Since the 2008 global financial earthquake, the world economy has continued to be turbulent.

The roundtable discussion will be focused on the Canadian economy within the current global environment, but with a specific Vancouver and BC based perspective. Each of the panelists will, from their own vantage point, talk about concerns with the economy currently, opportunities in the mid and long term for BC, and public policy ideas that they would put forward to improve the BC economy.

The panelists include:

Doug McArthur is a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy at SFU. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow in Public Policy at UBC and served in a number of senior positions in the civil service in BC.

Belleville's first international documentary film festival, DownTown DocFest, will launch a day and half of films with a gala evening featuring the potent film “Music From the Big House” followed by a concert with blues singer and star of the film, Rita Chiarelli.

DocFest will feature original international, national and community films by highly acclaimed film makers and directors, More than 25 films will be screened starting on Friday afternoon at The Core Centre for the Arts and continuing at noon on Saturday the 3rd at both The Core Centre and the Belleville Public Library.

This ain't Oprah's Book Club, comrade.

Book clubs dedicated to the works of Karl Marx, Fredrick Engels and Marxism started springing up all over the world a few years ago, and now Winnipeg has its very own. Each week, the discussion is invigorating as the group tackles another facet of Marxist thought.

Electronic versions of many Marxist texts are available here.

rabble.ca and Mayworks present:

The morning after (the 2011 federal elections)

There has been a lot of talk about the post election blues. Was this election hot and cold for you? Good and bad? Do you wake elated for a moment, then with dread?

Join in a post-election discussion in Vancouver to make sense of what the new Canadian political landscape is and to strategize for what comes next.

Speakers include:

- Libby Davies (Vancouver East MP, NDP Deputy Leader)

- Jamie Biggar (Leadnow.ca)

-Itrath Syed (PhD student / School of Communication, SFU)

-Scott Clark (UNN)

- Derrick O'Keefe (StopWar)

- Duncan Cameron (rabble.ca board president and columnist)

Moderated by:

Join us for an evening of discussion and debate on a rich cross section of short films including excerpts from Media Education Foundation films Tough Guise and Killing Us Softly 3, screenings of Runaway, Neighbours, and Very Nice, Very Nice from the National Film Board, and of experimental films Dangling Participle and New Improved Institutional Quality, selected by Michael Zyrd, associate professor of Film at York University.

Faced with the economic crisis that began in 2007 some economic commentators began to talk of 'zombie banks', financial institutions that were in an 'undead' state incapable of fulfilling any positive function but representing a threat to everything else. Hear how Marx's understanding of capitalism is essential for any explanation of the economic crisis.

The Seminar Series in Comparative Political Economy (the 'empire seminar') kicks off this year's rota with: "Ending Politics as We Know It: Organizing Poor People in the Era of Obama"

Steve Williams is the Co-director of POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights), the San Francisco working class community organization which since the mid-1990s has been one of the most important Workers Action Centers in the US). He is the co-author of Towards Land, Work & Power: Charting a path of resistance to U.S.-led imperialism.

Open Concept Lecture #1: Totem Topics: Duke Redbird discusses how powerful totems influence societies, and how we unconsciously use the power of  totems in our everyday lives.

Open Concept Lecture and Discussion Series is a forum for fascinating Toronto area-speakers to present contemporary ideas to small audiences in an intimate setting. These talks will provide an opportunity for community members to hear and share ideas, as participants will be engaged throughout the presentations, and the speaker will lead a discussion with the group afterwards.

Food and drinks will be served.