Jingyao Wang: A Preliminary Exploration of People's Democracy in the Whole Process: the CPC's Practice of Building Democratic Power in the Central Revolutionary Base Areas

Jingyao Wang discusses A Preliminary Exploration of People's Democracy in the Whole Process: the CPC's Practice of Building Democratic Power in the Central Revolutionary Base Areas

…In learning from the experience of the Soviet Union in building a democratic regime, the CPC emphasized that the Chinese Party should learn from the successful experience of Soviet construction in the Soviet Union and apply it widely among its party members and the general public, so as to prepare cadres and talents in advance and to construct the regime structure in an agile manner. The CPC's practical experience in the construction of Soviet power in the Central Revolutionary Base Areas was an initial exploration of regime building, with its main measures imitating the Soviet model of democracy in the USSR, but at the same time incorporating the unique elements of the Chinese Revolution and embedding the innovative spirit of the CPC. At the spiritual level of democracy building, the CPC actively promoted the theory of soviets, elaborated in depth its connotation and concrete practice, spread the consciousness of soviet democracy, and consciously strengthened the construction of democratic ideology among workers, peasants, and soldiers; at the organizational level, it chose the meeting of the people's deputies and sent representatives to interface with the grassroots masses before seizing power, to ensure that the organization of the regime was tightly organized in terms of democracy and that the CPC had an influential role to play. …(p.80)

Emphasis Mine

Wang argues that the growth of democracy in China is an iterative process under the guidance of the CPC starting from the Soviet model expressed in the October revolution. The divergence from the Soviet model is based upon experiences in China. The impetus for democratic evolution in China comes from the CPC.

In the course of promoting the construction of base areas, the CPC has carried out continuous practice and exploration with regard to the construction of democratic regimes. First of all, in-depth studies were conducted on how to effectively solve the problem of peasants' survival on the land. The low level of agricultural production and the poverty of peasants at that time seriously affected the Party's ruling base and mass foundation. The CPC attached great importance to the issue of peasants and land, and promulgated a series of central documents and laws to clarify the connotation of land policy. [T]he 1931 Land Law of the Chinese Soviet Republic stipulated that "the confiscation of the land of landlords and the land of other large private owners is authorized," and that it "stands in the interests of the basic peasantry and the future development of the revolution. "on the basis of the basic interests of the masses and the future development of the revolution", the land decree was adopted "as the best guarantee for the solution of the land problem" . The distribution of land benefits based on the material basis of the people's livelihood and the interest of the people as one of the fundamental goals of the process of democracy building, thus completely destroyed the economic basis of rural feudalism and at the same time stimulated the political awakening of the peasant masses. The distribution of land to the masses of peasants greatly liberated the productive forces and touched upon the material issues that were of greatest concern to the peasants, which also led to a high degree of enthusiasm for participation in the democratic revolution, and they responded positively to the call of the Revolutionary War by enthusiastically enlisting in the army and the war, pushing forward the development of production, and taking an active part in the governance of the soviet state and in the building of the Soviet regime. (p.81)

Emphasis Mine

Wang contends that economic liberation and growth precedes development of democracy in China.

In the Central Revolutionary Base Areas, under the system of "soviets", the Party led the establishment of democratic power for workers and peasants at all levels. Democracy in the Chinese soviets was characterized by a broad range of participating subjects, a full range of coverage, with the soviets striving to respond truthfully to the views of the people in every aspect, from the political and economic to the social life of society and from the central to the grass-roots levels; and a full range of processes, with the soviets emphasizing not only mass participation during the period of the democratic elections, but also post-democratic governance, in order to safeguard the nature of a regime where the people are the masters of their own affairs. (p.82)

Emphasis Mine

This post-democratic governance extends to review of any proposed legislation by the populace as Wang writes below:

Secondly, the democratic decision-making process is "complete". The Party's exploration of democratic decision-making under the leadership of the people is mainly reflected in the process of building the rule of law in the Chinese Soviet Republic. In the process of legislative proposals, legislative research, the writing of draft legislation, the discussion and revision of legislative documents, and the implementation of legal documents, emphasis is placed on listening to the views of the masses and strengthening the people's participation in the entire chain of legislative work. When drafting laws, the opinions and needs of all strata of the population are fully heeded and legal provisions are formulated. (p.82)

Emphasis Mine

My understanding is the Whole Process People's Democracy consists of the following elements:

1. The central and guiding role of the CPC: Western media would contend that this is the basis of authoritarianism in China as there is no way to replace the CPC with another party, say the KMT.
2. Continual evolution: democracy in China started in the base areas from the ideal of the Soviets and has evolved since.
3. Necessity of Economic Liberation: Without peasant control of the land, a democratic society could not be built. Without economic growth and those benefits flowing to the peasants, the peasants could not participate in the democratic process. Notice that State and Private Capitalism is not being challenged at this time.
4. Post-democratic Governance: Democratic participation does not stop at the ballot box but continue with the involvement in the development of legislation directly by the people.

References

Wang, J. (2023). A Preliminary Exploration of People's Democracy in the Whole Process: the CPC's Practice of Building Democratic Power in the Central Revolutionary Base Areas. Transactions on Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 1, 79-86.

Read more!

Yves Smith and Rob Urie: Biden Visits Hitler’s Bunker, Sends for a Decorator: Israel and Ukraine Edition

Yves Smith reposts Rob Urie: Biden Visits Hitler’s Bunker, Sends for a Decorator: Israel and Ukraine Edition.

In almost two years of attrition warfare, the Russians managed to keep the number of civilian deaths in Ukraine to 10,000. With upwards of 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed, the Russians are conspicuously engaged in a targeted state-vs-state battle. In the month since the Hamas attacks of October 7^th, the Israelis have killed 10,569 civilians, and possibly a few hundred Hamas soldiers. What the Israelis are doing in Gaza isn’t warfare, it is the extermination of a civilian population. This fits the exterminationist impulse of the Zionist-Right in Israel. If the Biden administration believes that what Israel is doing in Gaza is in any way constructive, the world has a problem.

The US is now reportedly telling (substantially destroyed) Ukraine that it is time to negotiate with Russia. This is 10,000 Ukrainian civilian deaths, 400,000 Ukrainian military deaths, and at least two negotiated settlements between Ukraine and Russia that were put on ice by the Americans, too late. The same adult infants who ‘managed’ this fiasco from the American side are now in charge of US-Israel policy. The only possible worse scenario would have been to have Hillary Clinton— the butcher of Libya, in the White House.

The idea that this is all going to work out because ‘fortress America’ misses that the US is rapidly, and deservedly, becoming a pariah state. Adult infant Blinken is now passing warm gas about a ‘two-state solution’ while Israel exterminates one of the two states he claims to be endorsing. And why would Israel care what Blinken has to say? Joe Biden just assured the Israelis that they can exterminate the entire Middle East and he ‘has their back.’ What a farce. And don’t forget those nuclear weapons.

Emphasis Mine

Urie has some bias here as he believes the West lured Russia into invading Urkraine. The number of Ukrainian deaths is speculative at this stage as the Ukranian government has kept these figures very secretive.

USA is not any danger of being irrelevant in the modern world with other 900 military bases worldwide and navies in every ocean. What is in danger is the absolute hegemony that teh USA has exercised since 1991. The USD is still the world reserve currency and there is no immediate possibility of it being replaced this decade.

The USA hegemony is being diluted by BRICS+. China continues to grow its economy, naval forces, presence in space, and diplomacy. Russia has survived twelve (12) sets of sanctions so far. India continues to go its own way. Brazil is back to developing its independence from US influence. The actions of the US government seems to be driving the growth of BRICS+.

The diplomatic isolation of the US and Israel does not faze them as they know that the US military force and economic power are unmatched currently. China is not a direct threat to the USA. China is creating enough military forces to deter the US from attacking.

Read more!

Jörn Schütrumpf and Rosa Luxemburg: The Breakdown of Unity in the RSDLP

Jörn Schütrumpf discusses Rosa Luxemburg: The Breakdown of Unity in the RSDLP.

Lenin, by the way, was not innovative at all in this work. He merely repeated positions advocated by Marx and Engels 60 years earlier. By contrast, in 1922, three years after Rosa Luxemburg’s death, Lenin became quite enterprising and joined the list of male authors (other genders have probably signed up since) who hide behind Rosa Luxemburg quotes that they themselves made up: “‘German Social-Democracy has been a stinking corpse since 4 August 1914’ — this statement will make Rosa Luxemburg’s name go down in the history of the international working-class movement.’”

Although it is obvious that a Polish intellectual would never allow herself to come across in such a “Russian” way, unfortunately we must acknowledge that Lenin’s forgery was a successful one. Rosa Luxemburg has in fact gone down in history with this mindless nonsense, and on a global scale at that. Poor Rosa.

Emphasis Mine

Schütrumpf obviously sides with Luxemburg against Lenin. Schütrumpf and Luxemburg accuses Leninism of promoting fractionalism. Schütrumpf argues that Lenin has defamed Luxemburg in order to deflect Luxemburg's accusation.

Rosa Luxemburg writes:

Experience had convinced the overwhelming majority of Bolsheviks that the Leninist policy of organizational withdrawal into a narrow circle was extremely conducive to opportunism and detrimental to the revolutionary wing of Social Democracy: instead of attaining commanding influence over the whole party and rally it behind them, the Bolsheviks erect a factional wall that cuts them off from the party, thus condemning themselves to impotence.

Lenin’s organizational views, which had been swept from the face of Russian Social Democracy by the revolution and by the restoration of party unity, could only thrive again in an atmosphere of party disintegration, generated by the counterrevolution in general and by the liquidators in the ranks of the party in particular. Leninism, in its narrowness and with its sectarian organizational views, knows no other means of combating opportunism than to expel from the party anyone who disagrees. This is why Leninism is by its nature a policy of perpetual splits.

Emphasis Mine

When Luxemburg wrote this (1912), Lenin and the Bolsheviks were indeed swept from the vanguard of the revolutionary movement. It was only after the July days in 1917 that Lenin was able to lead the Bolsheviks to the forefront of the revolutionary movement. Between July and October 1917, the Bolsheviks emerged as the face of the revolution. The other revolutionary factions had faded or merged them selves into the Bolshevik faction of the RSDLP (especially Trotsky).

Luxemburg concludes (in July 1912):

The reunification of Social Democracy into one single party at the Stockholm Party Congress was the product and achievement of the 1905–6 revolution. Like many other accomplishments of the proletariat, this fruit of the revolution was wrested from us by the triumph of counterrevolution. The liquidationist tendency emerged and grew stronger under the impact of counterrevolution; mindless Leninism also thrived again, and the two tendencies have together brought about the collapse of party unity.

But now, a revolutionary movement has arisen among the working masses. And this movement is the surest guarantor of the imminent resurrection of the RSDLP under the banner of revolutionary Marxism.

Emphasis Mine

Luxemburg's hope were dashed by the events of 1917. Factions and persons that seemed revolutionary prior to 1917 faded or failed to maintain or adjust their revolutionary positions in reaction to the progress of the Russian Revolution.

Because of her murder during the German Revolution of 1918–1919, we don't know if Luxemburg would have reconsidered her position on Leninism in the aftermath of the October Revolution. If the German Revolution had succeeded, and a German Soviet Republic managed to survived, it is more likely the focus of the worldwide Communism would be in Berlin rather than in Moscow. Luxemburg's opinions would then have more weight than Lenin's.

Read more!

Seth Godin: The paradigm flip

Seth Godin discusses The paradigm flip.

Not all paradigms flip. Often, humanity is stuck with a culturally-entrenched system that’s difficult to change. But when we see an opportunity to contribute, the hard work is being willing to walk away from our reliance on how things were instead of simply trying to make a small shift happen.

Emphasis Mine

One can see Capitalism as a paradigm. It permeates everywhere: economics, politics, religion, philosophy, culture, etc. So extensive is this paradigm, many people can not see the influence of Capitalism in how they act and think about the world. Capitalism dominates the objective and subjective reality for many people.

This is why the consciousness of the working class is the paramount arena for the struggle for a better world. It is up to us to patiently explain that the discontent and suffering that workers feel is due to Capitalism. We offer an alternative in Socialim.

Change is scary. Revolution is especially so. There is comfort in the status quo despite the personal costs. The Capitalist ideologues reinforce this inertia by continually asserting that 'Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried". This assertion is difficult to counteract given the collapse of the USSR and the ongoing poverty and underdevelopment of current Socialist states (Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, and Laos).

The case against 'Socialism with Chinese Characteristics' is not mentioned by Capitalism ideologues. They prefer to attribute the success of China to authoritarism, possibly bolstering their arguments for authoritarian regimes in their own countries.

The Chinese Party of China (CPC) is trying to use state capitalism to develop their economy while maintaining the facade of a Socialist state. The local communities have direct democracy while higher levels are filled by what the CPC maintains is a meritocracy. The CPC calls this 'participatory democracy'. I do not know enough to further comment on this.

Read more!

Cara Ocobock and Sarah Lacy: The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong

Cara Ocobock and Sarah Lacy contend that The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong.

Males living in the Upper Paleolithic—the cultural period between roughly 45,000 and 10,000 years ago, when early modern humans entered Europe—do show higher rates of a set of injuries to the right elbow region known as thrower's elbow, which could mean they were more likely than females to throw spears. But it does not mean women were not hunting, because this period is also when people invented the bow and arrow, hunting nets and fishing hooks. These more sophisticated tools enabled humans to catch a wider variety of animals; they were also easier on hunters' bodies. Women may have favored hunting tactics that took advantage of these new technologies.

Emphasis Mine

I am confused here: are women equal to men in hunting because of physiology or technology? The authors do not appear to understand the spectrum of hunting. Hunting is far more than killing animals. There are several strategies for hunting:

• Laying traps (passive or active): anyone, including children, can lay a passive trap in which an animal traps itself. An active trap involves driving animals into a killing zone like over a cliff or to where other hunters are waiting to strike. Both of these can involve both genders. However, an active trap increases the risk of severe injury or death for the hunters and would not be suitable for women with children in tow.
• Tracking and killing herbivorves: these animals graze in packs and will usually run if spooked. I doubt hunting with young children in tow would be wise as a screaming match could erupt at any moment. Some of these animals can defend themselves by charging at predators. Again, hunting these kinds of animals puts children and mothers at risk.
• Tracking and killing carnivorves: these animals tend to solitary or live in small packs. Humans were more prey to these animals before the acquisition of more sophisticated tools. Even with these tools, the risk of serious injury or death remains high.

Overall, hunting involves high risk of serious risk or death in most activities. Even though physiology and technology allows women to hunt, these risks to hunters can reduce the survivability of the group by removing women from reproduction.

What is more, females and males were buried in the same way in the Upper Paleolithic. Their bodies were interred with the same kinds of artifacts, or grave goods, suggesting that the groups they lived in did not have social hierarchies based on sex.

Emphasis Mine

This does not indicate a gender differentiation between hunting and gathering. It just means that genders were seen as equal in status.

Ancient DNA provides additional clues about social structure and potential gender roles in ancestral human communities. Patterns of variation in the Y chromosome, which is paternally inherited, and in mitochondrial DNA, which is maternally inherited, can reveal differences in how males and females dispersed after reaching maturity. Thanks to analyses of DNA extracted from fossils, we now know of three Neandertal groups that engaged in patrilocality—wherein males were more likely to stay in the group they were born into and females moved to other groups—although we do not know how widespread this practice was.

Emphasis Mine

This data is very limited (three (3) groups) and applies to Neanderthals. Whether this can be extended to Homo Sapiens is speculation at this stage. As all research papers conclude, more study is needed. If these results do hold for Homo Sapiens, patrilocality increases the likelihood of a patriarchy. Thus, the idea that hunter gathers were predominately matriarchical would have to die. And then we can no longer blame agriculture for the introduction of patriarchy. Something else must have caused the migration from matriarchy to patriarchy.

Patrilocality is believed to have been an attempt to avoid incest by trading potential mates with other groups. Nevertheless, many Neandertals show both genetic and anatomical evidence of repeated inbreeding in their ancestry. They lived in small, nomadic groups with low population densities and endured frequent local extinctions, which produced much lower levels of genetic diversity than we see in living humans. This is probably why we don't see any evidence in their skeletons of sex-based differences in behavior. For those practicing a foraging subsistence strategy in small family groups, flexibility and adaptability are much more important than rigid roles, gendered or otherwise. Individuals get injured or die, and the availability of animal and plant foods changes with the seasons. All group members need to be able to step into any role depending on the situation, whether that role is hunter or breeding partner.

Emphasis Mine

A higher population density increases the likelihood of human survivability through increased genetic diversity. This is the reason that the adoption of agriculture was so successful.

Later on, the authors write:

So much about female exercise physiology and the lives of prehistoric women remains to be discovered. But the idea that in the past men were hunters and women were not is absolutely unsupported by the limited evidence we have. Female physiology is optimized for exactly the kinds of endurance activities involved in procuring game animals for food. And ancient women and men appear to have engaged in the same foraging activities rather than upholding a sex-based division of labor. It was the arrival some 10,000 years ago of agriculture, with its intensive investment in land, population growth and resultant clumped resources, that led to rigid gendered roles and economic inequality.

Emphasis Mine

The authors repeat the theory that agriculture gave rise to class society, and, by implication, patriarchy. However, as I wrote above, the existence of patrilocality prior to agriculture may break the causality chain of agriculture to patriarchy.

References

• Ocobock, Cara, and Lacy, Sarah (2023). The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong, Scientific American 329, 4, 22-29 (November 2023) doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1123-22

Read more!

Jim McIlroy: Unionists for Palestine get organised, endorse call to boycott ZIM

Jim McIlroy reports that Unionists for Palestine get organised, endorse call to boycott ZIM.

Joe Deakin, a veteran leader of the MUA, said: “We are dealing with a ruthless capitalist system in this war. The MUA has always stood up to our rulers against war and oppression. We need to stand up for Palestine together. International solidarity is crucial right now.”

Delegates and activists during discussion elaborated on how they were building solidarity with the people of Gaza in their unions.

The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions and a coalition of all major Palestinian unions and professional associations have called on unions and workers worldwide to boycott Israel and businesses that are complicit with its apartheid regime.

The international effort is called #BlockTheBoat. ZIM, the Israeli shipping line, in the development of the Israeli war machine has been relentless. It is a major transporter of weapons of mass destruction.

Emphasis Mine

We should support the BDS Movement as a non-violent way to stop the genocide of the Palestinians by the Israeli state.

An even better way is to replace Capitalism with Communism. But this is not possible at present.

Read more!

Daniel Little: Brecht on Galileo on science

Daniel Little discusses Brecht on Galileo on science.

In this section of the play, then, Brecht breaks with a common narrative about the Galileo story: the pure and rational scientist who is forced to change his beliefs by an unthinking and authoritarian Church. In that story the scientist is the isolated individual courageously pursuing the truth for its own sake, and the Church is an authoritarian structure which is the antithesis of intellectual freedom. Instead, Brecht tells a more complicated story. It is not just the question of recanting "unacceptable" beliefs; it is the question of devoting one's scientific talents in service to the rich and powerful. Galileo's [Brecht's] fundamental critique is that "science" is allied with "the ruling class".

Emphasis Mine

Science is part of the Ideological State Appartus (ISA) just as religion and mass media are. These are used by the ruling class to justify the status quo.

When the Capitalist class splits as in the Climate Change Crisis, science then becomes the battleground. This is why scientists are being attacked for their conclusions about Climate Change. Their conclusions threaten the existing status quo.

Read more!

AA: Turkey continues to attack Kobani’s women-led reconstruction

AA discusses Turkey continues to attack Kobani’s women-led reconstruction.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey “steals from (Turkey’s) women for more bombs against the women of Kobani,” [Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP) Women’s Assemblies Speaker Halide Türkoğlu] said.

The new model implemented in Kobani has created a new joint resistance for those who “insist on living together”, Türkoğlu said. “Kobani is proof that an equal, just and common life is possible together with all its diversity.”

While the autonomous administration in northern Syria is led by a Kurdish majority, the project aims to give equal representation and voice to all ethnicity and faith groups living in the area, including Turkmens, Arabs, Armenians and Syriacs.

“No power, no tank, no weapon is strong enough to tear down this revolution that was built with such strife,” Türkoğlu said, calling on all women to come together against Turkey’s attacks in the region.

The new model implemented in Kobani has created a new joint resistance for those who “insist on living together”, Türkoğlu said.

…

Turkey’s most recent offensive against the region was launched after an attack against the central police headquarters in the capital Ankara. While the Turkish government maintains that the attackers received training in Kurdish-held Syrian territory, the Kurdish authorities have denied any involvement.

The Turkish attacks deliberately target civilian infrastructure and have damaged vital power and water stations serving the region, affecting some five million civilians.

Emphasis Mine

While we are distracted by the genocide in Gaza and the invasion of Ukraine, another genocide is being waged by Turkiye against Kurdistan. The language and culture of the Kurds is being suppressed by the Turks.

The example of Kobani is a threat against the Capitalism and its state actors. That an alternative exists is a grave threat to Capitalism.

Read more!

Charles Hirschkind: The Invisible Slaughter of Palestinian Children

Charles Hirschkind discusses The Invisible Slaughter of Palestinian Children.

From the standpoint of Western media, Palestinian lives are relevant precisely in proportion to their ability to resist Israel’s crushing grip upon them. Insomuch as Hamas is the primary institution of organized resistance in Gaza, it is they -— not dead children -— who are the only significant Palestinian casualties in this war. It is this perceptual regime that lays behind comments such as the following, made by a US government official, just a few days ago: “We believe that a ceasefire right now benefits Hamas, and Hamas is the only one that would gain from that right now.” The thought that thousands of Palestinian children might also derive some benefit from a ceasefire, namely by not being blown to pieces, is not even to be entertained.

The erasure of enemy deaths is an established practice within war, and the deaths of children are no exception. Thousands of children were killed by the US in the “War on Terror.” These deaths never achieved significant visibility within American public discourse, never weighed heavily on the American political conscience.

Our mainstream media present us today with two events that cannot be squared, the war on Palestinian children and the war on Hamas, and then proceed to coach us in how not to see one of them. This is the task in perception management that today sets their agenda.

Emphasis Mine

Americans and Israelis then ask themselves, "Why do they hate us?" Their enemies see the torn bodies of children amid the rubble of bombs dropped from the sky, and their rage is born. There is no international court to bring the perpetrators to justice. Both the USA and Israel are not members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as they have not ratified the Rome Statute.

The reasons Israel gives for not ratifying are:

Israel states that it has "deep sympathy" with the goals of the Court. However, it has concerns that political pressure on the Court would lead it to reinterpret international law or to "invent new crimes". It cites the inclusion of "the transfer of parts of the civilian population of an occupying power into occupied territory" as a war crime as an example of this, whilst at the same time disagrees with the exclusion of terrorism and drug trafficking. Israel sees the powers given to the prosecutor as excessive and the geographical appointment of judges as disadvantaging Israel which was prevented from joining any of the UN Regional Groups.

In other words, the ICC is a good idea except for the war crimes that Israel is committing through creating settlements in the occupied territories.

The attitude of the USA towards the ICC is even more belligent:

The United States "adopted a hostile stance towards the Court throughout most of the Bush presidency." In 2002, Congress enacted the American Servicemembers' Protection Act (ASPA), which was signed into law on August 2, 2002; the "overriding purpose of the ASPA was to inhibit the U.S. government from supporting the ICC." Major provisions of the ASPA blocked U.S. funding of the ICC and required the U.S. "to enter into agreements with all ICC signatory states to shield American citizens abroad from ICC jurisdiction, under the auspices of Article 98 of the Rome Statute," which bars the ICC "from prosecuting individuals located on the territory of an ICC member state, where such action by the Court would cause the member state to violate the terms of any other bilateral or multilateral treaty to which it is a party." Traditionally, Article 98 was used in relation to traditional status of forces agreements (SOFAs) and status of mission agreements (SOMAs), in which nations hosting U.S. military personnel by invitation agreed to immunize them from prosecution in foreign courts. The Bush administration, supported by opponents of the ICC in Congress, adopted a new strategy of aggressively pursuing Bilateral Immunity Agreements (BIAs), "which guarantee immunity from ICC prosecution for all American citizens in the country with which the agreement is concluded" rather than just U.S. military forces. "Under the original ASPA, nations who refused to conclude BIAs with the United States were subject to sanctions, including the loss of military aid (though these provisions have since been repealed)." As of December 2006, the U.S. State Department reported that it had signed 102 BIAs. In 2002, the United States threatened to veto the renewal of all United Nations peacekeeping missions unless its troops were granted immunity from prosecution by the Court. In a compromise move, the Security Council passed Resolution 1422 on 12 July 2002, granting immunity to personnel from ICC non-states parties involved in United Nations established or authorized missions for a renewable twelve-month period. This was renewed for twelve months in 2003 but the Security Council refused to renew the exemption again in 2004, after pictures emerged of US troops abusing Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib, and the US withdrew its demand.

The problem is how to bring two (2) terrorist states to justice? The USA protects Israel, and the USA is currently the global hegemon. The boot of the USA is upon all of our necks.

Read more!

Sue Bull: 'Not in our name’: Jewish collective occupies defence minister’s office over Gaza

Sue Bull reports on 'Not in our name’: Jewish collective occupies defence minister’s office over Gaza.

The Loud Jew Collective occupied defence minister Richard Marles’ office on November 1 to protest Labor’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

About 50 anti-Zionist demonstrators demanded Marles and federal Labor withdraw economic, diplomatic and military support for Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Some protestors locked themselves by the neck to a ladder in Marles’ office, while others, including First Nations and community activists, unfurled banners which read: “Stop the genocide”, “ALP supports ethnic cleansing”, “Not in our name" and “Disarm Israel”.

Emphasis Mine

The actions of these protestors belie the charge that criticism of the government of Israel is anti-semitism. To overcome this reality, the rabid supporters of Israel call the protestors 'self-hating Jews'. Those supporters cannot imagine that there is any moral position beside unconditional support of Israel despite clear evidence of genocide.

Read more!

Yves Smith: What Gives Israel the Right to Annihilate Gaza?

Yves Smith reposts "What Gives Israel the Right to Annihilate Gaza?".

The violence of resistance and the violence of oppression are often equated to give the latter more legitimacy, and to maintain an existing order. Genuine hope for change only comes when public opinion rejects that equivalence. ALL the atrocities committed by the Israeli state – both during the past three weeks and as an occupying power in general – must be condemned every bit as harshly as the actions of Hamas, and by as many people as possible. It is the only way that we can compel Western powers to intervene in this encroaching genocide of Palestinians.

Emphasis Mine

Despite the intentions of the author, they fall for the settler-colonial narrative that the history of events starts with the actions of the oppressed. The actions of the oppressor are hidden until resistance erupts in an orgy of violence. Then everyone is surprised—why are the oppressed so violent? People ask why non-violence is not tried despite massive proetests by the Palestinians. These protests are ignored by the West and violently suppressed by Israel.

The history of Hamas is convoluted as it evolved from a tool of Israeli oppression into the centre of Palestinian resistance. Hamas was encouraged to undermine the PLO in order to derail the peace process. As the PLO evolved into a tool of the Israeli occupation, Hamas has emerged as the focus of Palestinian resistance.

Read more!

Isaac Nellist: 'Killers of the Flower Moon': Murder, deceit and genocide

Isaac Nellist reviews 'Killers of the Flower Moon': Murder, deceit and genocide.

Oil was later discovered on Osage land, making them “the richest people per capita in the world” as they retained “headrights” (communal mineral rights).

However this also made them the target of exploitation as white Americans and the US government sought to take control of the valuable oil-rich lands through murder, manipulation and brutality.

…

Ernest and Mollie’s marriage is central to the film, beginning with a genuine chemistry and spark that is undermined by Ernest’s involvement in her family’s murders.

Ernest and his uncle want to ensure that Mollie’s family’s headrights go to her, and by extension Ernest, so they begin a horrifying plot to murder Mollie’s sisters, their partners and anyone else who threatens their claim to the wealth.

Mollie, her sisters and the other Osage women are well aware that the white men around them are pursuing their wealth. Mollie reads Ernest almost immediately: “Coyote wants money,” she tells her sisters with a smirk.

Emphasis Mine

What struck me about this movie is the line, "It is easier to convict a white man of kicking a dog than for murdering an Indian." This line illustrates the structural racism built into any criminal justice system for a settler colonial state, such as USA, Canada, Australia, and Israel.

The sobering truth is that events portrayed in this film are not confined to the past. The murder of First Nations women continue today as documented in The Highway of Tears in British Columbia, Canada, and here, in Australia, a TV report, "How Many More?", says:

Four Corners can reveal at least 315 First Nations women have either gone missing or been murdered or killed in suspicious circumstances since 2000.

But this is an incomplete picture. We will likely never know the true scale of how many First Nations women have been lost over the decades.

This is because there is no agency in Australia keeping count, and there is no standard way of collecting this important data in each state and territory.

Canada calls it a genocide. The United States considers it an epidemic. But here in Australia, we’re only just waking up to the scale of the crisis.

Emphasis Mine

The reluctance to investigate the murder of First Nations women as depicted in the film continues to this day. The Four Corners report continues:

There is an alarming pattern of what’s known as “under-policing” of Indigenous women who end up dead, says Noongar academic Hannah McGlade, a member of the United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous issues.

Research published by the British Journal of Criminology this month [2022] shows that almost 75 per cent of First Nations women who were killed “experienced police reluctance and inaction following domestic violence”.

Emphasis Mine

References

• Buxton-Namisnyk, E., 2022. Domestic violence policing of first nations women in Australia:‘Settler’frameworks, consequential harms and the promise of meaningful self-determination. The British Journal of Criminology, 62(6), pp.1323-1340.
• Four Corners. 2022. How Many More? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-24/murdered-and-missing-indigenous-women-four-corners/101546186. Viewed 30 October 2023.
• Nellist, I. 2023. 'Killers of the Flower Moon': Murder, deceit and genocide. GreenLeft Weekly, https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/killers-flower-moon-murder-deceit-and-genocide. Viewed 30 October 2023.
• Wikipedia contributors. (2023, October 21). Highway of Tears. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:23, October 30, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highway_of_Tears&oldid=1181207154

Read more!

Ted Rall: Israel Is Not Acting in “Self-Defense”

Ted Rall discusses Israel Is Not Acting in “Self-Defense”

Israel’s claim to self-defense ended hours after the Hamas attack, when the IDF had killed or routed all Hamas fighters on Israeli territory and retaken control of the areas that had previously been overrun. The status quo ante was restored as of October 8th, with the exception of the more than 200 hostages seized from Israel and now held by Hamas in Gaza.

After Israel secured the areas broached by Hamas, a different body of law applied. Israel’s bombing campaign, which began on October 8th, might only be justified as a preemptive act of self-defense—a military campaign to prevent future terrorist attacks by Hamas. The Bush Administration claimed that its invasion of Iraq fell into this category, but that war clearly failed the so-called “Caroline test” formulated by the U.S. in the 19th century and which now guides international law. In 1837, Secretary of State Daniel Webster declared that a nation-state could only justify the use of military force in a case of imminent threat that was “instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment of deliberation” and, these conditions being satisfied, military action should be proportional: “nothing unreasonable or excessive; since the act, justified by the necessity of self-defense, must be limited by that necessity, and kept clearly within it.”

Self-defense is not a blank check for unlimited vengeance or retribution. Being angry or insulted or traumatized does not justify revenge. A nation-state is only permitted to apply the bare minimum of force necessary to repel or neutralize a threat.

Emphasis Mine

One should remember that Nazi Germany claimed that the extermination of Jews, Homosexuals, Gypsies, Russians, Poles, etc. was also done in 'self-defense'. The use of the term, 'self-defense', is meant to shut down critical thinking and deflect criticism.

Genocide is genocide whether it is done by Nazi Germany or Israel.

Read more!

Mubarak Awad: 7 steps to end the Cycle of Violence in Israel and Palestine

Mubarak Awad discusses 7 steps to end the Cycle of Violence in Israel and Palestine

For the international community: The two-state solution, unfortunately, is no longer an option. Support solutions that provide rights to all peoples in the region. Keeping Gaza as an open-air prison is criminal. Therefore, have it declared as such, by international and political bodies. Provide humanitarian aid and denounce apartheid. Work for justice and equality.

Emphasis in Original

The State of Israel has to be subsumed into a secular State of Palestine. The continued brutality of the Israeli occupation feeds the growth of Hamas and successor groups. The initiative for change has to come from the Israelis as they have the power. Individual Israelis should start with passive resistance against participation in the occupation.

Read more!

Peter Boyle: After the referendum: Don’t agonise, organise!

Peter Boyle writes After the referendum: Don’t agonise, organise!

The Yes campaign was deeply flawed from the start.

It was designed to be minimalist and conservative in the hope of getting bipartisan support, which it failed to get. Consequently, its arguments were contradictory and its promises did not match its proposals.

It purported that token constitutional recognition (already inserted into every state constitution) and the establishment of a First Nation’s advisory body would somehow close the yawning gap.

The Yes campaign could not even tell the truth about the differences between First Nations peoples. There was no hiding the fact that most of the most militant and grassroots-mobilising First Nations activists argued for a progressive No vote, based on demands for sovereignty, truth telling, treaties and rights-based measures to close the gap between First Nations communities and the rest of the population.

The Yes campaign insisted that the referendum proposal had the unanimous support of First Nations people when, in fact, it was devised by a small number of conservative, bureaucratic First Nations leaders in consultation with conservative political and corporate elites.

Emphasis Mine

The proposal was for a body with undefined powers which the NO case said was the thin edge of the wedge for a third chamber of parliament even though the parliament had to pass legislation to create the body. Now the NO case want to scrap any movement towards a treaty and truth telling. They say that Australia cannot have a treaty with itself thereby obliterating the sovereignty of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. And they say truth telling is merely an excuse for spreading lies about the colonisation of Australia.

Settler colonial societies go to great lengths to erase the identity of the indigenous societies by denying them their sovereignty and history. Until Aborigines can assert their sovereignty through a Treaty, control their futures through self governance, and tell their stories through truth telling, there can be no reconciliation in Australia.

Read more!

Amy McQuire: The No vote was a racist vote

Amy McQuire says The No vote was a racist vote

We must recentre this No vote on what we already know is true: the racism and white supremacy of a settler-colonial state which, even now, even as the country votes against us, refuses to acknowledge its true face.

It is not time to be silent — not for our own people, but also for our Indigenous and brothers and sisters in Gaza and across the world.

Many genocide scholars have already stated that what is happening in Gaza is a textbook case of genocide. I repeat that: this is not a war.

This is mass ethnic cleansing and genocide, and the Israeli government has already perpetrated war crimes on the people of Gaza.

Emphasis Mine

Racism is the basis for settler-colonial states, such as Australia, USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Israel. One cannot displace the indigenous peoples without treating them as lessers by destroying their cultures and connections to the land. Settler-colonialism is all about replacing the indigenous populations.

The struggles against settler-colonialism are linked around the world. It is not identity politics to promote the struggles of the dispossessed. The ruling class will try everything to discredit and suppress the resistance groups because the power of the ruling class comes from oppression. They are riding the tiger and cannot get off.

Read more!

Seth Godin: What are the defaults?

Seth Godin asks What are the defaults?

It could be that the constraints that led to the default are long gone.

They might be perpetuating bad choices, injustice or sub-optimal outputs.

The best way to fix something is to look at what we assume is the ‘right’ starting spot.

In persistent systems, it might be difficult to change the default setting, but knowing what it is and how it got there is a great place to begin.

Emphasis Mine

This is great advice whether one is investigating:

• The occupation of Palestine
• The invasion of Ukraine
• The division of Korea
• Settler-colonial societies
• Patriarchy
• Etc.

For Marxists, history is paramount. This includes exploration of the unofficial histories as well, not just the official ones. The Black Armband stories need to be told and heard.

With the interrogation of these histories, Marxists can reconstruct the trajectories that society took to reach the current state.

The default setting of any society is the status quo. As Godin writes, one should start with investigation of how the status quo came to be. This gives us a starting point to consider how change to be effected.

Read more!

Ted Rall: Israel Should Respond, Not React

Ted Rall discusses Israel Should Respond, Not React

Israel could turn the power back on, let food and water back in and beef up its lame security along its border with Gaza. It could treat the attacks as a police matter and demand that Hamas turn over suspects for prosecution. It could jumpstart negotiations to finalize a two-state solution, which everyone knows is the only viable long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It could embrace the wisdom of Nelson Mandela, who understood that a cycle of violence would never end unless one side, the side in charge that happened to be the African National Congress after he was elected president, declared amnesty so the country could move past apartheid. And if it finally did—after careful consideration—decide to invade Gaza, it could so with full knowledge and understanding of what form of governance would follow Hamas.

Emphasis Mine

The calls for blood-thirsty revenge by ethnic cleansing lays the basis for the escalation of the conflict. The future Palestinian resistance will make the actions of Hamas seem rational and restrained, just as PLO is now seen to be far better than Hamas. Maybe the delay in the Gaza incursion will allow cooler heads to prevail.

The two-state solution is now dead. Israel has to be subsumed into a secular Palestine. Israel has become toxic due to its current form as a jewish apartheid state.

Read more!

Mike Shedlock: If You Don’t Openly Condemn Hamas, Then Don’t Complain What Happens Next

Mike Shedlock writes If You Don’t Openly Condemn Hamas, Then Don’t Complain What Happens Next

However, it is certain Hamas had swarmed through crowds, killing at least 260 people and taking an unknown number hostage at a music festival.

…

New Rule: If you cannot openly and honestly blast Hamas for these actions, then do not bother complaining about any response by Israel.

Emphasis in Original

This is a common tactic of all those who support the settler-colonial states—history only starts with something bad happening to the settler-colonial state. This tactic is used to deprive the event of any context and history. It is used to frame the discussion as something bad has happened to 'the good people', and you must condemn 'the bad people'. It is used, as here, as gate keeping—you cannot participate in the discussion unless you accept this statement.

Without understanding the context and the history, you are left with the impression is that these acts occur in a vacuum, and therefore the colonised are simply mindless brutes who must be exterminated because there is no reasoning with them.

This tactic has the negative effect of reinforcing this terrorist behaviour—if the only time you in the issues confronting the colonised is when atrocities occur, then the terrorists have the incentives to commit more horrific atrocities.

Read more!

Sue Bull: Stop Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza

Sue Bull says Stop Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza

For there to be a just political settlement, we need to help build a powerful global solidarity movement with the Palestinian people and against Israeli apartheid.

Effective solidarity means building alliances with those who support justice for Palestine such as the union movement, churches, community groups and Palestinian refugees.

The Anthony Albanese Labor government should call on Israel to stop its genocidal war on Gaza and lift the blockade. It should impose and support a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel. It should oppose ongoing Israeli land grabbing and ethnic cleansing support. And, it should support the right of Palestinian refugees to resettle in their traditional homelands with full rights.

Most Palestinians no longer believe that a “two-state solution” is viable. Palestine must become an integrated non-racialised, democratic state, where every citizen has equal rights.

Emphasis Mine

Israel needs to be subsumed into a secular Palestine. The religious apartheid needs to end. No religion has primacy in the new Palestine. The dual citizenship of Israel needs to end: residents need to choose whether they are Palestinians or not.

Read more!