[Marxism] Spy or Nazi?

[Gregory Adler]

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


A strange story but one that I suspect hasits equivalents in the left
political movement in the US and many other places

http://www.smh.com.au/national/spy-or-nazi-20120331-1w52i.html


-- Shared using Google Toolbar

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] Spain: Huge general strike could mark turning of tide

[Stuart Munckton]

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


By Dick Nichols, Barcelona

Since the global economic crisis broke out in 2008, the many-sided protest
movement against neoliberal austerity has yet to gain enough strength to
force any real retreats from governments doing the bidding of capitalism’s
ruling elites.

But the March 29 general strike against the new labour law in Spain —
hugely supported and backed by often vast demonstrations in 111 cities and
towns — could well point to a turning of the tide.


Full article:
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/50564


-- 
“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

[Marxism] John Lanchester · Marx at 193 · LRB 5 April 2012

[Gregory Adler]

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


This piece seems to me to a highpoint of  a liberal empiricist sympathetic
understanding of Marx
written for a wide audience. it is also a good representation of how such a
viewpoint is incapable
of really understanding Marx and the continuing relevance and importance of
his political legacy

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v34/n07/john-lanchester/marx-at-193


-- Shared using Google Toolbar

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] French election

[Billy O'Connor]

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


dan  writes:

> The most striking feature of the election run-up so far has been
> Mélanchon's rising popularity, due entirely to his amazing rhetorical
> abilities. Admirers and foes alike are bewitched by his
> charisma. "Mark my words, people ... ARE ... ANGRY ! ANGRY ! They
> finally, finally, understand that they have been hoodwinked, lied to,
> conned by the rich. Well I say, if you earn more than 300 000 a year,
> then I will take it all. Do you hear ? I WILL TAKE IT ALL. 100%
> taxation. Nobody in this country should earn more than 20 times (and
> that is far too much) the minimum wage which I propose to raise to 1
> 700. And if you don't like it, if you refuse to see your perks taken
> away, then I SAY LEAVE ! YES ! LEAVE ! The workers in this great
> nation can manage things without you ! LEAVE ! By caping the amount of
> wealth that capitalists steal, we WILL TRANSFER BILLIONS BACK TO THE
> WORKING CLASS. We will create millions of jobs. Our country will be
> based on solidarity, not money ! So, I tell all you greedy executives
> : LEAVE ! And we will see how much better things can be run by workers
> ! I will tax all, all finance-derived income to the tune of 99% and
> that will leave us with hundreds of billions with which to make our
> lives, the lives of the toiling masses, infinetly better. Education,
> healthcare, solidarity, less working hours, and we, as a nation, will
> at last be able to truly claim as ours those beautiful words : LIBERTY
> - EQUALITY - FRATERNITY !"
> (rapturous applauses)

Any footage of this speech available, Dan?


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] Looking for a quote

[Einde O'Callaghan]

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


On 01.04.2012 02:58, Bill Quimby wrote:


A Google book search picks up that phrase in the essay "Perspectives" by
Colin Barker [who he?] in the book Revolutionary Rehearsals, edited by
Colin Barker. See page 219. There it is

Colin Barker is a long-standing member of the British SWP - you can find 
a small archive of articles by him at 
.


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] Looking for a quote

[Bill Quimby]

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


A Google book search picks up that phrase in the essay "Perspectives" by
Colin Barker [who he?] in the book Revolutionary Rehearsals, edited by
Colin Barker. See page 219. There it is

"It may be that 'power corrupts', but powerlessness corrupts even more, so
that socialism appears an impractical dream."

- Bill

On 3/31/2012 6:00 PM, Dan Russell wrote:

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


Anybody know a quote something along the lines of: "It is said that power 
corrupts
but powerlessness corrupts even more [...] until socialism becomes an impossible
dream." I could have sworn it was from Daniel Singer's 'Prelude to Revolution' 
but
that doesn't look to be the case.

Thanks, Dan  Send list 
submissions
to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at:
http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/quimbywm%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

[Marxism] Looking for a quote

[Dan Russell]

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


Anybody know a quote something along the lines of: "It is said that power
corrupts but powerlessness corrupts even more [...] until socialism becomes
an impossible dream." I could have sworn it was from Daniel Singer's
'Prelude to Revolution' but that doesn't look to be the case.

Thanks,
Dan

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] Judith Butler: Boycott Politics and Global Responsibility

[Douglas Greene]

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


Judith Butler: Boycott Politics and Global Responsibility Video 1 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qJaenaJbqk

Judith Butler: Boycott Politics and Global Responsibility Video 2 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjaksBWkOeg

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] As Fukushima Worsens, US Approves New Nukes

[Louis Proyect]

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


On 3/31/12 12:41 PM, DW wrote:

Kan is well known as opposing Japan's nuclear direction well before
Fukushima. Representing that wing of the ruling class most tied to
continued, and increased, fossil fuel production.


NY Times May 8, 2011
Japan Reaffirms Nuclear Energy Use
By MARTIN FACKLER

TOKYO — Japan remains committed to nuclear power despite the crisis at 
the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Prime Minister Naoto Kan 
indicated Sunday, as workers moved closer to repairing the crippled 
plant by opening the doors of a damaged reactor building.


The move is intended to air out the building that houses Reactor No. 1 
to ensure that radiation levels are low enough to allow workers to 
enter. The plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, said the 
procedure would release little radiation into the atmosphere because an 
air filtering system installed last week had already removed most of the 
dangerous particles.


Eight hours after the doors were opened, workers entered the building to 
test radiation levels. The next step is to begin replacing the reactor’s 
cooling system, which was destroyed by the tsunami on March 11.


The company has said it will take at least six months to stabilize the 
plant, in which three of the six reactors were damaged by a 
magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami. Hydrogen explosions spewed 
radiation into the atmosphere, causing the worst nuclear disaster since 
the 1986 Chernobyl accident in Ukraine.


Despite the crisis in Japan, Mr. Kan indicated Sunday that his 
government was not rethinking the nation’s energy policy. There had been 
speculation that the government might seek to shut down more nuclear 
plants after Mr. Kan requested last week that the Hamaoka nuclear plant 
in central Japan be temporarily closed because of safety concerns.


Mr. Kan told reporters on Sunday that he would not seek to close any 
more of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors. He said the Hamaoka plant, 125 
miles west of Tokyo, was “a special case” because it sat atop a major 
fault line. Government seismologists say there is an almost 90 percent 
chance of a major earthquake on the fault line within the next 30 years.


Critics have long warned of a possible accident at the Hamaoka plant, 
which is upwind of Tokyo. Mr. Kan asked that the plant be closed until a 
tsunami-resistant wall could be built and backup systems could be 
installed to strengthen the plant against earthquakes.


The Hamaoka plant’s operator, the Chubu Electric Power Company, is 
expected to accept the prime minister’s request. The company’s board is 
scheduled to meet Monday to consider the request. It did not reach a 
decision at a meeting on Saturday, when some board members expressed 
concern about summer power shortages if the plant were shut down.


The utility company supplies power to central Japan, including Aichi 
Prefecture, the home of Toyota. In Tokyo, residents face the prospect of 
electricity shortages because of the loss of the power supplied by 
Fukushima Daiichi and other plants in earthquake-damaged northern Japan.


Despite the setbacks, Yoshito Sengoku, the deputy chief cabinet 
secretary, said Japan was not reconsidering its dependence on nuclear 
power, which supplies about a quarter of the nation’s electricity.




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] As Fukushima Worsens, US Approves New Nukes

[DW]

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


Kan is well known as opposing Japan's nuclear direction well before
Fukushima. Representing that wing of the ruling class most tied to
continued, and increased, fossil fuel production. The oil and gas traders
working out of Japan's own mercantile exchanges are happy as clams over the
turn of events. Read the full blog item on Fukushima posted previously to
get a better understanding of what happened there and what's happening
there. Better than the anti-science energy "perspectives" purveyed on
nonsense sites like Common Dreams and Counterpunch.

David

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] Spiked online editor pooh-pooh's Galloway election

[Louis Proyect]

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


http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100148251/george-galloways-victory-confirms-the-denigration-and-demise-of-the-radical-left-not-its-resurgence/


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] As Fukushima Worsens, US Approves New Nukes

[Louis Proyect]

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


On 3/31/12 10:57 AM, DW wrote:



http://bravenewclimate.com/2012/03/02/the-fukushima-question-how-close-did-japan-really-get-to-a-widespread-nuclear-disaster/


From the above:

The same day the New York Times published its story, PBS broadcast a 
Frontline documentary about the Fukushima meltdown that invites a 
somewhat different interpretation. In an interview conducted for that 
program, then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan suggests that the fear of 
cascading plant failures was nothing more than panicked speculation 
among some of his advisers. “I asked many associates to make forecasts,” 
Kan explained to PBS, “and one such forecast was a worst-case scenario. 
But that scenario was just something that was possible, it didn’t mean 
that it seemed likely to happen.”


---

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14137186
13 July 2011 Last updated at 06:31 ET
Japan PM Naoto Kan urges nuclear-free future

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called for his country to develop 
into a nuclear-free society, amid rising public anger at the continuing 
crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.


In a televised news conference, Mr Kan said the country should harness 
renewable energy sources.


The 11 March earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima plant, which 
continues to leak radioactive material.


A large section of public opinion has turned against nuclear power.

About 30% of Japan's electricity was nuclear generated before the 
Fukushima crisis, and the country had targeted raising that figure to 
53% by 2030.


But Mr Kan had already said this commitment should be scrapped.

On Wednesday, he went a step further, saying: "We will aim at realising 
a society which can exist without nuclear power."


He said the country should aim to develop alternative energy sources 
such as solar, wind and biomass.



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] Fwd: Today, on Cesar's birthday, support a national Cesar Chavez holiday

[Ron J]

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






Begin forwarded message:

> From: United Farm Workers 
> Date: March 31, 2012 11:42:44 AM EDT
> To: Ron Jacobs 
> Subject: Today, on Cesar's birthday, support a national Cesar Chavez holiday
> Reply-To: ufwofa...@aol.com
> 
> 
> 
> Sign the Petition for a National
> Cesar Chavez Holiday!
> Today we celebrate Cesar Chavez' March 31 birthday. The United Farm Workers 
> and the Cesar Chavez Foundation are supporting the grassroots efforts of the 
> Cesar E. Chavez National Holiday Coalition and U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) 
> in their efforts to make Cesar's March 31 birthday a federal holiday.
> 
> Will you help us? Sign the petition today. Then help us spread the word by 
> sharing the petition on Facebook, Twitter, e-mail it to friends, downloading 
> the petition and sign people up at Cesar Chavez observances and other events.
> 
> Cesar's March 31 birthday is is already celebrated as a holiday in ten states 
> (AZ, CA, CO, IL, MI, NM, RI, TX, UT and WI). On March 1, Rep. Baca introduced 
> legislation in the House of Representatives for the current congressional 
> session that encourages the fourth Friday of every March to be observed as 
> "Cesar E. Chavez Day."
> 
> Cesar was, in Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's words, "one of the heroic figures of 
> our time." He led the historic non-violent movement for farm worker rights 
> and dedicated himself to building a movement of poor working people that 
> extended beyond the fields and into cities and towns across the nation.
> 
> He inspired farm workers and millions of people who never worked on a farm to 
> commit themselves to social, economic and civil rights activism. Cesar's 
> legacy, like the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., continues to educate, 
> inspire and empower people from all walks of life. He is a role model for all 
> Americans and for generations to come.
> 
> Please help us ensure all Americans learn about Cesar's life and work. The 
> Cesar Chavez National Holiday Coalition is gathering signatures on petitions 
> asking Congress to designate March 31, Cesar's birthday and the day the UFW 
> was founded, as Cesar Chavez Day. 
> 
> Sign the petition today. Help ensure Cesar's legacy is recognized and 
> celebrated throughout our nation with a federal paid holiday and a day of 
> service and learning in our public schools.
> 
> Si Se Puede!
> 
> 
> 
> Take Action at: http://action.ufw.org/cecholiday
> 
> Want to attend a Cesar Chavez event?
> Go to http://action.ufw.org/find to search for an event near you.
> 
> Want to list an event on our local interactive community calendar?
> Go to http://action.ufw.org/list to list your event.
> 
> Attending a Cesar Chavez event? Please share pictures and videos on our UFW 
> Facebook page @
> https://www.facebook.com/unitedfarmworkers
> "LIKE" our page to get news on the latest Cesar Chavez and UFW activities!
> 
> "Chavez left a legacy as an educator, environmentalist, and a civil rights 
> leader. And his cause lives on. As farm workers and laborers across America 
> continue to struggle for fair treatment and fair wages, we find strength in 
> what Cesar Chavez accomplished so many years ago. And we should honor him for 
> what he's taught us about making America a stronger, more just, and more 
> prosperous nation. That's why I support the call to make Cesar Chavez's 
> birthday a national holiday. It's time to recognize the contributions of this 
> American icon."
> --Barack Obama
> 
> "It's supremely important that a day be selected to honor the life of Mr. 
> Cesar Chavez for his quality of service to all humanity. His supreme cry of 
> si se puede will forever resonate as a positive motivator as words of light."
> --Carlos Santana
> 
> "He evoked a spirit and a challenge to all of us to do what was right for 
> it’s own sake. “A national holiday honoring Cesar Chavez would secure his 
> profound legacy."
> --Martin Sheen
> 
> "Cesar Chavez deserves to be honored with a National Holiday. His life is a 
> beacon of light toward the advancements of all cultures...Lived the life of 
> one who is truly enlightened by the wisdom embodied in love, kindness and 
> forgiveness. He, like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa 
> and others understood the meaning of non-violent social change...Cesar Chavez 
> is truly a gift to humanity."
> --Edward James Olmos
> 
> "The struggles Cesar Chavez was engaged in and the victories he achieved for 
> civil rights, labor rights and the environment helped people throughout our 
> nationIn these times of economic hardship and strife around the world, it 
> is essential that Cesar’s legacy continues to inspire others to work for the 
> fair and just treatment of all people."
> --U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.)
> 
> 
> Check out 

Re: [Marxism] As Fukushima Worsens, US Approves New Nukes

[DW]

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


http://bravenewclimate.com/2012/03/02/the-fukushima-question-how-close-did-japan-really-get-to-a-widespread-nuclear-disaster/

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] Mad Men

[Louis Proyect]

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


http://lareviewofbooks.org/post/19889892311/everything-happened

LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS
25th Mar 2012

Everything Happened

PHILLIP MACIAK on AMC’s Mad Men.

Toward the end of “Tomorrowland,” the final episode of the fourth season 
of AMC’s Mad Men, Don Draper (the girl-, booze-, and epiphany-hound 
played to the nines by Jon Hamm) gazes with rapt wonder into the eyes of 
his newest lover. Something of a cut-to-the-chase lothario until this 
point, Draper’s googly candor is a bit surprising as he lays his heart 
on the bedsheet. “Did you ever think,” he says, “of the number of things 
that had to happen for me to get to know you? But everything happened, 
and it got me here. What does that mean?” Hamm utters these lines in the 
kind of tremulous whisper-shout normally reserved for stoners commenting 
on double rainbows. But it’s not just love that has Draper so high, or 
at least not only love. Don Draper, in this scene, is amazed by the 
sheer happenstance complexity of the events leading up to this new 
relationship. In the context of Draper’s life, it’s a romantic speech 
about the magical workings of fate. In the context of Mad Men, however, 
it’s a romantic speech about the magical workings, and plottings, of 
serial television.


Mad Men, in addition to being an abundantly detailed, almost classically 
composed piece of historical fiction and a genuinely ambivalent critique 
of consumer culture, is also an intriguing meditation on narrative 
itself. This is not to say that Mad Men is the best show on the air, or 
that this self-consciousness somehow allows it to transcend its peers. 
The self-consciousness of a show like FX’s Louie, for instance, is far 
more daring and revelatory, and Mad Men is by no means a consensus pick 
for the Great American Television Series. Indeed, over the past few 
years, Mad Men has been bloodied by a number of high-profile hatchet 
jobs — notably at the hands of Daniel Mendelssohn in the New York Review 
of Books and Mark Greif in the London Review of Books, both of whom 
raise fair points concerning the show’s often uncritical exuberance 
about its own aesthetic. Not to mention the fact that Mad Men suffers 
from the unfortunately common ailment that its protagonist can only ever 
claim to be the fourth or fifth most interesting character on his own 
show. Don Draper can run off to California to join a proto-hippie sex 
commune all he wants, but I cannot conceive of a viewer who would not 
rather spend the time of these elaborate set-pieces with the sultry and 
sad accordion-playing Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) or even Draper’s 
own deeply troubled daughter, Sally (played by the mesmerizing child 
actress Kiernan Shipka).


(clip)


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] Papa Had a Brand New Bag: A Review of The One: The Life and Music of James Brown

[Ron Jacobs]

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


http://stillhomeron.blogspot.com/2012/03/papa-had-brand-new-bag-review-of-one.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] Gulf's dolphins pay heavy price for BP oil spill

[Louis Proyect]

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


http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/31/dolphins-sick-deepwater-oil-spill

Gulf's dolphins pay heavy price for Deepwater oil spill

New studies show impact of BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster on dolphins 
and other marine wildlife may be far worse than feared


Peter Beaumont
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 31 March 2012 07.15 EDT


A new study of dolphins living close to the site of North America's 
worst ever oil spill – the BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe two years 
ago – has established serious health problems afflicting the marine mammals.


The report, commissioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration [NOAA], found that many of the 32 dolphins studied were 
underweight, anaemic and suffering from lung and liver disease, while 
nearly half had low levels of a hormone that helps the mammals deal with 
stress as well as regulating their metabolism and immune systems.


More than 200m gallons of crude oil flowed from the well after a series 
of explosions on 20 April 2010, which killed 11 workers. The spill 
contaminated the Gulf of Mexico and its coastline in what President 
Barack Obama called America's worst environmental disaster.


The research follows the publication of several scientific studies into 
insect populations on the nearby Gulf coastline and into the health of 
deepwater coral populations, which all suggest that the environmental 
impact of the five-month long spill may have been far worse than 
previously appreciated.


Another study confirmed that zooplankton – the microscopic organisms at 
the bottom of the ocean food chain – had also been contaminated with 
oil. Indeed, photographs issued last month of wetland coastal areas show 
continued contamination, with some areas still devoid of vegetation.


The study of the dolphins in Barataria Bay, off the coast of Louisiana, 
followed two years in which the number of dead dolphins found stranded 
on the coast close to the spill had dramatically increased. Although all 
but one of the 32 dolphins were still alive when the study ended, lead 
researcher Lori Schwacke said survival prospects for many were grim, 
adding that the hormone deficiency – while not definitively linked to 
the oil spill – was "consistent with oil exposure to other mammals".


Schwacke told a Colorado based-publication last week: "This was truly an 
unprecedented event – there was little existing data that would indicate 
what effects might be seen specifically in dolphins – or other cetaceans 
– exposed to oil for a prolonged period of time."


The NOAA study has been reported at the same time as two other studies 
suggesting that the long-term environmental effects of the Deepwater 
Horizon spill may have been far more profound than previously thought.


A study of deep ocean corals seven miles from the spill source jointly 
funded by the NOAA and BP has found dead and dying corals coated "in 
brown gunk". Deepwater corals are not usually affected in oil spills, 
but the depth and temperatures involved in the spill appear to have been 
responsible for creating plumes of oil particles deep under the ocean 
surface, which are blamed for the unprecedented damage.


Charles Fisher, one of the scientists who jointly described the impact 
as unprecedented, said he believed the colony had been contaminated by a 
plume from the ruptured well which would have affected other organisms. 
"The corals are long-living and don't move. That is why we were able to 
identify the damage but you would have expected it to have had an impact 
on other larger animals that were exposed to it."


Chemical analysis of oil found on the dying coral showed that it came 
from the Deepwater Horizon spill.


The latest surveys of the damage to the marine environment come amid 
continued legal wrangling between the US and BP over the bill for the 
clean-up. BP said the US government was withholding evidence that would 
show the oil spill from the well in the Gulf of Mexico was smaller than 
claimed. Last week BP, which has set aside $37bn (£23bn) to pay for 
costs associated with the disaster, went to court in Louisiana to demand 
access to thousands of documents that it says the Obama administration 
is suppressing.


The US government is still pursuing a case against BP despite a deal the 
company reached at the beginning of March with the largest group of 
private claimants. That $7.8bn deal, however, does not address 
"significant damages" to the environment after the spill for which BP 
has not admitted liability. And it has not only been the immediate 
marine environment that has been affected. A study of insect populations 
in the coastal marshes affected by the catastrophe has also identified 
significant impact.


Linda Hooper-Bui of Louisiana Sta

[Marxism] Turkey asks U.S. museums for return of antiquities

[Louis Proyect]

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


http://latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-turkey-antiquities-20120331,0,4673943.story

Turkey asks U.S. museums for return of antiquities
The Getty and the New York Met are among the U.S. institutions the 
Turkish government has contacted over artifacts it believes were 
smuggled out of the country.


By Jason Felch, Los Angeles Times

8:48 PM PDT, March 30, 2012

The government of Turkey is asking American museums to return dozens of 
artifacts that were allegedly looted from the country's archaeological 
sites, opening a new front in the search for antiquities smuggled out of 
their original countries through an illicit trade.


The J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York 
City, the Cleveland Museum of Art and Harvard University's Dumbarton 
Oaks Research Library and Collection are among the institutions that the 
Turkish government has contacted, officials say.


Turkey believes the antiquities were illegally excavated and smuggled 
out of the country after the passage of a 1906 law that gave the state 
ownership of antiquities in the ground.


Inspired by the success of its Mediterranean neighbors Italy and Greece, 
Turkey is taking a more aggressive stance toward its claims, many of 
which were first made decades ago.


"Turkey is not trying to start a fight," said Murat Suslu, Turkey's 
director general for cultural heritage and museums. "We are trying to 
develop ... cooperation and we hope these museums will also understand 
our point of view."


Turkey is presenting the museums with supporting evidence and has 
threatened to halt all loans of art to those institutions until they 
respond to the claims. Loans have already been denied to the Met, a 
Turkish official said.


American museums' antiquities collections have been the subject of 
intense scrutiny in recent years as evidence emerged of their ties to an 
illicit trade in artifacts found in archaeological sites around the world.


Confronted with that evidence, the Getty, the Met, the Cleveland, the 
Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Princeton University Art Museum 
returned more than 100 looted objects to Italy and Greece, changed their 
acquisition policies and formed collaboration agreements that allow for 
loans to replace acquisitions of suspect material.


But new evidence continues to emerge, underscoring that the scope of the 
problem is far wider. In January, Italy announced that it had recovered 
an additional 200 objects and fragments from the Met and Princeton after 
they were tied to an ongoing criminal investigation of Italian 
antiquities dealer Edoardo Almagia and Princeton antiquities curator 
Michael Padgett.


None of the museums facing requests from Turkey would release a list of 
the contested objects in their collections, but The Times obtained a 
partial list from Turkish officials of what the country is asking for. 
Judging from publicly available records, most of the objects were 
acquired by the museums since the 1960s and have little or no documented 
ownership history before that, suggesting they could have come from 
illicit excavations.


The 10 Getty objects sought by Turkey were acquired from dealers, 
auction houses or collectors for more than $1 million between 1968 and 
1994 and include four marble muses now on display in the Getty Villa's 
Basilica gallery. According to ownership histories provided by the Getty 
in accordance with its reformed antiquities policy, several originated 
with Elie Borowski or Nicolas Koutoulakis, two antiquities dealers known 
to have ties to the illicit trade.


The Getty's talks with Turkey began in the 1990s, government officials 
said, and gained steam under the directorship of interim museum director 
David Bomford, who left the Getty in February.


"We expect those discussions to continue and while they do, we will not 
be getting into specifics," said Getty spokesman Ron Hartwig.


The 18 contested objects at the Met are all from the private collection 
of Norbert Schimmel, a longtime Met trustee who died in 1990. The museum 
acquired the Schimmel collection in 1989, and several of the contested 
objects are now highlights of the museum's Ancient Near East Galleries.


Harold Holzer, a spokesman for the Met, initially denied the museum had 
received a request for specific objects. He later acknowledged in a 
statement that Turkey had requested information about the 18 objects in 
September, adding that the museum is "in the process of providing" that 
information. Turkish officials say the Met's only response has been to 
write a letter to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.


At Dumbarton Oaks inWashington, D.C., ancient silver plates and other 
decorative objects known as the Sion Treasure are among the items Turkey 

[Marxism] Democratic mayors challenge teachers unions in urban political shift

[Louis Proyect]

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


http://www.washingtonpost.com/nat/education/democratic-mayors-challenge-teachers-unions-in-urban-political-shift/2012/03/30/gIQA0xoJmS_story.html

Democratic mayors challenge teachers unions in urban political shift
By Lyndsey Layton, Published: March 30

As a young labor organizer in Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa worked 
for the city’s teachers, honing his political skills in the fight for a 
good contract. The union loved him back, supporting the Democrat’s 
election to the State Assembly, City Council and, finally, the mayor’s 
office he occupies today.


But now, Villaraigosa, a rising star in the national Democratic party, 
has a different view. He calls the teachers union “the one, unwavering 
roadblock” to improving public education in L.A.


Villaraigosa is one of several Democratic mayors in cities across the 
country — Chicago, Cleveland, Newark and Boston, among them — who are 
challenging teachers unions in ways that seemed inconceivable just a 
decade ago.


“This is a very, very interesting political situation that is way 
counterintuitive,” said Charles Taylor Kerchner, who has written two 
books about teachers unions.


At at time when most Americans believe that U.S. education is imperiled, 
and cities are especially struggling to improve schools, the tension 
between the mayors and the unions is causing a fundamental realignment 
of two powerful forces in urban politics.


In the clash over what is best for children, adults on both sides are 
gambling.


The mayors risk turning labor friends into enemies, a lesson D.C. mayor 
Adrian Fenty learned in 2010 when he lost his seat in part because 
teachers were enraged by his school reforms. The unions, meanwhile, risk 
appearing recalcitrant and self-serving, further alienating a public 
frustrated by failing schools and growing cool to organized labor.


The mayors want a raft of changes. They want to replace the uniform pay 
scale with merit pay. They seek to expand public charter schools, which 
are largely non-union. Some want to lengthen school days, requiring 
teachers to work more hours.


And nearly all of these mayors have set their sights on the one 
workplace protection that teachers have held central for more than 100 
years: tenure.


The unions say many of the “fixes” embraced by the mayors are trendy 
ideas without evidence that they help children learn. Instead, they 
allow politicians to appear as if they are making improvements without 
having to confront the profound problems of urban schools, labor leaders 
say.


“We don’t want to have honest conversations about poverty and 
segregation and race and class, all those other sorts of ills,” said 
Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union. “Those are really 
tough issues. So this gives them an excuse to focus on something else.”


Her union fought Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s effort to add 90 minutes to the 
school day in Chicago, which has the shortest school day of any major 
city. Emanuel, the former chief of staff to President Obama, got the 
Illinois legislature to pass a law that will allow him to impose a 
longer school day starting in September. It also makes it harder for the 
union to strike, among other things.


On the national level, teachers unions have started to recalibrate, 
looking for ways to work in partnership with politicians.


Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, 
acknowledged that the unions have been too focused on fairness for their 
members and not necessarily quality in the schools.


“We have made mistakes,” she said. “You have to really focus to make 
sure you’re doing everything you can so that kids are first. Tenure, for 
example. Make sure tenure is about fairness and make sure it’s not a 
shield for incompetence.”


First awarded in the 1920s to protect female teachers who could be 
summarily fired for getting pregnant or marrying, tenure is considered 
by teachers to be their main protection against firing for political or 
personal reasons.


But today, tenure makes it nearly impossible to get rid of weak 
teachers, the mayors say.


“We know how difficult it is to fire a doctor in most of our states — it 
is significantly more difficult to fire a teacher,” said Villaraigosa, 
adding that the dismissal rate in L.A. is less than 1 percent and 97 
percent of the teachers get tenure after two years. “Our current tenure 
practice is meaningless, so we are challenging it.”


The tough talk coming from Democrats has angered many teachers, who 
already feel under assault from Republicans. “Teacher unions feel 
extraordinarily betrayed across this country,” said Lewis of the Chicago 
Teachers Union.


Many of the mayors are emboldened by reforms promoted by the Obama 
administration, private philan

[Marxism] Galloway: This was Bradford's version of the riots

[Louis Proyect]

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


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/30/bradford-version-of-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] Occupy Atlanta: We Killed the Bill

[Greg McDonald]

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


http://nexusofchange.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/diverse-coalition-defeats-bill-against-1st-amendment-rights/

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/news/2012/03/30/occupy-atlanta-tea-party-patriots-defeat-sb-469.html

http://radishreport.com/2012/03/30/broad-coalition-of-activists-save-free-speech-and-workers-rights-in-georgia/


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