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

BDS in the face of Israeli Apartheid

Details: Published on Thursday, 18 July 2019 03:36; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1863 ... July 18, 2019
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BDS in the face of Israeli Apartheid

Palestinian BDS National Committee

On July 9th, Palestinians marked with a mix of alarm and hope the 14th anniversary of the BDS Call (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), launched by Palestinian society in 2005 in pursuit of freedom, justice and equality.

The growth of our popular resistance and the global, Palestinian-led BDS movement give us hope at a time when Israel’s far-right regime is intensifying its system of apartheid and crimes against our people, in open partnership with the anti-Palestinian Trump Administration, and with the complicity of the European Union and despotic Arab regimes.

Israel’s ongoing Nakba against the Palestinian people is most brutally manifested in its illegal siege and repeated massacres that have reduced Gaza into an uninhabitable ghetto, causing unspeakable suffering to its two million Palestinians.

It is also evidenced in its continued denial of the internationally recognized right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees, its gradual ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians, particularly in Jerusalem, and its adoption of the so-called Jewish Nation-State...

On the Democratic Character of Socialist Revolution

Details: Published on Wednesday, 17 July 2019 01:46; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1862 ... July 17, 2019
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On the Democratic Character of Socialist Revolution

John Riddell

Under the headline "Why Kautsky was right," Eric Blanc wrote:

"Leninists for decades have hinged their strategy on the need for an insurrection to overthrow the entire parliamentary state and to place all power into the hands of workers’ councils."

When I read these words, my mind went back to a day 40 years earlier when this formulation was hurled at me by members of Canada’s security police. They used it as justification for their illegal disruption and harassment directed against me and fellow members of the Revolutionary Workers League (RWL).

To be sure, Eric Blanc is a firm defender of the legality and legitimacy of socialist groups, including those who draw inspiration from the 1917 Russian revolution and the writings of V.I. Lenin. He will also be the first to agree that the hundreds of political groups worldwide that draw inspiration from Lenin represent a broad gamut of political strategies, including a great many that accept his thesis as a preference that,...

We're hiring!

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

Which side is CBC on?

Details: Published on Tuesday, 16 July 2019 07:40; Written by editor

Paov,

The CBC has to make an important decision. They can choose to listen to tens of thousands of people across the country and commit to hosting a leaders’ debate on climate change in October’s election. Or, they can refuse and ensure another election where climate takes a backseat to every other issue. That’s exactly what Big Oil and its political allies want.

Which is why it’s up to us to make sure the CBC chooses correctly. Tomorrow, take action with communities across Canada to demand that the CBC host a climate debate.

Check out our action map to find an event near you.

Can’t make it or don’t see an event in your community?

Donate to Our Time to help us keep up the pressure after tomorrow’s action.

Things are really coming together for the day of action tomorrow. On Sunday, I had the opportunity to hear from organizers across the country who spent their weekend painting banners, stenciling signs, and finalizing their plans for the action in their community.

We need all hands on deck for this moment. Winning a climate...

Challenge government secrecy

Details: Published on Monday, 15 July 2019 07:26; Written by editor

Stop secret spying

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Greece: 39 Months at City Plaza for Refugees Ends

Details: Published on Monday, 15 July 2019 02:16; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1861 ... July 15, 2019
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Greece: 39 Months at City Plaza for Refugees Ends

Economic and Political Refugee Solidarity Initiative

On July 10th, 2019, the keys of squatted City Plaza, Athens, Greece, were handed back to the former employees of the hotel, to whom the mobile equipment in the building belongs. All refugees living at City Plaza have been moved to safe housing within the city.

On 22 April 2016, the Economic and Political Refugee Solidarity Initiative squatted the empty City Plaza building with a two-fold goal: to create, on the one hand, a space of safety and dignity in which to house refugees in the centre of the city and, on the other, to create a centre of struggle against racism, borders, and social exclusion; for the freedom of movement and for the right to stay.

The decision to squat was taken at a critical political juncture. On 18th March 2016, one month before the squat opened, the EU-Turkey deal to restrict the movement of refugees to Europe was signed. It was the deal that marked the...

Weekly Update (Newsletter #4)

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

Stir It Up: From Whitman to Marx w/George Elliot Clarke

Details: Published on Sunday, 14 July 2019 02:18; Written by editor

LeftStreamed — Recorded in Toronto, 5 May 2018

Stir It Up: From Whitman to Marx w/George Elliot Clarke

George Elliott Clarke reads his poems:

1. Spirituals
2. Whitman Compiles His Leaves
3. On Queen Victoria, By Karl Marx
4. Paul Robeson Salutes the USSR
5. Damn

George Elliott Clarke is a Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the Poet Laureate of Toronto from 2012 to 2015 and as the 2016-2017 Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. His work is known largely for its use of a vast range of literary and artistic traditions, its lush physicality and its bold political substance. One of Canada’s most illustrious poets, Clarke is also known for chronicling the experience and history of the Black Canadian communities of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that he has coined ‘Africadia’.

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Imagine an election where climate matters

Details: Published on Saturday, 13 July 2019 10:56; Written by editor

Friends,

Take a minute to close your eyes and imagine this.

It’s three weeks before our federal election and all of the federal party leaders are in a CBC studio lined up behind podiums for Canada’s first leaders’ debate on climate change. Each one of them forced to defend their plan for tackling the climate crisis and their party position on a Green New Deal.

It might feel out of reach but the thing is -- it’s 100% possible. And making it happen will mean getting all hands on deck for a mass moment on July 17th.

We need you on board to help demand that the CBC host a leaders' climate debate. Check out our map and look for an action in your community.

If you decide to take action, we will support you every step of the way to set you up for success.

A leaders’ debate on climate change would mark a historic moment. It would be an indication that Canada is finally taking the climate emergency seriously.

As proven by the hundreds of Green...

We need 4,021 signatures

Details: Published on Saturday, 13 July 2019 05:12; Written by editor

Tell Saputo to clean up their act

In just a few short weeks, we're heading to the biggest meeting of the year for Canadian dairy giant Saputo to pressure executives to take food waste seriously.

Already over 20,000 members like you have signed our powerful petition. And when we walk in, we want to have 25,000 signatures to hand directly to the CEO in front of the biggest investors in the company in the multi-billion dollar corporation.

And we know pressure like this works. When we sent out the original petition, we also targeted frozen food giant McCains, and within weeks it had publicly published its 50% food waste reduction commitment on its website. With your help, we can force Saputo to lower its food waste too!

Will you help us get to 25,000 signatures to up the pressure on executives to stop food waste at Saputo?

Thanks for all that you do,
Amelia, Angus and the team at SumOfUs

Food processors like Saputo are most responsible food waste in Canada.

It’s time these food giants to clean up...

Read more: We need 4,021 signatures

HBOs Chernobyl

Details: Published on Friday, 12 July 2019 04:32; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project podcast ... No. 22 ... July 12, 2019
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HBO’s Chernobyl

Lina Nasr, Brent Toye, and Olena Lyubchenko offer their takes on the recent HBO miniseries Chernobyl. They talk about the political commentary the series is trying to offer, the fact that historical inaccuracies were a major part of telling a story whose ostensible purpose was to highlight the importance of the truth, and why liberal centrism is not necessarily an objective standpoint from which to look at the world.

Listen to podcast

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R&F.ca Weekly Update

Details: Published on Friday, 12 July 2019 02:02; Written by editor

R&F.ca Weekly Update r1 ...

A farewell letter from our Policy Director

Details: Published on Thursday, 11 July 2019 10:38; Written by editor

A farewell letter from our Policy Director

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Achilles heel

Details: Published on Thursday, 11 July 2019 07:02; Written by editor

Achilles heel r1 ...

Canada is on fire

Details: Published on Thursday, 11 July 2019 06:46; Written by editor

Friends,

We are only in the third week of summer, yet every week it seems there is another climate disaster.

I am reminded of the devastating impacts of the last two record-breaking wildfire seasons. In my hometown in Kelowna, BC, a heavy blanket of smoke hung over us for three weeks last August.

My town isn’t the only one impacted. 96% of Canada’s communities near forest and grasslands have been ravaged by wildfires for the past three years. This week alone we have witnessed uncontrollable wildfires spread across the Yukon and Northern Ontario.

A few weeks ago, we asked people across Canada how these wildfires have impacted their communities. Submissions poured in from all corners of the country, and we put together a storytelling project called the “Fifth Season.” Read our stories here, and then share them with your friends and family.

It’s critical for as many people as possible to hear these stories. They are a testament to the fact that climate change is a lived reality for so many of us...

Next steps in BC

Details: Published on Thursday, 11 July 2019 06:04; Written by editor

OpenMedia r1

Paov,

Just over a month ago, the B.C. government launched a survey to hear about the experience of British Columbians with cell phone contracts. It was the first step in an effort to increase billing transparency and strengthen customer protections in the cell phone market.

This was a rare opportunity to influence customer protections that can put limits on the powers Big Telecom has over customers. That’s why the OpenMedia community rallied together to...

massive rights violations at Nestlé Russia/mass protests in Indonesia demand freedom for imprisoned union leader/Germany: 10 hours daily is enough!

Details: Published on Thursday, 11 July 2019 04:32; Written by editor

massive rights violations at Nestlé Russia/mass protests in Indonesia demand freedom for imprisoned union leader/Germany: 10 hours daily is enough! r1 ...

Canada Joins Campaign to Stifle Criticism of Israel

Details: Published on Thursday, 11 July 2019 00:16; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1860 ... July 11, 2019
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Canada Joins Campaign to Stifle Criticism of Israel

John Clarke

On June 25, Canada’s Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism announced that the Trudeau government’s new anti-racism strategy would include the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The Co-Chair of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) proudly noted that:

"the IHRA definition also explicitly recognizes that anti-Zionism -- that is the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state -- is a clear and unequivocal expression of antisemitism."

While the adoption of this definition is as yet only "symbolic and declaratory," it can form the basis for attacks on Palestinian solidarity at various levels. The funding of NGOs that are critical of Israel may be threatened. Public institutions will be pressured to deny meeting facilities for events that take the Palestinian side. It is also quite possible that this initiative could be taken further and the expression of anti-Zionist views actually be treated as a form of hate crime.

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CoDev E-Bulletin Spring/Summer 2019 PART THREE

Details: Published on Wednesday, 10 July 2019 14:46; Written by editor

CoDev E-Bulletin Spring/Summer 2019 PART THREE r1 ...

HUGE win!

Details: Published on Wednesday, 10 July 2019 11:54; Written by editor

We have some AMAZING news for you! We just found out that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has completely divested from CoreCivic and GEO Group -- the two biggest private prison companies in the US!

CoreCivic and GEO Group are responsible for housing 60% of the migrants who are detained in horrible conditions in private prisons in the US. Stories of brutal and inhuman treatment of children in these prisons have been spreading across the news like wildfire.

Together with our partners at Leadnow, we launched a massive campaign after The Guardian's story about CPP decision to increase its funding in private prisons in October. Within a month, our joint petition had more than 55,000 signatures and hundreds of you stormed CPP public meetings. And we know you made a difference -- we were quoted in many publications around the world, including The Guardian who quoted us as it broke the news of CPP's divestment.

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