The cartel parties have no remorse about Canada’s crimes after 9/11

After 20 years, they said we need to reflect

We are in the midst of the 6th federal election held since 9/11. The Chretien Liberals were in power in 2001 and it was on October 7 that the Prime Minister officially announced Canada’s participation in the so-called “war on terror,” with warships deployed from Halifax in mid-October and 40 members of the Joint Task Force, the army’s secret special forces unit being deployed in December. This was in the midst of Canada’s hosting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly which launched the justification of the operation of the NATO alliance outside of the North Atlantic in the name of ensuring the “defence and security of North America and Europe.”

June 3-8, 1984 – Anniversary of Operation Blue Star

Use of force to quell the people

Massive damage sustained by the Golden Temple during Operation Blue Star.

Thirty-seven years ago, from June 3-8, 1984, on Indira Gandhi’s orders, the Indian army launched a devastating assault and massacre of innocent Sikhs at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, Punjab. Other Gurdwaras were also attacked.

50th anniversary of War Measures Act (III) – State-sanctioned Black Ops and cover-ups

Third of a series on the issues and goals of the “October Crisis” and the forces in motion, reposted from TML Weekly.

Police attack demonstration led by CPC(M-L) activists outside the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, March 3, 1971. The demonstration supports the Quebec people and opposes the attacks launched on them by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s government.

By Anna Di Carlo

There are many official as well as media accounts of crimes committed against Canadians, Quebeckers and Indigenous peoples by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Some of the crimes are left out of the accounts altogether; others are said to be unacceptable aberrations or necessary despite the violations of rights. All in all, it is said that such crimes belong to the past or even that they have contributed to strengthening our democracy. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was created in 1984 to, allegedly, “collect intelligence but not pass to action” and thus we were to believe that the days of the dirty deeds of the RCMP were over. Of course, it is not true that after 1984 the security services stopped violating the rights of the people. These include cover-up of their involvement in the 1985 Air India disaster. Since 9/11, every manner of excuse has been given to violate rights with impunity. Bill C-51, the Anti-Terrorism Act 2015 extends powers to CSIS to allow it to conduct activities that resemble those of the RCMP prior to 1984.

This article provides a brief review of the official story and what the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) had to say about this at the time the events were taking place. The aim of the review is to sum up this experience so that people can provide themselves with a suitable guide to action which serves the present and opens a path to a safe and bright future.

French-language “Leaders’ Debate”: Quebec-bashing over Bill 21

Quebec’s Bill 21 is raised often across the country as an “election issue.” It is expected to dominate the French-language “leaders’ debate” on October 10 as well. Renewal Update asked Diane Johnston who is running in the Montreal riding of Mount Royal for her opinion on Bill 21 and the Quebec-bashing which is taking place in this election.

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.

Sighting. Mass resistance sets tone for Trump presidency

Actions in Washington and around the world

Women’s March on Washington, January 21, 2017

Mass actions in the lead up to Inauguration Day, on January 20 in Washington, DC and after, including unprecedented demonstrations for the Women’s March on January 21 made amply clear the widespread sentiment in the U.S. to reject the Trump presidency, oppose war and attacks on rights and for empowerment. Actions took place in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and cities worldwide. The spirit of resistance eclipsed attempts by one or another of the ruling factions of the financial oligarchy to use it for self-serving ends. The actions of people in their millions were a rejection of an outmoded system of politics that deprives them of a say and that has set the country on a dangerous course at home and abroad.

As CPC(M-L) pointed out on November 9, 2016, the election of Trump was an end to business as usual.

Campaign to elect a war president for the United States (1): The struggle for rights and an anti-war government

The U.S. election campaign is showing the deepening conflicts among the rulers and their inability to find a way out of their crises, and that U.S.-style democracy is in tatters at home and abroad. They hide their failures behind the slogan Make America Great Again – which only applies to the very, very few who benefit from its striving for world domination | TML Weekly

The U.S. presidential elections continue to reveal a ruling class with no solutions to key problems, especially those connected to the economy and questions of war and peace. Voters are broadly speaking angry with an electoral set-up that produces two candidates, Clinton and Trump, that the majority do not like or want as president. At an NBC Commander-in-Chief forum, the general issues of illegal U.S. aggression, drone warfare and torture – and ending them so as to contribute to peace – were not even addressed. Instead the focus was on the past, like Clinton’s emails and Trump’s regrets.

The Daesh Chronicles: The definition challenge

The war against ISIS | GHASSAN KADI* argues against self-serving dogma substituting as analysis, and for the renovation of Islam

Islam, real Islam, is a religion of piety, wisdom and peace, and Muslims, real Muslims are not terrorists. Even though all terrorists that have been caught involved in terrorism are “Muslims”, this does not give a blanket description of all Muslims as beings terrorists.

Condemn the racism and Eurocentrism of the British prime minister

British Prime Minister David Cameron must be condemned for the outrageous comments made last week in The Times and elsewhere in which he claimed that a lack of ability to speak English was connected with what he referred to as an “alarming picture” of isolation facing some Muslim women. He even announced plans to deport some new migrants if they subsequently failed language tests two and a half years after entering Britain on a spousal visa, and announced £20m for the provision of English classes for “women who are isolated”. The Prime Minister then went on to claim that an inability to speak good English and what he called “separate development” and the “development of parallel communities” was not only responsible for “aiding men” who hold a “damaging control” over women in some communities but might also “help a young person’s slide towards radicalisation”.

CNN punished journalist for fulfilling a core duty of journalism

By GLENN GRUNWALD

CNN yesterday suspended its global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott, for two weeks for the crime of posting a tweet critical of the House vote to ban Syrian refugees. Whether by compulsion or choice, she then groveled in apology. This is the original tweet along with her subsequent expression of repentance:

This all happened after The Washington Post‘s Erik Wemple complained that her original tweet showed “bias.” The claim that CNN journalists must be “objective” and are not permitted to express opinions is an absolute joke. CNN journalists constantly express opinions without being sanctioned.

Zero tolerance for barbaric acts of the Harper government!

The Harper Conservatives have gone beyond the pale, announcing they would establish a “tip line” to goad people to report their neighbours if they suspect them of “barbaric cultural practices.” Their aim is to divide the polity and justify what cannot be justified. PEGGY ASKIN

Peggy Askin is the MLPC candidate for Calgary Midnapore.

Jason Kenney Minister of Defence and Minister for Multiculturalism was one of the main figures pushing the Conservatives’ Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act adopted June 16, 2015. In speaking about it in Parliament, Kenney first said that there is a problem that people refuse to leave behind their “barbaric cultural practices” when they come to Canada. He then used this allegation to say that immigrants have a “duty to integrate” into Canadian society. What he was suggesting is there is no problem of violence against women in Canada, only that brought by immigrants. Instead of taking measures to end violence against women and increase the safety of women at risk, passions are inflamed and communities singled out for scrutiny. None of this actually deals with the issue of violence against women.

Assault on the collective consciousness of the Quebec people: Promotion of backward views a sign of desperation

By PAULINE EASTON

In Quebec a concerted effort is being made by the media to promote backward views claiming that they are the views of the people. This assault on the people’s collective consciousness is a sign of desperation.

To understand how the people in Quebec are targeted so that they cannot consolidate their unity in the political domain in this election, the media arrangements tell the story.

Calls for a Trudeau government: Both the spin and the counterspin show the need for democratic renewal

By YVON BRETON

On October 8 the Quebec daily La Presse published an editorial titled “For a Trudeau Government! La Presse Takes a Stand! Join in!” It is signed by the President and Chief Editor of La Presse Guy Crevier. We can expect the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail and other monopoly media to “join in” in the coming days. It shows that MLPC leader Anna Di Carlo was right when she declared last week that the fix is in.

The ‘dark political arts’ behind Harper’s bid for re-election

Respond to Coup Attempt by going all out to call on Canadians to defeat the Harper government and also keep the Liberals out!

The UK’s Daily Mail comments on Lynton Crosby’s incitement of racism at the time he was an election campaign strategist for David Cameron’s Conservative Party in 2012.

The person the Harper Conservatives hired in September 2015 to manage their campaign has been described as a “master of the dark political arts,” “the Wizard of Oz,” “the Australian Karl Rove,” and “one of the most powerful and influential figures in the [Australian] nation.”[1][2]

Lynton Keith Crosby “was brought on as a campaign strategist for incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservative party was losing ground in the polls to both the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party,” Wikipedia tells us.[3] “Crosby’s decision to bring the issue of a small group of Muslim woman refusing to remove their niqab when swearing the Canadian oath of citizenship, became one of the top issues of the campaign and reversed the Conservatives’ sliding poll numbers, especially in Quebec,” Wikipedia says.[4]

‘The international jihadist movement has declared war on Canada’: Self-serving mantra of the Harper government

(April 2) – The mantra of the Harper government is that “the international jihadist movement has declared war on Canada.” This is repeated time and time again, in relation to its expanded military operations, its new anti-terrorism legislation, and even during a cabinet minister’s speech on health care.

‘American Sniper’ – Zafar Bangash

Watch Zafar Bangash analyze the Hollywood war movie, “American Sniper.” Bangash uses the film as a platform from which to discuss a number other issues: Islamophobia, Harper’s proposed draconian new anti-terrorism legislation (Bill C-51), and Canada’s military mission in Iraq and Syria. Zafar Bangash is a world-renowned Muslim scholar, editor of Crescent International Magazine, author, and imam at the York Regional Islamic Centre in Markham, Ontario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gacLnhEOfc

The demonization of Arabs, Muslims: The Harper government spreads hate in Canada while it supports terror overseas

From Ottawa and Washington to Paris, governments and the media sympathetic to those in power take advantage of attacks to drum up support for military adventures abroad. In this context, it is important to take a look back and see how Canadian troops got wrangled into Washington’s ever-expanding “war on terror” in Iraq and Syria. MAHDI DARIUS NAZEMROAYA

How Harper leveraged the Parliament attack to mislead Canada into Iraq

(March 18) – Speaking on January 22, 2015 about the multinational insurgents that he deployed the Canadian military to fight in the Middle East, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper confidently declared to reporters in St. Catharines, Ontario, that, “If those guys [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants] fire at us, we’re going to fire back and we’re going to kill them.”

Bill C-51, Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015: Private interests dictate state policy on matters of security

Day of Action against Bill C-51, March 14, 2015 (Click to enlarge)

(March 21) – In reviewing the examples of rampant criminality among the police, intelligence service and state agencies reported since the government introduced Bill C-51 on January 30, it is apparent that private interests are dictating state policy on matters of security. TML Weekly thinks that this is an important aspect for people to investigate as they continue to oppose the bill and the government’s agenda. The neo-liberal restructuring of the state brought monopoly right to the fore and the old mechanisms of a public authority have been smashed.

Hypocrisy, hysteria and historical falsification around the attacks against Charlie Hebdo

Freedom of speech of the reactionary ruling classes

By JEAN-DANIEL NOLIN

The terrorist attack against Charlie Hebdo has resulted in a huge wave of sympathy and opposition to terrorist attacks. These just actions are positions of principle, as are the demonstrations of Muslim peoples demanding that the Prophet Muhammad not be caricatured. Blasphemy is a social act – an act directed toward someone else and their beliefs, which all persons whether religious, atheist or agnostic must respect. Without this respect, there is no discussion possible.

As with any event, the bourgeoisie advances its pawns. It presents itself as democratic, defending of freedom of speech, for peace, etc. In reality, it is doing the exact opposite. It muzzles scientists, cuts subsidies to organizations critical of its policies, militarizes the police against its own people, engages more and more in military adventures, etc.

France: Dubious comparisons

Freedom of speech of the reactionary ruling classes

By Hélène Héroux

In the days since the attacks in France, the monopoly media and the likes of Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard have been making questionable links between terrorists and freedom and resistance fighters. In the context of the events in France, they have tried to connect French resistance fighters against the Nazi occupation during the Second World War, such as national hero Jean Moulin, with the “resistance” of the West to “Islamic obscurantism.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry did so in his speech in Washington, delivered in French. The widely circulated newspaper Libération made this the front page headline in its Saturday, January 10 edition.

Germany: Ramifications of the ‘war on terror’

On the assault on democratic rights

We are publishing information from Germany on PEGIDA, a German group, which includes organized neo-Nazis in its marches under slogans against the so-called ‘Islamisation’ of Europe. It is no accident that the states of the European Union abstained on the recent UN Anti Nazi resolution adopted by the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly November 21, 2014. It called for ‘Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.’ The abstention by the EU states gave the green light directly to the fascists to go into action. No one can be taken in by the crocodile tears for ‘tolerance’ issued by Angela Merkel and other leaders. Our stand is embodied in the slogan of CPC(M-L) ‘Our Security Lies in the Fight for the Rights of All’, which is in direct opposition to the fascization of society. – TS

Pegida supporters were outnumbered at the Berlin march

Sighting. Anti-fascist rallies throughout Germany – in pictures

Mass demonstrations against the so-called ‘pinstripe Nazis’ – Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident, or Pegida – have taken place in several cities in Germany. In Cologne, thousands of people stopped a fascist demonstration. (Click to enlarge photographs)

People hold a banner reading: ‘Refugees welcome’ as they take part in a protest against a rally by Pegida in Rostock, Germany | Bernd Wuestneck/AFP/Getty Images

Salman Rushdie – An intellectual in the service of imperialist war

BIG POWERS intent on invading and waging war on a sovereign country or countries, in order to gain hegemony over a region of the world, must first create public opinion for so doing, including denigrating and demonising a whole people. Such was the role played by the writer Salman Rushdie with his book The Satanic Verses published in 1988, which insulted Islam and gravely disturbed and provoked its followers. What followed is justified and grotesquely glamorised in Rushdie’s latest book, Joseph Anton, an autobiographical work focussing on his decade under police protection, the title being his assumed name during that period. This new book is currently being massively promoted.