POLITICAL HUMOUR:

WAR IN IRAQ ENDS AS US FORCES LEAVE UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS:

CANADIAN POLITICS:
CANADA'S ROLE IN THE WAR IN IRAQ:


The Canadian army continues its role in the unwinable war in Afghanistan, with the federal Conservatives gradually "softening up" the public for participation that may last yet another decade (or until the USA realizes defeat and declares victory and gets out). This attempt at 'extension by attrition' is, of course, rather deceptive, but it is hardly the first instance of our federal government waging "war by deceit". Canada did indeed participate in the American invasion of Iraq, no matter how loudly the governments of the day stated that they were not a party to that conflict. Here's a new book out from the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) that lays out this hidden story.
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Canada at War in Iraq!
New 54-page COAT report‏

"At last the surprising truth of the Canada's military complicity in the Iraq War.
A cry for peace. Brilliantly orchestrated."
Victor Levant, author, Quiet Complicity: Canadian Involvement in the Vietnam War

Did you know that about 2,000 Canadian sailors -- aboard eight, multi-billion dollar Canadian warships -- participated in the Iraq War?
Or that Canadian pilots flew warplanes in Iraq-war missions, including U.S. C-17s, a British MR2 and Canadian C-130s and CP-140s?
Or that Canadian Army generals received Canadian and American medals after leading tens of thousands of troops in Iraq?

These are just a few of the surprising facts detailed in this new 54-page report:
"Operation SILENT PARTNER: Canada’s Quiet Complicity in the Iraq War"
This report, published by the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT), will be mailed to subscribers of Press for Conversion! this week. (Would you like a copy? See below for details.)

COAT's latest publication is the most comprehensive resource available on the role of Canada's Navy, Air Force and Army in the Iraq war. It contains many original, previously-unpublished articles, with over 300 references, and is illustrated with dozens of photographs showing:
* high-ranking Canadian military officers involved in the Iraq war,
* the U.S., Canadian and British medals they received for their roles in Iraq, and
* Canadian warplanes and warships that were deployed by Liberal and Conservative governments alike.

Preview some of the articles in this issue

When Liberal politicians proclaimed that Canada was refusing to join the U.S. “Coalition of the Willing” against Iraq, many Canadians were understandably proud. Unfortunately, it was all a smoke-and-mirrors game. In reality, Canada did join the Iraq war in 2003 and has contributed in many significant ways ever since. However, Canada's quiet complicity in the Iraq War has gone largely unnoticed. By exposing the remarkable yet largely-unknown history of Canada's participation in the Iraq war, we can try to avoid a similar fiasco from happening again. Please learn more, and help...

Be among the first to read this latest COAT exposé. Order a copy of this issue ($8) or subscribe ($25). (Subscribers receive copies of four different issues.)
Visit the COAT website and use Paypal, a safe easy way to send money online. Or, simply mail a cheque to COAT, at 541 McLeod St., Ottawa ON K1R 5R2.

cheers,
Richard Sanders
Coordinator, COAT

P.S. A limited number of free copies are available for journalists, and activists who will help spread the word. Reply to this email asap if you'd like a sample copy of this issue.

P.P.S. This report was kindly printed by the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) and the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).

P.P.P.S. Press for Conversion! makes a good stocking stuffer.

AMERICAN POLITICS:

THE BRADLEY MANNING SUPPORT NETWORK:

Bradley Manning is the now world famous US soldier who leaked video of a US helicopter shooting unarmed civilians in Iraq to the Wikileaks site. Wikileaks has gone on to even bigger things since then, but Bradley manning still sits in military jail awaiting trial. Needless to say the perpetrators of the war crimes that he exposed have had no charges laid against them.

There has been widespread support for Manning, and one of the primary sources has been the Bradley Manning Support Network who are planning a week of actions on his behalf this week. Here's a brief segment of one of the articles on their site. Go there to see much more and how you can help Manning out.

BMBMBMBMBM
Bradley Manning: An American Hero
by Marjorie Cohn, Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007. The video, available at www.collateralmurder.com, was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010. Manning faces 52 years in prison. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.

In fact, the actions depicted in “Collateral Murder” contain evidence of three violations of the laws of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions, which amount to war crimes....

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR IRAQ:

PROTEST REPRESSION OF IRAQI UNION:

Well, the new Iraqi government is proving itself to be following the methods of the old one. Last month they banned the Iraqi electricity unions. But what did you really expect ? Here's an appeal from the online labour solidarity organization Labour Start for support for the Iraqi unionists.

ILILILILIL
Iraq: Minister closes all union offices in Saddam-style move
Police raided and shut down electricity unions across Iraq in mid-July, carrying out an order from the Minister of Electricity that could have been lifted from Saddam Hussein’s rule book.

The order prohibits "all trade union activities at the ministry and its departments and sites" and authorizes the police "to close all trade union offices and bases and to take control of unions' assets properties and documents, furniture and computers."

The leader of Britain's Trades Union Congress has called upon the Iraqi government "to withdraw the order, and allow unions to operate freely, underpinned by a fair, just and ILO-compliant labour law."

The Iraqi trade union movement is calling on trade union members everywhere to raise their voices in protest.

ILILILILIL

THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Iraqi authorities.

ILILILILIL

To Mr Hussain al-Shahristani
Minister of Electricity
Baghdad, Iraq

Sir:

I have learned about Ministerial Order No 22 244 issued on 20 July 2010 which "prohibit all trade union activities at the ministry and its departments and sites" and orders police to raid union offices across the country.

This order is a clear violation of international labour standards which your government is obligated to uphold, and I call upon you to reverse course and stop this assault on Iraqi unions.
Thank you.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAQ:

CAMPAIGN FOR JUST LABOUR LAWS IN IRAQ:

The following appeal for solidarity with the General Federation of Iraqi Workers came Molly's way via the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.

ILILILILILILILILILIL
Iraq: Pass a fair and just labour law!

International call for a fair and just labour law in Iraq
We the undersigned call on the Iraqi Government and Parliament to implement a fair and just labour law.

Almost seven years have passed since the fall of the former regime, yet many of its laws and decisions continue to apply, denying workers the most basic of freedoms. Workers in the public sector are denied the right to organise and join trade unions and collective bargaining is almost impossible. Without laws guaranteeing freedom of association, various state ministries are threatening to seize union assets and ban their activities.

These laws are undermining the immense contribution democratic and independent trade unions can make to Iraq’s fledgling democracy.

We support the Iraqi Labour Campaign and its call on the Iraqi Government and the Parliament to put in place a fair and just law labour law which would:

•Enable workers to make workplaces safer, prevent discrimination and harassment, ensure equality of opportunity, improve skills and education, increase workplace productivity and morale, collectively bargain for fairer wages, protect the most vulnerable workers and be part of a mature system of industrial relations.
•Allow trade unions to be supported by their members, accountable to their members according to internal rules and free from outside political interference.
•Finally give workers their fundamental rights as provided for in the Iraqi constitution and the core conventions of the International Labour Organisation.
•Help build a free, fair and prosperous federal Iraq for everyone.
ILILILILILILILILIL

Please go to this link to add your name to the petition above.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAQ:

APPEAL FROM THE IRAQI TEACHERS' UNION:

The following appeal for online solidarity has come Molly's way from the e-solidarity site Labour Start.

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Iraq: Teachers union faces threat of government takeover:

The Iraqi Teachers' Union is under attack from the Iraqi Government. The government has authorized an official body to take over the union under the pretext of forcing the union to hold elections. It is worth noting that the ITU has already held several national conferences since 2003 and had elected an ITU leadership openly and democratically. The government attempts are illegitimate, unacceptable and a blatant violation and interference in the internal democratic affairs of the union. They also violate the Iraqi constitution which guarantees workers the right to organize. The ITU leadership has refused to hand over the union and is ready to struggle to preserve the independence of the ITU. Because of this, its leaders are under the threat of arrest. The ITU is organizing another national protest with major demonstration in central Baghdad on 28 March 2009 and it needs your solidarity and support.

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following very short and sweet letter to the Iraqi authorities.

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"I call upon the Iraqi government to cease its interference in the internal affairs of the Iraqi Teachers Union."

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Well, you can't get shorter and to the point than that-Molly

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAQ:

SOLIDARITY WITH HIMYAR SALIH IQAAL:

The following appeal is from the US based US Labor Against the War website. It concerns the case of Himyar Salih Iqaal, the leader of the Iraqi Agricultural Workers Union who was recently arrested by the Iraqi government because of his union activities.

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Authorities Arrest the Leader of Agricultural Workers Union:

This disturbing news (see below) arrived today from the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI).

Please contact the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC, and copy Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, and the International Labour Organization of the U.N. to register your strong protest. Demand that Himyar Salih Iqaal be immediately released and that no harm come to him. (Find contact information below.)

*Actions such as this that harass and terrorize trade unionists are a gross
violation of human rights and international law, including the conventions on
the rights of workers of the International Labour Organization of the U.N.
Iraq is a signatory to Convention 98 on the rights to organize and
bargain.
*The new Iraqi constitution calls for the adoption of a basic labor law
that protects workers' rights. The Parliament has failed to adopt such a
law.
*The Maliki government continues to enforce Saddam Hussein's
anti-union laws and decrees adopted by the U.S. occupation authority and interim
governing authority after the overthrow of the dictatorship.

Iraq cannot claim to be on the path to a real democracy so long as workers are not free to organize, bargain and strike without government harassment, interference or control.

PS: Kindly send copies of your communications to

-nationalcoordinator@uslaboragainstwar.org

and Falah Alwan, President, FWCUI

fwcuiraq@yahoo.com

On the noon of Wednesday February 25, 2009 an armed force in three vehicles attacked the house of Himyar Salih Iqaal, the leader of agricultural workers' union of FWCUI. The arrest took place in Al Dubouni district, about 70 kms south of Baghdad.

The armed force which broke into the house shattered the glass of the windows into pieces and left the furniture in a mess.

The family of Himyar says that the patrol cars looked like the "emergency forces" cars - called Al Tawari'e in Iraq.

A few months ago, Himiyar was appointed as the leader of the agricultural workers after taking upon himself the task of redistribution of the land on the agricultural workers. The land had been seized by the semi-feudal who used their authority to confiscate vast parts of the southern lands in Iraq. Himyar informed the agricultural workers about their rights to land which they should seize by themselves(All power to THIS idea-Molly).

We call for immediate release for Himyar, and the full responsibility of the authorities for the safety of Himyar.We call for the workers' organizations to stand strongly with Himyar.

Long live the workers' demands

Long live freedom and equality

Workers' Media Center

Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq FWCUI

February 27, 2009

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Samir Sumaida'ie, Ambassador

Embassy of the Republic of Iraq

3421 Massachusetts Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20007

Phone: 202-742-1600 X136

Fax: 202/299-9833 // 202-462-8813 // 202-462-5066

Email: ambassador@iraqiembassy.us

URL: http://www.iraqiembassy.us/

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Hillary Clinton, Secretary

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20520

Phone: 202-647-9572

On-Line Email Form

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International Labour Organization

Washington Office

202-653-7652

FAX: 202-653-7687

Email: washington@ilo.org

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAQ:

IN MEMORY OF HADI SALEH:

The following item is from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start. It deals with a book that has been published in memory of the murdered Iraqi trade unionist Hadi Saleh. The bare details of this case can be found on the Wikipedia article on Saleh, and a more detailed account of the case can be seen at the report of his death from the General Federation of Iraqi Workers ((GFIW). It has been four years since his murder by "persons unknown", and the perpetrators have yet to be found. It is certain that he had a surfeit of enemies. He was opposed to Saddam Hussein's dictatorship from underground and in exile. He also opposed the American invasion, and his general socialist politics were certain to enrage the Islamists. Too many suspects. Here's the story of a book on his life, available from Labour Start.

...........................
In memory of a murdered Iraqi trade union leader:‏
It has now been four years since the murder of Hadi Saleh, the international officer of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions.

I had the honor of meeting Hadi not long before his death when he visited Britain. We discussed the trade unions in Iraq and ways in which we could give them support and solidarity.

Not long after Hadi was killed, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Britain published a book in his honor entitled "Hadi Never Died".

"On January 4, 2005," it began, "masked assassins broke into his home, bound his feet and hands, and blindfolded him. Then they tortured and burned his body and, finally, strangled him with an electric cord. A life of idealism and selflessness, filled with solidarity and love for his family, country and the labour movement, came to this terrible, pain-filled end."

The book does much more than describe Hadi's murder. It tells the story of death and re-birth of the Iraqi trade union movement.

"Hadi Never Died" is a large format, full-color paperback and LabourStart is pleased to be able to offer it to our readers for £10.00 (about US$14.50) -- with free shipping to anywhere in the world.

Please order multiple copies for yourselves, your co-workers and other members of your union.

To order "Hadi Never Died" securely go here:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2049459

Thank you.

Eric Lee

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

THE SHOE HEARD ROUND THE WORLD:ANOTHER STEP TOMORROW IN MONTREAL:

The shoe throwing incident in Baghdad has become what may be the defining scene from the reign of Emperor Bush II, as he tours the world, vainly hoping to leave a good smell behind him as he departs office. While his appearances in most other countries have been the occasion of riots, in Iraq he was treated to the Arab equivalent of having a bag full of shit thrown at him. In the end this may be a far more effective statement than any number of broken windows. Down Iraq way the citizens are trying to bump Greece off the headline news by constant demonstrations for the release of the journalist who hucked the fatal footware. The latest is that the Iraqi government has destroyed the "assault weapon" because the bidding for the holy hush puppies had already reached into the millions on e-Bay. Needless to say the "sole perpetrator" has become a hero to most of the Muslim world. Love that legacy Georgie !

The image of "the shoe heard round the world" has resounded here, there and everywhere. There are already two video games based on the incident. On one you get to play Bush, and points are vawarded for dodging shoes that comes faster and faster with each level. In another you get to play a secret service agent who gets points for shooting down shoes before they hit the President. Check out the links and see what you can score. On Molly's part we await a game where you get to be the shoe-thrower.

The image of the "Baghdad Boot" has rapidly become a standard in teh creative art of demonstration across continents. Here in Canada it will feature in a demonstration tomorrow in Montréal in support of Muntadar al-Zeidi, the journalist who "shot the shoe". The demo is sponsored by Block the Empire Montréal. Here's the lowdown. Come on out and "sock it to" the American Empire.

..........................

Shoes for Bush in Montreal, Dec. 20, 2008:
“This is a farewell kiss, you dog!”

MONTREAL SHOE ACTION

In solidarity with Muntadar al-Zeidi

Bush out of Baghdad … Canada out of Kandahar!
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20 at 1pm

outside the US Consulate in Montreal

(1155 St-Alexandre, métro McGill)
---> Bring extra shoes and footwear to throw! Bring noisemakers!

---> We strongly encourage all journalists to join us in this action and to throw their own shoes.

After our action at the US Consulate, we will march west along Ste-Catherine Street to Bishop Street and the Canadian Armed Forces Recruiting Station, where our shoe action will continue.

--–> MAP: http://tinyurl.com/62s43k

Along with tens of millions around the world, we celebrate the recent action of Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi who hurled two shoes at US President George Bush while shouting, “This is a farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq.”

We support the calls for al-Zeidi’s immediate release from detention, and denounce his abuse while in custody. And, in a simple gesture of solidarity by local anti-war activists and independent media journalists, we will gather outside the US consulate to hurl shoes in continued opposition to the US occupation of Iraq, as well as the already announced escalation of the US military occupation of Afghanistan by the incoming Obama administration (a continuation of “Operation Enduring Freedom”, launched by George Bush after September 11, 2001).

We also continue to oppose Canada’s complicity with the US-led “War on Terror”, with the Canadian Armed Forces’ military presence in Afghanistan. More Canadian troops in Afghanistan has effectively meant that more American troops have been available to occupy Iraq.

Organized by: Block the Empire-Montreal (a working group of QPIRG-Concordia)

INFO: 514-848-7583 or blocktheempire@gmail.com

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HUMOUR SECTION

Here's a couple of jokes that Molly has picked up about the incident. "Sole-Food" for the funny bone.

"I don't think Bush has dodged anything like that, well, since the Vietnam War"

-David Letterman

"Right now, they're trying to find out, they arrested the guy, trying to find out if he's a Shoe-ni or ma Shoe-ite. But it's the same old story. You hear this over and over again. A guy, a crazy guy, goes into a Payless store, he purchases a pair of Rockport shoes, and they didn't even do a background check on him"

-David Letterman

"This is the country we thought had nuclear weapons. It turns out they have a pair of size 9 Hush Puppies instead"

-Jimmy Kimmel

MORE SHOE JOKES LATER ON MOLLY'S BLOG. UNTIL THEN "DON"T LET YOUR FEET SWEAT".

CANADIAN POLITICS/ANTI-MILITARISM:

SUPPORT WAR RESISTER DEAN WALCOTT:

The following item is from the website of the Vancouver Catholic Worker, and it has been modified from a previous post on the War Resister Support Campaign. Basically, Mr Walcott is the latest in a series of American resisters to their war of conquest in Iraq who have fled their native country to our cold but otherwise hospitable clime. He is also the latest that the government of Sneaky Stevie Harper has ordered deported back to the USA to face whatever military "justice" they may get. Please join the campaign to call for the order of deportation to not be carried out.

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War resister Dean Walcott ordered to leave Canada:

U.S. Iraq war resister Dean Walcott was told on December 3rd that he must leave Canada by January 6th or face deportation to the United States. The decision follows similar ones in the cases of war resisters Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman and family, Patrick Hart and family, and Matt Lowell.

If deported, Dean will face a court martial, jail time and a felony conviction, all because of his refusal to participate in the immoral and illegal war in Iraq. This decision goes against the expressed wishes of the Canadian Parliament which passed a motion on June 3rd calling on the government to allow war resisters to stay in Canada, and it goes against the will of Canadians who have consistently demonstrated in polls that they want war resisters to stay.

The Federal Court stayed the removal orders of Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman and Matt Lowell. The Hart family faces deportation January 15th and will be asking the Court for a similar stay.

Corey Glass has since been granted a new application to stay on Humanitarian & Compassionate grounds. Jeremy Hinzman's appeal date for his negative decision has been set for February 10th 2009, and Matt Lowell is waiting to hear whether his appeal will be heard.

It is time for Minister of Citizenship & Immigration Jason Kenney to put an end to this case-by-case approach to the situation of war resisters in Canada. He must implement a political solution in line with what Canadians and Parliament are calling for and allow Dean, and all of the other courageous young men and women who have said no to participating in the war which even Stephen Harper has admitted was "absolutely a mistake", to stay in Canada.

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney

Call 613.954.1064

MP Jason Kenney’s Parliamentary office:

613.992.2235

Or email him at:

minister@cic.gc.ca

or

Kenney.j@parl.gc.ca

Please cc the opposition party critics if you email Jason Kenney:

Liberal party immigration critic Borys Wrzesnewskyj: wrzesnewskyj.b@parl.gc.ca

NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow: chow.o@parl.gc.ca

Bloc Québécois immigration critic Thierry St-Cyr: st-cyr.t@parl.gc.caresisters.ca

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

COUNTING THE TOLL:

Here's an interesting item that Molly recently discovered on the AFL-CIO Blog. It's a story on the International Trade Union Confederation's Annual Survey of violations of Trade Union Rights. The article below concentrates on the murders of trade unions in the year 2007, but the report itself hardly restricts itself to this most grievous of employer crimes. Well worth looking at.

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91 Trade Unionists Murdered in 2007:

by James Parks, Dec 1, 2008
A total of 91 trade unionists were murdered for fighting for workers’ rights worldwide in 2007, according to the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC’s) Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, released late last month.

Colombia, where 39 union members were killed in 2007, again tops the list of most dangerous countries to be a union member. While there was a slight reduction in killings in Colombia compared with the previous year, ITUC says many attempts to kill Colombian unionists failed, and there was a notable increase in forced removals, arbitrary arrests, illegal raids and threats, especially in agriculture, health and education.

In Guinea, 30 unionists were murdered. ITUC says the regime of President Lansana Conte was directly responsible for the killing of 30 unionists during the brutal repression of union-organized public demonstrations against corruption and violations of fundamental rights.
The survey also noted a disturbing increase in violence in Guatemala as trade unions were increasingly targeted, with four unionists murdered and a worsening climate of threats and harassment.

ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder says:

"Repression of legitimate trade union activities…continued unabated in every continent. Murder, violence and torture, along with harassment, dismissal and imprisonment, were all used to stop working people organising unions and bargaining collectively for decent pay and working conditions. Several governments were only too ready to openly or covertly support unscrupulous employers who deny fundamental rights to their employees.

Governments have failed to do enough to protect workers’ rights, either at home or in their international diplomatic, economic and trade relations. "

The survey also singled out the United States and Australia among industrialized nations for restricting workers’ freedom to form unions, citing court decisions in Australia and the Bush National Labor Relations Board rulings in this country.

Several disturbing trends emerged in the survey, which covers worker rights violations in 138 countries. Among those: collusion between some governments and employers to deprive workers of their legitimate rights to union membership and representation. Serious and systematic harassment and intimidation was reported in 63 countries.

Seventy-three unionists were sent to prison in 2007, including 40 in Iran, where systematic suppression of workers organizing in transportation and education continued. Fourteen unionists were jailed in Morocco and seven in Burma, where the junta targeted union activists as part of its brutal crackdown on any moves for democracy and human rights.

In Africa, employers in several countries used lax labor laws to encourage splits in trade unions and create employer-controlled groups to replace independent trade unions. Conditions were especially bad in Zimbabwe and Swaziland, which also appeared on a list of countries where Chinese-owned and -funded projects were cited for poor working conditions and exploitation of the workforce.

In the Middle East and Asia:
**Saudi employers beat four female Indonesian domestic workers so badly that two died, and police forcibly removed the other two from the hospital.
**Two trade unionists, one of whom was abducted and tortured, were killed due to their union activities in Iraq.
**Murders of trade unionists were once again reported in Cambodia and the Philippines.

WINNIPEG LOCAL NEWS:

PARKING, PRISONS AND PASHTUNS:

Ok, here's our quiz section. What do the above 3Ps have in common ? Full marks and a Molly No-Prize to those who guessed that they are indeed a P3, public private partnership, in the guise of the City of Winnipeg's latest decision to award its parking bylaw enforcement to the Anglo-Dutch G4S company. Who exactly are these people ? They claim to employ over 500,000 people worldwide in over 100 countries- just a tad shy of Winnipeg's total population. As the article below makes clear they have made a mess of managing prisons and other services in the UK. They have also been involved in many scandals involving labour rights. For an overview see the Wikipedia article on them as well as an article in the business section of the London Times. They are also, of course, involved in providing services to the occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan(can we say mercenaries?). So watch out for the helicopter gunships if you don't pay your ticket on time, and never, never, never plan a wedding party unless you are fully paid up (the bride wore napalm ???). According to the Wikipedia article the anarcho-punk band Crass once wrote a song about these people- though Molly was unable to verify this from the Wiki.

Anyways, here's an article on this takeover here in Winnipeg from Policy Alternatives via the Public Values website. Gotta hand it to Slick Sammy, our beloved comrade leader mayor, his belief in the free market is almost as religiously pure as that of Sneaky Stevie, our beloved comrade leader Prime Minister.

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From British prisons to Winnipeg parking police:
What the 'Peg could learn from Keystone Capers of other governments who rushed out to privatize.
by Pete Hudson, CCPA Manitoba
November 20, 2008 — Last week it was reported that the Winnipeg Parking Authority has contracted with a company called G4S to hand out parking tickets to meter violators. This tiny portion of the total city budget is worth bothering with because it is illustrative of some serious flaws in the contracting ideology.

Two issues to be considered in relation to contracting out of services traditionally performed by city staff are why and with whom. In relation to the first question, many governments which rushed to contract out public services as part of a more general program of privatization are having second thoughts.

For example, the UK government has recently rescinded the compulsory contracting legislation of its predecessor. It has halted, and pledged to reverse, contracting out of cleaning, laundry and food services in hospitals because of the alarming rise in infections. Closer to home, Toronto has just taken back its garbage collection from private contractors, Port Moody its recycling and solid waste disposal, and Hamilton its water system maintenance because these jurisdictions found it more cost-effective to deliver these in-house, as well as easier to control quality.

A recent study of 100 so-called P3's (a way to contract out financing of public capital projects) found huge cost overruns, failures to meet deadlines, lengthy legal battles, contractors walking away from half finished projects, and outright fraud. Several Canadian jurisdictions, earlier embracing P3's, are now backing away from them; most recently Saskatchewan. Generally speaking the evidence is piling up that the claims of greater efficiencies and better quality are not justified.

So why would the City of Winnipeg persist in its present course of contracting out? Why deny the evidence? The reason seems to be that Mayor Katz and his inner circle, have heard the mantras of "privatization is good", "government is the problem and the market is the solution" so repeatedly deafeningly, that it simply has become a self-evident truth.

This mantra continues to be chanted by the Chamber of Commerce and surfaces in such C of C inspired documents as the Report of the Economic Opportunities Commission, which recommended yet more contracting out for the City, claiming cost savings based on nothing more than faith. In the case of parking meter surveillance, for many years the contract had been awarded to the non-profit Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. This was terminated sometime this year, apparently because of some compliance issues.

This would have been a golden opportunity to ask if it would be more cost-effective to contract in the service to City hired staff. How many workers would be needed to perform the service in-house? What would a union wage and benefits for these workers cost? How might that compare with the contract awarded to G4S costing $2.03m? I don't know the answer to these questions. The point is they were never asked. It is simply taken for granted that contracting out is the way to go.

In regard to the second issue, G4S is a UK-based multinational claiming nearly 500,000 employees worldwide. In 1994, the Home Office contracted out construction, maintenance, and daily running of several prisons to G4S. Among other difficulties, there were almost daily episodes of inmates hopping over the walls. Later there were several incidents of cash-carrying vans operated by G4S going missing. A locked facility to detain asylum seekers experienced a disastrous fire in 2002.

G4S claims that it has learned some lessons since, but the saga has continued. A series of thefts of computers in Nashville and the more astonishing theft of transit buses in Miami Dade County in 2008 has been attributed to lax security provided by G4S. There have been instances of fraud, mostly involving billing for shifts which never occurred, but also other corner cutting practices, as evidenced by complaints about poor food and diet, health care and sanitation, in addition to alleged punitive and undignified treatment of the residents in locked facilities.

Contracting out has usually resulted in much reduced remuneration for workers even when there has been no cost saving to taxpayers — and G4S appears to be yet another case in point. In 2005 representatives of G4S workers from four continents staged a massive protest at the G4S annual general meeting, accusing it of driving down wages and conditions and denying workers basic rights in the countries in which it operates.

G4S had vigorously opposed attempts at unionization of many of its workplaces, and was currently at that time embroiled in dozens of claims of violations of US labour laws. Enforced month-to-month contracts which denied workers access to benefits was said to be commonplace. Regardless of geography and regardless of the presence or absence of a union (organizing efforts have been successful in some G4S workplaces), G4S has experienced, and continues to experience, an unusually high incidence of labour-management strife.

Right from the start of the contracting out craze, critics were questioning the logic behind it. Now that the theory has been empirically tested and found wanting in so many cases, it is difficult to see how the contract between the WPA and G4S will deliver a less costly and better quality service than if delivered by WPA staff. It is, of course, possible. The point is, we will never know, because the questions that need to be asked are so rarely asked at the current Winnipeg City Hall. When they are asked, the questioners are faced with attacks upon their intelligence and their credentials.

We all still hope that if G4S is found wanting, or when the contract expires, whichever comes first, any evaluation would include the possibility of the alternative of contracting in — as should be the case with all such contracts. In the meantime, when I see the new parking police in their "customer friendly" uniforms, handing out tickets one minute and being "ambassadors" for the City the next, I will find it difficult not to think of a good portion of the UK prison population enjoying the delights of the English countryside from the other side of the wall. If you get a ticket, check it twice.

Pete Hudson is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba and a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba research associate.

Links and sources: From Prisons to Parking: The Story of G4S by Pete Hudson. First published in Policy Alternatives, November 20 2008

AMERICAN POLITICS:

HOWARD ZINN ON WAR:

The following essay is from the Z Communications site, the new and better version of the old Z Net. Drop on over for a wealth of internet resources. Howard Zinn is one of the premier historians and commentators on the American left.

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Memo to Obama, McCain: No one wins in a war

By Howard Zinn
BARACK OBAMA and John McCain continue to argue about war. McCain says to keep the troops in Iraq until we "win" and supports sending more troops to Afghanistan. Obama says to withdraw some (not all) troops from Iraq and send them to fight and "win" in Afghanistan.

For someone like myself, who fought in World War II, and since then has protested against war, I must ask: Have our political leaders gone mad? Have they learned nothing from recent history? Have they not learned that no one "wins" in a war, but that hundreds of thousands of humans die, most of them civilians, many of them children?

Did we "win" by going to war in Korea? The result was a stalemate, leaving things as they were before with a dictatorship in South Korea and a dictatorship in North Korea. Still, more than 2 million people - mostly civilians - died, the United States dropped napalm on children, and 50,000 American soldiers lost their lives.

Did we "win" in Vietnam? We were forced to withdraw, but only after 2 million Vietnamese died, again mostly civilians, again leaving children burned or armless or legless, and 58,000 American soldiers dead.

Did we win in the first Gulf War? Not really. Yes, we pushed Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, with only a few hundred US casualties, but perhaps 100,000 Iraqis died. And the consequences were deadly for the United States: Saddam was still in power, which led the United States to enforce economic sanctions. That move led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, according to UN officials, and set the stage for another war.

In Afghanistan, the United States declared "victory" over the Taliban. Now the Taliban is back, and attacks are increasing. The recent US military death count in Afghanistan exceeds that in Iraq. What makes Obama think that sending more troops to Afghanistan will produce "victory"? And if it did, in an immediate military sense, how long would that last, and at what cost to human life on both sides?

The resurgence of fighting in Afghanistan is a good moment to reflect on the beginning of US involvement there. There should be sobering thoughts to those who say that attacking Iraq was wrong, but attacking Afghanistan was right.

Go back to Sept. 11, 2001. Hijackers direct jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing close to 3,000 A terrorist act, inexcusable by any moral code. The nation is aroused. President Bush orders the invasion and bombing of Afghanistan, and the American public is swept into approval by a wave of fear and anger. Bush announces a "war on terror."
Except for terrorists, we are all against terror. So a war on terror sounded right. But there was a problem, which most Americans did not consider in the heat of the moment: President Bush, despite his confident bravado, had no idea how to make war against terror.

Yes, Al Qaeda - a relatively small but ruthless group of fanatics - was apparently responsible for the attacks. And, yes, there was evidence that Osama bin Laden and others were based in Afghanistan. But the United States did not know exactly where they were, so it invaded and bombed the whole country. That made many people feel righteous. "We had to do something," you heard people say.

Yes, we had to do something. But not thoughtlessly, not recklessly. Would we approve of a police chief, knowing there was a vicious criminal somewhere in a neighborhood, ordering that the entire neighborhood be bombed? There was soon a civilian death toll in Afghanistan of more than 3,000 - exceeding the number of deaths in the Sept. 11 attacks. Hundreds of Afghans were driven from their homes and turned into wandering refugees.

Two months after the invasion of Afghanistan, a Boston Globe story described a 10-year-old in a hospital bed: "He lost his eyes and hands to the bomb that hit his house after Sunday dinner." The doctor attending him said: "The United States must be thinking he is Osama. If he is not Osama, then why would they do this?"

We should be asking the presidential candidates: Is our war in Afghanistan ending terrorism, or provoking it? And is not war itself terrorism?

Howard Zinn is author of "A Power Governments Cannot Suppress"�published by�City Lights Books.

AMERICAN LABOUR:


WORKERS AGAINST WAR- ILWU STRIKES AGAINST IRAQ WAR:


The following is a news item from LibCom, a British libertarian socialist website. One of the most inspiring things about yesterday's Mayday was a one day strike on the part of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) that shut down 29 ports on the west coast of the USA. The object of the strike was to protest the US war in Iraq, and the strike was organized by the rank and file, against the advise of the labour arbitrator and 'somewhat" (according to an interview with Jack Heyman of the ILWU) against the union bureaucracy. See THIS LINK to the radio show Democracy Now for more details on this. As Heyman says in the interview, "I hope this will be an example to other workers that we have the power, and we've got to use it. And that's how we can bring this war to a halt." Infinitely true.


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Dockworkers strike against war in America and Iraq

25,000 dock workers in 29 ports across the US went on strike today, to protest the war in Iraq. Meanwhile, in Iraq, dockers stopped work for an hour in a show of international solidarity.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union declared the day as "a day for union business" for workers at all 29 ports on the west coast. This may be the beginning of a record setting anti-war action, since the vast majority of supplies and munitions for the American government's current wars are shipped from the 29 ports on the West Coast. All 29 were closed today.





The decision to strike on May 1st against the war was taken democratically by the rank and file of the ILWU. Employers had been notified of the strike in advance, but refused to accommodate the union’s request, instead trying to get court backing for a ban.





Truckers in Washington, DC were also on strike today, protesting both fuel prices and continued American involvement in Iraq. They rallied today calling for the soldiers to be bought home immediately.





This is not the first time American dockers have walked off the job for political reasons, previously taking action in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Liverpool Dockers.




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While actions were taken by American workers, workers in Iraq also stopped work today in the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Al Zubair as part of their protest against both the war and attacks on union rights in Iraq. The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq issued a statement on the 29th saying:
Quote:
Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in California
The courageous decision you made to carry out a strike on May Day to protest against the war and occupation of Iraq advances our struggle against occupation to bring a better future for us and for the rest of the world as well.

We are certain that a better world will only be created by the workers and what you are doing is an example and proof of what we say. The labor movement is the only element in the society that is able to change the political equations for the benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are looking up to you and support you until the victory over the US administration's barbarism is achieved.

Over the past five years the sectarian gangs who are the product of the occupation, have been trying to transfer their conflicts into our ranks. Targeting workers, including their residential and shopping areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of explosive devices, mortar shells, and random shooting, were part of a bigger scheme that was aiming to tear up the society but they miserably failed to achieve their hellish goal. We are struggling today to defeat both the occupation and sectarian militias' agenda.

The pro-occupation government has been attempting to intervene into the workers affairs by imposing a single government-certified labor union. Furthermore it has been promoting privatization and an oil and gas law to use the occupation against the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our interests are inseparable from the interests of workers in Iraq and the world; therefore we are determined to continue our struggle to improve the living conditions of the workers and overpower all plots of the occupation, its economic and political projects.
Let us hold hands for the victory of our struggle.
Long live the port workers in California!
Long live May Day!
Long live International solidarity!

IRAQ:

THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE INVASION:

Yesterday, March 20, was the fifth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq. There were two contradictory "promises" made on this event, an event heralded without a formal declaration of war, just as in Afghanistan. Soon after the troops arrived in Baghdad it was proclaimed that it was a "mission accomplished". But, over and over, the Bush administration has "promised" an war of indefinite duration, over generations. No doubt they miscalculated in their assumption that a more or less "pacific' Iraq would be the best place to put forward bases of the US Army in such a war over control of Middle eastern oil resources. Now they are stuck in a quargmire that will span generations if they persist and drain the American Empire to a degree that it can ill afford. for little or no benefit in the foreseeable future. The promise of an "eternal war" is the one that seems to be coming true. The following is an article from the IPS NEWS NETWORK on what the invasion of Iraq has actually meant.

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IRAQ: Five Years, And Counting

Analysis by Dahr Jamail

WASHINGTON, Mar 18 (IPS)

Devastation on the ground and largely held Iraqi opinion contradicts claims by U.S. officials that the situation in Iraq has improved towards the fifth anniversary of the invasion Mar. 20.

U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney, during a surprise visit to Iraq on Monday declared the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavour".

According to the group Just Foreign Policy, more than a million Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion and occupation, now entering its sixth year. A survey by British polling agency ORB estimates the number of dead at more than 1.2 million.

Nobel laureate and former chief World Bank economist Joseph Stiglitz recently published a book with co-author Linda Bilmes of Harvard University titled 'The Three Trillion Dollar War', a figure it considers a "conservative estimate" of the long-range price tag of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The authors say the Bush administration has repeatedly "low-balled" the cost of the war, and has kept a set of records hidden from the U.S. public.

According to the U.S. Department of Defence, close to 4,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed. The number of British casualties is 175. "The war in Iraq has been one of the most disastrous wars ever fought by Britain," journalist Patrick Cockburn of London's Independent Newspaper wrote Mar. 17. "It will stand with Crimea and the Boer War as conflicts which could have been avoided, and were demonstrations of incompetence from start to finish."

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than four million Iraqis are displaced from their homes, with roughly half of them outside of the country. The Iraqi Red Crescent estimates that one in every four residents of Baghdad, a city of six million, is displaced from home. The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a report Mar. 17 that millions are still deprived of clean water and medical care. Iraq's infrastructure is worse on every measurable level compared to Iraq under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, and including 12 years of the harshest economic sanctions in history.

During those sanctions more than a million Iraqis died from malnutrition, disease and lack of medical care. The international aid group Oxfam International released a report last July that found that four million Iraqis were in need of emergency assistance. It found a 9 percent increase in childhood malnutrition, and that 70 percent of Iraqis lacked access to safe drinking water. The average home in Iraq, even in Kurdish controlled northern Iraq that has been held up by the Bush administration as an example of success, has on average less than five hours of electricity a day. Oil exports, from which Iraq has obtained over 80 percent of its income, have not for a single day of the occupation matched pre-war levels. Unemployment, already 32 percent before the invasion, has vacillated during the occupation between 40-70 percent, according to the Iraqi government.

With more than a million dead, more than four million displaced, and another four million in need of emergency aid, a third of Iraqis are displaced, in need of emergency aid -- or dead.

All this Cheney calls a "successful endeavour".

Soon after he said that, a suicide bomber killed at least 32 and wounded 51 near a mosque in the holy Shia city Kerbala, south of Baghdad. Bombings in Baghdad near the Green Zone just after Cheney arrived killed another four, and wounded 13. Baghdad has become the most dangerous city in the world, largely as a result of a U.S. policy of pitting various Iraqi ethnic and sectarian groups against one another.

Today Baghdad is a city of walled-off Sunni and Shia ghettoes, divided by concrete walls erected by the U.S. military. These areas even fly their own flags; Sunni areas fly the old Iraqi flag, Shias use the new version, and the Kurds have their own flag.

Ethnic and sectarian cleansing strategies, backed by occupation forces, have virtually eliminated all mixed areas of Baghdad. Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain, also in Iraq, met with Iraqi leaders as part of a Senate Armed Services Committee fact-finding mission. He, like Cheney, said he would support the Iraqi government and maintain a long-term military commitment in Iraq. "The surge is working," McCain told reporters, referring to the troop build-up in Baghdad.

With "enduring" U.S. military bases established in Iraq, and an embassy in Baghdad the size of the Vatican City, there appears to be no end in sight for the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

CANADIAN MILITARISM:

CANADA'S SECRET WAR IN IRAQ:

The present parliamentary scene features a comic-opera farce as the Liberal Party dances with the Conservative Party in a desperate attempt to avoid voting on a principle (not committing troops to Afghanistan for an endless time in the future) while, at the same time, trying to give a false impression of having such principles. Neither of our two major parties wishes an election at this time, and, perish forbid, the Liberals should actually hold to a principle rather than giving out an illusion of such. It was, of course, a Liberal government that committed Canadian troops to Afghanistan in the first place. Not that the Conservatives aren't quite happy to bleed Canada's troops for another 30 years in order to serve their masters south of the border. What the Liberals like to give the impression of, however, is that they are less subservient because they didn't join in the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. How true is this "impression" ? The following article by Richard Sanders was originally published in Commonground magazine, and it lays bare just how much Canada was involved in that imperial adventure. Read and see...

Canada’s secret war in Iraq

by Richard Sanders http://commonground.ca/iss/199/cg199_iraq.shtml

How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again! – Mark Twain

On March 25, 2003, during the “shock and awe” bombardment of Iraq, then US Ambassador Paul Cellucci admitted that “… ironically, Canadian naval vessels, aircraft and personnel... will supply more support to this war in Iraq indirectly... than most of those 46 countries that are fully supporting our efforts there.”

Cellucci merely scratched the surface of Canada’s initial “support” for the Iraq War, but he had let the cat out of the bag. As then Secretary of State Colin Powell had explained a week earlier, “We now have a coalition of the willing… who have publicly said they could be included in such a listing.... And there are 15 other nations, who, for one reason or another, do not wish to be publicly named but will be supporting the coalition.”

Canada was, and still is, the leading member of this secret group, which we could perhaps call CW-HUSH, the “Coalition of the Willing to Help but Unwilling to be Seen Helping.” The plan worked. Most Canadians still proudly believe that their government refused to join the Iraq War. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are some of the ways in which we joined the fray:

Escorting the US Navy: Thirteen hundred Canadian troops aboard Canada’s multi-billion dollar warships escorted the US fleet through the Persian Gulf, putting them safely in place to bomb Iraq.

Leading the coalition Navy: Canadian Rear Admiral Roger Girouard was in charge of the war coalition’s fleet.

Providing war planners: At least two dozen Canadian war planners working at US Central Command in Florida were transferred to the Persian Gulf in early 2003 to help oversee the war’s complicated logistics.

Commanding the war: In 2004, Canadian Brigadier General Walt Natynczyk commanded 10 brigades totalling 35,000 troops. He was Second-in-Command of the entire Iraq War for that year. When Governor General Clarkson gave Natynczyk the Meritorious Service Cross, her office extolled his “pivotal role in the development of numerous plans and operations [which] resulted in a tremendous contribution… to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and… brought great credit to the Canadian Forces and to Canada.”

Helping coordinate the war: Canadian military personnel working aboard American E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System warplanes helped direct the electronic war by providing surveillance, command, control and communications services to US war fighters.

Providing airspace and refuelling: Countless US troop and equipment transport aircraft have flown over Canada, to and from the Iraq War, and many refuelled in Gander, Newfoundland.Providing air transport: At least three Canadian CC-130 military transport planes were listed by US military to supply coalition forces during the Iraq War.

Freeing up US troops: Canada’s major role in Afghan war has freed up thousands of US troops for deployment to Iraq.

Providing ground troops: At least 35 Canadian soldiers were directly under US command, in an “exchange” capacity on the ground, participating in the invasion of Iraq.

Testing weapons and drones: Two types of cruise missiles (AGM-86 and -129) and the “Global Hawk” (RQ-4A) surveillance drone, used in Iraq, were tested over Canada.

Depleted uranium (DU) weapons: Canada is the world’s top exporter of uranium. Our government pretends that Canada’s uranium is sold for “peaceful” purposes only, but absolutely nothing is done to stop the US from using DU in their weapons. America’s A-10 Wart Hog warplanes have fired DU munitions in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, while each cruise missile contains three kgs of DU ballast.

Providing RADARSAT data: Eagle Vision, a US Air Force mobile ground station, ­which controls Canada’s RADARSAT-1 satellite and downlinks its data­, was used from the start of the Iraq War.

Diplomatic support: Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien supported the “right” of the US to invade Iraq, although Kofi Annan said it was an illegal occupation. Chrétien criticized Canadian citizens who questioned the war, saying they provided comfort to Saddam Hussein.

Training Iraqi police: Canada has spent millions sending RCMP officers to Jordan to train tens of thousands of cadets for Iraq’s paramilitary police force.

Training Iraqi troops: High-level Canadian military personnel joined the “NATO Training Mission in Iraq” to “train the trainers” of Iraqi Security Forces who are on the leading edge of the US occupation. A Canadian colonel, under NATO command, was chief of staff at the Baghdad-based training mission. Canada was the leading donor to this centre, providing an initial $810 thousand.

Funding Iraq’s interior ministry: Canada provides advisers and financial support to this ministry, which has been caught running torture centres. Thousands of its officers have been withdrawn for corruption, and it has been accused of working with death squads that executed a thousand people per month in Baghdad alone in the summer of 2006.

Military exports: At least 100 Canadian companies sold parts and/or services for major weapons systems used in the Iraq War. Quebec’s SNC-TEC sold millions of bullets to the US military forces occupying Iraq. General Dynamics Canada, in London Ontario, sold hundreds of armoured vehicles to the US and Australia. Between October 2003 and November 2005, these troop transport vehicles logged over six million miles in Iraq. Winnipeg’s Bristol Aerospace sells cluster-bomb dispensing warheads used by US aircraft in Iraq.

Canada Pension Plan investments: Canadians are forced to invest their pension money in hundreds of military industries, including most of the world’s top 20 weapons producers, which are the leading prime contractors for virtually all the major weapons systems used in Iraq.So the next time a proud fellow citizen tells you that Canada didn’t join the Iraq War, remind them of Mark Twain’s famous quip: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

For more information on the myth of Canada’s role as a global peacemaker, read Press for Conversion, http://coat.ncf.ca or write to COAT, 541 McLeod St., Ottawa, ON, K1R 5R2. Richard Sanders is the coordinator for the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade.

CANADIAN MERCENARIES CAPTURED IN BAGHDAD:

The Autonomy and Solidarity site in Toronto has an article on the recent(May 29th) abduction of five Britons who were seized by insurgents wearing police uniforms from a Finance Ministry building in central Baghdad. The five were employees of the Montreal based international security firm GardaWorld. GardaWorld apparently has hundreds of staff, mostly ex-military personnel, working in Iraq. They provide security for the British embassy in Baghdad's 'Green Zone'. Canada may not have official troops in the war in Iraq, but Canadians are present as mercenaries nonetheless, not surprising considering the growth of the mercenary industry as governments increasingly "outsource" their military functions. Go to the article highlighted above to read more.

FOUND RUMOURS:

NAMING THE INVASION OF IRAQ:

Molly recently came across an interesting rumour that if it isn't true should be. The final name of the US invasion of Iraq was Operation Iraqi Freedom. The rumour, however, says that the original name was Operation Iraqi Liberation. Why the change? Look at the following:

Operation Iraqi Liberation =OIL

Whoops. It's hard to say whether this is true or not. The White House did refer to the invasion at least once as OIL. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030324-4.html .

Molly will keep on looking in her spare time. The US forces did fail to catch the obvious at least once. In August of 2003 they referred to an attack on the towns of Ain Lalin and Quara Tapa as Operation Ivy Lightning.

More later,

Molly