Update on the library meeting room fee

I have heard some more details about the changes in the Durham libraries, and a response by some citizen groups is in the works. 

 

A librarian gave me an unconfirmed rumor that there will be a three day grace period to return books and fines for an overdue book or video will be capped at $5 dollars. Someone else in the know told me that libraries around the country are doing this, because people apparently accumulate fines, and then never use the library again!

 

There are various explanations for the fee.  A librarian told me it was to replace lost revenue.  A member of the Library's board of trustees told me that they did not like this decision, but it came straight from the County Commissioners, and is relatively low and seen as half of the for-profit fee.  Reportedly Ellen Reckhow proposed it two years ago and it was approved during budget discussions at the Commissioners' meetings in May and June this year.  The board member told me the fee is for room upkeep.  The rooms aren't that dirty or in need of upgrades I think.  Another person with Library connections told me this is not related to the changes in fines, but is purely the County Commissioners trying to raise general revenue for the government.  That person expects this policy will fail, because for-profit users won't use the libraries.

 

The changes are supposed to start September 4th.  It looks like the smaller room at Parkwood and even smaller rooms at the North and East branches will continue to be free.  The board member said there were some inaccuracies in my earlier account,  I think this corrects them (though I doubt the fee is really only for room upkeep), but if anyone with information thinks this is inaccurate, please comment!

 

I noticed yesterday that (I think) 62 luxuriant marijuana plants were found and destroyed in Durham.  I wonder how much those drug surveillance flights cost and what levels of government pay for them.  The anti-drug war looks worse for society than the affects of many or all of the major illegal drugs, and money is being spent on this counterproductive policy and wars while services, such as free library services, are being cut or made more costly to the public.  My point is, there are plenty of ways to reduce government spending without cutting services that are beneficial or vital to Americans, especially those who aren't wealthy.        

Impeachment protest Monday and Library update

This is an announcement abourt the protest in Chapel Hill at noon Monday.  At first I thought this had to do with the July 23rd national day of action on the Downing Street Memos in 2005, which is about the time when I got involved in impeachment campaigning.  The media is being invited, so let's make it a big event and make them pay attention to the mass support for impeaching Bush-Cheney! 

 

> > > MONDAY /JULY 23RD AT TWELVE O'CLOCK
> > >
> > > AT FRANKLIN STREET POST OFFICE
> > >
> > > IN CHAPEL HILL
> > >
> > > 300 ORANGE BALLOONS
> > >
> > > WILL BE GIVEN AWAY
> > >
> > > COME AND BRING YOUR SUPPORT FOR IMPEACHMENT
> > >
> > > AND BE SUPPORTED BY THOSE
> > >
> > > AROUND YOU
> > >
> > > IF YOU CAN, WEAR ORANGE ON MONDAY
> > >
> > > JULY 23, A COLOR THAT HAS COME TO STAND FOR
> > >
> > > NONVIOLENT REVOLUTION
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > *
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > MONDAY JULY 23RD CINDY SHEEHAN WILL LEAD A MARCH
> FROM ARLINGTON NATIONAL
> > > CEMETERY (AT 10AM) TO CAPITOL HILL, TO THE
> OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN
> > > CONYERS TO ASK HIM TO MOVE FORWARD WITH
> IMPEACHMENT OF THE PRESIDENT, GEORGE
> > > BUSH AND VICE-PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > This event has been accomplished by private
> funds of average people and
> > > businesses tired of the goings on of the
> Government. There will be no
> > > speeches, brochures or requests for funds; just
> people to people. Please
> > > come. Thank you.
 

> > > CEMETERY (AT 10AM) TO CAPITOL HILL, TO THE
> OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN
> > > CONYERS TO ASK HIM TO MOVE FORWARD WITH
> IMPEACHMENT OF THE PRESIDENT, GEORGE
> > > BUSH AND VICE-PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > This event has been accomplished by private
> funds of average people and
> > > businesses tired of the goings on of the
> Government. There will be no
> > > speeches, brochures or requests for funds; just
> people to people. Please
> > > come. Thank you.
 

I wouldn't link this to Ukraine's so-called "revolution" a few years ago, which was really just a fight between two different wings of capital, not between different classes, like the revolutions in England, America (I would guess), France, or Russia.  Orange is a logical color for impeachment because peaches are an orange color (im-peach).  Thus Andy Silver's orange to impeach campaign, which has either spread across the country or been independently duplicated all over.   

 

The Durham Library Situation

 

I was told by a librarian that one or both of Parkwood's meeting rooms will cost starting in September, and this is a systemwide policy.  The fee will be $50 dollars for anything up to 4 hours and $100 dollars over that.  The rooms will also be opened up to for-profit activities, though those users will pay double the cost,

 

Apparently this is part of a longstanding wish by the County Commissioners for changes in the Library system.  Overdue book fines will be reduced, for example, by restoring the four-day grace period (which I think is a helpful idea), and the Commissioners introduced the fee to make up for the lost revenue.  There is at least some discontent among the librarians. 

 

As I said yesterday, I think this policy discourages citizens from organizing groups and events by depriving those without funds of a very user-friendly and publicly funded meeting space.  Taxes are supposed to support the libraries and surely they could have saved some money by making cuts elsewhere if they couldn't increase the Library's appropriation in the budget.  I'm glad for-profit users will have to pay more, thus potentially discouraging them from competing with non-profits for the spaces, but at the same time it seems a bit arbitrary and unfair to make them pay double the price.  Possibly the small meeting room at Parkwood will stay free, but I predict it will then be hard to book, because that Library is already sometimes very busy.  I belong to three groups that meet about monthly in the libraries, two of them at Parkwood, and as I said, I would have to pay for one of those groups.   

 

There is a complaint list, at least at Parkwood, and concerned people can also call, email, or write to the County Commissioners to complain (contact info is on the County Government website and in the League of Women Voters publications at the libraries).  The Library had several public meetings earlier in the summer, but as far as I know they did not advertise that this fee was being eyed and I don't know if it was discussed at those events.   

Keep the Durham Co. libraries free

I heard from the Durham BORDC's organizer that using either the auditorium or the upstairs conference room at the Main Library now costs $50 dollars.  I also heard that the Parkwood Branch Library will probably charge for the large meeting room (according to one librarian) or possibly both starting in September.  It looks like this is a system wide change, but I haven't confirmed that yet. 

 

I think this is a bad idea that conflicts with the traditional concept of a public library that also serves as a community center.  I reserve a library meeting room in Durham at least 12 times a year, and it is too costly to pay a fee of $600 dollars a year.  This impacts everyone, but especially citizen groups without financial status, the poor, students, and homeless people.  Sure there are cheaper or free spaces, but these are mostly private locations with more drawbacks.  Church rooms are often very busy, may have a fee, and political meetings might be prohibited.  Homes might be too small, lack parking, and are private spaces that people might not want to use for public meetings open to everyone,  Southpoint Mall and coffee shops provide meeting spaces, but they are also crowded or busy with through traffic, small, and are more limited than the libraries have been,  If this change is to save money, I think it would be more in keeping with the mission of libraries if they saved money instead by not allowing refreshments (the serving of which already has a fee), cutting the lawn less often, etc.  

 

I will provide an update about this when I have more details, but I was told that the Library is taking complaints, so we should send them in (contact information is available at www.durhamcountylibrary.org). 

 

Another longstanding issue, possibly having to do with money, is the way the Library decides which books in its collection to sell. 

Cindy Sheehan in Carrboro today

Cindy Sheehan will be at Weaver Street Market in
Carrboro today (7/19) at noon for an event organized
by the Grass Roots Impeachment Movement.

In the evening (I think at 7pm) the Durham Bush-Cheney
Impeachment Meetup will be meeting for July at the
Parkwood Branch Library in Durham.

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Creeping US fascism? discussion July 21st

The next Triangle Socialist Forum meeting will be
Saturday, July 21st at 2:30 at the Chapel Hill Public
Library, to discuss whether not the US society is becoming
more fascistic.  I might have a short video or clips
to show again and I expect someone from a local branch
of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee
(www.bordc.org ) will come.  The meeting will probably
focus on civil liberties and democracy, but as was
discussed at the last meeting, there is more to
fascism than just the overthrow of representative
democracy.

Two readings to consider:

 

Chapter 28 of Michael C. Ruppert's book Crossing the
Rubicon focuses on the loss of civil rights and some
other things and presents a good case.
www.fromthewilderness.com has two essays that I think
are the same ones excerpted in that chapter, The "F"
Word and Trial Balloon? under the civil liberties
section of the website.  The book overall is mainly
about problems with the official account of 9/11,
which we could consider at the meeting, but that argument is not
necessary to discuss fascism in this country.

After I suggested the readings for the last meeting, I
found another reading on fascism that might be useful
to look at.  Chapter 4 of Fascism and Social
Revolution and the short section on Franklin D
Roosevelt's administration, starting on page 267,
might be most appropriate.  The book is online at:

www.plp.org/books/Dutt.html

Let me know if you need printed copies of the
readings.

Durham BORDC meeting Saturday at Stanford Warren

The Durham Bill of Rights Defense Committee's June meeting is today at 3pm at the Stanford Warren Library, on Fayetteville St.  I think the main agenda items will be the ongoing campaign against the NC connection to rendition of prisoners for torture and tabling at July 4th events. 

 

Also, this is the second day of the Friends of the Durham Library's summer booksale.  They have a range of books, most going for $1 dollar hardcover and 50 cents paperback.  I found most of my Marxist books in the philosophy section and sometimes in the history section, along with books on the histories of the "socialist bloc" countries.

 

I think the renovations downtown are also being officially unveiled Saturday, with the festivities starting at 10am.  It would be nice if the editors of UNC's Daily Tar Heel and others who are hard on Durham's image would take notice.  Though we could use some new trees downtown to replace the ones cut for street work.  

 

If the Grass Roots Impeachment Movement meeting Sunday at 5:30 is open to the public, I assume it is announced at www.impeachbushcheney.net.     

Protecting and expanding democracy discussion July 2nd

Mark the July 4th national liberation of the USA by
joining a discussion Monday, July 2nd at 7pm at
Internationalist Books in Chapel Hill (405 W. Franklin
St.) about the need for revolutionary political and
economic change to make the country more democratic,
fair, prosperous, and sustainable.  How can we remove
Bush and Cheney for their proven crimes?  Whose
interests control politics?  Is monopoly capitalism
serving most Americans well?  How can we live up to
our democratic and progressive ideals?

Now is the time to discuss this, as Bush leads an
an anti-democratic reaction, and at a time when we
celebrate America's revolutionary birthday.

Highway 54 condo rezoning, etc. on the 18th

The rezoning of the back half of the proposed Highway 54 condominium project will be voted upon Monday evening at 7pm at the City Hall.  The rezoning of the cleared area on Fayetteville Rd. at Massey Chapel Rd., I think to expand a daycare, will also be voted upon.  I think the proposal to sell part of the old Lowes Grove Elementary School grounds for commercial development is a County and not a City issue, but that is another local development concern right now.  Some in the community are against the government giving public land to private interests when the site's location by two schools and the future location of what is now the Parkwood Branch Library make it useful for public projects.    

   
Of the rezonings, I am most concerned about case the condominium request, rezoning from
commercial neighborhood to office and institutional, supposedly for condominiums on Highway 54 in front of Parkwood at Blanchard Rd., near the intersection of 55.  I have heard that the developer proposes to build condominiums on the side by 54, with the rezoned portion to be less impacted. When I saw that the house on the site, in a yard with large Willow Oaks, was for sale, I expected that it would just be sold to another homeowner.  I had a dream once that the site would be levelled, but I didn't expect it to happen, but that now seems likely.  The hilly site will probably require a lot of grading to be built upon and much of it is mature hardwood forest with large oaks and relatively rare spring wildflowers, such as Fringe Tree, Mayapple, Rue Anemone (Windflower). There is some English Ivy and Vinca creeping in, but it seems pretty pristine (more so than a lot of Parkwood's public green spaces.  The site is cut by a tributary of Northeast Creek, and the Creek's
floodplain is near or touching the area to be rezoned. It is bad for the area's biodiversity and scenery to cut this woods, probably left over from a larger hardwood forest cut for Parkwood.  Any grading that is done will further harm the water quality of NE Creek and Jordan Lake from silt and later the additional polluted stormwater runoff and flood surge from the development.  Siltation means the loss of topsoil and is bad for aquatic organisms.  You can see how much silt NE Creek is burdened with when it flows yellow-brown into Jordan Lake at 751 after storms. I am surprised that none of the neighbors are opposing this rezoning.  I wrote to Mayor Bell and the City Council to urge them

to get written assurances about what the developer intends to build, to minimize grading, to preserve the wooded back part of the property (and as many trees as possible), and to add a sidewalk (and a bikelane if 54 will be modified).  Given the hilly nature of the site, stormwater control would also be good.  At least the development is proposed along bus routes and is not a gas station (that is apparently the Parkwood Association's argument, but why did it oppose Audubon Park then, which is supposed to be the reason why the area north of Sedwick Rd. was clearcut?).  I don't see how the development would benefit the community.  Also, will it be lower cost housing or will it be more expensive, but poorly situated housing, like some of the neighborhoods along Grandale Rd., for example where a house was built in a partially filled-in seasonal pond?

The  other area, on Fayetteville Rd. by Massey Chapel Rd., is being requested rezoned from rural residential to transitional office overlay.  The Council could require the owners to replant a
buffer on the east side of the clearcut property to buffer the neighbors and a pond on a tributary of Crooked Creek, which also flows into Jordan Lake.  Given the amount of development along Fayetteville Rd., I expect Crooked Creek is getting pretty silty now and has stormwater problems.  I heard that the clearcutting might have been in violation of the rules, but that might be allowed under rural residential zoning. 

Discussion: What is Fascism? June 30th

After a short hiatus, I reserved the Chapel Hill
Public Library's conference room on Saturday, June 30th,
2:30-4:30 for the next Triangle Socialist Forum discussion.   

 

This meeting will be on fascism.  Fascism is
a word that is often used as an epithet, even today,
but what it is and who is fascist is usually poorly
defined by its opponents and even less often is there an attempt to
explain the material basis for fascist seizure of power

and their policies.  Has there ever really been a coherent

political syndrome that we can call fascism, is fascism in power anywhere
today, and if there is fascism now, is it the same
thing as the fascism of the 20's-40's?  I'm thinking of this

as the start of a series of discussions on fascism,

but that depends on how this meeting goes.       

There will be a showing of the 28-minute presentation made
by William Manson and Maria Darlington for The Peoples
Channel of Chapel Hill.  

 

Useful readings are:

A recent short article on the 14 characteristics of
fascism, Fascism Anyone?, by Laurence W. Britt

and published in Free Inquiry magazine.  It is available at:

www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm

The first section of Part 1 of a collection of
speeches. reports, etc. by Gregori Dimitrov, a Bulgarian
communist who was the general secretary of the
Comintern (the third international communist association)

around the time of WWII.  I think he was
also tried by the Nazis for the Reichstag fire (which
the Nazis probably set themselves).  He gives another
analysis of fascism and the Comintern definition:

www.marx2mao.com/Other/TUF35i.html

Chapter 20 of economic historian Karl Polanyi's book,
The Great Transformation, might also be helpful, but
this isn't required reading.  It would be
interesting to discuss later.  The book is about the
development of capitalism up to WWII, focusing on the
tension between the assumptions capitalism requires to
work and the economic, social, and environmental
realities.  Chapter 20 focuses on why fascism
developed.  I haven't looked to see if the book is
online, but you would probably have to find a library
copy or buy it.

I'm not suggesting a survey of all the currents of
thought on fascism, but another contemporary view is
presented in a 1932 analysis by Trotsky:

www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/germany/1932/onlyroad1.htm#s0

As always, it is best to read for the meeting, but
that shouldn't stop anyone from coming.  I think a
film relating to this, From Freedom to Fascism is
being shown at The Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro Friday
evening. 

Confederate and US Memorial Days

If you were in Raleigh on May 10th, Confederate Memorial Day, you
might have seen a Confederate flag, the Stars and Bars (an early
Confederate flag with a circle of white stars on a blue jack and two
red stripes and a white stripe) flying over the State Capitol. The
News & Observer covered it at
www.newsobserver.com/692/story/414858.html.

I think it also flies on
January 19th for Robert E. Lee's birthday, January 19th. Several
states mark a Confederate Memorial Day, and it is May 10th only here
and in South Carolina, which is when Confederate President Jefferson
Davis was captured by Federal forces in 1865.

I don't think it is wrong to memorialize those who died for
reactionary causes, which unfortunately is largely what the
Confederates fought for. The Civil War was partly over a different
view of the Constitution and states' rights, but it came about because
the Southern planter capitalists depended on slavery and the Northern
industrial capitalists did not and wanted to end it in the USA. In a
way the Confederates were defending themselves from Northern
aggression, and the Union did use brutal tactics at times,
foreshadowing the total wars of the 20th century. But the
Confederates were fighting for the right to oppress blacks and so once
the Union decided to end slavery in the Confederate states it gained
the moral high ground and undercut the Southern economy at its base.
Marx and Engels opposed the CSA over slavery and I think also because
they thought a Southern victory would set the entire world back by
weakening the US economy. I think the Constitution allows secession
(though I could be wrong) and it is a natural right people should have
in any country (and it was a right in the Soviet constitution). On
the other hand, I'm not sure that the vote was very democratic among
the citizens in the states that joined the CSA, and of course it
excluded blacks, other minorities, and women (probably also poor
whites).

It would be more accurate, but also probably more offensive, for NC to
fly the Third National, or last Confederate flag over the Capitol.
That flag is white with the Battle Flag (the familiar red, white, and
blue St. Andrew's cross) in the upper right and a red stripe at the
trailing edge). One article I saw said the Stars and Bars is used
because of a decision by Governor Jim Hunt, I think ending use of the
Confederate Battle Flag or Naval Ensign. I don't feel strongly about
having the flag over the Capitol, though it is strange to imagine a
progressive government continuing the practice and the comments at the
memorial ceremony were probably reactionary and said by conservatives,
judging by what the N&O quotes. I sympathize with the defiance of the
US government by flying the Confederate flag, even if it is defying it
over a war that was for slavery and using symbols that have been
appropriated by white supremacists.

We in the South need to end our shame over slavery, our part in the
wars against the native peoples, and our current status as being among
the poorest, most backward, and most anti-worker part of the Union by
being the place where the second American revolution begins. That is
progressive Southern nationalism. More short term, instead of just
apologizing for the wrongs of the past, the South and the entire
country needs to give reparations by bringing minority communities up
to the standard of living and democracy of the rest of the USA. Full
equality will probably not be possible under capitalism though, and
possibly any oppressed nations in the USA will want to exercise their
right to independence.

One final thing on memorial days - it is a lie to pretend that US
Memorial Day is not about legitimizing every war the USA has fought,
whether it was just or not. Just listen to all the talk of fighting
those "terrorists" trying to liberate their country in Iraq and how
the US military makes possible our freedom (when it really is for
doing whatever the capitalists want and for oppressing the freedom of
people in other countries, like in the Vietnam War). The US has been
on the side of justice in some wars and modern soldiers are competent,
brave, and making sacrifices, but their great sacrifices today are for
injustice and the majority of Americans want them to be withdrawn out
of Iraq.

Alliance ML social networking

Around May Day, Alliance Marxist-Leninist (www.allianceml.com) set up group pages on Facebook and MySpace, two popular online social networking sites.  The MySpace site is available to anyone at groups.myspace.com/allianceml, and the Facebook site is only available to registered users of www.facebook.com.  The sites still need pictures (any suggestions?), etc., but they are basically done.  The Facebook group already has some members, which was quicker than I expected and shows how well that site can bring people together.  

 

Facebook has some liabilities as an organizing tool, but there are a lot of political groups there, and many communist groups, unfortunately I think mostly revisionist.  I'm not sure how things stand on MySpace, but Alliance isn't the first red group there either.   

 

The Triangle Socialist Forum is also on Facebook, but that page is pretty bare right now.     

Three salutes over the weekend

There were three important celebrations and anniversaries this weekend. 

 

First, this is the time for marijuana legalization events.  Maybe I'll post more on that later and I'm hoping to write on the related issue of industrial hemp (a very valuable non-narcotic variety used for fiber, paper etc.) legalization later on. 

 

April 22 is the anniversary of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's birth in 1870.  He was born in Simbirsk (renamed Ulyanovsk, I assume in honor of Lenin's family name), on Russia's Volga River.  He went on to lead the great socialist revolution that created the longest lasting workers' state, and made many useful innovations in revolutionary communist theory and practice.  These include his analysis of monopoly capitalism (see Imperialism, online at www.marx2mao.org), linking the proletarian revolutionary movements in the most developed capitalist countries with the national liberation movements in the colonies, strengthen both movements for freedom and democracy, and the two-stage theory of revolution in oppressed nations.  

 

Now to the most popular anniversary.  As most people know, today is also Earth Day, I think first established in the USA in 1970.  A lot of media outlets are portraying it as a celebration of the living Earth, which it is, but I think of it more as a day to work to conserve the environment.  This usually involves picking up trash, which I did yesterday with NE Creek Stream Watch, or lobbying politicians for better environmental protections.  I think the most pressing environmental issue now is climate change caused by humans, and it is good that there is more focus on that this year.  I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint, though I admit that I'm not doing enough, and we should all cooperate and work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Otherwise we risk a world with more natural disasters and disease, the loss of many species (probably leaving more of the weedy species we tend not to find so beautiful), and coastal flooding that will even sink some nations.  There is even a possibility that warming will actually trigger the next ice age, rather than putting it off, as some reactionaries say they think will happen.  Then we in northern North America and Europe, who caused most of the carbon dioxide pollution, will really be in trouble.  If we work to prevent this, we will have more leverage on India and China to get them to industrialize more responsibly than we did.  I also plan to write on global warming for  Alliance! later this year.              

More for the SF meeting

For the May meeting, I was thinking of focusing on immigration (since there will be immigrant rights protests again this year in May) or a different aspect of the so-called "War on Terror" and militarism, or whatever other topics are suggested.  Then we could look at some more theoretical issues over the summer, though it seems to be harder to get people to come to events during the summer.  
 

Link corrections/additions:

The article from the Fight Back! newspaper is online at at www.fightbacknews.org/2007/03/voices.htm .

www.iraq-news.de - (might not be online now) this is the address I have bookmarked, and the one I gave before might not be correct  - has a lot of useful information, mostly Baathist I think

www.mltranslations.org/Brazil/iraq.htm - a Brazilian interview with a leader of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance.  There is also an analysis of the international significance of the Iraqi Resistance, by the Ray O Light group, posted at www.mltranslations.org/US/ROLiraqnlm.htm

www.iraqiresistance.info - this is the website of the Italian Iraq solidarity conference

www.albasrah.net/moqawama/english/iraqi_resistance.htm - this is an often cited website from Basrah, Iraq, and has all of the Iraq Resistance Reports archived, along with other information.

The 2005 Alliance! article on the Resistance that I referred to is online at
www.allianceml.com/PAPER/2005NOVEMBER/Lars.htm .

Iraqi resistance readings

Below is a report-back from the UNC SDS and FRSO teach-in on the conference recently held in Italy in solidarity with the Iraqi resistance. 

 

The teach-in last Thursday

 

The teach-in was in the place I referred to in an earlier post and I think there were about 20 people in the class room.  When I came in the presentation was starting, with background statistics on how living standards have declined under the foreign occupation.  He also spoke about how the Italian conference was held, despite some speakers not being able to come, and an earlier attempt at a conference that was cancelled when US Congress members pressured the Italians to deny entry to people. I think Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Hezbollah, and the Lebanese Communist Party were represented, in addition to Iraqi guerilla groups.  Next the speaker talked about the composition and actions of the Resistance, based on his research, Conference attendees, and an interview with a member of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance. 

 

History and composition of the Resistance

 

Kosta said part of the reason for resistance is that an Iraqi has the duty to avenge the death of a family member.  This duty came up because the occupation forces killed innocent Iraqis, including peaceful demonstrators (I think he referred to 17 killed after US troops panicked in Falluja in April 17th, 2003, but I could have the date and place wrong).  Public meetings were then held, along with underground meetings to organize cells.  The US had too few soldiers, so they tried to surround Falluja (?), but they could not block all routes.  The US has twice attacked Falluja, devastating the city, and I think Kosta said that now only people with government cards saying that they were residents before 2003 can go there.  He showed statistics showing that resistance attacks have been increasing since 2003, with a few very high spikes, I assume from the battles with al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.  The terrorist attacks we here about in the media against civilians are a minority of the actions.  I think the figure given for the number of guerillas was 400-500,000, which the speaker said he was doubtful about, but heard from several sources.  Patriotic nationalists, Baathists, Islamists, and communists make up the Resistance.  Kosta said that only about 2% of the Resistance is with al-Qaida, which targets civilians.  For this, groups such as the Islamic Army Group have broken all links with the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida.  

 

The militias

 

Militias such as the Badr Brigades, the Mahdi Army, and others are also behind attacks on civilians, and they are operating through the official "puppet" security forces.  The speaker also pointed out that Negreponte was posted to Iraq at one point, and he was behind the death squads in Honduras.  There was also talk in the US military of the El Salvador style death squad option to fight the Resistance.  Perhaps that option has been taken, since the militias can get through occupation check points, even carrying many prisoners.  

 

Civil War?

 

Kosta argued that Iraqis are not split by sectarianism as much as the Western media would have us believe, and that there will not be a civil war after the occupation ends, since the occupation is fomenting divisions.  The CIA could try to destabilize the post-occupation government, but they will be opposed.  He also argued that the resistance is what will end the occupation and hold in check the Bush Administration, not the Democrats or the anti-war movement, though I doubt Kosta meant that protest in pointless, only that, like the Vietnam War protests, it is not decisive.    

 

Q&A

 

There were several questions, I would say cautiously supportive of the proposition that we should support the Resistance.  Political support is all the Resistance wants from us, Kosta said, not material aid or new Lincoln Brigades (Americans who fought on the side of the Republic in thr Spanish Civil War in the 30's).  He was asked if he supported impeachment, which he said he does, though I think he also said it was a doubtful prospect and not what will be decisive.       

 

Hopefully he will be able to come to the TSF meeting on April 29th so you can hear this from the source.  You can read an article he wrote about the conference in the Fight Back! newspaper in March, but unfortuntely I can't provide a link at the moment. 

 

The Death Squads, a video available on Google Videos was suggested as a useful documentary on the action of the militias, and if I can I will download it and bring it to the meeting.

 

Useful readings for the TSF:

 

I looked at these quickly this afternoon and all but the first work, unless there are typos.  Just paste them into your browser if my blog does not list them as actual links.  I'll add more or edit these later.  They are a mix of documents about the Resistance and Iraq or directly from the Resistance, representing a variety of views, along with more about the non-violent Iraqi Civil Resistance.  These aren't required readings for the meeting, but could help answer questions, provide more context, and prompt discussion.  www.iraq-news-network.de (might not be available now) - a lot of useful information, mostly Baathist I think www.broadleft.org/ir - list and links to many Iraqi political parties, including the Worker-communist Party of Iraq (which has an English language website), which is mentioned in "Iraqi Civil Resistance" www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/Iraq.htm - also links to parties and copies of the Iraqi consititutions, NGOs, etc.  www.mltranslations.org - an interview with a leader of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance, which is an alliance of several secular and religious groups resisting the occupation, and formed during the 90's to oppose the sanctions.  I can't remember the link, but you can find it in the what's new section near the top.    home.zonnet.nl/patrioticalliance - this appears to be the IPA's website www.iraqiresistance.info - I think this is the website of the Italian conference The October 2005 edition of Triangle Free Press carried an interview from www.counterpunch.org (the Voices of the Resistance series), with Sheik Hadi al-Khalassi, of the Iraq National Foundation Congress, a political group seemingly speaking for the Resistance.  I can't find the interview online and I don't think I saw an INFC website, so I can't provide an easy link at the moment.  www.idao.org - this looked like another useful site, I think about the secular and democratic side of the Resistance www.jihadunspun.com/articles/18122003-Iraqi-Resistance/ir/ailatir01.html  - a useful list of Resistance groups that I think is supportive of Iraqi liberation (from the title I thought that it might be rightwing)  www.ifcongress.com - I think this is the group that I bought my copy of "Iraqi Civil Resistance" from, and it is probably connected to ICR  gnn.tv/articles/2359/Civil_Resistance - more about the ICR and I think also the IFC www.albasrah.net/moqawama/english/iraqi_resistance.htm  - this is an often cited website, and has all of the Iraq Resistance Reports archived, as do other sites.  I haven't examined its politics yet.

                                                                                                                                          

www.counterpunch.org has an article (posted this week) by a Durham writer about a new documentary on the Resistance, which has a website online at www.meetingresistance.com. 

The group I bleong to has an article by a knowledgeable guest writer about the composition and history of Iraq's Resistance online at www.allianceml.com that can be reached by seeing What is New and then scrolling to the 2006 or 2005 issues.   

NC's new state amphibian is...

The Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana.  The vote was April 19^th at midday and the Bullfrog was approved 96 to 1, with 4 not voting and 19 excused ( www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H958&votesToView=all).   Aside from the somewhat comical title of state amphibian, I find the choice peculiar.  I can see why the State Legislature might have chosen the Bullfrog.   It is economically important as a food source, it has a certain cuteness and is big enough to look in the face, it is found throughout the State, and it is the king of frogs in this country (growing up to 8" long).   On the other hand it is present in every state east of Texas, Wyoming, and Minnesota, locally through the southwest, and throughout the West Coast. It could therefore be the state amphibian of most states (the NC Herpetological Society points out that it is already the state amphibian of Missouri, Iowa, and Oklahoma), and we already share our state bird, the Cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis), with several others.  Bullfrogs are also voracious predators that can eat snakes, turtles, birds, and other frogs, and harm native amphibian populations when they are introduced into areas where they are not native (as has happened in the West).  

 

The Legislature could have considered amphibians unique to North Carolina, or at least those less widespread than Bullfrogs, and it did consider two I thought of this afternoon (info and pictures at wunc.org/news/Isaac-Hunters-Tavern/state-amphibian-meet-the-candidates).  These include the Neuse River Waterdog or Carolina Mudpuppy (a kind of mudpuppy, or totally aquatic salamander, Necturus lewisi, which the legislators did consider), the Junaluska Salamander (Eurycea junaluska, only found in the NC and Tennessee Smokies, see stri.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=eurycea+junaluska&burl=http://stri.discoverlife.org&btxt=Discover+Life), the Zigzag Salamander (Plethodon dorsalis, rare and of concern in NC, see stri.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Plethodon+dorsalis), or the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersoni), a rare and handsome bright green and brown amphibian that also inhabits a few other states and was considered.   The Junaluska salamanders and the Zigzag salamanders are probably threatened by climate change, since they have no where to go if their mountain microclimates vanish up slope into thin air as it gets warmer.   Therefore they would provide an object lesson to North Carolinians about what it really means to change the climate even a few degrees, in addition to being less common than Bullfrogs.   The southern Appalachians are home to a large number of salamander species, many with very small ranges, and the coastal plain is very rich in frog and toad species.   I like Bullfrogs also, (though maybe not as much as our legislators!), but maybe it is time for our State mudpuppy, salamander, treefrog, and our most at risk animal species to be declared.   After all, we already have our state red berry (the Strawberry) and blue berry (Blueberries)…        

Oppose excessive gun control

After the tragic events that left 32 victims and the shooter dead at Virginia Tech, there have been calls to increase gun control.   I'm sure there is room for reasonable controls to prevent dangerously mentally ill individuals and repeat offenders from getting guns so easily, but guns should still be readily available.   I am not very concerned at this point about needing a gun for my personal safety or hunting, and I'm a generally mild-mannered person depending on the police forces for now, but an armed citizenry is still important to protect democracy.   Violence is the last resort to protect our rights, and I doubt the security forces and paramilitaries will tolerate even a totally constitutional socialist revolution.   When the American socialist revolution comes, it will have to have the support of the majority or a large percentage of Americans (just like the first, bourgeois, revolution did), but the capitalists and their tools (not necessarily every officer, at least some would refuse to attack their fellow workers and citizens) in the military, intelligence, and police establishments, along with rightwing militias will most likely use sabotage and violence to try to overthrow that government.   Other countries might even try to intervene.  Look at what happened in Venezuela, where the US and the Venezuelan establishment tried to violently overthrow democratically elected President Hugo Chavez, and he isn't even a communist (he even pays the capitalists for what he nationalizes!).   I believe it was the Russian revolutionary communist leader V.I. Lenin who wrote that only a strong revolutionary force will discourage the losers from resorting to violence to oppose the wishes of the majority.  

 

Even just protecting the Bill of Rights and our (bourgeois) democracy might require violence, as Thomas Jefferson and the other framers of the Constitution knew.   It took being armed to protect activists fighting Jim Crow in Monroe, NC in the late 50's-early 60's (see www.pbs.org/independentlens/negroeswithguns/more.html for more info) and a coup overthrew the elected progressive black and white government of Wilmington in 1898 (the report by the NC Office of Archives & History are online at www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/1898-wrrc/), and they did it because they could

 

As Lenin shows in his book, The State and Revolution (online at www.marx2mao.org), written in 1917 after the first, bourgeois democratic, stage of the Russian Revolution, the existing government bureaucracy and military structure has to be destroyed to build a more democratic and socialist government.   The military and police exist in modern society to protect the class rule of the capitalists, even though workers can vote and be elected to government, and the police generally prevent non-government violence.   Therefore a socialist government can't just use the old institutions, assuming the security forces were not trying to exterminate the communists by then, which they probably would be doing.   Lenin quotes Marx on the history of the Paris Commune, the first working class government, established in Paris in 1870, and later slaughtered by the French capitalist forces with the support of the Prussian German occupiers.   "The first decree of the Commune was the abolition of the standing army and its replacement by the nation in arms" along with reform of the police force, making politicians and judges recallable and paid no more than workers, etc.  

 

So far from true communists wanting to disarm Americans, like the Nazi fascists did in Germany, we want the American working class to be armed and trained in how to use weapons (a benefit of being in the US military).   I've heard that socialist Albania was apparently full of guns and even authoritarian capitalist Iraq seems to have been full of arms, though maybe that is only since 2003 (but what about the custom of shooting off guns in celebration?).   Being armed is currently perfectly legal and it is the best way to prevent worse bloodshed, by showing the reactionaries that they won't be able to use violence with impunity.   This probably scares the pro-gun lobby (perhaps all the way over to being with the anti-gun lobby for some reactionaries), but I can agree with them that guns should be kept legal, and I think the government couldn't disarm the people at this point anyway.  

 

Some say that military technology has advanced so much that there is no longer a point in armed revolution.   In that case we all should just give up and remain content with wage slavery.  This is obviously false.  Look at the examples of the Hezbollah nationalists defeating Israel last summer, the Maoist victories over the royal military in Nepal, and the nationalist Iraqi resistance that is holding its own against the US and British militaries.   I'm not talking about trying to wage a Maoist "people's war" like the Nepalese, but these examples show that modern militaries are not invincible against the will of the people.   A rocket propelled grenade launcher or machine gun or howitzer would be more useful against a military than a rifle, but having only a gun is better than only a knife.  The capitalists could in theory use nuclear or other massive strategic weapons and win, and that is the self-defeating worst they can do, while the working class numbers in millions and builds and operates those weapons.   It is basically only a matter of hearts and minds, brought about by one of the recurring crises in the capitalist system.

      

The Constiutional right to bear arms

 

If the framers of the US Constitution meant for citizens to be privately armed, as the Supreme Court currently interprets it, than Amendment II in the Bill of Rights is very progressive.   State operated militias are of some use in opposing tyranny, but most likely they would be a prop for it.

 

The 2nd Amendment

 

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.          

Scott Mill: postscript

This is an email I received Wednesday (April 18th) from Rep. David Price's office after I emailed him before the rezoning vote.  Predictably he did not intervene, but it is good that he agreed with the opponents and I must have given his staff some exercise with a letter that they didn't have a form reply prepared for.   

 

Dear [southplumb]:

Thank you for contacting me concerning the Scott Mill development project in Durham.

I understand your concern that building a new subdivision on this land, which has been designated as an important natural heritage area by the North Carolina Heritage inventory, is shortsighted and unwise, and could have significant negative effects on water quality in the NE Creek and Jordan Lake.

As a federal elected official, I generally avoid direct involvement in matters under the jurisdiction of local governments. Given the serious concerns raised about the proposed Scott Mill development, however, I was pleased to see that the Durham County Board of Commissioners decided in February not to permit the rezoning necessary to allow the project to proceed.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please continue to stay in touch on issues of concern.

Sincerely,

DAVID PRICE

Member of Congress

Articles of impeachment to be filed against Cheney by Rep. Kucinich!

This was posted on the Information Clearing House website (www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17554.htm) and comes the same week as the Vermont Senate overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution for impeaching Bush and Cheney and Gonzales was grilled by Congress members and appears to be on the way out. 

 

Articles of Impeachment To Be Filed On Cheney

By Mary Ann Akers

04/18/07 " Washington Post' --- -- Looks like he's reached his boiling point.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the most liberal of the Democratic presidential candidates in the primary field, declared in a letter sent to his Democratic House colleagues this morning that he plans to file articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.

Kucinich has made ending the war in Iraq the central theme of his campaign. He has even taken aim at the leading Democratic presidential candidates in the field for their votes on authorizing the war.

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to impeach the president, vice president and "all civil Officers of the United States" for "treason, bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Sources tell the Sleuth that in light of the mass killings at Virginia Tech Monday, Kucinich's impeachment plans have been put on hold. There will be no action this week, they say.

Kucinich's office had no comment on the Congressman's "Dear Colleague" letter -- which apparently was drafted over the weekend, before the school massacre -- or on what the focus of articles of impeachment against Cheney would be.

But Kucinich shouldn't hold his breath on getting anywhere with his impeachment plan. "We'll see a Kucinich Administration before we'll see a Cheney impeachment," quipped one Democratic aide.

Here is the text of his letter, a copy of which was forwarded to the Sleuth:

April 17, 2007

Dear Colleague:

This week I intend to introduce Articles of Impeachment with respect to the conduct of Vice President Cheney. Please have your staff contact my office . . . if you would like to receive a confidential copy of the document prior to its introduction in the House.

Sincerely,

/s/

Dennis J. Kucinich

Member of Congress

Meetings on the Iraqi resistance in April

There will be a presentation sponsored by the UNC-CH
chapter of Students for a Democratic Society this
Thursday about the armed Iraqi resistance and a recent
conference in Italy.

There are two Hanes buildings at UNC, but I think the
one this event is in is the one on the south side of
Cameron Avenue.  If you're going towards Carrboro on
Cameron, Hanes is the building facing you if you go
into the first parking lot on the left after you pass
Raleigh St. and the Old Well (on the right).  It is
also next to the Campus Y.  Most parking at UNC is
free after 5pm.

The non-partisan Triangle Socialist Forum is also
discussing Iraqi resistance to the occupation this
month.  There will be a showing of a 30-minute
documentary "Iraqi Civil Resistance," about several
non-violent movements, then discussion of the whole
range of Iraqi resistance and what we can do to
support a free Iraq.  The meeting will be April 29th
at 4:30 in the lower conference room at the Chapel
Hill Public Library (off of Estes Rd. close to the
intersection with E. Franklin St.).  I will post some

suggested readings later this week.  
 

 * * * Please forward widely! * * *

Report Back: A Meeting with the Iraqi Resistance
 

UNC-Chapel Hill SDS will host an event, Report Back:
A Meeting With the Iraqi Resistance
 http://chapelhillsds.org/node/122 , Thursday April
19 at 7:00 pm. Kosta Harlan, member of the Freedom Road
Socialist Organization, recently traveled to Italy to attend the
international conference, "With the Resistance, for a Just Peace in the Middle East"
(iraqiresistance.info).
The conference marks the first time that leaders of
the Iraqi national resistance have been able to speak in the West.
Kosta will report back on who the resistance is and why they fight; the
current conditions of the U.S. occupation of Iraq; the birth and development of the
Iraqi resistance; and the tasks of the U.S. antiwar movement. Q&A to follow.
 

This event is free and open to the public. Donations welcome!
 

Note: UNC-Chapel Hill SDS does not necessarily endorse all the views of the
presenter.

Thursday April 19 at 7:00 pm
Hanes Room 308 at UNC-Chapel Hill
Questions? Please contact unc.sds at gmail [dot] com
www.chapelhillsds.org

FLOC activist murdered in Mexico

I received this press release (?) from a Duke listserve.  I'm not sure if I ever met Santiago Rafael Cruz, but this is a brutal and sobering reminder that being a labor activist is still dangerous, whether or not capitalist interests were involved in this.  I've heard that when FLOC first began operating in Monterrey a few years ago the American sent there first was harassed by the police, though in that case I think FLOC did not have an office and was operating at the City's main plaza  I can't remember if organized crime was involved in those earlier problems.  I was also told a Mexican communist group offered support, which of course they would, if they are true reds.  I hope they catch the perpetrator(s) quickly and I offer my condolences to Cruz's family, friends, and FLOC.   

 

FLOC Press Release

 

04/09/2007 Monterrey, Mexico — It is with pain and sadness that we
report the tragic murder of one of our Monterrey, Mexico office
staff-members, Santiago Rafael Cruz. We struggle to keep tragedies from
occurring in the fields, but it is equally painful to have them occur in
our work environment.

While we have no official police reports, friends who found the body
this morning in the FLOC Monterrey office said that he had been tied-up
and beaten to death.

FLOC has asked the National AFL-CIO and Congressman Marcy Kaptur's
office to request that our State Department press the Mexican Government
to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation to bring the perpetrators
to justice.

Since our breakthrough agreement in North Carolina in 2004, FLOC has had
to battle against anti-union hostility in the South's "right-to-work"
environment. We have put up with constant attacks in both the U.S. and
Mexico—including having our office burglarized and broken into several
times and a number of other attempted break-ins. Now the attacks have
come to this.

FLOC will respond to this attack in a disciplined but forceful manner at
the appropriate time. For now, we will focus on Santiago and his family
to make sure his body is returned home, and minister to those who loved him.

Santiago spent years defending his countrymen's rights in the U.S. and
Mexico. His life and service will be missed but not forgotten.

For further information please contact:

Baldemar Velasquez 419-297-7526
Leticia Zavala 919-394-7797

People wishing to donate money to help with transporting Santiago's body
home, his funeral, and other expenses can make a check payable to:

FLOC
C/O Santiago Tragedy Fund
1221 Broadway St
Toledo, OH 43609