Reader Comments: Texas Outlaws Women Rights; End of Afghan War; Remembering Ed Asner; Star Trek as Anti-Imperialism; Tax Billionaires; Nabisco Workers on Strike; Labor Day; Take Action - Hurricane Ida; 9/11 Restaurant Worker Reunion & Memorial; more
In 1964 Nina Simone released Mississippi Goddam. https://youtu.be/LJ25-U3jNWM It was a time of Jim Crow, racial inequality, lynchings, voter restrictions and denial of the right to vote. It captured the attention of the world and became a voice of the mighty Civil Rights Movement.
Mississippi was symbolic with racism and inequality.
Today it is Texas that leads the country in suppressing the right to vote; in outlawing women's rights; in legislating a return to bounty hunters and mob rule.
When I was making my first film, Roger & Me, I was broke, so I wrote to some famous people to ask for help. Only one responded: Ed Asner.
“I don’t know you, kid, but here’s 500 bucks,” said the note attached to the check. “Sounds like it’ll be a great film. I was an autoworker once.”
He also eventually became a union president (SAG), the star of one of the best TV dramas ever (“The Lou Grant Show”) and one of the best animated films of all time (“Up”). He always showed up, supporting progressive/left movements across the country. He took on Reagan and fought against American support of Latin American dictators. Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex) and Vidal Sassoon, sponsors of his CBS drama, told the network that if they couldn’t get Ed to end his political activism, they’d pull their ads from his “Lou Grant” show. CBS told Ed to tamp it down. He wouldn’t, so the sponsors pulled their ads and the award-winning Lou Grant came to an end. He once told me, “Look, it’s never been easy in this country to speak out against the status quo. I’m not going to stop now.” He never did and I loved him for it. It still isn’t easy, Ed, and we will miss you. You once told Mary Tyler Moore on her show, “You know what? You’ve got spunk! (pause) I HATE spunk.” Hahaha. The funniest thing about that line was that you were nothing BUT spunk!
The legendary actor Ed Asner, who died at 91 this week, was an unflagging supporter of socialist causes. And he paid a price for his leftism, taking a stand against Ronald Reagan’s bloody Central America interventions and losing a show over it.
Ed Asner's concerns about economic and social justice did not stop with helping performers. He fought for victims of poverty, violence, war, and legal and social injustice, both in the United States and around the globe.
After all these many years I am now certain that I was attracted to Star Trek because of its undeniable and consistent themes of adhering to a moral compass. The "prime directive" was not just a benevolent whim it was a concerted constant to do what was right, to do no harm.
{from the article}
The beauty of the Prime Directive is that it cuts through this labyrinth of confusion and deception: the invader’s motives, good or bad, matter not one iota. The Prime Directive bans the deployment of superior technology (military or otherwise) for the purposes of interfering with any community, any people, or any sentient species. It is, in fact, quite drastic: Starfleet personnel must respect it even if it costs them their lives.
This reads as though the author heard of the Prime Directive but didn't actually watch Star Trek (1966-69), (Yes I read the article and see he discusses episodes, all of which I have seen multiple times.)
Any time the Prime Directive is mentioned, the crew soon decides it must be violated, usually with results that turn out to be good and necessary. The larger galacto-politics of original Star Trek are in concordance with those of Cold War and imperialist ideologies, with occasional exceptions to highlight that the Americans -- erm, sorry, I mean the Federation -- have a conscience. Idealism about what Star Fleet actually represents is a peculiar fallacy among some leftists.
OMG, I just saw it's Varoufakis! Well, he's trying to do the right thing. He really is.
Nikos Evangelos that’s TOS [The Original Series]. Next Gen and so forth got it right.
I didn’t grow up with TOS, I grew up with Next Gen, I think TOS is the inferior (though progenitor) series, and my latent anti-imperialism I think has had its roots in what watching Trek planted in me.
Bob Moses, still pitching heat from beyond the grave, explains why we need a civil rights renewal and transformation of our children's education. Consider, perhaps, the Green New Deal for Public Schools as a first step. Thanks to xxxxxx for circulating this.
Union organizing campaigns are not reaching enough workers, but the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) wants to change that. In the first of this three-part series, EWOC volunteer Eric Dirnbach outlines the labor movement’s problems and why an organization like EWOC might be part of the solution.
Why nobody speaks about contamination -huge and constant- generated by military activities? Is the military-industrial complex so powerful that it buys and/or silences critics? I prefer raising a cow than a soldier.
Billionaires should not and must not exist. Their hoarding of enormous amounts of money when there are millions of hungry people, individuals without shelter and persons unable to care for and pay for their health , is indecent and unethical. Billionaires cannot spend all the money they have even if they lived ten lives.
The authors are Canadian, but the insights are international. Please read this long essay to better understand what has happened to humanity and what needs to be done to save humanity. Obviously, the challenge to the 99% is to implement the solution....
Sadly, Nations are moving backwards with voting manipulation and, just in case you failed to notice, the wealthiest (1%) are in control. What will the rest of us (99%) do about this?
This is a political imperative as well. We don't get to vote for billionaires but we regularly cast our votes for politicians who fund their campaigns with money from billionaires and giant corporations. This is the chief mechanism of oligarchic control of the democratic process. And yet such voting is excused as a necessary evil or just ignored entirely. We don't have to wait for Citizens United to be overturned or for these compromised leaders to magically change their tune. Every progressive should be making this vow- do not vote for any candidate who takes money from corporations or billionaires. There are other candidates to vote for who are not compromised. The power to make this change is entirely in our hands.
I am surprised and shocked not to find a word about the UK's policy related to Palestine in 1917 (Lord Balfour giving a land that did not belong to him ), during the British Mandate in Palestine, and today when the British government keeps supporting a colonial and apartheid state and a huge concentration camp. Has this blood dried ?
Olivia Zémor,
French activist for the right of Palestinian people and for the equality of rights for all citizens in Palestine-Israel
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We have to be brave enough to face the truth about what our ancestors did.
While I am not willing to be a total vegetarian, I have given up beef and pork because of the way the industry treats the animals. (and I only buy eggs that say they are antibiotic free. However, it would take a major campic to boycott those meats before much can be done. More people I know are giving up meat--but they still seem to be in the minority.
Long ago when I was young they taught us about patriotism
The never said it was patriotism for peace but only war and conflict
Wrestling with the "reds" for world domination
Colonized countries trying to be free from western colonizers
Became the frequent battlefield
Patriotism meant opposing peace and freedom
Some of the nations ring in my brain
South Africa, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile
We learned the wrong lessons
They never taught the truth of all war
Its purpose is mass death, often torture, desolation and destruction
Unbearable suffering, lifetimes of pain and regret, never ending terrors
I pray we remember the pictures on today's TV of our unnecessary war
When the next huckster like Bush/trump
Tries to sell the pill that patriotism is hating the Other
And they ain't your sister or brother.
On the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf South experienced another climate disaster in Hurricane Ida. We are currently working with partners and communities to assess the immediate and long-term impacts of the storm. Many of you have reached out with messages of solidarity, support, and concern as well as with prayers, intentions, and offerings. In that spirit, we offer ways to stand with those impacted by Hurricane Ida:
Donate to a community-controlled fund led by those at the frontline of recovery. We invite you to donate through the Gulf South rapid response fund at https://bit.ly/StormReliefFund.*
If you have supplies, donations, or contributions to provide for those in need, please contact Anthony Giancatarino at [email protected] or 215-316-6926.
Please take a moment in your day to bear witness, to be in solidarity with those on the frontlines of climate disasters, and to amplify the voices of the South.
Engage with, or continue to work with, your local community to push for a just transition away from fossil fuels and extractive economies so that we can stop fueling these climate disasters.
Hurricane Ida is yet another sobering reminder that the climate crisis is already upon us. The most recent IPCC report finally acknowledged what we have known for the last sixteen years: severe weather and devastating storms are a direct result of our changing climate. While all of us are impacted by these storms, for far too long we have continued to see that Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and poor folks are the most marginalized during preparation and recovery efforts.
Our communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis: we bear the brunt of flooding and disaster, we endure the harm of fossil fuel industries that have profited and caused this crisis, and we continue to see inequitable disaster recovery take place. In spite of these challenges, our communities are an incredible source of resistance, power, and strength. We are still here.
Thank you for your concerns and continued work towards climate justice.
In Solidarity,
The GCCLP Krewe
*GCCLP administers a community-controlled fund for rapid response to storm recovery to best move resources quickly to the ground. Collectively, with our community partners, we will ensure that any resources directed for rapid response go to where communities need it most.
As the last US military planes carrying troops have left Afghanistan, it would be naive to assume that the war is “officially over.” The truth is this decades-long violence is far from over, and its impact will be felt for generations to come. And just as the 24-hour news cycle has failed to cover the toxic legacy of the so-called global war against terror has had on Iraqis, so too, will Afghanistan slowly disappear from headlines. Meanwhile US drones will continue to fly over Afghan skies and Special Operations Forces will continue to wage clandestine warfare on Afghan lands. Our responsibility is to remind elected officials that the US has a reparative responsibility in this moment. The peace movement has to reignite around justice for Afghanistan and diasporic movements are making sure the American public does not forget.
All over the world, grassroots anti-war movements are vigilant and ready to hold the US accountable for the reparations that are owed after 20 years of imperialist occupation of Afghanistan. We will remain steadfast in this demand! Over the weekend, diasporic communities and the grassroots anti-militarization movement took to the streets in cities across the US, and our international allies at the World March of Women (WMW) have put out a call for a day of action today. We join this grassroots feminist call with our demilitaRISE membership to rise up for the human rights of Afghan people.
“Women and children are the first victims, along with poor and racialized communities, of any armed conflict. We have experienced the consequences of military interventions by NATO forces and now the irresponsible withdrawal of US troops shows that the Afghan people live in terrible poverty. Recent U.S. presidents, from George W. Bush, who initiated the occupation of Afghanistan with lies, to Biden, deserve to be held accountable before an International Court of Justice for their crimes. The destruction they have created is immeasurable, it shows that for imperialism the peoples and our ways of life in our territories are expendable,” noted a statement of WMW.
As a catastrophic refugee crisis accelerates, our demilitaRISE member, the Arab Resource Organizing Center, began coordinating legal resources for the Afghan community living in the San Francisco Bay Area. This past Saturday, AROC’s membership took to the streets of San Francisco along with hundreds of Afghan diasporic community members and their allies to denounce US imperialism.
Our member, About Face: Veterans Against the War also joined in solidarity in Washington D.C., as part of globally coordinated actions in nearly 34 cities to support women’s rights and safety, access to education and health, freedoms of speech and press. “Our members are at direct actions across the nation today urging this administration to #StopKillingAfghans–from Erik Prince charging $6,500 to airlift people out of Kabul to immigration charging $575 per refugee application to only help those who aided US occupation instead of helping the most vulnerable leave Kabul, this administration must do better and follow the lead of the Afghan diaspora here.”
As working people across America prepare to celebrate Labor Day on September 6, the rapidly-expanding Labor Radio Podcast Network is celebrating its ability to offer them 130 radio shows and podcasts that focus on work and workers’ issues. The Network is also celebrating the launch of a new database of its labor-oriented shows, from the Bakery union’s BCTGM Voices Project to the Carpenters union podcast GRIT Northwest and Union Strong, the official podcast of the New York State AFL-CIO. While most of the Network’s shows originate in the U.S., listeners can also find programs from Canada, South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The network hosts its own podcast, the Labor Radio Podcast Weekly, which features highlights from Network member shows each week. The Network was founded in 2019 by Union City Managing Editor Chris Garlock, who produces Union City Radio and Your Rights at Work on WPFW 89.3FM as well as the Labor History Today and Labor Goes to the Movies podcasts.
Afghanistan Graveyard of Empires
Dan McCall
Liberty Maniacs
Digital Print, 2009
Minnesota Gigantic Victories
Aislin (Terry Mosher)
Montreal Gazette
August 2021
Canada
A new research brief by CARE At Work at the UCLA Labor Center, Dismantling Disparity: Breaking Barriers to Employment, states that the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the systemic discrimination Black workers have long faced. Authors note it is imperative that state and federal funding allocated to workforce development prioritize addressing the barriers that impact many Black workers.
Among other findings, the research brief states:
From March to December of 2020, 84% of the Black labor force in California filed for unemployment.
Institutionalized racism leads to Black people being overrepresented in incarcerated and homeless populations and at risk for a number of health and educational disparities. These factors create economic insecurity and barriers to employment that are difficult to overcome without strategic support.
The California Workforce Development Board’s (CWDB) Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative aims to create grant programs that ensure that individuals are equipped with skills training and educational services that will reduce barriers to employment.
Amendments to Breaking Barriers, like those currently suggested in AB 628, would allow for more resources to reach Black workers who have been economically devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Join CODEPINK and the China Is Not Our Enemy campaign for an exclusive conversation with Jodie Evans and Vijay Prashad on ”The United States' Forever Wars: From Afghanistan to China,” to hear about the underlying connections between the U.S. Military Industrial Complex's war in Afghanistan, the escalation of its hybrid war on China, and why humanitarian war is an oxymoron.
This webinar will cover important topics and questions, including, with recent calls from the media and politicians to enact sanctions on the new government of Afghanistan, how should anti-war activists respond? And, now that the United States is quietly ending the “war on terror,” how can we ensure that we don’t launch ourselves into another decades-long forever war?
Join us for a worker reunion & memorial for Windows on the World workers on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
Please join us for a very special memorial honoring the workers — both those we lost and those who survived — of Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center, on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11.
Windows on the World workers, who include immigrants, women, and people of color, will be coming to New York City from all over the country for this very special reunion and gathering. Together with these workers as special VIP guests, we will honor the courage, resilience, diversity, professionalism, and essential nature of this workforce — both on 9/11 and throughout the pandemic.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT. To watch the livestream, please tune into bit.ly/ofwlive
-- COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS --
In light of updated guidance from the CDC regarding new COVID virus variants, all attendees of this event must follow OFW COVID Safety Protocols. OFW organizers and volunteers will be trained in advance of any in-person actions for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. All events will be outside if called for by state law, and socially distanced. There will be signs reinforcing these guidelines at all in-person events. In order to avoid pen sharing, sign in will be using a unique text code.
Please remember to:
Wear a mask (over both your mouth and nose!). Current CDC guidelines strongly recommends double-masking
Observe social distancing guidelines by maintaining a minimum distance of 6 feet from others
Make sure all materials (menus, signs, banners) are sanitized and we encourage attendees to bring their own personal hand sanitizer as well
Wipe down surfaces after each and every use
If you have experienced any symptoms of COVID-19, have been exposed to anyone who has symptoms, or have tested positive for COVID-19, DO NOT attend this event or carry petitions — stay home! Attendees in violation of these guidelines will be asked to exit the event immediately.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation - your safety and the safety of our communities remain our HIGHEST priority.
This event is hosted by: One Fair Wage • High Road Restaurants • Colors of Change • UC Berkeley Goldman School of Policy
To learn more about the fight for a fair minimum wage with tips on top, please visit our website and connect with us on social media: Instagram • Facebook • Twitter
Fekkak Mamdouh, Senior Director & Former Windows on the World Worker & Saru Jayaraman, President, One Fair Wage
Co-founders, Restaurant Opportunities Center & One Fair Wage
