The format was invented in Japan, and the name, literally translated, means "chit chat." Sometimes there's a theme that presenters are supposed to stick to, and sometimes it's completely open. Wednesday was a theme night. It was originally going to be all about the Occupy movement but got broadened to include any "Changemakers." This allowed a marketing executive to sneak onto the bill in order to cite horrifying statistics about how technology has taken over people's lives and remind us that we all know who Jared, the unappealing Subway spokesguy, is, while repeating the phrase, "I'm not saying this is good or bad — just that we have to learn to take advantage of these changes in the ways we communicate."Otherwise, though, it was a pretty enjoyable evening of enlightening ideas presented to a full house. Many of the presenters were people who have been actively involved in Occupy Nova Scotia, and some were just folks with suggestions toward making our city more of a livable community and less of an unhealthy structure imposed on us by the interests of big business. I came out feeling a little less doomed and alone.
I'm not sure what's going on with Occupy NS itself these days. Haven't heard too much from their corner since they were evicted. I'm still hoping to see a large group march into City Hall in order to carry our corrupt mayor, Peter Kelly, outside and dump him in a garbage can. But maybe they're working on something a little less shortsighted and juvenile. Sure would be funny, though...Here's one of the most succinct and on-the-mark summaries I've read of our current politico-economic situation. It's a letter to the editor from November 25's Guardian Weekly.
The captains of finance have been declaring for decades that a free market, without governmental intervention, is the only possible basis for a free and democratic society and the only basis for a sound economy, with market forces cleansing the economy of inefficiencies.
During the global financial crisis, the captains of finance lined up to demand that governments throughout the world subsidise the stock markets and the failed financial institutions. This shows that the captains of finance believe that the market cannot be left to market forces.
When the prime minister of Greece recently called for a referendum on a proposal to radically alter the structure of the Greek economy, the world of international finance reacted with horror and stock markets plunged. Since then, international pressure has forced the replacement of the elected Greek prime minister by an unelected banker.
This shows that the captains of finance believe that capitalism and democracy are fundamentally incompatible. If they are, then, capitalism has to go. The Occupy movement seems to have grasped this.
Imre Bokor
Armidale, NSW, Australia
Give that guy some slides, and get him on a stage!
2 comments:
When the prime minister of Greece recently called for a referendum on a proposal to radically alter the structure of the Greek economy, the world of international finance reacted with horror and stock markets plunged. Since then, international pressure has forced the replacement of the elected Greek prime minister by an unelected banker.
Left out one tiny, insignificant bit: the referendum was called AFTER Greece had agreed to a whole package of changes to obtain a pile of bail-out money. The referendum thus re-opened that negotiated agreement and nullified all previous talks. The call for a referendum was, in fact, an act of cold feet (cowardice)
Morning, Dad. I know your use of the word "insignificant" is meant sarcastically here, but it's actually apt. The comment has nothing to say against the point that the marketeers are calling the shots, regardless of what a democratic process decides.
If you arbitrarily define as "cowardice" any decision to renegotiate a previous decision, you imply that all social change is necessarily wrong. I don't honestly believe your position is that profoundly antihumanistic, but if it were, it would have no place in the conversation — it's a non-starter.
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