In the News*

July 13, 2022

Deep Roots of the Cuban Revolution

Playa Girón in July

For Cubans, the month of July is clearly synonymous with revolution. For this is the month with the glorious 26th, when José Martí was reborn to lead, from his immeasurably great legacy, Fidel and the entire generation that continued the irreversible path to Cuba’s full dignity. – Granma International [More]

Historic Electoral Victory in Colombia Buoys Hope for Peace

Congratulations to the Colombian People!

Colombians who over and over again have had their hopes for peace and an end to over 70 years of war dashed are today expressing optimism for the future. [More]

Truth Commission Releases Final Report on Causes and Consequences of Conflict

On June 28 Colombia’s Truth Commission released its Final Report on the causes and consequences of the armed conflict in Colombia at a ceremony in Bogotá. [More]

Ecuador

Indigenous-Led National Strike Wins Significant Concessions from Neo-Liberal Government

For 18 days beginning on June 13, Indigenous and working people in Ecuador took part in a national strike to demand the government address the urgent needs of the population … [More]

Honduras

Those Who Stood with the Honduran People Honoured on Anniversary of 2009 Coup

The 13th anniversary of the U.S.-backed coup which overthrew democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya and his government on June 28, 2009 was commemorated this year with a number of political-cultural events. [More]

New Conviction Handed Down for 2016 Murder of Berta Cáceres

On June 20, David Castillo, a U.S.-trained former military intelligence officer and former chief executive officer of Desarrollos Energéticos (DESA), was sentenced to 22 years in prison … [More]

Video: De Cuba traigo un cantar (From Cuba I Bring a Song)

July 10-11. Days of action in solidarity with Cuba

Cuba solidarity action, July 11, 2022 in Spain.

On July 10 and 11 friends and supporters of Cuba around the world expressed support for revolutionary Cuba and demanded the U.S. lift the blockade against Cuba. Anti-Cuban organizations outside of Cuba used the day to reiterate threats against Cuba’s diplomatic embassies and consulates around the world. July 11 is the first anniversary of the attempted coup these counter-revolutionaries thought they could pull off, which was defeated with the resounding support of the people for the Cuban Revolution.

World Zionist Organization to invest $8.5 millions of state funds for West Bank outpost legalizations

We are posting a report from the Haaretz Israeli newspaper on a scheme to “promote(d) the legalization of outposts and their connection to the electricity grid.” How can these outposts in the occupied West Bank be legalized by linking to the settlements, which are themselves illegal and in violation of international law?

(July 12) – In recent weeks, the World Zionist Organization Settlement Division has mapped dozens of outposts to determine where improvements in security can be made, and where help in planning is required ahead of legalizing them.

Northern Ireland: Bonfires of the vanities

Loyalist mayhem and hate now mainstreamed

Hundreds of loyalist bonfires have gone ahead tonight across the North despite the death of a bonfire builder who fell to his death from one of the pyres.

The death in County Antrim on Saturday night has raised the issue of who is responsible for the bonfires, which have once again become catalysts for sectarian violence.

Rogers’ July 8 network outage

On Friday July 8, Rogers Communications experienced a total network outage across both wireless and wireline service. Speculation was rampant on social media about the cause being a systemwide attack by China, or Russia or U.S. “hackivists” seeking to restore Roe v. Wade. Security systems were said to have been compromised across the board and in cities like Montreal and Toronto, Brinks vans and police cruisers could be seen hovering around banks in the financial districts.

The CEO of Rogers sent out an email on Sunday to Rogers’ customers taking responsibility, saying:

“I want to share what we know about what happened on Friday. We now believe we’ve narrowed the cause to a network system failure following a maintenance update in our core network, which caused some of our routers to malfunction.”

So much for blaming China, Russia and U.S. “hackivists.” So much for the disinformation that it is the Huawei 5G Network that is a threat to national security.”

Land for new US embassy in Jerusalem was owned by Palestinians before 1948, files show

The fact is that the vast majority of the land in the state of Israel is land that is owned by Palestinians (TS)

Ahead of U.S. President Biden’s visit to Israel and the West Bank, Palestinian families in the U.S. and East Jerusalem present documents – including rental contracts going back decades – testifying that they owned the land before it was seized by Israel after the 1948 war

June Update: Hunting for men in Ukraine, in the expectation of interminable EU candidacy

The catastrophe unfolding on the frontline in Ukraine and the stark realities behind the recently granted EU candidacy status | Dmitriy Kovalevich

topwar.ru

During June, Ukraine experienced the fourth month of the war, which has been marked by a sharp increase in the losses of Ukrainian military personnel. Estimates of the losses vary, but at the beginning of the month, President Zelensky said that 100 soldiers were being killed every day; while Mikhail Podolyak, the head of his Office, spoke of 200 being killed daily, and the head of the Zelensky ‘Servant of the people’ party faction, David Arakhamia, announced that about a thousand were killed and wounded daily.[1]

Ukraine, trapped in a spiral of war: Pierre de Gaulle

Napoleon silver Specimen Essai “Friendship” Medallic 2 Francs L’An IX (1801), by Tiolier.

The speech that follows was given by Pierre de Gaulle, the grandson of Charles de Gaulle, at the French Embassy in Paris, on June 14, 2022, to mark Russia Day. It is a speech that has been heavily censored in France, and we are happy to provide this English translation.

Mr. de Gaulle addresses the current Ukraine-Russia conflict by way of a blunt and brave denouncement of the French political elite who have succeeded in undermining the ideals of his grandfather who always sought the inclusion of Russia within Europe. The opening words of greetings Mr. de Gaulle made in Russian.

Mass opposition to NATO Madrid Summit

Thousands of people participated in actions to protest the NATO summit taking place in Madrid, Spain from June 28 to 30. Counter Summit events were held in Madrid itself on June 24 and 25 on the theme No NATO! Bases Out!

Madrid, Spain, June 26, 2022.

The Counter Summit ended with an estimated 5,000 people marching through the streets of Madrid on Sunday June 26 calling for the elimination of NATO bases in Europe and the abolition of NATO.

Palestinians ‘are not animals in a zoo’

A Palestinian refugee stands next to graffiti depicting Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani with Arabic that reads his name and “I will not renounce before planting my paradise on earth,” while marking “Nakba” or Catastrophe day in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, May 15, 2016. Nasser Nasser / AP.

By Ramzy Baroud

Redefining the role of the ‘victim intellectual’

Years before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, U.S. media introduced many new characters, promoting them as “experts” who helped ratchet up propaganda, ultimately allowing the U.S. government to secure enough popular support for the war.

This Day. June 24, 1497 – Britain’s ‘Dominion, Title and Jurisdiction‘ of Canada begins

Indigenous resistance to colonialism continues in the present, including Mi’kmaq defence of their hereditary rights against fracking on their traditional territories.

By Tony Seed

On June 24, 1497, the Venetian navigator Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), commissioned by Henry VII of England, landed in Newfoundland. Believing it to be an island off the coast of Asia, he named it New Found Land. Under the commission of this king to “conquer, occupy, and possess” the lands of “heathens and infidels,” Caboto reconnoitred the Newfoundland coast and landed on the northern shore of what is today known as Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.

Trudeau is lying – Canadian air patrols near China are not on ‘UN mission’

Canada falsely claims that it is implementing international law when its airplanes are in fact spying on China.

On June 2 the Canadian Globe and Mail reported of a Chinese interdiction of a Canadian reconnaissance aircraft:

Canadian military accuses Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol aircraft on North Korea sanctions mission

Canada Day 2022: Conception of Rights in Canada’s Constitution

The conception of rights enshrined in the current Constitution of Canada dates back to the days of the British conquest and rebellions against it. It is a conception that enshrines and protects the rights of the Crown with institutions, values, aims and practices established for that purpose. Before that, the French Crown also imposed laws and practices in defence of private property which also contributed to shaping the country’s future.

The Two-Star Republic

This flag represents the struggle of the Republican Patriots who took up arms, led an insurrection against the British Empire, declared the independence of Lower Canada, but also of Upper Canada, established the Two-Star Republic and then worked to establish a union between the two Canadas. This union has nothing to do, in any way whatsoever, with the despicable Act of Union of 1840, but rather the project of union between the Republican States of North America.

In Memoriam Jim Nugent

January 29, 1950 – June 29, 2022

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) with heavy heart informs you that Comrade Jim Nugent passed away before midnight on June 29, 2022. We send our deepest sympathies to his lifelong partner Christine, their sons and families, his siblings, all family members and to his comrades, former co-workers and many friends.

U.S. Supreme Court decision and importance of affirming women’s rights

An interview with Dawn Hemingway (Carrell), one of the main organizers of Canada’s 1970 Abortion Caravan

Demonstration outside U.S. Consulate in Toronto, June 25, 2022, affirms women’s abortion rights and denounces U.S. Supreme Court Decision

TML: Thank you for joining us. You were one of the main organizers of Canada’s 1970 Abortion Caravan which boldly affirmed women’s rights at that time, bringing women into the front lines of the fight for rights. Before we ask you about that, please tell us what you think about the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to overturn its previous Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973.

Deplorable U.S. Supreme Court decision on women’s right to abortion and health care

Protest outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, June 26, 2022.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 213-page ruling, overturned the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade on June 24. This Supreme Court ruling of the “greatest democracy” is an attack on the Right to Be of all. It means that there is no longer a constitutional right to an abortion. Now states will decide when and if abortions can occur, with some having outright bans under any circumstances. Twenty-six states already have laws that will criminalize doctors and health care providers who provide abortions, forcing many to close down or cancel appointments.

Inquest exposes British army murder of Irish mother as legacy fight continues in London

A Derry mother was shot dead by a British soldier in her back garden in circumstances which were “unjustified”, a coroner has ruled.

Kathleen Thompson, a mother of six, was killed by a bullet fired into the chest in Derry, Northern Ireland, on November 6 1971.

Trudeau pushes to establish NATO ‘climate security’ centre in Canada

Covering up need for democratic renewal and anti-war government | Tony Seed

During his visit to the Netherlands in late October, Justin Trudeau supported the establishment of a NATO think tank in Canada. This would become a strategic addition to the more than two dozen such centres. It is described as a “centre of excellence to study the security threats posed by climate change.”

Involvement of Asia Pacific countries in NATO

2022 Rim of the Pacific War Exercises | Yi Nicholls

NATO, the aggressive alliance ostensibly based in the North Atlantic that is led by the U.S. has been trumpeting about the participation of several countries from the Asia Pacific in its upcoming summit in Madrid. At a June 15 press conference prior to the NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated:

“For the first time in our history we will invite our Asia Pacific partners, the Prime Ministers of New Zealand, Australia, Japan and also the President of south Korea will participate in the NATO Summit, which is a strong demonstration of our close partnership with these like-minded countries in the Asia Pacific.”

Petition call to cancel RIMPAC and build a Pacific Zone of Peace

2022 Rim of the Pacific War Exercises

The following is a petition initiated by the Pacific Peace Network which has been taken up by peace activist organizations across the Pacific region.

2022 Rim of the Pacific war exercises: Canada committing crimes against the peace in Asia Pacific

By Nick Lin

Canada is a participant in RIMPAC 2022. Beyond taking part in these war preparations, Canada continues to play a detestable role in the Asia Pacific in lockstep with U.S. imperialism, in places where the Canadian military has no business being.

A press release from the Department of National Defence (DND) informs that on June 14, HMCS Vancouver and HMCS Winnipeg and their helicopter air detachments “departed for a five-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific region.” DND says, “Canada is deploying two frigates to work with allies and like-minded partners and to support government objectives to uphold the rules-based international order and international law.”

2022 Rim of the Pacific war exercises

U.S.-led war preparations in Asia Pacific and Canada’s participation!

The 2022 edition of the U.S.-led war exercises Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) is taking place from June 29 to August 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The U.S. Navy says the aim of the war exercises is for “a network of capable, adaptive partners [to] train and operate together in order to strengthen their collective forces and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. RIMPAC 2022 contributes to the increased interoperability, resiliency and agility needed by the Joint and Combined Force to deter and defeat aggression by major powers across all domains and levels of conflict.”

‘European Commonwealth’: Self-serving British proposal for another military bloc in Europe

NATO Madrid Summit and War Exercises in Asia Pacific | Hilary LeBlanc

May 21 demonstration at RAF Lakenheath, a US air force base, to protest against US nuclear weapons and nuclear bombers once again being brought to Britain.*

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to alleviate the post Brexit problems in which Britain is mired, is going all out to use the crisis in Ukraine to shore up British fortunes. Johnson proposed forming yet another military bloc which will reportedly include Ukraine, the UK, Poland, the Baltic States and possibly Turkey. The proposal, referred to as a “European Commonwealth,” was made during Johnson’s visit to Kiev in April, as “a new system of political, economic and military alliances — alternative to the European Union,” according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

NATO defence ministers make final preparations for Madrid Summit, June 29-30

NATO Madrid Summit and War Exercises in Asia Pacific | Steve Rutchinski

NATO defence ministers wrapped up two days of discussions on June 16, just a fortnight ahead of the NATO Strategic Concept Summit scheduled for June 29 and 30 in Madrid. Not a word was heard about finding a negotiated settlement to end hostilities in Ukraine or ways to lower the level of hostilities directed against Russia and China. Responsibility for elaborating that direction and for averting a wider war thus falls to the peoples of the world, especially those of NATO member countries. NATO must be stopped and disbanded for there to be peace and security.

NATO Madrid Summit and war exercises in Asia Pacific

No to NATO’s “New Strategic Concept”! Dismantle NATO!

Information pickets and rallies have been convoked in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Collingwood, Oakville, Hamilton, Waterloo, Winnipeg, Regina, Vancouver and Victoria to oppose the NATO Summit taking place June 29-30 in Madrid. The pickets and rallies will also express opposition to the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific war exercises (RIMPAC) in the Asia Pacific that start June 29 and run to August 4.

This Day. June 25, 1950 – Anniversary of the Start of the Korean War

Part of the Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang, tribute to the DPRK’s heroic fighters in the Korean War.

Privatization of health care: Human consequences of governments’ abdication of responsibility for health care

By Barbara Biley

A feature of the over three-decades long neo-liberal anti-social offensive in Canada is the systematic wrecking of the health care system. Nurses, doctors and other health care workers in every province and territory have been raising the alarm, organizing and demanding action to end the crisis in health care by increasing investments and implementing solutions proposed by frontline workers. A major concern is shortage of health care workers.

Privatization of health care: The harm caused by use of “agency nurses”

Ontario nurses put forward their demands at May Day 2022 action in Toronto.

The Toronto Star, on June 15, published an article by freelance contributor Armine Yalnizyan based on an interview with an agency nurse in Ontario who had, until last year, been employed in the public health care system. Agency nurses are employed by private agencies who provide staff to the public health care system to cover for staff shortages. The nurse who was interviewed was definitive in her assessment that agency nursing is “bad for the community and bad for patient care because there is no consistency, it fragments health delivery.”

June 24 – Quebec’s National Day

June 24 is celebrated as Quebec’s National Day. The Quebec people’s National Day celebrates the Patriots who fought for independence from Britain in the mid-19th century: Nelson, De Lorimier, Côté, Chénier, Duvernay, O’Callaghan and many others.