Needs No Introduction

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rabble.ca launched a book this month. Called "The Year of Living Consciously," it features some of the best writing which has appeared on rabble.ca over the past year.

The Best of rabble.ca 2014 Edition is an anthology of analysis and commentary on the top issues and social justice movements that matter to progressives. With sections on Canadian politics, Indigenous solidarity and labour, the Best of rabble.ca delivers an eloquent overview of the top progressive stories that you've come to expect from rabble.ca.

We've been doing launches in different parts of the country and we thought we'd bring one of them to you. What you're about to hear is the Vancouver launch, which took place on June 14, at the Heartwood Cafe. Local contributors to the book came together sharing the stories of what led them to write the pieces selected, and provide updates to their pieces. The result was a moving discussion on some of the major challenges facing progressives in Canada today.

The evening was moderated by rabble.ca blogs coordinator, Michael Stewart.

Vancouver East Member of Parliament, Libby Davies, provided opening remarks.

Speakers:

• Michelle Reid - Co-publisher of Sad Mag
• Emma Pullman - Freelance writer, researcher and activist
• Joyce Arthur - rabble columnist
• Meghan Murphy - Writer and Founder of Feminist Current, West Coast Editor of rabble.ca
• Tania Ehret - Activist and Arts & Culture Contributing Editor to rabble.ca
• Lucia Lorenzi - Feminist writer and PhD candidate in literature at UBC
• Roger Annis - Writer and Activist with Vancouver Ecosocialist Network

Perhaps the best way to get the book is to receive it as our "thanks," knowing that you made our community-based media site stronger. If you support rabble at $5/month you receive a free subscription to This! Magazine as our "thank-you" gift. We can keep bringing you the best of progressive news, analysis and commentary because of our supporters. You can become a supporter right now.

A continuation of a talk by Dr. Vandana Shiva featured on the last episode of Needs No Introduction.

Born in Dehradun India in the foothills of the Himalaya, Shiva got her training at the University of Western Ontario in Canada as a physicist. In 1982, she shifted her focus to inter-disciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy and moved back to India. Dr. Shiva is the founder of Navdanya, a participatory research initiative dedicated to the preservation of native crop species, the rejuvenation of indigenous culture and knowledge, and to support and direction for environmental activism. She is the author of more than 20 books including Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis; Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply; Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace; and Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development.

She is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including the 1993 Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) and the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize.

Her talk was recorded by Michael Welch of the Global Research Hour at CKUW Radio in Winnipeg.

Thanks to Michael and CKUW for this recording and show notes.

"We know that the industrial model of farming is destroying the planet," says antiglobalization author, environmentalist and eco feminist Dr. Vandana Shiva in this first of a two-part speech in Winnipeg on March 29, 2014.

Dr. Shiva is well known internationally as an anti-globalization author, environmentalist and ecofeminist. Born in Dehradun, India in the foothills of the Himalayas, she is a world-renowned speaker on issues that threaten our environment and food supply.

She spoke at the North Centennial Community Centre in Winnipeg at the invitation of a local collective called Powerhouse Producers, in association with the Women's and Gender Studies Association and the University of Winnipeg's Women's Centre. Her speech followed a Feast of Forgotten Foods, consisting of organic and local foods from local farmers. Preceding the talk was the announcement of Bill C-18, now before the Canadian House of Commons, the Agricultural Growth Act which critics say undermines traditional farming practices by ensuring the intellectual property rights over new generations of seeds to the companies that develop them.

Her talk was recorded by Michael Welch of the Global Research Hour at CKUW Radio in Winnipeg.

Sponsored by rabble.ca and IRIS, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives hosted a vibrant dialogue on taxes during the Canadian Labour Congress Montreal convention.

Called "Tax is Not a Four Letter Word," a crowd gathered on the evening of May 8 at the Convention Center to hear the exciting lineup of speakers. The evening was chaired by CCPA President Larry Browne, who introduced the evening's special guest speaker, Alex Himelfarb, former Privy Council Clerk, and author of "Tax is Not a Four Letter Word."

Alex Himelfarb's talk was followed by four discussants, and a vibrant question and answer period.

The first discussant was the CCPA's Trish Hennessy, who picks up on why we need to change the conversation on taxes.

She is followed by IRIS's Eve-Lyne Couturier, who explains the fallacy of the latest conservative attack on "wage taxes."

CUPE economist Toby Sanger weighs in stepping back and shedding light on some bigger picture questions.

Jarrah Hodge is a feminist blogger from Vancouver. She started her award-winning blog Gender Focus in 2009 and and tweets about feminism/gender, geekery, politics, and labour issues. In this edition of Needs No Introduction, she is speaking from the Women's Forum 2013: Fighting the Inequality Agenda, held in Ottawa on October 29, 2013. At this event, 22 feminist activists under 40, from across the country, shared a message for social change. They spoke to the challenges that young women are facing, and most importantly how they are fighting back.

Jarrah Hodge's presentation is called "The News Media's Troubled Relationship with Canadian Women."

Jarrah's blog can be found at http://gender-focus.com

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a prolific author who connects the personal with the political. Her work has taken her around the world. One of her best known works recounts her experiences in Nicaragua between 1982 and 1991. It's called Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra war.

She spoke with me about the history of liberation movements, her work with the UN Indigenous Rights working group, pipelines and the state of activism today. Ortiz spoke in Vancouver on March 8, 2014, International Women's Day. Her books can be found at www.reddirtsite.com

Alternative Radio host David Barsamian has been a voice of dissent heard across the airwaves around the world for over 28 years. Barsamian injects humour, poetry and outrage while addressing bleak topics like U.S. news propaganda, hypocrisy and climate refugees. He was at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver B.C. on March 28, 2014 for the Counter Culture Speaker Series, David Barsamian: Media, Capitalism, and Climate Change organized by Media Democracy Days. Find out more about Alternative Radio by going to www.alternativeradio.org

Last month B.C Ferries announced they would cut ferry services in British Columbia and discontinue the Discovery Coast Ferry located on the central coast. The Ferry services three routes along BC's northern coast. The cuts will have major consequences for coastal communities, many are First Nations who live and work in the Great Bear Rainforest. Tourism on B.C's central coast is essential to the region and the cuts will have detrimental effects on those living and working in remote regions of British Columbia. Those living in the most remote locations will will be hit the hardest. British Columbians have reacted with protests across the region and are campaigning against the cuts and the continuing hike in ticket fares.

Petrus Rykes is the Chair of Save the Discovery Ferry campaign, and Vice-President of West Chilcotin Tourism Association. He is also a partner in the Anahim Lake Eagle's Nest Resort.

To find out more about the campaign go to savethediscoverycoastferry.ca

TBD.

Ellen Besso is a life coach counsellor and author who helps women find new direction in their lives. Besso recently published An Indian Sojourn: One woman's spiritual experience of travel and volunteering a book detailing her travels with her partner in India and her work as a volunteer with Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala. Besso's volunteer work overseas came home with her.

When the government of Canada accepted 1000 Tibetan refugees, she along with others in the community of Gibsons became their sponsors. I spoke to Ellen Besso by skype from her home in Gibson's B.C. You can find An Indian Sojourn at ellenbesso.com and at Amazon.ca.