Cover by Steel Pulse
Archive for August, 2009
Video: Bob Dylan’s “George Jackson”
Posted by Mike E on August 22, 2009
Posted in Bob Dylan, George Jackson, music, video | 6 Comments »
George Jackson: Eyes on Communist Revolution
Posted by Mike E on August 22, 2009
George Jackson was first known nationally through his book of letters Soledad Brother – a searing indictment of capitalism and U.S. prisons. However, he felt that his edge had been blunted (i.e. revised away) at the editorial stage. And so he wrote Blood in My Eye — a revolutionary and communist manifesto that defies anyone to misunderstand its purpose.
These works deserve to be engaged by everyone serious about ending forever the criminal rampage of U.S. imperialism. Here are a few quotations from George Jackson followed by a brief biography. We publish this in memory of George Jackson’s assassination by prison guards in San Quentin prison, August 1971.
“[The system] also breeds contempt for the oppressed. Accrual of contempt is its fundamental survival technique. This leads to the excesses and destroys any hope of peace eventually being worked out between the two antagonistic classes, the haves and the have-nots. Coexistence is impossible, contempt breeds resistance, and resistance breeds brutality, the whole growing in spirals that must either end in the uneconomic destruction of the oppressed or the termination of oppression.” (Jackson 1972: 182).
“Our purpose here is to understand the essence of this living, moving thing so that we will understand how to move against it.” (Blood in My Eye)
“Revolution is against the law….. I am an extremist, a communist (not communistic, a communist), and I must be destroyed or I will join my comrades in the only communist party in this country, the Black Panther Party. I will give them my all, every dirty fight trick in the annals of war.” “Classes at War,” Blood in My Eye
“To the slave, revolution is an imperative, a love-inspired, conscious act of desperation. It’s aggressive. It isn’t `cool’ or cautious. It’s bold, audacious, violent, an expression of icy, disdainful hatred! It can hardly be any other way without raising a fundamental contradiction. If revolution, and especially revolution in Amerika, is anything less than an effective defense/attack weapon and a charger for the people to mount now, it is meaningless to the great majority of the slaves. If revolution is tied to dependence on the inscrutabilities of `long-range politics,’ it cannot be made relevant to the person who expects to die tomorrow.” (blood in my eye)
“Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it’s cowardice.”
Posted in African American, anti-racist action, communism, George Jackson, organizing, police, political prisoners, prison, racism | 7 Comments »
Serious About Revolution: An Interview With George Jackson
Posted by Mike E on August 22, 2009
This interview was conducted May 16 and June 29, 1971 by Karen Wald. It was published in Cages of Steel: The Politics Of Imprisonment In The United States and edited by Ward Churchill and J.J. Vander Wall. It is available on line from History is a Weapon under the title “Remembering the Real Dragon.”Thin By posting this historical document, Kasama is not endorsing the specific analysis or political proposals that George Jackson made 38 years ago, at the highpoint of the Black Liberation struggle of those times.
“I’ve always been an internationalist. And a materialist… You will never find a peaceful revolution.”
Karen Wald: George, could you comment on your conception of revolution?
George Jackson: The principle contradiction between the oppressor and oppressed can be reduced to the fact that the only way the oppressor can maintain his position is by fostering, nurturing, building contempt for the oppressed. That thing gets out of hand after a while.
It leads to excesses that we see and the excesses are growing within the totalitarian state here. The excesses breed resistance; resistance is growing. The thing grows in a spiral. It can only end one way. The excesses lead to resistance, resistance leads to brutality, the brutality leads to more resistance, and finally the question will be resolved with either the uneconomic destruction of the oppressed, or the end of oppression.
These are the workings of revolution. It grows in spirals, confrontations, and I mean on all levels. The institutions of society have buttressed the establishment, so I mean all levels have to be assaulted.
Wald: How does the prison liberation movement fit into this? Is its importance over-exaggerated or contrived?
Jackson: We don’t have to contrive any…. Look, the particular thing I’m involved in right now, the prison movement was started by Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party. Huey and the rest of the comrades around the country. We’re working with Ericka [Huggins] and Bobby [Seale, chairman of the BPP; at the time they were co-defendants in a murder trial in New Haven, Connecticut, on charges which were subsequently dismissed], the prison movement in general, the movement to prove the to the establishment that the concentration camp technique won’t work on us. We don’t have to contrive any importance to our particular movement.
Posted in African American, anti-racist action, Black History, Black Panthers, capitalism, cointelpro, communism, fascism, interviews, police, political prisoners, prison, racism | Leave a Comment »
Books Taken from George Jackson’s Cell
Posted by Mike E on August 22, 2009
The revolutionary prisoner and thinker George Jackson was murdered August 21, 1971 — by prison guards in San Quentin. There is much to remember and commemorate about George Jackson’s life, theoretical work and practice — who was originally sentenced to California prison at 18 years old for the robbery of $70. George was one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party who most clearly and openly identified as a revolutionary communist — and argued that this road of socialist revolution held the hopes for the liberation of all people.
For now, Jay has forwarded to us a document written by those who killed George. It contains those books retrieved from his cell that disturbed his captors — books that served as a window through which a young prisoner observed and came to more deeply understand the world around him. Click for the full list.
Posted in African American, anti-racist action, Black History, Black Panthers, capitalism, cointelpro, communism, George Jackson, political prisoners, prison | 2 Comments »
Outrage and Sorrow: Leonard Peltier Denied Parole
Posted by Mike E on August 21, 2009
The following is an early AP press account of the denial. We imagine there will be more substantive analysis as the news sinks in. For now, we extend our thoughts to Brother Leonard in federal prison — persecuted, pursued, hunted down, framed, condemned, and now left to face many more unjust years as a political prisoner. We join others in demanding a presidential pardon. By BLAKE NICHOLSON
BISMARCK, N.D. – American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, imprisoned since 1977 for the deaths of two FBI agents, has been denied parole after authorities decided that releasing him would diminish the seriousness of his crime, a federal prosecutor said Friday.
Peltier, who claims the FBI framed him, will not be eligible for parole again until July 2024, when he will be 79 years old.
U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley announced the decision of the U.S. Parole Commission.
Peltier is serving two life sentences for the execution-style deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams during a June 26, 1975, standoff on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was convicted in Fargo, N.D., in 1977.
He has said the FBI framed him, which the agency denies, and unsuccessfully appealed his conviction numerous times. He also was denied parole in 1993.
“Leonard Peltier is an unrepentant, cold-blooded murderer who executed FBI special agents Williams and Coler, and in doing that he tore them from their families and from their communities forever,” Wrigley said. “Leonard Peltier is exactly where he belongs — federal prison, serving two life sentences.”
An angry defense attorney Eric Seitz declined to comment Friday, saying the Parole Commission had not had the “courtesy” to inform him of the decision. “We’ve heard nothing,” he said.
Posted in >> analysis of news | 6 Comments »
Jay-Z Cameos Mao
Posted by Mike E on August 21, 2009
Jay-Z a Maoist?
Jay-Z’s new video features Kanye West, Rihanna, and Mao Zedong
By Joshua Errett (from Now Magazine)
Wait a second. Does Chairman Mao Zedong make an appearance in the new Jay-Z video?
Um, looks like it.
Run This Town is the second single of Jay-Z’s upcoming 11th studio album, the soon-to-be blockbuster Blueprint 3 (slated to be released September 11). It features Rihanna on the hook and an admittedly masterful verse by Kanye West, who produced the song.
In the just-leaked video, there is also a quick cameo by Chairman Mao, seen as a black-and-white print on the back of a leather jacket at around the 2:54 mark.
Mr. Z often plays with communist references, some of which are commonplace in rap (bourgeois, or “bougie,” plays on the overused get money motif) and some of which are unique (his line “I’m like Che Guevara with bling on, I’m complex” is famous among fans).
But using Mao imagery might be a first, as well as controversial for obvious reasons.
Maoism is blamed in no small part for the deaths of millions, in China and neighbouring Asian countries (Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge were extreme Maoists, and also extremely genocidal). It’s fairly safe to say that in the still Communist-panicked U.S. (have you seen those town halls?), Mao is seen as a villain, without much nuance.
Mao’s Little Red Book is still widely available all over the world, but is generally bought for the kitsch factor. In Beijing, it’s relegated to a tourism trinket, and less often, a source of ironic humour among young Chinese.
But the Run This Town video does not evoke much irony or kitsch, at least on a surface level. It appears as a straightforward statement, albeit probably a fashion statement than anything else.
Jay-Z ran into mild controversy with international symbols in a video for Blue Magic, off his last album American Gangster. In that video, he’s seen flinging around Euros instead of the more traditional American greenbacks. Newspaper columnists and reactionaries derided the rapper for devaluing their dollar. Ridiculously so, but still.
After that, there’s no way the multimillion dollar rapper, former music industry head and all-around savvy entrepreneur would accidentally place Mao in his video.
Director Anthony Mandler says he plays with rebellion in the video, telling MTV, “We live in a very orderly society in America, but when you get into Brazil, you get into the Middle East, you get into Africa, you get into Eastern Europe, when you get into places like that, there’s a different sort of ‘we run this town’ [going on]. There’s less order and more chaos.”
But Mao is only only specific reference to a world leader in the entire clip.
With the aforementioned frantic (and crazy) debates about Communism in town halls across the country, is this the right time for Jay-Z to be flashing iconic images of Mao?
Posted in >> analysis of news | 18 Comments »
Video: Outernational’s “Que queremos”
Posted by Mike E on August 20, 2009
A performance from the Knitting Factory, 4/25/09
Posted in music, video | Leave a Comment »
Video: Muse “Take A Bow”
Posted by onehundredflowers on August 20, 2009
Thanks to Kalash for recommending this.
Posted in >> analysis of news, video | Leave a Comment »
Class Against Class? Real World Alignments for Revolution
Posted by Mike E on August 19, 2009
Radical Eyes suggested that we make this its own post saying:
“The issue of how to grasp revolutionary polarization (“revolutionary people” vs. “class vs. class” etc) seems to me a crucial one.”
This piece focuses on what the 1960s tell us about the potential alignments and sources of revolutionary energy in the U.S.
by Mike Ely
I wrote:
“Revolutionary rumblings [in the 1960s] didn’t take the form of “class against class” in the U.S. — and never will.
Bryan writes:
“Revolutionary rumblings will take the form of “class against class,” in this country and around the world….You don’t claim to be Marxists still, do you?”
There is a great transition happening in human society — breaking out of the sharp contradiction between social production and private appropriation. But to think that takes the form of workers gathering over here, and capitalists gathering over there — and then a rumble…. well that is non-materialist and non-Marxist (if you will).
There was in the 1960s a great element of rebellion rising from below (in more ways than often appreciated) and it has much to do with the radicalization of the most oppressed and working class layers of Black people in the U.S. And I don’t believe that great revolutions will arise in our epoch without a great ferment from below — without a driving force (a revolutionary people) arising from below and bringing with them into politics a spirit of “nothing to lose.”
Posted in >> analysis of news | 26 Comments »
EFF: Using Technology to Overcome Censorship
Posted by onehundredflowers on August 19, 2009
Kasama has not independently verified the reliability of the information presented below, but we are posting this because we think it may be of interest to our readers.
This is slightly modified from the original. For the full piece, go to eff.org.
6 Ideas For Those Needing Defensive Technology to Protect Free Speech from Authoritarian Regimes and 4 Ways the Rest of Us Can Help
Introduction: The Internet remains one of the most powerful means ever created to give voice to repressed people around the world. Unfortunately, new technologies have also given authoritarian regimes new means to identify and retaliate against those who speak out despite censorship and surveillance. Below are six basic ideas for those attempting to speak without falling victim to authoritarian surveillance and censorship, and four ideas for the rest of us who want to help support them.
I. Ideas for Activists and Others Facing Authoritarian Regimes
1. Understand Risk Assessment
The first step in trying to defend yourself against digital surveillance and censorship is to understand the concept of risk assessment. Risk assessment is the process of deciding what threats you face, how likely and serious they are, and how to prioritize the steps you can take to protect yourself. EFF’s section on risk assessment in Surveillance Self-Defense can help you with this assessment.1
Posted in censorship, internet, network, security, surveillance | 8 Comments »
Video: Janelle Monae “Many Moons [Official Short Film]“
Posted by onehundredflowers on August 19, 2009
Thanks to Ajagbe for turning me onto her music.
Posted in >> analysis of news, video | Leave a Comment »
Woodstock & Revolution: Working on Correct Verdicts
Posted by Mike E on August 18, 2009
Come together
We posted a few songs from Woodstock, in honor of the 40th anniversary. And it provoked a series of thoughts — especially some provocative comments kicked off by Stan. Here is one theme from that commentary.
Mike Ely:
Mao used to say, “Reversing correct verdicts goes against the will of the people”…Let me mention some things that we could appreciate about the 60s experience:
- Revolutionary rumblings didn’t take the form of “class against class” in the U.S. — and never will.
- There were incredibly unexpected features to the upsurge — culturally and politically.There was contagion and lots of unique particularity. This was something real, not on paper — and it crackled with novelty and shock.
- Conscious Marxists (often influenced by an older 40s generation) were often unable to even deal with the real features of the upsurge (including such phenomena as the drug culture or the emergence of gay liberation or where the shifting epicenters of revolt were situated).
- Sexuality, music and “culture” generally had a much bigger role in the development of challenges to the system than many “politicos” anticipated or appreciated.
- The preparatory role of subcultures (like beatniks or the world of the southern Blues), and then the eruption of a generational “youth culture” was crucial (and help break through the hegemony of ideas in a forceful way that has never been completely reversed.
- The connection between Black liberation and everything else of value was very close… a call and response of defiance and alienation conjured up from the very bottom of U.S. society.
- The international interconnections were fluid and complex — not simply a matter of “solidarity of xxx to yyy” — but a real criss-crossing and morphing of ideas and forms.
Posted in Bill Martin, civil rights, cointelpro, Mike Ely, Miles Ahead, music, Stanley Rogouski, subculture | Tagged: woodstock | 24 Comments »
Video: The Specials “A Message To You, Rudy”
Posted by onehundredflowers on August 18, 2009
[Translators note: Rudy is the "rude boys" and "rude girls" -- the disobedient youth in Jamaica, and then in England. And this "message to Rudy" is a sarcastic rendering of all the calls to "straighten up and fly right." This song is a bit of a fuck you. It arises from the two-tone (multiracial) ska scene that celebrated and organized a fusion of immigrant and British rebel youth scenes.]
Posted in >> analysis of news, punk, subculture, video | 2 Comments »
Occupiers Goals in the Afghanistan Elections
Posted by irisbright on August 18, 2009
The following was received from A World To Win News Service.
The Occupiers’ Goals in the Afghanistan Elections
10 August 2009. A World to Win News Service. Another round of presidential and local council elections in Afghanistan will be held 20 August. There have been dozens of candidates for president, but very few could conceivably even make a good showing. These elections have been hyped by the mainstream media around the world. The occupiers are doing their best to make as many people vote as possible. One of their main goals is to show that they have successfully exported their democracy to Afghanistan and in this way buy legitimacy for the regime they appointed.
They desperately need this legitimacy. Eight years of occupation have brought no real improvement to people’s lives, and in fact the regime and the imperialists behind it are so hated that a growing number of people are joining the Taliban, despite the fact these reactionary religious fundamentalists implemented such harsh Islamic measures when they were in power. Many people who welcomed the end of the Taliban government are willing to put that aside now because they want to fight the occupiers and their appointed regime. It could be said that the occupation has revived the Taliban.
Posted in Afghanistan, AWTW, communism | Leave a Comment »
District 9: Gagging on a Spoonful of Tar
Posted by Mike E on August 17, 2009
We have posted two reviews on Kasama regarding the new science fiction film District 9. Here is another.
By Mike Ely
Like many others here, we rushed to see District 9, the first night it was available. And as is often the case our whole ride home was a sharp back and forth of comparing notes…. first arguing and then agreeing about the film.
Let me start here:
This is a well-made and gripping film. It is clever. Parts are obviously derivative (Transformers? Independence Day? Alien Nation?), but even then the creative sparks made this movie feel like a new whole. And it was pretty well acted.
The intentions of the movie seem good: This is a pretty straight-up political parable on racism, corruption and intolerance. A million aliens arrive, desperate and lost, and are treated like shit — herded into a huge Soweto like camp, neglected, exploited, experimented upon, targetted for racist names (“prawns”), generally disrespected and misunderstood, and seen as competitors for land and jobs.
Posted in film, film review, Mike Ely | 24 Comments »
Obama’s List: Still Funding Blackwater Mercenaries
Posted by Mike E on August 17, 2009
One of the most revealing and criminal parts of the U.S. war in Iraq was the expansion of mercenary forces — and their use against Iraqis (without the restraint of U.S., military or Iraqi law). Inevitably (and consciously) this has let to notorious atrocities, corruption and deserved outrage. Jeremy Scahill has worked tirelessly to expose the Blackwater mercenary organization (including their crimes in New Orleans during Katrina). Thanks to rebelreports for this piece.
Kasama is compiling “Obama’s list” — where we will simply gather, over time, Obama’s reactionary actions and assertions about crucial matters in the U.S. and internationally. We started this list with the piece, “Obama’s Talking Points: Not Funding Abortion, Persecuting Immigrants, Shielding Torturers….“
Help us had information and exposure to Obama’s list — send us brief reports on the positions and actions of this administration.
Valerie Jarrett: Trust Obama on Blackwater
By Jeremy Scahill
President Obama’s senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett, was confronted over the weekend with the fact that the administration continues contracting with the scandal-plagued mercenary firm Blackwater (which now does business as Xe Services and US Training Center). “He has to balance national security with transparency and I bet with him. I bet with him and I’m asking you to trust him,” Jarrett told a raucous crowd Saturday at the NetRoots Nation conference in Pittsburgh.
Posted in Barack Obama, Iraq, war on terror | 11 Comments »
Afghan Maoists Boycott Regime Elections
Posted by irisbright on August 17, 2009
The following was received from A World To Win News Service.
Afghan Maoists:
“Do not take part in the puppet regime’s presidential and local council elections!”
10 August 2009. A World to Win News Service. Following are excerpts from a July leaflet by the Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan.
Dear people of our country!
As you know the second round of the puppet regime’s presidential election and local council elections will be held in late August. The reactionary- imperialist show has already started. We call on all of you: Do not take part in the puppet regime’s presidential and the local council’s elections!
We issue this call because:
First of all: Many people believe that participation in this election will be even less than last time, and that only a very small minority of the population will vote. Our people have the right to react to the upcoming elections with indifference. They experienced the results of previous elections: more murdering bombardments, the deepening and spreading of the regime’s corruption, homelessness, unemployment, poverty and hunger among the toilers…
Under no circumstances sell your votes, either individually or as a group… resist even if you are faced with threats by regime officials and forces or those of the criminal warlords who may belong to different regime gangs…
We in turn see it as our responsibility to resist any sort of superficial or real threats and also struggle against any kind of trading votes by any means available, or at least to expose such cases.
Posted in >> analysis of news, >> communist politics, Afghanistan, AWTW, AWTW news | Leave a Comment »
Iranian Maoists: An Analytical Declaration
Posted by irisbright on August 17, 2009
This was received from A World to Win News Service.
Iran: “An analytical declaration on the present crisis and the tasks of revolutionary communists” – part 2
10 August 2009. A World to Win News Service. The following document by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist-Leninist- Maoist) dated 28 June 2009 was recently released publicly. This is the second of a two-part series. The first part, published in AWTWNS 090727, focused on analysing the situation. The English translation is unofficial.
This wave has just started
With the accumulation of 30 years of anger and the collapse of its legitimacy among the majority of people, the regime’s inability to carry forward plans to suppress the masses will cause the continuation of a new wave of struggle among the masses. This wave can emerge abruptly or recede and will advance through ups and downs. The longer this revolutionary wave lasts, the more developed will be the polarization between the more advanced and the more conservative strata of the people, both objectively and subjectively.
Now the deep contradiction between the masses of oppressed and the exploited classes and the IRI is developing through leaps. This is reflected in the battlefield of the streets. In practice and on the battlefield the radical sections have demonstrated their differences with the “green wave” [the Islamic opposition led by presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi] and “Allah-u akbar” [those chanting "God is great"].
The problem is that a solid core that would have an organisational and political impact on the radical section of the people has not formed yet. Only when the deep class feelings of a section of these more radical strata is linked with revolutionary communist political consciousness and finds organisational expression can it be said that this part of the people have their own solid core. Then it can be said that the political scene has effectively changed. Then there will exist a small but concentrated conscious and determined force among the masses that can neutralize the other side [the green wave and allah-u akbar] and become a pole of attraction leading the masses.
Posted in >> analysis of news, AWTW news, Iran, Sarbedaran | 1 Comment »
Video: Bjork “Venus As A Boy [Live]“
Posted by onehundredflowers on August 17, 2009
In the spirit of utopianism, and also because it’s just a great song:
“He believes in beauty. He’s Venus as a boy.”
Posted in >> analysis of news, video | Leave a Comment »
