DEVELOPMENT: Iraq War, Budget Pressures Squeeze Overseas Aid
–This is the reason for the changes made in the below article. Jim Lobe talks about the budget crunch and its effects on the world poor. The US has taken and spent and now there is nothing to give back.

DEVELOPMENT: U.S. Sees Growth as The Way
–We forget the people when we deny aid to countries we deem as not worthy. It is not right in my opinon.

POLITICS-U.S.: Losing Feith
–Jim Lobe talks on the movements inside the Neo-Conservative group inside the White House.

IRAQ: Hollow Election Held on Bloody Day
–Dahr Jamail talks about the elections in Iraq and how turnout is not even across the country.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Allawi issues call for unity
–Shaping “democracy” is what empire is about now… I am not sure what it has changed from? The people who went to the polls are undoubtably brave and undoubtably want democracy, but that is not the point. The point is that they have no control over the process and the process of elections was designed that way. They have no choice over the shape that their country will take but they are dying as a result of the shape it is taking.

CBC News: Canadian team monitoring Iraqi election from Jordan
–Explain to me how this makes any sense. How can we really monitor the elections in Iraq if we are not in Iraq to monitor the elections?

Ford union employees in Windsor refuse OT - 01/30/05
–Forced overtime is not something that members of unions should put up with. If the work is there then companies need to hire more people.

The Nation | Article | Profits for Justice | Michael H. Shuman & Merrian Fuller
–I would like to know what you people think of this article. Profits for Justice. The question is: Should the Left adopt the capitalist corporate models to fight for social ideals? I do not think this fits into a lot of what I believe to be best way to move forward (I prefer grassroots democratic social movements) but I am open to arguments to the contrary.

rabble columns
–Rick Salutin on the Iraq elections. Do not mistake elections for democracy. Some 7-8 million people are projected to have voted in Iraq. However, the breakdown of who voted and where will be a little more interesting. The people want representation but the government is not set-up to do so. Some will say that the act of voting itself is good enough but if people do not know who they are voting for and do not know what the parties stand for (there are over 200) then what is result worth?

ZNet |Repression | Bringing It All Back Home
–An article on the development of the Homeland Security State in the US.

rabble news
–Dr. Henry Morgentaler on the fight for a choice in Canada and how the governments of New Brunswick and Quebec stand against the will of the people and what is demanded by the Federal courts. The thing here is that there should be no need from “private” clinics. The government should run and fund all the clinics that are external to hospitals. That is what the Health Act demands. Until the government decides to take this on then I see no reason that the clinics cannot stay.

rabble news - everyone’s a critic
–The people do not know what is going on in Haiti and the mass media is partly to blame.

World Social Forum: Activists Urge Free Open-Source Software
–Always nice to see some people making sense when talking about open source software and the “developing” world.

ZNet |Vision & Strategy | A Note from WSF 2005
–News from the WSF.

ZNet |Iraq | STATEMENT CONDEMNING ATTACKS ON IRAQI TRADE UNIONISTS
–Join the condemnation of the the Iraqi trade unionists. Have a read of those that have signed the letter, read the letter and the informaiton, and then decide what action is necessary.

A Tale of Two Forums in Worlds Apart
–More on the World Social Forum and why it differs from Davos’ WEC.

Arabs Say Iraq Vote Gives Democracy a Bad Name
–I would say that it does more than give democracy a bad name. I would say that it is not democracy and could leave people believing that voting is all that is needed for a democracy to exist.

CBC - New Brunswick
–The NB Premier Lord never ceases to amaze me in his complete ignorance of the problems. It is either that he does not really understand the issues around abortion in NB or that he is trying to manipulate the public. The province must pay for abortions whether they are in private or public clinics. That is the law. The only reason that the private clinics exist is because the government will not provide the right level of care in our publicly funded ones (i.e. the hospital).

Iraq: This Election is a Sham
–Finally. Some one in the mass media with a little backbone. The Iraq elections are a sham.

ZNet |Vision & Strategy | To Love The Marigold: Hope & Imagination
–Here is a fun read about keeping your spirits up in a time of fear. This is written for the US people but can apply here as well… we share the same continent afterall.

ZNet |Labor | A Message from AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
–Some interesting things are happening in the Unions of the US. Here is a letter from the head of AFL-CIO. It is worth a read if you care at all about the atmosphere at ground level in the US.

rabble columns
–Duncan Cameron: Weddings and funerals. A look over the last week in Canada.

The Council of Canadians
–Is PEI going to ban GE foods? Interesting.

in their own words
–Bush is systematically using fear as a weapon against the public to push his policies through. This is not the way that a democracy should be.

in their own words
–Addictions: managed badly? Rabble.ca

BBC NEWS | In Depth | Nobel winners rally behind Annan
–Some people in the know back Annan. I think that the world backs Annan and that should matter more.

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Can Straw tread softly while US turns its eye on Iran?
–The answer to the question above is: why should he have to? Iran is a bad place to focus military might at.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Buster the bunny pops on his backpack, visits lesbian family and starts row
–I will say it again. If anyone is to be tolerant it must be the appointed positions within the federal government.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | The world remembers
–Auschwitz. We try to remember but the current autrocities are getting in the way of the rhetoric “never again”. We must mean it and enact policy to make sure that we, as an international community, can respond to these crisies.

CBC News: Non-profit groups say Liberals picking favourites
–The constant changing of the rules to make sure that the process favours the people you like is not a fair process. It needs to be an open and fair process for funding these initiatives and everything should be done to keep them in the non-profit sector.

CBC News: BQ and NDP politicians on election alert
–The NDP and the Bloc need to hold Martin and his Liberal budget to account. There is no reason for such a difference in realities when you are talking about the public’s money.

CBC News: Same-sex legislation likely to be introduced Tuesday
–Will this mark the end of this “debate” against equal rights. It always amazes me that these things take as long as they do… In some ways I suppose it is what makes us a little more free…

CBC News: Procter & Gamble to buy Gillette
–Say good bye to choice.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Buster the bunny pops on his backpack, visits lesbian family and starts row
–Tolerance does not exist at many of the higher levels of the US state. The Education Secretary wants sensorship and “select” educational material. The idea is backwards.

Wednesday night about 40 people or so braved the cold for over an hour outside of the Delta Hotel to raise some noise in opposition to missile defence. The Liberals were holding a rather unappetizing “Traditional Maritime Kitchen Party” (vomit) at the Delta, which the public was allowed to attend to schmooze with the Liberals if they paid the elite sum of $75. I don’t think a lot of “traditional maritimers” could afford that for one meal, but I’m sure the Liberals weren’t worried. Poor, starving Liberals need money too…yeah
It wasn’t bad considering all things: the cold, short notice, distance from the downtown. The Raging Grannies came out and revved people up; they stayed the whole time. We also had a bunch of pamphlets that people were taking. We tried to stay inside the entrance way, but got ushered across the street, I think a couple of times. Bill Graham came out, crossed the street and grabbed my hand and started shaking it in front of the cameras–which didn’t come near us all that often. Bill was giving us his assurance that he was happy we were there and that it was an important issue that is being debated. I encouraged further debate, but was really as assertive as I should have been, but comrades filled in for that. Even more chilling than the weather was the fact that there seems to be zero media coverage of yesterday’s opposition.

There was also a protest by Kingsclear First Nation (about 20-min outside of Fredericton) over corruption by their band council. They were just adjacent to our group. We gave a shout of solidarity and I joined them with some drumming on and off, which was fun too. Vaughn gave them his contact info, offering to help out with their issue.

asaf