A View From The Left- Greece demonstrates...

Greece demonstrates...
by International Communist Party Email: proletarian (nospam) pcint.org	28 Jul 2015
At the end of yet another «historic» marathon session Brussels negotiations between the Greek government and its creditors, a «definitive» agreement has yet again been found to «resolve" the Greek crisis: Greek Prime Minister Tsipras and his team have come to accept as a condition for new loans to the virtually bankrupt Greek government, a plan of austerity measures significantly harsher than he had rejected a week earlier and against which he had, supposedly, held a referendum! The only point where he apparently got something concrete, is that of the reduction in military spending: the creditors have accepted that it is weaker than what they asked for...
Greece demonstrates once again that it is impossible to fight against capitalist attacks by the electoral and reformist path At the end of yet another «historic» marathon session Brussels negotiations between the Greek government and its creditors, a «definitive» agreement has yet again been found to «resolve" the Greek crisis: Greek Prime Minister Tsipras and his team have come to accept as a condition for new loans to the virtually bankrupt Greek government, a plan of austerity measures significantly harsher than he had rejected a week earlier and against which he had, supposedly, held a referendum! The only point where he apparently got something concrete, is that of the reduction in military spending: the creditors have accepted that it is weaker than what they asked for... TSIPRA'S TREASON? Many, even among the so-called «far left» currents who claimed to have no illusions about Syriza and its government, cried out about the treason of Tsipras. But only those who took the demagogical speeches of this party and its leader at face value could feel betrayed. Syriza which calls itself a «radical left» party, is in reality no different from a classic reformist party: it does not want to destroy capitalism but to improve it, reform it: its dream is that of all reformists, the dream of a capitalism with a human face, that of all collaborators, the dream of fraternal collaboration among all citizens or at least the overwhelming majority of them. But there are dreams and there is reality; and in reality, capitalism cannot be changed, only a few minor reforms are possible and even those, provided they do not cost much – we must combat it or submit to it! Having never had the intention to fight capitalism, Syriza could only submit to it and submit the workers who trusted it. Brought to power by claiming that it was going to end austerity and the economic crisis which battered the workers and some petty-bourgeois strata, Syriza embodied the illusion that a mere change of government, obtained quietly and peacefully by the democratic electoral process, could bring a significant improvement in the situation of the masses. The constitution of his government on the basis of an alliance with a far-right militarist and pro-religious party, (Anel) should have been enough to dispel any doubts about the «radical» nature of Syriza. But for months, the government conducted the comedy of defending the workers against the creditors of the country, whom he claimed to be able to convince to give up part of their requirements and to grant further financial aid; while the situation of the proletarians and the working masses never ceased to deteriorate – so there has been a real social truce in part because of uninterrupted blows suffered by the proletariat in recent years, but also because of the hopes that many nurtured towards Syriza. But in reality, the Greek negotiators were defending primarily the interests of national capitalism and not those of the proletariat or the population; evidenced by the fact that they finally accepted more readily antisocial and anti-proletarian measures than those of particular capitalist interests (e.g. they have defended tooth and nail the privileged status of shipping owners from taxes, military expenditures or the maintaining of a low rate of VAT on tourist activities); the austerity measures imposed to repay creditors have had dire consequences for the economy in general, leading to the disappearance of thousands of businesses: an economic stimulus policy, not more austerity is demanded by many capitalists. But negotiations and agreements between bourgeois or between bourgeois states – including when the States are “partners” in a «union»! – can only be based on the relationship of forces. But puny Greek capitalism had little strength to resist the exigencies of the major European capitalism for long, especially when their state is on the verge of bankruptcy. At the end of June the creditors laid down a quasi-ultimatum to accept their plan, to which the Tsipras government replied by organizing a referendum on the plan, calling for a «No» vote. While this decision was greeted with enthusiasm by a part of the European left and far left who saw the possibility of a «people» democratically refusing a Europe of austerity and finance, etc. or even getting out of the «straitjacket of the euro», Tsipras clearly stated that the referendum was organized, not to break with the creditors, but to continue negotiations with them in a position that would be strengthened by universal suffrage. The «Yes» campaign included traditional bourgeois parties (the socialists of Pasok and the right-wing New Democracy) and new (the centrists of To Potami), employer organizations, but also the leaders of the private sector unions, the major media, etc., supported by European governments. «No» proponents in addition to Syriza, included the neo-fascist Golden Dawn and small formations from the far left, along with some anarchists. The Greek Communist Party (KKE) refused to participate in the «No» campaign: – reasonably asserting that the government's proposals were no better than those of the creditors; it called for a null vote, thus spoiling the ballot(the essential thing, of course is to vote!) in this way thinking to express a «double no» to both proposals and defending its own nationalist perspective of exiting the EU. The rest is history: the «No» supporters achieved a resounding victory (nearly 60%, with spoiled or blank ballots at 6%, «Yes» collecting only 36% of the votes; the rate of abstentions was down, being 38%); the main square of Athens, Syntagma, saw scenes of jubilation of voters believing that they had dealt a severe blow to supporters of austerity and notably to the old parties that had formed successive governments throughout the past years. The formations of the radical left of Europe also celebrated the electoral victory; one example is the statement of Rifondazione Comunista in Italy, but we could have mentioned the French Front de Gauche, the Spanish Podemos, etc.: «The victory of No in Greece represents the victory of democracy and dignity for the Greek people against the financial terrorism of the troika. It is a historic result for Greece and the European peoples» (1). Just hours after this historic victory of democracy, Prime Minister Tsipras, after discarding his Minister of Finance, whose tone had been too assertive and demanding, met with all the parliamentary parties, both right and left, with the exception of Golden Dawn; and except for the KKE, they all gave him their full support to negotiate to keep Greece in the euro area ... on the basis of the plan proposed by the creditors! Trounced at the polls, the «Yes» vote had in fact triumphed! It would be difficult to imagine a more striking demonstration of the futility of electoral illusions and the role of disorientation of the electoral circus... By garnering the consent of the old traditional bourgeois parties, Syriza becomes the representative of a true national unity, the defender of the interests of all the Greek bourgeoisie in front of the Europeans. Declarations of intent not being enough, the Greek negotiators in Brussels presented a specific and detailed plan, drafted under the leadership of high French officials, who accepted all the points which a week earlier they had denounced as an ultimatum. But when the negotiating sessions began, this plan was rejected by the German representatives, who presented another, based on the expulsion of Greece – for five years – from the Eurozone, because, they said, «confidence» in the Greek Government no longer existed: for the capitalists, confidence is based on submission. It took endless and bitter negotiations for the German leaders to abandon this perspective and to accept maintaining Greece in the European currency area, inflicting in return drastic and humiliating measures for the Greek leaders who had to pay for trying to resist them. As good reformist minions, the Greek representatives finally agreed to everything that had been demanded of them; it was not a capitulation, since the Tsipras government had actually already capitulated even before the start of negotiations, when, while victorious at the polls, he received the support of all parties, particularly by those who had called for a “Yes” vote; not a surrender in relation to a defense of the interests of the workers and the poor masses since this has never been the real intention of Syriza, but a capitulation in relation to the refusal to accept all the demands of creditors and to renounce any attempt to get relief from debt burden. We wrote that «The Syriza-ANEL government has no alternative: it will have to submit to the pressure of the most powerful bourgeois states so that it will not be ejected from the euro zone, or replaced by a more comprehensive government.(...) Syriza is placed in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between attacking the interests of the proletariat and the working masses, or those of capitalism; and like all reformist parties, which are inextricably linked to the defense of the capitalist mode of production, it can only attack the workers, profiting from the confidence they have in it. This is the role assigned to it by the bourgeoisie, Greek and international, and its government will only be tolerated so long as it fulfills this role.» (2). It did not take long to wait for the demonstration of this easy forecast. It appears, moreover, that during the last negotiations, some states and «institutions» have threatened to force the formation of a new government, perhaps a «government by technocrats» if the Greek leaders were reluctant to accept the conditions requested by creditors. But others have probably argued that Tsipras and his followers, strengthened by their “victory” election, were best able to get the proletarian masses to swallow the bitter pills: that is precisely what democracy is for. INTER-IMPERIALIST CONTRADICTIONS The Brussels negotiations were particularly contentious: two groups of countries showed disagreement à propos the fate of Greece: on one side, Germany with its allies in the North who advocated it leaving the Eurozone, on the other side France, supported by Cyprus and Italy, who were opposed. Some people explained this confrontation by the opposition of two conceptions of Europe: on one side the supporters of financial orthodoxy and respect for treaties, on the other supporters of solidarity between peoples. The reality is quite different; in «defending Greece» against the German representatives, Paris was not defending the Greek «people» and even less Greek proletarians: the draft presented by the Greek government and developed in collaboration with French officials took up all the anti-working class and antisocial measures requested by the European creditors.During the negotiations, the French finance minister used the argument that if Greece left the euro zone, it could not repay its debt; but more worrying for Paris and Rome was that an exit from the euro would have risked cause economic problems in the zone, delivering a severe blow to hopes of restarting even meager growth in France and Italy. The alleged «defense of Greece» was nothing more than the defense of French and Italian national capitalist interests! The position of the German leadership was different because the health of their economy would have enabled it to absorb without much trouble the shock of a «Grexit» (Greek exit from the euro); what concerned them more, beyond the unhappy prospect of throwing new funds down a bottomless pit, was to create a precedent that could be invoked tomorrow by governments of other much larger countries, for example Spain; hence their desire, if Grexit did not take place, to impose punitive conditions on Greece so that it serves as a warning to those tempted to imitate ... Finally the United States put pressure on Germany that Greece not be ejected from the euro zone and that its debt be reduced (3). This corresponds to their traditional position of pushing the Europeans to abandon austerity policies and to adopt economic stimulus measures, so they play the role of a locomotive of global growth to reverse the slowdown; but in this case their position is mainly explained by the desire to avoid a NATO member occupying a key strategic position, being plunged into an economic slump that would weaken its military capabilities. However the US did not want to interfere directly in the negotiations, as Tsipras, the supposed representative of the «radical left», demanded of them, hoping to find strong support in the US imperialists... None of these states were concerned by the situation of the Greek proletarians and masses because all have the function of defending the capitalist mode of production against their own proletariat and those countries they dominate! ALL BOURGEOIS STATES AND ALL THE POSSESSING CLASSES ARE THE ENEMIES OF THE PROLETARIANS Greek proletarians have endured a tough experience whose lessons, consistent with Marxism, apply to the workers of the world: it is impossible to defend against capitalist attacks, whether undertaken by their own capitalist or applied on behalf of best interests of capitalism by foreign capitalists, by relying on the mechanisms of parliamentary democracy; the ballot is only a scrap of paper which cannot in any way override bourgeois interests and resolve social contradictions. A so-called «class vote» like the one in favor of the «No» vote hailed by Europe's extreme left is a sorry illusion: the class struggle does not take place within the confines of parliaments, but in work-places, in factories, in the street. We cannot soften the capitalists’ demands by trying to move the bourgeois by describing the suffering of the population, generating nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders, as it seems the Greek negotiators in Brussels did – in agreeing to make the proletarians suffer but not too much! The proletarians must not expect the pity or commiseration of the capitalists and their lackeys, but only their blows; these blows undoubtedly can be more or less brutal, but this is only a difference of degree due to a difference in method: the reformist method is kinder to avoid as far as possible the eruption of social clashes. But when the bourgeois interests are too urgent reformist method immediately follows the path of the dictates and when confrontations menace, the path of violence and repression: Tsipras is the umpteenth example. The «bailout» finally concluded in Brussels with all the sacrifices it imposes on the proletarians and masses (increasing the retirement age to 67 years for some and reducing pensions of state employees, further cuts in social measures, rising prices and taxes etc.) but also on certain sections of the petty and middle bourgeoisie, with the restrictions on sovereignty imposed on the Greek State (to the great consternation of the nationalists of the «far left») will not solve the problems facing Greek capitalism; according to many economists, on the contrary it will aggravate the economic depression that it has undergone for several years. This is certainly the opinion of the IMF, which after bringing all its weight to impose the creditors plan on the government of Athens, estimated in a report published on 14 July, but already known to European leaders in the negotiations, that this plan was not viable if European states did not agree to reduce or cancel the debt owed by the Greeks – which they have stubbornly refused! Thus new Greek crises are inevitable, with their share of anti-labor measures... The Greek crisis is only the extreme manifestation of the general crisis of capitalism in Europe and the world; therefore the alternative, equally bourgeois, an exit from the Eurozone and/or of the European Union, cannot be a solution for the proletariat. What is possible for a powerful imperialist country like Britain – prosperity based on an independent currency, and the possibility of leaving the EU –, is not for the weak Greek capitalism; the merciless laws of the capitalist market where, in times of crisis, only the strongest remain afloat, would apply to it with perhaps more violence if Greece left this capitalist alliance called the European Union. Greek capitalism, private or state, would even more fiercely extort surplus value from its proletarians in the name of defense of the country, to withstand the competition on the world market. There is no bourgeois solution to the degradation of living conditions, that in a more or less pronounced manner, the proletarians experience in all countries. Supporters of class collaboration, whether they belong to the so-called «radical left» or traditional «reformism», can only collaborat in this degradation because collaboration between classes means submission to the ruling class: it is no coincidence that Pablo Iglesias, the leader of the Spanish Podemos, has approved the course of action of Tsipras during the negotiations... FOR THE REPRISE OF THE CLASS STRUGGLE, FOR THE CONSTITUTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLASS PARTY! For the proletariat there is no alternative but to break with class collaboration and all the parties and unions which support it, and to take the path of anti-capitalist class struggle. It is possible to confront and defeat the capitalists and their state by open conflict, adopting methods, means and classist goals: uncompromising defense of proletarian interests alone, independent class organization, both in terms of the immediate struggle in defense of their lives and livelihood and in terms of the more generalized struggle against the capitalist system, constitution of the political class party, internationalist and international, in conjunction with the proletarians of all countries, to lead the revolutionary struggle until victory. This path is not easy, but it is the only realistic one, although the facts have once again demonstrated that the reformist collaborationist and nationalist electoral route, is a fatal utopia, which serves only the bourgeoisie. ___________ (1) http://www.rifondazione.it/primapagina/?p=18794 (2) Position stated: 04.27.2015, www.pcint.org (3) The German Minister of Finance responded by referring to the situation of Puerto Rico: This small state, which has the status of «Associate State» in the United States, is also virtually bankrupt, but Washington refuses to help it. International Communist Party April, 23th 2015
See also: http://www.pcint.org

 

'Cops Out of the Unions!' California Union Calls on AFL-CIO To Terminate Police Union's Memberships

'Cops Out of the Unions!' California Union Calls on AFL-CIO To Terminate Police Union's Memberships
by w	28 Jul 2015
Citing a "long history of police intervention in labor politics and its complicity in racial violence," the UAW members say they want the cops' union out of the country's largest labor federation. (Ben Musseig / Flickr)
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United Auto Workers Local 2865, the union representing 13,000 teaching assistants and other student workers throughout the University of California, called on the AFL-CIO to end its affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) in a resolution passed by its governing body on July 25. The resolution came in the wake of a letter written by the UAW’s Black Interests Coordinating Committee (BICC). The group formed in December 2014 in response to the acquittals of police officers in the deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner and is largely inspired by recent actions in the Black Lives Matter movement. With the letter, BICC aims to “start a really difficult conversation that the labor movement has had in the past and needs to continue to have around the intersections of race and labor, economic privation and racial disparity,” according to BICC member Brandon Buchanan, a graduate student currently studying Sociology at UC Davis who serves as Head Steward. The letter charges that police associations operate in ways that are antithetical to the mission statement of the AFL-CIO, particularly its stated goal "to fulfill the yearning of the human spirit for liberty, justice and community; to advance individual and associational freedom; [and] to vanquish oppression, privation and cruelty in all their forms." It provides historical evidence to its allegations, saying, "Police unions in particular emerge out of a long history of police intervention in labor politics and its complicity in racial violence," before referencing deadly disputes with activist workers in the 19th century, the defense of Jim Crow segregation, the lobbying that enabled the circumstances of Freddie Gray's death and the crackdown on the Occupy movement across the country as examples of American police acting as a “violent supressive force.” The letter was presented by Buchanan on behalf of BICC to the joint council of UAW Local 2865, the local's governing board. According to Buchanan, the letter and its call to the AFL-CIO were endorsed overwhelmingly. “The AFL-CIO is an enormous part of the labor movement. It has a lot of say, it influences elections, it is an organization which serves to build a lot of solidarity between a number of different unions,” Buchanan told In These Times. “But at the same time, one of the things that we noticed is that it also has these police associations which are a part of it—police associations who have consistently worked not necessarily in the interest of workers, in particular black workers, but instead have upheld a capitalist status quo as well as white supremacy.” The endorsed letter echoes the sentiment made by Shawn Gude last year at Jacobin: When there’s mass resistance to poverty and inequality, it’s the cops who are summoned to calm the panic-stricken hearts of the elite. They bash some heads, or infiltrate and disrupt some activist groups, and all is right in the world again. Such is the inherent defect of law-enforcement unionism: It’s peopled by those with a material interest in maintaining and enlarging the state’s most indefensible practices. Earlier this year, in an article entitled "Blood On Their Hands: The Racist History of Modern Police Unions," human rights attorney Flint Taylor gave an overview of such sordid practices for In These Times. Buchanan says that while the endorsement came with an overwhelming majority of the governing board voting in favor, there was concern from certain members who questioned whether the endorsement would alienate those who had relationships with people in the police force. “This is not about individuals. We’re not talking about or calling out individual people. We’re calling out structures of power,” Buchanan stresses in response. “We’re not saying that [police officers] are individually bad. But what we’re talking about is things like vilifying black bodies to protect police officers who brutalize and kill black people and then get away with it with the support of these police associations.” UAW 2865’s governing body made similar waves with its activist streak last year when it became the first American local to endorse the global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. While numerous American unions have held actions against police brutality in the past year (such as the May Day port shutdowns by ILWU Local 10 in Oakland and ILA Local 1422 in Charleston, South Carolina), UAW 2865 is the first local to explicitly call for disassociation between police unions and the rest of organized labor currently operating under the umbrella of the national federation. In a story detailing the history of police unions and organized labor for Al Jazeera America in December, Ned Resnikoff reported that an AFL-CIO spokesperson downplayed any tension between the two sides, saying, "The AFL-CIO is like any family. … With 57 affiliated unions and a diversity of membership there is bound to be some disagreement." Buchanan believes that disaffiliation between the AFL-CIO and IUPA would mean that the IUPA would lose legitimacy as an organization and thus transfer AFL-CIO support from police associations and instead towards people of color and their communities, who he says have been traditionally locked out of organizing spaces. “It’s a question of legitimacy. Having [the AFL-CIO] disaffiliate demonstrates that if our union organizing is meant to address the interests of workers—and black workers are included in that—then these police associations are inimical to those interests,” Buchanan says.

The rapid success of Fight for $15

The rapid success of Fight for $15
by Steven Greenhouse in New York Email: marc1seed (nospam) yahoo.com	06 Aug 2015
700 free movies, 700 free E-books and 450 free audio books are ours on www.openculture.com. How can you be "hard-nosed" when you have 700 free movies?
to read Steven Greenhouse's article published July 24, 2015 on theguardian.com, click on http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/24/rapid-success-15-dollars- When 200 New York restaurant workers walked out in the nation’s first-ever fast-food strike in late 2012, they were widely mocked for demanding minimum pay of $15 an hour, with some critics saying their demand was absurdly out of reach, akin to visiting Mars. But this week a New York state panel appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo recommended establishing a $15 minimum wage for the state’s 180,000 fast-food workers. It was a landmark win for an unorthodox movement – the Fight for 15 – that is just two and a half years old. New York's $15 minimum wage would be the highest in the world “It’s huge,” said Kendall Fells, the Fight for 15’s chief organizer. “It’s hard to believe, going back to that first one-day strike, with people saying, ‘They’re crazy. This is stupid.’ And now you have Governor Cuomo stepping up to help raise wages for 180,000, people.” Fells said the movement was intent on charging ahead and would continue to press McDonald’s, and other fast-food companies to adopt a $15 minimum, which suddenly appears more realistic now that a New York state board has recommended $15, to be phased in over three years in New York City and six years in the rest of the state. Moreover, it might grow harder for McDonald’s to resist such demands if New York’s move – which awaits formal approval by the state labor commissioner – demonstrates that fast-food restaurants can survive and perhaps even thrive paying more than twice the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Fells said the movement would press more cities and states to embrace $15. He noted that Tacoma, Washington, was considering $15 after Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles voted to adopt a $15 minimum, phased in over several years. The movement is urging the Massachusetts legislature to enact a $15 minimum for big-box and fast-food chains. “This is a trend that cannot be stopped,” said Gary Chaison, a usually subdued professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. “I think within five or 10 yea
See also: http://www.freembtranslations.net http://www.booktv.org

In Boston- Somerville 18 Need Support

In Boston- Somerville 18 Need Support
by Somerville 18	14 Jul 2015
On January 15, 2015, the #Somerville18, a group of Pan-Asians, Latinos, and white people, some of whom identify as queer or transgender, stood in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by temporarily blocking the I-93 highway in Massachusetts. The demonstration called for the end to racial profiling, incarceration, murders, and other forms of police violence against Black people in the United States and beyond.
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Now District Attorney Ryan has decided to harshly retaliate against the #Somerville18 with criminal charges and outrageous restitution fines for exercising their First Amendment rights, which guarantee freedom of expression. The #Somerville18 believes DA Ryan's excessive punishments reinforce a nationwide intimidation tactic to suppress demonstrations, particularly those in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Take action now to stand with the #Somerville18 and push back against the criminalization of demonstrations in Boston and beyond. Tell DA Ryan that 90 days jail time, 18 months probation, and $14,580 in restitution fine are unreasonable punishments for demonstrations. DA Ryan's hostile punishments set a dangerous precedent that restricts civic participation and violates First Amendment rights. Tell DA Ryan to drop the charges now! The Reverend Jason Lydon and several other clergy and ministers recently sent a letter to DA Ryan urging her to drop the charges against the 18. DA Ryan can be reached at the phone number for the Middlesex County prosecutor's office, 781-897-8300.

Prison Action News 8.2 Hits the Stands -Free All Class-War Prisoners

Prison Action News 8.2 Hits the Stands
by Prison Action News Collective	01 Aug 2015
Or at least the Internet... Volume 8 Issue 2 of Prison Action News is now available for download.
Pan 8.2 Internet Version final.pdf (1901 k)
Pan 8.2 Print Version Final.pdf (1901 k)
Prison Action News is a newsletter for prisoners worldwide to report on their struggles and acts of resistance from behind bars. The idea for Prison Action News came out of the 2007 Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) Network gathering. We wanted to create a venue for prisoners to share updates of their activities, similar to the updates we wrote in the network newsletter. As people on the outside, we can facilitate this dialog of prison resistance, and help our comrades stay informed about the inspiring actions others are taking. We accept submissions from prisoners and prison groups worldwide, and bilingual writing. With your help this newsletter will be a success. if you know of resistance taking place that is not represented here, please send us a submission, and spread the word! This issue includes stories of hunger strikes and lawsuits, solidarity from the outside, prisoner artwork, and more. Please distribute widely!

Iran/ US nuclear agreement Boston support rally 8/ 15/ 2015

Photos-Video: Iran/ US nuclear agreement Boston support rally 8/ 15/ 2015
by Michael Borkson for Boston Indymedia Email: nosanctions (nospam) yahoo.com	16 Aug 2015
Boston, Mass.-Copley Sq.-Aug. 15, 2015: About 250 of Boston's Iranian community and supporters rallied in Copley Square as part of worldwide rallies today to support the Iran/ US nuclear agreement.
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Boston, Mass.-Copley Sq.-Aug. 15, 2015: About 250 of Boston's Iranian community and supporters rallied in Copley Square as part of worldwide rallies today to support the Iran/ US nuclear agreement. There were no speakers, it was more of a standout, participants held signs in support of peace between Iran and the US. The only problem with the agreement is that the US is not required to get rid of its 7000 nuclear weapons-the burden is on Iran alone--a one sided deal. But the Iranians I interviewed expressed support for the nuclear deal to avoid a US war on Iran. Below are the links to my photos and short video. Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/protestphotos1/albums/72157656899020348 Video: https://youtu.be/yFIsn1nbTbQ More info: www.SupportIranDeal.com
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As The Younger Leaders Of The 1960s Black Civil Rights Movement Pass- Julian Bond At 75-A Note

As The Younger Leaders Of The 1960s Black Civil Rights Movement Pass- Julian Bond At 75

 

 

 

 

From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

 

You know today if you know anything about the black liberation struggle here in America (and world-wide but the parameters of the racial issues are slightly different here and better known by me so let’s leave it as here in America) you know that over the past year or so the “torch has been passed” to the younger black militants, their allies, and those around the designation Black Lives Matter trying to organize against the brutal onslaught of deep-seeded racism in “post-racial” America. Organize against the unspoken by obvious oppression that black people face each and every day they wake up in this damn country that does nothing but provide military occupation of the ghettos, allows free-wielding cop harassment and death on the streets, provides no meaningful work, cares nothing of providing serious productive education, grants no hope except dope, authorizes no home except prison and those are just the little talking points. There is plenty more of psychological, sociological and economic devastation that could be gotten into, the beating down of the American fellaheen, the death of dignity.

 

But later on that. What I want to mention right now after hearing about the death at 75 of Julian Bond an early and prominent leader of the black civil rights movement in the South and of the anti-war movement when that became the issue of the day later in the decade of the 1960s is how irrelevant those “elder statesmen” from that movement which I was intimately involved with in my youth were/are to the struggles today. How the “Uncle Tom” designation that they put on the old time leadership back then came up and bit them as they “shilled” for the government when the do-nothing Democrats were in power and shilled even louder when they were not (do-nothing for the masses for them personally plenty). While everyone has to recognize the personal bravery of these old-timers back in the day when they took on the police state-like conditions of their times they are a deadweight on today’s struggles. It is no accident that guys like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton among others are booed by today’s young black and white militants when they dare show their faces because they have abandoned whatever “better angels of their nature” it was that drove them to Doctor King’s door. The time except for a moment’s commemoration of names like King, Jackson, and Bond are over.

 

The “turn the other cheek,” the expecting of any serious help from the American government, even the notion that we are dealing with a rationale enemy on the question of race is passé. Those ideas died in Memphis in 1968, died in the battlefields of Vietnam too. So while I think back today to the sunnier days when Julian Bond was denied his seat in the Georgia legislature for his righteous opposition to the Vietnam War it is time to discard those old strategies that might have worked when the question was granting simple civil rights were at stake but are worthless when questions of life and death are on the table. RIP Julian Bond RIP.       

 

Free Chelsea Manning-President Obama Pardon Chelsea Now!

Free Chelsea Manning-President Obama Pardon Chelsea Now! 

 

 

Support "Courage To Resist"-The Organization Supporting Military Resisters And Chelsea Manning 

 



Frank Jackman comment on Courage To Resist and military resisters: 

I have always admired military resisters having, frankly, done my time in the military, Vietnam Era time, without any serious reflection about the military, my role in the military, or what was just and unjust about that war until after I got out. After I got out, began to see thing through the fog of war and got serious “religion” on the questions of war and peace from several sources. At first working with the Cambridge Quakers who I had noticed around the fringes of anti-war GI work in the early 1970s when there was a serious basis for doing such work as the American army one way or another was half in mutiny toward the end of American involvement in that war. And a serious need as guys, guys who get their “religion” in the service needed civilian help to survive the military maze that they were trying to fight. This connection with the Quakers had been made shortly after I got out of the service when my doubts crept in about what I had done in the service, and why I had let myself be drafted when I had expressed serious anti-war doubts before induction about what the American government was doing in Vietnam to its own soldiers. But, more importantly, and this was the real beginning of wisdom and something I am keenly aware every time the American government ratchets up the war hysteria for its latest adventure, to the Vietnamese who to paraphrase the great boxer Mohammed Ali (then Cassius Clay) had never done anything to me, never posed any threat to me and mine. But as much as I admired the Quakers and their simple peace witness, occasionally attended their service and briefly had a Quaker girlfriend, I was always a little jumpy around them, my problem not theirs, since their brand of conscientious objection to all wars was much broader than my belief in just and unjust wars.

Later I worked with a couple of anti-war collectives that concentrated on anti-war GI work among active GIs through the vehicle of coffeehouses located near Fort Devens in Massachusetts and Fort Dix down in New Jersey. That work while satisfying and rewarding by actually working with guys who knew the score, knew the score from the inside, and had plenty to tell, especially those who had gotten “religion” under fire was short-lived once American on the ground involvement in Vietnam was minimalized and the horrific draft was abolished as a means of grabbing “cannon fodder” for the damn war. Once the threat of being sent to Vietnam diminished the soldiers drifted off and the anti-war cadre that held things together as well.

What really drove the issue of military resistance home to me though, what caused some red-faced shame was something that I did not find out about until well after my own military service was over. A few years later when I went back to my hometown on some family-related business I found out after meeting him on the street coming out of a local supermarket that my best friend from high school, Sean Kiley, had been a military resister, had refused to go to Vietnam, and had served about two years in various Army stockades for his efforts. Had done his “duty” as he saw it. Had earned his “anti-war” colors the hard way.    

See Sean like me, like a lot of working-class kids from places like our hometown, Gloversville, up in Massachusetts, maybe had a few doubts about the war but had no way to figure out what to do and let himself be drafted for that very reason. What would a small town boy whose citizens supported the Vietnam War long after it made even a smidgen of sense, whose own parents were fervent “hawks,” whose older brother had won the DSC in Vietnam, and whose contemporaries including me did their service without a public murmur know of how to maneuver against the American military monster machine. But what Sean saw early on, from about day three of basis training, told him he had made a big error, that his grandmother who grew up in Boston and had been an old Dorothy Day Catholic Worker supporter had been right that there was no right reason for him to be in that war. And so when he could, after receiving orders for Vietnam, he refused to go (I will tell you more of the details some time when I ask him some questions about events that I have forgotten) and did his time in the military that way.          

Sean’s story, and in a sense my belated story, are enough reasons to support Courage to Resist since, unfortunately, there are today very few organizations dedicated to providing informational, legal, and social support for the military resisters of the heinous onslaughts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The organization needs the help of every ex-soldier who got “religion,” of every anti-war activist, and of every honest citizen who realizes, now more than ever, that the short way to end the endless wars of this generation is to get to the soldiers, get to the cadre on the ground fighting the damn wars. Enough said.     

Four Ways To Support Heroic Wikileaks Whistle-Blower Chelsea Manning

Four  Ways To Support Heroic Wikileaks Whistle-Blower Chelsea  Manning

*Sign the public petition to President Obama – Sign online http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/chelseamanning  “President Obama, Pardon Pvt. Manning,” and make copies to share with friends and family!

You  can also call (Comments”202-456-1111), write The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, e-mail-(http://www.whitehouse.gov’contact/submitquestions-and comments) to demand that President Obama use his constitutional power under Article II, Section II to pardon Private Manning now.

*Start a stand -out, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, in your town square to publicize the pardon and clemency campaigns.  Contact the Private Manning SupportNetwork for help with materials and organizing tip http://www.chelseamanning.org/

*Contribute to the Private  Manning Defense Fund- now that the trial has finished funds are urgently needed for pardon campaign and for future military and civilian court appeals. The hard fact of the American legal system, military of civilian, is the more funds available the better the defense, especially in political prisoner cases like Private Manning’s. The government had unlimited financial and personnel resources to prosecute Private Manning at trial. And used them as it will on any future legal proceedings. So help out with whatever you can spare. For link go to http://www.chelseamanning.org/

*Write letters of solidarity to Private Manning while she is serving her sentence. She wishes to be addressed as Chelsea and have feminine pronouns used when referring to her. Private Manning’s mailing address: Chelsea E. Manning, 89289, 1300 N. Warehouse Road, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-2304.

Private Manning cannot receive stamps or money in any form. Photos must be on copy paper. Along with “contraband,” “inflammatory material” is not allowed. Six page maximum.

*Call: (913) 758-3600-Write to:Commander U.S. Detention Barracks 1301 N Warehouse Rd
Ft. Leavenworth KS 66027-Tell them: “Transgender rights are human rights! Respect Private Manning’s identity by acknowledging the name ‘Chelsea Manning’ whenever possible, including in mail addressed to her, and by allowing her access to appropriate medical treatment for gender dysphoria, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT).” (for more details-http://markinbookreview.blogspot.com/2013/11/respecting-chelseas-identity-is-this.html#!/2013/11/respecting-chelseas-identity-is-this.html
******

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/usa-one-year-after-her-conviction-chelsea-manning-must-be-released-2014-07-30   

Markin comments (Winter 2014):   

There is no question now that Chelsea Manning’s trial, if one can called what took place down in Fort Meade a trial in the summer of 2013 rather than a travesty, a year after her conviction on twenty plus counts and having received an outrageous thirty-five year sentence essentially for telling us the truth about American atrocities and nefarious actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else the American government can stick its nose that her case has dropped from view. Although she occasionally gets an Op/Ed opportunity, including in the New York Times, a newspaper which while recoiling at the severity of the sentence in the immediate reaction did not question the justice of the conviction, and has several legal moves going from action to get the necessary hormonal treatments reflecting her real sexual identity (which the Army has stonewalled on and which even the New York Times has called for implementing) to now preparing the first appeal of her conviction to another military tribunal the popular uproar against her imprisonment has become a hush. While the appeals process may produce some results, perhaps a reduction in sentence, the short way home for her is a presidential pardon right now. I urge everybody to Google Amnesty International and sign on to the online petition to put the pressure on President Barack Obama for clemency.                   

I attended some of the sessions of Chelsea Manning’s court-martial in the summer of 2013 and am often asked these days in speaking for her release about what she could expect from the various procedures going forward to try to “spring” her from the clutches of the American government, or as I say whenever I get the chance to “not leave our buddy behind” in the time-honored military parlance. I have usually answered depending on what stage her post-conviction case is in that her sentence was draconian by all standards for someone who did not, although they tried to pin this on her, “aid the enemy.” Certainly Judge Lind though she was being lenient with thirty-five years when the government wanted sixty (and originally much more before some of the counts were consolidated). The next step was to appeal, really now that I think about it, a pro forma appeal to the commanding general of the Washington, D.C. military district where the trial was held. There were plenty of grounds to reduce the sentence but General Buchanan backed up his trial judge in the winter of 2014. Leaving Chelsea supporters right now with only the prospect of a presidential pardon to fight for as the court appeals are put together which will take some time. This is how I put the matter at one meeting:

“No question since her trial, conviction, and draconian sentence of thirty-five years imposed by a vindictive American government heroic Wiki-leaks whistle-blower Chelsea Manning’s has fallen off the radar. The incessant news cycle which has a short life cycle covered her case sporadically, covered the verdict, covered the sentencing and with some snickers cover her announcement directly after the sentencing that she wanted to live as her true self, a woman. (A fact that her supporters were aware of prior to the announcement but agreed that the issue of her sexual identity should not get mixed up with her heroic actions during the pre-trial and trial periods.) Since then despite occasional public rallies and actions her case had tended, as most political prisoner cases do, to get caught up in the appeals process and that keeps it out of the limelight.”            

Over the past year or so Chelsea Manning has been honored and remembered by the Veterans For Peace, Smedley Butler Brigade in Boston in such events as the VFP-led Saint Patrick’s Day Peace Parade, the Memorial Day anti-war observance, the yearly Gay Pride Parade, the Rockport July 4^th parade, the VFP-led Veterans Day Peace Parade, and on December 17^th her birthday. We have marched with a banner calling for her freedom, distribute literature about her case and call on one and all to sign the pardon petitions. The banner has drawn applause and return shouts of “Free Chelsea.” The Smedley Butler Brigade continues to stand behind our sister. We will not leave her behind. We also urge everybody to sign the Amnesty International on-line petition calling on President Obama to use his constitutional authority to pardon Chelsea Manning

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/usa-one-year-after-her-conviction-chelsea-manning-must-be-released-2014-07-30  

Additional Markin comment on his reasons for supporting Chelsea Manning:

I got my start in working with anti-war GIs back in the early 1970s after my own military service was over. After my own service I had felt a compelling need to fight the monster from the outside after basically fruitless and difficult efforts inside once I got “religion” on the war issue first-hand. That work included helping create a couple of GI coffeehouses near Fort Devens in Massachusetts and down at Fort Dix in New Jersey in order for GIs to have a “friendly” space in which to think through what they wanted to do in relationship to the military.

Some wanted help to apply for the then tough to get discharge for conscientious objection. Tough because once inside the military, at least this was the way things went then, the military argued against the depth of the applying soldier’s convictions and tended to dismiss such applications out of hand. Only after a few civil court cases opened up the application process later when the courts ruled that the military was acting arbitrarily and capriciously in rejecting such applications out of hand did things open up a little in that channel. Others wanted to know their rights against what they were told by their officers and NCOs. But most, the great majority, many who had already served in hell-hole Vietnam, wanted a place, a non-military place, a non-GI club, where they could get away from the smell, taste, and macho talk of war.

Although there are still a few places where the remnants of coffeehouses exist like the classic Oleo Strut down at Fort Hood in Texas the wars of the past decade or so has produced no great GI resistance like against the Vietnam War when half the Army in America and Vietnam seemed to be in mutiny against their officers, against their ugly tasks of killing every “gook” who crossed their path for no known reason except hubris, and against the stifling of their rights as citizens. At one point no anti-war march was worthy of the name if it did not have a contingent of soldiers in uniform leading the thing. There are many reasons for this difference in attitude, mainly the kind of volunteer the military accepts but probably a greater factor is that back then was the dominance of the citizen-soldier, the draftee, in stirring things up, stirring things up inside as a reflection of what was going on out on the streets and on the campuses. I still firmly believe that in the final analysis you have to get to the “cannon fodder,” the grunts, the private soldier if you want to stop the incessant war machine. Since we are commemorating, if that is the right word the 100^th anniversary of the start of World War I check out what happened, for example, on the Russian front when the desperate soldiers left the trenches during 1917 after they got fed up with the Czar, with the trenches, with the landlords, and the whole senseless mess.

Everyone who has the least bit of sympathy for the anti-war struggles of the past decade should admire what Chelsea Manning has done by her actions releasing that treasure trove of information about American atrocities in Iraq and elsewhere. She has certainly paid the price for her convictions with a draconian sentence. It is hard to judge how history will record any particular heroic action like hers but if the last real case with which her action can be compared with is a guide, Daniel Ellsberg and The Pentagon Papers, she should find an honored spot. Moreover Chelsea took her actions while in the military which has its own peculiar justice system. Her action, unlike back in Vietnam War times, when the Army was half in mutiny was one of precious few this time out. Now that I think about she does not have to worry about her honored place in history. It is already assured. But just to be on the safe side let’s fight like hell for her freedom. We will not leave our sister Chelsea behind.              

Send The Following Message (Or Write Your Own) To The President In Support Of A Pardon For Private Manning

Send The Following Message (Or Write Your Own) To The President In Support Of A Pardon For Private Manning

To: President Barack Obama
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500

The draconian 35 years sentence handed down by a military judge, Colonel Lind, on August 21, 2013 to Private Manning (Chelsea formerly known as Bradley) has outraged many citizens including me. (A decision upheld by the Convening Officer of the First District, General Buchanan in early 2014. The defense team is now preparing a full-blown brief to be presented to Army Court Of Military Appeals when ready.)

Under Article II, Section II of the U.S. Constitution the President of the United States had the authority to grant pardons to those who fall under federal jurisdiction.
Some of the reasons for my request include: 
*that Private Manning  was held for nearly a year in abusive solitary confinement at the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, which the UN rapporteur in his findings has called “cruel, inhuman, and degrading”

*that the media had been continually blocked from transcripts and documents related to the trial and that it has only been through the efforts of Private Manning’s supporters that any transcripts exist.

*that under the UCMJ a soldier has the right to a speedy trial and that it was unconscionable and unconstitutional to wait 3 years before starting the court martial.

*that absolutely no one was harmed by the release of documents that exposed war crimes, unnecessary secrecy and disturbing foreign policy.

*that Private Manning is a hero who did the right thing when she revealed truth about wars that had been based on lies.

I urge you to use your authority under the Constitution to right the wrongs done to Private Manning – Enough is enough!

Signature ___________________________________________________________

Print Name __________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________

City / Town/State/Zip Code_________________________________________

Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.

 

Markin comments (Winter 2014):   

There is no question now that Chelsea Manning’s trial, if one can called what took place down in Fort Meade a trial in the summer of 2013 rather than a travesty, a year after her conviction on twenty plus counts and having received an outrageous thirty-five year sentence essentially for telling us the truth about American atrocities and nefarious actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else the American government can stick its nose that her case has dropped from view. Although she occasionally gets an Op/Ed opportunity, including in the New York Times, a newspaper which while recoiling at the severity of the sentence in the immediate reaction did not question the justice of the conviction, and has several legal moves going from action to get the necessary hormonal treatments reflecting her real sexual identity (which the Army has stonewalled on and which even the New York Times has called for implementing) to now preparing the first appeal of her conviction to another military tribunal the popular uproar against her imprisonment has become a hush. While the appeals process may produce some results, perhaps a reduction in sentence, the short way home for her is a presidential pardon right now. I urge everybody to Google Amnesty International and sign on to the online petition to put the pressure on President Barack Obama for clemency.                   

I attended some of the sessions of Chelsea Manning’s court-martial in the summer of 2013 and am often asked these days in speaking for her release about what she could expect from the various procedures going forward to try to “spring” her from the clutches of the American government, or as I say whenever I get the chance to “not leave our buddy behind” in the time-honored military parlance. I have usually answered depending on what stage her post-conviction case is in that her sentence was draconian by all standards for someone who did not, although they tried to pin this on her, “aid the enemy.” Certainly Judge Lind though she was being lenient with thirty-five years when the government wanted sixty (and originally much more before some of the counts were consolidated). The next step was to appeal, really now that I think about it, a pro forma appeal to the commanding general of the Washington, D.C. military district where the trial was held. There were plenty of grounds to reduce the sentence but General Buchanan backed up his trial judge in the winter of 2014. Leaving Chelsea supporters right now with only the prospect of a presidential pardon to fight for as the court appeals are put together which will take some time. This is how I put the matter at one meeting:

“No question since her trial, conviction, and draconian sentence of thirty-five years imposed by a vindictive American government heroic Wiki-leaks whistle-blower Chelsea Manning’s has fallen off the radar. The incessant news cycle which has a short life cycle covered her case sporadically, covered the verdict, covered the sentencing and with some snickers cover her announcement directly after the sentencing that she wanted to live as her true self, a woman. (A fact that her supporters were aware of prior to the announcement but agreed that the issue of her sexual identity should not get mixed up with her heroic actions during the pre-trial and trial periods.) Since then despite occasional public rallies and actions her case had tended, as most political prisoner cases do, to get caught up in the appeals process and that keeps it out of the limelight.”            

Over the past year or so Chelsea Manning has been honored and remembered by the Veterans For Peace, Smedley Butler Brigade in Boston in such events as the VFP-led Saint Patrick’s Day Peace Parade, the Memorial Day anti-war observance, the yearly Gay Pride Parade, the Rockport July 4^th parade, the VFP-led Veterans Day Peace Parade, and on December 17^th her birthday. We have marched with a banner calling for her freedom, distribute literature about her case and call on one and all to sign the pardon petitions. The banner has drawn applause and return shouts of “Free Chelsea.” The Smedley Butler Brigade continues to stand behind our sister. We will not leave her behind. We also urge everybody to sign the Amnesty International on-line petition calling on President Obama to use his constitutional authority to pardon Chelsea Manning

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/usa-one-year-after-her-conviction-chelsea-manning-must-be-released-2014-07-30  

Additional Markin comment on his reasons for supporting Chelsea Manning:

I got my start in working with anti-war GIs back in the early 1970s after my own military service was over. After my own service I had felt a compelling need to fight the monster from the outside after basically fruitless and difficult efforts inside once I got “religion” on the war issue first-hand. That work included helping create a couple of GI coffeehouses near Fort Devens in Massachusetts and down at Fort Dix in New Jersey in order for GIs to have a “friendly” space in which to think through what they wanted to do in relationship to the military.

Some wanted help to apply for the then tough to get discharge for conscientious objection. Tough because once inside the military, at least this was the way things went then, the military argued against the depth of the applying soldier’s convictions and tended to dismiss such applications out of hand. Only after a few civil court cases opened up the application process later when the courts ruled that the military was acting arbitrarily and capriciously in rejecting such applications out of hand did things open up a little in that channel. Others wanted to know their rights against what they were told by their officers and NCOs. But most, the great majority, many who had already served in hell-hole Vietnam, wanted a place, a non-military place, a non-GI club, where they could get away from the smell, taste, and macho talk of war.

Although there are still a few places where the remnants of coffeehouses exist like the classic Oleo Strut down at Fort Hood in Texas the wars of the past decade or so has produced no great GI resistance like against the Vietnam War when half the Army in America and Vietnam seemed to be in mutiny against their officers, against their ugly tasks of killing every “gook” who crossed their path for no known reason except hubris, and against the stifling of their rights as citizens. At one point no anti-war march was worthy of the name if it did not have a contingent of soldiers in uniform leading the thing. There are many reasons for this difference in attitude, mainly the kind of volunteer the military accepts but probably a greater factor is that back then was the dominance of the citizen-soldier, the draftee, in stirring things up, stirring things up inside as a reflection of what was going on out on the streets and on the campuses. I still firmly believe that in the final analysis you have to get to the “cannon fodder,” the grunts, the private soldier if you want to stop the incessant war machine. Since we are commemorating, if that is the right word the 100^th anniversary of the start of World War I check out what happened, for example, on the Russian front when the desperate soldiers left the trenches during 1917 after they got fed up with the Czar, with the trenches, with the landlords, and the whole senseless mess.

Everyone who has the least bit of sympathy for the anti-war struggles of the past decade should admire what Chelsea Manning has done by her actions releasing that treasure trove of information about American atrocities in Iraq and elsewhere. She has certainly paid the price for her convictions with a draconian sentence. It is hard to judge how history will record any particular heroic action like hers but if the last real case with which her action can be compared with is a guide, Daniel Ellsberg and The Pentagon Papers, she should find an honored spot. Moreover Chelsea took her actions while in the military which has its own peculiar justice system. Her action, unlike back in Vietnam War times, when the Army was half in mutiny was one of precious few this time out. Now that I think about she does not have to worry about her honored place in history. It is already assured. But just to be on the safe side let’s fight like hell for her freedom. We will not leave our sister Chelsea behind.