Is calling the Prime Minister a "white supremacist terrorist" hate speech?

Black Lives Matter - Toronto spokesperson Yusra Khogali's description of Justin Trudeau as a "white supremacist terrorist" at a recent rally against Islamophobia has sparked significant backlash. Right-wing media are using it to attack BLMTO while liberal commentators have called on Khogali to resign as spokesperson. A number of individuals have even labeled Khogali's comments hate speech.

It is strange how supporters of Israel are responding to Donald Trump's Muslim and Syrian refugee ban. Some have applauded it, effectively acknowledging that Israel cheerleading is a right-wing cause. Others have sought to be seen taking the side of anti-racism and religious tolerance, all the while ignoring Israel's terrible treatment of Palestinian, Syrian and other refugees.

The media is unfair to the military, according to the Chief of Defence Staff. During a speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade last week General Jonathan Vance slammed "very toxic narratives" in reporting on the Canadian Forces.

"If you're paying attention to the news today, there are some very toxic narratives about the armed forces," Vance said. "The narrative that seems to prevail right now is if you join the armed forces, you are going to be sexually assaulted, raped or you're going to suffer from PTSD at some point and may commit suicide."

Reporting the truth is toxic?

The Conservative party leadership campaign has unleashed pro-Israel puffery, but it is the NDP race that could have greater impact on Canada's Palestine policy.

Aping Donald Trump, former Conservative minister Kellie Leitch recently asked her Twitter followers to "join me in calling on the Government of Canada to immediately move our embassy in Israel to Jerusalem." This would likely contravene international law.

For 21st-century capitalism the more disposable the better. Ocean life and human health be damned.

According to a recent Ellen MacArthur Foundation study, the world's oceans are set to have more plastic than fish by 2050. At the current rate of production and disposal the net weight of plastic in the oceans will be greater than that of fish in a little over three decades.

Is a school lesson plan, widely used across Canada, designed to fight racism like its promoters say? Or is it also a clever cover for defending Jewish and white supremacy in the Middle East?

A recent 12-page Canadian Jewish News insert about Elizabeth and Tony Comper raises the issue. According to the supplement, in 2005 the Bank of Montreal head and his wife Elizabeth started Fighting Anti-Semitism Together (FAST), a coalition of non-Jewish business leaders and prominent individuals. FAST sponsored a lesson plan for grades six to eight called "Choose Your Voice: Antisemitism in Canada."

The fourth in a four-part series on the "great Toronto toll debate."

Suburban sprawl is an enemy of the Left and progressives should support efforts to discourage it, including tolls.

In opposing tolls on Toronto's Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, a number of leftists cite political strategy. They argue the tolls will elicit a rightist populist backlash and alienate potential supporters.

The third in a four-part series on the "great Toronto toll debate."

There's no doubt tolls hurt poor people, but a car-dominated transportation system does far more damage and everyone who wants a more just society should support measures that help rid our over-heating planet of private automobiles.

The second in a four-part series on the "great Toronto toll debate."

When are capitalists in favour of public ownership? When it earns them a profit. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than when looking at car companies.

As auto interests have pocketed stupendous profits over the past century they've also pushed to socialize huge amounts of urban land. While this may contradict textbook economics, capitalists often prioritize socialized costs/privatized profits over "free markets."

The first in a four-part series on the "great Toronto toll debate."

What's left and what's right? Usually it is obvious, but sometimes you have to take a step back and consider the bigger picture.

For example, the Toronto toll debate has exposed a lack of scrutiny of the leading source of corporate profit over the past century by many supposed leftists. Without a political economy of the auto industrial complex, many Marxists have objectively allied themselves with the private car's awesome political, cultural and ideological power.