Month: July, 2015
USA/Africa: Obama Visit Roundup
| July 29, 2015 | 8:21 pm | Africa, environmental crisis, Health Care | Comments closed

AfricaFocus Bulletin
July 29, 2015 (150729)
(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor’s Note

In analyzing high-profile presidential visits, it is difficult to
sort out symbolism from substance in the sheer volume of news
coverage and commentary. And despite the flurry of announcement of
“deals” at each stop, the main lines of policy are rarely altered
and often reflect continuity not only within one presidential
administration but also from one administration to another. The
content of private conversations of lower-level officials as well as
others involved in the visits may be just as significant as the
formal meetings of presidents. Even more significant may be the
issues not discussed because common assumptions go unquestioned on
both sides.

For a version of this Bulletin in html format, more suitable for
printing, go to http://www.africafocus.org/docs15/usaf1507.php, and
click on “format for print or mobile.”

To share this on Facebook, click on
https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://www.africafocus.org/docs15/usaf1507.php

As regular readers know, AfricaFocus seeks to select and repost
particularly insightful news and commentary that readers might not
have seen elsewhere. With such a visible event, that is difficult.
The “news” is available to anyone who has internet access and is
paying attention. And almost all the commentary is predictable and
repetitive.

So this issue of AfricaFocus is different, and consists primarily of
links for readers to explore as they wish, to supplement what they
have already seen or read.

I have included (1) links to the speeches that seemed to me most
significant, (2) suggestions for custom google searches that might
turn up a wide variety of other sources, (3) links to a few
commentaries, including audio from radio programs in which your
editor was included, and (4) links to previous AfricaFocus Bulletins
covering questions that were “off the radar screen” in the visit as
well as in media commentary.

++++++++++++++++++++++end editor’s note+++++++++++++++++

President Obama’s Speeches

Among the speeches and other events made available by the White
House in video form or transcripts, these stand out, particularly
the first. Unfortunately neither the introduction by his sister in
Kenya nor the remarks by African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini
Zuma were kept on-line by the White House, although they were
available in the live webcast.

President Obama’s Speech to Kenyan People, July 26, 2015
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Kw9YnNXJk
Transcript: http://tinyurl.com/qbh23t9

President Obama’s Speech to African Union, July 28, 2015
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNife3N3X0Q
Transcript: http://allafrica.com/stories/201507281847.html

Custom Google Searches

Note: With the “site:” operator, one can limit a google search to a
single website or to all websites with the same country code, to get
a better idea of how an event or a topic is covered. Some examples
for President Obama’s trip include these, including the two
principal international organizations focusing on human rights
issues:

* Obama visit to Africa 2015
* Obama visit to Africa 2015 site:nytimes.com
* Obama visit to Africa 2015 site:amnesty.org
* Obama visit to Africa 2015 site:hrw.org
* Obama visit to Africa 2015 site:allafrica.com (includes many
articles from African press)
* Obama visit to Africa 2015 site:saharareporters.com
* Obama visit to Africa 2015 site:.ke  (from websites in Kenya)
* Obama visit to Africa 2015 site:.et (from websites in Ethiopia)
search web not news since .et not well-represented in news)

Additional country codes can be found at
http://www.web-l.com/country-codes/

Several short articles I found worth noting:

Simon Allison, “Barack Obama’s convenient truths,” Daily Maverick,
July 27, 2015
Oped: http://tinyurl.com/o64s46p

Simon Allison, “Obama at the African Union,” Daily Maverick, July
28, 2015
News: http://tinyurl.com/oduwce4

Hassen Hussein, “What exactly is Obama’s Africa legacy?,” Al
Jazeera,
July 28, 2015
Opinion: http://tinyurl.com/ne2f28y

Paul Korin, “A visit of firsts, but Obama’s Africa policy mostly
symbolic,” Globe and Mail, July 28, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/pnj3sp6

Audio of radio interviews in which I participated:

KPFA Sunday Show, July 26, 2015, 1st hour, interview with William
Minter, Editor, AfricaFocus Bulletin
Audio: https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=210725

KPFA Upfront, July 27, 2015
Horace Campbell, Syracuse University and William Minter, Editor,
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Audio: https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=211164 (start at 34 minutes)

WPFW, July 29, 2015 1pm-2pm Eastern US time – Mwiza Munthali with
Nii Akuetteh and William Minter – will be live at
http://www.wpfwfm.org/radio/
and later archived at
http://www.wpfwfm.org/radio/programming/archived-shows

Aspects of Topics Avoided, with some links to previous AfricaFocus
Bulletins

* On Counter-Terrorism

With the exception of President Obama’s diplomatic critique of
Kenyan and Ethiopian use of the threat of terrorism as an excuse
human rights violations, there was little reference to other
critiques of the policies of USA, Kenya and Ethiopia.  For
alternative views, see in particular the background history and
commentary on the USA, Kenya, and Ethiopian involvement in Somalia
at http://www.africafocus.org/country/somalia.php, particularly
http://www.africafocus.org/docs15/gar1504.php,
http://www.africafocus.org/docs15/som1502.php,
http://www.africafocus.org/docs11/som1108.php, and
http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/som0701a.php

* On Corruption & “Illicit Financial Flows”

While President Obama spoke eloquently about corruption in Africa,
and briefly mentioned “illicit financial flows” in response to a
remark by African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, there
was clearly no recognition of the critical role played by
multilateral institutions in the United States and the international
financial system more generally in extracting capital from Africa.
For coverage of this, see, in particular, the recent
AfricaFocus Bulletin on “Stop the Bleeding”
(http://www.africafocus.org/docs15/iff1507.php) as well as previous
AfricaFocus Bulletins on related issues
(http://www.africafocus.org/intro-iff.php)

See also the July 27 article by Soren Ambrose of ActionAid
International, “Opinion: Developing Nations Set to Challenge Rich
Ahead of SDG [Sustainable Development Goals] Summit,”
http://tinyurl.com/nr7po7g

* On Economic Policy

Despite brief mentions of the need to address inequality and jobs,
the dominant assumption in President Obama’s speeches was the
“trickle-down” theory that all “trade and investment” will
eventually pay off for all, and that the primary engine of growth is
the private sector. And while there was much mention in the press of
the competition between China and the United States, there was scant
mention, if any, of alternate African and global perspectives on
sustainable development strategies deviating from the dominant U.S.
market fundamentalism.

For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins including material on economic
growth and strategies, visit http://www.africafocus.org/econexp.php

* On Climate Change

Although there was much talk of “Power Africa,” the approach
paralleled the Obama administration’s domestic policy in its stance
toward fossil fuels and renewable energy, namely “all of the above.”
Despite brief references to off-the-grid and renewable energy, much
of the private investment to come under the “Power Africa” label is
likely to support traditional fossil fuels, particularly natural gas
power generation. And there were no new commitments to major
increases in global funding to support climate change mitigation.

For a wider discussion of these issues in previous AfricaFocus
Bulletins, visit http://www.africafocus.org/intro-env.php

* On Health

In spite of token references to AIDS and Ebola, the visit did not
focus major attention on health challenges, including the need for
adequate financing for major investments in public health

See http://www.africafocus.org/intro-health.php for AfricaFocus
talking points and previous Bulletins.

*****************************************************

AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a
particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.

AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please
write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin,
or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about
reposted material, please contact directly the original source
mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see
http://www.africafocus.org

A Response to Howie Hawkins: How to Win Sanders Supporters to Independent Working-Class Politics
| July 28, 2015 | 9:23 pm | Bernie Sanders, political struggle | Comments closed

bernieFeaturePhotoNewest

A Response to Howie Hawkins: How to Win Sanders Supporters to Independent Working-Class Politics

Source: Socialist Alternative
Published On July 7, 2015 | By Bryan Koulouris |

Howie Hawkins is a veteran activist, working Teamster and leader of the Green Party nationally and in his home state of New York. Last November, his campaign for governor against incumbent Democrat Andrew Cuomo won 176,000 votes, nearly 5 percent of the total – the most successful left-wing independent campaign in New York since 1920. Hawkins wrote an article for Socialist Worker about the debate on the left surrounding the Bernie Sanders campaign which criticized Socialist Alternative’s approach.
Below is a response from Bryan Koulouris, Socialist Alternative’s national organizer.
The Bernie Sanders campaign for President is gaining more traction than anybody expected. This reflects the massive, widespread hatred of Wall Street, the frustration at big business domination of the political system and the openness to socialist ideas in US society. Sanders’ rallies have constantly necessitated bigger venues than organizers planned. Thousands are being turned away at the doors from New Hampshire and Iowa to Colorado and Minnesota. Polls show Sanders’ support skyrocketing, putting him within ten percentage points of Hillary Clinton in state after state.
Socialist Alternative stands for building a new, mass working people’s party. We disagree with Sanders’s approach of running in the Democratic primary. However, we also think it would be extremely foolish for the left to not recognize the enormous significance and potential inherent in the hundreds of thousands of people rallying around his campaign looking to fight against corporate America.

Rally for Bernie in Madison, Wisconsin on July 1, 2015 (Photo: Christopher Dilts - Bloomberg/Getty Images)

The thousands of people getting involved in the Sanders campaign are often new to activism and angry at the massive inequality in society. They are disgusted with the potential prospect of having former WalMart executive Hillary Clinton running as the “lesser evil” against arch-reactionary Scott Walker or yet-another-Bush. Yet Sanders has stated that if he loses the primary – which we believe he will – he will endorse the Democratic nominee for president, most likely Hillary Clinton. This is consistent with his previous record of endorsing the Democratic nominee for president.
These two factors – Sanders’ decision to run as a Democrat and the anger at big business that he is giving voice to – is the basis of the deep contradiction running throughout the Sanders campaign. On the one hand, there is the danger that Sanders channels the radicalizing workers and young people gathering behind him into Hillary Clinton’s pro-corporate campaign and helps to legitimize the Democratic Party to those who are most critical of corporate politics.
On the other hand, the Sanders campaign is drawing together potential raw material for independent working class politics in the form of the hundreds of thousands who are supporting him precisely because they see him as a clear alternative to establishment politicians and big business policies.
We believe socialists have an obligation to connect up with this radicalizing audience and struggle to make sure they don’t get trapped within the Democratic Party and instead win them over to the need for independent politics and building movements that can change society. To be effective in building support for socialist policies and independent working class politics we must address consciousness as it actually exists rather than as we wish it would be.
With this in mind Socialist Alternative has greeted the radical, anti-corporate, working class platform of Sanders. At the same time we have explained that the Democratic Party is a dead end for all those seeking to fight Wall Street and the billionaire class. Sanders will not win the Democratic primaries and an independent working class challenge will be needed against Hillary Clinton and the Republican candidate in the 2016 election. To carry out his call for a political revolution against politicians serving the billionaires Sanders cannot endorse Hillary Clinton or any other pro-corporate candidate. Instead we have strongly urged that he runs as an independent against Clinton and the Republicans in the November 2016 election.
While Sanders has made clear that he intends to endorse whoever the Democratic Party nominee will be (likely Hillary Clinton), this is very much an open debate among Sanders supporters. Socialists and those on the independent left should get involved in this debate to win people over to our approach of working-class independence. Socialist Alternative is boldly intervening at events and putting forward positive proposals to build movements that can challenge the “billionaire class” that Sanders talks about. We want to work alongside people campaigning for Sanders while discussing with them the best methods to win victories for working people and youth.
Right now, the organized socialist left is unfortunately quite small in relation to our tasks. The same can be said of independent left electoral politics in general with a few exceptions like Kshama Sawant in Seattle and the Richmond, California Progressive Alliance. At the same time, polls show again and again that millions of people are open to anti-corporate and even anti-capitalist ideas. Activists must constantly find ways to bring our ideas to a broader audience and organize people for struggles like the fight for a $15 an hour minimum wage, the struggle against racist police violence and the movements against cuts to public education. In this process, we need to find ways to raise the banner of independent left politics and the need to fundamentally transform society through mass movements of working people.
At this moment the biggest audience for socialists to build support for independent working class politics is the hundreds of thousands of workers and youth gravitating around the Bernie Sanders campaign. Unfortunately, the approach Hawkins advocates for will not allow socialists to seize this opportunity.
With a weak labor movement and a lack of any recent history of ongoing, successful independent left politics, we have to contend with the reality that anger at the corporate control of politics will often reflect itself in vague populism and often within the Democratic Party. In fact, even many of the campaigns on the independent left are unfortunately not explicitly socialist. This does not mean socialists should stay on the sidelines. Rather, while not abandoning our program, we must start to engage consciousness where it is at in order to raise the level of discussion and build organizations to win victories for working-class people and the oppressed.
Know-how and Political Independence
| July 28, 2015 | 9:20 pm | Bernie Sanders, political struggle | Comments closed

By A. Shaw

“This campaign is not simply about electing me, I hope we accomplish that, but that isn’t the most important thing. The most important thing is building a political movement in which millions of people who have given up on the political process, including a lot of young people, get involved,” Senator Bernie Sanders said.
It may follow that a part of the movement is the campaign to elect Bernie. And, it may also follow that another part of the movement is not the Sanders campaign.
But at the current stage, the campaign is more or less the movement. At this stage, without the campaign, there is virtually no movement.
In time, the movement evolves separately from the campaign.
Now, what is the common ground that would unite a movement and campaign?
The common ground seems to be electoral know-how that the campaign now mostly possesses.
Know-how wins or seizes state power while don’t-know-how loses power.
At this stage, the movement has more don’t-know-how than know-how.
In the early stages, the movement depends on the campaign.
As the movement acquires know-how, it separates from the campaign.
When the movement is full of know-how, it’s almost indestructible and almost absolutely independent.
A campaign dies when it wins or loses, like Nov. 2016. The movement however may continue, win or lose.
If the separation of movement from campaign happens before enough know-how enters the movement, the movement may drop dead.
In Nov. 2008, the separation happened before the movement got enough know-how. So, the movement dropped dead as Obama intended.
In the Manifesto, Marx and Engels called know-how “weapons” and they called movement “the working class.” There are four references in the Manifesto to “weapons.”
An African American Response to Step 1 of Bernie Sanders’ 12-Step Economic Agenda
| July 28, 2015 | 9:06 pm | Bernie Sanders, political struggle | Comments closed
1. Rebuilding Our Roads
“We need a major investment to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure: roads, bridges, water systems, waste water plants, airports, railroads and schools. It has been estimated that the cost of the Bush-Cheney Iraq War, a war we should never have waged, will total $3 trillion by the time the last veteran receives needed care. A $1 trillion investment in infrastructure could create 13 million decent paying jobs and make this country more efficient and productive. We need to invest in infrastructure, not more war,” Sen. Bernie Sanders says is the 1st Step of his economic agenda.
Response to Bernie’s 1st Step by A. Shaw
The infrastructure, especially clean water facilities, in black and brown neighborhoods is often the most neglected and most in need of rebuilding.
Most GOPs and reactionary DPs (i.e.,conservative Democrats) want to throw away trillions of dollars on mass murder and torture of innocent people like the Iraqis who were falsely accused, by the bourgeois and billionaire regime in Washington D.C. , of possessing weapons of mass destruction. Million of Iraqis have perished from war-related fatalities. The money for rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure has to come from somewhere. Let the money come from the bloated U.S. military budget and wasteful spending for U.S. military mass murder program.
By spending public funds on rebuilding the infrastructure here in the USA, the government will create millions of jobs here, not overseas. In many black communities, unemployment is 50%.
Celebrate Medicare’s Birthday in Houston 7/30/15
| July 27, 2015 | 8:28 pm | Health Care, political struggle | Comments closed

http://www.healthcareforalltexas.org/

 

On Thursday July 30th, supporters of Medicare in Houston and around the country will Celebrate the 50th  Anniversary of the program that has saved countless lives and prevented the impoverishment of millions.

We will be on Fannin Street in the Texas Medical Center between 12 noon and 1pm inviting the people we meet to celebrate with us in Hermann Park near the Lake Plaza Bicycle station from 4 to 6pm.  There is free parking available a few steps away in the Hermann Park Zoo parking lot.

Watch for the van with the Medicare banners on Fannin at lunchtime and later in Hermann Park. In the park there will be Apple PIE for all as we commemorate the great advance that Medicare has been in the lives of so many and dedicate ourselves to Protect, Improve and Expand Medicare to All as the way to make healthcare the human right that it should be in the United States.

SEE YOU ON THURSDAY. If you would like to assist with the event, call 713-5706242 or email info@HCFAT.org

Things to remember about Medicare:
1. Medicare provides comprehensive health care for 46 million seniors and 9 million people with disabilities.
2. Medicare is not the cause of high health care costs. It is the victim of rising healthcare costs. Medicare costs have risen slower than the costs of private health insurance.
3. Medicare desegregated hospitals across the country.
4. Medicare pays for the education of doctors by subsidizing residency programs.
5. Medicare is a social insurance program paid for by us that Saves Lives!
Estimate your savings and see what Full Coverage really can mean at our website’s Health Care Calculator.

Make a donation! Make it a recurring monthly donation!

Healthcare – Yes! Insurance Companies – No
What do insurance companies do for healthcare
that can’t be done better without them?

– Follow us on –

Celebrate Medicare’s 50th Birthday, July 30, 2015
| July 27, 2015 | 8:24 pm | Health Care, political struggle | Comments closed

 

On July 30, 2015, more than 60 cities will celebrate the 50th Birthday of Medicare, our nation’s single payer health care system for seniors, and call on Congress and the public to Protect it, Improve it, and Expand it (PIE) to cover all.

Medicare brought care and dignity to seniors, ended much suffering, extended lives, and lifted millions from poverty.  Medicare desegregated the nation’s hospitals by making payment contingent on ending discrimination.  Medicare shows what federal funding based on sound public policy can do for social justice.

This year’s celebrations call for protecting Medicare from those who would cut it or turn it into a voucher;  improving Medicare for it still omits crucial dental, inadequately covers drugs, and leaves many unable to pay for care;  and expanding Medicare so that it covers all ages with no exceptions.

 

The celebrations call for passage of national single payer legislation, HR 676, Expanded and Improved Medicare for All.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has urged unions to participate in the Medicare celebrations.  His message to affiliates is here.

The city celebrations are listed here.

Physicians for a National Health Program has announced a national call-in day on July 30, 2015, to urge lawmakers to become co-sponsors of HR 676.  Current HR 676 co-sponsors are here.  You can call your representative at the Capitol Switchboard number, 202-224-3121.

 

PNHP physicians have appeared in newspapers in many cities advocating an end to private for-profit health insurance by moving to improved Medicare for All.  Many of those Op Eds can be seen here.

In Washington, DC

Also on July 30, 2015, Rep. John Conyers, lead sponsor of H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, will hold a congressional briefing, moderated by veteran journalist Bill Moyers, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2237.  The event can be seen at this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqopRQ1kT-s&feature=youtu.be

 

For further details contact Congressman Conyers’ Legislative Assistant, Erik Sperling at erik.sperling@mail.house.gov.

At 9:30 on the morning of July 30, National Nurses United and others will hold a “Medicare turns 50” rally in Upper Senate Park, across Constitution Avenue from the Capitol followed by congressional lobbying.  Further details are here.

 

Join an event near you!

Issued by:

 

All Unions Committee for Single Payer Health Care–HR 676 c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO) 1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218 Louisville, KY 40217 (502) 636 1551 7/26/15

Email: nursenpo@aol.com http://unionsforsinglepayer.org https://www.facebook.com/unionsforsinglepayer

Cuba Closes Toronto Pan-Ams Performance with 97 Medals
| July 26, 2015 | 6:47 pm | Cuba | Comments closed
HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 26 (acn) The Cuban delegation won on Saturday five gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal, to close its performance in the 17th Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Boxing led Cuba’s harvest yesterday, with the gold medals obtained by Lazaro Alvarez, in the 60 kilogram division, Julio Cesar La Cruz (81 kilos) and Lenier Pero (+91), while Yosbany Veitia (52) and Roniel Iglesias (69) lost their respective fights for the title.

Cruz retained the crown won at the Pan-American Games of Guadalajara 2011, beating Venezuelan Albert Ramirez3-0; Alvarez also won by unanimous decision against Mexican Lindolfo Delgado and Pero defeated the representative of Venezuela, Edgar Muñoz, 2-1.

Meanwhile, Iglesias lost, in a controversial 2-1 verdict, against Venezuelan Gabriel Maestre, like his compatriot Yosbany Veitia, who was defeated by U.S. boxer Antonio Vargas 3-0.

Cuban athletics also closed in style its performance in the Pan-Ams, adding two gold medals by way of marathon runner Richer Perez and woman heptathlon athlete Yorgelis Perez, while the men’s 4×400 relay was second in another outstanding performance.

Cuban Rodriguez assured the golden medal with a Pan-American record of 6,332 points, followed by U.S. athlete Heather Miller (6178) and Brazilian Vanessa Spinola (6035).

Also, Richer Perez gave the big surprise of the day, after winning the crown in the exhausting marathon event with a personal best of 2:17:04 hours, followed by Peruvian Raul Pacheco (2:17:13) and Argentinean Martiano Mastromarino (2:17:45).

Finally, the Cuban men’s 4×400 relay crossed second the finishing line with a time of 2: 59.84 minutes, slightly outdone by the team of Trinidad and Tobago (2:59.60), and ahead of the U.S. favorite (3: 00.21).

The other silver medal for Cuba in the penultimate round of competitions of the Games corresponded to cyclist Marlies Mejias, runner-up in the modality of route, only surpassed by Canadian Jasmin Glaesser.

In turn, karateist Jander Tiril finished with bronze, after losing 9-1 in the semifinals against Ecuadorian Franklin Mina in the over 84 kilogram category.

Without competitors scheduled for the final day of the Games on Sunday, Cuba closed its performance in Toronto with 36 gold medals, 27 silver and 34 bronze, valid for fourth place in the overall medal table by countries.

__._,_.___