Liberal Leadership Race Woman-less

Far and Wide does an assessment on the 'contenders' for the Liberal Leadership who he thinks have a chance. Who's Winning The Liberal Leadership Race? CTV says that the backroom boys agree. Liberal brass suggest tight 5-way leadership race

Unfortunately there are NO women in this listing. Where are they?

You have at least two running, Caroline Bennet and Martha Hall Findlay. So the Liberals publish a Pink Paper on Women in the Party and the top dogs in this race remain, men.

Calgary Herald Columnist Don Martin opines that Martha Hall Findlay may be the dark horse. No-name Toronto lawyer vows to take Liberals out of the doghouse As does the Tor Star;MARTHA'S THE ONE TO WATCH

Hope springs eternal as the saying goes. But boys being boys, and backroom boys being the ultimate boys club, well the Liberals will be a long time coming in electing a woman as leader.

Why? Well they can look to the Conservatives who elected a woman PM only to lose the election. Not her fault, it was a Mulroney backlash. And the NDP has had two women leaders, neither of which managed to get the publicity Jack the Moustache has.

Parliamentary Politics remains a boys club regardless of sufferage. Women in the Liberal Party remain tokens, just ask Sheila who was stabbed in the back by Martin. Or ask Ignatieff who took his seat from a woman MP.

The Liberals are all about tokenism. Always have been, always will be. They have their token labour types, like Buzz and the General Workers Union in Toronto, they have their token minority groups,aboriginals, in the closet gays and lesbians, visible minorities, pro-lifers, pro-choice, ethnic minorities, women, etc.

Tokenism is Liberalism.


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A Green Harper?

The Edmonton Journal suggests that Harper could become the Green PM if he made Clayoquot Sound a national park. I am sure the editorial board had its tongue firmly in its cheek, with this cheeky comment;

If the B.C. government won't come to its senses and reverse the regional board's decision and permanently protect the area, Prime Minister Stephen Harper ought to find a way. Harper could think of it as a fitting payback to the lumber industry that has embarrassed him over his softwood lumber deal, and at the same time as a way of winning back some of the environmental support his government has lost over the retreat from the Kyoto climate-change accord.

Anyone in the PMO reading the Edmonton Journal? You might want to pass this on to the Harper.



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Murray Bookchin RIP

It is with great sadness that I have found out that anarchist theoritician, the author of Listen Marxist, The Limits of the City, etc. Founder of the Social Ecology Movement and anti-Lifestylist/Anti-Post Leftist Anarchism, and general curmodgen of the anarchist movement, Murray Bookchin has passed away.I agreed with Bookchin more than I disagreed with him.

For instance he dared to challenge the tree huggers with this idea; strip mining is better than deep mining. Mining is a horrible experience for workers as we can tell from the amount of mine accidents that occur. Far safer is strip mining. While it looks awful, the fact is that for the workers who mine, it is far more effective and safe. And the land can be reclaimed. While a mine can never be reclaimed. Those who talk about strip mining raping the earth should think about the miles of deep mines that dig into the earth never to be used again for anything expect perhaps for dumping toxic and nuclear waste. Brilliant.

A toast to Murray who will be with us still in his volumous writings. And I hope will continue to influence our movement with his thoughts. Because he remains a real alternative to the dweebs like the Chuck O , Jason McQuinn and the Green Anarchists. They are intellectual fleas and woe betide our movement with them as the next generation of anarchists. Ok everyone back to the books, lets read our Bookchin to get a good grounding in modern anarchist thought.


Here is a biography/eulogy on Murray.

SOURCE http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/74070.html

Murray Bookchin, visionary social theorist, dies at 85

Murray Bookchin, the visionary social theorist and activist, died

this Sunday, July 30.

By Brian Tokar

Murray Bookchin, the visionary social theorist and activist, died

during the early morning of Sunday, July 30th in his home in Burlington,

Vermont. During a prolific career of writing, teaching and political

activism that spanned half a century, Bookchin forged a new

anti-authoritarian outlook rooted in ecology, dialectical philosophy and

left libertarianism.

Keywords: Analysis, Global, Political Theory,

Murray Bookchin

Murray Bookchin, the visionary social theorist and activist, died

during the early morning of Sunday, July 30th in his home in Burlington,

Vermont. During a prolific career of writing, teaching and political

activism that spanned half a century, Bookchin forged a new

anti-authoritarian outlook rooted in ecology, dialectical philosophy and

left libertarianism.

During the 1950s and ‘60s, Bookchin built upon the legacies of utopian

social philosophy and critical theory, challenging the primacy of

Marxism on the left and linking contemporary ecological and urban crises

to problems of capital and social hierarchy in general. Beginning in the

mid-sixties, he pioneered a new political and philosophical

synthesis*termed social ecology*that sought to reclaim local

political power, by means of direct popular democracy, against the

consolidation and increasing centralization of the nation state.

From the 1960s to the present, the utopian dimension of Bookchin’s

social ecology inspired several generations of social and ecological

activists, from the pioneering urban ecology movements of the sixties,

to the 1970s’ back-to-the-land, antinuclear, and sustainable technology

movements, the beginnings of Green politics and organic agriculture in

the early 1980s, and the anti-authoritarian global justice movement that

came of age in 1999 in the streets of Seattle. His influence was often

cited by prominent political and social activists throughout the US,

Europe, South America, Turkey, Japan, and beyond.

Even as numerous social movements drew on his ideas, however, Bookchin

remained a relentless critic of the currents in those movements that he

found deeply disturbing, including the New Left’s drift toward

Marxism-Leninism in the late 1960s, tendencies toward mysticism and

misanthropy in the radical environmental movement, and the growing focus

on individualism and personal lifestyles among 1990s anarchists. In the

late 1990s, Bookchin broke with anarchism, the political tradition he

had been most identified with for over 30 years and articulated a new

political vision that he called communalism.

Bookchin was raised in a leftist family in the Bronx during the 1920s

and ‘30s. He enjoyed retelling the story of his expulsion from the Young

Communist League at age 18 for openly criticizing Stalin, his brief

flirtation with Trotskyism as a labor organizer in the foundries of New

Jersey, and his introduction to anarchism by veterans of the immigrant

labor movement during the 1950s. In 1974, he co-founded the Institute

for Social Ecology, along with Dan Chodorkoff, then a graduate student

at Vermont’s Goddard College. For 30 years, the Institute for Social

Ecology has brought thousands of students to Vermont for intensive

educational programs focusing on the theory and praxis of social

ecology. A self-educated scholar and public intellectual, Bookchin

served as a full professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey despite his

own lack of conventional academic credentials.He published more than 20

books and many hundreds of articles during his lifetime, many of which

were

translated into Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Turkish and other

languages.

During the 1960s - ‘80s, Bookchin emphasized his fundamental

theoretical break with Marxism, arguing that Marx’s central focus on

economics and class obscured the more profound role of social hierarchy

in the shaping of human history. His anthropological studies affirmed

the role of domination by age, gender and other manifestations of social

power as the antecedents of modern-day economic exploitation. In The

Ecology of Freedom(1982), he examined the parallel legacies of

domination and freedom in human societies, from prehistoric times to the

present, and he later published a four-volume work,The Third Revolution,

exploring anti-authoritarian currents throughout the Western

revolutionary tradition.

At the same time, he criticized the lack of philosophical rigor that

has often plagued the anarchist tradition, and drew theoretical

sustenance from dialectical philosophy*particularly the works of

Aristotle and Hegel; the Frankfurt School*of which he became

increasingly critical in later years*and even the works of Marx and

Lenin. During the past year, even while terminally ill in Burlington,

Bookchin was working toward a re-evaluation of what he perceived as the

historic failure of the 20th century left. He argued that Marxist crisis

theory failed to recognize the inherent flexibility and malleability of

capitalism, and that Marx never saw capitalism in its true contemporary

sense. Until his death, Bookchin asserted that only the ecological

problems created by modern capitalism were of sufficient magnitude to

portend the system’s demise.

Murray Bookchin was diagnosed several months ago with a fatal heart

condition. He will be remembered by his devoted family members*including

his long-time companion Janet Biehl, his former wife Bea Bookchin, his

son, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter*as well as his friends,

colleagues and frequent correspondents throughout the world. There will

be a public memorial service in Burlington, Vermont on Sunday, August

13th. For more information, contact info(at)social-ecology.org.

Also See:

Anarchists

Anarchism

RIP/Obitruaries



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Laxer Wrong

James Laxer, the old new leftie is wrong again. He predicts that Kennedy will win the Liberal Leadership race and be a threat to both the NDP and Conservatives. Wishful thinking that. He dismisses Bob Rae outright. Of course that was yesterday. Today we know that Bob Rae has raised more filthy Liberal lucre than any other Leadership hopeful. Leaving the likes of Ken Dryden to reconsider their campaigns.

Its a race between the back room boys candidate Ignatieff and Rae. No other Liberals need apply.

Ignatieff remains the voice of the right wing of the party, apparently Rae can mobilize the progressive wing at least in Toronto. While Laxer claims Kennedy has sold more memberships, that merely places him as King Maker, not a contender. Kennedy is dull, dull, dull as a candidate.

Rae has been underestimated because of the debacle of his NDP government in Ontario. And while the Liberal base is strong in Ontario, it is a National Leadership race. And the only thing that wins such a race is money. And the Liberals are all about money. Grassroots support is nice rhetoric, but its cold hard cash that buys, err...wins races.

So it behooves me to ask the remaining Liberal Leadership candidates to do us all a big favour; quit. This is a two man race, lets get it on before December. How about doing it in September, so we can have a nice fall election. Huh, how about it?




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Pets Perish

Like the debacle of the evacuation of New Orleans after Katrina, once again peoples animal companions were denied the right to evacuate with their human owners from Lebanon. While this item covers the US evacuation, the Canadian State also denied its citizens the right to bring their pets with them from Lebanon.

US Rescue Efforts Again Fail Animals and their People
The cruise ships and helicopters sent by the U.S. to rescue Americans from war torn Lebanon are poignant symbols of our government’s commitment to its citizens, wherever they may be. Yet for many of the people who are desperate to escape the strife, the government’s plan comes at a high cost. U.S. officials forced these men, women and children, who already lost their homes and belongings, to leave their dogs, cats and other companion animals behind. Beloved animals were ordered out of their owners’ arms, abandoned on the streets and left to starve amidst the rubble.
Motro: In war, all living creatures can use some luck

Luna the albino boxer lolls indolently on her queen-size doggy bed in a Tel Aviv beauty salon while her master's customers stream through to be permed, streaked and touched up. Fat and secure, nothing disrupts Luna's quiet life of privileged luxury.

In contrast Luna's compatriot a mere 60 miles away is living life on the edge. A long-haired spaniel is featured smack on Page 1 of Haaretz, Israel's most prestigious newspaper. She stares at the camera with limpid gaze, showing off pink tongue, fluffy ears and snappy red leash. Around her paws lie jagged chunks of collapsed wall, smashed glass, shredded curtain and twisted metal.

Of course unlike Corporations that are defined as 'persons' under US law, animals are still defined as property, thus evacuations limit the amount of 'property' evacuees can travel with. Catch 22 until we change the laws around companion animals to be deemed 'persons'.

Pets are property, and people traditionally have received little more than the animal's market value, according to Joyce Tischler, founding director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, an advocacy group based in Cotati, Calif.


And of course the indiscriminate bombing of the Lebanese coastline by Israel has created suffering for animals there too. Oil slicks are now contaminating the Mediterranean coast line.

Coastal animals latest casualty in war-torn Lebanon Discovery Reports Canada

Lebanon Oil Spill Makes Animals Casualties of War National Geographic



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The New Cuban Revolution

David Suzuki covers the Cuban Green Revolution in his TV Series the Nature of Things. Rather timely it should show this week. Proving that the revolution in Cuba is alive and kicking, regardless of the embargo by the US and the declining health of el presidente.



cuba:
the accidental revolution

Cuba: The Accidental Revolution are two one-hour documentaries celebrating the country's success in providing for itself in the face of a massive economic crisis, and how its latest revolutions, an agricultural revolution and a revolution in science and medicine are having repercussions around the world.

Without fertilizer and pesticides, Cubans turned to organic methods. Without fuel and machinery parts, Cubans turned to oxen. Without fuel to transport food, Cubans started to grow food in the cities where it is consumed. Urban gardens were established in vacant lots, school playgrounds, patios and back yards. As a result Cuba created the largest program in sustainable agriculture ever undertaken. By 1999 Cuba's agricultural production had recovered and in some cases reached historic levels.

It is this adaptablitiy of the Cuban State that will allow it to survive the eventual death of Castro. And no it won't turn reactionary and collapse into Mafia Capitalism like the Soviet Union did. Despite the rhetoric about the 'Castro dictatorship' the Cuban revolution is still a 'Peoples Revolution', and the people will defend their gains.

Also See:
CUBA


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Business As Usual

US Senator Elizabeth Dole likes to say in defense of the US invasion of Iraq that it is bringing the poor oppressed people there "Free Market Democracy". Truly American enteprize and business have taken over Iraq;

Judge Radi Hamza Radi, head of the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity set up in 2004, says corruption has “exploded" since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003.

US auditor lists failures in rebuilding of Iraq

The top auditor of the US reconstruction effort in Iraq yesterday detailed a series of failures, including a $218.5 million emergency radio network that doesn't work, a hospital that is turning out to be twice as expensive as planned, an oil pipeline that is spewing lakes of crude oil onto the ground, and a prison that was meant to hold 4,400 inmates but can house only about 800.

Stuart Bowen Jr. , the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, cited multiple causes for the failures at a Senate hearing yesterday, among them the growth of the Iraqi insurgency, poor planning by the US government, and corruption in the Iraqi government.

But he also took aim at the ``cost-plus" contracts given to American construction firms -- including Bechtel, part of the consortium that oversaw Boston's Big Dig -- which guaranteed profits on top of the cost of the project, even with huge overruns.

Thats Iraq now ask yourselves what is happening in Afghanistan? Same thing.

"Everybody complains about corruption in government administration, especially with the judiciary," Hazami told The Associated Press.

Mission Impossible?

NATO faces a culmination of challenges aside from the Taliban military threat. The poppy culture of the south runs the local economy and serves the interests of the Taliban. It is run by tribes that live on both sides of the border with Pakistan, forging stronger ties amongst themselves and pushing any allegiance with Kabul further away. The area is dominated by a Pakistani sphere of influence; politically, economically and socially. Many businesses trade the Pakistani rupee as a means of legitimate currency and cross border trading and businesses are only second to opium production as the most profitable commercial activity in the area. This is a tough challenge for international troops to overcome as they try to prop up a central government’s control where it is already widely mistrusted and unwanted.

NEWS ANALYSIS: Rogue States Within States Pose Growing Threat

Although the United States largely destroyed al Qaeda's haven in Afghanistan, the terrorist network remains the world's most feared -- and probably the hardest to contain -- transnational group.

"The only thing that we found works is if we can convert (groups like al Qaeda) ... isolate them in a state, so that it looks more or less like a state threat," said Chet Richards, a former U.S. Air Force Reserve air attache to Saudi Arabia, who has written extensively about nontraditional enemies the United States is likely to face in the 21st century.

"We did it in Afghanistan. But once ... you've taken down their main state basis, they become basically organized crime."

Although it lost control of Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban has returned -- this time, as a nonstate actor, which in recent months appears to have gone from strength to strength, launching incursions into Afghanistan out of the tribal provinces of western Pakistan, where the Pakistani government has been unable -- or, some experts say, unwilling -- to rein it in.

Also See:

Iraq

Afghanistan


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Tie

One party is rudderless and the other is leaderless Conservatives, Liberals almost level in poll

The latest results by Decima Research, released to The Canadian Press, put the Conservatives and Liberals in a virtual tie nationally.



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Another US Faliure

While the Middle East burns, and Afghanistan moves towards becoming the same old Islamic Republic it was under the Taliban, let us not forget that other American regional faliure; Somalia. Clearly freedom and democracy to these folks means Islam, not capitalist democracy. Opps.

Lawmakers' exodus leaves Somalia reeling

Somalia's government was trying to regroup on Wednesday after nearly 30 lawmakers resigned in less than a week, saying the virtually powerless administration has failed to reconcile with Islamic militants who have taken over the capital.

"The prime minister has failed to talk to the Islamic union," said Hasaan Abshir Farah, one of six ministers who stepped down overnight from Somalia's 275-member parliament.

Four resigned on Tuesday and 18 resigned late last week.

The administration was formed two years ago with the support of the United Nations to help Somalia emerge from more than a decade of anarchy, but it has no power outside its base in Baidoa, 250km from the capital, Mogadishu.


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Hezbollah Are Not Terrorists

As I said here Hezbollah is a nationalist movement, a poltical organization and civil defense army for the imporverished residents of Lebanon. As Juan Cole succinctly points out;

What is Hizbullah?

Western and Israeli pundits keep comparing Hizbullah to al-Qaeda. It is a huge conceptual error. There is a crucial difference between an international terrorist network like al-Qaeda, which can be disrupted by good old policing techniques (such as inserting an agent in the Western Union office in Karachi), and a sub-nationalist movement.

Al-Qaeda is some 5,000 multinational volunteers organized in tiny cells.

Hizbullah is a mass expression of subnationalism that has the loyalty of some 1.3 million highly connected and politically mobilized peasants and slum dwellers. Over a relatively compact area.

I take sub-nationalism as a concept from Anthony D. Smith. It would be most familiar to Western readers under the rubric of the Irish Catholics of North Ireland, or even the Scots of the UK. Subnationalism, like the larger, over-arching nationalism, is a mass movement.

Thus, a very large number of the Pushtuns in Afghanistan are sub-nationalists with a commitment to Pushtun dominance. They deeply resent the victory of the Northern Alliance (i.e. Tajiks, Hazara Shiites, and Uzbeks) in 2001-2002. A lot of what our press calls resurgent "Taliban" activity is just Pushtun irredentism. There are approximately 14 million Pushtuns in Afghanistan and another 14 million or so in Pakistan.

The continuing war in Afghanistan is not against the Taliban but the Pashtun, poor farmers and their only economical crop.

Fierce clashes around Afghan opium centre

War on Afghan opium farming an "absolute disaster"

So why is Canada involved in this opium war? Which the Harpocrites refuse to call a war! And which is causing the deaths of our troops. Why be where we are not wanted. Afghan Farmers Resentful

Oh yeah we are protecting democracy, Afghani women and girls and their ability to go to school and work in the new fledgling Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Islamic republic. Afghan 'virtue' cops concern diplomats

A republic that allowed a Canadian to die for opening a school for women and girls. A Canadian abandoned by the Harpocrites, doing the real work of reconstruction, which was what the current Afghan mission was supposed to be about, but of course isn't.

A tip o the blog to Rusty Idols for this.

Also See:

Afghanistan

Israel

Lebanon



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