[LAAMN] Stop Monsanto & Co's new GE seeds

[scotpeden]

From: Pesticide Action Network North America [mailto:subscr...@panna.org]
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 10:12 AM
To: bo...@attglobal.net
Subject: Stop Monsanto & Co's new GE seeds




 

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New GE seeds = more pesticide use


 

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Stop the GE pipeline

Call on USDA to stand for farming communities, starting with rejecting
Dow's 2,4-D corn.

 

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Dear Paul,

While the “Big 6” pesticide corporations were pouring millions into
defeating California’s initiative to label genetically engineered (GE)
food, their suite of “next generation” GE seeds continued to move
quietly toward USDA approval.

Herbicide-resistant seeds in the pipeline — including Dow's 2,4-D corn
and Monsanto's dicamba soy — will drive up the use of these hazardous
chemicals, destroying neighbor crops and creating unnecessary health risks
to farmers and rural communities.

 

Urge USDA to stop the GE pipeline» Dow’s application for
2,4-D-resistant corn is first in the queue, and 2,4-D soy and
Monsanto’s dicamba-resistant soy are not far behind. With a decision on
the first application due any day, we need to speak up now. And loudly.

Scientists warn that 2,4-D corn alone could increase the herbicide's use
by 30-fold. The introduction of dicamba soy could cause a similarly
dramatic surge in use. And both herbicides are known to drift, easily
destroying other farmers’ crops of tomatoes, grapes, beans, cotton, soy
— just about any broadleaf plant.

And just as Monsanto's RoundUp Ready seed line led to the emergence of
herbicide-resistant "superweeds" across the country, so too will the next
generation of GE seeds. But instead of abandoning the losing strategy of
stacking seeds with herbicide-resistant traits, Dow, Monsanto and the rest
of the Big 6 are introducing more of the same.

 

Say no to this pipeline of bad ideas» Call on USDA to stop the pipeline
of next generation GE seeds, and take a stand for farming communities
across the country. The first step? Rejecting Dow's 2,4-D corn.

The Big 6 are intent on maintaining and expanding their control of our
food and farming system, introducing one GE crop after another in a
pipeline of untested products that drive the pesticide market. Join us in
saying, “No more!”

Thank you for adding your voice to the swell.


Pesticide Action Network North America 1611 Telegraph Ave. Suite 1200,
Oakland, CA 94612 USA
Phone: 510.788.9020  Email: 
commun...@panna.org Web:

www.panna.org
 

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[LAAMN] Obama's Civil Liberties Record

[scotpeden]

Seems to me, DEMANDING change, from someone that stated we'd get change we
can believe in, isn't working.

Not much of a surprise when the only Candidates the Corporate Media will
tell you about are the ones the Corporates get their representation from.

So... doing the same thing over and over again produce the same results?
Time to do something different.

Scott

Obama's Civil Liberties Record

The Death of Civil Liberty
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/obamas_first_term_track_record_on_civil_liberties


Obama’s First-Term Track Record on Civil Liberties

By John W. Whitehead
November 12, 2012

“I was a constitutional law professor, which means unlike the current
president I actually respect the Constitution.”—Barack Obama (March
2007)

Four years after Barack Obama was elected on a platform of “change you can
believe in,” he’s now promising America that the “best is yet to come.”
However, on almost every front—fiscally, militarily, politically,
socially—the country is in a state of disarray.

Most troubling, however, is the state of our freedoms. Indeed, during
Obama’s first term, our civil liberties were utterly and completely
disemboweled. The great irony, of course, is that this happened with a
self-proclaimed constitutional law professor at the helm—a man who was
supposed to understand and respect the rule of law as laid out in the U.S.
Constitution.

Not only did Obama continue many of the most outrageous abuses of the
George W. Bush administration (which were bad enough), including
indefinite detention and warrantless surveillance of American citizens,
but he also succeeded in expanding the power of the “imperial president,”
including the ability to assassinate American citizens abroad and
unilaterally authorize drone strikes resulting in the deaths of countless
innocent civilians, including women and children.

Obama has a lot to account for over the course of his first four years in
office, particularly in terms of the erosion of our civil liberties. Just
consider some of the assaults on our freedoms that took place under
Obama’s watch, either as a result of his continuing Bush’s policies,
enacting his own misguided policies or simply because he did nothing to
counter them.

In March 2009, only two months after being elected, Obama defended Bush’s
unconstitutional National Security Agency spying program in court. Obama
went so far as to insist that actions authorized by the President,
including illegally spying on American citizens, should be free from any
judicial scrutiny whatsoever.

In April 2009, the Department of Homeland Security launched a program,
Operation Vigilant Eagle, which calls for surveillance of military
veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, characterizing them as
extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be
“disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of
war.” Coupled with the DHS’ report on “Rightwing Extremism,” which broadly
defines rightwing extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly
antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local
authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics bode
ill for anyone seen as opposing the government—whether it be an Occupier,
Tea Party supporter or a free speech protester.

In July 2009, Obama threatened to veto an oversight bill that would have
required the president to inform lawmakers about covert CIA activities.

In December 2009, Obama, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, announced his
intention to ramp up the military industrial complex’s war in Afghanistan
and subsequently followed through on his plan.

In February 2010, the Department of Defense issued a U.S. Army field
manual detailing the prospective internment and resettlement of American
citizens in the event of another terrorist attack or natural disaster on
U.S. soil. The leaked document confirmed the fears of many government
critics, “from the Patriot movement on the right to Occupy on the left to
Anonymous, anarchists, organized racists, survivalists, and plain old
conspiracy theorists in between.”

In March 2010, the Department of Homeland Security began rolling out
controversial full-body scanners to American airports. Despite an initial
outcry about the invasive nature of the scanners and the enhanced patdowns
of American citizens, government officials continued to tout the machines
as safe and effective. A year later, an investigative report by
ProPublica/PBS NewsHour, revealed that six to 100 U.S. airline passengers
each year could get cancer from the machines, which were purchased with
Obama’s stimulus funds.

In July 2010, the Obama administration arrested 23-year-old Army soldier
Bradley Manning on charges that he leaked classified military and
diplomatic documents to the anti-secrecy website, Wikileaks. Held in
maximum solitary confinement for close to a year, treatment normally
reserved for the most viole

[LAAMN] "TEN DAYS OF PEACE FOR JOHN AND GEORGE" TO TAKE PLACE AT (AND BETWEEN) NOV. 29 AND DEC. 8 EVENTS FOR JOHN LENNON AND GEORGE HARRISON

[Jerry Rubin]

MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jerry Rubin310-399-1000
jerrypeaceactivistru...@earthlink.net
Or:  Chris Carter 
ch...@breakfastwiththebeatles.com 


"TEN DAYS OF PEACE FOR JOHN AND GEORGE" BEGINS AT NOV. 29 GEORGE HARRISON 
PUBLIC REMEMBRANCE 
THROUGH DEC. 8 JOHN LENNON PUBLIC REMEMBRANCE AT LATE BEATLE'S HOLLYWOOD WALK 
OF FAME STARS


Hollywood, CA-  "Ten Days of Peace for John and George" will be the theme of a 
10-day individual peace promotion opportunity

and two public gatherings to honor and remember John Lennon and George 
Harrison, the late legendary singers, song writers, peace 

activists, and Beatles members on the anniversaries of their passing and the 
10-day period between them.


The 10-day peace endeavor will begin at a George Harrison Public Remembrance on 
Thursday, November 29 starting at 6:00PM

at Harrison's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star located in front of the Capitol 
Records Tower Building at 1750 N. Vine Street.

After ten days, fans of Lennon, Harrison and the Beatles will gather at a John 
Lennon Public Remembrance on Saturday, December 8

starting at 2:00PM at Lennon's star at the same location.


The special guest speaker at both public remembrances will be Chris Carter, 
radio host of "Breakfast With The Beatles".


Event organizer and longtime peace activist Jerry Rubin says, " This ten day 
peace promotion endeavor and the two public remembrances 

for John Lennon and George Harrison is a real opportunity for people to do a 
little something extra each day to further the dream of peace

that John and George fervently believed in."   Rubin points out, "People can 
think globally and act locally. They can think of ways to promote

peace and understanding in their families, in their schools, and in their 
communities, even within themselves personally."  Rubin reminds

people that, "This peace promotion opportunity is truly a simple grassroots 
endeavor. It's hoped that Lennon, Harrison, and Beatles fans will

take it upon themselves to help promote and publicize it in any and every 
creative way they can."


For further information:
Email:  jerrypeaceactivistru...@earthlink.net
Call:  310-399-1000
Visit:  BreakfastWithTheBeatles.com 






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[LAAMN] KPFK Presents: A Teach-In on The Environment: Climate Change, Tar Sands, Keystone XL Pipeline, GMO Trees ~ Saturday, November 17th, 2:00 PM ~ At All Saints Church in Pasadena ~ With Margaret P

[Frank Dorrel]

KPFK 90.7 Presents

 

A Teach-In on The Environment: 

Climate Change, Tar Sands, GMO Trees,

Keystone XL Pipeline, Deforestation  

 

Saturday, November 17th - 2:00 PM  

At All Saints Episcopal Church  

132 Euclid Avenue, Pasadena 91101 

 

Speakers: 

Clayton Thomas-Muller, Orin Langelle, Anne Peterman

Moderated by KPFK's Margaret Prescod

 



On Saturday, November 17th at 2pm, KPFK Radio along with our very own
"Sojourner Truth" show is proud to sponsor a Teach-In on the impact of Tar
Sands, genetically modified trees, and the deforestation on local
communities. Discover how indigenous and other communities are fighting back
against these economic, racial, social and ecological injustices.  

Featured speakers include; Clayton Thomas-Muller of the Mathias Colomb Cree
Nation in Northern Manitoba, Canada and the Indigenous Environmental
Network, as well as representatives from the Global Justice Ecology Project.
There will also be music and a slide presentation of photos from Chiapas,
Mexico.

It all takes place on Saturday, November 17th at 2pm at All Saints Episcopal
Church in Pasadena.  For more information go to www.kpfk.org 

ABOUT THE FEATURED SPEAKERS:
Clayton Thomas-Muller, of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in Northern
Manitoba, Canada, is an activist for Indigenous rights and environmental
justice. With his roots in the inner city of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada,
Clayton began his work as a community organizer. Now based out of Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, Clayton is involved in many initiatives to support the
building of an inclusive movement for energy and climate justice. He serves
on the boards of   Global Justice Ecology
Project, Canadian based   Raven Trust and Navajo
Nation based,   Black Mesa Water
Coalition. Recognized by Utne Magazine as one of the top 30 under 30
activists in the United States and as a "Climate Hero 2009" by Yes Magazine,
Clayton is the Tar Sands Campaign Director for the  
Indigenous Environmental Network. He works with grassroots indigenous
communities to defend against the largest and most destructive industrial
project in the history of mankind.

Orin Langelle is the Board Chair of  
Global Justice Ecology Project and a concerned photojournalist, whose
photography spans four decades.  Beginning in 1991, Langelle has worked in
solidarity with Indigenous Peoples from Canada to Chile.  He has supported
efforts to protect Indigneous Peoples' forests and ancestral lands from
logging and industrial development through strategic campaigns,
photojournalism, media outreach and direct action.  Langelle has also led
successful campaigns in defense of forests on public lands in the US.  He
interned at the International Center of Photography with Cornell Capa,
brother to famed war photographer and Magnum Photo Agency co-founder Robert
Capa.  His concerned photography began in 1972 and his award-winning photos
have appeared on book and magazine covers, in major newspapers and in
exhibitions from San Francisco to Copenhagen.

Anne Peterman is the Executive Director of
 Global Justice Ecology Project, and
the Coordinator of the   Campaign to STOP Genetically
Engineered Trees.  She is also the North American Focal Point for the
 Global Forest Coalition. An activist
since 1989, she has presented at UN and other international fora around the
world on issues relating to forest protection, indigenous peoples rights,
climate justice, and is a global expert on the social and ecological dangers
of genetically engineered trees.  In 2000, she won the Wild Nature Award for
Environmental Activist of the Year.

Sent by Jennifer Kiser: jki...@kpfk.org  & Jessica Wood:  jw...@kpfk.org 



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[LAAMN] ACLU-SC Pasadena/Foothills Foreclosure Forum - November 13 at 7pm in Pasadena, CA - FREE & OPEN to ALL

[bigraccoon]

ACLU-SC Pasadena/Foothills Foreclosure Forum - November 13 at 7pm in Pasadena, 
CA - FREE & OPEN to ALL


FORECLOSURE CRISIS FORUM

EDUCATIONAL FORUM: WHAT PROGRESS HAVE WE MADE LOCALLY, STATEWIDE, AND 
NATIONALLY?

Representatives from Occupy Fights Foreclosure, LA Housing Authority, and 
Occupy Pasadena will answer.

When: Tuesday, 13 November 2012, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.


Where: Neighborhood Church, 301 No. Orange Grove Bouldevard, Pasadena


Who: 
Lori Gay, LA Neighborhood Housing Authority
Suzanne O'Keeffe, Occupy Fights Foreclosures
Ruth Sarnoff, Occupy Fights Foreclosures
FREE event, OPEN to the public

Contact: aclupasad...@yahoo.com







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[LAAMN] Solidarity Statement from the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance

[Romi Elnagar]

While doing research on Fukushima, I ran across this Solidarity Statement from 
the Australian anti-nuke movement to the People of India.  I thought it worth 
passing on.

Hajja Romi/"Blue"

Australia is home to around 35% of the world’s uranium reserves and currently 
supplies around 20% of the annual global market. Uranium mining is a 
controversial and contaminating industry that has caused significant 
environmental and cultural impacts and is strongly contested in 
Australia. In October 2011 it was confirmed that Australian uranium was 
inside the Fukushima reactor complex when it melted down. Rocks dug up 
in Australia are now responsible for radioactive fallout in Japan and 
beyond. In the shadow of Fukushima many Australian civil society, 
Aboriginal and community groups are increasing our efforts to transition away 
from fuelling the high cost, high risk nuclear sector and calling 
for an energy future that is renewable - not radioactive. At a recent 
meeting of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance - a network of 
Aboriginal, environmental and public health organisations that has been 
active for fifteen years around nuclear concerns and issues - this 
solidarity message was developed. We send it from our home in Australia 
with great respect and recognition of your work in India to advance our 
shared vision of a future free of nuclear threat and contamination.
Solidarity Statement from the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance to the people of 
India
The Australia Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) made up of Australian 
Aboriginal Traditional Land Owners and their allies, met from 5-7 
October 2012 on the lands of the Arrernte people in Alice Springs.
We are horrified by the violence and repression being experienced by 
the growing mass movement in India peacefully protesting nuclear 
reactors on grounds of health, safety and loss of livelihood due to 
radiation risks.
We send our solidarity, strength and support to the brave people who 
struggle against the nuclear reactors at Koodankulam, Jaitapur 
(Maharashtra) and Gorakhpur (Haryana) and we honour and express our 
profound sympathy for the five people who have died in your struggle 
since 2010.
We are extremely concerned that from 15 October 2012 the Australian 
Prime Minister will visit India to discuss selling Australian uranium.
Our Prime Minister is breaking a long held policy by negotiating 
sales deals with your country which has nuclear weapons but refuses to 
be part of relevant international treaties.
We commit to redoubling our efforts to stop uranium mining so that 
poison from our country will not contaminate your sea, your water, your 
food chain and your gene pool.
We remain determined to stop Australian uranium being exported.  
Uranium mining causes environmental and cultural damage in Australia, 
and can lead to long-term damage overseas.
On a good day Australian uranium becomes radioactive waste.  On a bad day it 
becomes fallout.
We pledge to work together to promote and build safe renewable energy power 
stations, as we work to close the uranium mines in Australia and 
help in your efforts to close nuclear power stations in  India.
Our countries are linked by the ocean, our movements are linked by a 
history of peaceful protest and we are linked through a shared hope for a 
nuclear free future.

Best,
Hajja Romi/Blue



http://www.sacw.net/article2920.html


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[LAAMN] Martin Hittleman: After the election, Critical Challenges Facing the Labor Movement

[Ed Pearl]

 
From: Martin Hittelman [mailto:martyh...@gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 3:51 PM

Subject: AFTER THE NOVEMBER 6 ELECTION: CRITICAL CHALLENGES FACING THE LABOR
MOVEMENT!

After the November 6 Election: Critical Challenges Facing the Labor Movement



The November 6 election was a devastating defeat for the far right, but was
it a victory for the working class? Clearly, the Republican Party leadership
is the avowed enemy of labor. Romney attacked unions throughout his
campaign. He opposed every public program designed to promote the health and
welfare of the American people. He advocated privatizing Social Security and
voucherizing Medicare. He urged turning Medicaid entirely over to the
states. He supported union-busting Scott Walker in his bid to remain
governor of Wisconsin and he hailed enactment of a "right-to-work" law in
Indiana. He blasted the teachers' union in Chicago and elsewhere. He called
for trillions in tax breaks for the millionaires and billionaires, while
cutting workers' benefits to fund it. He endorsed government's dictating to
women on questions involving their reproductive rights. He denounced
undocumented workers and called for their "self-deportation." He argued for
additional billions for the military and a more belligerent foreign policy,
escalating the threats against Iran. And the positions he espoused were all
part of the far right's creed. 


But is the Democratic Party the answer to Romney and the far right? Labor
has been in the forefront of the fight to preserve Social Security,
Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs. Yet President Obama has
already made clear his desire to join with Republicans in cutting these
programs, declaring in an October 24, 2012 AP interview that he is "prepared
to make a whole range of compromises," even though this will rankle his own
party. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are already on board. The AFL-CIO has
issued a strong and uncompromising statement opposing cuts to Social
Security and Medicare so the scene is set for a major confrontation with the
Obama administration and its Congressional supporters on this issue. None of
this should come as a surprise. Political parties represent classes and both
the Democrats and Republicans are corporate parties. The Democrats get 72%
of their funding from big business -- the Republicans get an even higher
percent -- and who pays the piper calls the tune. 


What the Past Four Years Have Wrought 
For the past four years (and well before then), the labor movement has been
under savage assault on every conceivable front. At a time of economic
crisis -- and with severe austerity measures directed against the working
class and the poor being unleashed -- it is no exaggeration to say that
labor is fighting for its very survival. We see this on the collective
bargaining front, where major employers like Caterpillar and Verizon
demanded and received significant concessions from their unions, despite the
companies making record profits. We see it in Wisconsin's and other states'
assault on public employees' bargaining rights, and Indiana's vote adopting
"right-to-work" legislation. We see it in the escalating bipartisan campaign
to undermine and cut Social Security and Medicare, along with measures to
destroy retirement security. We see it with the foreclosure of millions of
homeowners and the imminent foreclosure of millions more. We see it with
enactment of a deeply flawed health-care program, which, despite containing
some positive features, will drive up costs and fail to guarantee quality
health care coverage for all. We see it with the record number of
deportations. We see it with the declining standard of living for the
working class while corporate profits and stock prices have soared. We see
it with the "Free Trade" agreements with Colombia, South Vietnam and Panama
- vehemently opposed by labor - that Bush couldn't get approved but Obama
pushed through with bipartisan support. 


Meanwhile, labor's priority issues have been ignored. These include a jobs
program that would put tens of millions of workers back to work; Medicare
for all; reform of the labor laws and restoration of the right to strike;
the Employee Free Choice Act; repeal of repressive anti-labor legislation;
and retirement security - not robbing Social Security while cutting into
federal workers' pension funds to pay for payroll tax cuts. One of the
greatest scandals of the 2012 presidential campaign was the refusal of the
Obama administration to press measures to bring relief to the tens of
millions of impoverished Americans, whose numbers grow rapidly by the day.
On foreign policy, Obama promoted the corporate, anti-worker agenda: an
expansionist policy designed to find new areas of the world to exploit,
indiscriminate use of drones, continued occupation of Afghanistan for more
than two years, threats and preparations for war against Iran while
tightening sanctions, support for right-wing and repressive governments
aroun

[LAAMN] Los Angeles Green Festival ~ This Saturday, November 17th, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM & Sunday, November 18th, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM ~ At the LA Convention Center ~ Amy Goodman Speaking at 1:00 PM on S

[Frank Dorrel]

Los Angeles Green Festival 

Saturday, November 17th - 10AM to 7PM

Sunday, November 18th - 11AM to 6PM 

At The LA Convention Center - 

1201 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles

 

Celebrate a Greener Community & a Healthier You!
300 Exhibitors, 125 Speakers, Great Eco-Films.

On the Main Stage See: Amy Goodman, Russell Simmons, Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa, John Robbins,  Greg Palast, Edward James Olmos, Ed Begley, Jr,
Rachelle Carson-Begley, Esai Morales, Sandra Fluke, Mallika Chopra,
Vicangelo Bulluck, David DeGraw and more!

Don't miss Democracy Now! Host, Amy Goodman, as she discusses her newest
book, 'The Silenced Majority' (authored with Dennis Moynihan). Speaking
Saturday at 1:00 PM.

 

 
 Program Schedules on line

 
 Download the Program Schedule

 
 Buy Discount Tickets on line - Save money and time!

Saturday Main Stage
  - Highlights:


1:00 PM

Amy Goodman

The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and
Hope

 


2:00 PM

Russell Simmons with David DeGraw

Getting Money Out of Politics: Inspired Solutions to Fixing the
Fundamentally Broken Foundations of our Democracy


4:00 PM

John Robbins

Food Revolution 2012

6:00 PM: California Dreaming: An Eco-Fashion Show, on the Main Stage.
Renowned designer Rebecca Mink specializes in fashion forward stlyes that
promote animal rights and an environmentally sensitive lifestyle. 

Sunday Main Stage Highlights:


12:00 PM

Sandra Fluke, Michelle Patterson, Mallika Chopra

Women and Girls Leading Us Forward!


1:00 PM

Vicangelo Bulluck, noted Actor/Activists

NAACP Hollywood Bureau presents: The Social Power of Diversity in Media


2:00 PM

Edward James Olmos, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Gina Rodriguez

Latino International Film Institute and Festival Presents: The Emerging
Power of Latinos in America


3:00 PM

Greg Palast

Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: The Theft of 2012


4:00 PM

Ed Begley, Jr., Rachelle Carson-Begley, Esai Morales

The Medium As the Message: Transmedia for Eco-Social Change


Don't Miss:
Green Living Stage
 

Visit the Green Living Stage to learn from experts about how to reduce your
carbon footprint with practical tips for everyday living and innovations
that you can put to use today.

  _  

 
 Community Action Stage

Get educated about local issues as well as opportunities to take your
passion for sustainable living to the streets. This is the place to engage
on issues ranging from plastic pollution to green jobs to protecting the
L.A. River.

  _  

 
 Green Business Stage

Network with other entrepreneurs and tap into resources for launching your
green business or career. Green America's Green Business Network offers
seminars, an Eco-preneurs Showcase and much more.

  _  

 
 DIY Stage

Ready to get your hands busy? Learn by doing at this workshop tent.

  _  

Green Kids Zone

Get your kids interested in the natural world with engaging, educational
activities. From crafts and games to music and storytelling, the Green Kids
Zone is where the real party's at.

  _  

 
 Tasadana Yoga & Movement Pavilion

Powered by: Gaiam TV. Find your inner breath and state of h

[LAAMN] For the 21st time, UN ( 188-3-2 abstain ) calls on end of US embargo/sanctions against Cuba

[Cort Greene]

 *Info gathered by Cort Greene** Jose Marti said, “Every true man must feel
on his own cheek every blow dealt against the cheek of another.”*
[image: United Nations to Vote Cuban Resolution against US Blockade
Today]

The over-50-year US economic, commercial and financial criminal and inhuman
embargo and sanctions of Cuba was again by a overwhelmingly margin
condemned by the international community today when the UN General Assembly
voted against the US imperial aggression, which also violates the Geneva
Convention on Genocide and according to the UN study on the embargo,Cuba
has sustained 1 trillion,600 billion dollars in loses since this policy
began and continues a policy of subversion against the Cuban government and
its people and its illegal occupation by the US military at the *Guantanamo
Bay Naval Base* . President Obama is the 11th US president to enforce this
policy.


188 voted for the resolution, 3 voted against  and  2 abstained.

 This is 21st time that the UN General Assembly has condemn through its
vote of member states.


You may be able to watch  a re-broadcast video later at http://webtv.un.org/

or
http://webtv.un.org/live-now/watch/general-assembly:-35th-plenary-meeting-embargo-against-cuba/1580695591001


General Assembly: 35th plenary meeting (Embargo against Cuba)
Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed
by the United States of America against Cuba [item 41] (a) Report of the
Secretary-General (A/67/118) (b) Draft resolution (A/67/L.2)
Report of the Secretary-General
(A/67/11


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[LAAMN] Fw: BREAKING: We're Prepared to Strike, Please Support

[Romi Elnagar]

BREAKING: We're Prepared to Strike, Please Support  
 Is this email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser.   
  
Dear Romi,

Yesterday, a group of warehouse workers in Southern California decided they 
will strike this week if the retaliation at the warehouse where they work does 
not end.

You can support these brave workers. Sign our petition supporting all workers 
in Walmart's supply chain.

Warehouse workers like David Garcia were terminated and others have been 
demoted or had their hours dramatically cut just for speaking up for a safe 
work place.

There is good news: Since workers went on strike the first time this September, 
the company that operates the warehouse has been scrambling to rent fans, add 
water coolers and fix broken equipment. Now workers no longer have to pay for 
their own safety equipment. With your support, conditions are improving.

Unfortunately, the workers who risked their jobs to win humane working 
conditions are still being punished and retaliated against. For this reason 
workers are prepared to strike again. 

Retaliation anywhere in Walmart’s supply chain should not be tolerated, but 
workers are speaking up despite the risks. Walmart workers announced they will 
make Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day, a 
national day of action to end retaliation at Walmart.

One way you can support workers in Walmart's entire supply chain is to sign our 
joint petition. Six members of the Walton family, who own half the company, 
have more wealth than the bottom 42% of American families combined. Walmart is 
the largest private-sector employer in the world. Walmart must ensure that all 
workers who help enrich the company are respected and not retaliated against 
for speaking up.

Sincerely,

Warehouse Workers United
Southern California

P.S. If you are in the Los Angeles are, please join us in person. Rally with 
Warehouse Workers to End Retaliation Thursday, November 15. Like on 
Facebook  
  Follow on Twitter  
  Forward to a Friend   
Warehouse Worker Relief Fund
 follow on Twitter | like on Facebook | forward to a friend | Donate 
Copyright © 2012 Warehouse Workers United, All rights reserved. 
Final sign on letter list from strike. 
Our mailing address is: 

Warehouse Workers United
601 S Milliken Ave, Suite AOntario, CA 91761

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[LAAMN] blood on the silver - the high cost of mining concessions in oaxaca

[David Bacon]

BLOOD ON THE SILVER
Assassinations and Violence - the High Cost of Mining Concessions in Oaxaca
By David Bacon,  NACLA Report, online edition
http://www.nacla.org/news/2012/11/9/blood-silver-high-cost-mining-concessions-oaxaca

SAN JOSE DEL PROGRESO, OAXACA  (11/12/12) -

In the front room of Avigahil Vasquez Sanchez 
home in San Jose del Progreso, she's installed 
half a dozen little phone booths, used by town 
residents who have no phone of their own. 
Outside the windows above the telephones, the 
tree-lined street she lives on leads out to 
fields at the foot of cloud-topped hills.  San 
Jose, at the edge of a valley an hour south of 
Oaxaca's capital city, is a pretty town. 

But this seemingly peaceful environment is 
deceptive.  Since a mine began operation nearby, 
residents passing in the road view each other 
with suspicion.  The fear is palpable in Vasquez' 
home as well.  And one evening last March her 
fears became real.  She remembers waiting at home 
for her brother Bernardo to return from the 
Oaxaca city airport:

He called us at six that evening.  I asked him to 
wait for us in the airport, because there were 
people looking for him.  The day before a 
stranger had been asking for him, and that night 
a woman came asking to make a phone call.  We 
didn't realize what was about to happen, that she 
was just finding out the time he'd be leaving 
Oaxaca. 

At all the crossroads on the highway there were 
people watching to see when he'd pass by.  After 
stopping at a gas station he saw there was a car 
following him.  Then there was another car beside 
him.  He thought it might be one of the taxi 
drivers from our town, but it wasn't.  When the 
car pulled along side him they began to fire. 
The shots hit him in the back, and they forced 
him off the road at the crossroads to Santa 
Lucia, where he fell over the wheel.  My cousin 
was sitting beside him, and was shot in the leg. 
- Avigahil Vasquez

Jaime Vásquez Valencia, a passing taxi driver, 
stopped to help.  He put Vasquez and his wounded 
brother and cousin into his taxi and drove them 
to the closest town.  By the time they arrived, 
however, Bernardo Vasquez was already dead. 
Paramedics took his two wounded companions to the 
Specialties Hospital in San Bartolo Coyotepec.

The assassination was planned.   We knew he was 
bothering the mine, because he was getting a lot 
of threats.   He was very quiet about it, but he 
told me, 'I know I'm going to die, because the 
mine doesn't like what I'm doing.'  Most threats 
came on the phone.  They'd say, 'You know, 
Bernardo, you're going to die.'  There was a 
threat written on the wall of the spillway below 
the dam, saying 'Your end has come.'  Leaflets 
would appear in town, saying, 'The end of 
Bernardo Vasquez has come.'  When we'd tell him 
to be careful he'd say, 'I have to stay here.  If 
my death is coming, I accept it.'   He came to 
help people wake up, and because of his bravery, 
many people followed him.  - Avigahil Vasquez



Avigahil Vasquez Sanchez is the sister of 
Bernardo Vasquez, assassinated in March.  The 
office of the group resisting the mine is in her 
home.

The civil war inside San Jose del Progreso began 
when Fortuna Silver, a company directed by 
Peruvian mining engineers and backed by Canadian 
investors, decided to open a modern mine in an 
area where small-scale prospecting had taken 
place for many years.  What the company and its 
Mexican subsidiary, Compañía Minera Cuzcatlan 
S.A. de C.V., envisioned was far from a small 
operation, however.  In 2006 the Federal 
government granted the company a concession 
covering 58,000 hectares of land (143,321 acres, 
or 223 square miles.)  On its website, the 
company refers to this area as "brownfields." 
Today it excavates and crushes 1500 tons of rock 
per day, extracting silver and gold in chemical 
leaching processes. 

San Jose's residents are Zapotec farmers  who 
speak an indigenous language that is centuries 
old.  The farming community constitutes an ejido, 
an association formed by Mexico's land reform 
laws.  The mining project drove a deep wedge 
between town residents, at a time when many 
communities in Oaxaca were already divided 
between different political parties. 

The town's political authorities are supporters 
of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). 
The party governed Oaxaca for seventy years.  Its 
last governor, Ulises Ruiz, put down an uprising 
that grew out of a teachers strike in 2006 with 
massive violence.  When town residents began 
questioning the mine project, the municipal 
president Venancio Oscar Martínez Rivera referred 
to them scornfully as "APPO sympathizers," 
referring to the organization that fought the 
governor in the streets of Oaxaca city.

Christina Pagano, a Fortuna Silver spokesperson, 
says "The company gained authorization to use 
land from the San Jose del Progreso Ejido via two 
public assemblies held by the Ejido members in 
2006 and 2007."  But Avi

[LAAMN] Juan Cole: Real Petraeus Failure Was Counterinsurgency in Iraq, Afghanistan

[Ed Pearl]

 
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/11/12/juan_cole_real_petraeus_failure_was
 
Juan Cole: Real Petraeus Failure Was Counterinsurgency in Iraq,
 Afghanistan
 
November 12, 2012

AMY GOODMAN: We begin today's show with the surprise resignation of CIA
director David Petraeus last week following revelations of an extramarital
affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, a married Army reservist. In a
message to CIA staff, the 60-year-old four-star general confessed he was
resigning because of the affair. He wrote, quote, "After being married for
over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an
extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as
the leader of an organization such as ours," end-quote.

The former head of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Petraeus retired from 37
years in the military to head the CIA last year. Broadwell's biography is
called All In: The Education of General David Petraeus. It was published in
January. Over the weekend, new revelations suggested she had sent harassing
emails to Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old woman from Florida and a family friend
of Petraeus and his wife Holly. The FBI launched an inquiry after Kelley
said she had received vicious emails from the CIA director's biographer. Its
investigation revealed the affair and led agents to believe that she or
someone close to her had sought access to his email.

Well, on Sunday, Democracy Now! spoke to historian Juan Cole about the
significance of Petraeus's resignation. Juan Cole is professor of history at
the University of Michigan. His most recent book is called Engaging the
Muslim World.

JUAN COLE: I was opposed to General Petraeus becoming head of the CIA in the
first place, because one of the CIA's charges is to evaluate policy, and one
of the big policies that needs to be evaluated is the troop escalation, what
is called the "surge," in Afghanistan, the big counterinsurgency program
that Petraeus put into place and then shepherded through as commander on the
ground. And the CIA can't properly evaluate that program if its head is the
author of the program. And I'm sure the analysts tried, and maybe Petraeus
tried to be objective, but it's just not right. So I think that's the real
issue here, is why did the Obama administration put an actor in a military
role, then as the head of the agency that will evaluate the actions?

And I think that we need a big national debate about Obama's troop
escalation in Afghanistan. It was a failure. Obama is committed to
withdrawing in 2014. I think that's generally a good thing. But did we
really need the troop escalation? How well did it work? Should we do any
more of them? All of those things can't be addressed unless we have a
national debate on this policy.  I'm sure General Petraeus's Gmail was very
important and that the security issues were there, but really, that's not
the big issue here.

AMY GOODMAN: It's interesting. This all takes place as Robert Bales is being
questioned, whether he will be court-martialed for the murder of 16 Afghans
at Fort-he's now at Fort Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

JUAN COLE: Yeah, well, you know, I'm from a military family, Amy, and I
really mind that the events in Afghanistan are kind of offstage. We have
almost no mainstream media reporting on Afghanistan. Our guys are out there
fighting, and if they get killed, it's on page 17.  It's not right for a
country to be at war unless it's committed to the war. It's not right to
have the war proceed offstage. It's not right not to have any public
discussion of the mistakes that were made, the kind of command structure
that was there. Obviously, there's a lot of troops there who have been in a
lot of rotations and some of them have a lot of PTSD, and there's a lot of
issues here which our country is not coming to grips with.

AMY GOODMAN: When you talk about the surge failing, why did the surge in
Afghanistan fail?

JUAN COLE: Well, I believe that it was doomed to fail, because the way that
Petraeus and his colleagues conceived of a counterinsurgency program had
this mantra: "take, clear, hold and build." So they would take a village,
clear it of Taliban, hold it for some months to reassure the local people,
"Taliban are not coming back; you don't have to be afraid of reprisals if
you cooperate with us," and then build up local police, local security. At
one point, General McChrystal talked about bringing "a government in a box"
from Kabul. I mean, this entire project was so fantastic and unconnected to
reality. Kabul barely has a government itself, much less having boxes full
of them to send around to the provinces.

And it was overambitious. In order for this kind of thing to succeed-and I
doubt it could succeed, it required convincing Pashtun villagers that they
should like us better than their cousins, right? And how likely was that?
But if it were g

[LAAMN] China: Protests against Japan reveal much deeper social malaise

[Cort Greene]

The Chinese Communist Party 1927-37 – The development of Maoism - Part
1
http://www.marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-1.htm



http://www.marxist.com/anti-japan-protest-reveal-social-malaise-in-china.htm


China: Protests against Japan reveal much deeper social
malaise
Written by Niklas Zenius JespersenTuesday, 13 November 2012
[image: 
Print]

In August and September Japan’s manoeuvres of the disputed islands of
Diaoyu provoked some of the largest demonstrations in China since the
uprising of Tiananmen Square in 1989. The dispute over the islands is
predominantly an imperialist conflict over control of trade routes and oil
resources. However, the protests in China went beyond the level of
expressing anti-Japanese sentiment. In fact, although the government did
attempt to limit them to this, the protests were as much against the regime
in Beijing as against Japan’s aggressive manoeuvres.

[image: 
2012-anti-japan-protests]In
the world media the demonstrations against Japan have in general been
portrayed as government sponsored and in support of the Chinese government
against Japan. But this only gives part of the picture. While the
government did undoubtedly try to use the protests for their own purposes
and allowed the protests to go further than it would normally do, this was
only for a period and only to a certain degree.

Reports suggest that the original organisers of the first protests were not
the regime but came mainly from the so-called “New Left” of China. The New
Left of China is a common term used for Marxist, neo-Maoist and other
revolutionary and radical left groups in China critical of the restoration
of capitalism and the liberalisation policy of former president Deng
Xiaoping and his followers.

For example, members of the group Wuyouzhixiang were reported to have been
involved in the organising of the first protests in Beijing. Wuyouzhixiang
is a neo-Maoist group who until recently ran a debate website for part of
the New Left in China. The group was recently banned as part of the
campaign against the left-wing supporters of former Communist Party leader
Bo Xilai, who many saw as a leftist renewer of policies from the Mao era
(although that is clearly not what Bo stands for, far from it!).

Wuyouzhixiang is clearly not a group backed by the regime or a group who
could be described as regime supporters. Of course, this example alone does
not prove in itself that the protests were not regime friendly. But the
conduct of the demonstrators is proof enough. In several cities they came
to minor or major confrontations with the riot police. In Shenzhen in
southern China the protests were especially intensive and had an attitude
clearly critical of the regime. As such, a demonstration on the 16th September
came to violent clashes between the riot police and 2000 protesters, when
protesters attacked first a local office of the Communist Party and later a
Japanese 
mall[i]
.
Attacks on the Communist Party for its “lack of patriotism”

The attack on the Communist Party office came after demonstrators saw a
Japanese car in the parking lot in front of the office. Already many
protesters were angry at the police for defending Japanese companies and
arresting nationalist activists. The protesters began accusing police and
government representatives for not being patriotic enough, preferring to
defend Japanese economic interests rather than Chinese national
sovereignty. While such outcries may appear as nothing more than extreme
chauvinism we must understand the deeper political motivations behind them.

Officially the Chinese government and Communist Party make a big effort to
present themselves as patriotic and to show that they are defending the
national interests of China. The national struggle of China has been one of
the major political forces for more than a century, beginning with the
struggle against imperialist and colonial aggression against China in the
opium wars. The Chinese revolutions of 1925-7 and 1949 were to a large
degree struggles for national liberation. Especially the latter part of the
revolutionary movement was to a large degree directed against Japanese and
western occupation of eastern China.

The enormous crimes imperialist Japan committed against the people of China
during the second Sino-Japanese war from 1937-1945 were monstrous, costing
possibly as much as 22 million civilian lives. These crimes have not been
forgotten, especially since Japan has continuously refused to give any real
apology for the crimes, or provide compensation to the victims or to take a
clear stand a

[LAAMN] Gerry Ruddy-Ireland:Acts of War?

[Cort Greene]

http://ireland.marxist.com/ireland/north-of-ireland/8582-acts-of-war

[image: Logo]
Acts of 
War?
DetailsCreated on Sunday, 11 November 2012 23:14Written by Gerry Ruddy


The recent killing of a prison warden from Maghaberry prison  by as yet
unknown republican grouping has sent shock waves through the body politic.
Many had assumed that as a result of the outpourings of both the Good
Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement the days of violence were
behind us.

Sadly that is not true. No one with any sense of humanity in them can take
pleasure in the deliberate killing of a fellow human being. As we approach
the anniversary of the ending of the First World War, celebrated with
chauvinistic glee by the British ruling classes, we should never forget the
horrors of war, the savage slaughter of millions and the glorification  of
the "nation" and the demonisation of the enemy.

 "*all warfare is inhuman, all warfare is barbaric; the first blast of the
bugles of war ever sounds for the time being the funeral knell of human
progress
…"*

But despite the experiences of the horrors of war there are sadly those who
still wallow in the glorification of war and the use of violence against
their perceived enemies.  A quick search of the web will produce discussion
sites where juvenile comments are made about enemies, comments that reveal
a lack of understanding of the consequences of war, of the dehumanising
effects of  hatred and  a glorification in killing.

*Some current political hostages*

The mainstream media have speculated that the killing of the prison warder
arose directly from the consequences of the current prison protest. There
is a dirty protest taking place from protesting republican prisoners. They
are protesting against strip searching and claim that the prison
authorities reneged on a agreement reached 18 months ago.

But then questions have to be asked- will the killing of the warden advance
the cause of the prisoners, will it bring an end to the protest-will it
force the prison authorities and the Stormont Administration to concede to
the prisoners demands?

*Carl Von Clausewitz*

A famous military
strategist
once
wrote
"*War is the continuation of Politik by other means"*

So what are or were the politics behind the killing?

Two days after that event there was a march in Dublin calling for the
release of Marian Price organised by the Free Marian Price Campaign. While
there was a ban on  party banners the march was in itself political. It was
exposing the vindictive nature of the British Government, exposing the
selective internment of those who reject the pacification programmes of the
Government, explicit in the outpourings of the Good Friday Agreement and
the St Andrews Agreement. But there were only about 450 people on the march
and one of the speakers, Clare Daly  formerly of
the Socialist Party and still in the moribund United Left Alliance felt
that she had to mention the killing of the Prison Warden and condemn it.
She was  she said a supporter of human rights  and that included the human
rights of Marian  and David Black.

Her attendance at the march and her decision to speak was, particularly
given her long background in the Socialist Party,-*(for long perceived as
having an anti-republican  and a pro-loyalist agenda) * a politically
significant step. We, in the Red Plough have long argued that the failure
of the "left" to engage with republicanism was and still is, a mistake. So
here was a minor break through. Sadly many who would have been on the march
probably stayed away because of the killing.

So we would argue that the killing far from advancing a mass struggle
outside the jail in support of  political prisoners has on the contrary set
back any serious efforts to garner support from a wide cross section of
people.

The struggle in the prison has been ongoing for a long time. There have
been efforts to resolve that situation also for a long time. Talks in the
background had been taking place to reach a settlement.
In the light of the killing does anyone seriously think that the situation
will be resolved sooner or later? Will the killing of one prison warder, or
the killing of ten make any difference to British policy? On the contrary
it will only 
harden
their
resolve.  Indeed one would think that perhaps that was the intent behind
the armed action.

Perhaps there are people out there who think a movement can be built on the
backs of the prisoners struggles and sacrifices? If so they are sadly
deluded. The  history of prison protests shows that only on very few
occasions did the people on the outside give mass support to the prisoners
and go on to build a mass movement.  

[LAAMN] Sumate a la Corriente Socialista Militante

[Cort Greene]

http://argentina.elmilitante.org/argentina-othermenu-26/argentina-othermenu-27/6134-sumate-a-la-corriente-socialistra-militante.html

Sumate a la Corriente Socialista
Militante[image:
Imprimir]Escrito
por Corriente Socialista Militante   Martes 13 de Noviembre de 2012 02:10

Compañeros


Nos encontramos frente a una crisis del sistema capitalista en el mundo que
no tiene precedentes, no estamos frente a una crisis cíclica, sino a una
muy diferente, a una crisis estructural, orgánica.

Presenciamos una destrucción sin pausa del empleo, el sistema de salud y la
educación, fábricas que cierran, miles de trabajadores parados. Inmensas
colas en búsqueda de trabajo, se ven en los países europeos: Grecia,
España, Portugal, con ajustes impensables tan solo tres años atrás.

Las grandes multinacionales, industrias, bancos, desempeñan un papel
destructivo, expoliando sin racionalidad y sin pausa alguna las riquezas
del fondo de los mares y de los ríos, de las entrañas mismas de la tierra,
de las montañas, ya que, por su voracidad de ganancia no pueden saciar su
sed.

En EE.UU., según la Oficina del Censo, 1,2 millones de hogares que
conforman el 1% superior vieron aumentar sus ingresos un 5,5% el año
pasado, mientras que los ingresos cayeron un 1,7% para los 96 millones de
hogares que constituyen el 80% inferior.

Un informe del 2010, nos dice que el 1% de la población se apropió del 93%
del crecimiento del ingreso total.

Otra crisis sobrevuela en estos días en una de las ciudades más importantes
de EEUU, Nueva York con el huracán Sandy. Una ciudadana cuenta: Ethel
Liebeskind de Merrick, NY, le dijo al *New York Times*, mientras permanecía
de pie ante las ruinas tempestuosas de la casa en la que había vivido
durante 26 años: "Esto es tan malo como el Katrina que llamó la atención
mundial.”

El Huracán Sandy ha expuesto cruelmente las deficiencias del capitalismo.
Una economía nacionalizada y planificada no puede impedir los huracanes y
otros desastres naturales, pero sin duda puede reducir sus efectos
destructivos al mínimo.



Los recientes resultados de las elecciones que pusieron al frente por un
nuevo período a BarackObama, lo dejan como piloto ante la tormenta y nada
cambiará, ya que, tanto Demócratas como Republicanos promulgan y hacen
cumplir leyes que solo benefician a los ricos.



El capitalismo, que fue un sistema que otrora mostró su vigor y pujanza,
hoy se encuentra en franco proceso de negación y decadencia.



Como respuesta a tantas calamidades, la juventud y los trabajadores trepan
un escalón más en la lucha de clases. Nos encontramos ante un hecho
político histórico en Europa, el 14 de noviembre tendrá lugar la
convocatoria de una huelga general simultánea en varios países (España,
Grecia, Portugal, Chipre y Malta), algo sin precedentes en la lucha de
clases mundial.



Este dato refleja la profundidad de la crisis capitalista que está
incubándose en Europa, particularmente en el sur del continente. Pero
también refleja el carácter internacional de la lucha de clases y la
hermandad de la clase obrera europea y mundial frente a la hermandad de la
explotación capitalista y de los intereses empresarios en todos los países.

En Latinoamérica, las profusas luchas de la juventud chilena por una
educación gratuita y sin tutelas oscurantistas, que expresa sin dudas una
crisis más profunda en el seno de la sociedad chilena, la victoria del
Presidente Hugo Chávez y las tareas pendientes para profundizar el proceso
revolucionario que avance hasta la expropiación total del capitalismo en
Venezuela.
La otra cara es la clase obrera y campesina Paraguaya, que sufre con el
golpe cívico institucional contra el gobierno del Lugo, Zelaya en Honduras,
que fuera despojado del poder ungido por la voluntad popular, por un golpe
cívico militar.
En nuestro país, la lucha que se libra contra lo más rancio del
capitalismo, donde quieren un gobierno completamente adicto a los intereses
del gran capital y de las mafias del aparato del Estado que cercene el
gasto social y los derechos democráticos, y que reprima sistemáticamente
las protestas populares, siguiendo el ejemplo de Mauricio Macri en la
Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
Su objetivo: derribar el gobierno o forzar su renuncia. La oposición
política en el Congreso está desarbolada, y carece de dirigentes con una
mínima autoridad. El gobierno de Cristina en cambio, mantiene un apoyo
sólido en los sectores populares. De ahí que la oposición patronal se haya
lanzado a una campaña frenética en sus medios masivos de comunicación a fin
de enloquecer a la clase media y a la capa de trabajadores caracterizados
como aristocracia obrera y/o políticamente atrasados, para movilizarlos
activamente contra el gobierno.

Todo este