Workers of all countries unite!

This Tuesday, February 21, 2006, marks the official relaunch of the Peace Region Leftist Coalition, a Canadian Marxist faction.

I am calling on all Marxist Socialists in Canada to unite under one banner. United we are strong.

Divided, we are no more than a minor irritation in the side of Capitalism.

The Charter of the PRLC still stands, unchanged:

Charter of the Peace Region Leftist Coalition

Section 1: It is the duty of the Peace Region Leftist Coalition to resist right-wing global imperialism and massive corporate entities. Right wing ideology and various types of neo-fascism are taking hold all over the world. Now, while the coalition may not be able to deal with many of these problems, they will resist the arm of the right-wing within their own backyard, as well as offer solidarity to other leftist organizations around the world.

Section 2: It is the duty of the peace region leftist Coalition to oppose war and promote peace in the war-torn areas of the world. Whatever the causes may be, regardless of the combatant sides involved, war must be prevented at all costs. Right-wing militarism is a cancer upon this planet, and only active resistance to conflict by the people can end the increasing global militarism of the capitalists.

Section 3: It is the duty of the Peace Region Leftist coalition to play a role in bring about leftist changes in the government of capitalist nations, as well as attempt to stem the spread of right wing ideals into countries that are already leftist. Passing laws in the interest of the people, as well as small changes towards the left in a right-wing government, are small steps toward a government that properly represents the interest of the people, not the bourgeoisie overlords.

Section 4: It is the duty of the Peace Region Leftist Coalition to fight for and uphold the rights of the human being, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race or religion. The prejudiced policy of the bloated right-wing institution must be combated at all costs. There must not be a master race, or dominant gender, or prevailing religion in a nation, that controls others or harms others.

Section 5: It is the duty of the Peace Region Leftist Coalition to express dissent against any corruption, unjust decisions made by the right-wing in their own interests. True democracy must be upheld at all costs, and the will of the people must govern the nation, not the will of the ruling elite. The coalition must educate the people in the abuses of the right and organize them against the right-wing in their own interests.

If you are interested in joining the PRLC, you can apply for membership on the old PRLC website at: (link removed)

Passing on the red flag

I am told by one of my Comrades in the Young Juche League
(Britain), that recently Comrade Kim Jong-il, the dear leader of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, turned 64 years old on February 17th.

I congratulate the people of the DPRK on another year of resisting global imperialism, but this event really did get me thinking.

Comrade Kim Jong Il is getting older. What will happen to the DPRK after he passes away?

Will it be passed down to one of his sons, as it was done with him?
I find this to be very feudal and anti-Marxist in nature.
Will there be a federal election?

More importantly, when Kim Jong Il dies, will the DPRK die with him?

Very often I find myself thinking this way. I think about aging revolutionary Fidel Castro, and the Socialist republic of Cuba.
Will the revolution live on after him?

After Chairman Mao Tse-Tung passed away,China was pounced upon by the capitalist world, and "reformers" such as Deng Xioping opened up
China to capitalism. Now,the "Communist" government of China is largely superficial, an empty shell of something that doesn't exist in China anymore. The same can be said for Vietnam and Laos.

The point is, many of the old governments still committed to Socialism are being gradually weakened with the death of the old guard, and gradually invaded by capitalism. I fear for the last of the old bastions of the socialist camp.

In most of the ex-Socialist states, the people do not have a say in accepting the new capitalist government. In the former USSR, the various communist factions, which still represent millions of people, are arrested and dealt with by Russian police. Communists from other countries who go to Russia to show solidarity with their comrades are often banned from returning. In Albania, the Communist party was declared an illegal organization for many years under the new "Democratic" government. Even now in Europe, anti-communist legislation was proposed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the council of Europe, and it passed. Although these measures have not been acted upon by their various member countries, the legislation has been passed. In most situations, the return to socialism is not
even an option to the masses.

Granted that there are some new governments committed to socialism in the twenty first century. President Hugo Chavez's popular Bolivarian revolution is making impressive progress in Venezuela, The Government of Evo Morales has taken power in Bolivia,
in Moldova the Communist party has been continually re-elected, and in Belarus the government of Aleksander Lukashanko is still practicing "Market Socialism." Other states show potential for Socialism,such as Nepal, Colombia, Peru, the Philippines and India.

Still, I worry. It is up to the peoples of the world to make socialism their own, and defend it from the forces of Capitalism.

Anyway, here's to the 64th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Kim-Jong Il. I sincerely hope that the people of the DPRK will exercise their right to self determination, and continue to pursue the path of Socialism.

The revolution lives on, comrades.

Freedom of Fascism

All over the world, controversy and violence are still raging, as followers of Islam are lashing out in protest against offensive cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed (Peace and Blessings be upon him), originally published in a Danish newspaper. By now, this information is old news. A more recent development, however, is the deliberate publishing of these offensive cartoons in an Albertan magazine called the Western Standard.

When the Western Standard published the Cartoons, they knew full well the consequences, which could already be seen all over the world. The Western Standard not only published the offensive cartoons, but blatantly announced that they were doing so in other publications.
What is truly disturbing, is to watch how Western Standard defends their actions under the guise of "Free speech". They even go so far as to call themselves the "independent voice of the new west."

Independent perhaps, but in who's interests? Certainly not the peoples.

I have to give the Right-wing credit. They are very good at coming up with noble names and reasons for their causes. During the Cold war era, the ideological struggle was not announced for what it was: Capitalism versus Communism. Instead, in the Capitalist sphere of influence, it was reported as "DEMOCRACY versus Communism". The reasons for this are quite simple. The powers that be knew that not everyone was satisfied with capitalism, but almost everyone agreed with democracy . Of course this outlook is biased and based entirely on point of view. Communists, such as myself, consider Communism to be the most advanced form of democracy. To this day, people are still confused when I tell them that I am democratic and a Communist. This confusion is a left-over way of thinking from the cold-war era. The entire thing is especially bitter, as the Capitalist powers made many,many un-democratic actions during the cold war ( Mcarthyism, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, The invasion of Grenada, backing the Contras in Nicaragua, assisting the fascist government of El Salvador, etc...)

The Anti-abortion movement cloaks themselves in the guise of being "Pro-life". Once again, not every one is against abortion, but most, if not all, human beings will admit to generally being in favor of human life. The Invasion of the sovereign nation of Iraq was announced as the "Liberation of Iraq". The Patriot act, which violates constitutional rights, and allows the government to spy on American citizens, is defended as "protecting Americans from terrorism."

The editor of the Western Standard clinging to "freedom of speech" is the latest development in the powers of the right-wing disguising their causes with noble names. Does the Western Standard realize they are using the same defense as neo-nazis and child pornographers? That may sound extreme, but it is an appropriate reference, as all of the above mentioned individuals
use and abuse freedom of speech for personal gain.

We do have freedom of speech in Canada, but with freedom of speech comes public decency.
Most people realize what is appropriate and what is not, given the audience and the circumstances. That said, violating Islamic customs, and blatantly trying to stir up a reaction in Canada ,with cartoons deemed offensive by the international Muslim community, is not "freedom of speech". This action is the latest provocation against the Islamic community at the peak of a raging, and often violent, backlash against the offensive cartoons.

The Western Standard is trying to ride the wave of international controversy to make a profit. Very soon they will realize that this provocation has dug a grave for their magazine, but at least the tombstone will read "In the name of Freedom of Speech."

It isn't my fight...Yet.

Yesterday, I was talking to a Comrade of mine on the phone. I was asking if he had signed a petition I had sent him by e-mail. The petition concerned the proposed anti- communist legislation that was presented to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which I have learned recently passed.

I asked my Comrade if he had signed this petition, but I already knew the answer.
He had not signed the petition, so I was curious to find out why. My Comrade said something or other about not knowing enough about the situation, even though there was information on the petition I sent him. I knew that this was not the true reason for his non-participation in the struggle of our European Comrades.

Then he made his true motives known to me: He said to me that I should "Concern myself with our (Party's) work." This remark shocked and disgusted me. Could this individual not see that any measures against communism, even in a country far away, would affect all communists eventually? I immediately made my disapproval known to my Comrade, criticizing him for his narrow and short-sighted way of thinking.

To me, this incident illustrates the state of the global socialist camp: There isn't one.

Solidarity is a word without meaning among communists and workers movements these days. Among members of the communist movement, even in the same country, there is discord and a lack of cooperation. Many communist parties, especially in North America, have become hermit organizations from the global communist movement. In this day and age, it is possible for communists to withdraw into their shells, and convince themselves that repressive measures against communists in other countries are not their concern. Unfortunately, most modern day communist organizations, especially in North America, will continue to think this way until it is they that are being arrested or killed by state police forces.

Any measures that affect some of us, will eventually affect ALL of us. Any place where communism is repressed and stamped out, that's one more place where communism can not flourish. Any place where anti-communist legislation is passed, it will set a precedent for other places to do the same. Any victory that capitalism wins against communism, no matter how small, will hurt all of us, whether we choose to "get involved" or not.

Unfortunately, I fear it is a lost cause. I think it is up to individuals of the Communist movement to try and connect with their fellow communists, because I know that the leadership of most modern day communist organizations are secluded individuals who have withdrawn into their shells, hiding from the rest of the socialist movement.

The principle is very simple: As long as the bourgeoisie exists, they will try and destroy communism. If you do not stand up for your Comrades in their time of need, eventually there will be no one to stand up for you when the sting of bourgeois oppression finally hits home.

Is Nepal ready to be red?

Very often when I am skimming news articles about the latest in Proletarian revolutionary struggles around the world, I come across various articles on the Maoist insurrections around the globe. I have to give the Maoists credit, as they are the only Marxist group that seems to be actively waging revolution. The most prominent Maoist insurgency is in the kingdom of Nepal, where victory seems to be imminent for the Maoist forces. Other Maoist battles are being fought in the Philippines, Peru, Turkey and India, and possibly other countries.

For some time, I've been trying to work out my position on the global Maoist insurgency in the
twenty- first century. I am still undecided as to whether or not the triumph of a government based on Mao Tse-Tung thought would be beneficial in Nepal, or any other country where maoist forces are engaged in peoples war.

Now,I'm not going to go into the usual capitalist propaganda about Maoist China, the cultural revolution, Tibet, Pol Pot's Cambodia, or any other alleged Maoist atrocities. My analysis is strictly of the current social conditions in the countries experiencing a Maoist peoples war.

It is obvious that all of the regimes that the Maoist forces are struggling against, are in desperate need of immediate removal. In the case of Nepal, the regime of King Gyanendra
is repressive and backwards. In Nepal, even those that are not communist are protesting the
rule of the king.

On the other hand, I am still undecided as to whether or not the Maoist forces in Nepal are progressive. At the very least, the Maoist revolution in Nepal seems a bit premature. According to Marxist theory, a society must progress through all the various stages of human development
before they are ready for the society of communist man. Nepal is still strangled by feudalism.
Any capitalist, or even pseudo-capitalist, forces in Nepal are minimal. By Marxist standards, Nepal is not ready for socialism. Granted that V.I. Lenin did say that the weakest links in the chain of capitalism would be the first to fall, but that doesn't necessarily mean that socialism would be able to thrive in these places.

The same goes for Peru, the Philippines, India, Turkey and others. The societies of these nations are at an almost medieval stage of development. Dialectically, these countries are still not quite ready for Socialism by Marxist standards.

It may seem arrogant to some that I would think myself qualified to comment on the maoist situation in the world today. While this journal is just to voice my personal opinions, I'm sure that these opinions are not exclusively my own. Of course it is the choice of the people of Nepal, and all other nations experiencing insurgency, as to whether or not a Maoist government is what they want, and what works for them, but it is also up to the people of these respective nations to adopt Mao Tse tung thought as their own, otherwise Maoism is doomed to failure in every country it touches.

Money can't buy love. Votes, on the other hand...

I have always been frustrated by hypocrisy, especially in the political arena. Many Canadians have a stomach for political hypocrisy, but I unfortunately do not.

During the entire duration of the thirty-ninth Canadian federal election, the Conservative party of Canada mercilessly pelted the ruling liberal party with accusation after accusation of various acts of corruption. One of the accusations against the Liberal party was the allegations that the liberal party was "Buying votes" by allocating billions of dollars in funds to various causes on the eve of the federal election.

On the other hand, a strange development has occurred in the province of Alberta, where the
Conservative provincial premier, Ralph Klein, has sent every resident of Alberta a "Prosperity Check" of four hundred dollars per individual.

So, the allocation of funds by the Liberal party to various programs counts as "buying votes", but apparently the Conservative party sending every Albertan citizen a Cheque in the mail does not fall under the category of "Buying votes."? Ah, the bitter taste of Hypocrisy.

Strangely enough, these prosperity cheques will total about 1.4 billion dollars in provincial funds. This is even more confusing. While Premier Klein is pushing for the privitization of the Albertan
public healthcare system (He has recently received approval from caucus for privitization.) , on the grounds that it is unsustainable, at the same time he sends all citizens of Alberta a resource cheque in the mail. Apparently Alberta is prosperous enough to give it's citizens 1.4 billion dollars in cheques, but not prosperous enough to provide it's citizens with healthcare. It doesn't add up.

The hard-won social programs in Alberta are being smashed into oblivion, and all the while the people cheer, because they received 400$ in the mail. I'm not saying that the provincial government shouldn't give the wealth generated from the provincial resources back to the people. I'm saying that there is a proper way to do it. Invest in social programs, rather than superficial temporary financial boosts.

Anyways, join me now in ushering in a new era of the same old government. Same corruption, same mismanagement of funds, same destruction of social programs, and same methods of purchasing an election. Same old hypocrisy; brand new package.

Capitalists love money. Communists... Also love money.

Lately I have received a series of bulletins from the Young Communist League of Canada mailing list.

The latest issue of discussion on the YCL mailing list is the issue of charging monthly dues from their membership. There seems to be a very conscious push from the YCL leadership to try and squeeze funds out of their followers. Granted that the amount they're asking for is only a few dollars a month, but the league is still trying to make regular collection of membership dues a
mandatory condition for all members of the YCL.

One of the Comrades on this mailing list even suggested that membership who pay regular dues should be given special privileges above those of membership who refuse/forget to pay their membership dues. Being as the YCL is a political organization, I have to wonder at what those
"special privileges" could possibly be?

All of these propositions actually sound quite similar to an existing political ideology.

It's called Capitalism.

This is a very disturbing turn of events for the YCL. The executive of their group is advocating that the membership pay regular dues to the organization, and one of their members has advocated "Special privileges" for members who pay their dues. This whole thing is very
anti-Marxist in nature. The currency-centric tendencies of the YCL leadership, if left unchecked, will eventually render the young communist league an impotent, spineless organization. If the concept of "Special privileges" is adopted as an incentive, the logical outcome will be the development of a clearly defined caste system within the YCL, based
on monetary contributions. As soon as some members have privileges over others in a democratic organization, everything democratic about the organization is compromised.

In my experience, it is rare to have committed revolutionary members who are loyal to your organization and actively participate in it's decisions and actions. If you have people such as this in your organization, why would you charge them membership dues for their commitment to socialism.

The worst part about this whole incident, is that the YCL is not the only communist organization in Canada that is revolving more and more around money. Most of the major communist organizations in Canada are exhibiting the same symptoms as the YCL. The symptoms are of a political disease, commonly known as Social-Democracy. Unfortunately, this is a common disease in the global Marxist movement.

It is committed membership, not the collection of funds, that makes a revolutionary organization strong. If the measures pass within the YCL that allow them to begin charging membership to be revolutionary, they might as well start passing a collection plate around at meetings, for they have already abandoned their Marxist principals.