A couple quick points that are somewhat connected. Obviously I am following the Occupy movement with great interest and anticipation. The flip-side of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is that “if it is broke, try your damnedest to fix it”. The world economic system is currently broken. Don’t panic, it happens every few centuries and we either have to revamp or suffer longer than necessary. Okay, Marx and Engels put that more eloquently: (more…)
Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category
Manically making connections: My boys Tom Morello, Marx, John and Farshad
Posted in Class politics, Conflict & Dialectics, Going to law school, Rants, tagged capitalism, CBC, chief advisor, Communist Manifesto, decay of capitalism, historical materialism, Occupy movement, Occupy Vancouver, The Nightwatchman, Tom Morello on October 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Rick Mercer explains Canadian “Democracy”
Posted in Class politics, Exploring the big ol' world, Going to law school, Rants, Videos, tagged Canadian democracy, Canadian politics, constitutional monarchy, Lynda Collins, Parliament of Canada, prorogation, Public Law, Queen of Canada, Rick Mercer, Stephen Harper on October 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Since I have so far been unable to write my rant about Canadian Democracy (or rather, the fact that Canada is not a democracy at all …), I’m sharing this amazing and hilarious 7-minute Rick Mercer skit from late 2008 (when, as you probably remember, the Queen’s representative proroged our Parliament).
It’s a must-see!
Thank you to uOttawa Law Professor Lynda Collins for sharing it with the class.
Rick Mercer Report February 3, 2009
All is fair in home security and contract language?
Posted in Class politics, Living Life (but not THE life!), Rants, tagged Alarm Force, capitalism, contracts, decay of capitalism, home security, Miriam Martin, moving on August 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When we had our Alarm Force home security system installed just over a year ago, we had nothing but nice things to say about it. I even sang praises to them on Facebook, which is an honour I wouldn’t normally bestow on a huge corporation. But now that we’re moving, we learn we signed into a three-year contract that we’ll have to pay out if we don’t transfer the system to our new home. Of course, you say, that’s how things are done now; we should have expected it. Except for the fact that the salespeople didn’t mention it and the contract language is ambiguous to the untrained eye (which alas, my eye still is). (more…)
Thoughts on the End of the World as we Knew It
Posted in Class politics, Conflict & Dialectics, Labour movement, Rants, tagged capitalism, decay of capitalism, economic crisis, London riots, Obama, Rick Martin, USA on August 9, 2011 | 3 Comments »
By Guest Blogger Rick Martin, Waterloo ON
This is the clearest and most insightful analysis that I have encountered of the present riots in Britain, and of the world situation at this moment in history.
Thank you Rick for agreeing to publish on Law School Poor.
The headlines in the Waterloo Region Record today are: “Fear tightens grip on markets” and “UK rioting spreads to more cities.” The politicians, police, and media are doing everything in their power to deny any connection between these two stories, insisting that the rioting has no political basis. But I think it is clear that they are connected. (more…)
Rant #2: If I was getting married on tax payers’ dollars …
Posted in Class politics, Labour movement, Rants, tagged Australia, Gough Whitlam, Miriam Martin, prorogation, Queen's Veto, royal wedding on April 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
… I think I’d pinch pennies. But then, I don’t believe I have a divine right to rule the masses, so clearly I couldn’t understand. There is nothing about this Royal Wedding that I do not find offensive. Even the fact that they’re so damn cute is offensive; William probably has some homely looking soul mate out there that he never even got to go for coffee with, because we can’t have an ugly future-queen, not since Diana anyway.
Charity makes rich people feel good, but this isn’t even charity
Posted in Class politics, Rants, Reviews & Recommendations, tagged advertising, charity, Christianity, commercials, Miriam Martin, reality TV on March 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
We like to say that we don’t have a TV. That’s not entirely honest; we do have a TV. It’s attached to a DVD player and a rather wonky set of rabbit ears that bring in a few channels. Last night, I guess hubby decided to turn it on as he was drifting off to sleep, and I got roped in too. One of the real benefits of not watching TV on a regular basis is enjoying commercials – whether they’re clever, effective or hilariously stupid, I often end up in hysterics. On this particular evening, I startled hubby awake with my shrieks of Dairy-Queen-dolphin-guitar induced glee. He was not so easily amused. But of course, the flipside of hysterical commercial induced laughter is embarrassing reality show induced tears. Nothing tugs at the heartstrings quite like a corporate mogul tossing pennies at a handful of “deserving” representatives of the toiling majority. Enter Undercover Boss, elephant tears, and a bit of good ol’ fashioned critical analysis.
PART 1 of my life mission to explore and maximize the revolutionary potential of the internet …
Posted in Conflict & Dialectics, Rants, The Internet, tagged anarchy, debate, dialectics, internet, Miriam Martin, Wikileaks on March 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I’m just realizing that it is far more challenging to sit down write a good blog post when there are a million interesting and important topics to write about. Much harder than when the pickings are slim. I think I’ve found at least one common thread for this post, but it’s a monstrously “big” topic and at this precise moment I’m feeling like I’ll be dedicating my life’s work to it (as a lawyer of course). The issue is the Internet, not only in relation to intellectual property rights and freedom of speech, but also in the broader political context of access to information, censorship and participatory democracy. Some of the common threads that have peaked my interest: Wikileaks, the role of the internet in the uprisings in Egypt etc., and my own special Valentine’s Day experience of being threatened with a defamation suit (no joke … read about it here!) (more…)
Things I’m appreciating in Ottawa:
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