[LAAMN] [Icujp-discuss] FW: FOCUS: Obama Team Feared Coup If He Prosecuted War Crimes
-- From: ReaderSupportedNews [mailto:re...@inbound.readersupportednews.org] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 3:18 PM To: pkrom...@csjla.org Subject: FOCUS: Obama Team Feared Coup If He Prosecuted War Crimes Reader Supported News | 09 September 11 It's Live on the HomePage Now: http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=2Reader Supported News **FUNDRAISER UPDATE: Setting the Bar Higher on Funding, Hell or High-Water. We call directly on the readers who can afford a 30, 60 or 90 dollar donation to step up and do so. Step up please. -- ma/RSN** http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=11Okay, I'll make a donation. FOCUS: Obama Team Feared Coup If He Prosecuted War Crimes Andrew Kreig, Justice Integrity Project Kreig writes: President-Elect Obama's advisors feared in 2008 that authorities would revolt and that Republicans would block his policy agenda if he prosecuted Bush-era war crimes, according to a law school dean who served as one of Obama's top transition advisers. http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=1120READ MORE http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=11Contribute to RSN http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=12Become a Fan of RSN on Facebook http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/sendfriend.php?M=113469N=838L=5C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572F=2i=461Recommend Newsletter to Friend You Are Subscribed As: pkrom...@csjla.org http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=115Subscribe http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/unsubscribe.php?M=113469N=838L=5C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572Unsubscribe ___ Icujp-discuss mailing list icujp-disc...@lists.icujp.org http://lists.icujp.org/listinfo.cgi/icujp-discuss-icujp.org This is an open forum established by ICUJP to further civil discourse and debate. We believe in free speech but will not tolerate personal invective or ad hominem attacks. Of course, the views expressed are not necessarily those of ICUJP. In particular, ICUJP does not endorse or oppose any candidate for public office. The views expressed below are solely those of the writer and have not been previewed by ICUJP. Please consider subscribing to the official ICUJP announcements list at http://lists.icujp.org/listinfo.cgi/icujp-discuss-icujp.org John Johnson Change-Links Progressive Newspaper change-li...@change-links.org http://change-links.org Subscribe to our list server. Email change-links-subscr...@yahoogroups.com (818) 782-1412 Cell (818) 681-7448. === http://change-links.org/animated%20palestine%20flag1.gif [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Fw: SEPT 16 GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR TROY DAVIS
If you are having trouble reading this email, go to http://www.iacenter.org/actions/troydavissept16globaldayofaction091011/ Please Post Widely International Action Center - iacenter.org About the IAC | Donate | IAC Books Resources | Contact Us Send a copy of this message to a friend with this link. Act NOW to STOP THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS! EMERGENCY: EXECUTION SET FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21. ACT NOW! Take Action on the Global Day of Solidarity for Troy Davis, Friday, Sept. 16. LIST YOUR LOCAL ACTIVITY AT iacenter.org/actions/troydavissept16listlocalaction SIGN ONLINE PETITION AT iacenter.org/troydavis All anti-death penalty activists in the U.S. and worldwide should prepare NOW to organize coordinated actions on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. Plan an activity - a rally, demonstration, petitioning drive, teach-in, community leafletting, etc on that day in your city. Post your event at iacenter.org/actions/troydavissept16listlocalaction and justicefortroy.org In ATLANTA, at 6pm on September 16th there will be a March assembling at Woodruff Park, Peachtree and Edgewood and concluding at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 407 Auburn Ave with a service featuring national civil rights, community and religious leaders, Martina Correia and other family members of Troy Davis,and exonerated prisoners. NEW YORK CITY: ALL OUT FOR EMERGENCY DEMO FRIDAY SEPT 16 4:30- 6 PM TIMES SQUARE, 43rd ST AND 7th AVE. STOP THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS Other important dates: Thursday, Sept. 15: delivery of petitions to the Georgia Pardon and Parole Board; Monday, Sept. 19: hearing on clemency for Troy Davis by Georgia Pardon and Parole Board For more information on the campaign, go to www.aiusa.org or gfadp.org On March 28, 2011, the US Supreme Court failed to take up the appeal of Troy Davis. AND NOW HIS EXECUTION HAS BEEN SET FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21. TELL THE GEORGIA GOV., LEGISLATURE, PARDONS AND PAROLE BOARD, PRESIDENT OBAMA, ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER, CONGRESS AND THE MEDIA: STOP THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS! Please join the online campaign to STOP THE EXECUTION! FREE TROY DAVIS NOW! YOUR EMERGENCY ACTION IS NEEDED NOW! Click HERE to Sign the Online Petition Tell Gov. Deal and the Georgia Pardons and Parole Board: STOP THE EXECUTION! FREE TROY DAVIS! On March 28, 2011, the US Supreme Court failed to take up the appeal of Troy Anthony Davis, the Savannah, Ga. man whose scheduled execution has been halted three times in the past because of the growing evidence and public belief in his innocence. AND NOW HIS EXECUTION HAS BEEN SET FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21. Troy Davis is an African American on death row in Georgia. Davis was convicted in the 1989 killing of a police officer despite what Amnesty International calls overwhelming doubts about his guilt. No physical forensic evidence was presented at Davis' trial, and 7 of the 9 non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony, with at least two saying they were pressured by police to finger Davis as the killer. CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION NOW to let the Georgia Parole Board, Governor, Legislature, and congressional delegation as well as President Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban, Congressional leaders and members of the media know you demand No Execution of Troy Davis! Your messages will go to hundreds of public officials, including the Governor of Georgia, the entire Georgia legislature, each member of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the full Georgia Congressional delegation, as well as President Obama, Attorney General Holder, Congressional leaders, U.N. Secretary-General Ban, and national and local media representatives. SIGN ONLINE PETITION AT iacenter.org/troydavis The text of the message reads as follows (you will have the opportunity to edit it if you wish): To: Governor Deal, Georgia Pardons and Parole Board, Georgia Legislature, Georgia Congressional Delegation, President Obama, Attorney General Holder, Congressional Leaders, U.N. Secretary General Ban cc: members of the media STOP THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS, NOW SET FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21! On March 28, 2011, the US Supreme Court failed to take up the appeal of Troy Anthony Davis, the Savannah, Ga. man whose scheduled execution has been halted three times in the past because of the growing evidence and public belief in his innocence. He was convicted solely on eye witness testimony, and 7 of the 9 non-police witnesses have since recanted, several alleging that police coerced them into making false statements. I join with millions in the US and around the world in demanding that you stop the execution of Troy Davis. Serious doubt remains. I call on all those with authority and influence in this decision to grant clemency to Troy Anthony Davis and overturn the death sentence. Innocence matters to me. Justice matters to everyone. I urge you to act now. Sincerely, SIGN ONLINE PETITION
[LAAMN] Turn off. Tune out. Unplug. Disbelieve.
Turn off. Tune out. Unplug. Disbelieve. by Greg Felton / September 10th, 2011 The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp. Winston Smith, Ministry of Truth, Oceania And so it begins. The compulsory veneration of the seminal event 10 years ago that gave us our national security state will dominate our media and be pounded into our consciousness. In newspapers, on TV and on radio we will be assaulted by endless replays of the World Trade Centre collapse, interviews with survivors or bereaved relatives, stories of pain and suffering, heroic portrayals of rescuers, and moralizing about the need to defend our freedoms. We will have drummed into us, subtly and not so subtly, the official story of how the U.S. was attacked by Muslim terrorists, and why we citizens must, for our own safety, willingly accept sacrifices to our civil liberties, the evisceration of the rule of law, the deaths of our soldiers in needless aggressions, and the mutation of our civilian police from law enforcers to law breakers. There will be no proper context, factual analysis or intelligent debate because the commemoration is designed to impose obedience to authority, not foster understanding. If this sounds too bizarre for words, it shouldn’t; history is full of events that become moralized and take on a life of their own. The WTC attack, like the Crucifixion and the Holocaust™, is just another moralized historical event around which an moral absolutism is built. That absolutism engenders its own political authority to propagate the core belief and coerce public obedience to it. Those who reject the manufactured reality to seek the truth, suffer ostracism, slander, torture or even death. Truth is the enemy of the state. In each of these three examples, a prominent death has been exploited to coerce public obedience to a political authority. The Christian Church uses the icon of the crucified, and then risen, Jesus to compel Christians into self-identify with it accepting that Jesus died for them. But why would Jesus go out of his way to be tortured and put to death in such a gruesome manner? That question cannot be discussed freely because it invites alternate theories about Jesus’s nature and motives, many of which are contained in the gnostic gospels. Imposing belief in the literal truth of the Crucifixion and Resurrection had nothing to do with Jesus, but everything to do with the Church, whose political authority is based not on the history of Jesus but on the myth of Jesus. Since a myth cannot withstand scrutiny because it has no rational foundation, so the Church can only be defended its power by waging war on free belief and massacring its critics, even heterodox Christians. The Zionism Church (a.k.a. Israel and The Lobby) exploits Hitler’s persecution of Jews to sermonize about Jewish victimhood. The emotional blackmail of Jewish suffering includes the mantra of 6 million dead, gas chambers, Western guilt for not saving Jews, and the belief that Jews need a “homeland” to be free from persecution. But are not Jews today persecuting Palestinians, and do not Palestinians deserve a homeland for the same reason? Can’t ask that question! If you doubt or in anyway weaken the canonical verities of the 6 million dead, the gas chambers, and the need for Israel you’re not only a heretic but an “anti-Semite,” and deserving of whatever persecution or violence that is inflicted on you. Israel is based on myths, not fact, and the fear of having those myths uncovered lies behind the zionist persecution of free belief and Palestinian rights. The Terrorism Church (a.k.a. Project for the New American Century) has exploited the WTC attack to instill in us the myth that Muslim terrorists flew hijacked aircraft into the WTC and Pentagon, killing thousands of innocent Americans. The need to defend the U.S. from subsequent attacks made necessary the USA PATRIOT Act, which superseded the Constitution, and gave us our security-obsessed state. But if Muslims in aircraft did all that, what explains all those explosions in the buildings below the level of impact, and the inability of a steel-framed structure to withstand a simple fire the way WTC1 did on Feb. 14, 1975? For that matter why would Muslims commit an act of violence knowing full well what the retribution would be? Way out of bounds! Any question about what happened and who was
[LAAMN] Gepstrategoc Basis of Libyan War: Hydrological Warfare and Energy
Geostrategic Basis Of Libyan War: Hydrological Warfare and Energy Death for Libyans; billions for the West by Garikai Chengu Global Research, September 10, 2011 The Citizen (Tanzania) and Stop NATO From oil to water, water-boarding to arms and from gas to reconstruction the war in Libya will rake in billions of dollars for the West. Just how much will trickle down to the people of Libya remains to be seen. People who think that the West's intervention in Libya is just another oil grab are mistaken. Broadly speaking, for Britain military intervention is mainly about arms, Italy its natural gas, France its water and for the US its counter-terrorism and reconstruction contracts. Spreading democracy and saving the people of Benghazi form merely tangential benefits used to justify these ends. Lest we forget, Nato's bombardment began because Mr Gaddafi threatened to do to Benghazi what Mr Bashar al-Assad’s forces are doing to various Syrian cities and Nato itself is poised to do in Sirte. ''History is a set of lies agreed upon'' once remarked Napoleon Bonaparte. If left unchallenged the true motives behind what the French mainstream media have coined ''Sarkozy's War'' may be lost in the fog of war. So what makes Libya so important to the West? Any real estate agent could tell you: location. Given that Libya sits atop the strategic intersection of the Mediterranean, African, and Arab worlds, control of the nation, has always been a remarkably effective way to project power into these three regions and beyond. Ever since time immemorial Western control over Libya has been of great importance. After Libyan independence in 1951, US, British and French payments for military basing rights formed the single-largest element of Libyan GDP until oil exports began to flow in 1961. Nowadays, Mr Sarkozy's interest in Libya lies in a commodity more precious than oil, namely water. It is becoming increasingly accepted that water promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th century: the precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations. Unlike oil, there are no substitutes, alternatives or stopgaps for water. Nature has decreed that the supply of water is fixed. Meanwhile demand rises inexorably as the world’s population increases and enriches itself.. Population growth, climate change, pollution, urbanization and the rapid development of manufacturing industries are relentlessly combining such that demand for fresh water will outstrip supply by 40 per cent by 2040. Libya sits on a resource more valuable than oil, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, which is an immensely vast underground sea of fresh water. Colonel Gaddafi had cleverly invested $25 billion in the Great Man-made River Project, a complex 4,000-km long water pipeline buried beneath the desert that could transport two million cubic metres of water a day. Such a monumental water distribution scheme could turn Libya - a nation that is 95 per cent desert - into a food self-sufficient arable oasis. Today France's global mega-water companies like Suez, Ondeo and Saur, control more than 45 per cent of the world's water market and are rushing to privatize water, already a $400 billion global business. For these French companies, Libya will be a bonanza. No wonder Le Monde coined it ''Sarkozy's War'' and had a ''Victoire'' front page splash when Mr Gaddafi's compound was stormed. Late last year, the Central Intelligence Agency suspiciously raised the spectre of ''future 'hydrological warfare' in which rivers, lakes and aquifers become national security assets to be fought over,'' or controlled through proxy armies and client states. Regime change in Libya is the first major instance of hydrological warfare. With the spoils of war from Libya's water market largely reserved for the French, Mr. Cameron is eyeing another market, that of arms. The subject of the West selling arms to regimes suppressing uprisings remains as wilfully overlooked as an American war crime. Even as The Times of London has just reported that Britain enjoyed a 30 per cent spike in arms sales to regimes in the Middle East during the Arab Spring. Arms sold between February and July jumped to $101 million, the Times' report says, noting that these include weapons that could be used to suppress domestic protests. Mr Obama's administration is even more steeped in the controversial arms trade. The US accepts no rival on this front. Over the past decade the US has averaged a staggering $5.8 billion per year in arms sales with the Middle East. The very Libyan military hardware that Nato boastfully claims to have downgraded by 90 per cent will need to be rebuilt. US arms companies will gleefully be on hand to arm their proxy regime to the teeth. Libya will be a bonanza for American arms dealers. American infrastructure contractors will also reap the windfalls of post-war reconstruction. The grim
[LAAMN] Links for 9/11 Truth
The following links are to sites about 9/11, most are organizations for 9/11 truth. If you know of any others, please let me know and I will pass them on and add them to my bibliography. Thanks, Hajja Romi 911 Blogger http://www.911blogger.com/ 911 Citizens Watch http://www.911citizenswatch.org/ 911 Commission Documents Exclusive, declassified intelligence, terrorism, foreign policy, and crime http://intelfiles.egoplex.com/2008/03/911-commission-fbi-source-documents.html 911 Commission http://www.9-11commission.gov/ Staff Statement No. 16 http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_16.pdf 911 Forum [UK] http://www.911forum.org.uk/ 911 Hoax “No planes hit the World Trade Center.” http://www.911hoax.com/Default_Quick_Links.asp 911 Inside Job www.bushguiltyof911.com www.BushhackedElection.com www.neoconshacked2004.com www.bushstole04.com. 911 Myths http://911myths.com/index.html 911 Proof http://911proof.com/index 911 Research http://www.911studies.com/index.html 9/11 Research Blog Ace Baker http://acebaker.blogspot.com/ 911 Review http://911review.org/ 911 Truth Links http://911truth.org/links.php 911 Truth Archive http://911truth.wetpaint.com/ 911 Truth LA A Collective of Conscientious Committed Citizens http://www.911truthla.com/ 9/11 Truth Now WTC Demolition. com http://wtcdemolition.com/blog/node/2204 911 We Know http://www.911weknow.com/911-we-know 911... Who Really Did It? http://www.whodidit.org/ Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth http://www.ae911truth.org/ Awake T-shirts: United with Intention, Investigate 9/11 [may no longer be vailable. HR] http://awaketshirts.info/ http://banoyes.tripod.com/ Check the Evidence http://www.checktheevidence.co.uk/cms/index.php Damien's 911 Site http://damien911.blogspot.com/ Demographic, Environmental and Security Issues Project http://desip.igc.org/911index.html Firefighters for 9/11 Truth http://firefightersfor911truth.org/?page_id=2 Gators 911 Truth http://gators911truth.org/ Global Peace Campaign Resources - 911 Related Websites http://english.globalpeace.jp/GPCResources.html Grand Theft Country http://grandtheftcountry.com David Ray Griffin http://davidraygriffin.com/ Rudy Giuliani's mistakes on 9/11 http://therealrudy.org/?utm_source=rgemail The Hard Evidence [Australia] http://www.thehardevidence.com/ Hungry for Truth http://hungry4truth.com/ Investigate 9/11 http://www.investigate911.info/ Barry Jennings Mystery http://barryjenningsmystery.blogspot.com/ Journal of 9/11 Studies http://www.journalof911studies.com/ Lawyers for 9/11 Truth http://l911t.com/ Media-Criticism http://www.media-criticism.com/ Medical Professionals for 9/11 Truth http://mp911truth.org/ Missing Links “The definitive truth about 9/11” http://www.911missinglinks.com/ Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth http://www.mujca.com/ New York City Coalition for Accountability Now http://www.nyccan.org/ Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance http://www.sf911truth.org/ Patriots Question 9/11 http://www.patriotsquestion911.com/ Pentagon: Hunt the Boeing! And test your perceptions! http://www.asile.org/citoyens/numero13/pentagone/erreurs_en.htm Physics 911 http://physics911.net/ Pilots for 9.11 Truth http://www.pilotsfor911truth.org/ Political Leaders for 9/11 Truth http://pl911truth.com/ Religious Leaders for 9/11 Truth http://rl911truth.org/ Remember Building 7 http://rememberbuilding7.org/ Serendipity The WTC Demolition and the So-Called War on Terrorism http://www.serendipity.li/wtc.htm Scholars for 911 Truth and Justice Resources http://www.stj911.com/resources/index.html Shoestring 911 “Investigating 911 and Other Acts of the Secret State” http://shoestring911.blogspot.com/ Veterans for 9/11 Truth http://v911t.org/ Visibility 9-11 Visibility 9-11 with Michael Woolsey http://visibility911.com/index.php : http://visibility911.com/blog/ Steven Warren http://stevenwarran.blogspot.com/ Week of Truth http://www.weekoftruth.org/ Dr. Judy Wood Journal of 9/11 Research and 9/11 Issues http://www.drjudywood.com/ WTC7.net
[LAAMN] learning from the other 9/11
What we can learn from the other 9/11. The US has something to learn from the other 9/11. Chile was the longest standing democracy in South America, a most genteel culture where everything could be settled with a handshake and a discussion, an environment where respect marked their political interactions, and “sir” and “madam” preceded greetings. But in a short period of time, Chilean society disintegrated into rabid arguments in the streets and democracy fell along with it. More at: http://my.firedoglake.com/mariaarmoudian/2011/09/10/what-we-can-learn-from-the-otheroriginal-911/ Maria Armoudian Kill the Messenger: The Media's Role in the Fate of the World Producer and On-Air Host The Scholars' Circle and . . . The Insighters, offering insight into today's most pressing issues. KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles 98.7 FM Santa Barbara 93.7 San Diego 99.5 Ridgecrest/China Lake KPFT 90.1 Houston, TX 89.7 Huntsville, TX 89.5 Galveston, TX WPRR 1680 AM and 95.3 FM Grand Rapids, MI WAZU 90.7 FM Peoria, Illinois KPVL 89.1 FM Postville, IA KRFP 92.5 FM Moscow, ID www.armoudian.com -Original Message- From: John Johnson cha...@pacbell.net To: change-links change-li...@yahoogroups.com Cc: laamn laamn@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sat, Sep 10, 2011 8:46 pm Subject: [LAAMN] [Icujp-discuss] FW: FOCUS: Obama Team Feared Coup If He Prosecuted War Crimes -- From: ReaderSupportedNews [mailto:re...@inbound.readersupportednews.org] Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 3:18 PM To: pkrom...@csjla.org Subject: FOCUS: Obama Team Feared Coup If He Prosecuted War Crimes Reader Supported News | 09 September 11 It's Live on the HomePage Now: http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=2Reader Supported News **FUNDRAISER UPDATE: Setting the Bar Higher on Funding, Hell or High-Water. We call directly on the readers who can afford a 30, 60 or 90 dollar donation to step up and do so. Step up please. -- ma/RSN** http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=11Okay, I'll make a donation. FOCUS: Obama Team Feared Coup If He Prosecuted War Crimes Andrew Kreig, Justice Integrity Project Kreig writes: President-Elect Obama's advisors feared in 2008 that authorities would revolt and that Republicans would block his policy agenda if he prosecuted Bush-era war crimes, according to a law school dean who served as one of Obama's top transition advisers. http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=1120READ MORE http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=11Contribute to RSN http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=12Become a Fan of RSN on Facebook http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/sendfriend.php?M=113469N=838L=5C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572F=2i=461Recommend Newsletter to Friend You Are Subscribed As: pkrom...@csjla.org http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/link.php?M=113469N=838C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572L=115Subscribe http://lists.readersupportednews.org/ss/unsubscribe.php?M=113469N=838L=5C=b607cbeb01117ac4f0e68a7b646a7572Unsubscribe ___ Icujp-discuss mailing list icujp-disc...@lists.icujp.org http://lists.icujp.org/listinfo.cgi/icujp-discuss-icujp.org This is an open forum established by ICUJP to further civil discourse and debate. We believe in free speech but will not tolerate personal invective or ad hominem attacks. Of course, the views expressed are not necessarily those of ICUJP. In particular, ICUJP does not endorse or oppose any candidate for public office. The views expressed below are solely those of the writer and have not been previewed by ICUJP. Please consider subscribing to the official ICUJP announcements list at http://lists.icujp.org/listinfo.cgi/icujp-discuss-icujp.org John Johnson Change-Links Progressive Newspaper change-li...@change-links.org http://change-links.org Subscribe to our list server. Email change-links-subscr...@yahoogroups.com (818) 782-1412 Cell (818) 681-7448. === http://change-links.org/animated%20palestine%20flag1.gif [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com
[LAAMN] This time, it's Barbara Morrison's turn
Hi. Today is filled with so many tales of tragedy and redemption, I thought I'd pass on a story in yesterday's LA Times Calendar about somone I've known, for a very long time. I'll be working with her again, in a week. Barbara Morrison is the featured vocalist in next Sunday's L.A Blues Review, produced by The Ash Grove and Bernie Pearl. Bernie is Barbara's regular accompanyist at her Leimert Park venue, where he also hosts a weekly show. Barbara came to the Ash Grove at age 21, in 1973, singing with the Johnny Otis revue, and with the great sax player Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson. For more on Barbara, and our show, go to www.ashgrovemusic.com blocked::http://www.ashgrovemusic.com/ . Join me tonight or next Sunday afternoon; Barbara's spirit and music are amazing. -Ed This time, it's Barbara Morrison's turn for a favor Musicians will hold a benefit to help the jazz singer with medical bills. Barbara Morrison http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-09/64616763.jpg Jazz singer Barbara Morrison. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times / September 10, 2011) By Kirk Silsbee LA Times Calendar: 9/10/2011 Sitting in the hall that she operates in Leimert Park on a recent afternoon, Barbara Morrison is uncharacteristically sedentary. She recently lost a leg to http://www.latimes.com/topic/health/diseases-illnesses/diabetes-HEDAI02 2.topic diabetes. While she speaks with customary grace and cheer, the jazz http://www.latimes.com/topic/arts-culture/genres/vocal-music-%28genre%29-01 011000262.topic vocalist is in a period of adjustment. The doctor said they needed to remove my leg to save my life, she relates matter-of-factly. Thankfully, it doesn't affect my singing at all. Morrison, who turns 62 on Saturday, is soon to be fitted for a prosthetic leg. Within the Los Angeles jazz community, Morrison is known as one of the busiest singers. Rare is the benefit where she doesn't lend her voice for musicians in need. Now it's Morrison's turn to receive aid. On Sunday, a star-studded bill that includes the Frank Capp Juggernaut, http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/ernie-andrews-PECLB000167.topic Ernie Andrews, Corky Hale, Tierney Sutton and Junior Mance assembles at Local 47 to raise funds for her medical bills. On this afternoon, Morrison talks about her journey as an artist and her challenges ahead. Sunlight beams through openings in the drapes of the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, a 99-seat house with a sizable stage. It's quiet at midday, and she's comfortable. She opened the facility in January, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony presided over by Councilman Bernard Parks. The Leimert Park center provides instruction and a showcase for developing performers in music, dance and theater. The opening offering, Me and Mr. B., a tribute to singer Billy Eckstine, garnered attention. But, the facility has faced mounting bills and struggled financially. This place is the result of a dream, she offers. It's a chance for me to provide a showcase to all kinds of performers. The dream didn't come without pain. Pianist Hale knew Morrison many years before they worked together last March. I heard that the center needed some help, Hale recently related. So I got together with Barbara and we put together a http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/music/billie-holiday-PECLB002412 .topic Billie Holiday tribute. What impressed her about Morrison? We didn't rehearse, but she was an absolute delight to work with. There was a line out the door and onto Degnan Avenue, so she made some money that night. Morrison grew up in the Detroit suburbs; jazz singing was not predestined for her. Her father was a doo-wop singer and she vocalized through her young years. The http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/media-industry/music- industry/motown-records-ORCRP008988.topic Motown sound exploded all around her and Morrison, the same age as http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/music/stevie-wonder-PECLB004003. topic Stevie Wonder, had no style that she favored. When she moved to Los Angeles in 1973 at 21, steady work with blues legend Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson and on The Johnny Otis Show grounded Morrison in blues and jazz. She recounts: Eddie used to tell me, 'Get your own sound, girl!' Johnny said, 'Why are you singin' like http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/music/barbra-streisand-PECLB0037 94.topic Barbra Streisand? You need to learn your own people's music!' Equally comfortable in jazz and blues, Morrison has appeared on 20 albums - her own and as a guest vocalist. She has performed at the Montreux, Monterey, Long Beach and North Sea jazz festivals, http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/carnegie-hall-PLCUL000130.topic Carnegie Hall and probably every Southern California jazz venue of the last 40 years. Morrison has been heard with http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/music/ray-charles-PECLB000944.to pic Ray Charles,
[LAAMN] Three Events Today, Sunday, September 11th ~ The Last Day of S. Brian Willson's Book Tour ~ 10:15 AM at The Church In Ocean Park ~ 1:30 to 4:00 PM at The Arlington West Memorial ~ 7:00 PM at T
Three Events Today ~ Sunday, September 11th The Last Day of S. Brian Willson's Southern California Book Tour BLOOD ON THE TRACKS: The Life Times of S. Brian Willson The Unimaginable Journey of An American Peacemaker Sunday, September 11th 10:15 AM ~ Brian will Speak at The Church In Ocean Park - 235 Hill Street, Santa Monica 90405 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM - At The Arlington West Memorial - Just next to the Santa Monica Pier - Brian will be at the table to sign books. 7:00 PM - Big Event at The All Saints Church - 132 N Euclid Avenue, Pasadena - The Urgency of 9/11/11: Challenging U.S. War-Making: Brian will have a table to sell sign his book at this event. He will not be on the program. www.icujp.org - Contact: 213-748-1643 - ic...@pacbell.net To Order a Copy of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS go to: www.addictedtowar.com/SBWillson.html In Peace, Frank Dorrel 310-838-8131 Endorsements A remarkable and exceptional book! Brian Willson is an American hero, citizen of the world, and passionate man of peace. His extraordinary life is an inspiration to us all! - Ron Kovic (Vietnam veteran; author, Born on the Fourth of July, anti-war activist) There are few peace activists who have the dedication of Brian Willson, as there are few activists who inspire me more. I hope Brian's story can inspire a new generation of activists to fight with all they have for peace, justice, our planet and humanity. - Cindy Sheehan (Gold Star Mother, Peace Activist) In a world filled with violence, oppression, the madness of war, and the destruction of the environment, many are searching for hope-and those individuals who give us hope. This is where Brian Willson comes in. Like many of us, he bought into the lies of war and violence. But something happened along his journey, and Viet Nam was only the beginning. He discovered the truth and he followed it, no matter the cost. I encourage you to read this book about a great peacemaker and a great lover of mother earth. You will be filled with hope. - Roy Bourgeois (Maryknoll Catholic priest, founder SOA Watch) Brian Willson is one of a few modern men for all seasons. His memoir is an introduction to a way of living that could save a planet perilously drifting toward extinction. He takes the philosophy nonviolence or 'Do no harm' and applies it to the violence we are doing to the planet and one another. (Personal note: perhaps we are a species that should be extinguished. At least 99% of us.) Caution! Read at the risk of being inspired. - Charles Liteky (Viet Nam veteran, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, peace activist) The 1960s to the 1980s...for progressive activists in the United States there perhaps was never a period quite like it-Viet Nam to Nicaragua to El Salvador, one long protest against the barbarity of American imperialism. S. Brian Willson was there, here and everywhere, devoting his life, sacrificing his legs to a munitions train. A marvelous journey he calls it, for the boy who was convinced that the United States could do no wrong, a loyal anti-communist, who served in Viet Nam, then traveled the length of Latin America to oppose US foreign policy and support the numerous victims of that policy. Sadly, that policy continues, but Willson's memoir can well serve as a guide and inspiration to a new generation of progressive activists. We've learned a lot. - William Blum (author, Killing Hope) S. Brian Willson is an American hero who gives me inspiration and hope. In this book, he takes us on an amazing journey through his life as an All-American young man. He was an excellent student, an all-league athlete, a Conservative Baptist, a Republican and a strong believer in the American way of life. In 1969 he had an epiphany in Viet Nam that changed his life forever. He has had many incredible experiences along the way, including being run over by a U.S. Navy train, where he lost both of his legs while protesting U.S. foreign policy in Central America. Brian now stands for peace, justice and fairness for all people of the earth. I love his mantra: 'We are not worth more, they are not worth less.' This book should be required reading for all high school and college students in America. - Cynthia McKinney (former US Representative from Georgia; Green Party presidential candidate) This Brian Willson is no throwaway American. This was a soldier in wartime, this was a protester after war taught him its lessons and finally, this was a sacrificer in carrying protest to the nth degree. I was busted with him but I never gave the ultimate as he gave. This book is about a patriot, the kind of patriot you don't find anymore, the kind of patriot who loves and believes in his country so much he surrendered his legs in telling his country it's wrong. Read this
[LAAMN] abuEU09-Greek police clash with anti-austerity protesters
Greek police clash with anti-austerity protesters By COSTAS KANTOURIS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS - Associated Press http://news.yahoo.com/greek-police-clash-anti-austerity-protesters-172258353.html THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) Riot police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse anti-austerity protesters marching in Greece's second-largest city ahead of the prime minister's annual speech on the economy. From taxi drivers to sports fans, more than 17,000 angry citizens were protesting in the northern port of Thessaloniki. Police said they were attacked with flare guns, stones, sticks and even a petrol bomb, and they arrested two people while detaining another 94. Prime Minister George Papandreou's Socialist government has imposed painful austerity measures cutting pensions and salaries while raising taxes and retirement ages to secure vital international rescue loans worth euro219 billion ($302.6 billion). But its efforts to economize while reviving a fast-contracting economy amid record unemployment have faltered, sparking new market distress. On Friday, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos was forced to deny rumors of impending bankruptcy over the weekend. The default rumors, combined with the sudden resignation of senior European Central Bank official Juergen Stark, created fresh market fears that sent yields on Greek 10-year bonds surging to 21 percent. Greece has the worst credit rating in the world, just shy of default. In Thessaloniki on Saturday, several thousand taxi drivers protesting new licensing reforms launched a chain of separate marches, chanting anti-government slogans. Members of the barely-solvent country's two biggest labor unions, university students, anarchists and even fans of Thessaloniki soccer club Iraklis followed on their heels. Some 2,000 members of a Communist union held a peaceful protest in Athens. Despite the market rumors of doom, Venizelos insisted Saturday that the country could still pull through. Whoever believes that Greece has been broken or has no hope is clearly out of touch with reality, he said. The two coming months are crucial for the very existence of our country, these are two months whose every day counts as a year in terms of effort. By the end of October, Greece has to conclude talks on a complex bond swap deal under which private holders of its debt mostly banks and pension funds will take a loss on their holdings in return for new, more secure bonds. It must also persuade the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which are providing the bailout loans, that it is making sufficient progress with fiscal discipline, reforms and privatizations. If Athens fails in that, the country will not receive the next euro8 billion ($11 billion) batch of its loans, and will go bankrupt within weeks. The clearest message Greece is sending at this point ... is that we are absolutely determined, without taking any momentary political cost into account, to fully meet our obligations to our partners, Venizelos insisted. But he warned that the economy, in its third year of recession, is shrinking at a faster-than-expected pace, further hampering ambitious efforts to cut the budget deficit to 7.5 percent of gross domestic product this year. The forecast in May was a 3.8 percent contraction, and we are currently above 5 percent, he said. Elected two years ago with a 10 percent margin, Papandreou's Socialists have seen their ratings fade as the cutbacks soared. A poll in the Sunday edition of Kathimerini newspaper shows the opposition conservatives 4 percentage points ahead, 32 percent to 28 percent, but also forecast a hung parliament if elections were be held now. The Public Issue poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent. Under the previous conservative government, Greece falsified some of its financial data to hide the true extent of the country's debt problems. --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com
[LAAMN] Fw: Building Collapse
RE: 9/11 My dad, who has been an architect since WWII, sent me these photos a while back. You can learn more about what really happened on 911 at Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth. ae911truth.org. I will be glad to send to anyone interested a list I have been compiling of organizations concerned about 9/11. Most are groups that want the truth about what happened on that day. I had sent that list earlier, but it seems to have gotten fouled up by being sent over the internet, so I will send it to you offlist. Romi Building Collapse Here's a couple of recent examples that fly in the face of the official conspiracy theory of how the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings collapsed. Physics simply does not conform to the explanation given by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). High-rise steel buildings never before or after 2001 have collapsed due to fire nor crumbled to the ground under their own weight. Several other skyscrapers have burned more intensely and for longer periods of time without collapse. And several other buildings have fallen over without disintegrating. Plus, curiously, no one has suggested changing building designs to accommodate the newly discovered dangers from the proposed design flaws which NIST suggests caused the WTC buildings collapse! Much more evidence suggests that even these examples are small compared to the lies told about the WTC collapse. Jay Mock A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy in truth. Albert Einstein Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding. -Ezra Pound “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” – George Orwell [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Netanyahu says Egypt peace stands despite embassy riot
Netanyahu says Egypt peace stands despite embassy riot Detentions of suspected protesters near the Israeli embassy continued on Saturday Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Egypt and Israel's 'cold peace' * Egypt to recall envoy in Israel * Israel 'regrets' deaths in Egypt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will stick to its peace treaty with Egypt despite the attack on its embassy in Cairo. He was speaking after protesters stormed the Israeli embassy on Friday, prompting the evacuation of nearly all Israeli diplomatic staff. Egypt is on alert after the attack, in which three people died as security forces fought rioters in Cairo. Cairo says those involved in the attack will be tried in an emergency court. Anti-Israeli feeling rose after violence on the Gaza border last month. Five Egyptian policemen were killed as Israeli forces pursued militants who had killed eight Israelis. The US state department said it was deeply concerned about the attack on the Israeli embassy and relieved no staff had been injured. Urging Egypt to safeguard the security of all foreign embassies on its territory, it stressed that both Israel and Egypt were key partners and allies of the US. The clashes at the Israeli embassy, which carried on throughout Friday night, have shocked people both in Egypt and abroad, the BBC's Bethany Bell reports from the Egyptian capital.Evacuation Israel will continue to hold fast to the peace accord with Egypt, Mr Netanyahu said in a televised address in Jerusalem. We are working together with the Egyptian government to return our ambassador to Cairo soon. I would like to ensure that the security arrangements necessary for him and for our staff will be steadfast. The Israeli prime minister also thanked US President Barack Obama for American help to evacuate the embassy, without giving details. I would say it was a decisive moment - fateful, I would even say, he said. He [Mr Obama] said: 'I will do all that I can.' He did that. He applied all of the means and influence of the United States of America, which are certainly substantial. Ambassador Yitzhak Levanon and nearly all other members of Israel's diplomatic team were evacuated from Egypt. Altogether more than 80 people - embassy staff, their families and security personnel - were flown out overnight to Israel. Six members of the embassy security staff were trapped inside the building during the riot and had to be rescued by Egyptian commandos, an Israeli official told the BBC. The Israeli consul remains in Cairo as acting ambassador. Burning vehicles Reports on Egyptian State TV said Prime Minister Essam Sharaf had offered to step down but his resignation was rejected by the country's military leader, Field Marshal Mohamad Hussain Tantawi. div class=warning img class=holding src=http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/55276000/jpg/_55276205_jex_1163557_de24-1.jpg; alt=Fire outside Cairo#039;s Israeli embassy / pstrongPlease turn on JavaScript./strong Media requires JavaScript to play./p /div Click to play Bethany Bell reports on the violence outside the Israeli embassy Under Egypt's former leader, Hosni Mubarak, such violent displays of anger against Israel would not have been tolerated, our correspondent says. Now the army has to try to balance the demands of its angry people and its longstanding strategic commitments, she adds. Egyptian state media say at least 448 people were injured in the clashes overnight into Saturday. The unrest began after Friday prayers, when thousands converged on Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand faster political reforms following the ousting of Mr Mubarak in February. From there, hundreds marched on the Israeli embassy. They smashed through a security wall around the building before a group of about 30 broke in and threw documents out of windows. An Israeli official told the BBC that the intruders had entered consular offices, but not the main embassy. After initially standing by, police moved against the protesters, firing tear gas. Several vehicles were set alight. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14867867 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post:
[LAAMN] mexico's indignados have had it up to here
MEXICO'S INDIGNADOS HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE By David Bacon TruthOut Photoessay, 9/10/11 http://www.truth-out.org/mexicos-indignados-have-had-it-here/1315597112 MEXICO CITY - Last week Mexican President Felipe Calderon gave the fifth state of the nation speech since his (many say fraudulent) election in 2006. He didn't have an easy time finding a positive spin for the escalating toll exacted by his war on drug gangs -- 50,000 dead, mostly innocent civilians, in the last five years. Making his job even more difficult, just days earlier the war's bloody cost was highlighted when 52 people, mostly working women and retirees on their lunch hour, were burned to death in a fire set by the Zetas in a Monterrey casino. Since then Mexican newspapers have exposed a web of corruption linking businessmen, narcos and politicians from Calderon's own party in the enormous proliferation of gambling houses over the last several years. Tombstones memorialize victims of repression and violence. Mexican casinos don't attract the wealthy, who congregate instead in Mexico City's rich neighborhoods, filled with glittering restaurants and shiny Hummers, patrolled by bodyguards to prevent the frequent kidnappings. Casinos are the refuge of Mexico's working poor, who hope a miracle of luck will pull them from the abyss of falling incomes and disappearing jobs. That truth didn't make it into Calderon's improbably rosy assessment. But it did bring over fifty thousand Mexicans into the capital's main square, the zocalo, where they publicly ridiculed the gulf between his speech and their reality. Humberto Montes de Oca, international secretary of the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME), denounced Calderon for trying to justify what he's done to the country. The people gathered here, he declared, are the ones who've suffered under him. We know the way things really are. You can see the consequences of this terrible government in our lack of security and public safety, and our economy. The truth is that he's destroying our country. Humberto Montes de Oca The SME has been occupying over half the huge square at the city's heart since May, and they've been at war with Calderon since the government fired the union's 44,000 members in October of 2009. The national company that employed them, the Power and Light Company, provided electrical service for central Mexico, where a majority of the population live. Calderon dissolved it by executive fiat, and brought in soldiers and police to expel the workers from the generating stations. A fired electrical worker Successive governments have sought to privatize the electrical grid, although such a move is barred by the Mexican constitution. The union repeatedly mobilized the opposition of hundreds of thousands of city residents and prevented it, at least until that October. Once the company was dissolved, the government declared the union non-existent (a decision later overturned by the courts, but ignored by Calderon). Over the last two years, this fight over the privatization of electricity, and the smashing of one of Mexico's oldest and most democratic unions, has become a symbol of the administration's war on unions. Protestors fill the zocalo, listening to speakers condemn the government Other unions have also felt the government's wrath, and came to protest in the zocalo. One was the Mexican miners' union. In Cananea, a tiny mountain town south of Arizona with one of the world's largest copper mines, miners have been on strike for four years. The mine's owner, Grupo Mexico, belongs to the Larrea family, political allies of Calderon who contributed heavily to his election. This year he repaid the debt. In the face of court decisions upholding the workers' right to strike, the government brought heavily armed police into Cananea and reopened the struck mine. Striking miners from Cananea Hundreds of ex-employees of the country's national airline, Mexicana, joined miners and electrical workers as they marched into the zocalo. This year the administration forced the company into bankruptcy, and thousands of pilots, stewards and ground crew members suddenly found themselves out on the street. Their union charges that the bankruptcy was a sham. Instead, they say, Calderon's cronies stood to gain from the airline's eventual privatization. Meanwhile, the wealthy families who own Mexico's mushrooming private airline industry won the removal of their biggest competitor, at the cost of thousands of jobs. Unemployed workers from Mexicana Airlines The hundred organizations that cooperated in organizing the zocalo protest called their rally the National Day of Indignant Mexicans. Their purpose was to present an alternative to the official picture painted by Calderon, and to call for a different direction
[LAAMN] On Libya
http://rustbeltradical.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/on-libya/ On Libya http://rustbeltradical.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/on-libya/ *OK comrades, this Libya thing is out of hand. Confusion reigns among too much of the left; the best of intentions are made ridiculous and I barely hear a peep about what ought to be at the core of our analysis the Libyan working class. I dont claim any more insight or knowledge into the situation than anyone else, though I am sure I know a lot less than some, including some that I disagree with sharply. I havent held on every word of the debate, but Ive spent more than my share of time reading and listening to them, such as they are as well as keeping up on the complicated, contradictory news from the country itself. So I suppose I have as much right to speak on the topic as everyone else shooting off their mouth at the moment.* Ill confine mine self to the general since that is all I am comfortable with, my understanding of the specific being rather limited (like many of those who comment). I begin thinking about Libya like I begin thinking about most situations around the world; by thinking about what is best for the Libyan working class, what is in their interests both immediately and more long term, historic interests. Those historic interests are in play, however, as the risings throughout the region attest. Those interests, which are not at all separate from more pressing interests, include workers democracy and the exercise of workers power- the socialist transformation of Libya and of the region (Im a socialist, so I just cant help thinking about what might point in that direction). If the future is up for grabs currently with most of the old regimes in the region on a serious wobble, than I think it only right, and necessary, that a future for workers be placed as much as possible in the mix. While such a broad perspective, overly broad I admit, leaves much to speculation, it might be a good place to start for a little clarity of the Marxist type to inform the current kerfuffle. *Qaddafi* *I admit to being disgusted with those on the left who find themselves supporting Qaddafi. Though the number that actually support the regime is small, too many on the left apologize for the unacceptable. One of the reasons that the working class has not, as far as I can tell, raised much of its voice independently in the Libyan situation is that for over forty years the Qaddafi regime has rigorously and routinely suppressed and or destroyed independent trade unions, political parties and social organization. All this under the woefully misnamed Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. I suggest, as a starting point, that real analysis begins not with what people claim, but with what they do. Libya was hardly socialist (where, pray tell, were the workers?) in those heady days of the Green Book, even less so after Qaddafis rapprochement with imperial powers in 2003. Indeed, more and more evidence is emerging of the Qaddafi regimes close working ties the worst of the neo-liberal, war on terror, CIA dirty tricks, privatization agenda of the imperium. The guy, if reports are to be believed, had a crush on Condi Rice for Christs sake.* *Qaddafi may claim to be an anti-imperialist, but what does that mean?* *To me, to Marxists, imperialism is the system of capital accumulation internationally. To be genuinely anti-imperialist means, to me, at minimum being an anti-capitalist. So what kind of regime can be considered anti-imperialist if it is not also anti-capitalist? Now can regimes not opposed to capitalism generally come into all kinds of conflict with the international system, ordered by and in the interests of a few leading powers- the United States most of all- without being anti-capitalist? Of course, but that doesnt make the regime, even if I were to support it in that conflict, necessarily anti-imperialist.* *Im not exactly sure what an anti-imperialist regime, as a definition, means at all, in fact. What does it say about the class character of the regime? Absolutely nothing and without clearly identifying the class in power and how that class rules, how can we begin to get our bearings? At best it might describe an attitude, but it is hardly useful as a category of state, since states are defined primarily by the class interests they serve. Now some might say consistent anti-imperialism leads to socialism, to which I would respond, but one needs to be a socialist (or someone with a post-capitalist perspective so as to not leave out my anarchist comrades who I do consider to be genuinely anti-imperialist) to be consistently anti-imperialist.* Yes, his regime supported some of the independence movements of Africa, good. He gave weapons to the IRA, and for this I cant fault him either. He also supported Idi Amin among other despots, less than good. Despots stick together, they have a simpatico. Well, worse than less than good. Criminal. While
