Sunday, September 17, 2017

Climate Change, Tara Hart, Inequality and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List September 10-17

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

This list covers the week of  September 10 - 17. It is generally in order of the date of the article's release.

1) Irma and Harvey lay the costs of climate change denial at Trump’s door

Bob Ward, The Guardian

As the US comes to terms with its second major weather disaster within a month, an important question is whether the devastation caused by hurricanes Harvey and Irma will convince Donald Trump and his administration of the reality of climate change.

Read the full article.

2) 150 years ago the first volume of Das Kapital was published

Volker Kulow, Morning Star

FROM 1843 right up to the end of his life, Karl Marx (1818-1883) dedicated himself to the project of a comprehensive critique of political economy.

Read the full article.

3) Belgrade’s Modernist Masterpieces

Anika Burgess, Atlas Obscura

The Western City Gate in Belgrade, Serbia, is a structure that demands attention. Consisting of two high-rises linked by a two-story walkway, it reaches 377 feet into the air and is topped by a small round tower. Enclosed concrete stairwells barrel up the sides like massive exhaust pipes. Also known as the Genex Tower, it was designed by Mihajlo Mitrović in 1977 and is currently the second-tallest building in the city. Unsurprisingly, it’s also on a new map that plots Belgrade’s Modernist architectural marvels.

Read the full article.

4) Canadian teacher Nadia Shoufani defeats silencing campaign against her advocacy for Palestinian freedom

Samidoun

“A victory for myself, for the Palestine solidarity movement, for freedom of expression! A victory for the Palestinian cause and the struggle of Palestinians!” said Shoufani in a Facebook post on 8 September offering thanks to friends, colleagues and supporters for their consistent support throughout a year of struggle. Shoufani kept her job and defeated the allegations that targeted her as well as ongoing racist campaigns of harassment carried out by far-right groups and individuals. Organizations including B’nai Brith Canada, the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center Canada were actively involvedi in the campaign to silence Shoufani.

Read the full article.

5) Lvov University to be named after Ukrainian Nazi leader

Avis Krane, Essence of Time Europe

A group of professors of the Lvov University suggested on September 11 that the university should be named after Stepan Bandera, RIA Novosti Ukraina reports citing the university web site.

Read the full article.

6) A lesson from Hurricane Irma: capitalism can’t save the planet – it can only destroy it

George Monbiot, The Guardian

There was “a flaw” in the theory: this is the famous admission by Alan Greenspan, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, to a congressional inquiry into the 2008 financial crisis. His belief that the self-interest of the lending institutions would lead automatically to the correction of financial markets had proved wrong. Now, in the midst of the environmental crisis, we await a similar admission. We may be waiting some time.

Read the full article.

7) TUC leaders reject call to decriminalise prostitution

Lizzy Buchan, The Independent

Calls to decriminalise sex work have been rejected by trade unions amid concern over exploitation of vulnerable women and girls.

Read the full article.

8) A Last Interview with Kate Millett

 Rachel Shteir, The New Yorker

The writer, artist, and activist Kate Millett died on Wednesday, September 6th, in Paris. She would have turned eighty-three this week. Millett is best known for the 1970 book “Sexual Politics,” a classic of second-wave feminism, which examined the “political aspect” of sex. In it, Millett uncovers the violent misogyny in novels by some of the most acclaimed champions of sexual freedom—Henry Miller, Norman Mailer—and celebrates, by way of contrast, the work of the queer writer Jean Genet.

Read the full article.

9) Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt demonstrates why we need to move beyond cultural relativism vs. universalism

Catherine Weiss & Ferial Yahiaoui, Feminist Current

We must be able to recognize the oppressive nature of the burqa without increasing the burden of racist misogyny upon the women who wear it.

Read the full article.

10) Working women bearing more of the breadwinning burden, 2016 census shows

 Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press

Men and women are each making comparable contributions to the family finances in nearly one-third of all couples, Statistics Canada said Wednesday as the latest data from the 2016 census revealed new details about how — and which — Canadians are paying the bills.

Read the full article.

11) Politics and money: a sordid history

Charles Smith, Saskatoon Star Pheonix

The relationship between political parties, political power, and big money has a long, sordid history in Canada.

Read the full article.

12) Rising Economic Inequality Confirmed by 2016 Census Income Data

Andrew Jackson, The Broadbent Blog

The 2016 Census income data released today shows that family and individual incomes rose significantly for most of the population in the decade from 2005 to 2015, mainly due to the resource boom that extended through most of the period. The median total income of families adjusted for inflation rose by a healthy 10.8 per cent. But the gains were unequally shared, and some families and individuals fell behind.

Read the full article.

13) On questions of Kinew's character, silence is deafening

Shannon Sampert, Winnipeg Free Press

It is hard to reconcile the number of women who have said they stand in solidarity with victims of violence who are now standing behind an individual who has been caught numerous times acting in a misogynistic manner.

Read the full article.

14) Woman who made allegations of domestic assault against Wab Kinew speaks out

 Kathleen Martens, APTN

The woman at the centre of a political storm says she doesn’t want to be there.

“I’m not into politics; I’d rather keep out of it,” said Tara Hart of Winnipeg.

She’s in the middle of questions swirling around provincial NDP leadership candidate Wab Kinew, as the alleged victim of a domestic assault in 2003.

Hart spoke to APTN Thursday.

She said the two were in a common-law relationship when he threw or pushed her across the room and she suffered rug burn on her legs and hands.

Read the full article.

15) Family of Kinew's accuser wants their story heard

 Gordon Sinclair Jr., Winnipeg Free Press

The call from Tara Hart’s mother came at the 11th hour Saturday.

At 10 a.m., to be exact.

Coincidentally, I was having a latte a block away from the RBC Convention Centre, where in a few hours delegates would elect Wab Kinew as the new leader of the provincial New Democratic Party.

Wendy Bird was calling about Kinew, of course, because her daughter had asked her to call me on her behalf.

It was Tara — who alleged and still maintains that more than a decade ago, when Kinew was her boyfriend, he physically assaulted her while they were living together in Winnipeg — who had asked her to call me.

Read the full article.

16) Indigenous elders at national gathering warn of dire need to react to environmental disasters

Brandi Morin, CBC News

Some Indigenous elders who live traditional lifestyles that include hunting, fishing and trapping on lands and waters long utilized by their ancestors say they have noticed a rapid shift in the environment over the last several decades — a shift some attribute to climate change.

Read the full article.

17) Montreal adds Iroquois symbol to flag, strips British general of street name

 Benjamin Shingler, CBC News

Montreal has taken steps to recognize the contribution of Indigenous people to the city, adding an Iroquois symbol to its city flag and committing to rename Amherst Street.

Read the full article.

18) NFL players' union names Colin Kaepernick its Week 1 MVP for his charity work

Marissa Payne, The Washington Post

Colin Kaepernick is not currently in the NFL, but that didn't stop the NFL Players' Association from naming the 29-year-old its Week 1 MVP.

Read the full article.

19) Conrad Black’s rubbish column on racism a fine example of white privilege

Shree Paradkar, The Toronto Star

Until fairly recently, I had stereotyped inane online commenters as ignoramuses living in their parents’ basements, and had assumed they existed on the fringes of society, only given charge after Donald Trump became U.S. president.

Read the full article.


20) Irma pushes Florida's poor closer to the edge of ruin

Jay Reeves, Canadian Press

Larry and Elida Dimas didn't have much to begin with, and Hurricane Irma left them with even less.

Read the full article.

21) OPP overhauls sexual assault investigation process

Robyn Doolittle, The Globe and Mail

Ontario Provincial Police officers who investigate sexual assault will soon receive new training, more supervision, additional resources and external scrutiny from local victim-support groups.

Read the full article.


22) Trump changes to foreign aid restricting access to family planning services in poorest countries

 Annie Burns-Pieper, CBC News 

Women in some of the poorest countries in the world are already feeling the effects of the Trump administration's sweeping changes to foreign aid, and the impact will only widen, advocates say.

Read the full article.

23) Victoria and Abdul is another dangerous example of British filmmakers whitewashing colonialism

Amrou Al-Kadhi, The Independent

It is rare that I leave the cinema deeply offended with what I’ve just seen. Yesterday, after watching the just released Victoria & Abdul, was one such day.

Read the full article.


24) Trump supporters organised a rally for 1 million people. Only 1,000 turned up

Emily Shugerman, The Independent

While Donald Trump jetted away from Washington DC for a weekend retreat in New Jersey, hundreds of his supporters descended on the city to demand protection for "traditional American culture”.

Read the full article.


Although from before the period we are including this article as well which should be widely read:

25) A cruise ship's emissions are the same as 1 million cars: report

As It Happens, CBC News

A luxury cruise vacation may sound like a perfect dream holiday, but a German environmental organization says that in terms of environmental impact, the industry is an absolute nightmare.

Listen to the Segment.

See also: Macdonald, Conrad Black, Kate Millett, Bill 62 and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List September 3 - 10

See also: Hurricane Harvey, Bill 148, Pearson Airport Strike & more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List August 27 - September 3

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