[Marxism] Stop the Turkish invasion of South Kurdistan [northern Iraq] (ANF)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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KNK:  Stop the Turkish invasion of South Kurdistan:

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/knk-stop-the-turkish-invasion-of-south-kurdistan-35443

Karayilan:  The response of the guerrilla will be harsh:

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/karayilan-the-response-of-the-guerrilla-will-be-harsh-35447

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[Marxism] A general strike in Argentina paralyses the country (ANF)

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/a-general-strike-in-argentina-paralyses-the-country-35337


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[Marxism] Turkey: Leyla Guven ends hunger strike (Green Left Weekly)

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/turkey-leyla-guven-ends-hunger-strike

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[Marxism] HDP: Stop the illegal [Turkish] military operation in South Kurdistan (ANF)

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/hdp-stop-the-illegal-miltary-operation-in-south-kurdistan-35308


(South Kurdistan = northern Iraq)

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[Marxism] AKP turning Kurdish region into a land of prisons (ANF)

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/akp-turning-kurdish-region-into-a-land-of-prisons-35307




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[Marxism] Eyewitness report: Venezuela up close (Portside)

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https://portside.org/2019-05-16/eyewitness-report-venezuela-close



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[Marxism] Activists interrupt Rheinmetall meeting in Berlin (ANF)

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/activists-interrupt-rheinmetall-meeting-in-berlin-35278

Rheinmetall produces the tanks which have been used in the war against Afrin.

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[Marxism] Guillaume Long on Ecuadorian President Moreno’s betrayal of Assange and the Citizens Revolution (Counterpunch)

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https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/27/guillaume-long-on-ecuadorian-president-morenos-betrayal-of-assange-and-the-citizens-revolution/


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[Marxism] Australia: Solid result for Victorian Socialists in first federal election campaign

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Solid result for Victorian Socialists in first federal election campaign (by 
Corey Oakley):

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/solid-result-victorian-socialists-first-federal-election-campaign


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[Marxism] Australian elections - two articles (Green Left Weekly)

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Class politics is not dead when billionaires can buy seats (Pip Hinman)

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/class-politics-not-dead-when-billionaires-can-buy-seats


Labor is not radical enough (Sam Wainwright)

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/labor-not-radical-enough


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Re: [Marxism] Australia: luck running out? | Michael Roberts Blog

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The Labor Party was in some respects (not all) a lesser evil than the Coalition.

For example, Labor promised to increase the unemployment benefit, which had 
been kept at a poverty level for decades.

However Labor refused to commit itself to a specific amount, saying this would 
be determined by an enquiry.  This would have meant unnecessary delay.  Still, 
it would have eventually resulted in an increase.

On many issues Labor agrees with the Coalition - for example, continuing the 
detention of refugees on islands in the Pacific (Manus and Nauru), and 
continuing the policy of turning back refugee boats.

However Labor did promise to restore the meagre financial support given to 
asylum seekers currently living in the Australian community, which had been cut 
off by the Coalition government.

On some issues Labor failed to take a clear position (for example, on the 
proposed Adani coal mine).

But there were enough issues on which Labor had a somewhat better position than 
the government that we could say it was a lesser evil.

After the defeat one Labor politician has said the party lost because it was 
too left-wing.  I would not be surprised if the Labor Party moves even further 
to the right.

Chris Slee


From: Marxism  on behalf of John Edmundson 
via Marxism 
Sent: Sunday, 19 May 2019 8:27:02 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Australia: luck running out? | Michael Roberts Blog

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A comment about Union independence from Labor aside, this GLW article still
seems to see a Labor win as a positive thing . . .

Cheers,
John

On Sun, May 19, 2019 at 6:49 PM Chris Slee via Marxism <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

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>
> Michael Roberts notes that opinion polls were predicting a Labor Party
> victory in the election.  But this did not happen - the Liberal-National
> Coalition has won.  (There are still some undecided seats, but these will
> not enable a Labor victory.  At best they might force the Coalition
> government into reaching an agreement with some right-wing independents).
>
> One factor affecting the result was a huge media campaign by Clive Palmer,
> a wealthy businessman who spent an estimated $60 million on advertisements
> attacking Labor.  This amount is roughly equal to the combined spending of
> Labor and the Coalition.
>
> On a more positive note, the Victorian Socialists - a coalition of left
> groups and individuals  in the state of Victoria - averaged about 5 percent
> in the 3 electorates it contested, which is much larger than other election
> results for left groups in federal elections in recent years.
>
> Here is an article about the election result by Jim McIlroy in Green Left
> Weekly:
>
> https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/coalition-win-makes-fightback-urgent
>
> Chris Slee
>
>
>
> 
> From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis
> Proyect via Marxism 
> Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2019 10:03 PM
> To: Chris Slee
> Subject: [Marxism] Australia: luck running out? | Michael Roberts Blog
>
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>
> Australia may be a ‘lucky country’ but luck can change.  The economy
> relies on raw material exports and so is vulnerable to any plunge in
> commodity prices and if China were to slow down or the trade war with
> the US really spike, then Australia is vulnerable.  The OECD put it this
> way “a negative external shock cold prompt a sharp cut to incomes, a
> rise in unemployment and downturn in consumption.  This would increase
> mo

Re: [Marxism] Australia: luck running out? | Michael Roberts Blog

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Michael Roberts notes that opinion polls were predicting a Labor Party victory 
in the election.  But this did not happen - the Liberal-National Coalition has 
won.  (There are still some undecided seats, but these will not enable a Labor 
victory.  At best they might force the Coalition government into reaching an 
agreement with some right-wing independents).

One factor affecting the result was a huge media campaign by Clive Palmer, a 
wealthy businessman who spent an estimated $60 million on advertisements 
attacking Labor.  This amount is roughly equal to the combined spending of 
Labor and the Coalition.

On a more positive note, the Victorian Socialists - a coalition of left groups 
and individuals  in the state of Victoria - averaged about 5 percent in the 3 
electorates it contested, which is much larger than other election results for 
left groups in federal elections in recent years.

Here is an article about the election result by Jim McIlroy in Green Left 
Weekly:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/coalition-win-makes-fightback-urgent

Chris Slee




From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2019 10:03 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Australia: luck running out? | Michael Roberts Blog

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Australia may be a ‘lucky country’ but luck can change.  The economy
relies on raw material exports and so is vulnerable to any plunge in
commodity prices and if China were to slow down or the trade war with
the US really spike, then Australia is vulnerable.  The OECD put it this
way “a negative external shock cold prompt a sharp cut to incomes, a
rise in unemployment and downturn in consumption.  This would increase
mortgage stress and further escalate a fall in house prices.  A currency
depreciation would also be likely.”

https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/australia-luck-running-out/
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[Marxism] different views on veganism and meat eating (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Two recent articles with different views:

  1.
Vegan Rising: 'Our target is the system, not farmers'

Kristin Leigh, interviewed by Mary Merkenich:
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/vegan-rising-our-target-system-not-farmers

2. On guardianship of the biosphere
by Elena Garcia:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/guardianship-biosphere

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[Marxism] Support needed for prison reform activist Jock Palfreeman on hunger strike in Bulgaria (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/support-needed-prison-reform-activist-jock-palfreeman-hunger-strike

Jock Palfreeman, an Australian serving a 20-year jail sentence in Bulgaria on 
trumped-up murder charges, has been on a hunger strike since April 21.

Palfreeman was imprisoned in 2009 after challenging up to 16 neo-Nazis who were 
attacking two young Roma boys in Sofia. Since then, he has dedicated his time 
to successfully reforming conditions for all 
prisoners
 — with success.

Palfreeman was instrumental in the formation of the Bulgarian Prisoners’ Rights 
Association (BPRA) which, over 7 years, has improved conditions for prisoners, 
including reducing beatings, torture, horrendous cell conditions and the use of 
isolation as punishment.

This helps explain why he is a target of prison authorities.

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[Marxism] Venezuela’s crisis: A view from the communes (Green Left Weekly)

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-crisis-view-communes



“So what exists is a love-hate relationship between the government and the 
commune.

“Even with all its weaknesses and failures, it's our state, it's our 
government. At the same time, we have a relationship in which we have to 
struggle. We're not going to deny that.

“There are things that don’t get to us that we need to produce food, at a time 
when we are importing almost all the food we need. But instead of helping, the 
state puts up all these bureaucratic hurdles, when all we're trying to do is to 
guarantee that people have food and deal with the situation of children with 
malnutrition.

“We are clear, however, that only with this government can we do what we are 
doing with the communes. In another government, we would not have this 
possibility, much less with the type of right-wing government Guaido wants to 
install with his coup.”

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[Marxism] Fw: Sri Lanka: bombings pretext for intensified repression (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/sri-lanka-bombings-pretext-intensified-repression

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Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something fundamentally new

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann asks:  "Is Russian imperialism operating on a different wavelength 
from US imperialism?"

My answer is "no".  Russia and the US are two rival imperialist powers, which 
sometimes cooperate and sometimes come into conflict.

Venezuela is a case where they have come into conflict.  Hence Putin has sent a 
small military contingent to help deter a possible US invasion.  It is far too 
small to prevent a full scale US invasion of Venezuela.  It is a symbolic 
gesture, indicating that Russia will assist the Venezuelan armed forces in 
resisting a possible invasion.

Similarly the US is planning (unless Trump changes his mind again) to keep a 
small presence in northeastern Syria to deter a possible Turkish invasion 
and/or an Assadist invasion.

John says: "Putin is looking out for the interests of the Russian capitalists". 
 I agree.

Similarly Trump, when he intensified the sanctions against Venezuela, was 
acting in the interests of the US capitalist class, which wants to overthrow 
the Venezuelan government.  Trump acted in the tradition of US imperialism, 
which regards Latin America as its "backyard".

Why do imperialist powers sometimes support progressive governments or 
movements?  Why does Russia support Venezuela, and why does the US support 
Northeast Syria?

Sometimes inter-imperialist rivalry leads to such surprising occurrences.  
During the second world war the US and Britain supported Communist-led 
resistance movements against German and Japanese imperialism.

While both Putin and Trump act in the interests of their respective ruling 
classes, there are some differences.  Putin is firmly in control of Russia, 
whereas Trump faces a lot of opposition.  A large part of the ruling class is 
hostile to him.

But this does not mean Trump is a servant of Putin.  It just means the US 
ruling class is divided.

Chris Slee




From: John Reimann <1999wild...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, 10 May 2019 2:08:27 AM
To: Chris Slee
Cc: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something 
fundamentally new

I was going to bow out of this discussion since I felt I had nothing further to 
add. But "Russia sending aid"? Really? Does anybody really think that that 
reactionary capitalist government, whose head of state is little but the capo 
di tutti capo is sending "aid" to Venezuela when he sends in his troops and 
fighter jets? Is Russian imperialism operating on a different wavelength from 
US imperialism? Putin is looking out for the interests of the Russian 
capitalists. Period.

Of course, the article was on far more than just Venezuela, as I've pointed out 
before, and in fact Venezuela is not the only issue that exists on the planet. 
But that's another question.

John Reimann


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Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something fundamentally new

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Trump may have changed his rhetoric (no longer talking about invading 
Venezuela), but he has not changed his actual policy (economic blockade).

I suspect the change of rhetoric was mainly due to the failure of Guaido's 
latest coup attempt.  Only a handful of soldiers responded to Guaido's call.

If the Venezuelan army remains united, a US invasion would be very costly.  The 
US has been hoping for a split in the army, in which case US forces might 
intervene in support of the anti-Maduro section.

In the absence of such a split, I think a full scale invasion is unlikely.  
(Raids across the border are possible)

Trump is continuing the blockade in the hope that a continuing and deepening 
economic crisis in Venezuela will eventually lead to a split in the army.  
Activists in the United States and its allies should be campaigning vigorously 
to end the blockade.

I don't think Trump's comments welcoming a Russian role in Venezuela are very 
significant.  Short of shooting down Russian planes flying to Venezuela, the US 
can't stop Russia from sending aid, so it doesn't matter what Trump says about 
it.

Chris








From: John Reimann <1999wild...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, 9 May 2019 10:06 AM
To: Chris Slee
Cc: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something 
fundamentally new

Chris, please quote me accurately, meaning in context. I did not say that 
Trump's blockade is irrelevant; I said that what you raise is irrelevant to my 
main point. In relation to the blockade, my main point was how Trump completely 
changed the tune of his administration (as communicated by Bolton and Pompeo) 
immediately after talking with Putin. THAT was the point.

In any case, there really is a lot more to Trump's foreign policy than 
Venezuela, as I demonstrated in my article.

John Reimann

On Wed, May 8, 2019 at 3:19 PM Chris Slee 
mailto:chris_w_s...@hotmail.com>> wrote:
John Reimann says that Trump's economic blockade against Venezuela is 
"irrelevant" in judging whose interests Trump serves.

I think the blockade has been imposed in the interests of the US ruling class, 
which does not want to see left wing governments in Latin America that 
challenge the economic interests of US corporations.

If John thinks that Trump follows instructions from Putin, he has to explain 
why it is in Putin's interest for Venezuela to be blockaded by the United 
States and its allies.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism 
mailto:marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu>>
 on behalf of John Reimann via Marxism 
mailto:marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>>
Sent: Wednesday, 8 May 2019 10:46:06 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something 
fundamentally new

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To be blunt, the responses of Chris Slee and Richard Fidler to this article
are perfect examples of exactly what I was raising: The failure of
socialists to absorb what is happening in US politics. The failure to
consider that the way capitalism has ruled in the US ever since the Civil
War is undergoing a basic shift. (Disclaimer: Please note that I'm not
saying it's all the way there, but just the fact that we've gone this far
is huge.)

Venezuela is only one small part of this issue. And in any case, what Chris
Slee raises concerning Trump's Venezuela policy is really irrelevant to the
main point I was making.

Marxists, above all others, are supposed to be looking at the big picture.

John Reimann

--
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
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Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something fundamentally new

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann says that Trump's economic blockade against Venezuela is 
"irrelevant" in judging whose interests Trump serves.

I think the blockade has been imposed in the interests of the US ruling class, 
which does not want to see left wing governments in Latin America that 
challenge the economic interests of US corporations.

If John thinks that Trump follows instructions from Putin, he has to explain 
why it is in Putin's interest for Venezuela to be blockaded by the United 
States and its allies.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 8 May 2019 10:46:06 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something 
fundamentally new

  POSTING RULES & NOTES  
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To be blunt, the responses of Chris Slee and Richard Fidler to this article
are perfect examples of exactly what I was raising: The failure of
socialists to absorb what is happening in US politics. The failure to
consider that the way capitalism has ruled in the US ever since the Civil
War is undergoing a basic shift. (Disclaimer: Please note that I'm not
saying it's all the way there, but just the fact that we've gone this far
is huge.)

Venezuela is only one small part of this issue. And in any case, what Chris
Slee raises concerning Trump's Venezuela policy is really irrelevant to the
main point I was making.

Marxists, above all others, are supposed to be looking at the big picture.

John Reimann

--
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
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Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something fundamentally new

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Trump has backed off from threats to invade Venezuela, but as far as I am aware 
there has been no change to the economic sanctions - which are an attempt to 
impose an economic blockade against Venezuela.

The threat of invasion was, I think, psychological warfare rather than an 
imminent threat.  An invasion may happen later, after Venezuela has been 
weakened further by the blockade.

It disturbs me that the US left does not seem to be campaigning vigorously 
against the blockade (as far as I can tell observing from afar).

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 8 May 2019 2:41:06 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something 
fundamentally new

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A week ago, we had a short debate here on the significance of Trump's
defending the Russian presence in Venezuela. That defense came after Pompeo
and Bolton had rattled their sabres on that score and it also came an hour
or so after Trump had spoken with Putin. My view was that it was yet
another example of the degree to which Putin is pulling Trump's strings.
Another way of seeing it is that it's an example of how the mainstream of
the US capitalist class has largely lost control over its presidency. This,
of course, is a description of bonapartism, and while we're not all the way
there yet, I believe that's the essence of the issue. This, of course,
means a sharp transformation in how capitalism rules in the United States -
possibly the biggest political transformation since the US Civil War.

I also believe that the great majority of the left - including Marxists -
are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this transformation.
It's not easy to change our orientation, after all. In this article, I lay
out the argument and also the evidence for my view.

https://oaklandsocialist.com/2019/05/06/trump-and-the-reluctance-to-reckon-with-something-fundamentally-new/

One detail: I quote an email from Michael Karadjis in the article. I do so
with his permission.

John Reimann

--
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
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Re: [Marxism] Putin, Trump and Pompeo

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Putin may have pointed out to Trump that Guaido's attempts to win over the army 
have been unsuccessful.  Hence any US invasion of Venez.uela would meet strong 
resistance.  Hence Trump may have decided it is not a good idea.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Saturday, 4 May 2019 9:39:42 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Putin, Trump and Pompeo

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On Wednesday, Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatens US invasion of
Venezuela. On Friday, Trump has a private phone conversation with Putin and
basically then reverses Pompeo's threat. What is happening here?
https://oaklandsocialist.com/2019/05/04/putin-trump-and-pompeo/

--
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Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
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[Marxism] Fw: Sri Lanka: behind the Easter Sunday bombings (Green Left Weekly)

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/sri-lanka-behind-easter-sunday-bombings


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[Marxism] Steve Ellner on the Latin American left's setbacks (Links)

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http://links.org.au/venezuela-setbacks-latin-american-left

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[Marxism] Voter suppression not Russia is the gravest threat to elections in the US (Jesse Jackson)

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https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/02/voter-suppression-not-russia-is-the-gravest-threat-to-elections-in-the-us

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Re: [Marxism] The Mueller Report: Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay Johnston on Trump-Russia Ties, Obstruction & More

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

gt;US intervention against ISIS began – the two superpowers have cooperated 
>closely in Syria. Sure there have been bumps in the road, but overwhelmingly 
>their agreement to share the Syrian sky as both bomb Syria – in many cases, 
>bombing the same targets even at the same time - has been almost a model of 
>cooperation. Is this due to US weakness, or to Trump being a money-launderer 
>for Russian oligarchs? I my opinion, no, it is due to US imperialism looking 
>after its interests. Just to be clear, John may well be right that Trump is 
>also a money-launderer for Russian oligarchs, but I think that is of minor 
>significance to the rest of the US ruling class.

Who has the upper hand in Syria in this cooperation? Many would say Russia 
does, with the US showing its “weakness” or “retreat” etc. This is 
extraordinary nonsense. The US war against ISIS (and often against Nusra/HTS 
and sometimes other Islamist or even mainstream rebels) has cost countless 
billions of dollars, has destroyed entire cities, has killed thousands of 
people, all with full intelligence collaboration with Russia and the Assad 
regime. It is not a small war. Russia is waging a much bigger and far more 
murderous war in Syria on behalf of the tyrant, because the US (and even more, 
Israel) is fine with that happening, in fact, I would argue, Russia is doing 
the dirty work for imperialism, like a sub-imperialist power, happy to cop all 
the bad name for doing so, while western imperialists can pretend to be upset 
about “excesses” and the like.

Look what happens when Russia does try to push things a little – when Assad’s 
forces, who the US never bombs, attacked the US’ SDF allies in eastern Deir 
Ezzor a year ago, backed by Russian mercenaries, the US counter-attacked and 
killed around 200 Russian mercenaries. Putin’s response? Who? What? Like, what 
was Russia going to do? Issue a statement? Russian “power” in Syria compared to 
US power is zip. If the US had wanted Assad and Russia to stop bombing every 
Syrian city into oblivion, it would have happened overnight, with no “World War 
III” laughable nonsense.

John is correct that Trump’s withdrawal tweet was aimed at aiding the Russian 
position in Syria. Chris says this is wrong because it was aimed at aiding 
Turkey. But as Chris himself notes, Turkey is now allied to Russia, so there is 
no necessary contradiction. There would be to the extent that Assad objected to 
Turkey doing his job of crushing the SDF. But Russia very much holds the cards 
regarding both Erdogan and Assad; if Russia only agrees to Turkey doing some 
minor cross-border thing near the border, and for Assad to gobble up the rest, 
then that’s what will happen. The US will be fine with both, but I think the 
popular idea that Trump, in a simple tweet, really thought he was giving a 
green-light to Turkey invading the whole SDF-controlled east of Syria, not just 
Manbij but also Raqqa and even way down to Deir-Ezzor, is entirely fanciful. If 
he was thinking anything at all, it was probably just to pull Erdogan’s leg. 
Trump’s Saudi, UAE and Egyptian allies are very anti-Erdogan and they have been 
dangling the idea of an “Arab contingent” (from them) entering the region as a 
peace-keeping force.

Of course saner heads in the US administration prevailed, because immediate 
withdrawal would indeed by destabilising, and the US would lose all credibility 
if its (inevitable) abandonment of the SDF occurred so precipitously, based on 
a momentary tweet. But imperialist policy is not made by tweets and not carried 
out “immediately”; nevertheless, US policy does aim towards withdrawal from 
Syria and leaving it safely within the Russian zone, more likely with Assad in 
greater control over the east than some wild Turkish invasion idea; I think the 
deal to be done is to pressure Assad (as Israel, Saudis, UAE are doing) to 
remove the Iranian forces and rely entirely on Russia, and for the moment, the 
US sees the SDF as a useful bargaining chip towards such a “Kurds for Iran” 
deal.

On Tue, Apr 23, 2019 at 11:08 AM Chris Slee via Marxism 
mailto:marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>> wrote:

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[Marxism] Fw: Who is behind the Sri Lanka bombinsg? (Morning Star)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/who-is-behind-the-sri-lanka-bombings




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Re: [Marxism] The Mueller Report: Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay Johnston on Trump-Russia Ties, Obstruction & More

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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It is true that Trump has had a "decades-long relationship with Russian 
financiers".  But I think John Reimann exaggerates the significance of this in 
determining Trump's foreign policy as president.

Certainly Trump tried to improve relations with Russia early in his presidency. 
 You could attribute this to his links with Russian mafia capital.  But you 
could also say that it made sense for US imperialism to reach an agreement with 
Russian imperialism, its most militarily powerful rival, to minimise conflict, 
agree on spheres of influence, etc.

John is wrong in his interpretation of the dispute over US troops in Syria.  He 
says: "That planned withdrawal [of US troops from Syria] can only be seen as a 
step towards strengthening the position of Russia and its ally in the region - 
Turkey". 

On the contrary, Trump's aim was to re-establish the close collaboration which 
had existed between the US and Turkey, but which had broken down after the US 
began supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS.

Turkey is very hostile to the SDF and the Kurdish-led revolutionary movement in 
northern Syria.  Turkey had supported various reactionary armed groups, 
including ISIS, against the YPG/YPJ and SDF.

When the US began supporting the SDF, Erdogan began to seek a deal wth Russia.  
This deal involved Turkey abandoning the goal of overthrowing Assad, in return 
for Russia allowing Turkey to invade parts of Syria to attack the SDF.

Russia, which controlled the airspace over Afrin (a predominantly Kurdish area 
of northern Syria, which was controlled by the SDF but geographically separate 
from the main SDF-controlled area in northeastern Syria), gave Turkey 
permission to invade.

Erdogan has spoken of his intention to invade northeastern Syria.  But the 
presence of US forces in that area, helping the SDF to fight ISIS, was an 
obstacle.

Trump, by ending US support for the SDF, wanted to rebuild relations with 
Turkey and win it away from its increasingly close liinks with Russia.  But 
other sections of the US ruling class were worried about the consequences of 
giving Turkey the green light to invade northeastern Syria.

Such an invasion would disrupt the fight against ISIS, perhaps enabling it to 
grow in strength, not only in Syria but also in Iraq, where it remains very 
active.

The invasion could have other unpredictable effects.  For example, a Turkish 
occupation of northeastern Syria would be strongly resisted, resulting in 
economic costs and casualties that could cause discontent and perhaps a 
revolutionary upsurge in Turkey.

Thus Trump was forced to back down on his withdrawal plan.  But this had 
nothing to do with Trump's supposed support for Russia.

Chris Slee



From: John Reimann <1999wild...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 23 April 2019 2:21:24 AM
To: Chris Slee
Cc: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
Subject: Re: [Marxism] The Mueller Report: Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay 
Johnston on Trump-Russia Ties, Obstruction & More

I am unsure exactly what Chris Slee is saying. Is he saying that Trump is not 
seriously compromised as far as his (Trump's) ties with Putin and the Russian 
mafia capitalist class? Is he saying that Trump's actions are not in large 
measure guided by his links? Because if so, then Chris has really missed what 
is happening here. To review:

Trump has had a decades-long relationship with Russian financiers, whose money 
he has laundered through is real estate interests. In fact, even prior to that, 
there is evidence that he had made contact with the KGB when he visited 
Czechoslovakia with his first wife, who was from there. (See "House of Trump, 
House of Putin" for the full story on that.) His first act as Republican 
nominee - in fact, before he even was the official nominee - was to send an 
emmissary to the Republican platform committee to eliminate a call for 
sanctions against Russia. (We should keep in mind that the economic sanctions 
against Russia have been an important issue for Putin for quite some time.)

During the election campaign and after, Trump continually caused shock waves 
with his verbal attacks on NATO. Then he had the series of private meetings 
with Putin. After one of these, he publicly took Putin's side against his own 
intelligence agencies. Then there was the planned removal of all US troops from 
Syria. It's true that he has evidently backed down, but this was seen as a huge 
shock at the time - serious enough to cause the resignation of several of his 
top appointees. That planned withdrawal can only be seen as a step towards 
strengthening the position of Russia and its 

Re: [Marxism] The Mueller Report: Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay Johnston on Trump-Russia Ties, Obstruction & More

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann claims that "...the President of the United States is seriously 
beholden to a rival capitalist class" (i.e  the Russian capitalist class).

I see no evidence that Trump is acting in the interests of Russia.  He acts in 
the interests of United States imperialism.

For example, he has imposed a severe economic blockade on Venezuela, organised 
a coup attempt, and threatened to invade.  This is typical behaviour for US 
imperialism in Latin America.

But Russia and China are beginning to challenge US dominance in Latin America, 
as elsewhere.  When the Venezuelan government asked for Russian military aid to 
deter a possible US invasion, Russia sent a small military contingent.  Thus 
there is growing antagonism between US and Russian imperialism in Latin America.

Trump's ideas on what is in the interests of US imperialism sometimes differ 
from those of foreign policy "experts".  His stated intention to quickly 
withdraw US troops from northeastern Syria was opposed by some of his advisors, 
and eventually changed into a gradual withdrawal.

But Trump's original plan was not totally irrational from the viewpoint of US 
imperialism.  It would have pleased Erdogan, who wanted to invade northeastern 
Syria and crush the revolution there.  It would thus have improved US-Turkish 
relations, at least in the short term.

But the foreign policy experts were worried about some of the other effects of 
giving a green light to a Turkish invasion of northeast Syria.  It would have 
disrupted the fight against ISIS.  It might also, in the longer term, have 
destabilised Turkey, due to economic cost of the occupation and the casualties 
inflicted by the resistance.

Certainly Trump is erratic, and a less than ideal leader for US imperialism, 
but that does not mean he is a servant of Putin.

Chris Slee



From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Sunday, 21 April 2019 7:07:01 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] The Mueller Report: Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay 
Johnston on Trump-Russia Ties, Obstruction & More

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Ralph Johnson, apparently approvingly, quotes Glenn Greenwald: "I think
Donald Trump is a huge danger and
menace to the republic for a lot of reasons that David is very adeptly
covering, and I really hope that we can now turn our attention to those
things, now that we?re done with this espionage thriller that has
dominated us for three years. I hope we can focus on the things that
matter."

Like so much of the left as well as the alt-left, Greenwald completely
misses the point, which is that the President of the United States is
seriously beholden to a rival capitalist class. This is not a matter of
patriotism nor defense of "national interests"; it's a question of
understanding the political crisis of US capitalism, something which
Greenwald is incapable of doing.

That's because he is nothing but a somewhat more subtle version of Max
Blumenthal/Ben Norton. He openly advocates a red-brown alliance, having
equated the Occupy movement with the Tea Party as both being
"anti-establishment" and concluded "I think that left and right as we
understood them for the last four decades are starting to morph into
pro-establishment and anti-establishment dynamics and that will only
continue."

Greenwald supports the Assadist Tulsi Gabbard, and is a collaborator with
the far right Tucker Carlson.

Basically, Greenwald is like so much of the left that sees any opponent of
US imperialism as an ally, which is why he in effect defends Putin & Co. So
I think his views on the Mueller Report have to be considered in this
light. That there was collaboration, or attempted collaboration, between
the Trump campaign and the Putin regime is really beyond doubt. What was
the meeting at Trump Tower all about? What were the frequent contacts
between Trump staffers and Russian representatives about?

And the story goes back decades - to the fact that it was the Russian mafia
capitalist class that provided much of Trump's financing for decades. Even
Don jr. said this. And THAT is the real scandal of the Mueller
"investigation" - that they never tried to lift the lid on that can of
worms.

But Greenwald? His views should not be taken seriously.

John Reimann
--
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. 

Re: [Marxism] Libya: Defend Tripoli! Defeat Haftar!

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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In 2011 the anti-Gaddafi rebels in Libya received support from NATO and Qatar, 
in the form of NATO aerial bombardment of Gaddafi's troops, NATO and Qatari 
special forces accompanying rebel fighters, etc.  RKOB downplays the 
significance of this.

But when the Syrian Democratic Forces receive similar aid in their fight 
against ISIS, Michael Probsting denounces them as "the infantry of the Western 
Great Powers in Syria".

The SDF took advantage of the US government's panic after ISIS captured Mosul 
in 2014.  An agreement was reached to cooperate in the fight against the common 
enemy.  The SDF also got US assistance in deterring a Turkish invasion of 
northeastern Syria, which would have diverted the SDF away from the fight 
against ISIS (though the US did nothing to stop the Turkish invasion of Afrin).

It is common for militarily weak movements and governments to seek the 
assistance of stronger powers.  Often this means taking advantage of 
inter-imperialist rivalries.  For example, Venezuela has received some aid from 
Russia to deter a possible US invasion.

This certainly has dangers.  The receipt of aid from imperialist powers can 
have a corrupting effect on progressive governments and movements.  But I don't 
think we should assume that this is inevitable.

In Libya, a section of the rebel leadership was always anti-democratic - for 
example, promoting anti-black racism.  See my 2014 article "Libya's continuing 
struggle for democracy":

http://links.org.au/node/3659

This contrasts with the efforts in northeast Syria to unite people across 
ethnic and religious lines.

Chris Slee


From: Marxism  on behalf of RKOB via 
Marxism 
Sent: Saturday, 13 April 2019 1:56:28 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Libya: Defend Tripoli! Defeat Haftar!

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Well, it should not be so difficult to recognize the difference:

In Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. imperialism was able to occupy the whole
country and to install a colonial puppet regime. They controlled most of
the country for years. Yes, there were local uprisings which temporary
weakened the control in this or that town/area (e.g. Fallujah 2004 for a
few months). But by and large the U.S. forces with tens of thousands of
troops plus their colonial administration dominated the country for a
number of years. Only after a considerable period their rule weakened
because of the popular insurgency and they had to retreat.

In Libya there were no U.S. or other NATO troops on the ground (except a
few special forces which had to stay there in secret). The imperialists
did not control the country at any point. Guess why they had to close
their embassies soon?!

It is really difficult to comprehend why it is so difficult for some to
understand such simple facts!

But, of course, some don't want to recognize these facts because their
are politically blinded. The basis for this blindness is to be found in
the increasing collaboration between Saudi Arabia & UAE (which finance
and support Haftar) and the YPG (see on this e.g.
https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/the-shameful-response-of-the-kurdish-ypg-on-the-killing-of-the-saudi-journalist-kashoggi/).
These Gulf monarchies always hated the Arab Revolution (this is why
Tunisia's Ben Ali - who received strong support by Gaddafi before his
fall - fled to Saudi Arabia in January 2011 with the country's gold
reserves). The YPG also never supported the Arab Revolution and is
currently looking for an agreement with the Assad dictatorship (see on
this e.g.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/01/egypt-mediate-kurds-syria-regime-manbij.html;
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/isis-will-be-defeated-in-a-month-says-syrian-kurdish-militia-leader-1.817941;
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-ypg-exclusive/exclusive-syrian-kurdish-ypg-expects-negotiations-with-damascus-soon-idUSKCN1PI2LO).
And it is the darling of numerous Stalinist and also some "Trotskyists"
who also viewed the Arab Revolution sceptical or even hostile. This was
expressed by their hostility to the Libyan Revolution, to Assad as well
as their support for the bloody military coup of General Sisi in Egypt.
(On the Egypt coup and the left see the following pamphlet e.g.
https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/egypt-and-left-army-socialism/)

[Marxism] Indian elections: the challenges of unseating a racist (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/indian-elections-challenges-unseating-racist


Elections in India will take place from April 11 to May 23. Green Left Weekly’s 
Susan Price spoke to Kavita Krishnan, a member of the politburo of the 
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI-ML) about their 
campaign to challenge Narendra Modi’s far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 
government.

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[Marxism] Who are Venezuela’s colectivos? (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/who-are-venezuela%E2%80%99s-colectivos


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Re: [Marxism] Libya: Defend Tripoli! Defeat Haftar!

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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RKOB asks:

"Well, if NATO's role was so decisive for the overthrow of Gaddafi (which
is the usual claim of Stalinists and friends of Assad and Putin), why
did it not imposs its control of the country after 2011?!"

The US and its allies have had great difficulty in controlling Afghanistan and 
Iraq too.  Libya is not qualitatively different.

A large part of Afghanistan is under Taliban control.  

In Iraq it proved very difficult to establish a stable pro-US regime, due in 
part to popular hostility to the occupation, but also due to conflicts within 
the Iraqi political elite, and the influence of Iran amongst Iraqi Shia 
politicians and militia leaders.  The Iraqi state was so so weak that in 2014 
ISIS was able to capture a large part of the country, including Mosul.

Overthrowing the former governments (Taliban, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi) was the 
easy part.  Building a stable new government was much harder.  This applies to 
Libya as well as Afghanistan and Iraq.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of RKOB via 
Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 10 April 2019 9:06:19 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Libya: Defend Tripoli! Defeat Haftar!

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Well, if NATO's role was so decisive for the overthrow of Gaddafi (which
is the usual claim of Stalinists and friends of Assad and Putin), why
did it not imposs its control of the country after 2011?! Quiet the
opposite, the Western embassies had to withdraw from Libya in the
following years.

For everyone with open eyes, it should not be so difficult to recognize
the difference between Libya 2011 and for example Afghanistan 2001 or
Iraq 2003.

Am 10.04.2019 um 03:54 schrieb DW via Marxism:
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>
> I found this article to be in a state of total denial about the role of
> NATO in overthrowing the dictatorship. As if they played no role at all!
> Wow. What BS. It's highly likely that the original Benghazi rebellion would
> of been wiped out had it not been for French/NATO bombardment and
> destruction of Qaddafi's armor division. NATO also played an essential role
> in providing intelligence to the troops closing in on Qaddafi's convoy out
> of Tripoli and also, as it happens, destroyed most of that convoy. I'm
> don't believe that this was a question of no agency by the Libyan masses
> but to deny the role of NATO is to deny reality.
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Re: [Marxism] Libya in the grip of the militias

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Here is an article I wrote in 2014:

Libya's continuing struggle for democracy:

http://links.org.au/node/3659

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of Philip 
Ferguson via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 10 April 2019 1:19:13 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Libya in the grip of the militias

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While Gaddafi was bad news, what came after i\s a whole new nightmare:

In October 2011 the corrupt and repressive regime of Muammar Gaddafi was
overthrown in Libya by a set of rebel forces backed by NATO.  Very quickly
the country descended into chaos, broken up into a series of areas run by
rival warlords and their militias.  The Libyan people have paid a high
price for their ‘liberation’.  The following article was written a year
later, in October 2012, and explains what happened and why.  The article
has certainly been confirmed by events since.

After NATO, another key imperialist institution, the United Nations, began
playing a central role in the ongoing chaos.  Now a new peace deal is
supposed to unite the country behind a single parliament – two parliaments
emerged after the overthrow of Gaddafi – and a government has been
appointed.  The prospects of peace, let alone peace and prosperity, seem
very limited however.  Once again Western intervention has wreaked havoc.

Article at:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/libya-after-gaddafi-the-rule-of-the-militias/
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[Marxism] After Mueller: Trump's presidency is product of US capitalism

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/after-mueller-trump%E2%80%99s-presidency-product-us-capitalism


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Re: [Marxism] Protest in Miraflores

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Large scale emigration from Cuba resulted from a combination of factors.

The US economic blockade caused economic hardship.  The threat of a US invasion 
created a siege mentality, in which dissent was looked upon with suspicion.

The isolation of the revolution in a backward country favoured tendencies 
towards bureaucratisation (though Cuba did not undergo a complete bureaucratic 
degeneration).

The alliance with the Soviet Uniion was a mixed blessing.  On the one hand, it 
was essential for Cuba's economic and military survival.  On the other hand, 
Soviet influence promoted tendencies towards bureaucratism and Stalinist 
politics.

Venezula today faces similar problems.  Hence the importance of campaigning 
against the US economic blockade and military threats.

Chris Slee



From: Marxism  on behalf of John Edmundson 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 3 April 2019 5:02:41 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Protest in Miraflores

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The USA is probably a more appealing destination the Colombia.

Cheers,
John

On Wed, Apr 3, 2019 at 12:42 AM Louis Proyect via Marxism <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

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>
> On 4/2/19 12:39 AM, John Edmundson via Marxism wrote:
> > Without the sanctions, but with Maduro and all his faults, do you think
> > Venezuelans would be leaving in such numbers for a better life in
> Colombia?
>
> The images of the Cuban exodus are unforgettable.
>
> 1980: Shrimp boats jammed with refugees sailing from Mariel to Key West.
> In five months, 125,266 arrived in a tumultuous exodus that forever
> changed Cuba and South Florida.
>
> 1994: Flimsy rafts of wood and inner tubes overloaded with Cubans float
> in the Florida Straits. After dramatic U.S. Coast Guard rescues, and
> months in limbo at dusty camps in the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay,
> 35,000 settled in Dade County.
>
> Twice in two decades, Cuban leader Fidel Castro opened wide the gates to
> his island and allowed disaffected Cubans to leave en masse for the
> United States. But the floodgates were never really closed throughout
> his decades in power.
>
>
> full:
>
> https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article117194848.html
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[Marxism] Fw: Say No to U.S. Media Lies on Venezuela! April 19-20

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Say No to Media Lies on 
Venezuela
#HandsOffVenezuela
International call for local actions
Apr. 19-20.




The corporate media, far from being a venue of truth, is a tool to advance the 
interests of the United States government war machine. The vast majority of 
corporate media coverage of the US coup attempt in Venezuela has shown an 
appalling lack of impartiality, balance and fairness, consistently ignoring 
voices both inside the Bolivarian Republic, and throughout the world demanding 
peace. This corporate media narrative also omits mention of the significant 
social gains of the Bolivarian revolution over the past two decades. It 
cynically vilifies efforts by the Maduro administration, in concert with 
grassroots organizations and international agencies, to obtain and distribute 
sufficient food and medicine to blunt the impact of US sanctions that are aimed 
at inducing widespread hardship The sustained and ongoing disinformation 
campaign against Venezuela is designed to manufacture consent, in the United 
States and Canada, for a military intervention in the country.
"We'll know our disinformation campaign is complete when everything the 
American public believes is false."  William Casey, CIA Director 1981
We cannot remain silent in the face of such aggression against the Venezuelan 
people - organized and lead by the Trump administration.
We appeal to people across the United States, Canada, and the world, to 
remember past misinformation campaigns against countries and leaders, the 
result of which was widespread US mass bombings, regional and civil wars that 
have taken the lives of millions of innocent people.



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[Marxism] Venezuela fact-finding mission reports on complex situation

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-fact-finding-mission-reports-complex-situation


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Re: [Marxism] interview with SDF Commander-in-chief

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann quotes SDF commander Mazlum Kobane, who says:

"We need to make a deal with the regime, for sure. But it needs to be in
alliance with the Arabs within the framework of a united Syria. The regime
now talks about reconciliation. First of all, we did not go to war with the
regime. The regime pulled out of these territories and was unable to defend
them. So we defended them. Given that there is no enmity between the
regime and ourselves, there is no need for us to reconcile with the regime."

"No enmity between the regime and ourselves" probably just means there is no 
armed conflict at present.  (There have been clashes in the past)  

But there is no agreement either.  Mazlum Kobane says:

"What needs to be agreed between the regime and us is the matter of our 
legitimate demandsWe have two principal demands. One is that our autonomous 
administrations here be preserved and accorded legal status. The second is that 
the SDF be preserved. The security of the territory east of the Euphrates River 
should be left to the SDF. These are our red lines. We are willing to engage in 
all kinds of negotiations with the regime on this basis."

Since the regime does not accept these demands, there is currently no agreement 
between the SDF and the regime (except for some limited cooperation to deter a 
Turkish invasion of Manbij).

John says:

"What is also clear is that the entire strategy of the PYD - as expressed by
the SDF commander in chief - is to maneuver between the different
capitalist forces, including the Russians, Turkish, US and Assad".

This is a necessity imposed by objective conditions.  The Democratic Autonomous 
Administration of Northeast Syria is surrounded by hostile powers.It can 
not fight all of them at once.

John says:

"I have been accused of being doctrinaire or something of the sort in the
past, but what is the alternative to this sort of approach? The only
alternative is to try to build an explicitly working class movement that
directly and openly links up the issue of national rights with the
interests of the working class as a whole. That is an abstraction, because
it would take far too much to go into detail about what working class
forces exist where in order to be able to flesh this general approach out."

The reason it is currently impossible to implement this approach is because the 
population (including the working class) is divided on religious and ethnic 
lines, as well as facing repression by the Assad regime, the Turkish army and 
various reactionary rebel groups.

Within northeast Syria the revolutionary forces are working to overcome 
religious and ethnic divisions, involving everyone in the democratic 
institutions that are being built.

But to overcome these divisions on a Syria-wide scale, it is necessary to end 
the war.  Since there seems no realistic prospect of overthrowing Assad in the 
foreseeable future, it is necessary to negotiate with him.

The SDF wants to democratise the whole of Syria.  Mazlum Kobane says:
.
"We, too, want governments in Syria to be democratically elected. We will 
respect whichever government is democratically elected to lead Syria because we 
are a part of Syria. This may seem far-fetched for now, but sooner or later it 
will come to pass".

Exactly how this will happen is unclear.  Perhaps the SDF hopes that a 
combination of international pressure and popular demand, including from the 
section of the population that has supported the Assad regime in the war, will 
force the regime to allow democratic elections.

Regardless of whether that happens, negotiations between the regime and the SDF 
may make those have up to now supported Assad (if only as a lesser evil - e.g. 
the religious minorities) more open to the ideas of the northeast Syrian 
revolutionaries.  There is growing discontent with the corruption of the regime 
amongst those who have supported it.

Chris Slee





From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Tuesday, 26 March 2019 5:28 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] interview with SDF Commander-in-chief

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"We need to make a deal with the regime, for sure. But it needs to be in
alliance with the Arabs within the framework of a united Syria. The regime
now talks about reconciliation. First of all, we did not go to war with the

Re: [Marxism] Venezuela: despite the crisis, Chavez's legacy endures (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann takes phrases out of context to give a misleading impression of 
what Federico Fuentes is saying.

Fuentes says that "hyperinflation has meant workers' wages have plummeted".  He 
says there is a "deep economic crisis" in Venezuela.

But the important point is that this crisis is to a large extent a result of 
the "economic war" waged by the US and its allies against Venezuela.

This is not to deny that economic mistakes have been made, or that corruption 
is a serious problem.  But for those of us who live in the Western imperialist 
countries, our priority should be campaigning against the blockade.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Sunday, 24 March 2019 5:36:12 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Venezuela: despite the crisis, Chavez's legacy endures 
(Green Left Weekly)

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First of all, as far as the relative "cheapness" of goods in Caracas: The
way it's put tends to deceive since people will remember better that the
goods are "cheap" than the qualifying comment. Completely aside from that,
the practical meaning is this: These goods are cheap in dollars but sky
high in bolivares.  Fuentes writes: "It is common to find street hawkers
with debit and credit card machines, and many happy to accept US dollars to
overcome this problem." The clear implication is that goods are easily
affordable, and that is true... for those who have access to US dollars!
But this "little detail" isn't mentioned by the author, so he leaves a
false impression. Who has access to dollars is the bolibourgeoisie, another
"little detail" not mentioned by Fuentes. In other words, the
bolibourgeoisie isn't seriously hurt by the collapse in the value of the
bolivar but the masses of Venezuelans are.

I find it hard to believe that the author was not aware of the effect on
the reader of leaving out of these key facts. Likewise, I find it peculiar
that he completely fails to mention the several million Venezuelan refugees
who have fled Venezuela.

I am guessing that the reporter didn't just go to Venezuela on their own
but that they were shown around, so the question is: "Who is it that showed
them around?" That little detail is left out, but I would bet it wasn't the
socialist opposition, for instance the Party for Socialism and Freedom
there. In fact, I would bet it was people associated with the PSUV, that is
to say, Maduro supporters. Were they told about the FAES (government
militia types) having murdered people? Were they told about how the food
supplements are given to the government supporters, not to the working
class as a whole?

A few days ago, I posted to this list an article from the Wall St. Journal
describing the desperate situation for Venezuela's poor, as well as the
repression the Maduro regime is carrying out against them. Chris Slee did
not deny the possibility that the article was accurate. So he is now left
in a difficult position, because that WSJ article and the Green Left Weekly
article cannot both be accurate. They present radically different pictures
of life in Venezuela. Given the subtle misrepresentations and the failure
to mention key facts (e.g. the millions of Venezuelan economic refugees) as
well as the descriptions from such left sources inside Venezuela as Simon
Rodriguez (laclase.info -- at the moment not working, for whatever reason),
I don't find the Green Left Weekly article credible.

One simple question

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Re: [Marxism] Venezuela: despite the crisis, Chavez's legacy endures (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The article has been amended to make the meaning clearer:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-despite-crisis-chavez-legacy-endures

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Re: [Marxism] Venezuela: despite the crisis, Chavez's legacy endures (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The author should have said "relatively cheaply in US dollar terms".

The following sentence makes it clear that most things are "far from cheap for 
the majority".

Chris Slee

From: jgr...@communistvoice.org 
Sent: Saturday, 23 March 2019 2:44:13 PM
To: Chris Slee; Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Venezuela: despite the crisis, Chavez's legacy endures 
(Green Left Weekly)

The apologists for Maduro can believe anything, no matter how 
self-contradictory.

The article in "Green Left Weekly" cited by Chris Slee boasts that basic goods 
are very cheap in Caracas--cheaper than anywhere else in the world!!!--and 
easily available!!!. Except... oops ... that hyperinflation is so bad that 
workers' wages can't afford them. It is supposed to be easy to find goods at 
these very cheap prices, it's just that these very cheap prices are fabulously 
expensive in Venezuelan money, and more expensive by the day! If this seems 
contradictory,  well, we are told that "The Economist" said so! Would any 
serious, committed socialist doubt something that is supposed to come from an 
unnamed article in "The Economist"?

As GLW puts it:

"Today, it is again easy to find most of these goods — and relatively cheaply, 
as The Economist recently noted, ranking Caracas the cheapest city in the world.

"But hyperinflation has meant workers’ wages have plummeted, making most things 
far from cheap for the majority.

"Venezuela’s current minimum wage — the lowest in the region — stands at less 
than US$6 a month, or enough to buy one egg per day."

On 22 Mar 2019 at 10:22, Chris Slee via Marxism wrote:


> https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-despite-crisis-chavez
> %E2%80%99s-legacy-endures
>


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[Marxism] Venezuela: despite the crisis, Chavez's legacy endures (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Venezuela: despite the crisis, Chavez's legacy endures:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-despite-crisis-chavez%E2%80%99s-legacy-endures


Venezuelans: we want to solve our problems by ourselves:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuelans-we-want-resolve-our-problems-ourselves




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[Marxism] Erdogan uses Christchurch attack to demonise Peoples Democratic Party

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/erdogan-uses-christchurch-attack-demonise-people%E2%80%99s-democratic-party


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Re: [Marxism] WSJ on Venezuela

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann says. "Venezuela never underwent a revolution in the sense that 
Russia
did".

The Venezuelan revolution was very different from the Russian revolution, but 
it was still a revolution.  Chavez came to power through an election, but was 
restored to power after the 2002 coup by the mobilisation of the urban poor, 
combined with a split in the army.  This set in motion a revolutionary process.

Attempts were made to create alternatives to the existing state apparatus, such 
as the misiones, the communal councils, and the popular militia.  We can 
certainly criticise these attempts as inadequate, but they were part of the 
revolutionary process.

US imperialism and the Venezuelan bourgeoisie have continually tried to 
undermine the revolution by a variety of means, including economic sabotage, 
violent riots, etc.  The economic blockade by the US and its allies is a key 
component of this campaign.  Opposing the blockade is the most important way in 
which US socialists can influence events in Venezuela, and perhaps enable the 
revolution to survive.  Such a campaign will also educate US workers about the 
role of US imperialism.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 20 March 2019 9:37:49 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] WSJ on Venezuela

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First, as far as the accuracy or not of the article, there are enough
easily verifiable statistics and other facts that I doubt a paper like the
WSJ would simply lie wholesale. And some of the details, such as the role
of FAES, have been reported elsewhere. Also, the simple logic of the
situation - the extreme crisis of the masses while the "bolibourgeoisie"
continues to live in luxury (which has been reported so widely that it's
impossible to deny) - dictates that the regime would lose popularity.
(Incidentally, I agree with Greg McDonald about the WSJ news reportage vs.
their editorial page. In fact, I used to wonder whether their editors even
read their news articles!)

More important, I think the comparison to the Russian Revolution is not
accurate. Venezuela never underwent a revolution in the sense that Russia
did. The capitalist state was never overthrown and a workers state - based
on workers councils - was never established. There never was a mass,
revolutionary workers party, nor even really a mass working class party.
Some might claim that the PSUV was such a party, but all accounts dispute
this. Even the chavista Eva Golinger confirms that the PSUV was built from
the top down, as opposed to the Bolsheviks. She also confirms that there
was corruption starting in the earlier days of the Chavez administration.

Nor is the degeneration of the Chavez/Maduro regime simply due to US
sanctions. Up until about 2017, the sanctions were mainly against
individuals. As far as the oil industry, it was starting to decline well
before then, and not entirely due to the global decline in oil prices.
Report after report show that there was a general failure to reinvest in
that industry; even during its heyday, what the Chavez government was doing
was taking almost all the profits out of the industry in order to finance
the "misiones". That was certainly better than taking the money to invest
in Florida real estate as did the Venezuelan capitalist class, but it
helped cause a crisis in the industry. But that wasn't all; there was and
is massive corruption by the military commanders and others who were
appointed to run the industry. That, too, pretty clearly was the cause of
the recent blackout. Maduro claims sabotage, but he never has produced a
single piece of evidence for that. Meanwhile, the electric system was in a
state of massive degeneration, with weeds overgrowing power lines and power
stations, for example. (Simon Rodriguez, Venezuelan socialist, has written
an article detailing all this.)

Any serious study of how Chavez took office will show that the working
class never was in control. That inevitably set the stage for the bungling
and corruption.

A much more accurate comparison would be Nasser or even more so Mugabe.
While Chavez originally came to power through bourgeois elections, let's
not forget that he tried to take power before then through a coup and, in
fact, it was his attempted coup that gained him the popularity that later
got him 

Re: [Marxism] WSJ on Venezuela part II

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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If this article is accurate (which may not be the case, given the extreme 
hostility of the US  ruling class to the Maduro government), this would 
indicate that the Venezuelan revolution is undergoing a process of bureaucratic 
degeneration.

If so, this is a product of the same factors that led to the degeneration of 
the Russian revolution - the isolation of the revolution in a backward country, 
in a world dominated by hostile imperialist powers.

Trotsky said: "The basis of bureaucratic rule is the poverty of society in 
objects of consumption, with the resulting struggle of each against all". Hence 
the US economic blockade against Venezuela, by creating or exacerbating 
shortages, has intensified the pressures toward bureaucratisation.

The weakness of the US left, and its inability or unwillingness to build a mass 
movement in solidarity with Venezuela, is an important factor contributing to 
the ability of the US government to impose the blockade, and hence the tendency 
towards bureaucratic degeneration of the revolution.

Chris Slee


From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 20 March 2019 7:21:58 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] WSJ on Venezuela part II

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Here's the second half of the article:

Two days later, on Jan. 25, masked police dragged Mr. Godoy from his house,
his mother protesting, and took him to nearby alley. He was shot in the
foot and stomach and had a diaper stuffed in his mouth, which neighbors
interpreted as a message to other would-be rebels considering speaking out
against Mr. Maduro.

“I heard lots of shots, and my son cry out ‘Jehova, Jehova,” Cecilia
Buitrago, Mr. Godoy’s mother, told Mr. Guaidó in a meeting
shortly
after the killing.

The corpse was returned to the family two days later, and Mr. Godoy’s
mother remains in hiding.

Across barrios such as La Vega, fading murals celebrating former leader
Hugo Chávez compete with fresh graffiti demanding “Fuera Maduro,” or Maduro
Out. Many blame government brutality for the shift.

“Symbolically, it is a huge blow to the government to lose the support of
the barrios,” said John Polga-Hecimovich, a political-science professor at
the U.S. Naval Academy. “In practical terms, it probably means more
repression.”


*Rising power*

Barrios took a high-profile role in Venezuela’s recent history. In
February, 1989, a barrio uprising over increases in transport prices led to
a crackdown by army and police that killed hundreds. The massacre inspired
a previously unknown Lt. Col. Hugo Chávez to attempt an overthrow of
then-President Carlos Andres Perez in a failed 1992 coup.

Once Mr. Chavez took power in 1999, he championed the barrios. One
government program, Barrio Adentro, built health-care clinics staffed by
Cuban doctors. Local clinics saved residents long trips to public hospitals.

The barrios, in turn, saved Mr. Chavez in 2002. Thousands of residents
staged street protests to demand his return after a faction of the armed
forces briefly pushed him from power. El Comandante, as he was known, was
so popular in barrios that few opposition politicians dared campaign there.

The economic crisis has left the barrios in far worse shape.

In 2014, the poorest 20% of the nation’s population had 3.35% of the
wealth. Now, it is 1.41%. The share of wealth going to the richest 10%,
which includes those high in government, doubled their share of wealth to
61% from 30% over the same period, according to a wide-ranging study of
poverty by the Andres Bello Catholic University.

Venezuela has become the most unequal country in the hemisphere next to
Haiti, the study found.

In wealthy eastern Caracas, five-star restaurants cater to customers with
access to dollars, often high-ranking officials. A pizza pie may cost the
equivalent of a month’s wage by barrio residents.

Last year, Venezuelans were incensed by an online video showing Mr. Maduro
and his wife enjoying a meal at an Istanbul restaurant run by the celebrity
chef known as Salt Bae.

“The army and top officials here don’t suffer. It’s the barrios that
suffer,” said Yasiri Paredes, 32. who runs a food kitchen serving free food
in the La Vega barrio. She also is the cousin of Mr. Godoy, the man shot in
the alley.

During 

Re: [Marxism] Grand alliance? threatens Venezuela (Green Left Weekly)

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John Reimann says:

'Chris Slee adds to the confusion by writing "The main way in which
socialists in the United States and its allies can influence events in
Venezuela is by campaiging to end the economic blockade." But it's pretty
clear that that has not has any significant degree of "influence" on events
there either.'

To have any effect on US policy would require a large scale campaign with 
hundreds of thousands of people in the streets.  Building such a campaign is 
one of the tasks of the US left.  This would require educating large numbers of 
people about the role of US imperialism in Latin America.  This is part of the 
process of building "a mass, independent, radical working class movement" in 
the US.

John says:

'Both Maduro and Chavez before him massively
mishandled the oil industry by using all its profits to create the
"misiones" for the workers and the poor in Venezuela. As a result, there
was no reinvestment in maintaining and modernizing the oil industry.'

This may well have been a mistake, but their desire to bring health, education 
and housing to the poor through the misiones was progressive.  Hence I don't 
think John's analogy between the Chavez/Maduro government and the Assad regime 
is valid.

Chris Slee


From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 13 March 2019 9:42:46 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Grand alliance? threatens Venezuela (Green Left Weekly)

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Louis Proyect writes:
On 3/12/19 2:14 PM, John Reimann via Marxism wrote:
> None of this means support for Guaido and for US intervention (of any
> sort). But there is an alternative - that of the action of the Venezuelan
> working class, acting as its own independent force through its own
> independent organizations.

Yes, John, we all know that. But even if you managed to convince every
last Green Left supporter to agree with you, that would make zero impact
on Venezuela politics. All of these things have been understood to one
degree or another since the mid-20s but repeating them in ritual
incantations has no effect unless you believe in magic.

Just throwing names at something ("ritualistic incantations") doesn't make
it so. Louis takes a couple of sentences from the entire email and makes it
seem that this was the purpose of the email as a whole. I am not so
delusional as to think that I can influence Maduro's policies. Neither can
Green Left Weekly, nor even Louis Proyect. In fact, the only way that
events can be influenced to any significant degree from here in the US is
through a mass, independent, radical working class movement, and what is
required for that is a change in objective conditions. The entire socialist
movement combined cannot produce that.

Chris Slee adds to the confusion by writing "The main way in which
socialists in the United States and its allies can influence events in
Venezuela is by campaiging to end the economic blockade." But it's pretty
clear that that has not has any significant degree of "influence" on events
there either.

What we can do is try to clarify things in preparation for a future
movement. That was exactly the point of what I wrote. Unfortunately, the
way Louis attacks that attempt - by using phrases like "ritual
incantations" does not help. Nor does whitewashing the Maduro regime as did
the Green Left Weekly article.

Incidentally, one point I forgot to mention in my previous letter is this:
That article in effect says that the entire economic crisis in Venezuela is
caused by the decline in the price of oil. That, of course, is a part of
the cause, but only a part. Both Maduro and Chavez before him massively
mishandled the oil industry by using all its profits to create the
"misiones" for the workers and the poor in Venezuela. As a result, there
was no reinvestment in maintaining and modernizing the oil industry. To add
insult to injury, there has been massive corruption in the military-run oil
industry as well as in the government as a whole.

Nobody on this list (I think) would deny the massive confusion on the left
in regard to Syria. There, all to much of the left only sees the (supposed)
US hostility to Assad. All they can see is "regime change". They are blind
to the role of and experiences of the working class. Leaving completely
aside the fact that the US supports 

Re: [Marxism] Grand alliance? threatens Venezuela (Green Left Weekly)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The main way in which socialists in the United States and its allies can 
influence events in Venezuela is by campaiging to end the economic blockade.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 13 March 2019 5:33:02 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Grand alliance? threatens Venezuela (Green Left Weekly)

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On 3/12/19 2:14 PM, John Reimann via Marxism wrote:
> None of this means support for Guaido and for US intervention (of any
> sort). But there is an alternative - that of the action of the Venezuelan
> working class, acting as its own independent force through its own
> independent organizations.

Yes, John, we all know that. But even if you managed to convince every
last Green Left supporter to agree with you, that would make zero impact
on Venezuela politics. All of these things have been understood to one
degree or another since the mid-20s but repeating them in ritual
incantations has no effect unless you believe in magic.
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[Marxism] ‘Grand alliance’ threatens Venezuela (Green Left Weekly)

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/%E2%80%98grand-alliance%E2%80%99-threatens-Venezuela


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Re: [Marxism] ISO (and Mike Gonzalez) on Venezuela

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann says:

"I don't think it ever was a revolution. At least not in the sense of a mass
uprising from below that topples a regime. In fact, Chavez came to power
based on a layer of middle level military officers. That was his campaign
apparatus for when he first was elected. That the majority of working class
voters voted for him doesn't change this."

Chavez came to power through an election, but after the coup on 2002 he was 
restored to power through a combination of the mass mobilisation of the urban 
poor and a rebellion in the army against the coup plotters.  This could be 
considered as a "a mass  uprising from below".

This uprising did not destroy the old state apparatus, but it did provide an 
impetus for attempts to build alternatives, including the social missions and 
the communal councils.  These attempts have been only partially successful, but 
they reflect a revolutionary impulse that should be defended against the 
counter-revolution.

Chris Slee




From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 6 March 2019 6:00 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] ISO (and Mike Gonzalez) on Venezuela

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Rim Nelson writes: "This isn't simply a revolution under attack. This is a
revolution deformed."

I don't think it ever was a revolution. At least not in the sense of a mass
uprising from below that topples a regime. In fact, Chavez came to power
based on a layer of middle level military officers. That was his campaign
apparatus for when he first was elected. That the majority of working class
voters voted for him doesn't change this.

I also agree with Gonzalez's analysis of the PSUV. It never was a working
class party. I saw the forerunner to it when I was in Venezuela in 2005. At
that time, you could see that the community meetings were not centers of
mobilization for the working class. If the one I attended was any example
(and I believe it was), they were gatherings where different elements got
together to compete for the fruits of power. Also, even then, every
opportunist mainstream politician around suddenly became a "chavista". As
various socialists, including Simon Rodriguez, report, from the start the
leadership of the PSUV was selected from the top down, with the real
fighters being excluded.

A few weeks ago, the Wall St. Journal reported on how the military command
backs Maduro, and the WSJ is certainly no opponent of military governments!

So, what do we call a government that lacks the support of the mainstream
of its capitalist class and also isn't based on the working class? What do
we call a government that balances between the classes, resting in the main
on the military? Nothing but a bonapartist regime. That for a time this
regime balanced on the working class, that it introduced major reforms for
the working class, that it had the popular support of the working class for
a time, does not change this. All that could have been said about Peron
too, after all, although he and a similar figure - Lazaro Cardenas in
Mexico - didn't rest on the military so much. But theirs too were
bonapartist governments.

What's happened is that all too much of the left has gotten caught up in
this view that whoever appears to oppose US imperialism must be supported.

John Reimann

--
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook
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[Marxism] What is happening in Venezuela? (ANF)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/what-is-happening-in-venezuela-33175

ANF takes a clear position against the attempted coup in Venezuela:


"Legitimate Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, has been elected last May 
with 67% of consensus in free, democratic and legal elections. It’s worth 
noticing that Maduro defeated the other three candidates. It was not a farcical 
election with just one candidate. Indeed three opposition candidates presented 
themselves. It could be argued that in fact Maduro also won because the 
opposition was divided and unable to set behind them differences and see the 
bigger picture. But this, as it is, was not Maduro’s problem.

Maduro run the elections and won. And this is a fact


"The US tried to disguise their intention to plunder Venezuela’s oil at all 
costs, by saying that there is a humanitarian problem in Venezuela. Indeed 
there is a humanitarian problem, caused precisely by those, US first, 
strangling the economy of the Latin American country by imposing sanctions and 
blocking trade of vital products, namely medicines, food and other primary 
needs".


However ANF criticises Venezuela's choice of allies:


"Maduro is someone hard to like, indeed his choice of allies especially abroad, 
shows how opportunistic and also desperate he is. He feels no shame in teaming 
up with Erdogan or Iran despite their poor record when it comes to human rights 
(and this is a euphemism)".


This reminds me of the saying "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones", 
given the alliance between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the US to fight 
against ISIS and deter a Turkish invasion.


Both Venezuela and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East 
Syria are surrounded by hostile forces and feel the need to look for any 
possible allies, even reactionary ones.  They both take advantage of the 
rivalries amongst the imperialist powers.  In Venezuela's case this means 
seeking aid from Russia and other countries that are in conflict with US 
imperialism, such as Iran and Turkey.  In the case of northeast Syria, the 
Democratic Autonomous administration is willing to talk to both the US and 
Russia about measures to deter a Turkish invasion.


Turkey's relations with the United States deteriorated after the US began 
supporting the YPG/YPJ and the SDF against ISIS, beginning in late 2014.  
Erdogan saw ISIS as a force that could be used to destroy Rojava, and was angry 
that the US prevented this from happening.  Later Erdogan suspected the US of 
involvement in the 2016 attempted coup against him.  This helps explain 
Turkey's support for Maduro.  There may also be economic motives.


Chris Slee





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[Marxism] Revolution, capitalist restoration and class struggle in China (Links)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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 http://links.org.au/revolution-capitalist-restoration-class-struggle-china

This is a talk I gave at the Socialist Alliance summer school in January 2019.

Chris Slee
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[Marxism] US sanctions cost Venezuela $38 billion

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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US sanctions cost Venezuela US$38 billion:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/us-sanctions-cost-venezuela-us38-billion



Venezuelans ready to resist US aggression, meeting told:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuelans-ready-resist-us-aggression-meeting-told


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Re: [Marxism] Steve Ellner: 'How Much of Venezuela’s Crisis is Really Maduro’s Fault?'

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Try this link:

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/02/15/how-much-of-venezuelas-crisis-is-really-maduros-fault



From: Marxism  on behalf of Ralph Johansen 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 20 February 2019 10:22 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Steve Ellner: 'How Much of Venezuela’s Crisis is Really 
Maduro’s Fault?'

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**Steve Ellner is a retired professor from Venezuela’s University of the
East and is currently associate managing editor of “Latin American
Perspectives.” Among his over a dozen books on Latin America is his
edited “The Pink Tide Experiences: Breakthroughs and Shortcomings in
Twenty-First Century Latin America” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).*

*https://consortiumnews.com/2019/02/15/how-much-of-venezuelas-crisis-is-really-maduros-fault/

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Re: [Marxism] Haiti and the collapse of a political and economic system – The Haitian Times

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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How Trump's attacks on Venezuela triggered a revolution in Haiti:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/how-trump-attacks-venezuela-triggered-revolution-haiti


From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Tuesday, 19 February 2019 12:14:04 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Haiti and the collapse of a political and economic system – 
The Haitian Times

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https://haitiantimes.com/2019/02/12/haiti-and-the-collapse-of-a-political-and-economic-system/
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[Marxism] TRUMP OFFICIAL REFUSES TO ANSWER WHEN ILHAN OMAR ASKS IF HE’D SUPPORT GENOCIDE IN VENEZUELA (Newsweek)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.newsweek.com/trump-genocide-venezuela-ilhan-omar-elliott-abrams-1330824



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[Marxism] What does the media not get about sanctions on Venezuela?

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/what-does-media-not-get-about-sanctions-venezuela

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[Marxism] The US's Venezuela-Colombia border stunt exposed

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The US's Venezuela-Colombia border stunt exposed:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/uss-venezuela-colombia-border-stunt-exposed


In Venezuela, the Western media fall in behind Trump's PR aid stunt:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-western-media-fall-behind-trumps-pr-aid-stunt

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Re: [Marxism] Democrats Sic the Hyenas on Rep. Ilhan Omar | Washington Babylon

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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According to thefreedictionary.com, a benjamin is a hundred dollar bill, 
because of the picture of Benjamin Franklin on it.

I was unaware of this until I did a google search.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of A.R. G via 
Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 13 February 2019 12:57:24 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Democrats Sic the Hyenas on Rep. Ilhan Omar | Washington 
Babylon

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The Benjamins = money in rap culture. I'm guessing some of you guys are old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c58ppLPJcQ

It's also impressive how otherwise intelligent people can so easily be
dragged into an absolutely ridiculous and racist witch-hunt. Omar said that
AIPAC lobbying was all about money. There is nothing even vaguely
anti-Semitic about that unless you are already on a witch-hunt for it and
trying to associate Zionist advocacy with a Jewish conspiracy. Moreover,
even assuming there is any connection it would indicate that AIPAC embodies
an anti-Semitic caricature; hardly Omar's fault.

Goldberg is a windbag.



Amith R. Gupta


On Tue, Feb 12, 2019 at 7:24 PM Michael Meeropol via Marxism <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

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>
> Sorry but I actually was persuaded by Michelle Goldberg's piece --- Yes,
> much of the bare facts that Rep Omar stated are true (though emphasizing
> the manipulation by AIPAC neglects the long run confluence of interests
> between the US ruling class and the Israeli government -- the US doesn't
> need to be manipulated by AIPAC) --- BUT --  the tossed off reference by
> Rep. Omar to the "Benjamins" harkens to the usual trope about rich Jews
> controlling everything ---  Allowing oneself to be called an anti-semite
> nplays into the hands of the right wing and Goldberg was right to call her
> out on it  and SHE was right to apologize ---
>
> It is unfortunate the victims of discrimination have to be twice as good as
> everyone else to be considered equal --- in this context Muslims in the US
> have to be like Ceasar's wife in order not to be subject to unfair attacks
> -- (and they will anyway --- )   Its totally unfair and with time that
> unfairness will be less effective --- but thats the reality ---
>
> The important come-back about McCarthy's use of anti-semitism to attack
> Soros, et al is useful and important ---
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Re: [Marxism] Two from the Canadian Press.

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Mysterious brain injuries at embassies may be linked to common ultrasonic 
devices:


https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/national-newsletter-brain-ultrasonic-ireland-abortion-1.4672940


"Some experts, however, believe they know the source of the noises and the 
sickness, and that it's far from sinister.


" "To call it an attack is to rule out a more likely explanation that it was an 
accidental exposure," says Timothy Leighton, a professor of ultrasonics and 
underwater acoustics at the University of Southampton in the U.K. "This 
peculiar recipe of symptoms has been anecdotally reported for years. They just 
haven't been taken seriously."





"Kevin Fu, a computer scientist at the 
University of Michigan who works with ultrasound, analyzed the U.S. diplomat's 
six-second audio clip, and decided to try and figure out its source. One of his 
grad students, Chen Yan, devised a series of 
simulations
 that suggest the noise may have been caused by intermodal distortion — which, 
according to this science blog 
post,
 "occurs when two signals having different frequencies combine to produce 
synthetic signals at the difference, sum, or multiples of the original 
frequencies."


"In one experiment, Yan set up two speakers playing ultrasonic noise at 
different frequencies and managed to recreate the ear-shredding screech 
reported by embassy workers.


"The problems in the embassies and consulate may therefore be as simple as a 
burglar alarm sensor or a high-tech anti-bugging system, crossing over with a 
plug-in mouse buster."



From: Marxism  on behalf of Ken Hiebert 
via Marxism 
Sent: Saturday, 9 February 2019 10:43 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Two from the Canadian Press.

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I don’t often read the National Post, but saw this today.  Corcoran is 
generally hard right.  Eg. a climate change denier.

ken h
Terence Corcoran: Americans are trying to kill Huawei. Canada shouldn't be 
helping them.

 
https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-americans-are-trying-to-kill-huawei-canada-shouldnt-be-helping-them

* * * * *
I have not figured this story out.  It seems highly unlikely that anyone in 
Cuba is targeting foreign diplomats.  And it seems unlikely that a large number 
of diplomats have entered into a conspiracy to lie about their ailments.

ken h
Diplomats sue Ottawa for $28M over health ailments during Cuba postings

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/diplomats-sue-ottawa-cuba-embassy-sickness-1.5008794
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Re: [Marxism] True aims of the Syrian Democratic Forces | Letters | World news | The Guardian

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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I think Rosa Gilbert is incorrect to say that "...their political goal is 
secular democracy and autonomy in northern Syria..."  Or rather, this is an 
incomplete statement of the SDF's goals.

They want to democratise Syria as a whole, not just northern Syria.  But they 
don't believe that this can be accomplished by a military victory over Assad.

Assad remains in power because of a combination of two things:  military 
support from Russia and Iran; and political support from a section of the 
Syrian population that regards him as a lesser evil than the rebels.

This section of the population includes the religious minorities who have seen 
their co-religionists oppressed by ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and some of the 
Turkish-backed groups.

The SDF aims to show that an alternative model is possible, with equal rights 
for people of all religions, and thereby win the support of some of the people 
who currently support Assad.

Chris Slee




From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Friday, 8 February 2019 12:28 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] True aims of the Syrian Democratic Forces | Letters | World 
news | The Guardian

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(Okay, let me get this straight. The Kurds have never sought the
overthrow of Assad (and obviously still don't) but only "secular
democracy" in the territory they control. The one thing you can conclude
from this letter is their indifference to what happens in the rest of
Syria as long as their bid to build a Bookchinite utopia remains
unchallenged. Pardon me while I puke.)


https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/06/true-aims-of-the-syrian-democratic-forces

The Syrian Democratic Forces, the multi-ethnic secular forces in
northern Syria primarily made up of the Kurdish YPG as well as other
local Assyrian, Arab and Turkmen groups, have never sought the overthrow
of Bashar al-Assad as your article suggests (British hostage Cantlie,
seized by Isis in 2012, is alive, says Home Office, 6 February). Their
military aim is the defeat of Islamic State and their political goal is
secular democracy and autonomy in northern Syria as seen by the
multi-ethnic, feminist, democratic socialist, commune-based society they
have been constructing in the areas they have liberated from Isis. There
have been no major battles with regime forces and in fact they have
worked with the Syrian Arab Army in the Kurdish Aleppo district of
Sheikh Maqsood, which was liberated from al-Nusra jihadists in 2016.

Rosa Gilbert
Co-secretary, Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign

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[Marxism] Hands off Venezuela protests in Australia

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Latin American solidarity activists have been holding protests around Australia 
in support of Venezuela. Activists are calling on the Australian government to 
oppose the US sanctions on Venezuela, rule out any military intervention and 
withdraw recognition of the coup government:

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/hands-venezuela-0


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[Marxism] How US sanctions hurt Venezuela's people

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/how-us-sanctions-hurt-venezuelas-people


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Re: [Marxism] Rep. Gabbard and Syrian Kurdish leader make for odd State of the Union pair

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The central preoccupation of the Syrian Democratic Council is the need to deter 
a Turkish invasion of northern and eastern Syria.  This threat is real, as 
shown by the Turkish invasion of Afrin and numerous statements from Erdogan 
threatening to invade Manbij and the areas east of the Euphrates.

In this context the SDC is seeking assistance from whoever might offer it - 
whether this be the United States, Russia or the Assad regime.

This necessitates toning down their criticisms of Assad.  They don't use 
phrases like " filthy oligarchic dictator".  They do however talk about the 
need to democratise Syria, which implies that the Assad regime is not 
democratic.

Chris Slee



From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Thursday, 7 February 2019 12:43 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Rep. Gabbard and Syrian Kurdish leader make for odd 
State of the Union pair

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On 2/6/19 7:49 AM, RKOB via Marxism wrote:
>
> https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/02/tulsi-gabbard-state-union-syria-ilham-ahmad.html
>
>


(Here's a challenge. Go to the Kurdish Project website and do a search
on "Assad". Try to find a single article denouncing this filthy
oligarchic dictator. I bet you can't.
https://thekurdishproject.org/page/1/?s=assad)

Last sentence of Al-Monitor article:

Giran Ozcan, the US representative for the Peoples' Democratic Party of
Turkey:

"If Assad engages the Kurds respectful of their demands they too will
negotiate with him.”



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Re: [Marxism] Turkey accuses US Coalition members of supporting HTS in Syria

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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When Turkish foreign minister Cavusoglu complains about "some  Western 
countries" giving money to HTS, he may be referring to the funding of civil 
society organisations in HTS-controlled territory.

Trump said he would end such funding, but perhaps some other governments are 
continuing to give some aid.

I don't know if Radio Fresh is still broadcasting, but if it is, I suspect it 
would be critical of Turkey.  If so, Turkey would want to silence it by cutting 
off its funding.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of RKOB via 
Marxism 
Sent: Monday, 4 February 2019 5:11:52 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Turkey accuses US Coalition members of supporting HTS in 
Syria

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Yes, Michael, I am fully aware of this. But I did forward it because

a) it reports about the fact that the Turkish government has such plans
(this is also confirmed by other sources, see
e.g.https://m.aawsat.com/english/home/article/1572981/plans-russian-turkish-offensive-against-nusra-syria%E2%80%99s-idlib)

b) it demonstrates, as you suggest, how close the Turkish government is
coming to the Russian point of view (instead of being behind HTS etc.,
as so many pro-YPG supporters claim).

Am 02.02.2019 um 02:03 schrieb mkaradjis:
> I assume you're aware that al-Masdar is vile Assadist propaganda? The
> fact that it is now channeling absurd Erdoganist propaganda about "the
> US supports al-Qaida" - jesus, who hasn't heard that grotesque fairy
> tale before - is evidence of how far apart the Turkish and US
> positions remain in Syria..
>
> On Sat, Feb 2, 2019 at 3:15 AM RKOB via Marxism
> mailto:marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>> wrote:
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>
> 
> https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/turkey-accuses-us-coalition-members-of-supporting-isis-and-hts-in-syria/
>
>
>
> --
> Revolutionär-Kommunistische Organisation BEFREIUNG
> (Österreichische Sektion der RCIT, 
> www.thecommunists.net
> )
> www.rkob.net 
> ak...@rkob.net 
> Tel./SMS/WhatsApp/Telegram: +43-650-4068314
>
>
>
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Tel./SMS/WhatsApp/Telegram: +43-650-4068314

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Re: [Marxism] On Venezuela: Down with Trump, Maduro, and Guaido!

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Joseph Green claims that:  "The Venezelan government's policies are the main 
cause of the economic and political crisis in Venezuela".

While making a token expression of opposition to US sanctions, he does not 
recognise them as a major cause (I would say the main cause) of the economic 
crisis.

Amongst other impacts, the sanctions affect the repair of equipment in the oil 
industry, and thus cut the government's main source of revenue.

Corruption and mismanagement are also contributing factors.  But for people in 
the US, and its allies such as Australia, the actions of our own governments 
should be the main focus.

Chris Slee


From: Marxism  on behalf of jgreen--- via 
Marxism 
Sent: Monday, 4 February 2019 3:56:48 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] On Venezuela: Down with Trump, Maduro, and Guaido!

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On the situation in Venezuela:
Down with Trump, Maduro, and Guaido!
Solidarity with the Venezuelan protesters!

(from the Detroit/Seattle Workers' Voice list - Jan. 30, 2019)

There is a deep crisis in Venezuela. At one time the presidency of Hugo Chavez
brought immense benefits to the Venezuelan poor and workers, albeit it was done
mainly through oil money, sufficient at one time to simultaneously finance 
social
measures, bribe the military, and pay off a section of the bourgeoisie. But the
days of the Bolivarian revolution are over in all but name. The country is now
reeling from rampant corruption, the lack of sufficient food and medicine,
spectacular inflation, mass emigration, and political repression. Hunger stalks 
the
country. While a handful of Chavista bureaucrats and allies live in luxury, many
Venezuelans have fled the country in order to survive. Meanwhile politically, 
the
workers and the poor are caught between Maduro´s bureaucrats and the
traditional rightist bourgeoisie in Venezuela.

No to Trump´s intervention in Venezuela - from sanctions to the threat of 
military
action. In desperation, some Venezuelans, not just the bourgeoisie, look towards
outside intervention from anywhere. But there is a long-standing US imperialist
policy towards Latin America. The US government has historically backed the
most despicable forces in Latin America, and not hesitated to see popular
movements drowned in blood. The US government opposed the Chavez
government at a time when the condition of the masses was improving, and now
sees the misery under Maduro as an opportunity. Trump, whose administration
lauds the fascist-sympathizer Jair Bolsonaro, the new president of Brazil, is
intervening in Venezuela, not in the interests of freedom, but to restore the
domination of the traditional bourgeoisie.

No support for the head authoritarian, Nicolas Maduro, whose policy is simply to
stay in power at all costs, no matter what the population thinks or how many
people starve. The Maduro presidency is dependent, not on the will of the 
people,
but on the continuation of support from the military, whose chieftains have
enriched themselves under Chavista rule. The Venezuelan government´s policies
are the main cause of the economic and political crisis in Venezuela. The Maduro
government has relied increasingly on continuing Chavez´s centralization of
power in the presidency. And as he lost popularity, Maduro took to more and
more falsification of the voice of the people and repressive police measures.
Elections have seen the banning of various opposition parties and leaders, and
the coercion of those receiving social assistance or having a government job.
Having lost the National Assembly to the opposition despite everything, Maduro
called in 2017 for a Constituent Assembly to revise the Bolivarian constitution
created under Chavez. In the elections for the Constituent Assembly, the vote of
a person in a small town was worth well over 10 times that of someone in a big
city like Caracas. That´s an example of what passes for legality and democratic
procedure under Maduro.

No support for Juan Guaido, who has declared himself the interim president of
Venezuela. The mass disgust with the Maduro government doesn´t mean that the
bulk of the protesters support the leaders of the opposition or that they have a
clear plan of their own. The opposition´s political wing is dominated by 
bourgeois
and neo-liberal forces, including the traditional right-wing, 

[Marxism] National March on the White House: U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Nobody on this list has mentioned any protests in the United States against the 
US attacks on Venezuela.

However I have discovered that ANSWER is calling a demonstration:


National March on the White House: U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!



Saturday, 16 March 2019 from 12:00-17:00 EDT



Lafayette Square, Washington, 
D.C.
1608 H St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20006


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[Marxism] Australian activists say: to help Venezuela, lift sanctions and end intervention (Green Left)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/australian-activists-say-help-venezuela-lift-sanctions-and-end-intervention


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Re: [Marxism] Syrian Kurds tell Washington they may join forces with Assad if US pulls out of Syria

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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RKOB says the SDF has "friends in Washington and Damascus".  Neither the US 
government nor the Assad regime are "friends" of the SDF.  But the SDF is open 
to tactical agreements with either of them to deter the threat of further 
Turkish aggression against northern and northeastern Syria.

This is a real danger.  Turkey has already invaded Afrin, so Erdogan's threats 
to invade Manbij and the northeast must be taken seriously.

Currently the presence of US troops deters a Turkish attack.  But Trump has 
said these will be withdrawn soon.

One option is for Assad regime troops to be stationed in northeastern Syria, on 
the Syria-Turkey border.

Another option is for a UN-declared no fly zone over northeastern Syria to 
deprive the invading Turkish troops of air support.

At this stage neither of these options has been agreed on.  They are merely 
hypothetical possibilities.

There has been a small example of cooperation between the SDF and Assad to 
deter Turkish
threats.  A small contingent of regime troops moved into the SDF-controlled 
town of Arima to discourage a possible attack from Turkish-controlled Syrian 
territory west of Manbij.

But there is no broader agreement on the defence of Syria against further 
Turkish aggression.

Chris Slee




From: Marxism  on behalf of RKO BEFREIUNG 
via Marxism 
Sent: Thursday, 31 January 2019 4:18:42 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Syrian Kurds tell Washington they may join forces with Assad 
if US pulls out of Syria

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Another confirmation that the "anti-imperialist" and "left-wing" YPG/SDF
has many friends in Washington and Damascus

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/01/syria-kurds-join-forces-assad-us-withdraw.html




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[Marxism] Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network statement

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For immediate release - January 29, 2019

If Australia is genuinely interested in peace and democracy in Venezuela
it must withdraw its support for Guaidó’s coup presidency

Solidarity activists have called on the federal Minister for Foreign Relations 
Marise Payne to withdraw Australia's support for Venezuela’s National Assembly 
president, Juan Guaidó, as the country's “interim president”, describing the 
government's move on January 28 as “reckless” and “extremely dangerous”.

They will be organising a protest outside the US Consulate in Martin Place, 
Sydney, on Thursday, January 31, at 5.30pm.

Federico Fuentes, a national co-convenor of the solidarity group 
Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network, said: “Minister Payne reveals a deep 
lack of knowledge of the situation in Venezuela and her decision to recognise a 
Venezuelan opposition MP as ‘interim president’ places Australia squarely on 
the side of those using violence to generate instability for their own 
political ends.

“This shows that the Australian government is less interested in democracy and 
more motivated by political calculations, in line with the United States. It 
shows it does not have a genuine interest in helping resolving the current 
crisis in Venezuela.”

“Minister Payne claims that Venezuela’s constitution allows Guaidó to appoint 
himself ‘interim president’. This is not the case, and in any other country, 
such a move would be described for what it is — an attempted coup.”

Guaidó cites Article 233 of the constitution as justification for his 
self-proclamation.

That article reads: “The President of the Republic shall become permanently 
unavailable to serve by reason of any of the following events: death; 
resignation; removal from office by decision of the Supreme Tribunal of 
Justice; permanent physical or mental disability certified by a medical board 
designated by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with the approval of the National 
Assembly; abandonment of his position, duly declared by the National Assembly; 
and recall by popular vote.”

Mr Fuentes continued: “But President Maduro has neither died, resigned, been 
recalled, been removed by the Supreme Court or abandoned the position of 
president.”

“Minister Payne admits as much when she states that the Australian government 
urged President Maduro ‘to refrain from assuming the presidency on 10 January,’ 
despite Maduro being re-elected to the post in 2018.

“Given the opposition’s boycott of last year’s election — which was brought 
forward at its request — and the Australian government’s refusal to send 
official observers to scrutinise its validity, it is a flagrant disregard of 
Venezuela’s democracy to now turn around and declare Guaidó president.

“It is not up to Australia, or any other country, to decide who Venezuela’s 
president is: this is a right solely reserved for the people of Venezuela.

“Yet, this is what Australia and the Lima Group, a makeshift alliance of 
predominately right-leaning countries in the region, have done. In doing so 
they have come out in support of an unelected and unconstitutional ‘interim 
president’ who has rejected calls for dialogue, called on the army to carry out 
a coup and ruled out any possible elections for at least 8-10 months.

“Australia should instead follow the lead of the majority of countries that, at 
emergency meetings convened by the Organization of American States and the 
United Nations Security Council, supported non-interference in Venezuela’s 
internal affairs and called for dialogue and negotiations as the only way out 
of the crisis.

 “If Australia is serious about playing a positive role in the crisis, it must 
start by immediately withdrawing its recognition of Guaidó,” Mr Fuentes 
concluded.

Solidarity activists will be holding a protest outside the US Consulate in 
Martin Place, Sydney, on Thursday, January 31, starting 5.30pm.

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[Marxism] Venezuela crisis: US announces billions in sanctions as White House says military options still 'on the table' (Independent)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The United States is stepping up its economic war against Venezuela:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/venezuela-sanctions-us-white-house-trump-guadio-maduro-latest-update-a8751351.html


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Re: [Marxism] DSA statement on US intervention in Venezuela

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Have there been any protests against US sanctions and threats against Venezuela?

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of Chris Slee via 
Marxism 
Sent: Sunday, 27 January 2019 7:13:31 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] DSA statement on US intervention in Venezuela

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https://www.dsausa.org/statements/dsa-statement-on-us-intervention-in-venezuela

"Further, we call upon DSA chapters and DSA supported political representatives 
to mobilizearound a campaign of solidarity with the Venezuelan people, 
aimed specifically at reversing the US government's disastrous and 
counterproductive sanctions against Venezuela".
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[Marxism] DSA statement on US intervention in Venezuela

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.dsausa.org/statements/dsa-statement-on-us-intervention-in-venezuela

"Further, we call upon DSA chapters and DSA supported political representatives 
to mobilizearound a campaign of solidarity with the Venezuelan people, 
aimed specifically at reversing the US government's disastrous and 
counterproductive sanctions against Venezuela".
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[Marxism] People in Kurdistan Region stormed a Turkish base (ANF)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/people-in-kurdistan-region-stormed-a-turkish-base-32451

"Kurdish people in Sheladize town in Derelok district of Kurdistan Region 
[northern Iraq] marched to a Turkish base in protest of Turkish bombardment in 
the area. Protesters occupied the Turkish base and set fire to the 
installations."
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[Marxism] SDF commander: anti-IS forces must keep 'special status'

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/sdf-commander-anti-is-forces-must-keep-special-status-32431

The regime "keeps on thinking it can go back to the way it was before 2011.  It 
still hopes it can take military control of the whole region".  

"It needs... to understand that this is impossible".

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[Marxism] Venezuela: Is President Maduro 'illegitimate'? Ten facts to counter the lies (GLW)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuelas-maduro-illegitimate-10-facts-counter-lies

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[Marxism] Interview with Venezuelan foreign minister

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/coup-progress-venezuelan-foreign-minister-decries-us-and-brazil-backed-effort-oust-maduro

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[Marxism] Asian solidarity with Venezuela

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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http://links.org.au/asia-solidarity-venezuela

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Re: [Marxism] Sanders Statement on Venezuela - Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Sanders' statement makes no reference to US economic sanctions against 
Venezuela, which are largely responsible for Venezuela's economic problems.  
For example, the decline in oil production is due to lack of spare parts.

This is not to deny that corruption is a problem in Venezuela.  But socialists 
in the US should be focusing on the actions of their own government, and 
demanding the end of sanctions.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Friday, 25 January 2019 10:25:43 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Sanders Statement on Venezuela - Senator Bernie Sanders of 
Vermont

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This is helpful.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-venezuela
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Re: [Marxism] Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company calls for an urgent action: Iranian National TV’s show “Burnt Plot” is a pretext to crush workers’ demands and protests

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.allianceofmesocialists.org/syndicate-of-workers-of-tehran-and-suburbs-bus-company-calls-for-an-urgent-action-iranian-national-tvs-show-burnt-plot-is-a-pretext-to-crush-workers-demands-and-protests

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Re: [Marxism] NEW BOOK: Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Great Power Rivalry (2)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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RKOB says:

(I mention, in
passing, that GLW published an article yesterday which argues that
Russia, contrary to the view outlined in my book, is not an imperialist
power.)

I think he is referring to the following article in Links (not Green Left 
Weekly):

http://links.org.au/is-russia-imperialist

Links aims to promote discussion on the left, and publishes articles with 
diverse views.  Here is an article I wrote a few years ago:

Are Russia and China imperialist powers?


http://links.org.au/node/3795

Chris Slee




From: Marxism  on behalf of RKOB via 
Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 23 January 2019 11:50 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] NEW BOOK: Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Great Power Rivalry 
(2)

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I hope comrades will apologize that I use this place to briefly
advertise a new book (“/Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Great Power
Rivalry/”) which I have written. (See the email before)

I will not outline the content here as you can find a detailed content
at the link which was provided in the previous email
(https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/).
Likewise it is not necessary to explain why the subject of the book -
the rivalry between the Great Powers - is important.

I just want to draw your attention to a few specific issues which, in my
opinion, make the book interesting even for those who do not agree with
my point of view.

First, the book provides a number of statistics and arguments (as well
as historical analogies) which are crucial for the debate of the
question if China and Russia are imperialist powers. (I mention, in
passing, that GLW published an article yesterday which argues that
Russia, contrary to the view outlined in my book, is not an imperialist
power.)

Secondly, the book critically discusses in detail the analysis and
perspectives by a number of left-wing parties and groups in West and
East (left social democrats, Stalinists, Trotskyists and others).

This analysis covers extensively, among others, forces which are usually
not or only little known in the West (for example the Japanese
Communists Party as well as a number of Russian Stalinist and
non-Stalinist forces).

Thirdly, the book has profited from the help of a Russian comrade who
translated material which exists only in Russian language and which has
been used extensively in this book. This translation work helped in a
critical analysis of the social-imperialist policy of the KPRF, the
RKPR, the OKP, Boris Kagarlitsky, Alexander Buzgalin, Ruslan Dzarasov
and others.

Of course, critical readers are welcome to send their comments or to
write a review.

I hope you enjoy reading the book!

--
Revolutionär-Kommunistische Organisation BEFREIUNG
(Österreichische Sektion der RCIT, 
www.thecommunists.net)
www.rkob.net
ak...@rkob.net
Tel./SMS/WhatsApp/Telegram: +43-650-4068314



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[Marxism] Fw: Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company calls for an urgent action: Iranian National TV’s show “Burnt Plot” is a pretext to crush workers’ demands and protests

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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From: Alliance of Middle Eastern Socialists 
Sent: Thursday, 24 January 2019 6:22 AM


Hello ,

We have published new blog in our website. Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and 
Suburbs Bus Company calls for an urgent action: Iranian National TV’s show 
“Burnt Plot” is a pretext to crush workers’ demands and protests
On Saturday, January 19, 2019, the news section of national TV “Voice and 
Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran” called “20:30” broadcasted a shameful 
show titled “Tarahi Soukhteh” (a burnt plot) through which it aimed to connect 
the legitimate struggles of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane workers and other workers in …
You may view the latest post at 
https://www.allianceofmesocialists.org/syndicate-of-workers-of-tehran-and-suburbs-bus-company-calls-for-an-urgent-action-iranian-national-tvs-show-burnt-plot-is-a-pretext-to-crush-workers-demands-and-protests/

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[Marxism] Turkey threatens northeast Syria

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/turkey-threatens-northeast-syria

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Re: [Marxism] Syria: Is the Reactionary Sochi Deal Collapsing?

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The rapid takeover of Idlib province by HTS may be the result of a deal between 
Turkey and Russia, according to one commentator cited by Kurdistan 24:

http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/404a7deb-ef97-43c2-a529-7ddfc4ac5e22


'According to Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Research Fellow who specializes in Syria at 
the Forum for Regional Thinking, an Israeli think-tank,the HTS takeover makes 
it easier for Russia and Damascus to justify an assault on the province

'The HTS’ swift takeover of Idlib from Turkish-backed groups has surprised many 
on the ground.

' “It is a mystery to me what Ankara is thinking. They invested heavily in 
supporting Ahrar al-Sham, Faylaq al-Sham, and the National Liberation Front, 
only to stand idly by and see them wiped out by HTS,” Tsurkov said.

'Some Turkish-backed rebel groups and civilians believe that Ankara may have 
allowed the “HTS to take over Idlib to justify [a] regime offensive on the area 
in return for Russian permission to take Manbij and Kurdish areas,” she added.''



From: Marxism  on behalf of RKOB via 
Marxism 
Sent: Thursday, 10 January 2019 6:46 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Syria: Is the Reactionary Sochi Deal Collapsing?

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https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/syria-is-the-reactionary-sochi-deal-collapsing/

--
Revolutionär-Kommunistische Organisation BEFREIUNG
(Österreichische Sektion der RCIT, 
www.thecommunists.net)
www.rkob.net
ak...@rkob.net
Tel./SMS/WhatsApp/Telegram: +43-650-4068314



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[Marxism] Fw: New post published Iranian Labor Leader Speaks of His Torture & Challenges Iran’s “Intelligence” Minister

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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From: Alliance of Middle Eastern Socialists 
Sent: Tuesday, 8 January 2019 6:15:26 AM

Hello ,
We have published new blog in our website. Iranian Labor Leader Speaks of His 
Torture & Challenges Iran’s “Intelligence” Minister
Esmail Bakshi, leader of the Sugar Cane Worker’s Independent Union in Ahvaz,  
speaks of the torture to which he was subjected after his arrest and calls on 
Iran’s minister of intelligence to answer him in a live television debate.
Esmaeil Bakhshi, Iran’s prominent labour activist: “I was tortured, kicked and 
beaten …
You may view the latest post at 
https://www.allianceofmesocialists.org/iranian-labor-leader-speaks-of-his-torture-challenges-irans-intelligence-minister/


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Re: [Marxism] YPG seeks alliance with Assad

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Ocalan argues for building "a system of democratic self-organisation in 
Kurdistan with the features of a confederation".  This would be a "non-state" 
form of organisation.

http://links.org.au/understanding-abdullah-ocalan-political-thought-kurdistan-womans-revolution-democratic-confederalism

But he also says:  "It is not realistic ... to go for the immediate abolition 
of the state.  This does not mean we have to take it as it is ... The 
institutional state needs to be subject to democratic changes".

Hence the PKK has been willing to negotiate with the Turkish government, 
seeking a peace deal that would include recognition of Kurdish identity, 
cultural and language rights, freedom of expression and organisation, and 
democratic elections.  Ocalan himself was involved in negotiations with 
government officials, while still in prison.  The government broke off these 
negotiations.

Similarly the PYD and the autonomous administration of northeastern Syria have 
been willing to negotiate with the Assad regime.  Not surprisingly, these 
negotiations have failed to reach agreement on democratising Syria.

However the pressures on the autonomous administration are increasing.  Turkey 
has invaded Afrin and is threatening to invade Manbij and the rest of 
northeastern Syria.

The presence of US troops has up to now deterred a Turkish invasion.  But Trump 
has promised to withdraw them, though the timing remains unclear.

The threat of a Turkish invasion might force the northeast Syria administration 
to accept a bad deal with Russia and Assad. But this has not happened yet. 

So far the only thing that has happened is that some Syrian and Russian troops 
have moved to Arima to deter a Turkish attack on Manbij.  

Probably Assad's motivation in sending the troops is a fear that Turkey will 
permanently occupy a large part of northern Syria (like Israel's occupation of 
the Golan heights).

But Assad is obviously not a reliable ally for a democratic movement.

Chris Slee




From: Marxism  on behalf of Andrew Pollack 
via Marxism 
Sent: Monday, 7 January 2019 1:28:05 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] YPG seeks alliance with Assad

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"“Reaching a solution between the autonomous administration and the Syrian
government is inevitable because our areas are part of Syria,” said Khalil."
So much for Ocalanist federated non-state communal blah blah blah.
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[Marxism] Women march against Turkish threats in Deir Ez Zor (ANF)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-northern-syria/women-marched-against-turkish-threats-in-deir-ez-zor-31925

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Re: [Marxism] Turkish-backed rebels pushing for further mass displacement from Afrin

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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The correct link is (I hope) :

http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/98ae459b-3de2-4b29-866c-3d4c3590f1ed



From: Marxism  on behalf of Chris Slee via 
Marxism 
Sent: Sunday, 6 January 2019 2:07 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Turkish-backed rebels pushing for further mass displacement 
from Afrin

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Turkish-backed rebels pushing for further mass displacement from Afrin:


http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/98ae459b-3de2-4b29-866c-3d4c359


'The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, 
said<http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=33> that Turkish-backed rebels are 
demanding that residents from Afrin be permanently expelled.

'SOHR reported that the groups have requested from the Turkish authorities 
permission to displace those from Afrin and its countryside completely, and 
confiscate “their property, livelihoods, farms, homes and their contents in 
full.”

'However, according to the human rights watchdog, Turkish authorities rejected 
this demand, fearing this would push the international community against the 
rebels and “push the whole world to intervene in favor of the Kurdish 
inhabitants of the area, and issued their orders to wait.”

'In August, Amnesty International 
said<http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/11ed2368-9391-411e-bb90-dcb37242c04d> 
that the Turkish forces occupying the Kurdish city of Afrin since March were 
giving allied Syrian armed groups free rein to commit serious human rights 
abuses against civilians.

'The SOHR report suggested that Turkish authorities have told the rebels that a 
forced exodus from Afrin was part of their future program.

'This is what happened slowly, as hundreds of families who remained in Afrin 
have fled as a result of the escalation of violations against them of 
kidnapping, beatings, assaults, looting, theft, and assaulting women and 
girls,” SOHR said'



Christians fear Turkish attack could end Christianity in northeast Syria:


http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/deeea6a9-a23a-40bf-95ab-4094a1d924f7


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[Marxism] Turkish-backed rebels pushing for further mass displacement from Afrin

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Turkish-backed rebels pushing for further mass displacement from Afrin:


http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/98ae459b-3de2-4b29-866c-3d4c359


'The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, 
said that Turkish-backed rebels are 
demanding that residents from Afrin be permanently expelled.

'SOHR reported that the groups have requested from the Turkish authorities 
permission to displace those from Afrin and its countryside completely, and 
confiscate “their property, livelihoods, farms, homes and their contents in 
full.”

'However, according to the human rights watchdog, Turkish authorities rejected 
this demand, fearing this would push the international community against the 
rebels and “push the whole world to intervene in favor of the Kurdish 
inhabitants of the area, and issued their orders to wait.”

'In August, Amnesty International 
said 
that the Turkish forces occupying the Kurdish city of Afrin since March were 
giving allied Syrian armed groups free rein to commit serious human rights 
abuses against civilians.

'The SOHR report suggested that Turkish authorities have told the rebels that a 
forced exodus from Afrin was part of their future program.

'This is what happened slowly, as hundreds of families who remained in Afrin 
have fled as a result of the escalation of violations against them of 
kidnapping, beatings, assaults, looting, theft, and assaulting women and 
girls,” SOHR said'



Christians fear Turkish attack could end Christianity in northeast Syria:


http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/deeea6a9-a23a-40bf-95ab-4094a1d924f7


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Re: [Marxism] Che

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Che Guevara: the Economics of Revolution, by Helen Yaffe (2009, Palgrave 
MacMillan) discusses Che's economic ideas and his role in Cuba as part of the 
revolutionary government.

From: Marxism  on behalf of Tim Nelson via 
Marxism 
Sent: Friday, 4 January 2019 9:11:08 PM
To: Chris Slee
Cc: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Che

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Thanks. I've read that and the diaries. Was hoping for a sympathetic
analysis of his thought/action if someone could recommend one?

On Fri, 4 Jan 2019, 12:10 p.m. A.R. G  Che's own works have been translated into English. I recommend On Guerilla
> Warfare.
>
> On Fri, Jan 4, 2019, 3:37 AM Tim Nelson via Marxism <
> marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote:
>
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>>
>> Hello
>>
>> Please could anyone on here recommend a good book on the political thought
>> of Che Guevara?
>>
>> Tim N
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Re: [Marxism] Thinking Past Fidel

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Steve Cushion's book is excellent.  I would also draw attention to my own much 
more modest pamphlet:

Cuba -- How the workers and peasants made the revolution:

http://links.org.au/node/1451


Chris Slee


From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Wednesday, 2 January 2019 12:09 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Thinking Past Fidel

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While Fidel Castro’s extraordinary influence and power can never be
ignored, we still know far too little about how or why many thousands of
ordinary Cubans participated in making the revolution. This is
particularly true of the Cuban labor movement, which many observers have
described as apathetic, passive, and demoralized by corrupt union
bosses, and thus not particularly active in the revolutionary movement.

Steve Cushion’s new book, A Hidden History of the Cuban Revolution: How
the Working Class Shaped the Guerrillas’ Victory, is a useful corrective
to those assumptions and provides an important shift of historical
perspective as Cuba moves beyond its historic leadership. Cushion argues
persuasively that the island’s working class made a vital contribution
to the revolutionary movement.

Without discounting the role of the rebel army or the urban middle
class, he argues that there was also “a third arm to the rebel forces, a
revolutionary labor movement.” In the first deeply researched historical
study on this topic, Cushion shows how organized labor contributed both
directly and indirectly to the revolutionary struggle.


full:
https://jacobinmag.com/2016/12/fidel-castro-cuba-revolution-working-class-steve-cushion
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[Marxism] Russian-Turkish meeting

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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There was a meeting between Russian and Turkish officials on December 30.  Here 
are links to two articles about the meeting:

High-level Russian, Turkish meeting ends without clear outcome:


http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/d9df4fd4-e6fc-40d8-a589-500c5a8597ed


What did the Turkish delegation offer Russia?


https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/what-did-the-turkish-delegation-offer-russia-31822



My tentative interpretation:

Russia and the Assad regime don't want to see a full scale Turkish invasion of 
Manbij.  This is something that Erdogan has often threatened - and his threats 
must be taken seriously after the invasion of Afrin.

Assad would be worried that Turkey's occupation of a large part of northern 
Syria would become permanent (like the Israeli occupation of the Golan heights).

Hence Russian and Assad regime troops have moved into the town of Arima, west 
of Manbij, with the agreement of the Syrian Democratic Forces, to deter such an 
attack.  They are also talking about moving to the Sajur River area, north of 
Manbij (though I suspect this will not occur until the US troops currently 
stationed there are withdrawn).

The Russian/Assadist action has caused Erdogan to backtrack from his threat of 
unilateral military action.  Instead he is proposing a deal whereby Turkish and 
Assadist troops jointly take over Manbij.  He is also offering to allow Assad's 
troops to advance in Idlib province.

It is unclear whether Russia and Assad will accept this offer.

Chris Slee


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Re: [Marxism] Anarchist speaks from Afrin

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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I don't "view the entire opposition to Assad as sectarian".  However sectarian 
forces have become increasingly dominant within the rebel movement.

A key turning point was in 2014, when the non-sectarian Syrian Revolutionaries 
Front was attacked and suppressed by Jabhat al-Nusra.  The part of Idlib 
province that Nusra captured included Druze villages.  The Druze were forced to 
convert to Sunni Islam.  See:

http://www.aymennjawad.org/15969/jabhat-al-nusra-and-the-druze-of-idlib-province

Other rebel groups in Idlib province were either unwilling or unable to prevent 
Nusra's attack on the SRF and its forced conversion of the Druze.

Some of the SRF members who survived Nusra's attack fled to Afrin and later 
became part of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Chris Slee




From: Marxism  on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism 
Sent: Tuesday, 1 January 2019 12:04:14 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Anarchist speaks from Afrin

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*****

On 12/31/18 7:50 AM, Chris Slee via Marxism wrote:
> Secondly, he has support (if only as a lesser evil) from a significant 
> section of the population, particularly the religious minorities who fear 
> persecution by sectarian elements of the rebel movement.

Since you (or Tony Iltis, is there any difference?) view the entire
opposition to Assad as sectarian, this is a distinction without a
difference. Or is it a difference without a distinction?
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Re: [Marxism] Anarchist speaks from Afrin

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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A "settlement" with Assad  seems likely to be necessary, for three reasons.  

Firstly, there seems no realistic prospect of militarily defeating him, so long 
as he retains the support of Russia and Iran.

Secondly, he has support (if only as a lesser evil) from a significant section 
of the population, particularly the religious minorities who fear persecution 
by sectarian elements of the rebel movement.  A peace agreement would ease 
their fears and might make them more open to a political critique of the Assad 
regime.

Thirdly, a peace agreement would make it more difficult for Turkey to continue 
its occupation of parts of northern Syria, and invade new areas.

This does not mean that a peace agreement would be a panacea.  Colombia is a 
case where a peace agreement has so far failed to end the violence.

Still, it seems better than the alternative of continued war with little 
prospect of success.

Things could change if mass protests in Iran and Russia forced the withdrawal 
of Iranian and Russian military forces from Syria.  In Iran this may be 
possible, but in Russia it seems very unlikely.

Chris Slee


From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Sunday, 30 December 2018 5:43:22 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Anarchist speaks from Afrin

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Here is a report from a US or European anarchist in Afrin. Notice that his
entire narrative is about fighting ISIS and Turkey. Not a hint that the
PUD/YPG opposes Assad. And it's clear that he got this from the PYD/YPG.
Here's the best he can say: "
*Overthrowing Assad by military means is a dead project—or, at least, the
things that would have to happen to make it plausible again in the near
future are even more horrifying than the regime is. I hope that somehow,
someday, there can be some kind of settlement between the regime and
YPG/YPJ, and the regime and the rebels in Idlib, and everyone else who has
been suffering here."*
A "settlement" with Assad? Really?

https://crimethinc.com/2018/12/28/the-threat-to-rojava-an-anarchist-in-syria-speaks-on-the-real-meaning-of-trumps-withdrawal?fbclid=IwAR2i6ytRiLIpn9MiDPPvOl8DD0FYlf3C1iyDKUhgWmBFn0Pa0WDXRDkzlD4

John Reimann
--
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook
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Re: [Marxism] Syria: Assessment and Prospects

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

, but rather goes back to the 
beginning of the uprising and has been part of the problem leading to this 
juncture.

The other thing though is that both the Kurdish-led forces and the mostly Arab 
rebels now supporting Erdogan may be equally being misled by Erdogan. Erdogan 
has just now essentially welcomed the news that Assad troops have arrived in 
Manbij, even though the SDF invited them as a block to Erdogan. Erdogan said 
that it is "Syrian" (ie Assadist) territory; once Assad ejects the YPG, he has 
no more problem in Manbij. Interesting for both FSA and SDF to dwell on that 
for a moment.

And also interesting from the point of view of my assertion in my article that 
T5rump's withdrawal is just as much an invitation to Assad as it is to Erdogan. 
More, in my opinion.


On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 4:05 PM Chris Slee via Marxism 
mailto:marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>> wrote:
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Dr Zaineddin (see below) is an apologist for the Turkish state.  He advocates 
"working with Turkey to liberate eastern Syria from SDF".  In other words, he 
wants a repetition of the Turkish invasion of Afrin on a larger scale.

The YPG has responded to the threat of a Turkish invasion by asking the Assad 
regime for help.

What this will mean in practice I am not sure.  It may just mean
that a few of Assad's troops are stationed on the border between 
Turkish-controlled and SDF-controlled areas as a deterrent to a Turkish attack. 
 (Presumably Turkey would not want to start a war with Assad regime and its 
Russian backers).

On the other hand, the Assad regime may try to restore its effective control 
over SDF-controlled areas.

This would be a bad outcome.  But as Zaineddin notes, the Assad regime is weak, 
so it may not be capable of restoring its rule in northeast Syria.

Chris Slee

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Re: [Marxism] Syria: Assessment and Prospects

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Dr Zaineddin (see below) is an apologist for the Turkish state.  He advocates 
"working with Turkey to liberate eastern Syria from SDF".  In other words, he 
wants a repetition of the Turkish invasion of Afrin on a larger scale.

The YPG has responded to the threat of a Turkish invasion by asking the Assad 
regime for help.

What this will mean in practice I am not sure.  It may just mean
that a few of Assad's troops are stationed on the border between 
Turkish-controlled and SDF-controlled areas as a deterrent to a Turkish attack. 
 (Presumably Turkey would not want to start a war with Assad regime and its 
Russian backers).

On the other hand, the Assad regime may try to restore its effective control 
over SDF-controlled areas.

This would be a bad outcome.  But as Zaineddin notes, the Assad regime is weak, 
so it may not be capable of restoring its rule in northeast Syria.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of MM via Marxism 

Sent: Saturday, 29 December 2018 12:00:06 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Syria: Assessment and Prospects

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I’m not familiar with the speaker here (Dr. Zaineddin) but this Twitter thread 
offers a summary in English of what seems like a very important speech; 
hopefully others who know Arabic or who have been able to follow things more 
closely can weigh in with additional context or perspective:

[Quote:]

This is an excellent speech by @DrZaineddin on the current state of affairs in 
Syria. In this thread, I'll try to summarize the main points in English.

In the beginning, the Syrian people were struggling against a dictatorial 
regime and the regime's allies were supporting it from behind. Now the allies 
were forced to enter directly and fight the people on behalf of the regime.

To think that the situation is entirely in the hand of outside actors, and the 
internal decision of Syrians is now irrelevant, is wrong. The regime wanted to 
attack Idlib recently but it was the military preparations of the rebels which 
ultimately deterred the offensive.

In Ghouta and Daraa the regime used traitors/"frogs" to make the military 
conquest of rebel-held areas easier. In Idlib, all the rebels came together and 
decided to snuff out the people who wanted to reconcile with the regime. 100s 
were arrested.

After this, the morale of the regime fighters hit rock bottom, Hezbollah 
announced it wouldn't participate and ultimately the regime was forced to 
cancel the offensive. This was due to the internal resolve of Syrians.

The next point of discussion is the loss of territory by rebels. At one point 
they had 70% of Syria, today they have 15%. Someone could say: "if we didn't 
win when we had 70%, how can we hope to win with just 15%? The matter is 
decided and we lost.”

As for the loss of formerly besieged areas, the transfer of rebels from there 
to the North might be positive, because now they can get supplies and continue 
to fight. Also, note that the rebels having 15% doesn't mean the regime has 
85%. It has 54% and the rest is with SDF & IS.

Even this 54%, the regime doesn't have real power and control. Russia, Iran, 
Hezbollah, and 100s of various militias are the ones really in control on the 
ground. The actual regime has no ability to make decisions. In Aleppo, there 
are bloody battles and turf wars between the...

...various militias. In Daraa, the regime hasn't even entered the towns it 
recaptured yet. Thus, the regime's control of areas is mostly a mirage.

The rebels have 15% but it's not just Idlib, they also have most of Aleppo 
province and parts of other provinces. It's an area larger than some countries 
such as Qatar, Bahrain or UAE. If they invest in this area, they can enjoy the 
fruits of it.

The next topic is the international situation. Years ago, various countries 
gave statements saying "Assad must go" etc. Now many of those same countries 
are saying "Assad should stay" and are restoring diplomatic relations with the 
regime.

However, this is all a media mirage. If them saying "Assad must go" had no 
effect on whether Assad stays or goes, why would them saying the opposite have 
any effect? It's all just statements and doesn't translate to anything on the 
ground.

Plus, many countries were supporting Assad secretly and are now supporting him 
openly. This doesn't change anything. 

[Marxism] New US defense secretary linked to arms trade with Turkey (ANF)

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/footprint-of-us-secretary-of-defense-in-arms-trade-with-turkey-31656

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[Marxism] Threat of Turkish Planned Military Invasion Against Northern Syria: Internationalist Solidarity Needed

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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From: Alliance of Middle Eastern Socialists 
Sent: Monday, 24 December 2018 8:48:12 PM


Hello ,
We have published new blog in our website. Alliance Statement on Threat of 
Turkish Planned Military Invasion Against Northern Syria: Internationalist 
Solidarity Needed
Donald Trump’s sudden decision to withdraw 2000 U.S. troops from Syria is a 
green light to Recep Tayyip Erdogan to decimate the Kurds in what remains of 
Rojava in northern Syria. Earlier this year, Turkey invaded the Afrin area with 
the assistance of Syrian reactionary armed opposition groups, leading to …
You may view the latest post at 
https://www.allianceofmesocialists.org/alliance-statement-on-threat-of-turkish-planned-military-invasion-against-northern-syria-internationalist-solidarity-needed/


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Re: [Marxism] US withdrawal from Syria and myths of "regime change"

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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John Reimann dismisses Patrick Cockburn as "saying very little".

I think Cockburn makes some good points.  He says the US troop withdrawal 
"makes it easier for the administration to revive the old US alliance with 
Turkey".

Erdogan wants to invade northeast Syria.  The US troop presence there has been 
an obstacle.  Trump will remove this obstacle.

After the fall of Mosul in 2014, the US became worried by the rise of ISIS, and 
began cooperating with the YPG and SDF to oppose it.

Trump is now shifting back to the pre-2014 US policy of fully supporting the 
Turkish state against the Kurdish left.

Other sections of the US ruling class want to keep troops in Syria, either 
because they still regard ISIS as a threat or for other reasons.  But Trump can 
plausibly claim that his policy is good for US imperialism, because it will 
restore good relations with Turkey, a very important ally.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Saturday, 22 December 2018 5:10:06 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] US withdrawal from Syria and myths of "regime change"

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I think Michael Karadjis for his extremely well documented commentary on
the US involvement in Syria. A couple of additional points:

At times the "opponents" of US imperialism point to the comment of one or
another US official that Assad should go as proof of attempted regime
change. Often, these same people claim to be Marxists. But it is a
fundamental view of Marxism that a regime is no just one person. The head
of state rules through an apparatus, and it is exactly that apparatus that
US imperialism never ever even gave lip service to changing. Same with
Egypt. Even when Obama called for Mubarak to step down, he never even
implied that the apparatus that Mubarak had built up should be removed.

This is totally different from Iraq, where Bush & Co. removed the entire
Baath apparatus lock, stock and barrel. Now THAT was real regime change!
(Of course, nowadays the US regime doesn't even want to remove the head of
state in Syria, never mind his entire apparatus.)

On the SDF: My understanding of them is that they are an unstable alliance
of multiple different groups that has already had a tendency to fracture.
It also seems to me that what holds them together is the cover of the US
military. Once that is gone, it seems to me most likely that the SDF will
tend to completely fall apart. That would leave it to the YPG, which I
think is already the main component of the SDF, to do any fighting against
a Turkish invasion. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if some
forces in the SDF were to ally themselves with Turkey. And, as Michael
seems to be saying, I think the YPG will call on Assad to enter the region;
they will directly and openly align themselves with Assad. But, to repeat,
it seems to me that the SDF overall will fragment and more or less cease to
exist once the US leaves.

As far what the "anti-imperialists" have to say: I've noticed that most of
them maintain an embarrassed silence. I sent my article to a socialist
discussion list which I'm on that has a couple of outspoken Assadists on
it. Neither of them has raised his head above the parapet. Both Mintpress
and Globalresearch are saying this is a defeat for US imperialism, that it
shows the weakness of US imperialism. Beyond that, what Chossudovsky writes
on Global "Research"
https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-trump-administration-isnt-ending-the-wars-in-syria-or-yemen-its-only-shifting-and-fighting-over-strategy/5663574
sounds very deep, but it's really incomprehensible. Max Blumenthal, UNAC,
and Veterans for Peace are silent on the issue. Ben Norton does an
interview with Patrick Coburn on the "Real" (sic) News (
https://therealnews.com/stories/medias-russia-obsession-obscures-how-trumps-syria-withdrawal-benefits-turkey-most?fbclid=IwAR0GRz8nHXBcmqOsJgFXPw8JlU8HfIfnq0Ly1AevcNpfco-gOIALfQgXaV8).
Both of them - especially Coburn - sound very learned and the latter talks
in a fair amount of detail about this and that, but when you put it all
together, he's basically saying very little except: (1) the withdrawal does
not benefit Russia (which is complete nonsense in my opinion; (2) turkey
will invade (duh!); (3) The YPG will turn to Assad (another duh).

John Reimann

--
*“In politics, 

Re: [Marxism] [UCE] What lies behind Trump's troop withdrawal from Syria and what it means

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Erdogan may well have influenced Trump, but he was not acting as a "messenger" 
for Putin.

Erdogan has always been hostile to Rojava and the Democratic Federation of 
Northern Syria.  He has always complained about US support for the Syrian 
Democratic Forces.

Trump is returning to the longstanding US policy of full support for the 
Turkish state against the Kurdish left.  There was a partial departure from 
this policy when the US began supporting the YPG against ISIS in 2014.  But it 
was only partial.  During this period the US and its allies continued to 
support  Turkey against the PKK.  They continued to ban the PKK as a "terrorist 
organisation".

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Friday, 21 December 2018 9:35:52 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] [UCE] What lies behind Trump's troop withdrawal from Syria 
and what it means

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The main reason for his withdrawal is that he got his marching orders from
his paymaster, Putin. As I had predicted last night on Facebook, these
orders apparently came through Erdogan, with whom he'd been on the phone
just a couple of days earlier. This decision not only means a new stage in
Syria, it threatens to force an all-out war by the mainstream of the US
capitalist class against Trump, who has shown once again that he is Putin's
agent. Even his closest foreign policy advisors - Bolton and Pompeo - are
adamantly against this withdrawal. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is hinting at
raising Trump's links with and dependence on the Russian oligarchy.

For international working class solidarity instead of relying on ANY
capitalist/imperialist force be it the US, Russia, or any other!
Read full article here:
https://oaklandsocialist.com/2018/12/20/trump-withdraws-troops-from-syria-what-does-it-mean/

--
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Re: [Marxism] WaPo editorial on Syria

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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I don't advocate that US troops stay.  I would call on the US government to 
supply weapons so the people of northeast Syria can defend themselves against 
the coming Turkish invasion, especially anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons.

Chris Slee

From: 1999wild...@gmail.com <1999wild...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, 20 December 2018 2:53:40 PM
To: Chris Slee
Cc: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
Subject: Re: [Marxism] WaPo editorial on Syria

If we leave it simply there, that means that withdrawal of US troops equals the 
green light, which means we should oppose that withdrawal!

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 19, 2018, at 6:23 PM, Chris Slee 
mailto:chris_w_s...@hotmail.com>> wrote:

Trump has given a green light to Turkey to invade northeastern Syria.

This follows the Turkish invasion of Afrin in January 2018, and before that the 
Turkish invasion of the Jarablus-Azaz-al-Bab area in August 2016.  Turkey also 
has troops in Idlib province.

The US left should be campaigning against US support for the Turkish invasion 
of Syria, just as it opposes US support for the Saudi invasion of Yemen.
.
The left should oppose weapons sales to Turkey.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism 
mailto:marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu>>
 on behalf of John Reimann via Marxism 
mailto:marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>>
Sent: Thursday, 20 December 2018 7:47:16 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] WaPo editorial on Syria

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Here is an editorial from the Washington Post. I don't need to convince
anybody on this list, but note that nowhere in the editorial is "removing
Assad" mentioned as a goal. Also note that the editorial points out that it
seems likely that this removal is a nod towards Erdogan, which means
pulling the rug out from under guess who... the PYD, who depend on US
forces to remain in power.

"PRESIDENT TRUMP’S sudden move to yank U.S. troops out of Syria
undermined
at a stroke several foreign policy goals he has championed. The president
promised to finish the job of destroying the Islamic State, but the
withdrawal will leave thousands of its fighters still in place. He vowed to
roll back Iran’s aggression across the Middle East, but his decision will
allow its forces to entrench in the country that is the keystone of
Tehran’s ambitions. He promised to protect Israel, but that nation will now
be left to face alone the buildup by Iran and its proxies along its
northern border.

The president’s top national security advisers had carefully developed and
articulated a strategy of maintaining a U.S. presence in Syria until the
Islamic State was beyond revival and Iran withdrew its forces — a plan they
were defending up until this week. Mr. Trump has again demonstrated, to
them and to the world, that no U.S. policy or foreign commitment is immune
from his whims.

Mr. Trump claimed

the
Islamic State had been defeated, but that is not the view of the Defense
and State Departments. Thousands of jihadist fighters are still in Syria
and control splotches of territory in the Euphrates Valley
.
A U.S. withdrawal will give the extremists an opportunity to reconstitute,
as they did in Iraq
following
the premature U.S. withdrawal ordered by President Barack Obama
.

Until Wednesday, a prime talking point of senior national security
officials was that, “if we’ve learned one thing over the years, [the]
enduring defeat of a group like this means you can’t just defeat their
physical space and then leave,” as the State Department’s special envoy for
the global campaign against the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, put it last
week . Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis said it another way