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Archive for the ‘Jed Brandt’ Category
New flyer: Kasama panel at NYC Brecht Forum Nov. 21
Posted by kasama on November 13, 2011
Posted in >> analysis of news, Eric Ribellarsi, Jed Brandt, Kasama, Mike Ely, Occupy Wall Street | 1 Comment »
From Winter Has Its End: Lessons for confronting governments
Posted by kasama on October 13, 2011
Greek streetfighting defending the Peoples Assembly against police
Winter Has Its End is a project of revolutionary journalists who, this last summer, traveled to Greece’s “movement of the squares” and to Nepal’s sharp debate over whether to settle or make revolution. Here are some of their key articles — with major importance for the Occupy Together movement that has spread across the U.S.
Eyewitness to Greece: Arriving into a Whirlwind
By Eric Ribellarsi
“I arrived twelve hours ago in Athens, and rushed to find the crowds of street-fighters. The police tear gas has already hit around me about twenty times. Athens’ Syntagma Square has for weeks been the site of the People’s Assemblies, huge rallies that challenge the government’s plans. Tonight this Square, the very heart of Greece, is a battleground where the police and resistors have been fighting face to face, line against line.”
Greek Street Challenges Capitalist Austerity and Police Violence
By Jed Brandt
“The Thessaloniki Expo is Greece’s equivalent of the US State of the Union speech. The Prime Minister retreated behind barricades for the first time, as he is universally despised for selling the country to European bankers and the International Monetary Fund, and imposing austerity. The current ruling party, PASOK, is nominally social-democratic, but just as Obama is imposing austerity in the US — the “left” face of the ruling class always knows who butters its bread. “
Greece’s Communist Organization: Learning to Swim in Stormy Weather
By Eric Ribellarsi
“On May 5, this movement hit the square with the demand of “real democracy,” consistently drawing crowds in the hundreds of thousands. It occupied the square and cohered a whole movement of youth who were new to political life…. The one thing in this experience that I have been most impressed with was the KOE’s creativity and willingness to shift when something unexpected happens, and at the same time holding on to a revolutionary strategy.”
Posted in >> analysis of news, Eric Ribellarsi, Jed Brandt, Jim Weill, Liam Wright, winter has its end blog | Leave a Comment »
10 Hints for Election 2012: The Reality We Face & Obama’s Little Helpers
Posted by Mike E on April 17, 2011
Politics on the left is rapidly entering a period of hand-to-hand combat:
- Where a demand will be made that any progressive must now fight for Obama’s re-election,
- Where the “ultra-right” will be portrayed as terrifyingly close to the threshold of power, and
- Where fundamental opposition to this White House (and the larger system) will be portrayed as sterile sectarian lunacy.
This calls for a protracted, detailed yearlong debate running parallel to competing forms of activity. The following essay is an early contribution.
We urge all our readers to write their own contributions to this debate, and to share with us links to writings that dig in substantively.
* * * * * * *
2012 Without Illusions: Enabling Empire vs. Getting Real
by Jed Brandt
Checking around to see who is preparing for the 2012 elections by encouraging radicals to work for the Commander in Chief… So far, those “without illusions” are winning the prize for cynical support hands down. Who am I talking about?
Hint #1: They campaigned (and knowingly lied) for Obama, then blame you for what the President actually did! They traffic in illusions, then resent those who believed them. Priceless.
Posted in >> history, Barack Obama, communism, Democratic Party, election, imperialism, Jed Brandt, labor, methodology, organizing, politics, revolution, social networking, USA | 87 Comments »
Portland Report Back on Nepal: The Mountains Tremble
Posted by onehundredflowers on February 7, 2011
Nepal is a small land-locked country where communist revolution is changing everything. People are rising up against kings, castes and imperialism. Women are rising to lead. The revolution is related to the revolution unfolding in India.
In the first half of 2010, two revolutionary journalists, Eric Ribellarsi and Jed Brandt of the Kasama Project traveled to Nepal to report on these events. Their presentation will tell the story of this revolution, the current situation in Nepal, and feature video and photography from their journey.
Saturday, February 12 · 4:00pm – 6:00pm
6834 NE Glisan Street
Portland, OR 97213
(Off I-84 at 58th Ave exit or Off I-205 at NE Glisan exit, on TriMet bus line #19)
6834 NE Glisan Street
Portland, OR 97213
(Off I-84 at 58th Ave exit or Off I-205 at NE Glisan exit, on TriMet bus line #19)
.
Wheelchair accessible.
Posted in >> analysis of news, Eric Ribellarsi, Jed Brandt, Nepal, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 7 Comments »
Louisiana Reportback on Nepal: The Mountains Tremble
Posted by Mike E on November 6, 2010
Presentation: Eric Ribellarsi and Jed Brandt
In the first half of 2010, two revolutionary journalists, Eric Ribellarsi and Jed Brandt of the Kasama Project traveled to Nepal to report on these events.Their presentation will tell the story of this revolution, the current situation in Nepal, and feature video and photography from their journey.
Time:
Friday, November 12 · 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Location:
Southeastern Louisiana University Student Union (room 223)
Posted in Eric Ribellarsi, Jed Brandt, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 5 Comments »
Nepal’s First Days of May: General Strike & Provocation
Posted by Mike E on May 12, 2010
Marching to defend Maoist barricades against rightwing provocations.
by Jed Brandt
Kathmandu, May 11 — The largest mobilization of human beings in Nepal’s history brought hundreds of thousands of villagers into the capital Kathmandu for May First protests – and the entire country to a standstill.
May Day!
On May First, this city belonged to the Maoists.
From Kalinki to the Old Bus Park, packed buses poured into the city. Their every seat and aisle was filled. Young men perched on the roofs. Bags of rice, lentils and vegetables were stockpiled in the schools, wedding halls and construction sites that served as makeshift camps for the protesters.
Since I arrived in Kathmandu, it has been a remarkable thing to see the hammer and sickle waved so proudly across the city. But on May First, seeing thousands of union workers walk across the shuttered city to greet villagers, many of whom were seeing a city for the first time – all that put flesh and blood to the old communist symbol. Hammer for the workers, sickle for the peasants.
Business as usual was completely stopped. Cars and motorcycles were called off the roads and so, for the first time in a month, crisp blue skies opened up as the veil of smog lifted.
Posted in >> analysis of news, Jed Brandt, Nepal | 15 Comments »
General Strike Called Off in Nepal
Posted by Mike E on May 7, 2010
Jed Brandt just wrote from the capital (about 12 noon EST, early evening in Nepal):
“Prachanda announces end of general strike. Violence from police and vigilante groups was widespread today. Nobody knows yet what this means – the new terms will be announced at mass meetings across the city tomorrow.”
In short: The news is rapidly spreading in Kathamandu, Nepal: The general strike has been called off. The conditions and reasons are not known yet — to the people gathered in the capital, or to us watching from afar.
Announcements of the strike’s end appeared on Nepali TV.
Three hours earlier Jed wrote:
“Vigilante gangs broke off from civil society peace march, attacking protesters rocks and sticks. Police respond by tear-gassing canteen, beating Maoists who responded to the attack. Hindu-chauvinist groups attack Maoists with police assistance in the Terai, targetting leaders. Don’t believe the mainstream press. They smear the movement, portraying right-wing gangs as local residents and protesters as outsiders.”
Yesterday he wrote:
“Government intransigent in face of the Maoist mobilization. There is still dancing, but after a week in the streets and the total shut down tempers are rising. Minor clashes are breaking out around banch compliance. Counter-mobilizations are threatened.”
The bandh (shutdown) had been enforced by the large numbers of pro-Maoist activists that had gathered in the capital since May First. Its main demand had been the resignation of the current unpopular and unelected government.
It is not known yet what this means for the mass movement in the streets. Or for the current government whose resignation was the central demand of the strike.
We will post new information as we know it. Watch this space.
Posted in >> analysis of news, Jed Brandt, Nepal | 28 Comments »
Now…. About Those Pictures….
Posted by Mike E on May 6, 2010
Jed is posting, day after day, stunning photographs of the revolutionary upsurge in Nepal. Let’s brainstorm how we can spread them — use them, promote them, get them published in broad media where they can captivate new audiences.
Email us if you have specific ideas or avenues that you don’t want to post publicly.
JUST A FEW EXAMPLES…
Posted in >> analysis of news, Jed Brandt, Nepal | 4 Comments »
Support Jed Brandt’s Reporting: Donate Now
Posted by Mike E on May 6, 2010
Jed Brandt has been in Nepal now for over two months, reporting on the revolutionary movement there. We received the following letter which speaks for itself.
We urge you to circulate this letter or write one of your own to pass to friends.
Contribute funds to Jed, using his pay pal button
* * * * * * * *
Dear Friends,
Good news doesn’t happen in our world too much these days. I’m talking about the good news that makes your skin tingle, your curiosity stand at attention and your heart race. What else do we call it when poor, oppressed people stand up and demand an end to their mistreatment?
That is exactly what is happening in a little country called Nepal. A revolution is unfolding as we speak. The implications are global. This popular revolution, forged and lead by the Communist Party of Nepal has been going on for over 10 years. Millions of Nepali people are standing up as I write this, demanding a better world.
I don’t know what you know or think of Nepal. Most people have no idea that millions of people in Nepal are in motion.
As the song goes –
Something’s happening here…
what it is ain’t exactly clear…. .
better stop, hey, what’s that sound
everybody look what’s going down.
I am writing this letter because my oldest friend Jed is in Nepal right now reporting on the revolution. He’s been there for just two months and has produced amazing writing and photographs. His camera has captured the beauty and intensity of the people and incredible scenes unfolding in Nepal. His writing is informative, living and fun and expresses his own optimism and joy being in the heart of this struggle.
Posted in Jed Brandt, Nepal | 7 Comments »
Nepal General Strike Day 3: Ring Road Red Revolution
Posted by Mike E on May 4, 2010
by Jed Brandt
The ring road that circles Kathmandu was surrounded today in rings of protesters. 28 kilometers long in two rows, sometimes four. With 18 marches of roughly 20,000+ each.
At dusk, the Maoist leaders Prachanda, Bhattarai and Kiran drove down the road.
Again, overwhelming. Have to go.
Posted in >> analysis of news, Jed Brandt, Nepal | 3 Comments »
Nepal General Strike: Day 2
Posted by Mike E on May 3, 2010
by Jed Brandt
Quick note:
At dusk, police fired tear gas at marchers near Gongabu bus terminal, and live ammunition into the air to push back the crowds.
No one was seriously injured, nor was anyone too shaken at the scene.
People are determined and won’t be scared off. Rallies throughout the city.
It’s on.
Posted in >> analysis of news, Jed Brandt, Nepal | Leave a Comment »
Jed Live from Nepal: General Strike is On & the People are Ready
Posted by Mike E on May 1, 2010
The Young Communist League, before May First
“I have never seen anything like this. This is what a revolutionary situation looks like. The Maoists are not going to back down. The government is stubborn and encouraged by India. And the people are simply charged.”
Jed Brandt send this brief note — which arrived midday in the U.S.) :
by Jed Brandt
Late into the night, after a long day of May First, Kathmandu: I just left the Radisson Hotel where negotiations had been going on. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, a top leader of the Maoists and their negotiating team, came out the doors to say that the three negotiating parties have not reached an agreement. The general strike is on.
Other in attendance at the negotiations included Congress and UML. The hated, isolated current prime minister MK Nepal will not resign.
Bhattarai was sharp and direct. Since they will not make way for a national unity government, the agitations will increase tomorrow with a national general strike to topple the unpopular and unelected government.
A City Filled for May First, and for Struggle
The May First rally today was well over 500,000.
It was so large that it overflowed the Martyr’s Field and stretched for at least a mile to the north and south. The crowd was so large that it was between 500,000 and a million. The spirit was jubulent, serious, sober. The people are ready.
Posted in >> analysis of news, >> communist politics, Jed Brandt, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 8 Comments »
Nepal Report: Revolutionary students shut down 8,000 private schools indefinitely
Posted by Mike E on April 25, 2010
Maoist student actions in Kathmandu during March, photo: Jed Brandt
The following is a report from Nepal, first posted on jedbrandt.net. Jed Brandt’s previous reports, photos and writings are also available here on Kasama.
by Jed Brandt
KATHMANDU April 25 — Revolutionary students allied with the Maoists today shut down 8,000 private school across Nepal demanding fee hikes be immediately withdrawn. Business offices were padlocked at major schools last week. When negotiations between the student union and school owners broke down, several buses were torched. As of today, an indefinite closure was ordered as Nepal approaches the Maoist decisive May First mobilization.
Re-structuring Nepal’s two-tier educational system has been a key demand of the Maoists since they launched the People’s War in 1996. With public school lacking books, salaries for teachers and even buildings throughout much of the countryside, much of Nepal’s education is pay-as-you-go. Tuition for Kathmandu Valley is about the same amount most wage-earners bring home, excluding the working classes from serious education.
Posted in Jed Brandt, Nepal | Leave a Comment »
Updated w/hi rez: Jed Brandt’s High Noon in Nepal
Posted by Mike E on April 24, 2010
Jed Brandt’s recent report from Kathmandu is now available in a printable/readable pamphlet. Share it. It first appeared in web form on Kasama and Jed’s own blog.
Pamphlet:
May First: High Noon in Nepal (b-&-w)
May First: High Noon in Nepal (color)
Excerpt:
APRIL 21 — There are moments when Kathmandu does not feel like a city on the edge of revolution. People go about all the normal business of life. Venders sell vegetables, nail-clippers and bootleg Bollywood from the dirt, cramping the already crowded streets. Uniformed kids tumble out of schools with neat ties in the hot weather. Municipal police loiter at the intersections while traffic ignores them, their armed counter-parts patrol in platoons through the city with wood-stocked rifles and dust-masks as they have for years. New slogans are painted over the old, almost all in Maoist red. Daily blackouts and dry-season water shortages are the normal daily of Nepal’s primitive infrastructure, not the sign of crisis. Revolutions don’t happen outside of life, like an asteroid from space – but from right up the middle, out of the people themselves.
Posted in Jed Brandt, Kasama pamphlets, Nepal | 1 Comment »
May First: High Noon in Nepal
Posted by Mike E on April 21, 2010
This eyewitness reporting first appeared on jedbrandt.net. Its importance speaks for itself. Join us in circulating this account widely — starting today online. (Jed’s previous report is also online.)
by Jed Brandt
“You must come to Kathmandu with shroud cloth wrapped around your heads and flour in your bags. It will be our last battle. If we succeed, we survive, else it will be the end of our party.”
— General Secretary Badal of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
APRIL 21 — There are moments when Kathmandu does not feel like a city on the edge of revolution.
People go about all the normal business of life. Venders sell vegetables, nail-clippers and bootleg Bollywood from the dirt, cramping the already crowded streets. Uniformed school kids tumble out of schools with neat ties in the hot weather. Municipal police loiter at the intersections while traffic ignores them, their armed counter-parts patrol in platoons through the city with wood-stocked rifles and dust-masks as they have for years. New slogans are painted over the old, almost all in Maoist red. Daily blackouts and dry-season water shortages are the normal daily of Nepal’s primitive infrastructure, not the sign of crisis. Revolutions don’t happen outside of life, like an asteroid from space – but from right up the middle, out of the people themselves.
Posted in >> analysis of news, >> communist politics, Jed Brandt, Maoism, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 19 Comments »
Pamphlet: A Letter From Kathmandu
Posted by Mike E on March 21, 2010
We now have Jed’s first report from Nepal available in printable PDF pamphlet form. The is tabloid sized and folds into an illustrated pamphlet. The original first appeared in English on jedbrandt.net
* * * * * *
by Jed Brandt
March 7, 2010 — I can’t leave home for a few weeks without everything going crazy.
It took a bit for my time to adjust, to see things as they are coming here and where they’re coming from. Not the instant back-and-forth rhythm of New York multi-tasking anxiety time. Most days the electricity is out in Kathmandu. You can hear chickens in the morning, children playing after school and quiet talk at night when the old women laugh and call across the rooftops. Blackouts make working a computer hard, but the pace of people living by hands and minds alone, without so much mediation, is not a place I’ve ever spent much time. And I do love it here. The city is dirty. The people are upright, direct and curious….
Did I mention there is a revolution going on?
We haven’t seen a revolution in our lifetime. Not a communist revolution anyway, with broad support and participation sustained, growing over such a short period of time.
The Maoists are unorthodox, to be sure. They have defied everyone’s expectations, friend and foe alike. To their credit, they haven’t let their enemies tell them who they are or been confined to some historical script handed down by the Comintern in 1930-whatever. After a 10-year People’s War, starting in 1996, they grew exponentially among the rural people who make up the heart and body of Nepal.
Posted in communism, Jed Brandt, Maoism, Nepal, peoples war, Prachanda, UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist) | Leave a Comment »
Farsi Translation: Jed Brandt’s Greetings from Kathmandu
Posted by Mike E on March 21, 2010
Kasama received the following Farsi translation of Jed Brandt‘s first report from Nepal. You can download and print this translation in Word format. (Thanks to the translation team that did this work.)
The English version of this letter from Nepal was originally published on the new blog, jedbrandt.net.
با درود های گرم از کاتماندو!
چند هفته ای نمیتونم خونه رو ترک کنم چون اوضاع قاطی پاتی میشه
یه چند وقتی طول میکشه بفهمی که اینجا آدم چه جور بایستی رفت و آمد کنه. مثل ضربات حرکتی تند و تند تو نیویورک نیست که آدم عصبی میشه چون باید صدتا کار و یک جا انجام بده. بیشتر روزها برق قطعه تو کاتماندو. صبح صدای خروس رو میشنوی، بعد از مدرسه بچه ها بازی می کنند و شبها میشنوی زنها ی پیر می خندن و مردم رو پشت بوم همدیگه رو صدا میکنن. کار با کامپیوتر سخته وقتی برق نیست اما من خیلی تو جاهایی که اینقد زندگی مردم به عقل و زحمت مستقیم شون وابسته است نبوده ام. اینجا رو خیلی دوست دارم. شهر کثیفه. مردم صادق و رو راست و کنجکاو هستند. سریع تونسته ام دوست پیدا کنم اما فکر کنم که عروسی کردن راحت تر از معاشرت و قرار گذاشتن دختر و پسر هاست.
کاتماندو یه دره است. حد تانگلانگ کوهستان هیمالیا دیوار آسمونه که آسیای جنوبی رو از فلات تبت در شمال سوا کرده. نوک سفید کوه ها رو که میبینی غمگین میشی… چون آلودگی هوا افتضاحه. همین بیست سال پیش بود که ماشین سواری ها وارد شهر کاتماندو شدند. اکثر شهر که اصلاً واسه پیاده روی ساخته شده اما همه جور ماشین میبینی که یهو از وسط بن بست های ترافیک بیرون میپرن و خلاصه هرج و مرجه تو خیابون ها. مردم از بی نظمیش غر میزنند اما بعد خودشون دست به همون کارای غلط می زنند. تا حالا سه بار دیده ام ماشین زده به مردم ولی ماشین نمی ایسته. موتورسیکلت ها همه طرف هستند و هر جور دوست دارن میرن. تنها یک بار چراغ قرمز دیدم که اونم کار نمیکرد. برق نیست که نیست. دود موتور ماشین ها عین سقف دره آسمون رو سیاه کرده و هوا اغلب تازه نیست. تو راه های اصلی هم سواره و هم پیاده یکی از صد رقم ماسک رو صورتشون گذاشتند تا لااقّل از بعضی از گازهای کشنده خلاص باشند. هر جمعی که باشه صدای سرفه کردن مردم و از دست خلط راحت شدن به گوشت خورده. فقط با بارون هوا عوض میشه که اون هم بارون های موسمی تابستون هستند. فقط یکی از همین روزا بود که اعجاز شد و … هوا عوض شد.
خوبه خیلی نوجوون به تورم خورده و چند تاشون باهام دوست شدند. الان نشستم این کنار موزیک شاده، بیروت و آلیسیا کیز گوش Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in >> analysis of news, communism, Jed Brandt, Kasama translations, Maoism, Nepal, peoples war, Prachanda, Socialism, UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 3 Comments »
Jed Brandt From Nepal: Images From International Women’s Day
Posted by onehundredflowers on March 11, 2010
These are Jed Brandt’s pictures from International Women’s Day in Kathmandu, Nepal, where women are playing a leading role in the revolutionary transformation of society. Photo credit: Jed Brandt
click for slideshow
Posted in >> analysis of news, communism, Intl Womens Day, Jed Brandt, Nepal, UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist), women | 16 Comments »
Jed Brandt: Letter From Kathmandu
Posted by Mike E on March 8, 2010
- photo credit: Jed Brandt (http://jedbrandt.net)
This letter from Nepal. It was originally published on the new blog, jedbrandt.net.
Greetings from Nepal
by Jed Brandt,
March 7, 2010 — I can’t leave home for a few weeks without everything going crazy.
It took a bit for my time to adjust, to see things as they are coming here and where they’re coming from. Not the instant back-and-forth rhythm of New York multi-tasking anxiety time. Most days the electricity is out in Kathmandu. You can hear chickens in the morning, children playing after school and quiet talk at night when the old women laugh and call across the rooftops. Blackouts make working a computer hard, but the pace of people living by hands and minds alone, without so much mediation, is not a place I’ve ever spent much time. And I do love it here. The city is dirty. The people are upright, direct and curious. I’ve made friends quickly, though I’ve gotten the impression its easier to get married than find a date.
Kathmandu is a valley. The Tanglang range of the Himalaya is the wall in the sky that separates South Asia from the Tibetan plateau to the north. The white caps are breathtaking when you can see them. Pollution is horrible. Cars only arrived in Kathmandu 20 years ago. Most of the city is built for footpaths, but that doesn’t stop every sort of vehicle from ripping through trying to cut around the traffic jams. It’s some kind of anarchy on the streets. People complain about it, then go do it themselves. I’ve seen three people hit by cars, none of which stopped. Motorcycles are everywhere and drive as they want. I’ve only seen one traffic light and it wasn’t lit. The daily load shedding blackout.
Posted in >> communist politics, communism, Communist Party, Jed Brandt, Kasama, Maoism, mass line, methodology, Nepal, Prachanda, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 9 Comments »
Jed Brandt’s First Photos from a New Nepal
Posted by onehundredflowers on March 2, 2010
Jed Brandt is in Kathmandu, Nepal — reporting on the struggle of Nepal’s people and the growing political crisis. These are his first pictures. (this is part 1, more will follow). You can also see a slideshow here.
Click the pix for a full shot.
photo credit: Jed Brandt, Kathmandu, Nepal
photo credit: Jed Brandt, Kathmandu, Nepal
photo credit: Jed Brandt, Kathmandu, Nepal
photo credit: Jed Brandt, Kathmandu, Nepal
for many more: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in >> analysis of news, communism, Jed Brandt, Maoism, Nepal, revolution, UCP Nepal (Maoist), UCP Nepal (Maoist) | 7 Comments »
