“This puppet “government” must realize it: they can no longer govern, they are completely isolated, and they will fall under the popular rage.”
Note: in the article that follows the KOE speaks of “the occupation” — This can be a bit confusing since (in the U.S. at the moment) occupation often refers to people’s occupations against the government. In Greece there is such a peoples movement “in the squares” — but the occupation they are talking about involves the foreign bank and European Union takeover of Greece and its imposition of austerity on the people.
Statement of Communist Organization of Greece (KOE):
On National Day, the Greek people have shouted a tremendous “NO” to the new occupation
28/10/2011
[Translator’s Note: See, in the previous communication (27/10/2011), the background of the National Day, and the call of KOE to transform the official celebrations all over Greece into manifestations of the popular rage against the new occupation. On 28 October 2011, just a few says after the General Strike and the unprecedented demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people, the masses have again sent a clear message against the new occupation and the puppet Papandreou regime. The “events” of 28 October 2011 are of great importance; they made the whole system shake, and the Greek people took a new step forward in its protracted struggle.
]
Today the Greek people have spoken. Today the Greek people smiled. Thousands and thousands of citizens in big and small cities all of over Greece have honored in the most appropriate way the anniversary of the anti-fascist struggle, protesting against the new occupation. Under the popular rage, the “government officials”, the political representatives of the troika, were forced to step down of the celebration tribune from almost every city where military and school pupil’s parades where taking place.
Where was the hood? Where was the poorest congressional district in the USA, from The South Bronx at? Like we say in Hip Hop, where Brooklyn at? Could it be that perhaps the working class couldnt afford to just leave work and the responsibility of bills and family survival to camp out in a city park? Did folks from our communities not know about this? If people of color were occupying Wall St would we have lasted this long? All in all the questions remain, yet with time and reflection , we refuse to just dismiss it. Its a historic time in the world in which general assemblies are starting to happen all over, as cities across the US are also now having “occupations”.
Reflections on #OccupyWallStreet
RodStarz of Rebel Diaz
If yall havent noticed, theres an interesting situation going on in New York City’s financial sector. Since September 17th, a group of folks has been camped out in Zuccoti Park a couple of blocks away from Wall St, protesting everything from corporate greed, foreclosed homes and the bailout. Organized via social media and the internet, #OccupyWallStreet has caught the attention of the world. The world is watching mainly because last Thursday, about 100 folks were arrested and many more brutalized. Numerous videos of NYPD’s brutality have gone viral, especially one of peaceful female protestors being maced by a ranking NYPD official. Thursdays protests happened after a Troy Davis memorial march met up with Wall Street Occupiers who had marched and met up in solidarity. The result was the NYPD once again brutalizing peaceful people with batons, mace, and unnecessary violence. Since then, the movement has picked up strength and received mainstream media coverage, along with visits from celebrities like Cornel West, Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon. Out of curiosity we visited with the RDACBX team after a meeting and the result wasnt the greatest. Besides being stared at and looked at as if we were invading their space, the predominantly young, white and liberal Occupiers sent over one of the few African American men over to talk to us. When we asked them why they didnt approach us themselves and build with us, they replied that “they thought we would get mad because they were white.” The situation was pretty bizarre as a woman started ranting incoherently about Nazi symbols being seen over the skies of California, and another man from the Media Team repeatedly offering us the chance to perform if we spoke to the Arts and Culture team. He didnt seem to get that we werent there to perform, rather we were there just to build. After being mean mugged for taking a free slice of Pizza, we decided it was time to leave the hippie fest.
This law student was arrested protesting in front of a major bank. Although you can’t hear what he’s saying in the video, here’s a brief account from Suzy Subways:
I saw this guy speak at the General Assembly on Sunday. He described his arrest: “I went up to the barricade, and I said, ‘This is the bank that took my parents’ house! Now take me!’ And they did.” He also said that his father is dying of cancer. He’s an incredible speaker, and the people’s mic made it even more dramatic. People were crying and holding each other afterwards. There was a sense of, THIS is why we want to occupy wall street.
Protests have sustained through the first week on New York City’s financial district. NYPD have increased their pressure, using mass arrests and pepper spray on non-violent protesters. State violence appears to have increased the resolve of the encampment.
With mainstream media ignoring (or belittling) the protests, you can be the media. Click here for downloadable flyers to put up at your school, workplace, local train station or wherever.
On the 17th of September, we want to see 20,000 people to flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices and we will not leave until that demand has been met.
Like our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Greece, Spain, and Iceland, we plan to use the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic of mass occupation to restore democracy in America. We also encourage the use of nonviolence to achieve our ends and maximize the safety of all participants.
Who is Occupy Wall Street?
Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%.
The original call for this occupation was published by Adbusters in July; since then, many individuals across the country have stepped up to organize this event, such as the people of the NYC General Assembly and US Day of Rage. There’ll also be similar occupations in the near future such as October2011 in Freedom Plaza, Washington D.C.
Radical Eyes suggested the following piece for posting on Kasama. It first appeared on Counterpunch.
Philadelphia’s Declaration of War on Black Youth
Flashmob Hysteria
by GEORGE CICCARIELLO-MAHER
The character of our present moment is undeniable, and the tangled web of causes and consequences is the same from London to Cairo to Santiago: budget cuts in the name of “austerity,” rising unemployment, increasing popular resistance, and an upsurge in racist violence and policing measures like “stop-and-frisk.” The failure of an economic system in the short and long term has generated an entire class of undesirables, living proof of that failure who must be contained, controlled, and silenced.
But even those who recognize the roots of distant rebellions are far more hesitant about upheavals closer to home. Philadelphia is currently in the grips of a bout of mob hysteria at least as virulent and far more racist than the backlash underway in London, to which the media, the police, the city government and the public have all contributed, and yet few have dared to call it what it is.
The students are part of a broader movement that is calling for the transformation of Chile. In recent months, copper mine workers have gone on strike, massive mobilizations have taken place to stop the construction of a huge complex of dam and energy projects in the Bio Bio region of southern Chile, gay rights and feminist activists have marched in the streets, and the Mapuche indigenous peoples have continued to demand the restoration of their ancestral lands.
An unprecedented and historic movement of citizens is questioning the bases of the economic and political order that were imposed in 1980” by the Pinochet constitution.
Chilean Student Movement Leads Uprising For Transformation of the Country
By Roger Burbach
August 13, 2011
Chile is becoming a part of the global movement of youth that is transforming the world bit by bit—the Arab Spring, the sit-ins and demonstrations in the Spanish plazas, and the rebellion of youth in London.
Weeks of demonstrations and strikes by Chilean students came to a head August 9, as an estimated 100,000 people poured into the streets of Santiago. Joined by professors and educators, they were demanding a free education for all, from the primary school level to the university.
By re-posting story from a publication that proudly calls itself “capitalist tool” we are not endorsing its analysis.We are posting it here to highlight the ways in which the bourgeoisie, or at least an influential section of it, views the current crisis of capitalism as expressed in the various upheavals around the world, most recently in London.
The U.K. Riots And The Coming Global Class War
Joel Kotkin, Contributor
The riots that hit London and other English cities last week have the potential to spread beyond the British Isles. Class rage isn’t unique to England; in fact, it represents part of a growing global class chasm that threatens to undermine capitalism itself.
The hardening of class divisions has been building for a generation, first in the West but increasingly in fast-developing countries such as China. The growing chasm between the classes has its roots in globalization, which has taken jobs from blue-collar and now even white-collar employees; technology, which has allowed the fleetest and richest companies and individuals to shift operations at rapid speed to any locale; and the secularization of society, which has undermined the traditional values about work and family that have underpinned grassroots capitalism from its very origins.
We are lucky to have and share a video capture of this moment in the streets — A politically-conscious woman steps forward in the midst of the rebellion in Hackney.
Here is what the on-the-spot training and leadership of the newly awakening looks like (Thanks to Dodge for this bit!):
Yesterday’s essay “Writing with fire,” said that there are three different discussions raging during a large violent rebellion:
Kasama received the following from A World To Win News Service.
“What is happening is refusal by hundreds of thousands of youth to accept a world where they are destitute, with no jobs and no future.”
“Mindless violence” – “pure criminality” – “monsters taking over our streets” – the British politicians and media, from the Tories and Murdoch’s rabid tabloids to Labour and the liberal BBC, have closed ranks to denounce the tide of unrest sweeping the country’s cities.
But what is taking place on Britain’s streets is a revolt against an oppressive state apparatus that is enforcing an unjust society, an apparatus that has lost much of its legitimacy in the eyes of millions. It is a revolt against state-backed racism and the colonial mentality of the British ruling class towards black people. It is a refusal by hundreds of thousands of youth to accept a world where they are destitute, with no jobs and no future.
Rebels portrayed as thugs
Mark Duggan -- yet another victim of police murder
In an interview with the BBC Tuesday morning, Home Minister Theresa May set the official tone by ruling out of order any discussion whatsoever that the urban rebellions might be due to anything other than just “thieving and looting”.
But what was the spark that set off this firestorm of rage?
It was the killing of 29-year-old father of four Mark Duggan (pictured left) by the Metropolitan Police in the North London borough of Tottenham.
Duggan was a resident of the Broadwater Farm Estate, a large social housing complex that was the setting for a powerful rebellion 26 years ago, when a police raid killed Cynthia Jarrett, the mother of a local community activist.
Mark Duggan was widely known in the local community, who have been shocked and angered as details of the killing have emerged. He was killed by the police after an armed unit stopped the mini-cab he was traveling in.
Kasama heard about this thanks to Grover Furr. It appears here exactly as it appeared on on innertubes a couple days ago.
High school students in Madison, WI are calling for and organizing a national high school student walkout on Friday, March 11th, at 2:00 PM, local time, Michael Moore reported Wednesday, at approximately 9:40 EST PM, on The Rachel Maddow Show.
We are asking all students in the United States to walk out at 2:00 PM local time in solidarity with Wisconsin and to organize teach-ins on the attacks on public education and working families where you live.
Another Facebook Public Event has been created for National High School Walkout 2PM Local Time For Friday Mar 11.
“I think we are headed into a legitimation crisis … I think it’s very difficult to say that when faced with a foreclosure crisis you support the banks but not the people who are being foreclosed upon. You can accuse the people being foreclosed upon of irresponsibility, and in the US there is a strong racist element in this argument. When the first wave of foreclosures hit places like Cleveland and Ohio they were devastating to the black communities there but some peoples’ response was ‘well what do you expect, black people are irresponsible … One of our tasks must be to say ‘no, you absolutely cannot do that’ and to try and create a consolidated explanation of this crisis as a class event in which a certain structure of exploitation broke down and is about to be displaced by an even deeper structure of exploitation. It’s very important this alternative explanation of the crisis is discussed and conveyed publicly.”
Is This Really the End of Neoliberalism?
By DAVID HARVEY
Does this crisis signal the end of neo-liberalism? My answer is that it depends what you mean by neo-liberalism. My interpretation is that it’s a class project, masked by a lot of neo-liberal rhetoric about individual freedom, liberty, personal responsibility, privatisation and the free market. These were means, however, towards the restoration and consolidation of class power, and that neo-liberal project has been fairly successful.
One of the basic principles that was set up in the 1970s was that state power should protect financial institutions at all costs. This is the principle that was worked out in New York City crisis in the mid-1970s, and was first defined internationally when Mexico threatened to go bankrupt in 1982. This would have destroyed the New York investment banks, so the US Treasury and the IMF combined to bail Mexico out. But in so doing they mandated austerity for the Mexican population. In other words they protected the banks and destroyed the people, and this has been the standard practice in the IMF ever since. The current bailout is the same old story, one more time, except bigger.
“…A new racial undercaste has been created in an astonishingly short period of time — a new Jim Crow system. Millions of people of color are now saddled with criminal records and legally denied the very rights that their parents and grandparents fought for and, in some cases, died for.”
The New Jim Crow: How the War on Drugs Gave Birth to a Permanent American Undercaste
by Michelle Alexander
Ever since Barack Obama lifted his right hand and took his oath of office, pledging to serve the United States as its 44th president, ordinary people and their leaders around the globe have been celebrating our nation’s “triumph over race.” Obama’s election has been touted as the final nail in the coffin of Jim Crow, the bookend placed on the history of racial caste in America.
Obama’s mere presence in the Oval Office is offered as proof that “the land of the free” has finally made good on its promise of equality. There’s an implicit yet undeniable message embedded in his appearance on the world stage: this is what freedom looks like; this is what democracy can do for you. If you are poor, marginalized, or relegated to an inferior caste, there is hope for you. Trust us. Trust our rules, laws, customs, and wars. You, too, can get to the promised land.
Perhaps greater lies have been told in the past century, but they can be counted on one hand. Racial caste is alive and well in America.
“For the few years I’ve considered myself a communist, I’ve floated from book to book, event to event, and practice to practice, without much systematic development to it. My study of Capital marks a leap away from that. It is a first step towards my lifelong development as a communist militant.”
“The anti-intellectualism and ‘just do it’ attitude lingering in the left is a force pushing away from this sort of study, seeing it as useless in the face on constant oppression.”
“This theoretical study of Capital is part of the process of a sorely needed communist reconception, preparing revolutionaries to learn to ride the waves of the class struggle to build organization and consciousness and seize the time.”
This was sent to us by Jose. He thanks all those who have helped him persevere in the study of Marx’s Das Kapital.
Capital, A Living Work
by Jose M.
Capital. That intimidating and overwhelming piece of science written by Marx more than 150 years ago has eluded and continues to elude revolutionaries who otherwise engage in deep theoretical work, and I’ve been no exception. Three times I’ve attempted to sit down and read it, only to ask myself, “What’s the point?” or “Where will this get me?” and “How can this be more important than being on the streets and organizing?”
Travis Turner and Anissa Soto in their Latino literature class at Tucson High Magnet School.
This outrageous story is important for many reasons:
It suggests how subversive the open discussion of Mexican-American history and current conditions can be to the stability of the U.S.
It reveal how explosive the authorities of border states consider this fault line — and how acutely they are aware that borders and state power can change, and people can want to change them.
It shows the impact of having an organized state power: how state authority can set norms, criminalize politics, determine how children are shown the world, and back it all up with both force and the pretense of legitimacy.
It underscores the importance of revolutionaries taking further leaps in their appreciation of how these contradictions are building, and where they might lead.
“The Arizona law warns school districts that they stand to lose 10 percent of their state education funds if their ethnic-studies programs are found not to comply with new state standards. Programs that promote the overthrow of the United States government are explicitly banned, and that includes the suggestion that portions of the Southwest that were once part of Mexico should be returned to that country.
“Also prohibited is any promotion of resentment toward a race. Programs that are primarily for one race or that advocate ethnic solidarity instead of individuality are also outlawed.”
TUCSON — The class began with a Mayan-inspired chant and a vigorous round of coordinated hand clapping. The classroom walls featured protest signs, including one that said “United Together in La Lucha!” — the struggle. Although open to any student at Tucson High Magnet School, nearly all of those attending Curtis Acosta’s Latino literature class on a recent morning were Mexican-American.
“I thought Kasama readers would be interested in this recent Foreign Affairs article on world demographic developments and trends. Obviously its analysis is from a thoroughly capitalist perspective… a view of humanity as human capital (a phrase that’s becoming all too commonly used these days). But some of the facts and developments the author uncovers are quite significant and some are rather surprising and unanticipated (at least by me). The world is profoundly different than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. Reading this article made me think, what do these dramatic developments mean for the prospects of revolution in different regions of the world (both “developed” and “undeveloped/developing”). What does this mean for women’s rights and liberation? And what is the possible impact of this demographic trajectory on the development of revolutionary strategy in different areas of the world–as well as here in the U.S.?”
* * * * * * * * *
From Foreign Affairs:
“… the twenty-first century’s hallmark trend appears to be a fertility implosion. A dramatic, far-reaching, and, as yet, unremitting global reduction in childbearing and birthrates is now under way….
“Over the past half century, according to the United Nations Population Division (UNDP) and the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of births per woman dropped by almost half, from 4.9 in the early 1960s to an estimated 2.5 today, with the steepest decline occurring in less developed countries. Close to half of the world’s population now lives in countries with fertility rates below the replacement … the great majority of the world’s populations with sub-replacement fertility in fact reside in low-income societies.”
“What is no less striking, sub-replacement fertility has also come to parts of the great Islamic expanse that stretches from northern Africa through the Middle East and into Asia.”
“…over the next two decades, sub-Saharan Africa, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will generate nearly half the growth in the world’s working-age population.”
“[China's] one-child policy…is setting the stage for a “marriage squeeze” of monumental proportions. By 2030, projections suggest that more than 25 percent of Chinese men in their late 30s will never have married….Beijing will have to determine how it will cope with a growing demographic of unmarried, underprivileged, and, quite possibly, deeply discontented young men.”
This is a statement from the KOE (Commnunist Organization of Greece). 
