INSPIRATION

It's not only the punk rockers (and a small number at that) who see through obama's lies and his continuation, and even worse, of george the motherfucker bush's policies. Lupe Fiasco had the balls to call obama and the killing machine known as the u.s. government out, and at obama's inauguration! Fuck yes. Read this, you fucking pricks...

Lupe Fiasco's Bold Stand—And the Truth About Obama

February 1, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

From a reader:

On Martin Luther King Day, which was also the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama, I woke up angry and outraged. The world does not have to be the way it is. The masses of people here and around the world should not have to live another day under a system of capitalism-imperialism which grinds the majority of people up with no regard, and then tells people that this is the best that humanity can do, and trying to do anything else, especially communism would be nothing but a disaster. That is more than enough to make me sick, and others like me who are fighting for a different, and far better world. Today though something happened that made me even more indignant. All over Facebook, various blogs, and even TV One, a popular cable television channel catered to African Americans, was the news that last night at an inauguration party, Lupe Fiasco, a rapper who is popular among progressive youth was asked to perform.

"Rock On" turned off the stage lights and sent several large men from security to surround the rapper and escort him off the stage. Artists like Lupe Fiasco should be supported when they speak the truth about this system and Obama's role in leading it now.

Lupe Fiasco performed his song "Words I Never Said." If you haven't heard this song he says in his lyrics at the end of the first verse “Limbaugh is a racist. Glenn Beck is a racist. Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didn't say shit. That's why I didn't vote for him, next one either.” Well during his performance, he did not shy away from uttering those exact same lyrics in front of a large crowd who was there to celebrate four more years of Barack Obama's rule. He was immediately heckled, and forced offstage. In the aftermath of this I saw that there were various forces on the blogosphere, and other media that were calling for him to be boycotted. This is BULLSHIT!

First off let's get into the essence of the matter. Was what Lupe Fiasco saying have any truth to it? On several occasions during his presidency thus far Israel has taken unjust military action against the Palestinian people. Bombings, raids, assassinations and the advancement of settlements along the West Bank, forcing Palestinians off their land. All of these things have taken place. Not just alleged "enemy combatants," but civilian men, women, and children who have nothing to do with this conflict have been killed as a result of Israeli aggression. This brings me back to the November issue ofRevolution newspaper and the article titled "Israel's Murderous Assault on the People in Gaza... And the Need to Oppose These Crimes NOW." It tells of a doctor's post on Facebook saying that in less than 2 hours, 14 military attacks took place against different targets in different parts of the Gaza Strip, 6 were killed including 2 young girls age 4 and 7, also leaving 11 injured without adequate emergency medication, and no power. He says at the end that this aggression must stop now. Think about this happening over and over again to the people of Palestine and that the U.S. and Israel are inflicting this terror.

What has Barack Obama done during all of this? He has said nothing about all of the horrors inflicted against the Palestinian people. He has backed Israel on several occasions, verbally, saying that "the state of Israel has the right to defend itself." The U.S. before and during Barack Obama's presidency also has continued to provide economic and military aid to Israel, and this will only continue during Obama's next term. We have to look at the facts squarely in the face and in their proper context. What's going on here is nothing more than U.S. imperialism along with Israel continuing to protect its interests, expanding its sphere of influence, and trying to consolidate control over a Middle East that they feel is getting out of control, with Islamic fundamentalism taking hold amongst many of the Arab youth. Capitalism-imperialism, and Islamic fundamentalism are both outmoded and as a framework are nothing but horrors for the masses of people, and need to be entirely swept away if we are going to get to a world free of all oppression and exploitation. But let's get this clear. Imperialism has been the dominant means of devastation overwhelmingly in the world, and Barack Obama is at the helm. Islamic fundamentalism would not even have as much of a current in the Middle East had it not been for U.S. imperialist action and intervention.

Lupe Fiasco performed courageously at the Start Up Rock On (SURO) concert to celebrate Obama's second inauguration. He performed "Words I Never Said." He rapped: "Limbaugh is a racist / Glenn Beck is a racist / Gaza Strip was getting bombed / Obama didn't say shit / That's why I ain't vote for him / The next one neither."

The trend I have been seeing which was even more exposed by the backlash against Lupe Fiasco, has been the uncritical support for Barack Obama during his first four years as president up to now. Anyone who comes out to speak any truth about the reality about Barack Obama, and the system he presides over, even if the criticism is not that articulate or developed is immediately attacked and isolated. Cornel West and Tavis Smiley for example have even been labeled "uncle Tom's" by comedian, and now talk show host, Steve Harvey. This is actually turning reality on its head. It is outrageous quite frankly. The fact that people can get away with saying things like this without being called out is ridiculous. Let's actually take a step back for a moment here and look at this more fully. First off the exploitation and oppression of Black people in this country lies in its foundation and continues up till today. The feelings that the masses of Black people felt when Barack Obama became president had some real meaning after the long night of oppression imposed upon Black people. There was the feeling that anyone could make it under this system now. There were no more excuses. I can't count how many times I've heard that tired old phrase.

If we are going to see things as they really are, then we are going to have to get into what Barack Obama's presidency has actually meant for Black people, and what is this system that he is the Commander and Chief of. First off, the sentiment felt around the country was that this presidency would inspire Black youth to take "personal responsibility" and achieve the "American Dream" that so many had hoped for. Well this ran right up against its limits. Unemployment for Black youth at an all-time high due to lack of decent employment opportunities. Blacks still locked in the ghettos and slums set out to battle each other on a regular basis. 900,000 Black men along with a quickly growing number of women in prison. Police murder. Hundreds of thousands stopped and frisked every year in New York City alone. The majority of them never doing anything wrong in the first place. This is what sociologist Michelle Alexander so correctly pointed out as the New Jim Crow, and what Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Communist Party describes as a slow genocide that can turn into a fast one, that we are being conditioned to accept.

Barack Obama has never come out and said anything about these devastating conditions. Instead he has used his platform to tell Black youth that they need to pick their pants up. Take personal responsibility. Be fathers to their children. Blaming the masses of Black people for their conditions that are not of their own making, but rise out of the very system that he presides over. Reinforcing the idea that if you are living under these desperate conditions then it's your own damn fault. There are those that would say to this, that he is the president of the United States, he can't put Black people as a priority. Well let me say this. If there were any other country doing this to a whole section of people, people rightfully so would be outraged crying aloud that this is a serious violation of human rights, and something needs to be done about this. To be honest these conditions demand that this be met as a priority, but they never will under this system. Look, Barack Obama is the President of the United States of America, which is capitalist-imperialist. This is a system that puts profit over people. Things are socially produced on a worldwide scale, and then the wealth is appropriated to the hands of a few. The need to exploit people more ruthlessly for more profit compels those capitalists in competition with each other to go to other countries, mainly in the third world, and pay people far less than they can in this country. Through all of the Presidents in this country's history, nothing has ever changed the way this works fundamentally, and under this system it never will.

What I just described about the functioning of this system ties directly into the oppression of Black people which has been at the foundation and a cornerstone of this country. This system, at a certain point not being able to exploit Blacks as profitably, took their factories and other forms of employment that used to be available to Blacks out of the country and left many Blacks to be of no use to this system anymore. The result is that the majority are locked into the ghettos with no way out facing all the horrors of these conditions, while some Blacks, relatively few compared to the number of those locked in the slums and prisons of this country, are in the middle class. The ruling class of elites have cleverly used all of this, along with the presidency of Barack Obama to say that it's your fault if you've been living under these conditions, catering to Black middle class feelings and aspirations, reinforcing the idea that Blacks have achieved full equality, and the whole "I made it and you didn't" mentality. This ruling class has used this to make far too much of the Black middle class embrace American chauvinism and exceptionalism. This has very dangerous consequences for those trapped at the bottom.

Now the fact of the matter is that the monumental problems that plague this society as a matter of fact are a product of this very system that puts the blame on people for those conditions, and that needs to be fully swept away if we are going to get beyond all this. This means we need a REVOLUTION! to deal with all of these problems at their root and to dig out the vestiges of this system whose time is up. More specifically we need the new synthesis of communism, developed by Bob Avakian, the chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, who has re-envisioned communism. He has looked at its history, the great achievements and errors that have been made, and has figured out how we can do much better the next time the people have power over society.

Artists like Lupe Fiasco should be supported and encouraged when they take the stand that they do, boldly calling out this system and who is leading it at any given time. We desperately need more artists that are breaking out of the confines and taking bold stands like this. It is a part of people fighting back, and can lead people to raise their sights, and see the true nature of this decadent and utterly worthless system.

TEAR IT OUT BY THE ROOTS

The u.s.a. was built on slavery, land stolen from Native people and from Mexico, not to mention the genocide of entire populations of Native people from what is now north amerikkka. Nothing has been done to rectify this history, except for the odd cosmetic bandaid benefit given to the people who have been fucked over. This system has to be torn out by it's roots,and a new one working in the interests of the population of the world put in it's place. And it's not going ot be easy.
Repetition, yes, but truth all the same.

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE GRINDS ON...

Despite their so called "victory" in Iraq, their fight against the "bad guys" and "terrorists" in Afghanistan, the amerikkkan propaganda machine continues to churn out pop culture propaganda to convince us of the righteousness of their fucking cause. But they have to. Those who dig beneath the surface will see that invading other countries to impose your version of what is right, and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in the process, is not justice. Lying about such lofty ideals just to go in and steal natural resources and turn the population into cheap labour for your fucking corporations, will eventually be found out. Fuck "Zero Dark Thirty"...

  

No, It's NOT Fucking Complicated!

January 24, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Some people coming out of Zero Dark Thirty respond to protesters by saying, "It's complicated."

Say wha-a-a-a-t??!? It's about as complicated as Hitler.

CIA Stands for Cold-blooded Imperialist Assassins!

1953: The CIA overthrew the elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh in Iran when he attempted to nationalize a British-owned oil company. The CIA installed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlevi as an absolute monarch, and established the U.S. as the dominant power over Iran. For the next 25 years, the Shah ruled Iran with a bloody iron fist. His hated secret police, the Savak, imprisoned, tortured and murdered huge numbers of Iranians who dared to oppose his regime. "U.S. Relationship with Iran: A History of Imperialist Domination, Intrigue, and War" (Revolution #88, May 13, 2007).

1954: A nationalist government headed by Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala attempted to take over unused land held by United Fruit and distribute that land to peasants. The CIA immediately engineered a coup to overthrow Arbenz and replaced him with Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, who was trained at the U.S. Command and General Staff School in Fort Leavenworth. The coup began a wave of reactionary violence—thousands of people were arrested, many tortured. The tracts of land were given back to United Fruit and other big landowners. "Guatemala: Bones Tell Story of U.S.-Backed Massacres," (Revolutionary Worker#912, June 22, 1997, online at revcom.us).

1960: The CIA orchestrated the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, a popular nationalist leader and critic of colonialism in the Congo. After Lumumba became the Congo's first prime minister, CIA Director Allen Dulles ordered that Lumumba's "removal must be an urgent and prime objective." The CIA worked to destabilize the country and recruit pro-U.S. forces within the army and government, including Joseph Mobutu. After Lumumba's assassination, the U.S. installed Mobutu who ruled as brutal and corrupt enforcer for imperialist interests. "We Are Being Lied To About the REAL Cause of Africa's Oppression and Suffering," (Revolution #172, August 9, 2009).

1961: The CIA organized the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro—the invasion was defeated. The CIA tried several times to assassinate Castro. "U.S. Imperialism, the Cuban Revolution, and Fidel Castro," by Raymond Lotta (Revolution #56, August 13, 2006).

1965-1966: The CIA provided names and addresses of communists to the Indonesian government to aid the massacre of hundreds of thousands of communists and other activists. Time magazine wrote: "Travelers from those areas tell of small rivers and streams that have been literally clogged with bodies." On December 2, 1965 U.S. Ambassador Green wrote a memo to Assistant Secretary of State Bundy about providing 50 million rupiahs to a leader of the death squads and to assure the State Department that "The chances of detection or subsequent revelation of our support in this instance are as minimal as any black bag operation can be." "Indonesia: U.S. Role in 1965 Massacres: Confessions from the U.S. State Department," (Revolutionary Worker #1116, August 26, 2001, revcom.us).

1965-1975: The U.S. invasion and war against the people of Vietnam; the war resulted in the deaths of two million Vietnamese civilians. In mid-1968 the CIA launched its notorious Phoenix program—intended to crush the people's movement by executing the organized "infrastructure" of revolutionary leaders and activists. It was a countrywide death squad campaign.The Vietnamese estimated that these CIA teams killed 40,000 people. "Vietnam Legacy: Heroes and Criminals," (Revolutionary Worker #1047, March 19, 2000).

1973: The CIA coordinated the overthrow of the elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile by the fascist general Pinochet. Mainstream sources document the death of some 3,000 people at the hands of Pinochet, and Chilean revolutionaries have said that 30,000 people were killed. Many more were tortured or forced into exile during Pinochet's 17-year rule. Yet another example of the handiwork of the "dedicated men and women" of the CIA. "From Iran to Indonesia, Chile, Afghanistan and Worldwide: CIA's Decades of Criminal 'Service,'" (Revolution#191, February 7, 2010)

1979: After the Sandinista-led uprising that overthrew Anastasio Somoza, a brutal U.S.-backed dictator, the U.S. funded and trained death squads—known as "Contras"—who left a trail of murder, rape, and pillage across the country. The Contras targeted civilians, killing 30,000 people—Sandinista officials as well as many peasants, indigenous people, workers, students, and others. "The Election in Nicaragua, and the Real Nature of U.S. Democracy," (Revolution #70, November 26, 2006).

1980s: The CIA armed and funded terrorist activity by the Nicaraguan Contras with profits from drug smuggling that flooded the inner cities of the U.S. with crack cocaine.Journalist Gary Webb exposed how forces working with the Contras set up a cocaine ring that targeted the Black communities of South Central Los Angeles and Compton. They supplied tons of cocaine to the Crips and the Bloods, which ended up as crack in the ghetto streets. On top of horrors of the crack epidemic, the powers-that-be then used crack as an excuse for the "war on drugs" which greatly escalated the mass incarceration of young Black and Latino men. "The CIA/Crack Connection: RW Interview with Gary Webb," (Revolutionary Worker #912, June 22, 1997, available at revcom.us).

1980-1988: The CIA provided weapons and intelligence to both sides in the Iran-Iraq war. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and 100,000 civilians died. The New York Times(8/18/02) reported that U.S. officials "provided Iraq with critical battle planning assistance at a time when American intelligence agencies knew that Iraqi commanders would employ chemical weapons in waging the decisive battles of the Iran-Iraq war." Also according to the Times, (2/5/2005) a former National Security Council staffer stated that "CIA Director [William] Casey was adamant that cluster bombs were a perfect 'force multiplier,'" for Iraq, and "'the CIA authorized, approved and assisted' Cardoen" [the supplier] in the manufacture and sale of cluster bombs and other munitions to Iraq. "U.S. Hypocrisy on Chemical Weapons: How the U.S. Backed Saddam Hussein when the Iraqi Military Used Poison Gas," by Larry Everest (Revolutionary Worker, September 1, 2002, posted at revcom.us).

1980s: The U.S. government recruited armed groups in southern Africa—to attack the movements who had come to power in Angola and Mozambique, and to help preserve the racist apartheid government in South Africa. The CIA's backing of Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement plunged Angola into over 25 years of civil war that ruined the country and made large parts of the population refugees.

During the U..S invasion of Afghanistan, there is evidence that more than 100 died at thedirect hand of CIA torturers. One was Gul Rahman, who froze to death in the "Salt Pit," a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan, after being stripped, beaten, and shackled to a cement wall in freezing temperatures. According to U.S. General Barry McCaffrey: "We tortured people unmercifully. We probably murdered dozens of them during the course of that, both the armed forces and the CIA." "Complete Exoneration of CIA Torturers: This Is the Imperialist System... This Is What They Want You to Vote For," (Revolution #280, September 16, 2012).

2004, Khaled el-Masri, a German car salesman, was seized while crossing from Serbia into Macedonia by bus. A CIA rendition team stripped him naked, drugged him, shackled him, and flew him to Kabul, Afghanistan, where he spent four months in a dark cell being "interrogated." Five months later he was dumped by the CIA in Albania, and told his abduction, detention and abuse was a case of mistaken identity. "From Iran to Indonesia, Chile, Afghanistan and Worldwide: CIA's Decades of Criminal 'Service'" (Revolution #191, February 7, 2010),

Today/ongoing: More than 2,500 people have been murdered in drone attacks over the past decade. On February 4, 2012, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that "CIA tactics in Pakistan include targeting rescuers and funerals." "Murder by Drone" by Larry Everest (Revolution#288, December 16, 2012).

MUCH BETTER

So far, 2013 has been a far better start than 2012 was. Our friends aren't dropping one by one, and  the Jay Brown Memorial Show was fucking great! (See the previous post). And now, it looks like we're playing with NoMeansNo on Feb. 27th at 919, or whatever the fuck it's called now. It's the club at 919 Douglas St., and it will be my first time playing with NMN since the very last Section 46 show at the Steel St. house back in '91. Yes, we're all that old. Needless to say, we're all pretty fucking excited. The Steel St. house is a decrepit little shack that some friends used to rent (including our bassist Joe) back in the day, located in an industrial part of town (very near where AK-47 practice right now). We played with The Clusterfux, featuring our very own Kent on lead guitar, NoMeansNo, and from Holland, The Ex. All in the fucking living room! The Ex impressed me with their experimental punk sound, (which I normally hate), incorporating everything from the straight up European punk sound, to Gypsy influenced melodies. And they were fucking passionate and intense. Getting to see NMN in a living room was something I'll never forget. Come see them, assholes.

FUCK YES

The 7th Annual Jay Brown Memorial/Hospice Benefit Show was fucking great, yet again. All the bands fucking killed it.
   Orange Krush played their first show, and they were awesome. It's not pop as the name would suggest, although there is a fair bit of melody in the songs, as well as some lovely harmony leads on the guitars. This band is a Willy Jak production, with Mambo on lead vocals. See them next time they play. It'll be worth your while.
  Car 87 pulled off their angry intense 80s style hardcore, making me feel like I was at the OAP Hall back in the day. Tight, aggressive, and in your face. I would love to play with them and Write Off one day, preferably an all ages show. They are not only a great band, but they are great people as well. Buy their record, assholes.
   AWT were on their fucking game as well. Roy is possibly the best front man in this crackhole of a city we call Victoria, and Knuckles is one hyped up motherfucker on the bass. They are all excellent musicians. To be honest, I would never in a milion years write the lyrics that Roy does, but they are a fucking amazing live band, and believe it or not, Roy is one of the nicest guys I've met. See them also.
   AK-47 had a great time playing, and I think people were surprised and amused that we ended our set with "Ain't 'Talkin' 'Bout Love" by Van Halen. Kent managed to be both Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth at the same fucking time. It was still fun to have vocal help from Hoon and Matt Lock (yes, it's his real name) for that song. 1700 bucks were raised for Hospice Victoria. Fuck yes.
  Thank you to Hoon, Ange Trash, ALL of the bands, Scott Henderson for doing the  difficult job of doing sound for us, to everyone who comes out to listen to this fucking noise, and to Logan's, for letting this happen year after year.
   Much love to you all, and see you next time.
   

NOTHING IS THAT EASY

Communists and Revolutionaries of various stripes have been accused of being "idealists", and believers in some or other form of utopia. You know, the "after the revolution, everything will be beautiful" type of glassy eyed asshole. Reality is far removed from this. The real work will start after the Revolution. It's the force of habit that is the  real source of dragging people back to the nightmarish crap of capitalism. We get used to doing the same shit, day in and day out, and can't even conceive of a life that's not about either struggling to get by, or accumulating money for money's sake. I'm keeping this brief, even though I could go on (and will, in real life), forever.
Read this...

THE TRUE FACE OF DEMOCRACY

I saw a documentary two nights ago that represents the true face of amerikkkan democracy. It's called The Invisible War . It talks about rape within the military of the most democratic nation on earth. This horrific crime is not only common within their ranks, it is the norm to cover it up, deny it, and accuse the victims of lying. They are also threatened with death, and are often beaten as well. This is from Forbes Magazine:

 In The Invisible War the facts presented are painfully clear. The Department of Defense estimates over 19,000 sexual assaults occurred in the military in 2010 alone. A conservative estimate states over 20% of women in the military will be sexually assaulted. According to the Service Women’s Action Network, in 2010, 108,121 male and female veterans screened positive for military sexual trauma. And yet, the film shows a military that refuses to take action, silencing survivors of sexual assault and sweeping accusations under the rug.

19,000 in one year alone!!! And they think they have the moral authority to tell the rest of the world how to live?! If they're doing this to their own, what the fuck do you think they're doing in foreign countries, where they have nothing but racist contempt for everyone living there? Predators, rats, and other filth are drawn to the military, and those who join to "make the world a better place" are either chewed up and shit out, or turn into one of these demented racist killers, travelling the globe on a mission for "freedom". 

Now watch this clip from Bob Avakian .