Thursday, 27 June 2013
SHIA-HATING, iSRAEL-LOVING, bRITISH STATE LOVING ABUSER OF RELIGION - SHEIKH'ARIFI's eNGLAND VISIT
Shia-hating, brit state-loving, zionist collaborating visitor from saudi Arabia in england
Currently the british authorities have very kindly allowed a person from saudi Arabia into england. His name is Mohamed Arifi, he is basically a political figure who uses and abuses religion to promote his particular brand of collaboration with the white settler zionist state and promotes the west's agenda in Syria by calling on his followers (he has five million followers on twitter) to conduct terrorism and bloodshed in Syria.
Moazzam Begg and Asim Qureshi of cageprisoners welcomed this person in england with Qureshi stating on his facbook that Arifi has a "deep concern for justice".
What is this concern for justice that Arifi has? He states that Muslims should conduct armed actions in Syria, but that with israel peace must be maintained: "'Some of the brothers have asked us about waging war inside Israel - we say to them, Jihad is not allowed in countries where there is peace - such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar... " (source)
On visiting england, the oldest and most bloodiest of colonial/neo-colonial powers, Arifi is quoted here: "“one of the most just countries in Europe towards Muslims” and described Britons as “pleasant, polite and respectful towards all religions” and that he was impressed with their “pleasant treatment and development”."
This situation should be seen very clearly to all: here is a person who abuses a religion to promote collaboration with israel, promotes violence in Syria, calls Shia "treasonous villains", and is welcomed by people like Begg and Qureshi who parade themselves as human rights activists when actually they are strategically in alignment with the british state.
Begg has visited criminal armed gangs and death squads openly in Aleppo in Syria twice now. Imagine if he visited anti-imperialist revolutionaries anywhere in the world, the brits would have locked him up, but they turn a blind eye and de facto accept and promote his work - btw, I am not asking Begg to be arrested by the brits, just pointing out the madness of this situation whereby this is going on, as well as the situation whereby Begg supports the lynchers of Blacks and patriots in Libya, was silent (defacto supporting) the nato bombing there, and we kept getting told by white empire liberals that Begg and his colleagues are into human rights?
Begg and cageprisoners are not in the business of human rights, if they were they would call for justice for those tens of thousands of people in Libya who are in unregulated dungeons, dungeons organised by Begg's colleague in Libya Mr Belhaj who fought for nato to kill Libyans and conduct regime change. If they did believe in human rights they would have opposed and organised against the nato bombing of Libya and opposed the lynching of Black people in Libya.
There is much here that needs to be discussed, reflected on and grappled with. For the time being, asking these questions is often met with silence, the white liberal - death squad alliance wants to shut down all such debate. Indeed, despite repeated attempts by myself at trying to discuss this in public with cageprisoners, Begg and Qureshi, they have made it clear that they want to avoid and perhaps fear this debate at all costs.
However, there are are growing number of people who oppose british imperialism in Syria and Libya and elsewhere, who do not want to see the emergence of violent sectarianism promoted by imperialism and its helpers such as Arifi, and who do want to raise the voices and concerns in regards to this.
- Sukant Chandan, Sons of Malcolm
ONCE NELSON MANDELA PASSES AWAY, iMPERIALISM WILL INTENSIFY REGIME CHANGE PLANS AGAINST ANC
imperialism will speed up regime change against SA/ANC after Nelson Mandela's passing
With the seeming deterioration of health of Nelson Mandela, the passing of this great revolutionary will see the intensification of contradictions in South Africa. The situation is rather complex, but the contradictions are basically between a political project which unites forces under the de facto leadership of the ANC, which seeks to protect the independence and socialist-oriented trajectory (if not actuality at this historical moment) of South Africa. On the other hand and in contradiction and tension with this former political pole, is that we have an alliance of liberals through to the straight up pro-empire forces of the right, this is al alliance similar to that which we have seen in the Arab Sting developments in North Africa and Syria: ie., western backed and encouraged liberal and even seemingly grassroots radical forces who are de facto allied to those openly in alliance with imperialism for many decades.
This is what is emerging in South Africa, and below we can see one of the more honest right wing forces of the Democratic Alliance, but it will be the opposition forces to the ANC which are to some extent and will develop into the more important trojan horse for imperialist interests in South Africa. This is the case as it would be unwise and foolish of imperialism to encourage obvious right wing white supremacist forces to conduct their dirty work, rather imperialism prefers to conduct its operation at least in the public realm in media etc through Black and Brown skin, as with the case of the Arab Sting and as with the case of the so-called Movement for Democratic Change in neighbouring Zimbabwe, which has long been known to be backed and financed by british imperialism.
Although perhaps brother Julius Malema played some of his politics unwisely in recent years (please see archived posts on Malema on this site) the way in which imperialism panicked and clearly made moves to pressure the situation internally in South Africa to marginalise Malema points to the fear that imperialism still has on an emerging leadership that will tap into the masses of the ANC and South African peoples who are clamouring for thorough land reform and other socialist measures to counter the on going white supremacist grip on South Africa's economy despite some partial gains of the Revolution there which overthrew formal white settler rule.
This article below indicates clearly that the ANC leadership are well aware of the moves afoot by imperialism and its allies in South Africa. We should expect these relations and contradictions to intensify and not fall for the empire-liberal mind tricks coming out of places like aljazeero news channel, and other important empire-liberal tools of our enemies.
Sukant Chandan, Sons of Malcolm
The ANC fears a british-South African white nationalist plot
[source]
South Africa’s spooks are zooming in on the “suspiciously” cosy relationship between the DA and Britain.
A senior government official, who is also a high-ranking ANC leader, confirmed to City Press that the State Security Agency had increased analysis and surveillance.
The ruling party has been uncomfortable with the closeness between the two parties of late.
Issues that have fuelled the unease in the past three months include:
» A meeting last week between Western Cape Premier and DA leader Helen Zille and British government officials, including High Commissioner Nicola Brewer, where Zille allegedly asked for 10% of all investment in South Africa to come to the Western Cape. Zille denies this;
» A visit by Zille with a tourism delegation from the province to London earlier this month, where she told the SA Chamber of Commerce the ANC would split in the next seven years; and
» Former Zille adviser Ryan Coetzee’s appointment as adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg this month.
“There is something deeper than meets the eye and South African security has to analyse that,” the official said.
He said government was concerned that “an aggressive onslaught” from Britain and other European countries would undermine South Africa’s value-based approach to foreign policy.
The DA was establishing international relations to prepare for taking over government after the 2019 or 2024 general elections, the source said.
Another high-ranking government official said the closeness between the British and the DA was similar to the British backing the MDC in Zimbabwe to overthrow the “hostile” government of President Robert Mugabe.
The matter is set to be discussed at the ANC’s third International Solidarity Conference, which kicks off on Thursday.
Zille said the story sounded like an April Fool’s joke.
“Is someone occupying a parallel universe somewhere? Or is this part of the ongoing ‘Zanufication’ of the ANC?”
She said in London she spoke positively about South Africa’s future. She met High Commissioner Zola Skweyiya and “had positive feedback every time”.
She was also interviewed by CNN, the Financial Times and The Economist, among others.
She said the DA’s relationship with Britain was “professional, as with all other governments with which South Africa has diplomatic relationships”.
The DA previously complained that they were being spied on.
State Security spokesperson Brian Dube said the agency “is guided by a need to uphold national security guided by the Constitution and national laws. In this regard, the agency does not interfere in normal political activities”.
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
ETHIOPIA THANKS CHINA FOR SUPPORT AGAINST cOLONIALISM AND INTENSIFY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
Chinese Premier talks with Ethiopian PM on stronger ties
BEIJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on boosting bilateral ties.
Li reviewed the smooth growth of China-Ethiopia relations since the two countries forged diplomatic relations in 1970, citing fruitful cooperation in various sectors.
Both China and Ethiopia are committed to developing their economies and improving people's livelihood, thus the two countries boast huge potential for cooperation, Li said.
Noting this year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Ethiopia all-round cooperative partnership, Li said China would like to work with the African nation to bring bilateral cooperation to a new high.
The Chinese government supports firms with capabilities to work with Ethiopia in infrastructure, energy, resources, industrial parks, manufacturing and agriculture, Li said, urging the African country to continue to formulate preferential policies and improve the environment for investment.
The premier also called for stronger bilateral cooperation in culture, education, tourism and more communication on international and regional issues of importance, including reform of the United Nations Security Council, Somali and the Sudan-South Sudan issue.
Stressing Africa is a trustworthy friend and partner of China, Li reviewed the progress of cooperation between the country and the continent.
No strings are attached to China's aid to Africa and Chinese firms and citizens are required to follow local laws and customs, Li said.
The premier called on African countries to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese firms and citizens and properly deal with problems through consultations.
China will continue to support Africa's peace, development and integration, help the continent's countries increase their development capabilities and make the China-Africa cooperation benefit the two peoples, Li said.
Li expected Ethiopia, the rotating chair of the African Union, to play a constructive role in boosting China-Africa relations.
Desalegn thanked China for its all-round support to Ethiopia in its fight against colonization and in its development.
Desalegn underscored Ethiopia's commitment to deepening cooperation with China in all fields, welcoming firms to invest in the country and pledging to protect Chinese interests.
Desalegn hailed China's important role in boosting African peace, stability and development, saying Ethiopia will make efforts for bigger development of Africa-China relations.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a four-day visit. He will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
RELATIONS BETWEEN DPRK (SOCIALIST NORTH KOREA) AND SOCIALIST CHINA EXCELLENT AS EVER
Reception Given at DPRK Embassy in Beijing
Beijing, June 13 (KCNA) -- A reception was given at the DPRK embassy in Beijing on Thursday to mark the 30th anniversary of the historic maiden visit to China made by leader Kim Jong Il.
Among those present there on invitation were Li Yuanchao, member of the Political Bureau of the C.C., the Communist Party of China and vice-president of China; Liu Jieyi, deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the C.C., CPC; Liu Zhenmin, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs; and other officials.
Ji Jae Ryong, DPRK ambassador to China, and staff members of his embassy, were present there.
Ji Jae Ryong said in his speech that the maiden visit to China by Kim Jong Il was a historic event which greatly contributed to putting on a new high stage the traditional DPRK-China friendship which was provided and cultivated by President Kim Il Sung together with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai and other leaders of the elder generation of China and stood all tests of history and to ensuring the peace and security in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world and advancing the human cause of independence against imperialism.
He noted that the dear respected Kim Jong Un is paying deep attention to boosting the DPRK-China friendly relations true to the noble intention of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
We will as ever make joint efforts with Chinese comrades to steadily boost the traditional DPRK-China friendship, he added.
Li Yuanchao said in his speech that Kim Jong Il worked heart and soul to develop the Korean revolution and construction and the traditional Sino-DPRK friendly relations and made important contributions.
First Secretary Kim Jong Un in his recent personal letter sent to General Secretary Xi Jinping underlined the need to carry forward and develop the traditional Sino-DPRK friendly relations, Li Yuanchao noted.
The Chinese party and government set great store by the Sino-DPRK friendly relations and the new collective leadership of the Communist Party of China will together with the party and government of the DPRK respect and trust each other and conduct friendly exchange and cooperation in the spirit of inheriting the tradition, facing up to the future, building good-neighborly friendship and strengthening cooperation and thus promote the development of the Sino-DPRK friendly relations and defend the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, Li Yuanchao stressed.
Rodong Sinmun Praises Feats for Development of DPRK-China Friendship
Pyongyang, June 13 (KCNA) -- The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the Korean people will as ever make positive efforts to develop the bonds of DPRK-China friendship which has overcome all the tests of history as wished by leader Kim Jong Il, Rodong Sinmun Thursday says in a bylined article.
His historic maiden visit to China 30 years ago marked a historic occasion of great significance as it helped boost the DPRK-China friendship as required by the developing times, the article says, and goes on:
With his maiden China visit he laid a firm foundation for developing the friendship forged by the leaders of the elder generation of the two countries to meet the desires and interests of the Korean and Chinese peoples.
During the China visit he met leaders of the Chinese party and state including Hu Yaobang, the then general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, to deepen friendship with them. Making a long journey to the vast land of China he deepened understanding of China and fully encouraged the Chinese people.
When meeting the Chinese leaders he said that the traditional relations of friendship between the two parties and two peoples should be carried forward down through generations as the revolutionary struggle of the two peoples goes on steadily. He declared the steadfast will of the WPK that the Korean people will eternally advance together with the Chinese people in the drive for implementing the common cause to oppose imperialism and build socialism.
The Chinese leaders accorded warm hospitality to Kim Jong Il and expressed the will of the Chinese party and people to remain as reliable comrades-in-arms of the Korean people forever.
His maiden China visit set the stage for the DPRK-China friendship that has invariably developed generation after generation, greeting its heyday.
The visit has been recorded in the history as an event which fully demonstrated invincibility of the close friendship and solidarity between the two parties, two governments and two peoples and opened up a rosy prospect for the development of the DPRK-China relations of friendship.
The feats of Kim Jong Il for the development of DPRK-China friendship and human cause of independence are further shining thanks to the dear respected Kim Jong Un.
Reception Given to Commemorate Anniversary of Kim Jong Il's First Visit to China
Pyongyang, June 4 (KCNA) -- The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Tuesday hosted a reception at Pyongyang Koryo Hotel to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first historic visit of leader Kim Jong Il to China.
Present there on invitation were Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai and staff members of his embassy and Chinese guests and students here.
Kim Yong Il, secretary of the C.C., WPK, and officials concerned were present.
Kim Yong Il said in his speech that Kim Jong Il's visit to China in June 1983 marked a historic event of weighty significance in boosting the traditional DPRK-China friendship generation after generation.
He recalled that senior officials of the party and state of China enthusiastically welcomed Kim Jong Il, who paid a maiden visit to their country as most important state guest and accorded him cordial hospitality with all sincerity.
Kim Jong Il, setting greatest store by the DPRK-China friendship provided by President Kim Il Sung, exerted great efforts to make the deeply rooted friendship flourish and develop, he noted, and continued:
It is the noble duty and obligation of the present generation to steadily boost the precious DPRK-China friendship associated with great efforts of the leaders of the elder generation of the two parties and countries.
The recent visit paid by a special envoy of Comrade Kim Jong Un to China marked an important occasion in steadily boosting the DPRK-China friendly relations, wealth common to the peoples of the two countries, as required by the new times.
It is the unshakable political stand of the WPK and the government of the DPRK to steadily develop the DPRK-China friendship, he said, stressing that the WPK would in the future, too, to boost with vitality and dynamism the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
Liu Hongcai said that General Secretary Kim Jong Il visited China several times to forge close relations with Chinese party and state leaders and worked heart and soul to boost the Sino-DPRK friendly and cooperative relations.
China and the DPRK are the friendly neighbors linked by the same mountain and rivers, he said, stressing that it is the consistent stand of the Chinese party and government to steadily develop the Sino-DPRK friendly relations.
The Chinese side deems it important to invariably develop the Sino-DPRK friendly relations on a strategic height and from a long-term viewpoint, he noted.
He underscored the need to further value the Sino-DPRK friendship, the precious common treasure of the two peoples, and carry forward and develop it generation after generation.
He recalled that the special envoy of First Secretary of Kim Jong Un visited China and met with General Secretary Xi Jinping and other leading officials of China and had an in-depth and candid exchange of views on issues of common concern.
The relations between the two countries at present have entered a new historic phase, he said, underlining the need to promote common development on the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit and co-prosperity and thus bring welfare to the two peoples.
UNITY BETWEEN CHINA AND CUBA HEALTHY AND STRONG
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's first Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, in Beijing, capital of China, June 18, 2013.
BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met with Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuban first vice-president of the councils of state and ministers.
Xi asked Diaz-Canel to convey his greetings to Cuban President Raul Castro and former leader Fidel Castro.
Xi reviewed the growth of China-Cuba relations since the two countries forged diplomatic relations in 1960, particularly the increasingly mature relations and robust cooperation since the beginning of the 21st century.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government cherish its friendship with Cuba. It would like to maintain bilateral high-level exchange of visits, increase party-to-party exchange and experience sharing on state governance, enhance political trust, deepen mutual understanding, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote their own development and common prosperity, Xi said.
China would like to work more closely with Cuba on international and regional issues and promote fairness and justice of the international community, Xi said.
Xi said he witnessed vigor and potential of the Latin America and Caribbean region during his visit earlier this month.
China would like a good partnership with Latin American and Caribbean countries, featuring political trust, economic cooperation and cultural mutual learning, Xi said.
The Chinese leader called for stronger cooperation between China and Latin America through a comprehensive cooperation mechanism with China-Latin American Cooperation Forum at the core.
China appreciates Cuba's efforts to promoting China-Latin America relations and expects growth of relations during Cuba's role as the rotating chair of Community of Latin American and Caribbean states.
Diaz-Canel conveyed the greetings of Cuban President Raul Castro and former leader Fidel Castro to Xi.
Diaz-Canel said Cuba places great importance on building ties with China, pledging to enhance high-level visits and communication, expand mutually-beneficial cooperation and seek growth of ties between the two countries and relations between China and Latin America.
Diaz-Canel will conclude his three-day China visit on Wednesday.
GOOD TO SEE GIANT SOCIALIST CHINA ENGAGING IN POSITIVE DYNAMICS WITH SOCIALIST VIETNAM
HANOI, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam and China "have huge potentials for further speeding up cooperation in the future," Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, who will start his three-day state visit to China from Wednesday at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, said in an interview with Xinhua and other Chinese media here on Tuesday.
"Vietnam and China are close neighboring countries. The two peoples have shared a long-standing traditional friendship," the Vietnamese president said.
Over the past years, the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has instantly consolidated and developed, with political exchanges unceasingly enhanced, cooperation in economy, trade and investment, tourism and other fields recorded new development, and people-to-people exchanges expanded both in depth and width, the president said.
At present, the national construction and development of Vietnam and China are facing both opportunities and challenges, he said. To further enhance the development of bilateral ties, he suggested the two countries to try their utmost in the following four aspects:
First, to reinforce the political confidence, most important of which is to maintain and increase the exchange of visits and meetings between the high-ranking officials as well as among ministries or branches and localities of the two countries. Leaders of the two countries should hold regular exchange of visits and meetings with each other in different forms in order to timely set forth major orientations on fostering relations between the two parties and countries.
Second, to consolidate and expand bilateral cooperation of mutual benefits in all fields, especially in economy, trade and investment, science and technology, education and training, and tourism. The two sides should intensify coordination in developing economy and promoting cooperation of mutual benefits in all fields.
Third, to unceasingly inherit and uphold the traditional friendship between the two countries' people, diversify the contents on the exchange of cooperation and friendship among people from all walks of life of the two countries, especially the young people, and further popularize the cause of each country's national development as well as the Vietnam-China friendship.
Fourth, on the basis of the Vietnam-China neighboring friendship, the common concept of the two countries' leaders, and the international laws, and consistently through peaceful measures and friendly consultation, to handle reasonably all differences and issues occurred in relations between the two countries and to maintain the stable circumstance in bilateral ties.
At present, China and Vietnam are both facilitating the cause of reforms and opening-up. The Chinese people are striving to realize the "Chinese Dream," while the Vietnamese people are trying to implement their goals to build Vietnam basically into a modern, industrialized country by 2020.
President Sang said the two countries share the same wish of building a peaceful, stable and prosperous country. The reform and renovation processes in China and Vietnam have strongly boosted development of the two countries, creating a better life for the peoples, contributing to the development and common prosperity in the region and the world, and bringing a higher international status for the two countries.
To further develop, he said Vietnam and China need to keep on further reforms and to identify and overcome the difficulties and challenges in socio-economic development, including the gap between the rich and the poor, environment and climate change, and sustainable development, etc.
He said the Communist Party of Vietnam, the state and the people of Vietnam are trying their best to fulfill the targets of building Vietnam to become a wealthy, strong, democratic, equitable and civilized country, adding he hopes China gain greater achievements and fulfill the target of building a comprehensive well-off society at an early time.
The China-Vietnam economic and trade cooperation has constantly developed, with the two-way trade turnover reaching 50.4 billion U. S. dollars in 2012.
The Vietnamese market and the Chinese market are important to each other, the president said.
He said Vietnam highly appreciates China's large-scale investment projects to Vietnam, which are typical and have state- of-the-art technologies and advanced equipment, especially those in infrastructure, manufacturing and support industries.He said Vietnam wants to export more goods to China, especially agricultural products and seafood.
President Sang said although the bilateral ties have developed smoothly, there have been some complicated and tough issues, such as the land border and demarcation of the Beibu Gulf. During the years, the two sides have had a lot of efforts and valuable experience in handling these issues.
As for the issue of the South China Sea, said the leaders of the two countries had held many sincere and frank talks and reached common consensus of significance in handling the issues, President Sang said.
He said he expects during his visit to China, he will hold sincere and frank talks with the Chinese leaders on setting forth more measures in order to handle reasonably the differences over the seas, contributing to further developing the relations between the two parties and the two countries in a healthy and long-term manner, and to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.
"The friendship between Vietnam and China is a common precious asset of the two peoples. It was fostered by the older generations of leaders and peoples of the two countries," the Vietnamese President said. "All of us are responsible for preserving, inheriting and promoting our friendship."
He said the Vietnamese will never forget the precious support rendered by the Chinese to their struggle for national liberation in the past, as well as their national construction at present.
Vietnam attaches great importance to the development of friendly relationship and comprehensive cooperation with China, considering it as a basic, consistent and long-term policy and as a top priority in Vietnam's foreign policy, he said, adding this meets the expectations and common interest of the two peoples.
He hoped the friendly relationship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries be passed on from generation to generation.
------------------------------------
[source]
BEIJING — China and Vietnam agreed on Wednesday to set up a hotline to resolve fishing incidents in disputed South China Sea waters that have been a frequent source of tensions between the two ideological allies.
The two countries’ agriculture ministers signed the agreement in Beijing. No details were immediately available.
China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and its island groups, while Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries claim some areas. The islands sit amid some of the world’s busiest commercial sea lanes, along with rich fishing grounds and potential oil and gas deposits.
Last month, Vietnam accused China of damaging a fishing boat that it said was operating in Vietnamese waters, risking the lives of 15 crew members. China said the Vietnamese fishing boat was fishing illegally around islands in Chinese waters.
The countries also signed nine other agreements Wednesday during a ceremony witnessed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, including one strengthening strategic cooperation and another on Chinese banks providing low-interest loans to Vietnamese companies.
Sang also held talks with Xi during his three-day visit aimed at boosting economic ties with China, Vietnam’s communist ally and biggest trading partner. It was their first meeting since Xi became president in March.
------------------------------------
BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhuanet) -- On invitation from President Xi Jinping, Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang will kick off a three-day visit to China starting tomorrow. Analysts say, both China and Vietnam face similar risks and challenges at home and abroad and that both nations have great potential in boosting trade cooperation.
China and Vietnam not only share a similar cultural background, but the two countries also share the same commitment to boosting market based economic reforms.
"Vietnam has been applying market-based economic reforms for nearly three decades now. We are also trying to restructure our economy, a major focus currently for China as well. The two nations should share experience, learn from each other and find more ways to cooperate," Do Tien Sam, Dir. of the Inst. of Chinese Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Science, said.
Sino-Vietnam trade volume reached 41 billion U.S. dollars in 2012. That target is boosted to 60 billion US dollars by 2015. Analysts say Vietnam is a great external market for Chinese goods. Similar economic conditions and consumer cultures coupled with low transportation costs are all factors that contribute positively to Sino-Vietnam trade.
China’s chief exports to Vietnam currently consists of machinery, computers, chemicals and textiles...while it imports mostly major fruit and farm products from its southern neighbor.
"Though trade cooperation between the two countries have seen remarkable progress in recent years, the quality of trade has much room for improvement. Potential exchanges on culture, education and technology are especially ripe for the picking. The achievements are there, but much more can be done," he said.
President Truong Tan Sang’s visit presents a chance for both China and Vietnam to reinvigorate bilateral relations and seek more effective ways to deepen mutual understanding.
UNITED FORCES OF THE VENEZUELAN REVOLUTION MARCH IN UNITY AGAINST iMPEIRALISM
7,650 Venezuelans participated in the parade of the Battle of Carabobo
Caracas, 24 Jun. AVN.- A total of 7,650 civilians and Bolivarian Army soldiers participated in the June 24 parade to commemorate 192 years of the Battle of Carabobo, a decisive battle for the independence of Venezuela, reported Brigadier General Carlos Leal Tellería, head of the 41st Armored Brigade, the spearhead of the Venezuelan Army and commander of the Integrated Defense Operational area (ZODI).
"There are 7,650 fighting men and women, patriots, revolutionaries, socialists, anti-imperialists and Chavista people representing the Bolivarian Army and its people, willing to take up the legacy of (Simon) Bolivar, (Francisco de) Miranda, (Antonio Jose de) Sucre, (Jose Francisco) Bermudez, (Ambrosio) Plaza, (Manuel) Cedeño and Negro Primero, who sacrificed their lives to give us our precious freedom," he told when asking for permission to the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Also, Brigadier General said that today's soldiers and the people are committed "more than ever to defend the most precious thing we have regained, thanks to our eternal Supreme Commander of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chavez: our homeland and our independence."
Today while commemorating the 192 anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo, where 6,500 patriots were victorious over 4,279 royalist soldiers, Carabobo field has become the "ultimate expression of unity," he added.
"We are in Carabobo, where the people became army and fought to be free. Here we are in these savannas of Carabobo, which are the ultimate expression of unity for all of us, the patriots and evoke the sublime heroism when the liberating army of the people attended this savannah, to tell the world that we are and will always be a free and independent country," said the head of the 41st Armored Brigade.
Also, Brigadier General said that the army and the people stay firm about remaining free: "Here we are very firm, with loaded bayonet, ready to continue this fight until we see consolidated the great nation dreamed by our Liberator Simon Bolivar and our eternal supreme commander, Hugo Chavez."
Monday, 24 June 2013
4 SHIA MUSLIMS LYNCHED IN EGYPT BY MOB, THE ARAB STING's SUCCESSES CONTINUE
Four Egyptian Shia Muslims were killed on Sunday when they were attacked by a hostile Sunni mob in a village in Giza province near the capital, police said.
Residents of the town of Zawiyat Abu Muslim in Giza province on the outskirts of Cairo surrounded the home of a prominent Shia figure Hassan Shehata, after learning he was hosting a religious gathering, witnesses and security sources told Reuters, and asked them to get out.
When they refused, a crowd of several hundred people stormed the building, beat the guests and threw petrol bombs at the house, setting it on fire, the sources said.
The state newspaper al-Ahram said that the mob stabbed, beat and dragged the bodies of the victims. Around 30 were badly injured and four were pronounced dead by the Health Ministry.
The newspaper also said that the mob was led by a Salafi sheikh and that five houses were set on fire.
The Egyptian police showed up late at the scene and did not intervene in the public beatings, eyewitnesses told al-Ahram.
Shehata, a prominent Shia figure, was jailed twice under former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak for "contempt of religion."
President Mohamed Mursi and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood have this month thrown their weight behind a call for jihad in Syria by fellow Sunni Islamists across the Middle East, heightening awareness of sectarian frictions in Egypt, where Shias are a small minority.
Tension among Egypt's hardline Sunnis over the spread of Shiia has been increased by a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called for a strategic alliance with Egypt.
Nothing came of that proposal, but around 100 Sunni Islamists demonstrated in front of a senior Iranian diplomat's residence in April to protest against Egypt's decision to admit commercial flights from Iran.
CHINESE WOMAN ASTRONAUT DELIVERS FIRST LECTURE FROM SPACE
First space lecture opens new horizons for China
Xinhua
A special lecture began Thursday morning, given by a teacher aboard a space module about 340 km above her students on Earth.
Female astronaut Wang Yaping, one of three crew members aboard the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, greeted about 330 primary and middle school students at a Beijing high school through a live video feed.
"Hello everyone. I am Wang Yaping. I will host the lecture today," she said, smiling toward a camera onboard the space module Tiangong-1.
Wang and her crew members set off for outer space aboard the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft on June 11. The spacecraft docked with the Tiangong-1 on June 13.
The students she addressed were gathered at the High School Affiliated with Renmin University.
"I was very excited after learning that I could come to this class," said Luo Jiangyuan, a high school freshman who said he plans to study science in college.
"When I learned about the laws of physics and weightless conditions in class, I had to imagine what would happen. But in today's class, I've been able to see what really happens. It is thrilling," he said.
More than 60 million students and teachers at about 80,000 middle schools across the country also watched the live broadcast on TV.
Nie Haisheng, commander of the crew, made a show of putting his legs into a meditation position while floating in the air. Such a show can only be seen in martial arts movies but unable to be achieved by any Kungfu masters in reality on Earth.
"Thanks to the weightless conditions, we are all masters," Wang joked.
Wang showed the students how astronauts measure their weight in the orbiter using a special scale, as normal scales operating under the influence of gravity do not work in outer space.
She also conducted several demonstrations to show how "gravity" works in space, using both fixed and mobile gyros to demonstrate physics concepts.
She demonstrated how zero gravity magnifies the surface tension of water by using a metal ring and a bag filled with water to create a ball of water that was suspended in the air.
"I like all these demonstrations, the gyro and water ball ones particularly. They are all impossible on Earth. How wonderful," said Qian Jianghao, a 10-year-old primary school student.
The students raised a number of questions for the astronauts, asking them how they can tell up from down in space, as well as inquiring about their water recycling system and their view of Earth from the orbiter.
"Through the front windows, we can see Earth and many stars. But we haven't seen any UFOs," Wang said.
The stars in space are brighter, but do not twinkle, she said.
"I tell you a wonderful phenomenon: we can see sunrises 16 times a day, as we circle the Earth every 90 minutes," she said.
At the end of the class, the three astronauts extended their regards to the students.
"I hope all of you will study hard, learn more and contribute to the Chinese dream," said Nie.
"Outer space is deep and has numerous mysteries. Exploration is limitless and we should work together in this regard," said Zhang Xiaoguang, one of the crew.
Born in east China's Shandong Province, the 33-year-old Wang is China's second female astronaut after Liu Yang, who entered the record books after participating in the Shenzhou-9 mission, which took place in June 2012.
The world's first teacher in space was Christa McAuliffe, a 37-year-old middle school teacher from the United States. She was aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it disintegrated 73 seconds after takeoff on Jan. 28, 1986. McAuliffe and her other six crewmates were killed.
Barbara Morgan, McAuliffe's backup for the mission, taught the first lesson in space in 2007, when she was sent to the International Space Station via the space shuttle Endeavor. Via a video feed, she showed students how to exercise and drink water in space.
Millions of ordinary Chinese were as excited as children in the classroom.
Nineteen-year-old Lu Huihui watched the TV live broadcast at the hair salon where she worked as an assistant.
"All the demonstrations are really wonderful and interesting. But, to be honest, I do not get what the teacher talked about, such as those laws of physics," said the young girl from a rural family who dropped out in her third year at the junior middle school.
"After the lecture, it struck me that I could search a bit about the knowledge of the space on line when I am off," she said.
Professor Zhang Chunli from Beijing Normal University said Wang's space lecture is a landmark achievement.
"Space programs used to be hush-hush projects involving only scientists and astronauts. But today, ordinary people, especially young people, turned from spectators to participants, which is of great significance," she said.
She said she expects the lesson to encourage more young people to engage in scientific exploration.
The space lesson is aimed at making astronomy more popular, as well as inspiring enthusiasm for science, said Zhou Jianping, designer-in-chief of China's manned space program, who added that the lesson will also help to build experience for similar activities in the future.
"The spirit of science of the youth is an important drive for the progress of mankind," said Zhou. "Space activities can help them build up the spirit of seeking science and facing challenges."
CHINA PUBLISHES BOOK ON MASS LINE
Books on "mass line," thrift published
English.news.cn
Two books on communist leaders' remarks on the "mass line" and thrift have been published as part of a campaign by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to strengthen ties between Party members and the people.
Brought to prominence by leaders' recent speeches, the "mass line" refers to a guideline under which the Party is required to prioritize the interests of the people, share weal and woe with them and persist in exercising power for them.
Published by the Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee, the books contain selected remarks of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, as well as Chinese leaders including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping.
The publication of the books comes amid CPC efforts to launch a "thorough cleanup" of undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.
Party members are required to "take a long look in the mirror, groom oneself, take a bath and seek remedies," or more prosaically, to reflect on their own practices and correct any misbehavior, so as to form closer ties with the people.
bRITS FINANCIAL ELITE PAPER FRETTING ABOUT REVOLUTIONARY ORIENTATION OF CHINESE LEADERSHIP
Beijing takes page from Mao’s playbook
[source]
China’s Communist party has unleashed a rectification campaign of a scale and tone not seen in more than a decade as the leadership seeks to address frustration over corrupt officials while avoiding bold political reforms.
As investors wait for party chief Xi Jinping to initiate long-delayed economic reforms and liberals in China push for political change, Mr Xi is taking a page out of the playbook of Mao Zedong, the charismatic but dictatorial politician who led China through a sequence of mass campaigns.
Mr Xi, in a speech on Tuesday, exhorted the party that it must embrace the “mass line” to avoid its extinction. Every cadre, demanded Mr Xi, must “look in the mirror, tidy your attire, take a bath and seek remedies” to clean the party from formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance.
All cadres from county level upwards have to attend study and criticism sessions during the year-long campaign. State media are blanketing the public with interpretations of the “mass line” – the concept that the party must remain close to the people to understand and address their needs.
“This is a very big thing for the party’s style. There has been nothing like it for at least the past decade,” says Wang Wen, the former commentary head of the party tabloid Global Times who now leads a think-tank at Renmin university.
A website for the campaign showed Yuan Chunqing, party secretary of Shanxi province, helping farmers to pull weeds in their fields on Wednesday, and propagated sending officials “down” to the countryside to stay with and learn from the peasants. Bo Xilai, the former party secretary of Chongqing who was purged last year and still awaits trial on corruption charges, had raised eyebrows by reviving this particular form of closeness to the masses widely practised under Mao, alongside other Maoist policies. The use of similar tactics by Mr Xi is raising slight concern among some foreign observers.
“Mobilisation of a broader Chinese public seems something that leaders want, and also fear. The 16 great mass campaigns under Mao from 1949 to his death, culminating in the vast cultural revolution, were supported but at immense social costs, and so this leaves a very hard memory stain,” says Kerry Brown, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Sydney. “You dabble with them at your peril. I guess that was the issue with Bo Xilai’s ersatz campaigns in Chongqing that seemed to play light with this heavy history.”
Those risks weigh less heavily for Mr Xi as the party’s leader. And faced with rising public and intraparty lobbying, he does not have much choice.
“There have been a lot of demands for reform, calls for the publication of officials’ assets, for one-person-one-vote elections. Those are very difficult, even impossible in the near future,” says Mr Wang. “So the leadership is going for something that is possible: they tackle the party’s style. This does matter because there are a lot of complaints about corruption and bureaucracy, and it is something everyone can agree upon.”
Mao’s propaganda tool kit is a predictable option for Mr Xi in the face of a party more fractured than his recent predecessors.
“In general, mass line movements come with internal struggles in the party,” says Zhang Lifan, an expert in modern Chinese history. “Perhaps there is an internal struggle here, given that there have been different voices from senior leaders.”
State media have seen a succession of high-profile commentaries advocating contrasting lines in recent months. Editorials demonising constitutionalism and civil society fighting for space with other pieces defending such western political concepts.
Insiders say Mr Xi’s move does not come as a surprise as the party has been gearing up for the campaign for months. “This was decided in the second half of last year,” says Lin Zhe, an anti-corruption expert at the Central Party School. “Since Xi Jinping took power, things have become stricter and stricter.”
Mr Xi has been balancing his messages between the proponents of economic liberalisation and left-leaning groups, such as Mr Bo’s supporters. Although his first speech as party chief in November last year impressed with straightforward language and a pragmatic tone, Mr Xi also warned that cadres’ “divorce from the masses” was one of the party’s greatest problems, both phrases leftists understood as a nod to their ideals.
Despite the similarities in language, however, observers believe the globalised economy, pluralist society, open media and decades of market reforms introduced in China mean the campaign cannot possibly disrupt economic and political life as under Mao.
'BLACK ATHENA' AUTHOR - MARTIN BERNAL - PASSES ON TO THE ANCESTORS
[source]
Martin Bernal, whose three-volume work “Black Athena” ignited an academic debate by arguing that the African and Semitic lineage of Western civilization had been scrubbed from the record of ancient Greece by 18th- and 19th-century historians steeped in the racism of their times, died on June 9 in Cambridge, England. He was 76.
The cause was complications of myelofibrosis, a bone marrow disorder, said his wife, Leslie Miller-Bernal.
“Black Athena” opened a new front in the warfare over cultural diversity already raging on American campuses in the 1980s and ’90s. The first volume, published in 1987 — the same year as “The Closing of the American Mind,” Allan Bloom’s attack on efforts to diversify the academic canon — made Mr. Bernal a hero among Afrocentrists, a pariah among conservative scholars and the star witness at dozens of sometimes raucous academic panel discussions about how to teach the foundational ideas of Western culture.
Mr. Bernal, a British-born and Cambridge-educated polymath who taught Chinese political history at Cornell from 1972 until 2001, spent a fair amount of time on those panels explaining what his work did not mean to imply. He did not claim that Greek culture had its prime origins in Africa, as some news media reports described his thesis. He said only that the debt Greek culture owed to Africa and the Middle East had been lost to history.
His thesis was this: For centuries, European historians of classical Greece had hewed closely to the origin story suggested by Plato, Herodotus and Aeschylus, whose writings acknowledged the Greek debt to Egyptian and Semitic (or Phoenician) forebears.
But in the 19th century, he asserted, with the rise of new strains of racism and anti-Semitism along with nationalism and colonialism in Europe, historians expunged Egyptians and Phoenicians from the story. The precursors of Greek, and thus European, culture were seen instead as white Indo-European invaders from the north.
In the first volume of “Black Athena,” which carried the forbidding double subtitle “The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization: The Fabrication of Ancient Greece — 1785-1985,” Mr. Bernal described his trek through the fields of classical Greek literature, mythology, archaeology, linguistics, sociology, the history of ideas and ancient Hebrew texts to formulate his theory of history gone awry (though he did not claim expertise in all these subjects).
The scholarly purpose of his work, he wrote in the introduction, was “to open up new areas of research to women and men with far better qualifications than I have,” adding, “The political purpose of ‘Black Athena,’ is, of course, to lessen European cultural arrogance.”
He published “Black Athena 2: The Archaeological and Documentary Evidence” in 1991, and followed it in 2006 with “Black Athena 3: The Linguistic Evidence.”
Another book, “Black Athena Writes Back,” published in 2001, was a response to his critics, who were alarmed enough by Mr. Bernal’s work to publish a collection of rebuttals in 1996, “Black Athena Revisited.”
One critic derided Mr. Bernal’s thesis as evidence of “a whirling confusion of half-digested reading.” Some were more conciliatory. J. Ray, a British Egyptologist, wrote, “It may not be possible to agree with Mr. Bernal, but one is the poorer for not having spent time in his company.”
Stanley Burstein, a professor emeritus of ancient Greek history at California State University, Los Angeles, said Mr. Bernal’s historiography — his history of history-writing on ancient Greece — was flawed but valuable. “Nobody had to be told that Greece was deeply influenced by Egypt and the Phoenicians, or that 19th-century history included a lot of racial prejudice,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday. “But then, nobody had put it all together that way before.”
The specific evidence cited in his books was often doubtful, Professor Burstein added, but “he succeeded in putting the question of the origins of Greek civilization back on the table.”
Martin Gardiner Bernal was born on March 10, 1937, in London to John Desmond Bernal, a prominent British scientist and radical political activist, and Margaret Gardiner, a writer. His parents never married, a fact their son asserted with some pride in interviews.
“My father was a communist and I was illegitimate,” he said in 1996. “I was always expected to be radical because my father was.”
His grandfather Alan Gardiner was a distinguished Egyptologist.
Mr. Bernal graduated from King’s College, Cambridge, in 1957, earned a diploma of Chinese language from Peking University in 1960 and did graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1963 and Harvard in 1964. He received his Ph.D. in Oriental studies from Cambridge in 1966 and remained there as a fellow until he was recruited by Cornell.
His other books, which also focused on the theme of intercultural borrowing, were “Chinese Socialism Before 1907” (1976) and “Cadmean Letters: The Westward Diffusion of the Semitic Alphabet Before 1400 B.C.” (1990).
Besides his wife, he is survived by his sons, William, Paul and Patrick; a daughter, Sophie; a stepson, Adam; a half-sister, Jane Bernal; and nine grandchildren.
Mr. Bernal was asked in 1993 if his thesis in “Black Athena” was “anti-European.” He replied: “My enemy is not Europe, it’s purity — the idea that purity ever exists, or that if it does exist, that it is somehow more culturally creative than mixture. I believe that the civilization of Greece is so attractive precisely because of those mixtures.”
Sunday, 23 June 2013
'BRAZIL'S PROTESTS HAVE BECOME FASCIST'
Hello comrades.
I am here to give you information about what is currently going on in Brazil. I am brazilian, born and raised in the city of São Paulo, where I am currently speaking to you from.
The first thing I will tell you is that you should not pay attention to what the rest of reddit is telling you about the protests, and from what I hear comrades around the world telling me about their media reports, do not listen to them either.
The protests which are currently going on are severely dynamic, but they have taken a definite turn towards fascism.
The context of the protest is as follows:
The initial wave of protests were organized by the MPL, Movimento Passe-Livre, which is an autonomist anarchist movement, based primarily in public universities. Their main goal is and always was free, public funded transportation. The protests were organized in response to (left-wing, social democrat/liberal PT Worker's Party) mayor Fernando Haddad's and (right-wing, conservative, social democrat in name only PSDB governor) Geraldo Alckimin's hikes in bus and metro fares.
The protests were instantly joined by communist parties PSTU, PSOL and PCB. The MPL, due their anarchist ideology, denounced party participation. This will become important later on.
The media, at first, launched a total offensive against the protests, accusing it of vandalism, and of being made-up by extreme leftists.This is a prime example. They justified the actions of the armed Military Police of Brazil (which is a Gendarme), which was, at the time, shooting rubber bullets at people's faces (which is lethal), beating up primarily women, using lots of tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the movement, as well as several intimidation tactics, such as baseless arrests (including the famous arrests for vinegar posession).
The media realized that despite all of their efforts, the movement had a popular agenda and had been garnering support accross progressive sections of the population. One very popular ultra-conservative pig-loving anchor attempted to ask the extremely loaded question to his viewers: do you support vandalism in ongoing protests? only to have his primarily reactionary audience humiliate him live by voting yes. The media, realizing they could no longer discredit the movement, and noticing that their most reactionary viewers were ready to take the street, switched strategies.
As I predicted in this post, the raging anti-communist pundit withdrew his previous opinion and started favoring the protests, but also started claiming that the protests were about "much more", and started to tell his viewers that the protests were about the long running list of anti-leftist complaints that were traditionally presented by the media against the left leaning worker's party and used electorally by the right-wing PSDB. The rest of the media did exactly the same thing. They even set up the narrative on the international level, using this video that became the means through which reddit became aware of the protests. This would later serve to legitimize the fascist coup in the eyes of the international audience.
Now here is the tricky part. As I said in a previous post about that particular video you will notice that there is nothing intrinsically socialist about the video. Socialists, just as much as conservatives, are loathe to corruption, wasteful spending and the degradation of public services. HOWEVER, this has to be looked at in the context that the media has built over the years that the semi-leftist PT government has been in the presidency of the country.
Maybe one example most socialists here will be more familiar with is the Venezuelan media and it's participation in the attempted 2002 coup against Hugo Chavez, who was a friend to pink-tide brazilian president Lula who was current president Dilma's predecessor. What was the Venezuelan media's strategy? To constantly pound on the viewer's minds the idea that all leftism is corrupt, to fabricate accusations daily and to create the general feeling of constant crisis. The same has been absolutely true of Brazilian media since 2000.
In fact, Rede Globo, which has the near-monopoly of TV audiences, which is owned by the billionaire heirs of Roberto Marinho, who had a personal fortune of 60 billion dollars, had previously attempted in 2007 to spark an artificial "popular" march against the PT government led by several celebrities on its payroll.
I SHOULD ALSO STRONGLY REMIND EVERYONE THAT THE 1964 MILITARY COUP WAS PRECEDED BY A MILLION STRONG REACTIONARY MARCH ON THE STATE OF GUANABARA ASKING FOR FASCISM AGAINST THE REFORMIST SOC-DEM JOÃO GOULART. So to those who are simply enamoured by any public protest thinking its impossible that the right can muster popular support, stop being so fucking naive.
Now, you're probably asking, "how can you suggest that the current protests are fascist? You're out of your mind!". Well you are reading this and you are probably not in Brazil, watching how giddy the media is with the whole thing. You are probably not aware that the agenda against "corruption" was suggested by the military chief of police when negotiating with MPL You are also probably not aware that the large majority of the opposition to the Worker's Party does not come from the radical left, as I wish it did, as MPL does, but it comes from PSDB and half of their electors are nostalgic of our fascist dictatorship. So they are going out there and asking for a new one.
The sign says "military intervention now. For the democratic government of civilians and military" which is, I'm sure, how he remembers the 1964-1986 period to be.
As I write this, thousands of right wing militants are BURNING RED FLAGS in Paulista Avenue and demanding the impeachment of brazilian president Dilma Roussef. These militants are those who think that democracy only exists when married to neoliberalism, so in her place they want to install PSDB or the brazilian equivalent of Pedro Carmona.
Many leftists are only now waking up to this fact, there have been some interesting attempts to make people aware of the oncoming fascist coup by some artists, which are conscious of the media and right wing hijacking of the initial protests.
Context: The toucan is the mascot for the right wing party. The other comic shows how the protest's agenda was hijacked by right wing demands.
Now, the leftist parties have attempted to reclaim their movement and to fight against the reactionary agenda which always masquerades as "apolitical" demands for the moralization of politics. The right wing and the media have as such appropriated the anarchist "anti-party" discourse to denounce the left-wing in the protests, and some radical right wingers are demanding the extinction of parties, much like the 1964 military dictatorship proceeded to do. MPL and the anarchists are failing to react to this and are fueling the right wing rhetoric.
There are also sections of the left which are too isolated in their group of friends and comrades to realize that the majority of people participating in the marches are not their friends. The majority of people joined in after the calls of reactionary media pundits. In many cities which the protests were not started by the left the protests are solely about the right wing protesting against left-politics. Do not be naive, communists would not gather up and protest near former president Lula's house.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Industries of São Paulo State (a business owner union, if there was ever full fascism in an organisation, its this one) is supporting the protests. The brazilian Pedro Carmona sharpens his fangs.
So I find it extremely upsetting that clueless redditors, especially those who claim to be socialist inclined, are basically providing international support for a fascist coup.
So when the judiciary, which the media has built up as the great moralizing institution, its hero being the Supreme Court Justice Joaquim Barbosa, does some kind of maneuver to oust the left-leaning Dilma Roussef in favor of elections or whatever that bring back the neo-liberal PSDB to power, the international community will be ready to validate the coup. I should remind you all that this is thetextbook tactic of 21st century fascism, as taught to us by Honduras.
Brazil is in danger of going fascist, and I am sick of clueless foreigners which find out about what is going on through some stupid youtube video sponsored by some think tank like the Millenium Institute or by the brazilian equivalent of Miami Cubans and think that this is an overall positive development.
Reddit disgusts me.
SOME OF MY COMMENTS ON BRAZIL PROTESTS
Sukant Chandan, Sons of Malcolm :
Brazil, thanks to the ascendance of Lula and Dilma nad the ruling Workers Party has played a protector role in defence of Chavez/Maduro in Venezuela and as the biggest state in the region has defended Cuba, Ecuador and everyone else; is lock stock in the most important bloc against white imperialism which is the BRICS, and they have lifted around 50 million people out of poverty, but many challenges remain such as on going police brutality, white supremacy/racism, and massive inequality which are all inherited by the PT/Lula/Dilma and allied movements from centuries of injustice. Therefore Brazil has BIG ENEMIES in the pro-empire middle classes and empire itself.
So a PART of the protests are the middle classes but also other sections of the masses. President Dilma has essentially welcomed the protests, say they have legitimate demands, but she and vast swathes of the protestors have opposed the vandalism and attacks against government buildings etc. We all know who are the forces that will encourage attacks on the government, they are the same forces that encouraged the anti-Chavez mass protests in Venezuela and Bolivia etc.
HOWEVER, I think what we are seeing are disparate political forces, one section of the protests have legtimate demands and are open to negotiation with Pres Dilma, and this is a GOOD THING. BUT the *DANGER* is that these protests are also obviously being used by empire-liberal elements such as those who have been and are involved in the Arab Sting. So there are many dangers here, but also potential openings for continuing anti-imperialist and pro-working masses developments. Things are in flux. Vigilance as ever.
+
BRAZIL... **DANGERS**!: After some more research and private discussions with a few brothers and sisters, it seems clear to me that was it developing (hope it doesnt cotinue to escalate) is a show down on the streets between the defenders of the gains of the Workers Party (presidents Lula and Dilma and allied orgs etc) and the right wing middle and upper class pro-empire forces .. things are pointing to a violent street showdown with the forces of the right provocating the liberation forces. Major dangers here. All my best to the Workers Party, President Dilma Roussef and their allied peoples and organisations. We need peace on the streets, but if the enemy wants to provocate and escalate, there is only one thing to do: smash them without mercy. But this MUST be avoided for the time being. the collapse of peace is what our enemies want, but if they bring it, we must end it.
'BEFORE LEFTIES GET TOO EXCITED ABOUT THE PROTESTS IN BRAZIL'
[source]
Before you get too excited about the protests in Brazil, lets put this into the wider context. Brazil is one of the progressive bloc of governments in Latin America. It is the B in BRICS. Whatever its flaws, the Workers Party (PT) government is broadly progressive with its reforms at home and usually on the right side when it comes to international politcs. It is considered a problem by the US.
Some of the protesters, as is often the case in these things, have genuine, honest grievances that deserve to be heard. Others dont. However, the common demand of the protests is to remove the Workers Party and Dilma from government. But to be replaced by whom?
Members of Communist, trotskyist and socialist groups have been attacked on the protests, their flags and banners taken by force and burnt. Neo-Nazis are also reportedly active on the protests, alongside the anarchists, students, football hooligans, the politically naive and the a-political. Plain-clothes police are reportedly stirring things up on the protests.
Just because their are large numbers of people on the streets does not mean they are calling the shots or that their interests are the ones that are being furthered. And without a conscious, revolutionary leadership, the protests are open to manipulation and misdirection.
I am not condemning the protests outright, but I am expressing caution. After what we have seen in Libya, Syria, the "colour" counter-revolutions in the former Soviet bloc and the western backed protests against Putin, it seems oddly predictable that the next subject of mass protests would be on the continent that has moved most out of US control and for progress and independence, and here it is, happening in what is arguably the most important nation of the Latin American progressive bloc.
President Dilma Rousseff has responded admirably, and it is to be hoped these protests can be used to back further radical reform by the Workers Party. A big danger is that hostility on the streets to the PT will push the PT to the right in defence of the state. Rousseff seems to be indicating this will not be the case. However, the right of her government, of the PT and those whispering in their ears from the state will have other ideas.
Any opposition calls for elections should be resisted, unless it looks as though the PT could strengthen its position. The PT is the only progressive party in a position to make a government. The alternative is the parties of the neo-liberals and the Generals.
Be vigilant and seek truth from facts. And always ask, whose class interests are being furthered? Which international class forces have most to gain?
WHO WILL GAIN IF BRAZIL's PRESIDENT DILMA AND WORKERS PARTY ARE OVERTHROWN?
Brazil's middle-classes take to the streets, spurred on by the right-wing media of the rich, in a push to bring down the Workers Party. So, who stands to gain?
The only parties that can replace the Workers Party are all far to it's right. Neo-liberals and worse. Whatever the protests original motives, which were many, amorphous and conflicting, the movement is now dominated by the right, is pushing for the interests not of the working-class and the poor, who have seen massive increases in living standards under the Workers Party, but of the middle-classes.
Since 2001 Brazil has seen a reduction in poverty comparable in scale and speed only to that of China, with the proportion of the population in extreme poverty falling from 14 per cent to 4.2 per cent. The income of the poorest 20% cent has risen seven times faster than the richest during the same period. All this under the stewardship of the Workers Party government.
So who do you think is going to gain from their downfall?
PRO-eMPIRE COUP ATTEMPT IN BRAZIL RIGHT NOW?
[source]
I've been instructed to post this here. This post was written on Thursday night.
I'm writing to you because I really can't think of anyone else to write, and I (and my country) really need help. Right now, on the front page, there is a post with 3000+ upvotes glorifying the protests occurring in Brazil today. I need to tell someone, anyone, who's not in this country, the real story behind what's really happening here.
I'm not sure if you have been following international news in the last two weeks, so I'll summarise the facts. About two weeks ago, the major cities in the country raised the bus and train fares to a value too high for the average Brazilian (which does not speak English, does not visit Reddit and in many cases doesn't even have Internet access) to afford. The rate of this last increase was below inflation, but the accumulated rates of increases in the last 10 to 15 years easily surpasses it.
MPL (Movimento Passe Livre, Free Fare Movement), an organization which exists since the mid-2000s, and which is not affiliated to any political party (although it does maintain communication with minority left-wing parties), started calling for protests against the fare raise. The first two protests didn't garner much mainstream media attention, but when the third protest took over Avenida Paulista (Paulista Avenue), which is to São Paulo what the Times Square is to New York, the newspapers started to complain, painting protesters and the MPL as vandals and hooligans which only were interested in destroying the city. They had, in fact, used public trash bins as barricades against our violent PM (Polícia Militar or Military Police, a direct heritage from our military dictatorship period), which was using tear gas bombs, pepper spray and rubber ammunition on protesters indiscriminately.
This third protest occurred on Tuesday the 18th. On Thursday, the day scheduled for the fourth protest, two of the biggest newspapers in the country printed heavily opinionated editorials calling for the PM to "take action" and not be so "soft" on the protesters, and to defend the (mostly middle-class's) right to cars to run on the city's streets. What happened, then, was a massacre: the elite squad of the PM, Tropa de Choque, transformed the fourth protest in a reign of terror. I wasn't there, but I had close friends who were, and it was scary. The Tropa de Choque officers managed to split the protest into various small groups, and established a perimeter around the area so that no one could leave. They would surround any small group they could and relentlessly throw tear gas bombs. A journalist (and acquaintance of mine) was arrested on charges of carrying VINEGAR (since it can be used to alleviate the effects of tear gas and pepper spray). Two journalists were hit with rubber ammunition squarely on their eyes, and one of them, a photographer, lost his vision (and most likely his profession). Several journalists were arrested and injured, and the mainstream media, mostly because some of their own were injured, changed their discourse.
Since the disastrous procedure of the PM couldn't be buried under the rug (mostly because the noise on social media was too high), the mainstream media gave great exposure to this, instead. Throughout the weekend, anticipation started to mount for the next protest, scheduled for this last Monday. And that's when things started to get weird.
On Monday, the biggest (so far) protest occurred. At least 65 thousand people were on the streets of São Paulo alone, although people who were there were talking about figures of 200, 300 thousand. But it wasn't the people, it was the middle/upper classes, and right-wing extremists. Militants for small left-wing parties, who hold no political power whatsoever, were openly harassed by "protesters". The protest agenda was shifted right, mostly dropping the bus fare complaint to instead focus on "corruption" (which, in Brazil, is a right-wing demand, since the party holding the power is center-leftist), "high taxes", the "exploitation of the middle-class", the excessive public spending for next year's World Cup etc. The MPL and its demands were still present, but they were silenced by the elitists' demands. The newspapers suddenly stared glorifying the protests, and in the social networks memes like "O gigante acodou (the giant has awakened)" started popping up, implying there has been no social justice movement in Brazil before, which is a rampant lie - I can attest to that, since I am part of left-wing and feminist movements myself.
On Tuesday, there was another protest. This time, people destroyed the entrance to the City Hall in São Paulo. What's weird is that MPL, which called for the protest, scheduled the date and set the rendezvous point, did not go the City Hall's way. The rendezvous point was close to the City Hall, but the route MPL set for the protest was exactly opposite of the City Hall, and still a rather large group of people with national flags (which, in Brazil, is usually a sign of far-right fascist movements) and anti-taxes banners went that way. The PM, which was so ready to intervene before, stood and watched as the same people who destroyed the City Hall set a TV station van on fire on the middle of the street, according to people I know personally and who were there. Less trustworthy, but trustworthy (to me) nonetheless, rumours circulated on the social networks implying the state governor (which holds authority over the PM) had instructed the police -not to act- on any circumstances. The right-wing agenda instead continued being broadcast by the mainstream media, specially regarding the "impeachment" (lawful deposition, according to our Constitution) of the legally elected president - who is herself hated by the middle and upper classes, and adored by the lower classes. The nationalism on this protest was so thick you could smell it, as the fascism of it. On Wednesday, São Paulo's mayor and the state governor (who are from rival political parties) went on TV together to announce the bus fare increased had been cancelled. The MPL scheduled another protest today, to celebrate the decision, but is has been another disaster.
This time, there was confront between the protester themselves. Left-wing protesters have been harassed. There are reports of anti-racism, feminist and anti-homophobia activists being beaten by right-wing protesters. Fascist skinheads have been spotted on the general surroundings of the protests, looking for victims. And the media is now reporting all the protests have been PEACEFUL, which is an absurd lie. And the social justice people, on the social networks, have been conjuring a theory that actually makes sense, regarding our recent history.
In 1964, our country has suffered a coup d'état perpetrated by the military and the establishment forces together. In the days preceding the coup, there was uprising and political instability on the country, just as today. There was a big protest, aptly named "Walk of the Family With God For Liberty", which took place a mere two weeks before the coup, and on which about half a million middle and upper class people took the streets to protest against the center-left president João Goulart. What I mean is, we have been there, we know the feeling in the air, and the anger of the middle class against a president who has some pretty left wing policies is boiling and ready to explode.
From what I've seen, today's protest was very much akin to this 1964's Walk. The MPL's protests have been hijacked by the right, and since the left won't leave the streets to them, conflicts and confrontations are sure to take place. And, what's more dangerous, the police is now ignoring it, waiting for the popular clamor to call them back into action, so they can take over, possibly together with the military. There are rumours of a state of siege being prepared on the government dark corners.
I'm very worried, because these people who have "awakened" and who are now on the streets are people who look back to a time when they had unlimited and unchecked privileged, and who are so upset because that privilege has been slowly being taken away from them. They are people who hates on minorities. And, mostly worrying, they have the full cooperation of the mainstream media, who had already shifted the protests' focus away from the bus fare and towards their demands since Monday.
Their discourse is becoming hegemonic, and if that happens, it spells a very dark future for my country. And that is happening on the mainstream media on Brazil, and now, as I see, on Reddit too.
I'm sorry for my bad English and for wasting you time with our 3rd world problems, but again, this is one of the only places I think I could be heard on Reddit.
Thanks in advance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)