Cheer for the Raptors but not for “Canada’s Team”

Peter Miller

It’s absurd that the Canadian anthem and American anthem is played before every Toronto Raptors game. It’s much like the start of every school day in Canada, with the national anthem being played to invoke patriotism for youth in a country that is playing an increasingly aggressive imperialist role on the world stage and continuing its genocide against indigenous people.

That’s why it didn’t bother me when NBA legend, Dwayne Wade continued to warm up during the Canadian anthem during a recent play-off game in Toronto. Hearing the anthem before every game is a waste of time, and players should warm up during it if they still need to get their body ready for some intense play. Predictably, however, Raptors fans booed Wade for the rest of the NBA playoff series for his action. Some Canadian politicians even chimed in to voice their disappointment with Dwayne Wade’s actions.

Lebanese, Turkish and French youth united in the struggle for peace

The following is a joint statement from young Communist organizations from Lebanon, France and Turkey on the recent attacks on civilians in each of their countries and their united struggle against imperialist war.

Ankara, Beirut, and Paris: Same pain, same responsibilities, same struggle

We, communist and progressive youth organization from Turkey, Lebanon and France declare the following:

We are all deeply affected and saddened by the bombing that struck our peoples and our youths. Our first thoughts are with the victims and their families. Terrorism is a deadly ideology that we shall fight against. The acts perpetrated in Ankara, Beirut and Paris has been committed by fascists.

The Newest Iraq War

People's Voice Editorial

A month after Canada entered the latest war in Iraq for thirty days, the Conservative government made it official: the term of this military mission will be six months. But despite the media manipulation to claim that this war is widely supported by Canadians, the public mood is dubious, and rightly so. One interesting test was an Oct. 4 street poll conducted by Vancouver's StopWar coalition, which found that over 90% of respondents were opposed to Canadian military intervention in Iraq.

The U.S. and its usual "allies", including Canada, argue that they were compelled to begin bombing Iraq and Syria because of the barbaric acts of Islamic State/IS. Yet one of the "allies" in this war is Saudi Arabia, which has publicly beheaded 79 prisoners so far this year alone. The key NATO ringleader, the U.S. itself, has initiated coups and invasions in dozens of countries over the last century, killing millions along the way. Human rights abuses? Just look at the apartheid imposed on Palestinians by PM Harper's best friends, the Israeli government. Little wonder that many Canadians understand the real motive for going to war again; this is another chapter in a long-term conflict to dominate the energy resources of the Middle East and nearby regions by western-based transnational oil corporations.

A Plea for Caution From Russia

We are reprinting this New York Times OpEd by Vladimir Putin for the consideration of youth and student activists in Canada, as well as discussion and debate, reflecting the contradictions and cleavages within imperialism over the question of Syria and international politics today.

By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN

Recent events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.

Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again.