From xxxxxx <[email protected]>
Subject Tidbits – March 24, 2022 – Reader Comments: Ukraine War; Ketanji Brown Jackson; War of Aggression or ‘Military Intervention’; Clarence Thomas and Jan 06; Triangle Factory Fire; Labor Media Coverage; Starbucks Organizing; Martin Luther King; More
Date April 1, 2022 12:00 AM
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
[Reader Comments: Ukraine War; Ketanji Brown Jackson; War of
Aggression or Military Intervention; Nuclear weapons; Clarence Thomas
and Jan 06 Coup; Triangle Factory Fire; Labor Media Coverage;
Starbucks Organizing; Martin Luther King; Announcements]
[[link removed]]

TIDBITS – MARCH 24, 2022 – READER COMMENTS: UKRAINE WAR; KETANJI
BROWN JACKSON; WAR OF AGGRESSION OR ‘MILITARY INTERVENTION’;
CLARENCE THOMAS AND JAN 06; TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE; LABOR MEDIA
COVERAGE; STARBUCKS ORGANIZING; MARTIN LUTHER KING; MORE  
[[link removed]]


 

March 31, 2022
xxxxxx

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

_ Reader Comments: Ukraine War; Ketanji Brown Jackson; War of
Aggression or 'Military Intervention'; Nuclear weapons; Clarence
Thomas and Jan 06 Coup; Triangle Factory Fire; Labor Media Coverage;
Starbucks Organizing; Martin Luther King; Announcements _

Tidbits - Reader Comments, Announcements, Shorts, AND cartoons -
Mar.31, 2022, xxxxxx

 

Today I made a very difficult decision for me. (Olga Davydova)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Trial Experience  --  cartoon
Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court Justice nomination hearings  --
 cartoon by Bill Bramhall
Re: Putin and Trump Have Convinced Me I Was Wrong About the 21st
Century (Van Caldwell; Jay Mazur; Arlene Halfon)
More on the U.S. Peace Council Statement on Russia’s Military
Intervention in Ukraine (Seymour Joseph; Dan Morgan; Carl Davidson;
Joseph G. Kaye; Paul Friedman; Gary Hicks; Werner Lange)
Nuclear Weapons 101  -- Answers to Nuclear Quiz
Re: Will War in Ukraine Hasten the End of Fossil Fuels? (Jane Collins)
Re: Why Stop at the Russian Oligarchs? (Michael Dunn)
Justice Thomas at Home  --  cartoon by  Chris Britt
Re: The Odyssey of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial (Jan
Bauman; Elena Marcheschi)
Re: Why There’s More Labor Media Coverage (Lane Windham; Miriam
Frank)
Re: Sacramento Teachers Are Striking for Fair Pay and More Student
Support (Claire O'Connor)
Re: Baseball’s Labor Wars (Eleanor Roosevelt)
Re: How the Starbucks Worker Organizing Model Can Accelerate
Unionization Across the Country (Mike Mauer)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Virtual Gathering: King and Breaking Silence 2022 - April 4 (King and
Breaking Silence and Fellowship of Reconciliation)
"Decade of Fire" virtual film screening / director Q&A - April 5 (CUNY
School of Labor and Urban Studies)
A Left Response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - April 7
(Liberation Road and 15 co-sponsoring organizations)
Chicago Celebrates Mother Jones on May 1st
Web discussion of "The Scalpel, The Sword" the biography of Dr. Norman
Bethune - May 7

 

TODAY I MADE A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION FOR ME.
 

Olga Davydova (Photo by Aleksandr Podanev)
Briefly:

I, the champion and record-holder of Russia in freediving, is one of
the top athletes in this sport, a freediving instructor with 9 years
of experience and a yoga teacher.

I am a mother of two children and a citizen of Russia.

I have decided not to represent my country anymore in international
competitions, even if it means the end of a sports career.

It may be soon enough already none of Russian athletes will have the
opportunity to participate in international competitions, but I made
my choice not from the fact of inevitability, but according to my own
beliefs.

Long:

What I declare is insignificant in the wake of the nightmare that is
happening now. But it’s important for me to express my position. (It
is completely unclear how I, with my inability to be silent, will
continue to live in a country where 15 years in prison for "betraying
the homeland". But I still don't know how to be silent. I still cannot
imagine and do not want to think about how people in North Korea live.
)

I am categorically against Putin's regime and the war in Ukraine
unleashed by the Russian government. I do not see any excuse for the
current policies of other states involved in this bloodshed. I am a
citizen of THIS country and because, as a Russian, I bear
responsibility for what is happening here and now.

I am ethnic Russian, I do not have Ukrainian blood, but I have a lot
of friends and relatives in Ukraine, and I have enough information
about what is happening there now. And no matter who and how wrong was
in the past: today millions of people live in hell. And these Russian
tanks crossed the border of Ukraine.

Since childhood, I grew up with the idea of a feat of the Soviet
people during World War II. About the fact that we, Russians, are the
heirs of a heroic past: a nation-winner, a nation-liberator, and we
will never allow war. I am one of those who hear the sounds of the
USSR anthem goosebumps. As I got older, I learned about the horrors of
GULAG and millions of denunciations.

I remember the collapse of the USSR and the incitement of nationalist
wars throughout the post-Soviet space, and I thought that we, the
Russians, would not fall into the rods of politicians who confront
nations. My government has finally deprived me of these patriotic
illusions, and thank God. One step from patriotism to nationalism. I'm
ashamed of my country. I believe that humanity is above state
interests.

#нетвойне

Olga Davydova
Post on Facebook [[link removed]]

 

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON'S TRIAL EXPERIENCE
 

Posted on Facebook by Rhiannon Giddens
[[link removed]]

 

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINATION HEARINGS  --
 CARTOON BY BILL BRAMHALL

 

Bill Bramhall
March 24, 2022
New York Daily News
[[link removed]]

 

RE: PUTIN AND TRUMP HAVE CONVINCED ME I WAS WRONG ABOUT THE 21ST
CENTURY
 

Democracy is inevitable. I formed this belief in the early 1990s when
the Soviet Union had imploded and China was still poor. It seemed to
me that totalitarian regimes didn’t stand a chance in the new
technologically driven, globalized world. Sure, petty dictatorships
would remain in some retrograde regions. But modernity came with
democracy, and democracy with modernity.

Both Trump and Putin have shown how wrong I was on this, too.

Van Caldwell
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

So goodbye to the liberal version of historical inevitability.

Jay Mazur
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

We can always count on Reich to say it clearly, concisely, and
accurately. I feel like I've been communicating with him without
knowing it.

Arlene Halfon

 

MORE ON THE U.S. PEACE COUNCIL STATEMENT ON RUSSIA’S MILITARY
INTERVENTION IN UKRAINE
 

I was shocked by the U.S. Peace Council's statement re the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. Blaming provocation by NATO for Russia's
aggression is ridiculous. While I don't and never have defended NATO,
I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this: "We should not allow
ourselves to be duped by imperialism's 'blame the victim' narrative
when the victim is forced to defend itself." Really? Russia, which
invaded Ukraine, is the victim?

It also uses the phrase "demonizing the Russian president." Well,
let's have a look: Jailing political opponents, poisoning a few,
strangling opposition in the media, and jailing thousands of
protesters across the country. With that record, you don't have to
demonize a demon.

The main problem with their position is its lack of recognition of
change. Yes, NATO was formed to defend capitalism, not to defend
against aggression, as it claims. There was no military need for it
from the outset, and especially after the demise of the Soviet Union.
But there is no way Putin's aggression can be excused, especially
since the change in Ukraine to a more democratic government.

...

I don’t get it. You print the crap from the U.S. Peace Council, then
you (I mean xxxxxx) double down with more crap from Joe Lauria of
Consortium News. What’s going on? I’m in favor of publishing
differing views on how to cope with a sticky situation, but not to
distort the fundamental facts: (1) Russia invaded Ukraine; (2) Putin
is an autocrat, whose only difference from Trump is that he is
smarter; (3) The government of Ukraine, though still not rid of its
neo-Nazi tinge, has become more democratic with the election of
Zelensky; (4) The invasion was not a devious plot by Joe Biden. At
very least, xxxxxx should publish a disclaimer — and stop giving
voice to damaging (not differing) material.
 
Seymour Joseph

      =====

That was Putin's rhetoric, nationalist and reactionary. But his stated
war aims now are quite different: "the status of Ukraine as a neutral
state, a state that does not pursue an anti-Russian policy, a state
that is not militarized, and a state as our normal neighbor," I saw
this on a Chinese news site. In short, what they want is more or less
what should have been implemented by the Minsk agreements. Putin was
provoked into an illegal and cruel war but it is in essence a proxy
war with NATO.

Dan Morgan
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

Provoked? I get provoked all the time, but I've yet to use weapons as
a response. Of course, countries are another matter, but it's still a
very bad precedent. The US might claim it's being provoked by any of
many other governments building up their armed forces or forming
partnerships with, say, China. Does that justify invasions? I think
not. Better to turn to the UN Charter and negotiating tables.

Carl Davidson
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

I notice the torrent of criticism and even abuse concerning the U.S.
Peace Council's position on Ukraine.  The critics do not seem to mind
that they are objectively giving aid and comfort to the main enemy in
the world today --US world domination.  But then that's an old story

Joseph G. Kaye

      =====

I wasn't going to write xxxxxx because I thought this was the first
attempt at satire for a stab at leftist humor. Apparently I was wrong.
Aggressor right wing nationalist Russia needs to get out of Ukraine.

Paul Friedman

      =====

A calendar year should be more than adequate for many/most in this
mishmash of commentary to change their tunes!

Gary Hicks

      =====

Kudos to xxxxxx for publishing the US Peace Council statement on the
war in Ukraine, one that captures the complexity of the conflict and
finally breaks with the groupthink mentality infesting even the Left
on its root causes. Too bad the publication did not include the tab
for folks to join the USPC, a genuine peace organization in need of
revitalization.

Peace,
Werner Lange

 

NUCLEAR WEAPONS 101  -- ANSWERS TO NUCLEAR QUIZ

 

 

RE: WILL WAR IN UKRAINE HASTEN THE END OF FOSSIL FUELS?
 

People need to consume less, because products must be made and
transported using fossil fuels. If we can't cut our demand, energy
will be supplied by nuclear power or coal. We're trained from birth to
buy stuff we don't need, but this habit will kill us if we let it.

Jane Collins
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: WHY STOP AT THE RUSSIAN OLIGARCHS?
 

Do the American oligarchs next.

Michael Dunn
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

JUSTICE THOMAS AT HOME  --  CARTOON BY  CHRIS BRITT

 

Chris Britt
January 28, 2022

 

RE: THE ODYSSEY OF THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE MEMORIAL
 

The mother of one of my parent's friends was one of the lucky ones.
She was able to escape from the fire.

Jan Bauman
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

Today, March 25, is the 111th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory Fire. Trapped inside because the owners had locked the fire
escape exit doors, workers jumped to their deaths. On March 25, 2023,
a new memorial will be placed at the site in New York City’s
Greenwich Village where 123 women and girls and 23 men garment
workers, mostly recent Jewish and Italian immigrants, died. Activist
academic Mary Anne Trasciatti, president of the Remember the Triangle
Fire Coalition, talks about the long road taken to finally bring to
fruition this long overdue memorial.

Elena Marcheschi
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: WHY THERE’S MORE LABOR MEDIA COVERAGE

(posting on xxxxxx Labor
[[link removed]])
 

It seems like workers and their unions are in the news more than ever
lately.  Starbucks baristas, Amazon warehouse workers, John Deere
strikers, and even New York Times tech workers, who just unionized,
have all starred in the recent swell of labor coverage. The pandemic
launched essential workers out of the media’s shadows, making this
largely Black, brown, and female workforce much harder for reporters
to ignore.  Yet the shift in the media’s coverage of labor has been
a dozen years in the making. It started before  the pandemic and even
predates the current upsurge in union organizing. Why are we seeing
this increase in working-class and labor reporting? And how does it
connect with larger shifts in how Americans view class itself?

But it’s not just the reporters who are changing; their readers’
worldview is changing, too. The neoliberal, markets-fix-everything
mindset had already taken a hit in the 2008 crash. Then during the
pandemic, many middle-class professionals watched from the safety of
home as essential workers, largely working-class people of color,
braved the virus.  They saw that these workers didn’t get treated
better or paid more for their labor, even as housing and living costs
continued to skyrocket. Thus, the stories that new labor reporters
offered about workers and their experiences found an intense interest
among readers.

The new upsurge in labor media coverage is anchored in fresh awareness
about class and its role in America today, a growing understanding
that is stripped of the anti-Communism that shaped ideas about class
for much of the twentieth century.  It’s not yet clear how fully
this working-class renaissance will develop. What is clear is that a
new generation of labor reporters is standing ready to report on it. 

* [link removed] and [link removed]

Lane Windham, Associate Director, GeorgetownU's Kalmanovitz Initiative
for Labor and the Working Poor
[[link removed]]
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

Excellent round-up of what progressive unions are doing to pushing
forward.

Miriam Frank

 

RE: SACRAMENTO TEACHERS ARE STRIKING FOR FAIR PAY AND MORE STUDENT
SUPPORT

(posting on xxxxxx Labor
[[link removed]])
 

To striking Teachers in Sacramento from teachers in Minneapolis. Fair
wages and support for students - Be strong, stay united and value and
promote the support of students and community. We did it for now. Then
we return and do it again.

Claire O'Connor

 

RE: BASEBALL’S LABOR WARS

(posting on xxxxxx Labor
[[link removed]])
 

Whenever I hear people whine about the player's union, I think about
the players of the 1940s who were blacklisted because of their efforts
to organize. Some of them went to their graves still fighting for
justice.

Eleanor Roosevelt
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: HOW THE STARBUCKS WORKER ORGANIZING MODEL CAN ACCELERATE
UNIONIZATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY
 

The unionization drive at Starbucks is indeed a terrific development.
But this article's presentation of "the Starbucks Worker Organizing
Model" is off base, since the author mischaracterizes Starbucks
Workers United. Workers United is an affiliate of the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), the second largest labor union
in the country. Props to SEIU for nurturing this organizing drive, but
it's simply not true to state that "[T]he key to the success of SB
Workers United is that they have built an independent organization of
workers seeking to unionize..." It's a worthwhile endeavor to analyze
why the Starbucks organizing has been so successful, but that analysis
has to start from the facts.

Mike Mauer
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

VIRTUAL GATHERING: KING AND BREAKING SILENCE 2022 - APRIL 4 (KING AND
BREAKING SILENCE AND FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION)

 

MONDAY, APRIL 4 AT 7:15 PM

April 4, 2022 is the 54th anniversary of Rev. Dr. King’s
assassination, and the 55th anniversary of his historic "Beyond
Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech delivered at The Riverside
Church in New York City. This speech went beyond civil rights to
condemn militarism, racism, and extreme materialism, enforced by a
culture of violence, as the source of the ills that plague U.S.
society. This speech stands as one of Rev. Dr. King’s greatest
accomplishments.

Join thousands of people nationwide for a very special virtual event
that will evoke Rev. Dr. King’s prophetic lessons, ground ourselves
in these timeless truths, and keep his words alive by using them to
guide our thoughts and actions.

Our virtual gathering on APRIL 4 @ 7:15 PM (EDT) will include a
pre-recorded reading of the speech and a live panel discussion by
well-known social movement leaders, artists and activists. We are also
encouraging local readings, organizing events, and media outreach with
suggestions in our Organizers’ Guide and Toolkit. 

Please register for the webinar
[[link removed]]

 

"DECADE OF FIRE" VIRTUAL FILM SCREENING / DIRECTOR Q&A - APRIL 5 (CUNY
SCHOOL OF LABOR AND URBAN STUDIES)

 

DECADE OF FIRE

Virtual film screening & director Q&A featuring director/producer
Vivian Vázquez Irizarry

TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2022

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET

(find your local time here
[[link removed]])

Join us for this virtual film screening of the award-winning
documentary, DECADE OF FIRE
[[link removed]].
 

After the film, join us for an exclusive Q&A with Bronx-born
director and producer VIVIAN VÁZQUEZ Irizarry and Professor SOFYA
APTEKAR of the CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies.

 Click here to register [[link removed]]

About the film:

Throughout the 1970’s, fires consumed the South Bronx. Black and
Puerto Rican residents were blamed for the devastation even as they
battled daily to save their neighborhoods. In DECADE OF FIRE,
Bronx-born Vivian Vázquez Irizarry pursues the truth surrounding the
fires – uncovering policies of racism and neglect that still shape
our cities, and offering hope to communities on the brink today.

Through a rich seam of archival and home movie footage, DECADE OF
FIRE confronts the racially-charged stereotypes that dehumanized
residents of the South Bronx in the 1970’s, and rationalized their
abandonment by city, state and federal governments. Vázquez Irizarry,
in her role as the film’s central character and co-director seeks
not only healing for her community, but to redeem them from the
harmful mythology spread by the media that has continued largely
unchallenged to this day. She tells the story of a people who held on,
worked to save their community and start anew against impossible odds.
The accounts she gathers are supported by extensive research, archival
footage, print and broadcast news excerpts, testimonials from retired
FDNY firefighters and brass, as well as Bronx historians.

Through exposing the history, and lifting up the stories of survivors
whose deep commitment to their homes and communities saved the
borough, DECADE OF FIRE offers the emergence of a new narrative for
the South Bronx and places like it across the nation.

WATCH THE TRAILER:

[[link removed]]

Click here to watch [[link removed]]

CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies [[link removed]]
25 West 43rd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10036

 

A LEFT RESPONSE TO THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE - APRIL 7
(LIBERATION ROAD AND 15 CO-SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS)

 

Join the internationally respected linguist and analyst Noam Chomsky
and well-known socialist Bill Fletcher Jr.

Tune in to a discussion about the roots of Russian aggression in
Ukraine, the background to the conflict, the US role, and how the Left
can respond.

APRIL 7, 2022

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT

YOUTUBE STREAM [[link removed]]

REGISTER HERE
[[link removed]]

 

CHICAGO CELEBRATES MOTHER JONES ON MAY 1ST

 

 

WEB DISCUSSION OF "THE SCALPEL, THE SWORD" THE BIOGRAPHY OF DR. NORMAN
BETHUNE - MAY 7

 

You are invited to a live discussion of "The Scalpel, The Sword" the
biography of Dr. Norman Bethune by Ted Allan and Sydney Gordon. It
will take place on SATURDAY MAY 7 FROM 3:00 - 4:00 PM EDT NYC. It can
be accessed by everyone from this link
[link removed]

Dr. Bethune invented the lifesaving mobile transfusion unit on the
battlefields of Spain.

It may be downloaded in PDF format here
[[link removed]].
It can also be obtained on Kindle.

* Reader Comments [[link removed]]
* Ukraine [[link removed]]
* Russia [[link removed]]
* war and peace [[link removed]]
* Russian invasion [[link removed]]
* Vladimir Putin [[link removed]]
* nuclear weapons [[link removed]]
* peace movement [[link removed]]
* Ketanji Brown Jackson [[link removed]]
* Supreme Court [[link removed]]
* Clarence Thomas [[link removed]]
* Jan. 06 [[link removed]]
* coup [[link removed]]
* Capitol Siege [[link removed]]
* Labor [[link removed]]
* Trade Unions [[link removed]]
* media [[link removed]]
* Starbucks workers [[link removed]]
* Martin Luther King [[link removed]]
* Announcements [[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web [[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions [[link removed]]
Manage subscription [[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org [[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]
Screenshot of the email generated on import

Message Analysis

  • Sender: Portside
  • Political Party: n/a
  • Country: United States
  • State/Locality: n/a
  • Office: n/a
  • Email Providers:
    • L-Soft LISTSERV