Naomi Klein agrees with me, represent the 99%

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/rise-of-the-davos-...

Here is what we need to understand: a hell of a lot of people are in pain. Under neoliberal policies of deregulation, privatisation, austerity and corporate trade, their living standards have declined precipitously. They have lost jobs. They have lost pensions. They have lost much of the safety net that used to make these losses less frightening. They see a future for their kids even worse than their precarious present. .....

For the people who saw security and status as their birthright – and that means white men most of all – these losses are unbearable. Donald Trump speaks directly to that pain. The Brexit campaign spoke to that pain. So do all of the rising far-right parties in Europe. They answer it with nostalgic nationalism and anger at remote economic bureaucracies – whether Washington, the North American free trade agreement the World Trade Organisation or the EU. And of course, they answer it by bashing immigrants and people of colour, vilifying Muslims, and degrading women. Elite neoliberalism has nothing to offer that pain, because neoliberalism unleashed the Davos class. People such as Hillary and Bill Clinton are the toast of the Davos party. In truth, they threw the party. Trump’s message was: “All is hell.” Clinton answered: “All is well.” But it’s not well – far from it.

No, she doesn't agree with you. I read her piece. You are always shitting on the Leap Manifesto and movements for social change. I see no reason to quote her piece (quoted above). Just read it.

I genuinely believe that 99% of people would be better off if neoliberalism were defeated and that it can be defeated. Does anyone agree?

...of course! I have been engaged with people in resistance to neoliberalism and building their alternatives for years and years now......but it demands massive support...the work of anti neoliberal leftists is crucial...but also crucial is to distance themselves from the false profits of gutless social democrats who cave to the oligarchs every time they win any political power....

but political power is meaningless without building economic power base from the grassroots, something which people of the corporate dominated world do not seem to understand!
We must boycott the corporates...in our personal lives, as we become dependent on economic alternatives! As we build our political alternatives! 

i'm cooking chicken breasts tonight for my dinner. anyone got a good or unusual recipe out there? kinda tired of rotating through mine and don't want to make something not taste tested.  

mix what parts up? put pastry over the pasta?

a bit.

they were on for a good price here in food costs lots land. cheaper than thighs which i prefer.

i'd normally do a masala of some type with breasts but was feeling way too sluggish to give it heart.

ended up just roasting with my own rub some peppers and potatoes.

I was thinking more cooked elbow pasta on the bottom, cooked chicken with some kind of cream of mushroom and fried mushrooms as the middle layer, and maybe a little parmesan and breadcrumbs on top. Spices to taste. Bake for say 30 minutes until bubbly.

It's really not an exact science, so I'd say use whatever you've got.

Oh, I read that all wrong the first time. Whew.

mark will be eating your linked recipe with tofu. am a liker and eater of tofu.

ygtbk will try your casserole too on my need comfort food days.

We agree with each other. We share the same opinion. I'm sure many other people do too although apparently not here. The primary focus here seems to be dividing the 99% into sub-groups that oppose each other rather than trying to unify people against the main threats of climate change and poverty both driven by neoliberalism under the control of the massively wealthy.

Still the establishment left refuses to embrace a Sanders or a Corbyn fighting them all the way.

I'm sure progressive women have to deal with allies who are sexist. Gian Ghomeshi may be an extreme example but he is far from a rarity. Women MPs face a lot of sexism. If feminists would only fight for causes alongside feminists there would be far fewer women in environmental groups and anti-poverty groups.

The people that must be led to fight against neoliberalism will not all be feminists and some will not have an indepth knowledge of racism and some will think people on social assistence are a drain on society. Some will be white men who do not consider themselves privileged. Naomi Kline referred to them.

Rather than focusing so much on privilege it might be more profitable to focus on oppression.

I live in social housing, and below the poverty line. I am fortunate to know how to cook (thanks mum, and my uncle, her baby brother - who is now about Leonard Cohen's age). I am privileged to live in a very nice, but of course small, flat in a coop near the Jean-Talon market - but I have belonged to the local tenants' association for over 25 years, sometimes worked and often volunteered there, helping other tenants access better housing. I believe that you also live in social housing in an equally pleasant area just south of mine. I shop down there too, because Supermarché PA, Segalls etc are often cheaper than the market, especially in wintertime. I bought the miso paste at PA where it was on sale a couple of weeks ago for less than half standard supermarket or natural food shop prices. Did you notice that the rest of what I cooked was made with frozen scraps I had saved? Soup is a classic way to use scraps to make a nutritious meal - remember Mafalda?

I am a freelancer, and wound up not going as I did have work to do. I have zero employment security and when I turn 65, my income security will much improve, but of course, I'll also be closer to death.

I am privilged to be highly educated, and mostly (but not entirely) white. Other than that I don't think I'm particularly privileged, except in certain experiential senses. But those are due to my activism, and my related studies.

From 2010

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/noam_chomsky_has_never_seen_anything...

“The United States is extremely lucky that no honest, charismatic figure has arisen,” Chomsky went on. “Every charismatic figure is such an obvious crook that he destroys himself, like McCarthy or Nixon or the evangelist preachers. If somebody comes along who is charismatic and honest this country is in real trouble because of the frustration, disillusionment, the justified anger and the absence of any coherent response. What are people supposed to think if someone says ‘I have got an answer, we have an enemy’? There it was the Jews. Here it will be the illegal immigrants and the blacks. We will be told that white males are a persecuted minority. We will be told we have to defend ourselves and the honor of the nation. Military force will be exalted. People will be beaten up. This could become an overwhelming force. And if it happens it will be more dangerous than Germany. The United States is the world power. Germany was powerful but had more powerful antagonists. I don’t think all this is very far away. If the polls are accurate it is not the Republicans but the right-wing Republicans, the crazed Republicans, who will sweep the next election.”...... The mood of the country is frightening. The level of anger, frustration and hatred of institutions is not organized in a constructive way. It is going off into self-destructive fantasies.” “I listen to talk radio,” Chomsky said. “I don’t want to hear Rush Limbaugh. I want to hear the people calling in. They are like [suicide pilot] Joe Stack. What is happening to me? I have done all the right things. I am a God-fearing Christian. I work hard for my family. I have a gun. I believe in the values of the country and my life is collapsing.”....

Chomsky reserves his fiercest venom for the liberal elite in the press, the universities and the political system who serve as a smoke screen for the cruelty of unchecked capitalism and imperial war. He exposes their moral and intellectual posturing as a fraud. And this is why Chomsky is hated, and perhaps feared, more among liberal elites than among the right wing he also excoriates. When Christopher Hitchens decided to become a windup doll for the Bush administration after the attacks of 9/11, one of the first things he did was write a vicious article attacking Chomsky. Hitchens, unlike most of those he served, knew which intellectual in America mattered. [Editor’s note: To see some of the articles in the 2001 exchanges between Hitchens and Chomsky, click here, here, here and here.] “I don’t bother writing about Fox News,” Chomsky said. “It is too easy. What I talk about are the liberal intellectuals, the ones who portray themselves and perceive themselves as challenging power, as courageous, as standing up for truth and justice. They are basically the guardians of the faith. They set the limits. They tell us how far we can go. They say, ‘Look how courageous I am.’ But do not go one millimeter beyond that. At least for the educated sectors, they are the most dangerous in supporting power.”...

....i had the best from scratch chocolate cake last night. the chocolate icing had a note of peanut butter in it.

the note was so faint i wasn't sure at first if my taste buds were imagining it.

all in all a fabulous cake.

I'mma make some ham tonight.  Not a "real" ham (certainly not for two people!) but just one of those little ones.

Recently I discovered the joys of browning some sausages in my Dutch oven, then tossing in some onion and celery, a generous handful or two of moong dal (lentils) and some water.  The sausages flavour the lentils, the lentils keep the sausages moist... it's a win.  So I'm going to try it with a wee ham.  Maybe I'll throw in a few cut-up potatoes and carrots this time.

Maybe on the side, some okra.  My No-Frills has nice frozen baby okra for 99 cents a bag.  Hard to go wrong with that, unless you're one of the 99% who despise okra.

Anyway, not really trying to disrupt this thread; just like talking food.

I love baby okra; not the larger ones that are the only kind one finds "fresh" here. I also have a bag of them in the freezer compartment, bought for the same price from a nearby Arab store (with Middle-Eastern and Maghrebi foods; I'm unsure what country management is from).

But I thought okra would be too much for a rice I did with Tuscan kale (the black kind that is a beautiful dark green when blanched, and is milder, less bitter and less tough than the curly kind, sort of a riff on the "paella project" http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/the-paella-project-tus... (old NT article, I googled "paella project" and didn't turn up the other variations.

I didn't want to make a risotto, and didn't have either risotto rice or Bomba rice for paella on hand, and didn't feel like shopping for anything. The only rice I had other than basmati, which would be wasted if stirred as in this recipe, was some cheap parboiled rice I'd also bought for $1 for 2lb or so. It was ok.

I also had one of those little formed hams that look sort of like a miniature rugby ball; it is rare that I buy ham but it was also very cheap at Segall the Stinky Store, and surprisingly good. I just diced part of it, sautéed the dice with onions, a tomato, garlic etc, as well as a "saffron" cube - probably mostly turmeric, paprika and salt, but there was a bit of saffron powder listed and a glass of rice, added some of the stock I was making and some water. I also added quite a bit of chopped parsley leaves at the end (the stems go into the stock). It is suprisingly good. It made  quite an amount: my challenge is always to finish such dishes, as my appetite has declined over the last couple of years.

I'll probably do the okra with tomato and some ground meat; ideally lamb if it is not too costly or fatty. You can also make a vegetarian version just with the tomato and onion, but combining that with lentils would also make a complete meal.