Iconoclast Media

I have gleaned a few facts from very sparse resources, this is partly due to the fact that almost all peoples of African descent who came to London and the surrounding area during the 1700s and 1800s were escaped slaves; one reason nothing was recorded was in order to protect them. During the 1800s there were 30,000 escaped slaves in Canada.

-1700s and 1800s: Slaves fleeing the US, an explorer, and soldiers of African descent passed through and settled in and around London including communities in Delaware, Buxton, Lucan, St Thomas and south of present-day downtown London.

-1812: Black soldiers fought for Canada to prevent the spreading of American rule and slavery northwards.

-1837: Black militia units participate in putting down the rebellion (not that this was necessarily a good thing).

-1838: Reverend Josiah Henson (aka Uncle Tom) met in London to assist in planning a settlement for Blacks called Dawn near Dresden Ontario.

-1848-1856: The first Black community church was built on Grey street, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, still standing today.

-1854: The Church of England Colonial Church and School Society formed a mixed-race school in the abandoned army barracks where Victoria Park now stands, for over 400 children.

-1855: The Infantry barracks at the same site hosted 700 escaped slaves as a stop on the Undergound Railroad.

-1872: Ku Klux Klan grand wizard and surgeon Dr. J Rufus Bratton flees to London from charges of flogging a crippled Black man in South Carolina. Practices surgery and preaches hate against blacks for 6 years here.

-1920: The first Black newspaper in Canada, The Dawn of Tomorrow, is published in London Ontario by James Jenkins and his wife Christine, who carried it on after her husband’s death in 1931.
Sources: online writing by historian Joe O’Neil and the 2003 Black History Calendar at the London Room in the Central library. For more information on Local Black History there is a Historical Site and Museum in Buxton west of London off the 401.

By: E.B.

Psychological Operations (also known as PSYOP, PSYOPS) is planned propaganda to create beliefs (of mass population) using various forms of manipulation to control the support of and outcome of national objectives.  This propaganda method is used to change, alter or affect the opinions of individuals.  Here in Canada various warfare propaganda methods are used, these include: tying yellow ribbons on trees (typically used to suggest support to a soldiers family once the soldier has been killed in warfare), red shirt Fridays (used to show individual support for soldiers fighting in Afghanistan), bumper stickers or magnets (”If you don’t stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them”, and “Support Our Troops”), military co-op placements offered by high schools, media portraying anti-war activists as violent and dangerous, etc.
Here in London Ontario local events are held in support of our troops such as Heroes Day, which take place in Victoria Park where war monuments are on display.  All of these propaganda methods manipulate an opinion about war by ultimately stating or suggesting that the war in Afghanistan is for the greater good of national security, and that “The troops are fighting for our freedom”.

Here are some facts:
•    20% of Canadian soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and hearing loss
•    In 2005 over 6,000 US soldiers committed suicide
•    US War Resisters (a soldier who was enlisted in the military who decided to stop participating in the war in Afghanistan) live in Canada to avoid US punishment and military imprisonment
•    Since 2002, 107 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan
•    360 troops have been wounded since 2008 (this doesn’t include injuries between 2002-2005)

If you support the Canadian troops fighting in Afghanistan consider this:  What does supporting our troops mean, and who are you really supporting?  What is the reason Canada has invaded Afghanistan and why is it no longer peacekeeping?  Are there any positive affects of war (consider environmental affects, social affects, authority, government, and corporations)?  How do children react to war?  How much money is being spent on the war knowing that our country is in a recession (50 million Canadian per day)?

Alternative/effective ways of supporting our troops:
•    Contact local and federal MP’s and pressure them to end the war and send the troops home.
•    Come out to a War Resisters Support rally or Peace rally and learn about what soldiers experience during their employment with the Canadian Armed Forces.
•    Take advantage of alternative and independent media: check out www.londonresisters.ca for information and resources.

“We are the Canadian Forces and our job is to be able to kill people”.  - General Rick Hillier, Canadian Forces

“Canada can no longer be called a committed peacekeeper, and certainly it is no longer the prolific peacekeeper”.  - Walter Dorn, Professor of Defence Studies, Royal Military College

By: A Concerned Individual

The World is in an uproar in a new way.  Yes, things have been much worse many times before, but we are facing a new situation.

1] Even in London some people are thinking about perhaps organising some sort of Democratic response to alienation, oppression and exploitation.  Even in London anti-democratic, authoritarian clique-ists are putting on a democratic mask.

2] Globalised “free market” capitalism is facing multiple crises.  The financial crises appears to be under control, however finance actually is based upon the economy and the economy is beginning to tank.  Yes, beginning.  The economic downturn did not become serious until the 4th quarter of 2008.  This quarter expect to see lay-offs increase dramatically.  By this time next year people will be talking depression not downturn.  Of course the economy will never recover.  Get used to it.  Finally, a fiscal crisis is just starting.  Forty four states in the U.S. are now running deficits.  Although the federal government in the U.S. can seemingly run up massive debts the States have trouble selling debt.  They are up against the wall.  New York’s fiscal year begins April 1st.  Their revenue is falling rapidly and their costs are rising.  California is in even worse shape.  Their fiscal year begins July 1st.

The U.K., Ireland, Spain and a few other countries are in worse shape than the U.S.  As social and economic conditions of working people deteriorate political views become more radical.

3] The situation in Gaza (7th January) has become intolerable.  Governments throughout the Middle East and Europe, no matter how much they dislike Hamas and the PFLP are pressuring Israel to stop.  Egypt, Turkey and France are crying for a truce.  Every day that goes by increases the hatred that those peoples have for their governments.  Israel is hastening the overthrow of several anti-popular Arab regimes.  The destruction of Gaza will be very expensive, politically, for Israel.  The longer this incident goes on for, the more isolated Israel will be and the more vulnerable the anti-popular governments in the region will become.

4] On January 1st transit police in California shot a black man in the back and killed him.  This was done a point blank range.  He was lying on the ground face down at the time.  A video was made of the incident by a witness.  It is very clear.  There is no doubt.  There was no riot, unlike in Athens when a similar event occurred.

On the other hand on the night of Dec 31st over 1,100 cars were burnt in France.  What we see here is a radicalisation of the youth in Europe.  This is a point which should be followed closely.  A small shift in popular voting patterns in many Western European states will result in the new governments distancing themselves from U.S. hegemonic projects.

5] Revolutionary forces are continuing to grow in strength and influence both in Latin America and in Asia.  Two revolutionary models are making headway.  In Asia, the model of protected people’s war has been with us for decades and now appears to be assuming greater importance as the economies of the region deteriorate.  In both Asia and Latin America a model more closely aligned with the urban working class and its allies is also becoming more prominent.  Once again, as the promise of a better future under globalised  neo-liberalism proves to be a mirage: people are turning to Marxism-Leninism in both its urban and rural flavours.

Summing up:

Hopefully, throughout 2009 these trends will be reported on in Iconoclast.  From time to time, with any luck, this project will not merely move forward, but will help folks to understand the social-economic forces driving today’s political-economy.

By The Voice of Treason

Dawn is rising. The dawning of a new era is just over the horizon. Fantastic opportunities for organizing and empowering the working class are about to open up and allow for us to have a hand in shaping a new reality. I believe that these opportunities are going to be made available through Barak Obama. Not that I have any illusions about his plans for ‘Change’. I think that it will be through the failures of his administration that we will have chances for real change.

Should we have faith that a President Obama will be progressive? Those who do, might want to take a look at Howard Zinn’s bestseller “A People’s History of the United States” to review elementary lessons on how big progressive change occurs: through dedicated activism and the threat of radical reconstruction from below. It’s not about managing, manipulating, and propagandizing the electorate.  It’s about expanding and mobilizing the citizenry and creating a more participatory, responsive, and democratic political culture beneath and beyond corporate-crafted,mass-marketed electoral spectacles.

The events we are witness to are going to lead to a series of cataclysmic occurrences that will shock the public, and pull away the facade that covers the real world.  People will lose faith in the lies told by the media. They will seek answers in other places. People will start to believe what was, not very long ago, unthinkable. It has already started. The financial crisis has ordinary people asking about things like fair income distribution, participatory economics, collectivization, and workers control. They can see the people standing up to oppression in Greece, Thailand, Oaxaca, Burma, and elsewhere.

I think that US hegemony will continue to decline as the world becomes more diverse. US power peaked at the end of World War II, when it had literally half the world’s wealth and incomparable military power and security. By 1970, its share of global wealth had declined by about half, and it has remained fairly stable since then. In some important respects, US domination has weakened. One important illustration is Latin America, Washington’s traditional ‘backyard’. For the first time since European colonization 500 years ago, South America is making significant progress towards integration and independence, and is also establishing relations independent of the US.

In my view, it will be an impossibility for the Obama administration to overcome the combined challenges of the environmental crisis, the financial crisis, the economic crisis, with a diminishing American influence and the growing class consciousness in the population. People are starting to see the connections. They are beginning to put it together. As the comfort zone crumbles, average citizens will understand. The elites running this capitalist enterprise are the ones to blame for our current situation. Who else can put us on such a calamitous course? Not only killing the earth, but also strangling the economy with low wages and high debt. Why do we put up with all of this garbage then? Not for long my friends. The end is in sight. The first rays of the new day are breaking through the darkness that has surrounded us for far too long. Dawn is rising.