[Marxism] Bankers predict 100, 000 jobs in Australia to go by March

[Stuart Munckton]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-23/merrill-lynch-predicts-major-job-losses/2851552

-- 
“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity’s
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and through rebellion.” — Oscar Wilde, Soul of Man
Under Socialism

“The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?” — Jarvis Cocker

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] RNN: Neo-liberalism a greater threat to Libya than tribalism or extreme Islam

[Patrick Bond]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


(From 
http://www.palestine.rosalux.org/news/37588/economic-attacks-against-arab-democracy.html  
)



The same neoliberal pro-dictator narrative was established in Libya, for 
example, in the IMF's (2010c, p. 7) October 2010 pronouncements in which 
Muammar Gaddafi's mass firing of 340 000 civil servants was celebrated: 
'About a quarter have reportedly found other sources of income and are 
no longer receiving transfers from the state budget. The mission 
recommends that the retrenchment program be accelerated.'


The IMF's last full Article IV Consultation for Libya was published on 
February 15, 2011, just before civil war broke out. Implying that 
Gaddafi was safe from the Arab Spring, the IMF (2011b, pp. 2-3) noted 
that 'Recent developments in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia have had 
limited economic impact on Libya so far,' and flattered Tripoli on a 
variety of fronts:


An ambitious program to /privatize banks and develop the nascent 
financial sector is underway... /Structural reforms in other areas have 
progressed. The passing in early 2010 of a number of far-reaching laws 
bodes well for /fostering private sector development and attracting 
foreign direct investment/... Executive Directors agreed with the thrust 
of the staff appraisal. They welcomed Libya's strong macroeconomic 
performance and the progress on /enhancing the role of the private 
sector/ and supporting growth in the non-oil economy. The fiscal and 
external balances remain in substantial surplus and are expected to 
strengthen further over the medium term, and the outlook for Libya's 
economy remains favorable (emphasis added).



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] RNN: Neo-liberalism a greater threat to Libya than tribalism or extreme Islam

[Mark Lause]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


There was an interesting interview today with out of the international
affairs experts from Cambridge.  I didn't catch his name, but he was talking
about the strategic importance of north Africa to the southern tier of the
European Union, etc.  For this reason, the EU nations are going to want to
arrange loans to get their infrastructure going and rebuild the oil industry
. . . oh, and to pass on the lessons of democratic government.

Given the record, it's hard to make this distinction between neo-liberalism,
tribalism or Islamacist inclinations. These western governments are slow to
learn what's not worked and they have always been inclined to find the most
authoritarian forces in the society as the raw material as their enforcer.

ML

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] RNN: Neo-liberalism a greater threat to Libya than tribalism or extreme Islam

[Tristan Sloughter]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


'Neo-liberalism a greater threat to Libya than tribalism or extreme Islam'

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7187

I fear the words 'peace-keeping troops' being uttered at some point in the
near future

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] Fed doled out $1.2 trillion to banks

[Marv Gandall]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


(Long but informative article detailing the extent of the Fed's support for the 
major US and European banks, including solvent ones like JPMorgan Chase who 
secretly tapped the Fed's emergency loan programs to profit on the carry trade 
and interest rate spread. The 1.2 trillion in credit extended to the banks is 
"about the same amount U.S. homeowners currently owe on 6.5 million delinquent 
and foreclosed mortgages", according to a Bloomberg study of the data reported 
today.)

Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion From Fed
By Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz 
Bloomberg.com
Aug 22, 2011

Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) were the reigning champions 
of finance in 2006 as home prices peaked, leading the 10 biggest U.S. banks and 
brokerage firms to their best year ever with $104 billion of profits.

By 2008, the housing market’s collapse forced those companies to take more than 
six times as much, $669 billion, in emergency loans from the U.S. Federal 
Reserve. The loans dwarfed the $160 billion in public bailouts the top 10 got 
from the U.S. Treasury, yet until now the full amounts have remained secret.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s unprecedented effort to keep the economy from 
plunging into depression included lending banks and other companies as much as 
$1.2 trillion of public money, about the same amount U.S. homeowners currently 
owe on 6.5 million delinquent and foreclosed mortgages. The largest borrower, 
Morgan Stanley (MS), got as much as $107.3 billion, while Citigroup took $99.5 
billion and Bank of America $91.4 billion, according to a Bloomberg News 
compilation of data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, 
months of litigation and an act of Congress.

“These are all whopping numbers,” said Robert Litan, a former Justice 
Department official who in the 1990s served on a commission probing the causes 
of the savings and loan crisis. “You’re talking about the aristocracy of 
American finance going down the tubes without the federal money.”

Foreign Borrowers

It wasn’t just American finance. Almost half of the Fed’s top 30 borrowers, 
measured by peak balances, were European firms. They included Edinburgh-based 
Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, which took $84.5 billion, the most of any non-U.S. 
lender, and Zurich-based UBS AG (UBSN), which got $77.2 billion. Germany’s Hypo 
Real Estate Holding AG borrowed $28.7 billion, an average of $21 million for 
each of its 1,366 employees.

The largest borrowers also included Dexia SA (DEXB), Belgium’s biggest bank by 
assets, and Societe Generale SA, based in Paris, whose bond-insurance prices 
have surged in the past month as investors speculated that the spreading 
sovereign debt crisis in Europe might increase their chances of default.

The $1.2 trillion peak on Dec. 5, 2008 -- the combined outstanding balance 
under the seven programs tallied by Bloomberg -- was almost three times the 
size of the U.S. federal budget deficit that year and more than the total 
earnings of all federally insured banks in the U.S. for the decade through 
2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Peak Balance

The balance was more than 25 times the Fed’s pre-crisis lending peak of $46 
billion on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after terrorists attacked the World Trade 
Center in New York and the Pentagon. Denominated in $1 bills, the $1.2 trillion 
would fill 539 Olympic-size swimming pools.

The Fed has said it had “no credit losses” on any of the emergency programs, 
and a report by Federal Reserve Bank of New York staffers in February said the 
central bank netted $13 billion in interest and fee income from the programs 
from August 2007 through December 2009.

“We designed our broad-based emergency programs to both effectively stem the 
crisis and minimize the financial risks to the U.S. taxpayer,” said James 
Clouse, deputy director of the Fed’s division of monetary affairs in 
Washington. “Nearly all of our emergency-lending programs have been closed. We 
have incurred no losses and expect no losses.”

While the 18-month U.S. recession that ended in June 2009 after a 5.1 percent 
contraction in gross domestic product was nowhere near the four-year, 27 
percent decline between August 1929 and March 1933, banks and the economy 
remain stressed.

Odds of Recession

The odds of another recession have climbed during the past six months, 
according to five of nine economists on the Business Cycle Dating Committee of 
the National Bureau of Economic Research, an academic panel that dates 
recessions.

Bank of America’s bond-insurance prices last week surged to a rate of $342,040 
a year for coverage on $10 million of debt, above whereLehman Brothers Holdings 
Inc. (LEHMQ)’s bond insurance was priced at the start of the week bef

Re: [Marxism] Filthy, lying, shameful ANSWER email :-(

[Gary MacLennan]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


>
>
>
> From the ANSWER coalition website:
>
> The Wikileaks release of State Department cables between 2007 and 2010 show
> that the United states and western oil companies were condemning Gaddafi for
> what they called “resource nationalism.” Gaddafi even threatened to
> re-nationalize western oil companies’ property unless Libya was granted a
> larger share of the revenue for their projects.
>

Let's try a bit of immanent critique here. for me the crucial phrase is
'unless Libya was granted'.  what would  'granting Libya' look like?  What
behaviours would that involve?  Well the answer lies of course in looking at
the bank balances of the Qadhdhafi family. Granting Libya is a euphemism for
increasing the Qadhdhafi family's fortunes.  The play boy Saif would have a
clear idea of what 'granting Libya' would mean.

The point is that the ANSWER approach necessarily involves abstraction from
social reality i.e ignoring what the main actors actually do.

For the moment the situation in Libya is undergoing a rupture. All the
fantasies of the imperialists may come true and they might install a regime
which serves their interests totally.  Certainly Cameron, Sarkozy and Obama
will present a bill for their services.  After all they are not communists.

The people of Libya will have to struggle against any regime which serves
imperialism. But I cannot see how the current events in Tripoli and the
overthrow of Qadhdhafi make the chances of a good outcome less likely.

comradely

Gary
comradely

Gary

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] The Truth About the Situation in Libya

[Louis Proyect]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


On 8/22/11 8:27 PM, pat costello wrote:

Of course, in the revolt were workers and young people who had many
legitimate grievances against the Libyan government. But what is
critical in an armed struggle for state power is not the composition
of the rank-and-file soldiers, but the class character and political
orientation of the leadership.


Some leadership. The fighters from Misrata and the Berbers do not regard 
the TMC as their leadership. The Benghazi notables might be on the phone 
with the CIA but are not getting called by the young men who really 
overthrew Qaddafi. One of the worst things about the Marcyite tradition 
is that it lacks intellectual rigor even though its founder was part of 
the generation that worked directly with Trotsky. Trotsky would never 
ignore counter-indicative tendencies. This cheapening of polemics that 
the Becker brothers favor comes right out of the Stalinist tradition.



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 Truth About the Situation in Libya

[pat costello]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


Excellent summary!


The ANSWER Coalition is publishing the following analysis,
perspective, and factual information on the war in Libya to help cut
through the government propaganda and media lies that work to cover up
the truth of the Libyan revolt and NATO intervention designed to
overthrow the Libyan government.

•   Did you know that the Libyan rebels are under the direct military
leadership of British and French commando units?
•   Did you know that British, French and U.S. forces have conducted
7,459 bombing attacks on Libya and its military forces?
•   Did you know what the Wikileaks cables showed about why the U.S.
wanted to install a new Libya government?

The Truth About the Situation in Libya

By Brian Becker, National Coordinator, ANSWER Coalition
(http://www.ANSWERCoalition.org)

Libya is a small country of just over 6 million people but it
possesses the largest oil reserves in all of Africa. The oil produced
there is especially coveted because of its particularly high quality.

The Air Force of the United States along with Britain and France has
carried out 7,459 bombing attacks since March 19. Britain, France and
the United States sent special operation ground forces and commando
units to direct the military operations of the so-called rebel
fighters – it is a NATO- led army in the field.

The troops may be disaffected Libyans but the operation is under the
control and direction of NATO commanders and western commando units
who serve as “advisors.” Their new weapons and billions in funds come
from the U.S. and other NATO powers that froze and seized Libya’s
assets in Western banks. Their only military successes outside of
Benghazi, in the far east of the country, have been exclusively based
on the coordinated air and ground operations of the imperialist NATO
military forces.

In military terms, Libya’s resistance to NATO is of David and Goliath
proportions. U.S. military spending alone is more than ten times
greater than Libya’s entire annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which
was $74.2 billion in 2010, according to the CIA’s World Fact Book.
In recent weeks, the NATO military operations used
surveillance-collecting drones, satellites, mounting aerial attacks
and covert commando units to decapitate Libya’s military and political
leadership and its command and control capabilities. Global economic
sanctions meant that the country was suddenly deprived of income and
secure access to goods and services needed to sustain a civilian
economy over a long period.
“The cumulative effect [of NATO’s coordinated air and ground
operation] not only destroyed Libya’s military infrastructure but also
greatly diminished Colonel Gaddafi’s commanders to control forces,
leaving even committed fighting units unable to move, resupply or
coordinate operations,“ reports the New York Times in a celebratory
article on August 22.

A False Pretext
The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Italy targeted the
Libyan government for overthrow or “regime change” not because these
governments were worried about protecting civilians or to bring about
a more democratic form of governance in Libya.
If that were the real motivation of the NATO powers, they could start
the bombing of Saudi Arabia right away. There are no elections in
Saudi Arabia. The monarchy does not even allow women to drive cars. By
law, women must be fully covered in public or they will go to prison.
Protests are rare in Saudi Arabia because any dissent is met with
imprisonment, torture and execution.

The Saudi monarchy is protected by U.S. imperialism because it is part
of an undeclared but real U.S. sphere of influence and it is the
largest producer of oil in the world. The U.S. attitude toward the
Saudi monarchy was put succinctly by Ronald Reagan in 1981, when he
said that the U.S. government “will not permit” revolution in Saudi
Arabia such as the 1979 Iranian revolution that removed the U.S.
client regime of the Shah. Reagan’s message was clear: the Pentagon
and CIA’s military forces would be used decisively to destroy any
democratic movement against the rule of the Saudi royal family.

Reagan’s explicit statement in 1981 has in fact been the policy of
every successive U.S. administration, including the current one.

Libya and Imperialism
Libya, unlike Saudi Arabia, did have a revolution against its
monarchy. As a result of the 1969 revolution led by Muammar Gaddafi,
Libya was no longer in the sphere of influence of any imperialist
country.

Libya had once been an impoverished colony of Italy living under the
boot heel of the fascist Mussolini. After the Allied victory in World
War II, control of the country was formally transferred to the United
Nations and Libya became independent in 1951 with authority vested in
the mon

[Marxism] Filthy, lying, shameful ANSWER email :-(

[Jeff]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


At 16:43 22/08/11 +0200, Jeff wrote:
>..
> I'd hope that the leftists who are currently
>lamenting the "imperialist victory" will just get over that and move on to
>the task at hand.

I can see now that I was extremely naive to expect that certain stalinists
would relent in the face of reality and participate in the next stages of
struggle rather than clinging to their preconceptions which have been
proven so totally wrong by events. Without a hint of humility, ANSWER has
sent out a disgusting email not only repeating their earlier falsehoods but
piling on further layers of crap that is just beyond belief! For anyone not
so fortunate to be on their email list, you can read the text (signed by
Brian Becker) here:

http://www.answercoalition.org/national/news/truth-about-situation-libya.html

If this were 10 years later I might be sending this piece out as a HUMOR
item, but coming at the very time of the victory of their immense struggle
in which many thousands sacrificed their lives and having such filthy
slanders heaped upon their revolution this is just absolutely
despicable. I won't even start addressing the litany of lies and
distortions (and what appear to be simply made-up "facts") contained in
just about every paragraph of this not-so-short article, or I'd be writing
all night (and telling most of you what is already clear). But the
implication in the last paragraph is particularly ominous where he asserts:

 If the Pentagon, CIA, and Wall Street succeed
 in installing a client regime in Tripoli [which 
 according to the article has already occurred] it
 will accelerate and embolden the imperialist
 threats and intervention against other 
 independent governments such as Syria
 and Venezuela

Yes, Syria! I suspect that we shall soon be reading another version of this
very piece in which "Libya" and "Gaddafi" have been replaced word for word
with "Syria" and "Assad." :-(

- 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] What's new at Links: Marqusee on London riots, economy, Bolivia debate, Cuba, Agent Orange, Marxism, Venezuela CP, Palestine, Syria, Comintern, Baltics

[glparramatta]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


What's new at Links: Marqusee on London riots, economy, Bolivia debate, 
Cuba, Agent Orange, Marxism, Venezuela CP, Palestine, Syria, Comintern, 
Baltics


* * *
Subscribe free to Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal - 
at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373


You can also follow Links on Twitter at 
http://twitter.com/LinksSocialism or on Facebook at 
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10865397643


Visit and bookmark http://links.org.au and add it to your RSS feed 
(http://links.org.au/rss.xml). If you would like us to

consider an article, please send it to li...@dsp.org.au

*Please pass on to anybody you think will be interested in Links.

* * *


   Mike Marqusee: Riots, reason and resistance
   

By *Mike Marqusee*
August 16, 2011 -- "Criminality pure and simple" was British Prime 
Minister David Cameron's initial verdict on the rioting. From the right 
came the mantra, "Down with sociology! Up with water cannon!" Don't 
think but do act -- harshly, punitively, peremptorily. In the wake of 
the riots, a powerful vested interest has been at work -- a vested 
interest in people not making links, not searching for causes, not 
weighing contexts. Above all, an interest in derailing the growing 
resistance to the government's austerity programme.


 * Read more 


   Martin Hart-Landsberg: The troubled US economy means a shaky world
   economy 

By *Martin Hart-Landsberg*
August 15, 2011 --- The US economy is in trouble and that means 
trouble for the world economy. According to the United Nations 
Conference on Trade and Development's /Trade and Development Report, 
2010/, "Buoyant consumer demand in the United States was the main driver 
of global economic growth for many years in the run-up to the current 
global economic crisis."


 * Read more 


   Bolivia: How Jeffrey Webber's 'From Rebellion to Reform in Bolivia'
   turns reality on its head 

Review by *Federico Fuentes*

August 19, 2011 -- The Evo Morales government recently celebrated its 
2000th day in power in Bolivia -- a feat in its own right for a country 
that has had around 180 coups since 1825 -- any serious attempt to 
explain the underlying dynamics of this decade long political process 
should be welcomed. Combining his academic research and extensive 
fieldwork in Bolivia, Jeffrey Webber sets out to do exactly that in 
/From Rebellion to Reform in Bolivia/. Unfortunately, the end result 
leaves a lot to be desired.


 * Read more 


   Cuba: Changes go deep -- democratic reforms
   

By *José Alejandro Rodríguez*, Havana
August 17, 2011 -- Apart from some exceptions, the powerful 
international media has ignored a recent Cuban parliamentary bill that 
would deepen democracy on the island. The reason is obvious: the news is 
not convenient. The initiative is made within socialist 
institutionalism, not in terms of the "transition" whose staging is 
highly anticipated and promoted by certain hegemonic interests in this 
world.


 * Read more 


   Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin: 'Agent Orange in Vietnam was a crime
   against humanity' 

*Appeal of the Second International Conference of Victims of Agent 
Orange/Dioxin*

Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
August 9, 2011 -- The Second International Conference of Victims of 
Agent Orange/Dioxin, held in Hanoi from August 8 to 9, 2011, included 
participants from around the world: Agent Orange victims, victims of 
other toxic chemicals, scientists, lawyers and social activists. The 
conference is a significant and important historic event, marking the 
50th anniversary of the first spraying of the toxic chemical Agent 
Orange (1961-1971) by the US forces in Vietnam and Indochina.


 * Read more 


   Marxism has an ecological heart 

By *Ash Pemberton*
August 13, 2011 -- We all know there's a big problem with the 
environment and it needs drastic action to fix it. So does a Marxist 
analysis of the problem bring anything new to the table?


 * Read more 


   Venezuela: Communist Party backs Hugo Chavez, builds workers'
   control movement 

By *Rachael Boothroyd*, Coro

August 10, 2011  -- On August 7, the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV) 
concluded its 14th congress in Caracas following three days of 
discussions. More than 526 national delegates and 43 international 
representatives attended the conference, which was convened in 
conjunction with the PCV's 

[Marxism] dropping of DSK charges: rally in NYC today at 5 pm

[John Cox]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==






















from "Feministing," an excellent feminist website:
 
"Regardless of Diallo’s past and any changed versions of stories she may 
have made about what she did after the alleged assault, it does not mean she 
wasn’t raped. The fact that there is DNA evidence, the fact new medical reports 
state Diallo’s injuries were those of sexual assault, and the fact that 
Strauss-Kahn is currently being accused of attempted rape by his daughter’s 
friend, is a hell of a lot of evidence that this should not end here.
 
"It’s no news to the feminist community that this case has turned into a trial 
against Diallo, and now she may not only not get justice, but will not even get 
a chance to fight for it.
 
"It’s also not news that the outcome of this case is emblematic of deeply 
embedded sexist cultural norms and a judicial system that assumes that women 
are not to be trusted. And immigrant women of color? Pshh. But as bleak as 
things may be, these injustices must continue to be challenged, and those who 
come forward supported.
 
"In response, Feministing has joined several other organizations and groups to 
rally downtown today and demand that Diallo receive a continuation of the case 
— people are gathering at NYC Criminal Court on 11 Centre St at 5 pm today. The 
Facebook invite is here with details: 
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=267596253266712";
 
full text: 
http://feministing.com/2011/08/22/diallos-lawyers-predicting-da-will-drop-dsk-case-rally-in-nyc-today/
 

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] C.L.R. James and Libya

[Andrew Pollack]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


Today I was checking out the What's New page at MIA. I saw an
interesting title for a piece by James just uploaded (not about
Libya), and accidentally clicked on his Archive link rather than the
newly-posted article.
When the Archive came up, these two previously posted articles caught my eye:
"Intervening in Abyssinia"
and
"I.L.P. Abyssinian Policy"
at
http://marxists.org/archive/james-clr/works/1935/new-leader.htm
http://marxists.org/archive/james-clr/works/1935/abyssinia.htm

A couple weeks back some folks used the Abyssinia (i.e. Ethopia)
example to explain why we would support a reactionary like Hailie
Selassie against Italy. James's articles take the parallel the next
step: he also explains why only the workers and peasants of Europe can
be relied on for aid to Ethiopia against Italy, not the League of
Nations and the imperialist powers behind it.
Sounds pretty relevant, no?
PS: The new article I mentioned at the top has a reference to Darcus
Howe, recently in the news again.
You never know what you're going to find at MIA!


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] Interesting comment on my "Notes on Libya"

[Louis Proyect]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


The bit from Franklin Lamb is pretty funny.  Lamb was in Tripoli 
for months, and his reporting on Qaddafi was utterly uncritical -- 
large chunks of it consisted of government propaganda, edited 
lightly or not at all. He managed to live there all through the 
war without ever, as far as I can tell, doing any actual 
investigative reporting or talking to anyone who wasn't on the 
government's payroll.  Now it's suddenly all come crashing down! 
I don't think it's the hotel staff who are "crestfallen".


Counterpunch can produce interesting stuff, but on Libya it's been 
pretty worthless.  Cockburn and the rest kept recycling a few 
obvious points (NATO really wanted regime change YES WE KNOW) 
without ever trying to engage with the underlying issues. 
Inconvenient facts like the growing strength and competence of the 
rebels, or the steady flow of recruits out of Tripoli, or the 
underlying social and economic incentives for rebellion, were 
simply ignored.  I don't mind advocacy, but this was badly 
written, badly reasoned advocacy that was obviously ignoring the 
realities on the ground.


Anyway.  Your point about Abdel Fatah Younis is extremely 
interesting.  At the time, his assassination -- and the NTC's 
seemingly feeble and clumsy attempts to explain it -- seemed like 
a major disaster.  Under your interpretation, the feeble 
explanations and clumsy excuses would have been a feature, not a 
bug: we're strong enough to take him out, and confident enough not 
to bother with a good cover story.  Maybe!


Putting the tribal issue aside, the east-west divide in Libya goes 
back a long time.  It'll be interesting to see how this evolves.



Doug M.


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 poet of revolt Jean Genet at Nottingham Contemporary

[Negar Mottahedeh]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


There's a pretty thrilling exhibit on through October and one more chance to 
participate in the 3 part symposium on Genet's work. 

Genet was an advocate for the Black Panther Party in particular, and also of 
the Palestinian cause. 

http://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/art/jean-genet

--
My Focus:

Iranian Cinema  Middle Eastern Modernity  Revolutionary Consciousness  Social 
MovementsCultural Studies  Art  Performance  Literature  Technology & 
Photography

My Blogs:

http://negarpontifiles.blogspot.com/

http://duke.academia.edu/NegarMottahedeh

 



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] Alan Woods on Libya

[fesen joon]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


http://www.marxist.com/after-the-fall-of-tripoli.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

Re: [Marxism] Notes on Libya

[Jeff]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


On Mon, August 22, 2011 18:55, Louis Proyect wrote:
>http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/notes-on-libya/

> Well, I erred back in February when I predicted that
> there would be no imperialist intervention in Libya.

Well as far as "errors" by leftists go, I'd say that this is
surely among the most forgiveable. It was based on the correct
determination that Gaddafi in power posed no actual threat to
imperialism, contrary to the fantasies of what Lou calls the
anti-anti-Gaddafi left. What it didn't take into account is that
the imperialists can make mistakes: in this case perceiving the
victory of the third major Arab uprising to be inevitable. As
was shown, these uprisings can be defeated, or at least
forestalled, through the application of massive brutality. NATO
got involved before realizing that if they had just stayed out
then they'd have probably been able to continue business as
usual.

Of course now there are very different issues involved in what
lies ahead. But if Lou has anything to apologize for, then I'd
expect a lot more apologies to pour in from various members of
this list!

- 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] California Dems Decertify Progressive Caucus

[Kenneth Morgan]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


"The Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party (CDP) has been
threatened with decertification by the CDP. The reason is that the caucus
passed a resolution calling for an exploration of ways to push President
Obama in a progressive direction, including the possibility of a primary
challenge-"=UPDATE: looks like decert has happened according to link
below-KM

http://www.merge-left.org/2011/08/16/ca-democratic-party-decertifies-the-progressive-caucus/

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] Many Militiamen Say They Will Not Take Orders From TNC

[Louis Proyect]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


Counterpunch August 22, 2011
Many Militiamen Say They Will Not Take Orders From Transitional 
National Council

Divided Rebels

By PATRICK COCKBURN

The end of Muammar Gaddafi's 41 years in power appears to be in 
hand as the rebels close in on Tripoli, though it is not clear if 
the old regime will collapse without a fight for the capital. It 
still has the men and the material to draw out the conflict, but 
its supporters may decide that there is no reason to die for a 
lost cause.


The circumstances in which Gaddafi's regime falls is important for 
the future of Libya. Will he himself flee, disappear to fight 
again, be arrested or die in the last ditch? Will his supporters 
be hunted down and killed? After a civil war lasting six months, a 
stable peace means that those who fought for him should not be 
treated as pariahs to be slaughtered, arrested, threatened with 
reprisals or politically marginalised.


For if Gaddafi proved too weak to stay in power, this does not 
mean that the rebels have overwhelming strength. They were saved 
from defeat last March by Nato aircraft striking at Gaddafi's 
armour as it advanced on Benghazi. They are entering Tripoli now 
only because they have received tactical air support from Nato.


It is an extraordinary situation. The Transitional National 
Council (TNC) in Benghazi is now recognised by more than 30 
foreign governments, including the US and Britain, as the 
government of Libya. But it is by no means clear that it is 
recognised as such by the rebel militiamen who are in the process 
of seizing the capital. The rebel fighters in Misrata, who fought 
so long to defend their city, say privately that they have no 
intention of obeying orders from the TNC. Their intransigence may 
not last but it is one sign that the insurgents are deeply divided.


It is not the only sign. The rebels' commander-in-chief Abdul 
Fattah Younes was murdered only weeks ago after being lured back 
from the front, parted from his bodyguards and then, by many 
accounts, tortured to death and his body burned. The TNC has since 
sacked the provisional cabinet for failing to investigate his 
death properly, the sacking coming apparently because General 
Younes's Obeidi tribe was demanding an explanation for his death.


For many Libyans the end of Gaddafi's long rule will come as an 
immense relief. His personality cult, authoritarian regime, 
puerile ideology and Gilbert-and-Sullivan comic opera antics 
created a peculiar type of oppression. Libyan students would 
lament that they had to redo a year's studies in computer science 
or some other discipline because they had failed an obligatory 
exam on Gaddafi's Green Book. Not surprisingly, the building which 
housed the centre for Green Book studies was one of the first to 
be burned in Benghazi when the uprising started on 15 February, 
two days earlier than planned by its organisers.


The naïve nationalism of Gaddafi and the young officers around him 
who overthrew the monarchy in 1969 astonished other Arab leaders. 
But the new regime did succeed, by squeezing Occidental, in 
raising the price of oil with dramatic consequences for Libya and 
the rest of the Middle East.


Libyans enjoyed a far higher standard of living their neighbours 
in Egypt or the non-oil states. But for all Gaddafi's supposed 
radicalism, his regime in its last decade was quasi-monarchical, 
with his sons taking a great share of wealth and power.


The fact that Libya is an oil producer close to Europe has helped 
to determine many leaders and states, which fawned on Gaddafi only 
a year ago, to denounce him as a tyrant and recognise the shady 
men who make up the rebel high command as the leaders of the new 
Libya. Much of pro-democracy rhetoric and demonising of Gaddafi 
heard from abroad over the past five months is hard-headed 
governments betting on those who seemed to be the likely winners.


It is evident that Gaddafi has lost but it is not quite so clear 
who has won. France and Britain, crucially backed by the US, 
initially intervened for humanitarian reasons, but this swiftly 
transmuted into a military venture to enforce a change of regime. 
Once committed it was never likely that Nato would relent until 
Gaddafi was overthrown. The rebel columns of pick-ups filled with 
enthusiastic but untrained militia fighters would have got nowhere 
without tactical air support blasting pro-Gaddafi forces. Given 
Nato air support, it is surprising the struggle has gone on so long.


If Nato put the rebels into power will it continue to have a 
predominant role on what happens next in Libya? It is worth 
recalling that Saddam Hussein was unpopular with most Iraqis when 
he fell in 2003 as were the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. But in 
neither cas

Re: [Marxism] Franklin Lamb : "Waiting for the endgame in Libya"

[Andrew Pollack]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


I would strongly encourage you (and all the comrades) to give the
Angry Arab another read.
Yes, most of his posts are text message length. But he is a unique
source of information puncturing mass media and pseudoradical
propaganda, with a unique network of radical informants.

On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 8:59 AM, Louis Proyect  wrote:
> ==
> Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
> ==
>
>
> On 8/22/2011 8:55 AM, Andrew Pollack wrote:
>>
>> And yes, Louis, the US *IS" in Libya. See angryarab.blogspot.com on
>> State Department's Feltman meeting with rebels.
>
> No offense, but I think the Angry Arab is not worth my time. This guy
> doesn't write analyses. He twitters and I can't stand twittering.
>
> 
> Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu
> Set your options at:
> http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/acpollack2%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] Franklin Lamb : "Waiting for the endgame in Libya"

[Louis Proyect]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


On 8/22/2011 8:55 AM, Andrew Pollack wrote:

And yes, Louis, the US *IS" in Libya. See angryarab.blogspot.com on
State Department's Feltman meeting with rebels.


No offense, but I think the Angry Arab is not worth my time. This 
guy doesn't write analyses. He twitters and I can't stand twittering.



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] [RKOB] Imperialism, Uprising against Gaddafi and revolutionary tactics

[RKOB]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


*Revolutionary Communist Organisation for Liberation (RKOB):**
The Intervention of the imperialist powers in Libya, the struggle of the 
masses against Gaddafi's dictatorship and the tactics of revolutionary 
communists*


/
/In the context of the present uprising in Tripoli I would like to draw 
reader's attention to a chapter on Libya of a recently published book on 
the Arab Revolution.


http://www.rkob.net/new-english-language-site-1/war-in-libya-and-the-tactics-of-revolutionary-communists/

Here is the brief intro to the text:

This text is the English-language translation of an excerpt from a book 
on the Arab Revolution published by the Revolutionary Communist 
Organisation for Liberation (RKOB) in early August 2011. The Book -- 
Michael Pröbsting: The Half Revolution. Lessons and Perspectives of the 
Arab Uprising -- is in German language and contains eight chapters. It 
discusses the background of the Arab Revolution and its most important 
lessons. It outlines a program with the central demands and transitional 
slogans to continue the revolution up to the seizure of the power by the 
working class. In addition it relates the present-day challenges of the 
Arab Revolution to central theoretical and programmatic disputes in the 
history of the workers movement (like the law of the uneven and combined 
development, the strategy of permanent revolution versus socialism in 
one country, questions of revolutionary strategy etc.).


The RKOB has published this book because we consider the Arab Revolution 
as a historic event. As we write in the preface of the book we consider 
this uprising "as the first revolutionary wave in the new world historic 
period. (...) The Arab Revolution therefore constitutes an important 
touchstone for Marxism today."


Here we publish chapter VII on Libya. We hope to translate more of the 
book in the near future. We welcome contributions and critique -- 
particularly of those who have an active interest in fighting for a 
Marxist perspective for the Arab Revolution and for building a 
revolutionary communist international organization.


This translation would not have been possible without the hard work of 
our US-American comrade Adam Beltz. He not only read the draft of the 
book and made numerous critical comments for its improvement but also 
took the hard work of translating this chapter into English.


The website of the RKOB is www.rkob.net . While 
most of the articles on it are in German at the moment the website has a 
translation machine. We can be contacted at ak...@rkob.net 
. The Book can be ordered at the Onlineshop on 
our website or under the e-mail address ak...@rkob.net 
. It costs 5 Euro plus costs for mailing.




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] latest from J. Cole: interesting comments on working-class nature of uprising; also on a form of "Orientalism" among commentators

[Louis Proyect]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


On 8/22/2011 8:52 AM, Lenin's Tomb wrote:

The vast majority of Libyans had no involvement in
this military struggle.


Oh well, that's your view of Cuba as well so maybe things won't 
turn out that bad.



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"

[Andrew Pollack]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


re Dayne and Fred's points: BOTH (imperialist war and the Arab
uprising) are key to the situation. That's why I'm having such a hard
time explaining it to some of my radical Arab friends.
The mass uprising for freedom in the former workers' states had the
same dual character.
And yes, Louis, the US *IS" in Libya. See angryarab.blogspot.com on
State Department's Feltman meeting with rebels.
But even if no US diplomat or military officer ever stepped foot in
Libya, the US is POLITICALLY the brains behind this war, because
POLITICALLY they want to derail and subvert the Arab Revolution.
I am NOT joining those who think oil contracts are the key.
Libya could have nothing but sand and the US would still have
intervened. Imagine now the heyday their "development experts" are
having in Cairo telling self-seeking petty bourgeois types how the
West is the answer. And how the CIA agents' work in Syria is now made
100 times easier.
Which makes our work in supporting Egyptian unions and leftists as a
political alternative for the region as a whole more important than
ever.

On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 2:57 AM, Dayne Goodwin  wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 3:28 AM, Fred Feldman  wrote:
> . . .
>> The imperialist war, not varying estimates of the opposition or its 
>> components, is the
>> pivotal issue concerning  Libya today.
>
> No, Fred,
> the pivotal issue concerning Libya is the Arab revolutionary uprising.
>
> 
> Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu
> Set your options at: 
> http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/acpollack2%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] latest from J. Cole: interesting comments on working-class nature of uprising; also on a form of "Orientalism" among commentators

[Lenin's Tomb]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


On 22/08/2011 13:45, Jeff wrote:

As far as I'm concerned, the question of whether this was a revolution or a
manifestation of an imperialist plot can be answered according to whether
the overthrow of the established order was an expression of the will of the
vast majority of the people. I have little doubt that it was.


Well, in that case the occupation of Kosovo was a revolution.  In fact, 
imperialist powers are often able to command local support for their 
ventures.  The question of whether it is a revolution is best decided 
not by reference to popular will, but to popular self-activity.  The 
vast majority of Libyans had no involvement in this military struggle.  
They were involved in a series of mass uprisings from February to March, 
but these suffered defeats and receded.  Subsequently, the initiative 
passed into the hands of the transitional council and a small number of 
trained and volunteer soldiers in alliance with NATO.  None of this 
would have happened without NATO.  NATO aerial bombardment, coordinated 
with ground forces in Benghazi, Brega, Misrata and Zawiya, shattered the 
regime's military infrastructure.  NATO special forces and intel gave 
those same ground forces a degree of coordination that they otherwise 
did not have.  It was because of the imperialist powers that the regime 
over-stretched itself, fragmented, and ultimately collapsed.  When 
armies from Misrata and the mountains entered the capital from east and 
west, they did so under NATO guidance.  And I hate to tell you this, I 
think they did it on purpose - ie, it may have been an "imperialist plot".




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] Berbers decisive to rebel victory

[Louis Proyect]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-turning-point-20110822,0,3765497.story

NEWS ANALYSIS

Libya's gritty mountain rebels may have turned tide in Tripoli
With attention focused on important cities and bigger battles to 
the east, Moammar Kadafi may have underestimated the tenacity of 
the uprising in the western mountains.


By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

August 22, 2011

The revolt against Moammar Kadafi was born in the eastern city of 
Benghazi, long a caldron of discontent with the autocratic ruler.


The uprising gained traction during bloody spring battles in 
coastal Misurata, Libya's third-largest city, where residents 
barricaded streets with shipping containers in ferocious urban 
warfare.


But it is a rebel thrust from the west that may prove decisive in 
bringing an end to Kadafi's more than four-decade reign.


The push by guerrilla fighters from Libya's isolated Berber 
highlands, the rugged Nafusa Mountains near the Tunisian border, 
was one front too many for Kadafi's depleted and sometimes 
demoralized forces.


Before the mountain fighters made major gains, Kadafi's troops 
were already facing grave threats in the east, as well as 
intensive NATO bombardment that targeted the capital, other key 
locations and equipment.


NATO bombings made it almost impossible for the government to move 
large concentrations of troops. Airstrikes by the alliance on 
Kadafi's armored units in March prevented government forces from 
retaking Benghazi.


The regime successfully managed to thwart rebel advances into the 
cites of Port Brega and Zlitan, east of Tripoli, but its ranks 
were stretched thin, despite reported additions of young conscripts.


That was partly the result of Kadafi's own choices. His army never 
reached the size of those of Middle Eastern autocrats such as 
Iraq's Saddam Hussein or the Assad dynasty in Syria. Rebels often 
said that Kadafi, who led a coup as a junior officer, didn't trust 
military commanders.


It now seems possible that Kadafi's government, its forces 
overtaxed, lacking coordination and without any centralized 
command and control, underestimated the threat from a western 
rebel force that for weeks has been no more than 50 miles from the 
capital.


The uprising in the Nafusa Mountains was so little noticed early 
on that the fighting often barely merited mention as the world 
focused on dramatic events in and around Benghazi and Misurata.


In the end, however, the western rebels' tenacity and proximity to 
Tripoli seemed crucial in breaking down what the government had 
long boasted was a virtually impregnable wall of security around 
the capital.


As insurgent offensives stalled near Benghazi and Misurata, 
fighters made up of Arabs and ethnic Berbers, or Amazigh, 
tenaciously gained ground in the west. There is no indication the 
western fighters possessed superior firepower or were better 
trained than their undisciplined comrades in the east. But 
geography was certainly an ally.


In the east, rebels struggled to move forward in flat desert 
terrain that proved advantageous for Kadafi's artillery and rocket 
launchers, often well concealed from allied aircraft. In contrast, 
the western fighters engaged in a guerrilla war on turf that was 
intimately familiar to them. Supplies arrived via a captured post 
on the Tunisian border.


By June, the mountain fighters had largely gained control of the 
highlands and were filtering into the plains that led to the coast 
and the capital, the ultimate prize. Tribal links to lowland 
populations probably aided their advance. Government officials in 
Tripoli betrayed no sense of alarm.


The western insurgent ranks bulged with new volunteers from places 
such as Zawiya, a city just west of Tripoli that sits astride the 
crucial supply route between Tripoli and the Tunisian border. 
Kadafi's troops had brutally crushed a rebellion there in March.


In June, when renewed fighting erupted near Zawiya, the government 
dismissed it as the work of a handful of mountain infiltrators who 
would find no allies in the coastal areas.


It appears the opposite happened. Volunteers from Zawiya and other 
towns and villages joined the advancing mountain fighters. And the 
recent capture of Zawiya, which severed Kadafi's supply line, 
signaled that his days were numbered.


Throughout the conflict, Kadafi's government seems to have 
rejected the notion that a motley group of mountain dwellers could 
move on the leader's inner sanctum.


"We're not worried about these so-called rebels," Musa Ibrahim, 
the government's chief spokesman, said in June after clashes with 
western rebels erupted anew near Zawiya. "What is a problem for us 
is NATO."


Still, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Re: [Marxism] latest from J. Cole: interesting comments on working-class nature of uprising; also on a form of "Orientalism" among commentators

[Jeff]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


At 07:47 22/08/11 -0400, John Cox wrote:
> 
>full: http://www.juancole.com/2011/08/top-ten-myths-about-the-libya-war.html 

I am not at all fond of Juan Cole who is clearly a (left-) liberal and a
rather conceited one. However I never called him stupid, and his answer to
these 10 myths are well worth reading. And really digesting, especially by
people so stuck in theoretical constructs from the cold war that they can't
believe what they see happening before their eyes (a revolution).

As far as I'm concerned, the question of whether this was a revolution or a
manifestation of an imperialist plot can be answered according to whether
the overthrow of the established order was an expression of the will of the
vast majority of the people. I have little doubt that it was. But if it
turns out that there is a long period of resistance against that overthrow
(that is, for a return to the previous order), as there was in Iraq
following the US invasion, then I PROMISE to write an apology on this list
for having been duped into supporting an imperialist invasion. Promise.

- 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

Re: [Marxism] latest from J. Cole: interesting comments on working-class nature of uprising; also on a form of "Orientalism" among commentators

[Lenin's Tomb]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


On 22/08/2011 12:47, John Cox wrote:

“It requites no great prescience to see that this will all end up badly. 
Qaddafi’s failure to collapse on schedule is prompting increasing pressure to 
start a ground war, since the NATO operation is, in terms of prestige, like the 
banks Obama has bailed out, Too Big to Fail. Libya will probably be balkanized.”
I don’t understand the propensity of Western analysts to keep pronouncing 
nations in the global south “artificial” and on the verge of splitting up. It 
is a kind of Orientalism.


This doesn't make any sense.  Imperialism is constantly deploying 
'balkanising' strategies, and it opportunistically uses or confects 
whatever divisions will suffice.  If Iraq had been partitioned, as Biden 
wanted (and recall there was no political basis for sectarianism before 
the occupation), would this have made it a more 'artificial' country 
than Libya?  It's ridiculous.  The de facto partition of Libya was, for 
much of the war, already under way.  The basis of it was largely 
political, not 'tribal'.  Had the military struggle taken a slightly 
different path, had Qadhafi held out for a little longer, a strong 
prospect was of some sort of negotiated stalemate.  That would have 
entailed two governments claiming sole legitimacy to rule over all of 
Libya, thus the perpetuation of de facto partition: hence, Balkanization.



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] latest from J. Cole: interesting comments on working-class nature of uprising; also on a form of "Orientalism" among commentators

[John Cox]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==



"...The secret of the uprising’s final days of success lay in a popular revolt 
in the working-class districts of the capital, which did most of the hard work 
of throwing off the rule of secret police and military cliques. It succeeded so 
well that when revolutionary brigades entered the city from the west, many 
encountered little or no resistance, and they walked right into the center of 
the capital"
 
The main theme of Cole's article, written early this morning, is "10 myths" 
about Libya, including:
 
"6. Libya is not a real country and could have been partitioned between east 
and west.
Alexander Cockburn wrote,

“It requites no great prescience to see that this will all end up badly. 
Qaddafi’s failure to collapse on schedule is prompting increasing pressure to 
start a ground war, since the NATO operation is, in terms of prestige, like the 
banks Obama has bailed out, Too Big to Fail. Libya will probably be balkanized.”
I don’t understand the propensity of Western analysts to keep pronouncing 
nations in the global south “artificial” and on the verge of splitting up. It 
is a kind of Orientalism. All nations are artificial. Benedict Anderson dates 
the nation-state to the late 1700s, and even if it were a bit earlier, it is a 
new thing in history. Moreover, most nation-states are multi-ethnic, and many 
long-established ones have sub-nationalisms that threaten their unity. Thus, 
the Catalans and Basque are uneasy inside Spain, the Scottish may bolt Britain 
any moment, etc., etc. In contrast, Libya does not have any well-organized, 
popular separatist movements. It does have tribal divisions, but these are not 
the basis for nationalist separatism, and tribal alliances and fissures are 
more fluid than ethnicity (which is itself less fixed than people assume). 
Everyone speaks Arabic, though for Berbers it is the public language; Berbers 
were among the central Libyan heroes of the revolution, and will be rewarded 
with a more pluralist Libya"
 
full: http://www.juancole.com/2011/08/top-ten-myths-about-the-libya-war.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] [RKOB] The August uprising in Britain: What would a revolutionary organisation have done?

[RKOB]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


*The August uprising of the poor and nationally and racially oppressed 
in Britain: What would a revolutionary organisation have done?*


The uprising of the poor, of the black and migrant people was a 
"historic moment" in Britain's history. But it ended up in defeat. Why?


http://www.rkob.net/new-english-language-site-1/august-uprising-what-should-have-been-done/


An Article 
 
by Michael Pröbsting/, Revolutionary Communist Organisation for 
Liberation/ (RKOB), 18.8.2011, www.rbok.net, e-mail: ak...@rkob.net


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] [RKOB] These are not "riots" – this is an uprising of the poor in the cities of Britain!

[RKOB]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


The RKOB has published two articles on the August Uprising. The first 
one - presented here - was issued on 10.8. and distributed by RKOB 
comrades from Austria who went to London. The second article will follow.


*These are not "riots" – this is an uprising of the poor in the cities 
of Britain!*


*The strategic task: From the uprising to the revolution!*

*
*

by Nina Gunić and Michael Pröbsting, 10.8.2011, 
http://www.rkob.net/new-english-language-site-1/uprising-of-the-poor-in-britain/, 
e-mail: ak...@rkob.net 



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] On Libya

[Mark Lause]

==
Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
==


I tend to be hopeful because of the regional context of this development.
The ongoing movements in neighboring countries are going to keep some sort
of popular uprising in the works.  This tends to mitigate against the very
Islamacist currents on which the West has historically relied to work its
will in the region.

ML

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