Maz passed this on….
Archive for September, 2011
No explanation necessary….
Posted by Mike E on September 30, 2011
Posted in >> analysis of news | 23 Comments »
Rebel Diaz: A Historic Time, A New Generation
Posted by onehundredflowers on September 30, 2011
This comes from The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective.
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.
Posted in >> analysis of news, capitalism, civil liberties, Occupy Wall Street, organizing, politics, students, working class, youth | Tagged: Rebel Diaz, RodStarz | 2 Comments »
Who is Afraid of #Occupy Wall Street?
Posted by Tell No Lies on September 30, 2011
A siginificant aspect of this progressive disdain is grounded in the belief that the only valid form of political activism is support for Democratic Party candidates, and a corresponding desire to undermine anything that distracts from that goal.
The very idea that one can effectively battle Wall Street’s corruption and control by working for the Democratic Party is absurd on its face: Wall Street’s favorite candidate in 2008 was Barack Obama, whose administration — led by a Wall Street White House Chief of Staff and Wall-Street-subservient Treasury Secretary and filled to the brim with Goldman Sachs officials — is now working hard to protect bankers from meaningful accountability (and though he’s behind Wall Street’s own Mitt Romney in the Wall Street cash sweepstakes this year, Obama is still doing well); one of Wall Street’s most faithful servants is Chuck Schumer, the money man of the Democratic Party; and the second-ranking Senate Democrat acknowledged — when Democrats controlled the Congress — that the owners of Congress are bankers.
What’s behind the scorn for the Wall Street protests?
from Salon
By Glenn Greewald
It’s unsurprising that establishment media outlets have been condescending, dismissive and scornful of the ongoing protests on Wall Street. Any entity that declares itself an adversary of prevailing institutional power is going to be viewed with hostility by establishment-serving institutions and their loyalists. That’s just the nature of protests that take place outside approved channels, an inevitable by-product of disruptive dissent: those who are most vested in safeguarding and legitimizing establishment prerogatives (which, by definition, includes establishment media outlets) are going to be hostile to those challenges. As the virtually universal disdain in these same circles for WikiLeaks (and, before that, for the Iraq War protests) demonstrated: the more effectively adversarial it is, the more establishment hostility it’s going to provoke. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in >> analysis of news | Tagged: democra, Democratic Party, Occupy Wall Street | 2 Comments »
Contribute….money….now: The Occupy Wall Street Journal
Posted by kasama on September 30, 2011
photo: Vanissa W. Chan
This broadsheet will be available far beyond New York City — with a potential impact that we don’t need to explain here.
So CONTRIBUTE MONEY…. now.
Use this link… now:
OCCUPY WALL STREET MEDIA
More about this project >>>> Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in >> analysis of news | 4 Comments »
Beyond that subtle pessimism of low expectations
Posted by kasama on September 29, 2011
“But while Thin Man is right when he says “this is the first time since the 1960s an activist movement has an opportunity to get out from under the stifling top down command structure and the enervating 1960s nostalgia of the organized left” — I don’t want older revolutionaries to go easy on my generation, to stand by and romanticize our actions without supplying us with the proper and necessary criticism their life experience provides.
“To do so would be a great disservice to us.”
We have been working on a critique of that cranky and conservative sectarianism emerging (among some leftissts) toward the Occupy Wall Street. In that discussion TNL wrote:
“But what is most distressing to me is hearing YOUNG revolutionaries (much younger than I) nay-saying this important eruption. No doubt many will rethink this, but it is still a distressing sign of the grip of the past on the minds of the living.”
The following comment was then written as a contribution to that discussion.
* * * * * * * * * *
by Ghan Buri Ghan
As one of the young revolutionaries in question, I feel the need to defend myself.
When Marxism became a vacuum
My generation came of age after the dissolution of the Soviet bloc. (I myself was only a year old when the Soviet Union dissolved)
There is an attitude among many of my generation that Marxism is outdated, irrelevant, authoritarian, etc.
Posted in >> analysis of news | 4 Comments »
7 sides of crankiness: A struggle over Occupy Wall Street
Posted by Mike E on September 29, 2011
As this reality sinks in, politics will take new turns.
By Mike Ely
There is a lot to analyze and plan and sum up about this last week of “occupy” — and the signs that it is spreading (Boston, Seattle, DC, Houston…..)
But one thing that jumps out and seems to divert (and haunt) any discussion is an ambivalence, even hostility, from some currently radical people. ( (And not just here in the threads of Kasama, but certainly here too.)
So let me pause at that diversion — and discuss how certain preconceptions are pulling a few people toward the cranky sidelines.
Tell No Lies writes some important things trying to struggle over this, including:
Our first responsibility as communist revolutionaries is to support it, then to understand it more deeply, and finally, if we earn it, (and that is by no means certain) to exercise some leadership from within it.
And I agree.
We also have other responsibilities that flow from a stand of appreciation and support — including perhaps help bring some other and broader forces to it. And I also think we have a responsibility to help shape the beginnings of a revolutionary movement — which (imho) involves excavating this very strange sub-current of uber-sectarian crankiness.
I want to open up seven possible sides of the crankiness to criticism. (And tell me if I’m wrong):
Posted in >> analysis of news, Mike Ely, Occupy Wall Street | 22 Comments »
Tender new shoots rise in a clearing
Posted by Mike E on September 29, 2011
“We will not arrive on the scene like some magical galvanizing thunderburst to tell everyone else what to think and do. Let’s have some scientific non-messianic modesty and not perpetuate previous grandiosity.
“We will strain to make real contributions. There may be contributions that only we can make. And that matters. But we expect much from many other people.”
from Shaping the Kasama Project: Contributing to Revolution’s Long March
* * * * * * *
by Mike Ely
“You can’t pull on a sprout to make it grow.”
Mao Zedong
Better if we are just left alone
Thin Man wrote:
“Don’t take this personally, but I finding the indifference of (ineffectual) liberals and (utterly irrelevant) Marxists to Occupy Wall Street to be an encouraging sign.
“Whatever energy the anti-Iraq-war movement had came out of the WTO protests. When Answer and UFPJ got their hands on them, they become demoralizing, kettled, ritualistic exercises in futility.
“Most of the New Communist Movement is simply too old to cause any serious disruption and most liberals are too interested in getting Obama reelected.
“This will allow the General Assemblies of Occupy Wall Street to develop in whatever direction the participants carry them. This is the first time since the 1960s an activist movement has an opportunity to get out from under the stifling top down command structure and the enervating 1960s nostalgia of the organized left.”
I appreciate the reasons for Thin Man’s comments. And appreciate (in some respects) the implication that the current left is (essentially) worthless. But for me his comments divide sharply into two:
Posted in >> analysis of news | 11 Comments »
No comment needed…..
Posted by Mike E on September 29, 2011
Thanks Sasa.
Posted in Malcolm X | 1 Comment »
Conference in Berkeley: On Mao’s Little Red Book
Posted by Mike E on September 29, 2011
Selucha points out this coming event.
Mao’s Little Red Book: A Global History
DATE: October 21-22, 2011
PLACE: 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor Conference Room
SPONSORS: Center for Chinese Studies and Institute of East Asian Studies
Description
This conference takes up the global history of Quotations from Chairman Mao—perhaps the most visible, ubiquitous, and enduring symbol of twentieth-century radicalism. Conference participants will examine the production and adaptation of the “little red book” in China, as well as its circulation, appropriation, and impact around the globe. The pocket-sized Quotations from Chairman Mao was probably the most printed non-religious book of the twentieth century and by the late 1960s became the must-have accessory for red guards and revolutionaries from Berkeley to Bamako. The little red book’s worldwide circulation, in dozens of languages, is a testament to its historical importance, but until now there has been no serious scholarly effort to understand the Quotations as a global historical phenomenon.
Schedule >>>> Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in China, Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong, Maoism, Peru | 3 Comments »
MSNBC Condemns Police Brutality Against Wall St. Protestors
Posted by onehundredflowers on September 29, 2011
Posted in >> analysis of news, abuse, civil liberties, occupy wall street, police, politics, repression, students, youth | Tagged: Lawrence O'Donnell, MSNBC | 2 Comments »
Watch this: Voices from Occupy Wall Street
Posted by Mike E on September 28, 2011
Radical Eyes writes:
“We should spread this Occupy Together website link, but also post the video directly.”
Posted in >> analysis of news | 21 Comments »
The emergence of Occupy Boston
Posted by Mike E on September 28, 2011
Occupy Wall Street, New York City, September 2011
Radical Eyes writes:
“The 2nd General Assembly of OccupyBoston is scheduled for TONIGHT, Wednesday, September 28, from 6-11pm, at the Boston Common Gazebo (by the Park Street stop on the Green Line).”
This Boston piece writes:
“If you’re aren’t in Massachusetts, just see occupytogether.org or Google “Occupy [your city]” and find out how you can get in on the action in your city!”
We urge readers to participate in the discussions and plans happening everywhere. And share what they learn, do and see with us here on Kasama. Earlier today, the following was posted as a comment:
“We need to initiate a discussion of what this burst of energy means for revolutionary politics.
How should more radical forces “relate” to the events of the last week?
What is our responsibility?
What is our mode of self-presentation?
What can we contribute?
What are our own goals (in light of our revolutionary programs and communist political desires)?We need to work on those questions — with some urgency even — here and elsewhere.”
* * * * * * * *
WE THE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO OCCUPY BOSTON!!
By Brian Kwoba
Just wanted to send a quick report-back about the OccupyBoston action that took place just now (from 7:30pm till around 11) on the Boston common.
It was an incredible action. Some 400-500 people came out!
Posted in >> analysis of news | 2 Comments »
NYT: “We’re the first generation to say that voting is worthless.”
Posted by Tell No Lies on September 28, 2011
The Indian Parliament capitulated to Anna Hazare's demands on an anticorruption measure.
They are taking to the streets, in part, because they have little faith in the ballot box. …
In the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, a consensus emerged that liberal economics combined with democratic institutions represented the only path forward. That consensus, championed by scholars like Francis Fukuyama in his book “The End of History and the Last Man,” has been shaken if not broken by a seemingly endless succession of crises — the Asian financial collapse of 1997, the Internet bubble that burst in 2000, the subprime crisis of 2007-8 and the continuing European and American debt crisis — and the seeming inability of policy makers to deal with them or cushion their people from the shocks.
from the New York Times
As Scorn for Vote Grows, Protests Surge Around Globe
By Nicholas Kulish
MADRID — Hundreds of thousands of disillusioned Indians cheer a rural activist on a hunger strike. Israel reels before the largest street demonstrations in its history. Enraged young people in Spain and Greece take over public squares across their countries.
Their complaints range from corruption to lack of affordable housing and joblessness, common grievances the world over. But from South Asia to the heartland of Europe and now even to Wall Street, these protesters share something else: wariness, even contempt, toward traditional politicians and the democratic political process they preside over. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in >> analysis of news | Tagged: capitalism, economic crisis, Elections, protest, rebellion | 15 Comments »
Occupy Wall Street: “I Am Not Moving!”
Posted by onehundredflowers on September 28, 2011
This was posted on vimeo.
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.
Posted in >> analysis of news, African American, anarchism, capitalism, civil liberties, corporations, economics, financial crisis, occupy wall street, organizing, police, politics, repression, students, urban, youth | Tagged: Occupy Wall St., Occupy Wall Street | 2 Comments »
Dr. Cornell West: We the People Have Found Our Voice
Posted by Mike E on September 28, 2011
Posted in >> analysis of news | 2 Comments »
A Politics of the Spectacle
Posted by onehundredflowers on September 28, 2011
This was originally posted on turbulence.co.uk.
“An ethical spectacle must address the real dreams and desires of people – not the dreams and desires that progressives think they should, could, or “if they knew what was good for them” would have, but the ones people actually do have, no matter how trivial, politically incorrect, or even impossible they seem. How we address these dreams and desires is a political decision, but we must acknowledge and respond to them if we want people to identify with our politics. To engage the real as part of an ethical spectacle is not the same thing as being limited by the current confines of reality. For reality is not the end but a point of beginning – a firm foundation on which to build the possible, or to stand upon while dreaming the impossible.”
Politics in an age of fantasy
If progressives want to be a meaningful political force in the 21st century we need to start dreaming, argues Stephen Duncombe.
REALITY, FANTASY AND POLITICS
In the autumn of 2004, shortly before the U.S. presidential election and in the middle of a typically bloody month in Iraq, the New York Times Magazine ran a feature article on the casualty of truth in the Bush administration. Like most Times articles, it was well written, well researched, and thoroughly predictable. That George W. Bush is ill informed, doesn’t listen to dissenting opinion, and acts upon whatever nonsense he happens to believe is hardly news. (Even the fact that he once insisted that Sweden did not have an army and none of his cabinet dared contradict him was not all that surprising.) There was, however, one valuable insight. In a soon-to-be-infamous passage, the writer, Ron Suskind, recounted a conversation between himself and an unnamed senior adviser to the president:
The aide said that guys like me were “in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernable reality.” I nodded and murmured something about Enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. “That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” he continued. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create reality. And while you are studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
It was clear how the Times felt about this peek into the political mind of the presidency. The editors of the Gray Lady pulled out the passage and floated it over the article in oversized, multi-colored type. This was ideological gold: the Bush administration openly and arrogantly admitting that they didn’t care about reality. One could almost feel the palpable excitement generated among the Times’ liberal readership, an enthusiasm mirrored and amplified all down the left side of the political spectrum on computer listservs, call-in radio shows, and print editorials over the next few weeks. This proud assertion of naked disregard for reality and unbounded faith in fantasy was the most damning evidence of Bush insanity yet. He must surely lose the election now.
Posted in >> analysis of news, Stephen Duncombe | 9 Comments »
The purpose and non-coverage of Occupy Wall Street
Posted by Mike E on September 27, 2011
Posted in >> analysis of news | Leave a Comment »
NYPD’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau: The Long Arm of Repression
Posted by onehundredflowers on September 27, 2011
Posted in >> analysis of news, police, politics, repression, surveillance, war on terror | Tagged: 60 Minutes | Leave a Comment »
The making of the Communist Manifesto
Posted by kasama on September 26, 2011
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This historical sketch was written fourteen years ago for the 150th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto. It has since been published in many places and languages.
This is the story of how the revolutionary communist movement first emerged from the fusion of deep theoretical work and fearless revolutionary practice. And we are sharing it to inspire the work for a fresh fusion of revolutionary theory and practice that is so urgently demanded today.
* * * * * * * * *
by Mike Ely
In mid-February 1848, a new communist pamphlet rolled off the presses of a small print shop on London’s Bishopsgate. It was written in German and entitled Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei.
Copies were rushed off to the mainland of Europe. Uprisings and disturbances had broken out in most of the main population centers of the continent. Small cores of revolutionary activists were waiting for a high-powered declaration that could guide their work and rally people to a thoroughgoing revolutionary movement.
The bold opening lines of this pamphlet threw down a challenge:
“A spectre is haunting Europe–the spectre of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre…. It is high time that Communists should openly, in the face of the whole world, publish their views, their aims, their tendencies, and meet this nursery tale of the spectre of communism with a manifesto of the party itself.”
This work was quickly translated into many languages of Europe and the Americas. In English it became known as the Communist Manifesto. In one early English version, published in 1850, the previously unknown authors were listed for the first time: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels.
While countless other documents and manifestos of those days lie forgotten and dust-covered in library archives, this Manifesto lives, studied intensely in slums, jungle base areas, and even classrooms all over the world — still inspiring and training one new revolutionary generation after another.
The Communist Manifesto is the visionary founding document of the modern communist movement. Here is the story of how the Manifesto came to be.
Posted in communism, England, Germany, Karl Marx, Maoism, Marxist theory, Mike Ely, revolution, Socialism | Leave a Comment »
