Portside

Re: Donald Trump’s Sanity Is Not the Question. The Real Issue Is How He Got Into Office (Elinore Krell; Ken Owen; Gordon Galland)
Warren, Sanders and Medicare for All (Arlene Halfon)
Re: The Fierce Urgency of Less (Jenny Kastner; Wendi Galczik)
I Am a Lesser Crook  --  cartoon by Mike Luckovich
Re: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Backs Bernie Sanders at NYC Rally (Diane Laison; Nancy J. Martin; Beth Edelman; Masaru Edmund Nakawatase)
Re: Why Some Young Voters are Choosing Democratic Socialism over the Democratic Party (Kipp Dawson; Ted Cloak)
Re: When German Unions Built Housing for the People (Jay Schaffner; Judy Atkins)
Re: Vietnam Moratorium: A Day To Remember (Daniel Millstone; Aida Rivera)
Re: Don’t Forget: Nuclear Weapons Are an Existential Threat, Too (Extinction Rebellion Southern Vermont)
Re: How the Mainstream Media Tries to Convince You That Medicare for All Is Impossible (Jonathan Blagburn; Bobby Calimano)
Re: PKK Letter to the American People and President Trump (Colette Collette; Steve Hanson; Arlene)
Get Over It  --  cartoon by Robert Ariail
Re: The US Stole Generations of Native American Children to Open the West (Mark Dworkin)
Re: 'Work Or Go To Jail': How LA Courts Force Thousands To Do Unpaid Labor (Domingo Soto; Chris Brady)
Re: Government-Sponsored Retirement Plans for Private-Sector Workers Fall Short (Philip Specht)
Re: The ‘Glass Floor’ Is Keeping America’s Richest Idiots At The Top (Lucie Morales)
Re: Insular, Controversial Picks for Nobel Literature Laureates (Kurt Stand)
Re: Sacha Baron Cohen Nails the Problem With Zuckerberg’s Freedom of Expression Defense (Beth Bugginout; Dan Jordan; Mary O'Connell; Lüko Willms; Helen Loughrey)
Re: Without Encryption, We Will Lose All Privacy. This Is Our New Battleground (Pamela Altmeyer Alvey)

Shorts:

Vermont High School Girls' Soccer Team Penalized for Removing Jerseys to Reveal #EqualPay shirts (Austin Danforth - Burlington Free Press)

Resources:

A Comprehensive Map of American Lynchings (Laura Bliss - CityLab)
How Will New Technology Affect the Future of Warehouse Jobs? (Working Partnerships USA)
Farewell to the World Social Forum? - Panel of WSF Veterans Discuss It's Past, Present and Future (Great Transition Initiative)
Introducing STRIKE! The Game of Worker Rebellion! (Jobs With Justice)

Announcements:

Celebrate Risk-Taking Journalists - New York City - October 29 (annual Aronson Awards)
We Are The People: Democratic Socialism 30 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall - New York City - three events - October 31, November 10 and 12 (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung | New York Office)
40th anniversary of the Greensboro Massacre - Greensboro, NC - November 1 - 3 (Greensboro Massacre: Lessons for Today)
Screening Event - Pane Amaro (Bitter Bread - New York - November 2 (Vito Marcantonio Forum)
Capitalism vs. Socialism Debate - New York - November 5 (Soho Forum)
Webinar: The Future of Warehouse Work: Technological Change in the U.S. Logistics Industry - November 7 (UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education Institute for Research on Labor and Employment)
Green Worker Cooperatives Social Justice Holiday Market - Bronx - November 17
The Jewish Left & Our Electoral Insurgency - New York City - November 19 (Jewish Currents and The Jewish Vote)

 

Re: Donald Trump’s Sanity Is Not the Question. The Real Issue Is How He Got Into Office
 

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over 2.5 million. And there were people who didn't vote for her simply because she's a woman. Misogyny as well as white racism also played a part in the 2016 election.

Elinore Krell
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Trump is in office because the electoral college has turned the presidency into a auction instead of a election abolish the electoral college or get used to assholes in charge

Ken Owen
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

The demographic tide is running against the GOP; but, thanks entirely to Trump, it squeezed out a last-minute victory.
It is as though the Confederates won at Gettysburg; or the Nazis at Stalingrad...

Gordon Galland
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Warren, Sanders and Medicare for All
 

In my mind Warren and Sanders are equal at this point. There are some things I like better of hers and other times, he's better. Sanders began the movement for a better country, which ultimately would lead to a better world. On universal healthcare, I'm closer to Warren. I don't understand what "Medicare for All would actually mean in practice. 

Like Warren, I agree with a market-based economy (what Capitalism should mean) but we don't have one (we have what Marx predicted "capitalism" would become). Even our low-income social programs are geared to tax breaks for the wealthy more than help for the poor (I worked in HUD and that's true of housing policy; I assume other programs are similar). I want a market-based economy with a very high social/economic safety net and not one where government helps businesses when they get in trouble instead of helping the people these businesses exploit. 

Having said that, what we have now is "private insurance with a public option" for those who can afford it. What Universal Health Care should provide is "PUBLIC INSURANCE with a private option". Eventually people will move away from the private option: How many union members will want to remain in company sponsored insurance now that GM is using it as a bargaining/ultimatum chip. 

How will it be paid for? Mostly taxes, which for most of us are unlikely to exceed what we now spend for all our insurance and out of pocket costs. However, taxes must be fairer--progressive and discussed by effective tax rate, not highest tax bracket. It's easier to understand. The taxes must be the same for ALL income whether by working, growth in stock and other asset value, inheritance, etc. 

My biggest problem with Bernie's suggestion is lack of co-pays. This leads to my situation, the Dr. suggests it, I don't evaluate it fully, I do it. Co-pays should be based on effective tax rate (when done fairly) with annual maximums based on ALL income. Everything else is paid for by taxes and, as Bernie says, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and I would add dental, and long term care. If someone wants private insurance, the actuaries can determine what an individual would likely spend in the year and UHC would pay the private company that amount minus what that individual co-pays. 

I think either one of them (Sanders or Warren) would eventually develop a workable model.

Arlene Halfon

 

Re: The Fierce Urgency of Less
 

#Bernie2020 is the only candidate who understands that we can't slow-walk the solutions. Neoliberalism has run its deadly course.

Jenny Kastner
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Desperate men desperately losing...

Wendi Galczik
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

I Am a Lesser Crook  --  cartoon by Mike Luckovich
 

Mike Luckovich
October 20, 2019
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

Re: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Backs Bernie Sanders at NYC Rally
 

Bernie changed this country; he made possible many of the important developments happening now. (He also made some other candidates take better positions than they might have otherwise taken.) His progressive roots go way back and deep. It is great to see this humongous rally supporting him. Bernie is far & away the best candidate for president of the U.S.!

Diane Laison
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Regardless of whether Bernie Sanders is ever elected to high office his contributions and his influence has been enormous and we all owe him so much gratitude.

Nancy J. Martin
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

I agree that Bernie is a central figure in moving forward the movement for substantive progress, specially for workers. Bernie began his journey in Wisconsin. It was Wisconsin workers' fight back (previous to 2016) against Wisconsin's governor Scott Walker that made history as well as national headlines. It was these struggles that make Bernie select Wisconsin as his first stop in his 2016 campaign.

Beth Edelman
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Among his many contributions to the American political scene is that Bernie has proven that you don't need corporate money to run a substantive campaign. And of course, if you don't depend on corporate money you can run a substantive campaign challenging corporate power!

Masaru Edmund Nakawatase
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Why Some Young Voters are Choosing Democratic Socialism over the Democratic Party
 

When even the NY Times acknowledges this . . .

"For many young, progressive Americans, democratic socialism is a far better representation of their ambitions of far-reaching structural change across the economy and society than the agenda of the Democratic Party, which they see as overly influenced by corporate interests, big-money donors and moderate traditionalists."

For those who can't access NY Times articles, the wonderful people at Portside offer this link

Kipp Dawson
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

I hope the YDSAers realize that they must register to vote as Democrats in order to vote for Bernie in the upcoming primary election!

Ted Cloak

 

Re: When German Unions Built Housing for the People
 

In New York City, am lucky to live in a limited-equity coop development (15 buildings, 2820 apartments) that was built with financing from what was then one of the city's largest trade unions, the ILGWU - International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.

Jay Schaffner
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Thanks for this article. We are beginning to organize a conference on housing here. I was just wondering about Germany and lo here is this Portside article! 

Judy Atkins
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Vietnam Moratorium: A Day To Remember
 

see: Fifty Years Ago Today, US Soldiers Joined the Vietnam Moratorium Protests in Mass Numbers

Daniel Millstone
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Vietnam was the most foolish war we ever got involved and American youth was being massacred in the rice fields. Universities were emptied of young men since service was obligatory. Many never returned and those who did, too many came back either with PTSD or hooked on drugs. It lasted almost 19 years. Too many lost their youth there.

Aida Rivera
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Don’t Forget: Nuclear Weapons Are an Existential Threat, Too
 

    “... if this study shows anything, it’s that no nuclear weapon should be considered “usable.” Any nuclear exchange anywhere is likely to have catastrophic consequences for the earth’s climate and human health everywhere.”

Extinction Rebellion Southern Vermont
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: How the Mainstream Media Tries to Convince You That Medicare for All Is Impossible
 

The UK has had 'Medicare for All' (i.e. the NHS) since 1948. The UK has also had private health insurance for those who can afford it and want faster service (BUPA) since 1947.

Jonathan Blagburn
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

It should be as simple as a person goes to the hospital gets taken care of and doesn't leave with a bill that would bankrupt him...

Bobby Calimano
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: PKK Letter to the American People and President Trump
 

The Kurds, as the Palestinians, have never targeted anyone. They have simply fought for the right to exist. wtf is wrong with our $money warmongers???

Colette Collette
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

I am so ashamed of Trump’s abandoning the Kurds. Disgraceful. Trump has destroyed our credibility in the world.

Steve Hanson
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Since the US is responsible for the situation for the Syrian Kurds, and it's recognized they have to leave to survive, we should be providing them refuge in the US, along with providing the means for them to get here. That's the least we owe them. After all, Trump didn't help us at Normandy either. Once we take responsibility for the Syrian Kurds, maybe we can start taking responsibility for those in the Central American countries whose poverty (and ultimately the violence) we helped to create. 

Arlene
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Get Over It  --  cartoon by Robert Ariail
 

Robert Ariail
October 21, 2019
The Sumter Item (South Carolina)

 

Re: The US Stole Generations of Native American Children to Open the West
 

is there no horror that racist imperialists will not visit upon native people....

much the same thing happened in Canada, a story that we covered in our nationally broadcast HOW CAN I KEEP ON SINGING? - a history film about the Okanogan valley in Washington state, which shares the stories of European settlers and of the indigenous people whose lives were changed forever by their arrival.

Mark Dworkin
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: 'Work Or Go To Jail': How LA Courts Force Thousands To Do Unpaid Labor
 

If you're forced to work, for any reason, in any system, there is no other name to call this type of servitude, in this century, as modern slavery. And if under the control of any political party, or group of people, or justice system, it's a crime in itself punishable by existing law against any type of enforced servitude that borders imposed slavery.

Domingo Soto
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

Guarantee decent work.

Chris Brady
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Government-Sponsored Retirement Plans for Private-Sector Workers Fall Short

(posting on Portside Labor)
 

Another Republican "You're on your own" plan, sink or swim, it's up to you.

Philip Specht
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: The ‘Glass Floor’ Is Keeping America’s Richest Idiots At The Top
 

Wonder how much #45's father and #45 himself paid for his sons to get "educated". Cause, honestly, none of them sound/look bright enough to do it on their own. Good thing they have money to back them up. They'd never survive the street.

Lucie Morales
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Insular, Controversial Picks for Nobel Literature Laureates

(posting on Portside Culture)
 

Jennifer Wilson is correct to critique the decision-making process for the Nobel Prize in Literature for an insularity that reflects itself with a disproportionate focus on European writers and European concerns. I’ll add that there is something unseemly about competition around literature prizes in and off itself as if we should look at writers and judges as though they were engaged in a horse race (though since that is how the mainstream media looks at elections, I guess it is no surprise).

That said, Wilson’s article reflects an insularity of a different sort, as she joins in the chorus of denunciation of Peter Handke going so far as to accuse him of an "abject embrace of militarized nationalism," as though he were a Trump-like writer or a supporter of neo-fascist parties that have gained support throughout Europe, West and East An alternative view would recognize the importance of Handke remaining wedded to a “Never Again” politics that stands squarely and uncompromisingly against the rebirth of the German war machine. It seems odd that someone opposed to “militarized nationalism” would not applaud Handke’s denunciation of Germany’s bombing of cities it had bombed only some few decades before. It is hardly coincidental that Germany reunification was quickly followed by the country’s first participation in military action outside its borders by taking part in NATO’s air strikes against Belgrade – an action that felt ominous to anyone concerned about a nationalism with a particularly deadly history. Since then, Germany has sent troops to Afghanistan and elsewhere outside Europe's borders, provides support to the Saudi government in its assault on Yemen, played an outsized roll in imposing austerity on the people of Greece and become a major arms exporter. All this presumably to bring "civilization." to the uncivilized as part of the community of nations that demonstrate higher culture by sending troops to kill people in poorer countries around the world. Handke's denunciation of what passes for "European values" names the hypocrisy that has so much to do with the crisis of our times.

Wilson inadvertently reflects the true spirit of such values by identifying Handke by reference to his Serbian mother (perhaps she thinks ethnic roots dictate politics) rather than as an Austrian writer steeped in German language and culture. Handke was part of a literary circle (including Elfriede Jelinek and the late Thomas Bernhard) whose uncomfortable writing sought to confront readers or theater-goers assumptions, to confront conformity to society's dominant values. Handke's difficult and piercing writing stands as a challenge to the ease with which Austria and Germany's political and business elites moved from support of fascism to support of "liberal western democracy" without questioning their own power or privilege (and within which sexual violence and "casual" racism fit all too easily). More to the point, his writing dissects language used to rationalize acceptance and undermine critical reflection. It is perhaps for that reason that a German literary establishment quite comfortable with the established order reacts so negatively to Handke and so passively to the re-emergence of German militarism and overseas "civilizing" missions. Of course, the same is true in the United States -- NATO's assault on Yugoslavia during the Clinton Administration helped rationalize so-called humanitarian intervention as the iron fist in the velvet glove of today's neo-colonialism (I highly recommend David Gibbs' book on the destruction of Yugoslavia, First Do No Harm, for those still inclined to accept the State Department and Pentagon views of the world as gospel).

It is to the discredit of PEN America that, irrespective of their position on that war, they are so quick to denounce a writer willing to use the craft of writing to appeal to people to stop, think, reflect. Their denunciations -- at least those I have read that -- like Wilson's, wholly ignore Handke's novels. That is unfortunate, for it seems that a discussion off his work should begin with a discussion of his novels such as The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, The Great Fall, Crossing the Sierra de Gredos, and others that depict the loneliness, ennui, silences, brutalities and anonymity of daily life. These speak to the world we live in now, of a sense of lacks in life, that lie in the background of the rise of nativist, anti-immigrant, racist violence. In that respect, Handke's writing embodies a critical democratic ethos analogous to what one finds in the very different kind of writing found in Olga Tokarczuk's novels. Of course, Wilson is right in pointing to the importance of Maryse Conde -- one hopes that she, Elif Shafak, Ngugi Wa Thiongo'o and other authors outside Europe's borders are chosen in the future. But for now, we can do worse than acknowledging the validity of this year's Nobel literature prize picks by reading and discussing and thinking about what Tokarczuk's and Handke's works have to say concerning the world we currently inhabit.

Kurt Stand
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Sacha Baron Cohen Nails the Problem With Zuckerberg’s Freedom of Expression Defense
 

I don't think this news. It is publicity for this guy and he is offensive
to many people, including me

Beth Bugginout

     =====

"If he owned a fancy restaurant and 4 neo-Nazis came goose-stepping into the dining room and were talking loudly about wanting to kill ‘Jewish scum,’ would he serve them an elegant eight-course meal? Or would tell them to get the f**k out of his restaurant? It’s the same thing,” added the “Borat” star."
 

Dan Jordan
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

There is very little freedom where money is involved.

Mary O'Connell
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

     =====

this means that you support censorship?

Lüko Willms

     =====

What?!
Sounded so promising, only to justify Zuckerface throwing people off social media for political opinions he dislikes.
The restaurant analogy is all wrong.

A better analogy is Bell Telephone Company.
If the phone company cut off your phone service because it had listened in to your conversations and banned you for your political opinions, that would be abuse of monopolistic power.

Helen Loughrey
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Without Encryption, We Will Lose All Privacy. This Is Our New Battleground
 

What is the recommended group action to reinforce the use of more thorough encryption across these platforms?

Pamela Altmeyer Alvey

 

Vermont high school girls' soccer team penalized for removing jerseys to reveal #EqualPay shirts
 

By Austin Danforth
October 19, 2019
Burlington Free Press

The Burlington High School girls soccer team had a statement to make Friday night.

And when the Seahorses finally got a goal, the ice-breaker with less than five minutes to play, they seized their chance. Moments after Helen Worden's unlikely shot found the back of the net, the BHS players wheeled away toward the grandstand in celebration, several peeling off the tops of their blue uniforms to reveal  custom-made white jerseys beneath. 

The message: #EQUALPAY.

Their effort to join the stars of the World Cup-winning U.S. women's national soccer team advocating for gender equality had a spotlight at Buck Hard Field. But their protest of the wage gap also came at a price — anyone who takes off her jersey during a game earns an automatic yellow card. 

"I kinda liked that part," Maggie Barlow said, "I just didn't like the part where we lost (the lead)."

South Burlington equalized two minutes later and neither side could supply another goal after that, forcing the Seahorses to settle for something other than the victory they'd imagined for their regular-season finale. However, Burlington hardly lost the day.

As the referees issued yellow cards at midfield to four Burlington players, the crowd chanted the slogan on the front of those white shirts. Many of them were wearing the #equalpay jerseys, part of the more than 500 the BHS team had already sold as part of their fundraising campaign. 
 

"We would not have done it if we were not wearing our equal pay jerseys," Worden said. 

"It's a good cause," Barlow said. 

Originally the teens' plan was to make #equalpay shirts for their team's dress-up day. It wasn't long before athletes on other BHS teams wanted in and word spread beyond the school's halls.

"Then we partnered with some organizations that focus on women's economic security in Vermont and we designed these jerseys and it kind of spread like wildfire," Lydia Sheeser said.

The initiative quickly blossomed from a soccer-only idea to a far-reaching movement — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and his wife, Marcelle, were among those who bought one of the Nike shirts. Each costs $25, with men invited to pay 16% more ($4.80) as a symbol of the average disparity between what men and women make in Vermont.

The girls team encouraged the BHS boys team to join them and even helped fundraise to provide jerseys for them to wear during warm-ups. Wearing the special jerseys during a recent game, the boys celebrated in similar fashion but with a subtle difference sparing them from any yellow cards.

"When they scored, they lifted (their jersey) up but didn't actually take it off," Barlow said. "They ended up being really enthusiastic about it and that's been like my favorite part."

Now they're on the verge of ordering another 300 jerseys next week. The profits will go toward helping diversify Greater Burlington Girls Soccer League, Sheeser said, hopefully alleviating transportation issues that keep girls from the New North End from participating.

"I think if we try to figure out some kind of bus we can set up or some partnerships with them, we can make it work for everyone," Sheeser said. 

Order shirts here.
 

By bringing attention to the existing wage gap between men and women, the players want to spur change that allows the youth league to better represent the city it serves.

"The demographics of Burlington don't really match the demographics of GBGSL," Barlow said.

"And then eventually, hopefully, they'll come and play here at BHS," Worden said. "Our team doesn't reflect the demographics of Burlington either, ultimately."

 

A Comprehensive Map of American Lynchings
 

Lynchings formed the bloody backdrop of Southern life for a century after the Civil War. Between the 1860s and 1960s, thousands of black Americans were killed in public acts of racial terror. Millions more fled to cities in the North and West in an effort to escape this environment. Many soon discovered that, in many ways, the rest of American society was no less racist.

How many lynchings occurred during the Jim Crow era? Where? These are difficult questions to pinpoint. A November 2015 report by the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative found that nearly 4,000 black people were killed in lynchings in a dozen Southern states between 1877 and 1950—a higher number than any previous estimates. But lynchings were not strictly limited to the South. And, although black Americans were victimized in far greater numbers than any group, other minorities were also targets.

A new map project called Monroe Work Today—named after the pioneering black sociologist who gathered much of the data—aims to be the most comprehensive catalogue of proven lynchings that took place in the United States from 1835 to 1964. Not only does it reach back further in time than most studies or maps, it also spans all regions of the U.S. The mapmakers at Auut Studio developed the map as an interactive high-school lesson plan, spending four years synthesizing modern academic research with historical lynching records. Their interactive project lists 4,000 victims of lynchings nationwide, as well as nearly 600 additional victims of “racialized mob violence.”

Click here for full article by Laura Bliss
January 17, 2017
CityLab

 

How Will New Technology Affect the Future of Warehouse Jobs?
 

Today, we released new research on how technology will affect the future of warehouse jobs. In contrast to the media narratives about AI and robotics destroying jobs, this report shows that we should be much more concerned about the impacts of technology on the quality of warehouse jobs — particularly for workers of color.

Click here for full report PDF.

You’ve probably seen news headlines about how new technologies — many being developed here in Silicon Valley — will transform the future of work. But how will these technologies impact working people, and what steps should organizers and policymakers take to prepare?

To find out, we’ve partnered with the UC Berkeley Labor Center to commission a series of studies examining industries that are highly likely to be impacted by technology. This report, by Beth Gutelius, Ph.D., and Nik Theodore, Ph.D, digs into the warehouse sector — an industry that employs over a million people and is rapidly growing as ecommerce booms.

Check out this deep-dive story in Vox to learn more about the research.

What they found is that technology is unlikely to cause widespread job loss in the short- and medium-term. It’s an important finding that goes against a lot of the popular misconceptions about robotics and automation.

However, impacts on the quality of warehouse work could be severe. The report finds warehouse workers are likely to face pressure to work harder and faster, under greater surveillance, and with new workplace health and safety hazards to navigate. Despite this, wages and job security are likely to go down as jobs are de-skilled and humans are forced into monotonous tasks dictated by opaque algorithms.

Because young, male, Latinx and Black people are overrepresented in warehouse work, these effects will be disproportionately felt by people of color. Workers of color constitute 66% of frontline warehouse workers but just 37% of the US labor force.

These impacts are largely being driven by Amazon and the growth of ecommerce. Stories about robots, oppressive monitoring, and harsh conditions in Amazon’s warehouses are widespread, but the ecommerce giant’s constant demand for speed is affecting the entire industry. Some warehouses are experimenting with technologies in order to compete, but many low-margin operators (without the resources to make big tech investments) will instead amp up the pressure on their workers.

This report forecasts a deeply concerning picture, but we know this future is not inevitable. When working people have a seat at the table shaping what technologies are adopted and ensuring that workers share in gains from increased productivity, we get better outcomes for working families, our communities, and our economy.

In solidarity,

Derecka Mehrens
Executive Director,

Working Partnerships USA
2102 Almaden Rd. Suite 112
San Jose, CA 95125
 
(408) 809-2120

 

Farewell to the World Social Forum? - Panel of WSF Veterans Discuss It's Past, Present and Future
 

Since 2001, World Social Forum gatherings have brought together hundreds of thousands of activists to meet, network, and renew commitments. The WSF has been vital to the movement for “another world,” and, at the same time, mirrored its fragmentation. Forests of tents spring up at WSF events, each devoted to specific issues and grievances, but with little exploration of common visions, positions, and coordination mechanisms.

Now, as the WSF loses momentum, it’s timely to reflect on its future: can it be rejuvenated? Should attention shift to fresh initiatives? In a new GTI Forum, Farewell to the World Social Forum?, an outstanding panel of WSF veterans appraises its past, critiques its present, and debates its future. This is a must-read for all who care about nurturing a coherent global movement.

Great Transition Initiative

 

Introducing STRIKE! The Game of Worker Rebellion!
 

Jobs With Justice is incredibly excited to announce the launch of STRIKE! The Game of Worker Rebellion, a strategic, cooperative board game we helped design in collaboration with the TESA Collective—a publisher of games about changing our world. 

STRIKE! is an engaging, strategic, and beautifully-illustrated board game for 2-4 players, that teaches the power of collective action, but to make the game a reality, we need your help! 

Today, we're launching a Kicktstarter campaign to raise the funds necessary to produce this fantastic game. (Please note: We stand with those at Kickstarter trying to join together in union.

In Solidarity,

Jobs With Justice

 

Celebrate Risk-Taking Journalists - New York City - October 29
 

Next Tuesday, Oct, 29th, the annual Aronson Awards where social justice journalism is honored and celebrated will be held at the Hunter College School of Social Work. All of the details are in the notice below, but I want to call your attention to two of the honorees:

Leslie Cagan

     =====

You are invited to the 2019 Aronson Awards where we recognize the best in social justice journalism that informs and thereby empowers the public.
 
Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 — 6:30PM

Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
2180 Third Ave. (corner of 119th Street)
New York City

James Aronson Awards for Social Justice Journalism Ceremony

Department of Film & Media Studies Co-Sponsored by The Center for Puerto Rican Studies - Hunter College of the City University of New York
 
The Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College
For more information:
Aronson Awards Website
Tami Gold & Blanca Vazquez Co-Directors
tamigold@mindspring.com 718 801-0381

 

We Are The People: Democratic Socialism 30 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall - New York City - three events - October 31, November 10 and 12
 

Talking About Democratic Socialism 30 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung—New York Office presents the three-part event series "We Are The People," a revisit to the political changes that occurred in Germany 30 years ago.

In conversation with various speakers, we will discuss what a democratic socialism should look like and how it can work going forward.

Thursday, October 31, 6:00 pm
“Imagine there was socialism and no one ran away!”

In a panel discussion with John W. Borneman (Princeton University), Andreas Günther (RLS–NYC), Stefan Liebich (MdB, Die Linke), and Megan Svoboda (DSA National Political Committee) we will remember the peaceful protests in East Berlin on Nov. 4, 1989, and discuss their implications for the demands on democratic socialism, then and now.

More information and RSVP here.

Sunday, November 10, 1:30 pm
Coming Out

On the same day of the fall of the Berlin wall, the DEFA movie “Coming Out” premiered in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Join us for a special screening of this movie at the Anthology Film Archives (East Village) followed by a conversation about coming out in times of social change and the social history of homosexuality under Socialism with Andreas Günther, Executive Director of RLS-NYC. More information and RSVP here.

Tuesday, November 12, 6:00 pm
When the Wall Came Down: Jewish Identities in the GDR

Irene Runge, co-founder of the Jewish Cultural Association (Jüdischer Kulturverein / JKV) will join us at our office to talk about political changes and Jewish identities in the East Berlin of 1989.

More information and RSVP here.

ROSA LUXEMBURG STIFTUNG | NEW YORK OFFICE
275 Madison Avenue, Suite 2114
New York, NY 10016
info.nyc@rosalux.org
phone: (917) 409-1040

 

40th anniversary of the Greensboro Massacre - Greensboro, NC - November 1 - 3
 

November 3 this year is the 40th anniversary of the Greensboro Massacre, the 1979 murder of five social justice activists - Sandi Smith, Dr. Jim Waller, Bill Sampson, Cesar Cauce and Dr. Michael Nathan. Members of the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi   Party organized and encouraged by a paid police informant and a federal agent did the shooting.

Who were the CWP Five, the five assassinated, martyred, in the Greensboro Massacre of November 3, 1979?

They were the flowers of their generation.

They were our rainbow race. Black, white, Latino, Christian, Jewish, Male, Female—they were all, in their souls, in their characters, all we who knew them aspire to be.

Serious, dedicated, smart, loving, funny, humble, joyous, intent on being of service to their fellow humans—no matter what the cost.

Lovers of justice and haters of injustice. Willing to do more than just posture, feel, think, talk, dream and imagine. Yes, willing to act. Acting. Just do it!

Be there when you say you will be there. Live a life of meaning. A life of caring and compassionate doing. Take the high road, never the easy road. Your word is your bond and your bond is one of love and your love is full of courage.

Our rainbow race.

César Vincente Cauce March 5, 1954 – November 3, 1979
Michael Ronald Nathan, M.D. July 13, 1947 – November 5, 1979
William Evan Sampson January 23, 1948 – November 3, 1979
Sandra Neely Smith December 25, 1950 – November 3, 1979
James Michael Waller, M.D. November 5, 1942 – November 3, 1979

see more on the Five  --  click here.

On November 3, 1979, five of our loved ones were murdered and our collective movement for racial and economic justice was dealt a significant blow. Forty years later, the survivors, comrades, Greensboro residents, people of conscience, and families and friends of those who were murdered want to:   

• Honor and commemorate the lives of Bill, Cesar, Michael, Jim, and Sandi, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight for freedom and justice.
• Remember and share the lessons of the Greensboro Massacre in order to advance today’s movement for a fundamental transformation of society to achieve racial, social, economic and environmental justice for every individual and community. We strive to heal from the violence, hatred, prejudices and injuries of the past and create greater unity toward a vision of equity, justice and peace.
• Leave a legacy that is material, moral, and spiritual that the next generation, and succeeding ones, may assimilate for their own beneficent goals.

Greensboro Massacre: Lessons for Today is a nationwide effort that will include a series of commemorative, cultural and movement-building events in Greensboro and around the country, including in Greensboro on November 1-3, 2019. This initiative will include the production of reflections in a variety of media, many of which will be housed here as they become are available.

Greensboro Events

While this series of commemoration and movement-building programs will take place around the country and also online through social media platforms and a robust website, the focal point will be the weekend of November 1-3, 2019 in Greensboro, NC, including:

Friday, November 1, 2019, 6 pm: Community Reading of Emily Mann’s play Greensboro: A Requiem,  in the Auditorium of the Academic Classroom Building at North Carolina A&T State University. (Building located at 126 N. Obermeyer St.) The community reading will be followed by an Intergenerational Dialogue moderated by Dr. Arwin Smallwood. Other participants will include Emily Mann, Nelson Johnson and local students.  Reserve your tickets for this event here.

Saturday, November 2, 2019, 10 am to 4 pm, Educational and Movement-Building Panels and Workshops, 10 am – 4 pm, at Pfeiffer Chapel (located at 498 Bennett St.) and Black Hall on the campus of Bennett College for Women. Plus a special musical tribute by the Fruit of Labor singing ensemble! Click here to see more information about the conference. Reserve your ticket for this event here.

Saturday, November 2, 2019, 7 pm, Dance and Musical Production, “JoyUSJustUS,” by ContraTiempo, a multilingual, urban-based dance company employing Salsa and Afro-Cuban rhythms, Hip-Hop and more, in Harrison Auditorium (1009 Bluford St) on the A&T State University campus.‘‘JoyUS justUS is a coming back to the essence of what makes dance powerful,” Contratiempo founder Ana Maria Alvarez told the LA Times. “What allows us to build the world that’s more just is our capacity to come together and be connected and see ourselves in one another.” (See posters for this event here.) Reserve your ticket for this event here.

Sunday, November 3, 2019, 10 am, Memorial Church Service at Faith Community Church, 147 Arlington St.

Sunday, November 3, 2019, 3:30 pm, Interfaith Worship Service on the Role of Church Communities in Today’s Quest for Economic, Racial, Environmental and Social Transformation, featuring Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, formerly of Greensboro and now Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), at Shiloh Baptist Church, 1210 S. Eugene St. Reception follows.

Download event flyer here

 

Screening Event - Pane Amaro (Bitter Bread - New York - November 2
 

Screening of Pane Amaro (Bitter Bread) The Italian American Journey from despised immigrants to honored citizens. An open discussion will follow the screening of the documentary.

Pane Amaro has been called the first comprehensive depiction of the early Italian immigrant experience on the East Coast of the United States. This feature-length documentary tracks the social, economic, and political transformation of Italians from immigrant victims of violence and prejudice to prominent members of American society.

Gianfranco Norelli has produced & directed a wide range of award-winning documentaries focused on social and cultural issues. Pane Amaro is the product of a partnership with Suma Kurien, who co-wrote and co-produced the film.

Saturday, November 2nd  --  2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Community Room at the Mulberry Street Public Library
10 Jersey Street (between Lafayette and Mulberry Streets)
New York, NY 10012

Free Admission / Light Refreshments served

Vito Marcantonio Forum

 

Capitalism vs. Socialism Debate - New York - November 5

 

Democracy From the Bottom Up?

"Imagine a country," writes best-selling author and former Goldman Sachs managing director Nomi Prins, "where the majority of the population reaps the majority of the benefits for their hard work, creative ingenuity, and collaborative effort. Imagine a country run as a democracy from the bottom up, not a plutocracy from the top down."
 
Prins continues: "Richard Wolff not only imagines it, but in his compelling, captivating, and stunningly reasoned book, Democracy at Work, he details how we get there from here -- and why we absolutely must." 
 
On Tuesday, November 5, U. Mass Emeritus Economics Professor Richard Wolff, called by the New York Times, "probably America's most prominent Marxist economist," will defend the debate resolution:

Socialism is preferable to capitalism as an economic system that promotes freedom, equality, and prosperity.
 
Taking the negative: Soho Forum director and former Barron's Economics Editor Gene Epstein.

You won't want to miss this exciting clash of ideas!
 

Debate:  Socialism is preferable to capitalism as an economic system that promotes freedom, equality, and prosperity.

Richard Wolff vs. Gene Epstein

For the affirmative:

Richard Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. Since 2005, Professor Wolff has written many short analytical pieces focused chiefly although not only on the emerging and then exploding global capitalist crisis. He regularly published such shorter analytical pieces on the website of the Monthly Review magazine and occasionally in many other publications, both print and electronic. Especially since 2008, Professor Wolff has given many public lectures at colleges and universities (Notre Dame, University of Missouri, Washington College, Franklin and Marshall College, New York University, etc.) to community and trade union meetings, in high schools, etc. Professor Wolff's weekly show, Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff, is syndicated on over 70 radio stations nationwide and available for broadcast on Free Speech TV. Wolff holds a PhD in economics from Yale University.

 

For the negative:

Gene Epstein has recently stepped down from a 26-year stint as Economics and Books Editor of Barron's, with plans to write long-form articles and books. His last published book was Econospinning:How to Read between the Lines when the Media Manipulate the Numbers. He has taught economics at the City University of New York and St. John’s University, and worked as a senior economist for the New York Stock Exchange. He's appeared on podcasts that include Russ Roberts’ “EconTalk," "The Tom Woods Show,” and the Reason podcast, and has delivered lectures in venues that include the International House in Tokyo; Loyola University in Baltimore; Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City; the Romanian-American University in Bucharest; and the American Center in Moscow. He is Executive Director and moderator of the Soho Forum, and also an occasional debater.

* Guest Moderator Nick Gillespie

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Eisner & Lubin Auditorium
NYU Kimmel Center
60 Washington Square South

Doors open: 6:00 PM
Meeting convenes: 6:30pm
 

Tickets must be reserved in advance.

Two discount codes are available for Jacobin subscribers:
"jacobin" for students ($6 rather than $12)
"jacobin8off" for general admission discount ($16 instead of $24).

 

Webinar: The Future of Warehouse Work: Technological Change in the U.S. Logistics Industry - November 7
 

Thursday, November 7 at 11 am PST
 

To learn more about this new report (see above) and what this research tells us about the future of work and what new technologies will mean for working people, register for our upcoming webinar with 

• Beth Gutelius, PhD, report author; José García, Program Officer on the Future of Work(ers) Program at the Ford Foundation
• Annette Bernhardt, PhD, Director of the Low-Wage Work Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center
• Derecka Mehrens, WPUSA Executive Director

UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education
Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
2521 Channing Way # 5555
Berkeley, CA 94720

Phone: (510) 642-0323
Fax: (510) 642-6432
Email: laborcenter@berkeley.edu

 

Green Worker Cooperatives Social Justice Holiday Market - Bronx - November 17
 

Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 2 PM – 7 PM

Sweet Water Dance and Yoga
876 Gerard Avenue, Fl 2
Bronx, New York 10452

Join us on November 17th from 2-7pm for our second annual Social Justice Holiday Market located at Sweet Water Dance & Yoga (876 Gerard Avenue, 2nd Floor | Bronx, NY 10452).

Last year we had 30+ vendors and 250+ shoppers who left with so many treats for themselves and their communities. This year we are excited to be doing it again and create a space that centers community, social justice, collective solidarity; and support small, local businesses & worker-owned cooperatives.

We will have a variety of vendors who will share a variety of goods & services, as well as some of the ways they're working to heal and dismantle currently oppressive systems. Check out our Instagram @greenworkercooperatives for featured vendors coming soon!

If you are interested in being a vendor please fill out this form: bit.ly/SJHMVendor

Applications close November 4th.

WE WILL BE IN A SHOE FREE SPACE SO WEAR YOUR COOLEST SOCKS, OR BRING YOUR FUZZIEST SLIPPERS THERE WILL BE A PRIZE FOR THE BEST SOCKS/SLIPPERS

Green Worker Cooperatives http://www.greenworker.coop
1231 LAFAYETTE Ave
2nd Floor
Bronx, NY 10474

 

The Jewish Left & Our Electoral Insurgency - New York City - November 19
 

Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 6 PM – 9 PM

The People's Forum
320 West 37th Street
New York, New York 10018

FREE   ---   Register here

The Jewish Vote was founded in 2018 as a home for electoral engagement for Jewish New Yorkers angry at Trump-loving Republicans, corporate Democrats, and rising antisemitism and white nationalism. That year, we helped elect movement-aligned and accountable candidates across New York City and New York State - including former JFREJ staffer Julia Salazar - which led to the historic defeat of the IDC alongside the elevation of the first Black woman majority leader in NYS Senate history. Since then TJV has supported other insurgent campaigns, including Jumaane Williams for NYC Public Advocate and Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney. As we look towards 2020 and 2021, let’s explore how TJV and its allies can build on these victories to make NY a model for movement engagement in elections, putting true progressives into positions of influence throughout the city and state. Let’s imagine the role that a powerful and insurgent Jewish Left can play in the broader fight for thriving democracy and shared prosperity, from the municipal level to the global level.

Speakers Include:

• Nelini Stamp, National Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Working Families Party
• Julia Salazar, New York State Senator
• Waleed Shahid, Communications Director, Justice Democrats
• Leah Hunt-Hendrix, Co-Founder and Vice President, Way to Win
• Katie Unger, Labor researcher, Steering Committee of The Jewish Vote

Hosted by Jewish Currents and The Jewish Vote