Articles > April 2010
April 2010
Reform or Revolution
Abraham Lincoln composed the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation for a cabinet meeting in July 1862. He believed, however, that a Union victory on the battlefield was necessary in order that the proclamation would appear both crediblee and strong.
The Freeze and the Fire
President Obama has been rumored for weeks to be considering appeasements to the budget deficit critics.
Peace Activists Turn Backs on Gen. Petraeus at GA Tech
Original source: The Atlanta Progressive News(APN) ATLANTA -- On January 19, 2010, thirteen Atlanta activists from Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition (GPJC), and Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace stood in silence and turned their backs on US General David Petraeus before being removed from the 1,100-person Ferst Theater on the Georgia Tech campus.The activists wore t-shirts with messages like War is Not the Answer, Money for Jobs Not War, No to Endless War and Occupation, Veterans for Peace, and End the War - Yes We Can!The activists included Randy Aronov, Bernice Bass; Doris Benit; Mike Burke; Pamela Chubbuck; David Epstein; Reid Jenkins; Ann Mauney; Betsy Miklethun; Dot Shaw; George Sossenko; and the present writer--Gloria Tatum.Mauney, of GPJC, contradicted Petraeus's public relations message that the US is winning in the occupations of Iraq or Afghanistan."There is no military solution to the Afghanistan conflict, and... Gen. Petraeus, as a chief strategist for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and occupations, carries responsibilities for bankrupt US war policies," Mauney said during the protest."General Petraeus, the man from CENTCOM at MacDill AFB in St. Petersburg, definitely had the glint of a fifth star in his eyes and he reinforced that by telling a giant whopper about how the invasion of Afghanistan was launched after 9/11 because that's where the terrorists were from," Burke, a veteran of the US Invasion of Vietnam, wrote in an email obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.In fact, the US government's own investigation into 9/11 contradicts Petraeus's assertion by concluding that the majority of terrorists who attacked the US were from Saudi Arabia, not Afghanistan.Petraeus then began his question and answer session with the rows of clean-cut Tech students and academics who were far more interested in the economics of occupation than a pull-out date.Outside the Ferst Center, other opponents of endless war and occupation held a press conference and anti-war rally."Ever since the escalation in Afghanistan was announced, there has been a sharp upsurge in terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US," Dianne Mathiowetz, International Action Center Atlanta, said in a statement."Isn't it obvious that these endless wars just create endless terrorism?" Mathiowetz asked.
The Obama Challenge to the Banks
The Banks: First he proposes to tax them – they are going to the Supreme Court to stop him if they can.
The United States of Corporate America: From Democracy to Plutocracy
"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato, ancient Greek philosopher ...“The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.” Alex Carey, Australian social scientist “The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations.” Noam Chomsky, M.I.T. emeritus Professor of Linguistics On Tuesday, January 19 (2010), the Obama administration got a kick in the pants from the Massachusetts voters when they filled former Senator Ted Kennedy's seat by electing a conservative Republican candidate.
Video: Communist Party Convention Kick-off, with Sam Webb
See the official convention documents here:Main Convention Discussion Document: U.S. Politics at a Transition PointInternational Issues and US Foreign PolicyThe Party Program in a Period of TransitionNew Opportunities to Grow the Communist Party
How the US Impoverished Haiti
Author’s update: The horrific disaster that has befallen Haiti is perhaps unprecedented in the Western Hemisphere.
Three Views of Financial Reform
In my view, the three prevailing schools of thought on financial reform are as follows, with many economists sharing one or more features of the three:1.
Josh and Conor – Home from War in Iraq
Stand up and repeat these words in marching cadence: “I went down to the market Where all the people shop I pulled out my machete And I began to chop I went down to the park Where all the children play I took out my machine gun And I began to spray” This is a chant that our young are taught to march to in our military today, and this is how two young veterans of the Iraq War begin their presentations to groups across the country.
A Marxist and a Gentleman
Original source: Himal South AsianJyoti Basu (1914-2010) slipped into the night.
