Brutal killing of George Floyd: Yes to resistance! No to the use of police powers and the military to criminalize politics!

60,000 protest in Houston, TX, George Floyd’s hometown, June 3, 2020.

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) expresses its deepest sympathies for the family of George Floyd and all other victims of police impunity and killings in the United States.

CPC(M-L) denounces all racist attacks  – whether they are spontaneous or organized by a crisis-ridden failed state which gives itself a green light to govern through unfettered police powers and the use of the military. In the United States, confronting state violence is a way of life, which tells us the kind of democracy that exists there. It is the resistance of the people, especially African-Americans, as well as Puerto Ricans, Hispanics, Indigenous peoples and all minorities, along with working people of all origins, which tells us about the courage and fighting spirit that characterize the U.S. working class and people. CPC(M-L) strongly believes that this resistance is of the calibre that will find the way forward in a manner which holds the racist American state to account. We are one humanity, waging one struggle for peace, freedom and democracy. Canadians stand as one with their U.S. sisters and brothers.

Puerto Rico: Obama continues to ignore pleas to free political prisoner Oscar López Rivera

San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 29, 2016

BY MATT PEPPE

Two and a half months ago, asked by award-winning playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda about imprisoned Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar López Rivera – whose only crime, according to Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, is “conspiracy to free his people from the shackles of imperial justice,” President Barack Obama told the [Broadway musical] Hamilton creator that he “had [the case] on his desk.”

Obama: We are here to extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 22 (acn) – We are here to extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people, said on Tuesday the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, at Havana’s Alicia Alonso Grand Theater. The U.S. president spoke to civil society from the emblematic building, in the presence of Army General Raul Castro, President of the Councils of State and Ministers.

We dot the I’s: Obama, CNN and political prisoners

By TONY SEED (Published March 21, slightly revised by the author on March 26) 

According to CNN, Cuban president Raul Castro “refused to answer the question,” when US president Barack Obama called on Jim Acosta, the Senior White House Correspondent for CNN, a Cuban-American, to ask the first question in a joint press conference with President Raúl Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on March 21. (After the presentations by the two heads of state in the joint press conference, the floor was opened to questions from the large number of international and Cuban journalists.) Acosta cynically asked if Cuba would release political prisoners.

President Castro immediately replied:

“Give me the list of political prisoners and I will release them immediately. Just mention a list. What political prisoners? Give me a name or names. After this meeting is over, you can give me a list of political prisoners. And if we have those political prisoners, they will be released before tonight ends.”

The program to resettle Syrian refugees in Canada (1): Canada accepts US veto

In an interview with the CBC, U.S. President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice confirmed that Canada used the U.S. biometrics system to screen each of the 25,000 Syrian refugees that came to Canada. “What we would do is share with our Canadian colleagues the info that we have uncovered and allow them to make judgments based on that,” said Rice. In this case the judgement was to automatically exclude that refugee.

Trump rally condemned, cancelled: the anti-establishment movement and the crisis for the US ruling factions

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The unprecedented rally taking place right now at the University of Illinois in Chicago against Trump and the US presidential primaries shows the strong anti-establishment, anti-racist, anti-war sentiment among voters across party lines. All major media now acknowledges this.

CNN is reporting “we are looking at thousands of protesters right now (inside the hall) . . . half the arena is anti-Trump.” (The seating capacity of the UC arena is 9,500.)

Obama’s crocodile tears – an African proverb

A picture of Obama

NEWS ITEM: “From every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from their lives from the bullet of a gun. Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” he managed. “And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day.” He wiped a tear as it fell down over his cheekbone. As the president wept at the White House, gun investors were crying out for joy on Wall Street.  As has happened like clockwork anytime Obama goes near gun control, gun stocks shot through the roof on Tuesday, even as the broader market struggled through a brutal day of trading… In the three years since Sandy Hook, Smith & Wesson’s stock has leaped 213 per cent, Sturm Ruger’s nearly 39 per cent. – Vanity Fair

A picture of Obama sincerely crying

“Gun manufacturers have done very well during my presidency.” – Barack Obama, CNN Town Hall on gun control at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, January 7. 2016

The USA was the largest arms exporter for the period 2009-2013, accounting for 29 per cent of world deliveries. – Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

As of January 2015, the United States maintained a stockpile of approximately 4760 nuclear warheads. This included approximately 2080 deployed nuclear warheads, consisting of roughly 1900 strategic and 180 non-strategic warheads. In addition to this deployed arsenal, about 2680 warheads were held in reserve. Another roughly 2500 retired warheads were scheduled for dismantlement, giving a total inventory of approximately 7260 warheads. – SIPRI

A proverb from Africa may shed some light on this strange tale of the tears of the chieftain of U.S. imperialism.

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IN THE OLD DAYS, when the animals could talk, Crocodile was king of the water creatures. One year, there was a drought, and the water in the river ran dry. Crocodile sent Otter to scout for a new home, and two days later, he returned to say there was a deeper river on the far side of the farmer’s fields.

When he heard this, Crocodile called upon Tortoise and Alligator, and he explained they must go see Lion, king of the land creatures.

“The veldt is dry,” he said, “and it will be a difficult journey, but we must make peace with the Lion and all his subjects, or we will die. They must help us cross the land to reach the other river.”

Tortoise and Alligator set off at once to see Lion. They carried along a peace treaty Crocodile had composed. When they arrived, they handed Lion the treaty.

Seymour Hersh and Bin Laden disinformation: killing the messenger

The credibility crisis of the US monopoly media and the role of media to disinform

It has largely been forgotten that after 9/11, the Taliban offered to supply Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind, to a third country for trial. The Bush administration refused, choosing to invade Afghanistan, a strategic country rich in natural resources, and to launch the “war on terrorism” for self-serving ends. Ten years later, the Obama administration, instead of putting him on trail, boasted that it had assassinated him, though suspiciously the body was never produced. The assassination by US special forces was the high point of Obama’s first term, and a major factor in his re-election. TREVOR TIMM* in the Columbia Journalism Review examines the media reaction to Seymour Hersh’s recent exposé challenging the credibility of the Obama White House and its narrative of the high-profile event. Hersh stated in conclusion: “High-level lying nevertheless remains the modus operandi of US policy, along with secret prisons, drone attacks, Special Forces night raids, bypassing the chain of command, and cutting out those who might say no.”

(May 15) – SEYMOUR HERSH HAS DONE THE PUBLIC a great service by breathing life into questions surrounding the official narrative of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Yet instead of trying to build off the details of his story, or to disprove his assertions with additional reporting, journalists have largely attempted to tear down the messenger.

Syria-Iraq meeting and Obama’s confession

Amid all the doom and gloom, Iraq and Syria have taken steps to mend fences. This comes at about the same time as Barack Obama’s admission that the takfiri terrorists in Syria arose because of George Bush’s foolish decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

Latin America and the Caribbean stand firm against US imperialist hegemony and interference

Banner at the People’s Summit (see below) expresses rejection of U.S. imperialist striving for domination.

The Seventh Summit of the Americas organized under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS) was held on April 10 and 11 in Panama City, Panama. The theme to be addressed at the gathering was “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas.” The firm stand of the Latin American and Caribbean nations’ heads of state gave this theme full meaning by emphasizing that the striving of U.S. imperialism for domination would no longer be accepted. Renewal Update

ISIS takfiri terrorists: McCain-Obama’s offspring

Despite propaganda, the ISIS-takfiri terrorists are being supported, trained and armed by the US, NATO and its regional puppets. Washington just signed an agreement with Turkey to train “moderate” rebels to fight in Syria. Isn’t this what the US has been doing in Jordan for more than two year? ZAFAR BANGASH*

The horrific video released on February 3 showing the burning death of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh has sent shockwaves throughout the world. Such barbarism has few parallels in history and certainly none in Islamic history. Islam expressly forbids such cruel punishment despite the demented logic of the takfiris who go by different names: Da‘ish, ISIS, ISIL or even IS.

Letter to the People of the United States: Venezuela is not a threat

An open letter from Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, and the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the people of the U.S., published today in the New York Times.

By NICOLAS MADURO & THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA, March 17th 2015

We are the people of Simon Bolívar, our people believe in peace and respect for all nations.

Freedom and Independence

More than two centuries ago, our fathers founded a Republic on the basis that all persons are free and equal under the law.

Our nation made the greatest sacrifices to guarantee South American people their right to choose their rulers and to enforce their own laws today. The historical legacy of our father, Simón Bolívar, is always remembered. Bolívar was a man who gave his life so we would inherit a nation of justice and equality.

Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress really helps Obama against Iran

By MAHDI DARIUS NAZEMROAYA*

Americans protest against Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress.

(March 3) – A lot of focus has been made about the tensions between US President Barack Obama’s administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The tensions pivot on Iranian-US nuclear negations and Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of the US Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 3, 2015.

Obama’s declaration is as hypocritical as it is hysterical

Venezuela’s response: “Defend the human rights of the black U.S. citizens being killed in U.S. cities every day, Mr. Obama,” Maduro stated.

Canadians respond: Emergency demonstration in support of Venezuela and to oppose U.S. threats, Vancouver, March 10, 2015.

(March 11) – U.S. President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order against Venezuela on March 9 aimed at interfering in the country’s sovereignty. His Executive Order is based on arguments claiming Venezuela is a threat to national security because of alleged human rights violations and widespread corruption. It reads:

Venezuelan parliament passes law to confront US aggression

On March 10, the Venezuelan National Assembly passed an enabling law that allows the country’s president to act to protect the peace against recent threats made by the United States government of Barack Obama, especially the March 9 statement that declared Venezuela a “threat to the national security” and calling the situation a national emergency.

UNASUR convokes summit on ‘gross’ US threat to Venezuela

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa announced that the foreign ministers from the member states of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR)* will meet on March 12 to discuss the “gross, illegal, shameless, outrageous, and unjustified act of interference by the United States” in Venezuelan affairs.

US preparing for military aggression on Venezuela

By ATILIO BORON

teleSUR (March 10) – Barack Obama, an ornamental figure in the White House, who was not able to impede a lunatic like Benjamin Netanyahu from addressing both houses of Congress to sabotage the talks with Iran on the country’s nuclear program, has received a strict order from the “military-industrial-financial” complex: he must create the conditions to justify a military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Fidel Castro, Evo Morales, Rafael Correa condemn US sanctions on Venezuela

Obama’s executive order on Venezuela draws international condemnation. In unison with Latin American leaders’ comments, social media users have coined the hashtag #ObamaYankeeGoHome, posting over 80,000 tweets with the tag within the first 24 hours following Obama’s announcements.

teleSUR (March 10) – More Latin American countries rallied behind Venezuela Tuesday to condemn new U.S. sanctions against the South American nation.

Defend the Bolivarian Revolution and Venezuela’s Right to Be!

Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) condemns latest U.S. sanctions against Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) condemns the hostile statements made by U.S. President Barack Obama against Venezuela. On March 9, Obama used emergency executive powers to label Venezuela as “an extraordinary threat to US national security.” The U.S. has also tightened unjust and illegal sanctions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Canada is also part of U.S. attempts to stir up counter-revolution and several failed attempts to overthrow the democratically-elected government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelan president responds to latest US accusations

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  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro | Photo: teleSUr

(March 9) – The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro responded late Monday to the United States government declaring his country a “national security threat.”

Maduro rejected President Barack Obama’s measure and explained the executive order signed by the U.S. president coincided with a failed coup attempt in Venezuela last month, which had links to U.S. citizens.

“After we dismantled the coup attempt … the U.S. and President Barack Obama … decided to personally fulfill the task of ousting my government,” Maduro said.

US declares Venezuela a threat to ‘national security’

UPDATE: Venezuela’s foreign minister says Caracas will soon respond to Washington’s statements.

U.S. President Barack Obama issued a new Executive Order against Venezuela Monday aimed at interfering in the country’s politics, claiming, “Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome” in the United States.

Immediately after, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry announced the government of President Nicolas Maduro would “soon” respond to Obama’s executive action against the Latin American country.

US aggression against Venezuela: fact, not fiction

BY EVA GOLINGER*

(Feb. 25) – The U.S. has a substantial history of aggression toward Venezuela.

Recently, several different spokespersons for the Obama administration have firmly claimed the United States government is not intervening in Venezuelan affairs. Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki went so far as to declare, “The allegations made by the Venezuelan government that the United States is involved in coup plotting and destabilization are baseless and false.” Psaki then reiterated a bizarrely erroneous statement she had made during a daily press briefing just a day before [February 19]: “The United States does not support political transitions by non-constitutional means.”

Harper government, Obama regime muzzling its scientists

By STEVE HORN, cross-posted from DeSmogBlog

In recent years, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has come under fire for disallowing scientists working for the Canadian government to speak directly to the press.

An article published in August by The New Republic said “Harper’s antagonism toward climate-change experts in his government may sound familiar to Americans,” pointing to similar deeds done by the George W. Bush Administration. That article also said that “Bush’s replacement,” President Barack Obama, “has reversed course” in this area.

Obama secretly extends US combat operation in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama has secretly signed an order that expands the United States’ direct combat role in Afghanistan throughout 2015, the New York Times reported.

Signed over the last few weeks, the secret order permits American forces to continue to battle the Taliban and other militants that pose a threat to either the Afghan government or US personnel. According to the Times, US jets, bombers, and drones will be able to aid ground troops – be they Afghan or US forces – in whatever mission they undertake.

James Risen’s book, Pay Any Price

Barrack Obama promised a “transparent” administration – but Americans did not know the transparency was a one-way street, letting the government look at the people, and concentrating executive power in the White House and a warmongering “commander-in-chief” as president; meanwhile, using coercive measures and disinformation to block the public’s ability to view issues objectively and work out solutions, a reality described in James Risen’s new book, reviewed by NORMAN SOLOMON.

No single review or interview can do justice to Pay Any Price – the new book by James Risen that is the antithesis of what routinely passes for journalism about the “war on terror.” Instead of evasive tunnel vision, the book offers big-picture acuity: focusing on realities that are pervasive and vastly destructive.

Looking who is talking! MH17 and the US role in downing passenger airplanes

People walk near the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines MH17 that crashed near Hrabove (Grabovo) in the Donetsk region July 23, 2014 |Reuters / Maxim Zmeyev

On the 38th anniversary of the first act of terrorism against civilian aviation in the western hemisphere – the unparalleled Cubana air disaster on the coastline of Barbados on October 6, 1976 – we are publishing an informative exposé by Canadian journalist MAHDI DARIUS NAZEMROAYA on the destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over Eastern Ukraine and its manipulation for self-serving political ends. For example, just one day after the crash, Harper’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was already clamouring that “Evidence suggests the airliner was brought down by a surface-to-air missile from an area controlled by pro-Russian provocateurs in eastern Ukraine.” He hasn’t had much to say since.

Approximately four months after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) disappeared in March 2014, while en route from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to the Chinese capital of Beijing, another incident took place with a Malaysian passenger plane. This time Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), en route from the Dutch capital of Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on July 17, 2014 over the contested airspace of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic. The incident took place over Torez near the Russian-Ukrainian border while the authorities in Kiev were busy militarily assaulting the separatist armed forces of Novorossiya, that is, the soldiers of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic and Donetsk’s sister-breakaway republic in East Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic.

Resolution 2178 unanimously passed but Obama diplomatically rebuked

UN Security Council high-level meeting on terrorism. Although UN Security Council Resolution 2178 about a global initiative against foreign terrorist fighters was passed unanimously by the UNSC, the countries gathered were divided on the role that the US has played in supporting international terrorism. One needs to get past the diplomatic jargon and the framework of the consensus to hear it. The crux of the matter is that the world faces an inquisitional mentality and that even dissenting UN members were forced to operate under the narrative and  consensus that Washington has spun.

UN Security Council passes Resolution 2178, September 24, 2014.

By MAHDI DARIUS NAZEMROAYA*

The United Nations Security Council held a high-level meeting on terrorism on September 24, 2014. UN Security Council Resolution 2178, which underscored the need to prevent the travel and funding of foreign terrorists, was unanimously approved and passed by its five permanent and veto-holding members — Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US — and its elected non-permanent members — Argentina, Australia, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nigeria, South Korea, and Rwanda — which have chairs for two-year terms.

Oppose Anglo-American imperialist plans for a perpetual state of chaos and war!

Anti-war action at White House, September 25, 2014 (Click to enlarge)

From New York, Canadians learned that Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had told Parliament that Canadian “advisors” would be in Iraq only until the end of the month, is considering sending more troops to Iraq. “The United States just recently has asked for some additional contribution and we are weighing our response to that,” Harper told an assembly of businessmen at the Goldman Sachs Tower in New York on September 24. “We haven’t ruled out anything. We are wanting to see this be successful and we want to be supportive as best we can.”

Syria says US and its allies must stop supporting, financing and training terrorists and work under UN

In a September 23 television interview with Russia Today, Walid al-Moallem, Syria’s Deputy Prime Minister, and also its Foreign and Expatriates Minister of Syria, stressed if the U.S. and its allies are serious about combatting terrorism, they must “immediately halt supporting, financing and training the terrorist organizations” and “stop facilitating their flow into the Syrian territories through coordination with the Syrian state.” Furthermore, the U.S. must start to act under the framework of the United Nations without excluding anyone, including Russia, Iran and Syria.

US scenario of Malaysian Flight 17 shoot-down unravels

 

Positioned before a helicopter to emphasize his military role as Commander-in-Chief, Obama delivers a sabre-rattling statement on the situation in Ukraine, on the South Lawn of the White House, July 29, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

From magazine covers to pronouncements by top politicians, Official Washington jumped to the conclusion that Ukrainian rebels and Russia were guilty in the shoot-down of a Malaysian passenger plane. But some U.S. intelligence analysts may see the evidence differently, writes ROBERT PARRY.

Washington (Aug. 3) – Contrary to the Obama administration’s public claims blaming eastern Ukrainian rebels and Russia for the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, some U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded that the rebels and Russia were likely not at fault and that it appears Ukrainian government forces were to blame, according to a source briefed on these findings.