Sunday, September 9, 2018

Corbyn Attacks, India, Brazil, Bolivia & More -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos September 2 - 9

This week's list of articles, news items, opinion pieces and videos that I see as a must if you are looking for a roundup that should be of interest to The Left Chapter readers.

This list covers the week of September 2 - 9.


There is one article from prior to the period that has been integrated into the post.

1) Toronto City Councillor Poses With Sledgehammer, Declares He Will Literally Destroy ‘Social Housing’

Press Progress

Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti is continuing to dial up his disturbing rhetoric targeting low-income, racialized members of his own community.


2) Is Giorgio Mammoliti a racist?

Byron Armstrong, Now Magazine

Let’s put the Toronto councillor’s pronouncements on guns and crime up against the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s definition of racial discrimination

3) Israel's Arab MPs back Corbyn in antisemitism row

Oliver Holmes, The Guardian 

A political alliance of four Arab-dominated parties in Israel’s parliament have broken ranks with fellow legislators to announce their support for Jeremy Corbyn.

4) Labour’s fifth column won’t end its attacks until Corbyn is hung out to dry

The Morning Star

The idea voiced by decent, well-meaning people that adoption of the unfettered IHRA definition ought to draw a line under months of turmoil is a dangerous illusion.

5) ‘Can Labour be taken back? Yes – we've already done it’

Ben Chacko, The Morning Star

LABOUR has changed — and for the better, MPs and trade unionists told Tony Blair today after the former prime minister launched a broadside against Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

6) CORBYN CALLS ON THE UK TO 'FILL THE GAP' AFTER U.S. ENDS UNRWA FUNDING

Hagay Hacohen, The Jerusalem Post

UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn took to social media Saturday evening to call the US's decision to end its funding of UNRWA “shameful” and called it “a vital UN refugee agency.”

7) Lana Del Rey, 14 Artists Boycott Israel's Meteor Festival

Telesur

A total of 15 performers have joined the international campaign to boycott Israel’s Meteor Festival, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) confirmed Monday just a few days after U.S. pop singer Lana Del Rey, the festival's main guest, announced she was not attending the concert in a big victory for pro-Palestinian activists. 

8) A Hitler Admirer at Yad Vashem

Haaretz Editorial 

Under the shadow of Duterte’s visit, Israel once again proves it's willing to overlook leaders' human rights violations for the sake of opportunities for arms deals and defense contracts.

Israeli security forces stormed the Palestinian village of al-Walaja and destroyed numerous homes.




9) The Manufactured McCain: Lifting Up A Bloodstained, Lying, Venal Servant of Capitalist Empire


Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report 

There’s a real John Sidney McCain III and there’s a fake one, manufactured for the public relations of US empire. Imperial PR needs to justify, even sanctify the ecocidal and genocidal rule of the rich by portraying its servants not as the venal and bloodthirsty thieves they are, but as the brightest, the best, the most noble and deserving among us. The Manufactured McCain whom the corporate media will spend another week on top of the previous one lifting up to the heavens bears only passing resemblance to the real John McCain. The real McCain was no hero. He was a lying, bribe taking, neo-nazi sympathizing politician and war criminal, who served the US empire and himself for all of his long life.

Philadelphia Eagles Player Michael Bennett Wears Pro-Immigrant ‘MAGA' Hat



10) When Union Leaders Don’t Want to Strike


Bianca Cunningham, Jacobin

Some New York union leaders have joined Governor Cuomo against public-sector workers' right to strike. They're picking political favors over bottom-up organizing.

11) Venezuela Fights On!

Jeanette Charles, Venezuela Analysis 

VA's Jeanette Charles talks to the International Strategy Center about the recent economic measures in Venezuela, migration, and other matters.

A Paradise Toxic Beach

The beach is an Instagram hit, but is actually being pumped with factory waste.



12) THOUSANDS OF WOMEN UNDER AIDWA BANNER VOW TO FIGHT VIOLENCE, FEAR, HUNGER AND UNEMPLOYMENT AGGRAVATED BY BJP’S MODI REGIME

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Statement 

Raising slogans of unity and resistance, thousands of women from 23 states across the country marched resolutely, under the banner of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), from Mandi House to Parliament Street in New Delhi on September 4, 2018.This massive gathering was organized to draw the nation’s attention to the unprecedented rise in communal and other forms of violence against women and the denial of decent work and right to food under the Modi regime. Crimes against women and children have increased by 34% in the last four years. Victims and other persons fighting for justice against such crimes addressed the rally. A resolution was adopted vowing to confront and change this state of affairs, refusing to be silenced by the BJP-RSS promoted culture of fear and standing up for equality and basic rights enshrined in the Constitution. Women resolved to expose the Sangh Parivar and the Modi-led government for the failure to deliver on their promises.

13) 100,000 rally in New Delhi against farmers' poverty

Ben Chacko, The Morning Star 

Communist Party of India-Marxist leads demonstration against the Modi government

14) Austerity, Corruption To Blame For Brazil National Museum Blaze

Telesur 

Politicians and citizens say that corrupt authorities and funding cuts to arts, education, and infrastructure are to blame for the destruction of the historical museum.    

15) The death rate for migrants crossing the Mediterranean has soared. Here’s why.

Tim Hume, Vice News

The death rate for migrants crossing the Mediterranean into Europe has skyrocketed due to a crackdown on human traffickers, according to a U.N. report published Tuesday.

16) 'Walk Out!': Progressives Disgusted as Democrats Fold at Brett Kavanaugh Hearing

Julia Conley, Common Dreams

As more than 30 people were dragged away in handcuffs on Tuesday for protesting during the confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh, critics of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee demanded a comparable show of courage and called on those lawmakers—who failed to win a delay of the proceedings—to simply end their participation and walk out.

17) “ABSOLUTELY OVERWHELMED”: FEMA STUMBLED BADLY IN PUERTO RICO, GAO SAYS

Alex Lubben, Vice News

In August, as the official death toll from Hurricane Maria was raised from 64 to nearly 3,000, President Trump praised his administration’s response. "I think we did a fantastic job in Puerto Rico,” he said.

18) Should we celebrate Colin Kaepernick's Nike deal as progress?

Wagatwe Wanjuki, Daily Kos

As Labor Day was winding down, I noticed an uptick in posts about Nike and Colin Kaepernick. The football player, who was essentially ostracized by the NFL once his kneeling protests during the national anthem drew ire from angry white people, is the new face of Nike’s signature slogan.

19) On Colin Kaepernick’s Nike Ad: Will the Revolution Be Branded?

Dave Zirin, The Nation 

But global, multibillion-dollar corporations that run an archipelago of sweatshops don’t underwrite rebellions. They co-opt and quash them. If anyone can navigate this snakepit, it is Colin Kaepernick, but it won’t be easy. The revolution will not be branded. We should be honest about that. The message of standing up to police violence and racial inequity shouldn’t end up in a swoosh-laded graveyard. That’s the risk that comes with this sponsorship. But if anyone has earned the right to take that risk, it’s Colin Kaepernick.

20) Brazil: Setback for Lula’s presidential candidacy

Emile Schepers, People's World

On Saturday, September 1, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Brazil voted six to one that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the presidential candidate of the Workers’ Party (Partido do Trabalho) in the October elections this year, must be barred from running because of a dubious conviction earlier for corruption and money laundering. The Workers’ Party is now appealing this decision to the country’s Supreme Court.

21) Dilma Says 'Coup Has Taken Brazil Off Course'

Telesur

"Brazil faces a long path on the road to rebuilding," said senatorial candidate and former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Shaun King: After charging this young man, 21 y/o Raheem Howard w/ the 1st degree attempted murder of a police officer, the DA now admits that they:

Found no gun
Found no bullet 
Have no footage because the cop turned off his body camera & dash cam

They just dropped all charges. This cop clearly lied and should be investigated. Only bullet they found was his. He was clearly willing to ruin this kid’s life. 

And to be clear. The video of his arrest was from several months ago. It took months of hard work from activists on the ground to finally get them to drop these bogus charges. 


The cop concocted this lie to save his own ass. Was willing to ruin this kid’s life to do it.



22) As Climate Warms, Algae Blooms In Drinking Water Supplies

Dirk Vanderhart. NPR

For the first time in Oregon's history, toxins from a nearby algae bloom had made their way into a city's tap water.

23) Saudi 'seeks death penalty' for Muslim scholar Salman al-Awdah

Al Jazeera 

Public prosecutors in Saudi Arabia are seeking the death penalty against prominent Muslim scholar Salman al-Awdah, local media, activists and his family members have said.

24) Israel says it launched 200 strikes in Syria since 2017

Al Jazeera

Military sources say the attacks are mostly aimed at preventing Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria.

25) MKO blasts province, Manitoba Hydro for 'horrific, systemic abuse' of Indigenous women and girls

CBC News

A First Nations leader is demanding apologies from the province and Manitoba Hydro in response to damning allegations of sexual abuse and racism by workers at hydro projects dating back to the 1960s.


Jordan House, Jacobin

Much of the US prison system's distinguishing features — massive racial disparities, the exploitation of prisoners' labor by private firms, overcrowding, brutality, and much more — are the same in Canada.


Ashok Sharma, The Toronto Star

India’s top court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights in the world’s largest democracy.


CTV Vancouver

As the cost of living in British Columbia continues to climb, a new survey is raising serious concerns about many residents' financial stability.

Evo Morales Announces Universal Healthcare:



29) Mexico: UNAM Students March Against 'Mercenary' Shock Groups

Telesur

Thousands of students marched today at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the country’s most prestigious higher education institution, to hold an assembly and demand the authorities dissolve the ‘porros,’ mercenary shock groups associated with internal political organizations that are used to violently break up protests.

30) India: BJP continues its attack on civil liberties and oppressed people

Michael Porter, Liberation 

On Aug. 28, five civil rights activists (Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonzalves, Arun Ferreira and Sudha Bharadwaj), were arrested in India on trumped-up charges. They were accused of causing the violence that took place in the village of Bhima Koregaon at the beginning of this year in the state of Maharashtra. Along with raids in June, these arrests have brought the total number of activists arrested to 10. The five were also accused of plotting the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government has made the accusation that these five activists have connections to the ongoing Naxalite Rebellion in the East of the India and are “Urban Naxalites” or” Urban Maoists.” This comes as Narendra Modi and his  Bharatiya Janata Party lose popularity because of their bigotry and failed economic policies.

31) Passport denials reflect long history of racist attacks on Mexican Americans

Roger Gonzalez, Liberation 

The Washington Post and Texas Tribune have reported the U.S. State Department has begun denying passport applications, or annulling existing passports, from American citizens, largely Mexican Americans in South Texas. In some cases, applicants or passport holders have undergone detention under the threat of deportation, while others have been denied re-entry to the United States from Mexico at border checkpoints.

32) Spain Sentences Three Unionists To Prison For 2012 14N Strike

Telesur

After almost six years of deliberation, three Spanish citizens and unionists have been convicted of public disorder during the 14N general strike, with sentences ranging from six months to four years and nine months, despite lingering doubts over their guilt.

33) Dear Anonymous Trump Official, There Is No Redemption in Your Cowardly Op-Ed

Mehdi Hasan, The Intercept

There is no redemption; no exoneration for you or your colleagues inside this shit-show of an administration. You think an op-ed in the paper of record is going to cut it? Gimme a break. You cannot write an article admitting to the president’s “anti-democratic” impulses while also saying you want his administration “to succeed.” You cannot publish a 965-word piece excoriating Donald Trump’s “worst inclinations” while omitting any and all references to his racism, bigotry, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and white nationalism.

34) BirdLife International Declares Brazil's Spix Macaw Extinct

Telesur

The blue-feathered Spix’s macaw which starred in the popular children’s film, Blue Sky Studios’ Rio is now extinct, the BirdLife International said in a recent statistical analysis.

35) Exposed: Undercover Reporter at Amazon Warehouse Found Abusive Conditions & No Bathroom Breaks

Democracy Now

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has targeted Amazon for its role in widening the wage gap in the United States, and this week he is expected to unveil legislation requiring large employers like Amazon to cover the cost of federal assistance received by their employees. We speak with journalist James Bloodworth, who spent a month working undercover as a “picker” in an Amazon order fulfillment center and found workers were urinating in bottles because they were discouraged from taking bathroom breaks. His new book is “Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain.”.

36) The brutal apartheid of the French banlieues

Peter Franklin, UnHerd

It is the Autumn of 2005 and Paris is burning. Suburb after suburb goes up in flames as the French riot police fight pitched battles with local youths.

37) ‘Open’ London is built on exploited labour

James Bloodworth, UnHerd 

To be a hypocrite is often to be half correct. And so it is with London. It is self-evidently right to promote tolerance along with racial and sexual equality. But equality – or more precisely, a rhetoric of equality – that is unmoored from a sense of economic justice is not really equality at all. It certainly has little to say to the Uber driver – or for that matter, to the millions of others toiling away in London’s low pay economy – who have precisely zero chance of diversifying a company’s boardroom any time soon.

38) MPs were warned about the dangers of cladding two decades before the ‘entirely avoidable’ Grenfell tragedy

Lamiat Sabin, The Morning Star

FIREFIGHTERS’ union FBU warned the government about dangerous cladding almost two decades before the “entirely avoidable” Grenfell Tower fire, general secretary Matt Wrack said today.

39) The August job numbers: Beyond the big business spin

David Bush, Rank and File

The August job numbers are out and on the face of it they look grim for the workers of Ontario. 80,000 jobs were lost in August. The headlines are ready-made for the Ford government to use as an excuse to freeze the minimum wage and rollback the labour law reforms in Bill 148.

40) Rachel Notley, Pride is no place for pipelines

Evans Yellow Old Woman, Rabble

My name is Evans Yellow Old Woman, I am a member of the Siksika Nation and also a co-founder and board member of VOICES, a coalition of LGBTQ2SIA+ people of colour committed to advocating for racialized and marginalized communities in the City of Calgary. I gave the land acknowledgement before your speech at the Calgary Pride in the Park 2018 Opening Ceremony.

41) Ukrainian speaker Andriy Parubiy slammed for praising Hitler as history's ‘greatest democrat’

Ben Chacko, The Morning Star

UKRAINIAN progressives called today for the immediate dismissal of parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy after he said on TV that Hitler had been history’s “greatest democrat.”

Argentina To Open Its First Indigenous Hospital:

The establishment of the Ranguiñ Kien Intercultural Hospital is an unusual victory for Argentina’s Mapuche people.



42) #MeToo at Fortress Europe's borders

 Nidzara Ahmetasevic, Al Jazeera 

Refugee women are being sexually abused at the EU border. Where is the outrage?

43) Sex dolls show us what men want from real women — we should pay attention

Megan Walker, Feminist Current

Let’s be clear. There is nothing harmless about “sex dolls.” They represent the ultimate debasement of women. They represent yet another level of society’s detachment from its responsibility to value, respect, and protect women. “Sex dolls” are a manifestation of porn culture and the male dominant society’s belief that it needs to do whatever it can to make sure men can have sex when and however they want it no matter at what cost.

44) Trump Administration Discussed Coup Plans With Rebel Venezuelan Officers

Ernesto Londono and Nicholas Casey, The New York Times

The Trump administration held secret meetings with rebellious military officers from Venezuela over the last year to discuss their plans to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, according to American officials and a former Venezuelan military commander who participated in the talks.

45) Cuba's 'Si Yo Puedo' Helps Panama Cut Illiteracy in Half

Telesur

Cuba's internationally recognized literacy program, Yo si Puedo, has helped Panama reduce its illiteracy rate by half over the past 11 years.


Via Shenaz Uppal on Facebook


See also: Arctic Melting, John McCain, the TPS and Faith Goldy & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos August 26 - September 2

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