New revelations of CNN complicity with armed groups in Syria

DAMASCUS (March 23 (Prensa Latina) – THE national television of Cuba released on Friday, March 23rd, new evidence about the fabrication of alleged incidents as part of the media campaign against Syria orchestrated by Arab and Western satellite channels, mainly the US CNN service.

The roads leading to disaster

Reflections of FIDEL CASTRO

THIS REFLECTION could be written today, tomorrow or any other day without the risk of being mistaken. Our species faces new problems. When 20 years ago I stated at the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro that a species was in danger of extinction, I had fewer reasons than today for warning about a danger that I was seeing perhaps 100 years away.

Montreal police raid home of health reporter

POLICE in Montreal raided a journalist’s home after a hospital filed a criminal complaint alleging that the reporter had stolen medical documents, reported the QMI Agency.

Harper agenda: Fisheries and Oceans – sweeping nation-wrecking transformation

IN OCTOBER 2011, the Harper government sent a memo to employees at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) outlining steps being taken to “transform” the management of Canadian fisheries. At the same time, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Keith Ashfield began holding consultations on “modernizing” the Canadian fisheries. Then in December, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Harper said, “In the months to come, our government will undertake major transformations to position Canada for growth over the next generation.” Handing over the fisheries to the monopolies is part of this “transformation.”

Now, in the Parliament and in a series of articles in the media, the extent of the damage being inflicted by the Harper government is being revealed.

In the Parliament: Illegitimate Harper agenda has no mandate

By SANDRA L. SMITH and ENVER VILLAMIZAR

(March 16, 2012.) THIS WEEK the Harper government once again used its parliamentary majority to further abuse its positions of privilege and power. It rammed through various abusive pieces of legislation that are not only illegitimate because they are anti-national, anti-social and anti-worker but because they do not represent the majority of Canadians despite government claims. Furthermore, the illegitimate character of these laws and edicts violates the government’s social responsibility to uphold the public interest above all else.

Canada must uphold Cuba’s right to self-determination

By ISAAC SANEY* on behalf of the Canadian Network On Cuba

THE Canadian Network on Cuba is outraged by the statement from the office of Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs), which declares that Canada – in lock step with the United States – opposes Cuba’s participation in the upcoming Summit of the Americas to be held April 14-15, 2012 in Cartagena, Colombia.

The white man’s burden? The new scramble for Africa

A James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies Distinguished Lecture by Dr. Hakim Adi, an internationally renowned scholar on Africa and Pan-Africanism.

7pm, Tuesday, March 20 • Room 303, Dalhousie Student Union Building • 6136 University Avenue • Halifax, NS

Cooked-up Syrian drama

SOME monopoly news channels have been recently caught carrying dubious footage from Syria. This has fuelled the debate over the role of this media to disinform and in legitimizing possible military intervention in the country. The continued calls in the Canadian media for an international intervention in Syria has been built on sensational reports such as these. Yet even some key Al Jazeera journalists have resigned over news manufactured and manipulated by the Qatari-owned network, the petro monarchy and Canadian “ally.”

Spielberg’s ‘Tintin’ and ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’ – Hollywood churns out more imperialist propaganda

Two movies with a political aim

By DOUGAL MACDONALD*

“Tintin, c’est moi” – Léon Degrelle

HOLLYWOOD’s movie-making industry often jumps to the defence of the U.S. imperialists’ criminal activities at home and all over the world. Many examples can be given of such imperialist propaganda churned out over the years: The Red Menace (1949), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the Rambo series (1982-), Black Hawk Down (2001) and so on. Two recent examples from 2011 are Stephen Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin, and Angelina Jolie’s In the Land of Blood and Honey.

Summit of the Americas : The exclusion of Cuba by the United States government is unacceptable and unjustified

Complete text of the press conference held by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla in Havana, March 8, 2012.

Canada Park: A personal story

HALIFAX resident and Dalhousie professor emeritus Dr. Ismail Zayid tells his personal story related to the IDF razing in 1967 of the Palestinians villages of Beit Nuba, Yalo and Imwas and the subsequent creation of Canada Park on these and other lands mostly from funding from the Jewish National Fund – Canada. His presentation will include a CBC Fifth Estate report (30 minutes) on this war crime.

Presented by Canadian, Arabs and Jews for a Just Peace

Tuesday, 13 March 2012 • 19:00 until 20:30 • Room 175, Loyola Building, St. Mary’s University • 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS

Maritime Paper workers poised to strike

Here is a press release from the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. The workers are now on strike.

HALIFAX – CEP members at Local 1520 in Dartmouth, N.S., are poised to become the latest victims of labour unrest in the Halifax area. The 100 workers at Maritime Paper will go on strike this Friday, March 9th, unless the employer backs down on its concession demands.

Letter to the Editor: Home care in Halifax

THANK YOU for the recent article on the Halifax Transit strike (“Making Claims on Society – ‘In this Economy’”). It helps to bring attention to what is becoming a very serious labour dispute. As someone who works as a home support worker throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), I am usually dependent on public transit to get to clients’ houses, and many of us are wondering why the strike hasn’t been settled yet after almost a month.

Halifax transit strike: Making claims on society ‘in this economy’

By KEVIN CORKILL

Striking Halifax Transit workers rally on February 14, 2012. (Halifax Media Co-op)

NO DOUBT every Canadian has heard the phrase “in this economy.” It is used to explain why we should accept concessions, rollbacks, inflation, unemployment and job insecurity. We are even expected to accept that “in this economy” our claims on society will not be met and cannot be met. Apparently, there are more pressing needs from our economy than meeting the needs of those that produce the wealth in society or provide a valuable service!

Analysis of US military contracts in Latin America and Caribbean

Role of Honduras grows as Pentagon hub in Central America, reports JOHN LINDSAY-POLAND.