Yves Engler's Blog

Calling Trudeau a 'terrorist' isn't as far off as you might think

yves engler — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 18:38:23 +0000

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.

Israel's response to Syrian refugee crisis has much in common with Trump's ban

yves engler — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 19:48:19 +0000

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 Canadian Forces boast largest PR machine in the country, complain about 'toxic' media treatment

yves engler — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 21:13:59 +0000

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?

Will Conservative party puffery or NDP principle determine Canada's Palestine policy?

yves engler — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 19:59:38 +0000

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.

Plastic and capitalism are killing ocean life

yves engler — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 08:59:59 +0000

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.

Millionaire patrons of Jewish studies in Canada more interested in pro-Israel lobby than anti-racism

yves engler — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 19:52:41 +0000

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."

Sprawl is an enemy of the Left

yves engler — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 19:01:29 +0000

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.

Car-centric landscape, not tolls, harm the poor

yves engler — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:39:49 +0000

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.

Private car, socialized costs

yves engler — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 18:01:28 +0000

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."

Our transport system is structured around the private car. That needs to change.

yves engler — Sat, 17 Dec 2016 05:16:57 +0000

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.

Apartheid, the media and Canada's planned military deployment to Africa

yves engler — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 21:35:12 +0000

Did Canada lead the international charge against apartheid and white rule in South Africa or criticize a country that, in fact, did?

Recent commentary about Canada's policy towards southern Africa's liberation struggles distorts history that should inform debate over Canada's planned military deployment to the continent today.

Greens confirm support of BDS goals in most significant pro-Palestinian victory in Canadian political history

yves engler — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 17:20:16 +0000

In a major self-inflicted wound, Israeli nationalist groups recently turned support for a BDS motion targeting Israel's occupation into overwhelming approval. In addition, the resolution also demanded action to address the plight of Palestinian refugees and Palestinian citizens of Israel.

In a further bizarre twist, Elizabeth May and others within the Green Party leadership have tried to obfuscate the extent of the membership's support for Palestinian rights.

Using the Holocaust to justify Israeli oppression insults memory of its victims

yves engler — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 17:44:01 +0000

Is "remembering the Nazi Holocaust and where anti-Semitism can lead" a good thing? Unfortunately, thanks to people who constantly cite this horrible genocide in order to justify the illegal, immoral and anti-human behaviour of the Israeli state, one must answer, "it depends."

Drawing attention to the Nazi Holocaust and anti-Semitism in Canada today often reinforces, rather than undermines, oppression and discrimination. This perverse reality was on display at two recent events in Toronto.

Canada and Castro's Cuba: It's complicated

yves engler — Sat, 26 Nov 2016 19:33:30 +0000

Has Canada been a "friend" to Cuba?

While Ottawa’s position towards Fidel Castro’s Cuba was far more progressive than our southern neighbour’s, the story is more complicated than liberals are likely to suggest in their commentary over Castro’s passing.

Canada did not play a central role in U.S. efforts to squash the social reforms and independence of the island nation. Rather than participate in hundreds of CIA assassination attempts on Castro's life, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau declared "Viva Castro" during an official trip to Cuba in 1976. But there's a little-known unsavory side to Canadian relations with Cuba.

'Canada is back' to isolating itself from world opinion on Palestinian rights

yves engler — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 16:18:14 +0000

How can you identify a Canadian Liberal? They talk to the left, but walk to the right.

Under Justin Trudeau, "Canada is back" to isolating itself from world opinion on Palestinian rights.

Remembering the militarist, nationalist ritual of November 11

yves engler — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 21:58:23 +0000

Remember.

Remember that today marks the culmination of a militarist, nationalist ritual organized by a reactionary state-backed group.

Every year the Royal Canadian Legion sells about 20 million red poppies in the lead-up to Remembrance Day. Remember that red poppies were inspired by the 1915 poem "In Flanders Fields" by Canadian army officer John McCrae. The pro-war poem calls on Canadians to "take up our quarrel with the foe" and was used to promote war bonds and recruit soldiers during World War I.

Peacekeeping and the history of left-wing imperialism

yves engler — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 20:49:50 +0000

Most people who identify as left wing would agree that systems of governance that enable exploitation by the world's most powerful corporations, governments and individuals should be changed. Most would also agree that militarism and military solutions are best avoided.

Why then do so many people on the left support UN missions that claim to be about "peacekeeping" but often serve as little more than fig leafs to cover up imperialism?

Munk School of Global Affairs reveals much about the state of Canadian foreign policy

yves engler — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 03:42:25 +0000

Next week the Fraser Institute's newly established Peter Munk Centre for Free Enterprise will offer a daylong "Introduction to Economic Reasoning" seminar for Grade 10-12 students in Scarborough. Launched in June with $5 million from the founder of Barrick Gold, the Centre for Free Enterprise cements Munk's position as leading contributor to right-wing ideas. But, the ideologue's biggest contribution has been to a venerable public institution.

The Munk School of Global Affairs reveals much about the state of foreign-policy debate in this country. Among 35 million Canadians, the University of Toronto would be hard pressed to find a less credible source of support for the study of international affairs.

Canadian foreign policy and the institutions studying it remain intimately tied

yves engler — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 17:41:58 +0000

Should social scientists seek the truth regardless of whose toes may be stepped on and cite, up front, possible conflicts of interest regarding matters they study?

All academic disciplines claim that independence of thought and transparency are principles that guide good research. So, what to make of a Canadian foreign policy discussion dominated by individuals with ties to the decision-making structures they study?

Quebeckers and Jews share an empowered sense of vulnerability. And it's not warranted.

yves engler — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 20:14:21 +0000

What do today's right-wing Quebec and Israeli nationalists share in common? A claim to victimhood that enables them to deny their role in oppressing others.

This commonality became clear when a prominent right-wing Quebec nationalist politician cited the French language and Jewish sensibilities to criticize immigration and the veil. It also reflected a historic reversal in Québecois-Jewish relations. More significantly, it highlighted the dangers of an "empowered sense of vulnerability," a psychological state many Quebeckers and Jews seem to share.

Zionist religion and the Canadian left

yves engler — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 08:15:58 +0000

Israel apologists often complain about leftists “singling Israel out” or “obsessing” over the country, inferring a motivation of anti-Semitism.

Putting aside the obvious truth that “obsessing” over the plight of an oppressed people ought to be considered a compliment and campaigning on any issue amounts to “singling” it out, the accusation often represents what a Freudian analyst would call a “projection.”

It is the Israeli nationalists themselves who single out and obsess over that country.

Probing sources of bias in media coverage of Canada's role in Haiti

yves engler — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 09:09:28 +0000

When reading wild propaganda about Canada's role in Haiti I often wonder if the reporter is a sycophant or whether they've been duped.

Foreign aid helps Canadian corporations dominate the global mining industry

yves engler — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:20:34 +0000

Significant sums in Canadian "aid" are spent promoting international mining initiatives.

In a press release last week, Ontario-based Carube Copper said it acquired "over 500 square kilometres of the most prospective ground in Jamaica based on historic showings, the work completed and reported in 1993 by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)."

Anti-Palestinian media bias still remains untouchable even to Canada's media critics

yves engler — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 08:44:58 +0000

Media coverage of world affairs mostly focuses on Ottawa's and Washington's perspectives. While the dominant media is blatant in its subservience to Canadian and Western power, even independent media is often afraid to challenge the foreign policy status quo.

A recent Canadaland podcast simultaneously highlighted anti-Palestinian media bias and the fear liberal journalists face in discussing one of the foremost social justice issues of our time. The media watchdog's discussion of the Green Party's recent resolutions supporting Palestinian rights started strong with Canadaland publisher Jesse Brown laying out three claims:

In a world breaking monthly temperature records, advertising cars should be criminal

yves engler — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 07:27:27 +0000

A free daily newspaper targetting transit riders should never be wrapped in car ads.

On Monday the whole front of Montreal's Metro paper promoted Kia. All of page two and the back of a paper targeted at the city's transit riders also promoted an unhealthy, lethal, inefficient and utterly unsustainable mode of transportation.

Incredibly, public transit systems regularly glorify the private automobile. Car ads are not uncommon on buses or in metros. During a trip to Philadelphia a few years ago, the great hall at the city's beautiful old train station was covered with a 50 ft x 30 ft car ad. It seemed more than a little out of place. Would you see a promotion for trains at a car dealership?

Canadians have right to be cynical about Trudeau's support for latest UN misadventure in Africa

yves engler — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 18:48:00 +0000

Canadian officials have long done as they pleased in Africa, loudly proclaimed this country's altruism and only faced push back from hard rightists who bemoan sending troops to the "Dark Continent" or "dens of hell."

By funding international journalism projects, Ottawa shapes perceptions of Canadian policies abroad

yves engler — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 10:47:53 +0000

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Ottawa should take the recent protests by Ethiopian Canadians seriously

yves engler — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 18:50:31 +0000

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The Globe and Mail shows its colours in Bata shoe company coverage

yves engler — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 06:47:34 +0000

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An elitist, nationalist, bias dominates in all areas of Canada's paper of record.

Jewish groups' reckless accusations of 'anti-Semitism' sets us down a dangerous path

yves engler — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 08:18:36 +0000

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Sticks and stone may break my bones, but names will never hurt me -- and they may come back to haunt the name-callers.

In finding anti-Semites behind every challenge to Canadian complicity with Israeli colonialism, mainstream Jewish organizations are emptying the term "anti-Semitism" of its historical weight.