tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72422018994278107382024-03-13T02:53:38.186-05:00The Independent CommunitarianA home for Red Tories, Green Liberals, Groucho Marxists, common ground Egalitarians and gregarious Libertarians.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-25163212685822496392015-01-11T17:29:00.002-05:002015-01-11T17:29:52.018-05:00The Real March the Leaders Led.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGyhp1iaXwlY1BZKKMSZAgtSjy4Ffp9dkzZi_5fo1gs38EKz6AAfhGkSHZRypdeYbmJIYNmw0XoZFYRniGwHEURin9QtDNi5yYJshCkaFPDdtdKOgTV1A6dP3EAAZ2NbRYkUCdiSa_0s/s1600/the+real+march+the+leades+led.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGyhp1iaXwlY1BZKKMSZAgtSjy4Ffp9dkzZi_5fo1gs38EKz6AAfhGkSHZRypdeYbmJIYNmw0XoZFYRniGwHEURin9QtDNi5yYJshCkaFPDdtdKOgTV1A6dP3EAAZ2NbRYkUCdiSa_0s/s1600/the+real+march+the+leades+led.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-8129206060871958512014-11-23T12:23:00.003-05:002015-01-14T14:05:17.163-05:00Notes and Extrapolations on the Fergus-Elora Community Development Corporation/Cooperative Credit Union? explorative meeting<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
November 22, 2014, Fergus
Grand Theatre</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Presenters</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul Flach (Fergus-Elora)
and Christina Sinopoli of the Mars Impact Investment Centre (Toronto)</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul Flach</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul went first, using a
power point slide show:</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
he spoke to the idea of
the need for a mind change within planning relative to economics and
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
community, but also of
what it was we all might agree on relative to Elora and Fergus
achieving their full potential as communities, namely the blessings
of place already distinct to the area, the natural and human
heritage, and that most of us would agree that it would not achieve
that potential on its own if left to existing practices and mindsets.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He spoke of going to
events like the soap box derby and the Scottish Festival parade where
he experienced community within the <i>space</i> of the event, but as
soon as the events ended he realized that there was no <i>place</i>
for the community to enjoy itself as a community, and that if a truck
with tables and chairs had shown up, such a <i>place</i> would have
immediately been created.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It being one thing to
create buzz and another to maintain it. Thus one of the goals of CDC
was to create opportunities for <i>place</i>.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The CDC having spoken to
the municipality and the BIA's has already reached an understanding
with them relative to the role the CDC wants to establish for itself
in the community, which includes focusing on creating a business map
of the area, which is a conceptual tool for understanding what
businesses we have and what businesses we lack, and therefor what
businesses we need (as opposed to say two drug stores in Elora was my
thought.)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He also examined the idea
of local tourism, by which he meant creating reasons for locals to
remain in their communities, a complete “hometown experience” as
opposed to staging a town”, the best examples of which are to found
in Europe, an approach that doesn't rely so much on an A to Z linear
planning mindset, nor one that happens simply my mistake, but one
that evolves by creating opportunities for innovation.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He then spoke to the fact
that relative to the kind of place people want to live in, (ie, one
with respect for its heritage) then the community needs to ensure
that it has the skills and trades to carry out the work, ie masonry
and fine carpentry et al: a goal he noted had been broached with the
Centre Wellington Foundation, with whom the CDC now has established a
relationship, in order to help our businesses work towards a common
infrastructure.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Part of that issue
revolves around the fact the most of the area's built heritage is
neither listed nor designated as such, terms that don't prevent
demolition, except to the extent that they offer differing time
lengths for appealing demolition. Related to that issue, is that most
new buildings not only aren't designed with any sense of what is
essential understanding of the communities in which they are being
built, they aren't built to last, aren't built with a commitment to
future generations, which was the way the original builders of our
communities designed buildings. The emotional connection of place is
lost when communities aren't built to last.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He also spoke of the need
to make use of under utilized buildings already in place.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
One of his slides was a
quote from the Ontario government's Places to Grow legislation, an
act was not designed to be used to create the sprawl that has
happened in the areas in its purview, but actually contains clauses
for protecting water, the environment and for promoting the growth of
community.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The problem is what Paul
called the Bad Urban Planning Habit, which is a habit of citizens,
since urban planners cannot on their own accord declare themselves
the consciences of their communities, so it is citizens that need the
change of mindset, and the biggest change involves the car. As things
now stand, our communities are designed to accommodate spaces that
accommodate the movement, the parking and barriers to protect
pedestrians from cars, so that most of the available space is gobbled
up, restricting the possibility of creating place.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In order to empower
planners to design urban environments differently, we need to create
a common will, backed by both vision and investment.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul then went on to
explain the evolution of mono zone planning, which occurred after the
invention of the car, when everything began to be designed for the
car, which is how we ended up with Suburbs without community cores,
manufacturing areas that workers had to drive to, shopping malls with
massive parking lots and the collapse of the urban cores of most
cities, Mixed use development has made a comeback largely because
young people don't want to live in Suburbs, or buy cars or maintain
large lot homes. Walkability was lost. When people reject the notion
that they need to be able to park immediately in front of where they
want to shop, when they reject the notion that the car matters more
than the sense of place, then visions of livable communities can
begin to emerge that enable planners to create plans that reflect
that new understanding of what the public wants</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Public square is a
place where people gather whether there is an event gong on or not,
especially in places that are not only built to human scale, but to
the pedestrian walking pace, a transition from the 80km an hour
suburban road to the 5km an hour walking pace. Such a change in
attitude, when accompanied by respect for the both the built and the
natural environment, and with good aesthetics on the human scale,
creates community involvement.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Inside that scale, spaces
like laneways come into play, spaces once reserved for garbage,
spaces once avoided, spaces lost to the community, spaces now being
transformed all around the world through backdoor cafes, shops and
seating. Laneway transformation of lost spaces into usable places to
sit and talk, become places to gather and celebrate and plan. Spaces
which both Elora and Fergus have, and which could be re-purposed to
great effect.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul then spoke of the
destruction of Christchurch New Zealand during a natural disaster,
leaving the citizens and official with an intense sense of loss for
the city core as it had once been, with an almost clean slate to work
on, and a community committed to rebuilding itself from within,
Christchurch has engaged in extensive community outreach and vision
development, in order to restore the core in such a way that it
honours the lost past.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The other thing relative
to walkability that Paul broached at the local level was the
development of community places within walking distance of one
another, so that the businesses between the hubs benefit from the
foot traffic, ie, assuming that Landmark develops the south side of
the Grand River with some sense of community place, and the Elora
arts centre was redeveloped as a more active community place the two
spots would serve as hubs for walkers.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In his conclusion Paul
spoke of the need for public and private investment, a community of
both investors and supporters dedicated to increasing the social
value of renovation, restoration and redevelopment projects from here
on in. He also noted that the CDC was considering the idea of
creating a credit union, so that the cooperative ideals of that kind
of banking would reinforce the vision of the CDC.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Christian Sinopoli</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The MARS Centre for Impact
Investing</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Christina's shorter talk
revolved around the history and evolution of Community Development
corporations, and the investment tools used by different
organizations in different situations. She spoke of social financing
through partnerships, and stakeholders whether they were directed at
social or environmental problems. All CDCs were mission based, and
vision preceded and drove all their activities. So that the creation
of the vision was the single most important determination of path the
CDC followed when it came to financing, be it convertible debt, load
guarantees, Term Deposits, Equity Investment, Patient Capitol or
Community Bonds, Micro Funds, the DUCA credit union social
development Funds, Angel Groups, all of which are very active in
Kitchener Waterloo.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She gave examples such The
YMCA Elm centre built to house low income women etc. the Mustard Seed
Co-op that was created to provide grocery shopping in downtown
Hamilton neighbourhoods with access to uptown stores. She spoke of
Zooshare Biogas CDC create to use waste materials from zoo animals
for feeding the Hydro grid and helping to sustain the finances of the
zoo. The Toronto Atmosphere Fund, which was a municipal initiative
focused on ensuring the continued improvement of Toronto's air
quality.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She advised of the need to
map out an investor base, to understand the regulations surrounding
all aspects of any project. But she also suggested that sometimes
bootstrapping - developing a venture without the capitol creates its
own momentum and opportunities.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She also spoke to the
importance of human capitol: of mentorship and of the value-adding
that comes from inviting everyone to the table. She also made note of
the Mars centre's Canadian Task Force Report on Social Finance:
http://impactinvesting.marsdd.com/strategic-initiatives/the-canadian-task-force-on-social-finance/.</div>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She concluded by stating
that innovation doesn't just happened, and that serendipity happens
when you are prepared to grasp it as it is happening.</div>
Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-6569503135603694722013-02-18T12:41:00.001-05:002013-02-18T12:55:34.061-05:00The 1100th MovementIt's been a long time since I've posted here but had these thoughts on Facebook<br />
<br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.38;">I propose we unite global tipping point movements to the cause of the 1100th Movement, a planetary celebration of the up coming 1100th anniversary of the founding of Iceland's parliament in the year 930. That way what Iceland has done with its gangster capitalists and constitution can become the basis for truths not told, and deadline for the peaceful passing of the petroligarchy and all Hanseatic League like corporatist guardian classes.</span></h5>
<form action="https://www.facebook.com/ajax/ufi/modify.php" class="live_10152253397435961_316526391751760 commentable_item autoexpand_mode" data-live="{"seq":0}" id="u_1l_2" method="post" rel="async" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="uiStreamFooter" style="color: #999999; display: table-cell; width: 10000px;"><span class="UIActionLinks UIActionLinks_bottom" data-ft="{"tn":"=","type":20}"><a aria-live="polite" class="UFILikeLink" data-ft="{"tn":">"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[29]" role="button" style="color: #6d84b4; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;" title="Like this item"><span id=".reactRoot[29].0">Like</span></a> · <label class="uiLinkButton comment_link" style="color: #666666; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: middle;" title="Leave a comment"><input data-ft="{"type":24,"tn":"S"}" style="background-image: none; border: none; color: #6d84b4; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;" type="button" value="Comment" /></label> · <a class="share_action_link" data-ft="{"tn":"J","type":25}" href="https://www.facebook.com/ajax/sharer/?s=22&appid=25554907596&p%5B0%5D=699000960&p%5B1%5D=10152253397435961" rel="dialog" role="button" style="color: #6d84b4; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;" title="Send this to friends or post it on your timeline.">Share</a> · </span><span class="uiStreamSource" data-ft="{"type":26,"tn":"N"}"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5/posts/10152253397435961" style="color: #999999; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;">6 minutes ago</a></span> · </span><br />
<div class="uiSelector inlineBlock audienceSelector onlyMeDesignSelector audienceSelectorNoTruncate dynamicIconSelector uiSelectorRight uiSelectorNormal uiSelectorDynamicTooltip" style="display: inline-block; max-width: 200px; vertical-align: top; zoom: 1;">
<div class="wrap" style="margin-top: -3px; position: relative;">
<span class="uiStreamFooter" style="color: #999999; display: table-cell; width: 10000px;"><a ajaxify="/ajax/privacy/privacy_menu.php?oid=10152253397435961&iconsize=small" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="1" aria-label="Your friends" class="uiSelectorButton uiButton uiButtonSuppressed uiButtonNoText" data-hover="tooltip" data-label="" data-length="30" data-oid="10152253397435961" data-tooltip-alignh="right" data-tooltip="Your friends" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" rel="toggle" role="button" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none; background-image: none; background-position: 100% -153px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; border: 1px solid transparent; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 13px; max-width: 169px; padding: 1px 18px 1px 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;"><i class="mrs defaultIcon customimg img sp_9dj00a sx_ff577b" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/y-/x/0ZUpsTfherG.png); background-position: -295px -341px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 12px; margin-left: -2px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: top; width: 12px;"></i></a></span></div>
</div>
<span class="uiStreamFooter" style="color: #999999; display: table-cell; width: 10000px;">
</span>
<div>
<div class="uiUfi UFIContainer uto" id="u_1l_1" style="margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; width: 398px;">
<ul class="UFIList" data-ft="{"tn":"]"}" id=".reactRoot[30]" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="UFIArrow" id=".reactRoot[30].[0]" style="margin-bottom: -2px; margin-top: 0px;"><i id=".reactRoot[30].[0].0" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/y8/x/UvyvLtJTQzO.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: block; height: 5px; margin-left: 17px; width: 9px;"></i></li>
<li class="UFIRow UFIComment UFILastComment UFIUnseenItem" data-ft="{"tn":"R"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}" style="background-color: #f1f2f6; border-left-color: rgb(168, 178, 206); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-top: 1px; padding: 4px 4px 4px 3px;"><div class="clearfix" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0" style="zoom: 1;">
<div class="lfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[0]" style="float: left;">
<a aria-hidden="true" class="img -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__image -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__mediumImage UFIImageBlockImage" data-ft="{"tn":"T"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[0].0" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-right: 8px; text-decoration: initial;" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" class="img UFIActorImage -cx-PRIVATE-uiSquareImage__medium" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[0].0.0" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-ash4/275604_699000960_933002305_q.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: 32px; width: 32px;" /></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1]">
<div class="clearfix UFIImageBlockContent -cx-PRIVATE-uiFlexibleBlock__flexibleContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0" style="overflow: hidden; zoom: 1;">
<div class="rfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[0]" style="float: right;">
<a aria-label="Edit or Delete" class="uiCloseButton UFICommentCloseButton UFIEditButton" data-hover="tooltip" data-tooltip-alignh="center" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[0].0" role="button" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yx/x/rkQF27utoCR.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 15px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: initial; width: 15px; z-index: 1; zoom: 1;"></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1]">
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0">
<div class="UFICommentContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0]">
<a class="UFICommentActorName" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][0]" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: initial;">Jerry Prager</a><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][1]"> </span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]">We do not need war, we do not want war, but the Quiet Revolution is something we've seen done in Quebec.</span></div>
<div class="UFICommentActions fsm fwn fcg" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1]" style="clear: both; color: grey; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 2px;">
<span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0]"><a class="uiLinkSubtle" data-ft="{"tn":"N"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5/posts/10152253397435961?comment_id=26952530&offset=0&total_comments=1" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[0]" style="color: grey; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;">5 minutes ago</a></span><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[1]"> · </span><a data-ft="{"tn":">"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952530}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[2]" role="button" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;" title="Like this comment">Like</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="UFIRow UFIComment UFILastComment UFIUnseenItem" data-ft="{"tn":"R"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}" style="background-color: #f1f2f6; border-left-color: rgb(168, 178, 206); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-top: 1px; padding: 4px 4px 4px 3px;"><div class="clearfix" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0" style="zoom: 1;">
<div class="lfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[0]" style="float: left;">
<a aria-hidden="true" class="img -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__image -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__mediumImage UFIImageBlockImage" data-ft="{"tn":"T"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[0].0" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-right: 8px; text-decoration: initial;" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" class="img UFIActorImage -cx-PRIVATE-uiSquareImage__medium" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[0].0.0" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-ash4/275604_699000960_933002305_q.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: 32px; width: 32px;" /></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1]">
<div class="clearfix UFIImageBlockContent -cx-PRIVATE-uiFlexibleBlock__flexibleContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0" style="overflow: hidden; zoom: 1;">
<div class="rfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[0]" style="float: right;">
<a aria-label="Edit or Delete" class="uiCloseButton UFICommentCloseButton UFIEditButton" data-hover="tooltip" data-tooltip-alignh="center" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[0].0" role="button" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yx/x/rkQF27utoCR.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 15px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: initial; width: 15px; z-index: 1; zoom: 1;"></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1]">
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0">
<div class="UFICommentContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0]">
<a class="UFICommentActorName" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][0]" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: initial;">Jerry Prager</a><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][1]"> </span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]">Amnesty after confession, jailings where necessary, the 1100th Movement requires nothing more than all the movements of the world to head for axle and hang ten on the tipping point.</span></div>
<div class="UFICommentActions fsm fwn fcg" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1]" style="clear: both; color: grey; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 2px;">
<span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0]"><a class="uiLinkSubtle" data-ft="{"tn":"N"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5/posts/10152253397435961?comment_id=26952548&offset=0&total_comments=2" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[0]" style="color: grey; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;">2 minutes ago</a></span><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[1]"> · </span><a data-ft="{"tn":">"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952548}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[2]" role="button" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;" title="Like this comment">Like</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="UFIRow UFIComment UFILastComment UFIUnseenItem" data-ft="{"tn":"R"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}" style="background-color: #f1f2f6; border-left-color: rgb(168, 178, 206); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-top: 1px; padding: 4px 4px 4px 3px;"><div class="clearfix" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0" style="zoom: 1;">
<div class="lfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[0]" style="float: left;">
<a aria-hidden="true" class="img -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__image -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__mediumImage UFIImageBlockImage" data-ft="{"tn":"T"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[0].0" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-right: 8px; text-decoration: initial;" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" class="img UFIActorImage -cx-PRIVATE-uiSquareImage__medium" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[0].0.0" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-ash4/275604_699000960_933002305_q.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: 32px; width: 32px;" /></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1]">
<div class="clearfix UFIImageBlockContent -cx-PRIVATE-uiFlexibleBlock__flexibleContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0" style="overflow: hidden; zoom: 1;">
<div class="rfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[0]" style="float: right;">
<a aria-label="Edit or Delete" class="uiCloseButton UFICommentCloseButton UFIEditButton" data-hover="tooltip" data-tooltip-alignh="center" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[0].0" role="button" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yx/x/rkQF27utoCR.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 15px; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: initial; width: 15px; z-index: 1; zoom: 1;"></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1]">
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0">
<div class="UFICommentContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0]">
<a class="UFICommentActorName" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][0]" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: initial;">Jerry Prager</a><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][1]"> </span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]">We are not after blood but an end to blood letting</span></div>
<div class="UFICommentActions fsm fwn fcg" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1]" style="clear: both; color: grey; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 2px;">
<span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0]"><a class="uiLinkSubtle" data-ft="{"tn":"N"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5/posts/10152253397435961?comment_id=26952562&offset=0&total_comments=3" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[0]" style="color: grey; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;">about a minute ago</a></span><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[1]"> · </span><a data-ft="{"tn":">"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952562}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[2]" role="button" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;" title="Like this comment">Like</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="UFIRow UFIComment UFILastComment UFIUnseenItem" data-ft="{"tn":"R"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}" style="background-color: #f1f2f6; border-left-color: rgb(168, 178, 206); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-top: 1px; padding: 4px 4px 4px 3px;"><div class="clearfix" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0" style="zoom: 1;">
<div class="lfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[0]" style="float: left;">
<a aria-hidden="true" class="img -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__image -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__mediumImage UFIImageBlockImage" data-ft="{"tn":"T"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[0].0" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-right: 8px; text-decoration: initial;" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" class="img UFIActorImage -cx-PRIVATE-uiSquareImage__medium" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[0].0.0" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-ash4/275604_699000960_933002305_q.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: 32px; width: 32px;" /></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1]">
<div class="clearfix UFIImageBlockContent -cx-PRIVATE-uiFlexibleBlock__flexibleContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0" style="overflow: hidden; zoom: 1;">
<div class="rfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[0]" style="float: right;">
<a aria-label="Edit or Delete" class="uiCloseButton UFICommentCloseButton UFIEditButton" data-hover="tooltip" data-tooltip-alignh="center" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[0].0" role="button" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yx/x/rkQF27utoCR.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 15px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: initial; width: 15px; z-index: 1; zoom: 1;"></a></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1]">
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0">
<div class="UFICommentContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0]">
<a class="UFICommentActorName" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=699000960" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][0]" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: initial;">Jerry Prager</a><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][1]"> </span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]">we are not after justice, cooperation is already an institutional marvel in Canada.</span></div>
<div class="UFICommentActions fsm fwn fcg" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1]" style="clear: both; color: grey; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 2px;">
<span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0]"><a class="uiLinkSubtle" data-ft="{"tn":"N"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/jerry.prager.5/posts/10152253397435961?comment_id=26952570&offset=0&total_comments=4" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[0]" style="color: grey; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;"><abbr class="livetimestamp" data-utime="1361209104" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[0].0" style="border-bottom-style: none;" title="Monday, 18 February 2013 at 12:38">A few seconds ago</abbr></a><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[2][0]"> · </span><a ajaxify="/ajax/edits/browser/comment?comment_token=10152253397435961_26952570" aria-label="Show edit history" class="uiLinkSubtle" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[2][1]" rel="dialog" role="button" style="color: grey; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;" title="Show edit history">Edited</a></span><span id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[1]"> · </span><a data-ft="{"tn":">"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][2][1]{comment10152253397435961_26952570}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[2]" role="button" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: initial;" title="Like this comment">Like</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="UFIRow UFIAddComment" data-ft="{"tn":"["}" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3]" style="background-color: #f1f2f6; margin-top: 1px; padding: 4px;"><div class="clearfix UFIMentionsInputWrap" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;">
<div class="lfloat" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[0]" style="float: left;">
<img alt="" class="img -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__image -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__smallImage img UFIActorImage -cx-PRIVATE-uiSquareImage__medium UFIImageBlockImage" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[0].0" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-ash4/275604_699000960_933002305_q.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: 32px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: -1px; width: 32px;" /></div>
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1]">
<div class="UFIImageBlockContent -cx-PRIVATE-uiFlexibleBlock__flexibleContent -cx-PRIVATE-uiImageBlock__smallContent" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0" style="margin-top: 1px; overflow: hidden;">
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0.0">
<div class="uiMentionsInput textBoxContainer ReactLegacyMentionsInput" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0.0.[0]" style="background-color: white; position: relative;">
<div class="highlighter" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0.0.[0].[0]" style="color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; left: 0px; line-height: 14px; overflow: hidden; padding: 4px; position: absolute; top: 0px;">
<div id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0.0.[0].[0].0" style="color: transparent; line-height: 1.28; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 345px; word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
</div>
<div aria-controls="js_13" aria-haspopup="true" aria-owns="js_13" class="uiTypeahead mentionsTypeahead" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0.0.[0].[1]" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(189, 199, 216); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px; color: #333333; cursor: default; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; height: auto; line-height: 14px; position: relative; zoom: 1;" tabindex="0">
<span style="background-color: #f1f2f6; font-size: 11px;">By which I mean, mercy is better than justice, and if "it is done when t'is done then t'were well it were done quickly", mercifully, for all our sakes, for our families and their families, for the planet, then, and only then can we give peace economics their place in all our lives.</span><br />
<div class="wrap" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0.0.[0].[1].0" style="border-color: rgb(189, 199, 216); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 1px;">
</div>
</div>
<div aria-controls="js_13" aria-haspopup="true" aria-owns="js_13" class="uiTypeahead mentionsTypeahead" id=".reactRoot[30].[1][3].0.[1].0.0.[0].[1]" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(189, 199, 216); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px; color: #333333; cursor: default; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; height: auto; line-height: 14px; position: relative; zoom: 1;" tabindex="0">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</form>
Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-27242301447323914082010-12-01T16:55:00.000-05:002010-12-01T16:55:11.864-05:00The context of the LeaksCorporatism: Mussolini was defeated in WW2 (after having been aided and abetted by the Conservative Party of Canada as well as Bush League Americans and the followers of King Edward the fascist in England) but fascism - what Mussolini called the union of corporations and the state - won the war, the Cold War was the subsequent ruse by which western democracies were conquered from within: America is home to the greatest corporatist regime in the history of the world as evidenced by the shakedown of the American economy by bankers and the fact that the source of 95% of the world's opium is still flowing after 9 years of War in Afghanistan. The metaphor is Reagonomics via Iran-Contra: a drugs,arms and money economy in which corporatists control pseudo-democracies, and which began when the American military fist allied itself with the mafia in NY Apr. '42. The payoff for the mob took place in 2007-08 when they were allowed to launder 352 billion dollars in narcotics profits into the global banking system.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-10154367676160948402010-12-01T16:20:00.002-05:002010-12-01T16:20:32.498-05:00Two different Julians, two different types of courage.Alright Fantino, show you're not a wimp, demand that Tom Flanagan be arrested for inciting the murder of Juilan Assange. But we know you don't have the balls to enforce the law in the corridors of power because you are nothing but a running dog whose tail is wagged by them whenever they want you to beat up people who actually do believe in democracy and the Charter of Rights.<br />
2 seconds ago · Like · CommentJerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-54441829460624729832010-11-30T18:03:00.003-05:002010-11-30T18:04:25.603-05:00O those cuddly blogging Tories<a href="http://btintheirownwords.blogspot.com/2010/11/about-gwynne-dyer-he-is-very-high-on.html">they just love to spew.</a>Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-5363162389431308342010-11-30T15:44:00.002-05:002010-11-30T15:44:39.562-05:00Here it is in a nutshell"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."<br />
Benito MussoliniJerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-23483267383849982702010-11-28T16:14:00.000-05:002010-11-28T16:14:13.144-05:00wiki leaks goes viralhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cable-<br />
<br />
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-wikileaks<br />
<br />
the cusp of democracy realized, or a military clampdown before the guardian classes lose complete control ?Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-1781953198824991342010-11-05T20:18:00.002-05:002010-11-05T20:18:04.213-05:00Kind of like Buying a Gold Medalhttp://www.financialpost.com/news/Canada+ranked+world+brand/3784532/story.htmlJerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-80403195551072620922010-11-04T18:17:00.001-05:002010-11-04T18:17:32.492-05:00In the yes I believe this file<a href="http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/breakingnews/ottawa-was-warned-that-15-billion-public-works-bid-scheme-unsound-106718888.html">http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/breakingnews/ottawa-was-warned-that-15-billion-public-works-bid-scheme-unsound-106718888.html</a>Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-88694394353549162632010-11-02T20:48:00.001-05:002010-11-02T20:49:58.072-05:00Thank the US Supreme Court for the neo-corporatist Empirenow being born south of our border, billionaires and conglomerates financing popular unrest and aiming it at the government, smashing the last of the floundering American democracy, the evolving saga of how the government of the people became a government of corporate representatives. Something wicked this way comes.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-891861266608807072009-12-10T17:06:00.002-05:002009-12-10T17:10:30.763-05:00Obama skulln'boneduggeryThe people who gave Obama the peace prize must have known that what they were really doing was sanctioning an action begun by George W. Bush but now brilliantly described as the<a href="http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/nine-surges-obamas-war"> Nine Surges of Obama's War.</a>Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-59082471908516689632008-08-29T07:32:00.003-05:002008-08-29T07:56:33.212-05:00Did America just wake up ?Watching the Democratic Convention last night I re-examined my anti-Americanism. Usually consumed by the arrogance of power & unable to differentiate between what educator SA O'Neill distinguished as Freedom Not License, the US often believes they are 'free' to do what they want to whomever they want. The neo-con nightmare first arose out of right wing losses in WW2, but the revival of neo-fascism in the US was endorsed in the last two elections & echoed in Canada; small-minded, mean-spirited, cold-hearted corporate capitalism, gulag republicanism & heretical fundamentalist Christianity may now be history. Somebody say amen.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-82137230231105011962008-05-11T08:56:00.007-05:002008-05-11T09:18:12.000-05:00McCain's real POVWashington Dispatch: In a taped sermon, the preacher McCain calls a "spiritual guide" calls on America to see the "false religion" of Islam "destroyed." Still, the candidate won't reject<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/05/john-mccain-rod-parsley-pastor-problem.html"> Rod Parsley</a>'s endorsement.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-55465584680490880612008-04-04T10:25:00.005-05:002008-04-04T11:40:40.249-05:00CitizenshopI have come to the conclusion that the best way for us to maintain the balance between individual rights and community obligations is by thinking of our tax status as individual citizenshops, operating within a political-economy in which the national bank needs to become a membership-owned/citizen-owned credit union. Service fees would replace taxes, but those fees would either be lowered by individuals who provided benefits to others, or the fees would be lowered to those who needed access to defined levels of social credit depending on their needs, administered through programs re-developed on preexisting best practices. <br />Bureaucrats would be regarded as credit union employees, politicians would become board members. <br />Corporations would become history, because of the essential flaw in their having no legal conscience to bind them in a court of law. With the passing of corporations so would unions also pass away, except the credit union of citizens, and the union of bureaucrats. The civil employees in that union would all be employed to maintain the state according to the directions of the government, which would continue to be elected in "General Meetings" at the polls, and in accordance with a charter based on many of the customs and traditions of the House of Commons. The Board/Commons would be non-partisan, and would answer to electors as the board does in a credit union to the membership. Politicians would oversee the staff and develop policies for securing the mutual benefit of all members of all local, bio-regional, bio-territoral, bio-national and bio-international watershed societies.<br />Individually, we would all have the tax status of citizenshops, we would all be able to organize ourselves to certain degrees of limited liabilities through homeshop benefit societies (which could be co-ops that were either family-based or house-mate based) we would all also be allowed to organize our personal economies as members of community/community-of-interest co ops, buying clubs, workers co-ops, and other common arrays of customary associational behaviors, as defined as acceptable through new codes that would be created based on current charters, constitutions, criminal and family laws etc.<br />Privacy law and enclosure practices would need to be redefined based on negotiations that ensure access for all to the bounty of the commons in all local watersheds and across all territorial lands and waters.<br /><br />The soul of common law is the crown charter, based on the philosophical view of the Earth and the inherent bounty of life here as being gifts of Providence to all life, gifts which, in the end, are beyond the power of any group or individual to oppose by will for long, and beyond the ability of any community to long deny to the living.<br /><br />The essence of a society beneficial to all independent communitarians, would be a charter that guides custom, while allowing for privacy and associational freedom,<br />recognizing that we are symbiotic lifeforms living on a symbiotic planet.<br />I Am The Way I Am, meets I And Thou and flourishes.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-47447582375765473812007-05-12T13:55:00.000-05:002007-05-12T14:25:53.663-05:00Self-Incorporation revisitedI have friend, Bill Barret, of Planet Bean Fair Trade Coffee, and Bill says he's an anarchist and is horrified by the whole notion of self-incorporation, largely because in facing the real politik of acknowledging that corporations have more rights than citizens, and by embracing self-incorporation as a solution, it merely adds to the whole corporate problem, rather than solving it. He believes that the lack of conscience that is permitted to corporations (which is why they can't sign affidavits in court) would cancel out my perceived benefits, since individuals on trial would plead that their inc. did it, and not them, and that such a split would hold up in court.<br />I certainly think it's a fair argument, since clearly citizens should have more rights than corporations, and if self-incorporation did enable the schizoid separation of Inc. from Self, and therefor created a mechanism that allowed people to escape responsibility for their own actions, then the whole point of a self-incorporation economy would be lost.<br /><br />In the end, as a means of overthrowing the present corporate facade, I think self-incorporation remains viable, and that the law that says that a corporation can't sign an affidavit in court, would have to be changed when all corporations became individuals. Inc. and Self would have undivided access to the dictates of individual conscience.<br /><br />The problem of self-incorporated individuals having more rights than citizens remains troubling, since it would continue to create a society in which economic relationships are more important than political relationships (the basis of civil society.) I think the easiest solution to that conundrum is for self-incorporation to be a right of citizenship, for which an individual is automatically signed up, free of charge, probably at the age of 18, so that it comes with the right to vote. <br /><br />In the end, the ability to differentiate between the Political and the Economic without actually being able to divide them, would guarantee an equality of citizenship in the political economy of the future, and if individuals remained legally responsible for their own actions, despite being incorporated, then a more ethical business environment could evolve inside a more egalitarian society.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-52751750069840574292007-04-15T16:05:00.000-05:002007-04-15T16:40:23.490-05:00The Incorporate EconomyI was talking to my friend Wayne F Smythe who was explaining that he had incorporated himself as a legal entity because he has more rights as a corportation then he has as a citizen. He said the business of Wayne F Smythe Inc. is running Wayne F Smythe's life, his expenses, his income etc. I thought to myself, that it's it, that's what has to replace the corporate economy, we need to create an Incorporate Economy in which only indidividuals can be incorporated. That's how you bring ethics to business. That's how you get around the problems of corporations with more rights than citizens but who legally have "no conscience to bind them" which is why they can't sign affadivits in court. <br />The Incorporation Economy needs to be an individuals only one, but those individual incs. can still regisiter businesses they form with one another. The business itself has no rights not guaranteed to all citizens. The individuals are thus responsible for their own actions, they remain protected as citizens by Charters of Rights and Freedoms, their purusit of profits is more easily governed by law, the whole tax system can be simplified, business and bureaucratic manageriats can be streamlined for greater effciency, and commonwealth benefits will flow more freely to all, entreprenurial innovations will be unleashed, labour unions would also change shape and character, and the disappearance of bad corporate behaviour internationally will create less stress between peoples.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-60665162564160764932007-04-13T08:33:00.000-05:002007-04-13T08:59:30.531-05:00The Creative CommonsIn the 1970's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niles_Eldredge">Elderidge </a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niles_Eldredge">Gould </a>developed a new theory of evolution because the fossil record showed no evidence that organisms gradually developed new traits like losing tails etc. The new theory was called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuated_equilibrium">Punctuated Equilibrium</a> and was devised to explain the lack of data. According to Punctuated Equilibirum something more akin to quantum leapings occur. Symbiologist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis">Lynn Margulis</a> believed the evolutionary jumps were occurring at the level of the cell, where new symibiotic relationships between proto-bacteria in our cytoplasm and the DNA in the nucleus of the evolved creature resulted because of a critical mass of new genetic information exchanges. What Essayist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Thomas">Lewis Thomas </a>called failed attempts at predation.<br />I look at the sudden emergence of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons">Creative Commons</a><br />as a form of punctuated equilibrium. CC is the copyright software at the root of such sites as <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr </a>or <a href="http://sciencecommons.org">Science Commons</a>. The science site says it all <br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Accelerating the Scientific Research Cycle</span><br /><br />Science Commons serves the advancement of science by removing unnecessary legal and technical barriers to scientific collaboration and innovation.<br /><br />Built on the promise of Open Access to scholarly literature and data, Science Commons identifies and eases key barriers to the movement of information, tools and data through the scientific research cycle.</blockquote><br /><br />Web version 1.0 was largely about static information delivery, with interaction coming from email. It was itself a quantum leap from no web. It was also heavily corporate, and the web was used to consolidate the social darwinist dominant predator ideology of the biggest and the fastest winning the world and controlling the resources. <br />Web version 2.0 is the difference between dinosaurs and mammals. The great lumbering Dilbert-brained corporate dominance of the planet has already ended and the dinosaurs don't even know it yet.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-48078586565401872082007-04-11T08:59:00.000-05:002007-04-11T09:23:56.711-05:00The Battle for the CommonsIn the days of Henry VIII, after his excommunication, the common-laws of Europe underwent a process known as the Reception, in which laws founded on precedents gave way to Roman civil law. The only nation to resist the Reception was England. That is why only nations once linked to the British Empire use common law today. It was the English habit of writing everything down and keeping it, that preserved the integrity and continuity of common-law.<br />Civil law is by definition subject to changes depending on who controls the law-makings powers at any given time.<br />NAFTA, GATT, the Prosperity and Security Partnership are all forms of Reception designed to undermine and destroy common-law.<br />The battle for the Commons is going to be fought over one issue: water. If water becomes a commodity common-law is dead. I have been waiting for twenty-five years for the moment of crisis, the time to act, the fight to pick, the line in the sand. For me it has come. I attended a meeting called by the newly created <a href="http://wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca">Wellington Water Watcher's</a> about the renewal and extension of Nestles' permit to remove 3.6 million litres of water a day from the common aquifer that supplies Guelph and smaller communities to the south of us. <br />This battle needs to be fought on all fronts, locally, provincially, nationally, internationally. Guelph is a funny place, it is large town masked as a city with a reputation for a vibrant arts and activist community. It has a sense of destiny.<br />If we win this fight, we will unify a movement that will change the world, that will focus the fight for water rights in Africa and elsewhere in the Third World.<br />Resist the Reception, help Preserve the Commons.<br />www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca "Build it and they will come."Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-29540298576449017282007-04-09T09:26:00.000-05:002007-04-09T10:04:13.785-05:00Co-operative CommonwealthIn the end, this is what politics comes down to, to me.<br />Within the context of mutual benefit biology, the creation of a society rooted in both cooperative principles and commonwealth practicalities speaks volumes to me.<br />Theoretical Commonwealth began life in Hobbes' 'Leviathan', written and published just at the time that Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate of landed gentry began to emerge from the shadows of parliamentary opposition to the English Bureaucracy, the unproductive Lords and their king. Leviathan appeared in the full light of the revolution led by property owners. <br />For Hobbes, the issues were how to make Christianity into a communitarian practice. At first he was writing for King Charles and went into exile with him. Hobbes was allowed back into England because he was willing to redefine the word sovereign to include Parliament and not just the monarch. For Hobbes, a common duty to the state was everything, for without a belief in the common cause of the governed to accept the laws of the governors there could be no justice.<br />From my perspective that theory also leads to tyranny, as Cromwell's Protectorate proved in practice. His was what I would call an Uncooperative Commonwealth. The Parliamentary dictatorship of the gentry went out of its way to crush or betray the people, who were represented by two groups, the Levelers and the Diggers. The Levelers were tenant farmers who made up the bulk of the Protector's Army and who wanted access to the House of Commons, while the Diggers were itinerants who wanted rights of access to the historic commons - the land. <br />Cromwell betrayed the Levelers and crushed the Diggers. Reforms came slowly and through stages, and it took nearly three hundred more years for Levelers and Diggers to achieve the rights they wanted in the 1650's.<br />The commons itself is an ancient tribal concept in which clans divvied up their territory and in which all members of the tribe had rights to a share in the bounty of the land, a kind of extended family partnership, in which the chief chartered temporal ownership. That temporal chartering process passed to the Crown, so that any given common land became the chartered domain of a lord in a manor house, tenant farmers, farmed their own lease holds and in common and had access to the bounty of the forests and waters. <br />A commons enclosure system developed in which ancient rights were refuted and property once held only by charter became private, usually with a kickback to the crown, since sovereigns were always in need of money and what better way to get then to sell things they didn't actually own.<br />Much of Canada is still crown land, still chartered, and/or licensed for mineral or timber extraction. And of course, the friends of the crown still have ways of ending up with large private chunks of it.<br />As the earth races towards ecological disaster, Cromwellian Uncooperative Commonwealth represented by men like former Ontario Premier Mike Harris, will pit the new landed gentry against the majority of the people, only this time, Hobbesian philosophical/theological arguments about duty, will not see a populace willing to wage war on itself, there will be no sacrifice for their betters, they will not accept any sovereignty that does not include mutual benefit.<br />The only option is Co-operative Commonwealth, not quite a return to the primivatist extended family model where it all began, but nonetheless, an extended human family model, where everyone has a share, and a reason for ensuring the stability of the whole.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-75801218285512410402007-04-05T08:04:00.000-05:002007-04-05T08:14:19.666-05:00The Chinese May Not Love Me<a href="http://johnbakersblog.co.uk/">John Baker</a>, a British crime writer, posted <a href="http://greatfirewallofchina.org/">this </a>, it's a way of testing to see if your site is blocked in China. Apparently The Independent Communitarian is. Why the commie rats. My grandfather was a commie, you'd think they'd give me a pass to the masses, but no, I'm on the purge list. (OR on the test-site's technical difficulties list. In which case my apologies to Beijing.)<br />Actually if you view my map-counters you'll see Chinese hits, it was because of them that I wondered in the first place. My friend who owns a server says they're probably just hackers. But you never know.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-91994143238560696012007-04-02T20:12:00.000-05:002007-04-02T20:19:36.840-05:00Heart Math observations on the BrainThursday, March 29, 2007<br /><a href="http://www.heartmathreport.com">Why the Human Brain Is a Poor Judge of Risk</a><br /><br />The human brain is a fascinating organ, but it’s an absolute mess. Because it has evolved over millions of years, there are all sorts of processes jumbled together rather than logically organized. Some of the processes are optimized for only certain kinds of situations, while others don’t work as well as they could. There’s some duplication of effort, and even some conflicting brain processes.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2007/03/S">Article</a><br />Posted by Tom Beckman on 03/29 at 08:49 AM<br />Amygdala • Brain • Emotions • Psychology • (0) Comments • Permalink<br />The Fit May Produce Less of Harmful, Stress-Related ChemicalsJerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-4243050395472651792007-04-02T10:29:00.000-05:002007-04-02T10:43:49.126-05:00Unseen HandOver on my Guelphi blog I posted some of what is below, but since it was posted in relation to Guelph building issues I want to expand the concept here.<br /><br />The part I'm focusing on is the so-called 'unseen hand' of the market, that mystical entity that is allegedly so good at deciding what's good for us...<br /><br />And now bear with me for a second,<br /><br />"To someone like me, who insists that people need to understand that human beings are symbiotic life forms, with zillions of proto-bacteria in our cells breathing for us, metabolizing our food for us, the "unseen hand" is made up of the array of bacterial symbionts alive in every human cell. It is an array that is adept at transmitting and receiving myriad bits of energy-information, but in the end it has the understanding of a bacteria. Humanity derives mutual benefit from their existence in our cytoplasm, but human ingenuity in service to basic bacterial imperatives are what has brought us to the edge of the ecological Armageddon facing humanity.<br />And rest assured, bacterial symbionts will survive the disappearance of humanity, they are in every other life form on the planet.<br />The unseen hand of the market is mindless because it has the brain of a bacteria, it is unseen because we don't look for it in biology, in life, we look for it in economic abstractions.<br />The unseen hand of the market is simply bacterial life intent on eating and drinking and consuming every resource required by... human beings..."<br /><br />In the other post I also talk about the issue of controlling growth, but speak of it in terms of extreme or moderate control. In essence, because we all need self-control for all manner of reasons from anger to passion to whatever field of human endeavor you want to describe, the idea of controlling the 'unseen hand' is one of moderating the future, facilitating sustainability. The 'unseen hand' as mystical force also tends to hide the reality of all kinds of economic machinations from all levels of the spectrum, those with money, gangster capitalists, buck-passers of the manageriat avoiding tough problems by deferring them to the future etc. etc.<br /><br />The most common 'unseen hand' is the one concealed by the loudest proponents of unseen hands.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-15833650570041568462007-03-30T07:19:00.000-05:002007-03-30T07:34:45.884-05:00Fun with SyllogismsIf reason is the source of law,<br />then reason predates law;<br />if natural laws exist, then<br />reason must predate nature;<br />if reason predates nature<br />a reasoning awareness created natural law.<br /><br />However, if time and space have always existed<br />natural law has always existed, and if<br />natural law has always existed no reason<br />was involved in its existence;<br />therefor if no reason predates natural law<br />no reason can be found in natural law.<br /><br />But if humans are creatures of natural law,<br />and human law is created by human reason, then<br />human reason can only exist if<br />a reasoning awareness created natural law.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242201899427810738.post-60161254819642260122007-03-29T09:05:00.000-05:002007-03-29T09:29:21.849-05:00On the Possibilities of Paradox"A statement, view or doctrine contrary to received opinion; an assertion seemingly absurd but really correct..." Concise English Dictionary<br /><br />I have a theory that the human capacity to endure paradox, to still be able to think while within the midst of absurd contradictions is one of the things that makes us human. And may be linked to our destiny as a species. Strict rationalists who think otherwise will assert that one of the contradictions is false, and that paradox is a screen for muddy thinking, but I don't think it's that easy to dismiss. I go back to the benobos and chimps of an an earlier post. At one point in the evolutionary chain we all had a common ancestor, the chimps went one way, the benobos went another, and we went up the middle. The chimps maintain their borders by killing chimps from other family groups, the benobos maintain their borders by having sexual relations with their neighbour. The common ancestor found the issue of border so fractious it slit in three. The human capacity to make love or war appears to have given us an edge over the chimps or the bedobos.<br />The existence of the Roman Alphabet is a case in point. It's actually the Latin alphabet. The Romans and the Latin's were at one point two distinct tribes. <br />They Romans conquered the Latins, and in the way of such things, the Latin men were killed, while the Latin women were kept alive. The mother tongue of new born Romans however became Latin. As Lewis Thomas points out in Lives of the Cell, symbiosis began as failed attempts at predation.<br />In other tribal instances, negotiated peace became the norm, and conflicts were avoided through marriage, and dynastic alliances, and mother tongues preserved the remains of lost cultures.<br />The contradictions of war or peace couldn't be abolished, they had to be negotiated in subtler ways than was allowed either the benobo's or the chimp's methodologies.<br />I'll come back to this idea of paradox and human destiny.Jerry Pragerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com0