From The Archives-The Struggle To Win The Youth To The Fight For Our Communist Future-From "Young Spartacus" -"Mobilize British Labor To Fight The National Front (December1978/January 1979)
Markin comment on this series:
One of the declared purposes of this space is to draw the lessons of our left-wing past here in America and internationally, especially from the pro-communist wing. To that end I have made commentaries and provided archival works in order to help draw those lessons for today’s left-wing activists to learn, or at least ponder over. More importantly, for the long haul, to help educate today’s youth in the struggle for our common communist future. That is no small task or easy task given the differences of generations; differences of political milieus worked in; differences of social structure to work around; and, increasingly more important, the differences in appreciation of technological advances, and their uses.
There is no question that back in my youth I could have used, desperately used, many of the archival materials available today. When I developed political consciousness very early on, albeit liberal political consciousness, I could have used this material as I knew, I knew deep inside my heart and mind, that a junior Cold War liberal of the American For Democratic Action (ADA) stripe was not the end of my leftward political trajectory. More importantly, I could have used a socialist or communist youth organization to help me articulate the doubts I had about the virtues of liberal capitalism and be recruited to a more left-wing world view. As it was I spent far too long in the throes of the left-liberal/soft social-democratic milieu where I was dying politically. A group like the Young Communist League (W.E.B. Dubois Clubs in those days), the Young People’s Socialist League, or the Young Socialist Alliance representing the youth organizations of the American Communist Party, American Socialist Party and the Socialist Workers Party (U.S.) respectively would have saved much wasted time and energy. I knew they were around but not in my area.
The archival material to be used in this series is weighted heavily toward the youth movements of the early American Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party (U.S). For more recent material I have relied on material from the Spartacus Youth Clubs, the youth group of the Spartacist League (U.S.), both because they are more readily available to me and because, and this should give cause for pause, there are not many other non-CP, non-SWP youth groups around. As I gather more material from other youth sources I will place them in this series.
Finally I would like to finish up with the preamble to the Spartacist Youth Club’s What We Fight For statement of purpose:
"The Spartacus Youth Clubs intervene into social struggles armed with the revolutionary internationalist program of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky. We work to mobilize youth in struggle as partisans of the working class, championing the liberation of black people, women and all the oppressed. The SYCs fight to win youth to the perspective of building the Leninist vanguard party that will lead the working class in socialist revolution, laying the basis for a world free of capitalist exploitation and imperialist slaughter."
This seems to me be somewhere in the right direction for what a Bolshevik youth group should be doing these days; a proving ground to become professional revolutionaries with enough wiggle room to learn from their mistakes, and successes. More later.
*************
Markin comment on this article:
This is good advise on how to think about fighting the fascists when they rear their heads. Frankly, a lot of it could have been written today, just as well as back in 1978.
*******
From Young Spartacus -Mobilize British Labor To Fight The National Front (December1978/January 1979)
"When 1 first came into politics...the common term of opprobrium or abuse for your political opponents was, of course, to call them a fascist... What is most interesting in Britain in the last four or five years is that there has been an evaporation of that use of the term 'fascist' as a general term of abuse and a greater precision-in what people understand to be fascism. One of the reasons for that is quite simply, social being determines consciousness. When you see two thousand thugs march down a street chanting 'The reds, the reds, we've got to get rid of the reds,' or 'The National Front is a White Man's Front,' then you begin to understand what fascism is and how it differs and how importantly it differs from just ordinary run-of-the-mill right-wing yobs which abound in any class society."
With these words comrade James Flanagan of the Spartacist League/ Britain (SL/B) opened the Spartacus Youth League forum "Mobilize British Labor to Fight the National Front" held at Barnard College, New York on November 16. Quoting electoral statistics from the past four years, he outlined the dramatic growth of the fascist National Front (NF) since 1974.
In the British general election of October 1974 the NF took 113,000 votes. By the time of the local government (municipal) elections of spring 1977, that figure had more than doubled to 250,000 votes nationally, in London alone the fascists polled 119,000 votes in 91 constituencies, beating the Liberals—the junior party of British capitalism—in 33 areas, and taking up to 20 percent of the vote in certain parts of the mainly immigrant East End. While those votes do not constitute a hardened base of organized support for the NF, they nonetheless testify to the seriousness of the fascist threat and the urgency of mobilizing Britain's well-organized labor movement against it.
The question most obviously posed by these developments is—why Britain and why now? Recalling Trotsky's capsule analysis of fascism as the last resort of a desperate bourgeoisie faced with the prospect of its own overthrow, comrade Flanagan, a former member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and the Irish Commission of the Workers Socialist League, sketched the deep social decay and critical condition of capitalism in Britain. With 1.5 million workers unemployed, with wages held down as inflation continues at 8-9 percent, and with social services cut to the bone, leaving the already depressed inner cities even more barren, the social conditions which spawn fascist movements already exist in Britain.
Moreover, the bourgeoisie is faced with a strong, undefeated working class which in the past has fought against and defeated attempts to make them pay for the current crisis—from the 1969 revolt which crushed the Labour government's anti-union Bill ("In Place of Strife"), through the 1974 miners strike which felled the Conservative Heath government, right over to the Ford workers who just recently punched a hole in Labour's wage controls. For the bourgeoisie the situation looks bleak:
"Labour hasn't worked; the Tories haven't worked; a Labour-Liberal coalition hasn't worked. The prospects in store for them are weak, hung parliaments, minority governments supported by minority parties. Ultimately what they have to look for as a way of getting out of this situation is some sort of strong state—take on the unions, beat the unions and resolve it in that way. And that importantly is where the fascists come in."
Clearly, evolution in such a direction would mean a qualitative escalation in the level of class struggle in Britain, and the development of a perilous situation in which the alternatives posed would be socialist revolution or fascist barbarism. Britain is as yet some distance from that, but the recurring clashes between the fascists and the left foreshadow greater battles to come.
The Battle of Cable Street
The willingness of the British bourgeoisie to opt for a fascistic solution is shown by events of the past. During the crisis-wracked 1930's, when the German bourgeoisie turned to Hitler's brown-shirts, there arose in Britain a fascist movement—Sir Oswald Moseley's British Union of Fascists (BUF)—which won significant support from sections of the bourgeoisie. The Daily Mail (a leading capitalist daily), for example, had as its headline in the issue of 15 January 1934, "Hurrah For the Fascists."
Clad in black shirts, Moseley's bands held a series of meetings throughout England during the 1933-36 period, aimed at terrorizing immigrant groups and crushing the unions. ("We've got to get rid of the Yids" was one of their chants, a slogan emulated by the National Front of today.) In June of 1934 they held a 15,000 strong indoor rally at the Olympia building in London, beating up would-be hecklers in the audience and demonstrating openly their vicious determination to silence all their opponents.
As the real character of Moseley's movement became clear, the working class began to fight back. In June 1936, a BUF meeting in the coal mining town of Tonypandy in South Wales was broken up and the fascists were driven out of the area. But it wasn't until a couple of months later that the decisive blow was struck against Moseley, in what became known as "The Battle of Cable Street"— named after the site in London's East End where the BUF was routed. The events of the day were described by comrade Flanagan:
"So the culmination came on the 4th of October 1936. Moseley had organized for that day a demonstration to march into the East End of London right through a heavily Jewish area. This was a deliberate provocation in much the same way as Hitler's fascists had marched through Altona, a working-class area of Hamburg just four years earlier. The reaction of the Labour Party tops and the trade-union leaders to this decision was that they weren't going to do anything about it— The Communist Party of Great Britain, which today likes to pose as being the champions of the fight against the fascists in 1936, as the leaders of Cable Street, also advocated that people not go there. They said there is a rally to take place in Trafalgar Square the same day and people should go and march there.
"As it was the Communist Party eventually made it over. Under pressure from the local Communist Party, from the Independent Labour Party of Fenner Brockway and the working class of that area, they actually did turn out. The result was that something like a quarter of a million workers—some estimates put it as high as half a million—turned out to prevent Moseley's fascists from marching through the area. The London police had mobilized 6,000 of their foot division and the entire mounted horse division but they weren't able to cut a path through the crowd."
Comrade Flanagan then cited an account of the battle by the man who later became a Communist Party member of Parliament from the East End. In his book, Our Flag Stays Red, Phil Piratin recalls:
"It was obvious that the fascists and the police would now turn their attention to
Cable Street. We were ready. The moment this became apparent the signal was given to put up the barricades. Supplemented by bits of old furniture, mattresses, and every kind of thing you expect to find in box-rooms, it was a barricade which the police did not find easy to penetrate. As they charged they were met with milk bottles, stones and marbles. Some of the housewives began to drop milk bottles from the roof tops. A number of police surrendered. This had never happened before, so the lads didn't know what to do, but they took away their batons, and one took a helmet for his son as a souvenir."
Cable Street and Today
A direct consequence of the Cable Street rout was a marked decline in fascist activity in that period. Since the late 1960's/early 1970's, however, the fascist movement in Britain has re-emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Grouping together different fascistic sects to form the National Front (NF), NF leaders John Tyndall and Martin Webster have begun building what the latter once referred to as "a well-oiled Nazi machine in this country." Particularly since 1974, the NF has combined electioneering with provocative street marches through largely immigrant areas as a means of winning support. And since 1974 the left has mobilized in attempts to deny the fascists any platform for spewing their race-hate filth.
As comrade Flanagan put it, the spirit which motivated the left,
"and which drew a large number of people into politics at that time was’ No Platform for Fascists'—we must prevent the fascists from meeting wherever they try; a wholly admirable, supportable sentiment. But what they transformed that into was military-style confrontations when the balance of forces wasn't suitable for actually crushing the fascists and what it degenerated into was a series of drawn-out inconclusive brawls, not with the fascists but with the state, the police..."
The high-point of this type of struggle came on August 13, 1977 in the London borough of Lewisham, when 5,000 antifascist demonstrators gathered to stop a 500-strong NF march through this largely West Indian area. Very rapidly, the counter-mobilization became a confrontation with the police who time ever on the British mainland. (Riot gear is of course a familiar sight in Northern Ireland.) The seriousness of this confrontation, which involved a quarter of the entire London metropolitan police force, stung the bourgeoisie, who were quick to go on a red-baiting offensive against the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the main force behind the" demonstration. Labour leaders likewise joined in the witchhunt, denouncing the SWP as "red fascists"(Morning Star, 17 August 1977).
For the most part, however, the left's counter-demonstrations consisted, of adventurist street confrontations with the fascists. Opportunistically ducking out of the difficult task of fighting within Britain's powerful labor movement for leadership prepared to mobilize the unions against the NF, the left tried to substitute itself for the organized working class. And while they were refusing to fight for trade-union defense squads to crush the fascists, they criminally called on the bourgeois state to deal with the Front.
Precisely how stupid and dangerous appeals to the capitalist state are was confirmed in two incidents during this period. In June 1973, the United Secretariat's (USec) French group, then called the Ligue Communiste (LC), engaged in an adventurist confrontation with cops and members of the fascist Ordre Nouveau in Paris, while simultaneously calling on the state to stop the meeting. As a result the LC was banned ("impartially," of course, along with the fascists). In June 1974 the British USec group, the International Marxist Group (IMG), likewise got involved in a brawl with British police in London's Red Lion Square outside an NF meeting the IMG had previously called on the government to stop. In the course of the confrontation the police truncheoned to death a young IMG supporter, Kevin Gately.
Although the SWP at first defended its Lewisham actions, it soon capitulated to the pressure and was instrumental in launching the Anti Nazi League (ANL)—a popular-frontist bloc with liberals, Labour Party "lefts" and other "respectable" figures, which shuns street confrontations with the fascists in favor of social-patriotic appeals to "anti-Nazi" (anti-German) sentiments within the British working class, calls for state bans, and "magic" carnivals to halt the National Front. The creation of this strictly legalist, pacifistic outfit—the right opportunist flip-side of the SWP's previous left adventurism—predictably led to an abdication of any serious struggle against the fascists.
As comrade Flanagan made clear in his talk, the question of a revolutionary strategy to fight the National Front revolves around the question of the pro-capitalist trade-union bureaucracy and the Labour Party, the mass reformist party of the British working class. The common thread between adventurist street confrontations and wretched appeals to the state is a refusal to take on the question of defeating Labourism, in both its trade-union and parliamentary forms, through intransigent political battle to win over its proletarian base. When the reformist and centrist left appeal to the state to ban fascism they address themselves to the same Labour Party officials who send out the cops in droves to protect the fascist rallies. The task is to mobilize the masses of British unionists, the Labour Party's rank and file, to deal a death blow to the fascist
scum.
No Support to the ANL!
From the outset, the Spartacist League/Britain refused to tail after the ANL, uniquely denouncing it as a popular-frontist formation which would soon lead to outright betrayal. On September 24 this analysis was confirmed. On that day 2,000 NFers marched through London, while the ANL took some 80,000 would-be antifascists miles off in the opposite direction to a carnival in Brixton (in South London)! Only about 1,500 leftists— including the SL/B, who turned out one of the largest single organized contingents—refused to go carnivaling, and went instead to the East End. As it was their forces were pitifully inadequate to stop the fascists who, protected by the usual ranks of police at their side, marched triumphantly into the area. (For a more detailed account see Spartacist Britain No. 5, October 1978.) Interestingly, after comrade Flanagan had concluded his presentation of the ANL's betrayal, two British defenders of the ANL rose to support its decision to go ahead with the Carnival. The Spartacists were "far too damning" of the ANL, they maintained, and "wrong-headed,"
"in suggesting that the Anti Nazi League should have called off a mass demonstration in order to respond to a small counter-demonstration called in another part of London..."
In his summary, Flanagan took issue with this classic reformist argument, virtually identical to the ones used to try to keep the working class away from Cable Street in 1936:
"So what happened with the Anti Nazi League? They heard a month before¬
hand that the fascists were marching through the east of London. This is not
just an ordinary demonstration. It was a march against communism when the
reds were away, through the most oppressed area of London where the
minorities lived. They said they were going to be there and that night they
were. 'There are no "no-go" areas for us in London,' they said, 'we can march
where we want, and we will terrorize this area.' And that's what they did.
Then later that night they rampaged down nearby Brick Lane.
"So the purpose of our sharpness is to actually say: yes, there was a class line
on that day. The people who went to the Carnival were scabs, and people who
went to Brick Lane were not. There was a class line, and it was very, very
clear.
"You see they marched off in the opposite direction. Now you would think their response to that might be: 'Oh god, we ballsed up,' or something like that. 'We're sorry, you know, but...' But they didn't. Socialist Challenge, the paper of the International Marxist Group, had on its back page: yes, we were right! We were right to go, they said, to the Carnival. We were right to leave the black community of the East End defenseless.
"Tony Cliff, now, was more honest in Socialist Worker. He was more honest—he said: ‘If the Anti Nazi League Carnival had been diverted from Brixton, then the ANL would have disintegrated. And that's why they didn't go to the East End but went to Brixton. Because they didn't want to lose the support of Lord Avery, or Peter Hain, or Jonathan Dimbleby, Panorama reporter for the BBC. They didn't want to lose the support of those people, because they’re respectable, because they want mass influence.
"Mass movements are important things. But there's an interesting thing that Trotsky said years and years ago: mass movements are of different characters. The pilgrimage to Lourdes is a mass movement. So was the imperialist invasion of the Soviet Union a mass movement. The bombing of Hanoi was a mass movement. The Anti Nazi League Carnival was also a mass movement, but so was Cable Street in 1936. And that's the spirit we stand on. That's what we say should have happened. On that day, the Communist Party wanted to go to Trafalgar Square. But they at least made it over to the East End and the fascists were routed. The SWP and the IMG can't even claim that. We said in the issue of Spartacist Britain which appeared after this that September 24 has drawn the line. Make your choice
Showing posts with label anti-imperialism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anti-imperialism. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
On The Anniversary Of Greensboro 1979-Never Forget- Learn The Lessons Of History-Should Fascists Be Allowed the Right of Free Speech?
Click on the headline to link to a Wikipedia entry for the Greensboro 1979 events.
Markin comment:
The events of Greenboro, North Carolina 1979, today more than ever as we gear up our struggles in the aftermath of the spark of the Occupy movement, should be permanently etched in our minds. We had best know how to deal with the fascists and other para-military types that rear their heads when people begin to struggle against the bosses. The article below points the way historically.
*******
Markin comment on this article :
Every year, and rightfully so, we leftist militants, especially those of us who count ourselves among the communist militants, remember the 1979 Greensboro, North Carolina massacre of fellow communists by murderous and police-protected Nazis, fascists and Klansmen. That remembrance, as the article below details, also includes trying to draw the lessons of the experience and an explanation of political differences. For what purpose? Greensboro 1979-never again, never forget-or forgive.
Although right this minute, this 2011 minute, the Nazis/fascists are not publicly raising their hellish ideas, apparently “hiding” just now on the fringes of the tea party movement, this is an eternal question for leftists. The question, in short, of when and how to deal with this crowd of locust. Trotsky, and others, had it right back in the late 1920s and early 1930s-smash this menace in the shell. 1933, when they come to power, as Hitler did in Germany (or earlier, if you like, with Mussolini in Italy) is way too late, as immediately the German working class, including its Social-Democratic and Communist sympathizers found out, and later many parts of the rest of the world. That is the when.
For the how, the substance of this article points the way forward, and the way not forward, as represented by the American Communist Party’s (and at later times other so-called “progressives” as well, including here the Communist Workers Party) attempts to de-rail the street protests and rely, as always, on the good offices of the bourgeois state, and usually, on this issue the Democrats. Sure, grab all the allies you can, from whatever source, to confront the fascists when they raise their heads. But rely on the mobilization of the labor movement on the streets to say what’s what, not rely on the hoary halls of bourgeois government and its hangers-on, ideologues, and lackeys.
******
Should Fascists Be Allowed the Right of Free Speech?
A Working Class Point of View on the Question That Was
Brought to the Fore Again by the Professional Democrats
When the Nazis Mobilized at the Garden
_
-Reprinted from the Socialist Appeal, 3 March 1939
It seems that the only point of importance that the Professional Liberals and Democrats could see in the big mobilization of the Nazis at Madison Square Garden last week, was their "right of free speech and assembly."
Mayor LaGuardia kept reiterating emphatically that his attachment to Democracy compelled him to grant the Fascists the right to hold their meeting and provide them with extraordinary police protection.
The American Civil Liberties Union rushed into print to insist that the right of free speech be extended to the Hitlerites.
One of the numerous committees of the Jewish bourgeoisie, anxious to demonstrate that it loves fairness above all else, did likewise.
Even the wretched little Jewish anarchist weekly published in New York indignantly reproached the Trotskyists for the lack of sense in "demanding the right of free speech and assembly for oneself and at the same time trying to prevent the freedom of speech of our opponents..."
Freedom for Nazis But Not for Pickets
Before going further into the consideration of the question
of "free speech for Fascists," it is interesting and important
to record the fact that all the above-mentioned who showed
such touching concern for the "democratic rights" of the Nazis,
are entirely unconcerned with the brutal police suppression
of the picketing rights of the workers who assembled outside
the Garden.
The Mayor simply refused to see a delegation which came to protest against the violence of the police who rode down and slugged the picketers.
The American Civil Liberties Union, apparently exhausted by its noble efforts in behalf of the Nazis, didn't utter a peep about the democratic rights of free speech, assembly and picketing being denied the 50,000 anti-Fascists who came to protest the Nazi rally. Ditto for the Jewish committee.
As for the anarchist Freie Arbeiter Stimme, it says not a word about the police assaults, but villainously insinuates that the Terrible Trotskyists were really at fault because, Mr. Police Commissioner, they planned a violent attack on the Nazis who were innocently celebrating Washington's Birthday. Unbelievable, but here are its exact words: "But there are times when people who endeavor to do social work, must reflect ten times, a hundred times, before they come out with an appeal for acts of violence."
What the Problem Really Involves
The question of "democratic rights for the Nazis" cannot be resolved on the basis of Liberal phrasemongers. All such a discussion can produce is a bewildering tangle of words and abstractions. At a more decisive stage, as all recent experience has proved, it produces a first class disaster not only for the working class but also for the Professional Liberals and Democrats themselves.
How many of them, indeed, are there in concentration camps, in prison and in exile who are continuing the thoroughly futile and abstract discussion over whether or not the Fascist gangsters should be granted the "democratic rights of free speech and assembly"!
And what is most decisive—this is the point which leads us directly to a solution of the problem that seems to agitate so many people—is the fact that in Italy, in Germany, in Austria, in Czechoslovakia, in Spain, the Democrats were so concerned with preserving the "rights" of the Fascists that they concentrated all their attacks and repressive measures upon those workers and those labor organization which sought to conduct a militant struggle against the Fascists and for the preservation and extension of their truly democratic rights and institutions.
It is when the bourgeois "democrats" like Giolitti in Italy and Bruening in Germany, had done all in their power to smash' the most progressive and active sections of the working class—as LaGuardia and his police tried to do on a smaller scale in New York last week—that the Fascists concluded successfully their march to totalitarian power. Whoever forgets this important lesson from abroad, is a fool. Whoever tries to keep others ignorant of this lesson, is a rogue.
A Simple Example
Let us take a simple example which every worker has ex¬perienced dozens of times.
A strike is called. The authorities promptly jump into the situation in order to protect the "democratic rights" of the scabs and the company gunmen who guard them. The "right to work" of the scab, which is guaranteed by the capitalist govern¬ment, amounts in reality to his "right" to starve out the striking workers and reduce them to helpless pawns of the employers.
Millons of workers have learned the futility and deceptiveness of the academic discussion of the scab's "democratic rights," as well as of appealing to the government and its police to "arbitrate" the dispute involved. They try to solve the question, as they must, in the course of struggle. The workers throw their picket-lines around the struck plant. The conflict between the scab's "right" to break a strike and the workers' right to live, is also settled on the course of struggle—in favor of those who plan better, organize better, and fight better.
Same Rule Applies on Broader Scene
The same rule applies in the struggle against the much bigger scab movement that Fascism represents.The workers who spend all their time and energy in the abstract discussion of the Nazis' "democratic rights"—to say nothing of working themselves into a lather in defense of these "rights"—will end their discussion under a Fascist club in a concentration camp.
The workers who delude themselves and waste their time begging the capitalist Democrats in office to "act" against the Fascists, will end up in the same place, just as the workers of Italy, Germany and Austria did.
The workers have more vital concerns. They are and should be interested in defending and expanding their democratic rights. But not in any abstract sense. These rights are the concrete rights of free speech, assembly, press, the right to organize, strike and picket, without which an independent working class simply cannot exist.
A decaying capitalism—of which Fascism is only a natural product—seeks constantly to restrict and destroy these rights, which are not truly genuine even in "normal" times. These rights can only be defended from the assaults of capitalism and its ugly offspring, Fascism, in the same way in which they were first acquired: by the tireless, aggressive, unbending, inde¬pendent struggle of the working class.
The wailing and weeping about the Nazis' "rights" can safely be left to the prissy Liberals and the phoney Democrats.
The self-preservation of the working class demands that it cut through all abstract chatter and smash the Fascist gangs by decisive and relentless action.
Markin comment:
The events of Greenboro, North Carolina 1979, today more than ever as we gear up our struggles in the aftermath of the spark of the Occupy movement, should be permanently etched in our minds. We had best know how to deal with the fascists and other para-military types that rear their heads when people begin to struggle against the bosses. The article below points the way historically.
*******
Markin comment on this article :
Every year, and rightfully so, we leftist militants, especially those of us who count ourselves among the communist militants, remember the 1979 Greensboro, North Carolina massacre of fellow communists by murderous and police-protected Nazis, fascists and Klansmen. That remembrance, as the article below details, also includes trying to draw the lessons of the experience and an explanation of political differences. For what purpose? Greensboro 1979-never again, never forget-or forgive.
Although right this minute, this 2011 minute, the Nazis/fascists are not publicly raising their hellish ideas, apparently “hiding” just now on the fringes of the tea party movement, this is an eternal question for leftists. The question, in short, of when and how to deal with this crowd of locust. Trotsky, and others, had it right back in the late 1920s and early 1930s-smash this menace in the shell. 1933, when they come to power, as Hitler did in Germany (or earlier, if you like, with Mussolini in Italy) is way too late, as immediately the German working class, including its Social-Democratic and Communist sympathizers found out, and later many parts of the rest of the world. That is the when.
For the how, the substance of this article points the way forward, and the way not forward, as represented by the American Communist Party’s (and at later times other so-called “progressives” as well, including here the Communist Workers Party) attempts to de-rail the street protests and rely, as always, on the good offices of the bourgeois state, and usually, on this issue the Democrats. Sure, grab all the allies you can, from whatever source, to confront the fascists when they raise their heads. But rely on the mobilization of the labor movement on the streets to say what’s what, not rely on the hoary halls of bourgeois government and its hangers-on, ideologues, and lackeys.
******
Should Fascists Be Allowed the Right of Free Speech?
A Working Class Point of View on the Question That Was
Brought to the Fore Again by the Professional Democrats
When the Nazis Mobilized at the Garden
_
-Reprinted from the Socialist Appeal, 3 March 1939
It seems that the only point of importance that the Professional Liberals and Democrats could see in the big mobilization of the Nazis at Madison Square Garden last week, was their "right of free speech and assembly."
Mayor LaGuardia kept reiterating emphatically that his attachment to Democracy compelled him to grant the Fascists the right to hold their meeting and provide them with extraordinary police protection.
The American Civil Liberties Union rushed into print to insist that the right of free speech be extended to the Hitlerites.
One of the numerous committees of the Jewish bourgeoisie, anxious to demonstrate that it loves fairness above all else, did likewise.
Even the wretched little Jewish anarchist weekly published in New York indignantly reproached the Trotskyists for the lack of sense in "demanding the right of free speech and assembly for oneself and at the same time trying to prevent the freedom of speech of our opponents..."
Freedom for Nazis But Not for Pickets
Before going further into the consideration of the question
of "free speech for Fascists," it is interesting and important
to record the fact that all the above-mentioned who showed
such touching concern for the "democratic rights" of the Nazis,
are entirely unconcerned with the brutal police suppression
of the picketing rights of the workers who assembled outside
the Garden.
The Mayor simply refused to see a delegation which came to protest against the violence of the police who rode down and slugged the picketers.
The American Civil Liberties Union, apparently exhausted by its noble efforts in behalf of the Nazis, didn't utter a peep about the democratic rights of free speech, assembly and picketing being denied the 50,000 anti-Fascists who came to protest the Nazi rally. Ditto for the Jewish committee.
As for the anarchist Freie Arbeiter Stimme, it says not a word about the police assaults, but villainously insinuates that the Terrible Trotskyists were really at fault because, Mr. Police Commissioner, they planned a violent attack on the Nazis who were innocently celebrating Washington's Birthday. Unbelievable, but here are its exact words: "But there are times when people who endeavor to do social work, must reflect ten times, a hundred times, before they come out with an appeal for acts of violence."
What the Problem Really Involves
The question of "democratic rights for the Nazis" cannot be resolved on the basis of Liberal phrasemongers. All such a discussion can produce is a bewildering tangle of words and abstractions. At a more decisive stage, as all recent experience has proved, it produces a first class disaster not only for the working class but also for the Professional Liberals and Democrats themselves.
How many of them, indeed, are there in concentration camps, in prison and in exile who are continuing the thoroughly futile and abstract discussion over whether or not the Fascist gangsters should be granted the "democratic rights of free speech and assembly"!
And what is most decisive—this is the point which leads us directly to a solution of the problem that seems to agitate so many people—is the fact that in Italy, in Germany, in Austria, in Czechoslovakia, in Spain, the Democrats were so concerned with preserving the "rights" of the Fascists that they concentrated all their attacks and repressive measures upon those workers and those labor organization which sought to conduct a militant struggle against the Fascists and for the preservation and extension of their truly democratic rights and institutions.
It is when the bourgeois "democrats" like Giolitti in Italy and Bruening in Germany, had done all in their power to smash' the most progressive and active sections of the working class—as LaGuardia and his police tried to do on a smaller scale in New York last week—that the Fascists concluded successfully their march to totalitarian power. Whoever forgets this important lesson from abroad, is a fool. Whoever tries to keep others ignorant of this lesson, is a rogue.
A Simple Example
Let us take a simple example which every worker has ex¬perienced dozens of times.
A strike is called. The authorities promptly jump into the situation in order to protect the "democratic rights" of the scabs and the company gunmen who guard them. The "right to work" of the scab, which is guaranteed by the capitalist govern¬ment, amounts in reality to his "right" to starve out the striking workers and reduce them to helpless pawns of the employers.
Millons of workers have learned the futility and deceptiveness of the academic discussion of the scab's "democratic rights," as well as of appealing to the government and its police to "arbitrate" the dispute involved. They try to solve the question, as they must, in the course of struggle. The workers throw their picket-lines around the struck plant. The conflict between the scab's "right" to break a strike and the workers' right to live, is also settled on the course of struggle—in favor of those who plan better, organize better, and fight better.
Same Rule Applies on Broader Scene
The same rule applies in the struggle against the much bigger scab movement that Fascism represents.The workers who spend all their time and energy in the abstract discussion of the Nazis' "democratic rights"—to say nothing of working themselves into a lather in defense of these "rights"—will end their discussion under a Fascist club in a concentration camp.
The workers who delude themselves and waste their time begging the capitalist Democrats in office to "act" against the Fascists, will end up in the same place, just as the workers of Italy, Germany and Austria did.
The workers have more vital concerns. They are and should be interested in defending and expanding their democratic rights. But not in any abstract sense. These rights are the concrete rights of free speech, assembly, press, the right to organize, strike and picket, without which an independent working class simply cannot exist.
A decaying capitalism—of which Fascism is only a natural product—seeks constantly to restrict and destroy these rights, which are not truly genuine even in "normal" times. These rights can only be defended from the assaults of capitalism and its ugly offspring, Fascism, in the same way in which they were first acquired: by the tireless, aggressive, unbending, inde¬pendent struggle of the working class.
The wailing and weeping about the Nazis' "rights" can safely be left to the prissy Liberals and the phoney Democrats.
The self-preservation of the working class demands that it cut through all abstract chatter and smash the Fascist gangs by decisive and relentless action.
From The Marxist Archives-On The Anniversary Of Greensboro 1979-From The Pages Of "Young Spartacus" December 1979-"For Mass Labor/Black Action To Smash The KKK!-Avenge Greensboro!"
Click on the headline to link to a Wikipedia entry for the Greensboro 1979 events.
Markin comment:
The events of Greenboro, North Carolina 1979, today more than ever as we gear up our struggles in the aftermath of the spark of the Occupy movement, should be permanently etched in our minds. We had best know how to deal with the fascists and other para-military types that rear their heads when people begin to struggle against the bosses. The article below points the way historically.
*******
Markin comment on this article :
Every year, and rightfully so, we leftist militants, especially those of us who count ourselves among the communist militants, remember the 1979 Greensboro, North Carolina massacre of fellow communists by murderous and police-protected Nazis, fascists and Klansmen. That remembrance, as the article below details, also includes trying to draw the lessons of the experience and an explanation of political differences. For what purpose? Greensboro 1979-never again, never forget-or forgive.
Although right this minute, this 2011 minute, the Nazis/fascists are not publicly raising their hellish ideas, apparently “hiding” just now on the fringes of the tea party movement, this is an eternal question for leftists. The question, in short, of when and how to deal with this crowd of locust. Trotsky, and others, had it right back in the late 1920s and early 1930s-smash this menace in the shell. 1933, when they come to power, as Hitler did in Germany (or earlier, if you like, with Mussolini in Italy) is way too late, as immediately the German working class, including its Social-Democratic and Communist sympathizers found out, and later many parts of the rest of the world. That is the when.
For the how, the substance of this article points the way forward, and the way not forward, as represented by the American Communist Party’s (and at later times other so-called “progressives” as well, including here the Communist Workers Party) attempts to de-rail the street protests and rely, as always, on the good offices of the bourgeois state, and usually, on this issue the Democrats. Sure, grab all the allies you can, from whatever source, to confront the fascists when they raise their heads. But rely on the mobilization of the labor movement on the streets to say what’s what, not rely on the hoary halls of bourgeois government and its hangers-on, ideologues, and lackeys.
******
From Young Spartacus, December 1979-"For Mass Labor/Black Action To Smash The KKK!-Avenge Greensboro!"
GREENSBORO, North Carolina—On November 3, carloads of Ku Klux Klansmen replaced their hooded robes with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles as they stormed an anti-Klan rally here, murdering five demonstrators and wounding many others. Over 100 onlookers watched in horror while the Klan carried out an unprecedented assassination attack in broad daylight on an integrated crowd of anti-racist demonstrators.
They drove their cars into the middle of the peaceful rally on their mission of death. Dropping their old tactics of midnight cross burnings, hooded intimidations and terroristic night-riding, the Klan in Greensboro opted for murder— cold-blooded murder. The killers methodically pulled their guns from the trunks of their cars, looking very much like -a group of deer hunters on a weekend outing. But then they opened fire, and within minutes, the streets were covered with the blood of the anti-Klan protesters. Killed were five long-time prominent labor and civil rights activists, supporters of Workers Viewpoint Organization (WVO, which recently changed its name to the Communist Workers Party, USA), the sponsor of the rally. The attackers knew what they were doing, were well-organized and made a bloody declaration to their enemies that the K K K is very much alive and deadly.
Two days after the massacre 12 of the murderers were arraigned on multiple counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and two others were charged only with conspiracy. Other than two of those charged, who are members of a Nazi paramilitary storm-trooper group, all the assailants are reportedly members of one of North Carolina's five Klan organizations. As they waited for their hearing to begin, the fascist triggermen sang "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Onward Christian Soldiers," obviously feeling that their cold-blooded attack was a victory for their forces. So now the Klan killers are encouraged by the "successful" shooting, just as they were emboldened by the racist mobilizations that defeated bus¬ing in the streets of Boston, Louisville and Chicago. Across the country the fascists' appetite for more violence has been whetted. They succeeded in murdering five militant anti-racists; now they'd love to go after the rest of their enemies—the blacks, the communists, the Jews and the labor movement.
Uphold the Right of Armed Self-Defense!
This fascist campaign of terror and murder has got to be stopped. Socialists and militants in the labor movement must call on organized labor to mobilize its tremendous social power, in alliance with black and other minority organizations and the left, to stop the Klan in its tracks. A step in this direction was taken on November 10 in Detroit where trade-union militants and the Spartacist League/Spartacus Youth League organized a powerful rally of 500 blacks, trade unionists and socialists in a militant protest against Klan and Nazi attacks. Only massive labor/black action to smash the Nazis and the Klan can prevent another Greensboro massacre!
But it is crystal clear that no union, black or leftist organization can defend itself against a repeat of this outrageous and shocking event without the right to armed self-defense. The capitalist state demands a monopoly on the means of violence. It has been busy passing gun control laws, which leave racist murderers unhindered while citizens are deprived of the democratic right to defend themselves. Uphold the right to armed self-defense! No to gun control!
The Klan's Escorts—Racists in Blue
The press has portrayed the vicious massacre by the KKK assassins as a "shootout" between two "fringe" extremist groups. So anxious to ensure the right of "free speech" for the racist terrorists, much of the bourgeois press is now apologizing sympathetically for the Klan, implying that the Klansmen were simply standing up to the communists' insults, and that the demonstrators "got what they deserved." The attitude of the bourgeois press makes it even more urgent that the labor movement protest the Greensboro cold-blooded massacre and uphold the right of armed self-defense.
It clearly was murder, and the cops are apparently complicit. At the time of the attack the Greensboro police more than a block away from the demonstration rallying point. It was only alter the killings that they finally arrived at the rally site which by then was bathed in blood—and arrested three of the survivors! The cops have blood on their hands: Greensboro police chief William Swing admitted at a November 4 press conference that there was police surveillance of the Klan on their way to the demonstration area "where by law they had every right to be." Actually, the cops' "surveillance" amounted to an escort service for the armed convoy as they drove through the black community into the rally site! The State Secretary of Crime Control defended the cops by stating,
"They had no authority to stop the cars... until some law was violated. Very tragically, in this case, the first law that had been violated involved the murder."
—UP dispatch, 4 November
One can assume that the Greensboro racists in blue would have responded very differently had they "carefully watched" carloads of blacks load automatic weapons into car trunks and drive into a demonstration of Klansmen! The cops have proven time and again that they will side with the Klan and the Nazis. On the very day of the Klan massacre in Greensboro, hundreds of cops played the role of defense guards for a march of 50 Klansmen through the streets of Dallas. The police are paid to defend the racist capitalist state—from gunning down the Black Panthers and Jackson State students to arresting the victims of Klan terror in Greensboro.
The role of the state in defending and protecting fascist scum shows the dangerous stupidity of the demand to "ban the Klan" put forward by liberals and the reformist Communist Party. Any anti-"extremist" law will be used to attack the left. Even now, the FBI and North Carolina undercover police are investigating the "possibility" that the demonstrators' civil rights were violated—investigations which are undoubtedly aimed at increasing the harassment of left organisations. And when Workers Viewpoint announced that they would hold a funeral march through Greensboro on November 11, the mayor immediately declared a state of emergency in the town, calling in 250 state troopers and 500 National Guard riot troops. The troops frisked every one of the 500 protesters at the funeral march. They arrested at least 25, mostly on charges of transporting weapons, and would allow WVO's armed "honor guard" into the procession only if their weapons were unloaded!
Labor Must Smash the Klan
Besides the danger of illusions in cop protection, the other lesson made clear by the Greensboro massacre is that a handful of people cannot successfully take on the Klan by holding small adventurist demonstrations. WVO is a crazed and hysterically disoriented Stalinist/Maoist outfit. They may have held "Death to the Klan" rallies, but they are equally capable of holding a "Death to the Trots and Down with the USSR" rally. They hate the Soviet Union, Trotskyists and the Klan—in that order. In their politics and social attitudes WVO resembles nothing so much as "left-wing" boat people. A recent Workers Viewpoint centerfold went so far as to demand the execution of Trotskyists in Iran! As one of the most viciously sectarian and wildly adventurist groups on the left, they specialize in virulent thug violence, often directed against Trotskyists. And now, even after five of their comrades lie dead they have taken to attacking the SYL campus rallies protesting the massacre of their comrades!
But the Klan in Greensboro was not out to attack only this particular Maoist splinter group. Because of the weakness of the left in this country, WVO happened to be the "reds" in Greensboro. These racists were gunning for all the "commies," "n----r lovers" and "labor agitators." Their guns are still aimed at all blacks and minorities, at every trade unionist and socialist, at everyone they consider to be a social "deviant" in this country.
The Klan and Nazis cannot be defeated by reliance on the state to ban them, reliance on the cops to protect anti-racist demonstrators or by small adventurist rallies. The massive social power of the labor movement must be mobilized in alliance with black organizations to smash these fascist scum and demand: Drop the charges against the anti-Klan protesters and jail the killer Klansmen! No to gun control! Uphold the right of armed self-defense! Avenge Greensboro—for massive labor/black mobilizations across America to smash the Nazis and the Klan!
Markin comment:
The events of Greenboro, North Carolina 1979, today more than ever as we gear up our struggles in the aftermath of the spark of the Occupy movement, should be permanently etched in our minds. We had best know how to deal with the fascists and other para-military types that rear their heads when people begin to struggle against the bosses. The article below points the way historically.
*******
Markin comment on this article :
Every year, and rightfully so, we leftist militants, especially those of us who count ourselves among the communist militants, remember the 1979 Greensboro, North Carolina massacre of fellow communists by murderous and police-protected Nazis, fascists and Klansmen. That remembrance, as the article below details, also includes trying to draw the lessons of the experience and an explanation of political differences. For what purpose? Greensboro 1979-never again, never forget-or forgive.
Although right this minute, this 2011 minute, the Nazis/fascists are not publicly raising their hellish ideas, apparently “hiding” just now on the fringes of the tea party movement, this is an eternal question for leftists. The question, in short, of when and how to deal with this crowd of locust. Trotsky, and others, had it right back in the late 1920s and early 1930s-smash this menace in the shell. 1933, when they come to power, as Hitler did in Germany (or earlier, if you like, with Mussolini in Italy) is way too late, as immediately the German working class, including its Social-Democratic and Communist sympathizers found out, and later many parts of the rest of the world. That is the when.
For the how, the substance of this article points the way forward, and the way not forward, as represented by the American Communist Party’s (and at later times other so-called “progressives” as well, including here the Communist Workers Party) attempts to de-rail the street protests and rely, as always, on the good offices of the bourgeois state, and usually, on this issue the Democrats. Sure, grab all the allies you can, from whatever source, to confront the fascists when they raise their heads. But rely on the mobilization of the labor movement on the streets to say what’s what, not rely on the hoary halls of bourgeois government and its hangers-on, ideologues, and lackeys.
******
From Young Spartacus, December 1979-"For Mass Labor/Black Action To Smash The KKK!-Avenge Greensboro!"
GREENSBORO, North Carolina—On November 3, carloads of Ku Klux Klansmen replaced their hooded robes with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles as they stormed an anti-Klan rally here, murdering five demonstrators and wounding many others. Over 100 onlookers watched in horror while the Klan carried out an unprecedented assassination attack in broad daylight on an integrated crowd of anti-racist demonstrators.
They drove their cars into the middle of the peaceful rally on their mission of death. Dropping their old tactics of midnight cross burnings, hooded intimidations and terroristic night-riding, the Klan in Greensboro opted for murder— cold-blooded murder. The killers methodically pulled their guns from the trunks of their cars, looking very much like -a group of deer hunters on a weekend outing. But then they opened fire, and within minutes, the streets were covered with the blood of the anti-Klan protesters. Killed were five long-time prominent labor and civil rights activists, supporters of Workers Viewpoint Organization (WVO, which recently changed its name to the Communist Workers Party, USA), the sponsor of the rally. The attackers knew what they were doing, were well-organized and made a bloody declaration to their enemies that the K K K is very much alive and deadly.
Two days after the massacre 12 of the murderers were arraigned on multiple counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and two others were charged only with conspiracy. Other than two of those charged, who are members of a Nazi paramilitary storm-trooper group, all the assailants are reportedly members of one of North Carolina's five Klan organizations. As they waited for their hearing to begin, the fascist triggermen sang "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Onward Christian Soldiers," obviously feeling that their cold-blooded attack was a victory for their forces. So now the Klan killers are encouraged by the "successful" shooting, just as they were emboldened by the racist mobilizations that defeated bus¬ing in the streets of Boston, Louisville and Chicago. Across the country the fascists' appetite for more violence has been whetted. They succeeded in murdering five militant anti-racists; now they'd love to go after the rest of their enemies—the blacks, the communists, the Jews and the labor movement.
Uphold the Right of Armed Self-Defense!
This fascist campaign of terror and murder has got to be stopped. Socialists and militants in the labor movement must call on organized labor to mobilize its tremendous social power, in alliance with black and other minority organizations and the left, to stop the Klan in its tracks. A step in this direction was taken on November 10 in Detroit where trade-union militants and the Spartacist League/Spartacus Youth League organized a powerful rally of 500 blacks, trade unionists and socialists in a militant protest against Klan and Nazi attacks. Only massive labor/black action to smash the Nazis and the Klan can prevent another Greensboro massacre!
But it is crystal clear that no union, black or leftist organization can defend itself against a repeat of this outrageous and shocking event without the right to armed self-defense. The capitalist state demands a monopoly on the means of violence. It has been busy passing gun control laws, which leave racist murderers unhindered while citizens are deprived of the democratic right to defend themselves. Uphold the right to armed self-defense! No to gun control!
The Klan's Escorts—Racists in Blue
The press has portrayed the vicious massacre by the KKK assassins as a "shootout" between two "fringe" extremist groups. So anxious to ensure the right of "free speech" for the racist terrorists, much of the bourgeois press is now apologizing sympathetically for the Klan, implying that the Klansmen were simply standing up to the communists' insults, and that the demonstrators "got what they deserved." The attitude of the bourgeois press makes it even more urgent that the labor movement protest the Greensboro cold-blooded massacre and uphold the right of armed self-defense.
It clearly was murder, and the cops are apparently complicit. At the time of the attack the Greensboro police more than a block away from the demonstration rallying point. It was only alter the killings that they finally arrived at the rally site which by then was bathed in blood—and arrested three of the survivors! The cops have blood on their hands: Greensboro police chief William Swing admitted at a November 4 press conference that there was police surveillance of the Klan on their way to the demonstration area "where by law they had every right to be." Actually, the cops' "surveillance" amounted to an escort service for the armed convoy as they drove through the black community into the rally site! The State Secretary of Crime Control defended the cops by stating,
"They had no authority to stop the cars... until some law was violated. Very tragically, in this case, the first law that had been violated involved the murder."
—UP dispatch, 4 November
One can assume that the Greensboro racists in blue would have responded very differently had they "carefully watched" carloads of blacks load automatic weapons into car trunks and drive into a demonstration of Klansmen! The cops have proven time and again that they will side with the Klan and the Nazis. On the very day of the Klan massacre in Greensboro, hundreds of cops played the role of defense guards for a march of 50 Klansmen through the streets of Dallas. The police are paid to defend the racist capitalist state—from gunning down the Black Panthers and Jackson State students to arresting the victims of Klan terror in Greensboro.
The role of the state in defending and protecting fascist scum shows the dangerous stupidity of the demand to "ban the Klan" put forward by liberals and the reformist Communist Party. Any anti-"extremist" law will be used to attack the left. Even now, the FBI and North Carolina undercover police are investigating the "possibility" that the demonstrators' civil rights were violated—investigations which are undoubtedly aimed at increasing the harassment of left organisations. And when Workers Viewpoint announced that they would hold a funeral march through Greensboro on November 11, the mayor immediately declared a state of emergency in the town, calling in 250 state troopers and 500 National Guard riot troops. The troops frisked every one of the 500 protesters at the funeral march. They arrested at least 25, mostly on charges of transporting weapons, and would allow WVO's armed "honor guard" into the procession only if their weapons were unloaded!
Labor Must Smash the Klan
Besides the danger of illusions in cop protection, the other lesson made clear by the Greensboro massacre is that a handful of people cannot successfully take on the Klan by holding small adventurist demonstrations. WVO is a crazed and hysterically disoriented Stalinist/Maoist outfit. They may have held "Death to the Klan" rallies, but they are equally capable of holding a "Death to the Trots and Down with the USSR" rally. They hate the Soviet Union, Trotskyists and the Klan—in that order. In their politics and social attitudes WVO resembles nothing so much as "left-wing" boat people. A recent Workers Viewpoint centerfold went so far as to demand the execution of Trotskyists in Iran! As one of the most viciously sectarian and wildly adventurist groups on the left, they specialize in virulent thug violence, often directed against Trotskyists. And now, even after five of their comrades lie dead they have taken to attacking the SYL campus rallies protesting the massacre of their comrades!
But the Klan in Greensboro was not out to attack only this particular Maoist splinter group. Because of the weakness of the left in this country, WVO happened to be the "reds" in Greensboro. These racists were gunning for all the "commies," "n----r lovers" and "labor agitators." Their guns are still aimed at all blacks and minorities, at every trade unionist and socialist, at everyone they consider to be a social "deviant" in this country.
The Klan and Nazis cannot be defeated by reliance on the state to ban them, reliance on the cops to protect anti-racist demonstrators or by small adventurist rallies. The massive social power of the labor movement must be mobilized in alliance with black organizations to smash these fascist scum and demand: Drop the charges against the anti-Klan protesters and jail the killer Klansmen! No to gun control! Uphold the right of armed self-defense! Avenge Greensboro—for massive labor/black mobilizations across America to smash the Nazis and the Klan!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
PROTEST THE NATO/G8-May 20, 2012-Chicago
PROTEST THE NATO/G8-May 20, 2012-Chicago
Join Jesse Jackson, SEIU local,Health Care Illinois/Indiana (HCil),UNAC, Chicago Teachers Union, Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, National Nurses Union, United Electrical workers Western Region, Malik Mujahid of the Muslim Peace Coalition, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Veterans for Peace, Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report, Derrick O'Keefe of the Canadian Peace Alliance, Reiner Braun of the European No to NATO, No to War network and many others in Chicago to oppose the NATO and G8 war and poverty agenda.
At the invitation of the White House, the 28-nation US-commanded and largely US-financed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is meeting in Chicago, May 20-21,2012. The G8 world economic powers, originally planned to also meet the same week in Chicago, are now meeting at Camp David.
The NATO generals and G8 heads of state and finance ministers are the team that is imposing austerity on the working people of the world in the interest of expanding profits. In many places, economic "reform" is enforced at the point of a gun - by drones, armies, and police.
In May, those of us struggling against the tyranny of the banks and the corporate elite, those of us fighting against job loss, foreclosure, cuts to education, and the restriction of our democratic rights, will march in Chicago. The authorities hope to deny us our constitutional right to legally and peacefully protest. We have begun a campaign to win back our democratic right to mobilize tens of thousands who will stand in solidarity with all those fighting U.S.-backed austerity drives and war around the globe.
Join us for a Mass demonstration on Sunday, May 20, the opening day of the NATO summit 9 am, march with veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war who will return their medals to NATO. Noon, join the mass march and rally against the NATO and G8 war and poverty agenda. Noon rally at Petrillo Band-shell (corner of Jackson and Coumbus), then march to Mc-Cormick Place. Speakers will include: Jesse Jackson, Malalai Joya, Reiner Braun, Kathy Kelly, Vijay Prashad - author of Arab Spring, Libyan Winter, and more™
People's Summit
Saturday, May I2 and Sunday May 13 at Occupy Chicago.
There will be plenary and workshop sessions and panels.
Speakers will include: Malalai
Joya, Keiaer Braun, Malik Muja-
Md, Kathy Eelly, Col. Ann Wright,
Medea Benjamin, a message from
Mumia Abu Jamal, and more*
Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda
www.cang8.org
Join Jesse Jackson, SEIU local,Health Care Illinois/Indiana (HCil),UNAC, Chicago Teachers Union, Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, National Nurses Union, United Electrical workers Western Region, Malik Mujahid of the Muslim Peace Coalition, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Veterans for Peace, Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report, Derrick O'Keefe of the Canadian Peace Alliance, Reiner Braun of the European No to NATO, No to War network and many others in Chicago to oppose the NATO and G8 war and poverty agenda.
At the invitation of the White House, the 28-nation US-commanded and largely US-financed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is meeting in Chicago, May 20-21,2012. The G8 world economic powers, originally planned to also meet the same week in Chicago, are now meeting at Camp David.
The NATO generals and G8 heads of state and finance ministers are the team that is imposing austerity on the working people of the world in the interest of expanding profits. In many places, economic "reform" is enforced at the point of a gun - by drones, armies, and police.
In May, those of us struggling against the tyranny of the banks and the corporate elite, those of us fighting against job loss, foreclosure, cuts to education, and the restriction of our democratic rights, will march in Chicago. The authorities hope to deny us our constitutional right to legally and peacefully protest. We have begun a campaign to win back our democratic right to mobilize tens of thousands who will stand in solidarity with all those fighting U.S.-backed austerity drives and war around the globe.
Join us for a Mass demonstration on Sunday, May 20, the opening day of the NATO summit 9 am, march with veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war who will return their medals to NATO. Noon, join the mass march and rally against the NATO and G8 war and poverty agenda. Noon rally at Petrillo Band-shell (corner of Jackson and Coumbus), then march to Mc-Cormick Place. Speakers will include: Jesse Jackson, Malalai Joya, Reiner Braun, Kathy Kelly, Vijay Prashad - author of Arab Spring, Libyan Winter, and more™
People's Summit
Saturday, May I2 and Sunday May 13 at Occupy Chicago.
There will be plenary and workshop sessions and panels.
Speakers will include: Malalai
Joya, Keiaer Braun, Malik Muja-
Md, Kathy Eelly, Col. Ann Wright,
Medea Benjamin, a message from
Mumia Abu Jamal, and more*
Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda
www.cang8.org
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning During The Week Of April 23-29 In The Boston Area-Why I Will Be Standing With Private Manning On Friday April 27th In Davis Square, Somerville And Saturday April 28th At Park Street Station In Boston
Click on the headline to link to the Private Bradley Manning Support Network for the latest information on his case and activities on his behalf .
We of the anti-war movement were not able to do much to affect the Bush- Obama Iraq War timetable but we can save the one hero of that war, Bradley Manning.
According to the Private Bradley Manning Support Network there are a series of actions planned in Washington, D.C at the Justice Department on April 24th and at Fort Meade, Maryland on April 25th and 26th in connection with the next round of legal proceedings in his case. I had originally intended to travel down from Boston to take part in those events that week but some other obligations now prevent me from doing so. Nevertheless there two on-going activities in the Boston area where those of us who support freedom for Bradley Manning can show our solidarity during that week.
Every Friday from 1:00 -2:00 PM there is an on-going solidarity vigil for Brother Manning at the Davis Square Redline MBTA stop in Davis Square, Somerville.
Every Saturday from 1:00-2:00 PM there is an on-going peace vigil/speak-out in our struggle against the war (or wars) of the moment being orchestrated by the American government and its allies at the Redline MBTA Park Street Station in Boston (Boston Common). Bradley Manning’s case is a natural extension of those struggles.
Please plan to attend either or both of these events on Friday April 28th (Davis Square) and/or Saturday April 29th (Park Street) to stand in solidarity with Bradley Manning. I have included my original comment made when I had expected to go down to the Washington/Fort Meade events as motivation for you to stand with Bradley on those days here in Boston.
*************
Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Fort Meade Maryland On Wednesday April 25th At 8:00 AM - A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner
Markin comment:
Last year (2011) I wrote a little entry in this space in order to motivate my reasons for standing in solidarity with a March 20th rally in support of Private Bradley Manning at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia where he was then being held. I have subsequently repeatedly used that entry, Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Quantico, Virginia On Sunday March 20th At 2:00 PM- A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner, as a I have tried to publicize his case in blogs and other Internet sources, at various rallies, and at marches, most recently at the Veterans For Peace Saint Patrick’s Day Peace Parade in South Boston on March 18th.
After I received information from the Bradley Manning Support Network about the latest efforts on Private Manning’s behalf scheduled for April 24th and 25th in Washington and Fort Meade respectively I decided that I would travel south to stand once again in proximate solidarity with Brother Manning at Fort Meade on April 25th. In that spirit I have updated, a little, that earlier entry to reflect the changed circumstances over the past year. As one would expect when the cause is still the same, Bradley Manning's freedom, unfortunately most of the entry is still in the same key. And will be until the day he is freed by his jailers. And I will continue to stand in proud solidarity with Brother Manning until that great day.
*****
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Fort Meade , Maryland on April 25th because I stand in solidarity with the actions of Private Bradley Manning in bringing to light, just a little light, some of the nefarious doings of this government, Bush-like or Obamian. If he did such acts they are no crime. No crime at all in my eyes or in the eyes of the vast majority of people who know of the case and of its importance as an individual act of resistance to the unjust and barbaric American-led war in Iraq. I sleep just a shade bit easier these days knowing that Private Manning (or someone) exposed what we all knew, or should have known- the Iraq war and the Afghan war justification rested on a house of cards. American imperialism’s gun-toting house of cards, but cards nevertheless.
Of course I will also be standing at the front gate of Fort Meade, Maryland on April 25th because I am outraged by the treatment meted out to Private Manning, presumably an innocent man, by a government who alleges itself to be some “beacon” of the civilized world. Bradley Manning had been held in solidarity at Quantico and other locales for over 500 days, and has been held without trial for much longer, as the government and its military try to glue a case together. The military, and its henchmen in the Justice Department, have gotten more devious although not smarter since I was a soldier in their crosshairs over forty years ago.
Now the two reasons above are more than sufficient for my standing at the front gate at Fort Meade on April 25th although they, in themselves, are only the appropriate reasons that any progressive thinking person would need to show up and shout to the high heavens for Private Manning’s freedom. I have an additional reason though, a very pressing personal reason. As mentioned above I too was in the military’s crosshairs as a citizen-soldier during the height of the Vietnam War. I will not go into the details of that episode, this comment after all is about brother soldier Manning, other than that I spent my own time in an Army stockade for, let’s put it this way, working on the principle of “what if they gave a war and nobody came”.
Forty years later I am still working off that principle, and gladly. But here is the real point. During that time I had outside support, outside civilian support, that rallied on several occasions outside the military base where I was confined. Believe me that knowledge helped me get through the tough days inside. So on April 25th I will be just, once again, as I have been able to on too few other occasions over years, paying my dues for that long ago support. You, Brother Manning, are a true winter soldier. We were not able to do much about the course of the Iraq War (and little thus far on Afghanistan) but we can move might and main to save the one real hero of that whole mess.
Private Manning I hope that you will hear us and hear about our rally in your defense outside the gates. Better yet, everybody who reads this piece join us and make sure that he can hear us loud and clear. And let us shout to high heaven against this gross injustice-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!
We of the anti-war movement were not able to do much to affect the Bush- Obama Iraq War timetable but we can save the one hero of that war, Bradley Manning.
According to the Private Bradley Manning Support Network there are a series of actions planned in Washington, D.C at the Justice Department on April 24th and at Fort Meade, Maryland on April 25th and 26th in connection with the next round of legal proceedings in his case. I had originally intended to travel down from Boston to take part in those events that week but some other obligations now prevent me from doing so. Nevertheless there two on-going activities in the Boston area where those of us who support freedom for Bradley Manning can show our solidarity during that week.
Every Friday from 1:00 -2:00 PM there is an on-going solidarity vigil for Brother Manning at the Davis Square Redline MBTA stop in Davis Square, Somerville.
Every Saturday from 1:00-2:00 PM there is an on-going peace vigil/speak-out in our struggle against the war (or wars) of the moment being orchestrated by the American government and its allies at the Redline MBTA Park Street Station in Boston (Boston Common). Bradley Manning’s case is a natural extension of those struggles.
Please plan to attend either or both of these events on Friday April 28th (Davis Square) and/or Saturday April 29th (Park Street) to stand in solidarity with Bradley Manning. I have included my original comment made when I had expected to go down to the Washington/Fort Meade events as motivation for you to stand with Bradley on those days here in Boston.
*************
Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Fort Meade Maryland On Wednesday April 25th At 8:00 AM - A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner
Markin comment:
Last year (2011) I wrote a little entry in this space in order to motivate my reasons for standing in solidarity with a March 20th rally in support of Private Bradley Manning at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia where he was then being held. I have subsequently repeatedly used that entry, Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Quantico, Virginia On Sunday March 20th At 2:00 PM- A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner, as a I have tried to publicize his case in blogs and other Internet sources, at various rallies, and at marches, most recently at the Veterans For Peace Saint Patrick’s Day Peace Parade in South Boston on March 18th.
After I received information from the Bradley Manning Support Network about the latest efforts on Private Manning’s behalf scheduled for April 24th and 25th in Washington and Fort Meade respectively I decided that I would travel south to stand once again in proximate solidarity with Brother Manning at Fort Meade on April 25th. In that spirit I have updated, a little, that earlier entry to reflect the changed circumstances over the past year. As one would expect when the cause is still the same, Bradley Manning's freedom, unfortunately most of the entry is still in the same key. And will be until the day he is freed by his jailers. And I will continue to stand in proud solidarity with Brother Manning until that great day.
*****
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Fort Meade , Maryland on April 25th because I stand in solidarity with the actions of Private Bradley Manning in bringing to light, just a little light, some of the nefarious doings of this government, Bush-like or Obamian. If he did such acts they are no crime. No crime at all in my eyes or in the eyes of the vast majority of people who know of the case and of its importance as an individual act of resistance to the unjust and barbaric American-led war in Iraq. I sleep just a shade bit easier these days knowing that Private Manning (or someone) exposed what we all knew, or should have known- the Iraq war and the Afghan war justification rested on a house of cards. American imperialism’s gun-toting house of cards, but cards nevertheless.
Of course I will also be standing at the front gate of Fort Meade, Maryland on April 25th because I am outraged by the treatment meted out to Private Manning, presumably an innocent man, by a government who alleges itself to be some “beacon” of the civilized world. Bradley Manning had been held in solidarity at Quantico and other locales for over 500 days, and has been held without trial for much longer, as the government and its military try to glue a case together. The military, and its henchmen in the Justice Department, have gotten more devious although not smarter since I was a soldier in their crosshairs over forty years ago.
Now the two reasons above are more than sufficient for my standing at the front gate at Fort Meade on April 25th although they, in themselves, are only the appropriate reasons that any progressive thinking person would need to show up and shout to the high heavens for Private Manning’s freedom. I have an additional reason though, a very pressing personal reason. As mentioned above I too was in the military’s crosshairs as a citizen-soldier during the height of the Vietnam War. I will not go into the details of that episode, this comment after all is about brother soldier Manning, other than that I spent my own time in an Army stockade for, let’s put it this way, working on the principle of “what if they gave a war and nobody came”.
Forty years later I am still working off that principle, and gladly. But here is the real point. During that time I had outside support, outside civilian support, that rallied on several occasions outside the military base where I was confined. Believe me that knowledge helped me get through the tough days inside. So on April 25th I will be just, once again, as I have been able to on too few other occasions over years, paying my dues for that long ago support. You, Brother Manning, are a true winter soldier. We were not able to do much about the course of the Iraq War (and little thus far on Afghanistan) but we can move might and main to save the one real hero of that whole mess.
Private Manning I hope that you will hear us and hear about our rally in your defense outside the gates. Better yet, everybody who reads this piece join us and make sure that he can hear us loud and clear. And let us shout to high heaven against this gross injustice-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Fort Meade Maryland On Wednesday April 25th At 8:00 AM - A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner
Click on the headline to link to the Private Bradley Manning Support Network for the latest information in his case and the April 24th and 25th support rallies on his behalf.
Markin comment:
Last year around this time in preparation for going down to a March 20th rally in support of Private Bradley Manning at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia where he was then being held I wrote a little entry to motivate my reasons for standing in solidarity with him that day. I have used that entry, Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Quantico, Virginia On Sunday March 20th At 2:00 PM- A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner, since that time as a I have tried to publicize his case in blogs and other Internet sources, at various rallies, and at marches, most recently at the Veterans For Peace Saint Patrick’s Day Peace Parade in South Boston on March 18th.
After I received information from the Bradley Manning Support Network about the latest efforts on Private Manning’s behalf scheduled for April 24th and 25th in Washington and Fort Meade respectively I decided that I would travel south to stand once again in proximate solidarity with Brother Manning at Fort Meade on April 25th. In that spirit I have updated, a little, that earlier entry to reflect the changed circumstances over the past year. As one would expect when the cause is still the same, Bradley Manning's freedom, unfortunately most of the entry is still in the same key. And will be until he is freed from his jailers. And I will stand in proud solidarity with Brother Manning until that great day.
*****
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Fort Meade , Maryland on April 25th because I stand in solidarity with the actions of Private Bradley Manning in bringing to light, just a little light, some of the nefarious doings of this government, Bush-like or Obamian. If he did such acts they are no crime. No crime at all in my eyes or in the eyes of the vast majority of people who know of the case and of its importance as an individual act of resistance to the unjust and barbaric American-led war in Iraq. I sleep just a shade bit easier these days knowing that Private Manning (or someone) exposed what we all knew, or should have known- the Iraq war and the Afghan war justification rested on a house of cards. American imperialism’s gun-toting house of cards, but cards nevertheless.
Of course I will also be standing at the front gate of Fort Meade, Maryland on April 25th because I am outraged by the treatment of Private Manning meted out to a presumably innocent man by a government who alleges itself to be some “beacon” of the civilized world. Held in solidarity at Quantico and other locales for over 500 days and without trial for much longer as the government and its military try to glue a case together. The military (and its henchmen in the Justice Department) has gotten more devious although not smarter since I was a soldier in their crosshairs over forty years ago.
Now the two reasons above are more than sufficient reasons for my standing at the front gate at Fort Meade on April 25th although they, in themselves, are only the appropriate reasons that any progressive thinking person would need to show up and shout to the high heavens for Private Manning’s freedom. I have an addition reason though, a very pressing personal reason. As alluded to above I too was in the military’s crosshairs as a soldier during the height of the Vietnam War. I will not go into the details of that episode, this comment after all is about brother soldier Manning, other than that I spent my own time in an Army stockade for, let’s put it this way, working on the principle of “what if they gave a war and nobody came”.
Forty years later I am still working off that principle, and gladly. But here is the real point. During that time over forty years ago I had outside support, outside civilian support, that rallied on several occasions outside the military base where I was confined. Believe me that knowledge helped me through the tough days inside. So on April 25th I am just once again, as I have been able to on too few other occasions over years, paying my dues for that long ago support. You, Brother Manning, are a true winter soldier. We were not able to do much about the course of the Iraq War (and little thus far on Afghanistan) but we can move might and main to save the one real hero of that whole mess.
Private Manning I hope that you will hear us, or hear about our rally in your defense. Better yet, everybody who reads this piece join us and make sure that he can hear us loud and clear. And let us shout to high heaven against this gross injustice-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!
Markin comment:
Last year around this time in preparation for going down to a March 20th rally in support of Private Bradley Manning at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia where he was then being held I wrote a little entry to motivate my reasons for standing in solidarity with him that day. I have used that entry, Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Quantico, Virginia On Sunday March 20th At 2:00 PM- A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner, since that time as a I have tried to publicize his case in blogs and other Internet sources, at various rallies, and at marches, most recently at the Veterans For Peace Saint Patrick’s Day Peace Parade in South Boston on March 18th.
After I received information from the Bradley Manning Support Network about the latest efforts on Private Manning’s behalf scheduled for April 24th and 25th in Washington and Fort Meade respectively I decided that I would travel south to stand once again in proximate solidarity with Brother Manning at Fort Meade on April 25th. In that spirit I have updated, a little, that earlier entry to reflect the changed circumstances over the past year. As one would expect when the cause is still the same, Bradley Manning's freedom, unfortunately most of the entry is still in the same key. And will be until he is freed from his jailers. And I will stand in proud solidarity with Brother Manning until that great day.
*****
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Fort Meade , Maryland on April 25th because I stand in solidarity with the actions of Private Bradley Manning in bringing to light, just a little light, some of the nefarious doings of this government, Bush-like or Obamian. If he did such acts they are no crime. No crime at all in my eyes or in the eyes of the vast majority of people who know of the case and of its importance as an individual act of resistance to the unjust and barbaric American-led war in Iraq. I sleep just a shade bit easier these days knowing that Private Manning (or someone) exposed what we all knew, or should have known- the Iraq war and the Afghan war justification rested on a house of cards. American imperialism’s gun-toting house of cards, but cards nevertheless.
Of course I will also be standing at the front gate of Fort Meade, Maryland on April 25th because I am outraged by the treatment of Private Manning meted out to a presumably innocent man by a government who alleges itself to be some “beacon” of the civilized world. Held in solidarity at Quantico and other locales for over 500 days and without trial for much longer as the government and its military try to glue a case together. The military (and its henchmen in the Justice Department) has gotten more devious although not smarter since I was a soldier in their crosshairs over forty years ago.
Now the two reasons above are more than sufficient reasons for my standing at the front gate at Fort Meade on April 25th although they, in themselves, are only the appropriate reasons that any progressive thinking person would need to show up and shout to the high heavens for Private Manning’s freedom. I have an addition reason though, a very pressing personal reason. As alluded to above I too was in the military’s crosshairs as a soldier during the height of the Vietnam War. I will not go into the details of that episode, this comment after all is about brother soldier Manning, other than that I spent my own time in an Army stockade for, let’s put it this way, working on the principle of “what if they gave a war and nobody came”.
Forty years later I am still working off that principle, and gladly. But here is the real point. During that time over forty years ago I had outside support, outside civilian support, that rallied on several occasions outside the military base where I was confined. Believe me that knowledge helped me through the tough days inside. So on April 25th I am just once again, as I have been able to on too few other occasions over years, paying my dues for that long ago support. You, Brother Manning, are a true winter soldier. We were not able to do much about the course of the Iraq War (and little thus far on Afghanistan) but we can move might and main to save the one real hero of that whole mess.
Private Manning I hope that you will hear us, or hear about our rally in your defense. Better yet, everybody who reads this piece join us and make sure that he can hear us loud and clear. And let us shout to high heaven against this gross injustice-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!
Friday, March 16, 2012
From The American Left History Archives-From The Frontlines Of The Anti-Afghan War Struggle A Very Short Comment On The Importance Of The Lessons Of The Political Struggle Of Trotsky Against Stalin For Today’s Anti-War Movement(2009)- Immediate, Unconditional Withdrawal Of All U.S./Allied And Mercenary Forces From Afghanistan (2012)
Click on the title to link to link to the Karl Liebknecht Internet Archive’s copy of his famous 1916 anti-war speech, “The Main Enemy Is At Home”.
From the frontlines of the anti-Afghan war struggle, such as they are (2009).
Markin comment:
After some months of very little to discuss, practically speaking, concerning the struggle against American imperialism and its war machine as we have waited for President Obama to make good on his campaign promise to, in effect, stake his presidency on “winning” (or at least not losing) Afghanistan I now find myself with plenty of commentary to make. At least with plenty of comments, painfully learned, concerning the way forward for the seemingly moribund American anti-war movement. Those days, however, with President Obama’s recent announcement of troop level increases are over. What I want to comment on briefly today though is the general question of where the international socialist movement, historically, the strongest and best organized component of any anti-war movement, is going and where it has been historically.
This entry, strangely as will become apparent, is motivated by a comment from a young militant who recently attended one of the sessions of an occasional Marxist study circle that I attend, and sometimes lead. Obviously, given the furor over the seemingly irrational Obama decision on troop levels, the talk among attendees centered on the fight against escalation and how to make America a “peaceful” nation. This study circle is advertised as, and understood to be presented from a socialist perspective, for those who wish to find out something about the mysteries of radical politics. Previous subjects have dealt with basic Marxist texts and struggles led by those who claimed to adhere to a Marxist perspective. Thus, I was rather surprised when this young militant, rather abruptly, blurred out the following- “What the heck does the Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I have to do with us?” (Exact quote), “What does the controversy between Stalin and Trotsky over international communist policy in the fight against the imperialists have to do with us?” (My paraphrase of his remarks).
Obviously, for old time militants from the 1960s (especially the late 1960s when the turn to the working class and thus classic Marxism hit full stride) this kind of questioning would be almost unthinkable, if not embarrassingly naïve. This, my friends, is what we are up against as we try to impart some lessons from our history. I have already related a separate story about a young women militant that I ran into at a recent anti-war demonstration (see “On The Slogan- Down With The Obama Government”, December, 2009). I am ready to make her a bloody Bolshevik organizer compared to the gist of that young militant’s comments.
However, I did not leave that young brother’s question unanswered, nor would that have been appropriate. I pointed out two things to him- for starters. First, Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I, the successful anti-war policy I might add although that Peace of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans was a hard pill to swallow, was the only time, at least to my knowledge, in modern history that an anti-war movement was successful on its own terms. The only time that “the guns were turned the other way” on one’s own ruling class in war time.
Secondly, the fierce, if unequal, political struggles between the forces led by Stalin and Trotsky over, ultimately, communist war policy toward the international bourgeoisie and international imperialism manifested itself out, in the end, with the defeat of the international socialist movement. And that defeat is a direct contributing cause of why guys like Obama can turn the American war machine on and off as their leisure. If the actions of the majority of the international social democracy in support of their own governments at the start of World War I meant, practically, that that movement was a spent force for socialist solutions to modern society’s problems then the defeat of the Trotsky-led forces after the Russian revolution and the “victory” of Stalinism had the same effect, an effect that we are still struggling against. That, my friends, is the short answer. More, on both these subjects, later.
From the frontlines of the anti-Afghan war struggle, such as they are (2009).
Markin comment:
After some months of very little to discuss, practically speaking, concerning the struggle against American imperialism and its war machine as we have waited for President Obama to make good on his campaign promise to, in effect, stake his presidency on “winning” (or at least not losing) Afghanistan I now find myself with plenty of commentary to make. At least with plenty of comments, painfully learned, concerning the way forward for the seemingly moribund American anti-war movement. Those days, however, with President Obama’s recent announcement of troop level increases are over. What I want to comment on briefly today though is the general question of where the international socialist movement, historically, the strongest and best organized component of any anti-war movement, is going and where it has been historically.
This entry, strangely as will become apparent, is motivated by a comment from a young militant who recently attended one of the sessions of an occasional Marxist study circle that I attend, and sometimes lead. Obviously, given the furor over the seemingly irrational Obama decision on troop levels, the talk among attendees centered on the fight against escalation and how to make America a “peaceful” nation. This study circle is advertised as, and understood to be presented from a socialist perspective, for those who wish to find out something about the mysteries of radical politics. Previous subjects have dealt with basic Marxist texts and struggles led by those who claimed to adhere to a Marxist perspective. Thus, I was rather surprised when this young militant, rather abruptly, blurred out the following- “What the heck does the Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I have to do with us?” (Exact quote), “What does the controversy between Stalin and Trotsky over international communist policy in the fight against the imperialists have to do with us?” (My paraphrase of his remarks).
Obviously, for old time militants from the 1960s (especially the late 1960s when the turn to the working class and thus classic Marxism hit full stride) this kind of questioning would be almost unthinkable, if not embarrassingly naïve. This, my friends, is what we are up against as we try to impart some lessons from our history. I have already related a separate story about a young women militant that I ran into at a recent anti-war demonstration (see “On The Slogan- Down With The Obama Government”, December, 2009). I am ready to make her a bloody Bolshevik organizer compared to the gist of that young militant’s comments.
However, I did not leave that young brother’s question unanswered, nor would that have been appropriate. I pointed out two things to him- for starters. First, Bolshevik anti-war policy in World War I, the successful anti-war policy I might add although that Peace of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans was a hard pill to swallow, was the only time, at least to my knowledge, in modern history that an anti-war movement was successful on its own terms. The only time that “the guns were turned the other way” on one’s own ruling class in war time.
Secondly, the fierce, if unequal, political struggles between the forces led by Stalin and Trotsky over, ultimately, communist war policy toward the international bourgeoisie and international imperialism manifested itself out, in the end, with the defeat of the international socialist movement. And that defeat is a direct contributing cause of why guys like Obama can turn the American war machine on and off as their leisure. If the actions of the majority of the international social democracy in support of their own governments at the start of World War I meant, practically, that that movement was a spent force for socialist solutions to modern society’s problems then the defeat of the Trotsky-led forces after the Russian revolution and the “victory” of Stalinism had the same effect, an effect that we are still struggling against. That, my friends, is the short answer. More, on both these subjects, later.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
From The “American Left History” Blog Archives-What’s Up With The Vanguard Party Concept? –(Today-2012- More Than Ever)- A Note
Markin comment:
Recently I have mentioned in a number of entries that I have work with, and now work with a loose circle of local anti-war militants who have decided on a three point program to fight Obama’s war policies over the coming years, highlighted by the struggle to create anti-war soldiers and sailors solidarity committees.I have also placed a number of pieces of historical interest around the World War I anti-imperialist anti-war work done by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party that he led at the time. A comparison of the two types of political work as portrayed in these entries have, as was pointed out to me most graphically by a local political opponent who is a supporter of an organization that claimed a Leninist organization heritage, seems to be contradictory. Add in the factor that this blog, in many ways, does not have much meaning or reason for existence except a vehicle to learn the lessons that Lenin and Trotsky drew about revolutionary politics, and organization.
That said, what is the great to-do about. Just this. The core of Leninist politics has historically evolved around intransient opposition to non-revolutionary strategic considerations in the struggle for our communist future AND the notion of a vanguard working-class party as the vehicle to take power on the road to that future. The organizational form that that party form has taken, for those who today may not be familiar with what in the past was a serious difference of political perspective, was that this organization would be staffed by, in short, professional revolutionaries and held together by democratic-centralist discipline. That form of discipline, when in right working order allowed for pretty free-wheeling discussion internally between comrades but once a decision was made, right or wrong, in public the party would operate under that majority line. The other, traditional social-democratic form called for a party of the whole class, warts and all, and a basic cavalier attitude toward carrying out the party line, except when you crossed swords with the party bureaucracy. Trotsky had many early disagreements with Lenin over this dispute but for our purposes here once he was won over to Lenin’s organizational perspective he held to that view until his assassination by a Stalinist agent in 1940.
That is, in a nutshell, the outline of the historic argument. How does that fit in with the work of a man who claims to stand in the Leninist tradition today yet who works in a “circle”, a devise that in Russian revolutionary history was discarded by almost all serious revolutionaries in the late 19th century as inadequate to the tasks at hand for the upcoming revolution that everyone saw as necessary, and coming? Well, a history of the “circle” is in order. The core of this group, including this writer, came together in the fall of 2001 in response to the threat of then President George W. Bush’s to blow Afghanistan to smithereens in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. I have mentioned, I think, in previous entries that one of the few times in my long “street” political career I have faced all sorts of dangerous situations and was very seldom fearful for my person. In those days being out on the streets in opposition to that Afghan war I was afraid that way, more often than not. Not from the right wing crazies that come with the territory of left wing politics, nor from the police who see these things all in day’s work whether they get to beat heads or not, nor, as in past experiences from some bizarre Stalinist or anarchoid left political thugs. No this was from the average placid fellow citizen who made me realize that I might have American citizenship but I was not an American to them. What got me, and us, through those days was the internal discipline and camaraderie or the circle. That, my friends, was a baptism of fire that you do not walk way from easily, not should you, all other things being equal.
And what of the political composition of the circle? Well, it was, and is, all over the place from semi-pacifist to ostensibly Leninist but the core that has held it together, other than that extreme sense of camaraderie mentioned above, is an anti-American imperialist ethos. A need to see the American “monster” held in check, tamped down. The current “three whales” program is a codification of that- opposition to the American military adventures as they pop up, a need to break with the old politics and create a workers party that fights for a workers government, and, as the most overt expression of that need to “tamp down” the “monster”, those anti-war soldiers and sailors solidarity committees. That we agree on. I also wrote in a recent blog that there was internal controversy over the question of putting energies into building the now called-for spring anti-war rallies in Washington, D.C. We are thus emphatically not a democratic centralism organization. I would, since I have to write about it here, characterize it as an on-going rolling “united front”. Others may, given my description, call it a propaganda bloc. Not Leninist, in any case. [However events over the last couple of years have pushed that question to the fore again-Markin-2012]
Recently I have mentioned in a number of entries that I have work with, and now work with a loose circle of local anti-war militants who have decided on a three point program to fight Obama’s war policies over the coming years, highlighted by the struggle to create anti-war soldiers and sailors solidarity committees.I have also placed a number of pieces of historical interest around the World War I anti-imperialist anti-war work done by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party that he led at the time. A comparison of the two types of political work as portrayed in these entries have, as was pointed out to me most graphically by a local political opponent who is a supporter of an organization that claimed a Leninist organization heritage, seems to be contradictory. Add in the factor that this blog, in many ways, does not have much meaning or reason for existence except a vehicle to learn the lessons that Lenin and Trotsky drew about revolutionary politics, and organization.
That said, what is the great to-do about. Just this. The core of Leninist politics has historically evolved around intransient opposition to non-revolutionary strategic considerations in the struggle for our communist future AND the notion of a vanguard working-class party as the vehicle to take power on the road to that future. The organizational form that that party form has taken, for those who today may not be familiar with what in the past was a serious difference of political perspective, was that this organization would be staffed by, in short, professional revolutionaries and held together by democratic-centralist discipline. That form of discipline, when in right working order allowed for pretty free-wheeling discussion internally between comrades but once a decision was made, right or wrong, in public the party would operate under that majority line. The other, traditional social-democratic form called for a party of the whole class, warts and all, and a basic cavalier attitude toward carrying out the party line, except when you crossed swords with the party bureaucracy. Trotsky had many early disagreements with Lenin over this dispute but for our purposes here once he was won over to Lenin’s organizational perspective he held to that view until his assassination by a Stalinist agent in 1940.
That is, in a nutshell, the outline of the historic argument. How does that fit in with the work of a man who claims to stand in the Leninist tradition today yet who works in a “circle”, a devise that in Russian revolutionary history was discarded by almost all serious revolutionaries in the late 19th century as inadequate to the tasks at hand for the upcoming revolution that everyone saw as necessary, and coming? Well, a history of the “circle” is in order. The core of this group, including this writer, came together in the fall of 2001 in response to the threat of then President George W. Bush’s to blow Afghanistan to smithereens in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. I have mentioned, I think, in previous entries that one of the few times in my long “street” political career I have faced all sorts of dangerous situations and was very seldom fearful for my person. In those days being out on the streets in opposition to that Afghan war I was afraid that way, more often than not. Not from the right wing crazies that come with the territory of left wing politics, nor from the police who see these things all in day’s work whether they get to beat heads or not, nor, as in past experiences from some bizarre Stalinist or anarchoid left political thugs. No this was from the average placid fellow citizen who made me realize that I might have American citizenship but I was not an American to them. What got me, and us, through those days was the internal discipline and camaraderie or the circle. That, my friends, was a baptism of fire that you do not walk way from easily, not should you, all other things being equal.
And what of the political composition of the circle? Well, it was, and is, all over the place from semi-pacifist to ostensibly Leninist but the core that has held it together, other than that extreme sense of camaraderie mentioned above, is an anti-American imperialist ethos. A need to see the American “monster” held in check, tamped down. The current “three whales” program is a codification of that- opposition to the American military adventures as they pop up, a need to break with the old politics and create a workers party that fights for a workers government, and, as the most overt expression of that need to “tamp down” the “monster”, those anti-war soldiers and sailors solidarity committees. That we agree on. I also wrote in a recent blog that there was internal controversy over the question of putting energies into building the now called-for spring anti-war rallies in Washington, D.C. We are thus emphatically not a democratic centralism organization. I would, since I have to write about it here, characterize it as an on-going rolling “united front”. Others may, given my description, call it a propaganda bloc. Not Leninist, in any case. [However events over the last couple of years have pushed that question to the fore again-Markin-2012]
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Sometimes You Wind Up Uniting With The Devil And His (Or Her) Grandmother- A Short Note On The United Front Tactic- On Ron Paul And “Hands Off Iran”
Sometimes You Wind Up Uniting With The Devil And His (Or Her) Grandmother- A Short Note On The United Front Tactic- On Ron Paul And “Hands Off Iran”
Recently in Boston, as part of a nation-wide effort a demonstration was called for Saturday February 4, 2012 with a central slogan of “Hands Off Iran,” an appropriate action considering the incessant drum-beat coming from important imperialist sources about the need for someone, somehow to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons capacity (Guess who?). Of course the “ usual suspects” showed up for the demo- the assorted peace groups well-known to this writer, the socialists of various hues also known to this writer, and new, well, fairly new, the now familiar contingents from the Occupy movement.
What was unusual was the presence of a contingent of supporters of Ron Paul, the Republican Congressman and current presidential contender. Unusual in that when push comes to shove we of the left be on opposite sides of the barricades (and in that same position with other more “leftist” elements as well). But not that day. That day the central slogan of “Hands Off Iran” applied as a draw to hardened anti-imperialist leftists and quirky right-wing libertarians alike. So while no one needed to buy into the Ron Paul rationale (see leaflet from demonstration below) for being there and the Ron Paul supporter who spoke received some boos, some justly deserved boos, this was a principled united front. See, on some rare occasions you can unite with the devil and his (or her) grandmother. Let that be a leftist politics 101 lesson for young, and old.
***********
What Should Antiwar Progressives do in 2012?
By now most everyone at this Day of Action knows that Obama is not the lesser evil. He is in fact the "more effective evil" as Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report labels him since he has carried on and expanded the wars in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa while largely silencing opposition from progressives.
What is to be done then? Let us begin with the proposition that the highest duty of those of us living in the heart of the U.S. Empire is to stop the sanctions and endless wars that kill so many people - over a million in Iraq alone and that after hundreds of thousands more died there, 500,000 children among them, in the Clinton era sanctions. A second obligation is to preserve our civil liberties so that we can fight against war and for whatever we think is decent at home.
Only one candidate for the presidential race stands for these two principles and has done so consistently for decades. That candidate is Ron Paul.
But, you may say, Ron Paul is not a progressive and I am.
Elections must be approached tactically not theologically. First of all Ron Paul is not for eliminating Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security. So those who rely now on the social safety net are safe. But Paul does want to allow young people to opt out of these programs should he wish to do so. As long as we have our freedoms - of speech and assembly -he will not succeed in that. We will win that argument. And the Dems as an opposition might even start to fight for those programs rather than undermine them as they are doing now - with Obama's cuts in the payroll tax which finances these programs. People hang on to these programs once they have them.
So we have a moral obligation to support Ron Paul in order to stop the slaughter of innocents worldwide by the US Empire,
What should we do? Here in MA one should vote for Paul in the primary. There is no real contest in the Dem primary and no sense in voting for someone there. It is far better for Ron Paul to get the nomination than Newt or Mitt, the latter being a near perfect clone of Obama. And every vote for Ron Paul moves the Republican Party closer to principles of civil liberties and anti-interventionism.
You can vote in the Republican primary if you are registered as "unenrolled" or Republican. We should all do so as soon as possible. And it would be better to register as Republican since in that case one can have a voice in determining the delegates to the Republican convention. The delegates are pledged to the winner of the primary ON THE FIRST BALLOT at the nominating convention. After that they are free to vote as they see fit. If there is a deadlocked convention, Ron Paul can win if enough delegates are in his camp. Do you want to influence the process? Then REGISTER REPUBLICAN BY FEBRUARY 15. That is the first step. To find out more, contact John.Endwar@gmail.com
Finally this is not just a candidacy, but a movement with a plan to grow and a dedicated following of young voters. Help build this movement. Register "R" and support Ron Paul. Deadline is Feb. 15.
Join us in the Boston Chapter of ComeHomeAmerica. http://www.meetup.com/CHA-Boston/
Recently in Boston, as part of a nation-wide effort a demonstration was called for Saturday February 4, 2012 with a central slogan of “Hands Off Iran,” an appropriate action considering the incessant drum-beat coming from important imperialist sources about the need for someone, somehow to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons capacity (Guess who?). Of course the “ usual suspects” showed up for the demo- the assorted peace groups well-known to this writer, the socialists of various hues also known to this writer, and new, well, fairly new, the now familiar contingents from the Occupy movement.
What was unusual was the presence of a contingent of supporters of Ron Paul, the Republican Congressman and current presidential contender. Unusual in that when push comes to shove we of the left be on opposite sides of the barricades (and in that same position with other more “leftist” elements as well). But not that day. That day the central slogan of “Hands Off Iran” applied as a draw to hardened anti-imperialist leftists and quirky right-wing libertarians alike. So while no one needed to buy into the Ron Paul rationale (see leaflet from demonstration below) for being there and the Ron Paul supporter who spoke received some boos, some justly deserved boos, this was a principled united front. See, on some rare occasions you can unite with the devil and his (or her) grandmother. Let that be a leftist politics 101 lesson for young, and old.
***********
What Should Antiwar Progressives do in 2012?
By now most everyone at this Day of Action knows that Obama is not the lesser evil. He is in fact the "more effective evil" as Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report labels him since he has carried on and expanded the wars in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa while largely silencing opposition from progressives.
What is to be done then? Let us begin with the proposition that the highest duty of those of us living in the heart of the U.S. Empire is to stop the sanctions and endless wars that kill so many people - over a million in Iraq alone and that after hundreds of thousands more died there, 500,000 children among them, in the Clinton era sanctions. A second obligation is to preserve our civil liberties so that we can fight against war and for whatever we think is decent at home.
Only one candidate for the presidential race stands for these two principles and has done so consistently for decades. That candidate is Ron Paul.
But, you may say, Ron Paul is not a progressive and I am.
Elections must be approached tactically not theologically. First of all Ron Paul is not for eliminating Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security. So those who rely now on the social safety net are safe. But Paul does want to allow young people to opt out of these programs should he wish to do so. As long as we have our freedoms - of speech and assembly -he will not succeed in that. We will win that argument. And the Dems as an opposition might even start to fight for those programs rather than undermine them as they are doing now - with Obama's cuts in the payroll tax which finances these programs. People hang on to these programs once they have them.
So we have a moral obligation to support Ron Paul in order to stop the slaughter of innocents worldwide by the US Empire,
What should we do? Here in MA one should vote for Paul in the primary. There is no real contest in the Dem primary and no sense in voting for someone there. It is far better for Ron Paul to get the nomination than Newt or Mitt, the latter being a near perfect clone of Obama. And every vote for Ron Paul moves the Republican Party closer to principles of civil liberties and anti-interventionism.
You can vote in the Republican primary if you are registered as "unenrolled" or Republican. We should all do so as soon as possible. And it would be better to register as Republican since in that case one can have a voice in determining the delegates to the Republican convention. The delegates are pledged to the winner of the primary ON THE FIRST BALLOT at the nominating convention. After that they are free to vote as they see fit. If there is a deadlocked convention, Ron Paul can win if enough delegates are in his camp. Do you want to influence the process? Then REGISTER REPUBLICAN BY FEBRUARY 15. That is the first step. To find out more, contact John.Endwar@gmail.com
Finally this is not just a candidacy, but a movement with a plan to grow and a dedicated following of young voters. Help build this movement. Register "R" and support Ron Paul. Deadline is Feb. 15.
Join us in the Boston Chapter of ComeHomeAmerica. http://www.meetup.com/CHA-Boston/
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Calls To Action Spring 2012- As danger to Iran grows Anti-war groups to hit the streets
Calls To Action Spring 2012- As danger to Iran grows Anti-war groups to hit the streets
By John Catalinotto
The following are three important anti-imperialist events scheduled for the coming months. Workers World Party is supporting and participating in each of them.
FEB. 4: Emergency protest in 48 cities to stop war on Iran
U.S.-based anti-imperialist and anti-war organizations have called for protest demonstrations to stop U.S. aggression aimed at Iran on Feb. 4, calling it a "global day of action." As of Jan. 29, the movement had grown to include protests in 48 U.S. cities, plus cities in five other countries.
The demonstrators demand, in a leaflet posted on a few of the endorsing organizations' websites: "No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations against Iran."
While the organizations involved have varied assessments of the Iranian government, they all see that any intervention by U.S. imperialism in the oil-rich Asian country not only threatens the Iranian people, but could also be a stepping stone to a much wider war in Asia.
Activists in Iran are also concerned about these dangers. The Iranian organization called The House of Latin America has been contacting its friends in the Western Hemisphere to work toward actions on Feb. 4.
Workers World spoke on Jan. 28 with Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action Center, one of the original organizations to call for the Feb. 4 action.
"The quick response to the emergency action shows deep apprehension about the threat of war," said Flounders. "Different combinations of the endorsing groups have already called for actions in 48 cities around the United States. Each of these groups has its own political program and analysis of the world situation, but they have agreed to give priority to fighting against this new and possibly devastating war that threatens humanity.
"Sometimes people in the U.S. fail to see that sanctions are in themselves an act of war. Those the U.S. and the United Nations carried out against Iraq from 1990 to 2003 cost the lives of more than 1 million Iraqis, including at least half a million children. The Iran sanction measures also impose sanctions on any country that doesn't go along with the U.S. blockade. This drives up oil prices and threatens to unhinge the economies of the poorest countries.
"International support, considering the short time span, has been good," continued the LAC leader. "Demonstrations are planned in Ireland, Norway, India, Bangladesh and Canada."
People can follow developments on the Facebook link: No War On Iran: National Day of Action Feb 4, tinyurl.com/883f7jg. There will also be updates, giving times and places of demonstrations, at the International Action Center website: iacenter.org.
MARCH 23-25: UNAC national antiwar conference
Hundreds of anti-war activists are expected to attend the United National Antiwar Coalitions National Conference in Stamford, Conn., March 23-25.
UNAC established itself as a major anti-war coalition in the summer of 2010 when 800 people gathered for a conference in Albany, N.Y. At that meeting, a large majority voted to support UNACs anti-imperialist positions opposing U.S. intervention against Iran and condemning U.S. support for the Israeli settler-state.
The group held major anti-war demonstrations, a march of 10,000 people from Union Square to downtown Manhattan on April 9 and a march of 3,000 people in San Francisco on April 10. Demonstrations were also held on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
UNAC says this will be "a conference to challenge the wars of the 1% against the 99% abroad and at home" and to "say NO! to the NATO/G8 wars and poverty agenda." (un-acpeace.org) One of the main tasks of the conference will be to plan protest activities in Chicago when both NATO and the G8 are holding summits May 15-22.
A series of workshops and plenaries at the March 23-25 conference will take up questions including the Occupy Wall Street movement, the global economic crisis, anti-Islam bigotry, the movements that sprang up in Tunisia and Egypt and spread throughout the Middle East, and U.S. intervention in many parts of the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Latin America and Africa.
UNAC says its conference will highlight "the relationship between the wars abroad and the racist war at home on the Black Community" and "the way in which mobilizing around these issues is central to effective movement building."
May 19: Protest the G8 and NATO in Chicago
Whoever plans summits for the imperialist gangsters dominating and plundering the world decided that it was a good idea, after the October 2010 NATO summit, to hold summits for both the G8 economic centers (the old G7 plus Russia) and the NATO military powers in Chicago on May 15-22.
The summits were planned before the so-called debt crisis and austerity measures opened a new recession in Europe — and provoked a fight back from European workers along with the rise of the "Indignant People's movement." It was also long before the Oc¬cupy movement began to change the political discourse in the United States and put youth on the streets — with banners and political discussion — in more than 100 cities.
By last summer anti-war forces in the U.S., many of them in UNAC, began to organize protests for that week in May. They submitted requests for permits to the Chicago police. They organized a struggle around the right to demonstrate, appealing under the name of the Coalition Against the NATO and G8 War & Poverty Agenda (GANGS).
On Jan. 12, the City of Chicago granted the permit for suitable marches and rallies. Organizers took note, however, of a clause that allows the City to rescind the permit should there be a demand from Homeland Security to do so. CANG8 and all supporters of the right to protest say they will remain mobilized to fight for that right.
Meanwhile, the imperialists scaled down their summits so that the G8 will meet May 19-20 and NATO May 20-21. GANGS will hold a "Peoples Alternate Summit" on May 12-13 and a mass rally and march on May 19. The entire week will be filled with meetings and protests.
On Jan. 25, Adbusters, the Canada-based network associated with the Occupy movement, issued Tactical Briefing #25, urging massive support for the May actions.
Besides a growing movement within the U.S. that supports the protests in Chicago, the joint meeting of NATO and G8 has aroused international indignation. Already the organizers of the Chicago actions have opened discussions with anti-war forces in other countries to arrange solidarity actions — either to participate in Chicago or to hold mass actions in their home countries.
For more information, visit unacpeace.org, cang8.wordpress.com or iacenter.org.
Calls To Action Spring 2012- As danger to Iran grows Anti-war groups to hit the streets
By John Catalinotto
The following are three important anti-imperialist events scheduled for the coming months. Workers World Party is supporting and participating in each of them.
FEB. 4: Emergency protest in 48 cities to stop war on Iran
U.S.-based anti-imperialist and anti-war organizations have called for protest demon¬strations to stop U.S. aggression aimed at Iran on Feb. 4, calling it a "global day of action." As of Jan. 29, the movement had grown to include protests in 48 U.S. cities, plus cities in five other countries.
The demonstrators demand, in a leaflet posted on a few of the endorsing organizations' websites: "No war, no sanctions, no interven¬tion, no assassinations against Iran."
While the organizations involved have var¬ied assessments of the Iranian government, they all see that any intervention by U.S. impe¬rialism in the oil-rich Asian country not only threatens the Iranian people, but could also be a stepping stone to a much wider war in Asia.
Activists in Iran are also concerned about these dangers. The Iranian organization called The House of Latin America has been con¬tacting its friends in the Western Hemisphere to work toward actions on Feb. 4.
Workers World spoke on Jan. 28 with Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action Center, one of the original organiza¬tions to call for the Feb. 4 action.
"The quick response to the emergency ac¬tion shows deep apprehension about the threat of war," said Flounders. "Different combina¬tions of the endorsing groups have already called for actions in 48 cities around the United States. Each of these groups has its own politi¬cal program and analysis of the world situation, but they have agreed to give priority to fighting against this new and possibly devastating war that threatens humanity.
"Sometimes people in the U.S. fail to see that sanctions are in themselves an act of war. Those the U.S. and the United Nations carried out against Iraq from 1990 to 2003 cost the lives of more than 1 million Iraqis, including at least half a million children. The Iran sanction measures also impose sanctions on any coun¬try that doesn't go along with the U.S. blockade. This drives up oil prices and threatens to un¬hinge the economies of the poorest countries.
"International support, considering the short time span, has been good," continued the LAC leader. "Demonstrations are planned in Ireland, Norway, India, Bangladesh and Canada."
People can follow developments on the Facebook link: No War On Iran: National Day of Action Feb 4, tinyurl.com/883f7jg. There will also be updates, giving times and places of demonstrations, at the International Action Center website: iacenter.org.
MARCH 23-25: UNAC national antiwar conference
Hundreds of anti-war activists are expected to attend the United National Antiwar Coali¬tions National Conference in Stamford, Conn., March 23-25.
UNAC established itself as a major anti-war coalition in the summer of 2010 when 800 peo¬ple gathered for a conference in Albany, N.Y. At that meeing, a large majority voted to support UNACs anti-imperialist positions opposing U.S. intervention against Iran and condemning U.S. support for the Israeli settler-state.
The group held major anti-war demonstra¬tions, a march of 10,000 people from Union Square to downtown Manhattan on April 9 and a march of 3,000 people in San Francisco on April 10. Demonstrations were also held on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
UNAC says this will be "a conference to challenge the wars of the 1% against the 99% abroad and at home" and to "say NO! to the NATO/G8 wars and poverty agenda." (un-acpeace.org) One of the main tasks of the conference will be to plan protest activities in Chicago when both NATO and the G8 are holding summits May 15-22.
A series of workshops and plenaries at the March 23-25 conference will take up questions including the Occupy Wall Street movement, the global economic crisis, anti-Islam bigotry, the movements that sprang up in Tunisia and Egypt and spread throughout the Middle East, and U.S. intervention in many parts of the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Latin America and Africa.
UNAC says its conference will highlight "the relationship between the wars abroad and the racist war at home on the Black Commu¬nity" and "the way in which mobilizing around these issues is central to effective movement building."
May 19: Protest the G8 and NATO in Chicago
Whoever plans summits for the imperial¬ist gangsters dominating and plundering the world decided that it was a good idea, after the October 2010 NATO summit, to hold summits for both the G8 economic centers (the old G7 plus Russia) and the NATO military powers in Chicago on May 15-22.
The summits were planned before the so-called debt crisis and austerity measures opened a new recession in Europe — and provoked a fightback from European workers along with the rise of the "Indignant People's movement." It was also long before the Oc¬cupy movement began to change the political discourse in the United States and put youth on the streets — with banners and political discussion — in more than 100 cities.
By last summer anti-war forces in the U.S., many of them in UNAC, began to organize protests for that week in May. They submitted requests for permits to the Chicago police. They organized a struggle around the right to demonstrate, appealing under the name of the Coalition Against the NATO and G8 War & Poverty Agenda (GANGS).
On Jan. 12, the City of Chicago granted the permit for suitable marches and rallies. Organizers took note, however, of a clause that allows the City to rescind the permit should there be a demand from Homeland Security to do so. CANG8 and all supporters of the right to protest say they will remain mobilized to fight for that right.
Meanwhile, the imperialists scaled down their summits so that the G8 will meet May 19-20 and NATO May 20-21. GANGS will hold a "Peoples Alternate Summit" on May 12-13 and a mass rally and march on May 19. The entire week will be filled with meetings and protests.
On Jan. 25, Adbusters, the Canada-based network associated with the Occupy move¬ment, issued Tactical Briefing #25, urging mas¬sive support for the May actions.
Besides a growing movement within the U.S. that supports the protests in Chicago, the joint meeting of NATO and G8 has arouSed international indignation. Already the orga¬nizers of the Chicago actions have opened discussions with anti-war forces in other coun¬tries to arrange solidarity actions — either to participate in Chicago or to hold mass actions in their home countries.
For more information, visit unacpeace.org, cang8.wordpress.com or iacenter.org.
By John Catalinotto
The following are three important anti-imperialist events scheduled for the coming months. Workers World Party is supporting and participating in each of them.
FEB. 4: Emergency protest in 48 cities to stop war on Iran
U.S.-based anti-imperialist and anti-war organizations have called for protest demonstrations to stop U.S. aggression aimed at Iran on Feb. 4, calling it a "global day of action." As of Jan. 29, the movement had grown to include protests in 48 U.S. cities, plus cities in five other countries.
The demonstrators demand, in a leaflet posted on a few of the endorsing organizations' websites: "No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations against Iran."
While the organizations involved have varied assessments of the Iranian government, they all see that any intervention by U.S. imperialism in the oil-rich Asian country not only threatens the Iranian people, but could also be a stepping stone to a much wider war in Asia.
Activists in Iran are also concerned about these dangers. The Iranian organization called The House of Latin America has been contacting its friends in the Western Hemisphere to work toward actions on Feb. 4.
Workers World spoke on Jan. 28 with Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action Center, one of the original organizations to call for the Feb. 4 action.
"The quick response to the emergency action shows deep apprehension about the threat of war," said Flounders. "Different combinations of the endorsing groups have already called for actions in 48 cities around the United States. Each of these groups has its own political program and analysis of the world situation, but they have agreed to give priority to fighting against this new and possibly devastating war that threatens humanity.
"Sometimes people in the U.S. fail to see that sanctions are in themselves an act of war. Those the U.S. and the United Nations carried out against Iraq from 1990 to 2003 cost the lives of more than 1 million Iraqis, including at least half a million children. The Iran sanction measures also impose sanctions on any country that doesn't go along with the U.S. blockade. This drives up oil prices and threatens to unhinge the economies of the poorest countries.
"International support, considering the short time span, has been good," continued the LAC leader. "Demonstrations are planned in Ireland, Norway, India, Bangladesh and Canada."
People can follow developments on the Facebook link: No War On Iran: National Day of Action Feb 4, tinyurl.com/883f7jg. There will also be updates, giving times and places of demonstrations, at the International Action Center website: iacenter.org.
MARCH 23-25: UNAC national antiwar conference
Hundreds of anti-war activists are expected to attend the United National Antiwar Coalitions National Conference in Stamford, Conn., March 23-25.
UNAC established itself as a major anti-war coalition in the summer of 2010 when 800 people gathered for a conference in Albany, N.Y. At that meeting, a large majority voted to support UNACs anti-imperialist positions opposing U.S. intervention against Iran and condemning U.S. support for the Israeli settler-state.
The group held major anti-war demonstrations, a march of 10,000 people from Union Square to downtown Manhattan on April 9 and a march of 3,000 people in San Francisco on April 10. Demonstrations were also held on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
UNAC says this will be "a conference to challenge the wars of the 1% against the 99% abroad and at home" and to "say NO! to the NATO/G8 wars and poverty agenda." (un-acpeace.org) One of the main tasks of the conference will be to plan protest activities in Chicago when both NATO and the G8 are holding summits May 15-22.
A series of workshops and plenaries at the March 23-25 conference will take up questions including the Occupy Wall Street movement, the global economic crisis, anti-Islam bigotry, the movements that sprang up in Tunisia and Egypt and spread throughout the Middle East, and U.S. intervention in many parts of the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Latin America and Africa.
UNAC says its conference will highlight "the relationship between the wars abroad and the racist war at home on the Black Community" and "the way in which mobilizing around these issues is central to effective movement building."
May 19: Protest the G8 and NATO in Chicago
Whoever plans summits for the imperialist gangsters dominating and plundering the world decided that it was a good idea, after the October 2010 NATO summit, to hold summits for both the G8 economic centers (the old G7 plus Russia) and the NATO military powers in Chicago on May 15-22.
The summits were planned before the so-called debt crisis and austerity measures opened a new recession in Europe — and provoked a fight back from European workers along with the rise of the "Indignant People's movement." It was also long before the Oc¬cupy movement began to change the political discourse in the United States and put youth on the streets — with banners and political discussion — in more than 100 cities.
By last summer anti-war forces in the U.S., many of them in UNAC, began to organize protests for that week in May. They submitted requests for permits to the Chicago police. They organized a struggle around the right to demonstrate, appealing under the name of the Coalition Against the NATO and G8 War & Poverty Agenda (GANGS).
On Jan. 12, the City of Chicago granted the permit for suitable marches and rallies. Organizers took note, however, of a clause that allows the City to rescind the permit should there be a demand from Homeland Security to do so. CANG8 and all supporters of the right to protest say they will remain mobilized to fight for that right.
Meanwhile, the imperialists scaled down their summits so that the G8 will meet May 19-20 and NATO May 20-21. GANGS will hold a "Peoples Alternate Summit" on May 12-13 and a mass rally and march on May 19. The entire week will be filled with meetings and protests.
On Jan. 25, Adbusters, the Canada-based network associated with the Occupy movement, issued Tactical Briefing #25, urging massive support for the May actions.
Besides a growing movement within the U.S. that supports the protests in Chicago, the joint meeting of NATO and G8 has aroused international indignation. Already the organizers of the Chicago actions have opened discussions with anti-war forces in other countries to arrange solidarity actions — either to participate in Chicago or to hold mass actions in their home countries.
For more information, visit unacpeace.org, cang8.wordpress.com or iacenter.org.
Calls To Action Spring 2012- As danger to Iran grows Anti-war groups to hit the streets
By John Catalinotto
The following are three important anti-imperialist events scheduled for the coming months. Workers World Party is supporting and participating in each of them.
FEB. 4: Emergency protest in 48 cities to stop war on Iran
U.S.-based anti-imperialist and anti-war organizations have called for protest demon¬strations to stop U.S. aggression aimed at Iran on Feb. 4, calling it a "global day of action." As of Jan. 29, the movement had grown to include protests in 48 U.S. cities, plus cities in five other countries.
The demonstrators demand, in a leaflet posted on a few of the endorsing organizations' websites: "No war, no sanctions, no interven¬tion, no assassinations against Iran."
While the organizations involved have var¬ied assessments of the Iranian government, they all see that any intervention by U.S. impe¬rialism in the oil-rich Asian country not only threatens the Iranian people, but could also be a stepping stone to a much wider war in Asia.
Activists in Iran are also concerned about these dangers. The Iranian organization called The House of Latin America has been con¬tacting its friends in the Western Hemisphere to work toward actions on Feb. 4.
Workers World spoke on Jan. 28 with Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action Center, one of the original organiza¬tions to call for the Feb. 4 action.
"The quick response to the emergency ac¬tion shows deep apprehension about the threat of war," said Flounders. "Different combina¬tions of the endorsing groups have already called for actions in 48 cities around the United States. Each of these groups has its own politi¬cal program and analysis of the world situation, but they have agreed to give priority to fighting against this new and possibly devastating war that threatens humanity.
"Sometimes people in the U.S. fail to see that sanctions are in themselves an act of war. Those the U.S. and the United Nations carried out against Iraq from 1990 to 2003 cost the lives of more than 1 million Iraqis, including at least half a million children. The Iran sanction measures also impose sanctions on any coun¬try that doesn't go along with the U.S. blockade. This drives up oil prices and threatens to un¬hinge the economies of the poorest countries.
"International support, considering the short time span, has been good," continued the LAC leader. "Demonstrations are planned in Ireland, Norway, India, Bangladesh and Canada."
People can follow developments on the Facebook link: No War On Iran: National Day of Action Feb 4, tinyurl.com/883f7jg. There will also be updates, giving times and places of demonstrations, at the International Action Center website: iacenter.org.
MARCH 23-25: UNAC national antiwar conference
Hundreds of anti-war activists are expected to attend the United National Antiwar Coali¬tions National Conference in Stamford, Conn., March 23-25.
UNAC established itself as a major anti-war coalition in the summer of 2010 when 800 peo¬ple gathered for a conference in Albany, N.Y. At that meeing, a large majority voted to support UNACs anti-imperialist positions opposing U.S. intervention against Iran and condemning U.S. support for the Israeli settler-state.
The group held major anti-war demonstra¬tions, a march of 10,000 people from Union Square to downtown Manhattan on April 9 and a march of 3,000 people in San Francisco on April 10. Demonstrations were also held on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
UNAC says this will be "a conference to challenge the wars of the 1% against the 99% abroad and at home" and to "say NO! to the NATO/G8 wars and poverty agenda." (un-acpeace.org) One of the main tasks of the conference will be to plan protest activities in Chicago when both NATO and the G8 are holding summits May 15-22.
A series of workshops and plenaries at the March 23-25 conference will take up questions including the Occupy Wall Street movement, the global economic crisis, anti-Islam bigotry, the movements that sprang up in Tunisia and Egypt and spread throughout the Middle East, and U.S. intervention in many parts of the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Latin America and Africa.
UNAC says its conference will highlight "the relationship between the wars abroad and the racist war at home on the Black Commu¬nity" and "the way in which mobilizing around these issues is central to effective movement building."
May 19: Protest the G8 and NATO in Chicago
Whoever plans summits for the imperial¬ist gangsters dominating and plundering the world decided that it was a good idea, after the October 2010 NATO summit, to hold summits for both the G8 economic centers (the old G7 plus Russia) and the NATO military powers in Chicago on May 15-22.
The summits were planned before the so-called debt crisis and austerity measures opened a new recession in Europe — and provoked a fightback from European workers along with the rise of the "Indignant People's movement." It was also long before the Oc¬cupy movement began to change the political discourse in the United States and put youth on the streets — with banners and political discussion — in more than 100 cities.
By last summer anti-war forces in the U.S., many of them in UNAC, began to organize protests for that week in May. They submitted requests for permits to the Chicago police. They organized a struggle around the right to demonstrate, appealing under the name of the Coalition Against the NATO and G8 War & Poverty Agenda (GANGS).
On Jan. 12, the City of Chicago granted the permit for suitable marches and rallies. Organizers took note, however, of a clause that allows the City to rescind the permit should there be a demand from Homeland Security to do so. CANG8 and all supporters of the right to protest say they will remain mobilized to fight for that right.
Meanwhile, the imperialists scaled down their summits so that the G8 will meet May 19-20 and NATO May 20-21. GANGS will hold a "Peoples Alternate Summit" on May 12-13 and a mass rally and march on May 19. The entire week will be filled with meetings and protests.
On Jan. 25, Adbusters, the Canada-based network associated with the Occupy move¬ment, issued Tactical Briefing #25, urging mas¬sive support for the May actions.
Besides a growing movement within the U.S. that supports the protests in Chicago, the joint meeting of NATO and G8 has arouSed international indignation. Already the orga¬nizers of the Chicago actions have opened discussions with anti-war forces in other coun¬tries to arrange solidarity actions — either to participate in Chicago or to hold mass actions in their home countries.
For more information, visit unacpeace.org, cang8.wordpress.com or iacenter.org.
MESSAGE FROM WORKERS WORLD PARTY-WHAT WILL STOP IMPERIALISM
MESSAGE FROM WORKERS WORLD PARTY-WHAT WILL STOP IMPERIALISM
Jan. 31 — These are dangerous times. The political and diplomatic maneuvering that precedes military action is growing, with the U.S. government in the forefront of trying to round up support for new imperialist interventions.
We in the United States have a special obligation to stay the hands of the war hawks, because the Pentagon, in our name and sucking up our money, is the most aggressive and destructive force in the world today.
That's why Workers World Party is in complete solidarity with all the anti-war actions that are demanding: No war on Iran! No intervention in Syria! U.S.-NATO out of Libya! End the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq now! Bring U.S. troops and special ops home from Korea, Guantanamo, Pakistan, Somalia and everywhere else!
But taking action to oppose imperialist wars and occupations is not an issue for the anti-war movement alone. Everyone in the United States who is suffering from or just worrying about the deep economic problems affecting the millions here needs to understand that the war threats are intimately connected with imperialist plunder abroad and capitalist exploitation at home.
Moreover, it is only when the war-makers in Washington fear a massive response to their lethal decisions that we can hope to pull them back from the brink.
It is clear from the many anti-war and anti-imperialist demands of those attracted to the Occupy movement that such a consciousness is growing in this country.
So we are in a race for time. Which will come first — another war or the explosive growth of anti-war sentiment among the people, especially the working class and oppressed?
Capitalist economic crisis fuels war drive
The deepening capitalist economic crisis is fueling an increasingly belligerent foreign policy by all the imperialist powers. The "scramble for Africa" that happened toward the end of the 19th century, when the European capitalists raced each other to grab the most territory on that great continent, is being repeated today — but now it is a struggle to recolonize countries in Asia and Africa that had, by the 1960s, won some measure of independence, aided by the existence of a bloc of socialist countries.
In today's scramble, the U.S. has blasted its way into Iraq and Afghanistan, with the British ruling class tagging along for their cut of the pie. The European imperialists and the U.S. collaborated on hammering down the Gadhafi government in Libya — like Iraq, a country that had used its oil revenues to greatly raise the standard of living of most of the people.
Now the U.S., Britain and France are hauling out their big guns — literally and figuratively — to try and get United Nations cover for an attack on Syria. As we write, the foreign ministers of all three imperialist countries are in New York putting pressure on Russia and China, which have veto power in the UN. Security Council. These two only abstained on the Libya vote early last year. The imperialists used the resolution allowing a "no-fly zone" over Libya as cover for an intensive bombing campaign that lasted more than six months and finally brought down the government of that North African country. Obviously, to them no-fly doesn't apply to their bomb-laden planes and drones.
China and Russia have said they don't want to make that mistake again. It takes an outright veto to block a resolution supported by the other three permanent members of the Security Council — the U.S., Britain and France. We hope that this time these two countries will do just that and emphatically vote no.
The irony is that the imperialists, the U.S. first and foremost, are pushing military solutions because they, in fact, are growing weaker economically. The capitalist system that has fattened off super-exploitation of the developing world is now choking on the highly efficient, high-tech global economy it has created.
This crisis brings to the fore a fundamental contradiction of capitalism that Karl Marx unraveled when it was still in its early stages. Capitalist competition drives forward technological innovation, which at first makes more profits for the owners because they can shed labor. But eventually the process overwhelms the markets for their products — workers have no money to buy the greater and greater quantities of goods produced! — and a crisis occurs. The privately owned profit system is at war with the socialized character of the productive process.
Today's crisis is worldwide and reflects the global character of the capitalist economy and the labor market. It will not yield to politicians' promises or some tinkering with credit or taxes or currencies.
The impasse the system is in can intensify all of capitalism's ugliest features: xenophobia, as seen in the vicious crusade against immigrants; racism, which deepens the immense suffering of the oppressed communities even if a few individuals are allowed to advance; jingoism and "America first" bombast against other countries, most notably China at this
time, concealing who the real enemies of the working class are.
It is U.S. corporations, and the banks behind them, that decide to move their operations to low-wage countries in search of even greater profits, even though they already possess the greatest riches in human history. Unfortunately, some union leaders are misdirecting the anger of their members against China at this time. That only feeds into the divide-and-conquer strategy of the boss class, which has an international outlook. It is time for U.S. labor leaders to also think globally and strengthen solidarity with workers around the world.
Solidarity and unity needed to fight the capitalist system
But political reaction can also arouse the instincts of solidarity and unity of all the workers and oppressed — instincts they need to fight the system. It is beginning to happen. Black, white, Latino/a, Asian, Native and Arab together are helping each other resist evictions, walk the picket lines and occupy public spaces in protest over poverty and injustice.
People here celebrated the struggles of the Egyptians in Tahrir Square. The Egyptians in turn cheered on the Wisconsin sit-in at the Capitol building and sent pizzas, via cell phone, to Occupy Wall Street.
Class struggles are growing in Europe as workers there fight back against the austerity measures imposed by banks and bureaucrats.
Decades ago, Longshore union workers in the U.S. refused to load apartheid South African ships and cargo destined for U.S.-sup-ported dictatorships in Central America.
This kind of solidarity is a direct challenge to the empire builders who would rip up our pensions, our jobs, our health care and other social services in their mad profit-driven attempts to control the world.
We must work to ensure that the anti-war movement deepens its roots among the people, especially the most oppressed, and becomes one with the class struggle against capitalism and imperialism.
Jan. 31 — These are dangerous times. The political and diplomatic maneuvering that precedes military action is growing, with the U.S. government in the forefront of trying to round up support for new imperialist interventions.
We in the United States have a special obligation to stay the hands of the war hawks, because the Pentagon, in our name and sucking up our money, is the most aggressive and destructive force in the world today.
That's why Workers World Party is in complete solidarity with all the anti-war actions that are demanding: No war on Iran! No intervention in Syria! U.S.-NATO out of Libya! End the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq now! Bring U.S. troops and special ops home from Korea, Guantanamo, Pakistan, Somalia and everywhere else!
But taking action to oppose imperialist wars and occupations is not an issue for the anti-war movement alone. Everyone in the United States who is suffering from or just worrying about the deep economic problems affecting the millions here needs to understand that the war threats are intimately connected with imperialist plunder abroad and capitalist exploitation at home.
Moreover, it is only when the war-makers in Washington fear a massive response to their lethal decisions that we can hope to pull them back from the brink.
It is clear from the many anti-war and anti-imperialist demands of those attracted to the Occupy movement that such a consciousness is growing in this country.
So we are in a race for time. Which will come first — another war or the explosive growth of anti-war sentiment among the people, especially the working class and oppressed?
Capitalist economic crisis fuels war drive
The deepening capitalist economic crisis is fueling an increasingly belligerent foreign policy by all the imperialist powers. The "scramble for Africa" that happened toward the end of the 19th century, when the European capitalists raced each other to grab the most territory on that great continent, is being repeated today — but now it is a struggle to recolonize countries in Asia and Africa that had, by the 1960s, won some measure of independence, aided by the existence of a bloc of socialist countries.
In today's scramble, the U.S. has blasted its way into Iraq and Afghanistan, with the British ruling class tagging along for their cut of the pie. The European imperialists and the U.S. collaborated on hammering down the Gadhafi government in Libya — like Iraq, a country that had used its oil revenues to greatly raise the standard of living of most of the people.
Now the U.S., Britain and France are hauling out their big guns — literally and figuratively — to try and get United Nations cover for an attack on Syria. As we write, the foreign ministers of all three imperialist countries are in New York putting pressure on Russia and China, which have veto power in the UN. Security Council. These two only abstained on the Libya vote early last year. The imperialists used the resolution allowing a "no-fly zone" over Libya as cover for an intensive bombing campaign that lasted more than six months and finally brought down the government of that North African country. Obviously, to them no-fly doesn't apply to their bomb-laden planes and drones.
China and Russia have said they don't want to make that mistake again. It takes an outright veto to block a resolution supported by the other three permanent members of the Security Council — the U.S., Britain and France. We hope that this time these two countries will do just that and emphatically vote no.
The irony is that the imperialists, the U.S. first and foremost, are pushing military solutions because they, in fact, are growing weaker economically. The capitalist system that has fattened off super-exploitation of the developing world is now choking on the highly efficient, high-tech global economy it has created.
This crisis brings to the fore a fundamental contradiction of capitalism that Karl Marx unraveled when it was still in its early stages. Capitalist competition drives forward technological innovation, which at first makes more profits for the owners because they can shed labor. But eventually the process overwhelms the markets for their products — workers have no money to buy the greater and greater quantities of goods produced! — and a crisis occurs. The privately owned profit system is at war with the socialized character of the productive process.
Today's crisis is worldwide and reflects the global character of the capitalist economy and the labor market. It will not yield to politicians' promises or some tinkering with credit or taxes or currencies.
The impasse the system is in can intensify all of capitalism's ugliest features: xenophobia, as seen in the vicious crusade against immigrants; racism, which deepens the immense suffering of the oppressed communities even if a few individuals are allowed to advance; jingoism and "America first" bombast against other countries, most notably China at this
time, concealing who the real enemies of the working class are.
It is U.S. corporations, and the banks behind them, that decide to move their operations to low-wage countries in search of even greater profits, even though they already possess the greatest riches in human history. Unfortunately, some union leaders are misdirecting the anger of their members against China at this time. That only feeds into the divide-and-conquer strategy of the boss class, which has an international outlook. It is time for U.S. labor leaders to also think globally and strengthen solidarity with workers around the world.
Solidarity and unity needed to fight the capitalist system
But political reaction can also arouse the instincts of solidarity and unity of all the workers and oppressed — instincts they need to fight the system. It is beginning to happen. Black, white, Latino/a, Asian, Native and Arab together are helping each other resist evictions, walk the picket lines and occupy public spaces in protest over poverty and injustice.
People here celebrated the struggles of the Egyptians in Tahrir Square. The Egyptians in turn cheered on the Wisconsin sit-in at the Capitol building and sent pizzas, via cell phone, to Occupy Wall Street.
Class struggles are growing in Europe as workers there fight back against the austerity measures imposed by banks and bureaucrats.
Decades ago, Longshore union workers in the U.S. refused to load apartheid South African ships and cargo destined for U.S.-sup-ported dictatorships in Central America.
This kind of solidarity is a direct challenge to the empire builders who would rip up our pensions, our jobs, our health care and other social services in their mad profit-driven attempts to control the world.
We must work to ensure that the anti-war movement deepens its roots among the people, especially the most oppressed, and becomes one with the class struggle against capitalism and imperialism.
A Call To Action-1st Mass Occupy General Assembly-Occupy Groups in the Greater Boston Area-UNITE!
A Call To Action-1st Mass Occupy General Assembly-Occupy Groups in the Greater Boston Area-UNITE!
When: Saturday, February 18, 2012 Time: 12:00pm until 4:00pm
Where: Boston Teachers Union Hall, 180 Mount Vernon Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts
Child Care will be provided.
Fight MBTA Fare Hikes and Cuts!
Other proposals on the proposed agenda include:
• International Women's Day action
• March 1st Solidarity actions for public education
• May 1st General strike actions
• Time will be allotted for all proposals.
Facebook link: htrps://www.facebook.com/events/177231922382590/
When: Saturday, February 18, 2012 Time: 12:00pm until 4:00pm
Where: Boston Teachers Union Hall, 180 Mount Vernon Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts
Child Care will be provided.
Fight MBTA Fare Hikes and Cuts!
Other proposals on the proposed agenda include:
• International Women's Day action
• March 1st Solidarity actions for public education
• May 1st General strike actions
• Time will be allotted for all proposals.
Facebook link: htrps://www.facebook.com/events/177231922382590/
A Call To Action-United National Antiwar Coalition Conference-March 23-25,2012 - Stamford Hilton Hotel, CT
A Call To Action-United National Antiwar Coalition Conference-March 23-25,2012 - Stamford Hilton Hotel, CT
SAY NO! TO THE NATO/G8 WARS & POVERTY AGENDA
A CONFERENCE TO CHALLENGE THE WARS OF THE 1% AGAINST THE 99* ABROAD AND AT HOME
March 23-25,2012 - Stamford Hilton Hotel, CT
The US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the G-8 world economic powers will meet in Chicago, May 15-22,2012 to plan their economic and military strategies for the coming period. These military, financial, and political leaders, who serve the 1 % at home and abroad, impose austerity on the 99% to expand their profits, often by drones, armies, and police.
Just as there is a nationally-coordinated attempt to curb the organized dissent of the Occupy Wall St. movements, the federal and local authorities want to deny us our constitutional rights to peacefully and legally protest within sight and sound range of the NATO/G-8 Summits. We must challenge them and bring thousands to Chicago to stand in solidarity with all those fighting US-backed austerity and war around the globe.
To plan these actions and further actions against the program of endless war of the global elite, we will meet in a large national conference March 23-25 in Stamford CT. This conference will bring to¬gether activists from the occupy movements, and the antiwar, social justice and environmental move¬ments. We will demand that Washington Bring Our War Dollars Home Now! and use these trillions immediately for human needs.
The conference program will feature movement leaders, educators, grassroots activists, 40 workshops, and discussion/voting sessions on an action program. A partial list of presenters include: Ann Wright, Bill McKibben, Glen Ford, Vijay Prashad, Saadia Toor, Cynthia McKinney, Malik Mujahid, Ian Angus, Monami Maulik, Elliot Adams, Bruce Gagnon, David Swanson, Lucy Pagoada, and Clarence Thomas.
A conference highlight will be the relationship between the Wars Abroad and the racist War at Home on the Black Community, addressing unemployment, the New Jim Crow of mass incarceration, police brutality, the prison industry, and the racist death penalty.
Workshop Topics Include:
Occupy Wall St. & the Fight Against War x Global Economic Crisis Climate Crisis and War oo Women and War oo War at Home on Black Community oo War on the U.S.-Mexico Border oc Islamophobia as a Tool of War oo War and Labor's Fight Back oo Defense of Iran oo Afghanistan after Ten Years of Occupation oo Is the U.S. Really Withdrawing from Iraq? oo War on Pakistan oo Updates on Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Yemen oo What Next for the Arab Spring? oo Occupation of Haiti oo U.S. Intervention in Honduras, Colombia, and the rest of Latin America x> Drone Warfare and Weapons in Space oo Fight for Our Right to Protest oo Civil Liberties oo Guantanamo, Torture and Rendition oo U.S. Combat Troops Involved in New Scramble for Africa oo Somalia oc Control of Media oo Imperialism oc Nonviolence & Direct Action oo Palestine: UN Recognized Statehood or Civil Resistance oc Breaking the Siege of Gaza & Ending Occupation oo Veterans Rights oo Immigrant Rights and War °o No War, No Warming oo Bring Our War $$ Home Campaigns.
www.unacpeace.org
SAY NO! TO THE NATO/G8 WARS & POVERTY AGENDA
A CONFERENCE TO CHALLENGE THE WARS OF THE 1% AGAINST THE 99* ABROAD AND AT HOME
March 23-25,2012 - Stamford Hilton Hotel, CT
The US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the G-8 world economic powers will meet in Chicago, May 15-22,2012 to plan their economic and military strategies for the coming period. These military, financial, and political leaders, who serve the 1 % at home and abroad, impose austerity on the 99% to expand their profits, often by drones, armies, and police.
Just as there is a nationally-coordinated attempt to curb the organized dissent of the Occupy Wall St. movements, the federal and local authorities want to deny us our constitutional rights to peacefully and legally protest within sight and sound range of the NATO/G-8 Summits. We must challenge them and bring thousands to Chicago to stand in solidarity with all those fighting US-backed austerity and war around the globe.
To plan these actions and further actions against the program of endless war of the global elite, we will meet in a large national conference March 23-25 in Stamford CT. This conference will bring to¬gether activists from the occupy movements, and the antiwar, social justice and environmental move¬ments. We will demand that Washington Bring Our War Dollars Home Now! and use these trillions immediately for human needs.
The conference program will feature movement leaders, educators, grassroots activists, 40 workshops, and discussion/voting sessions on an action program. A partial list of presenters include: Ann Wright, Bill McKibben, Glen Ford, Vijay Prashad, Saadia Toor, Cynthia McKinney, Malik Mujahid, Ian Angus, Monami Maulik, Elliot Adams, Bruce Gagnon, David Swanson, Lucy Pagoada, and Clarence Thomas.
A conference highlight will be the relationship between the Wars Abroad and the racist War at Home on the Black Community, addressing unemployment, the New Jim Crow of mass incarceration, police brutality, the prison industry, and the racist death penalty.
Workshop Topics Include:
Occupy Wall St. & the Fight Against War x Global Economic Crisis
www.unacpeace.org
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Latest From The "Occupy Boston" Website- Rally And March For "No War On Iran"-February 4, 2012
Markin comment:
A good, if small, beginning in our efforts to head off the American imperial state's next in line war on Iran. U.S. (and its allies)- Hands Off Iran! Hands Off The World!
A good, if small, beginning in our efforts to head off the American imperial state's next in line war on Iran. U.S. (and its allies)- Hands Off Iran! Hands Off The World!
The Latest From The Private Bradley Manning Support Network-Free Bradley Manning Now! All Out In Support of Bradley’s Pre-Trial Hearing On December 16th Vigil &17th March And Rally At Fort Meade, Maryland
Click on the headline to link to the Private Bradley Manning Support Network for the lates information in his case.
From the American Left History blog, dated March 17, 2011
Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Quantico, Virginia On Sunday March 20th At 2:00 PM- A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner
Markin comment:
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th because I stand in solidarity with the actions of Private Bradley Manning in bringing to light, just a little light, some of the nefarious doings of this government, Bush-like or Obamian. If he did such acts. I sleep just a shade bit easier these days knowing that Private Manning (or someone) exposed what we all knew, or should have known- the Iraq war and the Afghan war justification rested on a house of card. American imperialism’s house of cards, but cards nevertheless.
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th because I am outraged by the treatment of Private Manning meted to a presumably innocent man by a government who alleges itself to be some “beacon” of the civilized world. The military has gotten more devious although not smarter since I was soldier in their crosshairs over forty years ago. Allegedly Private Manning might become so distraught over his alleged actions that he requires extraordinary protections. He is assumed, in the Catch-22 logic of the military, to be something of a suicide risk on the basis of bringing some fresh air to the nefarious doings of the international imperialist order. Be serious. I, however, noticed no "spike” in suicide rates among the world’s diplomatic community once they were exposed, a place where such activities might have been expected once it was observed in public that most of these persons could barely tie their own shoes.
Now the two reasons above are more than sufficient reasons for my standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th although they, in themselves, are only the appropriate reasons that any progressive thinking person would need to show up and shout to the high heavens for Private Manning’s freedom. I have an addition reason though, a very pressing personal reason. As mentioned above I too was in the military’s crosshairs as a soldier during the height of the Vietnam War. I will not go into the details of that episode, this comment after all is about soldier Manning, other than that I spent my own time in an Army stockade for, let’s put it this way, working on the principle of “what if they gave a war and nobody came.” Forty years later I am still working off that principle, and gladly. But here is the real point. During that time I had outside support, outside civilian support, that rallied on several occasions outside the military base where I was confined. Believe me that knowledge helped me through the tough days inside. So on March 20th I am just, as I have been able to on too few other occasions over years, paying my dues for that long ago support. You, brother, are a true winter soldier.
Private Manning I hope that you will hear us, or hear about our rally in your defense. Better yet, everybody who read this join us and make sure that he can hear us loud and clear. And let us shout to those high heavens mentioned above-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!
******
And, of course, I will be standing in support of Private Manning for as long as it takes to get him out of the government's clutches.
*******
From the American Left History blog, dated March 17, 2011
Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Quantico, Virginia On Sunday March 20th At 2:00 PM- A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner
Markin comment:
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th because I stand in solidarity with the actions of Private Bradley Manning in bringing to light, just a little light, some of the nefarious doings of this government, Bush-like or Obamian. If he did such acts. I sleep just a shade bit easier these days knowing that Private Manning (or someone) exposed what we all knew, or should have known- the Iraq war and the Afghan war justification rested on a house of card. American imperialism’s house of cards, but cards nevertheless.
Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th because I am outraged by the treatment of Private Manning meted to a presumably innocent man by a government who alleges itself to be some “beacon” of the civilized world. The military has gotten more devious although not smarter since I was soldier in their crosshairs over forty years ago. Allegedly Private Manning might become so distraught over his alleged actions that he requires extraordinary protections. He is assumed, in the Catch-22 logic of the military, to be something of a suicide risk on the basis of bringing some fresh air to the nefarious doings of the international imperialist order. Be serious. I, however, noticed no "spike” in suicide rates among the world’s diplomatic community once they were exposed, a place where such activities might have been expected once it was observed in public that most of these persons could barely tie their own shoes.
Now the two reasons above are more than sufficient reasons for my standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th although they, in themselves, are only the appropriate reasons that any progressive thinking person would need to show up and shout to the high heavens for Private Manning’s freedom. I have an addition reason though, a very pressing personal reason. As mentioned above I too was in the military’s crosshairs as a soldier during the height of the Vietnam War. I will not go into the details of that episode, this comment after all is about soldier Manning, other than that I spent my own time in an Army stockade for, let’s put it this way, working on the principle of “what if they gave a war and nobody came.” Forty years later I am still working off that principle, and gladly. But here is the real point. During that time I had outside support, outside civilian support, that rallied on several occasions outside the military base where I was confined. Believe me that knowledge helped me through the tough days inside. So on March 20th I am just, as I have been able to on too few other occasions over years, paying my dues for that long ago support. You, brother, are a true winter soldier.
Private Manning I hope that you will hear us, or hear about our rally in your defense. Better yet, everybody who read this join us and make sure that he can hear us loud and clear. And let us shout to those high heavens mentioned above-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!
******
And, of course, I will be standing in support of Private Manning for as long as it takes to get him out of the government's clutches.
*******
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