Back Issues

The Big Ideas of 2009

Abdul — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:04:17 -0600

Only in Canada
The trend in the Anglo-American world is to move beyond the conservatism of the Bush era and support progressive, environmentally-conscious governments. Canadians, however, have elected Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper for another term as prime minister, positioning Canada as an outcast among developed nations when it comes to taking action on climate change.

Big Idea: A Steady-State Economy
The growth economy is failing and we have to attempt a steady-state economy. The steady state answer is that the rich should reduce their throughput growth to free up resources and ecological space for use by the poor, while focusing their domestic efforts on development, technical and social improvements, that can be freely shared with poor countries.

Big in Japan
The sudden increase in popularity of Kanikosen (The Crab-Canning Ship), a bleak 20th century novel seething with proletarian despair, points to tectonic shifts taking place beneath the polished veneer of Japanese society.

Spiraling into Chaos
Less than a decade ago Mexico was considered the darling of Latin America. International analysts applauded the country as a beacon of democracy, justice and modernity. Today, violence and organized crime in Mexico are escalating, prompting writer Mónica López to wonder if the country is descending into a land of violence, lawlessness and chaos.

Seismic Shifts Down Under
The first months of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s term in office were full of positive action: he ratified Kyoto, promised to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq and publicly apologized to Indigenous Australians for years of mistreatment. But no honeymoon lasts forever, and as Rudd’s term unfolds his conservative side is coming to light.

Freedom From Want

Abdul — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:29:38 -0500

Dame-Ren (No Good People) - As Japan embraced Western-style capitalism, it, in turn, started suffocating the Japanese. The corporation eclipsed every community in Japanese life, providing living spaces, arranging marriages and social engagements, and, most importantly, promising full-time jobs that would last a lifetime.

Enter Jamspace - Described as the dance of natural philosophy, Contact Improvisation, explores spontaneous movement by taking a point of contact with another body as its starting point for exploration through physical movement.

Cultivate Mindfulness - It might not be a typical classroom scene yet, but over the last four years mindfulness training has been introduced to classrooms in California, Pennsylvania, and British Columbia with marked success.

I Wanted to Paint Nothing - No matter what he actually saw in the soup cans, by elevating them to the level of art, Warhol managed to encapsulate the increasing emptiness of modern existence.

Too Big To Fail? - “It was the final day of actions against the G8, and we were marching on a small, winding road through the hills of Hokkaido. At least two rows of police lined both sides of the march, their dark uniforms and long batons cutting strange forms against the misty landscape.”

Virtual Morality - Technology is dragging morality into some deep and murky philosophical waters, forcing us to reexamine our understanding of it as many of us choose to become actors in virtual worlds.

East and West

Abdul — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:27:02 -0500

Hipster: The Dead End of Civilization - We’ve reached a point in our civilization where counterculture has mutated into a self-obsessed aesthetic vacuum. So while hipsterdom is the end product of all prior countercultures, it’s been stripped of its subversion and originality, and is leaving a generation pointlessly obsessing over fashion, faux individuality, cultural capital and the commodities of style.

A Bill of Rights for Future Generations - We, the people of the future, like the multitudes who came before us, have the right to air that smells sweet, to water that tastes pure, and to land that is fertile, unsoiled and green.

Val Plumwood’s Natural Death - A portrait of Australia’s pioneer environmentalist who battled a crocodile and called for the end of environmental abuse.

The Temple of Heaven - Almost all visitors to Beijing make the pilgrimage to the Temple of Heaven, whose lantern-like profile rises like a spectre over the Chinese capital, offering its citizens an iconic glimpse of the afterlife.

Bolton Dodges War Crimes - They started a war with doctored evidence and without United Nations consent. They tortured prisoners, paraded them around naked and subjected them to waterboarding. They held suspects in prisons for years without ever charging them…

Media Democracy

Abdul — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:39:57 -0500

America’s Slippery Slope - “We recognize the debasement of standards, we see the signs of intellectual decay. Yet we do nothing.” A look at what happens when we refuse to pay attention to what’s important.

The End of Childhood - Exposure to nature benefits kids in more than one way.

Val Plumwood’s Natural Death - A portrait of Australia’s pioneer environmentalist who battled a crocodile and called for the end of environmental abuse.

Thought Control in Economics - Are economics students, and everyone else for that matter, being cheated out of the truth?

Media Democracy - What it means to Dan Rather, Arianna Huffington, Amy Goodman and more.

The Global Moment

Abdul — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:43:45 -0500

A NEW REVOLUTION – The US presidential elections may finally start the revolution the rest of the world has been waiting for.

AUSTRALIA’S TURNAROUND – After a decade of conservative rule, Australia's is redressing its past so the country can move forward.

TINO SEHGAL – By creating "staged situations" Tino Sehgal forces his audiences to confront art.

MEDIA BULLY – Leonard Asper is distorting Canada's national discourse.

SOLDIER OF FORTUNE – Armed with potent drugs and technology, a dangerous breed of soldiers will fight America’s future wars.

The Reconquest of Cool

Abdul — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:37:08 -0600

COOL: THE RISE, FALL AND REBIRTH OF AN ATTITUDE – A visual essay on the rise and fall of cool.

NEW WAVE COFFEE – After years of Starbucks domination, indy coffee shops are fighting back.

SINS OF OMISSION – Economists who should have won the Nobel Prize, and those that should have theirs revoked.

THE QUESTION – An Algerian journalist's harrowing account about water torture gives a disturbing glimpse at US actions today.

THE PAIN OF OTHERS – North America's growing homeless crisis challenges our own empathy.

The Big Ideas of 2008

Abdul — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:02:20 -0600

ECONOMIC CONVERSION – Some of the world's top economists speak about shifting our priorities to save the planet.

CHANGING CLIMATE – Mark Lynas is cautious of accepting that big business has changed its stripes on climate change.

RETURN TO THE SOURCE – A visual tour of food's evolution from the organic to the synthetic.

JOURNALISM'S STATE OF EMERGENCY – How journalism turned from a watchdog to a lapdog of power.

BUSH ON THE COUCH – Matt Taibbi delves into the psyche of America's sickest president.

The Quick & Dirty Issue

Abdul — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:30:56 -0500

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING – Marketing guru Bob Garfield defends his turf.

IT’S TIME TO RETHINK THE US-ISRAEL ALLIANCE – Chris Hedges on the troubled marriage that’s poisoning the planet.

THE ECONOMICS TEXTBOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY – Why we are still making due with the last century’s economics, by Paul Ormerod.

EARTH, INC. – Stephen Leahy argues that staying in the black now means going green.

WHAT IS CANADA FOR? – A conversation with Michael Byers about Canada’s role on the global stage.

Carbon Neutral Culture

Abdul — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 14:06:57 -0500

Iran vs. The United States of Amnesia - Deborah Campbell on the forgotten crimes of the West in Persia.

It Will All Fall Down – A conversation with Seymour Hersh.

The Death of Canadian Journalism - Sean Condon on the homegrown media giant that's holding the nation hostage.

Grandma vs. Carbon! - How some very sweet old people taught me how not to trash the planet, by Clayton Dach.

The Fake Issue

Abdul — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:18:13 -0500

THE DEATH MASK OF WAR – Chris Hedges dissects the intoxicating power of modern warfare.

TAMING THE WATCHDOGS OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION – How the bosses of the Canadian, American and Australian media have put us all in jeopardy, by Sean Condon.

NEOCON II: LIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE – Matt Taibi on why we shouldn't count the neocons out just yet.

IN SEARCH OF FLOWERS – What one night at the school dance can mean, by Ryan Ziegler.

JAZZ & JIHAD: THE DISCOURSE OF SOLIDARITY – Gilad Atzmon on music and holy struggle.