Friday, December 25, 2009
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
FROM MOLLYMEW:
THE OLD YEAR WINDS DOWN TO ITS CLOSE. THE NEW YEAR LOOMS IN FRONT, FULL OF PROMISE AND OF CHALLENGE. MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING ALL THE BEST TO ALL MY READERS. MAY THE WORLD CHANGE AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT FOR THE BETTER.
WISHING YOU WELL IN 2010- MOLLYMEW
Labels: blogging, Christmas., holidays, New Year, personal
Saturday, December 05, 2009
CANADIAN LABOUR-ONTARIO:
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHEER:
Molly has previously reported on efforts here in Manitoba to gather donations for the families of workers locked out by Tembec in Pine Falls. The situation is sadly the same across the country as the bosses become more aggressive, hoping to use the economic crisis as a lever against their employees. Down in Ontario some people are doing something about it, trying to make the holiday season a little easier for those on strike and those who have been locked out. Operation Christmas Cheer, sponsored by a large number of labour groups in that province is now in its 6th year of operation. They aim to bring picket line hampers, grocery gift cards and toys for the children to the families of as many workers in struggle as possible. Go to their website to see how you might be able to help out. Here are some of the labour disputes where they hope to help:
*CEP Union Local 37x, locked out by Grant Forest Products since September 2006.
*CEP Union Local 2003, locked out by Cadillac Fairview since June 2009 and terminated one month later.
*USW Local 271G, on strike against Guardian Fiberglass Inc. since June 2007.
*USW Local 1-500, on strike since August 2009 against ECP.
*USW 8918, on strike in Cambridge since May 2009.
*USW Local 6200, on strike against Vale Inco since July 2009.
*USW Local 6500, on strike against Vale Inco since July 2009.
*USW Local 9511, on strike against Drivetest since August 2009.
*ATU Local 741, on strike against London Transit since Nov 14.
Labels: Canadian labour, Christmas., labour, lockouts, Operation Christmas Cheer, solidarity., strike
Saturday, December 13, 2008
HUMOUR:
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM 'THE BOSS':
Molly has been exploring the cartoon section of the website of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, and has come up with several great gems. See above for one with a seasonal resonance.
Labels: American labour, Christmas., humour, labour, United Electical Workers
Sunday, December 07, 2008
HOLIDAYS/ANARCHISM:
THE CHRISTMAS RESISTANCE MOVEMENT:
Every year Molly grows to hate the customary procedure of Christmas more and more. It hardly qualifies as a holiday. Great grievous amounts of time are taken up in visits to such things as stores I would never visit during the regular course of the year. I try and control my emetic reflexes. Not that I don't enjoy decorating the yard (the misery of the temperatures outside excluded) or the tree. Still, Halloween is much more fun. I'd much rather give something small to a hundred strangers than enter into the competition for gift giving amongst people I know. The former has no emotional connotation and is the far better for it. I'm tempted to "give" everybody I know a donation to charity in their name and be done with the nonsense. In any case I'm not the only person who feels this way. Here's the announcement of the Christmas Resistance Movement.
.....................
The Christmas Resistance Movement:
You know holiday shopping is offensive and wasteful. You know Christmas "wish lists" and "gift exchanges" degrade the concept of giving. You know Christmas marketing is a scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. You know this annual consumer frenzy wreaks havoc on the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts.
Yet, every year, you cave in and go shopping.
The relentless onslaught of advertising exerts constant pressure. So do the unified bleatings of herds of shoppers, who call you "Scrooge" if you fail to enthusiastically join their ritual orgy of consumption. Friends and family needle you with gift requests, store windows beckon with shiny colorful packages, the same "classic" holiday jingles are piped constantly through every speaker in town.
How can you resist?
Join the Christmas Resistance Movement!
The growing CHRISTMAS RESISTANCE MOVEMENT is joined in solidarity against the Shopping Season. For every 100 automatons who call you "Scrooge," there's a sparkly-eyed CHRISTMAS RESISTOR who supports YOU in NOT BUYING INTO THE HOLIDAY HYSTERIA.
Together, we boycott Christmas Shopping, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, and every variety of Christmas Crap. We refuse to support the Holiday Industry. We show our love for friends and family by giving our time and care, not by purchasing consumer goods. We maintain the integrity of giving by giving spontaneously and from our hearts, rather than during a specified season.
You are not alone.
Labels: anarchism, Christmas Resistance Movement, Christmas., consumerism, holidays
Thursday, December 04, 2008
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR/HOLIDAYS:
SWEATFREE FOR THE HOLIDAYS:
It's coming up to Christmas time again. Personally I would be very happy if the gift giving/ mad shopping part of it became as infinitesimally small as Steven Harper's conscience. That, however, is unlikely to happen in my lifetime. So...if you can't avoid consuming at least you may consume ethically. Here's a little blurb from the Sweatfree Communities and the International Labour Rights Forum about their new catalogue for shopping from companies that respect workers' rights.
.........................
ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF THE 2009 SHOP WITH A CONSCIENCE CONSUMER GUIDE:
SweatFree Communities and International Labor Rights Forum have teamed up once again to release the 2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide filled with excellent products made in good working conditions. We believe that one of the most important criteria for meaningful and dignified work is that workers have an effective, collective voice in determining their wages and working conditions. Therefore all the products in this shopping guide are made by workers organized into democratic unions or worker-owned cooperatives. All retailers and wholesalers listed in the guide have undergone a rigorous application process to give us and you the confidence that their products truly meet our sweatfree criteria. Please support organized workers by shopping with a conscience this holiday season and by helping publicize this guide.
View the 2009 Shopping Guide
Click below for various product categories
Women
Men
Babies
Footwear
Coats
T-shirts
Sports
There is also a handy wholesale guide for those interested in buying products in bulk. You can also download the PDF of the Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide to pass out to family and friends by clicking here.
SweatFree Communities and International Labor Rights Forum have teamed up once again to release the 2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide filled with excellent products made in good working conditions. We believe that one of the most important criteria for meaningful and dignified work is that workers have an effective, collective voice in determining their wages and working conditions. Therefore all the products in this shopping guide are made by workers organized into democratic unions or worker-owned cooperatives. All retailers and wholesalers listed in the guide have undergone a rigorous application process to give us and you the confidence that their products truly meet our sweatfree criteria. Please support organized workers by shopping with a conscience this holiday season and by helping publicize this guide.
View the 2009 Shopping Guide
Click below for various product categories
Women
Men
Babies
Footwear
Coats
T-shirts
Sports
There is also a handy wholesale guide for those interested in buying products in bulk. You can also download the PDF of the Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide to pass out to family and friends by clicking here.
If you know of a business that you should be included in the guide, encourage them to check out our criteria and application for more information.
And for those that would rather directly support workers around the world, consider donating to SweatFree Communities and International Labor Rights Forum.
Seasons greetings,
SweatFree Communities & International Labor Rights Forum
Labels: Christmas., consumerism, holidays, International Labor Rights Forum, international labour, labour, Sweatfree Communities
Monday, November 24, 2008
AMERICAN LABOUR:
HELP WAL-MART EMPLOYEES DURING THE HOLIDAYS:
The merry jingle of cash register bells may be a little muted this holiday season in deference to our present recession (depression?), but you can be assured that the world's big box retailers are going to be trying their hardest to grind out yet more profit, often on the backs of their employees. None more so than the king of Cut Rate and Cut Throat, Wal-Mart.
No doubt you will be getting many appeals for help this season, but have a look at the following one, from the Wake Up Wal-Mart team, working to make life a little more tolerable for those who have to work for the world's biggest retailer.
................................
SHOW WAL-MART SOME REAL HOLIDAY SPIRIT:
This holiday season, every employee at Wal-Mart is projected to generate more than $2,000 in pure profit for the company. The numbers are staggering: from the work of 1.4 million Americans, Wal-Mart will reap billions of dollars in sales. But, is Wal-Mart holding up its end of the bargain?
This holiday season, every employee at Wal-Mart is projected to generate more than $2,000 in pure profit for the company. The numbers are staggering: from the work of 1.4 million Americans, Wal-Mart will reap billions of dollars in sales. But, is Wal-Mart holding up its end of the bargain?
We don't think so.
Wal-Mart is thriving in today's faltering economy, yet its employees struggle to keep their heads above water. Instead of giving back to working families, Wal-Mart is lobbying against overtime regulations aimed to benefit working Americans. Instead of giving business to America's struggling manufacturers, Wal-Mart continues to import over 70% of its goods from China. And, of course, Wal-Mart still pays poverty wages and offers unaffordable health care benefits.
If Wal-Mart won't give back to its hard working employees, we will. We're on a mission to give financial support to struggling Wal-Mart employees this holiday season, but we can't succeed without your help. Please contribute to our new Wal-Mart Workers' Holiday Fund today and give struggling Wal-Mart workers a chance at the kind of holiday they deserve.
While Wal-Mart's lavishly overpaid executives can afford to spend the holidays at ease, the average Wal-Mart worker will scrape by on poverty-level wages. Each week between now and the new year, we will shine a light on this inequity, beginning with the story of Beth Woods.
As a full-time Overnight Stocker, Beth has given Wal-Mart nearly three years of her working life, yet she makes only $10.47 an hour. Even with a full-time schedule, she can not afford to keep the health insurance her family needs. Wal-Mart's coverage is so expensive, she had to drop her plan after just two months of enrollment.
Now, just in time for the holidays, management has slashed Beth's schedule to 15-16 hours per week. Thanks to Wal-Mart, Beth may be spending her holiday season at the unemployment office. She has been forced to apply for state benefits in order to support her family.
We can't let Wal-Mart cast a shadow on Beth's holiday season. The hard working employees at Wal-Mart deserve better than poverty wages and unemployment lines. If you take action, you can give workers like Beth what Wal-Mart will not: hope.
Together, we can show Wal-Mart some real holiday spirit.
The Team
WakeUpWalMart.com
P.S. Thanks for kicking off our 2008 Holiday Campaign. Stay tuned for new actions, videos, and more stories from the aisles of Wal-Mart.
P.S. Thanks for kicking off our 2008 Holiday Campaign. Stay tuned for new actions, videos, and more stories from the aisles of Wal-Mart.
Labels: American labour, Christmas., labour, solidarity, Wake Up Wal-mart, Wal-Mart
Saturday, December 29, 2007
MYTHOLOGY:VIRGIN BIRTHS IN MYTHOLOGY:
It's that time of year again when people are expected to abandon common sense and believe in human parthenogenesis, or at least one instance that supposedly took place about two milenia ago. The doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ was formulated as an essential doctrine of the Church under the third canon of the Lateran Council held under Pope Martin 1 in 649. This doctrine was foreshadowed in the Nicene Creed, adopted under Emperor Constantine which states that Jesus was "born of the Virgin Mary". Catholic doctrine asserts not only the virginity of Mary at the time of the conception of Jesus, but also her perpetual virginity thereafter. The first assertion may have some scriptural backing- with the liberal use of apologetics of course- but the latter has no basis in the New Testament. It is, however, accepted as necessary dogma by the Roman Catholic Church.
Many have asserted that the myth of a virgin birth was a "borrowed concept" from surrounding pagan cultures, in particular from Mithraism, popular at the time of the early years of Christianity. Christian exegesis often attempts to put a prophetic gloss on the supposed event by citing Isaiah 7:14 , though most scholars agree that the "prediction" of a virgin birth of a Messiah in this passage was more than slightly distorted by Mathew (1: 22-23). The opposite theory, that the doctrine of the immaculate conception was a direct borrowing from pagan concepts, may, however, overstate the case. The fact is that the original literature from which the canonical New Testament was drawn (often by the violent suppression of conflicting texts) were written in an atmosphere in which certain ideas were taken as "givens". The mythology of a virgin birth was easily incorporated into the texts, not from any direct borrowing but rather from the authors taking the popular ideas of their time as an unquestioned framework to put their stories in. It is hardly different today. Only the tiniest intellectual elite of the Christian world knows just how common "virgin birth" stories were at the time of early Christianity. If they knew this fact they might question the whole doctrine that has built up around the immaculate conception over the centuries. But this source of questioning is not available to the average person today.
Comparing and contrasting is necessary to form intelligent opinions on many matters. What follows is a short list of some of the virgin birth mythologies from across the world. Those current in the Roan world at the time of the composition of the New Testament accounts are marked with an "@". Others are simply introduced with an asterix. What I hope the reader can see is the very common appearance of this myth across many human cultures, often with the concomitant idea of "impregnation by a god" such as that of Mary by the Holy Spirit.
@Mithras, the main object of the Mithraic cult in the early Roman Empire. Born on December 25th, according to legend.
@The philosopher Plato, supposedly a son of Apollo via the virgin Amphictione.
@Romulus and Remus, birthed of the vestal virgin Rhea Silvia, supposedly raped by the god Mars.
@Perseus, supposedly born of Danae by Zeus. Actually adduced as "evidence" by early Christian apologists to "prove" that their idea of virgin birth was not so strange.
@The Emperor Augustus, supposedly conceived via a virgin birth of his mother Atia by the god Apollo.
@Zoroastrian myths that the sperm of Zoroaster was preserved in the waters of Lake
Kansaoya to later impregnate a virgin who was to become a prophet and a savior.
@Many of the pharaohs of Egypt were believed to have been conceived of virgin births via impregnation by Amon-Re.
@Dionysus, supposedly born of the virgin Persephone via impregnation by Zeus. Persephone also reportedly gave birth to another son, the hero Jason, without resort to a godly sperm donor.
@The Egyptian god Horus was reportedly the parthenogenic offspring of the goddess Isis.
@Apis, the sacred bull of Memphis, was supposedly the offspring of a cow impregnated by a god the guise of a ray of moonlight.
@The supreme god of the Egyptians, Amon-Ra, was himself supposedly of a virgin mother Net, and had no father.
*Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom. Lord of the Maldive Islands. Reportedly born three times, the last two of virgin births.
*Deganawidah, a hero of the Hurons who reportedly planted the Tree of Peace at Onondaga. Greatest failure- not telling the Iroquois about said tree.
*Huitzilopochtli. Aztec god of war and the sun, conceived when a ball of feathers fell on his mother Coatlicue when she was cleaning a temple. This ball was supposedly Mixcoatl, god of the hunt. The Spaniards under Cortes were later to perform a similar "fluff job" under the name of this god. This resulted in the Aztecs being much more thoroughly "fucked" the second time around.
@Attis, a Phrygian god, was born of the virgin Nana who was impregnated by holding either a ripe almond or a pomegranate to her breast.
*Hunahpu and Xbalanque, Mayan hero twins supposedly, according to the Popul Vuh, conceived via the severed head of one of the original sons of the creators, killed for playing a ball game that was too noisy. Virgin mother- Ixquic.
*Laozi. Also known as LaoTzu. Would undoubtedly be very upset if he was able to see what succeeding generations had made of him, the author of the Tao Te Ching. Supposedly conceived when his mother gazed on a falling meteor.
*Montezuma (of the Pueblo Indians, not the Aztec Emperor of the same name). Supposedly conceived by a virgin after she either ate a pinyon nut or fell out of a tree onto her belly.
The above is merely a short list of the many world myths about virgin births. What can they say to us other than to avoid pomegranates, moonlight, swans, golden showers, almonds, pinyon nuts, climbing trees, feathers and, of course, toilet seats ? Either that or to always wear tent dresses and have the address of the local orphanage handy. They can say to a Christian who hasn't examined the dogma of their beliefs that they should perhaps examine at least one of these dogmas with a bit more of a critical eye.
Labels: christianity, Christmas., history, mythology, religion, virgin birth
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY MID-WINTER SOLSTICE TO ALL !
MOLLYMEW
Labels: Christmas., holidays, Mid-Winter Solstice
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
CHRISTMAS
THE TWELVE SINS OF CHRISTMAS:
A LITTLE DITTY FROM THE MOVIE 'WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY':CHECK OUT THE LINK TO SEE WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT:
The first sin of Christmas was junk given to me:
chachkis(see note) around a dead tree!
*****
The second sin of Christmas was for my SUV:
$2.93 a gallon!!!
and chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The third sin of Christmas was all the dead turkeys:
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The fourth sin of Christmas was increased misery:
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The fifth sin of Christmas was shopping so early:
Five...a.m. shopping sprees !
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The sixth sin of Christmas:electric companies:
600 buck's I'm paying !
Five...a.m. shopping sprees
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The seventh sin of Christmas : my boozing family:
7-11 eggnog chugging
600 bucks I'm paying
Five...a.m. shopping sprees
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The eighth sin of Christmas was one of gluttony:
8 fruit cakes fattening
7-11 eggnog chugging
600 bucks I'm paying
Five...a.m. shopping sprees
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The ninth sin of Christmas was return policies:
9 useless gifts not using
8 fruitcakes fattening
7-11 eggnog chugging
600 bucks I'm paying
Five...a.m. shopping sprees
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The tenth sin of Christmas was gift-wrapped garbage heaps:
10,000 landfills filling
9 useless gifts not using
8 fruitcakes fattening
7-11 eggnog chugging
600 bucks a billing
Five...a.m. shopping sprees
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The eleventh sin of Christmas was mayhem in the streets:
11th hour shopping
10,000 landfills filling
9 useless gifts not using
8 fruitcakes fattening
7-11 eggnog chugging
600 bucks a billing
Five...a.m. shopping sprees
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
*****
The twelfth sin of Christmas was children screaming "Pleeese" :
12 year old brats a bratting
11th hour shopping
10,000 landfills filling
9 useless gifts not using
8 fruitcakes fattening
7-11 eggnog chugging
600 bucks a billing
Five...a.m. shopping sprees
Four weeks of depression
3-million-mounds of meat
Too expensive gasoline
And chachkis around a dead tree !
Molly Note: Yeah "chachkis" set me scratching my head as well. As far as I can determine it is an Americanism meaning something like 'bric-a-brac', 'knick knacks', or basically 'chintz'.
Labels: Christmas., humour
Sunday, December 02, 2007
CHRISTMAS HUMOUR:
WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY ?
NOT IN CANADA-EH.PITY:
The good folks at the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood and the Church of Stop Shopping (with Reverend Billy) have outdone themselves in parody this year with the new film What Would Jesus Buy ? . This surrealistic look at the Christmas shopping cult is now showing in theatres across the USA in the month of December. Follow Reverend Billy and his choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse . As the CCFC says, "What Would Jesus Buy is funny, provocative and inspiring...a journey into the heart of America-from exorcising demons at the Wal-mart headquarters to taking over the center stage at the Mall of America and ultimately heading to the Promised Land-Disneyland." Will Reverend Billy save America from the evil designs of the Satanic Cult of Consumption ? Is the numerological solution of George Bush Junior's name the number 666 ? See the movie to find out. Unfortunately not to be shown in Canada, but downloadable from the website (see above). A great counterpoint to A Christmas Carol for your holiday viewing. Look to the movie website for places and times of showing this month, and further details. Look to Molly's Blog in days to come for some of the great carol spoofs.
Labels: Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, Christmas., holidays, humour
Saturday, December 01, 2007
CHRISTMAS BOOKS:
CLICK, CLACK, MOO:
COWS THAT TYPE:
Looking for something different to give this Christmas ? Why not consider looking at the fine selection online at the bookstore of Union Communication Services Inc. There is a wide selection of books for various people on your list, including a goodly number of children's books. The cover of one of these is shown on the left. 'Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type' is for the younger (ages 3 to 7) union activists. It seems that Farmer Brown has a problem. All day long he hears "click,clack,moo...click,clack,moo" coming from the cow barn. What's all this about ? He gets the answer when the cows send a note to the farmhouse. They're cold, they say. No milk, they say, until they get electric blankets.
no way, says Farmer brown. But then the hens join in, and before you know it the ducks are acting as mediators. Then the ducks start getting their own ideas...but we don't want to spoil it for you. let's just say that farmer brown gets a lesson in labor-management relations and union (or is that moonion ?) solidarity, in a way your kids (and you too) will get a real kick out of. Beautifully illustrated. 32 pages, hard cover. Price $15.95 USD.
Go to the Union Communication Services website, and check out the full selection in the bookstore section.
Labels: books, childrens' books, Christmas., Union Communication Services Inc
Thursday, November 29, 2007
LABOUR CHRISTMAS HUMOUR:
LAST DAY FOR GRINCH OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS:
The Union Voice organization has sent out their nomination papers a little bit late this year, something like Molly's Christmas cards(yet to be sent out) which will hopefully arrive by February. This is the is an annual event that hopes to name the 'Grinchiest Boss' in the USA. Nominations will close tomorrow, November 30th. Include a few sentences as to why you think your nominee is "deserving". To place your nomination go to http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/S7_xDw712ulb . To see previous years' winners go to http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/Sp_xDw712u16 .
Labels: Christmas., Grinch, humour, labour, solidarity
Friday, November 23, 2007
ONTARIO
PRE-HOLIDAY APPEALS FROM OCAP:
"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Put pressure on the state.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
We simply shouldn't wait" ....another effort from the ol' songstress Mollymew>
Christmas time is coming, and hopefully you will remember the people of OCAP, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, on your Christmas list. Here are a couple of recent appeals that Molly is happy to reproduce:
HELP OCAP TAKE OUR FIGHT "UNDERGROUND":
"Low income tenants and homeless people are being driven from central Toronto to make way for an oversupply of high income housing. Public housing is being replaced by condos. The homeless are having their services and shelters closed. Forced onto the streets to beg, they are being hounded under the so-called 'Safe Streets' Act and criminalized for trying to survive.
On December 12th we are going into the largest underground complex of retail outlets in the world, the Path underground system, to panhandle on a scale the City has never seen. Usually when poor people go in there to escape the cold and ask for money they are rapidly dealt with by mall security. On December 12th they'll have their work cut out. The ugly, covert operation to push out the homeless will now have to deal with the fact that people are standing up and resisting.
In order to pull off this action we need to do a huge job of outreach- we want to put up posters all over downtown and hand out thousands of leaflets. We also plan to put on a very decent meal for all those who come out to participate that day and will need to book space in the downtown core. Moving around the PATH will require TTC tokens and we want to provide materials to help people panhandle. It will be an expensive undertaking, and we are asking everyone to pitch in to make this day a success. Please send donations to help us meet these costs. mail cheques to:
OCAP
10 Britain St.
Toronto, ON
M5A 1R6
ORDER NOW: OCAP PERPETUAL CALENDERS ON SALE:
"This Holiday Season buy the 'History is What We Make It' perpetual OCAP calender as a gift for someone you care about or for yourself. Full of beautiful artwork and historical information about the fight for justice in Ontario; it is designed to be used year after year. Whether you use it to log and remember important dates, including events, birthdays and anniversaries or as a eye catching art piece on your wall, you will enjoy this calender for years.
The artwork in this calender is presented as a part of an ongoing portrait of the popular resistance that exists and grows against the individuals and institutions that rely on and benefit from our oppression and our poverty. The calender commemorates the Queen's Park Police Riot, the Raise the Rates Campaign, the struggle at Six nations, the life of Otto Vass and other important people and events and includes artwork by Pete Collins, Nahed Mansour, Shannon Muegge, Stefan Phillips and more.
All revenue from this calender goes back into the daily work of the organization, ffrom case-work and advocacy to large scale mobilizations for dignity, housing and economic justice for poor and oppressed people. History is What We make It is on sale now through our office or through some local bookstores or Common front organizations.
To buy the calender in Toronto call 416-925-6939, email ocap@tao.ca or send a cheque payable to OCAP for $18 per calendar (this includes postage) and include the address it is to be sent to along with your name and phone number. Send cheques to:
OCAP
10 Britain St.
Toronto, ON
M5A 1R6
Contact us for bulk orders.
Molly Note: The website of OCAP is http://www.ocap.ca
Labels: Christmas., OCAP, Ontario, solidarity
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS:
TRUCE TOY GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE:
Oh horrors, oh horrors, oh horrors ! I heard the first Christmas carol of the radio today while driving about. Come on guys. It's not even Advent yet (Catholic in-joke). As you stare at all the dreck on the store shelves you might want to come armed with the 'Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment' (TRUCE)recently released 'Toy Action Guide'. You can download a pdf of this at http://www.truceteachers.org/toyguides/T_Guide_web_07.pdf . More than the usual wimpy social worker hand wringing about "violent toys", though that is contained as well. In this guide you will find a list of toys that "promote positive play", TRUCE's 2007-2008 recommendations for "toys for healthy and creative play" and a list of "toys to avoid" such as those "that lead children to spend more time with TV or other media and/or let the screen take control of their play". Full stop here. Molly cannot express how much she thinks that children should be free to be the little savages that they are. I had the advantage of growing up out in the boondocks where parental supervision (let along that of other busybodies) was minimal to non-existent. Yeah, I fell through the ice a few times and gave myself the usual set of concussions and lacerations. Better that than being an animal in a cage that is too small. If I could sum up present day childhood in one word, the word that would come to my mind would be "prison". No wonder the little buggers blow up occasionally. The use of the television in childhood is very much like the use of television in prison. It is a safety valve for the benefit of the caretakers/guards and little else. Any sane parent should discourage the habit of viewing the TV as much as possible- but not, at the same time, becoming a clinging,cloying,needy parasite looking to have their children as an exploited source of "family time" that some external source has convinced them is a duty and a benefit. Fun with the parents come naturally if you act natural. It doesn't come with stress and strain and over-supervising the young'uns.
Ok, enough rant. This guide also contains tips for making toys more environmentally friendly, resources for people concerned about the never-ending series of toy recalls and-most importantly in Molly's opinion- suggestions for "shoe-box gifts", ways to have fun with common objects around the home rather than overpriced commodity fetishes from the mall. One of Molly's favourite "toys" when she was young was a collection of pop-bottle caps with which she used to wage wars. It was always interesting to see what coalition of forces could defeat the mass Coke army. Firecrackers were also very neat,and, yes, I burned my fingers a few times. Better a few burned fingers than our present world where such things are verboten to children who are forced to endure almost constant supervision and organization by both parents and a bureaucracy that would make the Prussian Army seem pale in comparison.
It probably won't happen, but Molly would like to be able to live long enough to see the present set of do-gooders and controllers made to answer for their crimes in the same way that the child-devouring priests, nuns and ministers who administered residential schools have been made to do. Is there a reason why childhood suicide is increasing ? The concept of "iatrogenic disease"-doctor (or medical system) caused disease is well known in real medicine. The primitive state of the minds of those who believe that they have a right to "correct" behavioral rather than physical "problems" is more than evident in the delusion that they share that their efforts can never do any harm. The thuggish Christian missionaries of days past have been replaced by a new set of equally self-righteous and ignorant controllers today, at least, or more so, convinced of their essential good and inability to do harm.
Molly doesn't doubt that some of the "alternatives" proposed by seemingly well meaning people to the "commercial invasion of childhood" are at least equally malevolent as the mind control exercised by the media. Still, that doesn't negate the fact that allowing children to be trained in passive consumption is not a good idea. The real goal is to find a way between two equally undesirable alternatives. If you want an historical analogy, in the 30 years war it was entirely possible that neither the Catholics nor the Protestants were right, decent and all-over clean. Both sides were pretty well filthy bastards in an all around way. That is easy to see 400 years later. Today the same sort of scepticism should be applied to not just a "problem" but also to the proposed ways to correct it.
Labels: Christmas., holidays
HOLIDAYS:
BUY NOTHING CHRISTMAS:
For a few years running now there has been a group that has organized a 'Buy Nothing Christmas'. Buy Nothing Christmas. Org was originally started as a project of local Mennonites, publishers of the "street Christian' magazine 'Geez', here in Winnipeg who were disturbed by the commercialism and consumerism of the Christmas season today. Their site contains great rants about the consumerism of this season and links to alternatives for those who want to avoid the annual pillage and celebrate a more wholesome holiday season. Last year the group went from mall to mall here in town singing "anti-Christmas carols" calling for a non-consumption Christmas. So far their website hasn't announced their plans for this year, but stay tuned as Molly will report them s they come up. The site gives the words to a number of alternative versions for traditional carols. Go there to see the full list. Here's one from the menu:
God rest Ye Merry Gentlemen:
Slow down ye frantic shoppers for there's something we must say
If you would spare a moment all the stores would go away
Big business has been telling us what Christmas means today.
Now it's time we decided for ourselves, for ourselves
Yes it's time we decided for ourselves.
To some folks Christmas means a time for gathering with friends
And enemies might take it as a time to make amends
But TV says its time for pricey gifts and selfish ends.
Now it's time we decided for ourselves, for ourselves
Yes it's time we decided for ourselves.
Some people feel that Christmas is when Jesus makes a call
For others it's a time to stress good will and peace to all
But advertisers tell us it means that Santa's at the mall.
Now it's time we decided for ourselves, for ourselves
Yes its time we decided for ourselves.
Labels: Buy Nothing Christmas, Christmas., consumerism, holidays
