151st anniversary of Confederation: To break with the past is a basic requirement of the times

Canada Day is a reminder that the country urgently needs political renewal and a modern constitution. The nation state founded 151 years ago was not founded on a modern basis then and today, when only the police powers remain of the public authority created at that time, it is not only totally anachronistic but moribund.

Nicaragua, unraveling a plot

The United States’ National Endowment for Democracy distributed some 4.2 million dollars in Nicaragua, between 2014 and 2017, to train “new leaders” to overthrow the Sandinista government | Francisco Arias Fernández*

(June 29) – AS early as 2016, talk of war against Nicaragua could again be heard in Miami, at a time when the streets of this nation were a regional example of security, peace, and prosperity, where a hardworking, tranquil people proudly enjoyed the social and economic advances achieved by the Sandinista government, that had established a national consensus, in the wake of one of the worst interventions carried out by the United States in Central America. 

Prince William in Israel: The British royal family’s ‘complicated history’ with Nazi Germany

Prince William is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and visiting the East Jerusalem tomb of his great-grandmother, a personal touch to the promotion of British collusion with Zionist Israel.  But while Princess Alice may have sheltered a Jewish family during the war, three of her daughters were married to prominent Nazis | DIANA KRAFT in Haaretz

Puerto Rico’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence reiterated in the UN

The UN Special Committee on Decolonization reiterated Monday, June 18, Puerto Rico’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence, in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 1514, on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples.

300 prominent global figures accuse Israel of committing ‘war crimes’

Israel’s treatment of Palestinians – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

(June 12) – Israel’s forcible transfer of thousands of Palestinians has been denounced as a war crime by over 300 elected officials, legal scholars, academics, artists, faith leaders and activists from around the world.

The universal show of solidarity to the Palestinians was published in an open letter which voiced strong opposition to Israel’s plans to forcibly transfer thousands of Palestinians living in farming-shepherding communities in the occupied West Bank.

Al Quds Toronto Committee rejects accusations made by pro-apartheid lobby group B’nai Brith Canada

In keeping with its tradition of hosting the largest Quds Day rally in North America, Toronto once again maintained this position on June 9. Men, women (young and old) and children from all walks of life and all religions joined this annual event that was held in 800 cities across the world. As is customary, there were Muslim, Christian and Jewish speakers. A large contingent of rabbis from the group, Netura Kartai was also present. The rabbis did not speak because it was Sabbath but a statement was read out on their behalf. 

G7 Summit: In open dissent

Commentators have spoken and written reams regarding U.S. President Trump’s imposition of tariffs, his refusal to sign a new NAFTA deal and the Mafia-style language used at the G7 Summit in Quebec. The incoherence masks the crisis in the G7 and the substance of the neo-liberal Summit | German-foreign-policy.com commentary

BERLIN (June 11 – The G7 summit in La Malbaie, Canada, ended in open dissent on Saturday without a joint final declaration. After the G7 state and government leaders had already agreed on a joint statement, US President Donald Trump withdrew his endorsement. The document is still supported by the other six G7 states and is occasionally referred to as the “G6” declaration, to point out the deep rift in the traditional West.

Venezuela: 48th General Assembly of Organization of American States

U.S. fails again in attempt to suspend Venezuela

At the 48th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) held June 4-5 in Washington, D.C., the U.S. and a group of countries under its domination failed in their attempt to suspend the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela from the organization.

NORAD’s presence at G7

Radio-Canada announced June 3 that NORAD had set up two temporary military camps to carry out radar aerial surveillance. One camp is located at Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies and the other in Saint-André-de-Kamouraska. Saint-André-de-Kamouraska Mayor Gervais Darais had this to say about the military: “They do not identify themselves, they have had no contact with the municipality. The only contact we had with them was last March, when they asked us to open up the seasonal road leading to the site.”

The mayor of Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies said that around a dozen U.S. and Canadian soldiers have been deployed to the community. The municipality rented land to the military for $1,000 per day.

Both municipalities are located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River.

(Radio Canada)

The G7 does not represent us!: June 7 unity march in Quebec City

The evening of June 7 on the eve of the G7 Summit in La Malbaie, several hundred people took to the streets of Quebec City to firmly declare that the G7 does not represent us.

Normandy Landing and the Re-Writing of History

The decisive role of the Soviet Union in the military defeat of fascist Germany was accepted by everyone at the time, and admitted before Hitler’s suicide and the end of the war | François Lazure

Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet at the Tehran Conference, November 28 to December 1, 1943.

In an article published on the 70th anniversary of D-Day, military historian Benoît Lemay, of the Royal Military College of Kingston, Ontario pointed out, “There are many misconceptions about the Normandy landing. It is believed to have enabled the Allies to win the Second World War. A more nuanced view is required. In fact, in June 1944, Germany had already lost. The landing only served to accelerate the end of the war. It was the Russians on the Eastern Front who did most of the work. For propaganda reasons, during the Cold War years that followed, the West would try to minimize the Soviet effort. It would be conveyed that it was the Allies who did most of the work.”[1]

G7 Summit: No to the neo-liberal, anti-social offensive, retrogression and war!

Demonstration in Quebec City, April 5, 2018, against upcoming G7 summit in La Malbaie. Banner reads: “The G7 Does Not Represent Us.”

The 44th G7 Summit is hosted by Canada. It will take place June 8 and 9 in the luxury hotel Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. It is preceded by ministerial meetings.

La Malbaie is a small town of 8,000 people about 150 kilometres north-east of Quebec City. The Summit area has been secured behind a $3.8 million, three-metre high, 3.7-kilometre long fence anchored in cement posts sunk half a metre into the ground. A temporary prison will be set up near the arena in Clermont, a neighbouring municipality, at a cost of $1 million, according to local radio station CIHO. The budget for the G7 events will be more than $600 million with $259 million to be allocated to the RCMP alone for security, over $35 million to National Defence, $99 million to Public Safety Canada, $2 million to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and $1 million to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Marking 60 years since the assassination of journalist Carlos Bastidas

In 2017, a total of 37 journalists were murdered in Latin America, a sign of the disregard for human rights and the insecurity surrounding those in this profession | Jesús Jank Curbelo 

Bastidas the last journalist to be killed by the Bastista regime in Cuba | Ismael Batista

For an informed vote: Through the pages of Ontario Political Forum

The Ontario general election is scheduled to be held on Thursday June 7. There are over 20 political parties registered, yet the horserace journalism of the monopoly media now restricts the “sole choice” to one of two parties that their polls deem electable.

Something else is happening in the real world. In this election, working people are leading an effort to hold forums, panel discussions, town hall meetings, round tables, open mics and other activities where they themselves speak about their concerns and how they think solutions can be implemented for problems they face. Steelworkers, injured workers, teachers and education workers are amongst those taking the lead to bring forward issues they consider to matter by discussing their rich experience in fighting for their rights.

The Venezuelan election

Venezuelan people defy imperialist threats and blackmail, re-elect Nicolás Maduro as president. Canadian and US respond. | MARGARET VILLAMIZAR

On May 20, Venezuelans re-elected Nicolás Maduro as president in an election held under huge pressure from the U.S. and Canada that it should not take place. When their threats of dire consequences, including the intensification of their blockade of Venezuela, did not lead to the election being cancelled they declared the election “illegitimate” and said they would not recognize its results. In sync with this imperial decision, a faction of the Venezuelan opposition that take their direction from Washington refused to participate in the election and called for people to abstain from voting.

Injured Workers Day: On the 4th Annual Justice Bike Ride in Northern Ontario

Yesterday I read a really interesting and inspiring article in the Ontario Political Forum on the theme of standing up for injured workers in Northern Ontario. Four days of action, centring around the fourth annual Justice Bike Ride, a quite wonderful initiative.