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Topic: Essential Reading
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nonsuch
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1402
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posted 25 February 2002 07:54 PM
Required ReadingWeb sites: www.worldwatch.org www.welfarewatch.toronto.on.ca www.huppi.com/kangaroo/tenets.htm Books John Kenneth Galbraith: The Good Society Judy Rebick : Imagine Democracy Linda Mc Quaig: The Rich Banker’s Wife Shooting the Hippo Behind Closed Doors The Cult of Impotence Maude Barlow: Global Showdown (with Tony Clarke) Class warfare (with Heather-Jane Robertson) Tony Clarke: Silent Coup MAI (with Maude Barlow) Mel Hurtig: Pay the Rent or Feed the Kids Lars Osberg & Pierre Fortin: Unnecessary Debts James Laxer: Naming Rumplestiltskin False God Lester Brown, Christopher Flavin, Hilary French: State of the World 2001 Michael Keating: Canada and the State of the Planet James F. Welles: The Story of Stupidity [ February 25, 2002: Message edited by: nonesuch ]
From: coming and going | Registered: Sep 2001
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DrConway
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 490
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posted 26 February 2002 01:32 AM
Paul Krugman The Return of Depression EconomicsJames Laxer In Search of a New Left The Undeclared War Linda McQuaig All You Can Eat Harry Shutt The Trouble with Capitalism Walter Stewart Bank Heist Belly Up Dismantling the State: Downsizing to Disaster The Charity Game: The Truth Behind the High Cost of Giving Lars Osberg & Pierre Fortin Unnecessary Debts is also known as Hard Money, Hard Times James Galbraith Created Unequal: The Crisis in American Pay Andrew Hacker Money Murray Dobbin The Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen Preston Manning and the Reform Party David Korten When Corporations Rule the World Ravi Batra The Great Depression of 1990 (more for historical interest than anything else; particularly on his thesis that wage inequality causes recessions) The Myth of Free Trade (for a new look at the pivotal year 1973 and how the loss of manufacturing plays a key role in unhinging wages from productivity) The Great American Deception (which expands a bit on _Myth_ and discusses other lousy economic policies such as the supply-sider virus that hit during the Reagan years) The Crash of the Millennium: The Coming Inflationary Depression (although the title is overblown, the NASDAQ and Dow *have* dropped significantly from their highs and this has precipitated a recession, but more importantly, this book has an excellent two-chapter primer on basic economics plus a theory which numerically analyzes the unhinging of wages from productivity, and develops a conceptual framework for how this "wage gap" can fundamentally alter economies) [ February 26, 2002: Message edited by: DrConway ]
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001
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DrConway
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 490
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posted 26 February 2002 01:20 PM
Ooh, I almost forgot:Jim Stanford Paper Boom Naomi Klein No Logo Kevin Taft Shredding the Public Interest Clear Answers
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001
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Victor Von Mediaboy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 554
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posted 26 February 2002 02:40 PM
If it's fiction you want:Girlfriend In A Coma and Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland. Ecstacy Club by Douglas Rushkoff Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh(sp?) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
From: A thread has merit only if I post to it. So sayeth VVMB! | Registered: May 2001
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bandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1435
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posted 28 February 2002 01:47 PM
for more canadian perspective people should read Nation to Nation: aboriginal sovereighnty and the future of canada editors are Diane Englestad. People of the Pines by Geoffrey York & Loreen Pinden. About the Oka dispute and the history of the region. One Dead Indian by Peter Edwards. About Dudley George and Ipperwash Out of all these books, people of the pines is my favorite. Another really good book is The autobiography of Malcom X . It was begun before the break between malcom and Elijah Muhammed and ended just before his death. It's way better than the movie and made me very sad to read. It also gives you a good history of black culture in that century from the jazz legends he used to hang around with before he was sent to jail for burglary. It's a really great book.
From: sudbury | Registered: Sep 2001
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bittersweet
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2474
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posted 03 April 2002 03:34 AM
I credit Noam Chomsky with first enlightening my understanding of political history way back when. Prior to Noam, ignorance was indeed, bliss. Damn him.I've found it eerie--and instructive--to skim back over his The Culture Of Terrorism, and The Real Terror Network. If one has an historical perspective to draw from, the powers that be become transparent and predictable: while those two books focus on Reagan vs. Central America, one could easily substitute Bush vs....well, that Axis thingy. I am also recommending John Berger. His novel To The Wedding moved me to tears. Among other things, it is a mature portrait of unconditional love--the perfect tonic for when one is tempted to give up on the human race. Like right about now. Apparently Michael Ondaatje felt much the same way I do, to go by his back-cover remarks. Do yourself a favour and have a look.
From: land of the midnight lotus | Registered: Apr 2002
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Laedifox
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1925
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posted 04 April 2002 01:12 AM
Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Jan Wong - Red China Blues Douglas Coupland - Microserfs Ann-Marie MacDonald - Fall On Your Knees Thomas Homer-Dixon - The Ingenuity Gap(and a second for) Kalle Lasn - Culture Jam I'm sure there's many others I've forgotten... [edited to say] such as: Pat Capponi - The War at Home [ April 04, 2002: Message edited by: Laedifox ]
From: deadheading for the next few centuries | Registered: Dec 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 05 April 2002 03:49 AM
Elisabeth Gaskell - "Mary Barton"Amin Maalouf - "The Crusades through Arab Eyes" Lewis Carroll - "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" Leo Tolstoy - "War and Peace" Fred Dostoyevsky - anything Dear Old Jack - "Big Sur" W.O. Mitchell - "Who Has Seen the Wind" Raymond Chandler - "The High Window" Leonard Cohen - "Beautiful Losers" (why won't he write novels anymore??? )
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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grasshopper
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2330
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posted 06 April 2002 02:26 PM
Don Quixote - Miguel de CervantesThe Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky Barabbas - Par Lagerkvist The Last Temptation Of Christ - Nikos Kazantzakis Freedom From The Known - Krishnamurti
From: henry dargers attic | Registered: Mar 2002
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vaudree
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1331
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posted 06 April 2002 04:56 PM
As far as movies go, "Jesus of Montreal" is ten times better than "Last Temptation."And I don't see what all the controversy is about, if one is not capable of feeling tempted then there is no choice. Robots do not feel temptation, thus they are incapable of resisiting it. As far as books: In Times Like These - Nellie McClung On Edcuation/The Great Code - Northrup Frye Seven Sins of Memory - Daniel Schacter On Intelligence - Stephen Ceci The Satanic Verses - Salmon Rushdie Cat's Eye - Margaret Atwood The Cult of Impotence - Linda McQuaig Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur - Mordicai Richler Gould never mentioned Ceci? Tisk Tisk. [ April 06, 2002: Message edited by: vaudree ]
From: Just outside St. Boniface | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 06 April 2002 11:25 PM
quote: Germinale by Zola
Oui, "Germinal" est top. Have you seen the movie, with Depardieu, Miou Miou, and Renaud? It's a pretty good adaptation. If you liked Germinal, try Mrs. Gaskell's "Mary Barton."
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 07 April 2002 01:40 AM
"Doh!"Required reading? Here's an omission of Homeric proportions: "Politics and the English Language" - Eric Blair
MMmmmm...Victory gin....
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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beproud2
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2040
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posted 25 April 2002 11:49 AM
hey guys which book by linda Mcquaig would be best you think? Also I am looking for something possibly on the influence of the US on canadian policies. or something to do with corporate influence on politics...sometihng along those lines. thanks
From: ottawa | Registered: Jan 2002
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grasshopper
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2330
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posted 26 April 2002 12:10 AM
Vaudree I admit that Jesus of Montreal was a fine film but whether or not it is a better film than The Last Temptation of Christ is a debate I am not equipped to engage in . With the presence of Harry Dean Stanton as John the Baptist , David Bowie as Pontius Pilate , Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot , and Willem Defoe as The Nazarene I admit that my sentimental vote goes to The Last Temptation of Christ . Not to forget the beautiful score by Peter Gabriel . Anyhow the film in no way matches the profundity of Kazantzakis' genius for communicating with a great simplicity of language , the ineluctable beauty of the human spirits' endless struggle for illumination and for liberty .More essential reading from my little library upon the sea ... The Collected Works of Ken Wilber The Act of Creation - Arthur Koestler Voltaires Bastards - John Ralston Saul Tradition and Revolution - Krishnamurti Road to Heaven : Encounters With Chinese Hermits by Bill Porter [ April 26, 2002: Message edited by: grasshopper ]
From: henry dargers attic | Registered: Mar 2002
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grasshopper
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2330
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posted 26 April 2002 03:02 AM
Rasmus_RavenI suppose I could have recommended The Wholeness of Life , or The Ending of Time (both with David Bohm ) just as easily . I believe that Freedom From The Known is the only book that Krishnamurti actually wrote (the rest being transcripted dialogues) I recommend it above in my first post on this thread . Tradition and Revolution is the most comprehensive introduction to K in my opinion .Also I find his syntax in this volume to be refreshing . To be fair , it has been a long time since I saw Jesus of Montreal but I do remember the lead actor Lothair Bluteau , so he must have given a strong performance . [ April 26, 2002: Message edited by: grasshopper ]
From: henry dargers attic | Registered: Mar 2002
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'lance
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1064
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posted 26 April 2002 12:45 PM
quote: Does recollection mislead me, if I say the film was obsessed with the problem of authenticity?
Well, that's never been my impression of it. First and foremost, I think of the movie as something of an affectionate joke -- not a mean-spirited joke on the audience or the characters, mind you, or even on the Church, but a rather sad, extended joke with a point, something about the profane and sacred not being that radically opposed after all. Or a species of "magic realism," if you like. However that may be, at the very least I didn't think it was "obsessed" with anything at all. Generally, the tone isn't that of obsession, I found. As for your American friends -- so much the worse for them! Did you take them to see Decline of the American Empire? quote: "Essential Reading." Am I in the right thread?
Now, now, writer... if we can't indulge in a little thread drift on a book thread, where can we?
From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001
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beproud2
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2040
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posted 26 April 2002 02:19 PM
I am only just about finishing the first chapter of the book by McQuaig and I know she is a lefty but she really makes you think about the righties sometimes. Honestly i find myself pondering more about right wing and individual rights then I do with collective left wing protectionism.As I said I am only in the first chapter so maybe she is just setting me up to knock me down and really drive in some points. I am not sure. Anyone else have any thoughts on this? the book incase you did know is all you can eat lust greed and the new capitalism. look forward to hearing what others think. Maybe I will start a thread on it in specific as not to thread drift. I will copy and paste.. Yes I will!! [ April 26, 2002: Message edited by: beproud2 ]
From: ottawa | Registered: Jan 2002
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