AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager

Sunday, May 25, 2014

A Voice From The Left-The Latest From The Steve Lendman Blog

Click below to link to the Steve Lendman Blog

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/

From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

Over the years that I have been presenting political material in this space I have had occasion to re-post items from some sites which I find interesting, interesting for a host of political reasons, although I am not necessarily in agreement with what had been published. Two such sites have stood out, The Rag Blog, which I like to re-post items from because it has articles by many of my fellow Generation of ’68 residual radicals and ex-radicals who still care to put pen to paper and the blog cited here, the Steve Lendman Blog. The reason for re-postings from this latter site is slightly different since the site represents a modern day left liberal political slant. That is the element, the pool if you will, that we radicals have to draw from, have to move left, if we are to grow. So it is important to have the pulse of what issues motivate that milieu and I believe that this blog is a lightning rod for those political tendencies.

A Jackman disclaimer:

I place some material in this space which may be of interest to the radical public that I do not necessarily agree with or support. Sometimes I will comment on my disagreements and sometimes I will just let the author/writer shoot him or herself in the foot without note. Off hand, as I have mentioned before in other contexts, I think it would be easier, infinitely easier, to fight for the socialist revolution straight up than some of the “remedies” provided by the commentators in the entries on this website. But part of that struggle for the socialist revolution is to sort out the “real” stuff from the fluff as we struggle for that more just world that animates our efforts. Read on.
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America's Hidden Hunger Crisis

by Stephen Lendman

Imagine tens of millions hungry in the world's richest country. Imagine bipartisan complicity ignoring a growing crisis.

Imagine uncaring policymakers. Imagine them cutting vital programs able to help when sizable increases are needed.

Imagine serving monied interests at the expense of popular ones. Imagine enriching themselves in the process.

Outnumber Hunger (OH) is a nationwide campaign. It enlists people in the growing fight against hunger. It works cooperatively with Feeding America (FA). More on FA below.

Hunger is a major problem. For nearly 50 million Americans, it's a daily reality. Around 13 million families are affected. Most are hardworking ones.

They don't earn enough to live on. Census data show poverty conditions or borderline ones affect around half of US households.

Kids don't get enough to eat. Around 16 million are affected. Feeding America is the nation's "leading domestic hunger-relief charity."

Its mission is "feed(ing) America's hungry." Its nationwide food bank network does so. It can't keep up with demand. Increasingly it outstrips supply.

According to FA's media relations director Ross Fraser:

"Food insecurity is higher than at any time since the Great Depression." One in six Americans face hunger. So do one in five children.

Missing meals is common practice. Nutritious balanced diets for growing millions don't exist. Belly-fillers substitute.

Protracted Main Street Depression conditions persist. Things go from bad to worse. Food stamps provide a woefully inadequate $1.40 per person per meal.

Food banks supplement recipients when monthly benefits run out. Most often it's around 10 days or more before month's end.

America is the land of I don't care. Equity and justice aren't in its vocabulary. Official numbers understate reality. Growing millions suffer out of sight and mind.

America's wealth doesn't help. Congress is dismissive. Food stamps were cut when most needed. More cuts are planned.

Last December, 1.3 million Americans lost unemployment benefits. Another 73,000 more joined them weekly.

On April 7, Senate members extended emergency benefits for five months. It did so retroactively from December 28.

House Republicans blocked legislation. Millions of America's jobless face harder than ever hard times. House Democrats circulated a discharge petition.

If enough Republicans join them, an immediate vote is required. So far, a majority is lacking. House Republican leaders block extended unemployment compensation (EUC).

US resources go for war-making. Corporate handouts matter more. Vital needs increasingly go begging. Thirdworldizing America is official policy. Privileged interests alone benefit.

America's wealth disparity is deplorable. The top 1% owns over half the nation's wealth. The bottom 90% has a decreasing share. Social inequality is institutionalized. It's unprecedented or close to it.

It matches or exceeds 19th century harshness. Protracted Depression conditions affect growing millions.

Poverty, unemployment, homelessness and hunger approach record levels. Millions struggle to pay rent, service mortgages, cover medical bills, heat homes, and manage other daily expenses.

Growing numbers don't get enough to eat. Social justice is fast disappearing. Monied interests alone matter.

America was never beautiful. For sure it's not now. Sink or swim defines policy. Growing hunger perhaps stands out most of all.

On April 16, USA Today headlined "Hunger is a 'silent crisis' in the USA," saying:

"Tianna Gaines Turner can't remember the last time she went to bed without worrying about how she was going to feed her three children."

"She can't remember the last time she woke up and wasn't worried about how she and her husband would make enough in their part-time jobs to buy groceries and pay utilities on their apartment in a working-class section of Philadelphia."

"And she can't remember the last time she felt confident she and her husband wouldn't have to skip meals so their children could eat."

Similar stories repeat nationwide. Parents struggle to feed children. Low-pay/part-time jobs don't provide enough to live on.

Millions of unemployed have no steady income. Government benefits increasingly are slashed.

Nicki Maxwell and her husband are like millions of other parents. They struggle daily to feed children. They turn to food pantries for help. They have no other choice.

"I remember feeling really hopeless," said Nicki. "I was depressed. I didn't know what to do. I was drowning under the weight of it."

She wasn't always poor. Years earlier, her family was solidly middle class. She and her husband are college grads. They had good jobs. They paid well. No longer.

They exhausted their savings. In 2012, they were homeless for six months. They relied on family and friends for help. They skipped meals.

They earn far less now than earlier. Survival is a daily struggle. Their children are aged eight, 12 and 14.

Millions of other poor Americans struggle the same way. Intolerable numbers live in crisis. Nicki feels like they do. "When you face food insecurity, it's hard to feel secure again," she says.

Feeding America's latest report is based on federal 2012 data. Nearly 50 million people are food insecure.

They eat less, skip meals, or go hungry. They suffer out of sight and mind. Children most of all. Their growing bodies need nutritious food.

Main Street Depression conditions persist. Economist Craig Gunderson studies hunger. "(F)ood insecurity rates are high," he says. "(T)ens of millions of Americans are…struggling" to get by.

Center for Hunger-Free Communities director Mariana Chilton said food stamps and other social benefit cuts combined with rising costs force families to choose between enough food and paying other expenses.

"This is a massive public health crisis, and it is a silent" one, she stresses.

Children's HealthWatch (CH) is a network of doctors and public health researchers. Data on children up to age four is collected. Around 29% of households CH tracks face growing hunger. In 2013, it was 25%.

Feeding America lists 10 states with significantly higher food insecurity than the 14.7% 2000-2012 national average. They include:

Mississippi: 20.9%

Arkansas: 19.7%

Texas: 18.4%

Alabama: 17.9%

North Carolina: 17.0%

Georgia: 16.9%

Missouri: 16.7%

Nevada: 16.6%

Ohio: 16.1%

California: 15.6

Illinois is this writer's home state. According to No Kid Hungry, more than one in five state children (22.2) "face a constant struggle against hunger."

They endure what well-fed kids don't face. They're ill-nourished when they need healthy diets most. Empty bellies make concentrating harder. Classroom performance suffers.

Illness and headaches are more common. So is vulnerability to infections. Hospitalizations are more likely.

Conditions worsen annually. According to 2011 data, over 745,000 Illinois children "are at risk of hunger." They don't get enough food "to lead healthy active lives."

"More than 23 percent of (state) households with children struggled to afford enough food for themselves and their families in 2010."

Things now are worse than then. This writer lives in Chicago. The Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) explained city food security.

Around "1 in 6 individuals" are affected. They don't know "when or where their next meal will be."

People struggle throughout greater Chicago. Data show high concentrations in west and south Chicago communities. Cook County's south suburbs are affected.

In Chicago's West Garfield Park, Lawndale and Austin, one in three people face food insecurity. Auburn Gresham, West Englewood, South Shore and Roseland are severely impacted.

South Chicago Harvey, Robbins and Ford Heights face 34%, 39% and 48% food insecurity rates respectively.

GCFD executive director Kate Maehr said "(o)lder adults face painful choices between paying for food and paying for medicine, or paying for food and she paying rent."

Federal budget cuts caused "more hunger," she added. Over 860,000 Cook County residents aren't sure where their next meal is coming from, she said.

Around 37% are children. About 9% are under age five. Nearly half of affected households say they're forced to choose between food and utilities.

Another 44% either buy food, pay rent, or maintain monthly mortgage payments. Employed and unemployed households face similar conditions.

So do communities nationwide. America is a let 'em eat cake society. Things aren't improving. Harder times keep getting harder..

In Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," he explained how struggling Cratchit family members struggled to get by. Ebenezer Scrooge was responsible.

On Christmas eve, dinner consisted of "one small atom of a bone upon a dish (followed by) speckled cannon-ball" pudding with a sprig of holly.

"But nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so," said Dickens.

Cratchits were like many others in 18th century England. They made do with meager amounts of what they had.

So do growing millions of Americans. The world's richest country doesn't care. Lump of coal harshness is policy.

Fundamental rights don't matter. Human need goes begging. Washington has other priorities.

Serving monied interests tops the list. So does waging war on humanity. Maybe destroying it to save it is planned.

Battlefields shift from one theater to another. Conflicts rage without end. America's war machine reflects madness. Death squad diplomacy eliminates non-believers.

Tyranny is a hair's breadth away. Where things end, who knows. Hungry millions worry most about empty bellies. Policymakers don't give a damn if they starve.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

A Voice From The Left-The Latest From The Steve Lendman Blog

Click below to link to the Steve Lendman Blog

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/

From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

A Jackman disclaimer:

by Stephen Lendman

Blackwater's rap sheet reveals a record too deplorable to conceal. It became Xe. It's now Academi.

Putting lipstick on this pig doesn't help. It's no different than before. Jeremy Scahill's book titled "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" called it:

A "shadowy mercenary company (employing) some of the most feared professional killers in the world accustomed to operating without worry of legal consequences (and) largely off the congressional radar."

It has "remarkable power and protection (within) the US war apparatus." It's well funded. It operates extrajudicially.

It's unaccountable. It's licensed to kill, terrorize, destroy and destabilize. It takes full advantage. It does so wherever it's deployed.

On May 11, Voice of Russia (VOR) headlined "400 US commandos help Kiev in its military offensive in east Ukraine - reports."

They arrived to commit mayhem. They're from the "notorious US private security firm Academi..."

They're involved "in a punitive operation mounted by (Kiev) against federalization supporters in Eastern Ukraine…"

Bild am Sonntag is Germany's largest Sunday circulation broadsheet. It reported Academi operatives near Slavyansk.

It's uncertain who hired them, it said. It's clear Washington's dirty hands are involved. Russia's Foreign Ministry said:

"(I)n the absence of support from the Ukrainian population, the Maidan government has only one option if it wants to remain in power - to mobilize any support possible from foreign sponsors, including foreign mercenaries."

"Among the candidates for the role of gendarme is the company Greystone Limited, registered in Barbados, which is integrated with the Academi corporation," it said.

"It is an analogue, or, probably, an affiliate body of the Blackwater private army, whose soldiers have been accused of committing rigorous and regular human rights abuses in troubled regions."

Note: Greystone is a private company. It separated from Academi in 2010. Both firms maintain close ties. They operate the same way. They do so extrajudicially.

"It looks as though this practice, if it really is implemented, goes against the Ukrainian laws that ban foreign citizens from working with private security companies," said Russia's Foreign Ministry.

"Such initiatives demonstrate that those who have conquered their place in power in Kiev cannot guarantee minimal order or even their own security."

"The question arises, what the price of this plan is and where the money will come from."

"To what extent will the burden of spending on highly-paid foreign specialists be shifted to ordinary Ukrainians who, in connection with the painful tax increase, including taxes on gas as the precondition for securing loans from the International Monetary Fund, will have to tighten their belts even stronger?"

VOR cited Itar Tass saying Kiev putschists believe they're unable to suppress Eastern resistance on their own. They can't eliminate activist leaders.

Coup-appointed Kiev president Oleksandr Turchynov agreed, saying:

"Therefore it was decided to 'attract' foreign mercenaries, who will serve as political police and state security protection."

They'll operate extrajudicially. They'll do so unaccountably. They're licensed to kill.

VOR said coup-appointed governors Igor Kolomoisky and Sergei Taruta are involved. They're multi-billionaire oligarchs. Earlier Kolomoisky said:

"(W)hy reinvent the wheel if there are real people who understand how and how much to pay."

They're hired guns. They're unrestricted by US, international or local laws. They're free from civil or criminal accountability.

Under Article 47 of the 1977 Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions:

"A mercenary is any person who:

(a) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;

(b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities:

(c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of the Party;

(d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;

(e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and

(f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces."

Washington uses them in conflict areas. They serve its imperial agenda. They're doing so in Ukraine. Perhaps hundreds more will be sent.

Maybe they're in Crimea. Perhaps covertly. Maybe elsewhere in Eastern Ukraine. They're not good will ambassadors.

They're well-trained killers. They're experts. They're hired for their skills. They're licensed to use them. They take full advantage.

On May 11, Itar Tass headlined "Donetsk referendum organizers plan to begin 'civilized divorce' with Kiev authorities."

They'll convene a regional congress of deputies. Central Election Commission head Boris Litvinov explained, saying:

"We want to be a party to the negotiating process, which rests on the will of the people, and to build relations with all states on the basis of equal rights."

Sunday's referendums were absolutely legal, he stressed. Claims otherwise are false.

"People (stood) in 300-400 meter lines. Doing so showed enormous interest in voting. "Even in the Soviet times we never saw such queues," Litvinov added.

Late afternoon Sunday reports said Lugansk turnout topped 75%. Earlier ones indicated Donetsk exceeded 50%. Later ones said over 70%.

Preliminary results will be announced overnight Monday. Final ones will follow. Perhaps by Monday afternoon.

Slavyansk activists reported Kiev military attacks. According to one named Vlad:

"The artillery fire was so loud, that the earth and houses shook."

"I have been trying to call the people at the checkpoint but they don't pick up."

"There are snipers in the area and it's too dangerous to speak on the phone."

RT International's Paula Slier tweeted "#Slavyansk: Some polling stations (were) guarded by Cossacks."

"Roman #Lyagin, chair of central #election commission, 'This is will of people.The world can say this is bad idea but it's idea of the people."

"People patiently wait(ed) outside voting stations in #Donetsk #referendum."

Donetsk People's Governor Pavel Gubarev said his region and Lugansk will become new legal entities.

"The referendum(s) for us (are) about creating a new state paradigm," he explained.

Kiev's illegitimate foreign ministry issued a statement, saying:

"Organizers of this criminal farce have consciously violated the Ukrainian constitution and laws, and have neglected calls coming from the authorities in Ukraine and from the international community."

Kiev forces seized four Krasnoarmeisk schools. Polling stations were inside. Voters were ordered out.

Ballots and voter rolls were confiscated. Krasnoarmeisk's executive committee building was seized. It was blocked so no one could get in or out.

Communication was lost with two Krasny Liman referendum committees. Kiev forces clashed with activists there.

Donetsk People's Republic leader Denis Pushilin explained what happened. At the same time, Lugansk press spokesman Vasily Nikitin reported National Guard elements "intimidating" residents.

They "move(d) military hardware from one settlement to another."

Note: Many polling stations remained open until 10PM local time. Others closed between 6 and 8PM. They did so for security reasons. Eastern Ukraine is a war zone.

Voting under these conditions risked people's lives. High numbers turned out anyway. Fundamental rights matter more. So does real democracy.

On Saturday, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry issued a statement, saying:

The Bolivarian Republic "does not recognize and will not recognize as legal a government that emerged as a result of a state coup."

"In view of a regrettable development of events in Ukraine, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela confirms that it rejects violent processes that, with the support of the United States and NATO, led to the overthrow of the government, jeopardizing the peace and unity of the Ukrainian people as well as the stability of the entire Eurasian region."

"Until free elections are held in Ukraine and broad dialogue starts, Venezuela will keep warning the world's nations of the danger of foreign interference, speaking for the creation of a multipolar world that guarantees the peace and sovereignty of all peoples."

RT International reported "Kiev troops roll(ing) through E. Ukraine in 'bid to disrupt voting.' "

Fascists operate this way. Democracy is considered verboten. Attacks tried blocking its emergence. Efforts failed. Turnout was impressive. Voters want freedom most of all.

Weeks earlier poll numbers showed Putin's popularity topped 80%. Most Russians support him. They praised him. They believe he's governing responsibly.

Last December, UK broadsheet The Times named him International Person of the Year. He succeeded in reestablishing Russia as a major international problem-solving country, it said.

On Saturday, Henry Kissinger debunked notions about Putin initiating Eastern Ukrainian conflict conditions.

He had nothing to do with what's ongoing, he said. "(W)e ought to settle the Ukrainian issue first, and then have a discussion about relations with Russia," he added.

On March 5, he headlined a Washington Post op-ed "How the Ukraine crisis ends," saying:

"Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are going?"

"Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West."

"But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side's outpost against the other - it should function as a bridge between them."

Russia can't force Ukraine into satellite status, he said. Western nations "must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country."

It was part of Russia for centuries. Their histories are closely intertwined.

"The European Union must recognize that its bureaucratic dilatoriness and subordination of the strategic element to domestic politics in negotiating Ukraine's relationship to Europe contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis," said Kissinger.

Western residents mostly speak Ukrainian. Eastern ones mostly Russian. Any attempt by either side "to dominate the other (will) lead eventually to civil war or break up."

Treating Ukraine "as part of an East-West confrontation (will) scuttle for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West…into a cooperative international system."

"The politics of post-independence Ukraine clearly demonstrates that the root of the problem lies in efforts by Ukrainian politicians to impose their will on recalcitrant parts of the country…"

A "wise US policy" would seek East/West "cooperation."

Demonizing Putin isn't sound policy, said Kissinger. It's "an alibi for the absence of one."

Understanding Russian tradition isn't America's long suit, he explained.

He laid out his notion of outcome compatibility representing interests of all sides, saying:

Ukraine should freely choose its economic and political associations.

It shouldn't join NATO.

Its government should represent all its people. It should resolve East/West differences.

It's "incompatible with the rules of the existing order for Russia to annex Crimea."

"(I)t should be possible to put (its) relationship with Ukraine on a less fraught basis."

Kiev "should reinforce Crimea's autonomy in elections" internationally monitored.

Kissinger called his notions "principles, not prescriptions." Key isn't "absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction," he added.

If differences aren't resolved, "confrontation will accelerate."

It's happening in real time. It bears repeating. Fascist regimes operate this way. Washington and Kiev are two sides of the same coin.

One decides. The other obeys.

Kissinger omitted explaining what's most important. As Nixon/Ford National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, he was part of Washington's dirty system.

His rap sheet is bloodstained. He was an early architect of new world order lawlessness.

He's guilty of multiple crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. In late May, he'll be 91.

His op-eds or other actions can't undo enormous harm he caused. He remains unaccountable.

At the same time, he largely addressed Ukraine sensibly. He foresaw what's unfolding. It's prelude to what's likely much worse to come.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

A Voice From The Left-The Latest From The Steve Lendman Blog

Click below to link to the Steve Lendman Blog

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/

From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

A Jackman disclaimer:

by Stephen Lendman

Thousands of political prisoners languish in America's gulag. It's one of the world's worst. It's the largest by far.

It's supplemented by dozens of global torture prisoners. They're in numerous countries. They're black holes of viciousness. Their existence alone reveals America's dark side.

Marc Mauer heads the Sentencing Project. He's a leading criminal justice system authority. His "Race to Incarcerate" book was groundbreaking.

It focuses on America's rage to punish. To imprison. To fill prison beds. To commodify criminal injustice. To harm society's most vulnerable.

To deny ethnic justice. To target racial emancipation. To spurn economic and social equality across gender and color lines.

To lock people away unjustly. To victimize them by judicial unfairness. To do so by get tough on crime policies. By guilty unless proved innocent. By three strikes and you're out.

Russell Maroon Shoatz is a political prisoner. He calls himself a prisoner of war He's a dedicated community activist. He's a founding Black Unity Council member.

He's a former Black Panther Party/Black Liberation Army member. He's serving multiple unjust life sentences.

A petition to free Maroon reads as follows:

He's (#AF-3855) "a 68-year-old prisoner held at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) Greene in southwestern Pennsylvania, has been kept in solitary confinement for more than 21 years. He has been unable to hold his children or grandchildren or interact with others in a humane setting during this time, despite not having violated prison rules in two decades. He has suffered severe psychological anguish and his physical health has been worsened by the stress of prolonged isolation."

He "spent nearly 40 years within the Pennsylvania prison system, 30 of those in solitary confinement."

"During this time he has earned a reputation amongst prison staff and prisoners as a leader because of his consistent support for human rights inside and outside the walls."

"We are distressed and outraged that an elderly man who is nearing his 70th birthday continues to be treated in such a cruel manner based on his constitutionally-protected support for human rights and in retaliation for his expressing political opinions disfavored by the prison administration."

"Not having committed an infraction in more than two decades reveals that Russell Shoats is more than ready to re-enter the general prison population."

"We, the undersigned, are calling on prison officials to end the solitary confinement torture of Russell Maroon Shoatz by releasing him into the general population of the prison immediately."

Sign the Petition

Shoatz calls himself "a New African Political Prisoner of War, who at this moment" is serving multiple life sentences.

His ordeal began in 1970. He was convicted of involvement in killing a police officer.

He spent over four decades in numerous state, county and federal prisons. He was in maximum security ones. He was isolated in solitary confinement from 1991 through February 20, 2014.

He was held there despite his exemplary prison record. An earlier refusal to release him into the general prison population lied, saying:

"In the volatile atmosphere of a prison, an inmate easily may constitute an unacceptable threat to the safety of other prisoners and guards even if he himself has committed no misconduct; rumor, reputation, and even more imponderable factors may suffice to spark potentially disastrous incidents."

"The judgment of prison officials in this context, like that of those making parole decisions, turns largely on purely subjective evaluations and on predictions of future behavior."

In February, his lawyer confirmed his solitary confinement release. His son Russell Shoatz III said:

"We are very excited that this day has finally come. My father being released from solitary confinement is proof of the power of people organizing against injustice, and the importance of building strong coalitions."

"I especially want to thank all of those who have supported the collective struggle to end my father’s solitary confinement, including my siblings and members of the Shoatz family, the Human Rights Coalition, Abolitionist Law Center, Scientific Soul Sessions, the entire legal team, UN Special Rapporteur Juan Mendez, the 5 Nobel Peace Laureates, the National Lawyers Guild, Center for Constitutional Rights, along with the dozens of other organizations and thousands of individuals who have participated in this effort."

Shoatz explained his ordeal earlier as follows:

"The torture technicians who developed the paradigm used in (prison) ‘control units' realized that they not only had to separate those with leadership qualities, but also break (their) minds and bodies and keep them separated until they are dead."

He turns 71 in August. In the past nine months, he was transferred to three different Pennsylvania prisons.

He was isolated for working with the Pennsylvania Association of Lifers. It advocates abolishing life without parole sentences.

Commutation is the only possible way now. It entails petitioning Board of Pardons members. It requires gubernatorial approval.

It involves what rarely happens. Virtually never some say. It reflects societal injustice writ large. America is its epicenter.

Abolitionist Law Center Executive Director Bret Grote is a Human Rights Coalition investigator. It's a Pennsylvania-based prison abolitionist/rights organization. He spoke to Maroon. He called it "moving."

"There are no words to adequately convey the significance of his release to the general population for him and his family," he said.

"This is a significant victory for a growing people’s movement against solitary confinement and the human rights violations inherent in mass incarceration."

"If we continue to work hard and support one another in this movement, these victories could very well become a habit."

Maroon was born in August 1943. He's one of 12 children. He was in and out of reform schools and youth institutions until age 18.

It was mainly from involvement in gang activities. They were unrelated to illicit drugs. He was married twice. He has seven children.

In the mid-1960s, he became politically active. He was a founding Black Unity Council member. In 1969, it merged with the Black Panther Party.

In August 1970, he and four others became known as the "Philly 5." It was after a police officer was killed. Another was wounded at the time.

It followed a Philadelphia police station retaliatory attack. It responded to heightened community repression. It included cops killing a New African youth.

Maroon "was active on the armed front of the New African Liberation Army," he said.

"All of my actions and activities during this period were in direct response to, and in direct support of the movement's activities."

"I was tried and convicted for the attack on the police station and sentenced to Life-Plus Imprisonment," he added.

He escaped. He remained at large for weeks. He was hunted down. In October 1977, he was captured. From then through November 1989, he was kept in various "holes," he said.

In numerous state, county and federal prisons, he added. In brutalizing maximum security ones. In one, he was forcibly drugged.

He was hospitalized once from criminal overdosing. In March 1980, he escaped again. He was recaptured. He remains in prison.

He deserves much better than he's gotten. In May 2012, an international campaign to free him headlined "25 years in prison + 50 years of age = OUT."

It was launched concurrently in New York and London. Theresa Shoatz is Maroon's daughter. She advocates on her father's behalf. She does it courageously.

Matt Meyer is a New York-based educator/activist/author/War Resisters International Africa Support Network Coordinator. He campaigns on Maroon's behalf.

He and Theresa call his case "one of the most shocking examples of US torture of political prisoners, and one of the most egregious examples of human rights violations regarding prison conditions anywhere in the world."

"His 'Maroon' nickname is, in part, due to his continued resistance - which twice led him to escape confinement."

It's "based on his continued clear analysis, including recent writings on ecology and matriarchy."

He hadn't had a serious rule violation in over two decades. He was targeted for working as an educator.

For his political ideas. For being elected president of an officially sanctioned prison-based support group.

Punishing him violated his fundamental constitutional rights. Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited.

His new book is titled "Maroon the Implacable: The Collected Writings of Russell Maroon Shoatz."

It includes essays on a wide range of topics. They include honest self-criticism.

One chapter is titled "The Question of Violence." In it, Maroon wrote:

"More troubling is the fact that this male exhibitionist violence has also permeated the minds, practices, and circles of otherwise brilliant and well-meaning revolutionary thinkers."

"Such theorists as the renowned Frantz Fanon, icons like Malcolm X and Kwane Ture (formerly Stokely Carmichael) and others have unconsciously conflated the necessary utilization of defensive revolutionary violence, in seeking meaningful revolutionary socioeconomic and cultural change, with what they believed was a need for males to use 'revolutionary violence' to also ‘liberate their minds and spirits’ subservience imposed on them by the vestiges of slavery and the colonialism/neocolonialism of their times."

"These individuals failed to recognize that their 'revolutionary' worldview would still leave in place the entire male-supremacist/patriarchal framework, an edifice that we can term the 'father of oppression.' "

"The destruction of this edifice will signal the true liberation they sought."

"Otherwise, the 'revolutionary violence' they formulated must also be recognized for what it is: exhibitionist, ego-based male violence."

State-sponsored viciousness defines America's prison system. Gulag cruelty best describes it. It's abhorrently discriminatory. It's deplorably racially and ethnically biased.

It targets society's most vulnerable. It's unrelated to crime control.

Bret Grote said Maroon was transferred from one "torture chamber" to another.

Brutalizing treatment continued for decades. His dedication to helping other prisoners was "thwarted at every turn."

He was punished for doing the right thing. He's back in the general prison population. For how long remains to be seen.

Societies are best judged by how they treat children, the elderly, the infirm, their most disadvantaged and prisoners. America fails on all counts.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

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From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

A Jackman disclaimer:

by Stephen Lendman

Rancourt reflects academia's best, most competent, most responsible and bravest. He has two blog sites. Visit them for updated information.

Activist Teacher and U of O Watch provide updates. They explain what most people can't imagine.

What happened to Rancourt can happen to anyone responsibly challenging what's too deplorable to accept.

Injustice defines Western societies. Canada marches in lockstep with Washington.

Rogue state ruthlessness defines both countries. Imperial priorities matter most. Inviolable laws don't matter. Nor judicial fairness.

Rancourt is a distinguished University of Ottawa (U of O) professor. He's tenured. He's a recognized physics and environmental science expert.

Students loved him. He's a "phenomenal teacher," they said. He didn't teach to the test like in America.

He prioritized learning. He inspired academic achievement. He supports fundamental human and civil rights.

Political activism caused his dismissal. University of Ottawa's campus isn't safe. President Allan Rock is a former Canadian politician.

He runs U of O like his private fiefdom. Like a police state. He's unprincipledly hard right. He ignores fundamental Canadian law doing so.

Academic freedom doesn't matter. Or free thought, opinion or expression. U of O is a hotbed of fascist extremism. It's inhospitable to learning.

U of O Law Professor Joanne St. Lewis colluded with Rock. She did so against Rancourt.

She sued him unjustifiably. She wants $1 million. She irresponsibly charged racism.

It related to his legitimate blog site comments. He called St. Lewis a "house negro." He cited Malcolm X. He first used the term.

A 2011 Statement of Claim (SOC) against Rancourt said:

"The Defendant's conduct and actions are reprehensible insulting, high-handed, spiteful, and outrageous."

"Such conduct warrants condemnation by this Court by means of an award of punitive damages."

It spuriously claimed "(t)he Defendant defamed Professor St. Lewis in furtherance of his personal animosity towards President Allan Rock and the University of Ottawa which terminated him as a Professor."

U of O pays all St. Lewis legal fees. Doing so smacks of collusion. It violates Rancourt's Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

For over three years, he's battled for justice so far denied. One-on-one against St. Lewis is one thing.

Against U of O maliciousness another. Against courts piling on something else entirely. Against systemic injustice matters most.

Cynthia McKinney is special. She's extraordinary. She's an exception that proves the rule. She's a true profile in courage.

She supports right over wrong. She does it courageously. She's a committed human/civil rights champion.

She was Georgia's House of Representatives first African American member.

She represented Georgia's 11th district. She did so from January 1993 - January 2003.

She was 2008 Green Party presidential candidate. She's close to receiving her doctorate.

She supports judicial fairness. She wants Rancourt given no less. She's involved helping him get what he's so far denied.

He was fired for doing the right thing. Over three years of battling judicially followed. It's not east challenging systemic injustice.

McKinney circulated a petition. It protests Ontario Superior Court Judge Michel Z. Charbonneau's judicial lynching.

Rancourt is his own legal defense. He taught himself law to do so. During his opening jury statement, Charbonneau silenced him.

He did so reprehensibly. He acted extrajudicially. He took the law into his own hands. He twisted it irresponsibly.

He prohibited Rancourt's fundamental right to speak. He violated Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It's a constitutional bill of rights. It states:

"Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

(a) freedom of conscience and religion;

(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

(d) freedom of association."

Article 7 assures "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person and the right not to be deprived thereof in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice."

Academic and speech freedoms are inviolable. So is the right to a fair and just legal defense. America denies them. So does Canada.

Doing so reflects police state injustice. Charbonneau is more hanging than real judge. He shames the office he holds.

He has no legitimacy whatever. Rancourt walked out of court in disgust. He explained why, saying:

"On May 16, 2014, at 10:00 AM, in courtroom #36 of the Ottawa Courthouse of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, I walked out from the trial in which I am being sued, and in which I was representing myself without a lawyer."

"The trial is continuing in my absence, before a Jury of my peers." He continued, adding:

"Your Honour, the law foresees that I must be free to advance the very serious charge of “reasonable apprehension of bias."

"It is very difficult for me to make this intervention. Give me five minutes because I must present the new evidence."

"During my motion of May 7, 2014, asking that Your Honour recuse himself, Your Honour's decision was silent on the central point that I had made that Your Honour's decisions in this action could affect the reputation of the University of Ottawa and affect the monetary value of its scholarships, to which Your Honour donates money regularly and annually."

"Then, on the first day of trial, Monday May 12 of this week, we did a motion in the afternoon, a so-called 'Voir Dire,' with detailed facta."

"Mr. Dearden (plaintiff's lawyer) brought the motion with a factum of 32 pages served on May 9 and accompanied by a book of authorities of 347 pages."

"His motion was to eliminate my defence called 'Litigation by proxy contrary to the Charter.' "

"I answered with a factum of May 9 containing 14 pages and accompanied by a book of authorities of 342 pages."

"I argued in detail that, in fact, my defense was a defence of abuse of process having three branches, with one branch being the 'Jameel' defence based on a 2005 decision of the England and Wales Court of Appeal: Dow Jones Inc. v. Jameel, and I pointed to paragraphs 68 to 71 of my 'Statement of Defence' as pleading this Jameel defence."

"The decision of this Court (of Your Honour) was pronounced on May 14 regarding the said motion or Voir Dire: The paragraphs 61 to 67 of the Statement of Defence were struck."

"Paragraphs 68 to 71 remained intact, as did my Jameel defence."

"Then, on May 15, yesterday, during my Opening Statement, the Court allowed Mr. Dearden to interrupt me when I was explaining my Jameel defence to the Jury."

"And Your Honour, off the cuff, struck and forbade my Jameel defence despite my protest, and despite the fact of not having done so when Your Honour should have done so if you had had that intension."

"It has been more than three years that I have been fighting for procedural justice in this action - and my 'Statement of Claim' is struck, cut into pieces, before my eyes during my Opening Statement, in contradiction with the considered decision of May 14 of Your Honour."

"This would give nightmares to Kafka himself."

"To my eyes, we are no longer in Canada - and we can no longer claim to have a system of justice in this action before you Your Honour."

"I am outraged by this gag order imposed in a manner that is apparently arbitrary, which does not allow me to be heard and to 'have my day in court.' "

"I have pleaded 'abuse of process' at every step and now, at trial itself, I don't even have the right to say that the University of Ottawa is entirely financing the plaintiff or the right to use the Jameel defense that applies to situations where the defendant advances a lack of actual damage to reputation, that’s 'actual' damage, and to 'reputation,' not some other kind of damage."

"I was very disturbed by these incomprehensible events, and I have been deeply perturbed all day yesterday; confused also, as a self-represented litigant."

"This morning I inform the Court that I can no longer participate in such a process."

"Therefore, I'm leaving this unjust process. You will take the decisions in my absence. It's over for me: I’m leaving."

McKinney represents Rancourt's fight for justice. He deserves universal support. He's battling Canadian injustice singlehandedly.

He's doing it on a shoestring. He performed courageously. He accomplished what few others would dare.

He's a true justice champion. He's a modern-day Don Quixote. He's battling an entire judicial system. He's entitled to fair proceedings.

A "judge cannot be or appear to be biased," said McKinney. Each side deserves due process. Fairness requires defendants knowing charges against them.

Defenses available must be be permitted. "(A)fter more than three years of legal procedures," said McKinney, "Charbonneau summarily denied Rancourt's opening jury statement."

His main defense. Without justification. Without legal basis. With unconscionable bias. One-sidedly supporting his opponent.

Perhaps unprecedented or close to it. Doing so was outrageously egregious. It reflected hanging court injustice. It has no legal standing.

Under Canadian law, Rancourt's trial continues without him.

Prior to trial, he asked formerly involved Regional Senior Judge Charles Hackland to appoint a case judge with no U of O connection.

Charbonneau is an alumnus. He's an endowment fund contributor. His university connection disqualifies him.

He's unfit to serve. He's judge, jury and executioner.

Rancourt formally petitioned him to recuse himself. He refused to do so. He acted irresponsibly.

"Help defend justice," Mckinney urged. Sign the attached petition. It tells national, provincial and regional Canadian chief justices to halt trial proceedings.

Start over. Under a new judge. With no U of O ties. Under scrupulously free, fair and open proceedings.

With both sides treated justly. With due process respected. With jurors given all relevant information.

With them able to decide responsibly. With justice prevailing. With assuring it above all else.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

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