Concerned Families of Westchester Newsletter
September 10, 2018
Hello All – "May you live in interesting times." This (apocryphal) Chinese curse is meant to imply that "interesting times" are the opposite of a more desirable "peaceful" existence. During the last month, the mainstream discourse about the Trump administration and the USA has established that "we live in interesting times." Said more commonly, we have a "constitutional crisis" on our hands. Last week, our attention was drawn to the Anonymous Resistance within the Trump administration and to the chaos of the Trump White House as revealed in Bob Woodward's new book. And then there were the Kavanaugh hearings, which displayed dramatically that the traditional "rules" and "decorum" of the Ship of State have been tossed overboard.
How should we frame or reframe our analysis of the power struggle underway in Washington in light of this Constitutional Crisis? Who is fighting whom, and what are they fighting over? The ambiguities of our current moment can be read in the "Resistance" statement by "Anonymous" published in The New York Times. The author describes acts of "resistance" by high-level staff who subvert or refuse to implement Trump's orders. And yet Anonymous also affirms that the Trump Agenda has its good points, referencing especially the huge military budget and the support for an economic program yielding immense profits for business. And herein is the rub for the "Republican Resistance": the benefits – the profits – from the main course of the Ship of State are so great that the crew will not throw the captain overboard, but only tinker with the compass while the Great One isn't looking. (This Republican waffling is illustrated here and here and here.)
Excepting rumors of disloyalty in the White House, the solidarity of the crew, the Republicans congressional people, is noteworthy. Even as pollsters are predicting substantial gains by the Democrats in this week's elections, the congressional Republicans remain solidly in support of their Captain. Take the Kavanaugh nomination as an example, where not one Republican senator has defected from this contentious and unpopular candidate. It is understandable that the country's economic elite would remain loyal to Trump when business profits and the stock market are up, while wages have not risen. But for the political class to remain loyal, when they seem threatened on all sides by electoral defeat, seems to me remarkable.
If Republicans in the White House or in Congress are unlikely to act to resolve our "Constitutional crisis," what about the Democrats? In surveying the dissenting views now in the mainstream media, I read three areas of possible struggle for the immediate future:
· If the Democrats win control of the House of Representatives…. –This seems possible/likely. And if this happens, then the Democrats will control the House Committees, along with subpoena and other powers. This will enable investigations into different Trump policies, compel the production of documents, etc. The refusal by the Trump administration to cooperate or produce what is demanded will then lead to contempt charges, etc. In a sense, this will be a parallel round to the Mueller investigation, which has not done too much work on its core mandate (Russian interference in the 2016 election), but has been successful in gaining convictions for lying to the FBI, failed cover-ups, etc. Just as Nixon went down for his attempted cover-up of Watergate (and not, for example, the Vietnam War or the bombing of Cambodia or his spying on Americans), so the Trump team is being taken apart for lying about things that we not in themselves significant political crimes. And so a Democratic capture of the House of Representatives may lead Trump down the road of Nixon … and then we will see.
· Trump is crazy and/or should be impeached …. – The Woodward book adds factoids to the claims advanced last year by a group of eminent psychiatrists that Trump is simply nuts. Though there is general skepticism that the 25th Amendment (the President is "incapacitated") can be brought into play, given Pence and a loyal Cabinet, there are other roads to the same outcome if the Democrats have control of the House and have the will to act. And given the unpopularity of Trump, and the opposition to at least his person (if not the Agenda) by many heavy hitters in the American power structure ("the Deep State"), impeachment should not be ruled out, as David Swanson argues in this illuminating essay. In either case – pursuing "presidential incapacity" or impeachment – the attack on Trump's ego is almost guaranteed to cause more irrational behavior on his part. Among the obvious downsides to this strategy, of course, are a possible "Wag the Dog" foreign policy adventure to divert our attention from Himself; and, unlike Nixon, it is hard to see Trump "resigning for the good of the country." He will have to be dragged kicking and screaming ….
· A "Constitutional crisis" – or Treason? – Since the summer of 2016 – for two years – the Democratic Party leadership has maintained that Donald/President Trump has forged a treasonous alliance with Russia's President Putin. The bases of this alleged alliance are various, ranging from some psychological problem that Trump has about "strong leaders" to claims that Russia has compromising information about Trump that they are using to blackmail him. I believe these claims are widely supported by the Democratic rank and file, and they form the drumbeat of liberal news sources such as Rachel Maddow/MSNBC. Part of the proof for the claim that Trump is "Putin's puppet" is his alleged lack of military aggressiveness toward Russia and his apparent contempt for his NATO partners. In the last many months of this CFOW newsletter, all of these claims have been argued against; if anything, the Trump administration has expanded and enhanced the anti-Russian military efforts begun under Bush#2 and Obama. But factual evidence about Putin's control over the Trump administration has done little to counter the Democratic narrative: witness the unhinged remarks in a Times op-ed a few weeks ago by former CIA Director John Brennan, who basically called Trump a traitor. If "treason" becomes the dominate framework for overthrowing President Trump, an energy and an urgency come into play that may transcend the more orderly attacks on Trump within a framework of "Constitutional crisis."
Whichever path we go down to work for regime change without waiting for 2020, where so much money and access to power rides on the stability or overthrow of the Trump administration, it is useful to recall that this is a Crazy Country. A minimal recall of the real and alleged players involved in the Kennedy Assassination (1963), Watergate (1973-74), or the Iran-Contra Affair (1986-87) should remind us that our country is not immune from the deeper power conflicts that take place in virtually every other country on the planet. Since it "has happened here," it is irresponsible to exclude the use of force in deciding the outcome of our present crisis, especially if it is framed in terms of cutting short acts of treason then in progress. Then it may be really true that "we live in interesting times."
News Notes
The New York Times reported last week that the Trump administration met several times with Venezuelan military officers to discuss a coup in that country. Since the election of Hugo Chavez to the Presidency in 1999, the United States (with strong support from The Times) has campaigned against the populist "Bolivarian Revolution" that Chavez and his successor sought to install. More effective, so far, than a coup has been the economic warfare waged by the Obama and Trump people against Venezuela. To keep up to date with this unfolding tragedy, the best source imo is www.venezuealanalysis.com, run by CFOW friend Eva Gollinger.
#RiseForClimate actions around the world on Saturday involved thousands of people on seven continents, with more than 900 demonstrations in the USA. While CFOW's rally turned out only a dozen stalwarts, a good-sized march and rally was held in neighboring Croton-on-Hudson. You can see some pictures/a good report here.
There are still more than 400 immigrant children separated from their parents, according to this useful report from Democracy Now! According to an editorial in yesterday's New York Times ("Don't Let Migrant Kids Rot"), the Trump administration is considering plans that could keep the children in detention indefinitely.
During last week's debate among the candidates to be New York's attorney general, apparent front-runner Sean Patrick Maloney called Zephyr Teachout "unhinged" for accurately describing his voting record. As Teachout's statements focused on Maloney's support in Congress for weakening regulations on banks, and as regulating Wall St. is one of the main jobs of New York's attorney general, this is an important issue to be caught lying about. Read more about this here.
For those trying to keep score at home, the latest report from the "defense"-expenditure trackers at Brown University's Watson Institute finds that since 9/11 the United States has spent, or has obligated to be spent in the future (e.g. Veterans' care), more than $5.16 trillion on the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria. Of course there has been much more money spent elsewhere, but this gives us a good idea of what "the war on terror" is costing us. [Link]
Things to Do/Coming Attractions
Ongoing – CFOW holds a vigil/rally each Saturday at the VFW Plaza in Hastings (Warburton and Spring) from 12 to 1 p.m. Everyone invited; please join us!
Sunday, September 9th - Please join us for the next CFOW monthly meeting. At these meetings we discussed events and our work of the past month and make plans for what's ahead. We meet at the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society, 12 Elm St. in Dobbs, from 7 to 9 p.m
Thursday, September 13th – The League of Women Voters in the Rivertowns will hold a breakfast/forum to explain what the US Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to do re: storm barriers on the Hudson. The event will be held at the Jazz Forum Club, 1 Dixon Lane in Tarrytown, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. A free Continental breakfast will be served; $10 donation optional. For more info, go to info@lwv‐rivertowns.org.
Thursday, September 13th – Primary election day. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.
Friday, September 14th – CFOW music favorites, "Hudson Valley Sally," will be at the Bean Runner Café in Peekskill with "Songs to Inspire Hope and Change." The program goes from 8 to 10 p.m. The Bean Runner is located at 201 S. Division St.
Thursday, September 20 and 27 – Westchester for Change, the Greenburgh Human Rights Advisory Council, and many other groups invite you to attend a two-part voter turnout/civic engagement workshop. The workshop will take place at the Theodore Young Community Center, 32 Manhattan Ave. in White Plains, from 7 to 9 p.m. To learn more, go to the event's Facebook page. If you plan to attend, please RSVP.
Sunday, September 30th – Countering the Muslim Travel Ban and Deportations will be the subject of a forum sponsored by the Westchester Coalition Against Islamphobia, at the Ethical Cultural Society of Westchester, 7 Saxon Wood Rd. in White Plains, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. They write: "Religious discrimination, xenophobia, and racism are being channeled to close our borders to immigrants and asylum-seekers. This panel discussion will describe what is happening and how we can overcome it. Q&A will follow." Speaking will be Debbie Almontaser President, Board of Directors, Muslim Community Network; CEO/Founder of Bridging Cultures Group Inc. ; Albert Fox Cahn Legal Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations, New York (CAIR-NY); member, Immigrant Leaders Council of the New York Immigration Coalition; and Karina Davila Co-founder of the Yonkers Sanctuary Movement; Current DACA recipient and President, John Jay DREAMers. This event is free and open to the public. Donations gratefully accepted. Parking available on site.
CFOW Nuts & Bolts
Please consider getting involved with Concerned Families of Westchester. We meet for a protest/rally each Saturday in Hastings, from 12 to 1 p.m., at the VFW Plaza (Warburton and Spring St.) Our leaflet and posters for our rallies are usually about war or climate change, but issues such as racial justice or Trump's immigration policies are often targeted, depending on current events. We meet on the first Sunday of each month, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society. Our weekly newsletter is archived at https://cfow.blogspot.com/; and news of interest and coming events is posted on our CFOW Facebook page.
Please Support CFOW
CFOW runs on a shoestring; but with the price of shoestrings these days, we're asking for your support. If you can make a financial contribution to our work, please send your check to CFOW, PO Box 364, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706. Thanks!
This Newsletter
Articles linked in the CFOW newsletter are intended to illuminate some of the main action-issues about which we are concerned. Coming mostly from the "dissenting media," they provide an alternative to the perspectives of the mainstream media. In addition to the excellent "Featured Essays," I especially recommend a shocking (well…) assessment of the US failure in it's 16-year-old war in Afghanistan; a thought-provoking essay on what "nationalization" of the fossil fuel industry could do to address our global warming crisis; an important essay on the Koch Brothers and their strategies to control America; an interesting review of the new film about Eichmann; and a fabulous essay on the 50th anniversary of the "Miss America" demonstrations of 1968 and what we can learn from them about radical strategies.
Rewards!
It's another hefty newsletter, so stalwart readers are encouraged to take a pit stop before moving on. First up for this week's Rewards are some guerilla-agriculture tips that you can try at home. Check out this interesting campaign now underway in San Francisco to graft public, non-fruit-bearing trees so as to produce some good fruit. (h/t JaniG). And coming soon to a theater near us is a fair-and-balanced film by Michael Moore about the Trump regime; here's a preview.
Best wishes,
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
FEATURED ESSAYS
Can the Popularity of Impeachment Matter?
---- According to an ABC News / Washington Post poll, 49% of a sampling of the U.S. public wants impeachment begun (they don't specify when, but presumably any moment now) against Trump, while 43% do not. There are almost certainly millions of additional Democrats who would move into the pro-impeachment column if that party's leaders did so. Same with Republicans. Many more Independents might also jump on board if the case were publicly made and momentum built to make conviction in the Senate seem plausible in an age when absolute loyalty to partisanship goes unquestioned. Already 60% of the public "disapproves" of the job Trump is doing. And, in a further sign that the public sees what's going on somewhat accurately, 45% say corruption has increased since Trump arrived in D.C., while 13% say it has decreased. … Some other factors must be considered, however — especially these two: on what grounds will Trump be impeached, and why do the Democrats in Washington currently oppose it. [Read More]
(Video) Arundhati Roy: The U.S. Is Growing Closer to India Militarily as Modi Expands Crackdown on Dissent
From Democracy Now! [September 6, 2018]
---- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are in New Delhi today for talks aimed at deepening military and trade ties between India and the United States. India is the largest weapons importer in the world. The trip comes just a week after the Indian government conducted raids across the country targeting prominent human rights activists, lawyers, poets and critics of the Narendra Modi government. At least five people were arrested. Critics say the arrests are part of a broader attempt by Modi's government to silence dissidents ahead of next year's general election. We speak with the prize-winning author and activist Arundhati Roy. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her first novel, "The God of Small Things." Her most recent book is a novel titled "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness." [See the Program]. And also watch Part 2 of the interview here; and Part 3 here.
WAR & PEACE
How the U.S. Government Misleads the Public on Afghanistan
----- Seventeen years into the war in Afghanistan, American officials routinely issue inflated assessments of progress that contradict what is actually happening there. More than 2,200 Americans have been killed in the Afghan conflict, and the United States has spent more than $840 billion fighting the Taliban insurgency and paying for relief and reconstruction. The war has become more expensive, in current dollars, than the Marshall Plan, which helped to rebuild Europe after World War II. That investment has created intense pressure for Americans to show the Taliban are losing and the country is improving. But since 2017, the Taliban have held more Afghan territory than at any time since the American invasion. In just one week last month, the insurgents killed 200 Afghan police officers and soldiers, overrunning two major Afghan bases and the city of Ghazni. The American military says the Afghan government effectively "controls or influences" 56 percent of the country. But that assessment relies on statistical sleight of hand. In many districts, the Afghan government controls only the district headquarters and military barracks, while the Taliban control the rest. [Read More]
As Saudis Say Bombings of Yemeni Children Mere 'Mistakes,' Growing Calls for US to Stop Fueling Atrocities
By
---- After the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition issued a statement on Saturday calling its deadly bombing of a Yemeni school bus "unjustified" and claiming it was the result of mere "mistakes," human rights groups and progressive lawmakers ramped up calls for the U.S. to immediately halt all arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which has been viciously bombing Yemen for years. "We must end U.S. support for this disastrous war in Yemen," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared on Twitter Saturday evening. "It is also long past time that we begin to take a very hard look at our relationship with Saudi Arabia." … In a damning report issued last week, the United Nations echoed the assessment of human rights organizations and concluded that the Saudi-led coalition—often with bombs manufactured in the U.S.—has likely "perpetrated, and continue[s] to perpetrate, violations and crimes under international law." Just hours after the Saudi-led coalition released its statement on Saturday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a detailed analysis of the Saudis' years-long assault on Yemen and called on all nations to cease providing arms to the kingdom. [Read More]
(Video) Idlib on Brink of "Humanitarian Catastrophe" as Syrian Military Threatens to Invade Rebel-Held City
From Democracy Now! [September 7, 2018]
---- The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey are meeting today in Tehran as the Syrian military is threatening a massive invasion of the rebel-held city of Idlib. Russia and Iran are close allies to Syria, while Turkey has been a key supporter of the opposition. This comes as the United States will chair a U.N. Security Council meeting today on the crisis in Syria. The U.N. is warning that an assault on Idlib could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe. U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that if talks in Tehran fail, as many as 800,000 citizens may flee the region and that panic is spreading among Idlib's 3 million residents. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that President Trump has agreed to a new strategy that indefinitely extends the U.S. military effort in Syria in part to push out Iranian forces from Syria. We speak with award-winning journalist Rania Abouzeid in Beirut. [See the Program]
GLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATE CHAOS
Is Nationalization an Answer to Climate Change?
By Kate Aronoff, The Intercept [
---- Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., proposed a slew of measures to rein in corporate power, the centerpiece of which was ensuring that 40 percent of corporate boards be comprised of workers, rather than just shareholders. While it's a novel idea in the United States, this sort of corporate co-governance is standard fare in Germany, Europe's largest economy — and a heartily capitalist one at that. None of that stopped the right from losing its collective mind about the idea. … At its most radical, Warren's proposed bill — titled the "Accountable Capitalism Act" — would essentially bring American capitalism more in line with its Western European counterparts, and also closer to what that economic system looked like here before the shareholder revolution encouraged corporations to focus narrowly on short-term profits. If the right is freaking out about a plan as modest as Warren's, what will it do once the left actually starts putting nationalization on the table? The United Kingdom might find out soon enough, and in the process become one of the only countries to take the problem of climate change seriously, by letting the state — not just market tweaks — play a driving role in the transition away from fossil fuels. [Read More]
(Video) Indigenous Activists Win "David vs. Goliath" Victory as Court Rejects $4.5B Trans Mountain Pipeline
From Democracy Now! [September 4, 2018]
---- Canada's Federal Court of Appeals has rejected the government's approval to triple the capacity of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline in a major victory for indigenous groups and environmentalists. On Thursday, Justice Eleanor Dawson nullified licensing for the $7.4 billion project and brought construction to a halt until the National Energy Board and the federal government complete court-ordered fixes. Her ruling cited inadequate consultations with indigenous peoples affected by the project, and found the National Energy Board's assessment of the expansion was so flawed that the federal Cabinet should not have relied on it during the approval process. Just minutes after the court's decision, Kinder Morgan's shareholders agreed to sell the existing pipeline and the expansion project to the federal government for $4.5 billion. Prime Minister Trudeau had announced in May that Canada would purchase the pipeline. This means the government now owns the project as its expansion faces years of further review. We speak with Winona LaDuke, Native American activist and executive director of the group Honor the Earth, and Eriel Deranger, founder and executive director of the group Indigenous Climate Action. [Read More]
The Fight to Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline Continues—in the Bayous of Louisiana
By Anya Kamenetz, The Nation [September 6, 2018]
---- From this scrappy home base, a handful of people have put their bodies in the way of the construction of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline again and again and again. This pipeline is a project of Energy Transfer Partners, a Fortune 500 company that is also the parent company of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Much like that higher-profile project, this one runs through a vital watery ecosystem, the Atchafalaya Basin, and threatens not only the water people drink but also the ways of life of indigenous and other local people. To prevent its potential havoc, Foytlin and the other L'Eau Est La Vie activists have battled the project from trees, on land, and by kayak. They have been cuffed, tasered, and arrested. … In recent weeks, the stakes for the activists have risen, thanks to new state legislation criminalizing protest. This legislation draws on a sample bill drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, likely in response to the example of Standing Rock, the largely peaceful and prayerful activist village that became an international cause célèbre during the last days of the Obama administration. This sample bill makes trespassing near "critical infrastructure" a felony carrying several years in prison, rather than a misdemeanor. An example of critical infrastructure? A construction site for a fossil fuel company. An example of a frequent ALEC sponsor and supporter? Energy Transfer Partners. [Read More]
THE STATE OF THE UNION
Trump and the Koch Brothers Are Working in Concert
By Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times [September 6, 2018]
---- President Trump and the Koch brothers have made it clear that they don't like each other. Politically speaking, they are in fundamental disagreement over trade, tariffs and immigration. Nonetheless, there is a functional Trump-Koch alliance, and the Republican Party has capitalized handsomely on it. Trump's racially freighted, anti-immigrant rhetoric has been essential to persuading white voters to agree to Republicans' long-sought tax and regulatory policies. These policies are inimical or irrelevant to the interests of low- and moderate-income Americans. They have been promulgated by the Trump administration, but many of them have been meticulously prepared and packaged by the Kochs' massive political network. … The Kochs' policy objectives that have been realized since Trump took office are legion: enactment of the $1.5 billion tax cut; the opening of public lands to mining; the appointment of men and women with industry ties to key regulatory posts; weakened enforcement of worker safety rules; the proposed elimination or rollback of numerous environmental regulations; the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, along with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, and the appointment of judges favored by the Kochs to all levels of the federal bench. In this context, the public disagreement between Trump and Koch over trade, tariffs and even immigration clearly diminishes in importance. [Read More]
Are We Making Elections Less Secure Just to Save Time?
By Sam Biddle, The Intercept [
---- Something strange happens on election night. With polls closing, American supporters of both parties briefly, intensely align as one: We all want to know who's going to win, and we don't want to wait one more minute. The ravenous national appetite for an immediate victor, pumped up by frenzied cable news coverage and now Twitter, means delivering hyper-updated results and projections before any official tally is available. But the technologies that help ferry lightning-quick results out of polling places and onto CNN are also some of the riskiest, experts say. … In November, millions of Americans will vote again — but despite hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid poured into beefing up the security of your local polling station, tension between experts, corporations, and the status quo over what secure even means is leaving key questions unanswered: Should every single vote be recorded on paper, so there's a physical trail to follow? Should every election be audited after the fact, as both a deterrent and check against fraud? And, in an age where basically everything else is online, should election equipment be allowed anywhere near the internet? The commonsense answer to this last question — that sounds like a terrible idea — belies its complexity. [Read More]
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
I Believed in the Oslo Accords for Years. But It Was Merely a Deception
[FB – This is the 25th anniversary (1993) of the Oslo Accords, which were lauded at the time as a settlement of the main disputes between Israel and the Palestinians, and which set out what was to be a "Road Map" to final peace agreements. Of course, this was not to happen. The liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz has published a useful collection of articles about the Accords and why they did not lead to peace.]
---- I believed in Oslo. I thought Israel genuinely and honestly wanted to open a new chapter with the Palestinian people. There were many like me. I hadn't paid attention to the details, didn't really see the full picture. I abhorred the skeptics who were spoiling the party with their dark, angry predictions, those for whom it is never enough. I really wanted to believe in Oslo. For those who had experienced the reality that preceded it, when peace activist Abie Nathan sat in jail for meeting with Palestine Liberation Organization representatives, the handshake with Arafat was nothing short of a dream. I also believed in the motives of the Israeli peacemakers, that they really and honestly wanted to put an end to the occupation at a time when it was still possible to do so relatively easily. It was many years before I awakened from the dream and understood that I had fallen into a trap. It could be that no one laid it intentionally, but it was a trap nonetheless. Yasser Arafat and a large portion of the Palestinian people also fell into it. … The Oslo Accords' original sin was and remains that they didn't go far enough. That would have involved addressing the presence of Jewish settlements of a scope that at the time was immeasurably smaller than it is now. The fact that their fate was not debated, their status was not decided, and worst of all, that it was not decided at least to halt settlement construction, is the test of the real intentions and courage of Israeli statesmen. [Read More]
The Direction Israel is Going: From Eichmann to Mossad
---- Having seen both a documentary and narrative film about Hannah Arendt that focused on her famous (and to some, infamous) reporting on the Adolf Eichmann trial in Jerusalem for The New Yorker magazine, I was curious to see what "Operation Finale" had to say. Directed by Paul Weitz, who is best known for commercial work like "American Pie" and "The Twilight Saga", it chronicles the kidnapping of Adolf Eichmann in May 1960 by a team of Mossad agents led by Peter Malkin, who is played by Oscar Isaac. Ben Kingsley co-stars as Eichmann and makes a trip to your local movie theater worthwhile. Matthew Orton's screenplay develops the Eichmann character close enough to Arendt's "banality of evil" to have provoked the Times of Israel to fulminate…. Since my main motivation in seeing the film was to help me provide that context, let me share what I discovered with you. David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel in 1960 and who appears briefly as a character (Simon Russell Beale) sending off the abductors to Argentina, gave the green light to this patently illegal violation of Argentina's sovereignty to stave off a domestic crisis in Israel rather than to render justice for those who had suffered during what historian and CounterPunch contributor Arno Mayer called the Judeocide. [Read More] The liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz has put together a page of its articles about the Eichmann trial.
OUR HISTORY
How 'No More Miss America' Announced a Feminist Upheaval
By Laura Tanenbaum and Mark Engler, The Nation [September 7, 2018]
---- On September 7, 1968, more than a hundred women gathered to protest on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Organized by a recently formed group called New York Radical Women, the demonstration targeted an annual televised event, which, the women argued, served as a potent symbol of the country's sexism: the Miss America beauty pageant. With a day of street theater, they announced the arrival of a new, more militant women's movement—one with renewed significance in the #MeToo era. … Fifty years later—when we are governed by an alleged rapist who once owned a rival beauty pageant—the protest remains all-too relevant. It offers important lessons not only for those who, in the wake of #MeToo, are organizing against misogyny and harassment, but those who seek to understand how social movements can effectively build resistance. [Read More]
The Religion of Whiteness Becomes a Suicide Cult
By Pankaj Mishra, New York Times [August 30, 2018]
---- To understand the rapid mainstreaming of white supremacism in English-speaking liberal democracies today, we must examine the experience of unprecedented global migration and racial mixing in the Anglosphere in the late 19th century: countries such as the United States and Australia where, as Roosevelt wrote admiringly in 1897, "democracy, with the clear instinct of race selfishness, saw the race foe, and kept out the dangerous alien." It is in the motherlands of democracy rather than in fascist Europe that racial hierarchies first defined the modern world. It is also where a last-ditch and potentially calamitous battle to preserve them is being fought today. … The exposure of Nazi crimes, followed by decolonization and civil rights movements, generally discredited quasi-scientific racism and stigmatized overt expressions of white supremacism. In our own time, global capitalism has promised to build a colorblind world through economic integration. But as revolts erupt against globalization in its latest, more disruptive phase, politicians and pundits in the Anglosphere are again scrambling to rebuild political communities around what W. E.B. Du Bois in 1910 identified as "the new religion of whiteness." [Read More]
