Soleimani Assassination, Australian Bushfires, Bolivia & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos December 29 - January 5

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 29 - January 5.

The round-up links, videos and photos are presented in sections related to topic/region listed alphabetically except for links and videos related to the Soleimani assassination and the fallout from it which are at the start along with a new "Featured Article" post.

Featured Article:

- America is guilty of everything we accuse Iran of doing

Soleimani Assassination: 

- Iran ends nuclear deal commitments as fallout from Suleimani killing spreads

- Trump's adventurism and killing of Soleimani destabilizes the Middle East and World -- A The Left Chapter overview




- Trump threatens Iran will pay ‘a very big price’ over US embassy protests in Baghdad

- Who Was Qassem Soleimani and Why Was He Targeted by the US?

- The Killing of Qassem Suleimani Is Tantamount to an Act of War

- Donald Trump has blundered into a crisis of his own making with Iran

- 'World War III' Trends as Hawks Rejoice at Trump Decision to Assassinate Iranian Military Leader

- Donald Trump’s assassination of Qassem Suleimani will come back to haunt him

- Soleimani's death will give Iran renewed legitimacy

- US deploys thousands more troops to Middle East after Trump-ordered airstrike kills Iran general

- Suleimani killing the latest in a long, grim line of US assassination efforts

- Bernie Sanders Condemns Trump for Putting US on Path to 'Another Disastrous War in the Middle East'

- Hundreds of Thousands of Iranians Flood Streets to Condemn US Assassination of Qassem Soleimani

- Anti-Isis coalition suspends operations as Iraqi MPs vote to expel US troops

- Trump is starting a war with Iran – whether it is by accident or design

- Communist Party Says “No” to Trump war with Iran

- STOP THE US DRIVE TO A NEW WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

- Thousands Take to Streets in More Than 70 Cities Across US to Protest Trump's "Reckless Acts of War" Against Iran

- WPC Statement on the criminal attack of the US on Baghdad airport

Australian Bushfires:

- The climate war is here

- Australia, your country is burning – dangerous climate change is here with you now

- Australia bushfires: towns devastated and lives lost as blazes turn the sky red

- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Heckled for Insufficient Response to Bushfires by Residents of Devastated Community

- Australians Brace For Flames As 'Frighteningly Quick' Bushfires Advance Toward Sydney

- Paradise lost: residents flee Eden as Australia fires race towards them

- We are seeing the very worst of our scientific predictions come to pass in these bushfires

- Australia fires create plume of smoke wider than Europe as humanitarian crisis looms

- Tony Abbott, former Australian PM, tells Israeli radio the world is 'in the grip of a climate cult'

- 'Unprecedented National Crisis': Australians Flee to the Water as Fires Consume Coastal Town on Southern Coast in Victoria

Bolivia:

- Evo Morales: Bolivia’s Top Judge Must Take Charge, Call Elections

- Evo Introduces Legal Team to Fight Coup Government Accusations

- Mexico Ratifies Asylum to Bolivian Refugees in Its Embassy

- Bolivia's TSE Ratifies MAS Participation for The 2020 Elections

- Spain Expels 3 Bolivian Diplomats in Tit-For-Tat Move

- Bolivia Expels Mexican Ambassador Amid Ongoing Diplomatic Row

Brazil:

- Meet the Intellectual Founder of Brazil’s Far Right

- Dreams of Dictatorship and the Nightmare of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro

- Brazilians on Bolsonaro's first year: 'If you disagree, you're seen as a traitor'

Canada:

- Top CEOs made as much as average worker earns in a year by mid-morning today

- Capitalism and colonialism: hiding the past on stolen land

Climate Emergency:

- Against Recycling

- Amazon threatens to fire employees who speak out on climate change

- It's Not Just You—Wild Swings in Extreme Weather Are Rising

- Germany cuts fares for long-distance rail travel in response to climate crisis

Europe:

- Portugal’s Left Bloc Says It Will Abstain or Vote Against Budget

- Thousands of far-right Ukrainians honour Nazi-linked nationalist Stepan Bandera in march through Kyiv

Feminism / Women's Rights:

- The Cyprus case shows how easily rape victims are let down and distrusted

French Strikes:

- French unions heading for showdown with Macron on pensions

- On Day 29, French rail strike makes history

Global:



Ideas:

- Antisemitism has been used to smear the left, while the right targets Jews

- Conservatives have adapted to new realities that liberals don't understand - but the left must try to

India:

- Right-wing goons attack students, faculty at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University

- Hundreds attend CPI(M), Congress joint anti-CAA protest

- Many Indian states 'will not implement' Modi's citizenship law

- 'Won't leave': Women lead protest in India capital's Muslim area

Israel / Palestine:

- Israel: A model for the far right

- Palestinian journalist tortured in Israeli prison

New Democratic Party:

- Fifty years later it is time to acknowledge the Waffle was wrong

- Singh disavows the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, shows NDP's true colours again

- Here are some reasons why the B.C. NDP needs to watch its back

Porn & Prostitution:

- Porn site to pay $12.7m to women who didn't know videos would be posted

South & Central America:



- Latin America: A Decade in Review

- Colombia: Over 10,000 Homicides, 230 Activists Killed in 2019

- 61 Years Strong: Cuba’s Revolution Lives On Despite Blockade

- Ecuador: Judge Releases Leftist Activists Accused of Rebellion

Spain:

- Pedro Sánchez loses first vote, after highly charged investiture debate

- Spain: Electoral Authority Disqualifies Catalonia's President

- PSOE-Podemos governing plan will see hikes on taxes and the minimum wage

Tim Hortons:

- Homeless advocates furious after Tim Hortons removes all tables and chairs

- Tim Hortons staff locked out, replaced over dime hourly raise

United Kingdom:

- UK could forfeit security council seat over Chagos Islands dispute

- British fascists join Johnson’s Conservative Party

- UK Muslims demand investigation of Conservative Party’s Islamophobia

- Labour's Long Bailey sets out stall to replace Corbyn and fight for a socialist Britain

United States:

- Donald Trump vows to put prayer in schools during rally to shore up evangelical support

- 'Your Body Being Used': Where Prisoners Who Can't Vote Fill Voting Districts

- US: Auto Plant Closures Tied to Surge in Opioid Overdose Deaths

- In Los Angeles, Number Of Homeless Homicide Victims Rising

- Holding Pens for the Homeless

Venezuela:

- Venezuelan Opposition Rejects Juan Guaido's Leadership

"Porn = Violence Against Women": Feminist Anti-Pornography March, New York 1979 -- Daily LIFT #37

"Porn = Violence Against Women": Feminist Anti-Pornography March, New York 1979 

-- Daily LIFT #37

(The Daily LIFT - Leftist Image for Today - is a new The Left Chapter feature posting a daily photo, cartoon, artwork or other image related to leftist history or contemporary realty.)

Razan al-Najjar, Puerto Rico, Conservative Extremists & more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List May 27 - June 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  May 27 - June 3. It is generally in order of the date of the article's
release.

There are three articles from prior to the period included. They have been integrated into the post.



1) Northern Ireland under pressure after historic abortion vote

Robin Millard and Julien Lagache, AFP

Pressure mounted on Sunday for British-ruled Northern Ireland to liberalise its strict abortion laws after a historic referendum in the neighbouring Republic of Ireland overturned its ban.

Read the full article.

2) Italy: Thousands of Women Marched to Demand Pro-Choice Laws

Telesur

Thousands of Italian women marched across the country Saturday, under the banner,  'My Body, My Choice'  to mark 40 years of the passing of the historic 1978 law, Law 194, which legalized abortion in a largely Catholic country.

Read the full article.

3) When Black women tell the plain truth, the world is sure to demand an apology

Vicky Mochama, The Toronto Star

When a Twitter user asked whether people would have the “same energy” for tennis player Francoise Abanda that they’d had for Eugenie Bouchard, Abanda responded to say, “I will never get the same treatment because I am black. It’s the truth!”

Read the full article.

4) Leftists need to stop shaming women for engaging the criminal justice system in situations of abuse

Meghan Murphy, Feminist Current

“Fuck the police” was a slogan I easily aligned myself with as a young woman. As a then-aspiring anarchist (and NWA fan), the declaration sounded appropriately rebellious, and my father the Marxist had taught me that the police were bullies who existed only to protect money and private property. He may have been partially right, but while the phrase remains politically powerful, extending the sentiment to a literal abolishment of the police, I later realized, was not as radical an idea as I’d thought.

Read the full article.

5) #WhereAreTheChildren: Anger grows over US border policy

Al Jazeera

Anger is mounting in the United States at the government's policy of separating children from migrant and refugee parents who are caught crossing the US-Mexico border.

Read the full article.

6) Ontario PC Candidate Shares Theory Linking Schools and Hospitals to Secret ‘Globalist’ Conspiracy

Press Progress

Doug Ford's candidate in Windsor shares wild theory claiming education and healthcare are a plot to ‘control the people’

Read the full article.

7) The Unbearable Whiteness of NFL Ownership

Shaun King, The Intercept

The fact of the matter is that these leagues were created by white people for the entertainment and wealth of white people. When African-Americans tinker with that formula — by demonstrating in a way that insults white sensibilities — they are shut down. Perhaps the only way to fix the problem is indeed to start new leagues with new owners and managers.

Read the full article.

8) Ex-FARC rebels eye Gustavo Petro as Colombia's new hope

 Arjun Harindranath, Al Jazeera

Many former FARC fighters see the presidential candidate building a lasting peace in the country if he wins.

Read the full article.

9) Ontario PC Candidate Promoted Alt-Right Website Linked to Hate Figures at Young Conservative Event

Press Progress

Ontario PC candidate Donna Skelly gave a special ‘shout out’ to far-right extremists at a Christmas party for campus conservatives.

Read the full article.

10) This White Nationalist Says Doug Ford is Sending Him Anti-Immigrant ‘Dog Whistle’ Messages

Press Progress

“We know what you’re sayin’, Dougie” – Doug Ford’s divisive rhetoric is inspiring white supremacists and Ontario’s far-right.

Read the full article.

11) Ontario PC Candidate: Let Students Debate Whether The Holocaust ‘Actually Happened’

Press Progress

Ontario PC candidate said students should have absolute freedom to debate unpopular ideas, including Holocaust denial.

Read the full article.

12) I work at one of America's underfunded schools. It's falling apart

Melissa Smith, The Guardian

An Oklahoma teacher’s account of her school district, from the classrooms without desks and supplies to the professors who hold office hours in their cars.

Read the full article.

13) India Orders Closure of Vedanta Plant After Deadly Protests

Telesur

Indian authorities ordered Monday the permanent closure of a contested copper plant, which was at the center of deadly protests last week with 13 people killed by police fire.

Read the full article.

14) Israeli bill to ban filming soldiers on duty condemned

Al Jazeera

A Palestinian journalists' union has condemned as "racist" an Israeli bill that seeks to criminalise recording and photographing Israeli soldiers on duty.

Read the full article.

15) Why are men hiding their porn use, anyway?

Meghan Murphy, Feminist Current

Anything that happens between consenting adults is the standard by which we are told we must determine acceptable versus unacceptable sexual practices. But if that is the case, what to make of porn use?

Read the full article.

16) Planned Parenthood just had to cancel women’s abortions in Arkansas

Carter Sherman, Vice News

Planned Parenthood patients in Arkansas got some harrowing news Tuesday morning: Their abortions had been cancelled. If they still want to undergo the procedure, Arkansas women may now be forced to travel as many as 380 miles.

Read the full article.

17) Here is a List of Ontario PC Candidates Who Will Vote Against the Reproductive Rights of Women

Press Progress

Canada’s biggest anti-abortion organization has released a list of candidates who its hardline social conservative supporters will find “supportable.”

Read the full article.

18) In Britain, Austerity Is Changing Everything

Peter S. Goodman, The New York Times

After eight years of budget cutting, Britain is looking less like the rest of Europe and more like the United States, with a shrinking welfare state and spreading poverty.

Read the full article.

19) STUDENT PROTESTERS IN PUERTO RICO FACE TRIAL AS GOVERNMENT CRIMINALIZES DISSENT

Alice Speri, The Intercept

WITH THE SECOND round of trials underway in Washington, D.C., for protesters charged in connection with the J20 demonstrations against Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, another legal battle over the right to dissent is unfolding hundreds of miles away in Puerto Rico, where seven students are facing charges in connection to a protest over tuition hikes at the island’s public university.

Read the full article.

20) Hurricane Maria's Death Toll in Puerto Rico Almost 5,000, Not Official 64: Study

Telesur

According to a research team led by scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health almost 5,000 people died in Puerto Rico due to reasons related to September's category 4 Hurricane Maria. The new estimate stands in stark contrast to the official death toll of 64.

Read the full article.

21) Puerto Rico Now Says There Was A Sharp Increase In Deaths Right After Hurricane Maria


Salvador Hernandez & Nidhi Prakash, BuzzFeed News

The Puerto Rican government on Friday released a new report showing a steep increase in the number of fatalities shortly after Hurricane Maria devastated the region.

Read the full article.

22) ABC Fires Roseanne Barr After Her Apology for Her Racist Tweet Confirmed It Was Racist

Robert Mackey, The Intercept

ROSEANNE BARR LOST her popular television show on Tuesday, when ABC decided to cancel the sitcom “Roseanne” because the actress posted a racist, Islamophobic comment on Twitter, in which she suggested that Valerie Jarrett, a longtime adviser to former President Barack Obama, looked like an ape and was part of a secret Muslim plot.

Read the full article.

23) Racism with Roseanne, in real time

Khaled A Beydoun, Al Jazeera

The Roseanne saga confirmed that in the US, some forms of racism are opposed vehemently, while others remain tolerated.

Read the full article.

24) McDonald’s workers slam firm for sexual harassment, low pay

Mark Gruenberg, People's World

Imagine getting groped and fondled on the job, twice in one month, by two different male co-workers – and your supervisors turn a deaf ear. So much so that you’re forced to take three weeks off work, without pay, to try to recover.

Read the full article.

25) Cuba: International Poetry Festival Pays Homage to Che Guevara

Telesur

The festival highlighting Guevara's thoughts, life, and works, opened under the banner, 'World Meeting of Poets in Defense of Humanity.'

Read the full article.

26) Democracy be damned: Trump orders cancellation of union contracts

Mark Gruenberg, People's World

Three anti-federal worker executive orders by GOP President Donald Trump, issued late on May 25 as the nation headed into the Memorial Day weekend, are “a denial of democracy,” the president of the largest federal worker union says.

Read the full article.

27) Mexican Front-runner AMLO Has 52% of Vote Intention: Poll

Telesur

The center-left candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has widened his lead and is now 26 points ahead of his closest rival, the right-wing Ricardo Anaya, for the upcoming July 1 presidential elections in Mexico.

Read the full article.

28) Say hello to Justin Trudeau, the world's newest oil executive

Bill McKibben, The Guardian

In case anyone wondered, this is how the world ends: with the cutest, progressivest, boybandiest leader in the world going fully in the tank for the oil industry.

Read the full article.

29) Trudeau buys Kinder Morgan pipeline as First Nations water advisories increase

Emma Lui, Rabble

Yesterday morning the Trudeau government confirmed that it would pay $4.5 billion to buy the Kinder Morgan pipeline. The pipeline project is estimated to cost up to $7.4 billion.

Read the full article.

30) Namibians want reparations from Germany for a genocide you’ve probably never heard of

Julia Lindau, Vice News

Decades before the Holocaust, Germany carried out what many historians consider the first genocide of the 20th century in Namibia. German generals targeted two land-owning ethnic groups, the Herero and Nama, killing 100,000 people; and throwing the survivors into concentration camps.

Read the full article.

31) Quebec mosque attack survivors demand ban on assault weapons

 Jillian Kestler-D'Amours, Al Jazeera

Muslim community, still coping with last year's deadly shooting, calls for outright ban on assault rifles in Canada.

Read the full article.

32) Grenfell victim ‘denied human right to escape’

The Morning Star

THE DAUGHTER of a Grenfell Tower victim launched a blistering attack on Kensington and Chelsea council today for housing a “vulnerable, physically disabled and partially sighted pensioner” on the 18th floor.

Read the full article.

33) Greece at a stand still as thousands strike against austerity

Patrick Strickland, Al Jazeera

Flags and banners fluttered above a steady stream of protesters, who chanted anti-austerity slogans as they marched through the streets of the Greek capital.


Read the full article.

34) ‘A unique development in an otherwise bleak political landscape’

The Morning Star

The Communist Party of Iraq’s SALAM ALI explains how the Sairoun Alliance managed to secure the largest number of seats in country’s most recent parliamentary elections.

Read the full article.

35) US 'Paying Salvadoran Paramilitaries To Murder Gang Members'

Telesur

U.S. officials are funding a special police force in El Salvador whose reputation for extrajudicial killings is worse than that of the gangs they are supposed to be fighting.

Read the full article.

36) Amazon warehouse workers suffer a litany of abuses, GMB reveals

Peter Lazenby, The Morning Star

Among the horror stories are cases of heavily pregnant women having been made to work standing up for 10 hours a day, one woman having a miscarriage that was blamed on constant pressure to meet targets, workers toiling in constant agony and 600 incidents where an emergency ambulance was called after a worker had collapsed or been injured in an accident.

Read the full article.

37) Israel approves more than 2,000 settlement units in West Bank

Al Jazeera

Since US President Donald Trump came to office, Israel has approved construction of more than 14,000 settlement units.

Read the full article.

38) Palestinian medic, 21, is killed by Israeli sniper as she tends wounded in Gaza

Mondoweiss

Today’s news from Gaza was especially disturbing. Israeli snipers shot 40 protesters and killed one of them: Razan al-Najjar, a 21-year-old volunteer medic. She was wearing a white coat when she was shot, news accounts say, and one report says she was attempting to tend a wounded protester.

Read the full article.

39) Thousands of Palestinians Mourn 'Reprehensible' Killing of Gaza Medic

Telesur

The U.N. envoy for the Middle East wrote in a tweet that “Medical workers are #NotATarget!” and that “Israel needs to calibrate its use of force."

Read the full article.

40) NYPD Isn’t Telling Prosecutors Which Cops Have A History Of Lying, DA Says

Mike Hayes and Kendall Taggart, BuzzFeed News

The New York Police Department fails to provide district attorneys with information, including police officers’ disciplinary records, that prosecutors need to decide whether to charge people with crimes, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said in a letter to the department exclusively obtained by BuzzFeed News.

Read the full article.

41) Wynne concedes she will lose Thursday’s election, urges voters to elect Liberal MPPs as a check on Ford or Horwath

Robert Benzie, The Toronto Star

Staring at certain defeat, Kathleen Wynne has conceded she “will no longer be Ontario’s premier” after Thursday’s election.

Read the full article.

42) Bernie Sanders Slams Disney for Billions in Profits While Workers Struggle to Pay for 'Food, Shelter'

Telesur

"I want to hear the moral defense of a company that makes $9 billion in profits, and have a 30-year worker going hungry,” Sanders told the crowd. 

Read the full article.

43) Las Vegas casino workers prep for strike over automation: 'Robots can't beat us'

Dan Hernandez, The Guardian

Increasing automation has become a sticking point alongside other issues that could see workers bring city to a standstill.

Read the full article.

44) Trump might be leading the US to another meltdown

Larry Beinhart, Al Jazeera

Following the quiet rollback of Obama-era Wall Street regulations, the US may be on the verge of yet another crash.

Read the full article.

See also: Nicolas Maduro Wins, Ireland Votes to Repeal the 8th, the Ontario Election & more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List May 20-27

Toronto Misogynist Terror Attack, Gaza, Doug Ford & more -- April and May on The Left Chapter in review

April and May saw 54 posts of various kinds on The Left Chapter. These included the launch of our weekly Ontario election round-up the most recent installment of which was Bogus versus real 'scandals', the difficult road to an NDP majority and other news -- The Left Chapter Ontario Provincial Election Roundup Week Three.

Several posts came very close to making the number six spot on our top six list (in terms of hits) including Vote NDP to stop Ford...but don't try to sell it as supporting a leftist agenda, Communist Party launches Ontario provincial election campaign in Toronto -- "Ignite the movement for Socialism" and The staggering hypocrisy of 'progressive' politicians in Canada will come back to haunt. 

Meanwhile many of our vintage posts were among our most successful to date including Visit the USSR - A look at the Soviet Union in the late 1960s from Intourist (w. photos) and The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic 1982 - History, Art & Development w. Photos & Illustrations.

Thanks very much to all our readers and contributors.

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

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

1) We all could have seen Minassian's misogynist attack coming if we had wanted to look

Horrified. Disgusted. Angry. Those words and many others can accurately describe how myself and so many others feel about the terrible, senseless attack in Toronto that claimed the lives of 10 innocent people and seriously injured 14 others.

But what I am not is surprised.

Read more.

2) The grotesque absurdity of left-liberal support for porn and prostitution needs to be questioned after Minassian's misogynist attack

It is important and long overdue to see people and the mainstream media talking about how objectification and the sense of entitlement by so many men to women's bodies and to "sex" (it is really rape they are interested in) leads to exceptionally dangerous outcomes.

But it amazes me that so many remain unwilling to draw the obvious and direct line of this type of misogynist thinking by men to the racist, colonialist, misogynist and degrading institutions of pornography and prostitution in which countless women and girls (as well as some boys and men) are brutalized in horrific ways daily by men around the world.

Read more.

3) Conservatives send grotesque fundraising email out in wake of Gaza massacres

"As mass killings horrify the world, Netanyahu’s circle dwindles" is the headline of a Doug Saunders article in The Globe and Mail...but that circle certainly still seems to include the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).

Read more.

4) Doug Ford wants you to subsidize the poverty wages of corporations

While many leftists would absolutely agree that minimum wage workers should not be paying income tax -- taxes instead should be steeply raised on people like Doug Ford -- this can never be seen as a fair alternative to demanding that businesses pay higher minimum wages.

Because it is not one!

Read more. 

5) Over 2,200 activists sign letter to Trudeau opposing the repeal of PCEPA

Over 2,200 "advocates, women’s rights and anti-trafficking organizations, sex trade

survivors, survivor-led networks, and concerned individuals from around the world dedicated to protecting the human rights of women and girls" have signed an Open Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanding that his government reject calls to repeal the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA).

Read more.

6) For Ford fact and policy free is the way to go

Scratch the surface at all and we know that a Ford government in Ontario will bring massive cutbacks, austerity, the rollback of newly won rights for workers and a deep hostility to any attempts to redress historic and systemic injustices or oppression.

For this very reason we can expect that Ford and the Conservatives will do their very best to see that the surface remains unscratched.

Read more. 

Our top food related post of the period was: Trini Gardens Brings Excellent West Indian - Chinese Fusion to South Etobicoke

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

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

See also: James Laxer, the Courage to Leap, Ryan Meili & more -- February and March on The Left Chapter in review

The Proud Boys, Omar Khadr and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List July 2 - 9

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 July 2 - July 9. It is generally in order of the date of the article's release.

1) Fear of losing custody stops pregnant women from disclosing homelessness, Toronto numbers show

Ainslie Cruickshank, Toronto Star

Samantha was 18 and living in a shelter when she gave birth to her eldest daughter — just one of an estimated 300 babies born each year to homeless or underhoused women in Toronto.

Read the full article.

2) It’s time to shed the last vestiges of colonialism

Mandy Pipher, Toronto Star

Our economic, political, and cultural connections to Great Britain are so tenuous as to have little meaning. And its concern for us is non-existent.

Read the full article.

3) Small ads sex trafficking: the battle against Backpage

Annie Kelly, The Guardian

Backpage started out with small ads for household goods. So how did it grow into a major online market for child sex trafficking? Annie Kelly meets some of the survivors – and reveals how their fight for justice became a battleground for free speech on the internet.

Read the full article.

4) How Paul Robeson found his political voice in the Welsh valleys

Jeff Sparrow, The Guardian

African American star Robeson built his singing career in the teeth of racism in the early 1900s. But his radicalism was spurred on in Britain – by a chance meeting with a group of Welsh miners.

Read the full article.

5) Military "Proud Boys" Disrupt Mi'kmaw Memorial in Halifax

Anti-Racist Canada

On Canada day, while members of the Mi'kmaw Nation held a memorial remembering MMIWG in Halifax, a local contingent of "Proud Boys" arrived to disrupt the event, because the "Proud Boys" are classy that way.

Read the full article.

6) There’s Nothing ‘Feminist’ About Defending Pornography

Caitlin Roper, The Huffington Post

As sex trade survivor and activist Rachel Moran said, “There is not now, nor has there ever been, a feminist case for the commodification of females.”

Read the full article.

7) Indigenous woman hit by trailer hitch in Thunder Bay dies

Tanya Talaga, Toronto Star

Barbara Kentner was struck in the stomach by a metal trailer hitch thrown from a passing car last January.

Read the full article.

8) Minimum wage hike won’t bring ‘doom and gloom,’ economists say

Sara Mojtehedzadeh, Toronto Star

“Doom-and-gloom predictions” about the impact of minimum wage increases on job losses and inflation are not supported by evidence, according to a group of Canadian economists.

Read the full article.

9) Omar Khadr, Canada and the fragile rule of law

Globe and Mail Editorial Board

Reasonable people can debate many things about the apology and $10.5-million settlement that the government of Canada is giving Omar Khadr.

Read the full article.

10) Khadr apology, payout is an insult to all the Canadian vets who fought for our right to torture imprisoned children

The Beaverton

Today, I was outraged to hear that the Trudeau government has agreed to pay $10.5 million and issue an apology to admitted terrorist Omar Khadr. This decision is a slap in the face to all of our men and women in uniform who defend our proud Canadian values of depriving any human rights to a fifteen-year-old child soldier.

Read the full article.

11) AGO exhibition reframes the idea of Canada

I. Rattan, Now Magazine

Five artists reflect on how their Art Gallery of Ontario exhibits reclaim a piece of Canada’s history for Indigenous, ­immigrant and racialized voices.

Read the full article.

12) El Salvador teen rape victim sentenced to 30 years in prison after stillbirth

Nina Lakhani, The Guardian

A teenage rape victim in El Salvador has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder after having a stillbirth, the latest in a long line of failures of justice against pregnant women in the Central American country.

Read the full article.

13) What would it take for Thunder Bay to admit it’s in crisis?

Jon Thompson, TVO

In a tale of two hashtags, a city determined to portray itself in a positive light is at odds with Indigenous residents’ concerns about systemic racism.

Read the full article.

14) Canadian journalists slam CBC's 'shameful' coverage of violent 'alt-right fight club'

Press Progress

CBC News admits they "made mistakes" after the controversial leader of a group, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an "alt-right fight club" linked to riots and violent rallies, was given a platform on the public broadcaster to defend historical violence against Indigenous people and promote a website aimed at recruiting new members to his group.

Read the full article.

15) CBC Interview With 'Proud Boys' Founder Gavin McInnes Goes Off The Rails


Emma Paling, The Huffington Post

A CBC interview ended awkwardly on Wednesday after a controversial guest defended an 18th-century decree offering money for the dead bodies of Indigenous people.

Read the full article.

16) Five false things right-wing provocateur Gavin McInnes said in a CBC interview

Ashley Csanady, The National Post

The founder of an organization whose members interrupted an Indigenous ceremony used a CBC interview to spread misinformation about the history of the Mi'kmaq people.

Read the full article.

17) The alt-right’s jocular façade is an attempt to deny responsibility

Tabatha Southey, The Globe and Mail

On Canada Day, in downtown Halifax, a small ceremony attended by perhaps 50 people was interrupted by five men wearing matching black polo-style shirts with yellow trim who identified themselves as members the "Proud Boys, Maritime Chapter."

Read the full article.

18) People of Colour Know Police Won’t Protect Us from Racist Hate

Abdullah Shihipar, Vice

Last month, a woman named Nikki Samuels walked into a clinic in Mississauga, Ontario with her child and demanded to see a white doctor. She became belligerent and began shouting that she wanted to see someone who "speaks English" and "doesn't have brown teeth." As she continued to harass the staff in the waiting room, others began to confront the woman about her racist and erratic behaviour and of course, someone began to film the incident. The video went viral and was serious enough to garner reaction from the province's premier.

Read the full article.

19) Thomas Jefferson was a horrible man who owned 600 human beings, raped them, and literally worked them to death 

Shaun King, New York Daily News

Earlier this week, a room connected to the Monticello home of Thomas Jefferson was discovered to have been the living quarters for Sally Hemings. As the news broke of the discovery, many headlines referred to Hemings as Jefferson's mistress. But she was not a mistress.

Mistress implies consent. Thomas Jefferson owned Sally Hemings. She was his legal property. Thomas and Martha Jefferson owned Sally from the time she was an infant. She could not leave. She was not free. Both Martha and Thomas Jefferson refused to free Sally Hemings their entire lives. Hemings remained enslaved at Monticello into her 50s.

Read the full article.

See also: Canada 150, Basic Income, the Western Wall & more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List June 25 - July 2

See also: Grenfell, the LCBO, Québec Solidaire and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List June 18 - 25

Cultural Appropriation, the UK, Brazil, Venezuela and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List May 14 - 21

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 May 14 - May 21. It is generally in order of the date of the article's release.

1) Labour climbs to highest poll rating since start of election campaign

Niamh McIntyre, The Independent

Labour have climbed to 32 per cent in two new polls, the party's highest rating for 180 days.

Significantly, this is higher than the vote share Labour received in the 2015 general election, when Ed Miliband won over 31.2 per cent of voters.  

Read the full article.

2) It’s now clear what Corbynism represents – so what does the centre do next?

Paul Mason, The Guardian

The leak of Labour’s manifesto last week was accompanied by so much political white noise that its true significance was missed. In the Blair and Brown era, the “clause V” meeting was a filter whereby any radical proposals that slipped through the party conference could be jettisoned from the manifesto. But Jeremy Corbyn turned the filter inside out: he used the meeting to make party policy on a scale, and with a rapidity, no annual conference has achieved since he took office. Labour pledged not just to reverse cuts to public services; it pledged itself to a universalist concept of the welfare state, including a Nordic-style childcare system. It pledged to renationalise railways, energy companies and the postal service. And it adopted the philosophy of taxing wealth, not just the incomes of companies and high earners, to pay for it.

Read the full article.

3) Former Toronto Star columnist Michele Landsberg calls out paper's bosses for Desmond Cole "blunder"

Michele Landsberg, NOW Magazine

In pushing out Cole, the paper has dishonoured the work of its pioneering reporters who had documented the harms of police carding – and lost its strongest voice on race issues, writes Landsberg

Read the full article.

4) Forced into pornography: Japan moves to stop women being coerced into sex films

Justin McCurry, The Guardian

Reports of women tricked into X-rated appearances has prompted authorities to confront the booming porn industry.

Read the full article.

5) Do black female writers feel valued in Canadian media?

 Vicky Mochama, Metro News

When Desmond Cole left the Toronto Star he wondered if black writers, particularly women, will be able to thrive in Canadian media. Vicky Mochama asked some.

Read the full article.

6) ‘I Want My Disability Living Allowance Back!’ Voter Cathy Rips Into Theresa May Over Tory Benefit Cuts

Paul Waugh, The Huffington Post

Theresa May has been subjected to a tongue-lashing by a voter complaining about Tory cuts to disability benefits.

Read the full article.

7) Credit union employees say high-pressure sales targets turn 'members' into 'marks'

Erica Johnson, CBC News

Dozens of employees from credit unions across the country tell Go Public they feel the same pressure as bank employees to meet high sales targets, often to the detriment of their members.

Read the full article.

8) Jonathan Kay Is Going to Be Just Fine

Sarah Hagi, Vice

He left The Walrus this weekend over the appropriation controversy, but he’s not going to leave Canadian media anytime soon.

Read the full article.

9) What cultural appropriation is, and why you should care

Shree Paradkar, The Toronto Star

The first time I came across appropriation was when I came face to face with Gwen Stefani. It was 1997, and the white pop star with the bindi was in Bangalore, taking questions from reporters before her concert.

The bindi didn’t bother me too much. I thought it just meant India had arrived in the West — and, to my own colonial mindset, this was a good thing. But her condescension toward the reporters left me uneasy. Could she respect a cultural symbol if she didn’t respect the people?

Read the full article.

10) On Cultural Appropriation, Canadians Are Hypocrites

Robert Jago, The Walrus

Citizens of this country believe in the value of protecting one’s culture—except when it comes to Indigenous people.

Read the full article.

11) Cue the eye rolls: this is a piece about cultural appropriation

 Jessica Deer, CBC News

When a handful of editors and senior staff in Canadian media took to Twitter last week to seemingly mock Indigenous peoples' concerns with cultural appropriation, it was discouraging for many like myself who are a) Indigenous, b) trying to make a living in the demanding media field and c) have seen the negative effects of appropriation through a variety of forms.

Read the full article.

12) If The Cultural Appropriation Prize Is A Joke, We Are The Punchline

Asam Ahmad, The Huffington Post

Noting the tendency of Canadians to retort, "At least we're not like Americans!", when faced with evidence of Canada's racist treatment of black and racialized people and the ongoing structural oppression of indigenous life, Junot Diaz recently noted that such a proclamation is akin to saying "At least I'm not like my murdering cousin!" --- meaning the United States. It might be very well and good that we are not like our murdering cousin down south, but how does that do anything to make us more accountable to our own shit?

Read the full article.

13) This is what emboldened white supremacists look like

Douglas Williams, The Guardian

It was a scene out of the darkest days of the civil rights movement. A couple of dozen white supremacists rallied around a statue of Robert E Lee, a Confederate army general, in Virginia, carrying torches and chanting: “You will not replace us.”
But this was no black-and-white newsreel, relaying the horrors of a time long since past. This grotesque scene played out on Saturday, at a rally headlined by the white supremacist Richard Spencer.

Read the full article.

14) Nova Scotia NDP platform unapologetically embraces deficit spending

 Jean Laroche, CBC News

Party is promising almost $1B in extra spending in first mandate alone.

Read the full article.

15) Canadian journalism group calls for public inquiry after journalists arrested in Hamilton

Nick Westoll, Global News

As journalists cover breaking news, a working relationship with emergency services personnel is essential in order to keep residents informed of incidents that impact families, neighbourhoods and communities.

Read the full article.

16) The everlasting effects of homophobia and why it's not just gay people that suffer

Ryan E. Thompson, CBC Life

I am a man. In September of 2015 I married another man. Something I never thought possible in my youth. Something I never thought I would allow myself to do for one simple reason: homophobia – internalized to the Nth degree. Declaring my love and kissing a man in public, in front of my family… was my worst fear for a time. The moment I publicly said "I do" was a personal triumph, putting aside decades of hiding, fear and self consciousness in the name of love. I had done it. I had overcome my big gay demons for good.

Read the full article.

17) Ensure safe access for all to the Morgentaler clinic in Ottawa.

Petition, Change.org

WHEREAS all people in Ontario are entitled to access to health care, including abortion services;
AND WHEREAS all people who use the Ontario health care system, and who provide services for it, should be treated with courtesy and with respect for their dignity and privacy;
We the undersigned, petition the City of Ottawa to:
1) Ensure that the Ottawa Police are enforcing by-law 2001-260 in order to ensure the safety and protect the rights of clinic services providers, doctors, and patients.

2) Provide financial grants to the Morgentaler clinic in order to assist with court costs associated with fighting for a necessary bubble injunction.

Sign the petition.

18) Toronto Council Gearing Up For Another Battle Over Pride Funding

Alex Verman, Torontoist

Straight politicians keep trying to dictate to Pride who should be welcome at the parade.

Read the full article.

19) Major Decisions Face Québec Solidaire at its Forthcoming Congress

Richard Fidler, The Bullet

Quebec's broad party of the left, Québec solidaire (QS), will open a four-day congress on May 19 in Montréal – the 12th congress in its 11-year history. The delegates face a challenging agenda. It includes the final stage of adoption of the party's detailed program, a process begun eight years ago; discussion of possible alliances with other parties and some social movements including a proposed fusion with another pro-independence party, Option nationale; and renewal of the party's top leadership.

Read the full article.

20) A Union of Pimps and Johns

Julie Bindel, Truthdig

During a trip to Cambodia in the summer of 2015 I came across a well-funded NGO that purported to run the largest union of “sex workers” in Southeast Asia. In Phnom Penh, I had arranged to meet a group of women who were, I was told, members of the “sex workers” union that had been founded by the Women’s Network for Unity (WNU). The WNU, which received funding by the Open Society Foundation, a multibillion-dollar fund set up by the investor George Soros, has a clear pro-prostitution agenda.

Read the full article.

21) There is no way to save the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women from its fatal flaws

Pamela Palmater, Rabble

It looks like those who advocated for the long-awaited national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls will be waiting a little while longer.

Read the full article.

22) Seattle's Socialist Councilwoman encourages Seahawks to sign Kaepernick

Seattle’s socialist City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant sent a letter to Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and owner Paul Allen encouraging them to sign San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Read the full article.

23) Black man will spend six years in Georgia prison despite jury finding him 'not guilty'

Niamh McIntyre, The Independent 

A black man who was found not guilty of armed robbery will still serve up to seven years behind bars after a judge ruled he had breached the rules of his probation sentence for another crime.

Read the full article.

24) As Brazil Faces Crisis, IMF Suggests Neoliberal Austerity

Telesur

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, urged Brazil to maintain austerity measures in a report released Friday, one day after scandal-ridden and unelected President Michel Temer refused to step down in the face of widespread strikes and protests.

Read the full article.

25) Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts

Damian Carrington, The Guardian

It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever. But the Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel.

Read the full article.

26) The Strategy Behind Washington’s Destabilization Of Venezuela

 Eric Draitser, Mint Press News

Venezuela represents everything that the U.S. opposes in the region: socialism, anti-imperialism, economic independence via energy exports and a viable ally for China, Russia, Iran and other countries that oppose the hegemonic designs of Washington.

Read the full article.

27) Murder In The Mediterranean – The Perils Of Fishing In Gaza

Ian Berman, Mint Press News

On Al Nakba Day of all days, the Israeli Navy killed another Palestinian fisherman, Muhammad Majid Bakr.  The second in this year alone.  The Israeli Navy claims Bakr’s fishing trawler responded neither to their calls, nor warning shots, after deviating “from the designated fishing zone in the northern Gaza Strip.”

Read the full article.

28) Nunavut's Food Insecurity Is 'Far Greater' Than The Rest Of Canada: Report


Maham Abedi, The Huffington Post

Food insecurity in Nunavut needs "remedial action," according to a new report.

Read the full article.

Also, while from a period previous to this one, the powerful and moving article is being included in this roundup as well:

29) My Mother Wasn't Trash

Joshua Wilkey, This Appalachia Life

My mother died the day she turned 55.
 This Sunday will be my first Mother's Day without her, but nearly a year after she died, I still find it impossible to be heartbroken over her passing. As I wrote in her obituary, she suffered from both mental and physical illness for much of her life. However, despite her struggles, she selflessly loved and supported those who meant the most to her. In so many ways, she loved those who society deemed outcast and unloveable, and through her relentless love of others, her relationship with God was readily apparent. While I miss her dearly, it would be selfish of me to wish that she were still alive and suffering rather than at peace.

Read the full article.

See also: Corbyn, Cultural Appropriation, Colombia and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List May 7 - May 14

See also: Jordan Edwards, Uber, Bernie Sanders and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List April 30 - May 7