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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.
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Lessons from Strikes Past
Direct Action Gets the Goods is the latest graphic novel from the Graphic History Collective along with artists Althea Balmes, Gord Hill, Orion Keresztesi, and David Lester. It is slim volume but it packs a punch. Subtitled A Graphic History of The Strike in Canada, it does not purport to be a comprehensive history of every strike throughout Canadian history.
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Canada gets cozy with repressive Middle East monarchies
Middle EastThe amicable relationship between the Trudeau government and repressive Middle East monarchies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates demonstrates how little the Liberals care about democracy abroad. It also reveals the duplicity of Canada’s claim that its efforts to oust the Maduro government in Venezuela is all about supporting democracy.
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The Monroe Doctrine is Back: Its Purpose is to Serve the Neoliberal Order
USA PoliticsThe grievance of the hardline Cuban exiles, meanwhile, has the double benefit reinforcing the ideological narratives of both the Monroe Doctrine and the neoliberal agenda that it has come to serve. Sadly, under this latest reality TV-inspired form of manufacturing consent for neoliberalism and imperialism created by Trumpism, we are moving into an era of the Monroe Doctrine on steroids. And that creates an even greater imperative for progressive voices to oppose it.
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Report Finds US Sanctions on Venezuela Are Responsible for Tens of Thousands of Deaths
Latin America and the CaribbeanA new paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), by economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs, finds that economic sanctions implemented by the Trump administration since August 2017 have caused tens of thousands of deaths and are rapidly worsening the humanitarian crisis. “The sanctions are depriving Venezuelans of lifesaving medicines, medical equipment, food, and other essential imports,” said Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of CEPR and co-author of the report.
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Activists Protect DC Venezuelan Embassy from US-supported Coup
Latin America and the CaribbeanAn extraordinary chapter in the ongoing saga of Venezuela has been taking place, virtually unnoticed, at the Venezuela Embassy that lies in the heart of swanky Georgetown in Washington DC. A group of us, all activists opposed to the prospect of the Venezuelan opposition taking over the Embassy, have been living inside the building for the past two weeks, working side-by-side with the skeletal Venezuela diplomatic staff that has been told by the State Department that they must leave by April 24.
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What a false accusation of antisemitism from Winnipeg’s mayor reminds us about political power
Canadian PoliticsStill licking his wounds from his scrap with Winnipeg Jets owners True North in 2015, Bowman has consciously decided to pick a fight with one of the oldest leftist institutions in the city for booking a renown Palestinian rights activist — all while ignoring the endless slew of bad news that warrants serious condemnation. Such cowardice will likely be no surprise to anyone who has watched the mayor capitulate to the likes of True North, or ignore the opportunity to condemn the controversial 2018 appearance of Jordan Peterson in the city.
