4,000 Planes -- Vietnamese Poster, 1970 -- Daily Lift #94
Vietnamese Poster Marking the downing of 4,000 American imperialist aircraft at that stage of the Vietnam War
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Open Letter to Jagmeet Singh regarding Trans Mountain, Site C and Coastal GasLink
Dear Mr. Singh:
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is calling for a suspension of the Trans Mountain pipeline, Site C and Coastal GasLink pipeline. These projects are going ahead without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples. The UN committee has raised concern about the “forced removal, disproportionate use of force, harassment and intimidation” and “escalating use of force” against Indigenous peoples.
While you have spoken about Trans Mountain, your support for the other two projects is deeply troubling. In media interviews, you expressed support for the Coastal GasLink pipeline, praised Premier John Horgan’s leadership on climate change and insisted that Horgan has pursued meaningful consultation with Indigenous peoples.
The Horgan government is complicit in the violation of international law and of Indigenous rights. As the leader of the federal NDP and the party’s Indigenous affairs critic, now is not the time for uncritical partisanship. It is time to heed the advice of the committee and take a clear and unequivocal stand against all of these projects.
Matt Fodor
Matt Fodor is a Toronto-based writer and academic
Monday, January 6, 2020
"During a reactionary war a revolutionary class cannot but desire the defeat of its government", Lenin 1915 -- Daily LIFT #93
"During a reactionary war a revolutionary class cannot but desire the defeat of its government", Lenin 1915 -- Daily LIFT #93
"During a reactionary war a revolutionary class cannot but desire the defeat of its government...
...A revolution in wartime means civil war; the conversion of a war between governments into a civil war is, on the one hand, facilitated by military reverses ("defeats") of governments; on the other hand, one cannot actually strive for such a conversion without thereby facilitating defeat.
The reason why the chauvinists...repudiate the defeat “slogan” is that this slogan alone implies a consistent call for revolutionary action against one’s own government in wartime. Without such action, millions of ultra-revolutionary phrases such as a war against “the war and the conditions, etc." are not worth a brass farthing...
...Those who stand for the “neither-victory-nor-defeat” slogan are in fact on the side of the bourgeoisie and the opportunists, for they do not believe in the possibility of international revolutionary action by the working class against their own governments, and do not wish to help develop such action, which, though undoubtedly difficult, is the only task worthy of a proletarian, the only socialist task." - Lenin, The Defeat of One’s Own Government in the Imperialist War, 1915
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Revolution Until Victory, Poster, Palestine Liberation Organization / German Democratic Republic, 1977 -- Daily LIFT #92
Revolution Until Victory, Poster, Palestine Liberation Organization / German Democratic Republic, 1977
-- Daily LIFT #92
Soleimani Assassination, Australian Bushfires, Bolivia & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos December 29 - January 5
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
Saturday, January 4, 2020
"Paul Robeson" by Leopoldo Mendez (1902-1969) -- Daily LIFT #91
"Paul Robeson" by the Mexican painter, muralist, graphic artist and winner of the International Peace Prize in 1952, Leopoldo Mendez (1902-1969) -- Daily LIFT #91
Marina Raskova, Hero of the Soviet Union & Bomber Commander, Killed Near Stalingrad, January 4, 1943
Marina Raskova originally wanted to be an actress or singer but became a chemist in the Soviet Union in the 1920s.
Having developed a great love of aviation, Raskova decided to train as a pilot and in 1933 became the first female navigator in the Soviet Air Force. During the 30s she became famous for her skills and for breaking many distance records.
On September 24 - 25, 1938, Raskova, with fellow pilots Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova and Polina Denisovna Osipenko, "set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Distance in a Straight Line Without Landing when they flew a twin-engine Tupolev ANT-37 named Rodina from Tchelcovo, an airport near Moscow, Russia, to the River Amgun, Khabarovsk Krai, in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The distance was 5,908.61 kilometers (3,671.44 miles). The duration of the flight was 26 hours, 29 minutes."
 |
| Raskova, with fellow pilots Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova and Polina Denisovna Osipenko |
The plane actually crashed after achieving this feat and Raskova had to wander in the wild for ten days before being rescued. All three pilots were awarded the honour of Hero of the Soviet Union.
When the Nazis and their fascist allies invaded the USSR in 1941, Raskova gave a speech calling for the formation of women's air combat groups and in October Stalin and the military command agreed. In the end three all-women air regiments were created.
These units were all known for their outstanding service and bravery. They included the "Night Witches" 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment which we looked at before in the post Nadezhda Popova, Hero of the Soviet Union, Ace Pilot and and Night Bomber b. December 27, 1921.
Raskova commanded the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment until she was killed in a crash flying a bomber while trying to lead two other planes to safety during a snowstorm near Stalingrad, January 4, 1943.
After her death she received the first Soviet state funeral of the war, her ashes were buried in the Kremlin and she was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War I Class.
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