Are You Arrested? The Ambiguity of Being Detained by the Police When a police officer stops a citizen, an immigrant or a migrant worker, it may be understandably unclear whether s/he is arrested or not and what s/he can do or not do if stopped by the police. From McBarnet, page 36: Arrest-that is, the … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Four: To Resist or Not to Resist the Police
Is Oxfam a “Progressive Organization?”–An Abstract Slogan (Rhetoric) of Social Democrats
Introduction In an article posted on the Socialist Project's website (https://socialistproject.ca/2021/12/swords-into-ploughshares/), Simon Black speaks to Sam Gindin, a social democrat or social reformer here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and author, along with the late Leo Panitch, of the book (2013) The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire. Mr. Black states the … Continue reading Is Oxfam a “Progressive Organization?”–An Abstract Slogan (Rhetoric) of Social Democrats
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Real Assumption of Some Bureaucratic Tribunals, Part Two
This is a continuation of a previous post. It is supposed to be a fundamental principle of criminal law that a person is presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the State (government). This is the ideology or the rhetoric (which much of the left have swallowed). The reality is otherwise. In reality, the administrative apparatus … Continue reading Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Real Assumption of Some Bureaucratic Tribunals, Part Two
A Principal’s Evaluation of My Teaching Basic French, or: How to Oppress a Worker Through Performance Evaluation, Part One
The following is the first of several posts that provide a verbatim reply (with a somewhat different order) to a "clinical evaluation" (a performance evaluation of my teaching) made by the principal of Ashern Central School (Ashern, Manitoba, Canada), Neil MacNeil, in the fall of 2011 when I was teaching grades 6, 7 and 8 … Continue reading A Principal’s Evaluation of My Teaching Basic French, or: How to Oppress a Worker Through Performance Evaluation, Part One
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Eleven: The Limitations of a Reformist Feminist Critique of Gender Relations
This is a continuation of earlier posts. When I was a French teacher at Ashern Central School, in Ashern, Manitoba, Canada, I started to place critiques, mainly (although not entirely) of the current school system. At first, I merely printed off the articles, but then I started to provide a summary of the article along … Continue reading Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Eleven: The Limitations of a Reformist Feminist Critique of Gender Relations
Economics for Social Democrats–but not for the Working Class, Part Three: Critique of Jim Stanford’s Theory of Money, Part Three, or How Commodities and Money Dominate Our Lives
Introduction I have already criticized Mr. Stanford's definition of money as purchasing power in two previous posts (see Economics for Social Democrats–but Not for the Working Class, Part Two: Critique of the Social Democrat Jim Stanford’s Theory of Money, Part One and Economics for Social Democrats–but not for the Working Class, Part Two: Critique of Jim … Continue reading Economics for Social Democrats–but not for the Working Class, Part Three: Critique of Jim Stanford’s Theory of Money, Part Three, or How Commodities and Money Dominate Our Lives
The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Magna International Inc., One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto, Part Three, Updated, 2020
Introduction In two others posts I presented the twenty largest employers in Toronto according to level of employment (see A Short List of the Largest Employers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and the twenty largest employers in Canada according to profit (see A Short List of the Largest Private Employers in Canada, According to Profit). I … Continue reading The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Magna International Inc., One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto, Part Three, Updated, 2020
A Short List of the Largest Employers in Quebec According to the Number of Employees
The following is a list of the twenty-two largest companies in Quebec according to the number of employees for 2019. The silence of the social-democratic left concerning the power of these employers over the lives of employees reflects the incapacity of the social-democratic left to face up to the reality of most people's lives these … Continue reading A Short List of the Largest Employers in Quebec According to the Number of Employees
An Inadequate Critique of a Radical Basic Income: The Case of the Toronto Radical John Clarke, Part Three: Basic Income
Introduction In two earlier posts, I criticized the views of the radical activist here in Toronto, John Clarke (see Critique of the Limited Aim (Solution)–Decent Wages–of a Radical Social Democrat: The Case of the Toronto Radical, John Clarke: Part One and Critique of a Limited Definition of the Problem: The Case of the Toronto Radical … Continue reading An Inadequate Critique of a Radical Basic Income: The Case of the Toronto Radical John Clarke, Part Three: Basic Income
Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Seven: The National Day of Mourning in Canada and the Social Causes of Injury, Disease and Death
On April 28 is the National Day of Mourning in Canada to commemorate those workers who have suffered disease, injury or death at work. However, unions rarely if ever raise the issue of how effective such a day of mourning is for addressing the health and safety problems that workers experience. Why do more or … Continue reading Working for an Employer May Be Dangerous to Your Health, Part Seven: The National Day of Mourning in Canada and the Social Causes of Injury, Disease and Death
The Abolitionary 