Progressive Calendar 02.10.11 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu) | |
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:45:00 -0800 (PST) |
P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 02.10.11 1. Egypt/Tunisia 2.10 7pm 2. Dissent/US/India 2.10 7pm 3. Kevin Zeese - Obama "becoming" business friendly --------1 of 3-------- From: Socialist Appeal <new [at] socialistappeal.org> Subject: Egypt/Tunisia 2.10 7pm EVENT THURSDAY: The Uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and the Arab Revolution, February 10th, 7 pm, Mayday Books, 301 Cedar Ave S, MLPS The Uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and the Arab Revolution February 10th, 2011 A forum on the magnificent revolutionary events in North Africa and what it means for the Middle East Thursday, February 10th, 7 pm Mayday Books (301 Cedar Ave. S in Minneapolis' West Bank) The heroic movement of the Tunisian masses has transformed the atmosphere in the Middle East. In this key strategic country of the Arab World, millions of ordinary men and women, young and old, workers, peasants, students, and urban poor, have entered the stage of history and risen up against the U.S.-backed dictator, toppling him in just a few weeks despite the regime's brutal repression. Armed with only sticks and stones, they have set up barricades and neighborhood defense committees, and even taken over the government of entire towns, replacing the old authorities with democratically elected people's councils. This is yet another example of the unstoppable power of the working class once it moves into action. But the movement is still ongoing and spreading throughout the region. Now the Egyptian masses are rising up, casting aside their fear and openly confronting the hated police of the Mubarak dictatorship. In Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and even in Saudi Arabia, protests are erupting. The Arab revolution is just beginning, with profound implications for the entire region and the world. Come join us to learn more about these exciting events and the latest developments. John Peterson of the Workers International League and Socialist Appeal magazine will introduce the discussion. This event is free and open to the public. Donations to Mayday Books for the generous use of their space appreciated. We will also be holding a collection to support the work of Marxist.com in its reporting and analysis of the unfolding events in North Africa. For more information, please contact wil [at] socialistappeal.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 612-424-3897 (WIL) or 612-333-4719 (Mayday Books). --------2 of 3-------- From: Karthik Ramanathan <ramanath.karthik [at] gmail.com> Subject: Dissent/US/India 2.10 7pm "Dissent and repression in the US and India", Feb 10 (Thursday), 7-8.30pm, Blegen Hall, UoM Dissent and Repression in the US and India February 10, 2011; 7-8.30 PM 445 Blegen Hall, UoM West Bank 269 19th Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55455 On September 24, 2010, FBI raided the homes of peace activists in Minneapolis and Chicago, seizing computers, phones and large amount of documents and personal items. Since then, 23 activists in both these cities have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. No one has been charged and lacking any material evidence, the United States government is clearly carrying out a campaign of intimidating people, who did little more than speak out for peace and justice. On December 24, 2010, Dr. Binayak Sen, a renowned physician, public health and human rights activist, was sentenced to life in prison by a sessions court in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh on baseless charges of "sedition" and "conspiracy against the state". This extreme action comes on top of the arrest and conviction of several political and human rights activists in different parts of India in the last few years. Come find out more about these cases and the context in which these acts of repression and silencing of dissent are occurring in the US and in India! Panelists Jess Sundin, Anti-War Committee Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality Lalit Batra, International Campaign to Free Binayak Sen For more info: contact Lalit Batra (612-229-3358) lalitbatra [at] gmail.com or Karthik Ramanathan (978-996-2292) ramanath.karthik [at] gmail.com --------3 of 3-------- The False Narrative of the Corporate Media Obama Becoming Business Friendly by Kevin Zeese Dissident Voice February 10th, 2011 The unrelenting narrative from the corporate media - that Obama must mend fences with American business - is disconnected from the reality of Obama's policies and appointments. It is inconsistent with the rise in the stock market, the record profits and the hordes of cash big business is sitting on. There is no question that small businesses are still being choked by the unavailability of credit and that the lack of job creation is preventing a real economic recovery, but the businesses Obama spoke to when he visited the Chamber of Commerce are not in that category. In recent years, the national Chamber has evolved into a spokesperson for transnational corporations, not Main Street America's businesses. They have pushed U.S. job killing policies that send jobs overseas so transnational corporations can reap the biggest profits from the cheapest labor. Rather than scolding the Chamber for killing American industry, Obama kow-towed to them. He seeks to raise $1 billion for his re-election campaign and neutralize opposition from concentrated corporate capital. As a result his promises to the Chamber were a policy agenda that will fail to ignite the U.S. economy but continue to grow the power of concentrated corporate interests, especially transnational corporations. The business agenda Obama promised will be good for big business interests but bad for the U.S. economy, workers and small business interests. It included: . A freeze on domestic spending for five years, excluding the military and national security. This McCain campaign promise opposed by Obama during his campaign will result in austerity budgets for programs that attempt to meet the needs of Americans while the military and national security budgets continue to devour more and more federal spending. In fact, Obama failed to mention the urgent need to dramatically reduce the rapidly rising military and intelligence budgets, which make up more than half of federal discretionary spending, so as not to offend the Military Industrial Complex. . Obama continued the falsehood that Social Security and Medicare are the driving force of deficit spending, when, in fact, both are contracts with American workers for essential health care and retirement services funded by payroll taxes. This contract, paid for by American workers, must be honored. Social Security in particular has built up over $2.5 trillion worth of Treasury Bonds at the end of fiscal 2009. These produce more than $100 billion annually in interest. Social Security will continue to remain solvent by merely raising the cap on the Social Security tax so the wealthy pay their share will ensure retirement security long into the future. To really control debt the U.S. must lower health care costs. The Obama reforms will not do this. Only improving and expanding Medicare to cover all Americans will accomplish this objective. If you are concerned with deficit spending, you should support single payer health care. . Obama promised to reduce the corporate tax, another McCain campaign proposal that the Obama campaign called a "gift basket" for corporate America. In fact, 72 percent of foreign corporations and about 57 percent of U.S. companies doing business in the United States paid no federal income taxes for at least one year between 1998 and 2005. Revenue from the corporate income tax fell from between 5 and 6 percent of GDP in the early 1950s to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2008. At a time when corporations are seeing record profits and sitting on huge cash reserves, of $2 trillion, while failing to hire Americans, Obama gently urged them to get back into the economy was inadequate. . Obama promised less regulation, pledging to reduce regulation without pointing out that the deregulation era that began with Reagan and continued with every president, Democrat and Republican, was a primary cause of the economic collapse, as even Alan Greenspan, the former libertarian-leaning Federal Reserve Chairman has admitted. . Obama promised more corporate trade agreements with developing nations. These types of trade agreements have created a huge trade deficit and the net loss of 5.1 million manufacturing jobs and 43,000 factories since America started its experiment with the current trade model in the 1990s. The Korea pact which Obama trumpeted is projected to cost another 159,000 U.S. jobs. The Chamber speech and Obama's recent appointments have the media claiming a new business agenda. His recent appointments of William Daley, a JP Morgan executive and former board member of the Chamber of Commerce as his chief of staff, Gene Sperling, formerly with Goldman Sachs, to head Obama's National Economic Council, and Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric to head the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, are certainly pro-business. The latter selection is particularly obnoxious since GE has cut 10,000 jobs in the U.S. while creating 30,000 jobs in India in the last decade. But these appointments are consistent with the appointments in his first two years. The previous chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, received more donations from Wall Street than any other member of Congress. His Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geitner, was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where the failure to control Wall Street gambling was the chief cause of the economic collapse. Larry Summers was appointed head of the National Economic Council even though he played a large role in deregulating the derivatives market and repeal of Glass-Steagall, two major contributors to the economic collapse. And, his policy proscriptions have also been in favor of concentrated businesses. His health reform gives hundreds of millions to the insurance industry in new annual tax subsidies and strengthens their grip on health care. His financial reform was inadequate, did not confront the causes of the collapse and was applauded by the financial industry. He has failed to deal with urgent environmental issues and did not even mention climate change in the State of the Union. Wars have escalated, expanding to a third front Pakistan, while escalating in Afghanistan and failing to truly get out of Iraq. Obama has produced record weapons and war budgets, record intelligence budgets and record arms sales. While Obama is a brilliant communicator who suggests a progressive agenda rhetorically, his appointments and policy proscriptions have been consistently corporatist in nature favoring big business over the necessities of the American people. The corporate media spin that Obama is now becoming business friendly is false. He has always been business friendly. Every proscription to critical issues facing the nation has consistently been to add to the profits of concentrated corporate power. What Obama is doing now is laying out his continuing agenda for big business to position him with them for the next election. Americans who hope that a different President Obama will appear if he is re-elected need to keep the agenda laid out before the Chamber of Commerce in mind. These are the promises he is making to the big business community as he begins preparation for his re-election. The billion dollars he seeks for his re-election campaign will come primarily from concentrated corporate capital and they will not donate unless they are assured that their agenda is Obama's Kevin Zeese is executive director of Voters for Peace. [Obama is a lying sack of compost that acts against everything liberals *claim* they hold dear. Nevertheless they are going to cueue up and vote for him in 2012, and scream holy hell down upon the left that moves beyond him. No profiles in courage there. They are slaves on their knees praying to the masters to love them, or at least spare them. Lots of "accommodation" and "peace in our time" for them, but not a thing done for the good of the future or those who will have to live in it. A porcine passel of potatoes, blithering their lives away on overstuffed couches. -ed] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - David Shove shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu rhymes with clove Progressive Calendar over 2225 subscribers as of 12.19.02 please send all messages in plain text no attachments vote third party for president for congress for governor now and forever Socialism YES Capitalism NO To GO DIRECTLY to an item, eg --------8 of x-------- do a find on --8 Research almost any topic raised here at: CounterPunch http://counterpunch.org Dissident Voice http://dissidentvoice.org Common Dreams http://commondreams.org Once you're there, do a search on your topic, eg obama drones
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