From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Thu May 1 01:24:08 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 03:24:08 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Black people become the enemy again: Obama's 'race neutral' strategy unravels Message-ID: <000001c8ab5c$5908f7c0$6401a8c0@office1pc> The following analysis by Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report, makes a lot of sound points. A US president has to be an enemy of the Black masses, and this has slowly become more and more open in the last 20 years. The racist campaign against Obama has also been a campaign to force him to take sides clearly not only with capitalism and imperialism, but also with white racism and white domination. He has retreated before this pressure, an inevitable result of his own attempt to run on the wish/myth/lie that race is no longer a central factor in US life and politics. His intemperate attack on Rev. Wright as a hater shows that he has crossed the Rubicon, qualifying himself for the presidency even while quite possibly fatally damaging his campaign for it. He calls on Black people to adopt the posture, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" toward the rulers, both as imperialists and as white people. And his own stance is an example of it. Clinton's response to the Bell verdict may indicate her judgment that Obama's retreat means she can be more covert -- she was getting pretty raw -- in turning toward electorally mobilizing the racist base against him, and can now even begin to re-enter the fight for Black votes. Obama tried to be race neutral without taking sides openly against Black people. Doing the opposite on Sister Souljah, Lani Guinier, Elders, welfare, the death penalty and so on were at the heart of the Clinton -- Mr. and Ms. -- political strategy, away from the anti-Black political base in an effort to win the anti-Black vote and campaign contributions. "Race neutrality", pseudo-nonracialism and color-blindness are the heart of the ideological cover of racism today, allowing the whites to be portrayed as having gone beyond race, while the racially oppressed Blacks are disdained for still being mired in this backward and outmoded concept. While Obama played the race-neutral game, the momentum of his campaign was not race-neutral but was based on a broad positive response to a Black candidate as a symbol for "change" in the United States. When it became clear that this was accepted and even inspiring among sections of the white population and among women and other oppressed peoples, the Black community swung solidly behind him and the tendency of the campaign to swing somewhat out of ruling class control and to inspire a strong counter movement reflecting political and social polarization became a factor. Obama is now doing his duty as an imperialist politician by helping the rulers bring order to the campaign, partly by pushing the Black community back to the margins, demobilizing the Obama base, and, on that basis, cajoling and otherwise pressure the increasingly openly racist (new style) countermovement to pipe down, since they are basically getting their way. In my opinion, the McKinney campaign has a vitally important propaganda role to play in this situation. Among other things, the electoral mobilization of racism will continue in one form or another, including against Obama, perhaps with more leeway since he dare not identify racism as a factor in the campaign against him. Fred Feldman http://www.blackagendareport.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id= 603&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=1 Obama's 'Race Neutral' Strategy Unravels of its Own Contradictions Wednesday, 30 April 2008 by Black Agenda Report executive editor Glen Ford The world views of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Sen. Barack Obama were incompatible from the start, just as the mythical American Manifest Destiny world view is directly at odds with the facts as perceived by Blacks in the United States. Wright finally forced Obama to choose sides in the conflict of racial/historical visions, and in doing so, performed a service on behalf of clarity. Obama lashed out in a startlingly personal manner, calling Wright a "caricature" of himself and linking the minister to forces that give "comfort to those who prey on hate." Rev. Wright exposed the flimsy tissues of so-called "race neutrality" in a nation founded on racial oppression. Obama's 'Race Neutral' Strategy Unravels of its Own Contradictions by BAR executive editor Glen Ford "Obama positioned himself at the political/historical fault line alongside the defenders of the Alamo and American Manifest Destiny." Things fall apart; some things, like an ill-tied shoelace, sooner than others. Barack Obama's strategy to win the White House was to run a "race-neutral" campaign in a society that is anything but neutral on race. The very premise - that race neutrality is possible in a nation built on white supremacy - demanded the systematic practice of the most profound race-factual denial, which is ultimately indistinguishable from rank dishonesty. From the moment Obama told the 2004 Democratic National Convention that "there is no white America, there is no Black America," it was inevitable that the candidate would one day declare the vast body of Black opinion illegitimate. That day came on Tuesday, April 29, when a battered and (truly) bitter Barack Obama made his final, irrevocable break with his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose televised Black Liberation Theology tour de force the preceding Friday, Sunday and Monday had laid bare the contradictions of Obama's hopeless racial "neutrality." It was the masterful preacher and seasoned political creature Wright - not the racists who had endlessly looped chopped snippets of the reverend's past sermons together in an attempt to make him appear crazed - who forced Obama to choose in the push and pull of Black and white American worldviews. Obama was made to register his preference for the white racist version of truth over Rev. Wright's, whose rejection of Euro-American mythology reflects prevailing African American perceptions, past and present. "Rev. Jeremiah Wright laid bare the contradictions of Obama's hopeless racial 'neutrality.'" Obama was less than eloquent. "All it was is a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in truth," said Sen. Obama, low-rating Rev. Wright's remarks at the National Press Club, in Washington, the morning before. Rev. Wright had become a "caricature" of himself, said the wounded candidate - another way of calling the minister a clown. Under questioning from reporters in Winston Salem, North Carolina, Obama swore up and down that he had never before, in 16 years as a member of Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ congregation, observed his pastor behave in such a way. The declaration rang patently false, as even a red-state Republican white evangelical observer would have recognized Wright's Press Club performance as that of veteran pulpit-master with a vast repertoire of church-pleasing moves and grooves to draw upon, all of them honed over decades for the entertainment of his parishioners - including Obama. But the senator was intent on giving the impression that Rev. Wright was - unbeknownst to Obama - a Jekyll and Hyde character, whose statements "were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate." An amazingly Bush-like turn of phrase! The man who married Barack and Michelle and baptized their children is now rhetorically linked to Osama bin Laden or the Ku Klux Klan. Clearly, this is what panic looks and sounds like when Obama's flimsy tissues of "race neutrality" are stripped away. He berates Rev. Wright and other Black voices for self-centeredness in failing to strike a balance between African American grievances and whatever ails white people. "When you start focusing so much on the historically oppressed," said Obama, "we lose sight of the plight of others." Obama is desperate to convince these "others" that he rejects anything that smacks of an Afro-centric worldview, as represented by Rev. Wright. "What became clear to me was that he was presenting a world view that contradicts what I am and what I stand for." Rev. Wright succeeded in drawing a line in the sand, whether that was his intention or not, daring Obama to take his stand on one side or the other. Race "neutrality" - an impossibility in the actually existing United States - went out the window as Obama in extremis positioned himself at the political/historical fault line alongside the defenders of the Alamo and American Manifest Destiny. As dictated by the logic of power, Obama furiously maneuvered toward "white space," shamelessly taking cover in a kind of populist white patriotism that has always branded Black grievances as selfish, even dangerous distractions from the larger national mission. Rev. Wright's "rantings" amounted to "a complete disregard for what the American people are going through," said Obama. "What mattered to him was him commanding center stage." "Obama's flimsy tissues of 'race neutrality' are stripped away." Obama had belabored the same theme in his Philadelphia speech on race, a few weeks earlier - a widely applauded piece of oratory that was at root an exercise in moral equivalence that equated white and Black grievances in the U.S., as if history and gross power discrepancies did not exist. Obama is as quick as any smug corporate commentator to dismiss as the ravings of extremists and those who "prey on hate" the very idea that U.S. imperialism is an historical and current fact. Chickens cannot possibly come home to roost in terroristic revenge as a response to American crimes against humanity, since "good" nations by definition are incapable of such crimes. It is beyond the pale to contemplate that the United States has Dr. Deaths on its covert payrolls dealing in ghastly biological warfare - the AIDS genesis theory. In order for his race-neutral strategy to appear sane, Obama must constantly paint a picture of an America that does not exist. This cannot be accomplished without mangling the truth, assaulting the truth-tellers, and misrepresenting America's past and present. Since Obama's candidacy is predicated on minimizing the pervasiveness of racism in American life, it is necessary that he cast doubt on the legitimacy of those with race-based grievances. Otherwise, he would be morally compelled to abandon his neutrality and side with the oppressed minority. Thus, he announces in Selma, Alabama that Blacks "have already come 90 percent of the way" to equality - a non-truth by virtually any measurement. He says the "incompetence was color-blind" in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, thereby deracializing all that occurred in New Orleans from the moment the winds died down to this very second. He claims that 1980s Ronald Reagan voters had understandable grievances due to "the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s," in the process cleansing the Reagan victory of any racist content. Race neutrality requires that Barack Obama become a cleanup boy for racists, historically and in the present day. At the same time, Obama is driven to loath most those people and facts that might lead to divisiveness. America's worst enemies are not the racists, but those who point out the facts of racism, as Obama explained in mid-March in Philadelphia: "Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all." Rev. Wright and his ilk, by this reasoning, are Public Enemy Number One, standing in the way of the racial harmony that is the natural order of things in Obama's mythical America. "Obama must constantly paint a picture of an America that does not exist." Ironically, in practice, race-neutrality also requires that Obama disarm himself in the face of racist attacks. "If I lose," he told reporters with a straight face, "it would not be because of race. It would be because of mistakes I made along the campaign trail." Perhaps it is fitting that, having absolved American racists of all manner of crimes against others, Obama also holds them blameless for their assaults on himself. That's his prerogative, as long as he's the only one being assaulted. But Obama was also dogged over the long weekend by the ghost of Sean Bell, whose death in a 50-shot New York City police fusillade was held blameless by a white judge. Many African Americans anxiously awaited Obama's reaction to the three police officers' acquittals on all charges. "We're a nation of laws, so we respect the verdict that came down," said Obama, when asked about the case by reporters in Indiana. "Resorting to violence to express displeasure over a verdict is something that is completely unacceptable and is counterproductive." That was it. Hillary Clinton, aware that the Sean Bell verdict was an outrage to Black America, issued a prepared statement: "This tragedy has deeply saddened New Yorkers - and all Americans. My thoughts are with Nicole and her children and the rest of Sean's family during this difficult time. The court has given its verdict, and now we await the conclusion of a Department of Justice civil rights investigation. We must also embrace this opportunity to take steps - in our communities, in our law enforcement agencies, and in our government - to make sure this does not happen again." It is difficult not to conclude that Obama distanced himself from the facts of the acquittal - except to counsel against violence and urge folks to "respect" the verdict, whatever that means - while Clinton had the sense to prepare a statement that sounded sensitive to Black anger and on top of developments in the story. The Sean Bell police and judicial atrocity revealed with horrific clarity that Black life continues to be systematically devalued by police in the United States, even when the officers involved are of African descent, as were two of the three shooters in the Bell case. The New York verdict shows that Black lives are devalued by all actors in American society, including Black actors: the essence of institutional racism. "Black life continues to be systematically devalued by police in the United States, even when the officers involved are of African descent." Institutional racism is alien to Barack Obama's version of the nation, a fantasy place where racial oppression has never been so endemic to the political culture as to overshadow the "promise" of America. In Obama's public vision, his Democratic caucus victory in 98 percent white Iowa, which began the cascade of Obama wins, proves that the U.S. is ready for profound racial "change." Left unnoted is the fact that Iowa incarcerates African Americans at 13 times the frequency that it locks up whites, the worst record in the nation. For people like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, mass Black incarceration and slavery are seamlessly linked, part of the continuity of racial oppression in the U.S. Most African Americans see the world the way Rev. Wright does - that's why he's among the top five rated preacher-speakers in Black America. This Black American world view, excruciatingly aware of the nation's origins in genocide and slavery, is wholly incompatible with the American mythology championed by Barack Obama. When the two meet, they are mutually repellant. The relationship between Rev. Wright and Sen. Obama has undergone "great damage," says Obama, understatedly. But the break was inevitable and is no tragedy, because it reveals the incompatibility of Obama's adapted world view with the body of knowledge amassed by African Americans since before the landing of the Mayflower. The truth is always a revelation. BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford at BlackAgendaReport.com From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Thu May 1 02:15:16 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 04:15:16 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Clinton continues racist camaign against Obama, Wright Message-ID: <000101c8ab63$7d252f00$6401a8c0@office1pc> www.thenation.com posted by John Nichols on 05/01/2008 @ 12:25am She asks the voters to vote on Wright's views! Not a ballot question, last I heard. This is going to be Obama's reward for his declaring himself an enemy as an "American" of a Black person excercising their right to have opinions. He has only fed the fires. Fred You can argue with Bill O'Reilly about a lot of things. But the Fox Newsman got something right Wednesday night. "(The) media in America," O'Reilly explained, "has become very corrupt, partisan." No viewer of O'Reilly's program could possibly disagree. Watching him get cozy with Hillary Clinton, his guest on Wednesday night, was one of the creepier moments in the creepy history of Fox's experiment in partisan broadcasting. And the pursuit of their mutual agenda -- discrediting Clinton's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama -- confirmed the the full extent of the corruption that results when a political campaign and a broadcast outlet start working together. O'Reilly and Clinton tag-teamed Obama on the only issue that Fox covers these days: the Rev. Jeremiah Wright O'Reilly pitched the softball: "Can you believe this Rev. Wright guy? Can you believe this guy?" Clinton replied: "Well, I'm going to leave it up to voters to decide." O'Reilly: "Well, what do you think as an American?" Clinton: "Well, what I said when I was asked directly is that I would not have stayed in the church. O'Reilly: "You're an American citizen, I'm an American citizen, He's an American citizen, Rev. Wright. What do you think when you hear a fellow American citizen say that kind of stuff about America." Clinton: "Well, I take offense. I think it's offensive and outrageous. And, you know, I'm going to express my opinion, others can express theirs. But, you know, it is -- it is part of, you know, just an atmosphere that we're in today where all kinds of things are being said." Clinton is Fox offended. Clinton is Fox outraged. Clinton may never be the Democratic nominee for president. But she's got the makings of a Fox New analyst: corrupt, partisan and ready to play ball with Bill O'Reilly. From sukant.chandan at gmail.com Thu May 1 03:32:04 2008 From: sukant.chandan at gmail.com (Sukant Chandan) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 10:32:04 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] PALESTINE: Khalid Amyreh's new website/blog Message-ID: http://nazionism.wordpress.com/ An evil state that will disappear one day Comment by Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem Just as Israel inaugurated its misbegotten birth with genocidal ethnic cleansing sixty years ago, the evil brat of Zionism is marking its 60th anniversary with yet another spate of bloodletting. On Sunday, 27 April, the Israeli "Defense" Forces (a more appropriate appellation would be the Jewish Wehrmacht) murdered a mother and her four children in Beit Hanoun, a northern Gaza suburb. The mother and her kids reportedly were having breakfast when an artillery shell fired from an Israeli Merkava battle-tank hit their home, killing them instantly and mutilating their bodies. The graphic, blood-splattered images of the mutilated children and their mother raised no eyebrows among Israeli leaders and the Zionist-Jewish public opinion. After all, these Nazi-minded and Nazi-hearted Zionists have been doing this for more than sixty years. And the world seems to be coming to terms with these crimes as a fact of life. This is at least how Israel views world reactions to its crimes against the peoples of the Middle East. ... FULL ARTICLE: http://nazionism.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/an-evil-state-that-will-disappear-one-day/ From laracrete at verizon.net Thu May 1 05:16:02 2008 From: laracrete at verizon.net (laracrete at verizon.net) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 04:16:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] (no subject) Message-ID: <257888.52042.qm@web84201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> no problems, no changes. continue learning from you.thank you, Lara From e.c.apling at btinternet.com Thu May 1 06:38:30 2008 From: e.c.apling at btinternet.com (Paddy Apling) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 13:38:30 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com In-Reply-To: <001501c8ab0f$a3e59390$0302a8c0@Nautilus> References: <4818BEE5.4050401@panix.com> <001501c8ab0f$a3e59390$0302a8c0@Nautilus> Message-ID: <4E06A4570F4648D7B95A0F2BDAC0D12F@PaddyPC> Correction - nobody has died of BSE. Some people, have died of CJD - no more probably than had previously died of the disease undiagnosed of this previously unrecgnised wasting disease. Remember "scientists" were quoted at the time of BSE as forecasting thousands, if not millions of deaths due to BSE induced CJD - but, in actual fact, the current findings are that the incidence in UK is no higher than in other countries which were never affected by the BSE outbreak in cattle. Just another case of computer predictions and government and media hype !! It is equally likely that the diagnosis that the cause of the BSE outbreak was meat and bone meal was equally wrong. No one has ever succeeded in producing BSE in an animal under laboratory conditions by feeding meat and bone meal, only by injecting brain material, or extracts made from it, derived from animals suffering the diseaase into healthy animals - which is far from causal proof of infection from food material, or even large amounts of meat and bone meal.. There is much too much assumption that correlation equals cause - and of course it is not; correlations merely point at possibly true causal connentions to investigate - and of course, if there is an alarmist tale to tell these are never done before ridiculous assumptions and forecasts are made !! Paddy http://apling.freeservers.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Pic?n ?lvarez" To: Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 11:15 PM Subject: Re: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com >> Lewis Wolpert, in his recent book Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, >> talks about 'virtual risks', those about which science is unsure - he >> includes global warming and BSE. > > How is BSE a virtual risk when people have died of it? Now I'd be the > first > to admit that it is perhaps such a low risk that worrying about it is > misallocation, and that the hysterical paranoia some people got about beef > is completely unjustified, but the existence--if not the magnitude--of the > risk is undeniable. > > --David. > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/e.c.apling%40btinternet.com > From nmgoro at gmail.com Thu May 1 06:49:28 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 09:49:28 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] A May Day speech by Evita, 1949 Message-ID: <2fa158550805010549v56ac1ebbxdf6926a73e0b15db@mail.gmail.com> [We have been commenting the complex relationship between Peronism and the working class on this list recently. The link below gives, for those who can understand Spanish well, a good example. As you will see, anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist appelations were not the only thing Peronism offered the working class. And this is at the highest moment of the regime (1949) and straight from Evita's mouth; Evita was the link between Per?n and the working class, so that what she said was most important for understanding the issue. Hope some can listen to it.] http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=RMSycMeeHmo You can stop the video as you wish to read the on screen notes by pressing "pause". To resume, just press "play". The button on the lower right corner takes you to full screen mode, Esc returns you to normal. -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From nmgoro at gmail.com Thu May 1 06:55:39 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 09:55:39 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] On the "Andean" tune in Evita's You Tube Message-ID: <2fa158550805010555q1217cf72h766876c9e17c4d80@mail.gmail.com> The tune is an "Andean" version of the "Marcha Peronista", truly a text boook example of self-alienation of a working class to a Bonapartist leader. The everpresent motto is "Per?n, Per?n, qu? grande sos", that is "Per?n, Per?n, how great you are". I tried to think about the issue in Russia, 1917, and could not imagine Russian workers yelling at Lenin's face "Lenin, Lenin, how great you are", nor LENIN ACCEPTING THE SELF ALIENATION OF THE CLASS WITH A GLEEFUL SMILE. This kind of things took many on the Left to consider Peronism a new variant of Fascism. -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From cleon42 at yahoo.com Thu May 1 06:58:04 2008 From: cleon42 at yahoo.com (cleon42 at yahoo.com) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 05:58:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] Iolani Palace Message-ID: <246329.99391.qm@web43142.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> CNN is reporting that a group of Hawaiian nationalists have taken over Iolani Palace, the historic home of the Hawaiian monarchy. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/01/hawaii.palace.takeover/index.html Does anyone have any information on this group or Hawaiian nationalism in general? To my shame, I've never really read up on the subject. Adam L From e.c.apling at btinternet.com Thu May 1 07:01:20 2008 From: e.c.apling at btinternet.com (Paddy Apling) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 14:01:20 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] Cuban professor challenges the past In-Reply-To: <001b01c8ab2d$e4f63d80$8a01a8c0@new1501> References: <001b01c8ab2d$e4f63d80$8a01a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: Thanks for that copy Walter - it really needs printing in every Jewish journal in USA and Britain. Paddy http://apling.freeservers.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Walter Lippmann" To: Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 2:51 AM Subject: [Marxism] Cuban professor challenges the past JUVENTUD REBELDE April 26, 2008 Cuban professor challenges the past From sobuadhaigh at hushmail.com Thu May 1 07:11:37 2008 From: sobuadhaigh at hushmail.com (sobuadhaigh at hushmail.com) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 06:11:37 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Video from Yahoo! - May Day mayhem Message-ID: <200805011311.m41DBb8l010346@cosmosweb04.bcst.mud.yahoo.com> Video of comrades in Turkey attacked by the police on May Day.: May Day mayhem http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=7631536 From glparramatta at greenleft.org.au Thu May 1 07:14:35 2008 From: glparramatta at greenleft.org.au (glparramatta) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 23:14:35 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] CPI (ML) Liberation on Nepal Message-ID: <4819C23B.7090304@greenleft.org.au> By *Lal Bahadur Singh*, /Liberation/, magazine of the *Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation)* Kathmandu -- ``Nepal Stuns World, Itself: Poll Peaceful, Turnout 60%'' -- that was the banner headline of the /Kathmandu Post/, the leading Nepal newspaper, on April 11, 2008, the morrow of the historic constituent assembly elections. It was stunning indeed that the constituent assembly elections in a Nepal torn by civil strife were held in a remarkably peaceful atmosphere, and with a huge participation of the people. However the real stunner was yet to come some hours later when by the midnight of April 11 it became clear that a Red Star was rising in full bloom over Sagarmatha, i.e. Everest, the highest peak in the world, in the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom. In an ironic reversal, at a time when people were speculating whether the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) -- CPN (M) -- would accept the verdict or return to the jungle again in the eventuality of their presumed certain defeat, when US ex-President Jimmy Carter was citing his Nicaraguan Sandinista experience and telling the world that Maoists had assured him that they would accept the results even if defeated, and so on and so forth, the people of Nepal catapulted the Maoists to power. It was indeed a great comment on the complete alienation from the popular masses and myopic vision of the middle-class opinion makers in Nepal, as well as the corporate media and powers-that-be in India and the world over, that until the election results started pouring in, they were all predicting a lead by the Nepali Congress party, and the Maoists in third place. To be in Kathmandu and Nepal was to have a real feel of the excitement that rocked Nepal in those tumultuous days, in its historic moment of epochal political transition from monarchy to republic, and that too under revolutionary Communist leadership. Full: http://links.org.au/node/385 Subscribe free to /Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal/ - at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373 From elishastephens at hotmail.com Thu May 1 07:53:04 2008 From: elishastephens at hotmail.com (Eli Stephens) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 06:53:04 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Obama, Clinton, Wright Message-ID: People say the strangest things. In "Clinton continues racist camaign against Obama, Wright," John Nichols ends with this: "Clinton is Fox offended. Clinton is Fox outraged." Left unmentioned in the article is Obama's comments, who called Wright's latest speeches "outrageous" and "destructive." So we'll match one "outrage" with another, and I'll say that "destructive" tops "offended." But according to Nichols, it's Clinton who needs to be chastised. On the other hand, in "Black people become the enemy again: Obama's 'race neutral' strategy unravels," Glen Ford praises Clinton for having "the sense to prepare a statement that sounded sensitive to Black anger." Her statement was better than Obama's (and it was a "statement," as opposed to a response to a question at a press conference), but not qualitatively. Clinton said, for example, "We must also embrace this opportunity to take steps - in our communities, in our law enforcement agencies, and in our government - to make sure this does not happen again." Compare that to Obama's "The most important thing for people who are concerned about that shooting is to figure out how do we come together and assure those kinds of tragedies don't happen again." She did, unlike Obama, note that "we await the conclusion of a Department of Justice civil rights investigation," but, no more than Obama, did she actually denounce the verdict, nor did she call for the DoJ to prosecute, only saying that she'll "await" their investigation (IS there such an investigation? I haven't heard of one). Over at CommonDreams yesterday (http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/30/8623/), Stephen Zunes, whom I respect greatly, had an article entitled "The Clinton Smear Campaign Against Obama," which was an excellent take-down of the despicable character of some aspects of the Clinton campaign. But in the course of that article, he wrote: "A sizable number of Democrats decided some time ago that they would not vote for Hillary Clinton ? even if she got the party?s nomination ? because of her dangerous views regarding presidential power: specifically, her belief ? illustrated in her October 2002 vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq ? that the president of the United States should be able to invade a country on the far side of the world that is no threat to us at the time and circumstances of his own choosing." But, as I wrote to him, Barack Obama has not ONCE, neither before the invasion nor after, voiced a principled objection against the invasion based on that principal, which he CLEARLY endorses as much as Clinton. His objections, restated on more than one occasion, are completely of the sort that it was a "dumb idea," the "wrong war at the wrong time," wouldn't be beneficial to U.S. interests, and so on. He has NEVER said the United States did not have the RIGHT to carry out that invasion. And indeed, his willingness to intervene again in Iran ("no options are off the table") based on identical kinds of issues (alleged and once again non-existent WMD) illustrate that perfectly. Furthermore, Clinton's willingness to believe that Iraq had WMD, which Obama uses against her like a club, is perfectly duplicated by Obama's similar willingness, expressed not that long ago, to believe the same about Iran. See the "Update" section of this post: http://lefti.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html#5057340285524805554 to remind yourself what he had to say, and also to see my thoughts on why Clinton and Obama's positions on Iran and Israel are for all intents and purposes identical. The fact is, on all sides, people continually want to exaggerate the differences between Obama and Clinton. They are, in actual fact, nearly non-existent. _________________________________________________________________ Make i'm yours.? Create a custom banner to support your cause. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Contribute/Default.aspx?source=TXT_TAGHM_MSN_Make_IM_Yours From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 1 07:59:52 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 09:59:52 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Lenin is not dead (Juventud Rebelde interviews Cuban philosopher) Message-ID: <33359453.1209650392871.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Cuba's perfectionistic critics apparently would prefer that the island remain poor, but pure. They fret over the island's use of tourism and its openness to foreign investment in joint ventures with the Cuban government. These eloquent critics, such as the IDOM (Grant-Woods), and other tendencies choose not to post their criticisms on this list. I cannot help that. My comments were not limited to those posted "on Marxmail", of course. Other examples of such perfectionistic critics include the British SWP, the US ISO, the British Committee for a Workers International (Taafe) and various others like Sam Farber and the rest who hold Cuba up to a standard so high that no actual living revolution could ever be able to satisfy their criteria. Let me know forget the Spartacists. And other, similar-minded critics include: Revolutionary Communist Party (Avakian), Socialist Labor Party (DeLeon), and various others. All hold Cuba to up to a standard no living revolution could ever satify. Just because such tendencies tend not to post their criticisms here, nor respond on Marxmail, doesn't mean that such perfectionistic criticism isn't in problem in today's political world. While it's true that one doesn't help Cuba by failing to look at, point to, or analyize its numerous problems. DWELLING on them as do the perfectionists whose approach was the focus of my remarks, doesn't help Cuba, either. Generally, the perfectionistic critics are either hostile toward, or extremely critical of, the Cuban leadership. Examples of perfectionism can be found here: http://www.walterlippmann.com/tacr.html These aren't the only perfectionistic critics. Walter Lippmann ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 1 08:33:58 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 10:33:58 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old Message-ID: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> This is the tenth anniversary of the Marxism mailing list (also known as Marxmail, the name of the accompanying website http://www.marxmail.org/) that was launched on May 1, 2008. It started off with about sixty subscribers (it now numbers 1103) who were fleeing the Marxism list that preceded it, which had been hijacked by supporters of the Shining Path in Peru, including one Adolfo Olaechea. Adolfo and his co-thinkers soon lost interest in the mailing list and went on to other projects. Adolfo, bless his soul, successfully defended himself recently against trumped up charges of terrorism in Peru and continues to rally people around the Maoist banner. With all due respect to the Maoist left, it was not the kind of political culture that lent itself to a free and open exchange of ideas. After the Maoist comrades had seized the moderator?s reins, they began expelling people left and right?yours truly was the first to go. Ironically, I had written a defense of the Shining Path a few months before I was booted.(http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/indian/sendero.htm) That did not save me from being punished as a ?Trotskyite?. Those stormy days of 1998 seem like a century ago, while my genuine Trotskyist past, from 1967 to 1978 now seems like a millennium ago. History marches on, to use a clich?. The Marxism list now has 1103 subscribers. I serve as moderator and Les Schaffer serves as technical moderator. I have had a long and fruitful collaboration with Les whose solid grasp of subscribers? psychologies, including my own, helps to keep the list on an even keel. To a large extent, my ideas about how to build a non-sectarian and non-dogmatic left are reflected in the way I moderate the list. Most of all, this involves a firm hand when it comes to any attempts to divide the list between 'Bolsheviks' and 'Mensheviks'. Since Internet mailing lists tend to operate as pressure cookers to begin with, the worst thing for a Marxism mailing list would be to artificially raise the temperature. Labeling people as ?revisionists? or ?reformists? is an invitation to the kinds of flame wars that destroyed the mailing lists that preceded Marxmail. While the list does not have nearly as many female subscribers that it needs, the global representation is pretty good?including many subscribers from the Third World. On a typical day, there will be posts from subscribers in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, and Great Britain. The political representation is also pretty good, with subscribers reflecting Trotskyist, Communist, state capitalist, and syndicalist traditions. The mailing list has grown by about 100 new subscribers per year and I expect that it will continue at this rate unless there is a qualitative change in the political situation. If there was a radicalization as deep as that of 1968 (another anniversary now being celebrated) I can easily imagine adding 3 or 4 hundred subscribers per year. Given the economic crisis we are now entering, as well as the prospect of continuing imperialist war and environmental degradation, that could be in the cards. Nearly 40 years ago, the Trotskyist sect that I belonged to embarked on a major infrastructure expansion campaign in anticipation of the same kind of future radicalization. Members gave millions of dollars to purchase an office building near the Hudson River and an expensive Web Press, which prints on continuous rolls of paper. The offices were seen as necessary to administer an explosive growth in membership and the Web Press would allow the massive circulation of party organs as the radicalization deepened. Although there were opportunities for the group after the 60s radicalization came to an end, they did not understand how to take advantage of them. Instead of growing, they shrank. The building and all the contents, including the Web Press, were sold a couple of years ago. Although there will obviously always be a need for ?dead tree? media such as books and newspapers, the Internet?which is a Web Press after a fashion?is as geared to our epoch as the Gutenberg press was geared to the epoch of peasant revolts. I like to think of the Marxism mailing list as the same kind of investment in infrastructure as the SWP?s office building and Web Press, even though it costs very little. In the coming years and decades, even after my ashes have been scattered in the Hudson River, Marxmail will enable revolutionaries worldwide to exchange information and debate ideas all through the auspices of a technology that originated in the American military?s research into how state power could be maintained after a nuclear war! Talk about contradictions? The Marxism list remains grateful to the support of Professor Hans Ehrbar of the University of Utah Economics department, one of the few schools in the country that allows scholarly critiques of the capitalist system to be mounted. Our mailing list operates on a computer that Hans donated and his technical support, along with Les?s, allows our communications to run smoothly. I would also wish our comrade Doug Henwood well, whose LBO-Talk mailing list was launched on the very same day as Marxmail. (http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/lbo-talk.html) Doug was a survivor of the early wild and woolly days of Marxism mailing lists on the Internet as well as senseless provocations from your moderator before I (and Doug) had reached our current Zen-like state of equanimity. From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 1 08:44:37 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 10:44:37 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] SocialistWorker.org announcement Message-ID: <4819D755.7020903@panix.com> Announcing...the new SocialistWorker.org http://socialistworker.org May Day marks the long-awaited launch of the redesigned SocialistWorker.org Web site. With this wholesale renovation of our site, Socialist Worker enters a new era. We plan, starting today, to begin publishing news and analysis daily on the Web--the kind of articles and features you know from the weekly Socialist Worker, but more often, and more of them. That will mean more on-the-ground reports of struggles taking place today that you never read about in the mainstream press. We'll add new columnists and commentators, such as John Pilger and Mike Davis, plus more articles from writers of the international left. Our current contributors--like Sharon Smith, Paul D'Amato, Lee Sustar, Lance Selfa, Elizabeth Schulte, Eric Ruder, Nicole Colson and many others--will get to write more often and in more depth. The new Web site has been designed to make it easier to find the information and analysis you're looking for. And you can keep up with what's new on SocialistWorker.org by subscribing to our regular e-mail alerts: http://socialistworker.org/subscribe/email Already, SocialistWorker.org gets tens of thousands of visitors each week. We expect the redesigned SocialistWorker.org to win more readers still. But for this to happen, we need you to help us spread the word--to friends, to coworkers, to fellow activists. Please take the time to pass along the link to our site. http://socialistworker.org --Alan Maass, editor From pance at rogers.com Thu May 1 08:56:46 2008 From: pance at rogers.com (Pance Stojkovski) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 10:56:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: <62595.76236.qm@web88004.mail.re2.yahoo.com> --- Louis Proyect wrote: > ... through the auspices of a technology that > originated in the American military?s > research into how state power could be > maintained after a nuclear war! Actually it would have stayed in the dungeons of obscurity if it wasn't for the new generation of nerds (also known as hippies) to bring it out into the open and available to every person (worker, intellectual or revolutionary) with a computer and a modem. Congratulations on your tenth anniversary and thanks for your hard work Louis and Les and all the comrades that contribute to the list. Pance. From craig at red-bean.com Thu May 1 09:13:37 2008 From: craig at red-bean.com (Craig Brozefsky) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 10:13:37 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com In-Reply-To: <4E06A4570F4648D7B95A0F2BDAC0D12F@PaddyPC> References: <4818BEE5.4050401@panix.com> <001501c8ab0f$a3e59390$0302a8c0@Nautilus> <4E06A4570F4648D7B95A0F2BDAC0D12F@PaddyPC> Message-ID: <78ebbac60805010813q52f1365fy240ec6d83719fd8c@mail.gmail.com> On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 7:38 AM, Paddy Apling wrote: > It is equally likely that the diagnosis that the cause of the BSE outbreak > was meat and bone meal was equally wrong. No one has ever succeeded in > producing BSE in an animal under laboratory conditions by feeding meat and > bone meal, only by injecting brain material, or extracts made from it, > derived from animals suffering the diseaase into healthy animals - which is > far from causal proof of infection from food material, or even large amounts > of meat and bone meal.. > > There is much too much assumption that correlation equals cause - and of > course it is not; correlations merely point at possibly true causal > connentions to investigate - and of course, if there is an alarmist tale to > tell these are never done before ridiculous assumptions and forecasts are > made !! Paddy, I hope you don't think I'm picking on you by responding to this, as I did to the previous comment about GMO crop destruction. That is certainly not my intention. Anyways, I would like to point out the following: from: There exists strong epidemiologic and laboratory evidence for a causal association between a new human prion disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) that was first reported from the United Kingdom in 1996 and the BSE outbreak in cattle. The interval between the most likely period for the initial extended exposure of the population to potentially BSE-contaminated food (1984-1986) and the onset of initial variant CJD cases (1994-1996) is consistent with known incubation periods for the human forms of prion disease. Now, I have not done a literature review of this, but it would appear that the CDC is contradicting your assertion, at least in spirit. I would blame the media much more than the scientists for the exaggeration and sensationalizing of these issues. The scientists and researchers are not innocent, as they have funding requirements too, but often times their research and comments are cherry picked by reporters. From giobon at comcast.net Thu May 1 09:22:57 2008 From: giobon at comcast.net (Bonnie Weinstein) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 08:22:57 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: Happy Anniversary! Let the scarlet banner fly! In solidarity, Bonnie Weinstein, socialistviewpoint.org From pieinsky at igc.org Thu May 1 09:47:27 2008 From: pieinsky at igc.org (Jay Moore) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 11:47:27 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4819E60F.1020200@igc.org> Congratulations and Happy May Day everybody! Workers and oppressed people of the world unite (it's about time)! If you have any news reports about May Day "stormings of heaven", rallies, protests, meetings or whatever in your geographical area, please send them to me and I'll try to post them on my Web site later today. jay www.jaysleftist.org From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 1 09:52:04 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 08:52:04 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Clinton assails Rev. Wright's remarks Message-ID: <001201c8aba3$4ded10a0$8a01a8c0@new1501> (Clinton's now going to try to keep the Wright issue alive. If he though he could eliminate the Wright issue, he's got another think coming. Here Clinton is, trying to rub Obama's nose in it some more. She's wearing a pink jacket in the photo, not a white sheet, but the message is quite clear.) =========================================================== http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-campaign1-2008may01,0,3151570.sto ry From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 1 10:11:42 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 12:11:42 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] High school indoctrination opposed Message-ID: <4819EBBE.1090908@panix.com> http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-laclairapr27,0,247646.story From the Los Angeles Times Give me the lesson without the spin A high school student finds conservative bias in his American government textbook. By Matthew LaClair April 27, 2008 Throughout my life, my teachers have told me that school is a neutral environment where my classmates and I can count on teachers and textbooks to provide us with the factual and unbiased information that will equip us for life. Lately, though, I've begun to wonder whether they really mean it. In my junior year of high school in New Jersey, my U.S. history teacher used the first week of class to preach his religious beliefs. He told students, among other things, that they "belong in hell" if they reject Jesus as their savior, that evolution and the Big Bang are ridiculous and unscientific theories, and that there were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark. When I confronted him in the principal's office, he denied making the remarks. What he didn't realize was that I had recorded the classes. But even after I informed school officials what had happened, they ignored my concerns. So after more than a month, my parents and I took the news to the media. At first, I was harassed and intimidated by other students. School officials ignored the harassment and even a death threat I received. Only after the story became national news did the school district begin to take us seriously. After lengthy negotiations (and against continuing opposition from the school board), we finally persuaded the district to address the teacher's false and inappropriate remarks. The Anti-Defamation League was brought in to teach the faculty about the separation of church and state, and experts in the fields of church-state separation, evolution and cosmology came to our school to conduct assemblies. After that, I thought I was done with controversy for a while. But now, in my senior year, I am back in the midst of it. In one of my classes, we use the 10th edition of "American Government" by James Q. Wilson, a well-known conservative academic, and John J. DiIulio, a political scientist and former head of President Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. (2005). The text contains a statement, repeated three times, that students may not pray in public schools. In this edition of the text, the authors drive the point home with a photograph of students holding hands and praying outside a school. The caption reads: "The Supreme Court will not let this happen inside a public school." I knew this was false. In fact, students are allowed to pray in schools; courts have ruled many times that a student's right to pray may not be abridged. What's generally impermissible is state-sponsored prayer, in which school officials lead prayer or students are called on or required to pray. It seemed clear to me that the purpose of the discussion in the textbook was to indoctrinate, not to educate. Continued reading revealed numerous other instances of bias, as well as erroneous and misleading statements. For example, the section on global warming begins with a few well-chosen words to set the tone: "It is a foolish politician who today opposes environmentalism. And that creates a problem because not all environmental issues are equally deserving of support. Take the case of global warming." The authors neglect to mention the growing scientific consensus on this subject. They dismiss those who are concerned about global warming -- that is, the overwhelming majority of scientists -- as "activists" motivated not by data but by "entrepreneurial politics." Those who deny or downplay it are described as "skeptical scientists." Pointing out dissent within the scientific community is appropriate. Suggesting that the majority, but not the minority, is politically motivated is not appropriate. If a controversy truly exists, then the authors should not instruct students which side to "support." I contacted a not-for-profit group called the Center for Inquiry. It enlisted support from scientists, including James Hansen, NASA's top climate scientist, and organizations, including Friends of the Earth and People for the American Way, to address concerns about the textbook. What is most distressing is not that some public school teachers preach their religion, or that some authors put politics ahead of education. It is that it is so rare for anyone to call them on it. This text is widely used. Yet to my knowledge, no one has challenged these incorrect and misleading statements. As Americans, we should stand up for our common values. We should champion education and settle for nothing less than the best. Our teachers should do the same and should not misuse their positions to promote their personal agendas. Matthew LaClair is a high school student in Kearny, N.J. From e.c.apling at btinternet.com Thu May 1 11:02:03 2008 From: e.c.apling at btinternet.com (Paddy Apling) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 18:02:03 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] On the "Andean" tune in Evita's You Tube In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805010555q1217cf72h766876c9e17c4d80@mail.gmail.com> References: <2fa158550805010555q1217cf72h766876c9e17c4d80@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <95C1BFCA30834A63A27F1FAAFB4A3F7A@PaddyPC> Goodoh Nestor (and not just for this message) Yes, me included - at the time. Opinion changed later, (probably *much* later). Paddy http://apling.freeservers.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "N?stor Gorojovsky" To: Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 1:55 PM Subject: [Marxism] On the "Andean" tune in Evita's You Tube > The tune is an "Andean" version of the "Marcha Peronista", truly a > text boook example of self-alienation of a working class to a > Bonapartist leader. The everpresent motto is "Per?n, Per?n, qu? grande > sos", that is "Per?n, Per?n, how great you are". I tried to think > about the issue in Russia, 1917, and could not imagine Russian workers > yelling at Lenin's face "Lenin, Lenin, how great you are", nor LENIN > ACCEPTING THE SELF ALIENATION OF THE CLASS WITH A GLEEFUL SMILE. > > This kind of things took many on the Left to consider Peronism a new > variant of Fascism. > > -- > > N?stor Gorojovsky > El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/e.c.apling%40btinternet.com > From e.c.apling at btinternet.com Thu May 1 11:29:31 2008 From: e.c.apling at btinternet.com (Paddy Apling) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 18:29:31 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> References: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: <2AED5B728548489D808265EA259DEFC7@PaddyPC> Hearty congratulations - and *thanks* to you and Les (a) for founding this list and (b) sustaining it through ten years, and (c) being able by such careful moderation to keep it (almost) free from the in-fighting so apparently inherent in the left. Bravo to you, boys, from a real old-stager Paddy http://apling.freeservers.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Louis Proyect" To: Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 3:33 PM Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old This is the tenth anniversary of the Marxism mailing list (also known as Marxmail, the name of the accompanying website http://www.marxmail.org/) that was launched on May 1, 2008. It started off with about sixty subscribers (it now numbers 1103) who were fleeing the Marxism list that preceded it, which had been hijacked by supporters of the Shining Path in Peru, including one Adolfo Olaechea. Adolfo and his co-thinkers soon lost interest in the mailing list and went on to other projects. Adolfo, bless his soul, successfully defended himself recently against trumped up charges of terrorism in Peru and continues to rally people around the Maoist banner. With all due respect to the Maoist left, it was not the kind of political culture that lent itself to a free and open exchange of ideas. After the Maoist comrades had seized the moderator?s reins, they began expelling people left and right?yours truly was the first to go. Ironically, I had written a defense of the Shining Path a few months before I was booted.(http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/indian/sendero.htm) That did not save me from being punished as a ?Trotskyite?. Those stormy days of 1998 seem like a century ago, while my genuine Trotskyist past, from 1967 to 1978 now seems like a millennium ago. History marches on, to use a clich?. The Marxism list now has 1103 subscribers. I serve as moderator and Les Schaffer serves as technical moderator. I have had a long and fruitful collaboration with Les whose solid grasp of subscribers? psychologies, including my own, helps to keep the list on an even keel. To a large extent, my ideas about how to build a non-sectarian and non-dogmatic left are reflected in the way I moderate the list. Most of all, this involves a firm hand when it comes to any attempts to divide the list between 'Bolsheviks' and 'Mensheviks'. Since Internet mailing lists tend to operate as pressure cookers to begin with, the worst thing for a Marxism mailing list would be to artificially raise the temperature. Labeling people as ?revisionists? or ?reformists? is an invitation to the kinds of flame wars that destroyed the mailing lists that preceded Marxmail. While the list does not have nearly as many female subscribers that it needs, the global representation is pretty good?including many subscribers from the Third World. On a typical day, there will be posts from subscribers in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, and Great Britain. The political representation is also pretty good, with subscribers reflecting Trotskyist, Communist, state capitalist, and syndicalist traditions. The mailing list has grown by about 100 new subscribers per year and I expect that it will continue at this rate unless there is a qualitative change in the political situation. If there was a radicalization as deep as that of 1968 (another anniversary now being celebrated) I can easily imagine adding 3 or 4 hundred subscribers per year. Given the economic crisis we are now entering, as well as the prospect of continuing imperialist war and environmental degradation, that could be in the cards. Nearly 40 years ago, the Trotskyist sect that I belonged to embarked on a major infrastructure expansion campaign in anticipation of the same kind of future radicalization. Members gave millions of dollars to purchase an office building near the Hudson River and an expensive Web Press, which prints on continuous rolls of paper. The offices were seen as necessary to administer an explosive growth in membership and the Web Press would allow the massive circulation of party organs as the radicalization deepened. Although there were opportunities for the group after the 60s radicalization came to an end, they did not understand how to take advantage of them. Instead of growing, they shrank. The building and all the contents, including the Web Press, were sold a couple of years ago. Although there will obviously always be a need for ?dead tree? media such as books and newspapers, the Internet?which is a Web Press after a fashion?is as geared to our epoch as the Gutenberg press was geared to the epoch of peasant revolts. I like to think of the Marxism mailing list as the same kind of investment in infrastructure as the SWP?s office building and Web Press, even though it costs very little. In the coming years and decades, even after my ashes have been scattered in the Hudson River, Marxmail will enable revolutionaries worldwide to exchange information and debate ideas all through the auspices of a technology that originated in the American military?s research into how state power could be maintained after a nuclear war! Talk about contradictions? The Marxism list remains grateful to the support of Professor Hans Ehrbar of the University of Utah Economics department, one of the few schools in the country that allows scholarly critiques of the capitalist system to be mounted. Our mailing list operates on a computer that Hans donated and his technical support, along with Les?s, allows our communications to run smoothly. I would also wish our comrade Doug Henwood well, whose LBO-Talk mailing list was launched on the very same day as Marxmail. (http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/lbo-talk.html) Doug was a survivor of the early wild and woolly days of Marxism mailing lists on the Internet as well as senseless provocations from your moderator before I (and Doug) had reached our current Zen-like state of equanimity. ________________________________________________ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/e.c.apling%40btinternet.com From tzsche at shaw.ca Thu May 1 11:42:46 2008 From: tzsche at shaw.ca (Steve Heeren) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 10:42:46 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old Message-ID: <481A0116.2000908@shaw.ca> louis: does your "1103 subscribers" include those (like myself) who check-in every day to the "latest 100 messages"? i do that to trim the amount of stuff being delivered to my inbox. in other words, i have marxmail bookmarked and go to it everyday. do i count as a "subscriber"? From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 1 11:48:30 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 13:48:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] ILWU press release Message-ID: <32383313.1209664110550.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> http://www.ilwu.org/press/2008/upload/ILWU_MayDayrls_FINAL.pdf ======================================= INTERNATIONAL LONGSHORE & WAREHOUSE UNION AFL-CIO ROBERT McELLRATH JOSEPH R. RADISICH WESLEY FURTADO WILLIAM E. ADAMS President Vice President Vice President Secretary-Treasurer For immediate release: May 1, 2008 Contact: Craig Merrilees 510-774-5325 Jennifer Sargent: 503-703-2933 John Showalter: 415-775-0533, ext 139 Longshore workers are standing down at West Coast ports: "We're standing up for America, we're supporting the troops, and we're telling politicians that it's time to end the Iraq war now!" More than 25,000 longshore workers at 29 west coast ports are exercising their First Amendment rights today by taking a day off work and calling for an end to the war in Iraq. "Longshore workers are standing-down on the job and standing up for America," said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath. "We're supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq." McEllrath says rank-and-file members made their own democratic decision in early February when Longshore Caucus delegates voted to take action on May 1. Employers were notified of the plan, but refused to accommodate the union's request despite plenty of advance notice. The employer group, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) consists of large carriers and port operators, most of which are foreign-owned. "Big foreign corporations that control global shipping aren't loyal or accountable to any country," said McEllrath. "For them it's all about making money. But longshore workers are different. We're loyal to America, and we won't stand by while our country, our troops, and our economy are destroyed by a war that's bankrupting us to the tune of 3-trillion dollars. It's time to stand up, and we're doing our part today." -30- ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 1 12:07:43 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 14:07:43 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <481A0116.2000908@shaw.ca> References: <481A0116.2000908@shaw.ca> Message-ID: <481A06EF.8090601@panix.com> Steve Heeren wrote: > louis: > > does your "1103 subscribers" include those (like myself) who check-in > every day to the "latest 100 messages"? Yes, it does. You are one of our "no mail" subscribers. This option allows you to post but not get email. From e.c.apling at btinternet.com Thu May 1 12:12:40 2008 From: e.c.apling at btinternet.com (Paddy Apling) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 19:12:40 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com In-Reply-To: <78ebbac60805010813q52f1365fy240ec6d83719fd8c@mail.gmail.com> References: <4818BEE5.4050401@panix.com><001501c8ab0f$a3e59390$0302a8c0@Nautilus><4E06A4570F4648D7B95A0F2BDAC0D12F@PaddyPC> <78ebbac60805010813q52f1365fy240ec6d83719fd8c@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <991AD2F0FEDA4AADAFA77514F52676B9@PaddyPC> Hallo Craig, I hadn't noticed any "picking" - and never bear any hard feelings anyway about arguments I get into !! It is, however, very pleasant of you to preface your comments as you did. As I am getting on in years (age 83 actually) I am less able to keep up with the current literature - but I am increasingly concerned about the tendency of so many of younger scientific colleagues to accept as proven causes things which are merely connected by statistical correlations not subjected to established criteria e.g. of Koch's postulates - or the criteria of random samples etc in statistics so well established by Ronald Fisher and JBS Haldane. However, whatever the current view of the CDC - and having been involved along with Lord Walsingham in the initial arguments during the BSE crisis (when I was in conflict with a majority of my former colleages, I have to admit) - the crucial tests which we advocated have never been done - money was never available. So I have no qualms about "sticking to my guns". The connections are made by Faith not by science - as in so many other things nowadays. Regards, Paddy http://apling.freeservers.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Craig Brozefsky" To: Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 4:13 PM Subject: Re: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com > Paddy, I hope you don't think I'm picking on you by responding to > this, as I did to the previous comment about GMO crop destruction. > That is certainly not my intention. From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 1 12:14:00 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 11:14:00 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] LA TIMES: L.A. business leaders joining May Day call for immigration raid moratorium Message-ID: <002901c8abb7$21ec2c70$8a01a8c0@new1501> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayday2-2008may02,0,205738.story From e.c.apling at btinternet.com Thu May 1 12:27:43 2008 From: e.c.apling at btinternet.com (Paddy Apling) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 19:27:43 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> References: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: <7AC0EE745AE8492298DBB45F3DC7841F@PaddyPC> Hallo Lou A further message to you and Les; it seems to me that since the last changes Les made to the setup (or perhaps it is because I have had to discard Eudora and revert to Windows Mail under Vista on the new PC) I seem to have lost the art oof sending messages to contributors off list There has been some recent exchange between Walter and me and between in which I thought my replies were going to the originator not the list - but in fact went to the list. Can you explain how one differentiates who one is replying to (messages appar to be from an individual with subect labelled [Marxism] - but replies go to the list even when you change Activists in Marxism etc to the address of the individual given in the incoming message addres box). Paddy http://apling.freeservers.com From mdriscoll at earthlink.net Thu May 1 12:33:23 2008 From: mdriscoll at earthlink.net (Ralph Johansen) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 11:33:23 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Hope on a May Day in the main ignored Message-ID: <481A0CF3.6040706@earthlink.net> Congratulations to Lou, Les and the usual conspirators Hope on a May Day in the main ignored in our land (except for Michele mi esposa, who just went out with her granddaughter to plant flowers) Meszaros's Beyond Capital @ p. 614: "To believe, as we are told, that the contradictions on the side of both capital and labor either do not exist, or that they will never be recognized and acted on by those who are suffering their devastating impact, requires also believing that people are blind idiots and mesmerized forever by the promise of capital's universally beneficial 'economic calculation', despite the system's monstrous failure directly affecting the life chances of thousands of millions. Marx's assessment of the development of social consciousness is much more plausible, emphasizing that 'the recognition of the product as his own, and its awareness that its separation from the conditions of its realization is an injustice - /a relationship imposed by force/ - is an enormous advance in consciousness, /itself the product/ of the capitalist mode of production and just as much the KNELL OF ITS DOOM as the consciousness of the slave that he /could not be the property of another/ reduced slavery to an artificial lingering existence, and made it impossible for it to continue to provide the basis of production' (MEW 1861-4 p.246, Marx's italics and capitalization)." From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 1 12:56:52 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 14:56:52 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Wow, does this ever answer my question about Facebook Message-ID: <481A1274.1040802@panix.com> Egyptian Islamists join call for general strike Tue 29 Apr 2008, 15:06 GMT By Jonathan Wright CAIRO, April 29 (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, on Tuesday joined the campaign for a general strike against the government on May 4, the 80th birthday of long-serving president Hosni Mubarak. Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mahdi Akef said people should stay at home on that day "in peaceful protest to demand solutions to the crises and to tackle the deteriorating conditions which the people are suffering". "The Muslim Brotherhood is against public policies which entrench corruption and despotism ... The executive has blocked its ears and shut its eyes to all calls for reform," he added. The prestige of the ruling establishment has been shaken over the past year by an increased number of labour strikes demanding higher wages to face inflation which has hit 14.4 percent in the year to March. Food prices from dairy goods to cooking oils have also hit record highs. A group of activists, mainly leftists and liberals, agitated for a national strike on April 6 to coincide with a strike by textile workers in the Nile Delta town of Mahalla al-Kubra, without much success outside the town itself. The Brotherhood, which can mobilise larger crowds than any other opposition force in Egypt, did not actively back that strike, depriving the protest movement of crucial support. Advocates of a May 4 strike, grouped on the social networking system Facebook, are demanding a minimum wage, salary rises linked to inflation, legislation and other measures to control prices, and the release of people detained in Mahalla. Two people were killed and more than 150 injured in Mahalla in riots spread over two days. The government, on the defensive after recent big jumps in food prices, quickly offered the Mahalla workers more money. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has promised that public-sector workers will get pay rises of at least 20 percent in July. The main Facebook group promoting the strike now has close to 74,000 members, up from about 60,000 a month ago. The Muslim Brotherhood did not state in detail the political demands behind the strike but the Islamist movement has been in the forefront of calls for fair elections and the rule of law. The Brotherhood has borne the brunt of a government crackdown on many forms of dissent over the past 15 months, and hundreds of members are usually in custody without charge. A May 4 strike also has the support of the umbrella protest movement Kefaya, which began in 2004 in opposition to a new presidential term for Mubarak or any attempt to install his politician son Gamal as his successor. Mubarak's current fifth term expires in 2011 and he has not said what he intends to do afterwards. His son Gamal, a senior official of the ruling party, has denied having any presidential ambitions but is widely seen as Mubarak's obvious heir. Issandr el-Amrani, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said it was natural for the Brotherhood to take a more confrontational attitude toward the government after a military court jailed 25 members on April 15. "But I don't really see that this strike in itself, even if the Muslim Brotherhood supports it, is going to be a decisive moment," Amrani said. (Editing by Giles Elgood) From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 1 13:03:36 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 15:03:36 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Letter from Iran Message-ID: <481A1408.4070000@panix.com> The Nation. Letter From Iran By Robert Dreyfuss This article appeared in the May 19, 2008 edition of The Nation. May 1, 2008 Across the street from the sprawling shrine to Fatima al-Masumeh, the revered sister of Imam Reza, the eighth Shiite imam, a group of campaign workers on a rooftop are busy unfurling wall-sized election posters for a conservative candidate in Iran's March parliamentary election. We're in downtown Qom, a city of 1 million about 100 miles southwest of Tehran. Qom is Iran's religious capital, the wellspring for a host of fundamentalist clerics who've ruled Iran since 1979, and it is an eerie place. Unlike some other cities in Iran, where urban professionals, merchants and the middle class try to push back against onerous restrictions on freedom of expression and women's dress, there's little evidence of that in Qom. Women are cloaked head to toe in black garments, and turbaned mullahs on motorbikes are a common sight. Under a brilliant blue sky, mourners are lining up to enter the shrine and pay their respects to Fatima, whose remains are entombed inside an Oz-like green-mirrored vault. Among the mourners, in formation behind a green banner, are a phalanx of grim-faced, muscled militiamen, members of the Basij corps, wearing black T-shirts and black headbands. The Basij is an estimated million-strong volunteer paramilitary force that serves as an adjunct to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and in 2005 the Basijis voted en bloc to help elect hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad president. I'm standing in the inner courtyard of the shrine, a vast public space surrounded by vaulted enclaves, towering minarets and spectacular entrance halls bedecked in blue, green and gold tiles. With me is Muhammad Legenhausen, 55, a New York-born, ex-Catholic professor of philosophy who converted to Shiism, changed his name from Gary and moved to Iran in the 1980s. Legenhausen tells me he teaches philosophy at four universities and institutions in Qom. At the powerful Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute, he also serves as an aide to Ayatollah M.T. Mesbah-Yazdi, who is widely seen as the chief backer of President Ahmadinejad and who has even been mentioned as a possible successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran's next Supreme Leader. It's true, says Legenhausen, that Mesbah-Yazdi was the power behind Ahmadinejad's 2005 candidacy. "He was concerned that the reformers had opened things up too far," Legenhausen says, with an odd twinkle in his eye, in his distinct New York-accented English. "On that, he agrees with Ahmadinejad 100 percent." But how, I ask, can you work for someone who supports a conference to deny the Jewish Holocaust? "Oh, that!" he says. "When we heard about that, Mesbah-Yazdi and I just rolled our eyes. That was all Ahmadinejad's doing. We said to each other, 'What can you do?'" He shrugs, as if to imply that this was just Ahmadinejad being Ahmadinejad. full: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/dreyfuss From mikedf at amnh.org Thu May 1 13:19:05 2008 From: mikedf at amnh.org (Mike Friedman) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 15:19:05 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1400.24.190.226.242.1209669545.squirrel@webmail.amnh.org> Happy B-day, Marxmail and congratulations, Lou and Les, on keeping this thing going that long! ... and happy MayDay! From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 1 13:21:24 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 12:21:24 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] May Day in America: Marking the Continuing Struggle Against Injustice Message-ID: <004401c8abc0$8cfc61c0$8a01a8c0@new1501> ("These expressions and demands take place as a US presidential campaign is underway; one in which candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama each favor maintaining second-class status for undocumented workers. They all support tougher borders, and -as senators- each voted to fund the wall along the Mexican border.") ==================================================================== May Day in America: Marking the Continuing Struggle Against Injustice By Luis Chirino http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/ As Cubans celebrated May Day -with huge marches in support of their socialist revolution, as joy and hope reigned in every heart of this people that has been the victims of a long-standing policy of hostility imposed against them by the United States- American residents simultaneously witnessed huge demonstrations demanding rights for immigrants, who are the domestic victims of US policy. For Americans, this year's May Day marks the third one in a row of mass protests demanding immigrant rights. Tens of thousands of US citizens are to demonstrate today in support of legal status for undocumented migrant workers and against raids and deportations, which have torn families apart, as media outlets report across the U.S. One of the biggest rallies was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, California, where over a million people took to the streets two years ago to participate in the "Great American Boycott." Last year, demonstrations calling for comprehensive immigration reform were marred by violent clashes with the Los Angeles Police Department, which claimed that it had prepared restraint tactics that included an electronic device that flashed crowd-control warnings in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Korean. An editorial in the US paper The Militant calls on the working people across the United States "to join hundreds of thousands nationwide in taking off work on May 1 and join protest actions to demand the immediate legalization of all undocumented workers, with no conditions." The call, which was made by Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. president Roger Calero, featured phrases like "Legalization for All," "Stop the raids and deportations," "End Social Security no-match letters." These are three major demands at the center of the concerns of workers in the most powerful country in the world, also known as "The Melting Pot," despite the fact that such melting is not complete or fair for all its residents. In Seattle, the largest city in the northwestern United States, hundreds -perhaps thousands- of supporters of immigrant rights were expected to demonstrate, since Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the entire state of Washington, according to local media reports. The march was scheduled to start in Seattle's Central District at Judkins Park and end with a mass rally at the Seattle Center. The main message to be conveyed by demonstrators was "America needs immigrant labor." "The U.S. ruling class -which profits from the super-exploitation of a large section of the working class lacking legal documents- stepped up its efforts to intimidate working people over the days leading up to May Day," read the editorial posted in The Militant. "The hated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency carried out raids at workplaces in nine states on April 16. This was an attempt to undermine the confidence our class has won in the streets during the last two May Days and intimidate undocumented workers into staying home this year," the editorial protested, stressing the need to set up an independent labor party that can fight for the broad interests of the working class. These expressions and demands take place as a US presidential campaign is underway; one in which candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama each favor maintaining second-class status for undocumented workers. They all support tougher borders, and -as senators- each voted to fund the wall along the Mexican border. There are no more comments or citations necessary about May Day in the United States, but we must just recall that amongst the Cuban people -and amidst their enthusiasm and joy for the achievements over the past 50 years- they have repeatedly expressed their solidarity with the exploited people in the United States and those around the world. World news/lach Cuban News Agency www.cubanews.ain.cu ainnews at ain.cu ======================================== WALTER LIPPMANN, CubaNews Los Angeles, California http://www.walterlippmann.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Paraiso bajo el bloqueo" ======================================== From kmccook at tampabay.rr.com Thu May 1 13:25:53 2008 From: kmccook at tampabay.rr.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Kathleen_de_la_Pe=F1a_McCook?=) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 15:25:53 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Hillary attack Message-ID: <4819E101.27829.114802D0@kmccook.tampabay.rr.com> I do not think the assertion that Senator Clinton is akin to a clan member because she expressed an opinion is fair or civil. This kind of attack is racist and demonstrates a pure vile hatred of women. === Kathleen de la Pe?a McCook http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis/mccook From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 1 13:38:05 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 15:38:05 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Latest Bill Blum anti-Empire report Message-ID: <481A1C1D.10603@panix.com> http://members.aol.com/bblum6/aer57.htm From mikedf at amnh.org Thu May 1 14:10:22 2008 From: mikedf at amnh.org (Mike Friedman) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 16:10:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Rev. Wright's honorary degree canceled by Northwestern In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1839.24.190.226.242.1209672622.squirrel@webmail.amnh.org> THIS is something that should generate a storm of protest. And it is something that Obama should -- but won't -- speak out against. -------------------------- Rev. Wright's honorary degree canceled by Northwestern Julianna Goldman May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Northwestern University withdrew an invitation for the Reverend Jeremiah Wright to receive an honorary degree at this year's commencement. Wright, former pastor to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, was selected to be honored at the June ceremony in Evanston, Illinois, on the recommendation of faculty committees, Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations, said in a statement. ``In light of the controversy around Dr. Wright and to ensure the celebratory character of commencement not be affected, the university has withdrawn its invitation to Dr. Wright,'' Cubbage said. [...] http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080501/pl_bloomberg/axcinkuxnrh8 From dbachmozart at aol.com Thu May 1 14:14:51 2008 From: dbachmozart at aol.com (dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 16:14:51 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Obama's Chickens Have Come Home to Roost In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CA79DF251A6CE1-1EFC-30AC@FWM-D36.sysops.aol.com> http://www.blackcommentator.com? -- see home page From dbachmozart at aol.com Thu May 1 14:46:05 2008 From: dbachmozart at aol.com (dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 16:46:05 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Iraq - the US corporate media's "greatest hits" In-Reply-To: <597934667.697662324@org.orgDB.mail.democracyinaction.org> References: <597934667.697662324@org.orgDB.mail.democracyinaction.org> Message-ID: <8CA79E37FCD9F65-1EFC-3315@FWM-D36.sysops.aol.com> On the fifth anniversary of George W. Bush's speech beneath the "Mission Accomplished" banner where he declared the end of "major combat" in Iraq, it's appropriate to recall the crucial role pundits and reporters played in triumphantly hyping the war. This FAIR media advisory was originally sent out in March 2006. http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2842 Media Advisory 3/15/06 'The Final Word Is Hooray!' Remembering the Iraq War's Pollyanna pundits Weeks after the invasion of Iraq began, Fox News Channel host Brit Hume delivered a scathing speech critiquing the media's supposedly pessimistic assessment of the Iraq War. "The majority of the American media who were in a position to comment upon the progress of the war in the early going, and even after that, got it wrong," Hume complained in the April 2003 speech (Richmond Times Dispatch, 4/25/04). "They didn't get it just a little wrong. They got it completely wrong." Hume was perhaps correct--but almost entirely in the opposite sense. Days or weeks into the war, commentators and reporters made premature declarations of victory, offered predictions about lasting political effects and called on the critics of the war to apologize. Three years later, the Iraq War grinds on at the cost of at least tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Around the same time as Hume's speech, syndicated columnist Cal Thomas declared (4/16/03): "All of the printed and voiced prophecies should be saved in an archive. When these false prophets again appear, they can be reminded of the error of their previous ways and at least be offered an opportunity to recant and repent. Otherwise, they will return to us in another situation where their expertise will be acknowledged, or taken for granted, but their credibility will be lacking." Gathered here are some of the most notable media comments from the early days of the Iraq War. Declaring Victory "Iraq Is All but Won; Now What?" (Los Angeles Times headline, 4/10/03) "Now that the combat phase of the war in Iraq is officially over, what begins is a debate throughout the entire U.S. government over America's unrivaled power and how best to use it." (CBS reporter Joie Chen, 5/4/03) "Congress returns to Washington this week to a world very different from the one members left two weeks ago. The war in Iraq is essentially over and domestic issues are regaining attention." (NPR's Bob Edwards, 4/28/03) "Tommy Franks and the coalition forces have demonstrated the old axiom that boldness on the battlefield produces swift and relatively bloodless victory. The three-week swing through Iraq has utterly shattered skeptics' complaints." (Fox News Channel's Tony Snow, 4/13/03) "The only people who think this wasn't a victory are Upper Westside liberals, and a few people here in Washington." (Charles Krauthammer, Inside Washington, WUSA-TV, 4/19/03) "We had controversial wars that divided the country. This war united the country and brought the military back." (Newsweek's Howard Fineman--MSNBC, 5/7/03) "We're all neo-cons now." (MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 4/9/03) "The war was the hard part. The hard part was putting together a coalition, getting 300,000 troops over there and all their equipment and winning. And it gets easier. I mean, setting up a democracy is hard, but it is not as hard as winning a war." (Fox News Channel's Fred Barnes, 4/10/03) "Oh, it was breathtaking. I mean I was almost starting to think that we had become inured to everything that we'd seen of this war over the past three weeks; all this sort of saturation. And finally, when we saw that it was such a just true, genuine expression. It was reminiscent, I think, of the fall of the Berlin Wall. And just sort of that pure emotional expression, not choreographed, not stage-managed, the way so many things these days seem to be. Really breathtaking." (Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly, appearing on Fox News Channel on 4/9/03, discussing the pulling down of a Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad, an event later revealed to have been a U.S. military PSYOPS operation--Los Angeles Times, 7/3/04) Mission Accomplished? "The war winds down, politics heats up.... Picture perfect. Part Spider-Man, part Tom Cruise, part Ronald Reagan. The president seizes the moment on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific." (PBS's Gwen Ifill, 5/2/03, on George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech) "We're proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who's physical, who's not a complicated guy like Clinton or even like Dukakis or Mondale, all those guys, McGovern. They want a guy who's president. Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple. We're not like the Brits." (MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 5/1/03) "He looked like an alternatively commander in chief, rock star, movie star, and one of the guys." (CNN's Lou Dobbs, on Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' speech, 5/1/03) Neutralizing the Opposition "Why don't the damn Democrats give the president his day? He won today. He did well today." (MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 4/9/03) "What's he going to talk about a year from now, the fact that the war went too well and it's over? I mean, don't these things sort of lose their--Isn't there a fresh date on some of these debate points?" (MSNBC's Chris Matthews, speaking about Howard Dean--4/9/03) "If image is everything, how can the Democratic presidential hopefuls compete with a president fresh from a war victory?" (CNN's Judy Woodruff, 5/5/03) "It is amazing how thorough the victory in Iraq really was in the broadest context..... And the silence, I think, is that it's clear that nobody can do anything about it. There isn't anybody who can stop him. The Democrats can't oppose--cannot oppose him politically." (Washington Post reporter Jeff Birnbaum-- Fox News Channel, 5/2/03) Nagging the "Naysayers" "Now that the war in Iraq is all but over, should the people in Hollywood who opposed the president admit they were wrong?" (Fox News Channel's Alan Colmes, 4/25/03) "I doubt that the journalists at the New York Times and NPR or at ABC or at CNN are going to ever admit just how wrong their negative pronouncements were over the past four weeks." (MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, 4/9/03) "I'm waiting to hear the words 'I was wrong' from some of the world's most elite journalists, politicians and Hollywood types.... I just wonder, who's going to be the first elitist to show the character to say: 'Hey, America, guess what? I was wrong'? Maybe the White House will get an apology, first, from the New York Times' Maureen Dowd. Now, Ms. Dowd mocked the morality of this war.... "Do you all remember Scott Ritter, you know, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector who played chief stooge for Saddam Hussein? Well, Mr. Ritter actually told a French radio network that -- quote, 'The United States is going to leave Baghdad with its tail between its legs, defeated.' Sorry, Scott. I think you've been chasing the wrong tail, again. "Maybe disgraced commentators and politicians alike, like Daschle, Jimmy Carter, Dennis Kucinich, and all those others, will step forward tonight and show the content of their character by simply admitting what we know already: that their wartime predictions were arrogant, they were misguided and they were dead wrong. Maybe, just maybe, these self-anointed critics will learn from their mistakes. But I doubt it. After all, we don't call them 'elitists' for nothing." (MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, 4/10/03) "Over the next couple of weeks when we find the chemical weapons this guy was amassing, the fact that this war was attacked by the left and so the right was so vindicated, I think, really means that the left is going to have to hang its head for three or four more years." (Fox News Channel's Dick Morris, 4/9/03) "This has been a tough war for commentators on the American left. To hope for defeat meant cheering for Saddam Hussein. To hope for victory meant cheering for President Bush. The toppling of Mr. Hussein, or at least a statue of him, has made their arguments even harder to defend. Liberal writers for ideologically driven magazines like The Nation and for less overtly political ones like The New Yorker did not predict a defeat, but the terrible consequences many warned of have not happened. Now liberal commentators must address the victory at hand and confront an ascendant conservative juggernaut that asserts United States might can set the world right." (New York Times reporter David Carr, 4/16/03) "Well, the hot story of the week is victory.... The Tommy Franks-Don Rumsfeld battle plan, war plan, worked brilliantly, a three-week war with mercifully few American deaths or Iraqi civilian deaths.... There is a lot of work yet to do, but all the naysayers have been humiliated so far.... The final word on this is, hooray." (Fox News Channel's Morton Kondracke, 4/12/03) "Some journalists, in my judgment, just can't stand success, especially a few liberal columnists and newspapers and a few Arab reporters." (CNN's Lou Dobbs, 4/14/03) "Sean Penn is at it again. The Hollywood star takes out a full-page ad out in the New York Times bashing George Bush. Apparently he still hasn't figured out we won the war." (MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, 5/30/03) Cakewalk? "This will be no war -- there will be a fairly brief and ruthless military intervention.... The president will give an order. [The attack] will be rapid, accurate and dazzling.... It will be greeted by the majority of the Iraqi people as an emancipation. And I say, bring it on." (Christopher Hitchens, in a 1/28/03 debate-- cited in the Observer, 3/30/03) "I will bet you the best dinner in the gaslight district of San Diego that military action will not last more than a week. Are you willing to take that wager?" (Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, 1/29/03) "It won't take weeks. You know that, professor. Our military machine will crush Iraq in a matter of days and there's no question that it will." (Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, 2/10/03) "There's no way. There's absolutely no way. They may bomb for a matter of weeks, try to soften them up as they did in Afghanistan. But once the United States and Britain unleash, it's maybe hours. They're going to fold like that." (Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, 2/10/03) "He [Saddam Hussein] actually thought that he could stop us and win the debate worldwide. But he didn't--he didn't bargain on a two- or three week war. I actually thought it would be less than two weeks." (NBC reporter Fred Francis, Chris Matthews Show, 4/13/03) Weapons of Mass Destruction NPR's Mara Liasson: Where there was a debate about whether or not Iraq had these weapons of mass destruction and whether we can find it... Brit Hume: No, there wasn't. Nobody seriously argued that he didn't have them beforehand. Nobody. (Fox News Channel, 4/6/03) "Speaking to the U.N. Security Council last week, Secretary of State Colin Powell made so strong a case that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is in material breach of U.N. resolutions that only the duped, the dumb and the desperate could ignore it." (Cal Thomas, syndicated column, 2/12/03) "Saddam could decide to take Baghdad with him. One Arab intelligence officer interviewed by Newsweek spoke of 'the green mushroom' over Baghdad--the modern-day caliph bidding a grotesque bio-chem farewell to the land of the living alongside thousands of his subjects as well as his enemies. Saddam wants to be remembered. He has the means and the demonic imagination. It is up to U.S. armed forces to stop him before he can achieve notoriety for all time." (Newsweek, 3/17/03) "Chris, more than anything else, real vindication for the administration. One, credible evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Two, you know what? There were a lot of terrorists here, really bad guys. I saw them." (MSNBC reporter Bob Arnot, 4/9/03) "Even in the flush of triumph, doubts will be raised. Where are the supplies of germs and poison gas and plans for nukes to justify pre-emption? (Freed scientists will lead us to caches no inspectors could find.) What about remaining danger from Baathist torturers and war criminals forming pockets of resistance and plotting vengeance? (Their death wish is our command.)" (New York Times' William Safire, 4/10/03) ****** Our subscriber list is kept confidential. To unsubscribe from this list at any time, visit our web at: http://www.demaction.org/fair/unsubscribe.jsp and follow the instructions. Or send an email to fair at democracyinaction.org with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Feel free to respond to FAIR ( fair at fair.org ). We can't reply to everything, but we will look at each message. We especially appreciate documented examples of media bias or censorship. And please send copies of your email correspondence with media outlets, including any responses, to fair at fair.org. Your donation to FAIR goes a long way. Help us hold mainstream media accountable. 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To find the CounterSpin station nearest you, visit http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=115 FAIR (212) 633-6700 http://www.fair.org/ E-mail: fair at fair.org From jbustelo at gmail.com Thu May 1 15:25:11 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 17:25:11 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] It takes a Klan to win the nomination [was: Hillary attack] In-Reply-To: <4819E101.27829.114802D0@kmccook.tampabay.rr.com> References: <4819E101.27829.114802D0@kmccook.tampabay.rr.com> Message-ID: <0c9d01c8abd1$d799e200$040ba8c0@albanta> Kathleen de la Pe?a McCook writes: "I do not think the assertion that Senator Clinton is akin to a clan member because she expressed an opinion is fair or civil." That would be "Klan," with a K, not "clan" with a C. As in: "It take a village of raise a child, but it takes the Klan to defeat Obama." The first half being the name of a book someone wrote for her, the second being the REAL operating principle of her current campaign. Seriously, Mrs. Clinton has *chosen* to wage an increasingly racist campaign against Barack Obama. She is drawing votes by the tens of thousands from the likes of Mississippi Republicans and Pennsylvania newly-minted "Democrats" who say if SHE wins the nomination, they'll vote for McCain. I know, the "cover" story is that this is "tactical" voting by Republicans who are such political wonks they've figured out Obama will be the stronger candidate in the fall, nothing to do with his race: "Are you sure he's Black? I didn't even notice." Yeah, Wright. Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton took the time to give Bill O'Reilly an hour-long interview with less than a week to go before her do-or-die North Carolina and Indiana primaries. Topic #1 -- N*****rs and their churches, I mean, Rev. Wright. Q: Rev Wright -- can you believe this guy? A. [Big shit-eating grin on her face]: Well, I'm going to leave it up to the voters to decide. Q. What do you think as an American, you're an American [translation for those who need it: "you're white"]: A. Well, what I said when I was asked directly is that I would not have stayed in that church. Q. No No No No. but you're an American Citizen, I'm an American Citizen, he's an American Citizen, Reverend Wright. What do you think when you hear a fellow American Citizen say that stuff about America. What do you think? A. Well, I take offense at it. I think it's offensive and outrageous. And I'm going to express my opinion. Others can express theirs. Now, if you were to ask me, what's offensive, outrageous and RACIST is the vicious way that Faux News and others are systematically mis-representing Wright's (real) views as well as the way Obama is being held to account for views HE has never expressed, and I think it is true when he said that everything his campaign has been about shows his views are antithetical to those of his pastor on the points of controversy (I also thing Wright is right and Obama wrong on those points, but that's another post, which I wrote a few weeks ago). The operative point here is that it is guilt-by-association, McCarthyism of the purest water. Obama is part of the great international Jewish Communist ... I mean great international Black Christian Muslim ... conspiracy. So does Mrs. Clinton go out and boldly denounce this? No Way. She goes out to ASSOCIATE herself with the whole racist campaign. And VERY CONSCIOUSLY goes out to appeal to THOSE folks, by going on "The Factor," to ask for THEIR support. Instead of saying, if you're voting against Obama because he's Black, then I don't want your vote. FACE IT: Mrs. Clinton is running a typical Atwater/Rove racist campaign. She is *consciously* and *deliberately* and with *malice aforethought* going after the white-sheet vote. Proof once again that the Panthers were right. Scratch a liberal, find a pig. Joaquin From mjs at smithbowen.net Thu May 1 15:28:14 2008 From: mjs at smithbowen.net (Michael Smith) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 17:28:14 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Hillary attack In-Reply-To: <4819E101.27829.114802D0@kmccook.tampabay.rr.com> References: <4819E101.27829.114802D0@kmccook.tampabay.rr.com> Message-ID: <200805011728.14515.mjs@smithbowen.net> On Thursday 01 May 2008 15:25:53 Kathleen de la Pe?a McCook wrote: > I do not think the assertion that Senator Clinton is akin to a clan > member because she expressed an opinion is fair or civil. > This kind of attack is racist and demonstrates a pure vile hatred of > women. It certainly demonstrates a hatred of Hillary -- which some of us think the lady has richly deserved. But where on earth does racism come into it? From markalause at gmail.com Thu May 1 15:35:55 2008 From: markalause at gmail.com (Mark Lause) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 17:35:55 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> References: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: Congratulations to all who've made it a success, particularly to Louis whose managed to build something very unique here. For all the buffalo chips dropped here--perhaps because of them--it remains a remarkably fertile field. Solidarity! Mark L. From jbustelo at gmail.com Thu May 1 16:26:27 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 18:26:27 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> References: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: <0ca101c8abda$661bfe70$040ba8c0@albanta> I think in addition to what Louis has said, I think something else should be noted, which is that Marxmail has served as one point of convergence and discussion for what I think is an emerging ... not current, that is too strong a word, but drift on the revolutionary Marxist left. One of its main contributions is a rejection of (at least) a narrow, pseudo-Leninist, "party building" perspective that holds the Russian Revolution (or rather, a certain interpretation of its lessons, almost unanimously upheld for half a century, and I daresay majority-supported even today) as the key to revolutionary activity. Marxmail didn't originate this trend -- Solidarity in the U.S. (albeit more in practice than in theory) is certainly in the same ballpark, and it antedates Marxmail by a decade -- and it is a broad one, encompassing at one end comrades like the DSP in Australia, and, from what I've heard though I don't follow them closely, groups like the French LCR and others associated with the (for lack of a better term) Mandel Fourth International -- and at the other end the hard core "anti-Zinovievists" like Louis. It is far from being a coherent current (that's why I call it a drift) and further evolution will surely lead to different currents, but what it has in common is the debunking of a whole series of sacred-cow myths about "the Leninist Party," insofar as that refers to the grouping associated with V.I. Lenin leading up to the Russian Revolution in 1917. In addition to countless conjunctural political issues, over Marxmail's decade-long history there's been an on-again, off-again discussion of these questions that I believe is having a profound influence on the left. It is not the only space where such as discussion is going on, but it is by far the most accessible and most serious that I am acquainted with. Joaquin From Shacht at aol.com Thu May 1 16:45:15 2008 From: Shacht at aol.com (Shacht at aol.com) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 18:45:15 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Hillary attack Message-ID: The simple point of what is going on is that Hillary Clinton is presenting herself as a would be leader of a not as yet proto-fascist movement: China Bashing Race Baiting War Mongering Chauvanistic Manipulative Dishonest Dedicated to Capitalism Based on a disoriented and demoralized working class rife with racism and resentment fueled by a collapsing economy. We've seen this before. **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From suarsos at alphalink.com.au Thu May 1 17:17:16 2008 From: suarsos at alphalink.com.au (Tom O'Lincoln) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 09:17:16 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old Message-ID: <000d01c8abe1$7f08e5e0$0201a8c0@gx270> While I respectfully disagree with those who see Marxmail as a model for the future shape of the revolutionary left, I do think it's a model for how to run an internet discussion forum. Apart from sheer hard work, Louis and Les have made a remarkable contribution in terms of their political nous, patience and ability to make judgements about how to handle vexed situations. Many thanks. From glparramatta at greenleft.org.au Thu May 1 18:22:22 2008 From: glparramatta at greenleft.org.au (glparramatta) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 10:22:22 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> References: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: <481A5EBE.1060406@greenleft.org.au> I want to add my voice of the congratulations for Marxmail's reaching its tenth birthday. It has become an essential part of the global left's (at least the English-speaking part) daily routine. I found its discussions and debates -- if sometimes frustrating -- and information-sharing cannot be ignored. Even a dreaded Zinovievist of the DSP like me finds it useful. Let's hope our ``love-hate'' relationship continues for another ten years! It is through Marxmail that many of your readers have become regular visitors to Green Left Weekly (http://www.greenleft.org.au) and Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal (http:/links.org.au). Norm. Louis Proyect wrote: > This is the tenth anniversary of the Marxism mailing list > From jonflanders at jflan.net Thu May 1 19:39:42 2008 From: jonflanders at jflan.net (Jon Flanders) Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 21:39:42 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Obama's Chickens Have Come Home to Roost In-Reply-To: <8CA79DF251A6CE1-1EFC-30AC@FWM-D36.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CA79DF251A6CE1-1EFC-30AC@FWM-D36.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <1209692382.6046.13.camel@localhost> Wow, this is truly an significant article, given the BC's up to now support for Obama. It should be noted that the same issue carries a statement by Cynthia McKinney on the Sean Bell shooting. Jon Flanders On Thu, 2008-05-01 at 16:14 -0400, dbachmozart at aol.com wrote: > > http://www.blackcommentator.com? -- see home page > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/jonflanders%40jflan.net From farmelantj at juno.com Thu May 1 19:49:44 2008 From: farmelantj at juno.com (Jim Farmelant) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 21:49:44 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old Message-ID: <20080501.214945.2960.1.farmelantj@juno.com> On Thu, 01 May 2008 10:33:58 -0400 Louis Proyect writes: > This is the tenth anniversary of the Marxism mailing list (also known > as > Marxmail, the name of the accompanying website > http://www.marxmail.org/) > that was launched on May 1, 2008. It started off with about sixty > subscribers (it now numbers 1103) who were fleeing the Marxism list > that Happy tenth anniversary! Jim Farmelant From anthony.boynton at gmail.com Thu May 1 19:58:51 2008 From: anthony.boynton at gmail.com (Anthony Boynton) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 20:58:51 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] =?windows-1252?q?Impressions_of_May_Day=2C_2008_in_Bogo?= =?windows-1252?q?t=E1?= Message-ID: <7b8a676d0805011858x161743e4p2822b1e7ea107729@mail.gmail.com> Impressions of May Day, 2008 in Bogot? Today I went to the May Day demonstration in the Plaza Bolivar here in Bogot?. It's the first time in many years that I have attended one of these events. Two march routes, each around thirty blocks long, fed the main demonstration at the Plaza Bolivar. The demo was pretty interesting, because it showed one more sign of the revival of the non-guerrila left in Colombia ? despite the almost continuous bloody repression of the last six decades in this country. First, a detour into history.The plaza is sort of a living symbol of Colombian political reality. On the southern side, in front of which was the sound stage for this demo, is the Capitol. It houses Colombia's Congress, 25% or more of whose members are in jail, fugitives, or under investigation for ties to the paramilitary organizations here. On the western side is the Alcadia, city hall ? currently occupied by Alcade Samuel Moreno a leader of the Polo Democratico Alternativo and grandson of military dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. The Polo has controlled city hall for 5 years now. On the northern side of the Plaza stands the Palace of Justice, home of the Supreme Court. Currently the Supreme Court and President Alvaro Uribe Velez are locked in a battle that could turn into a Constitutional crisis, one of several potential constitutional crises here. The building itself is the third Palace of Justice. The first was destroyed by a fire during the Bogotazo in 1948. The Bogotazo was the uprising that shook Colombia's capitol city following the assasination of Liberal Party Presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitain, and opened the gates for "La Violencia" the nearly two decades of very violent political warfare between Liberals and Conservatives which led, among other things, to the formation of the modern FARC, and to the modern paramilitaries. The second Palacio de Justicia was destroyed by the Colombian army after it had been occupied by armed guerrillas of M-19. M-19 was the guerrilla movement descended from the political party of Rojas Pinilla. M-19 later made a peace deal with the government ? the deal that forms the basis of the current constitution of Colombia. The political descendants of M-19 make up one of the most important currents within the Polo Democratico Alternativo. And on the Eastern side of the Plaza sits the Cathedral. The Catholic Church is the gray eminence of Colombian politics, gray because its black robes are fading, but black and white and red all over ? not like the newspaper or the nun in the blender, but like the paramilitary butchers the church has sponsored and protected since Spain arrived here in the Andes. This is the bulwark of all that is reactionary in Colombia, and it has its tentacles everywhere. It is fading, and faded, but hardly out of action. The sponsors of the event were the Polo Democratico Alternativo and the three trade union federations: CUT, CGT, and CCT . Their banners hung from the Capitol and the city hall. The marches began sometime around ten, and soon contingents began to fill the Plaza. it is pretty hard to estimate how many people participated because as the plaz filled, many people left. They marched, and left. Between 11:00 and 1:00 there must have been a steady 10,000 people in the plaza, but maybe twice that number had arrived in the plaza. By 1:00 more contingents were still arriving. Orgaizations of the displaced, survivors of the massacre of the Union Patriotica, and the Polo probably had the largest contingents. Many, many union contingents marched, but none appeared to be very large, or lively. The most impressive contingents were those of university and high school students ? mostly hooded and wearing black ? Rude Boys, Anarchists, Bloque Obrero, and the Anti-imperialists, each of these contingents had between 50 and a few hundred members. The anti-imperialist contingent came into conflict with the police sometime after one PM. More on theat later. The communist left was present in force, with many different groups with Red banners, Maoists, Trotskyists, traditonal CP, and many others with red banners with hammers and sickles but no clear organizational affiliation. The interesting thing about these contingents was that, as far as I could see they were led by "veterans" ? older people in their 50's or 60's ? but full of young people between maybe 15 and 20, the same ages as the ranks of the Rude Boys, Bloque Obrero, and Anti-imperialists. The dominant politics of the speeches and banners were calls for the resignation of Uribe, and the Congress. Many banners called for a Constitutent Assembly. this is now the central slogan of the Polo, and is supported by many ? but perhaps not all ? of the organizations participating in the demo. We left shortly after one to have lunch. The Plaza is located on the western fringe of the neighborhood called Candelaria. This is the old colonial neighborhood of the city, which is also the center of many of the city's main museums and theaters, and is the most bohemian of the city's neighborhoods. It is a place where you can find lots of restaurants, most of them affordable. As we were leaving the confrontation between the police and the "Anti-imperialists" had begun. The police here use anti-crowd tanks with tear gas mortars and water cannon, the more confrontational demonstrators here throw explosive potatoes at the police. These are filled with broken glass, nails, etc. So we decided we should walk a few blocks further away before finding a place to eat, just in case. We found a little restaurant near the Botero Museum ? pretty cheap prices, 7,000 pesos for lunch ? and went in. Just as soup was served people started running by the restaurant. Then there was a boom, and tear gas started to come in the front door. There were a few European tourists who spoke very little Spanish who tried to leave the restaurant. We advised them not to. After the tear gas cleared we finished our lunch. The tourists left. We decided not to go back to the demo. Now I hav a collection of the various little left newsappers that are hard to find here ? weekly and monthly Maoist, Trotksyist, anarcho- whatever, and other papers and a pile of leaflets. The thing is, the non-guerrilla left here is alive, and growing. It is centered in the Polo, but is much more than that. Anthony From anthony.boynton at gmail.com Thu May 1 20:18:58 2008 From: anthony.boynton at gmail.com (Anthony Boynton) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 21:18:58 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] Led by Pelosi, Democrats plan largest war spending ever Message-ID: <7b8a676d0805011918w18294413x9e99d8dea2adec76@mail.gmail.com> As much as I am a fan of Nancy Pelosi's stylish shoes and willingness to debate in a North Beach bar without losing her smile, I have to say that she has always been an imperialist throat slitter who knows which side her bread is buttered on. This is one of the reasons she has risen to the top of her party, she knows the rules, loves them, and plays by them when they suit her. Anthony (in reply to) [Marxism] Led by Pelosi, Democrats plan largest war spending ever * From: Eli Stephens * Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:10:17 -0700 House Democratic leaders are putting together the largest Iraq war spending bill yet, a measure that is expected to fund the war through the end of the Bush presidency and for nearly six months into the next president's term. From Dbachmozart at aol.com Thu May 1 21:34:02 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 23:34:02 EDT Subject: [Marxism] five ways to think about Iran under the gun Message-ID: Pepe Escobar | The Iranian Chessboard Pepe Escobar writes for TomDispatch.com about the perspective from Iran as this week the US floats a second aircraft carrier battle group into the Persian Gulf: "What does the world look like from Tehran? Here are five ways to think about Iran under the gun and to better decode the Iranian chessboard." <_http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050108S.shtml_ (http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050108S.shtml) > **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From causecollector at msn.com Thu May 1 23:21:02 2008 From: causecollector at msn.com (John Obrien) Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 22:21:02 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] A May Day speech by Evita, 1949 and some baggage to remember In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805010549v56ac1ebbxdf6926a73e0b15db@mail.gmail.com> References: <2fa158550805010549v56ac1ebbxdf6926a73e0b15db@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Complex relationship indeed! The facts remain as I previosuly stated about Evita and her husband taking funds and support from Nazi war criminals. The record is there and words can not dismiss that thousands of European fascists were given refuge by the Perons, who personally benefitted from this wealth. > Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 09:49:28 -0300> From: nmgoro at gmail.com> Subject: [Marxism] A May Day speech by Evita, 1949> To: causecollector at msn.com> > [We have been commenting the complex relationship between Peronism and> the working class on this list recently. > From ratbagradio at gmail.com Thu May 1 23:27:39 2008 From: ratbagradio at gmail.com (Ratbag Radio) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 00:27:39 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] LeftCast: New Zealand's Residents Action Movement Message-ID: <57b410090805012227k4dedb26cw6a00c881e9c86564@mail.gmail.com> Tipping point in New Zealand politics at the grassroots: The Residents Action Movement http://leftcast.blogspot.com/ Listen on line - or - Download -- or - Subscribe The Residents Action Movement (or RAM) is a left wing local government electoral ticket in the Auckland Region of New Zealand that is in the process of becoming a national-level political party to contest the 2008 elections. RAM can be characterised as as broad left coalition, stretching from social liberals, community activists and former National Party members to social democrats, democratic socialists and left-wing radicals. Its chairperson is currently Grant Morgan, who is also a leading member of Socialist Worker (Aotearoa). [Source Wikipedia] This is an interview with Grant Morgan (RAM chair), Daphne Lawless (a RAM candidate in last year's Auckland Regional Council election and is a current member of the RAM Executive) and Oliver Woods, RAM co-organiser. It was recorded by telephone from Australia on May 1st. Other recent LeftCast audio episodes: *John Bellamy Foster on the global financial crisis: 'Nobody knows where the toxic debt is buried and how much there is' *Dick Nichols:Radical social action to stop climate change *Michael Karadjis: Is Kosova allowed to declare independence? *Graham Matthews: is this the beginning of the end of Work Choices? *David Spratt : Climate CODE RED! *Invasion Day 2008 *Kamala Emanuel: Climate Change/Social Change Conference *Cam Walker interview: Climate Change Convergence *Pakistan after Bhutto's death ___________________________________________ RatbagMedia https://ratbagmedia.wikispaces.com/ Phone:07 33331805 Email/GoogleTalk RRN: ratbagradio at gmail.com ___________________________________________ From mqduck at sonic.net Fri May 2 02:37:25 2008 From: mqduck at sonic.net (Jeffrey Thomas Piercy, El Pato Comunista) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 01:37:25 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <20080501.214945.2960.1.farmelantj@juno.com> References: <20080501.214945.2960.1.farmelantj@juno.com> Message-ID: <481AD2C5.2040000@sonic.net> Late happy birthday, Marxmail. From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 02:40:43 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 04:40:43 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old Message-ID: <22770507.1209717643247.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> It's good to have an international forum through which people from a wide range of viewpoints can come together, discuss, debate and attempt to clarify our thinking about the issues of the present and the past. Best, Walter ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net Fri May 2 03:03:52 2008 From: Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net (Johannes Schneider) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 11:03:52 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Wow, does this ever answer my question about Facebook In-Reply-To: <481A1274.1040802@panix.com> References: <481A1274.1040802@panix.com> Message-ID: <20080502090352.284050@gmx.net> Louis Proyect wrote: > [Marxism] Wow, does this ever answer my question about Facebook > Egyptian Islamists join call for general strike > Tue 29 Apr 2008, 15:06 GMT > > By Jonathan Wright > > CAIRO, April 29 (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest > opposition group, on Tuesday joined the campaign for a general strike > against the government on May 4, the 80th birthday of long-serving > president Hosni Mubarak. > > Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mahdi Akef said people should stay at home on > that day "in peaceful protest to demand solutions to the crises and to > tackle the deteriorating conditions which the people are suffering". > [snipped] > > Advocates of a May 4 strike, grouped on the social networking system > Facebook, are demanding a minimum wage, salary rises linked to > inflation, legislation and other measures to control prices, and the > release of people detained in Mahalla. > Louis, I fear the situation is a bit more complex, than what comes out of the Reuters dispatch. 1. The alleged Brotherhood support for the strike. Actually they are calling on their supporter "to stay at home", in fact a very limited support for the strike. This means they will not be present in any rallies or pickets. See these articles about the MB and the call for a general strike: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13426 http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13344 http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13208 2. On to the Facebook matters, looks to me that Egypt is very special case given the repressive nature of the Mubarak regime. For this see the attached article from Al-Ahram Weekly. More on Facebook in Egypt see here: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13321 http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13249 3. On the Egyptian left there is some discussion about the call for a general strike, which I thinks exposes the weakness of the Facebook left very well. Hossam el-Hamalawy writes: "I just want to state on the record from now that I DO NOT endorse the call for a general strike on May 4th. I repeat I do NOT endorse the call for a general strike on the dictator?s 80th birthday (...) This is a call that is coming from the cyberspace by bloggers, ?Facebook activists? and the Islamist-leaning Labor Party whose leaders have declared themselves more or less as some ?provisional govt? in cyber-exile? We, the Egyptian bloggers, have always prided ourselves on the fact that we have one foot on the ground and the other in the cyberspace? But this time, it seems some have thrown both their feet as well as brains in the cyberspace and are living some virtual reality, mistakenly believing (helped by the media sensationalist coverage of the ?facebook activism?) that they are the ones behind the events in Mahalla?" Full: and: "ON GENERAL STRIKES, INTERNET ACTIVISM & CYBER-FANTASIES: A general strike is when the workers bring the entire country to halt by stopping work. That?s the simple definition.. That?s it! Bring the bloody country to halt! How can this happen? 1) The action can happen spontaneously, without the direct intervention of political groups, just like the case of the Jan ?77 Bread Uprising? (...) 2) A general strike can be called for by a political group(s)? BUT IN THAT CASE, WHOEVER CALLS FOR THE GENERAL STRIKE MUST HAVE THE ABILITY TO EXECUTE IT!!! A few bloggers sipping coffee in the Boursa Cafe in downtown Cairo cannot bring about this general strike? A group of ?Facebook activists? cannot also mobilize for it, neither are the current opposition groups all together? You gotta have your cadres in the workplaces who will distribute leaflets in support of the strike, debate with their colleagues who may be skeptic about the action and its fruits, to be in touch with other workplaces who will simultaneously go on strike, organize smartly against the expected police assaults or management witchhunt? A general strike is not a fucking joke! This is serious business people! I expressed previously huge reservations, which I and my comrades in the Socialist movement had re the April 6th Strike call, and we made it clear for everyone that the Socialists are NOT endorsing the call, but will be mobilizing solely in Mahalla, the campuses and in some of the industrial centers where the movement has presence ON THE FREAKIN GROUND NOT THE CYBERSPACE! And let?s face it: The country was not brought to halt on the 6th. Yes, traffic was very light in Cairo, and attendance in some universities was low.. But the trains kept on going, so did the buses and virtually all other main govt and business facilities? The factories that were brought to a halt or semi halt where the cement and grain mills? PLACES WHERE THE SOCIALISTS EITHER HAVE PRESENCE OR SYMPATHIZERS ON THE GROUND? ON THE GROUND PEOPLE? (...) The media hype around the bloggers and ?Facebook activism? meant that the credit for the Mahalla events more or less went to the cyberspace! This was presented in the independent and foreign media as largely an effort mobilized by Israa and her peers on the Facebook strike group.(...) But to make the problem worse, some bloggers and facebook activists actually believed what the media said, and they think now they are the ones who hold the keys to street dissent. Others like the Islamist-leaning Labor Party went as far as founding a ?provisional government? on facebook!! Well, good luck! And now the internet activists are calling for another ?general strike? on May 4th to coincide with the dictator?s birthday.. What we are doing is making fools out of ourselves, destroy our credibility, confirm stereotype about bloggers being ?IT nerds who sit in front of their computer screens and live in virtual reality? remote from what goes on in the street? and cause demoralization among our supporters? Already I can read on my Twitter feeds some bloggers who were enthusiastic for the 6th of April strike are now feeling demoralized? especially when Ghad Party member Israa, who was presented in the media as the ?leader? of the strike being the facebook group administrator and in the cyberspace she turned into some national champ with some even going as far as naming her the new ?Baheyya? of Egypt, came out from prison to shower praise on the regime and express her ?regret? over her initiative to launch this facebook strike group, and said she ?repented? in prison and ?would never do this again??! This does NOT mean we shouldn?t stage actions on that day? Let?s mobilize in solidarity with the detainees in Mahalla and elsewhere who are still in prison, thanks to the detention decrees by Mubarak?s Torturer-in-Chief General Habib el-Adly?" Full: http://arabist.net/arabawy/2008/04/27/some-notes-on-the-mahalla-uprising/ From mqduck at sonic.net Fri May 2 03:20:59 2008 From: mqduck at sonic.net (Jeffrey Thomas Piercy, El Pato Comunista) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 02:20:59 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Obama's Chickens Have Come Home to Roost In-Reply-To: <8CA79DF251A6CE1-1EFC-30AC@FWM-D36.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CA79DF251A6CE1-1EFC-30AC@FWM-D36.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <481ADCFB.6040908@sonic.net> dbachmozart at aol.com wrote: > > http://www.blackcommentator.com? -- see home page If anybody else had a has time finding the article referred to, the direct URL is this: http://www.blackcommentator.com/275/275_i_obamas_chickens.html From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 04:10:47 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 03:10:47 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Fidel Castro's reflection on Bolivia: "An Acid Test" Message-ID: <000101c8ac3c$cbd79e60$8a01a8c0@new1501> REFLECTIONS BY COMRADE FIDEL FOR CUBADEBATE AN ACID TEST http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/reflexiones/2008/ing/f300408i.html While our people on May Day, the workers' day, joyfully celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution, and the seventieth anniversary of the creation of the CTC, the sister nation of Bolivia, fully dedicated to the preservation of health, education, and ensuring the safety of all its citizens, is only a few days, perhaps hours, ahead of going through tragic events. When we listen to the hair-raising news coming from all over the world about the shortage and prices of foodstuffs, the prices of energy, the climate change and inflation, these being problems which for the first time have emerged all at once as crucial issues, imperialism is bent on disintegrating Bolivia and submitting it to alienating work and hunger. Four of the wealthiest departments of that country, headed by the oligarchs of Santa Cruz, hope to declare independence and, with the support of the empire, have arranged their own referendum. Meanwhile, the media have paved the way and shaped up voters' opinion by creating all sorts of illusions and deceptions. The Armed Forces, faithful to its historic mission, in a country harassed and deprived from an access to the sea and other vital resources, do not favor Bolivia's disintegration. But the perfidiously conceived Yankee plan is to recruit some anti-patriotic sectors within the military to get rid of Evo in the interest of unity. If transnationals manage to take hold of the basic branches of production, this would be a mere formality. The imperialist motto is to punish Evo and get rid of him. This is the time for denunciation, for speaking the truth. "Everyone for himself!" seems to be the cry resounding all over the world, out of lack of foresight and proper meditation about the events leading to a profound international crisis. This will be an acid test for all Latin American governments and peoples. So it will for all of our doctors and educators who carry out their lofty and peaceful work in that country, no matter what may happen there. Should they face any risky situation, they will not abandon their patients or students. Fidel Castro Ruz April 30, 2008 9:50 p.m. From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 04:10:47 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 03:10:47 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] LA TIMES: Teacher fired for refusing to sign loyalty oath Message-ID: <000501c8ac3c$cd872320$8a01a8c0@new1501> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oath2-2008may02,0,6280956.story From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 04:10:47 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 03:10:47 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Longshoreman spark May Day shutdown at many West Coast ports Message-ID: <000901c8ac3c$cf9876f0$8a01a8c0@new1501> Here in Los Angeles the LA Times says there were 8500 at the march but it seemed more than that to me, but certainly not many tens of thousands. It was predominantly Latino in composition, and didn't feel as determined or angry as the march two years ago. Without any legislation in congress, either to be backed or to be opposed, there was no specific focus to the protest beside the general support for legal rights for immigrant workers. Most of the left groups had tables. Perhaps the only group I did NOT see was the Communist Party, USA, though they did participate in the March. Lots of mariachi music. I did not hear any of the speeches. There were some signs in the march opposed to the war in Iraq, and a few Che flags. The police were on their good behavior. The Chamber of Commerce endorsed the march. They feel - correctly - that the raids are bad for business. The struggle continues. Walter Lippmann http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-lamayday-0501-pg,0,3674502.photogallery ?1 ============================================================================ LAND LINE "The Business Magazine for Professional Truckers" http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2008/Apr08/042808/050108-01.htm May 1, 2008 Longshoreman spark May Day shutdown at many West Coast ports Several major U.S. ports along the West Coast were partially or fully closed for business Thursday, May 1, as part of an organized protest. The May Day shutdown closed terminals at California ports in San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and San Francisco. Ports in Seattle and Tacoma, WA, also closed. The shutdown had been planned by some labor organizations for weeks, and most ports were warned about the shut down. News stories and labor organizations listed a host of reasons for the port shutdown, ranging from the International Longshore & Warehouse Union's stance to end the war in Iraq to truck drivers' frustrations with ever-rising diesel prices and calls for transparency in fuel surcharge agreements. The Los Angeles Times noted that "all 29 ports" along the West Coast were shut down, while the Oakland Tribune reported that some protesters tried to stop trucks and convince them to shut down as well. Brian Coddington spent Thursday at the Port of Seattle, where all container operations were shuttered. Coddington is a spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents terminal operators at most major ports along the West Coast. An arbitrator told longshoreman union officials this week that port workers would have to come to work Thursday. Thursday's shutdown "severely disappointed" terminal operators, Coddington said. "This has a significant impact well beyond just the ports," Coddington told Land Line. "Any stoppage at the ports works against millions of Americans whose jobs are tied directly or indirectly to the cargo." The shutdown was treated like a holiday in Los Angeles, said Arley Baker, spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles. "Obviously when you have a situation where a terminal operator is opened for business but employees don't show up and cargo isn't moving across the docks, there is some economic impact," Baker said. "I can tell you that it's something, in terms of the cargo, we'll be able to mitigate and get back on track fairly quickly. The larger concern is the impression this gives to shippers and retailers who are looking for certainty in terms of their decisions on where they ship cargo." More than 10,000 containers are loaded and unloaded in West Coast ports every day, Coddington said, meaning Thursday's eight-hour day shift could affect the U.S. economy by tens of millions of dollars. "A protest at all West Coast ports would affect more than half of the nation's waterborne trade," read a statement issued by the Port of Long Beach. One source familiar with fuel surcharge issues, who spoke to Land Line on the condition of anonymity, said East Coast drivers have continued protests for fuel surcharges, while the West Coast shutdowns were closely tied to longshoremen labor groups. Truck drivers nationally, the source said, are supporting each other. "With all this stuff going on, I think people are finally going to understand something's wrong here," the source said. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union issued a statement regarding the port shutdown. "Big foreign corporations that control global shipping aren't loyal or accountable to any country," Union President Bob McEllrath said. "For them it's all about making money. But longshore workers are different. We're loyal to America, and we won't stand by while our country, our troops and our economy are destroyed by a war that's bankrupting us to the tune of 3 trillion dollars. It's time to stand up, and we're doing our part today." In Georgia, trucks lined up outside the gates of the Port of Savannah to show support for port shutdowns throughout the West Coast. Keith Liverman, OOIDA member from Rincon, GA, told Land Line that mainstream media attention has begun. "We're not shutting down, but we are showing support for the guys on the West Coast," Liverman said. Liverman said previous shutdowns in 1997 and 2003 lasted for weeks at a time, but were less organized than the Savannah driver's April 3 shutdown. Truckers in Georgia and nationally are better organized, and have clear goals to pursue transparency in jobs involving fuel surcharges. "That was our goal - to get everybody's attention," Liverman said. "I think we succeeded." Others were less inspired. "We certainly take it very seriously and are disappointed that membership chose not to show up today," the Pacific Maritime Association's Coddington said. "Our expectation is that this is a day-shift activity and the night shift will come to work as scheduled." - By Charlie Morasch, staff writer charlie_morasch at landlinemag.com ======================================== WALTER LIPPMANN, CubaNews Los Angeles, California http://www.walterlippmann.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Paraiso bajo el bloqueo" ======================================== From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 04:18:27 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 06:18:27 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] LA TIMES: Teacher fired for refusing to sign loyalty oath Message-ID: <10908116.1209723507300.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oath2-2008may02,0,6280956.story From johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz Fri May 2 06:02:30 2008 From: johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz (John) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 00:02:30 +1200 Subject: [Marxism] LeftCast: New Zealand's Residents Action Movement In-Reply-To: <57b410090805012227k4dedb26cw6a00c881e9c86564@mail.gmail.com> References: <57b410090805012227k4dedb26cw6a00c881e9c86564@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1209729750.5658.135.camel@john-desktop> On Fri, 2008-05-02 at 00:27 -0500, Ratbag Radio wrote: > Tipping point in New Zealand politics at the grassroots: The Residents > Action Movement > http://leftcast.blogspot.com/ > Listen on line - or - Download -- or - Subscribe > The Residents Action Movement (or RAM) is a left wing local government > electoral ticket in the Auckland Region of New Zealand that is in the > process of becoming a national-level political party to contest the > 2008 elections. RAM can be characterised as as broad left coalition, > stretching from social liberals, community activists and former > National Party members to social democrats, democratic socialists and > left-wing radicals. Just to put the broadness of this "Broad Left" coalition in context, the National Party is the traditional conservative party in NZ, normally thought of (although that's debatable these days) as to the right of the Labour Party, the current government. Its membership includes people who proclaim RAM to be "neither right nor left". Don't hold your breath for this particular "tipping point" folks. Cheers, John From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 06:25:35 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 08:25:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] May Day Photos from Detroit, Michigan Message-ID: <21504855.1209731135714.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Subject: Pictures from Primero de mayo Here are pictures taken by Alan and Cheryl http://picasaweb.google.com/jobsjusticepeace/5108May1stDetroitMayDayMarchAndRally http://picasaweb.google.com/wwphotoCherylLaBash/08May01Detroit/photo?authkey=jsz8HKOXDHQ#5195610873414978226 ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 07:15:54 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 06:15:54 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Message-ID: <002d01c8ac56$a9904b30$8a01a8c0@new1501> (This is for all of those radicals who complain about the South African government and all of its supposed failures in providing services. (Instead of complaining, they should be grateful to the South African government for efforts like this to provide much needed medical care where other South Africans aren't willing to give it.) ================================================== Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Inter Press Service (Johannesburg) http://allafrica.com/stories/200804290006.html NEWS 28 April 2008 Posted to the web 29 April 2008 By Stephanie Nieuwoudt Cape Town For more than a decade, Cuban doctors have filled part of a gap left by South African doctors who in large numbers leave the country looking for better salaries and employment opportunities. According to Fidel Radebe, director of communications for South Africa's department of health, there are currently 134 Cuban doctors in the country working under a government-to-government agreement between Cuba and South Africa. The first Cuban doctors who came to the country under this agreement arrived in 1996 -- two years after the African National Congress (ANC) came to power. Socialist Cuba was a firm supporter of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, and the ANC and other leftwing movements in South Africa always had a natural affinity for Cuba's stated struggle against "neo imperialism." Fast forward to 2008 -- Radebe could not confirm rumours that negotiations were underway to bring a new batch of doctors to the country. "The department may in future consider the further recruitment of Cuban doctors as provided for in the government-to-government agreement, but details have not yet been finalised," he said. IPS asked Radebe about how Cuban doctors have been received in South Africa. Some of their patients and colleagues have been harsh in their criticism. Patients have complained that some of the doctors are not properly trained and that they do not converse fluently in any of South Africa's 11 official languages, including English. This kind of response, however, stands in sharp contrast to a number of papers and articles written by academics and journalists that praise the Cuban government for its accessible medical system and the high standards of training in that country. According to some figures there is one doctor for every 170 Cubans -- something South Africa has no hope of achieving in the near future with only 74 doctors per 100,000 citizens. Whatever the criticism, it cannot be denied -- some commentators say -- that Cuban doctors have brought invaluable resources to far-flung areas of the country where many South African doctors refuse to work due to insecurity, remoteness of the area, and a lack of proper salaries. "These doctors provide an important service in places where only one doctor is often on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week," says Mike Waters, spokesperson for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). Harald Pakendorf, a former newspaper editor and currently an independent political analyst, concurs that Cuban doctors play an important role in primary health care in South Africa. He also adds that the government should retain doctors, all of whom were trained at great cost to South African taxpayers. "The government should appoint competent hospital administrators who can see to things like funding and the purchasing of equipment. Doctors should care for their patients. They should not have to worry about the availability of things like needles, sutures, swabs and medicines," Pakendorf said. Regarding the criticism that Cuban doctors often lack the necessary skills, Radebe says that all doctors have to register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and therefore have to meet certain professional standards. According to Waters, the vacancy rates for medical specialists range from 51 percent in the central province of the Free State to a massive 86 percent in the northern Limpopo Province, near Zimbabwe. And it is in these empty spaces that the Cuban doctors are eagerly welcomed. The situation in the Eastern Cape, South Africa's poorest province, is also desperate. Not only is there a lack of general practitioners, but there is also a demand for teaching staff at the medical school of the Walter Sisulu University in Mthatha. A total of 32 Cuban specialists are currently attached to the medical school. Karuna Krihanlal-Gopal, the acting director of marketing, communications and development at the university, says that the Cuban doctor-trainers "certainly bring a wealth of experience [to South Africa], having worked in similarly challenging circumstances prior to arriving in the country. They are also very dedicated teachers." In 2007 Cuban doctors with 10 years experience or more who work in South African government hospitals and institutions were paid about 3,800 to 4,400 dollars per month, according to figures released by the DA. Relatively speaking, this might seem like a lot, compared to salaries in Cuba, but South African doctors emigrating to work in Europe, North America or the Antipodes could often treble their salaries by practicing overseas. According to Radebe, several doctors have in the past opted to obtain permanent residency and citizenship in South Africa. According to the government-to-government agreement, South Africa has also sent hundreds of medical students to Cuba to be trained there. From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 07:15:54 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 06:15:54 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] DOW JONES: Bolivia Taking Majority Control of Repsol Unit Message-ID: <002f01c8ac56$aab59150$8a01a8c0@new1501> Bolivia Taking Majority Control of Repsol Unit by Eduardo Kaplan Dow Jones Newswires Thursday, May 01, 2008 NEW YORK, May 1, 2008 (Dow Jones Newswires) Two years after announcing a campaign to nationalize its energy sector, Bolivia's government is in the process of purchasing majority stakes in local affiliates of foreign oil companies operating in the country, Bolivia's top energy official announced Thursday, according to the Associated Press. One of the deals would give Bolivia's state-run energy company YPBF a stake of 50% plus one share in Andina, the local affiliate of Spain's Repsol (REP), said Bolivia's energy minister Carlos Villegas. Local press reports say the government will confirm later Thursday similar deals to take over a local affiliate of British Petroleum (BP) as well as the oil and gas pipeline company Transredes, controlled by the UK's Ashmore Energy International. There are no details regarding the transaction. The government made an announcement Thursday by publishing ads in the largest newspapers. President Evo Morales is expected to make an announcement later Thursday. This May 1, International Workers's Day, marks the deadline to reach an agreement with foreign energy companies in Bolivia after the first decree to nationalize energy resources in 2006. NEW YORK, May 1, 2008 (Dow Jones Newswires) From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 2 07:15:54 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 06:15:54 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Hillary Struggles Against Sexism But Regularly Plays Race Card Message-ID: <003501c8ac56$ad2fb910$8a01a8c0@new1501> It seemed so incongruous to suggest that there was something sexist to point out that Senator Clinton's campaign against Senator Obama was racist, that it was pleasing to find that this theme has been looked at in some detail elsewhere. Walter ============================================================== Hillary Struggles Against Sexism But Regularly Plays Race Card By Betsy Reed, The Nation Posted on May 2, 2008, Printed on May 2, 2008 http://www.alternet.org/story/84150/ [two clips] Yet what is most troubling -- and what has the most serious implications for the feminist movement -- is that the Clinton campaign has used her rival's race against him. In the name of demonstrating her superior "electability," she and her surrogates have invoked the racist and sexist playbook of the right -- in which swaggering macho cowboys are entrusted to defend the country -- seeking to define Obama as too black, too foreign, too different to be President at a moment of high anxiety about national security. This subtly but distinctly racialized political strategy did not create the media feeding frenzy around the Rev. Jeremiah Wright that is now weighing Obama down, but it has positioned Clinton to take advantage of the opportunities the controversy has presented. And the Clinton campaign's use of this strategy has many non-white and non-mainstream feminists crying foul. --------------- It's disappointing, to say the least, to see the first viable female contender for the presidency participate in attacks on her black opponent's patriotism, which exploit an anxious climate around national security that gives white men an edge both over women and people of color -- who tend to be viewed, respectively, as weak and potentially traitorous. Says Paula Giddings, "This idea of nationalism and patriotism pulling at everyone has demanded hypermasculine men, more like McCain than the feline Obama, and demanded women whose role is to be maternal more than anything else." ======================================== WALTER LIPPMANN, CubaNews Los Angeles, California http://www.walterlippmann.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Paraiso bajo el bloqueo" ======================================== From lnp3 at panix.com Fri May 2 07:27:43 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 09:27:43 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Dying oceans Message-ID: <481B16CF.8040202@panix.com> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-deadzone2-2008may02,0,1285619.story From the Los Angeles Times Oxygen-poor ocean zones are growing Linked to global warming, these areas of the Pacific and Atlantic cannot sustain most marine life, a new study warns. By Kenneth R. Weiss Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 2, 2008 Oxygen-starved waters are expanding in the Pacific and Atlantic as ocean temperatures increase with global warming, threatening fisheries and other marine life, a study published today concludes. Most of these zones remain hundreds of feet below the surface, but they are beginning to spill onto the relatively shallow continental shelf off the coast of California and are nearing the surface off Peru, driving away fish from commercially important fishing grounds, researchers have found. The low-oxygen, or hypoxic, zones may also be connected to the Pacific coast invasion of the Humboldt, or jumbo, squid. These voracious predators, which can grow 6 feet long, appear to be taking advantage of their tolerance for oxygen-poor waters to escape predators and devour local fish, another team of scientists theorizes. Researchers believe these phenomena are linked to subsurface layers of hypoxic water in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans that have been thickening over the last 50 years, according to the analysis published today in the journal Science. The study, led by Lothar Stramma at the University of Kiel in Germany, warns that the spread of hypoxic waters that suffocate marine life is consistent with climate models forecasting what would happen as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere. The trend, the study points out, eerily echoes a scenario that unfolded about 250 million years ago, when 95% of life on Earth went extinct after heat-trapping carbon dioxide spewing from volcanoes warmed the planet and the oceans became stripped of oxygen. "If you warm waters, they hold much less oxygen," said coauthor Gregory C. Johnson, an oceanographer with the federal Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. "That's the same as a bottle of soda water. If you open it warm, it'll fizz all over the place. If you open it cold, it will slowly fizz out as it warms." More importantly, Johnson said, the lighter warm water creates a cap over the colder depths, making it less likely that oxygen-enriched surface water will mix with colder water. Other biogeochemical processes also rob oxygen from deeper waters, such as the decomposition and re-mineralization of dead plankton as it settles to the seafloor. These vast low-oxygen zones that stretch far out to sea differ from the "dead zones" at the mouth of the Mississippi River and in near-shore waters around the world. These localized low-oxygen waters typically form after fertilizer-rich river discharges produce thick blooms of algae that suck the oxygen out of water after they die and decompose. Today's study analyzed decades of oxygen measurements in six spots in the deeper ocean. In all but the Indian Ocean study area, the team found significant expansion of water inhospitable to most marine life, said Janet Sprintall, a scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. In the tropical Pacific off Peru, the band of low-oxygen water increased in thickness from 460 yards to about 670 yards over the past 42 years and moved closer to the surface. In the Atlantic south of Africa, the suffocating layer grew from 400 yards thick to 750 yards thick over the last 46 years. "Most fish and other marine animals have to move or die," Sprintall said. "They cannot live in these low-oxygen conditions." The findings impressed Steven J. Bograd, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Pacific Grove, Calif. Bograd, who was not part of the study, said it reflected the dropping oxygen levels that he and other scientists have found off California. These low-oxygen waters are swept from the tropical Pacific by an unseen midwater "undercurrent" that snakes up the coast, at the edge of the continental shelf. Some of that oxygen-deprived water has been edging onto the shelf and into key fishing grounds, according to Bograd's study, which has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters. Plunging oxygen levels have been detected off British Columbia. Francisco Chavez, a study coauthor and senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, said that California can look to Peru for potential problems ahead. Peruvian authorities have struggled for a decade over a commercial fish called hake that is being squeezed between overfishing and oxygen-starved waters. Northern California's hake fishery has not seen any signs of being crowded by oxygen-starved waters, said federal fisheries biologist John Field. These fish tend to migrate along the same current of low-oxygen water that is being drawn up the coast from the tropical Pacific. "At some point, it's going to push them up to the surface," he said. Humboldt squid apparently have been eating hake off California, just as they do off Peru, Field said. Some scientists believe the squid have expanded their range due to over-exploiting of sharks and other predators. But squid expert William Gilly of Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station theorizes that this expanding minimum-oxygen zone gives them a convenient cover. "They are hidden in this safety zone where the big predators cannot get them," Gilly said. "The squid are just hanging down there, emerging from the curtain to suck down all of the fish." ken.weiss at latimes.com From jeffrubard at gmail.com Fri May 2 08:00:04 2008 From: jeffrubard at gmail.com (Jeff Rubard) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 07:00:04 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <0ca101c8abda$661bfe70$040ba8c0@albanta> References: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> <0ca101c8abda$661bfe70$040ba8c0@albanta> Message-ID: <481B1E64.4020504@gmail.com> Joaquin Bustelo wrote: > I think in addition to what Louis has said, I think something else should be > noted, which is that Marxmail has served as one point of convergence and > discussion for what I think is an emerging ... not current, that is too > strong a word, but drift on the revolutionary Marxist left. > > One of its main contributions is a rejection of (at least) a narrow, > pseudo-Leninist, "party building" perspective that holds the Russian > Revolution (or rather, a certain interpretation of its lessons, almost > unanimously upheld for half a century, and I daresay majority-supported even > today) as the key to revolutionary activity. > I agree with the assessment, and would like to chime in that this drift is a useful one even for people who are not looking to be "deprogrammed" from Leninist groupuscules (i.e., have historical affiliations to the "vagueries" of anti-Leninist radical leftism). Although only the seriously troubled want to swallow the outcomes of "Leninist" statecraft whole, the perspective by which Lenin can be viewed as someone intelligently addressing problems any socialism worthy of the name would have to face (as opposed to the inventor of a cookie-cutter technique for making bad revolutions and offing offensive people, or Lacan's wacky twin) is an essential one for overcoming the very practical roadblocks for leftism installed after 1989. At the very least, the Bolivarians would be nearly impossible to understand (except as foes of autonomist funning) without such a correction in the appropriation of Marxist history. So, although the US left has been in a state of desuetude and it's easy to let that dominate one's thoughts on what is to be done, I think a lot of people here and abroad are glad Marxmail is actual and existing. Jeff Rubard From eyupozer at gmail.com Fri May 2 08:42:34 2008 From: eyupozer at gmail.com (Eyup Ozer) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 17:42:34 +0300 Subject: [Marxism] Brutal Police Violence Against May Day demonstrators in Istanbul In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: (please distribute widely) Below there is a news story from "Turkish Daily News" about brutal police attack against workers in Istanbul. According to unions 900 people were taken into custody. And police attacked the headquarters of Freedom And Solidarity Party (?DP) and Trade Union Federation (D?SK). You can send your letters of protest and solidarity to 1mayistanbul at gmail.com . You can find detailed reports, photos and videos at following links. Videos; http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/modules/habervideo/video.asp?CatID=3&cbVideo=4793&cbQuality=1 http://youtube.com/watch?v=vNnDGsWh7JQ http://www.cnnturk.com/video/index.asp?vid=4943 Photo Galeries; http://fotogaleri.ntvmsnbc.com/detay.aspx?categoryID=9&galleryID=1278&picID=0&dp=1 http://www.cnnturk.com/FotoGaleri/index.asp?PID=318&GID=454385 News from several sources; http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1151986428 Clouds of Taksim tear gas force unions to back down (http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=103430 ) *Friday, May 2, 2008* *Trade unions are forced to back down from their demand to rally in Taksim Square, under extraordinary police presence. Demonstrators in ?i?li disperse under tear gas attacks, but scattered groups protest in streets around Taksim, as hundreds of people are taken into custody* *TAYLAN B?LG?? / ?ZG?R KORKMAZ* ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News The contest of wills between the government and trade unions ended yesterday with unions backing down from their demand to hold a rally in Taksim Square, overwhelmed by thousands of police, soldiers and an repeated clouds of tear gas. Labor Day, welcomed by mostly peaceful demonstrations elsewhere in the world, turned into something just short of torture for demonstrators, tourists, expats, journalists and the average citizen in Istanbul. Official tallies put the number detained at 505 people with six police officers injured at the time the Turkish Daily News went to press. No official tally of civilian injuries was available late yesterday but journalists witnessed scores of beatings, one marching politician suffered heart problems while another fainted and patients at one hospital were forced to flee after the facility was gassed. As the day began, Istanbul residents knew what was coming when thousands of police started blocking all roads leading to Taksim Square, the location where trade unions were insistent on celebrating Labor Day due to its symbolic value, as early as Wednesday night. Walking to the square from ?stiklal Street yesterday morning, one could observe that riot police ?robocops, as they are called ? easily outnumbered civilians and journalists, some with gas masks. The scene at the square was surreal as Istanbul's most lively area was besieged with thousands of polices, the center barricaded with iron fences and Taksim Gezi Park turned into a barracks with hundreds of soldiers awaiting orders. At least 20,000 policemen were in and around Taksim. That kind of scene was even a bit too much for citizens, but for foreigners, it was shocking. "I am terrified," said Margarita, a Finnish-born British doctor who declined to give her surname. "Nobody at the hotel warned me of this." As it was explained the commotion was on account of Labor Day, her confusion only grew. "Labor Day means holiday and big, peaceful demonstrations. This is bloody annoying." She wanted to reach the Marmara Hotel to meet with her friend so that they could go to Topkap? Palace. The police would not let her. Compounding her problem was the fact "the police inside" would not let her friend out of the hotel either. Through cell phone negotiations, the police were persuaded to let her out. Police in the morning forced their way into the Istanbul headquarters of D?SK, the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions, in ?i?li district firing teargas and spraying pressurized water inside. Mehmet Ali ?zpolat, a deputy from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had a heart spasm, while ?etin Soysal, another CHP deputy, fainted. *Controlled force: * At 10:00 a.m. a tear gas canister exploded right beside a group of demonstrators who were chanting "Resign, Governor!" against Istanbul Governor Muammer G?ler, who had declared the government would use "controlled force" against protestors. "37MM Multiple Projectile," it said on an empty canister. From Wyoming to Istanbul. Hundreds of members of the CHP, workers from different unions and a small group of members of various leftist organizations confronted the police. The CHP's deputy, Soysal, tried to stand in front of a police armored vehicle, shouting, ?Don't do this, it is wrong.? To no avail. ?Police provoked the people here,? he later told the TDN. ?May Day is celebrated all around the world as a day of celebrations, workers paid the price for this right,? he said. ?But the government does not want to hear the voice of the workers. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) does not want an organized opposition.? A group of 200 demonstrators escaped to the narrow streets surrounding Ni?anta??. They chanted slogans and threw rocks at the police. Police answered by tear-gassing almost every street in the neighborhood. Some lowered their launchers when firing, hitting a couple of protestors. A police car with an unofficial license plate, owned by a high-level police officer, got caught up in the clashes, where its windows were smashed by demonstrators. The scuffle drew protests from citizens, some of whom started hurling rocks at the demonstrators from in front of police lines. ?Where are the residents of this neighborhood, aren't you Turks,? shouted one man just after throwing a big piece of rock. ?We cannot let these bastards take our streets,? he said. Police officers were then applauded by scores of people after they dispersed the protestors. ?We are proud of you,? some chanted. ?They got what they deserved,? said a shop owner. ?They don't have the right to come here and clash with the police on our streets.? *Hospital targeted: * Later in the morning, the police fired tear gas into the ?i?li Etfal Hospital. Patients and unfortunate citizens tried to flee the engulfing fog. Old women coughing and crying were trying to understand what was happening, as it was the first time they experienced such a thing. Drugstores and other shops pulled down their shutters, but the gas infiltrated everywhere. At the Confederation Revolutionary Workers' Unions (D?SK) headquarters six attacks had been witnessed by 10:20 a.m., said Seyit Aslan, secretary general of G?da-?? trade union. "The first one came without warning, while people were just sitting in front of the building," he said. "Deputies have tried calling the governor, the justice minister and the interior minister many times, but they refuse to speak." S?leyman ?elebi, president of D?SK, and others moved to the barricades to negotiate with the only official they could talk to, a top police officer. The group included ?smail Hakki Tombul, president of KESK, the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions, Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputies Akin Birdal, Ahmet T?rk, Hasip Kaplan and Aysel Tu?luk, and Ufuk Uras, deputy and leader of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (?DP). "These events show how far this country is from democracy," said Ferhat Tun?, a well-known protest music artist. "In the [D?SK] building, I for one moment thought they were going to burn us down. The people should see that the AKP has never been a party that supports democracy." "I have been to 37 countries, but never seen such disgrace," said Necdet Kiran, a former seaman and now municipal worker. Half an hour later, ?elebi and the others arrived. As expected, they could not obtain permission to march to Taksim. Speaking to the crowd from atop a party campaign bus, ?elebi explained the situation. "Istanbul is a giant prison now," he said. "In order not to be tools in this government provocation, we end our protest." Easier said then done. For the road to Mecidiyek?y and Taksim were barricaded by hundreds of robocops. Some protestors tried to leave, only to be tear-gassed again. Marching or not, the police seemed intent to finish their tear gas stocks. As small crowds in parallel streets tried to demonstrate, only to be tear-gassed again, the temporary solution became another speech to the main group in front of the CHP headquarters in ?i?li. After blasting the government and the police with slogans, people dispersed in various streets. In the afternoon demonstrators moved to ?stiklal Street and other locations near Taksim Square. Siraselviler, ?stiklal and other streets were filled with poisonous gas. Nearly 500 people were taken into custody during the day, police said. But trade unions put the number at around 900. As scattered protests continued into the evening, Istanbul celebrated another unique Labor Day. From lnp3 at panix.com Fri May 2 11:27:51 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 13:27:51 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Charles Tilly Message-ID: <481B4F17.9040205@panix.com> I know it is unseemly to speak ill of the dead, but there is another side to Columbia University sociology professor Charles Tilly who died this week at the age of 78. I was pretty friendly with a sociology professor named John Hartman who used to be a Pen-l subscriber. After Tilly came in to Columbia around 10 years ago, the first thing he did was not renew the contracts of John and a number of other tenure-track professors. This was one of the ways that a university screws its non-tenured employees. The other is using adjunct professors, who don?t even get health insurance. John described Tilly to me as an academic version of a mafia gangster, who put his own cronies into the department as a way of boosting his own power. Maybe Tilly was applying the lessons he learned from a 1985 article mentioned in the NY Times obit: The New York Times, May 2, 2008 Charles Tilly, 78, Writer and a Social Scientist, Is Dead By DOUGLAS MARTIN Charles Tilly, a social scientist who combined historical interpretation and quantitative analysis in a voluminous outpouring of work to forge often novel intellectual interpretations ? as when he compared nation states to protection rackets ? died on Tuesday in the Bronx. He was 78. The cause was lymphoma, said John H. Tucker, a spokesman for Columbia University, where Dr. Tilly was the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science. Dr. Tilly mined immense piles of original documents for raw data and contemporary accounts ? including municipal archives, unpublished letters and diaries ? that he used to develop theories applicable to many contexts. A particular interest was the development of the nation state in Europe, which he suggested was partly a military innovation. In his 1990 book ?Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1990? (Blackwell), he argued that the increasingly large costs of gunpowder and large armies required big, powerful nation states with the power to tax. In 1985, he gave early indications of his argument that war made states in an article that said nation states, with their monopolies on violence, function like gangsters? protection rackets. He said that governments emphasize, create and stimulate external threats, then ask their citizens to pay for defense. ?Consider the definition of a racketeer as someone who creates a threat and then charges for its reduction,? he wrote in a chapter of ?Bringing the State Back In? (Cambridge), which was edited by Peter Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer and Theda Skocpol. Provocative and profound ideas repeatedly appeared in Dr. Tilly?s 51 books and monographs and more than 600 scholarly articles. Marshaling insights from sociology and political science, both of which he taught, he took on subjects including urban migration, the French Revolution, the dynamics of political contention and the sociology of trusting others. In ?Credit and Blame? (Princeton), published this year, he drew on sources from Dostoyevsky to Darwin and from the office water cooler to truth commissions to examine how people fault and applaud each other and themselves. In ?The Contentious French? (Belknap, 1986) he plowed through four centuries of history to describe the French as ordinary people fighting for their interests against implacable state power and advancing capitalism. In his 2006 book ?Why?? (Princeton), he tried to make systematic sense of people?s reasons for giving reasons. Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker said the book ?forces readers to re-examine everything from the way they talk to their children to the way they argue about politics.? Dr. Tilly devoted a considerable part of his work to methods used by social science. He parted with some historians by advocating the use of numbers to come up with testable hypotheses, and with some sociologists by insisting ? with Marx and Weber, he said ? that the historical context of cause and effect greatly matters. In an interview on Thursday, Adam Ashforth, a professor of anthropology, political science and sociology at Northwestern University, called Dr. Tilly ?the founding father of 21st-century sociology.? He particularly praised Dr. Tilly?s seamless synthesizing of his own work on witchcraft and politics in South Africa. Dr. Ashforth also mentioned Dr. Tilly?s dizzying output of books, which had been running at more than a book a year for more than two decades. ?It was exhausting keeping up with him,? Dr. Ashforth said. ?We?ll now have a chance to catch up with our reading.? Charles Tilly was born on May 27, 1929, in Lombard, Ill., and in 1950 graduated from Harvard, where he earned his doctorate in sociology in 1958. He also studied at Oxford and the Catholic University of Angers, France. He served in the Navy during the Korean War. He taught at the University of Delaware, Harvard, the University of Toronto, the University of Michigan and what is now the New School before joining Columbia in 1996. He taught at many other schools in North America and Europe for shorter periods. Dr. Tilly is survived by his former wife and sometime collaborator, Louise Audino, of Evanston, Ill.; his brothers Richard, of W?rzburg, Germany, and Stephen, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.; his sister, Carolyn Williams, of Serena, Ill.; his son, Chris, of Boston; his sisters Kit Tilly of Hamilton, Mont., Laura Tilly of Evanston and Sarah Tilly, of Manhattan; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Dr. Tilly received many awards, the latest of which was the Albert O. Hirschman Award from the Social Science Research Council this year. He liked to brag that he managed never to hold an office in a professional association or the chairmanship of a university department ? though he did head several research institutes. Dr. Tilly once said his goal was to do sociology, history and political analysis at the same time, but he said it with what colleagues said was his typical intellectual humility. ?My efforts to harmonize all three have always failed in one way or another,? he said in an interview with Contemporary Authors, ?but the failures, happily, are usually of the kind from which one learns something useful.? On April Fool?s Day in 1969, The New York Times asked leading intellectuals what they considered foolish. Dr. Tilly answered, ?One way I?d like to improve social life is to get a guy to stop for five minutes or one minute or 10 seconds and listen to what the other guy says.? From giobon at comcast.net Fri May 2 12:24:40 2008 From: giobon at comcast.net (Bonnie Weinstein) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 11:24:40 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] =?iso-8859-1?q?Union_=B9_s_War_Protest_Shuts_West_Coast?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_Ports?= In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Union?s War Protest Shuts West Coast Ports By WILLIAM YARDLEY May 2, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/02port.html?ref=us SEATTLE ? West Coast ports were shut down on Thursday as thousands of longshoremen failed to report for work, part of what their union leaders said was a one-day, one-shift protest against the war in Iraq. Cranes and forklifts stood still from Seattle to San Diego, and ships were stalled at sea as workers held rallies up and down the coast to blame the war for distracting public attention and money from domestic needs like health care and education. ?We?re loyal to America, and we won?t stand by while our country, our troops and our economy are being destroyed by a war that?s bankrupting us to the tune of $3 trillion,? the president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Bob McEllrath, said in a written statement. ?It?s time to stand up, and we?re doing our part today.? About 25,000 union members are employed at 29 West Coast ports, but the protest took place only during the day shift. A spokesman for the main West Coast employers? group, the Pacific Maritime Association, said it appeared that about 6,000 workers did not show up for work, which meant that about 10,000 containers would not be loaded or unloaded from about 30 cargo ships. The spokesman, Steve Getzug, cast the action as a strike and therefore a violation of the union?s labor contract, which is up for renewal this summer. ?What the union says and what the union does are two different things,? Mr. Getzug said. ?This is genuine defiance.? Union leaders said that the association had rejected their request weeks ago for Thursday?s one-shift work stoppage, but that local longshoremen continued to promote the protest. It went forward, the union leaders said, despite a demand on Wednesday by an independent arbitrator that they instruct members to go to work. In many cases, dock workers were joined at port entrances or at rallies by other groups protesting the war or frustrated by economic issues or immigration policies. Some rallies seemed as much like street fairs as angry acts of resistance, with booksellers setting up stands and supporters of the presidential candidate Ralph Nader carrying banners. On the Seattle waterfront, members of the United Auto Workers and the Service Employees International Union mixed with self-described socialists while many of the scores of police officers on the scene ate box lunches and petted their horses. In Oakland, Calif., some truckers who said they were angry about high gas prices decided not to cross picket lines at the port. ?I got here ready to haul,? said C?sar Lara, 41, a resident of Richmond, Calif., born in Zacatecas, Mexico. ?They told me it was a picket but if I wanted to go in I could. But I?m supporting them and to end the war.? Several drivers said truckers were planning their own nationwide work stoppage in the next several days to protest record-high gas prices and surcharges. In Long Beach, Calif., part of nation?s largest port complex, truck drivers from California and neighboring states waited for the port security gates to reopen on Thursday evening, when union members said they planned to return to work. Nearby, in Wilmington, longshoremen met inside a hall while some union members outside read pink fliers stating the reasons for work stoppage. Kevin Schroeder, director of Local 13?s political action committee, said, ?The children of middle-class people are over there dying, so we decided to do something. We are fortunate enough to be in an organization that has a platform to do something.? Rebecca Cathcart contributed reporting from Long Beach, Calif., and Carolyn Marshall from Oakland, Calif. From dave.walters at comcast.net Fri May 2 12:49:25 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (dave.walters at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 18:49:25 +0000 Subject: [Marxism] Cynthia McKinney Remarks on May Day/ILWU strike Message-ID: <050220081849.24180.481B6235000CEB2200005E7422064246139C9D0A9B040E99D20A900E0B@comcast.net> [Brief remarks by Cynthia McKinney at the SF/Oakland ILWU event in the Bay Area. Introductory remarks by A. Benjamin. Transcription of her remarks to the two immigrant rights rallies to follow over the next few days.--David] http://veryleft.blogspot.com/2008/05/cynthia-mckinney-on-may-day.html From ccemgil at bilgi.edu.tr Fri May 2 14:55:54 2008 From: ccemgil at bilgi.edu.tr (Can Cemgil) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 23:55:54 +0300 Subject: [Marxism] Brutal Police Violence Against May Day demonstrators in Istanbul In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: <2FFC411F7F36494B872DC0B4C1ECDF2407C6979E35@nomad.bilgi.networks> Another, and more critical, report of police brutality. http://www.atilim.org/haberler/2008/05/02/Worker-popular_resistance_marked_the_May_Day.html ________________________________________ From: marxism-bounces+ccemgil=bilgi.edu.tr at lists.econ.utah.edu [marxism-bounces+ccemgil=bilgi.edu.tr at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Eyup Ozer [eyupozer at gmail.com] Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 5:42 PM To: Can Cemgil Subject: [Marxism] Brutal Police Violence Against May Day demonstrators in Istanbul (please distribute widely) Below there is a news story from "Turkish Daily News" about brutal police attack against workers in Istanbul. According to unions 900 people were taken into custody. And police attacked the headquarters of Freedom And Solidarity Party (?DP) and Trade Union Federation (D?SK). You can send your letters of protest and solidarity to 1mayistanbul at gmail.com . You can find detailed reports, photos and videos at following links. Videos; http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/modules/habervideo/video.asp?CatID=3&cbVideo=4793&cbQuality=1 http://youtube.com/watch?v=vNnDGsWh7JQ http://www.cnnturk.com/video/index.asp?vid=4943 Photo Galeries; http://fotogaleri.ntvmsnbc.com/detay.aspx?categoryID=9&galleryID=1278&picID=0&dp=1 http://www.cnnturk.com/FotoGaleri/index.asp?PID=318&GID=454385 News from several sources; http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1151986428 Clouds of Taksim tear gas force unions to back down (http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=103430 ) *Friday, May 2, 2008* *Trade unions are forced to back down from their demand to rally in Taksim Square, under extraordinary police presence. Demonstrators in ?i?li disperse under tear gas attacks, but scattered groups protest in streets around Taksim, as hundreds of people are taken into custody* *TAYLAN B?LG?? / ?ZG?R KORKMAZ* ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News The contest of wills between the government and trade unions ended yesterday with unions backing down from their demand to hold a rally in Taksim Square, overwhelmed by thousands of police, soldiers and an repeated clouds of tear gas. Labor Day, welcomed by mostly peaceful demonstrations elsewhere in the world, turned into something just short of torture for demonstrators, tourists, expats, journalists and the average citizen in Istanbul. Official tallies put the number detained at 505 people with six police officers injured at the time the Turkish Daily News went to press. No official tally of civilian injuries was available late yesterday but journalists witnessed scores of beatings, one marching politician suffered heart problems while another fainted and patients at one hospital were forced to flee after the facility was gassed. As the day began, Istanbul residents knew what was coming when thousands of police started blocking all roads leading to Taksim Square, the location where trade unions were insistent on celebrating Labor Day due to its symbolic value, as early as Wednesday night. Walking to the square from ?stiklal Street yesterday morning, one could observe that riot police ?robocops, as they are called ? easily outnumbered civilians and journalists, some with gas masks. The scene at the square was surreal as Istanbul's most lively area was besieged with thousands of polices, the center barricaded with iron fences and Taksim Gezi Park turned into a barracks with hundreds of soldiers awaiting orders. At least 20,000 policemen were in and around Taksim. That kind of scene was even a bit too much for citizens, but for foreigners, it was shocking. "I am terrified," said Margarita, a Finnish-born British doctor who declined to give her surname. "Nobody at the hotel warned me of this." As it was explained the commotion was on account of Labor Day, her confusion only grew. "Labor Day means holiday and big, peaceful demonstrations. This is bloody annoying." She wanted to reach the Marmara Hotel to meet with her friend so that they could go to Topkap? Palace. The police would not let her. Compounding her problem was the fact "the police inside" would not let her friend out of the hotel either. Through cell phone negotiations, the police were persuaded to let her out. Police in the morning forced their way into the Istanbul headquarters of D?SK, the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions, in ?i?li district firing teargas and spraying pressurized water inside. Mehmet Ali ?zpolat, a deputy from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had a heart spasm, while ?etin Soysal, another CHP deputy, fainted. *Controlled force: * At 10:00 a.m. a tear gas canister exploded right beside a group of demonstrators who were chanting "Resign, Governor!" against Istanbul Governor Muammer G?ler, who had declared the government would use "controlled force" against protestors. "37MM Multiple Projectile," it said on an empty canister. From Wyoming to Istanbul. Hundreds of members of the CHP, workers from different unions and a small group of members of various leftist organizations confronted the police. The CHP's deputy, Soysal, tried to stand in front of a police armored vehicle, shouting, ?Don't do this, it is wrong.? To no avail. ?Police provoked the people here,? he later told the TDN. ?May Day is celebrated all around the world as a day of celebrations, workers paid the price for this right,? he said. ?But the government does not want to hear the voice of the workers. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) does not want an organized opposition.? A group of 200 demonstrators escaped to the narrow streets surrounding Ni?anta??. They chanted slogans and threw rocks at the police. Police answered by tear-gassing almost every street in the neighborhood. Some lowered their launchers when firing, hitting a couple of protestors. A police car with an unofficial license plate, owned by a high-level police officer, got caught up in the clashes, where its windows were smashed by demonstrators. The scuffle drew protests from citizens, some of whom started hurling rocks at the demonstrators from in front of police lines. ?Where are the residents of this neighborhood, aren't you Turks,? shouted one man just after throwing a big piece of rock. ?We cannot let these bastards take our streets,? he said. Police officers were then applauded by scores of people after they dispersed the protestors. ?We are proud of you,? some chanted. ?They got what they deserved,? said a shop owner. ?They don't have the right to come here and clash with the police on our streets.? *Hospital targeted: * Later in the morning, the police fired tear gas into the ?i?li Etfal Hospital. Patients and unfortunate citizens tried to flee the engulfing fog. Old women coughing and crying were trying to understand what was happening, as it was the first time they experienced such a thing. Drugstores and other shops pulled down their shutters, but the gas infiltrated everywhere. At the Confederation Revolutionary Workers' Unions (D?SK) headquarters six attacks had been witnessed by 10:20 a.m., said Seyit Aslan, secretary general of G?da-?? trade union. "The first one came without warning, while people were just sitting in front of the building," he said. "Deputies have tried calling the governor, the justice minister and the interior minister many times, but they refuse to speak." S?leyman ?elebi, president of D?SK, and others moved to the barricades to negotiate with the only official they could talk to, a top police officer. The group included ?smail Hakki Tombul, president of KESK, the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions, Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputies Akin Birdal, Ahmet T?rk, Hasip Kaplan and Aysel Tu?luk, and Ufuk Uras, deputy and leader of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (?DP). "These events show how far this country is from democracy," said Ferhat Tun?, a well-known protest music artist. "In the [D?SK] building, I for one moment thought they were going to burn us down. The people should see that the AKP has never been a party that supports democracy." "I have been to 37 countries, but never seen such disgrace," said Necdet Kiran, a former seaman and now municipal worker. Half an hour later, ?elebi and the others arrived. As expected, they could not obtain permission to march to Taksim. Speaking to the crowd from atop a party campaign bus, ?elebi explained the situation. "Istanbul is a giant prison now," he said. "In order not to be tools in this government provocation, we end our protest." Easier said then done. For the road to Mecidiyek?y and Taksim were barricaded by hundreds of robocops. Some protestors tried to leave, only to be tear-gassed again. Marching or not, the police seemed intent to finish their tear gas stocks. As small crowds in parallel streets tried to demonstrate, only to be tear-gassed again, the temporary solution became another speech to the main group in front of the CHP headquarters in ?i?li. After blasting the government and the police with slogans, people dispersed in various streets. In the afternoon demonstrators moved to ?stiklal Street and other locations near Taksim Square. Siraselviler, ?stiklal and other streets were filled with poisonous gas. Nearly 500 people were taken into custody during the day, police said. But trade unions put the number at around 900. As scattered protests continued into the evening, Istanbul celebrated another unique Labor Day. ________________________________________________ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/ccemgil%40bilgi.edu.tr From Dbachmozart at aol.com Fri May 2 15:42:32 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 17:42:32 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Saint Patrick Goes to Haiti. Message-ID: clip -- But a century and a half after the Great Famine, people in Haiti are still being killed by the same economic theories. Haiti has made headlines recently, for people eating cookies made of salt, butter and brown dirt to hold off starvation. The stories were, at first blush, a personal tragedy (a mother unable to feed her infant son) and a natural and economic disaster (hurricanes, high fuel prices). But with more context, the personal tragedy evolves into an outrageous international injustice. For decades, the World Bank and the Inter-America Development Bank (IDB) propped up Haitian dictators with generous loans. The notorious ?Papa Doc? and ? Baby Doc? -- Francois and Jean-Claude Duvalier-- received almost half of Haiti?s current outstanding loans. The Duvaliers used the money to buy warm fur coats and fast cars, and to fund the brutal Tonton Macoute death squads. In return, the international community, especially the United States, received a reliable vote against Fidel Castro in the United Nations and the Organization of American States. The Haitian people received very little from these loans. Since 1980, when Haiti started receiving the Banks? help in earnest, its per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has shrunk by 38.3%. Along the way, Haiti became the poorest country in the Americas, and one of the hungriest countries in the world. Today, about half of school-age kids in Haiti are not in school. Over half of all Haitians struggle to survive on $1 a day or less, and life expectancy is in the mid-50?s. Many of those who can flee do so, including cities like Boston and New York, that sheltered the refugees from Ireland?s famine. full article -- <_http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8862_ (http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8862) > **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From lnp3 at panix.com Fri May 2 17:11:07 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 19:11:07 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Interview with ILWU officer Message-ID: <20080502231108.C999C1BA1@mailbackend.panix.com> http://www.democracynow.org/2008/5/2/25_000_dockworkers_shut_down_west AMY GOODMAN: We're going to turn very quickly now to the protests that took place here on Thursday to mark May Day. There were?in the largest labor strike since the invasion of Iraq, ports along the West Coast, all twenty-nine of them, were shut down as some 25,000 dockworkers went on a one-day strike to protest the war. Several other smaller antiwar actions took place in other parts of the country. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of marchers in defense of immigrant labor rights in several cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Houston, Seattle and here in San Diego, took to the streets. We're going to turn now to the dockworkers' strike, where the workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union brought the port operations to a halt from Long Beach to Seattle in defiance of their employers and arbitrators. We're joined on the phone from San Francisco by Jack Heyman, an officer with the International. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Jack Heyman. Can you talk about the significance of what happened yesterday? JACK HEYMAN: Well, yeah. We were really proud here on the West Coast, as far as the longshore union, the ILWU, making this stand, because it's part of our legacy, really, of standing up on principled issues. And this, I think, is the first strike ever?well, I would call it a stop work, work stoppage, whatever you want?workers withholding their labor in demand?and demanding an end to the war and immediate withdrawal of the troops. AMY GOODMAN: What about the significance of the arbitrator saying that the longshoremen should not go out on strike? JACK HEYMAN: Well, you know, the interesting thing about this action is that not only did we defy the arbitrator, but in a certain sense we defied our own union officials. The union officials did not want to have the actions that we organized up and down the coast. And the arbitrator's decision is simply?we don't take our orders from the arbitrators. We don't take it from judges. The rank and file goes out and does what it has to do. We did that in 1984, when the ship came in from South Africa, the Nedlloyd Kimberley. We refused to work that ship for, I think it was ten or eleven days. And that was in defiance of what an arbitrator said and also against what our union officials were telling us. So we've got a strong tradition in the ILWU of rank-and-file democracy, workers' democracy, where we implement what we decide in a democratic fashion. And our action took place based on a motion that came out of our caucus, which is like a convention of all longshoremen represented up and down the coast. And we decided to stop work to stop this war, and that's what was carried out. AMY GOODMAN: The action within Iraq in solidarity with your strike, can you talk about that? JACK HEYMAN: Well, I think that really was the icing on the cake, because we were appealing for solidarity actions. And I know there was some actions in New York with the college teachers at a New York community college and teach-ins with students and so forth; there were postal workers that had a few moments of silence, a few minutes of silence in New York, Greensboro, North Carolina, and out here in the Bay Area; but really, the most stunning solidarity came from the port workers in Iraq, who struck in solidarity with us. And that was really a very courageous move, because they're literally under the gun of a military occupation there. AMY GOODMAN: What are your plans now? JACK HEYMAN: Well, what this action was was raising the level of struggle from protest to resistance, and we're hoping that these kinds of actions will resonate to other unions and workers. It's already catching on with some of the port truckers. Actually, they've been doing actions for quite awhile. While it's not mainly based on the war?I think they're very much affected by the high price of fuel?they've been shutting down ports over that issue, but also immigrant rights, because many of them are immigrant workers. And I hope that this will be an example to other workers that we have the power, we've got to use it. And that's how we can bring this war to a halt. AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you very much, Jack Heyman, for joining us from San Francisco, an officer of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. From nmgoro at gmail.com Fri May 2 17:26:03 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 01:26:03 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Marxmail is ten years old In-Reply-To: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> References: <4819D4D6.60309@panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805021626w11cfdf42r894d3e60d3a780c0@mail.gmail.com> Somehow late, due to political obligations, I am answering to Lou?s e-mail. Marxmail has provided me with an invaluable tool. And through this list I have made not few new comrades and, I think, also friends in the deepest sense of the concept. That?s all I thing needs to be said. Thank you all. 2008/5/1, Louis Proyect : > This is the tenth anniversary of the Marxism mailing list (also known as > Marxmail, the name of the accompanying website http://www.marxmail.org/) > that was launched on May 1, 2008. It started off with about sixty > subscribers (it now numbers 1103) who were fleeing the Marxism list that > preceded it, which had been hijacked by supporters of the Shining Path > in Peru, including one Adolfo Olaechea. Adolfo and his co-thinkers soon > lost interest in the mailing list and went on to other projects. Adolfo, > bless his soul, successfully defended himself recently against trumped > up charges of terrorism in Peru and continues to rally people around the > Maoist banner. > > With all due respect to the Maoist left, it was not the kind of > political culture that lent itself to a free and open exchange of ideas. > After the Maoist comrades had seized the moderator's reins, they began > expelling people left and right?yours truly was the first to go. > Ironically, I had written a defense of the Shining Path a few months > before I was > booted.(http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/indian/sendero.htm) > > That did not save me from being punished as a "Trotskyite". Those stormy > days of 1998 seem like a century ago, while my genuine Trotskyist past, > from 1967 to 1978 now seems like a millennium ago. History marches on, > to use a clich?. > > The Marxism list now has 1103 subscribers. I serve as moderator and Les > Schaffer serves as technical moderator. I have had a long and fruitful > collaboration with Les whose solid grasp of subscribers' psychologies, > including my own, helps to keep the list on an even keel. To a large > extent, my ideas about how to build a non-sectarian and non-dogmatic > left are reflected in the way I moderate the list. Most of all, this > involves a firm hand when it comes to any attempts to divide the list > between 'Bolsheviks' and 'Mensheviks'. Since Internet mailing lists tend > to operate as pressure cookers to begin with, the worst thing for a > Marxism mailing list would be to artificially raise the temperature. > Labeling people as "revisionists" or "reformists" is an invitation to > the kinds of flame wars that destroyed the mailing lists that preceded > Marxmail. > > While the list does not have nearly as many female subscribers that it > needs, the global representation is pretty good?including many > subscribers from the Third World. On a typical day, there will be posts > from subscribers in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, and > Great Britain. The political representation is also pretty good, with > subscribers reflecting Trotskyist, Communist, state capitalist, and > syndicalist traditions. > > The mailing list has grown by about 100 new subscribers per year and I > expect that it will continue at this rate unless there is a qualitative > change in the political situation. If there was a radicalization as deep > as that of 1968 (another anniversary now being celebrated) I can easily > imagine adding 3 or 4 hundred subscribers per year. Given the economic > crisis we are now entering, as well as the prospect of continuing > imperialist war and environmental degradation, that could be in the cards. > > Nearly 40 years ago, the Trotskyist sect that I belonged to embarked on > a major infrastructure expansion campaign in anticipation of the same > kind of future radicalization. Members gave millions of dollars to > purchase an office building near the Hudson River and an expensive Web > Press, which prints on continuous rolls of paper. The offices were seen > as necessary to administer an explosive growth in membership and the Web > Press would allow the massive circulation of party organs as the > radicalization deepened. Although there were opportunities for the group > after the 60s radicalization came to an end, they did not understand how > to take advantage of them. Instead of growing, they shrank. The building > and all the contents, including the Web Press, were sold a couple of > years ago. > > Although there will obviously always be a need for "dead tree" media > such as books and newspapers, the Internet?which is a Web Press after a > fashion?is as geared to our epoch as the Gutenberg press was geared to > the epoch of peasant revolts. I like to think of the Marxism mailing > list as the same kind of investment in infrastructure as the SWP's > office building and Web Press, even though it costs very little. In the > coming years and decades, even after my ashes have been scattered in > the Hudson River, Marxmail will enable revolutionaries worldwide to > exchange information and debate ideas all through the auspices of a > technology that originated in the American military's research into how > state power could be maintained after a nuclear war! Talk about > contradictions? > > The Marxism list remains grateful to the support of Professor Hans > Ehrbar of the University of Utah Economics department, one of the few > schools in the country that allows scholarly critiques of the capitalist > system to be mounted. Our mailing list operates on a computer that Hans > donated and his technical support, along with Les's, allows our > communications to run smoothly. > > I would also wish our comrade Doug Henwood well, whose LBO-Talk mailing > list was launched on the very same day as Marxmail. > (http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/lbo-talk.html) Doug was a survivor > of the early wild and woolly days of Marxism mailing lists on the > Internet as well as senseless provocations from your moderator before I > (and Doug) had reached our current Zen-like state of equanimity. > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From nmgoro at gmail.com Fri May 2 17:28:27 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 01:28:27 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] A May Day speech by Evita, 1949 and some baggage to remember In-Reply-To: References: <2fa158550805010549v56ac1ebbxdf6926a73e0b15db@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805021628r46929e64u5be16a9c55f0159f@mail.gmail.com> Obriens words are simply crap. To be sure, Winston Churchillean crap. 2008/5/2, John Obrien : > > Complex relationship indeed! > > The facts remain as I previosuly stated about Evita and her husband taking funds and support from Nazi war criminals. The record is there and words can not dismiss that thousands of European fascists were given refuge by the Perons, who personally benefitted from this wealth. > > > Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 09:49:28 -0300> From: nmgoro en gmail.com> Subject: [Marxism] A May Day speech by Evita, 1949> To: causecollector en msn.com> > [We have been commenting the complex relationship between Peronism and> the working class on this list recently. > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From anthony.boynton at gmail.com Fri May 2 17:49:31 2008 From: anthony.boynton at gmail.com (Anthony Boynton) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 18:49:31 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] 10th Anniversary Message-ID: <7b8a676d0805021649p3f036440mac288c1ca8bb8caf@mail.gmail.com> Thank you Lou and Thank you Les for ten years of good work, even though I haven't been around for the whole time. Thank you especially Lou, for inviting me to join this list. I have learned a lot from the contributors to this list, and use the list as one of my most important sources of information. I hope that the list experiences a serious growth crisis in the near future. All the best, Anthony From lnp3 at panix.com Fri May 2 18:04:45 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 20:04:45 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] John Gregory Bourke and the Apaches Message-ID: <20080503000447.9603012E83@mailbackend.panix.com> Last November, when I trashed "No Country For Old Men", a Coen brothers movie based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, I wrote the following about another McCarthy novel: ---> If I had more time on my hands, I might take a look at McCarthy's novels to try to extract out the rotten core and examine it under a strong light, especially the 1985 "Blood Meridian" that is described on the official website of the Cormac McCarthy Society as a dismantling of "the politically correct myth of aboriginal victimization, so that victims and their antagonists become indistinguishable." The write-up continues: In one celebrated scene, a column of mercenaries the kid has joined encounters a Comanche war party herding stolen horses and cattle across the desert. The kid barely escapes as the Indians, still vividly dressed like eldritch clowns in the garments they have stripped from their last white victims, annihilate his companions. Just what the world was waiting for, a Faulkneresque novel that depicts American Indians as wanton killers. <--- I finally got around to reading "Blood Meridian" about a month ago, but before trashing it I am doing some background reading on the Apache, Comanche and Yuma Indians who all play a significant role in McCarthy's horrible novel. As I have mentioned previously on my blog, McCarthy has essentially a Hobbesian worldview. Everybody is rotten, both the white death squads that the McCarthy website refers to charitably as "mercenaries" and the Indians that they slaughter. Reading "Blood Meridian" is an experience that is analogous to reading a novel focused on a band of Nazi stormtroopers assigned to quell the Warsaw uprising. The author does not hide his animosity toward the Nazis but also finds the Jewish rebels just as repugnant. One imagines that it is possible to write a novel about white Indian-killers and their victims being equally vicious in this country because?as Ward Churchill once pointed out?our Nazis (Kit Carson and company) won their war. While I am sure that one can write a compelling novel with Nazi stormtroopers as the major characters, I certainly am not interested in reading it. Cormac McCarthy's characters are pretty one-dimensional, who function pretty much as killing machines without any inner doubts. His novel has bamboozled some left-leaning Literature professors into thinking that McCarthy has mounted some kind of Marxist critique of the Old West solely on the basis of the unflattering portrait of the white killers. I will have much more to say about this when I post my review of "Blood Meridian" but will say at this point that I would have written a much different novel that would be not only more Marxist but more interesting from a literary standpoint. My major characters would have not been members of John Glanton's gang, but men like John Gregory Burke, whose relationship to the Apache Indians was far more complex. His psychological and political conflicts are the very stuff of great literature, as this passage from Richard J. Perry's "Apache Reservation: Indigenous Peoples and the American State" reveal: One Man's View of the Apache: John Gregory Bourke In the 1870s and 1880s, as the Apache found themselves increasingly enmeshed in the expanding American state, John Gregory Bourke participated in the process. His papers offer a vivid sense of the era. When he participated in Crook's winter campaign of 1871, apparently he fully accepted the rightness of the forces he represented. Bourke clearly was a man of his times. He had graduated from West Point and was conversant with the thrust of nineteenth-century American social thought. An aspect of this thought was the idea that progress was an inevitable law of nature, and that some human societies had progressed more than others. In the late 1880s he wrote a scholarly treatise discussing Apache practices in terms of cultural evolutionary stages (1892). There was little question in Bourke's mind that the United States and western Europe represented the epitome of human progress up to that time. From this perspective, populations like the Apache were different?not because they represented alternative, equivalent varieties of human experience, but because they had not progressed beyond the stages of "savagery" or "barbarism." In many ways, according to this view, the Apache were something like what Europeans had been in the past. Human progress for the good of all, even for the good of the Apache, required that higher levels of social and cultural development replace savagery. To young John Bourke and other Anglo-Americans of his time, there was no apparent reason to question the idea that the Apache were an anachronistic obstacle to progress whose time had almost ended. Their fierce resistance to a civilized population's invasion of their territory did little to dispel these assumptions. full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/john-gregory-burke-and-the-apaches/ From anthony.boynton at gmail.com Fri May 2 19:59:46 2008 From: anthony.boynton at gmail.com (Anthony Boynton) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 20:59:46 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] using the elections to measure racism Message-ID: <7b8a676d0805021859v793d0ab1pf1f15b10efcbbd60@mail.gmail.com> *Here is an interesting AP article detailing the racist electoral chain GOP racism connects to Clinton Racism ? but it might not work. Here we have a pretty good way to measure how strong, or how weak, racism is in 21st century Amerika. Anthony * * * *GOP uses Obama to boost Republican candidates* By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer 43 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Turns out Louisiana and Mississippi weren't quite finished with the Democratic presidential campaign. Sen. Barack Obama won each state's primary earlier this year. But these days his face still appears in television ads in both states, this time from Republicans trying to turn him into a liability for Democrats in two looming special elections for long-held Republican seats. Democratic victories would be a serious setback for Republicans. But it also would go a long way to reassure nervous Democrats, particularly undecided superdelegates, that Obama would not present a hardship to House or Senate candidates running in tough races. Democratic losses would give Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton new ammunition to build her case for her presidential candidacy by questioning the sturdiness of Obama's coattails. "I think people want to know what chances we're going to be having in November if Obama is the nominee," said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat who has endorsed Clinton. "There are a host of judgments that superdelegates make," said Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has not endorsed either presidential candidate. "Certainly a special election held close to a contested primary like this one could be very relevant." Both races present Democrats with an unusual chance for an early capture of Republican seats. Voters in Louisiana's 6th Congressional District, held by Republicans for 32 years, will choose Saturday between Democrat Don Cazayoux, who leads in the polls, and Republican Woody Jenkins. The seat had belonged to former Republican Rep. Richard Baker, who resigned earlier this year to work with hedge funds. In Mississippi's 1st District, in Republican hands since 1995, Democrat Travis Childers is competing with Republican Greg Davis to fill the seat held by Roger Wicker, who is now serving in the Senate as a replacement for former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss. That election is May 13. Republicans clearly hope Obama is a Democratic albatross. The Republican Party and one of its conservative allies have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads portraying Obama as a liberal and tying Cazayoux and Childers to the Illinois senator. "When it comes to taxes both Travis Childers and Barack Obama think alike ? they both want to raise them," says an ad by Freedom's Watch, an outside group financed by wealthy Republican contributors. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the branch of the national party that assists GOP candidates, has linked Childers and Cazayoux to Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. In Louisiana, the party's ad says Obama and Pelosi represent "a radical agenda, very different from Louisiana's values." "Is Obama right for Louisiana? Is Pelosi?" the spot asks. NRCC Chairman Tom Cole, a GOP congressman from Oklahoma, this week said Republicans would rather run with Obama at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket than Clinton. That represents a change in attitude for Republicans, many of whom had argued earlier that Clinton would likely energize Republicans against her and thus help down ticket Republicans. But now, some Republican strategists say, any connection between Democratic candidates, even conservative Democrats such as Cazayoux and Childers, and Obama will erode their support among blue-collar voters. And they say that since the ads began running, the Democrats' leads have shrunk. Obama "is by any definition very liberal, to the left of Hillary Clinton, in a center-right country," Cole said. "That is very, very helpful to us." According to Federal Election Commission figures and data provided by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the NRCC has spent more than $600,000 and Freedom's Watch is spending $120,000 in Mississippi's 1st District. The GOP is spending nearly $440,000 and Freedom's Watch is spending $126,000 in Louisiana's 6th District. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has outspent their Republican counterparts in each district ? nearly $1.2 million in Louisiana and more than $1.1 million in Mississippi. Democratic Party officials and strategists, however, say the Obama links in the Mississippi and Louisiana races are having no effect. "The fact that these two seats are competitive is news in itself," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "You've got the NRCC and Freedom's Watch spending a boat load to try and defend seats that were just held by Republicans. It shows the mood change throughout the electorate." If the ads aren't having any effect, Childers nevertheless isn't taking any chances and has put some distance with Obama. "He hasn't contacted me. I haven't contacted Senator Obama," he said in an interview. "I'm not running for president. I'm running for Congress. I'm staying focused and I'm on a mission." Some Republicans are surprised that the party and Freedom's Watch chose to make Obama an issue in two congressional districts with sizable African-American populations. One-third of the population in the Louisiana district and one-quarter of the population in the Mississippi district is black. "In surveys I have seen, African-Americans are more likely to be undecided than white voters," said Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, who has been following the Louisiana contest. "Consequently, linking Cazayoux to Obama could help him significantly with undecideds and make them break Cazayoux's way." Democratic wins in both contests would not only boost Obama's credentials, they could undermine Republican strategy. But Fabrizio said that, too, could be a mistake. He said he still believes Obama is greater liability for Democrats than Clinton, but that the two current special elections were not the contests to test whether Obama would drag down Democratic congressional candidates. "A lot of these (Democrats) who are out there running don't even know what this guy stands for," Fabrizio said. "Whereas Clinton, if the race is against her, the race will be more about issues, rather than stature or an ideological gap. We already know she's a liberal. So we're going to push this guy further than her." No doubt, Republicans would use either Clinton or Obama as a Republican foil in close congressional races. And even Democrats concede that who is perceived as a burden and who is an asset is a matter of geography. "I have had members say that if Barack is not on our ballot in our state, we lose," said Rep. Sam Farr, a California Democrat and undeclared superdelegate. "I've heard people in Pennsylvania say that if Hillary is not on the ballot, they'd lose. I guess it depends where you are in this country." Obama has shown an ability to drive up African-American turnout in a way that would be of special benefit in some congressional districts and statewide races. Rep. Gene Taylor, a Mississippi Democrat who has not aligned himself with either candidate, said Obama at the top of the ticket could cause an outpouring of African-American votes for Democratic Mississippi Senate candidate Ronnie Musgrove. "What the big question mark is, and I guess we won't know until November, is what's the turnout for the guy who just can't vote for the black man, just won't do it, for whatever reason," he said. "That's the big unknown." The special elections might offer a clue. From Paula_cerni at msn.com Fri May 2 20:00:06 2008 From: Paula_cerni at msn.com (Paula) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 19:00:06 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com In-Reply-To: <4818BEE5.4050401@panix.com> <20080430230107.1EF4DD439@mailbackend.panix.com> References: <4818BEE5.4050401@panix.com> <20080430230107.1EF4DD439@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: Louis wrote: > I am not that familiar with Wolpert but I believe that his position > is that scientists can't be sure of the extent of the risk--not that > they deny there is a risk. Most of the debate seems to be about the extent of the risk. For example, Lomborg does not deny the risk either, in fact he says that 'global warming is real and man-made'; but he believes that 'statements about the strong, ominous, and immediate consequences of global warming are often wildly exaggerated' (quotes are from his recent book Cool It). Paula From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Fri May 2 21:27:28 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 23:27:28 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com In-Reply-To: <4E06A4570F4648D7B95A0F2BDAC0D12F@PaddyPC> References: <4818BEE5.4050401@panix.com> <001501c8ab0f$a3e59390$0302a8c0@Nautilus> <4E06A4570F4648D7B95A0F2BDAC0D12F@PaddyPC> Message-ID: <908b689f0805022027x2df63714q3cd545d2d8e9c26@mail.gmail.com> On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 8:38 AM, Paddy Apling wrote: > It is equally likely that the diagnosis that the cause of the BSE outbreak > was meat and bone meal was equally wrong. No one has ever succeeded in > producing BSE in an animal under laboratory conditions by feeding meat and > bone meal, only by injecting brain material, or extracts made from it, > derived from animals suffering the diseaase into healthy animals - which is > far from causal proof of infection from food material, or even large amounts > of meat and bone meal.. "To find a use for the vast tonnage of condemned and inedible remains of slaughtered animals, they are rendered down and the protein residue is fed to billions of poultry, pigs, milk cows and beef cattle." Might it be possible that brain tissue (and not just meat) might be among the "inedible remains" ground down and fed to the animals? That could explain it.... From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Fri May 2 23:05:50 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 01:05:50 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Conservatives oust 'Red Ken' in London Message-ID: <908b689f0805022205ub67ef42j922b78cc223cb119@mail.gmail.com> May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson, a Conservative member of Parliament and journalist, defeated Ken Livingstone to become mayor of London, completing a drubbing for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party in mid-term elections. [...] Livingstone, a London politician since 1973 and like Johnson well-known around Britain, was nicknamed ``Red Ken'' by the U.K.'s tabloid newspapers in the 1980s, when he ran the Greater London Council. Battles With Thatcher The council, the city's government at the time, was abolished by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1986, after battles with Livingstone over issues such as London Underground fares and his positioning of a counter showing London's rising unemployment figures on County Hall, the GLC headquarters, across the Thames from Parliament. The mayor's office was created in 2000 by then-Prime Minister Blair. Johnson promised to ``sweep out'' Livingstone's ``Marxist cabal'' and to end waste and ``sleaze'' in City Hall, a reference to a police investigation into whether community groups misused or stole grant money provided by Livingstone's administration. Full: From johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz Sat May 3 04:30:29 2008 From: johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz (John) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 22:30:29 +1200 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <002d01c8ac56$a9904b30$8a01a8c0@new1501> References: <002d01c8ac56$a9904b30$8a01a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <1209810629.5658.190.camel@john-desktop> On Fri, 2008-05-02 at 06:15 -0700, Walter Lippmann wrote: > (This is for all of those radicals who complain > about the South African government and all of > its supposed failures in providing services. > > (Instead of complaining, they should be grateful > to the South African government for efforts like > this to provide much needed medical care where > other South Africans aren't willing to give it.) > ================================================== It seems to me that all the kudos in this story should go to the Cubans. The South Africans don't appear to have done anything remarkable at all - unless accepting help from countries poorer than themselves (South Africa's GDP is $13000 compared to Cuba's $3900) is something to be proud of. By retaining a good relationship with Cuba, South Africa has been able to benefit from the unequalled generosity that Cuba extends through its medical aid program. Presumably in this case Cuba does get something in return, since this is part of an inter-government agreement between the two states - the article Walter posted doesn't elaborate on this. The bottom line is that South Africa had the opportunity to be a world leader, like Cuba, or recently Venezuela. They've had years to train up some of the highly dedicated and motivated activists who catapulted the ANC into power. South Africa could have been providing doctors to the rest of Africa instead of importing doctors, much needed elsewhere, from Cuba. Cheers, John ps. Lots of those South African doctors (along with other white flighters) have taken up residence in New Zealand. It's funny how it's impossible to find any who supported apartheid though... From dave.walters at comcast.net Sat May 3 06:54:17 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (dave.walters at comcast.net) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 12:54:17 +0000 Subject: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com Message-ID: <050320081254.12688.481C6079000D2FDC0000319022007374789C9D0A9B040E99D20A900E0B@comcast.net> Brains and spinal cords are different. Brains are not the sources of the disease in question. In California, getting a "suesos y lingua" tacitos or burritos is a treat served everywhere. Had some last Saturday in fact. One of my favorites. Yum. I'm sure it's available in any part of the US where there are Mexican immigrants. David From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Sat May 3 07:58:53 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 23:58:53 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Australian Labor Party ranks take high ground in privatisation battle Message-ID: <481C6F9D.7060500@optusnet.com.au> The conference of the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party today overwhelmingly rejected the Labor government's proposal to sell off the state's electricity network. This is a major victory following a long and effective campaign by most trade unions, the Labor Party ranks, the Greens and other community organisations. The battle is not over, as the government has said it will defy the conference. Much will defend on a vote of the Labor parliamentary caucus on Tuesday. Bob Gould's report: http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/highgroundwon/ From walterlx at earthlink.net Sat May 3 08:09:12 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 10:09:12 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Message-ID: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> One might have thought the South Africa, which evidently was not able to prevent those doctors - probably white, from abandoning their home country, would deserve PRAISE for having made these efforts to replace those who choose to leave with doctors from Cuba. (I've no idea if there were any Black doctors permitted to attend medical school or practice during the apartheid period.) Evidently the South Africa bashers have found yet another way to bash South Africa's post-apartheid government. Cuban generosity is well-known, but I do not imagine that Cuba provides its doctors free of charge. Cuba does provide medical education to students - including from South Africa, for free. Cuba only asks that the doctors it trains return to their home countries and provide medical care there in underserved areas. Edmondson complains that South Africa hasn't trained activists who helped overthrow apartheid into becoming doctors. Somehow I think that's a bit much to ask. Just because someone is good as a political activist and leader, does that really mean they would also be good as a physician? Here are some details on the 400 South African medical school students who are currently receiving their education in Cuba: http://www.medicc.org/ns/index.php?s=30&p=4 Once again, the prefectionistic critics of the ANC government never lose an opportunity to make an attack on the ANC. Cuba is training Venezuelans to become doctors, yet we've not yet begun to read of Venezuelan doctors trained in Cuba who've returned home or travelled to other countries to practice the medicine they've learned in Cuba. Under ALBA, goods are traded rather than purchased and sold. The exact equivalents for the trades aren't spelled out. However, Cuba is receiving oil from Venezuela at agreed upon, and stable prices. I don't know what those are, either. South Africa's standing with Cuba diplomatically, politically and terms of economic interaction and trade, also counts for somewhere between little and nothing to our perfectionists. The South African government is a capitalist one, but unlike the United States government, South Africa's government has a completely favorable relationship with Cuba. For critics of a perfectionistic bent, this, too, counts for somewhere between little and nothing. But finding yet another reason to attack the government of South Africa? Yes, that's quite satisfying to some. South Africa does have critics internationally, including even in faraway New Zealand. Wasn't there someone named Ferguson among among the Kiwis criticizing South Africa's government, too? Walter Lippmann Los Angeles, California =============================================================== JOHN EDMUNDSON write: It seems to me that all the kudos in this story should go to the Cubans. The South Africans don't appear to have done anything remarkable at all - unless accepting help from countries poorer than themselves (South Africa's GDP is $13000 compared to Cuba's $3900) is something to be proud of. By retaining a good relationship with Cuba, South Africa has been able to benefit from the unequalled generosity that Cuba extends through its medical aid program. Presumably in this case Cuba does get something in return, since this is part of an inter-government agreement between the two states - the article Walter posted doesn't elaborate on this. The bottom line is that South Africa had the opportunity to be a world leader, like Cuba, or recently Venezuela. They've had years to train up some of the highly dedicated and motivated activists who catapulted the ANC into power. South Africa could have been providing doctors to the rest of Africa instead of importing doctors, much needed elsewhere, from Cuba. Cheers, John ps. Lots of those South African doctors (along with other white flighters) have taken up residence in New Zealand. It's funny how it's impossible to find any who supported apartheid though... ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From lnp3 at panix.com Sat May 3 08:31:03 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 10:31:03 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.s a.earthlink.net> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> Walter wrote: >One might have thought the South Africa, which evidently was not >able to prevent those doctors - probably white, from abandoning >their home country, would deserve PRAISE for having made these >efforts to replace those who choose to leave with doctors from Cuba. >(I've no idea if there were any Black doctors permitted to attend >medical school or practice during the apartheid period.) Evidently >the South Africa bashers have found yet another way to bash South >Africa's post-apartheid government. Walter, as I told you the other day, privatizing water in South Africa has resulted in the death of thousands of children from cholera, dysentery and other such diseases. Any government that allows children to die in this fashion while erstwhile Black revolutionaries join the white capitalist club should not be praised. It should be condemned. http://www.citizen.org/cmep/Water/cmep_Water/reports/southafrica/ South Africa When South Africa emerged from decades of apartheid rule in 1994 expectations for reform were high. The new African National Congress (ANC) government promised water for all ? in a country where only the minority, the white people, had access to piped drinking water. This access was subsidized by the poor black minority ? a policy the new ruling party wanted to change. Access to drinking water has been improved over the past decade, in 2000 86% of the population had access to improved water services. But improvements have come at a high price. The government has relied on cost-recovery policies and privatization to deliver water. As a result 10 million households were cut off from water in 2001 ? more households than the government had managed to connect in the previous 6 years. Concurrently a 3-year cholera epidemic affecting over 100,000 people broke out after decades without this preventable disease. The same year, the government embarked on an internationally praised project designed to provide free water for people. In fact, this program provides 8KL of water to each household, disadvantaging the poorest large households without access to piped water. According to the WHO, 8KL water would provide for the very basic needs for a family of 8, but not sufficient for long term survival or a dignified life. Furthermore, the policy has awarded free water to only the most advantaged municipalities leaving the poor municipalities with a heavier burden. In order to receive sufficient quantities for dignified living poor households spend up to one fourth of their available income on water. The South African government claims that the World Bank has no influence over national policies, but leaked World Bank documents have proven that World Bank consultants continues to advise the South African government on public utilities. World Bank track record shows that they have one piece of advice in their bag: privatization. (clip) ---- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/08/southafrica.rorycarroll Black tycoons fail to mask gap in SA equality This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday September 08 2004 . It was last updated at 23:59 on September 07 2004. Cruising into the Johannesburg River club for a round of golf, lifting off in helicopters for weekend retreats, sipping champagne at black-tie functions: they are South Africa's new randlords. They spend long hours in towers of steel and glass running financial empires, but it is when they come out to play that the public get a glimpse of South Africa's first black rand billionaires, men who have zoomed from modest means to mega-wealth in a few years. They are saluted by some as models of what is possible in the post-apartheid era; condemned by others as the embodiment of crony capitalism, which enriches a few and leaves many in poverty. In the debate on whether they should be encouraged or reined in, the latter seem to be winning. The government is cooling its enthusiasm for what one minister recently called with irony the "gentlemen of empowerment". But critics say the juiciest deals keep going to the same people, invariably men with ANC connections. The most cited are Cyril Ramaphosa, Patrice Motsepe, Tokyo Sexwale and Saki Macozoma. Beginning in humble roles in the ANC and labour movement, all four are now immensely rich from stakes in mining, telecommunications, newspapers, banking and energy. Ajay Lalu, an empowerment consultant with Ernst & Young, said: "Calling them gentlemen of empowerment is too kind; they are the usual suspects. BEE has become part of the inner circle of the old boys' club." (clip) From walterlx at earthlink.net Sat May 3 08:47:46 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 10:47:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Message-ID: <5235036.1209826066112.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> The issue was the provision of medical care in the post- apartheid South Africa. South Africa's government wasn't able to prevent those doctors who decided to leave from doing so. But South Africa was able and is able to bring Cuban doctors, and to send South African doctors to Cuba for training. 400 from what MEDICC is reporting now. But life was so much better under apartheid, wasn't it, according to what the critics are ceaselessly saying? That's the logic of what is being said by the critics with their endless assaults on the South African government. Walter Lippmann ============================================================= LOUIS PROYECT writes: Walter, as I told you the other day, privatizing water in South Africa has resulted in the death of thousands of children from cholera, dysentery and other such diseases. Any government that allows children to die in this fashion while erstwhile Black revolutionaries join the white capitalist club should not be praised. It should be condemned. ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From mbayram_y2k at yahoo.com Sat May 3 08:58:07 2008 From: mbayram_y2k at yahoo.com (Mehmet Bayram) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 07:58:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] May Day all-out Government attack in Turkey: Minute by Minute Account Message-ID: <423608.65198.qm@web53007.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Please visit http://www.sendika.org/english/ for other related articles and news on labor struggles in Turkey and the Middle East Turkey/Istanbul ? Turkish Government attacks in an all-out war against laborers to prevent May Day Celebrations! MINUTE BY MINUTE ACCOUNT OF CLASHES ON THE STREETS OF ISTANBUL (01 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16763 Turkey/Istanbul ? Reflections from War Zone after the government?s attack on May Day Celebrations (02 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16791 ----------- Iraq - May Day 2008 Statement from the Iraqi Labour Movement (01 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16771 ----------- Turkey/Adana ? Police attack May Day demonstrators in Adana (01 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16770 ----------- ----------- From mbayram_y2k at yahoo.com Sat May 3 08:58:08 2008 From: mbayram_y2k at yahoo.com (Mehmet Bayram) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 07:58:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] May Day all-out Government attack in Turkey: Minute by Minute Account Message-ID: <221878.70709.qm@web53004.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Please visit http://www.sendika.org/english/ for other related articles and news on labor struggles in Turkey and the Middle East Turkey/Istanbul ? Turkish Government attacks in an all-out war against laborers to prevent May Day Celebrations! MINUTE BY MINUTE ACCOUNT OF CLASHES ON THE STREETS OF ISTANBUL (01 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16763 Turkey/Istanbul ? Reflections from War Zone after the government?s attack on May Day Celebrations (02 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16791 ----------- Iraq - May Day 2008 Statement from the Iraqi Labour Movement (01 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16771 ----------- Turkey/Adana ? Police attack May Day demonstrators in Adana (01 May 2008) http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=16770 ----------- ----------- From lnp3 at panix.com Sat May 3 10:09:21 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 12:09:21 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <5235036.1209826066112.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa .earthlink.net> References: <5235036.1209826066112.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <20080503160922.4ADD119ABA@mailbackend.panix.com> >The issue was the provision of medical care in the post- apartheid >South Africa. South Africa's government wasn't able to prevent those >doctors who decided to leave from doing so. But South Africa was >able and is able to bring Cuban doctors, and to send South African >doctors to Cuba for training. 400 from what MEDICC is reporting now. >But life was so much better under apartheid, wasn't it, according to >what the critics are ceaselessly saying? That's the logic of what is >being said by the critics with their endless assaults on the South >African government. Walter Lippmann Walter, you are really turning into a tiresome troll. This latest round got started yesterday with this provocation from you yesterday: (This is for all of those radicals who complain about the South African government and all of its supposed failures in providing services. (Instead of complaining, they should be grateful to the South African government for efforts like this to provide much needed medical care where other South Africans aren't willing to give it.) For the past three or four years at least, you have tried to stir things up on this list with crapola like this. It is not as if we haven't debated the ANC in the past. A search on "Lippmann" and "ANC" turned up 96 posts. What are we supposed to learn that we haven't learned already from you? What are you shooting for? 1000 posts? Do you want us to go running off like the subject of Edvard Munch's "The Scream"? My suggestion is that you begin to use your brain in a more productive manner. There is an article in the NY Times today about baby boomers worried about mental decline: NY Times, May 3, 2008 Exercise Your Brain, or Else You'll ... Uh ... By KATIE HAFNER SAN FRANCISCO ? When David Bunnell, a magazine publisher who lives in Berkeley, Calif., went to a FedEx store to send a package a few years ago, he suddenly drew a blank as he was filling out the forms. "I couldn't remember my address," said Mr. Bunnell, 60, with a measure of horror in his voice. "I knew where I lived, and I knew how to get there, but I didn't know what the address was." Mr. Bunnell is among tens of millions of baby boomers who are encountering the signs, by turns amusing and disconcerting, that accompany the decline of the brain's acuity: a good friend's name suddenly vanishing from memory; a frantic search for eyeglasses only to find them atop the head; milk taken from the refrigerator then put away in a cupboard. "It's probably one of the most frightening aspects of the changes we undergo as we age," said Nancy Ceridwyn, director of educational initiatives at the American Society on Aging. "Our memories are who we are. And if we lose our memories we lose that groundedness of who we are." At the same time, boomers are seizing on a mounting body of evidence that suggests that brains contain more plasticity than previously thought, and many people are taking matters into their own hands, doing brain fitness exercises with the same intensity with which they attack a treadmill. Decaying brains, or the fear thereof, have inspired a mini-industry of brain health products ? not just supplements like coenzyme Q10, ginseng and bacopa, but computer-based fitter-brain products as well. full: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/technology/03brain.html I don't think ginseng is what you need exactly, but I would recommend that you begin to open up new research areas since this trolling around Cuba, the ANC, Sinn Fein will surely lead to an early onset of Alzheimer's. From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Sat May 3 11:02:45 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 13:02:45 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana Message-ID: <000001c8ad3f$82796d80$6401a8c0@office1pc> The article that follows these comments comes from the New York Times and MSNBC. In my opinion, we dare never forget that a racist campaign is being waged against Sen. Barack Obama. This is regardless of what he says and what he specifically stands for. He is under attack because to a significant degree, he comes out of the broader US Black community and has won its support. And because, whatever may have gone on sporadically (and except in the Black townships in the US, Black representation has always come only from the Black townships: Newark, Detroit, Philadelphia, and other like "Black" cities. Name me a two-term Black governor. There have been two Black US Senators since Reconstruction. Three Black mayors of a really multiracial towns (Goode in Philadelphia, Bradley in Los Angeles, Dinkins in New York) and LA has not had a Black mayor since -- nor has New York.) Does Cleveland, where Stokes became the first Black mayor of a major city since Reconstruction.) In my opinion a lot of comrades tend to be complacent today about the scope of Black representation within the bourgeois politics of this country, and this makes the idea of a Black president seem like a rather minor, and not really worth having. Rather like the dismissive way some treat the end of white political power in South Africa, as though what is it worth since the economic and social problems have worsened for the masses. As a result, a note of nostalgia for the Good Old Days tends to appear in comments on South Africa (back in those days, they didn't have to pay for water). The tone looks backward rather than forward, and thus is completely alien from the core mood of the Black masses, who are not ready to dismiss what they won and are looking for a way forward, not backward to the good old days when there was no AIDs and life was easier. I too prefer that Obama rather than any other candidate won this election. I would even more like Cynthia McKinney to win but, except for propagandistic education which I value greatly and will cast my own vote on that basis, she is NOT a contender and cannot be. The racial issue, which is being posed sharply point-blank and repeatedly in this campaign, cannot be ignored by anybody except at the price of placing oneself outside anything resembling real politics in this racist country still ruled by a racist state machine. Not in contrast with being imperialist, but as a fundamental consequence of its imperialist character. We shouldn't devote all our time to lambasting Obama for his wrong stand on Wright. I've said my piece on this and I take nothing back. Obama and Wright are both being subjected to a racist political witch-hunt, and they both deserve defense. Under ferocious pressure, Obama has responded to the witch-hunt the way that liberals customarily do, that is by joining the attack on someone else. (Remember the liberal stand on communists in the McCarthy period.) In doing so, he has made things easier (I think) for the racist attack on himself, which is being extended in North Carolina and Louisiana, at least, to anyone who supports him. Fighting this racist campaign in all its components has to be a priority for the left, period. Black people and an unprecedented number of white allies, including in the working class, are trying to accomplish a change in US politics which, contrary to what was becoming customary complacency in US politics, is an uphill battle against powerful enemies. These issues are bringing the Black nationality to the center of US politics in a way not seen for a long time. It is straining the unity of the Democratic Party in almost unprecedented ways. Above all, we should not confuse the deep national feelings of the Black masses with racist sentiments (even ones we defend as justified). Noone in this country is so desperate to get beyond racial divisions as the Black masses in this country -- not the "nonracialism" of Clinton and McCain in which the attitudes of the whites become the gold standard of nonracialism to which all Blacks must aspire to assimilate. Why didn't you walk out of that church when he attacked "America," and so on. While Clinton has breakfast with her antigay, anti-abortion, "middle American" white cleric once a month. NYT: GOP crossing over to vote for Dems Economy, discontent over Bush policies drive some; spoilers out there too By Larry Rohter The New York Times updated 3:01 a.m. ET, Sat., May. 3, 2008 INDIANAPOLIS - Until now, Shirley Morgan had always been the kind of voter the Republican Party thought it could count on. She comes from a family of staunch Republicans, has a son in the military and has supported Republican presidential candidates ever since she cast her first ballot, for Richard M. Nixon in 1972. But this year Mrs. Morgan exemplifies a different breed: the Republican crossing over to vote in the Democratic primary. Not only will she mark her ballot for Senator Barack Obama in the May 6 primary here, but she has also been canvassing for him in the heavily Republican suburbs of Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis - the first time she has ever actively campaigned for a candidate. "I used to like John McCain, but he's aligning himself too closely with what Bush did, and that's just not what I want for this country," Mrs. Morgan, who is 56, said when asked to explain her rejection of the presumptive Republican nominee. Since the start of the primary and caucus season in January, Republican voters have been crossing over in increasing numbers to vote in Democratic contests - supplying up to 10 percent of the vote in states that allow such crossover voting - and they are expected to play a pivotal role in the fiercely contested primary here. What is less clear, however, is the motivation for their behavior: are they genuinely attracted by the two Democratic candidates? Or are they mischief-making spoilers, looking to prolong a divisive Democratic fight or support a candidate Mr. McCain can beat in November? Local Republican Party leaders in Indiana concede the attraction of the Democratic candidates to some of their party members. And interviews with roughly a dozen Republican voters in central Indiana suggest that they are driven mainly by concerns about the economy, with discontent over Bush administration policies driving their involvement in the Democratic race. "Much as I like John McCain as a war hero, I am fearful he does not have the depth of experience to fix the economy," said Darlene Boatman, 62, a just-retired sales clerk who favors Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. "We're all struggling here to make ends meet. I haven't had health care coverage in about 10 years and jobs are fewer and farther between. The economy is my biggest concern, and I think Hillary has the best understanding of how to pull off the recovery we need." Clinton's share of crossover vote growing The drift has given some comfort to Democrats worried about the searing divisions in their party. Surveys of voters leaving the polls and official vote tabulations indicate that both Mr. Obama, of Illinois, and Mrs. Clinton, of New York, have benefited from the Republican crossover vote, though to different degrees and in patterns that vary by state. Initially, Mr. Obama seemed to be getting the bulk of the vote, attracting moderate Republicans who quickly came to be known as Obamacans and lacing his stump speech with references to them. But more recently, Mrs. Clinton's share of the crossover vote has grown. In Wisconsin's Feb. 19 contest, for example, Mr. Obama got about three-quarters of the votes cast by those identifying themselves as Republicans. In Texas' March 4 primary, though, he and Mrs. Clinton split the Republican vote almost evenly, while in Mississippi on March 11, she outpolled him among Republicans by a three-to-one margin. Even some states without open primaries seem to have experienced crossover voting. In the Pennsylvania vote on April 22, voter surveys indicated that about 5 percent of those voting in the Democratic primary were Republicans who switched their party registration; they split their vote almost evenly between the two candidates. Here in Indiana, both Democratic candidates are sending surrogates to campaign in traditionally Republican areas they might have ignored in years past, including in Hamilton County, Indiana's fastest-growing and most affluent county. "We're getting a lot of inquiries from Republicans asking how do you do it, how do you cross over," Dan Parker, the Democratic Party state chairman, said in an interview here. "It's been our No. 1 request for the past two months." Rush Limbaugh's campaign clouds the picture Clouding the picture, however, is a campaign by Rush Limbaugh, the radio talk show host, urging his listeners to cast their ballots for Mrs. Clinton "if they can stomach it," in order to prolong the Democratic race and weaken the eventual winner. "They're in the midst of tearing themselves apart right now," Mr. Limbaugh said in an interview with Fox News just before the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4. "It's fascinating to watch, and it's all going to stop if Hillary loses." But Republican voters interviewed here said that Mr. Limbaugh was not a factor in their decision to vote in the Democratic primary, and that it was the issues that propelled them. "I disagree with the Democrats on things like abortion and immigration, but I feel that the Republican Party I grew up in is out of touch with the middle-class family," said Dave Nichols, 40, the owner of a small memorabilia business in Fort Wayne, who has heard of Mr. Limbaugh's effort and is supporting Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Nichols said he had no health insurance and lived on a block where three houses were in foreclosure. "McCain doesn't have an economic plan," he said "We're in a recession and need relief now, but he wants to keep spending all that money over there in Iraq when there are so many things we need here at home, from infrastructure to health care." Will votes carry over to November? Republican officials like Murray Clark, the state party chairman in Indiana, say that the extent of the crossover phenomenon has been "greatly exaggerated" and that in any case it does not serve the party's interests, because it draws potential Republican voters away from deciding other, more local races. Mr. Clark acknowledged what he called "heightened interest" in the Democratic primary, but argued that Republican-leaning independents, rather than "reliable and consistently Republican voters," accounted for the bulk of the shift. "It's probably a stretch to call it a crossover vote," Mr. Clark said. "This is a unique situation. The circus is in town, and people want to go. This provides them an opportunity. But when the circus leaves town, we'll have six months of opportunities to contrast their candidate with ours." Indeed, some of the crossover Republicans here who back Mr. Obama said they would vote for Mr. McCain in November if Mrs. Clinton ends up getting the Democratic nomination, while some of those supporting Mrs. Clinton said the same of Mr. Obama. But others said they simply could not imagine gravitating back to the Republican camp in this election. "I would probably not vote, or maybe look at a third party," said Becky Kapsalis, who lives in Carmel, Ind., and describes herself as "a 70-year-old white woman for Barack Obama." "I respect McCain for what he's done, his patriotism and devotion," Ms. Kapsalis said, "but I just don't think he has the heart to lead us, and he doesn't speak to my heart the way this Barack Obama man does." This article, Republicans Crossing Over to Vote in Democratic Contests , originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright C 2008 The New York Times URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24437039/ From lnp3 at panix.com Sat May 3 11:18:55 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 13:18:55 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana In-Reply-To: <000001c8ad3f$82796d80$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <000001c8ad3f$82796d80$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <20080503171856.5F49C178C7@mailbackend.panix.com> Fred Feldman wrote: >In my opinion a lot of comrades tend to be complacent today about the scope >of Black representation within the bourgeois politics of this country, and >this makes the idea of a Black president seem like a rather minor, and not >really worth having. Rather like the dismissive way some treat the end of >white political power in South Africa, as though what is it worth since the >economic and social problems have worsened for the masses. As a result, a >note of nostalgia for the Good Old Days tends to appear in comments on >South Africa (back in those days, they didn't have to pay for water). I see that Fred Feldman has come out in favor of cholera in South Africa. What a terrible shame for a long time radical to take such a position. (How do you like your own shitty smear tactics thrown back in your face?) From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sat May 3 12:23:38 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 14:23:38 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: <908b689f0805031123s7fd4294bn3830020b84608dad@mail.gmail.com> Cuban skills in SA 5 November, 2004 The government has tackled skills shortage in South Africa by employing skilled foreign workers. A programme involving some 450 Cuban professionals is one of the first examples of this ? a sign of "excellent" bilateral relations with the country. The Cubans currently work in several departments, including housing, health, and water affairs and forestry. The majority of them, some 240, work as doctors, while others are employed as architects, engineers and technicians. According to the Public Service Commission, some 53 foreign practitioners from other countries are employed as engineers, while Iranian and British doctors are also being deployed in rural areas. The first Cuban doctors began arriving in South Africa in 1996, to fill a skills shortage in state hospitals. Initially they were on three-year contracts, but where asked to extend their stay. There are about 1 200 Cuban doctors working on the African continent, including in Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, C?te d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and areas in the Sahara. The initiative has not been without its controversy. Some doctors have complained about a lack of job security (if they apply for South African citizenship), others about low pay. The government has also been criticized for narrowing the job market, and preventing South African's from taking up the government positions. [...] Full: From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sat May 3 12:28:14 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 14:28:14 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana In-Reply-To: <000001c8ad3f$82796d80$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <000001c8ad3f$82796d80$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <908b689f0805031128k4db0fcb0he3cbe70f1c23e74@mail.gmail.com> On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 1:02 PM, Fred Feldman wrote: > Clinton has > breakfast with her antigay, anti-abortion, "middle American" white cleric > once a month. Who is this cleric? Thanks, Ruthless Critic. From dave.walters at comcast.net Sat May 3 12:53:21 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (dave.walters at comcast.net) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 18:53:21 +0000 Subject: [Marxism] Rapidly evoling union situation in Venezuela: Articles Message-ID: <050320081853.4032.481CB4A1000BA13C00000FC022064244139C9D0A9B040E99D20A900E0B@comcast.net> venezuelanylis.com has some recent articles by Fred Fuentes and Kiraz Janicke on recent trade union developments that all activists should read. "Venezuelan Labor Day Rally Attracts Hundreds of Thousands, Wages Raised by 30%" http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3407 "Venezuela?s Labor Movement at the Crossroads" http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3398 Both articles discuss the fracturious trade union movement and efforts to unite the working class under one union. David From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sat May 3 13:07:19 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 15:07:19 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nicaraguan opposition parties criticize Citizen's Councils Message-ID: <908b689f0805031207j46599c1btfa519f9b677681c@mail.gmail.com> May 4, 2008 Nicaraguan Councils Stir Fear of Dictatorship By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. MANAGUA, Nicaragua ? The government billboards and graffiti in this sultry city tell a visitor a lot about the ideological battle racking Nicaragua. President Daniel Ortega Saavedra beams from the billboards, promising "Citizens Power" as a solution to Nicaragua's endemic poverty. "The world's poor arise!" the signs say. But beneath the billboards, on walls and benches all over town, others have scrawled "No to CPC. No to dictatorship." The graffiti alludes to Citizens Power Councils ? or C.P.C.'s. In December, Mr. Ortega established the neighborhood committees, which are controlled by his left-wing Sandinista party and administer antipoverty programs, despite a vote against the plan by the National Assembly. Mr. Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla leader, maintains that the councils are meant only to let community leaders have a say in where and how government money is spent. But opposition leaders say the councils are another step in what they call the Ortega administration's drift toward an authoritarian and secretive government that does not have to answer to the legislature ? mostly because the president controls tens of millions of dollars a year in aid from Venezuela. Some of the president's opponents charge that the Citizens Power Councils are nothing more than patronage mills, channeling government largess to supporters of the party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front. Mr. Ortega has made no attempt to hide his desire to make an end run around the National Assembly. He declared last fall that the legislature's vote against the councils was intended "to deny the right of the people to exercise power" and "to keep ministers from governing directly with the people." "It is the people who have the final say on the system they want," Mr. Ortega declared at a rally on Dec. 1. Opposition leaders complain the councils smack of similar party-controlled organs in totalitarian governments like Cuba's, where local committees of party loyalists not only influence who gets government benefits but also spy on political opponents. "It's part of a vision that President Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, have to destroy the model of representative democracy and replace it with a direct democracy," said Jos? Pallais, a Liberal Party leader. "The C.P.C. serve as a fundamental element, a strategy, to control the society, to spy on the people." Another Liberal opposition leader, Wilfredo Navarro, defended the Sandinista party's right to organize political committees but said the president had crossed a line when he gave those committees power over government programs. "Ortega can form his Citizens Power Councils, but he cannot give them the role of the state," he said. "To pave a street, you have to talk to the C.P.C." He added, "It is very clear the state's money should not be used as an instrument of political blackmail." El?as Ch?vez, a prominent Sandinista party leader who oversees the citizen councils in Managua, denied that the councils showed favoritism in handing out subsidies, though he acknowledged that they were controlled by the party. In defending the councils, he said past governments had failed to lift people out of poverty in part because neighborhoods and towns lacked local organizations to send aid where it was most needed. He portrayed the critics of the councils as members of a corrupt oligarchy interested only in protecting business interests. "These people don't want the population to have a role, to play a part," he said. [...] Maria Auxiliadora Rivera, 37, lives in a filthy, one-room hut in the ruins with six children and her husband, surviving on a kitchen job that pays $60 a month. She makes tortillas over an open fire against a sooty wall of a destroyed building. Though not a Sandinista, she said she received a $230 loan recently through the local citizen's committee to start a business making and selling tortillas on the street. She said the loans were not going solely to Sandinistas. Still, she said, it would only help her survive, not make a permanent difference in her standard of living. "We are really abandoned," she said. Others living in squalid and dangerous structures in the ruins said Sandinista party members and civil servants were getting preferential treatment for units in a public housing development going up nearby, a project financed with Venezuelan aid. "They are building houses, but only for the people in the party," said Carlos Reyes Herrera, 46, who ekes out a living collecting cans and bottles. A veteran of the Sandinista revolution in the 1970s, he lives with his wife and two children in a plywood shack among the ruins. "For me, the committees are all Sandinista. They look out for their own." Full: From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sat May 3 13:34:17 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 15:34:17 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Maoists win stunning victory in Nepal elections In-Reply-To: <041320080715.21018.4801B31E0000EB6F0000521A22068246939C9D0A9B040E99D20A900E0B@comcast.net> References: <041320080715.21018.4801B31E0000EB6F0000521A22068246939C9D0A9B040E99D20A900E0B@comcast.net> Message-ID: <908b689f0805031234r20ab30afr3b9b9efaf63d5a3c@mail.gmail.com> On Sun, Apr 13, 2008 at 3:15 AM, wrote: > The Maoist won 11 of 22 seats. The United Marxist-Leninists won 4 > and the Nepalese Workers and Peasants Party one 2. That's 17 > out 22 seats for groups on the left, all 3 of which claim to be Marxist. > > http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/12/nepal.poll.ap/index.html > > Now what? > > David "Undo Nepal's Polls": India's Hawks By J. Sri Raman t r u t h o u t | Perspective Friday 02 May 2008 Nepal has belied prophecies of a post-election upheaval. All sections of the Himalayan nation and its political spectrum would appear to have accepted the Maoist victory in the polls to the Constituent Assembly (CA). None has rejected the results - not even the royal camp - at least in public. This, however, cannot be said of some quarters in India. Demands have been raised within Nepal's proudly democratic neighbor for action by New Delhi to undo the outcome of the CA elections. The most outrageous demand is one for covert official support for a military coup in Nepal. And it has come from a security expert who can be presumed to speak for influential sections in India's intelligence establishment as well. B. Raman was the additional secretary at the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external espionage agency, and headed the counterterrorism division at RAW for more than a decade until his retirement in 1994. We need say no more. Now he is the director of the Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai (formerly Madras), one of the many "think-tanks" providing grist to the mill of India's militarism. On April 27, Raman wrote: "As a successful democracy, India cannot support a military coup in any country.... But sometimes, in our national interest, we may have to close our eyes to a military takeover or to the evils of a military rule in a neighboring country." India may have to do so, he added, as "we have been doing in the case of Myanmar for over a decade now" and as "we did in Bangladesh last year when chronic political instability seemed to be pushing the country into the hands of jihadi terrorists of various hues and ... vintages." Raman went on to argue: "We may be well-advised to do so if the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) decides to prevent the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) led by Prachanda, which has emerged as the leading party in the recent elections, from using its position as the leader of the Government to convert the RNA with its glorious traditions into the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of Nepal patterned after the PLA of China and North Korea and after the Cuban Army." The Royal Nepalese Army shed its prefix and became the Nepal Army on May 18, 2006, but loyal Raman and the like-minded do not recognize the change. They might have read some of the numerous reports by human rights agencies and others about the war crimes and rights abuses by the RNA (and to a lesser extent by the Maoists), but this has made little difference to their loyalty. Raman continued: "In his statements and interviews before the elections, Prachanda (Maoist chief) has given clear indications of (his and) their priorities if the Maoists came to power. First, have the monarchy abolished and proclaim Nepal as a republic with a presidential style of government. Second, assume office as the president of Nepal. Third, abrogate all existing agreements with India and renegotiate those which are considered to be in Nepal's interests. Fourth, merge the armed cadres of the Maoists into the RNA to convert a royalist army into a people's army." No way could he and other Indians, with an idea of "national interest" that had nothing in common with Nepal's, forgive the Maoists for their fourth major objective. Integration of the People's Liberation Army of the Maoists with the Nepal Army, as a sequel to the surrender of the former's arms under a United Nations-supervised arrangement, may be part of the pact that brought the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) into the political mainstream. That, however, did not mean that the Ramans of India could not dream of the restoration of a hated monarchy in Nepal after a military coup. The Ramans are not alone. Royalists in Nepal share their dream. In an earlier report, I quoted a well-known royalist as talking of a religious crusade against the Maoists. Maj.-Gen. Bharat Keshwer Simha, known for proximity to the palace, had then said: "If the Maoists can take up arms and come to power, Hindus will also take up arms. It will be worse than the Maoists' war." The far right in India fully shares the sentiment. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has refrained from calling for a military coup, but warned the Indian government that Maoists' victory in Nepal polls could lead to the growth of the extreme-left menace in the country, causing serious internal security problems. "If Indian government could declare Indian Maoists and Naxalites as terrorists, why are Maoists in Nepal not declared a terrorist outfit?" Yogi Adityanath, a BJP member, asked in the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of India's parliament) the other day. He saw a "red danger" for India following the former rebels' win in the CA election and the imminent abolition of monarchy in Nepal. No one is asking for direct military intervention by India, of course. At the peak of the Maoists' armed struggle, their supporters claimed that the India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950, contained secret annexures, covering mutual assistance in case of an emergency such as their rebellion. Sections of Nepal's media reported in February 2005 that Gen. Pyar Jung Thapa, chief of the Royal Nepalese Army, had hinted at King Gyanandra invoking the provisions of the treaty and seeking Indian military support against the Maoists. This did not prove possible then and is unlikely to do so in the days ahead. If Raman wants India only to encourage a military coup in Nepal, some others in the country's anti-Maoist camp are asking New Delhi to organize sabotage inside Nepal. Another well-known security expert, not without admirers in the establishment, Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at New Delhi's Center for Policy Research, has argued for manipulation of a minority of Indian origin in Nepal for this purpose. Chellaney wrote on April 28: "New Delhi ought not to shy away from employing the immense leverage it holds: Nepal's topography, with mountainous terrain sliding southward into plains, shapes its economic dependence on India. The ethnic Madhesis who populate the Terai, Nepal's food bowl, are India's natural constituency, and that card is begging to be exercised." The US is reportedly undecided as yet about removing the "terrorist" tag it had put on the Maoists in recognition of the election results. George W. Bush, however, told a gathering of Indian Americans in Washington on May 2: "We're working with India to promote democracy and the peace it yields throughout the continent. We're working together to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia." Are Raman and Chellaney spelling out what the US president had in mind for Nepal? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A freelance journalist and a peace activist in India, J. Sri Raman is the author of "Flashpoint" (Common Courage Press, USA). He is a regular contributor to Truthout. From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Sat May 3 13:51:10 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 15:51:10 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) Message-ID: <000001c8ad57$097239e0$6401a8c0@office1pc> Louis quoted me: Fred Feldman wrote: >In my opinion a lot of comrades tend to be complacent today about the scope >of Black representation within the bourgeois politics of this country, and >this makes the idea of a Black president seem like a rather minor, and not >really worth having. Rather like the dismissive way some treat the end of >white political power in South Africa, as though what is it worth since the >economic and social problems have worsened for the masses. As a result, a >note of nostalgia for the Good Old Days tends to appear in comments on >South Africa (back in those days, they didn't have to pay for water). And responded: I see that Fred Feldman has come out in favor of cholera in South Africa. What a terrible shame for a long time radical to take such a position. (How do you like your own shitty smear tactics thrown back in your face?) And I respond: This is just Louis' way of not hearing a political criticism that is valid and is not at all aimed at him alone, but is aimed at everyone who fails to recognize the importance of the political VICTORY of the anti-apartheid uprising, which the Blacks refuse to abandon. He just doesn't get it, and ends up again and again that the Blacks are just out of it because they stick with the ANC. If you don't start from that, you are dead in the politics of the oppressed in South Africa, and Louis and others tend to start at best, from just before the victory. I stand by every word I said in that paragraph, and given both the source and the content of Louis' response: How do I feel? Frankly as Rhett Butler said to Scarlett Ohara: My dear, I don't give a damn. But I want to say more. Louis, despite his stated broad agreement with Joaquinon the national question in the US, tends nonetheless to simply dissolve the political into the economic. Okay, the civil rights movement won (to a significant degree, given the conscious desires of the mass of the participants, which assumed, as masses always do, that important but limited gains would produce more change than they can). But now there is economic apartheid. But in fact, the national scope of the victory in the United States was less in the United States than in South Africa. The overall character of the national imperialist state power was not DECISIVELY changed. Nor would the mere election of a Black president do so. So Louis treats Black representation in the US state now as basically as a given (David Walters, who is closer to being sound on this than Louis is, in my opinion wrote a contribution erring in this direction). The election of a Black president is simply a trivial change, given what has already happened, so why should revolutionaries concern ourselves. I pointed out the rather deep limits to Black representation so far. Most of it is simply an immediate or ultimate product of Blacks having the right to vote. That is, where Blacks are the majority or near majority, they tend -- over time -- to become the governing group (that is, their upper petty bourgeois and bourgeois layers, a SOCIAL consequence (and not one I reject) of the political changes won by the civil rights movement. Basically, the Black bourgeoisie gets to govern in the Black townships, not in the multiracial big cities. Harold Washington of Chicago has had no Black successor. David Dinkins of NY has had no Black successor. Tom Bradley of LA has had no Black successor. One governor of Virginia for one term. One gov-ernor of Massachusetts for one term so far. One governor of New York (succeeding automatically in the face of the collapse of his white predecessor and unlikely to win a term in his own right in current conditions). One Republican (but liberal) Senator from Massachussets for two terms, followed by exclusively white successors. One Senator from Illinois (and will he be succeeded by a Black if he wins, and what are his chances for a second term if the current racebaiting witch-hunt brings him down as a presidential candidate? Another white successor, and for how many decades? Of course, the Republicans have Black politicians, too. Thomas, Powell, Rice (who MAY stand more of a chance to win votes by presenting themselves as they truly are, open enemies of the Black masses today. And even THEY could turn out to carry more race baggage than a presidential ticket can afford to carry -- after all, have they always stood with "decent, hard-working" white people against the onslaught of Black extremists? Very few Blacks really have a perfect record on this. At any rate, just to give an idea of where the Obama campaign, the Rev. Wright, and so on place for me in the scope of US history in particular, and world history in general, insofar as I understand them, I want to state two general principles I have reached about what the nationalism of the Black nation in the US is really all about. Principles that I have no illusions can or will come to even partial fruition in this election, no matter how it comes out. For my own orthodox convenience, I have formulated them in catechism style. (1) What is the national territory of the Black nation in the United States of America? The national territory of the Black nation in the United States of America is the continental territory of the United States of America. (2) What is the political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America? The political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America is state power in the United States of America. This is deliberately not only algebraic, but even a bit oracular, and I admit I am not prepared to answer any questions at all about how this tendency, which I think is deeply rooted (maybe since the first recorded arrival of Black slaves in 1619), as deeply rooted at least as "white privilege." Failure to grasp this social conflict has always been the weakness of even the best "white skin privilege" histories and theories (Theodore Allen's, for instance) who see the presence of Blacks primarily as a source primarily as a mainstay of reaction in this country, where it is much more fundamentally a mainstay of revolutionary possibilities. Any Louis, I apologize for having been diverted from your attempt at a personal smear job by my political concerns, but, alas, the flesh is weak! Fred Feldman From lnp3 at panix.com Sat May 3 14:04:59 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 16:04:59 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: <000001c8ad57$097239e0$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <000001c8ad57$097239e0$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <20080503200459.F405D19625@mailbackend.panix.com> Fred Feldman: >This is just Louis' way of not hearing a political criticism that is valid >and is not at all aimed at him alone, but is aimed at everyone who fails to >recognize the importance of the political VICTORY of the anti-apartheid >uprising, which the Blacks refuse to abandon. He just doesn't get it, and >ends up again and again that the Blacks are just out of it because they >stick with the ANC. If you don't start from that, you are dead in the >politics of the oppressed in South Africa, and Louis and others tend to >start at best, from just before the victory. No, Fred, I get it. You are saying that I am objectively in favor of apartheid. And, you are objectively in favor of cholera. From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Sat May 3 14:34:23 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 16:34:23 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Andrew Cockburn: Secret Bush 'Finding" Widens War on Iran Message-ID: <000001c8ad5d$1387f4a0$6401a8c0@office1pc> May 2, 2008 A CounterPunch Exclusive Democrats Okay Funds for Covert Ops Secret Bush "Finding" Widens War on Iran By ANDREW COCKBURN Six weeks ago, President Bush signed a secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against the Iranian regime that, according to those familiar with its contents, "unprecedented in its scope." Bush's secret directive covers actions across a huge geographic area - from Lebanon to Afghanistan - but is also far more sweeping in the type of actions permitted under its guidelines - up to and including the assassination of targeted officials. This widened scope clears the way, for example, for full support for the military arm of Mujahedin-e Khalq, the cultish Iranian opposition group, despite its enduring position on the State Department's list of terrorist groups. Similarly, covert funds can now flow without restriction to Jundullah, or "army of god," the militant Sunni group in Iranian Baluchistan - just across the Afghan border -- whose leader was featured not long ago on Dan Rather Reports cutting his brother in law's throat. Other elements that will benefit from U.S. largesse and advice include Iranian Kurdish nationalists, as well the Ahwazi arabs of south west Iran. Further afield, operations against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon will be stepped up, along with efforts to destabilize the Syrian regime. All this costs money, which in turn must be authorized by Congress, or at least a by few witting members of the intelligence committees. That has not proved a problem. An initial outlay of $300 million to finance implementation of the finding has been swiftly approved with bipartisan support, apparently regardless of the unpopularity of the current war and the perilous condition of the U.S. economy. Until recently, the administration faced a serious obstacle to action against Iran in the form of Centcom commander Admiral William Fallon, who made no secret of his contempt for official determination to take us to war. In a widely publicized incident last January, Iranian patrol boats approached a U.S. ship in what the Pentagon described as a "taunting" manner. According to Centcom staff officers, the American commander on the spot was about to open fire. At that point, the U.S. was close to war. He desisted only when Fallon personally and explicitly ordered him not to shoot. The White House, according to the staff officers, was "absolutely furious" with Fallon for defusing the incident. Fallon has since departed. His abrupt resignation in early March followed the publication of his unvarnished views on our policy of confrontation with Iran, something that is unlikely to happen to his replacement, George Bush's favorite general, David Petraeus. Though Petraeus is not due to take formal command at Centcom until late summer, there are abundant signs that something may happen before then. A Marine amphibious force, originally due to leave San Diego for the Persian Gulf in mid June, has had its sailing date abruptly moved up to May 4. A scheduled meeting in Europe between French diplomats acting as intermediaries for the U.S. and Iranian representatives has been abruptly cancelled in the last two weeks. Petraeus is said to be at work on a master briefing for congress to demonstrate conclusively that the Iranians are the source of our current troubles in Iraq, thanks to their support for the Shia militia currently under attack by U.S. forces in Baghdad. Interestingly, despite the bellicose complaints, Petraeus has made little effort to seal the Iran-Iraq border, and in any case two thirds of U.S. casualties still come from Sunni insurgents. "The Shia account for less than one third," a recently returned member of the command staff in Baghdad familiar with the relevant intelligence told me, "but if you want a war you have to sell it." Even without the covert initiatives described above, the huge and growing armada currently on station in the Gulf is an impressive symbol of American power. Armed Might of US Marred By Begging Bowl to Arabs Sometime in the next two weeks, fleet radar operator may notice a blip on their screens that represents something rather more profound: America's growing financial weakness. The blip will be former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's plane commencing its descent into Abu Dhabi. Rubin's responsibility these days is to help keep Citigroup afloat despite a balance sheet still waterlogged, despite frantic bail out efforts by the Federal Reserve and others, by staggering losses in mortgage bonds. The Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund injected $7.5 billion last November (albeit at a sub-prime interest rate of eleven percent,) but the bank's urgent need for fresh capital persists, and Abu Dhabi is where the money is. Even if those radar operators pay no attention to Mr. Rubin's flight, and the ironic contrast it illustrates between American military power and financial weakness, others will, and not just in Tehran. There's not much a finding can do about that. Andrew Cockburn is a regular CounterPunch contributor. He lives in Washington DC. His most recent book is Rumsfeld From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Sat May 3 15:27:28 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 17:27:28 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues0 Message-ID: <000001c8ad64$7d516400$6401a8c0@office1pc> Louis Proyect: No, Fred, I get it. You are saying that I am objectively in favor of apartheid. And, you are objectively in favor of cholera. Fred responds: No, Louis, you don't get it, never have gotten it, and never will get it. Of that I am completely if sadly certain. If you wish, I will appear before any notary in New York or Northern New Jersey to swear an affidavit that you are not and have never been in favor of apartheid. I will pay the costs, and will even publish it as an addendum to any post I submit on South Africa, or touching on same. And if you don't require it, I will swear it right here and now. Louis Proyect has never supported apartheid. And anyone who thinks I think he does or has said he does, including him, is a complete fucking idiot. And yet, I will not retract a word I have said, no matter how much the Proyectian volcano belches and steams. Proyect is just carrying on, as he is allowed to do as owner of the list to whom no rules apply (and how can it be otherwise), to avoid dealing with the political questions I raised about South Africa and indeed the United States. What I said about South Africa is something that many critics of the current South African regime have failed to take to heart, which means to me they are deeply out of contact with the actual human beings who went through apartheid. They treat them as pure and simple ignorant and blind sufferers, not people who accomplished a great and important change for humanity and need to find the road to the next advance. I leave the last word to you, assuming you continue to find no way to express a political thought on the subject matter. Fred Feldman From lnp3 at panix.com Sat May 3 15:48:19 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 17:48:19 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues0 In-Reply-To: <000001c8ad64$7d516400$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <000001c8ad64$7d516400$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <20080503214820.A536912DFB@mailbackend.panix.com> >I leave the last word to you, assuming you continue to find no way to >express a political thought on the subject matter. >Fred Feldman Fred, I feel a deep sense of ennui when it comes to debating this issue with you and Walter, like a character in a Samuel Beckett play. I have heard it all before. For newcomers to Marxmail who want to read a socialist critique of the ANC, go here: http://www.queensu.ca/msp/pages/Project_Publications/News/sparks.htm From shmage at pipeline.com Sat May 3 16:31:34 2008 From: shmage at pipeline.com (Shane Mage) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 18:31:34 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: <000001c8ad57$097239e0$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <000001c8ad57$097239e0$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <01099A18-9995-4E65-94D2-7E94E5C7E8A1@pipeline.com> On May 3, 2008, at 3:51 PM, Fred Feldman wrote: > ...One Senator from Illinois (and will he be succeeded by a Black if > he wins... Fred seems to have never heard of Carol Mosely Braun Shane Mage "Thunderbolt steers all things...it consents and does not consent to be called Zeus." Herakleitos of Ephesos From johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz Sat May 3 19:06:45 2008 From: johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz (John) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 13:06:45 +1200 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <1209863205.5658.228.camel@john-desktop> On Sat, 2008-05-03 at 10:09 -0400, Walter Lippmann wrote: > One might have thought the South Africa, which evidently was not > able to prevent those doctors - probably white, from abandoning > their home country, would deserve PRAISE for having made these > efforts to replace those who choose to leave with doctors from > Cuba. (I've no idea if there were any Black doctors permitted to > attend medical school or practice during the apartheid period.) Walter,in New Zealand right now, the junior hospital doctors in the public health system are in the middle of a series of strikes. They earn on average NZ$23 an hour. That's about US$18-$19. These are people with six figure student loans after six year degree courses. They could earn 3 times that in Australia and many do exactly that. As a result, the Health Boards here have a shortage of doctors, which is partly addressed by bringing in doctors from countries where they are even more poorly paid. If they decided to include Cuba in that range of countries, I would be glad of the doctors, I would smile at the irony of a capitalist government having to depend on socialist Cuba for its doctors, I would milk to the max the propaganda value of the presence of Cubans bailing out our creaking health system, and I would *condemn* without mercy (as I already do) the New Zealand government for getting us into the crap we are in. I would not decide that now that we have better relations with Cuba and are sucking more desperately needed doctors away from where they are more needed, the New Zealand government should be congratulated. > Evidently the South Africa bashers have found yet another way > to bash South Africa's post-apartheid government. People like me were arrested (and in some cases, including -in a thankfully minor way - my own, assaulted) many times fighting for an end to Apartheid. My brother personally met Nelson Mandela when he came to New Zealand. We believed and still do, that the defeat of Apartheid was an historic victory. Almost without exception, the people who led that struggle within "faraway New Zealand" have been immensely saddened by the trajectory of the ANC since liberation. You, in equally "faraway" USA have no idea. > Cuban generosity is well-known, but I do not imagine that Cuba > provides its doctors free of charge. Cuba does provide medical > education to students - including from South Africa, for free. > Cuba only asks that the doctors it trains return to their home > countries and provide medical care there in underserved areas. It seems I mistakenly credited the SA government with the decency to pay its way, given its vastly greater wealth... > Edmondson complains that South Africa hasn't trained activists > who helped overthrow apartheid into becoming doctors. Somehow > I think that's a bit much to ask. Just because someone is good > as a political activist and leader, does that really mean they > would also be good as a physician? Walter, or should I be referring to you as Lippmann?, I respect your knowledge of and support for the Cuban revolution, but tell me, when the revolutionary government began medical training programmes, did they have difficulty finding motivated students? Do you honestly believe the problem facing south Africa was that there were no suitable candidates for medical training??? > Here are some details on the 400 South African medical school > students who are currently receiving their education in Cuba: > http://www.medicc.org/ns/index.php?s=30&p=4 I doubt anyone on this list faults Cuba's internationalist approach to medical training. I just don't see what a country with 3 times the GDP of Cuba is doing taking up these places "for free". > Once again, the prefectionistic critics of the ANC government > never lose an opportunity to make an attack on the ANC. I guess it means a lot to me when I consider the struggle (miniscule compared to that of the comrades in SA) we engaged in. > Cuba is training Venezuelans to become doctors, yet we've not > yet begun to read of Venezuelan doctors trained in Cuba who've > returned home or travelled to other countries to practice the > medicine they've learned in Cuba. Under ALBA, goods are traded > rather than purchased and sold. The exact equivalents for the > trades aren't spelled out. However, Cuba is receiving oil from > Venezuela at agreed upon, and stable prices. I don't know what > those are, either. > > South Africa's standing with Cuba diplomatically, politically > and terms of economic interaction and trade, also counts for > somewhere between little and nothing to our perfectionists. New Zealand maintains diplomatic ties (and reasonably good relations) with Cuba. That doesn't mean I won't condemn the capitalist policies of the NZ government. The same goes for SA. Incidentally, Cuban literacy programmes are being employed in NZ to deal with the shamefully low level of of adult literacy here. That's no reason to congratulate the NZ government either. It's actually an inditement. > The South African government is a capitalist one, but unlike > the United States government, South Africa's government has > a completely favorable relationship with Cuba. For critics of > a perfectionistic bent, this, too, counts for somewhere between > little and nothing. But finding yet another reason to attack the > government of South Africa? Yes, that's quite satisfying to some. So you keep saying. I've never read anyone on this list claiming that maintaining favourable relations with Cuba counts for "little or nothing", only you claiming that they do. What they don't do is overinflate the importance of any given country's dealings to the point where being more circumspect is tantamount to wishing poverty on Cuba. > South Africa does have critics internationally, including even > in faraway New Zealand. Wasn't there someone named Ferguson among > among the Kiwis criticizing South Africa's government, too? Yes indeed. I'm not sure what point that is supposed to make. There's a cabal of kiwi Cuba haters lurking on this list? Cheers, Edmundson ps. Note the spelling :-) From obeynow20001 at yahoo.com Sat May 3 19:29:51 2008 From: obeynow20001 at yahoo.com (Alex Briscoe) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 18:29:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Fwd: Labor Express Radio and pilsenprole coverage of the historic events of Mayday 2008… Message-ID: <642435.10086.qm@web81701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> --- Jerry Mead-Lucero wrote: > To: 10demarzo at googlegroups.com, > chicagomayday at googlegroups.com > From: Jerry Mead-Lucero > Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 17:45:53 -0700 (PDT) > Subject: [Pilsen_SW_Side_Green_Party] Labor Express > Radio and pilsenprole coverage of the historic > events of Mayday 2008 > > Tune in this weekend for Labor Express Radio and > pilsenprole coverage of the historic events of > Mayday 2008 > > Sunday ? 7:00 PM ? 88.7 FM ? WLUW.org > Labor Express Radio?s coverage of Mayday 2008 will > include: > > Interview with Jack Heyman, Executive Board member > of ILWU Local 10, about the one day strike of 25,000 > dock workers which shut down the West Coast ports on > Mayday, in protest of the war in Iraq. > > Interview with Larry Davis, Vice-President of > Teamsters Local 743, during the march in Chicago. > > Speech by Richard Berg, President of Teamsters > Local 743 at the Mayday rally in Federal Plaza in > Chicago. > > Speech by Noel Beasley, International Vice > President of UNITE-HERE at the Haymarket statue on > Mayday in Chicago. > > Speech by Kat Choi, Associate Director, Korean > American Resource & Cultural Center. > > Interview with Jorge Mujica, founding member of > the March 10th Movement. > > And go to http://pilsenprole.blogspot.com right > now for links to more audio, photos and video of > Mayday events in Chicago and on the West Coast. > > > LISTEN TO... > LABOR EXPRESS > CHICAGO'S ONLY LABOR NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS RADIO > PROGRAM > NEWS FOR WORKING PEOPLE - BY WORKING PEOPLE > EVERY SUNDAY AT 7:00 P.M. ON 88.7 F.M. OR LIVE ON > THE WEB AT WWW.WLUW.ORG > Check out our website at... WWW.LABOREXPRESS.ORG > > *************************** *************************** http://www.votenader.org http://www.ilgp.org http://www.northsidegreenparty.org http://www.greenallianceusa.org http://www.labornotes.org http://www.solidarity-us.org http://www.internationalviewpoint.org ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From mikedf at amnh.org Sat May 3 19:38:18 2008 From: mikedf at amnh.org (Mike Friedman) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 21:38:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Nicaraguan opposition parties criticize Citizen's Councils Message-ID: <4005.24.190.226.242.1209865098.squirrel@webmail.amnh.org> More trolling by Worthless. >May 4, 2008 >Nicaraguan Councils Stir Fear of Dictatorship >By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. >MANAGUA, Nicaragua ? The government billboards and graffiti in this >sultry city tell a visitor a lot about the ideological battle racking >Nicaragua. -- Michael Friedman Ph.D. Candidate in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior City University of New York Institute for Comparative Genomics Department of Invertebrate Zoology American Museum of Natural History 79th Street and Central Park West New York, NY 10024 Office: 212-313-8721 From johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz Sat May 3 19:45:50 2008 From: johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz (John) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 13:45:50 +1200 Subject: [Marxism] Tet Offensive question Message-ID: <1209865550.5658.232.camel@john-desktop> I was wondering if anyone could point me to any good (preferably online) discussions of the significance of the Tet Offensive, in the context of the whole 1968 phenomenon - both for the Third World and the West. Thanks in advance, John From jbustelo at gmail.com Sat May 3 20:10:18 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 22:10:18 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] In praise of Klinton Message-ID: <00f401c8ad8c$0092da70$040ba8c0@albanta> Murdoch's Weekly Standard warms to the junior Senator from New York. An Exceedingly Strange New Respect Hillary Clinton makes friends in some surprising precincts From fred.fuentes at gmail.com Sat May 3 21:02:14 2008 From: fred.fuentes at gmail.com (Fred Fuentes) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 23:02:14 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] two views on whats at stake with the May 4 referendum in Bolivia Message-ID: The future is at stake in Bolivia Luis Bilbao Every person with a consciousness should be worried and concerning themselves with what is occurring in Bolivia. The United States is on the verge of unleashing a war that would shake the region and which, in the short term, could lead to a state of commotion and belligerence in all of South America. The excuse is the demand for autonomy by four departments (Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija); the instrument, the oligarchy; the means, mercenaries financed, trained and commanded by the State Department via the CIA and other agencies; the objective, fragment Bolivia, detain the revolutionary process headed by Evo Morales, start a prairie fire in the Southern Cone and create the conditions to attack Venezuela and Ecuador afterwards. Following the events of last Sunday, Paraguay is now also threatened. The US needs war. The capitalist economy cannot longer continue to breathe without it. Those that believe that because imperialism is bogged down in Iraq, it is unable to open up other combat front are mistaken. In fact, the inverse is true: the only way out for them is to push forward. But they hope to do this by taking a side street, mirroring the line of march in the Middle East: provoke objective fissures of an economic, social, ethnic and religious nature; find latent conflicts; unleash war between factions, place themselves above all this and preside over the mutual destruction of the peoples......... http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2008/05/future-is-at-stake-in-bolivia.html --------------------------------------------------------------- May 4th and Beyond **Sergio C?ceres After reviewing the Bolivian press, one has the sensation that the end of the world will begin on May 4th in Bolivia, as it reaches the final judgment. As almost everyone knows, May 4th is the date selected for a referendum in Santa Cruz to approve some statutes that would grant autonomy to the Department of Santa Cruz. These statutes were drafted by a group of businessmen, ranchers and large landowners in the Santa Cruz Civic Committee and the majority of the people know nothing about them. Should they win the referendum, the organizers will proclaim the de facto establishment of their autonomy. It's not the first time that this threat has been heard from the Santa Cruz Civic Committee. In December of last year, with great fanfare, they announced the establishment of their autonomy, de facto, as they love to say. The same happened in 2006 and 2004. But in the end they never did anything. Every time they were on the point of doing something, they took two steps backwards. In past decades, the threat to separate even included annexation to Brazil. But that never happened either. Did they not do it because they couldn't? Because they didn't want to? The surest bet is that both are true. They didn't want to, and couldn't, nor did it serve their interests. The illusion of autonomy serves to mobilize. The possibility of separation serves to threaten. With these threats they've managed to keep all the governments at bay and have prevented their interests from being affected. What are their interests? Control of the land, and natural resources.......... http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2008/05/may-4th-and-beyond.html From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Sat May 3 21:41:05 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 23:41:05 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana Message-ID: <000001c8ad98$af607e70$6401a8c0@office1pc> Ruthless quoted: On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 1:02 PM, Fred Feldman wrote: > Clinton has > breakfast with her antigay, anti-abortion, "middle American" white cleric > once a month. And asked: Who is this cleric? Fred responds: Note that my point was that while a great to-do is made about Wright's preaching and great outrage is expressed, none will be about Clinton's, since such right-wing religious operations are part of the "American" political mainstream. Noone of significance will ask why she hasn't left this "church." By the way, the sources I found on Google also said that Obama has sometimes attended the breakfasts. Well, I couldn't use the archive in the Nation, where I first read about this, but here is something I found on Google. This doesn't literally confirm the specific points I made from memory, although the drift is very clear: http://prorev.com/2007/12/hillary-clinton-heavy-into-rightwing.html Thursday, December 13, 2007 HILLARY CLINTON HEAVY INTO RIGHTWING RELIGIOUS POWER CULT MOTHER JONES - Through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the Fellowship. Her collaborations with right-wingers such as Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) grow in part from that connection. "A lot of evangelicals would see that as just cynical exploitation," says the Reverend Rob Schenck, a former leader of the militant anti-abortion group Operation Rescue who now ministers to decision makers in Washington. "I don't....there is a real good that is infected in people when they are around Jesus talk, and open Bibles, and prayer.". . . When Clinton first came to Washington in 1993, one of her first steps was to join a Bible study group. For the next eight years, she regularly met with a Christian "cell" whose members included Susan Baker, wife of Bush consigliere James Baker; Joanne Kemp, wife of conservative icon Jack Kemp; Eileen Bakke, wife of Dennis Bakke, a leader in the anti-union Christian management movement; and Grace Nelson, the wife of Senator Bill Nelson, a conservative Florida Democrat. Clinton's prayer group was part of the Fellowship (or "the Family"), a network of sex-segregated cells of political, business, and military leaders dedicated to "spiritual war" on behalf of Christ, many of them recruited at the Fellowship's only public event, the annual National Prayer Breakfast. (Aside from the breakfast, the group has "made a fetish of being invisible," former Republican Senator William Armstrong has said.) The Fellowship believes that the elite win power by the will of God, who uses them for his purposes. Its mission is to help the powerful understand their role in God's plan. Clinton declined our requests for an interview about her faith, but in Living History, she describes her first encounter with Fellowship leader Doug Coe at a 1993 lunch with her prayer cell at the Cedars, the Fellowship's majestic estate on the Potomac. Coe, she writes, "is a unique presence in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God." The Fellowship's ideas are essentially a blend of Calvinism and Norman Vincent Peale, the 1960s preacher of positive thinking. It's a cheery faith in the "elect" chosen by a single voter-God-and a devotion to Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers....The powers that be are ordained of God." Or, as Coe has put it, "we work with power where we can, build new power where we can't.". . . Coe's friends include former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Reaganite Edwin Meese III, and ultraconservative Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.). Under Coe's guidance, Meese has hosted weekly prayer breakfasts for politicians, businesspeople, and diplomats, and Pitts rose from obscurity to head the House Values Action Team, an off-the-record network of religious right groups and members of Congress created by Tom DeLay. The corresponding Senate Values Action Team is guided by another Coe prot??g??, Brownback, who also claims to have recruited King Abdullah of Jordan into a regular study of Jesus' teachings. The Fellowship's long-term goal is "a leadership led by God-leaders of all levels of society who direct projects as they are led by the spirit." According to the Fellowship's archives, the spirit has in the past led its members in Congress to increase U.S. support for the Duvalier regime in Haiti and the Park dictatorship in South Korea. The Fellowship's God-led men have also included General Suharto of Indonesia; Honduran general and death squad organizer Gustavo Alvarez Martinez; a Deutsche Bank official disgraced by financial ties to Hitler; and dictator Siad Barre of Somalia, plus a list of other generals and dictators. Clinton, says Schenck, has become a regular visitor to Coe's Arlington, Virginia, headquarters, a former convent where Coe provides members of Congress with sex-segregated housing and spiritual guidance. From jbustelo at gmail.com Sat May 3 21:43:36 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 23:43:36 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] A reply to Brian Baker on marxist.com In-Reply-To: References: <4818BEE5.4050401@panix.com><20080430230107.1EF4DD439@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: <00f801c8ad99$0931f690$040ba8c0@albanta> Paula: "Most of the debate seems to be about the extent of the risk. For example, Lomborg does not deny the risk either, in fact he says that 'global warming is real and man-made'; but he believes that 'statements about the strong, ominous, and immediate consequences of global warming are often wildly exaggerated' (quotes are from his recent book Cool It)." Then again, because the climate system is known to be chaotic (in the mathematical sense, where small inputs have large impacts and large ones perhaps only minor consequences) the "statements about the strong, ominous, and immediate consequences of global warming," could be tremendously lackadaisical, whistling past the graveyard. For example, I talked to one scientist in the field last fall who was aghast as the data on Arctic Ocean ice cover was coming in. What scared this scientist is that whatever is driving the disappearing North Pole ice could also be affecting Greenland. If the glacier covering Greenland melts or breaks up and slides into the sea, you're looking at a rise in sea levels of 20 feet and possibly even more catastrophic disruption of ocean currents because of all the fresh water getting dumped into the North Atlantic. As to global warming itself and that it is human caused, a decade ago some quite reputable scientists like this one were still on the fence, but today I'm told there isn't anyone "in the trenches with the data" so to speak that isn't convinced both that climate change is real and anthropogenic AT LEAST in large part if not overwhelmingly. Then again, not to worry. I've got a geologist friend who now thinks -- as opposed to a couple of years ago -- we've actually hit peak oil for all practical purposes, and that --bad as things are now at a plateau in production-- within a year or two confirmation will come because production will actually go into a steady decline. He thinks the supposed middle eastern recoverable reserves (which would suggest the region could substantially boost production) are complete fiction, and that the much-touted Brazilian finds will not be able to produce at a very high rate due to the immense difficulty and expense of extracting the oil. I know these guys are speaking the truth as they see it because they're unwilling to say it in front of a camera or even be quoted. Something about messengers getting shot. Joaqu?n From jbustelo at gmail.com Sat May 3 21:49:26 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 23:49:26 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <1209810629.5658.190.camel@john-desktop> References: <002d01c8ac56$a9904b30$8a01a8c0@new1501> <1209810629.5658.190.camel@john-desktop> Message-ID: <00f901c8ad99$d9d6e580$040ba8c0@albanta> Walter: > (This is for all of those radicals who complain about the South > African government and all of its supposed failures in providing > services. Cuban doctors serve needy populations in dozens of countries around the world. This is in keeping with Fidel's teaching that to be internationalists is to pay our own debt to humanity. It isn't a recognition of the merit of any given government, and should not be used to suggest that Cuba somehow endorses or vouches for or sides with or has a "special relationship" with the given government. Joaqu?n From jbustelo at gmail.com Sat May 3 21:51:18 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 23:51:18 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <00fa01c8ad9a$1c5f8510$040ba8c0@albanta> Walter writes, "One might have thought the South Africa, which evidently was not able to prevent those doctors - probably white, from abandoning their home country, would deserve PRAISE for having made these efforts to replace those who choose to leave with doctors from Cuba." Would you say the same thing about recent Guatemalan governments? Joaqu?n From jbustelo at gmail.com Sat May 3 22:34:49 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 00:34:49 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Racist Republican campaign fails in Louisiana Message-ID: <00fb01c8ada0$306fb920$040ba8c0@albanta> In Special Elections, GOP Tests Anti-Obama Strategy By Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, May 3, 2008; Page A03 BATON ROUGE -- Don Cazayoux insists he pays so little attention to the presidential campaign that, even on the verge of capturing a seat in the House of Representatives, he was unaware that if he wins Saturday he will become a superdelegate, tasked with helping to decide the Democratic presidential nominee. Yet in the run-up to Saturday's special election, the state representative's image popped up time and again in local television ads, paired with that of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). One spot had side-by-side photos of Cazayoux and Obama with the words "big government scheme" describing the local candidate's stance on health care. Another showed Cazayoux with Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and charged that Cazayoux supports a "radical liberal agenda." Another spot mocked him as "Don Tax You." Faced with the prospect of losing a seat that the GOP has held for the past 33 years and the further thinning of their ranks in Congress, Republican committees and their conservative allies have poured more than $1 million into an effort to turn the race for Louisiana's 6th Congressional District into a referendum on Obama, the Democratic front-runner for the White House.... Having shed their belief that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) would be the bigger drag on down-ticket Democrats in the fall, congressional Republicans are field-testing a potential general-election strategy that pins Democratic candidates to Obama. It comes just as Wright reclaimed the national spotlight this week with a series of controversial appearances, sparking new questions about how white working-class voters will respond to Obama's candidacy. One of the NRCC ads in the Baton Rouge market suggested that "a vote for Cazayoux is a vote for Obama." Another 30-second spot asked simply: "Is Obama right for Louisiana? . . . You decide." * * * Thus far, the WAPO article. Well, the voters of Louisiana's 6th Congressional District (Baton Rouge and surrounding areas) have decided. They voted on Satruday, and the now Honorable Don Cazayoux won the special election, the first Democrat to hold the seat since Richard Nixon was in the White House. Normally, I could care less whether some cracker Democrat I never heard of beat a cracker Republican I never heard of. But the Republicans made Obama the issue -- which is why I took an interest in the race. I don't believe anyone exit-polled the voters. But perhaps some college professor political wonks will have been hired by a local TV station or newspaper to look at the results. Assuming you know the District well, just looking at a few precincts will tell the story. Of particular interest would be whether the Republican anti-Obama attack provoked a significantly higher turnout in Black precincts, as I suspect is likely, compared to the white ones. In a typically low-turnout election like this (the newspapers say 10-20 percent of the registered voters is normal) a higher turnout among Blacks could decide the issue. But it must be pretty significant as Bush in 2004 took the CD with three votes for every two Kerry got. Of course, also interesting would be the votes from roughly evenly split white precincts, and then heavily traditionally Republican precincts, both in terms of turnout and who they favored. I'll keep my eyes open for any analysis. Joaqu?n From anthonyk6319 at gmail.com Sat May 3 23:04:19 2008 From: anthonyk6319 at gmail.com (Anthony Kennerson) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 00:04:19 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] Marxism Digest, Vol 55, Issue 8 (The Louisiana 6th Cong. District Election) Message-ID: <77ddb9e80805032204p1af2b51ex939489a9d9f13df2@mail.gmail.com> Delurking from my South Louisiana secret cell to comment on the Cazayoux victory: Since Cazayoux is your typical conservative Democrat of the John Breaux/Mary Landrieu school who has mostly supported Reagan/Bush initiatives anyway, I'm not so convinced of the significance of this victory as regarding the turn of politics in my home state. After all they did put Bobby Jindal in the governor's seat, and he's as far right as any Indian can get. I'd think that this is more a rejection of Woody Jenkins and his history of right-wing histrionics as much as his antics of using Barack Obama as the Great Black Satan and a hook for attacking Cazayoux in the traditional "too liberal for Louisiana" meme. It should also be known that Cazayoux did have more support from the mainline business community around Baton Rouge, the state capital and heart of the district; mostly because he supported one of their pet projects; a proposed toll highway loop around the Baton Rouge metro area. (Jenkins was strongly opposed to the loop, and even went as far as making his opposition to the loop a cornerstone of his campaign. And it should be noted that this was only an election to fill out Richard Baker's present term; they will do it all over again this coming November when the seat becomes open again. Anthony From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sat May 3 23:19:32 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 01:19:32 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nicaraguan opposition parties criticize Citizen's Councils In-Reply-To: <4005.24.190.226.242.1209865098.squirrel@webmail.amnh.org> References: <4005.24.190.226.242.1209865098.squirrel@webmail.amnh.org> Message-ID: <908b689f0805032219s406efb65n13ca716cc265af68@mail.gmail.com> On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 9:38 PM, Mike Friedman wrote: > More trolling by Worthless. > > >May 4, 2008 > > >Nicaraguan Councils Stir Fear of Dictatorship > >By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. > > >MANAGUA, Nicaragua ? The government billboards and graffiti in this > >sultry city tell a visitor a lot about the ideological battle racking > >Nicaragua. I'm sorry, but how is this "trolling"? The article was evenhanded, and while it contained criticism of the Sandinista government, it also included lines (which I quoted) like: 'Though not a Sandinista, she said she received a $230 loan recently through the local citizen's committee to start a business making and selling tortillas on the street. She said the loans were not going solely to Sandinistas.' Furthermore, around the time that Ortega won in 2006, many people here expressed the opinion that Ortega could hardly be called socialist/leftist any longer. (I am agnostic on that one, myself). From lueko.willms at t-online.de Sun May 4 00:22:24 2008 From: lueko.willms at t-online.de (=?iso-8859-1?q?L=FCko_Willms?=) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 08:22:24 +0200 (MES) Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) Message-ID: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> On Sat, 03 May 2008 16:04:59 -0400, Louis Proyect wrote: answering Fred Feldman: > >This is just Louis' way of not hearing a political criticism that is valid > >and is not at all aimed at him alone, but is aimed at everyone who fails to > >recognize the importance of the political VICTORY of the anti-apartheid > >uprising, which the Blacks refuse to abandon. He just doesn't get it, and > >ends up again and again that the Blacks are just out of it because they > >stick with the ANC. If you don't start from that, you are dead in the > >politics of the oppressed in South Africa, and Louis and others tend to > >start at best, from just before the victory. > > No, Fred, I get it. You are saying that I am objectively in favor of apartheid. No, he is saying that you don't care. Sort of saying "what have those negroes won by being free, while they are now poor?". The same condescent attitude many Europeans have for the decolonisation of Africa. "They were better off when being ruled by the Whites". If I were Nigerian, I would say "OK, we are now ruled by corrupt bastards, but these are OUR bastards". Luis seems not to feel the humiliation of being treated as a inferior human being, which is considered not being able to care for itself, and the urge to get rid of that boot in the neck. Despite certainly having heard and read those famous phrases like "lever dod as slav" (better dead than slave) or "Mejor morir a pie que vivir en rodillas" (better die standing up than living on one's knees), attributed to Jos? Mart? and Emiliano Zapata. Yours, L?ko Willms Frankfurt, Germany -------------------------------- visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German From lueko.willms at t-online.de Sun May 4 00:34:19 2008 From: lueko.willms at t-online.de (=?iso-8859-1?q?L=FCko_Willms?=) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 08:34:19 +0200 (MES) Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <00fa01c8ad9a$1c5f8510$040ba8c0@albanta> Message-ID: <1JsXo2-29iASW0@fwd30.t-online.de> On Sat, 3 May 2008 23:51:18 -0400, Joaquin Bustelo wrote: > Walter writes, "One might have thought the South Africa, which evidently was > not able to prevent those doctors - probably white, from abandoning their > home country, would deserve PRAISE for having made these efforts to replace > those who choose to leave with doctors from Cuba." > > Would you say the same thing about recent Guatemalan governments? I am not Walter, but yes, I would say that. The Guatemalan government should be condemned, if they were to withheld proper medical care from their people because of their political opposition to the course of the Cuban revolution. As you wrote in your previous message: On Sat, 3 May 2008 23:49:26 -0400, Joaquin Bustelo wrote: > Cuban doctors serve needy populations in dozens of countries around the > world. This is in keeping with Fidel's teaching that to be internationalists > is to pay our own debt to humanity. It isn't a recognition of the merit of > any given government, and should not be used to suggest that Cuba somehow > endorses or vouches for or sides with or has a "special relationship" with > the given government. As the Cubans declared after the fall of the Sandinista government in the elections of February 1990, that this would not cause the Cubans to withdraw their help from the country. As you will certainly remember well. Comradely Yours, L?ko Willms Frankfurt, Germany -------------------------------- visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German From shmage at pipeline.com Sun May 4 06:52:27 2008 From: shmage at pipeline.com (Shane Mage) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 08:52:27 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> Message-ID: <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> On May 4, 2008, at 2:22 AM, L?ko Willms wrote: > > If I were Nigerian, I would say "OK, we are now ruled by corrupt > bastards, but these are OUR bastards". > I hope that he wouldn't be saying that if he lived in the Delta (ex- Biafra) > Luis seems not to feel the humiliation of being treated as a inferior > human being, which is considered not being able to care for itself, > and > the urge to get rid of that boot in the neck. where the boot on the neck is echt-Nigerian and the foot in the other boot is the Western Petroleum Cartel. Shane Mage "Thunderbolt steers all things...it consents and does not consent to be called Zeus." Herakleitos of Ephesos From nmgoro at gmail.com Sun May 4 07:19:59 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 10:19:59 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/4, Shane Mage : > > On May 4, 2008, at 2:22 AM, L?ko Willms wrote: > > > > If I were Nigerian, I would say "OK, we are now ruled by corrupt > > bastards, but these are OUR bastards". > > > > I hope that he wouldn't be saying that if he lived in the Delta (ex- > Biafra) > > > > Luis seems not to feel the humiliation of being treated as a inferior > > human being, which is considered not being able to care for itself, > > and > > the urge to get rid of that boot in the neck. > > > > where the boot on the neck is echt-Nigerian and the foot in the other > boot is > the Western Petroleum Cartel. > Unwillingly (that, I am sure of), Shane Mage has just repeated the main argument of all imperialist Balkanizators. In Africa, the continent has been carved into dozens of unviable states. But these states are still, sometimes, too powerful for the patience of imperialists. Thus, "democratic'", "humanitarian", "national liberation" and even "socialist" arguments are used to further splinter them. I don't know what does Shane Mage believe about the power of an "independent" Biafran state as against imperalist (Western Petroleum Cartel) loot and murder in the Niger Delta. But if the idea is that such a state would be STRONGER than the power of the Nigerian State, and I am not closing my eyes at exactly WHAT such a state is, then Shane is wrong. The idea that "national struggles" are reivindicatory struggles of minor nationalities is Wilsonian state-building. Marxists have a different approach. Sorry if what follows sounds corrosive, but this kind of argument is, both from the LEFT and the RIGHT of the political spectrum, a wonderful tool in the hands of ACTUALLY EXISTING IMPERIALISTS. Witness Bolivia today. Tomorrow we shall be informed that the Zulians are oppressed by a Venezuelan Caracas-based boot, that the Guayaquileans are oppressed by an Andean tyrant expressing the brutal Kolla bourgeoisie of the High Andes, and so on. Will you, dear guys, NEVER learn? -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From shmage at pipeline.com Sun May 4 07:44:44 2008 From: shmage at pipeline.com (Shane Mage) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 09:44:44 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <7DC0A6EF-EFA2-431A-8366-04DA59A5DA0F@pipeline.com> On May 4, 2008, at 9:19 AM, N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > I don't know what does Shane Mage believe about the power of an > "independent" Biafran state as against imperalist (Western Petroleum > Cartel) loot and murder in the Niger Delta. But if the idea is that > such a state would be STRONGER than the power of the Nigerian State, > and I am not closing my eyes at exactly WHAT such a state is, then > Shane is wrong. The "power" of a "State" is the power to repress in the interest of the ruling class and (for "former" colonies) its imperial partners. The power of a people is its own will, consciousness, solidarity, and weapons. As against imperial oil the people of the Delta are today immeasurably stronger than the Abuja kleptocracy will ever be (see the reaction of petroleum prices to every action in the Delta, ask yourself if you can remember any statement or action from Abuja that markets thought worth reacting to.) Shane Mage "Thunderbolt steers all things...it consents and does not consent to be called Zeus." Herakleitos of Ephesos From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 08:25:42 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 10:25:42 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Marxism and international relations Message-ID: <20080504142544.10E0710A45@mailbackend.panix.com> http://www.bbk.ac.uk/bisr/news/kees Kees van der Pijl 'Nomads, Empires, States: Historicising International Relations' 14th May 2008 This talk proposes to look at IR through a historic lens and see that the basic sort of relations of which the inter-national is one form, are in fact foreign relations. So IR did not begin around 1648, but dates from the dawn of humanity because just as people faced the task to organise themselves to procure the conditions of their existence through labour, they also faced the reality of other communities occupying separate spaces. Historical development in this light becomes a process of incorporation of foreign communities into expanding units; in the 'national' phase there occurs an attempt, often violent, to homogenise the nation and exteriorise the foreign. By looking at world politics in this way, contemporary forms of tribal and imperial relations can be brought back and IR can be de-naturalised. Kees van der Pijl teaches IR and global political economy at Sussex. He writes on transnational classes and international theory. His recent books include Global Rivalries from the Cold War to Iraq (2006), A Survey of Global Political Economy (http:www.sussex.ac.uk/ir/1-2-4-2-1.html), and Nomads, Empires, States (2007), vol. 1 of a trilogy titled Modes of Foreign Relations and Political Economy. He is currently writing vol. 2, Myth, Religion, Civilisation. Wednesday 14th May 3.30pm Room 203 Clore Management Centre, Torrington Sq., Birkbeck College Free - all welcome From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 08:39:48 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 10:39:48 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] South African realities In-Reply-To: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> Message-ID: <20080504143950.017CC12FED@mailbackend.panix.com> >Luis seems not to feel the humiliation of being treated as a inferior >human being, which is considered not being able to care for itself, and >the urge to get rid of that boot in the neck. Despite certainly having >heard and read those famous phrases like "lever dod as slav" (better >dead than slave) or "Mejor morir a pie que vivir en rodillas" (better >die standing up than living on one's knees), attributed to Jos? Mart? >and Emiliano Zapata. > > >Yours, >L?ko Willms >Frankfurt, Germany I don't dwell on my past activism here, but I was the president of a solidarity/technical aid organization that provided crucial support for the ANC, SWAPO and the front line states in the early 90s, including the period when the ANC was in exile. One of our volunteers set up an encrypted communications system that allowed confidential exchanges between Lusaka HQ and the UN delegation in New York. Another volunteer trained SWAPO how to use desktop publishing tools for their first election campaign. My attitudes toward the ANC reflect that of the South African left. Luko seems to be on some kind of nostalgia trip as if it were 1994. The South African left did not initially attack the ANC, but hoped that it would deliver on its historic promises. Nearly everybody, including the ANC'ers I met in Lusaka in 1990, expected it to embark on a sweeping program of social and economic emancipation. Nobody thought that South Africans would end up with privatized water. When the Bolivians rose up in Cochabamba against the government, the international left backed the protests. The same thing is true of South Africa, whatever nostalgia trip people like Luko are on. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/South_America/Bolivia_WaterWarVictory.html Bolivia's Water War Victory by Jim Schultz Earth Island Journal, Autumn 2000 At 10am, President Hugo Banzer places Bolivia under martial law. This drastic move concludes a week of protests, general strikes and transportation blockages that have jerked the country to a virtual standstill, and follows the surprise announcement of government concession to protesters' demands to break a $200 million contract selling Cochabamba's public water system to foreign investors. The water system is currently controlled by Aguas del Tunari, a consortium led by London-based International Water Limited (IWL), which is itself jointly owned by the Italian utility Edison and US-based Bechtel Enterprise Holdings. Upon purchasing the water system, the consortium immediately raised rates by up to 35 percent. That untenable hike sparked the protests. In January, "Cochabambinos" staged strikes and blocked transit, effectively shutting their city down for four straight days. The Bolivian government then promised to lower rates, but broke that promise within weeks. On February 4, when thousands tried to march in peaceful protest, President Banzer had police hammer protesters with two days of tear gas that the 175 people injured and two youths blinded. Ninety percent of Cochabamba's citizens believed it was time for Bechtel's subsidiary to return the water system to public control, according to results of a 60,000-person survey conducted in March. But it seems that the government has come to Bechtel's rescue, insisting the company remain in Bolivia. President Banzer, who ruled Bolivia as a dictator from 1971-78, has suspended almost all civil rights, banning gatherings of more than four people, and severely limiting freedom of the press. "We see it as our obligation, in the common best interest, to decree a state of emergency to protect law and order," Banzer trumpeted. (clip) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/international/africa/25durban.html NY Times, December 25, 2005 Shantytown Dwellers in South Africa Protest Sluggish Pace of Change By MICHAEL WINES JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 24 - Sending what some call an ominous signal to this nation's leaders, South Africa's sprawling shantytowns have begun to erupt, sometimes violently, in protest over the government's inability to deliver the better life that the end of apartheid seemed to herald a dozen years ago. At a hillside shantytown in Durban called Foreman Road, riot police officers fired rubber bullets in mid-November to disperse 2,000 residents marching to the municipal mayor's office downtown. Two protesters were injured; 45 were arrested. The rest burned an effigy of the city's mayor, Obed Mlaba. Their grievance was unadorned: since Foreman Road's 1,000 shacks sprang up nearly two decades ago, the only measurable improvements to the residents' lives amounted to a single water standpipe and four scrap-wood privies. Electricity and real toilets were a pipe dream. Promises of new homes, they said, were ephemeral. "This is the worst area in the country," said one resident, a middle-aged man who identified himself only as Senior. "We don't so much need water or electricity. We need land and housing. They need to find us land and build us new homes." In Pretoria that week, 500 shantytown residents looted and burned a city council member's home and car to protest limited access to government housing. Two weeks earlier, protesters burned municipal offices in Promosa after being evicted from their illegal shanties. In late September, Botleng Township residents rioted after a sewage-fouled water supply caused 600 cases of typhoid and perhaps 20 deaths. (clip) From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 08:45:34 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 10:45:34 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.co m> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> Nestor wrote: >I don't know what does Shane Mage believe about the power of an >"independent" Biafran state as against imperalist (Western Petroleum >Cartel) loot and murder in the Niger Delta. But if the idea is that >such a state would be STRONGER than the power of the Nigerian State, >and I am not closing my eyes at exactly WHAT such a state is, then >Shane is wrong. I am not following this. What does Biafra have to do with the Niger Delta protests, both peaceful and armed, against Shell oil and company? Shell and the Nigerian government are in a partnership to screw the Ogoni people. Does Nestor back Shell oil and the thugs who run Nigeria against the Ogoni? Factsheet on the Ogoni Struggle The Ogoni People of Nigeria The Ogoni are a people of approximately 500 000, who live in Ogoni, a region in Rivers State, Nigeria. The region of Ogoni only has an area of 650 square kilometers, resulting in a very high population density. Despite this high population density, the extraordinary fertility of the Niger delta has historically allowed the Ogoni to make a good living as subsistence farmers and fishing people. Currently, however, this lifestyle is being threatened. A MOSOP statement reads: "The once-beautiful Ogoni countryside is no more a source of fresh air and green vegetation. All one sees and feels around is death." The threat to the Ogoni people started when Shell discovered oil there in 1958. At that time, Nigeria was still under British colonial rule, and the Ogoni had no say in the oil exploitation. With the coming of independence in 1960 the Ogoni situation did not improve - being a minority ethnic group in a country which has a current population of 88 million, the Ogoni have never had an effective say in Nigerian politics. full: http://www.ratical.org/corporations/OgoniFactS.html From shmage at pipeline.com Sun May 4 08:55:15 2008 From: shmage at pipeline.com (Shane Mage) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 10:55:15 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: On May 4, 2008, at 10:45 AM, Louis Proyect wrote: > > I am not following this. What does Biafra have to do with the Niger > Delta protests, both peaceful and armed, against Shell oil and > company?... The Ogoni were part of the I[g]bo-led Biafra commune. > Shell and the Nigerian government are in a partnership to > screw the Ogoni people. Does Nestor back Shell oil and the thugs who > run Nigeria against the Ogoni? > If he is serious about his b?te noir "Balkanization" and his silly Andean analogies, his answer ought to be Yes. Shane Mage "Thunderbolt steers all things...it consents and does not consent to be called Zeus." Herakleitos of Ephesos From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 09:11:35 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 11:11:35 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Black bloggers Message-ID: <20080504151136.59E0812638@mailbackend.panix.com> Critics of Old Guard Take Black Activism Online By Darryl Fears Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, May 4, 2008; A02 The new black revolution, as singer Gil Scott-Heron famously predicted, is not being televised. It is raging online. A growing cadre of young black activists is using the Internet in an attempt to eclipse traditional civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and hit the refresh button on the civil rights movement. Bloggers with names such as the Cruel Secretary, and blogs called What About Our Daughters? and the African American Political Pundit, have railed against groups in the "black-o-sphere," saying they do not understand young black Americans, are behind the times and react too slowly to incidents involving the younger generation. The leaders of the fledgling movement -- Van Jones and James Rucker of ColorOfChange.org -- may not be familiar to many, but their work is. They circulated a letter and a petition last week promising that the Democrats will pay a "political price" if they overturn the will of black and young voters and choose Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y) as the party's nominee over Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.). Jones and Rucker were also the first to successfully raise awareness about the cases of six black teenagers initially charged with attempted murder for beating a white classmate in Jena, La. The campaign led to one of the largest civil rights marches in the South in recent years. Blogger Gina McCauley, 32, who is organizing the first conference of nonwhite bloggers this summer in Atlanta, said that what Jones and Rucker have started "can potentially become a new Niagara movement," a reference to the small contingent of black intellectuals, including W.E.B. Du Bois, who met near Niagara Falls in 1905 to form an organization to oppose segregation. The organization eventually became the NAACP. Others have another name for the new efforts by black bloggers: Civil Rights 2.0. Blogger L.N. Rock said that if abolitionist Frederick Douglass, former congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., civil rights organizer Bayard Rustin and "people like that were around today, they would have blogs." "The NAACP's youth-outreach efforts are dysfunctional," Rock said. "We would have been glad to work with them had they asked. If you're talking about the talented tenth, we are the new talented tenth," a reference to a concept by Du Bois of a group of exceptional black men. "The skill sets of the bloggers is no joke," Rock said. "These guys have doctorates. They're not being used." But overtaking traditional civil rights groups, which have built their reputations over time, will take more than words, computer savvy and bravado. The NAACP alone has more than 300,000 members who pay dues and an additional 325,000 who have signed up online, the group's spokesman said. ColorOfChange.org has about 400,000 online members, Jones said. Although the NAACP's financial resources and membership have declined since its heyday, the group has the most recognized name in civil rights, a dedicated core of lawyers and hundreds of local branches to which black Americans can turn in times of trouble. But, Jones said, groups such as the NAACP do not understand the hip-hop generation and never reached out, forcing young African Americans to find their own way. "We were raised by wolves in some ways," he said. Several years ago in San Francisco, where Jones is an activist, he and other black bloggers led protests against the city's black mayor, Willie Brown, over the issue of police brutality. "Willie was this civil rights figure," Jones said, "but when we protested, all you could hear were crickets chirping." Jones co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in 1996 and started a police watch campaign. Since then, the center has gone on to run an anti-youth-prison campaign called Books Not Bars, an anti-violence campaign called Silence the Violence and a Green-Collar Jobs campaign that seeks to train low-income African Americans and Latinos to fill environmental jobs such as installing home solar panels. "The center doesn't just bring new players to issues like economic equality -- it insists that we change the basic way we've been approaching these issues and start to see new solutions," said Michelle de Pass, a program officer for the Ford Foundation, which gives the center a $300,000 annual grant. The center was only a start for Jones. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, he said, he could hardly contain his disgust as black people slept on interstate ramps while the Bush administration was slow to respond. Jones called Rucker, a former director of grass-roots mobilization for MoveOn.org whom leaders there praise as "brilliant." Jones said that if dozens of white grandmothers had been suffering in the streets, MoveOn would have acted. "We need to start our own MoveOn," Jones said. Rucker envisioned a computer-age movement. "We started ColorOfChange on the assumption that we could do civil-rights-type work," he said. "Our model was MoveOn. What this new black civil rights movement was going to look like is different people being engaged in a way that makes a broader impact." A year later, Jones and Rucker heard about the incident in Jena, La., and organized bloggers. They highlighted the blogs on their Web site and in e-mail blasts. Two powerful syndicated black radio disc jockeys, Michael Baisden and Tom Joyner, amplified the message to their huge morning and afternoon drive-time audiences. Many of the activists did not think the teenagers were entirely innocent but thought the attempted-murder charges for the fight were excessive. "We turned up the heat on the governor as she was leaving office and forced her to answer the question: What does justice look like in Louisiana?" Rucker said. The NAACP, spokesman Richard McIntyre said, "was involved in Jena from the start. No one individual can claim credit. It was a community effort. We helped organize the march and the rallies. The NAACP worked with Harvard University and Southern University . . . to help develop a legal team for the defendants." He added: "The NAACP will always have detractors. There will always be people who think we're not doing enough. In terms of any movement, there's always been more than one organization. If the NAACP isn't a fit for you, then we encourage people to get involved another way." Jakada Imani, executive director of the Ella Baker Center, said the ideas of black youth will keep the new groups relevant. He compared the center's efforts to those of corporate innovators that captured broader audiences, saying, "We're watching what Apple is doing, what Google is doing, because we don't want to fall behind." Activist Lateefah Simon, 31, said leaders of traditional groups do not know people like Jones and Rucker. "The old black guard hasn't figured out how to transfer the knowledge and the power to the new guard," she said. Simon, who in 2003 became the youngest woman ever to win a MacArthur Fellowship when she worked with the Center for Young Women's Development in San Francisco, said she has not been recruited either. "In the civil rights community, the voices of black women are too often kicked to the curb," she said. Strong words, but not nearly as strong as what is said on black blogs. L.N. Rock, who helped form Afrospear, a network of black bloggers, wrote in the African American Political Pundit that the NAACP has been missing in action on issues involving women and called its 65-member board "the board of the living dead." Andrea Plaid, a blogger whose screen name is the Cruel Secretary, has written that the NAACP stood by as activist C. Delores Tucker, beginning in the 1990s, fought Black Entertainment Television and rappers over the way music videos and lyrics portray black women. "They caught the train when it was halfway down the tracks," Plaid said. "The NAACP should have said that 'for the advancement of colored people, this is not right.' The question my generation has is 'Why aren't you reacting? You're the NAACP. Why aren't you out front?' " From spalmer999 at yahoo.com Sun May 4 09:40:40 2008 From: spalmer999 at yahoo.com (Steve Palmer) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 08:40:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] KKKlinton ... Re: In praise of Klinton In-Reply-To: <00f401c8ad8c$0092da70$040ba8c0@albanta> Message-ID: <373065.58147.qm@web81905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> "she, Lieberman, and McCain could form a pro-war coalition, with all of them running to pick up the phone when it rings in the small hours" Sounds good - KKKlint, Lieberscheisse and McWarCriminal in a remake of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly ... --- Joaquin Bustelo wrote: > Murdoch's Weekly Standard warms to the junior Senator from New York. > > > An Exceedingly Strange New Respect > Hillary Clinton makes friends in some surprising precincts > > asp> > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/spalmer999%40yahoo.com > "I study a lot. That is one of the responsibilities of every revolutionary." Hugo Chavez. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From walterlx at earthlink.net Sun May 4 10:22:44 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 09:22:44 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Obama criticizes Clinton over her words about Iran Message-ID: <005701c8ae03$171535a0$6401a8c0@new1501> Obama criticizes Clinton over her words about Iran By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 29 minutes ago INDIANAPOLIS - Barack Obama scolded Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday for saying that the United States would "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacks Israel, and likened her to President Bush. Clinton stood by her comment. The foreign policy dustup came as the two candidates appeared separately on dueling Sunday news shows and as the drawn-out fight for the Democratic nomination grew ever more fierce ahead of the next pivotal pair of primaries, in Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday. Seeking the advantage, Obama seized on Clinton's recent answer when asked what she would do if she wins the White House and Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons. "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said April 22 in an interview with ABC. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them." On Wednesday, Iran strongly condemned Clinton for her remarks. Iran's deputy U.N. ambassador, Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, called her comment "provocative, unwarranted and irresponsible" and "a flagrant violation" of the U.N. Charter. On "Meet the Press" Sunday, Obama said: "It's not the language we need right now, and I think it's language reflective of George Bush. We have had a foreign policy of bluster and saber rattling and tough talk and in the meantime have made a series strategic decisions that have actually strengthened Iran." He also suggested Clinton's comments were politically motivated. "Senator Clinton during the course of the campaign has said we shouldn't speculate about Iran, we've got to be cautious when we're running for president, she scolded me on a couple of occasions on this issue, yet a few days before an election, she's willing to use that language," he said. Clinton, asked on ABC's "This Week" about Obama's criticism, said she had no regrets about her comment. "Why would I have any regrets? I'm asked a question about what I would do if Iran attacked our ally, a country that many of us have a great deal of, you know, connection with and feeling for, for all kinds of reasons. And, yes, we would have massive retaliation against Iran," Clinton said. "I don't think they will do that, but I sure want to make it abundantly clear to them that they would face a tremendous cost if they did such a thing," she said. The two also squared off anew over Clinton's proposal for a gas tax holiday this summer, which Obama opposes. Obama called the proposal a "classic Washington gimmick" that wouldn't solve anything and would save only $28 for each person. Asked if the proposal amounted to a politician pandering, Obama said, "Yes." Clinton, for her part, disputed Obama's suggestions that she and Republican candidate John McCain were the same because they both support a gas tax holiday. "Senator McCain has said take off the gas tax, don't pay for it, throw us further into deficit and debt. That is not what I've proposed," Clinton said, adding that she wants the oil companies to pay the gas tax instead of consumers this summer. Pressed to name an economist who supports such a holiday, Clinton demurred. "I'm not going to put my lot in with economists because I know if we did it right, if we actually did it right, if we had a president who used all the tools of his presidency, we would decide it in such a way that it would be implemented effectively." Obama leads in the hunt for convention delegates - 1,742.5 to 1,607.5, according to an Associated Press count Sunday - but has hit a rough patch over the past month. That has Clinton sensing an opening after a strong win in Pennsylvania nearly two weeks ago. Still, the delegate math works in Obama's favor, and it will be difficult for Clinton to overtake him. Nevertheless, Clinton suggested anew she had no intention of dropping out, saying on ABC: "When the process finishes in early June, people can look at all the various factors and decide who would be the strongest candidate" to go up against McCain in the fall. Both candidates were focusing the bulk of their Sunday campaigning on Indiana, where polls show the race extremely close. They stayed overnight in Indianapolis hotels one block apart, and both were campaigning within miles of each other in Fort Wayne before returning to the capital city for the Indiana Democratic Party's Jefferson Jackson Dinner. But North Carolina was getting some last-minute attention, too. Both candidates shuffled their schedules to dart back to the state on Monday, reflecting the tightening contest there; polls show Clinton trimming Obama's lead. From walterlx at earthlink.net Sun May 4 10:24:50 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 09:24:50 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Message-ID: <006601c8ae03$60d33b10$6401a8c0@new1501> Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Cuba provides medical aid actively to eighty countries on earth. Eighty (80). The Cuban medical education program is so highly regarded that even the United States government has seen fit to approve the permission of the US students to attend classes on the island. Yet the critics on Marxmail seem to be on a virtual campaign of denunciations of the governments which accept Cuban medical aid. South Africa's government receives the most fierce attacks for some special unspecified reason. Reading what John Edmundson writes, he also attacks the government of New Zealand which is using Cuban literacy teachers in an attempt to educate people where the New Zealand government has not succeeded: "New Zealand maintains diplomatic ties (and reasonably good relations) with Cuba. That doesn't mean I won't condemn the capitalist policies of the NZ government. The same goes for SA. Incidentally, Cuban literacy programmes are being employed in NZ to deal with the shamefully low level of of adult literacy here. That's no reason to congratulate the NZ government either. It's actually an inditement." ----------------------------------------------------------------- When the New Zealand government brings Cubans in to do what it has not been able to do, that's a GOOD thing, not a BAD thing. Cuba gets to help New Zealanders become more literate. Cubans get to travel. Cuba gets good publicity. Cuba probably earns some money from this as well from the New Zealand government, however modest might be its dimensions. Cuba is a blockaded country, something which the critics rarely mention, and don't see overly interested in. All of its internationalist programs, while non-partisan as well as humanitarian in nature, take place in the context of Cuba's need to counter the blockade. Cuba's expanded business opportunities, such as through biotech, are further ways the island counteracts the blockade by Washington. All of no interest to the critics. Nowhere else on earth that I know of to revolutionary-minded leftists from all over rise up to denounce the host government as is done with South Africa. Below is but a two examples which were recently published. These foreign aid programs utilize something which Cuba has: a highly educated population, to provide both the medical aid which is needed elsewhere, in exchange for an array of things which Cuba needs: economic, political, and diplomatic. Why is South Africa singled out and targeted in this way while Angola isn't, nor are the rest of the countries where Cuba helps fill in where the existing governments and international outfits have shown themselves unable or willing to help out? There aren't any US medical aid programs for South Africa, or anywhere else of which I am familiar. Joaquin asked if I would praise recent Guatemalan government for bringing in Cuban doctors? Yes. By replacing those who defected from Guatemala seeking more money in other countries, I think that the Guatemalan government did a good thing. Sending their young people to study medicine in Cuba is also a good thing and having warm and friendly diplomatic and economic relations with Guatemala are ALSO good things. I cannot imagine what Joaquin was thinking when he even considered asking this question. Now as for other matters done by the Guatemalan government within Guatemala, that's another story. But for me, as a student and writer about Cuba based in the United States, I see no reason to find fault with Guatemala's relationships with Cuba. Frankly, I would have praised George W. Bush had he decided to accept Fidel Castro's offer to send 1500 Cuban doctors to the United States to work in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That's what he should have done, after all. There are still people in New Orleans who would today receive better care if there were Cuban doctors providing it than what they aren't receiving now. This doesn't mean that one should praise Bush for anything else he's done, but if he had done a single good thing, there would have been nothing wrong with praising one specific thing. As Jose G. Perez once wrote: "To the enemy who retreats, a bridge of gold." When all the other governments which are also welcoming medical aid teams from Cuba aren't????? No one goes out of their way to target the Haitian government, nor the Pakistani government, but South Africa's government seems to merit special derision from some people. Louis Proyect wonders if anyone thinks he favors apartheid, and, of course, we should take his word for it that he's against it. But when we keep hearing him harping, over and over and over again about how much WORSE things are now than they were under apartheid, the question is one reasonable people might ponder. Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Walter Lippmann Los Angeles, California P.S., one point I may have been unclear about was this: I don't know what the financial arrangements are between South Africa and Cuba regarding the medical students' education, housing and etc. While I do not imagine the students themselves pay any tuition, I don't know whether or not the South African government pays the Cuban government anything to reimburse it for providing the service. I would hope that South Africa would, but, in fact, I do not know. =================================================================== There are about 1 200 Cuban doctors working on the African continent, including in Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, C?te d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and areas in the Sahara. http://www.southafrica.info/travel/documents/cuban-doctors.htm =================================================================== New Zealand Extols Cuba Business Wellington, Apr 28 (Prensa Latina) Despite the US blockade of Cuba, the Caribbean island has developed its biotechnological industry, education and public health to levels making many countries green with envy, commented New Zealander magazine Bright Monday. Under the title "Cuba: Far Beyond Rum and Tobacco" Bright shows New Zealand readers that Cuba is now far from "the big casino and brothel in the Caribbean" and has become a point of reference for biotechnological trade, among other things. A total of 12,000 technicians, among them 7,000 scientists, are working in that industry in Cuba, with noticeable achievements, including more than 500 Cuban vaccines and medications in use in the world, including against meningitis A and B and dengue fever. Biotechnological products are 60 percent of Cuban exports, and that is great progress over the days when it only sold sugar, tobacco, coffee and rum, said Bright. The magazine considers many of the compounds of interest to New Zealand, and mentions Heperbrot-B, a medication introduced last year that prevents leg amputation in 66 percent of the cases of diabetic patients with serious circulatory problems and now sold in 10 countries, with 50 more in process of negotiation. Commenting specifically on New Zealand-Cuba business possibilities, the publication notes that this country's exports to the Caribbean island in 2007 were worth 114.6 million dollars, compared to 72.7 million in 2006. Cuban Ambassador Jose Luis Robaina recalled that it was Cuban leader Fidel Castro who noticed the need for Cuba to break its dependence on exporting only primary products if it wanted to compete with developed nations. Bright also highlights the development of education and medicine in Cuba, as not only substantially elevating the level of health, but possessing the highest ratio of doctors in the world as confirmed by the World Health Organization It also notes that infant mortality is lower and life expectancy higher in Cuba than in the United States. ef ccs tac mh PL-31 =================================================================== JAMAICA OBSERVER Patients to get treatment here under Ja-Cuba Eye Care Project BY TANEISHA LEWIS Observer staff reporter editorial at jamaicaobserver.com Saturday, May 03, 2008 http://tinyurl.com/5khlkt The health ministry is expected to finalise a new agreement with the Cuban Government next week that will see Jamaicans receiving critical optical treatment here under the Jamaica-Cuba Eye Care Project. Aundre Franklyn, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Health, told the Observer that the ministry accepted the offer from the Cuban Government in February to treat Jamaicans locally as opposed to the original agreement where Jamaicans are flown to Cuba for treatment, which lasted three weeks. A September 2005 Observer file photo of former Prime Minister P J Patterson greeting 75-year-old David Scott and his daughter, Verona, at the Norman Manley International Airport after they arrived from Cuba. Scott who had lost his sight two years before due to cataract, was able to see after an operation in Cuba under the Jamaica-Cuba Eye Care Programme. "When the minister (Ruddy Spencer) goes to conduct bilateral talks with the Cuban Government next week it will be a part of the discussions," Franklyn pointed out. "I wholeheartedly welcome the project and look forward to placing local surgeons to assist in the project." Minister Spencer is among several Government ministers who will be accompanying Prime Minister Bruce Golding to Cuba this weekend to hold discussions with Cuban President Raul Castro and Cuban officials on an expanded programme of bilateral co-operation in areas such as health care. Meanwhile, the ministry has already identified two potential sites, one on the North Coast and another in Kingston, where it will establish facilities to carry out the project. The Cuban Government has committed to supplying the equipment and staff for the facilities. Local ophthalmologists will also work alongside the Cuban specialists. Franklyn, however, said that this does mean that the new agreement will repeal the current one, as some patients might be flown to Cuba if necessary. "The Cuban Government have said that they will assess whether or not we will still need to fly some of the patients to Cuba," he said. "If we find that we have large numbers, then we will have to do some here and some persons will be sent to Cuba." Now in its third year, the Jamaica-Cuba Eye Care Project is in its second phase. In August 2005, the Jamaican Government, along with the governments of the Republic of Cuba, Venezuela and Caribbean partners, Dominica, Guyana, St Lucia and Suriname, signed the historic Bilateral Agreement dubbed 'Mission Operation', under which nationals of each country would receive medical attention in the field of ophthalmology in Cuba. Some 20,000 Jamaicans have been screened since the programme began, while over 4,000 surgeries have been performed. These patients receive treatment for four major conditions including, Cataract, Pterygium, Strabismus (crossed eyes) and Ptosis also known as drooping of the upper eyelid. Since the beginning of the year, close to 400 persons have been treated under the project. An additional 92 people left the island for Cuba on Tuesday, and Cuban doctors are currently conducting screening in communities in St Thomas. This will continue until May 9. Yesterday, Franklyn told the Observer that the second phase of the project is now more structured - at least 100 patients are sent to Cuba for treatment every three weeks. "[In phase one, after a while] there were no flights on a consistent manner coming from Cuba because when the project started there were eight flights per month, and it went down to approximately one flight to Cuba every six or eight weeks," he said. The ministry incurs the cost of remunerating persons who are hired to run the programme. =================================================================== EMILE SCHEPERS wrote: Walter, in answer to your question, yes there were Black doctors during apartheid but they had to sweat blood to get their training in underfunded segregated institutions and there were far too few to attend to the mass of the African population, who in many case got practically no health care while health care for whites was top notch. Some white doctors and medical institutions tried to do something about this, but a large proportion of the white doctors in South Africa were too much focused on the house and the Mercedes. When Mandela, in one of his first actions as president, threw all health care institutions open to everybody, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth. Emile Schepers, ex South African citizen ============================================================= JOHN EDMUNDSON asked: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2008-May/027798.html JOAQUIN BUSTELO asked: Walter writes, "One might have thought the South Africa, which evidently was not able to prevent those doctors - probably white, from abandoning their home country, would deserve PRAISE for having made these efforts to replace those who choose to leave with doctors from Cuba." Would you say the same thing about recent Guatemalan governments? ============================================================= LOUIS PROYECT wrote: My suggestion is that you begin to use your brain in a more productive manner. There is an article in the NY Times today about baby boomers worried about mental decline: NY Times, May 3, 2008 Exercise Your Brain, or Else You'll ... Uh ... By KATIE HAFNER http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/technology/03brain.html I don't think ginseng is what you need exactly, but I would recommend that you begin to open up new research areas since this trolling around Cuba, the ANC, Sinn Fein will surely lead to an early onset of Alzheimer's. ======================================== WALTER LIPPMANN, CubaNews Los Angeles, California http://www.walterlippmann.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Paraiso bajo el bloqueo" ======================================== From nmgoro at gmail.com Sun May 4 10:29:35 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 13:29:35 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805040929r36b72241i21f79d6739242739@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/4, Louis Proyect : > Nestor wrote: > >I don't know what does Shane Mage believe about the power of an > >"independent" Biafran state as against imperalist (Western Petroleum > >Cartel) loot and murder in the Niger Delta. But if the idea is that > >such a state would be STRONGER than the power of the Nigerian State, > >and I am not closing my eyes at exactly WHAT such a state is, then > >Shane is wrong. > > I am not following this. What does Biafra have to do with the Niger > Delta protests, both peaceful and armed, against Shell oil and > company? Shell and the Nigerian government are in a partnership to > screw the Ogoni people. Does Nestor back Shell oil and the thugs who > run Nigeria against the Ogoni? > > Factsheet on the Ogoni Struggle > > The Ogoni People of Nigeria > > The Ogoni are a people of approximately 500 000, who live in Ogoni, a > region in Rivers State, Nigeria. The region of Ogoni only has an area Of course Louis's question is rethoric, I assume. If not, it would be offensive. But the main idea is that the defense of any people butchered by a reactionary and proimperialist regime is NOT to support its "national rights" against the thugs at the core of the country. From nmgoro at gmail.com Sun May 4 10:36:05 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 13:36:05 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805040936w3ce71747p470ff3375f204e63@mail.gmail.com> Dear Shane,don't underrate me. My enemy is imperialism. Balkanization (without inverted commas) is just one of its weapons. ?Leftist? support to ?national rights? which tend to create an ever increasing quantity of ?independent? statelets the world over is one of the _objective_ ways in which these issues are promoted. My "silly Andean analogies" may be silly, it's up to you to believe that or not. But they are certainly not Andean, nor analogic. This is a permanent tactics of imperialists the globe over. I am sure Shane Mage has never wondered why is it that the secession of the underdeveloped Oklahoman "nation" , the ever-colonized-by-the-thugs-at-New-York-City "Poconian Nation", or the Californian "nation" from the USA (that bleed California dry of their Hi Tech resources by way of the IRS) sounds ridiculous exactly while one writes the idea down. Shane should. There is some lesson in humor. 2008/5/4, Shane Mage : > > On May 4, 2008, at 10:45 AM, Louis Proyect wrote: > > > > I am not following this. What does Biafra have to do with the Niger > > Delta protests, both peaceful and armed, against Shell oil and > > > company?... > > The Ogoni were part of the I[g]bo-led Biafra commune. > > > > Shell and the Nigerian government are in a partnership to > > screw the Ogoni people. Does Nestor back Shell oil and the thugs who > > run Nigeria against the Ogoni? > > > > If he is serious about his b?te noir "Balkanization" and his silly > Andean analogies, his answer ought to be Yes. > > Shane Mage > > "Thunderbolt steers all things...it consents and does not consent to > be called Zeus." > > Herakleitos of Ephesos > > > > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 10:39:21 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 12:39:21 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <006601c8ae03$60d33b10$6401a8c0@new1501> References: <006601c8ae03$60d33b10$6401a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <20080504163922.D0CB7D69E@mailbackend.panix.com> Walter: >Why is South Africa's government being targeted in this manner? Actually, nobody would write attacks on the ANC here if you stopped writing your bullshit provocations. If you might have noticed, there are very few posts pointing out that the government of Iran is breaking strikes, etc. Once we were relieved of Yoshie's 24/7 PR releases, there was no need to respond to her. Walter is basically a troll. If you want to see another troll in action, go to the Greenleft Weekly Mailing list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GreenLeft_discussion/messages) and look for posts by Nemo Etomer, a kind of ideological purist who has no interest in posting anything except how rotten state socialists are. I never found him interesting enough to figure out what idiotic sect he belonged to. Maybe he is a free-lance idealist. Walter is basically the Black Kryptonite version of Nemo Etomer, putting good where Nemo puts evil. He has been at this for maybe 3 or 4 years by now and my patience is wearing thin. What you see at work with Walter is a "Marxist-Leninist" mindset, but it is harder to detect since he does not belong to any sect. He is applying the classic "scratch to gangrene" methodology of the Trotsky-Shachtman fight to Marxmail, looking for scratches. Or picking at scabs, to put it more accurately. I would prefer to write about Apache Indians, global warming controversies, Grossman's economics, and a host of other questions. I get terribly annoyed by having to answer the same stupid provocations about the ANC, Lula, the Chinese CP, Sinn Fein over and over again. I don't mind having these debates 5 or 10 times even, but it has now reached the point where I feel like throttling them once and for all. From craig at red-bean.com Sun May 4 11:27:12 2008 From: craig at red-bean.com (Craig Brozefsky) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 12:27:12 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] pornography of the ruling class Message-ID: <78ebbac60805041027i26cd8986k2a3c1ebc2ab3e807@mail.gmail.com> Please guys, no more pornogaphy of the ruling class. I understand that many here see the US presidential election as very important, specifically the coalescing of various forces around Obama's campaign which is at least rhetorically about "change". I can appreciate wanting to discuss with other Marxists, how the socialist left should approach this phenomenon. However, I really don't enjoy getting the daily bourgeois press updates on how the candidates are scolding one another. I much prefer analysis composed by the people on this list, even when I don't agree with it, then I do the seemingly endless line of NYT or WP or whatever articles that people are forwarding here on a daily basis. So, an we please cut way back on the forwarding of articles from bourgeois press on this damn election, unless there is some specific commentary and analysis attached to it by Marxists? If I wanted to be subscribed to the media relations list for the candidates, I would go and do that. From jonathan.flanders at verizon.net Sun May 4 11:35:27 2008 From: jonathan.flanders at verizon.net (Jon Flanders) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 13:35:27 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] May Day in Troy, NY Message-ID: <1209922527.5290.25.camel@localhost> Update for the Troy, NY May Day site. Photos of May Day in Troy and photos of the Utah Phillips Tribute along with a video of Annie and the Hedonists singing "Who Will Take My Place"(how appropriate is that for Utah Phillips!) Jon Flanders www.hudsonmohawkmayday.org From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sun May 4 12:18:11 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 14:18:11 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Obama criticizes Clinton over her words about Iran In-Reply-To: <005701c8ae03$171535a0$6401a8c0@new1501> References: <005701c8ae03$171535a0$6401a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <908b689f0805041118m8683992jce20976bb9aeaae2@mail.gmail.com> On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Walter Lippmann wrote: > Obama criticizes Clinton over her words about Iran > By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 29 minutes ago I agree with Craig's comments below. Ruthless Critic. from Craig Brozefsky reply-to Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition < marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu>, subject [Marxism] pornography of the ruling class Please guys, no more pornogaphy of the ruling class. I understand that many here see the US presidential election as very important, specifically the coalescing of various forces around Obama's campaign which is at least rhetorically about "change". I can appreciate wanting to discuss with other Marxists, how the socialist left should approach this phenomenon. However, I really don't enjoy getting the daily bourgeois press updates on how the candidates are scolding one another. I much prefer analysis composed by the people on this list, even when I don't agree with it, then I do the seemingly endless line of NYT or WP or whatever articles that people are forwarding here on a daily basis. So, an we please cut way back on the forwarding of articles from bourgeois press on this damn election, unless there is some specific commentary and analysis attached to it by Marxists? If I wanted to be subscribed to the media relations list for the candidates, I would go and do that. From pbond at mail.ngo.za Sun May 4 12:39:08 2008 From: pbond at mail.ngo.za (Patrick Bond) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 14:39:08 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: <481E02CC.6080808@mail.ngo.za> Actually Louis and Walter, those counterrevolutionary bastards who bash SA *have* found another devious way to embarrass the government, as you see below... (and one paid with his life on May Day). Louis Proyect wrote: > Walter wrote: >> ... Evidently >> the South Africa bashers have found yet another way to bash South >> Africa's post-apartheid government. >> > > Walter, as I told you the other day, privatizing water in South > Africa has resulted in the death of thousands of children from > cholera, dysentery and other such diseases. Any government that > allows children to die in this fashion while erstwhile Black > revolutionaries join the white capitalist club should not be praised. > It should be condemned. > Sunday Independent City council's township water-meter plans get flushed by high court judge May 04, 2008 Edition 1 Maureen Isaacson A historic judgment has consigned prepaid water meters to the dustbin of history. It has also highlighted the attitude of the City of Johannesburg to the plight of the majority of poor, uneducated, sick and HIV/Aids-ravaged residents of Phiri township, Soweto. The Johannesburg High Court has declared prepaid water meters unlawful and unconstitutional. Five poor residents of Phiri, who have been in dispute with the city for the past four years on behalf of themselves and their community, have won the battle for their constitutional right to free water. The application was heard over three days in December. Judge MP Tsoka ordered the City of Johannesburg to provide a full range of water-delivery options. The limitation of free basic water to the present 6 kilolitres per household per month was set aside by the court, and the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water were ordered to supply Phiri residents with 50 litres per person per day. Judge Tsoka said: "Twenty-five litres per person per day is insufficient for the residents of Phiri. ? to expect the applicants to restrict their water usage, to compromise their health, by limiting the number of toilet flushes in order to save water, is to deny them the rights to health and to lead a dignified lifestyle." He found that the consultation leading to the adoption of prepaid meters was inadequate and was "more of a publicity stunt than a consultation". Tsoka said that it was the obligation of the city "to ensure that every person had both physical and economic access to water". He said that the introduction of the prepaid meters was procedurally unfair. The judgment said that the by-laws, "other than as a penalty, do not authorise the installation of prepayment meters". The judge said that in "established democracies, prepaid water meters are illegal as they violate the procedural requirement of fairness by cutting off or discontinuing the supply of water without notice and representation. The policies ostensibly adopted to alleviate the plight of the poor in Phiri "appear irrational and unreasonable as they are inflexible". The underlying objective of the policies is to encourage the installation of prepayment meters, which are unlawful. Also, the policies are discriminatory because they differentiate between the allowances of those who live in historically poor black areas and historically richer white areas, said the judge. While some residents in the previously privileged areas are entitled to water on credit, as well as the free allocation of 6 kilolitres per household per month, the Phiri residents are expected to pay for water before it is used. This contravenes the right to equality laid out in the constitution. Tsoka said the argument that the poor Phiri residents would be otherwise unable to use water and that the system was "good for them" was patronising. He reminded the court that discrimination based on colour was unlawful. "Bad payers cannot be described in terms of colour or geographical areas. Bad debt is a human problem, not a racial problem," he said. Moreover, the system of prepaid meters discriminated unfairly against women, he said. The majority of poor black households, such as those of the Phiri applicants, were headed by women. One of the Phiri applicants had to walk 30km to fetch water. To deny the applicants the right to water would perpetuate the decades-long poverty, deprivation, want and undignified existence of the recent past. Dale McKinley, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, said: "The city has egg on its face and is saddled with a R320 million loan for prepaid meters that it now can't install. "If the city had followed the writ of the law in implementing its water services, consulted the community and listened to the voices of protest, this would not be the case." *** Coalition Against Water Privatisation Press Statement -1st May 2008 Last seen alive being arrested by Sebokeng police, the death of cde Mathafeni is their responsibility Mathafeni's lifeless body was found this morning in some bushes in Sebokeng Zone 20. He was a community activist involved with the Sebokeng Ward 2 Concerned Residents that on Tuesday blockaded the Golden Highway to demand that the government respond to their memorandum, which was submitted on the 10th of March. Police arrested Mathefeni on Tuesday and beat him so badly with batons that he had to see a doctor on his release on Wednesday morning. He was re-arrested later in the evening ? and last seen alive in the hands of the arresting officers. Until an investigation proves otherwise, we, the members of the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, accuse the police of being responsible for Mathafeni's death. It is enough to know that Mathafeni was so badly beaten during his first detention that he required stitches - his re-arrest could only have been intended to continue meting out the punishment. The police have shown no compunction in resorting to live ammunition when dealing with Tuesday's protest. Death in detention is just another step up from the violence the police in Sebokeng have already shown themselves capable of. Justice for comrade Mathafeni! Investigate the police for the death of cde Mathafeni! For more information, contact the Coalition Against Water Privatisation organizer, Patra Sindane @ 073 052 7005. From wquimby at ecr.net Sun May 4 13:17:11 2008 From: wquimby at ecr.net (Bill Quimby) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 15:17:11 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <481E02CC.6080808@mail.ngo.za> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> <481E02CC.6080808@mail.ngo.za> Message-ID: <481E0BB7.4000004@ecr.net> Would some comrade have the time to post some - possibly web - links to this struggle? Maybe I have just missed any mention of this on the two or three lists and news sources I check, but anyway... I'd like to know more. Does anyone recall a New Yorker article a while ago (ten years ago?) about a similar effort to privatise water in a Latin (Central?) American country (with Bechtel I believe as the contractor) and how the public rose to defeat it.? As I recall the government stated that it was only trying to guarantee clean, safe, water supplies for all. That this "all" could not afford the clean, safe water did not seem to be a government concern. - Bill Patrick Bond wrote: > Actually Louis and Walter, those counterrevolutionary bastards who bash SA > *have* found another devious way to embarrass the government, as you see > below... (and one paid with his life on May Day). > > Louis Proyect wrote: >> Walter wrote: >>> ... Evidently the South Africa bashers have found yet another way to bash >>> South Africa's post-apartheid government. >>> >> Walter, as I told you the other day, privatizing water in South Africa has >> resulted in the death of thousands of children from cholera, dysentery and >> other such diseases. Any government that allows children to die in this >> fashion while erstwhile Black revolutionaries join the white capitalist >> club should not be praised. It should be condemned. >> > > > Sunday Independent > > City council's township water-meter plans get flushed by high court judge > > May 04, 2008 Edition 1 > > Maureen Isaacson > > A historic judgment has consigned prepaid water meters to the dustbin of > history. It has also highlighted the attitude of the City of Johannesburg to > the plight of the majority of poor, uneducated, sick and HIV/Aids-ravaged > residents of Phiri township, Soweto. > > The Johannesburg High Court has declared prepaid water meters unlawful and > unconstitutional. Five poor residents of Phiri, who have been in dispute with > the city for the past four years on behalf of themselves and their community, > have won the battle for their constitutional right to free water. The > application was heard over three days in December. > > Judge MP Tsoka ordered the City of Johannesburg to provide a full range of > water-delivery options. The limitation of free basic water to the present 6 > kilolitres per household per month was set aside by the court, and the City > of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water were ordered to supply Phiri residents > with 50 litres per person per day. > > Judge Tsoka said: "Twenty-five litres per person per day is insufficient for > the residents of Phiri. ? to expect the applicants to restrict their water > usage, to compromise their health, by limiting the number of toilet flushes > in order to save water, is to deny them the rights to health and to lead a > dignified lifestyle." > > He found that the consultation leading to the adoption of prepaid meters was > inadequate and was "more of a publicity stunt than a consultation". > > Tsoka said that it was the obligation of the city "to ensure that every > person had both physical and economic access to water". > > He said that the introduction of the prepaid meters was procedurally unfair. > The judgment said that the by-laws, "other than as a penalty, do not > authorise the installation of prepayment meters". > > The judge said that in "established democracies, prepaid water meters are > illegal as they violate the procedural requirement of fairness by cutting off > or discontinuing the supply of water without notice and representation. > > The policies ostensibly adopted to alleviate the plight of the poor in Phiri > "appear irrational and unreasonable as they are inflexible". > > The underlying objective of the policies is to encourage the installation of > prepayment meters, which are unlawful. Also, the policies are discriminatory > because they differentiate between the allowances of those who live in > historically poor black areas and historically richer white areas, said the > judge. > > While some residents in the previously privileged areas are entitled to water > on credit, as well as the free allocation of 6 kilolitres per household per > month, the Phiri residents are expected to pay for water before it is used. > This contravenes the right to equality laid out in the constitution. > > Tsoka said the argument that the poor Phiri residents would be otherwise > unable to use water and that the system was "good for them" was patronising. > He reminded the court that discrimination based on colour was unlawful. > > "Bad payers cannot be described in terms of colour or geographical areas. Bad > debt is a human problem, not a racial problem," he said. > > Moreover, the system of prepaid meters discriminated unfairly against women, > he said. The majority of poor black households, such as those of the Phiri > applicants, were headed by women. One of the Phiri applicants had to walk > 30km to fetch water. > > To deny the applicants the right to water would perpetuate the decades-long > poverty, deprivation, want and undignified existence of the recent past. > > Dale McKinley, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, > said: "The city has egg on its face and is saddled with a R320 million loan > for prepaid meters that it now can't install. > > "If the city had followed the writ of the law in implementing its water > services, consulted the community and listened to the voices of protest, this > would not be the case." > > *** > > Coalition Against Water Privatisation Press Statement -1st May 2008 > > Last seen alive being arrested by Sebokeng police, the death of cde Mathafeni > is their responsibility > > Mathafeni's lifeless body was found this morning in some bushes in Sebokeng > Zone 20. He was a community activist involved with the Sebokeng Ward 2 > Concerned Residents that on Tuesday blockaded the Golden Highway to demand > that the government respond to their memorandum, which was submitted on the > 10th of March. Police arrested Mathefeni on Tuesday and beat him so badly > with batons that he had to see a doctor on his release on Wednesday morning. > He was re-arrested later in the evening ? and last seen alive in the hands of > the arresting officers. > > Until an investigation proves otherwise, we, the members of the Coalition > Against Water Privatisation, accuse the police of being responsible for > Mathafeni's death. It is enough to know that Mathafeni was so badly beaten > during his first detention that he required stitches - his re-arrest could > only have been intended to continue meting out the punishment. The police > have shown no compunction in resorting to live ammunition when dealing with > Tuesday's protest. Death in detention is just another step up from the > violence the police in Sebokeng have already shown themselves capable of. > > Justice for comrade Mathafeni! Investigate the police for the death of cde > Mathafeni! > > For more information, contact the Coalition Against Water Privatisation > organizer, Patra Sindane @ 073 052 7005. > > > > > ________________________________________________ YOU MUST clip all extraneous > text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: > Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/wquimby%40ecr.net > > From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 13:28:50 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 15:28:50 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Cochabamba In-Reply-To: <481E0BB7.4000004@ecr.net> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> <481E02CC.6080808@mail.ngo.za> <481E0BB7.4000004@ecr.net> Message-ID: <20080504192851.C71B311A93@mailbackend.panix.com> Bill wrote: >Would some comrade have the time to post some - possibly web - links >to this struggle? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochabamba_protests_of_2000 From farmelantj at juno.com Sun May 4 13:29:51 2008 From: farmelantj at juno.com (Jim Farmelant) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 15:29:51 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Message-ID: <20080504.152951.828.0.farmelantj@juno.com> On Sun, 04 May 2008 15:17:11 -0400 Bill Quimby writes: > Would some comrade have the time to post some - possibly web - > links to this struggle? Maybe I have just missed any mention of this > on the two or three lists and news sources I check, but anyway... > I'd like to know more. > > Does anyone recall a New Yorker article a while ago (ten years ago?) > about a similar effort to privatise water in a Latin (Central?) > American > country (with Bechtel I believe as the contractor) and how the > public > rose to defeat it.? The New Yorker article in question is, "Leasing the Rain" which appeared in the April 8, 2002 issu. That was about privatization of water in Bolivia. See: www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/04/08/020408fa_FACT1 Also see the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochabamba_protests_of_2000 > As I recall the government stated that it was > only trying > to guarantee clean, safe, water supplies for all. That this "all" > could not > afford the clean, safe water did not seem to be a government > concern. > > - Bill > > From hunterbadbear at msn.com Sun May 4 13:30:55 2008 From: hunterbadbear at msn.com (Hunter Gray) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 13:30:55 -0600 Subject: [Marxism] Rolf Martens has passsed away Message-ID: This is very sad news, Tore. We met Rolf through our Marxist discussion group at least twice in the last several years. He was a gentle human being -- thoroughly dedicated and committed to his ideals. He was a challenging person who maintained great courtesy in discussional frameworks not always noted for that quality. He will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences to your family. Our very best wishes to you all, Hunter Gray [Moderator of Marxist List] Hej! Jag ?r ledsen att meddela att min bror Rolf Martens avled den 22:a april 2008. Om du har n?gra fr?gor g?llande begravning eller annat kan du maila mig p? adress tore_martens at hotmail.com H?lsningar Tore Martens Hello! I am sorry to tell you that my brother Rolf Martens died on the 22:nd of April 2008. If you have any questions concerning the funeral or other things you can e-mail me using the adress tore_martens at hotmail.com Greetings Tore Martens HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk Protected by Na?shdo?i?ba?i? and Ohkwari' Check out our Hunterbear website Directory http://hunterbear.org/directory.htm [The site is dedicated to our one-half Bobcat, Cloudy Gray: http://hunterbear.org/cloudy_gray.htm SEE MY COMBINED COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PIECES -- WITH MUCH NEW STUFF http://hunterbear.org/my_combined_community_organizing.htm With "fire season" looming, see http://hunterbear.org/forest_fires_in_the_west.htm And see Forces and Faces Along the Activist Trail: http://hunterbear.org/forces_and_faces_along_the_trail.htm From hunterbadbear at hunterbear.org Sun May 4 13:43:08 2008 From: hunterbadbear at hunterbear.org (Hunter Gray) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 13:43:08 -0600 Subject: [Marxism] Rolf Martens has passed away, Sweden Message-ID: <002401c8ae1f$15ce4d00$0400a8c0@computer> This is very sad news, Tore. We met Rolf through our Marxist discussion group. He was on it at least twice in the last several years. Rolf was a gentle human being -- thoroughly dedicated and committed to his ideals. He was a challenging person who maintained great courtesy in discussional frameworks not always noted for that quality. He will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences to your family. Our very best wishes to you all, Hunter Gray [Moderator of Marxist List] Hej! Jag ?r ledsen att meddela att min bror Rolf Martens avled den 22:a april 2008. Om du har n?gra fr?gor g?llande begravning eller annat kan du maila mig p? adress tore_martens at hotmail.com H?lsningar Tore Martens Hello! I am sorry to tell you that my brother Rolf Martens died on the 22:nd of April 2008. If you have any questions concerning the funeral or other things you can e-mail me using the adress tore_martens at hotmail.com Greetings Tore Martens HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk Protected by Na?shdo?i?ba?i? and Ohkwari' Check out our Hunterbear website Directory http://hunterbear.org/directory.htm [The site is dedicated to our one-half Bobcat, Cloudy Gray: http://hunterbear.org/cloudy_gray.htm SEE MY COMBINED COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PIECES -- WITH MUCH NEW STUFF http://hunterbear.org/my_combined_community_organizing.htm With "fire season" looming, see http://hunterbear.org/forest_fires_in_the_west.htm And see Forces and Faces Along the Activist Trail: http://hunterbear.org/forces_and_faces_along_the_trail.htm From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sun May 4 13:56:14 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 15:56:14 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <481E0BB7.4000004@ecr.net> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> <481E02CC.6080808@mail.ngo.za> <481E0BB7.4000004@ecr.net> Message-ID: <908b689f0805041256q19fa5103t86edbdaa34564063@mail.gmail.com> On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 3:17 PM, Bill Quimby wrote: > > > Does anyone recall a New Yorker article a while ago (ten years ago?) > about a similar effort to privatise water in a Latin (Central?) American > country (with Bechtel I believe as the contractor) and how the public > rose to defeat it.? As I recall the government stated that it was only > trying > to guarantee clean, safe, water supplies for all. That this "all" could > not > afford the clean, safe water did not seem to be a government concern. That was Bolivia. By the way, Robert Newman's excellent novel "The Fountain at the Center of the World" is set against the backdrop of water struggles in different parts of the world. It is a great novel about globalisation and resistance. Water struggles are currently also taking place against several Coca Cola bottling plants in India, which have been accused of depleting the groundwater in the areas they operate. From Dbachmozart at aol.com Sun May 4 13:57:35 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 15:57:35 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Will U. S. Policy in Lebanon and the Middle East Ever Change? Message-ID: Historical Context and Current Posturing _http://counterpunch.org/lamb04242008.html_ (http://counterpunch.org/lamb04242008.html) The Israeli Project Has Failed in Lebanon _http://counterpunch.org/lamb04252008.html_ (http://counterpunch.org/lamb04252008.html) What's in it for Hezbollah? _http://counterpunch.org/lamb04262008.html_ (http://counterpunch.org/lamb04262008.html) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From farmelantj at juno.com Sun May 4 14:02:54 2008 From: farmelantj at juno.com (Jim Farmelant) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 16:02:54 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Rolf Martens has passed away, Sweden Message-ID: <20080504.160255.828.1.farmelantj@juno.com> On Sun, 4 May 2008 13:43:08 -0600 "Hunter Gray" writes: > This is very sad news, Tore. We met Rolf through our Marxist > discussion group. He was on it at least twice in the last several > years. Rolf was a gentle human being -- thoroughly dedicated and > committed to his ideals. He was a challenging person who maintained > great courtesy in discussional frameworks not always noted for that > quality. > > He will be greatly missed. > > Our deepest condolences to your family. > > Our very best wishes to you all, > > Hunter Gray [Moderator of Marxist List] > > As Martens noted on his bio page at: http://www.rolf-martens.com/rm_background.html he was the Swedish chess champion of 1967. Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Chess_Championship http://hem.passagen.se/tjmisha/newdefences.html http://www.365chess.com/players/Rolf_Martens http://www.thechessdrum.net/newsbriefs/2002/NB_ChessWar.html Being a complete ignoramus concerning the game, I'll leave it to others to determine what his contributions were to the game. From jbustelo at gmail.com Sun May 4 14:06:26 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 16:06:26 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <006601c8ae03$60d33b10$6401a8c0@new1501> References: <006601c8ae03$60d33b10$6401a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <017101c8ae22$55cfec30$040ba8c0@albanta> Walter writes: "Frankly, I would have praised George W. Bush had he decided to accept Fidel Castro's offer to send 1500 Cuban doctors to the United States to work in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That's what he should have done, after all." Exactly right, Walter. You've hit the nail on the head on the differences. You would have praised Bush, I would have denounced him a) for not having invited the Cuban offer to begin with; b) for however long it took for him to decide while people were dying; c) for not following Cuba's example and mobilized all the mighty forces and resources of the U.S. Gov't. to AID the victims of Katrina d) for accepting Cuba's aid while maintaining the blockade. Let's take the speculation even further. If he had, as part of the acceptance of aid, temporarily lifted the blockade, I would have denounced him for not revoking it permanently. If he had revoked it permanently, I would have denounced him for failing to pay reparations. And if the lifting included an offer of reparations, I would have pointed out a) how insufficient these were and b) how hypocritical it was of him to offer CUBA reparations --however justified-- while denying them to the African-American nation within the United States. See, the Bush Regime is the enemy. ALL of the things it does fall into one of two categories: a) evil, imperialist, oppressive and repressive things and b) concessions that have been wrested from it by working people's struggles AGAINST the evil, imperialist, oppressive and repressive things it does. BY ITS NATURE, as an imperialist country, the U.S. and its government are not able to do anything "good" or "praiseworthy." It is the enemy of humanity. Were someone to detect that somehow somewhere it had done something that was progressive, noble or just, and it was not due to the pressure of struggles of working and oppressed peoples, then CLEARLY it would be an attempt to prettify its image in an attempt to get away with something that does 10 or 100 times the damage that the "good" done by that supposedly spontaneous, but in reality cynically calculated, progressive measure. Remember the FSLN Hymn: "Luchamos contra el yanqui, enemigo de la humanidad." THAT is the strategic line of march. Joaqu?n From pbond at mail.ngo.za Sun May 4 14:20:28 2008 From: pbond at mail.ngo.za (Patrick Bond) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 16:20:28 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] anti-commodification of water In-Reply-To: <481E0BB7.4000004@ecr.net> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <20080503143104.D221E18F64@mailbackend.panix.com> <481E02CC.6080808@mail.ngo.za> <481E0BB7.4000004@ecr.net> Message-ID: <481E1A8C.6080008@mail.ngo.za> Bill Quimby wrote: > Would some comrade have the time to post some - possibly web - > links to this struggle? Maybe I have just missed any mention of this > on the two or three lists and news sources I check, but anyway... > I'd like to know more. An academic spin on the case (published a few weeks ago) is here: http://www.go.warwick.ac.uk/elj/lgd/2008_1/bond_dugard At our Centre for Civil Society we cover this a fair bit at http://www.ukzn.ac.za/ccs (down now but check tomorrow)... and the court case - all 4000 pages - is at http://www.law.wits.ac.za/cals ... and most importantly, check on the activists themselves, at http://www.apf.org (though their posting of info on the web is not as high a priority as getting the word out to the mass base)... But I hope all the comrades are aware of fabulous work on global water linkages underway through WaterWarriors network. Some brief commentary from that paper (above) follows. Cheers, Patrick *** So far, the highest profile citizens? campaign against commodified water was in Bolivia in April 2000, when the people of the third-largest city, Cochabamba, fought the US firm Bechtel, backed by the World Bank. This struggle was one of the reasons Bolivia?s poor mobilised for a change of government in 2004. The first-ever water minister chosen by president Evo Morales was Abel Mamani, a neighbourhood activist veteran of another water war, in El Alto, who cut his teeth battling the French water company Suez. Mamani made five points in a speech just prior to the March 2006 World Water Forum: Water is a fundamental human right and a pre-requisite to the realisation of other human rights; Water belongs to the earth and all living beings including human beings and it is the duty of everyone to protect access to water for all forms of life and for the earth itself; Water is a public good and therefore its management needs to be in a sphere that is public, social, community-based, participative and not based on profit; Water should not be privatised and should be withdrawn from all free trade and investment agreements; and There should be profound change in the organisation of the World Water Forum to allow majority and decisive participation in the negotiations by the poorest and those who most need water. Rights rhetorics have become important in Bolivia, as well as other sites where the balance of forces has shifted left. Other major battles ? not always victorious - have been fought in Manila, Jakarta and Detroit. Biwater was kicked out of Dar es Salaam in mid-2005, to the regret of its advisor, the Adam Smith Institute, funded by British taxpayers through the Department for International Development. Civil society movements and governments forced Suez to retreat from major cities ranging from Atlanta to Buenos Aires to Montevideo to Johannesburg in the mid-2000s. The goals of these progressive civil society activists ? known as ?water warriors? - are the decommercialisation of water, improved access by poor people, better conditions for water workers, and more appropriate eco-management of water. The latter should include penalties for hedonistic consumption. Additional water campaigns are waged against megadams, inappropriate irrigation, fish destocking, water pollution, bulk water diversions, bottled water, abuse of water by golf courses and extractive firms like Coca Cola and Nestle, and looming water scarcity. On one crucial battleground, control of water by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), activists appear to have won in 2006, by exempting water from the WTO?s General Agreement on Trade in Services. Who are the contemporary water warriors engaging in these struggles? Aside from community campaigns in cities of the Global South like Detroit?s Highland Park suburb (which faces a higher disconnection rate than Johannesburg) or Cochabamba, strong critics of neoliberal water policies can be found in radical citizens?/consumers? organisations (especially the Council of Canadians in Ottawa and Public Citizen in Washington); trade unions (Public Services International and their affiliates); indigenous people?s movements; environmental groups (led by the International Rivers Network and Friends of the Earth); and think-tanks (e.g., the PSI Research Unit at Greenwich University, Polaris in Ottawa, the TransNational Institute in Amsterdam, the Agriculture and Trade Policy Center in Minneapolis, the Municipal Services Project in South African and Canadian universities, Parivartan and the Centre for Science and the Environment in New Delhi, Food and Water Watch in Washington, and the International Forum on Globalisation in San Francisco).57The World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, as well as regional Social Fora, have provided spaces for water activist assemblies during the early 2000s. Email listserves such as ?water warriors?, ?reclaiming public water? and ?right to water? permit information exchange and coordination. A People?s World Water Forum was held in Delhi in 2004, preceded by the 2001 ?Blue Planet? conference in Vancouver, as well as periodic European gatherings. In the three major South continents (Latin America, Africa and Asia), there are formidable networks of activists who work closely together in campaigns against common enemies such as regional development banks. Because the water movements have generated superb examples of cooperation across borders, campaigns against commodified services will continue to serve as a model for global civil society. To illustrate in an event reminiscent of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development protest, the March 2006 World Water Forum gathering in Mexico City was confronted by thousands of grassroots water warriors who marched against an equivalent number of establishment delegates from governments, corporations and international agencies. The activists were stopped a kilometre away from their establishment opponents. But as the Associated Press (AP) reported, ? Youths in ski masks attacked journalists and fought with police, smashing a patrol car and hurling rocks during largely peaceful Water Forum protests involving about 10,000 marchers.?58 As the Mexico confrontation shows, protesters are linking up with vigour. No one disputes that with at least 2.6 billion people lacking adequate sanitation and 1.1 billion lacking access to improved water sources, there is an urgent need for dramatic improvements in investment, management and affordability. In a setting as unequal as South Africa (with roughly 40 percent unemployment and amongst the world?s highest income disparities) , the neoliberal policies adopted during the 1990s pushed even essential state services such as water beyond many households? ability to pay; municipal services now account for a third of average household expenditures.59Some of these policies were adopted before political liberation from apartheid in 1994, but many were the result of influence on Nelson Mandela?s government by the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other global and local neoliberals during the late 1990s. The first stage of resistance to the commercialisation of water and electricity often takes the form of a popular demand for a short-term, inexpensive flat rate applicable to all consumers. More compellingly, for medium-range policy a redistributive demand for decommercialisation is advanced by groups like the SA Municipal Workers Union, Rural Development Services Network, Johannesburg Anti-Privatisation Forum and Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee (SECC): a specific minimal daily amount of water (50 litres ) and electricity (one kilowatt hour) to be supplied to each person per day free. The free services should be financed not only by subsidies from central government, but also by a rising block tariff in which the water bills for high-volume consumers and corporations rise at a more rapid rate when their usage soars to hedonistic levels. When charged at ever-higher rates, the consumption of services by hedonistic users should decline, which would be a much better way to manage water demand than to depress the demand of the poor to below minimum levels through insufficient FBW and unaffordable tariffs beyond the FBW amount. Can rights rhetorics support these struggles by becoming rights tactics, which can be deployed by activists alongside more direct methods of opposition? In 2006, a crucial case ? the Phiri water rights case - was launched in Johannesburg?s High Court that will shed light on how far constitutional and legal strategies can advance the decommercialisation and water rights-as-justice cause. In their applicaton, Lindiwe Mazibuko and five other poverty-stricken applicants from Phiri, Soweto - who are supported by a social movment, the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, and whose legal team is a rights-based legal organisation at the University of the Witwatersrand (the Centre for Applied Legal Studies) - have asked the court to declare pre-paid water meters unlawful and to order Johannesburg Water to provide everyone in Phiri with a FBW supply of 50 lcd and the option of a conventional water meter at the cost of the City of Johannesburg. The case, likely to be heard in the High Court in late 2007, will test the limits of the enforcement of socio-economic rights through legal and judicial means as it is likely to finally end up in the Constitutional Court. It is hoped that, in the context of growing criticism of the Constitutional Court?s weak socio-economic rights jurisprudence, this case fare better than other socio-economic rights cases and that it will have important implications for the clarification of socio-economic rights and, most importantly, for their realisation. The case also provides an interesting model for combining social activism with human rights tactics, particularly constitutional litigation. What are the challenges for those in South Africa arguing for justice-based traditions of human rights (both civil/political and socio-economic), and decommodification? In coming months and years, several tasks present themselves: * link up the currently diffuse demands, campaigns, strategies, tactics and alliances for free water/sanitation and electricity services, medicines and universal-entitlement income grants, including linking social movements with public interest litigation options; * translate these from the spheres of consumption to production, beginning with creative re-nationalisation of privatised services, restructured municipal delivery, expansion of the nascent cooperative sector and establishment of state-driven local generic drug manufacturing to handle essential medicines; * mobilise for local government to provide decommodified social services rather than commercialised services; * strengthen the basis for longer-term alliances between poor and working people that are in the first instance rooted in civil society and that probably within the next decade will also be taken up by a mass workers? party; and * regionalise and internationalise these principles, strategies and tactics, just as Pretoria politicians and Johannesburg capital intensify their own expansive ambitions across Africa. One very hopeful sign of the last point is the emergence of radical urban social movements in the largest South African cities. But linkage into related areas, such as the partially-successful campaign for access to AIDS medicines, remains of enormous importance. While these urban social movements are bound to have an increasing impact upon South African politics, a potential split between the trade unions and the ruling party in coming years is probably the most important objective precondition for the renewal of a bottom-up political programme that would offer genuine rights-based strategies as the basis for post-neoliberal public policy. From walterlx at earthlink.net Sun May 4 14:22:53 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 16:22:53 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Message-ID: <7482387.1209932573660.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Gee, that's mighty impressive rhetoric, Joaquin. Keep on truckin! Please be sure to post a copy of your message denouncing Obama for his failure to call for full recognition of Cuba with reparations for a half-century of damage to the Cuban nation by the blockade. It must have been misplaced somewhere in the blizzard of e-mail. Make sure you demand that he pay full tuition for the US students currently attending ELAM as well, while you're at it. You haven't as yet been as denunciatory as this proclamation would suggest Back in the day, we thought Elian's rescue was a victory shared with the people of the United States. Others thought it was a violation of the democratic and privacy rights of the working class because? it only strengthened the power of the capitalist state. Perhaps you no longer think that? Walter Lippmann Los Angeles, California ======================================= JOAQUIN BUSTELO writes: You would have praised Bush, I would have denounced him a) for not having invited the Cuban offer to begin with; b) for however long it took for him to decide while people were dying; c) for not following Cuba's example and mobilized all the mighty forces and resources of the U.S. Gov't. to AID the victims of Katrina d) for accepting Cuba's aid while maintaining the blockade. ------------- BY ITS NATURE, as an imperialist country, the U.S. and its government are not able to do anything "good" or "praiseworthy." It is the enemy of humanity. Were someone to detect that somehow somewhere it had done something that was progressive, noble or just, and it was not due to the pressure of struggles of working and oppressed peoples, then CLEARLY it would be an attempt to prettify its image in an attempt to get away with something that does 10 or 100 times the damage that the "good" done by that supposedly spontaneous, but in reality cynically calculated, progressive measure. FULL (of): http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2008-May/027839.html ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From walterlx at earthlink.net Sun May 4 14:46:40 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 16:46:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] In Bolivia, autonomy vote deepens divisions Message-ID: <30369757.1209934000067.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Inspiring YouTube video from Al-Jazeera http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amBowZIxLcI&eurl ============================================================= (The autonomy movement has taken off in relatively prosperous lowland provinces, where much of the nation's agricultural wealth and vast natural gas reserves are concentrated. (The dispute underscores deep divisions between the subtropical lowlands and the chilly and largely impoverished Andean high plains that constitute Morales' base.) ========================================================================= http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bolivia4-2008may04,0,7466682.story From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 14:51:10 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 16:51:10 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens Message-ID: <20080504205111.A6D63DA88@mailbackend.panix.com> (Comrades might recall that I had to unsub Rolf at least 2 times from Marxmail since he clearly didn't understand what it was about as should be obvious from what appears below. Rolf was always a genial soul, as opposed to the other Maoists we had to put up with in the bad old days. Unfortunately, he had not figured out that history had moved on.) http://www.rolf-martens.com/rm_background.html On my background I was born in Norway in 1942 and have lived in Sweden since 1950. I've worked as a welder in relatively big industries for 24 years and also have had jobs in various other fields. I was brought up as an intellectual and have a university degree with mathematics and physics as main subjects. On the web, there are some mentions of me in connection with chess. I was Swedish champion at that game in 1967 and later, after I had learned some Marxism, made some "shocking" discoveries in its opening theory. In the late 1960s, I was influenced by that student and youth movement of opposition to the ruling circles in the world which arose in many countries including Sweden then. In 1972, I started engaging in political activities, first in the anti-Vietnam-war movement. I soon joined an organization in Sweden which pretended to support the political line of Marx, Lenin and Mao Zedong. In the summer of 1974 I discovered, and later that year publicly pointed out, that it was a fraud and in reality was helping the really big-time reactionaries in the world, at that time in particular Soviet social-imperialism. I was expelled from that fraudulent group but, more importantly, also exposed its true nature, this above all with a pamphlet in November 1974. Under a changed name, that organization still exists today, as "Kommunistiska Partiet", after another and recent namechange, then from "KPML(r)". My eventually seeing through that relatively "well-camouflaged" fraud was due above all to discussions which I had with some representatives of a tiny but then genuinely Marxist-Leninist, and very advanced, party in Germany, the KPD/ML (NEUE EINHEIT) (or "NE" for short), who were in exile in Malm?, Sweden, at the time due to persecution in West Germany and Berlin(West) then. For me, that new knowledge which I gained in 1974 and a small but intensive political struggle which I was involved in here in Malm? in that year was an important turning-point. From 1974 until April 1990 I remained in close contact and co-operation with the "NE", and learned very much from that party. I endeavoured, and still am endeavouring, to act as an individual representative of Marxism in Sweden, of course always striving to contribute towards the creation of a genuinely Marxist-Leninist party in this country. In May 1975, I started publishing a series of leaflets (mainly) in Swedish, the INFORMATIONSBLAD series, which still runs. Also, from late 1974 on, I've participated in various organizations and coalitions of a united-front type, for causes which I've held it important to support. After socialism was overthrown in China, in 1976-78, the KPD/ML (NEUE EINHEIT) during several years continued consistently to uphold the political line of Marx, Lenin and Mao Zedong. Apparently, it was the only party in Europe (at least) that did this. However, at some point or other in the 1980s, it too started to degenerate. Eventually it turned into an utter fraud, an in fact bourgeois party, as I discovered in early 1990. I broke with that party in April 1990 and in August/September of that year wrote a public criticism of it. This too was a certain turning-point for me. In 1997-98, the degenerated "NE" liquidated itself as a party and was replaced by an equally fraudulent "Group Neue Einheit", which still exists. From late 1995 on, I've been posting to Internet newsgroups and mailing lists, in English, Swedish and some other languages, among other things publishing my "UNITE! (etc) Info" series. I've taken part in several international discussions via the Net. Since long of course I've needed a homepage. Here at last the present one has been set up. Malm?, March 2005 Rolf Martens My address etc: Nobelvaegen 38U4 SE - 214 33 Malmoe Sweden Phone and fax: +46 - 40 - 124832 E-mail: rolf.martens at comhem.se (Former e-mail address, Oct 1995 - Feb 2005: rolf.martens at mailbox.swipnet.se) From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Sun May 4 15:53:29 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 17:53:29 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <017101c8ae22$55cfec30$040ba8c0@albanta> References: <006601c8ae03$60d33b10$6401a8c0@new1501> <017101c8ae22$55cfec30$040ba8c0@albanta> Message-ID: <908b689f0805041453g915243dl4d3a2009113d5c3e@mail.gmail.com> On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 4:06 PM, Joaquin Bustelo wrote: > > BY ITS NATURE, as an imperialist country, the U.S. and its government are > not able to do anything "good" or "praiseworthy." It is the enemy of > humanity. Were someone to detect that somehow somewhere it had done > something that was progressive, noble or just, and it was not due to the > pressure of struggles of working and oppressed peoples, then CLEARLY it > would be an attempt to prettify its image in an attempt to get away with > something that does 10 or 100 times the damage that the "good" done by > that > supposedly spontaneous, but in reality cynically calculated, progressive > measure. I'm not sure that I understand this. The US does occasionally do good things without "pressure of struggles of working and oppressed peoples." For example, consider Bush's initiatives against the trafficking of women. That seems to have garnered praise from several quarters that normally wouldn't praise Bush. From fred.fuentes at gmail.com Sun May 4 15:56:44 2008 From: fred.fuentes at gmail.com (Fred Fuentes) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 17:56:44 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] BOLIVIA: At least 21 injured in Santa Cruz autonomy referendum Message-ID: BOLIVIA: At least 21 injured in Santa Cruz autonomy referendum May 4, 2008 Santa Cruz, Bolivia - The referendum Sunday in the Bolivian province of Santa Cruz - which seeks more autonomy from the rest of the impoverished country - was marked by violence that left at least 21 people injured before the end of voting. The referendum is part of a power struggle between Bolivia's poor, indigenous majority and the wealthier Bolivians of European descent who populate the eastern part of the country, including relatively affluent Santa Cruz province. A reporter for Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa and another journalist were attacked by pro-autonomy forces as they tried to interview a member of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) of left-wing Bolivian President Evo Morales. The most serious incidents took place in the poor neighbourhood Plan 3,000, in the regional capital Santa Cruz. The neighbourhood holds some 200,000 residents, many of them from western Bolivia. One of the injured, Laureano Rosa Fernandez, told dpa that he held the right-wing Union Juvenil Crucenista responsible for the attacks against him and others, and that both sides threw stones at each other. Several people were stabbed, and one suffered life-theatening wounds in the clashes. Morales regards the Union Juvenil Crucenista as street troops for the pro-autonomy movement........rest at http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2008/05/at-least-21-injured-in-risky-referendum.html From cpiml_elo at yahoo.com Sun May 4 15:24:17 2008 From: cpiml_elo at yahoo.com (CPI (ML) Intl Liaison Office) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 14:24:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] MLIN [May-June] May Day | Dr Sen | Nepal Elections | Financial Crisis | and More | Message-ID: <959572.20574.qm@web35503.mail.mud.yahoo.com> ML International Newsletter May-June 2008 *********************************************************************** An update on news and ideas from the revolutionary left in India. Produced by: Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation international team *********************************************************************** Websites: mlint.wordpress.com and www.cpiml.org Emails: cpiml_elo at yahoo.com and cpimllib at gmail.com Table of Contents 1) Unleash a Powerful Solidarity Movement of all Workers and Oppressed 2) Take Dr. Binayak Sen?s Mission Forward 3) The Challenge of Shaping a New Nepal Begins Now 4) Republican Resurgence Led by the Red Flag in Nepal 5) Crisis Engulfs the Global Financial System 6) Sri Lanka: Threats to the Media 7) Citizens? Convention Against Draconian Acts 8) Construction Workers in Delhi March Against Price Rise 9) Hisab do-Jawab do Rally in Jharkhand 10) Assembly Gherao in Tamil Nadu May Day Call Unleash a Powerful Solidarity Movement of all Working, Oppressed People of the World against the US Imperialism and its Agents! - Swapan Mukherjee, General Secretary, All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU). May Day 2008 is being observed worldwide in the backdrop of the imperialist project of globalization which is facing a serious crisis. The US-led globalisation has turned into a US-led global crisis resulting in food riots and skyrocketing prices affecting countries throughout the world including India. There is no sign of recovery from the 17th March market meltdown, and all the desperate measures which include even state intervention could not stop the dollar slide-down and the rise in the prices of gold and oil. Behind the serious food crisis that has hit the world, the diversion of food grains towards fuel (bio fuel) to sustain the affluent lifestyle of the 'developed' world is one of the reasons. But the major cause is unequal system of distribution and the major fall in the purchasing power of the common people. With typical imperialist arrogance, however, the US establishment represented by Condoleezza Rice has blamed improving diets in China and India for the global food crisis! The imperialist countries are indulging in massive job cuts, cuts in welfare measures giving rise to powerful movements everywhere. This anger of the people has got further aggravated due to the continuous bloodshed in the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Food riots are breaking out in several countries in Asia and Africa. More and more trade unions in world are joining the battle against the imperialist policy of globalization and war and thus the situation is ripening throughout the world for a militant working class solidarity movement. India is reeling under a serious inflationary crisis with prices of food items skyrocketing. The pursuit of imperialist-dictated policies by both the present United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and earlier National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments has seriously affected the food security of the people particularly of the urban and rural working people. On the one hand India has become a nation of rising billionaires, on the other hand 77% of the people earn less than Rs. 20 a day (less than half a US dollar). This rising inflation with a fall in real wages is pushing more and more people to the verge of starvation and slavery. The large scale entrance of MNCs and corporate houses in the business of procurement and trading of food commodities is the essential reason behind this serious crisis. The movement against price rise and for increase in minimum wages and better living conditions is rising everywhere and the government is coming down heavily on the people and is introducing draconian measures to take away the rights of working people. Grabbing agricultural land for Special Economic Zones by forcibly evicting the peasantry is another issue of popular resistance movement. The real face of imperialist globalization and its native agents stands exposed before the common people. So, in this critical juncture both internationally and nationally, this May Day marks a significant shift in the situation, and the working class must give an all-out push to the struggle against imperialist globalization. The issues of food security, checking of price rise, rise in wages and trade union rights are the issues on which a worldwide solidarity movement must be initiated. On May Day 2008 let us issue a clarion call to unleash a powerful solidarity movement of all working, oppressed people of the world against US imperialism and its agents. Struggles in India Take Dr. Binayak Sen?s Mission Forward! - Satya Sagar. On 14th May 2007 when the Chattisgarh police arrested reputed public health and civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, along with him, they threw into prison Indian Democracy itself. Detained under the draconian ?Unlawful Activities Prevention Act? on false charges of being a ?Maoist?, slandered in the media, denied bail by the Supreme Court, Dr Sen?s case stands as a challenge to every Indian who aspires for a humane, democratic and civilized India. If this is the treatment meted out to the Vice-President of a national civil rights organization and a doctor of international reputation, who has dedicated three decades of his life to work among the rural poor and tribals, it can very well be imagined what more ordinary citizens are undergoing all over the country. Almost a year later, Dr Sen continues to be in jail and hearings of the case against him in the Chattisgarh High Court have commenced. While the future course of the trial cannot be fully predicted, going by past experience, it could be several years before even a judgment of sorts will be delivered. In the meanwhile Dr Sen, who has already lost 15 kilos in just ten months of imprisonment and is in poor health, will continue to languish in jail- robbed of his freedom for the sole crime of working with the poor and defending democratic rights. The charges under which Dr Sen has been held under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and also the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 include the following: ? Being a member of an unlawful association ? Being a member of a terrorist gang or organisation ? Holding the proceeds of a terrorist act ? Giving support to a terrorist organisation ? Soliciting contributions, and aiding an unlawful organisation No substantion of the charges has been provided though with even the name and details of the so called ?terrorist gang? Dr Sen is accused as being part of not being mentioned. Much of the prosecution?s case seems to rest upon evidence in the form of some letters seized from Piyush Guha, an alleged Maoist, which the police claims were passed on to him by Dr Sen on behalf of Narayan Sanyal, a Maoist leader currently in Raipur Central Jail. Dr Sen was treating the ageing Sanyal for various ailments for several months under supervision of prison authorities. For several years now Chattisgarh, one of the poorest states in India, has been the site of a virtual civil war between the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and private militias armed by the state government with both sides in the conflict accused of serious human rights violations. "Dr Sen?s arrest is clearly an attempt to intimidate Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and other democratic voices that have been speaking out against human rights violations in Chattisgarh" said a statement soon after his detention and signed by large number of renowned intellectuals and activists including Noam Chomsky, Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Arundhati Roy, Prabhat Patnaik, Ashok Mitra, Habib Tanvir, and Rajendra Yadav. An alumnus of the Christian Medical College and of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr Sen is a respected physician much honoured for his self-sacrificing commitment to social causes and also his work as the national Vice President of the PUCL. In December 2007, the Indian Academy of Social Sciences conferred on him the R. R. Keithan Gold Medal, as an ?indefatigable defender of human rights and Gandhian social activist of rare courage and dedication?. Currently, he has been nominated for the Jonathan Mann Award 2008, the highest international award for health professionals excelling in human rights activities. Since his arrest members of civil liberties groups, medical professionals in India and abroad, artists, journalists and Dr Sen?s well wishers all over the world have appealed to both the Chattisgarh and the Indian government to withdraw the ridiculous charges and release him immediately. Their appeals have fallen on deaf ears however with the Indian Supreme Court shockingly dismissing Dr Sen?s application for bail without offering any explanation at all. Even as the trial against Dr Sen is set to commence on April 30, health and human rights activists are now campaigning for Dr Sen?s release through a series of activities ranging from holding Free Binayak Sen Medical Camps around the country to public lectures highlighting the threat to Indian democracy. Over 125 men, women and children attended the first Free Binayak Sen Medical Camp held in New Delhi at the Jai Hind basti, a colony of ragpickers and domestic workers. Other camps are planned every month for the rest of 2008 in Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Trivandrum and Kolkata. A series of protests, seminars, campaigns, including mobilizing Members of Parliament are also planned for the month of May in 2008 that will mark the first anniversary of Dr Sen?s arrest. Groups overseas, particularly in the US and UK are planning to organize vigils outside Indian embassies and consulates, to highlight globally the injustice being done to one of India?s most outstanding public spirited doctors for the sole crime of sticking to his principles. Elections in Nepal The Challenge of Shaping a New Nepal Begins Now - Liberation, May, 2008. The outcome of the April 10 elections in Nepal goes far beyond signalling the eventual end of the country's 240-year-old monarchy. The fate of the monarchy was more or less decided before the elections when all parties had agreed to pass a resolution proclaiming Nepal a republic in the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly. It is the new balance of political forces in post-poll Nepal which has taken everybody by surprise. The Maoists of Nepal, still listed as a terrorist outfit by the Bush administration, have emerged as the biggest political component in the Constituent Assembly. They have bagged half of the directly elected seats and more than a third of the popular vote in the proportional representation system. The Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Part of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) [CPN(UML)], the two big parties that dominated the parliamentary arena since the 1990 restoration of parliament, find themselves lagging far behind the Maoists. Meanwhile, the terai region of Nepal has witnessed the rise of a powerful Madhesi factor, with the two leading organisations representing the Madhesi identity having a combined tally that places them almost at par with the NC or the UML. The rise of the Maoists as the leading current in the Constituent Assembly provides an interesting case study of a communist movement in a feudal-monarchist setting. During the 1990 movement for restoration of democracy, the Maoists were present as a minor tendency within the communist spectrum while the CPN (UML) emerged as the leading communist trend. As the `twin pillars' experiment of running a constitutional democracy within a monarchist framework tumbled from one crisis to another, the Maoists took to the path of armed struggle and gradually stepped up their campaign for a full-fledged republic. With the monarchy rapidly losing its prestige and authority in the wake of the infamous palace massacre, the idea of a republic caught the imagination of the people. The victory of the Maoists at the hustings must primarily be attributed to their success in setting the republican agenda. The communist-led surge of republicanism in Nepal has rebuffed the arrogant designs of the world's greatest `exporter' of democracy. The US backed the King all through, branding the Maoist campaign for a republic as terrorism. The foreign policy strategists in New Delhi who increasingly look at the world and even themselves through the US prism saw the monarchy as the anchor for the stability of Nepal. Now that the ballots have sealed the fate of Nepal's moribund monarchy, these strategists have become jittery about the possibility of republican Nepal pursuing an independent foreign policy and seeking a new balance between India and China. As far as the US is concerned, containing and encircling China is clearly one of its foremost foreign policy objectives. It is on this basis that the US seeks strategic partnership with India and would also like to use Nepal both as a base and buffer between India and China. As far as India is concerned, Nepal is the closest northern neighbour with a long history of shared multifarious ties. Instead of toeing the US line on Nepal, India must honour the verdict of the Nepali people and sympathetically address the concerns of the emerging Himalayan republic. If we cannot do that, our foreign policy will also prove as anachronistic as the moribund monarchy in Nepal. While the Sangh Parivar is destined to miss the dynastic head of the erstwhile Himalayan Hindu Kingdom, all progressive people in India should wholeheartedly welcome Nepal's transition to a constitutional republic. In India too, a republican constitution was won only through a determined battle against the British colonialists and their numerous ?royal? partners. And for revolutionary communists, it is of course most heartening to note that communists have been at the forefront of the popular quest for a modern democratic and republican Nepal. The composition of the emerging Constituent Assembly also reflects this reality with communists and Left forces of different shades having a clear majority over the political representatives of the nascent Nepali bourgeoisie who have always betrayed the democratic aspirations of the people. The real challenge of writing a democratic constitution and shaping a new Nepal begins now and on behalf of the revolutionary communists and democrats of India we convey our warmest wishes to the communists and fighting people of Nepal at this critical hour of change. Elections in Nepal Republican Resurgence Led by the Red Flag in Nepal - Lal Bahadur Singh, Liberation, May, 2008. ?Nepal Stuns World, Itself: Poll Peaceful, Turnout 60%?, that was the banner of Kathmandu Post, the leading Nepal newspaper, on April 11, the morrow of the historic Constituent Assembly (CA) elections. It was stunning indeed that the CA elections in a Nepal, torn by civil strife, were held in a remarkably peaceful atmosphere and that too with a huge participation of the people. However the real stunner was yet to come some hours later when by the midnight of April 11 itself it became clear that a Red Star was rising in full bloom over Sagarmatha, i.e. Everest, the highest peak of the world, in the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom. In an ironic reversal, at a time when people were speculating whether the Maoists would accept the verdict or return to the jungle again in the eventuality of their presumably certain defeat, when American ex-President Carter was citing his Nicaraguan Sandinista experience and telling the world that Maoists had assured him that they would accept results even if defeated, and so on and so forth, the people of Nepal catapulted the Maoists to power. It was indeed a great comment on the complete alienation from the popular masses and myopic vision of the middle class opinion makers in Nepal, as well as the corporate media and powers-that-be in India and the world over, that till the election results started pouring in, they were all predicting a Congress lead and Maoists in third place. To be in Kathmandu and Nepal was to have a real feel of the excitement that rocked Nepal in those tumultuous days, in its historic moment of epochal political transition from monarchy to republic and that too under revolutionary Communist leadership. "Dundubhi Baji sakeko chh Gandiv Uthisakeko Chh Ekaishon Shatabdi ko yo Mahabharat Ma Aaj, Aeuta Abhishapta kalo Yug Astaunaiparchh Aaj ko Kuruchhetrama Pani Satya, balidan, Nyay Ra samanta Ko jit Hunaiparchh Aaj, Aek Jugma Aune Tyo Aek Din Ho Jasle Ulatpulat, Uthalputhal ra Herpher Nyaujaiparchh" (A Maoist slogan painted on the walls draws upon the imagery of the Mahabharata and calls upon people to lift the bow and blow the bugle; to ensure the victory of ?truth, sacrifice and justice? in the 21st century Kurukshetra (battlefield); to end feudal oppression; and to turn an upside down world the right way up. This is a glimpse of the popular, spirited propaganda that stirred Nepal in those stormy days.) The people?s verdict was equally stunning and unexpected for the political parties, too. Had even the Maoists assessed such a huge lead over others for them and hence not insisted for Proportional Representation system, they would not have been just the single largest Party today, but would have secured an absolute majority in the newly constituted CA. However, the writing on the wall was there for anyone willing to see, that the Maoists were set to win in quite a big way. All along the route from Birganj, the gateway to Nepal on the India border, up to Kathmandu, we found bold, beautiful wall-writings by the Maoists calling upon the people to participate in the CA elections to make Nepal a federal, democratic republic, abolish the monarchy and make Prachanda the first President of Republican Nepal. The hectic movement of the enthusiastic Young Communist League cadres on campaign vans with red flags atop, wearing the hammer and sickle in a circle (the election symbol of the CPN (Maoist)) on their clothes and even painted on their bare bodies, could be seen all around. As we entered Kathmandu, the first comment we heard from the young conductor of the city bus gave us some hint of the things to come. As soon as he came to know that we were interested in the elections, his impromptu reaction came, gleefully and confidently, ?Yahan to Maovadi jeetenge? (The Maoists are winning here). Just on the heels of the elections, while roaming the lanes of Kathmandu, we found a broad pattern of the social preference for various parties, of course based on our limited experience in the Kathmandu valley. The traditional upper sections favoured the Nepali Congress, the liberal middle sections, employees etc supported the UML and the lower, unorganized working masses and overwhelming youth force vociferously worked for the Maoists. Many liberal theories are now being peddled to explain the Maoist victory: ranging from its trivialization as just an anti-incumbency factor; a ?vote for change?; to downright defamation by terming it as a victory of their terror tactics and intimidation of other parties by YCL cadres. There are even some funny theories suggesting that people made Maoists victorious lest they again return back to jungle and restart violence! In fact, the Maoist victory was in-built in the very logic of the political developments leading to virtual demolition of the monarchy in Janandolan II in November 2006 and the subsequent elections to the CA. It is obvious that for the Nepalese people reeling under the dead weight of monarchist- feudal regime which had turned Nepal into an extremely backward country and a happy hunting ground for imperialist forces and Indian hegemonism for centuries, resulting in many unequal and humiliating treaties, the central political agenda has for long been the overthrow of monarchy. As the Nepali Congress was at the fore-front of the battle for democracy in 50s, people went with it and NC became the main political force. But the monarchy soon consolidated its autocratic power and ruled with an iron hand for the next three decades. In the next wave of the anti-monarchy battle in the early ?90s, CPN (UML) played the crucial role, of course joining hands with Nepali Congress. The UML then naturally emerged as a major political force. However, this Janandolan I could not reach its logical conclusion. The King though weakened by the blow of the heroic peoples? movement, was down but not out. With his hold on the Army still intact, he gradually manoeuvred his way out. The opportunist parliamentary political games fatally corroded the moral authority of the main political parties and made them prey to royalist machinations. They became captive to the forces of the status-quo instead of persisting with the radical course towards fulfillment of the unfinished agenda of establishing a republic on the ruins of monarchy. As a bourgeois-landlord Party, this path was quite natural for the Congress, but UML too could not make any radical departure at this juncture to break the impasse. It was at this critical moment in the onward march of Nepalese history towards its destiny of republicanism, which CPN (Maoist) came out unequivocally for an uncompromising battle against monarchy, towards establishing a Republic, rejecting even the liberal proposal of ceremonial status for the king as proposed by the other main parties. And with this central slogan they galvanized the whole of Nepal, arousing and mobilizing in particular the vast rural masses and youth with the dream of a new Nepal, a Republican Democratic Nepal, a sovereign, peoples? Nepal free of bondage and backwardness as well as imperialist loot and hegemonistic arm-twisting and humiliation. Winning the vast rural masses to their side, they deprived autocracy of its main social prop in society. Thus was paved the way for the eventual fall of the dead weight of monarchy like a dry wooden log, deprived of its roots and nourishment! The rest was done by the King himself in his arrogance: his patently miscalculated bloody palace coup-d??tat?; later, monopolizing power in his hands and doing away even with the minimal semblance of democracy, ostensibly on the pretext of crushing the Maoists on behalf of the ruling elite. Thus he himself hammered in the proverbial last nail in his own coffin. In this war against Nepal?s people, he was obviously banking too much on the mightiest power of the world, the US and of course, his time-tested protagonists, the Indian rulers with their notorious ?two pillar? theory. The US openly offered him all-out help and co-operation in his autocratic rule in the name of crushing the Maoists. While the King declared an award of Rs 5 million (Nepalese currency) for Prachanda?s head, the US put CPN(M) on its terror list and did much business of arms and ammunitions with Royalist Nepal. All this further alienated the already discredited and hated King and with the formation of a grand alliance of Maoists and other anti-monarchy forces the stage was set for a final showdown between the royalists and the republican forces. Thus the Maoists were perceived as the principal architect of the heroic mass uprising against the king which ultimately forced him to eat humble pie. Even the last-ditch effort by the Indian ruling establishment to sell its notorious two pillar theory, sending yet another dethroned king Karan Singh as their emissary, could not save the beleaguered King. It is curious to see that the Indian ruling establishment and even some CPI(M) leaders are patting themselves on the back for advising the Maoists to shun violence and ?join the mainstream?. In Nepal, it is apparent that the Maoists are now themselves the new mainstream while the so called mainstream of the politics which Indian rulers wanted them to join has now itself been relegated to the margins. The dichotomy of armed struggle vs elections is a false one; it is obvious that the essence of the Maoist rise lies in their command over politics and their correct political orientation: their uncompromising battle against the monarchy. The form of that battle followed as per the demands of politics at different junctures. It was here that they proved to be of a very different mettle from the Indian Maoists, who remain cut off from crucial questions of Indian politics and from the political pulse of the people. The Indian Maoists were always flummoxed by the change of tactics of the Nepal Maoists when the latter came over-ground and joined hands with the seven parties to launch a mass movement and then subsequently decided to participate in elections. The Nepal Maoists? experience till now also presents a contrast to the CPI(M): far from tailing behind the ruling class formations as the CPI(M) does, the CPN(M) pioneered the agenda of the Republic and led the pro-democracy movement from the front, while ruling class formations vacillated and dragged their feet as is their wont. The spectacular performance by Madheshi Parties (specially, MJAF led by Upendra Yadav) has surprised many political observers. It is essentially rooted in the democratic aspirations of the Madhesh people, though it is true that powerful vested interests and reactionary forces within and without Nepal have been making desperate efforts, as their proverbial last straw, to save the monarchy and stall the Maoists. Ironically, however, it seems that Madheshi Parties have damaged the electoral prospects of the Nepali Congress more than they have damaged the Maoists. To cite just one example, Sujata Koirala, daughter of Girija Prasad Koirala projected as the heir-apparent to the Koirala dynasty, was trounced by Upendra Yadav. The Madhesh issue is bound to remain one of the central concerns of the future dispensation in Kathmandu to be addressed with utmost sensitivity and caution, as reactionary forces won?t miss a single chance to lead it on a sectarian course. We can only wait and watch the trajectory of the new Republic, and the role of Nepal?s communists on the road to people?s democracy and socialism. But indisputably, the world has witnessed that the successful consummation of a popular mass movement for a republic has been led by none else but the Communists. Those very Communists, who were tagged as ?terrorists? by the ?world?s greatest democracy?, the US (it is another matter that the US is seen as the biggest terrorist for the world?s people!). It will certainly be interesting to see whether these biggest hypocrites to use the word democracy, will buckle down and recognize the Maoist-led Nepalese Republic and remove the terrorist tag, thus saving themselves from further ridicule in the eyes of the world! Or if they will still treat the newest democracy of the world, whose elections have been observed and applauded as free and fair even by their ex-President Carter and the UN, as a terrorist/rogue state like many others in their list! The pronouncements of some ?strategic analysts? and foreign policy experts in India as well as the Sangh Parivar ideologues are also revealing. They glaringly prove the popular perception of Nepalese people that Indian rulers regard Nepal as their fiefdom. These Sangh ideologues and ?expert? advisers of the Indian ruling class accuse the Indian Government of ?gifting? away Nepal to the Maoists and failing to protect that great guarantor of ?India?s interests? ? the Nepalese King. They forget that Nepal, in the first place, was never theirs to ?gift away?! And if Nepalese people choose to get rid of their King, and vote overwhelmingly to do so, shame on those who imagined they could meddle and reverse that decision! One such ?expert?, Brahma Chellaney, writing in India Today, ended by declaring that the Madhesis, ?who populate the Terai, Nepal?s food bowl, are India?s natural constituency, and that card is begging to be exercised.? This is the language of ?strategic? policy advisors in India, which claims to be the US partner in exporting democracy: a blatant, open, shameless game-plan for an Indian design to retain hegemonic control on a sovereign Republican neighbour! In the past much damage has been done by the hegemonic and erroneous Nepal policy of Indian ruling establishment; it?s time for a new beginning, forging a healthy democratic bilateral relation based on genuine equality, mutual respect and benefit. In a society where the level of subservience to the monarch was such that till yesterday Parliamentary candidates, prospective people?s representatives, sought blessings from the king by offering a coin at his feet, the abolition of monarchy is no less than a miracle ? a miracle achieved by the Nepalese people. Let us hail this great victory of the Nepalese people and the republican forces, and warmly wish success for Nepal?s communists in facing the many complex challenges that lie ahead on the road to democracy and socialism. World Financial Crisis Crisis Engulfs the Global Financial System - Surya. Headlines such as ?Apocalypse now??, ?The Great American Slowdown?, and ?Panic is in the Air? have dominated commercial financial media recently. The US Federal Reserve Bank has thrown its own rule book out the window to not just rescue Bear Sterns but the entire financial system. The British government has been forced to nationalise one of the big mortgage lenders Northern Rock. All the world stock market indexes have been in free fall for the last few months. No wonder billionaire George Soros called the current financial crisis the worst since the Great Depression. The current crisis is not limited to FIRE (finance, insurance, and real estate) sector, although this is where it started. It is spreading like wild fire to other sectors of the economy. According to most estimates the US is already in a recession and the real question is how severe and for how long. Ben Bernanke, chief of the US Federal Reserve, and Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, along with the others are busy dousing the flames. Bernanke is a well known academic with expertise in the Great Depression and Paulson is the former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the world's largest and most prestigious investment banks. As of now the fire in FIRE is still raging and could get worse. Bear Sterns is a case in point. Bear Stearns? Fire Sale Collapse of Bear Sterns was the culmination of a week that shook American capitalism. Bear Stearns, the 85-year-old investment bank that had traded during the Great Depression, was sold at a fire sale price. The scale and speed of the collapse was mind boggling. This is a brief account of the last few days of Bear Stearns [1]: Tuesday, March 11 The US Federal Reserve, invoking a clause not used since the Great Depression announces that it will lend up to $200 billion in Treasury bonds to investment banks for 28 days starting March 27. This is an attempt douse the fires on Wall Street. Investment banks are elated. Bear Stearns feels comfortable with its capital base of approximately $17 billion. Thursday, March 13 Bear Stearns's cash position has dwindled to mere $2 billion. Bear, to save it from creditors, plans to file for bankruptcy on Friday morning. If Bear could not repay several billion dollars to creditors on Friday morning, they would in turn start selling the collateral. The fire could engulf the forest. Friday, March 14 As the news spreads the capital markets are at risk. There is a possibility of generalized flight from the markets. There is panic in the air. Saturday, March 15 Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, is inundated with calls from Bank CEOs. They are nervous that a run on Bear Stearns could spread to all financial markets. The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have to seal the deal between Bear Stearns and J. P. Morgan Chase latest by Sunday night i.e. before the Asian markets open. Sunday, March 16 Federal Reserve governors get together again to approve borrowing directly to a non-bank. It borrows $30 billion to J. P. Morgan Chase for Bear Stearns. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve work non-stop to complete the deal before the evening. Bear Stearns is sold for $2 a share for a total of $236 million, which is a fifth of the value of its swanky headquarters office block. J. P. Morgan acquired Bear Stearns for a fire sale price of $2 a share (raised to $10 later), which had a record share price of $172 in 2007. Not only has J. P. Morgan Chase acquired Bear for cheap it has also saved itself from serious risk courtesy the US taxpayer. J. P. Morgan Chase would have suffered as counterparty because it is the biggest credit-default swap player [2]. Leading up to the crisis several hedge funds, owned by Bear Stearns, Carlyle Group and other major banks had collapsed. Bear?s unmanaged collapse would have crashed the $4.5 trillion repo market, a decades old market where banks and securities firms extend and receive short-term loans, typically made overnight and backed by securities. The default of a major counterparty in the repo market would have had unprecedented consequences for capital markets. No wonder the Democratic Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, who worked with Bernanke and Paulson on Bear Stearns, said, "To allow this to go into bankruptcy, I think, would have [created] some systemic problems that would have been massive." [1] The Financial Crisis This is a major financial crisis far bigger than Bear Stearns. As The Economist has written, ?Since the era of frock coats and buckled shoes, finance has been knocked back by booms and busts every ten years or so. But the past decade has been plagued by them. It has been pocked by the Asian crisis, the debacle at Long-Term Capital Management, a super-brainy hedge fund, the dotcom crash and now what you might call the first crisis of securitisation? [3]. As Charles Kindleberger, an economic historian of financial crises who has advanced Hyman Minsky?s model, explains the anatomy of a typical crisis as consisting of: displacement (new offering), credit expansion, speculative mania, distress, and crash/panic [4]. This crisis has its roots in the securitisation of mortgages, specifically the collateralised debt obligation (CDO), a new offering. Over the years, CDOs and collateralised mortgage obligations (CMOs) increased in complexity with the mixture of high risk (sub-prime) to low risk mortgages. Large financial firms created structured investment vehicles (SIVs) for CDOs as off balance sheet conduits. They were in turn linked with these financial firms using the credit default swaps. The resulting expansion of credit increased the asset price mania, in this case sky rocketing house prices. Predatory lending practices targeted vulnerable people using sub-prime loans. Later when interest rates increased and vulnerable people defaulted, then, distressed loans increased and house prices fell. As the asset price bubble burst, hedge funds and SIVs started to fail [5]. In March, Bear Stearns fire sale occurred. The lender of last resort, US Federal Reserve, has been in overdrive since summer of 2007. Other central banks, such as Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank have also been supplying cheap money (by way of lower interest rates) and saving financial firms. The ?shadow financial system?, which is composed of conduits, SIVs, investment banks/broker dealers, money market funds, hedge funds and other non bank financial institutions are at the heart of this crisis [6]. Nevertheless, the entire financial services industry has used debt, securitisation and proprietary trading to boost fee income and profits. Since 1980 financial-sector debt has increased from 10% of the size of non-financial debt to 50%. The value of outstanding credit-default swaps, for instance, has climbed to a staggering $45 trillion. Bear was counterparty to some $10 trillion of over-the-counter swaps [3, 7, 10]. The US financial-services industry's share of total corporate profits went from 10% in the early 1980s to 40% in 2007. This is striking as financial services comprise 15% of corporate America's gross value added and a mere 5% of private-sector jobs [3, 7]. These profits come at a huge cost. Investment banks are highly indebted and, hence, leveraged. For example, Goldman Sachs employs $40 billion of equity as the foundation for $1.1 trillion of assets; Merrill Lynch, the most leveraged, uses around $30 billion of equity as a foundation for $1 trillion of assets [3]. In rising markets, huge profits can be made but during falling markets shareholders can be wiped out. This is the lesson of Bear Stearns. The total debt default losses, from mortgages to credit cards, have been estimated to be a minimum of $1 trillion (7% of US GDP). The losses could be as high as $2.7 trillion [8]. Analysing the losses the International Monetary Fund?s (IMF) April 2008 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) states ?events of the past six months have demonstrated the fragility of the global financial system? and acknowledges that the ?events are still unfolding? [9]. The Capitalist Crisis Marxist-Leninists have stressed that financial crises are endemic to capitalism. The last few decades have been plagued by these crises. Three important trends from recent history of capitalism, i.e. since 1974-75, are: financialization of capital accumulation process, international proliferation of monopolistic/ oligopolistic multinational corporations (MNCs), and slowing overall rate of growth. This monopolization has contradictory consequences: on the one hand it generates a swelling flow of profits, on the other it reduces the demand for additional investment in increasingly controlled markets: more and more profits, fewer and fewer profitable investment opportunities [11]. These MNCs increasingly and heavily rely on finance and speculation for huge profits. A recent articles states, ?The fact that such financialization of capital appears to be taking the form of bigger and bigger bubbles that burst more frequently and with more devastating effect, threatening each time a deepening of stagnation?i.e., the condition, endemic to mature capitalism, of slow growth, and rising excess capacity and unemployment/underemployment? [5] These crises are the crises of capitalism. US dollar is weakest since the era of floating exchange rates began in 1973 [10] and its hegemony is being challenged. World wide commodity/food prices are soaring and inflation is increasing while the mature capitalist economies are teetering into recession. US consumer sentiment is at a 26 year low. Since the consumer spending comprises 70% of US GDP, it could mean a prolonged recession. Imperial occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is also failing and costs of war mounting. The conservative cost estimate is now $3 trillion [13]. This is a global capitalist and imperialist crisis. The People Cost The system is currently shifting the burden of this crisis onto the people. A significant section of them are already suffering. It is the weakest and most oppressed ? from the people of colour to women ? who have to bear the brunt of the cost. Just for the people of colour in the U.S., the monetary cost of the subprime mortgage crisis is estimated at $213 billion [15]. On the one hand workers? incomes have stagnated, cost of healthcare, education, food, and gasoline keeps rising and pushing more people towards poverty. On the other hand, the wealthiest 1% of U.S. families is now garnering the largest share of income since 1929 [12]. As the economy most likely is in a recession and there has been a net job loss of 232,000 since the start of 2008. Joblessness rose to 7.8 million in March and this does not include the 5 million who are forced to work part time. Predatory lending practices, from which financial firms profited, has now led to massive foreclosures. Nearly 1.3 million homes in the U.S are in some phase of foreclosure at the start of 2008 [14]. This is more than one in every 100 U.S. households. City of Detroit?s foreclosure rate is 10 percent and in Michigan state over one million are now dependent on food handouts. The number of hungry and homeless people in U.S. cities has risen dramatically in 2007. Except for lip service the government has hardly provided any assistance. The people are organising in these hard times. They are organising civil disobedience during housing re-possessions, picketing the banks and calling for a moratorium on foreclosures. A recent protest at the Policy Conference of Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. people chanted ?Mortgage bankers lie and cheat, people get thrown out on the street!? It is time for these movements to converge with the anti-war, anti-racist, immigrant rights, women and working class movements. The global capitalist system is likely to suffer more crises and crashes. But crashes do not necessarily lead to new systems. A thousand wild fires are engulfing the global financial system. This is not enough to change the system. It is the heat from ten of thousands of internationally proliferating movements that has the potential to create a radically new social and political system. End Notes 1. Sidel, R., Ip, G., Phillips, M. M., and Kelly, K., The Week That Shook Wall Street: Inside the Demise of Bear Stearns, Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2008. 2. Economist, Bear?s Pits, The Economist, March 17th 2008. 3. Economist, The Financial System: What Went Wrong, The Economist, March 19th 2008. 4. Kindleberger, C. P., Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, John Wiley, 2000. 5. Foster, J. B., The Financialization of Capital and the Crisis, Monthly Review, April 2008. 6. Roubini, N., A Generalized Run on the Shadow Financial System, RGE Monitor, March 17, 2008. 7. Economist, Wall Street's Crisis, The Economist, March 19th 2008. 8. Roubini, N., Martin Wolf on My Estimates of Financial Losses: $1 Trillion is the New Size 6! RGE Monitor, March 11, 2008. 9. International Monetary Fund (IMF), Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), April 2008. 10. The Economist, Central banks: A dangerous divergence, The Economist, March 19th 2008. 11. Sweezy, P. M., More (or Less) on Globalization, Monthly Review, 49:4, September 1997. 12. Lahart, J. and Evans, K., Trapped in the Middle: The incomes of most Americans have stalled, Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2008. 13. Stiglitz, J. and Bilmes, L., The Three Trillion Dollar War: on the True Cost of the US Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, 2008. 14. Data according to Moody?s Economy.com. 15. UFE, Foreclosed: State of the Dream 2008, United for a Fair Economy, 2008. Politics in South Asia Sri Lanka: Threats to the Media - S. Sivasegaram. A most discussed current affair in Sri Lankan is the threat to the media. The section of the media facing the most serious threat now is the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), the state-run television broadcaster. The SLRC, which, along with its radio counterpart, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and the state-owned newspaper group, the Lake House, has a reputation for slavishly giving a pro-government slant to every communication, be it news, analysis or comment. But it came under attack by Minister Mervin Silva when it failed to broadcast in full a speech by him at a ceremony, with attacks in bad taste against a former cabinet colleague, Mangala Samaraweera (once a close ally of President Rajapaksha but left the government an year ago in protest against several issues, including corruption and nepotism). On 27th December 2007, Mervin Silva and his bodyguards entered the SLRC premises and abused the News Director verbally and physically. The attack provoked SLRC employees, who stopped work in protest, restrained the intruders, and handed them over to the security staff. Besides, the incident was telecast live on SLRC channels. Mervin Silva has since been denounced by many parliamentarians including members of the ruling party and by national and international media organisations. The government, however, angered more by the bad publicity than by the misconduct of the minister, avoided action against the intruders and initiated a police witch hunt against SLRC employees at the forefront of the resistance. Although Mervin Silva has stepped down as minister and resigned from parliament to defuse the rising indignation, so far five of employees of the SLBC have been individually attacked and injured, two seriously, by criminal elements. But the police have yet to act against the offenders. In March, while the employees threatened strike action demanding protection, a retired army officer was appointed Additional Deputy Director General, about which various media organisations, including state media unions, have protested to the President. But no useful outcome is expected. SLRC employees face a mild version of the treatment meted out to other sections of the media. In 2006 and 2007 the Jaffna-based Tamil daily, Uthayan received threats to cease printing; four employees were killed, and several more kidnapped, threatened and censored. While pro-government militia groups backed by armed forces have been implicated in attacks on the Tamil media in the North-East, government politicians were prominent in threats to the Sinhala and English media in Colombo. Besides, journalists have been detained by the police without charges for long periods, and some who won legal battles for freedom were later harassed by thugs. In 2007, five FM radio stations (Hiru, Shaa, Gold, Suuriyan and Sun) and two newspapers (Maubima and Sunday Standard) were forced to close down; the Leader group of newspapers, faced its second violent attack, this time arson that gutted its printing press, located in a high security area just south of Colombo. The Director of the radio stations, a United National Party organiser, quickly switched political loyalty; and, after a six month lapse, broadcast may resume in April 2008. The Leader defiantly continued to publish. Private and public threats to journalists and publishers are almost routine, but not meant to be taken lightly. The threat to the media is accentuated by the plans of the state to control the media in the name of national security, making free expression of views in the media as hard as under censorship and emergency rule. Media and fundamental rights organisations fear that the National Media Policy proposal announced by the government in September 2007 is aimed to subdue the media. Political statements by officers of the armed forces are on the increase, and the statement by the Sri Lanka Army Commander on 2nd January, accusing sections of the media and journalists of treachery and being unpatriotic, is ominous. These developments concerning the media need to be seen against the background of a staggering number disappearances and killings, whose victims have so far been mainly Tamil males (mostly below 30 years and including a significant number of humanitarian workers and media personnel, as stated in a report by the Civil Monitoring Commission, Free Media Movement, and Law & Society Trust in October 2007), to which should be added the large number of arrests of terrorist suspects remaining in detention without charges. Silencing the press is, among other things, crucial to blacking out information on crimes committed in the name of national security, and the large number of civilians killed, injured and disabled, and suffering loss of livelihood in the course of attacks on ?carefully selected enemy targets?. The government has placed itself in a paradoxical position by claiming that it will bring the war to an early end by defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Defeating the LTTE militarily in the Batticaloa and Ampara Districts in the East was helped by various factors including the US-engineered split in the ranks of the LTTE in the East in early 2004, collaboration between the rebels and the army, losses inflicted on the LTTE by the Tsunami of December 2004, the massive firepower including bomber aircraft possessed by the state, and lapses on the part of the LTTE, deriving from its almost total reliance on military means at the expense of political work and its neglect of contradictions among the people. The war in the East, which internally displaced 200,000 people, has been expensive to the government in direct costs as well as by damage to the economy. The war in the North, with less certain success, will be costlier. Even a military victory for the government can only alter the form of the struggle and the mode of operation of the LTTE. The heavy cost of the war to the country?s economy includes uncontrollable internal budgetary deficits, balance of payments problems, rising inflation and depreciation of the currency; and before long could include flight of capital and soaring unemployment, accompanied by a fall in real wages. Although these are anticipated direct consequences of the war dating back to 1983, the government chose to return to war informally in 2006 and formally in January 2008, rather than salvage the peace negotiations that were in a state of limbo since 2003. Having made the choice, it now needs the war to deflect public attention from the failing economy and rampant corruption in high places. Consequently, it also uses the war to undermine democracy and weaken political opposition. The government, having painted itself into a corner by opting for war and whipping up war hysteria among its electorate, would forfeit credibility if it seeks peace. Thus, military considerations increasingly determine political decisions, to the detriment of democratic institutions, as recently evident in the elections to local bodies in the Batticaloa District in March, where the government colluded with an armed group which has been widely accused of resorting to intimidation to secure victory. Tragically, the parliamentary opposition too is steeped in chauvinism, and intimidated by the rise in popularity of the government following its military success against the LTTE in the East, starting with confrontations south of Trincomalee in early 2006. No opposition party has dared to speak out against the war, nor have the parliamentary ?left? allies of the government. The threat to media freedom is part of a complex problem; and its elimination demands a just solution to the national question, based on the right to self-determination, free of foreign meddling. Local and foreign human rights organisations that are funded directly or indirectly by foreign governments are demanding UN intervention to resolve the human rights crisis. Sadly, knowingly or not, nationalists on different sides to the conflict are creating the space for foreign intervention on a humanitarian pretext. The dangers are well known, and the genuine left and democratic forces among the Sinhalese are duty bound to take the initiative in leading the country out of the impending disaster by reviving the peace movement. Struggles in India Citizens? Convention Against Draconian Acts - Liberation, May, 2008. The Forum for Democratic Initiatives (FDI), Delhi, organized a Citizens? Convention titled ?Undeclared Emergency? Special Security Legislations and the Making of a Police State?, in the backdrop of various State governments clamouring for Special Security Acts. Though the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has enough provisions to deal with law and order issues, these Acts are being increasingly invoked to deny the arrested persons bail and extract confessions from them. This is even as the third Police Commission of India has already observed that 60 per cent of all arrests in India even under ordinary laws are unnecessary. The laws include Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (ULAPA) 2004, as well as various state specific legislations, which have been used to crack down on political dissent including the Chattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) 2005, Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the AP public security Act, the Bihar Police Act. In Uttar Pradesh, the Mayawati government has recently brought in the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act (UPCOCA). The FDI convenor, Radhika Menon presented the concept paper for the Convention. Delhi University teacher, Dr Ujjwal Kumar Singh, said that ?special? measures like detention and torture were being made ordinary and acceptable through these Acts. Praful Bidwai, senior journalist, spoke about the Chattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 and how it was complementary to the politics of Salwa Judum. The history of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in the North East (NE) was summed up by Bablu, a lawyer from Manipur. Dr Bhagat Oinam, teacher from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), spoke of how some of the insurgent groups in the NE in the name of which the Army justified its presence reportedly had identity cards issued by the Army itself. The situation in Uttarakhand where the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government is eager to present a Maoist threat in order to corner anti-Naxalite funds offered by the Central Government was presented by Girija Pathak, CPI (ML) leader from Uttarakhand. He pointed out that in the face of high profile cases routine assaults on trade unions gets forgotten but it these that which allows the normalization and introduction of Special Security Acts. PUHR activist Manoj, presented the emerging crackdowns in Uttar Pradesh on specific religious communities as well as that of the poor. Film Maker Sanjay Kak who has made a documentary on the perspective of the Kashmiri people towards the political issues in the state said how in Kashmir and North East, there already was a military State. Writer Arundhati Roy explained the predisposition of the police and judiciary to interpret such Acts according to political convenience such that even a Convention like this one could be declared illegal. Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan spoke of how even the ordinary liberal foundation of Indian democracy was being undermined and said that a mass civil disobedience was called for. The report on the Bihar Police Act and political crackdown in Bihar sent by Ashok of the Lok Yudh editorial board was read out. Lalit Batra summarized the paper on legal violations by the police in West Bengal sent by Amitadyuti Kumar of Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR). FDI co-convenor, Manisha Sethi highlighted a newspaper report of the wrongful detention and torture of a Kashmir University student in Tihar Jail without the police presenting any evidence. Senior journalist Jawed Naqvi pointed out that for the poor and the deprived there was already a state of Emergency, it was just that the media was silent about it. A message by Illina sen, wife of medical doctor and PUCL activist Binayak Sen, who has been detained in solitary confinement in Chattisgarh under ULAPA 2004 and CSPSA 2005, was read out. A number of people from different walks of life participated in the Convention and stayed back for the discussion after the Convention. Pranay Krishna Srivastava, PUHR member and Jan Sanskriti Manch General Secretary summarized the proceedings and presented resolutions on a range of issues which the house passed. Struggles in India Construction Workers in Delhi March Against Price Rise - Liberation, May, 2008. Flagging off the CPI (ML)?s fortnight-long campaign against price rise, construction workers in Delhi marched under the banner of All India Central Council of trade Unions (AICCTU) to the Delhi Secretariat from Bhagat Singh Terminus. Raising spirited slogans, they protested against skyrocketing prices; against the rampant deaths of building workers in ?prestigious? areas like the Comonwealth Games Village and Delhi Metro; against denial of basic rights of citizenship as well as the welfare benefits due to construction labourers, and demanded urgent measures from the State and Central Governments to protect poor unorganised workers in the national Capital. The processionists sat on a dharna at Samta Sthal in protest when they were stopped by the police. A memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister of Delhi was also given by the protesters. Addressing the dharna, CPI (ML) Delhi State Secretary Rajendra Pratholi highlighted the Party's demand for urgent emergency measures to cushion the poor from the impact of inflation. He also criticized the government of Delhi as well as the Central government for protecting hoarders and black-marketeers. The AICCTU Delhi State General Secretary Santosh Rai termed the Delhi government a killer of workers, blaming it for the high death toll of building workers: be it in building collapses, or due to epidemics or accidents in the highly unsanitary and unsafe labour camps set up for the Commonwealth Games Village and Delhi Metro. The other speakers at the rally said that the Delhi government was projecting the Commonwealth Games as Delhi's pride, but in fact the hell-holes in which labourers were being forced to live in the national Capital were an international shame and scandal. The Delhi government is wooing huge amounts of corporate capital towards the Games; while denying even the basic minimum legally guaranteed rights to the workers and forcing them to live in inhuman conditions. The Delhi government is not interested in protecting the constitutional rights of the Construction Sector workers and all labour laws are openly being violated by the employers, and now this steep and sudden hike in prices has left them to face further hardships. The construction sector has been left in the hands of the mafia under full government protection. The General Secretary of Delhi Building Workers Union VKS Gautam asked why building workers were being denied the status of citizens in the city, and demanded that the Delhi Govt. bring all construction workers under the below poverty line (BPL) umbrella; issue voter I-cards to them; include them in the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Scheme; and take full responsibility for their health, education, housing etc. He said that the Delhi Building Workers? Board has proved itself to be a complete failure in its sole objective - which is to protect the rights of the construction workers. Hardly 1% of building workers are registered under this Board. Construction workers' activists from various parts of Delhi addressed the meeting and spoke of their struggles. CPI(ML) Central Committee members Kavita Krishnan and Sanjay Sharma, AICCTU National Secretary Rajiv Dimri, Delhi Building Workers? Union leaders Surendra Panchal, Amarnath Tiwari, CPI (ML) State Committee member Uma Gupta and many others also addressed the mass meeting. Struggles in India Hisab do-Jawab do Rally in Jharkhand - Liberation, May, 2008. Under a scorching sun on April 10, masses of people thronged the CPI (ML) Rally at Ranchi, spiritedly raising the questions of plunder, state repression and corruption in Jharkhand and demanding ?Accountability and Answers? (Hisab Do Jawab Do) from the ruling Madhu Koda Government. The Rally was marked by the participation of a substantial section of tribal people and rural women. The rally began with a minute's silence in memory of all the martyrs. Addressing the people as the main speaker, CPI (ML) General Secretary Comrade Dipankar said that from the very inception of Jharkhand, there had been a struggle between two distinct political currents in the State ? one, of loot, repression, divisive politics and corruption in favour of the corporate; the other, of united resistance of all oppressed and marginalised people. The latter is represented in the struggles and sacrifices of CPI (ML) activists and leaders like Comrade Mahendra Singh in defence of democracy and the rights of citizen?s in Jharkhand. The previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government as the first Government of the State, had shot dead tribals in Tapkara and then Muslims in Ranchi on Eid day, making clear its agenda of land grab, state repression, and communal fascism. Asking the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) constituents in the State, the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) to stop playing ?Opposition? when they themselves were behind the Government, Comrade Dipankar challenged them to pull down the Government and call for elections. Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of Congress, JMM, RJD and Babulal Marandi all colluded to get the Director of Ambani's company - from Delhi - elected from Jharkhand for the Rajya Sabha through the backdoor. The UPA government of the State and Centre speak of the aam aadmi (common person) but they work for Ambani and America. Comrade Dipankar said that Jharkhand?s people are forced to migrate in search of work and face xenophobic assaults in other states, even as National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is turned into a mockery of employment for the poor. The Jharkhand Government is busy signing memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in the name of industrial development with the Jindals and Mittals. Existing industries in Jharkhand are actually being finished off by the UPA and NDA governments turn by turn, while the richest mineral resources are gifted away to big companies without any benefit to the people, and Governments plead lack of resources for running welfare schemes! Addressing the Rally, Comrade Bahadur Oraon, CC member of CPI(ML), said that the Chhotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act intended to safeguard tribal lands are being openly flouted, and those who resist are subjected to rape, repression and massacre. Tribal people are being cheated by the range of ruling parties. He appealed to all segments of tribal people to spread this awareness and associate with the revolutionary current of CPI (ML). One of the main speakers at the Rally was Comrade Jayanta Rongpi, CC Member of CPI (ML) and former MP from Karbi Anglong. He said the Congress and UPA, be it in Jharkhand or in Assam, had shown its true face on the question of tribal welfare. When tribals of Jharkhand origin who had been living in Assam for several generations demanded recognition as tribals, they were stripped and paraded naked in the State capital of Guwahati. It was the CPI (ML) which was the first to reach out to the victims of that atrocity ? not the self-proclaimed ruling class messiahs of Jharkhand?s adivasis. While the BJP and Congress are united in promoting the interests of the industrialists at the cost of the tribals, the CPI (ML) was at the forefront of the battle for the adivasis? rights to land, forests and water. CPI (ML) MLA in the Jharkhand Assembly Comrade Vinod Kumar Singh said within the Jharkhand Assembly, CPI (ML)?s was the lone voice raising the issues of Turia Munda?s suicide due to non-payment of wages under NREGS, or the police brutality that killed Ramzan Miyan on Muharram day, nor of the questions of the right of Jharkhand?s people to its resources. The CPI(ML) is the only true Opposition in the State, both within the Assembly and out on the streets. Others who addressed the Rally were Comrade Shubhendu Sen, CPI (ML) Jharkhand State Secretary, Comrades Janardan Prasad and Rajaram, CC Members of CPI(ML), Comrade Ibnul Hasan Basroo, CC member CPI(ML) and State's incharge of Inquilabi Muslim Conference (IMC), prominent cultural personality Dr. B.P. Kesri, AICCTU National General Secretary Comrade Swapan Mukherjee, and Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) leader Rajkumar Yadav. Prof. Sambhu Badal of Vinoba Bhave University recited the poems penned by him dedicated to Comrade Mahendra Singh. Office secretary Comrade J.P. Minz presented a 15-point resolution which was unanimously adopted by the Rally. In the run-up to the Rally, an ?Ulgulan Chetna Rath? by a team of cultural activists had campaigned all over the city. The Rally was made colourful by the performances by many cultural teams: Anjam, Jagaran, Mashal, while the Panchpargana unit of Jan Sanskriti Manch (JSM) and Sengel cultural team presented a Chhau tableau on the suicide of Turia Munda and JSM?s Singhbhum unit presented a tableau depicting Birsa Munda in battle against today?s agents of imperialist loot: Jindal-Mittal-Tata etc... The entire Ranchi city was decorated with gates erected in the names of revolutionary martyrs of the Jharkhand movement. Struggles in India Assembly Gherao in Tamil Nadu - Liberation, May, 2008. In Tamil Nadu (TN), the CPI (ML) held a massive Assembly Gherao on March 27, raising the burning issues of the toiling masses of the state. All over the state, the party took up a vigorous campaign in the three months towards the Rally. The demand for 2 acres of land for the rural poor, an election promise of the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) government, is a burning question in the rural parts of TN, and has been thrown to oblivion by both opposition and ruling parties of TN including the official left. This demand, championed by CPI (ML), drew the rural poor to the Rally in large numbers. Thousands of urban and rural poor rallied on the demand of 5 cent home-stead land in many parts of the state particularly in the western districts of TN. An intensive signature campaign was held on the issue of rights of trade union recognition, in which 1.5 lakh signatures were collected by Pricol workers and workers of Solidarity Forum of Poonamallee and Tiruvottiyur. Hyundai workers also took up a SMS campaign and collected 1000 SMS on demand. A convention was organized by the Tiruvottiyur Solidarity Forum demanding that trainees involved in direct production be regularized. There were efforts on the part of the government to disturb the Gherao preparations and mobilization. Permission was denied; comrades who set out from Tirunelveli toward Chennai to participate in the Gherao were arrested and detained in Tirunelveli itself; a bus owner in Pudukottai was threatened by the local police and he returned the advance paid for the vehicle booked for the trip to Chennai; comrades of Tuticorin were prevented from entering into the railway station; the vehicles of Tiruvallore comrades were blocked on the way to the Assembly and so on. In spite of all these disturbances, on 27th of March, more than 7000 urban and rural poor gathered in Chennai to vigorously assert their demands. The colourful rally was led by Comrade Balasundaram, State Secretary, and Comrade N K Natarajan, SCM, flagged off the rally. As the gathering was not allowed to proceed toward the Assembly, a demonstration was held near the Assembly when the Assembly was in session. Comrade S Kumarsawamy, PBM, Comrade Swapan Mukherji, CCM and General Secretary AICCTU, Comrade Shankar, CCM, Comrades Janakiraman and Gunasekaran, SCMs, addressed the gathering. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From cpiml_elo at yahoo.com Sun May 4 15:30:23 2008 From: cpiml_elo at yahoo.com (CPI (ML) Intl Liaison Office) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 14:30:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] MLIN [May-June] May Day | Dr Sen | Nepal Elections | Financial Crisis | and More | Message-ID: <102082.27331.qm@web35502.mail.mud.yahoo.com> ML International Newsletter May-June 2008 *********************************************************************** An update on news and ideas from the revolutionary left in India. Produced by: Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation international team *********************************************************************** Websites: mlint.wordpress.com and www.cpiml.org Emails: cpiml_elo at yahoo.com and cpimllib at gmail.com Table of Contents 1) Unleash a Powerful Solidarity Movement of all Workers and Oppressed 2) Take Dr. Binayak Sen?s Mission Forward 3) The Challenge of Shaping a New Nepal Begins Now 4) Republican Resurgence Led by the Red Flag in Nepal 5) Crisis Engulfs the Global Financial System 6) Sri Lanka: Threats to the Media 7) Citizens? Convention Against Draconian Acts 8) Construction Workers in Delhi March Against Price Rise 9) Hisab do-Jawab do Rally in Jharkhand 10) Assembly Gherao in Tamil Nadu May Day Call Unleash a Powerful Solidarity Movement of all Working, Oppressed People of the World against the US Imperialism and its Agents! - Swapan Mukherjee, General Secretary, All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU). May Day 2008 is being observed worldwide in the backdrop of the imperialist project of globalization which is facing a serious crisis. The US-led globalisation has turned into a US-led global crisis resulting in food riots and skyrocketing prices affecting countries throughout the world including India. There is no sign of recovery from the 17th March market meltdown, and all the desperate measures which include even state intervention could not stop the dollar slide-down and the rise in the prices of gold and oil. Behind the serious food crisis that has hit the world, the diversion of food grains towards fuel (bio fuel) to sustain the affluent lifestyle of the 'developed' world is one of the reasons. But the major cause is unequal system of distribution and the major fall in the purchasing power of the common people. With typical imperialist arrogance, however, the US establishment represented by Condoleezza Rice has blamed improving diets in China and India for the global food crisis! The imperialist countries are indulging in massive job cuts, cuts in welfare measures giving rise to powerful movements everywhere. This anger of the people has got further aggravated due to the continuous bloodshed in the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Food riots are breaking out in several countries in Asia and Africa. More and more trade unions in world are joining the battle against the imperialist policy of globalization and war and thus the situation is ripening throughout the world for a militant working class solidarity movement. India is reeling under a serious inflationary crisis with prices of food items skyrocketing. The pursuit of imperialist-dictated policies by both the present United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and earlier National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments has seriously affected the food security of the people particularly of the urban and rural working people. On the one hand India has become a nation of rising billionaires, on the other hand 77% of the people earn less than Rs. 20 a day (less than half a US dollar). This rising inflation with a fall in real wages is pushing more and more people to the verge of starvation and slavery. The large scale entrance of MNCs and corporate houses in the business of procurement and trading of food commodities is the essential reason behind this serious crisis. The movement against price rise and for increase in minimum wages and better living conditions is rising everywhere and the government is coming down heavily on the people and is introducing draconian measures to take away the rights of working people. Grabbing agricultural land for Special Economic Zones by forcibly evicting the peasantry is another issue of popular resistance movement. The real face of imperialist globalization and its native agents stands exposed before the common people. So, in this critical juncture both internationally and nationally, this May Day marks a significant shift in the situation, and the working class must give an all-out push to the struggle against imperialist globalization. The issues of food security, checking of price rise, rise in wages and trade union rights are the issues on which a worldwide solidarity movement must be initiated. On May Day 2008 let us issue a clarion call to unleash a powerful solidarity movement of all working, oppressed people of the world against US imperialism and its agents. Struggles in India Take Dr. Binayak Sen?s Mission Forward! - Satya Sagar. On 14th May 2007 when the Chattisgarh police arrested reputed public health and civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, along with him, they threw into prison Indian Democracy itself. Detained under the draconian ?Unlawful Activities Prevention Act? on false charges of being a ?Maoist?, slandered in the media, denied bail by the Supreme Court, Dr Sen?s case stands as a challenge to every Indian who aspires for a humane, democratic and civilized India. If this is the treatment meted out to the Vice-President of a national civil rights organization and a doctor of international reputation, who has dedicated three decades of his life to work among the rural poor and tribals, it can very well be imagined what more ordinary citizens are undergoing all over the country. Almost a year later, Dr Sen continues to be in jail and hearings of the case against him in the Chattisgarh High Court have commenced. While the future course of the trial cannot be fully predicted, going by past experience, it could be several years before even a judgment of sorts will be delivered. In the meanwhile Dr Sen, who has already lost 15 kilos in just ten months of imprisonment and is in poor health, will continue to languish in jail- robbed of his freedom for the sole crime of working with the poor and defending democratic rights. The charges under which Dr Sen has been held under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and also the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 include the following: ? Being a member of an unlawful association ? Being a member of a terrorist gang or organisation ? Holding the proceeds of a terrorist act ? Giving support to a terrorist organisation ? Soliciting contributions, and aiding an unlawful organisation No substantion of the charges has been provided though with even the name and details of the so called ?terrorist gang? Dr Sen is accused as being part of not being mentioned. Much of the prosecution?s case seems to rest upon evidence in the form of some letters seized from Piyush Guha, an alleged Maoist, which the police claims were passed on to him by Dr Sen on behalf of Narayan Sanyal, a Maoist leader currently in Raipur Central Jail. Dr Sen was treating the ageing Sanyal for various ailments for several months under supervision of prison authorities. For several years now Chattisgarh, one of the poorest states in India, has been the site of a virtual civil war between the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and private militias armed by the state government with both sides in the conflict accused of serious human rights violations. "Dr Sen?s arrest is clearly an attempt to intimidate Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and other democratic voices that have been speaking out against human rights violations in Chattisgarh" said a statement soon after his detention and signed by large number of renowned intellectuals and activists including Noam Chomsky, Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Arundhati Roy, Prabhat Patnaik, Ashok Mitra, Habib Tanvir, and Rajendra Yadav. An alumnus of the Christian Medical College and of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr Sen is a respected physician much honoured for his self-sacrificing commitment to social causes and also his work as the national Vice President of the PUCL. In December 2007, the Indian Academy of Social Sciences conferred on him the R. R. Keithan Gold Medal, as an ?indefatigable defender of human rights and Gandhian social activist of rare courage and dedication?. Currently, he has been nominated for the Jonathan Mann Award 2008, the highest international award for health professionals excelling in human rights activities. Since his arrest members of civil liberties groups, medical professionals in India and abroad, artists, journalists and Dr Sen?s well wishers all over the world have appealed to both the Chattisgarh and the Indian government to withdraw the ridiculous charges and release him immediately. Their appeals have fallen on deaf ears however with the Indian Supreme Court shockingly dismissing Dr Sen?s application for bail without offering any explanation at all. Even as the trial against Dr Sen is set to commence on April 30, health and human rights activists are now campaigning for Dr Sen?s release through a series of activities ranging from holding Free Binayak Sen Medical Camps around the country to public lectures highlighting the threat to Indian democracy. Over 125 men, women and children attended the first Free Binayak Sen Medical Camp held in New Delhi at the Jai Hind basti, a colony of ragpickers and domestic workers. Other camps are planned every month for the rest of 2008 in Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Trivandrum and Kolkata. A series of protests, seminars, campaigns, including mobilizing Members of Parliament are also planned for the month of May in 2008 that will mark the first anniversary of Dr Sen?s arrest. Groups overseas, particularly in the US and UK are planning to organize vigils outside Indian embassies and consulates, to highlight globally the injustice being done to one of India?s most outstanding public spirited doctors for the sole crime of sticking to his principles. Elections in Nepal The Challenge of Shaping a New Nepal Begins Now - Liberation, May, 2008. The outcome of the April 10 elections in Nepal goes far beyond signalling the eventual end of the country's 240-year-old monarchy. The fate of the monarchy was more or less decided before the elections when all parties had agreed to pass a resolution proclaiming Nepal a republic in the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly. It is the new balance of political forces in post-poll Nepal which has taken everybody by surprise. The Maoists of Nepal, still listed as a terrorist outfit by the Bush administration, have emerged as the biggest political component in the Constituent Assembly. They have bagged half of the directly elected seats and more than a third of the popular vote in the proportional representation system. The Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Part of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) [CPN(UML)], the two big parties that dominated the parliamentary arena since the 1990 restoration of parliament, find themselves lagging far behind the Maoists. Meanwhile, the terai region of Nepal has witnessed the rise of a powerful Madhesi factor, with the two leading organisations representing the Madhesi identity having a combined tally that places them almost at par with the NC or the UML. The rise of the Maoists as the leading current in the Constituent Assembly provides an interesting case study of a communist movement in a feudal-monarchist setting. During the 1990 movement for restoration of democracy, the Maoists were present as a minor tendency within the communist spectrum while the CPN (UML) emerged as the leading communist trend. As the `twin pillars' experiment of running a constitutional democracy within a monarchist framework tumbled from one crisis to another, the Maoists took to the path of armed struggle and gradually stepped up their campaign for a full-fledged republic. With the monarchy rapidly losing its prestige and authority in the wake of the infamous palace massacre, the idea of a republic caught the imagination of the people. The victory of the Maoists at the hustings must primarily be attributed to their success in setting the republican agenda. The communist-led surge of republicanism in Nepal has rebuffed the arrogant designs of the world's greatest `exporter' of democracy. The US backed the King all through, branding the Maoist campaign for a republic as terrorism. The foreign policy strategists in New Delhi who increasingly look at the world and even themselves through the US prism saw the monarchy as the anchor for the stability of Nepal. Now that the ballots have sealed the fate of Nepal's moribund monarchy, these strategists have become jittery about the possibility of republican Nepal pursuing an independent foreign policy and seeking a new balance between India and China. As far as the US is concerned, containing and encircling China is clearly one of its foremost foreign policy objectives. It is on this basis that the US seeks strategic partnership with India and would also like to use Nepal both as a base and buffer between India and China. As far as India is concerned, Nepal is the closest northern neighbour with a long history of shared multifarious ties. Instead of toeing the US line on Nepal, India must honour the verdict of the Nepali people and sympathetically address the concerns of the emerging Himalayan republic. If we cannot do that, our foreign policy will also prove as anachronistic as the moribund monarchy in Nepal. While the Sangh Parivar is destined to miss the dynastic head of the erstwhile Himalayan Hindu Kingdom, all progressive people in India should wholeheartedly welcome Nepal's transition to a constitutional republic. In India too, a republican constitution was won only through a determined battle against the British colonialists and their numerous ?royal? partners. And for revolutionary communists, it is of course most heartening to note that communists have been at the forefront of the popular quest for a modern democratic and republican Nepal. The composition of the emerging Constituent Assembly also reflects this reality with communists and Left forces of different shades having a clear majority over the political representatives of the nascent Nepali bourgeoisie who have always betrayed the democratic aspirations of the people. The real challenge of writing a democratic constitution and shaping a new Nepal begins now and on behalf of the revolutionary communists and democrats of India we convey our warmest wishes to the communists and fighting people of Nepal at this critical hour of change. Elections in Nepal Republican Resurgence Led by the Red Flag in Nepal - Lal Bahadur Singh, Liberation, May, 2008. ?Nepal Stuns World, Itself: Poll Peaceful, Turnout 60%?, that was the banner of Kathmandu Post, the leading Nepal newspaper, on April 11, the morrow of the historic Constituent Assembly (CA) elections. It was stunning indeed that the CA elections in a Nepal, torn by civil strife, were held in a remarkably peaceful atmosphere and that too with a huge participation of the people. However the real stunner was yet to come some hours later when by the midnight of April 11 itself it became clear that a Red Star was rising in full bloom over Sagarmatha, i.e. Everest, the highest peak of the world, in the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom. In an ironic reversal, at a time when people were speculating whether the Maoists would accept the verdict or return to the jungle again in the eventuality of their presumably certain defeat, when American ex-President Carter was citing his Nicaraguan Sandinista experience and telling the world that Maoists had assured him that they would accept results even if defeated, and so on and so forth, the people of Nepal catapulted the Maoists to power. It was indeed a great comment on the complete alienation from the popular masses and myopic vision of the middle class opinion makers in Nepal, as well as the corporate media and powers-that-be in India and the world over, that till the election results started pouring in, they were all predicting a Congress lead and Maoists in third place. To be in Kathmandu and Nepal was to have a real feel of the excitement that rocked Nepal in those tumultuous days, in its historic moment of epochal political transition from monarchy to republic and that too under revolutionary Communist leadership. "Dundubhi Baji sakeko chh Gandiv Uthisakeko Chh Ekaishon Shatabdi ko yo Mahabharat Ma Aaj, Aeuta Abhishapta kalo Yug Astaunaiparchh Aaj ko Kuruchhetrama Pani Satya, balidan, Nyay Ra samanta Ko jit Hunaiparchh Aaj, Aek Jugma Aune Tyo Aek Din Ho Jasle Ulatpulat, Uthalputhal ra Herpher Nyaujaiparchh" (A Maoist slogan painted on the walls draws upon the imagery of the Mahabharata and calls upon people to lift the bow and blow the bugle; to ensure the victory of ?truth, sacrifice and justice? in the 21st century Kurukshetra (battlefield); to end feudal oppression; and to turn an upside down world the right way up. This is a glimpse of the popular, spirited propaganda that stirred Nepal in those stormy days.) The people?s verdict was equally stunning and unexpected for the political parties, too. Had even the Maoists assessed such a huge lead over others for them and hence not insisted for Proportional Representation system, they would not have been just the single largest Party today, but would have secured an absolute majority in the newly constituted CA. However, the writing on the wall was there for anyone willing to see, that the Maoists were set to win in quite a big way. All along the route from Birganj, the gateway to Nepal on the India border, up to Kathmandu, we found bold, beautiful wall-writings by the Maoists calling upon the people to participate in the CA elections to make Nepal a federal, democratic republic, abolish the monarchy and make Prachanda the first President of Republican Nepal. The hectic movement of the enthusiastic Young Communist League cadres on campaign vans with red flags atop, wearing the hammer and sickle in a circle (the election symbol of the CPN (Maoist)) on their clothes and even painted on their bare bodies, could be seen all around. As we entered Kathmandu, the first comment we heard from the young conductor of the city bus gave us some hint of the things to come. As soon as he came to know that we were interested in the elections, his impromptu reaction came, gleefully and confidently, ?Yahan to Maovadi jeetenge? (The Maoists are winning here). Just on the heels of the elections, while roaming the lanes of Kathmandu, we found a broad pattern of the social preference for various parties, of course based on our limited experience in the Kathmandu valley. The traditional upper sections favoured the Nepali Congress, the liberal middle sections, employees etc supported the UML and the lower, unorganized working masses and overwhelming youth force vociferously worked for the Maoists. Many liberal theories are now being peddled to explain the Maoist victory: ranging from its trivialization as just an anti-incumbency factor; a ?vote for change?; to downright defamation by terming it as a victory of their terror tactics and intimidation of other parties by YCL cadres. There are even some funny theories suggesting that people made Maoists victorious lest they again return back to jungle and restart violence! In fact, the Maoist victory was in-built in the very logic of the political developments leading to virtual demolition of the monarchy in Janandolan II in November 2006 and the subsequent elections to the CA. It is obvious that for the Nepalese people reeling under the dead weight of monarchist- feudal regime which had turned Nepal into an extremely backward country and a happy hunting ground for imperialist forces and Indian hegemonism for centuries, resulting in many unequal and humiliating treaties, the central political agenda has for long been the overthrow of monarchy. As the Nepali Congress was at the fore-front of the battle for democracy in 50s, people went with it and NC became the main political force. But the monarchy soon consolidated its autocratic power and ruled with an iron hand for the next three decades. In the next wave of the anti-monarchy battle in the early ?90s, CPN (UML) played the crucial role, of course joining hands with Nepali Congress. The UML then naturally emerged as a major political force. However, this Janandolan I could not reach its logical conclusion. The King though weakened by the blow of the heroic peoples? movement, was down but not out. With his hold on the Army still intact, he gradually manoeuvred his way out. The opportunist parliamentary political games fatally corroded the moral authority of the main political parties and made them prey to royalist machinations. They became captive to the forces of the status-quo instead of persisting with the radical course towards fulfillment of the unfinished agenda of establishing a republic on the ruins of monarchy. As a bourgeois-landlord Party, this path was quite natural for the Congress, but UML too could not make any radical departure at this juncture to break the impasse. It was at this critical moment in the onward march of Nepalese history towards its destiny of republicanism, which CPN (Maoist) came out unequivocally for an uncompromising battle against monarchy, towards establishing a Republic, rejecting even the liberal proposal of ceremonial status for the king as proposed by the other main parties. And with this central slogan they galvanized the whole of Nepal, arousing and mobilizing in particular the vast rural masses and youth with the dream of a new Nepal, a Republican Democratic Nepal, a sovereign, peoples? Nepal free of bondage and backwardness as well as imperialist loot and hegemonistic arm-twisting and humiliation. Winning the vast rural masses to their side, they deprived autocracy of its main social prop in society. Thus was paved the way for the eventual fall of the dead weight of monarchy like a dry wooden log, deprived of its roots and nourishment! The rest was done by the King himself in his arrogance: his patently miscalculated bloody palace coup-d??tat?; later, monopolizing power in his hands and doing away even with the minimal semblance of democracy, ostensibly on the pretext of crushing the Maoists on behalf of the ruling elite. Thus he himself hammered in the proverbial last nail in his own coffin. In this war against Nepal?s people, he was obviously banking too much on the mightiest power of the world, the US and of course, his time-tested protagonists, the Indian rulers with their notorious ?two pillar? theory. The US openly offered him all-out help and co-operation in his autocratic rule in the name of crushing the Maoists. While the King declared an award of Rs 5 million (Nepalese currency) for Prachanda?s head, the US put CPN(M) on its terror list and did much business of arms and ammunitions with Royalist Nepal. All this further alienated the already discredited and hated King and with the formation of a grand alliance of Maoists and other anti-monarchy forces the stage was set for a final showdown between the royalists and the republican forces. Thus the Maoists were perceived as the principal architect of the heroic mass uprising against the king which ultimately forced him to eat humble pie. Even the last-ditch effort by the Indian ruling establishment to sell its notorious two pillar theory, sending yet another dethroned king Karan Singh as their emissary, could not save the beleaguered King. It is curious to see that the Indian ruling establishment and even some CPI(M) leaders are patting themselves on the back for advising the Maoists to shun violence and ?join the mainstream?. In Nepal, it is apparent that the Maoists are now themselves the new mainstream while the so called mainstream of the politics which Indian rulers wanted them to join has now itself been relegated to the margins. The dichotomy of armed struggle vs elections is a false one; it is obvious that the essence of the Maoist rise lies in their command over politics and their correct political orientation: their uncompromising battle against the monarchy. The form of that battle followed as per the demands of politics at different junctures. It was here that they proved to be of a very different mettle from the Indian Maoists, who remain cut off from crucial questions of Indian politics and from the political pulse of the people. The Indian Maoists were always flummoxed by the change of tactics of the Nepal Maoists when the latter came over-ground and joined hands with the seven parties to launch a mass movement and then subsequently decided to participate in elections. The Nepal Maoists? experience till now also presents a contrast to the CPI(M): far from tailing behind the ruling class formations as the CPI(M) does, the CPN(M) pioneered the agenda of the Republic and led the pro-democracy movement from the front, while ruling class formations vacillated and dragged their feet as is their wont. The spectacular performance by Madheshi Parties (specially, MJAF led by Upendra Yadav) has surprised many political observers. It is essentially rooted in the democratic aspirations of the Madhesh people, though it is true that powerful vested interests and reactionary forces within and without Nepal have been making desperate efforts, as their proverbial last straw, to save the monarchy and stall the Maoists. Ironically, however, it seems that Madheshi Parties have damaged the electoral prospects of the Nepali Congress more than they have damaged the Maoists. To cite just one example, Sujata Koirala, daughter of Girija Prasad Koirala projected as the heir-apparent to the Koirala dynasty, was trounced by Upendra Yadav. The Madhesh issue is bound to remain one of the central concerns of the future dispensation in Kathmandu to be addressed with utmost sensitivity and caution, as reactionary forces won?t miss a single chance to lead it on a sectarian course. We can only wait and watch the trajectory of the new Republic, and the role of Nepal?s communists on the road to people?s democracy and socialism. But indisputably, the world has witnessed that the successful consummation of a popular mass movement for a republic has been led by none else but the Communists. Those very Communists, who were tagged as ?terrorists? by the ?world?s greatest democracy?, the US (it is another matter that the US is seen as the biggest terrorist for the world?s people!). It will certainly be interesting to see whether these biggest hypocrites to use the word democracy, will buckle down and recognize the Maoist-led Nepalese Republic and remove the terrorist tag, thus saving themselves from further ridicule in the eyes of the world! Or if they will still treat the newest democracy of the world, whose elections have been observed and applauded as free and fair even by their ex-President Carter and the UN, as a terrorist/rogue state like many others in their list! The pronouncements of some ?strategic analysts? and foreign policy experts in India as well as the Sangh Parivar ideologues are also revealing. They glaringly prove the popular perception of Nepalese people that Indian rulers regard Nepal as their fiefdom. These Sangh ideologues and ?expert? advisers of the Indian ruling class accuse the Indian Government of ?gifting? away Nepal to the Maoists and failing to protect that great guarantor of ?India?s interests? ? the Nepalese King. They forget that Nepal, in the first place, was never theirs to ?gift away?! And if Nepalese people choose to get rid of their King, and vote overwhelmingly to do so, shame on those who imagined they could meddle and reverse that decision! One such ?expert?, Brahma Chellaney, writing in India Today, ended by declaring that the Madhesis, ?who populate the Terai, Nepal?s food bowl, are India?s natural constituency, and that card is begging to be exercised.? This is the language of ?strategic? policy advisors in India, which claims to be the US partner in exporting democracy: a blatant, open, shameless game-plan for an Indian design to retain hegemonic control on a sovereign Republican neighbour! In the past much damage has been done by the hegemonic and erroneous Nepal policy of Indian ruling establishment; it?s time for a new beginning, forging a healthy democratic bilateral relation based on genuine equality, mutual respect and benefit. In a society where the level of subservience to the monarch was such that till yesterday Parliamentary candidates, prospective people?s representatives, sought blessings from the king by offering a coin at his feet, the abolition of monarchy is no less than a miracle ? a miracle achieved by the Nepalese people. Let us hail this great victory of the Nepalese people and the republican forces, and warmly wish success for Nepal?s communists in facing the many complex challenges that lie ahead on the road to democracy and socialism. World Financial Crisis Crisis Engulfs the Global Financial System - Surya. Headlines such as ?Apocalypse now??, ?The Great American Slowdown?, and ?Panic is in the Air? have dominated commercial financial media recently. The US Federal Reserve Bank has thrown its own rule book out the window to not just rescue Bear Sterns but the entire financial system. The British government has been forced to nationalise one of the big mortgage lenders Northern Rock. All the world stock market indexes have been in free fall for the last few months. No wonder billionaire George Soros called the current financial crisis the worst since the Great Depression. The current crisis is not limited to FIRE (finance, insurance, and real estate) sector, although this is where it started. It is spreading like wild fire to other sectors of the economy. According to most estimates the US is already in a recession and the real question is how severe and for how long. Ben Bernanke, chief of the US Federal Reserve, and Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, along with the others are busy dousing the flames. Bernanke is a well known academic with expertise in the Great Depression and Paulson is the former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the world's largest and most prestigious investment banks. As of now the fire in FIRE is still raging and could get worse. Bear Sterns is a case in point. Bear Stearns? Fire Sale Collapse of Bear Sterns was the culmination of a week that shook American capitalism. Bear Stearns, the 85-year-old investment bank that had traded during the Great Depression, was sold at a fire sale price. The scale and speed of the collapse was mind boggling. This is a brief account of the last few days of Bear Stearns [1]: Tuesday, March 11 The US Federal Reserve, invoking a clause not used since the Great Depression announces that it will lend up to $200 billion in Treasury bonds to investment banks for 28 days starting March 27. This is an attempt douse the fires on Wall Street. Investment banks are elated. Bear Stearns feels comfortable with its capital base of approximately $17 billion. Thursday, March 13 Bear Stearns's cash position has dwindled to mere $2 billion. Bear, to save it from creditors, plans to file for bankruptcy on Friday morning. If Bear could not repay several billion dollars to creditors on Friday morning, they would in turn start selling the collateral. The fire could engulf the forest. Friday, March 14 As the news spreads the capital markets are at risk. There is a possibility of generalized flight from the markets. There is panic in the air. Saturday, March 15 Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, is inundated with calls from Bank CEOs. They are nervous that a run on Bear Stearns could spread to all financial markets. The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have to seal the deal between Bear Stearns and J. P. Morgan Chase latest by Sunday night i.e. before the Asian markets open. Sunday, March 16 Federal Reserve governors get together again to approve borrowing directly to a non-bank. It borrows $30 billion to J. P. Morgan Chase for Bear Stearns. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve work non-stop to complete the deal before the evening. Bear Stearns is sold for $2 a share for a total of $236 million, which is a fifth of the value of its swanky headquarters office block. J. P. Morgan acquired Bear Stearns for a fire sale price of $2 a share (raised to $10 later), which had a record share price of $172 in 2007. Not only has J. P. Morgan Chase acquired Bear for cheap it has also saved itself from serious risk courtesy the US taxpayer. J. P. Morgan Chase would have suffered as counterparty because it is the biggest credit-default swap player [2]. Leading up to the crisis several hedge funds, owned by Bear Stearns, Carlyle Group and other major banks had collapsed. Bear?s unmanaged collapse would have crashed the $4.5 trillion repo market, a decades old market where banks and securities firms extend and receive short-term loans, typically made overnight and backed by securities. The default of a major counterparty in the repo market would have had unprecedented consequences for capital markets. No wonder the Democratic Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, who worked with Bernanke and Paulson on Bear Stearns, said, "To allow this to go into bankruptcy, I think, would have [created] some systemic problems that would have been massive." [1] The Financial Crisis This is a major financial crisis far bigger than Bear Stearns. As The Economist has written, ?Since the era of frock coats and buckled shoes, finance has been knocked back by booms and busts every ten years or so. But the past decade has been plagued by them. It has been pocked by the Asian crisis, the debacle at Long-Term Capital Management, a super-brainy hedge fund, the dotcom crash and now what you might call the first crisis of securitisation? [3]. As Charles Kindleberger, an economic historian of financial crises who has advanced Hyman Minsky?s model, explains the anatomy of a typical crisis as consisting of: displacement (new offering), credit expansion, speculative mania, distress, and crash/panic [4]. This crisis has its roots in the securitisation of mortgages, specifically the collateralised debt obligation (CDO), a new offering. Over the years, CDOs and collateralised mortgage obligations (CMOs) increased in complexity with the mixture of high risk (sub-prime) to low risk mortgages. Large financial firms created structured investment vehicles (SIVs) for CDOs as off balance sheet conduits. They were in turn linked with these financial firms using the credit default swaps. The resulting expansion of credit increased the asset price mania, in this case sky rocketing house prices. Predatory lending practices targeted vulnerable people using sub-prime loans. Later when interest rates increased and vulnerable people defaulted, then, distressed loans increased and house prices fell. As the asset price bubble burst, hedge funds and SIVs started to fail [5]. In March, Bear Stearns fire sale occurred. The lender of last resort, US Federal Reserve, has been in overdrive since summer of 2007. Other central banks, such as Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank have also been supplying cheap money (by way of lower interest rates) and saving financial firms. The ?shadow financial system?, which is composed of conduits, SIVs, investment banks/broker dealers, money market funds, hedge funds and other non bank financial institutions are at the heart of this crisis [6]. Nevertheless, the entire financial services industry has used debt, securitisation and proprietary trading to boost fee income and profits. Since 1980 financial-sector debt has increased from 10% of the size of non-financial debt to 50%. The value of outstanding credit-default swaps, for instance, has climbed to a staggering $45 trillion. Bear was counterparty to some $10 trillion of over-the-counter swaps [3, 7, 10]. The US financial-services industry's share of total corporate profits went from 10% in the early 1980s to 40% in 2007. This is striking as financial services comprise 15% of corporate America's gross value added and a mere 5% of private-sector jobs [3, 7]. These profits come at a huge cost. Investment banks are highly indebted and, hence, leveraged. For example, Goldman Sachs employs $40 billion of equity as the foundation for $1.1 trillion of assets; Merrill Lynch, the most leveraged, uses around $30 billion of equity as a foundation for $1 trillion of assets [3]. In rising markets, huge profits can be made but during falling markets shareholders can be wiped out. This is the lesson of Bear Stearns. The total debt default losses, from mortgages to credit cards, have been estimated to be a minimum of $1 trillion (7% of US GDP). The losses could be as high as $2.7 trillion [8]. Analysing the losses the International Monetary Fund?s (IMF) April 2008 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) states ?events of the past six months have demonstrated the fragility of the global financial system? and acknowledges that the ?events are still unfolding? [9]. The Capitalist Crisis Marxist-Leninists have stressed that financial crises are endemic to capitalism. The last few decades have been plagued by these crises. Three important trends from recent history of capitalism, i.e. since 1974-75, are: financialization of capital accumulation process, international proliferation of monopolistic/ oligopolistic multinational corporations (MNCs), and slowing overall rate of growth. This monopolization has contradictory consequences: on the one hand it generates a swelling flow of profits, on the other it reduces the demand for additional investment in increasingly controlled markets: more and more profits, fewer and fewer profitable investment opportunities [11]. These MNCs increasingly and heavily rely on finance and speculation for huge profits. A recent articles states, ?The fact that such financialization of capital appears to be taking the form of bigger and bigger bubbles that burst more frequently and with more devastating effect, threatening each time a deepening of stagnation?i.e., the condition, endemic to mature capitalism, of slow growth, and rising excess capacity and unemployment/underemployment? [5] These crises are the crises of capitalism. US dollar is weakest since the era of floating exchange rates began in 1973 [10] and its hegemony is being challenged. World wide commodity/food prices are soaring and inflation is increasing while the mature capitalist economies are teetering into recession. US consumer sentiment is at a 26 year low. Since the consumer spending comprises 70% of US GDP, it could mean a prolonged recession. Imperial occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is also failing and costs of war mounting. The conservative cost estimate is now $3 trillion [13]. This is a global capitalist and imperialist crisis. The People Cost The system is currently shifting the burden of this crisis onto the people. A significant section of them are already suffering. It is the weakest and most oppressed ? from the people of colour to women ? who have to bear the brunt of the cost. Just for the people of colour in the U.S., the monetary cost of the subprime mortgage crisis is estimated at $213 billion [15]. On the one hand workers? incomes have stagnated, cost of healthcare, education, food, and gasoline keeps rising and pushing more people towards poverty. On the other hand, the wealthiest 1% of U.S. families is now garnering the largest share of income since 1929 [12]. As the economy most likely is in a recession and there has been a net job loss of 232,000 since the start of 2008. Joblessness rose to 7.8 million in March and this does not include the 5 million who are forced to work part time. Predatory lending practices, from which financial firms profited, has now led to massive foreclosures. Nearly 1.3 million homes in the U.S are in some phase of foreclosure at the start of 2008 [14]. This is more than one in every 100 U.S. households. City of Detroit?s foreclosure rate is 10 percent and in Michigan state over one million are now dependent on food handouts. The number of hungry and homeless people in U.S. cities has risen dramatically in 2007. Except for lip service the government has hardly provided any assistance. The people are organising in these hard times. They are organising civil disobedience during housing re-possessions, picketing the banks and calling for a moratorium on foreclosures. A recent protest at the Policy Conference of Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. people chanted ?Mortgage bankers lie and cheat, people get thrown out on the street!? It is time for these movements to converge with the anti-war, anti-racist, immigrant rights, women and working class movements. The global capitalist system is likely to suffer more crises and crashes. But crashes do not necessarily lead to new systems. A thousand wild fires are engulfing the global financial system. This is not enough to change the system. It is the heat from ten of thousands of internationally proliferating movements that has the potential to create a radically new social and political system. End Notes 1. Sidel, R., Ip, G., Phillips, M. M., and Kelly, K., The Week That Shook Wall Street: Inside the Demise of Bear Stearns, Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2008. 2. Economist, Bear?s Pits, The Economist, March 17th 2008. 3. Economist, The Financial System: What Went Wrong, The Economist, March 19th 2008. 4. Kindleberger, C. P., Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, John Wiley, 2000. 5. Foster, J. B., The Financialization of Capital and the Crisis, Monthly Review, April 2008. 6. Roubini, N., A Generalized Run on the Shadow Financial System, RGE Monitor, March 17, 2008. 7. Economist, Wall Street's Crisis, The Economist, March 19th 2008. 8. Roubini, N., Martin Wolf on My Estimates of Financial Losses: $1 Trillion is the New Size 6! RGE Monitor, March 11, 2008. 9. International Monetary Fund (IMF), Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), April 2008. 10. The Economist, Central banks: A dangerous divergence, The Economist, March 19th 2008. 11. Sweezy, P. M., More (or Less) on Globalization, Monthly Review, 49:4, September 1997. 12. Lahart, J. and Evans, K., Trapped in the Middle: The incomes of most Americans have stalled, Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2008. 13. Stiglitz, J. and Bilmes, L., The Three Trillion Dollar War: on the True Cost of the US Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, 2008. 14. Data according to Moody?s Economy.com. 15. UFE, Foreclosed: State of the Dream 2008, United for a Fair Economy, 2008. Politics in South Asia Sri Lanka: Threats to the Media - S. Sivasegaram. A most discussed current affair in Sri Lankan is the threat to the media. The section of the media facing the most serious threat now is the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), the state-run television broadcaster. The SLRC, which, along with its radio counterpart, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and the state-owned newspaper group, the Lake House, has a reputation for slavishly giving a pro-government slant to every communication, be it news, analysis or comment. But it came under attack by Minister Mervin Silva when it failed to broadcast in full a speech by him at a ceremony, with attacks in bad taste against a former cabinet colleague, Mangala Samaraweera (once a close ally of President Rajapaksha but left the government an year ago in protest against several issues, including corruption and nepotism). On 27th December 2007, Mervin Silva and his bodyguards entered the SLRC premises and abused the News Director verbally and physically. The attack provoked SLRC employees, who stopped work in protest, restrained the intruders, and handed them over to the security staff. Besides, the incident was telecast live on SLRC channels. Mervin Silva has since been denounced by many parliamentarians including members of the ruling party and by national and international media organisations. The government, however, angered more by the bad publicity than by the misconduct of the minister, avoided action against the intruders and initiated a police witch hunt against SLRC employees at the forefront of the resistance. Although Mervin Silva has stepped down as minister and resigned from parliament to defuse the rising indignation, so far five of employees of the SLBC have been individually attacked and injured, two seriously, by criminal elements. But the police have yet to act against the offenders. In March, while the employees threatened strike action demanding protection, a retired army officer was appointed Additional Deputy Director General, about which various media organisations, including state media unions, have protested to the President. But no useful outcome is expected. SLRC employees face a mild version of the treatment meted out to other sections of the media. In 2006 and 2007 the Jaffna-based Tamil daily, Uthayan received threats to cease printing; four employees were killed, and several more kidnapped, threatened and censored. While pro-government militia groups backed by armed forces have been implicated in attacks on the Tamil media in the North-East, government politicians were prominent in threats to the Sinhala and English media in Colombo. Besides, journalists have been detained by the police without charges for long periods, and some who won legal battles for freedom were later harassed by thugs. In 2007, five FM radio stations (Hiru, Shaa, Gold, Suuriyan and Sun) and two newspapers (Maubima and Sunday Standard) were forced to close down; the Leader group of newspapers, faced its second violent attack, this time arson that gutted its printing press, located in a high security area just south of Colombo. The Director of the radio stations, a United National Party organiser, quickly switched political loyalty; and, after a six month lapse, broadcast may resume in April 2008. The Leader defiantly continued to publish. Private and public threats to journalists and publishers are almost routine, but not meant to be taken lightly. The threat to the media is accentuated by the plans of the state to control the media in the name of national security, making free expression of views in the media as hard as under censorship and emergency rule. Media and fundamental rights organisations fear that the National Media Policy proposal announced by the government in September 2007 is aimed to subdue the media. Political statements by officers of the armed forces are on the increase, and the statement by the Sri Lanka Army Commander on 2nd January, accusing sections of the media and journalists of treachery and being unpatriotic, is ominous. These developments concerning the media need to be seen against the background of a staggering number disappearances and killings, whose victims have so far been mainly Tamil males (mostly below 30 years and including a significant number of humanitarian workers and media personnel, as stated in a report by the Civil Monitoring Commission, Free Media Movement, and Law & Society Trust in October 2007), to which should be added the large number of arrests of terrorist suspects remaining in detention without charges. Silencing the press is, among other things, crucial to blacking out information on crimes committed in the name of national security, and the large number of civilians killed, injured and disabled, and suffering loss of livelihood in the course of attacks on ?carefully selected enemy targets?. The government has placed itself in a paradoxical position by claiming that it will bring the war to an early end by defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Defeating the LTTE militarily in the Batticaloa and Ampara Districts in the East was helped by various factors including the US-engineered split in the ranks of the LTTE in the East in early 2004, collaboration between the rebels and the army, losses inflicted on the LTTE by the Tsunami of December 2004, the massive firepower including bomber aircraft possessed by the state, and lapses on the part of the LTTE, deriving from its almost total reliance on military means at the expense of political work and its neglect of contradictions among the people. The war in the East, which internally displaced 200,000 people, has been expensive to the government in direct costs as well as by damage to the economy. The war in the North, with less certain success, will be costlier. Even a military victory for the government can only alter the form of the struggle and the mode of operation of the LTTE. The heavy cost of the war to the country?s economy includes uncontrollable internal budgetary deficits, balance of payments problems, rising inflation and depreciation of the currency; and before long could include flight of capital and soaring unemployment, accompanied by a fall in real wages. Although these are anticipated direct consequences of the war dating back to 1983, the government chose to return to war informally in 2006 and formally in January 2008, rather than salvage the peace negotiations that were in a state of limbo since 2003. Having made the choice, it now needs the war to deflect public attention from the failing economy and rampant corruption in high places. Consequently, it also uses the war to undermine democracy and weaken political opposition. The government, having painted itself into a corner by opting for war and whipping up war hysteria among its electorate, would forfeit credibility if it seeks peace. Thus, military considerations increasingly determine political decisions, to the detriment of democratic institutions, as recently evident in the elections to local bodies in the Batticaloa District in March, where the government colluded with an armed group which has been widely accused of resorting to intimidation to secure victory. Tragically, the parliamentary opposition too is steeped in chauvinism, and intimidated by the rise in popularity of the government following its military success against the LTTE in the East, starting with confrontations south of Trincomalee in early 2006. No opposition party has dared to speak out against the war, nor have the parliamentary ?left? allies of the government. The threat to media freedom is part of a complex problem; and its elimination demands a just solution to the national question, based on the right to self-determination, free of foreign meddling. Local and foreign human rights organisations that are funded directly or indirectly by foreign governments are demanding UN intervention to resolve the human rights crisis. Sadly, knowingly or not, nationalists on different sides to the conflict are creating the space for foreign intervention on a humanitarian pretext. The dangers are well known, and the genuine left and democratic forces among the Sinhalese are duty bound to take the initiative in leading the country out of the impending disaster by reviving the peace movement. Struggles in India Citizens? Convention Against Draconian Acts - Liberation, May, 2008. The Forum for Democratic Initiatives (FDI), Delhi, organized a Citizens? Convention titled ?Undeclared Emergency? Special Security Legislations and the Making of a Police State?, in the backdrop of various State governments clamouring for Special Security Acts. Though the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has enough provisions to deal with law and order issues, these Acts are being increasingly invoked to deny the arrested persons bail and extract confessions from them. This is even as the third Police Commission of India has already observed that 60 per cent of all arrests in India even under ordinary laws are unnecessary. The laws include Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (ULAPA) 2004, as well as various state specific legislations, which have been used to crack down on political dissent including the Chattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) 2005, Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the AP public security Act, the Bihar Police Act. In Uttar Pradesh, the Mayawati government has recently brought in the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act (UPCOCA). The FDI convenor, Radhika Menon presented the concept paper for the Convention. Delhi University teacher, Dr Ujjwal Kumar Singh, said that ?special? measures like detention and torture were being made ordinary and acceptable through these Acts. Praful Bidwai, senior journalist, spoke about the Chattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 and how it was complementary to the politics of Salwa Judum. The history of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in the North East (NE) was summed up by Bablu, a lawyer from Manipur. Dr Bhagat Oinam, teacher from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), spoke of how some of the insurgent groups in the NE in the name of which the Army justified its presence reportedly had identity cards issued by the Army itself. The situation in Uttarakhand where the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government is eager to present a Maoist threat in order to corner anti-Naxalite funds offered by the Central Government was presented by Girija Pathak, CPI (ML) leader from Uttarakhand. He pointed out that in the face of high profile cases routine assaults on trade unions gets forgotten but it these that which allows the normalization and introduction of Special Security Acts. PUHR activist Manoj, presented the emerging crackdowns in Uttar Pradesh on specific religious communities as well as that of the poor. Film Maker Sanjay Kak who has made a documentary on the perspective of the Kashmiri people towards the political issues in the state said how in Kashmir and North East, there already was a military State. Writer Arundhati Roy explained the predisposition of the police and judiciary to interpret such Acts according to political convenience such that even a Convention like this one could be declared illegal. Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan spoke of how even the ordinary liberal foundation of Indian democracy was being undermined and said that a mass civil disobedience was called for. The report on the Bihar Police Act and political crackdown in Bihar sent by Ashok of the Lok Yudh editorial board was read out. Lalit Batra summarized the paper on legal violations by the police in West Bengal sent by Amitadyuti Kumar of Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR). FDI co-convenor, Manisha Sethi highlighted a newspaper report of the wrongful detention and torture of a Kashmir University student in Tihar Jail without the police presenting any evidence. Senior journalist Jawed Naqvi pointed out that for the poor and the deprived there was already a state of Emergency, it was just that the media was silent about it. A message by Illina sen, wife of medical doctor and PUCL activist Binayak Sen, who has been detained in solitary confinement in Chattisgarh under ULAPA 2004 and CSPSA 2005, was read out. A number of people from different walks of life participated in the Convention and stayed back for the discussion after the Convention. Pranay Krishna Srivastava, PUHR member and Jan Sanskriti Manch General Secretary summarized the proceedings and presented resolutions on a range of issues which the house passed. Struggles in India Construction Workers in Delhi March Against Price Rise - Liberation, May, 2008. Flagging off the CPI (ML)?s fortnight-long campaign against price rise, construction workers in Delhi marched under the banner of All India Central Council of trade Unions (AICCTU) to the Delhi Secretariat from Bhagat Singh Terminus. Raising spirited slogans, they protested against skyrocketing prices; against the rampant deaths of building workers in ?prestigious? areas like the Comonwealth Games Village and Delhi Metro; against denial of basic rights of citizenship as well as the welfare benefits due to construction labourers, and demanded urgent measures from the State and Central Governments to protect poor unorganised workers in the national Capital. The processionists sat on a dharna at Samta Sthal in protest when they were stopped by the police. A memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister of Delhi was also given by the protesters. Addressing the dharna, CPI (ML) Delhi State Secretary Rajendra Pratholi highlighted the Party's demand for urgent emergency measures to cushion the poor from the impact of inflation. He also criticized the government of Delhi as well as the Central government for protecting hoarders and black-marketeers. The AICCTU Delhi State General Secretary Santosh Rai termed the Delhi government a killer of workers, blaming it for the high death toll of building workers: be it in building collapses, or due to epidemics or accidents in the highly unsanitary and unsafe labour camps set up for the Commonwealth Games Village and Delhi Metro. The other speakers at the rally said that the Delhi government was projecting the Commonwealth Games as Delhi's pride, but in fact the hell-holes in which labourers were being forced to live in the national Capital were an international shame and scandal. The Delhi government is wooing huge amounts of corporate capital towards the Games; while denying even the basic minimum legally guaranteed rights to the workers and forcing them to live in inhuman conditions. The Delhi government is not interested in protecting the constitutional rights of the Construction Sector workers and all labour laws are openly being violated by the employers, and now this steep and sudden hike in prices has left them to face further hardships. The construction sector has been left in the hands of the mafia under full government protection. The General Secretary of Delhi Building Workers Union VKS Gautam asked why building workers were being denied the status of citizens in the city, and demanded that the Delhi Govt. bring all construction workers under the below poverty line (BPL) umbrella; issue voter I-cards to them; include them in the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Scheme; and take full responsibility for their health, education, housing etc. He said that the Delhi Building Workers? Board has proved itself to be a complete failure in its sole objective - which is to protect the rights of the construction workers. Hardly 1% of building workers are registered under this Board. Construction workers' activists from various parts of Delhi addressed the meeting and spoke of their struggles. CPI(ML) Central Committee members Kavita Krishnan and Sanjay Sharma, AICCTU National Secretary Rajiv Dimri, Delhi Building Workers? Union leaders Surendra Panchal, Amarnath Tiwari, CPI (ML) State Committee member Uma Gupta and many others also addressed the mass meeting. Struggles in India Hisab do-Jawab do Rally in Jharkhand - Liberation, May, 2008. Under a scorching sun on April 10, masses of people thronged the CPI (ML) Rally at Ranchi, spiritedly raising the questions of plunder, state repression and corruption in Jharkhand and demanding ?Accountability and Answers? (Hisab Do Jawab Do) from the ruling Madhu Koda Government. The Rally was marked by the participation of a substantial section of tribal people and rural women. The rally began with a minute's silence in memory of all the martyrs. Addressing the people as the main speaker, CPI (ML) General Secretary Comrade Dipankar said that from the very inception of Jharkhand, there had been a struggle between two distinct political currents in the State ? one, of loot, repression, divisive politics and corruption in favour of the corporate; the other, of united resistance of all oppressed and marginalised people. The latter is represented in the struggles and sacrifices of CPI (ML) activists and leaders like Comrade Mahendra Singh in defence of democracy and the rights of citizen?s in Jharkhand. The previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government as the first Government of the State, had shot dead tribals in Tapkara and then Muslims in Ranchi on Eid day, making clear its agenda of land grab, state repression, and communal fascism. Asking the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) constituents in the State, the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) to stop playing ?Opposition? when they themselves were behind the Government, Comrade Dipankar challenged them to pull down the Government and call for elections. Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of Congress, JMM, RJD and Babulal Marandi all colluded to get the Director of Ambani's company - from Delhi - elected from Jharkhand for the Rajya Sabha through the backdoor. The UPA government of the State and Centre speak of the aam aadmi (common person) but they work for Ambani and America. Comrade Dipankar said that Jharkhand?s people are forced to migrate in search of work and face xenophobic assaults in other states, even as National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is turned into a mockery of employment for the poor. The Jharkhand Government is busy signing memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in the name of industrial development with the Jindals and Mittals. Existing industries in Jharkhand are actually being finished off by the UPA and NDA governments turn by turn, while the richest mineral resources are gifted away to big companies without any benefit to the people, and Governments plead lack of resources for running welfare schemes! Addressing the Rally, Comrade Bahadur Oraon, CC member of CPI(ML), said that the Chhotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act intended to safeguard tribal lands are being openly flouted, and those who resist are subjected to rape, repression and massacre. Tribal people are being cheated by the range of ruling parties. He appealed to all segments of tribal people to spread this awareness and associate with the revolutionary current of CPI (ML). One of the main speakers at the Rally was Comrade Jayanta Rongpi, CC Member of CPI (ML) and former MP from Karbi Anglong. He said the Congress and UPA, be it in Jharkhand or in Assam, had shown its true face on the question of tribal welfare. When tribals of Jharkhand origin who had been living in Assam for several generations demanded recognition as tribals, they were stripped and paraded naked in the State capital of Guwahati. It was the CPI (ML) which was the first to reach out to the victims of that atrocity ? not the self-proclaimed ruling class messiahs of Jharkhand?s adivasis. While the BJP and Congress are united in promoting the interests of the industrialists at the cost of the tribals, the CPI (ML) was at the forefront of the battle for the adivasis? rights to land, forests and water. CPI (ML) MLA in the Jharkhand Assembly Comrade Vinod Kumar Singh said within the Jharkhand Assembly, CPI (ML)?s was the lone voice raising the issues of Turia Munda?s suicide due to non-payment of wages under NREGS, or the police brutality that killed Ramzan Miyan on Muharram day, nor of the questions of the right of Jharkhand?s people to its resources. The CPI(ML) is the only true Opposition in the State, both within the Assembly and out on the streets. Others who addressed the Rally were Comrade Shubhendu Sen, CPI (ML) Jharkhand State Secretary, Comrades Janardan Prasad and Rajaram, CC Members of CPI(ML), Comrade Ibnul Hasan Basroo, CC member CPI(ML) and State's incharge of Inquilabi Muslim Conference (IMC), prominent cultural personality Dr. B.P. Kesri, AICCTU National General Secretary Comrade Swapan Mukherjee, and Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) leader Rajkumar Yadav. Prof. Sambhu Badal of Vinoba Bhave University recited the poems penned by him dedicated to Comrade Mahendra Singh. Office secretary Comrade J.P. Minz presented a 15-point resolution which was unanimously adopted by the Rally. In the run-up to the Rally, an ?Ulgulan Chetna Rath? by a team of cultural activists had campaigned all over the city. The Rally was made colourful by the performances by many cultural teams: Anjam, Jagaran, Mashal, while the Panchpargana unit of Jan Sanskriti Manch (JSM) and Sengel cultural team presented a Chhau tableau on the suicide of Turia Munda and JSM?s Singhbhum unit presented a tableau depicting Birsa Munda in battle against today?s agents of imperialist loot: Jindal-Mittal-Tata etc... The entire Ranchi city was decorated with gates erected in the names of revolutionary martyrs of the Jharkhand movement. Struggles in India Assembly Gherao in Tamil Nadu - Liberation, May, 2008. In Tamil Nadu (TN), the CPI (ML) held a massive Assembly Gherao on March 27, raising the burning issues of the toiling masses of the state. All over the state, the party took up a vigorous campaign in the three months towards the Rally. The demand for 2 acres of land for the rural poor, an election promise of the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) government, is a burning question in the rural parts of TN, and has been thrown to oblivion by both opposition and ruling parties of TN including the official left. This demand, championed by CPI (ML), drew the rural poor to the Rally in large numbers. Thousands of urban and rural poor rallied on the demand of 5 cent home-stead land in many parts of the state particularly in the western districts of TN. An intensive signature campaign was held on the issue of rights of trade union recognition, in which 1.5 lakh signatures were collected by Pricol workers and workers of Solidarity Forum of Poonamallee and Tiruvottiyur. Hyundai workers also took up a SMS campaign and collected 1000 SMS on demand. A convention was organized by the Tiruvottiyur Solidarity Forum demanding that trainees involved in direct production be regularized. There were efforts on the part of the government to disturb the Gherao preparations and mobilization. Permission was denied; comrades who set out from Tirunelveli toward Chennai to participate in the Gherao were arrested and detained in Tirunelveli itself; a bus owner in Pudukottai was threatened by the local police and he returned the advance paid for the vehicle booked for the trip to Chennai; comrades of Tuticorin were prevented from entering into the railway station; the vehicles of Tiruvallore comrades were blocked on the way to the Assembly and so on. In spite of all these disturbances, on 27th of March, more than 7000 urban and rural poor gathered in Chennai to vigorously assert their demands. The colourful rally was led by Comrade Balasundaram, State Secretary, and Comrade N K Natarajan, SCM, flagged off the rally. As the gathering was not allowed to proceed toward the Assembly, a demonstration was held near the Assembly when the Assembly was in session. Comrade S Kumarsawamy, PBM, Comrade Swapan Mukherji, CCM and General Secretary AICCTU, Comrade Shankar, CCM, Comrades Janakiraman and Gunasekaran, SCMs, addressed the gathering. --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. From lnp3 at panix.com Sun May 4 16:47:45 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 18:47:45 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Swans Release: May 5, 2008 Message-ID: <20080504224746.7F6D312201@mailbackend.panix.com> http://www.swans.com May 5, 2008 In this issue: Note from the Editors: If you think you've seen and heard enough about Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama, lend us your ear for a moment because on Swans, you can always count on a different perspective from that of the mainstream media. Granted, the Reverend Wright sound bites that are repeated ad nauseam succeed at portraying him as a loon and putting Senator Obama's judgment in question. However, when his comments are taken in context -- both of the entire speech/sermon, and in African-American historical context -- they take on a new meaning. We suggest you study the complete transcript of his talk and interview at the National Press Club, and then read Gilles d'Aymery's analysis of this media attack for a unique perspective that the MSM avoids. Carol Warner Christen's overview of the political process helps to explain why Obama's potential to change the status quo, whether real or imagined, is a threat; and it seemed a fitting time to repost the late Richard Macintosh's excellent essay on democracy...entitled "Delusion." Taking politics to the Wild West, Martin Murie examines the battle over the wolf as predator vs. protected species, where a greater tolerance of our own species is the first order of duty before settling the matter. This past week was marked by May Day and the 5th anniversary of Mission Accomplished -- Jan Baughman lets out a cry for help as she critiques a typical anti-Iraq editorial that perpetuates the revisionist history of our so-called noble sacrifices, and she shares a few little-discussed facts about the world's single largest consumer of oil. Remember the US-led NATO destruction of Yugoslavia? If not, Michael Pravica's article will educate you on the consequences of our previous "humanitarian" intervention. Next it's on to France, where Peter Byrne caught the film that's taken the country by storm, "Bienvenue chez les Ch'its," and then to Hollywood, where Charles Marowitz has a critical word or two for all those actors-turned- trollops for commercial interests and the deterioration of film and television as an art form. In true form, Mr. Marowitz doesn't mince words. Finally, we land in Tyler, Texas, where Isidor Saslav attended The Eroica Trio's performance of Jay Greenberg's Triple Concerto, and we close in Italy with the haunting poetry of Guido Monte and Francesca Saieva. # # # # # http://www.swans.com/library/art14/ga250.html Obama's Jeremiads And Wright's Right Rhetoric - Gilles d'Aymery http://www.swans.com/library/art14/zig096.html The African-American Religious Experience: Theology & Practice - Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. http://www.swans.com/library/art14/carenc35.html How Many Connections Does It Take? - Carol Warner Christen http://www.swans.com/library/art9/rmac14.html Delusions - Richard Macintosh (Sept. 2003) http://www.swans.com/library/art14/murie50.html Wolf - Martin Murie http://www.swans.com/library/art14/jeb191.html May Day, M'Aidez - Jan Baughman http://www.swans.com/library/art14/pravic01.html Censorship And The Yugoslav Civil Wars - Michael Pravica http://www.swans.com/library/art14/pbyrne69.html The Real French Warm Their Hearts - Peter Byrne http://www.swans.com/library/art14/cmarow106.html ...And Now For A Short Commercial Break - Charles Marowitz http://www.swans.com/library/art14/saslav07.html Jay Greenberg: A Korngold For Our Times - Isidor Saslav http://www.swans.com/library/art14/gmonte43.html Oltre (Beyond) - Poem by Guido Monte & Francesca Saieva # # # # # Please, consider supporting our co-operative work financially. See http://www.swans.com/about/donate.html Swans (aka Swans Commentary), ISSN: 1554-4915, is a bi-weekly non- commercial ad-free Web-only magazine which provides original content to its readers. We encourage pulp publications to republish Swans' Work in print format. Please contact the publisher at . Please, do not repost Swans' Work on the Web and other mailing lists: "Hypertext" links to any pages of Swans.com are authorized; however, republication of any part of this site, inlining, mirroring, and framing are expressly prohibited. We welcome your comments and suggestions. When writing to Swans, please indicate your first and last name as well as your city and state (country) of residence. You are receiving this E-mail notification for you have expressed your interest in Swans and the work of its team. If you wish not to receive these short notifications, simply reply to this E-mail (delete the content) and enter the word REMOVE in the subject line. We do NOT share your E-mail address with anyone. Cordially, Gilles d'Aymery -- Swans "Hungry man, reach for the book: It is a weapon." B. Brecht From walterlx at earthlink.net Sun May 4 16:59:07 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 15:59:07 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <1209863205.5658.228.camel@john-desktop> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <1209863205.5658.228.camel@john-desktop> Message-ID: <008e01c8ae3a$782424f0$6401a8c0@new1501> Is the glass half-empty, or is it a little full in South Africa? It seems that this judge, MP Tsoka, operating within the capitalist South African political system, installed by those terrible betrayers of the African National Congress, overturned the decision of the South African bourgeois regime and ruled in favor of the working class and the poor. In the report Patrick posted, we find no mention of how much better the water services were during apartheid regime. I wonder if Tsoka thinks that, and simply decided to leave it out for some unaccountable reason? One wonders long MP Tsoka has been a magistrate? Was he a judge during apartheid? Could he have ruled against and overturned the regime then? Walter Lippmann ======================================================================= PATRICK BOND wrote: Actually Louis and Walter, those counterrevolutionary bastards who bash SA *have* found another devious way to embarrass the government, as you see below... (and one paid with his life on May Day). --------------------------------- Sunday Independent City council's township water-meter plans get flushed by high court judge May 04, 2008 Edition 1 Maureen Isaacson A historic judgment has consigned prepaid water meters to the dustbin of history. It has also highlighted the attitude of the City of Johannesburg to the plight of the majority of poor, uneducated, sick and HIV/Aids-ravaged residents of Phiri township, Soweto. The Johannesburg High Court has declared prepaid water meters unlawful and unconstitutional. Five poor residents of Phiri, who have been in dispute with the city for the past four years on behalf of themselves and their community, have won the battle for their constitutional right to free water. The application was heard over three days in December. Judge MP Tsoka ordered the City of Johannesburg to provide a full range of water-delivery options. The limitation of free basic water to the present 6 kilolitres per household per month was set aside by the court, and the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water were ordered to supply Phiri residents with 50 litres per person per day. ON THE GREENLEFT LIST, this exchange took place: ==================================================================== PATRICK BOND writes: >Walter, please tell your correspondent John Edmondson that >actually, South Africa is sucking thousands of health >professionals (and all sorts of other resources) from the >continent, instead of a net flow of SA-trained docs there. =========================================================== So, in other words, the conditions prevailing in South Africa are so much BETTER than they are in the rest of Africa that other doctors want to move to South Africa rather than staying where they are in their home countries? It sure does make South Africa sound like hell. I am aware that there were South Africans who left South Africa after apartheid was overthrown, and have gone on to other countries. Most of them were white and were not happy when apartheid was defeated, or am I mistaken? The electrically-operated garage door to my house recently had to have the motor replaced. I called the company which was listed in the phone book and when they came out to fix the problem, the head of the crew, one of the owners of the company, had a surprisingly familiar accent. He was a white South African who'd left a dozen years ago. He noticed a book in my shelf called SLOVO, the autobiography of one of the famous leaders of the CPSA and of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto We Sizwe. He wondered how I'd heard of such an individual and inquired as to my interest. I told him I was Jewish and was inspired to read about a Jewish person who stood up and fought against the racist apartheid system of South Africa. Our conversation came to a quick end after I told him I thought that Slovo was a thoroughly admirable individual because of his role in fighting apartheid. The garage door still works quite well. Walter Lippmann in response to this, Patrick Bond posted this: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GreenLeft_discussion/message/53487 From johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz Sun May 4 17:46:03 2008 From: johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz (John) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 11:46:03 +1200 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <008e01c8ae3a$782424f0$6401a8c0@new1501> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <1209863205.5658.228.camel@john-desktop> <008e01c8ae3a$782424f0$6401a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <1209944763.5724.47.camel@john-desktop> On Sun, 2008-05-04 at 15:59 -0700, Walter Lippmann wrote: > Is the glass half-empty, or is it a little full in South Africa? Read my lips Walter. "The overthrow of apartheid was a good thing." OK. I don't want to have to shout. > It seems that this judge, MP Tsoka, operating within the capitalist > South African political system, installed by those terrible betrayers of the > African National Congress, overturned the decision of the South African > bourgeois regime and ruled in favor of the working class and the poor. > > In the report Patrick posted, we find no mention of how much better the > water services were during apartheid regime. I wonder if Tsoka thinks > that, and simply decided to leave it out for some unaccountable reason? > > One wonders long MP Tsoka has been a magistrate? Was he a judge during > apartheid? Could he have ruled against and overturned the regime then? Walter, This is a very low bar to set. As I said, the overthrow of apartheid was a good thing. I think everyone here agrees with that. The point is, as Louis pointed out, most ANC people thought they were getting something in the way of social transformation, not neo-liberalism. Would you have been as avid a supporter of Cuba if a bourgeois government had run the country since 1959? I suspect not. It would have been yet another capitalist country living as a participant (victim) in the imperialist world and not much to celebrate. Of course it would still be true that the country was better off without Batista. > ON THE GREENLEFT LIST, this exchange took place: > > ==================================================================== > PATRICK BOND writes: > >Walter, please tell your correspondent John Edmondson that > >actually, South Africa is sucking thousands of health > >professionals (and all sorts of other resources) from the > >continent, instead of a net flow of SA-trained docs there. > =========================================================== > > So, in other words, the conditions prevailing in South Africa > are so much BETTER than they are in the rest of Africa that > other doctors want to move to South Africa rather than > staying where they are in their home countries? It sure > does make South Africa sound like hell. No Walter, the "So in other words" is that South Africa is doing exactly what I indicated, and which I used NZ as a parallel for. As I pointed out, South Africa could have been exporting doctors to the rest of Africa, as Cuba does. It could have been training doctors from African countries, as Cuba does. Instead, it is bleeding Africa of qualified people desperately needed there, to service communities in SA who also desperately need them. South Africa should not be doing this by bleeding poorer countries in the rest of Africa. This may come as a shock to you Walter but people were trying to move to SA to work *during* the Apartheid era too. *News Flash*. South Africa was the richest and most developed country in sub-Saharan Africa *during* the Apartheid era. Every anti-Apartheid activist knew this and sadly Walter, by trying to argue this line, you put yourself in the dubious company of the Apartheid apologists the anti-apartheid movement fought against. Guess what Walter: Haitians leave Haiti to go to the USA. Even Cubans go from Cuba to the USA. Why? Because the USA is rich. They think they might have a better life. It's the same for sub-Saharan Africa, before and after the end of Apartheid. I thought this was pretty low level educational work in the anti-Apartheid movement in the 1980s. I'm stunned to be having to point it out now to you, who presumably were a dedicated participant in the movement in the USA. > I am aware that there were South Africans who left South > Africa after apartheid was overthrown, and have gone on > to other countries. Most of them were white and were not > happy when apartheid was defeated, or am I mistaken? You can't go anywhere in NZ without meeting these people too. As I said, NZ got a lot of these white flighters, especially doctors, who were all opposed to Apartheid of course... I'm a little surprised to find myself being quoted on the Greenleft list though, since I have never visited that list. Cheers, John From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Sun May 4 17:51:44 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 09:51:44 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Australian Labor Party ranks take high ground in privatisation battle Message-ID: <481E4C10.3070006@optusnet.com.au> Bob Gould's report on the second day of the NSW Labor conference, as the caucus rump withdraws to its bunker in the State Office Block and says it will defy the conference. The unions and Labor ranks continue to insist that the government must accept the conference decision. http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/wellseewholaughslast/ From jbustelo at gmail.com Sun May 4 18:11:21 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 20:11:21 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <7482387.1209932573660.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <7482387.1209932573660.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <018701c8ae44$8cdf9050$040ba8c0@albanta> Walter to me: "Please be sure to post a copy of your message denouncing Obama for his failure to call for full recognition of Cuba with reparations for a half-century of damage to the Cuban nation by the blockade. It must have been misplaced somewhere in the blizzard of e-mail." Walter, you just don't get it. It's like you've become completely apolitical. This is not about "positions," it is about different social forces, their motion, who are your allies and who are your enemies and who you're trying to influence and how you're trying to influence them. Does the Obama campaign, the social forces that have been drawn into it, the youth of all races, the overwhelming majority of the Black community, those antiracists consciously taking on the white Christian Crusade against his candidacy, those opposing the demonization of the righteous Rev. Wright, does that reproduce IN THE SLIGHTEST the collection of interests, social groups, and political circles behind the Bush Administration? Sure there are ALSO powerful bourgeois forces and ruling class political circles involved. This is not a question about maintaining spart-like virginal purity. I'm sorry if the joshing way I put it to you in the last post somehow made you think that's what I was saying. It was not. IN PARTICULAR, you said you would have praised Bush if he'd accepted Cuba's offer of aid to Katrina victims. You'd have to be a complete political klutz to handle it in that way. Cuba's offer was guided ENTIRELY by what was in the best interests of working and oppressed peoples the world over. It in no way aimed to help Cuba: it meant the diversion of some resources that would otherwise have been devoted to Cuba's medical needs, had it been accepted. And though it might have been helpful in a propagandistic way in countering the constant demonization of Cuba, frankly, anyone who didn't get it by 2005 wasn't going to get turned around by this one gesture. But also it was a point of honor: the Afro-American people of Harlem welcomed Fidel at the head of Cuba's UN delegation to the 1960 General Assembly when they were kicked out of the white Hotels in midtown, and turned Fidel's presence at the Theresa Hotel those days into an unbreakable bond between the Cuban nation and the Afro-American nation. How could Cuba NOT offer to help? La solidaridad es la ternura de los pueblos. La solidaridad es saldar nuestra propia deuda con la humanidad. Patria es humanidad. Solidarity is the tenderness of the peoples. Solidarity means paying back our own debt to humanity. Our homeland is humanity. Those ideas are what the Cuban revolution is about, even if the first was expressed by Tom?s Borge and the last by Jos? Mart?, dead now for more than a century. The point of Cuba's offer was overwhelmingly POLITICAL. Yes, it would have meant SOME direct medical help to Katrina victims, but MOSTLY it was aimed at helping Katrina victims through a political move to re-enforce the attack and pressure on the Bush administration's criminally genocidal passivity in face of the Katrina disaster, trying to PUSH it to do more, and to protect Katrina's victims from FURTHER victimization by the imperialists. And Cuba making some sort of an offer like that was an unavoidable, organic necessity for the revolution to remain true to itself. HAD Bush felt pressured to accept the Cuban offer, the right stance to take POLITICALLY was not to praise or applaud Bush's action, but rather use it tactically to further isolate him and put further pressure on him to do MORE to aid the Katrina victims. I'm not talking here about how you word the speech or the article, I'm, talking here about your underlying political stance and your political aims. How to do this? For example, by saying that if Cuba's 11 million people, living in a poor country, can send fifteen hundred doctors, why can't the U.S. Government, with a wealthy nation of 300 million, and whose citizens are the ones directly affected, mobilize fifty thousand or two hundred and fifty thousand aid workers in all fields --search and rescue, transportation, food and other supplies, etc. etc. etc.? Taking a stance of simply APPROVING and APPLAUDING takes the pressure OFF Bush, PRETTIFIES him, cuts across the campaign that was being waged by progressive forces world-wide. If you want to know what it is, it is Stalinist Popular Frontism. That's what it is. Your political axis of viewing everything in terms of whether or not it helps Cuba, and QUITE OFTEN misrepresenting Cuba's interests in very simple-minded, narrow, diplomatic or propaganda terms, is essentially Marcyite-Stalinist in its methodology. If nothing else convinces you, consider this: it has NOTHING in common with Cuba's internationalist foreign policy. Joaquin From jbustelo at gmail.com Sun May 4 18:22:56 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 20:22:56 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors In-Reply-To: <908b689f0805041453g915243dl4d3a2009113d5c3e@mail.gmail.com> References: <006601c8ae03$60d33b10$6401a8c0@new1501><017101c8ae22$55cfec30$040ba8c0@albanta> <908b689f0805041453g915243dl4d3a2009113d5c3e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <019a01c8ae46$2b654520$040ba8c0@albanta> Ruthless: "The US does occasionally do good things without "pressure of struggles of working and oppressed peoples." For example, consider Bush's initiatives against the trafficking of women." Ruthless, if you want to be a "critic of all that exists" you really need to get a clue. FIRST, it is NOT TRUE that there's not been pressure and ON THIS VERY POINT by women's organizations. SECOND, from the point of view of the "hospitality industry," a substantial percentage of which is inextricably intertwined with prostitution, this sort of thing represents disloyal competition. THIRD, it serves the ideological needs of imperialism, both to re-enforce both Christian Morals and the idea that the rest of the world, especially the dark countries, are all a bunch of savages. FOURTH, it serves to re-enforce the idea that the imperialists are allowed to police and intervene in the entire world thanks to their natural moral superiority over the savage races. FIFTH, as in the war on drugs, the campaigns are carried out in such a way as to protect the demand side and victimize the supply side. Joaquin From walterlx at earthlink.net Sun May 4 19:33:52 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 21:33:52 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Evo Morales speaks to the country Message-ID: <32738569.1209951232050.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> From: NPV Sent: May 4, 2008 9:06 PM To: SOCIALANALYSIS-L at LIST.UNM.EDU Subject: [SOCIALANALYSIS-L] 05/04/08 - Evo Morales speaks to the country Evo Morales just spoke [6:00pm Mountain Standard Time] over radio and tv. The statement was broadcast by TELESUR - Caracas. He made several points: 1. The government did not mobilize any organizations or institutions to stop the so-called referendum. He said, instead, that grassroots organizations took the initiative to oppose the referendum. He thanked the people for doing so. 2. He said that the pro-government media has reported that votes against the autonomy and the absentee population represented 50% of the people who could vote in Santa Cruz. He noted that if one were to look at the real figures, the percentage of those opposed to autonomy would be larger. Abstained 37%, plus nulls and those not counted - about 50%. Note: these are the figures provided by the anti-Evo forces. 3. He stressed that his government favors autonomy for the indigenous peoples and for the departments of Bolivia, but not an autonomy that benefits the wealthy minority. 4. He called on the country's 9 "prefects"/governors (including 5 who favor "autonomy") to join him in discussing an autonomy that will benefit the lower classes. Prefects will have to answer within hours and reduce tensions. He did not refer to those who had been killed or injured in confrontations. He noted that the referendum was illegal but did not announce any legal steps against those who had violated the constitution and the rule of law. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz opposition are suggesting that the "autonomy" forces had "won." We might see, shortly, a "dual power" scenario - usually the beginnings of a revolutionary, counterrevolutionary or civil war situation. Nelson Valdes ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From fred.fuentes at gmail.com Sun May 4 19:42:30 2008 From: fred.fuentes at gmail.com (Fred Fuentes) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 21:42:30 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Autonomy vote in Santa Cruz gets less than 50% of the votes Message-ID: According to the mainstream media in Bolivia (not known for their opposition to autonomy) some 40% of Santa Cruz citizens have not gone to vote in the referendum. The social movements and MAS had been calling for abstention. Meanwhile some 12% voted no, or casted a blank or null vote against autonomy. Progressive sectors in Santa Cruz were calling for a NO vote given the extreme pressure, with threats of sackings from work and violence, on people to vote. This means that over 50% did not vote in favour of autonomy. Of course the opposition are celebrating their "87%" vote, but this really part of painting the picture of overwhelming victories in over to go back to the negotiation table and try and push Evo against the wall. Evo Morales in his declaration to the nation has called on all prefects to sit down and discuss together the nature of what type of autonomy within the framework of the new constitution, still to be voted on. The social movements have called on congress and the national electoral court to immediately call a referendum on the new constitution Dozens were arrested during the dfay and some 20 injuries including one report of an indigenous man being stabbed to death Fred From pt_costello at yahoo.com Sun May 4 20:30:04 2008 From: pt_costello at yahoo.com (Pat Costello) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 19:30:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] The unvarnished truth from Santa Cruz, Bolivia Message-ID: <232355.44647.qm@web63113.mail.re1.yahoo.com> http://machetera.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/the-unvarnished-truth-from-santa-cruz-bolivia/ see also: Ambassador of ethnic cleansing sent to Bolivia http://machetera.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/the-ambassador-of-ethnic-cleansing/#more-217 Bolivia appeals to the OAS http://machetera.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/bolivia-appeals-again-to-the-oas/ Tensions rising in Santa Cruz http://machetera.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/tensions-rising-in-santa-cruz-bolivia/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From fred.fuentes at gmail.com Sun May 4 20:52:52 2008 From: fred.fuentes at gmail.com (Fred Fuentes) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 22:52:52 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] =?windows-1252?q?Evo_Morales=3A_A_=93grand_rebellion=94?= =?windows-1252?q?_against_the_exploiters_has_been_born?= Message-ID: [keep visiting Bolivia Rising boliviarising.blogspot.com for more updates and analysis on the events of today in Bolivia] Evo Morales: A "grand rebellion" against the exploiters has been born TeleSUR, May 4 http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/2008/05/evo-morales-grand-rebellion-against.html For [Bolivian president Evo] Morales, the consultation on autonomy in Santa Cruz was a failure given it was marked by violence. He congratulated the spontaneous mobilisations registered in various cities in the west of the country against the process. The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, assured this Sunday that in the department of Santa Cruz (east) a grand rebellion was born in the face of the intentions by the authorities of this region to approve the so-called autonomy statutes via an illegal consultation. "Today, despite the threats, intimidations, humiliations, aggressions, a grand rebellion was born in the department of Santa Cruz against the groups that have always used the people in order to control the economic resources", expressed the head of state. "I want to express my greetings and great respect, my admiration to the people of Santa Cruz for this resistance against the separatist, divisionist autonomy statutes, resisting?in defence of the interests of the majorities of this department," he added. In a short speech televised across the country, the head of state lamented the violence that "divided" Santa Cruz and which according to official figures left one dead, 17 injured and at least 40 arrested. "Unfortunately this consultation has divided the department of Santa Cruz.... unfortunately it has confronted the families that live in the department of Santa Cruz and this is the truth" he admitted. Nevertheless, he recounted that in spontaneous mobilisations held in various cities in the Bolivian west, the citizens of the country came out onto the streets with a sentiment of "uniting the country". "Greetings to the Bolivian people for this grand sentiment expressed today, for the unity of the Bolivian family. These grand mobilisations in the departments of La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro, Potosi and other departments which expressed themselves in favour of the unity of the country. Concentrations that were clearly voluntary, clearly spontaneous, with the sentiment in favour of our beloved homeland", he mentioned. *Media wants to hide high abstention*** In regards to the first results from exit polls that some private media outlets have been transmitting, and which give a victory to the "Yes" vote, Morales disregarded these figures and explained that if the abstention, "No" votes and null votes are added up, it equals "practically" 50% of the result. "The results shown by some media outlets are surely concerning for those who illegally wagered on this consultation. Between an abstention of 39%, and the rejections; the "No" vote and the null votes, this is practically 50%. These are figures from the mass media?" he commented. "You can not fool the Bolivian people saying that here we have a winner with more than 80%, and if we want to compare the figures of abstention with previous years, it practically triples", he added. He reiterated the failure of the anti-constitutional Santa Cruz referendum, given that instead of bringing joy to the region it had caused violence. "I also want to express that this day of so-called 'celebrations', this consultation over the autonomy statures has completely failed. This illegal and anti-constitutional consultation did not have success as some families, as some groups in the department of Santa Cruz had hoped for," he said. Translated from TeleSUR From Dbachmozart at aol.com Sun May 4 21:02:01 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 23:02:01 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Stanley Aronowitz on Tom Hayden's support to Obama Message-ID: from portside.org --- From: S Aronowitz Re: Tom Hayden Strikes Back We are indebted to Chris Hedges for opening up the debate about the Obama campaign. Progressives for Obama, reveals the tendency, time and again, for progressives to "critically" back Democrats rather than devoting their energies to building a new independent left political formation. Tom Hayden's response straddles the issue: he denies wanting to be a player in Democratic Party politics, but asks us to forget his long service as a Democratic California State senator and his previous relationship to the Kennedys. Its not alone a question of whether Obama has progressive or moderate positions. Surely his support for privatized health care and his feeble response to the current recession are disturbing. More significant is the failure of many on the Left to recognize that the best way to push their agendas in this or any other election season is to build the Left and the social movements as uncompromising forces. We recall the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts were forced upon a Democratic President and Congress from movements that engaged in acts of civil disobedience. And the anti-Vietnam War movement, whose birth was due, largely to the willingness of SDS to break with Lyndon Johnson when, violating his pledge to contain or withdraw from Vietnam, his administration racheted up military engagement. I recall the heated discussions surrounding SDS's 1965 decision to march on Washington to oppose the war. Democrats and their progressive allies urged patience and said that the Right would take advantage of the looming split in progressive ranks. We did not heed their advice and had the nerve to "embarrass" the administration. Now we are faced with two Democratic contenders who have faithfully hewed to a neo-liberal Center-Right line on the urgent social and economic issues and, despite the war's unpopularity, neither is committed to immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Progressives are reluctant to draw the correct historical lessons of the Left's pandering to the Center. While the circumstances are somewhat different now, the core issue remains. We build our own political formation or face extinction. All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From walterlx at earthlink.net Sun May 4 22:18:33 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 21:18:33 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYT=3A_Book_Asserts_Black_Reporter_Didn?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=27t_Kill_White_Officer_in_=2781?= Message-ID: <009101c8ae67$1b9e41c0$6401a8c0@new1501> May 2, 2008 Book Asserts Black Reporter Didn?t Kill White Officer in ?81 By JON HURDLE http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/02philadelphia.htm PHILADELPHIA ? A book published on Thursday asserts that a black radio journalist convicted of murdering a white Philadelphia police officer more than 26 years ago is not guilty of the crime and that it was actually committed by another man who is now deceased. The book, ?The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal,? by J. Patrick O?Connor, asserts that Officer Daniel Faulkner died on Dec. 9, 1981, from shots fired by Kenneth Freeman, a business partner of the brother of the convicted man, Mr. Abu-Jamal, who has been on death row for 25 years for a crime he says he did not commit. The book, published by Chicago Review Press, is the latest to cast doubt on the conviction, which critics have said was tainted by racism, police corruption and judicial bias, turning Mr. Abu-Jamal into a cause c?l?bre for death penalty opponents. ?Abu-Jamal?s trial was a monumental miscarriage of justice,? Mr. O?Connor writes, ?representing an extreme case of prosecutorial abuse and judicial bias.? The police charged Mr. Abu-Jamal with the murder, the book says, because he had antagonized them as a Black Panther and as a radio reporter. Hugh Burns, chief of the appeals division in the Philadelphia District Attorney?s Office, which prosecuted the case in 1982, dismissed the new accusations, saying, ?There is zero credible evidence Freeman was involved.? Mr. Burns also rejected the book?s assertion that two key prosecution witnesses had changed their stories after inducements from prosecutors determined to prove their case. In March, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Mr. Abu-Jamal?s conviction but said his sentence might be reviewed. From all.power.to.the.soviets at gmail.com Sun May 4 22:47:25 2008 From: all.power.to.the.soviets at gmail.com (Fred Bergen) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 00:47:25 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] May Day Strike Against the War Shuts Down All U.S. West Coast Ports Message-ID: <1209962845.6324.7.camel@localhost.localdomain> Historic ILWU Dock Workers' Action Points the Way May Day Strike Against the War Shuts Down All U.S. West Coast Ports http://www.internationalist.org/ilwumaydaystrike0805.html On May 1, every port on the West Coast of the United States was shut down to demand an end to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The historic May Day walkout by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is the first time ever that an American union has struck against a U.S. war. The union ranks defied the rulings of an arbitrator, who twice ordered them to go to work. They overcame the capitulations of the ILWU leadership, which didn't want the work stoppage in the first place, tried to water it down and cowered before the threats of legal action while waving the flag. The employers' Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) declared the May 1 port shutdown an "illegal strike." But after all the huffing and puffing from the bosses' mouthpieces, the dock workers pointed the way to defeating the imperialist war by mobilizing working-class power. In the end, it was more than a work stoppage. The dock workers' May Day strike against the war was a first step, a show of what it will take to bring down the warmongers in Washington. Their "symbolic" action was felt all the way to Iraq, where dock workers in two ports stopped work in solidarity with the ILWU. But it was only a beginning. What is needed is not only industrial action but a political offensive against the Democrats and Republicans, the partner parties of American imperialism, to build a class-struggle workers party. From james_crafti at yahoo.com.au Mon May 5 00:28:02 2008 From: james_crafti at yahoo.com.au (James Crafti) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 16:28:02 +1000 (EST) Subject: [Marxism] PRD split and the holding back of information in Australia Message-ID: <484231.51124.qm@web38905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> "A quick note that the article is still coming. I never said it would be in the coming week's issue. I'll be sure to post it on this site when it is ready. Stuart" Hello just a quick query. On Tuesday the 4th of March, Stuart Munckton posted this comment after a lengthy discussion between us on the PRD split and the DSP's position on what was happening. Stuart had promised that Green Left Weekly would feature an article examining the reasons behind the expulsion of the KPRM-PRD by PRD-Papernas. Two months later I still haven't seen the article in question. It is possible that I just missed the article and the post on this site. Has there been an article or is it still a work in progress? Yours in solidarity, James --------------------------------- Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address. From Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net Mon May 5 01:08:23 2008 From: Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net (Johannes Schneider) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 09:08:23 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> Message-ID: <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> Shane Mage wrote: > > On May 4, 2008, at 10:45 AM, Louis Proyect wrote: > > > > I am not following this. What does Biafra have to do with the Niger > > Delta protests, both peaceful and armed, against Shell oil and > > company?... > > The Ogoni were part of the I[g]bo-led Biafra commune. > But a forced part. Like many of the smaller peoples in the area that made up Biafra, they sided with the central Nigerian government. Ken Saro-Wiwa fought in the Biafran war on the side of the central government. The lack of support from the other peoples was one of the reason why the central government could take the port city of Port Harcourt at the beginning of the war and impose a blockade on Biafra with all its consequences. Today almost no one is advocating secession, so I am getting the idea that the whole discussion here is a bit uninformed. What the peoples of the Delta are demanding is a just share of the income generated by oil production and end to the destruction of the environment. Johannes Johannes -- GMX startet ShortView.de. Hier findest Du Leute mit Deinen Interessen! Jetzt dabei sein: http://www.shortview.de/?mc=sv_ext_mf at gmx From dave.walters at comcast.net Mon May 5 01:41:12 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (dave.walters at comcast.net) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 07:41:12 +0000 Subject: [Marxism] Australian Labor Party ranks take high ground in privatisation battle Message-ID: <050520080741.9691.481EBA180000A2F1000025DB22058864429C9D0A9B040E99D20A900E0B@comcast.net> Bob, fascinating blog on the LP conference you reported on. I have a few questions. 1. What was the stance of the unions themselves who represent the workers in the electric utility industry? Do they support or oppose privatization? 2. What WILL happen now? If the Labor Party and main unions oppose privatization but the State government is still in favor of it, can the LP actually stop the privatization from going through? David Walters From glparramatta at greenleft.org.au Mon May 5 04:00:33 2008 From: glparramatta at greenleft.org.au (glparramatta) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 20:00:33 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] What's new at Links: Food crisis; Bellamy Foster on fin crisis; Venezuela; May Day; global warming; Nepal; Korea, Zimbabwe Message-ID: <481EDAC1.3030700@greenleft.org.au> Subscribe free to /Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal/ - at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373 Visit and bookmark http://links.org.au and add it to your RSS feed (http://links.org.au/rss.xml). If you would like us to consider an article, please send it to links at dsp.org.au Please pass on to anybody you think will be interested in /Links./ The global food crisis Slideshow created by Peter Boyle * Read more Venezuela's labour movement at the crossroads; Stalin Borges Perez on May Day * Read more Militants mark May Day in Timor Leste, Pakistan and Malaysia (video) Timor Leste: Workers and students rally for May Day in Dili By *Mericio Akara* DILI, May 1, 2008 -- A May Day rally attended by some 700 workers organised by the Trade Union Confederation of Timor Leste demanded the implementation of labour laws, just wages that comply with the minimum wage regulations and lowering of prices. Demonstrators consisted of workers from several companies in Dili, students and civil society activists. The Luta Hamutuk Institute sent along its members to participate also. * Read more Individual versus social solutions to global warming By *Terry Townsend* /A talk to the Climate Change Social Change Conference held in Sydney from April 11 to 13, organised by /Green Left Weekly /. For more articles, audio and video from the conference, click here. / * Read more Nepal: Republican resurgence led by the red flag By *Lal Bahadur Singh*, /Liberation/, magazine of the *Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation)* Kathmandu -- ``Nepal Stuns World, Itself: Poll Peaceful, Turnout 60%'' -- that was the banner headline of the /Kathmandu Post/, the leading Nepal newspaper, on April 11, 2008, the morrow of the historic constituent assembly elections. It was stunning indeed that the constituent assembly elections in a Nepal torn by civil strife were held in a remarkably peaceful atmosphere, and with a huge participation of the people. However the real stunner was yet to come some hours later when by the midnight of April 11 it became clear that a Red Star was rising in full bloom over Sagarmatha, i.e. Everest, the highest peak in the world, in the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom. * Read more Indonesia: Call for Venezuela-style oil nationalisations; Papernas May Day statement April 29, 2008 -- About 1000 workers, students and urban poor held a pre-May Day demonstration outside GKBI Towers in Jakarta, a flashy skyscraper that is the Indonesian headquarters of companies like ExxonMobil, ANZ Bank, Cable & Wireless, Credit Lyonnais Capital, Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, France Telecom, KPMG, McKinsey & Company, OCBC Bank and the Swiss Bank. * Read more South Korea: The general election and leftwing politics By *Won Youngsu* April 30, 2008 -- For the South Korean left, the general election of April 9 was another fiasco following the presidential election last December, in which the election of Lee Myung-bak brought forth the return of the conservative government, while Democratic Labor Party (DLP) candidate Kwon Young-gil received just 3 per cent of vote, less than the previous result in 2002 -- a drop of 300,000 votes. * Read more John Bellamy Foster on the global financial crisis 'Nobody knows where the toxic debt is buried and how much there is' John Bellamy Foster is editor of the Monthly Review , a prominent political journal established by the Marxist economist Paul Sweezy in the 1940s. Foster is a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, USA. He has written widely on political economy and has established a reputation as an environmental socialist. * Read more Zimbabwe and the strategy of resistance By *Dale T. McKinley* The character and content of the past and ongoing political, economic, social/humanitarian and (progressive) organisational crisis in Zimbabwe has received huge amounts of analytical and empirical attention from the broad left in Southern Africa and, to a lesser extent, from the global left. Several books, numerous essays/articles, frequent seminars/workshops and countless blogs and emails have been offered on almost every aspect of the crisis. While these efforts have certainly provided much-needed intellectual stimulation/debate, important information, degrees of organisational impetus and knowledge-generation about the crisis, and have often catalysed practical efforts to assist, and be in solidarity with, progressive forces in Zimbabwe, the Achilles heel of the struggle for a new Zimbabwe -- the strategy and tactics of resistance/opposition --- has, for the most part, been treated as a ``poor cousin'', forever condemned to sit on the margins of the main ``conversation'' and struggle. Read more /Links/ seeks to promote the international exchange of information, experience of struggle, theoretical analysis and views of political strategy and tactics within the international left. It is a forum for open and constructive dialogue between active socialists coming from different political traditions. It seeks to bring together those in the international left who are opposed to neoliberal economic and social policies. It aims to promote the renewal of the socialist movement in the wake of the collapse of the bureaucratic model of "actually existing socialism" in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. * ATTENTION: Sign up for regular ``what's new'' announcement emails at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373 From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 05:29:38 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 08:29:38 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> Message-ID: <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/5, Johannes Schneider : [In the Niger delta:] ?Today almost no one is advocating secession, so I am getting the idea that the whole discussion here is a bit uninformed. What the peoples of the Delta are demanding is a just share of the income generated by oil production and end to the destruction of the environment.? I don't know a word about the Niger Delta politics. So that what follows is essentially deductive. You are all free to believe it is worthless. "Destruction of the environment" is sugarcoating, intended for environmentally-concerned foreigners (in its reactionary, mainstream, version, that is environmental concern AGAINST concern for human beings). The whole thing boils down to a "just share of the income", which immediately takes us, again, to the "right" of the Central State to "impose" these "dictatorial levies" on the areas or classes which "produce most of national income", and this brings us down again to the harsh realities of separatism. If there is something I would love to live through, it is a future scenario where I will not be forced to keep my keyboard quiet while I think for myself "I told them, I told them". Watch Santa Cruz yesterday. From jonathan.flanders at verizon.net Mon May 5 05:58:31 2008 From: jonathan.flanders at verizon.net (Jon Flanders) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 07:58:31 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Declining Oil Production: The Real Story behind the Profits Message-ID: <1209988711.5187.5.camel@localhost> via the ODAC newsletter http://odac-info.org/newsletter/2008/05/02 Welcome to the ODAC Newsletter, a weekly roundup from the Oil Depletion Analysis Centre, the UK registered charity dedicated to raising awareness of peak oil. Loren Steffy, Houston Chronicle, 02 May 2008 View original article Eleven billion dollars is not enough. That, at first blush, seemed to explain how Exxon Mobil Corp. could earn that much money in three months and still see its stock fall 4 percent. Wall Street expected more, and so did Exxon Mobil investors. At a time of record oil prices, America's biggest oil company reported an earnings increase that was the smallest among its peers. The profit is what captures everyone's attention, but there's a bigger concern hidden amid the numbers of Exxon Mobil's earnings. The company's worldwide oil production fell 10 percent, to just under 2.5 million barrels a day. Some of the decline came from Exxon Mobil's dispute over the seizure of assets by the Venezuelan government, but even excluding those assets, the company's production declined. Overall production, including natural gas, fell 3 percent. While Exxon Mobil boosted production from fields in West Africa and the North Sea, the gains weren't enough to offset declines from aging oil fields, the company said. The company blamed the decline in part on its contracts with oil-producing countries, which allow those countries to claim a larger share of oil volumes as prices rise. In other words, the higher prices go, the less oil Exxon Mobil gets. As those countries benefit from higher prices, living standards rise and, as I mentioned last week, their own demand for oil increases. That, in turn, means less oil for companies such as Exxon Mobil over the long term. The problem isn't unique to Exxon Mobil. Other major oil companies also offered a stark production picture. BP's was unchanged from a year earlier. Shell reported a gain only because it boosted natural gas production, which offset lower oil output. ConocoPhillips reported an increase but attributed it to its 20 percent stake in Russia's Lukoil. With national oil companies now holding most of the world's reserves, companies like Exxon Mobil are left with few places to look for new production. The public, though, has little concern for Exxon Mobil's travails. We only care about what we see from our side of the pump, and that means the price and the profits of the company whose name is atop the sign. Exxon Mobil has reported earnings between $9 billion and $11 billion in almost every quarter since late 2005, and every time it does, the public outcry grows. Capitalizing on outrage Politicians are quick to capitalize on that outrage. "I believe we should impose a windfall profits tax on big oil companies and use that money to suspend the gas tax and give families relief at the pump," Hillary Clinton said in a statement addressing Exxon Mobil's earnings. A typical family, she claims, would save $70. John McCain already has called for a "gas tax holiday." A closer reading of Exxon Mobil's earnings statement, though, shows Clinton is missing the point. Her plan, and McCain's, would essentially lower gasoline prices at the pump. And how will we respond? We'll drive more. We're talking about summer, after all. Time to load up the kids in the land yacht and cruise to Destin at 12 miles to the gallon. As demand rises, it depletes supply even further, and that, in turn, drives prices up in the world market. Shortages aren't solved by using more. Barack Obama, by the way, has proposed a broader windfall profits tax on the industry based on crude prices, which the companies don't control. He'd tax oil over $80 a barrel, Bloomberg News reported, even though futures markets are indicating oil will stay above $100 through 2016. Using this logic, we should tax pizza places because of soaring cheese prices. They don't like it either As I've said before, oil companies don't welcome the numbers we're now seeing at the pump. Not only do they cut into refining margins ? another reason Exxon Mobil's profit didn't grow as much as expected ? they make us start buying Priuses in spite of their bean-pod appearance. So the public and politicians decry Exxon Mobil's profit while the market frets over a mere 17 percent increase. Both miss the more disturbing numbers, the ones that portend greater problems, not just for the oil companies but for all of us who use their products. It's not a question of whether $11 billion is too much or not enough. It's a question of whether 2.5 million barrels is. From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 07:22:06 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 09:22:06 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > I don't know a word about the Niger Delta politics. So that what > follows is essentially deductive. You are all free to believe it is > worthless. (clip) > Watch Santa Cruz yesterday. Nestor, as has been pointed out to you already, the Ogoni are not secessionists. They have simply fought for the same rights as any other Nigerian people. I have no idea why you would want to drag Bolivia into this unless it was to portray the Ogonis as a rich, reactionary element trying to break up the Nigerian nation. If so, your analysis is as you put it: worthless. From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 07:36:49 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 09:36:49 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] How Bad Could It Get? Message-ID: <481F0D71.3030204@panix.com> Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2190516/ How Bad Could It Get? Will the recession be more like the 1990-'91 downturn or the Great Depression? By James Ledbetter Posted Friday, May 2, 2008, at 5:06 PM ET The question of whether the U.S. economy is in a recession is, at this point, a matter of decimal points. Since the population grows faster than 1 percent, anyway, Wednesday's announcement of a 0.6 percent rise in gross domestic product for the first quarter is functionally a drop. The real question now is: How bad could it get? Are we facing another version of the brief recession of 1990-'91, which, as James Fallows once memorably wrote, "was over by the time it was identified"? Or are we going to be wearing barrels for clothes and burning Ikea furniture to heat our homes, in a rerun of the Great Depression? No one knows. But we may be able to arrive at a rough answer if we break the question down. How, exactly, do Americans distinguish a bad recession from a mild one?and using those yardsticks, can we at least make reasonable predictions about this one? Here are three ways of measuring recessions. Duration. This is a biggie, especially in terms of how history will remember the current downturn. What we think of as the Great Depression (which was actually two deep recessions separated by a few years of technical growth) is seared into the national memory in part because it lasted so long. The first phase?between August 1929 and March 1933?was nearly four solid years of declining gross national product. Many countries would find it hard to sustain such doldrums without revolution or war, and the United States has experienced only one worse downturn since reliable records have been kept?a five-and-a-half-year hell between 1873 and 1879. (A list of historic business cycle expansions and contractions can be found here.) Could our current downturn last that long? The National Bureau of Economic Research is the body that "officially" declares a recession, and it's not yet done so because growth numbers haven't been negative (at least, not until they're revised). But Martin Feldstein, the economist who heads the NBER, said in early April that he personally believes that we're already in a recession and that it could last about twice the eight-month duration of the last two recessions ('90-'91 and March-November 2001). It's not hard to find economists with darker scenarios. Still, Feldstein's 16-month estimate is hardly Pollyanna-ish: It would make this recession a tie for the longest since the Depression. But that's another way of saying that recessions have been getting shorter. The average economic contraction since World War II has been 10 months and the average expansion 57 months. Both figures are much friendlier than historic norms and suggest that policymakers and other economic actors have gotten significantly better at managing the business cycle. And remember: If Feldstein is right, then we've already been through six months of shrinkage, so only another 10 or so to go. Not a reason to cheer?but also not a reason to panic. Joblessness. The age-old joke says that it's a recession when your neighbor loses her job and a depression when you lose yours. The joke contains a kernel of economic truth: The Great Depression involved massive job losses that affected nearly every American family. At one point during that 43-month ordeal between 1929 and 1933, one in every four working Americans was unemployed. Every significant industry cut jobs, and entire towns and regions?at least in economic terms?were wiped off the map. It's never been that bad since. In the 1981-'82 downturn, the unemployment rate hit nearly 11 percent, but the postwar norm has been single digits. (The April rate is 5 percent, down from 5.1 percent in March.) True, unemployment is generally considered a "lagging indicator," meaning that if we're in a recession now, we may not yet have seen the worst of job losses. Moreover, critics say that the official definition of unemployed would be larger if it included people who work part-time but can't find full-time work, the substantial U.S. prison population, and so on. But no one would dispute that the American economy is more dynamic and resilient than it was in the '30s. The overwhelming majority of workers in those days toiled in either manufacturing or agriculture, sectors that are especially vulnerable to bust cycles. The employment market has diversified, workers have better skills, and global trade is much more important. So, if this recession leads to increases in unemployment?as it almost certainly will?not all job sectors will be uniformly hit. (Even in the severe '81-'82 recession, only 72 percent of U.S. industries experienced declining employment, compared with 100 percent during the Depression.) Wages may well flatten or shrink?as they've been doing for years?but it's difficult to find a credible scenario in which U.S. unemployment is going to hit 10 percent in the next 18 months. Depth. The recession between 1973 and 1975 was punishing. Then as now, rising fuel costs led to inflation (more than 12 percent in 1974). An unprecedented wage and price freeze imposed by the Nixon administration did not stem the problem. Gasoline was rationed, and unemployment rose as high as 9 percent. Yet for all that, the actual drop in gross national product, according to research by late economic historian Geoffrey Moore, was just under 5 percent. By that measure, '73-'75 was the worst recession since the Depression. The inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (as it is now called) has shrunk only in two brief periods since?in the early '80s and the early '90s, in both cases by less than 3 percent. So, let's say this recession gets as bad as the one in '73-'75. The 2007 gross domestic product in current dollars is more than $13.8 trillion. A 5 percent hit this year would take the economy to $13.1 trillion, or a little less than what it was in 2005. Based on growth patterns that have been quite steady since 1939, we'd be back at $13.8 trillion by 2009. Undesirable, but not catastrophic. Is this an argument for complacency? No. There are lots of important unpredictables, including what happens in the rest of the world and the ability of the financial sector to steady itself. The mortgage crisis and the decline in housing prices are not over. There's also no obvious path for getting out of the current rut. Recent recessions have not resolved themselves without a catalyst, like the tech boom of the '90s or the housing boom of the '00s (both of which eventually brought on their own crashes). Moreover, if the modern recession is relatively modest, so, unfortunately, is the modern recovery. Expansions may last long, but if the snapback from the 2001 recession is any guide, we're unlikely to see bursts of domestic hiring or big pay hikes once things pick up. James Ledbetter is the editor of The Big Money, Slate's business site, which will launch later this year. From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 07:47:49 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 10:47:49 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> I am just wishing to point out that while we debate whether the Ogonis are rich or not, imperialist policy makers take into account the basic issue: that if their requests and claims can be taken to the run of "independence" from Lagos, then we are in trouble. Trumpets for disgregation of Third World states (not just "nations", states!) are sounding the globe over. Here in Argentina, even some city majors begin to establish claims to independence and autonomy. OK, maybe I am putting too much weight on this issue. I hope so. But I fear I am not. 2008/5/5, Louis Proyect : > N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > > > I don't know a word about the Niger Delta politics. So that what > > follows is essentially deductive. You are all free to believe it is > > worthless. > > (clip) > > > Watch Santa Cruz yesterday. > > Nestor, as has been pointed out to you already, the Ogoni are not > secessionists. They have simply fought for the same rights as any other > Nigerian people. > > I have no idea why you would want to drag Bolivia into this unless it > was to portray the Ogonis as a rich, reactionary element trying to break > up the Nigerian nation. If so, your analysis is as you put it: worthless. > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From pance at rogers.com Mon May 5 07:49:40 2008 From: pance at rogers.com (Pance Stojkovski) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 09:49:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] How Bad Could It Get? In-Reply-To: <481F0D71.3030204@panix.com> Message-ID: <415651.86401.qm@web88001.mail.re2.yahoo.com> --- Louis Proyect wrote: > Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2190516/ > > How Bad Could It Get? > Will the recession be more like the 1990-'91 > downturn or the Great > Depression? > By James Ledbetter > Posted Friday, May 2, 2008, at 5:06 PM ET > > The question of whether the U.S. economy is in a > recession is, at this > point, a matter of decimal points. I think the more decisive question for us should be "How Bad Could It Get - before the working class rises up?" The ILWU action on May 1st is a very good start. Pance. From spalmer999 at yahoo.com Mon May 5 08:14:57 2008 From: spalmer999 at yahoo.com (Steve Palmer) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 07:14:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] How Bad Could It Get? In-Reply-To: <415651.86401.qm@web88001.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <635488.70815.qm@web81901.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Unfortunately the ILWU decided to serve this up with lashings of a strongly chauvinist sauce - viz the rants against "foreign ownership" (it's so much better to be exploited by US capitalists?) and for loyalty to America (whose America?). When they tie the opposition to the war with support for immigrant workers, THEN we'll have made some real progress. Steve --- Pance Stojkovski wrote: > --- Louis Proyect wrote: > > > Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2190516/ > > > > How Bad Could It Get? > > Will the recession be more like the 1990-'91 > > downturn or the Great > > Depression? > > By James Ledbetter > > Posted Friday, May 2, 2008, at 5:06 PM ET > > > > The question of whether the U.S. economy is in a > > recession is, at this > > point, a matter of decimal points. > > I think the more decisive question for us should be > "How Bad Could It Get - before the working class rises > up?" > > The ILWU action on May 1st is a very good start. > > > > > Pance. > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/spalmer999%40yahoo.com > "I study a lot. That is one of the responsibilities of every revolutionary." Hugo Chavez. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 08:18:08 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 10:18:08 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <481F1720.40909@panix.com> N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > I am just wishing to point out that while we debate whether the Ogonis > are rich or not, imperialist policy makers take into account the basic > issue: that if their requests and claims can be taken to the run of > "independence" from Lagos, then we are in trouble. But the imperialist policy makers have been in bed with the thugs who run Nigeria from the day that the state was created. Shell Oil has collaborated with the Nigerian generals in using death squads against the Ogonis. I can't understand why this is so hard for you to understand unless it is the same logic that led you to back Indonesia against the East Timorese. > Trumpets for disgregation of Third World states (not just "nations", > states!) are sounding the globe over. But imperialism is not for "disaggregation" as some kind of universal principle. It is for profits. Shell Oil regards the Ogoni as a threat to its profits. That is why it wants to squelch any protests that affect its bottom line. > Here in Argentina, even some city majors begin to establish claims to > independence and autonomy. Good. Speak about something you have information on. > > OK, maybe I am putting too much weight on this issue. I hope so. But I > fear I am not. Your fears are ungrounded. You need to familiarize yourself with the facts unless you are more comfortable spouting abstractions. > From pance at rogers.com Mon May 5 08:47:41 2008 From: pance at rogers.com (Pance Stojkovski) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 10:47:41 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] How Bad Could It Get? In-Reply-To: <635488.70815.qm@web81901.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <754650.33184.qm@web88006.mail.re2.yahoo.com> --- Steve Palmer wrote: > Unfortunately the ILWU decided to serve this up with > lashings of a strongly > chauvinist sauce - viz the rants against "foreign > ownership" (it's so much > better to be exploited by US capitalists?) and for > loyalty to America (whose > America?). When they tie the opposition to the war > with support for immigrant > workers, THEN we'll have made some real progress. > > Steve > My point is that nothing is easy in the class struggle. We have our work cut out for us. We can't expect an economic crisis (or depression) to automatically lead to socialism; and we can't expect the trade union movement to automatically become revolutionary. The ILWU took a small baby-step. We have to applaud the solidarity of this action with the victims of the Iraq war. Yes, it can and must go beyond this to solidarity with immigrant workers in our own countries. And ultimatly, yes, we can do away with _all_ capitalists. That's our job as revolutionary Marxists. Pance. From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 10:13:28 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 13:13:28 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <481F1720.40909@panix.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> <481F1720.40909@panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/5, Louis Proyect : > N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > I am just wishing to point out that while we debate whether the Ogonis > > are rich or not, imperialist policy makers take into account the basic > > issue: that if their requests and claims can be taken to the run of > > "independence" from Lagos, then we are in trouble. > > But the imperialist policy makers have been in bed with the thugs who > run Nigeria from the day that the state was created. Shell Oil has > collaborated with the Nigerian generals in using death squads against > the Ogonis. I can't understand why this is so hard for you to understand > unless it is the same logic that led you to back Indonesia against the > East Timorese. Let us leave East Timor aside, for the time being. Last time I checked, it had become, as I had predicted, a full semicolony of Australian and other imperialist states. And things don't seem to have been rosy to the inhabitants of this wretched land. As to collaboration between generals and imperialist companies, it does not necessary help in analysis. Everything depends on context. It was not socialist generals who woke up one morning in Bolivia and nationalized the Gulf Oil company while they decided to establish the Vinto tin smeltering plant. In fact, many of those SAME military had been fighting Ernesto Guevara Lynch. And not few Venezuelan military who had curbed the Caracazo in a terrible bloodbath are now honest Bolivarian revolutionaries. Oh, please, keep also in mind that it was not either socialists who defied British imperialism over the Malvinas... > > > Trumpets for disgregation of Third World states (not just "nations", > > states!) are sounding the globe over. > > But imperialism is not for "disaggregation" as some kind of universal > principle. It is for profits. Shell Oil regards the Ogoni as a threat to > its profits. That is why it wants to squelch any protests that affect > its bottom line. Maybe. I don't deny _this_. But all things equal, imperialists always PREFER weaker states in the semicolonial world. This _is_ a general rule, the problem is that they have our same problem: the limits that reality places in front of their deep wishes and desires. BTW: I hate spouting abstractions. Nothing is more CONCRETE, the globe over today, than the move towards splintering any medium or large state in the Third World as soon as a possibilty appears. From jbustelo at gmail.com Mon May 5 10:12:23 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 12:12:23 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] An instructive poll from the NY Times Message-ID: <022601c8aeca$ce47d4e0$040ba8c0@albanta> The New York Times web site has a poll that is very instructive, because it tells us a great deal about how good these polls are. The poll was of 671 persons, 601 of whom claimed to be registered, and 283 of which claim to have voted or say they will vote in the Democratic Party primaries. The Voting Age Population, 18 or over, of the United States is about 225 million. That figure is based on the nearly 216 million in the VAP in 2004, to which should be added 9-12 million to account for 2004-2008 population growth (this on the basis of the increase between 1996 and 2000, and 2000 and 2004). A minority is institutionalized and considered unavailable for voting -- whether too sick, in prison, abroad with the armed forces and so on, and at any rate unrepresented in a phone survey of this kind. For our back of the envelope calculations, we'll say that's equal to the number in the increase, and so leave the VAP at 215 million. Now 283 of 671 is 42% and change. And that number times 215 million is 90,678,000. For the Republicans, that's 22%+ of the VAP, or 47,420,000. So 138 million is the number of people who, according to the poll, will have voted in the primaries. Now, the TOTAL vote for Clinton and Obama, including all primaries (including the ones ruled illegal) and estimated vote in caucus states is about 30,700,000. Edwards and the rest might add another couple of million votes, let's say 2.3 million to make the total 33 million. And optimistic projections of the Democrat turnout in the remaining primaries are five million votes. That's 38 million voters. The 38 million is actually an extraordinarily HIGH turnout for primaries, nearly 18% of the VAP for the Democrats and adding a generous one-third more for the Republicans, 24%, more than 50 million. Still on the Democrat side that leaves 53 million Democrat voters Missing In Action, and at least 20 or 30 million more on the Republican side. Or to put it another way. EITHER the New York Times survey was outrageously biased in its sampling so as to over-represent actual voters better than 2-1, OR the MAJORITY of those who responded to the poll were lying. That the poll bears no relation to U.S. electoral reality is obvious from the top line figure of nearly 140 million total voters. That's tens of millions more than have EVER voted in a general election. And probably around three times the number that actually are voting in the primaries. Now the New York Times has clever people and statisticians on its staff as does its polling organization. They could have done the simple math I did above and come up with the conclusion I've come to, which is that either the sampling was completely gonzo or the responses mostly lies. In EITHER case, you'd think or honest, truth-telling journalists and their pollsters, a not entirely insignificant fact to note when presenting the poll to the public. The NYT's front-page write-up of the poll is here: . It doesn't even MENTION the question about whether people had voted or were planning to, never mind HONESTLY presenting to their readers the obvious conclusion. You'd have to scrounge around their web site to find the FULL poll results and run the numbers yourself to get a picture of the "accuracy" of the poll. Joaquin From walterlx at earthlink.net Mon May 5 10:20:43 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 12:20:43 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria Message-ID: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> That's why the imperialists want an "independent" Tibet, an "independent" Kosovo, an "independent" Santa Cruz Walter Lippmann ===================================================================== NESTOR GOROJOWSKY writes: Nothing is more CONCRETE, the globe over today, than the move towards splintering any medium or large state in the Third World as soon as a possibilty appears. ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From walterlx at earthlink.net Mon May 5 10:31:58 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 09:31:58 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] ROGER BURBACH: United States Maneuvers to Carve Up Bolivia with Autonomy Vote Message-ID: <00d401c8aecd$8b8e8100$6401a8c0@new1501> United States Maneuvers to Carve Up Bolivia with Autonomy Vote By Roger Burbach May 5, 2008 http://globalalternatives.org/node/86 The illegal referendum held on Sunday to declare autonomy in Santa Cruz, Bolivia's richest province, is backed by the Bush administration in an attempt to halt the leftward drift of South America. While the US embassy in La Paz blandly declares its support for "unity and democracy" in Bolivia, the government's Interior Minister Alfredo Raba states what is widely known, that the United States "has an agenda more political than diplomatic in Bolivia, and this agenda is linked to opponents of the current government." Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of the country, bluntly declares: "The imperialist project is to try to carve up Bolivia, and with that to carve up South America because it is the epicenter of great changes that are advancing on a world scale." Morales has aligned Bolivia with the nemesis of the United States, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Along with President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, who is closing down the largest US military base on the continent, the three presidents constitute what can be called a radical axis in South America. All three countries have convened constituent assemblies to draft new constitutions and to "refound" their nations. It is Bolivia's new constitution that is to be voted on in a national referendum that has sparked the separatist opposition of the wealthy oligarchs in Santa Cruz. It grants autonomous rights to Bolivia's majority indigenous population, places the country's abundant mineral, gas and petroleum resources under greater national control, and sets limits on the size of the large landed estates that are heavily concentrated in Santa Cruz. The Podemos (We Are Able) Party, which is strongest in Santa Cruz, first tried to use its control of just over one third of the votes in the constituent assembly to block its actions by insisting that a majority vote was not sufficient to approve statutes to the new constitution. When that failed, it resorted to helping stir up violence against assembly members, targeting its indigenous members and its woman president, Silvia Lazarte Flores. At the turn of the year, Evo Morales, backed by popular mobilizations in the streets of La Paz, compelled the existent Congress to approve the call for a national referendum to vote on the new constitution. It was then that the Santa Cruz elite launched its referendum for autonomy, which the country's National Electoral Court has declared unconstitutional. The referendum voted for on Sunday grants the provincial government the power to tax and collect revenues, to set up its own police force and to block any efforts by the national government to carry out agrarian reform. The US ambassador, Philip Goldberg, who was appointed by the Bush administration in September 2006, has maneuvered behind the scenes to support the political forces opposed to Morales and his governing party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). It is notable that Goldberg came to Bolivia from Pristina, Kosovo, where as the US Chief of Mission, he played a central role in orchestrating Kosovo's independence from Serbia, which it had been a province of for centuries. Last year Goldberg was photographed in Santa Cruz with a leading right-wing business magnate and a well-known Colombian narco-trafficker who had been detained by the local police. Then in late January of this year, the Embassy was caught giving aid to a special intelligence unit of the Bolivian police force. The embassy rationalized its aid by saying "the US government has a long history of helping the National Police of Bolivia in diverse programs." US-Bolivian relations were next roiled in February when it was revealed that Peace Corps volunteers and a Fulbright scholar had been pressured by an Embassy official to keep tabs on "Venezuelans and Cubans" in the country. Since Morales took office over two years ago, more than $4 million has been provided by the US Agency for International Development to the political opposition. Bolivia's neighbors are strongly opposed to the separatist movement and its destabilizing impact on the region. Brazil and Argentina are both dependent on natural gas from Bolivia and fear that an internal conflict would interrupt their supplies. Argentinean David Caputo came to Bolivia as head of a mission of the Organization of American States to try set up a dialogue between the government and the opposition. He found the government willing to engage in discussions, but the opposition vehemently opposed. The United States has provided no support to these regional diplomatic efforts to avoid civil strife in Bolivia. Roger Burbach is the director of the Center for the Study of the Americas, CENSA, based in Berkeley, California. He has written extensively on Latin America and US relations, and is the co-author with Jim Tarbell of "Imperial Overstretch: George W. Bush and the Hubris of Empire." From Dbachmozart at aol.com Mon May 5 11:21:09 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 13:21:09 EDT Subject: [Marxism] THERE IS HOPE IN GAZA Message-ID: By Miko Peled, The Electronic Intifada, 5 May 2008 Israel's assault on the people of Gaza is so horrendous that it will not soon be forgotten. This vicious attempt by Israel to destroy an entire nation has tipped the scales for good and Zionism will forever be remembered as a blemish in the history of the Jewish people. The people of Gaza, however, give us hope and they will forever be remembered for their courage and resilience during these trying times. Miko Peled comments. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9510.shtml All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 11:26:12 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 13:26:12 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> <481F1720.40909@panix.com> <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <481F4334.8030706@panix.com> N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > Let us leave East Timor aside, for the time being. Last time I > checked, it had become, as I had predicted, a full semicolony of > Australian and other imperialist states. And things don't seem to have > been rosy to the inhabitants of this wretched land. Well, Lenin and Trotsky said that the USSR would fail if the revolution did not spread to Europe. Was that any reason for the Bolsheviks not to seize power? Revolutions and national liberation struggles are not like going into business. > Nothing is more CONCRETE, the globe over today, than the move towards > splintering any medium or large state in the Third World as soon as a > possibilty appears. Whatever. If you are ever curious enough to read about the Ogoni struggle, I recommend this: http://www.mosop.net From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 11:28:36 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 13:28:36 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> Walter Lippmann wrote: > That's why the imperialists want > an "independent" Tibet, > an "independent" Kosovo, > an "independent" Santa Cruz Walter now staggers drunkenly from supporting cholera in South Africa to Shell Oil death squads in Nigeria. And all in the name of anti-imperialism. What a disgrace. From pance at rogers.com Mon May 5 11:47:50 2008 From: pance at rogers.com (Pance Stojkovski) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 13:47:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Bullet: Assessment of Toronto's 2008 Transit Strike Message-ID: <606347.32048.qm@web88005.mail.re2.yahoo.com> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 104 .... May 5, 2008 _________________________________________________________ What Emergency? An Assessment of Toronto's 2008 Transit Strike Ian MacDonald Last weekend's two-day transit strike in Toronto raises anew and in starker terms two issues of longstanding concern to the labour movement in this city and throughout the province. First, the unprecedented rapidity with which the city sought back-to-work legislation, and the similarly expeditious and unanimous passage of this legislation by all parties of the provincial legislature, represents a monolithic rejection by governing elites of transit workers' right to strike. Second, and equally worrisome, the strike has revealed the inadequacy of organized labour's political capacities in a city where vicious anti-union sentiment lies just beneath a superficially civil discourse, and the municipal privatization agenda remains essentially unchecked. Complete Bullet: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/bullet104.html Pance. From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 12:02:09 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 14:02:09 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Obama and Wall Street predators Message-ID: <481F4BA1.7070908@panix.com> http://www.counterpunch.org/martens05052008.html From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 12:23:30 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 15:23:30 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <481F4334.8030706@panix.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> <481F1720.40909@panix.com> <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> <481F4334.8030706@panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805051123y4efc95acjdd2925004c1dde8d@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/5, Louis Proyect : > N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > Let us leave East Timor aside, for the time being. Last time I > > checked, it had become, as I had predicted, a full semicolony of > > Australian and other imperialist states. And things don't seem to have > > been rosy to the inhabitants of this wretched land. > > Well, Lenin and Trotsky said that the USSR would fail if the revolution > did not spread to Europe. Was that any reason for the Bolsheviks not to > seize power? Revolutions and national liberation struggles are not like > going into business. Certainly not. But Lenin and Trotsky expected the revolution to spread to Europe or be hanged. There was a possibility that the revolution actually would spread. The chances that these movements that splinter larger units the Third World over -9 out of 10 times with imperialist support but yes, in the name of "national struggles"- the chances that these movements, I say, spark a truly national struggle with all its anti-capitalist consequences, that chance is zero or so likely similar to zero that the comparison with the Russian revolution won't hold. > > > Nothing is more CONCRETE, the globe over today, than the move towards > > splintering any medium or large state in the Third World as soon as a > > possibilty appears. > > Whatever. If you are ever curious enough to read about the Ogoni > struggle, I recommend this: > > http://www.mosop.net > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 12:26:05 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 15:26:05 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> Dear Louis, Walter is not supporting Shell Oil death squads. (Nor, by the way, is yours truly. I hate _any side's_ death squads. Enough for my lifetime of such formations.) 2008/5/5, Louis Proyect : > Walter Lippmann wrote: > > That's why the imperialists want > > an "independent" Tibet, > > an "independent" Kosovo, > > an "independent" Santa Cruz > > > Walter now staggers drunkenly from supporting cholera in South Africa to > Shell Oil death squads in Nigeria. And all in the name of > anti-imperialism. What a disgrace. > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 12:28:10 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 14:28:10 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805051123y4efc95acjdd2925004c1dde8d@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> <481F1720.40909@panix.com> <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> <481F4334.8030706@panix.com> <2fa158550805051123y4efc95acjdd2925004c1dde8d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <481F51BA.3050804@panix.com> N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > The chances that these movements that splinter larger units the Third > World over -9 out of 10 times with imperialist support but yes, in the > name of "national struggles"- the chances that these movements, I say, > spark a truly national struggle with all its anti-capitalist > consequences, that chance is zero or so likely similar to zero that > the comparison with the Russian revolution won't hold. Well, we have profound disagreements. No matter how economically dependent the East Timorese are today, they are better off without Indonesian death squads. I am afraid that your inability to distinguish between the two states of affairs reflects a certain ideological myopia. From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 12:29:10 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 14:29:10 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <481F51F6.6030709@panix.com> N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > Dear Louis, Walter is not supporting Shell Oil death squads. > So then you agree with me that he supports cholera in South Africa then. From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 12:40:21 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 15:40:21 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] ROGER BURBACH: United States Maneuvers to Carve Up Bolivia with Autonomy Vote In-Reply-To: <00d401c8aecd$8b8e8100$6401a8c0@new1501> References: <00d401c8aecd$8b8e8100$6401a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <2fa158550805051140q3eceeabcte913e804879f93f9@mail.gmail.com> Roger Burbach, as quoted by Walter Lippmann, says on May 5, 2008 at http://globalalternatives.org/node/86: ?Bolivia's neighbors are strongly opposed to the separatist movement and its destabilizing impact on the region. Brazil and Argentina are both dependent on natural gas from Bolivia and fear that an internal conflict would interrupt their supplies. Argentinean David Caputo came to Bolivia as head of a mission of the Organization of American States to try set up a dialogue between the government and the opposition. He found the government willing to engage in discussions, but the opposition vehemently opposed. The United States has provided no support to these regional diplomatic efforts to avoid civil strife in Bolivia.? Things are not THAT easy. To begin with, a clerical (?) correction. It is not David Caputo. It is Dante Caputo. Caputo was the Foreign Relations Minister of Ra?l Alfons?n, and has little if anything at all to do with the Arg authorities today. He has ballistically turned himself up into that most desired kind of child of Argentinean professional politics, an "international official", this time with OAS. The government in Argentina is absolutely NOT interested in a secession in Bolivia, this is somehow true. But it will hardly do a strong move to prevent it. Much less to fight it if unleashed. Weakness in Bolivia might even be considered an opportunity by some at Buenos Aires, who don't shun the alternative of gaining a "new province" (Tarija) for Argentina as a result of a breakup of Bolivia. There are a lot of historic antecedents to buttres this possibility (in fact, a delegate from Tarija signed what is known as the Declaration of Arg Independence in 1816... and the main "regional" hero in Santa Cruz de la Sierra is Buenos Aires born Colonel Warnes). But of course the main issue might be that there are important oil and gas fields in Tarija and Arg reserves have been exhausted by a long decade of loot by imperialist concerns. The government of Brazil is in a more complex situation. There MUST certainly exist pressure both from the S?o Paulo "bandeirante" bourgeoisie and large landowners in the Central-Western states of Brazil. Many of the latter are also owners of enormous tracts of land in Eastern Bolivia. There are different pressures, of course, the Army not being the minor one. The Brazilian army DOES NOT WANT A REGIONAL WAR IN BOLIVIA. Well, this is what we have here as a scenario. What will happen next, is not so easy to tell. One of my nightmare scenarios is that out of desperation a group of Bolivians escapes their own country in turmoil and civil war, crosses the Arg border, some among them carries some weapons and a shooting begins between our frontiers guard and the group... Others, well informed by the way, have told me that the situation goes straight to a civil war, but that it won't last more than 7 days and the Bolivian Army will save the unity of the country. This source is highly reliable. ? > > The illegal referendum held on Sunday to declare autonomy in Santa > Cruz, Bolivia's richest province, is backed by the Bush > administration in an attempt to halt the leftward drift of South > America. While the US embassy in La Paz blandly declares its support > for "unity and democracy" in Bolivia, the government's Interior > Minister Alfredo Raba states what is widely known, that the United > States "has an agenda more political than diplomatic in Bolivia, and > this agenda is linked to opponents of the current government." Evo > Morales, the first indigenous president of the country, bluntly > declares: "The imperialist project is to try to carve up Bolivia, and > with that to carve up South America because it is the epicenter of > great changes that are advancing on a world scale." > > Morales has aligned Bolivia with the nemesis of the United States, > Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Along with President Rafael Correa of > Ecuador, who is closing down the largest US military base on the > continent, the three presidents constitute what can be called a > radical axis in South America. > > All three countries have convened constituent assemblies to draft new > constitutions and to "refound" their nations. It is Bolivia's new > constitution that is to be voted on in a national referendum that has > sparked the separatist opposition of the wealthy oligarchs in Santa > Cruz. It grants autonomous rights to Bolivia's majority indigenous > population, places the country's abundant mineral, gas and petroleum > resources under greater national control, and sets limits on the size > of the large landed estates that are heavily concentrated in Santa > Cruz. > > The Podemos (We Are Able) Party, which is strongest in Santa Cruz, > first tried to use its control of just over one third of the votes in > the constituent assembly to block its actions by insisting that a > majority vote was not sufficient to approve statutes to the new > constitution. When that failed, it resorted to helping stir up > violence against assembly members, targeting its indigenous members > and its woman president, Silvia Lazarte Flores. At the turn of the > year, Evo Morales, backed by popular mobilizations in the streets of > La Paz, compelled the existent Congress to approve the call for a > national referendum to vote on the new constitution. It was then that > the Santa Cruz elite launched its referendum for autonomy, which the > country's National Electoral Court has declared unconstitutional. The > referendum voted for on Sunday grants the provincial government the > power to tax and collect revenues, to set up its own police force and > to block any efforts by the national government to carry out agrarian > reform. > > The US ambassador, Philip Goldberg, who was appointed by the Bush > administration in September 2006, has maneuvered behind the scenes to > support the political forces opposed to Morales and his governing > party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). It is notable that > Goldberg came to Bolivia from Pristina, Kosovo, where as the US Chief > of Mission, he played a central role in orchestrating Kosovo's > independence from Serbia, which it had been a province of for > centuries. > > Last year Goldberg was photographed in Santa Cruz with a leading > right-wing business magnate and a well-known Colombian > narco-trafficker who had been detained by the local police. Then in > late January of this year, the Embassy was caught giving aid to a > special intelligence unit of the Bolivian police force. The embassy > rationalized its aid by saying "the US government has a long history > of helping the National Police of Bolivia in diverse programs." > US-Bolivian relations were next roiled in February when it was > revealed that Peace Corps volunteers and a Fulbright scholar had been > pressured by an Embassy official to keep tabs on "Venezuelans and > Cubans" in the country. Since Morales took office over two years ago, > more than $4 million has been provided by the US Agency for > International Development to the political opposition. > > Bolivia's neighbors are strongly opposed to the separatist movement > and its destabilizing impact on the region. Brazil and Argentina are > both dependent on natural gas from Bolivia and fear that an internal > conflict would interrupt their supplies. Argentinean David Caputo > came to Bolivia as head of a mission of the Organization of American > States to try set up a dialogue between the government and the > opposition. He found the government willing to engage in discussions, > but the opposition vehemently opposed. The United States has provided > no support to these regional diplomatic efforts to avoid civil strife > in Bolivia. > > Roger Burbach is the director of the Center for the Study of the > Americas, CENSA, based in Berkeley, California. He has written > extensively on Latin America and US relations, and is the co-author > with Jim Tarbell of "Imperial Overstretch: George W. Bush and the > Hubris of Empire." > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 12:42:34 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 15:42:34 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <481F51BA.3050804@panix.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> <481F1720.40909@panix.com> <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> <481F4334.8030706@panix.com> <2fa158550805051123y4efc95acjdd2925004c1dde8d@mail.gmail.com> <481F51BA.3050804@panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805051142o109ac118y13bb57639dd25e2b@mail.gmail.com> Maybe. It may also be your own optics. Anyway, it is up to Timorese to decide what to do of their life and death, and both of us are bound to respect their decissions. 2008/5/5, Louis Proyect : > N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > The chances that these movements that splinter larger units the Third > > World over -9 out of 10 times with imperialist support but yes, in the > > name of "national struggles"- the chances that these movements, I say, > > spark a truly national struggle with all its anti-capitalist > > consequences, that chance is zero or so likely similar to zero that > > the comparison with the Russian revolution won't hold. > > > Well, we have profound disagreements. No matter how economically > dependent the East Timorese are today, they are better off without > Indonesian death squads. I am afraid that your inability to distinguish > between the two states of affairs reflects a certain ideological myopia. > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From nmgoro at gmail.com Mon May 5 12:44:00 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 15:44:00 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <481F51F6.6030709@panix.com> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> <481F51F6.6030709@panix.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> I guess you are kidding, and that this is NYC humor. I don't know what are you talking about, because I've not been following every thread on Marxmail, Louis. But I find it as hard to see _you_ supporting cholera anywhere as I see _any_ Marxmail list member. 2008/5/5, Louis Proyect : > N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > Dear Louis, Walter is not supporting Shell Oil death squads. > > > > > So then you agree with me that he supports cholera in South Africa then. > > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 13:25:59 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 15:25:59 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Rolf Martens, the Swedish Tal Message-ID: <481F5F47.1040701@panix.com> http://www.marxmail.org/martens.pdf From lnp3 at panix.com Mon May 5 13:28:28 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 15:28:28 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] John Bellamy Foster interview on financialization crisis Message-ID: <481F5FDC.9030403@panix.com> http://www.monthlyreview.org/mrzine/boyle050508.html From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Mon May 5 12:40:28 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 14:40:28 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805040936w3ce71747p470ff3375f204e63@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <2fa158550805040936w3ce71747p470ff3375f204e63@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 12:36 PM, N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > > > I am sure Shane Mage has never wondered why is it that the secession > of the underdeveloped Oklahoman "nation" , the > ever-colonized-by-the-thugs-at-New-York-City "Poconian Nation", or the > Californian "nation" from the USA (that bleed California dry of their > Hi Tech resources by way of the IRS) sounds ridiculous exactly while > one writes the idea down. These sound (and are) ridiculous because Oklahomans, Californians etc do not correspond to the definition of "nationality" as Lenin enunciated it (although that text carries Stalin's name, even though the ideas were Lenin's). Nor does the eastern province of Bolivia. When it comes to places like Tibet, however, things are much more murky. Even if imperialists might like to see China weakened, the fact remains that Tibet _is_ a minority, oppressed nation, and so its claim to self-determination should be given a fair hearing by socialists. From sukant.chandan at gmail.com Mon May 5 14:32:03 2008 From: sukant.chandan at gmail.com (Sukant Chandan) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 21:32:03 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] US/BLACK NATION: Stokely Carmichael & the US in the 1960s Message-ID: A decent outline of Carmichael/Kwame Toure: http://sonsofmalcolm.blogspot.com/2008/05/stokely-carmichael-us-in-1960s.html I am sure most people know about it, but I would recommend Toure's auto-bio 'Ready for Revolution'. Sukant From PoliticNow at aol.com Mon May 5 13:36:26 2008 From: PoliticNow at aol.com (PoliticNow at aol.com) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 15:36:26 EDT Subject: [Marxism] The World Food Crisis Sources and Solutions by Fred Magdoff Message-ID: The World Food Crisis Sources and Solutions by Fred Magdoff An acute food crisis has struck the world in 2008. This is on top of a longer-term crisis of agriculture and food that has already left billions hungry and malnourished. In order to understand the full, dire implications of what is happening today it is necessary to look at the interaction between these short-term and long-term crises. Both crises arise primarily from the for-profit production of food, fiber, and now biofuels, and the rift between food and people that this inevitably generates. ?Routine? Hunger before the Current Crisis Of the more than 6 billion people living in the world today, the United Nations estimates that close to 1 billion suffer from chronic hunger. But this number, which is only a crude estimate, leaves out those suffering from vitamin and nutrient deficiencies and other forms of malnutrition. The total number of food insecure people who are malnourished or lacking critical nutrients is probably closer to 3 billion?about half of humanity. The severity of this situation is made clear by the United Nations estimate of over a year ago that approximately 18,000 children die daily as a direct or indirect consequence of malnutrition (Associated Press, February 18, 2007). Lack of production is rarely the reason that people are hungry. This can be seen most clearly in the United States, where despite the production of more food than the population needs, hunger remains a significant problem. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2006 over 35 million people lived in food-insecure households, including 13 million children. Due to a lack of food adults living in over 12 million households could not eat balanced meals and in over 7 million families someone had smaller portions or skipped meals. In close to 5 million families, children did not get enough to eat at some point during the year. In poor countries too, it is not unusual for large supplies of wasted and misallocated food to exist in the midst of widespread and persistent hunger. A few years ago a New York Times article had a story with the following headline ?Poor in India Starve as Surplus Wheat Rots? (December 2, 2002). As a Wall Street Journal headline put it in 2004 ?Want Amid Plenty, An Indian Paradox: Bumper Harvests and Rising Hunger? (June 25, 2004). No ?Right to Food? Hunger and malnutrition generally are symptoms of a larger underlying problem ?poverty in an economic system that recognizes, as Rachel Carson put it, no other gods but those of profit and production. Food is treated in almost all of the world?s countries as just another commodity, like clothes, automobiles, pencils, books, diamond jewelry, and so on. People are not considered to have a right to purchase any particular commodity, and no distinction is made in this respect between necessities and luxuries. Those who are rich can afford to purchase anything they want while the poor are often not able to procure even their basic needs. Under capitalist relations people have no right to an adequate diet, shelter, and medical attention. As with other commodities, people without what economists call ?effective demand? cannot buy sufficient nutritious food. Of course, lack of ?effective demand? in this case means that the poor don?t have enough money to buy the food they need. See link for whole article..... _http://www.monthlyreview.org/080501magdoff.php_ (http://www.monthlyreview.org/080501magdoff.php) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From ethanyoung at earthlink.net Mon May 5 14:07:56 2008 From: ethanyoung at earthlink.net (Ethan Young) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 16:07:56 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [Marxism] Book review: Was Stalinism nationalistic? Message-ID: <14448063.1210018076975.JavaMail.root@elwamui-wigeon.atl.sa.earthlink.net> http://www.opednews.com/articles/life_a_andreas__080503_was_stalinism_nation.htm From dave.walters at comcast.net Mon May 5 16:35:19 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (David Walters) Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 15:35:19 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Fwd: Feliz Cinco de Mayo!, , Update on Political Situation in Mexico Message-ID: <481F8BA7.9010800@comcast.net> *Feliz Cinco de Mayo!* * * *Update on Political Situation in Mexico* * * *By ALAN BENJAMIN* Cinco de Mayo -- May 5th -- marks the date in 1862 when the Mexican troops under General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French troops in the Battle of Puebla. (Despite this initial victory, the Mexican troops went on to lose the war; Mexico was placed under the occupation of Maximilian 1, Emperor of Mexico. Four years later, the French occupation forces were expelled from Mexico by the Reform government of Benito Juarez, who had Maximilian executed just outside Quer?taro.) This year, Cinco de Mayo takes place in Mexico in a situation of profound political and economic crisis. /La Jornada/ today published an article detailing the disastrous effects 14 years of NAFTA have had on Mexican agriculture. Top economists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) report that Mexico is paying US$20 billion per year to import grain and basic food staples -- mainly from the United States -- that were produced in Mexico prior to NAFTA. Not only is the bleeding the Mexican economy, the economists explain, it is forcing millions of peasants to leave their farms. It is also imposing near-famine conditions in certain regions of Mexico. The destruction of millions of acres of corn, rice and other grains is the direct result of NAFTA, as these native crops are not able compete on the market with the genetically modified and high-tech-production grains brought in from the United States. (1) This report in/ La Jornada/ exposes the criminal lie presented by the Usurper ("El Espurio"), Felipe Calder?n, in New Orleans, when he told the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) Summit meeting that Mexico under NAFTA is making "great progress" on the economic front, modernizing its productive capacities and improving its ability to feed its people. (At the SPP Summit in New Orleans, Calder?n also lambasted the takeover of the Mexican Congress buildings by the opposition congresspersons in the Broad Progressive Front (FAP), stating that it made "Mexico look ridiculous in the eyes of the world." Calder?n also accused the legitimately elected president of Mexico, Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador, of "taking his power trip to a new level, thereby endangering the security and stability of our country.") Last Thursday, May Day was celebrated in Mexico with a number of mass labor rallies and marches. The largest rally, spearheaded by the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME), the Mineworkers' Union and the National Union of Workers (UNT), witnessed speaker after speaker denounce the proposed "Energy Reform" packet submitted to the Mexican Congress on April 8 by Felipe Calder?n. "The Mexican workers will not allow these reforms to go through," said Martin Esparza, general secretary of the SME. "If we allow these energy 'reform' measures to be passed, they will immediately move to 'reform' our labor laws. Calder?n and his ilk have stated as much. This would destroy our collective-bargaining agreements, our unions, and our workforce." Also on May Day, Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador answered publicly the widely circulated charges leveled by PRD founder Cuauht?moc C?rdenas against him and against the Peaceful Civil Resistance Movement. One day earlier, C?rdenas had denounced the takeover by the FAP deputies and senators of the Mexican Congress buildings, calling it an "unnecessary and irresponsible" action that endangered the legitimacy of Mexico's political institutions. (C?rdenas has sided in the fierce internal struggle within the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), the party of L?pez Obrador, with the wing that has recognized the election of Felipe Calder?n and that has voted to support the "reform" measures demanded by Calder?n and Bush.) L?pez Obrador's reply to C?rdenas was respectful in tone but unyielding in content. "How can anyone think that Calder?n was not aiming at ramming his reforms through this session of Congress?" he asked. "That was Calder?n's stated goal, his mission. ... We must remember that Calder?n was imposed in the presidency by the influence-peddlers, both domestic and foreign, whose aim has been to turn over to foreign oil interests the exploration, perforation, refining, petrochemical production, oilducts, transportation and storage of Mexico's oil resources. ... We will not allow Calder?n and the foreign oil corporations to do this!" L?pez Obrador continued, answering the charge by Calder?n in New Orleans that L?pez Obrador and this Resistance Movement are opposed to progress and modernization in Mexico. "This claim is absurd," he stated. "On the contrary. We believe Mexico can make great progress. We believe we have the engineering and technical expertise in Mexico to modernize our equipment and drilling in our oil industry. But what we oppose are so-called 'reforms' that only benefit a handful of people in Mexico who are beholden to foreign interests." L?pez Obrador concluded his statement explaining that "before any country-selling energy 'reform' is enacted, he and the Peaceful Civil Resistance Movement will insist that the people of Mexico are allowed to express their point of view through a referendum or a plebiscite -- so that no decision is made behind their backs." He went on to urge the Mexican people to join the Brigades and Committees being formed across Mexico to defend Mexico's oil and sovereignty. To be continued. ... ---- *Endnote* (1) In their speeches on May Day in San Francisco, both Cynthia McKinney, presidential candidate of the Power to the People coalition, and Cindy Sheehan, independent candidate for U.S. Congress (challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi), called for repealing NAFTA, explaining that this agreement is responsible for the destruction of jobs and communities and both sides of the border. Their call must be taken up by working people and the trade union movement across the United States. From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Mon May 5 17:18:59 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 09:18:59 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Australian Labor Party ranks take high ground in privatisation battle Message-ID: <481F95E3.9050300@optusnet.com.au> By Ed Lewis Briefly in response to David Walters. Unions covering electricity generation and distribution are solidly against privatisation and have been campaigning against it for months. Union opposition to the privatisation was overwhelming at the conference. Even very right wing unions that were expected to support the government ended up opposing it, or dividing on it, which explains the 700-odd to 100-odd vote. Unions have 50 per cent of the votes at conference, which adds up to about 425 votes. That means about 300 of the branch delegates voted against privatisation as well. The media are trying to beat up the usual campaign about Labor politicians being bullied by dinosaur unions, but most of the Labor Party branch delegates, and even more so the members, oppose privatisation. Opinion polls have opposition to privatisation running at about 70 per cent in the population. Even the mainly rural-based National Party opposes it (for the moment), reflecting opinion among its ranks and supporters. Where next is what everyone is discussing. Both sides have backed off from a vote at the caucus meeting today in favour of further negotiations, which the conference majority insists must be within the framework of policy adopted at the conference. The Labor Party anti-privatisation rank and file committee has called a meeting that's open to the public: http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/michaelgettheblunderbuss/#comment-568 Bob Gould's latest take is up on Ozleft: http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/michaelgettheblunderbuss/ A couple of the crucial conference resolutions are also up on Ozleft: http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/wellseewholaughslast/#comment-566 http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/wellseewholaughslast/#comment-567 From Dbachmozart at aol.com Mon May 5 17:43:32 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 19:43:32 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Abbas' Moment of Truth Message-ID: by Khalid Amayreh Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas feels quite depressed these days, having been unceremoniously told by President Bush that the US administration won?t pressure Israel to halt Jewish settlement expansion nor commit itself to a total Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. Some of Abbas?s aides have described his recent visit to Washington as the ? straw that broke the camel?s back.? Abbas himself described the visit as ? a clear failure.? One Palestinian commentator from Ramallah labeled the visit ? a gigantic and monumental fiasco,? arguing that it amounted to a virtual breakdown of Abbas?s entire strategy of counting on the Bush administration to create a viable and contiguous Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. According to sources in Amman, Abbas informed Bush that he wouldn?t run for a second term as Chairman of the PA. One source quoted an aide to Abbas as saying that the chairman concluded his meeting with Bush by telling him ?you can look for another donkey to preside over the Palestinian Authority.? The PA chairman reportedly asked Bush to declare his support for the creation of a Palestinian state on the entirety of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem and also to pressure Israel to put an end to Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied territories, especially East Jerusalem. Abbas, according to aides, was stunned when Bush told him that he couldn?t meet Palestinian demands since that would violate the letter of guarantees he gave former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on 14 April, 2004. Bush further argued that any departure from the infamous letter would lead to the downfall of the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert?s government. ?President Abbas felt as if he was talking to the wall,? one Palestinian official was quoted as saying. ?Both Bush and (US Secretary of State Condoleezza) Rice refused to discuss details related to the current peace talks with Israel. We are very depressed.? Rice arrived in Israel-Palestine Saturday evening, 3 May, apparently to save ?the peace process? from an imminent danger of collapse. Rice told the Israeli media that the purpose of her visit was to press Defense Minister Ehud Barak to remove some of the roadblocks the Israeli occupation army maintains throughout the West Bank in order to punish, torment and control the estimated 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. The US has asked Israel for the umpteenth time to remove the roadblocks in order to ease up Palestinian daily life and boost Abbas?s popularity in the eyes of his people. For its part, Israel made numerous promises to remove the barriers, but to no avail. Last month the Israeli government said it was removing some of the key roadblocks in the West Bank in order to facilitate the flow of goods and services throughout the West Bank. However, Palestinians, peace activists and human rights organizations operating in the occupied territories have accused the Israeli army of practicing deception and of creating fictitious barriers in the morning and removing them in the evening in order to give Washington a false impression that Israel was honoring the pledges it had made to Rice. This protracted, lingering procrastination, along with the absence of any substantive progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks, especially over the so-called core issues, such as Jerusalem, the refugees and the settlements, is obviously exasperating the Palestinian leadership, desperate and eager to ?clutch an achievement? which it would use to convince the increasingly desperate and skeptical Palestinian masses that Abbas?s way, not Hamas?s, was the right and only way to wrest Palestinian rights from Israel?s parsimonious hands. Now, however, the manifestly deleterious effect of Abbas?s policy of over-trusting and over-relying on the Bush Administration, are becoming obvious. Abbas is now realizing, belatedly if not too late, that Bush has never been truly serious about pushing for a dignified and even-handed resolution of the Palestinian plight. I am saying ?belatedly or too late? because Abbas nearly wrecked his relations with his own people, especially since the Gaza events of last year, all for the purpose of appeasing Bush and Rice and receiving from them a certificate of good conduct. He thought, out of naivety, ignorance, and weakness of character, that the neocons in Washington would award him for his subservience and obsequiousness by pressuring Israel to end the occupation and halt unrelenting theft of Palestinian land. However, Abbas?s most scandalous blunder has been his uneducated conviction that the big liar of Washington, the man who invaded, occupied and destroyed two sovereign Muslim countries based on lies, would behave honestly and straightly with the Palestinians. Now it would be very hard for Abbas to salvage his legacy by trying to undo or at least rectify some of the blunders he and his regime committed against the Palestinian masses and their enduring just cause, all in order to please Washington. As Chairman of the PA, Abbas and his hangers-on abducted, detained, tortured and even killed political opponents in order to demonstrate Palestinian commitment to peace to the malicious duo of the US and Israel. This happened at a time when Israel continued to murder Palestinians in droves and grab more Palestinian land for Jewish settlement expansion. Abbas also readily accepted, even welcomed, naked American interference in Palestinian internal affairs to the point of allowing Washington to conspire in coordination with certain Palestinian security officials to corrode and overthrow the democratically elected government led by the Hamas movement. More to the point, Abbas went as far as tacitly collaborating with Israel and the US in maintaining the Nazi-like blockade of 1.5 million Gazans, all in order to weaken Hamas. I don?t really know if Abbas has the moral courage and intellectual honesty to say to Washington ?enough is enough.? If he does, he should do it now, because tomorrow might be too late. _http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/_ (http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From Dbachmozart at aol.com Mon May 5 20:05:02 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 22:05:02 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Nir Rosen - selling the war with Iran Message-ID: clip - To the Post as to most establishment officials in the media and government, all social and political movements in the Middle East are either al Qaeda or Iranian plots, or for Senator McCain, a bit of both. These people are unable to see social and political movements in the Middle East as the collective action of poor and oppressed people. People in the region were anti-American before Islamism became the dominant trend, and they were battling American imperialism as secularists and nationalists. During the cold war every popular movement was blamed on a Soviet conspiracy. Now people in the region battle American imperialism as Islamists, but it is the fight that created the movements, not the other way around. And the fight continues. _http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2008/05/selling_the_war/_ (http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2008/05/selling_the_war/) All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From glparramatta at greenleft.org.au Mon May 5 20:16:55 2008 From: glparramatta at greenleft.org.au (glparramatta) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 12:16:55 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Are livable cities just a dream? | Links Message-ID: <481FBF97.5030202@greenleft.org.au> Are livable cities just a dream? By *Dave Holmes* When one sees a modern city from the air, especially at night, it is a truly awe-inspiring spectacle. What always strikes me is the immensity of the project, a testimony to the power and creativity of human beings. However, on the ground and actually living and working in this wonder, things are quite different and the social and ecological problems crowd in and fill one's view. The truth is that our cities have always been dominated by the rich and powerful and built and operated to serve their needs --- not those of the mass of working people who live and toil in them. Full article: http://links.org.au/node/390 Subscribe free to /Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal/ - at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373 From pance at rogers.com Mon May 5 20:34:48 2008 From: pance at rogers.com (Pance Stojkovski) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 22:34:48 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] YouTube - ILWU May Day Protest--San Francisco Message-ID: Video from the May Day action in San Francisco. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BspANxukBgg Pance. From Dbachmozart at aol.com Mon May 5 21:38:31 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 23:38:31 EDT Subject: [Marxism] The New Walls of Baghdad Message-ID: The Israeli Model Surges Toward Iraq clip - The Israeli Laboratory The explosion of walls and enclaves reinforced by aerial violence across Iraq suggest that the primary counterinsurgency lessons being followed by the U.S. military in Iraq today derive less from the lessons of "Lawrence of Arabia" than from Israel's experiences in the Occupied Palestinian Territories over the past decade. Over the past decade, Israel has developed a pacification strategy against Palestinian resistance to its military occupation by erecting separation walls and checkpoints across Palestinian territory that has enclosed Palestinians within a proliferating archipelago of ethnic enclaves to separate them from each other and from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. This wall and enclave strategy is maintained under a blanket of aerial Israeli surveillance and deadly unmanned drones, which target the frequent airborne assassinations and strikes. This strategy reached its apotheosis in Gaza following Israel's withdrawal of its soldiers and settlements in 2005. In Gaza, 1.5 million Palestinians are now living within an enclosed cage, while Israel controls access to the essentials of life through high-tech border terminals and unleashes "penetration raids" and airborne "targeted killings" when resistance is offered. Iraq, it seems, is surging towards Gaza. This fact is not missed by average Iraqis. Visiting the Sunni bastion of Amriya in Baghdad, _Nir Rosen_ (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/rosen) in The Nation (April 3, 2008) recounts how his Iraqi driver pointed to a gap in the concrete walls with which the U.S. occupation forces have surrounded Amriya: "We call it the Rafah Crossing." He was referring to the one gate from besieged Gaza to Egypt that the Israeli army occasionally allows to open. full -- _http://counterpunch.org/niva04282008.html_ (http://counterpunch.org/niva04282008.html) All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From pance at rogers.com Mon May 5 22:14:20 2008 From: pance at rogers.com (Pance Stojkovski) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 00:14:20 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Bullet: The CAW and Panic Bargaining Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 105 .... May 6, 2008 ____________________________________________________________ The CAW and Panic Bargaining: Early Opening at the Big Three Sam Gindin In the face of a deteriorating economic climate and concerns about the 'investment competitiveness' of Canadian plants, the CAW leadership made a startling move this spring. It had an air of panic about it: the leadership quietly asked the Big Three -- GM, Ford and Chrysler -- to open their collective agreements early, offering a new 'pragmatic' settlement. Ford 'bit' and bargaining was over before anyone, including the Ford workers, had a whiff that anything was going on. The tentative agreement was announced to the press on April 28 -- almost five months before the agreement was to expire, three months before bargaining was set to open and, most notably, two months before the CAW Collective Bargaining Conference, where elected delegates gather to discuss and debate the unions' bargaining priorities. That summer conference, set for every third year, addresses the union as a whole, but is generally dominated by the fall's auto negotiations. Complete Bullet: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/bullet105.html From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Mon May 5 23:13:45 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 15:13:45 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Propagandism and the struggle against electricity privatisation Message-ID: <481FE909.3020504@optusnet.com.au> Bob Gould There?ve been a few comments on Leftwrites about the electricity privatisation struggle. Ablokeimet obviously has some serious understanding of the history of the Australian labour movement and some sense of the form of mass struggles, and I thank him for his pretty sensible observation. I don?t want to be too hard on Tom O?Lincoln, but his response encapsulates the completely unscientific, and particularly the un-Leninist, notions and practice at the core of the permanent propaganda orientation of Socialist Alternative, to which Tom moved from the ISO a year or two ago. Full: http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/propagandismandprivatisation/ From jbustelo at gmail.com Mon May 5 23:37:53 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 01:37:53 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Obama and Wall Street predators In-Reply-To: <481F4BA1.7070908@panix.com> References: <481F4BA1.7070908@panix.com> Message-ID: <002d01c8af3b$54ed0590$040ba8c0@albanta> Louis points us to a rehash of an old article being presented as new in Counterpunch today that "reports" that the top 20 contrinbutors to Obama's campaign were "a Wall Street cartel of financial firms, their registered lobbyists, and go-to law firms that have a death grip on our federal government." Actually, and contrary to the impression the article's author tries to create, corporate contributions are illegal and individual contributions capped. It was Louis who first pointed us to this not-very-useful exercise in yellow journalism posing as red more than two months ago. Since Louis found it useful to refer us AGAIN to the same material, I'll post here the comment I made then. * * * -----Original Message----- From: Joaquin Bustelo [mailto:jbustelo at gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 2:41 PM To: 'Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition' Subject: RE: [Marxism] Obama?s Money Cartel Louis quotes from a zmag article: > The first clue to an entrenched white male bastion seeking a black > male occupant in the oval office (having placed only five blacks in > the U.S. Senate in the last two centuries) appeared this month on a > chart at the Center for Responsive Politics website. It was a list of > the 20 top con?tributors to the Barack Obama campaign, and it looked > like one of those compre?hension tests where you match up things that > go together and eliminate those that don't. Of the 20 top > contributors, I elimi?nated six that didn't compute. I was now looking > at a sight only slightly less fright?ening to democracy than a Diebold > vot?ing machine. It was a Wall Street cartel of financial firms, their > registered lobbyists, ! and go-to law firms that have a death grip on > our federal government. > > Why is the "yes, we can" candidate in bed with this cartel? How can > we, the people, make change if Obama's money backers block our ability > to be heard? > > Seven of the Obama campaign's top 14 donors consist of officers and > em?ployees of the same Wall Street firms charged time and again with > looting the public and newly implicated in originat?ing and/or > bundling fraudulently made mortgages. * * * I don't think the article does a very good job of explaining any of this. But let's start with a technicality. Not one cent came directly from any of the firms listed. The money came from three sources: PAC's associated with these organizations, individuals who made larger donations (over $200) and listed their employer, and "bundlers" of donations associated in one way or another with the firms listed. PACs (Political Action Committees) are really nothing more than a thinly-veiled way of getting around the ban on corporate campaign contributions. Top and middle level employees of a corporation (as well as directors and shareholders) can be solicited for contribution of up to $5000 a year, and in turn the PAC can give up to $5000 to a candidate in the primaries and again the general election. However, these amounts are very small, compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars attributed to each group. Without knowing HOW the rest of the money was raised, saying that it came from "a Wall Street cartel" is either hyperbole or tautology. There is nothing surprising in these numbers. Hillary Clinton's top ten contributors are just the same: DLA Piper (the world's biggest law firm) Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanly Citigroup Lehman Brothers JP Morgan Chase & Co Emily's List National Amusements Inc (Sumner Redstone's family holding company, i.e., Viacom, CBS) Kirkland and Ellis (law firm) Greenberg Traurig (law firm) Further down the top 20 list are Merrill Lynch, Cablevision, Microsoft, Bear Stearns, PriceWatterhouseCoopers and Time Warner. McCain's top 20 list is more of the same, as it is headed by Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, and includes Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and so on. Even Edwards's top 20 list features many of the same: Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup as well as a larger sprinkling of law firms and the Democrat online fund-raising arm, ActBlue. What this shows is that bourgeois politics in the United States is largely financed by bourgeois sectors with money to burn, especially people associated with finance capital. This consists of several types of money, in general. Corporate investment cash, offered on a quid-pro-quo basis, supposedly for "access" and in reality influence, and spread very liberally around all sorts of folks from both parties. Ideological or issue or party oriented money organized by bundlers. "Social circle" money, like that raised at big banquets and so on. I mean, in these strata, if you are politically involved and get invited to some big fundraiser for a Clinton or whoever, you often go and kick in a couple of hundred, even if she's not your favorite. It's like being invited to some gala for the local string quartet. You go, even if you don't especially like whiney violin music by dead white people. And, of course, expressions of individual preference. There are, of course, things that raise eyebrows or bring a smile. Like the money for McCain from Univision and its circles, or for Hillary by the Redstone family, or for Obama by people employed by Time Warner. I think this article proves quite conclusively that bourgeois circles consider Obama a bourgeois candidate. Similar examinations of similar data for the other candidates in the two-party system would show the same thing, as I've tried to illustrate. But this tells us absolutely nothing useful about why Obama has evoked a very different response among important sectors of the population than the other candidates, not just this year, but for many years past. (To find something comparable in the sphere of bourgeois presidential politics, you'd need to go back to 1968, I think, but that was a very different political climate and context). Nor does it say anything useful about how to relate to the political motion associated with his candidacy. Those are the really interesting questions. Joaqu?n From thorenstd124 at yahoo.com Tue May 6 00:23:09 2008 From: thorenstd124 at yahoo.com (Roger and Allison Kulp) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 23:23:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <929464.20090.qm@web38701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I'm sorry,but this statement shows that even self-professed "Marxists" can fall into this trap,that far too many "progressives",and "leftists" in the west fall prey to. The truth is that Tibetans had been living under an oppressive feudalist system for a good four hundred years or so,before Mao,and The Chinese came in.For a while the average Tibetan was a lot better off.The feudalist rulers were driven out,the country was modernized,children were educated,there was health care etc. .Granted,this only lasted a few years,but still... I suppose you are going to deny The Dali Lama's ties to The CIA,too. Roger Ruthless Critic of All that Exists wrote: When it comes to places like Tibet, however, things are much more murky. Even if imperialists might like to see China weakened, the fact remains that Tibet _is_ a minority, oppressed nation, and so its claim to self-determination should be given a fair hearing by socialists. --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. From jbustelo at gmail.com Tue May 6 00:41:47 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?Joaqu=C3=ADn_Bustelo?=) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 02:41:47 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Racists vandalize Obama office Message-ID: "Around 2:00 a.m. this monday morning, May 5, 2008, the Obama Vincennes campaign office, located on 329 Main Street, was vandalized. One large window was smashed and several other windows spray painted with racial comments. No one was hurt." http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-19160 J. From pbond at mail.ngo.za Tue May 6 01:22:04 2008 From: pbond at mail.ngo.za (Patrick Bond) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 09:22:04 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <20080505070823.248480@gmx.net> <2fa158550805050429l21e9add4j8235409e719b0e1a@mail.gmail.com> <481F09FE.2050708@panix.com> <2fa158550805050647m51f1f232qc36ec3cebfe171e5@mail.gmail.com> <481F1720.40909@panix.com> <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4820071C.3080007@mail.ngo.za> N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > 2008/5/5, Louis Proyect : > > >> ... I can't understand why this is so hard for you to understand >> unless it is the same logic that led you to back Indonesia against the >> East Timorese. >> > Let us leave East Timor aside, for the time being. Ok, dear comrade Nestor. How about backing Mugabe against poor/working-class Zimbabweans. And the Myanmar junta against the Burmese masses and ethnic groups. Those are blotches against your otherwise excellent tradition of popular Third Worldism. From Jscotlive at aol.com Tue May 6 01:38:21 2008 From: Jscotlive at aol.com (Jscotlive at aol.com) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 03:38:21 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Remember The Hunger Strikers Message-ID: (Morning Star, Sunday 04 May 2008) JOHN WIGHT recalls the events surrounding the 1981 hunger strike by republican prisoners that shamed Britain the world over. "I AM standing on the threshold of another trembling world. May God have mercy on my soul." With these words, written 27 years ago on March 1 1981, Bobby Sands began an epic hunger strike which culminated in his death 66 days later on May 5. It was followed in the weeks and months to come by the deaths of nine others who made the same sacrifice. The names of the 10 are worth repeating now. Alongside Sands were Francis Hughes, Patsy O'Hara, Raymond McCreesh, Joe McDonnell, Martun Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas McElwee and Michael Devine. Margaret Thatcher had come to power in 1979 determined to smash any and all opposition to the imposition of the free-market shock treatment which she and her supporters were committed to implementing in Britain. The outgoing Labour government under Jim Callaghan had buckled in the face of International Monetary Fund pressure to cut public spending in return for a massive bailout loan to bolster a weak pound which had been ravaged by international speculators. An international recession had sent energy prices sky high and seen British manufacturing industry plunged into crisis as a result of rampant inflation. The IMF, which was controlled then, as now, by the US, was determined to seize the opportunity to weaken and destabilise left-of-centre governments across Europe, which it did by demanding the structural readjustment of recession-hit economies like Britain's in order to meet debt repayments. Received wisdom of the period, as projected by mainstream commentators and a media increasingly controlled by right-wing oligarchs like Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch, has it that the unions were to be blame for the nation's woes. The infamous "winter of discontent" in 1978-79 is cited as proof that what was needed was a government that would stand up to the power of the British trade union movement and get the country back on its feet. The problem, however, was not that the unions wielded too much power and influence over the nation at that time. The problem was that they failed to wield enough power and that a Labour government was too weak to repudiate the debt and thus assert the nation's right to economic sovereignty. Labour's failure was big business's opportunity and onto the stage stepped their formidable champion in the shape of Thatcher. She typified the right-wing reaction to rising workers' pay and conditions which had taken place throughout the 1950s and '60s. She represented a class which viewed with outright disgust the notion that working class people should aspire to anything more than perennial poverty and alienation. It was this disgust which drove Thatcher and her backers to unleash class war as soon as they took over the reins of government. The tenacious and committed struggle for national liberation being waged in the six counties against British rule was to be a key front in this class war. The brutal and bloody conflict in Northern Ireland had gone on for over 10 years, with no end in sight by the time that Thatcher arrived in No 10. Republican communities throughout the six counties were in open revolt against the British state and Thatcher immediately set about breaking the back of this resistance with a military and propaganda offensive. Militarily, it took the form of a shoot-to-kill policy on the part of the security services, whereby the extrajudicial execution of IRA volunteers was preferred to their arrest and prosecution through the courts. This was followed by a "dirty war" strategy involving the collusion of the British state and loyalist paramilitaries in the assassination of republican activists, elected officials and supporters, most famously the pro-republican lawyer Pat Finucane. This was designed to instil fear and paranoia within republican communities and, together with the successful use of informers and double agents, it had a devastating effect. On the propaganda front, Thatcher set out to criminalise the republican movement. It was a policy designed to discredit any notion of the IRA as a legitimate national liberation movement and, instead, to portray it as a criminal organisation involved in racketeering, intimidation and murder. It was inevitable that, with this objective in mind, an attack on the political status of prisoners would follow. Within the republican movement, the prisoners had traditionally enjoyed an exalted status in keeping with their sacrifice for the cause. Moreover, groups like the IRA used prison to educate and politicise its volunteers. In the main, these were young working-class men with little or no formal education. Inside, with political status allowing them control over how they spent their days, programmes of study were organised on subjects ranging from Marxist economics to Irish history and the Irish language. 'Men who had spent every waking hour engaged in armed struggle against the British state and its allies were afforded the opportunity to study other national liberation struggles and revolutions taking place around the world, which helped to deepen their consciousness as to the global nature of the struggle against imperialism. It was no accident that prisons in the province were often described as republican universities. Thatcher was intent not only on continuing the policy of denying political status to republican prisoners inside the Maze Prison that had been introduced by the previous Labour government in 1976, but intensifying it. The prisoners responded by moving from the no wash or blanket protest that they had kept up for four years to a hunger strike. In 1980, the first attempt failed due to the duplicity of the authorities - it appeared that they had acquiesced to the demands of the prisoners, only to then go back on their assurances once the prisoners ended their hunger strike. This duplicity filled men such as Bobby Sands with determination to embark on a second hunger strike. This time, it would continue until the prisoners' five demands were met and not before. Those demands were: 1. The right not to wear a prison uniform 2. The right not to do prison work 3. The right of free association with other prisoners 4. The right to organise their own educational and recreational facilities 5. The right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week. But the self-styled Iron Lady was also determined and she refused to countenance any compromise, even in the face of international condemnation and Sands's election as an MP. Sands's death had a global impact. In the Indian parliament, opposition MPs observed a minute's silence. All over the world, protests and marches were held against the British state and in tribute to Sands and the other hunger strikers. Personal tributes were made by the likes of Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela, who at the time was incarcerated on Robben Island. In Tehran, the name of the street in which the British embassy was located was changed to Bobby Sands Street. But perhaps the most significant and powerful tribute came in the form of a letter from Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel in another struggle against colonialism. It was smuggled out and reached the Falls Road in July 1981. "To the families of the martyrs oppressed by the British ruling class. To the families of Bobby Sands and his martyred comrades. "We, revolutionaries of the Palestinian people who are under the terrorist rule of zionism, write you this letter from the desert prison of Nafha. "We extend our salutes and solidarity with you in the confrontation against the oppressive terrorist rule enforced upon the Irish people by the British ruling elite. "We salute the heroic struggle of Bobby Sands and his comrades, for they have sacrificed the most valuable possession of any human being. They gave their lives for freedom. "From here in Nafha prison, where savage snakes and desert sands penetrate our cells, from here under the yoke of zionist occupation, we stand alongside you. From behind our cell bars, we support you, your people and your revolutionaries who have chosen to confront death. "Since the zionist occupation, our people have been living under the worst conditions. Our militants who have chosen the road of liberty and chosen to defend our land, people and dignity, have been suffering for many years. In the prisons, we are confronting zionist oppression and their systematic application of torture. Sunlight does not enter our cell. Basic necessities are not provided. Yet we confront the zionist hangmen, the enemies of life. "Many of our militant comrades have been martyred under torture by the fascists allowing them to bleed to death. Others have been martyred because Israeli prison administrators do not provide needed medical care. "The noble and just hunger strike is not in vain. In our struggle against the occupation of our homeland, for freedom from the new nazis, it stands as a clear symbol of the historical challenge against the terrorists. Our people in Palestine and in the zionist prisons are struggling as your people are struggling against the British monopolies and we will both continue until victory. "On behalf of the prisoners of Nafha, we support your struggle and cause of freedom against English domination, against zionism and against fascism in the world." End. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index2.php/ex/examples/features From Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net Tue May 6 02:03:15 2008 From: Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net (Johannes Schneider) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 10:03:15 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> <481F51F6.6030709@panix.com> <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20080506080315.159660@gmx.net> I just have to express my surprise what goes for a Marxist discussion these days: From Santa Cruz to Oklahoma and California, over to Biafra, Kosovo, East Timor and Tibet each and everything is treated as the same and since it is the same, any specific knowledge is not needed even unwanted. Some of those posting in this thread seem even proud of not knowing anything about what they are posting. Looks as if "Marxism" is the catchword for dispensing any historic, politic or socio-economic studies. It is my feeling that this attitude has made "Marxism" irrelevant in the eyes of many workers and intellectuals in most parts of the world. To say "Imperialism always and ever favours secession, regardless of time and place" is an ahistoric and undialectical abstraction. What we need here are studies of the concrete political, economic, historic and social circumstances that give rise to secceonist movements. Just a few thoughts on Nigeria: 1. Biafra: It was mainly supported by France, Portugal, Israel, Rhodesia, South Africa and China. Whereas the Nigerian central government was supported by Britain, the US and the Soviet Union. Looks rather like a contradictory affair and an inner-imperialist rivalry. 2. Nigeria today: Today the only group demanding sovereignity for Biafra is Movement for the Actualisation of the sovereign state of Biafra (MOSOB), but they are marganalized. The main threat for the cohesion of the Nigerian state are in my eyes those political forces having introduced Sharia legislation in the Northern states of Nigeria, thus splitting the Nigerian legal system around a North-South and a ethno-religious line. I doubt political Islam in Nigeria has much support from imperialist powers in these days. Johannes -- Der GMX SmartSurfer hilft bis zu 70% Ihrer Onlinekosten zu sparen! Ideal f?r Modem und ISDN: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/smartsurfer From Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net Tue May 6 04:01:46 2008 From: Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net (Johannes Schneider) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 12:01:46 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> <481F51F6.6030709@panix.com> <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20080506100146.269170@gmx.net> Some background links on the conflict in the Niger Delta: Mujahid Dokubo-Asari: The Niger Delta's Ijaw Leader By Erich Marquardt Among the restive Ijaw population in Nigeria's troubled, energy-rich delta region, one man stands alone as the most recognizable face of resistance: Mujahid Dokubo-Asari. Asari has been a central figure in the Ijaw cause, forming in late 2003 one of the delta's most notorious Ijaw militant groups, the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF). Full: http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373587 Profile: Nigeria's oil militant http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3713664.stm Nigeria's shadowy oil rebels http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4732210.stm Rivers and Blood: Guns, Oil and Power in Nigeria?s Rivers State http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/nigeria0205/index.htm -- 249 Spiele f?r nur 1 Preis. Die GMX Spieleflatrate schon ab 9,90 Euro. Neu: Asterix bei den Olympischen Spielen: http://flat.games.gmx.de From Midhurst14 at aol.com Tue May 6 05:26:21 2008 From: Midhurst14 at aol.com (Midhurst14 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 07:26:21 EDT Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens Message-ID: Have I been drummed out of the Brownies? George Anthony From lueko.willms at t-online.de Mon May 5 23:13:44 2008 From: lueko.willms at t-online.de (=?iso-8859-1?q?L=FCko_Willms?=) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 07:13:44 +0200 (MES) Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1JtN38-0iKAmQ0@fwd31.t-online.de> On Mon, 5 May 2008 13:13:28 -0300, N??stor Gorojovsky wrote: > Nothing is more CONCRETE, the globe over today, than the move towards > splintering any medium or large state in the Third World as soon as a > possibilty appears. While I share your concerns, I wanto to remind us that this unity can only be strong, if it is voluntary. Repression weakens the unity vis ? vis the imperialist monster. The biggest crime of Saddam Hussein was to weaken the Iraqi nation in its confrontation with imperialism. Comradely yours, L?ko Willms Frankfurt, Germany -------------------------------- visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German From lueko.willms at t-online.de Sun May 4 08:21:47 2008 From: lueko.willms at t-online.de (=?iso-8859-1?q?L=FCko_Willms?=) Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 16:21:47 +0200 (MES) Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: <7DC0A6EF-EFA2-431A-8366-04DA59A5DA0F@pipeline.com> Message-ID: <1JtN38-0iKAmO0@fwd31.t-online.de> On Sun, 4 May 2008 09:44:44 -0400, Shane Mage wrote: > The "power" of a "State" is the power to repress in the interest of > the ruling class and (for "former" colonies) its imperial partners. > The power of a people is its own will, consciousness, solidarity, and > weapons. That's why the people need to take state power. State power is the ultimate weapon of the working class. Yours, L?ko Willms Frankfurt, Germany -------------------------------- visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German From walterlx at earthlink.net Tue May 6 07:31:10 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 09:31:10 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors Message-ID: <13770295.1210080670636.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> This is in response to John Edmundson. ===================================== The critics all say the same thing: Apartheid was bad, they're glad that apartheid was overthrown. This take This takes one sentence to declare. But since the fall of apartheid in 1994, since blacks took over running South Africa everything is now WORSE. Much, much worse. That's what leads people to wonder if the ANC's critics really DO think the end of apartheid is good, since, according to the critics, life is worse today. Much worse. We hear that the distribution of water in South Africa has gotten a lot worse since the fall of apartheid. But how was water service DURING apartheid? Did everyone in South Africa have the same level of water service or availability? Or were their different levels of water service, which depended on where you lived, and on other characteristics which some groups had in common, while other groups did not have those same traits in common? Recently South Africa has begun to have widespread power outages, or blackouts as they were called in Cuba. Cuba isn't having blackouts any more. Cuba has a revolutionary government which can mobilize every resource at its disposal to address such issues. Cuba can make the decision to initiate an energy revolution, to take out incandescent bulbs and replace them with energy-saving bulbs, and so forth. South Africa isn't in the same position because its government is a capitalist one, which leaves private Here in the United States, some groups are better served by society's institutions. Other groups are served not so well, or not at all, often because of some trait one group has in common, something like the color of their skin... The main thing which John Edmundson leaves out in his listing of the things which he thinks South Africa could have done which Cuba did do, and which made it possible for Cuba to be able to do what others cant, is quite simple: THE SOCIALIST REVOLUTION. Cuba had a socialist revolution while South Africa has only had a democratic nationalist political revolution. The white minority which was in power before has been replaced by those who were elected by the black majority, and the majority of those in government positions are now black as well. John is right that I probably wouldn't have been inspired by Cuba had it not gone all the way toward the abolition of capitalism nearly half a century ago, but it did, and I'm glad it did. The ANC never promised a socialist revolution, and hasn't carried one out. Yes, I understand that people were trying to move to South Africa during apartheid. Yes, I know perfectly well that people are still trying to leave Cuba for the United States, even now today. I post materials on Cubans leaving for the United States all the time on the CubaNews list. It's an important part of the story. How this make anyone an apologist for apartheid isn't clear. I'm not the one who keep saying life under apartheid was better, it's the ANC's critics who keep repating that. Frankly, it strikes me that the ANC's critics have a blind spot when it comes to South Africa. They're blind to the historical significance of the ending of white minority rule in South Africa. To them it's a matter to be momentarily noticed and then immediately dismissively waved off. South Africa is a capitalist country, but now one with a government selected by the black majority. That remains today an achievement of historical, and of continuing significance. Naturally it doesn't mean that the class struggle is gone or that there isn't another revolution to be made. The South African CP, for example, which is extremely critical of the ANC-led government, remains active and supportive of that government. The South African CP remains the principal party on the South African left. Perhaps the critics can point to other parties which see themselve as an alternative to the left of the ANC and the SACP? I know that the Spartacists are there, and the PAC. Do you consider them to be alternatives to the left of the ANC and SACP? Walter Lippmann Los Angeles, California ===================================== JOHN EDMUNDSON WRITES: As I said, the overthrow of apartheid was a good thing. I think everyone here agrees with that. The point is, as Louis pointed out, most ANC people thought they were getting something in the way of social transformation, not neo-liberalism. Would you have been as avid a supporter of Cuba if a bourgeois government had run the country since 1959? I suspect not. It would have been yet another capitalist country living as a participant (victim) in the imperialist world and not much to celebrate. Of course it would still be true that the country was better off without Batista. > ==================================================================== > PATRICK BOND writes: > >Walter, please tell your correspondent John Edmondson that > >actually, South Africa is sucking thousands of health > >professionals (and all sorts of other resources) from the > >continent, instead of a net flow of SA-trained docs there. > =========================================================== > > So, in other words, the conditions prevailing in South Africa > are so much BETTER than they are in the rest of Africa that > other doctors want to move to South Africa rather than > staying where they are in their home countries? It sure > does make South Africa sound like hell. --------------- South Africa could have been exporting doctors to the rest of Africa, as Cuba does. It could have been training doctors from African countries, as Cuba does. Instead, it is bleeding Africa of qualified people desperately needed there, to service communities in SA who also desperately need them. South Africa should not be doing this by bleeding poorer countries in the rest of Africa. This may come as a shock to you Walter but people were trying to move to SA to work *during* the Apartheid era too. *News Flash*. South Africa was the richest and most developed country in sub-Saharan Africa *during* the Apartheid era. Every anti-Apartheid activist knew this and sadly Walter, by trying to argue this line, you put yourself in the dubious company of the Apartheid apologists the anti-apartheid movement fought against. . ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From lnp3 at panix.com Tue May 6 08:10:58 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 10:10:58 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] South Africa In-Reply-To: <13770295.1210080670636.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <13770295.1210080670636.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <482066F2.2030100@panix.com> Walter Lippmann wrote: > We hear that the distribution of water in South Africa has gotten a > lot worse since the fall of apartheid. But how was water service > DURING apartheid? Did everyone in South Africa have the same level of > water service or availability? Or were their different levels of > water service, which depended on where you lived, and on other > characteristics which some groups had in common, while other groups > did not have those same traits in common? If people are interested in the economics of post-apartheid South Africa, I recommend this: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=982805 Poverty and Well-Being in Post-Apartheid South Africa: an Overview of Data, Outcomes and Policy H. BHORAT University of Cape Town - Development Policy Research Unit RAVI KANBUR Cornell University - Department of Applied Economics and Management; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) Here is a brief excerpt: There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that income poverty increased. The headcount index has increased nationally from 32 to 34 per cent between 1995 and 2000 or, using a different dataset, from 26 to 28 per cent between 1996 and 2001 on a $2 a day poverty line (Hoogeveen & ?zler, 2006; Leibbrandt & Levinsohn, 2005 and Leibbrandt et al, 2006). The increase is still seen when measured using the broader FGT class of poverty measures (Foster, Greer, Thorbecke, 1984), which give weight to the depth of poverty as well as to the number of the poor. Hence, over the 1995-2000 period, we find that for any realistic poverty line, the headcount index and the poverty gap measure shows significant increases nationally (Hoogeveen & ?zler, 2006). For example, on a poverty line of $2 a day, the mean poor household earned 11 per cent below this line in 1995 and by 2000 this had increased to 13 per cent. The data by race is particularly revealing: Between 1995 and 2000, absolute and relative poverty levels amongst African-headed households increased, while for non-African households it either remained stagnant or declined. While the inter-Censal analysis also reveals an overall increase in the headcount and poverty gap measures, this result is not restricted to African-headed households. Hence, the 1996-2001 Census data analysis suggests that both absolute and relative poverty levels increased for African, Coloured and (at the higher poverty line) Asian households. Indeed, while Coloured headcount poverty declines from 20 to 12 per cent in the 1995-2000 comparison, it increases from 10 to 13 per cent in the inter-Censal comparison. The availability of future datasets would ensure a test of both these results for the Coloured population (Hoogeveen & ?zler, 2006; Leibbrandt et al, 2006). > The main thing which John Edmundson leaves out in his listing of the > things which he thinks South Africa could have done which Cuba did > do, and which made it possible for Cuba to be able to do what others > cant, is quite simple: THE SOCIALIST REVOLUTION. This is nonsense. Cuba is not the only development model. Kerala has adopted highly progressive health and education measures without abolishing capitalism. South Africa decided to follow that of the IMF and World Bank. > John is right that I probably wouldn't have been inspired by Cuba had > it not gone all the way toward the abolition of capitalism nearly half > a century ago, but it did, and I'm glad it did. The ANC never promised > a socialist revolution, and hasn't carried one out. More obfuscation. The ANC did promise: "The restructuring of the economy, as a mixed economy, to ensure that while it achieves high rates of growth, it also meets the fundamental needs of all the people by abolishing poverty and racial inequalities in the distribution of wealth. The economy must enable all the citizens of our country to enjoy a rising standard of living. This will demand of all sectors of the economy - state-owned, private, co-operative and others - to allocate resources and implement policies in keeping with this common national requirement." This promise was not worth the paper it was written on. > Naturally it doesn't mean that the class struggle is gone or that > there isn't another revolution to be made. The South African CP, > for example, which is extremely critical of the ANC-led government, > remains active and supportive of that government. The South African > CP remains the principal party on the South African left. Translation: All you sectarians on Marxmail who still have quixotic ideas about socialist revolution should defer to the SACP that has been utterly ineffective in blocking the ANC's drift to the right and now supports the corrupt Jacob Zuma. > Perhaps the critics can point to other parties which see themselve > as an alternative to the left of the ANC and the SACP? I know that > the Spartacists are there, and the PAC. Do you consider them to be > alternatives to the left of the ANC and SACP? No, Walter, we support no party. But we do support the efforts of people like Trevor Ngwane and Dennis Brutus. http://www.democracynow.org/2005/6/16/south_african_activist_dennis_brutus_calls AMY GOODMAN:We?re talking to Dennis Brutus. He has a latest book, a collection of his poems called Leafdrift. Some of these poems were written under a pseudonym, some when you were in prison. Can you talk about them and share one with us? DENNIS BRUTUS:Well, yes. You?re right, some of them were written when it was a crime for me to publish. Others were smuggled while I was on Robben Island, smuggled out of the prison. But in fact, most of this is new and deals, in fact, with a new South African situation where surprisingly we come out of apartheid into global apartheid. We?re in a world now where, in fact, wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few; the mass of the people are still poor. According to the World Bank itself, there are literally millions now below the poverty line, so that the situation is actually deteriorating. And this is quite striking in South Africa. As water is privatized, as electricity is privatized, as people are evicted even from their shacks because they can?t afford to pay the rent of the shack, the situation becomes worse. And it seems to me at the heart of the matter is the fact that the South African government under the A.N.C. and Mbeki have chosen to adopt the corporate solution. They say, ?Oh, globalization is inevitable,? and we think there?that?s not true. You can have a globalizing process, which takes care of the people?s interests, or you can have? AMY GOODMAN:How? DENNIS BRUTUS:?a globalizing process which instead focuses on the corporations. You give tax reductions to the rich. You increase tax on bread and sugar and coffee and tea and petrol, gas for cars, because these things affect the poor. On the other hand, you are actually cutting the taxes on luxury goods so that, in fact, your whole society is geared to keep the corporations happy and allow them actually to go offshore so they don?t even have to pay tax. They can pay tax in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas or somewhere. But a society which is geared to protect the rich and the corporations and actually is hammering the poor, increasing their burden, this is the reverse of what we thought was going to happen under the A.N.C. government. (clip) From lnp3 at panix.com Tue May 6 08:13:32 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 10:13:32 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Reformatting Message-ID: <4820678C.9080409@panix.com> If people are interested in the economics of post-apartheid South Africa, I recommend this: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=982805 Poverty and Well-Being in Post-Apartheid South Africa: an Overview of Data, Outcomes and Policy H. BHORAT: University of Cape Town - Development Policy Research Unit RAVI KANBUR: Cornell University - Department of Applied Economics and Management; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) Here is a brief excerpt: There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that income poverty increased. The headcount index has increased nationally from 32 to 34 per cent between 1995 and 2000 or, using a different dataset, from 26 to 28 per cent between 1996 and 2001 on a $2 a day poverty line (Hoogeveen & ?zler, 2006; Leibbrandt & Levinsohn, 2005 and Leibbrandt et al, 2006). The increase is still seen when measured using the broader FGT class of poverty measures (Foster, Greer, Thorbecke, 1984), which give weight to the depth of poverty as well as to the number of the poor. Hence, over the 1995-2000 period, we find that for any realistic poverty line, the headcount index and the poverty gap measure shows significant increases nationally (Hoogeveen & ?zler, 2006). For example, on a poverty line of $2 a day, the mean poor household earned 11 per cent below this line in 1995 and by 2000 this had increased to 13 per cent. The data by race is particularly revealing: Between 1995 and 2000, absolute and relative poverty levels amongst African-headed households increased, while for non-African households it either remained stagnant or declined. While the inter-Censal analysis also reveals an overall increase in the headcount and poverty gap measures, this result is not restricted to African-headed households. Hence, the 1996-2001 Census data analysis suggests that both absolute and relative poverty levels increased for African, Coloured and (at the higher poverty line) Asian households. Indeed, while Coloured headcount poverty declines from 20 to 12 per cent in the 1995-2000 comparison, it increases from 10 to 13 per cent in the inter-Censal comparison. The availability of future datasets would ensure a test of both these results for the Coloured population (Hoogeveen & ?zler, 2006; Leibbrandt et al, 2006). From charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us Tue May 6 08:44:19 2008 From: charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us (Charles Brown) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 10:44:19 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Wright"s logic ? Message-ID: <48203683.84C9.00BF.0@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> Maybe Rev. Wright is trying to protect O ? Most vet's of the movement, MLK's assassination, et.al have noted O's courage in running in the face of that history. MLK was not assassinated for the "I have a dream" dimension to his political persona, but for his condemnation of imperialism, poverty and racism. O's campaign has had both dimensions, with the latter especially or mainly in his connection to the person of Wright. By forcing O to more sharply separate himself from the condemnation of America dimension, Wright may be seeking to diminish the "confederate" threat to O. CB This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com From david at miradoiro.com Tue May 6 08:50:59 2008 From: david at miradoiro.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?David_Pic=F3n_=C1lvarez?=) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 16:50:59 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] United Left after the electoral disaster in Spain. Message-ID: <000301c8af88$9acb7fe0$0302a8c0@Nautilus> After the electoral losses, United Left is in crisis. I think it is already quite a success to keep something like IU going, with communists, greens, and people from all sorts of traditions on the left, for as long as it has gone. Unfortunately, it looks like splits are ahead. I've translated a document of analysis from a member of the Communist Party, the main political force inside IU. It suggests that the PCE might decide to withdraw from IU and go it alone. Nothing much is clear. The trip of United Left. Ana Mar?a Mart?nez Nieto, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Spain in Arag?n, 21st April 2008 Argo was the name of the mythical ship which Jason and his fellow argonauts sailed in search of the golden fleece. The tremendous adventures they lived, the surprising hazards they avoided, left of the original Argo its name alone, since the superlative happenings made it necessary to substitute for new ones each and everyone of its pieces. Such is the case of United Left today. Except for the name, nothing is left of the original project and IU [United Left] is today the Argo of the alternative left, an Argo which, as Manuel Monereo says, is in danger of becoming a mere zombie idea which hardly reflects any social or symbolic coherent reality, becoming thus more of an obstacle than an impelling platform in order to advance in a debate of ideas with which to retake the lost social and political space. It is necessary to remember the coming to the world of IU in 1986 due to the imperative necessity of different politics from the left, and the consequent articulation of all the social, political and cultural energies to make that possible. Together with communists and the communists in PCE [Communist Party of Spain] hundreds of thousands of people opted to break with continuity and the renunciation to initiate deeper socioeconomic transformations on behalf of the PSOE [Socialist Workers' Party of Spain] government. The discontent and frustration became enthusiasm and positive energy which allowed the birth, a few months after the NATO referendum, of the call of IU as a new social and political space, open to all forces and people of the left, on the basis of a common programme of alternative policies. 22 years have gone by, and it is obvious that since some fewer IU has stopped being that strategic platform for the renovation and recovery of a transformative left. The recent electoral results haven't but stamped the seal which certified the expiry of those who today manage its direction, and yet of the project itself as it really exists. Because it is clear that there exists a tendency towards a two-party system and an electoral setup which promotes it, but this is so from the beginning of the recovered democracy when the point was to reduce to its minimum expression the strenght of PCE, the Party. Under this same electoral setup IU reached 21 seats, as the PCE had already reached 23, so the question is on how to work in order to overcome that objective obstacle, existing with 23, or with 1 seat: either becoming the left wing of zapaterism, or a left anticapitalist, federal and republican project. Or said in a different way: either being the loyal subaltern footsoldiers of social democracy, or a sovereign alternative, radically democratic, which makes its wager on being, and making of politics, something different. It seems the social and electoral limits of the first option have almost reached their floor. I say it seems, because there are yet those who propose to persist in that strategy, with the invaluable support of the comrades from PSOE and their invaluable media repeaters, very concerned now in placing salve in the wound where before they placed rust with cruelty. And this is so since the theorized and temporary "transfusion of red blood" in the form of loaned votes, has rather become a perennial and strategic reinforcement which the PSOE wants to preserve at all costs, until no vital breath remains at all, although the truly concerning thing is that this is the direction in which the current leadership of IU seems to endeavour to proceed. It is more than 20 years ago that the PCE launched the political proposal of constructing the convergence of the social and political left, giving as a result an alternative convergence in IU. The current situation, the new social demands, the new contradictions, the new social subjects, require new responses in organization, programme and politics. And this is not just due to the recent electoral results: it is for the sake of democratic hygiene. They say the mythical Argo had the gifts of speech and prophesy. The really existing alternative left needs to retake now its particular trip towards socialism after a process in which voice is given first to persons rather than to characters and prophets. With debate, participation, and democracy, and the renewed enthusiasm that there remains the whole world to win. Translated without permission. --David. From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Tue May 6 09:00:47 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 11:00:47 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria (reformatting of useful item by j Message-ID: <000001c8af89$f7ad28c0$6401a8c0@office1pc> From shmage at pipeline.com Tue May 6 09:22:57 2008 From: shmage at pipeline.com (Shane Mage) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 11:22:57 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: <1JtN38-0iKAmO0@fwd31.t-online.de> References: <1JtN38-0iKAmO0@fwd31.t-online.de> Message-ID: On May 4, 2008, at 10:21 AM, L?ko Willms wrote: > On Sun, 4 May 2008 09:44:44 -0400, Shane Mage wrote: > >> The "power" of a "State" is the power to repress in the interest of >> the ruling class and (for "former" colonies) its imperial partners. >> The power of a people is its own will, consciousness, solidarity, and >> weapons. > > That's why the people need to take state power. State power is the > ultimate weapon of the working class. Yes, but never, ever, forget that this state power must be of a "new type," "more democratic than the most democratic bourgeois republic." And never forget that the prerequisite for that "new type" of state is the thoroughgoing dismantlement of the existing capitalist State structures. Shane Mage "Thunderbolt steers all things...it consents and does not consent to be called Zeus." Herakleitos of Ephesos From Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net Tue May 6 09:24:04 2008 From: Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net (Johannes Schneider) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 17:24:04 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> <481F51F6.6030709@panix.com> <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20080506152404.193470@gmx.net> British journalist and historian Mike Curtis describes the support given by the British government to the Nigerian central government during the war in Biafra: http://markcurtis.wordpress.com/2007/02/13/nigerias-war-over-biafra-1967-70/ Excerpts: "The formerly secret files on the Nigerian civil war in the late 1960s show very clear British complicity in the Nigerian government?s aggression against the region of Biafra, where an independence movement was struggling to secede from Nigeria.(...) What is crystal clear is that the wishes of the Biafrans were never a major concern of British planners; what they wanted, or what Nigerians elsewhere in the federation wanted, was simply not an issue for Whitehall. There is simply no reference in the government files, that I have seen, to this being a consideration. The priorities for London were maintaining the unity of Nigeria for geo-political interests and protecting British oil interests. This meant that Gowon?s FMG was backed right from the start. But the files also reveal astonishing levels of connivance with the FMG?s aggression. Nigerian aggression, British support British interests are very clearly revealed in the declassified files. ?Our direct interests are trade and investment, including an important stake by Shell/BP in the eastern Region. There are nearly 20,000 British nationals in Nigeria, for whose welfare we are of course specially [sic] concerned?, the Foreign Office noted a few days before the outbreak of the war. Shell/BP?s investments amounted to around ?200 million, with other British investment in Nigeria accounting for a further ?90 million. It was then partly owned by the British government, and the largest producer of oil which provided most of Nigeria?s export earnings. Most of this oil was in the eastern region. Commonwealth Minister George Thomas wrote in August 1967 that: ?The sole immediate British interest in Nigeria is that the Nigerian economy should be brought back to a condition in which our substantial trade and investment in the country can be further developed, and particularly so we can regain access to important oil installations?. Thomas further outlined the primary reason why Britain was so keen to preserve Nigerian unity, noting that ?our only direct interest in the maintenance of the federation is that Nigeria has been developed as an economic unit and any disruption of this would have adverse effects on trade and development?. If Nigeria were to break up, he added: ?We cannot expect that economic cooperation between the component parts of what was Nigeria, particularly between the East and the West, will necessarily enable development and trade to proceed at the same level as they would have done in a unified Nigeria; nor can we now count on the Shell/BP oil concession being regained on the same terms as in the past if the East and the mid-West assume full control of their own economies?.(...)" -- GMX startet ShortView.de. Hier findest Du Leute mit Deinen Interessen! Jetzt dabei sein: http://www.shortview.de/?mc=sv_ext_mf at gmx From Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net Tue May 6 09:38:22 2008 From: Johannes.Schneider at gmx.net (Johannes Schneider) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 17:38:22 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] An advice from Fred Engels In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> References: <11776893.1210004443522.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <481F43C4.3060908@panix.com> <2fa158550805051126l4b1d82f0j3ae25c25fb152f72@mail.gmail.com> <481F51F6.6030709@panix.com> <2fa158550805051144q7a8d2f0fxc2ecf5973270ed89@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20080506153822.269140@gmx.net> Engels to C. Schmidt, In Berlin, London, August 5, 1890 (...) In general, the word "materialistic" serves many of the younger writers in Germany as a mere phrase with which anything and everything is labeled without further study, that is, they stick on this label and then consider the question disposed of. But our conception of history is above all a guide to study, not a lever for construction after the manner of the Hegelian. All history must be studied afresh, the conditions of existence of the different formations of society must be examined individually before the attempt is made to deduce them from the political, civil law, aesthetic, philosophic, religious, etc., views corresponding to them. Up to now but little has been done here because only a few people have got down to it seriously. In this field we can utilize heaps of help, it is immensely big, anyone who will work seriously can achieve much and distinguish himself. But instead of this too many of the younger Germans simply make use of the phrase historical materialism (and everything can be turned into a phrase) only in order to get their own relatively scanty historical knowledge ? for economic history is still and its swaddling clothes! ? constructed into a neat system as quickly as possible, and they then deem themselves something very tremendous.(...) Source: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1890/letters/90_08_05.htm -- GMX startet ShortView.de. Hier findest Du Leute mit Deinen Interessen! Jetzt dabei sein: http://www.shortview.de/?mc=sv_ext_mf at gmx From nmgoro at gmail.com Tue May 6 09:42:46 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 12:42:46 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <1JtN38-0iKAmQ0@fwd31.t-online.de> References: <2fa158550805050913j22f1c8a9h65157f8f994379bd@mail.gmail.com> <1JtN38-0iKAmQ0@fwd31.t-online.de> Message-ID: <2fa158550805060842q13658dffu65207118958ac1e5@mail.gmail.com> I absolutely subscribe the caveats by L?ko. I would believe this should be takne for granted in any Marxist. As to Patrick's comments on opposition to Mugabe by progressive groups, which of course I understand do exist, in my own modest and avowedly uninformed opinion it is those groups who must see what is the main contradiction, and act accordingly 2008/5/6, L?ko Willms : > On Mon, 5 May 2008 13:13:28 -0300, N?(c)stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > > Nothing is more CONCRETE, the globe over today, than the move towards > > splintering any medium or large state in the Third World as soon as a > > possibilty appears. > > While I share your concerns, I wanto to remind us that this unity can > only be strong, if it is voluntary. Repression weakens the unity vis ? > vis the imperialist monster. > > The biggest crime of Saddam Hussein was to weaken the Iraqi nation in > its confrontation with imperialism. > > > Comradely yours, > > L?ko Willms > Frankfurt, Germany > -------------------------------- > visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From nmgoro at gmail.com Tue May 6 09:48:05 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 12:48:05 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <2fa158550805040936w3ce71747p470ff3375f204e63@mail.gmail.com> <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805060848q6120d606offd961dd9b92cf4d@mail.gmail.com> Sorry to insist. This is a Wilsonian reading of Lenin if a "fair reading" implies that any group claiming "national grievances" contains a national revolution of and by itself. In Lenin (and IN MARX) there is a complete theory of national revolutions. We Marxists support national revolutions. Bourgeois politicians support "national redresses". And WITHIN national revolutions the claims of national minorities MUST be adequately answered. Never OUTSIDE them, and certainly less than never AGAINST them. A "national revolution" is not only, not even essentially, the right of every group claiming "national grievances" to establish their own "national state", because those states are not national if they don't well out of a national revolution process. 2008/5/5, Ruthless Critic of All that Exists : > On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 12:36 PM, N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > > > > > > > Oklahomans, Californians etc do > not correspond to the definition of "nationality" as Lenin enunciated > it (although that text carries Stalin's name, even though the ideas were > Lenin's). Nor does the eastern province of Bolivia. > > When it comes to places like Tibet, however, things are much more murky. > Even if imperialists might like to see China weakened, the fact remains that > Tibet _is_ a minority, oppressed nation, and so its claim to > self-determination should be given a fair hearing by socialists. > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From pbond at mail.ngo.za Tue May 6 09:53:15 2008 From: pbond at mail.ngo.za (Patrick Bond) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 17:53:15 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Marxists welcome water justice struggle In-Reply-To: <008e01c8ae3a$782424f0$6401a8c0@new1501> References: <14353893.1209823752180.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <1209863205.5658.228.camel@john-desktop> <008e01c8ae3a$782424f0$6401a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <48207EEB.8050008@mail.ngo.za> Walter Lippmann wrote: > In the report Patrick posted, we find no mention of how much better the > water services were during apartheid regime. In the reply Walter posted, we find no mention of the fact you would expect water services to be better for black people after the apartheid regime. Yet if Walter could remember earlier debates instead of spinning around like a hamster going nowhere, he would recall that the apartheid regime had fewer water disconnections of black people due to nonpayment than exist now, and fewer water-related social protests than the ANC suffers today. In the reply Walter posted, we find only scorn for a judge who ruled for the people, and no mention of solidarity such as is required now, as the class struggle looks to heighten significantly in coming days. I'm tired of chitchatting with you Walter, this is the last. *** The Times, 6 May 2008 Court declares prepaid system ?unconstitutional, unlawful? A Soweto residents? organisation will today launch a campaign urging residents to remove the prepaid water meters installed in their homes. The announcement of the campaign follows a landmark Johannesburg High Court ruling last week declaring ?unconstitutional and unlawful? the installation of prepaid water meters in Phiri, a suburb of Soweto. The meters automatically disconnect the water supply to a household once it has used the 6000 litres provided to residents free by the city. Residents have to pay in advance for further supplies. The court ruling came after residents of Phiri took Johannesburg Water, the City of Johannesburg, and Water and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks to court over the water system two years ago. Charlie Nyatumbo, of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, said the court?s ruling gave residents the right to remove the meters. Nyatumbo said: ?[Today] we will be going house-to-house to remove these prepaid water meters. ?This judgment basically says break the water meter and enjoy free water.? But Virgil James, a spokesman for the City of Johannesburg, warned residents not to damage council property. James said: ? The ruling of the court does not give people permission to start removing these meters. It is property that needs to be protected. ?We appeal to people not to damage council property.? He said that the council was studying the high court judgment and would make a decision on whether to appeal after it had received legal advice. At a press briefing yesterday, two NGOs, the Anti-privatisation Forum and the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, celebrated the judgement and announced the launch of Operation Vula Manzi, which will push for the disconnection of at least 80000 prepaid water meters. Dale McKinley, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation and a member of the Anti-privatisation Forum, said: ?People from all over the world want to know about this judgment as it will have global implications.? McKinley said the City of Johannesburg had acted like ?Big Brother? regarding the prepaid meters and that the city council?s water policy discriminated against blacks and the poor. He called on Cosatu-affiliated unions and on political parties to join the fight against prepaid water meters. McKinley said the coalition expected the council to appeal against the judgment and was prepared to take its case to the highest court in the land. The Coalition Against Water Privatisation called on poor communities across South Africa to take their municipality to court to fight the installation of ?discriminatory? prepaid water meters. Patra Sindane, an organiser for the coalition, welcomed the judgment, saying the disconnection of water supplies had caused an increase in water-borne diseases, which had resulted in an increase in the child mortality rate. ?Water is life and sanitation is dignity. Our life depends on water,? Sindane said . But James said the judgment would badly affect the council?s water-saving campaign , mainly because some people waste resources that are free. James said the council was losing ?millions of rands a year? because of water it was unable to account for. *** Pre-paid water: SAMWU to implement court ruling Anna Majavu, 6 May 2008 The South African Municipal Workers? Union (SAMWU) has welcomed last week?s High Court ruling which declared the forced installation of pre-paid water meters as unconstitutional. ?SAMWU salutes the Johannesburg Coalition against Water Privatisation for having taken this matter to court,? said the union?s general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapo. He said SAMWU had ?long campaigned against the installation of pre-paid water meters?. The union further wanted 50 litres of water per person per day to be provided free of charge. ?This is the basic minimum as prescribed by the World Health Organisation and the union is pleased that the judge has also ordered Johannesburg Water to provide this level of water supply,? said Nhlapo. Nhlapo said the judgement was ?a wake up call for Government to urgently review its unpopular policies to ensure that the poor receive decent water provision?. ?SAMWU will use this judgement to mobilise workers and work side by side with civil formations in their struggle for their communities,? he said. Nhlapo: ?The past ten years have shown that privatisation of water by foreign companies, and corporatisation of water through pre-paid water meters, has only brought suffering to the poor. ?SAMWU said in 1999 that the corporatisation of basic services in Johannesburg through the ?iGoli 2002? plan would prove disastrous and we have now been vindicated. SAMWU predicted in 1999 that the corporatised Johannesburg Water company would not be able to provide water for the citizens of Johannesburg on a profit making basis.? He said Government had spent hundreds of millions of rands on consultants, ?who arrive with a privatisation/corporatisation blue print, and grants for municipalities to corporatise services, only for these services to be proved unsustainable and the money wasted?. Money had to be spent on wiping out the housing backlog and extending infrastructure. ?For government to continue further along the route of privatisation and corporatisation will be catastrophic,? said Nhlapo. SAMWU planned to take measures to implement the Johannesburg High Court decision. The union, said Nhlapo, was ?already working with public interest lawyers in Cape Town against the introduction of pre-paid water meters in poor areas?. The union noted that pre-paid water meters were only introduced to townships and ghettos. ?These areas pay a much higher price per litre for water than the affluent suburbs. The poor subsidise the rich. SAMWU believes that a further legal case against this discrimination against poor residents could be made in the Equality Court.? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A760308 Business Day 05 May 2008 A dry season for SA?s poor as state wages ?water war? Patrick Bond WITNESSES can only hope that recent displays of state brutality ? in Lenasia by gun-toting police against shack dwellers protesting at the denial of water and sanitation, and in Kliptown through infected water (with at least one fatality) courtesy of the Johannesburg municipality ? are aberrant. But notwithstanding last Wednesday?s historic high court ruling against Johannesburg Water (JW) and the national ministry, there is evidence of a systemic water war against the city?s low-income majority. A few weeks prior to Judge Moroa Tsoka?s decision, the city shocked residents by retracting the universal free basic water promise that the African National Congress (ANC) made in the 2000 municipal election. The promise would be kept only for the small proportion declared ?indigent?, who would get a rise from 6kl per household each month. Moreover, city officials said on Thursday they might appeal against the ruling by Tsoka, who agreed with the Soweto plaintiffs that JW?s prepaid water meters and inadequate free water supply violated their constitutional rights. Tsoka ordered the prepaid meters replaced with conventional meters, and that 50l be provided free to each resident. The arrogant official reaction was soon posted on the municipal website: ?The city?s efforts to upgrade water infrastructure could suffer a setback following the high court ruling.? Tsoka accused city officials of racism by imposing credit control via prepayment ?in the historically poor black areas and not the historically rich white areas?. Meter installation apparently occurred ?in terms of colour or geographical area?, and the community consultation process was ?a publicity stunt? characterised by a ?big brother approach?. The French firm Suez was responsible for JW?s management from 2001 to 2006, and has promoted prepaid meters worldwide, even though Britain banned them in 1998 as a public health threat. Tsoka?s ruling could immediately force other municipalities to adjust tariffs and technologies. For example, last Wednesday the website sagoodnews.co.za applauded Cape Town officials for a similar water-limiting device installed in 7500 households, which appears to suffer the same shortfalls as JW?s prepaid meters. Across SA, it has been safe to assume that powerful municipal constituents ? big business and rich ratepayers ? compelled officials to keep water prices relatively low by cutting provision in lowincome neighbourhoods to a bare minimum. To this end, Suez and the Jo?burg council taught municipalities the following strategies: n Impose water prices that soar after a very small, token, free amount of roughly two toilet flushes a day for eight-member households, so that the next block of consumption becomes unaffordable; n Disconnect people who are too poor to pay for any water beyond the free 6kl. At their peak, Johannesburg service disconnections reached 20000 a month during 2002, the council revealed just prior to the World Summit on Sustainable Development; n Offer the token, free basic water on the basis of a household as a unit, rather than the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) recommendation of 50l a person per day. This creates a bias against larger families and those who have backyard shack dwellers or tenants, who also draw upon the per-household supply; n Install low-quality water and sanitation technology to tens of thousands of poor households, with the objective of reducing consumption. The technology includes prepaid water meters, chemical toilets, ?ventilated improved pit latrines?, and ?shallow sewage? systems featuring smaller pipes and lower gradients, no cistern for flushing, and the unclogging of faeces by hand when pipes periodically clog; and n Provide differential technology according to class and race. The hardware listed above is imposed only on people in townships and informal settlements, who suffer additional transport and time-wasting costs acquiring meter cards, not in the formerly all-white suburbs, where people such as me make direct bank account debit payments in order to save our time and effort. In March, the Jo?burg city council announced three further innovations: n Recommit to the failed indigency register ? which records only a small proportion of the city?s poor ? thus dropping a huge group of low-income people from free water allocations, including those who lack formal papers, either because of home affairs department sloth or their foreign origin; n Further stigmatise poor people by means of ?means testing?, since gaining indigent status entails accepting invasive ? and inevitably inaccurate and ad hoc ? state surveillance. Wild plans were under way to link up various Jo?burg municipal records so as to monitor poor people?s consumption under a microscope; and n Terminate universal free services for all, even if that directly contradicts the constitution, the RDP and ANC municipal election promise that says ?all residents? will receive free services. In the process, divide consumers into stratified classes, a technique which in turn will eventually diminish political support for free basic water. All these tactics will have to be rethought now, as the Bill of Rights? socioeconomic clauses finally appear to be growing juridical teeth. In its defence, the Jo?burg council ?talks left? about a more redistributive, pro-poor, and conservation-minded pricing system. The 2008-09 water price increases announced in March include above-inflation increases for higher blocks of consumption, and will contribute to a ?culture of conservation?, the council claims. Durban provides the best data I know of to judge this. A University of KwaZulu-Natal MBA thesis by former city official Reg Bailey shows that water ?price elasticity? ? the negative effect of a price increase on consumption ? for the city?s highest-income third of the population is 0.10. A doubling of the real (after-inflation) water price from 1997-2004 generated less than a 10% reduction in use. What is proposed by Johannesburg for high-volume users is not a 100% increase, but a meagre 3% rise. No conservation should be expected from hedonistic water guzzlers, if Durban is any guide. Instead, the effect of higher prices will mainly be felt by low-income people, who record a much larger 0.55 price elasticity and whose budgets are so stretched they will not be able to afford the increases. The result will be further water deprivation for the masses alongside excess consumption in white suburbs. This in turn will create demand for another Lesotho Highlands Water Project dam, which in turn will raise the raw price charged by RW even higher. The adverse effect of new dams will, in turn, will be felt mainly by those who cannot afford to pay. The high court ruling will potentially force a more ecological, rational and fair approach to water provision. The national Coalition Against Water Privatisation, the Wits Centre for Applied Legal Studies and advocate Wim Trengove deserve credit for supporting the Soweto residents and raising JW?s race/class discrimination to national prominence. In contrast, Joburg?s approach, in common with many municipalities ? together responsible for so many of the 10000 social protests recorded by police each year since 2005 ? was to talk left accompanied by a ?turn right?: the motion associated with closing taps for the poor. Perhaps Tsoka will be remembered as the man who turned the water back on. # Bond directs the University of KwaZulu-Natal?s Centre for Civil Society. From lueko.willms at t-online.de Tue May 6 07:37:20 2008 From: lueko.willms at t-online.de (=?iso-8859-1?q?L=FCko_Willms?=) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 15:37:20 +0200 (MES) Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <929464.20090.qm@web38701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1JtPcT-23Szb60@fwd27.t-online.de> On Mon, 5 May 2008 23:23:09 -0700 (PDT), Roger and Allison Kulp wrote: > The truth is that Tibetans had been living under an oppressive feudalist system for a good four hundred years or so,before Mao,and The Chinese came in. Actually, Tibet has been a tributary territory of the Mandchu emperors since the 18th century. Comradely, L?ko Willms Frankfurt, Germany -------------------------------- visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German From dave.walters at comcast.net Tue May 6 10:14:11 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (David Walters) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 09:14:11 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Marxists welcome water justice struggle Message-ID: <482083D3.6060402@comcast.net> To add to what Patrick wrote... it must be noted that Walter never posts anything about the class struggle in South Africa or, for that matter, mostly anywhere (I do appreciate his few posts on Bolivia recently, however). The issue for *everyone*, for every class, for every ethnic group in SA is what is going on there. That Cuba provides doctors *is nothing but a footnote* in terms of these concerns about the everyday poverty and inability or lack of desire of the ANC gov't to defend the majority of the working class against the systems of privatization and union busting, often carried on by the ANC itself. [When I say footnote, I mean exactly that as *part of the class struggle* not that S. African's don't appreciate this, for those that know about it.] Walter *dismisses* this by focusing on this act of solidarity that the Cubans give to the people of S. Africa. The world according to Walter revolves around what Cuba does, what Cuba says. As Marxists we are interested in discussing what is going on in S. Africa, not just the relatively minor issue of Cuban doctors there. There were massive strikes against the ANC because of it's water program. No comment from Walter. There have been massive rallies and demonstrations against the ANC gov't there. No comment from Walter. Because of Walter's singular myopic focus on "Cuba" he has placed himself outside *any* real political discussion but only serves to defend those that Cuba has good diplomatic relations with as if that is the real issue. It is not and I don't even believe the Cuban themselves have this perspective. 99% of the "S. Africa" bashing (which Walter defines as opposition too or criticism of the ANC, makes him a "S. Africa basher" since he obviously *doesn't care* about the people struggles of S. Africa, only the ANC) is in response to his one-man "Cuba-Lippmann Friendship Association" posts. It's almost as if we are all being 'setup' by Walter knowing full well that when he posts this stuff he is going to get a response. I used to object to Louis calling this "trolling". I now know he is correct. David Walters From markalause at gmail.com Tue May 6 11:01:05 2008 From: markalause at gmail.com (Mark Lause) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 13:01:05 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Wright"s logic ? In-Reply-To: <48203683.84C9.00BF.0@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> References: <48203683.84C9.00BF.0@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> Message-ID: Obama's campaign has no dimensions of interest that he hasn't worked assiduously to shed. Now, if Rev. Wright decides to run, that'd be a different matter.... ML From markalause at gmail.com Tue May 6 11:04:14 2008 From: markalause at gmail.com (Mark Lause) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 13:04:14 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana (Louis' response and also important issues) In-Reply-To: References: <1JtN38-0iKAmO0@fwd31.t-online.de> Message-ID: The old term of "dictatorship of the proletariat" has also lost meaning in as the bourgeois revolution--the imposition of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie--fades farther into our past. The seizure of power by the bourgeoisie was, of necessity, a revolution by a minority class. That which socialists have historically anticipated and advocated will be a triumph of the majority class. This should have serious implications for how we go about preparation and organization. ML From walterlx at earthlink.net Tue May 6 11:08:35 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 13:08:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Wright Message-ID: <5815784.1210093715745.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Outstanding commentary by Mumia on Obama and Rev. Wright. Mumia doesn't support Obama, but he knows what's going on with the demand that Obama denounce Rev. Wright. Sorry, no transcript available yet. Just posted yesterday. http://www.prisonradio.org/audio/mumia/2008MAJ/April%202008/4-30-08MAJObamaWrightB.mp3 Wright would be a terrific candidate for President! Walter Lippmann Los Angeles, California ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From lnp3 at panix.com Tue May 6 11:12:29 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 13:12:29 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Wright In-Reply-To: <5815784.1210093715745.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <5815784.1210093715745.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <4820917D.8080201@panix.com> Counterpunch, May 6, 2008 An Open Letter to Michael Moore Why Didn't You Say It? By PAUL KRASSNER Dear Michael, I was slightly stunned at the irony of this paragraph in your endorsement of Barack Obama: "Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, 'Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for "spiritual counseling?" THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!'" I am at a loss to understand why you wanted Obama to say that, and yet YOU didn't take the opportunity to mention it yourself on Larry King Live when he gave you a perfect opening. In fact, I shouted at my TV set, "Say it, Michael, say it now!" --Paul Krassner Paul Krassner is the editor of The Realist. His books include: Pot Stories for the Soul, One Hand Jerking and Murder at the Conspiracy Convention. He can be reached through his website: http://paulkrassner.com/ From farmelantj at juno.com Tue May 6 13:00:14 2008 From: farmelantj at juno.com (farmelantj at juno.com) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 19:00:14 GMT Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens Message-ID: <20080506.150014.7800.0@webmail15.vgs.untd.com> Well it goes to show that Martens was noted for other things besides being a Maoist activist. In fact there is a considerable literature on the Internet concerning his chess career and his contributions to chess theory. Not being a player of the game, I am not qualified to make an assessment of those things. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know very little about the trajectory of Maoist politics in Scandinavia from the late 1960s on. Martens on his website claimed that the Swedish Maoists played a key role in organizing anti-Vietnam War protests in Sweden in the early 1970s. I have no idea if that is true or not. I am not aware of anything in English that is comparable with Max Elbaum's "Revolution in the Air" which would detail the course of Maoism and other comparable movements in Scandinavia. I know that from his Internet posts, Martens had belonged to at least a couple of different Maoist formations in Sweden, and that he left both of them, denouncing them as having capitulated to the bourgeoisie. I wonder what all that was about. Jim F. -- Midhurst14 at aol.com wrote: Have I been drummed out of the Brownies? George Anthony ________________________________________________ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/farmelantj%40juno.com _____________________________________________________________ Plan ahead with a quick and convenient rental car. Click now. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2121/fc/Ioyw6i3nMUomfHWw6g1Up8iuW4rFCfq8iPDzOzvCpkCAbflaecglPZ/?count=1234567890 From lnp3 at panix.com Tue May 6 13:55:48 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 15:55:48 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] High Wire Message-ID: <4820B7C4.3040101@panix.com> http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080502_jeff_madrick_on_high_wire/ Jeff Madrick on ?High Wire,? Peter Gosselin?s Look at the Economic Meltdown High Wire By Peter Gosselin Basic Books, 272 pages It would be a pity if Peter Gosselin?s new book, ?High Wire: The Precarious Financial Lives of American Families,? gets lost in the current turmoil over subprime mortgages and deepening recession. He has done the most convincing job I?ve seen in capturing the failures of America to deal with a changing, complex and far less generous economy than it has known in the past. That economy, despite cyclically painful periods, was so generous compared to the rest of the world over its 200-year history in terms of the rate at which it expanded the typical American?s standard of living that the country?s national character was formed by it. The resulting tendency in America, though thankfully violated from time to time, is decidedly toward a laissez faire philosophy of government. But that national character is now being tested in a less friendly economic environment. Are America?s reflexes, honed over a couple of centuries, up to the task? It is not clear. Peter Gosselin?s admirable objective is to show how many people of all income levels are now insecure and afraid in an economy that Americans are constantly told, by Republicans and Democrats alike, has long been back on track. At least, that was the conventional wisdom until a year or so ago, when the current hydra-headed crisis emerged. But, in truth, the American economy has not been on track for a generation now. Even the Clinton interlude was, as we now know, prompted by intense and unsustainable financial and housing speculation. The main theme of Gosselin, a veteran reporter for the Los Angeles Times, is the rise of deep-seated financial, health and material risk. He gathers the many pieces of the new economic America together quite beautifully, even elegantly, and brings them alive with interesting and not the usually predictable individual examples. I learned many things in this book, and I?ve been covering this territory for a long time. Take pension and health-care coverage. Most of us who read about these matters know about, and too many of us have already lived through, the growing failure of America?s pension and health-care system. Americans depend on having a good job for having a good pension. Now pensions are being frozen by major companies like IBM, many industries from autos to airlines are on a downward slide and their pension funds won?t pay off, and the Enrons of the world caused many to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of retirement savings through fraud. Less well known, half of Americans work for a company today that offers no retirement plan at all. And then there are the 401(k)s. Gosselin says the major shift in America toward a riskier society regards retirement. Three out of five employees who are fortunate enough to have a private retirement plan now don?t have a pension at all but rather a defined contribution plan like a 401(k) to which they must contribute, and then manage the money. Many and probably most will save too little and invest unwisely. As for health-care plans, co-pays are going up, employees are losing coverage and the health plans don?t pay off as they promise, the latter a scandal that needs far more airing. As for health care, few can remotely afford a policy that is not financed by the job. And more than 15 percent of Americans have no health insurance, anyway. Many of those work or are in a family with a worker. The deaths caused by lack of insurance should startle the nation. But what makes Gosselin so interesting is that he digs further for the pertinent government failures. For example, the Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA), passed in 1974 originally to protect workers, now, as he writes, protects big companies. The reason is that ERISA prevents companies from being sued by employees. In the current age, ?[ERISA] has become a crucial vehicle for shifting economic dangers that our employers once helped us manage onto our backs.? And then Gosselin gives a few poignant examples of the injured parties. Like the woman, Debra Potter, who was denied medical coverage though she had multiple sclerosis. (ERISA?s reach has been expanded to include health-care coverage.) She couldn?t sue to get her benefits and got far less than needed. I for one was not fully aware of this outrage. A former insurance consultant told me recently that some employees are paid at insurance companies according to how many claims they can deny. I was shocked. Naive me, and after all these years. Of course, that is how the companies operate. Create incentives to maximize profits. Gosselin?s central claim is based on some research he did to show that the proportion of American families whose incomes are likely to fall substantially has risen sharply since the 1970s. I can?t vouch for the methodology, but it seems correct on a quick reading (and he defends it persuasively against other views in a section on methods). More precisely, the probability that income for a family will drop by 50 percent in any two-year period has risen from one in 20 families to one in 10. One in 10 is pretty darn high, and that?s in any two-year period. Over time, more will fall into the category. What?s more, there is much less chance of making a big comeback and rising to one?s old income level than there was 30 years ago. Gosselin computes, using another methodology, that incomes in general fluctuate more?by as much as 26 percent on average for the typical family as opposed to 17 percent years ago. When families depend on two incomes, as many do today, such wide fluctuations make sense. Family incomes are up if modestly over 30 years, but mostly because the spouse now goes to work. If the spouse leaves the work force for whatever reason, the income falls sharply in percentage terms. That wouldn?t be bad if that income were just frosting on the cake, but spousal income is often critical to well-being now because wages have stagnated for so many. Gosselin even makes a chapter on America?s poor sound original. The poor are not different?they are like you and me, he says, simply trying to make ends meet and get a life, especially for their kids, and even hold in their hearts a hope for the American dream. He finds conservative claims that we have conquered poverty nonsense. Gosselin is a little too optimistic that ?deprivation? has been eliminated in America, as some conservatives like to say. How poorly those in poverty eat we now know. Diabetes is up, not because the poor are literally hungry?some in America do go hungry, by the way?but partly and maybe largely because bad food is almost always so much cheaper and readily available than nutritious food. Gosselin, however, puts his finger on it. Poverty is not about black-and-white deprivations in the contemporary world. The poor in America live in total chaos?in his words, ???pay cuts and eviction notices, car troubles and medical crises, hirings and firings?that keeps reversing their families? advances, rattling their finances, nudging them toward the economic brink.? Some have the audacity to say the poor can use their credit cards to bail themselves out of disaster. Yes, at 18 percent interest. Bring on the Mob! What do the poor borrow for? A good restaurant meal? A pair of impossibly expensive sneakers? Maybe, once in a while. But Gosselin looks into a case or two: $170 to fix the steering on the car, a $300 cash advance for the rent, another $1,000 to bring a wife to the U.S. from Central America. On education, Gosselin tells us that a college degree doesn?t guarantee a good job but often lots of debt. On housing, he sniffed out the subprime dangers early. Regarding health coverage, he notes the usual problems of a health-care system dependent on the job: reduced coverage, higher co-pays. But he delves into the even more alarming scandal of policy cancellations and rescissions by supposedly respectable companies, a stunning and growing national disgrace that doesn?t receive enough attention. Gosselin doesn?t get everything, however. There is the shocking level of child poverty in America, higher by most measures than anywhere else in the rich world. There is highly unequal quality of public education. But, most important, there is simply the long stagnation in earnings, most obvious when we isolate males from females. Gosselin buys too easily into the notion that the American economy has, based on the conventional data like the unemployment rate and the growth rate, done well for a generation and that it is essentially financial security that is the issue. Not exactly so. To be precise, the 30-something median male?in the middle of the distribution?makes less after inflation today than did the 30-something male in the 1970s. As some perceptive commentators put it, the typical male today makes less than his father did 30 years ago. This needed more attention in an otherwise excellent book. In other words, typical men have made no progress compared with typical men a generation ago. This experience violates the true American dream, not the one about how we can all get rich, but the one about how, if we work hard, most of us will do better over time than the previous generation. We can?t all rise higher on the pyramid, but the whole pyramid can rise. In fact, that is what happened in the U.S. since the beginning. That is what made the nation special and its people optimistic. But now it no longer does. Meanwhile, women?s wages are up, and that?s what has mostly kept family income rising. But there is still an enormous gap between what men and women earn, far more than in some European nations, for example. In Sweden, men and women make about the same. Labor market discrimination? You bet. At least men haven?t fallen much behind in America, some will answer. Well, high-school-educated males have fallen behind by a lot. College-educated males have seen median wages stagnate for 30-year stretches and longer. Here?s some of my own data, done with the estimable researcher Nikos Papanikolaou. Median Males: High School (12th-grade diploma) Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 1979 $36,865 $42,358 $44,102 2005 $30,000 $37,550 $39,000 Note below that even typical men with a college education have seen no increase in earnings for 20- and 25-year stretches since 1969. Median males: College (Four years / degree) age 25-34 age 35-44 age 45-54 1969 $45,634 $54,760 $52,479 1979 $40,489 $54,816 $64,783 1989 $44,925 $54,731 $66,105 2000 $45,342 $58,945 $63,480 2005 $47,000 $63,000 $64,000 Data: Jeff Madrick and Nikos Papanikolaou, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, The New School. But more to the point, inflation-adjusted income, even if it rises slightly, does not mean that people are actually keeping up. The costs of education, health care, drugs and public investment have gone up much faster than incomes. So people can buy clothes, food or electronics more easily, but they can?t buy health care, or they have to move into an expensive house to get a good k-12 education for the kids. Or they can?t as easily afford their commuting costs. A subway ride in New York in the 1970s cost 35 cents; now it?s $2. That adds $50 a month to the commuting bill. This is why Barack Obama is right when he talks about bitterness and anger, and why claims that the political attitudes are only about culture shifts is wrong. Now the experience of the 2000s has brought the message home. Wages haven?t gone up at all in the 2000s, despite record profits and decent productivity growth. Family incomes are down. These are unprecedented in the modern economy. And all this follows a generation of rising insecurity, uncertainty, unrewarded effort and for many a treadmill of growing despair, cynicism and occasional chaos that this author describes so clearly, even elegantly. Gosselin?s gotten the new American condition better than anyone else I?ve read. Jeff Madrick is editor of Challenge Magazine and senior fellow at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, The New School. A book of lectures, ?The Case for Big Government,? will be out in June, from Princeton. He is also at work on a history of the U.S. economy since 1970, to be published by Alfred A. Knopf. From abuhartal at hotmail.com Tue May 6 15:48:29 2008 From: abuhartal at hotmail.com (abu hartal) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 21:48:29 +0000 Subject: [Marxism] Obama Message-ID: There seems to be some brouhaha over at lbo-talk whether the criticism of Obama coming from those who support or are more sympathetic to Clinton should be characterized as racist. That some of these critics are black is supposed to prove that the position is not racist. But of course it is. I am reminded here of what Kal Kumar Penn says in his last movie to a black security guard who singles him out for a search: You're not even black; you look more like Matthew Perry than I do. It is racist to support Clinton after her anti black tactics and, more importantly, her support of war crimes against Iranians on the basis of the false threat that the Iranians have threatened to use nuclear weapons against Israel. You will see on LBO-talk that there is no attempt to justify her open support of war crimes. Here is what Clinton said in her ABC interview--see below. She repeats propaganda about what the Iranian leaders have said. They made no threat of wiping Israelis off the map. They want a regime wiped off the map just as the Shah's regime was wiped off the map. This is deeply offensive and stupid rhetoric, but it is not a threat to use nuclear weapons as an act of genocide. This was already established not in the left media but in the New York Times. Does she not read the New York Times? So no threat of nuclear annihilation was made that justified her counter-threat. The Iranians now see the US propaganda machine manufacturing a pretext to go to war with Iran, the idea that Iran is building up nuclear weapons to finish the Judeocide that Hitler began. Now it makes sense why she did not read the intelligence that led Senator Graham to vote against the war against Iraq. She is not interested in nuance, truth and skepticism. She positively wants to establish false pre-texts for aggressive war and regime change even in the absence of a direct threat and Security Council authorization. She thinks the US still has the power that it does not have to engage in diplomacy and compromise. That is, she is truly and actually committed to cowboy diplomacy and not just for the purposes of winning the yahoo vote. Of course this may well be a winning issue for her because people want to be deluded about the aggression they actually do support. Here is her lie from Sunday: "And the very idea that they would translate into action some of the most outlandish comments that have been made by some of the Iranian leaders, and even contemplate wiping Israel off the face of the world, means that we've got to make it clear to them that will not go without massive retaliation." From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Tue May 6 16:33:02 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 18:33:02 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <929464.20090.qm@web38701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> <929464.20090.qm@web38701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <908b689f0805061533w2d58ac87ka7d56db934a3d58f@mail.gmail.com> On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 2:23 AM, Roger and Allison Kulp < thorenstd124 at yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > The truth is that Tibetans had been living under an oppressive feudalist > system for a good four hundred years or so,before Mao,and The Chinese came > in.For a while the average Tibetan was a lot better off.The feudalist rulers > were driven out,the country was modernized,children were educated,there was > health care etc. .Granted,this only lasted a few years,but still... The crucial question however is, "What do the Tibetans themselves want?" "The country was modernized,children were educated,there was health care...", etc. is all very well. But the central question is SELFdetermination. This is something that echoes throughout Marxism. Marx emphasized SELF-emancipation of the working class, for example. Also, Tibet having been part of Chinese territory for centuries, shouldn't count for much. Ireland was also occupied by the British for centuries. So what? From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Tue May 6 16:36:51 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 18:36:51 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805060848q6120d606offd961dd9b92cf4d@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <2fa158550805040936w3ce71747p470ff3375f204e63@mail.gmail.com> <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> <2fa158550805060848q6120d606offd961dd9b92cf4d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <908b689f0805061536k301d082ah2cf9f4f2f5accf21@mail.gmail.com> On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 11:48 AM, N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: Sorry to insist. This is a Wilsonian reading of Lenin if a "fair > reading" implies that any group claiming "national grievances" > contains a national revolution of and by itself. > > In Lenin (and IN MARX) there is a complete theory of national > revolutions. We Marxists support national revolutions. Bourgeois > politicians support "national redresses". > > And WITHIN national revolutions the claims of national minorities MUST > be adequately answered. Never OUTSIDE them, and certainly less than > never AGAINST them. > > A "national revolution" is not only, not even essentially, the right > of every group claiming "national grievances" to establish their own > "national state", because those states are not national if they don't > well out of a national revolution process. Ok, fair enough. If we accept your position, though, then it seems that leftist support for Basque self-determination becomes untenable. Don't you think so? Would you agree? From mjs at smithbowen.net Tue May 6 17:09:22 2008 From: mjs at smithbowen.net (Michael Smith) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 19:09:22 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Obama In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <200805061909.22918.mjs@smithbowen.net> On Tuesday 06 May 2008 17:48:29 abu hartal wrote: > > There seems to be some brouhaha over at lbo-talk > whether the criticism of Obama coming from those > who support or are more sympathetic to Clinton > should be characterized as racist. Is there actually anybody on lbo-talk who supports Clinton? Admittedly, I don't read everything on the list. From nmgoro at gmail.com Tue May 6 17:15:45 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 20:15:45 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <908b689f0805061533w2d58ac87ka7d56db934a3d58f@mail.gmail.com> References: <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> <929464.20090.qm@web38701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <908b689f0805061533w2d58ac87ka7d56db934a3d58f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805061615p16f67195ma29ed7781a30429a@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/6, Ruthless Critic of All that Exists : > On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 2:23 AM, Roger and Allison Kulp < > thorenstd124 en yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > The truth is that Tibetans had been living under an oppressive feudalist > > system for a good four hundred years or so,before Mao,and The Chinese came > > in.For a while the average Tibetan was a lot better off.The feudalist rulers > > were driven out,the country was modernized,children were educated,there was > > health care etc. .Granted,this only lasted a few years,but still... > > > The crucial question however is, "What do the Tibetans themselves want?" This is not the Marxist crucial question. The crucial question for a Marxist is "how does the struggle of the Tibetans (or whoever else's struggle) advance or hinder the struggle for socialism the world over"? This question is the BASIC question of Wilsonianism. Not the question of Marxists. And, on the other hand, the second question here is to understand the Tibetan issue as a class issue. The criticisms I received for talking about the Ogoni (which in fact I never did, methinks) is grounded on this consideration. Same applies to "Tibetans". OTOH if I were to accept that question as crucial, then I would be betraying the road to socialist revolution in my own counry since this is exactly the question the British want to be asked as regards the current settlers in Malvinas. Not to speak of asking "what do Israelis want", etc. _That_ question is the BOURGEOIS question on the national issue. From nmgoro at gmail.com Tue May 6 17:19:42 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 20:19:42 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <908b689f0805061536k301d082ah2cf9f4f2f5accf21@mail.gmail.com> References: <1JsXcX-1jJkPY0@fwd28.t-online.de> <1219B292-EB10-4FFF-A8B7-5DA6996DA2AC@pipeline.com> <2fa158550805040619q2c16a23cmc4e6a78dbb5e0646@mail.gmail.com> <20080504144536.1B401FD1A@mailbackend.panix.com> <2fa158550805040936w3ce71747p470ff3375f204e63@mail.gmail.com> <908b689f0805051140p5fbd0cd7q83066329dd1b06ec@mail.gmail.com> <2fa158550805060848q6120d606offd961dd9b92cf4d@mail.gmail.com> <908b689f0805061536k301d082ah2cf9f4f2f5accf21@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805061619j447ecf7fu5706c3ab50fc90ef@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/6, Ruthless Critic of All that Exists : > On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 11:48 AM, N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > Sorry to insist. This is a Wilsonian reading of Lenin if a "fair > > reading" implies that any group claiming "national grievances" > > contains a national revolution of and by itself. > > > > In Lenin (and IN MARX) there is a complete theory of national > > revolutions. We Marxists support national revolutions. Bourgeois > > politicians support "national redresses". > > > > And WITHIN national revolutions the claims of national minorities MUST > > be adequately answered. Never OUTSIDE them, and certainly less than > > never AGAINST them. > > > > A "national revolution" is not only, not even essentially, the right > > of every group claiming "national grievances" to establish their own > > "national state", because those states are not national if they don't > > well out of a national revolution process. > > > Ok, fair enough. > > If we accept your position, though, then it seems that leftist support for > Basque self-determination becomes untenable. Don't you think so? Would you > agree? This time it is me who will say I'm not privy enough to the Basque question to give a full answer to your own questioning. But at least I can tell you that it is perfectly possible to consider a socialist and revolutionary position for Spain that offers for the Basque other possibilities than secession. However, the creation of the European Union has put all these issues under scrutiny because many local bourgeoisies may prefer to be centralized by "Brussels" as against, in the Basque case, "Madrid". Not easy to give an answer. I am not rash enough to do it. -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From dave.walters at comcast.net Tue May 6 17:31:28 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (David Walters) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 16:31:28 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria (or Tibet). Message-ID: <4820EA50.8090307@comcast.net> Nestor: "OTOH if I were to accept that question as crucial, then I would be betraying the road to socialist revolution in my own counry since this is exactly the question the British want to be asked as regards the current settlers in Malvinas. "Not to speak of asking "what do Israelis want", etc." "_That_ question is the BOURGEOIS question on the national issue." Fake juxtaposition Nestor. Both your examples are of *settler populations* and has little do with the national question as poised by Marxists. (Alan Woods/Ted Grant notwithstanding). We are talking *indigenous* populations/nations. In fact, with Tibet, we are talking about a nationality that is *recognized as such by the PRC*!...no side in this dispute disputes the *right of self-determination* for the Tibetans. The PRC claims that they have "autonomy" and are recognized as a national minority. The Tibetan exile gov't claims the same thing except they are being denied *in fact* the rights to autonomy. So...what then is the argument? None of this is relevant to the discussion on Nigeria were we are talking about specifically indigenous populations that at the same time *represent* the totality of the Nigerian *nation*. David From bauerly at yorku.ca Tue May 6 19:09:55 2008 From: bauerly at yorku.ca (bauerly at yorku.ca) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 21:09:55 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] The World Food Crisis Message-ID: <1210122595.48210163c12c5@mymail.yorku.ca> Why do leftists continue to fall for the MSM's 'bio-fuels are to blame' mantra on the source of the food crisis. Magdoff attempts to add a bit of nuance but he too says that commodity market speculation did not cause the crisis. Quite the contrary. Any serious look at the data will show that ethanol makes up less than 2% of global food demand increase in 2007 and less than 15% of the price increase can be shown to come from the increase in biofuels. The 'blame China and India for their meat eating' has a little bit more empirical support, but China's protean from animal sources is still 1/10th of the west's. Why is so little focus on the commodity market bubble fueled by hedge fund speculation, falling dollar investment and US Fed liquidity monetary policy? This is what we need to be stressing. From dave.walters at comcast.net Tue May 6 20:02:27 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (David Walters) Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 19:02:27 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] The World Food Crisis Message-ID: <48210DB3.2020302@comcast.net> I agree with bauerly on this question. I think we are *beginning* to see an effect on food-into-energy in terms of prices. Overall I agree with the short essay by Fidel Castro on the insanity of ethanol (specifically) production from food. I tend to be a little softer on the bio-diesel issue because of the much wider array of possible sources for this that exclude the use of farm land. Of course all of this "bio-fuel" is still hydro-carbon based and puts out carbon as emissions. I think the problem is approaching this myopically within the general opposition to food-into-fuel perspective. There is almost -- *almost* -- an irrationality to it. I say this because it's really off-kilter to raise this issue when the much larger food issue of what and why we grow certain crops is so much more a problem than the "2%" we make into fuel. How can we discuss this when 40% of our corn goes into CORN SYRUP? Or that we spend 20 lbs of corn and soybeans for every 1 lbs of beef? Are chips, cheese-its and wafer-thins even IN a "food group"? Yet double digits percentage of our acreage is given over to these and other fast foods and junk. While I think the food-into-fuel is worth discussing (because it's a NON-solution to the energy crisis) I think a broader discussion on the irrationality of the consumer-market-driven agricultural policies under capitalism would be a lot more important...and fruitful. David From nmgoro at gmail.com Tue May 6 20:16:12 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 23:16:12 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria (or Tibet). In-Reply-To: <4820EA50.8090307@comcast.net> References: <4820EA50.8090307@comcast.net> Message-ID: <2fa158550805061916k5c14bf92o68f8bcd083a50e29@mail.gmail.com> Dear David, I wasn't talking Nigeria long ago. I am not talking on what I don't know. What I am talking is about things I DO know about: national revolutions and the differences between "nations" and "nationalities". And imperialist usage of nationalities against national movements, which by definition tend to weld together, nay, dialectically fuse into a new unity, multiple nationalities into nations. I don't even believe there can exist a "Nigerian nation". But, again, this is nothing I have read too much about so I won't go along this line. Nkwame Nkrumah, that social reformist (!) understood this when he wrote "Africa must unite". If I have to choose between a social reformist who understands what's the main task against imperialists and a self-avowed revolutionary socialist who doesn't, well, I know whom I respect best. 2008/5/6, David Walters : > Nestor: > > "OTOH if I were to accept that question as crucial, then I would be > betraying the road to socialist revolution in my own counry since this > is exactly the question the British want to be asked as regards the > current settlers in Malvinas. > > "Not to speak of asking "what do Israelis want", etc." > > "_That_ question is the BOURGEOIS question on the national issue." > > Fake juxtaposition Nestor. Both your examples > are of *settler populations* and has little > do with the national question as poised by Marxists. > (Alan Woods/Ted Grant notwithstanding). > > We are talking *indigenous* populations/nations. In fact, > with Tibet, we are talking about a nationality that is > *recognized as such by the PRC*!...no side in this dispute > disputes the *right of self-determination* for the Tibetans. > > The PRC claims that they have "autonomy" and are recognized > as a national minority. The Tibetan exile gov't claims the > same thing except they are being denied *in fact* the rights to > autonomy. > > So...what then is the argument? None of this is relevant to the > discussion on Nigeria were we are talking about specifically > indigenous populations that at the same time *represent* the > totality of the Nigerian *nation*. > > David > > > > ________________________________________________ > YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > Send list submissions to: Marxism en lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com > -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From DBachmozart at aol.com Tue May 6 20:32:08 2008 From: DBachmozart at aol.com (DBachmozart at aol.com) Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 22:32:08 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] DN!: "Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism" Message-ID: <20080507023208.28916.qmail@aural.democracynow.org> Dennis Brasky has sent you a story from Democracy Now!, a daily independent radio and TV news program: Renowned political analyst Kevin Phillips argues successive administrations have imperiled the US economy by a combination of shortsighted policies and a trend against regulation. These include unparalleled credit card debts, the expansion of financial industries such as hedge funds, ballooning national debts, and deliberately altering statistics like inflation and unemployment to mask the accurate picture. [includes rush transcript] To read, listen to, or watch the whole story: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/5/6/bad_money_reckless_finance_failed_politics The person who sent you the story added the following comments: "Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism" Renowned political analyst Kevin Phillips argues successive administrations have imperiled the US economy by a combination of shortsighted policies and a trend against regulation. These include unparalleled credit card debts, the expansion of financial industries such as hedge funds, ballooning national debts, and deliberately altering statistics like inflation and unemployment to mask the accurate picture. ----- This email has been sent at the request of a visitor to our website. If you wish to ensure that you do not receive any future messages from Democracy Now!, please accept our apologies and visit http://www.democracynow.org/optout From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Tue May 6 22:34:21 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 00:34:21 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Philadelphia cops caught in act of brutalizing three Message-ID: <001b01c8affb$a1aada40$6401a8c0@office1pc> The article below says nothing about the race of the victims of this police attack, but I will make a wild stab that they were Black. I will make available more facts as and if they come out. Of course, it can be argued (and Ruthless has basically argued) that such police actions are justified by a police perception that they are in danger, which was undoubtedly produced in these anti-people armed force by the cop being killed elsewhere in a bank robbery. The judge ruled in the Sean Bell case that the killing of Bell and the attempt to kill two others (which failed apparently because of inadequate training in the use of their heavy weaponry) was JUSTIFIED by their "perception" that someone might have a gun. And Ruthless endorsed the judge's assumption that the presumption of innocence is a presumption that any police killing is justified. In fact, the presumption generally means not that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the perpetrator was not afraid, but that they must prove that they committed the acts charged against them (as in the Simpson case). Where the killings are admitted and proven by all available facts, the DEFENDANTS have the burden of PROVING that their state of mind establishes a REASONABLE doubt. Note the assumption that this vast right to killl in self-defense applies ONLY to the police. No judge or prosecutor would have ruled that Sean Bell was justified if he had had a gun and shot the cops who were trying to kill him. No court has ruled that Ruthless and I can kill anyone who we "genuinely fear" may be carrying a gun. Nor could anyone be acquitted for killing a cop because of "genuine" fear" that they had a gun or might be preparing to shoot at them. And yet if the law is the same for everybody and the Bell decision is valid, that should be the right of every citizen. Cops in New York carrying automatic weapons have killed a Black mentally-ill woman armed with a knife, a small Black child in a stairway who was playing with a toy gun. They shot a Dominican storekeeper in his own store on the grounds that they thought he was robbing it. He, of course, thought they were robbing it. All "justified" by police "perception" of danger. Complete inequality before the law, and a specifically racial inequality at that, since Blacks and Latinos are the overwhelming victims of the cops "genuine fear" of Blacks and Latinos planning to kill them etc. And who do the cops represent? Why do the authorities and the still white rulers of this capitalist state (which is also structurally and committedly racist) stand so firmly behind these trained killers, white and Black in just about any brutal crime they commit against Blacks and Latinos. What are the chances that the cops in this Philadelphia incident will not spend a day in jail, just as tbe cops CONVICTED in the Rodney King case fourteen years ago have not served a day in jail? This is the legal tradition that Ruthless endorses in the Bell case (as well, obviously, as the Diallo case). I stress this partly because I am convinced that because of this stand on a situation in the country where he lives and seems to think he knows quite well (which I don't challenge), Ruthless has nothing to say about the national question anywhere in the world deserving of anything but contempt from revolutionary-minded people or Marxists of any stripe. I say this regardless of the issues involved in these debates, which I plan to comment on separately. At any rate, I promise this is my last word on this ersatz list member. From now on I will act as though he does not exist. Fred Feldman TV video shows Philly officers kicking, hitting 3 suspects By PATRICK WALTERS, Associated Press Writer 51 minutes ago PHILADELPHIA - A half-dozen police officers kicked and beat three men pulled from a car during a traffic stop as a TV helicopter taped the confrontation. The video, shot by WTXF-TV, shows three police cars stopping a car Monday, two days after a city officer was shot to death responding to a bank robbery. The tape shows about a dozen officers gathering around the vehicle. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched; one also appears to be struck with a baton. The third man is also kicked and ends up on the ground. "On the surface it certainly does not look good in terms of the amount of force that was used," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. "But we don't want to rush to judgment." The officers were responding to a report of a shooting nearby, police said. It was not immediately clear what preceded the confrontation. Ramsey said Philadelphia officers have been on edge since Saturday, when Officer Stephen Liczbinski was fatally shot with an assault rifle after a robbery. Police fatally shot one of the robbery suspects; another was arrested Sunday and a third man is still being sought. "There is also a lot of heightened emotions since Sgt. Liczbinski was murdered on the streets just Saturday," Ramsey said. Liczbinski was the third officer slain on duty in the city in the last two years. Attorney D. Scott Perrine, who represents the three men seen in the video, said that as terrible as the officer's death was, it does not excuse such actions by police. "We don't take into consideration the emotions of police officers when it comes to the discharge of their duties. ... Your emotional state, being tired, doesn't justify what's on that video," Perrine said. He said one of his clients suffered a welt on his head the size of a baseball and one of his legs was seriously injured; he didn't know the extent of any injuries on the other two men. Perrine also said he did not know what preceded the traffic stop but called the actions seen on the tape unjustified. "It clearly shows a lack of any reasonable investigation before these police yank these individuals out of the car and take turns delivering blows," he said. "This is a time for a thorough investigation to see what it is that happened here." Perrine said that police told him all three men would be charged with aggravated assault. Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman, did not immediately return a call for comment from The Associated Press. This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Tue May 6 23:08:56 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 15:08:56 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Australian Labor Party ranks take high ground in privatisation battle Message-ID: <48213968.4060307@optusnet.com.au> Confrontation over the NSW Labor government's defiance of the conference decision on privatisation was avoided yesterday, in favour of negotiations, as the media weighed in universally on the side of the government. Charge of the corporate heavy brigade: http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/chargeofthecorporateheavybrigade/ From jjonas at nic.fi Wed May 7 00:17:11 2008 From: jjonas at nic.fi (Joonas Laine) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 09:17:11 +0300 (EEST) Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens Message-ID: <15161189.569911210141031033.JavaMail.jjonas@nic.fi> Jim Farmelant: > I don't know about the rest of you, but I know > very little about the trajectory of Maoist politics > in Scandinavia from the late 1960s on. Martens on > his website claimed that the Swedish Maoists played > a key role in organizing anti-Vietnam War protests > in Sweden in the early 1970s. I have no idea if that > is true or not. I am not aware of anything in English > that is comparable with Max Elbaum's "Revolution in the > Air" which would detail the course of Maoism and > other comparable movements in Scandinavia. As for Finland, I don't think there ever was too much maoism here. I haven't read the book yet, but here's the english summary of Pirkko-Liisa Kastari's study on the reception of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in Finland. http://www.lib.helsinki.fi/elektra/kastarisum.pdf -- jjonas @ nic.fi From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Wed May 7 01:13:46 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 03:13:46 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] O win in NC narrow loss in Indiana blow to Clinton, but she'll continue fight for white vote Message-ID: <000001c8b011$e4afd3c0$6401a8c0@office1pc> The vote in Indiana was so close that pro-McCain crossovers, seizing an opportunity to vote white since the Republican race is settled, may account for the whole margin. But on the whole Clinton was less successful in Indiana than Pennsylvania in solidifying white voters, and the Black vote remained heavy and solid for Obama. A further indication of the direction of Clinton's campaign has been the macho-sexist posturing, with her aides deriding Obama as a "pansy" -- apparently for expressing qualms about obliterating Iraq -- and portraying Hilary as the candidate with "balls" in contrast to the effete Obama. The fact that Hilary Clinton confronts sexism in her campaign, as any woman would and as would be especially true if the woman concerned showed any traces of human decency does not mean that she is fighting it. Quite the contrary, in fact. A number of the people who derided her in sexist terms have been her objective allies in the racist campaign against Obama. I suspect foreign policy will become more central in the next stage of the campaign with efforts to force Obama off his positions in favor of discussing with Iran, Cuba, and others, utilizing the theme that he is soft and weak and not a two-fisted, bloodthirsty "real American." This will be a challenge since some of his support in the ruling class and the surrounding circles in and out of government comes from his differences with the policy course of the Bush-Clinton administration (differences within a common imperialist framework, but real differences nonetheless). I tend to think these differences, modest though they are, are more important right now than differences over domestic policy. They reflect battles in the world struggle where imperialism has lost or is losing ground, whereas medical care etc. represent domestic battles that have not been fought yet and therefore are easier game for demagogy and unkept promises. The other central issue, more for the masses than the bourgeoisie, is the attraction to a large stratum of voters across racial lines (including many white workers, especially young) of a Black leader and presidential candidate as an expression of the desire for "change." I continue to see this as a positive development in US politics. I am pleased and a little bit surprised that the Clinton campaign lost ground in its offensive around his Black pastor and Black church, and the views the pastor expressed -- exclusively aimed at Black religious expression and Black opinions, and the danger of Black consciousness in the Black churches and elsewhere in that dangerous and "genuinely" frightening Black community. I chose the WaPo article over the Times because I assumed that they would give a more pro-Clinton twist to their coverage. They basically didn't, indicating that her campaign is basically at the end of the road. She will probably continue, however, in an effort to fire up anti-Obama, pro-McCain sentiment among white Democrats and to further her convergence (whatever, including nothing, may come of it) with the right-wing (but not mad-dog) wing of the Republican part. The convergence -- including with right-wing evangelical religious operators -- began as triangulation but seems to have become a matter of conviction and principle, indicated in her ability to make any significant appeals on just about any question to her left. Fred Feldman Obama Is Decisive Winner in N.C.; Clinton Ekes Out Victory in Indiana Former First Lady Vows to Continue Despite a Widening Delegate Gap By Dan Balz and Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, May 7, 2008; A01 Sen. Barack Obama scored a landslide victory in North Carolina's Democratic presidential primary yesterday, moving him ever closer to locking up an insurmountable lead among pledged delegates, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton posted a razor-thin win in the hotly contested Indiana primary as she sought to keep her shaky candidacy for the nomination alive. Clinton secured the Indiana result after a late rush of votes for Obama from the city of Gary and surrounding Lake County dramatically narrowed her margin in a bizarre end to a long night of counting. Inexplicably, Lake County did not report any votes until nearly 11:30 p.m. and the county was still reporting precinct results after 1 a.m. today. The twin results solidified the status quo in the Democratic race, one that now gives Obama the clear advantage in the battle for the nomination because of his solid lead in the tally of pledged delegates. Despite her Indiana victory, Clinton emerged even more the underdog in the nomination battle. The results meant the senator from Illinois would to add both to his pledged-delegate margin and his lead in the popular vote, leaving Clinton with an even more daunting challenge in trying to deny Obama the nomination. Although she managed to squeeze out a victory in Indiana, the night produced a far different outcome than the Clinton campaign had hoped for. In the closing hours of the campaigns in the two states, her advisers expressed confidence that she was gaining ground on Obama in North Carolina rapidly enough to hold his anticipated victory margin to single digits. They also thought she was positioned for a solid victory in Indiana. Instead, Obama won North Carolina by 56 percent to 42 percent, and his popular-vote margin there -- about 230,000 votes -- wiped out the gains Clinton had made with her decisive victory in Pennsylvania two weeks ago. In Indiana, Clinton won by 51 percent to 49 percent. Obama, declaring that he is now fewer than 200 delegates away from locking up the nomination, used his victory speech in Raleigh to begin to try to heal the divisions in the party that have resulted from the long and difficult campaign and to sound the themes of a general-election race against Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee. "This fall, we intend to march forward as one Democratic Party, united by a common vision for this country," he said. "Because we all agree that at this defining moment in history -- a moment when we're facing two wars, an economy in turmoil, a planet in peril, a dream that feels like it's slipping away for too many Americans -- we can't afford to give John McCain the chance to serve out George Bush's third term. We need change in America." Clinton appeared more than a hour after Obama spoke, before any final call on Indiana had been made, to declare that she would continue fighting. "Tonight we've come from behind," she said. "We've broken the tie, and thanks to you it's full speed -- on to the White House." But there were other signals that she and her advisers recognize the long odds she faces. Her speech was tinged with a sense of urgency, as she pleaded with her supporters to go immediately to her Web site and make a contribution to allow her to continue to campaign against a rival who enjoys a sizable financial advantage. She followed that with an e-mail appeal to supporters asking for funds. And, like Obama, she pledged to help unify the party, regardless of the outcome. "No matter what happens I will work for the Democratic nominee, because we must win in November," she said. Yesterday's outcome came after the most difficult month of the campaign for Obama. Clinton had gained momentum by winning in Pennsylvania two weeks ago, and Obama's position appeared even more perilous when his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., went on a public relations tour and repeated many of his most controversial statements. Obama finally made an emphatic break with Wright a week before the primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. Roughly a third of the voters in both states said the Wright situation was very important in their vote, and those voters went heavily for Clinton. But an almost equal percentage said Wright made no difference, and they strongly supported Obama. The economy was the dominant issue in both states. More than six in 10 voters in each state cited that issue as the most important one facing the country -- equaling the biggest percentages of the primary season. In North Carolina, those economy-driven voters backed Obama narrowly; in Indiana, they supported Clinton. In North Carolina, Obama brushed aside a determined effort by Clinton, whose campaign believed her populist economic message and proposal for a summer suspension of the federal gasoline tax was helping her to gain ground there on her heavily favored rival. Overwhelming support from African American voters, who made up a third of the electorate, helped seal the Obama victory. In Indiana, Clinton built her initial lead with strong support from white voters, particularly working-class whites who had become the focus of both candidates. Obama enjoyed an advantage in northwestern Indiana because of its proximity to his home in Chicago, but Clinton sought to balance that with solid support in more culturally conservative southern Indiana. She carried the overwhelming number of counties in the state, but Obama won college towns and the city of Indianapolis. The Indiana and North Carolina results followed the pattern of previous Obama-Clinton contests. Clinton carried the votes of white women in both states, while Obama won men in North Carolina and split them with Clinton in Indiana. Obama won younger voters, while Clinton carried the backing of older voters. Clinton won whites; Obama won blacks. At stake yesterday were 187 pledged delegates -- 115 in North Carolina and 72 in Indiana. That made yesterday the third-biggest day of the long nomination battle in terms of delegates, but more important, it was the last big day on the calendar. An additional 217 pledged delegates remain to be chosen in the final six contests between now and June 3: primaries in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota. Obama entered the day with 1,745 delegates to Clinton's 1,608, according to an Associated Press tally. Included in that count are superdelegates -- elected officials and party leaders who are automatically granted a vote at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Among those superdelegates, Clinton led Obama 270 to 255. Obama has gradually narrowed what was a much larger gap in the superdelegate competition. About 270 superdelegates remain uncommitted, by most media counts. Those superdelegates are critical because neither Obama nor Clinton can reach the 2,025 delegates needed to secure the nomination in the remaining contests. Because pledged delegates are allocated proportionally on the basis of primary results in each state, it is virtually certain Obama will end the primaries with a lead among pledged delegates but still short of the majority needed. Clinton's campaign yesterday once again raised the question of what should happen to the 366 delegates from Florida and Michigan. Both states have been barred from taking their seats at the convention because they violated party rules in establishing the dates of their primaries. Clinton's camp wants both delegations seated and has noted that, if that happens, a total of 2,209 delegates would be needed to win the nomination. The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet May 31 to hear challenges on both Michigan and Florida and will make recommendations to the party about a possible resolution. DNC Chairman Howard Dean has said his goal is to seat both delegations, but he has given no ground on his stance of not allowing their delegates to play a major role in determining the outcome of the nominating contest. Eventually the issue may go to the DNC's Credentials Committee, which takes over responsibility for determining the fate of the disputed delegations at the end of June. Clinton herself raised Michigan and Florida during a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday morning. Asked if 2,025 or 2,209 was the real number of delegates the Democratic nominee would need to win to get the nomination, she said, "I think it's 2,209," and repeated her view that the results of primaries in Michigan and Florida should be honored. Clinton appeared at the speedway with Sarah Fisher, one of the top female drivers. "I'm here to see Sarah, who is a trailblazer," Clinton said as the two women stood side by side in front of open-wheel race car that had been specially painted blue and had Clinton's name on it. Asked about why she was at the speedway, she said, "There's a good racing analogy -- if you want to go forward, put it on D, if you want to go backwards, put it in R." Obama began his day in Indiana as well and later flew to North Carolina to await the results of the primaries in both states. Early yesterday at a diner in Greenwood, Ind., Obama took a seat at the counter, ordered a ham-and-feta-cheese omelet and hash browns, and struck up a conversation with Rick Jones, a custom-home builder seated on the stool next to him. "I've eaten breakfast every morning here for 20 years in this seat. I walk up this morning -- I had no idea what was going on," said Jones, who added that he had nearly finished reading Obama's first book, "Dreams From My Father." Asked whom he planned to vote for, Jones said, "The person sitting next to me." Over the final days of the campaign, Obama's campaign shifted its emphasis to smaller and more casual events, a mix of community picnics, diner visits and even a roller-skating party. The candidate stopped by construction sites at dawn and factory gates at midnight. Obama's family joined him over the weekend, which appeared to lighten his mood. But the joint pummeling from Clinton and McCain was wearing on him, his advisers said. He was struggling to promote his own cause while spending half of every speech drawing contrasts with his two opponents. Amid the din, Obama struggled to get his message out. On Saturday morning in Indianapolis, he delivered an economic speech that had been days in the making, in which he described the rocky times that many Americans are facing as an affront to the American dream. It was an effort to break through to working-class voters, but it was overshadowed by the gas-tax rhetoric tucked in the middle of the address. "This economy doesn't just jeopardize our financial well-being, it offends the most basic values that have made this country what it is: the idea that America is the place where you can make it if you try. That no matter how much money you start with or where you come from or who your parents are, opportunity is yours if you're willing to reach for it and work for it," Obama said. Murray, traveling with Obama, reported from North Carolina. Staff writer Perry Bacon Jr., traveling with Clinton, reported from Indiana. Polling director Jon Cohen and polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report. From brownh at hartford-hwp.com Wed May 7 04:47:26 2008 From: brownh at hartford-hwp.com (Haines Brown) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 06:47:26 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens In-Reply-To: <15161189.569911210141031033.JavaMail.jjonas@nic.fi> (message from Joonas Laine on Wed, 7 May 2008 09:17:11 +0300 (EEST)) References: <15161189.569911210141031033.JavaMail.jjonas@nic.fi> Message-ID: Can I interject a question, which may be OT, but an answer would help clarify the current discussion. What is "Maoism"? That is, just which specific ideas or policies associated with Mao serve to define Maoism? One thing I recall from the time I was interested in Mao and read some of his writings, is that he carried through revolution based on a class alliance: peasants, workers, and national bourgeoisie, rather than just the working class. Would a Maoist today advocate fortifying class struggle my entering an alliance with the bourgeoisie. I read Mao rather closely when it came to theory, but to be honest, I thought Mao's views were kind of a mess, and represented a step back from Marx's own brilliant insight. On Contradiction comes to mind. For example, speaking of "contradictions among the people" confuses Marx and Engels' notion of contradiction with Kantean real oppositions. However, the cultural revolution policy pointed out the importance of engaging people's mental outlook in the revolutionary project. This I believe was an important insight (although at best very problematic in implementation), but does it suffice to create the new category, Maoism? When I think back upon Mao, also what stands our is the use of guerilla war as a method to further political revoltution. But surely he didn't invent the idea, and I don't see that use of this method warrants the term "Maoism". I suspect inventing a "Leninism" set a bad precedent (and there were other "isms" attached to names), for instead of defining "Marxism" simply as the developing working-class ideology, it became a set of ideas attached to individual thinkers. If we attach the name "Maoism" to individuals and movements, presumably that implies a small number of cogent descriptions of certain ideas or policies that distinguish Mao. So what are they? Is there any consensus as to what they are? Haines Brown From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Wed May 7 07:07:26 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 09:07:26 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Student solidarity with cross-dresser holds off administration attack Message-ID: <000001c8b043$4cdda270$6401a8c0@office1pc> Found on: NYCAnti-War at yahoogroups.com Submitted by: dondebar at optonline.net Ossining, NY May 7, 2008 Many peers back cross-dressing student Marcela Rojas The Journal News It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision that drove Brewster High School student Michael Loscalzo to go to school dressed as a girl. "Years of taking judgment made me decide to stick up for myself," said Loscalzo, 17. "All my life, people either said I was weird or that I was gay." The Brewster High School sophomore recently revealed his secret about his desire to become a woman by going to class wearing makeup and feminine attire. His choice has reverberated through the halls. Loscalzo said school officials warned him Friday that he could be suspended if he continued to cross-dress, a claim that administrators denied yesterday. In a show of support, several students have organized an "Equality Protest" this week, by showing up to school dressed in garments of the opposite sex.Yesterday, about a dozen teens gathered at a local deli with boys wearing skirts, wigs and dresses and girls donning caps, cargo pants and T-shirts. They said about 60 students cross-dressed yesterday, though school officials said the number was far less. "We want Mike to feel more comfortable in his surroundings," said senior Shannon Dodd, 18, one of the organizers. "We're letting the student body know that it's OK to dress this way." Administrators stressed yesterday that there were no plans to suspend Loscalzo for cross-dressing. Brewster High School Principal Matthew Byrnes said Loscalzo did have a conversation with a school official about inappropriate attire after he had come to school wearing a camisole. "First of all, no one has been suspended in my four years for cross-dressing," Byrnes said. "We want all students to be accepted regardless of what they choose to wear and what their sexual orientation is. We are still always going to have rules on what our expectations are on the appropriateness of what people wear." Loscalzo said he never wore a camisole to school. Yesterday, he had on a lace-trimmed tank top with a cropped sweater, jeans and women's boots that he accessorized with a green choker, matching bracelets and heavy black eyeliner. A bra could be seen under the spaghetti-strapped top that he stuffs with gel-like pasties. When he cross-dresses, he usually wears similar-looking tank tops, he said. Loscalzo has been cross-dressing for nearly a month. The transition has not been easy at school, as many kids have made fun of him and called him a "freak," he said. One student, he claimed, recently punched him in the stomach for his appearance. Yet the trouble has not stopped Loscalzo from being who he wants to be. "I honestly just don't feel comfortable as a male," he said.Loscalzo intends to get a sex-change operation by age 21, he said, and is now undergoing counseling to get approved for hormone therapy injections. He said he has been attending therapy sessions for four years. His mother, Anne Loscalzo, said she learned about her son's decision three months ago. The school, she said, has not called her to discuss his cross-dressing.Though she has serious concerns about a sex-change operation and his safety, she backs him up, she said. Michael, she said, has gotten picked on in school during the past four years for "being different." "I've always encouraged him to be who he is," she said. "So if this is who he is, then I support it." Brewster Schools Superintendent Jane Sandbank reiterated that the district stresses respect and tolerance of all people. "The school has been supportive of Michael and helping him work through his issues," Sandbank said. "Undergoing a sex change is a major choice for a young man to make. We would hope that the school would give appropriate guidance and ensure that he's not ridiculed or bullied." Loscalzo said it was in the seventh grade when he realized that he wanted to be a girl. He is an only child, he said, and was adopted from the South American country of Colombia at age 4. "I'm not going to let anyone stop me from doing this. It's who I am, and it's what I believe in," he said. "It's not something that you wake up one day and say, 'I'm going to have a sex change.' You're born with it. You don't choose." Yesterday, the gender-bending students got a glimpse of what Loscalzo has been going through. "The faces I got were not just disgusted but horrified," said senior Robert Gewirtz, 17. "I'm wearing a skirt. It's not like I have leprosy." "It shows you exactly how someone in Mike's situation would feel," chimed in senior Christopher Motta, 17. "What I'm hoping that this does is show people that it doesn't matter what you wear, you can express yourself however you wish." Loscalzo said he was overwhelmed by the support. As he stood outside the deli on Route 312 across from Henry H. Wells Middle School, students driving by honked their horns and shouted out, "Hey, Mike." "I'm surprised because I didn't know that many people cared," he said. "I'm truly delighted." From lnp3 at panix.com Wed May 7 07:18:39 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 09:18:39 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Egypt: bread riots and mill strikes Message-ID: <4821AC2F.1050508@panix.com> http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/17566 From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Wed May 7 07:58:16 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 23:58:16 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Australian Labor Party ranks take high ground in privatisation battle Message-ID: <4821B578.4050605@optusnet.com.au> Cranks and enemies: some ostensible leftists take identical positions to Bob Carr and Paul Keating on the privatisation struggle, the unions and the Labor Party http://ozleft.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/cranks-and-enemies/ From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Wed May 7 08:17:10 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 10:17:10 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: Protests force inquiry into Vancouver police role in death of native man Message-ID: <002401c8b04d$0ac21100$6401a8c0@office1pc> Socialist Voice? Marxist Perspectives for the 21st Century MAY 7, 2008 Web Edition: www.socialistvoice.ca Race and Police: Inquiry into Killing of Frank Paul Shows Power of Protest By Ivan Drury On December 5, 1998 a Vancouver police officer dragged Frank Paul, a 47-year-old Mik'maq man, soaking wet and unconscious, from the downtown holding cells and dumped him in an alley across town. He was drunk and could not stand or speak clearly. His body was found at 2:30 am in the same alley by a passerby. According to the pathologist's report, Paul had died of hypothermia accelerated by acute alcohol poisoning. He was likely already dying of hypothermia when Sergeant Russel Sanderson ordered the rookie wagon driver Constable David Instant to dump Frank Paul into the night.[1] How the police investigate the police If Frank Paul's death is tragic, the investigation process that followed is frightening and infuriating. The death of Frank Paul was investigated by Detective Robert Douglas Staunton - one single officer. Staunton later said that he pursued his investigation "in a way I thought would be neutral." At the recent inquiry Staunton testified that "neutrality" meant he did not seek to find fault. In fact, he worked to obscure evidence of the criminal actions of the police. In contravention of police regulations, Staunton did not perform any of the routines normal for a homicide investigation. This break with routine is the norm for police investigation of police crimes. Between 1992 and 2007, 52 people died at the hands of members of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD). Not a single one of these deaths resulted in charges being laid against a single officer.[2] Why this "neutral" stance in cop killings? Staunton explained that unless, before the investigation started, it was already known that the suspected police-criminals "were absolutely guilty of a criminal offense, it basically served no purpose," because if investigators took steps towards prosecution "we would receive no information."[3] An astonishing admission! What is more, "that is a practice that the Major Crime investigators followed" in all 52 or so cases of deaths at the hands of the police in the previous 15 years, he said. "We didn't make judgments." Former Vancouver coroner and former mayor Larry Campbell confirmed Staunton's description of police practice, telling the inquiry that as coroner he would always take the word of the investigating officer over that of crown prosecution on the viability of charges.[4] Don Morrison, police complaints commissioner at the time of the Frank Paul killing relied on the same "neutrality" when he opposed calls for a public inquiry in 2001 saying, "What do you want me to do, wreck a young officer's career?"[5] Morrison's stonewalling came at the prompting of BC's Liberal government. Solicitor-General Rich Coleman wrote Morrison that year explaining that he would not open a coroners inquest into Frank Paul's death where "culpability, liability and issues of racial discrimination are likely to become the central features.. [A] responsible coroner would not permit the pursuit of those matters. Public acrimony would almost certainly follow." Staunton's "neutral" investigation in fact paralyzed any process of accountability for the death of Frank Paul. No disciplinary actions resulted beyond the light slap on the wrist delivered earlier by the VPD itself following its internal investigation: a one-day suspension for Instant, and two days for Sanderson. Complaints process exposed In the final days of the public inquiry, Mike Tammen of the BC Civil Liberties Association accused the Vancouver Police Department of cover-up. In fact, the cover-up was not solely the work of the police. From the original police "investigation" to the Office of the Police Complaints Commission, to the Coroner, to the BC Liberal government, all authoritative bodies barred the door against any investigation or inquiry into the killing of Frank Paul. A conspiracy of silence around Frank Paul's death continued, virtually without exception, until early 2007. The NDP fell into step, and did not speak a word about Frank Paul until halfway through the inquiry. The Frank Paul cover-up is only too typical of standard police procedure. In a document called "Towards More Effective Police Oversight" the Pivot Legal Society explains how complaints against police in BC are processed.[6] The complaints process is compromised from start to finish, the Pivot document shows, by the watchful eye of the police, backed up by the government and ruling elite that the police protect. The report cites John Westwood of the BC Civil Liberties Association, "I have never met an internal investigator who is biased in favour of a civilian complainant.. Nor have I assisted in a complaint where the police witnesses support the complainant's account of events in opposition to the accused officer's account." The Pivot Society calls this the "blue code between officers which undermines the public interest in police accountability"[7] Role of police in society The "blue code" serves the underlying role of police in society as protectors of the status quo of capitalist property relations. The heavy arm of policing falls on capitalism's victims - especially the poor, the sick, and racialized people. It is quite true that neither Constable Instant nor his colleagues create the conditions that killed Frank Paul. The set-up was carried out by the provincial and federal governments, in collaboration with the Downtown Eastside real estate barons who sit on block after block of empty buildings as speculative investments, and with the big capitalists who juggle market relations to maintain a reserve army of labour in the person of people like Frank Paul. The neo-liberal reforms carried out by the BC Liberal government and its counterparts in other provinces have a clear agenda - to deepen the suffering of poor, oppressed, and working people. Police are called in to put down dissent. Hundreds of years of colonial genocide and repression have hammered people like Frank Paul in order to steal and plunder the land of the Mik'maq and other Indigenous nations. David Dennis, the Vice-President of United Native Nations (UNN), an organization that represents off-reserve Indigenous peoples, sees police institutions as being responsible for the day-to-day oppression and racism that many native youth experience. "There's a direct relationship between the way the police are treating these young people and the way that these young people end up getting dead."[8] How the inquiry was won Despite all of these systemic barriers, a demand for a public inquiry came out of the Indigenous community in Vancouver, and an inquiry was won. A major factor in making Frank Paul's death an issue big enough to force an inquiry was the work of Kat Norris and the Indigenous Action Movement (IAM). In an interview conducted in the last days of the public inquiry, Kat Norris explained that she was motivated to organize for Frank Paul because "what happened to him should not happen to anyone. The gall of racism just hit me. I just couldn't let it go by without doing something."[9] It's instructive to compare this case with the killing of would-be Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski by taser-wielding cops at the Vancouver airport on October 14, 2007. That case too would no doubt have been covered up if the unprovoked attack hadn't been captured on video. But once it was public, the death of a European immigrant generated far more response - including from the corporate media - than the death of a homeless Mik'maq. The United Native Nations was the first organization to lay a public complaint about the death of Frank Paul in 2002,[10] and it remained involved throughout the public inquiry. UNN took an interest in Frank Paul's case because, David Dennis explained, it confirmed "our fears about the police's role, the cover-up that occurred, and the kind of the complicity of the provincial government to keep this death at the hands of the police suppressed for so long."[11] Limitations of the Frank Paul inquiry It wasn't until February 2007 that the government allowed the public inquiry to go ahead, while barring it from finding fault or laying charges. The very fact that the death of Frank Paul, which had been covered up, lied about, and silenced for nearly ten years, made it to a public inquiry is a testament to the strength and potential power of social movements. However, the Frank Paul inquiry can only be considered a partial victory for the movement that fought and organized for it. Kat Norris points out that although Const. Instant "is being used as a scapegoat to take the blame . he was following someone's orders." And David Dennis explains, "There are limitations to the inquiry, and we've been really vocal about how it's not designed to assign fault. But it can assign responsibility to people and with that we can take it further." The final stage of the Frank Paul inquiry will take place April 28 to May 16 with government and police policy hearings. While the inquiry commission cannot place binding recommendations on the government or police, it has and will present a platform where demands can be put forward. UNN presented their demands at the inquiry hearing on May 1, and IAM will be making their demands heard in the streets with a march from the Vancouver Detox to Main and Hastings on May 8.[12] For both UNN and IAM, the inquiry has opened a window to bring pressure against higher places in the police administration and government. David Dennis said, "We need someone like Police Chief Graham or Solicitor General Coleman to go down. These are the ones who knew about [the killing of Frank Paul] and didn't do anything about it."[13] Development of movement demands Kat Norris wants "to bring the police to justice. Someone has to answer for what happened to him. Someone needs to be held accountable. I want for this to never happen to one of my people again." For her, the inquiry itself has been "a sign of how much power the police and the justice system has over its own . they take care of their own. The police and the higher-ups are great friends. I've always said that just by instinct. But you can see it. It all goes back to land ownership and the corporations." David Dennis and the UNN are working out a more ambitious program of reform, beginning with "tangible things that can be changed" like challenging the provincial contract for the RCMP that comes up for renewal in 2012. The UNN calls for civilian investigations; but Dennis recognizes the potential problem of corruption in such a civilian investigation body. Volunteers for a similar group in Ontario are mostly former cops. The other danger is that people who join also quickly adopt the mentality of the "Blue Shield." To protect against these trends, UNN is demanding that membership in such a body be based on recommendations from Indigenous community groups and leadership. "People who are there are our eyes," he says. "It's kind of one step up." In this way, such civilian investigation units could be linked with the grassroots movement and mass organizations that will fight to keep them in line. Reform and the need to survive Both Dennis and Norris focus on Indigenous peoples' struggle for survival against police repression. Police racism, harassment, brutality, and even murder are a grim reality for Indigenous peoples, particularly those who live off-reserve in urban centres. In an article published by the United Nations Chronicle in 2007, Melissa Gorelick quantifies the hostile relationship between the Canadian "justice" system and Indigenous peoples. "According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, aboriginals make up about 19 percent of federal prisoners, while their number among the general population is only about 3 percent[14]. Between 1997 and 2000, they were ten times more likely to be accused of homicide than non-aboriginal people. The rate of natives in Canadian prisons climbed 22 percent between 1996 and 2004, while the general prison population dropped 12 percent."[15] Kat Norris points out that Frank Paul "represents the discrimination, racism, murder, sexual abuse, residential schools, colonization that our people have suffered. He represents our people." And she draws a connection between police harassment and colonization. "We're suffering simply because the imperial powers desired our land." In the face of this brutal oppression, oppressed peoples respond with strategies for survival. Their day-to-day struggle against police violence contributes to the process of getting rid of police and prison institutions along with the entire capitalist structure they serve. The front lines of struggle The Indigenous community has taken on the struggle against police repression more consistently and effectively than any other community in Canada. The work of United Native Nations, the Indigenous Action Movement, the Downtown Eastside Womens' Centre Elders Council, and Knowledgeable Aboriginal Youth Association in Vancouver practice important examples. They must not be left to struggle alone. They need broad and effective support. Racialized people all across Canada are familiar with the club and gun of the police departments - whether you are Latino or South Asian in Vancouver, Black in Toronto, or Arab in Montreal. The same is true of the multi-racial communities of the hand-to-mouth poor, homeless, drug users, and mental health consumers in neighbourhoods like the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. We should work to forge unified action groups between these diverse communities and cultures and their supporters. White workers also have a strong stake in supporting these struggles. First, racist treatment must be opposed because it divides working people and violates the human dignity of us all. Second, police are also the enemies of the labour and activist movements as they struggle for progressive change. Unionists who have found their strikes and actions attacked by police defending the bosses' interests understand this well, as do activists who have been beaten up and arrested by police because of their actions for social justice. The movement for a public inquiry into the police killing of Frank Paul holds an important lesson. Without a grassroots struggle in the streets, the demands of the movement - survival-based or otherwise - would not have carried weight. In fact, the street movement is where the demands are rooted, and where survival-based demands for reform can move forward. The movement that Kat Norris has helped initiate has a potential to advance both the survival struggle and the broader movement against police violence, provided it is backed by the mounting pressure that only a street movement can advance. The breadth and strength of the grassroots movement against police brutality will decide how powerful and far reaching these demands can become. Footnotes [1] Frank Paul inquiry, Jan 7 2007, testimony of Sanderson. [2] Frank Paul inquiry, Feb 14 2008, testimony of Staunton [3] Frank Paul inquiry, Feb 14 2008, testimony of Staunton. [4] Frank Paul inquiry, Jan 25 2008, testimony of Larry Campbell. [5] www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=55ce448c-4b6-45 d2-9850-9837e4f3c3d6 [6] "Towards More Effective Police Oversight", Pivot Legal Society, September 2004 http://pivotlegal.org/pdfs/Effective_Police_Oversight-Sept2004.pdf [7] "Six Recommendations for Policing Reform", Pivot Legal Society, Fall 2005 (Pg. 1)http://pivotlegal.org/pdfs/Pivot--six_recommendations_for_policing_reform. pdf [8] "Interview with David Dennis", Ivan Drury, March 26, 2008. [9] "Interview with Kat Norris", Ivan Drury, March 27 2008. [10] "Interview with David Dennis", Ivan Drury, March 26, 2008. [11] "Interview with David Dennis", Ivan Drury, March 26, 2008. [12] March and Rally organized by Indigenous Action Movement, May 8th, 5pm at Vancouver Detox (377 E. 2nd Ave, Vancouver) http://indigenousaction.blogspot.com/ [13] "Interview with David Dennis", Ivan Drury, March 26, 2008 [14] Statistics on numbers of Indigenous people in Canada vary greatly depending on the source used. 3% is a common (though dated) government number, based on "Status Indians" and those voluntarily identified by census. Other sources place Indigenous peoples at between 5% and 10% of the population in Canada. Many Indigenous nations regularly refuse to participate in the Canada census, and an unknown number of individuals do the same. [15] "Discrimination of aboriginals on native lands in Canada: a comprehensive crisis", UN Chronicle, Sept, 2007, www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2007/issue3/0307p50.html. From bauerly at yorku.ca Wed May 7 09:07:14 2008 From: bauerly at yorku.ca (bauerly at yorku.ca) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 11:07:14 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] The World Food Crisis Message-ID: <1210172834.4821c5a2dbe12@mymail.yorku.ca> As per my last post. Brad http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4486.html US Fed To Blame for Global Food Crisis Market Oracle Politics / Food Crisis Apr 26, 2008 - 03:09 PM By: Mike_Whitney The stakes couldn't be higher for Ben Bernanke. If the Fed chief decides to lower rates at the end of April, he could be condemning millions of people to an agonizing death by starvation. The situation is that serious; there's no room for error. Food riots have broken out across the globe destabilizing large parts of the developing world. China is experiencing double-digit inflation. Indonesia, Vietnam and India have imposed controls over rice exports. Wheat, corn and soya are at record highs and threatening to go higher still. Commodities are up across the board. The World Food Program is warning of widespread famine if the West doesn't provide emergency humanitarian relief. The situation is dire. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez summed it up like this, "It is a massacre of the world's poor. The problem is not the production of food. It is the economic, social and political model of the world. The capitalist model is in crisis." Right on, Hugo. There is no shortage of food; it's just the prices that are making food unaffordable. Bernanke's "weak dollar" policy has ignited a wave of speculation in commodities which is pushing prices into the stratosphere. The UN is calling the global food crisis it a "silent tsunami", but its more like a flood; the world is awash in increasingly worthless dollars that are making food and raw materials more expensive. Foreign central banks and investors presently hold $6 trillion in dollars and dollar-backed assets, so when the dollar starts to slide, the pain radiates through entire economies. This is especially true in countries where the currency is pegged to the dollar. That's why most of the Gulf States are experiencing runaway inflation. This doesn't mean that oil depletion, biofuel production, over-population, and giant agribusinesses don't add to the problem. They do. But the catalyst is the Fed's monetary policies; that's the domino that puts the others in motion. Here's Otto Spengler's summary in his recent article in Asia Times, "Rice, Death and the Dollar": "The global food crisis is a monetary phenomenon, an unintended consequence of America's attempt to inflate its way out of a market failure. There are long-term reasons for food prices to rise, but the unprecedented spike in grain prices during the past year stems from the weakness of the American dollar. Washington's economic misery now threatens to become a geopolitical catastrophe....The link between the declining parity of the US unit and the rising price of commodities, including oil as well as rice and other wares, is indisputable. Never before in history has hunger become a global threat in a period of plentiful harvests. Global rice production will hit a record of 423 million tons in the 2007-2008 crop year, enough to satisfy global demand. The trouble is that only 7% of the world's rice supply is exported, because local demand is met by local production. Any significant increase in rice stockpiles cuts deeply into available supply for export, leading to a spike in prices. Because such a small proportion of the global rice supply trades, the monetary shock from the weak dollar was sufficient to more than double its price." ( "Rice, death and the dollar", By Otto Spengler, Asia Times) The US is exporting its inflation by cheapening its currency. Now a field worker in Haiti who earns $2 a day, and spends all of that to feed his family, has to earn twice that amount or eat half as much. That's not a choice a parent wants to make. Its no wonder that six people were killed Port au Prince in the recent food riots. People go crazy when they can't feed their kids. Food and energy prices are sucking the life out of the global economy. Foreign banks and pension funds are trying to protect their investments by diverting dollars into things that will retain their value. That's why oil is nudging $120 per barrel when it should be in the $70 to $80 range. According to Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citigroup in New York, ?There's no supply-demand deficit". None. In fact suppliers are expecting an oil surplus by the end of this year. "The case for lower oil prices is straightforward: The prospect of a deep U.S. recession or even a marked period of slower economic growth in the world's top energy consumer making a dent in energy consumption. Year to date, oil demand in the U.S. is down 1.9% compared with the same period in 2007, and high prices and a weak economy should knock down U.S. oil consumption by 90,000 barrels a day this year, according to the federal Energy Information Administration." ( "Bears Baffled by Oil Highs" gregory Meyer, Wall Street Journal) There's no oil shortage; that's another ruse. Speculators are simply driving up the price of oil to hedge their bets on the falling dollar. What else can they do; put them in the frozen bond market, or the sinking stock market, or the collapsing housing market? The Fed has gummed up the entire financial system with its low-interest credit scam; now it's on to commodities where the real pain is just beginning to be felt. What a mess! This is what happens when there's too many dollars sloshing around the system; they all need a place to rest, and when they do, they create equity bubbles. Sound familiar? Indeed. This is Greenspan's legacy in a nutshell; the dark specter of Maestro will continue to haunt the world until all the hyper-inflated asset-classes (real estate, bonds, stocks, commodities) return to earth and all the red ink is mopped up. That'll take time, but Bernanke could make things a lot easier if he accepted some responsibility for the current turmoil and raised rates by 25 basis points. That would show speculators that the Fed was serious about defending the currency which would send the commodities bubble crashing to earth. Prices would go down overnight; guaranteed. But Bernanke won't raise rates because he doesn't really give a hoot about the people in Cameroon who have to scavenge through garbage-dumps for a few morsels to keep their families alive. Nor does he care about the average American working-stiff who gets cardiac-arrest every time he pulls up to the gas pump. What matters to Bernanke is making sure that his fat-cat buddies in the banking establishment get a steady stream of low interest loot so they can paper-over their bad investments and ward off bankruptcy for another day or two. Its a joke; it was the investment banks that started this downward spiral with their rotten mortgage-backed securities and other debt-exotica. Still, in Bernanke's mind, they are the only ones who really count. And don't expect Bush to step in and save the day either. The "Decider" still believes in the unrestricted activity of the free market; especially when his crooked friends can make a buck on the deal. From the Washington Times: "Farmers and food executives appealed fruitlessly to federal officials yesterday for regulatory steps to limit speculative buying that is helping to drive food prices higher. Meanwhile, some Americans are stocking up on staples such as rice, flour and oil in anticipation of high prices and shortages spreading from overseas. Costco and other grocery stores in California reported a run on rice, which has forced them to set limits on how many sacks of rice each customer can buy. Filipinos in Canada are scooping up all the rice they can find and shipping it to relatives in the Philippines, which is suffering a severe shortage that is leaving many people hungry." (Patrice Hill, Washington Times) The Bush administration knows there's hanky-panky going on, but they just look the other way. It's Enron redux, where Ken Lay Inc. scalped the public with utter impunity while regulators sat on the sidelines applauding. Great. Now its the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) turn; they're taking a hands-off approach so Wall Street sharpies make a fortune jacking up the price of everything from soda crackers to toilet bowls. "A hearing Tuesday in Washington before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission starts a new round of scrutiny into the popularity of agricultural futures, a once a quieter arena that for years was dominated largely by big producers and consumers of crops and their banks trying to manage price risks. The commission's official stance and that of many of the exchanges, however, is likely to disappoint many consumer groups. The CFTC's economist plans to state at the hearing that the agency doesn't believe financial investors are driving up grain prices. Some grain buyers say speculators' big bets on relatively small grain exchanges, especially recently, are pushing up prices for ordinary consumers. ("Call Goes Out to Rein In Grain Speculators", Ann Davis) "The agency doesn't believe financial investors are driving up grain prices"?!? Prices have doubled, people are starving, and the Bush troop is still parroting the same worn party-mantra. Its maddening. The US has been gaming the system for decades; sucking up two-thirds of the world's capital to expand its cache of Cadillac Escalades and flat-screen TVs; giving nothing back in return except mortgage-backed junk, cluster bombs, and crummy green paper. Nothing changes; it only gets worse. But this is different. The world is now facing the very real prospect of "completely avoidable" famine because twelve doddering old banksters at the Federal Reserve would rather bailout their sketchy friends and preserve their spot at the top of the economic food-chain then save the lives of starving women and children. Bernanke now has an opportunity to do more damage than Bush with one swipe of the pen. If he cut rates; the dollar will fall, commodities will spike, and people will starve. It's as simple as that. By Mike Whitney From kirazj at gmail.com Wed May 7 09:13:15 2008 From: kirazj at gmail.com (Kiraz Janicke) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 11:13:15 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Venezuela workers halt Hecla gold mine operations Message-ID: <21f111ae0805070813h1081b78cl5aa3bb33a978fad6@mail.gmail.com> Sidor nationalisation sparking worker's struggle around the country :) Venezuela workers halt Hecla gold mine operations Wed May 7, 2008 10:17am EDT http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0717490320080507 CARACAS, May 7 (Reuters) - Venezuelan workers have halted operations at the Isidora gold mine, run by a subsidiary of U.S. miner Hecla Mining Co, to demand President Hugo Chavez take over the unit, a company official said on Wednesday. The stoppage follows a renewed wave of nationalizations this year affecting the cement and steel sectors, and comes just days after other companies said Venezuela denied exploration permits to two gold miners operating in the same region. The official at Hecla (HL.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest gold miner in Venezuela, said Isidora has been halted for two weeks by a group of around 40 workers, out of a total of about 300, who blocked the mine's entrance and protested working conditions. Government officials, including the mining minister, had visited the area and publicly instructed workers to halt operations if they were unsatisfied with working conditions, said the official, who requested anonymity. The subsidiary has not provided output figures for the mine. Reuters was not immediately able to contact striking workers. A representative of the mining ministry had no immediate comment on the stoppage. Last month, Chavez ordered the nationalization of steelmaker Ternium Sidor, controlled by Argentina's Ternium (TX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), following a protracted collective bargaining dispute that led to repeated strikes. Last week, miners Crystallex (KRY.TO : Quote, Profile, Research) and Gold Reserve (GRZ.TO : Quote, Profile, Research) said Venezuela plans to halt work on at least two gold projects. Both companies' stock value dropped. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth, editing by Matthew Lewis) From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Wed May 7 09:23:10 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 01:23:10 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Recent posts on The Ecosocialist Message-ID: <4821C95E.9010705@optusnet.com.au> Comments on the two ecosocialist manifestos (Shane Hopkinson) http://theecosocialist.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/15/ Anzac Day and the need for an independent foreign policy for Australia (Steve Darley) http://theecosocialist.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/anzac-day-and-the-need-for-an-independent-foreign-policy-for-australia/ New science shows up Rudd's greenhouse targets (Renfrey Clarke) http://theecosocialist.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/newscienceshowsupruddtargets/ Ken Livingstone and the rise of the Tories? (Cam Walker) http://theecosocialist.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/ken-livingstone-the-rise-of-the-tories/ The market and the food crisis (Ed Lewis) http://theecosocialist.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/the-market-and-the-food-crisis/ From bauerly at yorku.ca Wed May 7 09:32:20 2008 From: bauerly at yorku.ca (bauerly at yorku.ca) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 11:32:20 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] The World Food Crisis Message-ID: <1210174340.4821cb84ace6d@mymail.yorku.ca> ---While I think the food-into-fuel is worth discussing (because it's a NON-solution to the energy crisis) I think a broader discussion on the irrationality of the consumer-market-driven agricultural policies under capitalism would be a lot more important...and fruitful.--- The food-into-fuels discussion is based on neo-classical economic theories of supply and demand equilibrium. It explains very little (why the high rice prices?). The consumer-market-driven policies don't really exists, it is more of a corporate oligopolistic-commodity futures market-driven system. As with all Marxist inquiry we need to Pearce the Vail of the market and show the structural power relations that lie beneath the ensuing food crisis. Food First has a good article on the link between neo-liberal monetary policy, speculative bubbles and rising food prices: http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2099 See also: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4486.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,549187,00.html http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/05/02/speculations-stir-energy-and-food-crisis.html Brad From markalause at gmail.com Wed May 7 09:39:18 2008 From: markalause at gmail.com (Mark Lause) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 11:39:18 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] O win in NC narrow loss in Indiana blow to Clinton, but she'll continue fight for white vote In-Reply-To: <000001c8b011$e4afd3c0$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <000001c8b011$e4afd3c0$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: One of the most striking features of recent politics has been the way the Republicans manage to run as the party of government AND as the party from "outside the beltway" running against government. The Democrats now seem to be learning how to do the same thing, running both as the most qualified and experienced insider and the alternative to their elitist opponents. Both Clinton and Obama were doing this in Indiana and it was amusing to watch. Entertainment is probably the only thing they can promise and actually deliver. ML From schaffer at optonline.net Wed May 7 10:04:28 2008 From: schaffer at optonline.net (Les Schaffer) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 12:04:28 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] O win in NC narrow loss in Indiana blow to Clinton, but she'll continue fight for white vote In-Reply-To: References: <000001c8b011$e4afd3c0$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <4821D30C.1040300@optonline.net> Mark Lause wrote: > Entertainment is probably the only thing they can promise and actually deliver. i've never seen the deaths of 25k people wiped faster off the front page of the New York Times. one minute Mynamar was in huge headlines, the next minute, it was the RACE OF THE CENTURY. Les From lnp3 at panix.com Wed May 7 13:04:46 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 15:04:46 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Was Enron "Green"? Message-ID: <4821FD4E.6080006@panix.com> Generally I don?t have much to say about Spiked online nowadays since the ex-members of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Great Britain have pretty much severed all their connections to the left. Although they are somewhat coy about their ideology, the impartial observer can recognize it immediately as libertarianism without the bellicose foreign policy associated with today?s Ayn Rand supporters. There are a few exceptions, however-most notably James Heartfield who wrote an interesting review of Rick Kuhn?s Isaac Deutscher Prize-winning biography of Henryk Grossman, a Marxist economist who had a significant influence on the RCP in the 1980s. Apparently James has a new book out. Titled ?Green Capitalism: Manufacturing Scarcity in an Age of Abundance?, it contains the kind of tirades that are the stock-in-trade of Spiked online. But where most contributors to Spiked frame their arguments in nebulous terms of ?progress? and ?human development?, James is more comfortable invoking Karl Marx-even if he neglects those aspects of Marx?s writings that would clash with Spike?s editorial slant. I am of course referring to Marx?s deep concern about soil fertility, which was to the 19th century what climate change is today. While I doubt that I will have either the time or the interest to read James?s book, I was motivated to write something about an excerpt that appears on the Metamute website. I don?t know much about this Zine, except that it seems to attract bright young things from the leftwing of the academy. full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/was-enron-green/ From thorenstd124 at yahoo.com Wed May 7 14:01:03 2008 From: thorenstd124 at yahoo.com (Roger and Allison Kulp) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 13:01:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805061615p16f67195ma29ed7781a30429a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <464253.88092.qm@web38707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> If Marxists and socialists the world over were to hold this view,we might never have seen the great strides,and victories that we have,in Venezuela,or Bolivia. We should celebrate these,and concentrate on trying to build local movements wherever possible.I'm saying if we all concentrate on our own little corner of the world,the global struggle will eventually take care of itself.This is just part of the beautiful simplicity of Chavez,and his Bolivarian model.A large par of what Chavez also did,was bring the revolution down to the level of the common person.Which is what we need to do in this country.And in a large way,this comes down to the way ideas are communicated. We will never win over a great many people over,while we are busy spouting flowery 150 year old language,about "the dictatorship of the proletariat".Not in a nation,where a neoliberal,corporatist like Obama,who openly praises Ronald Freakin' Reagan,talks about his "lord and saviour" ,and had Zbignew Brzezinski as a key advisor,is looked upon as a hope for radical change.Not in a nation where Bubba on the couch is losing his job,and his home,and decides who he is going to vote for based on fifteen second commercials,watched through a drunken stupor on,"American Idol". The failures of both capitalism,and imperialism,are coming home to roost in this country.The whole mess may well come crashing down on whoever is elected in November.The country is falling apart,and nothing short of another New Deal,at the very least will even begin to fix it.If Obama gets elected,and the country continues to fall apart,and we are still in Iraqistan,or Iranistan,,and IF we have high profile people on the "liberal" or "progressive" side of the media exposing President Obama,and his corporate ties,the outrage against the Dems will make 2006 look like a picnic. Which means,the timing would be perfect for the People's Revolution we all want to see.And an adapted version of the Chavez Bolivarian model would be as good as any. Roger N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > The crucial question however is, "What do the Tibetans themselves want?" This is not the Marxist crucial question. The crucial question for a Marxist is "how does the struggle of the Tibetans (or whoever else's struggle) advance or hinder the struggle for socialism the world over"? This question is the BASIC question of Wilsonianism. Not the question of Marxists. And, on the other hand, the second question here is to understand the Tibetan issue as a class issue. The criticisms I received for talking about the Ogoni (which in fact I never did, methinks) is grounded on this consideration. Same applies to "Tibetans". OTOH if I were to accept that question as crucial, then I would be betraying the road to socialist revolution in my own counry since this is exactly the question the British want to be asked as regards the current settlers in Malvinas. Not to speak of asking "what do Israelis want", etc. _That_ question is the BOURGEOIS question on the national issue. ________________________________________________ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/thorenstd124%40yahoo.com --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. From nmgoro at gmail.com Wed May 7 14:13:24 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 17:13:24 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria In-Reply-To: <464253.88092.qm@web38707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <2fa158550805061615p16f67195ma29ed7781a30429a@mail.gmail.com> <464253.88092.qm@web38707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2fa158550805071313q42965e8bna569ba860ddea313@mail.gmail.com> I fear the words below are far from an answer to what I wrote. Nor to what I believe. Sorry, R&A K., I'm afraid you did not understand me at all.> > > > N?stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > The crucial question however is, "What do the Tibetans themselves want?" > > This is not the Marxist crucial question. The crucial question for a > Marxist is "how does the struggle of the Tibetans (or whoever else's > struggle) advance or hinder the struggle for socialism the world > over"? This question is the BASIC question of Wilsonianism. Not the > question of Marxists. And, on the other hand, the secon From charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us Wed May 7 14:59:05 2008 From: charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us (Charles Brown) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 16:59:05 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Dem Pres race Message-ID: <4821DFD9.84C9.00BF.0@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> >>> "James So, listers, help out someone who is looking in from outside the US If I understand it right, Obama's appeal is a kind of Blairite (or even Clintonite) transcendence of the 'old politics'. His core base is black and young, but to show that he is of a different stripe, he has to distance himself from race politics. ^^^^" CB: Distancing from "race politics isn't a different stripe from Clinton. It was the Repuclicans who have been playing race politics espcielly since the Nixon Souther strategy. Reaganite Reps centrally rely on racist politics, fomenting racism among white voters. Clinton didn't want race in the race against the Republicans. Maybe you mean distancing from "Black core base". Better "distancing" himseelf from himself since he _is_ Black. Even better distancing himself from a Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton sure loser type candidate. Jesse Jackson had a "Rainbow Coalition" theme by the way, so he didn't run a "Black campaign". Try to follow this. Jackson ran as a left social democrat ( non-Clinton). But in the US racist twisted dialectic, a candidate - White or Black; see Kucincich only able to get 5% with the most trenchant and obviously pro-working class program of anybody- who tries to appeal to the mass of white workers ( brain warped into Reagan Democrats for 28 years) on the basis of that pro-working class program are rejected as "trying to help Black people, welfare cheats, affirmative action " and all that crap. It's an astonishing testament to the mind control of US ruling class propaganda over the masses of White workers. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Talk about showing everybody racism as the main way that the US ruling class divides the US working class. It is starkly obvious. Anyway, all these definite pronouncements about the "nature" of Obama are just premature. It is _uncertain_ how O will turn out. The word "hope" includes by definition uncertainty. That's part of why it is an accurate term here, that and the fact -which I have said repeatedly since O won major White votes in Iowa - that large numbers of White people are voting for a Black candidate for President makes the word "hope" or "promising" sober and accurate. Not _certainly_, but possibly some good things could come out of the Obama adventure. O is he best risk for Americans, clearly as compared with Clinton and McCain. What's wrong with the anti-O position is that it is stated with such certainty or likelihood that nothing good can come from the O "move", ignoring the previously highly unlikely result of so many White people supporting a Black person for President; and their sticking to supporting O through Rev. Wright, media twisting the "bitter' comments from actually sympathetic to the working classes plight to make them seem "elitist"; , the Clintons trying hard to bring out racist attitudes. Large minorities of White voters have doggedly stayed with O. At this point it is actually better that we had Wright and the Clintons test the anti-racist revolve of White Americans.It has "vetted" Americans vis-a-vis O on the key issue of race. I say with Michelle O , I never have been so proud of Americans. By the way, "Michelle O" Michelle, ma belle, These are words, That go together well ^^^^ Hillary hoped to play up her experience, but that has been boxed in to an appeal to older voters against younger, and to white working class voters, afraid of change. ^^^^ CB: Yes, Clinton's "experience" in the context of O's "change" challenge is the same as "same ole same ole" . O just implies, "experience means no change , exactly what I'm running against". So, Clintno's theme plays straight into one thing he's winning on. Many are tired of the "experience" they have been having. McCain is _real_old, "experienced", a real non-changling.. Mike keeps point to the poll showing most won't vote for somebody McCain's age. Of course, it is uncertain that the change will be at all or will be for the better (duh). But it seems many or most people - and quite rationally,not maniacally at all- want to roll the dice on change. It's rational as a first logical step in that the only way to get out of the current mess is _some_ kind of change. So, Clinton's "experience" position is a loser coming right out of the shute. ^^^^^^^ Is that right? And is it right that it would be too problematic for the superdelegates to overturn Obama's majority of the committed delegates? Does that mean an election between Third Way Obama and McCain pushing a kind of old, white resentiment against change? ^^^ CB: ( This is the opposite of the sense of "resentiment". The "white' tradition is the non-slave tradition here) And obviously, literally _all_ the previous experience at the Presidential level is with "White". Black is inherently a profound change in the US. Everybody knows that in their gut. The notion that the racial "identity" of the President can make no difference on this is wrong. O's identity/character has the added dimension of having grown up in Hawaii, some in Indonesia and a father from Kenya ( though absent, O's grew up with significant consciousness of this). He is unusually cosmopolitan for an American is another source of promise( not certainty) It is not certain that O won't find a 4th Way or at least 3 and ?. He may find how to put some substantive diplomacy into foreign policy for example. For one thing, the US pragmatically needs it. It can't continue indefinitely to hold the whole world at gunpoint. It's insane to crank up a neo-Cold War with Russia, confront Iran. Bill Richardson , Mexican American O supporter, recently met diplomatically with Chavez, I believe. This higher than average American character This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com From michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Wed May 7 15:29:05 2008 From: michael at ecst.csuchico.edu (Michael Perelman) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 14:29:05 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Lou is too hard on the environmentalists Message-ID: <20080507212905.GA29296@tiglon.ecst.csuchico.edu> Lou, going on a corporate board is not that bad compared to John Bryson, who went from NRDC to head up So. Cal. Edison. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Wed May 7 16:22:53 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 18:22:53 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens In-Reply-To: References: <15161189.569911210141031033.JavaMail.jjonas@nic.fi> Message-ID: <908b689f0805071522u19bcdb60y5bfb6b3fb81ba320@mail.gmail.com> On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 6:47 AM, Haines Brown wrote: > > > If we attach the name "Maoism" to individuals and movements, > presumably that implies a small number of cogent descriptions of > certain ideas or policies that distinguish Mao. So what are they? > Is there any consensus as to what they are? I can only speak for how the word is understood in India (and possibly Nepal, where the maoists are supposed to be aligned ideologically, to some extent, with their Indian counterparts). In India, people understand maoism to mean primarily: 1) A departure from the "classical marxist-leninist" idea that only the industrial worker is the agent of revolution; maoists tend to believe that peasants too can be the primary agent of revolution, especially landless peasants or small farmers. A corollary is that revolution is possible even in agrarian, underdeveloped countries like China or India. 2) The doctrine of "the countryside surrounding the cities": in this thesis, the revolution begins in the agrarian countryside and gradually encircles the cities. From steffie.brooks at gmail.com Wed May 7 17:10:50 2008 From: steffie.brooks at gmail.com (Steffie Brooks) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 18:10:50 -0500 Subject: [Marxism] Fw: fw: Landau and Farber on Cuba Message-ID: <270c45b70805071610t425539a4yb7b6d4b7ec1e7552@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: To: "Samuel Farber" Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 14:17:04 -0400 Subject: Fw: Landau and Farber on Cuba Dear friends: I am enclosing the links to an exchange between Saul Landau and I on the current situation in Cuba. It was just published by the Internet publication Foreign Policy in Focus sponsored by the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. Greetings from Samuel Farber http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/5206 http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/5205 http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/5208 From brownh at hartford-hwp.com Wed May 7 17:16:53 2008 From: brownh at hartford-hwp.com (Haines Brown) Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 19:16:53 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens In-Reply-To: <908b689f0805071522u19bcdb60y5bfb6b3fb81ba320@mail.gmail.com> (ok.president+marxml@gmail.com) References: <15161189.569911210141031033.JavaMail.jjonas@nic.fi> <908b689f0805071522u19bcdb60y5bfb6b3fb81ba320@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: > I can only speak for how the word is understood in India (and > possibly Nepal, where the maoists are supposed to be aligned > ideologically, to some extent, with their Indian counterparts). > > In India, people understand maoism to mean primarily: > > 1) A departure from the "classical marxist-leninist" idea that only > the industrial worker is the agent of revolution; maoists tend to > believe that peasants too can be the primary agent of revolution, > especially landless peasants or small farmers. A corollary is that > revolution is possible even in agrarian, underdeveloped countries > like China or India. > > 2) The doctrine of "the countryside surrounding the cities": in this > thesis, the revolution begins in the agrarian countryside and > gradually encircles the cities. Thank you. What you say is very interesting. As for point (1), the critical issue I understand to be like this. "Classical" Marxism was based on the industrial proletariat. In the case of China, the alliance between peasants and workers was not just a short time tactic of convenience (uniting the contradictions of both nascent capitalism and dying feudalism), but was a long term commitment to the idea that the transition from capitalism to communism would be as much ushered in by peasants as by (industrial) workers and that the communist future addresses peasant needs as much as industrial worker needs. I don't want to get involved in a big debate over this issue, but only to express my own feeling that to make peasants equivalent to workers as a revolutionary class in relation to capitalism seems fundamentally contrary to what Marx was up to and seems to reduce the transformation to merely political struggle. However, if this represents the Indian-Nepalese consensus, I'd have to agree that it seems to be movement distinct from Marx and Lenin and therefore deserving of the term "Maoism". As for point (2), I'd come to the opposite conclusion. If we put aside the issue I raised regarding point (1), the countryside surrounding the cities seems primarily a tactical matter suited to time, place and circumstance, and hardly supports the notion of a distinct movement spoken of as Maoism. But this seems a secondary point, and if the Maoists in India and Nepal typically hold the peasantry to be a revolutionary class in the same sense that the working class is, then that seems very important. I'm assuming here that "peasant" means a petty private agricultural producer rather than an agricultural wage earner. If this assumption is incorrect, then that would change my assessment of the matter. Haines Brown From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Wed May 7 17:42:20 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 19:42:20 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens In-Reply-To: References: <15161189.569911210141031033.JavaMail.jjonas@nic.fi> <908b689f0805071522u19bcdb60y5bfb6b3fb81ba320@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <908b689f0805071642s1658505ema7866434f13c7cb0@mail.gmail.com> On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 7:16 PM, Haines Brown wrote: > > > I'm assuming here that "peasant" means a petty private agricultural > producer rather than an agricultural wage earner. If this assumption > is incorrect, then that would change my assessment of the matter. In India at least, there is little class difference between a perennially landless agricultural laborer and a "small farmer" holding a tiny plot of land. Both are usually marginalized, and in fact, the tiny-plot-owning farmer may, in addition to cultivating his tiny plot, also sell his labor as agricultural wage-labor to supplement the insufficient income from his tiny plot. From glparramatta at greenleft.org.au Wed May 7 17:48:52 2008 From: glparramatta at greenleft.org.au (glparramatta) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 09:48:52 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Adding insult to injury: Bush says starving India eats too much | Links Message-ID: <48223FE4.5010704@greenleft.org.au> Adding insult to injury: Bush says starving India eats too much By *Kavita Krishnan* May 7, 2008 -- Karl Marx, born on 5 May, 1818, nearly two centuries ago, had in 1867 laid bare the ``intimate connection between the pangs of hunger of the most industrious layers of the working class, and the extravagant consumption, coarse or refined, of the rich, for which capitalist accumulation is the basis'' (/Capital/ Vol. 1, Ch. 25). In May 2008, nearly a century and a half later, as we hear Emperor Bush hold forth on global hunger, we are reminded that capitalism and global wealth remains just as intimately wedded to hunger. The global policeman Bush, in the time-honoured traditions of the backyard bully, has long harboured the habit of dictating to nations who their friends and enemies should be. Now, he has taken to telling nations how much they should eat, and of wagging a disapproving finger at poor nations whose middle class has made some improvements in its diet. Bush's sentiments (and those of his lieutenant Condoleezza Rice) reek of callous contempt for the world's poor. Full article: http://links.org.au/node/393 Subscribe free to /Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal/ - at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373 From glparramatta at greenleft.org.au Wed May 7 19:55:56 2008 From: glparramatta at greenleft.org.au (glparramatta) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 11:55:56 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] South Africa In-Reply-To: <4820678C.9080409@panix.com> References: <4820678C.9080409@panix.com> Message-ID: <48225DAC.9080009@greenleft.org.au> Somebody just posted this at the Links site (http://links.org.au/node/348#comment-554). I don't have the original URL. Le Monde diplomatique, May 2008 'The world cup will be our chance to make our voices heard' Whose South Africa? South Africa will host the World Cup in 2010 so construction ? and corruption ? is booming. But almost none of the building or the money can be accessed by the poor who live in shantytowns without proper water, sanitation or electricity. These inequalities could be a major issue in the 2009 presidential election. By Philippe Rivi?re More at http://links.org.au/node/348#comment-554 Louis Proyect wrote: > If people are interested in the economics of post-apartheid South > Africa, I recommend this: > > http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=982805 > > Poverty and Well-Being in Post-Apartheid South Africa: an Overview of > Data, Outcomes and Policy > > H. BHORAT: University of Cape Town - Development Policy Research Unit > > RAVI KANBUR: Cornell University - Department of Applied Economics and > Management; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) > From jbustelo at gmail.com Wed May 7 20:29:24 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 22:29:24 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Racism: Obama--Pot. Kettle. Black In-Reply-To: <13014-48200F7D-6860@storefull-3258.bay.webtv.net> References: <13014-48200F7D-6860@storefull-3258.bay.webtv.net> Message-ID: <012001c8b0b3$5939bd90$040ba8c0@albanta> Robb, Feel free to post your criticisms to the list. I see no reason to have a private discussion over these issues. Joaqu?n -----Original Message----- From: Robb Chavez [mailto:xcruz at webtv.net] Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 3:58 AM To: jbustelo at gmail.com Cc: xcruz at webtv.net Subject: Racism: Obama--Pot. Kettle. Black Joaquin, I think that you are a pernicious influence on the Presidential debate. You've taken what were previously batty, but harmless abstractions on the national question, and turned them into brickbats for the Obama campaign's ugly "racism" slurs against Hillary Clinton. I read your ever-slimier posts on the Marxism list, and am horrified at how far a large segment of the "Left" (Sirota, Giordano, Kos) has sunk in its mindless idolatry of the _idea_ of Obama. To think that a Cubano, a "Marxist," no less, would stoop so low. You are beginning to resemble more the Miami gusanos in your tone and mendacity, than any supporter of the Cuban Revolution. You are playing with social dynamite. Robb Chavez From Dbachmozart at aol.com Wed May 7 20:37:12 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 22:37:12 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Black Agenda Report and Obama Message-ID: Running to the Right - Obama and the DLC Strategy <_http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6 18&Itemid=1_ (http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=618&Itemid=1) > "Just shut up and let him win!" <_http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6 10&Itemid=1_ (http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=610&Itemid=1) > All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From Dbachmozart at aol.com Wed May 7 20:48:11 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 22:48:11 EDT Subject: [Marxism] The European Right's Powerful Push Message-ID: _http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050708G.shtml_ (http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050708G.shtml) By Arielle Thedrel Le Figaro Monday 05 May 2008 Does Boris Johnson's victory in the London mayoral contest portend a Tory victory in the British legislative elections that must take place between now and 2010? Regardless, it tallies with European electorates' more general movement to the right. In London, as in Italy, the right has just resumed power. It was already in control in Germany, the Netherlands, and, in Scandinavian countries, of Denmark, and also of Sweden, long presented as a bastion of social democracy. This shift to the right also holds for Eastern Europe. Conservative or [neo]Liberal parties have been elected in Warsaw, Prague, the Baltic countries, Bucharest. They have the wind in their sails in Hungary, where the left in power is in its death throes as the 2010 legislative elections approach. Virtually alone, Spain seems to resist. However, Jos? Luis Zapatero's election owes much to the tactical errors committed by his right wing rivals during the March elections, as well as to their anachronistic takes on social issues. So the phenomenon is as extensive as it is spectacular and the wear and tear of being in power - which obtains most notably for Great Britain, governed by Labor since 1997 - does not suffice to explain it. "In the background," emphasizes Georges Mink, Research Director at ISP-CNRS, "there are enormous economic and social changes, the wilting of ideological certainties and - since the fall of the Berlin Wall - the appearance of new threats such as immigration." Transformations to which the left has yet to produce a convincing response: for the right's success is undoubtedly based on the failure of the social democratic model. "Globalization," Corinne Deloy, researcher at the Robert-Schuman Foundation, explains, "has made the social software obsolete. That's especially true now that - with the economic crisis we've entered into - there's nothing left to redistribute. Suddenly, people trust the right more to find solutions to problems that called the left's competence into question, for example, such primary themes as the demographic aging of European societies and retirement financing." The right has profited from Social Democracy's decline, but so have more radical movements on the left: witness Olivier Besancenot's breakthrough in France, but also that of the Socialist Party in the Netherlands, which became the third power in that country in 2006, and of the People's Socialist Party in Denmark (which garnered 13 percent of the votes in last November's elections), or, still better, of Die Linke in Germany (a coalition that brings together former DDR communists, unions and hard-line purist socialists). If the right appears better armed to confront the shock of globalization, it's also true that it has transformed itself by betting, to use Georges Mink's expression, on "ideological confusion." To mobilize voters, the right has, as Corinne Deloy reminds us, borrowed from the left: "In spite of opposition from part of the CDU, Angela Merkel has exploited certain social themes such as women's status and child care. In general, the right strives to retool the social model defended by the left in a rational manner." It has also cannibalized themes that traditionally belonged to the far right: the security issue, protection of [national] identity and immigration. In Italy, the new mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno (National Alliance), is the poster child for that strategy. In Hesse, the CDU didn't hesitate to exploit populist themes in the January regional elections. In the former Communist countries, where the welfare state reigned up until the end of the 1980s, the phenomenon was even more brutal. These countries' entry into the European Union in 2004 coincided with the emergence of a nationalist and openly anti-European right. Even today, in Prague, President Vaclav Klaus refuses to hoist the European flag alongside the national flag. -------- Arielle Thedrel is a star reporter in le Figaro's international division. ____________________________________ Translation: Truthout French language editor _Leslie Thatcher_ (mailto:leslie at truthout.org) . All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz Wed May 7 22:06:56 2008 From: johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz (John) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 16:06:56 +1200 Subject: [Marxism] Fw: fw: Landau and Farber on Cuba In-Reply-To: <270c45b70805071610t425539a4yb7b6d4b7ec1e7552@mail.gmail.com> References: <270c45b70805071610t425539a4yb7b6d4b7ec1e7552@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1210219616.5748.11.camel@john-desktop> On Wed, 2008-05-07 at 18:10 -0500, Steffie Brooks posted a dialogue between Samuel Farber and Saul Landau: In the article in the third link, Samuel Farber wrote: "There are 200-300 political prisoners in Cuba today; the great majority of these have been jailed for activities of an entirely peaceful political nature. As recently as April 21, 10 women belonging to the organization ?Women in White? were roughed up and arrested when they were peacefully demonstrating in support of their imprisoned relatives..." I am not an expert on Cuba but this comment strikes me as, at best a poor example, at worst, disingenuous. As far as I am aware, the 10 women referred to here were delivered back to their homes, not to prison. I may be wrong about this but if true, the reference to them in the context of a claim about hundreds of political prisoners languishing in Cuban prisons is, as I say, disingenuous. He concludes with: "A socialism without democracy and civil liberties, where equality is limited to sharing poverty, is little different from a beehive with a Queen Bee in command." This suggests that Cuban society functions for the benefit and enrichment of the Castro brothers. While various right wing rags attempt to claim that the Castros have squirrelled away vast fortunes in overseas bank accounts, I was not aware that there was much serious evidence for this. I am surprised to see a leftist, albeit not a Fidelista, hinting at such a state of affairs. This is frustrating as I am always interested in hearing informed comment from the left on Cuba, both sympathetic and critical. Statements like the above, which appear to be willful distortions, leave me unwilling to accept other claims in Samuel Farber's piece. Cheers, John From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Wed May 7 23:13:47 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 01:13:47 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Racism: Obama--Pot. Kettle. Black Message-ID: <000001c8b0ca$4be0df90$6401a8c0@office1pc> Joaquin submitted the following by Robb Chavez: I think that you are a pernicious influence on the Presidential debate. You've taken what were previously batty, but harmless abstractions on the national question, and turned them into brickbats for the Obama campaign's ugly "racism" slurs against Hillary Clinton. I read your ever-slimier posts on the Marxism list, and am horrified at how far a large segment of the "Left" (Sirota, Giordano, Kos) has sunk in its mindless idolatry of the _idea_ of Obama. To think that a Cubano, a "Marxist," no less, would stoop so low. You are beginning to resemble more the Miami gusanos in your tone and mendacity, than any supporter of the Cuban Revolution. You are playing with social dynamite. Fred comments: Well, my first thought when I read this was, Hey, what about me! I'm as bad as he is. That was, not uncharacteristically, egocentric. Obviously Robb Chavez has ties with Joaquin from Latino and other struggles that I do not share. He didn't intend to hurt my feelings. It strikes me at first read that Chavez's starting point is defense of Clinton against the racism charges. I don't know if that is a reflection of support for Clinton or has some other motivation, though I suspect it might. Without a long song and dance, I will say that I consider the racist character of the Clinton campaign to be self-evident, both in the loss of the Black vote and the single minded fight for the white supposedly blue-collar, and definitely more alienated from Blacks vote. And also by her tendency to stereotype white workers who support Obama -- and the vote clearly shows there are many of them, at least one-third -- as though they were just "latte liberal" professors and business executives. This was the organic nature of Clintonian triangulation once the Blacks abandoned them. The Clinton-Democratic Party strategy of the 90s and beyond was based on triangulating away from the Black, organized labor and liberal base toward those whose alienation from the Democrats took the form above all that they were pro-Black and thus elitist (which most capitalist politicians are of course, if not all), antiwhite, and by reason of being antiwhite, anti-"American". Once the Blacks walked out from under the Clintons, they were left primarily with the relatively anti-Black white base to rest on, and they have done so. This has been the core of their campaigns in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and coming up, West Virginia. This was reinforced after Edwards dropped out of the race, eliminating the more populist "prolabor," and non-race-baiting competitor for the white vote. They no longer triangulate. The whites who are more anti-Black or suspicious of Blacks or afraid of Blacks are now their main base. I'm sure they wish they were still on the reservation, but they are not, at least as far as the Clintons are concerned. However, I thought the most important comment Chavez made was, "You are playing with social dynamite." In essence, I believe he hit the nail on the head, although I would like to think that neither Joaquin nor I is "playing." We both understand that revolution is not a tea party. But that is the way I also see the determined and stubborn response of the Black community to Obama campaign, once they saw he could get a significant body of white and other support. And I would point out that a large, hard core of his white support has also proved stubbornly resistant to the race-baiting campaigns against him, the Rev. Wright, etc. Yes, I think this is a signal that social dynamite is accumulating at the foundations. I don't think we should play with it, I think we should turn toward it. This doesn't necessarily mean supporting Obama in my opinion -- I support Cynthia McKinney's valuable propaganda effort to advance a more fighting perspective -- but it certainly puts a serious priority in fighting the campaign to bar his election on fundamentally racial grounds: "unelectable," Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Farrakhan, et al. You refer to Joaquin's "batty, but harmless abstractions on the national question." Here again I have to claim my aliquot part of the criticism. Following are the two fundamental conceptions that have come to guide a lot of my thinking and action (to the extent that I am still able to be active) on the Black question and the national question more generally in the United States. Anyone is free to regard them as batty, but I can assure you on personal knowledge, that they are NOT intended to be harmless: (1) What is the national territory of the Black nation in the United States of America? The national territory of the Black nation in the United States of America is the continental territory of the United States of America. (2) What is the political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America? The political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America is state power in the United States of America. This is deliberately not only algebraic, but even a bit oracular, and I admit I am not prepared to answer any questions at all about precisely how this tendency will play itself out. It is deeply rooted (maybe since the first recorded arrival of Black slaves in 1619), as deeply rooted as "white privilege." And US history is not simply a tale of oppression and racism, but quite fundamentally a tale of struggle against oppression and of the fight against racism. Failure to grasp this social conflict as an opportunity, and not just a sad tale of division and American backwardness, has always been a crippling factor on the left, and a weakness of even the best "white skin privilege" histories and theories (Theodore Allen's, for instance). These tend tosee the presence of Blacks primarily as a source and mainstay of reaction in this country, whereas it is much more fundamentally a source and mainstay of revolutionary possibilities. From jbustelo at gmail.com Wed May 7 23:37:44 2008 From: jbustelo at gmail.com (Joaquin Bustelo) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 01:37:44 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Racism: Obama--Pot. Kettle. Black In-Reply-To: <000001c8b0ca$4be0df90$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <000001c8b0ca$4be0df90$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <012701c8b0cd$a4c99e00$040ba8c0@albanta> Fred comments: "Well, my first thought when I read this was, Hey, what about me! I'm as bad as he is. That was, not uncharacteristically, egocentric. Obviously Robb Chavez has ties with Joaquin from Latino and other struggles that I do not share. He didn't intend to hurt my feelings." Actually, maybe I'm not recognizing the person with the name but I've got no recollection of who this comrade might be. So I'm not so sure he meant no disrespect. Fred: "Without a long song and dance, I will say that I consider the racist character of the Clinton campaign to be self-evident, both in the loss of the Black vote and the single minded fight for the white supposedly blue-collar, and definitely more alienated from Blacks vote." * * * And you're not the only one. Look at this from the NY Daily News: Ugly truth why Hillary Clinton won't quit BY THOMAS M. DeFRANK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Wednesday, May 7th 2008, 4:00 AM While the case for Hillary Clinton to stay in the race is shakier than ever, one ugly reason for staying in could be found Tuesday amid the ruddy, sun-kissed Hoosiers who cheered her on to victory at the Indianapolis Speedway. With Clinton posing alongside pioneering Indy speedster Sarah Fisher, there were almost no African-Americans to be seen. Many in the white, working-class crowd were simply not ready to back Barack Obama - for reasons that are disturbing. "I'm kind of still up in the air between McCain and Hillary," said Jason Jenkins, 32, who cited information from a hoax e-mail as a reason to spurn Obama. "I'll be honest with you. Barack scares the hell out of me," he said. "He swore on the Koran." Obama did manage to pull in many white voters, but still encountered similar sentiments from a man who refused to shake his hand at a diner in Greenwood, Ind. "I can't stand him," the man said. "He's a Muslim. He's not even pro-American as far as I'm concerned." * * * Full is here: Fred: "The political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America is state power in the United States of America." What you say here makes sense, and I'll admit I'd never quite framed it with that much clarity. But I think it is right. I've been wording it in terms of the democratic right to participation, representation, inclusion and so on, but there is also the state power side of the national question, although in terms of how traditionally it is conceived, this just doesn't quite fit. But it makes sense to me, perhaps because of the inseparable intertwining of the class and national questions, i.e., a separate Black state is hardly conceivable carved out of the current U.S. state, it makes sense only presupposing the destruction of that state. Joaquin From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Wed May 7 23:44:31 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 01:44:31 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Gilbert Achcar on Lebanon In-Reply-To: <6.2.0.14.0.20070302114435.02d9e5e0@pop.panix.com> References: <6.2.0.14.0.20070302114435.02d9e5e0@pop.panix.com> Message-ID: <908b689f0805072244i5012748al4810badab8b4717f@mail.gmail.com> On Fri, Mar 2, 2007 at 12:44 PM, Louis Proyect wrote: > http://www.isreview.org/issues/52/achcar.shtml May 8, 2008 Clashes in General Strike in Lebanon By NADA BAKRI BEIRUT, Lebanon ? Supporters of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, trying to enforce a general strike called by labor unions, clashed with government supporters and blocked roads in Beirut on Wednesday, escalating tensions as the country remained mired in its worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Hezbollah [...] blocked roads with burning tires and garbage cans, and set cars on fire to enforce a strike protesting government economic policies and demanding higher minimum wages. [...] From Ozleft at optusnet.com.au Thu May 8 00:52:24 2008 From: Ozleft at optusnet.com.au (Ozleft) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 16:52:24 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Australian Labor Party ranks take high ground in privatisation battle Message-ID: <4822A328.7050802@optusnet.com.au> Another banker joins the Costa-Iemma cheer squad http://tinyurl.com/5do6ss From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Thu May 8 00:52:49 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 02:52:49 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Philadelphia cops caught in act of brutalizing three In-Reply-To: <001b01c8affb$a1aada40$6401a8c0@office1pc> References: <001b01c8affb$a1aada40$6401a8c0@office1pc> Message-ID: <908b689f0805072352q3b02da8fq7bf31b2101a28840@mail.gmail.com> On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 12:34 AM, Fred Feldman wrote: > The article below says nothing about the race of the victims of this police > attack, but I will make a wild stab that they were Black. I will make > available more facts as and if they come out. Video of beating is at: May 8, 2008 Police Beating of Suspects Is Taped by TV Station in Philadelphia By JON HURDLE PHILADELPHIA ? About 12 police officers were videotaped on Monday beating three men stopped in response to a drug-related shooting, and six of the officers have been removed from patrols, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said Wednesday. In the incident, captured by a Fox TV helicopter, officers surrounded a car carrying the three men. They were pulled from the car, and two were kicked and punched on the ground by officers on the driver's side. The third man was beaten by other officers on the passenger side. [...] Video of beating is at: From e.c.apling at btinternet.com Thu May 8 03:27:37 2008 From: e.c.apling at btinternet.com (Paddy Apling) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 10:27:37 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] The European Right's Powerful Push In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Le Figaro has the situation fairly well summed up in a superficial way. Across Europe the so-called social-democrats, NewLabour or what you will. have for the past decade turned themselves into neo-cons - and the right have taken the opportunity to pretend themselves as the "true supporters" of the welfare state installed by the post-war consensus - and, since the attack on pension rights and living standards is orchestrated by the "social-democrats", their appeal to the politically-naive is palpable. At the same time, however, there are hopeful signs of apparently "non-political" fights against the neo-con policies - meaning that all the major political parties are really tarred with the same brush and are just "ins" and "outs" as has for so long been the case in the USA. The latest development in Britain is a myriad of local campaigns, involving hundreds of people across the political spectrum fighting against the widespread closure of post offices - just one of many campaigns which show people in movement against neo-con policies, and unconnected to the major political parties. Paddy http://apling.freeservers.com ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 3:48 AM Subject: [Marxism] The European Right's Powerful Push From sukant.chandan at gmail.com Thu May 8 03:52:49 2008 From: sukant.chandan at gmail.com (Sukant Chandan) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 10:52:49 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] Adding insult to injury: Bush says starving India eats too much | Links Message-ID: This is nothing new. The western media is full of hypocritical stories of how Chinese and Indian peoples food consumption (due to some of their populations raised living standards) is causing economic and environmental catastrophe to the world. But then again, when the third world/periphery/countries of the south rise up, this directly impacts on western standards of living and creates deeper and further crises there, impoverishing the standard of living of people in the west. I have thought recently how silly left-wing people in the west sound when they say that it is in the interests of the western working class to support the struggles of the oppressed peoples. This maybe true on a moral-political level, but it is not true at all on a social level, unless we are thinking in context of inter-generational timescales when perhaps there will be no neo-colonialism and a more equitable world order. But while the western left churn out this line, people in the west know very well that it is not true. I am merely bringing up a aspect of western leftism which is profoundly problematic, and is never really addressed by the western left in an honest manner. Sukant From david at miradoiro.com Thu May 8 04:48:48 2008 From: david at miradoiro.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?David_Pic=F3n_=C1lvarez?=) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 12:48:48 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] The European Right's Powerful Push References: Message-ID: <002101c8b0f9$1d1af3b0$0302a8c0@Nautilus> While not having many illusions in the Spanish social democrats, I think calling them neocons is going too far. I can't make much of a judgement about SDs elsewhere in EU. --David. From lueko.willms at t-online.de Thu May 8 00:35:15 2008 From: lueko.willms at t-online.de (=?iso-8859-1?q?L=FCko_Willms?=) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 08:35:15 +0200 (MES) Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1Ju48Z-1FK2eQ0@fwd26.t-online.de> On Wed, 07 May 2008 06:47:26 -0400, Haines Brown wrote: > If we attach the name "Maoism" to individuals and movements, > presumably that implies a small number of cogent descriptions of > certain ideas or policies that distinguish Mao. So what are they? > Is there any consensus as to what they are? The idea that Mao was a great revolutionary leader and his words are gospel to be followed. But as in every church, there are quabbles between the various priests on how to apply the gospel to concrete sitations. Yours, L?ko Willms Frankfurt, Germany -------------------------------- visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German From lueko.willms at t-online.de Wed May 7 23:25:23 2008 From: lueko.willms at t-online.de (=?iso-8859-1?q?L=FCko_Willms?=) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 07:25:23 +0200 (MES) Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria (or Tibet). In-Reply-To: <2fa158550805061916k5c14bf92o68f8bcd083a50e29@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1Ju48Y-1FK2eO0@fwd26.t-online.de> On Tue, 6 May 2008 23:16:12 -0300, N??stor Gorojovsky wrote: > What I am talking is about things I DO know about: national > revolutions and the differences between "nations" and "nationalities". > > And imperialist usage of nationalities against national movements, > which by definition tend to weld together, nay, dialectically fuse > into a new unity, multiple nationalities into nations. This concern about "nationalities" goes back to Napoleon III, who ruled France between the failed revolution of 1848/49 till the Germano-Prussina war against France of 1870, and the Paris Commune. One can find in Marx' and Engels' writings quite some references and discussions about this "nationalities" question pushed by Boustrapa or "the nephew of his uncle without being the son of his father", as our two friends called that person quite often. Cheers, L.W. L?ko Willms Frankfurt, Germany -------------------------------- visit http://www.mlwerke.de Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotzki in German From nmgoro at gmail.com Thu May 8 06:52:33 2008 From: nmgoro at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?N=C3=A9stor_Gorojovsky?=) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 09:52:33 -0300 Subject: [Marxism] Nigeria (or Tibet). In-Reply-To: <1Ju48Y-1FK2eO0@fwd26.t-online.de> References: <2fa158550805061916k5c14bf92o68f8bcd083a50e29@mail.gmail.com> <1Ju48Y-1FK2eO0@fwd26.t-online.de> Message-ID: <2fa158550805080552l2bc2ad48vdcf2cc0627b52e51@mail.gmail.com> 2008/5/8, L?ko Willms : > On Tue, 6 May 2008 23:16:12 -0300, N?(c)stor Gorojovsky wrote: > > This concern about "nationalities" goes back to Napoleon III, who > ruled France between the failed revolution of 1848/49 till the > Germano-Prussina war against France of 1870, and the Paris Commune. > > One can find in Marx' and Engels' writings quite some references and > discussions about this "nationalities" question pushed by Boustrapa or > "the nephew of his uncle without being the son of his father", as our > two friends called that person quite often. > Of, course, it had to be a historically conscious German Marxist who brought this to the fore! One can recognize the greatness of both M&E when they accepted and supported that particularly strange kind of "national revolution" that Bismark, of all people, led in Germany in 1870. The issue was obvious for them, and they were adamant in their rejection of the sovereignity rights of the midget units in which Germany had been held for long centuries. Those units were not the expression of any national movement. They were strictly hemmed into "independence" (and ridiculously defended it against other impotent midgets across the border) by foreign policies. These had been minted in Britain, but on the Central European issue, French and British, so eager to cut each other's throat on every other aspect, were in full agreement. By merit of their historical impossibility, every and each small "German" state tended to fulfill a reactionary role, and this _despite the kind of regime each could have or political leanings of the ruling classes or individual rulers in each_. In the end, and this is what one must admire in M&E, what became clear was that the unity-seeking, half-feudal and "semibarbaric" reactionaries in Prussia demonstrated themselves more revolutionary than the Romantic bourgeois or petty bougeois revolutionaries, full of small unit patriotism, in the "civilized" areas of Western "Germany". The main issue was to clear away the inverted commas around "Germany" Boustrapa and similars (particularly the Channel over) must have wept bitter tears for the independence of those beautiful and oh-so-romanticallly-full-of-musicians (that play on instruments WE build, this is the secret nasty part of the story) principalties and midget states in Central Europe. It would be most instructive to do such a research. Most probably, one would find out that the same people had been for the Southern oligarchies during the American Civil War. And if they were alive among us today, they would be weeping their bitter tears for most "national", divisionist, struggles that have arisen the globe over after the disaster of 1989. -- N?stor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autor?a From brownh at hartford-hwp.com Thu May 8 07:16:16 2008 From: brownh at hartford-hwp.com (Haines Brown) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 09:16:16 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] More on Rolf Martens In-Reply-To: <908b689f0805071642s1658505ema7866434f13c7cb0@mail.gmail.com> (ok.president+marxml@gmail.com) References: <15161189.569911210141031033.JavaMail.jjonas@nic.fi> <908b689f0805071522u19bcdb60y5bfb6b3fb81ba320@mail.gmail.com> <908b689f0805071642s1658505ema7866434f13c7cb0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: > On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 7:16 PM, Haines Brown > wrote: > > > I'm assuming here that "peasant" means a petty private > > agricultural producer rather than an agricultural wage earner. If > > this assumption is incorrect, then that would change my assessment > > of the matter. > > In India at least, there is little class difference between a > perennially landless agricultural laborer and a "small farmer" > holding a tiny plot of land. Both are usually marginalized, and in > fact, the tiny-plot-owning farmer may, in addition to cultivating > his tiny plot, also sell his labor as agricultural wage-labor to > supplement the insufficient income from his tiny plot. Understood, and this dividing line between agricultural wage earning and small plot holder is grey in many other places as well. However, for better or worse, "classical" Marxism made a big distinction in principle. To put it in my own terms, the development of the peasant (in the feudal or narrow sense) depended on his possession of a means of production; the development of the industrial worker depends on class solidarity. Whether these "peasants" (in the newer and looser sense as employed in South Asia) make natural class allies of the industrial proletariat today is another question. How would one go about deciding (disregarding the issue of practicality)? The feudal peasantry in Medieval Europe could certainly band together and become a powerful political force. But such movements tended to splinter and collapse as soon as they had some success. That is, their action was reactive. They sought and sometimes won greater justice within the feudal system, but they offered no practical alternative to it. The reason was simple enough, for their ability to survive and solve their problems depended on their controlling enough decent land to support their family needs, but since petty property was the basis of the feudal economy, they had no alternative to it toward which to strive. How about the peasants/agricultural wage earners of today? Clearly, petty private land holdings cannot represent the economic future, in which means of production are probably going to have to be more concentrated and developed than they are today. In any case, I doubt it would be economically feasible to reduce the concentration of means of production to correspond with the family unit. So the question is, do these peasants/agricultural wage earners seek a collectivization of property and their labor or do they seek to get their hands on enough land so that they might escape the wage system and survive on their own? Your answer to this question would for me be a big hint about whether or not the peasantry in the broader sense are a progressive force. Of course I've put aside a range of practical considerations, such as the size and development of a local industrial work force, which affects its revolutionary potential. Capitalist contradictions certainly result in various crises felt by people the world over, but the revolutionary potentials that also arise from capitalist development may not be located in the same place or affect the same people as its negative impact. The need for radical change and the potential to produce it must be socially connected. So it seems the only way to address this is through international solidarity. If so, I'd be inclined to add to the litmus test of whether a social grouping is potentially progressive an estimate of the extent to which it feels an international solidarity is necessary. In developed economies, such as I experience here in the US, there are comparably difficult questions. When the term "middle class" is used here it refers for the most part to a sector of the working class that has a better income, enjoys a suburban life-style, etc. If we disregard small business folk, etc., in this "middle class", the better off wage-earning US middle class seems to approximate the feudal peasantry in the sense that their ability to cope or advance themselves is often viewed as a private struggle, such as to get an education and the techniques to advance oneself in a career. This is the same as the feudal peasantry. In fact, the suburban middle class resembles a feudal peasantry in a number of other ways as well; even their prosperity relative to the rest of the working class does not differentiate them from a feudal peasantry which could also be relatively prosperous at times (and in the 10th century were even better off than the aristocracy). The "classical" position regarding the petit bourgeoisie is that its class position is ambivalent; individuals can decide to side with the capitalist if it means access to crumbs dropping from the master's table or it reinforces their sense of social status; they can decide to side with the wage-earning working class if they sense that solidarity is to their interest and they see little hope that capitalism will meet their private needs. I suspect that this assessment applies to our "middle class" as well. I get the feeling from your characterization that "Maoists" today don't take such a wait-and-see or ad hoc attitude for the peasantry/agricultural wage earners, but feel that their natural or instinctive ambition is not to acquire or maintain petty property, but they see joining industrial workers being to their advantage. Is this estimate of the situation there correct in your view? The issue of classes today I'd be the first to admit is not easily resolved in terms of "classical" Marxism. For Europe's feudal peasantry, the political reaction to the feudal aristocracy was limited to the political level and generally did not involve the "point of production" in the fields. It was therefore not a revolutionary class despite all their rebellions (although see Engels on the German peasantry in the 16th century). So my question is, to what extent and in what way are the Maoists in South Asia struggling for economic change in a direction that contradicts the capitalist system? Also, would any lurkers like to suggest a different definition of "Maoism" than my correspondent? Haines Brown From sukant.chandan at gmail.com Thu May 8 09:17:09 2008 From: sukant.chandan at gmail.com (Sukant Chandan) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 16:17:09 +0100 Subject: [Marxism] [for facebook users] New pro-PRC group Message-ID: please join in: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13348442706 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF CHINA To defend the sovereignty of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) To support the PRC as a country with a rich patriotic and revolutionary tradition and identity To celebrate the PRC as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country To celebrate Chinese film, music, food and general progressive Chinese culture To encourage learning about the world historic achievements of poverty alleviation in China and general societal development of a former-colony and feudal country To support the PRC's work towards a peaceful and stable world and the PRC's record in working towards a multi-polar world To disseminate the PRC's role in encouraging the development of the developing countries in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and especially Africa's rejuvenation To develop friendship and understanding with the peoples and government of the PRC To support the PRC's hosting of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, an event which is raising the PRC's prestige and stature in the world ================================ RULES & ETIQUETTE: Please conduct yourself in a respect manner to yourself and others China-bashing will not be tolerated We welcome critical discussions and understand they can get heated at times, but rude and arrogant attacks on leaders of the PRC and CPC will be kept on a tight leash Racism, sexism, homophobia or any other kind of reactionary prejudices will not be tolerated Eurocentrism /Western-centrism and neo-colonial arrogance from whatever place in the political spectrum will be kept on a tight leash ;-) ================================ REQUESTS: PLEASE contribute videos, posted items, articles, topics for discussion Please ask your friends to join, everyone is welcome, but special focus is intended for the non-Chinese people to engage in an educational dialogue with the nature, challenges, limitations and successes of the PRC and CPC. However, please do not interpret this in anyway as to discouraging Chinese people in joining ? you are more than welcome! To our Chinese and Chinese-speaking friends, due to the advantage of language, you have a special insight into the PRC, so please help us non-Chinese and non-Chinese speaking people to understand the PRC and CPC, help translate things into English from articles, youtube videos etc, that you think maybe of interest. This could be music, food, politics, comedy, anything! From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Thu May 8 09:18:13 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 11:18:13 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Hilary Clinton: Say it loud, we're white and we're proud! Message-ID: <000001c8b11e$bc702320$6401a8c0@office1pc> Notice how much more "working, hard working" the decent white Americans who can't stomach Obama are than everybody else -- including (it really goes without saying) Black workers and white workers who are attracted to Obama as an advocate and symbol of "change." Fred From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 8 09:35:44 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 08:35:44 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Joseph Needham put Chinese science on the world map. Message-ID: <001d01c8b121$2f3b9450$6401a8c0@new1501> (There's a much longer sound interview you can access, too.) ============================================================== China's eccentric champion Joseph Needham put Chinese science on the world map. By Marjorie Kehe from the May 6, 2008 edition http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0506/p15s03-bogn.htm Book editor Marjorie Kehe talks with author Simon Winchester. "Four thousand years ago, when we couldn't even read, the Chinese knew all the absolutely useful things we boast about today," wrote French philosophe Voltaire in 1764. But if today in the West we widely acknowledge those words to be true, that's largely due to an Englishman. Joseph Needham, a brilliant Cambridge don, was a "bespectacled, owlish, fearless adventurer ... a nudist, a wild dancer, an accordian player, and a chain-smoking churchgoer." He was also the man who dragged China's reputation in the West from the dustbin ("this booby nation," as Ralph Waldo Emerson called it in 1824) to its rightful place as a principal forger of human civilization. Needham is the subject of The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester, former journalist and bestselling nonfiction author ("The Professor and the Madman," "Krakatoa," and "The Map That Changed the World.") Winchester stumbled on Needham's name while researching another project and was surprised to realize that he knew nothing about the eccentric professor who had authored a massive, multivolume encyclopedia called "Science and Civilisation in China." Readers might be forgiven for imagining that the life of an encyclopedist of scientific history would have all the zip of a tax seminar. But not in the case of Needham. He was trained as a biochemist - and a brilliant one at that. But Needham was also a being stuffed to the brim with energy and passion. His enthusiasms spilled over into many areas - leftist politics, railways, morris dancing - and beautiful women. His marriage to another brainy young biochemist (both with bright futures at Cambridge University) did not prevent him from falling headlong for a Chinese scientist named Lu Gwei-djen. Needham's passion for Gwei-djen led him to learn her language, a study that he found to be "a liberation, like going for a swim on a hot day ... into the glittering crystalline world of ideological characters." Once fluent in Chinese, Needham was invited by the British government in 1943 to make a diplomatic mission to China while it was under siege by the Japanese. Needham accepted with alacrity and spent the next few years traveling the country. Winchester draws heavily on Needham's own writing and does a lively job of helping readers to see the China that so entranced him - a land of "narrow streets ... fizzing with lanterns, jammed with stalls, and crowded with tides of humanity" and "great mountain passes, overwhelming scenery, unpredictable roads, bridges broken down." He also re-creates the fury with which the ever-curious Needham tore through the Chinese countryside, exploring the Chinese origin of everything from the orange to the magnetic compass. The more he learned, the more awed Needham was by the depth and breadth of early Chinese ingenuity. Needham would never return to the study of biochemistry. Instead, he would spend the rest of his life puzzling over a question he first scribbled on the back of a letter while voyaging: "Sci. in general in China - why not develop?" In other words, why had China failed to capitalize on its early, historical promise? It was a question he would never fully answer. Needham lived to be 94, a life filled with multiple journeys to China and a privileged position at Cambridge. Needham's career, however, was not without controversy. In the 1950s he headed a commission that charged that the US had used biological weapons against North Korea (a charge now largely presumed to be false). He also turned a blind eye to what many Westerners saw as the abuses of Mao's government. ("The first freedom is to eat - and now the Chinese people are being fed," he insisted in defense of his friends in the country's Commmunist government.) "The Man Who Loved China" has a breathless quality. The land that Needham loved is vast - as are his own accomplishments. Readers travel at warp speed to reach the end of such a career in less than 300 pages of text. Perhaps as a result, we see Needham in action - constantly - but we learn surprisingly little of his interior. However, with all eyes turned to China this summer, those interested in the achievements of the Olympics' behemoth host will do well to take a tour with this remarkable guide. . Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor's book editor. Send comments to kehem at csps.com. ======================================== WALTER LIPPMANN, CubaNews Los Angeles, California http://www.walterlippmann.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Paraiso bajo el bloqueo" ======================================== From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 8 09:44:56 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 11:44:56 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Trumbo Message-ID: <48231FF8.6090104@panix.com> Scheduled for theatrical release in NYC and LA on June 27th, Peter Askin?s ?Trumbo? is based on the stage play by the famous blacklistee?s son Christopher Trumbo. Dalton Trumbo?s struggle against the witch hunt would be compelling enough in itself, but the film has a more general appeal as a study of one of the most complex and interesting personalities to have ever worked in Hollywood. As a long time critic of the generally crappy state of Hollywood movies today, I have pinned the blame on a general decline in screenwriting, which I blame on the dumbing down effect of television on our culture. As movies become more and more like television shows, the race to the bottom accelerates. After I?ve seen a Judd Apatow film, I get the distinct impression that he never read a book after graduating college. By contrast, Dalton Trumbo was a man of letters and in a distinctly old fashion way, a letter writer. Like the 19th century novelists whose letters matched their public work in intelligence and creativity, Trumbo was one our great letter writers. ?Trumbo? is structured around a series of dramatic readings of Trumbo?s letters, with a number of more enlightened actors taking turns, from Michael Douglas to David Strathairn. Both of these actors are in their element. Douglas is a long-time partisan of left-liberal causes, while Strathairn obviously became familiar with the witch-hunt during the filming of ?Goodbye and Good Luck?. Playing Edward R. Murrow, assumed the role of one of the few powerful figures in media who was willing to stand up to McCarthy. full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/trumbo/ From Dbachmozart at aol.com Thu May 8 10:37:33 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 12:37:33 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Hillary's pandering to white racism Message-ID: Interesting and well- thought out argument for supporting Obama's bid for the nomination while maintaining that also supporting McKinney is not a contradiction. <_http://www.blackcommentator.com/276/276_white_bloc_must_be_stopped_mann_gues t.html_ (http://www.blackcommentator.com/276/276_white_bloc_must_be_stopped_mann_guest.html) > All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 8 10:45:02 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 12:45:02 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Marxism] Hillary's pandering to white racism Message-ID: <1242989.1210265102825.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Max J. Castro writing at Progreso Weekly: The Jeremiah Wright ?controversy:? One more media bubble excerpt: How many times does Obama need to disavow the views of Reverend Wright? The answer is that Obama can never do it enough times or get it right. Obama is black, and he has a progressive political trajectory. That, not Wright, is why many would like to destroy him. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The one silver lining in this shameful picture is that the public does not seem to be going along with the implication, implicit in the incessant media attention, that Obama?s association with Jeremiah Wright reflects a lack of judgment or a character flaw on the part of the Illinois senator: A New York Times/CBS News poll released May 5 found that the issue of Wright has not affected most Americans? views of Barack Obama. FULL: http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=459&Itemid=1 ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 8 10:57:11 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 12:57:11 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Who pays the opposition students in Venezuela? Message-ID: <482330E7.6000904@panix.com> http://www.marxist.com/who-pays-opposition-students-venezuela.htm From charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us Thu May 8 11:22:11 2008 From: charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us (Charles Brown) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 13:22:11 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Wright"s logic ? Message-ID: <4822FE84.84C9.00BF.0@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> Mark Lause : Obama's campaign has no dimensions of interest that he hasn't worked assiduously to shed. Now, if Rev. Wright decides to run, that'd be a different matter.... ML ^^^^^^^ Yes , it does: 'bridging the divide between races", the most important issue in American politics. If you ain't interested in that, you ain't got no politics. Rev. Wright has got more sense than you do about him "running". That's why he won't "run". CB This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com From Dbachmozart at aol.com Thu May 8 11:24:52 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 13:24:52 EDT Subject: [Marxism] an ex-super power in the making Message-ID: clip - Nineteen years ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall effectively eliminated the Soviet Union as the world's other superpower. Yes, the USSR as a political entity stumbled on for another two years, but it was clearly an ex-superpower from the moment it lost control over its satellites in Eastern Europe. Less than a month ago, the United States similarly lost its claim to superpower status when a barrel crude oil roared past $110 on the international market, gasoline prices crossed the $3.50 threshold at American pumps, and diesel fuel topped $4.00. As was true of the USSR following the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the USA will no doubt continue to stumble on like the superpower it once was; but as the nation's economy continues to be eviscerated to pay for its daily oil fix, it, too, will be seen by increasing numbers of savvy observers as an ex-superpower-in-the-making. That the fall of the Berlin Wall spelled the erasure of the Soviet Union's superpower status was obvious to international observers at the time. After all, the USSR visibly ceased to exercise dominion over an empire (and an associated military-industrial complex) encompassing nearly half of Europe and much of Central Asia. The relationship between rising oil prices and the obliteration of America's superpower status is, however, hardly as self-evident. So let's consider the connection. full article - All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us Thu May 8 11:33:19 2008 From: charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us (Charles Brown) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 13:33:19 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Racism: Obama--Pot. Kettle. Black Message-ID: <48230120.84C9.00BF.0@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> Fidel probably wouldn't say anything about Obama, since it would have a "Wright"-type impact, but I bet he would have a nice rebuke for Robb. Charles From: Robb Chavez This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com From charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us Thu May 8 12:23:57 2008 From: charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us (Charles Brown) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 14:23:57 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] an ex-super power in the making Message-ID: <48230CFE.84C9.00BF.0@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> Sure hope US imperialism is in decline. However, "super-power" is a US journalistic, pop poli "sci" category. The USSR didn't have an empire. It had to put the fascists "on ice". The Nazis and fascists from states in Eastern Europe waged literally the biggest war in the history of humanity on the Soviet People. It would have been incredibly irresponsible to the Soviet People , who had suffered 27 million dead ( usually casualties are more than the dead; so how many casualties were there !? hundreds of towns wiped out ; gigantic economic destruction) to just shove the Germans and their allies out of the SU ; but let the state powers in Eastern Europe and Germany remain standing , presumably to mount another invasion some day. Eastern Europe post WWII was not an empire. It was an appropriately and necessarily self-protective imprisonment of criminal states. Could they really have just left them to rehabilitate themselves ? Lets get real. On the other hand, the diminution of the USSR's state might be an early form of the withering away of a state. Charles http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2008-May/028000.html This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com From DBachmozart at aol.com Thu May 8 13:11:42 2008 From: DBachmozart at aol.com (DBachmozart at aol.com) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 15:11:42 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Tom Dispatch Message-ID: <200805081911.m48JBgjE005697@toad.thenation.com> Dennis Brasky has sent you an article. Tomgram: Michael Klare, America Out of Gas an ex super power in the making To view this article click on the link below or copy and paste it into your browser: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174929/Tomgram%3A%20%20Michael%20Klare%2C%20America%20Out%20of%20Gas From PoliticNow at aol.com Thu May 8 13:38:23 2008 From: PoliticNow at aol.com (PoliticNow at aol.com) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 15:38:23 EDT Subject: [Marxism] Latin America and the Next U.S. Left By Corey D.B. Walker Message-ID: Latin America and the Next U.S. Left By Corey D.B. Walker The leftist political movements that have sought to fundamentally reconfigure the terrain of politics in Latin America offer some lessons for the Left in the United States. Over the past decade, new political actors have taken center stage across the Latin American region in a tenacious struggle to redefine the nature of political power and representation. New political formations such as Raphael Correa?s Alianza PAIS (Patria Altiva I Soberana) in Ecuador and Evo Morales?s MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo) in Bolivia have engaged in political elections, popular mobilizations, and ideological battles in an effort to transform the norms of politics and materially alter cultural and economic relations. These and other groups have forged new political identities by expanding the spectrum of political representation to include marginalized persons, most notably indigenous peoples, while deepening both formal and informal democratic forms of governance. To be sure, the political reorganization struggles in Latin America have met fierce resistance from entrenched power elites throughout the region in addition to a hostile and aggressive political regime in Washington, D.C., that maintains the imperialist view and posture that Latin America is the United States? backyard. One need only examine the failed 2002 coup d??tat against Hugo Ch?vez and the recent conservative opposition battles against Evo Morales over the new draft constitution to understand the tremendous power of those forces determined to resist any structural realignment in the region. Despite the multiple internal and external obstacles facing these political tendencies in their attempt to institutionalize more egalitarian social, political, cultural, and economic policies, the left in the United States can learn a great deal from the strategies, tactics, and philosophies of some of our Latin American comrades. The ?Battle of Seattle? in 1999, which graphically confronted capitalist globalization, also marked the high-water mark of the U.S. left?s unfortunate valorization of a model of politics and organizing that privileges civil society in challenging the power of capital and the state. In this view, the mechanisms and politics of the state are disconnected from other relations and formations in society and the only opening with any potential of political transformation of the existing order is offered by and through the actions of civil society actors and groups. As encouraging as the waves of opposition to neoliberal globalization were, the U.S. Left remained bereft of any critical strategies, formidable tactics, and coherent ideologies that critically integrate a radical politics of civil society with an equally radical politics of the state. for full article: _http://www.dsausa.org/dl/Spring_2008.pdf_ (http://www.dsausa.org/dl/Spring_2008.pdf) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From lnp3 at panix.com Thu May 8 13:40:22 2008 From: lnp3 at panix.com (Louis Proyect) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 15:40:22 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Moderator's reminder Message-ID: <48235726.3010206@panix.com> About 4 or 5 years ago, Les Schaffer configured our mailing list software to prevent any post from being sent to the list if there were more than *2* other addresses. This was instituted to prevent excessive crossposting. Examples: Here is what will work: mail sent to marxmail, pen-l, lbo-talk. (total of 3) Here is what will not work: mail sent to marxmail, pen-l, lbo-talk, *and* greenleft. (total of 4) In either case, the mail will get sent to all the lists except marxmail. Please try to pay attention to this since Les and I have enough to deal with technically. Lou From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 8 13:43:17 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 12:43:17 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Two reports on the Bolivian crisis Message-ID: <003601c8b143$cb33bd70$6401a8c0@new1501> GRANMA May 8, 2008 Vice President Alvaro Garcia said the vote last Sunday in Santa Cruz increased divisions among its residents. Garcia said the unity the country needs can only be built with a legal autonomy that respects the constitutional order. The vice president recalled that before traveling to Nicaragua for Wednesday's food summit, President Evo Morales convened all of the prefects for talks without conditions and said he hoped they would adopt a pragmatic stance. Garcia said the government will insist on establishing a new round of talks, despite the arrogance of some regional authorities. Likewise, he pointed out that the proposals for autonomy statutes presented by Tarija, Pando and Beni are less "confrontational" that the one in Santa Cruz, which could allow for their compatibility with the new constitution approved last December in Oruro. FULL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/84459 IN DEFENCE OF MARXISM May 8, 2008 On May Day, Evo Morales nationalised the big telecommunications company ENTEL wiuth a decree which gives the state a majority of the stocks in the company. The same happened to several oil companies, who have lost their control over production. However, the message yesterday from the masses, the same masses that put Evo in power, was clear: The government must put aside all efforts to dialogue with the oligarchy who are only interested in regaining their political power throughout the country. "The contrasts are as sharp as ever - now the revolution must move to victory!" FULL: http://www.marxist.com/bolivia-autonomy-referendum-revolutionary-resistance. htm From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 8 14:59:52 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 13:59:52 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] Cuba Hands Voice Opposition to Columbia Dean Message-ID: <003901c8b14e$774894f0$6401a8c0@new1501> (A wild, rightist Cuban exile bash-a-rama, aimed at Colombia University.) ========================================================================= May 8, 2008 Edition Cuba Hands Voice Opposition to Columbia Dean BY E.B. SOLOMONT - Staff Reporter of the Sun May 8, 2008 URL: http://www2.nysun.com/article/76036 Cuban-Americans and other close watchers of events in Cuba are voicing strong opposition to the appointment of John Coatsworth as dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. The promotion of Mr. Coatsworth was announced last week by Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger. Mr. Coatsworth made national headlines in September 2007 when he defended inviting the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Columbia by saying he would also have welcomed Adolf Hitler to campus. That has also prompted opposition to Mr. Coatsworth from Jewish students and faculty members. But to some observers of Cuba, Mr. Coatsworth's view of Fidel Castro is as egregious as his statement about Hitler. At the heart of the debate is a book issued in 2004 by Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, when Mr. Coatsworth was its director. In a preface to the book, which is titled "The Cuban Economy at the Start of the Twenty-First Century," Mr. Coatsworth claimed that Cuba's economy was only one of two in Latin America that grew in the 1980s, attributing that to "careful management of its economic relations with the Soviet Bloc led by the Soviet Union." "The benefits of this strategy were impressive," Mr. Coatsworth wrote, citing, "rising standards of living in a society characterized by a high degree of equality and universal access to employment, basic nutrition, housing, education and medical care." When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, he wrote, "Cuba confronted an economic catastrophe roughly equivalent to what would occur in the rest of Latin America if the U.S. government were suddenly to impose an economic embargo on trade and investment in the Western Hemisphere." The former American ambassador to Venezuela who served as assistant secretary of state for the Western hemisphere under President Bush, Otto Reich, ridiculed Mr. Coatsworth's assessment. "The Cuba that this man describes is a Cuba that exists in the minds of academics only. It has nothing to do with the Cuba of centralized planning, of complete political repression, of hundreds of thousands of people dying in the straits of Florida trying to flee over the last 40 years," Mr. Reich said. "Anyone who reads this preface, you can tell this person is biased in favor of Marxist-Leninism," Mr. Reich said. "He is a dean? Give me a break." Several Cuban scholars questioned the objectivity of the book, which includes essays by American professors and academics employed by Cuban universities, including the University of Havana. "The University of Havana is paid for by the government," a professor of history at the University of Miami and a former director of the University of Miami's Research Institute for Cuban Studies, Jaime Suchlicki, said. Employees of a state-controlled institution, Mr. Suchlicki said, are not free to express critiques of the government. "If you're working in Cuba, you're not going to criticize Fidel or Raoul Castro," he said. At least one Cuban professor described Mr. Coatsworth's introduction as "self contradictory." "By definition, economic development is an ascending and sustainable movement of the economy," a professor emeritus of political economy at Florida International University, Antonio Jorge, said. "Therefore, if there had been economic development, then the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Bloc should not have brought about the collapse of the economy, as the dean writes." A resident scholar emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute, Mark Falcoff, said Mr. Coatsworth's writing reflected predictable themes: "Everything that's good in Cuba is the result of Socialism; everything that's bad is the result of the embargo." Mr. Falcoff described Mr. Coatsworth's appointment as "appalling," on the basis of the dean's statement regarding Hitler. Several Columbia professors and students said they oppose Mr. Coatsworth's appointment because of his role in Mr. Ahmadinejad's visit, and because of remarks he made during an interview on Fox News, in which he said he would have invited Adolf Hitler to campus. An Israeli student at SIPA who voiced strong opposition to Mr. Ahmadinejad's visit, Liat Shetret, said she opposed the appointment based on Mr. Coatsworth's record on Israel. Last week at SIPA, she said, posters advertising events to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary this week were torn down, while posters for "naqba," the Arabic term for catastrophe that also is used to describe Israel's founding, were plastered all over campus. "It was a perfect opportunity for him to step up," she said. Last month, another student, Christian Kim, posted an opinion piece online in which he argued, "For an elite policy institution, SIPA's dialogue concerning the Middle East conflict seems strangely one-sided, heavily favoring the Palestinian cause." Reached by telephone, Mr. Kim declined to comment on Mr. Coatsworth's appointment. He said he wrote the piece in defense of his Jewish and Israeli friends, who "don't feel comfortable talking about their support for Israel." Speaking in measured tones, he expressed compassion for the "average Palestinian," but applauded Israel's existence. "Let me put it this way: I have a lot of compassion for all people, but I'm definitely for Israel's right to exist," he said. According to a co-president of SIPA's Student Association, Bernardo Navazo, Mr. Coatsworth edged out two other candidates for dean. Mr. Navazo said that the students who participated in the search for their new dean did not ask Mr. Coatsworth about Mr. Ahmadinejad's visit. "The issue didn't arise," he said. Mr. Coatsworth did not respond to a message seeking comment. A spokesman for Columbia said President Bollinger's appointment of Mr. Coatsworth "was duly approved by the University's Board of Trustees," but declined to provide further details. May 8, 2008 Edition > Section: New York > Printer-Friendly Version From Dbachmozart at aol.com Thu May 8 16:07:49 2008 From: Dbachmozart at aol.com (Dbachmozart at aol.com) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 18:07:49 EDT Subject: [Marxism] The Real Rise of Barack Obama Message-ID: clip -- As he severed the tie with Reverend Wright, who undoubtedly became political poison due to his ill-advised and self-serving speeches, Obama also eschewed any ?real? dialogue about confronting America?s long festering racial and economic inequalities, which cannot easily be remedied with placating sound bites and digestible, comfort food polemics. full - _http://counterpunch.org/waj05012008.html_ (http://counterpunch.org/waj05012008.html) **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) From pt_costello at yahoo.com Thu May 8 18:52:11 2008 From: pt_costello at yahoo.com (Pat Costello) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 17:52:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Marxism] Who won in Bolivia Message-ID: <588411.5716.qm@web63112.mail.re1.yahoo.com> http://machetera.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/who-won-in-bolivia/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Thu May 8 19:02:10 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 21:02:10 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] An exchange on racism. Clinton and Obama campaigns, and Black oppression Message-ID: <000001c8b170$50615a30$6401a8c0@office1pc> 1.Joaquin Bustelo submitted the following by Robb Chavez: I think that you are a pernicious influence on the Presidential debate. You've taken what were previously batty, but harmless abstractions on the national question, and turned them into brickbats for the Obama campaign's ugly "racism" slurs against Hillary Clinton. I read your ever-slimier posts on the Marxism list, and am horrified at how far a large segment of the "Left" (Sirota, Giordano, Kos) has sunk in its mindless idolatry of the "idea" of Obama. To think that a Cubano, a "Marxist," no less, would stoop so low. You are beginning to resemble more the Miami gusanos in your tone and mendacity, than any supporter of the Cuban Revolution. You are playing with social dynamite. 2. Fred Feldman responded to Robb Chavez: Well, my first thought when I read this was, Hey, what about me! I'm as bad as he is. That was, not uncharacteristically, egocentric. Obviously Robb Chavez has ties with Joaquin from Latino and other struggles that I do not share. He didn't intend to hurt my feelings. It strikes me at first read that Chavez's starting point is defense of Clinton against the racism charges. I don't know if that is a reflection of support for Clinton or has some other motivation, though I suspect it might. Without a long song and dance, I will say that I consider the racist character of the Clinton campaign to be self-evident, both in the loss of the Black vote and the single minded fight for the white supposedly blue-collar, and definitely more alienated from Blacks vote. And also by her tendency to stereotype white workers who support Obama -- and the vote clearly shows there are many of them, at least one-third -- as though they were just "latte liberal" professors and business executives. This was the organic nature of Clintonian triangulation once the Blacks abandoned them. The Clinton-Democratic Party strategy of the 90s and beyond was based on triangulating away from the Black, organized labor and liberal base toward those whose alienation from the Democrats took the form above all that they were pro-Black and thus elitist (which most capitalist politicians are of course, if not all), antiwhite, and by reason of being antiwhite, anti-"American". Once the Blacks walked out from under the Clintons, they were left primarily with the relatively anti-Black white base to rest on, and they have done so. This has been the core of their campaigns in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and coming up, West Virginia. This was reinforced after Edwards dropped out of the race, eliminating the more populist "prolabor," and non-race-baiting competitor for the white vote. They no longer triangulate. The white point of the triangulation, who are more anti-Black or suspicious of Blacks or afraid of Blacks, are now their base. I'm sure they wish the Blacks were still on the reservation, but they are not, at least as far as the Clintons are concerned. However, I thought the most important comment Chavez made was, "You are playing with social dynamite." In essence, I believe he hit the nail on the head, although I would like to think that neither Joaquin nor I is "playing." We both understand that revolution is not a tea party. But that is the way I also see the determined and stubborn response of the Black community to Obama campaign, once they saw he could get a significant body of white and other support. And I would point out that a large, hard core of his white support has also proved stubbornly resistant to the race-baiting campaigns against him -- Rev. Wright, etc. Yes, I think this is a sign that social dynamite is accumulating at the foundations. I don't think we should play with it, I think we should turn toward it. This doesn't require supporting Obama in my opinion -- I support Cynthia McKinney's valuable propaganda effort to advance a more fighting perspective -- but it certainly puts a serious priority in fighting the campaign to bar his election on fundamentally racial grounds: "unelectable," alleged links to Islam, Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Farrakhan, et al. You refer to Joaquin's "batty, but harmless abstractions on the national question." Here again I have to claim my aliquot part of the criticism. Following are the two fundamental conceptions that have come to guide a lot of my thinking and action (to the extent that I am still able to be active) on the Black question and the national question more generally in the United States. Anyone is free to regard them as batty, but I can assure you on personal knowledge, that they are NOT intended to be harmless: (1) What is the national territory of the Black nation in the United States of America? The national territory of the Black nation in the United States of America is the continental territory of the United States of America. (2) What is the political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America? The political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America is state power in the United States of America. This is deliberately not only algebraic, but even a bit oracular, and I admit I am not prepared to answer any questions at all about precisely how this tendency will play itself out. It is deeply rooted (maybe since the first recorded arrival of Black slaves in 1619), as deeply rooted as "white privilege." And US history is not simply a tale of oppression an but quite fundamentally a tale of struggle against oppression and exploitation, and of the fight against racism. It should be remembered that Blacks were brought to the United States not as a people and not because they were Black primarily, but simply as raw material for savage class exploitation as chattel slaves. Racism did not cause this social relation but arose to justify and maintain it, and to turn the exploited whites toward their masters and against what became, for a long time, the largest exploited class in the country. The entire development of Black people into a nation took place in the context of the class and social struggles in this country as it developed. Many cultural elements were brought from Africa but no elements of nationhood. That is a 100 percent "American" development. And the vanguard role of Blacks in the working class and as a central oppositional force in US capitalist society has roots in this historical context of class exploitation, racial oppression, and what has developed into a nation aspiring to forms of self-determination as yet undetermined. The importance of the historical continuity of Black oppression and exploitation in shaping Black consciouness in the US was brought home to me during lunch break at a steelworkers-organized plant in Linden, NJ, where I worked for a year or so about a decade ago. A Black guy pulled up in his car and asked a Black worker about job possibilities there. The worker gave him an uncertain answer and then commented, "We are still in chains, my brother, we are still in chains." Failure to grasp this social conflict as an opportunity, and not just a sad tale of division and American backwardness, has always been a crippling factor on the left and in the revolutionary movement, and a weakness of even the best "white skin privilege" histories and theories (Theodore Allen's, for instance). The latter tend to see the presence of Blacks primarily as a source and mainstay of reaction in this country, whereas it is much more fundamentally a source and mainstay of revolutionary possibilities. 3. Joaquin responded to Fred Fred comments: "Well, my first thought when I read this was, Hey, what about me! I'm as bad as he is. That was, not uncharacteristically, egocentric. Obviously Robb Chavez has ties with Joaquin from Latino and other struggles that I do not share. He didn't intend to hurt my feelings." Actually, maybe I'm not recognizing the person with the name but I've got no recollection of who this comrade might be. So I'm not so sure he meant no disrespect. Fred: "Without a long song and dance, I will say that I consider the racist character of the Clinton campaign to be self-evident, both in the loss of the Black vote and the single minded fight for the white supposedly blue-collar, and definitely more alienated from Blacks vote." * * * And you're not the only one. Look at this from the NY Daily News: Ugly truth why Hillary Clinton won't quit BY THOMAS M. DeFRANK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Wednesday, May 7th 2008, 4:00 AM While the case for Hillary Clinton to stay in the race is shakier than ever, one ugly reason for staying in could be found Tuesday amid the ruddy, sun-kissed Hoosiers who cheered her on to victory at the Indianapolis Speedway. With Clinton posing alongside pioneering Indy speedster Sarah Fisher, there were almost no African-Americans to be seen. Many in the white, working-class crowd were simply not ready to back Barack Obama - for reasons that are disturbing. "I'm kind of still up in the air between McCain and Hillary," said Jason Jenkins, 32, who cited information from a hoax e-mail as a reason to spurn Obama. "I'll be honest with you. Barack scares the hell out of me," he said. "He swore on the Koran." Obama did manage to pull in many white voters, but still encountered similar sentiments from a man who refused to shake his hand at a diner in Greenwood, Ind. "I can't stand him," the man said. "He's a Muslim. He's not even pro-American as far as I'm concerned." * * * Full is here: Fred: "The political destiny and objective of the struggle of the Black nationality in the United States of America is state power in the United States of America." What you say here makes sense, and I'll admit I'd never quite framed it with that much clarity. But I think it is right. I've been wording it in terms of the democratic right to participation, representation, inclusion and so on, but there is also the state power side of the national question, although in terms of how traditionally it is conceived, this just doesn't quite fit. But it makes sense to me, perhaps because of the inseparable intertwining of the class and national questions, i.e., a separate Black state is hardly conceivable carved out of the current U.S. state, it makes sense only presupposing the destruction of that state. Joaquin From dave.walters at comcast.net Thu May 8 19:05:29 2008 From: dave.walters at comcast.net (David Walters) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 18:05:29 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] May 7: Political Update on Mexico Message-ID: <4823A359.3000402@comcast.net> *May 7: Political Update on Mexico* BY ALAN BENJAMIN The struggle over who will own and control Mexico's vital oil resources continues with full force. Today, the legitimate president of Mexico, Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador, began his tour of Mexico's southern states to promote the campaign of the Frente en Defensa del Petr?leo to defend Mexico's oil resources. This campaign was launched earlier this year by the National Democratic Convention (CND) of L?pez Obrador. Referring to the decision by the Mexican Congress to organize a series of Congressional debates over the five-point "energy reform" packet presented to the Congress by usurper President Felipe Calder?n and his Minister of the Interior, Juan Camilo Mouri?o, L?pez Obrador told a large crowd of supporters in Campeche that, "We are going to take advantage of the [72-day] period of debates to build our Resistance Movement. ... They want to take away our oil resources and turn them over to Chevron and Repsol, but we won't let them!" In his speech, L?pez Obrador established what he called the four principles that guide the Resistance Movement in relation to this debate on energy "reform." He stated, "We will not accept anything that violates the Constitution, that undermines national sovereignty, that will privatize our oil resources or that will foster corruption in Pemex." L?pez Obrador also insisted that the Mexican people must have a say in a matter as vital to the nation as its oil resources. "After they finish the debates in the Congress," he said, "there must be a national referendum so that the people can decide their own fate. ... We will not accept a reform concocted by the PRI and the PAN." He added, "All the people of Mexico must be consulted. The legislators can have the last word, but only after the people have had their say." L?pez Obrador concluded his speech with the call to "strengthen the movement, organize ourselves better and ensure we have 200,000 organized Brigadistas in the Z?calo square of Mexico City on June 29." The crowd responded to this passionate speech with chants of "Calder?n and Mouri?o Are Rats and Scoundrels!" L?pez Obrador's call for a referendum has created a big stir among the political establishment. The national coordinators of the two ruling parties in Mexico immediately rejected the call for a referendum. In a joint statement, Santiago Creel of the PAN and Emilio Gamboa of the PRI said there is no provision in the Mexican Constitution to hold a referendum or plebiscite. They added, "One man cannot tell us what to do. This is why we have a legislative body. His proposal is inadmissible. Its only aim is to have him to shine in the media so that he alone can set the agenda for the Congress." Creel and Gamboa went on to state that they are "open to debate and to changes in the reform proposals -- but these changes will only come from our legislators in a plural, open and democratic manner." This joint statement in turn prompted a statement to the press by former Mexican Supreme Court Justice Juventino Castro, who stated that "Calder?n reform proposal is unconstitutional ... and therefore it is in order to call on the President, as provided in Article 26, Section 3 of the Mexican Constitution, to establish a procedure for popular participation in the system of national planning, such as a plebiscite, to advance the nation's economic development." Meanwhile, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, the coordinator in the Senate of the PRI, the political party that dominated Mexico's politics for more than 70 years, said that the PRI supports the energy reform package submitted by Calder?n but warned that there would "have to be some changes to ensure that the reforms are consistent with Mexico's Constitution and our national sovereignty." Many legislators in the PRD, the party of L?pez Obrador, have echoed this position expressed by PRI leader Fabio Beltrones, stating that they are willing to amend Calder?n's "reform" plan to "bring it more into compliance with Mexico's Constitution." Hence, on the one hand, there is movement afoot in the legislature to produce a "better privatization" plan -- one that would have the support of a wing of the opposition movement to give it some legitimacy; but on the other hand, the Resistance Movement in the streets has drawn a line in the sand, explaining it will not accept any amendments to this privatization plan. The whole Calder?n plan must be scrapped, they say. How this tug of war, this class struggle, will play out remains to be seen. The PRD Senate coordinator, Carlos Navarrete, announced that the PRD has not "discarded the possibility of presenting its own reform plan as an alternative project." The problem, of course, is the following: What kind of "alternative reform" proposal is Navarrete talking about here? All too often, in the name of being "pro-active" and proposing "alternative reforms" so as not to appear "rejectionist," activist movements have succumbed to the pressures of the ruling class and its institutional frameworks. This has usually meant going along with some form of privatization or some form of "free trade" agreements -- against the needs and aspirations of the peoples in their countries. There is nothing wrong in principle with proposing a counter plan to the plan proposed by those who are hell-bent on turning Mexico oil's resources over to the U.S. and foreign oil corporations. There is certainly the need to clean up the corruption in Pemex and to improve the system of administration of this giant nationalized enterprise. There is a need for a genuine reform of Pemex (not one that parades as a "reform" but is in fact a privatization plan), as L?pez Obrador has stated time and again. Within the framework of L?pez Obrador's four principles, there is certainly an alternative plan that could be put forward. Such a reform, of course, would have to reject all the points in the Calder?n Plan. But if the proposed "alternative reform plan" -- as some in the PRD envision -- seeks to find common ground with the conservative forces in the PRD and with the PRI -- in the name of "opposing the worst aspects" of the Calder?n plan -- the movement will be taken down the slippery path to acceptance of the basic premises of reform and privatization. This is inevitable. It is only a matter of time, then, before Pemex is given back to the transnational oil corporations. To be continued. From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Thu May 8 19:12:25 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 21:12:25 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] An exchange on racism, etc. (apology to list) Message-ID: <010901c8b171$be80ec00$6401a8c0@office1pc> Apologies for mistakenly sending this item, almost all of which, except a couple paragraphs of my contribution, had already appeared on this list. I intended to send it to Socialist Voice, but automatically wrote Marximail and failed to recheck my addressees before sending. Will try to do this in future. Fred From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 8 19:24:49 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 18:24:49 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Subject: [Marxism] Who won in Bolivia Message-ID: <26450947.1210296289075.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> It's too late now, but I would have wanted you to post some of the text. Next time I'll write more precisely. Chao y gracias, Walter -----Original Message----- >From: Pat Costello >Sent: May 8, 2008 5:52 PM >To: walterlx at earthlink.net >Subject: [Marxism] Who won in Bolivia > >http://machetera.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/who-won-in-bolivia/ > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ >Be a better friend, newshound, and >know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ > >________________________________________________ >YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. >Send list submissions to: Marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu >Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/walterlx%40earthlink.net ========================================= WALTER LIPPMANN Los Angeles, California Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ "Cuba - Un Para?so bajo el bloqueo" ========================================= From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 8 20:59:27 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 19:59:27 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Subject: [Marxism] Turin book fair causes a stir Message-ID: <27336814.1210301967346.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> (Dario Fo, the Italian Nobel laureate in literature, joined the fray Wednesday. He said he will not obey a boycott that some anti-Israel groups have called. But instead of reading from his new book, "The Apocalypse Postponed," he plans to use his appearance to talk about the Palestinian cause. "Many have chosen to forfeit the fair, but I think it is necessary to attend and to raise a taboo theme: Palestine," Fo told the leading daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.) ==================================================================== COMMENT: At a time when Zionism's human rights violations are finally becoming the subject of legitimate discussion in "polite" circles, it strikes me that it's best now to promote discussion and debate regarding these matters. Dario Fo's action prevents the supporters of Israel from falsely claiming the victim's shroud at Turin. ==================================================================== http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bookfair8-2008may08,1,514130.story From walterlx at earthlink.net Thu May 8 22:26:19 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 21:26:19 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] For some Palestinians, one state with Israel is better than none Message-ID: <005601c8b18c$dbc5f2e0$6401a8c0@new1501> (Rid of the territories, Olmert told reporters in November, Israel would have a sustainable Jewish majority within its borders, enabling it to preserve its Jewish character within a democracy. ("If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights, the state of Israel is finished," he said.) ------------------------------ (Palestinians who favor the idea say they would have no problem living with Jews as equals. If Jews were to give up their superior status and allow Palestinians the right to vote and move about the country, they say, Islamic extremists would lose their appeal. ("I'm envisioning a state where Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities live equally with full rights," Kawasmi said. If Israelis cannot accept that, "it's up to them to face an Islamic power that will not accept them.") ================================================================== COMMENT: I've always thought that the "two-state" solution would . Israel would never be willing to accept equality for the Palestinians. The Jewish nature of the Jewish state is based on a racial criterion, not a religious one. To say that Zionism is racism isn't an epitet. It's simply a description of the objective fact. Israel's leadership is not willing to allow the Palestinians to have a state which the Israelis don't control. That's what experience has demonstrated. But should the Palestinian Authority find itself so thoroughly stiffed by the Israelis, and decide to simply dissolve the PA, Israel will then find itself with 100% responsibility for the food, clothing and shelter of their prisoners. At a certain stage in the South African struggle, Mandela and the ANC leadership remained imprisoned on Robben Island, but the apartheid authorities had to go to Mandela to seek a way out. Prisoners and jailers had, in a sense, changed places. Though most Israelis still cannot see it, they have become prisoners of their occupation of Palestinian land. The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. I've always liked the "democratic secular Palestine" idea, and also thought the only good which could come out of a "two-state solution" is as a way to discuss possibilities with those not yet ready to give up the Zionist idea of a Jewish state. This question is often masked as that deadly formula about "Israel's right to exist". While I haven't a formula for the nature of the state, it's obvious that some mixture of: bi-national, secular, and democratic would be critical elements in a solution. The Israeli people will have to give up their arrogance and privileges. They will have to learn to live alongside their Arab neighbors, in legal equality. ?S?, se puede! Walter Lippmann ===================================================================== LOS ANGELES TIMES For some Palestinians, one state with Israel is better than none Frustrated by years of failed peace talks for a two-state solution, some are giving up hope of independence and pushing the idea of a single democratic state with equal rights for all. By Richard Boudreaux and Ashraf Khalil Los Angeles Times Staff Writers May 8, 2008 JERUSALEM ? Frustrated by years of on-and-off peace talks with Israel, Palestinians are losing hope for an independent homeland, and some are proposing a radically different cause: a shared state with equal rights for Palestinians and Jews. A "two-state solution" has been the basis for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for nearly 15 years and remains the declared aim of both groups' highest elected leaders and the Bush administration. But its advocates are increasingly on the defensive, and not just against militant Islamists and Jewish settlers who have long opposed partitioning the land. Majorities on both sides dismiss the current U.S.-backed peace talks as futile. And a small but growing number of moderate Palestinians contend that Israel's terms for independence offer less than they could gain in a single democratic state combining Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. As a result, the 60th anniversary this month of Israel's birth is a time of insecurity and flux. Conventional wisdom about the long-standing formula for peace is being turned on its head. No Israeli leader accepts the idea of sharing power with Palestinians; nor has such a plan been offered to the Israeli government. But a collapse of the two-state effort would leave Israel in de facto control of a region where by the next generation, Jews probably will be a minority. That scenario inspires Hazem Kawasmi, who recently gave up on the two-state ideal and runs brainstorming workshops in the West Bank on single-state proposals. Sooner or later, the former Palestinian Authority official predicts, the growing burden of occupation and threat of Islamic extremism will make Israelis receptive to the idea of a bi-national system that protects the rights of Jews. "Israel cannot be a dominating power forever," Kawasmi, 43, said between puffs on a water pipe in a cafe in Ramallah, the West Bank's administrative center. "Time is on our side." Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East War, but efforts to incorporate the territories by encouraging massive Jewish settlements fell short. It took a generation after the war for Israeli and secular Palestinian leaders to recognize each other and start discussing statehood for the occupied territories. The Palestinians' rethinking of that goal has been influenced by Hamas' ascendancy. Its rise has unnerved moderate Palestinians who don't want to be ruled by the militant Islamic group and made many in Israel, which Hamas refuses to formally recognize, more averse to a two-state accord. The near-daily rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza have turned Israel's defense minister into a powerful critic of a peace process he once led. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, struggling to propel peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority led by the secular Fatah movement, warned last week that the lack of progress was causing younger Palestinians to give up on the goal of an independent state. "Increasingly, the Palestinians who talk about a two-state solution are my age," said Rice, who is 53. The U.S. revived the peace talks in November with the aim of an accord by the end of President Bush's term, but disillusionment set in quickly. Hebrew University and the Palestine Center for Policy and Survey Research reported that three-fourths of the Palestinians and just over half the Israelis they polled in March said the talks serve no purpose and should be halted. Other polls show that at least one-fourth of Palestinians favor a single state. "The number of people who believe in two states for two peoples is decreasing, and that worries me," said Yasser Abed-Rabbo, a Palestinian official involved in the talks. "And I'm talking about a circle of rational intellectuals, people with an open mind. On the street, the two-state idea has become a joke." Fatah's leadership has begun a quiet, informal debate of its options if talks for an independent state fail. The emergence of one-state proposals, said Kadura Fares, a member of Fatah's revolutionary council, are "a sign that the current strategy has been exhausted and it's time to rethink all our goals." Ali Jarbawi, an independent West Bank political scientist who advises the Palestinian leadership, has urged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resign and abolish the government, which would oblige Israel to take direct responsibility for managing the West Bank and Gaza and paying public employees. "I would say, 'Be my guest. Continue your occupation. But we're going to declare this is all one state and ask for equal rights. Are you going to be able to keep us under control for another 40 years?' " Jarbawi said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert cited just such a scenario last year to make the case for shedding the territories quickly, while the Palestinians still have leaders who want their own state. Israel, he warned, faces a demographic threat. There are 5.7 million Jews and 1.4 million Arab citizens in Israel and its West Bank settlements, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics; the bureau's Palestinian counterpart tallies nearly 3.8 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. By 2025, Israeli demographer Sergio Della Pergola predicts, Jews will make up no more than 46% of the people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an area slightly smaller than Maryland. Rid of the territories, Olmert told reporters in November, Israel would have a sustainable Jewish majority within its borders, enabling it to preserve its Jewish character within a democracy. "If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights, the state of Israel is finished," he said. But resistance to a two-state accord has risen not only from right-wing allies of Olmert who support continued Jewish settlement in the West Bank but also from Ehud Barak, who leads the dovish Labor Party. As prime minister in 2000, Barak made Israel's first concrete offer of a Palestinian state. (Yasser Arafat rejected his terms.) Now defense minister, Barak has privately dismissed the current talks as "a fantasy." Until Israel upgrades its missile defenses, which could take several years, Barak says, he favors keeping troops in the West Bank and continuing frequent incursions into Gaza. Israel withdrew its army bases and civilian settlements from Gaza in 2005. Many Palestinians take Barak's shift as a sign that independence is unattainable. Kawasmi, the former Palestinian Authority official, said his moment of disenchantment came last year in June during an encounter with Israeli peace activists at an unofficial Middle East forum in Italy. The Jerusalem native had been campaigning 15 years for an independent Palestinian state. The dream had brought him home from studies in England in 1994 to help the newly created Palestinian Authority set up a ministry of economy. But the Israeli peaceniks dismissed two cherished Palestinian aspirations. Like Olmert's government, they wanted to avoid talk of giving Palestinian refugees and their families the right of return to homes in Israel that they fled in 1948 or of sharing Jerusalem as capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state. At that moment, Kawasmi said, he realized "there is zero chance" for a two-state solution. He didn't sleep well for months. Then he embraced the single-state option, which had been debated for several years among Palestinians living abroad, and set out to create a buzz for it in the territories. Several dozen intellectuals and activists are engaged in the debate, in books, newspaper articles, seminars and discussions on such websites as Electronic Intifada. Some call for a power-sharing government, others for a federation with separate administrations for Palestinians and Jews. Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al Quds University in Jerusalem, suggests that many Palestinians would feel more at home in a democracy shared with Israelis than in a Palestinian state run by Hamas. A bi-national system, Nusseibeh said, would "need to come about by consent and not by force; it will need a complete new strategy and thinking." Perhaps after decades of fruitless bloodshed, he said, "we might find ourselves having no option but to coexist within one state." A single state, other proponents say, would resolve disputes that have long bedeviled peace talks. Jews could keep their settlements, the thinking goes, but Palestinians, now restricted to a disproportionately small area, could live and travel anywhere the country. So could returning Palestinian refugees. Most Israelis dismiss single-state proposals as recipes for dystopia or tactics in a Hamas-guided scheme to overrun the Jews and impose Islamic rule. "Such an idea of one country with two peoples, it will never happen," said Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, the infrastructure minister. "Bloodshed will happen. The Arabs will not accept us. We will not accept them." But Palestinians who favor the idea say they would have no problem living with Jews as equals. If Jews were to give up their superior status and allow Palestinians the right to vote and move about the country, they say, Islamic extremists would lose their appeal. "I'm envisioning a state where Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities live equally with full rights," Kawasmi said. If Israelis cannot accept that, "it's up to them to face an Islamic power that will not accept them." It might be months or years, he acknowledges, before Palestinian leaders embrace the single-state vision and another generation before Israelis take it seriously. He plans to spend the year hammering out a detailed proposal and getting it launched by a political party, even if he has to start one himself. Israelis, meanwhile, are weighing the choices that will shape the country's seventh decade if the two-state talks fail: Israel could declare that the wall it has built along the length of the West Bank is now a border and retreat behind it, unilaterally defining an Israel with a Jewish majority but exposing itself to rocket fire. Or it could try to prevent the attacks by occupying the territory more thoroughly, and re-occupying Gaza, with the risks of long-term fatigue and international condemnation. Either option could mean years of conflict, an outlook that weighs on Israel as it celebrates 60 years of national rebirth and achievement. Meron Benvenisti, a historian and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, is one of the few prominent Israelis who see a way out by sharing a state with the Palestinians. He has proposed that Israeli Jews start debating the shape of such a state. They could best protect Israel's gains and the haven of a Jewish homeland, he suggests, by opting for a federal system with autonomous administrations for Jews and Palestinians. "Israelis and Palestinians are sinking together into the mud of 'one state,' " he writes. "We need a model that fits this reality. . . . The question is no longer whether it will be bi-national, but which model to choose." boudreaux at latimes.com ashraf.khalil at latimes.com Batsheva Sobelman of The Times' Jerusalem Bureau contributed to this report. From ok.president+marxml at gmail.com Thu May 8 23:11:14 2008 From: ok.president+marxml at gmail.com (Ruthless Critic of All that Exists) Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 01:11:14 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Insurance against failure of capitalism Message-ID: <908b689f0805082211kb788917peddab6dbb1da4375@mail.gmail.com> End-of-the-World Trade: Donald MacKenzie on the credit crisis "Last November, I spent several days in the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, in banks' headquarters in the City and in the pale wood and glass of a hedge fund's St James's office trying to understand the credit crisis that had erupted over the previous four months. I became intrigued by an oddity that I came to think of as the end-of-the-world trade. The trade is the purchase of insurance against what would in effect be the failure of the modern capitalist system." Full: From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Thu May 8 23:43:10 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 01:43:10 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Clinton: Say it loud, I'm white and I'm proud Message-ID: <000001c8b197$915f9e80$6401a8c0@office1pc> Clinton said: "I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." "There's a pattern emerging here," she said. [Italics Mine] http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/05/07/race-again.aspx And I commented: Notice how much more "working, hard working" the decent white Americans who can't stomach Obama are than everybody else -- including (it really goes without saying) Black workers and white workers who are attracted to Obama as an advocate and symbol of "change." Further comments: Also her idea of a "broader coalition" than the one supporting Obama consists basically of different types of white people: seniors, blue-collar workers, those with less formal education, women, plus Other. The Obama electoral coalition is much narrower, according to her. This is because it includes a minority of white people except among youth (whom she no longer considers worth mentioning at all because of their racial treachery and apostasy to the Clintons in the primaries), and because it includes Black people as a central component (even though it also includes quite substantial numbers of white workers and others). According to Clintonian principles of triangulation, the presence of Black people in a central rather than marginalized role can only narrow a coalition. That is because it turns off the decent people, the "hard-working people," the "people who play by the rules," the normal people, the average people, the American heartland (i.e., the white people). Still more interesting is her assumption (clear to me at least) that the candidates should be selected by the majority of white people. Black people can rally behind their Jesse Jackson in the primaries if they wish, but their role in selecting a candidate must not be decisive. Once the white people have selected their candidates, the Blacks can come in to vote for the white candidate they think is less hostile, or, if they prefer, the white candidate they think is more "Black." Basically what Clinton is fighting for is a basic historical principle of white majority rule under US "democracy": White Majority Rule. When the majority of white people is denied their pick, this democracy has been violated. It should be remembered that Hilary Clinton, like her lifelong companion, has been moving to the right since 1972, and is still doing so. How far they can go before they finally drop dead is anybody's guess,in my opinion. Fred Feldman From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 9 00:15:29 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 23:15:29 -0700 Subject: [Marxism] WSJ/Peggy Noonan on Hillary Clinton: "Damsel of Distress" Message-ID: <006301c8b19c$168ccd40$6401a8c0@new1501> (Following up on Fred's discussion of the racist nature of Hillary Clinton's campaign, here's an excellent discussion of that from a Former Reagan speech writer now writing for the Wall Street Journal. (In fact, on the women's issues, very little separates Clinton from Obama both are basically moderate liberals, pro-choice, etc. Really, about all Clinton has to offer about herself is that she's NOT Black. The only other person in the race with whom she shares that characteristic is McCain. Here entire appeal is quite crude, transparent, and obviously racist. Obama is showing the world he's a class act, letting her burn herself out, but not pushing her in any manner. She'll either see the handwriting on the wall, and do the right thing by dropping out, or it will be done for her.) ===================================================================== WALL STREET JOURNAL May 9, 2008 DECLARATIONS By PEGGY NOONAN Damsel of Distress May 9, 2008 This is an amazing story. The Democratic Party has a winner. It has a nominee. You know this because he has the most votes and the most elected delegates, and there's no way, mathematically, his opponent can get past him. Even after the worst two weeks of his campaign, he blew past her by 14 in North Carolina and came within two in Indiana. He's got this thing. And the Democratic Party, after this long and brutal slog, should be dancing in the streets. Party elders should be coming out on the balcony in full array, in full regalia, and telling the crowd, "Habemus nominatum": "We have a nominee." And the crowd below should be cheering, "Viva Obamus! Viva nominatum!" Instead, you know where they are, the party elders. They are in a Democratic club on Capitol Hill, slump-shouldered at the bar, having a drink and then two, in a state of what might be called depressed horror. "What are they doing to the party?" they wail. "Why are they doing this?" You know who they are talking about. The Democratic Party can't celebrate the triumph of Barack Obama because the Democratic Party is busy having a breakdown. You could call it a breakdown over the issues of race and gender, but its real source is simply Hillary Clinton. Whose entire campaign at this point is about exploiting race and gender. Here's the first place an outsider could see the tensions that have taken hold: on CNN Tuesday night, in the famous Brazile-Begala smackdown. Paul Begala wore the smile of the 1990s, the one in which there is no connection between the shape of the mouth and what the mouth says. All is mask. Donna Brazile was having none of it. Mr. Begala more or less accused the Obama people of not caring about white voters: "[If] there's a new Democratic Party that somehow doesn't need or want white working-class people and Latinos, well, count me out." And: "We cannot win with eggheads and African Americans." That, he said, was the old, losing, Dukakis coalition. "Paul, baby," Ms. Brazile, who is undeclared, began her response, "we need to not divide and polarize the Democratic Party. . . . So stop the divisions. Stop trying to split us into these groups, Paul, because you and I know . . . how Democrats win, and to simply suggest that Hillary's coalition is better than Obama's, Obama's is better than Hillary's -- no. We have a big party, Paul." And: "Just don't divide me and tell me I cannot stand in Hillary's camp because I'm black, and I can't stand in Obama's camp because I'm female. Because I'm both. . . . Don't start with me, baby." Finally: "It's our party, Paul. Don't say my party. It's our party. Because it's time that we bring the party back together, Paul." In case you didn't get what was behind that exchange, Mrs. Clinton spent this week making it clear. In a jaw-dropping interview in USA Today on Thursday, she said, "I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on." As evidence she cited an Associated Press report that, she said, "found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." White Americans? Hard-working white Americans? "Even Richard Nixon didn't say white," an Obama supporter said, "even with the Southern strategy." If John McCain said, "I got the white vote, baby!" his candidacy would be over. And rising in highest indignation against him would be the old Democratic Party. To play the race card as Mrs. Clinton has, to highlight and encourage a sense that we are crudely divided as a nation, to make your argument a brute and cynical "the black guy can't win but the white girl can" is -- well, so vulgar, so cynical, so cold, that once again a Clinton is making us turn off the television in case the children walk by. "She has unleashed the gates of hell," a longtime party leader told me. "She's saying, 'He's not one of us.'" She is trying to take Obama down in a new way, but also within a new context. In the past he was just the competitor. She could say, "All's fair." But now he's the competitor who is going to be the nominee of his party. And she is still trying to do him in. And the party is watching. Again: amazing. Who can save the situation? The superdelegates. You know them. They're the ones hiding under the rock, behind the boulder, and at the bar. They are terrified, most of them. They want the problem to go away. They want it handled, but they don't want to do it. They don't want to tell Hillary to stop, because they would likely pay a price for it, and not just with her. They are afraid of looking as if they're jumping on a train that's speeding down the tracks and is about to roll over the damsel in distress. Which is how Hillary -- and her supporters -- will paint it. Even though she's no damsel, and she causes distress. Some insight from a superdelegate I spoke to Thursday: It's not math anymore, it's psychodrama. If she can't have it, no one can have it. If she has to tear the party apart, she will. Nancy Pelosi can't make her drop out. The Clintons think the speaker is for Obama anyway, her San Francisco district went for him 70% to 30%; they'll dismiss her. Chuck Schumer can't do it, he'd offend women in New York. Harry Reid can't do it, he'll offend women, period. If black political figures go to the Clintons and make a plea, they'll be dismissed as Obama partisans. So who, I asked, can do it? White women have been Mrs. Clinton's most reliable base of support and readiest crutch, the superdelegate said. And maybe they're the only ones who can break through, both to Mrs. Clinton and to the country, and tell her to stop. "If it's a man, she goes back to gender: Men are always picking on me, you just don't want women in power. If it's a black, it's You betrayed us, how can you call on me to get out after what I've done for you?" Sen. Dianne Feinstein made a feint in the direction of stopping Hillary this week. Mrs. Clinton should offer a rationale for her continuing the campaign at this point, Ms. Feinstein said. The superdelegate mentioned Maryland's Barbara Mikulski. "I can assure you that Sen. Mikulski is 100% behind Clinton," her office told me. The superdelegate mentioned Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Ellen Malcolm of Emily's List, the No. 1 political action committee in the country. "They can say, 'We've stood with you, you've got true grit, but now you have to go.'" The question "Who will tell her, who can make her go?" is really the question "Who will save the Democratic Party in 2008?" It cannot be doubted at this point that real damage is being done to its standard-bearer and to all those who will be on the ticket with him. Maybe the superdelegate is right, and maybe saving the party this year will be women's work. Maybe the Democratic Party establishment, such as it is, men and women, black and white and all other colors, will rise up together. Maybe that would be a perfect rebuke to race-baiting and gender-gaming. It will be amazing if someone doesn't start up that train, someone doesn't get in the cab, someone doesn't shout, "All aboard!" But then it's been an amazing year. From walterlx at earthlink.net Fri May 9 00:26:27 2008 From: walterlx at earthlink.net (Walter Lippmann) Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 23:26:27 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Subject: [Marxism] Turin book fair causes a stir Message-ID: <32035871.1210314387889.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> (Dario Fo, the Italian Nobel laureate in literature, joined the fray Wednesday. He said he will not obey a boycott that some anti-Israel groups have called. But instead of reading from his new book, "The Apocalypse Postponed," he plans to use his appearance to talk about the Palestinian cause. "Many have chosen to forfeit the fair, but I think it is necessary to attend and to raise a taboo theme: Palestine," Fo told the leading daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.) ==================================================================== COMMENT: At a time when Zionism's human rights violations are finally becoming the subject of legitimate discussion in "polite" circles, it strikes me that it's best now to promote discussion and debate regarding these matters. Dario Fo's action prevents the supporters of Israel from falsely claiming the victim's shroud at Turin. ==================================================================== From glparramatta at greenleft.org.au Fri May 9 01:10:57 2008 From: glparramatta at greenleft.org.au (glparramatta) Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 17:10:57 +1000 Subject: [Marxism] Comrade Mugabe strikes another valiant blow against imperialist agents -- not! Message-ID: <4823F901.60303@greenleft.org.au> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7390799.stm Farm-workers flee Zimbabwe homes *Some 40,000 farm-workers and their families have fled their homes in Zimbabwean election violence, a trade union official says. * "They have been accused of voting for the opposition. Most of them are either on the roadside or sheltering at some farms," said Gertrude Hambira. Earlier, a South African observer said the country was too violent to hold a run-off in the presidential election. There are reports that the poll could be delayed by up to a year. A newspaper editor and a lawyer have also been arrested. No date has been set for the second round between President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, which should be 21 days after the official results. These, announced last Friday, said that Mr Tsvangirai gained more votes than Mr Mugabe but not the 50% needed to be declared the winner. Mr Tsvangirai, however, says the results were fixed and insists that he did pass the 50% threshold. He has not said whether he would take part in a run-off, citing fraud and alleged state-sponsored violence against his supporters. * 'Army uniforms' * Ms Hambira said that people were being targeted in rural areas which voted for the opposition. "This population represents what might be termed the swing vote between the traditional [opposition] MDC strongholds in urban areas and the Zanu-PF strongholds in the rural areas," she said. "They have been attacked by a group of militias wearing army uniforms," said Ms Hambira, General Secretary of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe. The army has denied allegations that it is involved in the violence. Much of the political violence in recent years has been on white-owned farms, but all but 400 of these have been seized by the state and redistributed. Of these, some 142 have been attacked since the 29 March elections, said farmers' lobby group Justice for Agriculture (Jag). Before the seizure of white-owned farms in 2000, there were were some 4,000 white farmers in Zimbabwe, employing some 200,000 people. Mr Mugabe blames Zimbabwe's problems on a plot for the white farmers and their western backers to reclaim their land. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7390799.stm Published: 2008/05/08 16:00:57 GMT ? BBC MMVIII From johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz Fri May 9 02:24:16 2008 From: johnedmundson at paradise.net.nz (John) Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 20:24:16 +1200 Subject: [Marxism] For some Palestinians, one state with Israel is better than none In-Reply-To: <005601c8b18c$dbc5f2e0$6401a8c0@new1501> References: <005601c8b18c$dbc5f2e0$6401a8c0@new1501> Message-ID: <1210321456.5735.23.camel@john-desktop> On Thu, 2008-05-08 at 21:26 -0700, Walter Lippmann wrote: > I've always liked the "democratic secular Palestine" idea, and also > thought the only good which could come out of a "two-state solution" > is as a way to discuss possibilities with those not yet ready to > give up the Zionist idea of a Jewish state. This question is often > masked as that deadly formula about "Israel's right to exist". I realise that the New Zealand populace is nowhere near as wedded to the concept of a Zionist state as the USA is. Here public opinion seems to have swung quite strongly behind the Palestinians. Talking to people, they begin from a two-state position because it's all that's on the table but it wouldn't be a big exaggeration to say that convincing them of the single secular state idea is a bit like taking candy from a baby. > While I haven't a formula for the nature of the state, it's obvious > that some mixture of: bi-national, secular, and democratic would be > critical elements in a solution. The Israeli people will have to give > up their arrogance and privileges. They will have to learn to live > alongside their Arab neighbors, in legal equality. ?S?, se puede! I largely agree with Walter's comments on this article :-) It's only the context of the comments that is odd, and that's entirely the fault of the LA Times, not Walter. What planet (or drugs) are these reporters on? They talk as if one state is this newfangled idea that some Palestinian emigre just dreamed up one day after a few sleepless nights. Why no mention of the fact that a single secular state was PLO policy until Oslo, when the USA and others forced them into accepting the toxic, and always doomed, two state farce. "For some Palestinians, one state with Israel is better than none" Well of course. Would these "reporters" have been surprised when black South Africans said, "Actually we'd rather have citizenship in a free South Africa than be banished to a Bantustan"? "Frustrated by years of failed peace talks for a two-state solution, some are giving up hope of independence and pushing the idea of a single democratic state with equal rights for all." This is nutty. A Palestinian state within the two state model was never going to be real, viable or independent. Full rights within a secular single state *is* independence for Palestine. That's the only way they can get independence, right of return etc. Sometimes I read the US media and despair... Cheers, John From ffeldman at bellatlantic.net Fri May 9 05:30:32 2008 From: ffeldman at bellatlantic.net (Fred Feldman) Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 07:30:32 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Malik Mah: Barack Obama, Reverend Wright and black liberation theology Message-ID: <001001c8b1c8$1844b270$6401a8c0@office1pc> From david at miradoiro.com Fri May 9 05:33:23 2008 From: david at miradoiro.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?David_Pic=F3n_=C1lvarez?=) Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 13:33:23 +0200 Subject: [Marxism] Interesting articles on economic modelling. Message-ID: <000901c8b1c8$7eac8470$0302a8c0@Nautilus> http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/08/bankofenglandgovernor.economics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_integrator Anyone knows to what extent the Soviet Union used actual, grounded scientific planning? Thinking of _Towards a New Socialism_ it would appear that large-scale planning was impossible with the computational resources of the time at a decent level of granularity, but I'd like to know what actually was done and to what extent it functioned. --David. From pance at rogers.com Fri May 9 05:42:03 2008 From: pance at rogers.com (Pance Stojkovski) Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 07:42:03 -0400 Subject: [Marxism] Capitalist Pig of the month nominee Message-ID: My nominee for the Capitalist Pig of the month nominee: owner of the Tim Hortons donut store in London, Ontario. "Tim Hortons" is a chain of donut/coffee shops in Canada and a "TimBit" is a small round donut (without the usual hole in the middle). The worker that was fired - Nicole Lilliman - was eventually re-hired because of the PR fiasco for Tim Hortons. Pance ========================================= Single mom of 4 fired by doughnut giant for giving regular customer's baby a 16 cents Timbit You can take candy from a baby, but you can't give one a Timbit -- not for free, anyway. A London single mother of four is out of her Tim Hortons job, fired for giving away one of the 16 cents blobs of fried dough to a tot who came in with a regular customer. "I have been fired for giving a baby a Timbit," Nicole Lilliman, 27, said yesterday. "It was just out of my heart -- she was pointing and going 'ah, ah ...' I should have gone to my pu