Anyway. There is a new radical movement coming together in the States. I predict it will "come out of nowhere" to the mainstream in 2-3 years.

I got Ted Glick's dispatch by email, I'm enclosing it below (not up on any website yet).

quote:

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Future Hope column, July 1, 2007

The U.S. Left Turns a Corner

By Ted Glick

"It is beautiful to see us coming together as I've never seen before." Ruben
Solis

"We have to emulate, not compete. We need hope, imagination and love and we
have to dream. Our biggest obstacle is ourselves." Robby Rodriguez

"We must talk from the heart and shake hands with one another. A prayer has
taken place that this spirit is going to grow. No matter who we are we must
demand not reform of a broken system but transformation. We need to organize
from the grassroots." Tom Goldtooth

"There will come a time, I know, when people will take delight in one
another, when each will be a star to the other, and when each will listen to
his fellow as to music. The free people will walk upon the earth, men and
women great in their freedom. They will walk with open hearts, and the heart
of each will be pure of envy and greed, and therefore all humankind will be
without malice, and there will be nothing to divorce the heart from reason.
Then life will be one great service to humankind! His/her figure will be
raised to lofty heights--for to free humanity all heights are attainable.
Then we shall live in truth and freedom and in beauty, and those will be
accounted the best who will the more widely embrace the world with their
hearts, and whose love of it will be the profoundest; those will be the best
who will be the freest; for in them is the greatest beauty. Then will life
be great, and the people will be great who live that life." excerpt from
Mother, by Maxim Gorky

History was made over the last five days at the US Social Forum (USSF) in
Atlanta, Ga. We were 10,000 strong, black, brown, red, yellow and white, a
majority people of color, of all ages with a big percentage of young people,
from all over the country, working on a wide range of issues. We danced, we
sang, we chanted, we spoke with one another, we listened, we planned, we
marched, we sweated and we were inspired.

As Ruben Solis expressed during Sunday's final session, this "beautiful
coming together" was unprecedented and historic. The U.S. Left has
unquestionably turned a corner. In doing so we can now see much more clearly
the road we must follow if we are to prevent catastrophic climate change,
end the current and future oil wars, and usher in a truly democratic,
liberating and fully just new society.

"What do we want? Justice! How do we get it? Peoples power!" For many of us,
this new version of an old chant learned Sunday morning summed up one key
aspect of that path. Not corporate power or Democratic Party power or power
given to those who say they speak for the people but then use our votes and
support to advance their individual careers.

The USSF movement is about multi-cultural, democratic, participatory,
community-building, anti-oppression, striving-for-equality, accountable
peoples power.

This movement for fundamental change is integrating music, film, theatre,
dance, photography, banners, posters, art and poetry--cultural expression in
all its forms--into the very heart of the way we work. In the words of
Rickke Manazala, "culture is essential to sustaining our work." Culture is
not an adjunct, an add-on, something pigeon-holed and secondary. All
throughout the USSF, from the puppets at the opening day march to the
Indigenous drummers and singers at the final plenary, this truth was made
manifest.

The leadership of the USSF understood that narrow "correct politics" or
efficient organization alone do not do it. As Lillian Cotto Morales said,
"we need to know one another as people so we can then talk politics and
strategy."

The USSF was a classic example of how empowering it is to have an open and
inclusive process and structure. Any organization which registered was able
to organize up to four workshops on subjects of its choosing as long as the
subjects were politically consistent with the USSF's broad principles. What
this meant was that on the three full days when workshops were held, people
could choose between 100 different options each workshop session, 900 in
all.

The daily culture of the USSF--the way in which we interacted with one
another--was deep and profound. Despite the heat and humidity, logistical
challenges like long waits for overloaded elevators, and the inevitable
glitches and problems, the dominant spirit all throughout was collaborative,
comradely and cooperative. It was truly beautiful rubbing shoulders, sitting
next to, talking with, dancing with, feeling love and solidarity with
thousands of sister and brother activists of so many cultures and
nationalities.

We are unquestionably a movement that is maturing and growing, not just
numbers-wise but internally.

Even the open conflict during the final plenary session demonstrated this
truth.

One of the co-chairs during that session, George Friday, a woman of African
and Cherokee descent, stopped an Indigenous man from speaking after he and
his partner had gone over their allotted two minute time, with 20-25 more
people waiting for their two minutes. About 20 minutes later a group of
50-60 Indigenous people came up onto the stage with the cooperation of the
USSF leadership and spoke from the heart about how offended they felt at
this action and how it was done. With support from the audience they
expressed their feelings of anger and of being disrespected.

After they left the stage, and before the remaining speakers came forward
for their two minutes, George acknowledged that this person felt dishonored
and spoke of how we are all going to make mistakes as we build the
21stcentury peoples power movement. To much applause, she spoke of how
we need
to be willing to accept that as we work to build the relationships with each
other that undergird our movement that it will not always be a smooth
process, but we must learn from mistakes so that we can go forward together.

And the USSF is going forward. At the final session a call was made for the
organization of local people's assemblies. There will a World Social
Forum-initiated international day of action on January 26, 2008. And the
spring of 2010 will see USSF/2.

There is hope. We are getting it together. The times are urgent, but we are
rising to the urgency of the times. Si, se puede! Si, se puede!

Ted Glick is the coordinator of the U.S. Climate Emergency Council and works
with the Independent Progressive Politics Network and the Climate Crisis
Coalition. He can be reached at [email protected] or P.O. Box 1132, Bloomfield,
N.J. 07003.

---

Facing South

The Nation's John Nichols on the US Social Forum

[ 09 July 2007: Message edited by: rasmus ]

quote:

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“People are asking me when Atlanta has ever seen something like this,” Jerome Scott of Project South and long-time Atlanta, Ga. activist told the opening plenary of the U.S. Social Forum. “I’ve been reflecting on that and my answer is Atlanta has never seen anything like this. The Civil Rights movement was mostly African American and last year’s May 1st demo was mostly Latinos, but this march was the most multinational action I have ever seen. It was amazing!”

And indeed it was. It felt like the youth and the poor and oppressed people of the United States were rising up as one … a glorious day. You can see some photos here.

It is a gathering of the movements of the United States and especially what they call here the “base-building” movements. Poor people, people of colour, queer and transgendered people, indigenous people, workers, women and a remarkable majority of young people. I’ve never seen a more diverse crowd whether from the perspective of colour, age or class. And from the workshops I’ve attended so far, they are almost all deeply involved in community organizing.

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Why is that????

how can these people ever beat capitalism if they do not know what socialism is?

If they are afraid to even mention socialism all they will be is some form of reformist organization which will just lead the people back towards capitalism..

quote:

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Almost every one of the 900 workshops over four days was filled to the brim with activists who were sharing strategies in everything from food security to community/labour alliances to a new taking back our cities movement against gentrification. The plenary speakers were majority women, people of colour, and young people. There was not a single left-wing star among them. In a culture obsessed with celebrity, the organizing committee decided they didn’t need any, even the good ones.

None of the big NGOs in the United States were on the planning committee. The idea that foundation-funded, majority white, centrist and Washington dominated NGOs and think tanks have hijacked the left was present throughout the forum. These groups were welcome to participate, but not in a leadership capacity.

Another extraordinary feature of the forum was the role of indigenous people who led the opening march and participated on several panels as well as had their own plenary.

Much of the vision came from them. After talking about the melting of the glaciers, Faith Gemmill from the REDOIL (Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Land) in Alaska said, “Our people have a prophesy that there will come a time in the history of humanity when people are in danger of destroying ourselves. When that time comes, a voice will arise from the North to warn us. That time is now. I was sent here to give you part of our burden to speak up now against the greed.”

---

quote:

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Originally posted by trippie:
Not once in that intire piece did I see anything about Socialism...

Why is that????

how can these people ever beat capitalism if they do not know what socialism is?

If they are afraid to even mention socialism all they will be is some form of reformist organization which will just lead the people back towards capitalism..

As much as these people want a better life they will not find it....

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quote:

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Originally posted by Ken Burch:

They aren't AFRAID of "socialism". They just don't want to sound like sectarians.
Don't always assume that people aren't socialist if they don't sound exactly like you.

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quote:

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Also, surprised you didn't link to the MRZine entry as well!

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and then proceeded to lock the thread?

the only answer out of the capitalist mess is a
socialist one..

it was marx, in the communist manifesto, that explained that the bourgeoisie will give the proletariate the means and tools to over throwthe capitalist system...

What do you think the forum is? Its a section of
the proleriate disinfranchized to the point of wanting to over throw the system that creates their frustration?

The problem with this forum is all the conservative petty-bourgeois that want to direct this revolt back into the bourgeois system...

How many key note speakers talked about socialism at this forum?

how many key note speakers got to the root of the problem of the class warfare involved?

No,I don't think any did...

they twisted it and blamed various inequalities on racism or not electing enough anti-war democrates....

[ 09 July 2007: Message edited by: trippie ]

Full bore, no holds barred, perfect Marxist religiosity.

quote:

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Rebick: One of the most powerful speeches was from Javier Gallardo from the New Orleans Workers Center. A guest worker from Peru, he explained that when African Americans were displaced, hundreds of workers like him had been brought in from Latin America for Gulf Coast reconstruction and their employers names are on their passports.

Their ability to stay in the U.S. is dependent on the employer. Gallardo said that there is now a practice that when the employer is finished with the workers, he sells them to another employer for $2,000 each. “What is that?,” he asked.

“We call it modern day slavery.

---

quote:

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Originally posted by trippie:
come on dude (rasmus) are you for real...???

the only answer out of the capitalist mess is a
socialist one..

---

The reason I say this is that we have already had "socialism", at least one kind of socialism, and it proved to be....a road to capitalism.

That is true of Russian/Soviet socialism as well as Chinese socialism, not to speak of their smaller hangers-on.

quote:

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Originally posted by jeff house:
The reason I say this is that we have already had "socialism", at least one kind of socialism, and it proved to be....a road to capitalism.

That is true of Russian/Soviet socialism as well as Chinese socialism, not to speak of their smaller hangers-on.

---

Here's an interesting question: Why does capitalism appear to be working somewhat in China after decades of Mao but not very many of the decades-long long running experiments in third world capitalism?. Why are 350 million Indians still going to bed hungry every night of their miserable lives under democratic capitalism?.

And western capitalist's inside man on the privatization job in Russia, Boris Yeltsin and company, did more to damage the reputation of capitalism than U.S. imperialism ever managed to do by propping up 40 brutal right-wing dictatorships and madmen over the course of cold war. Neither the Russians or Chinese wanted or asked for western-style capitalism.

quote:

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While I have sympathy for Western socialisms, such as Norway's or Chile's, people who think in apocalyptic terms tend to poo-poo anything other than top-down party-controlled dictatorships like Cuba or Albania.

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They don't have socialism in Chile or several more Latin American, African or Asian countries. Bachelet is a weak leader surrounded by elitists, and the military still receives ten percent of state copper revenues. The fascists are still there in Chile and Argentina and Peru and more countries still accepting U.S. military aid and WHINSEC(SOA) training for the repression of their citizenry.

Cuba is a working experiment in socialism to this day. And that's a thorn in the side of imperialists who have worked long and hard at discrediting what was supposed to have collapsed on its own after a trillion dollar taxpayer-funded cold war was waged against the former USSR and its trading block of nations for 70 years. laissez-faire capitalism collapsed all on its own after just 30 years in 1929. It collapsed again under near laboratory conditions in Chile after just 16 years. The neo-Liberal experiment in Chile was the genesis for Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher's free market voodoo. Our more robust economies are now feeling the detrimental effects of laissez-faire made new again. Deregulation disasters in the U.S. and Ontario and Britain have been but one of the warning signs.

There will be more experiments in socialism, and where capitalism first failed the litmus test in 14th century Italy and continuing to fail today, there will be socialism, rest assured.

[ 10 July 2007: Message edited by: Fidel ]

And of course, any sort of socialism which includes an elected government has to be criticised as "weak".

If you think so much of democracy, then why can't you provide a decent explanation as to why U.S.-managed democracy just 50 miles from Cuban shores is such a complete and utter failure?.

As for:

quote:

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This seems so ... pure.

Full bore, no holds barred, perfect Marxist religiosity.

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I was checking out an old BBC documentary from 1992 on Operation Gladio, where right wing intelligence services created ultra-left groups to confuse and destabilize the left. Although, the left does a good job of eating its own in sectarian squabbles, I am always suspicious still of ultra-left posturing that seems to fit the CIA playbook a bit too closely.

Anyways, I hope the USSF stays away from Trotskyist groups like the ISO whose sole mission is to cannibalize such movement for their own dead ends. They destroyed the student anti-war movement and would do so again if they ever grabbed hold of the leadership.

Incidentally however, groups such as Left Turn have given priority to USSF organizing so maybe they have learned their lesson and are willing to become more cooperative.

quote:

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Originally posted by jeff house:
Oh gee, what a surprise! "Fidel" has no criticism of his namesake dictator!

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How's about railing on one of the many U.S.-backed dictators as a break from your relentless focus on socialist Cuba, Jeff?. Cuba is but one Caribbean island nation, and it's situated not very far from Dominican Republic ... and Haiti.

Here, I'll even spin the globe for you, and I'm dropping my finger on a random lat-long ... here Now, what do you and the apologists for CIA meddling and imperialism in general have to say for yourselves ?. How about running over to Pakistan and telling Musharraf and the other U.S. puppet in Kabul to stop murdering their own people and allowing drugs to flow from those countries to Albania, Kosovo, Europe and beyond while government officials grow rich and fat.

Cuba should have democratic elections around the same time dozens of U.S-friendly dictatorships and third world capitalist shitholes are closed down for all-time. And let the plutocracy in North America allow proportional democracy as exists in several advanced democracies for several decades.

[ 10 July 2007: Message edited by: Fidel ]

quote:

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Originally posted by ceti:
I was checking out an old BBC documentary from 1992 on Operation Gladio, where right wing intelligence services created ultra-left groups to confuse and destabilize the left. Although, the left does a good job of eating its own in sectarian squabbles, I am always suspicious still of ultra-left posturing that seems to fit the CIA playbook a bit too closely.

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anyways... Ya Jeff how about you factor in the rest of history before you come to your conclusions of what was and what is??

This whole thing about socialism has been tried but turns out to be junk science is based on half backed conclusions.. How do I take you seriously?

Basicly capitalism and socialism are forms of distribution... Capitalism is one step below socialism..

It is one step below just for the fact of it many contridictions... On one hand capitalism distributes the products created by the workers but at the same time it encurages a tendency of greed were all the wealth created is distribted to the few...

Socialism is one step up because it is based on using the labour force to create the things that society needs as a whole...

Socialism is not the end of things.... It is just the next step in human evelution....

if socialism did not take hold in parts of the world it is because capitalism had a stronger grip...

its quit obvious that capitalism must be replaced... so then the next question would be ... What should we replace capitalims with...??

but hte stuff theya re suggesting has already been tried....

If I wanted to become a scientist I would have to learn about all the great scientists that came before me... Its the first thing they teach you in school..

So if I wanted to cahange society won't I want to learn about all the main players before me???

That would be to logical ...