Headlines for November 22, 2011

… it is time we wonder about what these markets are and who really gets hurt if they collapse, and how…

World markets cautious after U.S. debt talks collapse

The collapse of talks aimed at reducing the staggering U.S. budget deficit weighed on world markets Tuesday but failed to stifle a rebound in Europe.

Stocks took a pummeling on Monday after a so-called supercommittee in Congress failed to reach a deal to cut the U.S. federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. While not entirely unexpected, the failure heightened worries that political bickering — in the U.S. and Europe — will hurt efforts to cut debt during a period of declining economic growth.

European countries are locked in a debate over how to provide a lasting solution to their debt crisis, which is causing borrowing rates to rise to dangerous highs for ever-larger countries.

…listen to Linda…

McQuaig: Occupy moves us into a new era

When thousands of Egyptian protesters took over Tahrir Square in events widely celebrated as the Arab Spring, I don’t recall anyone being concerned that they were violating local bylaws.

Of course, Egypt was a dictatorship and the only way to protest the lack of democracy was by breaking laws.

Canada isn’t a dictatorship, and so protesters — like the group now ordered evicted from St. James Park — don’t have the same clear moral licence to ignore bylaws that their Egyptian counterparts had.

… and one step closer to becoming the borg we are…

Bionic contact lens ‘to project emails before eyes’

A new generation of contact lenses that project images in front of the eyes is a step closer after successful animal trials, say scientists.

The technology could allow wearers to read floating texts and emails or augment their sight with computer-generated images, Terminator-syle.

Occupy Canada: Action In Calgary; Protesters Wait Evictions Out In Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver And Montreal

The face of the Occupy Canada movement was changing early Tuesday as authorities moved into camps in Quebec City and Calgary, and groups in Toronto and Ottawa waited to see if police would enforce eviction deadlines.

Protesters in Montreal expressed a resolve to stay in place despite a request from the city’s mayor for them to vacate.

In Quebec City, police mounted an operation at dawn to begin removing Occupy protesters. They reportedly offered no resistance when police moved in.

How the 99 Percent Won in the Fight for Worker Rights

No headlines announced it. No TV pundits called it. But on the evening of November 8th, Occupy Wall Street, the populist uprising built on economic justice and corruption-free politics that’s spread like a lit match hitting a trail of gasoline, notched its first major political victory, and in the unlikeliest of places: Ohio.

…and when we do, it is for corporate profit…

 Canada lags in use of road tolls

Many drivers see road tolls as a nuisance, but they’re not just a way to raise money — transportation experts say they’re a valuable way to regulate the transportation grid and streamline traffic.

Countries like Sweden and Great Britain have used tolls to ease congestion, curb carbon emissions, fund public transit and generally create a more comfortable and expedient commute for all travellers.

In Canada, however, tolls are a relative rarity — across the entire country, there are only 18 pay-as-you-go routes. What’s more, only two of them are roads (the 407 in Ontario and the Cobequid Pass in Nova Scotia), and 12 are bridges or tunnels on the Canada-U.S. border, like the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit from Windsor, Ont.

…not protesters. rebels.

 Syrian rebels carry out first attack in Damascus

Two rocket-propelled grenades hit a building belonging to the ruling Baath party in the heart of Damascus yesterday morning, activists claimed.

The attack, the first reported inside the Syrian capital, came as the Arab League rejected demands made by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to amend a plan meant to halt the brutal security crackdown that has left at least 3,500 people dead.

A witness told Reuters news agency: “Security police blocked off the square where the Baath’s Damascus branch is located. But I saw smoke rising from the building and fire trucks around it. It seems to have been intended as a message to the regime.”

… good luck with that…

 ICC prosecutor in Libya for trial talks

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor is visiting Tripoli for talks with Libyan authorities about their plans for prosecuting the captured son of Muammar Gaddafi and the former Libyan leader’s intelligence chief.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Luis Moreno Ocampo said that both men, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah al-Senussi, must face justice.

Both men, who have been indicted by the ICC on war crimes charges, were arrested in Libya’s southern desert in recent days after weeks on the run since the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in August.