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The Threat of War with Iran
Middle EastA war with Iran—even assuming it would not include a land invasion—would be catastrophic. Iran is three times the size and population as Iraq and has a far more formidable military force. At the time of the 2003 U.S. invasion, Iraq had virtually no navy, air force, or long-range missiles, since much of its military capacity was physically destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable as a result of the 1990 Gulf War and the subsequent U.N. disarmament regime and rigorous international sanctions.
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So Much for ‘Austerity-Lite’ in Ontario
Canadian PoliticsFor Doug Ford’s Conservatives, democracy is but one more apparently inefficient entanglement getting in the way of business. The 2019 budget makes clear the alignment of the Ford regime with the authoritarian right-wing populism gaining traction around the world as it moves to extend the era of “permanent austerity,” which has been a hallmark since the 2008 recession. This is the political terrain upon which the growing social movement will be forming its strategy of resistance.
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Green leader May supports same old pro-imperialist foreign policies
Canadian PoliticsWhile she’s criticized some Canadian foreign policy decisions, May rarely strays far from the liberal establishment worldview. In laying out her party’s 2015 election position in Esprit de Corps magazine May wrote, “the world needs more Canada” and argued, “we should also support the United Nations’ ‘responsibility to protect’ doctrine”, which was used to justify bombing Libya in 2011 and ousting Haiti’s elected government in 2004. In her article May also bemoaned that “defence expenditures are headed to an unprecedented low.”
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U.S. dollar hegemony forcing regime change in Venezuela
Latin America and the CaribbeanDespite threats after pompous threats and false accusations and failed coup attempts, President Maduro holds on to a solid backing of six million voters who supported him, more than two thirds of those who went to the ballots, on 20 May 2018. He also has the solid support of the military, who have a revolutionary integrity and conscience unknown to the west. And not least, he has the support of Russia and China. Nevertheless, the United States will not let go. Why do they risk everything – even a devastating war?
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Where is Canada’s Socialist Resurgence?
Canadian PoliticsThe growth of socialism is just one side of the political polarization taking place in the United States. The surge of the far-right and the confidence Trump has empowered racists and reactionaries everywhere is extremely troubling. This dynamic of political polarization is occurring in many advanced capitalist countries such as France, the UK, Spain and Germany.
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Canada’s defence minister promoting arms sales to anti-democratic, repressive regimes
Canadian PoliticsCanada’s current Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan heads a ministry intimately tied to a globally oriented corporate weapons industry that profits from war. Is this something Canadians understand and support? Or would the majority of us be upset to learn their Minister of Defence is an arms pusher, promoting sales to anti-democratic, repressive regimes?
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Conservative ‘Blue Wave’ Sweeps Across Canada
Canadian PoliticsIt is clear that the blue wave can’t be turned back by the neoliberal centre, whether that is represented by liberals or right wing social democrats who refuse to break with the austerity consensus. It is equally clear that mass social action is urgently required to disrupt and seriously challenge the hard right governments installed across Canada. In Ontario, a recent rally of teachers, students and parents against the attack on public education was far larger than expected and it followed a walkout by over 100,000 students.
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Training for movements
Social MovementsMany activist spaces these days spend time developing critical analysis through events, writing, and discussion. What can we learn about current movements based on how they are training people? Not only are activists struggling mightily, but our collective capacity is lower than in some previous periods. Tobuild the large-scale, sustained, combative movements we need, we will have to generate new and relevant mechanisms for spreading the skills that activists need.
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Polymer perversity
EnvironmentAbout six percent of the world’s oil is currently used to produce plastic. But plastic production is set to quadruple by 2050, at which point it will account for 20 percent of oil consumption and 15 percent of the global annual carbon budget that must be respected if there is any hope of preventing global temperatures from rising by more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (all this according to a 2016 report, The New Plastics Economy commissioned by the World Economic Forum).
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We can’t confront climate change without stopping imperialism
EnvironmentWestern imperialist forces are attempting to overthrow the Venezuelan government to attain more profitable and stable sites for long-term investment. The coup may have failed on Tuesday but it’s almost guaranteed that Trump and his fascist cronies will keep trying until they succeed — or we beat them back. We can’t come anywhere close to combating climate change without preventing the violent privatization of oil assets in the few remaining countries that adhere to a set of anti-neoliberal politics.
