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 9 - 16.
1) 10 Most Damning Quotes From the Court Ruling Striking Down Doug Ford’s Law Rigging Toronto’s Election
Press Progress
Ontario’s Superior Court just ruled Doug Ford’s gerrymandering law is undemocratic and unconstitutional.
2) Premier Doug Ford to use notwithstanding clause to cut size of Toronto city council
John Rieti · CBC News
Ontario Premier Doug Ford will invoke the constitutional notwithstanding clause to override a judge's decision that blocks his government from slashing the size of Toronto city council nearly in half.
3) Doug Ford Says the Government of Ontario Does Not Need to Respect the Constitution or the Rule of Law
Press Progress
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will override Canada’s Constitution to overturn a court decision that ruled his move to redraw Toronto’s political boundaries in the middle of the city’s municipal election is “unconstitutional.”
4) Ford’s legislation to cut Toronto council passes first reading as protests rock the Ontario legislature
Robert Benzie and Kristin Rushowy, The Toronto Star
Doug Ford’s unprecedented overriding of Charter freedoms triggered mayhem in the legislature — with protesters handcuffed and turfed, and most New Democrat MPPs ejected for banging on their desks and shouting.
5) CORPORATE INTERESTS BEHIND FORD’S ATTACK ON LOCAL DEMOCRACY
David McKee, People's Voice
In the morning of September 10, the Twitterverse exploded with 280-character celebrations, after an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down Doug Ford’s legislation cutting Toronto’s city council in half. Within hours, however, Ford had announced that he would invoke Section 33 of the Constitution, the “notwithstanding clause,” to force the legislation through.
(Related: Petty, vengeful and crass, bully boy Ford's toddler tantrum a dangerous sign of things to come)
6) Involving everyone in the commemoration of Havana’s 500 years
Yaima Puig Meneses, Granma
Involving everyone, the population as well as national, provincial, and municipal entities, in efforts to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Havana is a challenge, but the key to a better realization of the project.
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| Michael de Adder, Chronicle Herald |
Coco Khan, The Guardian
In Chemaly’s book Rage Becomes Her, she writes that women are taught from birth to suppress their anger. It’s time now, she says, to let it all out.
8) Twitter users slam 'repugnant, racist' cartoon of Serena Williams
Al Jazeera
A cartoon depicting Serena Williams has triggered uproar after it was compared with racist illustrations of the Jim Crow character and images of black people in the Sambo books from the early 20th century.
9) For black women at church, it's more than the Aretha Franklin eulogy
The Canadian Press
A black pastor's controversial eulogy at Aretha Franklin's funeral laid bare before the world what black women say they have experienced for generations: sexism and inequality in their houses of worship every Sunday.
10) Kaepernick Thanks 1st NFL Players to Kneel for National Anthem
Telesur
Kaepernick is the most visible face among NFL players who have been using the anthem over the past two years to protest against social injustice and police brutality.
11) Even terminal illness won’t guarantee a spot in Toronto’s subsidized housing
Gilbert Ngabo, The Toronto Star
Rona Achilles’ apartment is filled with boxes and bags stuffed with all her belongings. Apart from a few books and papers scattered on shelves and tables, some shoes and a computer — on which she watches political speeches and browses Facebook — plastic bottles of medical pills are the only other things visible in her living and study room.
12) The FMLN Announces Its Presidential Formula for El Salvador
Telesur
The FMLN announced for a third consecutive term of office Hugo Martínez for the Presidency and Karina Sosa for the Vice Presidency.
13) Abortion activists are sending Susan Collins a grim reason not to vote for Kavanaugh
Carter Sherman, Vice News
Susan Collins’ office has been deluged with a grim reminder of the days before Roe v. Wade, thanks to abortion rights advocates.
14) Unions call for four-day working week
Rebecca Wearn, BBC News
A four-day working week will be possible this century if businesses are forced to share the benefits of new technology with their workforce.
15) Israeli music festival left in shambles as 20 acts — including Lana Del Rey — withdraw in support of BDS
Josef Federman, The National Post
The cancellations turned the weekend festival, held in the bucolic setting of an Israeli kibbutz, into the latest battleground between Israel and the boycott movement that says it seeks to end Israeli rule over Palestinians.
16) How can we defend human rights while selling arms to Saudi Arabia?
Noah Aboueldahab, The Globe and Mail
If Canada is to maintain any kind of credibility when it conducts its foreign policy and calls for the protection of human rights around the world, ending its arms sales to Saudi Arabia is a first and concrete step that must be taken. So far, Ms. Freeland seems quite comfortable in honouring this unjustifiable arms deal. It is difficult, then, to take seriously her outrage at the arbitrary arrests of Samar Badawi and others, while Yemeni lives are taken daily by a Saudi-led coalition that Canada actively supports.
17) Canadian politicians lead unprecedented smear campaign against advocate for Palestinian rights
Yves Engler, Mondoweiss
On Thursday lawyer Dimitri Lascaris called on two Liberal MPs to denounce death threats made by B’nai B’rith supporters against a number of other Liberal MPs and the Prime Minister. But instead of condemning those who called for racialized politicians to face the “guillotine” or “stoning”, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Canadian politicians smeared the individual drawing attention to the death threats.
Hélène Laverdière, just stop. Stop tweeting about Palestinian rights with one hand and opposing progressive Palestinians and our left-wing allies with the other. Tweeting all day does not make up for voting against the Palestine Resolution at NDP convention; supporting Palestine on Twitter does not make it okay to befriend and work with those who safeguard Israel’s occupation here at home. Stop insulting our intelligence:
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| via Facebook and Twitter |
18) Correcting the record on China and Africa
Ian Goodrum, China Daily
In 1971, when the People’s Republic of China’s United Nations status was put to a vote, it was newly independent African countries who provided the crucial majority and ensured China was able to take its rightful seat on the UN Security Council. Thanks to the goodwill of its “African brothers”, as Chairman Mao Zedong called them, China could finally join the global family of nations. With that vote — and with the Communist Party of China’s earlier support for liberation struggles across the continent — an unbreakable bond between China and Africa was forged.
19) India's Opposition Parties Join Strike Against Fuel Price Hike
Telesur
Over 20 opposition parties participated in “Bharat Bandh”, a nationwide strike Monday to protest against the sharp increase in fuel prices in India.
20) HUGE PEOPLE’S PROTEST IN NEW DELHI AS RESISTANCE GROWS
People's Voice
Tens of thousands of workers and farmers from different states in India marched in New Delhi on September 5, to protest the government’s anti-people policies and demand higher wages and relief from debts.
21) Remembering Canada’s support for the right wing coup in Chile
Yves Engler
On Sept. 11, 1973, the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende,was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet. In the aftermath, 3,000 leftists were murdered, tens of thousands tortured and hundreds of thousands driven from the country.
22) Sweden’s elections and the mounting far right threat in Europe
Vladimir Unkovski-Korica, Counterfire
Ever since Donald Trump’s election victory in November 2016, the right has felt emboldened internationally. The latest headline to hit Europe has been the rise of the Swedish Democrats.
CBC News
Leading environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Ontario government over the cancellation of the province's cap-and-trade program.
Jacq Brasseur, Briarpatch
We are young people clamouring for a party that supports survivors, values consent, uplifts marginalized voices, and unapologetically shouts down abusive men. We will not be the downfall of the Saskatchewan NDP, as so many of the loyalists claim. If this party collapses, it will be because of the actions of change-fearing party members who protect men like Erin Weir and Adam Duke. And I promise you this: we – who are standing up against the status quo, harassment, and violence – will re-build this party on those ruins. We will remember this story. The story of what happens when oppressive party brass protects people who abuse our political family. The story of a left-wing provincial party falling behind its federal peer, and what happens when you abandon the same young, innovative people who brought you success to begin with.
Al Jazeera
Ethiopian and Eritrean troops will withdraw from the border as the rapprochement between the one-time enemies continues in rapid fashion.
Michael Sainato, The Guardian
Elon Musk has said he is ‘neutral’ about a union but former employees blame their firing on their efforts to organize while current workers say a ‘culture of fear’ persists.
27) Emperor Musk
Meagan Day, Jacobin
The disappearance of kings and emperors didn’t end domination by powerful individuals — capitalism just transformed it. Julius Caesar has given way to Elon Musk.
Dimitri Lascaris
I am a proud, anti-racist advocate for human rights, yet I now find myself in a situation familiar to so many defenders of the human rights of Palestinians: I am being defamed as an anti-Semite by pro-Israel organizations and pro-Israel politicians, including Canada’s own Prime Minister.
29) The Sad, Timid Failure of Rachel Notley
Mitchell Anderson, The Tyee
Imagine if you decided to sell your soul and no one wanted to buy it?
30) Lula: Jailed ex-leader pulls out of Brazil election
BBC News
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pulled out of next month's presidential election to allow his running mate to stand in his place.
31) Dallas Police Release Affidavit Contradicting Neighbors’ Account of Shooting: It’s ‘Very Self-Serving’
Atlanta Black Star
Attorneys for the family of a black man who was shot and killed by a white Dallas police officer who says she mistook his apartment for hers are criticizing an affidavit that gives a narrative of what happened.
32) Migrant crisis: Scores drown off Libyan coast
BBC News
More than 100 migrants died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coastline earlier this month, an aid agency says.
33) “Pinochet via Fujimori”: Wall Street’s New Man In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro
Brasil Wire
New York Times, July 1993. In an article called “Conversations/Jair Bolsonaro; A Soldier Turned Politician Wants To Give Brazil Back to Army Rule“, Journalist James Brooke interviewed a 38 year old congressman. Brazil was struggling, a President gone, in the third year of directly elected Government since the coup of 1964, and the already infamous former Army Captain Bolsonaro was proposing a return to Military Rule.
34) The IHRA anti-Semitism definition won't protect Israeli apartheid
Shahd Abusalama, Al Jazeera
History will judge Israel's apologists the way Theresa May is now judged on apartheid South Africa.
35) Argentina Announces Ministry Cuts But More Military Spending
Telesur
The Mauricio Macri administration released its communique that reveals expected funding cuts for at least six ministries, and increased budgets for military forces.
36) North Carolina didn't like science on sea levels … so passed a law against it
Erin Durkin, The Guardian
In 2012, the state whose low-lying coast lies in the path of Hurricane Florence reacted to a prediction of catastrophically rising seas by banning policies based on such forecasts.
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| via Facebook |
Canadian Press
Postal workers across the country have given the green light to their union to call a strike and could walk off the job before the end of the month.
38) TKP – The hope lies in the party which is both the oldest and the youngest
Communist Party of Turkey
The Communist Party of Turkey was founded during the days when Anatolia was still under imperialist occupation and the resistance against the occupation was still ongoing. At around the same time, under the leadership of communist parties, the workers made their mark on history in 1917 with the Great October Revolution, and stepped in to drive the final nail in the coffin of crumbling capitalism.
39) THE U.S. GOES TO WAR AGAINST THE ICC TO COVER UP ALLEGED WAR CRIMES IN AFGHANISTAN
Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept
THE UNITED STATES has never been a friend of the International Criminal Court. While relations between the U.S. and the ICC have fluctuated over the course of different administrations, the American government has steadfastly refused to take the step that 124 other states have of ratifying the Rome Statute and thus becoming a member of the international legal body. The ICC’s mandate to investigate war crimes has thus been hampered by the unwillingness of the world’s sole superpower to commit to the organization.
40) Anti-Corruption Protests Take Over Guatemala City
Telesur
For a second day, thousands march in the capital to demand President Morales and Congress resign, saying they are giving themselves legal impunity.
41) Dalai Lama says 'Europe belongs to Europeans'
France 24
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said Wednesday that "Europe belongs to the Europeans" and that refugees should return to their native countries to rebuild them.
42) Brett Kavanaugh accused of sexual misconduct in secret letter
Sueng Min Kim and Elise Viebeck, The Toronto Star
The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that she received a letter from a person about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and referred it to federal investigators.
43) Ukraine's 'baby factories': The human cost of surrogacy
Madeline Roache, Al Jazeera
After India, Nepal and Thailand banned surrogacy, Ukraine soaks up demand. But women on both sides report exploitation.
44) How Canada’s growing anti-abortion movement plans to swing the next federal election
Anne Kingston, Maclean's
Anti-abortion lobbyists cheered Ontario’s election as evidence of success. Next up: an ambitious strategy for 2019.
45) Conservatives condemned by British Jewish leaders after MEPs vote to defend Hungary's far-right Orban government
Joe Watts, The Independent
The organisation has said the Conservative support for Mr Orban's authoritarian regime is 'very concerning'.
46) Mexican workers say they are victims of abuse on Canadian farms
CBC Radio
Every year, thousands of foreign farm workers come to Canada for eight months as part of the seasonal worker program. Since 2017, the federal government says it is intensifying its inspections on farms where these workers are hired to ensure their proper treatment.
47) Julia Salazar overcomes controversy to notch another victory for democratic socialists
Libby Nelson and Zack Beauchamp, Vox
She’ll be headed to the New York State Senate after toppling a long-serving incumbent in her Brooklyn district.
48) With help from Ontario teachers, Vancouver cleaners took on a corporate giant — and won
Sara Mojtehedzadeh and Alex McKeen, The Toronto Star
It’s not glamorous work, but Khin Kyi describes her Vancouver janitorial post as a godsend after having spent most of her life struggling just to keep her family safe.
49) What happens when the ‘alt-right’ starts believing in climate change?
Casey Edwards, People's World
Last September, as record-breaking hurricanes thrashed the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S., the white nationalist magazine American Renaissance asked its readers a question: “What does it mean for whites if climate change is real?”
50) What I Know About Jian Ghomeshi
Ruth Spencer, The Cut
Before anyone knew anything else about him, it was charm that made Jian Ghomeshi a big deal. It began in the mid 2000s, when he hosted a Canadian arts-and-culture radio show, Q. In one episode, the actor Billy Bob Thornton was a guest, and a singularly obnoxious presence; but in the face of his monosyllabic answers and looks of blank hostility, Ghomeshi retained his composure and his warmth. Eventually, the actor accused Canadians of being boring audiences, like “mashed potatoes without the gravy,” and Ghomeshi gently pushed back, replying: “Oh we’ve got some gravy up here.” The YouTube clip, of this good-natured radio host defending his country’s honor against a discourteous megastar, went viral, cementing Ghomeshi’s place as a national icon and skyrocketing Q’s popularity. And so when, five years later, in the course of an onslaught of sexual allegations against him, the public discovered that behind the scenes of their beloved show, Ghomeshi was allegedly telling his producer he wanted to “hate fuck” her and terrorizing his staff, the sense of disjunction was severe. “Captain Canada,” as he sometimes called himself, had turned out to be an alleged monster.
51) Ontarians rally in support of $15 minimum wage: ‘We cannot survive’
Sara Mojtehedzadeh, The Toronto Star
Workers rallied in support of a $15 minimum wage, across Toronto and 15 other cities Saturday, as the Ontario government doubles down on its pledge to cancel what it’s calling a “crassly political” wage bump scheduled for January 2019.
52) Kids Don’t Damage Women’s Careers — Men Do
Jessica Valenti, Medium
One of the most pernicious modern myths about motherhood is that having kids will damage your career. Women are told that we need to choose between our jobs or our children, or that we’ll spend our most productive work years “juggling” or performing a “balancing act.”
See also: Corbyn Attacks, India, Brazil, Bolivia & More -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos September 2 - 9
