–The reactionary forces continue to turn to violence to get what they want in Venezuela.

TORONTO, Ont. – CUPE 3903 has requested a continuation of talks with York University on Tuesday, December 2, but union officials say university negotiators are holding up an agreement by refusing to address the key issues at stake in the strike.
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“This Capital Hill settlement of pro-Israel lobbies and think tanks strategically controls the high ground overlooking the United States’ Middle East policy landscape by having made kibbutzniks of most members of the executive and legislative branches of the government—including President-elect Obama, Vice President-elect Biden (a wannabe Zionist), and future Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (a born Zionist).”

A Haaretz Magazine investigation reveals for the first time operational discussions in which the fate of wanted men and innocent people was decided, in apparent disregard of the High Court decision. Thus it was revealed that the IDF approved assassination plans in the West Bank even when it would probably have been possible to arrest the wanted men – in contradiction to the State's statement to the High Court – and that in cold military terminology the most senior IDF echelons approve, in advance and in writing, the harming of innocent Palestinians during the course of assassination operations.

License to kill – Haaretz – Israel News.

Justin Podur offers his analysis of the devastation.

We are told that there is not enough food for everyone, that there are too many human beings on the planet and therefore we must all reduce consumption – a handy idea in the hands of the bourgeois propagandists. The real facts and figures reveal that the world produces enough food. So where does the problem lie?

A very interesting excerpt buried in an otherwise absurd story; it is more than likely that the corporate media has deviated from its standard line on the U.S.-led catastrophe in Somalia by ‘accidental journalism’.

“We’ve had no government for 18 years. We have no life. Our last resource is the sea, and foreign trawlers are plundering our fish.”

Also see: Buccaneers in Somali Waters — But They’re Not Somalis | MR Zine

–The statement from the CLC.

–The CLC (and CUPE which is a member) is calling for a coalition government in response to the Conservatives latest attack on working people of this country.

–Some editorializing around the state of the Canadian labour movement. With attacks like the recent “mini budget” has brought against the Labour Movement we should be seeing action in the streets, not just in press releases. If this government doesn’t fall, then I hope that we will.

–If you have not heard of Serco, you should look them up. They are running government services instead of your government.

–The Conservatives continue to undermine equity in this country.

–It is good to see even small locals standing up for themselves in the face of cutbacks.

–If ever there was an indication that our democratic system is broken, this is it.

With the credit crisis continuing to worsen, the US federal government is pledging a seemingly endless amount of money to shore up failing institutions hit hard by toxic assets. Federal government pledges now top $8 trillion with the most recent $800 billion announced Tuesday. The Real News Network spoke to journalist and author Nomi Prins.

With the financial crisis as a backdrop, Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government may not survive another week. Less than two months after the last election the government is facing a confidence vote on its budget update and all three opposition parties say they will vote against. Rumours are rife of a Liberal-NDP coalition to replace the Conservatives. The Conservatives must be defeated, but there can be no coalition with the bosses’ parties.

There could be a coalition government in the works. Stay tuned.

“What does recovery for the US economy entail? Certainly not giving more to the banks which have a disappearing class of worthwhile debtors and hence no one to lend to. But that is precisely the strategy which W. and Obama are pursuing. Such a strategy cannot possibly work because there are no credit worthy borrowers – and so far it has not. . . This is simply a crisis of overproduction – not a new idea, of course, but one that seems to explain the present state of affairs very adequately.”

“[L]eftists now have an exceptional opportunity to explain how “socialism” can and should mean something more than and different from progressive tax reforms, state ownership of enterprises, and state planning of economic affairs. However, the need to produce a definition of socialism as “something more” confronts some traditional definitions that do focus on progressive state economic policy interventions (such as tax reform) and/or state ownership and planning.”

Tariq Ali comments on the chaos in Mumbai.

The end of the article is especially useful, as it posts links of Counterpunch stories documenting the story of Citigroup for the past year. Martens is very insightful.