test blog 3

The African American experience in Los Angeles County, California: a brief and selected timeline of sorts.* From 1940-1960, thousands of African Americans migrated from Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, and other southern states to California, hoping to find decent jobs, affordable housing, and equality of opportunity. California was not quite as welcoming as advertised. Housing was strictly segregated. The Los Angeles Police Department under the governance of Chief William Parker functioned as an occupying army in all-Black neighbourhoods. The only contacts between the all-white police force and the black residents of L.A. were roundups, traffic stops, arrests, humiliations, and beatings. August 1965. With the community at a boiling point, a traffic stop gone awry precipitates the uprising known as the Watts Riots. During the riots, Parker says: "These people came in and flooded the community. We didn't ask these people to come here." ("These people" were Americans, w...

When I first heard the incarceration of African Americans in the United States referred to as a "new Jim Crow," I thought it must be hyperbole. So did Michelle Alexander, a fact she discloses in the introduction to her book. As Alexander researched the concept, the more she learned, the more she changed her mind. She changed my mind, too. In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness , Alexander builds an unassailable case that mass incarceration through the (so-called) War on Drugs is the third large-scale caste system that holds Black Americans in a second-class status. This is true even in a society that includes Oprah Winfrey, Clarence Thomas, and, of course, Barack Obama. The first caste system was slavery. The second was the laws and customs of segregation, discrimination, and terror known as Jim Crow. The third and current system is mass incarceration. This includes rules governing local policing, key court rulings, the court system itself, the p...

If only Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist  could be required reading. Everyone who has ever scoffed cynically at protesters. Everyone who has ever seen a mainstream news report showing a burning car, over and over and over, but not showing tens of thousands of peaceful protesters, and looked no deeper. Everyone who has ever denied police violence against peaceful, law-abiding citizens, or assumed that police violence is necessary to maintain order at protests. Every one of these people should read this book. In this impressive debut novel, author Sunil Yapa takes us into the so-called " Battle of Seattle " -- the protests against the World Trade Organization summit in that city in 1999. But the time and place could be any of the G8 or G10 or G20 summits -- any of the meetings where the ruling elite side-step the democratic process as they carve up the world for global capitalism. The reader sees the mass protests through the eyes of many different characters: activist...

Another awesome athlete protest that I have no time to write about. I can only thank Colin Kaepernick for his courage. Joy of Sox speaks for me:  To Mookie Betts (And Others): The Right To Protest Has Nothing To Do With The Military .

I've just finished two truly excellent works of nonfiction: Wild  and Zeitoun . Both books read like fiction, with clean, clear writing and page-turning suspense. Both document almost unbelievable, out-sized events, in one case likely unique, in the other - horribly - anything but. I highly recommend both books. I didn't expect to like Wild . Something about the phrase "best-selling memoir" just turns me off. But when the book was chosen as one of my Library's "Raves and Faves," I was intrigued. Those are always excellent books. (I'm quite proud that all five of my Raves and Faves suggestions made the list!) Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail  is a story of perseverance and redemption. Her life unhinged, battered by loss and confusion, the author decides to undertake a wilderness backpacking expedition. This is no casual walk in the woods; she's chosen a trail for which experienced backpackers may spend a year in training and res...

Poor neglected wmtc. In addition to having absolutely zero time and mental space to write, I have some kind of head-cold-thing. So instead of trying to string words together in an order that conveys meaning, I will use this blog as a Tumblr, something formerly known as a photo blog. I've been seeing such beautiful, creative displays of solidarity lately. These actions can be so inspiring - reminding us that we can demonstrate not only against bigotry and hatred, but for  love and compassion, and for justice. After anti-Muslim rhetoric was scrawled into an Uppsala mosque wall yesterday hundreds of residents gathered to paste cut-out hearts and messages of support onto the entrance of the building, ahead of Friday’s prayers. The previous day police reported that a Molotov cocktail was tossed at the religious building fortunately failed to catch fire. Hundreds gathered in the countries three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo, to condemn the attacks across the country un...

Derrick Rose Reggie Bush Davin Joseph Eric Garner

Two years ago, fast-food workers in New York City held a one-day strike. In that historic action, the result of months and even years of organizing, about 200 workers walked out of McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, and other restaurants, to form the largest work stoppage in the history of fast-food. In the process, they launched a movement. In the two years since then, the movement has burgeoned, and now includes thousands of workers all over the United States. Workers are rising against shockingly low pay in an industry that rakes in billions . The CEOs of the various fast-food companies "earn" about $25,000 a day . In New York City, one of the world's most expensive places to live, front-line workers in the same industry earn $7.25 an hour before taxes.  The fast-food industry is a prime culprit in the huge and ever-growing income inequality that plagues North America , undermining what's left of democracy . Fast-food workers want more than better pay: they want a ...

I knew working full-time would mean cutting back on activism. What time I can squeeze out, I'm investing in my own union , where I have much to contribute and feel I can really make a difference. I still belong to the War Resisters Support Campaign , of course, but it's been a long time since I've been able to attend weekly meetings.* Still, I knew there was more I could do, if only from my computer. I recently took a step that will add a bit more relevancy to my life, something that seems fairly easy to do and can have an impact: I've joined Amnesty International's Urgent Action Network . You may remember - or perhaps you've participated in -  Write For Rights , a big Amnesty International letter-writing push that coincides with International Human Rights Day . I've participated in WfR a few times, and this year was contacted by someone from Amnesty Canada's Urgent Action Network, inviting me to join. I had just started my full-time job and was feeling ...

One month ago, something happened that should trouble us gravely. Something happened that people who believe in democracy and free speech and an independent media and civil liberties and human rights should find appalling and unacceptable. It's old news by now; anything that occurs one month ago is ancient history. I wasn't able to blog about it at the time, and in a way that is good. Events of great significance occur - our rights continue to shrink, governmental powers continue to expand, fascism and police states continue to be normalized - and we rarely have a moment to process one slippery step before we slide into another. On August 18, 2013, a man named David Miranda was taken into custody at London's Heathrow Airport. Miranda is the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald. And Greenwald, you'll recall, is one of the two people with whom Edward Snowden entrusted his evidence of the massive domestic spy campaign being perpetrated by the US government, with the help...

I've been hoping to write about this for months, but the right post and adequate time never seem to arrive at the same time. Rather than put it off any longer, I'll pretend this is Tumblr or Pinterest or somesuch, and post it here without additional commentary. * * * * * From Save Jeju Now : The Save Jeju Now website is an up-to-date record of the ongoing nonviolent struggle to stop the Jeju naval base construction project currently being forced upon Gangjeong Village, a tiny town located on the southern tip of Jeju, the Peace Island, in Korea. Since 2007, The South Korean government has been oppressively trying to build a war base, falsely and absurdly named the “Civilian-Military Complex Tour Beauty Port”, on top of the village and its precious environment despite the opposition of a strong majority of the villagers (94% of voters). The base will be used by the U.S. military in its strategy to contain China in the Asia-Pacific through aggressive US missile defense system eq...

Via Common Dreams: Pakistan's anti-drone politician and former cricket-star, Imran Khan, was taken off an international flight from Toronto to New York for questioning over his political views, and his critical stance on US foreign policy, immigration officials have confirmed . "I was taken off from plane and interrogated by US Immigration in Canada on my views on drones. My stance is known. Drone attacks must stop," Khan tweeted yesterday after his questioning. Ali Zaidi, an official in Khan's party demanded "a prompt and thorough inquiry into this sordid episode" and "an unconditional apology from the US government". Khan was on his way from a public lecture in Toronto to a fundraising event in New York. He was eventually released and allowed in the US. He added: "Missed flight and sad to miss the fundraising lunch in NY but nothing will change my stance." Khan, leader of the Pakistan Movement for Justice party (PTI), and Prime Ministe...

Remember when Barack Obama was elected, how international media declared that racism in the US had been vanquished? How academics and pundits started using the term "post-racial" to describe US culture? Was that before or after the tea-partiers paraded around with pictures of monkeys and openly called for assassination ? Before or after US cities made practice into official policy with "stop-and-frisk" ? That's the racism-based method of urban policing , in which police stop, frisk, interrogate, and otherwise harass millions of African-American and Latino men who are simply walking down the street. (The NYPD seems to be succumbing to pressure and cutting back - although of course not abandoning the tactic.) Now we have some hard evidence of what many of us have known all along: in US airports, the Transportation Safety Authority performs stop-and-frisk on a grand scale. Bravo to the TSA workers who came forward with this. More than 30 federal officers in an a...

I seldom play the scary "US is taking over Canada" card, but if the Harper government was any deeper into Washington, you'd need a colonoscopy to find them. I blogged about this here , and I'm glad to see the CBC recognize the issue. This is scary, dangerous, and truly disgusting. When the Conservative government passed its controversial omnibus budget bill last month, it included new powers for certain U.S. law enforcement agents that critics say could have ramifications for Canadian sovereignty. The Integrated Cross Border Law Enforcement Operations Act now makes it possible for American officers to cross the border into Canada where, as the act states, they have "the same power to enforce an act of Parliament as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police." This means they'll be armed and have the powers to arrest suspects in Canadian territory. For years, law enforcement agents without the authority to cross into neighbouring waters have complained...

I want to begin my posts from Marxism 2012 with the Quebec Student Strike , because it's currently the most important progressive development unfolding in Canada. By now it should be obvious that the Quebec student strike is not only a student strike and is not only about Quebec. It  should be obvious, if the corporate media wasn't ignoring, minimizing, scoffing at, or narrowly spinning this major story. I posted ten things everyone should know about the Quebec student strike , cribbed from the Montreal Media Coop. It's a good list, and the full story is worth reading. But here's the most important takeaway: this is not only a student movement against an increase in tuition fees. It is a widespread, student- led movement against the austerity agenda, and against the attempt to transform Quebec from a socialized culture where services are universally accessible, or nearly so, to a privatized, user-payer system where access can be purchased by those who can afford it....

The CBSA harassing political journalists trying to enter Canada: bad. The FBI free to operate within Canadian borders: worse. Years ago when people stoked fears of co-called "deep integration" between Canada and the United States, conversations tended to focus on tangible signs like a North American currency. I admit I wasn't concerned. Now, trends like this speak to an even more insidious and troubling integration. Bhaskar Sunkara, the editor of Jacobin , and a reporter for In These Times , reports on his treatment on his way to Montreal: There weren’t any bright lights or stress positions, but it was definitely an interrogation. Crossing over to Canada yesterday, I had the unusual experience of being detained for a few hours. It started off innocently enough. I filed off a Montreal-bound Greyhound bus at the border with a few dozen others to go through customs. As usual, I was paid extra attention. Security officials may notice me, because I look suspiciously Muslim, ...