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Social Movements

To Achieve Peace, It Must Not Become An Economic Matter

December 31, 2018 Juan Gómez, Pressenza.com ,
Frequently we ask ourselves if peace is possible. Many people are disappointed thinking that it is just a delusion, an unattainable utopia. Even those who support and adhere to the peace movement, still appear to struggle to mobilize for it. There are powerful interests behind the scenes working towards total domination, power and control. Since it has always been this way, it will continue to be this way forever, without the possibility for change or improvement, they add. This is our problem when we try to invite people to work in our nonviolent activities aimed at ending of wars and disarming nations. Powerful industries know this as well as governments.

The Left Victories That Defined 2018—And Give Us Hope For The New Year

December 22, 2018 Marc Daalder, Inthesetimes.com , , , ,
In many ways, 2018 was a political garbage fire of a year. From the confirmation of conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to the imposition of fascist border policies to President Trump’s continued attacks on everything from workers’ rights to the very planet itself, the year saw plenty of reasons for dismay. But it wasn’t all bad. There were a number of important victories over the course of 2018 that are worth celebrating and remembering. Left-wing activism today shouldn’t just be about opposition to the Trump administration but must also focus on moving the country in a progressive direction and building a long-term movement capable of achieving lasting change.

You Can Handle The Truth

December 18, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
Sometimes the truth is painful to hear, but if we don't know what is going on or what we are up against, it's impossible to change it. We speak with political comedian Lee Camp about how he began using humor to tell people the truth and his current one-hour special, "Super Patriotic Very Uncle Sam Comedy Special Not Allowed on American TV." We also delve into his take on current issues and the state of resistance movements.  Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG.

Reviving The Nuclear Disarmament Movement: A Practical Proposal

December 12, 2018 By Lawrence S. Wittner, Fpif.org , ,
In late November 2018, Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned public intellectual, remarked that “humanity faces two imminent existential threats: environmental catastrophe and nuclear war.” Curiously, although a widespread environmental movement has developed to save the planet from accelerating climate change, no counterpart has emerged to take on the rising danger of nuclear disaster. Indeed, this danger ― exemplified by the collapse of arms control and disarmament agreements, vast nuclear “modernization” programs by the United States and other nuclear powers, and reckless threats of nuclear war ― has stirred remarkably little public protest and even less public debate during the recent U.S. midterm elections.

Do You Know You Are A Wage Slave?

December 11, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
The majority of people in the United States are in a position of wage slavery, in which they depend on their boss for the ability to survive, but it has been so normalized that many do not question this arrangement. We bring back an interview with John Curl, author of "For All the People: Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements and Communalism in America." He writes about the long history, that isn't often taught, of people who created cooperative structures to counter the power of industry and finance. Cooperative movements often parallel social movements. We discuss why this matters today.

The LGBTQ Movement Needs To Revisit Its Radical Past To Thrive

December 7, 2018 By Samantha Borek, Truthout.org , ,
Roderick A. Ferguson: I, and many others, have been struck by the accumulation of various moments that require a critique of how gay or queer liberation has been narrowed in the name of gay rights, gay belonging, gay consumption. People forget that, for instance, the freedom to marry, the right to participation in the military, and the expansion of hate crime legislation — which has contributed to the expansion of the prison-industrial complex — were part of the primary agenda for gay rights organizations in the 1990s, as Dean Spade and Craig Wilse analyzed almost 20 years ago.

Russiagate McCarthyism Led To Internet Censorship Of The Anti-War And Social Justice Movement

December 7, 2018 Staff, Chicagoalbasolidarity.wordpress.com , , ,
The anti-Trump movement is not simply a progressive movement against a rightwing president, but also carries within it a rightwing current. Progressive minded people fight against Trump’s racist actions against Blacks, Latinos, Muslims, his crude sexism, his pro-corporate policies, his rejection of action on global warming, his massive tax cut to the 1%, his war threats against Syria, Korea, Iran, and Venezuela. The rightwing element of the anti-Trump movement, embodied in the “liberal” corporate media, the Democratic Party establishment, many Republican leaders, and the national security state, focuses on his character, on his alleged friendliness to Russia’s Putin, and alleged collusion with Putin to steal the 2016 election.

Peace Activists’ Best Hope? The Sunrise Climate Movement

December 4, 2018 Patrick Walker, Nationofchange.org , ,
Let’s start by facing a crucial fact: both major U.S. political parties love war. In fact, they love it so much that they’re completely willing to sacrifice a livable climate – and human existence with it – to their militaristic aims. Manuel Garcia’s incisive, cut-to-the chase article, underlining how U.S. elites’ love of military domination (which both major parties simply reflect) is the death knell for any effective climate action, should be required reading for all peace and climate activists. At least for all who take these life-or-death issues seriously enough to demand timely, meaningful action. Like, say, before the end of recorded history. Let’s face a second crucial fact: whether as separate issues – or as properly connected...

Popular Power In A Time Of Reaction: Strategy For Social Struggle

December 3, 2018 Staff, Blackrosefed.org ,
Last year in “Below and Beyond Trump: Power and Counterpower,” we argued that the U.S. ruling class is in the midst of a destabilizing political crisis, leading to increasing politicization and polarization across the country, and that the Trump regime is both a symptom and a cause of the current divisions playing out at the top of the political food chain. In response to the rise of Trump, we noted that social movements, particularly those driven by the “institutional left” (nonprofits, business unions, etc), have been characterized by retrenchment, militant reformism, and a sharp turn toward electoral politics. In this context, we highlighted the growing potential for advancing a libertarian socialist vision and strategy that speaks to the needs and desires of the current moment.

How The Migrant Caravan Sparked A Movement

November 19, 2018 Jeff Abbott, Wagingnonviolence.org , , ,
After a long, grueling journey, the first groups of Honduran migrants and asylum seekers began arriving in Tijuana on Nov. 14 in hopes of finding asylum and opportunity in the United States. Thousands more follow closely behind. Having left San Pedro Sula on Oct. 13, the thousands of men, women and children from Honduras braved the elements for over a month to reach the United States in hope of escaping violence, poverty and state repression. The first caravan sparked a movement. Small groups of migrants formed across Honduras and El Salvador in the weeks following the first caravan. Now at least four caravans are in route towards the United States in hope of finding new opportunities in the north.

Realities And Challenges Of Recuperated Workplaces In Argentina

November 15, 2018 By Ricardo Vaz, Mronline.org , , , ,
Facultad Abierta (Open School) is something that in Latin America is usually known as a University Extension, understood as the university function that is dedicated to the community. Usually these have to do with cultural aspects, courses, workshops, and this issue has also been commodified recently. We started the programme in 2002. In the School of Philosophy and Literature of the University of Buenos Aires we set up a tiny extension unit to work with social movements, popular movements, that were flourishing at the time, among them the recuperated workplaces. We quickly turned to the subject of worker self-management, or workers’ control, on one hand doing research, and on the other taking part in the processes, trying to support the organizations that emerged.

Physicians Work To Bring Back The Anti-Nuclear Movement

November 13, 2018 By Dahr Jamail, Truthout.org , ,
It is a move that many, including former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, believe has ignited a new nuclear arms race. This is because the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by Gorbachev and former US President Ronald Reagan, banned all short and mid-range nuclear and non-nuclear missiles, and helped eliminate thousands of land-based missiles. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Trump has already promised to build new nuclear weapons, in addition to having withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal, heightening tensions further after having previously threatened the use of nuclear weapons against North Korea. Trump has also promised to build new nuclear weapons.

Building The Worker Cooperative Movement Behind Prison Bars

November 2, 2018 Staff, Toolboxfored.org , , ,
You don’t have to dig deep to find startling statistics about the state of mass incarceration in the US. The issues run deep, have been around for hundreds of years, and the system is rotten no matter which way you look at it. Outside of a small number of successful programs and initiatives, we are failing to support people as they re-enter society. The Bureau of Justice Statistics completed a 9 year study and found that 5 out of 6 state prisoners were arrested within 9 years of their release. 5 out of 6. If that isn’t failure of a system, I don’t know what is. Of course, according those who defend our current prison complex, place the blame on “a lack of individual agency” – arguing that people who are incarcerated, once out, have to make the choice and commit themselves to not getting back inside. If only.

‘We Have A Duty To Act’: Hundreds Ready To Go To Jail Over Climate Crisis

October 30, 2018 By Matthew Taylor, Theguardian.com , ,
A new group of “concerned citizens” is planning a campaign of mass civil disobedience starting next month and promises it has hundreds of people – from teenagers to pensioners – ready to get arrested in an effort to draw attention to the unfolding climate emergency. The group, called Extinction Rebellion, is today backed by almost 100 senior academics from across the UK, including the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. In a letter published in the Guardian they say the failure of politicians to tackle climate breakdown and the growing extinction crisis means “the ‘social contract’ has been broken … [and] it is therefore not only our right, but our moral duty to bypass the government’s inaction and flagrant dereliction of duty, and to rebel to defend life itself.”

At Ninety-Five, The War Resisters League Tries New Tactics

October 25, 2018 By Eleanor J. Bader, Progressive.org , ,
“We’re acknowledging the many ways militarization shows up in our lives and neighborhoods.” hen educator Jesse Wallace Hughan founded the War Resisters League in 1923 in the wake of WWI, her focus was on ending armed conflict. Ninety-five years later, the WRL is still resisting war, but its core strategies have changed. Today’s WRL is zeroing in on underlying causes of military tension—including economic inequality, unequal access to resources, imperialism, and racism. “We’re acknowledging the many ways militarization shows up in our lives and neighborhoods,” Tory Smith, the group’s newly hired national organizer explains. Smith describes the reorientation as a cultural shift: “we want to be intersectional, international, and intergenerational.”
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