On the eve of Bennet’s trip
To the UN General Assembly
The army killed five Palestinians.
Now the armed forces are girding
For an escalation in the Occupied Territories.
Along Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway
Huge signs declare:
“Peace is the future
Of our children –
Celebrating the first anniversary
Of the peace accords.”
This refers, of course,
To the accords
With the UAE and Bahrain.
Peace with the Palestinians?
Who needs it?
Gush Shalom Statement, Sept. 29, 2021
Filed under Palestine, West Asia (Middle East)
Filed under Canada, Indigenous Peoples
Results of the 44th Federal Elections | Anna Di Carlo
Elections Canada has released validated results for the September 20 Federal Election. With mail-in ballots having been counted, the seat count stands at Liberals, 159; Conservatives, 119; Bloc Québécois, 33; NDP, 25 and Green Party, 2.
Filed under Canada
Canada’s election and broadcasting laws do not uphold the right of Canadians to an informed vote. A major reason is that registered parties and candidates are not treated equally. A concept of “equitable” treatment was introduced to displace the fundamental democratic principle of equality. The suggestion is that all parties and participants in an election are all treated “fairly” but there is no discussion of the criteria used to determine what constitutes fairness.
In this vein, on September 20, a complaint was filed with the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), arguing that the 2021 election coverage does not even meet the requirement for equitable treatment. The complaint was also filed with the Commissioner of Canada Elections.
Filed under Canada, Media, Journalism & Disinformation
“Trudeau’s ‘Gamble’” in Renewal Update is a very good article which goes right to the heart of the problem as to why the various factions of the ruling class are unable to make accurate predictions in the current political and economic situation which this same ruling class has fostered.
Filed under Canada
US Marines discharge Perfluoro octane sulfonic acid (PFAS) into the sewers. Okinawan officials are “furious” while the Japanese government is complacent | PAT ELDER
Filed under Asia
St. John meeting during strike vote on September 22, 2021
In its September 22 bulletin, the Canadian Union of Public Employees New Brunswick (CUPE NB) reports that seven of its 10 locals engaged in efforts to renew their collective agreements, some of which expired as long as four years ago, have been given strong strike votes. Workers are currently engaged in centralized bargaining with the government for wages that they consider acceptable and that will assist in addressing the problem of attracting and retaining workers in public services. The issue of working conditions must be resolved through negotiations with the locals.
Filed under Canada, Working Class
Solidarité Québec-Haiti and Debout pour la dignité organized a protest in Montreal on Saturday, September 25 to vehemently denounce U.S. racism against Haitians, as well as the deportations that are in violation of international law. The MLPC joined the demonstration and called on all Quebeckers and Canadians to join the denunciation and demand justice for Haitian refugees.
Filed under Americas, Canada, Caribbean, United States
An All-India shutdown will take place on Monday, September 27 to mark the first anniversary of the three controversial farm laws passed by Parliament. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) called for the All-India shutdown, supported by trade unions, farmers’ associations, youth, teachers, labourers and others, as well as opposition political parties and many state governments.
Filed under Agriculture, Food & Farmers, Asia
By Johanna Ross
(September 25) – The scene: a British nuclear submarine. A detective has been sent to investigate the death of a sailor. When she asks the Naval Commander why there needs to be so much secrecy, as Britain is not at war, he responds “That is an illusion. We have always been at war.”
Filed under Europe, Media, Journalism & Disinformation
U.S. Southern Command is the main organizer of riverine exercises in which such craft are deployed – in South America.
ZeroHedge reports: A picture of a mysterious stealth boat has surfaced on social media. The catamaran was spotted in a boatyard in Gulfport, Mississippi, known for the high-tech manufacturing of vessels for US special forces.
Filed under United States
At one get-together with MLPC leader Anna Di Carlo, a participant asked whether proposals to allow “free votes” by Members of Parliament might be a solution. Anna shared her knowledge about proposals that have been made in the direction of lessening party control of the House of Commons, with some adopted but never really implemented, such as party caucus members exercising control over the party leader.
Filed under Canada
Oppose the Militarization of Culture! Make Canada a Zone for Peace!
Four days after the election and the Afghan debacle before that, the Canadian Forces is launching yet another U.S.-style militarist spectacle, a “flyby” over a Canadian Football League (CFL) game featuring an “appreciation” of the military and war and its brutality. The spectacle is co-sponsored by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the latest owner of the CFL franchise Argonaut franchise of the CFL. This oligopoly also owns Raptors of the NBA cartel, Maple Leafs of the NHL cartel, Toronto FC of the MLS cartel, Scotiabank Centre, operator of BMO Field (owned by the City of Toronto), lucrative downtown real estate, cable TV channels, you name it.
Filed under Canada, Canadian Forces
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources said in its June 2021 report entitled From Mineral Exploration to Advanced Manufacturing Developing Value Chains for Critical Minerals in Canada that:
“Critical minerals are essential components of many new technologies, from low-greenhouse gas energy sources to electric vehicles to advances in cutting-edge sectors such as medicine, electronics, aerospace and defence.”
Filed under Canada, United States
Global Climate Strike Actions, Spetember 24.  For map of events across Canada, click here. |
Not a day went by during the 44th general election without the leaders of the cartel parties stating that they have the solution to the climate crisis. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the peoples of the world, while also endangering island nations, coastal communities and all forms of life on the planet.
Filed under Canada
By David Cronin, Electronic Intifada
(Sept 24) – Ireland’s government will not tolerate the truth about how it panders to Israel.
That is the unavoidable conclusion from efforts made by the foreign ministry in Dublin to muzzle the human rights lawyer Susan Power.
Filed under Palestine
Result of 44th General Election
The arrogance of Justin Trudeau in calling a pandemic election was felt to the very end. He called it despite the legislation which provides fixed election dates, the motion in the House against holding a pandemic election, which even his party supported, and despite severe weather conditions and COVID-19 emergencies across the country.
Filed under Uncategorized
By Pauline Easton
The prediction of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party strategists that he could win a majority government by holding the election in September, and his own opportunism and arrogance in agreeing to call the pandemic election, causes many to question the Liberals’ narcissism and lack of good judgement.
The fact is that the ruling class’s powers of prediction are zero and have been zero for some time. Polls are more often than not wrong and many people wonder why. They have been wrong so often that in this election pollsters often included the caveat that “if the poll results are accurate,” then this or that can be expected.
Workers’ concerns are everyone’s concerns
By Jeff Callaghan*
I think that the biggest issue for us as CUPW, when it comes to our employer, is making sure that the employer, and through extension the government, respects the work we do and does not just pay lip service to it. When we are in a pandemic they call us heroes, they call our work essential, and yet every time we go to exercise one of our fundamental rights in this country, that being the right to withhold our labour, the government steps in and has the employer’s back.
Filed under Canada, Working Class
The U.S. special envoy for Haiti has resigned from his position in a blistering letter, saying he could not be associated with the Biden administration’s decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees to Haiti, a move he called “inhumane” and “counterproductive” given the violence and deteriorating security situation in the country.
Find the difference. The first image – hunting for enslaved Africans in the US in the 19th century. The second image – on September 20 in the United States – lasso-wielding cops on horseback hunting for migrants from Haiti.
The main difference – there appeared plastic bags.
Filed under United States
“Neither soil nor water to the murderers of the people”. With this slogan, thousands of working men and women, trade unions, the Greek Committee for International Detente and Peace (EEDYE), the Federation of Greek Women (OGE) and students’ unions marched on Friday, September 17 in Athens against NATO’s Military Committee which convened in the Greek capital on 17-19 September.
By J. Singh
On September 5, 2021 a Mahapanchayat (mass rally) took place in Muzzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh (UP). Some news channels reported that more than 1.5 million participated. Others doubled that estimate. It was an ocean of humanity spread out for tens of miles. Save the Farmers, Save the Country was the slogan of the Mahapanchayat. More than 5000 langurs (community kitchens) were organized on the roads to Muzzaffarnagar. It is reported that 3,000 of these langars were stationary and 2000 were on wheels. The government cancelled trains, blocked roads and jammed internet and cell phone services. Farmers pointed out the betrayal by the BJP and government of all the promises made to farmers and people. They also pointed out that in the last 75 years all the governments and parties have made all kinds of promises and betrayed them. A handful of agents provocateur tried to disrupt the Mahapanchayat.
Filed under Agriculture, Food & Farmers, Asia
All Out to Humanize the Natural and Social Environment!
Support the Youth to Demand Meaningful Action on Climate Change
To read the calls for the September 24 actions,
see Renewal Update, September 14, 2021.
To register an action in Canada, click here.
To view a map of actions in Canada, click here.
To register an action outside of Canada, click here.
To view a map of actions worldwide, click here.
Filed under Canada
Canadians got a dangerous status quo on election night. It indicates that it is up to the working people, women, youth and Indigenous peoples, Inuit, Metis and the people of Quebec to step up political organizing work to turn things around in their favour.
For $600 million and counting Canadians got a dangerous status quo on the night of the election. Initial reports of the 44th general election results are said to be Liberals: 158 (up one); Conservatives 119 (down three); NDP 25 (up one); Bloc Québécois 34 (up two) and Green Party two (down one). Mail-in ballots are yet to be counted. Once they are counted reports indicate it could affect the outcome in 18 ridings but will not change the fact that the next government will be a Liberal minority.
Filed under Canada
A three-metre tall statue of Irish revolutionary Roger Casement has been installed on the south Dublin coast near the place of his birth. Using cranes at Dún Laoghaire Baths, the bronze sculpture of Casement was placed high on a plinth.Born in Sandycove in 1864 to an Anglo-Irish family, Casement was hanged for treason for his part in the 1916 Rising. Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council noted that Casement’s last sight of Ireland was from the boat departing its harbour as he was transferred to London to stand trial.
Filed under Europe
By Peggy Morton
The fight of women and families for modern child care and early childhood education goes back more than fifty years as reflected in the report of the Royal Commission on Women released in 1970, which called for such an endeavour.
Since then, the need has only become greater as one government after another has made sure it has not created a national child care program as a right. The cartel parties treat child care as an electoral football to attract votes while different governments use complicated systems of credits and create budget categories of various sorts which families have to wade through as they fend for themselves, juggle their finances and worry about the safety of their kids.
Filed under Canada
By Alexandre Cubaynes
Besides the hundreds of thousands of people killed as a result of U.S. wars of aggression and occupation in which Canada has also participated, many young people have been killed and wounded and suffer post-traumatic stress as a result of crimes committed in Afghanistan and other countries. They are also victimized by the lack of care upon their return home. Youth for Democratic Renewal (YDR) is involving young people to look at the Canadian government’s continued efforts to mobilize youth for imperialist wars, war preparations and other provocative activities at the national and international level. YDR also opposes the militarization of cultural life and the education system in myriad ways and participates in antiwar activities to Make Canada a Zone for Peace.
Filed under Canada, Canadian Forces
Parliamentary Budget Office’s free ride to the cartel parties: “an average of $780,000 of unaccounted funds per party, folks” | Anna Di Carlo
A major issue facing the polity and electorate is that the democratic process is not funded but the cartel parties are. Despite spending limits imposed on the parties and candidates and controls over contributions to political parties so that elections are not seen to be influenced by money and powerful interests, the trough of cartel party state subsidies is bottomless.
Filed under Canada, Uncategorized
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