Alternative News

Articles from non-mainstream as opposed to corporate for profit sources.

Vancouver rally today to end discrimination & racism against First Nations Peoples

Details: Published on Friday, 10 January 2020 06:32; Written by editor

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Bayer, Nestlé, Green New Deal

Details: Published on Thursday, 09 January 2020 12:00; Written by editor

Late last year, we surveyed SumOfUs members on how you want us to curb corporate power in Canada in 2020. And we were overwhelmed by the results -- 3,400 of you took the survey. The results will help us plan our work in 2020 and beyond.

Two major themes emerged from the survey:

SumOfUs should continue to fight back against corporations like Nestlé and Bayer
Canada needs a Green New Deal

Water and bees VS. Nestlé and Bayer

We asked SumOfUs members what we should prioritize in our work to curb corporate power and 2 areas stood out:

74% of you want us to prevent food and beverage companies like Nestlé from draining our water resources to bottle for profit.
71% of you want us to ban bee-killing pesticides produced from agri-giants like Bayer-Monsanto.

Other major themes were: fighting fossil fuel pipelines such as TransMountain pipeline, the plastics crisis from food giants like Coca-Cola, toxic glyphosate in Monsanto’s RoundUp, pressuring big banks like TD on climate change.

Here are comments that two SumOfUs members had:

“There are so many it would be hard to pick just one. I think that there should be limits placed on how big any companies or corporations can get so...

THIS TUESDAY! What's Up in the T'Sou-ke Hills? Info Session and Q&A

Details: Published on Thursday, 09 January 2020 05:46; Written by editor

THIS TUESDAY! What's Up in the T'Sou-ke Hills? Info Session and Q&A r1 ...

Eyebrows were raised

Details: Published on Thursday, 09 January 2020 03:02; Written by editor

Eyebrows were raised r1 ...

India's Democracy Is Facing an Existential Threat

Details: Published on Wednesday, 08 January 2020 23:52; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1972 ... January 9, 2020
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India’s Democracy Is Facing an Existential Threat

Vijay Prashad

India’s Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu made a curious comment on 28 December. "Express dissent in a democratic way," he said. Before he became the Vice President -- a largely symbolic role -- Naidu was the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the far-right political organization that now governs India. Naidu made his comment in the context of nation-wide protests against an exclusionary set of laws and policies pushed by his party. These laws and policies include the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR), and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). These laws and policies deeply discriminate against India’s 200 million Muslims.

Peaceful protests have been taking place across the country. Every public event seems to be transformed into a demonstration against not only these laws, but the government itself. In Kolkata -- from where I write these words -- the annual Rainbow Pride Walk combined Gay Pride with opposition to these laws. Signs at the march read, "No CAA" and...

Local Champions Scholarships still available (2020 Deadline)!

Details: Published on Wednesday, 08 January 2020 07:36; Written by editor

Don't miss out - scholarships still available but going fast!

Deadline to Apply: **January 24, 2020**

Local Champions is almost full but we have reserved a few full scholarships to ensure that the program is accessible to a diverse cross-section of community members. Full scholarships* are available for youth (ages 15-25), indigenous community members, immigrants and refugees, and community members who self-identify from one or more equity-seeking groups.

We only have a few spots left and scholarships will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in this opportunity, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible!

*Please note that applicants must submit both scholarship and program applications to qualify.

You can submit your application before January 24, 2020.

Click Here for Scholarship Application
Read more: Local Champions Scholarships still available (2020 Deadline)!

The Limits of Capitalism

Details: Published on Wednesday, 08 January 2020 00:16; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1971 ... January 8, 2020
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The Limits of Capitalism

Laurie E. Adkin

At this point in human history, the limits of capitalism and the limits of our species’ life on Earth have converged. We have never been here before, and we cannot go back.

The political activism of my youth was largely in solidarity with anti-colonial movements in Africa and Palestine, anti-US imperialist movements and dictatorships in Latin America, and solidarity-building between the labour and other social movements around a broad program of democratic, anti-capitalist reforms. In those struggles, there was always an assumption that social transformation could draw upon the resources of a reasonably intact natural world. No more. Capitalism, patriarchy, and racism now threaten to destroy this world, along with its tenuous civilizational achievements. We are all of us, now, face to face with the kind of ‘deworlding’ that traumatized Indigenous peoples following the arrival of colonizers.

We, on the left, keep trying to find analogous moments in human history (the rise of fascism, world war two) when ‘normal’ life is upended and nothing can go...

All eyes on Wetsuweten

Details: Published on Tuesday, 07 January 2020 11:34; Written by editor

Friends,

We know 2020 is a critical year in the fight for our planet’s collective future. That’s why earlier this morning, organizers with Climate Justice Toronto and Rising Tide Toronto occupied the offices of one of the main financers of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in Northwestern BC. This was a response to a call for solidarity from Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, who evicted the fracked gas pipeline company from their traditional lands earlier this week.1

This occupation kicks off a wave of actions happening all across Canada in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en. See the full list of actions and sign up to join one near you for the International Week of Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en.

Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have been unequivocally clear that the Coastal GasLink pipeline does not have their consent. Despite that, BC courts have granted an injunction allowing the massive pipeline company to build this project against their wishes.

It isn’t surprising that our governments and justice system continue to violate Indigenous and international human rights laws. One year ago, the RCMP raided a Wet’suwet’en land defence camp protecting these very same lands and...

Statement on Assassination of Qasem Soleimani and its Aftermath

Details: Published on Tuesday, 07 January 2020 02:12; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1970 ... January 7, 2020
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Statement on Assassination of Qasem Soleimani and its Aftermath

International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran

The US military’s assassination of Qasem Soleimani, one of the top military commanders of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s (IRI) expansionist regional policies and its proxy wars in the Middle East, can lead to retaliation by the Islamic regime. Such retaliation, the threat of further US retaliation and a chain reaction could further destabilize the region and endanger the lives of thousands of Iraqis, Iranians and other ordinary people in the Middle East. IASWI strongly condemns the Trump Administration’s military adventurism in Iraq, which is a continuation of the catastrophic US invasion of this country.

Furthermore, we denounce IRI’s bloody interventions in Iraq and its participation in repression of the Iraqi protesters. We support the demands of many Iranians and Iraqis, particularly during the recent uprisings, calling on both American and Iranian military and paramilitary forces to leave Iraq immediately and refrain from further endangering the lives of Iraqis and other people in the region.

At...

Help welcome our new Executive Director

Details: Published on Monday, 06 January 2020 10:02; Written by editor

Staff announcement

No images? Click here

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If Housing is a Right We Should Take It

Details: Published on Sunday, 05 January 2020 22:46; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1969 ... January 6, 2020
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If Housing is a Right We Should Take It

John Clarke

In Toronto and across Canada, homelessness has reached proportions that no rational and just society would tolerate and it constitutes an emergency situation. The Trump Administration, seeing levels of destitution in California that are producing social dislocation, is preparing for a brutal crackdown on the homeless. We would do well to understand how close we are in Toronto to a comparable situation. The political agenda of austerity and social cutbacks is getting worse, the extreme commodification of housing continues to drive up rents and forces people onto the streets and, globally, conditions of economic downturn are unfolding. As more and more people are rendered homeless, the kind of incarceration option that Trump favours will undoubtedly enter into the plans of the more centrist representatives of the neoliberal order.

If we are to avoid, in the next period, a dramatic intensification of homelessness, a public health tragedy and the adoption of draconian measures against those thrown onto the streets, it is obvious that significant...

Peace Brigades update - January 3, 2020

Details: Published on Wednesday, 18 November 2020 13:22; Written by editor

Oppose US and Iran War

Details: Published on Saturday, 04 January 2020 22:54; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1968 ... January 5, 2020
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Oppose US and Iran War:
Solidarity with Uprisings in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Region

Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists

In the early morning of January 3, at the order of US President Donald Trump and without any authorization from the US Congress, US airstrikes targeted a convoy near the Baghdad airport in Iraq and killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Mauhandis, top Iraqi militia commander/founder of Kataib Hezbollah militia and at least six others. The US Department of Defense stated that this attack was in response to Iranian-orchestrated attacks on US bases in Iraq during the past few months, including a December 27 attack on an Iraqi military base near Kirkuk which killed a US contractor and wounded 4 US soldiers. There are currently 5300 US troops in Iraq. 3000 more are on their way to the Middle East. 14,000 additional troops have been sent to the region since May 2019.

The idea of assassinating Qasem...

Demand that U of R cancel harmful MMIW lecture

Details: Published on Friday, 03 January 2020 04:22; Written by editor

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Bernies Green New Deal Stands Out, and Now Labor Must Step Up

Details: Published on Friday, 03 January 2020 00:34; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1967 ... January 3, 2020
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Bernie’s Green New Deal Stands Out, and Now Labor Must Step Up

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy

Bernie’s Green New Deal is the real deal. It is very different from the Green New Deal proposals of other leading Democratic presidential hopefuls.

First, Bernie’s Green New Deal is more ambitious than that of his rivals. It states: "We must guarantee health care, housing, and a good-paying job to every American, especially to those who have been historically excluded from economic prosperity." In terms of addressing the climate crisis, it seeks to achieve 100 percent sustainable energy for electricity and transportation by no later than 2030 and to fully decarbonize the economy by 2050 at the latest.

This level of ambition reflects Bernie’s social and economic vision and his willingness to identify who and what stands in our way in terms of meeting these objectives: the billionaire class, the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, fossil fuel companies, Wall Street, and the military-industrial complex. Both Biden and Warren want to "tweak" the system, to "save it...

Canada, Israel and the UN Security Council

Details: Published on Thursday, 02 January 2020 02:32; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1966 ... January 2, 2020
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Canada, Israel and the UN Security Council

Hanna Kawas

Canadian activists have compiled a study of Canada’s 2019 voting record at the United Nations on resolutions [see list below] that document and censure Israeli violations of international law.

There was much fanfare made about Canada’s orphan "yes" vote at the UN General Assembly this year on "The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination" resolution. But in the broader context of the other 17 resolutions calling out Israel’s war crimes, that Canada either voted against (15) or abstained on (2), this lone vote can only be seen as deceptive and hypocritical.

Justin Trudeau, explaining his government’s vote to Canadian Zionists, stated:
"The government felt that it was important to reiterate its commitment to a two-states-for-two-peoples solution at a time when its prospects appear increasingly under threat."

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Thank You A

Details: Published on Wednesday, 01 January 2020 23:12; Written by editor

Happy New Year A!

I want to kick off 2020 by saying thank YOU so much for being a beloved member of our SumOfUs community.

Our victories throughout 2019 would not have been possible if it weren’t for the support of SumOfUs members like you. Whether it’s signing a petition or funding a campaign -- you make the work we do to keep corporations in check possible.

So thanks again for your continued support, A, and for being part of this special people-powered movement. I am so excited to see all that all we’ll achieve together in our fight for a fair, kind, and just society where people and planet always come before profit.

May this new year bring you much success and good health for you and your loved ones.

Best Wishes,
John and the team at SumOfUs

SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

This email was sent to s6. |r0

Ways Out of the Growth Trap

Details: Published on Tuesday, 31 December 2019 22:58; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1965 ... January 1, 2020
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Ways Out of the Growth Trap:
Trade Unions, Climate Crisis and the "Ecology of Work"

Ulrich Brand

As the remarkable success of "Fridays for Future" and "Extinction Rebellion" shows, the climate crisis is pushing onto the agenda ever more strongly. Such a push is urgently needed because the window during which its worst effects could be prevented is closing rapidly. Accordingly, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 90 per cent by the year 2050 is now widely accepted, although climate movements demand a significantly earlier drop in CO2 emissions toward zero. What needs more attention is that the consumption of natural resources must also be drastically addressed in the industrialized countries.

At this point, however, the ‘ever more and ever faster’ creed of constant production increasingly blocks an ecologically compatible mode of production and living. Currently, global resource and climate policy continue to point in an entirely different direction, namely that of unsustainable development. This tendency is related to the rise of emerging countries, such as China, and the enormous...

12 hours left

Details: Published on Tuesday, 31 December 2019 09:56; Written by editor

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