CSJ Newsletter

July 1, 2021

CALLS TO ACTION

Stop Economic Blockade of Cuba

The petition (e-3456) to the Government of Canada Against the U.S. Economic Blockade of Cuba and on Canada-Cuba Relations is now open for signatures.

The petition initiated by the Canadian Network On Cuba is sponsored by Niki Ashton, member of Canada’s parliament for the federal constituency of Churchill—Keewatinook Aski in the province of Manitoba.

English | French

Stop Excluding Military Pollution from Climate Agreements

Target: Participants in COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, November 1-12, 2021.

We encourage individuals and organizations to sign the petition, and also ask organizations to sign a similar petition created by Conflict and Environment Observatory. Organizations that are interested in cosponsoring this petition through Action Network can see how that would work, contact us.

actionnetwork.org

EVENTS

Every Child Matters Walk

When: Thursday July 1st, 10am
Where: Assemble at 439 Dundas Street E. Walk will commence at 10:30 am sharp.

To honor and support former students of residential schools and the thousands of children who perished while attending Kamloops-Brandon-Cowessess. Wear a mask, socially distance.

eventbrite.ca

Sisi’s Many Jails – From Gaza to Tora

When: July 1st, 1pm
Donations accepted

Trump’s reference to Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as his “favorite dictator” revealed the former US president’s penchant for lawlessness and authoritarian rule. But the Biden administration continues to provide carte blanche for Sisi’s widespread repression and human rights abuses, based on the premise that Egypt plays an important role in enforcing US policies for the region, in particular as a mediator between Palestinians and Israel. This Realpolitik logic of unconditional support for tyrants is shortsighted. The Sisi regime is currently imprisoning an estimated 60,000 political prisoners while it also plays a central role in maintaining the longstanding blockade of Gaza and jails Palestine solidarity activists in Egypt.

eventbrite.com

Toronto #CancelCanadaDay

When: July 1st, 1pm
Where: 111 Wellesley St W.

Justin Trudeau took a vow of “concrete action” after the awful tragedy of Kamloops came out, yet he continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars fighting First Nations in court. Let’s work together to see that he does more than tweet about the “history” of this country.

Please join us for a sit in at the Toronto Legislative Building property. We refuse to sit complacently while this country continues to celebrate its existence while denying its genocide of the Indigenous community.

Facebook event

No Pride in Genocide, Cancel Canada Day

When: Thursday July 1st, 6:30pm
Where: Dundas Square

Join Idle No More Toronto, Idle No More Ontario, Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed The People), Elder, Drummers, Jingle Dancers and Speakers for Round Dance and Candle Light Vigil to remember the Indigenous Children who died in Residential schools across this country.

Please follow covid safety protocols and wear a mask and social distance. Provide your own candle for the vigil, no signs but wear orange shirts. You are invited to bring children’s shoes and moccasins/slippers to leave for the memorial.

Facebook event

Anti-Discriminatory Education

SEEDS for Change invites you to join Dr. Clelia O. Rodriguez in a series of encounters with scholars, activists, leading educators, authors, and artists from all over the globe in a 13-week co-learning journey.

Guest speakers:
July 6 – Introduction. To ground us: Maria Montejo.
July 8 – PhFlo (Cluster of Colours)
July 13 – Dr. Alba Lamar
July 15 – Christelle Collet
July 20 – Dr. Martha Rivas
July 22 – Octavio Quintanilla
July 27 – J Mase III
July 29 – Tamkeen / Rima Akramawi
August 3 – Lark Sontag
August 5 – Dr. Anthony “Prime” Guerra / Heryka Miranda
August 10 – Noura AlJizawi
August 12 – Roxana Damas / Andrea Vásquez Jiménez
August 19 – Cheko Salaam, Ixchel Ojeda Ramírez, Zue Ojeda Ramírez and Tomas Ramírez Mutis

zoom.us

Writing the Third World

When: July 6th, 8pm

Join the Center for Political Education for a discussion of Vijay Prashad’s new book, Washington Bullets.

Vijay will be in conversation with Rhonda Ramiro, Chairperson of BAYAN-USA.

This is the second event of CPE’s Writing the Third World series that puts scholars and movement leaders and organizers in conversation about a recent work of scholarship on internationalist struggles for liberation and self-determination.

zoom.us

Film: Water be Dammed

When: July 7th, 3pm

This documentary shows that by not following the four pillars of water sustainability – science, economics, governance and spiritual connections – we have damned one of our most precious resources. Through the lens of the Satluj River in Punjab, India, the film traces the story of challenges, hopes, and aspirations of water’s will to survive and rejuvenate.

zoom.us

ARTICLES

Global Left, Marxism and Democratic Socialism

Remembering Leo Panitch. Speakers: Sam Gindin, Ana Garcia, Ingar Solty, Patrick Bond, Dinga Sikwebu,
and Vishwas Satgar.

Source: LeftStreamed

On the Authoritarian Turn of Global Capital and its Contradictions in the USA

By Fouad Oveisy

There’s a tendency within certain factions of the US left to regard the case of former US president Donald Trump as an ‘anomaly’. In dealing with other personifications of capital, the contradictions of Marx’s critique of political economy seem to apply just fine, but when it comes to Trump and Trumpism the metaphysics of randomness satisfies almost all strategic assessments. Perhaps this has something to do, as Karl Korsch (1886-1961) remarked in 1940, with the absence of a thorough conception of “counterrevolution” in Marx, since “from the viewpoint of his historical experience” he could not “conceive of counterrevolution as a normal phase of social development.

Source: The Bullet No. 2405

The Modern Tecumseh and the Future of the US Left

By Bill Fletcher Jr.

This essay is not an academic research paper. Neither is it a biography. It draws from the life of Tecumseh and lessons that I believe are useful for the US left. There are many books about Tecumseh, his brother, and their project. One that was especially powerful in triggering my thoughts about Tecumseh’s ongoing relevance is Allan W. Eckert’s A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh. There are many others, plus information one can obtain at the National Museum of the American Indian and several videos.

Source: The Bullet No. 2406

What Really Happened at the Winnipeg Public Meeting Labeled Antisemitic?

By Larry Haiven

Proponents of the Working Definition of Antisemitism championed by the International Holocaust Memorial Alliance (IHRA-WDA) insist that their definition is aspirational, not legally binding, and meant only to rally opposition to hatred of Jews. But the fallout of an event several years ago is emblematic of how highly dangerous the definition’s threat is to freedom of expression about Israel and Palestine.

Source: The Bullet No. 2407

How a US Congressman Took on the US Blockade Against Venezuela

By Celina della Croce

On a cold winter day in February 2019, activists gathered in downtown Northampton, Massachusetts, to denounce the attempted US-backed coup in Venezuela. More than two years later, in the wake of ongoing rallies and discussions with Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, activists gained some ground as the congressman tweeted an open letter to President Joe Biden on June 14 in which he called on the president to end “all secondary and sectoral sanctions” against Venezuela.

Source: The Bullet No. 2408
Share:

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get weekly updates from CSJ. Cancel at any time.

Donation Letter 2024

Dear donor, Your generous support of the Centre for Social Justice in the past is deeply appreciated. Your contribution is of vital importance to the struggle for a peaceful world, and social and ecological justice in Ontario and Canada. Unfortunately, the world today is far from at peace, with a war in Ukraine pushing towards […]

Read Now

CSJ Newsletter

Social Justice community newsletter for December 12 to 19, 2024.

Read Now