|
|
| Theoretical and Discussion Bulletin of the
Communist Party of Canada |
|
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, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
Articles
include
- “Introduction to a General Theory of Culture” (Barry Lord);
- “Political & Economic Realities Behind Colombian Labour Relations” (Sacouman, Moore & Brittain);
- “Treaty Process & Indian Nationalism” (Ray Bobb);
- “Lenin: Heritage of the Socialist Market Economy” (C.J. Atkins);
- “Nature of the State Under Bush & Harper” (Stephen Von Sychowski);
- plus reviews, editorials, and more.
|
People's
Voice deadlines:
OCTOBER 1-15
Thursday, September 24
OCTOBER 16-31
Thursday, October 8
Send submissions
to PV
Editorial
Office,
706 Clark Drive, Vancouver,
V5L 3J1, pvoice@telus.net
|
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!
|
*
* * * *
People's Voice
Canadian
Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement #205214
ISSN number
1198-8657
People's Voice is
published by
New Labour Press
Ltd
PV Editorial Office
706 Clark Drive,
VANCOUVER, B.C.
V5L 3J1
Phone:604-255-2041
Fax:604-254-9803
email: pvoice@telus.net
Editor:
Kimball Cariou
Editorial
Board: Kimball
Cariou, Miguel Figueroa,
Doug
Meggison, Naomi Rankin, Liz Rowley, Jim Sacouman
* * *
* * *
Letters
People's
Voice welcomes your letters
on
any subject covered in our pages.
We
reserve the right to edit for length and clarity,
and
to refuse to print letters which may be libellous
or
which contain unnecessary personal attacks.
Send
your views to:
"Letters
to the Editor",
796
Clark Dr., Vancouver, BC V5L 3J1,
or pvoice@telus.net
People's
Voice articles may be reprinted without permission,
provided
the source is
credited.
* * * * * *
The
Communist Party of
Canada, formed in 1921,
has a proud history of fighting for jobs, equality, peace,
Canadian independence, and socialism.
The CPC does much more than run candidates in elections.
We think the fight against big business and its parties
is a year-round job,
so our members are active across the country,
to build our party and to help strengthen people's movements
on a wide range of issues.
All
our policies and
leadership
are set democratically by our members.
To find out more about Canada's party of Socialism,
give us a call at the nearest CPC office.
*
*
* * * *
Central Committee CPC
290A Danforth Ave Toronto, Ont. M4K 1N6
Ph: (416) 469-2446
fax: (416) 469-4063 E-mail
info@cpc-pcc.ca
Parti Communiste du
Quebec (section du
Parti communiste
du Canada)
5430, av.
Trans-Island, Montréal, QC,
H3W 3A5
Tel:
(514)737-7817 Cel: (514)212-3857
E-mail:
pueblo@sympatico.ca
B.C.Committee CPC
706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, V5L 3J1
Tel: (604) 254-9836
Fax: (604) 254-9803
Edmonton
CPC
Box 68112, 70 Bonnie Doon P.O.
Edmonton, AB, T6C 4N6
Tel: (780) 465-7893
Fax: (780)463-0209
Calgary
CPC
Unit #1 - 19 Radcliffe Close SE
Calgary AB, T2A 6B2
Tel: (403) 248-6489
Saskatchewan
CPC
mail@communist-party-sk.ca
Ottawa
CPC
Tel: (613) 232-7108
Manitoba
Committee
387 Selkirk Ave., Winnipeg, R2W 2M3
Tel/fax: (204) 586-7824
Ontario
Ctee. CPC
290A Danforth Ave., Toronto, M4K 1N6
Tel: (416) 469-2446
Hamilton
Ctee. CPC
265 Melvin Ave., Apt. 815
Hamilton, ON.
Tel: (905) 548-9586
Atlantic
Region CPC
Box 70 Grand Pré, NS, B0P 1M0
Tel/fax: (902) 542-7981
http://www.communist-party.ca/
* *
* * * *
News
for People, Not for Profits!
Every
issue of People's Voice
gives
you the latest
on the
fightback from coast to coast.
Whether
it's the struggle for jobs or peace, resistance to social
cuts,
solidarity
with Cuba, or workers' struggles around the world,
we've
got the news the corporate media won't print.
And
we do more than that
- we report and analyze events
from a revolutionary perspective,
helping to build the movements for justice and equality,
and eventually for a socialist Canada.
Read
the paper that fights
for working people
- on
every page, in every issue!
People's
Voice
$30
for 1 year
$50
for 2 years
Low-income
special rate: $15 for 1-year
Outside
Canada $50 for 1
year
Send
to: People's Voice, 133 Herkimer St..,
Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3
REDS
ON THE WEB
http://www.communist-party.ca
http://www.ycl-ljc.ca
http://www.solidnet.org
(Contents)
(Home)
1) ECONOMIC TRUTHS
COUNTER "RECOVERY"
MYTH
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
Special to PV
Cheery headlines about the
"recovery" continue to pop up almost daily, but a closer look at the
news tells a rather different story for working people.
The actual
US unemployment rate would be reported at 16 percent if persons who
have dropped out of the labour pool and those working less than they
would like are counted, according to a US Federal Reserve official.
Dennis
Lockhart, told an Aug. 26 Chamber of Commerce event in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, that "If one considers the people who would like a job but
have stopped looking - so-called discouraged workers - and those who
are working fewer hours than they want, the unemployment rate would
move from the official 9.4 percent to 16 percent." Lockhart was
expressing his own views, which "do not necessarily reflect those of my
colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee," the policy-setting
body of the central bank.
But
Lockhart's blunt statement is far more revealing about the state of the
global economy than any number of starry-eyed commentaries which fill
the corporate media these days.
"My forecast
for a slow recovery implies a protracted period of high unemployment,"
Lockhart said, adding that it would be difficult to stimulate jobs
through additional public spending.
"Further fiscal stimulus has been
mentioned, but the full effects of the first stimulus package are not
yet clear, and the concern over adding to the federal deficit and the
resulting national debt is warranted."
Construction
and manufacturing have been particularly hard hit in the U.S. recession
that began in December 2007, and some jobs are considered "gone for
good." Prior to the recession, these two sectors accounted for slightly
more than 15 percent of US jobs. But losses in these industries during
the present crisis have made up more than 40 percent of all US job
losses.
Lockhart's
bleak outlook is shared by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph
Stiglitz, who warned again recently that the country may face a
"double-dip" recession. Given the massive impact of the US economy on
Canada, the "recovery" in this country is fragile and likely very
short-lived at best.
Stiglitz, a
former World Bank chief economist, said in early September that "the
prospects of a robust recovery are very, very weak". He said there was
a "significant chance" that the economy could contract again after a
period of growth, since "we are not seeing a recovery of sustained
consumption."
Stiglitz
highlighted the fact that any recovery would be the result of
government stimulus packages, which cannot continue indefinitely. "The
withdrawal of stimulus packages in 2011 will be a negative shock to the
economy," he said.
The global
crisis has had a particularly negative impact on youth, according to a
United Nations study which reports that young people make up about 25
per cent of the world's working population, but account for 40 per cent
of the unemployed.
"For the
young" UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said about the report,
"informal, insecure and low-wage employment is the norm, not the
exception."
A record
201,000 young Canadians are among those out of work, or one in five
members of the workforce of 18- to 24-year-olds. Again, that figure
does not include so-called "discouraged workers", or it might be at
least 100,000 higher.
In Britain,
about a million youth are unemployed, leading the Economist magazine to
editorialize that the "plight of the jobless young ... invokes talk of
a lost generation... (P)rolonged unemployment early in people's working
lives will leave them scarred in the long term. Youngsters who have
been jobless for a year or more tend to do worse in the labour market
for the rest of their lives."
As the
global recession set in last year, Canadian youth joblessness of 11.6
per cent of the 15- to 24-year-old labour force was a bit lower than
the average for the 30 industrial nations of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development. But job prospects for Canadian
youth trailed those of the Netherlands, Japan, Denmark, Australia and
South Korea, which have more comprehensive government-subsidized
training and work-placement programs.
In total,
nearly 500,000 more Canadians were unemployed this Labour Day than
last. Job losses are expected to rise well into next year, and many of
those who have lost their jobs either don't qualify for Employment
Insurance, or will soon run out of EI benefits.
"People that
can't collect EI are being forced to go on welfare, which is driving
them further into poverty," said Canadian Labour Congress president Ken
Georgetti.
Those who
still have jobs are working harder than ever. A survey conducted in
July by Harris-Decima, and commissioned by Everest College, found the
recession is having a serious impact on workers, with over one-third
saying that work "dominates" their life. Almost 25 per cent of
Canadians are working more than one job to make ends meet, and an equal
number expected to work during the Labour Day weekend, said Don
Thibert, director of academic affairs at Everest.
2) UNIONIZATION RATES
RISE SLIGHTLY IN CANADA
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
Information from
Canadian Autoworkers
Each year Statistics Canada publishes
a review of unionization in "Perspectives on Labour and Income" just
before Labour Day. The August 2009 review compares the first half of
2009 with the first half of 2008. The numbers show union membership has
fallen - but not as fast as employment fell. Since unionized workers
have a larger share of all employment, "unionization" rates have grown
slightly.
For the
first half of 2009, employment averaged 14.1 million - a loss of
317,000 jobs over the same time a year ago when employment was 14.4
million.
For the
first time in Canadian history, more women than men are employed.
During the first half of 2009 an average 7.123 million women were
employed compared with 6.963 million men. This reflects job losses in
the manufacturing and resource sectors as well as job growth in the
service sector.
Union
membership totals 4.16 million, down from 4.23 million in 2008.
Canada's unionization rate is 29.5%, up slightly from 29.4% in 2008.
Another 296,000 are covered by a contract but aren't members - for a
"union density" of 4.45 million workers (31.6% of all employees).
Unionization
rose for young workers (ages 15-24) to 14.7% (from 13.5% in 2008).
Unionization
rose for public sector workers to 71.3%, but fell for private sector
workers to 16.1% (from 16.3%). Among manufacturing workers, 24.2% are
unionized (down from 26.8% last year), and 30.3% of service workers are
unionized (up from 29.6% in 2008). The rates is lowest in private
services like accommodation and food (7%).
Since 2006,
women are the majority of union members; 2.19 million women and 1.96
million men belong to a union. Women's unionization rate (30.8%)
exceeds men's (28.2%) with the gap increasing since 2008.
The most
unionized provinces remain Newfoundland/Labrador and Quebec. Alberta
remains the least unionized. Unionization increased significantly in
Nova Scotia but fell in B.C., New Brunswick and Ontario.
Unionization
rose in health care. It declined most in manufacturing and the primary
resources sector.
Unionization
rose to 23.3% in part-time jobs. Full-time is a stable 31%.
By
comparison, only 12.4% of U.S. workers were union members in 2008 (up
from 12.1% in 2007). Private sector rates were 7.6% and public sector
36.8%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
For the year
2008 the average unionized worker was paid $24.47 an hour while the
average nonunion worker earned only $19.89. Full-time union workers
averaged $25.06 but non-union full-timers averaged $21.54. Part-time
union workers averaged $20.79 but non-union part-timers earned
dramatically lower pay of $13.16 hourly.
Unionized
part-timers had access to more schedule hours (19.2 hours) than
non-union part-timers (16.8 hours). Statistics Canada says that
unionized part-time employees had higher weekly earnings, and also worked more (19.2 hours
vs. 16.8). This led to a larger gap in weekly earnings ($405.97 versus
$225.94).
Union women
are closer to achieving pay equity. Women in unionized full time jobs
averaged 94% of union full-time men's average ($24.27 versus $25.76).
The wage gap was much bigger for non-union full-time women who earned
only 81% of their male counterparts ($19.01 versus $23.60).
The "union
advantage" continues in 2009. The latest Labour Force Survey (July
2009) shows unionized workers now earn an average $24.84 hourly. That
is 22% more than unorganized workers who average only $20.35 hourly.
3) COMMUNIST PARTY
PREPARES FOR 36TH CONVENTION
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
Preparations are underway for the
Communist Party of Canada's 36th Central Convention, at the
Steelworkers Hall in Toronto next Feb. 5-7. The CPC, Canada's
third-oldest political party, is attracting many new members from
immigrant communities, such as among Latinos and South Asians, and its
message of radical economic and social change is resonating among young
people hit hard by the capitalist economic crisis.
The Party's
Central Committee met over the August 22-23 weekend to adopt the Call
to the 36th Convention, and to debate a first draft of the main
political resolution for the Convention. The amended resolution will
soon be published in English and French to launch four months of
membership discussion across the country. Delegations to the Convention
will be elected at special provincial meetings next January.
In other
work, the CC heard an in-depth report on the activities of the Young
Communist League. YCL general secretary Johan Boyden outlined the
recent progress of the League, which has clubs in several provinces and
a rising profile in the labour and youth movements.
The CC
meeting adopted action resolutions on two urgent topics - the
possibility of a fall federal election, and the Harper government's
scandalous disregard of Canadians "stranded abroad," especially those
from racialized communities. On the election, the CC called to defeat
the Harper Tories - the most dangerous enemy of Canadian working people
- and to block the election of a big business majority to Parliament.
The CPC will nominate 20 to 25 candidates in selected ridings across
the country, to advance the Party's policies for a "People's
Alternative" to the right-wing agenda, and to help build support for a
People's Coalition to take Canada in a new direction.
Much of the
CC meeting was devoted to in-depth discussion of the capitalist crisis,
both globally and in Canada. As the 36th Convention resolution says,
"Unprecedented developments are shaking global capitalism to its very
core... It is mired in the deepest world-wide economic crisis since the
Great Depression of the 1930s. Meanwhile, structural aspects of its
systemic decline continue unabated - especially militarism and war, and
an intensifying environment crisis, both of which threaten the very
survival of humanity."
The
resolution warns that "ruling circles are stepping up a vicious
offensive against our class in order to `save' capitalism while
transferring the cost of the current crisis onto the backs of working
people. Democratic and social rights are under increased assault, and
ultra-right, narrow nationalist and neo-fascist groupings are
proliferating in many countries. At the same time, the deepening crisis
is having a radicalizing effect on sections of the working class whose
economic and social conditions are sharply deteriorating and are
increasingly driven to fight back. Anti-capitalist sentiments and
advocacy of socialism as the systemic alternative to decadent
capitalism are growing on a much wider scale. These are dynamic times
indeed, full of dangers and challenges and also with the potential of
resurgent socialism."
The
resolution analyses many key features of the global situation, such as
the relative decline of U.S. imperialism, the growing impoverishment of
working people around the planet, and the "largely uneven and sporadic"
fightback in countries such as Canada. It goes on to address several
important international issues - the Israeli state's brutal repression
of Palestine, the struggle against the NATO occupation of Afghanistan,
the upsurge of democratic forces against the theocratic regime in Iran,
and the growth of anti-imperialist and even socialist forces in Latin
America. Referring to the election of Barack Obama as a "stunning
rebuke to the ultra-right forces" in the U.S., the resolution cautions
that "it is important to not harbour any illusions about the Democratic
Party, which remains a capitalist party in the most powerful
imperialist state on earth, still committed to neoliberal dogma and
policy..."
"The
development and growth of the world peace movement must be a top
priority for the Communists everywhere," says the resolution, urging
full support for the Canadian Peace Alliance and local peace coalitions
across the country, as well as for the newly-refounded Canadian Peace
Congress, the most advanced anti-imperialist section of the peace
movement.
The
resolution reiterates the CPC's support for the international Communist
movement, and specifically for the annual International Meeting of
Communist and Workers' Parties, which takes place this November in
India.
Welcoming
the communist movement's growing capacity to initiate joint action, the
document also notes "a growing differentiation among the parties on
certain fundamental questions. While respecting the right of each
member party to articulate its political analysis and line of march,
and while working to foster unity-in-action despite a diversity of
views, we reiterate our conviction that the essence and strength of our
Communist movement derives from its fidelity to Marxism-Leninism, both
in theory and practice, including our collective responsibility to
respond to, and struggle against, all manifestations of opportunism
(both right and `left'), revisionism and reformism within our ranks."
Turning to
Canada, the draft resolution examines the roots of the economic crisis,
such as the long-standing erosion of manufacturing and secondary
industry, and the increasing reliance on exports of raw materials,
which has cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in communities across the
country. This process, it stresses, "has gone beyond the occasional
cyclical recession or political upheaval; it has become a profound
crisis threatening the future of Canada.... The Communist Party of
Canada calls for a truly dramatic shift away from the failed policies
of neoliberal capitalism, and for the creation of a People's Coalition
which can begin to take the country in such a new direction."
The
resolution condemns the Harper Tories for imposing a far-right agenda
despite lacking a majority in Parliament, and analyzes the potential
elements of a powerful fightback, especially the labour movement and
its allies in the Aboriginal peoples, immigrants, women, youth,
seniors, and movements to defend civil rights, peace and the
environment.
"All of
these struggles," says the resolution, "need to be addressed in the
context of the overarching economic crisis which is driving the
right-wing attack. What is required today is a comprehensive action
plan - an economic and political solution which serves the
interests of people, not profits."
The last
section of the draft resolution looks at the work of the CPC since its
35th Convention in early 2007, and the importance of building a
stronger Communist Party today. It notes that 2011 will mark the 90th
anniversary of the Communist Party of Canada, a period of rich
experience of working class struggles for universal socialized
medicine, pensions, Unemployment Insurance, trade union rights, women's
equality, the rights of Aboriginals and immigrants, and for Canadian
sovereignty and world peace.
"We will
mark this anniversary not simply to remember the past, but to light up
the future," says the resolution. "Another world is possible, urgent,
and necessary, and Communists today will fight to force open those
doors to social progress and socialism with as much determination and
commitment as those who went before."
The draft
resolution will be posted shortly on the Party's website, http://www.communist-party.ca.
4) ACT TO BRING HOME
STRANDED CANADIANS
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
Resolution
adopted by the Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada, Aug.
22-23, 2009
Nearly every day brings news of yet
another Canadian citizen trapped outside this country, not allowed to
return home because of vague and unsubstantiated allegations of "being
imposters" or "links to terrorism." In many of these cases, high level
diplomats, bureaucrats and even federal cabinet ministers have been
aware for some time of these tragedies, without doing anything to
assist these "stranded Canadians," or even collaborating in their
persecution. The Communist Party of Canada condemns this scandalous
betrayal of the rights of citizens and demands that every official
involved in this despicable activity be fired immediately.
Canadian
citizen Suaad Hagi Mohamud was left stranded and sick in Kenya for
three months. Her passport was voided by Canadian officials following a
bizarre decision by airline staff in Nairobi to prevent her from
boarding a flight home. It took enormous public pressure to compel the
government to allow her to return to Canada, even after a DNA test
confirmed her identity.
Despite
having a plane ticket to fly home to Montreal, Abousfian Abdelrazik was
trapped for over a year at Canada's embassy in Sudan by the
government's refusal to issue him a passport. International police
agencies agreed that Abdelrazik was not a security threat, and the
courts ordered his return, but the Tories stubbornly hinted at
unexplained "reasons" to deny his rights as a citizen. Even after his
return, Abdelrazik is denied his basic constitutional rights, prevented
from working or even opening a bank account.
Omar Khadr
is the last remaining citizen of a western "democracy" still jailed
without cause at the US torture camp in Guanatanamo Bay, in gross
violation of international law. The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld
a lower court ruling ordering Khadr's repatriation, but PM Harper has
appealed this decision.
Most of
these and other cases involve Canadians from racialized communities,
and in particular those of Muslim or Arab origins. The Harper Tories
appear to believe that treating the passports of such Canadians as
irrelevant scraps of paper will bolster their electoral support among
ultra-right forces. This strategy is further apparent in other aspects
of the Tory campaign, such as the racist slanders by PM Harper and
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney against members of the oppressed Roma
community from the Czech Republic, and against other refugee claimants
from Mexico and elsewhere.
The push to
deprive racialized communities of their citizenship rights is a
frightening step towards more far-ranging attacks on all civil
liberties. We must not allow this fascist-minded minority government to
succeed in their deadly game. The Communist Party of Canada urges the
entire labour and democratic movement to extend solidarity to the
targets of Tory policies, and to support a full inquiry into the
failure of the Harper government to assist Canadians who are stranded
outside this country.
5) MAKE AFGHANISTAN AN
ELECTION ISSUE
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
People's Voice
Editorial, Sept. 16-30, 2009
Little noticed amidst the
presidential election debacle in Afghanistan and another horrifying
NATO slaughter of civilians has been a crucial shift in US public
opinion: 54% of Americans now believe the war in Afghanistan is a
mistake. Driving this point home, the United for Peace and Justice
Coalition and its 1000-plus affiliates are organizing across the United
States to hold local activities on October 7 to mark the eighth
anniversary of the US-NATO war in Afghanistan.
The enormous
corruption of the presidential campaign makes it clear to even the most
optimistic observers that eight years of NATO occupation has, if
anything, served only to entrench the stranglehold of various warlords
and elites over the Afghan people. This truth was revealed again by the
tragic fiery deaths of dozens of people, killed by US bombs on Sept. 4
as they siphoned fuel from tanker trucks stuck in the Kunduz River.
Early accounts indicate that the bombers were called in by German
troops on the basis of an allegation that the trucks had been hijacked
by the Taliban. This mass murder shattered recent attempts to cut down
on civilian deaths caused by NATO troops.
These events
make it even more critical to hold the Harper Tories accountable for
the nightmare of the Afghan occupation. Public opinion in Canada
remains solidly opposed to continuing the war, a political factor which
must have a strong impact if a federal election takes place this fall.
Responsibility for Canada's ongoing military role in Afghanistan lies
not only with the Harper Tories, who arbitrarily extended the mission
to July 2011 despite their minority in Parliament, but also with the
opposition parties which refuse to demand "troops out now." The
shocking refusal of all parties in Parliament to respond to the demands
of Canadians for an end to the war must be exposed at every opportunity
this fall.
6) ALTERNATIVES TO THE HST
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
People's Voice
Editorial, Sept. 16-30, 2009
Once again, we hear the tired old
refrain that "there is no alternative" to policies like the "Harmonized
Sales Tax." The HST, according to the BC Liberals, will "stimulate the
economy" by moving $1.9 billion annually from the pockets of working
people to the corporations. Somebody forgot to tell Premier Campbell
and Finance Minister Colin Hansen that making the rich richer and the
poor poorer was a major factor in the present global economic crisis.
But Campbell and Hansen represent the corporations, not the people.
Many groups
in British Columbia are busy campaigning to stop the HST, and more
power to them. We urge everyone to join the Sept. 19 rallies to block
this hated tax measure.
But there is
also an urgent need to fight for progressive alternatives, such as
advanced by the Communist Party of BC during last May's election.
Reversing Campbell's tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations could
raise over $1.5 billion annually. Raising taxes on the resource
corporations that are draining BC's natural wealth would bring in
further huge revenues.
This
approach could provide badly-needed pay increases for public sector
workers, raise social assistance rates by 50%, and build 5000 new
low-income and social housing units annually. It could stop the painful
cuts imposed on health authorities and school boards across the
province. It could expand public transit and tackle the devastating
impact of the pine beetle destruction in forestry-based communities.
Together
with moves to raise the minimum wage, to legislate improved working
conditions and Labour Code protections for all workers, and to improve
access to education and training for youth, such a "people not profits"
strategy could turn British Columbia around. The fight today is to stop
the HST, but the struggle for a fundamental shift in policies must
continue!
7) BC BUDGET UPDATE: A
DELIBERATELY MISLEADING DOCUMENT
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
Commentary by
Kimball Cariou
The "budget
update" introduced to the BC Legislature on Sept. 1 is a carefully
crafted political document, designed to reassure a worried public that
"core" services are being protected and that taxes on low and
middle-income earners are not being increased. But the depth of anger
against the Campbell Liberals will be on display on Sept. 19, during a
rally in Vancouver against the government's plan to "harmonize" federal
and provincial sales taxes.
With its
$2.8 billion deficit, this "update" is wildly different than the
figures Finance Minister Colin Hansen presented just months ago.
Hansen's earlier budget projected a mere $500 million deficit, despite
ample evidence that the BC economy was deeply mired in the crisis which
has shrunk government revenues in many countries. At that time, the
Campbell Liberal government sought to present an image of fiscal
reliability heading into the May 12 provincial election.
That was
then, this is now. Shortly after narrowly winning the election, the
Liberals "learned the truth" - revenues were falling faster than rocks
down a mine shaft. In April and May, the Liberals called the
"harmonised sales tax" the worst possible economic policy for the
province; by June, Campbell and Hansen announced that the HST was just
the medicine BC needs. Their new-found enthusiasm for the "hated sales
tax" apparently has much to do with the federal Tory government's bribe
of $1.6 billion to implement this shift, which will create a 12% sales
tax on a much wider range of goods and services next July 1. Looked at
from a broader perspective, right-wing governments at both the federal
and provincial levels are keen to complete the switch to the HST, which
will move billions from the pocketbooks of working people to the bank
accounts of corporations.
But Harper's
HST bribe is dwarfed by the size of BC's economic woes, as seen by the
$2.8 billion deficit now projected for the 2009-10 fiscal year, and
billions more to come.
A virtual
blizzard of cutback announcements has been issued from Victoria.
Cabinet ministers have resorted to often contradictory explanations, as
line-item cuts are dictated by Finance officials after virtually no
consultation with other government departments.
The budget
update confirmed more than $300 million in cuts to front-line health
care, including surgeries, seniors' programs, diagnostic and pharmacy
services, residential care, health records, mental health services and
other critical services. While services are slashed, British Columbians
will pay more than $100 million in Medical Service Plan premium
increases, and health authorities will have to absorb the increased
premiums on their payroll costs.
School
boards across B.C. will also have to cover MSP costs for their
employees. But Boards were even more shocked by the elimination of
annual facilities grants announced last spring for the current budget
year. Totalling over $100 million for the province, the grants help pay
for maintenance of buildings and classrooms. Much of this money had
already been spent by Boards doing such work over the summer. In the
case of Vancouver, a $10 million cut will cost dozens of jobs, and
leaves many students and teachers going back to classrooms where
important improvements have not been completed.
In the
longer term, the budget crisis is seen by the Campbell government as a
unique opportunity to advance its full right-wing agenda. As
negotiations loom for most public sector unions, the Liberals are eager
to impose pay freezes and cuts on provincial employees, with a wider
negative impact on all workers in B.C. The Liberal "P3" strategy,
already well underway in recent years, will also gain momentum, as the
government argues that the private sector must take an ever larger role
in building new infrastructure and seizing larger chunks of public
services.
Much of the
opposition to this strategy will be seen at the "Stop the HST" rally,
12 noon, Saturday, September 19, at the Convention Centre in downtown
Vancouver. Built as a P3, the Centre is a prime example of public
dollars to subsidize big business; the cost of the project doubled to
nearly $1 billion before completion last spring.
Reflecting
the breadth of anger against the Liberals, the Sept. 19 rally will be
chaired by Bill Vander Zalm, the former Socred premier who has opposed
Campbell on such issues as Hydro privatization. The labour movement and
progressive social movements will be out in large numbers, helping to
turn the event from a purely anti-tax rally into a wider demonstration
for a shift away from the Liberal right-wing agenda for British
Columbia.
8) LABOUR SLAMS BC LIBERAL
BUDGET
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
PV Vancouver
Bureau
BC Finance Minister Colin Hansen's
"budget update" - crafted by Premier Campbell - has set off a storm of
criticism from the labour and people's movements in British Columbia.
Typical was
the response from the BC Government and Service Employees Union, which
said the budget "continues the pattern established by the B.C. Liberal
government of shifting the tax burden onto working families and cutting
core public services."
"The
Campbell government is increasing costs to working families and
starving public services," said BCGEU President Darryl Walker, noting
that the recession is taking its toll on B.C. families: the number of
Employment Insurance recipients is up 140%, and temporary income
assistance caseloads up 56.5% since last summer.
"It's clear
that the B.C. Liberal government has no credible plan to address the
startling increase in poverty and the ever-expanding services deficit
in this province," said Walker. "The government is taking us down a
highly irresponsible path. As public services continue to be gutted,
local economies will suffer and the recession will be deeper and longer
than it needs to be."
The budget
promises a reduction of 1,500 jobs over the next three years through
layoffs and attrition and re-affirms the government's plans for a
freeze on public sector wages. This continues the attack on the public
service that began in 2001 when deep and broad-based cuts were made
across all ministries.
"The Liberal
cuts since 2001 have been particularly devastating for the `heartlands'
where key public services have been taken from many communities or
eliminated altogether," said Walker.
The Sept. 1
budget confirmed and deepened cuts to the Ministry of Environment's
parks, protection, and stewardship programs; Ministry of Forests &
Range's compliance and enforcement programs; and Ministry of
Agriculture's land restoration programs. The Ministry of
Transportation's highways maintenance and commercial vehicle inspection
will see cuts of $29 million this year, with more cuts scheduled for
the next two years.
Other
Ministries facing administrative and program cuts are Children &
Families, Citizen Services, Community Development, Education, Finance,
and Labour. However, nowhere in the budget documents are the number of
full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) listed ministry-by-ministry.
The Hospital
Employees' Union warned that the budget update "confirms that health
authorities will be forced to proceed with more than $300 million in
cuts to surgeries, seniors' programs, diagnostic and pharmacy services,
residential care, health records, mental health services and other
critical services."
HEU
secretary-business manager Judy Darcy called it "bad news for families
who are facing economic uncertainty and need to know that health care
and other vital public services are there for them."
In addition
to service cuts, British Columbians will face more than $100 million in
MSP premium increases on top of the HST. Health authorities will also
be forced to absorb the impact of increased MSP premiums on their
payroll costs out of budgets that are already stretched to the limit.
"Once again,
this government is sacrificing sound planning and innovative long-term
solutions in health care on the altar of quick fixes," said Darcy.
"Many of these cuts will result in more expensive and unnecessary
interventions in hospital emergency rooms in the long run."
"The
government has acknowledged the need to rejuvenate the workforce, yet
they have confirmed their wage freeze on the public sector," she added.
Many HEU members, such as Licensed Practical Nurses, have seen their
wages slip behind rates in Alberta and other provinces. Their wages
have also not kept pace with increased training and expanded
responsibilities.
The budget
update "ignores the hardships faced by tens of thousands of unemployed
British Columbians and their families, focussing instead on minimizing
the deficit and tax cut," according to the B.C. Federation of Labour.
"This budget
is another spin doctor's dream, until you walk out the door into the
real world and realize that we have more than 150,000 people without
jobs, forest communities in crisis, seniors without proper care and
students without a chance to get a decent education or proper
training," said Jim Sinclair, President of the Federation.
"The
Campbell administration is preoccupied with minimizing the deficit
which will cause even more job losses," said Sinclair. "This budget
does nothing to get people back to work. It does nothing to get people
into classrooms for training or retraining. It does nothing to help
British Columbians weather the economic downturn or prepare for a
recovery. In real terms, the government should be spending money to put
people in school and to work. Instead of helping people and communities
they are going to axe 1,500 jobs in the public sector."
Sinclair
also noted that on the same day as the budget update, the minimum wage
in British Columbia became the lowest in Canada.
Although the
government says it is protecting health care and education, the front
line workers who deliver those services are anticipating severe cuts in
both health care and education. "Every day we hear of cuts to health
care and education but to listen to the Finance Minister all is well in
British Columbia and there's lots of money for services."
"Colin
Hansen was the last Finance Minister in the industrialized world to
spot this economic collapse. He now wants us to believe that he's
spotted a supposed recovery," Sinclair added. "This government doesn't
understand that a so-called `jobless recovery' is not a real recovery.
BC has lost full-time jobs faster than any other province. This budget
does nothing to reduce those numbers, and combined with the HST will
lead to even more lost jobs."
9) B.C. CHIEFS REJECT ATTACK
ON INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
An extraordinary "B.C. All Chiefs
Assembly" convened in late August has put an end to the Campbell
Liberal government's proposed Recognition and Reconciliation
legislation. (See the Sept. 1-15 issue of People's Voice for
background.)
Instead, the
Assembly unanimously endorsed an action strategy to be implemented by
an Indigenous Title Action Group on a provincial, national and
international level.
Travelling
through the province, at regional sessions and community meetings, the
chiefs said they consistently heard deep concerns about the potential
impacts of the proposed legislation. The "Recognition and
Reconciliation" act was widely seen as an unacceptable attempt to
extend provincial jurisdiction over Indigenous Title and Rights.
"The
Assembly is calling for an immediate implementation and enforcement of
our Indigenous Title and Rights as called for by the United Nations'
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," said Grand Chief
Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. "Clearly
the Premier and his government have not acted honourably through the
course of the so-called `New Relationship.' Indigenous communities
demand substance not empty platitudes. Rather than breaking down the
outdated legal barriers and the archaic colonial attitudes of the
bureaucracy, Indigenous communities, such as the Xeni Gwet'in or those
of the Common Table, are facing deliberately constructed and illegal
denial strategies of their Title and Rights in court and in their
negotiations. That must stop."
"We call on
the Province of British Columbia to immediately change its deplorable
conduct and fully implement on an honourable basis our Indigenous Title
and Rights that are constitutionally recognized and judicially
reaffirmed," said Chief Nelson Leon, BC Assembly of First Nations
spokesperson. "We have reaffirmed that our Title and Rights are
inherited from our ancestral origins as Indigenous Peoples and we
recognize our inherent responsibility to bestow our Title and Rights to
those unborn."
10) THREE WARLORDS TO VISIT CANADA
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
In October, George W. Bush, Tony
Blair and Dick Cheney, all accused of horrifying war crimes and crimes
against humanity, plan to visit Canada. Under the Immigration and
Refugee Protection Act each of these people could barred from the
country.
On October
22, Bush will be at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, Quebec,
to deliver a lunch-time speech at an invitation-only event.
Tony Blair
will be the keynote speaker on October 6 during the Surrey Regional
Economic Summit, taking place at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel
in Surrey, BC. Blair was invited by Dianne Watts, mayor of Surrey.
Dick Cheney
is booked for a week of fishing at the Silver Hilton Lodge on the
Babine River near Smithers, BC, from October 8 to 15.
The group
Lawyers Against War notes that by ratifying the Convention against
Torture and the Rome Statue for an International Court, Canada agreed
not only to make the torture and other war crimes and crimes against
humanity crimes under Canadian law but also to participate in acting
effectively to prevent and punish these crimes wherever they occur.
To ensure
Canada's ability to fulfill these duties, Parliament has passed laws
enabling Canada to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity
wherever the crimes occurred and whatever the nationality of the
suspected perpetrators and the victims (e.g. Criminal Code, torture
provisions and the Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act.) Under
the Convention against Torture, when a person suspected of any
involvement in torture enters Canada, Canada has a duty to either
prosecute that person or extradite him to a state that is willing and
able to prosecute.
Parliament
has also passed laws to ensure that Canada will not allow people
suspected of war crimes and/or crimes against humanity and/or gross
human rights abuses to enter Canada or otherwise provide a safe haven,
even temporarily, for people suspected of any involvement in carrying
out or acquiescing to war crimes, crimes against humanity or other
gross human rights abuses. (e.g. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act)
However, the
federal cabinet ministers responsible are not enforcing these laws. In
spite of protests, G.W. Bush was allowed entry in Canada in March and
May 2009, and Colin Powell was allowed entry in June 2008.
Readers are
encouraged to write to Members of Parliament asking that Canadian
Border Services Agency issue a cross-Canada directive to all entry
points ordering that G.W. Bush, Tony Blair and Dick Cheney be barred
from Canada and, if found in Canada, be arrested and dealt with
according to the law.
11) LEONARD PELTIER
AGAIN DENIED PAROLE
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
Imprisoned American Indian Movement
activist Leonard Peltier, in jail since 1977, has been denied parole.
The next scheduled parole hearing for Peltier is 2024, when he would be
79 years old.
Peltier is
serving two life sentences for the deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and
Ronald Williams during a June 26, 1975, standoff on South Dakota's Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation.
In a
statement to the media, Peltier's lawyer Eric Seitz said, "the Bush
Administration holdovers on the U.S. Parole Commission today adopted
the position of the FBI that anyone who may be implicated in the
killings of its agents should never be paroled and should be left to
die in prison. Despite judicial determinations that the unrepentant FBI
fabricated evidence and presented perjured testimony in Leonard
Peltier's prosecution; despite a jury's acquittal on grounds of
self-defense of two co-defendants who were found to have engaged in the
same conduct of which Mr. Peltier was convicted; despite Mr. Peltier's
exemplary record during his incarceration for more than 33 years and
his clearly demonstrated eligibility for parole; despite letters and
petitions calling for his release submitted by millions of people in
this country and around the world including one of the judges who ruled
on his earlier appeals; and despite his advanced age and deteriorating
health, the Parole Commission today informed Mr. Peltier that his
`release on parole would depreciate the seriousness of your offenses
and would promote disrespect for the law,' and set a reconsideration
hearing in July 2024.
"This is the
extreme action of the same law enforcement community that brought us
the indefinite imprisonment of suspected teenage terrorists, tortures,
and killings in CIA prisons around the world and promoted widespread
disrespect for the democratic concepts of justice upon which this
country supposedly was founded. These are the same institutions that
have never treated indigenous peoples with dignity or respect or
accepted any responsibility for centuries of intolerance and abuse.
"At his
parole hearing on July 28th, Leonard Peltier expressed regret and
accepted responsibility for his role in the incident in which the two
FBI agents and one Native American activist died as the result of a
shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Mr. Peltier emphasized that the
shootout occurred in circumstances where there literally was a war
going on between corrupt tribal leaders, supported by the government,
on the one hand, and Native American traditionalists and young
activists on the other. He again denied - as he has always denied -
that he intended the deaths of anyone or that he fired the fatal shots
that killed the two agents, and he reminded the hearing officer that
one of his former co-defendants recently admitted to having fired the
fatal shots, himself.
"Accordingly, it is not true that Leonard Peltier participated in `the
execution style murders of two FBI agents,' as the Parole Commission
asserts, and there never has been credible evidence of Mr. Peltier's
responsibility for the fatal shots as the FBI continues to allege.
Moreover, given the corrupt practices of the FBI, itself, it is
entirely untrue that Leonard Peltier's parole at this juncture will in
any way `depreciate the seriousness' of his conduct and/or `promote
disrespect for the law.' We will continue to seek parole and clemency
for Mr. Peltier and to eventually bring this prolonged injustice to a
prompt and fair resolution."
12) THE LOCKERBIE
CASE: COVER-UPS AND HYPOCRISY
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
By Kimball Cariou
Since the release from prison of
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the man accused in the 1988 bombing
of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, U.S. politicians and the
corporate media have been in a frenzy. This manufactured outrage is
based on the claim that al-Megrahi was found guilty of the bombing
after a fair trial. But the case is far more complex than this
simplistic argument suggests. Many observers believe that al-Megrahi's
release had less to do with compassionate treatment due to his terminal
illness, than with fears in high circles that uncomfortable truths
could emerge from this case.
In a
revealing article published in December 2008, author Hugh Miles urged
readers to "spare a thought for the victim of the biggest miscarriage
of justice in Scottish legal history, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi."
For years,
noted Miles, it looked as if there would be no trial over Lockerbie:
"British and US governments believed Colonel Gaddafi would never hand
over the two Libyan intelligence officers accused of the bombings,
which some regarded as fortunate as they believed the evidence against
Libya would not stand up in a court of law."
But a trial
did finally take place, thanks largely to the efforts of Nelson
Mandela. In exchange for lifting international sanctions which had
inflicted billions of dollars worth of economic damage to Libya,
Gaddafi handed over the accused. In January 2001, Megrahi was
convicted, while Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was acquitted. Accepting
responsibility for the bombing, without admitting guilt, Libya paid
$2.7 billion in compensation to the victims' families.
As Miles
points out, no material evidence was presented linking al-Megrahi to
the bombing, or that he put the bomb on the plane or handled any
explosives.
The
prosecution's case was that Megrahi wrapped the bomb in clothes before
checking it on to a plane in Malta without boarding it himself. Two
years after the bombing, Granada TV aired a "dramatic reconstruction"
in which a bag containing a bomb was loaded on an Air Malta flight by a
sinister-looking Arab. When the airline sued, evidence demonstrating
that all the bags for that flight were accompanied by passengers was so
convincing that Granada TV settled out of court.
The
prosecution's star witness, Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauci, owned the
store where the garments were allegedly bought. Al-Megrahi's lawyers
were due to claim that Gauci was paid over a $2 million reward by U.S.
investigators for his evidence, which followed more than 20 police
interviews, and that many of his wildly conflicting statements were
withheld from the defence. A few days before he picked al-Megrahi out
of a line-up, Gauci had seen a magazine article showing a picture of
the accused, and speculating he might have been involved, but this
information was not passed on to the defence.
Miles points
out that "Since the Crown never had much of a case against Megrahi, it
was no surprise when the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
(SCCRC) found prima facie evidence in June 2007 that Megrahi had
suffered a miscarriage of justice and recommended that he be granted a
second appeal."
Earlier, the
British government argued that a public inquiry into Lockerbie would
prejudice legal proceedings. After the conviction, it said that no
public inquiry was necessary.
Last
September, al-Megrahi was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer,
which Miles speculated could give the option of transferring him to
Libya for the rest of his sentence, avoiding the risk of an acquittal
and lessening the chance of a subsequent inquiry: "Letting Megrahi die
a condemned man reduces the chance of Scottish prosecutors, the police,
various UK intelligence services plus many American and other foreign
bodies being asked a lot of difficult questions."
"The Crown
and the prosecution are using every delaying tactic in the book to
close off every route available to Megrahi except prisoner transfer, as
this means he has to abandon his appeal," said Robert Black, the
Scottish lawyer who was the architect of the original trial but feels
partly responsible for the miscarriage of justice. "It is an absolute
disgrace. It was 27 June 2007 when the SCCRC released its report ...
and the Crown has still not handed over all of the material that the
law requires it to hand over and it is still making every objection
conceivable."
Referring to
the 2001 conviction, Black wrote: "I thought this was a very, very weak
circumstantial case. I am absolutely astounded, astonished. I was
extremely reluctant to believe that any Scottish judge would convict
anyone, even a Libyan, on the basis of such evidence."
As Ian
Ferguson, author of The Hidden Scandal of Lockerbie, pointed out: "From
the start, there was a determination to try to prevent the appeal being
heard. It opened but never got off the ground, with stall after stall,
as each month al-Megrahi weakened with the cancer that was killing him.
There was rejoicing in the Crown Office in Edinburgh when he was
released and the appeal abandoned."
There has
been widespread speculation on the identity of the real perpetrators of
the bombing. Miles writes: "Some time ago suspicion fell on a gang
headed by a convicted Palestinian terrorist named Abu Talb and a
Jordanian triple agent named Marwan Abdel Razzaq Khreesat. Both were
Iranian agents; Khreesat was also on the CIA payroll. Abu Talb was
given lifelong immunity from prosecution in exchange for his evidence
at the Lockerbie trial; Marwan Khreesat was released for lack of
evidence by German police even though a barometric timer of the type
used to detonate the bomb on Pan Am Flight 103 was found in his car
when he was arrested."
In fact,
three months after the bombing, Scottish police had published a report
pointing to Khreesat as a possible suspect. And in its appeal
submission, al-Megrahi's legal team reproduced a memo dated September
24, 1989, from the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency, stating: "The
bombing of the Pan Am flight was conceived, authorised and financed by
Ali-Akbar Mohtashemi-Pur, Iran's former Interior Minister."
Many
theories related to the case have emerged. As Miles says, "Some believe
that the CIA deliberately framed Libya so Syria would fight in the
first Gulf War. Others suspect Lockerbie to be linked to drug
smuggling, arms shipments and Iranian hostage negotiations..."
Maltese
commentator Joseph M. Cachia wrote recently that "The outrage at the
release of al-Megrahi should not overshadow the memory of the trial
that condemned and sentenced him."
Al-Megrahi's
legal team had fought to see the secret papers which could help
overturn his conviction. However, Foreign Secretary David Miliband
signed a "public interest" immunity certificate, claiming that making
the document public could cause "real harm" to national security and
international relations.
As Cachia
concluded, "when only selected evidence is available and the defence
does not even get to see parts of it, then the conviction becomes
unsound. Does anyone seriously believe that a Scottish Government would
release a man convicted of murdering innocents, unless there was good
reason for considering that conviction to be more than a manipulated
conspiracy?"
There is
also the matter of the U.S. government's blatant hypocrisy. The U.S.
military personnel responsible for shooting down Iran Air Flight 655 on
July 3, 1988, killing 290 people including 66 children, later received
medals. Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carrilles, who bombed a Cuban plane
in 1976 killing 73 people, was paroled by George W. Bush, although
Venezuelan and Cuban authorities have repeatedly requested his
extradition.
There is
good reason for outrage over the Lockerbie bombing, but fingers should
be pointed first at top leaders of Britain and the United States.
13) "TRUST IN IRANIAN
GOVERNMENT SHATTERED"
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
In August, the communist newspaper Junge Welt (Berlin) interviewed
Ali Khavari, leader of the Tudeh Party of Iran, on recent developments
in that country. Born in 1923 in northeastern Iran, Comrade Khavari
joined the Tudeh Party in 1941, the year the party was founded. He
spent years in exile as a result of the policy of brutal persecution of
communists and suppression of the Tudeh Party by the Shah's regime. In
1963, during a mission to organise party structures inside the country,
he and another comrade were arrested by the Shah's secret police, and
sentenced to life imprisonment. Comrade Khavari was released from the
Shah's prisons on the eve of the February 1979 revolution. After the
arrest of the majority of the Tudeh leadership in 1983, he played a
major role in reviving and reorganising the party. We reprint here
excerpts of the Junge Welt interview.
Q: Comrade
Khavari, your party took part in the Islamic Revolution and the
overthrow of the Shah in 1979. In 1983 the party was banned by the
regime and brutally suppressed. Under which conditions does the Tudeh
Party work nowadays, and what problems and repressions do the members
have to face in Iran?
A: The Tudeh Party of Iran
essentially, but not solely, operates in exile. Utilizing electronic
communications has revolutionized the operations of every opposition
party and organization against the police regime and censorship of the
Supreme Leader regime (Theocratic regime).
The goal of
every activity in the struggle of our party outside the country is to
have a bearing on the events inside Iran, and to secure more active
participation in the process of political struggles of the masses and
labour movement in the country.... The ruling regimes in Iran, both
before and after the 1979 revolution, see the Tudeh Party of Iran as
one of the most serious and effective opposition forces operating
against them...
Q: Mahmud
Ahmadinejad won the
elections in 2005, above all with the help of the votes from the poor
population. Did these people benefit from his politics in the last four
years?
A: During the first four years of
Ahmadinejad in the presidential office, every possible means of
propaganda was utilized to prepare and arrange for his re-election.
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Service (the state-run radio and
television) and other state media were put at the service of his
demagogic propaganda.
Some of
Ahmadinejad's practices to pave the road to his re-election for a
second term are: his fully stage-managed visits to provinces and making
worthless promises to the local people, taking bold gestures of
fanaticism and religious fundamentalism, spending millions of dollars
on extravagant propaganda shows, securing the support of the most
reactionary factions of the clergy and Khamenei himself, feeding and
empowering security-military organs such as the Guard Corps and Islamic
Basij militia, tying and linking the financial interests and privileges
of major sections of these state organs to the continuation of
Ahmadinejad government, etc.
Electoral
fraud on the scale of displacing millions of votes, which is the
subject of today's serious protests, should be added to this
introduction. Considering the negative and anti-people performance of
the Ahmadinejad government, whether the in economic arena or in the
area of social and individual freedoms, or in the foreign relations
policy of the country, the overwhelming majority of the population went
to the polls consciously in this election. Only a few hours after the
polls were closed, the result of the 40 million votes cast was
announced. This fact, and many other documented evidences and
information released afterwards, revealed the obvious fraud of the
authorities. This vote rigging enraged the public and clearly
substantiated a reality in the political life of the people, shattering
trust in the official government.
The reason
for what has happened after the elections during people's protests and
what is expected to happen in future should be sought in this deep
crisis, the deep and irreparable rift between the ruling regime and the
people.
Q: The Iranian
protest movement has
found many sympathizers around the globe. Which social groups are parts
of this protest movement? How do you evaluate the influence of the
political left within the protest movement?
A: The popular protest movement has
engaged all strata of society. The people find themselves exposed to
the risks and threats of an unprofessional, voluntaristic, demagogic,
and adventurous regime.... The left forces with their belief in the
interests of the workers and working people and the importance and
significance of freedom and democracy, have always participated in
every instance of the struggle of our people, including this great mass
uprising. Our party has rightly been at the side of and together with
the people, both prior and during the elections and the popular
movement for democratic rights that emerged from it.
Q: What kind of
political aims do the
oppositional groups have in common, apart from the overthrow of the
regime?
A: Not all the participating groups
in the current demonstrations and mass protests are in support of
overthrowing the current system of government. The current constitution
has essentially set the pillars of the regime on two bases of
republicanism and Islamism. The despotic theocratic regime of the
Supreme Leader is constantly shifting this balance against the
principle of republicanism and the influence of the peoples' will in
the running of the country. Now the majority of the people of our
homeland have risen up to protest against this breach of their right to
governance, i.e. eliminating the principle of republicanism. There is
now a grave battle going on between the deeply reactionary clerical
leadership and its supporters among the ruling forces on the one hand,
and the general public that is fighting to defend its right to elect
and its will to decide the way the country should be governed, on the
other hand. The essence and core substance of the current movement is
this battle.
Q: Mir-Hossein
Mousavi is a man of
the establishment. While communists were persecuted in the Iran, he was
Prime Minister until 1989. Today, the Tudeh Party of Iran supports him.
Is this not a contradiction?
A: It is true that during the
crackdown on our party Mir Hussein Mousavi was the prime minister, But
it is also true that particularly in those years, the person who
ultimately and conclusively decided on the macro policies of the regime
was Khomeini himself. The same is true today, as Khamenei deems this to
be his task, and the reactionary article in the current constitution
gives this right to him. Nonetheless, and taking all these into
consideration, during the sensitive and critical moments of the
uprising and protest of people against the extremely despotic regime,
our party sees itself at the same side and alongside the people and to
a certain extent at the head of the protests, and correctly avoids any
issue that may harm the unity and integrity of the broad movement of
people. Tudeh Party of Iran, and all the progressive forces of Iran,
bear the past in mind for the future. All those who ordered and
committed that grand crime and other anti-people crimes of the regime,
must answer to the people of Iran for those terrible crimes.
Mir Hussein
Mousavi himself, with his declared programs and position against the
rule of deceit, tyranny and despotism of the present regime, so far has
stood up on the side of the people's movement. This is why the
protesting people of our homeland, considering all the existing
limitations, have accepted his leadership. Tudeh Party strongly
supports this great movement of the people of Iran.
Q: How do you
evaluate Western
support of the protests, above all coming from the USA? Do you see a
possibility that the protests could be used for international
interests? Is there a treat of a colour CIA-"Revolution"?
A: Tudeh Party of Iran welcomes the
support of people and democratic and left forces and parties in the
western countries for the protests of the people of Iran... However,
taking position by the western governments that are in conflict with
the regime, not only would not help the popular protest movement under
the current circumstances, but it might be exploited by the regime and
even argued as a reason to confront the movement, as has happened
already. It is also true that security and intelligence agencies of
some countries attempt to stir up dissatisfaction and protest against
the ruling regime in the country. This ploy has been extensively
exploited by the regime against the people's movement and its leaders.
But the
movement of the people has entered this difficult and unequal arena of
struggle against the despotic regime solely on the basis of their
liberating and patriotic motivations, totally spontaneous, and with
absolute reliance on its own power. This devious provocation of the
despotic regime (to portray the protest movement as being influenced
externally) must be comprehensively and firmly exposed.
Q: The Western
World wants to
prohibit the use of nuclear power, despite international law. They even
threaten to use military power. Which opinion does the protest movement
have in the matter of war and peace? Is a regime change from abroad,
like in Iraq, an option for you? What does the Tudeh party of Iran
think about the nuclear dispute?
A: Our party and all the popular
forces of our nation are in favour of the right to enjoy nuclear energy
and the technology of this vital and important field. Tudeh Party of
Iran and the forces and individuals participating in the popular
protest movement oppose any interference, military or otherwise, of
foreign states in the internal affairs of our country. The peaceful
characteristic of these forces stems from their popular and democratic
nature. Regime change from outside, such as occurred in Iraq, is
neither possible nor acceptable by any means in Iran. Any foreign force
that attempts such a dangerous provocation will burn its hands and set
the whole region on fire and will seriously endanger world peace. It is
impossible to predict total repercussions of such a provocation. As for
whether the regime's promise to use nuclear energy exclusively for
peaceful purposes is trustworthy or otherwise, we must say that such
possibility is not totally out of question. The right of nations and
countries to obtain nuclear energy and technology is not exceptionable.
The right way to prevent the likelihood of this to happen, is
confidence building and to build trust between Iran and the countries
that are concerned about Iran achieving this energy. That could apply
to any country; no one country should be deprived of its natural and
legitimate right.
Q: Ahmadinejad
has been accused of
anti-Semitism due to his polemics in the struggle with Israel. How does
one interpret his words on the Holocaust in Iran?
A: In general, the vast majority
people of Iran, all left and progressive parties and groups, deem the
reality of massacre of Jews by the Nazi Germany (the holocaust) as a
known historical fact. But a regime that relies on force and repression
and demagogy, needs excuses to advance its policies. The solidarity
between the people of Iran and the people of Palestine, and the
invasive and brutal policies by Israel against the people of Palestine,
have provided this excuse to the ruling regime in Iran. An
overwhelming majority of Iranians, and all the progressive and
democratic forces of Iran, realize and appreciate the principle of
respect for reaching an agreement and the need to resolve the critical
and dangerous problem of the conflict between Israel and the Arab
world, and call for its final and comprehensive resolution through
peaceful means, embracing the violated rights of the Palestinians, and
establishing peace in the region and among the involved parties.
Q: In the eyes of
Israel and the USA,
Iran is a main opponent in the Middle East. Third World countries and
left-wing governments express solidarity with Iran against imperialism.
Does the Iranian foreign policy have an anti-imperialistic point of
view, objectively speaking?
A: The issue of struggle against
imperialism does not have the same meaning and content for the ruling
regime in Iran as it does for the left, democratic and progressive
forces. The 1979 revolution put an end to the monarchical regime, that
significant base of the West in the region, and terminated the
exclusive advantages and privileges of imperialist states, and first
and foremost the US, in Iran. The conflict emanates from the fact that
the US could not and did not accept the regime emerging after the
revolution. This has became the basis for defining the foreign policy
of Iran with the outside world and the US, and even has left a long
lasting effect on domestic policies. Calling this conflict an
anti-imperialist struggle is irrelevant and ridiculous.
The type of
conflict and anti-imperialist struggle of the theocratic regime in Iran
is of the same character as the struggle of the Taliban in Afghanistan
and Al-Qaeda and Bin-Laden against the US and the West. If this could
be called anti-imperialist struggle, that could be named the same too!
Q: The big
demonstrations have been
defeated, the protests have become calmer. Did the movement give up
already? What is your current perspective?
A: The anti-regime demonstrations
could not continue as extensively as in the early days. What occurred
has been the splendid start of one of the epics of the century that
will lead Iran and its people to freedom, independence and social
justice. In our country now the eminence, invincibility, and holiness
of the power of the theocratic regime has seriously cracked. The people
of our nation have realized that it is through their movement and
struggle that their future will be shaped, and are now advancing this
unequal and difficult struggle with their own creative and innovative
methods. In this spontaneous struggle, the masses are leading their own
leaders. After 30 years of suppression, demagogy, tyranny and despotism
ruling over our homeland, we are now once again witnessing the bright
horizons of a tomorrow with social justice and freedom, which has
filled the hearts of millions of our suffering people with hope. The
seething society in our homeland is pregnant with great and epoch
making events.
14)
CZECH COURT OVERTURNS KSM BAN
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
On Sept. 1, the Supreme
Administrative Court of the Czech Republic cancelled the ban against
the Communist Youth Union (KSM), which has been categorized as an
illegal organization, deprived of its basic political rights.
The Supreme
Administrative Court overturned a ruling by the Municipal Court of
Prague, which in 2008 rejected an earlier appeal against a decision of
the Czech Ministry of Interior to dissolve the Communist Youth Union.
The Supreme Administrative Court also handed back the KSM case to the
Municipal Court.
As reported
previously in People's Voice, the official reason for the Interior
Ministry's move in 2007 to ban the KSM was its goal of collective
ownership of the means of production. Another stated reason was the
KSM's work to convince young people about the necessity to struggle for
a society not based on capitalist principles.
The
attempted ban sparked wide protests in the Czech Republic, including
petition drives, and statements by student groups and organisations of
former fighters against Nazi fascism. Support for the KSM was also
expressed by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and other Czech
political parties.
Hundreds of
organisations in other countries sent protests, along with members of
national parliaments, the European parliament, university professors,
and former fighters against fascism. Protests have taken place in front
of Czech Republic embassies in a number of countries.
KSM chair
Milan Krajca says, "The judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court is
a very positive step in the struggle for legality of the KSM, and
against anti-communism and anti-democratic developments in the Czech
Republic."
The World
Federation of Democratic Youth, of which the KSM is an affiliate group,
called the ruling "a major development and a historical moment. We
reaffirm now that, as in the past, this is not an administrative or
even legal matter, but a deeply political matter... This decision is
the result of KSM and Czech youth's struggle, as well as of the intense
and worldwide solidarity expressed by the youth of all corners of the
world. WFDY and its member and friend organizations have, from the
first moment, developed countless demonstrations, petitions and many
other means of solidarity, which were an important support to the Czech
youth."
15)
BIG SHIFT IN JAPANESE POLITICS
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
PV Vancouver Bureau
Japanese politics saw its biggest
shake-up in decades on August 30, when the ruling coalition of Liberal
Democratic and Komei parties suffered a crushing defeat in elections
for the 480-member House of Representatives. The LDP fell to 119 seats
(down from 300), while Komei lost 10 seats, keeping just 21. The big
winner was the centrist Democratic Party (DPJ), led by Yukio Hatoyama,
which swept 308 seats, up from 112. The Japanese Communist Party (JCP)
finished fourth overall, retaining its nine proportional representation
seats.
The House of
Representatives is the lower but more powerful house of the Diet of
Japan. Three hundred members are elected in single-member
constituencies, and another 180 from eleven multi-member constituencies
by a proportional representation system.
Analyzing
the results, the JCP leadership stressed that the ruling LDP-Komei
coalition had faced "severe criticism for destroying people's
livelihoods and undermining the peace." During the campaign, the JCP
urged voters to "put an end to the LDP-Komei government," and it
welcomed the outcome as a major step forward in Japanese politics.
The JCP
received 4.94 million votes, up from 4.91 million in the 2005 election,
although its share of votes fell to 7.03 percent from the previous 7.25
percent.
The majority
of voters rejected the LDP, which had been in office almost
continuously since the mid-1950s. But in the main, this shift was
towards the Democratic Party, which argued that the campaign was simply
a choice between "two major parties".
This view
had wide appeal in areas where the JCP is relatively weak, making it
difficult to increase the number of votes for the Communists.
"Considering the adverse conditions," the Party said, "the JCP put up a
good fight in just retaining the number of seats it held before the
election and increasing the number of votes cast for the JCP. We
express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who voted for the JCP,
particularly to JCP supporters, including JCP Supporters' Associations
members, as well as JCP members who braved the hot weather to work hard
during the campaign."
Assessing
the new situation, the JCP leadership notes that the party "has a very
important role to play as an opposition party that acts in a
constructive manner. It will make every effort in cooperation with
popular movements in order to realize our election campaign
platform. Our position toward a DPJ-led government will be one of
cooperating in carrying out policies in the public interest. We will
reject anything that is not in the public interest...
"We will
strive to do away with old politics serving the interests of Japanese
business circles and the Japan-U.S. military alliance in order to pave
the way for establishing the people-first principle in a new Japan.
Voters passed a severe verdict on the LDP-Komei government in the
general election, but various public opinion polls show that they did
not throw full support behind DPJ policies. Citizens will
continue to explore a new political direction for Japan replacing the
politics of the LDP-Komei coalition government. We will work to make
known widely to the public that our proposals of change offer
alternatives."
The JCP has
also warned that the DPJ's support for Japan-U.S. free trade agreement
(FTA) talks and its proposal to reduce the proportional representation
seats in the House of Representatives are causes for concern.
Formed in
1998 by a merger of smaller liberal and social democratic parties, the
Democratic Party calls itself a "revolutionary" force against the
"status quo." It advocates a mix of right-wing and reformist policies,
but supports the "free market economic system". The DPJ also calls to
uphold "fundamental principles of the Constitution: popular
sovereignty, respect for fundamental human rights, and pacifism"; the
latter point has been a controversial issue in Japan, where the LDP has
long tried to scrap a constitutional ban on overseas military
intervention.
16) WPC TRILATERAL
PEACE CONFERENCE IN TORONTO OCTOBER 2-4
(The following
article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50
CDN per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
The Second Trilateral Peace Conference of the World Peace Council (WPC)
will take place in Toronto on October 2-4, in the AUUC Cultural Centre
at 1604 Bloor Street West.
The Trilateral Conference involves the WPC affiliates from Canada
(Canadian Peace Congress), Mexico (MOMPADE) and the United States (US
Peace Council), and also the Cuban Movement for Peace (MOVPAZ). It will
explore the current dynamics of imperialism and their effect on
sovereignty and human rights, antiwar movements, military spending,
nuclear proliferation, the arms trade, and the struggle for democracy.
The First Trilateral Peace Conference was held in Puebla, Mexico in
2004.
The
event kicks off on the morning of Friday, Oct. 2, with opening remarks
on the conference theme by representatives of the participating groups.
Friday afternoon will feature a workshop and discussions on
“imperialist economic integration in North America and sovereignty,
followed by an evening forum on “imperialist wars and anti-war
movements.”
Panels on Saturday, Oct. 3, will examine the current economic crisis
and militarism, and then the issues around nuclear disarmament and the
arms trade.
This year is the 60th anniversary of the World Peace Council, and the
conference will include a celebration on Saturday, October 3, with
entertainment provided by jazz saxophonist Wally Brooker and guitarist
Mark Sepic. (See WHAT'S LEFT for details.)
The Trilateral will wrap up its work on Sunday, Oct. 4, with an action
panel on “strengthening the anti-imperialist movement,” and the
adoption of a joint declaration and common action proposals.
The conference fee, which includes meals and materials plus an
invitation to the 60th anniversary celebration, is $100. There are
reduced prices for single day participation. Registration materials are
available at http://www.canadianpeacecongress.ca
or by email at
dmckee@canadianpeacecongress.ca.
(The following
article is from the September 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice,
Canada's
leading communist
newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited.
Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for
U.S. readers and overseas readers - $50 per year. Send to:
People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133
Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
VANCOUVER, BC
Left
Film Nights - at the Centre for Socialist Education, 706Clark
Drive,
- Sunday, Sept. 27, 7 pm, The Power of Song, documentary on the life of Pete Seeger.
- Next month - Cocalero and Freedom Fighters (Las Libertarias), Sat., Oct. 17, 7 pm.
Free
admission, donations welcome,
info: 604-255-2041.
StopWar
monthly meetings, planning for fall events, see
http://www.stopwar.ca.
Chilean Independence Day celebration
- Sat,, Sept. 19, 6 pm,
Peretz Centre, 6184 Ash St.
Organized by Central Cultural Raices,
sponsored by Spanish language
radio shows: Latino Soy (96.1
FM), El Bus de las 7 (102.7
FM), and Romantic Tango
(102.7 FM). The celebration
will feature traditional
Chilean food and wines, folk
music by Los Hermanos
Galdames, and “Orquesta
Guarumo.” Tickets $20, for
reservations call 604-436-5599;
778-216-0407; or 778-881-0904.
People's
Co-op Bookstore AGM - Friday, Sept. 25, 7 pm, 1391 Commercial Drive. Call 604-253-6442 for info.
WINNIPEG,
MB
Labour Election
Committee, water utility strategy meeting - Monday, Sept. 14, 7 pm, 280 Smith St. Hear Joshua Key, author of The Deserter’s Tale, on the campaign to let U.S. war resisters stay in Canada, Wed., Sept. 16, 7 pm, Millennium Library (Graham & Donald), 2nd fl. Info: 204-792-3371.
Sustaining
the Water Commons: A Global Perspective, with Maude Barlow of the
Council of Canadians - Mon., Sept. 21, 7 pm, Eckhardt Grammate Hall, U of Winnipeg. Info: michaelwelch121@yahoo.ca.
Rally in
support of Workers Compensation reform, Wed. - Sept 23, 11:30 am to 1 pm, Workers Comp office, 333 Broadway Ave. Info from Injured workers group: Ted @ 204-837-3084 or e-mail.
BRANDON, MB
Hear Joshua Key,
author of The Deserter’s Tale, on the campaign to let U.S. war
resisters stay in Canada - Fri., Sept. 18, 7 pm, City Hall. Also at 1 pm, Brandon U, Clarke Hall room 104. Info: 204-717-0228.
EDMONTON,
AB
Wake for Steve
Goff, at the Ukrainian Hall, 11018-97 St. - 7:30 pm, Sat., Sept. 19. Music and reminiscences, for info call Naomi, 780-465-7893.
SASKATOON, SK
Political discussion & beer, all welcome to join Saskatoon CPC
members - third Monday of
every month, in the tv room at Amigo’s, 632-10 St. East.
BRAMPTON, ON
Will the Working
People Pay? Forum with Liz Rowley, member of the Central
Executive Ctee. CPC- on Sat., Sept. 26, in the party room at 210 Steeles Ave. W. (west of Shoppers World). Refreshments at 2 pm, speaker from 2:30. Everyone welcome, organized by GTA West Club.
TORONTO,
ON
Trilateral
Peace Conference - Oct.
2-4, AUUC Cultural Centre, 1604
Bloor St. West, with speakers
from Canadian Peace Congress,
US Peace Council, MOMPADE
(Mexico), and MOVPAZ
(Cuba). For full details, see
story on page 3, or email
Dave McKee:
dmckee@canadianpeacecongress.ca.
Celebrate
World Peace Council 60th Anniversary - Sat., Oct. 3, 7:30 pm, AUUC Cultural Centre, 1604 Bloor St. West, with guests from Cuba, Mexico and the US, entertainment with Wally Brooker and Mark Sepic, admission $10. For info email: dmckee@canadianpeacecongress.ca.
HAMILTON,
ON
Solidarity House classes - at 779 Barton St. East (parking at rear). Wednesdays 7-9, Introduction to Spoken Spanish, $10 suggested donation - bring your dictionary! Saturdays 12-2 - Das Kapital,
video & discussion.
JOSHUA KEY TOUR
For background on the
four-province tour by war
resister Joshua Key, see
article in our Sept. 1-15
issue. For times and places
in the following cities, call
204-792-3371.
- Winnipeg (Sept. 16-17),
- Brandon (Sept. 18),
- Regina (Sept. 19),
- Saskatoon (Sept. 20),
- Edmonton (Sept. 22), Red Deer (Sept. 23),
- Calgary (Sept. 24),
- Kamloops (Sept. 25),
- Kelowna (Sept. 27),
- Vernon (Sept. 28),
- Grand Forks (Sept. 29),
- Lethbridge (Oct. 1),
- Medicine Hat (Oct. 2).
WRAPPING UP OUR 2009 CAMPAIGN
Another $1800 has been turned in towards the 2009 People’s Voice
Fund Drive since our last issue, bringing the new total to
$48,467, or
97% of our $50,000 target. We still have a few loose ends to complete
the Drive, but this will be our final report on the campaign. Many
thanks to all the readers and supporters whose efforts and generous
contributions have been crucial to our success.
Several provinces
are now officially over the top on their quotas. As we announced in our previous issue, Ontario was the first province to fulfill its target, with 100% of its $22,000 turned in. Saskatchewan and Quebec have also hit the mark, a few dollar over their targets of $800 and $500 respectively. BC is nearly finished, with $19,608 of their $20,600 target turned in, and efforts underway to raise the remainder. Alberta is next at 89.7%, or $2153 out of $2400, followed by Manitoba, where the $1880 turned in represents 78.3% of their target. Donations from the Maritimes and Newfoundland-Labrador now total $464, and we have another $1595 from other generous supporters, including friends in the USA.
The working
class movement has other
financial needs this fall.
For example, if the parties in Parliament force yet another federal election, the Communist Party will be fielding 20-25 candidates across the country, and that campaign will cost money. We’ll keep you posted!
PRICE
INCREASE
We regret to inform readers that the
relentless increase in costs of production and mailing have finally
compelled us to raise our rates. As of Sept. 1, a one-year subscription
in Canada will cost $30, and a two-year sub will be $50. The rate for
low-income readers will rise to $15 for one your. For our friends in
the US and overseas, a one-year subscription will now cost $50 in
Canadian funds. The cover price for newstand and bookstore sales will
be raised to $1.50.
As you know, we are once again offering something in
return for your
generous solidarity. This year’s “PV Shopping Bag” includes the
following:
- a 12-month
complimentary
PV sub (keep it or give it
to a
friend);
- People’s Voice
2009 Calendar;
- People’s Voice
“Karl Marx” T-shirt (tell us what
size);
- a surprise music CD -
pick
classical, oldies, or
folk.
Here’s
how it works. For a $100 donation, you will receive your choice of one
of these items. For each additional $100, you can choose another item
from our Shopping Bag. For a donation of $1000 or more, take the entire
Shopping Bag, and we will also give a lifetime subscription to you or a
friend.
Remember -
People’s Voice is your
newspaper, your voice in the information wars. Your contribution helps
us build it bigger and better!
Here's
my contribution to the PV Fund Drive!
Enclosed please find my donation of $_____
to the 2009 People's Voice Press Fund
Drive.
Name __________________________________
Address ________________________________
City/town ______________________________
Prov. ________ Postal Code _______________
Send to: People's Voice, 133 Herkimer St.,Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P
2H3
|
