Reconstruction in Syria: German ambitions

german-foreign-policy.com (August 28) – In view of Syria’s reconstruction, German business circles are preparing to establish a German business office in Damascus. According to a participant, German small and medium-sized enterprises are interested in orders from this war-ravaged country. Syria, however, prioritizes enterprises from countries, which had supported President Bashar al Assad during the war, or, at least, were not engaged in efforts to overthrow him.

Fidel Castro on John McCain, the Republican Candidate, February 2008

The death of US Senator John McClain on August 25 is being manipulated to once again push slanderous accusations that POWs in Vietnam were tortured by the internationalist Cubans – using the nickname Fidel to identify one of them, who was capable of “torturing a prisoner to death.” For the information of readers, we are reproducing the full five-part essay by Fidel Castro written in February 2008 refuting the slanders of McCain as well as analyzing the nature of his Republican presidential candidacy. For convenience, all are placed on a single web-page. All of the five parts, in all of the languages to which they’ve been translated, are linked at the bottom of this page.

Historical Review. The Hitlerite pretext of saving the world from communism

We are printing below an extract from the chapter on the Second World War from the book The Great Conspiracy (1946) by Michael Sayers and Albert E. Kahn.

None of the incidents or dialogue in The Great Conspiracy has been invented by the authors. The material has been drawn from various documentary sources which are indicated in the text or listed in the Bibliographical Notes.

Historical review. Canada’s use of emergency powers to attack Communists, trade unionists, and anti-fascist ukrainians

By GEROGE ALLEN

“Once completed, this memorial will teach future generations how millions lost their lives and suffered in inhumane conditions at the hands of Communist regimes,”….”It will also serve as a reminder to all Canadians that glorifying Communist symbols insults the memory of these victims, and that we must never take for granted our core values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.” – Minister Jason Kenney on anti-communist monument, August 23, 2013

The Canadian government has a long history of using “legal means” to attack the communists and progressive people, under a variety of excuses. One well-known example is Trudeau’s implementation of the War Measures Act in 1970 after declaring a so-called state of apprehended insurrection.

This Day. The Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, 1939

Official use of disinformation to falsify history and create a climate which will assist the same kind of Hitlerite and fascist forces to rise once again

Great Soviet victory against the Nazis at Stalingrad

On August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union signed what is now known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact with Germany which stipulated that Germany would not attack the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union would not attack Germany. The formal name for this agreement is the Nonaggression Pact between the USSR and Germany. It is often called the “Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact” or “Treaty” after the two foreign ministers who signed it. Ideological anti-communists call it the “Hitler-Stalin Pact”, in furtherance of the goal of associating the USSR to Nazi Germany and Stalin to Hitler.

This day. The Haitian revolution begins

The Start of the Revolution

On the night of 14 August 1791, a man named Boukman organised a meeting with enslaved Africans in Bois Caiman, in the northern mountains of the island of Santo Domingo (depicted). This meeting preceded the uprising that began on 22 August 1791 and which would pave the way towards Haiti’s independence. The French quickly captured Boukman, who was leading the uprising, beheaded him and brought the rebellion under control. They exhibited Boukman’s head on Cap’s square to show the slaves that their invincible leader was dead. By 1804 the enslaved Africans led by Toussant L’Overture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines had established the first independent Black state in the Americas – sounding the death knell of French imperial ambitions in the Americas, becoming a beacon for enslaved Africans, and leading to the eventual demise of plantation slavery.

Organized rebellion to slavery in Haiti predates the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution. For example, from 1751 until his capture and execution by immolation in 1758, Francois Makandal, a vodoun priest, led a sustained guerilla campaign. The strength of his organization rested on the unity of various maroon (escaped slaves) communities: a unity forged by Makandal on the ideological and philosophical basis of African religions, traditions, values and motifs. Poignantly, the catalyst for the Haitian Revolution 33-years later was the actions of another vodoun priest Dutty Boukman. The Haitian Revolution was the seminal event in the struggle against slavery.

Read more

Emancipation Now! Africans and the Abolition of Slavery – Isaac Saney, Shunpiking Magazine

US and Canadian prisoners launch their strike against prison slavery

A prison strike poster designed by Melanie Cervantes, Xicanx artist and cultural worker and co-founder of Dignidad Rebelde. (Click to enlarge)

Incarcerated people in at least seventeen states in the U.S. have launched a prison strike from August 21st-September 9th. Inmates are engaging in work stoppages and hunger strikes, among other methods, in a bid to push for better conditions, more rights and an end to prison slavery.

The prisoners from Burnside [Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility] have joined the protest. Here is their statement:

Proclamation of Latin America and Caribbean as a Zone of Peace

The following proclamation was issued by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) at the Havana Summit in January 2014.

Fortress America: Colombia becomes official NATO ‘global partner’

Parliamentarians protest NATO interference in Latin America and the Caribbean as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos addresses European Parliament, Strasbourg, France, May 31, 2018.

Argentina: Over 60 social movements protest US military base

The organizations led a caravan to the site where a U.S. base will be built to demand respect for Argentina’s territorial sovereignty.

Mapuche people of Neuquen are part of the 60 organizations that oppose the U.S. base. | Photo: @pcayuqueo

(July 12) – In Argentina, political parties, social organizations, human rights groups, workers’ unions and Mapuches held a caravan to protest the installation of a United States “humanitarian” base in the western city of Neuquen.

The United States threatens Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace

The current U.S. administration has escalated its intervention in the region during 2018, and recently approved a record “defence” budget of 716 billion dollars for 2019 | Yisell Rodríguez Milán 

August 2018: Acts of Remembrance

 

Acts of remembrance play an important role for the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist). For us, they bring to the fore the historic contributions the working class and people, their leaders, Communist Parties, heroic personalities and unsung heroes have given rise to. The Party has dedicated a Memorial in Beechwood Cemetery to its founder and leader, Hardial Bains who passed away in 1997, and to all the Party comrades who answered the call of the Party to join its ranks to fight for the New.

The photo above was taken on August 15 as visits to the Memorial began this year. It was taken in the early hours of the day, the sun rising to the east.

In Memoriam: Alain Charette

October 2, 1956 – August 14, 2018

With great sadness the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) informs you that our Comrade Alain Charette passed away on the afternoon of August 14, 2018, at the age of 61. Alain found out in December that he was riddled with cancer when he went for a checkup for back pain. He died peacefully, surrounded by family in Montebello, Quebec. Alain was profoundly admired and deeply loved because he devoted his life to humanizing the natural and social environment by elevating the lives of his fellow human beings to the best of his ability no matter what.

This day. George Jackson

September 23, 1941 – August 21, 1971

George Lester Jackson was an African-American activist, author and member of the Black Panther Party. When Jackson was 18 years old, he was sentenced from one year to life for stealing US$70 from a gas station. He spent the next 11 years in prison, eight and a half of them in solitary confinement.

Media ignore government influence on Facebook’s plan to fight government influence

Gizmodo , May 17, 2018

The U.S. social media mega-giant has been presenting itself as a legitimate force to police political discourse. During the past week, Facebook shut down three websites that featured information critical of the Politics of Assassination attempted against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on August 4.

NATO on social media – The threat to liberal democracy

Talk about cyber attacks and “weaponization” of social media | TML Weekly supplement*

It has become increasingly clear that the U.S.-led NATO aggressive alliance is directing the anti-democratic measures being taken in Canada and other NATO member countries to criminalize conscience and speech, in the name of defending democracy and national security. The assault on conscience and speech targets speech that opposes NATO and is critical of the political and electoral systems in the NATO member states. Combined, this represents a broad assault on freedom of conscience and speech and the struggles of the peoples to affirm their rights and for empowerment.

Maduro shows his strength, looks death in the face

The self proclaimed T-shirt Soldiers group claimed responsibility for the August 4 attack on the Venezuelan President’s life | Misión Verdad 

Venezuela’s President during an event celebrating the 81st anniversary of the Bolivarian National Guard | TELESUR

(August 10) – During an event attended by thousands on Bolivar Avenue in the city of Caracas, on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Bolivarian National Guard, two drones exploded close to the Presidential stand, as the country’s head of state was finishing his speech to the crowd.

According to police accounts, the nature of the explosive material the drones carried was confirmed when they crashed. “Unofficial” sources told an opposition journalist named Román Camacho that the artifacts contained C4 plastic explosives. 

More than 300 assassinations of Colombian leaders over the last two years

The assassinations revive the spectre of terror that hung over the country for years | Raúl Antonio Capote 

The crime wave against social leaders in Colombia continues to grow exponentially | hacemosmemoria.org

It appears that death has taken over Colombia and is refusing to leave. How many more must die to satisfy the Moloch of greed, opportunism, and ambition? 

Canadians condemn attempted assassination of president of Venezuela – Trudeau government continues shocking indifference

While the Canadian government has maintained its unacceptable silence on the attempted assassination of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, on August 4, people in Toronto held an emergency demonstration on August 9 to express their support for the Venezuelan leadership and the Bolivaran Revolution. A statement issued on Facebook read:

This day. Anniversary of US criminal use of Agent Orange in Vietnam with the collusion of Canada

By TONY SEED

August 10 marks the 57th anniversary of the start of the chemical warfare program in Vietnam in 1961 without sufficient remedial action by the U.S. government. One of the most shameful legacies of the Vietnam War, Agent Orange continues to poison Vietnam and the people exposed to the chemicals, as well as their offspring.

17 US states and DC sue federal government: Contend that authorities contribute to civil war danger

Seventeen states, including California, Illinois, New York and Washington State, as well as Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit against the federal government on June 25. It seeks to force the Trump administration to reunite more than 2,000 children with their parents. The lawsuit is the first one by states over the “zero tolerance” policy to criminalize all entering the country and separate children from their parents.

UN report on US poverty: US criminalizes and stigmatizes those in need of assistance

Fraud of the “booming economy”: About 40 million live in poverty, 18.5 million in extreme poverty, and 5.3 million live in “Third World” conditions of absolute poverty; in 2016, 18 per cent of children (13.3 million) were living in poverty, and children comprised 32.6 per cent of all people in poverty. The share of the top 1 per cent of the population in the United States has grown steadily in recent years. In 2016 they owned 38.6 per cent of total wealth. 

“The United States now has the highest income inequality in the Western world, the highest incarceration rate in the entire world, and one of the lowest turnout rates in elections among developed countries. It is no coincidence that high inequality coincides with the overt and covert disenfranchisement of millions and millions of American voters.”

A homeless man sleeps under an American Flag blanket on a park bench on September 10, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City | Spencer Platt Getty Images

Venezuela assassination attempt: Maduro survives but journalism doesn’t

Political analyst Ricardo Vaz looks at the mass media’s disinformation with regard to the recent attack and in its long‐term Venezuela coverage.

Venezuelans march in support of Maduro and Bolivarian Rvolution

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans marched on Monday in support of President Nicolás Maduro, after a drone attack failed to assassinate both him and military leaders assembled on a review podium at an anniversary parade of that country’s National Guard on August 4.

Venezuelan people march on Monday to support President Maduro

Caracas, Aug 6 (Prensa Latina) – Venezuelans are marching on Monday to express support and sympathy for President Nicolas Maduro who was on Saturday the target of a failed assassination attack with drones loaded with C4 explosive.

The people have been called to gather at Morelos Square at 10:00 local time and from there they will start the march along Mexico Avenue towards the Miraflores Palace in downtown. The Head of State was delivering the closing speech in early evening for the 81st anniversary of the National Guard following a parade on Bolivar Avenue, the most important in Caracas, when one of two drones blew up close to the platform from where Maduro was speaking.

Venezuela: Politics of assassination

Bodyguards cover president Nicolás Maduro as drones carrying explosives are shot down close to his platform (@XHNews / Twitter)

By TONY SEED*

(August 5, updated August 9, 14) – Both CBC and CTV national news on August 4 and August 5 openly contested that the terrorist drone attack in Caracas of August 4 constituted an attempted assassination of the president of that country, Nicolás Maduro, as affirmed by the Venezuelan government that night as well as video and photographic evidence provided by independent news sites in that country. They all but openly declared that the assassination attempt simply did not happen.

Palestinian youth defy Israel’s blockade with scraps of paper and plastic

By JONATHAN COOK

First Israel built a sophisticated missile interception system named Iron Dome to neutralise the threat of homemade rockets fired out of Gaza.

Next it created technology that could detect and destroy tunnels Palestinians had cut through the parched earth deep under the fences Israel erected to imprison Gaza on all sides.

Israel’s priority was to keep Gaza locked down with a blockade and its two million inhabitants invisible.

Now Israel is facing a new and apparently even tougher challenge: how to stop Palestinian resistance from Gaza using flaming kites, which have set fire to lands close by in Israel. F-16 fighter jets are equipped to take on many foes but not the humble kite.

‘Deal of the century’ is not new and Palestinian Authority leadership is not a victim

Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” will fail. Palestinians will not exchange their 70-year long struggle for freedom for Jared Kushner’s cash; nor will Israel accept it even if there is a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank | RAMZY BAROUD

Protest in Ramallah, July 2, 2018, against U.S. “peace plan”

Palestine Resistance movement will never submit to imperialist schemes

Fifteenth consecutive weekly Great March of Return protest at the border between Gaza and Israel, July 6, 2018.

The Palestinian people’s heroic resistance to the Zionist occupation remains steadfast, as the Israeli provocations continue despite their broad condemnation as crimes against humanity. The Great March of Return protests at the border between Gaza and Israel demanding the right of return have continued since Land Day on March 30. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on July 4 that 144 Palestinians have been killed and 15,501 others have been injured by the Israeli military.