Monday, April 1, 2019

Neo-Liberal Transit Narratives, the NDP and Venezuela, "The End of History" & more -- February and March on The Left Chapter in review

February and March saw 67 posts of various kinds on The Left Chapter.

These included our latest installment The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic 1987: Photos, Culture, Economy, History & more -- Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Series, our widely shared photography post On Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands - A Photographic Trip to the Soviet Far East, 1973, our visit to Pam's Roti w. Goat and Veggie Roti, Samosas, Pakoras and more and our continued looks at leftist history in posts such as Dr. Norman Bethune, Communist and public health activist, hero of the Spanish Civil War and Chinese Revolution, born March 4, 1890 in Gravenhurst, Ontario and Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space, born March 9, 1934.

This period's top post, in terms of hits, about the sham neo-liberal narratives around fare evasion on public transit was the most widely read and shared post on The Left Chapter so far this year.

Thanks very much to all our readers and contributors.

If you have an article, editorial, analysis, recipe or story you would like to contribute there are details on how to do so on our Submissions page as well as at the end of this post.

Without any further ado, here are the top six posts, in terms of hits, from February and March.

1) The "fare evasion" narrative on the TTC is a total fraud. Here's why.

Every year the same line is trotted out by the TTC and various civic politicians in Toronto with the damage done monetarily always increasing from 20 to 40 to now allegedly over $60 million a year. Fare evasion, they say, is a serious problem and then they tsk-tsk about the "cheaters" and the need for more enforcement and get to shift the narrative of blame about the TTC's woes from themselves and decades of mismanagement, incompetence and underfunding to those mean and nasty freeloaders, i.e. TTC riders themselves.

Read more!

2) Where Does the NDP Stand on Venezuela?

Entirely predictably it would appear the NDP is going over to the imperialist camp.

Read more! 

3) “The End of History” and the Post-Soviet Tragedy

By Nathaniel Laxer 

When almost any discussion of the USSR occurs today it is clouded by the western framing of the Cold War. Generally it is only the flaws of the Soviet Union or the Stalin Era that are looked at. Due to this it is often taken for granted that the collapse should be seen as a great and positive defining moment of the modern world and a victory over tyranny.

Read more!

4) Canada extends Ukraine military mission against alarming backdrop of rising fascism and neo-Nazism

Greatly overshadowed by other news out of Ottawa the Trudeau government today announced its decision to extend the Canadian military mission to Ukraine until at least 2022. Chrystia Freeland -- who notoriously celebrated her Ukrainian grandfather's nationalist past despite the fact that he was a Nazi collaborator -- stated that the mission "allows us to meet Ukraine's needs and to offer new forms of support as Ukraine needs them."

Read more! 

5) Ilhan Omar, IWD, Venezuela & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos March 3 - 10

In addition to a general overview of news and opinion this week's installment begins with a section of articles and videos devoted to the attacks on Ilhan Omar in the United States, to International Women's Day around the world and to Venezuela.

Read more!

6) The Right to Rest and Leisure in the USSR, 1982

One of many interesting aspects of the largely ignored social history of the USSR was the exceptional efforts Soviet society made to provide heavily subsidized leisure and vacation activities and options for workers and citizens.

Read more! 

Our top food related post was: Light and Crisp Steak and Vegetable Lettuce Rolls

Do you have a left point-of-view or opinion, event or petition, a recipe or a story you want to share?

Send them to The Left Chapter via theleftchapter@outlook.com!

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See also: Doug Ford, John Horgan, the Queen, Venezuela & more -- December and January on The Left Chapter in review

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