I have repeatedly, echoing comrades V. I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky, more times than I care to remember noted in this space that youth, young radicals, potential young communists from our perspective must (and, hopefully, will) find there own ways to socialism, and the struggle for the liberating effects of socialist revolution as the way to get there. And I still, fervently at times, believe that and believe it more strongly the older I get. Youth must have the space and time to make their own mistakes, and create their own successes, before stepping up to the “bigs.” Thus, any socialist organization worthy of the name, worth its salt, has a youth organization that, if it follows Leninist norms, is organizationally independent although politically subordinate to the party and acts as a transmission belt to that party. However on some days I wonder, wonder at least a little, about the capacities of the current “youth” generation to get animated by socialist ideas.
And June 15, 2011 was one of those days. A demonstration had been called by an organization, (see details below), seeking to free Private Bradley Manning and defend David House and others (also see details below) from grand jury snooping investigations into their possible connections with Wikileaks. Fair enough. For the past year the Manning case has been near and dear to me. I will demonstrate, and gladly, for his release when a call is made even if there are only two of us responding. I have also taken up, on more than one occasion, the slogan-Hands Off Wikileak! Obviously that includes anyone rounded up by the government dragnet trying to break up the work of that organization. So, of course, I showed up with some of my comrades on June 15th.
Now class-war prisoner defense work, which is what this rally was all about, generally entails joining with liberals, left or otherwise, civil liberties-types, defenders of democratic rights in general, and the usual motley crew of leftists of various persuasions, including self-styled socialists and communists. Hell, these days even a stray libertarian, perhaps fearful that they may be next as well, will show up to these events. Again I have no problem with that, after all the slogan “an injury to one is an injury to all” casts a wide net. What was bothersome, a little, but enough to write this comment was the amazing lack of political savvy by those young democrats who organized this thing. Frankly I blushed at their studied naivete and compared to theirs my own youthful liberal idealistic naivete would have made me a flaming radical.
Other that speeches by that motley crew of leftists offering their cures, or non-cures, the “kids” seemed to be stuck on some high school civics idealistic concept of American democracy. Like, somehow, a little tweaking might work to “correct” society’s ills. No talk, not even close, of some connection between the Manning and House cases, the myriads wars going on with American sponsorship, the economic crisis and some possible socialist solutions, even reformist ones. Worst, for a man raised on the principle that if you are going to be in the streets, the mean American political streets, then you had better be organized, and militant, meaning sometimes loud and with some discipline. The spirit here was one of a half-hearted lethargy as we were “guided" in a march around the city hall and Boston Common and if certain older militants hadn’t stepped into the gap passers-by might have taken the march for a Quaker vigil. Let’s put it this way, there is plenty of work to do if the youth generation of today wants to turn the world upside down, and for the better.
******
Call to Action
by Civic Cunsel
(No verified email address) 13 Jun 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
6 pm - 8 pm
Government Center
Protest with banners, music, whistle-blowing, education, and speaking out
against government repression.
We are gathering to protest the detainment and unfair treatment of Bradley
Manning and the pending grand jury investigation that seeks to embroil
WikiLeaks, its associates, and its supporters in espionage charges. Recent
attacks on its citizens has made it clear to us that the United States
government no longer automatically grants freedom and liberty to its
governed.
David House and other activists in the Boston area have faced heavy
surveillance and computer seizure by homeland security, without warrants,
and have been offered bribes as a result of their connections to WikiLeaks
and Bradley Manning.
These attacks against activists are nothing compared to what we will face if
the grand jury decides to extradite Julian Assange on charges of espionage.
Due to the vague wording of the Espionage Act, there will remain “no
distinction between the leaker, the recipient of the leak, or the
100thperson to redistribute, retransmit, or even retain the national
defense
information that, by that point, is already in the public domain”, a Hearing
Before the House Committee on the Judiciary determined (< http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Vladeck101216.pdf>;). This will give
the government the legal groundwork to incriminate anyone who supports
WikiLeaks, and perhaps any organization that provides an outlet for
whistle-blowers in the future.
Subpoenas have been served to David and others in Greater Boston to appear
before the grand jury. The date of his appearance is the day of our protest,
which we have chosen to show our solidarity, as subpoenaed activists risk
being held in contempt and jailed for the duration of the trial should they
refuse to cooperate with the grand jury.
We have taken this abuse long enough. We, Civic Counsel, students and
concerned citizens, believe it is time to stand up for our own rights and
those of the people around us. If we do nothing, we risk losing the rest of
our freedom and privacy. The government seeks to remove even our most basic
rights: the rights to speak up for justice and hold our so-called
“representatives” accountable. The trends of rampant corruption, unnecessary
withholding of information, and unlawful detainment of citizens must end.
Protest with us on Wednesday. This is your country. This is your government.
These are your neighbors who have been targeted. Stand with us.
Not in Boston? Civic Counsel encourages you to organize autonomous action in
your own city. A full list of action in Boston and other cities will be
posted on our website at
If you are in Boston, we invite you to join us for a banner making party at
Pika
own supplies if possible. Also please note that no sticks are allowed either
as part of signs or carried by protesters, as they are, apparently,
considered weapons.
RSVP online:
With press queries, please contact M. C. McGrath (Shidash) at
admin (at) civiccounsel.org.
Fight for truth. Protect your rights. Reboot democracy.
**********
Please Contact The US Attorneys And Prosecutors Responsible For The Grand Jury Witch Hunts Against Supporters Of Wikileaks!
by StoptheGrandJury
Email: ichinich (nospam) gmail.com (unverified!) 13 Jun 2011
Subpoenas have been served to David [House] and others in Greater Boston to appear before the grand jury. This will give the government the legal groundwork to incriminate anyone who supports WikiLeaks, and perhaps any organization that provides an outlet for whistle-blowers in the future. The date of his appearance will be our day of protest, and the expression of our solidarity, as subpoenaed activists risk being held in contempt and jailed for the duration of the trial should they refuse to cooperate with the grand jury.
**National call in and protests this Wednesday in conjunction with the grand jury summons of Bradley Manning support network organizer, David House**
Subpoenas have been served to David and others in Greater Boston to appear before the grand jury. This will give the government the legal groundwork to incriminate anyone who supports WikiLeaks, and perhaps any organization that provides an outlet for whistle-blowers in the future. The date of his appearance will be our day of protest, and the expression of our solidarity, as subpoenaed activists risk being held in contempt and jailed for the duration of the trial should they refuse to cooperate with the grand jury.
We are also encouraging groups to organize their own protests in cities across the country and to come out for David House's court hearing Wednesday, June 15, 10:30am at:
Alexandria Court House
41 Court House Plaza,
Alexandria, Virginia.
CALL IN INFORMATION
Department of Justice
E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General,
may be sent to AskDOJ (at) usdoj.gov.
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
By Phone
Department of Justice Main Switchboard - 202-514-2000
Attorney General and District Attorneys
Office of the Attorney General Public Comment Line -
202-353-1555
Neil H Macbride
U.S. Attorney
Eastern District of Virginia
Tracy McCormick
Asst. U.S. Attorney
Eastern District of Virginia
Office of the United States Attorney
Justin W. Williams United States Attorney's Building
2100 Jamieson Avenue
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
(703) 299-3700
Boston U.S. Attorney
Carmen M. Ortiz
John Joseph Moakley United States Federal Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 9200
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 748-3100
TTY: (617) 748-3696
For more information about the defense campaign: http://civiccounsel.org
See also:
http://civiccounsel.org
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