No . Oc 10th tob er
We Are The 99% This is a publication of the Communist Youth Organization of the Workers Communist Party of Iran
Editors: Chia Barsen Editors' Assistant: Arash Yazdan
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1 Americans protest police brutality! Thousands of people across the United States in 30 cities from California to Florida came out to protest against the abuse and murder of average citizens by the police. The organizers of this rally made it clear that over the years the police have killed or murdered thousands of people and are not held accountable for their actions. Often these deaths are underreported or undisclosed to the media. October 22nd has been the day to protest the criminalization, the repression of a generation of people. It has been now 18 years of protest against Police Brutality across America. Among the protesters were the families of at least 50 victims of police brutality. It has become almost a common understanding among ordinary citizens that the police force in the United States has an undisclosed and informal immunity to legal prosecution. What is more disturbing is that most of the violence by the police is targeted at the minority races, particularly Blacks and Hispanics. In fact racial and ethnic profiling and attacks by the police have reached epidemic levels. In LA, if a group of Latino, black or brown men stand together it is often viewed as a gang and thus permitting the police officers to arrest them. The protesters demanded the dismantling of the Police Officer's Bill of Rights that has always provided the police with immunity for their actions. Further, the protesters demanded the police officers wear small cameras in order to monitor their actions at all times.
2 Tunisian people continue their protest against the Islamic Ennahada party!
The Tunisian people have not stopped or let off their demand for the resignation of the Islamist government. The Ennahada party, led by Larayedh is using stalling tactics such as waiting for the completion of the constitution, and the setting up of new electoral commission. This tactics are in part to protect the interests of the Ennahada party and its influence in the writing of the new constitution. The fresh protests took place in Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the capital. People waved flags and chanted antigovernment slogans such as: “The people want the fall of the regime”. In the on going protests that has gripped Tunisia several protesters have lost their lives due to the attempts by the regime to suppress the growing opposition. One of the fundamental motivators of the people’s movement against the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia was the state of the economy. Today nothing has changed for the better and in fact has grown worse for the people of Tunisia. The general unemployment stands at 17% and the youth unemployment is at 30% (The economist). The Tunisian economic policy since the end of the Ben Ali regime has been aimed to promote exports which has in turn pushed wages even lower to remain competitive and thus disposable income in the pockets of average consumers in Tunisia. Other policies such as increasing civil service jobs have had no impact in changing the state of the economy. In 2010 a 27 year old cigarette vendor Adel Khazri said the words “This is Tunisia, this is unemployment” before he set himself on fire. If you ask the people of Tunisia today about what has changed since the revolution, they will say the same words, that nothing has changed, and the most important thing is work. The Islamic Ennahada party came to power ridding the high horse of being the “opposition” to the Ben Ali regime for the mere fact of having been suppressed under the Ben Ali era. Further, taking advantage of the post revolution power vacuum they took their place as the official governing body of the country but having no real solutions for the economy. In addition, the Ennahada regime attempted to implement Islamic law in a country where its people are highly educated and secular. Now, once again the people are in the streets demanding change, a revolution that will have an economic impact and not just a change of hats and faces. The economic crisis in Tunisia is capitalism’s crisis that has gripped all of North Africa. This economic crisis can only be delayed at best with reforms; the real solution is a socialist revolution: not just a change of hats between one group of capitalists for another, but a bottom up revolution and the creation of a working class state. Only a working class state can implement laws and a governing system that will ensure a division of wealth that will negate poverty and misery in Tunisia once and for all. A state that will not calculate its GDP and growth based on the profit margins of a few, but will celebrate itself for the humane and growing standard of living of the many.
3 Large scale teachers’ strike in England 3,500 schools were either closed or partially closed in England as teachers took to the streets to show their discontent with the right-wing government cuts to education. The strike was called by members of the NUT and NASUWT unions. Major rallies took place in Brighton, Carlisle, Plymouth and London. The cut backs and the changes being proposed by David Cameron’s government include performance related pay, increased workload for teachers as well as cuts to pensions. The cuts come at a time when teachers are working long hours with increasing workloads. Further, these changes in the financing of the social services are the product of the austerity economy that the right-wing Cameron government has imposed on the working people of England. The bank generated and propagated economic crisis that has gripped the U.K and the general European economy is being financed via the cut backs to the social services: cuts to education is one of many. The narrative that “we must all carry the burden of the economic crisis” is being continuously hammered into the minds of the British citizens. A close extension of this narrative is that “we are all responsible for the economic crisis” and thus “we must all tighten our belts”. Unfortunately this is far from reality. Despite the fact that the general working people of Britain are already near poverty level standard of living, the working people, and not the rich few per cent in society, will be the ones that will have to tighten their belts: since “giving tax breaks to the corporations will create jobs”: yet to be seen after 5 years in continuous unemployment and misery. At a time that the Cameron government was trigger ready to finance a very expensive war in Syria is now telling the British citizens that the government can’t afford to pay its teachers. The crisis is not only economic or political, the crisis that the teachers and all workers in Britain now face is the crisis of profit being placed time and time again before the wellbeing of the British people: as long as share prices rise and profits increase and thicken the veins of the corporations that lobby the Tory government: cuts will never stop, the BBC normalizing of the statuesque will continue, and the working people will go home feeling guilty about a crisis that they did not create.
4 Portuguese workers use buses to protest austerity Tens of thousands of Portuguese hold a massive protest in both the capital Lisbon and the largest city of Porto in the north. This protest was held after the 2014 budget was declared which forecasted further cuts and pay reductions for the Portuguese workers. In Lisbon, workers stormed the streets in their thousands against pay and pension cuts that are part of the 100 billion dollar bailout deal that was made between the Portuguese government and the European central bank in
2011. The bailout was designed to save the banks of Portugal at the cost of cuts to social services and workers’ wages and pensions as well as tax increases for years to come. 20,000 protesters used double decked buses, blowing horns and waving flags as they cross the River Tagus in long lines before holding their gathering and demonstration in the city. This protest was called by the main Portu-
guese union (General Confederation of Portuguese workers). The protest took place despite the Ministry’s ban of using the bridge expressing “safety” concerns. As the new budget year approaches the banks and the installed governments come to the table to find ways to direct the cost of capitalism’s crisis on to the shoulders of the workers. Workers in Portugal having already had their wages and social services cut last year are once again on the chopping block. Since the very basic human
standard of living is now robbed of all workers in Portugal and other European countries, now with their backs against the wall, the workers have nothing left to lose. This protest will be one of many in the coming months, a promise made by the union leaders and the protesters on the streets.
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“Revolutions are the locomotives of history”
MARX: Class Struggle in France (1850)
5 70,000 people protest in Italy against unemployment Attacking banks and government ministries, Italian public expressed their anger against the government imposed austerity measures. This protest was sparked by the government’s funding of large building projects in the city while there are cutbacks to social services all around the country. Prime Minister Enrico Letta has revealed the new 2014 budget where the focus is the freezes to public sector wages. Currently the youth unemployment (government statistics) is as high as 40 per cent! Meanwhile the government plans to build a high speed train link to France. In addition to the economic crisis driven sky high unemployment the Italian public are denied the right to basic housing, liveable wages, and job security. This is at the time when people are fleeing from their home countries from all over North Africa to find a life in Europe, Italy being one of the only entry points. 400 immigrants have died at sea during this trek this month alone!
6 The word "hijab" and "freedom" in one sentence? French students as well as the general public voiced their anger at the French government's attempt at the removal of 15 year old student, Leonarda Dibrani, from school. Charged with illegally entering the country, the French government headed by the so called "socialist" president Francois Hollande, has ordered Leonarda to be deported out of France. This protest was continuation of the anger in regards to the expulsion of Khatchin Kachatryan, 19 years old student that was expelled a week ago for having entered France illegally. While the protesters battled police tear gas in Paris they made their voice heard, that it is the right of all pupils to attend classes no matter their place of origin: "certain boundaries cannot be crossed and the school gate is one of them". The French government's expulsion of families for being "illegal" in France is both racist and abusive towards children. These families have fled to France for its so called "human rights" record and "tolerance", where it is actually no where to be found. A corporate generated crisis has gripped all of Europe denying many families are in search of a basic standard of living, and now labelled as "illegal" in France they are sent back to their poverty stricken place of origin. Access to education and employment is a human right of all people, the expulsion of entire families from France only underscores the prejudicial face of the French government and that when it comes to topics such as immigration human rights become on-
7 "We Are Not Science Experiments!� march against Monsanto held in 36 countries!
Hundreds of people protested in Canadian cities including Guelph, London, and Brantford and 36 different countries around the world! Called the "March Against Monsanto", is the peoples' cry against the GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) and GM food producers such as Monsanto. The activists aim was to raise awareness about the issue and spread information about the harmful effects of genetically modified foods. Currently many residents in the U.S. and especially in Canada are completely unaware that 60% to 70% of their foods contain genetically modified ingredients. The most genetically modified foods include maize, cotton, rapeseed oil and soybeans. GM foods often appear in animal feeds as well. What is worse, GM foods are not labelled in the US and are kept a secret from the public. Currently more than a dozen countries sell GM foods including Canada, Argentina, China, Australia, India and Mexico. Europe has banned all genetically modified foods. What is the problem with GMOs? 1. The health consequences of eating GMO are largely unknown. Many of the foods that are grown in laboratory with genetic tampering for higher and more durable yields often are not tested long term. Although currently the research has not definitively shown negative consequences to human health, the long term results are completely unknown and unpredictable and have shown deformations in other species that have consumed it. 2. Genetic engineering of foods reduces genetic diversity which creates vulnerability to droughts and natural changes in the environment. Basically the more variability in a species the more likely it will survive the variability in the environment. Creating the possibility where one storm or a drought can completely wipe out a species. 3. GM foods have destroyed the livelihood of the small farmers. Due to the intellectual property laws, any seed that grows with the genetic makeup of the GM plants will be confiscated if not bought from the company that has produced it. The difficulty lies in the fact that these plants can pollute a farmer’s field with or without the farmer's intent. Also, GM companies sell seeds that are bio-engineered that only grow for one season, thus creating a perpetual demand for their seeds. 4. Modified genes can transfer between plants that create non-target species which was never intended and create unknown and unpredictable results. 5. GM foods require a large amount of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides (poisons) to grow. The problem lies in how the use of these poisons means a larger amount of it seeps into the water supply thus potentially having catastrophic health risks. The GM foods may or may not have future benefits for humanity in terms of creating a larger and more secure food supply. This is to be seen with long term studies. However, one thing is certain and that is that GM corporations are not in business to solve world hunger at all but to increase the profit and thus their market shares. The consequence of having a for-profit entity that is modifying human food consumption, a constant inelastic demand in society, can be catastrophic in scale when one takes into consideration that the corporations have effectively lobbied their way into every seat in the U.S. congress. To eat and have access to a healthy nutritious diet is a very basic human right which is violated by different food producing corporations such as Monsanto at an alarming risk to the environment and human health. Today, due to arbitrary ownership laws, fabricated ideas of "scarcities", arbitrary lines in the map to mark country borders, we are made to believe that being fed is a luxury, which is far from truth.
8 Russian gay rights activists protest in St. Petersburg
An LGBT group in St. Petersburg clashed with the police resulting in 67 arrests. The Russian campaigners for Gay rights have continued their protests since the inception of the anti-gay laws that were passed in June that bans homosexual "propaganda" directed at children. The arrest came during the time when the LGBT community in St. Petersburg was celebrating Coming Out Day. A day that was meant to create a sense of community and acceptance between people of different sexual orientation. This law has created a large growing discontent and protests among LGBT groups across the globe and the general population around the world via mainstream media. The law has in effect violated Gay people's right to free speech and assembly as well. This attack on the rights of LGBT community is conceived by the right wing, nationalist lobbyists, religious groups (the Orthodox Church especially) in the Russian government and has in part been used to curb the attention of the public media during times of government crisis and social upheavals. "Human rights", even in its current neoliberal mutilated and censored format, has granted the LGTB a string of rights and freedoms. These rights have come by as a result of years of protests and struggle of the LGTB communities around the world and are now become more or less an accepted fact in many developed nations. This history and struggle has now stamped permanence into the "progressive" culture in the Western world, a fact that the Putin dictatorship simply cannot undo with a single law and will continue to ignite and germinate resistance against this law.
9 Russian nationalists target migrant workers
The Russian police attacked and raided a vegetable warehouse and arrested more than 1200 migrant workers. This occurred consequent to the Russian nationalists accusing a migrant of murdering an ethnic Russian which caused mass rioting and attacks by the Russian Nationalists that left many injured. The Russian police characterized its raid as "pre-emptive" method to solving the situation. In addition, another 80 migrant workers were arrested in northern Moscow. In a reaction to this attack by the state, the Federation of Migrants warned all migrants of random attacks across Russia. Currently there is an estimate of over 4 million "illegal" migrants that work and or reside in Russia. Many of the Russian migrants travel to Russia due to the lack of job security back home. The migrants travel from former Soviet Union states and Central Asia to work out of sheer desperation to feed their families back home. With the Russian Olympics in the horizon, the Russian state has employed many migrants to reduce the cost of labour of this large project. This has resulted in migrant workers often working 12 hour shifts with little time off, underpaid, no job security (due their large numbers), often abused at work sites and injured without compensation. Further, the migrant workers also have their documents confiscated and are provided with unhealthy food and lodging (such as 200 men living in one house). Many of the workers are not granted the conditions of general workers in Russia such as the 40 hour work week and overtime pay. The workers are often paid 1.80 to 2.60 an hour, with some employers cheating workers out of wages by delaying wages. The Russian Winter Games it seems will be consistent with the on-going culture of large state investments: a hollow image of humanity's achievements in sports built on the blood and bones of workers.
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Environmental protests shutdown HSBC's flagship branch! HSBC is one of world's largest underwriters for bonds and shares in fossil fuels. Protesters dressed as coal miners closed off an area outside the bank and labelled it "climate crime scene" with hazard tape. This month protesters around the world are fighting against direct energy and they will be targeting financial institutions such as HSBC for their part in financing fossil fuels. Fossil fuel is extracted from locations across the globe with devastating consequences to the residents in the area with very little compensation: such as seven pence given to families in Indonesia that have been ruined by consequences oil extraction. This month is Direct Energy Month, which takes place from October 11th to November 11th. The group called Reclaim Power is a global advocate to raise awareness about issues such as climate change. Its goals are to build solidarity from the local to the national and regional areas in order resist dirty and harmful energy and to fight for alternative energy systems that are renewable, safe and clean and most importantly: owned and operated by and for the people and communities! This call to action comes at a time when in Montreal this month people have been demonstrating in front of the National Energy Board site where hearings are taking place for Enbridge INC. is planning to pipe oil sands crude eastward which will consequently destroy the lives of the First Nations and other residents that live along the pipeline's route. Labelled as the Line 9 project will reverse the crude oil along a 639 kilometre pipeline between Montreal and Westover Ontario, which will pump 300, 000 barrels of oil eastward every day. Enbridge is the same corporation that played an important role in 2010 Kalamazoo River spill that caused the costliest and most damaging oil spells in U.S. history. The protestors were met with heavy riot police presence which arrested 29 protesters and handed out fines of 700 dollars for participating in "unlawful assembly". http://reclaimpower.net/call-to-action
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Get Out Of My Vagina: Femen disrupt Spain's parliament! Chanting "abortion is sacred!" and painted on their chests, three Femen activists disrupt the Spanish parliament during speeches. The Spanish Femen group is led by Lara Alcazar, who was detained and later released after 12 hours in custody The abortion laws that are being reformed (overseen by Mr Ruiz-Gallardon) will make abortion far more restrictive. The current law that was installed by the previous government (Spain's socialist party in 2010) allows women the right to abortion under all circumstances until the 14th week of pregnancy and the 22nd week if the foetus is deformed. This law will force many pregnant women to go abroad to have the procedure and is a bold misogynistic statement by the Spanish parliament. "Get out of my vagina!" campaign of Femen sent a loud and clear message to the politicians and Catholic institutions in Spain and specifically to Justice Alberto Gallardon who is currently lobbying the law banning abortion and only allowing it for cases of rape and "if the mother's life is at risk". Femen in Spain recognize that this is a open attack on women's rights and is fully supported by the Catholic institutions in Spain with their patriarchal grip on the Spanish parliament and law makers. The group members declared that "this is just the beginning of Femen in Spain" and they will be launching centres for women who want to join the group and receive training.
12 Iran's revolutionary guard arrests a "network of homosexuals and Satanists" at a birthday party at Kermanshah Once again the Islamic republic of Iran displays it’s prejudicial and intolerance through an attack of a homosexual group in Iran. Among the group members were foreign nationals which included Iraqis, where eight of the group members were to marry each other. The ceremony was taking place in one of the city's ceremony halls which was rented for the party of 80. The group which was by no means homogenous included both straight and gay Iranians. When the revolutionary guards attacked the party and arrested at least 17 individuals that had tattoos, make-up and or wearing rainbow bracelets (the LGTB flag) and were blindfolded and taken to an undisclosed location. The party members that videotaped the episodes had their mobile phones confiscated as well. The LGTB community in Iran has been under constant attacks by the Islamic regime since the 1979 revolution where they came to conflict with the regime's penal code. Under the penal code homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment, corporal punishment (lashes), and or execution. From the year 1979 to 1990 there have been recorded 107 cases of executions with the charges related to homosexuality and many more following that date till today (Amnesty International). It is also punishable by law to publish any information or articles that may even suggest that IRAN has a LGTB community. This is despite the government’s frequent denial of the LGTB community in Iran. In a speech in Columbia University in New York during a UN visit, former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country". Despite the repression and illegitimacy of the LGTB community in Iran the gay Iranian community outside Iran has been actively advocating for their rights: groups such as The Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees which operates in Toronto, Canada. The IRQO provides Iranian homosexuals an avenue to communicate with activists around the world. As one of these advocating groups, the Communist Youth Organization of the Workers' Communist Party of Iran has also stood by the LGTB people in Iran and has been continually protesting and taking actions against the regime to stop its brutal despotic attacks on the LGTB youth and adults in Iran. The right to sexuality is the right to express and practice one's sexuality and to be free of discrimination, prejudice on the grounds of sexual orientation. This right is one of our most elemental universal human rights. The Islamic republic, with its archaic definition of humanity and its despotic actions towards the LGTB community has once again underscored the fact that Islam and human rights are incompatible. Further, that the first and foremost step towards the freedom to practice one's sexual orientation must begin with the downfall of the Islamic republic and the eradication of Islam (and religion) from all public institutions in Iran.
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Teachers protest in Rio de Janeiro
Since June of this year, there has been continued anti-government protests across Brazil calling for more public spending on schools, healthcare, transportation and a stop to corruption in the government. Brazil is under the spotlight by being the host nation of the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games of 2016. The government of Brazil has allocated 26 Billion U.S dollars for preparation for two events. This week the teachers have joined the protests in their thousands and have demanded a radical change in their work environment where one of the largest concerns is the shortage of 300,000 teachers which has led to oversized classes and weak learning environment for the students. Under the pressure, the Rousseff's government has made the proclamation that the people will see a 75 percent oil royalties for education and 25 per cent for healthcare: this is yet to be seen. This year the people of Brazil have made it clear to the world that the government of Brazil has made the World Cup and the Olympics the national priority over the very basic needs of the people. This is not a betrayal of the people since Brazil's government is itself has never been an institution to put the needs of the people first before profit. Brazil is the world's sixth largest economy and one of the hottest places for a return on capital during this economic crisis. The two largest games, the World Cup and the Olympics are investment opportunities for the government, that no matter how much is spend on the two events, no matter the social and human cost, it will yield profit the for the corporations invested in them. The Western media has once again focused on the violence and chaos of the people's protests. The headlines often describe the "Black Bloc" anarchist group's activities and less on the poverty line pay of the teachers, the demands of the people for social services they deserve while the government of Brazil is spending an enormous 26 Billion on two events. If violence and chaos is the headlines, than why not ask: if a child is not given the right to a proper education, if a family condemned to poverty, is that not violence too?
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Artist convicted of racism for speaking out against Islam! Over 100,000 people signed a petition that demanded the Swiss government to provide all citizens of Switzerland with the basic monthly income of $2,800 dollars. Currently Switzerland does not have a minimum wage law, and wages are decided by negotiations between the workers and the corporations. This petition was followed by a proposal that was passed last March that put the world's strictest control on executive pay, a 1:12 ratio that means the executive can only be paid 12 times the wages of the lowest paid employee of the same company. Why is an unconditional basic income significant? Put very simply, currently living on planet earth as a humanbeing requires one to produce an income, via the exploitation of labour, in order to practice what is the most basic: to live. One is forced to work in order to provide the very basic necessities of life such as food and shelter. The idea behind the basic income proposed in Switzerland is that it will allow the Swiss people a right to dignity, a right to do what they wish to do and not be pressured to work in order to provide themselves with the very basic necessities of life. People will be less pressured to work for paying their bills and will work for doing what they enjoy. The basic pay law being considered in Switzerland is by no means a new idea and is rooted in John Lock's natural rights of all people, Thomas Paine's ideas and then later on in the 19th century proposed by many socialist revolutionaries such as Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Written centuries ago, Lock natural rights is as follows: Life: everyone is entitled to live once they are created. Liberty: everyone is entitled to do anything they want to so long as it doesn't conflict with the first right. Estate: everyone is entitled to own all they create or gain through gifts or trade so long as it doesn't conflict with the first two rights. Currently many Western countries have installed social services or "welfare states" that provide for those that are unable to work, or are unemployed, a low monthly income which is designed to be transitional at best, in order to reintroduce the individual back into the workforce: a worker "repair" system. Other social security include healthcare which is also fleeting with increasing privatization taking place in almost all developed countries in the name of "cut-backs" and "austerity measures". All services provided by the welfare states which date back to post WW2 period are paid via taxation and government market gambling and are by no means "free" for the working class. The basic income law being written into the Swiss constitution granted it is passed, is by no means free of cost to the Swiss people either. The burden of the cost only depends on the income level of the workers and the percentage of taxation of high income earners such as corporations and executives. In short, the collective workers of Switzerland are paying the cost, however what is changed is the method of payment. It could also mean a financial transaction tax (Switzerland being one the major banking centres of the world), however this is very unlikely considering the government lobbying by special interests. Despite the cost of "basic income law" being simply a shift in spending capital of the current social services of the country, this law will make a bold and important statement: that it is a fundamental human right to have all basic needs met. It is by no means a socialist change in society, however it does encompass the humanities struggle to regain his/her human dignity from the clutches of capitalism's imposed inequality. It is also in part a desperate effort of reformists to regain control a now more conscientious and militant working class when facing a world undergoing a global capitalist crisis. The working class should not by any means celebrate a "basic income" but instead to demand to be paid back and compensated for over a century of unpaid exploitation of their labour! Throwing cash that already belongs to the workers by Imperialism's flagship, Swiss government will not fool the working class to believe that there is a "better" side to capitalism and that it can be "reformed", instead it will further fuel the contemporary revolutionary workers' movements around the world to regain and take
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General Vo Nguyen Giap: the architect of modern guerrilla warfare Giap is widely considered by the left and the right wing groups as one of history's greatest military generals who played a pivotal part in the defeat of the West in the First Indochina War (1946-1954) and the Vietnam War (1960-1975), dies at the age of 102. A journalist and a history teacher became the General of the Vietnamese forces under the Ho Chi Minh government against three powerful Western countries: Japan, France and the United States. During the Vietnam war Giap utilized the terrain and high mobility of troops to outsmart stronger and far better equipped enemies. One of his greatest Victories (political as well as military) includes the defeat of the French forces in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu and in 1965 engaging the United States at the "Tet" offensive and the eventual "fall of Saigon" on April 30, 1975. The "Tet" offensive was an important element in the spark of the people's uprising and Peace Movement in the heart of the United States. In order to train his soldiers in guerrilla tactics Giap wrote a book that was titled "People's War, People's Army" in 1962, which included encouraging his soldiers to make local alliances and loyalty to support the soldiers during the war: one of his many tactics that is still being used today in modern guerrilla warfare. His significance in history will remain as Giap being the architect behind the creation of the modern day Guerrilla warfare, and that a large and better equipped army can be forced into retreat and defeat via local support of the people: "Every inhabitant is a solider, every village a fortress." The defeat of the West in Vietnam created one of the important foundations of anti-colonialism movement around the world.
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Islamic Republic of Iran: the frontrunner of paedophilia This week lawmakers in Iran passed a law to legalize adopted 13 year old girls to marry their father, and boys to marry at the age of 15. Girls that are not yet 13 can still marry their father, however it will require a judge’s ruling, as per the Guardian Council. In Iran there are currently 42,000 children married between the ages of 10 to 14 years of age (2010). In Tehran alone, 75 children were married under the age of 10 in the same year. Under Islam young girls as young as 9 years of age are already legal to be married, this law is an addition to the already established paedophilia laws established in all Islamic stricken countries. The magnitude of this child abuse law is beyond imagination, and cannot even enter the imagination of people living in the West, or anyone with any sense of humanity. The result of marrying a child at any age will results in emotional, physical and sexual abuse that the victim may never recover from even if provided a chance to escape. However, there will never be an escape from human rights abuse under the Islamic regime. The IRA encompasses a total attack on the elemental parts of our human fabric and has done this with the "legitimacy" of Islam. With this law and many before it, the IRA has completely wrapped it's bloody hands around the necks of women and children and has left the female gender absolutely no room for manoeuvre or escape. The Rouhani government has introduced this law with the newly made brand of "moderate" in the Western media. The Western governments, with Obama as their flag bearer, as well as the UN in general, have all a parts to play in the further legalization of child abuse and paedophilia by giving Rouhani and IRA greater legitimacy on the world stage. The IRA has a long list of human rights abuses that includes continued executions and incarceration of political prisoners, torture and women's rights abuse that is far more than necessary to exclude the IRA regime from all political negotiations. The IRA cannot be reformed or made moderate. Human rights abuse, and specifically women's rights abuse is its elemental core of its inception which is guarded by the Guardian council. The only freedom of women and children in Iran can only come from a total eradication and elimination of the regime from its roots to guarantee a free and humane society.
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Nobel Peace Prize: the joke of the century As the news breaks about the nomination of the Russian dictator Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin for the Nobel Peace Prize, the worth of the once prestigious prize is once again undermined. The Noble Peace prize was first established in 1985 by Alfred Nobel, and the first prizes were awarded in 1901. The award encompasses fields such as physics, chemistry, physiology, literature and of course peace. The prize also includes a cash award.
Vladimir Putin that boasts about his large popularity with the die-hard Russian nationalists in the so called "democratic" Russia, was nominated for the award largely for him averting a strike on the Syrian regime by the United States. This was due to inside and behind the doors negotiations between the two countries so called "leaders" which had very little to do with chemical weapons and more to do with dividing the Middle East. If the issue was chemical weapons, the United sides has a long history of either using them or turning a blind eye after the so called "treaty" post WWI: Agent orange in Vietnam, 1988 chemical attack in Halabja, and the modern example of using depleted uranium in the second gulf war. Even though countries, Russia and the U.S., lead the world in the distribution and sales of weapons, and are currently arming both sides of the war in Syria, this did not hold back the Nobel Peace committee in accepting the nomination.
After all the president of the United States, namely Obama, has terrorized the world with his use of drones, and has had a hand in almost every war and armed struggles in North Africa all the way to the Middle East was awarded the prize, than why not Putin???
Over the century nominations have included Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Last year we even saw the possible nomination of Ahmadinejad for the prize! At that point the world thought the Noble Peace Prize cake had finally received its long awaited cherry on top, but now we are surprised once more! The peace prize is today nothing more than a collective joke among the lobbied governments to win grass roots approval at home and abroad in order to further continue their agenda of exploitation at home with a glow of "general approval" of people. It is nothing more than a tool of the ruling class to maintain and propagate the statuesque. Today the Nobel Peace prize is as useless and meaningless as the United Nations when it comes to the matter of peace. It truly is the joke of the century, but unfortunately, no one is laughing!
18
Detroit bankruptcy: passing on the cost
The city of Detroit continues its negotiation with its creditors in regards to repaying billions of dollars of its debt. Detroit's bankruptcy is the highest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the US. The Bankruptcy was judged in court where supposedly everyone's concerns is to be heard, only allowed for a few minutes for the many pensioners to express their concerns at the loss of their pensions that they had accumulated for many years of exploitation. As expected the cost of repayment to the creditors was transferred to the workers of Detroit via wage cuts, benefits cuts and the pensions of the current workers and the retirees. Cuts to healthcare benefits results in only a $125 dollar monthly replacement that will not be enough to buy the cheapest health coverage. Other cuts included selling off the cities recreational facilities such as parks and the city zoo. The city's unions presidents that are supposedly to "represent" the majority of the workers in the manufacturing city did next to nothing to defend the workers by demanding the transfer of the cost of the bankruptcy to the corporations or to the Federal government in the fear of losing the workers union dues. When the workers' unions are acting like corporate for-profit institutions and the on-going demand and pressure of the lobbied government to pass on the cost of capitalism's financial crisis to the workers, this trend will always continue. Workers of Detroit have long been abandoned by their unions, and there is not a single powerful working class party to represent and enforce their demands. Collaborative work of the unions with the government has delivered the following results: 10 dollar wage cuts, and cuts to benefits furthers the deplorable levels of exploitation of the workers in Detroit.
19
Bahrain holds its largest protest yet!
Once
again the Western governments and media turn a blind eye to the on-going protests in Bahrain against the Islamists ruling monarchy. The people of Bahrain have been waving the revolutionary flag of the Arab Spring since its inception. They have continually protested against the dictator in their country which is the likes of other dictators such as Ben Ali and Mubarak. Marching in their thousands, this week the Western media had no choice but to acknowledge the people. The Bahraini government has thus far used violence, torture and imprisonment to silence the people. Despite the Western government's self-definition of the flag bearers of "human rights" and "freedoms", no significant statements has thus far been made to defend the rights of the people to protests against the ruthless dictatorial rule in Bahrain. This week the people hit the streets of Manama waving flags and chanting "Revolution until Victory!" The news may not break, but the truth is evident. Any revolutions in the area is directly against the interests of the US (which hold is Fifth Fleet in the area) and Saudi Arabia that stands ready with its finger on the trigger to suppress any revolutionary movements in the area. The economic interests of both the above countries have made Bahrain a major priority for their influence. Contagious Arab Spring revolutionary ideas are being suppressed by any means possible. However, despite this, the people of Bahrain have made it crystal clear: the people united can never be defeated !
20 Tunisian secularists, unions, journalists and workers demand an end to the Ennahda regime!
Tunisia, a pivotal country in the Arab spring revolutions which shook Africa and the rest of the world, is now reclaiming its secular roots by protesting against the hijacking of their government by the Islamists. This month the world witnessed continual protests by the Tunisian people to end the Islamist grip of Tunisian government. Unions, journalists, youths and workers came to the streets to demand the end to the attacks on the freedoms and the human rights of the Tunisian people. The Ennahda Islamist government supported by the Muslim Brotherhood has used assassinations and delay techniques to hold on to power in the face of a large and growing opposition in the country. The secular block has now united with the demand for new elections with the backing of unions and workers in the country. The time line of the Arab Spring has shown the growing discontent and the determination of the people to no longer allow Islamic groups to take advantage of a revolutionary period to hijack power and to install their reactionary regimes. In both Egypt and in Tunisia the Islamist governments are seeing their decline and inevitable downfall. Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood simply have no answers to the elemental concern of the people’s revolution: an economic collapse of the markets in North Africa. This collapse that has led to millions being unemployed and has dictated a state of poverty for the people cannot be solved by theological regimes. There is not one verse in the Quran that will mend real economic crisis in North Africa.
21 Thousands of Greeks protest against the far-right Golden Dawn party! Greece that
has been in a state of struggle against imposed austerity measures that were adopted and designed only to save the corporations, is now facing the growing dangers of the Golden Dawn party. The Golden Dawn party with its fascist slogans promotes anti-immigrant, anti-communist and racist views in Greece. This group has taken advantage of the poverty stricken population of Greece to win more votes in the elections. Currently the Golden Dawn party has 7% of the votes, as per the last election (2012). It is by no means a new episode in history, where during times of poverty and hardship groups such as the Golden Dawn grow in their membership. Post WWI Europe was gripped by far-right wing parties: however today the people of Greece have said loud and clear that they will not break the fabric of their humanity and point at the "other" as the cause of their poverty. Greece is currently facing unemployment of 27% (by right-wing estimates) and nearly 65% unemployment among the youth. Despite this and further misery that is pushed down the throats of the Greeks by the European central bank and the European Union, the Greeks are not giving groups such as the Golden Dawn a place to spread their reactionary ideas, as stated by their banners: "The days of tolerance are over"