[Marxism] Beyond BP
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.vibrantnation.com/conversations/95086-beyond-bp-theres-more/ 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] News from France
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == News from France. a) The retirement age is set to be increased from 60 to 63 in June, despite yesterday's general strike. b) France is the only Western country to applaud the Brazilian rapprochement with Iran. The Brazilian plan to process Iranian uranium has been described as a step forward by France. Of course, this has nothing to do with the fact that Brazil is about to acquire 36 Mirage fighter jets from France in June. c) Merkel's announcement that Germany was going to ban short-selling of sovereign debt is being heavily criticized by European bankers. The proposed bill has already been considerably watered down. Lagardère, leading French Capitalist, heavily implicated in the Airbus inside dealing scandal, has personally told Sarkozy that such measures were out of the question. Financial groups within Germany are also putting pressure on the German Chancellor. Merkel apparently acknowledged that her tough stance was only for the media, in order to calm public opinion. 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] Recovery?
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == 1 Q US GDP growth is estimated at an annualized rate of 3.0 percent, of which more than half is accounted for by increases in private business inventories, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Restocking the shelves is fine if sales are increasing, but today's reports are that consumer spending in the US is flat. I don't actually think we're on the verge of the dip in the double dip recession-- reads more like a crater to me, but then I'm an incurable optimist. 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] News from France
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == dan wrote: Lagardère, leading French Capitalist, heavily implicated in the Airbus inside dealing scandal what's up w/ Airbus? i hadn't heard this story. Les 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] India
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/27/india-train-collision-dea_n_592795.html Bhupinder Singh, the top police official in West Bengal, said posters from the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, a group local officials believe is closely tied to the Maoists, had been found at the scene taking responsibility for the attack. However, a spokesman for the group, Asit Mahato, denied any role, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. We were in no way involved. This is not our act, PTI quoted him as saying by phone. What can we do if somebody claims responsibility on our behalf? he told PTI when asked about the posters found near the scene. On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 8:24 AM, S. Artesian sartes...@earthlink.net wrote: Anybody have further information on this derailment in India, which killed app 65? Any information refuting, hopefully, government charges that the derailment was deliberate sabotage executed by the rural based resistance? 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] India
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Rural based resistance. A better term would be 'jungle-based counter-revolutionary activity' - Original Message From: S. Artesian sartes...@earthlink.net To: rajeshcher...@yahoo.co.in Sent: Fri, 28 May, 2010 5:54:36 PM Subject: [Marxism] India == Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Anybody have further information on this derailment in India, which killed app 65? Any information refuting, hopefully, government charges that the derailment was deliberate sabotage executed by the rural based resistance? Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/rajeshcherian%40yahoo.co.in 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] India
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I feel sympathy for the underdogs, the adivasi, and so am of two minds concerning the Maoists in India. I love to see the state apparatus being challenged. Come on, we all have a tender spot for rebellions, insurrections, mutinies, guerillas, well-laid out traps, jungle redoubts, infiltrations, ... Because they are the underdogs and the might of the Indian army is so much greater than what the Maoists can muster. But, and here comes the BUT, but are the adivasi really in charge, not of tactical operations, which they clearly are, but of overall strategy ? Are they not trading the exploitation of comprador Indian bourgeoisie for the shakles of the Great Party ? I have misgivings about Rao's (the leader of the CPI(M)) ideology. I've read many of his writings and interviews and find him callous, devious, power-hungry, and prone to condemn anybody who deviates from his line. He reshapes the entire organization's ideology at every congress, pointing out deviations, new alliances, new enemies, pointlessly lecturing people on history, setting new goals, using Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist-Maoist (in that order) rhetoric in such a way that his Hindi becomes stilted and formulaic. I find his idea of a party quite frightening. 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] Recovery?
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == That's the way it looks to me, too, Aresian...though I'm not an expert and I find everything I try to learn about such things frustrated by the nature of the capitalist system at this point. Basically, consumer capitalism means that the news--all news, but especially economic news--becomes something of a loyalty test for the media. Not quite like wartime reporting, but close to it. They find it easiest to mindlessly repeat what they're told by the authorities. And they agree with it ideologically. And, perhaps most importantly, they are there as voices of those advertisers who've bought them their place in the public eye. I mean, they're all whinging on about the scandalous connection between Glen Beck's fear mongering appeals to buy gold, and one of his main advertiser, which buys and sells gold... But isn't that just a somewhat exaggerated version of what they all do? The investment companies, auto companies, insurance, etc., etc.,etc. that advertise on these shows do well or poorly very immediately based on consumer confidence. For this reason alone--again setting aside the question of ideology, laziness, etc.--there's no incentive for American media to report real news about the economy if it's not particularly encouraging ML 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] India
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == A news report from NewsX: http://bit.ly/9D8rmW 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] India
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Valuable comments, comrade dan.. It is naive to think that such a well-entrenched state could be in anyway threatened by the so-called 'Maoists' in India.. the army has not yet been used against them.. it is only the paramilitary/police forces that have been employed by the state against them.. there is now an ongoing debate within the ruling establishment about using the airforce.. the army is still out of the picture.. it looks like bringing the army/airforce in is just what the pretenders to Maoism really want.. these people would benefit by the attention such an action would create.. but in the process, there would be tremendous 'collateral damage'.. adivasis whose villages have been overrun by the armed gangs will get caught in the crossfire, and innocent lives will be lost.. which would then add fuel to the media fire, with accompanying international attention.. - Original Message From: dan d.koech...@wanadoo.fr To: rajeshcher...@yahoo.co.in Sent: Fri, 28 May, 2010 8:09:17 PM Subject: Re: [Marxism] India == Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I feel sympathy for the underdogs, the adivasi, and so am of two minds concerning the Maoists in India. I love to see the state apparatus being challenged. Come on, we all have a tender spot for rebellions, insurrections, mutinies, guerillas, well-laid out traps, jungle redoubts, infiltrations, ... Because they are the underdogs and the might of the Indian army is so much greater than what the Maoists can muster. But, and here comes the BUT, but are the adivasi really in charge, not of tactical operations, which they clearly are, but of overall strategy ? Are they not trading the exploitation of comprador Indian bourgeoisie for the shakles of the Great Party ? I have misgivings about Rao's (the leader of the CPI(M)) ideology. I've read many of his writings and interviews and find him callous, devious, power-hungry, and prone to condemn anybody who deviates from his line. He reshapes the entire organization's ideology at every congress, pointing out deviations, new alliances, new enemies, pointlessly lecturing people on history, setting new goals, using Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist-Maoist (in that order) rhetoric in such a way that his Hindi becomes stilted and formulaic. I find his idea of a party quite frightening. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/rajeshcherian%40yahoo.co.in 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] 24-hour general strikes just don't work anymore
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == NPR (National Public Radio) did quite a bit of hatchet work on this story the other day. It was quite dismissive of the tactic as something done merely for show...before bowing before the inevitable cuts that have to be made. I must confess that I find it amusing that anyone in Europe is holding up what's happened in the U.S. as an example for much of anything. ML 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] India
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Shukriya Rajesh, Ha, ye mushkil hai... bahut mushkil hai. Lekin Rao ke bichar ek raaz hai. Matlab sab kuch ho sakta hai ... 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] India
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == NDTV: What caused the train derailment? # Barely a week after Prime Minister asked his Ministers not to air their difference of opinion in the public, the top UPA Ministers have again been found speaking in different voices over the train accident in West Bengal's Midnapore, in which 65 people have been killed. The question now is: What caused the derailment? While Home Minister P Chidambaram said that train derailment in West Bengal appears to be a case of sabotage, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said a blast as part of a calculated attack caused the Gyaneshwari Express to first derail and then get hit by a goods train. It appears to be a case of sabotage where a portion of the railway track was removed. Whether explosives were used is not yet clear, Chidambaram said in a statement. The Railway Minister further said that TNT explosives and Gelatine sticks were found at the accident site. It is a bomb blast case. After the blast, the train derailed and the accident happened. According to information given by Railway Police Force and officials TNT and Gelatine sticks were found at the accident, Banerjee told reporters shortly after visiting the spot. But Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the cause of the mishap is not clear yet. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/what-caused-the-train-derailment-28462.php?cp 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] Recovery?
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Les wrote: i'm always amazed at the little things that slip into so many news report. for example, here is from a Washington Post article on the aftermath of the street protests in Thailand recently: One of Asia's most vibrant economies is now getting cleaned up and back in business, but the government's campaign to rip out the roots of the protests once and for all has turned on some of Thailand's wealthiest businesspeople. from Thailand tries to go after financial backers of 'red shirts' http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/27/AR2010052705708.html?hpid=topnews Being relatively new here I don't know if his name has been brought up, but Dean Baker of CEPR runs a nice rundown of some of the economic news coverage in the primary print press (mostly American, though he does occasionally mention others). His blog is called Beat the Press and you can find it here: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/beat-the-press/ . 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] Maoism in India.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name The essay below is a response to the sabotage of the rail lines by the ³Maoist² party of India. For more on the recent attack on civilians, see http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article440190.ece?homepage=true. In 2009, the ³Maoists² killed 586 civilians. The number this year will easily exceed that. On the problems of Indian Maoism, see Dilip Simeon¹s very fine essay from March 2010, http://www.india-seminar.com/2010/607/607_dilip_simeon.htm. Vijay. From Maoism to Open Terrorism? Srinivasan Ramani First they tried to assassinate the West Bengal chief minister through a land mine blast. Then they tried to create a liberated zone and murdered political opponents. Then they started killing some of their own sympathisers. Now, near Jhargram, by deliberately targeting ordinary citizens (two posters of the Peoples' Committee against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) were found in the derailment site) and killing 65 of them (as I write this) and injuring dozens of others, the Maoists and their front group - the PCAPA have killed the camel whose back they had already broken through loading several straws. Mere outrage is not enough. Justice can be served to the victims of this gruesome rail tragedy, only by making those responsible feel the brunt of the law. The PCAPA's leaders at large should be brought to justice. And any pretense of a talks based solution to the Maoist challenge in West Bengal should now be given up. And the Railway minister must resign. The lady has demonstrated a serial incompetence that was displayed in the handling of the motormen strike in Mumbai, her statements blaming the dead people themselves for a stampede in the New Delhi Railway Station, the repeated attacks on trains recently by the PCAPA and the Maoists etc, apart from the horrendous tragedy that was enacted yesterday night. And she and her partymen- the rabble rousing Kabir Suman in particular have openly colluded with the PCAPA and the Maoists in the near past, in their endeavour to take on the ruling government in West Bengal, by hook or crook. Her party is now answerable for this tragedy - a consequence of the PCAPA's activities, which were not merely condoned but also given political support in days not very much in the past. The United Progressive Alliance government is also answerable for this disaster -dithering, dilly-dallying, oneupmanship and crass Realpolitik had blinded the home minister to the political ways of his coalition partner from West Bengal. Lastly, those in the civil society who have condoned the Maoist/PCAPA activities in the near past, if they indeed have a capacity to retain their mental balance, should atleast now realise the futility of Maoist politics and its reduction to plain opportunism, violent, anarchic and irrational violence that kills the very people they claim to preponderantly represent. http://www.pragoti.org/node/3965 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] 24-hour general strikes just don't work anymore
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Asfar asIcan see, and correct meif I'm wrong, the onlyvalid strategy is to call for UNLIMITED general strikes and workers'councils. The problemisof course, that socialism within the working class is not yet seen as a realalternative to capitalism, as was the case in the 60s. Bureaucratic unionism is largely to blame for this state of affairs in the West generally. Theystill cling on to Social Democraticidealseven though it is clear that the whole labour movement is disintegrating together with Capitalism. Capitalism cannot sustain itself, and Social Democracy is taking the plunge with it. Dan, I believe you are correct about the limitations of a 24-hour general strike (of course, there are matters of degree; in the U.S. such an action would likely have a different immediate impact).I recently suggested on a Spanish (Spain) site about the impending call for the general strike in Italy that perhaps it would be more useful to take the occasion of these limited actions to begin organizing independent workers councils/committees, first, to discuss the impact of their actions and next, to work within unions to coordinate new actions within the general strike activities and eventually work toward having these councils/committees take the responsibility for determining the length of actions and maximizing effects on production and commerce (e.g., affecting transportation and communication, but responsibly supporting vital services--to the working class not to business). I wonder if there even is any immediate venue for this kind of progressive coordination of action that can have the effect of both organizing the working class and promoting a plan of action? 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] Maoism in India.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Are we sure that: 1) the derailment was deliberately engineered? and 2) that if deliberately engineered, engineered by those whom the government claims engineered it? Derailing a moving, occupied public, or private, civilian passenger train is just nuts. And there are more than enough nuts to go around outside the officially designated nuts of the Maoist party. - Original Message - From: Vijay Prashad vijay.pras...@trincoll.edu 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] Activist Newsletter
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == May 28, 2010, Issue #159 HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER jac...@earthlink.net, New Paltz, NY 12561 ALL ARTICLES AT http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/ 1. OBAMA EXPANDS COVERT MILITARY OPERATIONS The Pentagon is increasing its secret war activities in the Middle East and east Africa including special operations missions into Iran for subversion and possible war preparations. 2. SEIZE BRITISH PETROLEUM! The ANSWER Coalition has launched a nationwide campaign to seize BP's assets. 3. WHO SUPPORTS THE WAR? Do the American people, and particularly members of the Democratic Party, support the Afghan war? Here are the facts. 4. OPINION POLL: CAPITALISM VS. SOCIALISM A surprising number of Americans not a majority but a fairly impressive minority evidently think well of socialism and are critical of capitalism, according to a new opinion poll. 5. PEACE PROTEST AT WEST POINT As President Obama presided over graduation ceremonies at West Point May 22, demonstrators rallied at the south gate to the Military Academy calling for an end to the wars 6. U.S. MILITARY POWER AND WORLD PEACE Despite the incredible power of the U.S. Armed Forces, the White House is enlarging its global military reach, mainly to retain geopolitical superiority. 7. WORKERS, UNIONS AND THE WARS War and peace are core concerns of workers, and unions are a political force that can amplify workers' voices in opposition to war and occupation, says union activist at rally.. 8. WHY AREN'T THEY HOLDING SIGNS? We will resist this imperialism because we love our country, and because we value our humanity above our comfort, says activist at West Point rally. 9. TERRORISM: CAUSE AND EFFECT Part 1, The U.S. focuses on the wrong target. 10.TERRORISM: CAUSE AND EFFECT Part 2, Washington's major decisions provoking jihad. 11.TERRORISM: CAUSE AND EFFECT Part 3, How to end the threat of terrorism. 12.IRAN: OBAMA'S OTHER OIL SPILL President Obama has been moving mountains to undermine the Iranian nuclear fuel swap deal mediated by Brazil and Turkey. 13. IRAN: A NEW WORLD ORDER IS NEEDED The efforts of Brazil and Turkey to find a negotiated solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, must be seen in the context of a growing challenge to the international political order. 14. BAN ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS Desmond Tutu, South Africa's Anglican Archbishop Emeritus, calls for total nuclear disarmament. 15. WHITE-BLACK WEALTH GAP WIDENS The wealth gap between white and black Americans quadrupled between 1984 and 2007. 16. THE WORLD'S CLEANEST COUNTRIES The U.S. comes in at number 63, Germany at 17, the UK at 14 but guess who is number 9. 17. BOYCOTTING THE BOYCOTTERS The Palestinian-initiated Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has been sharply criticized in Israel from the far right to the center right, but it does have liberal and left supporters among the Israeli people, writes Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy. 18. THE GENERALS COME CLEAN Armed Forces Day (May 15) and Memorial Day (May 31) are an appropriate occasion to reflect on past wars, and to recall that a number of leading U.S. military commanders have done some reflecting of their own, occasionally with startling results. 19. THE REAL ENEMY Lest the generals (above) have the last word, even though their words are laudable, we conclude this reflection on past wars with the antiwar poem From a German War Primer(1937) by Bertolt Brecht. 20. NEWS BRIEFS Cops Target Minorities in NYC; and Battlefield Executions in Afghanistan. 21. SAVING MOTHER EARTH Bolivian President Evo Morales explains the importance of the of the recent environmental conference in his country that drew 35,000 participants. Concerned readers dissatisfied with the nebulous results of the December Copenhagen UN meeting on climate change will learn much from this article, especially where Morales discusses the differences between the positions of the developed and the developing nations. ALL ARTICLES AT http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/ 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] Maoism in India.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Artesian asks the right questions, (1) was the derailment deliberate; (2) who did it. It seems clear, from most independent reporting, that the derailment was deliberate. The most important question is who did it. There is disagreement on the part of the government. The Home Minister says that the track was damaged (fish plates removed), so that this was sabotage. The Rail Minister says that the track was blown up, and that TNT was found by it. The Finance Minister says that it is not clear what has happened. Why have I jumped to the conclusion that it is the ³Maoists²? Since 2006, the ³Maoists² have been attacking the trains. The Press Trust of India made a list: Apr 22, 2006 - Maoists lay siege to a passenger train in Latehar for eight hours. May 2008 - Maoists lay siege to a passenger train in Latehar for five hours. Nov, 2009 - Maoists blow up railway tracks in Simdega district in Jharkhand derailing a passenger train killing two persons and injuring 38 people. October 27, 2009 - Maoists detain Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express for eight hours during a bandh called by the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA). May 19, 2010 - Maoists trigger landmine blast on railway tracks near Jhargram in West Midnapore district injuring two drivers of a goods train and leaving the engine damaged. May 20, 2010 - Fourteen oil tankers of a goods train derail and catch fire after Maoists blow up railway lines between Dighwara and Pipra stations in Bihar under Muzaffarpur-Narkatiyaganj section of East Central Railway. May 22, 2010 - Two persons, including a policeman, travelling in the Tatanagar-bound Steel Express, injured in crossfire between Maoists and joint forces at Banstala station in West Midnapore district. They have a history of such attacks. It is likely that this is them. The Police has said that there were posters found at the scene. This can easily be a fabrication. Hard to say from just this. It is the history and the tactic that is much more clarifying, as is the intensification of attacks by the ³Maoists.² Vijay. 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] Three recent movies
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == 1. Looking for Eric, Ken Loach's latest 2. Vincere, a biopic about Mussolini and his lover Ida Dalser 3. The Human Centipede (Sequence One), a campy horror movie about sewing 3 people together. reviewed here: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/three-recent-movies/ 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] Alan Woods posse on Iran
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Guess what. A revolutionary leadership is missing. Gosh, you learn something new every day. http://www.marxist.com/iran-character-of-present-lull-and-tasks-of-marxists.htm 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] Fw: Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == New reviews just published online in the Marx and Philosophy Review of Books ·Peter Amato on G.A. Cohen ·Tom Eyers on Alberto Toscano ·Daniel Whittall on Alex Callinicos ·Terrel Carver on Tristram Hunt ·Paula Cerni on Habermas ·Rich Daniels on Adorno 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] India and Turkey
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == We have seen this film played in Turkey long time ago. Every civil disobedience, land occupation by peasants, street demonstration, any and all civil rights movement, even demonstrations against the US 6th fleet visits to Istanbul for the US sailors to enjoy the brothels, demonstrations against the Vietnam War, were reported by the police, ministers, prime minister and the head of state as terrorist activities of anarchists (they had not learned that Marxist Leninists were not anarchists yet, but that word anarchist was the boogy man of the times) and terrorists. Entire evening news broadcasts were full of sky is falling cries detailing terrorist atrocities. These civil rights movements were all led by the left movements. Marxists, Leninists and Maoists collaborated to lead students, peasants, workers and other oppressed groups like women, civil servants, high school students, teachers etc. After the full propaganda had reached its peak, a military ship was bombed and sunk, with leftist propaganda found around. A mass attack on the left resulted in hundreds of student leaders, movement participants, leftists being arrested, tortured and prisoned. It was also disheartening that the CPT publications and members repeated the government accusations against the revolutionaries. The fashionable term used by the CPT against the revolutionary left was gauchists or extereme leftists. Their stupidity hit the peak when the Workers Party of Turkey's chief asked the left to call the police when the fascists attacked, because resisting the police, the paramilitary or the armed fascist thugs was seen as extremism in their pathetic eyes. Only years later, after the military coup had done its damage (one reason for the coup was the sinking of the ship) it was revealed that it was impossible for the leftists to have done this attack, but it was done from within the ship, within the military, and with knowledge of the military. In Solidarity 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] UFCW takes the high road in union organizing
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Pot Goes Union As Oaksterdam U Joins UFCW by Chris Roberts May 27, 2010 7:50 AM Though we've never been in one ourselves, we gather that joining a union isn't all it's cracked up to be: you have to pay dues, hold signs outside of drug stores, and often run afoul of politicians and mainstream media when the going gets tough. But union membership can also be a strategic masterstroke, and a magic pill to salve bad news. This appears to be the case for cannabis college Oaksterdam University, where organized labor and the burgeoning marijuana industry are converging for - we believe - the very first time. Last week it was revealed that Tax Cannabis 2010 - the ballot measure and brainchild of Oaksterdam founder Richard Lee - was polling at a dangerously marginal 50 percent. But that was without the pledged support of organized labor, which is now on Oaksterdam's side after 100 employees at the cannabis-centered business - which includes a cannabis dispensary and a plant nursery as well cultivation classes - turned in their union cards and joined Local 5 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, school and union officials confirmed Wednesday. What's this mean for labor, and for the medical cannabis movement? It means at least in the eyes of union organizers, medical marijuana is legitimate and it's not going away any time soon (and any cannabis business would, of course, grow exponentially should adult recreational use be approved). UFCW won a major coup by securing the first-of-its-kind arrangement with Oaksterdam, which now can boast of connections and political clout it couldn't just last week. It's a very big deal, said Mike Henneberry, communications director for Local 5's Hayward office, the local shop for Oaksterdam, who said Oaksterdam's newly-minted union members turned in their cards about three weeks ago, at a ceremony oversaw by Oakland City Council member Rebecca Kaplan. It's the first organized medical cannabis operation - I believe - in the US or Canada, so it's groundbreaking in that sense, he said. Cannabis is also a growth industry, unlike automobile production or shipping, which means the union stands only to grow. People [and other dispensaries] who wouldn't even have thought about unionizing are now thinking about it. And, noted Henneberry, we have a lot of political connections. That's the real benefit, in particular for Tax Cannabis 2010, but also for would-be dispensary operators. Those operators can now organize prior to begging city councils or planning commissions for permits, bringing to the table a real stamp of legitimacy. And if Tax Cannabis 2010's supporters - chief among whom is Lee, who has pumped close to $1.3 million of his own personal fortune into the ballot measure - can call in some favors in a close campaign? People who didn't want to listen [to Tax Cannabis 2010] will now be forced to listen, said Dale Sky Clare, Oaksterdam University's executive chancellor. People have confidence in unions. Whether this means that labor giants like SEIU will likewise support Tax Cannabis 2010 and campaign for its passage is as yet unclear. But it can't hurt, and is surely a sign of things to come. http://sfappeal.com/news/2010/05/pot-goes-union-oaksterdam-joins.php 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] Adolph Reed interview
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.gcadvocate.com/2010/05/intelligent-action-an-interview-with-adolph-reed/ 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] Fw: Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Paula wrote: New reviews just published online in the Marx and Philosophy Review of Books ·Peter Amato on G.A. Cohen ·Tom Eyers on Alberto Toscano ·Daniel Whittall on Alex Callinicos ·Terrel Carver on Tristram Hunt ·Paula Cerni on Habermas ·Rich Daniels on Adorno http://www.marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks 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] 24-hour general strikes just don't work anymore
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Agreed, Manuel. If whatever you've done becomes a predictable, easily ignored ritual, it has to be shaken up a bit. These suggestions are first rate. ML PS: On the other hand, if you could send several tens of thousands of French militants over here as a kind of cultural exchange, we'd be happy to send you all the teabaggers, Fundies and anti-evolutionists you'd ever want. 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] reviewer wanted
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Socialism and Democracy is looking for someone to review David Harvey's Companion to Marx's Capital. This book is pretty much what the title suggests. Every year David Harvey teaches a course on Volume one of Marx's Capital and this is a companion to go along with his teaching of Marx's Volume One of Capital. It is somewhat technical in the economic sense but well worth reading. I was hoping that someone on this list would be interested in doing the review for Socialism and Democracy. The reviewer needs to be someone who is both knowledgeable of Volume one of Marx's Volume One of Capital and the economic history and theory of political economy. If anyone is interested in writing the review please contact me at snedek...@verizon.net Please paste a sample review you have written. Please do not send me any attachments. George Snedeker Book Review Editor www.sdonline.org You can take a look at some of the reviews we have published online at the Socialism and Democracy web page. George Snedeker 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] (no subject)
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == From the Dissident Voice via the Minnesota Cuba Committee (Minnesota Cuba Committee [mnc...@minnesotacubacommittee.org]) The Elected Delegate and the Dissident in Cuba’s Municipal Elections http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/05/the-elected-delegate-and-the-dissident-in-cuba%E2%80%99s-municipal-elections/ by Arnold August / May 22nd, 2010 The municipal elections have come to a close on May 19 with the constitution of the Municipal Assemblies and the election by the delegates of the presidents and vice-presidents from amongst the newly elected delegates. Prior to this last step, thousands of neighbourhood nomination meetings took place between February 24 and March 24 in all 169 Municipalities across the island. From among those nominated by the citizens, a secret universal suffrage ballot election took place on April 25 to elect the 15,093 delegates for all municipalities from among the more than 45,000 nominated directly by the citizens. On that Sunday a candidate, from a minimum of two to a maximum of eight nominees in each constituency (riding or ward), would have to garner at least 50% of the valid votes in order to be elected. A second round took place on May 2 in those constituencies which none of the candidates garnered at least 50% of the valid votes. In these cases, the two candidates getting the most votes advanced in a run-off second round. In cases where there was a tie vote between two candidates, these two candidates also advanced to the second round. This is a normal situation and takes place in all of the fourteen municipal elections which have been organized since 1976. (There occurred one unusual instance this year in which a candidate passed away just prior to the April 25 elections and so a new nomination meeting had to took place after April 25; the electors in this constituency thus went to the polls for the first time on May 2.) For all these reasons, a total of 14% of the constituencies (2,107) had to go into a second round on May 2. In these elections on May 2, three constituencies ended up in a tie among the two candidates who went into the second round, and so a third round took place on May 5 in which a winner finally emerged in all three, completing this phase of the municipal partial elections; this set the stage for the constitution of the municipal assemblies on May 19. Elected were 15,093 delegates 16 years and older (minimum age requirement to vote and to be elected at the municipal level.) Aside from a very small portion (for example the president and vice-president of the Municipal Assemblies, and some presidents and vice presidents of the People’s Councils), all delegates do their work as an elected citizen on a voluntary basis, with no pay or remuneration of any kind while maintaining their regular job. In the exceptional cases in which some delegates become full time as indicated above, they will receive the same wage as they had been receiving in their work place, not a cent more. For the overwhelming proportion that is non-professional, their work as a delegate takes place in the main after work hours and on the weekend. One of the most intriguing aspects of investigating the Cuban electoral process and Cuba’s type of democracy is finding out in detail the history of the elected and what they do in their political, professional and personal life. This captivating feature of research applies not only to the municipal delegates but also for example to the elected deputies in the National Assembly of People’s Power (parliament). While several deputies are well known throughout Cuba and internationally, the vast majority are not as is the case of virtually all the municipal delegates (who according to the Cuban Constitution constitute up to 50% of the national legislature). Even the most well know national legislative deputies (such as Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, Ricardo Alarcón and others) who are known nationally and internationally, outside of Cuba their real main characteristics, features and historical evolution are in the main kept from the international public eye or completely distorted to the point of these political leaders being victims of defamation of character. Cubans in the main know their elected local municipal delegates because they are neighbours and are used to seeing each other almost every day or at least quite often. However, as a result of the media disinformation and black-out, for people outside of Cuba in general the local elected delegate remains a mystery: A blank page. Instead of foreign journalists providing non-Cubans with some portraits of who are the 15,093 elected citizens with several examples, neither exaggerating the positive points nor highlighting only negative experience, there seems to be an effort
[Marxism] Packing a gun
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Music video performed by Dr Freaks Padded Cell, the band led by Steve Evets, the star of Ken Loach's Looking for Eric. With a guest performance by Mark E. Smith, the leader of The Fall, a band that Evets used to be a member of, along with perhaps 10,000 other Brits. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2694706650574639351# 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] Take that, Václav Havel
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == NY Times May 28, 2010 Communists Could Gain in Czech Vote By DAN BILEFSKY PRAGUE — A popular online video here called “Convince Granny” urges young Czechs to withhold visits to their grandparents unless the old folks agree not to vote for leftist parties like the Communists in Saturday’s elections. Modeled on the American comic Sarah Silverman’s video “The Great Schlep,” which in 2008 appealed to young Jewish voters to persuade their grandparents to support Barack Obama in the swing state of Florida, the Czech video is a testament to the Communist Party’s enduring influence here. The creators of “Convince Granny” say they conceived the video, which has had more than 600,000 hits since it was posted on YouTube about a month ago, as a necessary weapon against the ascent of the unreconstructed Communist Party, which recent polls indicate could win up to 15 percent of the vote. In addition to the jokes about Grandma’s selective memory, the video implores young viewers not to forget the insidious transgressions of the former Communist government, from the exile of the country’s leading intellectuals and artists to the execution of its political enemies. In an election that is unlikely to yield a majority for either the leftist Social Democrats or the rightist Civic Democrats, analysts say the Communist Party could come closer to real power than at any other time since the Velvet Revolution here overthrew Communism in 1989. “We hate the Communists,” said Marek Prchal, 35, an advertising executive who helped create the video. “The Communists should have been banned a long time ago.” Analysts say the Communist Party is benefiting from a regionwide disappointment over the failure of liberal parties to live up to the promises of 1989. “The theme across the region is the politics of disillusionment,” said Anna Matuskova, a political consultant here. “In the Czech Republic, there is a new generation of young people with iPhones who don’t remember Communism and will vote for them as a protest vote.” The Communist Party in this country remains the only one surviving in the former Eastern Bloc and, to its many critics, is a dangerous anachronism. The Communists still extol Lenin and Marx, and advocate the redistribution of wealth and the country’s disengagement from NATO, making the party a potential spoiler for good relations with the rest of Europe and the United States. Eager to keep the Communists out of power, the Social Democrats and Civic Democrats may come together in a grand coalition that could lead to gridlock, political experts here say. But it is also possible that a minority Social Democratic government could come to power dependent on the Communist Party’s tacit support. Several new political parties could also prove to be decisive in these elections: the recently created TOP 09, a fiscally conservative party led by Karel Schwarzenberg, a pipe-smoking prince and former foreign minister; and Public Matters, which has instituted patrols in Prague removing drug addicts and homeless people from the street. The Communists’ secret weapon is Katerina Konecna, the youngest member of the Czech Parliament, who at age 28 says she feels as at home wearing designer black stiletto heels as she does reading Das Kapital. The daughter of Communist Party members, Ms. Konecna says that the current crisis of capitalism has proved a boon to the Communist Party among the young, who were drawn by its promises of free education and guaranteed jobs. “People would rather queue up for bananas, than today, when they have to stand in the unemployment line,” she said. Yet the limits of the contemporary Communists’ appeal were all too apparent at a rally held Thursday in front of one of the capital’s largest shopping malls. Jana Kocianova, 18, a would-be Czech Britney Spears, gyrated and belted out Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” in Czech, as a group of 80-something men swayed to the beat, tapping their canes on the pavement. Speaking between sets, Ms. Kocianova commended the Communists’ social egalitarianism, even as she acknowledged that singing for them was problematic for her. “It’s not cool to be young and to support the Communist Party,” she lamented. But she quickly added, “I wasn’t alive during Communism, so I don’t really remember anything.” 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] India.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Confusion is in the eye of the beholder. [by the way, I find it curious that so many people seek to mask themselves, in these times, behind various noms de guerre. Comrade epoliticus, at least you need not be confused about who I am. Who you are is of course not clear. There is no dissonance in my person. Stand and deliver sirrah; unmask thyself]. There is an attack on a train. It is either sabotage or a bomb blast. Either way, there was malicious intent. The destruction took place at night: which means that the night engineer would not have seen the fishplates removed, unless the train ran a pilot car before it (which it did not). The governments of West Bengal and Orissa have stopped night trains along these lines. It is well known that in these parts the ³Maoists² have conducted sabotage and blast operations. They have called for a ³Black Week,² and opened up with an attack on a bus (http://www.hindustantimes.com/We-killed-civilians-we-re-sorry-Maoists/Artic le1-545522.aspx). They killed civilians in that case, and offered a disingenuous apology. Fifteen civilians by the way. I offered the PTI list in full not to suggest that all the ³events² are of the same kind, but that there have been a host of actions against the trains. Many of them are acts of civil disobedience. But there are also several that were acts of sabotage. One was a hijacking incident. All were not done by the ³Maoists,² but the more violent ones certainly were. It sets a pattern. The ³Maoists² have not taken responsibility for the attack, as yet. Their statements do not come immediately. They take a day or two. The Hindu editorial from this morning has some points of merit: http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article440703.ece. Best Wishes, Vijay. Politicus E. epoliticus at gmail.com Fri May 28 14:47:48 MDT 2010 Vijay Prashad is confused. In one email, he refers to the sabotage of the rail lines by the Maoist party of India. He proceeds to refer us to a shrill article from Pragoti, an outlet of the CPI(Marxist). This article posits that two posters of the Peoples' Committee against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) were found in the derailment site and therefore concludes that this human tragedy was caused by Maoists. Mercifully, at least, Vijay Prashad now concedes that the story about the posters might be an exaggeration. Then, we are presented with an article from the Press Trust of India along with the inference that it is likely that the derailment was caused by Maoists. This Press Trust of India report cites seven cases of so-called Maoist malfeasance. Of these cases, three refer to simple acts of civil disobedience (e.g., a siege of train in Latehar for five hours). To insinuate that civil disobedience must be disavowed by Marxists is simply unacceptable. Moreover, to insinuate that acts of civil disobedience are identical with landmine blasts -- as this PTI report does -- is palpable nonsense. Did you notice that this listserv is for Marxists? Moreover, the fact of the matter remains that blockading trains in West Bengal is not uncommon and employed by political parties and other groups across the spectrum. Consider three illustrations from the Calcutta Telegraph: (1) Dhanbad, April 26 [2006]: Hundreds of railway trainees of Bhuli Zonal Training Institute today halted the railway traffic on Grand Chord Line around 8 am, following the death of a Howrah-based railway employee, Anil Kumar Rai, who had been undergoing a training for the past three weeks. This, too, I image can be construed as a siege. (2) Midnapore, Sept. 13 [2007]: A group led by Midnapore CPI MP Prabodh Panda blocked railway tracks for two hours this morning demanding stoppage of more trains at Narayangarh. Several trains such as the Bangalore-Guwahati Express and Dhauli were delayed. In case (2), the Communist Party of India -- an ally of the CPI(Marxist) -- engaged in such civil disobedience. (3) Dhanbad, March 23 [2010]: Passengers today went on the rampage at Gomoh railway station, alleging that they were not informed about diversions of Patna-bound trains running through Gaya. The protesters put boulders at platform No. 2 and on the railway tracks. Police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse them. At least five trains Ranchi-Janshatabdi Express, Hatia-Rajendra Nagar Express, Hatia-Patna Super Fast Express, Palamau Link Express and Ganga-Damodar Express have been diverted from March 23 to March 31 due to ongoing interlocking work at Gaya station. The trains are plying on the Dhanbad-Sitarampur-Kiul-Jasidih-Jhajha route. Shall I continue? It is truly bizarre that such simple acts of civil disobedience are conflated with the use of landmines to deduce that it is likely that Maoists caused the derailment
Re: [Marxism] India.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I am not sure why so many people feel it necessary to have this romance with Maoism and their cult of violence. It would seem to have little to do with classic Marxism in any of the major tendencies--certainly not Marx or Engels . . . Moreover, haven't there been enough copies of Lenin's Left-Wing Communism read. just my thought, Bill Pelz 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] Ken MacLeod on a novel about Kantrovich
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == MacLeod reviews Francis Spufford's new novel Red Plenty, about the Soviet economist and mathematician Kantorovich who developed linear programming and attempted to develop a computerized system for planning the Soviet economy. MacLeod's review discusses Kantorovich in relation to the debates over the socialist calculation problem, and he suggests that Kantorovich http://kenmacleod.blogspot.com/2010/05/red-plenty.html Jim Farmelant http://independent.academia.edu/JimFarmelant Penny Stock Jumping 2000% Sign up to the #1 voted penny stock newsletter for free today! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4c0074ea55cc23bc33m03vuc 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] India.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Vijay Prashad wrote: The Maoists have not taken responsibility for the attack, as yet. Their statements do not come immediately. They take a day or two. You are incorrect. The PCAPA has already stated that it is not responsible. If you had read the messages posted to this listserv, instead of gracing us with your presence in order to conduct pro-CPI(M) propaganda whenever an opportunity presented itself, then you would have noted Greg McDonald's post from earlier today: However, a spokesman for the group, Asit Mahato, denied any role, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. We were in no way involved. This is not our act, PTI quoted him as saying by phone. This statement was also reported in the Hindustan Times. With respect to the Dantewara attack, readers interested in objective reportage can obtain additional information at http://sanhati.com/articles/2408/. epoliticus 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] India.
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == If fish plates are tie plates, upon which the actual rails rest, and which in turn rest upon the ties, or sleepers as they are called in British railroad jargon, then their removal should not have caused a catastrophic derailment. If fish plates are the plates that join sections of rail together, called angle bars in the US, then where did the story of :land mines come from? - Original Message - From: Vijay Prashad vijay.pras...@trincoll.edu 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] Lula to Obama: Drop Dead
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == The US. drive towards war with Iran has now sparked public denunciations and recriminations between Brazil and the United States. Speaking yesterday at the Brooking Institution, Secretary of State Clinton said the United States had very serious differences with Brazil on Iran, accusing President Lula of enabling Iran's nuclear weapons program and buying time for it. She said that what Lula had done makes the world more dangerous. Lula's crime? He negotiated a deal between Turkey and Iran where Iran would send low enriched uranium to turkey in exchange for ready-to-use reactor fuel. The Brazilian president wasted no time in responding to Clinton's attack. We do not need anyone's permission in order to deal with the nuclear issue in Iran, he said. The argument that existed was that there was a general lack of trust that existed towards Iran and they (the United States) would say Iran did not want to sit at the negotiating table and do its part. What the Prime Minister [of Turkey] and I did was show Iran the importance of sitting at the table and talking. But Lula escalated the confrontation even further by leaking a letter to him by President Obama. And to make it *very* clear that the Brazilian government had leaked it, the web site that published the letter printed not just the text, but a reproduction of the actual document, on White House letterhead and with Obama's signature. That's here, BTW: http://www.politicaexterna.com/archives/11023#axzz0pB5f3OCQ The April 20 letter lays out the reasonable --well, supposedly reasonable-- U.S. conditions for an agreement with Iran, with the transfer of 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched Uranium in exchange for more highly enriched --but not weapons grade-- uranium rods for use in an Iranian research reactor that provides isotopes for medical uses like cancer treatment. This is part of the text of the letter: * * * There is a potentially important compromise that has already been offered. Last November, the IAEA conveyed to Iran our offer to allow Iran to ship its 1,200 kg of LEU to a third country — specifically Turkey·- at the outset of the process·to be held in escrow as a guarantee during the fuel production process that Iran would get back its uranium if we failed to deliver the fuel. Iran has never pursued the escrow compromise and has provided no credible explanation for its rejection. I believe that this raises real questions about Iran’s nuclear intentions, if Iran is unwilling to accept an offer to demonstrate that its LEU is for peaceful, civilian purposes. I would urge Brazil to impress upon Iran the opportunity presented by this offer to escrow its uranium in Turkey while the nuclear fuel is being produced. Throughout this process, instead of building confidence Iran has undermined confidence in the way it has approached this opportunity. That is why I question whether Iran is prepared to engage Brazil in good faith, and why I cautioned you during our meeting. * * * Those points that Obama claims Iran rejected are pretty much the agreement reached by Turkey and Iran through Lula's good offices. Now you may be wondering --if you're in the United States-- why you're reading this in Marxmail and not in the New York Times or some other newspaper, or seeing it on TV. The reason is that administration flacks have been working assiduously all day to suppress the news. As I hear it, they're telling reporters that this is selective leaking of no significance, if we saw the whole correspondence we'd see the context made clear --in essence-- that Obama said the opposite of what he said. And even if you don't buy that, the US had an additional condition that Iran either stop enriching Uranium altogether or stop way short of the level of enrichment needed for its reactor. On top of that, at least one journalist was said to have been told that giving more play to this prank by the Brazilian President would endanger national security and undermine delicate negotiations at the UN. And oh yeah, by he way, would you like a one-on-one sitdown interview with Hillary? Perhaps it can be arranged. Implicit, of course, is if you play ball. The irony is that in those circles, the offer of a perhaps interview with some top official is in reality a threat to cut off the reporter. This means that they would not even get the official leaks from high administration officials (the government PR flacks) that are the bread and butter of the hacks that have choice assignments like the White House or State Department. Thus, although all national TV news outlets of
[Marxism-Thaxis] Thailand: challenging the heroic revolution archetype
Thailand: challenging the heroic revolution archetype by Somtow Sucharitkul ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Drum Unleashed May 20, 2010 http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2905056.htm I have been composing a long, day by day account of the troubles of the last three days, which I have not yet posted. The reason is that I've been getting a lot of mail asking me to explain the truth to people overseas. A lot of people here are astonished and appalled at the level of irresponsibility and inaccuracy shown by such major news sources as CNN, and are attributing the most astonishing motives to this, such as suggesting that they're in the pay of Thaksin and so on. I don't think this is really what is going on. Rather, I think that there are two basic problems: preconception and language. CNN first became a force to be reckoned with during the People Power movement in the Philippines. The kind of coverage we had for this was amazing. There was a camera in every camp, and we could follow this exciting revolution every step of the way. We knew exactly who to root for: the oppressed masses led by the widow of the iconic Aquino, and we knew that whenever President Marcos appeared he was Darth Vader, the symbol of an evil empire. The arc of the story was simple and inexorable. A whole new way of looking at the news was born, with all the excitement of a TV miniseries and, prophetically, a reality show as well. Of course, many of the little details of the story were conveniently glossed over. Reality was not - never is - so black and white. But there are three important things about this story: first, in its essentials, there was a lot of truth. And all the protagonists spoke English. The Philippines, as Filipinos never tire of telling me, is the third most populous English speaking country in the world. We will leave the definition of English-speaking to another blog, but it's very important that the various sides in this conflict were able to articulate their viewpoints in a language which CNN well understood. The third important thing about the story is that it fulfilled a vision of history that is an inseparable part of the inheritance of western culture, that is so ingrained in western thinking that it is virtually impossible for an educated member of western society to divorce himself from it. It is a vision of history as a series of liberations. From Harmodius and Aristogeiton throwing off the tyrant's yoke to the removal of the Tarquins and the establishment of the Roman Republic to the failed rebellion of Spartacus, from Magna Carta to the Bastille to the American Civil War to the Russian Revolution, there is this Platonic Model against which these big historical movements are always compared. There is a bad guy - often a dictator - who can be demonised. There is a struggling proletariat. The end comes with liberty and justice for all. This is Star Wars. The dark times. The Empire. The People Power coverage was riveting, compelling, and contained all the emotional components of this mythical story arc. Finding another such story, therefore, is a kind of Holy Grail for the international media. When a story comes that appears to contain some of the elements, and it's too much hard work to verify those elements or get all the background detail, you go with the Great Archetype of Western Civilisation. Now, let us consider the redshirt conflict. Let's not consider what has actually been happening in Thailand, but how it looks to someone whose worldview has been coloured with this particular view of history. Let's consider the fact that there is pretty much nothing being explained in English, and that there are perhaps a dozen foreigners who really understand Thai thoroughly. I don't mean Thai for shopping, bargirls, casual conversation and the like. Thai is a highly ambiguous language and is particularly well suited for seeming to say opposite things simultaneously. To get what is really being said takes total immersion. When you watch a red shirt rally, notice how many English signs and placards there are, and note that they are designed to show that these are events conforming to the archetype. The placards say Democracy, No Violence, Stop killing innocent women and children and so on. Speakers are passionately orating, crowds are moved. But there are no subtitles. What does it look like? The answer is obvious. It looks like oppressed masses demanding freedom from an evil dictator. Don't blame Dan Rivers, et al, who are only doing what they are paid to do: find the compelling story within the mass of incomprehensible data, match that story to what the audience already knows and believes, and make sure the advertising money keeps flowing in. A vigorous counter-propaganda campaign in clear and simple English words of one syllable has always been lacking and is the reason the government is losing the PR war while actually following the most logical steps toward a real and
[Marxism-Thaxis] The Part played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man
c b cb31450 at gmail.com Thu May 27 15:00:48 MDT 2010 Engels: First labour, after it and then with it speech – these were the two most essential stimuli under the influence of which the brain of the ape gradually changed into that of man, which, for all its similarity is far larger and more perfect. ^ CB: This seems to be a LaMarckian hypothesis. Of course, LaMarckianism is not anti-natural selection. It is anti-Mendelianism. ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] Opposable thumb
Engels: But the decisive step had been taken, the hand had become free and could henceforth attain ever greater dexterity; the greater flexibility thus acquired was inherited and increased from generation to generation. ^^^ CB: There is a qualitative leap in the development of dexterity in the hand in the opposable thumb. This differentiates apes and humans. ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] Why , oh, why are humans so thoroughly socially determined ?
Launching Language: The Gestural Origin of Discrete Infinity CeJ jannuzi at gmail.com ] CB: A demonstration is worth 10,000 words. But ten thousand words can get across the death barrier and a bodily demonstraton cannot .Most of what I'm saying, my premises are anthropology a,b,c. I'm just posing a little esoteric hypothesis for some basic anthropology. Alas, apparently 10,000 words didn't work for the Etruscans or the Egyptians or Ozymandias. ^ CB: Well, it worked to get across the death barrier for scores if not hundreds of generations. I'm not sure what you are talking about. Some of the Egyptian stuff and the others _did_ get across to us. We are not utterly ignorant of those cultures and lives. I think the only thing necessary for language and culture to get across the 'death barrier' is simply that there is another living generation in existence who can accept them before the previous generation dies off. That is all you have hinted at here as well. CJ ^^^ CB: My esoteric hypothesis is that language and culture can get across the death barrier but a live demonstrating experienced body cannot. My hypothesis is based on two very trivial truths. It is only interesting if you are part of the school of thought that says symboling-language-culture is the differentia specifica of the human species. The question arises why did symboling come to be so ubiquitous and omnipotent in human society ? Why all the social determinism ? Why not follow our instincts and genes as all other species do ? Why did humans come to be the culture bearing species (Leslie White's definition of humans) ? ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] Evolutionary timeline for language: Chose a pensee
CB: Levi-Strauss' concepts for the below are both logic of the concretre and chose a pensee , things to think with ^^^. CB: The first language was probably not just in bodily parts. The first people arranged their landscape syntactically. Or named specific trees and rocks, bolders. In the begining was the Word in the form of Landmarks. The whole of their land was a language of the concrete. The prevalence of sacred spots as a way of For that matter they were astronomers. And mountain namers, hill namers, etc. The emphasis on Land as fundamental to preliterate culture comes through in the emphasis of Native Americans and Australian Aborigines on land recovery today. I wrote several papers on land recovery for the Yurok of Northwest California. The more general paper is Indigenous Knowledge in Aboriginal Land Recovery d So, the preliterate peoples were literate in terms of having a concrete writing system. Both movable stones, which remain, and no doubt moveable thousands of other objects which have dissolved, not been preserved like stones. And relatively immovable landmarks , and skymarks, like the sun, the moon, the stars. In sense, the Pyramids of Egypt and America are the final monuments to the stone age, obviously very complex cosmological monoliths, artificial mountains, artificial sacred geographical spots, b ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] Human origin and rules
Early use of sound for language would likely included whistling and clicking , as well as the vocal chords. Head shakes , yes, no is simple but fundamental and powerful. It gives us negation . Here is a significant binary opposition. Also, sounds produced with instruments , tools, drums I'm not sure the concept of rule has been mentioned as a definitional feature of grammar, syntax. Humans can follow large amounts of rules. Culture, tradition, taboo are systems of rules of conduct Kinsystems are lots of rules. Rules are symbolic , built on symbols. CB ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] Thailand
http://www.fpif.org/articles/the_battle_for_thailand ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Why , oh, why are humans so thoroughly socially determined ?
Why , oh, why are humans so thoroughly socially determined ? CB: Well, it worked to get across the death barrier for scores if not hundreds of generations. I'm not sure what you are talking about. Some of the Egyptian stuff and the others _did_ get across to us. We are not utterly ignorant of those cultures and lives. Yes, of course, so Cecil B. Demille could completely recreate Egyptian culture on screen for us. Etruscan is a dead language of unknown origin and affiliation. Egypt is now Arabic language. The 'ancient' cultures' to which you refer were not stone age, nor were they altogether as ancient as many people think. However, those cultures did not survive; they are extinct. CJ ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Apple Overtakes Microsoft
Apple Overtakes Microsoft Prove more than anything that the .com bubble didn't go away, it just farted its way into a handful of stocks. Both Apple and MS are bubble-valued stocks, because hope never dies apparently. CJ ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
[Marxism-Thaxis] How the GOP Became the White Man's Party
Although Goldwater was not the man to lead them into their promised land, this supports my idea that we need to account for Goldwaterism too. Now we see Buchanan can't lead some of them out into populist nationalism because he is a Catholic. CJ http://www.alternet.org/rights/147004/how_the_gop_became_the_white_man%27s_party?page=4 Such obdurate pronouncements proved too ideological for the 1964 electorate. When a journalist asked Goldwater what it might feel like to become president one day, he had replied, Frankly, it scares the hell out of me. Voters agreed, and he picked up just 52 of 538 electoral votes. Even as the Arizona senator fell far short in his drive for national power, however, he proved an able revolutionary within his own party. Unlike any politician since Prohibition, he made crime a galvanizing national campaign issue. By winning five ex-Confederate states plus his own, he proved that Republicans could compete in the solid South, and he shifted the party's center of gravity to the Sunbelt. Proclaiming famously that extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, he drove liberals like his primary opponent Nelson Rockefeller into Republican exile. Within a single election cycle he repositioned the Grand Old Party as the standard bearer of opposition to civil rights. Only two years earlier, poll respondents had perceived almost no difference between the two major parties when it came to race. By late 1964, however, Americans overwhelmingly identified Democrats with civil rights and Republicans with a go-slow, states' rights approach. The sea change was apparent at party gatherings, where the conservative journalist Robert Novak was dismayed to hear a new cadre of GOP activists conversing freely about niggers and nigger lovers. Under Goldwater's leadership, he concluded, the Republican Party was now a White Man's Party. ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
