New Socialism: Partners Not Wage Slaves

Venezuela's popular president Hugo Chavez announced on Sunday that his government's sweeping reforms towards the new socialism will include the creation of cooperatives owned by the workers.

Vowing to undermine capitalism's continued influence in Venezuela during his television and radio program "Hello President," brother Hugo Chavez said state-financed cooperatives would operate under a new concept in which workers would share profits.

This is another step toward the implementation of The Green Book principle "Partners not wage slaves".

Full story

Betrayed!?

The title of Cindy Sheehan’s statement on the vote is: “Betrayed! How the Democratic Congress betrayed American voters, the troops in Iraq and extended the occupation for at least another 18 months.” Cindy is a true American hero, by the way.

But did the Democrats really betray anyone? Did this powerful US political party behave in a way that runs counter to its historical role? Did they break any promises or fail to live up to the limited expectations that the American people have for their political parties?

I think not. As Eugene V Debs explained while running for US president as head of the Socialist Party in 1912 (yes m'am, this was written nearly 100 years ago!):

There are but two parties and but one issue. There is no longer even the pretense of difference between the so-called Republican and Democratic parties. They are substantially one in what they stand for.

They are opposed to each other on no question of principle but purely in a contest for the spoils of office.

To the workers of the country these two parties in name are one [party] in fact. They, or rather it, stands for capitalism, for the private ownership of the means of subsistence, for the exploitation of the workers, and for wage-slavery.1

The peace-loving Left cannot be blamed for hoping that the liberal Democratic party would make the war end. Any change from the blind leadership of George W Bush and his Republican party is welcome. But despite the rhetoric of specific and very well intentioned Democratic congresswomen and men, the party itself made no promises about ending the war.

In fact, the Democratic party has never been and never will be an anti-war party. The class interest of the US demands that the foreign policy of the government be imperialist. It goes without saying that imperialism is impossible without war. Since the Democratic party is part and parcel of the ruling mechanism of US capitalism, it is impossible for the party to act against its own perceived interests, that is, the interests of the ruling classes.

Certainly the war will end at some point. This will only happen when the ruling classes decide it is in there interest to do so. There are a variety of ways this can happen. A continued mass movement against the war by the working class, students and others has had a very positive effect and will continue to. Otherwise there would be no concessions from even the Democrats.

Supporting our troops means bringing them home. Stability will not be brought to Iraq by United States or any other imperialist adventurers. The opposite is the case. Our military has yet again been turned into a mercenary army in the service of a small cadre of extremely powerful capitalists. It saddens me to think that, even after the end of the war, troops will stay in Iraq in some form on a permanent basis to consolidate and protect the oil interests now under the control of these capitalists.

See also: Why the anti-war democrats folded, Socialist Worker, 30-Mar-2007

Cuba and Venezuela Adopt Open Source

Cuba and Venezuela have joined a growing list of nations concerned about the tight relationship between Microsoft and the United States intelligence establishment. Both countries are considering moving to open source for public and government computers in an effort to save money and bolster national security.

From iTWire:

Given the ongoing hostility between Cuba and the US, you can see why the Cuban government might have been concerned to hear that Microsoft had some help from the NSA with Vista's security features. At least with open source software you can review the code.

[...]

It makes a lot of sense for Cuba to avoid commercially imported software. Apart from the cost factor, using open source provides its government with a way of further nurturing local development expertise that's not possible where COTS (commercial off the shelf) dominates.1

And from the Guardian (Australia):

Both governments say they are trying to wean state agencies from Microsoft Windows to the open-source Linux operating system, which is developed by a global community of programmers who freely share their code.

"It’s basically a problem of technological sovereignty, a problem of ideology", said Hector Rodriguez, who oversees a Cuban university department of 1,000 students dedicated to developing open-source programs.

[...]

Communications Minister Ramiro Valdes raised suspicions about Microsoft’s cooperation with US military and intelligence agencies.

He called the world’s information systems a "battlefield" where Cuba is fighting against imperialism. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates once described copyright reformers, including people who want to do away with proprietary software, as "some new modern-day sort of communists" — a badge of honour from the Cuban perspective.

[...]

Cuba’s Cabinet also has urged a shift from proprietary software. The customs service has gone to Linux and the ministries of culture, higher education and communications are planning to do so, Rodriguez said. Students in his own department are cooking up a version of Linux called Nova.

Rodriguez’s department accounts for 1,000 of the 10,000 students within the University of Information Sciences, a five-year-old school that tries to combine software development with education. Cuba is also training tens of thousands of other software and hardware engineers across the country.

[...]

"Two years ago, the Cuban free-software community did not number more than 600 people ... In the last two years, that number has gone well beyond 3,000 users of free software and it’s a figure that is growing exponentially."2

Upfield

Lyrics to "Upfield", by Billy Bragg:

I'm going upfield, way up on the hillside
I'm going higher than I've ever been before
That's where you'll find me, over the horizon
Wading in the river, reaching for that other shore

I dreamed I saw a tree full of angels, up on Primrose Hill
And I flew with them over the Great Wen till I had seen my fill
Of such poverty and misery sure to tear my soul apart
I've got a socialism of the heart, I've got a socialism of the heart

I'm going upfield, way up on the hillside
I'm going higher than I've ever been before
That's where you'll find me, over the horizon
Wading in the river, reaching for that other shore

The angels asked me how I felt about all I'd seen and heard
That they spoke to me, a pagan, gave me cause to doubt their word
But they laughed and said: "I doesn't matter if you'll help us in our art
You've got a socialism of the heart, you've got a socialism of the heart"

I'm going upfield, way up on the hillside
I'm going higher than I've ever been before
That's where you'll find me, over the horizon
Wading in the river, reaching for that other shore

Their faces shone and they were gone and I was left alone
I walked these ancient empire streets till I came tearful to my home
And when I woke next morning, I vowed to play my part
I've got a socialism of the heart, I've got a socialism of the heart

I'm going upfield, way up on the hillside
I'm going higher than I've ever been before
That's where you'll find me, over the horizon
Wading in the river, reaching for that other shore

www.billybragg.co.uk

Global Socialist Opposition Haunts the Empire

From the Red Pepper Venezuela blog:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday vowed to revive a global socialist opposition to the U.S. while continuing his Latin American tour aimed at upstaging President George W. Bush's own visit to the region.

Full post

Chavez reportedly went on to say:

"The [US] Empire is in counterattack, with the head of the empire himself leading the attack," Chavez said. "And why? Because they realize that the popular Latin American offensive is for real. Fifteen years ago, the American empire thought they had won the final battle when the Soviet Union fell. They let out their triumphant cry: 'Here is Superman!'"

He said now is the time for Latin America to fight back.

"We have resisted for a long time. But no one wins a battle always staying on the defensive," he said. "Let loose the charging cavalry!"1

Interestingly, a search on one of the contributors to this AP article reveals some interesting facts. Alvaro Zuazo is the journalist cited as a contributor who actually was in La Paz at the time. There are several Indymedia articles which call Zuazo's objectivity into question. And of course, an actual transcript of the speech is no where to be found, nor is the speech mentioned in any official Venezuelan media. Zuazo and his compatriots peppered their story with "go home gringo" and other provocatively creative phraseology.

Nevertheless, if the Bush visit to Latin America was designed to raise the profile of the US it has to be considered an utter failure. Instead, Chavez and left leaders and movements across Latin America took center stage and presented the socialist alternative to the world press. Emboldened by the weakness of the Bush regime, the less-compromised press was more than happy to show some degree of independence and backbone in covering these exciting trends.

Viva la Socialista, la bonita libertad!

Hugo Chavéz Wins Hearts and Minds

This week, Hugo Chavéz stole the thunder from US president George W Bush's visit to Latin America. Two op-ed pieces from this week about Venezuelan President Chavéz show that he is increasingly and surely wining hearts and minds despite all the propaganda designed to discredit him:

Luisa Valenzuela, New York Times, March 17, 2007

I’m no political analyst; I have delved into politics only as a fiction writer. But I’m an optimist by nature, and the feeling of empowerment that President Chávez instills, and that various South American governments are endorsing, strikes me as a good engine for further progress — a means of upgrading ourselves from the status of someone’s backyard into that of a truly autonomous region.

Harry Alford, Louisiana Weekly, March 19, 2007

One of the most impressive things President Chavez has done is wean South American nations from the influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He views the IMF as an agent in the service of the US. He has persuaded South American nations to pay off their debts to the IMF and use Venezuela as the preferred friendly lender. IMF lending in the region has fallen to $50 million, or less than 1 percent of its global portfolio, compared with 80 percent in 2005. Meanwhile, Chavez has used his oil wealth to lend $2.5 billion to Argentina, offer $1.5 billion to Bolivia and $500 million to Ecuador. He says he is promoting a "socialist" alternative to the Fund and its biggest shareholder, the US Treasury. The global clout of the IMF is now diminishing.

Alford is the President of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Valenzuela is an internationally acclaimed Argentinian fiction writer. Both see hope in Chavéz, a hope for a better future world in which all can prosper. Isn't that what socialism is all about?

The 300 Movie Review

Movie Review "The 300":

The movie "The 300" Spartans is a movie based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, the deviant behind the Sin City series. I say deviant, because, although Miller is truly gifted, his work is essentially the output of a highly cynical and nihilistic mind.

Interestingly, Miller's movie version of "The 300" perfectly intersects with the world-view of the Bush-loyal wing of the Republican party and their neocon (for instance Felipe Calderon of Mexico, and John Howard of Australia) allies across the world.

In "The 300" we learn of a king (Leonidas, aka G W Bush) who has identified that Sparta (aka USA) must go to war with Persia (aka Persia/Iran) in order to preserve the liberty of the freemen of Sparta (aka largest slave-holding city of Greece at the time). He knows this because the big black man who came to ask him to surrender to Persia insulted his very white wife (I guess, he didn't say anything to her that a typical Republican traditionalist would not have, but he was black after all).

Unfortunately, the corrupt Senate (elected officials versus hereditary king) won't send the army to fight. So the king must go on his own, with his loyal posse of 300 soldiers, not nearly enough to fight off the 1 million Persians! Gosh darned pesky elected officials!

Leonidas' wife (pictured) waves him off in a field of golden grain (slaves not show, of course) as he and his 300 go to face Al-Qaeda, er that is, the Persians.

Leo is able to kick butt and kill may an Arab in gruesome form. Xerxes, the king of the Persians, turns out to be an eight foot tall drag queen, who offers Leo to come (literally and figuratively?) to his side by kneeling before him. Leo is no fag though, and he rebuffs Xerk.

Xerk sends wave after wave of blacks, gays, retards and Arabs to attack Leo. But Leo and his men are too white and too hetro to be overcome.

Unfortunately, there is one deformed retard from Sparta (who escaped the logical tradition of killing deformed babies in Sparta, because his weak and damed mother loved him too much, the nerve!) who betrays Leo.

This retard leads the Persian immortals (also deformed, hardly even human, but what do you expect, they are Persian Al-Qaeda fags after all!) to surround Leo.

Leo is trapped but does not surrender, not to a bunch of fags! No, he and his men would rather die than suffer that fate, and they do. Fortunately, Leo dies with his arms outstretched and as the camera pans out we, the audience, cannot but help wondering whether he reminds us of a certain savior who died on the cross.

Fortunately, queen hetro was able to finally convince the Senate to surge the military into action and thus stop the Persians from taking over the homeland. In her speech she declares that "freedom isn't really free at all, it requires the sacrifice of blood." Interestingly, this exact sentiment is echoed thousands of years later in the aptly titled poem "No, Freedom Isn't Free" by Kelly Strong, and of course countless new millennium country songs.

So the drill down is basically that this movie is complete propaganda, perhaps even funded by the US Army. There is no objectivity at all and there is zero historical accuracy. Read any history of the Battle of Thermopylae and it is clear that the authors of this terrible film had one single objective - to promote their own sick and corrupt version of the "War on Terror."

What are other bloggers saying?

• The 300 is so blatantly an allegory for the right-wing fantasy called "The War on Terror", [...] the movie is really an attempt at Republican propoganda. - Daily Kos
  
  
• "Freedom isn't free"..and yes Frank Miller is a bigot. - All Day, Every Day
  
  
• Athens has ceased to be the ideal for western culture... John Angliss
  
  
• Gorgeous Slaughter - Lenin's Tomb
  

Rather not see blatant fascist propaganda in the movies? Sign the petition at 300, An Unethical Movie Picture.

Next Stop San Diego

St Patrick's Day, USA. Going out for a bit of fun is on the menu this day. I'd recommend a visit to the goth clubs of San Diego, California, if this advert poster is any indication.

Viddy Well, little brother

Thanks to Clockwork Orange for this horrorshow tonight and thought I'd share. I figure this may come in handy for my trip to Russia in May.
Nadsat Glossary

A

• Appy-polly loggies - apologies

B

• Baboochka - old woman
• Bezoomny - crazy
• Bitva - battle
• Bog - God
• Bolshy - big
• Bratty, brat - brother
• Britva - razor

C

• Cal - shit
• Cancer - cigarette
• Cantora - room
• Carman - pocket
• Chasha - cup
• Chasso - guard
• Cheena - woman
• To cheest - to wash
• Chelloveck - man, gentleman
• Chepooka - nonsense
• Collocoll - bell
• To crast - to steal
• To creech - to scream
• Cutter - money

D

• Deng - money
• Devotchka - girl
• Dobby - good
• Domy - house
• To drats - to fight
• Droog, droogie - friend

E

• Eemya - name
• Eggiweg - egg

F

• To filly - to play
• Forella - lady, woman

G

• Glaz, glazzy - eye, nipple (in context)
• Gloopy - stupid
• Golly - coin
• Goloss - voice
• Goober - lip
• To gooly - to go
• Gorlo - throat
• To govoreet - to talk, speak
• Grahzny - dirty
• Grazzy - dirty
• Gromky - loud
• Groody - breast
• Gulliver - head
• Guff - laugh

H

• Hen-korm - pocket change
• Horrorshow - good
• Hound-and-horny - common

I

• Interessovated - interested
• To itty - to go

J

• Jammiwam - jam, jelly
• Jeezny - life

K

• Kleb - bread
• Klootch - key
• Kopat - understand
• Koshka - cat
• Krovvy - blood
• To kupet - to buy

L

• Lewdies - people
• Lighter - drinker
• Litso - face
• Lomtick - piece
• To lovet - to catch
• To lubbilub - to kiss

M

• Malchick - boy
• Malenky - little
• Maslo - butter
• Messel - idea
• Mesto - place
• Millicent - policeman
• Molodoy - young
• Moloko - milk
• Moodge - man, husband
• Mounch - food
• Mozg - brain

N

• Nadsat - teen
• Nagoy - naked
• Neezhnies - panties
• Nochy - night
• Noga - foot, leg
• Nosh - knife

O

• Oddy knocky - alone
• Okno - window
• To ookadeet - to leave
• Ooko - ear
• Oomny - smart
• Oozy - chain
• To osoosh - to wipe
• Otchkies - glasses

P

• To peet - to drink
• Pischa - food
• To platch - to cry
• Platties - clothes
• Pletcho - shoulder
• Plot - body
• Pol - sex
• To pony - to understand
• Poogly - frightened
• Pooshka - pistol
• Prestoopnick - degenerate
• Pretty polly - money
• To prod - to produce
• Ptitsa - woman
• Pyahnitsa - drunk

R

• To rabbit - to work
• Radosty - joy
• Rassoodock - mind
• Raz - time
• Razdraz - angry
• Razrez - anger
• To razrez - to tear
• Rooker - hand or arm
• Rot - mouth
• Rozz - policeman

S

• Sabog - shoe
• Sarky - sarcastic
• Shaika - gang
• Sharp - woman
• Sharries - (expletive to be used with “kiss my –”)
• Shest - barrier
• Shilarny - interest
• Shlaga - club, cudgel
• Shlapa - hat
• Shlem - helmet
• Shoom - noise
• Shoomny - noisy
• Shoot - fool
• Sinny - cinema
• To skazat - to say
• Skolliwol - school
• Skorry - fast
• To skvat - to snatch
• Sladky - sweet
• To sloochat - to happen
• To slooshy - to hear
• Slovo - word
• To smeck - laugh
• To smot - to see
• Sneety - dream
• Snoutie - mucus coming from the nose
• To sobirat - to pick up
• To spat with - to have sex with
• Spatchka - sleep
• Starry - old

T

• Tashtook - handkerchief
• To tolchock - to hit
• Twenty-to-one - gang violence

U

• Ultra-violence - rape

V

• What was vareeting - what was up
• Veck - man, guy
• Veshch - thing
• To viddy - to see
• Voloss - hair
• Von - smell
• To vred - to injure

Y

• Yahma - hole
• Yahzick - tongue
• Yarbles - testicles, bollocks
• To yeckat - to drive

Z

• Zheena - wife
• Zlook - ring, sound
• Zooby - tooth

Mr. Popularity

George "Dubya" Bush is making the rounds in Latin America, visiting his favorite puppet states like Guatemala, Colombia, Uruguay and Mexico. Mr Bush also visited Brazil where he met a less than warm welcome:

"It's nothing more than to say we want to be your friends," Bush told Colombian television before he set out.

However, more than 6,000 anti-Bush protesters of all ages marched down Sao Paulo's famed Avenida Paulista, the business heart of South America, police said.

To the beat of Afro-Brazilian drums, they demanded an end to the Iraq war and what they called state-sponsored torture, U.S. imperialism and growing economic inequality.

"No. 1 Enemy of Humanity" and "Get out Bush!" read signs carried by workers, students, peasants and other activists.

"We're fighting against imperialism and Bush, who's interested in dominating countries in this region," said student Artour Barbosa de Queiroz, 29.1

And then the 'punks' got in on the act:

Trouble broke out when a small group, most of them punks, threw rocks at the police. They responded by spraying tear gas, firing rubber bullets and clubbing them, witnesses said.

A Reuters photographer, Caetano Barreira, was hit in the face by a chunk of wood thrown by protesters. At least two police officers were also hurt, the witnesses said.2

What a crock. The 'punks'!? This classification is not even qualified - what is meant by 'punks'? Frankly this makes me think that the reporter was not even on the scene but took the propaganda content directly from a government party line press release.

Hmmm, too bad for the Reuters fella, I wonder though how many protesters were hurt? Reports are sketchy, as usual, but it must be pretty damned bloody if the AP is reporting this:

Riot police fired tear gas at protesters and beat them with batons in Sao Paulo after more than 6,000 people held a largely peaceful march, sending hundreds of demonstrators fleeing and ducking into businesses to avoid the gas.

Authorities did not immediately report any injuries, but Brazilian media said at least six people were hurt after marching two miles through the financial heart of South America's largest city just hours before Bush was scheduled to arrive.3

Mr Bush was able to set the record straight on CNN En Espanol:

"The trip is to remind people that we care," Mr. Bush said in an interview Wednesday with CNN En Espanol. "I do worry about the fact that some say, 'Well, the United States hasn't paid enough attention to us,' or 'The United States really isn't anything more than worried about terrorism.' And when, in fact, the record has been a strong record."4

Still there are lingering doubts, and Hugo Chavez and millions of workers, students activists and others dedicated to creating another world stood side by side, staging anti-Bush protests all across Latin America, thereby dooming the Bush agenda.

Bush’s trip to Latin America is a calculated effort to counter Hugo Chavez’s growing influence in the region and to separate the “bad left” from the “good left”, namely Uruguay and to some extent Brazil. He hopes to add them to the dwindling bloc of pro-US nations, including Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico which he is visiting.

[...]

[Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador] are [all] raising the banner of socialism. In Venezuela Hugo Chavez is intent on leading the country to a “new socialism for the twenty-first century.” In Bolivia Evo Morales governing party is called Movement Towards Socialism, a “party of a new type” comprised largely of social movements. And in Ecuador, Rafael Correa in his inaugural address in January called for an opening to the “new socialism for the twenty-first century” and declared that Ecuador has to end “the perverse system that has destroyed our democracy, our economy and our society.”5

At the same time that Bush is preaching peace in Latin America, he has appointed hardliner John Negroponte as director of US Latin American policy. We can expect a concerted effort of the same failed policies of lies, subversion and aggression that are the hallmark and legacy of the Bush Administration; and are unfortunately the signature of the balance of US foreign policy in Latin America and the world.

Haymaket Memorial

I am currently sitting in the Chicago Airport due to the incredible efficiency of our airlines. The good news is that I was able to get to visit the Haymarket Memorial today during lunch. It was rather difficult as I was not able to find the address of the memorial even after calling the Chicago Historical Society and Chicago Cultural Affairs Office.

Thanks to a few bloggers and the Illinois Labor Historical Society I was able to find it and fortunately it was within walking distance of my Oracle training facility. The memorial is a few paces north of the intersection of W Randolf St. and N Desplaines St. about three blocks west of the Theater District.

Haymarket is memorialized internationally during May Day, also know as International Labor Day. A description of the tragic event follows:

On May 3, 1886, violence erupted at the McCormick Reaper Works during an assembly of strikers. That evening a small group of anarchists met to plan a rally the next day in response to the McCormick incident.

The rally began about 8:30 p.m. May 4 at the Haymarket, a site on Randolph between Halsted and Des Plaines Street, but due to low attendance it was moved a half block away to Des Plaines Street north of Randolph Street. After 10 p.m., as the rally drew to a close, 176 policemen led by Inspector John Bonfield moved in demanding immediate dispersal of the remaining 200 workers. Suddenly a bomb exploded. In the chaos that followed shots were fired by police and perhaps by workers. One police officer was killed by the bomb, six officers died later and sixty others were injured. No official count was made of civilian deaths or injuries probably because friends and/or relatives carried them off immediately. Medical evidence later showed that most of the injuries suffered by the police were caused by their own bullets.

All well known anarchists and socialists were rounded up and arrested in the days following the riot. Thirty one of them were named in criminal indictments and eight held for trial.

Although the bomb thrower has never been identified the eight indicted men were convicted by a court which held that the "inflammatory speeches and publications" of these eight incited the actions of the mob. The Illinois and U.S. Supreme Courts upheld the verdict.

On November 11, 1887 four of the accused were hanged. One committed suicide in jail, two had their sentences commuted to life in prison and one remained in prison even though there was no case against him. [See photo.]

After John P. Altgeld became Governor in 1893, the petitions for pardon that had been presented to and refused by his predecessor Richard Oglesby, were again introduced. After a careful review of the case Altgeld granted a full pardon on June 26, 1893. In his remarks he claimed the jury was selected to convict and the judge so prejudiced against the defendants that a fair trial was impossible.1

The monument standing there today (pictured with yours truly) is not the original monument. A statue was dedicated on the site in the 1890s. The statue was attacked by vandals many times and even blown up on several occasions. Mayor Daley in 1970 even had a 24/7 police watch established to guard the statue. Today it stands within the Chicago Police Academy and can only be seen by appointment.

Nevertheless, it is very easy to visit the memorial currently standing on N Desplaines St. Below is a map showing the exact location. I'll upload more pictures over the weekend.

China Vows 100 Years of Socialism

China's Communist president made an announcement regarding the political liberalization of the country, which was much maligned in the capitalist press. I am very much in favor of much more autonomy for labor unions and political activists in China. An effective and democratic system of workers councils that have rights which supersede the bureaucracy would be very welcome.

Still, it is disingenuous for the capitalist press in the United States or the G8 world to be overly critical of China's one party system. The reality in the U.S. is that we have, in the words of Eugene V Debs one party with two wings - the capitalist party. Debs, the most influential American socialist to date, wrote the following:

As a rule, large capitalists are Republicans and small capitalists are Democrats, but workingmen must remember that they are all capitalists, and that the many small ones, like the fewer large ones, are all politically supporting their class interests, and this is always and everywhere the capitalist class.

Whether the means of production—that is to say, the land, mines, factories, machinery, etc.—are owned by a few large Republican capitalists, who organize a trust, or whether they be owned by a lot of small Democratic capitalists, who are opposed to the trust, is all the same to the working class. Let the capitalists, large and small, fight this out among themselves.(Debs, 1900)1

Today Xie Tao had the following to say:

"We are still far away from advancing out of the primary stages of socialism," he said. "We must stick with the basic development guideline of that stage for 100 years."

Still, he said that "the socialism system is not contradictory to democracy," adding: "A highly developed democracy and a complete legal system are inherent requirements of the socialist system and an important benchmark of a mature socialist system."2

China is very cautious about the effects perestroika and glasnost had on Russia. I find it encouraging that a country the size of China will continue to try to build socialism, acknowledging that the context of their doing so is highly flawed.