December 31, 2007

David Swanson, the "pocket veto", 2008 election and THE LEFT

All of it, all of it, is too true.

Here it is election year, and BuZh just "vetoed"/torpedoed the budget, using lies and crookiness as USUAL .. saying CONgress is on holiday! when in fact, the Senate is sitting in order to prevent him from making recess appointments (one coming is the replacement of CHERTOFF, with a Col. Bart Johnson. This is not your common, ordinary everyday garden variety of pocket veto. (More like a bouquet of nightshades.)

Like (most) everyone on the blogosphere is saying, he fears oversight because it would mean his and his entire administration's ass, which we all want on a platter...

Bush has

rejected a pay raise for the troops, VA care for wounded veterans, a new “Truman Commission” to fight fraud and waste by military contractors, and expanded job protections for family members of severely wounded troops.

And we are discussinsg the timber of Barak Obama's speech, Mike Huckabee's latest fantasy interlude, what rating we give Rudy Giulani in drag, how Many (not if) lies HiLIARy is telling,

Man, it is to LAUGH, if we're so damned sad.

Why are these candidates getting away with NOT DISCUSSING IMPEACHMENT??????

And, David, is there someone, anyone who can take a court challenge over this "veto", which is NOT a veto under the Constitution, to put to rest his friviolous claim? Isn't there SOMEONE with standing under the law (any of the candidates!) who can challenge this??

Why didn't BuZh call back the House to fix whatever he found wrong?? Why is no one attacking what he has done???

Is discussing what is happening taboo, or .. just a thought crime???

I am serious, can you give me any ideas??

by ladybroadoak (13 articles, 16 quicklinks, 129 comments) on Monday, December 31, 2007

In response to::

Death By Election

by David Swanson Page 1 of 3 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com




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There must be a Star Trek episode (if there's not, there should be) in which all the best minds in the leftist political opposition on some planet are diverted into an obsession with a virtual reality game, leaving all the right-wingers free to drive the planet into inevitable war and destruction. A game is a harmless thing when not put to such use. Elections are a fundamental pillar of democracy when not put to such use. That makes the case I want to argue all the more difficult. My thesis is that, if we do not change our thinking, elections are going to be the death of U.S. democracy.

How can that be? Without elections, there can be no democracy. And participating in elections is the principal, if not sole, duty of the citizens of a democracy. The health of our democracy can be measured by the wide range of candidate choices we've been offered. We've even got a woman and an African American. What in the world can you be talking about?

Well, I would make a slight modification to one of the claims above: Without HONEST AND CREDIBLE elections, there can be no democracy. We have not had anything approaching those in the past 8 years, and we have left in place a system that will deny us those again in November 2008: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2920 Citizens who are busy working to create a credible election system in certain states, and perhaps someday in the entire United States, are doing crucial work. They should be encouraged, joined, and supported.

I would make another slight modification: Without honest and credible elections and an INFORMED ELECTORATE, there can be no democracy. The corporate media that dominates the U.S. information system does not provide useful electoral information. While we are developing an independent, web-based, and radio communications system, much of that system currently, voluntarily, and self-destructively submits to the frames of the corporate media, serving as critic rather than educator, boosting cynicism rather than participation. Leftists, liberals, and progressives, and those who share their views but run in fear from their names, have more than enough money to create honest democratic television news. In fact, every election cycle, we dump that much money into election advertising that funds the destructive corporate media. It's as if we're hooked on the game and keep feeding it quarters without stopping to think.

I could go on modifying the claim about elections to rule out systems that have legalized massive bribery, imposed undemocratic primaries, locked out new parties and movements, developed election seasons that last from one election to the next, or in the immediate instance already weeded out any truly decent candidates. (Yes, you should vote for Kucinich. Yes, you should believe anything is possible. But you're going up against the televised voices in everyone's heads.)

Well, what are we supposed to do, ignore elections until we can fix them? That'll just get us more elected officials less likely to fix them, won't it?

That depends. Certainly focusing on the elections will do that, given that the elections are now routinely stolen. And I wouldn't want you to ignore elections in order to watch football. I would ask you to ignore elections in order to fix the election system now and in order to fix other pressing problems that you don't need elections to fix. I would modify this claim:

"And participating in elections is the principal, if not sole, duty of the citizens of a democracy."

to read:

Participating in honest, credible, informed elections is one of the LESS IMPORTANT of the many necessary duties of the citizens of a democracy. Participating in non-credible elections is a DISTRACTION. Of course, in the current system, the primaries offer more real choices, less fraud, and many fewer voters than the general election. They also don't put anyone in office.

Have you ever noticed that the U.S. Constitution doesn't mention primaries? Or political parties? Or corporations? Or churches? It provides no right to vote. Instead, it mentions the freedoms to speak, to assemble, to publish news, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. And it goes on repeatedly, at some length, to establish the power of the people's representatives in the House of Representatives to hold an outlaw executive or judiciary in check through impeachment.

O.K. But how do we petition our government for a redress of grievances except by waiting until the next election and voting it out?

Is it possible we really have to be told this again? We do it by assembling, by speaking, by publishing news, and by drawing on the traditions of Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr., the tradition of suffragettes and labor, the lessons of abolitionists and populists. We resist injustice here and now through creative nonviolent action. In early January, the peace movement will announce a series of major actions in March 2008. Resistance to the new American policy of torture is planned for January 11: http://www.witnesstorture.org A growing list of members of the House Judiciary Committee is pushing for hearings to begin in January on Dick Cheney's impeachment: http://impeachcheney.org On January 26, we can join the world for World Social Forum events: http://www.wsf2008.net On January 31, we can all help end global warming: http://www.focusthenation.org/nationalteachin.php On February 15, we can demand an end to the occupation of Iraq: http://www.iraqmoratorium.org By the time March comes around, we can build the activist culture needed to revive a democracy that is wilting under the heat of election madness.

And not a moment too soon. Scientists agree that we have a limited number of years to reverse the current climate change, or we will be past the point of no return. The common acceptance that we must waste the next year before acting is evidence, I think, of greater self-destructive tendencies than ever surfaced during the Cold War. We do NOT have to wait another year. We have to impeach Cheney and Bush. We have to work at the state level. We have to work internationally. We have to educate and mobilize, pressure, resist, and sacrifice. The occupation of Iraq is worse every year. The attack on Iran is still a threat. Pakistan, a nation that really DOES have nuclear weapons, is in turmoil. And where is the so-called progressive online media? Where is the blogosphere? Why, it's got its nose so far up the ass of the November 2008 elections it can taste the inaugural champagne.

Is it really true that the health of our democracy can be measured by the wide range of candidate choices we've been offered? Take this 1-minute test, and then tell me if you still believe that: http://www.dehp.net/candidate

How closely did any of the candidates come to agreeing with you? Did those who came closest fall into the category of corporate-acceptable "viability"? Why can't you find anything about this situation or any substantive reporting on candidates' positions at all? Because for some politics is a sport, and the fascination lies in the techniques and maneuvers, not in what it might mean for the world. For others, politics is a soap opera, an excuse to obsess over whether in the next episode Obama will take his shirt off or Giuliani's ex-wife's ex-husband will claim to have Hillary's child. Think I'm exaggerating? Not much.

The political blogs, like MyDD are all election, all the time. Firedoglake gets credit for being 2/3 election, all the time. Huffington Post is 3/4 election, and 3/4 of that is election fluff and refuse. On New Year's Eve, this was the top HuffPost story, with two big photos: "Edwards: Obama Too "Nice" For The Presidency." It was followed by these edifying tracts:

Huckabee Questions Romney's Honesty
Marty Kaplan: I Know Who's Going to Win
Iowa>> Romney Surging In Polls As Caucus Nears
Live Iowa Campaign Journal - Blowing Bubbles
Politics >> Clinton-Backing Ohio Governor Calls IA Caucuses "Hugely Undemocratic"
Washington Post Editorial Misses Mark With Criticism of Obama
More in Politics >> McCain's Extensive Wooing Of Lobbyists Exposed ... NYT: Bloomberg Moves Closer To Prez Run
Obama: "The Real Gamble Is Having The Same Old Folks Doing The Same Old Things And Expecting A Different Result"
Joe Biden: Dem Rivals "Not Making Sense" On Bhutto...
Huckabee Pleads Poverty As He Takes Cash For Speeches
Edwards Radicalizes Anti-Corporate Pitch
Ron Paul Third?
BIO: Up Close and Personal With Edwards
HuffPolitics: Marc Cooper >> Will Edwards Really Win Iowa?
BIO: Obama Rolls The Dice With Latest Edwards Criticism
Edwards: Bill Clinton Has A Place In My White House
Hillary's Final Strategy: Be Afraid
Media Insiders Shaft Biden, Richardson, Dodd, Kucinich and America
What's the Matter with Iowa?

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Some of those articles are by people I greatly admire, and in some cases know and like. But if they were in that Star Trek episode I mentioned, my concern would be that their abilities were being wasted when we needed them most. Here is the complete set of headlines that the otherwise wonderful website BuzzFlash Emailed out in a New Year's Eve Email:

Awhile back there was a rumor buzzing around that McCain was pleading with the NYT not to post an article revealing his extensive -- and hypocritical -- tie to lobbyists. Turns out it was the WP working on the article, and they posted it on Dec. 31.

Latest MSNBC-McClatchy Poll: Dem Race Still Too Close to Call, With Shifts of One or Two Percentage Points Day by Day. "Where Edwards previously had lagged slightly behind Clinton and Obama, the poll showed him at 24 percent, compared with Clinton at 23 percent and Obama at 22 percent."

BuzzFlash's Last Chance Democracy Cafe: Screw Bipartisanship

Senator Obama's Barber Shop: Come on a BuzzFlash Video Visit to the Home of the "Obama Cut." Learn About Barack's Favorite Sports Team and His Loyalty to His Neighborhood Barber of 13 Years. We Needed a Break, As You Do, from the Doom and Gloom.

Over on Dailykos on New Year's Eve, the top story was "Huckabee's Imaginary Conception." Below it were posts like these: "More failed 'leadership,' please! On white toast with mayo," and "Mike Huckabee's incisive grasp of foreign policy." The top recommended diary was "MSM Continues Blackout of John Edwards." It was followed by "The Iowa Edwards Surge -- first-hand, on the ground," and "Barack Obama will change the system part 2."

I guess it's a relief to know that WE don't have to be the ones to change the system. Over on Alternet, the top story on New Year's Eve was "GOP Mess in Iowa: Romney Stalls, Giuliani's Flailing, Huckabee Scares the GOP Establishment." It was followed by these gems:

Despite Media Hype, Iowa's Democratic Caucuses Will Have No True Winner
Huckabee: 'I Don’t Know' If People Are 'Born' Gay, But It’s a 'Choice' to Act Gay [VIDEO]
Election 2008: Huckabee has a record of using the power of government to discriminate against the choices that gay Americans make in their private lives.
Iowa: Edwards Takes on Corporate Greed
The Imperial Presidency: The '08 Candidates Weigh In
Behind the Edwards Surge: Right Message at the Right Time
The Best Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism
Iowa Caucuses: Not the Battle of the Century

Oh, and that "Imperial Presidency" one - contributed by Huffington Post - is a column arguing that we should address through an election, a year away, exactly what the authors of the Constitution told us to address through impeachment.

Better than average on the awaking-from-eternal-election-daze count is Common Dreams, which on New Year's Eve ran the top headline: "FROM IOWA CORNFIELDS, A LEFT-TILTING TRADITION, MOST DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES VOTE FOR NUCLEAR POWER," but which carried below it a relatively small percentage of election headlines, including these:

An Endorsement from the Wilderness
Behind the Edwards Surge: Right Message at the Right Time
What Hillary Hasn’t Done in Foreign Policy
Mitt Romney’s Pursuit of Tyrannical Power, Literally
Candidates Split Along Party Lines on Healthcare

Truthout.org does relatively well too, tending to run 50% or less election coverage. OpEdNews is superb, making election coverage far less than half its news. On New Year's Eve, it featured two election-related top headlines, but one of them was about preventing election fraud and the other about Ron Paul's refusal to support impeachment.

Democratic Underground is pretty far gone on most days, running lots of election blogs and even more election videos. Video websites are easily dominated by election fluff, but video-heavy Crooks and Liars tends to keep election nonsense to a relatively low level.

I mention all of these websites, because they are the ones I like and would like to see focused on the work needed to restore our democracy, not a year from now, but immediately. My goal is not to leave the business of elections to those who will steal what we break our necks preventing them from winning. My goal is to shift the political discussion in ways that, among many other things, compel better political candidates.


I know there are tender feelings involved here. I know John Edwards is cute, and even Hillary seems measurably less insane than Huckabee. I know Gravel has more heart than Biden. I know you adore Ron Paul more because you think he'll shut down the empire than because he's a xenophobic bigoted moron. I get that there are differences and intrigues, personalities, and tons of money and hard work at stake. My point is that we need not lower our standards so far that supporters of the last invasion who refuse to forswear the next one count as the best we can do.

But we cannot raise those standards through electoral work. If we want John Edwards to promise never to launch an aggressive war, we will impeach the people who launched the last one. If we want Hillary Clinton to commit to not spying on Huckabee (or any of us) without a warrant and probable cause, we will put behind bars the architects of the current spying programs. If we want the world to understand that Bush and Cheney and the current Congress do not speak for us, we will raise our voices now, not next November. Focusing on the choices presented to us in a two-year electoral campaign leads to insufficient pressure on Congress (with disastrous results in 2007), not to mention independent billionaire campaigns.

If we want credible elections and palatable candidates, we will break the electoral spell and start behaving like the citizens of a democracy.


IMPEACHMENT TOOLKIT: A Conservative's Case for Impeachment

An "Eisenhower-Teddy Roosevelt Republican" calls for an accounting for the violation of Americans' rights. Even John Ashcroft from his hospital bed couldn't stomach the NSA warrantless surveillance, and he's not exactly liberal.

read more | digg story

Harvesting Hope in Chiapas!! (It's not the North American Union, folks!!)


Harvesting Hope in Chiapas

It's going to be a great harvest this year in Chiapas, Mexico. After joyful Christmas eve parties with lots of fireworks and sweet coffee, today Mayan families are scouring their steep hillside fields for the last of the corn, beans, and squash which will sustain the struggle for dignity and justice through yet another cycle. Strong brown hands are also now gathering the brilliant red coffee beans which will welcome many of our mornings throughout 2008.

And there's another equally important crop now bearing fruit in Chiapas. Boys and girls, young women and men are harvesting a cornucopia of knowledge and a wealth of social consciousness. Like the harvest of foods on the mountainsides, this harvest of human hope requires sacrifice, planning, and ingenuity by the Mayan communities. As 2007 comes to an end, please give what you can to support Zapatista education - education for literacy, education for health, and education for ecological agriculture. It only takes $10 a month to provide school supplies for an entire classroom; $100 installs a blackboard, and with just $25 you can provide tools and seeds for a school garden. Your help makes another world possible, TODAY!

Por y para los niños y las niñas, Peter Brownpedrocafe@ schoolsforchiapa s.orgps.

ZAPATISTA CORN SEED

Powerful Mayan corn seed - free of genetic modifications or chemicals - will soon be available for spring planting. We know that many of you have already requested seed for 2008, but seed corn from this year's harvest is still drying in the humble homes of Mayan farmers and should be ready for shipping on about Feb. 1, 2008. We hope that many of you will plant these seeds of resistance in support of Zapatista struggles for sustainable agriculture and against contamination by genetically modified seed. Click here to order your Zapatista seed for 2008. pps.

COFFEE * COFFEE * COFFEE:

Schools for Chiapas is also proud to offer you shade grown, bird friendly, organic Zapatista coffee grown by small farming families in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Click here for the best cup of coffee you'll ever experience!

ppps.The kids in the photo below are attending an autonomous, indigenous primary school in the jungle zone of Chiapas. If you would like to help the children of Chiapas, just click on the photo. Thank you so much for you help and please consider forwarding this email to your family and friends.

pedrocafe@schoolsfo rchiapas. org

Escuelas para Chiapas / Schools for Chiapas is a project of Grass Roots Events, Inc. a Federal tax-exempt, 501(c)3 California corporation with a U.S. mailing address located at 1631 Dale Street, San Diego, CA 92102. Join us! Our cultural and educational work has been supported for more than 20 years by thousands of individual donors including many people of conscience who are members of the National Education Association. In addition, dozens of artists, organizations, and foundations have supported our efforts including Activist San Diego, Agapa Foundation, Amado Avendano, The Big Kitchen, Big Noise Films, Roy Brown, California Arts Council, British Columbia Teachers' Association - Canada, Catholic Worker - San Diego, Committee for World Democracy, CNTE - Oaxaca (National Coordination of Education Workers - Mexico), Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, Global Fund for Children, John Hancox, Jose de Molino, Larson Legacy, Ofelia Medina, Ernie McCray, La Milpa Organica, Jose de Molino, Holly Near, Ocean Beach Peoples' Food Coop, Oceansong Wilderness Center, Gabino Palamares, Peace and Justice Caucus of the NEA, Resist, San Diego Foundation for Change, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Pete Seeger, Solidago Foundation, Sweet Honey in Rock, Tides Foundation, WESPAC Foundation, World Beat Center. We invite the full participation and honest support of people-of-conscienc e everywhere! Join us...you'll be in good company!

December 16, 2006 from a press woman's blog!!

Goodbye, Chiapas

Filed under: Chiapas — admin @ 1:50 am

It’s one minute to midnight. I leave tomorrow. I’ve somehow managed to roll and stuff most of my belongings into one small red suitcase. The rest will have to fit, magically, into my carryon laptop bag. And perhaps the very large pockets on my very large coat.

 I’m leaving heavier than I came. And I don’t mean just the two weeks of delicious cheese and no running. Or the chiapaneco coffee, or the ubiquitous Zapatista dolls, or the revolutionary T-shirts (I’m not making a statement, just marking a memory!), or the traditional dress of Chanel, Chiapas, or the woven shawl, or the amber jewelry, or the tourist brochures.

It’s hard to ignore children without winter shoes. Schools without floors. Eight-year-olds as street salesmen. School kids without mothers. Labor without profit. Bitter wind and bare legs. AIDS. Diabetes. Shacks. Racism. Classism. Death. Spies.

Oh, but I leave lighter, too. Because how could I not see blazing blue skies, clouds, breathless canyon walls, soaring heron? Carved torqoiuse, woven blankets, fat babies? Sculpted cathedrals, fluttering papel picado?

Or courage, love and selflessness?

It’s too easy to reduce to a T-shirt slogan the crisis that Subcomandante Marcos turned into a cause. I refuse to be as uncritically sympathetic as some are callous.

I want to return with more than Chiapas the symbol, paid for in pesos and wrapped in plastic. At least now it’s also just somebody’s home. Another square of earth, where people try to root their lives.


Paul Krugman: Corporate America's War on Unions - Obama and Edwards

By Paul Krugman, The New York Times. Posted December 27, 2007.

The U.S. labor movement isn't dying a natural death: corporations and politicians are helping.

Once upon a time, back when America had a strong middle class, it also had a strong union movement.

These two facts were connected. Unions negotiated good wages and benefits for their workers, gains that often ended up being matched even by nonunion employers. They also provided an important counterbalance to the political influence of corporations and the economic elite.
Today, however, the American union movement is a shadow of its former self, except among government workers. In 1973, almost a quarter of private-sector employees were union members, but last year the figure was down to a mere 7.4 percent.

Yet unions still matter politically. And right now they're at the heart of a nasty political scuffle among Democrats. Before I get to that, however, let's talk about what happened to American labor over the last 35 years.

It's often assumed that the U.S. labor movement died a natural death, that it was made obsolete by globalization and technological change. But what really happened is that beginning in the 1970s, corporate America, which had previously had a largely cooperative relationship with unions, in effect declared war on organized labor.

Don't take my word for it; read Business Week, which published an article in 2002 titled "How Wal-Mart Keeps Unions at Bay." The article explained that "over the past two decades, Corporate America has perfected its ability to fend off labor groups." It then described the tactics -- some legal, some illegal, all involving a healthy dose of intimidation -- that Wal-Mart and other giant firms use to block organizing drives.

These hardball tactics have been enabled by a political environment that has been deeply hostile to organized labor, both because politicians favored employers' interests and because conservatives sought to weaken the Democratic Party. "We're going to crush labor as a political entity," Grover Norquist, the anti-tax activist, once declared.

But the times may be changing. A newly energized progressive movement seems to be on the ascendant, and unions are a key part of that movement. Most notably, the Service Employees International Union has played a key role in pushing for health care reform. And unions will be an important force in the Democrats' favor in next year's election.

Or maybe not -- which brings us to the latest from Iowa.

Whoever receives the Democratic presidential nomination will receive labor's support in the general election. Meanwhile, however, unions are supporting favored candidates. Hillary Clinton -- who for a time seemed the clear front-runner -- has received the most union support. John Edwards, whose populist message resonates with labor, has also received considerable labor support.

But Barack Obama, though he has a solid pro-labor voting record, has not -- in part, perhaps, because his message of "a new kind of politics" that will transcend bitter partisanship doesn't make much sense to union leaders who know, from the experience of confronting corporations and their political allies head on, that partisanship isn't going away anytime soon.

O.K., that's politics. But now Mr. Obama has lashed out at Mr. Edwards because two 527s -- independent groups that are allowed to support candidates, but are legally forbidden from coordinating directly with their campaigns -- are running ads on his rival's behalf. They are, Mr. Obama says, representative of the kind of "special interests" that "have too much influence in Washington."

The thing, though, is that both of these 527s represent union groups -- in the case of the larger group, local branches of the S.E.I.U. who consider Mr. Edwards the strongest candidate on health reform. So Mr. Obama's attack raises a couple of questions.

First, does it make sense, in the current political and economic environment, for Democrats to lump unions in with corporate groups as examples of the special interests we need to stand up to?

Second, is Mr. Obama saying that if nominated, he'd be willing to run without support from labor 527s, which might be crucial to the Democrats? If not, how does he avoid having his own current words used against him by the Republican nominee?

Part of what happened here, I think, is that Mr. Obama, looking for a stick with which to beat an opponent who has lately acquired some momentum, either carelessly or cynically failed to think about how his rhetoric would affect the eventual ability of the Democratic nominee, whoever he or she is, to campaign effectively. In this sense, his latest gambit resembles his previous echoing of G.O.P. talking points on Social Security.

Beyond that, the episode illustrates what's wrong with campaigning on generalities about political transformation and trying to avoid sounding partisan.

It may be partisan to say that a 527 run by labor unions supporting health care reform isn't the same thing as a 527 run by insurance companies opposing it. But it's also the simple truth.

AlterNet is making this material available in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107: This article is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

SURVIVAL KIT: GOOD ADVICE INTRO

Getting Ready for Survival On a (Broken) Shoestring Budget by J. Cole

Since the mid-1960s, after reading Pat Frank’s novel Alas Babylon, I have been interested in preparing myself for TEOTWAWKI. And, as a child of the 1950s growing up in central Florida, I was taught early to be ready in case of nuclear war, so Frank’s book was not that far-fetched to me.

My family was poor by any standard you could compare it to in those days. There was no chance of us ever affording a “bomb shelter” but preparations were made as best we could. We stocked up on canned food and water, we had a central hallway with a fuel oil heater and a bathroom immediately off of it, and we put together a first aid kit and some other emergency supplies in a feeble effort to be ready. Since we were not in a blast zone, we felt like we had a chance for survival.

As a teen I began to use Alas Babylon as a teaching tool just as I am using "Patriots" today. I studied each scenario in that book to glean whatever tidbit of knowledge about surviving that I could. By the time I was ready to move out on my own I had amassed quite a stock of not only what I needed to survive, but a large supply of barter goods as well. I had first aid supplies, water purification tabs, a nice collection of knives, guns, and ammunition, and a number of items that Frank’s novel pointed out would be in short supply post disaster. Things like coffee, salt, and batteries were all part of my emergency supplies.

When I turned 18 I joined the Army and volunteered for Special Forces just so I could be even better prepared. I survived Special Forces training, Jump School, Ranger School, Officer’s Candidate School, and Vietnam. I found out that the Army is very good at losing things and sometimes the soldiers would find them (and most were willing to trade for what they found). Needless to say, my survival supplies increased greatly while I was in the Army. Not only could I trade for many items, but my income was greater then than I had ever known and I could buy many things I had been doing without before when it came to my survival stockpile.

Even with my steady income there just wasn’t enough to sink a great deal of money into survival – after all, I only made $98.00 per month when I went into the army in the late 1960s. As soon as I got out of the military I got married, the babies soon followed, and there was always too much month at the end of the money. Things haven’t changed much except that the kid’s are grown, but they have given me some of the greatest grandkids any man could ever want (and some that give me a lot of gray hairs).

So here I sit, later in life, with the same desire to be prepared, but with a lot less energy than I used to have and a whole bunch of antiquated equipment. The K-rations and C-rations are all still edible (albeit a little “tinny” tasting) [JWR Adds: Ancient military rations may still be palatable, but their nutritive value is nil. Since they are now collectible (i'm not kidding!), you are far better off selling them on e-Bay to re-enactors, and then spending the proceeds on recent date of pack MREs or comparable civilian retort packaged foods] , the jungle rucksacks were never any good to start with (and they hurt even more now), the entrenching tools are still in great shape but haven’t gotten any lighter with age, and the ponchos are all cracked and dried but the poncho liners are still the best around.

Of course my income has slipped back into the poverty level once again so major investments are out of the question. And I’m married to a wonderful wife who understands nothing about survival (and doesn’t want to). She just keeps thinking all the equipment and supplies I collect are just stupid junk ((I bet she won’t be saying that later).

All that said to set up a situation pointing to the fact that I’m nowhere near prepared for the day TSHTF and don’t have the resources to get prepared quickly. So, what to do? Can you relate? Have you priced dehydrated food supplies? Guns and ammo? Even just first aid supplies can put a hurtin’ on your budget! Well, here’s what I’ve done and it’ll work for you, too.

Do Your Prior Planning

If you haven’t made a list of supplies – and this should be a total list of supplies, not just the ones you still need – get one made, copy one from the Internet or use one from FEMA or the Red Cross. Break it into manageable sections or categories. I use “kits” for my lists. There’s a “Water Kit” that lists all things pertaining to water; canteens, holders, cups, filters, spares, etc. There’s a Food Kit, Shelter Kit, Commo Kit, Light Kit, Knife Kit, Gun Kit, and the always needed Miscellaneous Kit. My Kits lists go on for over 20 pages, but when I have all of that equipment together and ready to go then I’ll know I’m almost prepared. Make you a list and make it complete.

Now do an inventory of all of the things you already have. You may be surprised at the number of things you can check off your list. If you are a hunter, no doubt you already have one or more hunting knives, you should have boots, and field clothing, you may have a small pack you use in the field and canteens or water bottles. You probably carry rope, maybe a compass, and you might carry a pack saw, hatchet, or machete to clear your fields of fire. And, you already have some items to add to your gun kit.

Are you a camper, backpacker, canoeist, boater, fisherman or outdoors type person? Then you’ve already got some preparedness equipment – mark it off the list. As you mark it off the list, put today’s date on it. That will at least give you a reference for how old something might be so you’ll know when you may need to replace it.

Obviously, you’re not going to put a date on every item. For instance, I wouldn’t put a date on my military compass w/tritium markings, but I would put a date on my inventory sheet just as a reference. Dating items becomes important when you have to rotate stock (canned foods) or replace outdated items (medications). These items not only need to have the date on the item, but each one should be dated on your inventory sheets, as well.

Looking for What You Need

Once you’ve done your inventory and compared it to your list, you can make your list of items still needed. Now’s when the fun starts – it’s time to start looking for the items you still need. I have spent countless hours on the Internet looking for distributors, comparing prices, doing Google searches, writing to chat groups looking for items or advice, and, yes, actually ordering many of the items I need. I know, JWR recommends we not order online using our credit cards because it puts us in somebody’s database, but by the time I got that advice it was way too late for me. I figure I’m already in so many databases they’ll be too confused to worry about me anyway. Besides, when you see the way I order (following) I’m not sure it’s going to trigger any red flags.

Please understand, the only times in my life I made any significant amounts of money were spent saving for the future times when I knew I wasn’t going to be making that much money. I’ve worked in the building trades most of my life and after working steady for several months came the inevitable lay-off at the end of the job. Then I’d spend several weeks, if not months, looking for another job (all the while using up the savings I put away while I was working). I gained a lot of valuable experience but never had the money to invest in survival preparedness.
Now, I’m steadily employed making just over minimum wage (I’m no longer physically able to work a 40 hour construction job), so I’m still not able to make the major purchases required to become fully prepared. Does that mean I won’t do anything about getting prepared? Not on your life!!! I make small purchases whenever I can (usually every couple of weeks) and if I need something more expensive, I save up for a month or so. I decided what was most important and started getting those things first and then moved on to others.

Set Priorities

With water as # 1 priority in a survival situation I decided to make it my # 1 priority in becoming prepared. I already had two military canteens from my previous prep but knew that there were none for my wife.

So I set out trying to find the best deal on military canteens (w/cups and covers) on the Internet. Turns out that I found the best deal on eBay and ordered 4 more (so I’d have a couple of extras). I’ve got less than $2.00 each, including shipping, in the sets (canteen, cup, & cover). Now that I can afford!!! Then I found a guy on eBay selling water in small pouches and offering FREE shipping. So I spent $10.00 and got 12 small pouches for my auto & office kits. A month later the same guy had a better deal for $20.00 (still with free shipping) so I ordered some more of the pouches. Now I have enough to put in all of my kits as needed.

A water filter is an expensive item to me. I researched the smaller filters and decided that since water is a necessity I wanted the best and would not buy some cheap imitation just to have a filter. I had to stop all of my smaller (survival) purchases for 2 months to buy a filter (and a spare cartridge) but now I have added that to my inventory. I then bought some water purification tabs to complete my water kits in all of my emergency kits. Obviously that’s not the only items in my water kits but this gives you some idea of how I went about completing my purchases.

My First Aid Kit was next, although I did make a few purchases toward getting what was necessary for my Food Kit, too. A friend gave me some MRE’s (military) for me to try. I thought these would be just what I needed for emergency rations, but I quickly learned that they are too heavy for a Bug out Bag (BoB) and not tasty enough (unless it’s a dire emergency) for long-term storage. I ordered a few (3-4) individual freeze-dried meals to see if we could tolerate those and we actually liked them. They are lighter and much better tasting than the MRE’s, but they do take a little longer to prepare. I also bought a few food bars and added them to our BoB’s in case we need something in a hurry. I’ll continue to add more food bars and freeze-dried meals as my budget allows, but I am trying now to finish up my first aid kits.

I first made my decisions on which kits I wanted to put together, i.e., BoB, Long Term, Truck Kit, Car Kit, Office Kit, etc. Then I had to determine what I wanted in each First Aid Kit. Again, it was the Internet searches that gave me my list and the research for the individual items I wanted. It was obvious from the start that the larger quantity of any item I could buy, the cheaper the price per item would be. After making my “still needed” list (as above) I started shopping for the needed items. First I did the Internet search, and then began to shop around locally. I found that the big box stores (Walmart, Costco, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, etc.) had the best prices, but not all of the items I wanted. I began buying a few boxes of bandages and tape, then some antiseptics, tape, etc., until almost all items were purchased over about six weeks. I’m still looking for a couple of things in specific sizes, but with patience and perseverance, I’ll find them.

Saving For the More Expensive Items

One of the hardest things to do is control your spending when you are trying to save for a major purchase. When you always need things to add to your survival stores, it’s difficult not to buy when you know you have enough money for something. Self-discipline is required when you’re saving for something else – just as in life when the family needs a new car, or washing machine, or a water heater. The same holds true for survival supplies. I’m attempting to set aside money for a retreat purchase, yet I know there are still dozens of items I still need for completing my survival supply lists. You must decide what is most important and how you will go about making these decisions. Other major purchases may include battle rifles, pistols, shotguns, or stores of ammunition. Fortunately, ammo is one of those things you can buy a little at a time (just be sure to set your priorities as to which caliber to by first).

Food stocks are another costly expenditure. To get the best price food should be bought by the case or larger lots. My suggestion is to buy extra of the canned and dry goods you eat on a regular basis (be sure to date them) and rotate your stock as you use them. In this way you will have extra food building up in your pantry while you are saving for several cases of freeze-dried meals. In the mean time, buy some individual freeze-dried meals and food bars to stock your BoB and emergency kits. Some of the dry goods (rice, flour, instant potatoes, and even dry milk) are not that costly and could be bought by adding one large size container of each of these each time you go to the store. Soon you’ll have a fairly good sized supply of food.

In Conclusion

Get prepared – that is, make your lists, do your inventories, and know ahead of time what you need. Stay alert for sales and opportunities to purchase at reduced prices. And buy what you can when you can, save for the things you need, and no matter what you’re still missing when TSHTF you’ll be far better off than if you did nothing.

Don’t depend on Uncle Sam – he cannot and will not do it all. Don’t depend on friends and family – they all have their own to take care of. Stock up for yourself and be ready to share with those less fortunate and in need.

SURVIVAL KIT: GO

Getting Ready for Survival On a (Broken) Shoestring Budget by J. Cole Since the mid-1960s, after reading Pat Frank’s novel Alas Babylon, I have been interested in preparing myself for TEOTWAWKI. And, as a child of the 1950s growing up in central Florida, I was taught early to be ready in case of nuclear war, so Frank’s book was not that far-fetched to me.
My family was poor by any standard you could compare it to in those days. There was no chance of us ever affording a “bomb shelter” but preparations were made as best we could. We stocked up on canned food and water, we had a central hallway with a fuel oil heater and a bathroom immediately off of it, and we put together a first aid kit and some other emergency supplies in a feeble effort to be ready. Since we were not in a blast zone, we felt like we had a chance for survival.
As a teen I began to use Alas Babylon as a teaching tool just as I am using "Patriots" today. I studied each scenario in that book to glean whatever tidbit of knowledge about surviving that I could. By the time I was ready to move out on my own I had amassed quite a stock of not only what I needed to survive, but a large supply of barter goods as well. I had first aid supplies, water purification tabs, a nice collection of knives, guns, and ammunition, and a number of items that Frank’s novel pointed out would be in short supply post disaster. Things like coffee, salt, and batteries were all part of my emergency supplies.
When I turned 18 I joined the Army and volunteered for Special Forces just so I could be even better prepared. I survived Special Forces training, Jump School, Ranger School, Officer’s Candidate School, and Vietnam. I found out that the Army is very good at losing things and sometimes the soldiers would find them (and most were willing to trade for what they found). Needless to say, my survival supplies increased greatly while I was in the Army. Not only could I trade for many items, but my income was greater then than I had ever known and I could buy many things I had been doing without before when it came to my survival stockpile.
Even with my steady income there just wasn’t enough to sink a great deal of money into survival – after all, I only made $98.00 per month when I went into the army in the late 1960s. As soon as I got out of the military I got married, the babies soon followed, and there was always too much month at the end of the money. Things haven’t changed much except that the kid’s are grown, but they have given me some of the greatest grandkids any man could ever want (and some that give me a lot of gray hairs).
So here I sit, later in life, with the same desire to be prepared, but with a lot less energy than I used to have and a whole bunch of antiquated equipment. The K-rations and C-rations are all still edible (albeit a little “tinny” tasting) [JWR Adds: Ancient military rations may still be palatable, but their nutritive value is nil. Since they are now collectible (i'm not kidding!), you are far better off selling them on e-Bay to re-enactors, and then spending the proceeds on recent date of pack MREs or comparable civilian retort packaged foods] , the jungle rucksacks were never any good to start with (and they hurt even more now), the entrenching tools are still in great shape but haven’t gotten any lighter with age, and the ponchos are all cracked and dried but the poncho liners are still the best around.
Of course my income has slipped back into the poverty level once again so major investments are out of the question. And I’m married to a wonderful wife who understands nothing about survival (and doesn’t want to). She just keeps thinking all the equipment and supplies I collect are just stupid junk ((I bet she won’t be saying that later).
All that said to set up a situation pointing to the fact that I’m nowhere near prepared for the day TSHTF and don’t have the resources to get prepared quickly. So, what to do? Can you relate? Have you priced dehydrated food supplies? Guns and ammo? Even just first aid supplies can put a hurtin’ on your budget! Well, here’s what I’ve done and it’ll work for you, too.

Do Your Prior Planning
If you haven’t made a list of supplies – and this should be a total list of supplies, not just the ones you still need – get one made, copy one from the Internet or use one from FEMA or the Red Cross. Break it into manageable sections or categories. I use “kits” for my lists. There’s a “Water Kit” that lists all things pertaining to water; canteens, holders, cups, filters, spares, etc. There’s a Food Kit, Shelter Kit, Commo Kit, Light Kit, Knife Kit, Gun Kit, and the always needed Miscellaneous Kit. My Kits lists go on for over 20 pages, but when I have all of that equipment together and ready to go then I’ll know I’m almost prepared. Make you a list and make it complete.
Now do an inventory of all of the things you already have. You may be surprised at the number of things you can check off your list. If you are a hunter, no doubt you already have one or more hunting knives, you should have boots, and field clothing, you may have a small pack you use in the field and canteens or water bottles. You probably carry rope, maybe a compass, and you might carry a pack saw, hatchet, or machete to clear your fields of fire. And, you already have some items to add to your gun kit.
Are you a camper, backpacker, canoeist, boater, fisherman or outdoors type person? Then you’ve already got some preparedness equipment – mark it off the list. As you mark it off the list, put today’s date on it. That will at least give you a reference for how old something might be so you’ll know when you may need to replace it.
Obviously, you’re not going to put a date on every item. For instance, I wouldn’t put a date on my military compass w/tritium markings, but I would put a date on my inventory sheet just as a reference. Dating items becomes important when you have to rotate stock (canned foods) or replace outdated items (medications). These items not only need to have the date on the item, but each one should be dated on your inventory sheets, as well.

Looking for What You Need
Once you’ve done your inventory and compared it to your list, you can make your list of items still needed. Now’s when the fun starts – it’s time to start looking for the items you still need. I have spent countless hours on the Internet looking for distributors, comparing prices, doing Google searches, writing to chat groups looking for items or advice, and, yes, actually ordering many of the items I need. I know, JWR recommends we not order online using our credit cards because it puts us in somebody’s database, but by the time I got that advice it was way too late for me. I figure I’m already in so many databases they’ll be too confused to worry about me anyway. Besides, when you see the way I order (following) I’m not sure it’s going to trigger any red flags.
Please understand, the only times in my life I made any significant amounts of money were spent saving for the future times when I knew I wasn’t going to be making that much money. I’ve worked in the building trades most of my life and after working steady for several months came the inevitable lay-off at the end of the job. Then I’d spend several weeks, if not months, looking for another job (all the while using up the savings I put away while I was working). I gained a lot of valuable experience but never had the money to invest in survival preparedness.
Now, I’m steadily employed making just over minimum wage (I’m no longer physically able to work a 40 hour construction job), so I’m still not able to make the major purchases required to become fully prepared. Does that mean I won’t do anything about getting prepared? Not on your life!!! I make small purchases whenever I can (usually every couple of weeks) and if I need something more expensive, I save up for a month or so. I decided what was most important and started getting those things first and then moved on to others.

Set Priorities
With water as # 1 priority in a survival situation I decided to make it my # 1 priority in becoming prepared. I already had two military canteens from my previous prep but knew that there were none for my wife.
So I set out trying to find the best deal on military canteens (w/cups and covers) on the Internet. Turns out that I found the best deal on eBay and ordered 4 more (so I’d have a couple of extras). I’ve got less than $2.00 each, including shipping, in the sets (canteen, cup, & cover). Now that I can afford!!! Then I found a guy on eBay selling water in small pouches and offering FREE shipping. So I spent $10.00 and got 12 small pouches for my auto & office kits. A month later the same guy had a better deal for $20.00 (still with free shipping) so I ordered some more of the pouches. Now I have enough to put in all of my kits as needed.
A water filter is an expensive item to me. I researched the smaller filters and decided that since water is a necessity I wanted the best and would not buy some cheap imitation just to have a filter. I had to stop all of my smaller (survival) purchases for 2 months to buy a filter (and a spare cartridge) but now I have added that to my inventory. I then bought some water purification tabs to complete my water kits in all of my emergency kits. Obviously that’s not the only items in my water kits but this gives you some idea of how I went about completing my purchases.
My First Aid Kit was next, although I did make a few purchases toward getting what was necessary for my Food Kit, too. A friend gave me some MRE’s (military) for me to try. I thought these would be just what I needed for emergency rations, but I quickly learned that they are too heavy for a Bug out Bag (BoB) and not tasty enough (unless it’s a dire emergency) for long-term storage. I ordered a few (3-4) individual freeze-dried meals to see if we could tolerate those and we actually liked them. They are lighter and much better tasting than the MRE’s, but they do take a little longer to prepare. I also bought a few food bars and added them to our BoB’s in case we need something in a hurry. I’ll continue to add more food bars and freeze-dried meals as my budget allows, but I am trying now to finish up my first aid kits.
I first made my decisions on which kits I wanted to put together, i.e., BoB, Long Term, Truck Kit, Car Kit, Office Kit, etc. Then I had to determine what I wanted in each First Aid Kit. Again, it was the Internet searches that gave me my list and the research for the individual items I wanted. It was obvious from the start that the larger quantity of any item I could buy, the cheaper the price per item would be. After making my “still needed” list (as above) I started shopping for the needed items. First I did the Internet search, and then began to shop around locally. I found that the big box stores (Walmart, Costco, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, etc.) had the best prices, but not all of the items I wanted. I began buying a few boxes of bandages and tape, then some antiseptics, tape, etc., until almost all items were purchased over about six weeks. I’m still looking for a couple of things in specific sizes, but with patience and perseverance, I’ll find them.

Saving For the More Expensive Items
One of the hardest things to do is control your spending when you are trying to save for a major purchase. When you always need things to add to your survival stores, it’s difficult not to buy when you know you have enough money for something. Self-discipline is required when you’re saving for something else – just as in life when the family needs a new car, or washing machine, or a water heater. The same holds true for survival supplies. I’m attempting to set aside money for a retreat purchase, yet I know there are still dozens of items I still need for completing my survival supply lists. You must decide what is most important and how you will go about making these decisions. Other major purchases may include battle rifles, pistols, shotguns, or stores of ammunition. Fortunately, ammo is one of those things you can buy a little at a time (just be sure to set your priorities as to which caliber to by first).
Food stocks are another costly expenditure. To get the best price food should be bought by the case or larger lots. My suggestion is to buy extra of the canned and dry goods you eat on a regular basis (be sure to date them) and rotate your stock as you use them. In this way you will have extra food building up in your pantry while you are saving for several cases of freeze-dried meals. In the mean time, buy some individual freeze-dried meals and food bars to stock your BoB and emergency kits. Some of the dry goods (rice, flour, instant potatoes, and even dry milk) are not that costly and could be bought by adding one large size container of each of these each time you go to the store. Soon you’ll have a fairly good sized supply of food.

In Conclusion
Get prepared – that is, make your lists, do your inventories, and know ahead of time what you need. Stay alert for sales and opportunities to purchase at reduced prices. And buy what you can when you can, save for the things you need, and no matter what you’re still missing when TSHTF you’ll be far better off than if you did nothing.
Don’t depend on Uncle Sam – he cannot and will not do it all. Don’t depend on friends and family – they all have their own to take care of. Stock up for yourself and be ready to share with those less fortunate and in need.

Rallies planned in NYC and Puerto against GRAND JURY REPRESSION

Two questions: Why SHOULDN'T Puerto Rico be independent?

When does BuZh and Co. EVER Stop??

Veege


Puerto Rico --Feds target Puerto Ricans in New York

El Diario La PrensaPR:

Denunciation of Possible Arrests of Pro-Independence Activists

Our Countries Section – December 27, 2007
By Jesus Davila

SAN JUAN/Correspondant El Diario La Prensa –Groups and individuals from diverse sectors of the Puerto Rican pro-independence movement and the Boricua Community in general, are currently urgently meeting in Puerto Rico and throughout the Diaspora to organize against the latest offensive by the U.S. Department of Justice, after being informed that several young Boricua pro-independence activists from New York City have been subpoenaed to appear before a Federal Grand jury investigating the Puerto Rican Independence Movement in general, and in particular, the Ejercito Popular Boricua (EPB: Popular Boricua Army) aka the Macheteros.

Tania Frontera, Christopher Torres and Julio Pabon Jr. are scheduled to appear before a Federal Grand Jury on January 11, 2008. Hector Rivera, co-founder of the cultural institution The Welfare Poets, is also expected to be served with a subpoena to appear on that day. In the past, due to the fact that some pro-independence activists have traditionally refused to receive the subpoenas from the Grand Jury or to respond to its questions, many have ended up behind bars.

Both the FBI and U.S. Dept. of Justice have made it clear that there is an ongoing investigation focused on the Ejercito Popular Boricua (EPB)-Macheteros. Special Agent Luis Fraticelli, who heads the FBI in San Juan, has said that the agency intends to capture Comandante Guasabara of the EPB, who is believed to have succeeded Filiberto Ojeda Ri­os in the leadership of the clandestine revolutionary organization.

Ojeda Ri­os was assassinated by the federal agents on September 23, 2005.

The initial rumors that the recent subpoenas had been issued and served began to circulate almost simultaneously as the new progress report of the White House committee reviewing the colonial conditions of Puerto Rico was made public.

The subpoenas, all served in New York City are to appear before the Federal Grand Jury on the following January 11.

Although many are shocked by the identity of some of the particular individuals targeted, this latest offensive by the U.S. Federal Government has not come as a total surprise to the Pro-Independence Movement, which has been organizing to prepare for an expected new wave of political repression and possibly arrests.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

RALLY AGAINST GRAND JURY REPRESSION

OF

PUERTO RICAN INDEPENDENCE ACTIVIST

San Juan, Puerto Rico

GRAN JURY SUBPOENAS THREE YOUNG PUERTO RICAN PRO -INDEPENDENCE ADVOCATES

PRO-INDEPENDENCE , SOCIALISTS, STUDENTS AND PEACE ACTIVISTS ORGANIZATIONS UNITE TO CONFRONT THE COMMING WAVE OF REPRESSION.


The FBI continues its attacks against the people, especially against the Puerto Rican pro independence movement in Puerto Rico and in the U.S. In mid December of 2007, three young activists who participated in the struggle to get the U.S. Navy to leave Vieques, defendors of Puerto Rican culture in the U.S. and pro independence activists were subpoenaed to appear before a Grand Jury.

Colonial authorities subpoenaed Christopher Torres, Tania Frontera and Julio Antonio Pabon to appear before a Grand Jury in New York City on January 11, 2008


The undersigned organizations alert the people of Puerto Rico on the new wave of FBI persecution against the Puerto Rican Independence Movement. We will never forget the assasinassation of Filiberto Ojeda Rios which demonstrated the lengths to which the FBI is ready to go. The FBI heightens its abuse when community, workers, environmental and political struggles are more visible and penetrating. The people demand social justice and respect for their dignity and freedom.

Pro Independence activists are organizing a series of public activities to demonstrate the rejection by Puerto Ricans of this persecution. We repudiate the presence of the U.S. Federal Gran Jury, the FBI as a mechanism to destroy the independence movement and all the other causes we are involved in.

We will continue forward in our struggle for Puerto Rican independence and demand the respect that as a nation we deserve!


January 10, 2008
5:00 PM --9:00 PM
Picket in front of the U.S. Federal Court House in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

No a la presencia federal en Puerto Rico! No colaboracion con el Gran Jurado! Repudiamos los ataques y atropellos del FBI!
NO to U.S. Federal presence in Puerto Rico! Non colaboration with the Grand Jury.

We repudiate the attacks and the repression.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS:

COMITE DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DE PUERTO RICO
CONSEJO DE ESTUDIANTES DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES DE la UPR en RIO PIEDRAS
CONSEJO DE ESTUDIANTES DE UPR RIO PIEDRAS
COORDINADORA CARIBE/NA y LATINOAMERICANA
COORDINADORA CONTINENTAL BOLIVARIANA
COORDINADORA NACIONAL VIGILAS FILIBERTO OJEDA RIOS
FEDERACION UNIVERSITARIA PRO INDEPENDENCIA
FRENTE SOCIALISTA
GRITO DE LOS EXCLUIDOS
LA NUEVA ESCUELA
MOVIMIENTO INDEPENDENTISTA NACIONAL HOSTOSIANO
MOVIMIENTO SOCIALISTA DE TRABAJADORES
ORGANIZACION SOCIALISTA INTERNACIONAL
PARTIDO INDEPENDENTISTA PUERTORRIQUE/ NO
PARTIDO REVOLUCIONARIO DE LOS TRABAJADORES- MACHETEROS
UNION DE JUVENTUDES SOCIALISTAS

ARCHIVOS SUBVERSIVOS


"Carpeta: Filiberto/ File: Filiberto", Yasmin Hernandez, Mixed media on file folder, 2007

"In order to appraise the caliber of leadership in the Puerto Rican independence movement, particularly as it pertains to our efforts to disrupt their activities and compromise their effectiveness…we must determine their capabilities of influencing others, capabilities of real leadership, why the intense desire for Puerto Rico's independence, what they expect to gain from independence and the support they have from other leaders and rank-and-file members. We must have information concerning their weaknesses, morals, criminal records, spouses, children, family life, educational qualifications and personal activities other than independence activities."

-FBI, COINTELPRO (Subversive Controls Section): MEMO, 1960

This new project explores the political repression suffered by the Puerto Rican independence movement, the government surveillance of its leaders and the secret government and FBI files kept on these individuals and organizations. The exhibit is also inspired by the holdings of El Centro's archives.

Extended through March 19th, 2007

Centro Gallery is located in The Centro Library and Archives
Third floor, East building at Hunter College
68th Street and Lexington Avenue

Gallery Hours:
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday, 9am –6pm
Wednesday, 9am-8pm
Friday & Saturday, 12pm-5pm



December 29, 2007

Chavez offers "oil for food"

Venezuela's president has offered Caribbean and Central American nations the option to pay for oil supplies with local products, such as bananas and sugar.

Speaking in Cuba at a meeting of Petrocaribe, his regional energy alliance, on Friday, Hugo Chavez also lambasted the US and other rich nations for squandering world resources.
"We have begun to create a new geopolitics of oil that is not at theservice of the interests of imperialism and big capitalists, "
Chavezsaid in his speech.

He dismissed Americans and "Yankees" and pledged Venezuela's oil and gas would "always be at the service" of its "brother nations".

The Petrocaribe alliance, which grew to 17 countries on Friday with the admission of Honduras, has bolstered Chavez's influence in the region since it started in 2005.

But the debt of Petrocaribe members to Venezuela has reached $1.16bn in little more than a year of supplies, and is estimated to rise to$4.6bn by 2010.

Recognising this, Chavez proposed debts be offset with local products and services.

Services for oil

He did not say how local products would be used to pay down debt, but he said it would be the same method used by Cuba, which pays for oil supplies with medical and other services."
We propose adding to the financed portion of the oil bill a method of payment that includes the supply of a series of local products and services, "
he said.

The Petrocaribe deal allows members to defer payment on 40 per cent of their Venezuelan oil bill for up to 25 years, with interest of only 1per cent.

Dan Erikson, from the inter-American dialogue, told Al Jazeera that Petrocaribe had won Chavez friends in the Carribean, but that its impact was relatively small.
"Chavez tends to get much greater defference in the Carribean today than he did in the past, however, the Venezuelan president has various outreached programmes,"
Erikson said.

Outreach

He added that the Carribean states were still often "charting their own course" on the world stage.
"If you look at most of the states engaged with this - aside from Cuba- they tend to be quite small states that relly on a variety of international partners,"
he told Al Jazeera.
The outreach to Venezuela is part of this overall strategy of trying to globalise relations for Carribean states who need all the friends they can get.
Critics say Petrocaribe is increasing the indebtedness of small Caribbean states still reeling from the loss of preferential markets for bananas and sugar in the EU.

While in Cuba, Chavez is also due to open a revamped Soviet-era refinery that will supply diesel, gasoline and jet fuel to members of Petrocaribe. Chavez has helped keep Cuba's battered economy afloat with 92,000 barrels per day of oil that Havana pays for with the medical services of thousands of doctors treating Venezuela's poor.

Moon over Alabama has us discussing: what is the "new progressive movement"

There are many valid points raised below.

I am constantly harping on about how MURKAN conscisousness does not allow for a global progressive movement, and they do nothing to encourage it NOR to grow more leadership. There is on equality between "brothers" and "sisters"; they've gotten as sick as The System, in fact.

Here are least is one group discussing the problems we face ...


"There is no “new progressive movement”

The Scanner tries to explain Why the “new progressive movement” is fucked

So why do I say that the new progressive movement is fucked? Because they have no ideology. They lack any semblance of a creed. Now, naturally, the progressives would vigorously dispute this. Of course we have a creed! We believe in universal healthcare, combating global warming, protecting the right to abortion… [etc., ad infinitum] But that’s not a creed, it’s a list of policies.
...
The minute these new progressives try to put their creed into words, it melts into a flavorless mush of insensible campaign rhetoric, ...

My reading of the U.S. 'left' is very different.

These 'liberals', the Scanner uses the Center for American Progress as an example, ain't 'liberals' at all. Their creed is the same the right has.

The health care plans the Democratic candidates offer now are to the right of Nixon's plans. What is liberal with that?

Foreign policy? Matt Stoller at OpenLeft says We Should Stay the $#$&* Out of Pakistan but writes:

While we have a checkered history in terms of our involvement in the affairs of other countries since World War II, the last seven years have been nothing short of horrendous. We ought to stop the meddling in other countries business until we fix our national security and diplomatic apparatus.

Reread Stoller's last sentence "... until we fix our national security and diplomatic apparatus."

What fix would that be? And why would a fix of the national security apparatus justify international meddling. What security interests would be served by that? What is liberal in that?

This is laughingly insincere.

Juan Cole, in a piece about the Bhutto killing, yesterday wrote this:

Pakistan is also a key transit route for any energy pipelines built between Iran or Central Asia and India, and so central to the energy security of the United States.

Why is Iranian gas for India "central"(!) to U.S. energy security? What lunacy is this? Liberal creed?

The 'liberals' have basicly the same creed the right has. They can't say so openly. Instead they market the few policy points in which they differ a tiny bit from the right.

But the Scanner thinks the deeper reason for the lack of liberal creed is this:

[I]f liberals tried honestly to formulate their principles in abstract terms, they would quickly discover how poorly they echo the American vernacular. Many swing-voting Americans would simply recoil from them. After all, Americans are, in the famous phrase, programmatically liberal but ideologically conservative.

This is wrong in all three points.

One can define 'freedom' as economic liberty to run whatever business one likes, as is usually done today in the U.S. policy argumentations. Or one can define freedom as 'freedom from want', a far more liberal term that includes universal healthcare and other progressive policies. 'Freedom from want' certaily also echos the American vernacular. Packaged correctly, one can be progressive AND ideologically conservative.

Swing-voters can never be the benchmark for any policy or creed. To cater to them is weak and insincere. If one does so, one is immediately and rightfully distrusted as lacking a backbone - this especially by the swing voters. Triangulation and serving swing voters is what dragged 'liberals' to the right. It is the central illness of the ass party.

If you want to broaden your voter base, why not look where most of the potential votes really are? These are with the people who today do not vote. Those are mostly the poor, the disenfranchised, the people who have no reason to vote because the 'liberals' are not really different from the 'conservatives'.

The lack of creed of the 'liberals' in U.S. policy isn't the problem. The problem is the lack of real liberals.

The "new progressive movement" isn't fucked. It doesn't exist.

Posted by Bernhard on December 28, 2007 at 01:55 PM | Permalink

Comments

b, that's a lot of issues to tackle at the same time.

Why is Iranian gas for India "central"(!) to U.S. energy security? What lunacy is this?

The vast bulk of American oil imports come from Canada, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. The other wee drops and dribbles we get come from an assortment of small percentage countries. So obviously, this statement of Pakistan being somehow central to America's oil needs is a big stinking pile of crap.

And when you add that 90% of all Gulf area oil exports stay in Asia -- going to China, Japan, India, etc in that order -- the statement makes even less sense unless America is interested in controlling the economies of those countries by turning the fuel spigot on and off like we did to Japan prior to WWII; which is exactly why Japan finally had to attack the US to protect its own economy. Maybe Bush wants a rerun, only with China this time perhaps? I also don't see any of the front-running candidates of either party who wouldn't consider happily jumping on that wagon as well.

Posted by: Ensley | Dec 28, 2007 3:12:40 PM | 1

A progressive ideology: how about (naivete aside, this is a type of pitch):

The government is the only powerful entity that is in any way accountable to the people, that is, the voters, rather than money. For this reason it is the only entity that can protect society against amoral behavior by the host of other powerful entities. It can do this by x,y,z (desirable positions). None of this will come into being due to the profit motive, and in fact the profit motive suppresses them. The voters should use their ability to alter the government to put it to use protecting society, and allow it sufficient size to perform this role. History shows that the alternative is complete control by moneyed interests, with or without a large government. The national interest needs to be redefined as the interest of individual Americans, not the collective interest of the (often non-American) shareholders of the (often overseas) corporations that we falsely think of as "American". Given that, and basic moral restraints such as avoiding aggressive war, our foreign policy will fix itself.

I think that there are many Americans who see things this way, and many more who could be easily convinced.

apropos of nothing, the National Rifle Association is a great example of how to use political organization to punch way above your economic weight. If only passion for the environment could be similarly mobilized. Does the Sierra Club view the NRA as a model to be emulated?

That Juan Cole statement is bizarre beyond belief.

Posted by: boxcar mike | Dec 28, 2007 4:15:28 PM | 2

I got your progressive creed right here, baby.

In the immortal words of Steve Gillard with a nod to Matthew Saroff:

Progressives are People who believe in the public good over private gain.

Progressives believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few.

It's that simple.

Posted by: kelley b. | Dec 28, 2007 6:02:22 PM | 3

what scanner fails to understand is that the people taking the greatest deal of punishment are the ones who are deciding. in real terms. whatever the pantin petraeus pouts at this or that press conference

it is the people deciding in nepal this day or in bolivia. everywhere where the people have transcended or transformed their fear - it they who are doing the deciding

it is only us in the west - stuck as we are between privilege & fear - who are poleaxed into political impotence. this in itself is not surprising. neo liberals in their hatred of the people - showed in their construction of malls as in their construction of universities, an architecture which palce fear of the people meeeting at its centre. it is but one example but it is not peripheral. the common spaces have been torn from people at every level - even at the level of sport

if you are not there to consume - then you constitute a menace

universities right up to the sixties always had agoras where different students from differing disciplines could connect - now it does not exist - in the sixties there was much cross disciplinary work - which cultivated solidarity & resistance - but today, outside the imperatives of greed such mutlidisciplines do not exist

in that sense - the left has been fucked in the west but it has also fucked itself up. to obey all the conventions of post modernity - they did not see that capitalism was unchanged & imperialism was still its highest stage

we mock the islamists but has not the western adoration of consumption just been another form of fundamentalist privilege & mysticism(i say this acknowledging i am using a beautiful computer given to me by my friends here at moon & an i pod given to me while i was in hospital) but this obsession with consumption as deanander has often pointed out has hurt even tho most militant of us

but what we can do & it is being done here in spades - is that counter information, research & real analysis can oppose the crude untruths that vomit from the medias each & every day 24/24 & that is not the least of things because in our day to day lives that information plays a critical role

& that role - might not possess the theatrical aspects of opposition as it did in the sixties but for me its quotiidian effect will be to overwhelm the beast because that beast has gone too far & has lost any sense of restraint or moderation

pakistan is just one more disaster it though it had mastered but it has done the opposite

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Dec 28, 2007 6:18:48 PM | 4

It is the central illness of the ass party. well, that and sucking Israel's dick. I believe there are two, possibly three central key themes missing if one were to consider themselves truly liberal, --and as an aside, this game with labels is verbal prop-agenda, but I digress-- the missing themes are (real) 1) Campaign finance reform, and 2) the issue of Corporation person hood.

When the scanner talks about atrios eschaton being left, or an opposition I knew right then, that they (whoever scanner is) hadn't really got the grasp of the situation they think they do.

Because Atrios, Dkos, and their tribes are not liberal, progressive or left. They are centralist's at best.

I believe scanner is at best an effigy of the real thing, in bladerunner deckard questions if he is human or a bot himself, to get all sci-fi on ya; and things have ceartainly gotten that weird, others have said, 'I feel like I am watching TV, to quote Andy Warhol'.

to my reply of, 'I feel like I am watching myself watching TV'.

When Michael J. Smith speaks of the republicans moving further to the right, and the democrats complicatedly following them, the whole gambit tilts rightward, in other words, The ratchet effect. B is right to say there no only is no "new progressive movement", there hasn't been one since the 70's.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Dec 28, 2007 6:31:14 PM | 5

The (Morbidly Obese) Princess and the Pea(ple)

Incredibly, the Neo-Zi vampiroyals got their extortion money,
but now they threatening a veto, because they didn't get their
Get Out of Jail Free card with it, even though McCain has made
sure that torture was no longer illegal in the United States,
and Gonzales bumped Executive Privilege up to Supreme Emperor.

"Overall, the (Defense Funding) bill authorises $696bn (£348bn)
in military (sic) spending, including $189bn for the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan (ed. "and for other undisclosed national
security purposes"!), for the 2008 financial year."

$696B is enough blood to build the World Trade Center in 50
cities in the US, which is every town over 350,000 people!!
Since the start of this SNAFUBAR cluster-f--k, DoD scammed
enough of our life savings to build a World Trade Center
in every rural American village over 100,000 campesinos!!

$189B for 130,000 troops is $1,425,000 EACH in troop support!

Then they send BB into Paki, knowing full well it'll mean GW4.

Dickie Bird sure warn't a kindin', when he said Perpetual War!

!And now they get an absolute guarantee of sovereign immunity!?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!

Posted by: Tuolumne Meadows | Dec 28, 2007 7:28:59 PM | 6

I'm not entirely sure what Cole meant about the Asian pipelines, but since the market for oil truly is global, one interpretation is that the U.S. is better off (assuming one takes as a given that the U.S. can/should not lower its current per capita energy usage level)with additional Asian capacity coming on line in the global market place to be consumed by expanding asian economies, or whomever, but not necessarily the U.S. The U.S. benefits because the expanding Asian economies aren't then competing with the U.S. for the previous limited supply from the ME, Africa, Latin America; additional supply from those sources is more available for U.S. consumption.

Personally I don't buy that this is a vital security interest for the U.S., but, oddly, my views are continuously disregarded in Washington. I am mystified about it. :)

Posted by: Maxcrat | Dec 28, 2007 7:51:08 PM | 7

$cam beat me to linking to "the ratchet effect" (which is fine, I picked up the link from him in the first place), and ASKOD has described the same phenomenon as "moving the goalposts". Call it what you want, genuine "progressives" in the USA have been marginalized out of existence since at least the Reagan era.

Although the name is regularly invoked by the likes of Coulter, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, et al, ad nauseum, there are no genuine American liberals. In fact, the demonisation of the word "liberal" in America serves the same function that "al Qaeda" does (which may also very well not exist). They are the "enemy". They are the nebulous rallying point upon which an equally outrage-weary segment of the population must focus their fear and hatred in order to assist those in the halls of power in getting what they want. We don't prop up a leisure class because we love them and agree with their philosophy of personal entitlement. We do it out of fear and hatred of the invisible boogiemen... and when we become inurred to our fear of imaginary terrorists, then we simply switch to our hatred of the imaginary progressives and vice versa. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I am still chafing from the responses that I received here the last time I suggested that activists stupidly allow themselves to be marginalized and enable their opponents to use them as polarizing devices to turn people away from their causes. This is so formulaic at time that it almost seems intentional... if I didn't know many activists personally, I would suspect them of being agents provocateurs. Since I do know them, though, I realise that it is a question of tunnel-vision induced myopia... or, if you prefer, having a good heart combined with a bad brain.

So, I disagree with Bernhard that "(t)he lack of creed of the 'liberals' in U.S. policy isn't the problem. The problem is the lack of real liberals." While it is true that there presently exist no "real liberals", they can be made in America just as easily as they were unmade. If we accept as a working definition that a liberal is "one who favors reform or progress" (from Webster's New World), we would find many people proudly lining up to accept the label.

The problem, as I see it, is that so many potential liberals are more than happy to fulfill the rôle of "propoganda tool". They think with their heart rather than their head and make themselves into fodder to be used by the likes of Karl Rove, et al, ad nauseum.

The right rose to their present position of enormous influence the same way the right has historically risen to that position. There is no more a unified right than their is a unified left, but those on the right have demonstrated a remarkable willingness to work together to further their interests. They are united, at the end of the day, by their avarice.

We on the left have compunctions about this or that ideology, we quibble over issues of "who is more pure than whom", and we will not work to support one another. They form brain trusts and networks, while we fight amongst ourselves and wait for a white knight to come and rescue us in the final reel. They attract, and we repel. The right are a team, the left are lone wolves hunted to near extinction. The right do have a creed, and it is "divide et impera". Divided, we on the left have fallen.

It didn't have to go this way.

Posted by: Monolycus | Dec 29, 2007 1:56:19 AM | 8

Why is Iranian gas for India "central"(!) to U.S. energy security?

I dunno, but I thought a prime goal of the PNAC/neo-con game to establish global hegemony was major control over the world's energy resources -- in other words, in the cock-eyed PNAC/neocon world view, the pipeline would be a "threat" becuase "we" would not control it.

True, Cole's phrasing here is unclear as to whether this is his view or if he is describing present US gov't perception of energy security.

Posted by: Chuck Cliff | Dec 29, 2007 2:30:12 AM | 9

The US political class (...group) is a sort of bubble that intersects for a small part with the rich or moneyed. Entry into it is pretty open and free (vote), compared with feudal nobilities, or other systems, such as Pakistan (where one must belong to the upper overlords or the army, which is the only organized institution)...however once in, to be accepted and belong, and to maintain membership, one has to sign on to the ideology and a whole host of behaviors, positions, etc.

These are all today at heart service to the rich, the class that isn’t officially, openly, represented. This state of affairs explains, I feel, the very confused, shifting, sometimes contradictory, positions of the pols and policies of the Gvmt. Lip service to ‘issues’ or ‘hot button’ stuff serves to distract, the core points have to be camouflaged, that is quite clear, but beyond that, all is confusion. Repression and control of the poor peons - they might rebel and stop working, the ‘free market’ is an ideological mainstay. More trade to fill the coffers, but control is needed to dominate enemies. Armies and aggression have their place to fulfill long term objectives, but that can also be misguided. Media has to be controlled and short or no memory induced. What is best? They don’t know, no grand plan, no future aims, no political principles, no schemes in mind. All *ad hoc*!

Kerry as a staunch member accepted his role, not very graciously or convincingly. Wannabes like Obama can make it if they can talk the talk, are quick, smart, can latch onto and adopt the corporate talking points.

Sarkozy is a perfect caricature. Raybans, Rolex, elevated shoes, mistresses, Disney World, cigars, personal fetishes (and a tiny yapping dog that the French journos are too ashamed to photograph...it is 20 cms of hate and called “Big”) best friends with all the media lords and arms merchants, he can pretend to belong to the top powers on his borrowed yachts.. Bling bling!

Posted by: Tangerine | Dec 29, 2007 1:07:12 PM | 10

rememberinggiap #4--

Your comment about the disappearance of public space (in the West) is apt. The US in particular has been destroying the physical requirements (space and architecture) of democratic thought.

Posted by: Gaianne | Dec 29, 2007 7:14:23 PM | 11

yes, the closing of that democratic space was parrallelled with the intense demagoguery of three institutions of the state & not only in america

what was already deeply problematic in the media became & remains constantly hysterical always placing its subject in relation to fear. worse it authorises what constitutes what is good & what is bad morally. even in the fifties they were no angels but they were treated for the carpetbaggers they were - worse than hearst or hearst or worse - but they were never allowed that moral space. now they totalise it

education - never a very egalitarian institution especially in the west became factories - especially when the middle class began to annex the trades & they serve only the interests of capital & have lost any real interest in education - i remember a famous old professor of economics sayting to me - the best don't even come here. what is happening within the western education system is extrememely ugly & the so called culture wars were merely instrument to kill the democratic impulse within education

& the church which had in its way become quietist even secular - suddenly manifested from that state to prosperity preaching & edicts coming out of rome that had been written by the deviants of thr opus dei forcing the institution of belief into a public & even a political question. indeed the current islamophobia is deeply connected to the anti semitic impulse that was a cherished tradition of western civilisation

the most intimate of thoughts became annexed by one or all three insititutions & we wonder why these societies are so fucked, so deeply criminal in their nature, so completely unable to even respond to the most simplest of problems let alone the enormous questions that face us today

katrina for me was a key -it is where we saw openly & clearly - that the elites do not care, the do not care at all & if the physical anhilaltion or dissapearance of marginal populations was possible they were/are ready to accept it

we have a metaphor for this in iraq where they will not count deaths or casualties because these very facts illuminate the utter failure of their schemes

what is true in iraq is true elsewhere - they utterly fail to construct anything - they destroy all - & the mere game of hiding figures is supposed to console people but people can see what they are seeing with their eyes - the ongoing collapse of imperialism & the mother system, capital

Posted by: remembereringgiap |

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