More summer reading

The new book I Am Pol Pot is now available from Amazon.com is a good summer read, a novel of war and revolution in what is now Cambodia. While student protests were going on all over the industrialized world, Indochina was thrown into civil war and then revolution. The revolutionaries in Cambodia carried out an extreme social program and it resulted in almost a million deaths. But more important, this book looks at the decision making process. What where its leaders trying to do? What did they expect would happen in their new Democratic Kampuchea? How could such a revolution go wrong? All this is looked at in I Am Pol Pot, a fictional biographic novel.

Now available at Amazon.com.

The Philippine’s NPA celebrates 40 years

From:

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MAOIST_REVOLUTION

Julian Paisano
Tagapagsalita
Coronacion "Waling-Waling" Chiva Command
New Peoples Army-Panay
March 29, 2009

Other versions: Isaulog Ang Kwarenta Ka Tuig Nga Paghimakas Sang Npa! Magdungan (Hiligaynon)

The Coronacion "Waling-waling" Chiva Command joins the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the NPA. We celebrate the continuing victories of the NPA over the intense attacks of the 3ID, PA in its Oplan Bantay Laya 2, and our unity with the masses which gives the NPA the strength to raise the people's war to a higher level.

The NPA has defeated not only Oplan Bantay Laya, but also 40 years of enemy campaigns to destroy the revolutionary movement. The PC and "commando" of the 70s here in Panay up to the Division Reconnaisance Company and Scout Rangers of the present have all failed to break the unwavering unity of the masses and the NPA. This is because the NPA wages a just people's war as true servants of the masses while the AFP serves the oppressors and enemies of the people. Thus, the AFP can only resort to worn-out tactics that have been defeated time and again by the revolutionary fighters of the masses.

Julian Paisano
Spokesperson
Coronacion "Waling-waling" Chiva Command
NPA – Panay

For a music video click here.

The Military in Nepal

In any revolutionary gain, the military is always a sore subject. Coups can reverse any progress. So this is from:

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MAOIST_REVOLUTION:

There has been a great deal of controversy (as some may be aware) about the Maoist peoples liberation army in Nepal. It was forged in a decade of guerilla warfare that successfully developed political base areas over 80 percent of the country, and that fought the much larger Royal army to a stalemate. then in a rather stunning tactical move, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) decided, in 2005, to take a detour -- in order to win a much broader, consolidated mass support for their final assault of power. Rather than trying to "take kathmandu from the countryside, " under international, domestic and military conditions they judged to be highly unfavorable, the Maoists pushed for a specific negotiated arrangement -- that included to the stationing of both armies in bases, and to elections to a revolutionary Constituent Assembly (CA). Among some forces (including particularly in some circles within the internationalist Maoist movement) it was alleged that all of this was betrayal -- that they had abandoned the road of armed struggle (particularly the model of Maoist peoples war), and that no good could come of these moves. The RCP,USA wrote (in a March 2005 letter): The most likely result is that the CPN(M) will be defeated fairly at the elections If in the extremely unlikely event that the Party did come to occupy the key positions of government through this electoral process the very alliance required, the entanglement in bourgeois political institutions and with the ‘international community’ will ensure that there is no transfer of power to the proletariat and the oppressed classes and no basis for the state to carry out the revolutionary transformation of society. [this letter was once secret, and has now been published as part of a series of increasingly hostile exchanges between the RCP and the CPNM -- they are published as a printable pamphlet in PDF form here: http://mikeely. wordpress. com/pamphlets/ ] In fact: In the events following 2005, the king was deposed, the country became a republic, and the Maoists won a startling plurality in the electons to the CA, emerging (paradoxically) leading the government of a state apparatus they had not yet defeated. Part of the argument denouncing the CPNM is that they have agreed to give up their army. This is a potent question because for Maoists maintaining an independent party, and independent armed force (i.e. maintaining the initiative for revolutionary communist forces within various alliances) has emerged as a widely acknowledged principle. So, for example, the RCP wrote in their recent summation article (labelling the CPNM with the r-word..... revisionist) : The organs of people's power built up in the countryside of Nepal through the revolutionary war have been dissolved, the old police forces have been brought back, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), although never defeated on the battlefield, has been disarmed and confined to “cantonments� while the old reactionary army (formerly the Royal Nepal Army, now renamed the Nepal Army) which previously feared to travel outside its barracks, except in large heavily armed convoys, is now free to patrol the country with the blessing of a CPN(M) Defense Minister.

Patti Smith - People Have The Power

Tiller Not Guilty – Religious Right wing-nuts lose again!

They have tried every legal and political trick their pointed narrow minds could conjure up and still, the anti-choice forces could not beat George Tiller, Wichita’s late term abortion provider.
From Wichita’s KAKE TV:

“Jurors found Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller not guilty on all 19 counts after deliberating for just over an hour. Tiller was on trial on 19 misdemeanor charges stemming from some abortions he performed at his Wichita clinic in 2003. He is accused of breaking a state law requiring that two Kansas physicians without legal or financial ties sign off on any late-term procedure.
Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus provided second opinions on late-term abortions before Tiller performed them. Prosecutors contend they had an illegal financial affiliation.
In closing arguments Friday, prosecutors pointed to Tiller's journal about a 1999 conversation between the doctors over Neuhaus' fee as the "smoking gun" in their case.
But the defense said Tiller was trying to comply with the law and relied on the suggestion of a state official when he contacted Neuhaus.”

Considering how much effort the religious right, including members of the Republican Party, have put into this, it has been a major victory for abortion rights proponents.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) probably needs no advice from splinter groups

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has been the most successful Maoist revolution since China itself. They have parted with some of the old notions of communism such as the one party state. Some Maoist groups in their international, the Revolutionary International Movement (RIM) have been critical of their multi-party system.
Some are now criticizing them for not following Maoist doctrine closer. However, most of this criticism comes from parties that are out of power. The Revolutionary Communist Party USA is one of their critics. The RCP is not even close to being a major party in the US, so why are they giving out critical advice to a party that just won a revolutionary struggle? Here are some documents to the debate:

From the Kasama Project:

Nepal's Maoist revolution have stirred deep controversy within the international communist movement -- focused on the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) approach to strategy, ,tactics and communist theory.

Now that long developing struggle over line has erupted a new and highly way.

the RCP,USA has decided to publish a series of letters, exchanged between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the Revolutionary Communist Party,USA are now public.

These important documents are being made available on the Kasama site (www.kasamaproject. org). And they are being debated.

Kasama has published three of the letters in full online: Â Kasama has also made availabe a combined printable document containing the single letter from the Nepali Maoists, and seven pieces by the RCP.

We urge all revolutionaries to dig into this important line struggle which touches on many of the most crucial problems and controversies confronting communist revolution everywhere.

Here are some of the relevant links:
1) Kasama site:Â
www.kasamaproject. org

2) RCP letter from Nov. 2008
http://mikeely. wordpress. com/2009/ 03/23/rcp- critique- of-the-communist -party-of- nepal-maoist- nov-2008/Â

3) RCP letter Oct. 2005
http://mikeely. wordpress. com/2009/ 03/23/rcp- critique- of-the-communist -party-of- nepal-maoist- oct-2005/

4) the response from the CPN(M) (June 2006).
http://mikeely. wordpress. com/2009/ 03/23/communist- party-of- nepal-maoists- responds- to-rcp-critique- june-2006/

5) The pdf combining eight documents of this line strugglehttp://mikeely. files.wordpress. com/2009/ 03/letters. pdf

Here are some relevant quotes:

From the Nepali Maoists:

Yes, there are some confusing positions in our interpretations, in several contexts. We think sometimes they are necessary. If we can confuse our enemies and the international community with our tactical dealings, it can divide them to a certain extent, which will benefit our revolution. Problems will arise only if the Party of the proletariat itself is confused. So long as the ideological and political line is clear and the Party is committed to accomplishing its strategic mission, it can lead the masses in all circumstances. Revolutionaries can lead the masses ahead from the height of consciousness they acquire from the class struggle in society, not from the height of consciousness the Party of the proletariat has. It is a question of not dictating to them to do what we want, but of being together with the masses to deal with the situation and applying the mass line to develop their consciousness.
"The masses never compromise with their necessities but prefer peaceful execution. It is the task of the revolutionary parties to prove through practice that their necessities are not met by peaceful means. And only by doing this can the Party of the proletariat lead them to violent struggles. We understand that the enemy will not allow us to attain our strategic goal in a peaceful way, but we can lead the masses in violent struggle to overthrow them with such political tactics."
"Our Party is very keenly trying to learn from the experiences of revolutionary struggles and tactical moves of the International Communist Movement, in general, and the latest experiences of Peru and Nicaragua in particular.. . We believe that both ways of adopting tactics, in Peru and Nicaragua, were wrong. We are confident that we can protect our movement from the mistakes committed in these two countries.
"On the basis of our experience of unity and struggle with your Party in the past in general and your letter at present in particular, we believe that your Party is deeply suffering from the dogmato-sectarian trend. Therefore, we are not surprised to receive from your Party a warning bell through your letter in which it has doubted that our revolution is sliding towards revisionism."

From the RCP,USA:

"Our comrades in Nepal are caught in a swamp and in dire danger of drowning. And what has been the reaction of RIM comrades in other countries to this emergency? While a few have tried to assist as best they can, unfortunately some others have thrown flowers to the floundering comrades when what they critically need is a strong rope to pull themselves out of the swamp. The necessary rope exists: it is nothing other than the revolutionary communist ideological and political line, its stand, viewpoint and method….The current two-line struggle within the CPN(M) is taking place within the context of the greater question of whether, and on what basis, a whole new wave of world proletarian revolution can be brought forward.
The belief that the advanced practice of the Nepal revolution has made it unnecessary to learn from advanced understanding from other comrades is part of the pragmatism and empiricism that has, unfortunately, been a growing part of the CPN(M) leadership’s ideological orientation for some time now. Any effort to resolve the crisis in the CPN(M) only “on its own terms, and on nationalist or empiricist grounds to ignore or resist the advanced revolutionary communist understanding developing elsewhere is to severely handicap the struggle for a correct line. In particular, we sincerely hope that the comrades of the CPN(M) will give serious attention to engaging with the body of work, method and approach, the New Synthesis, that Bob Avakian has been bringing forward."

High Across The Prairie

Steve Otto's novel takes an honest look at 1970's Kansas.

Memoirs Of A Drugged-up, Sex-crazed Yippie ---Tales from the 70's Counterculture: Drugs, Sex, Politics and Rock and Roll.

By Steve Otto

Authorhouse Press/2005

Reviewed by Tim Pounce

Kansas in the late 1970's was so different from today; the Sunflower State might as well have been located in Holland.Remember what it was like to share drugs with close friends and complete strangers? Remember when casual sex was so casual you didn't even know your partners name? Remember when the political climate of Kansas came down squarely on the side of tolerance? Remember when your personal philosophy of life was defined by rock lyrics and not a mission statement?You don't?Well, Steve Otto does. In his latest semi-fictional novel, Memoirs Of A Drugged-Up, Sex Crazed Yippie (Authorhouse Press/2005), Otto excavates 1970's counterculture like an archeologist loving dusting off a Mastodon tusk. In a brisk 349 pages, Otto gives us a lucid look at a Kansas few people remember --- or can't remember due to a plentiful supply of "controlled substances" that were constantly and cheaply available. Characters romp through Wichita, Lawrence and even Sedalia Missouri when a cheap thrill was worth what you paid for it and pleasure was just the flipside of danger.But to dismiss this book as just another nostalgic stoner reminiscing about the last days of the counter-culture would be a major mistake. Although there is a certain "back-in-the-day" wistfulness about the time before political correctness was a mantra, Otto tempers his dreamy history lesson with brutal honesty.The narrator of the story --- a composite of just about every old druggie you ever met --- may graphically describe the bliss of mainlining MDA, he also reminds us that brief moment of pleasure most often occurred in a squalid apartment at broken kitchen table next to sink full of dirty dishes.Like all good storytellers, Otto takes the reader places they've never been before. Like William Burroughs and Charles Bukowsky, Otto sometimes takes you to places you've never really wanted to visit. Yet, Otto makes it worth the trip by including generous portions of political discourse, Cyrenaic philosophy, post-adolescent lust and near-suicidal thrill seeking to keep the narrative moving along like a junkie careening through a police roadblock.Otto's work is always provocative and this book will undoubtedly draw the wrath of both solid conservatives and neo-feminists. Otto's characters never mask their contempt for the right-wing agenda and Otto's narrator never hides his obsession with female anatomy. However, criticizing Memoirs because it baits conservatives and objectifies women is missing the point. Filtering 1970's Kansas counterculture through the sensibilities of a naive middle-class, catholic school educated, twenty-something is no easy trick but Otto mostly pulls it off. He has a good ear for times-past and tries --- often successfully --- to make his prose read like it would have been written by someone experiencing these situations 30 years ago. Trying to be simultaneously innovative, entertaining and honest is a juggling act on a unicycle, but Otto is generally at his best when everything's up-in-the-air and he's peddling frantically. When the narrator's budding Marxist politics and his discussions with Iranian nationalists clash with his dawning awareness that Kansas politics has taken a sharp turn to the right, Otto makes it work.Is Otto's look into the rear-view mirror a true reflection on the 70's, or do the objects simply appear bigger than they were? Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Memoirs resonates with characters buckling under the weight of the America Dream with redemption harder to find than next snort of Cocaine.The following book stores also have Memoirs:

Amazon.com,

Powell's books,

Growing again in the shadows

More on India from Express Buzz
C Shivakumar
First Published : 22 Mar 2009 11:31:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 22 Mar 2009 08:27:54 AM IST
The giant statues loom large over the lush green paddy fields. An epitaph is engraved on a pillar adorned with the hammer and sickle of communism along with four stars. Nearby stands a giant hoarding with images of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao.
This is Nayakankottai in Dharmapuri district, the only village in the whole of Tamil Nadu to have statues of its Naxalite leaders, L Appu and Balan. The epitaph marks their contribution to the movement.
It was in their time the late 1970s that the movement reached its peak. Says Siddhanandam, one of the pioneers of the movement: “We were successful in doing away with the double tumbler system (one for Dalits and one for other castes), which was discriminatory.”
For the rest click here.

The death penalty just won't die in the US

The debate on capitol punishment is ongoing in these United States. The issue recently came up in Kansas as its legislature debated the cost of such punishment. It is always a heated issue. In Europe and most Latin American Countries the practice is outlawed. But the US is a unique place when it comes to punishing criminals. The system is especially harsh. Killing people just seems the US thing to do. As its opponents have pointed out, it is expensive and inaffective. It is a feel good solution that appeals to those who have lost loved ones to such crimes as murder.
However, just because it feels good doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. Mistakes are made and cannot be undone. Some people are put on death row for political reasons. The Rosenbergs, Sacco-Vanzetti and the Haymarket martyrs are examples of political executions. In recent years there has been an attempt to execute Mumia Abu-Jamal, for aledgedly shooting a policeman. That attempt has been thwarted, but such heated cases keep coming back up.
The Kansas legislature has post-poned doing away with the death penalty, but the issue is sure to re-imerge.
Americans love harsh penalties for those who break their laws and nothing is harsher than executing people. If Pol Pot where an American, he could easily win an election to run our prison systems.

Indian Maoism continues to spread

Here is more evidence that the Maoist in India are growing in influence. Here is the first part of a piece of the Naxalite Movement:

“Mark my words, the day is not far when they (Maoists) will rule a grand majority of India. These 200 districts will become 400 in no time, and inch towards more. No government in India will be able to stop their growth through police, Salva Judums or army. - Arindam Chaudhari (Management Guru and author of The Great Indian Dream )Arindam Chaudhuri - IT'S NOT THEM, BUT INDIA'S CRONY CAPITALISM, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHHATTISGARH MASSACRE.”

Click here for the rest.

US drones= the perfect weapon of cowards

US military drones have become the weapon of choice in our so called “war on terrorism.” This is a war where an unmanned plane can make strikes against a human target while the pilot sits in a little shed somewhere completely safe and protected. The drone target is someone the US has deemed a terrorist and those who happen to be near him or her.
Those who are innocent victims are considered collateral damage, a nice way of saying “to bad we killed the wrong people.” But the perpetrator of this act is far away in a safe place. This has mark a new level of cowardous in this modern age of warfare. Today, a person can perpetrate a kill, while never even seeing the victim. This is a far cry from the war in earlier times when enemies looked into each others eyes.
We in the US bitch about the cowardice of terrorist bombings and yet we have perfected the best weapon a coward could ever ask for.

From the Herald Tribune:

Pakistanis shoot down suspected U.S. military drone
Reuters, The Associated Press
Published: September 23, 2008
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan: Pakistani troops and tribesman shot down a suspected U.S. military drone close to the Afghan border Tuesday, three intelligence officials said.
It was believed to have been the first time that a pilotless aircraft had been shot down over Pakistan.
Pakistani news channels reported that a drone had crashed, but there was no official confirmation.
The incident is likely to add to tensions between Washington and Pakistan over a spate of recent American cross-border incursions directed against suspected militants.

For more click here.

Once again, a moderate leftist has won an election in Latin America

This time it was Mauricio Funes of the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN). The former leftist rebels agreed to a peace accord right after the Ronald Reagan Regime tried to wipe them out. They agreed to form a political party and abandon the armed struggle. As with Nicaragua, Venezueala and Bolivia, left-wing candidates are winning what they couldn’t win on the battle field. It seems to be a trend in Latin America right now.
It’s hard to say how long this trend will last, but for the short run it is a vidication of the Latin left over the US right-wing, which has tried to isolate leftist leaning groups and lable them either “communists” or “narco-terrorists.”

From:

March 16
Left-winger wins El Salvador poll

Leftist Mauricio Funes of El Salvador's former Marxist rebel FMLN party has won the country's presidential election.
He defeated his conservative rival, the Arena party's Rodrigo Avila, who has admitted defeat.
Arena had won every presidential election since the end of El Salvador's civil war 18 years ago.
Addressing jubilant supporters, Mr Funes said it was the happiest day of his life and the beginning of a new chapter of peace for the country.
Branded by his opponents as a puppet of Venezuala's President Hugo Chavez, Mr Funes vowed to respect all Salvadorian democratic institutions.
The FMLN won 51.3% of the vote against Arena's 48.7%, Reuters news agency reported.
For more click here.

James Connolly

James Connolly was one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. Though proud of his Irish background he also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was shot by a British firing squad following his involvement in the Easter Rising of 1916.

Black 47 “James Connolly”

Courts go after abortion rights

Right wing religious cooks from around the country have finally brought George Tiller, one of the only late abortion doctors practicing in the US, to court. Religious fanatics have targeted this man with around the clock harassment of his home and business for years now, trying to shut him down. He has even been shot in both arms by zealots who have taken the laws they can’t get passed into their own hands.
His offensis are minor compared to what his enemies would like. But he does face the possibility of losing his medical license. If he loses it would be a big loss for women who need late term abortions for medical emergencies.
The antiwomen fanatics really don’t care if women die, they want the fetus to get a higher status of importance than living women. These people are anti-women.


From The Wichita Eagle, Mar. 15, 2009:

Tiller trial set to begin on Monday

BY ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press
For abortion opponents, the trial of one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers has been a long time coming, a chance for a little bit of justice after years of seeing their efforts thwarted.
To abortion-rights supporters, George Tiller's trial is the culmination of repeated harassment, a witch hunt in which foes have been willing to do anything and everything to gain a conviction.
The Wichita doctor faces trial Monday on charges that he repeatedly violated Kansas' abortion law in a criminal case that could threaten his medical license.
Tiller is charged with 19 misdemeanors alleging that he failed to obtain a second, independent opinion for late-term abortions from an independent physician, as required by Kansas law. If convicted, he could face a year in the county jail or a fine of $2,500 for each misdemeanor charge.
Sedgwick County District Judge Clark Owens has set aside three days for jury selection. Opening arguments and trial testimony are set to begin March 23.

For more click here.

The G-20 dictates

The G-20 is like an exclusive club, made of the leaders of the industrialized nations. They act as a world leading body, without input from other countries or individuals. The rest of us are just supposed to wait to see what they will do and then thank them for running our affairs.

In the past there has been protests at these meetings. The G-20 is in affect a dictatorship that dictates to the rest of us, what economic policies will be. Until there is serious revolutionary change in some of these countries, we can expect more of the same.

From Yahoo News:

G-20 pledge sustained action on financial crisis

HORSHAM, England – Finance officials from rich and developing countries pledged Saturday to do "whatever is necessary" to fix the global economy, including supervision of freewheeling hedge funds and restoring bank lending by dealing with the shaky securities burdening their finances.

But officials remained cool to a U.S. push for more coordinated government spending to stimulate economies.

For the rest, click here.

Stewart calls Cramer on his “media” role

It takes a comedian to point out that members of our news media are biased and irresponsible. Here is a clip with John Stewart and Jim Cramer. I think I have more faith in a comedian.

North Korean News Agency fires back on human rights

The KPR of (North) Korean News Agency has leveled human rights complaints of its own. Some are legitimate, such as denial of the rights of unions and women. They claim the US violates religion and that is true in this country’s treatment of atheists and non believers.

It’s not surprising that a country that is constantly in the negative US spotlight would fire back with its own human rights abuse charges:

KCNA Brands U.S. as World's Worst Human Rights Abuser
March 11. 2009 Juche 98

Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- The United States is not entitled to talk about human rights as it is the world's worst human rights abuser.

In the U.S. the absolute majority of working people are like more dead than alive with their elementary rights to clothing, food and housing deprived.

The same can be said of the right concerning personal inviolability.

The right to labor, one of major rights related to existence, is ruthlessly violated there.

The right to job, the right to get a fair reward for the labor done, the right to safe and hygienic working conditions and rational working hours, and the like are nothing but empty talk.

Those in authority in the U.S. are talking about "freedom", "equality" and "democracy" but in fact, the political and socio-cultural rights of the overwhelming majority of working masses are institutionally violated and stamped out.

As for election, it strictly serves the rich only.

Outwardly, the U.S. professes "freedom" of speech, demonstration and assembly but the reality is quite contrary.

Even the trade unions are denied their rights.

For the rest, click here.

Kansas – moving backward on the environment

Nation-wide, Kansas bucks the national trends. The nation went Democrat in the last election, while Kansas stayed Republican. The rest of the nation is staying away from coal burning plants, while Kansas’ legislators continue to push for a coal burning power plant.

The rest of the nation’s cities are trying to encourage recycling, while Wichita (Kansas largest city) comes in dead last on surveys that track the nation’s cities and their attempts to recycle.

The growth plan for Wichita calls for a building on every piece of land. This policy causes a decrease in plants that can absorb greenhouse gasses, it takes farm land out of production, and increases flooding by taking away from land that can absorb flood water.

Is it just plain greed or a stubbornness to buck liberal ideas? Either way Kansas continues to stick to its backward thinking reputation.

John Prine & Iris Dement- Paradise

The World Can't Wait continues to oppose Afghan intervention

From The World Can't Wait:

The sixth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq is next Thursday, March 19, and we are calling for nation-wide protests to demand a real end to that occupation. Our concern is also over the US surge of troops into Afghanistan. Barack Obama was interviewed yesterday, telling the New York Times that the US is not winning that war. Nevertheless, 20,000 troops are going there now, with another 10,000 possible later in the year.
Out among people, as we're mobilizing for the anti-war protests on March 19, we are encountering questions about Afghanistan. People want to know why we don't think it is "the good war;" why the announced mission of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden isn't a legitimate reason to occupy Afghanistan, and how to help the Afghani civilians, especially the women whose lives are miserable under the Taliban.
We've spoken to some of those questions in the Letter to the Anti-war Movement.

The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Many news commentators are noticing that Islamic extremism is spreading, mostly in the Arab world. They all have their theories, but almost everyone agrees that a combination of economic inequalities, nationalism and a lack of moral direction have contributed to this phenomenon.
While many political analysts have resigned to the idea that people in that part of the world are just going to believe that, there are those who believe there are alternatives and if offered, the people in the region will listen to them. One such group is the Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan. Since this party is made of local citizens of Afghanistan, it only makes sense that they are the ones to offer an alternative to Islamic extremism. They also condemn the US presents in their country for contributing to the problems. Here is their analysis of what has been going on at the Afghanistan Pakistani border:

Pakistan and the occupation of Afghanistan
On 20 January Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan blew up five schools in Mingora, once one of the safest areas in Swat, in North-West Pakistan, in an attempt to enforce their growing rule over the northern part of the country. Not long before they had labelled education of girls un-Islamic and forbid it. According to reports, nearly 200 government schools have been destroyed. A similar Islamic grouping, the Pakistani Taleban, also recently banned education for girls, forcing the government to close hundreds more schools in the area for days.
This kind of thing is becoming increasingly common in Pakistan, especially the north. "Elected representatives have fled Swat and many police officers, the target of suicide bomb attacks, have deserted, with the force down in strength from 1,725 to 295." (Guardian, 20 January 2009) Much of the tribal area in Waziristan north of Peshawar is under the rule of Baitullah Mehssud, a tribal leader said to be close to Al-Qaeda. Most of the Swat Valley once a tourist area is increasingly under the control of an Islamic fundamentalist group led by the cleric Maulana Fazlullah.

For the rest, click here.

Will federal regulations reign in on the Kansas legislature?

The Environmental Protection Agency has plans to require that corporations report on the greenhouse gasses they emit. Will this affect Kansas in its rush to create coal burning plants here in Kansas?
This state’s elected representatives in Topeka seem determined to pollute Kansas air and environment in general, as much as possible. They have already bypassed all state regulations that got in their way of the coal plants. The plants aren’t even intended for energy in Kansas. They are just to make money.

Now they may have to deal with federal requirements. According to The Wichita Eagle:

EPA looks to require reporting of greenhouse gases

By DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press Writer.
WASHINGTON - The federal government wants to require companies for the first time to disclose how much greenhouse gases they're releasing.
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing mandatory reporting of the gases blamed for global warming at approximately 13,000 facilities nationwide.

For the rest click here.

The opposition Communist Party of Nepal UML meets

In Nepal there is an opposition party to the revolutionary Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). They have declared that they are the true communist and the UCPN(M) is an extremist party. They had no way of helping restore the democracy and rid the country of a monarchy, yet they still want to be taken seriously as a true Marxist party in Nepal.

From The Red Star:

UML Party Congress
CPN UML, one of the alliances in the government is going to hold party congress on 16-21 February. Just before Party Congress, UML has held a national gathering in capital city Kathmandu.
The documents presented in the meeting of Central Committee for the debate and decision in coming party congress are published in the newspapers and magazines affiliated to the party.
The main document presented by its general secretary Jhalnath Khanal reads some of the main objectives for party and party strategy in coming days. The objectives are to establish the party as the first party of Nepal, to make a new unity of a new ground and to hold the fare discussion process for the end of Lobbies and teams.
The party documents have declared Unified CPN Maoist as a left extremist and Nepali Congress as status quo. It has claimed to fight against both the tendencies simultaneously. The party ahs claimed to give independent identity in Nepal.
On the other hand, some of the youth leaders have registered the document of the difference of opinion. In the document, they have raised debate about the question of leadership, democratic centration and the party system. The different document, recently published will be allowed in the congress for debate.

For the whole story click here.

Darfur= Justice or interference?

When the International Court of Justice or the World Court was set up for war crimes against humanity, I had some concerns as to who would be served by this court. Will it ever indict a leader, as George Bush, from the industrialized nations or the US or is it just for small poor third world countries.
The latest indictment is for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for the continued slaughter of three predominantly Christian tribes in Darfur. He may deserve to be put on trial, but what good is such a court if it only applies to poor third world countries.
According to the PDR Korean News agency:

“The Darfur issue is an internal issue of Sudan and it is, therefore, not a matter which allows foreign forces to interfere in it and settle it by hurting the dignity of the Sudanese people.
It is a super-state act to lord it over sovereign states and freely interfere in their internal affairs in disregard of their sovereignty. Such practice will only disturb the stability of the international relations and wreck the world peace.
The Darfur issue should be settled in a peaceful way on the principle of respecting the sovereignty of the Sudanese people.”

For the rest click here.

It’s not surprising that this issue is opposed by small independent governments.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir talk during an official departure ceremony for the Sudanese president in Tehran, Iran, April 26, 2006.(UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah)

From CODEPink

Since yesterday was International Women’s Day, it is only fitting to post something from the CODEPink web stite:

As Barack Obama is sworn in as President of the United States of America, we are more mindful than ever of the Promises for Peace he made to the American people during his campaign, especially his promises to:
1. End the war in Iraq
2. Shut Down Guantánamo
3. Reject the Military Commissions Act
4. Stop Torture
5. Work to eliminate nuclear weapons
6. Hold direct, unconditional talks with Iran.
7. Abide by Senate approved international treaties.
CODEPINK's promise to you is to find creative, productive ways to hold Obama to his Promises for Peace. We will be the string around his finger that reminds him to practice what he preaches and deliver the change our country so desperately needs. Please join us in REMINDING OBAMA!

India’s Red corridor

By now, the Maoist insurgency in India has made enough gains that a huge patch of land is now in the guerrilla’s hands. The map below shows the areas controlled by and affected by the Communist Party of India-Maoist and its allies.

In related news:

Ranchi, Feb 28th 2009 Maoist guerrillas blew up a panchayat building in
Jharkhand.
More than 30 activists of the Communist Party of India-Maoist(CPI-Maoist) Friday night blew up the building in Mahdand village ofPalamau district, around 190 km from here, by using detonators.Panchayat community buildings are used for meetings of village levelreactionary 'representatives' .
In another incident, Maoist rebels blew up a government building inLathear district.The CPI-Maoist had called a strike Saturday in Bihar, Jharkhand and
Orissa to protest against the arrest of four of their central committeemembers. The strike affected life in the rural areas of the state.
In addition, blasts occured throughout the state including main linestations which made it almost impossible for reactionary forces to enterthe red zones.

From:http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MAOIST_REVOLUTION

Iraqi war not over yet

President Barack Obama has inherited a situation in Iraq similar to that of Nixon’s Vietnam. It’s peace with honor. In other words, the US can’t leave and face defeat. Obama wants to withdrawal but he won’t want to look like a president who “lost Iraq.”

National Public Radio comments continuously state that many troops will stay in Iraq for some time. There are also reports that Obama’s planned surge will not go as scheduled, due to the situation in Iraq and he won’t have the resources to respond to the situation in Afghanistan as he has promised. This can mean only lingering war and a continuation of the failed imperialist policy of war in both countries of the Middle east.

“America's a fucking disease” London After Midnight

Rush Limbaugh now speaks for the Republican Party

Of course Rush Limbaugh hopes President Barack Obama fails. That failure is the only thing that will give some credibility to his washed up ideology of hot air. Republicans have backed off of any criticism on him which leaves us with the impression that this shock jock is now a spokesperson for the Republican Party. So the cooks and wing-nuts on the right are now solidly represented by the Republican Party, whose spokesperson is a shock jock radio personality.
Rush and his loonies have already failed and they drove this country bankrupt. This is an example of sour grapes on a fascistic party that believed it had a mandate to run this country into the ground indefinitely.


Rush Limbaugh on Hannity – “I hope Obama Fails with His Socialist Agenda”

Guerilla activity in Peru

This is another report of Maoist guerilla activity in Peru.

From:
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MAOIST_REVOLUTION

The Google translation:
Lima, 01.March.09

Military and journalistic sources confirm that since last Friday there has been occurring major fighting between Maoist guerrillas and troops of the Marine Corps in the area of Cerro Tincuya in Vizcatan. In the fighting which involved helicopters MI-17 type, there have been varying degrees of several wounded soldiers. It is not known the casualties of the PLA troops who participated in the defense of this extrategico enclave. The defense minister Florez Araoz regretted the military casualties including the death of one of the Marines wounded, but affirm the decision of the executive to remain in the area.



The original:

Fuentes militares y periodisticas confirman que desde el pasado viernes se estan produciendo importantes combates entre la guerrilla maoísta y efectivos de la Infanteria de Marina en la zona del Cerro Tincuya en el Vizcatan.
En los combates que han participado helicopteros del tipo MI-17, han resultado heridos de diversa gravedad varios efectivos militares. Se desconoce las bajas en los efectivos del EPL que han participado en la defensa a este extrategico enclave.El ministro de defensa Florez Araoz ha lamentado las bajas militares en particular la muerte de uno de los Infantes de Marina heridos pero reafirmo la decisión del ejecutivo de permanecer en la zona
correovermello noticias esta para servir a las masas populares en el conocimiento de las noticias de la Revolucion Proletaria Mundial
saudos vermellos / saludos rojos

In Greece: Do we support spontaneous rebellion?

The debate is raging in Greece, as to whether the left should support spontaneous uprising such as the riots that took place last December. The more moderate left is calling the Maoist support for the students “anti-communism” and as being provocateurs. By taking this position they are playing it safe and opposing any activity that can be considered spontaneous.
Can a leftist play it safe and support the powers in charge? Only if they are refusing to take risks and support any actual change. This is similar to the riots in Seattle, here in the US a few years ago. Some leftists condemned them. They warned that such action would only provoke the state and make the left look bad. The left in the US already looks bad. It also looks impotent and unable to do anything. The riots gave the various causes of the non rioting protesters some publicity they would not have gotten otherwise. Their protests would have gone unnoticed by the news media without the riots. So the “provocateurs” did the left more good than bad.
Likewise we can all remember the student uprising of 1968 that nearly toppled the French government. But that one chance at a revolution was thwarted by the French Communist Party which openly opposed the students. They prevented the first revolution in a developed country.
We don’t need leftists who are too cowardly to allow students to rebel when the need arises. Whatever they do is the government’s problem and not that of the left.


From:http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MAOIST_REVOLUTION

Please see below the Statement Nr 6/2009 concerning the new attacks of KKE against KOE.
You may also find it in our English Website (international. koel.gr) :
http://international.koel.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80:statement-nr-62009-new-attack-of-kkes-leadership-against-koe-12022009&catid=14:other-documents&Itemid=10
*****

Communist Organization of Greece, Statement Nr 6/2009 (12/2/2009)
About the new attack of the leadership of KKE against KOE
The leadership of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) published today in its paper “Rizospastis” a communication worthy only to spit at, slandering the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE) as using “state security services’ methods”. The leadership of KKE, after having denounced the December Revolt as “a conspiracy well-organized by internal and foreign dark centers” (!), has now clearly lost its sangfroid. It escalates its attack and targets the Communist Organization of Greece, proving once more that it cannot withstand a political and ideological debate. This is the reason why the leadership of KKE labels as “provocation” and “state security services’ methods” the documents of political debate.
The criticism towards KKE cannot be labeled as “anticommunism” . The prostitution of the communist movement, the war against the line of left unity action waged by the leadership of KKE, while at the same time it aligns itself with the bourgeois government: This is anticommunism!
We call upon the leadership of KKE to give up these condemned methods of provocation and slandering. It would be much better if the leaders of KKE would demonstrate such “hard-line” and intimidation tactics against the government, the monopolies and imperialism. We assure them: their shameless attacks against us will not stop the political and ideological debate. What our people needs is a genuine Communist Left, in the first line of the struggles to overthrow the reactionary policies.