Conservatives in Ontario start their attack on workers' rights today

Doug Ford and his conservatives attack the rights of workers in Ontario with the repeal of Bill 148 provisions. This brings us back to the regressive position workers were in before Bill 148. For workers seeking union protection, the law removes all of the provisions that brought some balance back to workers. The new legislation will tilt labour law drastically in favour of employers and capitalists.

Book review: Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

Book review: Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

Jonny Appleseed is heading back to the Peguis First Nations community where he was born, just outside of Winnipeg, because his stepfather passed away. Such is the premise of this short, punchy first novel by author Joshua Whitehead. In this book, Jonny's character wanders through thoughts and memories, feelings of pain and joy as he attempts to gather enough money to go back to the reserve to see his mother.

Boots Riley on His Anti-Capitalist Film “Sorry to Bother You,” the Power of Strikes & Class Struggle | Democracy Now!

'And, you know—and it's only since the '60s that, you know, radicals have been thinking about like elections as the way. And it's very connected, you know, with the New Left stopping organizing labor and focusing on students. All the sudden in the '60s, you heard the students are the revolution. It was not historically accurate. It's not based on any other revolutions, except for maybe there was, at the same time, the Cultural Revolution in China. But other than that, wasn't historically accurate. And it was a focus on students and spectacle that has led—and has led to like people not knowing what to do and basically saying, “Well, all I'm going to do is electoral politics.”'

Ford's 'free speech' directive to Ontario's universities and colleges limits freedoms | Citizens' Press

Ontario universities have academic freedom enshrined in their very fabric, negotiated in collective agreements and outlined in the principles of their governing bodies. Protecting the rights of these organizations to continue their work is essential to maintaining the academic culture of free exchange on campuses. Instead of expanding and fostering the healthy freedom of expression enjoyed on Ontario's university and college campuses, the Ford government's new 'free speech' directive will put a chill on academic freedom and debate.

L'esclave vieil homme et le molosse de Patrick Chamoiseau

L'esclave vieil homme et le molosse de Patrick Chamoiseau

Par hasard, je suis tombée sur la référence d'un livre de Patrick Chamoiseau récemment traduit vers l'anglais. L'auteur natif de la Martinique a passé le plus clair de sa vie à ce jour à écrire, à raconter des histoires, et à défendre la création créole. Dans ce court roman intitulé L'esclave vieil homme et le molosse, le lecteur part à la poursuite de cet homme en quête de liberté. Celui-ci s'échappe de la plantation où il a passé des années interminables au service d'un maître infatigable et il court. C'est court, mais combien puissant comme petit roman !