Month: March, 2011
The people need a war tax
| March 28, 2011 | 8:52 pm | Action | Comments closed

By Houston Communist Party

Republicans and their Tea Party sycophants have laid down a challenge to the working class never before seen in history. They are calling for a roll back in education, health care, law enforcement and any other public services which benefit all economic classes of our country. It is quite literally a “War on the workers” as illustrated by the song written by Anne Feeney. Meanwhile, we are embarking on another imperialist war in Libya.

To their credit, some of the ultra-right Tea Partiers and Libertarians have opposed these aggressive wars in the Middle East.

After 8 years of imperialist wars in the Middle East, most people understand that these wars are only for the benefit of the corporations and ultra-wealthy class. Profits for the wealthy have been skyrocketing while the working class has taken it on the chin as a result of these aggressive wars.

Real wages of working people have been stagnant since the 1970s. Higher education has been rolled back with extraordinary tuition hikes and cuts in research funds. Public education is under assault by the right wing like never seen before. Right wingers are proposing to increase class size and increase the emphasis on testing. Such test scores are easily manipulated and can be used effectively to harass teachers, reduce their wages and terminate them.

Massive demonstrations against the draconian budget cuts have been seen across the country. Little response has been seen from the right wing other than to ramp up the attack.

The working class has started the fight back. One push back needs to be on the legislative level.
One such push could involve demanding that the Federal Government levy a tax on the ultra-wealthy and corporations who have benefitted from the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya. Our government could impose an immediate tax on all individuals, groups and corporations who have benefitted from military activity in the Middle East.

We would propose a 90% tax on the ill-gotten gains that individuals, corporations and any other organizations have reaped from the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. This might include military contractors, munitions manufacturers, and private mercenary companies for a start. These funds could be used to fully fund public education, universal health care and support other vital social services beneficial for all classes of people. A 10% profit rate on blood and stolen resources as well as geopolitical posturing is extremely generous and more sensible people may want to scale this back. Any profit on the murder of the soldiers of our armed forces as well as the murder of innocent working people overseas may be seen as unfair by working people throughout the globe.

It was recently pointed out that GE reaped $14 billion in profits last year and paid no taxes. This is not an isolated incident. So far, the wars have cost the U.S. well over $1 trillion. It is time that working people demand that services that benefit the working class should be fully funded. Working people should fight with all their collective might the funding for aggressive wars in sovereign nations overseas.
We may not be fond of some dictator overseas, but it is not our business to intervene and try to push revolutionary change to benefit the interests of the U.S.A. Some people overseas may not be exactly pleased with the leadership of the U.S.A. now or in the past. Would it be OK for a foreign country to intervene in the affairs of our nation? We think not. Each country must pursue its own historical development and this should be possible without the intervention of a powerful nation seeking to impose its own needs on a smaller country.

cpusahouston@comcast.net

Joint Statement of 58 Communist and Workers’ Parties against Imperialist Aggression in Libya
| March 24, 2011 | 8:48 pm | Action | Comments closed

via Monthly Review   http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/libya230311p.html

The imperialist killers headed by the USA, France, Britain and NATO as a whole and with the approval of the UN started a new imperialist war. This time in Libya.

Their allegedly humanitarian pretexts are completely misleading! They throw dust into peoples’ eyes! Their real goals are the hydrocarbons in Libya.

We, the Communist and Workers’ parties, condemn the military imperialist intervention. The people of Libya must determine their future on their own, without foreign imperialist interventions.

We call on the peoples to react and demand the immediate cessation of the bombings and of the imperialist intervention!

1.Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism, PADS
2.Communist Party of Armenia
3.Communist Party of Australia
4.Communist Party of Azerbaijan
5.Communist Party of Bangladesh
6.Workers’ Party of Bangladesh
7.Communist Party of Belarus
8.Workers’ Party of Belgium
9.Brazilian Communist Party
10.Communist Party of Brazil
11.Communist Party of Britain
12.New Communist Party of Britain
13.Party of the Bulgarian Communists
14.Communist Party of Canada
15.Communist Party of Chile
16.Socialist Worker’s Party of Croatia
17.Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
18.Communist Party in Denmark
19.Communist Party of Denmark
20.Communist Party of Estonia
21.Communist Party of Finland
22.Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party
23.Unified Communist Party of Georgia
24.Communist Party of Greece
25.Communist Party of India
26.Communist Party of India [Marxist]
27.Tudeh Party of Iran
28.Communist Party of Ireland
29.Workers’ Party of Ireland
30.Party of the Italian Communists
31.Communist Party of Kazakhstan
32.Socialist Party of Latvia
33.Lebanese Communist Party
34.Communist Party of Luxembourg
35.Communist Party of Malta
36.Communist Party of Mexico
37.Popular Socialist Party of Mexico
38.New Communist Party of Netherlands
39.Communist Party of Norway
40.Communist Party of Pakistan
41.Communist Party of Poland
42.Portuguese Communist Party
43.Communist Party of Russian Federation
44.Communist Workers’ Party of Russia — Revolutionary Party of Communists
45.UCP-CPSU
46.Communist Party of Soviet Union
47.New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
48.Party of the Communists of Serbia
49.Communist Party of Slovakia
50.Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
51.Communist Party of Sri-Lanka
52.Syrian Communist Party
53.Communist Party of Sweden
54.Communist Party of Turkey
55.Labour Party (EMEP),Turkey
56.Communist Party of Ukraine
57.Union of the Communists of Ukraine
58.Communist Party of Venezuela
===========
Other Parties

•Pôle de Renaissance Communiste en France
•Galician People’s Union
•Communists-People’s Left (Italy)

——————————————————————————–

Statement of 43 Communist Parties deploring the imperialist invasion of Libya
| March 23, 2011 | 9:15 pm | Action | Comments closed

http://www.solidnet.org/
http://inter.kke.gr/News/news2011/2011-03-21-joint-statement

The imperialist killers headed by the USA, France, Britain and NATO as a whole and with the approval of the UN started a new imperialist war. This time in Libya.

Their allegedly humanitarian pretexts are completely misleading! They throw dust into peoples’ eyes! Their real goals are the hydrocarbons in Libya.

We, the Communist and Workers’ parties condemn the military imperialist intervention. The people of Libya must determine their future on their own, without foreign imperialist interventions.

We call on the peoples to react and demand the immediate cessation of the bombings and of the imperialist intervention!

1. Algerian Party For Democracy And Socialism, PADS
2. Communist Party of Armenia
3. Communist Party of Azerbaijan
4. Communist Party of Bangladesh
5. Workers’ Party of Bangladesh
6. Communist Party of Belarus
7. Brazilian Communist Party
8. Communist Party of Brazil
9. New Communist Party of Britain
10. Party of the Bulgarian Communists
11. Communist Party of Canada
12. Socialist Worker`s Party of Croatia
13. Communist Party in Denmark
14. Communist Party of Finland
15. Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party
16. Communist Party of Greece
17. Communist Party of India
18. Communist Party of India [Marxist]
19. Communist Party of Ireland
20. Communist Party of Kazakhstan
21. Socialist Party of Latvia
22. Lebanese Communist Party
23. Communist Party of Luxembourg
24. Communist Party of Malta
25. Communist Party of Mexico
26. Popular Socialist Party of Mexico
27. New Communist Party of Netherlands
28. Communist Party of Norway
29. Communist Party of Poland
30. Portuguese Communist Party
31. Communist Party of Russian Federation
32. Communist Workers’ Party of Russia – Revolutionary Party of Communists
33. UCP- CPSU
34. Communist Party of Soviet Union
35. New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
36. Party of the Communists of Serbia
37. Communist Party of Slovakia
38. Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
39. Syrian Communist Party
40. Communist Party of Sweden
41. Communist Party of Turkey
42. Communist Party of Ukraine
43. Communist Party of Venezuela

Libya: Stop the bombing, cease-fire now
| March 22, 2011 | 8:49 pm | Action | Comments closed

The Communist Party of the USA deplores the attacks by U.S., French and British forces against Libya. With the projection of power by U.S. and other NATO governments, the crisis that was initiated by the government of Libya when its security forces opened fire on unarmed demonstrators calling for democratization stands a chance of turning into a full fledged civil war with sustained imperialist intervention.

With a bold, self-serving interpretation of the U.N. Security Council’s vote on March 17, several member states of NATO, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have begun an air and sea bombardment of Libya, increasing the danger of civilian and military casualties on all sides, and threatening the integrity of Libya as a sovereign nation in control of its own resources.

While French and British jets have pounded away at Libyan targets, the United States in the first day hit Libya with at least 100 ship-launched tomahawk missiles, with no end in sight.

In spite of the all-too-evident crimes and abuses of Gadaffi’s regime, a civil war with massive foreign intervention is not in the interests of the either the Libyan or the American people, or humanity in general, which is served only by peace and cooperation among the nations. The Middle East area is one of the most conflict-ridden and unstable in the world, and there is real danger that a civil war in Libya could lead to a wider conflagration.

This situation needs to be deescalated, also, because of the bad precedent it sets for NATO and/or U.S. intervention in situations of internal conflict all over the world. We have only to recall the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia to perceive how such military interventions, carried out under humanitarian pretexts, end up causing more death, suffering and destruction than the situations they were supposed to remedy.

In its recent meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO announced to the world that it would be projecting armed force well beyond the “North Atlantic” area. Clearly, the purpose of this force is neither defensive nor humanitarian, but rather serves the economic interests of the wealthy capitalist countries and multinational corporations.

To understand the hypocrisy of the current attack campaign, we have only to ask: Why no intervention in any of the other Middle East countries ruled by tyrants and currently undergoing popular uprisings? Why not in Yemen, or Bahrain?

We are of the opinion that the special interest on the part of imperialism in intervening in Libya can only relate to the politics of oil. Libya is a major supplier of oil to several of the NATO countries (especially to Italy), and has run its own nationalized oil production since 1969.

The current uprising in Libya is centered in the Eastern part of the country, where a large proportion of Libya’s oil production is also to be found. For the NATO powers to end up in substantial control of Libya’s oil production, even if it is not privatized into the hands of multinational corporations, might have an impact on things like OPEC production quotas.

As it is, the instability in Libya is contributing to a rise in oil prices that affects us in the United States as well.

In addition, the fall of client regimes of Tunisia and Egypt, and the shakiness being experienced by others in the region such as Bahrain, Yemen, Morocco and others, weakens the influence of imperialism in this vital area. We can’t exclude the possibility that imperialism sees the Libya crisis as a means to restoring part of its influence in the Middle East.

Several states and international organizations, some of which voted for the Security Council Resolution, or abstained when they might have voted “no” or even vetoed it, are now having second thoughts about the wisdom of the actions currently being taken. China, Russia, Turkey, India and the Arab League, as well as the Bolivarian Alliance countries in Latin America have all criticized the attacks on Libya.

We hope that the U.S. government, which was not originally enthusiastic about taking military action to create a no-fly zone in Libya, will have such second thoughts also.

Therefore, the CPUSA calls for:

An immediate cease-fire by all parties concerned (the Libyan government, the insurgents and outside powers), to be monitored by neutral forces.

A negotiated settlement which preserves Libya’s national sovereignty and control of its natural resources, especially its oil and gas reserves and production, while answering the demands of the Libyan people for a democratic transformation of their society and political system, and an end to repression of dissent.

Protection for the safety of vulnerable sections of the population of Libya, including foreign migrant workers trapped in a situation not of their making.

International action to permit the exit from Libya of refugees whose survival is threatened by the current situation, plus access to humanitarian aid for all areas of Libya, and the restoration of electrical, internet and other services.

Support by all progressive people for the struggle of the Libyan people for labor rights, free and democratic elections, freedom of speech, press and association and an end to repression.

Communist Party USA
235 W 23rd St | New York, NY 10011
cpusa@cpusa.org | www.cpusa.org

The US Peace Council Demands an Immediate End to the Imperialist War of Aggression Against Libya
| March 21, 2011 | 8:28 pm | Action | Comments closed

In the name of implementing the shameful UN Security Council Resolution, the world imperialist powers and their allies, led by the government of the United States, have once again unleashed a war of aggression, this time against Libya. This is the fourth war of aggression initiated by the US Government and its imperialist allies in the past twelve years after the attacks on Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Within the first few hours of the initiation of the attack, more than 112 Cruise Missiles were fired on that country, causing, according to various reports, more than 60 civilian casualties with hundreds of others injured. And all this is being done in the name of protecting the lives of “peaceful Libyan citizens.”

The duplicity of these claims is nowhere better manifested than in Bahrain, where the same aggressors and their regional allies have sent in military troops to protect another dictatorial government, here a client state, that has been similarly shooting at its “peaceful citizens,” or in Egypt, where the same imperialist powers are trying to contain and possibly suppress the Egyptian people’s revolution and impose a more formal pro-West, pro-Israel regime.

What is happening in Libya today is not a “humanitarian effort” on the part of the international community, as it is hypocritically claimed, but a clear effort by the US Government and its NATO allies to impose full control over the countries of North Africa and the Middle East in their broader drive to rearrange the whole region according to their military-strategic and economic interests. We must not forget the recent establishment of Africom, the US military command responsible for Africa. The specter of George W. Bush and the neocons is once again haunting Africa and the Middle East.

As in the case of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, the people on both sides of the frontline will be the main victims of this imperialist war. One cannot but expect huge civilian casualties and disruption of life among the innocent Libyan citizens as a result of the bombings and missile attacks, the immanent civil war in that country, and the massive refugee crisis that is already underway.

Since the beginning of the uprisings in Libya, the price of oil has risen by 18 percent and currently it stands at about $105 per barrel. There is no doubt that it will surge to much higher levels as this war continues, further impoverishing large sectors of the world population, including the people of our country, already battered by unemployment and foreclosures, while further enriching the Wall Street Barons and Corporate speculators with additional billions of dollars in speculative cash.

The US Peace Council strongly condemns and demands an immediate halt to this new round of imperialist war, which will have no outcome but further victimization of the people of Libya, United States and the rest of the world. We call upon all peace-loving people of the United States to voice their outrage:

• Call our Congressional Representatives and Senators, demanding they exercise their sworn oath to uphold the Constitution and their sole responsibility under the War Powers Act to declare War, withhold any funds for this Act of Aggression, and order the withdrawal of all armed forces from the region.

• Demand the dismissal of the war hawks Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ambassador Susan Rice to the United Nations for their role in this aggression.

• Organize public demonstrations.

The American people must not allow Moammar Ghaddafi’s violence against his own people be used as a pretext for the expansion of violence against all people. Time for war as a solution to human problems has long come to an end. This is the 21st Century, not the Middle Ages!

US Peace Council
P.O. Box 3105
New Haven, Connecticut 06515
Telephone 203 387-0370
www.uspeacecouncil.org
amistad.nai@rcn.com

Third imperialist war of occupation underway with full U.S. support
| March 19, 2011 | 11:29 pm | Action | Comments closed

By James Thompson

Although details are sketchy at this point, it appears a third war is now underway with full U.S. support in spite of the wishes of the U.S. people.

Fidel Castro predicted it. U.S. Department of Defense secretary Gates argued against it. The U.S. people will surely oppose it once they understand it. However, once again, the wealthy elite are having their way. Apparently, the U.S. is participating in aggressive action against Libya which is a violation of our constitution since Congress has not authorized war. Secretary Gates has indicated aggressive action towards Libya will be an act of war. Congress has not authorized such aggressive action so this is a violation of our constitution.

All people in this country should oppose this aggressive military action which will only be in the interest of the wealthy, but not the working people of this nation.

The world is in crisis. We have a catastrophe in Japan brought about by profit driven corporations who put more value on profits than on the safety of humanity and the other inhabitants of our planet. One of my friends pointed out that very little is being done to help the working people of Japan who are suffering from this three pronged catastrophe (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown), and yet the U.S. and its puppets are embarking on yet another military adventure in Libya which has probably already resulted in the deaths of untold numbers of working people.

We are part of a world economic crisis. Unemployment is still extremely high. Republicans are fighting to chip away every advance gained by working people since the Roosevelt administration.

Untold billions of dollars are being spent every day on the first two wars (i.e. Iraq and Afghanistan) and yet there are calls to dismantle our basic public services such as public education, police and fire departments. We don’t have enough money for our people and children, but we have plenty of money to slaughter working people in foreign countries.

This third front in the class war, (for this is very clearly a war against working people), may have some positive, but unintended consequences. It may serve as a lightning rod for working people and may mobilize them and reinvigorate the moribund left and peace movement throughout the world.

Clearly the election of Obama in 2008 signaled a massive outpouring of U.S. people yearning for peace and believing that the first African American President would lead them out of war and into peace. As it turns out, our President is so beholden to the powerful ruling class dominated by the ultra-wealthy that he must fight for the interests of the ruling class and abandon those who elected him. It is clear without a doubt that Obama has chosen to stand with the interests of the wealthy and sell the working class down the river.

So, the questions now develop which will set the stage for the next level of struggle. “Which side are we on?” “Will working people stand up and fight for basic human services and oppose aggressive, imperialist wars?” “Will the peace movement get back up on its hind legs and fight for justice and against war?” “Will the Communist Party oppose imperialism or will it capitulate to the interests of the ultra-wealthy?” “Will progressives sit this one out?” “How will the working people of the world respond to this outrageous intervention in a sovereign nation?” “How is it that the imperialist powers did not intervene in all the other middle eastern and African uprisings, but chose military intervention in Libya?”

The fate of the world depends on working people now more than ever. Only working people can restore sanity in a time dominated by capitalist distortions, lies and outrages. If we working people are not united then we shall surely be divided and conquered!

PHill1917@comcast.net

Poem by Langston Hughes
| March 19, 2011 | 9:58 pm | Action | 1 Comment

CPUSA Member/ Harlem Renaissance Poet Langston Hughes wrote a workers’ song entitled ” One more ‘S’ in the U. S. A.”

Excerpt:

Oh, the bankers they all are planning
For another great big war.
To make them rich from the workers’dead,
That’s all that war is for.
So if you don’t want to see bullets holding sway
Then come on, all you workers,
And join our fight today.

Chorus:

Put one more S in the U.S.A.
To make it Soviet.
One more S in the U.S.A.
Oh, we’ll live to see it yet.
When the land belongs to the farmers
And the factories to the working men —
The U. S. A. when we take control
Will be U. S. S. A. then.