*Event in Fredericton*

All are invited, and highly encouraged, to help our friend and dedicated social justice activist and non-lawyer advocate for the poor, Vaughn Barnett, as he prepares to enter precarious territory on this January 11th. On that date, Vaughn will be in court to defend himself against the Law Society of New Brunswick. They will be attempting to have him charged with contempt of court for allegedly providing services that only lawyers are allowed to.

***This is a call to all supporters to show the massive solidarity we can muster in defense of a deeply dedicated, local social justice activist; all we need to do is attend his trial to show moral support and present to the judge and prosecuting lawyer(s) that Vaughn is not fighting his struggle alone, and will not be pushed around in silence. Anyone is allowed to attend the trial and be part of the audience; no special permission required***

If Vaughn loses, he can end up in jail, or with fines or some other financial punishment for doing nothing more than trying to help poor people defend themselves. It should be noted that Vaughn lives on social assistance, so he can ill afford fines, thus would likely be forced to go to jail if fines are overly burdensome. Additionally, a loss for Vaughn would set a dangerous precedent that could make it very difficult for grassroots groups in Fredericton, and possibly throughout the province, to provide any sort of legalistic services in the future without challenges.

If you can make it, please arrive at the courthouse in downtown Fredericton (“Justice” building on the corner of Queen and Carlton) at:

***9:00AM ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 11TH***

A group will be waiting at the entrance to the courthouse, and we shall go in together to show a collective solidarity with Vaughn. WE NEED AS LARGE AN ATTENDANCE AS POSSIBLE. Even attending for 30 minutes - 1 hour helps. Courtroom solidarity is effective if enough people show up to demonstrate a collective strength that will continue to show resilience.
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–More from Robert Fisk on the early execution of Saddam Hussein.

Another fine example, this one from France, of the suicidal tendencies of the Left. Where is the leadership? Where is the organization? The incompetence of party machines - whether Stalinist, Trotskyist, social-democratic or other - is tantamount to a betrayal of the working class. Get your act together, comrades.

“That Saddam was a tyrant is beyond dispute … He deserved a proper trial and punishment in an independent Iraq. Not this.”

–Robert Fisk reports with the only real perspective on the killing of Saddam Hussein.

A detailed breakdown of: Palestinian and Israeli casualties; Palestinian Home Demolitions; Israeli Checkpoints; and Palestinian Prisoners is available here:
683 people killed in the conflict in 2006 | B’Tselem

For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas. The Independent’s environment editor Geoffrey Lean reports.

“Israeli security sources say Israel approved the transfer of 2,000 automatic rifles, 20,000 ammunition clips and two million bullets.”

This is a press release from the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, and the National Abortion Federation.

“For the last couple of weeks, referrals for abortions in the province have not been possible. No referrals are accepted until mid January by the two physicians who provide the service, and the provincial government is not providing alternate arrangements,” said Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, Chairperson of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women. ” There have been several cases of appointments cancelled. These women are not then referred to any other service. Women are not being referred to hospitals outside the province. New Brunswick does not have reciprocal billing arrangements. Those who can pay make their way to the Morgentaler clinic. That clinic is struggling to keep up with a 25% increase in procedures.”

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The order was given by Amir Peretz, the Israeli Defense Minister, and in the words of the NYT: “the dovish head of the Labor Party” … what a joke. Labor, by the way, is considered to be a left-of-centre party. I’ve said this before, but, Israeli’s are doomed to continue electing ultra-rightwing governments as long as Labor is unable (unwilling?) to incorporate the peace movement and offer a genuinely anti-aggressive alternative.

–Robert Fisk. Brilliant as ever for just saying what should be said by all other papers and journalists of the land.

“Play, about the 23-year-old American activist who died under the wheels of an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, was originally produced at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2005.”

First New York, then Toronto. What a shame.

Juan Cole has been claiming, for quite a while now, that the militias roaming the cities of Iraq are also members of the police and security forces. Here’s the proof.

“Several of the contracts were hastily given to politically connected firms in the aftermath of the 2005 storm and were extended without warning months later.”

“Massive state intervention in the economy[:] Economists don’t talk about it much, but the current economy in the United States relies very heavily on the state sector. That’s where you get your computers and the internet and your airplane traffic and transit of goods, container ships and so on, almost entirely comes out of the state sector, including pharmaceuticals, management techniques, and so on. I won’t go on into that, but it’s a strong correlation right through history. Those are the methods of development. … The neoliberal methods created the third world, and in the past 30 years, they have led to disasters in Latin America and southern Africa, the places that most rigorously adhered to them. But there was growth and development in East Asia, which disregarded them, following instead pretty much the model of the currently rich countries.”

“All I want for Christmas is for the government to fall,” said Milad Deeb, 23, a Christian supporter of the FPM who has lived in a tent since demonstrations began. “I think that’s all anyone here wants.”

“At first we wanted the government to resign but now I want new elections,” said Mary Harfouch, 22. “That would be the best Christmas present.”

–A rather interesting and indepth article about the current ongoings in Venezuela. Worth a read and spread it around. It is good to counter the official rhetoric coming from the corporate western media.

–There are constant attacks on the workers of the world. The World Bank is pushing some rather nasty policy here that, if allowed to be implemented, will mean longer hours of work, less job security, and lower pay… which all means greater profits for the capitalists.

–This is not a big surprise but it is yet another reminder why the union and environmental movements are fighting the same battle.

“The fact is that many of the bluest of our blue chip corporations may actually be wearing a shade of Hugo Chávez red beneath their suspenders — with one major difference: They’re fine with socializing the risks of capitalism, so long as they can privatize the profits. As for the poor? They’re decidedly on their own.”

Although this speech was given by Tutu in April of 2002; the editors of ZNet obviously feel that it is worth revisiting.

“Across the U.S., female animals exposed to toxic chemicals are suffering from a flurry of health problems. As scientists examine the impact of environmental pollution, some are pondering what the results may mean to female humans.”

Asbestos is the major reason for a rise in Canadian work-related deaths according to “Five Deaths a Day: Workplace Fatalities in Canada, 1993-2005″ - a report released in December by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards in Ottawa, Canada.

–The decision does not look like a good one but the article does not exactly give a great depth to the issue. However, if the people in the city do not want the school moved then I see no reason that this shouldn’t be taken into account. The press release that is attached to the story is at best insulting to the people of this province and at worse a window into an authoritarian streak that might be found in Lamrock. Let’s hope the parents’ group has some impact.

–I cannot stress how important it is that the Left get behind this movement for Net Neutrality. If we lose the ability to use the net to organise and present the alternatives then we will have surely lost.

–An interesting article looking at union strategy to fight back against the regressive policies and practices against the working people of Canada. A good read.

–The Guardian of London has an interesting commentary in its “Comment is free” pages (incidentally, comment is always free and I do not understand this tag line except as some way to try to trademark the idea that they allow people to comment on articles). Liberals tend not to do analysis but simply describe what is going on… still, I agree that Bush and Blair are both delusional about their role in Iraq.

–The Toronto Star is going to be laying off some of its staff and reporters. We are in desperate need of some real, non-corporate owned, media in this country.

–It looks like Harper is going to introduce legislation that will make Canadian elections a fixed date every 4 years instead of democratically controlled. This should be unacceptable to all Canadians. If we cannot bring down the government then we are not going to be living in a democracy.

–The article is junk (as with most from the BBC these days) but the quote at the end is interesting. Raul has said that Fidel cannot be replaced unless he is replace by “all of us”. Along with the suggestions that the country’s governing process may evolve (not towards capitalism, of-course) one could get the impression that the Cuban Communist Party might look to Venezuela for a model of socialism.

“Today, we can see that the national security claims that the FBI has been making for 25 years were absurd from the beginning.”

More holiday season craziness in Hamilton: Christmas tree pulled out of auction | Hamilton Spectator

–This is more like it. The Left has to unite against the rather bizarre claims that the Greens are a left-wing party. Many people are under this illusion (though, the Green’s claim they are neither left or right but “straight ahead”… ). If you want progressive politics and social and environmental reform in Parliament there is still only one choice and it ain’t the Greens. The issue for Rebick is the Green’s lackluster policy and waffling on abortion rights. There are many other lackluster policies and waffling to choose from but this should be a big one for most people from progressives to the socialist left.

Janice Harvey on the aftermath of the black dust covering Belledune homes in the summer.

“When a resident said, “So it must have come from NB Power,” Fournier “stammered” as if in naming the polluter the floor would open beneath his feet and swallow him. He was rescued by the mayor who declared, “I’m not going to let this meeting be controlled by other interests,” meaning, I guess, people who care about the air they breathe and who expect their government to be honest with them.”

–This article should be interesting to everyone who cares about alternative ways of farming and alternative was of running an economy around agriculture. The Cuban example continues to show an alternative economic system that seems to strive on its own merits even when under such extreme conditions.