Climate Change

Roger Waters: Neoliberalism is Fuelling the Flames of Fascism

I spoke recently to legendary musician and human rights activist Roger Waters about his recent tour of South America.

In the first part of our discussion, Roger discussed his visit to Brazil where Roger paid tribute to murdered human rights activist Marielle Franco, met with journalist Glenn Greenwald and warned against the rise of the fascist Jair Bolsonaro.

In the second part, Roger discussed the appalling treatment of Julian Assange by the Ecuadorian government of Lenin Moreno. Roger also talked about the obstacles he had to overcome in order to visit the site of massive oil contamination in the Ecuadorian jungle. That contamination was caused by the corporate predecessor of Chevron and resulted in an historic, $9 billion judgment being rendered against Chevron by the courts of Ecuador. The Ecuadorian plaintiffs in that case have been fighting for years, including in Canada, to collect on that judgment.

The two parts of our talk can be seen and heard here:

https://therealnews.com/stories/roger-waters-neoliberalism-is-fueling-the-flames-of-fascism-pt-1-2

https://therealnews.com/stories/roger-waters-neoliberalism-is-fueling-the-flames-of-fascism-pt-2-2

 

Human Rights

The Weaponization of the IHRA’s Definition of Anti-Semitism

In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), a Western-dominated organization which includes the state of Israel, promulgated a working definition of anti-Semitism.

Ever since, the pro-Israel lobby has prioritized the adoption of this definition for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who reads the definition: the IHRA definition is designed to stigmatize and deter criticism of Israel and its advocates.

On December 1, 2018, I gave a presentation on the weaponization of the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism. I delivered this presentation in Montreal at a conference on Palestinian self-determination organized by the Centre international de solidarité ouvrière. 

In my presentation, I discussed, among other things, the manner in which B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs misrepresented the content of the IHRA definition in order to accuse me falsely of having hurled an ‘anti-Semitic’ slur at the two most outspoken defenders of Israel in Canada’s governing Liberal Party.

Below I have posted a copy of the PowerPoint presentation that I used during my speech at the conference.

CISO Conference Presentation on Antisemitism Dec 1 2018

Canadian Politics

Massive Class Action Launched Against Trudeau Government For Failure To Act On The Climate Crisis

In Quebec, a massive class action has been launched against Justin Trudeau’s Government for its failure to act on the climate crisis.

The action has been brought on behalf of 3.5 million Quebecois who are 35 years old or younger.

The lead plaintiff alleges that Trudeau’s inaction on climate change breaches fundamental rights to life, security and equality.

For The Real News Network, I discuss the case with Catherine Gauthier, the Executive Director of ENvironnement JEUnesse, the lead plaintiff in the proposed class action. Our discussion can be seen and heard here:

https://therealnews.com/stories/massive-class-action-launched-against-canadas-trudeau-government-for-failure-to-address-climate-crisis

Canadian Politics

Alberta Energy Regulator, With The Full Complicity Of Big Oil, Perpetrates a Massive Fraud on Canadian Taxpayers

For the Real News, I speak to Regan Boychuk of Reclaim Alberta about a recent, stunning revelation that Alberta’s Energy Regulator (AER) has grossly misrepresented to the public the true costs to clean up old oil wells and toxic tar sands tailings ponds in the province.

The AER has previously claimed those costs to be $58 billion, but in fact they are likely to be well in excess of $260 billion.

Meanwhile, the AER has collected a paltry $1.6 billion in security from oil companies, meaning that there is a large and growing risk that Canadian taxpayers will ultimately shoulder most of the burden to clean up the oil industry’s massive, toxic mess.

My discussion with Regan can be seen and heard here:

https://therealnews.com/stories/oil-industry-cleanup-costs-vastly-exceed-alberta-governments-estimates?fbclid=IwAR1IlSMexCLYg1so7qRVdu0E-E_lDtNB1_3S3Cx6MJFjbiCpo4ViyLmUvvQ.

Canadian Politics

A Call to Escalate Resistance to Canada’s Pro-Israel Policies

Screen Shot 2018-11-20 at 7.22.48 PM

Palestinian-Canadian human rights activist Hammam Farah interrupts a speech by Israel’s Economy Minister, Eli Cohen, at a Bay Street luncheon held in May 2018.

There is a moment in Henry Kissinger’s memoirs — do not buy the book — when Nixon and Kissinger are looking out at tens of thousands of anti-war protesters who have surrounded the White House. Nixon had placed empty city buses in front of the White House to keep the protesters back. He worried out loud that the crowd would break through the barricades and get him and Kissinger. And that is exactly where we want people in power to be. This is why, although he was not a liberal, Nixon was our last liberal president. He was scared of movements. And if we cannot make the elites scared of us we will fail.

Christopher Hedges, November 2016

Recently, human rights advocate Peter Larson published on his website, Canada Talks Israel Palestine, a blog post addressing accusations from Prime Minister Trudeau and other Canadian party leaders that I had directed a ‘vile anti-Semitic smear’ at two Members of Canada’s Parliament.

The MPs in question are Liberals Michael Levitt and Anthony Housefather. They are both members of the Executive Committee of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group. Levitt is the Chair of that Group. Levitt and Housefather also happen to be Jewish.

My alleged ‘anti-Semitic smear’ was a tweet in which I wrote:

Apparently, Liberal MPs Anthony Housefather and Michael Levitt are more devoted to apartheid Israel than to their own prime minister and colleagues in the Liberal caucus.

After Trudeau and other party leaders falsely accused me of anti-Semitism, Peter reviewed over 100 blog posts on my website going back to January 2017. He then wrote[1] that:

[Lascaris] is a very vocal advocate of BDS, the movement to boycott Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians, and very critical of both Elizabeth May and Jagmeet Singh for not endorsing it. But I could find no whiff of any animus against Jews…

While his tweet may have been insensitive, any intimation that Lascaris himself is anti-Semitic appears to be ill informed and perhaps even politically motivated. It would appear that a number of political leaders who have been sharply criticized by Lascaris in the past are not willing to come to his defense in the face of Trudeau’s attack.

I have already explained the context of my tweet and the reasons for which I categorically reject the Prime Minister’s accusation of anti-Semitism. My purpose in writing this post is not to add to that explanation, but rather, to respond to other criticisms Peter articulated in his post.

Continue Reading ›

Real News Reports

What Can Humanity Learn From The Great Law of Peace?

The Great Law of Peace predates European colonization of North America by centuries and has endured for far longer than the settler states that were brutally imposed upon the indigenous peoples of North America. In this interview for The Real News, I discuss the Great Law of Peace with Stuart Myiow of the Mohawk Traditional Council.

As Stuart explains, an enduring peace depends on our respect for the laws of creation. Stuart’s comments on European conceptions of democracy are particularly interesting. He states: “So today you may look and think that democracy means freedom and equality for all. Well, let’s go back to early Greece and we’ll see that that’s not, in fact, what existed there. And that’s not what I am saying based on what I think. I examined the non-Native history. The non-Native history identifies the circumstances that were in place at the time when the early Greeks formed democracy. In that place they were entirely based upon slavery. They were entirely based upon war. The women were not citizens. The women were basically subjects of the men, owned by the men. The majority of the women were slaves also except from the ones that were allowed or permitted to come into the ranks of basically being, or holding the role of basically being baby factories to bring more soldiers into their war. So when people think of democracy as, the way people think of it today, the people are exactly going in the diametrically opposite direction than what they believe. Whereas within the Great Law of Peace, this is the only place on earth that actually acknowledged an adopted Constitution of what actually takes place within creation; how creation is created from some step one. In order to know the Great Law of Peace that people must know the creation story. When you know your creation story, then you know what you are. And when you know and realise what you are, then your ways, everything that you adopt, will be in accordance with what we are.”

My discussion with Stuart can be seen and heard here:

https://therealnews.com/stories/what-can-humanity-learn-from-the-great-law-of-peace-1-2

Human Rights

The True ‘Troika of Tyranny’ In Today’s World Is The United States, Saudi Arabia And Israel

Yesterday, in an interview on RT America, I argued that the U.S. government’s sanctions on Iran have nothing to do with the human rights of the Iranian people, and that, to borrow John Bolton’s phrase, the true ‘troika of tyranny’ in today’s world is the United States, Said Arabia and Israel.

My interview on RT America can be seen and heard here: