Why the U.S. has to go

Original article, an interview with Malalai Joya via socialistworker.org:

Malalai Joya has been called the "bravest woman in Afghanistan" for her outspoken opposition not only to the U.S. occupation of her country, but both the corrupt U.S.-backed government of Hamid Karzai and the Taliban-led insurgency.

Joya was elected to Afghanistan's parliament from Farah province in 2005, but was suspended several years later after other representatives claimed she insulted them. She has continued to speak out against war crimes and warlordism, in spite of numerous attempts on her life.

Joya is on a speaking tour of the U.S. for her book A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice. She talked to Deepa Kumar about the situation in her country and the message she hopes to bring to people in the U.S.

So, we're there to support human rights, etc.? Yeah...right. Political enlightenment starts when you realize that almost everything you hear from your government is propaganda, even in the good times. Once again, we hear from non-approved sources just what we the people are actually supporting.

It's well past time we leave, and yet Obama is going to expand the war. Perhaps it's time to reconsider any affiliation with either of the two war parties.

Obama will send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan

Original article, by Patrick Martin, via World Socialist Web Site:

According to US press reports Sunday, President Barack Obama has decided to send tens of thousands of additional US troops to Afghanistan in an attempt to suppress growing popular resistance to foreign occupation.

Not that we shouldn't be surprised. On the other hand, I doubt the US Chamber of Commerce will be running ads saying that the Afghan war is too epensive.

The New York Times reported Sunday on its web site that the White House had narrowed its options in Afghanistan to three—all involving troop increases of 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000 respectively. The plans for escalating the war have come in response to the urgent request by General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan.

Maybe they'll build walls around Afghan cities, towns and villages.

According to the New York Times account, Obama is leaning toward the proposal to send 30,000 troops because it is backed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “His view is thought to be pivotal because of Mr. Obama’s respect for him and his status as a holdover from a Republican administration.”

I'll let you read the rest of the article. Keep in mind that Obama's pretty much been a supporter of the Afghan war. The only time he voted against funding for the wars (Iraq included) was in October a year before the election when it wasn't clear he'd be nominated (which turns out to show us how cynical Obama is). He's not a peace President, he's a war President. All the more reason to see him to the curb in 2012.

Kucinich: Protect Rights of Consumers From Insurance Companies!

Dennis: Right again!

The “No” vote at Ford

Original article via World Socialist Web Site:

The decisive vote by Ford workers to reject the concessions contract worked out between the company and the United Auto Workers is a major advance not only for Ford workers, but for all auto workers and the working class as a whole, both in the US and internationally.

The rank and file have stood up to Ford, the Obama administration and the union bureaucracy. The workers have said 'it's time to take us into consideration, not just the bottom line (which at Ford is pretty healthy for the moment).' Workers standing up for their jobs and rights: What a concept!

The vote is an expression of growing resistance in the working class to soaring unemployment, wage cuts and speedup, on the one side, and government bailouts for the banks and record bonuses for Wall Street, on the other. The vote at Ford will encourage workers throughout the auto industry and in other sections of the economy to take a similar stand against attacks by the corporations, backed by the Obama administration.

The key is for someone, in this case the Ford workers, to say 'NO' to the bosses. For the past 30+ years, saying 'yes' to the bosses has been in vogue. Working with the bosses has been tried. What's happened? The automobile industry has collapsed and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost.

The vote is a historical milestone. It is the first rejection of a national contract since 1982, and the first at Ford since 1976. In the intervening three decades, the UAW has devoted all of its energies to suppressing the resistance of auto workers. It has helped push through repeated wage and benefit concessions, while overseeing the destruction of hundreds of thousands of jobs. Some 750,000 auto jobs have been wiped out, including more than 130,000 at Ford alone.

When a union ceases to support it's workers, then it ceases to be a union. The UAW needs to get this through their heads, or they may end up out the door on their rear ends. The UAW needs to decide if it is part of Ford, or if it is the representative of the autoworkers. We've seen that it can't be both.

While the vote is an important first step, workers should be under no illusion that by rejecting the contract they have defeated the concessions demands. Ford and the UAW were taken aback by the “No” vote and the scale of the rank-and-file repudiation of the contract. They have said they will not attempt a re-vote, no doubt because they have concluded that they cannot get a reversal at this time. Pointing to the expiration of the current contract in 2011, however, UAW president Ron Gettelfinger declared, “We are not going to give up.”

"We are not going to give up." Mr. Gettlefinger is not talking about the workers fighting for their jobs and livelihoods. He's talking about implementing Ford's cutback plans. Does that sound like he's supporting the Ford workers? Autoworkers need to look at Mr. Gettlefinger's statement and take it for what it means. The UAW is going to support the Big Three, not the workers. The good thing is that Ford workers haven't signed away their right to strike at the expiration of this contract. They need to start planning for the day in the not too distant future where it will be on their backs (as it is now) to fight against the Bosses, the Obama administration and the union bureaucracy.

Video: Ford workers speak out against concessions contract

Original article via World Socialist Web Site:

Here's the vid:

WSWS speaks to workers who exposed GM payoff to Canadian auto union

Original article, by Jerry White, via World Socialist Web Site:

The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke with two workers at a General Motors transmission plant in Windsor, Ontario, who have been involved in exposing and campaigning against a secret agreement between GM and Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) officials at the plant. The deal increased the pay and retirement benefits of several CAW Local 1973 officials, while rank-and-file workers were being forced to take major concessions.

When unions, as opposed to the rank and file, are in bed with the owners you can't be surprised that the union bureaucrats do the bidding of the bosses.

The Local 1973 bureaucrats were awarded this deal shortly after they had joined with the rest of the CAW apparatus in insisting that GM Canada workers twice reopen the collective agreement and accept massive concessions so as to clear the way for the taxpayer-funded bailout of GM by the Canadian and Ontario governments. The deal, pushed through by the CAW last spring, freezes wages and cost-of-living allowances until 2012, increases out-of-pocket health care expenses for current and retired workers, guts long-standing work rules and paves the way for further plant closings and layoffs.

In an industry that has been shedding jobs for years, these bureaucrats were out for themselves as opposed to being out for all of the workers. It's the same as the bosses. It's a disgrace that these bureaucrats are still in the union.

I'll let you read the rest of the article. The big point is that when the union stops supporting the rank and file, the union should be abandoned. CAW and UAW have a chance to change their actions. If they don't, it'll be time for the rank and file to organize themselves.

The way forward for Ford workers

Original article via World Socialist Web Site:

With votes tallied at factories employing more than a third of Ford’s 41,000 US workers, the concessions contract being pushed by the United Auto Workers appears headed for defeat.

If the deal is defeated, it will be the first time auto workers have turned down a national agreement recommended by the UAW since 1982.

Let's hope that Ford workers do turn down the contract. Think of it this way: Since 1982 (and actually earlier), the Big Three have been shedding jobs at an alarming rate. Concessions have been the byword for most (if not all) of their contracts with workers. The concessions didn't help and the industry is on it's knees.

The opposition among Ford workers to the cuts in pay and benefits and the no-strike provision being demanded by both the company and the union is an expression of growing resistance in the working class as a whole to the drive by big business and the Obama administration to make workers pay for the failure of the profit system.

Needless to say, someone has to pay for the failure of capitalism. Perhaps it should be those who've profited the greatest from it. Fat chance when both major parties are beholden to particular special interests who hold the money strings.

It is the culmination of decades of job cuts and concessions in auto, combined with outrage over depression conditions for growing numbers of workers, on the one side, and record pay and profits for Wall Street on the other.

It's going to be workers who lead us out of this economic mess. The workers have a choice as to how they do this. Will they end up as little better than slaves working at the whim and for the handouts of the bosses, bankster frauds and corporate frauds? Or will they stand up and say what we all already know: The country works when we all work.

I'll let you read the rest of the article. It gives me hope that at least some workers are ready to stand up to the monstrosity of an economic and social system we currently have in place. Should Ford's workers carry their battle to the picket lines, we should all be prepared to support them in whatever legitimate ways we can!

The Last Stand of the Levellers

Original article, by Dudley Edwards, via In Defence of Marxism:

An interesting historical piece, pointing out that Revolutions sustained by the poor and working class can still end up just chainging one boss for the next.

It's quite interesting and well worth the read.

Pilger: Standing up to the privateers

Original article, by John Pilger and subtitled The strike by British postal workers has wider significance for everyone touched by the political regression that imposes gross wealth for a minority, via socialistworker.org:

THE POSTAL workers' struggle is as vital for democracy as any national event in recent years. The campaign against them is part of a historic shift from the last vestiges of political democracy in Britain to a corporate world of insecurity and war.

So, why should people in the states be interested in the Royal Mail strike? An efficient money making state enterprise is about to be gutted by the neo-libs and given over to private hands. It's a sad joke of course, seeing that Labour is still in power. You'd expect this from the Tories (I know, we expect it from New Labour). At an ever increasing pace, workers find themselves without a leg to stand on, thanks in part to the neo-libs. We are supposed to worship the bottom line, damn everything else. It's time to stop worshiping that false Deity and start looking after ourselves.

I'll let you read Pilger's article. It's good, and it helps to set the stage for who the bad guys really are. BTW: The bad guys aren't the workers.

Victory to the postal workers

Original article, by by Jane Loftus, Communications Workers Union president, via Socialist Worker (UK):

The workers for Royal Mail in England are on strike. Good for them, we should support them with our solidarity. Read President Loftus' article and consider how the situation the CWU workers are facing compares with what's happening in the States. If you agree that it sounds somewhat similar, it may be time to start considering worker action here in the US.

The national strike by postal workers this week is a battle that will determine the future.

On one side stands 120,000 of some of the lowest paid workers in Britain.

We want to stop Royal Mail from slashing tens of thousands more jobs, ripping up terms and conditions, and breaking our CWU union.

We are battling to defend a vital public service from the vultures of privatisation who are circling the industry.

Alongside us are our allies – millions of working class people who know what it is like to live on low pay, with managers who believe their role in life is to humiliate you.

And we should have the full weight of Britain’s six million trade union members behind us.

Against us stands the entire forces of the ruling class.

First, there are the bosses, who tell us that we must make sacrifices, while they line their own pockets. Then come the newspaper editors who lecture us that by striking we are “turkeys voting for Christmas”.

Now even the police chiefs are wading in – just to keep the peace, of course.

And, its seems that there are others who have joined the enemies’ side – Peter Mandelson, Gordon Brown and the rest of the Labour government.

As the company threatens to bring in 30,000 agency workers to break our strike, we have heard not a word of criticism from a minister.

What an outrage that a party that has gladly taken millions of pounds of postal workers’ money is lining up with a ruthless management in a bid to crush our union.

Mandelson is doing all he can to back the company, saying that strikes are “suicidal” and “not the way to resolve differences”.

All our foes say that we must abandon our fight and embrace Royal Mail’s vision of change. But what would that mean?

Thousands more would be forced on to the dole. Full-time permanent workers would find themselves replaced by casual part-timers.

And by breaking the strength of the union, our already pitiful pay and long hours would be made far worse.

Management

Bullying managers would be completely let off the leash, and those who stand up to them would quickly find themselves out of a job.

Anyone who doubts this is Royal Mail’s aim should look at the four-page exposé of the company’s plans in the centre of this week’s Socialist Worker.

Here you can read about management’s slash and burn strategy in their own words.

The government, and bosses from every industry, are clear about the need to support Royal Mail management in this battle. They know that these are the first shots in a wider war on all workers and on public services.

The trade union movement needs to be equally clear.

Postal workers need your solidarity, not just to maintain their strike through the hardship of lost pay.

If we win against Royal Mail and Mandelson, all workers win.

I appeal to every trade unionist to take a collection for our strike fund this week, to join us on our picket lines, and to take part in and build local solidarity meetings.

Together we can put a stop to the juggernaut of job losses, pay cuts and service slashing that has become the signature of this rotten government.

Now some business to take care of:

© Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original.

And finally:

The following should be read alongside this article:

» Into battle! Postal workers’ resistance can win

» Solidarity grows for the post dispute

» Get involved with your local post strike support groups

» Notes from a postal striker in the north: The dark lord

» The key issues behind the battle in the post

» Lies about falling mail volume don't add up

» Cut the CWU cash to Labour

» Come help the scab-busters

» Unions must back posties

» First day of post strike shuts down mail centres

» New Royal Mail leaked letter shows management intransigence

» Photos of post picket lines, 22 October 2009

» Reports from the post strike around the country on 22 October 2009

» Reports from the second day of the post strike, 23 October 2009

» Photos of post picket lines, Friday 23 October 2009

Ford workers oppose UAW demand for concessions

Ford workers oppose UAW demand for concessions

The concessions agreement reached last week between the United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Company has been met with widespread opposition from Ford workers, who are beginning to vote on the deal this week.


The UAW, which granted Ford $500 million in concessions last March, has returned to demand that 41,000 workers accept additional givebacks in line with those the UAW imposed on workers at General Motors and Chrysler.

Forty percent of Ford workers opposed the contract revisions in March, with several locals in Michigan and Ohio rejecting it outright. This was particularly significant because of the non-stop threats by company officials, the White House and the media that rejection of the contract could lead to the collapse of Ford, resulting in tens of thousands of layoffs, and the sabotage of the government bailout of General Motors and Chrysler.

It would be interesting if Mr. Ford's company's workers were the ones to lead in the fight for a fair living standard. After all, Mr. Ford was one who paid his workers well so that they could buy Ford products. It seems the current generation of Ford's have forgotten that lesson (as have most capitalists around the world).

How I became a socialist | SocialistWorker.org

How I became a socialist | SocialistWorker.org

Shared via AddThis

"Politicians gathered at the U.S. Capitol October 8 to unveil a bronze statue of Helen Keller. But while they honored Keller's work organizing on behalf of people with disabilities, they ignored the radical politics that was at the heart of Keller's activism. Keller was a fierce opponent of war, a socialist and a member of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Here, we reprint an essay by Keller, first published in 1912 in one of the leading socialist newspapers of the time, the New York Call."

Quite the good read!

Puerto Rico: General strike against mass layoffs

Original article, by Bill Vau Auken, via World Socialist Web Site:

Hundreds of thousands of workers joined a day-long general strike Thursday in opposition to the layoffs of tens of thousands of public employees ordered by the island territory’s Governor Luis Fortuño.

Good for the workers of Puerto Rico! Let us hope that workers on the mainland decide that it's time for similar actions.

The strike was provoked by Fortuño’s decree last month ordering the dismissal of 17,000 public workers. The layoffs, which are set to take effect in the beginning of November, were ordered under legislation passed earlier this year known as Law 7, or the “Special Law Declaring a State of Fiscal Emergency,” which suspended public employees’ collective bargaining rights and mandated $2 billion in cuts, slashing the budget by 20 percent across the board.

Instead of negotiating with workers, the governor decided to bully them. Not a good idea. Expect more labor action if the governor continues the same path.

Fortuño, the leader of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (known by its Spanish acronym PNP), was the first PNP candidate for governor in 40 years to run openly as a member of the US Republican Party. His PNP predecessors in the office had been affiliated with the Democrats. He promised to attract jobs to the island with low taxes and pro-business policies, but has presided over a steady deepening of Puerto Rico’s economic crisis.

A failure capitalist Republican! Surprise, surprise.

Thursday’s mass turnout came in the face of increasing threats and intimidation from the Fortuño government. The Monday before the strike, the 11 campuses of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) were suddenly shut down for the week and occupied by state police. It was reported that the action was taken on the advice of the local office of the FBI on the pretext of assuring the “security” of the students. The shutdown came just as students at a number of the campuses were to hold general assemblies for the purpose of taking votes on joining the strike.

That's always a good way to get students on your side. Shut them down before they have a chance to make any decisions. Demn, the Puerto Rican government's about as smart as the overall US government. But, more ominous...

And, in the week leading up to the strike, officials in Puerto Rico’s colonial government threatened that workers who participated in the general strike could be charged with acts of terrorism if they interfered with the movement of goods and passengers at the island’s airports and docks.


Justice Secretary Antonio Sagardía and Police Superintendent José Figueroa Sancha issued the public warning, claiming that terrorism charges would be justified on the grounds of interfering with interstate commerce. Fortuño also equated workers’ actions with “terrorism.”

You, as a worker, may be labled a terrorist for carrying out your rights as a worker. Let that one sink in for a moment. Do you feel like a terrorist?

I'll let you read the rest of the article. Keep in mind that Puerto Rico can be seen as a staging operation for how the government on the mainland will respond to an ever deepening economic crisis. Don't think that PR's government isn't talking to the Obama administration on how to handle the situation.

Rush's rage and our response | SocialistWorker.org

Rush's rage and our response | SocialistWorker.org

Shared via AddThis

Rush calls out David Zirin and David replies!

Peace prize or war prize? | SocialistWorker.org

Peace prize or war prize? | SocialistWorker.org

Shared via AddThis

Zinn explains how the Nobel Peace Prize has often gone to those who peace is the last thought on thier minds.

The right wing falls in Greece | SocialistWorker.org

The right wing falls in Greece | SocialistWorker.org

Shared via AddThis

The question is will SYRIZA continue to lead the way away from neo-liberalism. Expect PASOK to play the austerity line (they may be forced to due to European Union budgetary regulations). It would be interesting to see a left/socialist dynamic working within Europe with the right marginalized.

White House defends inaction on jobs crisis as unemployment grows

White House defends inaction on jobs crisis as unemployment grows
Original Article by Jerry White.

Brushing off criticism that the administration has done nothing to stem the loss of millions of jobs, President Obama’s leading economic advisor claimed Monday that the US was well on the way to recovery, while acknowledging that high levels of unemployment may become a permanent feature even after economic growth resumes.

There is no recovery without a jobs recovery, no matter what the recovered bosses are saying.

Rochester activists attacked by police | SocialistWorker.org

Rochester activists attacked by police | SocialistWorker.org

Shared via AddThis

Here's the vid:

Royal Mail: battle for us all|10Oct09|Socialist Worker

Royal Mail: battle for us all|10Oct09|Socialist Worker

Shared via AddThis

The Strike is the tool which workers have over the bosses. Yes, it risks losing. But, in many (if not most) instances, you've lost by accepting what the bosses have to offer. It's time we in the US remember this.

Paul Craig Roberts: Warmonger Wins Peace Prize

Paul Craig Roberts: Warmonger Wins Peace Prize

Shared via AddThis

What is the socialist answer? | SocialistWorker.org

What is the socialist answer? | SocialistWorker.org

Shared via AddThis

Quite a good read and a quick introduction to what socialism could bring the US.

Paul Craig Roberts: Marx and Lenin Reconsidered

Paul Craig Roberts: Marx and Lenin Reconsidered

Shared via AddThis

Not quite a mea culpa, but headed that way....

Muse tell Glenn Beck to retract endorsement

Muse tell Glenn Beck to retract endorsement

Shared via AddThis

Good for Muse!

Greek socialists claim victory in election | World news | The Guardian

Greek socialists claim victory in election | World news | The Guardian

Shared via AddThis

Of course, this will do nothing to quiet the Left is dead meme we've been reading about the last few weeks, will it?

Britain: The denouement looms for Labour

Original article, by Chris Marsden, via World Socialist Web Site:

This was the week that the Labour Party simply died of shame.

Deservedly so. They sold their souls to the City of London for power. Hmmm...sounds like a particluar party in power in the US right now.

Labour’s Brighton conference venue was rarely more than half full, even for party leader and Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s keynote speech billed as his “fighting comeback.” Most of the time there was a sea of empty chairs. Delegates either did not attend the conference at all, or stayed in nearby bars drowning their sorrows. Those that did take their seats had the appearance of the walking dead in a George A. Romero movie—shambling around a cavernous hall without thought, giving only an appearance of the conscious activity of the living.

At least the Democrats had bright young faces as part of their resurgence. But those bright young faces expected 'change we can believe in.' The turn to a cynical view of politics is probably taking place as we speak.

The week’s events began with a declaration to the Observer by Chancellor Alistair Campbell that the party looked like it had “lost the will to live.” On the evening it began, the election results in Germany came through, with the Social Democrats polling just 23 percent, recording their worst result since World War II.

Once again, a party which sold it's soul for power.

I'll let you read the rest of the article. As you read about the demise of Labour (no, they'll still be around, but not in the form their in now if they want to be a strong party), notice the similarities to the Democrats in the US. The question is how do we break the hold of money upon the political system so that real change can take place.