May 19, 2014

Happy Birthday Malcolm -

http://vimeo.com/68439541

"I have to say this, then I'll sit down. Back during slavery, when Black people like me talked to the slaves, they didn't kill 'em, they sent some old house Negro along behind him to undo what he said. You have to read the history of slavery to understand this.

There were two kinds of Negroes. There was that old house Negro and the field Negro. And the house Negro always looked out for his master. When the field Negroes got too much out of line, he held them back in check. He put 'em back on the plantation.

The house Negro could afford to do that because he lived better than the field Negro. He ate better, he dressed better, and he lived in a better house. He lived right up next to his master - in the attic or the basement. He ate the same food his master ate and wore his same clothes. And he could talk just like his master - good diction. And he loved his master more than his master loved himself. That's why he didn't want his master hurt.

If the master got sick, he'd say, "What's the matter, boss, we sick?" When the master's house caught afire, he'd try and put the fire out. He didn't want his master's house burned. He never wanted his master's property threatened. And he was more defensive of it than the master was. That was the house Negro.

But then you had some field Negroes, who lived in huts, had nothing to lose. They wore the worst kind of clothes. They ate the worst food. And they caught hell. They felt the sting of the lash. They hated their master. Oh yes, they did.

If the master got sick, they'd pray that the master died. If the master's house caught afire, they'd pray for a strong wind to come along. This was the difference between the two.

And today you still have house Negroes and field Negroes.

I'm a field Negro."

MALCOLM X speaking to young students in Selma, Alabama February 4, 1965

May 17, 2014

CPUSA sends protest letter to President Obama on Ukraine

Thoughts - is it strong enough?


CPUSA sends protest letter to President Obama on Ukraine
by: Special to PeoplesWorld.org
May 16 2014

The following is a letter of protest to President Barack Obama from the Communist Party USA regarding the political and violent attacks in the Ukraine by the Right Sector against the Communist Party of the Ukraine, the Ukrainian Jewish communities and other minorities and progressives.

May 14, 2014

Dear President Barack Obama,

We write to you because of our grave concern over recent events in the Ukraine. On May 2, reports state, 1,000 extreme right-wing thugs attacked their fellow Ukrainian citizens in Odessa, setting fire to a union hall to which many had fled. At least 40 people perished in the blaze. A few days later on May 6, members of parliament from the Communist Party of the Ukraine - a party that had won 32 seats in Ukraine's Rada (federal parliament) in the 2012 election - were banned from the legislative chamber, according to news reports. Under the leadership of the Right Sector, the drive to outlaw the Communist Party and "communist ideology" is underway with a push for legislation that would implement such anti-democratic measures.

This comes on the heels of anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish Ukrainians and synagogues, attacks on other minorities, and attacks on the central office of the Communist Party in Kiev, which was ransacked and burned, and on regional Communist leaders and activists. The list of outrages could go on.

U.S. policy in the Ukraine purports to uphold democracy, yet reports in the German publication Bild indicate that FBI and CIA operatives are active with Ukrainian "security" forces, including these far right wing forces. How is it democratic to purge a legitimately elected party from parliament? How is it democratic to violently target Communists and others in the Ukraine who disagree with the direction of the right-wing-led acting government? Besides violating the basic premise of national sovereignty, U.S. policy is aiding and abetting the most violent and reactionary forces to grab power all in the name of fighting the Russians.

The United States has its own sordid anti-democratic history of banning the Communist Party and conducting witch hunts against Communists and any person suspected of holding left-wing and progressive political views. During the Cold War McCarthy era people went to jail for the simple act of thinking these thoughts - in the legal terminology it was called "conspiracy to teach." The persecution of left and progressive people during this period has been widely considered a deep stain on the democratic ideals of freedom of speech and freedom of association ...

More here: http://peoplesworld.org/cpusa-sends-protest-letter-to-president-obama-on-ukraine/

May 17, 2014

How come no one worries that a CEO is paid too much?

Check out the propaganda article on USA Today:


Swiss to vote on $25 an hour minimum wage
Helena Bachmann, Special for USA TODAY 3:14 p.m. EDT May 16, 2014

(Photo: Laurent Gillieron, AP)

GENEVA, Switzerland – A vote on Sunday to establish a minimum wage of $25 an hour would make mostly immigrants here in agriculture, housekeeping, and catering among the world's highest paid unskilled workforce.

The vote comes after hundreds of fast-food workers walked off their jobs in many U.S. cities and in more than 30 countries on Thursday in a protest for higher wages. If the Swiss proposal passes, the country would have the highest minimum wage in the world.

But some who would be eligible for the higher wage worry that it may do more harm than good.

Luisa Almeida is an immigrant from Portugal who works in Switzerland as a housekeeper and nanny. Almeida's earnings of $3,250 a month are below the proposed minimum wage but still much more than she'd make in Portugal. Since she is not a Swiss citizen, she cannot vote but if she could, "I would vote 'no'," she says ...


More here if you can stomach it: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/16/swiss-minimum-wage/9166687/

May 16, 2014

Elizabeth Warren Reveals Inside Details of Trade Talks

Elizabeth Warren Reveals Inside Details of Trade Talks
George Zornick on May 15, 2014 - 11:53 AM ET

One of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s top priorities since coming to Washington has been opening up ongoing international trade talks to public scrutiny—she has, on several occasions, criticized the secret nature of the negotiations, and has pressed the administration’s trade representative directly about transparency.

On Wednesday night in DC, at Public Citizen’s annual gala, Warren spoke about the trade deals in some of her most direct remarks to date on the issue—and revealed some inside details about the debate in Congress.

“From what I hear, Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, telecom, big polluters and outsourcers are all salivating at the chance to rig the deal in the upcoming trade talks. So the question is, Why are the trade talks secret? You’ll love this answer. Boy, the things you learn on Capitol Hill,” Warren said. “I actually have had supporters of the deal say to me ‘They have to be secret, because if the American people knew what was actually in them, they would be opposed.’”

More here: http://www.thenation.com/blog/179885/elizabeth-warren-reveals-inside-details-trade-talks


Elizabeth Warren speaking at Public Citizen's annual gala at the National Press Club, May 14, 2014 (Daniel Swartz/REVAMP)

May 15, 2014

US: Child Workers in Danger on Tobacco Farms

US: Child Workers in Danger on Tobacco Farms
Government, Companies Should Provide Protection
May 14, 2014

Children working on tobacco farms in the United States are exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, and other dangers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Big tobacco profits from child labor in US tobacco fields. While US law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to children, children can legally work on tobacco farms in the US. The world’s largest tobacco companies buy tobacco grown on US farms, but none have child labor policies that sufficiently protect children from hazardous work.

The 138-page report, “Tobacco’s Hidden Children: Hazardous Child Labor in US Tobacco Farming,” documents conditions for children working on tobacco farms in four states where 90 percent of US tobacco is grown: North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Children reported vomiting, nausea, headaches, and dizziness while working on tobacco farms, all symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning. Many also said they worked long hours without overtime pay, often in extreme heat without shade or sufficient breaks, and wore no, or inadequate, protective gear ...

Much more here: http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/14/us-child-workers-danger-tobacco-farms

May 13, 2014

Fast food protests to go global May 15

by: Mark Gruenberg
May 12 2014

NEW YORK - Fast food workers around the U.S., energized by past protests and fed up with low wages, erratic hours, no benefits and management wage theft, plan to take their protests global on May 15 in their latest one-day walkout.

Demonstrations are planned for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and 147 other U.S. cities and also on five other continents, organizers from New York City-based Fast Food Nation told a May 7 press conference in midtown Manhattan.

The Service Employees support Fast Food Nation. Fast Food's leaders met with leaders of the International Union of Food, Agricultural and Restaurant Workers - a federation of 126 unions worldwide - to discuss strategy the week before the press conference.

The object of the protests is two-fold: To shame the employers - McDonald's, Burger King, Yum! Brands, KFC and others - into paying U.S. workers a living wage of $15 hourly, and to attain the right to organize without employer interference ...

More here: http://peoplesworld.org/fast-food-protests-to-go-global-may-1/

May 12, 2014

1914-2014: Imperialism means war (KKE analysis)

The characteristics of imperialism today

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE), which remains faithful to Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism, through their prism deals with the issue of imperialism and war.

Lenin defined in his majestic work the basic characteristics of imperialism, as monopoly capitalism, the highest and final stage of this exploitative system, before the socialist revolution.

Any changes that have occurred over the last 100 years are related to increases in scale (e.g. the scale of the indexes of the global capitalist market, the scale of the speculating and parasitic functioning of capital etc.) can not negate the Leninist view, as various types of opportunists claim, but confirms it ...

< snip >

The emergence of new powers. Inter-imperialist contradictions

The overthrow of socialism in the USSR led to the deterioration of the correlation of forces at the expense of the peoples, as well as to the sharpening of the inter-imperialist contradictions. Amongst other things, International Law stopped being determined by the correlation of forces between capitalism and socialism and is entirely governed by the correlation of forces amongst the capitalist states.

Historical experience shows that both the 1st and 2nd World Wars were the result of the major sharpening of inter-imperialist contradictions for the re-division of the world.

The KKE assesses that “with the deep crisis of capital over-accumulation in 2008-2009 which in several capitalist economies has in reality not been overcome. This process occurs under the impact of the law of uneven capitalist development ...

< snip >

On the revival of nationalism and chauvinism

The bourgeois classes are trying to deceive and persuade the working masses that participation of the country in imperialist interventions, in the preparation and conduct of the imperialist war serves the interests of the “fatherland”, is a “national duty”. This is what they do in conditions of peace as well, seeking “social consensus” and “national unity” so that the “fatherland” can become stronger, as well as in conditions of war. In reality in both instances -war and peace- the bourgeois class is demanding that the workers assist it to improve its position in the imperialist pyramid, and promote its own interests ...

< snip >

The contemporary conflicts through the prism of the Marxist analysis

The race of the emerging capitalist powers in their effort to gain ground at the expense of older ones is being carried out in many regions, which have a crucial significance for the division of the plunder of the enormous wealth and energy deposits, market shares, the transport routes for commodities.

Of course, in every instance, these contradictions which are accompanied by imperialist interventions can be hidden under various pretexts, like the war “against the weapons of mass destructions”, ”for the promotion of democracy”, “against extremism and religious sectarianism”, ”against piracy”, for the “colour revolutions” etc.

These pretexts can not change the essence…

We would like to note in a codified way our basic assessments on the recent developments.

i) The dangerous developments in Ukraine manifested themselves on the terrain of the capitalist development path that this country is following.

ii) The bloody events in Kiev are connected to the intervention of the EU and the USA-NATO in the Ukrainian developments, are the result of the fierce competition of these powers with Russia over the control of the markets, the raw materials and the country’s transport networks.

iii) The overthrow of the Yanukovych government does not constitute a “democratic change”, as reactionary and even fascist forces emerged with the support of the EU and the USA-NATO and are being used by these powers to advance their geopolitical goals in the region of Eurasia ...

and much, much more here: http://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/1914-2014-Imperialism-means-war-00001/

May 11, 2014

TPP - more on meeting in Asia

I'm seeing several sources on this now. This is definitely the issue for us to watch this week:

Kyodo News International May 10, 2014 1:27am
U.S. trade chief to visit China, Singapore for APEC, TPP talks

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will visit China and Singapore from next week for events including negotiations on a Pacific free trade initiative, his office said Friday.

Froman's trip comes as the United States and 11 other Asia-Pacific countries have been working to reach agreement on the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership deal as soon as possible, after missing their deadline at the end of last year.

He will first travel to Beijing on May 15 to meet with Chinese government officials and take part in events in Qingdao including a two-day trade ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum from May 17 ...

More here: (nothing really substantive - but just the fact that they are meeting is worrying enough): http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/140510/us-trade-chief-visit-china-singapore-apec-tpp-talks

May 11, 2014

Watching TPP efforts - meeting in Japan

Even if it's only 2 countries intent on "opening the markets" I can hear jobs whooshing out of the country and wages on remaining jobs here being pushed down as more labor is available. It's become a pattern. Companies retire or layoff experienced high-wage workers and will replace them with nothing but recent grads at minimum wage. Don't be fooled by recent attempts - even by certain political parties - to raise the minimum wage. My best guess at this point is they'll raise it to $12/hr and continue to LOWER everyone else they can to that point. It's an exercise in managing expectations ... as they continue other exercises like moving jobs to "friendlier - ie cheaper" areas overseas. Our corporate overlords at work.

Here is an update on the TPP so we aren't distracted by the operations in Kiev, etc ... --

The Japan Times
May 10, 2014

The 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations will launch a fresh round of talks Monday with expectations for progress as Japan and the United States move closer to resolving thorny bilateral issues.

Their chief negotiators are set to hold the four-day meeting in Ho Chi Minh City and follow it up with a ministerial gathering in Singapore from May 19 to 20 to tackle pending issues ranging from tariffs and intellectual property rights to reform of state-owned firms.

The TPP members failed to reach a broad agreement at their last ministerial session in February in Singapore due to Japan-U.S. bickering over market access for farm products and autos — their biggest sticking points.

The other 10 countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, have taken a wait-and-see attitude amid the Japan-U.S. deadlock, but negotiation sources say the talks could accelerate after Tokyo and Washington overcame some of their differences last month.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama said after their summit on April 24 in Tokyo that they have “identified a path forward” on important bilateral issues and that it marked a “key milestone” in the TPP ...

Much more here: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/10/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-u-s-spur-new-tpp-talks-in-vietnam/#.U2-4_ij4R5w

May 8, 2014

American Philanthropy and its Discontents

American Philanthropy and its Discontents
5.8.14

If you’re going to make your way in the world of the wealthy these days, you’ve got to show you care about the poor. Elite American schools are blooming with philanthropic groups and activities: spend a semester in sub-Saharan Africa; learn how to measure the effectiveness of nonprofits; maximize your impact.

The experience, of course, is “life-changing”: put it on your college application, talk about it over cocktails. It’s the way you become a person of privilege, but also of substance.

This phenomenon has a past worth understanding. The poor have long provided cultural currency to the rich; in previous moments of intense inequality, the social attitudes and political ideology of elites have understood the ghetto as a credibility gold mine. As the echo of the Gilded Age in our own time has grown clearer, the meanings — and failures — of elite progressivism have become more urgent to understand...

<snip>

If the experience of the working class in the first half of the twentieth century provides any lesson, workers and organizers will wait in vain for elites to initiate this process. We will have to do it ourselves, in numbers; we will have to sustain the confrontation for decades; and we will have to withstand the vitriol — and most likely, the repression — of those we thought were our friends, before enough of them come around or crumble for us to win ...

Much more here: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/05/american-philanthropy-and-its-discontents/