ISOLATED EARTHLINGS

 I've been listening to Blind Marc's solo project today, Isolated Earthlings !

Excellent rock and roll punk. Go get it right now.

Isolated.

CAPITALISM IS WORKING

 It's a common refrain from liberal types that "capitalism isn't working ! ". I get what they're saying, but I have to completely disagree. Capitalism is working exactly the way it's supposed to. All of the homelessness, racism, sexism , extreme poles of wealth and poverty, war , police brutality, etc. etc. etc., it's all part of this system . 

So, capitalism is working, and his is how it works.

Hurray for the free market and democracy !

MAYBE IT'S JUST ME

 Fuck the Stanley Cup, Hajduk Split won the Croatia Cup today !!!!

Alright, no one here cares but me. I can accept that......

 

LOCALS ONLY

 I went to The Supersuckers show last Sunday ( thanks Esther !), and I am happy to say that the island bands were worth being there for. I'm hyped that at this point in local music history, the bands I listen to and enjoy the most come from Victoria , Nanaimo, and Vancouver.

It's great to see The Keg Killers back in action, and whether you like their music or not, they don't give a fuck about being "cancelled" by any "woke" whiners. They were tight , obnoxious, and truly enjoyable.

Inappropriate Elimination from Nanaimo are fronted by Jay ( him and his wife run The Terminal Bar in Nanaimo ), who is also the lead singer for Awkward AC. They were hard mid-tempo rock punk, and some of their songs reminded me of Car 87 from Vancouver . Good shit indeed.

I'm not gonna talk about the other bands. People had fun.

Thanks again to Esther, and see ya real soon !

DEMOCRACY FOR WHO ?

 The amerikkkans push the idea that israel is a bastion of democracy surrounded by dictatorships, even though they support some of those "less democratic" countries regardless. The u.s. and israel have their own definitions for whatever they feel like supporting or lying about. Read this.

AL NAKBA

 Never forget . Fight injustice all the time everywhere....

On Nakba anniversary: Global protests show solidarity with Palestine

By Monica Moorehead posted on May 16, 2023

To mark the 75th anniversary of Nakba (The Disaster), global protests took place this past weekend. The actions commemorate the day, when on May 15, 1948, the new Zionist state of Israel began its brutal removal of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people from their rightful lands. This genocide continues today with beatings, murders and jailings of Palestinians — with U.S. backing in the billions of dollars. 

An estimated 4 million Palestinians have been relegated to refugee status. At least 78% of their lands have been confiscated by a racist occupation, reminiscent of apartheid South Africa and the wholesale theft of the Indigenous Americas. 

In two cities on the occupied West Bank May 14, 2023, thousands of Palestinians commemorated the 75th anniversary of the NAKBA or Day of Catastrophe when in May 1948, hundreds of thousands of their people were forcibly displaced from their homes and land. In Bethlehem, the crowd held torches, and in Ramallah, thousands waving Palestinian flags participated in a rally.

The Palestinian people continue to carry out an heroic resistance with strikes, protests, boycotts and an armed struggle inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories, especially Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians around the world marked the Nakba, including in Bethlehem and Ramallah on the occupied West Bank, where thousands waving flags rallied May 14 and protested Israeli oppression and murderous repression.

‘Not just a singular event’

In London on May 13, thousands of people were in the streets demanding an end to apartheid and occupation in Palestine. The march began in front of BBC headquarters and ended at the office of the prime minister.

(Photo Credit: Anadolu Agency)

Leanne Mohammed, a British Palestinian activist, stated: “The Nakba was not just a singular event, today we are still living the effect of the Nakba. Seventy-five years ago my family was expelled from their home in Haifa, Palestine, by Zionist militias. They ended up as refugees in Lebanon. Three-quarters of a century later, they are still living in that same refugee camp.” (middleeasteye.net, May 14)

Protests took place in Vienna, Paris, Dublin, Montreal, Toronto, and many other cities in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

New York City, May 14, 2023. (WW Photo: Toni Arenstein)

In the U.S., Nakba protests were held in numerous cities including Boston; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle. In New York City on May 14, a rally began at Times Square, and then protesters marched to Grand Central Station in full view of thousands of passersby. Palestinian youth were in the forefront leading the chants. 

Richie Merino, who spoke on behalf of Workers World Party, stated: “We’re here today to honor the courage and bravery of Palestinian youth, who are united in fighting for liberation despite being dispersed across the globe. We condemn Zionist and white-supremacist forces for executing children and youth in Occupied Palestine and harassing and intimidating Palestinian students right here in New York City.

“We are also here to demand freedom for all Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli occupation jails. Thousands of Palestinians, including youth, are imprisoned for their resistance against Zionist colonialism. We know that it is right to rebel against Israeli war crimes and terrorism. When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight Back!”

Organized by the Philly Palestine Coalition, the “Nakba Day 75 — Rally and March Against Israeli Apartheid” in Philadelphia drew around 200 people on a rainy afternoon May 13. They gathered at Rittenhouse Square and then marched to the Sister Cities site in Logan Square, where speakers criticized Philadelphia’s designation as a sister city to Tel Aviv, which was named Jaffa before the Zionist displacement took place.

Philadelphia, May 13, 2023. (WW Photo: Joe Piette)

Participants then continued chanting and marching in the street on the way to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, where a final rally took place.

Hundreds of demonstrators took over 16th and Valencia streets in the San Francisco Mission neighborhood May 13 to demand an end to the bombing of Gaza and to support the Palestinian resistance. The action was organized by the Palestine Action Network.

San Francisco, May 13, 2023. (WW Photo: Judy Greenspan)

On the back of a flatbed truck, young Palestinian, Filipino and Latiné activists led chants and directed this dynamic rally to free Palestine. 

Speakers from the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, the Anti-Police Terror Project, and the League of Filipino Students from San Francisco State University exposed Israel’s genocidal acts against the Palestinian people and delivered strong statements of international solidarity.

The large protest marched defiantly in the streets, up Mission Street, the heart of the Latiné community, chanting “Escucha, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” (Listen, listen, we’re in the fight!) And people in the streets did listen and responded with fists in the air, waves and cheers.   

The march ended where it began, with the defiant crowd cheering after the Israeli flag, the flag of the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homeland, was set on fire.

Contributors to this article include Judy Greenspan, Richie Merino and Joe Piette

TRULY WONDERFUL

 The show at The Fernwood Communtiy Centre on Saturday night was fucking amazing. Us old bastards had a great time due to the nostalgia of the place, and the young kids had fun hearing loud live music in a safe environment. It was great for everyone.

The Gnar Gnars started the proceedings, and tore shit up despite being the openers and it still being daylight outside. Neurospazm were next and they get better and better each time I see them. I'm excited to hear more recorded output from them in the future. We played next and had a great time. I LOVE being on the floor instead of a stage . Sure the sound was bad due to the place being so cavernous, but that was part of the charm and nostalgia for that matter.

The Ripcordz rocked the place. Young and old appreciated their loud old school melodic political punk rock. They are also super nice and committed people.

If you missed it, I am sad for you. Hopefully something like this will happen one day soon.

Thanks to Esther for another awesome show, and to Trez's son for doing ALL of my merch work for me !!!! He's a great kid.

And thanks to everyone who came out to this thing. Much Love to you all !

   

FIRST ONE IN YEARS !

 This will be our first all ages show in years, and we're very excited about it ! The Ripcordz are back in town, with Neurospazm and The Gnar Gnars opening up. It's gonna be a gooder.

Please be there. We'll have tshirts, CDs , and free books ! See you there !

GREAT WEEKEND

 If you missed both shows this weekend at The Phoenix, I feel bad for you.

The Dayglo's tour kickoff with Random Killing and Motorama was fucking excellent, with the crowd 100% into it and showing Murray much love . I'm sure it had to help his health at this moment in time.

The next night could have been disappointing, with IQ78 and Bug having to drop off of the bill, but Knife Manual were as great as they always are , Crosshairs were energetic and loud, and Toy Tiger put on an awesome show. And their LP is on orange and black vinyl ! It is my first orange record ever. Great weekend of shows at The Phoenix .

I hope to see you at the next one.

 

WHO FUCKING CARES ?

 Is this where we're at now, with "news" headlines babbling about how some fucking tik tok asshole is "shocked by Canadian toilets "? No I didn't read the "story". This is just pathetic.

UK TikToker goes viral for take on Canada's quirks: 'The biggest cultural adjustment'

A Tiktoker who recently moved to Canada is going viral for her takes on the quirks of her new country of residence, including the odd design of "toilet" doors

AND A MESSAGE FROM THE ICL

 Proletarians of all countries, unite!

May Day 2023:

DOWN WITH IMPERIALISM!

LONG LIVE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST LEAGUE!

Hunger. Rampant misery and poverty. Wars of plunder. Fierce censorship and repression against those who dare to protest. Moral and intellectual degeneration, decadence and rottenness. Destruction of the environment. The list of malice that the dying imperialist world system brings to us is endless, because it is nothing more than reaction all along the line. This system is incompatible with the progress of mankind, it is at its end, it must be swept away and its stinking corpse reduced to ashes by the powerful bonfire of armed revolution, so that this plague never comes back to torment the Earth. And so it will be.

The imperialists are in profound general crisis and try to postpone their drowning with more exploitation and oppression of the working class and the People and the quest of redistribution of the booty, the oppressed countries, preparing the imperialist world war, without wanting to unleash it yet. Opportunism and revisionism, that sets themselves up to sow distraction and confusion among the masses behind a red mask, and the growth of the ultra-reactionary and fascist Parties and governments who promises to solve the crisis with an “iron fist”; are an expression of the deep political crisis of the imperialist order. The world situation is complex, all the fundamental contradictions are sharpening, particularly the contradiction between imperialism and the oppressed Peoples and Nations. The chaos increases day by day, there is great disorder. In Asia, Africa and Latin America, the revolutionary storm-centers, and also in Europe and North-America, the masses combat and resist in hard struggle to defend their rights, for their land, against reactionary measures, they topple governments and face the cruel repression spilling their generous blood. The situation is magnificent and the perspective is brilliant. From the chaos and disorder a new great order will rise. The international proletariat will lead the oppressed peoples and nations in the democratic and socialist revolutions, establishing the Dictatorship of the Proletariat on the whole Globe. With cultural revolutions we will march under the flaming red banners with the hammer and sickle to our final goal, the classless society, without States and armies, where there is no oppression nor exploitation, Communism.

Our founders, Marx and Engels, taught us that in the struggle for the Power, Organization is the most important weapon. That is why they founded the Communist Party, the political Party of the proletariat, whose objective is to Conquer the Power through revolutionary violence, leading the Class on the road to Communism. Lenin gave us the Party of a new type – the organized vanguard –, giving shape to the demands of the founders of a Party “distinct and opposed” to all Parties of the possessing classes, a proletarian war machine. Chairman Mao gave us a masterly comprehension of the interrelation between the instruments of the revolution: the Communist Party, the revolutionary peoples Army under its absolute leadership and the United Front as the Front of the revolutionary classes under the hegemony of the proletariat, based on the worker-peasant alliance.

The communists of the world, armed with our ideology, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, in which Maoism constitutes the new, third and higher stage, exactly as Chairman Gonzalo defined it, today, as yesterday and tomorrow, with highest optimism and with unbreakable faith, are struggling for the reconstitution of the Communist Parties, destroyed by the revisionist treason of the false leaders, and for their constitution where they have not existed before. Our great red beacon is the Communist Parties that, in the first line of fire of the proletarian world revolution, uphold the torch of the People’s War in Peru, Turkey, India, and the Philippines. Without the Communist Party we can not lead the Class and the People to make the revolution. We can, with our Party, that applies our ideology creatively to the concrete conditions under which we unfold, with revolutionary violence, with People’s War, transform the world, destroying the Old and rotten and, principally, constructing the New, vital, and powerful. With the mind armed with Maoism, with the gun in hand, under the leadership of the Communist Party, the proletariat will accomplish its historical mission of being the grave-digger of the bourgeoisie, and with it all its bureaucrat capitalist and feudal lackeys.

This is what has to be done. Be it in the lands of resistance in the south of Mexico or in the rebellious banlieus of France. Be it in Nepal to retake the path of the People’s War or be it in the United States to hit Yankee imperialism from inside its own guts, be it on the battlefields of Ukraine to defeat the Russian imperialist aggression or be it to restore Socialism in China. To struggle under the banner of Maoism against imperialism, revisionism and the world reaction, serving the world proletarian revolution, is necessary for the revolution to express itself ever more powerfully as the main political and historical tendency, as it is. That is what corresponds to the main contradiction between imperialism, on one side, and the oppressed nations, on the other, as the weight of the masses in the world revolution, today more that 70% of the world population live in the oppressed nations, and from this immense mass the large majority is made up of the peasantry.

That is precisely why we, fifteen Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Parties and organizations, from fourteen countries, have formed the International Communist League (ICL), last year. With this new organization of the international proletariat we have made a leap with great importance and significance in the struggle for the reconstitution for the Communist International. We have started to overcome the dispersion in the International Communist Movement, firmly uniting under Maoism, combating revisionism as the main danger.

The founding of the ICL is the result of a large and complex process of more than four decades. It does not close the process of the struggle for the unity of the communists of the world, a lot is still missing to achieve this. All the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Parties and Organizations that want to work for unity, and not to split, that shares the objectives to uphold, defend and apply Maoism, the struggle against revisionism and to serve the proletarian world revolution, are called upon to unite with our mission. The ICL is a tool of combat of the international proletariat and of all those who are exploited and oppressed by imperialism. It embodies proletarian internationalism, the spirit of communism. It allows us, communists and revolutionaries of all countries, to again start advancing as one sole world army.

This year has a special significance for the communists. In it we celebrate the 130 years of the birth of Chairman Mao. In this year the ICL and all the communists of the world have the obligation to unfold an extended campaign for the 130th birthday of Chairman Mao, spreading massively his theoretical and practical work among the broadest masses. That is why we call all communists, the proletariat and the oppressed peoples of the world to celebrate his great and most vivid legacy, raising the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist banner to the highest summit, to sweep away imperialism and reaction from the face of the earth in struggle to death against revisionism and all opportunism.

In an international framework marked by a revolutionary situation in increasing development, amid the accelerated process of the going under of imperialism, we are in good conditions. This May Day we will march joyfully, defying all the challenges with absolute determination to crush the walls of the old society, knowing that it is condemned to disappear by the force of the masses lead by the Communist Parties. We know that to dare to struggle is to dare to win. Hence, as our anthem says, comrades come rally and the last fight let us face.

LONG LIVE MAY DAY!

UNITE UNDER MAOISM!

PROLETARIANS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!

International Communist League

May Day 2023

MORE MAY DAY

 Here's a message from the Progressive Labor Party of the u.s.a. :

MAY DAY POWER TO THE WORKERS!

THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023 AT 11:34AM

The following is an excerpt of the speech that’ll be given on May Day in Flatbush, Brooklyn on April 29.

Happy May Day to the international working class!
May Day is that day! The working class’s international holiday. It’s the day when workers from across the globe commemorate our triumphs, propelled by a vision of a world without capitalist exploitation and borders, run by the working class.

On May Day Progressive Labor Party (PLP) gathers its forces under one flag, the red flag, of communist revolution.

A communist society means one that is run by the working class and serves the working class–free of money, wages, bosses, and exploitation.

May Day is that day! The day in the year when we remember, celebrate, re-dedicate and affirm our determination to fight for a world full of potential.  A world where our children can grow up and bask in creativity and curiosity, but most of all to be fighters in a world where they look out for each other. A world where workers are fed, housed, challenged, and loved, that world is communism.

This rotten, decaying, vile system of capitalism that we currently live under does its very best to pit workers against each other. Ultimately leading us to choose sides in their  wars for profit. We can’t let the bosses win. We must unite to smash imperialist war with communist revolution. May Day is that day!

Capitalism in crisis
Since last May Day, it’s been another year of mass attacks on our class. The imperialists ruling the U.S, Russia and China are firing what could be the opening shots of World War III, and preparing our working class youth to be food for their missiles.

If you’re in Ukraine, the bosses tell you workers in Russia are responsible for the war. If you’re in Russia, the bosses tell you workers in Ukraine are responsible for the war.

All while the U.S. Media ignores the thousands of Black and Brown children slaughtered in Yemen and Africa during  recent wars. As in all imperialist wars, workers have no side in these conflicts. We have no class interest in fighting and dying for the capitalist rulers.

As these imperialist rulers hoard resources to prepare for their next global conflict, workers’ health and safety will suffer. To get workers to passively accept more disasters like the floods in Pakistan and Mississippi, and agree to fight in World War III, the capitalist bosses will need increasing fascist repression.

Fascism is capitalism in crisis in preparation for world war. When the bosses’ profit system starts breaking down, they become desperate to keep it afloat—at all costs.

It’s capitalism that’s driving the rise in homelessness and the epidemic of mental health problems. It’s capitalism that’s forcing millions around the world to flee their homes in the face of war and deadly poverty. The liberal rulers can’t reform their way out of these disasters; their system creates them  in the first place.

Liberal politicians use the fear of Trump to scare the working class into looking the other way as migrant workers and the homeless are terrorized. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and her fake-left Squad railed against Trump for ripping children from their parents’ arms and putting them in cages in Texas. Now these so-called progressives sit on their hands as Biden does the same as Trump and worse. If we let them get away with these outrages today, tomorrow they’ll be targeting the rest of our class.

“Lesser evilism,” the idea that some bosses are less racist, less sexist, or less profit-driven than others, is a literal “dead end.” It’s under a democratic president and a Black mayor that 16 year old Ralph Yarl was shot for ringing the wrong doorbell.

Under the leadership of Progressive Labor Party, the international working class must turn the guns around and seize state power. Only then can we guarantee that the work that we do, let me say that again, only then can we guarantee that the work that WE DO serves workers’ needs.

Celebrate!
We salute workers across the U.S. who took to the streets to fight back against the police murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. We stand in solidarity with Tyre’s family and countless names of workers slain by this murderous system. Another heartbreaking death in a city with a Black-led democratic ruling class. Proving once again the shallowness of identity politics that bosses use as a tool to divide us and that reforms don’t work. We don’t need more Black cops, mayors, or governors, we need a world run by workers!

Over and again, we see workers saving workers. In Pakistan, workers risked their lives by wading through toxic, deadly flood waters to distribute vital donations.

In Turkey and Syria, thousands of workers and youth are breaking through the border to help other workers after the earthquakes.

Fight for communism
All of these efforts are courageous and essential. But ultimately, they will be futile if we fail to understand that we can save ourselves and our class only by smashing capitalism, the root of all these problems.
Earthquakes will keep happening under communism. But when the working class gains state power, and enforces strict rules for development and building safety, the human toll of these disasters will be far less.

By working together and sharing resources, liberated from the divisions of private property and wage slavery, workers will create a safer, freer world.

We salute comrades fighting back!
Fight like our comrades at Kingsborough Community College who after being attacked by racist campus police bravely led many militant multi-racial marchers through campus forcing those very same cops to shut the campus down.

Fight like our comrades who are fed up with NYC bosses' attempts to cut retired workers' health care benefits.

Fight like transit workers in D.C and Virginia against cuts to benefits and unequal wages.
Fight like our comrade-teacher in Jersey who was fired for encouraging his students to be militant in the face of racism.

Fight like Carolyn, a lifelong party member who dedicated her life to serving the working class—fighting the KKK in Tupelo, spending the last week of her life volunteering at a soup kitchen, showing up at the courthouse to support the family of Raymond Chaluisant, a young worker murdered by a NYC  corrections kkkop.

These fightbacks are the bright spots we look to because here, the Progressive Labor Party is active! Here, workers and youth are being won to the only answer to the attacks of capitalism—communism.

Rededicate & Affirm
Today’s struggles where the party is active and winning our class to the fight for communism are the seed-bed for tomorrow’s participation in mass struggles.

Under capitalism, buildings sit empty while millions are homeless. Food is thrown away as people starve.

The education, healthcare, and transportation systems are failing. A system that cannot feed, shelter, educate, or cure does not deserve to exist.

Under communism, all production will be organized through a communist party to serve the needs of the working class. There will be no profits, no money— and no bloodsucking bosses. Without money to warp our priorities, everybody will be valued. Everyone will be helped to find ways to contribute. The time has come for the working class to say “Enough!” The time to fight for communism is now.

PLP is growing and developing the next generation of leadership. Our international working class needs to build the Red Army that will destroy this entire capitalist hellscape once and for all! We want all of you to join us! May Day is that day! Today is that day!

HAPPY MAY DAY