Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread mkaradjis . via Marxism
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I tend to agree with Chris on this, although admittedly this article is
probably the one and only place we have seen such clear discussion of the
existence of "pro-Turkey" advisors in the Trump administration. Seems
logical that at least some would exist - after all, we all know that
ultimately US imperialism would have thrown the Kurds and the SDF to the
wolves and patched up with a powerful capitalist state like Turkey (and
like the Assad regime, which has actually gained much more than Turkey out
of this). So it is in this sense that I think we can say that Trump's move,
even if the way it was done, the timing, the language etc may have been
just Trump acting on whim, it would have corresponded to the views of at
least some small section of US ruling class opinion, and it does have its
own logic.

That said, John is of course correct that the overwhelming majority of the
US ruling class is not just opposed but absolutely furious with this move -
the Pentagon, most of Congress, all Democrats and most Republicans,
including close Trump allies, from liberal doves through hard-nosed
realists to rabid neocons, almost all are opposed, for a variety of
reasons. Now was not the right time, and the way it was done is a savage
blow to the credibility of US imperialism. And even from the article, the
suggestion is that even the more "pro-Turkey" advisors were thrown
off-course by the suddenness of the move and the resulting chaos.

Russia, which is pulling the strings of both Assad and Erdogan, and which
has arranged the partition of the former SDF territories between its two
poodles, is absolutely the master of ceremonies (and all talk about
"possible clashes between Turkish and Assadist forces is complete
nonsense). The US has not only lost all credibility as a reliable ally, but
has also made itself irrelevant as Russia is in complete control. Iran has
also gained. And this fact pisses off a lot of US ruling class figures.
However, once again, this is anything but universal - Trump's
"Kissingerism" in this respect (I know it may sound to compare a master of
imperialist diplomacy to a dunce like Trump, but here I'm talking about the
"muscular" version of the "realist" school of US imperialism) is more
consistent than we often realise, even if Trump himself doesn;t always
realise. The US has no special interests in Syria (other than defeating
ISIS) and has been backing a Russian-led solution with a modified Assad
regime in power, over a more chaotic Iranian-led situation, for years now.
That's also the Israeli and Gulf view. Of course both Israel and the
Saudi-UAE-Egypt alliance were furious about the Turkish invasion and
especially Israel was furious about betrayal of the "gallant Kurds"
(Netanyahu), but if a Russian-backed Assad emerges a clear victor they will
be back on board.

On Sun, Oct 20, 2019 at 12:02 PM Chris Slee via Marxism <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

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>
> The WSJ article says:
>
> "After years of balancing between competing Kurdish and Turkish interests,
> Trump
> administration policy began to shift toward Ankara, as new advisers
> sympathetic to Turkey joined the team."
>
> The article does not specify the names of these advisers, but it does
> claim that advisers sympathetic to Turkey do exist.  I assume the authors
> know what they are talking about.
>
> I can't prove this, but I suspect the decision to withdraw was not quite
> as sudden as it appeared.  There was a facade of negotiations resulting in
> the SDF withdrawing a few kilometres from the border.  I believe this was
> aimed at facilitating the Turkish invasion.  The vast majority of US
> personnel in Syria would have been left in the dark, to avoid them alerting
> the SDF.  This meant they were unprepared, resulting in a certain degree of
> chaos.
>
> Chris Slee
> 
> From: John Reimann <1999wild...@gmail.com>
> Sent: Sunday, 20 October 2019 10:25:55 AM
> To: Chris Slee 
> Cc: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition <
> marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria
> (On the "Saigon Moment")
>
> Chris Slee says the chaos resulted from the division among Trump's
> advisors regarding withdrawal from Syria. In the first place, that is
> manifestly untrue just in the sense that the reason for the 

Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread Chris Slee via Marxism
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The WSJ article says:

"After years of balancing between competing Kurdish and Turkish interests, Trump
administration policy began to shift toward Ankara, as new advisers
sympathetic to Turkey joined the team."

The article does not specify the names of these advisers, but it does claim 
that advisers sympathetic to Turkey do exist.  I assume the authors know what 
they are talking about.

I can't prove this, but I suspect the decision to withdraw was not quite as 
sudden as it appeared.  There was a facade of negotiations resulting in the SDF 
withdrawing a few kilometres from the border.  I believe this was aimed at 
facilitating the Turkish invasion.  The vast majority of US personnel in Syria 
would have been left in the dark, to avoid them alerting the SDF.  This meant 
they were unprepared, resulting in a certain degree of chaos.

Chris Slee

From: John Reimann <1999wild...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, 20 October 2019 10:25:55 AM
To: Chris Slee 
Cc: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition 
Subject: Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the 
"Saigon Moment")

Chris Slee says the chaos resulted from the division among Trump's advisors 
regarding withdrawal from Syria. In the first place, that is manifestly untrue 
just in the sense that the reason for the chaos was that there was simply no 
preparation. And why was there no preparation? Because the entire government, 
especially the military, was completely unprepared for this decision. More to 
the point: Who among Trump's advisors supported his decision? Where within the 
US state was there support for his withdrawal? The diplomatic wing of the 
government opposed it. The US military, from top to bottom, most certainly 
opposed it. Even Trump's own political party opposed it. Yes, there may have 
been one or two in his administration that would speak up in support, such as 
Pompeo or Mulvaney, but they were simply doing so because their boss had made 
that decision. It wasn't as if he had had consultations with different advisors 
and some advised for and some against.

The reason I keep coming back to this point is that I think all too many on the 
socialist left have been far too slow to accept the immense crisis that the US 
capitalist class faces. That crisis is the fact that they have lost control 
over their presidency. That is what Trump's troop withdrawal represents, and 
it's an unprecedented situation. I think Trotsky once said that revolutionaries 
(meaning Marxists) can be some of the most conservative in all of society. I 
think this is a prime example. We have an overall view of how the capitalist 
state operates, and all too many of us are reluctant to see that this situation 
doesn't fit that overall view.

John Reimann

On Sat, Oct 19, 2019 at 2:47 PM Chris Slee 
mailto:chris_w_s...@hotmail.com>> wrote:
I think the chaos resulted from conflicting opinions amongst Trump's advisers, 
between those who prioritised restoring good relations with Turkey - which 
required allowing Turkey to invade Rojava - and those who prioritised 
suppressing ISIS - which required preventing Turkey from invading Rojava.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism 
mailto:marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu>>
 on behalf of John Reimann via Marxism 
mailto:marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>>
Sent: Sunday, 20 October 2019 6:45:29 AM
To: Chris Slee mailto:chris_w_s...@hotmail.com>>
Subject: Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the 
"Saigon Moment")

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RKOB posted a series of articles detailing the hectic situation in a US
outpost in NE Syria. I assume he posted these in defense of the claim that
this is similar to the US defeat in Vietnam. The moment of withdrawal may
have similar scenes, but overall it is nowhere near comparable for two
reasons:

First, the US did not face a military defeat in Syria. Nor were their
troops hated and driven out by the local population. On the contrary, the
Kurds evidently felt they were being protected from Turkey by the US
troops, and so they were.

Second, this decision to withdraw was opposed by all wings of the US state
and by the capitalist class in general. It shows the extreme political
crisis of US capitalism at home. This is as opposed to Vietnam, where if
anything the US capitalist class 

Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread John Reimann via Marxism
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Chris Slee says the chaos resulted from the division among Trump's advisors
regarding withdrawal from Syria. In the first place, that is manifestly
untrue just in the sense that the reason for the chaos was that there was
simply no preparation. And why was there no preparation? Because the entire
government, especially the military, was completely unprepared for this
decision. More to the point: Who among Trump's advisors supported his
decision? Where within the US state was there support for his withdrawal?
The diplomatic wing of the government opposed it. The US military, from top
to bottom, most certainly opposed it. Even Trump's own political party
opposed it. Yes, there may have been one or two in his administration that
would speak up in support, such as Pompeo or Mulvaney, but they were simply
doing so because their boss had made that decision. It wasn't as if he had
had consultations with different advisors and some advised for and some
against.

The reason I keep coming back to this point is that I think all too many on
the socialist left have been far too slow to accept the immense crisis that
the US capitalist class faces. That crisis is the fact that they have lost
control over their presidency. That is what Trump's troop withdrawal
represents, and it's an unprecedented situation. I think Trotsky once said
that revolutionaries (meaning Marxists) can be some of the most
conservative in all of society. I think this is a prime example. We have an
overall view of how the capitalist state operates, and all too many of us
are reluctant to see that this situation doesn't fit that overall view.

John Reimann

On Sat, Oct 19, 2019 at 2:47 PM Chris Slee  wrote:

> I think the chaos resulted from conflicting opinions amongst Trump's
> advisers, between those who prioritised restoring good relations with
> Turkey - which required allowing Turkey to invade Rojava - and those who
> prioritised suppressing ISIS - which required preventing Turkey from
> invading Rojava.
>
> Chris Slee
> --
> *From:* Marxism  on behalf of John
> Reimann via Marxism 
> *Sent:* Sunday, 20 October 2019 6:45:29 AM
> *To:* Chris Slee 
> *Subject:* Re: [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.
> *
>
> RKOB posted a series of articles detailing the hectic situation in a US
> outpost in NE Syria. I assume he posted these in defense of the claim that
> this is similar to the US defeat in Vietnam. The moment of withdrawal may
> have similar scenes, but overall it is nowhere near comparable for two
> reasons:
>
> First, the US did not face a military defeat in Syria. Nor were their
> troops hated and driven out by the local population. On the contrary, the
> Kurds evidently felt they were being protected from Turkey by the US
> troops, and so they were.
>
> Second, this decision to withdraw was opposed by all wings of the US state
> and by the capitalist class in general. It shows the extreme political
> crisis of US capitalism at home. This is as opposed to Vietnam, where if
> anything the US capitalist class wanted to withdraw before Nixon was ready
> to do so.
>
> In general, I agree with RKOB that US imperialism has been weakened
> globally. But I think it's a mistake to impose this general truth onto our
> understanding of what happened in this particular situation.
>
> John Reimann
>
> --
> *“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
> Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
> Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook
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Re: [Marxism] [pen-l] 10-19-19 Opinion: Watch Senate Republicans. They might reach the point of no return - Washington Post

2019-10-19 Thread Ralph Johansen via Marxism

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Correction: conviction, not impeachment (simple majority), of the 
president requires at least two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 members.


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[Marxism] 10-19-19 Opinion: Watch Senate Republicans. They might reach the point of no return - Washington Post

2019-10-19 Thread Ralph Johansen via Marxism

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Opinion: Watch Senate Republicans. They might reach point of no return.
Jennifer Rubin - The Washington Post - Friday, October 18, 2019

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) responded to acting White House chief of 
staff Mick Mulvaney’s confession that Ukrainian aid was held up until 
the Ukrainian government would help him prove his cock-and-bull story 
about the Democratic National Committee server and find dirt for him on 
former vice president Joe Biden.


“Yes, absolutely that’s a concern,” Murkowski said. "You don’t hold up 
foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political 
initiative. Period.”


This suggests that a certain type of Republican (one with a modicum of 
independence, a smidgen of patriotism and/or a healthy survival 
instinct) might reach the point of no return based on Mulvaney’s 
confession and Trump’s comment in his July 25 call (he needed “a favor 
though," he told the Ukrainian president). With a stream of mid-level 
career civil servants available to attest to the holdup in aid — despite 
Mulvaney’s attempt to walk back his confession later — there can be 
little doubt of a quid pro quo, otherwise known as an extortion attempt 
by President Trump to use government funds to attain personal political 
advantage.


How many Mitt Romneys and Lisa Murkowskis are out there? Well, let’s 
look at some polling. Morning Consult finds that “Republicans 
representing Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina, Maine and Iowa all saw 
their net approval — the share of voters who approve of a senator’s job 
performance minus the share who disapprove — decline between the second 
and third quarters of 2019.” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Cory Gardner 
(R-Colo.), who could not manage to tell us whether it is wrong for the 
president to enlist a foreign government to influence our elections, are 
down 9 points and 3 points, respectively.


Ernst is in particular trouble. “The slide places her underwater with 
Iowa voters (39 percent approve and 43 percent disapprove) for the first 
time and among the 10 most unpopular senators in the country,” the polls 
found. “Iowa voters of all partisan leanings soured on the first-term 
senator, but GOP voters were most likely to take a dimmer view of her 
job performance. Her net approval dropped by 13 points among 
Republicans, compared with respective 9- and 7-point drops among 
Democrats and independents.” Uh-oh.


Ernst is not alone. “Ernst is not the only Republican up for re-election 
next year with a home-state approval below 40 percent: Among the 
vulnerable incumbents, Martha McSally of Arizona, Cory Gardner of 
Colorado and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are all below that threshold 
following a quarter where each saw little movement.”


Meanwhile, vulnerable Democratic incumbents are rising in polls. Sens. 
Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.) are up 1 points and 3 
points, respectively. If these sort of numbers persist, or get even 
worse for Republicans, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will lose his majority.


McConnell, infamous for his shameless, ice-water-in-his-veins brand of 
politics, will do whatever he must to save his members. If that means 
shoving Trump off-stage, he will gladly do it. (Notice his especially 
tough condemnation of Trump’s Syria debacle.)


A mound of evidence of plainly impeachable conduct. A GOP majority at 
risk. One could reasonably expect to see indications that a significant 
number of Republican senators would kick Trump to the curb to save their 
own necks and the GOP Senate majority. The game of chicken (“Resign, or 
we vote to remove you!”) might begin in earnest. Alternatively, Trump 
could decide that he has accomplished more in three years than any other 
president accomplished in eight (the best ever!). Why not retire early, 
grab a pardon from Mike Pence and spend all his time golfing? It is not 
as far-fetched as it used to be.



"Ppoint of no return." Maybe so, but the numbers aren't stated here - 
it'd take 20 Republicans (with 45 Dems plus 2 Independents) to impeach. 
And it depends on how rational Trump is as it plays out, a real unknown. 
Could he grow cold feet and resign with compromise agreement not to 
prosecute him and his family? As did Nixon? One thing, since Nixon the 
political climate has grown more cynical and as apathy has grown the bar 
for conduct in office seems much lower, while Trump appears to thrive on 
risk and the thrill of it all, and is in many ways a one-off. More tea 
leaves but not much more probability.



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Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread Chris Slee via Marxism
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I think the chaos resulted from conflicting opinions amongst Trump's advisers, 
between those who prioritised restoring good relations with Turkey - which 
required allowing Turkey to invade Rojava - and those who prioritised 
suppressing ISIS - which required preventing Turkey from invading Rojava.

Chris Slee

From: Marxism  on behalf of John Reimann 
via Marxism 
Sent: Sunday, 20 October 2019 6:45:29 AM
To: Chris Slee 
Subject: Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the 
"Saigon Moment")

  POSTING RULES & NOTES  
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RKOB posted a series of articles detailing the hectic situation in a US
outpost in NE Syria. I assume he posted these in defense of the claim that
this is similar to the US defeat in Vietnam. The moment of withdrawal may
have similar scenes, but overall it is nowhere near comparable for two
reasons:

First, the US did not face a military defeat in Syria. Nor were their
troops hated and driven out by the local population. On the contrary, the
Kurds evidently felt they were being protected from Turkey by the US
troops, and so they were.

Second, this decision to withdraw was opposed by all wings of the US state
and by the capitalist class in general. It shows the extreme political
crisis of US capitalism at home. This is as opposed to Vietnam, where if
anything the US capitalist class wanted to withdraw before Nixon was ready
to do so.

In general, I agree with RKOB that US imperialism has been weakened
globally. But I think it's a mistake to impose this general truth onto our
understanding of what happened in this particular situation.

John Reimann

--
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
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Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America?s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread John Reimann via Marxism
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RKOB posted a series of articles detailing the hectic situation in a US
outpost in NE Syria. I assume he posted these in defense of the claim that
this is similar to the US defeat in Vietnam. The moment of withdrawal may
have similar scenes, but overall it is nowhere near comparable for two
reasons:

First, the US did not face a military defeat in Syria. Nor were their
troops hated and driven out by the local population. On the contrary, the
Kurds evidently felt they were being protected from Turkey by the US
troops, and so they were.

Second, this decision to withdraw was opposed by all wings of the US state
and by the capitalist class in general. It shows the extreme political
crisis of US capitalism at home. This is as opposed to Vietnam, where if
anything the US capitalist class wanted to withdraw before Nixon was ready
to do so.

In general, I agree with RKOB that US imperialism has been weakened
globally. But I think it's a mistake to impose this general truth onto our
understanding of what happened in this particular situation.

John Reimann

-- 
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook
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[Marxism] Declarations: The Impeachment Needle May Soon Move

2019-10-19 Thread Louis Proyect via Marxism

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WSJ Op-Ed, Oct. 19, 2019
Declarations: The Impeachment Needle May Soon Move
By Peggy Noonan

Things are more fluid than they seem. That's my impression of Washington 
right now. There's something quiet going on, a mood shift.


Impeachment of course will happen. The House will support whatever 
charges are ultimately introduced because most Democrats think the 
president is not fully sane and at least somewhat criminal. Also they're 
Democrats and he's a Republican. The charges will involve some level of 
foreign-policy malfeasance.


The ultimate outcome depends on the Senate. It takes 67 votes to 
convict. Republicans control the Senate 53-47, and it is unlikely 20 of 
them will agree to remove a president of their own party. An acquittal 
is likely but not fated, because we live in the age of the unexpected.


Here are three reasons to think the situation is more fluid than we realize.

First, the president, confident of acquittal, has chosen this moment to 
let his inner crazy flourish daily and dramatically -- the fights and 
meltdowns, the insults, the Erdogan letter. Just when the president 
needs to be enacting a certain stability he enacts its opposite. It is 
possible he doesn't appreciate the jeopardy he's in with impeachment 
bearing down; it is possible he knows and what behavioral discipline he 
has is wearing down.


The second is that the Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, 
told his caucus this week to be prepared for a trial that will go six 
days a week and could last six to eight weeks. In September there had 
been talk the Senate might receive articles of impeachment and execute a 
quick, brief response -- a short trial, or maybe a motion to dismiss. 
Mr. McConnell told CNBC then that the Senate would have "no choice" but 
to take up impeachment, but "how long you are on it is a different 
matter." Now he sees the need for a major and lengthy undertaking. Part 
of the reason would be practical: He is blunting attack lines that the 
Republicans arrogantly refused to give impeachment the time it deserves. 
But his decision also gives room for the unexpected -- big and serious 
charges that sweep public opinion and change senators' votes. "There is 
a mood change in terms of how much they can tolerate," said a former 
high Senate staffer. Senators never know day to day how bad things will get.


The third reason is the number of foreign-policy professionals who are 
not ducking testimony in the House but plan to testify or have already. 
Suppressed opposition to President Trump among foreign-service officers 
and others is busting out.


The president is daily eroding his position. His Syria decision was 
followed by wholly predictable tragedy; it may or may not have been 
eased by the announcement Thursday of a five-day cease-fire. Before that 
the House voted 354-60, including 129 Republicans, to rebuke the 
president. There was the crazy letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip 
Erdogan, which was alternately pleading ("You can make a great deal. . . 
. I will call you later") and threatening ("I don't want to be 
responsible for destroying the Turkish economy -- and I will").


There was the Cabinet Room meeting with congressional leaders, the 
insults hurled and the wildness of the photo that said it all -- the 
angry president; Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, standing and 
pointing at him; and the head of Gen. Mark Milley, the new chairman of 
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, bowed in -- embarrassment? Horror? His was 
not the only bowed head.


The president soon tweeted about a constitutional officer of the U.S. 
House, who is third in line for the presidency: "Nancy Pelosi needs help 
fast! There is either something wrong with her 'upstairs' or she just 
plain doesn't like our great Country. She had a total meltdown in the 
White House today. It was very sad to watch. Pray for her, she is a very 
sick person!"


As the Democratic leaders departed, he reportedly called out, "See you 
at the polls." Mr. Trump is confident that he holds the cards here -- 
he's got the Senate, and the base of the party says all these issues 
should be worked out in the 2020 election. But he is seriously weakening 
his hand by how he acts.


That meeting will only fortify Mrs. Pelosi's determination to impeach him.

The president tweeted out the picture of that meeting just as the White 
House made public the Erdogan letter -- because they think it made the 
president look good. Which underscored the sense that he has no 
heavyweight advisers around him -- the generals are gone, the competent 
fled, he's careening around surrounded by second raters, opportunists, 

[Marxism] Federal election in Canada

2019-10-19 Thread Ken Hiebert via Marxism
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These are fragments of the political debate in Canada.
The election day is this coming Monday.
Turnout at advance polls was quite high.  I was able to cast a vote for the 
Communist Party candidate in my riding.
ken h

Margaret Atwood
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-not-sure-how-to-vote-start-with-the-parties-that-recognize-theres-a/
 
<https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-not-sure-how-to-vote-start-with-the-parties-that-recognize-theres-a/>

Neil Young, Wade Davis, Pamela Anderson, etc.
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/times-colonist/20191019/281741271193857 
<https://www.pressreader.com/canada/times-colonist/20191019/281741271193857>
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[Marxism] Pathways for building a revolutionary party – International Socialism

2019-10-19 Thread Louis Proyect via Marxism

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Paul LeBlanc responds to John Molyneux's old school Leninism.

http://isj.org.uk/pathways-for-building-a-revolutionary-party/
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Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America’s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread RKOB via Marxism

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*Sure, I hope this works.*

*
*

*‘Get the Hell out of Syria. It’s Sand and Blood and Death’: Inside 
America’s Chaotic Retreat *


*President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops upended Middle East 
policy and empowered Washington’s adversaries *


By Dion Nissenbaum in Beirut, Isabel Coles in Duhok, Iraq, and Nancy A. 
Youssef in Washington Oct. 18, 2019 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/get-the-hell-out-of-syria-its-sand-and-blood-and-death-inside-americas-chaotic-retreat-11571421368 



America’s humiliating exit from the war in Vietnam was marked by chaotic 
images of people struggling to board the last helicopters leaving the 
rooftop of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The U.S. didn’t want to leave 
Syria 
in 
similar fashion.


That is what the Trump administration’s special envoy for the fight 
against Islamic State, James Jeffrey, told the top Kurdish military 
commander 
, 
a longtime U.S. partner against the militants, in one of their last 
conversations before Turkey attacked.


Days later, as Turkish-backed forces advanced into Syria 
, 
the U.S. military began a haphazard retreat from the Syria border that 
left thousands of Kurdish allies alone and outgunned.


As the fighting intensified, the U.S. faced the possibility of another 
Saigon moment. Dozens of Kurdish women and children fled their homes and 
sought sanctuary at the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition fight 
against Islamic State, an abandoned cement factory about 30 miles from 
the Turkey-Syria border. Soldiers turned them away.


Three days later, as Turkish-backed forces advanced on the same base, 
U.S. Apache helicopters and F-15 jets flew past low and fast over the 
fighters in a show of force to protect Americans hunkered down behind 
the base walls.


Kurdish fighters set fire to their part of base, seeking to leave behind 
little of value. Within hours, American forces withdrew. Two U.S. jet 
fighters returned to destroy an ammunition depot, tents and latrines, an 
attempt to reduce the facility’s military usefulness to Turkish-backed 
forces.


The decision by President Trump to leave Syria set in motion events that 
upended U.S. policy in the Middle East, cast doubt on America’s 
reliability as an ally and allowed Washington’s adversaries to fill the 
void: The Assad regime strengthens its hold. Russia expands its 
influence. And Iran sees greater freedom to ferry weapons to allies in 
the region, posing new threats to neighboring Israel.


Following a successful five-year campaign by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces 
against Islamic State, which reduced the militant threat to Western 
capitals, Turkey launched an attack on Syrian Kurds, forcing the 
besieged group to seek help from Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.


With the U.S. in retreat, Syrian and Russian forces are angling for 
control of American military bases that until last week were used to 
carry out counterterrorism missions against Islamic State.


A Russian reporter in a New York Yankees cap posted a video of an 
abandoned U.S. base in Manbij, Syria, taken over by Russian and Syrian 
fighters. Dining hall refrigerators were still filled with cans of Coke 
and Pepsi. Kitchen shelves were loaded with bread, bagels and Krispy 
Kreme doughnut boxes.


*Fast-Moving Conflict*

*The U.S. and Turkey have agreed to a temporary halt to fighting in 
Turkey’s desired safe zone to allow Kurds to withdraw from the border 
region.*


More than 300,000 Syrians have already fled the fighting. Cellphone 
videos posted online last weekend appeared to show Turkish-backed 
fighters executing two prisoners on a roadside.


“We are sheep for the slaughter,” said Abu Khalil, a Kurdish farmer who 
fled the Syrian city of Ras al-Ain with 14 family members into Iraq. 
More than 1.5 million Kurds live in northeastern Syria.


Aid groups have suspended operations and evacuated international 
workers. Syrians who worked with the groups have shredded documents that 
might link them to Americans, fearing the Assad regime would use any 
evidence to imprison, torture or kill them.


In Washington, Democratic and Republican lawmakers excoriated Mr. Trump 
for ceding U.S. influence in Syria to Moscow, Tehran and Ankara. The 
bipartisan outcry comes as Mr. Trump faces an intensifying impeachment 
investigation in the House.


Mr. Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey 

[Marxism] 'A deep and boiling anger': NBC/WSJ poll finds a pessimistic America despite current economic satisfaction

2019-10-19 Thread Louis Proyect via Marxism

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/deep-boiling-anger-nbc-wsj-poll-finds-pessimistic-america-despite-n1045916
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[Marxism] Impoverished economics? Unpacking the economics Nobel Prize | openDemocracy

2019-10-19 Thread Louis Proyect via Marxism

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The approach that is being promoted is concerned with poverty, not 
development, and is thus a part of the larger trend in development 
economics that is moving away from development as structural 
transformation to development as poverty alleviation. This movement 
towards “thinking small” is a part of a broader trend, which has 
squeezed out questions related to global economic institutions, trade, 
agricultural, industrial and fiscal policy, and the role of political 
dynamics, in favor of the best ways to make smaller technical interventions.


The interventions considered by the Nobel laureates tend to be removed 
from analyses of power and wider social change. In fact, the Nobel 
committee specifically gave it to Banerjee, Duflo and Kremer for 
addressing “smaller, more manageable questions,” rather than big ideas. 
While such small interventions might generate positive results at the 
micro-level, they do little to challenge the systems that produce the 
problems.


full: 
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/impoverished-economics-unpacking-economics-nobel-prize/

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[Marxism] Watchmen, HBO’s sequel to the landmark comic books, reviewed.

2019-10-19 Thread Louis Proyect via Marxism

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The audacious, unsettling series makes racial violence the superhero’s 
origin story.


https://slate.com/culture/2019/10/watchmen-hbo-racism-damon-lindelof-review.html
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Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America’s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread RKOB via Marxism

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I have tried to send it as text three times. It always bounces back. 
Probably the article is to long. I will send it directly to you (and 
anyone else who wants to have the article)


Am 19.10.2019 um 13:27 schrieb Greg McDonald:
When it comes to the WSJ, the Saigon moment comes up against the 
paywall moment. Could you please post the article in full here?


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Re: [Marxism] WSJ: Inside America’s Chaotic Retreat from Syria (On the "Saigon Moment")

2019-10-19 Thread Greg McDonald via Marxism
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When it comes to the WSJ, the Saigon moment comes up against the paywall
moment. Could you please post the article in full here?
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[Marxism] Another Great Recession of the Capitalist World Economy Has Begun

2019-10-19 Thread RKOB via Marxism

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Another Great Recession of the Capitalist World Economy Has Begun

The economic crisis is an important factor in the current dramatic shift 
in the world situation


by Michael Pröbsting, 19 October 2019

https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/another-great-recession-of-the-capitalist-world-economy-has-begun/

Contents:

Introduction

The beginning of the Great Recession

Economic downturn in the old imperialist economies …

… as well as in China

A crisis of profits

Confirmation of the Marxist analysis of China’s class character

Remarks on the peculiar character of the current Great Recession

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