[LAAMN] Why Don’t Libertarians Care About Ron Paul’s Bigoted Newsletters?
Why Don't Libertarians Care About Ron Paul's Bigoted Newsletters? http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/98811/ron-paul-libertarian-bigotry [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] The Occupy Movement: When the Other Shoe Drops
By Jim Smith Free Venice Beachhead (Venice, California)December 2011 http://www.freevenice.org/Beachhead-2011/Dec2011/Beachhead-color.pdf Capitalism is doomed. The aged system has been increasingly unable to maintain people's living standards since the 1970s. And now, everyone knows it. Thanks to the Occupy movement, the viability of an economic system based on greed and survival of the fittest has been called into question. And found wanting. We can thank the Occupy movement for two innovations in the art of political protest. The concept of the 99 percent versus the 1 percent has united everyone, no matter what their beef with capitalism, aka Wall Street. The other innovation from Occupy can be stated simply as, don't be distracted by specific issues, which can divide us by substituting effects (issues) for causes (capitalism). The problem is capitalism, not high tuition, lack of medical care, foreclosures, homelessness, and the myriad other issues that confront most of us day by day. These are the effects of a system that serves the interests of a decreasing minority of the population (actually, far less than 1 percent). The time has passed for piecemeal solutions to these various issues. We must go to the heart of the problem, the system itself. It is true that a once vibrant capitalism built the economic powerhouse known as the USA. It did this at the direction of a group of ruthless entrepreneurs, beginning in the 19th century, who ran roughshod over their workers, their competitors and the environment. Decade after decade, they accumulated more wealth, more capital and more power. American literature is full of Horatio Alger rags-to-riches stories, and reverence for robber barons with good PR, like Andrew Carnegie, who hired slave drivers like Henry Frick to build Carnegie Steel, which J.P. Morgan later bought for $480 million in 1901 and renamed US Steel. Then there's railroad magnate Jay Gould, who famously said: I can hire one-half of the working class to kill the other half. The problem with revolting against these industrialists was that they only controlled one corporation each, albeit some very large corporations. People not directly connected with the company as workers or consumers could only express solidarity at the latest outrage committed by the owner. Wall Street Takes Over This all changed in the late 1970s when finance capital, aka Wall Street, took control of nearly every corporation in the country. It was impossible for the industrialists to compete with the power and wealth of Wall Street, which controlled the great banks. Nowdays, nearly every corporation has the same owners, which are the banks and foundations where the 1 percent stash their money. There are still a few individuals like the late Steve Jobs, the Koch brothers and Rupert Murdock, who run their corporations without regard for Wall Street, but they are few and far between. And most of them are as bad or worse than the bankers. So what did the finance capitalists do when they achieved control of thousands of corporations? They maximized profits, of course. The effects this had on working people were devastating. At the beginning of the 1970s, Los Angeles County had three auto plants, four large rubber plants (making automobile tires), and the giant Bethlehem Steel Works. A few miles to the east was the even larger Kaiser Steel plant which made more steel than half the countries in the world. All of these plants paid good union wages with fully-covered health care and livable pensions. By the end of the decade they were all gone. Some of the plants packed up and moved to low-wage states in the South (free trade pacts had not yet been negotiated). Others were simply shut down, their products being imported from Japan or Europe. In spite of huge coalitions of workers and communities called Save GM South Gate, Save Ford Pico, or simply Save Our Jobs, thousands of relatively well-paid workers found themselves in unemployment lines, applying for minimum wage fast food jobs or selling the cars they used to build. A direct connection has been made by journalists and academics linking the demise of manufacturing jobs in South Central Los Angeles, East L.A. and the San Fernando Valley, with the rise of the cocaine and amphetamine drug culture, and the criminalization and incarceration of generations of Black and Latino men. The Southern California experience was replicated across the country. The rust belt of the Midwest was comprised of mile after mile of abandoned and decaying factories. Every part of the country suffered massive job loss, broken homes, violence against women, racial tensions, loss of public facilities, swelling prison populations, psychological trauma and the beginning of massive homelessness. Even today, 40 years later, nothing has replaced well-paying union jobs for unskilled or semi-skilled worker. At the same time, rents and home prices have skyrocketed and real wages continue to fall. According to
[LAAMN] ACTION: SUPPORT AL-AWDA, A GREAT ORGANIZATION AND CAUSE!
[Please Forward Widely!] ACTION: SUPPORT AL-AWDA, A GREAT ORGANIZATION AND CAUSE! Dear Friends and Supporters, Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition needs your support! We call on you to help implement the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and land of origin. The revelations of betrayal in the Palestine Papers reported by Al-Jazeera and the Guardian make the work of Al-Awda even more necessary now. There is a significantly heightened urgency to struggle and demand our right to return to our homes and lands in historic Palestine. The sacrifices of our sisters and brothers in the homeland are now greater than ever: 1. Israel carried out a 22-day massacre in 2008-2009 that claimed the lives of nearly 1500 Palestinians, permanently injured more than 5300, and destroyed homes, health care facilities, schools, and farms. Palestinians in the Gaza strip continue to live under a suffocating siege that denies their basic rights as human beings and the fundamental right to return to their original homes. 2. The attacks on our people in the West Bank have continued unabated. In al-Khalil (Hebron) the state-armed colonial settler movement has escalated its attacks against the unarmed Palestinian population. Jerusalem is becoming further fractured by plans to build even more 'Jewish only' enclaves and Palestinian residents of Silwan have been a target for expulsion. 3. The Zionist state also continues its colonial project to ethnically cleanse Akka and Yaffa of its Palestinian residents. Additionally, Palestinian villages in the Naqab region are being systematically destroyed. 4. The situation of Palestinians in the refugee camps in Lebanon has continued to deteriorate and funding for the work of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been cut back. Nahr El-Bared refugee camp, home to more than 30,000 Palestinians in Lebanon, has yet to be fully rebuilt. 5. Nineteen thousand Palestinians left Iraq as a direct consequence of harassment, intimidation, torture, and murder soon after the US occupation began in 2003. Several hundred families are now here in the US struggling to make ends meet in a very bad economy. Work Al-Awda Accomplished a.. Maintained a program to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees b.. Recently launched a Palestine Child Rights Campaign that struggles and advocates for the human rights of Palestinian children who are subjected to systematic Israeli terrorism, detention, torture and violence. c.. Maintained a Palestine National Center with the goal of institutionalizing our work and a view to professionalize, promote and facilitate activism related to Al-Awda's mission and goals. d.. Established an Educational Resource Center which continues to grow extending its collection of over three hundred books, a documentary film archive and journals. e.. Increased local organizing for the return with the establishment of new and the growth of existing chapters and action committees f.. Actively participated in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns, and will continue to do so until Palestinian rights are restored in full. The Challenges Ahead ... We are committed to our founding principles but the challenges to those of us living in forced exile from our homeland, and to those who support us, are greater than they have ever been. Our task continues to be to provide comprehensive public education on the rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands of origin, and to full restitution of all their confiscated and destroyed property in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International law and United Nations Resolutions upholding such rights. We are all called upon to make greater efforts than ever before. We depend on your support to continue our work! Here's How You Can Help Us Continue and Spread the Reach of Al-Awda's Work: 1. Join Al-Awda's monthly or annual sustainer program: To become a Monthly Sustainer, go to: http://www.al-awda.org/sustainers.html To become an Annual Sustainer, go to: http://www.al-awda.org/sustainers2.html 2. Make a one-time contribution: To make a One-Time Contribution, click on the PayPal Donate button at: http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html. Alternatively, you can address your check or money order to PRRC, PO Box 131352, Carlsbad CA 92013, USA 3. You can also help by Shopping for a Donation at our website. We offer a variety of educational materials including interesting and unique books, historical maps of Palestine (in Arabic and English), educational films, flags of various sizes, and colorful greeting cards created by Palestinian children. We also offer great looking T-shirts and caps. To view our entire selection, see http://al-awdacal.org/shop.html Thank you for your support. We depend on it! Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition PO Box
[LAAMN] The US Defeat in Iraq and the Persistence of White Supremacy
The US Defeat in Iraq and the Persistence of White Supremacy By Ajamu Baraka ** ** Iraq was always a war of choice. As I never bought the argument that Saddam had nukes that had to be taken out, the decision to go to war stemmed, for me, from a different choice: Could we collaborate with the people of Iraq to change the political trajectory of this pivotal state in the heart of the Arab world and help tilt it and the region onto a democratizing track? After 9/11, the idea of helping to change the context of Arab politics and address the root causes of Arab state dysfunction and Islamist terrorism which were identified in the 2002 Arab Human Development Report as a deficit of freedom, a deficit of knowledge and a deficit of womens empowerment seemed to me to be a legitimate strategic choice. Thomas Friedman, New York Times, December 21, 2011 As the final contingents of U.S. troops withdraw from the Iraqi state that the U.S. created and imposed on the Iraqi people, a familiar narrative is re-emerging in the mainstream corporate press the 21st century version of the white mans burden. Used to complement the main propaganda theme that claimed Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and had imminent plans to turn those weapons over to terrorists who would unleash a volley of attacks on the U.S. homeland, the white mans burden subtext asserted that the U.S. had a moral obligation to free the Iraqi people from their backward and brutal history. Couched in the language of neo-conservatism, the white mans burden now included a more explicit commitment to the need to establish a liberal democratic state in Iraq that would allow the natives to experience all of the benefits of a Western-style democratic governmental process and, of course, the benefits of free market capitalism. That moral appeal helped to sell the war to the American people. The idea of the Wests civilizing responsibilities was always a constant and predominant rationalization in the new world conquest and genocidal policies toward Indigenous peoples in this case, they needed to be destroyed in order to save them from their heathen ways. The populating of the Americas with enslaved Africans was also framed as a Christian civilizing mission that gave these otherwise idle human beings something more productive to do. But the benevolence of the White West did not stop there; enriched with the spoils provided by the Atlantic slave trade that created an industrial economic base which in turn enhanced their war-making abilities, Western powers took their civilizing mission global, building vast colonial empires where they could demonstrate to the peoples of the world how to more effectively use their natural resources and labor by taking those resources and exploiting their labor. Clearly one could assume that this crude, racist framework would be discredited and have no place in the sophisticated, multi-cultural discourses of the 21st century. Yet the very fact that many millions of people in this country were swayed by the crude representations of Iraq as a backward, undeveloped nation in need of the modernizing influences of the civilized West demonstrated that in the culture and psychologies of most people in the U.S., despite their assigned or assumed racial identity, white supremacist assumptions and world views were deeply ingrained. And now that the U.S. has been defeated in Iraq (and one should not be confused by any other explanation as to why the U.S. is leaving despite stated plans to maintain a military presence there for the next fifty years), the narrative that is now being relied on to mask this defeat is that the civilizing mission has run its course, with the U.S. having done as much as it could to prepare the Iraqis for independence in the grown-up world. Employing classic revisionist history, the architects of the war are suggesting that this was the main reason why the U.S. went to Iraq in the first place. Like the first time parents hand their keys to their teenage children for their first solo drive, the U.S. must simply hope that the Iraqis have learned enough to avoid a major accident! The successful use of this narrative demonstrates that ten years, 700,000 Iraqi and 4,500 American lives later, the one casualty that did not occur in Iraq was the death of white supremacist ideology. While the physical retreat of the U.S. from Iraq represents a significant defeat for U.S. imperialist aspirations and its geo-political goals in the region, the ideological obscurantism that masked the imperialist interests of the 1 percent, who saw their opportunity to seize Iraq in the wake of the 9/11 war hysteria, was recently evoked again to provide a cover for the seizure of Libya. Few in the US seemed to notice the irony of calls being made by the Obama Administration and many Republicans, including New York
[LAAMN] A New Phase? Syria Roundup
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/3700/a-new-phase-syria-roundup A New Phase? Syria Rounduphttp://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/3700/a-new-phase-syria-roundup 0http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/3700/a-new-phase-syria-roundup#comments Dec 21 2011 by Syria Page Editors http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/contributors/50903 [image: Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker]http://app.readspeaker.com/cgi-bin/rsent?customerid=5919lang=en_usreadid=rscontenturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jadaliyya.com%2Fpages%2Findex%2F3700%2Fa-new-phase-syria-roundup [image: [Syrian army checkpoint in Idleb. Image from AllVoices]] [Syrian army checkpoint in Idleb. Image from AllVoices] The protests in Syria seem to be entering a new phase in which a constellation of factors are beginning to take their tollwhether or not the recent signing of the Arab League plan materializes. Among the pertinent factors at play are economic, logistical, moral/physical fatigue of regime forces, military might of part of the opposition, and the increasing organization of the internal opposition as a whole. The intensity of the violence in general, and regime crackdown in particular, speaks of a new confrontational phase, as opposed to the more awkwardly optimistic explanation that the regime is embarking on a final push before implementing the Arab League plan. One hopes this former grim forecast is incorrect. For now, what remains are the grim developments this week. More than 200 Syrians were killed during the past few days, mostly in northwestern towns of Idleb and Jabal al-Zawiyeh, in what activists say were the two bloodiest days of the 10-month-long uprising that has claimed over 5000 lives according to the U.N. The escalation of violence coincides with the regimes signing (after weeks of stalling) of the anticipated Arab League observer protocol on Monday. The Syrian government agreed to allow independent monitors to enter hot spot areas to observe protests, and check Syrias compliance with the Arab Leagues peace plan to end the violence, withdraw armed forces from the streets, release prisoners, and open dialogue with the opposition. *[Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mu`allem at the Arab League signing]* Arab League Secretary-General Nabil El-Araby said an initial team would arrive to Syria on Thursday, with another 150 monitors expected by the end of the year. After the signing, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallim gave a one-hour long press conference inviting the monitors to see for themselves what is really going on in Syria, insisting that foreign-funded armed gangs are to blame for the unrest. On Tuesday, Bashar al-Assad issued a new law that would punish anyone caught distributing arms with the aim of committing terrorist acts with the death penalty. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2qeho1VXc8feature=player_embedded * [Demonstration in the Midan quarter, Damascus, on Monday]* Al-Midan neighborhood in Damascus witnessed a large-scale protest on Monday, as thousands took to the streets in the name of wounded 9-year-old Hala Munajed who had been shot in the abdomen by security forces the day before. Meanwhile activists said 60 defecting soldiers were killed in Idleb by the Syrian military's machine guns. The violent crackdown in the area continued on Tuesday, as activists report the slaughter of dozens of people within the olive orchards of Jabal al-Zawiya. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40_Ygg17-kofeature=player_embedded * [The ensuing crack-down in the Midan quarter]* Burhan Ghalioun, president of the Syrian National Council, who is heading the group's first major gathering in Tunisia, called on the Arab League and the Secretary General of the U.N. to interfere immediately to put a halt to the massacres being committed by the Syrian regime against unarmed civilians masked under its signature of the observers protocol. In better news, after being detained for 2 weeks, prominent blogger Razan Ghazzawi was released Sunday on bail after being charged with fomenting sectarian strife and spreading false information through a secret organization charges punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Finally, a pro-regime rally was organized this past Monday in Damascus, but it drew a significantly smaller crowd than previous rallies. However, one should not attribute much credence to such differentials considering the regimes role in catalyzing these spontaneous demonstrations. Here's some parting sarcasm from Syria's demonstrators lamenting the period prior to the regime's signing of the Arab League plan: First day of the protocol . . . 100 martyrs [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe:
[LAAMN] Morocco: Feb.20th Movement videos and Islamists Pull Out of Protest Movement
*Thousands march across Morocco today, calling into question recent king-led reforms.* ** *Videos of February 20th Movement demonstration on December 18th * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67MYIJo8HNsfeature=share http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embeddedv=JMpK7Wl1-hY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxWPJ6ZeOeMfeature=player_embedded *February 20th Movement poster of call for a demonstration on December 25th * http://twitter.com/#!/mariammaslouhi/status/149568104001835008/photo/1/large Rumors Surround Islamist Groups Pull Out from Moroccan Protest Movement Demonstrators take part in a rally organized by the February 20 Movement to denounce the election results in Rabat 27 November 2011. (Photo: REUTERS - Stringer) By: Imad Estito http://english.al-akhbar.com/author/imad-estito [1] Published Thursday, December 22, 2011 *The powerful Islamist Justice and Charity group has decided to part ways with the February 20 movement which emerged in Morocco as part of the Arab Spring protests, raising questions about what prompted the decision.* The banned Moroccan Justice and Charity (JC) Islamist group announced in a statement on Monday that it has decided to pull out of the February 20 movement. Ever since its first protest earlier this year, the movement has been leading peaceful actions in Morocco, with the JC group playing a key role in its rallies. It was through the February 20 movement that the JC group reappeared once again on the Moroccan political scene. The timing of the surprise announcement raised many questions regarding the decision reached by the groups political bureau. Did the JC finally submit to calls by Moroccos new Islamist prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, to start pursuing their politics within the legal political framework? Was there a settlement reached behind the scenes to make the most ardent opposition group to the Moroccan regime detach itself from the popular movement it has been associated with since February? *Many linked JCs withdrawal, and its timing, to messages that may have been conveyed during meetings between American diplomats and the groups leaders, following the recent Islamist electoral victory. * The move may be understood as a form of implicit support for the new government, led by the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). Sources said that the leadership instructed its supporters not to raise slogans opposed to the PJD. The groups withdrawal statement was vague and contradictory. Although it covered many issues, there was no reference to the real reasons behind its decision. *It contained veiled accusations against leftists and independent participants in the protest movement. * The February 20 movement is full of those whose main concern is to discourage the youth, spread rumors, and poison the atmosphere. They also insist on imposing certain limitations and conditions that, in effect, transform the movement from a force for real change to a vehicle for letting off steam. They have also turned the movement into a means for settling personal scores with imaginary rivals, the statement said. Moreover, there have been attempts to push this movement in a certain ideological or political direction far from the Muslim identity of the Moroccan people, and in contradiction to movements in all Arab countries, the statement continued. JC did however concede that the peaceful group demanding change has many important achievements under its belt, such as breaking the fear barrier and opening peoples horizons once again. Nevertheless, JC has decided to refrain from participating in the February 20 movements protests, while maintaining the legitimacy of its demands and supporting its call for a national dialogue that unites all those working to build a just system. Sources inside JC deny that the groups withdrawal betrays the Moroccan peoples struggle against tyranny, nor is it a favor for the PJD, which fears the rise of a popular opposition movement led by Islamists. The same sources point out that the statement is clear about its position on the PJD and the elections. The elections were similar to previous polls in terms of organization and supervision. In the end, PJD won the elections and formed a token cabinet lacking power and capabilities in an attempt to absorb popular anger, prolong the life of the ruling class, end peoples hope for real change, and smear the Islamists reputation, quoted the source. He also asserted that the February 20 movement overshadowed the JC while demanding a great effort from them at the same time. Therefore, the sources add, the time has come to tend to JCs internal affairs. Before the split, JC had neglected its advocacy and educational work for many months. Independents and leftists in February 20 received news of the withdrawal with a mix of relief and anticipation. Even though those activists recognize the value of JCs contribution to the movement, they all agree that the
[LAAMN] Clay Claiborne: How Occupy LA got itself evicted, Uncensored Politics Meets This Saturday Afternoon
Hi. As seen beleow, I intended sending this out just before I left for a very long weekend. I wanted to leave time for digestion of what will be surprising and controversial, hoping not only for serious attention, but responses which I could then pass on when I returned. But I just got permission to send it to you, urge you to read and consider it, and will pass on responses over the holidays. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all. Ed _ From: Clay Claiborne [mailto:clayc...@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 2:14 PM To: epear...@earthlink.net Subject: Re: Clay Claiborne: Last of 5 essays: How Occupy LA got itself evicted Yes you can send it out. I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. Here's another great article on the occupy movement from a socialist prospective: Occupy and the tasks of http://links.org.au/node/2657 socialists by Pham Binh In Solidarity, Clay On 12/14/2011 10:17 AM, Ed Pearl wrote: Clay, I'm leaving for a 5 day trip to Oakland this Friday, noon. Can I send this out to my list tomorow or Friday morning. It's an incredibly important essay, which I've noted myself, but didn't want to upset the cart as I haven't done more than go to a couple of outside Occupation activities , and the four times I visited the encampment. You're also a fine writer. Of course, I can wait until you finish it, but see great value in starting a public conversation, right now. One of the great things about your essay is the commitment to the Occupation movement you profess. That should help the huge number of as yet inactive supporters who have had questions about this, as have I. Well done! Let me know about the pass on. Ed From: Clay Claiborne Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 8:09 AM Subject: Last of 5 essays: How Occupy LA got itself evicted This is the last in a series of five essays I have written about the eviction of Occupy Los Angeles from City Hall Park. These five parts are in preparation of a larger consolidated piece on the same subject that will be published to a wider audience. This form is for discussion by those with a more intimate knowledge of Occupy LA. If you missed any of this series and would like to read them, I have posted them here. 1 of 5 essays on the eviction: Did 1st Amendment http://linuxbeach.net/content/1-5-essays-eviction-did-1st-amendment-protect -ola-encampment-city-hall-park protect OLA encampment @ City Hall Park? 2 of 5 essays: Was DHS behind the eviction of Occupy http://linuxbeach.net/content/2-5-essays-was-dhs-behind-eviction-occupy-la LA? 3 of 5 essays: What's the real reason Villaraigosa https://linuxbeach.net/content/3-5-essays-whats-real-reason-villaraigosa-ki cked-us-out kicked us out? 4 of 5 essays on the eviction: The Demonization of https://linuxbeach.net/content/4-5-essays-eviction-demonization-mario-you-m ust-enter-title-your-diary Mario 5 of 5 essays: How Occupy LA got itself https://linuxbeach.net/content/5-5-essays-how-occupy-la-got-itself-evicted evicted In Solidarity, Clay As I heard the Occupy LA Code of Conduct being read before the local news TV cameras at the General Assembly The community will respect the individual's right to use drugs and alcohol, I realized that the encampment at city hall would probably be shut down soon, for while the standards of allowable conduct for the community that had become the Occupy LA encampment at city hall may have been okay with drug and alcohol use in public parks, the larger community that represents 99% of Los Angeles was not. As I had said before, ours is not a military occupation, it is a non-violent occupation. We don't hold city hall park by force of arms, we hold it with our moral authority and popular support. When we lose those, we will lose the encampment. This eviction happened because the city let us have enough rope to hang ourselves with and we greedily took it. Many occupiers knew there were serious problems with drugs, alcohol and more at the encampment. We also knew that we did not introduce these problems to downtown Los Angeles. But just as the encampment became a refuge for many in our society seeking shelter from the cold, it became a liberated zone for unlawful activities that in many cases, we did not even try to control. The city and police knew what was going on too and these problems were discussed more or less openly in a number of city liaison meetings I attended. These were meetings between reps from the mayor and LAPD and self-appointed or selected occupiers that volunteered for this necessary but ultimately thankless task. There were also phone calls, a select group of numbers some commanders at LAPD had to call whenever they had a problem or a question. I think the city liaison work developed in a non-transparent, non GA approved way, like much of our work, not because of any sinister intentions, but because of the fly by the seat of the pants nature in which almost everything associated with Occupy LA developed in the
[LAAMN] From Joan Sekler: greetings!
Let's see the working class rise up and organize a mass movement against corporate greed in 2012! Fight the Power!!! Joan joan.sek...@gmail.com www.lockedout2010.org cell: 310 968-6566 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Angry White Man Ron Paul
Angry White Man Ron Paul http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/angry-white-man?id=e2f15397-a3c7-4720-ac15-4532a7da84ca [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Privatizing Money
WHAT THE EUROPEAN BANKS GOT FOR CHRISTMAS. Yesterday, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it will hand out $645,000,000,000 in three-year loans to European banks. Which the ECB printed out of thin air, like Monopoly money! The interest rate will be one percent per year. The ECB will not be lending this money to the Government of Greece, even though that government is running a budget deficit of just under 10% of GDP ? and the Greek GDP dropped by 5% this year. The Government of Greece is now paying 37% per year on its ten-year bonds, when it can borrow anything at all. The ECB will not be lending this money to the people of Spain, even though official unemployment in Spain is now at 23%. Spain?s Economy Minister said recently that ?Spain faces its deepest recession in half a century.? Tough luck; their Christmas tree has nothing under it. And when the European banks get this $645 billion, to whom will the banks be lending? Anybody, or nobody. No strings attached. They can borrow from the ECB at 1%, lend it back to the German Government at 2%, lock in that profit, and take the next three years off. I just have one question. Why? The world continues to face the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Unemployment throughout Europe is over ten percent. Entire national governments are on the verge of going broke. Why would anyone think that THE THING THAT WE HAVE TO DO RIGHT NOW is to hand out $645 billion in more funny money to the banks? In Europe or anywhere else? The ECB is a public institution. How can it possibly justify yet another bailout for selfish private interests, while the public is sent straight to hell? If a Martian were to land in Paris today, and just read the headlines of the newspapers today, he could reach only one conclusion. That there has been a coup in Europe, the banks are now in charge, and they?re grabbing everything that they can get their hands on. Mark my words: at some point, people are just not going to take it anymore. Courage, Alan Grayson P.S. On a more positive note, a very sizable number of you answered the call on Tuesday. In less than three hours, you helped us to meet our $500,000 fundraising goal for the quarter. To all those who helped, thank you. To anyone who didn?t, it?s not too late; you can still click that Contribute button below. And to everyone, from Aaron to Zuzzana, Happy Holidays. Paid for and Authorized by the Committee to Elect Alan Grayson 8419 Oak Park Road, Orlando, FL 32819 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] DN Interview: Russia's Putin Faces Unprecedented Challenge as Tens of Thousands Protest Electoral Fraud
http://www.democracynow.org/es Russia's Putin Faces Unprecedented Challenge as Tens of Thousands Protest Electoral Fraud Democracy Now: December 14, 2011 Luke http://www.democracynow.org/appearances/luke_harding Harding, an award-winning foreign correspondent with The Guardian of London. He was expelled from Moscow earlier this year after he used classified diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks to report on allegations that Russia, under the rule of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, had become a virtual mafia state. His new book is called Mafia State: How One Reporter Became an Enemy of the Brutal New Russia. AMY GOODMAN: In Russia, a high-ranking editor and executive at one of the country's most respected news magazines were dismissed Tuesday after their latest issue alleged electoral fraud and included a photograph of a ballot scrawled with obscene words aimed at Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The dismissals come just after tens of thousands of Russians protested in Moscow and other cities across the country over the weekend in the largest demonstrations Russia has seen in over a decade. Protesters have expressed outrage at the large-scale electoral fraud they said took place during recent parliamentary elections. They're demanding the ouster of Putin and his ruling United Russia party. Political analyst Konstantin von Eggert said the protests mark a turning point in Russian politics. KONSTANTIN VON EGGERT: [translated] The meeting in Bolotnaya Square in Moscow is a historic event because it's pretty much changing the political paradigm for the last 10 years in Russia and raises the question of the necessity of adapting to a new environment, to these new expectations for the opposition and the power. AMY GOODMAN: In response to the protests, the Russian government has vowed to investigate the fraud allegations. This is Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV: [translated] Where there are real violations, they will be resolved fairly. Actually, these official complaints on election day total 118 cases. AMY GOODMAN: Russian Prime Minister Putin earlier blamed the U.S. for instigating the protests. He said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a statement saying the ballot was rigged even before she had received reports from election monitors. PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR PUTIN: [translated] Straight away, the Secretary of State assessed the elections as dishonest and unfair, even though she hadn't even received the observers' material. She set the tone for some of our personalities inside the country and gave them a signal. And they heard this signal and, with the support from the State Department, started active work. AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, Alexei Navalny, a blogger best known for describing Putin's ruling party as the party of crooks and thieves, is serving 15 days in jail for his part in calling for protests. He says he wants to be president, and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov announced earlier this week he will run for president against Putin in the March presidential elections. Prokhorov owns the New Jersey Nets. To talk more about events in Russia, we go to London to Luke Harding, the award-winning foreign correspondent with The Guardian. He's their former Moscow correspondent. He was expelled from Moscow earlier this year after he used WikiLeaks cables to report on allegations that Russia, under the rule of Vladimir Putin, had become a virtual mafia state. His new book is called Mafia State: How One Reporter Became an Enemy of the Brutal New Russia. He's joining us from the _Guardian_'s newsroom via Democracy Now! video stream. Luke, welcome to Democracy Now! Tell us what's happening in Russia. LUKE HARDING: Well, I think it's a fascinating moment, Amy. As you say, it's the biggest protest we've had in Russia since 1993, as many as 50,000 people taking to the streets, demonstrating. When I was a correspondent in Moscow, I covered these protests. And very often you'd see a couple of hundred people there, a few old ladies, a few students, and that was it. And clearly, something's happening. I think the public is just outraged by what's happened. They've seen videos on YouTube. They've experienced it themselves, and they've been surveyed. I mean, there was fraud on a massive scale-not 118 violations as Dmitry Medvedev said in your clip, but many, many thousands. And they're just kind of fed up, really, I think, of being treated like idiots, because if you watch Russian state television, it doesn't really reflect everyday reality in Russia, and it just has one hero, that hero of course being Vladimir Putin, who, as we know, is basically going to be returning to the Kremlin. He's still certain, I think, to win presidential elections in March. And he's going to be back in power and on the international stage for another six years, and potentially another 12 years. AMY GOODMAN: Luke, what exactly are the people in the streets demanding? And how do these protests
[LAAMN] George H.W. Bush backs Mitt Romney for President
George H.W. Bush backs Mitt Romney for President http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/12/bush-41-backs-romney-for-president-admits-hes-not-gingrichs-biggest-advocate/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Bradley Manning and the Fog of War
Bradley Manning and the Fog of War Posted on Dec 20, 2011 thierry ehrmann (CC-BY) By Amy Goodman Accused whistle-blower Pvt. Bradley Manning turned 24 Saturday. He spent his birthday in a pretrial military hearing that could ultimately lead to a sentence of life … or death. Manning stands accused of causing the largest leak of government secrets in United States history. More on Manning shortly. First, a reminder of what he is accused of leaking. In April 2010, the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks released a video called “Collateral Murder.” It was a classified U.S. military video from July 2007, from an Apache attack helicopter over Baghdad. The video shows a group of men walking, then the systematic killing of them in a barrage of high-powered automatic fire from the helicopter. Soldiers’ radio transmissions narrate the carnage, varying from cold and methodical to cruel and enthusiastic. Two of those killed were employees of the international news agency Reuters: Namir Noor-Eldeen, a photojournalist, and Saeed Chmagh, his driver. Renowned whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers that helped end the war in Vietnam and who himself is a Marine veteran who trained soldiers on the laws of war, told me: “Helicopter gunners hunting down and shooting an unarmed man in civilian clothes, clearly wounded … that shooting was murder. It was a war crime. Not all killing in war is murder, but a lot of it is. And this was.” The WikiLeaks release of the Afghan War Logs followed months later, with tens of thousands of military field reports. Then came the Iraq War Diaries, with close to 400,000 military records of the U.S. war in Iraq. Next was Cablegate, WikiLeaks’ rolling release (with prominent print-media partners, including The New York Times and The Guardian in Britain) of classified U.S. State Department cables, more than a quarter-million of them, dating from as far back as 1966 up to early 2010. The contents of these cables proved highly embarrassing to the U.S. government and sent shock waves around the world. Among the diplomatic cables released were those detailing U.S. support for the corrupt Tunisian regime, which helped fuel the uprising there. Noting that Time magazine named “The Protester,” generically, as Person of the Year, Ellsberg said Manning should be the face of that protester, since the leaks for which he is accused, following their impact in Tunisia, “in turn sparked the uprising in Egypt … which stimulated Occupy Wall Street and the other occupations in the Middle East and elsewhere. So, one of those ‘persons of the year’ is now sitting in a courthouse.” Advertisementlt;a href='http://ads.truthdig.com/banners/www/delivery/ck.php?n=abee66dcamp;amp;cb=1342248439' target='_blank'gt;lt;img src='http://ads.truthdig.com/banners/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=8amp;amp;cb=1342248439amp;amp;n=abee66dc' border='0' alt='' /gt;lt;/agt; Another recently revealed Cablegate release exposed details of an alleged 2006 massacre by U.S. troops in the Iraqi town of Ishaqi, north of Baghdad. Eleven people were killed, and the cable described eyewitness accounts in which the group, including five children and four women, was handcuffed, then executed with bullets to the head. The U.S. military then bombed the house, allegedly to cover up the incident. Citing attacks like these, the Iraqi government said it would no longer grant immunity to U.S. soldiers in Iraq. President Barack Obama responded by announcing he would pull the troops out of Iraq. Like a modern-day Ellsberg, if Manning is guilty of what the Pentagon claims, he helped end the war in Iraq. Back in the Fort Meade, Md., hearing room, defense attorneys painted a picture of a chaotic forward operating base with little to no supervision, no controls whatsoever on soldiers’ access to classified data, and a young man in uniform struggling with his sexual identity in the era of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Manning repeatedly flew into rages, throwing furniture and once even punching a superior in the face, without punishment. His peers at the base said he should not be in a war zone. Yet he stayed, until his arrest 18 months ago. Since his arrest, Manning has been in solitary confinement, for much of the time in Quantico, Va., under conditions so harsh that the U.N. special rapporteur on torture is investigating. Many believe the U.S. government is trying to break Manning in order to use him in its expected case of espionage against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. It also sends a dramatic message to any potential whistle-blower: “We will destroy you.” For now, Manning sits attentively, reports say, facing possible death for “aiding the enemy.” The prosecution offered words Manning allegedly wrote to Assange as evidence of his guilt. In the email, Manning described the leak as “one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war and
