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March 16-31, 2011
Volume 19 - Number 6
$1
Prolétaires
de tous les pays, unissez-vous!
Otatoskewak ota kitaskinahk mamawestotan!
Workers of all lands, unite
1) CORPORATE TAX CUTS COULD BE MAJOR ELECTION ISSUE
2) MAJOR STRUGGLES BUILDING UP IN QUEBEC
3) SAME CLUB LED BY A DIFFERENT SMILE AND A DIFFERENT
GENDER
4) YES, IT CAN HAPPEN HERE - Editorial
5) U.S. TROOPS COMING SOON? - Editorial
6) WHY HUMAN RIGHTS, SAFE SCHOOLS AND PINK SHIRT
DAY MATTER
7) UFCW CALLS FOR JASON KENNEY RESIGNATION
8) RICH SCHOOLS GET RICHER IN ONTARIO
9) PREVENT AN IMPERIALIST MILITARY "SOLUTION" IN
LIBYA, SAYS CPC
10) NO TO US-NATO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA!
11) THE ROOTS OF THE REVOLUTION IN EGYPT
12) EGYPT AND IRAN: GIANTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST
13) THE WEST'S HYPOCRISY ON THE BOMB IN KOREA
14) NO FOREIGN INTERVENTION UNDER ANY PRETEXT!
15) JEANNE CORBIN: WORKING CLASS ORGANIZER
16) WHAT’S LEFT
16)
CLARTÉ (en français)
17)
THE SPARK! (Theoretical and Discussion Bulletin of the Communist Party of
18) INTRODUCING MARX
19)
PV MOBILE
PEOPLE'S VOICE MARCH
16-31, 2011 (pdf)
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The Spark!
The Spark! The latest issue of The Spark! theoretical
journal, is now on sale for $5 at Communist Party offices (see p. 8) or People’s
Co-op Books, Articles include
plus reviews, editorials, and more.
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Theoretical
and Discussion Bulletin of the Communist Party of |
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People's Voice deadlines: April 1-15 April 16-30 Send submissions to PV Editorial Office,
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REDS
ON THE WEB |
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People's Voice finds many "Global Class Struggle" reports at the "Labour Start" website, http://www.labourstart.org/. We urge our readers to check it out! |
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(The following articles are from the
March 16-31, 2011, issue of People's
1) CORPORATE TAX CUTS COULD BE MAJOR ELECTION ISSUE
By Kimball Cariou
The Harper government is being less than
accurate about the cost of its corporate tax cuts, judging by a report from Parliamentary
Budget Officer Kevin Page.
The PBO released a report on Feb. 27 in
response to a request from the House of Commons finance committee, seeking cost
estimates related to corporate tax cuts, crime bills and the government's
planned purchase of F‑35 fighter jets.
Globe and Mail reporter Bill Curry wrote that "On all three issues, the PBO
reports that
That left the PBO unable to price the justice
bills, but Page's office will provide its own estimate on the cost of the
fighter jets in the next few weeks.
Using recent information on corporate profits,
the PBO reports that Finance
"Finance
The PBO says it cannot explain the $1.5
billion difference between the estimates. The office has asked Finance to
provide more detail regarding its figures.
Meanwhile, after years of waffling on the
issue, opposition leaders have finally begun to speak out against the ongoing
corporate tax cuts. The issue could become a hot campaign topic if Finance
Minister Jim Flaherty's 2011-12 budget is defeated. Recent speculation is that
the budget will be introduced on March 22. If the Liberals, Bloc Quebecois and
NDP vote against the budget, a federal election would be triggered as early as
May 2.
Speaking to a business luncheon in
For their part, the Liberals now argue that
the corporate tax cuts, the $16 billion F-35 fighter jet purchase, and huge
spending on "maga-prisons" will make it difficult to maintain federal
health transfers to the provinces. The federal government is committed to
increasing health transfers by 6% annually through to 2013‑14, but there
are no guarantees after that date.
By raising these issues, the Liberals appear
to be trying to marginalize the NDP in the impending election. NDP leader Jack
Layton has done little over the past few years to focus on these topics,
apparently trying to appeal to the business sector and the centre-right of the
political spectrum. Instead of demanding lower military spending,
The Communist Party of
Corporate profits are nearing the pre-crisis
levels of about $250 billion annually. Restoring the 29% tax rate on corporate
profits - the level of just a decade ago - would bring more than $100 billion
into federal coffers over a four-year period. Cutting the military budget by
75% would provide at least another $40 billion over this time, and halting the
"law and order" projects would save billions more.
The Communist Party's plan would provide the
federal government with at least $140 billion to invest in social housing,
child care, job creation, environmental initiatives, and other urgent
priorities, without adding any new taxes for working people.
2)
PV Montréal Bureau
Over 30,000 trade union members, students,
women's organizations, environmentalists and other social groups are expected
to march on Premier Charest's Montréal offices on March 12, in a vocal show of
protest against the Liberal budget to be presented by Finance Minister Raymond
Bachand.
The mobilization is organized by two major
groups, l'Alliance sociale and la Coalition opposée a la tarification et a
la privatisation des services publics (The Social
They are rallying under the slogan
"Québec's budget, an question of choice!", highlighting that the
budget is being rammed through the National Assembly without consultation or
discussion. Bachand's austerity budget, they say, is not a necessity but an
ideological decision, prioritizing profits before people.
"We oppose all forms of regressive
taxation, which burden the less fortunate and those whose health is most
fragile" a statement by the two groups said. "The proposed health fee
of $200 (per person, per year) in addition to being discriminatory against
women, is deeply unfair, because it requires the same effort to all households,
regardless of their income."
The organizations also reject the severe
increase of tuition fees, and the wide scope of privatization and cuts.
"It is time that the government favours
socially positive choices that reflect a better redistribution of wealth. It
must invest in services to the population and make every effort to ensure that
jobs are quality," concluded the representatives of the Coalition and the
Social
At a meeting of the Parti Communiste du Québec
(PCQ) the weekend before the rally, Robert Luxley, editor of the newspaper Clarté, explained that a mass
mobilization of as many people as possible for the demonstration was a priority
of all progressives.
Luxley stressed that it was essential the
mobilizations continue after March 12. No official plans have yet been
announced, but the spirit is optimistic.
The coalescing of these two groups can be seen
as the uniting of tendencies within the labour and people's fightback in
Québec. The l'Alliance sociale formed in the wake of the dissolution of the Front
Commun, a bargaining coalition of all the major trade union centrals in Québec
which came together last year, but folded to concessions offered by the
government.
The major weapon of the labour movement -
strike action and a general social or political strike - was not off the table,
Luxley said. However, the dissolution of the Front Commun was a major step back
for working‑class struggle and weakened the fightback.
The other group calling the demonstration, la
Coalition opposée a la tarification et a la privatisation des services publics,
is smaller but more militant. It is composed largely of individual unions or
locals and the left‑wing of the student movement.
Noting that the left party Québec solidaire is
the only political party that is an observer to the coalition process, and a
supporter of the mass united people's action, the PCQ also announced that it
was forming an organized collective within Québec solidaire under the name of
the Communist Party of Canada.
Québec solidaire (QS) has one elected member
in the National Assembly, Amir Khadir. It was formed five years ago when the
Union des forces progressiste (UFP) merged with a major feminist group in
Québec. A founding member of the UFP, the PCQ has advocated for a federated
workers' party since 1965.
In addition to providing an independent voice
within Québec solidaire, the creation of a communist collective will be an
important step for the participation of left forces within the broad
"umbrella" left party in two other ways, the PCQ meeting concluded.
First, the Communists will be advocating a
position within Québec solidaire in support of the right of self‑determination
and sovereignty up to and including separation for Québec. However, in a letter
to the QS leadership applying for the status of a collective, the Communists
state that they oppose a strategy of independence at the current time.
Instead, they will be arguing for the unity of
the Québec working class with the Canadian working class in its struggle
against finance capital. Such unity of the people should ultimately be
expressed in a radically new republican constitution for
Therefore, the meeting noted, if Québec
solidaire accepts this application, it will effectively be sending a positive
message that the non‑nationalist left are still welcome "under the
tent" of Québec solidaire. This includes a large number of progressive
immigrants in Montréal.
The forming of a collective is also important
as the PCQ is engaging militants and activists from across the left spectrum in
a major debate within QS about the content of its platform and programme.
At an upcoming QS convention, the party will
debate the question of whether to call for nationalization of the economy,
including energy and banking. The PCQ is advocating that Québec solidaire take
on the character of an anti‑imperialist, anti-monopoly, and pro‑democratic
party with stronger links to labour.
The PCQ is participating in a major round‑table
of pro-socialist and anti‑capitalist groups within QS, and is circulating
its own statement which will be reprinted, in English, in the upcoming edition
of the theoretical journal The Spark!
3) SAME CLUB LED BY A DIFFERENT SMILE AND A DIFFERENT
GENDER
The new leader of the BC Liberal Party, Christy Clark, may be the only
person who believes that Gordon Campbell left the province in better shape at
the time of his departure than at his debut. Sam Hammond, BC provincial leader
of the Communist Party, points out that, "This is more than naiveté. It is
a declaration of more of the same old, same old."
"Christy Clark claims to put `Family
First' but her vision of family values nicely skips over unemployment,
homelessness, child poverty, education cuts and the impacts of
privatization," points out Hammond. "Her vision of family does not
include the working people".
Despite having portrayed herself during the
leadership campaign as an outsider,
"Christy Clark made attacking the BC
Teachers Federation one of her main priorities,"
Clark also made legislative changes, and
changed the school funding formula, with the result of increased class sizes
and decreased supports for all students, but particularly those with special
needs. She not only froze education funding, but also announced the government
would not pay for teacher salary increases agreed to by the previous NDP
government. School Boards were forced to cover the increases, resulting in
unprecedented cuts, amounting to $25.5 million in
Clark's short term at Ministry of Children and
Families, was similarly marked by chaos. Nor should it be forgotten that
Christy Clark was Deputy Premier for the scandal‑ridden sale of BC Rail.
"Clark championed the giveaway of the
publicly owned BC Rail to private ownership",
"She is not an outsider," says
People's Voice Editorial
Last year, when the ruling class
"solution" to the economic crisis was met with anger in the streets
of European cities, working people here looked on with admiration, and perhaps
also a bit of confusion. Some swallowed them corporate lie that the
"austerity" being rammed through in
Now the widespread attack on union rights
across the
Similarly, transit workers in
wage rates to pensions to social programs. Nothing can be gained by
trying to dodge the capitalist attack, or hoping that the corporations will
spare one or another group of workers.
The only answer is to follow the lead of the
so‑called "backward" countries, from
People's Voice Editorial
Once again, the Harper government has signed a
backroom deal giving the
There is certainly wide potential for this
agreement to militarize civilian responses to emergency incidents, and work is
underway on a joint plan to protect common infrastructure such as roadways and
oil pipelines. As the Council of Canadians pointedly asks, "Are we going
to see (
There are other questions about this
treasonous deal, which is certainly not an agreement between equals. Since the
For several years, the trend towards closer
integration of the Canadian Armed Forces into the
6) WHY HUMAN RIGHTS,
By Jane
Bouey,
February 23 is Pink Shirt Day in B.C., an
opportunity to redouble our efforts in combating all forms of bullying and
discrimination, and their root causes - especially in our schools.
Pink Shirt Day should also bring special
attention to Bill C‑389. This federal bill would add gender identity and
gender
expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the
Canadian Human Rights Act, and also add gender identity and gender expression
to the Criminal Code sections dealing with hate speech and sentencing for
crimes where hate was a motivating factor.
Closer to home, during the Feb. 21 meeting of
the
Why is this bill school board business?
Harassment over gender expression can be for
something as simple as wearing pink. The widely celebrated Pink Shirt Day
started when Nova Scotia Grade 12 students David Shepherd and Travis Price
heard that a Grade 9 student had been threatened and called a homosexual for
wearing pink on the first day of school.
Shepherd and Price bought 50 pink shirts and e‑mailed
friends to get them on board. The next day, hundreds of students showed
up wearing pink clothing. It then became a provincial phenomena, Canada‑wide
campaign, and is now an internationally recognized day.
Egale's recent national climate survey
determined that 95 percent of transgender students feel unsafe at school, that
nine out of 10 trans students are verbally harassed because of their expression
of gender, and that two out of five are physically harassed due to their
expression of gender.
Harassment due to expression of gender isn't
just experienced by trans, lesbian, gay, or bisexual students. The majority of
those harassed for dressing or acting in ways that defy gender stereotypes are
kids that don't even identify as LGBTQ.
Harassment drives LGBTQ youth out of school.
Research in the
In February 2004, the COPE school board passed
groundbreaking policy that included the following: "the Board is committed
to establishing and maintaining a positive learning environment for all
students and employees including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgendered, transsexual, two‑spirit, or who are questioning their
sexual orientation or gender identity. These students and employees, as all
students and employees, have the right to learn and work in an environment free
of discrimination and harassment... Specifically, the Board will not tolerate hate
crimes, harassment or discrimination, and will vigorously enforce policy and
regulations dealing with such matters."
The
As our motion says, we urge the Senate
"to consider how Bill C‑389 will make
Bill C‑389 and the human rights it
addresses are clearly issues that fall squarely on the shoulders of school
districts across the country. The lives of our youth are literally at stake. I
hope we can ensure that the Canadian Senate understands this and passes Bill C‑389.
(Bouey is a
Coalition of Progressive Electors school trustee in
7) UFCW CALLS FOR JASON KENNEY RESIGNATION
Wayne Hanley, the national president of UFCW
Canada, has called for the resignation of Jason Kenney, the Minister of
Immigration and Citizenship for allowing his parliamentary office to be used in
a partisan attempt to fundraise for a pre‑election advertising campaign.
The call comes in the wake of a misdirected
letter on Kenney's constituency letterhead that was sent to Harper MPs, asking
them to quickly raise $200,000 to pay for an advertising blitz aimed at
Chinese, South Asian, Ukrainian and Jewish voters in ten ridings across Canada:
four of them in Greater Toronto; four on B.C.'s Lower Mainland; and one each in
Manitoba and Quebec.
The letter also outlined the Conservative
strategy for a spring election, referring to a $378,000 "pre‑writ"
ethnic media campaign to begin March 15.
"Minister Kenney should resign without
delay. He and the Prime Minister have proven once again all they care
about is politics, and not the rules of Parliament which forbid the use the use
of parliamentary resources for partisan purposes," says Hanley. "The
Harper government claims it doesn't want an election, but in the meantime the
office of his immigration minister has become a campaign headquarters, cranking
out fundraising letters."
Kenney apologized for the incident but refused
to resign. He categorized it as an unfortunate mishap that he would have
prevented, except he was overseas when the letters were sent. Instead, his
director of multicultural affairs, Kasra Nejatian took the blame and tendered
his resignation.
"A minister is responsible for what
happens on his watch. Nejatian's resignation is just a scapegoat for Kenney's untenable
stance to take advantage of his parliamentary office for selfish political
gains. If there is any degree of transparency or ethics left in the Prime
Minister's Office, then Mr. Harper must demand Mr. Kenney's resignation, not
that of a civil servant," says the UFCW Canada national president.
"You cannot use your position as a
minister or as an MP to solicit funds for a purely partisan initiative,"
says Naveen Mehta, UFCW
8)
Special to PV
The Toronto
Star reported on Feb. 28 that "two public and two Catholic high
schools in Greater Toronto are bringing in more than a million dollars a year
through student fees, private revenue and fundraising, with dozens more each
taking in at least half a million dollars."
Other similar‑sized schools report a
fraction of these totals, raising questions about equity in the public
education system.
In
The figures obtained by the Star provide a school‑by‑school
look at how $240 million in private money flows into the public system across
the GTA region. "School‑generated funds" include student
activity and athletic fees, cafeteria and vending machine profits, and money
collected for field trips, book orders and charity fundraisers.
The four high schools in the million‑dollar
club include Turner Fenton in Brampton ($1.4 million), Mayfield in Caledon
($1.3 million), St. Aloysius Gonzaga in Mississauga ($1 million), and Michael Power/St.
Joseph in Toronto ($1.3 million). These schools charge exam fees as high as
$1,200/student for the International Baccalaureate program, and student
activity fees topping $100.
School‑generated funds help cover the
shortfall between provincial funding and the real cost of educating students.
For schools that can raise a lot of money,
"it ends up becoming a private school in the public system," said
Annie Kidder of research and advocacy group People for Education. "It's
hard to resist as a parent, but it really undermines the overall ideal of
public education."
The aggregate dollar amount is
"significant," said Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky, who pleaded
ignorance in refusing to comment on whether the province would consider asking
rich schools to share with needier schools.
People for Education has been tracking trends
in school-generated funds since the province began asking boards to collect the
data in 2005.
"We always used to think fundraising for
extras was fine," said Kidder, "But what's an extra? I think we even
used to think fundraising for playgrounds was okay, but then should kids in low‑income
neighbourhoods have crappy playgrounds? The hardest question is where you draw
the line."
Three-quarters of
9) PREVENT AN IMPERIALIST MILITARY "SOLUTION"
IN
Issued by the Central Executive Committee, Communist
Party of
The uprising against the Qaddafi‑led regime and the resulting
armed conflict in
The turmoil and resulting loss of life in
Efforts to mediate a peaceful, political
settlement to the conflict under the aegis of the African Union have been
stymied by the imperialist powers which seek to impose a military solution that
would advance their economic and political interests not only in Libya but also
throughout North Africa and the Middle East as a whole.
The mainstream corporate media equates the
uprising in
Deteriorating socio‑economic conditions
have also fed the fire of revolt. The social advances ushered in by the 1969
revolution which overthrew the monarchic regime significantly improved the
living conditions of the Libyan working class. Financed largely through the
revenues of the nationalized oil industry, universal access to quality
healthcare, education (including post‑secondary studies) and social
services were all greatly expanded and improved, and the real incomes of the
people soared, helping Libya achieve the highest level of GNP per‑capita
income and human development index ranking in all of Africa. However since the
early 1990s, there has been a steady rollback in progressive social policies,
under the tutelage of the IMF. A number of key industries where privatized,
wealth became ever more concentrated in the hands of the well‑connected,
unemployment (especially among youth) grew substantially, and social
disparities widened along both class and regional lines, aggravating long‑standing
tribal relations inside the country.
There can be no doubt that these political and
socio‑economic grievances and contradictions laid the objective basis for
the resulting protest movement. The unacceptable actions of the Qaddafi‑led
regime in violently suppressing the largely peaceful protests further inflamed
the situation, widening the social base of the opposition.
On the other hand, the opposition forces are
also composed of reactionary and imperialist‑sponsored elements,
including pro-monarchist forces which have never forgiven the '69 revolution
for dethroning King Idris, and well‑financed pro‑imperialist
groupings such as the so‑called "National Front for the Salvation of
Libya" which is bankrolled by the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy, a
notorious CIA‑conduit which finances counter‑revolutionary forces
around the globe (in Cuba, Venezuela, etc.). The NFSL has maintained a para‑military
training base for a "liberation army" across the Libya‑Egypt
border for years, armed and financed by
These are the reactionary forces which the
imperialist powers are actively supporting and promoting - a puppet
"government‑in‑waiting" that U.S. imperialism and its
allies, including Canada, plan to impose on the Libyan people once they have
crushed the Qaddafi regime. In this sense, it is fully accurate to speak of an
imperialist conspiracy to impose its own solution through military force -
either unilaterally or under the cover of the UN Security Council - with the
aim of securing Libya's oil resources, and tilting the political‑economic
and strategic balance of forces throughout the region back in its favour.
That is why it is absolutely crucial that the
peace movement and all progressive, anti‑imperialist and peace‑loving
people across Canada do everything possible to prevent such an imperialist‑led
military "solution" to the Libyan crisis, hypocritically disguised as
a "humanitarian intervention"; to oppose the threatened imposition of
a "no‑fly zone" which would constitute an act of war under
international law; to condemn the aggressive role of the Harper Conservative
government in this dangerous misadventure; to demand the immediate recall of
the HMCS Charlottetown, a heavily‑armed warship it has sent as part of
the NATO military build‑up; to oppose that UN‑imposed sanctions on
Libya which will inflict further pain on the already suffering masses of Libyan
people; to uphold the national sovereignty of Libya; and to promote a peaceful,
political solution to this crisis.
10) NO TO US-NATO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN
No to Canadian Military Involvement!
Canadian Peace Congress statement on events in Libya, March
2, 2011
As the crisis in Libya deepens, the Canadian
Peace Congress denounces the rapid moves by imperialist forces - including the
U.S., E.U., NATO, Canada and Israel - to intervene and exploit the conflict to
their advantage. We call on the minority Harper Conservative government to
withdraw the offensive Canadian JTF‑2 Special Forces who have been
deployed to the region, recall the heavily armed HMCS Charlottetown and refrain
from deploying logistical air refuelling and support power, and halt the
implementation of offensive CF‑18s to the region. Furthermore, the
Canadian government must oppose the United Nations Security Council's
imposition of sanctions which will only result in the death and injury of
Libyan people, and reject any form of foreign military intervention including
the use of no‑fly zones which will involve massive bombardment to
neutralize existing Libyan air defences.
While the composition and demands of the
movement against the Qaddafi regime are not clear at this point, there is a
strong component that is decidedly reactionary in nature. This element, centred
in Eastern Libya, includes the so‑called "National Front for the
Salvation of
The recent, successful uprisings in
The current efforts by Western governments to
demonize Qaddafi as a murderous madman who has committed crimes against
humanity are eerily reminiscent of the similar treatment that Saddam Hussein
received prior to the US‑led invasion of
The Canadian Peace Congress is concerned that
some voices in the broader peace movement have called for the governments of
The danger of war, including the use of
nuclear weapons, is very real and is being fuelled by the military involvement
of the US, EU, NATO and Israel. There are reports that hundreds of American,
British and French military personnel have already landed in
If there is to be any hope of peace, democracy
and progress in
It is the sole right and task of the people
The key responsibility of the peace movement
in
* declares its solidarity with the Libyan people and demands an end to
the bloodshed;
* denounces the UN sanctions against the Libyan people;
* calls on the Canadian government to withdraw from its military
interference, including cancelling the deployment of the HMCS
* opposes any foreign military intervention, including efforts to
impose a no‑fly zone over
11) THE ROOTS OF THE REVOLUTION IN
Excerpts from the speech given by Salah
Adly, member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of Egypt, during a
conference of communist and worker's parties held Feb. 25-26 in
I have come to you from
The main slogan for the revolution was
freedom, social justice, human dignity. Those roaring mass demonstrations
carried on throughout the governorates of
In addition (the regime) cut off the internet
connection and disabled all mobile networks on the eve of the January 28
"Friday of anger", which indicated that it was intent on committing a
massacre. But the people abolished that plot too, and defeated that gigantic
system. They directed their anger toward the oppressive figures of the regime,
as 2000 police vehicles and police stations, in addition to the headquarters of
the ruling party and its branches in the governorates, were burned down as
symbols and tools of daily oppression, torture, and humiliation of the
citizens...
The fascist plot was overturned because of the
patriotic attitude of the military, in which they refused to use violence against
demonstrators, and because of the vigilance of the revolutionary people who
founded social committees in all the neighbourhoods. Those social committees
protected the buildings, facilities, and citizens.
After the million-strong demonstration on
Tuesday, February 1, the forces of the counter‑revolution tried to
organize bribed pro‑dictator‑Mubarak demonstrations on bloody
Wednesday, February 2... (They) deployed criminals and thugs in order to
dissolve the revolution, and drive the demonstrators away from Tahrir Square,
which has become a symbol of revolution and its persistence and continuity, but
the revolutionaries stood against those barbarians, defeated them, and
liberated the "Square of Liberation".
That bloody day was a critical day to the
victory of the revolution in a historical scene, which manifested to the whole
world the barbarism and brutality of the ruling regime, which used horses,
camels, and bullets in a clear contrast between this savageness... and peaceful
demonstrations where not even one stone was thrown, nor witnessed one single
accident of religious intolerance, or sexual harassment during the 18 days of
sit‑ins and demonstrations until the dictator fell... It has been proven
to the masses and governments of the world the erroneousness of the lies that
claimed the Egyptian people was unable to practice democracy.
The Egyptian people paid a high price with its
resistance and insistence to overthrow the dictator Mubarak. According to the
official statistics, the number of martyrs reached 365, besides 5500 injures.
Those wrote with their blood-ink pure pages, and achieved a dream for which the
Egyptian people had been waiting for decades.
There is no question the Egyptian and Tunisian
revolutions have re‑considered the concept of social revolutions which
the supporters of capitalism claimed had become outdated. Those masses have
proved that revolution is the locomotive of history, as Marx said, and the tool
that depicts the capability of the masses for deep‑rooted, peaceful,
democratic change, in the face of oppressive regimes that block all the doors
for the mechanism of change by traditional democratic means.
The revolution of January 25 did not happen
accidentally, nor did it happen by a high‑level decision. It happened as
a result of a total revolutionary crisis, whose objective and subjective
conditions were available, and which were preceded by thousands of protests,
strikes, and sit‑ins, with rippled the political and social life of Egypt
in recent years, carried out by workers, students, and the toilers. Those
protests represented the alarms for the imminent birth of this great
revolution, which nobody could predict its timing, and which stunned everyone
with its rich and diverse social participation, and the tremendous abilities of
the youth, and the politically high roof of demands and goals from the first
day of the revolution...
Also, the Tunisian revolution's success in
overthrowing dictator Bin Ali was an important factor to inspire the Egyptian
people, as it emphasized the capability of the masses to accomplish the victory
and change the fates of their countries.
Some numbers give indications about the growth
of the revolutionary crisis, and the deterioration of the standard of living as
a result of the policies and practices of the autocratic ruling regime allied
with American imperialism, and the steadfast executor of neoliberal economic
policies imposed by the institutions of global capitalism.
In
Add the inheritance of power to Gamal Mubarak,
which was being orchestrated, and forging elections relentlessly and
systematically until the latest elections, where the NDP completely dominated
the parliament (97% of the total seats), and the control of state security
officers over all political and economic life, professional syndicates, trade
unions, faculty members, and civil society organizations, in addition to the daily
practices of oppression and torture inside police stations under the emergency
law for 30 years.
All that implied it would be impossible for
those circumstances to keep on. The revolution was inevitably imminent, as its
objective conditions were present, as Marx said. The people and the youth
couldn't keep living the same way as before, their future was darkened, and the
regime along with its institutions had become unable to rule using the past
ways, on account of their senility, mouldiness, internal conflicts, and its
dependence on the oppressive mechanism.
Also the availability of the revolutionary
moment played a major role, due to the accumulation of the activity of
political forces, and the crystallization of alternative political, economic
and national programs. Thus one can confidently say that is a revolution that
has its own trait, not just a movement or an uprising.
The Egyptian people, during the revolution
days, proved that decades of hard years could not terminate their ethical
features, their tolerant habits, and their insistence... The military's
attitude has also contributed to the accomplishment of the people's demands,
and the overthrow of the regime. Egyptians have also proven through its
demonstrations of millions that the revolution is ongoing. The slogans of the
revolution chanted and insisted on by the public were inspirational. At the
same time, it wasn't possible for any political force to claim they had
mobilized the masses. The illusions of chaos, terrorism, and religious tension,
promoted and used by the regime to intimidate the people, have been eliminated
too.
12)
By Jane
Green, Morning Star (
Both fell prey to the imperial interests of
Egypt declared itself an Arab republic in 1953
and expelled British forces three years later, shortly before president Gamal
Nasser nationalised the Suez canal, a vital asset for world shipping.
And, as
Nasser remained in power despite the best
efforts of
Oil‑rich
He himself was overthrown by a popular
revolution in 1979. But hopes of progressive change were crushed when the
uprising was usurped by Islamic fundamentalists.
For the past 30 years both
This bubbled to the surface in Iran in June
2009, when popular opposition to the "re‑election" of President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked protests as widespread as they were unexpected in a
country which did not tolerate mass demonstrations. The Green Movement, headed
by "defeated" presidential candidates Mehdi Karoubi and Mir Hossein
Mousavi, along with his wife Zahra Rahnavard, had provided a focus for decades
of frustration among the Iranian people.
And the protesters returned to the streets on
February 14, striking a major psychological blow against the government.
Despite waves of arrests, executions and attempts by the regime to label them
foreign agents, this popular movement has continued.
So too has
Now it appears that
Yet events in
The regime is keenly aware of this. However,
its own policies have created the conditions for yet more unrest.
Ahmadinejad's recent neoliberal economic
"shock therapy," which removed or restructured subsidies, is causing
widespread price increases and is resulting in growing hardship and discontent ‑
key factors in Egypt's uprising. And, like
Much of this organisation remains clandestine
due to the nature of these regimes. But it remains disciplined and has the
potential to play a decisive role in the direction of current events.
Iran remains content to blame outside forces
for its internal crisis, meaning that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's
recent comments backing demonstrators play directly into the hands of the
regime. Undoubtedly her words will be recalled by
The level of outside interference remains key
to determining the scale of the changes in
The West's policy objective is to limit the
desire of the masses to force fundamental socioeconomic changes that would
threaten its "vital interests." In
As for
People across the
The importance of these people's struggles for
the region and world cannot be understated. Neither can the need for sustained,
genuine support from progressives in the West to ensure that the goals of
democracy and self‑determination are achieved.
(Jane Green is
13) THE WEST'S HYPOCRISY ON THE BOMB IN
By Sean Burton
The
A number of national assembly members from
The right‑wing media has seen a flurry
of pro‑nuclear weapon articles in recent weeks. In January, a columnist
for the Chosun Ilbo openly
called for
Majority opinion in
In other words, the immediate presence of
nukes is irrelevant, since the
Naturally, there is tremendous irony and hypocrisy
in this situation.
Therein lies the very reason for the North's
nuclear program.
It hardly matters if the desire to bring nukes
back was genuine, or that
14) NO FOREIGN INTERVENTION UNDER ANY PRETEXT!
Statement
of the World Peace Council on the situation in
The World Peace Council expresses its deepest concern
and indignation with the recent and ongoing developments in
We underline the right of the Libyan people to
express their anger and agony and their demands for changes in the social and
economic field and their sovereign right to determine the political
developments in their own country and that foreign interference is boosting the
risk of the violence escalating into a civil war.
The Imperialists that are serving the
interests of the multinational corporations and international capital under the
pretext of "humanitarian intervention", are searching for opportunity
to take more and open control of the oil and gas resources of
We denounce the military presence of warships
of various NATO states and the 6th US Fleet in the international waters in
front of
The WPC expresses its full‑hearted
solidarity with the people of
The Secretariat
of WPC March 3, 2011
15) JEANNE CORBIN: WORKING CLASS ORGANIZER
Our series of articles marking the 90th
anniversary of the Communist Party of Canada continues with the story of a
party militant who became known to many Canadians a few years ago with the
publication of Red Travellers: Jeanne Corbin and Her
Comrades. This important book by
Andrée Lévesque adds to the rich historical study of women who made a profound
contribution to the early revolutionary movement, such as Annie Buller, Becky
Buhay and
Born in 1906 in
Seeking to improve her chances in life,
Corbin's parents sent her to school in
By the time Corbin received her teaching
credentials, she was already on an RCMP blacklist. Instead, she became a
full-time revolutionary. As Robert Lanning wrote in a 2008 review for People's Voice, before her untimely
death, "Corbin had become a model of the working class organizer of the
1920s and 30s: writing, speaking, raising money, demonstrating, teaching,
knocking on doors and spending time in jail."
As the Dirty Thirties began, Jeanne Corbin
quickly became one of the most committed and talented young activists in the
communist movement. Her assignments included raising funds for the party's
newspaper, The Worker, and
campaigning for the Canadian Labor Defence League, the organization led by Rev.
A.E. Smith which defended radicals facing legal charges. Corbin herself was
first jailed in 1929, ironically for leading a rally during a Free Speech
Conference in Toronto, where police arrested 15 people to enforce a bylaw which
prohibited outdoor meetings of Communists.
Corbin toured northern
During the lumber workers' strike of 1933 in
Abitibi, Corbin was accused of inciting riot and of illegal assembly, a common
charge against WUL organizers during the Depression era. After serving three months
in jail, she returned to
As Lanning writes, "Corbin was living
what she loved, not because working among the unemployed and exploited was
something like a religious vocation, but because her vision was so evidently
oriented to a socialist future out of a miserable capitalist present."
Lévesque and other authors have devoted much
attention to the role of Communist women during this period. Looking back
through the very different prism of later decades, some have argued that issues
of women's inequality were downplayed in a party largely composed of male
industrial workers. But from another perspective, Corbin and her sister
comrades were pioneers in a broader cultural shift which challenged prevailing
gender norms and stereotypes.
Tragically, Corbin's life and contributions
were cut short by tuberculosis. Unfortunately, she had been reluctant to seek
consistent medical care during her years of constant political activity. As
Norman Bethune stressed, tuberculosis was largely an "environmental"
disease, curable for the wealthy and deadly for the poor. The death rate from
TB during this period was more than four times higher in
To make matters worse, Corbin's doctor in
A.E. Smith, Tim Buck and Annie Buller spoke at
Jeanne Corbin's funeral, and she was buried in Park Lawn cemetery in
South Africa Yesterday, Today, and
Tomorrow, Fri., March 11, 7 pm, 706 Clark Dr.
South Africa under apartheid, and where it is going. Also report from delegates to 17th World Festival of Youth
& Students held last December in
March Against Racism, Sunday, March 20, 2 pm, from Waterfront Skytrain (601 W. Cordova), call
604-715-6990 for info.
Left Film Night/Pasta Dinner for
People’s Voice, 6 pm, Sunday, March 27, tickets $12,
followed by Left Film Night at 7 pm,
Migrant Workers: Equal in Rights? Public forum on class action suit against Denny’s Restaurants,
Wed., March 23, 6-9 pm, Cracked Ice Lounge, Sheraton Wall Centre,
Cuba’s Health Solidarity in
Haiti, a first-hand account of
Marxism course, classes begin early 2011. Pre-register with the Communist Party,
586-7824 or cpc-mb@mts.net.
Cuba’s Health Solidarity in
Haiti, a first-hand account of
Our City, Our Services, Our Future, April 9 Community Day of Action at City Hall to defend good jobs, public
services and greener cities. For info on the rally and buses to
Palestinians And Jews United,
boycott/disinvestment/sanctions picket, every Saturday, 1-3 pm, outside Le
marcheur, at
****************************************
IWD
EVENTS
NORTH VANCOUVER - March 12, 7 pm,
Crimson Cabaret at Centennial Theatre, to support North Shore Women’s
Centre, tickets from 604-984-6009.