Re: [Marxism] Zizek put off by London riots
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 19.08.2011 23:28, Louis Proyect wrote: == Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 8/19/11 5:22 PM, Gary MacLennan wrote: Of course it is the social class of the London rioters which offends this dilettante. Less and less I like this Zizek. Comradely Gary Our old friend, the indefatigable Marxist prophet of superhighways and DDT, doesn't like the rioters either: http://www.newgeography.com/content/002376-britain-needs-a-better-way-get-rich-than-looting The title says it all. Einde O'Callaghan Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] In Iran, Ahmadinejad-Khamenei fight heats up
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == From: Fred Feldman ffeld...@verizon.net To: Anas shacku...@yahoo.com Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2011 3:59 AM Subject: [Marxism] In Iran, Ahmadinejad-Khamenei fight heats up == Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Contrary to public perceptions outside Iran, Iran’s Green Movement is alive and well and more popular than ever, even as mass repression has forced movement activists to assume a largely underground existence. I live in Iran and and the assertion above isn't borne out by the reality on the ground. the green movement faltered for a number of reasons. the main one has to do with the fact that it has never been broad-based and it is middle class-driven demands didn't resonate with the working and poor classes. the second reason is its lack of a well-defined vision which led to disillusionment among its adherents. Furthermore, its leaders were part of the establishment before they fell out with it over power struggle; as a result, they aren't as popular as they are made out to be. many followers of the green movement who are predominantly from middle and upper-middle classes have told me that Mir-Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi are just an outlet for expressing their pent-up frustration and anger. the green movement needs to articulate an inclusive and clear vision that can speak to the demands of working and poor classes because they constitute the majority in Iran otherwise it will get nowhere with its struggle. another problematic assumption in the article is the government stole the election from Moussavi. while the previous elections were undoubtedly rigged, it doesn't prove that Moussavi won it. this assumption is based on the unsubstantiated claim made by Moussavi himself before the official results were announced. the followers of the green movement took it as an article of faith and Moussavi has never had to prove it. I think the rigging was intended to project an image of massive popular support for the revolution by overplaying the turnout of the election. as i mentioned above, Moussavi supporters mostly come from the middle and upper-middle classes who don't make up the majority in Iran and so it is implausible to suggest that Moussavi was the uncontested winner. working and poor people voted for the incumbent president because of his populism and paltry social spending but now he is losing that popularity because he hasn't made good on his promises, just like Obama. i think it is very helpful to look at the question of social transformation as embedded in power structure rather than symbolic representations of these power structures. Full: http://www.thenation.com/article/162868/power-struggle-iran-pits-president-against-supreme-leader Power Struggle in Iran Pits President Against Supreme Leader (excerpt) Afrooz Mahdavi August 19, 2011 The fierce battle of wills between Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his former loyalist, President.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that has had Tehran on edge for months appears to be coming to a head. The conflict dates back at least to June 19, 2009, when Khamenei delivered a sermon that aroused the ire of his protégé, Ahmadinejad, who had just been re-elected amid accusations of massive vote fraud. In the sermon, Khamenei praised Ahmadinejad’s nemesis, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, and ventured only mild criticism of Reformist leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was at the time aggressively challenging the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad’s victory. Ironically, Ahmadinejad’s win had been engineered by an ad hoc coalition presided over by Khamenei himself and composed of a few archconservative clerics and members and high command of the Revolutionary Guards. In the face of the spectacular street protests staged by the Green Movement in the wake of the election, Khamenei had evidently concluded that the coalition had to abandon many of its goals, including the permanent removal of the republic's Old Guard—symbolized by Rafsanjani—from all levers of power. For Ahmadinejad, Khamenei's sermon was an outright act of betrayal, an abandonment of their joint mission to institute a radical rightist militaristic regime. According to one media leak, reported on the Iranian website Alef, a disgruntled Ahmadinejad openly defied Khamenei’s authority in an August 2009 one-on-one meeting, in which he told the leader that most Iranians loved their president and not him, adding that he had lost six million votes in the election because of his association with Khamenei. From that point on,
[Marxism] Franklin Lamb : Waiting for the endgame in Libya
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Introductory comments to article from Tripoli I think Franklin Lamb is overoptimistic in projecting that Obama is planning to support a cease fire. But it is conceivable that he will, given the problems he already faces in the 2012, likewise Sarkozy, and maybe Cameron too. But the president also cannot appear to be caving in to the super-demon Gadhafi, which is the way the Republicans and even some Democrats will interpret even a time-buying cease-fire or governmental agreement -- that is, one that quiets the war issue until the US and French elections are out of the way. It seems to me that the US administration and its allies in Europe are also moving in the direction of committing their prestige and credibility to the fall of Assad in Syria. All the usual suspects (including the International Kangaroo Court) are being brought into play. The dynamic pointing towards a major intervention may be motivated in part removing Assad as a long-standing irritant and perhaps more importantly the prevention of an opposition government that might have significant Islamist and radical participation. The US, France, and Britain have committed their prestige and honor, such as they are, to removing Gadhafi, dead or alive, from power. For them to appear to abandon this goal would be a blow to NATO, which is already under pressure from the European economic crisis. I find it hard to believe that they can drop this objective without something worse than embarrassment Two days ago, Counterpunch published another article by Lamb expressing fears that Tripoli would soon face a siege. The rebels have been predicting that the regime would fall in two weeks, and quite a few imperialist outlets are announcing that Gadhafi is going to flee or has already fled. Lamb seems to have calmed a bit, since he is now assuming that the regime will make it till the September meeting of the NATO powers, whose purpose at present is to rubber-stamp continuation of the war. All the major imperialist media outlets are now indicating that the rebels have made significant gains -- most based on reports from rebel commanders. The Guardian reports that they are marching on Tripoli from three sides. But of course these sources are at least as biased in favor of the US-NATO effort or, in the case of some leftists who are opposed to the bombing, of the alleged revolutionaries in the opposition, as Lamb tends to be in favor of Gadhafi. While most may intend to be honest, pretty much all Libya coverage has to be received with caution. I doubt that the opposition as presently constituted can overturn the Gadhafi regime without massive shipments of weapons, a further extension of NATO bombing (more on the Iraq model), a big infusion of weapons and people to use them. I mean here the sending in of at least full special forces units, not just individual trainers. The reported gains of recent days have served to sharply shift attention from the internal problems of the opposition (the assassination by internal forces of the army commander) and the complaints in the imperialist media about their slow progress. But speculations such as these do not disprove claims that the opposition has won important victories and moving toward Tripoli. But for those of us who are far from the scene (and unable to influence the situation (even through united antiwar protests, of which there are very few, although I favor supporting ALL protests against this brutal imperialist war), only time will tell what is really the situation. I continue to regard the defeat of the imperialist war against Libya as the lesser evil, no matter what that means for the political and other prospects of Gadhafi or the opposition, as the preferable outcome. The imperialist war, not varying estimates of the opposition or its components, is the pivotal issue today. Fred Feldman http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb08192011.html Weekend Edition August 19 - 21, 2011 Hopes and Doubts in Washington Waiting for the Endgame in Libya By FRANKLIN LAMB Tripoli Since this observer is not privy to any secrets around here and would not share them if he were, it's fair enough to engage in frank discussions with former colleagues in Congress and new cyber acquaintances who work on the Hill. I got an ear full this week from sources familiar with John Kerry's Senate Foreign Relations Committee activities about President Obama's semi-private views on what is happening in Libya and the President's doubts about NATO's role in bombing this unlucky country. Contrary to some Washington speculation that Obama's new Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (some Congressional staffers who know him well good naturely refer to his as Leon the
[Marxism] Ghost of Credit Anstalt haunts global financial markets
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Bond markets signal 'Japanese' slump for US and Europe The global credit markets are braced for deflation and perhaps depression By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International business editor The Telegraph (London) August 19 2011 Panic flight to safety has pushed the yield on 10-year US Treasuries below 2pc for the first time in modern American history, exceeding the extremes of the Lehman crisis and the banking crash of the 1930s. Investors scrambled to buy the bonds of strongest industrial states on Thursday on fears of a double-dip recession on both sides of the Atlantic and a European banking crash, driving down their returns to investors. German yields fell to 2.08pc and Switzerland's 3-month rates have turned deeply negative. Markets were stunned by a plunge in the manufacturing index of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve to minus 30.7 in August from plus 3.2 in July, one of the most violent falls ever recorded. It is a catastrophic collapse, said Rob Carnell from ING. Markets are in a fearful state right now, and data like this gives them plenty of excuses to panic. Andrew Roberts, credit strategist at RBS, said investors are haunted by fears that European banks may have lost full access to America's $7 trillion markets, leaving them at imminent risk of a dollar squeeze. An unidentified European lender had to tap $500m from the European Central Bank's (ECB) swap line with the Federal Reserve, indicating that it had been shut out of the markets. US investors have brought down the guillotine since the EMU debt crisis spread to Italy and Spain, and Germany vetoed any form of eurobonds or fiscal union. This is what has kicked [off] the latest turbulence, Mr Roberts said. Ewald Nowotny, Austria's central bank governor and an ECB member, told newspaper Wirtschaftsblatt there was a growing reluctance within US money market funds to finance the Europeans, though he blamed the cut-off on a change in US banking regulations. Mr Nowotny said a global double-dip recession was unlikely but said nobody should be complacent because we have learned painfully from history that a global slump can strike unexpectedly. His personal fear is an insidious slide towards Japanese stagnation in Europe. The Bank for International Settlements said German, Dutch, Swiss and British banks together have a US dollar funding gap of around $1 trillion. The global dollar gap is $5 trillion, reflecting the continued use of the greenback as the base for international finance. This means that severe market stress sets off a scramble for dollars, akin to a global margin call. It won't take much for the interbank market to collapse, said Lars Frisell from Sweden's Riksbank. It is extremely important that we don't see a repeat of the situation in 2008. Morgan Stanley warned that both Europe and America are dangerously close to recession. The banks said a repeat of the Lehman meltdown in 2008 is unlikely since households and companies have healthier debt levels today, but the risk is there if the eurozone drifts into a policy blunder and allows the default of a sovereign state. This could bring down the whole financial system, it said. Elga Bartsch, the bank's Europe economist, said euroland remains the weakest link in the global chain. The risks of another shock pushing the region over the edge are significant, she said. The southern European states cannot resort to emergency stimulus to cushion the downturn and may have tighten fiscal policy to satisfy the bond vigilantes. Ms Bartsch said the ECB may have to reverse its tightening cycle and start cutting interest rates in early 2012. European bank shares were crushed in a cascade of selling, with Societe Generale off 12pc, Commerzbank 10pc, and Intesa Sanpaolo 9pc, Credit Agricole 7pc, and Deutsche Bank 6pc. Curbs imposed by several exchanges on the short-selling of equities appears to have had no relevant effect. Andreas Schmitz, head of the German banking federation, called on Europe's leaders to stop dithering and accept that there will have to be changes to the Lisbon Treaty and a profound reform of the Maastricht system if monetary union is to survive. In the end it comes down to the question of whether we're willing to move to a 'transfer union', or whether we let the euro break down or we retreat to core-euro. Monetary union is not going to collapse because of the weaker members, but because of the stronger one, he said in a thinly-veiled criticism of German leadership. Jacques Delors, the ex-president of the European Commission and the euro's godfather, pleaded for a partial mutualisation of debts to save the European Project and prevent the EU degenerating into a mere free-trade zone. Open our eyes: the euro
[Marxism] Rising tensions between Israel and Egypt
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/20/egypt-withdraws-ambassador-israel-police/ Egypt withdraws ambassador to Israel after three soldiers killed Diplomatic row escalates as Israel accuses Egypt of having lost control of Sinai region to terrorists by Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem Egypt is to withdraw its ambassador to Israel as tensions between the two allies rose sharply following Thursday's cross-border attack by suspected Palestinian militants in which at least three Egyptian soldiers were killed. The fallout from the attack continued to spiral, both in terms of a diplomatic breach with Israel's strategically vital neighbour and continued exchanges of rocket and missile fire between Gaza and Israel. Egypt demanded an apology for Israel's hasty and regrettable statements about the security situation in the Sinai, from where Thursday's attack was launched. Following the attack, Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, spoke of the weakening Egyptian grip on Sinai and the widening operation of terrorists there and Israeli officials briefed that Egypt had lost control of the area. Egypt also demanded an investigation into the deaths of its soldiers, who were killed when Israeli forces chased the militants across the border. The incident unleashed a wave of anti-Israel feeling in Cairo. Protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy following Friday prayers, waving Palestinian flags and chanting Death to Israel. Amr Moussa, the former head of Arab League and an Egyptian presidential candidate, said: Israel and any other [country] must understand that the day our sons get killed without a strong and appropriate response is gone and will not come back. In a statement, the Egyptian government said: The cabinet committee has decided to withdraw the Egyptian ambassador in Israel until the result of investigations by the Israeli authorities is provided and an apology from the Israeli leadership over the hasty and regrettable statements about Egypt is given. Egypt deplores the irresponsible and hasty statements made by some leaders in Israel, which lack wisdom and prudence and passes judgment before arriving at the truth, particularly keeping in mind the sensitivity of Egyptian-Israeli relations. Israeli government officials were meeting today to consider their response to Egypt's move. We have seen the communique and we are holding internal consultations on how to proceed, said foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. Attempts to ameliorate the diplomatic rupture were already under way. Amos Gilad of the Israeli defence ministry told Israel Radio that nobody in the security establishment or the IDF had any intention of harming Egyptian policemen or soldiers. Peace between the two countries was fundamental and a strategic asset. Israeli officials insisted the two countries were co-operating in the aftermath of Thursday's attack. At an army and defence ministry level we are working together. It's in our mutual interests, said one. Since the fall of the Mubarak regime in February, Israel has been worried about the future of its relations with one of the only two Arab countries with whom it has signed a peace treaty. Mubarak was considered a friend of Israel and kept the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which has strong connections to Hamas in Gaza, in check. Israel fears that the post-Mubarak regime will be more sympathetic to Hamas and could even revoke the 1979 peace treaty with Israel. They feel the need to respond to the [Arab] street, said an Israeli government official. Instead of calming things down, they are being dragged. The Egyptian statement was a very dismal development, he said. Israel blamed Thursday's attacks on Palestinian militants who it said had entered Egypt through tunnels from Gaza, travelled around 200km through the Sinai and entered Israel about 20km north of Eilat. Six Israeli civilians, two Israeli soldiers and seven militants were killed in gun fire and explosions. A senior Israeli military officer said it was possible that some Egyptian soldiers may have been killed accidentally by Israeli fire during the fighting. It is a possibility that it happened by mistake, he said. Some of the attackers might have been wearing Egyptian army or police uniforms, he added. Egyptian officials suggested their soldiers were killed in gunfire from an Israeli helicopter which was pursuing militants across the border. Israeli concern about security in the Sinai, a vast area of desert mainly inhabited by Bedouin, has been growing since the fall of Mubarak. They claim the Egyptian government has lost control of the area, which has become a haven for terrorists and criminals. A vital gas pipeline which
[Marxism] Susana Baca named Minister of Culture in Peru
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == NY Times August 19, 2011 Music, Activism and the Peruvian Cabinet By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. Success was a long time coming for Susana Baca, the Afro-Peruvian folk singer who was recently named minister of culture for the new populist government of President Ollanta Humala of Peru. She is the first black member of the Peruvian cabinet and the first musician to hold the position. Ms. Baca was 51 and working in relative obscurity when David Byrne discovered her in the mid-1990s and put her stirring rendition of “Maria Lando” on his compilation “Soul of Black Peru.” Since then she has recorded six albums on Mr. Byrne’s label, Luaka Bop, and her reputation as an ambassador of Afro-Peruvian music to the rest of the world has grown. She won a Latin Grammy in 2002 for best folk album when a European label reissued “Lamento Negro,” the forgotten record she had made at the Egrem studio in Cuba in 1986. Critics have lauded the plangent quality of her voice and the way she plays with folk forms, combining rhythms of different genres and tinkering with traditional lyrics, sometimes even setting poetry to folk tunes. Her new album, “Afrodiaspora” (Luaka Bop), departs from her ballad-heavy sets rooted mostly in Peruvian rhythms. She takes an up-tempo tour of African-influenced music across the Americas, singing not only Peruvian festejos and landós, but also a Colombian cumbia, a Cuban son, a Puerto Rican bomba, a Brazilian coco, a funk tune about New Orleans, a Mexican son jarocho. Now 67, Ms. Baca has never been a member of the political or social elite of Peru, where racial and class divisions run deep, though for decades she was an outspoken advocate for Peruvian blacks. Rebuffed as a musician, she founded the Instituto Negrocontinuo in Lima to preserve black folklore and music. The request from President Humala, a former general turned left-leaning populist, to lead the culture ministry came out of the blue as she was preparing to go on a tour of the United States and Europe to promote “Afrodiaspora.” She will appear on Sunday evening at City Winery in the South Village. She spoke on the telephone recently about the new album and her appointment. Following are edited excerpts. Q. Tell us how you ended up being named minister of culture. Did you know before the election that it was a possibility? A. It was a big shock. The ministers of culture have always been archaeologists and anthropologists, sociologists, but never an artist. I thought about my mother, and how I would have liked that she were alive to know that her daughter, from a humble background, who has struggled a lot in life, came to have such an important post in this country. Q. You have never moved in the circles of governmental power in your country. When you were a girl, was it even possible for a black woman to dream of becoming a minister? A. Not just when I was a girl. It was only a short time ago that we managed to become respected, to have status. Among common people there is this mentality, and this we have seen in the social networks during the second round of the election of President Humala. There were terrible, racist things said on the networks. Racism against Indians. Strong racism. It was regrettable and sad that in this country there still are people who despise blacks and Indians and natives of the Amazon. Q. Tell us about this new album. It seems like a tour of the music of African people in the Americas. You draw on traditions from Cuba, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, even New Orleans. Why did you choose these songs? A. I wanted to show the Africanness of America. Our Africanness. To celebrate this Africanness. That is what has happened on this album. In choosing the songs, it is marvelous to see that when we interpret music of Puerto Rico, and a bomba dance seems to be so much ours, because the rhythm, well, it’s not the same, but it’s similar. What excites me so much, for example, is how one can manage to make a funk song end in a Peruvian festejo, and you don’t lose authenticity. Q. Is there a particular track on this album that is special for you? A. The one from New Orleans. It was important to do this work because I lived in New Orleans and got to know the musicians there, but I couldn’t get anything started because of Katrina. When I do this song, I remember all that I lived through, and I think it is a homage to the music of that beautiful place that is New Orleans. Q. You were forced to leave by Katrina. How long were you there? A. I went up for about a month. I arrived for the celebration of Louis Armstrong’s birthday, and there was a lot of music, a lot of food. It seemed to me I was in paradise. All of a sudden the
[Marxism] Iran sentences U.S. hikers to 8 years in jail
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-20094944.html August 20, 2011 9:26 AM Iran sentences U.S. hikers to 8 years in jail Two American hikers who have been held in prison on espionage charges since crossing the border into Iran two years ago have been sentenced to eight years, Iranian state TV reported. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who were arrested with a third hiker, Sarah Shourd, after having crossed Iran's border in July 2009, received sentenced of three years for illegal entry and five years for spying. Shourd was freed on bail in September 2010 and returned to the United States. The two have 20 days to appeal their sentence. Their families said they were hiking and had strayed across the border accidentally. Washington said the charges are totally unfounded and they should be released. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Franklin Lamb : Waiting for the endgame in Libya
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 8/20/11 2:05 AM, Fred Feldman wrote: The reported gains of recent days have served to sharply shift attention from the internal problems of the opposition (the assassination by internal forces of the army commander) and the complaints in the imperialist media about their slow progress. Both sides are having internal problems: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44212657/ns/world_news-africa/# TUNIS— Libya's oil chief, Omran Abukraa, is in Tunisia after deciding not to return to Libya from a trip abroad, a Tunisian official source said Saturday, the third apparent defection this week of a senior figure associated with Muammar Gaddafi's rule. Libyan Oil Minister Omran Abukraa did not return to Libya after his mission in Italy, preferring to cut his trip short and go to Tunisia, the Tunisian official source told Reuters. The report, if confirmed, suggests more senior figures are deserting Gaddafi's government since rebels seized the city of Zawiyah, cutting off Tripoli from the outside world. A senior security official, Nasser al-Mabruk Abdullah, flew to Cairo from Tunisia Monday with his family. Rebels said Abdel Salam Jalloud, Gaddafi's former deputy who is now out of favor with the leader, defected to their side Friday. Although Libya does not formally give its officials the title of minister, Abukraa represented Tripoli at an OPEC oil ministers' meeting in June. He replaced Tripoli's long-serving oil chief Shokri Ghanem, who defected from Gaddafi's government and said he supported the aims of rebels trying to topple him. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Demonstrations by Indignados In Spain Draw Police Brutality
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Below are two accounts derived and translated from the social network n-1; the collaborative network used by the Spanish Indignados movement. One is an account from samuel a compañero on my Facebook list of what he experienced during the demonstration in Madrid on August 18 during the Pope's visit (more information about this movement is available at http://acampadagranada.org/).The second is a statement shared on n-1 from the Madrid Union of Journalist (available at http://www.sindicato-periodistas.es/enaccion_ver.php?id=638): From Samuel:Why Do You Hit Us? Everything was going well in this peaceful and secular demonstration. At 19.30 (7:30 pm) people gathered in the Plaza de Tirso de Molina, which was packed, many older people, children, and of course young people who do not identify with the # WYD [Catholic Youth]. There were so many people that it was difficult to march forward. The slogans, were especially directed against the use of public money for the Pope's visit. We walked down the streets, the first part of the march ended at the Plaza de Sol to return back to Tirso, that was the plan, which was allowed, the demonstration was legally permitted. It was a real party, a festive mood and especially at the arrival our house, the Plaza de Sol. Chants, dances, batucada drumming, everyone happy without knowing that the police surrounded us. When the march was about to continue our journey back to the Tirso, the police charged in by one of the exits to the square without any apparent reason. People ran, scared, not knowing what was happening (as I said older people, children, all). Once we calmed down we became aware that there were many, many police, protected and armed with batons and guns with rubber bullets. We tried to continue but we were cut off, even so we tried to continue our journey for which we had permission, but the chaos continued. Most people then decided to leave the square by some of its streets, but the cops had cut of all exits. Suddenly we were corralled and rife with uncertainty, not knowing what is happening; why can't we leave the square and continue with what until then was a peaceful and festive demonstration? The anti-rioters (interesting name) went into the square with batons hitting all those who crossed them, they did not ask, did not indicate what they wanted us to do, they just assaulted, without asking, without speaking, directing all to one street that was cut off. What do you want? Why are you trying to corner us all (thousands) in the same street that had no exit that they had cut off during their first charge? Why do you hit us? I used to think that these were the dogs of the system , but now I think they are just DOGS. Dogs that just want to hurt us. And I don't get it, I can not understand it. From the Madrid Union of Journalists:Madrid, August 19, 2011 (Communicated by the Executive Board of the SPM). The Madrid Union of Journalists (SPM) expresses its categorical rejection and concern for the actions of some agents of the National Police after the secular manifestation of August 17 and last night (8/18), in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. In addition to eight detained and 11 wounded, two of the latter, policemen, journalists were detained, insulted and in some cases beaten while carrying out their reporting obligations. The complaints of those killed and images broadcast over the Internet more than justify the Interior Minister, Antonio Camacho, to order an inquiry into what happened and, if necessary, refine the charges that apply. PMS laments the increasingly frequent reports of informants who see their work hampered by some policemen in demonstrations and other events. The Interior Ministry and all institutions have an obligation to provide clear and convincing answers for the right information, which requires them to facilitate the work of journalists to the right can be a reality. Unreasonably limiting the work of journalists is an attack on freedom of the citizens that can not be allowed in a social and democratic state of law as Spain. Manuel Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Translation (Cuba): Guidelines debate 17, Social Policy
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == From Cuba's Socialist Renewal http://cubasocialistrenewal.blogspot.com To receive email updates or feeds click link above Support this blog http://cubasocialistrenewal.blogspot.com/p/support-this-blog.html Here is Part 17 of my translation of the booklet Information on the results of the Debate on the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines for the Party and the Revolution, an explanatory document published together with the final version of the Guidelines adopted by the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) Congress in April. The most controversial topic in the pre-Congress public debates was the proposal to eliminate the ration book system through which Cuba's socialist state distributes a monthly quota of highly subsidised basic consumer goods to all citizens. Nearly 55,000 opinions were expressed on this theme. Link to translation: http://cubasocialistrenewal.blogspot.com/2011/08/translation-guidelines-debate-17-social.html Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] In Defence of Aid
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == An INDIVIDUAL story of the possibilities of aid to the poor http://www.denniswhittle.com/2011/08/in-defense-of-aid.html Ismail Lagardien Nihil humani a me alienum puto Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Franklin Lamb : Waiting for the endgame in Libya
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == At 02:05 20/08/11 -0400, Fred Feldman wrote: Introductory comments to article from Tripoli The US, France, and Britain have committed their prestige and honor, such as they are, to removing Gadhafi, dead or alive, from power. For them to appear to abandon this goal would be a blow to NATO, which is already under pressure from the European economic crisis. I find it hard to believe that they can drop this objective without something worse than embarrassment Here Fred has accidentally spoken a word of profound truth. Namely that the reason for the continued NATO intervention in Libya on the side of the revolution has to do with maintaining PRESTIGE. And avoiding something worse than EMBARRASMENT. In other words, all of the made-up explanations for the imperialist intervention, being designed to steal Libya's oil wealth, to curb any supposed militant tendencies of Gaddafi, etc. -- all of these explanations that have been cited (but conveniently only after the NATO intervention began) are NOT the reason they continue, BY FRED'S OWN ADMISSION. Having heard this now from a vocal left opponent of the Libyan revolution, confirming what I have believed to be the case, now gives me all the more reason to reject the idea that there is any underlying principle involved in concentrating on ending the intervention that should overshadow our support of the Arab revolution of 2011. Nowhere is there a suggestion that ending their intervention would be a blow against the substance of imperialism. It would, again by Fred's admission, have the effect of embarrassing them, of reducing their prestige. And while it always brings me joy when they are embarrassed or humiliated, I'll be damned if I'm going to abandon supporting a revolution just in order to feed that petty desire. Even the imperialist partners themselves have made it clear in their own circles that their intervention in Libya was a MISTAKE in essence, based on an incorrect assessment (one which many of us shared), namely that the eventual fall of Gaddafi was certain, and they didn't want to be on the losing side (still recognizing the legitimacy of Gaddafi as his regime fell). As a result of their mistake, they got in over their heads and now can't be seen as backing down. And they have made it clear that they are not going to repeat that mistake in Syria, where the situation is similar in every important respect. (One caveat: once it becomes absolutely clear that Assad really is going to be overthrown by revolution, which might be the stage we're entering right now, then swooping in to save the people of Syria would no longer be a mistake on their part. But they're nervous about reaching that conclusion after their unsettling experience in Libya.). And one telling truth from the article itself. Franklin Lamb: Assassinating Gaddafi is widely believed here to be the only reason NATO continues to re-bomb, some as many as five times, the so-called command and control center sites that these days could be just about anywhere in Tripoli. Exactly. They are trying to KILL him, which is absolutely NOT what the rebels had expected when they accepted (requested?) NATO air strikes in defense of their territorial gains. They surely want to put him on trial! And the imperialists surely don't want him telling all he knows in court, so they are out to kill the witness more than some evil leader they fear. Just as they did with Saddam. I hope they fail and that the revolution succeeds, and that Gaddafi's wish of dying in Libya comes true, but not too soon! - Jeff Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Marxist contrarians on the British riots
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Thoughts on James Heartfield and Slavoj Zizek: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/marxist-contrarians-on-the-british-riots/ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Barghouti: The tent protests ‘[are] the epitome of hysterical denial of the colonial reality’
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://mondoweiss.net/2011/08/**barghouti-the-tent-protests-** are-the-epitome-of-hysterical-**denial-of-the-colonial-**reality.htmlhttp://mondoweiss.net/2011/08/barghouti-the-tent-protests-are-the-epitome-of-hysterical-denial-of-the-colonial-reality.html Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Marxist contrarians on the British riots
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Could someone direct me to a serious critique on Zizek's thought? This seemed too hasty. On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 8:01 PM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: ==**==**== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. ==**==**== Thoughts on James Heartfield and Slavoj Zizek: http://louisproyect.wordpress.**com/2011/08/20/marxist-** contrarians-on-the-british-**riots/http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/marxist-contrarians-on-the-british-riots/ __**__ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.**utah.eduMarxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.** utah.edu/mailman/options/**marxism/kiwiza%40gmail.comhttp://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/kiwiza%40gmail.com Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Marxist contrarians on the British riots
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 8/20/11 2:21 PM, Louis Thiemann wrote: Could someone direct me to a serious critique on Zizek's thought? This seemed too hasty. Well, I admit that it only took 20 minutes to write but in some ways that was 15 minutes more than such trash deserved. Lenin's Tomb, who once had a man-crush on Zizek, has much more patience for raking Zizek over the coals. I recommend this: http://leninology.blogspot.com/2011/01/moving-on-from-zizek-or-not.html My least hasty piece on Zizek is here: http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/modernism/Zizek.htm Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] BLS U-6 Index
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I'm sure comrades know about the U6, but the numbers are still staggering: a U6 of 16.10 for Ohio! 24.00 in LA County! http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm http://www.bls.gov/lau/stalt11q1.htm Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization for States, Second Quarter of 2010 through First Quarter of 2011 Averages - U-1, persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force; - U-2, job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force; - U-3, total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (this is the definition used for the official unemployment rate); - U-4, total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers; - U-5, total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers; and - U-6, total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers. -- Comradely, Jay Rothermel *il faut cultiver son jardin théoretique* -- Comradely, Jay Rothermel *il faut cultiver son jardin théoretique* Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] RT doc on August 1991 USSR coup
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--XPj3dKYRAfeature=player_embedded#! This is a fascinating doc about the August 1991 coup. Clearly the coup, led by die-hards frustrated by the social turmoil of the perestroika market reforms, ACCELERATED the decomposition and collapse of the USSR by the end of 1991. The coup leaders accelerated a process they were trying to arrest. -- Comradely, Jay Rothermel *il faut cultiver son jardin théoretique* Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Further on Zizek and Meszaros [was Re: Marxist contrarians on the British riots]
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Louis Proyect wrote Lenin's Tomb, who once had a man-crush on Zizek, has much more patience for raking Zizek over the coals. I recommend this: http://leninology.blogspot.com/2011/01/moving-on-from-zizek-or-not.html = Thanks for this. Zizek as 'Marxist' opportunist, slapstick hobo. Erudition and random intuition, as is the case with countless others, is not profundity. It's past time for Marxists to disown him. In response to Lou's take, I posted this some time ago (July 9, 2010): === Yes, what a farce. Zizek invites and deserves the lampoon, but he drags matters profound down with him. They couldn't have so easily trivialized what Istvan Meszaros, to my mind the greatest living philosopher, would have offered had he been invited. Not least because they surely would not have taken the trouble to understand what he was saying. Louis Proyect wrote Ralph Johansen wrote: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,705164,00.html#ref=nlint A totally idiotic article, but what one might expect from Der Spittle. === I raise this because, when it comes to worthwhile Marxist philosophers, hasn't anyone here read anything by Istvan Meszaros? Why do I have the feeling, one of astonishment, that he is virtually ostracized in left discussion? Google him. Read online the first chapter of his early work on The Origins of the Concept of Alienation http://www.marxists.org/archive/meszaros/works/alien/meszaro1.htm. There's little online by way of appreciation or critique, although he has written close to twenty works of profound philosophical analysis since he won the Isaac Deutcher prize for his 1970 work Marx's Theory of Alienation. I have learned more from reading his works than from any contemporary who comes to mind. It's quite possible that some after a cursory glance would dismiss him as prolix, repetitive or tiresome. I don't think so in the least. Not if you read closely. Someone [http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~rgibson/beyondcapital.htm] has written: 'Humbling Experience- Illuminating, Frustrating, Tedious, Exciting, All the components of learning something are in the process of engaging this text. Meszaros has seen farther than most of us, faster, clearer.' Daniel Singer called his 1995 major work Beyond Capital 'magisterial', Henry Heller called it a 'great work' and a 'timely restatement of Marx's philosophy for the late 20th century', and although he has since extended his exposition and analysis many leagues beyond that work, little or no comment of value has been elicited online that I can find in a quick search. If ever we needed theory, and informed evaluation of theory to match the challenge of the times, as guide to program, tactics and strategy, it's now, in our pregnant present-day reality. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] RT doc on August 1991 USSR coup
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Aug 20, 2011, at 3:50 PM, jay rothermel wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--XPj3dKYRAfeature=player_embedded#! This is a fascinating doc about the August 1991 coup. Clearly the coup, led by die-hards frustrated by the social turmoil of the perestroika market reforms, ACCELERATED the decomposition and collapse of the USSR by the end of 1991. The coup leaders accelerated a process they were trying to arrest. Does it offer a theory as to why the KGB suicided not only Boris Pugo but Mrs. Pugo as well? Shane Mage scientific discovery is basically recognition of obvious realities that self-interest or ideology have kept everybody from paying attention to Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Further on Zizek and Meszaros [was Re: Marxist contrarians on the British riots]
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 20/08/2011 21:20, Ralph Johansen wrote: Louis Proyect wrote Lenin's Tomb, who once had a man-crush on Zizek, Ahem! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqyixwqiCag Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] The anniversary of 1953 coup
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://revolutionaryfesenjan.blogspot.com/2011/08/anniversary-of-1953-coup.html Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Marxist contrarians on the British riots
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == See also http://links.org.au/taxonomy/term/450 On 8/20/11 2:21 PM, Louis Thiemann wrote: Could someone direct me to a serious critique on Zizek's thought? Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] [AL-AWDA-Media] Gaza right now
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == -- *From:* al-awda-me...@yahoogroups.com [mailto: al-awda-me...@yahoogroups.com] *On Behalf Of *hfouda *Subject:* [AL-AWDA-Media] Gaza right now ** ** * (1) From Gaza based photojournalist: Mohammed El Majdalawi * Date: Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 10:16 AM Dear Friends Please check this link video *http://vimeo.com/27925281*http://vimeo.com/27925281 ** ** I filmed from **Gaza** yesterday at 10 pm in Al Shafah Hospital. Please send that to your friends to tell **the**m **the** truth in Gaza . In twenty four hours 15 Palestinian killed by Israel army and more 50 injured in Gaza Strip . I will send you my video report from **Gaza** about what happening her in Gaza ** ** *(2) From Gaza based journalist Mohammed Omer :* ** ** - Israeli F16s hit a car on Thalatini road in Gaza** **City. Human flesh scattered, and difficult to identify **the** casualties... *** * ** ** - Among **the** causalities in **the** last missile, five year old child and three women… - Palestinian death toll in **the** past 24 hours by Israeli missiles:15 killed, 40 injured. Power blackout in some areas across **the** Gaza** ** Strip...Israel F16s are hovering on low altitudes… ** ** - **Gaza** human rights group said Israel has targeted densely-populated areas and civilian targets in **the** past 24 hours. And condemn conspiracy of silence practiced by European States… ** ** - Power blackout in some areas across **the** Gaza Strip...** ** ** ** *(3) A very good question from American Journalist Phil Weiss: * * * *If 1.5 million Jews were locked up in Gaza, where would ‘Commentary’ be on violent resistance?* *by *PHILIP WEISS* on *AUGUST 19, 2011 ** ** http://mondoweiss.net/2011/08/if-1-5-million-jews-were-locked-up-in-gaza-where-would-commentary-be-on-violent-resistance.html#more-49962 ** Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Marxist contrarians on the British riots
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Aug 20, 2011, at 9:04 PM, glparramatta wrote: See also http://links.org.au/taxonomy/term/450 On 8/20/11 2:21 PM, Louis Thiemann wrote: Could someone direct me to a serious critique on Zizek's thought? Why would anyone try to make a serious critique of the ludicrously unserious thought of a narcissistic blowhard? Shane Mage “The law is like a spider’s web; the small are caught and the great tear it up.” Solon Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Marxist contrarians on the British riots
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == That's a question of style. Being and appearing reasonable whereever possible. What I wanted to say is this: Most of the 'average guys' I meet dislike arrogance, whether it presides over truth or fallacy. If they could see the amount of arrogance between us - fortunately, unfortunately, they cannot - they'd tap their foreheads and walk away without considering whether we know something valuable or not. I could blame them, but often I myself find it hard to go through our texts, even though I really want to, because I literally must search for the argument under debris of sarcasm and accusation. It's really tedious. Ernst Alexander Rauter, a German marxist looking at his folks in the 60s wrote a book on their language. He saw that the way most socialists spoke and wrote turned people away from the marxist critique *before *they had a real chance to look at it, and that certain complications restricted the movement of ideas within the movement. On top of external factors - marginalisation of left groups and anti-socialist propaganda, this was always a third, completely unnecessary, hindrance to the spread of our critique. One problem he found was unnecessary complexity, a critique that Slavoj Zizek's talks may deserve. He likes it when he can jump from one point to another and make good-looking connections. He likes complex analytical problems, like a mathematician likes blackboards full of numbers. At least that is what he says. Rauter also critizised that, in a room full of marxists, each would try to keep the theoretical upper-hand, and that the atmosphere often resembled that of an intellectual boxing match rather than a group of people collectively thinking about *what to do*. Occasionally these battles might be instructive, as they dealt with a subject of importance. But most times the style of the discussion was so unscientific and the discussion so uncooperative (maybe aggressive is a better word) that there was little gain. The whole loud meeting was spent shouting at each other, but still nobody knew what to do next. I know maybe thirty young idealists who are seriously interested in socialist theory. There remains something magical about the idea of socialism - just the crude idea for now, and they are drawn towards it, they want to know 'how'. All possess an open mind. All dive into our writings in search of meaning. Of the thirty, except for one who by chance has found her path, so far all were held off by the writers' style. Blame them if you like. His argument was something along this line: If we are all on the same quest for the same objective truth, and none of us can realize it unless many of us do, displays of superiority will do damage, while mutual intellectual aid will see us thrive. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
