[Marxism] Exclusive excerpt: 'Ruth First and Joe Slovo in the war against apartheid' (Monthly Review Press) | Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == An excerpt from *Alan Wieder'*s new book, /Ruth First and Joe Slovo in the war against apartheid,/ published by *Monthly Review Press http://monthlyreview.org/press/*. It is posted with the kind permission of Monthly Review Press. July 14, 2013 -- *Ruth First* and *Joe Slovo*, husband and wife, were leaders of the war to end apartheid in South Africa. Communists, scholars, parents, and uncompromising militants, they were the perfect enemies for the white police state. Together they were swept up in the growing resistance to apartheid, and together they experienced repression and exile. Their contributions to the liberation struggle, as individuals and as a couple, are undeniable. Ruth agitated tirelessly for the overthrow of apartheid, first in South Africa and then from abroad, and Joe directed much of the armed struggle carried out by the famous /Umkhonto we Sizwe/. Only one of them, however, would survive to see the fall of the old regime and the founding of a new, democratic South Africa. This book by Alan Wieder, the first extended biography of Ruth First and Joe Slovo, is a remarkable account of one couple and the revolutionary moment in which they lived. Alan Wieder's heavily researched work draws on the usual primary and secondary sources but also an extensive oral history that he has collected over many years. By intertwining the documentary record with personal interviews, Wieder portrays the complexities and contradictions of this extraordinary couple and their efforts to navigate a time of great tension, upheaval, and revolutionary hope. Read or download the extract at http://links.org.au/node/3439 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] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == The verdict was delivered by six jurors--with not a single Black member among them, nor the four alternates, even though Sanford is nearly 30 percent African American. But an entire system--racist through and through--failed the test of bringing some measure of justice for Trayvon Martin and his family: police, prosecutors, state officials and officeholders, judges, the media, and on and on. http://socialistworker.org/2013/07/14/a-racist-killer-is-acquitted 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] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 6:30 AM, Greg McDonald gregm...@gmail.com wrote: To wit: The defense also had one piece of irrefutable evidence, photographs of Mr. Zimmerman’s injuries — a bloody nose along with lumps and two cuts on his head. It indicated that there had been a fight and that Mr. Zimmerman had been harmed, and the defense showed them to the jury at every opportunity. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/us/george-zimmerman-verdict-trayvon-martin.html?pagewanted=3_r=1nl=todaysheadlinesemc=edit_th_20130714 Looks like the defense successfully established a reasonable doubt. 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] Is There Anything Truly Sustainable or Humane About Eating Meat?
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == In order to have large crops, one has to adopt pest control methods. Which means killing animals (insects, mostly) in a huge scale. They are small, but their numbers compensate for that. -- Daniel Rocha - RJ danieldi...@gmail.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] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 7/14/13 7:00 AM, Greg McDonald wrote: The defense also had one piece of irrefutable evidence, photographs of Mr. Zimmerman’s injuries — a bloody nose along with lumps and two cuts on his head. It indicated that there had been a fight and that Mr. Zimmerman had been harmed, and the defense showed them to the jury at every opportunity. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/us/george-zimmerman-verdict-trayvon-martin.html?pagewanted=3_r=1nl=todaysheadlinesemc=edit_th_20130714 Looks like the defense successfully established a reasonable doubt. But the real issue was not whether there was a fight. It was whether Zimmerman stalked Trayvon Martin. The cops told him to stay in his car. A neighborhood watch is exactly that, people volunteering to keep an eye on suspicious individuals. To start with, being Black in this gated housing complex was tantamount to being suspicious. But even with that being the case. All Zimmerman was entitled to do was monitor his activity. This is useful background on Sanford, Florida: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/01/1079682/-Sanford-Florida-s-Troubled-History-of-Racial-Injustice-Prejudice 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] Idiotic statement on Sadat by Islamophobe
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == As I pointed out a while ago, Shamus Cooke is an ubiquitous supporter of the Syrian Baathists, using all the boiler-plate anti-imperialist arguments. Today he has a piece on ZNET where he tries to put the best possible spin on the Egyptian army overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood government, a party that he has described as not a natural expression of the religious attitudes of people in the Middle East, but instead an unnatural political creation that serves a specific geo-political agenda, specifically that of the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. He has now escalated his stupidity into the stratosphere: It's true that many Egyptians have a semi-idealized view of the Egyptian military; but this is not a sheepish bow to authority, but a uniquely Egyptian perspective based on real history. Former Presidents Nasser and Sadat were military-linked heads of state who played a progressive role in many arenas of Egyptian life, especially in economics and national independence (in recent polls Sadat and Nasser remained the two most popular Egyptian politicians to date, regardless of both having died decades ago). full: http://www.zcommunications.org/whats-next-for-the-egyptian-revolution-by-shamus-cooke Sadat played a progressive role in many arenas of Egyptian life? No wonder so many young people when offered a platter of Marxism look for some other dish on the menu. It also irks me that Cooke provides no footnote on recent polls. I spent 15 minutes looking through Google and Nexis to find any such polling and nothing turns up. During the entire course of the anti-imperialist defense of military rule in the Middle East--from Colonel Qaddafi, to the Syrian heavy artillery and air force liberating Qusair, and now to Sadat--one of the main casualties besides the Arab people has been leftist journalism. If I were writing an article for ZNET (as if I would ever have anything to do with a toad like Michael Albert), I would not dream of making such a statement without backing it up. Here are the facts on Sadat: http://libcom.org/history/1977-egypts-bread-intifada A short history of the country-wide uprising against the termination of state subsidies for basic commodities in January 1977. Despite savage repression resulting in hundreds of deaths, spontaneous strikes, demonstrations, and widespread rioting forced the government to back down in just two days. In 1974, Egypt’s president, Anwar El Sadat, embarked on a series of economic reforms, pursuing an open-door, or ‘Infitah‘, economic policy. Wishing to encourage foreign and domestic investment in the private sector, Sadat sought to reverse the policies of his predecessor, Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom Egypt had seen massive nationalisations and the emergence of a planned economy with little private investment. These reforms also had a political factor; Sadat was seeking to move closer to the United States and the West and to distance himself from the policy of ‘positive neutralism’ employed by Nasser in regard to his attitude towards the Soviet Union and the West. Nasser’s policies had alienated opinion in Britain and the United States, and led to the withdrawal of investment offers to Egypt, and eventually to the nationalisation and crisis of the Suez Canal. By moving closer to the West, Sadat hoped to attract investors back to Egypt. Sadat’s government began by privatising large state-run firms, and returning land that had been nationalised under Nasser to its former owners. This policy had the desired effect; foreign investment returned, land speculation was rife, the construction and tourism industries enjoyed a boom and consumer imports increased. Egypt still had a large debt burden, and in late 1976 Sadat took a series of loans from the World Bank with the condition that state subsidies on foodstuffs and other essential commodities would be severely limited. On January 17, 1977, the government announced plans to cancel around LE277 million (around £30 million) worth of subsidies, especially on food, as well as the cancellation of bonuses and pay rises for state employees. This immediately led to rapid price increases. Reaction to the announcement was immediate. On the morning of the 18th workers in factories around Cairo walked out. At Helwan, an industrial city just south of the capital, workers rushed out of the factories and on to the streets in spontaneous demonstration against the government. Workers in Shoubra el Kheima, to the north of Cairo, did much the same, in many cases occupying their workplaces. Students of engineering at Ain Shams University held mass meetings and organised a march on parliament, which was joined by civil servants and
Re: [Marxism] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 7/14/13 8:42 AM, Greg McDonald wrote: Well, I agree it was bad judgement on Zimmerman's part to follow Martin, but, strictly speaking, that is not an illegal act. The real issue IS precisely the fact that there was an altercation, that Martin appears to have had the upper hand (good for him), and that Z. felt he was in danger. Am I missing something here? The Stand Your Ground law in Florida, which is fucked up to begin with, allows you to shoot somebody who has broken into your house. It was never intended to provide legal cover for stalking somebody as was the case here. 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] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 8:58 AM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: On 7/14/13 8:42 AM, Greg McDonald wrote: Well, I agree it was bad judgement on Zimmerman's part to follow Martin, but, strictly speaking, that is not an illegal act. The real issue IS precisely the fact that there was an altercation, that Martin appears to have had the upper hand (good for him), and that Z. felt he was in danger. Am I missing something here? The Stand Your Ground law in Florida, which is fucked up to begin with, allows you to shoot somebody who has broken into your house. It was never intended to provide legal cover for stalking somebody as was the case here. The Stand your ground law seems to differ from strict castle doctrine. http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/justice/self-defense-and-stand-your-ground.aspx Florida’s law states “a person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” 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] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 7/14/13 9:12 AM, Greg McDonald wrote: The Stand your ground law seems to differ from strict castle doctrine. http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/justice/self-defense-and-stand-your-ground.aspx Florida’s law states “a person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” This would make sense only if Trayvon Martin was stalking Zimmerman, not the other way around. 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] Whites and African-Americans in America by the numbers | Informed Comment
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.juancole.com/2013/07/african-americans-numbers.html Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 9:17 AM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: On 7/14/13 9:12 AM, Greg McDonald wrote: The Stand your ground law seems to differ from strict castle doctrine. http://www.ncsl.org/issues-**research/justice/self-defense-** and-stand-your-ground.aspxhttp://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/justice/self-defense-and-stand-your-ground.aspx Florida’s law states “a person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” This would make sense only if Trayvon Martin was stalking Zimmerman, not the other way around. Stalking is not attacking. The defense obviously established that Zimmerman may have exercised poor judgement, but he was not engaged in any illegal activity when he found himself lying on the ground with Martin astride. Again, the facts surrounding the altercation seem unclear, thus the defense was able to establish doubt in the minds of the jurors, who, being all white, were obviously inclined to give the defendant the benefit of said doubt. Greg 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] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 7/14/13 9:23 AM, Greg McDonald wrote: Again, the facts surrounding the altercation seem unclear, thus the defense was able to establish doubt in the minds of the jurors, who, being all white, were obviously inclined to give the defendant the benefit of said doubt. If a Black had killed a white in similar circumstances, an all-white jury would have returned a guilty verdict. This was a similar case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Goetz Bernhard Hugo Goetz (born November 7, 1947) shot four young men who he said were trying to mug him on a New York City Subway train, resulting in his conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. He came to symbolize New Yorkers' frustrations with the high crime rates of the 1980s. The incident sparked a nationwide debate on race and crime in major cities, and the legal limits of self-defense. The incident occurred on a 2 train in Manhattan on December 22, 1984. Goetz fired an unlicensed revolver five times, seriously wounding all four. He surrendered to police nine days later and was eventually charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and several firearms offenses. A jury found him not guilty of all charges except an illegal firearms possession count, for which he served two-thirds of a one-year sentence. One of the shot men became a paraplegic as a result of his injury and obtained a civil judgement of $43 million against Goetz. Goetz was dubbed the Subway Vigilante by the New York press, and was both praised and vilified in the media and in public opinion. The incident has been cited as a contributing factor to the groundswell movement against urban crime and disorder, and successful National Rifle Association campaigns to loosen restrictions on the concealed carrying of firearms. 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] Disturbing chart shows rise in “justified killings” of blacks in U.S.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://io9.com/disturbing-chart-shows-rise-in-justified-killings-of-773490798 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] Zimmerman found not guilty
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 9:43 AM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: Again, the facts surrounding the altercation seem unclear, thus the defense was able to establish doubt in the minds of the jurors, who, being all white, were obviously inclined to give the defendant the benefit of said doubt. If a Black had killed a white in similar circumstances, an all-white jury would have returned a guilty verdict. This was a similar case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**Bernhard_Goetzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Goetz Bernhard Hugo Goetz (born November 7, 1947) shot four young men who he said were trying to mug him on a New York City Subway train, resulting in his conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. He came to symbolize New Yorkers' frustrations with the high crime rates of the 1980s. The incident sparked a nationwide debate on race and crime in major cities, and the legal limits of self-defense. The incident occurred on a 2 train in Manhattan on December 22, 1984. Goetz fired an unlicensed revolver five times, seriously wounding all four. He surrendered to police nine days later and was eventually charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and several firearms offenses. A jury found him not guilty of all charges except an illegal firearms possession count, for which he served two-thirds of a one-year sentence. One of the shot men became a paraplegic as a result of his injury and obtained a civil judgement of $43 million against Goetz. Goetz was dubbed the Subway Vigilante by the New York press, and was both praised and vilified in the media and in public opinion. The incident has been cited as a contributing factor to the groundswell movement against urban crime and disorder, and successful National Rifle Association campaigns to loosen restrictions on the concealed carrying of firearms. http://www.organizingupgrade.com/index.php/component/k2/item/996-the-zimmerman-trial-when-the-prosecution-is-the-defense 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] How 'duty to retreat' became 'stand your ground' - CNN.com
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/21/opinion/bellin-stand-your-ground-law 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] Inside look at the internal strife over Al Jazeera America | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/14/al-jazeera-marwan-bishara-email 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] Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko, Who Exposed Stalin Terror, Dies at 93
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == NY Times July 10, 2013 Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko, Who Exposed Stalin Terror, Dies at 93 By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ “It is the duty of every honest person to write the truth about Stalin,” Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko, a Soviet historian and dissident, wrote in the preface of his seminal book, “The Time of Stalin: Portrait of a Tyranny,” published illegally in 1981. A survivor of the gulag whose parents died in Stalin’s purges, Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko spent a lifetime in almost fanatical devotion to that duty, working until his death on Tuesday in Moscow at 93 to expose the darkest truths of the Soviet era. His books cracked through the shell of Soviet censorship that surrounded much of the Stalin-era brutality, offering readers at home and in the West a vivid portrait of tyranny and violence. Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko’s death comes as attitudes toward Stalin in Russia have grown increasingly ambivalent. Russian leaders these days tend topraise his leadership during World War II, often overlooking the tens of millions killed during his rule. Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko founded the State Museum of the History of the Gulag in Moscow in 2001 as a repository of artifacts from the Stalin era. Although it is rarely visited, Roman Romanov, his protégé and the current museum director, said in a telephone interview that Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko worked there until the end, spending two full days a week at the museum and helping with a planned expansion into a new and larger space. Anton Vladimirovich Antonov-Ovseyenko was born in Moscow on Feb. 23, 1920, to a family with an impeccable revolutionary pedigree. His father, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko, was a famous Soviet military commander who led the assault on the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg (it was then Petrograd) in 1917, helping to usher in more than 70 years of Soviet rule. Stalin’s rise to power at the end of the 1920s upended the family’s fortunes and set Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko on the path to becoming a dissident. His parents were accused of being counterrevolutionaries and arrested. His mother, Rozalia, committed suicide in prison in 1936. His father was executed in 1938. As the son of convicted state enemies, Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko was himself arrested in 1940. He spent the next 13 years in and out of the Soviet gulag, an experience that made him a lifelong opponent of the Soviet government. In a 2011 interview with the Public Radio International program “The World,” he recounted being forced by a prison guard at gunpoint to read a speech by Stalin over the prison radio. “I had to read the words of the person who was my enemy, and I was an enemy of the state,” he said. He was released after Stalin’s death in 1953. Though almost completely blind, he began working in the Soviet archives in Russia. His first book, published under a pseudonym, was a biography of his father, who had been rehabilitated during the political thaw under Nikita S. Khrushchev. He went on to write several other books, most of them about Stalin and his associates. Perhaps his most influential work was “The Time of Stalin,” the first book published under his own name, which was smuggled out of Moscow and published in New York in 1981. Copies were smuggled back in and disseminated among the underground dissident salons of Moscow. “The Time of Stalin” was among the first books to unmask the horror of the Stalin era, putting the death count through years of civil war, famine, purges and World War II in the tens of millions. Harrison E. Salisbury, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting in Moscow for The New York Times in the 1950s, called the book “a milestone toward the understanding of three-quarters of a century of Russian trauma.” Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko died of a stroke, the Gulag museum said. He is survived by his wife, Yelena Solovarova, and his son, Anton. The Russia scholar Stephen F. Cohen, a longtime friend who smuggled “The Time of Stalin” to New York, said Mr. Antonov-Ovseyenko preferred the solitude of his books and archives to the protests favored by many other dissidents. But he was also bold, Mr. Cohen said, often calling up known K.G.B. agents and threatening to denounce them in writing. “He was an embattled personality and fearless,” Mr. Cohen said. 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] Thoughts on a post-racial lynching | Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == A couple of days ago I was talking to an old friend and chess partner who lives out on the Rockaways about the George Zimmerman trial. He had trouble understanding why I was so sure that Trayvon Martin’s killer would go free. He referred to all of the problems with the defense that came up on almost a daily basis on MSNBC, CNN and other cable stations except for the racist Fox News. Zimmerman was told by the cops not to follow Martin. Zimmerman’s injuries were superficial. Zimmerman demonstrated implicitly racist animosity telling the cops that “they” always get away with it. But in the final analysis, I was sure that none of this would matter. Instead, racist solidarity would trump all evidence. An all-white jury stuck up for one of their own. Additionally, the cops that the prosecution lawyers called upon as witnesses effectively functioned as defense witnesses since they obviously thought it was a good thing that a Black youth was terminated. After all, anybody walking around in a hoodie is looking for trouble. full: http://louisproyect.org/2013/07/14/thoughts-on-a-post-racial-lynching/ 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] Thoughts on a post-racial lynching | Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == It surprised me, for all the reasons suggested. Perhaps I was forgetting that it was Florida. Maybe Obama can have Zimmerman by for a beer to have a heart-to-heart. 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] Whites and African-Americans in America by the numbers | Informed Comment
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I have been involved in discussion with some people about the inequality along every economic, social, and demographic outcome between whites and blacks. There are those who say that we shouldn't keep harping about racism and white privilege. What we need to do is focus on the fight for greater equality, by demanding full employment, universal health care, an end to the criminal injustice system, etc. Since black persons will benefit disproportionately, these efforts, which are not overtly race conscious, are our best bet for movement building. Others of us have said that race has an independent impact of the above mentioned outcomes, and therefore, race has to be addressed head on in any attempts to bring about radical change. In Cuba, for example, there has been much greater equality than in any capitalist society, more or less full employment, and conscious efforts to eradicate racial disparities. Yet 54 years after the Revolution, Esteban Morales tells us that racial disparities continue to exist and still greater efforts are needed to eradicate them. What do others think? 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] Whites and African-Americans in America by the numbers | Informed Comment
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On 7/14/13 5:20 PM, michael yates wrote: I have been involved in discussion with some people about the inequality along every economic, social, and demographic outcome between whites and blacks. There are those who say that we shouldn't keep harping about racism and white privilege. What we need to do is focus on the fight for greater equality, by demanding full employment, universal health care, an end to the criminal injustice system, etc. Since black persons will benefit disproportionately, these efforts, which are not overtly race conscious, are our best bet for movement building. These are essentially the arguments of Walter Benn Michaels. I do not agree with them: http://louisproyect.org/2009/09/04/a-critique-of-walter-benn-michaels/ 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] Whites and African-Americans in America by the numbers | Informed Comment
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Yates: I have been involved in discussion with some people about the inequality along every economic, social, and demographic outcome between whites and blacks. There are those who say that we shouldn't keep harping about racism and white privilege. What we need to do is focus on the fight for greater equality, by demanding full employment, universal health care, an end to the criminal injustice system, etc. This post spurred a memory about one of the most influential books I ever read while a member of the once promising American Socialist Workers Party: George Brietman's How a Minority Can Change Society available free at the Marxist Archives: http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/breitman/1964/xx/minority.htm When I joined the Young Socialist Alliance, it was one of the first papers I ever read and it answered for me important questions why I should even be a part of a small organization ensconced within a larger movement like the anti-war movement. It was a different time and Breitman's discussion is situated in the context of the then vibrant civil rights movement and I read it in the context of early 1970's waxing and waning of the anti-Vietnam war movement, but I believe Breitman's work remains quite relevant today and especially as we see the outrage seething among people of color as well as the rather predictable reaction of leftists uncomfortable with that rage; afraid it will be ineffective and energy-sapping absent a strong leadership. Much has changed in this society, but I believe those changes have only reinforced Breitman's arguments even if in the negative with the advent of the Black misleadership. I think it is worth a read or re-read. Here are some rather interesting excerpts: Referring to M.L. King's denouncing of the Freedom Now Party: King’s other remark was even more revealing: “One-tenth of the population will never be able to dominate nine-tenths.” Maybe not, although I’ve already pointed out that the capitalists, a minority of less than one per cent, dominate the other 99 per cent of us. Anyhow, that’s not the issue posed by the Freedom Now Party. It is not the Freedom Now Party’s goal for the Negro one-tenth to dominate the white nine-tenths. Just the opposite — its goal is to keep the white nine-tenths from dominating and oppressing the black one-tenth. How to do this — that’s the real difference between King and the Freedom Now Party. Must the minority adapt itself in its methods and tempo to the prejudiced majority, just because it is a majority, and not do certain things because the majority will not like it? Or, can the minority end the domination of the majority by acting with complete independence from the majority ideologically, organizationally, politically — and only by acting independently? King prefers not to discuss this real difference. That’s why he misrepresents his opponents’ position with irrelevant talk about the inability of one-tenth to dominate nine-tenths. and his concluding paragraph: And so today many of us, I am sure, will be able to grasp and act on the concept of Negroes as leaders of the workers’ revolution not just as a possibility but as a probability. I shall not try, because that is a job for the whole movement, to work out or complete everything that flows from this concept, except to say that much does, and that all of it seems to me a cause for optimism. Nor shall I try here to discuss the kind of alliance I think the Negro vanguard of the working-class revolution will have to effect with the advanced section of the white workers if the revolution is to be led to success, except to say that I do not think it can be an alliance that will make concessions in principle to the white allies of the Negroes, any more than the revolutionary vanguard in Russia sacrificed any principles in their alliance with the peasants. Instead, I shall conclude, with much left hanging, by saying that if the ideas in this talk are correct, if the concepts about what a minority can do will be of practical and theoretical benefit in advancing the Negro struggle for freedom, then what they demonstrate is the validity and even the indispensability of Marxism to Negro revolutionists, whether or not they belong to the Socialist Workers Party. Or any other party or vanguard for that matter. We need to fight for Black, or Brown, rights because it is the only road to winning any rights; or defending whatever rights we may have. I particularly like the ending left hanging because Breitman is right, those chapters of unity in struggle must be written by the masses and the thoughtful revolutionary--Marxist and otherwise--leaders who learn how best to win.
[Marxism] White Supremacy Acquits George Zimmerman | The Nation
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.thenation.com/blog/175260/white-supremacy-acquits-george-zimmerman#axzz2Z2SsRsZc 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] Union Square protests
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == My wife and I were down in Union Square this afternoon to pick up some cheap wine at Trader Joe's when a sizable protest was taking place against the Zimmerman verdict--4 to 500 people, mostly Black. Greg Grandin just reported on FB that it has swelled to 1000. I urge New Yorkers to turn out. Let's keep the pressure on. Here's a slide show of the protest, on the NYT home page no less: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/us/george-zimmerman-verdict-trayvon-martin.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] Greenwald: Snowden has enough information to cause US govt ‘worst damage in history’ — RT News
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I detest rt.com but thought it was worth passing this along. http://rt.com/news/snowden-us-nightmare-greenwald-064/ 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] Whites and African-Americans in America by the numbers | Informed Comment
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Michael's point about Cuba is well-taken. Reducing income disparities, introducing full or almost-full employment, and campaigning against racism can all play a role in reducing racism. But racism is cultural, ideological, and as Esteban Morales documents, the Cuban revolutionaries have had less success in their sporadic attempts, for example, at affirmative action for blacks and mestizos. An interesting article on anti-indigenous racism in Bolivia, which I just translated on my blog, makes the point, however, that a combination of state action (including constitutional recognition of the plurinational composition of the state) with concrete measures to reduce income and other social and economic disparities (under the government of another Morales), can alter the relationship of forces within the society, and help embolden and empower racially oppressed sections -- especially in a society like Bolivia's, where the indigenous are the majority of the population. See http://lifeonleft.blogspot.ca/2013/07/why-is-evo-morales-still-popular.html . Excerpt: A fundamental mechanism in this empowerment is the coming into force of a law against racism, which has denaturalized racial discrimination, confining it to the private sphere. ... During the last decade Bolivia has been going through what Marxists would characterize as a political revolution, that is, a substitution of political elites that has been quite thoroughgoing. Groups of different ethnic, class and political-ideological origins have replaced the dominant political strata of the past. It has been a peaceful substitution but aimed at the elimination and not the coexistence of the opposing side, and it has unfolded using both political and judicial methods. The members of the old political elite have lost the right to work in the public arena, in a sort of symbolic banishment. Businessmen have been told not to interfere in politics.[23] Some leaders have had to go into exile as a preventive measure, others have ended up in jail.[24] -- Richard -Original Message- From: marxism-bounces+rfidler_8=sympatico...@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu [mailto:marxism-bounces+rfidler_8=sympatico...@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu ] On Behalf Of michael yates Sent: July-14-13 5:20 PM To: rfidle...@sympatico.ca Subject: [Marxism] Whites and African-Americans in America by the numbers | Informed Comment == Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I have been involved in discussion with some people about the inequality along every economic, social, and demographic outcome between whites and blacks. There are those who say that we shouldn't keep harping about racism and white privilege. What we need to do is focus on the fight for greater equality, by demanding full employment, universal health care, an end to the criminal injustice system, etc. Since black persons will benefit disproportionately, these efforts, which are not overtly race conscious, are our best bet for movement building. Others of us have said that race has an independent impact of the above mentioned outcomes, and therefore, race has to be addressed head on in any attempts to bring about radical change. In Cuba, for example, there has been much greater equality than in any capitalist society, more or less full employment, and conscious efforts to eradicate racial disparities. Yet 54 years after the Revolution, Esteban Morales tells us that racial disparities continue to exist and still greater efforts are needed to eradicate them. What do others think? Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/rfidler_8%40sym patico.ca 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] Greenwald: Snowden has enough information to cause US govt ‘worst damage in history’ — RT News
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == It seems that Assange also has a secure file with something in case he is arrested or he is killed. I am not sure if it is just part of the cables not yet released at the time or something special. Can anyone tell anything? 2013/7/14 Louis Proyect l...@panix.com ==**==**== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. ==**==**== I detest rt.com but thought it was worth passing this along. http://rt.com/news/snowden-us-**nightmare-greenwald-064/http://rt.com/news/snowden-us-nightmare-greenwald-064/ __**__ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.**utah.eduMarxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.** utah.edu/mailman/options/**marxism/danieldiniz%40gmail.**comhttp://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/danieldiniz%40gmail.com -- Daniel Rocha - RJ danieldi...@gmail.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] Union Square protests
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == My wife and I were down in Union Square this afternoon to pick up some cheap wine at Trader Joe's when a sizable protest was taking place against the Zimmerman verdict--4 to 500 people, mostly Black. Greg Grandin just reported on FB that it has swelled to 1000. I urge New Yorkers to turn out. Let's keep the pressure on. I went to the 6 PM protest at Union Square, which then marched down Broadway, picking up people along the way. The march continued east and then back north. I thought there were as many as 10,000 people, mostly young (college age and '20's). Compared to the antiwar protests I've attended, this was far more integrated. The chanting was very spirited, and many motorists honked their horns in support. Lots of spectators could be seen clapping or shaking their heads in agreement. My favorite chant was: George Zimmerman: Guil - ty!, Stand Your Ground: Guil-ty! The Whole Damn System: Guil-ty! Glenn 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] Union Square protests
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == A smallish protest of perhaps 30 people that looked like it was organized by the RCP made the local TV news in Houston tonight. On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 5:45 PM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: ==**==**== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. ==**==**== My wife and I were down in Union Square this afternoon to pick up some cheap wine at Trader Joe's when a sizable protest was taking place against the Zimmerman verdict--4 to 500 people, mostly Black. Greg Grandin just reported on FB that it has swelled to 1000. I urge New Yorkers to turn out. Let's keep the pressure on. Here's a slide show of the protest, on the NYT home page no less: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/**07/15/us/george-zimmerman-** verdict-trayvon-martin.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/us/george-zimmerman-verdict-trayvon-martin.html __**__ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.**utah.eduMarxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.** utah.edu/mailman/options/**marxism/gulfmann%40gmail.comhttp://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/gulfmann%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] Whites and African-Americans in America by the numbers | Informed Comment
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I'd suggest that if anyone is living in a situation where they're not finding themselves in a continual dialogue about race they probably don't know many black people. The problem is a civic culture in which discussions of race in America have become a substitute for doing something about it. And it hasn't helped that so many have decided to make assumptions about basic changes in the system. So, talk, yes . . . that's essential, particularly across that horrific color bar that still divides the society. But wouldn't it be refreshing to be up and DOING! 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] 'Justice system a joke' -- US athletes respond to Trayvon Martin verdict - See more at: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54506#sthash.TKJNUwog.dpuf
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == In February last year, the stalking and murder of Trayvon Martin affected pro athletes — particularly African-American athletes — in a way that perhaps can be best described as intimate. - See more at: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54506#sthash.TKJNUwog.dpuf -- “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-Thaxis] Long live the Egyptian Revolution !
LONG LIVE THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION ! http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/07/07/dont-understand-whats-happening-egypt-listen-12-year-old-break-it-down-you?cmpid=tp3-fb ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Long live the Egyptian Revolution !
Don't worry, Pres. Obomber is going to meet him at the barricades and make him a life-long Demoncrap. I guess this means CB now supports the US-backed coup against Morsi as furthering the people's revolution in the US. Hey I'd be worried CB, that kid makes more sense than you do most of the time. Now if he could only get someone to pay for his law school. CJ ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Long live the Egyptian Revolution !
I have to think all those articles I was reading about Morsi calling for a 'no-fly zone' in Syria were actually signals that he was no longer in control of the Egyptian government. Go back to March, about the time he lost control (when he went overseas): http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/19/294377/egypt-calls-for-end-to-syria-crisis/ So Morsi's sins deserving US-backed ouster: 1. He backed a peace process outside of the US's agenda in Syria. 2. He pursued an agenda for Gaza that pissed off Israel. Long-live the CIA-sponsored revolutions! CJ ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Long live the Egyptian Revolution !
Of course it could be read as a last-ditch attempt to avoid ouster--toeing the line on Syria as set down by the US, which supplies the Egyptian military and provides food aid. Morsi was, after all, a politician. CJ ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
