In November 1993, I was on a mission. At the age of 21, I wanted to change the world, starting with Birzeit University, the second largest Palestinian university in the West Bank, situated near Ramallah, in the heart of the occupied territories.
You have been had.
You can’t see the obvious.
When the obvious is stated, you viscerally reject it, or fain being deaf.
This week we look at the student led mobilizations that have rocked the streets of Montreal and Quebec City. From large scale marches, to occupations of university buildings to direct actions, the spring 2015 coalition has re-energized radical organizing in so called Quebec. If you want some more background on this watch “Street Politics 101” — subMedia’s documentary on the 2012 Quebec student strike.
… The school has the power to modify the social order.
— John Dewey1
Nothing is more central to the American Dream than equality of opportunity. In today’s world, that usually means a college education—and, for most families, the challenge of paying for it. Congress could help meet that challenge. It could pass a financial transaction tax (FTT), and dedicate the proceeds to providing equal opportunity for college.
“The violence is not a new thing,” says Jose-Pablo Buerba about Mexico’s civil unrest and protest in recent weeks. An international political economist from Mexico City, Buerba works with heads of state around the world on matters economic. He is a native of Mexico City, where he has lived and worked these last few months.
Any conditions that compel the teacher to take note of failures rather than of healthy growth give false standards and result in distortion and perversion.
— John Dewey1
The developed world is just crazy in love with the “miracle of Chile,” as expressed by Milton Friedman some years ago. The accolades are everywhere, ranked as a “high-income economy” by the World Bank. The country has the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. It is a role model for neoliberalism.
It was Saturday night (Dec 6th), and I was about to watch a video when a noisy helicopter started whirling overhead where I live in north Berkeley. This is a quiet residential neighborhood; the chopper was really noisy, and it didn’t go away. Finally I went outside to look. It was flashing a bright spotlight downwards. So what might that be about? A robbery in progress? Maybe someone held up a liquor store over on University Avenue; that’s where the spotlight kept pointing.
From 1948 to 1973, hourly compensation grew instep with the productivity of the typical American worker. This means that, for about a generation’s time, economic prosperity amongst workers in the United States virtually reflected productivity. In the ensuing forty years, however, inequality exploded. The Washington Post has reported that income for the bottom 90 percent of American households has only nominally grown since 1973, when this group commanded nearly 70 percent of national income.
