Mercenary Attacks on Venezuela, Ahmaud Arbery, Victory Day 75 & more -- The Week in News and Opinion May 3 - 10

This week's roundup of articles, news items, visuals and opinion pieces 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  May 3 - 10.

This week's edition begins again with a very large roundup of news and left opinion about the capitalist coronavirus crisis and its impact on working people globally. There are also roundups about the failed mercenary attacks on Venezuela, the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the 75th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis.

The Featured Article link at the start is a very powerful piece by Charles Barron, "Coronavirus ravaging the Black community because of capitalism and ‘domestic colonialism’".

We have tried to arrange the coronavirus news thematically and to touch on many different areas of concern.

Featured Article:

Coronavirus ravaging the Black community because of capitalism and ‘domestic colonialism’

But what’s not talked about is the role that this racist, parasitic, predatory capitalistic system plays in economically exploiting our Black communities and turning them into “domestic colonies” of capitalism. Who created the poverty, unemployment, inadequate health care, miseducation, homelessness, mass incarceration, food shortages and unhealthy food (fast foods), and more? The answer is capitalism and domestic colonialism. Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the African Peoples Socialist Party, coined the term “colonial virus.”

Capitalist Coronavirus Crisis:

- Don't let the capitalists fool you...we have the social wealth to properly fight the pandemic

- That This System Would Fail Was Entirely Predictable

- US Blocks UN Global Ceasefire Resolution, Objecting to Indirect Reference to World Health Organization

- “The Discussion Is Basically Over”: Why Scientists Believe the Wuhan-Lab Coronavirus Origin Theory Is Highly Unlikely

- 'No Evidence Coronavirus Was Made in a Chinese Lab' Fauci Says

- Revealed: major anti-lockdown group's links to America's far right

- Trump's fake protest movement: Authoritarian stagecraft meets white privilege

- Canada’s Anti-Lockdown Protests are a Ragtag Coalition of Anti-Vaccine Activists, Conspiracy Theorists and the Far-Right

- PANDEMIC BRINGS OUT FAR-RIGHT RESPONSES

"Reopening" is ALL about business and the well to do and has NOTHING to do with the needs of workers or public health:



- Chris Christie Says People ‘Are Going To Have To’ Accept More Deaths To Reopen Economy

- Texas Governor Admits Dangers of Reopening State on Private Call With Lawmakers

- Ohio urges employers to report workers fearful of returning to work

- Conditions in US Meatpacking Plants Today Aren’t Much Better Than They Were in The Jungle

- Union opposes reopening U.S. meat plants as more workers die

- Meatpacking worker told not to wear face mask on job died of coronavirus: report

- Reopened restaurant told workers: Don't wear face masks — or don't work

- ‘We Are Not Essential. We Are Sacrificial.’

- How the Anglo-American model failed to tackle coronavirus

- Under Trump, American exceptionalism means poverty, misery and death

- The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying

- Epidemiologist Slams U.S. Coronavirus Response: 'Close To Genocide By Default'

- NYPD Under Fire For Starkly Different Responses To Violations Of Social Distancing Orders Over The Weekend

- 81 PERCENT OF NYPD'S SOCIAL DISTANCING SUMMONSES WERE ISSUED TO BLACKS AND LATINOS: 'IT'S THE NEW STOP AND FRISK'

- 35 of the 40 people who were arrested on social distancing violations in Brooklyn were black

- UK: Black People Four Times More Likely to Die From COVID-19

- The ‘Shadow Pandemic’ of Anti-Asian Racism

- Women demand voice in Italy virus response dominated by men

- There's no 'team Australia'. Workers are copping the brunt of the crisis

Ahmaud Arbery Murder:

- Two Men Arrested and Charged With Murder for Killing of Ahmaud Arbery After Video Sparked Nationwide Demands for Justice

- 'They lynched him': Ahmaud Arbery's father on the killing of his son

- Ahmaud Arbery: Atlanta mayor accuses Trump of inciting racist acts

- No burglaries were reported in neighborhood where Ahmaud Arbery was killed, contradicting suspects’ claim: report

Brazil:

- Brazilian Court Upholds 17-Year Sentence Against Lula Da Silva

- Brazil using coronavirus to cover up assaults on Amazon, warn activists

- Brazil: Bolsonaro Orders Journalists to Shut Their Mouths

- Bolsonaro attends floating barbeque as Brazil's Covid-19 toll tops 10,000

Canada:

- Cargill’s slaughterhouse profits flow through tax havens to keep its billionaire owners wealthy

- Cargill meat-processing plant south of Montreal says 64 workers infected with COVID-19

- Workers at Cargill’s Alberta Meat Plant Were Offered Special ‘Bonus’ Pay For Perfect Attendance During Pandemic

- An impossible choice: at least 540,000 low wage workers risk losing CERB if they refuse unsafe work

- Canadian Labour Congress calls for end to privately owned long-term care facilities after COVID-19 deaths

- Demands grow for national, universal long-term care in response to pandemic

- Province did inspections by phone at Toronto care home where 21 residents died of COVID-19

- Amazon Rolls Back Unpaid Leave As Workers Told of ‘Additional’ COVID-19 Case at Ontario Warehouse

- Alberta's statement on Ottawa's gun ban illustrates how little the rule of law really matters to Conservatives

- NS murders: Two tragedies must be viewed thru a feminist lens

- Canada: DNA discovery lends weight to First Nations ancestral story

- On the passing of Michael Lucas, immigrant organizer and friend of Soviet people

Climate Emergency:

- One billion people will live in insufferable heat within 50 years – study

- Capitalism: Eco-destruction and Plagues

Cuba:

- Make solidarity global -- Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez

- END THE SANCTIONS! END US AGGRESSION AGAINST CUBA NOW

- Cuba to Begin Mass-Scale COVID-19 Testing

- US Lawmakers Support Cuba in the Purchase of Medical Supplies

Ideas:

- The problem with universal basic income

- The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months

India:

- India's chemical plant disaster: another case of history repeating itself

Israel / Palestine:

- Australian government tells ICC it should not investigate alleged war crimes in Palestine

United Kingdom:

- Labour left MPs and activists defy Starmer-led party position on Kashmir

- The Labour Party Machine versus Corbyn

United States:

- Hunger stalks the land: Parents skipping meals to feed their kids

- 1996 court document shows Tara Reade told ex-husband of harassment in Biden's Senate office

- Tara Reade calls on Biden to drop out in rare on-camera interview

- 'What a Rigged Economy Looks Like,' Says Sanders, as Stock Market Enjoys Best Month in 33 Years Despite 20%+ Unemployment

- Nearly One in Five Workers Applied for State Unemployment Insurance Benefits in the Last Seven Weeks

- Iran anti-war bill in tatters after Trump veto and Senate failure to uphold it

- Sanitation workers in New Orleans on strike to demand better conditions and pay

- Sioux tribe rejects South Dakota governor request to remove Covid-19 checkpoints

- INDIANAPOLIS POLICE KILL BLACK MAN, LAUGH ABOUT IT NOT REALIZING IT’S BEING RECORDED ON FACEBOOK LIVE

- The day police bombed a city street: can scars of 1985 Move atrocity be healed?

Uruguay:

- 100,000 Uruguayans Fell Below Poverty Line in April: Study

- Uruguay: Lacalle Calls for Change in Abortion Law

Venezuela:


"Donald Trump thinks he can defeat us. He's wrong."⁠
⁠
A message from the Venezuelan socialist fishermen who helped capture the coup plotting US mercenaries.




- Defeat of a Dirty Military Incursion into Venezuela on a Sunday Morning

- The Failed Invasion of Venezuela, and the American and Canadian Connections

- U.S. Mercenaries Captured in Venezuela After Failed Coup Attempt Compared to a “Bad Rambo Movie”

- Venezuela Denounces New Attack on National Electric System

- Mercenary Confesses Failed Plot Was to Bring President Maduro to US

- Trudeau Rolls out his Trumpian Covid-19 Latin America Policy

- US Mercenaries' Botched Venezuela Raid May be Prelude to Bigger Invasion, Analyst Warns

- US Investigating Ex-Green Beret, Denies ‘Direct’ Involvement in Failed Venezuela Coup

- 'I Would Use an Army to Raid Venezuela' Trump Acknowledges

- Guaido Hired Mercenaries for a Terrorist Incursion in Venezuela

- Guaido Behind Failed Operation Against Venezuela: Maduro

- Venezuelan President Maduro: "Mike Pompeo Stop Your Arrogance"

- Venezuelan Attorney General Requests Interpol Arrest Juan Jose Rendon, Sergio Vergara and Jordan Goudreau for Their Involvement in the May 3 Mercenary Raid

- China Rejects Illegal, Violent Actions Against Venezuela, Cuba

- Venezuela Showcases Progress in the Containment of COVID-19

- Guardian Blames Trump’s Murderous US Exceptionalism on Hugo Chávez 

Victory Day 75

- No fascism ever again! -- Statements from Communist and Workers' parties on the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany

- Red Army's contribution in the defeat of fascism remembered on VE Day

- On the frontlines: Red Army veteran Moritz Mebel talks about his battles against fascism

Puerto Rico Protests, Ilhan Omar, Israeli Apartheid & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos July 14 - 21

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 July 14 - 21.


1) Puerto Rico Governor Defies Calls To Resign Amid Growing Protests Over Text Chats

Adrian Florido & Vanessa Romo, NPR

The governor of Puerto Rico is resisting calls to resign despite growing protests against his government after leaked text chats revealed conversations rife with homophobic and misogynistic slurs.

2) These Dramatic Pictures Show The Huge Protests Against The Puerto Rico Governor

Gabriel H. Sanchez, BuzzFeed

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Puerto Rico in protest against Gov. Ricardo Rosselló following the leak of his misogynistic and anti-gay text messages.

3) Why Half a Million Puerto Ricans Are Protesting in the Streets

 Ed Morales, The Nation

This week has been unlike any other in Puerto Rican history. An estimated 500,000 demonstrators filled Old San Juan’s cobblestone streets on Wednesday to demand the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló. He has lost public confidence because of mounting scandals in his government and damning revelations from a leaked trove of private chats, published on July 13 by the island’s Center for Investigative Journalism.

4) BBC Panorama hatchet job on Labour antisemitism is a farce

David McAllister, Counterfire 

The BBC's Panorama on antisemitism in the Labour Party provides no real evidence and shows how cynical the smear campaign is.

5) Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes remind us of how millions of women are exploited in the sex industry

Sonia Ossorio & Lauren Hersh, New York Daily News

In the world of prostitution, Epstein is the norm, not the exception. And if we are outraged about what he did, we ought to be equally outraged by this insidious effort underway to legalize and legitimize pimping, the buying of sex and the owning of brothels.

6) Amazon workers walk out across the world on Prime Day

The Morning Star

WORKERS worldwide walked out of Amazon warehouses today in protest over pay and conditions during the company’s Prime Day.

7) There's An Environmental Disaster Unfolding In The Gulf of Mexico

 Rocky Kistner, HuffPost US

As fishermen deep in the Louisiana bayou, Kindra Arnesen and her family have faced their share of life-altering challenges in recent years.

8) Planting ‘Billions of Trees’ Isn’t Going to Stop Climate Change

Madeleine Gregory and Sarah Emerson, Vice News

Planting billions of trees is the most effective way to combat climate change. At least that’s what a recent Science study claimed. Its findings were initially celebrated by a wave of articles, but the response is being met with a flood of criticism—from Indigenous activists, policy experts, and climate scientists.

9) Nazi collaborator involved in killing of 8,000 Jews honoured with statue in Ukraine

Ben Chacko, The Morning Star

UKRAINE’s rehabilitation of fascist war criminals continued this week after authorities unveiled a monument honouring an Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) officer involved in the murder of 8,000 Jews in Poltava in 1941.

10) A Judge Ruled A Neo-Nazi Blogger Should Pay $14 Million To A Woman Targeted In A Racist “Troll Storm"

Salvador Hernandez, BuzzFeed

The judgment against Andrew Anglin included $10 million in punitive damages for what the judge called "particularly egregious and reprehensible" behavior.

11) Call me a communist

Rossana Cambron, People's World

As an activist in my early 20s, I didn’t know much about what communism really was; all I’d heard was they were bad people that could hurt you and your loved ones. Being active in the Chicano student movement, I came across a member of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán) who mentioned to me that the Communist Party USA was giving a class on Marxism and asked if I was interested in going.

12) Another Ontario First Nation declares a state of emergency over water

Jorge Barrera · CBC News

Another fly-in First Nation in Ontario has declared a state of emergency over of its water quality.

13) The Innisfil experiment: the town that replaced public transit with Uber

Leyland Cecco, The Guardian 

Ridership is high and there’s plenty of work for drivers, but success has come at a cost to this Ontario town.

14) 5 Years After Eric Garner's Death, Activists Continue Fight For 'Another Day To Live'

Yasmeen Khan, NPR

The news that federal prosecutors will not charge a New York City police officer in the death of Eric Garner, who repeated the phrase "I can't breathe" almost a dozen times while being arrested for an alleged misdemeanor, closed another door for Garner's family and police reform activists seeking accountability.

15) NDP Suppresses Palestinian Solidarity Again

Yves Engler

One side is playing for keeps. They oust elected representatives and block members from voting on efforts to challenge a brutal occupation. On the other side, members defending a morally righteous cause twist themselves in knots to avoid directly criticizing nakedly authoritarian party leaders.

16) Ecuador: Roads Blocked, Media Silence as National Strike Hits 2nd Day

Telesur 

As the national strike called for this week in Ecuador, by social and political organizations, enters its second day Tuesday, major roads were blocked and manifestations were reported all across the country including the country’s capital, Quito.

17) Peru: Doctors, Health Workers Begin Nationwide Strike

Telesur

Both the Peruvian Medical Federation (FMP) and the National Federation of Health Workers (FENUTSSA) started Wednesday a 48-hour national strike to demand that President Martin Vizcarra's administration increase the budget assigned to the public Integral Health System (SIS).

18) BOMBS AWAY? BOMBARDIER ON TRACK FOR TAKEOVER

People's Voice

Bombardier’s recent announcement that it will cut 550 jobs at its Thunder Bay Rail Transportation facility has sparked outrage within labour, community and political circles. It has reignited the debate around public takeover of industries that are key to the economy and society.

19) Tensions rise in Oka as mayor speaks of being 'surrounded' by Mohawks

Colin Harris · CBC News

The grand chief of the Mohawk community of Kanesatake, northwest of Montreal, is demanding the mayor of the neighbouring town of Oka apologize for what he's calling "hate-filled" and "racist" remarks over a contentious land transfer proposal.


The Sandinista revolution of 1979, led by the FSLN, overthrew the U.S. backed dictatorship of the Somoza family.


20) Trump admin dramatically limits asylum claims by Central Americans

 Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

The Trump administration on Monday moved to dramatically limit the ability of Central American migrants to claim asylum if they enter the United States by land through Mexico, the latest attempt by the White House to limit immigration and toughen the US asylum process amid overcrowded conditions at border facilities.

This is one of the single most racist moments in modern American political history. As Trump began attacking my friend Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the crowd began chanting “SEND HER BACK, SEND HER BACK.” It’s utterly despicable and dangerous. We are here. We are in THAT time. And it is ugly. - Shaun King



21) A Racist in the White House

 David Remnick, The New Yorker

On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama beat John McCain by nine and a half million votes and became the country’s first African-American President. In 2016, Donald Trump, an unapologetic racist, lost the popular ballot by three million votes but, thanks to the antediluvian rules that still govern our voting system, succeeded Obama in the Oval Office. Understanding the role of racism and its persistence in this dismal pivot will be as central to our understanding of our times as it was to our understanding of Reconstruction.

22) Racism Is an Impeachable Offense

Shaun King, The Intercept

DONALD TRUMP HAS a rich, varied history of racism, bigotry, and discrimination going back to at least 1973, when the Justice Department filed a racial bias suit against him for mistreating Black applicants and tenants all over New York. At the time, it was one of the largest lawsuits of its kind. That was 46 years ago. Since then, the list of offenses has piled up. In a better time, his racist behavior would have prevented him from ever being elected, but here we are. He’s president and now he’s openly carrying that bigotry right into the Oval Office. Not only do I think he is violating his oath of office — I think his open, flagrant bigotry is an impeachable offense.

23) The Real Trouble with Ilhan Omar

Sarah Jaffe, The Progressive 

Ilhan Omar has spent most of her adult life making trouble—good trouble, as her colleague John Lewis, with whom she’s just introduced a resolution supporting Americans’ right to participate in boycott movements, likes to say. So it’s perhaps understandable that she maintains an impressive cool under the repeated onslaught of criticism, threats, and rage thrown her way, from the right as well as well as from the Democratic leadership.

24) Ilhan Omar Introduces Bill Backing Pro-Palestine BDS Movement

Telesur 

U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives Wednesday defending the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and  Sanctions (BDS) movement the lawmaker told the news outlet Al-Monitor.

25) Top Dems imply they’d pressure Israel to end the occupation, but none will even commit to moving the embassy back to Tel Aviv

Michael Arria, Mondoweiss

Last month, the progressive Jewish group IfNotNow officially became a tax-exempt organization legally permitted to lobby politicians. Since then, IfNotNow activists have been confronting Democratic candidates on the campaign trail and asking them about the occupation of Palestine.

26) Israel lobby groups hatch plan to divide the left

Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada 

Influential Israel lobby groups are offering “rules” for how Jewish communal organizations can divide the left and break up emerging intersectional coalitions.

27) ‘They shot to kill’: residents of West Bank village in shock after Israeli snipers shoot 10-year-old boy in the head

 Yumna Patel, Mondoweiss 

For eight years, the residents of the northern occupied West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum have protested every single Friday, rain or shine, against Israeli land confiscations and the closure of the village’s southern road by Israeli forces.

28) Israeli plan to raze East Jerusalem homes may be first step towards mass demolitions across the West Bank

Yumna Patel, Mondoweiss

In less than 24 hours, 42-year-old Ismail Obeidiya, his wife Nida, and their six kids, could be made homeless. It’s a terrifying reality that Obeidiya is struggling to grapple with, his unease and frustration more palpable with every word.

29) BDS in the face of Israeli Apartheid

Palestinian BDS National Committee, Socialist Project Bullet 

On July 9th, Palestinians marked with a mix of alarm and hope the 14th anniversary of the BDS Call (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), launched by Palestinian society in 2005 in pursuit of freedom, justice and equality.

30) ‘The Lion King’ is a fascistic story. No remake can change that.

Dan Hassler-Forest, The Washington Post 

No matter how you look at it, this is a film that introduces us to a society where the weak have learned to worship at the feet of the strong.

31) 'Intensely stupid': Health community challenges Scheer's pledge to review new Food Guide

Kristy Kirkup, The Canadian Press 

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer faced strong criticism from nutrition experts on Thursday after he pledged to review the new Canada Food Guide should the Tories win power this fall.

32) The lesson from the ruins of Notre Dame: don’t rely on billionaires

Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian 

The French super-rich promised to dig deep, but such philanthropy comes at a steep price.

33) Ford Government fails to host mandatory anti-racism conference

Yusra Javed, iPolitics 

Ontario appears unlikely to host a mandatory anti-racism conference in 2019, prompting fresh accusations that Premier Doug Ford’s government doesn’t take the anti-racism file seriously.

34) Doug Ford is Quietly Planning Over $100 Million in Cuts to Housing and Rent Support Programs

Press Progress

The Ontario government’s 2019-2020 expenditure estimates for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing show more cuts are coming to housing supports, rent support and homeless assistance efforts.

35) More than 3,000 new Toronto child care spaces at risk due to provincial cuts

 Laurie Monsebraaten, The Toronto Star 

Thousands of new child cares spaces approved by the previous provincial government — including 3,049 in Toronto — may never get built due to the latest Ford government cuts.

36) Venezuela: Trump Diverts Central America Aid to Guaido as EU Threatens More Sanctions

Ricardo Vaz, Venezuela Analysis 

The Trump administration is reportedly diverting over US $40 million of aid destined for Central America to the Venezuelan opposition.

37) Cuba: Safest Country in Latin America to Be a Child and an Adolescent

Telesur 

The annual Save the Children report evaluates 176 countries using international indicators on infant mortality, access to education, nutrition, protection against harmful practices, such as child labour, child marriage, homicides and forced displacement.

38) Boris Johnson’s take on Islam is historically illiterate

Jerry Brotton, The Guardian 

No printing press until the 19th century? Wrong. But why let reality get in the way of a story that fires up his base?

39) Baby H is in her fifth foster home and family services has stopped communicating with family says grandfather

Melissa Ridgen, APTN

Baby H, the B.C. infant who was seized from hospital after medical staff reported her mother was neglecting her 90 minutes after having a C-section is back in a stranger’s care after her aunt asked for a break.

40) Low-Income Workers Can’t Afford Rent in 91% of Canadian Cities

 Anne Gaviola, Vice News

A new study shows how unaffordable this country has become as cities like Vancouver and Toronto are basically out of reach for anyone making less than $70,000.

41) Waste only: How the plastics industry is fighting to keep polluting the world

Sharon Lerner, The Intercept 

THE STUDENTS AT Westmeade Elementary School worked hard on their dragon. And it paid off. The plastic bag receptacle that the kids painted green and outfitted with triangular white teeth and a “feed me” sign won the students from the Nashville suburb first place in a recycling box decorating contest. The idea, as Westmeade’s proud principal told a local TV news show, was to help the environment. But the real story behind the dragon — as with much of the escalating war over plastic waste — is more complicated.

42) Why I’m Fed Up With Being Told To ‘Go Back Where I Came From’

Piya Chattopadhyay, Chatelaine 

For years, I’ve told myself not to let those words bother me. But they do. And why shouldn’t they? The only place I’m from is Saskatoon.

43) Five Men Sentenced to Life for Operation Condor Killings Trained at School of the Americas

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams

Five of the 24 men sentenced last week by an Italian court to life in prison for their roles in a brutal and bloody U.S.-backed Cold War campaign against South American dissidents graduated from a notorious US Army school once known for teaching torture, assassination, and democracy suppression.

44) Sudan CP hails broad coalition for democracy

Emile Schepers, CPUSA

The Sudanese Communist Party, in its latest bulletin updating the world on the dramatic events that have roiled that African country since the beginning of a mass uprising which gained strength in December of last year and which led to the fall of long time dictator Omar Hassan al Bashir, is sounding an optimistic note.

See also: Epstein, Censoring Palestinian Voices, Syriza & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos July 7 - 14

Social security, school lunches, mass transit, education, clean air....not while spending $824.6 billion a year on war!

American activist and writer Shaun King reminded us on Twitter yesterday of the terrible cost of American imperialism not just in terms of lives, but in terms of all that could be done for far less than the many billions squandered on the military industrial complex:

Indeed.

"While it has long been a fundamental myth of American imperialism and its legions of media apologists that American military spending is defensive and meant to protect "freedom" and "democracy", the lie is put to that by the very fact that the US spends as much on its military as the next eight largest national military budgets combined!  At a projected $824.6 billion for 2017-2018, the US spends more annually on "defence" now than the entire world did in 1984.

Yet, despite all the claims, these increases in spending and the military adventurism it results in has never made the world a remotely safer place...

...Imagine, though, what could be done for schools, hospitals and health care, fighting poverty, building housing and on and on and on with even a serious fraction of that $824.6 billion."

Text from: Military spending: As wasteful as it is dangerous

Las Vegas, Catalonia, Harvey Weinstein and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List October 1-8

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  October 1-8. It is generally in order of the date of the article's release.

1) Fraser Institute Quietly Omits Data on Pay Equity and Child Care From Gender Inequality Rankings

Press Progress

After previously hypothesizing women could die young because they can’t handle the “stress” of working a job, the Fraser Institute has finally come around to the idea that economic inequality could limit the freedom of women.

Read the full article.

2) The White Privilege of the “Lone Wolf” Shooter

Shaun King, The Intercept

LAST NIGHT, THE United States experienced the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. At least 58 people are dead and over 500 more wounded. No, that’s not a typo: More than 500 people were injured in one single incident.

Read the full article.

3) Every Member of Congress Who Took Money From the NRA and Tweeted 'Thoughts and Prayers' to Las Vegas

Rafi Schwartz, Splinter

Americans woke up on Monday morning to learn of yet another horrific act of gun violence in the United States—this time a mass shooting in Las Vegas that left at least 58 people dead and more than 500 injured. But it seems unlikely that the politicians in a position to actually change our gun laws will actually do something about it, because they never do.

Read the full article.

4) DONALD TRUMP’S DISGUSTING REMARK ON PUERTO RICO IS MORE REVEALING THAN HE KNOWS

Jon Schwarz, The Intercept

PRESIDENT TRUMP ARRIVED in Puerto Rico on Tuesday and immediately began lauding himself and his administration for their response to Hurricane Maria. But mixed in with the self-congratulation were several references to how much relief efforts were costing.

Read the full article.

5) Labour has a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and the Tories know it

Larry Elliott, The Guardian

People are ready for a radical change. Trying to brand Corbyn a Marxist throwback who wants to turn Britain into Venezuela won’t work.

Read the full article.

6) Too poor to vote: how Alabama’s ‘new poll tax’ bars thousands of people from voting

Connor Sheets, The Guardian

In Alabama, money keeps thousands of people away from the ballot box – and the state’s felon disenfranchisement policies are probably unconstitutional.

Read the full article.

7) Ontario to create 'safe access zones' around abortion clinics with new legislation

 Andrea Janus, CBC News

The provincial government is moving to make obtaining abortion and other reproductive health services safer for Ontario women by introducing legislation that creates safe access zones around abortion clinics and other health facilities.

Read the full article.

8) Why We Never Talk About Black-on-Black Crime: An Answer to White America’s Most Pressing Question

Michael Harriot, The Root

You’ve heard it before. It is the most frequent response to any accusation of police brutality. It is the repeated sleight of hand used to distract and drown out the voices of Black Lives Matter. It is an oft-used “alt-right” refrain and a sincere query from curious white questioners. It is the weapon of choice for the black practitioners of respectability politics and the favorite follow-up for people who frame their arguments with the preamble, “Not all white people ... ”

Read the full article.

9) Catalonia: From Referendum to Republic?

An interview with Luc Salellas, Jacobin

Amid a general strike in Catalonia, we speak to Lluc Salellas of anticapitalist party CUP about the next steps for the independence movement.

Read the full article.

10) Masha Gessen: Trump Doing “Incredible Damage” to Democracy While Media is Obsessed with Russia Probe

Democracy Now

As the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says it has reached the conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and CNN reports a number of Russian-linked Facebook ads specifically targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, two states crucial to Trump’s victory in November, we speak with Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen. “We don’t know if there was a conspiracy,” Gessen says of allegations the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. “But even if there was, we should do our best to try not to engage in conspiracy thinking. … It lends itself to this idea that once we discover that Trump colluded with the Russians, that we’ll magically get rid of Trump.” She says it is unlikely the investigation will produce the kind of evidence of collusion that could be used as a legal basis for impeachment, and argues impeachment is unlikely while Republicans have control of both houses of Congress.


Read the full transcript.

11) Climate Groups Hail ‘End Of Age Of Oil’ After Energy East Cancelled

Daniel Tencer, The Huffington Post

As Canada's politicians threw blame around in the wake of TransCanada's cancellation of the Energy East pipeline, environmental groups hailed the decision, and called it a sign that the age of oil is coming to an end.

Read the full article.

12) The Myth of Women’s ‘Empowerment’

Rafia Zakaria, The New York Times

The concept of women’s empowerment needs an immediate and urgent rescue from the clutches of the would-be saviors in the development industry. At the heart of women’s empowerment lies the demand for a more robust global sisterhood, one in which no women are relegated to passivity and silence, their choices limited to sewing machines and chickens.

Read the full article.

13) The truth about capitalism is out as Marx’s magic cap starts to slip

Giles Fraser, The Guardian

A century after the rise of the Bolsheviks, the young are reading Karl Marx again – and faith in the superstitious beliefs that underpin market economies is faltering.

Read the full article.

14) Students protest at forum on social inequality

Josie Kao, The Varsity

Protesters criticize lack of panel diversity at event where Massey Head of College Segal spoke.

Read the full article.

15) How Hugh Hefner represents neoliberalism’s win

Gail Dines, Feminist Current

It is no accident that, as we celebrate individuals rather than movements for radical change, Hugh Hefner has been hailed as the leader of the sexual revolution.

Read the full article.

16) Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades

Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey, The New York Time

Two decades ago, the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein invited Ashley Judd to the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel for what the young actress expected to be a business breakfast meeting. Instead, he had her sent up to his room, where he appeared in a bathrobe and asked if he could give her a massage or she could watch him shower, she recalled in an interview.

Read the full article.

17) Company Scrambles as Weinstein Takes Leave and a Third of the Board Resigns

Megan Twohey & Niraj Chokshi, The New York Times

The Weinstein Company struggled to perform damage control on Friday amid allegations of rampant sexual harassment by its co-chairman Harvey Weinstein and turmoil among its ranks. One-third of the company’s all-male board resigned, while board members who remained hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations and announced that Mr. Weinstein would take an indefinite leave of absence immediately.

Read the full article.

18) Actresses Respond to Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers: ‘I Believe You’

Niraj Chokshi, The New York Times

The Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein faces a series of previously undisclosed allegations of sexual harassment and unwanted physical contact stretching back nearly three decades, according to a New York Times investigation published on Thursday afternoon.

Read the full article.

19) Why the Harvey Weinstein Sexual-Harassment Allegations Didn’t Come Out Until Now


Rebecca Traister, The Cut

I have been having conversations about Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual harassment for more than 17 years.

Read the full article.

20) One Undeniable Factor In Gun Violence: Men

Jill Filipovic, Time Magazine

Another mass shooting in America, another round of questions. Was the shooter a terrorist or a lone wolf (read: “Is he Muslim or not?”). Did he have a political agenda? Was he mentally ill? Why would someone do this?

A question we never ask: Was the shooter a man?

Read the full article.

While this article is from 2016, it is well worth reading again in the wake of Las Vegas:

21) One group is responsible for America’s culture of violence, and it isn’t cops, black Americans, Muslims or rednecks. It’s men

Melissa Warnke, Los Angeles Times

On Thursday morning, a fire alarm in the Los Angeles Times' building went off. Fortunately, the dozens of office alarms I've heard over the years have always been drills or misfiring systems. For the first time, instead of begrudgingly grabbing my belongings and traipsing downstairs, I was afraid. For the first time, the thought in my mind wasn't "drill" but "shooter."

Read the full article.

See also: Puerto Rico, Hugh Hefner, Anthem Protests and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List September 24 - October 1

See also: Anthem Protests, Vietnam Revisionism, Korea and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List September 17 - 24

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

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  August 27 - September 3. It is generally in order of the date of the article's release.

1) Should the rich be taxed more? A new paper shows unequivocally yes

Larry Elliot, The Guardian

Measuring tax paid against share of income earned and wealth owned reveals the US tax system has become less progressive – and in Britain it is a similar picture.

Read the full article.

2) SOUL SNATCHERS: Countering the State Sponsored Conspiracy to Destroy Pedro Hernandez (Part 3)

Shaun King, Medium

Have you ever been arrested by the police and charged with a crime you didn’t commit? I don’t mean pulled over for a speeding ticket. I don’t mean harassed or ridiculed. I don’t mean treated like a suspect.

Read the full article.

3) 'Deeply regretful' Susur Lee to reimburse workers after illegally docking tips at his eateries

 Amara McLaughlin, CBC News

World-renowned chef and reality TV star Susur Lee has told his employees he has changed a system at his restaurants that illegally forced them to hand over a portion of their tips to pay for common mistakes, and he has promised to reimburse staff after workers at his eateries blasted the policy.

Read the full article.

4) Fines for catcalling would recognize street harassment as serious problem

Emma Teitel, The Toronto Star

A policy to punish catcallers wouldn’t just acknowledge the practice as a legitimate problem, but it would also dissuade possible perpetrators.

Read the full article.

5) Dr. Robert Bullard: Houston’s “Unrestrained Capitalism” Made Harvey “Catastrophe Waiting to Happen”

Democracy Now

The death toll continues to rise as massive amounts of rain from Hurricane Harvey flood Houston and other parts of Texas and Louisiana. The Houston police and Coast Guard have rescued over 6,000 people from their homes, but many remain stranded. Meteorologists forecast another foot of rain could fall on the region in the coming days. While the National Hurricane Center is now calling Harvey the biggest rainstorm on record, scientists have been predicting for years that climate change would result in massive storms like Harvey. We speak with Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the “father of environmental justice.” He is currently a distinguished professor at Texas Southern University. Dr. Bullard speaks to us from his home in Houston, which he needs to evacuate later this morning due to the rising Brazos River.

See or read the full interview.

6) Trump removed Obama's flood protection laws just days before Hurricane Harvey hit

Ben Kentish, Emily Shugerman - The Independent

Donald Trump signed an executive order just days before Hurricane Harvey that scrapped many of the flood protections introduced by Barack Obama.

Read the full article.

7) Everyone’s a Socialist After a Natural Disaster

Joan Walsh, The Nation

You know the old saying: There are no atheists in foxholes. I’ve got a new one: We’re all socialists after a natural disaster. Even Texas Senator Ted Cruz. The hypocrite who tried to block Hurricane Sandy aid to the East Coast in 2012 is now demanding the federal government expedite emergency funds for the survivors of Hurricane Harvey along the Gulf Coast of Texas, and in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. East Coast Democrats are happy to help, though New Jersey Governor Chris Christie tried to renew his relevance by beefing with his party mate over his Sandy selfishness. The Washington Post gave Cruz three Pinocchios for claiming on Monday that he blocked Sandy aid only because it was larded with pork. It was not. But even in a disaster, Cruz can’t help lying.

Read the full article.

8) We're Nowhere Near Prepared for the Ecological Disaster That Harvey Is Becoming

Charles P. Pierce, Esquire

It is the Christian thing to do in the middle of tragedies like the one currently unfolding along the Texas-Louisiana Gulf coast not to politicize human suffering and, certainly, the stories of people rescuing their fellow citizens from this calamity deserve to be told and they deserve to be spread as widely as possible. But there is nothing I can find in the Gospels that would forbid us from politicizing politics. So let us summon the ghost of Walter Winchell and review some of the events of the past few days.

Read the full article.

10) Why are the crucial questions about Hurricane Harvey not being asked?

George Monbiot, The Guardian 

It is not only Donald Trump’s government that censors the discussion of climate change; it is the entire body of polite opinion. This is why, though the links are clear and obvious, most reports on Hurricane Harvey have made no mention of the human contribution to it.

Read the full article.

11) REVEALED: Burning Houston chemical plant successfully lobbied Trump to strike down safety rules

Brad Reed, Raw Story

Arkema, the company that owns the chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, that suffered at least two separate explosions on Thursday, successfully lobbied the Trump administration to delay new safety rules for chemical plants that were due to take effect this year.

Read the full article.

12) Floods in India, Bangladesh and Nepal kill 1,200 and leave millions homeless

Chloe Farand, The Independent

At least 1,200 people have been killed and millions have been left homeless following devastating floods that have hit India, Bangladesh and Nepal, in one of the worst flooding disasters to have affected the region in years.

Read the full article.

13) Andrew Scheer Names Anti-Abortion Conservative MP as New Status of Women ‘Shadow Minister’

Press Progress

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer's pick for Status of Women "Shadow Minister" is a vocal supporter of legislation restricting women's access to abortions.

Read the full article.

14) 1 in 19: New study shines light on reality of suicide among new Ontario moms, moms-to-be

Shanifa Nasser, CBC News

One in every 19 maternal deaths in Ontario is attributable to suicide. 

That's the troubling finding of a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal earlier this week that shines a light on a topic often seen as taboo: suicide among new mothers and mothers to be.

"Despite high-profile media attention and calls to increase knowledge, with the goal of encouraging policy change, little is known about the true extent of the problem in Canada or the steps that can be taken to prevent it," write the authors of the study, published August 28.

Read the full article.

15) PUBLIC STATEMENT IN SOLIDARITY WITH ACTIVIST JAGGI SINGH, ARRESTED IN MONTREAL FOR HAVING “IMPERSONATED” NORDIQUES’ MICHEL GOULET IN QUÉBEC CITY (NOT A JOKE)

Anti-Fasciste Montreal

This morning, August 29, Montreal activist Jaggi Singh was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and taking another person’s identity, for having jokingly given his name to police as former Nordiques’ player Michel Goulet on August 20. He is being transferred to Quebec City, where he is to appear Wednesday morning at 9 am in Municipal Court.  This arrest came in the context of a far right hate campaign targeting Jaggi, including a petition promoted by the notorious racist group La Meute, demanding his arrest; a campaign that has been taken up by right-leaning political figures and members of the media over the past week.

Read the full press release.

16) Rally Outside Public Canadian Broadcaster Demands it Cover Venezuela ‘Truthfully’

 Urooba Jamal, Telesur

Nearly 150 people have joined a protest in Toronto, Canada in front of the offices of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the country’s national public radio and television broadcaster, demanding that “CBC tell the truth about Venezuela.”

Read the full article.

17) Community demands answers over firebombing of Quebec City mosque president's car

Les Perreaux, The Globe and Mail

The firebombing of a Muslim leader's car in his Quebec City driveway as his family slept at home has his community demanding action and provincial political leaders wondering what they must do to clamp down on emboldened right-wing zealots.

Read the full article.

18) Milk, a symbol of neo-Nazi hate

Andrea Freeman, The Conversation

The U.S.-based white supremacist movement that calls itself the “alt-right” has recently embraced milk as a symbol. In February, shirtless neo-Nazi protesters danced outside Shia LaBeouf’s anti-Trump art installation, He Will Not Divide Us, chugging gallons of milk that dripped messily down their chins.

Read the full article.

19) Cop Maces & Tasers Unconscious Man in His Face as He Has a Stroke—Taxpayers Held Liable

Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project

The taxpayers of Fredericksburg will shell out an unknown amount of money this week in a settlement for one of the most gruesomely excessive force claims ever caught on camera. As an innocent man lay unconscious during a stroke, he was pepper sprayed, tasered in his face, and held without medical care causing him to suffer permanent damage—all thanks to untrained cops needlessly escalating violence.

Read the full article.

20) Aaron Rodgers: racial injustice is 'real' and Kaepernick should be in NFL

Guardian Sports

Aaron Rodgers, arguably the best player in the NFL, believes his fellow quarterback Colin Kaepernick deserves to be playing in the league and his continued absence is due to his protest over racial injustice in the US.

Read the full article.

21) PARKDALE RENT STRIKE ENDS IN VICTORY

People's Voice

Tenants of Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood have won important concessions from their landlord, MetCap Living Management, after a rent strike that began May 1.

Read the full article.

22) B.C. NDP abandons 2021 deadline to reach $15 minimum wage

Rob Shaw, Vancouver Sun

The B.C. NDP government has altered an election promise to implement a $15 minimum wage by 2021, and will instead give an independent review panel free rein to suggest a new, possibly longer, timeline.

Read the full article.

23) Premier McNeil’s Bill 148 takes us back to the dark ages

Larry Haiven, The Nova Scotia Advocate

On Tuesday, August 22, the provincial government enforced the Public Services Sustainability Act (Bill 148), imposing a four-year wage package on 75,000 public employees. Even at current low rates of inflation, this could result in a real wage cut of about 7%. In addition, the Act peremptorily removes a long service award scheme that the unions accepted many years ago in lieu of up-front wage increases. That approximately a further 2% pay cut for new employees. Together, the two measures shrink the standard of living our public service workers, which is among the lowest in the country.

Read the full article.

24) Removing Macdonald's name from Ontario schools is a giant leap toward reconciliation

Tori Cress, CBC News

When a school is named after a person, that honour, ideally, should not include a major disclaimer or sidenote.

But when it comes to schools named for Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, that sidenote ends up being several pages long, detailing a legacy of residential schools, racism, colonialism and genocide.  

Read the full article.

25) Charlie Hebdo may now be criticized because it mocked white Texans rather than Muslims

Glen Greenwald, The Intercept

THE NEWFOUND FREE SPEECH crusaders borne of the January 2015 murders of 10 Charlie Hebdo cartoonists in Paris sought to promulgate a new and quite dangerous standard. It was no longer enough to defend someone’s right to express their ideas while being free to condemn those ideas themselves — long the central tenet of the free speech movement (I defend their right to free speech even while finding them and their ideas repugnant). In the wake of the Hebdo killings, one had to go much further than that: It was a moral imperative to embrace and celebrate the ideas under attack and to glorify those who were expressing them, even to declare ourselves to be them (#JeSuisCharlie).

Read the full article.

26) Waiting for a Perfect Protest?

Michael McBride, Traci Blackmon, Frank Reid and Barbara Williams Skinner, The New York Times

Media outlets and commentators representing a range of political persuasions have called attention to recent outbreaks of violence in Berkeley, Calif., Boston and other locations where anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstrators have gathered. Intentionally or not, they have often promoted a false equivalency between groups that advocate white supremacy and those that seek to eliminate it.

Read the full article.

27) Jollene Levid: ‘It is no surprise that the alt-right espouse male supremacy just as vehemently as white supremacy’

Meghan Murphy, Feminist Current

National chairperson of AF3IRM, Jollene Levid, speaks with Meghan Murphy about rise of white nationalism in the US, how the alt-right is connected to male supremacy, and what movements can do to better address violence against women of colour.

Read the full interview.

28) Video shows Utah nurse screaming, being handcuffed after refusing to take blood from unconscious victim

Pamela Manson, The Salt Lake Tribune

A nurse says she was assaulted and illegally arrested by a Salt Lake City police detective for following a hospital policy that does not allow blood draws from unconscious patients.

Read the full article.

29) Officer Who Arrested Utah Nurse In Viral Video Is Now Under Criminal Investigation

Carla Herreria, The Huffington Post

The police officer seen in a viral video arresting a nurse in Salt Lake City is now under criminal investigation, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

Read the full article.

30) Why Jagmeet Singh might have signed up enough new members to win NDP leadership race

Éric Grenier, CBC News

To put himself into serious contention in the NDP leadership race, Jagmeet Singh, a member of the Ontario legislature, needed to sign up thousands more members than his three rivals to make up for his apparent deficit among the party's existing membership base.

Figures released this week suggest he has done just that.

Read the full article.

31) British Columbia ditches tuition fees for former kids in care aged 19 to 26

The Canadian Press

Premier John Horgan says British Columbia has waived tuition at all 25 of its post-secondary institutions for former youth in care to give them a chance to succeed.

Read the full article.

32) Vietnam Celebrates Independence Day Under Leadership of Communist Revolutionary Ho Chi Minh

Telesur

Vietnam celebrated its independence day, with Vietnamese Prime Minister Xuan Phuc welcoming diplomats in the capital of Hanoi to mark the occasion.

Read the full article.

33) Job Action at Toronto Pearson Airport Shows Why Little Strikes Matter

Steven Tufts, Socialist Project Bullet

As Labour Day approaches, we are often reminded of the large strikes that defined Canada’s labour movement. The 30,000 workers in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike or 11,000 autoworkers in the Windsor Ford strike of 1945 that established formal industrial relations in Canada. But little strikes also matter.

Read the full article.

34) Why can’t the left accept that prostitution is built on brutal racism?

Julie Bindel, The Independent

It is no secret that the sex trade is riven with misogyny. The liberal left and other so-called “progressives” often take leave of their principles in order to support a global, multibillion-dollar trade built on the pain and oppression of women and girls. This is not surprising bearing in mind the sexism of the left, but the same apologists often also remain silent about the indisputable fact that black, brown and indigenous women and girls all over the world are first in line to be bought and sold into prostitution.

Read the full article.

See also: Colin Kaepernick, Susur Lee, Trump and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List August 20 - 27

See also: Charlottesville Aftermath, the Rebel, Trump & more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List August 13-20