[Marxism] WSJ: Inside America’s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * As comrades can see, it has not been only the RCIT or me who associate the current events with a "Saigon Moment" but also the Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/get-the-hell-out-of-syria-its-sand-and-blood-and-death-inside-americas-chaotic-retreat-11571421368 -- Revolutionär-Kommunistische Organisation BEFREIUNG (Österreichische Sektion der RCIT, www.thecommunists.net) www.rkob.net ak...@rkob.net Tel./SMS/WhatsApp/Telegram: +43-650-4068314 -- Diese E-Mail wurde von Avast Antivirus-Software auf Viren geprüft. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Mixed class nature of the historic climate strikes
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * The class nature of the historic climate strikes (Excerpted from the Detroit/Seattle Workers' Voice list, October 17, 2019. Full text at http://www.communistvoice.org/DSWV-191017.html.) --A mass outpouring --Supported by a section of the bourgeoisie --Listen to the scientists! --What should the attitude of the radical left be to the climate strikes? --Notes by Joseph Green --A mass outpouring-- Since November last year there have been repeated demonstrations around the world demanding action to deal with global warming. This has included three waves of youth and school climate strikes this year, in March, May, and September. Monster demonstrations of several hundred thousand people took place in several cities. Some countries had over a million people take part in a proliferation of demonstrations in many cities. A number of countries saw substantial demonstrations of tens of thousands of people, while modest demonstrations took place around the world. Some type of action is said to have taken place in over 150 countries, with several millions of people involved on a world basis. ,,, The demonstrations condemned the do-nothing policy of the various governments. Even when the politicians claim to be doing something and sign various environmental accords, it is not sufficient and the problem gets worse. The demonstrators stressed that the past generation had left it to the children to do something. No doubt different groups that participated in the event had their own standpoint and demands. But on the whole, the movement avoided political differences by avoiding politics. It was based on condemning the lack of environmental action and demanding that the science be taken seriously, rather than mobilizing for a particular program of action. This allowed broad unity, but it also left open the question of what should be done aside from these protests. The non-politicism was also manifested in that, while the demonstrators no doubt hated the policy of Trump and other notable environment pirates, there was a limit to what appeared on placards. In Detroit, it was slogans like "Fight for our Future", "Unite Behind the Science", "There is no Planet B", and "Climate Emergency" that expressed the overall spirit, although some placards like "System Change, not Climate Change" were present. Despite some radical slogans, the overall impression was an attempt to prod the powers that be, not carry out radical change. These protests brought many new protesters into the streets. The actions have encouraged people; they have not yet run their course; and the extent of these actions will not be forgotten. At the same time, there was a limited outlook in the protests. This expressed a certain stage of the overall movement, in which the activists are welcomed even by many of the politicians and businesspeople who are their target. This will change over time, as the radical nature of the steps needed to protect the environment becomes clearer, and serious environmentalists come into greater and greater conflict with the liberal bourgeoisie as well as the climate denialists. --Supported by a section of the bourgeoisie-- For now, while it is the masses who came out in huge numbers, they were welcomed by a section of the bourgeoisie. Part of the bourgeoisie is climate denialist and is letting the earth burn while it counts its profits, but there's also a section of the bourgeoisie who are corporate or establishment environmentalists, whose half-hearted steps are also leading to disaster. The UN has its yearly climate conferences and its scientific body on climate change, the IPCC; first the Kyoto Protocol and then the Paris Agreement expressed a certain international agreement; various cities are taking environmental measures, etc.; the IMF and the World Bank favor the carbon tax, albeit at the same time as they finance new fossil fuel plants; Al Gore writes books about the dangers of climate disaster, while at the same time backing market measures that are bound to fail; etc. Speaking for the youth climate strikers, Greta Thunberg denounced the various governments and bureaucrats for the failure of what they have done; yet she was repeatedly invited to various government bodies to repeat this denunciation. She spoke, not just at demonstrations, but "at UN climate conferences, at the European Union, at TEDxStockholm, at the Vatican, at the British Parliament. She was even invited to go up that famous mountain in Switzerland to address the rich and mighty at the annual World Economic Summit in Davos." *(1)* At these meetings, Thunberg steadfas
[Marxism] Stop the Normalization of Concentration Camps - CounterPunch.org
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[Marxism] Country music
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * There is certainly country music and country music. There is the ultra-commercialised pap and there is real country music, which is often magnificent. About ten years ago, the largest chunk of music I was buying was country music. (These days I still buy a fair whack of country, but a lot of what I buy is from north-west Africa, especially Tuareg rock (aka desert blues aka desert rock) but also other stuff from Mali, Senegal and other places in West Africa. About 20 years ago a mate of mine gave me an album of country music from the 1920s and 1930s and I was struck by how a bunch of the songs were as much blues as country. And I don't mean they were country-blues, I mean you literally couldn't tell whether the performer was black and performing blues or white and performing country. The Carters were excellent, especially the women. Bill Monroe is bloody good and I found his biography fascinating. Devoutly religious but he lived in a relationship without the 'benefit' of marriage. He also had a black musician his band at the height of Jim Crow and when they were touring they would drive around looking for a decent place for the guy to stay. There are so many really good country artists from "the old days", who combined generally conservative (formal) social views with some sort of rough class consciousness. And today there is a substantial alt-country scene, with heaps of progressive country artists. Even devoutly religious folk like Julie Miller and Buddy Miller tend to be socially progressive. And then there are a host of alt.country people who aren't religious at all, like Lucinda Williams. I guess my favourite country music is bluegrass, the High Lonesome sound is just beautiful. And, of course, we have the likes of Emmylou, Steve Earle and a whole heap of others. Hell, although the TV music-drama 'Nashville' could be schmaltzy, it had some great music in it. And the themes it deal with (like the homosexuality of one of the main characters) showed just much has changed in the country music mainstream even. People who hate country music are really narrow-minded, and often very ignorant about both the history of country music and where a lot of it is at today. True country music is like a poor white version of the blues, another form of music I love very much. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Donald Trump’s sanity is not the question. The real issue is how he got into office - The Guardian
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * “The great man of the age,” wrote Friedrich Hegel – using “great” to mean powerful rather than wonderful – “is the one who can put into words the will of his age, tell his age what its will is, and accomplish it. What he does is the heart and essence of his age; he actualises his age.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/18/donald-trump-sanity-free-market-white-supremacist-nationalism -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Donald Trump’s sanity is not the question. The real issue is how he got into office | Gary Younge | Opinion | The Guardian
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Re: [Marxism] [pen-l] Edit Post ‹ Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist — WordPress
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On 10/18/19 5:35 PM, Louis Proyect wrote: full: https://louisproyect.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=19508 Sorry. This is the proper link: https://louisproyect.org/2019/10/18/our-boys/ _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Edit Post ‹ Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist — WordPress
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Last month Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a boycott against Israel’s channel 12 for producing the HBO mini-series “Our Boys.” He described it as anti-Semitic and slandering Israel internationally. This month I watched “Our Boys” and can recommend it not only as a docudrama but as a brutally honest retelling of how the Israeli cops apprehended 3 West Bank settlers that murdered a 16-year old Palestinian boy. They were seeking to avenge Hamas’s killing of 3 teen-aged boys who were settlers like them. What makes the show so authentic was the division of labor between Israeli and Palestinian film-makers who were determined to get the story right. The Israelis wrote the script for the Jewish characters. They were either cops or part of the West Bank settlement that bred the racism that allowed 3 men to beat a defenseless teen with a wrench until barely conscious. They finished him off by pouring gasoline down his throat and then setting fire to him. It was left to director/screenwriter Tawfik Abu-Wael to bring the Palestinians to life. To his great credit, he has made the parents of the martyred son Mohammed Abu Khdeir two of the more fully realized Palestinian characters in any film I have seen. As the father Hussein Abu Khdeir, Johnny Arbid portrays a man being torn by two opposing forces, even to the point of splitting him in half psychologically. On one side is the Palestinian community that is mainly interested in his son being exploited as a martyr to benefit the movement. On the other is the Israeli police that needs his cooperation to help them make the arrest and prosecution of 3 settlers acceptable to most Israelis. His presence at the trial is key, even if it means defying the Palestinian political leadership. They denounce the trial in advance as being a farce that would allow the 3 to go free. His wife Suha Abu Khdeir (Ruba Blal) can accept his decision to cooperate with the police but is still distrustful enough to consider not showing up for the trial. Their drama, including the horrors of discovering what happened to their son, helps to draw you into the story. full: https://louisproyect.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=19508 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Turkey, hands off Rojava! (Green Left Weekly)
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[Marxism] What Is Žižek For? | Current Affairs
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[Marxism] Introducing Socialist Resurgence US
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * INTRODUCING SOCIALIST RESURGENCE! | | | | | | | | | | | INTRODUCING SOCIALIST RESURGENCE! Detail of “Death of the Party”, Painting by Mike Alewitz Socialist Resurgence (SR) is a new national organizatio... | | | _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] GOP Group Uses Trump's Own Words On Corruption Against Him In Searing Fox News Ad | HuffPost
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Re: [Marxism] Brief Reflection on Trump?s
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * I read the article in the Right wing Federalist that was posted to this list. I don’t know if the person who posted the article found it convincing but I sure didn’t. Every day of the hearings new scandals are revealed or more about old ones. Just yesterday, the testimony of Sondland added to this. These proceedings are headed towards criminal charges against Giuliani, who Trump is likely to throw under the bus. When he does that, don’t you think Giuliani will return the favor? As for Pelosi not holding a vote at this stage: Sure she may be protecting some Democrats, but that is largely exaggerated. The Federalist is wrong about the tide; it is swinging even more in favor. The latest poll shows a majority not only in favor of impeachment but also in favor of conviction/removal. I think the main reason Pelosi is running it as she is has more to do with the time factor - that time is short and the Republicans would use a vote at this stage to delay. I think the article is one part wishful thinking and one part an attempt to demoralize the supporters of impeachment. -- *“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black Jacobins" by C. L. R. James Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] [pen-l] Re: Brief Reflection on Trump?s Impeachment By Roberto Savio
POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * "Mainstream" American politics is always about what defines that "mainstream." The pundits and professional politicians tend to treat this as a contest over the same set of voters. It isn't. To take a particularly dramatic example of this, the difference between the Democratic landslide of 1964 and what the media dishonestly called an "electoral landslide" for the Republicans in 1980 came down to who voted. Studies that broke down the statistics indicated that the demographics broke the same way in both elections, but that those groups favorable to the Democrats didn't vote in 1980 in the numbers they had in 1964, while groups inclined to the Republicans turned out in much larger proportions. Some of the sharper (and more progressive Democrats) understand that the road to victory leads through mobilizing those voters who are understandably disengaged from this inbred quasi-masonic 18th century game. For us, of course, the question is to have to bring the necessary social and political weight to bear where it counts . . .. in the streets and in the workplaces . . . and in the numbers to make it matter. Just imagine what could have been happening over the last year if we had the political savvy, independent sense, and organization to have brought several hundred thousand demonstrators to Washington during the great tax "reform"--or during those Kavenaugh hearings. Or if we could have brought to the capital a fraction of the legions of citizens disgusted with the administration and the Democratic sluggishness in calling it to account. The major features of Trump's agenda could have been checked--or, if they had been, would have been generating mass, political disaffection and radicalization. And we'd have would have contributed sorely needed examples of how sustained independent mass action can turn politics on its head--the most important practical lessons that could have been passed on to young radicals. Isn't it a pity it didn't happen? Cheers, Mark L. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Trump as the “Anti-War” President: on Misinformation in American Political Discourse - CounterPunch.org
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[Marxism] NYT movie critic A.O. Scott profiled by Craig Lambert | Harvard Magazine
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Re: [Marxism] [pen-l] Re: Brief Reflection on Trump?s Impeachment By Roberto Savio
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*
I was on record beginning in 2017 as being totally opposed to impeachment
--- even up till relatively recently, I urged the House to impeach BARR and
the director of HOMELAND SECURITY over the real crimes the trump
administration was committing --- I argued that the DEMS should let the
Republicans impeach Trump if they got tired of him and our side (the
coalition that includes Dems) should focus on exposing and opposing
POLICIES of the trump administration ---
But events have over-taken my skepticism and foot dragging --- I believe
that it is essential that the left be as involved as possible in the fight
over impeachment -- and I totally disagree with Ralph's recent post arguing
that Dems will not vote to impeach because once they vote the House becomes
irrelevant --
This MIGHT be true if the Senate does not hold a "real" trial-- but if the
Senate holds a real trial where House managers get to present their case on
national TV in the Senate trial this will give the majority of people WHO
ARE ALREADY INFAVOR OF IMPEACHMENT and REMOVAL FROM OFFICE even without
knowing all the facts REAL INFORMATION to chew on I don't think we can
underestimate the value of giving REAL ammunition about Trump's criminality
-- self-dealing -- etc. to millions of people in this country who will be
arguing with friends, neightbors and family about the 2020 election --- If
Ralph is right that an acquittal in the Senate will allow trump to take a
"victory" lap IMAGINE the nature of the victory lap if the House fails to
impeach --- ("THE DISHONEST DEMOCRATS LED BY CRAZY NANCY couldn't even come
up with to VOTE against me even though they had a majority!" --- and trump
would be right!! ) --- at least a failure to convict in the SENATE would be
supportive of the line that DEMS are pushing that the republicans put party
before patriotism and EITHER the purple state Republicans will have a
good chance of losing in the general if they vote with Trump OR the few
Republican votes will make it difficult for trump and his enablers to
attack the impeachment effort as purely partisan ...
This will be especially true if Trump's line of defense is the same as
Clinton's -- YES, I did it but it's no big deal --- having DENIED he did it
forever and a day, it will make his new line of defense hard to -- -well
--- defend.
OF COURSE what I am writing could be wishful thinking but this is how I've
changed my position -- just in the last couple of months ---
On Fri, Oct 18, 2019 at 1:19 AM Bill Barclay
wrote:
> I am skeptical of this cynical analysis. But time will tell.
>
> Bill Barclay
>
>
> On Thursday, October 17, 2019, 09:41:12 PM PDT, Ralph Johansen <
> mdriscol...@charter.net> wrote:
>
>
> Opinion: Don’t Be Surprised If Trump Is Never Impeached
> David Marcus - The Federalist - Thursday, October 17, 2019
>
> Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of
> Representatives would not move forward with a vote on impeachment any time
> soon. The statement comes as a month of pressure has built up behind
> efforts to unseat the president over a phone call with the Ukrainian
> president. While Democrats insist, contrary to precedent, that they do not
> need to hold a vote, their unwillingness to hold one may show the
> impeachment train is skidding off the tracks.
>
> In the giddy early days of the “impeachment investigation” over Ukraine,
> Democrats saw the polls move in their direction. But those polls have now
> stabilized and in some cases crept back against impeachment. Even at the
> peak, impeaching and removing the president was only popular among those
> who already opposed the president.
>
> So as the groundswell subsides, could Democrats really reverse course and
> abandon an impeachment that just last week seemed imminent? Surprisingly,
> yes, they could.
>
> The central thing to consider here is that impeachment is a political, not
> a legal, process. Despite their insistence that there are plenty of reasons
> to impeach Trump, Democrats have yet to do so. Why not? It seems clear that
> they do not believe they have sufficient political support in the country
> for the move. Not only do they risk infuriating Trump’s base, there are
> also many independent voters who seem to have little interest in this
> process.
>
> Along with this, consider that when and if the House Democrats ever
> actually hold a vote on impeachment, which could leave incumbents in purple
> seats vulnerable, the ball will move into the Senate’s court and Pelosi and
> the House will have no more control over it. That’s a very big deal,
> because from the day they took over the House the Democrats have been able
> to
[Marxism] American Farming Runs on Exploitation | The New Republic
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[Marxism] Capital not ideology | Michael Roberts Blog
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