Source: Salon

Save the Alamo from the UN!

By James Thompson

Just when we thought the nuttiest nuts from Texas couldn’t get any nuttier, they screech “Save the Alamo from the UN!”

According to the Houston Chronicle, Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, introduced a bill to protect the Alamo from coming under the control of the UN. She is quoted as saying “I can tell you anything that starts with UN gives me cause for concern.” She filed the bill in response to the nomination of the Alamo as a UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage site.

This potential designation has many people in San Antonio very excited since it would be a first for Texas. The bill apparently has bipartisan opposition in the Texas state legislature.

Opposition to the United Nations, a world wide peacekeeping organization, by vicious right-wingers has been loud, obnoxious and outrageous since the inception of the organization. I can remember seeing billboards along the highways of Texas and Oklahoma which proclaimed “Get the US Out Of the UN!” when I was a child.

According to Wikipedia, “The John Birch Society, an anti-communist group founded in 1958, was opposed to US involvement from the society’s beginning. From an early date they had bumper stickers with the slogan “Get the U.S. out of the U.N. and the U.N. out of the U.S.!”

Hopefully, this bill will die a timely death so that Texas can avoid being designated as the “Lamebrain Capitol of the World.”

February 25, 2015

Picket tomorrow against Harper’s so-called anti-terror bill

A picket has been organized against the Conservative Party’s misnamed anti-terror bill:

Shelly Glover, MP’s office
Thursday, Feb. 26, 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
213 St. Mary’s Road (near Traverse)

All groups are welcome, including to speak and co-sponsor.

* * * * *
Harper’s legislation will enable the RCMP and CSIS to crack down on all resistance in Canada, against democratic and workers’ struggles.

There is no “balance” in the bill. It gives free reign to the government’s security apparatus at the same time it attacks Canadians’ rights and freedoms.

There is no evidence that the government needs to give such power to secret, actually political police. Historically, such legislation has always been used once passed:  to outlaw socialist parties (1918), crush the Winnipeg General Strike (1919), outlaw the Communist Party (1931, two years before Germany and Japan, and 1939), and imprison hundreds of innocent people during the FLQ crisis.

As found by the Royal Commission on Certain Activities of the RCMP (1977), even without such laws the police carried out serious criminal activities against progressive organizations, including the Communist Party, many of which remain unpublished and secret to this day.

So it can safely be said, the bill is unnecessary and is intended to create fear and conformity among Canadians with the Conservative Party’s definition of terrorism.

The Communist Party is wholly opposed to terrorism as a tactic in the mass struggles for democracy and socialism, but the Conservative government is using this bill to instill fear in the general public and to draw attention away from its own pro-terror policies such as bombing Yugoslavia and Libya, helping Ukraine’s pro-Nazi regime which is terrorizing its population and banning the Communist Party there, and deporting U.S. military veterans who are opposed to war crimes to serve lengthy sentences in U.S. military prisons – pursuing a pro-war crime agenda.

The Communist Party completely rejects the idea that this bill is needed to counter so-called “eco-terrorism” or the serious, false charge against Aboriginal rights activists that they are terrorists. The proven use of agents provocateurs in anti-globalization protests by police shows who are the real criminals.

The bill targets the resistance to corporate control of Canada.

The bill’s first target is the international unity of working people, Arab and non-Arab, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, Russian and non-Russian.

Who are the Conservative party’s targets-of-choice, the targets of RCMP wrongdoing, jailings and outright banning since the beginning of mercantile and settler colonialism, the Red River Resistance and the Winnipeg General Strike?

Politically, it is socialist parties, especially the Communist Party which supports the resistance against corporate influence and domination and works to build the international unity of working people and oppressed nations (outlawed 3 times).

In terms of the people’s resistance, it is the trade union movement and oppressed nations, Aboriginal peoples and Quebec’s movement for self-determination and equality.

The anti-terror legislation is certain to broaden the dirty tricks, secret police wrongdoing and repression.

That is why the Communist Party in Winnipeg will hold a picket to protest the new bill this week.

Everyone is invited to bring their signs and messages of resistance.

Vive la resistance,
Penner-Bethune Club, Communist Party of Canada

Information: Darrell Rankin (204) 792-3371

http://mltoday.com/on-the-situation-in-greece?utm

February 17,  2015

Interview of Giorgos Marinos, member of the Political Bureau of the CP Greece (KKE), for the Brazilian magazine “Revista Opera.”

1 – How do you see the recent election of Syriza? Will they be able to solve Greece’s workers’ needs?

In our assessment, the replacement of the ND-PASOK government by the SYRIZA-ANEL one can not help satisfy the people’s needs today. And this is because the new government, like the previous one, despite its “leftwing” sloganeering operates within the same framework: the country’s participation in the EU and NATO, the implementation of the commitments to these imperialist unions, the recognition of the unbearable state debt that the people are not responsible for, the support for the profitability of the capitalist interests in the name of the “competitiveness of the national economy”.

So the new government’s program is simply seeking to manage the phenomena of extreme poverty, while at the same time the unbearable situation will continue for the majority of the people, as the causes of the people’s problems will remain in place. These causes are to be found in the very nature of capitalism.

2 – Has KKE offered Syriza an alliance? If so, which were the conditions for the agreement?

Life has demonstrated that crudely assembled coalitions of parties in the name of the left and intentions to better manage capitalism do not serve the workers. The experience in Greece and internationally, in our assessment, demonstrates that “centre-left”, “progressive”, “leftwing” governments in the framework of capitalism (e.g. in Italy, France, Cyprus, Brazil etc.) also took anti-people measures, were not able to avoid the consequences of the capitalist crisis and actively participated in imperialist wars. Such governments exacerbated the disillusionment amongst the workers, weakened the labour movement and in each case constituted a “bridge” to more rightwing policies.

Our party in a very timely manner had excluded the possibility of participating in or supporting a “leftwing” government of SYRIZA, which promises that there can be a pro-people management inside the framework of capitalism and the imperialist unions. On our part, we did not participate in the spreading of such illusions and place some “conditions” on SYRIZA, because it is obvious that we have a diametrically different approach: SYRIZA seeks the humanization of capitalism, the KKE seeks its overthrow and the construction of another society. However, we promoted our political proposal, which in brief provides for the following: unilateral cancellation of the debt, disengagement from the EU and NATO, socialization of the means of production, central planning of the economy, workers’-people’s power.

I should note that the KKE has its own view about what type of alliances the country needs. We have charted the line of forming the people’s alliance, comprised of social forces, the working class, the poor and medium sized farmers, the urban petty bourgeois strata, whose interests lie in coming into conflict with the monopolies and capitalism. This alliance, which today has taken its first steps, is struggling for every problem the people have, has an antimonopoly-anticapitalist direction and contributes to the concentration of forces in order to pave the way for the construction of the new socialist-communist society.

3 – Syriza has recently made an agreement with the right-wing party “Independent Greeks”. How do you see that? Was it necessary? Why?

It did not surprise us. Before the elections we had assessed that SYRIZA, if it did not achieve an absolute majority in the Parliament, would form a government with one of the parties that like SYRIZA want Greece to stay inside the EU and NATO. We are talking about the parties that consider that the people should pay for the unbearable debt for which they are not responsible and that support the capitalist path of development. Although there were other bourgeois parties, of various shades, that were eager to collaborate with SYRIZA in the government. SYRIZA chose cooperation with ANEL, a cooperation that had started some time ago.

4 – It seems that Syriza won’t fight EU and US sanctions against Russia. They’ve supported the extent of it last Thursday. What is KKE’s view on that matter?

The government’s stance on the issue of Ukraine, despite the blustering, lasted just 3 days . On the fourth day, the Greek government aligned with the EU and voted for the same sanctions against Russia that had been voted for by the previous ND-PASOK government, leaving the door open for other sanctions in the near future. We should note that it had criticized the stance of the previous government on this issue.

In our evaluation, the sanctions against Russia signify the escalation of the intervention of the EU and the USA in Ukraine, in the framework of their competition with Russia over the control of the markets and the region’s energy resources.

The trade war between the EU and Russia above all is harming the working class and popular strata, such as the small and medium farmers in Greece. This is a trade war that aims to benefit the interests of the monopolies.

The new decision of the EU, with the participation of the Greek left as well, confirms once again the reactionary imperialist character of the EU, which attacks the peoples of Europe and plays a leading role in imperialist plans in order to serve the interests of EU-based capital.

The KKE consistently argues that the Greek people must denounce the stance of the Greek government and demand that there should be no Greek participation in the EU and NATO plans.

5 – We’ve seen the growth of fascist and neonazi organizations throughout Europe. In Greece, there’s Golden Dawn. On last elections they’ve got aroung 6% of the votes. If Syriza fails to solve Greece’s problems, will Golden Dawn grow?

It is true that the criminal Nazi party Golden Dawn, which has murderous activity and was created by the mechanisms of the system, maintains a high percentage in elections, despite the losses it had in votes.

Particular responsibility for the electoral percentage of GD belongs both to the ND-PASOK government that fostered anti-communisms, the theory of the two extremes, the scape-goating of immigrants as well as to the blurred “anti-memorandum” line promoted by SYRIZA which exonerates the people’s real opponents, the capitalists. This specific criminal fascist organization developed on this ideological and political terrain.

The KKE remains the steadfast opponent of fascism, precisely because the KKE opposes capitalism as a whole, the system that creates fascism, nationalism and racism.

The frustration of the expectations which have been cultivated by social-democratic forces, like SYRIZA, can facilitate the activity of Golden Dawn amongst politically backward sections of the people. However, we assess that our people have the strength to reject and isolate the criminal Nazi activity and ideology of Golden Dawn. They possess the historical experience and memory from the 2^ndWorld War, from the Anti-fascist Victory. It is a duty and a necessity, especially in the case of the youth and schools, for teachers and for artists and scientists in society more generally to expose, to fight against and to impede the poison of fascism-Nazism. The labour and people’s movement must strengthen its struggle against Nazism and its criminal activity, against the system and the interests that create and sustain such formations.

http://mltoday.com/mobilizations-of-solidarity-or-tactics-to-confuse-the-workers?utm

In addition to the recent ITUC’s statement of “solidarity” with the Greek people, we witness in the last few days media owned by monopoly groups, international organizations and even imperialist governments promoting a campaign called “solidarity” with the Greek people.

In this campaign a key role is played also by some trade union leaderships that have long gone to the side of class collaboration, who now support the European Union, the IMF, the World Bank and even NATO and the imperialist wars. Such mobilizations are NOT “spontaneous”, but are being organised and coordinated bysocialdemocratic, reformist and even some far-right wing, racist, political parties (eg. in Greece)

The question arises as to When the monopoly groups and the governments, who have shed the blood of the peoples turned into philanthropists and started shedding tears for the Greek people? (And these are the same organizations that had a key role in supporting the imposition of the memoranda and the anti-labor policies that led the Greek people in misery.) How do they wear the mask of “Solidarity” with the Greek people, when they themselves are supporting and imposing anti-labor policies in their own countries?

PAME even before the elections in Greece had warned of the efforts to present the new government of SYRIZA as a new left party that will bring pro-people change. The truth is that SYRIZA is a new party, but a Social Democratic new party, and the Government that SYRIZA formed has in a leading role atleast 10 members of the old social democratic government of PASOK, which for years imposed anti-labor policies to the Greek people.

Also the new government in Greece has been formed with the Social Democratic SYRIZA and the far-right-nationalist party of Independent Greeks (ANEL), the President of which has served as Minister of the liberal Government of the ND party, receiving the appraisal by the toughest part of the Greek capitalists, the shipowners, due to his provocative anti-workers policy.

In its first days of the new Government:

• Gave vows of submission and support to capitalism
• Tried to form coalitions with the anti worker governments of Hollande in France and Renzi in Italy
• Publicizes the support it received by the government of the USA,  the one that still keeps open the Guantanamo Base, continues the imperialist interventions and gives away billions of dollars to the American banks and multinationals, while the people of the USA live in poverty
• Supported the sanctions of the imperialist European Union against Russia on Ukraine, following the exact same foreign policy as the previous Greek government

The new government declared that it would not abolish the measures of the memoranda and it will keep intact the 70% of the memoranda reforms, and that it will negotiate compensatory measures for the remaining 30%, compensatory measures which will be agreed by the OECD. The “negotiations” that take place between the Greek government and the Troika are on the interests of the profits of the banks and multinationals, not the welfare of the Greek people.

The Greek government negotiates the name — the title of the new measures and not the substance–  the anti-labour policy that impoverishes  the Greek people. It already seems to result in a new package of unpopular measures in a new memorandum, which simply will be given another name (e.g., bridge-agreement).

Under the false label of “left”, the new government has the absolute -official – support of Greek capital to gain time, to disorient workers in order for the workers to co-sign the new unpopular measures,the expansion and stabilization of the anti-labor laws, or at least not to resist to the new anti workersmeasures. In this direction are already utilizing the GSEE, (the General Confederation of Greek Workers) which is well known for its treacherous role towards the working class.

At the same time, at international level, they use actions as the so called “solidarity to the Greeks” to inactivate the movement in each country, creating and their respective “new saviors” (eg PODEMOS in Spain).This situation raises the questions, do the trade union and political forces that organize such solidarity movements support in their country:

• NATO
• The policies of the IMF and the OECD
• The Governments of Hollande, Renzi, Obama

Or to put it in one sentence, are the trade union and political forces that organize such actions infavor of class collaboration and capitalist development or in favor of the class struggle and thefulfillment of the contemporary needs of the working class against capital?

PAME, since the formation of the new Government in Greece has stated: “Our opponent is here! The business groups, industrialists, shipowners, the hotel-owners, shoppingmall owners, all of them along with their governments and the EU burdened the consequences of the crisis and the debt on the backs of the people, and they continue to become richer over the suffering and misery of the overwhelming majority of the people. The opponent did not leave with the change of government.

Using this change the opponent remains here ready and equipped. In all sectors remains and intensifies the employers’ offensive. The layoffs, unemployment, the dominance of flexible labour relations, the unacceptable “employment programs”, the smashing of wages in every way continue to exist under a single goal: to continually reduce the “labour cost”, so as to enrich and multiply the profits of the big business groups. As long as monopolies and big business groups have the economy and political power in their hands, the labour-popular movement must be on permanent alert, ready to fight.

To fight so as to recover our losses and to enforce the fulfilment of thecontemporary needs of the working class.”The “Solidarity” actions are used to support a government that

• Considers the European Union “our common home”
• Is in favour of “competitiveness”
• Is in favour of the “healthy business interests”

That is a government without a pro-people program. The next period the Greek people, the workers’ movement of Greece will face new challenges, newstruggles. In these struggles it will need the massive expression of solidarity with the struggle against thereal enemy, the local and foreign capital, the bankers, the ship-owners, the multinationals.Actual support to the Greek people is strengthening the class struggle in each country against themonopolies and the imperialist organizations, the EU and NATO. Struggle to fulfil the contemporary needs of the working class, struggle for the abolition of capitalist exploitation.

February 2015

PAME, Secretariat of International Relations

http://mltoday.com/us-trains-ukrainain-neo-nazis?utm

By Manlio Dinucci

Feb. 14, 2015

Translated by Mark Burton

The National Guard, established by the government in Kiev in March 2014 with an initial funding of US $ 19 million, has incorporated Neo-Nazi military formations, already trained by NATO instructors for the putsch of Kiev (as shown in a photographic documentation of militant Neo-Nazis trained in Estonia in 2006 [1]). The Donbass, Azov, Aidar, Dnepr1, Dnepr2 and other battalions, that are the shock forces of the National Guard, are made up of both Neo-Nazi Ukrainians, and Neo-Nazis from other European countries.

The atrocities they have committed against civilians of Russian nationality are widely documented by video and eyewitness testimony (just type in Google “atrocities of Neo-Nazis in Ukraine”). But, despite the fact that Amnesty International has accused the government of Kiev of  being responsible for war crimes committed by these battalions, the US continues to support this regime, even giving it armored vehicles. The United States government now empowers Kiev with a  training program and more armaments.

Washington is therefore already arming the forces of Kiev, even though Kiev is not actually receiving heavy weapons from the US, it may obtain them in any case from  the millions of dollars given to the Kiev regime. All this while Germany, France and Italy say they support a diplomatic solution and therefore are against the provision of arms to Kiev.

But at the same time at a summit in Brussels, these countries committed, along with Britain, Spain and Poland, to take on more responsibility in the formation of a NATO “Strike Force”, in the framework of a “Response Force”, made up of 13 to 30 thousand men and equipped by six centers of command and control in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. While the US, in preparation for the summit in Minsk on Ukraine (which deliberately did not participate), stated, though the Secretary of State,  that among the allies “there are no divisions, we all agree that there can be no military solution. ”

Source:  Il Manifesto (Italy)