Sunday, August 03, 2014

The Latest From The "Jobs With Justice Blog"-The Seemingly One-Sided Struggle Continues-It's High Time To Push Back-Push Back Hard-30 For 40 Is The Slogan Of The Day.


Click below to link to the Jobs With Justice Blog for the latest national and international labor news, and of the efforts to counteract the massively one-sided class struggle against the international working class movement.

http://www.jwjblog.org/
From the American Left History blog-Wednesday, June 17, 2009
 
With Unemployment Too High, Way Too High - The Call "30 For 40"- Now More Than Ever- The Transitional Socialist Program

Click Below To Link To The Full Transitional Program Of The Fourth International Adopted In 1938 As A Fighting Program In The Struggle For Socialism In That Era. Many Of The Points, Including The Headline Point Of 30 Hours Work For 40 Hours Pay To Spread The Work Around Among All Workers, Is As Valid Today As Then.

From The Transitional Program Of The Fourth International In 1938- Sliding Scale of Wages and Sliding Scale of Hours


Under the conditions of disintegrating capitalism, the masses continue to live the meagerized life of the oppressed, threatened now more than at any other time with the danger of being cast into the pit of pauperism. They must defend their mouthful of bread, if they cannot increase or better it. There is neither the need nor the opportunity to enumerate here those separate, partial demands which time and again arise on the basis of concrete circumstances – national, local, trade union. But two basic economic afflictions, in which is summarized the increasing absurdity of the capitalist system, that is, unemployment and high prices, demand generalized slogans and methods of struggle.


The Fourth International declares uncompromising war on the politics of the capitalists which, to a considerable degree, like the politics of their agents, the reformists, aims to place the whole burden of militarism, the crisis, the disorganization of the monetary system and all other scourges stemming from capitalism’s death agony upon the backs of the toilers. The Fourth International demands employment and decent living conditions for all.


Neither monetary inflation nor stabilization can serve as slogans for the proletariat because these are but two ends of the same stick. Against a bounding rise in prices, which with the approach of war will assume an ever more unbridled character, one can fight only under the slogan of a sliding scale of wages. This means that collective agreements should assure an automatic rise in wages in relation to the increase in price of consumer goods.

Under the menace of its own disintegration, the proletariat cannot permit the transformation of an increasing section of the workers into chronically unemployed paupers, living off the slops of a crumbling society. The right to employment is the only serious right left to the worker in a society based upon exploitation. This right today is left to the worker in a society based upon exploitation. This right today is being shorn from him at every step. Against unemployment,“structural” as well as “conjunctural,” the time is ripe to advance along with the slogan of public works, the slogan of a sliding scale of working hours. Trade unions and other mass organizations should bind the workers and the unemployed together in the solidarity of mutual responsibility. On this basis all the work on hand would then be divided among all existing workers in accordance with how the extent of the working week is defined. The average wage of every worker remains the same as it was under the old working week. Wages, under a strictly guaranteed minimum, would follow the movement of prices. It is impossible to accept any other program for the present catastrophic period.


Property owners and their lawyers will prove the “unrealizability” of these demands. Smaller, especially ruined capitalists, in addition will refer to their account ledgers. The workers categorically denounce such conclusions and references. The question is not one of a “normal” collision between opposing material interests. The question is one of guarding the proletariat from decay, demoralization and ruin. The question is one of life or death of the only creative and progressive class, and by that token of the future of mankind. If capitalism is incapable of satisfying the demands inevitably arising from the calamities generated by itself, then let it perish. “Realizability” or “unrealizability” is in the given instance a question of the relationship of forces, which can be decided only by the struggle. By means of this struggle, no matter what immediate practical successes may be, the workers will best come to understand the necessity of liquidating capitalist slavery.

 

 
Those Who Fought For Our Communist Future Are Kindred Spirits-James P. Cannon



 Click below to link to the James Cannon Internet Archives 

http://www.marxists.org/archive/cannon/works/

Peter Paul Markin comment (2008):

Every January, as readers of this blog are now, hopefully, familiar with the international communist movement honors the 3 Ls-Lenin, Luxemburg and Liebknecht, fallen leaders of the early 20th century communist movement who died in this month (and whose untimely deaths left a huge, irreplaceable gap in the international leadership of that time). January is thus a time for us to reflect on the roots of our movement and those who brought us along this far. In order to give a fuller measure of honor to our fallen forbears this January, and in future Januarys, this space will honor others who have contributed in some way to the struggle for our communist future. That future classless society, however, will be the true memorial to their sacrifices. This year we pay special honor to American Communist Party and American Trotskyist leader  James P. Cannon.

Note on inclusion: As in other series on this site (“Labor’s Untold Story”, “Leaders Of The Bolshevik Revolution”, etc.) this year’s honorees do not exhaust the list of every possible communist worthy of the name. Nor, in fact, is the list limited to Bolshevik-style communists. There will be names included from other traditions (like anarchism, social democracy, the Diggers, Levellers, Jacobins, etc.) whose efforts contributed to the international struggle. Also, as was true of previous series this year’s efforts are no more than an introduction to these heroes of the class struggle. Future years will see more detailed information on each entry, particularly about many of the lesser known figures. Better yet, the reader can pick up the ball and run with it if he or she has more knowledge about the particular exploits of some communist militant, or to include a missing one.
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The Latest From The United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC) Website- Immediate, Unconditional Withdrawal Of All U.S./Allied Troops, Mercenaries, Contractors, Etc. From Afghanistan! Hands Off Iran! -Hands Off Syria! -Hands Off Ukraine! -Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S. Aid To Israel 




Click below to link to the United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC) website for more information about various anti-war, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist actions around the country.

https://unacpeace.org/

Markin comment

Every once in a while it is necessary, if for no other reason than to proclaim from the public square that we are alive, and fighting, to show “the colors,” our anti-war colors. While, as I have mentioned many times in this space, endless marches are not going to end any war the street opposition to the war in now fading Afghanistan or whatever else the Obama/Kerry cabal has lined in the Middle East, Ukraine or the China seas as well as protests against other imperialist adventures has been under the radar of late. It is time for anti-warriors to get back where we belong in the struggle against Obama’s wars. And his Drone strategy to "sanitize" war   The UNAC appears to be the umbrella clearing house these days for many anti-war, anti-Drone, anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist actions. Not all the demands of this coalition are ones that I would raise but the key one is enough to take to the streets.

Immediate, Unconditional Withdrawal Of All U.S./Allied Troops, Mercenaries, Contractors, Etc. From Afghanistan! Hands Off Iran And Syria! No Intervention In Ukraine!

BostonUNAC.org | 781-285-8622 | BostonUNAC(S)gmail.com
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The Latest From The Rag Blog-A Voice Of The Old New Left   



Click below to link to The Rag Blog  

http://www.theragblog.com/

Peter Paul Markin comment:

When we were young, meaning those of us who were militant leftist baby-boomers from what I now call the “Generation Of ‘68”, we would chuckle/gasp/shriek in horror when some Old Leftists tried to tell us a few of the ABCs of radical politics. Those scorned old leftists, mainly old Stalinist Communist Party hangers-on or moribund Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party members who had come of political age in the 1930s and 1940s had nothing to tell us young stalwart in-your-face- rebels who were going to re-invent the world, re-invent it without the hurts and sorrows accumulated from millennia of previous struggles to push the rock up the hill of human progress.

Well, we fell significantly short of that aim, had that Promethean rock come speeding down over our heads. Today I am still not sure whether in retrospect those scorned Old Leftists of old had anything going but all I know is we are now cast in somewhat the same light. We are now the Old New Leftists. Problem is that unlike our 1960s generation, warts and all, there is no sizable younger crowd of young stalwart in-your-face-rebels to thumb their noses up at us. And there should be. That has not stopped many old radicals, many who have not succumbed to old age and hubris, from trying to be heard. And the place they have congregated, for better or worse, at least from what I can see is at this site.          

So I find this The Rag Blog website very useful to monitor for the latest in what is happening with past tense radical activists and activities. Anybody, with some kind of name, and who is still around from the 1960s has found a home here. The remembrances and recollections are helpful for today’s activists. Strangely the politics are almost non-existent, as least any that  would help today, except to kind of retroactively “bless” those old-time New Left politics that did nothing (well, almost nothing) but get us on the losing end of the class (and cultural) wars of the  last forty plus years. Still this is a must read blog for today’s left-wing militants.

A Markin 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.
*******

Michael James :
Heartland takes root with new workers & friends, arson on my birthday, and a rising, 1976-’79


My partners and I began to learn the ins and outs and challenges of running our business as we pioneered our community-oriented, left-leaning business model.

heartland 4 small
Chef Earl and Chef Celeste Kelly, Heartland dining room, Chicago, Illinois, 1977. Photos by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.
By Michael James | The Rag Blog | July 30, 2014
[In this series, Michael James is sharing images from his rich past, accompanied by reflections about -- and inspired by -- those images. These photos will be included in his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James' Pictures from the Long Haul.]
After the Heartland CafĂ© opened Wednesday night, August 11, 1976, “Heartland life” took root and I began the part of my life I term “activist entrepreneur.” Katy, Stormy, and I entered a new world, one in which we were the bosses. We were now responsible for dealing with the government and its agencies, no longer as outside critics but as small business owners required to comply with what seemed at times to us unnecessary, ever-changing rules and regulations. We essentially took a crash course on “doing business” in Chicago.
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Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S. Aid To Israel 


Thousands from across country protest in support of Palestinians near White House

 
As The 100th Anniversary Of The Beginning of World War I (Remember The War To End All Wars) Starts ... Some Remembrances-Bertolt Brecht's To Those Born After




Although Brecht's To Those Born After is not directly related to the debacle of World War I one cannot understand the poem without that debacle in mind.


To Those Born After

I

To the cities I came in a time of disorder
That was ruled by hunger.
I sheltered with the people in a time of uproar
And then I joined in their rebellion.
That's how I passed my time that was given to me on this Earth.

I ate my dinners between the battles,
I lay down to sleep among the murderers,
I didn't care for much for love
And for nature's beauties I had little patience.
That's how I passed my time that was given to me on this Earth.

The city streets all led to foul swamps in my time,
My speech betrayed me to the butchers.
I could do only little
But without me those that ruled could not sleep so easily:
That's what I hoped.
That's how I passed my time that was given to me on this Earth.

Our forces were slight and small,
Our goal lay in the far distance
Clearly in our sights,
If for me myself beyond my reaching.
That's how I passed my time that was given to me on this Earth.

II

You who will come to the surface
From the flood that's overwhelmed us and drowned us all
Must think, when you speak of our weakness in times of darkness
That you've not had to face:

Days when we were used to changing countries
More often than shoes,
Through the war of the classes despairing
That there was only injustice and no outrage.

Even so we realised
Hatred of oppression still distorts the features,
Anger at injustice still makes voices raised and ugly.
Oh we, who wished to lay for the foundations for peace and friendliness,
Could never be friendly ourselves.

And in the future when no longer
Do human beings still treat themselves as animals,
Look back on us with indulgence.  


*****
To Those Who Come After

History in the conditional is always a funny tricky little thing. You can get wrapped up it in so bad that you begin to deny the hard reality of what really happened, what really bad happened usually. On the other hand you can do as most historians do and just plod along assuming because X, Y, or Z happened that was that. That’s the facts, jack and that’s it. Obviously to resolve this thing, or rather to get a real sense of the possibilities, some combination, some mix and matching needs to be placed in the maelstrom. And it is under that sign that I wish to understand Bertolt Brecht’s great poem, his great big tied-up with ribbons and bows valentine to future generations really, To Those Who Come After, that I have posted above.


Of course it is a matter of generations, no question. And what that generation could have, or could not have, done, and done differently to sway the funny little rhythms of history. For his, Bertolt’s generation, if they only could have held out against the imperialist imperative onslaught of World War I, or at least not gone alone like sheep until almost the very end. More germane, if they could have carried out to completion one of those big-time revolutionary possibilities in Germany that they had in the early 1920s. Or ceased their, Communists and Social-Democrats alike, willfully myopic view that the Weimar regime would hold out against the bootjack of Hitler’s storm streets without having to unite for an all-out fight to the death against the Nazi menace.


Moving forward to my parent’s generation, the generation that scarecrow survived the Great Depression of the 1930s and went on to survive, or wait on the survivors, of the D-Day and Pacific bloodbaths of World War II. If only they could have seen clearly enough that that Roosevelt guise was sheer deception to save his class in power (even if he had to fight them, the economic royalists, the one percent of his time, tooth and nail to do it) and create their own party, a workers party, after the tremendous class battles of the mid to late 1930s when they had the bosses on the run, a little anyway. Or hadn’t bought, bought hard into that white picket fence post-war dream and let the red scare dark night wash away whatever big (or little, but I think big) spark got them through the dustbowl miseries and war shellshock.


Once again moving forward to my generation, my disposable income record store soda fountain be-bop high school confidential night with some undiagnosed teen angst mixed with teen alienation generation, the generation of ’68, who didn’t want, well, didn’t start out wanting to anyway, buy into that red scare night white picket fence dream. If we could have just, a big “could have just” I agree, not thrown everything out with the bathwater and read some history we could have realized that it wasn’t just about us. Well, one way or the other, the Vietnamese taught us that lesson, that lesson about perseverance, about a sense of history and about using every tool around to get free. Or, closer to home, if we could have remembered where we had come from, most of us anyway, and dug our working class heels in sooner we could have left some kind of social movement worthy of the name instead of leaving future generations to start from scratch.


And moving on to our children’s generation. Oh, well, history records many retrogressions in the uphill struggle.


And now on to the generation that I am really directing this little “history” lesson to, the real subject of my “to those who come after,” those who roughly are students today, and are moreover the heart and soul of the Occupy movement that has suddenly jumped up onto the historic stage giving them a chance to change the course of history- on their terms. And, by the way incidentally giving to me (and others) from the generation of ’68 a second chance to make things right. Each generation I am firmly convinced must (and will) find its own ways to fight the monster. But know this, know this from first-hand experience, there is a monster on the loose out there, and that monster has a name, the American imperial state just now being captained by one Barack Obama. Whoever the captain is though the monster remains and that is where the “to the death” fight is.


And this is where Brother Brecht and I can share the same sentiments about being ill-equipped in our times to face those hard realities, to worry over half-measures, to not stay the course we knew we had to stay. So forgive us for not doing better, not doing a lot better. But forgive, or not, go slay that damn dragon.

Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S. Aid To Israel 

Washington - Thousands At Gaza Protest Outside White House, Demonstrators Compare Netanyahu To Hitler (photos)

Published on: Yesterday 10:23 PM
By: AP/VINnews
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Members of 'Neturei Karta' join hundreds of Arab Americans to protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. EPAMembers of ‘Neturei Karta’ join hundreds of Arab Americans to protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. EPA
Washington - Thousands of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and dressed in the flag’s green, red, white and black colors filled a square outside the White House and marched around the nation’s capital to support ending violence in Gaza.
Demonstrators on Saturday carried signs including: “We stand with Gaza,” ‘‘Free Palestine Let Gaza Live!” and “Stop the Massacre of Gaza.” The group’s chants could be heard from the north lawn of the White House, but President Barack Obama was not at home.
According to AFP, many of the protesters voiced anger at Netanyahu, with one waving a banner that read “Netanyahu and Hitler are the same, the only difference is the name.”
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Among the demonstrators was Tariq Abu Khdeir, the Palestinian-American teenager from Florida who was arrested, and he says beaten, by Israeli security forces.
A handful of ultra-Orthodox Jews dressed in their Shabbos garb from the anti-Zionist’s group Neturei Karta were among those in the demonstration.
An approximately 20-person group of Israel supporters also turned out, and the two groups exchanged shouts.

Members of 'Jews United Against Zionism' join hundreds of Arab Americans to protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014.  EPAMembers of 'Jews United Against Zionism' join hundreds of Arab Americans to protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014.  EPA
 A small group of pro-Israel demonstrators shout at a much larger gathering of Arab American and anti-war groups who were protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. EPA A small group of pro-Israel demonstrators shout at a much larger gathering of Arab American and anti-war groups who were protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. EPA

A woman stands next to a symbolic coffin, in memory of children killed in Gaza, during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)A woman stands next to a symbolic coffin, in memory of children killed in Gaza, during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
Protesters shout as thousands gather during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)Protesters shout as thousands gather during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
A man waves the Palestinian flag as thousands of protesters gather during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)A man waves the Palestinian flag as thousands of protesters gather during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
Thousands of protesters gather while holding signs during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)Thousands of protesters gather while holding signs during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
Thousands of protesters gather while holding signs during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)Thousands of protesters gather while holding signs during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
Thousands of protesters gather while holding signs and Palestinian flags during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)Thousands of protesters gather while holding signs and Palestinian flags during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
Children hold up signs during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)Children hold up signs during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
Thousands of protesters gather during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)Thousands of protesters gather during a rally to demand an end to the conflict in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington August 2, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Palestinians would continue confronting Israel until its blockade on Gaza was lifted.  (Credit: Reuters)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups, protesting Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, shout at a much smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)
A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel's military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)A coalition of Arab American and anti-war groups protest Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on 08 July has reached more than 1,600, with more than 8,000 injured. The health ministry in Gaza says most of the dead are civilians, including hundreds of women and children. 63 Israeli soldiers have died, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. (Credit: EPA)


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Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S. Aid To Israel 

PHOTOS: Rally for Gaza in Washington, D.C.

 
An estimated 10,000 people marched through the streets of downtown Washington on Saturday, August 2, 2014, to protest the Israeli military operation in Gaza. The rally for Gaza was billed as the largest pro-Palestinian march to take place in the United States.

Protesters gather in Lafayette Square across from the White House in opposition to Israel's military operation in Gaza, Aug.2.

(Photo: M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO)
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.

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!

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






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