August 19, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

The Colorado Green Party, McKinney/Clemente, and The DNC Protests (The Mahatma X Files) August 18, 2008

South Central Farmers Demand Ethics Investigation of Local Officials: Citing an apparent conflict of interest, the South Central Farmers are demanding that California's State Attorney General investigate the sale of the site of the South Central Farm by Los Angeles city officials to local developer Ralph Horowitz for a trucking center for women's clothing manufacturer and retailer Forever 21. (Los Angeles Indymedia) August 18, 2008

Eddie Boyd Jr., an auto salesman who had been the Green Party candidate for Maryland governor in 2006, died of lung cancer Monday at Good Samaritan Hospital. "Eddie was the first Green Party candidate for governor in Maryland history as well as the first African-American candidate to ever run in a gubernatorial general election," said Myles Hoenig, Mr. Boyd's former campaign manager. (Baltimore Sun) August 16, 2008

Policing of Climate Camp a Major Attack on Democratic Rights in Britain: A week-long climate protest camp in north Kent has ended, amidst widespread claims of disproportionate and aggressive policing. Around 100 people were arrested over the course of the protest, 46 of whom have been charged, mostly with obstruction offences. The multimillion-pound policing of the camp marked a significant attack on democratic rights and civil liberties. (World Socialist Web Site) August 15, 2008

Resistance in Egypt: Egypt has the biggest working class in the region with a long, militant history of industrial struggle. (MR Zine) August 18, 2008

Petition: Urgent Help In Ensuring The Safe Return of Haitian Human Rights Activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine (Petition Online)

August 4, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Fighting For Union Rights and Clean Air: Truck drivers and community groups unite in Oakland, California to demand better working conditions and environmental protection (Socialist Worker) July 24, 2008

Sexual Assault In Military: A congresswoman said Thursday that her "jaw dropped" when military doctors told her that four in 10 women at a veterans hospital reported being sexually assaulted while in the military. A government report indicates that the numbers could be even higher. (CNN) July 31, 2008

Sexual Assault in the Military: A DoD Cover-Up? Sexual violence against both female and male military personnel must stop. (ZNet) August 4, 2008

River Diversion Plans For Whose Benefit in Thailand? Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s plans to divert water from rivers in neighbouring Laos to help feed agricultural production faces stiff opposition from those who argue the projects could threaten the environment and local people’s lives. (Inter Press Service) August 4, 2008

Stinging Tentacles Offer Hint of Oceans' Decline: The explosion of jellyfish populations, scientists say, reflects a combination of severe overfishing of natural predators, like tuna, sharks and swordfish; rising sea temperatures caused in part by global warming; and pollution that has depleted oxygen levels in coastal shallows. (International Herald Tribune) August 2, 2008

Why For Profit Water Companies Are Behind A Bottled Water Backlash: In the UK, private water delivery companies see bottled water as a direct competitor for their product, tap water. The next time we hear of a new tap water campaign coming out of the UK, let's cheer for the profile the issue is getting, but we need to be wary that such a campaign is driven by a for profit water services company whose aim is to promote its brand of privatized water. (Alternet) July 31, 2008

The Fists Still Hold Power: The image lasted for only as long as it took to play the national anthem -- yet it still resonates four decades later. Black American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, winners of the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter race bow their heads and raise their black-gloved fists to protest racism during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. (Los Angeles Times) August 3, 2008

Dave Zirin on Why Jonah Goldberg Fears the Fist: Jonah Goldberg’s regular column in the LA Times is usually an awkward grab bag of right wing talking points backed by knowledge of history that would shame a poodle, although a poodle would never be so pompous. Goldberg stepped on to Zirin's beat this past week with a column about the 1968 Olympic protesters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Goldberg's piece was such a cheap, dishonest scribble, Zirin feel compelled to respond. (Dissident Voice) August 2, 2008

Schwarzenegger Imposes Minimum Wage On California State Workers & Cuts 22,000 Jobs (Workers Independent News) August 1, 2008

July 31, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

South Central Farmers, Community members, and Progressive Organizations Call For Shutting Down the "h" Horowitz Warehouse in South Central Los Angeles (SouthCentralFarmers.com) July 24, 2008

His High Imperial Holiness Obama Does Berlin: While we should recognize that John McCain is a dangerous dunderhead, many have recently begun the overdue process of demystifying His High Imperial Holiness The Dali Obama in the United States. The sooner Europeans do the same the better for all concerned. (Black Agenda Report) July 30, 2008

Let Them Eat Mud Cake: In Haiti mud cakes have become a staple diet of the poor. Haiti is an example of how capitalism causes starvation and mass deprivation around the globe, usually hidden from view because it's built into the system, with no clear bad guy to put the blame on. (Wis[s]e Words) July 29, 2008

In Review: Jonathan Neale's ‘Stop Global Warming–Change the World’: A positive and optimistic addition to the arsenal of socialists and climate activists alike (Climate and Capitalism) July 29, 2008

Paramilitary Death Squads, Threats, Assassinations, Chainsaw Murders: One More Gruesome Month Under Colombia's Alvaro Uribe (Latin America News Review) July 29, 2008

The Spectre of 21st Century Barbarism: As capitalism continues with business as usual, climate change is fast expanding the gap between rich and poor between and within nations, and imposing unparalleled suffering on those least able to protect themselves. That is the reality of 21st Century Barbarism. No society that permits that to happen can be called civilized. No social order that causes it to happen deserves to survive. (Socialist Voice) July 27, 2008

Latin America’s Struggle For Integration And Independence: The election of Fernando Lugo as Paraguayan president seems to confirm the idea of a new fashion for presidents. The former priest joins the ranks of current Latin American presidents that includes two women (Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina and Michelle Bachelet in Chile), an indigenous person (Evo Morales in Bolivia), a former militant trade unionist (Lula de Silva in Brazil), a radically minded economist (Rafael Correa in Ecuador), a doctor (Tabare Vasquez in Uruguay), a former guerrilla fighter (Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua) and a former rebel soldier (Hugo Chavez in Venezuela). But in order to understand the dynamics in Latin America today, it is necessary to go beyond broad sweeping statements, just as it is not enough to simply analyse these governments through the prism of national politics. (Green Left Weekly) July 26, 2008

Solidarity Key For Seattle Sprinkler Fitters: An 11-day strike ended in a victory for 300 fire sprinkler installers, members of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Sprinkler Fitters Local 699. (Socialist Worker) July 31, 2008

Poland’s Left Turn: The growth of popular anger against neoliberalism has created an historic opportunity for a new left movement to emerge (Socialist Worker UK) July 29, 2008

July 27, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

No Human Being Is Illegal: In April 2006, hundreds of thousands of immigrant rights protestors marched in cities across the United States. They countered prolonged debates about the pros and cons of comprehensive immigration reform with a short but sweet affirmation, scrawled on placards: "No Human Being Is Illegal." It's time for all of us to march with those immigrant rights signs. (MR Zine) July 22, 2008

Wind Farm Puts Tiny Mo. Town On Alt-Energy Map: When it comes to alternative energy, little Rock Port, Missouri - population about 1,400 - is a pioneer: it's the site of a wind farm that's projected to generate more electricity than the town uses in a year. (Belleville News-Democrat) July 25, 2008

VIDEO: Permanent Peoples' Tribunal On Occidental Petroleum: Film of the July 22, 2008, Los Angeles, California, rally in solidarity with the People of Colombia. (LEFT IN LA LA) July 25, 2008

It's Time For Wind and Wave Power: George W. Bush is right in one sense: We need to maximize our offshore assets. He just has the wrong energy source in mind. Instead of endless oil derricks that bring polluted beaches and rising seas, it's time to move to wind and wave power. (Baltimore Sun) July 23, 2008

After Years of Struggle, California Hotel Workers Make Gains (Labor Notes) July 2008

First Tidal Power Turbine Gets Plugged In: An underwater turbine that generates electricity from tidal streams was plugged into the UK's national grid. Tidal power isn't 20 to 30 years away and a dream. It is something that, if we get the right resources around it, could become a significant reality and contributor much quicker than that. (The Guardian UK) July 17, 2008

Total Recall in Bolivia: Divided Nation Faces Historic Vote. In early July in Sicaya, Cochabamba, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced that if he wins the August 10 recall vote on his presidency, "I'll have two and half years left." But if he loses the vote, "I’ll have to go back to the Chapare" to farm coca again. Though the recall vote is likely to favor Morales, it’s unclear if it will resolve many of the divided nation’s conflicts. (Toward Freedom) July 23, 2008

People to Ratchet Up Climate Heat: Teams of people concerned about climate change are planning to take to the streets over the coming weeks to put the spotlight on policy makers who they say are prioritizing corporate interests in the coal and oil industries over the impending threat of global warming. (OneWorld) July 25, 2008

June 29, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Amazon Tribes Fight to Keep the Xingu Alive: For five days in May, hundreds of tribal people from the far reaches of the Amazon Basin came together to protest plans for huge dams on the Xingu River, the largest tributary of the Amazon. (IRC Americas Program) June 24, 2008

Green Fascism and the Greening of Hate: Population control — the ideology of the green right (Climate and Capitalism) June 27, 2008

War As Environmental Disaster (The Mahatma X Files) June 28, 2008

Mike Davis: The real question is this: Will rich counties ever mobilize the political will and economic resources to actually achieve IPCC targets or, for that matter, to help poorer countries adapt to the inevitable, already "committed" quotient of warming now working its way toward us through the slow circulation of the world ocean? The real danger is that human solidarity itself, like a West Antarctic ice shelf, will suddenly fracture and shatter into a thousand shards. (TomDispatch.com) June 26, 2008

Great Apes To Have Rights in Spain (Telegraph UK) June 27, 2008

Circus Brings USDA-Documented Animal Cruelty to Dallas (In Defense of Animals) June 27, 2008

Obama’s Circle of Imperialist Foreign Policy Advisors (Socialist Worker) June 18, 2008

June 25, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Telecoms Flex Their Muscles: FISA “Compromise” Locks-in Spying: You knew it would eventually come to this: a huge victory for the Bush regime and a gigantic swindle by Democratic party sell-outs posing as an “opposition.” Thursday, House and Senate leaders in a bipartisan Washington love-fest, stooped to new lows of dissimulation as they reached agreement on a bill that gives the nation’s spy agencies and their outsourced “partners” in the telecommunications industry carte blanche to illegally spy on Americans. (Dissident Voice) June 23, 2008

A Critique From the Left of Jonah Goldberg's Ludicrous book Liberal Fascism (Socialist Humanism With A Human Face) June 18, 2008

2008 Green Party National Convention in Chicago (July 10-13) will be a public forum for discussion of impeachment and other major issues on which Democrats and Republicans have failed in their responsibility to voters. (GP.org) June 24, 2008

James Hansen's Timely Warning on Climate Change: On June 23, 1988, the threat of climate change finally captured the media's attention when James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, warned a U.S. Senate committee that the planet was already warming as a result of human activity. Monday, 20 years to the day after his appearance before the Senate committee, Hansen was back on Capitol Hill with a more immediate warning. (Toronto Star) June 25, 2008

Is Your City Going to Be Bottled Water-Free? A new resolution from leading U.S. mayors shows that more cities may be ditching the bottled stuff in favor of tap. (Alternet) June 24, 2008

Taking on the Purple Machine: SEIU President Andy Stern and his staff prevailed at the convention, but pro-reform members succeeded in advancing a debate inside the country's largest union. (Socialist Worker) June 17, 2008

University of California Workers Avert Walkout to Continue Contract Talks (MR Zine) June 24, 2008

Germany's Die Linke: ‘We have the wind of history in our sails’: After a year of stellar successes, almost 600 delegates from Germany’s new left-wing party, Die Linke, came together for the party’s first ever congress, held in the east German city of Cottbus on May 25 and 26. (Links) May 30, 3008

June 21, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

500,000 Flee Iraq: Half a million Iraqis fled their homes last year creating the worst refugee crisis in the world, a new report says. The US took 1,500 - less than half the number it promised to resettle. (Mirror UK) June 20, 2008

Medical Tests Prove Abuse, Torture In Iraq, Gitmo: Medical examinations of former terrorism suspects held by the US military at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, found evidence of torture and other abuse that resulted in serious injuries and mental disorders, according to a human rights group. (Jerusalem Post) June 18, 2008

Nationalise Big Oil, Enemy of People and Planet: The union and environment movements must fight side by side against the devastation the Shells and Exxons are wreaking on our planet and the livelihoods of its peoples.
(Socialist Alliance) June 2008

Charges Finally Dropped Against Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste in Haiti: The Court of Appeal of Port-au-Prince has announced the dismissal of all remaining charges against Father Gerard Jean-Juste. The Catholic priest is a prominent supporter of Famni Lavalas, the political party of ousted Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide. (HaitiAnalysis) June 19, 2008

Ice on Mars: Excited scientists have hailed the discovery of water ice on Mars as a major breakthrough in the search for life on the planet. (Press Association) June 21, 2008

EU Treaty Rejected in Ireland: The pro-corporate European Union Lisbon treaty has been rejected by voters in a referendum in the Republic of Ireland. (Green Left Weekly) June 14, 2008

June 14, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Kucinich Vows New Round of Impeachment Articles Against Bush if Measure Dies (Online Journal) June 13, 2008

The Myth of the Market: The increasing injustice and environmental destruction of recent years has been justified by the alleged 'efficiency' of the market. But both theory and evidence show that markets are economically inefficient, wasteful of human and natural resources. (21st Century Socialism) June 11, 2008

Three Cheers For The Irish "No" Voters!: Irish voters torpedoed the Lisbon Treaty Friday. In the face of an almost united political establishment, a majority of voters decided to vote in favour of Irish independence and neutrality and against the nefarious plans of the European Business elite and their paid political agents. (Greenman's Occasional Organ) June 13, 2008

Only Nuclear Dreams Mushrooming: The proposal by the Paris-based International Energy Agency for more than 1,400 nuclear power plants to be built over the next 40 years is unfeasible, environmental activists say. (Inter Press Service) June 13, 2008

Hunger Strike by Bhopal Victims in India: The three organisations of Bhopal survivors leading the 111 day-long campaign in Delhi, along with participants from more than 18 countries announced the launching of a global hunger strike from June 10. (Business Standard, India) June 9, 2008

Activists Launch Protests Against Corporations in 8 Brazil States: Thousands of landless rural workers invaded dams, railways, plantations and corporate headquarters in a wave of protests across eight Brazilian states on Tuesday. (International Herald Tribune) June 10, 2008

How Europe Underdevelops Africa And How Some Fight Back (Counterpunch) June 13-15, 2008

Racism in the Tar Sands: Exploiting Foreign Workers and Poisoning Indigenous People in Canada (Oil Sands Truth) June 12, 2008

June 2, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

New Round of Climate Talks Open Today With Big Agenda, Small Hopes (Canadian Press) June 1, 2008

Iraq Death Toll 'Above Highest Estimates': The real number of the dead is far higher than even the highest declared in death tolls, many Iraqis say. (Inter Press Service) June 2, 2008

Local Indigenous Leaders Beaten and Publicly Humiliated in Bolivia (Inter Press Service) May 27, 2008

The Crime of Indigenous Insubordination in Bolivia (MR Zine) May 31, 2008

Rank-and-file Members to Challenge Stern at SEIU Convention (Fight Back!) May 2008

Where does Andy Stern want to take labor? Turns out that the man hailed as the savior of the U.S. labor movement for the 21st century is an old-school labor bureaucrat after all. (Socialist Worker) June 2, 2008

Egyptian Protests: Falling Wages and High Prices (The Bullet) June 2, 2008

New Labour's Time Is Up: From the start New Labour was pledged to consolidate the Thatcherite paradigm rather than offer anything different (Guardian Unlimited) May 27, 2008

May 30, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

The global biodiversity crisis that threatens life on Earth is driven by economic policies that fail to value nature, a new report finds. (Inter Press Service) May 30, 2008

Loss of Biodiversity Threatens Livelihoods of World's Poorest (London Independent) May 30, 2008

The Climate Change Threat To US Crops and Water (The Guardian UK) May 29, 2008

Greem Party candidate Cynthia McKinney Statement on Hunger Strike to Oppose US Star War Deployment in Czech Republic, Poland: Cynthia McKinney today sent a letter of solidarity to citizens activists in the Czech Republic who's hunger strike is focusing attention on efforts by the Bush Administration to escalate a new arms race with its deployment of Star Wars installations in Eastern Europe. (AllThingsCynthiaMcKinney.com) May 30, 2008

Cynthia McKinney & The Green Party Option (Nadir's Blog @ Think MTV) May 8, 2008

Statement by Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions to 2008 Chevron and ExxonMobil Shareholder Meetings (ZNet) May 30, 2008

Florida Farmworkers Chop Up Burger King (MR Zine) May 30, 2008

May 19, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Plans For New Coal Plants Under Fire In UK: Protesters are to launch one of the hardest-hitting environmental campaigns for more than a decade over plans to build a new generation of coal-fired power stations in the UK. (London Observer) May 18, 2008

I Give Up, Says Brazilian Minister Who Fought To Save The Rainforest: In a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ms Silva said that her efforts to protect the rainforest acknowledged as the "lungs of the planet" were being thwarted by powerful business lobbies. (The Independent UK) May 15, 2008

The Emergence of Real Trade Unionism in Wal-Mart Stores in China (China Labor News Translations) May 4, 2008

Comments on the Strike Movement in Egypt (International Socialist Review) May-June 2008

Women - The Guardians of Potato Biodiversity in Peru (Inter Press Service) May 16, 2008

Iraq Veterans Describe Atrocities to US Lawmakers (OneWorld.net) May 17, 2008

Santa Ana, California Labor Rally: HEY, ARNOLD! NO BUDGET CUTS! (Los Angeles Indymedia) May 15, 2008

Massive Teacher's Strike in Britain

Press TV, April 25, 2008

About 400,000 public sector workers in the UK went on a one day strike over pay including college lecturers, and other civil servants.
The strike also involved thousands of civil servants walking out and government departments and the coast guard services being disrupted on Thursday. However, the largest group on strike were teachers from the National Union of Teachers, the NUT who were angry over pay, EuroNews reported.
The teachers strike resulted in disruptions to about a third of schools in England and Wales and the closure of one in 10 schools during the biggest teachers' strike in 21 years.

Continue reading 'Massive Teacher's Strike in Britain'. . .

China Still a Small Player in Africa

Firoze Manji argues that in comparison to Europe and the US, China in Africa is still a small player.
By Firose Manji, Pambazuka, March 27, 2008

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Open any newspaper and you would get the impression that the African continent, and much of the rest of the world, is in the process of being ‘devoured’ by China. Phrases such as the ‘new scramble for Africa’, ‘voracious’, ‘ravenous’ or ‘insatiable’ ‘appetite for natural resources’ are typical descriptors used to characterise China’s engagement with Africa. In contrast, the operations of western capital for the same activities are described with anodyne phrases such as ‘development’, ‘investment’, ‘employment generation’(Mawdsely, 2008). Is China indeed the voracious tiger it is so often portrayed as?
China’s involvement in Africa has three main dimensions: foreign direct investment, aid and trade. In each of these dimensions China’s engagement is dwarfed by those of US and European countries, and often smaller than those of other Asian economies.
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The evidence available suggests that the drive to increasing the rate of profit is exhibited as much by Chinese as by western capital. The west has the advantage in having already established its dominant position that is potentially being threatened by the ‘new boy on the block’.
But China has the advantage of never having enslaved or colonized the continent. China has also not made any false promises coated with neo-liberalism. While the West, the IMF and the World Bank put conditions that only aid in their fleecing of Africa, China has so far been willing to provide unconditional aid and invest in infrastructure. At the same time, however, it freely takes full advantage of the opening up of markets that neo-liberal economic policies over the last 25 years have offered, unencumbered.
And so far, unlike the US, China has not sought to establish military bases in Africa to protect its economic interests, which the US has sought to establish through AFRICOM

Read all of 'China Still a Small Player in Africa'. . .

European Union Stepping Back on Climate Change

By David Cronin, Inter Press Service, March 14, 2008

A year after the European Union's governments promised to take the lead in fighting climate change, they appeared to back-pedal on that pledge at a summit in Brussels Mar. 13-14.

Continue reading 'European Union Stepping Back on Climate Change'. . .

Protesters Across the World Condemn Iraq War

AFP, March 15, 2008

Thousands of protestors marched against the Iraq war in Los Angeles on Saturday as part of a global day of action that drew huge crowds in London and smaller protests elsewhere in Europe and Canada.

Continue reading 'Protesters Across the World Condemn Iraq War'. . .

Revealed: The Plot to Expand Heathrow

By Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Marie Woolf, London Times, March 9, 2008

The airports operator BAA colluded with government officials to “fix” the evidence in favour of a new third runway at Heathrow, an investigation has found.
Documents seen by The Sunday Times reveal that BAA executives prevented the use of data in the consultation document which showed that the expansion would cause unlawful levels of pollution and extra noise.
Instead, they gave civil servants amended data that showed the anticipated 230,000 extra flights a year at Heathrow would have a minimal impact on noise and pollution levels.

Continue reading 'Revealed: The Plot to Expand Heathrow'. . .

Leading British Figures Speak Out on ExxonMobil Hostile Action Against Venezuela

Venezuela Information Centre, February 2008

Over fifty MPs and MEPs, other elected representatives, justice campaigners, prominent figures from the arts world, trade union leaders, academics and others have signed a statement calling on ExxonMobil to respect Venezuelan sovereignty, as Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA goes to the High Court to appeal an English court’s decision to freeze US$12 billlion of its assets following a legal action brought by ExxonMobil.
The action by ExxonMobil was in response to the policy of the Venezuelan government to take back majority control of their own oil resources. Unlike other international oil companies, where some 30 out of 32 contracts have been successfully renegotiated and amicable agreements and compensation terms reached with the Venezuelan government, ExxonMobil refused the terms offered.

Continue reading 'Leading British Figures Speak Out on ExxonMobil Hostile Action Against Venezuela'. . .

Tariq Ali on Neo-Liberalism and Protectorate States in the Post-Yugoslav Balkans

Counterpunch, February 26, 2008

An interview with Tariq Ali conducted by Global Balkans in the fall of 2007 that sets the context for the most recent developments in the politics of neoliberal transition and the new protectorate states in the post-Yugoslav Balkans, as well as examining the legacy of the Yugoslav wars on western military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the shifting alignments of the western and antiwar left.

Continue reading 'Tariq Ali on Neo-Liberalism and Protectorate States in the Post-Yugoslav Balkans'. . .

Joel Kovel on the Historical Holocaust and the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Also see
JoelKovel.org

Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism

National General Strike Shuts Down Much of Greece

United Press International, February 13, 2008

Unions in Greece staged a 24-hour national strike Wednesday after claiming the government's pension reform plan amounted to a setback for workers.
The unions claim the government has broken a string of promises to labor, Euronews.net reported. The Athens government, which has vowed to overhaul the pension system, raised the retirement age and cut pensions after promising not to, unions said.
The national strike affected hospitals, air travel, banks and government services, the report said.

Continue reading 'National General Strike Shuts Down Much of Greece'. . .