[Marxism] Sex and the City 2 reviewed by Mark Kermode
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHeQeHstrsc 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] Max Blumenthal reports on Israeli planning prior to attack on G...
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == UN has voted to investigate the killing of nine aboard the Gaza bound ship Series of Israeli blunders attributed to the cabinet's military background The Gaza flotilla assault places Israel's decision-makers under scrutiny Financial Times 3/6/2010 George Anthony 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] Max Blumenthal reports on Israeli planning prior to attack on Gaza aid convoy
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == The Flotilla Raid Was Not “Bungled.” The IDF Detailed Its Violent Strategy In Advance http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/06/the-flotilla-raid-was-not-bungled-the-idf-detailed-its-violent-strategy-in-advance/ or http://tinyurl.com/2bf93a6 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] More sound than fury in Turkey
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Here's the Facebook event, for those of you into that sort of thing, which may make it easier to invite others: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132966863383996 I also recommend joining the Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition - NY group for further relevant announcements: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72148660504 On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 5:46 PM, Louis Proyect wrote: Btw, Andy Pollack sent me > this earlier. I asked him to announce it to the list but he must be > busy. So I am sending it for him: > > The Muslim and Arab Community of New York and New Jersey Urges You to > MARCH AND RALLY AGAINST ISRAEL'S ATTACK ON THE GAZA FREEDOM FLOTILLA and > in SOLIDARITY WITH TURKEY Rally Friday June 4 3 pm 42 Street and Seventh > Avenue (south of Times Square) March 4 pm to the Turkish Mission 46 > Street and First Avenue to show our support Rally 5pm at the Israeli > Mission to the United Nations East 42 Street and Second Avenue END THE > SIEGE OF GAZA FREEDOM TO THE PEACE ACTIVISTS PROSECUTE ISRAELI PIRATES > AND MURDERERS END U.S. AID TO ISRAEL. > > > (I plan to be there.) > -- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað." 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] Siezed and detained by Israel, US activist describes experiences
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == But were all released. Where the Israeli Arabs released. I heard that they were still being held. 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] This Just In: To Illustrate My Point-National Day of Action June 5th to Break The Siege
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == >From The BDS Movement: Now's our chance to show what we are made of--All Out >for Saturday, June 5th (see link below for local actions, or propose one >ourselves) http://www.breaksiege.com/call-for-action-global-day-to-break-israeli-siege/ Call for Action: Global Day to Break Israeli SiegeToday we watched with horror as Israel committed its massacre against the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza murdering 19 unarmed civilians and leaving over 50 injured. The peaceful Flotilla carrying over 10,000 tones of humanitarian aid to Gaza and over 700 pro-Palestinian activists was attacked by Israeli Navy forces using live ammunition, teargas, grenades…etc.The Israeli apartheid state has again acted in full impunity against international law and needs to be held accountable for the murder of unarmed civilians at sea and illegal barbaric piracy of civilian vessels in international water carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.In memory of the brave men and women who lost their lives on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, today we are calling all free citizens and people of conscience around the world to a Global Day of Action to carry forward Freedom Flotilla’s cause of breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza.Let’s mark Saturday, 5th June 2010 as Global Day to Break Israeli Siege with protests and demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies and consulates all over the world. We call on you to join us on this day to demand in a global united voice, from our governments to:Take a stance against this horrid inhumanity committed by Israel against armless humanitarians and activists by following Turkey’s footsteps in shutting down Israeli’s consulates. Crimes against inhumanity are inexcusable and will not be welcome in our countries.Join the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in cutting all political, economic, cultural and academic ties with Israel as a statement that crimes against humanity are inexcusable, unwelcome and will not pass unchallenged.Impose full sanctions against Israel until they fully abide by international law and UN conventions in relation to the siege in Gaza, occupation and apartheid in Palestine as well as the right of return of refugees.If you do not have an Israeli embassy in your country, protest in front of major corporations or institutions with economic, political, cultural or academic ties with Israel.We stand today at an urgent and critical point in our global quest for justice and human rights. The brutal attack on activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, resulting in at least 19 deaths and tens of injuries, proves that Zionism indiscriminately targets human rights advocates of all nationalities. We must not allow this massacre to pass quietly.Please register your event on Global Day to Break Israeli Siege by sending us an email to supp...@breaksiege.com or by submitting your event details here.Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice. 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] Siezed and detained by Israel, US activist describes experiences
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == > For now, the test is how the motion around this crime changes the > relationship of forces between the Palestinians and their pro-imperialist > and imperialist foes. > Fred Feldman Indeed, Fred. I would only add that an opening is occurring for revolutionists to connect the still disparate anti-war movement, the movement against Arizona apartheid, and the anger at the BP Oil debacle to galvanize unified action that presses all this ferment even further away from the disastrous policies of the Democrats and that points away from rightist elements seeking to foment rightist reaction. We Need To Start Making These Connections More Explicit And Building Opportunities To Unite Either Through Common Action and/or Through More Direct Recognition That All These Struggles Are Our Struggles 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] Siezed and detained by Israel, US activist describes experiences
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == The fact that Israel was forced, substantially under the pressure of the UN resolution demanding the release of all those seized in international waters by Israeli commandos, to release them rapidly is not just a victory ifor elementary human rights. It is a big blow Israel government attempts to impose their own version of the events, as a kind of attempted "holocaust" by people seeking to destroy Israel (that is, according to the Israeli government, the Jew), is facing direct challenges point by point. This is one of many accumulating examples. The point is not whether this forces the US to modify its policies (although this is happening to a limited degree, that is not the area where the most important changes are taking place. US policy will only change decisively as the accumulating changes and the rising re-mobilization of the Palestinians and their allies, including in Israel, makes the defeat of the Zionist, increasingly apartheid-like state, inevitable. For now, the test is how the motion around this crime changes the relationship of forces between the Palestinians and their pro-imperialist and imperialist foes. Fred Feldman http://www.salon.com/news/israel_flotilla_attack/index.html?story=/news/feat ure/2010/06/03/paul_larudee_flotilla_account Thursday, Jun 3, 2010 17:55 ET Captured and detained by Israel, an American tells his story After two days in an Israeli jail, 64-year-old Paul Larudee speaks out By Anika Anand Sixty-four-year-old Paul Larudee, an American citizen and longtime pro-Palestinian activist, was on board one of the ships carrying humanitarian relief to Gaza that was raided by the Israeli navy on Monday. He dove into the Mediterranean Sea, only to be captured and held in an Israeli prison for two days. This was not Larudee's first brush with Israeli authorities, but it was easily his most dramatic. He spoke with Salon about the raid and his captivity this afternoon from Greece, where he arrived after being released by Israel. At around 4 A.M. on Monday, Larudee's ship was boarded by as many as 500 Israeli soldiers. After the ship's captain called an alert, Larudee immediately walked out onto the deck and found that Israeli soldiers had broken the windows of the wheel house (the area where the captain controls the ship) in an attempt to take command of the vessel. As Larudee and several others tried to defend the wheel house, Israeli soldiers tased him twice so that he would back away from the area. He said he offered no resistance and just let his body go limp. "I have never struck anyone in more than 20 years," he said. "I was beaten. There is black and blue all over my body. They inflicted pain on me on a frequent basis because I did not recognize their authority." Everyone on all of the ships was completely unarmed, he said. However, on the Turkish ship -- where the civilian fatalities occurred -- some passengers clashed with the soldiers and tried to beat them up as they descended on the ship. (Larudee was on a different vessel.) "But that is akin to what the passengers on the hijacked 9/11 did to hijackers who had taken the aircraft," he said. "In other words, they resisted someone who was invading their ship." After some time, Larudee decided to jump off the ship and to try to swim away from the Israeli forces. "I knew it would be a way to slow down what they were doing," he said. "It caused the ship to stop for an hour or possibly longer and it kept another ship occupied for several hours actually." He hoped this would create a diversion that would allow another ship to make its way to Gaza with the humanitarian aid. "It was worth doing that, but I paid a price for it." When the Israeli forces picked him up, Larudee said, he was severely beaten and tied to a mast at the stern of their ship. His legs and hands were bound as he was subjected to the hot sun in wet soaking clothes for four hours. He said his body almost went into shock from the extreme hot and cold conditions. The soldiers refused to release him unless he told them his name. He repeatedly refused, but said he would cooperate only if they released him from the mast. They finally agreed and took him below deck. "For the remainder of the trip to the port, we got along fine," he said. When on land, Larudee was taken to the processing area, but refused to cooperate with authorities, who wanted him to say that he entered the country illegally. "This happened at 18 miles at sea, which is well beyond their own territorial waters, or anyone's territorial waters," he said. "We were in international waters. We weren't violating anyone's sovereignty or breaking any rules that we knew of, even by their standards." More beating ensued. Larudee, who again let his body go limp, said he was carried b
[Marxism] Interesting commentary on SATC #2
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://jdeanicite.typepad.com/i_cite/2010/05/why-i-liked-sex-in-the-city-2.html Why I liked Sex and the City 2 Already the Guardian is saying that Sex and the City 2 is on its way to becoming one of the most critically derided films of all time. Here are a few examples: New York Post: The transformation of the girls from winsome wisecrackers into whiny bling-obsessed chuckleheads is complete. New York Times: But the ugly smell of unexamined privilege hangs over this film like the smoke from cheap incense. Over cosmos in their private bar, Charlotte and Miranda commiserate about the hardships of motherhood and then raise their glasses to moms who “don’t have help,” by which they mean paid servants. The Guardian: Not since 1942's Arabian Nights has orientalism been portrayed so unironically. All Middle Eastern men are shot in a sparkly light with jingly jangly music just in case you didn't get that these dusky people are exotic and different. Even leaving aside the question of why anyone would go on holiday to Abu Dhabi, everyone who has ever watched a TV show knows that the first rule is: don't take characters out of their usual environment. Last night, two friends and I went to see it. We saw it in the Geneva, NY movieplex. It wasn't sold out, but it was full and, yes, women outnumbered the men by at least 12:1. The crowd was appreciative and enthusiastic. Both my friends liked it--and one had hated SATC 1. A bit more background--all 3 of us are over 40, have been married, have had kids. From here on in, there will be a lot of spoilers, so if you want surprises and plan on seeing the movie, stop reading now. The movie explores fantasy and disappointment (I wonder if the critics saw the movie or even recognize the fantasy components; my god, one of the framing devices is old black and white movies, the first with Clark Gable--It Happened One Night--and the second with Cary Grant--I didn't recognize it; if those don't signal Depression-era escapism, what does?). The television series always had a fantastic element--fantasies of great clothes and apartments on a writer's income, of fulfilling careers, of complete sexual enjoyment. So not only did the series actively invite women to imagine themselves as one of the 4 characters, but it also staged fantasies of fashion, success, romance, and sex. The best episodes pressed the limits of fantasy. Particularly after 9/11 there was increasing pressure to wake up from the dream. One could almost say that the failure of the first film was its inability to resolve or represent the tension between the fantasy of the wedding and the reality of the end of Carrie's life as a single woman. (clip) --- http://culpa.diaryland.com/100603_32.html I just saw Sex and the City 2 (the new movie), and I really liked it. There are things about it that I would do differently, and of course there are plenty of places it goes where I wouldn’t go (it was ever thus with this crew), but I deeply appreciated some of its storylines. The first question that will arise here is, well, what do you have to say about all those bad reviews? Those reviews! They are so rabid and cruel! How could they exist alongside what you are calling a good movie?, you ask. Well, I’ll let Jodi Dean speak to that, because I think she did it very well, and she covers many of the bases. But I’m going to move on to what I liked, to save myself from ressentiment. (Jodi escapes that trap by telling the story as she does… but when I tried to write my own response to the critics, it quickly began to be a kind of writing I just don’t do. And so, moving on….) I like the way the movie dealt with the current version of what the show was always about: how these women rely on their friendships to get them through what is rough about the rest of life. Miranda is being treated badly by a misogynist boss, and her job is leaving her very little time for her family. Charlotte is feeling the heavy pressure of motherhood and guilt about feeling it as pressure. Samantha is entering menopause and trying to hold on to the libido that has been so central to her life. And Carrie is trying to figure out what it means to be married and happy without children. These are all real problems that real women might face, and the film deals with them squarely and for the most part well. (clip) 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] Alex Saxton on Terry Eagleton
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/saxton030610.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/TGL3141/4c08427a89d3d5a6c1m03vuc 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] Neville Alexander on South Africa from Monthly Review
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/alexander220510p.html Just thought people might like to review his thinking today. “There are two Americas - and millions of the people already distinguish between them. One is the America of the imperialists - of the little clique of capitalists, land lords and militarists, who are threatening and terrifying the world. This is the America the people of the world hate and fear. There is the other America - the America of the workers and farmers and the 'little people.'” James P. Cannon 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] Rebutting the Israeli Propaganda
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I have mixed feelings about Juan Cole. He once denounced people like ourselves (i.e., revolutionaries) as the "Looney Left". But he's got some good materials on his Blog today deconstructing the spin-job of the Netanyahu regime: www.juancole.com. Among other things, seems like some of the Israeli "videos" may be forgeries. Jay 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] Self-defense means four bullets to the head
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Rat bastard Settler/Nazis. As I said to my beloved, staunchly Zionist, sister, if Hitler were in power the Israelis would be selling him ovens and training his police. Kind of put a crimp in our sibling relationship. - Original Message - From: "Politicus E." To: "David Schanoes" 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] How many remember the hijacking of the Achille Lauro?
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == On Thu, 3 Jun 2010 10:18:16 -0400 Dennis Brasky wrote: > I originally posted this article as one of many graphic examples of > the hypocrisy of the pro Israel media - "our innocent civilians are > victims and martyrs, theirs are criminals and terrorists". It's always disagreeable when one's conversation-starters fail to start a conversation -- or worse yet, start the wrong one. But perhaps there's a silver lining. Could it be that the "hypocrisy of the pro Israel media" is already well recognized 'round here? Taken for granted, in fact? Not intended as a diss. It's nice to realize that there are one or two things we *do* understand. -- Michael Smith m...@smithbowen.net http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org http://fakesprogress.blogspot.com "Everyone has his favorite passage from the Theodosian Code." -- M I Finley 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] How many remember the hijacking of the Achille Lauro?
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I originally posted this article as one of many graphic examples of the hypocrisy of the pro Israel media - "our innocent civilians are victims and martyrs, theirs are criminals and terrorists". There has been NO discussion on this aspect. Instead, we have a tasteless joke, followed by a discussion on what is and is not proper and respectable about joke-telling. This is a Marxist discussion group - I didn't realize that it was Groucho, and not Karl. I usually limit myself to posting articles that I feel would be of interest and could stimulate a good discussion. I abhor the rampant egoism of some here who feel obliged to enlighten us as to their in depth views on anything and everything, from their soccer team favorites to their wine preferences to their profound speeches (probably made to an audience of a dozen!) There's already too much of importance on the internet to read comrades. Kindly send your chaff off-list. Dennis Brasky 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] Behold the pale rider
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Brad is exactly correct. There is absolutely no need for the use of nuclear explosives-- except for the bourgeoisie's ideological, and other, needs. Conventional explosive can, and have been used in other blow outs, with great success. - Original Message - From: "brad" 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] Zionist Federtion of Britain & English Defence League
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Apparently the Zionist Federation of Britain, which is organising a pro-Israel demo today, has welcomed the support of the English Defence League, which, to put it mildly, has close links with the British far right, including fascist organisations not exactly noted for their philo-semitism. I can only say: Birds of a feather ... Einde O'Callaghan 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] Protests planned in Israel
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == PSCC Logo Press Release 3 June 2010 Tomorrow: Thousands to Mark 43 Years of Occupation Near Route 443 Palestinians and Israelis will demonstrate tomorrow, Friday, June 4th, near the village of Beit Nuba, which was demolished by Israel in 1967, near Route 443. Similar demonstrations, also denouncing the massacre aboard the Freedom Flotilla will take place across the West Bank. What: Joint Rally in New Beit Nuba (adjacent to the village of Beit Liqiya) When: Tomorrow, Friday, June 4th, 12:30 pm For more details: Jonathan Pollak (Hebrew, English) - 054-6327736 Yusef Krajeh (Arabic, English) - 059-8464054, 054-5571328 Eilat Maoz (Hebrew, English) - 050-8575729 Dozens of Israeli anti-Occupation organizations will join the Palestinian Popular Committees for a demonstration marking 43 years of occupation tomorrow. The protesters will denounce the killing aboard the Mavi Marmara, and call to end the siege over Gaza, to dismantle the Wall and settlements, and for freedom of movement for Palestinians. MK Haneen Zouabi, who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Palestinian alMubadara Party, Maher Ghuneim, Minister for the Wall in the Palestinian Authority, former MK Uri Avnery, and Palestinian Legislative Committee Members Qais Abd elKarim (Abu Laila) and Mahmoud alAloul – will participate in the demonstration. Additional demonstrations will take place in the villages on Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah,Deir alGhussoun, north of Tul Karem, Ni'ilin – where demonstrators will also mark a year to the death of protester Aqel Srour by sniper-fire shot at him during a demonstration, and in the villages of Bil'in, West of Ramallah and alMa'asara, south of Bethlehem, where demonstrators will carry mock ships and will try to break the siege on their own villages. Road to nowhere: During the occupation of the West Bank in June 1967, the Israeli army destroyed the villages of Yalu, Beit Nuba and Amuasse in the Latrun enclave. "Canada Park" and a number of settlements were built on their lands. Most of the residents of these three displaced villages currently live in villages near Highway 443, such as Beit Liqya, Beit Sira and Beit Ur. In the eighties, thousands of acres were confiscated by Israel along the road, claiming that the road will serve as the main traffic artery for these villages to Ramallah. However, the road has been closed for years for Palestinian vehicles. Following the High Court ruling on Route 443, a small section of the road was opened last week for Palestinian traffic, but is still nearly useless for the villagers, as access to Ramallah from it is disallowed, turning it into a highway to nowhere for Palestinians. 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] ML Update, Vol. 13 No.13 1 - 7 JUNE 2010
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Louis wrote: "I don't expect the CPI(ML) to respond to this since they appear to be interested in Marxmail mainly as an receptacle for their dispatches (which is okay with me given their importance to Indian politics) but I was under the impression that they considered themselves Maoist even if not doctrinaire. Any thoughts on their orientation?" I respect CPI(ML) Liberation; I have a number of friends, who I consider comrades, closely affiliated with their politics. Moreover, their statement on the derailment strikes me as generally sensible. It captures the views of an important section of Marxists. On the other hand, I take a hard line against sectarianism in all its varieties and tend to frown upon it irrespective of the source. 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
[Marxism] Daniel Pipes frowns on IDF attack on Marmara Mavi
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == (Daniel Pipes is one of the US's chief Zionist propagandists.) http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2010/05/free-gaza-flotilla-defeats-the-israel-defense 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] Paul Street on the BP spill
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == (Paul Street's usual venue is Znet, where his articles appear to reflect a radical rather than specifically Marxist orientation. This MRZine piece, however, does show his Marxist bones.) URL: mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/street020610.html Deepwater Lesson: Expropriate the Expropriators by Paul Street "If an oil well is too far beneath the sea to be plugged when something goes wrong, it's too deep to be drilled in the first place." -- Bob Herbert, June 1, 2010 Imagine "the Associated Producers, Rationally Regulating Their Interchange with Nature" Amidst mass capital-imposed structural unemployment and ever-escalating environmental collapse, the ongoing epic British Petroleum-Deepwater Horizon spill -- more than 40 million gallons and counting (far beyond the previous record set by the Exxon Valdez) in the Gulf of Mexico -- ought to be something of a teachable moment for radical opponents of the profits system. "The realm of freedom," one such opponent, Karl Marx, wrote in the third volume of his magnum opus Capital, "can only consist in socialized man, the associated producers rationally regulating their interchange with Nature, bringing it under their common control, instead of being ruled by it as by the blind force of Nature, and achieving this with the least expenditure of energy and under conditions most favorable to, and worthy of, their human nature."1 By "socialized man," Marx meant (in the masculinized language of the Victorian era) civilization in a new era of classlessness -- the real (he felt) match for homo sapiens' liberated "human nature." Contrary to Cold War stereotypes that equate socialism and communism with the dungeons of Stalin and Mao,2 Marx did not see that desirable post-capitalist age as one of state dictatorship and productionism, with the state as capitalist, directing the toiling masses' tasks and extracting surplus from above. He envisaged rather an egalitarian time after the working class majority had "stormed heaven" (his description of what the ill-fated 1871 Paris Commune had attempted) in a great self-liberating struggle to seize the organization of production and work from bourgeois expropriators and exploiters. The newly empowered citizen-workers would put these core human activities under popular control to meet human needs with the least possible investment of human and natural power.3 "Too Deep to Be Drilled in the First Place" The current ecological disaster is straight out of Marx. Consider Marx's call for the "associated producers" to "rationally regulate" humanity's "interchange with nature" (the production process, essentially), something he knew to be impossible under the unelected dictatorship of capital. It is plainly irrational to build the many precarious deep water offshore oil drilling operations that British Petroleum and other leading multinational corporate petro-tyrannies manage around the world. It only takes one big and inevitable screw-up for such operations to yield a colossal ecological catastrophe like the one currently underway in the Gulf. Sane and reasonably knowledgeable and engaged citizen-workers organized as empowered and "associated producers" would never agree to let such a genie out of the bottle, with such potentially disastrous consequences for livable ecology. As the liberal New York Times columnist Bob Herbert noted yesterday (I am writing on the morning of Wednesday, June 2, 2010): "If a bank is too big to fail, it's way too big to exist. If an oil well is too far beneath the sea to be plugged when something goes wrong, it's too deep to be drilled in the first place."4 Money Speaks for Money Consider also Marx's core analytical distinction between "use value" and "exchange value." For rational and associated citizen-producers, the point of liberated humanity's core economic activities (its "interchange with nature") would be to create goods and services of real and lasting human utility without damaging people or the environment. Under capitalism, however, everything, including the core human activities of work and production, is "drowned in the icy water"5 of capitalists' egotistical profit calculation. The holy market (supposedly "free") is the reigning regulating mechanism, the master arbiter of economic decisions. The dominant consideration determining what gets produced and how and for whom is exchange value: how much money can investors make off this or that economic activity in the near term? "Money speaks for money, the devil for his own."6 British Petroleum (BP) has been raping the Gulf's Coast sea-beds for many years in the obvious and simple pursuit of capitalism's holy grail: market reward in the form of investor profit
[Marxism] ML Update, Vol. 13 No.13 1 - 7 JUNE 2010
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == ML Update CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine Vol. 13 No.13 1 - 7 JUNE 2010 Gyaneshwari Express Tragedy: Will We Ever Know the Truth? Close on the heels of the Mangalore air crash, the Gyaneshwari Express accident near Jhargram in West Midnapore district of West Bengal has taken another heavy toll of human lives. Even nearly a week since the tragedy struck, the death toll is still rising and many of the critically injured are battling for their lives. Unlike most accidents, this one is however not attributed to usual factors like ‘human error’ or ‘structural deficiency’. Reports link this tragedy to a suspected act of sabotage. While condoling this huge loss of lives, every justice-loving Indian would want this sabotage unearthed beyond any doubt and stern punishment meted out to the saboteurs. The timing of the tragedy had its own political resonance. It happened soon after the beginning of a protest week called by Maoists in the five states of Chhattishgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. In the political context of West Bengal, one could not also miss the fact that it happened just two days before polling was to take place for Kolkata Corporation as well as 81 other municipalities in the state. While the state government was quick to indicate a Maoist hand in the sabotage, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee began talking of high-level political conspiracy and called for a CBI probe into the incident. The Union Home Minister, on his part, has gone public with his observation that the ‘needle of suspicion’ points to the Maoists. The Maoists are yet to make any official statement in this regard, but a statement attributed to one Bapi Mahato of the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (the most prominent banner of the Lalgarh agitation) has reportedly regretted the tragedy while owning responsibility for the damage done to the railway track. According to this statement, the PCPA had only wanted to derail a goods train and had not expected the Gyaneshwari Express to bear the brunt. If this statement is true, this is a shocking commentary on the anarchist degeneration of a movement that till recently boasted of a high degree of militant mass involvement. Sabotages and indiscriminate targeting and destruction of human lives cannot be accepted as a means of protest against police atrocities. For Chidambaram and the UPA government, the Gyaneshwari Express tragedy has come in handy to intensify the ongoing Operation Green Hunt. On the eve of the June 3 meeting of the Cabinet Committee on security, Defence Minister AK Antony has already held a meeting with the three Service chiefs – Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, Admiral Nirmal Verma and General VK Singh – to discuss ‘all dimensions’ of the security situation. There is a growing clamour for Army involvement in Operation Green Hunt – after air support, there is now talk of pressing a few of the 63 battalions of Rashtriya rifles, the Army’s specialized counter-insurgency force now operating in Jammu and Kashmir into the OGH campaign. Municipal elections over (Mamata Banerjee has already swept the Kolkata Corporation polls and registered major advances in the 81 other municipalities that went to poll on May 30), it remains to be seen how far Mamata Banerjee will insist on her demand for CBI probe. Chidambaram’s purpose has also been served, the ‘needle of suspicion’ is sufficient for him to ask for a ‘wider mandate’ to intensify Operation Green Hunt. Will we then ever get to know who really was responsible for the Gyaneshwari Express tragedy? What lends credence to the ‘needle of suspicion’ theory is the growing list of actual Maoist actions like blowing off of roads, tracks and bridges and targeting of buses, trains and passengers. Such acts have nothing to do with the legacy of Naxalbari and the revolutionary communist trail blazed by this historic peasant rebellion. And this can certainly not be the way to oppose Operation Green Hunt. Even in Nepal, with all their visible mass strength, the Maoists found it difficult to enforce a general strike beyond a few days. Here Maoists are repeatedly calling bandhs without any mass involvement – resorting only to disruptive activities in the name of protest. Such disruptive tactics must be rejected by all forces involved in the battle for justice, democracy and social transformation. Condemn the Israeli Government’s act of terrorism against humanitarian aid workers Demand International Sanctions on Israel Demand an immediate end to India-Israel Arms deals In flagrant violation of all international laws, Israeli commandos attacked a flotilla of aid carrying ships, firing at and killing over 19 unarmed peace activists, leav
[Marxism] Manufacturing Discontent
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == The World Association for Political Economy gave 8 awards for outstanding achievement in political economy in the 21st century. My book, Manufacturing Discontent, received one of them. Here is the brief note, which I wrote for the occasion: Manufacturing Discontent is a study of social relations, not Marx's social relations of production, but the social relations -- real or imagined -- of the people who live and work under the yoke of capitalism. In this sense, the book is meant as a modest supplement to Kapital, which was a deep analysis of the social relations of the extraction of surplus value from the working class. A longstanding project of capital is to shape virtually every aspect of people's lives in order to meet its needs. For example, as part of the management of the interaction of social relations inside and outside the workplace, spokesmen of capital tell workers that they should identify themselves as consumers instead of as workers. Rebellion against degrading and debilitating exploitation at the workplace is foolish; instead, intelligent workers should embrace their jobs, by identifying their work as a welcome opportunity to enjoy the benefits of consumption. In effect, the circuits of consumption and reproduction become harnessed to the social relations of production. These social relations also help to determine the quantity of surplus value. For example, one dimension of this process is the management of the burdens of risk. Today we are reminded that when crises break out, out the same workers are told that their wages, their consumption, or their pensions are problems that must be corrected. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 530 898 5321 fax 530 898 5901 http://michaelperelman.wordpress.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] Brief Notes from China
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == We are getting ready to leave Shanghai. The timing of the trip was fascinating because China seems to be ready to move to a new stage of development. For example, just today I read that the government is instituting a 5% energy tax in the remote Xinjiang province. The response to the Honda strike and the string of suicides at the Foxconn factory were critical of management. Of course, the ownership of these plants was not Chinese; even so, the China Daily has pushing the line that it's time to leave the low-wage economy behind. China is also beginning to take more control over the strategic minerals, of which it has large share of the world's production. The taxes levied on real estate knocked the Shanghai stock market down quite a bit. The papers have also been taking a critical attitude towards the wanton demolition of neighborhoods to make way for expensive commercial projects. more at: http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/brief-notes-from-china/ -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 530 898 5321 fax 530 898 5901 http://michaelperelman.wordpress.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
