(The US says the talks have broken down, and are again threatening an
assault on the Imam Ali mosque. Why the assault has been repeatedly delayed
is outlined below. The Sadrists have used the ceasefire during the past 24
hours to encourage and welcome supporters to Najaf, strengthening their
Marvin Gandall wrote:
A spokesman for Al Sadr meanwhile told Agence France Presse
early today that UN troops should be brought into Iraq to replace US
forces,
an unrealizable demand indicating the Mehdi Army is anticipating a
fight.
Debate on demands of the anti-war movement has been
An apparently only half tongue-in-cheek argument in yesterday's Globe and
Mail for why Canadians and others should be allowed to vote for the US
President. The Kerry Democrats, you would think, would have a real interest
in taking the issue a step further. Rather than lamely trailing after Bush
in
Louis Proyect wrote:
(A frequent argument on behalf of Kerry is that he would have not
invaded Iraq after 9/11. He might be an imperialist but is not a rash,
adventuristic unilateralist. Guess what, folks. He is a rash,
adventuristic unilateralist. He might not be a born-again Christian and
One of the 200 business executives who came out for Kerry last week was Leo
Hindery, a former CEO of Global Crossing and AT T Broadband. In todays
Financial Times, Hindery identifies the major reasons why a small segment of
the corporate sector - what the left has traditionally called the
Yoshie wrote:
I've seen folks here and elsewhere contemptuously dismiss an
independent electoral challenge to the Democratic Party from the left
(Nader/Camejo and Greens who support them), an attempt to make voices
for peace heard inside the Democratic Party (Kucinich and those who
supported
Today's Financial Times offers more dramatic evidence of how China has
become the new beacon for Western-based multinationals. It describes the
fierce struggle for dominance being waged over control of the lucrative
China-US air cargo trade by FedEx, UPS, and European carriers like
DHL --somewhat
Louis Proyect quoting the New Yorker article:
The idea of overthrowing Saddam is not an idle fantasy-or, if it is,
it's one that has lately occupied the minds of many American officials,
including people close to George W. Bush. In 1998, during the period
when Saddam was resisting the
Louis Proyect wrote:
Marvin Gandall wrote:
Whether you think invasion/occupation versus sanctions/subversion
represents
only a nuance of difference or is more significant than that is a matter
of
judgment, of course. Certainly, you can make a case that the sanctions
cost
many lives
(The following is from Doug Henwood's LBO-list. I may have missed Doug also
posting it here. If so, my apologies for duplicating it. But a case can be
made for reading Tariq Ali's comments twice. Ali, the radical British
political commentator and playwright, has IMO succinctly grasped what is
Speaking of autism, read -- if you haven't already -- Mark
Haddon's The Serious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, an outstanding first
novel by a British writer with a background in working with autistic kids. Very
funny and empathetic, about one such terrifically engaging 15 year
old.
Sorry. The title is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time.
- Original Message -
From:
Devine, James
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 12:04
PM
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] The rise of an
emotion based left was Bush using drugs
I
The problem, unfortunately, is there has never been anything other than a
scorched earth march to fully developed capitalist property
relations --anywhere, ever. Therefore, the issue becomes: is such a march
historically progressive, despite the human toll? Marx, of course, answered
in the
Louis Proyect wrote:
I recommend that you read Theodor Shanin's Late Marx, which makes a
convincing case that Marx rejected the notion of universal models of
development.
I haven't read Shanin's book. But reinterpreting Marx has been the fashion
ever since the socialist revolution he foresaw
(Jonathan Schell, in the forthcoming issue of The Nation, argues that the
Democratic party has locked itself into continuing the war in Iraq, even
though its base is in denial and is hoping Kerry's pledge to do so is just
rhetoric designed to win the election. In fact, the outcome of the US
Louis Proyect wrote:
Unfortunately, knowing that Kerry is inimical to the interests of
working people does not stop the bureaucracy from backing the DP.
---
This raises the question of the relationship between the labour base and the
labour bureaucracy. The
Charles Brown wrote:
by Marvin Gandall
-clip-
-- which explains their stubborn
refusal to buy the argument that the Democrats are inimical to the
interests of working people. I think there will first have to be a major
change in the way most people, especially in the cities, experience
I appreciate Michael's intent to keep order, although I didn't especially
mind your barb; I've seen you much less restrained. But I don't understand
your angry reply. Why is it ok for you to call me a trade union functionary
for 25 years (actually 20, I was previously a steward in the Steelworkers
Yoshie wrote:
Unions as organized entities (as opposed to factions of
activists in them) will be *the last* to join any third-party
movement on the left that has an actual potential to grow powerful
(that is, if they will ever join any such thing en masse at all --
very improbable), for most
It may be the case that nominal house prices have rarely if ever fallen
since WW II, but I would doubt their annual average percentage increase
over this period exceeds the capital gain on stocks and certain classes of
bonds, particularly when the carrying cost of this type of investment is
Don't you think it will be necessary for the Greens to win a number of
congressional seats before they can be seen as a potential alternative to
the Democrats by the unions and social movements, and a durable third party
in the country as a whole? After all, electoral politics in a capitalist
Sartesian wrote:
Somebody out there thinks the ruling class has dumped George Bush?
Check out: http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/documents/RP_Ind_060204.pdf
Check the whole site at: http://www.whitehouseforsale.org
And this:
Wall
I largely agree with you, although I think you can find historical instances
where the ruling class adjudges some degree of change necessary to act as a
safety valve releasing mass pressures which threaten to overwhelm the
system. The New Deal comes to mind in a period which saw the rapid growth
The cover story of the same issue of Business Week describes the massive
effort being undertaken by US corporations to divest themselves of their
pension obligations to their employees and retirees. Most of the attacks are
aimed at the defined-benefit plans negotiated by once-strong unions in the
The July 19th issue of Business Week reports that US corporations, stuffed
with record profits, remain reluctant to invest their mountains of cash,
which might be interpreted as a vote of non-confidence in the durability of
the current recovery. Inventories are at a record low and the pace of
(An interesting recent piece by the NYTs Louis Uchitelle on the differing
domestic programmes of the Republicans and Democrats. Their respective
positions on health care, labour rights, tax policy, trade, and pensions
mirror the same differences which divide social democratic and conservative
(It was bound to come to this - something which always eludes liberal
imperialists like George Ignatieff and Thomas Friedman, seduced by the
promise that US intervention abroad, however messy, will yield democratic
results. The Pentagons widely discredited choice for strongman, Ahmed
Chalabi, was
Sorry. Michael Ignatieff. George was his dad, a Canadian diplomat.
(Despite widespread speculation that the turn in the interest rate cycle
will burst the housing bubble in the US and elsewhere, precipitating a wider
financial and social crisis, early indications are that housing markets will
soften and stagnate rather than collapse, according to a report in
(Or: are the 5 just misguided leadership dupes?)
Really Laboring To Beat Bush
The nation's largest union will shell out $65 million to campaign against
the reelection of President George Bush. On June 23, the 1.6 million-member
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced at its
(How business intends to go after Edwards as a trial lawyer, from todays
WSJ. Ignore the unintentional humour about the Chamber of Commerces
traditional stance of political neutrality. Advice to the Democrats on how
to blunt the thrust of Republican criticism by making Edwards the
standardbearer
- Original Message -
From: Louis Proyect [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 7:14 PM
Subject: [PEN-L] Stephen Gowans on Fahrenheit 9/11 and Robert Jensen
July 6, 2004
Critiquing the critique
Pandering to the lies the Left tells itself about the
Even by traditional Republican standards and despite Iraq, Wall Street is
engaged in an unprecedented drive to reelect George Bush, according to the
Washington Post.
Investment dealers like Morgan Stanley, who have profited hugely from the
administrations first term dividend and capital gain tax
The case of an Israeli orthodox Jew selling nuclear weapons parts to a
Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist illustrates the extensive underground trade
in the components, todays Los Angeles Times reports.
Asher Karni, an Israeli citizen now resident in South Africa, was arrested
on a recent visit to
Brazilian president Lulas state visit to China at the head of a huge business
delegation, beginning today, is part of a strategic effort to connect the biggest
emerging markets in the eastern and western hemispheres, says an article in the
Financial Times.
It is a development with
Kaveh L. Afrasiabi in todays Asia Times examines whether Iran is
acquiescing in or subverting the US occupation of Iraq, and concludes it is
doing both in tandem in response to a complex and fluid situation.
On the one hand, the Iranians would like to see threatening US forces
expelled from the
(From todays Financial Times)
Iraq's rebel cleric gains surge in popularity
By Roula Khalaf in Baghdad
An Iraqi poll to be released next week shows a surge in the popularity of
Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical young Shia cleric fighting coalition forces,
and suggests nearly nine out of 10 Iraqis see
Ralph Nader all but endorsed John Kerry for president in an interview yesterday with
the New York Times, effectively undercutting those of his supporters who want to
define his candidacy as a sharp break with the Democrats.
Nader told the Times that Kerry was very presidential, and indicated
The widely held view that the US-Europe rift is only a temporary one which
will disappear with the Bush administration looks to be wrong, according to
the latest Economist. The magazine says the transatlantic rift that opened
up because of Iraq shows little sign of healing. On the contrary, it may
Investors are spooked but foreign manufacturers are largely unfazed by the
Congress Partys election win in India, according to reports in todays Wall
Street Journal and Financial Times.
The Indian stock market plunged by a record 16% since the defeat of the
right-wing BJP government and,
Todays Daily Telegraph is reporting that Moqtada al-Sadr has indicated his
willingness to surrender and disband the Mahdi Army, which would likely halt
the 10-day old Shia rising.
According to the Telegraph, Sadr is said to be buckling under the twin
pressures of a massive build-up of American
Todays The Age (Melbourne) reports surging support for Moqtada al-Sadr
among the millions of pilgrims converging on Karbala for the Shia holiday of
al-Arbaeen, which it sees as a reprieve before an assault by US forces.
The papers Baghdad correspondent Paul McGeough was staggered by the
numbers
The Fallujah and Sadrist risings have sparked a much broader resistance
movement among the Iraqi people, one which is rapidly uniting Sunnis and
Shias, according to todays New York Times.
Times reporter Jeffrey Gettleman was in the Khadamiya neighbourhood in
Baghdad when rumours circulated of a
Separate first-hand accounts in todays Guardian and Financial Times
describe why the movement led by Moqtada al-Sadr is attracting support from
Iraqis, particularly among the most oppressed.
The Guardians Rory McCarthy says the Sadrists, led by the younger
generation of Shia clerics, have
: [PEN-L] Decisive showdown
Marvin Gandall wrote:
Carrol Cox wrote: I still think that it is really not possible to both
support Kerry and continue to build the anti-war movement. It is
essential
that we keep front and center that Kerry will be a more dangerous
imperial
warrior than Bush
fear that it is a permanent condition.
Marv Gandall
- Original Message -
From: Carrol Cox [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 11:52 AM
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Decisive showdown
Marvin Gandall wrote:
Carrol Cox wrote: I still think that it is really
Todays Washington Post describes how nervous US authorities have provoked a
showdown with the radical wing of the Shia movement led by Moqtada al-Sadr,
which could decide the fate of the occupation.
American officials had been hoping to contain and diminish al-Sadrs
influence, while cultivating
Carrol Cox wrote: I still think that it is really not possible to both
support Kerry and continue to build the anti-war movement. It is essential
that we keep front and center that Kerry will be a more dangerous imperial
warrior than Bush.
The US has taken steps to ensure it controls Iraq through its future army
even after it formally transfers political sovereignty to a civilian
government, reports todays Washington Post.
The Post says the US is creating an Iraqi defence department modelled on the
Pentagon, and is presently
Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian's controversial reelection, being
contested by the opposition, has left the islands business interests and
the Chinese government disgruntled, according to Business Week.
Chen narrowly defeated Kuomintang (KMT) leader Lien Chan on March 20,
following an
Ellen Goodman in todays San Francisco Chronicle says that atheist Michael
Newdows constitutional challenge to the American Pledge of Allegiance may
be nettlesome, but raises important questions of principle.
Newdow, an emergency room doctor with a law degree, was allowed to argue his
own case
Gerald Baker in todays Financial Times describes the renewed debate within
financial circles about whether it is time to tighten US monetary policy,
and weighs in against sado-monetarism.
Baker says a deviancy popular among certain central bankers and
commentators in the 1980s, is out of the
The Pakistani army has been mauled and the Musharraf government is risking
civil war in its failed attempt to capture Ayman al-Zawahiri in the Pashtun
tribal region, reports todays Asia Times.
American and Pakistani officials boasted last week that they had trapped a
high value target, understood
Though widely decried as stupid, Israels provocative assassination of
sheikh Yassin simply underscores its opposition to a negotiated settlement
with the Palestinians, according to todays Wall Street Journal.
Journal reporters Karby Leggett and Christopher Cooper note that the Sharon
governments
-
From: ravi [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 2:13 PM
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Yassin assassination
Marvin Gandall wrote:
Though widely decried as stupid...
why is this assassination considered stupid? isn't it obvious israeli
strategy to incite hamas
American corporations are planning a major effort to muster their employees
to vote Republican to counter labour unions organizing on behalf of the
Democrats, according to todays Washington Post.
The Post says the Business Roundtable and industry trade associations are
enlisting a rapidly growing
Though he admires Ralph Nader, Noam Chomsky tells the Guardian he supports
John Kerry over George Bush because small differences can translate into
large outcomesin this case as in 2000.
The description of Kerry as Bush-lite is not inaccurate, he says,
describing the Republicans and Democrats as
The Economist is no longer convinced the invasion of Iraq was worthwhile,
and reflects on the contradictory effects which make the outcome for the
country and region so uncertain.
Despite the shocking clumsiness of the occupation and resulting violence
and insecurity, it cites polls showing most
The Bush administration is split on Iran policy, according to the Financial
Times - specifically over whether a deal favourable to US interests can be
struck with the entrenched clerical leadership. The differences echo those
between the State and Defence departments leading up to the invasion of
Shane Mage wrote:
Marvin Gandall writes:
...bourgeois-dominated but worker-based
parties like the Democratic party in the US...
If Marvin thinks the Dumbocrats are worker-based
they're most welcome to his support.
I'm not speaking here of the mass
The USs once overwhelming dominance in high technology is beginning to
wane, and outsourcing is only one of the symptoms, reports Business Week.
Although the US is still the overall leader and Microsoft, General Electric,
and Intel are household names, the Nordic countries are in the forefront of
Louis Proyect wrote: I have a feeling that the same people who are urging a
vote for Kerry today will be urging the same policies in the future when
workers are occupying factories and calling for a general strike. You don't
switch brands from Menshevism to Bolshevism when the time is ripe.
This would probably be the appropriate moment -- in light of your comments
and Joel Wendland's -- to ask Louis to elaborate on the following statement:
...I am far more interested in defining the class criterion that would make
support for bourgeois parties impermissible...
What are the class
Shane Mage is right in noting that Lenin was talking of intervention in a
class party, ie. the Labour Party, but he is wrong when he says Left-Wing
Communism is concerned with the differences between the leader of the
British capitalist class and the leader of the British Labor Party and that
No, I'm afraid this won't do, Louis. There was no distinction made between a
party of the big bourgeoise and the petty bourgeoisie. The only permissable
electoral activity for a Marxist was in relation to a party based on the
unions and committed to public ownership. You're just trying to put a
Although the new Spanish socialist government, reflecting the strong
pressure of its supporters, says it will leave Iraq, analysts interviewed in
todays Wall Street Journal are sceptical it will do so.
The US has been working behind the scenes with Germany and other European
states to effect a
I think the relevance of the classical Marxists, for myself at least, lies
in their analytical power, which is immense, rather than their predictive
power, which turned out to be negligible. Thats to be expected since it is
a lot easier to accurately interpret current conditions than to speculate
The Socialist Party victory in Spain has sent political shock waves around
the world, changed the European power balance, and is ominous news for
George Bush, according to an analysis in todays Asia Times.
The election has drawn Spain closer to France and Germany, further isolating
Tony Blair
, March 15, 2004 10:41 AM
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Spanish spectre
Marvin Gandall wrote:
A large turnout of Democratic Party and independent American voters
angry at
having been lied to about Iraq haunts the Bush administration, and the
Spanish result will do little to allay its foreboding.
I
Hey, we agree. :)
- Original Message -
From: Louis Proyect [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Spanish spectre
Marvin Gandall wrote:
means -- any US government, including a Green Party one, would be
compelled
to respond
Sabri Oncu provided some unhelpful comments about my queries on derivatives.
1) If he were advising the government of Cuba would he immediately recommend
it drop its sugar derivatives program -- and, by extension, advise other
poor countries to do the same in relation to their own resources?
2)
Thanks. This is more what I was looking for. I wouldn't discount efforts
towards some form of self-regulation in the overall self-interest of
investors, however, and especiially by the big banks who are forced to take
a bath to take when heavily leveraged big players like LTCM bet wrong and
can't
I didn't ask the question to be provocative. Someone raised it with me in a
discussion. Your answer seems to be maybe they work for hedging purposes,
but they still represent a potential source of catastrophic instability.
That's essentially what I replied, wondering whether I'd missed any
Wall Street is not as enamoured of George Bush as might be supposed and some
think a John Kerry presidency would be better for the economy, reports the
American financial weekly, Barrons. Wall Streetis pretty much divided on
the two candidates, writes Jim McTague.
In essence, as individual
I read somewhere the Chinese felt betrayed when the Russians agreed to
let the Japanese, late entrants, divert the proposed West Siberian oil
pipeline from Daqing to Nakhodka for trans-shipment across the Sea of
Japan to Japan and beyond -- presumably to the US West Coast. The
Chinese evidently
- Original Message -
From: Sabri Oncu [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 9:42 PM
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] An essay on economic basis of bourgeois risk and
gambling culture - parasitism as derivatives, options, swaps, hedge funds
etc.
Marvin Gandall
funds
etc.
Marvin Gandall:
Hungarian, but a good essay nonetheless. :)
No! It is not a good essay.
It is a wonderful demonstration of lack of
understanding of derivatives, as the following
statement of its author demonstrates:
the rate of profit on capital can be significantly
Hungarian, but a good essay nonetheless. :)
- Original Message -
From: Jurriaan Bendien [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 6:31 PM
Subject: [PEN-L] An essay on economic basis of bourgeois risk and
gambling culture - parasitism as derivatives, options,
Im not that knowledgeable as others on this list about these matters,
but an interesting sidelight for me has been the reported role played by
the Bush administration which has, in effect, inadvertently (or perhaps
not so inadvertently) run interference for the Argentineans.
North American
An interview with John Kerry in the latest Time, and an article in today
s Wall Street Journal article on current US foreign policy, illustrate
that Democratic and Republican differences primarily turn on the
alliance with Europe.
As the Journal reports, the Bush administration recognizes the
Maybe liberal social attitudes. But what do the surveys show about the
relationship between income/education and attitudes to taxes and social
programs, for example? Is it not the case the higher up the education
and income ladder you go, the greater receptivity there is to cutting
taxes and
Louis Proyect wrote: This is an interesting question. Kerry insists
that he voted for the war because he was misled. He based his vote on
the documentation furnished by the CIA. If he has stated somewhere
that he would have voted differently if he knew back then what he knows
now (as even Colin
Argentina is showing how a poor country can use a debt default to
relieve its obligations to foreign creditors a tactic that has
infuriated the big banks and split the IMF, report the Financial Times
and the Guardian.
The country is suffering under a crushing $100 billion debt burden, and
has
The world will be plunged into crisis long before it runs out of oil
in as little as 10-15 years when production will likely peak, according
to energy analyst Paul Roberts in the Los Angeles Times.
Oil optimists think the world wont run out of reserves until at least
mid-century, by which time
The conservative US News and World Report is worried by data showing the
worsening condition of US workers, and the growing prospect of class
polarization threatening corporate America and the Republican party.
Working class Americans are living on the edge of a decline very
different from the
Jean-Bertrand Aristide may have been allowed to leave, but middle class
vigilantes and police loyal to the rebels have entered Port-au-Princes
slums to hunt and kill his supporters, according to the Washington Post.
Residents of the slum quarter of La Saline told the Post uniformed
police and
Yoshie Furuhashi wrote (02/27/04 6:13 PM)
The Green Party needs to run a presidential candidate, especially in
war times, since it is the executive branch of the federal government
that determines foreign policy, making life-and-death decisions on
matters of war and peace. Running candidates
PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, February 29, 2004 1:04 PM
Subject: [PEN-L] Estanblished Trade Unions Left Politics, was Re: He
does have a point
Marvin Gandall wrote:
I regularly vote for the
social-democratic NDP in Canada. But I think it's worth pointing
out,
for the purposes
Maybe not so stupid. It's called laying pipe -- preparing the American
public for the deep cuts in social programs which are going to follow
the election to deal with the deficit. I expect Bush and the Republicans
to devote more than a little time talking about diverting social
security payroll
Todays Financial Times says the Bush administration is going through
the motions of negotiating with North Korea, and will push for economic
sanctions which could lead to war after the US election.
FT reporter Andrew Ward says the US needs to bring the Chinese and South
Koreans onboard, but both
Details of this report first appeared in Fortune magazine last month.
Today's Observer article is a more sensational recycling of the already
sensational story which Fortune reporter David Stipp broke last month.
And the Observer account misses the main point of the exercise.
As reported by
The Bush administrations many critics are hoping the current jobless
recovery will turn the US working class against it, but a review of the
job market in the latest Economist suggests this is unlikely.
American workers are conservative because the US economy continues to
furnish them with job
Todays Toronto Star has a piece by Haroon Siddiqui outlining the
reasons he and other liberal democrats are troubled by the French ban on
the hijab a stance which reveals how much the influence of religion
has waned in modern urban society.
Religious values and institutions are not the
Asian financing of the US economy to keep it afloat as its largest
export market is the biggest aid programme of all time, and Europe is
paying the price, writes Martin Wolf in todays Financial Times.
As is been widely known, Asian central banks notably in Japan, China,
and Taiwan have been
This is true, but I think the classical socialist movement favoured
concentration for mostly economic rather than political reasons -- ie.,
like bourgeois economics, Marxists and social democrats saw
concentration as historically progressive because it yielded economies
of scale, and large-scale
And if you want to take it even further -- that capitalism has been able
to deliver, despite episodic crises, a modest but steady improvement in
living standards and working conditions for the mass of Western wage-
and salary-earners, despite Marx's belief that it had exhausted its
historic
Fascinating stuff, Jim Craven. Never knew the details. Is it all
documented in one place?
- Original Message -
From: Craven, Jim [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2004 5:32 PM
Subject: [PEN-L] Response:Bush and the F 102
Bush and the Texas Guard flew the
Palestinian morale is at its lowest ebb and the impotent Palestinian
Authority is debating whether to dissolve itself, according to Harvey
Morris in todays Financial Times all in keeping with the Sharon
governments game plan.
Palestinian academics and politicians told Morris that, 10 years after
Why so angry? I might not phrase it in quite the way you do and I don't
agree all Palestinian politicians are Islamists, but do you think
there's anything you say about the political strategy which should have
been followed that I would disagree with? And it has everything to do
with political
The following items have been posted during the past two weeks on
www.supportingfacts.com. The full text of each article is preceded by a
short summary.
STUTTERING ECONOMIES
The global economy is in worse shape than many thought before this winter
began, and the economic and financial headlines
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