[Marxism] 1/5 of Syriza MPs didn't support deal in 2/25 party meeting
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * After facing down SYRIZA MPs, Greek PM mulls bringing deal to Parliament Kathimerini, Athens Feb. 26, 2015 Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is to decide in the next 48 hours whether he will allow Parliament to vote on a four-month extension to Greece’s loan agreement or whether he will bypass the House altogether after signs of dissent within his party. The government said on Thursday that it will wait for other eurozone parliaments to vote on the deal, a process which should be completed on Friday, before deciding when or if legislation paving the way for the loan extension would be submitted to the Greek Parliament. Tsipras’s hesitancy comes after a meeting of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group on Wednesday that lasted more than 11 hours. During the debate about Greece’s new agreement with its lenders, a number of MPs expressed disagreement with the deal. At Tsipras’s insistence, a vote was held at the end of the meeting and some 30 of the party’s 149 lawmakers either voted against the agreement or failed to vote for it. While it is unlikely that there would be such a big rebellion in an actual parliamentary vote, the signs of dissent have been enough to cause concern among Tsipras and his aides, who are even considering the possibility of not bringing the agreement to Parliament and finding another way of ensuring its extension. “My opinion is that it should be brought to Parliament but I cannot tell you what will actually happen,” Minister of State for Coordinating Government Operations Alekos Flambouraris told Mega TV. He added that he would not expect more than three or four SYRIZA MPs to vote against the deal in a parliamentary ballot. Tsipras also spoke on Thursday at a meeting of the party’s political secretariat, where there was a calmer mood. He is due to appear at SYRIZA’s central committee on Friday and Saturday, and party officials have asked to consult in depth with the body over key decisions. The prime minister is under pressure from opposition parties, which are demanding to know whether he will bring the agreement with the lenders to Parliament. Both New Democracy and PASOK raised questions in the House on Thursday about the government’s intentions. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_26/02/2015_547695 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] The Reality of Retreat by Stathis Kouvelakis
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * The Reality of Retreat Syriza’s deal with Greece’s creditors hasn’t bought more time or avoided austerity. It’s demobilized Greek workers. by Stathis Kouvelakis Jacobin February 26 . . . ...It is indeed true that there has been a contradiction in the party’s dominant approach to this question, a contradiction that has now burst into full view. The idea of breaking with austerity and Greece’s debt burden within the existing European framework could not have been more clearly refuted in reality. In such a situation, it is vital that we speak frankly and honestly. The first thing to do is to admit the failure, and thus the need for us to discuss once again the best strategy for Syriza to keep its promises and get Greece out of its current rut. At the same time, this will send a message of struggle to all those people — and there are a lot of them — who were counting on the “hope offered by Greece” and rightly refuse to accept that they are beaten. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/02/syriza-euro-austerity-troika _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Greek Protesters Clash With Police In Backlash Against Syriza
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * The demo was organized by the communist party KKE. Greece's First anti-SYRIZA Demo Ends in Violence Novinite, Sofia February 27, 2015 Clashes between police and demonstration followed on Thursday evening the first anti-government protest against the Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. As many as 450 people took to the streets, and 50 of then took part in the unrest that followed suit. Police were pelted with stones and petrol bombs, and vehicles were set ablaze. The demo was organized by the communist party KKE. Demonstrators were venting their anger at a move by Athens to agree to an extension of the financial aid it is currently receiving in return of reforms, even though the Greek cabinet was granted by Eurozone ministers the right to elaborate its own reform agenda. Reform proposals of the government include measures to crack down on tax evasion and smuggling and not to reverse existing privatization deals. At the same time Athens is able to review and put a wheel on ongoing ones upon its own judgment. Later on Friday, the move to extend Greece's bailout program is to be voted in the German Parliament, and various Eurozone member states are also to have a motion in Parliament. Last week Eurozone finance ministers agreed to extend the bailout, after a month-long dispute with their Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis, who had resisted the step. In case of failure, Greece would have run out of money by this Saturday. However, Tsipras's SYRIZA, a far-left party which swept to power on an anti-austerity, anti-bailout ticket, has remained divided over the deal. International lenders have provided Greece with EUR 240 B. http://www.novinite.com/articles/166859/Greece%27s+First+anti-SYRIZA+Demo+Ends+in+Violence _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] 1/5 of Syriza MPs didn't support deal in 2/25 party meeting
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Internal Disagreements Within SYRIZA After Bridge-Program Deal by Philip Chrysopoulos Greek Reporter Feb 26, 2015 The 12-hour meeting of the SYRIZA parliamentary group was marked by serious disagreements over the Eurogroup deal on Tuesday that extends the bailout program for another four months. The loudest disagreements came from Minister of Productive Reconstruction Panagiotis Lafazanis and House President Zoe Konstantopoulou. The so-called left platform of SYRIZA questioned the reforms proposed by Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, claiming that many points are, in essence, nothing more than an extension of the existing memorandum of understanding. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras asked his parliamentary group to vote. According to reports, 20 MPs voted against the agreement or cast a blank vote. Other reports say the number of those who disagree with the deal reaches 35 MPs. State Minister Alekos Flabouraris said on national television today that 18 SYRIZA members voted “blank” or “against,” but clarified that if there was an official House ballot, there wouldn’t be more than 3-4 MPs who would cast the same vote. Analysts say that the real headache of Alexis Tsipras is the Lafazanis “blank” vote and the Konstantopoulou “against” vote. . . . http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/02/26/internal-disagreements-within-syriza-after-bridge-program-deal On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 11:15 PM, Dayne Goodwin daynegood...@gmail.com wrote: After facing down SYRIZA MPs, Greek PM mulls bringing deal to Parliament Kathimerini, Athens Feb. 26, 2015 . . . Tsipras’s hesitancy comes after a meeting of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group on Wednesday that lasted more than 11 hours. During the debate about Greece’s new agreement with its lenders, a number of MPs expressed disagreement with the deal. At Tsipras’s insistence, a vote was held at the end of the meeting and some 30 of the party’s 149 lawmakers either voted against the agreement or failed to vote for it. . . . http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_26/02/2015_547695 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] New on Redline
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * No to NZ and all western military intervention in the Middle East: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/no-to-all-western-military-intervention-in-the-middle-east/ War pigs: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/war-pigs/ Herbert Marcuse and the passivity of the NZ working class: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/herbert-marcuse-and-the-passive-state-of-the-new-zealand-working-class/ _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Snowden Congratulates Poitras for Oscar for Citizenfour; social justice at academy awards
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On 2/26/15 5:15 PM, Dayne Goodwin via Marxism wrote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: me...@aclu.org The following is a statement from Edward Snowden provided to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents him: “When Laura Poitras asked me if she could film our encounters, I was extremely reluctant. I’m grateful that I allowed her to persuade me. The result is a brave and brilliant film that deserves the honor and recognition it has received. My hope is that this award will encourage more people to see the film and be inspired by its message that ordinary citizens, working together, can change the world.” I watched this earlier today. I am big Laurie Poitras and Glenn Greenwald fan, as well as having followed the Snowden revelations with keen interest. But I would have picked any of a dozen documentaries ahead of this one. The main problem is that Snowden himself is a cipher, a typical techie who really is of no interest other than what he did. As far as what he did, the film does not get into that much at all--no experts on privacy or the NSA are interviewed. It is not that kind of film. Most of it consists of Snowden and Greenwald chatting in his hotel room in Hong Kong about media and legal strategy. I guess the aim was to turn this into some kind of thriller but thrilled I was not. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] important event
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * The journal Socialism and Democracy presents its special issue on Mass Incarceration, edited by Mumia Abu-Jamal Johanna Fernández Nothing to Lose But Our Chains: Black Resistance and the Roots of Mass Incarceration Speakers Sekou Odinga, Recently Released Political Prisoner Arielle Newton, Black Lives Matter Laura Whitehorn, Former Political Prisoner Nyle Fort, Newark-Based Youth Organizer Writer déqui kioni-sadiki, Educator Activist Friday March 20, 2015 Malcolm X Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center 3940 Broadway at 165th Street Reception Journal Signing 6-7PM Panel Discussion begins Promptly at 7PM _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Fwd: Bridging the racial gap
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * An astonishing reality of socialist organizing is that, no matter how much anti-racist rhetoric you preach, no matter how good your anti-racist demands are, and no matter how politically correct or even self-deprecating your white activists are, none of these things necessarily lead to building real connections with the Black community. This is, of course, the typical white socialist approach to the Black community. You show up to demonstrations, you have anti-racist statements in your newspapers, you formulate large-scale political demands that seem to touch on the problems the community is facing. Most comically, you jump through conceptual and semantic hoops to abolish your own racial category, or otherwise self-criticize. full: http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=12190 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Fwd: American Misadventures of Putin’s Puppets - Euromaidan PressEuromaidan Press |
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * It didn’t take long to discover that Mr. Kagarlitsky is regarded as a Kremlin mole by most reputable political left leaders in Russia. Russian journalists have established that Kagarlitsky has been working with the Kremlin since 2005, possibly earlier. His primary function has been to discredit and confuse the Russian left-wing movement outside the immediate circle of the Russian Communist Party. Kagarlistky, who presents himself as a political prisoner and a dissident, in fact, was a witness for the prosecution during a KGB “show” trial of Mikhail Rivkin in 1983. Kagarlitsky’s testimony served as a breaking point in the trial that allowed the court to sentence Rivkin to 7 years in a prison camp and 5 years of exile. Kagarlitsky himself only stayed in prison for a year, but was very productive during his stay and managed to get a number of his fellow students in trouble with the KGB. Kagarlitsky’s Post Globalization Initiative (PGI), where Sommers is listed as a Research Fellow and Expert, has been receiving grants from the Russian government, at least 3 Mln Roubles in 2010, 2.5 Mln in 2012 and 3.2 Mln in 2014. full: http://euromaidanpress.com/2015/02/26/american-misadventures-of-putins-puppets/ _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Shale Gas Project Encounters Determined Foes Deep in Algerian Sahara
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * NY Times, Feb. 26 2015 Shale Gas Project Encounters Determined Foes Deep in Algerian Sahara By CARLOTTA GALL ALGIERS — Deep in the Algerian Sahara, daily protests against a pilot hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, project are now well into their second month. The demonstrations have spread to several towns and have provided opposition parties with a new platform at an especially precarious moment for the government, as oil prices have slumped and the declining health of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has removed him almost completely from public view. Hundreds of police officers sealed off streets to block an antifracking march in the capital, Algiers, on Tuesday as opposition groups held rallies around the country in solidarity with the southern protesters in the distant oasis town of Ain Salah. At first glance, Algeria might seem an unlikely place for the sort of popular movement against fracking, a method of tapping into deep deposits of shale gas, that has unfolded in many Western countries. Money from oil and gas accounts for 97 percent of exports and keeps afloat a socialist system of generous public subsidies for everything from food to housing. In the past, the government has proved skillful at handling such popular unrest with a mixture of police repression and political and financial inducements made possible by its oil reserves. But the sharp fall in oil prices threatens to usher in a severe budget crisis and to undercut that long-tested strategy for preserving the peace and holding off demands for change. “The winds of social change will blow from the south,” Rachid Tlemcani, a professor of history at the University of Algiers, predicted. “In the north the demands of people are housing, jobs and for their share of the oil revenues. But in the south, they are saying we don’t need shale gas, for the sake of the environment. They have a very high social conscience.” In part because of its oil wealth, Algeria avoided the upheavals of the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. The government broke up early protests, then spent generously on social programs for youth and backdated pay raises for government employees and the police. It helped that the country’s terrifying Islamist insurgency in the 1990s left Algerians easily persuaded against the dangers of instability as they watched Arab Spring uprisings in Libya, Egypt and Syria descend into bloody confrontation. Even so, Algeria is a country of nearly constant demonstrations — 10,000 to 12,000 a year according to Said Sadi, a senior politician from the country’s northeast — as people have learned that without them, they will get nothing from an unresponsive bureaucracy. Citizens frequently burn tires, block roads and close off neighborhoods to highlight their demands. Some towns, like Ouargla, are in a perpetual state of unrest, where unemployed youths throw stones at riot police officers almost daily. Yet even in a country of perpetual protest, the antifracking movement, which has been entirely peaceful, is being watched with special interest by the government, opposition parties and political analysts alike. The demonstrations were prompted by an announcement in December by the energy minister, Youcef Yousfi, that a pilot drilling project had shown that hydraulic fracturing of shale gas reserves could begin. After several weeks of protests, the government took the unusual step of sending the chief of the national police to talk to the protesters. As the opposition mounted, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal appeared on national television to reassure the country that the government was only exploring for shale gas and not yet exploiting it. The president has addressed the issue only in an open letter on the subject. Yet the government has so far failed to quell the demonstrations. The protesters have tapped several important veins of popular anger. One is strong environmental concern over scarce water reserves in the desert towns; the fracking process is water intensive and, potentially, water polluting. Lingering anticolonial resentment is also a factor. The foreign company involved in the exploration — Total — has its headquarters in France, Algeria’s former colonial master, where it has been prohibited from using the same fracking methods on environmental grounds. Continue reading the main storyVideo Underlying the objections in the south, where the population is remotely dispersed across the vast reaches of the Sahara, is the sense that residents are ignored and marginalized and do not benefit from the rich resources mined in their region. “We have
[Marxism] Online book on Greece
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * NIKOS THEOCHARAKIS The Political Economy of Public Debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 MARICA FRANGAKIS The ‘Debt Crisis’, the Adventure of the ‘Rescue’: Public Debt after 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 JOHN MILIOS Financial Sphere, Neoliberalism, the ‘European Crisis’ . . . . . . .47 SPYROS LAPATSIORAS For a Political Economy of Public Debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 GEORGE STATHAKIS MICHALIS NIKOLAKAKIS Crisis Management Policies in the Eurozone and the Preconditions for ecovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 THEODORA STATHOULIA Productive Transformation and Development in Europe . . . . .85 NADIA VALAVANI Development, Productive Reconstruction, Memoranda and Debt in Greece, a Country of 1.5 Million Unemployed People . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 GARY DYMSKI Greece’s Economic Strategy and Eurozone Crisis: TAVA . . . 107 http://www.transform-network.net/uploads/tx_news/NPI_Publication_Crisis_Feb2015_EN2.pdf _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] The Jewish Encounter With Capitalism
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Chronicle of Higher Education, February 23, 2015 The Jewish Encounter With Capitalism By Jerry Z. Muller The Great Jewish Migration to the New World and the Peddlers Who Forged the Way By Hasia R. Diner (Yale University Press) Recent years have seen an efflorescence of the newly christened history of capitalism. In fact, the history of capitalism has long been the mainstay of both economic and business history. What is new is the rediscovery by social and cultural historians of the centrality of capitalism to the development of the modern world. While economic historians, business historians, and labor historians long tended to emphasize the history of production, recent historians have increasingly focused on the history of consumption. Still relatively underexplored are the history of marketing and distribution, which lie between production and consumption. Now we have Roads Taken: The Great Jewish Migrations to the New World and the Peddlers Who Forged the Way, by one of the foremost historians of American immigration, Hasia R. Diner, a professor at New York University. The book focuses on distribution, connects the social and cultural history of capitalism with the history of Jewish migration, and paints on a global canvas. It also reflects the rebirth of Jewish economic history, which is bringing Jews into the new history of capitalism. As Heinrich Heine put it, Wie es sich christelt, so jüdelt es sich—as the Christians go, so go the Jews. Jewish economic history thrived in the interwar years of the 20th century, but was then kept alive in the decades after World War II by only a handful of practitioners, like the Nobel-winning economist Simon Kuznets (whose essays on Jewish economic history, first published from the 1950s to the 1970s, have been collected and republished in two volumes as Jewish Economies: Development and Migration in America and Beyond). In the last decade, a younger generation of historians has produced impressive studies of the involvement of Jews in numerous industries, as well as following the global turn in historical studies by delving into the Jewish role in transcontinental and transoceanic commerce. Diner’s premise—which echoes the work of Kuznets and the remarkable 2006 comparative study by Cormac Ó Gráda, Jewish Ireland in the Age of Joyce: A Socioeconomic History—is that Jews were motivated to migrate from the Old World of the Romanov, Habsburg, and Ottoman empires not so much because of anti-Semitism as because of better economic opportunities. (As the late Arthur Hertzberg once put it to a class of predominantly Jewish students I attended at Columbia University, Your ancestors didn’t come here in search of religious freedom—those were the Pilgrims. Yours came here to make a buck.) And for a remarkable number of those Jewish migrants, the first step on the ladder of opportunity was peddling, whether they journeyed to the United States, Canada, South Africa, the Caribbean, South America, or even to economically marginal regions of the British Isles like Wales or Ireland. Given that almost a third of world Jewry migrated from the early 19th century through the 1920s—the period Diner focuses on—the world history of peddling is of outsize importance. Though this book is not the first to touch on the topic—Diner herself devoted attention to it in her 1992 A Time for Gathering: The Second Migration, 1820-1880—the subject deserves further treatment. It is, however, particularly difficult to research. In Eastern and Central Europe, peddling had often been a lifelong occupation for poor Jewish men; in the New World, it was a trade most of them plied only for a few years, before moving on to other occupations. Typically, they sold goods in rural areas, supplied by Jewish storekeepers in towns and cities, so they were essentially self-employed. They thus left no conventional business records, and there are no archives of peddlerdom. Diner has thus had to construct her story from a wide range of local histories, memoirs published and unpublished, newspaper articles, and miscellaneous sources on several continents. Conceptualizing and organizing that material poses no less a challenge. Diner’s key contention is that the experience of Jewish peddlers was much the same in various locations. She therefore presents an archetype of the peddling experience, discussing individual similarities and salient differences in various regions and countries interspersed with illustrative anecdotes. The challenge of organizing diverse material is not quite overcome, and almost every key contention is made
[Marxism] Fwd: Adjuncts deem National Walkout Day a success @insidehighered
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/26/adjuncts-deem-national-walkout-day-success _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Fwd: ZCommunications » The Greek Debt Interim Agreement: Necessary Step or Sell-Out?
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Greece and Syriza have not ‘sold out’. To declare such is premature at best, and counterproductive politically at worst. Greece has bought itself time—to prepare for the worse while it plans for the best possible compromise with its Eurobanker-Troika adversaries. It has bought time to properly prepare for an exit if that ‘nuclear option’ becomes necessary. It has bought time to maneuver with potential sources of support within the opposition itself, and to line up global alternative economic and political support. It simply did not have sufficient time in the few weeks between Syriza’s election and the February 28 deadline. Yes, Greece ‘blinked’ at the February 28 deadline. If it hadn’t what would have been the consequences, including for the Greek people, of a precipitous action? The Troika, with its ‘eyes wide shut’, would have gone over the cliff and dragged Greece, and perhaps the entire Euro currency union, with it. Greece and Syriza have thus, in effect, led it, the Troika, and the Eurozone itself, back from the precipice by agreeing to an extension—an extension that has not really tied its hands in maneuvering to reduce austerity and an extension that at least raises the possibility of ‘debt reduction by other means’ (swaps, surplus target reductions, etc.) going forward in the four months of negotiations ahead. Syriza’s severe critics should therefore assess the situation as it is, using their heads, instead of just passionately declaring all is lost because they didn’t get everything they wanted immediately and overnight on February 28th. Negotiations are not over, they have just begun. And so has the fight. Meanwhile, it is too early to voluntarily and arbitrarily throw much needed solidarity overboard. As workers know full well when their bargaining team goes into negotiations, you don’t declare sell out and split your ranks even before you’ve gone out on strike. There’s ample time to better determine if that bargaining team’s doing its job. Right now, it looks like Syriza—Tsipras and Varoufakis—have made the right tactical decision on February 28. Let’s see if they can now make the best strategic choices going forward as well. full: https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-greek-debt-interim-agreement-necessary-step-or-sell-out/ _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Fwd: Doubts (And Bond Yields) Are Rising Again In Greece | Zero Hedge
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * It appears that as the euphoria relief wears off, as WSJ reports, doubts over the willingness of Greece’s left-wing government to follow its creditors’ orders on budget cuts and economic overhauls spilled into the public today. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-25/doubts-and-bond-yields-are-rising-again-greece _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] American Misadventures of Putin’s Puppets
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Kagarlitsky's name has been familiar to me for over two decades, so I am a bit surprised that (for me) these accusations are just coming out. I will take them with a grain of salt. Looking at the comments I was interested to see this comment from Jeffrey Sommers re the conference last July in Crimea. 4) I attended the referenced conference in Crimea. It contained a bizarre catch-all cast of characters from far-right nationalists, oligarchs, FSB agents (from what I surmised), established academics, democracy activists and a veritable Noah’s Ark of every imaginable political faction. It was very instructive on the score of getting a look at Crimea and the separatist forces in Ukraine (good, bad ugly). Was delighted to have the opportunity to see it 1st hand. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Sometimes the Bosses Are Stronger
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On Feb 25, 2015, at 4:20 PM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: On 2/25/15 5:37 PM, Marv Gandall wrote: There is a lot of scaremongering about a Grexit, and not only by nervous investors. I have yet to see anybody make the case that there wouldn't be at least than 2 years of pain but even if there was, the real problem is the underlying economy. Greece is suffering for the same reasons much of Eastern Europe is suffering. Its industrial base is third-tier. All this talk about the drachma versus the euro makes it sound like currency is the issue when it is one of a falling rate of profit. FROP theorist Micheal Roberts agrees with you, thinks the issue of a debt default is a diversion, and that only alternative open to the Syriza is to take over the banks and the commanding heights of the economy while mobilizing the Greek and European masses in a fight for socialism. I don’t believe that is your position, though it flows logically from the view that the real problem is the underlying capitalist economy. Frankly, I can’t see any other alternative for Syriza other than to repudiate the debt and nationalize the economy which would qualitatively distinguish it from the preceding Samaras government. On the other hand, I don’t know that the relationship of forces between the classes is such that it can be turned in its favour. This is the terrible dilemma facing the Tsipras government, which is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The international left, especially that part of it which is not engaged in any serious political struggle, is hardly in a position to offer it tactical advice one way or another. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Fwd: Syriza’s compromise: a revolution betrayed? | Europe | For Europe, Against the EU | Greece | Politics | spiked
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * (So funny to see these people looking at Greece through their own funhouse crazy mirror. Infantilising moralism? What a bunch of idiots.) In the past few weeks, Greek demonstrations in support of Syriza’s negotiations with the Troika called, above all else, for ‘dignity’. However, begging your creditors for more money is far from dignified. This infantilising moralism is what Glezos should be apologising for. http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/syrizas-compromise-a-revolution-betrayed/16726#.VO9iHLPF_JU _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] One person's take on the Ukraine
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * I received this on a list in Canada. I include an excerpt from the introductory note. ken h I “met” Victor through this “left biocentrist” email list I was involved in probably about 15-20 years ago. He is an engineer and translator who feels quite out of place in the Ukraine, with so few people caring about environmental issues. He and his wife have a daughter about the same age as my daughter. Once I contributed $40, such a small amount, but I wanted to help somehow, for him to go to a workshop with Starhawk, I think it was, at Findhorn. He loved that. Now I’m sure there is no question of travelling The Black Hole in Ukraine http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/932/1/ _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Sometimes the Bosses Are Stronger
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * By the way, I think it would be good to construct a typology of exit strategies used regarding on the one hand: capital flight, debt default, economic sabotage; and, on the other, restructuring to overcome the resulting difficulties (including both success stories and failures). On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 2:15 PM, Andrew Pollack acpolla...@gmail.com wrote: Weisbrot, in this paper and then again in recent writings, says Argentina recovered from default, and from cutting ties, very quickly, and argues that may be best for Greece. http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/argentina-success-2011-10.pdf Weisbrot is also delusional about how great the new agreement is, but every liberal has limits. See also: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds--columns/op-eds--columns/whos-extorting-who m-its-all-about-coercion http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds--columns/op-eds--columns/whos-extorting-whom-its-all-about-coercion http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/greek-bailout-extension-deal-represents-a-significant-retreat-by-the-european-authorities-cepr-co-director-says http://www.btlonline.org/2015/seg/150306af-btl-weisbrot.html On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 7:20 PM, Louis Proyect via Marxism marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote: POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On 2/25/15 5:37 PM, Marv Gandall wrote: There is a lot of scaremongering about a Grexit, and not only by nervous investors. I have yet to see anybody make the case that there wouldn't be at least than 2 years of pain but even if there was, the real problem is the underlying economy. Greece is suffering for the same reasons much of Eastern Europe is suffering. Its industrial base is third-tier. All this talk about the drachma versus the euro makes it sound like currency is the issue when it is one of a falling rate of profit. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/ options/marxism/acpollack2%40gmail.com _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Sometimes the Bosses Are Stronger
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Syriza - a collective Odysseus caught between Scylla and Charybdis! On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 12:45 PM, Marv Gandall via Marxism marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote: POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On Feb 25, 2015, at 4:20 PM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: On 2/25/15 5:37 PM, Marv Gandall wrote: There is a lot of scaremongering about a Grexit, and not only by nervous investors. I have yet to see anybody make the case that there wouldn't be at least than 2 years of pain but even if there was, the real problem is the underlying economy. Greece is suffering for the same reasons much of Eastern Europe is suffering. Its industrial base is third-tier. All this talk about the drachma versus the euro makes it sound like currency is the issue when it is one of a falling rate of profit. FROP theorist Micheal Roberts agrees with you, thinks the issue of a debt default is a diversion, and that only alternative open to the Syriza is to take over the banks and the commanding heights of the economy while mobilizing the Greek and European masses in a fight for socialism. I don’t believe that is your position, though it flows logically from the view that the real problem is the underlying capitalist economy. Frankly, I can’t see any other alternative for Syriza other than to repudiate the debt and nationalize the economy which would qualitatively distinguish it from the preceding Samaras government. On the other hand, I don’t know that the relationship of forces between the classes is such that it can be turned in its favour. This is the terrible dilemma facing the Tsipras government, which is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The international left, especially that part of it which is not engaged in any serious political struggle, is hardly in a position to offer it tactical advice one way or another. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/sranz18%40gmail.com _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Sometimes the Bosses Are Stronger
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Weisbrot, in this paper and then again in recent writings, says Argentina recovered from default, and from cutting ties, very quickly, and argues that may be best for Greece. http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/argentina-success-2011-10.pdf Weisbrot is also delusional about how great the new agreement is, but every liberal has limits. See also: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds--columns/op-eds--columns/whos-extorting-who m-its-all-about-coercion http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds--columns/op-eds--columns/whos-extorting-whom-its-all-about-coercion http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/greek-bailout-extension-deal-represents-a-significant-retreat-by-the-european-authorities-cepr-co-director-says http://www.btlonline.org/2015/seg/150306af-btl-weisbrot.html On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 7:20 PM, Louis Proyect via Marxism marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote: POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On 2/25/15 5:37 PM, Marv Gandall wrote: There is a lot of scaremongering about a Grexit, and not only by nervous investors. I have yet to see anybody make the case that there wouldn't be at least than 2 years of pain but even if there was, the real problem is the underlying economy. Greece is suffering for the same reasons much of Eastern Europe is suffering. Its industrial base is third-tier. All this talk about the drachma versus the euro makes it sound like currency is the issue when it is one of a falling rate of profit. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/ options/marxism/acpollack2%40gmail.com _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Reading The Greek Deal Correctly
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Greece Now Positioned to Negotiate a New Loan Agreement http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=31Itemid=74jumival=13292 Professor James K. Galbraith, academic colleague and advisor to Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, says the extension of the loan agreement will allow for a change in the terms to be developed over the next four months - February 26, 2015 Real News Network brief initial interview (most of it in the two segments below, to be continued) with Galbraith. . . . GALBRAITH: Well, as you noted in your lead [in], the discussion has been conducted in the terms of whether Greece capitulated to the prior terms of the loan agreement and program under which the previous government had been operating. And the answer to that question is, no, it did not. There had been already significant changes in the terms. But more important than that, there has been a space opened for negotiation over a four-month period as to what this precise conditions that will be agreed to going forward will be. And that is very significant, because I do not think that in the history of this crisis there has been a remotely balanced negotiation between any country seeking to pursue a different policy and the European partners who have dominated policymaking so far. . . . GALBRAITH: Well, to begin with, there was a question of what was extended. And when we say that what was extended was the loan agreement--this is both technically precise, and it allows for a change in the conditions on the terms of the loan. And, now, when we get to the question of what the terms are and what the changes are, there are three major issues that the Greek government raised. The first was the previous target for a primary surplus, which was the overall target for fiscal austerity. The Greek government believed--correctly, and basically every economist agreed with them--that the previous target was extremely harsh and unachievable in practice. Second issue was the terms under which privatizations of public assets would or would not go forward. And the third question is a question of the regulation of labor market and the specific issues such as minimum wage and the minimum level of pensions, on which the new government had specific disagreements from the previous loan agreement. All of those matters are open now for discussion, with a general presumption that a different policy is possible. And that is, as I say, something that is quite significant. It gives the new government financial space and time to implement other aspects of its program and to discuss these issues with the European partners, with the institutions, and presumably also with creditor governments. . . . _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Greece: problems of racism, fascism
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Syriza’s Turkish deputies vow to ‘tear down wall’ in Thrace by İpek Yezdani, in Komotini Hurriyet Daily News, Istanbul February 24, 2014 Syriza’s Western Thracian deputies Ayhan Karayusuf and Hüseyin Zeybek are both hopeful of solving Greece’s minority problems, pledging to tear down the ‘wall of shame’ that was built to prevent immigrants Two leading Turkish figures of the radical Syriza party in Greece are both hopeful of solving the problems of their country’s minorities, while pledging to tear down the “wall of shame” that was built on the border to prevent immigrants from entering. Ayhan Karayusuf, from Komotini, and Hüseyin Zeybek, from Xanthi, told daily Hürriyet that they have “great hope” for Syriza’s leader and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, some of whose relatives reportedly migrated from the Turkish side of the border in the Thrace region. “Tsipras knows our problems well. He told us that discrimination against Turks must be ended. He also gave a message saying that the 12.5-km ‘wall of shame’ on Greece-Turkey border will be torn down,” Zeybek said. Greece built a barbed-wire-topped fence along its border with Turkey in a bid to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the European Union in 2012. “Both the majority and the minority in Greece should prioritize coping with the humanitarian crisis and focus on allowing the country to start producing again,” noted Karayusuf, the only Turk in Syriza’s central committee. . . . http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrizas-turkish-deputies-vow-to-tear-down-wall-in-thrace.aspx?PageID=238NID=78755NewsCatID=351 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Nocturnal Thoughts on Greece
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * For what it's worth, my own reading of the Greek situation is that, although the signs aren't good, the decisive point has not yet been reached. Syriza won on a platform of Greece having its cake and eating it too, i.e. ending austerity and remaining in the Eurozone. The latest round of negotiations has proven that this is impossible. In the coming weeks and months, the party must decide which of these two things it deems more important. For now, Syriza has conceded to the Troika the power to veto its economic plans. Continuing on this course would amount to austerity with a human face. Future negotiations would be nothing more than quibbling over the details of the country's continued prostration before Berlin and finance capital. But it's not too late to change course. Much will be decided by developments within Syriza. The left can only assert itself by demanding that the leadership draw up a serious plan for leaving the Eurozone. If the leadership hardens up around what seems to be its current stance--that Greece must stay in the Eurozone no matter what--then the political lines within the party will be drawn, and the party, and ultimately the people, will be confronted with a clear choice. A split, and even the temporary victory of the pro-Euro faction, would be preferable to the current amorphousness. Syriza's left wing, having struck off on its own, would be free to form a bloc with Antarsya, and maybe even the KKE. The leadership, on the other hand, would stand exposed as a slightly less abject version of PASOK. If, however, Syriza's Left Platform proves itself incapable of acting in a concerted way to challenge the leadership, the party as a whole will have embarked on the road to PASOK Mark 2. Jim Creegan _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Syriza forgot that it is imperialism's obedient servant
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Worth saying that Greek Reporter is a pretty right-wing site, and that this columnist was bashing Tsipras for his ‘leftist’ rhetoric some time ago. Now that we have a Syriza government which is being hammered by the EU’s variant of capitalist realism, it is to be expected that the media will draw a sharp distinction between Tsipras et al, who they hope can be drawn into painful alliances with To Potami, Pasok, ND, etc., and the party’s left. Of course, Syriza is finished if that happens. On 26 Feb 2015, at 01:01, Dayne Goodwin via Marxism marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote: Alexis Tsipras Should Win the SYRIZA ‘Civil War’ by Philip Chrysopoulos The Greek Reporter Feb 24, 2015 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] The attack on penalty rates in Australia
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Alex McAuley in Red Flag discusses the attempts of the Australian government and the bosses to further cut, or even abolish, penalty rates. This drive won't go away despite the ongoing crises in the Abbott government seeing the Employment Minister, Senator Abetz, divorce the government from the Productivity Committee inquiry and from implementing any recommendations about either penalty rates or the minimum wage before or after the 2016 election. They know as well as anyone that embracing cuts to the minimum wage and penalty rates would destroy completely their very slim chances of re-election. If, god forbid, they were re-elected they could then change their minds and implement the recommendations to cut the minimum wage and get rid of penalty rates. A government saying one thing before an election and doing something different after. Hard to believe eh? Especially of this honest government. http://enpassant.com.au/2015/02/26/the-attack-on-penalty-rates/ _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Saratov Journalist and Anti-Fascist Sergei Vilkov Accused of “Nazi Propaganda”
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * https://therussianreader.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/sergei-vilkov-antifascist-nazi-propaganda/ _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Bridging the racial gap
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On 2/26/15 6:48 PM, Thomas wrote: In viewing the website, no link to post a comment on an article can be found, which will operate to limit interest in and future attention to what is posted, conveying the message that there is no interest or importance to what a reader may agree or disagree with. A one way street only. T I took over the website from the people who replaced Pham Binh. I don't know who to blame, him or them, but they were in over their heads technically and I am trying to resolve the comments issue. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Snowden Congratulates Poitras for Oscar for Citizenfour; social justice at academy awards
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * February 22, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: me...@aclu.org The following is a statement from Edward Snowden provided to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents him: “When Laura Poitras asked me if she could film our encounters, I was extremely reluctant. I’m grateful that I allowed her to persuade me. The result is a brave and brilliant film that deserves the honor and recognition it has received. My hope is that this award will encourage more people to see the film and be inspired by its message that ordinary citizens, working together, can change the world.” Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, had this reaction: “Laura’s remarkable film has helped fuel a global debate on the dangers of mass surveillance and excessive government secrecy. The ACLU could not be more delighted that she has been recognized with an Academy Award.” The ACLU's petition asking President Obama to grant clemency to Snowden is at: https://www.aclu.org/secure/grant_snowden_immunity Information on government spying is at: https://www.aclu.org/nsa-surveillance * * * * * * * * * * * From Selma to Snowden, Oscar Speeches Invoke Activism Calls for Social Justice http://www.democracynow.org/2015/2/23/from_selma_to_snowden_oscar_speeches Brave New Films: Whistleblowers Win At The Academy Awards Because of thousands of donations, we were able to update our own documentary about whistleblowers. You can now watch the updated War on Whistleblowers that includes an exclusive interview with Edward Snowden for free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdF1WlU5fJYfeature=youtu.belist=PLQ9B-p5Q-YOPHEFZF9mVfQ8ay6rBhYcjq http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/war-on-whistleblowers http://www.bravenewfilms.org _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Bridging the racial gap
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * In viewing the website, no link to post a comment on an article can be found, which will operate to limit interest in and future attention to what is posted, conveying the message that there is no interest or importance to what a reader may agree or disagree with. A one way street only. T -Original Message- From: Louis Proyect via Marxism marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu Sent: Feb 26, 2015 11:06 AM To: Thomas F Barton thomasfbar...@earthlink.net Subject: [Marxism] Fwd: Bridging the racial gap An astonishing reality of socialist organizing is that, no matter how much anti-racist rhetoric you preach, no matter how good your anti-racist demands are, and no matter how politically correct or even self-deprecating your white activists are, none of these things necessarily lead to building real connections with the Black community. This is, of course, the typical white socialist approach to the Black community. You show up to demonstrations, you have anti-racist statements in your newspapers, you formulate large-scale political demands that seem to touch on the problems the community is facing. Most comically, you jump through conceptual and semantic hoops to abolish your own racial category, or otherwise self-criticize. full: http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=12190 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Argentina: The Nisman Affair, the CIA and the Mossad
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * The Trotskyist Fraction on the Nisman Affair, the strange death of a special prosecutor in Argentina days after he publicly accuses President Cristina Kirchner of a major cover-up. On the Death of Alberto Nisman and The Crisis of Kirchnerismo By Robert Belano The political crisis which has unfolded after the death of special prosecutor Alberto Nisman is, without a doubt, one of the greatest obstacles faced by the Kirchner government in over a decade. The events surrounding the case will certainly have significant implications for Kirchner’s faction of the peronist Frente Para La Victoria party, which has governed since 2003, ahead of this October’s presidential elections. Who was Alberto Nisman? In 2004, Alberto Nisman was tapped by the late Nestor Kirchner, former president and husband of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, to take over the investigation into the 1994 terrorist attack on the AMIA (Argentine Israeli Mutual Aid Society) community center in Buenos Aires. The brutal attack took the lives of 85 people, and injured hundreds more. In the ten years since the bombing, there had been no convictions and all 22 suspects charged were declared innocent for lack of evidence. Both the judge and the prosecutors in the case were later formally accused of covering up evidence in the case. On January 14 of this year, Nisman appeared on prime time television denouncing the government and President Kirchner for covering up the involvement of the Iranian government in the attack. Four days later, Nisman was found dead in his apartment by gunshot wound to the head. During his interview, Nisman had alleged that the Kirchner government had agreed to not bring charges against Iran in exchange for continued oil shipments to Argentina. Since 2013, the two countries have moved closer together and strengthened their economic ties. It was also that year that both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly investigate the AMIA bombing. Yet the facts presented by Nisman, which finger Iran as the author of the attacks, are dubious at best. The Role of the U.S. and Israel After Nisman was tapped to head the investigation by Nestor Kirchner in 2004, his primary source of information became an agent of the SIDE (Secretary of State Intelligence) Jaime Stiusso. Stiusso, in turn, received his information directly from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the CIA. According to cables released by Wikileaks and obtained by the journalist Santiago O’Donnell, Nisman was instructed to pursue Iran as the author of the bombing, and ignore leads which pointed to Syria, by the U.S. embassy. The servility of Nisman toward the U.S. and Israel has a geopolitical explanation. In 2003, Bush targeted Iran a target of his doctrine of preventative war. During those years, the government of Nestor Kirchner, and later Cristina Kirchner, obediently toed the American line on the so-called war on terror and did not object to the findings of the special prosecutor Nisman, even though they were built solely upon the testimonies of intelligence agencies from nations with strong interests in the outcome of the investigation and a later discredited Iranian dissident. It was also during that period that the Kirchner government, at the request of Washington, approved the anti-democratic Anti-Terrorism Law. A turning point came when the U.S. began talks with Iran to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program. It was then that the Kirchner government sought a rapprochement with Iran, signed the Memorandum of Understanding, and ended its pursuit of Iran as the perpetrator of the AMIA attack. Nisman was suddenly without the support of the Kirchner government in his investigation into Iran. Finally last year, the government removed Stiusso from his post. It was within this context that Nisman brought accusations against the Kirchner government. Kirchner’s Response In the days after Nisman’s death, in order to overcome the crisis of legitimacy it suddenly faced, Kirchner announced that the SI (formerly the SIDE) would be shut down and a new agency called the AFI (Federal Intelligence Agency) would be created. However, the AFI retains many of the same characteristics and personnel as the old SI, and the SIDE before it. It will keep its budget and its military and police spies with only minimal judicial oversight. César Milani, an Army Chief, who has been accused of disappearing a soldier during the military dictatorship, has been named as the new director. The continuity from the represive apparatus of the military dictatorship of 1976-1982 to the present intelligence apparatus is indisputable. Some events demonstrate the
[Marxism] Fwd: Greek Protesters Clash With Police In Backlash Against Syriza
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * And afterwards they went out for beer. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/greek-protesters-clash-with-police-in-backlash-against-syriza_n_6763780.html _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
