The United States was always the Evil Empire

The Independent had an article from Hannah Selinger April 6 that dissected, with a degree of despair, the appalling actions of the United States and the Trump administration as the coronavirus crisis unfolds.

In it she notes that the Americans are acting in ways that show a disregard for other countries citing some obvious recent examples such as the dubious desire to stockpile hydroxychloroquine as well as engaging in what she describes as modern piracy by seizing masks, ventilators and medical supplies.

The headline rather starkly says that "what America has become during this epidemic is deeply worrying".

American actions are, without doubt, deeply worrying. There are numerous examples of their flagrant disregard for other peoples from seizing 20 ventilators meant for Barbados, to threats aimed at India, to trying to prevent masks from going to Canada, to continuing to build the wall on the border of Mexico, to the criminal attempts to increase the economic and other types of pressure on Venezuela.

In fact, the United States has continued with its illegal sanctions against not only Venezuela but also Cuba, Iran, the DPRK and other countries. Under these circumstances it is hard to see this as anything other than a crime against humanity. The sanctions are already leading to countless unnecessary deaths in Iran and will likely lead to many more in all the effected countries.

It is simply barbaric for them to be kept in place during a global pandemic and, as we have already noted on The Left Chapter, all progressive Canadians need to speak up about this as Canada is complicit in it.

Trump's egotism knows few bounds and his racist, backward nationalism is shameful to be sure.

But the notion that this is what America "has become" is wrong. The United States is not just now emerging as a rogue nation that could not care less about international laws, norms or diplomacy, it has been like this for a very, very long time.

As we have noted before, to the United States international law and any "rules" only matter insofar as they reflect American objectives. Otherwise they are either distorted or totally ignored.

All of the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations have indulged in orgies of drone violence ordering completely illegal extra-judicial murders worldwide that have claimed thousands of lives, including many children. You can see the grim statistics yourself on the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's Drone Warfare page.

The sanctions against Cuba began decades ago and have been overwhelmingly condemned for 28 consecutive years at the United Nations. The sanctions against Venezuela began to intensify under Obama and, of course, the coup in Honduras took place on his imperialist watch as well.

Obama deported "more people than any other president" and in 2006 "Obama, [Hillary] Clinton, Biden, Schumer and 20 other Democrats in the Senate at the time voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act, which called for a physical barrier to be built along the U.S.-Mexico border."

American cruelty, duplicity and criminality internationally goes back so far and is so common that there are almost too many examples to chose from. The horrific coups and "dirty wars" in Latin America, the overthrow of Allende in Chile, the support of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan and apartheid in South Africa, backing the genocidal anti-communist killings of hundreds of thousands in Indonesia in the 1960s, the invasion of Iraq and on and on and on. An endless stream of violence, assassinations, military regimes and perfidy.

Under Trump the US is acting in a fashion more explicitly and overtly crass making it harder for American allies to pretend that it is the great global force for "freedom" and "democracy" that they claim it is. But it is not doing anything fundamentally different from what anyone should have already grown to expect. The arrogance and indifference is decades in the making by presidents Republican and Democratic.

The United States has always been the "evil empire" that Reagan used to blather on about. We can only hope that what is happening now will sound a death knell for the fiction that has been constructed by our media and politicians about an American "leadership" and benevolent, internationalist foreign policy that never existed. 

Ontario Austerity, Far Right Win in Israel, Libya & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos April 7 - 14

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 April 7 - April 14.


It starts with sections related to the Ontario austerity budget and the Israeli election.

1) Harmony Movement, Anti-Racism Group In Ontario, Shutting Down After 25 Years Due To Funding Cuts

 Mohamed Omar, HuffPost 

An Ontario organization that has been providing anti-racism education programs to teachers and students across the province says funding cuts are forcing it to shut down its operations.

2) Ontario gas stations could be fined $10,000 a day for missing anti-carbon-tax stickers

Allison Jones · The Canadian Press 

Buried in Ontario's budget bill are fines of up to $10,000 per day for gas station operators who don't display government-mandated stickers about the price of the carbon tax.

3) High speed train between Toronto and Windsor has been cancelled

Lauren O'Neil, BlogTO

Try as they might to distract you with easier access to alcohol, the Ford government's first budget contains some crushing news for Southwestern Ontario (and the many Torontonians who work, go to school or visit family there).

4) Legal Aid funding cut nearly 30% in Ontario budget

Ryan Tumilty · CBC News

Legal Aid Ontario got hit with a major cut in Thursday's budget as the provincial government pulled $133 million and said the organization could no longer use provincial funds for refugee and immigration cases.

5) Toronto slams Doug Ford's transit plan as unrealistic and bizarre

Lauren O'Neil, BlogTO

The dust is starting to settle in Toronto after yesterday's bombshell announcement of a $28.5 billion transit expansion plan from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, leaving in its wake some serious concerns about existing TTC projects.

6) Provincial budget cuts $1.1 billion in funding to Toronto transit

Francine Kopun & Jennifer Pagliaro, The Toronto Star 

Mayor John Tory said Thursday that he is “incredibly disappointed” that the provincial government has reneged on a promise to double the city’s share of the gas tax — a broken promise that will cost Toronto $1.1 billion in funding for transit over the next 10 years.

7) Ontario employers to ‘educate themselves’ on workplace obligations to cut costs


Sara Mojtehedzadeh, The Toronto Star

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour will “modernize and streamline” its enforcement efforts by helping employers to “educate themselves” on their workplace obligations, according to Thursday’s provincial budget.

8) Ontario Budget 2019 Announces $1 Billion in OW and ODSP Cuts

ISAC

The 2019/2020 Ontario Budget was announced today, and creates even more uncertainty for people who receive benefits from the Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) system.

9) Ontario PCs want to make it next to impossible to sue the government

Lucas Powers - CBC News

Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives are moving to make it harder to sue the Ontario government.

10) How is labour going to fight Ford?

David Bush, Rank and File 

The political ground in Ontario is shifting. On April 4, 150,000 high school students from 700 schools across the province walked out of class in protest of the Tory government’s proposed cuts to education. Just two days later, over 30,000 teachers, education workers, and allies rallied at Queen’s Park against the cuts. These are the largest mobilizations against the Ford government to date.

11) Car carrying Durham MPP Lindsey Park bumps into protesters in Ajax

 Reka Szekely, Durham Region 

Durham police had to intervene after a vehicle carrying Durham MPP Lindsey Park bumped into several protesters in Ajax on Friday.

(Related: ONDP MPP crosses protest picket line to attend Fedeli Chamber of Commerce event)

12) Israelis, You Are Scary

Amira Hass, Haaretz 

Why is it a surprise that the Right is so strong? It is best at promoting the ideologies that justify the expulsions that have been and are still being committed by Israel. The right is best at promising to safeguard the spoils and booty and to continue the plundering and expulsion — to protect the purity of the nation, its mansions and its vacations abroad.

13) Communist Party of Israel on the Israeli election results

People's World

The corrupt, far-right Benjamin Netanyahu secured a unprecedented fifth term as Israel’s prime minister on Wednesday morning, April 10, after more than 99% of the votes from the previous day’s general election gave the right-wing and clerical bloc a 10-seat lead over the center, left and Arab parties.

14) PR Firm Behind Likud's Hidden Cameras in Arab Polling Sites Boasts of Lowering Voter Turnout

Noa Landau, Haaretz 

Netanyahu's party placed 1,200 hidden cameras in Arab polling stations on Election Day ■ 'We managed to lower the voter turnout to under 50 percent, the lowest in recent years!' firm boasts on Facebook.

15) Netanyahu's Next Coalition: Annexation for Immunity From Indictment

Aluf Benn, Haaretz 

The new Netanyahu government will have two main goals: Get rid of the indictments looming in his future, and annex the settlements to Israel, in coordination with the Trump administration.

16) U.S. Denies Entry To Leader Of Movement To Boycott Israel

Hannah Allam, NPR

The U.S. government has denied entry to Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement, which urges boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel on security and settlement policies in the West Bank.

17) Israel converts historical mosque into a bar and events hall

Middle East Monitor 

As one of the most historical mosques in the Arab city, which was occupied by the Jewish gangs in 1948, the building was first turned into a Jewish school, then into a centre for Likud’s elections campaigns and then into a clothes warehouse before finally being converted into a nightclub.

18) Trump warns ICC against prosecuting Israeli forces for war crimes

The New Arab

US President Donald Trump warned the International Criminal Court on Friday against probing Israeli forces, after hailing the Hague-based tribunal for turning down a request to open a war crimes probe against US troops in Afghanistan.

19) VENEZUELA PREPARED TO DEFEND THE REVOLUTION AGAINST US IMPERIALISM (Video)

Redfish 

While Trump is threatening Venezuela with military intervention, Venezuelans are not waiting to organize themselves to be ready to confront any threats that they may face, both from inside and outside the country. The country not only has 200,000 armed forces, but it also has a civilian People’s Militia of 2 million people who are organized, armed and trained to defend the revolution. Venezuela wants peace but will not allow the United States to dominate their country again.

20) Venezuela Announces Strategic Alliances with African, European, and Middle East nations

Telesur 

"With this tour through countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, we continue to diversify our international relations, receiving all the support and solidarity of these nations," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said at a press conference.

21) Cuban Doctors Attend to Venezuelan Oil Workers Amid US Blockade

Telesur 

Many Cuban doctors who are members of the "Barrio Adentro" mission are attending to the workers of the Electronic Corporation of Venezuela in order to help the people while they restore the Latin American nation´s power grid.

23) Is the U.S. Prepared to Accept a Defeat in Venezuela?

Marco Teruggi, Venezuela Analysis 

The attack should have been short since the Maduro administration was not strong enough to resist. This was the conviction of the United States as they carried out a strategy to overthrow him: they built a President 2.0 Juan Guaido; they gave him a fictionalized government, international recognition, a collective narrative among mass media companies, accelerated economic sanctions at different levels. Overlapping these variables, different results were expected to be achieved on their path of getting a forced negotiation or the toppling of the government.

24) Is Chicago’s new mayor as progressive as she claims?

Neeti Prakash, People's Dispatch 

The media has been hailing the victory of Lori Lightfoot, who is a black woman and openly gay, as a historic moment. However, activists point out that she has a history of working against the interests of the very communities whose interests she claims to champion.

25) Alberta’s longest-serving party leader says Communist message is gaining traction

Kevin Maimann, Star Edmonton

Naomi Rankin stands outside a grocery store in Old Strathcona with a stack of papers asking shoppers if they live in the area.

26) Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party launched in South Africa

Rafael Stedile &  Zoe PC, People's Dispatch 

“Equality, work and land” is the slogan of the new radical political party in South Africa that seeks to revolutionize South African politics and contest elections this coming May. The Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP) held its launch congress from April 4-6 in Johannesburg, South Africa with attendance from over a thousand of the party’s militants and cadre from distinct provinces from across the country, as well as international guests from countries such as Zambia, Argentina, Brazil, Sweden, Morocco, and Nepal.

27) Street check report confirms what Black Haligonians have known for years 

Julia-Simone Rutgers, The Coast 

Time and time again the stories are told, and time and time again no change has come. For years, Nova Scotia's Black community has been recounting stories of pain, frustration and fear in its interactions with police.

28) NDP law presumes guilt, violates constitution, civil libertarians say

Jeremy Hainsworth / Glacier Media

B.C.’s new Community Safety Act violates the basic democratic principle of the presumption of innocence and is unconstitutional, say federal and provincial civil liberties groups.

29) Privileged

Kyle Korver, The Player's Tribune 

When the police break your teammate’s leg, you’d think it would wake you up a little.

30) No golden era in Canada’s foreign policy

Yves Engler, Canadian Dimension 

Some people on the left seem keen to perpetuate Canadian foreign policy mythology.

31) A change in government has done little to alter B.C.’s environmental path

Justine Hunter, The Globe and Mail 

Before the 2017 election that would make him Premier of British Columbia, John Horgan stood with opponents of the proposed Site C dam, a hydroelectric project he described as a multibillion-dollar boondoggle. To acknowledge his support, protest organizers inscribed Mr. Horgan’s name on a yellow stake, which was planted within the footprint of the megaproject that the Liberal government of the day was advocating.

32) Why Latin America’s oldest insurgent communist army is growing

Oliver Dodd, The Morning Star 

COLOMBIA’S National Liberation Army (ELN) is Latin America’s oldest insurgent movement.

33) Trump administration ends MLB/Cuba baseball deal

Michael Weissenstein, People's World 

The Trump administration is moving to end a deal allowing Cuban baseball players to sign contracts directly with Major League Baseball organizations. The change will once again require Cuban players to cut ties with their national program before signing with MLB.

34) MMR vaccine myth debunked, again

The Morning Star

The doctor who started the ‘vaccines cause autism’ scare was later struck off and his research invalidated – but the theory lingers on, lament ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and JOEL HELLEWELL.

35) Low pay, long hours, isolation - a taxi driver speaks out

Socialist Party 

A Bristol taxi driver: I'm writing this because I'm angry. We are constantly told that things are pretty good, or not so bad at least. Everyone from Theresa May and right-wing Labour representatives to the media keep on telling us this.

36) Both Notley and Kenney Hiding from a $260-Billion Cleanup Problem

 Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee

The main thing Jason Kenney and Rachel Notley have in common, other than their affinity for pipelines, is their joint fear of the possible $260-billion cleanup bill for the province’s aging oil and gas fields.

37) Global Warming Is Shrinking Glaciers Much Faster Than Scientists Thought, Study Finds

Seth Borenstein, Time 

Earth’s glaciers are melting much faster than scientists thought. A new study shows they are losing 369 billion tons of snow and ice each year, more than half of that in North America.

38) National Assembly proclaims new Constitution

Raul Castro Ruz, Granma 

As he did in 1976, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, Party first secretary, again had the honor of proclaiming Cuba’s new Constitution in an extraordinary session of the National Assembly of People’s Power.

39) Climate change is a class issue

Richard Burgon, People's World 

“It is worse, much worse, than you think.” This is the terrifying introduction to David Wallace-Wells’s timely new book The Uninhabitable Earth.

40) Raul Castro warns Cubans to brace for worsening shortages due to Trump policies

Japan Times 

Communist Party leader Raul Castro warned Cubans on Wednesday that they should brace for worsening shortages due to Trump administration policies, but said the island won’t return to the extreme deprivation of the post-Soviet period.

41) Trudeau government panders to fears of an invasion of refugees

Karl Nerenberg, Rabble

The Trudeau government has dropped the other shoe on refugee policy.

42) Inuk boy takes a stand by sitting down during anthem

CBC News

When a 12-year-old Inuk boy decided to stop standing for O Canada in class, it wasn’t that his legs were tired.

43) McGill dumps Redmen team name after calls from Indigenous community

Jessica Deer · CBC News

Montreal's McGill University has announced it will change the name of its men's varsity sports teams — the Redmen — after Indigenous students, faculty and staff said the name is discriminatory.

44) Fundraising effort launched for 11-year-old girl ordered deported without family

Ileana Najarro, Houston Chronicle 

Dora Alvarado felt something was off when she arrived at immigration court in Houston March 12 with her two daughters. A court translator told her that she and her 15-year-old, Adamaris Alvarado, were listed on the docket that day. Her 11-year-old, Laura Maradiaga, was not.

45) Inside the International Socialist Organization’s Dissolution After a Rape Cover-Up

ISO Leaks 

The story of precisely how and why the International Socialist Organization (ISO) decided to dissolve itself just shy of the 42-year anniversary of its founding in April 1977 remains something of a mystery to those outside its ranks. Perhaps this is because the group’s members themselves have not been able to fully understand, process, and make sense of the events that undid almost four decades of effort in just under two weeks. Perhaps they have been too busy living the crisis and the attendant traumas to write about what happened in a way that outsiders can comprehend.

46) How Doctors And The Church Conspired To Stop An 11-Year-Old Girl From Having An Abortion After Rape

Karla Zabludovsky, BuzzFeed 

Lucía sat up in her hospital bed as the priest made the sign of the cross on her forehead, the 11-year-old’s bulging belly visible underneath her pajama shirt.

47) Trump Assails Ilhan Omar With Video of 9/11 Attacks

Maggie Haberman, The New York Times 

President Trump on Friday targeted Representative Ilhan Omar for remarks she made during a speech on civil rights and Muslims in America with a graphic video featuring the burning World Trade Center towers and other images from Sept. 11, 2001, that he tweeted to millions of his followers.

48) “Volcano of anger”: What you need to know about the escalating crisis in Libya

David Gilbert, Vice News 

The U.N.-backed government in Libya has launched a counteroffensive to win back territory seized by renegade General Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army in a surprise assault on the capital Tripoli that could drag the country back into civil war.

49) The anti-war movement has been utterly vindicated over Libya

Kevin Ovenden, The Morning Star 

There has not been a single day of peace in Libya since Cameron and co proclaimed the overthrow of tyranny.

50) Poverty-hit pupils so ashamed of worn-out clothes and lack of equipment they skip school, teachers say

Eleanor Busby, The Independent 

‘It is truly shaming for the UK – one of the richest countries in the world,’ union leader says.

See also: Ontario Student Walkouts and Rallies, "Dinner With a View of the Rich", Israeli Elections & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos March 31 - April 7

India, Hungary and Lebanon Protests, Cuba's Constitution, Ontario Austerity and more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos December 16 - 23

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 December 16 - 23.

1) Former Workers Party President Sean Garland 'helped transform Irish republicanism'

Belfast Telegraph 

The former Workers’ Party president died from cancer on Thursday aged 84.

2) Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group Supports Imperialism

Yves Engler, The Palestine Chronicle

Do New Democrat MPs who belong to the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group (CIIG) have carte blanche to flout party policy?

3) Jeremy Corbyn tables motion of no confidence in Theresa May

Lucy Middleton, Metro UK 

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has told MPs he will table a motion of no confidence in Theresa May over her handling of the Brexit deal vote.


4) Next left: Corbyn, Sanders and the return of socialism

Ben Tarnoff, The Guardian

Away from the Brexit and Trump headlines, the revival of socialism in the UK and US remains striking. Can Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders help to take it further?

5) Lebanese take to the streets to protest political stalemate

The Tribune

Hundreds of Lebanese took to the streets Sunday to protest against a political stalemate that has prevented the formation of a new government seven months after elections.

6) Anti-Muslim agitator gives video apology to owner of Paramount Fine Foods over ‘jihadist’ comments

Jennifer Yang, The Toronto Star

A year and a half after a well-known anti-Muslim agitator was videotaped claiming anyone who eats at a popular GTA Middle Eastern restaurant chain had to be a “jihadist” who rapes their wife, he is admitting his comments were “defamatory and disparaging” and is apologizing to the Muslim-Canadian businessman who owns the chain.

7) A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now Mandatory in Many States — so She Lost Her Job

Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept

A CHILDREN’S SPEECH PATHOLOGIST who has worked for the last nine years with developmentally disabled, autistic, and speech-impaired elementary school students in Austin, Texas, has been told that she can no longer work with the public school district, after she refused to sign an oath vowing that she “does not” and “will not” engage in a boycott of Israel or “otherwise tak[e] any action that is intended to inflict economic harm” on that foreign nation. A lawsuit on her behalf was filed early Monday morning in a federal court in the Western District of Texas, alleging a violation of her First Amendment right of free speech.

8) Trump Turns the Ties Between Israel and U.S. Jews Totally Toxic

Chemi Shalev, Haaretz

Netanyahu’s government is increasingly perceived as the Kellyanne Conway of Trump’s race baiting and the Rudy Giuliani of his America First agenda.

9) Jury calls for end to segregation of mentally ill inmates

Laurie Fagan · CBC News 

The jury at a coroner's inquest into the death of a mentally ill inmate at Ottawa's jail has made sweeping recommendations aimed at preventing a similar incident from happening in the future.

10) Maduro Rejects Invite to Bolsonaro's Inauguration: Arreaza

Telesur

"Venezuela would never attend the inauguration of President Jair Bolsonaro," Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

11) AMLO: Minimum Wage Up 16%, Biggest in 23 Years

Telesur

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) followed through on a campaign promise Monday announcing a minimum wage hike of 16.21 percent, Mexico’s largest in 23 years.

12) Montreal must pay after removing posters during 2015 federal election campaign

Montreal Gazette 

The Communist Party of Canada and the Boycott, Désinvestissement, Sanction Québec movement will receive $12,860, a Quebec Court judge has ruled.

13) Amazon faces boycott ahead of holidays as public discontent grows

Jana Kasperkevic, The Guardian

A growing number of customers are fed up with the company, from its working conditions at warehouses to anti-tax lobbying.

14) Argentine Gov’t ‘Pressuring’ Labor Judges Who Protect Workers

Telesur 

Argentine authorities are seeking the dismissal of two justices who ruled against layoffs, which are an integral part of IMF-backed austerity policies.

15) Indigenous leader urges EU to impose sanctions on Brazil

Arthur Neslen, The Guardian

Brazil’s foremost indigenous leader has called on the EU to impose trade sanctions to prevent ecological disaster and a “social extermination” by her country’s far-right president-elect, who takes office on 1 January.

16) China produces Karl Marx cartoon series to mark 200th anniversary of his birth

Mandy Zuo, The South China Morning Post

The animation, co-produced by central government’s Marxism office, will be shown by video streaming website Bilibili.com.

(Related: The Leader -- Chinese Karl Marx Anime Bio Trailer)

17) Canadian yellow vest protests unlike French movement, despite similar attire: U of S prof

Kendall Latimer · CBC News

Charles Smith says Canada protests include 'concerning' anti-immigration message.

18) Brazil: Court Ruling Might Lead to Lula's Freedom

Telesur 

Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio Mello granted Wednesday a preliminary injunction to release people convicted in a second instance who still have appeals pending. This decision may lead to the release of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was arrested after being convicted in the Lava-Jato corruption case by a Federal Regional Court.

19) Alice Walker’s Conspiracy Theories Aren’t Just Anti-Semitic – They’re Anti-Black

Rebecca Pierce, Forward 

The end of Baldwin’s essay includes an important reminder for all of us in these discussions: “If today I refuse to hate Jews, or anybody else, it is because I know how it feels to be hated.”

20) Court of Appeal rules Uber drivers are entitled to minimum wage, holiday and sick pay

Peter Lazenby, Morning Star 

THE so-called “gig economy” suffered a huge blow today when the Court of Appeal ruled that tens of thousands of drivers working for cab firm Uber are employees entitled to the minimum wage, holiday pay, sick pay and other rights.

21) If you feel confident enough to challenge your bigoted uncle this Christmas, you're privileged – as the Femicide Census proves

Victoria Smith, The Independent 

139 women were killed this year, most by people they knew, and almost half died at the hands of a current or former partner. Many of us will be left wondering what it's like to be able to talk back to our relatives.

22) ’White’ hockey teams in Manitoba accused of forming league without First Nations

Canadian Press

A lawyer representing some Indigenous hockey teams in Manitoba is arguing in court that all the “white teams” got together and formed a new Junior B league which excludes First Nations.

23) Socialists seek official party status in Maine

Kevin Miller, The Press Herald


The Socialist Party of Maine is seeking official recognition as a political party in the state.

24) B.C. votes to keep first-past-the-post electoral system

CBC News

'I think electoral reform is finished,' says deputy premier Carole James.

25) Beto O’Rourke frequently voted for Republican legislation, analysis reveals

David Sirota, The Guardian 

Review of his six-year record in Congress shows Democrat frequently opposed own party, and supported bills that boosted the fossil fuel industry and Trump’s immigration policy.

26) Class-action lawsuit filed against northern RCMP over alleged Indigenous mistreatment

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

A class-action lawsuit filed in an Edmonton court alleges RCMP in the three northern territories regularly assault and abuse Indigenous people.

27) Class action lawsuit proposed on coerced sterilization in Alberta

Kristy Kirkup · The Canadian Press 

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against the Government of Alberta on behalf of Indigenous women who say they were subjected to forced sterilization.

Soviet nostalgia is at it's highest point in 14 years and growing.



28) Can Canada’s Tar Sands Industry Be Profitable Without Government Subsidies?

The Real News Network

Todd Paglia of Stand Earth says Canadians taxpayers increasingly foot the bill for Canada’s fossil fuels industry.

29) Measles cases at highest for 20 years in Europe, as anti-vaccine movement grows

Sarah Boseley, The Guardian 

A growing anti-vaccine movement in Europe, fuelled by social media and anti-establishment populists, is putting lives at risk and may be to blame for measles outbreaks surging to a 20-year high, health experts are warning.

30) Spanish Elections Offer Another Lesson for the Left

Conn Hallinan, Foreign Policy in Focus

Again, the success of right-wing parties reflects less the rise of the right than the collapse of the center.

31) Democrats Just Blocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Push For A Green New Deal Committee

 Alexander C. Kaufman, HuffPost US

Instead, Democrats are sticking to their original plan, and channeled Exxon Mobil in an announcement refusing to bar members who take fossil fuel money.

32) White House Orders Pentagon To Pull U.S. Troops From Syria

Laurel Wamsley, NPR

The U.S. plans to withdraw all of its troops from Syria, a senior Pentagon official tells NPR. About 2,000 U.S. troops are currently in the northeastern part of the country, near the Turkish border.

33) Trump wants to yank half the U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, too

Paul Vale, Vice News

President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to make plans to pull 7,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, according to multiple reports published Thursday.

34) U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to enforce new asylum rules

Thomson Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday dealt a setback to President Donald Trump by refusing to allow his administration to implement new rules prohibiting asylum for people who cross the U.S. border illegally, with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joining the four liberal justices in denying the request.

35) India’s urban and rural working class to embark on two day nationwide strike in January

V. Arun Kumar, People's Dispatch

The shutdown in rural India coinciding with the trade union’s strike will unite the farmers and workers to challenge the pro-corporate and anti-people rule of far right BJP government.

36) 180 million workers may join 2-day trade union strike in January against Modi government

Saubhadra Chatterji, Hindustan Times

Trade union leaders also cited a Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report that says the unemployment rate in October rose to 6.9% and nearly 30 million youth are unemployed.

37) Protesters just blocked a major Toronto intersection over Indigenous rights

Lauren O'Neil, Blog TO

Hundreds of Indigenous Rights activists are gathered in Yonge Dundas Square this afternoon among throngs of last-minute holiday shoppers to protest the first draft of Canada's long-promised Indigeous Rights Framework.

38) Opposition in Hungary Demonstrates Against Orban, in Rare Display of Dissent

Patrick Kingsley, The New York Times

Opponents of Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orban, demonstrated on Sunday for the fourth day in the past five, in what has become one of the most sustained displays of street opposition to Mr. Orban since he entered office eight years ago.

39) Anti-government protesters mass for 5th day in Hungary

Kester Eddy, KFDA

A few thousand demonstrators gathered in freezing temperatures outside Hungary's state broadcaster Monday night in a fifth day of protests against the right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

40) Hungary: Stop the slave law

Act Now Petition

On December 12 the Hungarian Parliament adopted the "Slave Law" which could require workers to do overtime work up to 400 hours a year. Further, the reference period is increased to 36 months. The law was passed without proper consultation with social partners, through misuse of the Parliamentary procedures.

41) Left-wing opposition calls for joint candidate for Budapest mayor

Hungary Today

Parties of the opposition should field a joint candidate for the post of Budapest mayor in next year’s municipal elections, representatives of the Socialist, Democratic Coalition (DK), Párbeszéd parties and of the Solidarity movement told a press conference on Thursday.

42) Hungary protests give opposition a chance to work together

Eldar Emric & Pablo Gorondi, The Salem News

The recent protests in Hungary have given the fragmented opposition a real opportunity to work together as they challenge Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has an overwhelming majority in parliament.

43) Ontario government cuts millions of dollars for tutors and student leadership programming

Alanna Rizza, The Globe and Mail

The Ontario government is slashing millions of dollars in funding for programs that are aimed at providing students with extra skills and support, leaving school boards to figure out how students will be affected.

44) Toronto school board says layoffs coming after province cuts $25M in funding

CBC/Radio-Canada

A major Toronto school board said the province's decision to cut specialized programs will result in some 95 part-time student workers immediately losing their jobs.

45) Ron Taverner staying with Toronto police despite appointment as OPP chief — for now

CBC News

Ron Taverner, who's tapped to be the next chief of Ontario Provincial Police, has rescinded his resignation papers as a superintendent with Toronto police.

46) Ford is trampling workers’ rights again with back-to-work legislation, says OFL

Ontario Federation of Labour

Ontarians should be deeply concerned at the speed and the manner with which the Ford government brushes away Charter rights by using back-to-work legislation, says the Ontario Federation of Labour. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the rights of all Canadians.

47) 'It's heartbreaking': Indigenous artists mourn possible cuts to culture fund under review by PCs

CBC News

The Ontario government says it is reviewing a fund for Indigenous culture that was set up in response to calls for action from Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

48) Restoration of normal delivery times proves backlog was ‘fiction,’ says postal worker’s union

Terry Pedwell, The Canadian Press

The restoration of delivery service guarantees by Canada Post — three weeks after striking postal workers were forced back to work — proves the shipment backlogs Ottawa used to justify legislating an end to rotating walkouts were "fiction," says the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

49) Protesting Santas picket in front of Canada Post in Victoria

Shalu Mehta, Sooke News Mirror

A group of protesters dressed as Santa picketed in front of the Canada Post on Glanford Avenue Saturday morning in support of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

50) Cuban Baseball Federation and MLB reach historic agreement

Oscar Sánchez Serra & Sigfredo Barros Segrera, Granma 

“Today is a happy day for Cuban baseball, for the world, the people of Cuba and the United States,” stated Higinio Vélez Carrión, president of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB), referring to the agreement to allow Cuban players to sign with the Major Leagues.

51) Cuba reinserts 'communism' in draft of new constitution

Reuters 

Cuba has reinserted the goal of “advancing toward a communist society” into the draft of the country’s new constitution after its removal from the first version had sparked concern among thousands of citizens, state-run television said on Thursday.

52) Cuban Lawmakers Approve Revised Draft of New Constitution

Telesur

Cuban lawmakers Saturday unanimously approved a revised draft of the new Cuban constitution.

See also: Cyntoia Brown, Taverner, Yellow Vests & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos December 9 - 16

California Wildfires and Extreme Climate Change, UK and Ontario Austerity, Abortion Rights & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos November 11 - 18

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 November 11 - 18.

1) Ten lies we’re told to justify the slaughter of 20 million in the First World War

Dominic Alexander, Counterfire 

Dominic Alexander debunks the myths used by politicians and historians to rebrand ‘the war to end all wars’ in the centenary of Armistice Day.

Via Counterfire on Facebook

2) Poland's president addresses far right at independence march

Christian Davies, The Guardian

Nationalists burning flares and carrying fascist flags marched at same time as politicians.

3) Hero’s welcome in Poland awaits hitman who killed Mandela’s ally

Christian Davies, The Guardian

Janusz Waluś, who shot dead South African communist leader Chris Hani, could soon return home.

4) South Korea's nascent feminist movement turns to abortion ban

Benjamin Haas, The Guardian

Kim Soo-jin will never forget the disgusting taste of the pulpy green-brown traditional Korean brew she drank in the hopes of ending her pregnancy, or the night she spent in pain, curled into a ball and unable to move.

5) Woman who bore rapist’s baby faces 20 years in El Salvador jail

Nina Lakhani, The Guardian

A rape victim is facing 20 years in jail charged with attempted murder, after she gave birth to her abuser’s baby in a latrine in El Salvador.

6) Ontario Basic Income Cancellation Births A Movement In Thunder Bay

Emma Paling, HuffPost

They call themselves Disrupt, and they’re ready for change.

7) California's Camp Fire Becomes The Deadliest Wildfire In State History

Richard Gonzales & Bill Chappell, NPR

Fire investigators in Northern California say they found the human remains of 6 more individuals, bringing the death toll to at least 48 people who have died in the wildfire that burned through the town of Paradise with shocking speed, making the Camp Fire the deadliest wildfire in state history.

8) AS WILDFIRE SMOKE FILLS THE AIR, FARMWORKERS CONTINUE TO LABOR IN THE FIELDS

Jack Herrera, Pacific Standard 

As fires clogged the air in Southern California, farmworkers continued to work, even as public-school students and others were told to stay home and indoors.

9) California Firefighters Union president to Trump: ‘You’re an idiot’

Sky Palma, Dead State

In response to the raging brush fires ravaging Southern California, President Trump on Friday approved an emergency measure to provide federal funds to help combat the blazes. But in a tweet fired off the following day, Trump threatened to withdraw the aid, blaming the state’s alleged poor “forest management” for the destruction.

10) Indigenous women coerced into sterilizations across Canada: Senator

Kristy Kirkup, Global News

When she was 17 years old, Liz was coerced by a Children’s Aid worker into having an abortion and being sterilized at a northwestern Ontario hospital, she says it’s an experience she’s carried for 40 years.

11) Colombian Soldiers Implicated in Social Leader's Murder

Telesur

Communal leader and human rights defender Alvaro Gomez Garzon was reportedly murdered by members of the Colombian Army Monday night in the Cauca department.

12) After 17 years, many Afghans blame US for unending war

Kathy Gannon, AP News

When U.S. forces and their Afghan allies rode into Kabul in November 2001 they were greeted as liberators. But after 17 years of war, the Taliban have retaken half the country, security is worse than it’s ever been, and many Afghans place the blame squarely on the Americans.

13) Muslim Trailblazer Ilhan Omar Admits She Backs BDS — Now That Election Is Over

Aiden Pink, Forward

Tuesday marked the start of “freshman orientation” in Washington, D.C., where new members of Congress arrived to meet their colleagues and learn how the House and Senate actually work.


14) When it comes to Saudi LAV sales, lobbyists will likely rule

Yves Engler

Will they cancel the contract or won’t they? In order to understand Ottawa’s decision making process regarding General Dynamics’ massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia one must look closely at industry lobbyists.

15) Canada stands pat on Saudi arms sales, even after hearing Khashoggi tape

Andy Blatchford, The Globe and Mail

The Canadian government is showing no signs of toughening its stance on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, even after Canada’s spy chief heard a recording of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

16) Alberta UCP’s John Carpay Sorry For Comparing Pride Flag to Swastikas

Liz Haq, HuffPost

Alberta's United Conservative Party Leader has acknowledged party member John Carpay's apology for comparing rainbow flags to swastikas in a speech over the weekend.

17) The Earth is in a death spiral. It will take radical action to save us

George Monbiot, The Guardian

Climate breakdown could be rapid and unpredictable. We can no longer tinker around the edges and hope minor changes will avert collapse

18) Death of an English major

Gary Taylor, Tampa Bay Times

I did not anticipate this death. No one warned me that being chair of an English Department meant that I would have to “manage” the grief, despair and rage caused by the political murder of one of our students.

19) Brazil: Bolsonaro's Son to Legislate Against Opposition Groups

Telesur

Listing the bills he will submit as a lawmaker, the son of Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo, said he will not hesitate to criminalize social movements like the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) and ban opposition political parties “if necessary.”

20) Cuba Withdraws from More Doctors Program in Brazil

Telesur

The decision comes after Brazil's far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro criticized the program and the Cuban government.

21) U.S. HAS SPENT SIX TRILLION DOLLARS ON WARS THAT KILLED HALF A MILLION PEOPLE SINCE 9/11, REPORT SAYS

Tom O'Connor, Newsweek

The United States has spent nearly $6 trillion on wars that directly contributed to the deaths of around 500,000 people since the 9/11 attacks of 2001.

22) Prostitution or Sex Work? Language Matters

Red Resurgence 

The term ‘sex work’ has come to replace the word ‘prostitution’ in contemporary discussions on the subject. This is not accidental. The phrase ‘sex work’ has been adopted by liberal feminists and powerful lobbyists in a deliberate attempt to steer the narrative on prostitution.

23) Thousands attend funeral of murdered Turkish trade union leader

IndustriALL

Thousands of people gathered for the funeral of Turkish union leader, Abdullah Karacan, the day after he was fatally shot during a visit to meet workers at a Goodyear tyre factory in Adapazarı.

24) As Jeff Bezos Earns $191K Per Minute, Why Are NY & VA Giving Amazon $3 Billion in Corporate Welfare?

Democracy Now

Amazon has selected a pair of cities to host its new, expanded headquarters: Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, and Long Island City in Queens, New York. Amazon’s decision came after a 14-month search that saw cities around the U.S. promise tax breaks, taxpayer-funded infrastructure and business-friendly ordinances in an effort to win what Amazon says will be $5 billion in new investment and thousands of jobs. Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam called the Amazon headquarter “a big win for Virginia,” and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has similarly applauded Amazon’s decision. But many local politicians have openly criticized authorities in New York and Virginia for backing the deals, which will create a total of 50,000 jobs. We host a roundtable discussion about Amazon and corporate welfare. In New York, we speak with Ron Kim, member of the New York State Assembly. He recently co-wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times headlined “New York Should Say No to Amazon.” In Washington, D.C., we speak with Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, a watchdog group on economic development incentives. And in Portland, Maine, we speak with Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. She is the author of “Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses.”

25) Instead of Giving Billions to Amazon, We Could Just Cancel Student Debt

Allie Conti, Vice News

On Tuesday, Amazon confirmed it would build new offices in Long Island City, Queens, and a suburb of Washington, DC, called Crystal City, ending a massive bidding war that saw the leaders of almost 250 cities prostrate themselves at the feet of the world's richest man.

26) Teenage girl’s underwear used as evidence in Irish rape trial prompting mass protests

Katie Dangerfield, Global News

Protests were held in Ireland Wednesday after a teenage girl's underwear was used as evidence against her in the trial last week of a man accused of raping her.

27) Toronto activist carded while in Vancouver to give keynote address on racial equity

Wendy Stueck, The Globe and Mail

A Toronto activist and journalist who is in Vancouver to give a keynote address on racial equity was stopped by police near Stanley Park on Tuesday in what he alleges was a racially based street check by police.

28) America Is Blaming Pregnant Women for Their Own Deaths

Kim Brooks, New York Times

What is it like to face dying during childbirth in the richest country in the world in the 21st century?

29) No safe place: When Israeli airstrikes hit, Gaza's children have nowhere to run

Charlie Hoyle, The New Arab

A sense of normalcy returned to life in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after a ceasefire agreement between Palestinian political parties and Israel ended a major escalation in violence.

30) Brazil's new foreign minister believes climate change is a Marxist plot

Jonathan Watts, The Guardian

Brazil’s president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has chosen a new foreign minister who believes climate change is part of a plot by “cultural Marxists” to stifle western economies and promote the growth of China.

31) Nowhere to go: Moncton homeless sleep on abandoned porches, in backyard tents

Vanessa Blanch · CBC News

Dozens of dangerous rooming houses are boarded up, but Charles LeBlanc is hoping owners will make improvements.

32) Ontario government scraps rent control and Toronto doesn't like it


Lauren O'Neil, Blog TO

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's first-ever fiscal roadmap, revealed on Thursday, could have sweeping implications across all aspects of life for almost everyone in the province.

33) Ontario government cancels plans for province’s first official Francophone university

Joe Friesen, The Globe and Mail

The Ontario government has cancelled plans to open the province’s first Francophone university despite having promised to do so during the election campaign and shortly after taking office.

34) 'We're talking about our children's lives here': Ontario cuts child and youth advocate

Rhiannon Johnson · CBC News 

The Ontario government has tabled fall economic legislation that will eliminate the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth.

35) Ford's move to axe child advocate office 'a nightmare,' children's rights lawyer says

Lorenda Reddekopp · CBC News

Youth workers and lawyers are joining with the Ontario child advocate to call on the Ford government to reconsider its decision to cut the position.

(Related: Ford government disguises ugly attack on minimum wage workers as a tax cut to offset slide in polls)

36) Federal government issues permanent postal ban on hate speech publication

Peter Zimonjic · CBC News 

A Toronto-based publication widely criticized for disseminating hate speech against minorities, Jews, women and the LGBTQ community has been permanently banned from distribution through Canada Post.

37) UK austerity has inflicted 'great misery' on citizens, UN says

Robert Booth and Patrick Butler, The Guardian

The UK government has inflicted “great misery” on its people with “punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous” austerity policies driven by a political desire to undertake social re-engineering rather than economic necessity, the United Nations poverty envoy has found.

38) UN warns of damage to “the fabric of British society” as the state turns on its people

Jack Peat, The London Economic

Drastic cuts to social support and welfare risk damaging the very fabric of British society, a UN report has today revealed.

39) Dozens arrested after climate protest blocks five London bridges

Matthew Taylor and Damien Gayle, The Guardian

Eighty-five people have been arrested as thousands of demonstrators occupied five bridges in central London to voice their concern over the looming climate crisis.

35 Years Of EZLN

35 years ago, to defend the rights denied to Indigenous people, the EZLN was founded.




40) Inuk woman's tell-tale botulism symptoms would have been taken seriously if she'd been white, says her widower

Catou MacKinnon · CBC News

A man from Inukjuak said the failure of a nurse stationed in the northern Quebec community to recognize the signs of botulism cost his wife her life, and it was only after she died that clinic staff took his adult daughter's symptoms seriously.

Chilean Police Continue Violent Repression Against Mapuche Members

While the right-wing government announced that they will investigate the Mapuche murder, they continue violently repressing protests.





41) Ohio Legislature Considers Total Abortion Ban

Joe Ingles, WOSU

There’s been a lot of attention given to the contentious “Heartbeat Bill,” which bans abortion at the point that a fetal heartbeat can be detected, since it passed the Ohio House earlier this week. But Republican lawmakers are considering another bill during this lame-duck session that would ban abortions entirely.

See also: US Midterms, Climate Change, Mass Shootings & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos November 4 - 11