[Marxism] New Cuba blog: Cuba's Socialist Renewal
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Dear Marxmail subscribers, I've just launched a new blog, Cuba's Socialist Renewal. The blog has two aims. One is to open a window to the English-speaking world on the debates and changes taking place in Cuba. What makes this blog special is that I'll be regularly posting original translations of selected documents, commentaries and letters to the editor published in Cuba's revolutionary press, and inviting readers to comment on them. The other is to provide a space for discussion and debate among supporters, however critical, of the Cuban Revolution to sharpen our understanding and, hopefully, to inspire our ongoing solidarity. I invite you to check it out, join the discussion and sign up as a follower: http://cubasocialistrenewal.blogspot.com/ Happy New Year and 52nd Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Marce Cameron Sydney, Australia Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Alexander Cockburn - Honor the WikiLeakers
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Honor the WikiLeakers Friday 31 December 2010 by: Alexander Cockburn, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed http://www.truth-out.org/alexander-cockburn-honor-wikileakers66432 When it comes to journalistic achievements in 2010, the elephant in the room is WikiLeaks. I've seen many put-downs of the materials as containing no smoking guns, or as being essentially trivial communications to the State Department from U.S. diplomats and kindred government agents around the world. Now, it's true that the cables were legally available to well over 1.5 million Americans, who had adequate security clearance. But trivial? Don't believe it. The cables show the daily business of a mighty empire acting in manners diametrically opposite to public pretensions. The cables form one of the most extraordinary lessons in the cold realities of international diplomacy ever made public. Normally, scholars have to wait for 10, 20, even 50 years to gain access to such papers. The WikiLeaks documents show that the picture of the international business of the United States offered by the major U.S. media to the public is an infantile misrepresentation of reality. The efforts being made by Attorney General Eric Holder to bolster secrecy and espionage laws show that the U.S. government, led currently by a man who pledged transparency, wants the American people to remain in blissful ignorance of what its government is actually doing. The alleged leaker of the WikiLeaks files, Army Private Bradley Manning, currently being held in solitary confinement in sadistic conditions, should be vigorously applauded and defended for exposing such crimes as the murder of civilians in Baghdad by U.S. Apache helicopters. The WikiLeaks Afghan-related files are a damning, vivid series of snapshots of a disastrous and criminal enterprise. In these same files, there is a compelling series of secret documents about the death squad operated by the U.S. military known as Task Force 373, an undisclosed black unit of special forces, which has been hunting down targets for death or detention without trial. From WikiLeaks we learn that more than 2,000 senior figures from the Taliban and al-Qaida are held on a kill or capture list, known as Jpel, the joint prioritized effects list. Julian Assange and his colleagues should similarly be honored and defended. They have acted in the best traditions of the journalistic vocation. The U.S. began the destruction of Afghanistan in 1979, when President Jimmy Carter and his National Security Adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, started financing the mullahs and warlords in the largest and most expensive operation in the CIA's history until that time. Here we are, more than three decades later, half-buried under a mountain of horrifying news stories about a destroyed land of desolate savagery, and what did one hear on many news commentaries earlier this week? Indignant bleats often by liberals, about WikiLeaks' irresponsibility in releasing the documents, twitchy questions such as that asked by The Nation's Chris Hayes on the Rachel Maddow Show: I wonder ultimately to whom WikiLeaks ends up being accountable. The answer to that last question was given definitively in 1851 by Robert Lowe, editorial writer for the London Times. He had been instructed by his editor to refute the claim of a government minister that if the press hoped to share the influence of statesmen, it must also share in the responsibilities of statesmen. The first duty of the press, Lowe wrote, is to obtain the earliest and most correct intelligence of the events of the time, and instantly, by disclosing them, to make them the common property of the nation ... The Press lives by disclosures ... For us, with whom publicity and truth are the air and light of existence, there can be no greater disgrace than to recoil from the frank and accurate disclosure of facts as they are. We are bound to tell the truth as we find it, without fear of consequences -- to lend no convenient shelter to acts of injustice and oppression, but to consign them at once to the judgment of the world. *Alexander Cockburn is co-editor with Jeffrey St. Clair of the muckraking newsletter CounterPunch. He is also co-author of the new book Dime's Worth of Difference: Beyond the Lesser of Two Evils, available through www.counterpunch.com.* *Copyright 2010 Creators.com * * * Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Ecological civilization
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Ecological Civilization Fred Magdoff Fred Magdoff (fmagdoff [at] uvm.edu) is professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont and adjunct professor of crop and soil science at Cornell University. His most recent book is Agriculture and Food in Crisis (co-edited with Brian Tokar, Monthly Review Press, 2010). This article is slightly revised from his presentation to the Marxism and Ecological Civilization Conference at Fudan University, Shanghai, November 17, 2010. Given the overwhelming harm being done to the world’s environment and to its people, it is essential today to consider how we might organize a truly ecological civilization—one that exists in harmony with natural systems—instead of trying to overwhelm and dominate nature. This is not just an ethical issue; it is essential for our survival as a species and the survival of many other species that we reverse the degradation of the earth’s life support systems that once provided dependable climate, clean air, clean water (fresh and ocean), bountiful oceans, and healthy and productive soils. full: http://monthlyreview.org/110101magdoff.php Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] An interview with John White, imprisoned for defending his son against a racist mob
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.theroot.com/views/freed-prison-still-pain Freed From Prison but Still in Pain By: Lynette Holloway Posted: December 29, 2010 at 8:48 PM John White's conviction for killing a white teen on his driveway was commuted by New York's governor. He told The Root why the slaying still haunts him and why he believes that he was wrongly imprisoned. Just days after Gov. David A. Paterson commuted his prison sentence in the fatal shooting of an unarmed white teenager outside of his Long Island, N.Y., home nearly four years ago, John H. White told The Root in an exclusive and emotional interview that he never should have been sentenced in the racially charged slaying. White shot 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro in 2006 during a heated confrontation in which the teen and several friends came after White's 19-year-old son, Aaron. White claimed that he was defending his son from a lynch mob when the gun went off accidentally. The case became a cause célèbre for the NAACP New York State Conference and the Long Island branches, as well as other civil rights organizations that saw the decision to prosecute the case as an egregious error of racial inequity. After the trial, the State Conference also passed a resolution calling for the governor to intervene. White served five months in prison before his sentence was commuted. The fact that John White is returning to his home and his family shows the power of people getting involved, raising their voice for justice and keeping the faith, Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP said in a prepared statement. An emotional White told The Root, My family and I feel exceptionally blessed because I'm out and I'm home. We feel that I should have never gone to prison. These people came to my home and attempted a lynching. I feel remorse for the young man who lost his life, but under the circumstances, there should have been a better outcome. A better outcome would have been a pardon, he said, which would have expunged his record regarding the point-blank shooting death of Cicciaro. An even better one would have been no arrest or manslaughter conviction at all, said one of his attorneys, Marie Michel. If White were Caucasian and Cicciaro were black, White would never have been convicted, Michel surmises. We asked for a pardon, executive clemency or commutation, Michel said. His entire record should have been expunged. We are very grateful that Gov. Paterson commuted his sentence, because the results are his freedom. Everyone was fighting to free John White. But now, where do we go from here? Mr. White still has a criminal record. He still has a felony on his record. That will affect his life forever. We are thankful, but we would have preferred a full pardon because it would have given him a clean slate to move forward. White's original sentence of five to 15 years was reduced to two to four years based on his character. The judge cited White's record of honesty and his lack of prior arrests. White, a working-class man who has worked as a paver for 20 years, is a deacon at his church. But not everyone is happy about the commutation. I strongly believe the governor should have had the decency and the compassion to at least contact the victim's family to allow them to be heard before commuting the defendant's sentence, Thomas Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney, said in a statement. Cicciaro's father responded with resignation, saying, The day was going to come anyway, according to Newsday. Beresford Adams, a reverend at Faith Baptist Church in Coram, N.Y., and president of the Brookhaven branch of the NAACP, said, There has been a loss of life. We are prayerful for both families. We hope these are times the communities can heal. U.S. governors have commuted only a handful of sentences in high-profile cases over the last few decades. Many of those were death sentences reduced to life in prison, including that of John Spirko of Toledo, Ohio. His death sentence was commuted by Gov. Ted Strickland in 2008 to life after tests concluded that there was no DNA evidence linking him to the 1982 slaying of an Ohio postmistress, according to the Associated Press. Paterson, who has granted nine pardons, three commutations and one clemency, plans to make more pardons before he leaves office on Dec. 31, according to the New York Times. In White's case, the legal team argued strenuously that the incident was evocative of the civil rights era during which White came of age, when black people were confronted with lynchings and mobs of white people at their homes. The details of the incident are these: Cicciaro, along with several other youths, left a party and showed up at White's house in Miller Place, a mostly
Re: [Marxism] New Cuba blog: Cuba's Socialist Renewal
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Good for you, Marce! Your blog could be a nice supplement to the materials already being published in English on the Links web site (Links, international journal of socialist renewal, http://links.org.au/) and in Green Left Weekly (http://www.greenleft.org.au/). You might also consider adding those publications to your collection of Links on your blog site. Richard Dear Marxmail subscribers, I've just launched a new blog, Cuba's Socialist Renewal. The blog has two aims. One is to open a window to the English-speaking world on the debates and changes taking place in Cuba. What makes this blog special is that I'll be regularly posting original translations of selected documents, commentaries and letters to the editor published in Cuba's revolutionary press, and inviting readers to comment on them. The other is to provide a space for discussion and debate among supporters, however critical, of the Cuban Revolution to sharpen our understanding and, hopefully, to inspire our ongoing solidarity. I invite you to check it out, join the discussion and sign up as a follower: http://cubasocialistrenewal.blogspot.com/ Happy New Year and 52nd Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Marce Cameron Sydney, Australia Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/rfidler_8%40sympati co.ca Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Battisti
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Nobody on this list has commented on Battisti's fate so far. His extradition to Italy has been suspended by Brazilian president Lula on the last day of Lula's mandate (Dec. 31st) This issue is taking up a lot of space in French, Italian, Mexican and Brazilian left-wing lists. I'm surprised marxmail has not responded since Lula's 31st December announcement. Battisti was a member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism (Proletari Armati per il Communismo) organisation, a Autonomonus Marxist group that carried out bank robberies in the 70s in Italy and was responsible for the killing of several individuals (A senior member of the Italian Prison service, a Jeweler who had killed a robber in self-defense, a right-wing politician ...). They described themselves as different from the Red Brigades in that we advocate a much more decentralized, loose-knight, anti-hierarchical form of organization. All proletarians can join us in our fight against the oppressors, wherever they may be. Battisti fled to France where he was given asylum by Mitterrand. He became an award-winning authour of French detective stories. In 2003, the new Right-wing French government rescinded Mitterand'(s amnesty for ITalian refugees and Battisti fled to Brazil. He was arrested in Brazil in 2007 and faced deportation to Italy where he had been condemned in absentia to life imprisonment. On 31 December 2010, President Lula, on his final day before leaving office, decided that Battisti was a political refugee and would not be deported, but rather granted Brazilian citizenship and released from prison. Italy has vowed to challenge Lula's decision and has already appealed to Lula's successor to overturn the decision. The Ligue Norte, a right-wing party, had called on an indefinite boycott of Brazilian produces. Brazilian newspapers (O Globo, A Folha) and Italian newspapers (Corria della Serra) are both carrying pro- and anti-Battisti comments. Anything this list wants to add on this timeless trope of the bandit evading justice for 30 years ? And I must hasten to add, Battisti himself claims to be innocent of the murders commited by the PAC and that the Italian justice system has used payed repentants (i.e. former members of PAC pardonned and/or paid to revise their testimony) to inculpate him. I've read Battisti's crime novels in French, they're really good. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Bonne année !
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Bonne année à vous tous ! Happy New Year ! What is good about this new year is that workers in France, and presumably in Europe and America, are now clearly conscious that the HAVES are waging a war with the HAVE NOTS. Resentment against the privileges of the ruling class is becoming widespread. There is no more talk of class collaboration between unions and upper-strata management. Only the threat of unemployment is enough to keep the working class in line. And unemployment is soaring. All over Europe, and the US, unemployment now is in the double digit range (11% ? 14% ? 17% ?), depending on how you define unemployment (received one paycheck over the last 6 months ? 9 months ? 12 months ? 14 months ?). Last week, I was in Paris, and the taxi driver deliberately slowed down when the Prime Minister came out of the French Parliament, with four heavily armed cars bearing sirens coming out of the building at top speed. That's not an emergency commented the Egyptian-born taxi driver they can jolly well wait in the traffic jam like the rest of us, fuch him ! Other cars seemed to echo the taxi drivers feelings and the PM had to wait in the Parisian rush hour traffic like the rest of us. Unmarked cars, with plainclothes special forces guys, frantically waving red lights to get the PM through traffic. As though they were ambulances. It's a disgrace, just shows you how out of touch the fuckers are with how the common man feels ! Resentment is strong and 2011 might well show how strong it runs, at least in France. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] US Evangelical Fundamentalism
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == The US disease known as Evangelical Fundamentalism is a direct threat to working class autonomy and emancipation. In the US, tapping into the Evangelical vote is done by Republicans. Rather than trying to engage with such elements, US Marxists should be extremely wary of the pernicious effects of religion which is always concerned with establishing authoritarian rule and protecting the powers that be. Cases involving born-again Christian teachers refusing to teach evolution are becoming as frequent as burqa-clad teachers telling children that women should dress modestly. Both are pilling up in the European Court of Human Rights, despite clear precedents showing that the ECHR upholds secularism. As usual, religious groups shrilly denounce politically-motivated secularism while telling their adherents that they are under-siege and must vote for the right candidate. Misguided Communists who believe they can harness the power of religious leaders to fan the anger of the masses are in for a rude awakening. Religion is a powerful force and priests know more about channeling it than do Marxists, despite their theoretical insight. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Bonne année !
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Bonne année à toi aussi! Dan observed about an Egyptian Taxi Driver: 'That's not an emergency' commented the Egyptian-born taxi driver 'they can jolly well wait in the traffic jam like the rest of us, fuch him !' Other cars seemed to echo the taxi drivers feelings We all look forward to hearing about the intensification of struggle in France and elsewhere, Dan. Your reports and reflections on French workers and youth are always welcome information. Those of us in imperialist America can only hope we can contribute something ourselves. Vive Les Travailleurs et Jeunes Francais! La Liberté éclairant le monde! Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Bonne année !
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE ! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS ! Travailleurs de tous les pays, unissez-vous ! ¡Proletarios de todos los países, uníos! يا عمال العالم اتحدو! Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch ! Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! 全世界无产者，联合起来！ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Irish crisis book. Review copies available
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Ireland’s Credit crunch. Review copies available A limited number of review copies are available for distribution. Text details of journal or site offering the review to 00 353 830 028 959 or email webmas...@socialistdemocracy.org. Introduction: In many ways Ireland has been a test bed for the working out of the crisis of modern capitalism. In the guise of the Celtic Tiger it was the most exuberant and uncontrolled of the neoliberal models. After the crash it was the model of savage austerity coupled with appeasement of the banks. Now, quietly, on Black Thursday, 30th September, it has become the first economy where capitalist strategy hit the rocks and left Ireland and Europe facing into the abyss. The inner mechanisms of the crisis, the incapacity of the Irish gombeen capitalists, the capitulation of the union bureaucracy are all subject to a Marxist analysis in Ireland's Credit Crunch. The book, by Keating, Morrison and Corrigan, is priced at £6/€8 Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Reflections of a baby boomer
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Technically speaking, I am not a baby boomer but feel qualified to say a word or two about the article Boomers Hit New Self-Absorption Milestone: Age 65 that appears in todays NY Times. It was written by Dan Barry, a character I had a run-in with back in 2006 when he wrote a stupid attack on squeegee men, the intrusive beggars that persuaded so many Manhattan liberals like Barry to vote for Giuliani. The article defines baby boomers as those who turn 65 in January. Born on January 26, 1945 I have my 66th birthday to look forward to. When I was born, my father was over in Belgium dodging Nazi bullets in the Battle of the Bulge. When he returned, I was 6 months old and something of a challenge to him. They say that when a father is not around for a childs birth, he is likely to feel more remote. Not having more than 15 minutes conversation with dad in my entire life, I imagine that this was true in our case. The article is focused on how my generation is hitting the brick wall of old age: This means that the 79 million baby boomers, about 26 percent of this countrys population, will be redefining what it means to be older, and placing greater demands on the social safety net. They are living longer, working longer and, researchers say, nursing some disappointment about how their lives have turned out. The self-aware, or self-absorbed, feel less self-fulfilled, and thus are racked with self-pity. So, then, to those who once never trusted anyone over 30: Raise that bowl of high-fiber granola, antioxidant-rich blueberries and skim milk and give yourself a Happy Birthday toast. full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2011/01/01/reflections-of-a-baby-boomer/ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] US Evangelical Fundamentalism
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Sat, Jan 1, 2011 at 2:11 PM, Dan d.koech...@wanadoo.fr wrote: The US disease known as Evangelical Fundamentalism is a direct threat to working class autonomy and emancipation. In the US, tapping into the Evangelical vote is done by Republicans. Rather than trying to engage with such elements, US Marxists should be extremely wary of the pernicious effects of religion which is always concerned with establishing authoritarian rule and protecting the powers that be. Cases involving born-again Christian teachers refusing to teach evolution are becoming as frequent as burqa-clad teachers telling children that women should dress modestly. Both are pilling up in the European Court of Human Rights, despite clear precedents showing that the ECHR upholds secularism. I suppose this means that the US left should have refused to support and build the movement against Jim Crow in the 1950s and 60s since it was lead predominantly by Black Christian ministers. To mention in the same breath and thus equate the struggle by victims of racism and xenophobia with the oppressive fundamentalism of racists and xenophobes is to completely miss the distinction of which side are you on, which I would list as the starting point for revolutionaries. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] US Evangelical Fundamentalism
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == This isn't so easy a question as it seems, though my own Nothingarian predispositions are rather militantly infidel. We just don't have anything here historically playing the role of Catholicism in France. Anticlericalism is much more important where you have a close identification of the state with a specific religious establishment. There is also no particular connection between evangelicalism and religion generally. Nor between evangelicalism and reactionary politics...or between religion and progressive politics. In a more fundamental sense, people here (and maybe everywhere) don't feel the compulsion many of us have towards intellectual consistency. In fact, most politics here usually involve intellectual leaps of Olympic proportions. So much so that I doubt that there's really a clear connection between their politics and whether they believe in god (especially since almost none of the people who use the term mean the same thing by it that someone else means when they use the word). And even less between their politics and whether they believe that spritzing their children at a certain age with a certain kind of water means something cosmic and profound. ML PS: Of course, I would love to go over and make a detailed comparative study of this for the next howevermany years. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] US Evangelical Fundamentalism
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Sat, 1 Jan 2011 18:07:47 -0500 Mark Lause markala...@gmail.com writes: This isn't so easy a question as it seems, though my own Nothingarian predispositions are rather militantly infidel. We just don't have anything here historically playing the role of Catholicism in France. Anticlericalism is much more important where you have a close identification of the state with a specific religious establishment. There is also no particular connection between evangelicalism and religion generally. Nor between evangelicalism and reactionary politics...or between religion and progressive politics. Anticlericalism was one of the defining characteristics of progressive politics in France, dating as far back as the 18th century Enlightenment and the Revolution. It continues to be a defining characteristic of republican and progressive politics in France in a way that is quite foreign to the US experience. In the past forty years or so, much of American evangelicalism has leaned to the right politically, but that has not always been the case in the US. In the 19th century, evangelicals were often in the forefront of progressive movements like the abolitionists. Evangelicals were quite active in the populist movement of the 1890s. Probably up to the 1970s, most evangelicals were progressive on economic issues while socially conservative. The biologist Richard Lewontin when writing on the popularity of creationism/intelligent design in the US, noted that many of the parts of the US where creationism is most popular were strongholds for Eugene Debs's Socialists a century ago. In a more fundamental sense, people here (and maybe everywhere) don't feel the compulsion many of us have towards intellectual consistency. In fact, most politics here usually involve intellectual leaps of Olympic proportions. So much so that I doubt that there's really a clear connection between their politics and whether they believe in god (especially since almost none of the people who use the term mean the same thing by it that someone else means when they use the word). And even less between their politics and whether they believe that spritzing their children at a certain age with a certain kind of water means something cosmic and profound. ML PS: Of course, I would love to go over and make a detailed comparative study of this for the next howevermany years. Jim Farmelant http://independent.academia.edu/JimFarmelant www.foxymath.com Learn or Review Basic Math Globe Life Insurance $1* Buys $50,000 Life Insurance. Adults or Children. No Medical Exam. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d1fbfea3849c4255c0st05vuc Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] A young person reflects on a baby boomer's reflections
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == As a youngish person, I feel like every potential career path is rotten and corrupt. You thought you might like to go into something noble? better not unless you dont want to eat. Furthermore, my education debts are obscene. I didnt get a stable job with a bachelors degree so I got a masters. Now, people tell me to get an associates to add practical skills to my resume since I havent found a job in a year. Really, three degrees to get one job?? Also, every alternative is capitalized on and commercialized at dizzying speed. Everyones angling for some shitty TV show of their own. Not only does everyone want to sell out, they have no other conception of success or happiness. Its probably a good thing the heroes of the Beatniks and Boomers didnt have modern content-delivery capitalism around to tempt them with contracts. Maybe they were stronger than I imagine. One thing that always strikes me when I read about Louis and others stories of their youth is that things, anything really, was hotly debated. Undergraduates in the US dont know shit today and they certainly cant write. How can there be a debate about world affairs when half of the room has never heard of NATO? I hated my time at a university (both of them). It was like living at a Starbucks for four years. I have an irrational hatred of universities now. Im sorry but I almost laugh when I read about meetings of the SDS or whatever. Wait a minute, I think to myself, these are just a bunch of kids! Im apologize for belittling their experience but Im only thinking of myself and my own peers in college. I guess the major generational difference is that today young people are unconscious of the possibility of change even if theyre suffering economically more than the previous generation. Clearly, todays education, even college education, is not interested in creating functional citizens. Comment by Brian January 2, 2011 @ 1:21 am | Edit This Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] A young person reflects on a baby boomer's reflections
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I guess I'll throw my two cents in as one of the younguns on the list at twenty five. I am fortunate enough to have had probably as good a career path as my generation can ask for. I wish I could say the same for most of my friends and comrades, many of whom have few prospects despite better educations. Its quite the indictment of capitalist society that I can feel both guilty and insecure in such a position, knowing how many others are struggling and how quickly I could be in their shoes within a short period of time. I think one of the biggest challenges we on the left face today is helping potentially radicalizing youth realize that there is an alternative to the soul crushing, hopeless path capitalism has put before them; something that the complete lack of class-consciousness in mainstream culture largely prevents. The notion that collective, political struggle could be the solution to our problems isn't even on most of their radars. It took me a while to come to that conclusion, even after I had discovered Che and later, Marx and Lenin. Still, there are glimmers of hope. While fliering for a meeting my ISO branch put on about the British tuition protests, one student told me something along the lines of politics kill people. I asked him to explain and he immediately prefaced that with the fact that he had worked on Obama's campaign and - surprise surprise - was now done with politics. I tried to explain to him what we meant by politics and why we were doing the meeting and he reacted positively if reservedly. A few students did come to the meeting, despite only being advertised for a few days and happening on a Friday night at a mainly commuter campus in Chicago. Of course, meetings on foreign struggles can only go so far, but they are an important facet. They can build confidence, broaden horizons, and more. This is why - in the absence of and struggle to build mass movements - good old fashioned tabling and even paper-selling is still important. Not many will simply stumble across SocialistWorker.org, Marxmail, or the Unrepentant Marxist, but hundreds see us fliering and selling literature, even if they don't buy them. The few students who come to these meetings (and similar ones around the country) or are perhaps stirred by our very presence can be part of the basis for a new student movement and Marxist current in the universities and beyond. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] US Evangelical Fundamentalism
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I'm surprised Louis has allowed this troll to haunt the list as long as he has. I was grateful for the valuable information that he provided about the French strikes and told him as much, but he has more than made up for it with his dogmatic, anarchist rants that I'm glad to see are generally offensive to the sensible majority of the list. It is particularly nice to hear of his respect for the ECHR, which like the proletarian Sarkozy government and their American counterparts, are determined to defend the inherently secular working-class from the burqa-clad threat of Islam, whether judicially or with drones and gunships. As a former a Christian fundamentalist - though fortunately not of the putrid, right-wing variety - I am glad that Marxism steered me away from a brief but understandable antitheism, which I came to see as nothing more than middle-class hostility toward the poor, duped masses who need religion as an opiate for the soulless, heartless world they find themselves trapped in. While I don't think this is an overreaction, I do find myself particularly offended when faced with poisonous attacks on working-class people, whether coming from the right or 'left.' Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] US Evangelical Fundamentalism
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I hope that this list will allow those with differences, including anarcho syndicalist and on viewing religion from as tolerable to a serious threat. It is possible to still learn something and be creative to deal with the situation in the 21st Century and it may come from other than a Leninist source, but who still accepts the key understandings of the class struggle and replacing capitalism. There have been too many Marxists that think and act like religious fundamentalists, with their perfect thought and condemnation and expulsion of those who differ. I am more concerned about those who want total control and do not allow any differences, than the less politically developed and those who tend towards an anarchist philosophy. There should be room for differences, since this was just a discussion and not something that would prevent people from either being in a leadership positions in a group, or preventing action. Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 22:29:27 -0600 From: proletarian...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Marxism] US Evangelical Fundamentalism I'm surprised Louis has allowed this troll to haunt the list as long as he has. I was grateful for the valuable information that he provided about the French strikes and told him as much, but he has more than made up for it with his dogmatic, anarchist rants that I'm glad to see are generally offensive to the sensible majority of the list. It is particularly nice to hear of his respect for the ECHR, which like the proletarian Sarkozy government and their American counterparts, are determined to defend the inherently secular working-class from the burqa-clad threat of Islam, whether judicially or with drones and gunships. As a former a Christian fundamentalist - though fortunately not of the putrid, right-wing variety - I am glad that Marxism steered me away from a brief but understandable antitheism, Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Interview with Kuhn http://www.thepeoplesgame.org/Kuhn.mp3 https://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detailp=254 Soccer has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry. Professionalism and commercialization dominate its global image. Yet the game retains a rebellious side, maybe more so than any other sport co-opted by money makers and corrupt politicians. From its roots in working-class England to political protests by players and fans, and a current radical soccer underground, the notion of football as the people's game has been kept alive by numerous individuals, teams, and communities. This book not only traces this history, but also reflects on common criticisms: soccer ferments nationalism, serves right-wing powers, fosters competitiveness. Acknowledging these concerns, alternative perspectives on the game are explored, down to practical examples of egalitarian DIY soccer! Soccer vs. the State serves both as an orientation for the politically conscious football supporter and as an inspiration for those who try to pursue the love of the game away from television sets and big stadiums, bringing it to back alleys and muddy pastures. Praise: There is no sport that reflects the place where sports and politics collide quite like soccer. Athlete-activist Gabriel Kuhn has captured that by going to a place where other sports writers fear to tread. Here is the book that will tell you how soccer explains the world while offering means to improve it. —Dave Zirin, author Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love I was greatly encouraged by this work. It provided me with alternative ways to play, enjoy, and talk about football, leaving behind nationalism and the exclusiveness of elite athletes. When we applied the clues and tips included here to the anti-G8 football matches in Japan in 2008, we were able to communicate, interact, and connect with many people, regardless of nationality, race, and religion. I recommend this book to all who seriously hope for an alternative space in sports. Unite the world through football, and reclaim sports! --Minobu, Rage Football Collective (RFC), Japan Gabriel Kuhn illustrates compellingly how many radicals use soccer as a cathartic gas station, and how they integrate the game into their political beliefs and struggles. Has this to do with the game or with the people? The work ties both aspects together and is indispensable reading for those who want to know how important and how passionate activism in sports can be. --Gerd Dembowski, Bündnis aktiver Fussballfans (BAFF) Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) About the Author: Gabriel Kuhn was born in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1972. He was deeply immersed in soccer culture as a teenager, and became one of the country's youngest semi-professional players. Tired of both the demands and the politics, he abandoned his career for studies, travels, and activism, but still joins pick-up games whenever he gets the chance. Gabriel has published widely on underground culture and politics, and founded the DIY publishing outfit Alpine Anarchist Productions in 2000. Previous publications with PM Press include Life Under the Jolly Roger: Reflections on Golden Age Piracy (author, 2010), Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics (editor, 2010), and Gustav Landauer: Revolution and Other Writings (editor/translator, 2010). Product Details: Author: Gabriel Kuhn Publisher: PM Press ISBN: 978-1-60486-053-5 Published: February 2011 Format: Paperback Page Count: 240 Size: 8 by 5 Subjects: Politics-Activism, Sports-Soccer See and hear author interviews, book reviews, and other news on the Author's Page HERE Click here to download and print a product information sheet. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
