Re: [Marxism] Max Lane's critique of Indonesian leftists
This is a comprehensive indictment of accommodation to bourgeois forces. Though somewhat contradictory -- was the PRD supporting Prabowo or Kalla-Wiranto? Either way I would welcome a response from the DSP or whoever. This is what I previously posted in response to the posting of Max's more recent article here and on the Green Left list. The first part is a comment by DSP member Chris Slee on the Green Left list, followed by my responses. I might add that Dita Sari left the PRD before making the comments Max quotes. This might not necessarily invalidate his criticisms of the actual PRD, but it's quite disingenuous of Max not to mention this relevant fact. On 11/08/2009, at 7:07 PM, slee_c wrote: --- In greenleft_discuss...@yahoogroups.com, red_april65 red_apri...@... wrote: The Indonesian Left and Green Left Weekly by Max Lane http://directaction.org.au/issue14/the_indonesian_left_and_green_left_weekly I am inclined to agree that there was no significant difference between the 3 teams in the Indonesian presidential election, and that calling for a boycott may have been preferable to calling for a vote for those using anti-neoliberal rhetoric. But this is a tactical question. As was the number of previous examples of the PRD giving critical support in various ways to various bourgeois politicians and forces, which Max supported, but does not mention here. As was, as Chris has pointed out before, the recent and successful tactic of the Malaysian Socialist Party in standing candidates under the banner of a bourgeois party, a tactic Max appears to agree with. As was the PKI's critical (and often uncritical) support for Sukarno, and I know Max has a soft spot for Bung [Brother] Karno. All of these tactics have been denounced in toto, and as a matter of principle, by some super- revolutionaries. But as Trotsky says somewhere, if it suits us, we'll make an alliance with the devil and his mother too, and even with social democrats. Unfortunately it's hard for the non-Indonesian reader to assess what the PRD has been saying and doing recently in an objective and balanced way, firstly because Green Left has lacked some of its previous resources to regularly translate material from and analyse events in Indonesia (the more prosaic reason for recent lack of coverage, as opposed to Max's claims). And secondly Max's representation of events clearly distorts what's readily available in English, so it's unfortunately hard to be confident about his version of Indonesian sources. For example Max claims: Now the PRD/Papernas line is framed within the assertion that in the 2009 presidential election there was a “contest between pro-people policies versus pro-capital ones”. The alleged champion of the “pro- people policies” is “Prabowo Subiyanto...The new PRD/Papernas line was oriented towards giving electoral support to General Prabowo Well you'll have to excuse me for interpreting the actual article, as opposed to the minimalist quotes Max selects, as meaning that the stated Papernas line was framed within and oriented towards organising mass actions and making demands on bourgeois politicians while explaining the latter's demagogic nature pretty clearly: From http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/801/41260 Indonesia: Challenging the neo-liberal regime More than 2500 people from the Volunteers of People’s Struggle for the Liberation of Motherland (SPARTAN) held a festive anti- neoliberalism protest in front of the National Election Commission on July 1 in Jakarta. The multi-sector coalition, initiated by the People’s Democratic Party (PRD) to intervene in the 2009 election, held similar protests involving more than 1200 people in Makassar on the island of Sulawesi. Hundreds rallied in Surabaya, Medan, Lampung, and protests occurred in 11 other cities... ...Until the rise of neoliberalism as an issue in this year’s presidential election, previous electoral contests did not involve a contest between pro-people policies versus pro-capital ones. However, the bitter truth is that this development is not directly caused by any advances for progressive and democratic forces. Rather, it comes from a conflict within the oligarchic elites. This specifically involves Prabowo Subiyanto, a retired lieutenant- general who commanded the notorious Kopasus elite troops involved in the kidnappings and killings of pro-democracy activists in 1998. Lately, the content of Prabowo’s speeches are almost identical to the arguments of progressives in recent years. This is both the way he explains the nature of neoliberalism as well as, to a degree, the proposed economic solutions. Prabowo is running for vice-president with the presidential candidate Megawati Sukarnoputri in this election. Is his populism an illusion, considering that Megawati carried out a neoliberal
[Marxism] Catholic- waitress sandwich
Political aspects aside. Anyone who was raised or grew up catholic knows that getting high church officials to do life passages--baptism, marriage, funeral-- is a high status symbol. True believers seldom get divorced. It may not be a big deal to Marxist listbut the Chris Dodd Kennedy waitress sandwich, the tossing out of spouses no longer fitting the model and annullments to go made TK less than a hero to many women. On 29 Aug 2009 at 21:02, Ralph Johansen wrote: Jim Farmelant wrote: ///I think that Louis Proyect had gotten closer to an answer when he posted on Ted Kennedy's early championing of deregulation in trucking and transportation. I recall also when Ted Kennedy was featured on the evening news shortly before the US recognized China, coming from Beijing where, one can be sure, he was the courier, the young wheeler-dealer, nailing down aspects of the general agreement on trade and tariffs, the quid pro quo with the Chinese government to open China wide to US investment and use of cheap Chinese labor and a commanding share in the proceeds of platform production in the traditional coastal enclaves, in return for US recognition of China's right to exist -- all to the protracted detriment of US workers. And before that, at the 1956 Democratic convention, I remember seeing on my postage stamp-size television set Walter Cronkite pointing out without comment the Kennedy brothers and their clan, including Sargent Shriver, Pierre Salinger and Tip O'Neill, circulating among the southern delegates. I later learned that what was taking place was a trade-off having to do with New England textile manufacturing moving to the southern states and their right-to-work laws and cheap labor; and that another part of the trade-off was that they would support the 1956 candidacy of the southern favorite Estes Kefauver for Democratic presidential candidate and withdraw JFK's bid, in return for which the southerners would support John F. Kennedy in 1960 on the first ballot. All par for the course for a friend of labor. Incidentally and related to current developments with the health care debacle, I recall that Estes Kefauver chaired much-ballyhooed Senate investigations of the pharmaceutical industry which, despite the alarming, much-publicized disclosures that those hearings produced concerning the bloated unearned profit-taking of pharma, ended in a weak, watered-down compromise. Shortly thereafter Kefauver died, and when they opened his estate to probate his portfolio was loaded with pharmaceutical stocks. And has everyone noticed that pharma stocks have been among those leading the current market blip/surge? Those were intense learning days, all about accumulation of capital, for Ralphie. I don't have documentation for this, which must be available in the archives somewhere, and of course I wasn't recording this for posterity, I had no political affiliation on the left or elsewhere, but this is the sort of eye-opening stuff that I saw and learned at the time. No illusions about Camelot from then on. Ralph YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Radical environmentalist to challenge Lula's successor
NY Times, August 29, 2009 The Saturday Profile A Child of the Amazon Shakes Up a Nation’s Politics By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO BRASÍLIA FOR Marina Silva, life began in the heart of the Amazon. From the age of 11, she walked nine miles a day helping her father collect rubber from trees. These days, as an icon in the environmental movement, she has dedicated her life to protecting that same rainforest. Illiterate and seriously ill from hepatitis, Ms. Silva left her home when she was 16 and headed by bus to the city of Rio Branco seeking medical care and an education. There she learned how to read and write, graduated from college and became a teacher and a politician. She worked closely with her friend Chico Mendes, the rubber tapper and environmental activist, before he was gunned down in 1988 by ranchers opposed to his activism. When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected Brazil’s president in 2002, he picked Ms. Silva to be his environmental minister, and on her watch Brazil devised a national plan to combat deforestation and created an indigenous reserve roughly the size of Texas. Last week Ms. Silva shook up Brazilian politics by announcing that, after nearly three decades, she was leaving Mr. da Silva’s Workers’ Party to join the Green Party, where she is likely to be its candidate in next year’s presidential election. Her story — that of a humble woman who overcame extreme poverty and illness to become a force in Brazilian politics — could prove an inspiration to Brazilians in their search for a president to replace the popular Mr. da Silva, himself a product of humble beginnings, political analysts said. “Marina is a person that earned her own wings, and it is not surprising to discover that those who have wings can fly,” said Jorge Viana, the former governor of Acre, Ms. Silva’s home state. Her candidacy would pit her against Dilma Rousseff, President da Silva’s chief of staff and his choice to succeed him. Political analysts say the two women have been at odds since 2003 over the country’s economic development policy, including energy projects that Ms. Silva has questioned for environmental reasons. Ms. Silva has “shaken up the race, mixed up all the cards,” said David Fleischer, a political science professor at the University of Brasília. If either woman wins, history will be made. Brazil has never had a woman as president. In addition, the country has never had a black president; Ms. Silva is black. Ms. Silva resigned as environmental minister last year, after expressing concerns that the government might give in to pressure from business interests to ease off emergency measures she put in place to counteract a jump in Amazon deforestation. She returned to the national Senate, where she continued to press her environmental agenda. IN an interview here, Ms. Silva, 51, said she grew frustrated with the internal struggle to persuade members of the Workers’ Party to pursue a more sustainable economic development strategy. “With the opportunity to try to construct this new future for Brazil and for the planet, I prefer to put my hopes in this movement,” she said of her switch to the Green Party. While many admire her, some political analysts say they believe that Ms. Silva’s past serious health problems could become a political liability in a presidential contest. Hepatitis, malaria and heavy metals contamination have caused her to be hospitalized for long stretches. Concerns about Ms. Rousseff’s chemotherapy treatment for a melanoma have dogged her in recent months and led some supporters of Mr. da Silva to urge him to back a different candidate for his successor. Brazilians still remember the case of Tancredo Neves, a popular president-elect who became severely ill in 1985 and died before taking office. Still, Ms. Silva has spent a lifetime proving doubters wrong. BORN in Seringal Bagaço, a small community of rubber tappers in Acre, Ms. Silva was one of 11 children, three of whom died. The family’s nearest neighbor lived about an hour away on foot through the thick forest. Reaching Rio Branco, about 43 miles away, sometimes took a week during the rainy season, when the family car would get stuck in the muddy road, she said. Disease was common in the Amazon, and it took its toll on her family. Her mother died when Ms. Silva was 11. Two younger sisters later died with measles and malaria. At 11, she began working with her father as a rubber tapper. They would typically leave the house at 5 a.m. and return about 12 hours later. To increase the family’s productivity, her father would go to one area of the forest and she and her sisters to another. To keep her from being robbed or tricked by rubber buyers, her father taught her simple mathematics at an early age, she said. After Ms. Silva became ill with hepatitis, she resolved to head to Rio Branco to find treatment. She wanted to become a nun and study. She enrolled in a course for
Re: [Marxism] Teddy
On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:11:13 -0400 S. Artesian sartes...@earthlink.net writes: Yes, but the actual deregulation of the airline industry, initiated by Carter near the end of his one and only term, and the deregulation of trucking, had little impact on Amtrak. Maybe yes, maybe no. I am not so sure. Amtrak originated as a government corporation, owned less than more, by the government and member railroads. Member railroads received no stock, no warrants, etc. Amtrak was an initial attempt to relieve the eastern and northeastern railroads of the burden of long haul passenger service, to maintain however erratically and poorly some sort of national passenger service, and in particular pick up some of the pieces from the wreck of the Penn Central. Quite so. You might think that deregulation of the airlines and the creation of air shuttle service along the NE corridor from Boston-NY-Washington put the NEC operation of Amtrak between a rock and a hard place. It didn't. The rock and the hard place was created by the decline of the rolling stock, and the failures to provide suitable replacement-- anybody remember General Electric's E60 locomotives? These had to be restricted in speed along the NEC due to hunting, a term that means the wheels on the axles of the trucks do not, at speed, maintain a consistent rolling point of contact on the rail head but actually hunt laterally for a point of equilibrium. E60s were great coal hauling locomotives, and actually I think Amtrak's fleet wound up in Arizona on the Black Mesa railroad hauling ore and coal. Not so good for 110 mph passenger operations on a corridor. What hampered Amtrak, hampers Amtrak is the lack of long-term capital funding from Congress-- in itself a reflection of the burden of maintaining, and upgrading fixed capital. I think all that is true. But, we should also keep in mind that the airlines are major competitors with passenger rail, especially in the Northeast. If you're reducing airfares via airline deregulation that is going to impact on the income stream going to passenger rail. That on top of Congress's decades long failure to provide adequate funding for maintaining and upgrading Amtrak's fixed capital cannot be a very good thing for that corporation. Anyway, I suspect that Michael Perelman can tell us, to the cows come home, how Federal regulatory policies over the past century concerning transportation have worked to benefit particular modes of transport at the expense of others. He has noted how in the early days of the railroads, railroad companies regularly went bust, as that industry experiences boom and bust cycles. That came to an end when the Federal government began to regulate the railroads. Also, the railroads, beginning with the Lincoln Administration became the recipients of generous subsidies from the Federal government. Later on the Federal government acted to boost other forms of transportation at the expense of the railroads. The airline industry came under Federal regulation, which for decades protected that industry from the boom-and-bust cycles that had afflicted the railroads in their early days (and which now afflict the airlines since deregulation). The airlines too, like the railroads earlier, became the recipients of generous subsidies from the Federal government. The Federal government also acted, especially WW II to boost automotive transportation, with numerous policies including Federal spending for building the nation's superhighway system, subsidies to the states for building roads, internventions overseas to keep petroleum deposits under the control of friendly governments, so that the price of oil could be kept down, etc. These interventions on behalf of both air transportation and automotive transportation came at the expense of rail, which has foundered for decades in the US. Jim F. Interior Design Degrees Free Info on Online Interior Design Programs from the Art Institutes http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=ZFH9TVUahIqdr8wozycE7QAAJ1BRugI4sJACAWmXIev8NAFPAAQFAJhuUj4AFRE5AA== YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] The Cove; Crude
If you are looking for socially relevant movies featuring likable heroes and heroines in dramatically exciting situations, your only recourse nowadays is the documentary. Fortunately, two of the better documentaries, both involving environmental activism, can be seen in New York City theaters–one playing now and the other debuting on September 9th. The first is “The Cove”, a story that pits Rick O’Barry, formerly one of the world’s leading dolphin trainers, against Japanese fishermen and their government sponsors who are determined to block any efforts aimed to save this highly intelligent creature. The other is “Crude”, a documentary about the movement in Ecuador led by attorney Pablo Fajardo to force Chevron Oil to pay 27 billion dollars in damages to the mostly indigenous peoples whose water resources and health have been ruined by Texaco, a rapacious company that was bought by Chevron in 2001. read full review: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/the-cove-crude/ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Jose Saramago's Blindness as movie
There is a very interesting Wikipedia article about the movie version of Jose Saramago's novel: Blindness . I started to watch the movie but found it to be too depressing. When the Saramago novel came out about ten years ago I wrote a review essay about it questioning the use of Blindness as a sign for helplessness and social disorder or what can be called the state of nature as Saramago uses it. This works artistically, but there are real visually impaired people like me and I think this kind of metaphorical use of blindness does create a negative image of what it means to be blind or visually impaired. There are two organizations of the visually impaired in the U.S. who apparently protested against the showing of the film. Saramago objected to their protesting, and I agree with him about this. Nevertheless, I don't think Saramago gets the point of view that it might be harmful to depict blind people as helpless as he does. This would be like using Black people in a science fiction novel as the representation of a cancer or using women as symbolic of a demonic force within society or nature. This might work artistically, but is it ok? I'm not in favor of censorship so I would not protest movies. We all need to have more awareness that representations of the Other do matter even if you are trying to say something profound in works of art. Throughout western history, vision has been used as a metaphorical way of expressing knowledge and ignorance as in Plato's famous Cave scene. Light is knowledge and darkness or shadows is ignorance I get it, but I'm not convinced that this is the best we can do in the way of an image or trope in language. It always amazes me when I see someone on the left talk about ignorance in terms of being blind and people do this all the time. We continue to be blind to the suffering of the Palestinians... Isn't there a better way this idea could be conveyed? George Snedeker YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] nostalgia for a gentler politics
My article contains references to hookers, an ad hominem against a Baltimore Sun writer and various other degrees of awesomeness that made it unsuitable for publication anywhere else. http://theactivist.org/blog/nostalgia-for-a-gentler-politics ~ Bhaskar YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Kotzer
Néstor Gorojovsky (nmg...@gmail.com) wrote on 2009-08-30 at 00:50:47 in about [Marxism] Fwd: Kotzer: And this is the kind of Left some comrades in Marxmail think interesting to read? Well, after the Cuban viewpoint has been declared to be off-limits by the list-owner, everything is possible. Saludos, Lüko Willms Frankfurt, Germany YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Not authorized biography of President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe Velez
Any one wishing a copy of this document please contact me off line at - ncha...@me.com it is in Spanish This book has been banned in Colombia. nchamah YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Kotzer
On Aug 30, 2009, at 4:32 PM, Lüko Willms wrote: Well, after the Cuban viewpoint has been declared to be off-limits by the list-owner, everything is possible. *The* Cuban viewpoint? The single-thought of the (purged) CPC leadership? Is that the only viewpoint allowed to Cubans? No wonder the CPC, obliged by its own statutes to call a congress every five(!) years, has not permitted one for more than ten years already, with no sign of one forthcoming in the foreseeable future! Shane Mage This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire, kindling in measures and going out in measures. Herakleitos of Ephesos YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Kotzer/Kotler
The piece posted was by Rubén Kotler, not Daniel Kotzer. Rubén is a historian. It would have been difficult for him to have made any sort of political career for himself in the 1980's, considering that he was born in 1974. Here is another link to the piece should you care to revise your opinion. http://machetera.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/rewriting-the-past-in-argentina/ On Aug 29, 2009, at 9:50 PM, Nestor Gorojovsky wrote: Recently, we have been gifted with a piece of bad and unreliable journalism by a Daniel Kotzer. I said that this leftist piece was garbage and promised to give some hints on this Kotzer. Child of a well to do left-liberal (in fact, Stalinist anti-Peronist) family in Tucum?n. Accountant by the Universidad Nacional de Tucum?n. During the 80s he made a carreer in the Partido Intransigente, the only left party that the military would accept, as one of the ruling military told openly. snip And this is the kind of Left some comrades in Marxmail think interesting to read? YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] inquiry on documentary films
Hello, Some friends and I are starting a socialist film and lecture series on campus. We want to show documentaries and films that will both entertain students and stimulate discussion. We want to show things like With Babies and Banners and Sir No Sir, etc. -- films that will both inspire and stimulate important discussions that bring out the socialist vision. Does anyone know of an online data base of left wing documentaries/films that we could refer to? Thanks. -- sandia YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] inquiry on documentary films
sandia wrote: Hello, Some friends and I are starting a socialist film and lecture series on campus. We want to show documentaries and films that will both entertain students and stimulate discussion. We want to show things like With Babies and Banners and Sir No Sir, etc. -- films that will both inspire and stimulate important discussions that bring out the socialist vision. Does anyone know of an online data base of left wing documentaries/films that we could refer to? I don't know about a database but I've reviewed 427 movies here: http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/culture.htm Most are like The Cove and Crude, the two movies that I reviewed today and which will certainly inspire and stimulate important discussions. YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Liberal Hysteria
Re: 26 Aug 2009 Reuven Kaminer on Obama: The Pants-Pissing Liberal Hysteria About Evil Militia Maniacs Being Mean To Poor Little Helpless Members Of Congress Of course millions and millions and millions of people increasingly hate and fear the government. And loathe and despise the politicians in Congress. They are right to do so. They are highly intelligent and perceive correctly who the enemy is, robbing them blind by the trillions of dollars and sending their kids off to stupid wars. Of course more and more want to tear the house down. That is also a sign of intelligence. If the radical left doesn't organize them against the government and the status quo, the radical right will. The posturing progressives of the world whining on the internet about the growth of the radical right and how mean they were to Congressman Thieving V. Fatfuck at the town hall meeting will not organize anything. The liberals merely help the extreme right grow by defending the status quo in general and the Obama regime in particular. People are more and more fed up with that lying bullshit. More and more people see clearly the status quo is a tub of shit being emptied on their heads 24/7. They're looking for other people as enraged with everything and everybody in Imperial DC as they are. So if the only choice on offer is between liberal apologists for the government and Congress, and the extreme right, guess who that leaves offering a radical alternative to the shit in DC and growing accordingly. Time to make friends with soldiers. They have the weapons and organization that can defend us all. And the danger isn't that these stupid, incompetent, deluded maniac assholes from some militia or other will march on Chicago or New York or Los Angeles. Fortunately, there are literally millions of weapons in private hands in urban America. The Chicken Crotch Militia would last about 20 minutes showing up in Brooklyn. The danger is from some General who decides he has to take over to save America from chaos. If you're worried about how things are going, go make friends with some troops. Face to face. The life you save may be your own. http://www.militaryproject.org YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] inquiry on documentary films
Take a look at the screenings here: http://www.manchesterfilm.coop/ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] railroads
In China, I gave 2 different talks about 150 -200 miles away from where I was staying in Beijing and Shanghai. The trips took less than 2 hours; very comfortable. I don't know how much they cost. My hosts took care of that, but they were far more comfortable than a plane. David, when you say that trains are uncompetitive at more than 500 miles, do you mean just timewise for the trip. Security at the train station was minimal -- just passing a bag onto a conveyor, which hardly slowed me down at all. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] railroads
It all depends on the speed of the trains, obviously, and how inconvenient the air ports are. It also depends on what you mean 'competes' since there are different criteria, like confort, location of stations and airports. etc. David YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] inquiry on documentary films
Didn't we just go through this on the list, and wasn't someone going to keep a record of all our recommendations? - Original Message - From: sandia sandia1...@gmail.com To: David Schanoes sartes...@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 7:20 PM Subject: [Marxism] inquiry on documentary films YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Example of anti-Semites seeking link with Palestinians? I tend to think so,
The following is an exchange on the Green Left list. I present my response first and the original article second but the actual order of appearance was the opposite, of course. I am very interested in reading how comrades size this up, if they think it is worth doing. The following is, in my opinion, a very suspicious article. It took me a few hours of pondering to decide it was worth responding to, but I think the judgment I came to was correct -- this article has characteristics, regardless of exactly what the facts turn out to be, which constitute a threat to the potential power of the Palestinian liberation struggle. First of all, it fails to establish or even provide substantial evidence for the charge of a general pattern of organ harvesting from Palestinian prisoners. Various alleged cases of Palestinians and non-Palestinians are strung together, and no attempt is made to critically examine the evidence. Finally, the most decisive proof put forward is the allegation of a general Jewish conspiracy against goys - that is that Jews celebrated Passover in the mediaeval world by drinking the blood of Christian, particularly Christian children. A book that I remember being taken apart by historians of the period which claims that some or many such instances of this occurred is treated as being true by definition because it was written by a Jew . Its discreditment and ultimate withdrawal is presented as an international Jewish conspiracy to hide the truth about Jewish blood sacrifice. I do not absolutely deny the possibility of misuse of Palestinian bodies in this manner in Israeli prison, although if it were a long-standing pattern,I would expect to have heard much, much more about this from the Palestinian movement, which has existed on some significant level for 60 years, But this article does not even begin to establish this. (For instance, the Chinese government has admitted organ harvesting from prisoners - so It' s not something that simply cannot happen.) Finally, there is no evidence that international investigations of Israeli war crimes are based on the organ harvesting charge. Most of them are rooted in the Gaza war and Israeli behavior in the occupied territories and general problems with the treatment of prisoners. The every-rumor-in-circulation method of this article is completely parallel to those of anti-Semitic propaganda, and it makes no one bit of difference to me that the author may - or may not -- be Jewish. A Jew can fall for any type of prejudice including anti-Semitism, just as a non-Jew can be a consistent fighter against all forms of racial and religious hatred. Fred Feldman _ From: greenleft_discuss...@yahoogroups.com [mailto:greenleft_discuss...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Romi Elnagar Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 4:57 PM To: undisclosed recipients: Subject: [GreenLeft_discussion] The New Blood Libel?: Israeli Organ Harvesting (CounterPunch) The New Blood Libel? Israeli Organ Harvesting By ALISON WEIR Last week Sweden's largest daily newspaper published an article containing shocking material: testimony and circumstantial evidence indicating that Israelis may have been harvesting internal organs from Palestinian prisoners without consent for many years. Worse yet, some of the information reported in the article suggests that in some instances Palestinians may have been captured with this macabre purpose in mind. In the article, Our sons plundered for their organs, veteran journalist Donald Bostrom writes that Palestinians harbor strong suspicions against Israel for seizing young men and having them serve as the country's organ reserve - a very serious accusation, with enough question marks to motivate the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to start an investigation about possible war crimes.1/ An army of Israeli officials and apologists immediately went into high gear, calling both Bostrom and the newspaper's editors anti-Semitic. The Israeli foreign minister was reportedly aghast and termed it a demonizing piece of blood libel. An Israeli official called it hate porn. Commentary magazine wrote that the story was merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of European funded and promoted anti-Israel hate. Numerous people likened the article to the medieval blood libel, (widely refuted stories that Jews killed people to use their blood in religious rituals). Even some pro-Palestinian writers joined in the criticism, expressing skepticism. The fact is, however, that substantiated evidence of public and private organ trafficking and theft, and allegations of worse, have been widely reported for many years. Given such context, the Swedish charges become far more plausible than might otherwise be the case and suggest that an investigation could well turn up significant information. Below are a few examples of previous reports on this topic. Israel's first heart transplant Israel's very first, historic heart transplant used a heart removed from
Re: [Marxism] railroads
Exactly, the railroad terminal was located down town. Easy to arrive via subway. The airport was almost 1 hour away. In the airport, there were long waits, but not at the railroad station. The trains were far more comfortable than planes. If I could have power on my computer for the trip, I would prefer 7 hours on the train to 3 hours in the air. My preferences may not be typical. I appreciate David's explanation of the difficulty of constructing High Speed Rail. On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 07:31:02PM -0700, nada wrote: It all depends on the speed of the trains, obviously, and how inconvenient the air ports are. It also depends on what you mean 'competes' since there are different criteria, like confort, location of stations and airports. etc. David YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/michael%40ecst.csuchico.edu -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] railroads
I understand that Michael, but the ratio you give 3 air hours/7 train hours, means the train speed would have to touch 200 mph. That's $30-70 million a mile. - Original Message - From: Michael Perelman mich...@ecst.csuchico.edu To: David Schanoes sartes...@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 11:29 PM Subject: Re: [Marxism] railroads Exactly, the railroad terminal was located down town. Easy to arrive via subway. The airport was almost 1 hour away. In the airport, there were long waits, but not at the railroad station. The trains were far more comfortable than planes. If I could have power on my computer for the trip, I would prefer 7 hours on the train to 3 hours in the air. My preferences may not be typical. I appreciate David's explanation of the difficulty of constructing High Speed Rail. On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 07:31:02PM -0700, nada wrote: It all depends on the speed of the trains, obviously, and how inconvenient the air ports are. It also depends on what you mean 'competes' since there are different criteria, like confort, location of stations and airports. etc. David YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/michael%40ecst.csuchico.edu -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/sartesian%40earthlink.net YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] railroads
I don't have a command of the relevant numbers, but useful public works often seem expensive, but turn out to be economical. If all traces of the New York Subway system disappeared, it would also be impossible to construct today. Of course, if I had some authority, local public transportation would have a higher priority than high speed rail. On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 11:52:09PM -0400, S. Artesian wrote: I understand that Michael, but the ratio you give 3 air hours/7 train hours, means the train speed would have to touch 200 mph. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Socialist Voice: Canadian Imperialism / Challenges for the Left
SOCIALIST VOICE Marxist Perspectives for the 21st Century http://www.socialistvoice.ca August 31, 2009 BOOK REVIEW: ‘BLACK BOOK’ EXPOSES CANADIAN IMPERIALISM Yves Engler’s “Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy” lays out the facts on Canada’s sinister role as a partner in world imperialist and colonial quests, and urges us to understand the consequences. He challenges the belief that Canada is a peacekeeping nation. http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=567 * * * * * POLITICAL CRISIS, ECONOMIC CRISIS: CHALLENGES FOR THE RADICAL LEFT LeftViews is Socialist Voice’s forum for articles related to rebuilding the left in Canada and around the world, reflecting a wide variety of socialist opinion. In this article Alex Callinicos, a central leader of Britain’s Socialist Workers Party, discusses the challenges facing the British left in face of the global economic crisis, the decline of the Labour Party, and the weakness of left wing parties across Europe. http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=557 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Other recent articles: AFGHAN WOMEN’S RIGHTS LEADER SAYS FOREIGN TROOPS SHOULD LEAVE http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=539 BOOK REVIEW: TWO ACCOUNTS OF ENGELS’ REVOLUTIONARY LIFE http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=534 ALBA, THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN, AND THE COUP IN HONDURAS http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=516 BOOK REVIEW: CLIMATE JUSTICE: RED IS THE NEW GREEN http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=526 HONDURAS COUP: TEMPLATE FOR A HEMISPHERIC ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=510 * SOCIALIST VOICE Web: http://www.socialistvoice.ca Email: socialistvo...@sympatico.ca Editors: Ian Angus, Roger Annis, John Riddell Associate Editor: Mike Krebs Readers are encouraged to forward or distribute Socialist Voice as widely as possible. To subscribe, send a blank email to socialist-voice-subscr...@yahoogroups.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to socialist-voice-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com FEEDBACK: Socialist Voice welcomes questions, comments and debate on the articles we publish. Please use the `Feedback' box at the bottom of each article on our website. LINK DOESN'T WORK? Some email programs block links to websites. If clicking on a link in Socialist Voice doesn't work, try holding down the CTRL key as you click, or copy the link address into your browser. YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
