Leftnews.org | News and Views from the Left

by Editors — last modified 2018-05-01T13:01:25-04:00

Contributors: Faiz Ahmed, JBB, Graham H. Cox, R. Dubois, JA Cox

The best of the political left-wing from around the web.

A bad day for students: funding cut disguised as tuition cut, will cost students more and hurt Universities | CUPE Ontario

— by Roxanne Dubois — last modified Jan 17, 2019 09:37 PM

“These cuts were made without consultation with the University sector, and will have damaging impacts for students for a long time to come”, said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. “Doug Ford’s insiders have attempted to cover up a devastating attack on students with a paper-thin discount on tuition that will cost students more in the long run”.

Ford’s Reckless Post-Secondary Education Scheme Will Ensure Only the Rich Can Afford an Education, says OFL

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Jan 17, 2019 03:34 PM

“The introduction of the ‘Student Choice Initiative’ is an attack on the democracy and autonomy of student unions, which are not-for-profit organizations founded by and for students,” said OFL Executive Vice-President, Ahmad Gaied. Services and representation provided by student unions are paid for by dues that are democratically set by members. These critical services include the coordination of health and dental plans, transit passes, food banks, sexual violence support centres, and academic support and advocacy services. There should be no government interference in students’ democratic decision making. These reforms stifle students’ ability to mobilize and organize on campuses. It reduces political debate and speech on campus as student unions are a necessary platform of engagement for students.

Unifor signals deep concern over PC cuts to colleges, universities | Unifor

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Jan 17, 2019 03:33 PM

"Ontario's colleges and universities need increased investment to deliver high quality, public post secondary education. The PC's slight of hand won't work here. Today's announcement is a cut, plain and simple," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. Unifor is in support of fully-accessible, public post-secondary education. The union is also concerned that the announcement includes a direct attack on students' unions. "Students' unions are democratic, independent organizations that provide vital services and advocacy for all members," said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director. "We have seen Ford's strategy at work before: if you don't like your opposition then silence it. This autocratic attack on students is cynical and obvious."

Reckless government announcement threatens education quality and students’ rights | OCUFA

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Jan 17, 2019 03:28 PM

Without increased public funding for Ontario’s universities and colleges, the Progressive Conservative Government’s announced tuition fee reduction is nothing more than an ill-conceived political gimmick designed to distract Ontarians from damaging cuts to the province’s already under-funded postsecondary education system. OCUFA is generally in favour of tuition fee reductions but not at the expense of core funding and sound student financial aid policy. OCUFA is concerned that the fee reduction, OSAP cuts, and changes to ancillary fees were announced without consulting any stakeholders at the province’s universities or colleges. This demonstrates a government pursuing a political agenda, not one interested in good public policy or helping students.

Doug Ford: WE are the Students | Canadian Federation of Students

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Jan 17, 2019 03:12 PM

Today’s announcement is a devastating one for students and workers in the post-secondary sector in the province of Ontario. The announced “Student Choice Initiative” is a transparent attempt to bankrupt students’ unions in the province who are the most critical of sector underfunding and cuts to needs-based grants. The 10% tuition fee reduction is nothing more than a red herring. The proposed cuts to OSAP will harm those students most in need. Moreover, without an increase to operating funds for institutions, this tuition fee reduction will most likely come at the hands of cuts to campus workers and services. Students and workers in the province of Ontario will fight this announcement. This government does not represent students. Students were not consulted in this process. The Ford government is looking to dismantle public post-secondary education and is attempting to eliminate the opposition to do it. #WeAreTheStudents

Ford Sets Students and Post-Secondary Education on Disastrous Path in Ontario | Canadian Federation of Students

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Jan 17, 2019 03:00 PM

“The Doug Ford government has attempted to spin this announcement as a 10 per cent reduction in tuition fees when in reality Ford’s plan will increase out-of-pocket costs for students, diminish the quality of education students receive and undermine crucial student supports on campus,” said Nour Alideeb, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario. “The reality of loans-based financial aid programs is that students from low-income families pay more for their education in the long-run. This announcement will make life harder for students and their families.”

Fact-checking: who should (or should not) pay for the fight against global disinformation and fake news? | Equal Times

— by Roxanne Dubois — last modified Jan 17, 2019 07:08 AM

"The solution to disinformation not only lies in the expansion and funding of platforms specialised in fact-checking but, as some experts argue, in stronger support for a more sustainable media ecosystem and quality journalism."

Germany remembers Rosa Luxemburg 100 years after her murder | The Guardian

— by Faiz Ahmed — last modified Jan 15, 2019 08:22 AM

"The anniversary of the state-sanctioned murders of the founders of the Communist party of Germany (KPD) brought an estimated 20,000 people on to the streets of Berlin at the weekend for a march that marked the high point of a series of commemorative events, including theatre performances, readings and new biographies. ... Far from uniting Germany’s left, the murders created a deep divide, still felt keenly today in the animosities that exist between the Social Democratic party (SPD), the junior coalition partner to Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrats, and Die Linke, successors to the communist party that ruled East Germany. ... Recently, Andrea Nahles became the first leader of the SPD to come close to admitting her party’s role in the revolutionaries’ deaths, amid evidence that Gustav Noske, the minister of defence in the SPD-led fledgling Weimar government at the time, effectively signed off on the murders in an effort to crush the far left."

Mayor of Polish city Gdansk, liberal critic of right-wing government, dies after stabbing | The Globe and Mail

— by Faiz Ahmed — last modified Jan 15, 2019 08:18 AM

"Pawel Adamowicz, 53, mayor of the northern port city since 1998, was known as a supporter of gay rights, and he had campaigned for the rights of immigrants in a country whose governing party has leaned heavily on anti-immigrant rhetoric."

5.5 Million Women Build Their Wall

— by JBB — last modified Jan 14, 2019 07:23 PM

By Vijay Prashad | Source: Tricontinental (via Znet) | 5.5 million women in Kerala — one in three women in the state — took to the streets to champion the emancipation of women. What brought them to join the Women’s Wall was that the Left Democratic Front government took a clear position, a principled position: that menstruation should not be used as a penalty against women’s full participation in society. Clarity defines the struggle. It is a lesson worth learning around the world.

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