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

Catalonia's Paradox

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 22:08; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1495 .... October 11, 2017
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Catalonia’s Paradox

Josep Maria Antentas

October 1 has passed, closing a period of the shared history between Catalonia and the Spanish state and beginning an uncertain future. It was a day when all the tension building over the five-year independence process came to a head.

The numbers speak volumes. 2,262,424 votes cast. With an electoral roll of approximately 5.3 million people, that represents 42.5 per cent turnout. We would have to include the votes seized by the police and from citizens who could not vote to calculate a final number. Of those votes counted, 2,020,144 (90 per cent) were in favor of independence, 176,566 (7.8 per cent) against, and 45,586 (2 per cent) left their ballots blank.

Next to these tallies, we must...

Tell Congress to #BanChlorpyrifos

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 15:57; Written by editor

Action Network Email r1 ...

Referendum

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 14:55; Written by editor

A referendum on proportional representation in BC is officially coming in 2018. The Leadnow team is about to sit down and decide what to do next, but first, we need to know if you’re with us, Supa. Are you ready to join the movement to win PR for BC in 2018?

YES - I'm in!

It’s on. The BC NDP government officially kicked off the process for an electoral reform referendum in BC in 2018.[1]

We don’t have firm dates yet, but it’s going to happen by mail-in ballot in the fall of 2018. The threshold for the referendum to pass will be 50%+1 provincewide, and consultations on the format of the question will take place over the next few months.[2]

Winning a referendum on electoral reform isn’t going to be easy. Even though the BC NDP and BC Greens have committed to campaigning for change, our opponents are already ramping up their fear mongering in the media.[3]

So this week and next we’re sitting down to start strategizing, but first, we need to know what you think.

So, what do you say, PAOV? Are you ready to join the movement to win proportional representation for BC in 2018?

Read more: Referendum

ANTI-SLAPP LEGISLATION AT UBCM

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 14:48; Written by editor

ANTI-SLAPP LEGISLATION AT UBCM

THE UNION OF BC MUNICIPALITIES MET IN SEPTEMBER OVER 144 MOTIONS - Sep 29, 2017

by Michele Murphy
http://www.saanichvoiceonline.ca/2017/09/29/anti-slapp-legislation-ubcm-tales/

Lots may be coming out of the 2017 annual general meeting of the
Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). The theme this year is ‘Roots to
Results’ looking at the increasing leadership of local government in
matters of federal and provincial jurisdiction. This year’s program
includes keynotes, policy sessions, and workshops on climate action,
the opioid crisis, and the need for a deeper response to homelessness
and housing affordability.

Upcoming events not to be missed!

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 14:40; Written by editor

...

ACTIVlist Update - October 10, 2017

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 14:00; Written by editor

This daily ACTIVlist e-mail is a compilation of blog posts, media releases and action alerts from the Council of Canadians. For more information about our campaigns, how to get involved, and how to become a member, go to canadians.org. Please use this link to forward ACTIVlist to a friend and encourage them to join! Thank you for your interest and support.

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Trudeau refuses to pursue universal pharmacare despite lives lost, billions in savings
The Council of Canadians calls on the Trudeau government to implement universal pharmacare and save billions of dollars a year (money that could be invested in public health care, prevention, and wellness programs to save lives).

Ontario government fails to protect drinking water from Samsung energy project
The Council of Canadians is deeply concerned by the impact pile-driving construction activities -...

A Major Victory for Justice in Nigeria

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 11:47; Written by editor

© Benedicte Kurzen/NOOR for the Open Society Foundations
In 2005, 16 freshly minted Nigerian lawyers tried something new: they began offering free legal advice to suspects within 48 hours of their arrest. There was little doubt that their services were needed; more than two-thirds of the country’s prison population is simply waiting for a trial, a process that sometimes takes years. In the time since, an expanded version of their initiative has saved some 15,000 suspects from needless pretrial detention, and Nigeria’s most senior police officer has embraced it and made it standard policy. As great as the work of the past 12 years has been, the future looks even better.

Toronto Airport Workers Sacrificed for Pearson Privatization

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 00:03; Written by editor

Toronto Airport Workers Sacrificed for Pearson Privatization r1 ...

Reminder - Egypt: Free jailed union leaders now

Details: Published on Monday, 09 October 2017 23:31; Written by editor

Reminder - Egypt: Free jailed union leaders now r1 ...

The Neoliberal Danger of Basic Income

Details: Published on Sunday, 08 October 2017 22:14; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1494 .... October 9, 2017
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The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) has drawn up the following statement on basic income (BI). It makes the case that, progressive hopes to the contrary notwithstanding, BI is being developed as a measure of neoliberal attack that should be opposed. We invite progressive organizations and individuals who hold positions in agencies and academic institutions, who agree with our arguments, to sign onto the statement. We hope that it will raise a voice of opposition and help develop information sharing and forms of co-operation among those, internationally, who reject the notion that basic income represents any kind of realistic response to the neoliberal attack.

Endorsements and other responses can be directed to OCAP at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Neoliberal Danger of Basic Income

We, the undersigned, are convinced...

Insurgent Left, Resurgent Labour?

Details: Published on Saturday, 07 October 2017 22:19; Written by editor

LeftStreamed — Recorded in Toronto, 5 October 2017

Insurgent Left, Resurgent Labour?
Corbyn, Sanders and the Labour Movement

The relative success of the Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn campaigns have put left politics back on the political map. This panel seeks to explore the role that the labour movement played in the Sanders and Corbyn campaigns and consider whether similar political campaigns have the potential to contribute to a renewed and strengthened labour movement.

Moderated by Jordan House. Presentations by:

Doug Henwood, Behind the News
Hilary Wainwright, Red Pepper Magazine

Click here to view presentation

Share on Facebook

LeftStreamed YouTube channel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( LeftStreamed Production ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Produced by the LeftStreamed Collective. Viewers are encouraged to
distribute widely. Comments on the video and suggestions are
welcome - write to...

Indonesian dockworkers need our solidarity right now

Details: Published on Saturday, 07 October 2017 08:25; Written by editor

Indonesian dockworkers need our solidarity right now r1 ...

ACTIVlist Update - October 6, 2017

Details: Published on Friday, 06 October 2017 14:00; Written by editor

WIN! Energy East tar sands pipeline defeated!
The Council of Canadians is celebrating the defeat of the TransCanada Energy East pipeline - which we have been campaigning against since February 2013.

Together we stopped Energy East
Today is a good day. We stopped Energy East.

Chapters this Week!
Council of Canadians chapters take action for social, economic and environmental justice.

Great Lakes groups band together to challenge Nestlé and water crises in Flint...

Secret Spy Hearings- We've got a decision!

Details: Published on Friday, 06 October 2017 13:34; Written by editor

r1 ...

Semi-automatic weapons

Details: Published on Friday, 06 October 2017 06:02; Written by editor

Trending petition

American-style healthcare in Canada

Details: Published on Thursday, 05 October 2017 12:35; Written by editor

SumOfUs r1 ...

Congress: Put kids health before Dows

Details: Published on Thursday, 05 October 2017 10:41; Written by editor

Action Network Email r1 ...

Breaking: Energy East is dead.

Details: Published on Thursday, 05 October 2017 09:42; Written by editor

Friends,

Today, like many of you, I woke up to the best news. TransCanada announced that it’s withdrawing its application to build the Energy East tar sands pipeline because the project would need to pass a climate test. The proposal for the largest tar sands pipeline ever is dead and it’s thanks to all of you.

You and I know that no tar sands pipeline can pass a climate test. And today, we’ve learned that Big Oil knows it too. But, if one pipeline needs to pass a climate test -- so do the others. Join me to say thanks, to Prime Minister Trudeau and his Environment and Natural Resource ministers, for listening to and supporting people’s call for a climate review of pipelines -- and to demand that Kinder Morgan...

Freedom of Information in Canada Worse Now Than Under Harper

Details: Published on Thursday, 05 October 2017 08:02; Written by editor

Freedom of Information in Canada Worse Now Than Under Harper r1 ...

German Federal Elections: Chauvinistic Identity Policies Outperform Left Economic Alternatives

Details: Published on Thursday, 05 October 2017 05:08; Written by editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1493 .... October 5, 2017
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German Federal Elections:
Chauvinistic Identity Policies Outperform Left Economic Alternatives

Ingo Schmidt

Conservatives: Overestimating their Popularity

"For a Germany in which we live well and happily." Maybe it was just this less than catchy campaign slogan that cost Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU so dearly at the polls; leaving the party at a record low of 26.8 per cent of the total vote. What is more likely, though, is that the slogan was better at revealing chancellor Merkel’s state of mind -- something like: A Germany that should be happy that I govern it so well -- than capturing the mood of many of her erstwhile supporters. The conservatives had little sense that terrorism and refugee hysteria were much more than media spectacles. The hysteria...

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