Things to consider—

Since early 2011, Obama's been waging proxy war on Syria. Imported death squads masquerade as freedom fighters. The scheme's familiar. It repeats. It reflects US imperialism's dark side. In the 1980s, CIA-recruited mujahideen fighters battled Afghanistan's Soviet occupiers. Ronald Reagan called them "the moral equivalent of our founding fathers." He characterized Contra killers the same way. —Stephen LendmanFor over a century now US ambassadors have acted as fifth columns in the nations they are embedded in, their role chiefly to foster corporate and plutocratic power and coordinate machinations against any truly pro-democratic government.•••••"The dead end identity politics of SF Pride, which sells out a peace hero like Bradley Manning to curry favor with the American ruling class, is what I had in mind. The empire loves your tameness, irrelevance and cowardice, SF Pride. You don’t bother the American ruling class — a five foot two, 105 pound soldier does because he has a conscience and because he didn’t make comfort the guiding principle of his life...." —Randy Shields
Oct 292011
 

By Emile Burns

CHAPTER IV.
THE IMPERIALIST STAGE OF CAPITALISM
(For Parts 1—3, click here.)

In popular usage, imperialism is a policy of expansion, of the conquest of less developed countries to form an Empire. In so far as the policy is seen to be more than an abstract desire to see the country’s flag floating over as much territory as possible, it is recognised that there is some economic reason for the policy of expansion. It is sometimes said, for example, that the reason is a search for markets, or for raw materials and food, or for land where an overcrowded home population could find an outlet. IMAGE: Gaddafi’s son Mu’tassem, lies on mattress after being tortured and killed by NATO sponsored rebels. The attack on Libya, facilitated by trumped up, hypocritical charges, is a classical “land-grab” operation of Western imperialism. 
Continue reading »

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Oct 292011
 

What Is Marxism?
By Emile Burns, 1939

PUBLISHERS’ FOREWORD

The publishers of this little volume have no hesitation in stating that this is the best, short exposition of Marxism yet published in the English language. This, however, does not mean that it is a complete work on Marxism. Obviously, the full treatment of any branch of science would require the space of many large volumes. As Marxism embraces the sciences of political-economy, sociology and philosophy, and touches upon every aspect of man’s activity from pre-historic times to the present day, a complete understanding of Marxism can be gained only by a study of the writings of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and others, listed in the bibliography on the back of this booklet. (IMAGE: Oliver Cromwell.) Continue reading »

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Oct 292011
 

By Sandy English , WSWS.ORG, a socialist org

29 October 2011

The billionaire mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg (above), escalated state harassment of the several hundred anti-Wall Street protesters who have occupied a small plaza in New York City’s financial district since September 17.

The mayor sent 40 firefighters, accompanied by police, into the encampment on Friday to remove several canister’s of gasoline and six electrical generators. Bloomberg said during his weekly WOR-AM radio show, “It came to our attention cans of gasoline and generators were in the park. These are fire hazards (and) against the law.” Continue reading »

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Oct 292011
 

For a Radically Democratic Oakland without Cops, Politicians, or Bosses!

There are fissures inside OWS, as the movement is vast and encompasses the low-info and high-info types, locked in perennial tension. Also, absolute pacifism remains a strong tendency in the ranks. ±Eds

By MIKE KING and GEORGE CICCARIELLO-MAHER

[Mike is reporting from the ground in Oakland, former Oakland resident George contributed political analysis]

A major victory has been won. For only the second time in Oakland’s recent political history, mass action in the street has forced the hand of city government. If last time it was the rebellions that greeted the state murder of Oscar Grant that forced city and state officials to switch tack, arresting the shooter Johannes Mehserle and putting him on trial, the stakes have now changed and generalized in the local and national swirl of the Occupy Movement. Now, building on that history of resistance, but not without significant barriers in the near future, Oakland and the Bay Area is poised for a General Strike on the level of 1946.  Or beyond. Continue reading »

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Oct 292011
 

Facts Don’t Count
For our corrupt financial markets, any news that can be spun as good news can send stocks up. But what are the facts? 

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

I have come to the conclusion that Big Brother’s subjects in George Orwell’s 1984 are better informed than Americans.

Americans have no idea why they have been at war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa for a decade.  They don’t realize that their liberties have been supplanted by a Gestapo Police State.  Few understand that hard economic times are here to stay. Continue reading »

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Oct 292011
 

[Please repost and forward!]

The “Super Committee”. These people are not OUR leaders.  They’re merely shills for the plutocracy. All sellouts and bastards. 

The only thing we have left is our labor. This is what we must withhold.

The debt “super committee” makes its budget recommendations on Wednesday, November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving.

We know that the recommendations will include deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Continue reading »

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