[LAAMN] How Did Your Members of Congress Do this Year? [1 Attachment]]

[scotpeden]

Hey hey hey.. they can run, but they can't hide.. and it is
sElection Season, Get yer Politician 'dirty deeds, done dirt cheap'
exposing license here...does your representative smell as sweet as the
media tells you?

I wonder if anyone reading this has a Rep that isn't a negative score.

This one is well worth bookmarking and keeping around for EASY TO USE!
reference.

I suggest after looking at it, get on their list, and then share this
mail. The web link after my name is the easiest way to read it.

Scott
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1233441


Whether or not you're interested in the Palestinian/Israeli situastion
you may find this Interactive 112th Congressional Report Card of
interest.





> Subject: How Did Your Members of Congress Do this Year?
> Reply-To: uscampa...@endtheoccupation.org

> Tuesday, December 13, 2011
> Find Out on Our New Interactive Congressional Report Card
>
> Dear ,
>
> Did YOUR Representative sponsor a resolution encouraging Israel to
> annex the Palestinian West Bank? Did YOUR Senators vote to sanction
> Palestinians for seeking UN membership?
>
>
> Find out now on our new and improved, interactive 112th
> Congressional Report Card.
>
>
> We've had Congressional Report Cards for ten years now, but you've
> probably never seen one like this before. It lets you "slice and
> dice" all the details as you want to see them. Check out this
> amazing new educational resource right now!
>
> Our report card confirms what's already known by anyone who saw
> Members of Congress madly cheer during Israeli Prime Minister
> Benjamin Netanyahu's rejectionist address to Congress earlier this
> year; namely, that Congress, on the whole, horribly and
> unapologetically supports Israeli occupation and apartheid against
> Palestinians.
>
> We've selected six items from the Senate and 11 from the House that
> will give you a good overview of the types of bills, resolutions,
> and "Dear Colleague" letters that have preoccupied Members of
> Congress this year in defining U.S. policy on Israel/Palestine.
> It's not an exhaustive list because, well, that would be just too
> mind-numbing.  We've omitted dozens of repetitive or fringe
> initiatives to give you instead an easily digestible overview.
>
> After you check out our new, interactive report card, we're sure
> you'll agree that we still have A LOT of work to educate Members of
> Congress to change their voting to support a U.S. policy toward
> Palestine/Israel based on human rights, international law, and
> equality.
>
> It's certainly not going to be an easy task, especially given all
> the Israel lobby PAC funds that Members of Congress receive to
> literally jump up and down at Netanyahu's beck and call.  But who
> said that political change is easy?
>
> We hope that--after viewing our Congressional Report Card and
> yelling at your computer screen over the outrage of it all--you'll
> roll up your sleeves and devote yourself in 2012 to becoming a
> Congressional District Coordinator and help us organize and mobilize
> in your Congressional District to educate these Members of Congress
> who obviously need to be schooled.
>
> Get started on exploring our new report card by watching this two-
> minute instructional video to get a sense of how to use all the
> interactive features to find the information that most interests you.
>
>
>
> Above: Click to watch our quick how-to video.
>
>
> We'll be updating this report card frequently, so bookmark it, refer
> back to it often, and, while you're at it, share it with your
> friends by posting it to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media
> you use.
>
> A huge thanks to our fall intern Amanda McQuade and Steering
> Committee Co-chair Peter Miller for their research and technical
> expertise in assembling and displaying this great new resource.
>
> Onwards,
>
>
> Josh Ruebner
> National Advocacy Director
>
>
> PS: We can produce high-quality educational resources like our new
> Congressional Report Card because of the generous support we receive
> from people like you.  If you value the work we do to educate and
> organize people to change U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel to
> support human rights, international law, and equality, then please
> make your year-end tax-deductible donation right now!  Thank you for
> your support.
>
>
>
>
>
> Take these actions, P:
>
> 1. Learn how to use our new interactive Congressional Report Card
>
> 2. Use it!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> Back to Top
>
> The US Campaign aims to change U.S. policies that sustain Israel's
> 44-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East
> Jerusalem, and that deny equal rights for all.
>
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[LAAMN] FOCUS: Why I Voted Against the Homeland Battlefield Bill OUT OF 536 I CAN LIST THE GOOD GUYS ON ONE SIDE OF RULED PAPER. FRANKEN IS ONE.] [1 Attachment]]

[scotpeden]

Last first, from the excerpts of this article.

"Yesterday was the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights,
and this wasn't the way to mark its birthday."

Personally I don't think it was a mistake that this happened on BILL OF
RIGHTS DAY  day anymore then in 1984 we turned the process of funding our
elections over to the Mega International Corporations, under the guise of
'campaign finance reform' and all politicians who opposed it and pointed
out it was going to deliver the opposite of what the writers and media
said were vilified, accused of sexual misconduct and child molestation,
only after the Corporate financing of our elections bill passed, were the
charges against them dropped for "no evidence'.

Big Brother hasn't even bothered to hide what he is doing since those dark
days, long after these  freedom protection 'inching actions' Senator
Franken mentions in this article, as the media has been proven to be a
complete protection system for them, as after all, it is their voice, not
ours that is in the Multi National Mega Media.

Scott

http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/275-42/8950-focus-why-i-voted-against-the-homeland-battlefield-bill

Why I Voted Against the Homeland Battlefield Bill

By Sen. Al Franken, Reader Supported News

17 December 11



Yesterday, the Senate passed a bill that includes provisions on detention
that I found simply unacceptable. These provisions are inconsistent with
the liberties and freedoms that are at the core of the system our Founders
established. And while I did in fact vote for an earlier version of the
legislation, I did so with the hope that the final version would be
significantly improved. That didn't happen, and so I could not support the
final bill.

The bill that passed on Thursday included several problematic provisions,
the worst of which could allow the military to detain Americans
indefinitely, without charge or trial, even if they're captured in the
U.S.

At their core, these provisions will radically alter how we investigate,
arrest, and detain individuals suspected of terrorism. What's more, they
could undermine the safety of our troops stationed abroad, and they
introduce new and unnecessary uncertainty into our counterterrorism
efforts.

.

The Founders who crafted our Constitution and Bill of Rights were careful
to draft a Constitution of limited powers - one that would protect
Americans' liberty at all times - both in war, and in peace.

As we reflect on what this bill will do, I think it is important to pause
and remember some of the mistakes this country has made when we have been
fearful of enemy attack.

Most notably, we made a grave, indefensible mistake during World War II,
when President Roosevelt ordered the incarceration of more than 110,000
people of Japanese origin, as well as approximately 11,000
German-Americans and 3,000 Italian-Americans.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Non-Detention Act to
make sure the U.S. government would never again subject any Americans to
the unnecessary and unjustifiable imprisonment that so many
Japanese-Americans, German-Americans, and Italian-Americans had to endure.
It wasn't until 1988, 46 years after the internment, when President Reagan
signed the Civil Liberties Act, that the government formally acknowledged
and apologized for the grave injustice that was done to citizens and
permanent residents of Japanese ancestry.

These were dark, dark periods in American history. And it is easy today to
think that is all behind us.

But I fear the detention provisions in the bill forget the lessons we
learned from the mistakes we made when we interned thousands of innocent
Japanese, Germans, and Italians.

With this defense authorization act, Congress will, for the first time in
60 years, authorize the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without
charge or trial, according to its advocates. This would be the first time
that Congress has deviated from President Nixon's Non-Detention Act. And
what we are talking about here is that Americans could be subjected to
life imprisonment without ever being charged, tried, or convicted of a
crime, without ever having an opportunity to prove their innocence to a
judge or a jury of their peers. And without the government ever having to
prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

I think that denigrates the very foundations of this country. It
denigrates the Bill of Rights. It denigrates what our Founders intended
when they created a civilian, non-military justice system for trying and
punishing people for crimes committed on U.S. soil. Our Founders were
fearful of the military-and they purposely created a system of checks and
balances to ensure we did not become a country under military rule. This
bill undermines that core principle, which is why I could not support it.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights,
and this wasn't the way to mark its birthday.


> THE REST NEED TO GO TO THE

[LAAMN] Fwd: Dec. 12 boycott and march in LA not successful

[Carlos Montes]

Javier you forgot to say and have not issued a public "media" release to say 
that the dec. 12 "boycott and LA march was NOT a success, to put it mildly. 
Telemundo News Ruben Luengas reported dozens at march, on site people said very 
small turnout. You can try blaming the rain, but we have been in marches in 
rain before and the turn out was big. Broadway and Boyle Heights businesses 
were open. No mariachis showed up to your called march. 
Before you call for a boycott or mass march check with the people, and do the 
hard work.
 
You are still trying to live off the 2006 actions of 5 years ago! What have you 
done for me lately, the community is asking.
 
The Long Beach Port actions was successful in stopping the flow of 
capital/trucks for a while, but please don't try taking credit for it! It was 
an OLA initiated and led action.

 
Carlos Montes 
www.csosite.org
www.stopfbila.net
www.fightbacknews.org
 

Sheriff Baca! Stop the ICE/Police Attacks!



 

Stop the Policy/Migra attacks of detentions and deportation against the Mexican 
and Central American people!
Pickett Protest
Sunday, December 18, 2 PM
Village Church
343 South Church Lane
Los Angeles (Brentwood), CA
Various faith leaders are honoring Sheriff Baca at a dinner on Unity and 
diversity, where Baca will give a key note speech! What hypocrisy! We will be 
there to protest his invite and presence. Demand Sheriff Baca end SCOMM
SCOMM is the ICE program called Secure Communities that targets our community 
for detentions and deportation. The majority of people deported are Mexican 
migrants that were caught up in the system for minor infractions and detained 
by local police then put on ICE hold and deported. We are demanding an end to 
this insecure communities program we call SCOMM or Poli/Migra!
 
Community Service Organization (CSO) www.csosite.org
 (213) 712-0370,
Committee to Stop FBI Repression LA
www.stopfbila.net
(626) 532-7164
This is co-organized:
Southern California Immigration Coalition
www.immigrationcoalition.org
 
 
Sheriff Baca! Alto a la Poli/Migra!



 

Alto a la represión de la Poli/Migra que detiene y deporta a la gente Mexicana 
y Centro Americana!
Protesta el domingo
18 de diciembre, 2 PM
343 South Church Lane
Los Angeles (Brentwood), CA
Lideres religiosos le dan un honor a Sheriff Baca en una cena de unidad y 
diversidad. Baca va a dar una presentación. Que hipocresía! Demandamos que Baca 
pare trabajando con la Migra!
SCOMM es el programa de la MIGRA llamado Comunidades Seguras que ataca nuestra 
comunidad con detenciones y deportaciones. La mayor gente deportada son 
Mexicanos que fueron arrestados por delitos menores y mandados a La MIGRA para 
deportación! Estamos demandando al  Sheriff Baca, que ponga ALTO a “comunidades 
inseguras” o el Poli/Migra!
Comunidad Servicio y Organización (CSO)
www.csosite.org
(213) 712-0370, 
Comité Contra la Repression del FBI www.stopfbila.net
(626) 532-7164
Organizado con Coalicion de Inmigracion del Sur de California
www.immigrationcoalition.org




-Original Message-
From: javier rodriguez 
To: frclaw ; yudamaan ; occupyla 
; civic-engagement-ola 
; no2housingcrime 
; cherylaichele ; 
lasiewiczn ; occupylageneralstrike 

Sent: Wed, Dec 14, 2011 5:29 pm
Subject: [NAIR_CC:8820] Re: [occupyla] Re: [civic-engagement-ola] Occupy the 
Ports Media reports





The protest date and the idea for a general economic boycott was actually 
introduced by myself on behalf of the Dec 12 Coalition. After a week of 
lobbying the floor at the camp and distributuing 8oo copies of a resolution and 
an equal amount of flyers, the OccupyLA GA approved it on Oct 13. Threafter, 
the idea surged to shutdown one of the piers, through what later became the 
General Strike committee and as far as I know the point persons were M-Novick 
and Sarah Knopp, both union teachers. The flyer clearly stated that the port 
demonstration was part of Dec 12 actions for Immigration Reform and 
legalization and jobs activists, however, the primary issues for this action 
was around the drivers, the Longview conflict and the 1% which apparently owns 
the great majority of port unloading and transportation. Sometime later the 
more general call emerged from Occupy Oakland to close the West Coast. 
 
For your information, The Latino leadership introduced the port shut down 
publicly in all events events, interviews and press conferences as well as 
presentations to churches and organizations and I can assure that the majority 
of Latinos in the LA vicinity became aware and finally the ports and OccupyLA, 
were also part of the public opinion created. By the way because of the storm, 
rain and fatigue, aside from Gloria Saucedo and myself as OLA, we had a grand 
total addition of two courageous occupiers at the march,  Javier 
--- On Tue, 12/13/11, lasiewi...@aol.com  wrote:


From: lasiewi...@aol.com 
Subject: [occupyla] Re: [civic-engagement-ola] Occupy the Ports Media reports
To: frc...@yahoo.com, yudam...@yahoo.co

[LAAMN] Protest Sheriff Baca @ Awards dinner! Dec. 18 protest 2 pm

[Carlos Montes]

Sheriff Baca! Stop the ICE/Police Attacks!
 

Stop the Policy/Migra attacks of detentions and deportation against the Mexican 
and Central American people!
Pickett Protest
Sunday, December 18, 2 PM
Village Church
343 South Church Lane
Los Angeles (Brentwood), CA
Various faith leaders are honoring Sheriff Baca at a dinner on Unity and 
diversity, where Baca will give a key note speech! What hypocrisy! We will be 
there to protest his invite and presence. Demand Sheriff Baca end SCOMM
SCOMM is the ICE program called Secure Communities that targets our community 
for detentions and deportation. The majority of people deported are Mexican 
migrants that were caught up in the system for minor infractions and detained 
by local police then put on ICE hold and deported. We are demanding an end to 
this insecure communities program we call SCOMM or Poli/Migra!
 
Community Service Organization (CSO) 
www.csosite.org
 (213) 712-0370,
Committee to Stop FBI Repression LA
www.stopfbila.net
(626) 532-7164
This is co-organized:
Southern California Immigration Coalition
www.immigrationcoalition.org
 
 
Sheriff Baca! Alto a la Poli/Migra!
 
Alto a la represión de la Poli/Migra que detiene y deporta a la gente Mexicana 
y Centro Americana!
 


Protesta el domingo
18 de diciembre, 2 PM
343 South Church Lane
Los Angeles (Brentwood), CA
Lideres religiosos le dan un honor a Sheriff Baca en una cena de unidad y 
diversidad. Baca va a dar una presentación. Que hipocresía! Demandamos que Baca 
pare trabajando con la Migra!
SCOMM es el programa de la MIGRA llamado Comunidades Seguras que ataca nuestra 
comunidad con detenciones y deportaciones. La mayor gente deportada son 
Mexicanos que fueron arrestados por delitos menores y mandados a La MIGRA para 
deportación! Estamos demandando al  Sheriff Baca, que ponga ALTO a “comunidades 
inseguras” o el Poli/Migra!
Comunidad Servicio y Organización (CSO)
www.csosite.org
(213) 712-0370, 
Comité Contra la Repression del FBI
www.stopfbi.net
(626) 532-7164
Organizado con Coalicion de Inmigracion del Sur de California
www.immigrationcoalition.org



Carlos Montes
www.csosite.org
 

 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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[LAAMN] Indefinite Detention In Defense Bill

[Gary]

Indefinite Detention By Military In Defense Bill
December 17th, 2011 
The new Defense Authorization Act has key provisions that have militarized the 
domestic application of the war on Terror. The military is now authorized to 
detain all suspects indefinitely. Guantanamo is sacrosanct; Obama's promise to 
shut it down is effectively over. The government has put into law the ability 
of the military to detain indefinitely enemy combatants or those supporting 
enemy combatants. It is the vagueness of 'supporters' of enemy combatants that 
creates problems for those of us who are anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist 
activists. We are now facing the prospect of indefinite detention if we are 
considered by some authority to be supporters of enemies of the US government. 
This is quite problematic as it can be seen to abrogate the 1st Amendment 
freedom of speech and assembly. When does opposition to US policy become 
support of the enemy? Who is to make that determination, the military? This is 
not only sliding down the slippery slope to fascism, it is soaping up the 
bottom of your shoes to make them slip more easily. 

Read the reports below. Greenwald's is especially good. You should go to the 
original article for the full details, I have only included excerpts below.
—–

>From Minn.Post

Does defense bill's anti-terror provision deprive Americans of key rights?
By Warren Richey | Published Fri, Dec 16 2011 8:17 am 

The US Senate on Thursday approved a controversial measure that affirms broad 
authority for the nation's military to indefinitely detain suspected Al Qaeda 
members and associates captured in the United States.

The measure, a rider to the $662 billion Defense Authorization Act of 2012, was 
initially opposed by the Obama administration. It sparked sharp debate over 
whether the provision would allow detention without charge of US citizens 
seized on American soil.

Supporters downplayed the potential threat to civil liberties and offered 
compromise language to minimize the impact on US-based citizens. But critics 
denounced the measure as an ill-conceived expansion of executive and military 
power at the expense of due process rights.

The House of Representatives endorsed an amended version of the bill Wednesday 
283 to 136, and President Obama has withdrawn a veto threat. The Senate vote 
was 86 to 13.
Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, a co-sponsor, said in a floor speech that the 
measure was designed to address an inconsistency in Obama administration 
counterterrorism policy.

While Mr. Obama in September approved the killing of a US citizen in Yemen 
suspected of helping Al Qaeda, the administration has declined to authorize the 
open-ended military detention of Al Qaeda suspects captured in the US, Senator 
McCain said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina agreed. "If you believe you can kill 
an American citizen who had joined Al Qaeda, why can't you capture and hold 
him," Senator Graham asked.

"You can kill them, capture them overseas, but when they get here we have to 
treat them as a common criminal," he added.

McCain and Graham were referring to Anwar Al-Awlaki, the US-born Muslim cleric 
who was killed in a US drone missile attack Sept. 30.

Several senators contrasted the military option in Mr. Awlaki's case with the 
handling of the so-called underwear bomber, who tried to blow up a jetliner 
over Detroit in Dec. 2009.

Nigerian citizen Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was taken into the custody of the 
criminal justice system and given Miranda warnings that he had a right to a 
lawyer and a right to remain silent. Some senators suggested he should have 
been taken into military custody and subjected to aggressive interrogation 
without any warnings.

The counterterrorism rider requires the Obama administration to place in 
indefinite military custody Al Qaeda suspects involved in planning or carrying 
out an attack on US interests. It is designed to facilitate tough 
interrogations by military officials unconstrained by constitutional safeguards 
that apply to US law enforcement officials.

The bill exempts US citizens from the mandatory detention provision, but it 
does not exempt them from a broader authorization allowing the military to 
capture and hold anyone outside the US who is deemed to have supported Al Qaeda 
or associated forces.

The counterterrorism rider was softened during negotiations by adding a 
guarantee that it would not "affect existing law or authorities relating to the 
detention of United States citizens."

Existing law on that subject is unclear. The US Supreme Court in 2004 upheld 
the indefinite detention of a US citizen captured on a foreign battlefield, but 
the high court has not ruled decisively on the legality of military detention 
without charge of a citizen captured within US borders or apprehended overseas 
beyond a battlefield.

Critics say military detention without trial violates fundamental principles of 
the 

[LAAMN] Workers massacred in Kazakhstan: solidarity is needed!

[Cort Greene]

http://www.marxist.com/workers-massacred-in-kazakhstan-solidarity-needed.htm

 Workers massacred in Kazakhstan: solidarity is needed!

Written by In Defence of Marxism Saturday, 17 December 2011
[image: 
Print]

*“A war has broken out, tell everyone!” With these words an eyewitness
phoned from Zhanaozen to inform the world of yesterday’s bloody events in
Kazakhstan.*

Seven months ago the oil industry workers decided to occupy the square of
the western oil town of Zhanaozen, where they demanded better wages.
Yesterday once more the workers who have been protesting against criminally
low wages since July, gathered to celebrate Independence Day and to
reiterate their just demands. But the celebration of the 20th anniversary
of the independence of Kazakhstan was turned into nightmare. The police
opened fire and a large number of unarmed and defenceless people have been
shot down in cold blood.

The police fired directly into the crowd of unarmed demonstrators with live
rounds. The exact number of dead is unclear, but it is at least seventy.
The government has admitted that 10 people had died, though reporters who
spoke to people there before communications were cut said there were
reports of scores of fatalities as the police shot into the crowd. Some
eyewitnesses report that as many as 150 people were killed. Many more have
been wounded.

The Kazakhstan government clearly does not want the world to know what it
is doing. The town is closed off to the outside world and is surrounded by
troops and army personnel. Opposition websites have been blocked, as have
YouTube and all social networking. The mobile network is suspended in the
area. And the official media is spreading massive disinformation.

According to the official (state) version, the authorities planned to hold
a state-sponsored New Year’s holiday party for children on the site. This
kind of thing has become a common tactic by authoritarian governments in
the former Soviet Union to discourage protests. But in this case it was
clearly a ruse aimed at providing an excuse to clear out the workers from
the town square.

The police attacked the workers, using the excuse that they wanted to
protect children. Suddenly a police jeep ran into the crowd, while
unidentified young people set a fire for Christmas tree and buildings
around the central square. The authorities have released videos apparently
showing workers setting fire to a Christmas tree and police firing in the
air. These actions had a clearly provocative character, serving as an
excuse for a violent police intervention against peaceful protesters.

Askhat Daulbayev, Kazakhstan’s prosecutor general, said Friday in televised
remarks that “having rudely violated the public order, the protesters
attacked the policemen, toppled the New Year’s tree, destroyed the yurts
placed there because of the holiday, as well as the stage and set a police
bus on fire.” Mr. Daulbayev said protesters attacked the police “using
firearms and cold steel.”

However, all the reports from the town contradict this version. No children
were on the square at any time and the alleged acts of violence were the
work of plainclothes police and provocateurs. Moreover, it is hard to see
how police firing into the air could have killed so many people. Zhana A.
Baitelova, a reporter at Respublika, an independent newspaper in Almaty,
the commercial capital, said protesters speaking on mobile phones described
a scene of escalating chaos as the police tried to defend the stage and
decorations for the holiday event. “Police used gas at first, then fired in
the air, and then it was panic,” she said.

“They are trying to make hooligans out of the protesters, saying they
attack children,” she added. But the town is small, and most residents work
in the oil fields. “The children are the children of strikers. This is
crazy.”

The government crackdown is spreading. Earlier this morning (17th),
activists of the Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan (KFOR) and the union of
mortgage holders “give flats to people@ (Onge) were arrested in Almaty.
Among those arrested are Dmitry Tikhonov, Larissa Boyar, Armand and Jeanne
Ozhaubaeva Baytelovu).

With its customary cynicism, the western media that was so vocal in its
denunciations of Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi has remained silent about the
monstrously repressive regime of Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan. This
former Soviet republic is strategically important to the United States for
its enormous oil reserves and its geographical location in Central Asia.
Western oil companies like Chevron have grown wealthier on its oil riches
and so western governments saw no reason to mention its appalling human
rights violations.

But the events in the Middle East are having their effect on the oppressed
peoples of Central Asia, for whom the restoration of

[LAAMN] Obamabot vs. Thinking Person: Indefinite Detention

[Romi Elnagar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rMh4Vzztcw

A  thinking person approaches an Obamabot with bad news about the 
indefinite detention provision in the defense bill. The Obamabot tries 
to defend Obama and fails miserably, but hilariously.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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[LAAMN] Regarding Michael Novick's Comments on "The Big Lie"-And 'Gotcha' Political Argument amongst the Left

[johnaimani]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong--and if so I apologize beforehand--but even 
if there are nonetheless one or two points to be made in the below.

Michael wrote in what appears to be an outright dismissal of the 
writer's argument _against_ bourgeois economic propagandists:

"What caused the financial crisis was the fundamental lack of soundness 
and the insurmountable contradictions of US capitalism/colonialism.

"Not just the lack of regulation.Not just cheap money and easy credit. 
Not just the housing bubble..."Etc.
.
I believe that what Michael wrote--in the just above--is exactly what 
the writer in his article said:

"...crisis that occurs when a failed belief system or philosophy is 
confronted with proof of its implausibility."

"To be clear, no single issue was the cause. Our economy is a complex 
and intricate system."

There is in addition to this a mistake in what Michael wrote:

"_there is no_ truth within the logic of capitalism, no _"intelligent" 
investing decisions_ in the sense that they are socially beneficial or 
_capable of helping resolve the crises."
_
This is not the first time--and may not be the last time unless working 
class solidarity comes into being arrayed against and victorious over 
capitalism--that the system has crashed.  Witness the Panic of 1907 
 (which prompted the 
creation of the Federal Reserve--to take the place of J P Morgan as 
'lender of last resort'--this time with a 'bazooka' of the unlimited 
ability to create, i.e. 'print', money and thereby transfer purchasing 
power); or the Great Depression ('solved' by the mass production and the 
massive deficit spending of World War 2.

Marx wrote of capitalism ability to make such "intelligent" (sic) 
investing decisions in the sense...of helping resolve the crises" in Vol 
3 , Chap XV of Capital: 


"There would be absolute over-production of capital as soon as 
additional capital for purposes of capitalist production = 0. The 
purpose of capitalist production, however, is self-expansion of capital, 
/i.e./, appropriation of surplus-labour, production of surplus-value, of 
profit. As soon as capital would, therefore, have grown in such a ratio 
to the labouring population that neither the absolute working-time 
supplied by this population, nor the relative surplus working-time, 
could be expanded any further (this last would not be feasible at any 
rate in the case when the demand for labour were so strong that there 
were a tendency for wages to rise); at a point, therefore, when the 
increased capital produced just as much, or even less, surplus-value 
than it did before its increase, there would be absolute over-production 
of capital; //

"_How is this conflict settled and the conditions restored which 
correspond to the "sound" operation of capitalist production? The mode 
of settlement is already indicated in the very emergence of the conflict 
whose settlement is under discussion. It implies the withdrawal and even 
the partial destruction of capital _amounting to the full value of 
additional capital ?C, or at least a part of it. Although, as the 
description of this conflict shows, the loss is by no means equally 
distributed among individual capitals, its distribution being rather 
decided through a competitive struggle in which the loss is distributed 
in very different proportions and forms, depending on special advantages 
or previously captured positions, so that one capital is left unused, 
another is destroyed, and a third suffers but a relative loss, or is 
just temporarily depreciated, etc.

But the _equilibrium would be restored under all circumstances through 
the withdrawal or even the destruction of more or less capita_l.

"Destruction of more or less capital."



Keynes in his "General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" wrote 
the same thing:

"When involuntary unemployment exists, the marginal disutility of labour 
is necessarily less than the utility of the marginal product. Indeed it 
may be much less. For a man who has been long unemployed some measure of 
labour, instead of involving disutility, may have a positive utility. If 
this is accepted, the above reasoning shows how_"wasteful" loan 
expenditure may nevertheless enrich the community on balance. 
Pyramid-building, earthquakes, even *wars may serve to increase 
wealth*,_ if the education of our statesmen on the principles of the 
classical economics stands in the way of anything better.

"Ancient Egypt was doubly fortunate, and doubtless owed to this its 
fabled wealth, in that it possessed two activities, namely, 
pyramid-building as well as the search for the precious metals, the 
fruits of which, since they could not serve the needs of man by being 
consumed, did not stale with abundance. The Middle Ages built cathedrals 
and sang dirges. Two pyramids, two masses for the dead, are twice as 
good as one; but not so two railwa

[LAAMN] Bloque Popular Juvenil/El Salvador-IMT:Red New Year 2012!

[Cort Greene]

*There is one specific project that we want to use the money from this
appeal for: to help the Bloque Popular Juvenil comrades in El Salvador
acquire their own printing facilities. The comrades have already raised USD
1000 and have pledged to raise a similar amount in the next few months. We
aim to at least match what they collect.*
**
*Please click on the url to donate-see at end of article:*
**
The IMT  » Financial
Appeals
**
**
http://www.marxist.com/red-new-year-2012.htm


 Red New Year 2012! 
Written by In Defence of Marxism Friday, 16 December 2011
[image: Print] 

*The year 2011 is coming to an end, and what a year this was! It started
with the eruption of the Arab masses onto the scene through mass
revolutionary action. We would like to wish all our readers and supporters
a red new year 2012, full of fruitful revolutionary struggle, while at the
same time we appeal for a donation towards the continuation of our work.*

January saw the toppling of the hated Ben Ali in Tunisia and this was
followed quickly by the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt. A revolutionary wave
was unleashed which left no Arab country untouched. The initial stage of
joy and enthusiasm quickly gave way to the realisation that overthrowing a
dictator is not the same as overthrowing the regime and that in some
countries the regimes were more resilient than what it had originally
seemed. Counter-revolution in different forms also regrouped and intervened
in order to derail the revolutionary movement of the masses. But the images
of the revolutionary action were an inspiration. Images of the youth, the
workers, and the poor, in Sidi Bouzid, in Tahrir, in Pearl roundabout and
in so many other places that were broadcast live to millions around the
world.

The movement of the ”*indignados*” in Spain and later on the #occupy
movement in the United States, were the result of the impact of the crisis
of capitalism, but also drew courage and inspiration from the Arab
revolution. This was also the year of the mass movement of the workers in
Wisconsin. The Greek workers and youth showed once and again their
willingness to struggle against austerity cuts though their current
leadership fell short of what is required. The revolutionary wind of the
Arab spring has certainly crossed the Mediterranean. We also saw the
general strike in Portugal and the massive strike of public sector workers
in Britain.

All of these events, which are just the beginning of the revolutionary
awakening of the workers of the world, are, in the last instance, caused by
the crisis of capitalism, which is the most severe since the 1930s.

As a result of all this, the ideas of Marxism have gained an audience
amongst a new generation of workers and youth who are entering into the
struggle and have also reinvigorated some from the old generation who had
become sceptical or passive. Even in ruling class circles it has become
common to admit that "Marx was right", while at the same time denying the
revolutionary character of his theories.

In Defence of Marxism and the International Marxist Tendency have been
providing a clear analysis and intervened in these events. The year
finishes with gloomy predictions by the IMF that the world will plunge into
a new 1930s style depression. In the words of Fitch rating agency:“the
probability of unfavourable outcomes is high and the risk of tail events,
with severe consequences, has increased over the last months.”

We would like to wish all our readers and supporters a red new year 2012,
full of fruitful revolutionary struggle, while at the same time we appeal
for a donation (however big or small) towards the continuation of our work.
At a time when banks are collapsing, governments are declaring bankruptcy
and bonds are rated as junk, the only safe, triple-A investment you can
make is in the ideas of Marxism.

*There is one specific project that we want to use the money from this
appeal for: to help the Bloque Popular Juvenil comrades in El Salvador
acquire their own printing facilities. The comrades have already raised USD
1000 and have pledged to raise a similar amount in the next few months. We
aim to at least match what they collect.*

The IMT  » Financial
Appeals


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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[LAAMN] Fantastic Music Video: "The Ballad of Bradley Manning" ~ Written & Performed by Graham Nash & James Raymond ~ Bradley Appears In US Court! Today is Bradley's Birthday! Other Important Videos

[Frank Dorrel]

Today is Bradley's Birthday! 
He was born on December 17th, 1987 
www.bradleymanning.org 

Almost Gone: The Ballad of Bradley Manning
Written & Performed by Graham Nash & James Raymond
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAYG7yJpBbQ&feature=share
3 Minutes: 50 Seconds

Bradley Manning: Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on Alleged WikiLeaks
Democracy Now with Amy Goodman - December 16th, 2011
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyQuWCJO_FI&feature=related 
11 Minutes: 15 Seconds

Bradley Manning Appears In US Court - December 16th, 2011
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg81ybYa08M 
2 Minutes: 07 Seconds

Collateral Murder - Bradley Manning Leaked Video Clip
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=49nF7cdfNwA&NR=1 
13 Minutes: 30 Seconds

Bradley Manning Documentary 
(The Guardian) Part 1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKvp_bhuSi4&feature=related 
9 Minutes: 37 Seconds

Bradley Manning Documentary 
(The Guardian) Part 2
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gfwgS20FdE&feature=related 
9 Minutes: 24 Seconds


International Day of Solidarity with BRADLEY MANNING

Saturday, December 17th ~ In Los Angeles
 

Meet & Speak Out Supporting Bradley Manning at Pershing Square at 2:00 PM
532 South Olive Street, Los Angeles

March to City Hall - Rally at 3:00 PM
200 North Spring Street,  Los Angeles

Candle-Light Vigil at City Hall at 5:30 PM


PFC Bradley Manning, a 23 yr. old Army intelligence analyst, is accused of
leaking a video:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/wikileaks-exposes-video-o_n_5255569
.html showing the killing of civilians, including 2 Reuters  journalists, by
a US Apache helicopter crew in Iraq.  He is also charged with sharing the
documents known as the Afghan War Diary. "If convicted of all charges,
Manning would face a maximum punishment... of confinement for life" the U.S.
Army reports
 .  Bradley Manning, who turns 24 on the date of our protest,
is a young soldier from a working-class background who believed that people
should know the truth, "no matter who they are... because without
information you cannot make informed decisions as a public."
He now faces opposition from embarrassed politicians and military officials,
and potential life in prison on a poorly defined military charge of "Aiding
the enemy through indirect means." If words attributed to Bradley Manning
are accurate, it appears that he was motivated only by a desire to expose
questionable and illegal actions by our leaders. This information had been
concealed - not to protect us - but in order to avoid accountability.
According to several who served in the same unit as Manning, this
information had already been made available to Iraqi Army recruits - but not
the American public. It is absurd for our government to suggest that the
American people is somehow "the enemy."
Previous protests outside of a Quantico brig where Manning was being held
were successful in ending the mistreatment he had endured there. December
17th will be our International Day of Solidarity with the largest protest
taking place outside the gates of Fort Meade!
Bradley Manning Support Network website: www.bradleymanning.org 
  
For people outside of the DC and Baltimore area, we welcome creative
solidarity actions. Visit events.bradleymanning.org
  to register your event.
Please share this announcement with friends and connections via e-mail,
facebook, and twitter.








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