Paul S. Graham

Workers at the DESA leather factory who had been fired for engaging in unionization activities staged a demonstration Saturday on İstiklal Street in the Beyoğlu district of İstanbul, delaying traffic in the area. Photo: Todays Zaman, Nov. 17, 2008

Earlier this year, reports Labourstart, hundreds of workers at the Turkish leather manufacturer DESA — which produces for Prada, Louis Vuitton, Mulberry and Nicole Farhi — joined a union.

The reaction of the company was fierce: 44 union members were sacked, and 50 more compelled to quit the union. Nevertheless, the workers have stood firm, holding daily protests outside the factory. Local police have been called in to arrest them, and bribes offered to union leaders to call off the demonstrations. Families have been threatened. One union leader has been threatened by the company and her eleven year old daughter narrowly escaped a kidnap attempt.

Workers at DESA need a union urgently. They complain of poverty wages, long hours and terrible health and safety conditions. You can safely bet your last dollar that they cannot afford to dress like the affluent folk who buy their products or the model who adorns their employer’s web site, pictured below.

Labourstart has asked that we send a message to DESA’s customers — the luxury fashion brands — telling them that we support the DESA workers in their struggle.

Sitting in Canada, where we think we have enough of our own problems, one might wonder why this particular struggle is important or noteworthy. It may be a bit old-fashioned, but I think every time working people organize a union to advance their interests their struggle is important.

In Canada, we have forgotten how the struggles of labour paved the way for old age pensions, labour standards, unemployment insurance and universal health care. In very real ways, the advances and setbacks of labour in Canada have presaged social progress or devolution, as the case may be.

Every success labour achieves, wherever it occurs, makes it easier for working people in this country to defend and advance their interests. Every sweatshop that is transformed into a reasonable employer makes it that much harder for sweatshop operators everywhere.

The fight of the DESA workers is particularly noteworthy. Here they are, working for crappy wages to put luxury leather clothing on the backsides of the rich and the pampered of the earth. As soon as they try to improve their situation, the company and the state conspire (on behalf of the aforementioned rich and pampered) to stop the union drive through firings, intimidation and violence.

It’s an old story for students of labour history in this country. It is a common story, world wide. So, please, do your bit to make sweatshops unfashionable: click on this link and express some solidarity.

More Information

“Labour Behind the Label” has published a detailed account of the DESA workers fight. Their site provides a wealth of information on garment workers’ efforts worldwide to defend their rights.

Photo: John D. McHugh/AFP/Getty Images. Soldiers from the 1st Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry handcuff and search a suspected Taliban prisoner. Ottawa revealed that it stopped the transfer of Afghan detainees in November. Caption: National Post, Oct. 3, 2008

Like a mangy cat with diarrhea, the federal government is trying, so far unsucessfully, to cover up its role in the torture of prisoners taken by Canadian troops in Afghanistan. According to the Canadian Press:

The federal government wants the courts to block public hearings into the transfer of Afghan detainees.

At issue is whether Canadian soldiers were ordered to transfer prisoners to Afghan security, despite knowing the detainees would likely be tortured.

The government had promised full co-operation, but is now asking the Federal Court to outlaw the hearings.

Government lawyers say the independent Military Police Complaints Commission can only investigate individual cases of tortured prisoners.

They want a court order barring the agency from probing allegations that transferred prisoners were tortured and that Canadian officials knew it would happen.

Commission chairman Peter Tinsley ordered the public hearings last spring, saying it was the only way to ensure a full investigation of the allegations.

“It’s troubling and disappointing, but not at all surprising, that the government is again trying to obstruct the holding of a public hearing,” said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada told the Globe and Mail. “They are always looking for ways to avoid transparency and accountability.”

There have been several instances of Canadian soldiers refusing to turn over prisoners to Afghan security for fear they would be tortured.

But the federal government has refused to say how many prisoners it has turned over and whether it can account for all of them.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2215007&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

New York Times Special Edition Video News Release – Nov. 12, 2008 from H Schweppes on Vimeo.

On November 12, thousands of volunteers distributed 1.2 million copies of a “special edition” of the New York Times, datelined July 4, 2009, that declared, among many other wonderful developments, that the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were over and that the troops would be coming home within weeks. Other articles revealed plans for universal healthcare, free post secondary education, rebuilding the nations crumbling infrastructure, and the nationalization of the oil industry to pay for climate change adaptation.

This highly creative work of political satire was the product of a group that calls itself the “Yes Men” — perhaps as a riff on Obama’s “Yes we can!” election slogan. In the words of the publishers:

This special edition of The New York Times comes from a future in which we are accomplishing what we know today to be possible.

The dozens of volunteer citizens who produced this paper spent the last eight years dreaming of a better world for themselves, their friends, and any descendants they might end up having. Today, that better world, though still very far away, is finally possible — but only if millions of us demand it, and finally force our government to do its job.

Part belly laugh, part bolshevism, this is political agitation on a grand scale; it will be difficult to ignore. Check out the web version of the July 4, 2009 New York Times here.

We get so caught up in discussing the “big issues” of the day we can easily forget that all politics are local and personal before they make it onto the world stage.

In that spirit, here are some actions and activities I hope local (Winnipeg and area) readers will find time to support.

Alternative Remembrance Day Ceremony – Nov. 11

View the film “Breaking Ranks,” a moving documentary about the plight of U.S. soldiers seeking sanctuary in Canada as part of their resistance to the war in Iraq. With intimate access to four American military deserters, their lawyers and families, this film documents their experiences as they try to exercise their consciences amidst profound emotional, ethical and international consequences. This will be followed by a discussion and a candle lighting vigil.

Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: St. Matthews Anglican Church, 641 St. Matthews Avenue (at Maryland St.)
Please help promote this event. Click here to download a poster that you can distribute.

War Resister Joshua Keys to speak in Winnipeg, Nov. 13, 14

Joshua Key’s autobiography, “The Deserter’s Tale,” written with Lawrence Hill (House of Anansi Press, 2007), raises disturbing issues concerning the conduct of the Iraq war and the status of those seeking asylum in Canada as conscientious objectors. Joshua will be speaking at several locations.

* Thursday, Nov. 13, 7:00 p.m. at Mondragon Books (91 Albert St.)
* Friday, Nov. 14, 2:30-4:00 p.m., 310 Tier Building, University of Manitoba

He will also be at at Menno Simons College – 520 Portage at Spence St, on Friday, November 14 at 6 p.m. for the screening of the film “Close the School of the Assassins” — an event sponsored by the Student Christian Movement and Menno Simons College.

Rally Against the Harper Agenda, Nov. 15

The Majority Agenda Coalition is holding a rally at the national convention of the Conservative Party of Canada. According to the organizers:

“We urge all progressive organizations in Manitoba to mobilize their members to attend the rally! We invite you to join the coalition organizing the rally – The Majority Agenda Coalition – or to endorse the rally. The approach we are taking is that “we are the majority” – we are the 62 per cent of people who did not vote Conservative in the last election! Even worse, the Conservative Party plunged 185,000 votes compared to 2006 yet has 19 more members in Parliament.

“As the rally organizers, we have agreed that the rally will be peaceful and respectful of the law.

“Much is at stake! The majority of people voted for parties that promised action to create jobs during the economic crisis, improve the lives of Aboriginal peoples, create a child care program support equality for women, save the Wheat Board and protect the family farm, keep funding the Arts, and save our public Post Office.

“We are the majority of Canadians who want our soldiers out of Afghanistan and for Canada to meet its Kyoto commitments. We are the majority who oppose further deep integration with the United States and who want an end to the secret “Security and Prosperity” talks. We are the majority who want more affordable access to higher education and action to end poverty and homelessness. These are all policies that the Harper government is trying to block. So we the majority need to block his agenda!”

When: Saturday, November 15, 12 Noon

Where: Winnipeg Convention Centre, York St. between Carleton and Edmonton

More Information: (204) 947-9334

Please help promote this event. If you click on the image you will get a downloadable poster that you can distribute via email and post wherever you like.

Annual Meeting of Peace Alliance Winnipeg, Nov. 16

Date: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008
Time: 1:30 pm
Place: Workers Organizing Resource Centre, 180 Smith, Mezzanine Level
Press the buzzer to get access to the building.

The AGM will discuss the work the Peace Alliance has engaged in during the past year and set priorities for the coming year. To be eligible to vote at the AGM you must have paid your membership for 2008. If you are not a member you can join by submitting the membership form at the web site by Friday, November 14 so that your membership can be processed. Current members can direct inquiries about their membership status to “info [at} peacealliancewinnipeg [dot] ca.”

Winnipeg Citizens Coalition General Meeting – Nov. 26

The Winipeg Citizens Coalition would like to invite members and the public at large to its upcoming general meeting!

Date: Wednesday, November 26th

Time: 6:30 PM

Location: Silver Heights Community Centre, 2080 Ness Avenue

The agenda will include a presentation on the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Alternative Municipal Budget by University of Manitoba Professor Ian Hudson.

Villagers in Wech Baghtu, Kandahar say 37 people have died, including 23 children and 10 women after planes flattened houses shortly after US troops had fought Taliban insurgents nearby on Monday afternoon. Photo: EPA/UK Telegraph

While messages of congratulations to President-elect Obama flowed in from heads of state from around the world, Afghan President Hamid Karzai had something somewhat less festive to say:

We cannot win the fight against terrorism with air strikes. This is my first demand of the new president of the United States to put an end to civilian casualties.

Karzai was responding to the latest U.S. military outrage in Afghanistan, an airstrike on a wedding party in southern Kandahar province on Monday that killed mainly women and children. Reports of the death toll range from 37 to 40, but there is no doubt that it happened.

While Obama is believed by many to be a force for peace in the world he made it clear during his election campaign that he will escalate the war in Afghanistan, while withdrawing US forces from Iraq. Obama has also pledged to continue the Bush policy of hot pursuit of insurgents into Pakistan.

The defense industry, which has benefited from a 70% increase in military spending since 2000, appears confident that Obama will keep is promise to build America’s military forces. Obama’s platform says

Obama and Biden will complete the effort to increase our ground forces by 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 Marines. They will also invest in 21st century missions like counterinsurgency by building up our special operations forces, civil affairs, information operations, foreign language training and other units and capabilities that remain in chronic short supply.

I’ve lost count of the number of Afghan wedding parties that have been bombed out by the Americans. Unless Obama can be convinced to shrink his Empire, marriage will continue to be a risky affair in Afghanistan and the new President’s name will acquire a new spelling: O-BOMB-A.

While I do not believe that a Democratic POTUS will behave that much differently than a Republican one, I am encouraged that millions of US voters could overcome a racist history and elect a black President. There is jubilation tonight in many parts of the United States because of this, and deservedly so.

The fact remains, though, that however much President-elect Obama promises change, his record, his platform and the system he has been elected to administer point to a reaffirmation of the status quo.

It only stands to reason that a candidate who could raise $454 million for his Presidential primary and election contests owes a huge debt of gratitude to the interests that bankrolled his campaign. Obama raised twice as much money as his rival, John McCain, and he will have to make good on that debt.

How will the American people respond to their new President as the economy collapses around them and scarce resources are spent on interminable war and Wall Street swindlers? It’s perhaps to early to say. But there are early signs that the American Left (yes, Virginia, there is an American Left and no, Obama is not a socialist) is moving in two different directions.

Independent Presidential candidate Ralph Nader appears to be the first off the mark. In an open letter to Obama, Nader writes

In your nearly two-year presidential campaign, the words “hope and change,” “change and hope” have been your trademark declarations. Yet there is an asymmetry between those objectives and your political character that succumbs to contrary centers of power that want not “hope and change” but the continuation of the power-entrenched status quo.

Far more than Senator McCain, you have received enormous, unprecedented contributions from corporate interests, Wall Street interests and, most interestingly, big corporate law firm attorneys. Never before has a Democratic nominee for President achieved this supremacy over his Republican counterpart. Why, apart from your unconditional vote for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, are these large corporate interests investing so much in Senator Obama? Could it be that in your state Senate record, your U.S. Senate record and your presidential campaign record (favoring nuclear power, coal plants, offshore oil drilling, corporate subsidies including the 1872 Mining Act and avoiding any comprehensive program to crack down on the corporate crime wave and the bloated, wasteful military budget, for example) you have shown that you are their man?

I think we can count on Nader (who at this point has polled over half a million votes) to continue to point out that the Emperor has no clothes.

Nader’s make-no-concessions approach is in sharp contrast to the soft cop stylings of Avaaz.org. In an email that I (and bazillions of others) received tonight, Avaaz’s Rick Patel exclaimed (almost breathlessly)

After 8 long years of Bush – finally a fresh start!

Obama’s victory brings a chance for the US to finally join with the world community to take on pressing challenges on climate change, human rights, and peace.

After years, even decades of distrust, let’s seize this moment of unity, reconciliation and hope to send a message of warm congratulations and invitation to work together to the new President and the American people.

We’ve built a huge wall near the White House in Washington DC where the number of signatures on our message and personal messages from around the world will grow over the next several hours. We’ve also asked Obama to personally receive our petition from a group of Avaaz members. Let’s get to 1 million signers and messages to Obama! Sign on at the link below and forward this email to others:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/million_messages_to_obama

While the email goes on to outline some of the major, progressive-sounding commitments Obama made to Americans, nowhere does it mention that Obama intends to beef up the US military and send more troops to the Land Where Empires Go To Die, aka Afghanistan.

In a country where the public political discourse is so narrow that “liberals” are the far left and Wall Street bailouts are “socialism” it will be difficult for the Real Left to find its voice, much less make itself heard. This will be doubly difficult if outfits like Avaaz, who have developed a substantial Internet reach, continue to avoid some inconvenient truths about Obama’s politics and his corporate friends.

By now, most folks have heard the silly telephone encounter between Sarah Palin and the Masked Avengers. Avengers Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudelare are reportedly becoming international media darlings outside of their native Quebec, where they are already stars. For political junkies and everyone who enjoys a good practical joke, this was a winner.

Like many, I chuckled through the audio clip and shook my head at Palin’s credulity. And then I began to feel sympathy for Palin, not because she was (yet again) exposed as vacuous, but because, once again, the media was applying a sexist double standard.

Cast your mind back to the 2000 election campaign where the CBC’s Rick Mercer ambushed then-Governor George W. Bush with the news that Canada’s Prime Minister Jean Poutine was backing his bid for the presidency. Bush beamed his gratitude for Poutine’s “strong statement” and blabbered something about free trade and promised to “work closely together.”

It was Mercer at his best, and the chattering classes in this country, anyway, enjoyed the prank. I don’t recall that it got nearly as much attention south of the border. This is in stark contrast to the exposure Palin’s gaffe is getting.

At this point, thankfully, it doesn’t seem likely that Palin will get to be vice president. Nonetheless, as you watch this collection of moments from Mercer’s “Talking to Americans” (which includes the Poutine Endorsement), bear in mind that millions will still vote for her and her phony war hero running mate, proving once again that while it takes only a village to raise an idiot, it takes a whole nation of idiots to elect one.

Here’s hoping America’s experiment with collective idiocy is over.