Navigating the Digital Commons on Our Own Terms, by Kenn Orphan

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by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
June 18, 2021

The other day I made a Facebook post that referred to the arbitrary and, yet, purposefully designed algorithms of social media and how they are effectively silencing and censoring people, especially those on the left. I have noticed it myself. I get far less traffic to my page than in prior years. This makes the social media “experience” less desirable (I will go into the reason why a bit later), and so I said I would likely be spending less time here as a result.

Foretelling the End of Capitalism, reviewed by Pete Dolack

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by Pete Dolack
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Systemic Disorder, June 16, 2021
June 17, 2021

Predictions are difficult to make, especially, as the old joke goes, when they are about the future. Particularly fraught have been predictions of the demise of capitalism. Conventional wisdom would have us believe that because capitalism remains the world’s dominant economic system, predictions of the system’s demise are not only wrong, but destined to be wrong in the future.

Chris Hedges: Cancel Culture

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on Apr 24, 2021

On the show this week, Chris Hedges discusses cancel culture with Dan Kovalik, author and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Anti-Social Socialist: 8 Myths about Socialism

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“The dictionary definition of socialism is “a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.””

Chris Hedges and Mr. Fish: The Cultural Requirement For Revolution

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Watch the video below

Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on Mar 13, 2021

On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Dwayne Booth, aka Mr. Fish, artist and cartoonist, about the cultural requirement for revolution.

On Plastic Potato Heads, Seuss and the Machine of Manufactured Outrage, by Kenn Orphan

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by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
March 11, 2021

“This is the end of freedom,” declared the definitive talking potato head himself, Glenn Beck. He was speaking about Hasbro’s decision to drop the “Mister” pronoun from their “Potato Head” toy. In fact, there will still be Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters respectively. The company just decided to remove the male descriptor “Mister” as the primary name of the brand. The same week, Dr. Seuss Enterprises decided to drop six books from the popular franchise due to their obviously racist portrayals of Asian and Black people. And on the conservative end of the internet, all hell broke loose.

Phil Rockstroh: The Mythical, the Political and the Sublime

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Interview by Kollibri Terre Sonnenblume with Phil Rockstroh
Writer, Dandelion Salad
September 30, 2020

“You cannot have capitalism in a democratic society because the money class will always own and control not only cultural societal aspects that are dominant but they will own and control the political class.” — Phil Rockstroh

Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco: The Plight of the Dene People

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on Jul 25, 2020

On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to comics journalist Joe Sacco about his new book, Paying the Land. In the book, Sacco travels to the frozen Canadian Northwest Territories to reveal the Dene people in conflict over the costs and benefits of the resource extraction industry and development.

Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley: Free Speech Against Black Lives

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Dandelion Salad

Black Agenda Report Presents: The Left Lens on Jul 14, 2020

In the second episode of The Left Lens, Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley discuss emerging developments relating to the debate about “free speech” that has surfaced amid the mass uprising against racist policing in the United States.

Planet of the Humans

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Dandelion Salad

Updated: May 30, 2020; Youtube removed the video. Replaced video.

Michael Moore on Apr 21, 2020

Michael Moore presents Planet of the Humans, a documentary that dares to say what no one else will this Earth Day — that we are losing the battle to stop climate change on planet earth because we are following leaders who have taken us down the wrong road — selling out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America. This film is the wake-up call to the reality we are afraid to face: that in the midst of a human-caused extinction event, the environmental movement’s answer is to push for techno-fixes and band-aids. It’s too little, too late.

The Climate Apocalypse Is Accelerating–If We’re Going To Dodge Extinction, We’d Better Hurry by Eric Schechter

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by Eric Schechter aka LeftyMathProf
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Eric’s Rants and Videos blog
January 26, 2020

Waking from the Ancient Madness of Ownership

leftymathprof on Jan 24, 2020

For thousands of years we’ve endured wars, poverty, and other cruelties, all unnecessary. And now the madness is about to kill all of us with a climate apocalypse, which is coming much bigger and faster than most people realize. These problems can all be traced to a practice that we have long accepted as normal: the practice of not sharing with our cousins. Trade increases inequality, making corruption and plutocracy inevitable. Competition makes us insane. To avoid extinction we’ll need two revolutions.

Chris Hedges: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on Jan 18, 2020

On the show this week, Chris Hedges, discusses the outsized influence of the writer, Ayn Rand, on America’s business and financial elite with New York University professor and author, Lisa Duggan.

Chris Hedges: How Kindness Saved My Life

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Watch the video below

Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

Emir-Stein Center on Jan 6, 2020

Evil, even in the darkest moments, is impotent before the miracle of human kindness. This miracle defies prejudices and hatreds. It crosses cultures and religions. It lies at the core of faith. Take a brief journey through the eyes of American, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges to Jerusalem, Gaza, and Iraq, and discover the sacred bonds that make us human.

Chris Hedges: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on Jan 11, 2020

Chris Hedges talks to Ron Purser, professor of management at San Francisco State University, about the growth of mindfulness meditation in the mainstream. As meditation makes its way into schools, prisons and government agencies, Purser argues the booming cottage industry with its promises of “Buddhist-inspired” techniques tries to offer a universal panacea for resolving almost every area of daily concern. While it can be helpful, compartmentalizing the practice away from asking why there is so much stress in daily life and away from making challenges to corporate and political practices could do more harm than good.

8 Myths about Socialism: Part 1 by The Anti-Social Socialist

Image by brent granby via Flickr

“The dictionary definition of socialism is “a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.””