Wonder Woman Ban

S.L.

On the 31st of May, 2017, it was announced that the upcoming (now in theatres) Wonder Woman would be banned in Lebanon. Headlines such as “'Wonder Woman' banned in Lebanon because lead actress is Israeli”, “Lebanon Bans ‘Wonder Woman’ Because Its Star Is From Israel”, “Lebanon bans Wonder Woman film over Israeli lead actress” were run by outlets such as CNN, NYT and CBC. Much like virtually all reporting which is done on issues abroad, particularly the Arab-Israeli conflict, Western corporate media has obfuscated and muddled the truth, reducing the story to the one-dimensional narrative of blind Arab hatred towards Israel and therefore enticing support for the practically uncritical pro-Zionist foreign policy of the West. However, despite the seemingly trivial nature of superhero movies, the story is not so simple and cannot be explained through rudimentary cultural tropes about the Arab world.

Pride London Directors Decide to Include Armed, Uniformed Police

Clara Sorrenti, Organizer of the YCL-LJC in London

On July 28th, 2017, members of London's Black LGBTQ2SIA community announced they would not be marching in Pride London this year due to safety concerns over Pride London’s policy of the inclusion of armed and uniformed police officers in the parade.

Last year, Ryan Robinson marched alongside the Pride Men's Chorus when he was approached by an armed police officer. "It was a friendly greeting but I was on edge," he said. "Most times, when officers approach me it's not a friendly situation." Rowa Mohamed, a previous member of Pride London’s organizing committee, has also pulled out for these reasons. Mohamed said it is time for London to take an active approach toward solidarity by excluding uniformed police, who have a history of oppressive behaviour toward racialized communities. "When we accept police into Pride, we accept the history of violence of police oppression and we compromise the safety of already marginalized people," she said. "I feel that we don't belong at Pride and that our suffering is never going to be prioritized over the symbolic presence and empty solidarity of police being present at Pride.”

Young Communist candidate fighting for fundamental change in BC Election

Special to RY

Tyson Strandlund is the Communist Party of BC’s candidate in the upcoming election in Esquimalt-Metchosin, British Columbia. The riding is located close to Victoria on Vancouver Island.

Tyson is also the organizer of the Young Communist League – Victoria club. He is a student at University of Victoria and a musician. He has organised students around the demand for free universal post-secondary education, such as during last November's pan-Canadian student rallies. Tyson is Métis, and is a fierce advocate of decolonisation and the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Big Corporations Win the French Presidential Elections

Adrien Welsh

On April 23rd, the French people were called to chose two out of the eleven candidates running for the Presidential elections who would make their way to the second round and aspire to be the next tenant of the Élysée palace.

In France, the first round for Presidential elections has never been a moment of great suspense. For decades, the two main political parties, the Socialists (PS) and the right (Les républicains and, formerly, the UMP or RPR) usually get to the second round with a comfortable margin. Polling institutions have an easy job in predicting who the two aspiring presidents will be. However, this year, until the last minute, four candidates  were polling at around 20% in the first round, namely Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Marine Le Pen, François Fillion and Emmanuel Macron.

Lenin Moreno's victory in Ecuador: Solidarity with the Citizen's Revolution

Clara Sorrenti

On April 2nd 2017 the political landscape of Ecuador was shaken as Lenín Moreno was named President-Elect of Ecuador. Moreno garnered 51.16 percent of valid votes while opposition and ex-banker Guillermo Lasso garnered 48.84 percent, with 99.65 percent of votes counted, National Electoral Council President Juan Pablo Pozo said at a press conference. Due to Moreno’s victory, right-wing reactionary groups rioted in the streets. Lasso made fraudulent claims that the election was rigged and asked his supporters to riot in the streets demanding a recount. All this, despite the fact that Organization of American States election observers found "no discrepancies between the observed records and the official data" from the National Electoral Council.

Hands Off Syria!: a call to mobilize from Vancouver

Signs at Hands Off Syria Rally, Toronto, April 8, 2017

Ismail A. Askin

On Tuesday, April 11th, at 5:00pm, Stop War Coalition – Vancouver Coalition for Justice and Peace will gather in front of the US Consulate, on the traditional, unceded, occupied territories of the səlil̓wətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations to host an emergency rally denouncing the US bombing of Syria as well as Canada’s “full support” to Trump’s open ended escalation.

List of actions against US war on Syria taking place across Canada

Special to RY

The US bombing of Syria is a war crime and the Trudeau government's support for it makes Canada complicit in these illegal and bloody actions. Rallies and pickets are taking place across Canada over the next few days:

UBC Students Vote Yes to BDS for Justice and Liberation!

Special from YCL Vancouver

This week (April 3-7), the University of British Columbia (UBC) is faced with an important referendum for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS). Proposed by the UBC chapter of the social justice group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), BDS is a call by Palestinian activists for justice and equality. BDS recognizes that Palestinians currently live under an apartheid regime imposed by Israel. Israel is occupying Palestinian land and denying the right of return, a fundamental human right, to Palestinians. The call for BDS is a call to end 70 years of oppression.

'Capitalism & Patriarchy are inseperable!': Young Communists speak on IWD

Rebel Youth presents a translation of a speech by Marianne Breton Fontaine on behalf of Young Communist League of Quebec (LJC-Q) on March 8th, International Women's Day, at a march in Montreal organized by Women of Diverse Origins.

Hello everyone,

As a comrade told me, there is not a single struggle, not a single social advance that has been won without the sacrifice and work of women. Yet they are constantly trying to erase us from history, to erase and ignore our demands, and to tell us to be patient.

Communist Women in Canada: Revolutionary Bios

1927: left to right: F Custance, E Lawrence, B Buhay & A Buller

Marianne Breton Fontaine & Drew Garvie

In 1917, International Women’s Day in Russia helped to launch the Russian Revolution, which ended up inspiring working people around the world, including many working women in Canada.

The Communist Party of Canada (CPC) was founded in 1921 in Canada, in a barn in Guelph, Ontario under conditions of illegality. The Young Communist League of Canada was founded soon after in 1923. In this article Rebel Youth takes a look at some of the women that led the major struggles of their day and continue to inspire the struggle for full gender equality and for socialism.

Building Camaraderie in Western Canada: Preparing for the 27th YCL-LJC Convention

Special to RY

Nearly forty members and close friends of the YCL-LJC from all over Alberta and British Columbia united for the holiday weekend of February 18, 2017. The unceded territories of the Syilx people in Kelowna served as a scenic backdrop for important discussions between comrades in preparation for the 27th Central Convention of the Young Communist League-Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Canada (YCL-LJC) in May. The purpose of the Kelowna retreat was to allow comrades in Western Canada the opportunity to create bonds, to participate in educational sessions, and to be familiarized with, discuss, and to expand upon the political line of the YCL-LJC.

Experience the Cuban Revolution: the Che Brigade turns 25

Special to RY

For the last 24 years, a group of people from across Canada have gone to Cuba together. Not as tourists, but as solidarity activists and people interested in learning about Cuba from Cubans themselves. The annual “Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade”, a two-week solidarity tour of the island, is organized by the Canadian Network on Cuba. It’s purpose: to build Canada-Cuba friendship and solidarity, and celebrate the gains of the Revolution, now in its 57th year.

Eva Bartlett Tour on Syria: debunking the lies, finding a path to peace

Special to RY 

Eva Bartlett, Canadian independent journalist, will be the featured speaker for a tour on the war on Syria taking place this week. The tour is co-sponsored by the Canadian Peace Congress and the Syria Solidarity Movement.

The tour is part of a Central & Eastern Canada Tour which will take Ms. Bartlett to Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal from Jan. 24-28.

Women's Marches attract millions against Trump [photos from Canada]

Special to RY

On Saturday, January 21st, more than 600 US cities and several million people participated in marches against the new US President Donald Trump and his racist, mysoginist, pro-corporate agenda.

The Women's March on Washington, which initiated the organizing for January 21st, released a common platform which goes beyond just condemning Trump. The platform calls to end violence against women, against racism in policing and incarceration rates, for reproductive rights, against misoginy in culture, for LGBTQIA rights, higher wages and better paid leave for women, equal pay, migration as a right, and more.

Aleppo: a broken but liberated city

Adrien Welsh

Those who mourn the victims of raids and bombardments are right to do so provided they make NATO and its allies responsible for these atrocities. The war in Syria and Iraq is not a civil war, but an imperialist war of aggression. In this context, the so-called ‘pacifists’ who claim to be neutral, refusing to focus on the crimes of Western imperialism, who equate military operations led by the Syrian army with the attacks perpetrated by Islamist fascist forces, are pleading for lasting war, not lasting peace.