date:20150710


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A new and critical look at John Wesley Powell, who is often regarded as 
an environmentalist from Jeff St. Clair. Very interesting.


http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/10/the-beautiful-and-the-dammed-resisting-the-hydro-imperialists/
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[Marxism] Fwd: The Lives of American Communists After Communism


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Article on A Red Family, about the Junius Scales family, and Cause at 
Heart, his memoir.


http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/10/the-lives-of-american-communists-after-communism/
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[Marxism] Fwd: Syria Comment » Archives The Syrian Southern Front: Why it Offers better Justice and Hope than Northern Front by Marika Sosnowski - Syria Comment


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(Considering that this appears on Josh Landis's website, a place 
generally hewing to a plague on both your houses analysis, this is 
significant.)


The coalition of several dozen local insurgent groups, known as ‘the 
Southern Front’, is consolidating its control in and around Daraa and 
the Houran Plain in Syria. While the Southern Front is not a cohesive 
organization but instead an alliance of units that are each individually 
linked to and funded by the Western- and Arab-backed Military Operations 
Center (MOC) in Amman, the coalition has in recent months shown itself 
to be adept in understanding the importance of establishing and 
maintaining a legitimate and authoritative justice provider. This is 
because a strong judiciary shows Syrians, and the world, that the Syrian 
opposition can effectively govern areas under its control. A strong 
judiciary also makes the Southern Front one of the few viable 
alternatives to the Assad regime that has emerged from this crisis.


http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/the-syrian-southern-front-why-it-offers-better-justice-and-hope-than-northern-front-by-marika-sosnowski/
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[Marxism] Fwd: The Only Thing We Love: Alan Pauls’ “A History of Money”


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Worse—worst of all—since A History of Money is about affluent people who 
live in Argentina and what has happened to that country economically 
during the last fifty years, the novel is also about INFLATION, the 
biggest killer of money you/we/I will ever encounter. In an author’s 
note at the end of the story, Pauls states that in the forty years 
beginning in 1966—when his story begins—“Argentina had five currencies…. 
Each new currency was introduced because the last had been devalued by 
vertiginous inflation.” Dollars were always coveted and the black market 
thrived.


full: 
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/10/the-only-thing-we-love-alan-pauls-a-history-of-money/

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[Marxism] Fwd: Unbridled capitalism is the 'dung of the devil', says Pope Francis | World news | The Guardian


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Pope Francis has urged the downtrodden to change the world economic 
order, denouncing a “new colonialism” by agencies that impose austerity 
programs and calling for the poor to have the “sacred rights” of labor, 
lodging and land.


In one of the longest, most passionate and sweeping speeches of his 
pontificate, the Argentine-born pope used his visit to Bolivia to ask 
forgiveness for the sins committed by the Roman Catholic church in its 
treatment of native Americans during what he called the “so-called 
conquest of America”.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/10/poor-must-change-new-colonialism-of-economic-order-says-pope-francis
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[Marxism] Australian Labor Party leader the epitome of pro-boss trade unionism

2015-07-10 Thread Philip Ferguson via Marxism

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I'm currently in Melbourne staying with a friend of mine and Marxmail
reader Tom O'Lincoln.  The other day Tom took me to the Uniting Church to
meet an old acquaintance of his who is ex-US Army turned antiwar activist
at the time of Guf War 1.  When Chip was told I was from NZ, he said, Oh,
you folks have a National Party government that's to the left of our Labor
Party.

And it's pretty much true.

Moreover, the current leader of the ALP, Bill Shorten is the former head of
Australia's Worst Union (AWU).  (It's real name is Australian Workers
Union, but the other version is much more accurate.)

The AWU under Shorten's tenure received hundreds of thousands of dollars
from business interests.  Shorten seemed to have a tendency to 'negotiate'
agreements that left his members worse off and any time the other union
that covers some of the same ground was battling the bosses they had to
fight off the AWU at the same time, as Shorten and co. came mto the bosses'
aid.

I've stuck up a piece on Redline, written by veteran Australian left and
union activist LIz Ross, of Socialist Alternative:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/12576/

SA has a good paper (Red Flag) and a very good theoretical journal (Marxist
Left Review).

Phil
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[Marxism] Guardian: Vatican bewildered by Bolivia's 'communist crucifix' gift to Pope Francis

2015-07-10 Thread Shalva Eliava via Marxism

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For the sake of some levity:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/09/bolivia-communist-crucifix-gift-pope-francis
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[Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

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Not sure if Andrew Pollack is misreading Paul Mason, but to me, Paul
Mason made sense. Here is my own take on it. I do understand why the
Greeks want to stay in the Eurozone. The Euro has strong symbolic value
for the unity of the European people. The possibility to travel without
having to go through customs and without having to go to the currency
exchange window is a great unifying experience for the ordinary person.

(1) What was the point of the Referendum? I think the referendum should
be taken at face value. Tsipras needed to know whether the Greek masses
were willing to accept the conditions of the Institutions. This would
make a difference for further negotiations. I don't think he expected
to lose, but he assumed that there was a good probability he might lose.
He needed the referendum exactly because he did not know whether the
answer would be yes or no. In case of a yes vote, others would continue
the negotiations. I think the no vote was an expression of confidence,
that the Greeks knew that their government was doing the best they could
to fulfill their electoral mandate.

(2) Why did Varoufakis resign? Again I think the official story is
basically correct. After the resounding no vote, Tsipras expected that
the Institutions would see themselves forced to make more concessions.
And as an ice breaker, Tsipras sacrificed Varoufakis in order to get the
negotiations going again. Not because Varoufakis did something wrong,
but because Varoufakis knew too much; he embarrassed the negotiators on
the other side by being the better economist. Varoufakis showed to the
whole world that the negotiaions were not about economics but about
power. His latest Guardian op-ed
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/10/germany-greek-pain-debt-relief-grexit
is another proof of a much more penetrating insight into the process
and history than available from the other negotiators.

(3) Now the important thing is the reaction of the Institutions to the
Referendum and to Tsipras's good-will gesture of withdrawing Varoufakis.
Their reaction was: nothing. Not a single conciliatory gesture, instead
they insisted on the deadlock before the referendum and said it is up
to the Greeks. This ultimate intransigence showed their disdain for
democracy and also showed that they did not want Greece in the Euro zone
any more. Perhaps Merkel had maneuvered herself into a position where
she was not able to make concessions any more, or perhaps---Varoufakis is
not the only one to say this about Schauble---Schauble had not been
negotiating in good faith, he wanted the negotiations to fail.

(4) What did Tsipras do when he, and everybody else, saw the true
position of the Institutions? He saw the expulsion of Greece coming and
he did not want it blamed on Syriza. He did not have the mandate to
leave the Euro, and I think it is also strategically wrong for
socialists to voluntarily leave the Euro or the EU, they should push the
envelope and do as much as they can do inside the Euro and EU.
Therefore he made an offer giving the Institutions all they wanted, in
order to see if under these conditions the Institutions would grant
Greece a reduction or re-structuring of the debt in such a way that this
austerity would have at least a chance of success.

(5) Did Tsipras's gambit pay off? Der Spiegel, which until yesterday
preached how the collapse of the Greek economy is the fault of the
Greeks, who were demanding too much, is suddenly full of revelations how
much pressure the US was exerting on Merkel to give the Greeks a break.
This give Merkel a face-saving way out: she does not have to cave to
the lazy Greeks but she has to respect the will of the US. So I think
there is a good chance Greece will stay in the Euro, but this is not at
all certain.

Here are the two possibilities as I see them:

If Greece remains in the Eurozone at the cost of further austerity
measures, then this is the loss of one skirmish but not of the war.
Syriza tried to get the best outcome possible while respecting the will
of the voters to stay within the Eurozone. Syriza did not betray the
voters. They tried everything possible to carry out the mandate of the
voters and were defeated because the enemy was stronger or more ruthless
than they, and because their own mandate, eliminating austerity while
staying in the Eurozone, was somewhat contradictory. And the struggle
continues. Despite the fact that they were forced to accede to
austerity demands in the end, their honorable and courageous battle and
their respect for democracy will encourage the voters in Spain, Ireland
and elsewhere to vote for their own left

[Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

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Sheldon writes:

 And respect for democracy by pissing on the NO vote? WTF??? Can you spell 
 'Orwell'?

The institutions, the troika, was pissing on the NO vote, by not
reconsidering their hard line, their insistence that Greece follows
their rules just for the principle of it.  On the contrary, they
tightened the noose on the Greek banks.  This forced Syriza to re-think
their negotiation strategy.  Syriza themselves were not pissing on the
no vote.  They involved their constituents in the process as much as
they could, by organizing the referendum.  This is why I am saying they
have respect for democracy. They did not have to call the referendum.
But it is not in their power to bring about a positive outcome because
of the No vote if they are stonewalled by the troika.

Yes, Syriza had a choice: either staying in the Eurozone with austerity
impositions, or quitting the Euro.  They chose staying in the Eurozone.
This has the strategic advantages I described.  Besides, this was
something for which they got support from the IMF. there is a good
chance there will be some debt restructuring.  Quitting the Eurozone
without preparation would have been an invitation for Golden Dawn, and I
don't think it would have led Spain and others to emulate Syriza.  On
the contrary.  It would have been a deterrent for others to follow
Syriza's path.  That is why Schauble wanted them to quit the Eurozone.
And preparing for a Grexit would have undermined Syriza's negotiations
and would have been against their mandate.  The Greek voters did not
want to leave the Eurozone.  I think Syriza's policies are defensible,
they pretty much got out of the situation as much as they could have.
This is just one skirmish, more is to follow, and both the Greek voters
and Syriza are learning a lot from this.

H.E.


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[Marxism] PFLP on 43rd anniversary of murder of Palestinian revolutionary and writer Ghassan Kanafani

2015-07-10 Thread Philip Ferguson via Marxism

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https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/pflp-on-43th-aniversary-of-assassination-of-palestinian-writer-and-pflp-member-ghassan-kanafani/#more-12588
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[Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

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Sheldon writes:

 There is more honor in quitting than in being fired.

I don't think the membership in the Eurozone should be compared with a
wage labor relationship.  Despite its systemic flaws, the eurozone is an
attempt to fully implement the European Union, a unity of nations.
Getting kicked out of the eurozone because one tries to turn it into a
more democratic institution is in my view more honorable than quitting
the eurozone.  It shows more solidarity with the other nations which the
euro monetary policy is putting under pressure.  Syriza did not get
everything they wanted, but they created quite a stir everywhere in the
world.  Quitting after such an auspicious beginning indicates that one
is not willing to endure the long-haul struggle.

H.E.


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Re: [Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

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On Jul 10, 2015, at 8:53 PM, Hans G Ehrbar via Marxism 
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:

 This is just one skirmish, more is to follow, and both the Greek voters
 and Syriza are learning a lot from this.

Alas, I think Hans’ apologia for the wholesale capitulation of the Tsipras 
leadership - the culmination of a five month negotiation with the troika which 
was more fiasco thsn “skirmish - will be echoed by a majority of Syriza 
supporters and parliamentarians, including some hitherto identified with the 
party left. They will loyally and dutifully close ranks behind the party and 
its leadership and current direction, consoling themselves, like Hans, that the 
retreat from the party program is really, somehow, an advance. 

A substantial minority, however, will draw a more honest balance sheet of the 
government’s record to date and recognize that it does represent an advance 
over the preceding New Democracy administration on the key issues. Neither has 
secured significant debt relief; both have acquiesced to demands for labour 
market “reforms” designed to weaken the unions; both accept rigid fiscal 
“targets” to constrain government spending and job creation; both accept major 
increases in consumption taxes; both accept further cuts to pension benefits, 
etc. 

It is undeniably the case that the balance of forces has been overwhelmingly 
weighted against Syriza and tiny, embattled Greece. But the Syriza leadership 
full well understood this when it vied for governmental power, and its 
disillusioned and embittered supporters may be forgiven for asking: “If the 
objective circumstances simply don’t allow a left wing party to effect any 
meaningful change and, in fact, lead to further economic deterioration and 
erosion of living standards, what is the point of electing it in the first 
place”?




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[Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

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Sheldon writes:

 There is more honor in quitting than in being fired.

I don't think the membership in the Eurozone should be compared with a
wage labor relationship.  Despite its systemic flaws, the eurozone is an
attempt to fully implement the European Union, a unity of nations.
Getting kicked out of the eurozone because one tries to turn it into a
more democratic institution is in my view more honorable than quitting
the eurozone.  It shows more solidarity with the other nations which the
euro monetary policy is putting under pressure.  Syriza did not get
everything they wanted, but they created quite a stir everywhere in the
world.  Quitting after such an auspicious beginning indicates that one
is not willing to endure the long-haul struggle.

H.E.


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[Marxism] Commentary from Theo, a Greek FB friend


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This one is for my non-Greek Marxist facebook friends who have been 
posting about my country for the last year or so . . .
I, for example, could have told you what to expect from Synaspismos 
because I lived in Greece for many years. I could also have told you 
about ΝΑΡ, ΣΕΚ, the ΚΚΕ, other Marxist groups, Greek anarchists, etc. -- 
and in great detail.
This is not an I told you so because I did not say much and prefer 
boat carpentry to political infighting.

I'm no expert. Why should you care what I think? I don't expect you to now.
I might have enjoyed deriding the ΣΥΡΙΖΑ leadership for being parlor 
revolutionaries, political opportunists and milquetoast reformists, 
well, I didn't because (1) they actually got themselves elected 
(something nobody can take away from them) and, accordingly, (2) 
deserved a chance to do their jobs.
A few months ago I was amused to read some comment threads by non-Greek 
leftists which were, more or less, anti-KKE pile-ons. People who were 
not Greek, did not speak Greek, and had never lived in Greece magically 
morphed into expert critics of that country's working class politics. I 
should have liked to ask these just-add-water theoreticians to accompany 
me to Athenian working class neighborhoods or to parts of rural Greece 
where they could explain to the locals their local politics. I'd happily 
volunteer my services as interpreter.
(Incidentally, I'm not KKE, just another garden-variety Marxist with an 
independent streak.)
But ΣΥΡΙΖΑ pretty much came to power because ΠΑΣΟΚ went up up in smoke. 
That's what fucking happened. There simply wasn't anybody left with 
mainstream appeal and good party organization.

At least they gave it a whirl.
The Greeks elected them to wheel and deal for Greece, not to leave the 
EU or lead a global insurgency against the neoliberal order.
And that's what they've been trying to do (however little you or I may 
think of their maneuvering).
Did Tsipras call the referendum so as to duck for cover behind the Greek 
people?

Maybe so.
Does that suck?
Sure.
But, honestly, if you were Greek and on the hard left, that's about what 
you'd expect.
And if you are not Greek and not on the hard left, but still familiar 
with even the most of rudimentary Marxist analyses, you surely 
understand that ΣΥΡΙΖΑ's appeals to reason in its negotiations would not 
be well received by representatives of an economic system that is 
irrational at its core.
What's interesting to me is how the EU honchos can't seem to tolerate 
even a mildly left wing government like ΣΥΡΙΖΑ being successful.
Whether or not you agree or disagree with what, admittedly, is my 
backyard and layman's opinion is unimportant.

I think I just needed a good rant.
Off to go tarp up the shop and fix a bandsaw.
I leave the posting and blogging to you.
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Re: [Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

2015-07-10 Thread Sheldon Ranz via Marxism

I think the no vote was an expression of confidence,
that the Greeks knew that their government was doing the best they could
to fulfill their electoral mandate.

No, it was not. It was a rejection of the Troika's austerity demands
According to reliable news reports, both Tsipras and the referendum's
wording underscored that.

If the Institutions do not accept Syriza's offer, then it will be clear
to all that Greece did not leave the Eurozone voluntarily but was kicked
out.

There is more honor in quitting than in being fired.

Despite the fact that they were forced to accede to
austerity demands in the end, their honorable and courageous battle and
their respect for democracy will encourage the voters in Spain, Ireland
and elsewhere to vote for their own left parties.

They were not forced to accede - there were alternatives within a Grexit
maneuver that would make Greece survivable for the masses. We've seen here
on this forum links to articles by economists both Greek and American as to
how this would be possible. And respect for democracy by pissing on the
NO vote? WTF??? Can you spell 'Orwell'?

Coming up next...Tzipras invites Golden Dawn into the government.

On Fri, Jul 10, 2015 at 7:05 PM, he5513--- via Marxism
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/10/germany-greek-pain-debt-relief-grexit
is another proof of a much more penetrating insight into the process
and history than available from the other negotiators.

Re: [Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

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On Jul 10, 2015, at 8:53 PM, Hans G Ehrbar via Marxism 
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:

 This is just one skirmish, more is to follow, and both the Greek voters
 and Syriza are learning a lot from this.

Alas, I think Hans’ apologia for the wholesale capitulation of the Tsipras 
leadership - the culmination of a five month negotiation with the troika which 
was more fiasco thsn “skirmish - will be echoed by a majority of Syriza 
supporters and parliamentarians, including some hitherto identified with the 
party left. They will loyally and dutifully close ranks behind the party and 
its leadership and current direction, consoling themselves, like Hans, that the 
retreat from the party program is really, somehow, an advance. 

A substantial minority, however, will draw a more honest balance sheet of the 
government’s record to date and recognize that it does not represent an advance 
over the preceding New Democracy administration on the key issues. Neither has 
secured significant debt relief; both have acquiesced to demands for labour 
market “reforms” designed to weaken the unions; both accept rigid fiscal 
“targets” to constrain government spending and job creation; both accept major 
increases in consumption taxes; both accept further cuts to pension benefits, 
etc. 

It is undeniably the case that the balance of forces has been overwhelmingly 
weighted against Syriza and tiny, embattled Greece. But the Syriza leadership 
full well understood this when it vied for governmental power, and its 
disillusioned and embittered supporters may be forgiven for asking: “If the 
objective circumstances simply don’t allow a left wing party to effect any 
meaningful change and, in fact, lead to further economic deterioration and 
erosion of living standards, what is the point of electing it in the first 
place”?


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[Marxism] criticism of Syriza and Left Platform leadership by Xekinima and IMT

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Tsipras crosses the Rubicon
by Xekinima (CWI), Greece, July 10
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/7274
 . . .
The leading group in SYRIZA and Alex Tsipras has been proven
tragically incapable of responding to the tasks of the moment and
unworthy of the confidence of the working class. They are unworthy of
the earth-shaking ‘No’ vote on 5 July which reverberated throughout
Europe and the whole world. They betrayed the confidence of workers,
pensioners, the unemployed and the poor, who voted by 70%-80% in favor
of No in the working class neighborhoods and cities. They betrayed the
great struggle launched by the Left and the working class, all across
Europe, in support of the struggling Greek workers.
 . . .
What lies behind this new historical tragedy of the Greek Left is
nothing else but the complete lack of understanding by the leadership
of the class character of living reality. And a complete lack of
understanding of what class struggle means. They went to the EU to
“fight for their proposals” with water pistols against machine guns.
They tried to “explain” and to “convince” Schauble and the rest of the
capitalist gang leading the EU, naively and foolishly, that they were
applying wrong policies and should change them. They never had and
never showed any confidence to the power of the working class and its
ability to take destiny into its own hands. They swallowed the fairy
tale perpetuated by the ruling class that their profit system is
invincible, that capitalism can never be overthrown and that the exit
from the Euro would equal to a social catastrophe.

The defeat in which Tsipras and his government led the Greek working
class is historical but it is not final. It not like the defeat
suffered by the left and working class in the Civil War in Greece.
There is still a lot of potential for resistance.

The immediate task is the coming together of the forces of the Left
which understand the need for a regroupment along the lines of
revolutionary socialism, to plan the next steps. There are serious
forces in the non-parliamentary Left, inside ANTARSYA (Anti-capitalist
Left) and SYRIZA etc., which understand that without rupture with the
capitalist system and the Eurozone there is no perspective for a
better life. These forces must urgently meet and discuss and take all
the necessary steps, to lay the basis for a new, mass revolutionary
Left. To lead the struggles of tomorrow and to offer the perspective
of struggle for a future against the false hopes of Tsipras and his
circle.
 . . .


Greece: government's proposals to the Troika turning OXI into YES
by Jorge Martín
In Defense of Marxism (IMT), July 10
http://www.marxist.com/greece-governments-proposals-to-the-troika-turning-oxi-into-yes.htm
. . .
Syriza CC member Stathis Kouvelakis has compared the situation to the
vote for war credits in the Reichstag in 1914 and appealed for
pressure to be exerted on Syriza MPs to vote against. He has described
the proposal as a capitulation and a “betrayal of the popular
mandate”. In an appeal to Syriza MPs he has asked them to refuse to
trample the popular mandate under foot, and save the honour. Refuse
this humiliation of democracy. Don't forget the fate of members who
voted for previous memoranda, and that have been registered in the
people's conscience. Together with the people who want to stand up and
live, raise up, say no!”

The Communist Tendency of Syriza has rejected the proposals and
described them by their proper name: a new Memorandum. The comrades
have correctly described the situation as one of a parliamentary coup,
in which parliament will be used to pass proposals that directly
contradict the democratic will of the people expressed at the
referendum and have called on Syriza MPs to vote against and for
people to mobilise.

The president of the parliament, Zoe Konstantopoulo, also a prominent
Syriza member has also said that she will oppose the passage of a new
austerity memorandum through parliament. However, Greek media reported
a 3.5 h meeting between her and Tsipras last night. The Left Platform
has around 30 MPs in the Parliamentary group. As these lines are
written a joint meeting of Syriza's parliamentary group and Political
Secretariat is being held to discuss the proposals. Syriza's CC will
meet on Saturday. Today in the evening there will be a vote in
Parliament. The way in which this will be done has been calculated in
order to minimise opposition. Instead of voting on the actual
proposals being sent to the Troika, Parliament will be asked to give
Tsipras, vice PM Dragasakis and Finance Minister Tsakalotos authority
to negotiate along the lines of the letter, but the letter

[Marxism] Greek parliament approves Tsipras' negotiation plan; do Syriza defections threaten gov't?; will Eurogroup approve Greek proposal?

Government negotiating plan approved by parliament
After an emotional plea by the PM, the government negotiating plan is
approved by the parliament, based on opposition votes. The government
block loses 17 votes.
The Times of Greece, July 11
http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/government-negotiating-plan-approved-by-parliament

After a 3.5 hour discussion in parliament, MPs overwhelmingly approved
the government's negotiating plan for a bailout deal, which is to be
discussed in Brussels over the coming weekend. The final tally was 251
Yes votes, 32 No votes, 8 abstinence votes and 9 MPs not present
during voting.

This might look like an excellent tally for the government, but it
causes all sorts of headaches for the PM, given that a total of 17 MPs
from the majority government coalition did not tally with the Yes
vote. Among them, Energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and House
speaker, Zoe Konstandopoulou.

Earlier, during his speech, the PM urged all majority MPs to vote for
his government's proposals, adding that he demanded the preservation
of his majority in the vote. Given that 17 MPs didn't obey his plea,
the government has unofficially lost its given majority, which could
cause trouble for the government coalition.

In his speech, Alexis Tsipras defended the painful bailout proposals
his leftwing government presented to parliament on Friday, saying they
were difficult measures but would help keep Greece in the euro zone.

Arguing that the mix of tax hikes and spending cuts was better on many
points than the package rejected by voters in a referendum on Sunday,
Tsipras insisted that he had won important concessions on
restructuring Greece's enormous public debt.

For the first time, we have on the table a substantial discussion for
a debt restructuring, he said in a debate before parliament votes on
endorsing the proposals.

He said Greece would meet 6.8 billion euros of payments on maturing
bonds held by the European Central Bank due in July and August and
said that the capital controls imposed on banks would not force the
government to take new fiscal measures.

It's now up to the Prime Minister himself to offer his reading, if not
spin, of the crucial vote. Analysts believe that Energy minister
Lafazanis has all but resigned with his stance and vote, while there
is going to be an issue with parliament speaker, Zoe Konstandopoulou.

There has never been a Greek parliament where the House speaker has
not supported a bill, much less after her PM has all but ordered her
to do so. Also, what could happen with those No and abstinence votes
when the actual bill that comes out of the negotiations in Brussels
arrives in the Greek parliament?

Will this spell the beginning of the end for the awkward government
coalition of left wing SYRIZA with the nationalistic Independent
Greeks party? Could this vote lead to political developments which
could even hint towards early elections in the middle of the country's
most crucial economic negotiations with its EU partners? Only time -
and the powerful PM - will tell.

Greece’s Parliament Approves Greek Bailout Proposal; Now It’s in Europe’s Hands
by Anastasios Papapostolou
The Greek Reporter, July 11
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/07/11/greece-parliament-approves-greek-bailout-proposal-now-its-in-europe-hands

The Greek parliament approved on Saturday Greek PM Alexis Tsipras’
bailout plan to negotiate a deal with Greece’s creditors based on the
political party leaders’ agreement draft.

The Greek Prime Minister and Finance Chief Euclid Tsakalotos called
the parliament to approve the bill and authorize the Greek negotiating
team to conduct an agreement with the lenders.

On the draft bailout bill, 232 members voted yes, while 32 rejected
it. Eight members abstained from the vote, including Parliament
Speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou who stated that althogh the Greek PM
negotiated fiercefully, the bill is a product of international
blackmailing to Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent the proposal to Greece’s
creditors on Thursday, in what it looks like the last chance for the
debt-ridden country to receive a bailout agreement and avoid a
financial collapse and possible exit from the Eurozone.

On Friday the PM brought the proposal to the parliament asking its MPS
to pass a law that will be approve it as a basis for a bailout deal,
and authorize him, Finance Minister Tsakalotos and Greek VP Ioannis
Dragasakis to sign such an agreement with the creditors.

The long parliamentary session, finally approved the bill on the first
hours of Saturday.

Addressing lawmakers in the Greek Parliament on Friday night, Greece’s
Finance Minister

[Marxism] Evans-Pritchard on Tsipras climbdown

Crippled Greece yields to overwhelming power as deal looms
by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The Telegraph, London, July 10
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11732926/Crippled-Greece-yields-to-overwhelming-power-as-deal-looms.html

Greece's Left-wing Syriza government has agreed to draconian austerity
terms rejected by the Greek people in a landslide referendum just five
days ago, capping one of the most bizarre political episodes of modern
times.

Prime minister Alexis Tspiras sought to put the best face on a painful
climbdown, recoiling from a traumatic fight that would have led to
Greece's ejection from the euro as soon as Monday. He implicitly
recognised that the strain of capital controls and economic collapse
has been too much to bear.

“We are confronted with crucial decisions. We got a mandate to bring a
better deal than the ultimatum that the Eurogroup gave us, but we
weren't given a mandate to take Greece out of the eurozone,” he said.

Hopes for a breakthrough set off euphoria across Europe's stock and
bond markets, though Greece still has to face an emergency meeting of
Eurogroup ministers on Saturday, and probably a full-dress summit of
the EU's 28 leaders on Sunday.

A top Greek banker close to the talks said there is now a 90pc
chance of clinching a deal, thanks both to intervention behind the
scenes by a team from the French treasury and to aggressive diplomacy
by Washington.

Inflows of tourist cash means that there is still €2.75bn of liquidity
available, enough to keep ATM machines stocked until Monday night.
Greeks will be able to withdraw the daily allowance of €60. Pensioners
will continue to draw €120 a week.

We are preparing to open up branches for normal banking services next
week. Capital controls will last for a while but not for as long as in
Cyprus. The situation is very fluid but we don't think we will need a
major recapitalisation of the banks, said the source.

An estimated €40bn of money stashed in mattresses should flow back
into deposits as confidence returns. One or two of the weaker banks
may need a capital boost of €10bn to €15bn, involving a potential
bail-in of savings above the insured threshold of €100,000.

Any deal almost certainly means the European Central Bank will lift
its freeze on emergency liquidity for the Greek financial system as
soon as Monday, entirely changing the picture. Syriza accuses the ECB
of deploying liquidity asphyxiation to bring a rebel democracy to
its knees.

The ECB freeze has been a controversial political and legal move -
given the bank's treaty obligations to uphold financial stability -
and is likely to be dissected by historians for years to come.

A final deal to end the long-running saga is still not certain. The
outcome depends on how much debt relief the creditor powers are
willing to offer, and whether it is a contractual obligation written
in stone or merely a vague promise for the future.

Yet the broad outlines are taking shape after Syriza agreed to three
more years of fiscal tightening, with deep pension cuts and tax rises,
and a raft of neo-liberal reform measures that breach almost all the
party's original red lines.

Panagiotis Lafazanis, head of Syriza’s Left Platform, protested
bitterly, saying it would be better for Greece to restore sovereign
self-government and return to the drachma. The most humiliating and
unbearable choice is an agreement that will surrender and loot our
country and subjugate our people, he said.

Party insiders did not hide their disgust, though Mr Tsipras managed
to quell a full-scale mutiny. It is a total capitulation. We never
had a 'Plan B' for what to do if the European Central Banks cuts off
liquidity and the creditors simply destroyed our country, which is
what they are doing, said one Syriza veteran.

We thought that when the time comes, Europe would blink, but that is
not what happened. It should have been clear since April that the
markets were not going to react to Grexit.

Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister, said he would back his
successor and close friend, Euclid Tsakalotos, but only for the next
two days.

I will reserve my judgment. I have serious doubts as to whether the
creditors will really sign on the dotted line and offer substantive
debt relief. My fear is that they will make all the right noises, but
then fail to follow through, as in 2012, he told The Telegraph.

Mr Tsakalotos told the Greek parliament that Syriza aims to secure a
swap of $27bn of Greek bonds held by the European Central Bank for
longer-dated bonds at lower interest rates. Many of Greece's debt
demands are going to be accepted, he said.

The government is also pushing for

[Marxism] Hannah Murray is coming under Troitsly's influnce!

2015-07-10 Thread Anthony Brain via Marxism

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 Hannah Murray is a famous actor in British Youth programmes!
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[Marxism] Why I am in favou of this docuemnt being pubished here despite it's' sharp factioaa character!

2015-07-10 Thread Anthony Brain via Marxism

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 This document is very sharp because if there is not a new revolutionary 
leadership the future of humanity is in great peril.  Despite this document 
being very factional it clarifies ideas and shows the methological l errors of 
those who do not fully understand Trotskyism.  In this sense it could play an 
educational role.  It is obviously up to Marxmail editors whether to publish 
this.  In the near future documents will not be so factional and will generally 
analyse broad historical processes!

https://defendtrotskyism.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/the-battle-in-greece-over-austerity-is-key-to-the-balance-of-class-forces-developing-within-the-imperialist-countries-by-anthony-brain/
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[Marxism] Fwd: BRICS Bankers Confirm They will Undergird – Not Undermine – Western Financial Decadence


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Super-important article by Patrick Bond.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/10/brics-bankers-confirm-they-will-undergird-not-undermine-western-financial-decadence/
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[Marxism] Fwd: The Pongo’s Dream | Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist


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The Pongo’s Dream

by José Maria Arguedas

(Arguedas learned Quechua as a boy from servants in the household of his 
stepmother and his father, an itinerant lawyer. Until his suicide in 
1967, the novelist and anthropologist was perhaps more responsible than 
any other Peruvian for the impassioned defense of the Incan tongue and 
cultural autonomy for millions of Quechua speakers, challenging the 
powerful ideologies of “modernization” and “national integration” 
predicated on the erasure of Peru’s indigenous past. Although there was 
a strong utopian strain in Arguedas, he was not just interested in 
indigenous traditions. He also wrote about the challenges of migration 
and modernity, and proclaimed himself an “hombre Quechua moderno,” a 
modern Quechuan man, reflecting his desire for a cultural pluralism for 
Peru that would go beyond a retreat into a narrow traditionalism. An 
adaptation of a story Arguedas heard from a Cusco peasant, “The Pongo’s 
Dream” captures the rigidity of the feudal order that still prevailed in 
many parts of the Andes in the mid-twentieth century. But the 
denouement, where the world turns upside down as in the Inkarri myth, 
suggests the existence of a spirit of independence and opposition, which 
was to fuel the peasant movements of the 195os and the break-up of the 
landlords’ rule.)


***

A little man headed to his master’s mansion. As one of the serfs on the 
1ord’s estate, he had to perform the duty of a pongo, a lowly house 
servant. He had a small and feeble body, a meek spirit. His clothes were 
old and tattered. Everything about him was pitiful.


The great lord, owner of the mansion and lands surrounding it, could not 
help laughing when the little man greeted him in the mansion’s corridors.


“What are you? A person or something else?” the lord asked the little 
man in front of all the other serfs. The pongo bowed his head and did 
not answer. He stood frightened, eyes frozen. “Let’s see!” the lord 
said. “With those worthless little hands, you must at least know how to 
scrub pots or use a broom. Take this garbage away!” he ordered.


The pongo knelt to kiss his master’s hand and followed him to the 
kitchen hanging his head.


full: http://louisproyect.org/2015/07/10/the-pongos-dream/
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[Marxism] Fwd: Is Greece Worse Off Than the U.S. During the Great Depression? - The New York Times


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http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/09/business/international/is-greece-worse-off-than-the-us-during-the-great-depression.html
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Re: [Marxism] Greece again

2015-07-10 Thread Dennis Brasky via Marxism

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WTF???

On Fri, Jul 10, 2015 at 2:35 PM, Sheldon Ranz via Marxism 
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:


 Short of fire, sexual blackmail is one way to keel politicians in line.  It
 has worked for the LBGT community in the US, and folks should not be afraid
 to 'stoop' to that level if it can prevent future betrayals.

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Re: [Marxism] Facing bad choices, in or out of the euro, Greece needs our solidarity

2015-07-10 Thread Sheldon Ranz via Marxism

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Using your logic, you could similar excuses for Obama.

Apparently, there are no lies in politics, according to you, because we
were always supposed to know that elected leaders have a game. So, the
Greek people have no justification for feeling betrayed.  So, if a loved
one is murdered, should I shrug it off and say, Oh well, we all have to
die sometime.

And what's this about Allende?  What lies did he tell?  What referendum did
he betray?

On Fri, Jul 10, 2015 at 4:35 AM, ioannis aposperites via Marxism 
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:

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 On 10/07/2015 05:57 πμ, Sheldon Ranz via Marxism wrote:

  Excuse me, but NO ONE at the Troika forced Syriza to organize a
 referendum.  Tsipras and Co. chose that, and now have chosen to ignore the
 results of the referendum in favor of the Troika's demands.

 How is that not treachery?


 Allende's policy wasn't a treachery? Yet he saved the honor of the left by
 his resistance till the end. Isn't it strange that the political forces in
 Chile of 1973 who had foreseen the disaster and were advocating for the
 masses to be mobilized and the Cordones Industriales to take action etc
 are now widely forgotten, and often ruthlessly criticized inside the
 revolutionary left, while the traitor is a symbol of resistance
 internationally?

 The word treachery and the likes are good for agitation but not so good
 for propaganda and even less for politics. Politics is not a question of
 moral nor of ethics; it's about class struggle and correlation of forces.

 On the other hand Tsipras was clear from the beginning: His government was
 declared to be a national salvation government. The promises to the
 proletariat were supposed to be the outcome of a fair class collaboration
 and were conditioned by that collaboration as long as the bourgeoisie had
 to be also satisfied. You like it or not, that was Tsipras' game. Of course
 the greek working class and its other political forces were and are playing
 a variety of different games, but that does not regard Tsipras'
 intentions.  Conclusion: speaking of treachery is not even technically
 correct.

 JA

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[Marxism] SYRIZA Left Platform Proposes Grexit - Tsipras Urges MP’s to Support Proposals

SYRIZA Left Platform Proposes Grexit - Tsipras Urges MP’s to Support Proposals
by Anastassios Adamopoulos
The Greek Reporter, July 10
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/07/10/syriza-left-platform-proposes-grexit-tsipras-urges-mps-to-support-proposals

The SYRIZA-ANEL government could soon become another administration in
Greece’s history that endorses a bailout deal.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has asked for a snap vote in
parliament on the proposals set to take place on Friday afternoon.

The proposals that the government submitted include austerity
measures. As a political opposition to the government SYRIZA had been
vocal against the austerity bailout deals that the different Greek
administrations had implemented since 2010.

The change in the government’s direction has provoked the immediate
reactions from some of its party members. Two SYRIZA lawmakers and
three members of the political committee, who are part of the Left
Platform, a subgroup within SYRIZA, produced a document on Friday that
asks for the renegotiation of a deal with the institutions. If a deal
without austerity and with sufficient liquidity cannot be reached
Greece should exit the Eurozone, the document argues.

Political Committee members Stathis Leoutsakos, Antonis Davanelos,
Sophie Papadogiannis and lawmakers Costas Lapavitas and Thanasis
Petrakos further urged the government to sign a transition deal
toward a new currency that will allow Greece to do three things.

*A radical reform of the banking system
*The complete halt of austerity policies
*The exit from the Euro and the subsequent a write down of most of
Greece’s debt.

“An exit from the eurozone under the current circumstances is a
difficult but realistic process that will allow the country to follow
a different path, away from that of the unacceptable programs that
will emulate the Juncker proposal,” the document reads.

An exit from the Eurozone would generate further benefits according to
the proposal. Namely, the restoration of financial liquidity, a
sustainable growth program based on private investment, the rebuilding
of the internal economy to reduce dependence on imports, an increase
in exports, independence from the European Central Bank, its policies
and restrictions and finally the utilization of unused resources to
create rapid growth so as to protect against the first difficult
months following the Grexit.

The document also concedes that an exit from the Eurozone should have
been prepared by SYRIZA but was not.

Tsipras earlier concluded his speech to the Parliamentary Group and
the Political Committee where he warned that it would be unacceptable
if SYRIZA party member’s did not offer total support toward the
government.

“Between a bad and a catastrophic choice, we are forced to choose the
first,” the prime minister said. “It is not easy but we have to.”

Tsipras had warned earlier in the meeting that the alternative to a
deal is an abrupt bankruptcy, which would be a disaster.

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Re: [Marxism] Greece again

2015-07-10 Thread Sheldon Ranz via Marxism

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Short of fire, sexual blackmail is one way to keel politicians in line.  It
has worked for the LBGT community in the US, and folks should not be afraid
to 'stoop' to that level if it can prevent future betrayals.
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Re: [Marxism] Paul Mason What was the point of Tsipras referendum?

2015-07-10 Thread Andrew Pollack via Marxism

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Columns like this are why I don't read Paul Mason.
I remember months ago reading something by him (don't remember the issue,
but that really doesn't matter) and saying to myself, this guy's just a
half-smart, not-too-radical commentator, why waste my time?
But it's a damned shame his self-satisfied support for the wisdom of
Tsipras can be so misleading in a crisis like this.
(If someone can convince me I'm misreading his column I'm all ears.)

On Fri, Jul 10, 2015 at 1:40 PM, Dayne Goodwin via Marxism 
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:

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 What was the point of Tsipras referendum?
 by Paul Mason
 Channel 4 News blog, England, July 10
 http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/4131/4131

 The new Greek government proposals, published late last night are
 clearly based on those submitted by Jean Claude Juncker last Thursday,
 before the referendum.

 It’s left many Greeks frustrated,  asking: what was the point of the
 referendum? It’s left many foreign observers saying the same.

 Here are the most obvious answers:

 First, the Greek government’s hope that a referendum mandate would
 allow swift negotiations with their creditors, and relaxation of
 terms, did not materialise. Instead a renewed ultimatum materialised.
 If they can’t meet it, the ECB and EU will collapse the Greek banking
 system and throw them out of the Eurozone. Indeed, one of the main
 “achievements” of the referendum was to flush out that clear threat,
 from politicians who had never admitted it before.

 The Greek government has no mandate to leave the Euro, as the 61% vote
 No last Sunday was clearly won as a “stay in and fight” mandate.

 Secondly, the deal makes no economic sense without debt relief. The
 referendum, combined with US pressure, seems to have prompted key
 European voices, including Angela Merkel and Donald Tusk, [to] accede
 in principle to the need for debt reprofiling – which is a sneaky way
 of writing off debts.

 Thirdly, it is still redistributive on balance. Syriza can still sell
 this as a very different programme from those previously designed by
 the conservative led coalition. 29% corporation tax is one example.
 However it does make concessions on pensions and on VAT on the
 islands, which currently enjoy a discount.

 Fourth, it is the work of Euclid Tsakalatos. Tsakalatos, as I’ve been
 explaining since mid-January, is existentially committed to two
 things: Euro membership and the use of government to foster widespread
 modernisation and social change. He wants to stay in power – not lose
 it to a government of “technocrats”.

 Fifth, the deal comes with a request for a loan to make Greece’s debt
 repayments over the next three years. If someone else pays your debts
 for three years, that is a very fiscally beneficial thing, and leaves
 Greece with money to spend it did not have.

 Most importantly, this is not a done deal. If it gets through the
 Greek parliament and is then thrown back into the Greeks’ faces it
 will solidify and prepare Greek society for Grexit.

 It will most likely prompt a few resignations from Syriza, but I am
 told the Left Platform in Syriza will mainly accept it. But getting it
 through parliament is not the problem. Getting it through the EU is
 the problem – and it’s left many Greeks still predicting this is the
 last gamble before Grexit.

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[Marxism] Kouvelakis: Those who lead Greece and its Left to surrender should be opposed.

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From the Absurd to the Tragic
Those who lead Greece and its Left to surrender should be opposed
by Stathis Kouvelakis
Jacobin magazine, July 10
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/07/tsipras-syriza-greece-euro-debt

 . . .
How could one explain that New Democracy’s Vangelis Meimarakis and To
Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis — heads of the camp so crushingly
defeated on Sunday — should have become the official spokespersons for
the line being followed by the Greek government? How is it possible
for a devastating “no” to memorandum austerity policies to be
interpreted as a green light for a new memorandum? And to put it in
commonsense terms: if they were disposed to sign something even worse
and even more binding than European Commission President Jean-Claude
Juncker’s proposals, what was the point of the referendum and the
struggle to achieve victory in it?
 . . .
So the framework is given: it is that of the restrictive measures
which secure fiscal surpluses and aim at the repayment of debt. It is
incontestably the framework of the memoranda. The disagreement is over
the “distribution of the burden.” It involves a (supposedly) “socially
more just” variant of austerity, which will be presented as
“redistribution” at the same time as it perpetuates the recession
(every reference to commitment to non-recessionary measures has been
effaced) and impoverishment of the majority.
 . . .
And yet, despite the gravity of the situation and despite the fact
that through the imposition of capital controls part of the road has
already been covered, nobody, apart from Costas Lapavitsas and some
cadres of the Left Platform, is speaking of the self-evident and basic
measures of self-protection that are necessitated by circumstances of
this kind, starting from public control and nationalization of the
banking system.

The explanation for this is of course very simple: anything of this
kind would place Greece with one foot outside the euro, which the
government is completely unwilling to do, despite the fact that even
mainstream economists like Paul Krugman assert that “the greater part
of the cost has already been paid” and that it is time for Greece “to
reap the benefits.”
 . . .
This is nothing but a new austerity package — actually, a “copy and
paste” of the Juncker plan rejected by the electorate a few days ago.
Its core is all too familiar: primary surpluses, cuts in pensions,
increase in the VAT and other taxes, and a handful of measures to give
it a slight flavor of “social justice” (e.g., an increase in the
corporate tax rate by two points). The document was approved by all
the major ministers except Panos Kammenos, head of the Independent
Greeks party (ANEL), and Panagiotis Lafazanis, the leader of the Left
Platform.
 . . .
As was predictable, and probably even planned, this proposed agreement
has triggered an uproar inside Syriza. For the moment, most of the
strong reactions are come from the Left Platform and other currents of
Syriza’s left wing such as KOE, the Maoist organization that has four
MPs. In today’s dramatic meeting of Syriza’s parliamentary group,
Lafazanis, minister of energy and leader of the Left Platform, said
the agreement is “incompatible with Syriza’s program” and “doesn’t
offer a positive perspective to the country.” The Left Platform
ministers are expected to resign today.

Thanassis Petrakos, one of the three speakers of Syriza’s
parliamentary group and a prominent member of the Left Platform,
declared:

The “no” of the referendum was a radical and a class “no.” Some
high-ranked comrades insist on the “there is no other way” logic. We
should prepare exiting the eurozone and say that clearly to the
people. The Left has a future when it opens its wings to the unknown,
not to nothingness. Those who insist on the choice of staying in the
euro whatever the cost might know that it is a disaster. We need a
prepared exit to open up a new path. The first steps are the public
control of the banks and of the Greek central bank and a crackdown on
oligarchy.

Varoufakis is also said to have opposed the agreement, as well as some
MPs from the group of the “fifty-three” (the left wing of the
majority), although in an internal meeting held yesterday a
significant gap appeared between the rank-and-file and middle-range
cadres, strongly opposed to the agreement, and the MPs, much more
inclined to support it. The vote that will take place late in the
evening will certainly be of crucial importance for the future
developments, but also for the future of Syriza.

Whatever happens in the next few hours and days, one thing should be
clear: any attempt to cancel the popular will for the overturn of

[Marxism] Davanellos The people of Greece must be heard: No more!

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The people of Greece must be heard: No more!
by Antonis Davanellos
Workers' Left(DEA), Greece
Socialist Worker, U.S., July 10
http://socialistworker.org/2015/07/10/the-people-of-greece-must-be-heard
 . . .
Antonis Davanellos is a member of the Greek socialist group
Internationalist Workers Left (DEA), which co-founded SYRIZA in 2004.
He is a member of SYRIZA's Central Committee and the smaller Political
Secretariat, and a well-known voice of the Left Platform. In this
article for DEA's Workers' Left newspaper, he addresses the
discussions inside SYRIZA and on the broader left about what comes
next after the referendum.
   _   _   _   _   _  _   _
 . . .
The votes of the masses of working people have given the government
and SYRIZA a clean slate to work from. They have provided a new
opportunity--maybe even a bigger opportunity than the January 25
election--to do what must be done. The measures promised by SYRIZA
during the election campaign, which could have changed the political
landscape in January if they were carried out immediately and
unilaterally--for example, the immediate restoration of collective
labor agreements, the increase of the minimum wage to the
pre-Memorandum level, the re-establishment of a pension bonus at
Christmastime--are once again on the agenda.

But now, after five months of inaction on these measures and with
almost all of the resources of the state exhausted in the meanwhile,
the scale of the measures needed must take on a more generalized
character. For example, the removal of Yannis Stournaras as governor
of the Bank of Greece and the immediate nationalization of the core
banks of the Greek financial system are now necessary conditions to
maintain the basic functions of the economy. These are necessary to
prevent the sabotage of the financial system, to ensure that working
people's savings are protected, and to stop the flow of capital out of
Greece if the government is going to be prepared to confront the chaos
and crisis to come.

Such measures are diametrically opposed to the so-called realism of
those who want an agreement with the lenders, no matter what the cost.
This is why the government's attempt to bring about a reconciliation
between the winners and losers in the referendum--by holding a meeting
of the leaders of Greece's biggest parties--is a wrong step. It has
revived the media's speculation about a government of national
unity, not only as a bargaining chip to use in the difficult
negotiations with the lenders, but as a possible scenario for what's
ahead. The statement issued by the heads of SYRIZA, New Democracy,
PASOK, Potami and the others is not only false and arbitrary--it is
directly in contradiction to the polarization expressed in the
referendum. The range of unity claimed for the party leaders' July 7
statement doesn't exist and cannot exist politically.
 . . .
In the negotiations--if they can honestly be called
negotiations--two new issues have arisen. One is the question of
debt relief. But the proposals of the lenders on this question remain
extremely vague and put off the specifics of what will be done until
after an agreement, including commitments to new austerity measures,
is signed. The lenders' promise to hold future substantive
discussions about the problem of the viability of Greece's
international debt is not an acceptable commitment that would justify
the Greek government signing an agreement that will include additional
austerity measures, not to mention maintaining what has already been
carried out under the previous Memorandums.

The second issue in negotiations is a proposal for a development
program for Greece. The package put forward by European Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker promises about 35 billion euros in
investments over the next five years. But these investments would be
made under certain conditions--specifically, acceptance of the
neoliberal counter-reforms attached to the bailout. They would be
directed at specific economic areas--and even specific
capitalists!--which means the program wouldn't permit funds to be used
in areas that are a priority for the Greek people, like saving public
hospitals and schools. The government's acceptance, in the statement
of the seven party leaders on July 7, that the agreement with the
lenders must encourage entrepreneurship is yet another worrying
sign.
 . . .
We must find the strength to continue the momentum from the referendum
result, facing negotiations with firmness and without conceding the
fundamental identity of SYRIZA as an anti-austerity party. We need to
prepare--responsibly, but also resolutely--for alternative policies if
and when the lenders insist on

[Marxism] Psychologists Shielded U.S. Torture Program, Report Finds


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NY Times, July 10 2015
Psychologists Shielded U.S. Torture Program, Report Finds
By JAMES RISEN

WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency’s health professionals 
repeatedly criticized the agency’s post-Sept. 11 interrogation program, 
but their protests were rebuffed by prominent outside psychologists who 
lent credibility to the program, according to a sweeping new report.


The 542-page report, which examines the involvement of the nation’s 
psychologists and their largest professional organization, the American 
Psychological Association, with the harsh interrogation programs of the 
Bush era, raises repeated questions about the collaboration between 
psychologists and officials at both the C.I.A. and the Pentagon.


The report concludes that some of the association’s top officials, 
including its ethics director, sought to curry favor with Pentagon 
officials by seeking to keep the association’s ethics policies in line 
with the interrogation policies of the Defense Department, while several 
prominent outside psychologists took actions that aided the C.I.A.’s 
interrogation program and helped protect it from growing dissent inside 
the agency.


The association’s ethics office, the report found, “prioritized the 
protection of psychologists — even those who might have engaged in 
unethical behavior — above the protection of the public.”


Two former presidents of the psychological association were members of a 
C.I.A. advisory committee, the report found. One of them provided the 
agency with an opinion that sleep deprivation did not constitute 
torture, and later held a small ownership stake in a consulting company 
founded by two men who oversaw the agency’s interrogation program, it said.


The association’s ethics director, Stephen Behnke, coordinated the 
group’s public policy statements on interrogations with a top military 
psychologist, the report said, and then received a Pentagon contract to 
help train interrogators while he was still working at the association, 
without the knowledge of the association’s board. Mr. Behnke did not 
respond to a request for comment.


The report, which was obtained by The New York Times and has not 
previously been made public, is the result of a seven-month 
investigation conducted by a team led by David Hoffman, a Chicago lawyer 
with the firm Sidley Austin at the request of the psychology 
association’s board.


The involvement of psychologists in the interrogation programs has been 
a source of contention within the profession for years. Another report, 
issued in April by several critics of the association, came to similar 
conclusions. But Mr. Hoffman’s report is by far the most detailed look 
yet into the crucial roles played by behavioral scientists, especially 
top officials at the American Psychological Association and some of the 
most prominent figures in the profession, in the interrogation programs. 
It also shows that the collaboration was much more extensive than was 
previously known.


A report last December by the Senate Intelligence Committee detailed the 
brutality of some of the C.I.A.’s interrogation methods, but by focusing 
on the role of psychologists, Mr. Hoffman’s report provides new details, 
and can be seen as a companion to the Senate report.


The C.I.A. and the Pentagon both conducted harsh interrogations during 
the administration of President George W. Bush, although the C.I.A.’s 
program included more brutal tactics. Some of them, like the simulated 
drowning technique called waterboarding, are now widely regarded as 
torture. The agency’s interrogations were done at so-called black site 
prisons around the world where prisoners were held secretly for years.


The report found that while some prominent psychologists collaborated 
with C.I.A. officials in ways that aided the agency’s interrogation 
program, the American Psychological Association and its staff members 
were more focused on working with the Pentagon, with which the 
association has long had strong ties.


Indeed, the report said that senior officials of the association had 
“colluded” with senior Defense Department officials to make certain that 
the association’s ethics rules did not hinder the ability of 
psychologists to remain involved with the ’s interrogation program.


The report’s most immediate impact will be felt at the association, 
where it has been presented to the board and its members’ council. The 
association’s board met last week to discuss the report and is expected 
to act on its findings soon. The association has since renounced 2005 
ethics guidelines that allowed psychologists to stay involved in the 
harsh

[Marxism] Syriza's Left Platform: The Alternative to Austerity

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The Alternative to Austerity
There is an alternative to capitulation in Greece
by The Left Platform
Jacobin magazine, July 10
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/07/tsipras-euro-debt-default-grexit

The following is an abridged version of the statement submitted by the
Left Platform at today’s plenary meeting of Syriza’s parliamentary
group.
   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -
 . . .
In order to confront the pressures and unacceptable demands of the
creditors, the process that could lead Greece out of the eurozone is a
serious and complex enterprise, which should have been systematically
prepared by the government and by Syriza. However, due to the tragic
blockages that prevailed both in government and in the party, this has
not been achieved.

Nevertheless, even now the government can and must respond to the
blackmail of the “institutions” by posing the following alternative:
either a program without any further austerity, providing liquidity,
and leading to debt cancellation, or exit from the euro and default on
the repayment of an unjust and unsustainable debt.

If required by the circumstances, the government has, even now, the
possibility and the minimum of liquidity that is required to implement
a transitional program to the national currency, which will allow it
to implement its commitments towards the Greek people, and in
particular to adopt the following measures:

1) The radical reorganization of the banking system, its
nationalization under social control, and its reorientation towards
growth.

2) The complete rejection of fiscal austerity (primary surpluses and
balanced budgets) in order to effectively address the humanitarian
crisis, cover social needs, reconstruct the social state, and take the
economy out of the vicious circle of recession.

3) The implementation of the beginning procedures leading to exit from
the euro and to the cancellation of the major part of the debt. There
are absolutely manageable choices that can lead to a new economic
model oriented towards production, growth, and the change in the
social balance of forces to the benefit of the working class and the
people.
 . . .
More specifically, some of the positive aspects of the exit include:

*Recovery of monetary sovereignty, which automatically means regaining
the capacity to provide liquidity to the economy. There is no other
way to cut the European Central Bank’s noose on Greece.

*The elaboration of a development plan based on public investment,
which will however also allow in parallel private investment. Greece
needs a new and productive relationship between the public and private
sectors to enter a path to sustainable development. The realization of
this project will become possible once liquidity is reestablished,
combined with national saving.

*Regaining control of the domestic market from imported products will
revitalize and enhance the role of small and medium-sized enterprises,
which remain the backbone of the Greek economy. At the same time
exports will be stimulated by the introduction of a national currency.

*The state will be liberated from the stranglehold of the European
Monetary Union at the level of fiscal and monetary policy. It will be
able to achieve substantial lifting of austerity, without unreasonable
restrictions on the provision of liquidity. This will also enable the
state to adopt measures which will bring fiscal justice and
redistribution of wealth and income.

*The possibility of accelerated growth after the initial difficult
months. The resources that became inactive during the seven-year-long
period of crisis can be quickly mobilized to reverse the disastrous
policy of the memoranda, if there is sufficient liquidity and a
stimulation of demand. This will open up the possibility of a
systematic decline in unemployment and a rise in income.

Finally, by leaving the EMU, Greece will not become less European, it
will follow a path that differs from the one followed by the countries
of the European Union core, an option which is already well advanced
in countries such as Sweden and Denmark. The exit from the EMU not
only will not isolate our country, but, on the contrary, will allow it
to acquire a new role on the international scene. A role based on
independence and dignity, very different from the position of an
insignificant pariah as dictated by the neoliberal policies of the
memoranda.

The process of an exit from the EMU requires of course political
legitimacy and active popular support. The referendum demonstrated the
will of the people to reject once and for all austerity regardless of
the challenges raised by the foreign and the domestic establishment.

It is now clear

Re: [Marxism] Facing bad choices, in or out of the euro, Greece needs our solidarity

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On Jul 10, 2015, at 4:35 AM, ioannis aposperites via Marxism 
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:

 …Tsipras was clear from the beginning: His government was declared to be a 
 national salvation government. The promises to the proletariat were supposed 
 to be the outcome of a fair class collaboration and were conditioned by that 
 collaboration as long as the bourgeoisie had to be also satisfied. You like 
 it or not, that was Tsipras' game. Of course the greek working class and its 
 other political forces were and are playing a variety of different games, but 
 that does not regard Tsipras' intentions.  Conclusion: speaking of treachery 
 is not even technically correct.

The word treachery is sometimes bandied about too loosely, but let’s not bend 
the stick back too far in this case. Tsipras was not “clear from the beginning” 
that his intention, and that of his government, was to implement the most 
punitive of a succession of austerity packages forced on the battered Greek 
masses over the past five years. Exactly the opposite, of course. The stated 
intention of the Thessaloniki program was precisely to put an end to the 
austerity packages and the country’s debt peonage and to use the state to 
launch a program of public works and other measures to promote an economic 
recovery. The program was Keynesian in essence, and it is from that standpoint, 
not that of revolutionary socialism, that Tsipras’ government wholly abandoned 
the party program and the tens of millions who rallied behind it. 

Tactical retreats and compromises which fall short of the full realization of a 
party program are often necessary and inevitable given adverse economic 
circumstances and the political correlation of forces. Calling on your troops 
to lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally to the enemy the day after 
they have won a resounding victory and their confidence and readiness for 
further combat in pursuit of their objective has been greatly strengthened (as 
well as that of their allies abroad) is a qualitatively different matter. 

Finally, the Tsipras government was not a “national salvation” or unity 
government, as the term is commonly understood. Syriza formed a coalition 
government with the smaller right wing ANEL party which was also opposed to the 
austerity program imposed on Greece. The two established parties, ND and PASOK, 
and a new centre party, To Potami, were all outside the government and were 
consistently critical of its declared intention to repudiate the debt and 
resistance to so-called “structural reforms”. It was only earlier this week 
that the Syriza leadership reached out to the discredited leaders of the 
opposition parties to issue a joint statement in favour of an agreement with 
the troika on the latter’s terms, precisely those which a strong majority of 
Greeks had rejected by referendum a day earlier.
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[Marxism] Fwd: Facing bad choices, in or out of the euro, Greece needs our solidarity