Category: Governance | Page 20

424 – Left and right – A comparison / Our political culture of corruption

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Oct 292015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:59 — 74.5MB) | Embed

Topics:
00:03 Left and Right – A comparison: characteristics of the left, media reaction to Canadian federal election results, leftists vs rightists, contrast in print – Toronto Star vs National Post
15:25 Star of the Left: Toronto Star editorial on Harper’s electoral loss, assertions of ‘misgovernance’, the left’s expressions of revulsion against Harper, characterizing the left as petty and vindictive, the left has no class
32:30 Our political culture of corruption: the West’s crisis of corruption, Ontario’s Kathleen Wynne and the teachers’ unions, forms of corruption, consequences of corruption, against what standard, examples of systemic corruption in political practice
48:30 Voting for corruption by corrupting the vote: the ideology of the non-ideological, contradiction as corruption, ‘war of ideology’, solving the problem of Canadian democracy, majority rule as an end rather than means, pragmatism, ideology matters, choosing between right and wrong, the contradiction of ‘non-partisanship’ and proportional representation 1:04:58 END

414 – Black Sails / From anarchy to self-government

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Aug 202015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:16 — 68.0MB) | Embed

Topics:
00:07 Power in the telling: too much scripted TV, scripted TV programs, fixed audience, finding good television shows, TV listings, 300-400 scripted TV shows currently in production, no fixed markets, the power of scripted television, editorializing by script, TV recommendation – Black Sails
18:40 Sailing from anarchy to self-government: Black Sails – the TV series, masterful storytelling, review samplings, adult content, story-driven plot and theme
36:20 Some things are black and black: Black Sails – a story of power, piracy, voting, turning plunder into trade and profit, law, order, establishment of legal authority, monarchy, libertarian ideal, no governance vs good governance
50:25 Courting the public court: latest Bill Cosby allegations, Gloria Allred’s call for a public debate, three more women make allegations against Cosby, Cosby’s philosophy on sex
59:16 END

413 – Canadian federal election 1st debate / U.S. GOP primary 1st debate

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Aug 132015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:44 — 69.7MB) | Embed

Topics:
00:07 Keep the change, thanks: Canadian federal leaders’ debate, why Stephen Harper won the debate, political change, superficial media reaction, given alternatives
17:55 Last past the post: Canadian federal leaders’ debate, electoral reform, engaging youth, elected dictatorship, representation, Quebec separatism, poverty, climate change, social justice, group rights, the function of political parties, first-past-the-post,
37:05 Trump trumps would-be trumpers: US Republican debate, Donald Trump, ridiculing Trump, war on women, Trump leads in polls
49:10 Trump card: US Republican debate, Donald Trump, Obamacare, single-payer health care, welfare vs welfare state, campaign donations as bribes, abortion, pro-life, Trump’s tone, running independently, Trump as a Republican problem
1:00:43 END

412 – The wrong to vote / Screwing up royally / Pan Am Games / Harbouring memories of Pearl Harbor

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Aug 062015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:20 — 68.1MB) | Embed

Topics:
00:07 The wrong to vote: voting about anything and everything, Canadian federal election under way, political parties, “who’s” vs “what’s”, politics and war, excuses for not voting, voting as an obligation or a right, blood and democracy
20:12 Screwing up royally: abolishing the monarchy, kingdom and freedom, constitutional monarchy vs royal family, voting reforms, referenda, first-past-the-post, proportional representation, dangers of a ranked ballot, abolishing the Senate,
35:35 Pan the Olympic Games I Am: 2015 Pan Am Games, Toronto 2024 Olympic bid, real reasons for hosting sporting events, conflict between politicians and public, Pan Am Games media negativity, catalysts for infrastructure, a brief history of sport funding losses and scandals
49:55 Harbouring memories of Pearl Harbor: Article 9 of Japan’s post-war Peace Constitution, Japan’s military, Japanese constitution, Japanese parliament votes to circumvent Article 9, Japanese president Shinzo Abe, no referendum, war and politics, Japan as a new player on the world military stage, a just war 59:20 END

398 – Amen to secularism / The only thing you have to fear…

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Apr 302015

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Topics:
00:07 Amen to secularism: Supreme court decision on prayer, Alain Simoneau, Jean Tremblay, tradition and religion, separation of church and state, Canada as a secular nation, no official religion in Canada, religious history of Canada, Christian heritage, Thomas Jefferson, neutrality of government on religious matters, John Adams, James Madison, religious persecution, atheist government
17:15 State your religion: spirituality and organized religion, tradition, Lord’s Prayer recital, details of Supreme Court decision, state’s duty of religious neutrality, abstaining from prayer, symbolism and prayer
30:50 Fear Factor: fear as a motivator, emotion over reason, future present past, irrational fear vs rational fear, ignorance and superstition, lack of fear, consequences of fear in politics, fear and religion, after life, living with fear
47:50 The only thing we have to fear is…: fear of climate change, fear of majority rule, fear of the future, fear of the self, fear of death, fear of living, fear of freedom 1:01:05 END

373 – Choice or freedom? / Guest: Scott Williams-Oakes – Pushing the comedy envelope / A fool’s occupation

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Oct 232014

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Topics:
00:07 Choice – or freedom of choice? Ottawa terrorist attack, it’s just right to prevent the threat to democracy, the way the world has been going lately, radicalized opinions, democracy’s objective is freedom, voter threats to Western civilization, trading freedom for security, growing dissatisfaction with government, we the people, John Macmurray, freedom-dignity-responsibility, Listen Little Man by Wilhelm Reich, two kinds of people, the emotional plague, voter distrust of each other, hope springs from understanding, confusing freedom of choice with choice
15:32 A plague on democracy: understanding vs belief, God, trickery in favour of truth, petty misdeeds, on the side of the persecutors, aiming at the truth, the public as dictator, rising from the mass into individuality, the process of individualization, democracy is no guarantee of freedom, Wilhelm Reich on humour, the joke’s on us
26:40 GUEST – Scott Williams-Oakes: October-Jest 2, London’s re-emerging comedy scene, for mature audiences, politically incorrect comedy, costume contest, comedy vs fear, the late great dead comedians, rise of social media, fake apologies, freedom of speech
41:24 Comedy is the fool’s occupation: Smothers Brothers, heroes of comedy, court jester, acting the fool, Lenny Bruce, breaking the obscenity envelope, Don Rickles, kernel of truth, too soon escape clause, cold war comedy, poking fun at sacred cows, All In The Family, Sanford and Son, Soap, late-night comedy 52:04 END

370 – State of destruction / The Empire’s new clothes / Mixing business and politics

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Oct 022014

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Topics:
00:07 State of destruction: Benjamin Netanyahu, Islamic state of Iran, ISIS, United Nations Human Rights Council, nuclear war potential, civilian human shields, civilian targets, civilians in Gaza elected Hamas, Israel’s right to self defence, civilians not innocent, Second World War, Germany and Japan, doing what’s necessary to win, overthrow the civilian population
17:53 Liberally democratic: doing the job, all’s fair in love and war, fools in politics, disintegration of liberal democracy, growth of government jurisdiction, hating democracy, political spectrum, moral spectrum, voting is not democracy, voting is not consent, voter denial and pretense, living memory
30:00 The Empires Wear No Clothes: The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Hans Christian Andersen, ideal society, participating in a lie, socialism and democracy are incompatible, government is not a business, government is not a social charity, what is governed is force, theocracy, liberal democracy
48:50 Strange Brew? Mixing business with politics: using business to campaign for political candidates, potential intimidation, business risks involved in getting involved in politics, business interests vs private interests vs the public interest, public trust 59:34 END