Thursday, February 9, 2012

Sunday, January 8, 2012

A Lady under whom Britain suffered for 13 Years




In Defence of Marxism
  Wednesday, 4 January 2012 About us     Contact us     Join us  

By Alan Woods

Exactly twelve months ago, in an article entitled: 2011: - Optimism or pessimism? I wrote the following: "The first effect of the crisis was one of shock, not only for the bourgeois but also for the workers. There was a tendency to cling to jobs and accept cuts in the short term, especially as the union leaders offer no alternative. But this will be replaced by a general mood of anger and bitterness, which will sooner or later begin to affect the mass organisations of the working class."


By Rob Sewell

Thatcher Iron lady meryl streep-thMargaret Thatcher is a hate figure for millions in Britain who suffered under 13 years of her rule. We, who opposed Thatcherism to the bitter end, will never forget the mass unemployment, the cuts, wholesale privatisation and the attacks on the trade unions as well as our democratic rights. Those who fought back were regarded by Thatcher as "the enemy within," a term she used against the National Union of Mineworkers, as they fought for their communities and their jobs. Thatcher represented capitalism 'red in tooth and claw' and we will not forget it.

 
 ESPAÑOL
By John Peterson

Nuevamente la atención del mundo esta centrada en Corea del Norte. Esta vez, no se debe a nuevos ensayos nucleares, a la agitación imperialista, o a un enfrentamiento militar con Corea del Sur a lo largo de la frontera más militarizada del mundo. Esta vez, la razón es potencialmente más explosiva: la muerte de Kim Jong-Il.


 OTHER LANGUAGES
By Hamid Alizadeh

By Leon Trotsky

Είναι δύσκολο να πιστέψει κανείς ότι σε 10 μόνο χρόνια θα κλείσουν τα 100 χρόνια του Μανιφέστου του Κομμουνιστικού Κόμματος. Αυτή η μπροσούρα, που δείχνει το μεγαλύτερο πνεύμα στην παγκόσμια φιλολογία, μας εκπλήσσει ακόμα και σήμερα με την επικαιρότητά-της. Τα πιο σημαντικά τμήματά-της φαίνονται σαν να γράφτηκαν χτες. Βέβαια, οι νεαροί συγγραφείς-της (ο Μαρξ είταν 29 χρονών και ο Έγκελς 27) μπορούσαν να δουν το μέλλον ευρύτερα από οποιονδήποτε προκάτοχό-τους και ίσως κι από οποιονδήποτε μεταγενέστερο.


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Marxism and Anarchism-Part One




In Defence of Marxism
  Thursday, 5 January 2012 About us     Contact us     Join us  

By Alan Woods

Marxism and Anarchism - Ralph AichingerThe present period is the most stormy and convulsive period in history. Globalization now manifests itself as a global crisis of capitalism. Given the depth of the crisis and the worsening conditions, things are developing very quickly. The stage isset for a general revival of the class struggle, and in fact, this process has already begun.


By Lal Khan

The year 2011 was perhaps the most turbulent year in recent history. The Arab Spring, the European Summer and the American Fall were an upheaval that traversed the planet. For the first time in history there were demonstrations in more than 900 cities across the world in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US. The main cause that triggered this massive response of the workers and youth throughout the world was the eruption of a rebellion in the very womb of imperialism.

 
 ESPAÑOL
By Daniel Morley

La última y "decisiva" cumbre-europea-para-acabar-con-todas-las-cumbres-de-la-UE-y-arreglar-la-crisis-de-la-zona-Euro-de-una-vez-y-para-siempre, ha fallado marcadamente en hacerlo—tal como todas las cumbres "últimas" y "decisivas". Como en las reuniones previas, los mercados declararon completamente insatisfactorias los resultados de la misma. Estas reuniones de los mandatarios de la UE son ya una moneda completamente devaluada. Nada ha cambiado a excepción de que las contradicciones nacionales ahora son más agudas e insolubles de lo que antes ya eran.


 OTHER LANGUAGES
By La Riposte

Deux responsables de La Riposte, Greg Oxley et Jérôme Métellus, ont eu récemment l'occasion de discuter avec Jean-Luc Mélenchon au siège du Parti de Gauche. Eric Coquerel, de la direction du PG, était également présent. La discussion était fraternelle et a couvert de nombreux sujets. Greg et Jérôme ont réaffirmé l'engagement de La Riposte à mener campagne pour les candidats du Front de Gauche aux élections législatives et présidentielles. Ils ont aussi proposé à Jean-Luc Mélenchon de publier une interview de lui dans notre journal. Il a immédiatement accepté. La voici.


By Lucha de Clases - Venezuela

Documento dos camaradas da CMI venezuelana, divulgado no jornal Lucha de Clases, defende a intervenção dentro do Pólo Patriótico com um programa de combate à burocracia e aos patrões, pelo socialismo


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Nigerian Farce



In Defence of Marxism
  Friday, 6 January 2012 About us     Contact us     Join us  

By Workers' Alternative Editorial Board, Lagos, Nigeria

Police has fired tear gas at protestors in Nigeria angry at the latest increase in the price of fuel. In the northern town of Kano around 300 people were wounded in the attack and 19 were arrested. Tension has been mounting as protesters have clashed with riot police in different parts of Nigeria for the past three days and the trade unions have called for a nationwide indefinite strike to start Monday. More protests are expected across the country in the coming days. Here we provide the Editorial statement of the Workers' Alternative on this key issue affecting the Nigerian masses.


By Rashy in Lagos

20110103 JAF protest-1-thHuman consciousness is naturally conservative. People naturally stick to the old ways of doing things, but when a great event occurs, consciousness becomes transformed in a matter of seconds and people begin to question what they have not been questioning before. This perfectly confirms the present Nigerian situation. (3 January 2012)


By Workers Alternative

Nigeria: new issue of Workers' AlternativeJust in time for the general strike, the Nigerian Marxists have published the latest issue of Workers' Alternative. Download it here (pdfpdf506.26 KB).

 
 ESPAÑOL
By Serge Goulart

Iniciamos aquí la publicación de una serie de textos sobre las lecciones que podemos extraer de las luchas obreras en la ocupación de fábricas en Brasil. Entre 2002 y 2005 fueron 35 las fábricas que llegaron a estar bajo ocupación obrera en este país.


 OTHER LANGUAGES
By Serge Goulart

Iniciamos aqui publicação de uma série de textos sobre as lições dos marxistas nas lutas de ocupação de fábricas.


By Alan Woods

For præcis et år siden, skrev jeg i en artikel med titlen: 2011: - optimisme eller pessimisme? (2011: - Optimism or pessimism?) "Krisens første virkning var chok, ikke kun for de borgerlige, men også for arbejderne. Der var en tendens til at klynge sig til jobs og acceptere nedskæringer på kort sigt, især eftersom fagforeningslederne ikke tilbyder noget alternativ. Men dette vil blive erstattet med en generel vrede og bitterhed, som før eller senere vil begynde at påvirke arbejderklassens masseorganisationer."


By De redactie van Vonk

Er is een oorlog uitgebroken, je moet het iedereen vertellen!" Met deze woorden belde een ooggetuige vanuit Zhanaozen (Kazachstan) om de wereld op de hoogte te brengen van de bloedige gebeurtenissen.


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Nigeria: The Next Front for AFRICOM



Rebel Newsflash: Nigeria: The Next Front for AFRICOM (plus 47 more items)

Link to Opinion

Nigeria: The Next Front for AFRICOM

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 04:52 AM PST

If NATO attacks, Syria will respond

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 04:41 AM PST

Foreign terrorist elements have reached Damascus where an explosion rocked a suburb near a school and police station causing many casualties.

'Foreign death squads kill Syrians'

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 01:04 AM PST

Syria has suffered a major terrorist bombing that targeted civilians in Damascus after President Assad warned that unrest is being created by foreign terrorists.

'AL's demands of Syria, not feasible'

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 01:00 AM PST

A recent terrorist bomb explosion in a densely populated area of the capital city of Damascus has left at least 25 civilians dead and injured 63, some of whom are in critical conditions.

Obama's New Military Strategy

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 12:32 AM PST

Steve Lendman

Obama's January 5 Pentagon news conference reeked of duplicity like all his pronouncements. Surrounded by Joint Chiefs of Staff, hawkishness took center stage.

Libyan Violence and Instability

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 12:30 AM PST

Steve Lendman

NATO's killing machine ravaged a nonbelligerent country posing no threat. Tyranny replaced Jamahiriya government. Violence followed stability.

Large southwest dairy farm to lose organic certification following USDA investigation

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 10:00 PM PST

The first dairy to ever become US Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic in the State of Arizona is now set to lose that certification following an investigation spearheaded by the Cornucopia Institute (CI), a small-scale organic farm advocacy group. Shamrock Farms has allegedly been breaking USDA rules for organics by confining cows and restricting their access to pasture, and the USDA is finally getting around to taking action more than three years after CI lodged an initial complaint.

Study: Fukushima killed at least 14,000 people in the US, mostly babies, in weeks following disaster

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 10:00 PM PST

For the very first time, a scientific study published in a peer-reviewed journal has come up with a solid estimate of the total number of US deaths caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in the weeks following it. Epidemiologist Joseph Mangano, MPH, MBA, and his colleagues say that, based on compiled data, at least 14,000 people in the US were killed during the 14 weeks following the Fukushima catastrophe -- and the majority of these deaths were in children under age one.

How Propaganda Targets Iran

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 07:22 PM PST

Lawrence Davidson

America's Founders saw press freedom as a key check on government dishonesty, but today's media has become a powerful ally of official lies by funneling sophisticated propaganda especially in support of war, as Lawrence Davidson notes about the hysteria over Iran.

The 'Jewish God'- Cruel Mean Sadistic-More Like The Devil Than Jesus

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 06:58 PM PST

After years of honest intellectual introspection and sincere soul searching – I have come to a crossroads where I must choose one of 2 paths if I am to move forward.

As such, using the same mental faculties afforded me by the same creator responsible for all the laws of science, reason, physics, and decency, I cannot conclude anything other than that the Jewish Old Testamant is indeed part and parcel of the same twisted mentality responsible for so much suffering and evil today, and is in effect a mere extension of the same Jewish mindset that created–carved if you will–a tin god out of the basest inclinations attributable to mankind that serves as a facilitator/enabler of a depraved, arrogant, self-serving evil, and greedy agenda.

December Payroll Jobs Report

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 06:20 PM PST

Paul Craig RobertsThe following report is based on the work of statistician John Williams of shadowstats.com.

 

Today's (Friday, January 6) payroll jobs report of 200,000 new jobs in December is overstated by at least 82,000 jobs. As approximately 130,000 new jobs are needed each month to stay even with population growth, the December job figures actually indicate that the US economy fell another 12,000 jobs behind.


Saudia is the greatest threat to US, not Iran, Stupid!

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 04:22 PM PST

Antisemitic Banner Raised at Egyptian Soccer Game: "One Nation for New Holocaust"

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST

Edited/Translated by MEMRI, Mossad's free misinterpretation service for Middle-Eastern languages.

No wonder they call it the Holy Land

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 01:27 PM PST

(Holy Cow!),  … if this is what tourism is all about … then, Egypt, with its pyramids, obelisks, temples and the sphinx, is in deep trouble.

Attacks shatter Iraq hopes

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 01:00 PM PST

Series of attacks left at least 72 dead in the Iraqi capital...four explosions were recorded in two majority Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, raising fears of sectarian violence

Non-white gangs of youths can be violent racists, too

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 12:51 PM PST

Editorial note: The following letter was published, with some deletions, in The Independent regarding the murder convictions of David Dobson and Gary Norris, both White, for the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, who was Black, of West Indian origin. (Notice another letter that deals with the murder of a White police officer, Keith Blakelock, a crime by Blacks during a riot in 1985 for which there were no convictions.) This is Webster's original letter, posted here with Webster's permission:

Prince Orhan Aal Othman: Herzl Was the Cause of the Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 12:12 PM PST

Edited/Translated by MEMRI, Mossad's free misinterpretation service for Middle-Eastern languages.

Deputy Patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt: On the Salafis

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 11:44 AM PST

Edited/Translated by MEMRI, Mossad's free misinterpretation service for Middle-Eastern languages.

Afghan war paved way for Iraq invasion

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 11:35 AM PST

An American columnist says the US-led invasion of Afghanistan under the pretext of the so-called war on terror was intended to pave the ground for the occupation of Iraq in March 2003.

Should Washington's Blog Launch a Radio Show?

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 11:28 AM PST

We are toying with the idea of launching a radio show and offering podcasts.

KSA, US play destabilizing role in Iraq

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 11:07 AM PST

Deadly explosions in Iraq, targeting Shia pilgrims, have raised questions about the real identity of the suicide attackers.

US recalibrating Iran war plan

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 10:57 AM PST

From the recent massacres happening in Iraq and Syria, one can gather that Washington has adamantly trodden on a path which is to be seen as a way to redefine the war in Iraq, an effective stratagem to bring the regime of Assad to its doom and recalibrate a comprehensive plan to topple the Islamic government of Iran.

Would the US be defeated in the Persian Gulf in a War with Iran?

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 10:46 AM PST

After years of U.S. threats, Iran has started to take very public steps to demonstrate that it is willing and capable of closing the Strait of Hormuz. On December 24, 2011 Iran started its Velayat-90 naval drills in and around the Strait of Hormuz and extending from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman (Oman Sea) to the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean. Since these drills took place there has been a growing war of words between Washington and Tehran. Nothing the Obama Administration or the Pentagon had done or said deterred Tehran from continuing the naval drills.

Into the Tumbrils With Them

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 09:37 AM PST

First up: "sustainable." It's been at least a decade since this earnest word was drained of all energy, having become the prime unit of exchange in the argot of purposeful uplift. As the final indication of its degraded status, I found it in President Obama's "signing statement" which accompanied the whisper of his pen, as on New Year's Eve – a very quiet day when news editors were all asleep —  he signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2012 which handed $662  billion to the Pentagon and for good measure ratified by legal statute of the exposure of US citizens to arbitrary arrest without subsequent benefit of counsel, and to possible torture and imprisonment sine die, abolishing habeas corpus. Don't bother ask what happens to non-US citizens.

Conservatives and Liberals Are Both Concerned by the Collapse of Social Mobility

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 08:40 AM PST

I noted in 2010 that the American Dream has moved abroad … since the likelihood of a rags-to-riches success story has become higher in many other parts of the world.

US war history in 2 minutes: arrest US War Criminals to stop war on Iran

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 08:21 AM PST

"A mere demarcation on parchment of the constitutional limits (of government) is not a sufficient guard against those encroachments which lead to a tyrannical concentration of all the powers of government in the same hands." - James Madison, Federalist Paper #48, 1788.

Big Brother in St. Louis: Schools Plan to Monitor Student Activity at Home

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 07:53 AM PST

Elementary schools in Missouri plan to use wristwatch-like devices called Polar active monitors to surveil children – not only at school, but also at home.

Foreclosure Crisis Goes Global

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 04:53 AM PST

Even though housing is in terrible shape in the US, it's not nearly as bad as Ireland. Irish real estate is in freefall. Prices have plunged 60 percent across the country and 65 percent in Dublin. Austerity measures have sent unemployment soaring (18 percent) and housing into the doldrums. According to the Guardian, prices dipped 8 percent in the last quarter alone, "the largest ever quarterly fall in house prices in Ireland." ("Ireland's house prices at lowest levels since 2000″, The Guardian)

Real Farmworkers, Real Chavez

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 04:39 AM PST

Frank Bardacke has written the comprehensive history of the United Farm Workers, a definitive biography of Cesar Chavez and a magnificent guide to the politics and sociology of the 1960s-80s.

China's Dark Power

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 04:37 AM PST

The China Railway High-speed (CRH) train travels at over 300km an hour between Beijing and Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province. This northern province, with roads congested by overloaded lorries en route for cities, was China's principal coal-producing region for a long time, until it was overtaken by Inner Mongolia. Everything is stained with coal: the sad grey villages, the landscape and the people, whose faces and bodies are blackened from working down the mines. Even the water is black: washing the coal after extraction pollutes rivers and groundwater, making it unsuitable for irrigation or drinking.

Muslim Brotherhood Strongest Contender in Libya's Coming Elections

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 04:19 AM PST

Tripoli

Mitt Romney, Abortion Counseller

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 04:12 AM PST

We are reprinting Suzan Mazur's 2008 interview with Judith Dushku about Mitt Romney's tenure as a Mormon Bishop. — AC / JSC

Gitmo: Ten Years Too Many

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 03:37 AM PST

"Today, it is not merely justice itself, but the idea of justice that is under attack." The words are those of Arundhati Roy, the Indian author and activist, but they could also be those of anyone trying to draw up a balance sheet of the first decade of Gitmo, as the US' concentration camp at Guantánamo Bay has come to be known.

The Dismal Economic Outlook For The New Year

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 03:35 AM PST

Paul Craig Roberts

Jobs offshoring, financial deregulation, and ten years of wars have severely damaged the US economy and the economic prospects of 90% of the American population. The signs are everywhere in front of our eyes. They are in the income distribution data, the BLS jobs data, the Census data, the poverty figures, and the high number of food stamp recipients.

The Arms Merchants

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 03:32 AM PST

Arms sales are not as straightforward as one might think. For one thing, Russia and the United States are both eager to maintain their respective positions as the most successful merchants of death dealing devices. That causes them to sacrifice principle to expediency.  And there's a good reason why they are eager to sell lots of arms. It boosts their respective economies. And times were bad in 2010 and needed a boost in 2011.

The NeoCon Propaganda Machine Pushing "Regime Change" in Syria

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 03:18 AM PST

"War with Iran is already here," wrote a leading Israeli commentator recently, describing "the combination of covert warfare and international pressure" being applied to Iran.

The Obama Three at the NLRB

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 03:13 AM PST

Just hours after recess-appointing former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Obama recess-appointed three people to the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), giving it a full complement of five members for the first time in more than a year.  The three new members are Sandra Block, Richard Griffin and Terrence Flynn.  They join current members Mark Pearce and Brian Hayes.  Block, Griffin and Pearce are Democrats; Flynn and Hayes are Republicans.

Robbed in Little Rhodie

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 03:00 AM PST

This past fall, both my wife and I were beaten up in Rhode Island! We weren't physically harmed, but part of the pensions we had worked a combined 58 years for were stolen from us by a law passed by the General Assembly. The law had been championed and  proposed by the general treasurer of the state and signed into law by the governor.

Life and Death at Exit 34

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 02:51 AM PST

Sister Laura and her partner Erma had to have two pets euthanized within a two-week period.

The Whims of an Empire Gone Mad

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 02:45 AM PST

Meat, water, sock or political, it's not easy being a puppet. Even before the first word tumbles from your mouth, people crack up, and your face alone can bring down the house. Take this passage from Hamid Karzai, from a 2004 address to a joint session of the American Congress:

Save the Economy, Tax Tweets!

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 02:36 AM PST

Politics: The electoral college will be replaced by a system where voters will choose the polling firm they trust the most. Barack Obama will be re-elected because his vice-presidential running mate Joe Biden will be replaced by Hillary Clinton, thereby gaining the women's vote. Failed Republican campaigners will all take other jobs. Mitt Romney will start smoking a pipe and portray the character Bob Dobbs in a movie about the cultish Church of the Subgenius. Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain will launch the bipartisan Adultery Party in 2016, joined by Democrats John Edwards and Bill Clinton. Ron Paul will unite with Ru Paul and they'll perform on Dancing With the Stars. Rick Santorum will be caught in an airport bathroom stall enjoying a gay encounter. Michelle Bachmann will launch a lie-detector company. Rick Perry will copyright the word "Oops." And it will be revealed that Donald Trump was actually born on Mars; he will have a birth certificate to prove it, along with a photo of him as a typical Martian baby with a comb-over.

Wir Sind Nicht Alle Österreicher

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 02:33 AM PST

Throughout the global north governments are falling to technocratic coups d'etat in service of finance capital.  In the United States, there was no need for such unpleasantries as both state political parties are clients of Wall Street and their counterparties and offered up no significant resistance to popular austerity and debt hysteria to keep the banks flush and the wars going.

Police State Targeted by New Year's Eve Demos

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 02:29 AM PST

If mainstream media reports on a New Year's Eve demonstration in downtown Bloomington, Indiana are given any credibility, the only crimes committed that evening were perpetrated by a couple protesters, and the city's lightweight mayor may take away Occupy Bloomington's tents for their indiscretions.

Making Sport of Our Future

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 02:08 AM PST

One of the fun things sports writers do is try to predict the winners and scores of upcoming games, from high school through the pros. For special "look-at-us-we're important" bonus points, they create lists of "Top" teams and rank them, both pre-season and weekly.

Out, Out Accursed Ear-Worm!

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 12:54 AM PST

Berlin

Al Qaeda Scares Me But I Have A Plan To Save Us.

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 12:07 AM PST

Al Qaeda has 100 fighters in Afghanistan who have evaded 500,000 NATO, Afghan and mercenary soldiers for ten years. They were an invincible foe before. But now Al Qaeda has taken over Libya and its 144 tons of gold. They are even now training new recruits to learn Spanish and invade America over its unguarded border with Mexico.

Trans Fats Linked to Brain Shrinkage

Posted: 05 Jan 2012 03:09 PM PST

 

In the series of articles entitled "Dumbing-Down Society" (check out part 1 and part 2) it was mentioned that a fatty diet containing lots of processed foods had a detrimental effect on, not only on the body, but on the brain as well. A recent study has further confirmed this fact stating that "people who had high levels of circulating trans fats had less brain volume. They also had poorer memory, attention, language and processing speed skills". In other words, trans fats make you dumber. The study also suggests that consuming Omega-3 has a very noticeable positive effect on brain functions (a fact that was mentioned in the article Dumbing-Down Society Part 3: How to Reverse its Effects). Although the study focused on elderly people and on brain diseases like Alzheimer's (an advanced state of brain atrophy), its conclusions contain facts that should be known by all who want to keep their brains healthy and fully functional. Here's an article from the Vancouver Sun about the study.

'Intl. action needed against Al-Khalifa'

Posted: 05 Jan 2012 10:46 AM PST

People in Bahrain have laid to rest a woman who died following clashes in an anti-regime demonstration near the capital Manama.

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