The return of 'Pop Culture Friday'

I didn't much care for the past few Friday's worth of pop culture questions on the Onion AV Club Blog but this week's question I liked. This week they asked:

If you could make a single book, film, or album required material to graduate from high school, what would it be?

I'd make all the high schoolers read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. Ms. Klein, a current imaginary celebrity girlfriend, lays out the case for why Milton Friedman's philosophy of the free market uber alles has been a disaster for all of us the world over. It shows just how destructive the influence of the US has been in trying to implement it's favored brand of capitalism on steroids. And even though the book is unrelentingly downbeat until the very last chapter, it needs to be read over and over again until the facts sink in that unrestrained capitalism is not a good thing and that there is no such thing as a free market. Welfare is part of our existence, whether it's welfare for the poorest among us or welfare for corporations in the form of tax cuts and Ms. Klein's books shows us exactly why we need to keep the welfare for the poor and do away with welfare for the wealthy multi national corporations.

The Shock Doctrine

I finally finished reading this great book last night and you can read my review over at the Winter Reading Challenge blog.

If I ever meet you Ms. Klein, I'm giving you a high five for writing such a great book.

Oh okay, if you insist, I'll give you a medium five.

Naomi Klein on the Presidential race

Hello everyone. I'm Naomi Klein, best selling author, fair trade and anti corporate activist, and all around Canadian cutie. I'm here to tell you some things about a certain blogger candidate that you may not know.
Some of you may have heard that the iSplotchy has made quite the impact on the current Presidential race and it has even picked up some endorsements from other bloggers. But did you also know that it's for sale to the highest bidder? Talk about a corporate sell out! Having your next President be for sale to the highest bidder is something that even George Bush shied away from, well at least he was not so nakedly greedy about it. Can you imagine if someone in the defense industry buys the iSplotchy? Or if one of those mega churches buys it? What then? I for one shudder to think about it. I hope you US citizens don't fall vote to elect a candidate that may be a tool of Blackwater or Hustler magazine. You also need to know that the US corporate media is not reporting on the backlash against the iSplotchy that has been taking place in the heartland of America. The CBC, that Canadian Broadcasting Corp., has done several reports about unhappy iSplotchy owners. Apple will not refund money on these horrendous products that are being made in sweatshops on certain Pacific islands, so the unhappy owners are simply throwing their iSplotchy's away. Some of these people agreed to tell me about their unhappiness with this defective by design product:

"The iSplotchy ruined my life! It's ambient radiation has made me impotent and sterile!"

"After we smash every iSplotchy we can find we're going to march on Steve Jobs office and beat him up for inventing them!"

"iSplotchy? More like itSuckee! This damn thing has never worked properly and now they won't refund my money! To hell with this worthless piece of crap!"

"iSplotchy is poopy! It make me cry."

So there you have it, the iSplotchy is a horrendous product that it's multi national corporate manufacturer will not stand behind and as a candidate it is for sale to the highest bidder. This is clearly a case of corporatism run amok and a case of blurring the lines between business and government.

Thankfully there is one set of candidates who are not like the iSplotchy. In fact, these candidates are the polar opposite of that disgusting product. These candidates are smart, they are kind, they offer real solutions to the problems facing the world today. They will roll up their sleeves and get to work as soon as they get elected. They are not tools of the corporate beast, instead they are the multinational corporations worst nightmares because they will reign in the runaway greed. And best of all, one of them is a pure 100% hottie.
Yeah, I said it, Monkerstein is hot as hell and the chick ain't so bad either! I'm just kidding, wow, look at her working that dress! Man oh man, I wish it was me she was kissing. Oooooohhhhh, Kristi, call me!!!! Who said that? Huh? What?

Sorry, I got lost there for a second. America, don't be fooled by Apple's lies, the ISplotchy is not something you need running your country. You need Monkey/Love in 2008. I urge you to choose Monkey/Love because only a good dose of sweet hot Monkey/Love will make things right.

Thanks! I've got to run now. Hey, don't forget to buy my new book The Shock Doctrine, it makes a wonderful holiday gift!

This is why I love Naomi Klein

I may have to run out and buy her new book when it hits the stores here.

I remember extolling the virtues of her last book No Logo to a young female cousin of mine. I was telling my then teenage cousin what a bad thing that corporations were branding everything in sight including her clothing and she looked at me like I had three heads. My cousin said something like, "But I like Old Navy and Gap clothes. I like people seeing that I wear those kinds of clothes," and as soon as she said that I thought, "Oh shit, we may have already lost the fight to take back our lives from the greedy corporate pigs."

But then Ms. Klein comes out with a new book and she restores my faith in people once more.

Thank you once again Canada for producing another great American.

Canadians I love

I caught part of Democracy Now! last night on the radio and the wonderful Amy Goodman was playing a recording of the incredible Naomi Klein speaking about her new book and I got to thinking about all the Canadians I love. Here is a partial list of those folks to the north that rock my world and who I totally love.

1) Barbara from Bad Tempered Zombie.
2) Activist and all around genius Naomi Klein.That's Naomi's new book, it comes out in September. If you haven't read her last one, No Logo, then you're missing out on one of the best books about the ill effects of multi national corporations on our world today.


3) Singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. I know Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is supposed to be one of the cheesiest songs ever but I love it. I also love Sundown and many other of his great songs.
4) Film maker Deepa Metha.
5) Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. I'm not a huge Cubs fan but I always thought Fergie was a class act who could hurl that ball like no other.6) Laura Secord. If it's hadn't been for Ms. Secord there might not be a Canada today.
7) Edgy filmmaker David Cronenberg. He directed Videodrome, The History of Violence, and many others.
8) Naomi Klein. I love her so much I had to put her in here twice.
9) Filmmaker Atom Egoyan. The man and his movies rock.
10) The late Margaret Trudeau. She was the coolest sexiest wife of a national leader ever, except for maybe Jackie O and Elizabeth Kucinich.
11) Whoever invented poutine. It's nearly the perfect food as far as I can tell. It's fries with gravy and cheese and whatever else you want to toss on it. Mmmmmm.

Now lets close with the best national anthem in North America, O Canada:

O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

If the rest of you Canadians shape up and start to do right then you might find yourself getting some monkey love from me one day.