Dear RN, Oct. 20 Well, Paul Isaacs and others see the upcoming WTO summit in Seattle as utterly crucial. Even for those of us who are not going, we should be finding ways to communicate to others what is at stake and what we can do to turn things around towards democracy and sustainability and away from corporatism, militarism and ultimately, the threat to life on earth. all the best, Jan From: Paul Isaacs <•••@••.•••> To: Jan Slakov <•••@••.•••> Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 00:16:20 -0500 Subject: Re: found your other message Jan wrote: >...I wonder if the big effort to protest the upcoming WTO agenda (in >Seattle) really has much value, given what Ijust said. I think so, still, >for surely all the activism to explain what the WTO agenda means for the >EArth and for democracy will help more people to see the need to simplify >their lives and refuse the corporate agenda. Paul: The protest at Seattle will be the most critical possible turning point since Chamberlain handed Hitler Czechkoslovakia ( sp? ). The corporacy will either triumph or be defeated, in the sense of gaining or losing credibility, during this meeting. <snip> Regards, Paul Isaacs ************************************************* Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 15:30:01 +0200 From: jep88 <•••@••.•••> Organization: st4.tele.dk Subject: MAKE SEATTLE THE CORPORATIONS' STALINGRAD ! The flow of delightful news about tens of thousands of protesters going to Seattle on N30 gives associations to a principally parallel historic event in 1943. The corporations (including for instance that of the George Bush family) were behind Adolf Hitler all the way, and especially when he attacked the Soviet Union. His and their defeat at Stalingrad became the decisive turning point of WW II and taught them to prefer the more subtl methods that today count not millions, but billions of victims (including the Russians again). Seattle perhaps could become the turning point of the present war. Because of the high level of Internet and protest activities here, the 99 % corporate mass media monopol may be prevented from continuing to hide the corporate conspiracy from the silent majority. The capitalist corporate system and greed inevitably will bite off more than it can chew. The unbelievably vicious corporate agenda now invites such defeat. Since all of the media focus will be concentrated on Seattle, this will be the decisive main battle field. Everybody that has the opportunity therefore should go there. Chartered flights may be required to supplement the ordinary traffic. Naturally, all of those who cannot come to Seattle should open auxiliary fronts all over the world. Jep ******************************************** Note from Jan: I hadn't heard of the allegations that the Bush family were involved in supporting Nazism, although it seems entirely plausible. In any case, it seems the Seattle summit is being percieved by many as pivotal... As the message from Jep (who I have had no previous correspondence with) puts it, Seattle "will be the decisive main battle field". OK. I must say, such language makes me a bit wary. Our whole societal upbringing tends to push us to see things in adversarial terms, yet progress is generally best made when we get beyong the us/them polarity. As Richard wrote in cj #996: Robert's rules, in typical practice, are about deciding among alternatives. My central observation, as regards democracy, is that 'decision making' is the wrong frame for the democratic process. I suggest instead that the proper frame is 'problem solving'. As one argument for this frame shift, I - with some irony - point to the process that occurs in a typical working team meeting in a modern corporate setting. In such a meeting a group assembles to solve a problem (technical, managerial, marketing, or whatever). Ideas and knowledge are pooled, via discussion, and the group moves toward identifying possible solutions. Suggestions might be rejected, refined, combined, modified, elaborated, etc, in a process of open discussion and mutual education. In decades of work in industry, I _never saw anyone suggest a vote in such a meeting. It would be seen as absurd. How can you possibly solve a problem by voting? You can only do it by thrashing out the issues. I believe the argument for a consensus-like democratic process can be made more strongly by looking at these kind of models, than by emphasizing the history of consensus, and its apologists, in the political domain. JAN: What I am trying to suggest is that we avoid trapping ourselves into either/or thinking (like voting). On the other hand.... we need to make it clear to people that there are real choices to be made regarding our future, and that there ARE alternatives to the choices that our governments seem prepared to make at the WTO summit. Now, for people looking for resources on the WTO, this last message gives you one more suggestion (along with other resources more specifically aimed at the Canadian context). all the best, Jan ************************************************ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 13:05:02 -0700 From: Sid Shniad <•••@••.•••> Subject: New from the CCPA October --1999 Dear members and friends of the CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) From: Bruce Campbell, Executive Director This is the first of what will be regular update of new publications from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. A lot of our material can be freely downloaded from our web site. So check us out at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca Also, feel free to contact me if you have any comments about our work. ------------------ The World Trade Organization: A Citizen’s Guide by Steven Shrybman (CCPA/Lorimer) The World Trade Organization is a global institution of staggering power. With a membership of 135 countries and a mandate to administer and enforce international trade agreements worldwide, it is not an exaggeration to say that this organization constitutes a form of world government. The WTO is using it is extraordinary powers to force governments to modify public policies most often to conform to corporate interests. Steven Shrybman offers an independent view of the WTO and how it is using its powers in areas ranging from agriculture and environment to labour and culture. World leaders meet in Seattle later this year to launch the so-called millennium round of WTO negotiations. WTO: A Citizen’s Guide is a timely and valuable resource for all who want to understand its profound impacts on our lives. Copies of The World Trade Organization: A Citizen’s Guide can be obtained from the CCPA for $19.95 each (price includes shipping within North America, handling and GST #124146473RT). (Discounts available for bulk orders) ------------------------ Ten Tax Myths by Murray Dobbin The high-powered campaign for tax cuts in Canada, mounted by big business and relentlessly promoted by right-wing politicians, think-tanks and the commercial media, is based on misleading data, specious arguments, and outright falsehoods. That is the central finding of best-selling author and activist Murray Dobbin, His report is designed to expose and refute the prevalent tax myths and to provide the facts about our tax system that its attackers conveniently ignore. "Ten Tax Myths" will equip citizens with the information and analysis needed to debunk these myths. Ten Tax Myths has been met by a predictably hostile response from the tax cut lobby. For example Michael Walker of the Fraser Institute says: "there is a superficial appeal to the analysis that does not stand up to careful scrutiny." Ten Tax Myths can be downloaded for free from the CCPA web site at http://www.policyalternatives.ca > Hard copies are available for $10.00 each. (bulk orders are available for $5.00 each plus shipping) Murray Dobbin is available to speak at conventions and conferences. ---------------------- The Future of Medicare: Recovering the Canada Health Act by Monique Begin According to former Federal Health Minister Monique Begin, the growing privatization of Canada's health care system, government under-funding, the de-listing of services, the imposition of extra-charges and user fees, and the failure to enforce the Canada Health Act are combining to erode Medicare in Canada. Now professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Health Sciences, Begin, the main architect of the 1984 Canada Health Act, analyzes and documents the erosion of our public health care system. The Future of Medicare can be downloaded for free from the CCPA web site. Hard copies are available for $10.00 each. (bulk orders are available for $5.00 plus shipping) ------------------------ Out of Control: Canada in an Unstable Financial World edited by Brian K. MacLean (CCPA/Lorimer) Unless forceful measures are taken to regulate global financial markets, the world is in danger of repeating, on an even larger scale, the Asian financial crisis which shook the world economy in 1997-98. This is a central message of Out of Control Out of Control, edited by Laurentian University economics professor Brian MacLean, contains contributions from leading Canadian experts and commentators who bring a range of perspectives and experience to this subject. They include: Linda McQuaig, Jacques Parizeau, Douglas Peters, and Jim Stanford. The authors explore the causes of financial market turmoil and propose a variety of workable measures Canada can take to shield itself from destabilizing international forces. They also stress the need for international solutions showing what Canada can do to promote a more stable world financial system. Copies of Out of Control can be obtained from the CCPA for $19.95 each (price includes shipping within North America, handling and GST #124146473RT). (Discounts available for bulk orders) Early praise for Out of Control came from Finance Minister and chair of the new G-20 group of countries, Paul Martin, who called it "very timely." --------------- Raising the Floor: The Economic and Social Benefits of Minimum Wages in Canada, By Michael Goldberg and David Green The study is by two CCPA research associates, Michael Goldberg, research director with the Social Planning and Research Council of BC; and David Green, associate professor of economics at the University of British Columbia. The study clearly disputes the claim that minimum wages are a major killer of jobs. The research indicates that minimum wage increases have only marginal effects on employment. But more importantly, even under the most conservative assumptions, minimum wage increases lead to an increase in the total wages paid to low-wage workers. The study uses the latest available data for Canada's four most populous provinces -- Ontario, Quebec, BC and Alberta -- to profile who minimum wage workers are, to analyze what impact minimum wages have on employment, and to make policy recommendations. The minimum wage is not a panacea say the authors, but it is an important tool in the social policy toolbox for raising the floor for low-wage workers and meeting anti-poverty goals. The authors find that, after inflation, real minimum wages in Canada have dropped dramatically from their peak in the mid-1970s. All provinces need to restore the purchasing power of the minimum wage. Raising the Floor can be downloaded for free from the CCPA web site. Hard copies are available for $10.00 each. (bulk orders are available for $5.00 each plus shipping) --------------------- Paper Boom: Why Real Prosperity Requires a New Approach To Canada’s Economy, by Jim Stanford (CCPA/Lorimer) Paper Boom provides a devastating exposé of the destructive effects of Canada’s financial casino economy on real investment and jobs in the economy where most of us live. This book explodes the myth propagated by Bay Street that playing the financial markets is actually putting money to work to produce real economic growth. National Affairs columnist Doug fisher says Paper Boom is potentially the most important work on Canadian economic and political analysis since John Porter’s Vertical Mosaic. Copies of Paper Boom can be obtained from the CCPA for $24.95 each (price includes shipping within North America, handling and GST #124146473RT). (Discounts available for bulk orders) -------------------- CCPA: Behind the Numbers (BTN) BTH is a media-fax series of short, (1000 words) numbers- based analyses of key public policy issues. They are distributed nationally to our extensive media data base and are meant to inform and influence the public debate. They are available on our web site. If you are interested in producing a "CCPA Behind the Numbers" you can contact me: <•••@••.•••> We can’t guarantee you that we will use your submission; but we will carefully consider it. For a model of how they are done, please check out past BTN reports on our web site. ------------------------ You can order your copy of all of these publications by filling out the secure on-line order form on our web page at http://www.policyalternatives.ca You can also phone (613-563-1341) or fax (613-233-1458) your order in to us along with your mailing address and credit card (Visa/MasterCard) information. Or, if you prefer, send a cheque or money order to us at 410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7. Also, check out our web page for information about how you can become a member of the CCPA. -- Bruce Campbell Executive Director Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Suite 410, 75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7 Tel: 613-563-1341 Fax: 613-233-1458 E-mail: •••@••.••• http://www.policyalternatives.ca
