Monthly Archive for September, 2009

Chris Hedges “Globalization Goes Bankrupt”

Had the pleasure of seeing Chris Hedges speak last week for the release of his new book  Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle. His talk was sermonesque in quality as he spoke of the global financial system and its relationship to mainstream media’s reliance on spectacle. Invoking DeBord and Boorstin, he neatly outlined the smoke and mirrors job done by powerful elites as they try to claw what profits they can before it all comes crumbling down. A recent article appears here.

Our global economy, like our political system, has been hijacked by a tiny oligarchy, composed mostly of wealthy white men who serve corporations. They have pledged or raised a staggering $18 trillion, looted largely from state treasuries, to prop up banks and other financial institutions that engaged in suicidal acts of speculation and ruined the world economy.

Michael Geist on the Canadian Copyright Reform Consultation

Michael Geist notes the rock and hard place situation in which Canadians who desire a sane copyright law find themselves. The strategies employed by powerful lobby groups in order to shut out the voices of educators and consumers of creative works are of particular interest. Those in support of strict copyright laws, including “three strikes” laws for Internet users

turned out en masse for a public town hall meeting in Toronto late last month, resulting in multiple interventions from record label executives (four from Warner Music alone).  Packing the room ensured that there was virtually nothing heard from education and consumer groups, many of whom could not even attend the town hall since all the tickets were scooped up in less than five days.

See the full post here.