's a relief to have it articulated so well.
In this country, at least, the food bank was intended as emergency relief. Now, as corporate government treats hunger as a food bank responsibility, the food banks are running out of food and calling on the people to give more, many of them the same ones who now need the food bank themselves.
My wish with Outliers is that it makes us understand how much of a
group project success is. When outliers become outliers it is not just
because of their own efforts. It's because of the contributions of lots
of different people and lots of different circumstances— and that means
that we, as a society, have more control about who succeeds—and how
many of us succeed—than we think. That's an amazingly hopeful and
uplifting idea. - Malcom Gladwell
According to Gladwell, it's the extreme that tells us most about the middle.
A little truth to dilute the poisonous lies being spread in the US.
Canadian Doctors for Medicare hosted a celebration of Medicare in
Canada. The speakers included Roy Romanow, former Saskatchewan Premier
and Commissioner on Health Care in Canada. They tell Americans that
Canadian universal health care works and encourage Americans to
implement a single payer universal health care systems.
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