It is our Duty to Struggle

It is our Duty to Struggle
By Brian Becker


[The following is the text of Brian Becker’s presentation given on March 14, 2012, in Washington DC at the Cuban interests Section, for the launching of the book, “It is our Duty to Struggle”. The book is based on a Feb. 2012 meeting of Cuban leader Fidel Castro with intellectuals from 22 countries in Havana. Becker is the National Coordinator of the ANSWER – Act Now to Stop War and End Racism – Coalition.]

I want to thank Ambassador Bolaños for the invitation, I thank the Cuban people and the Cuban government and Fidel for this very important initiative, bringing together intellectuals to discuss that monumental topic, saving the planet from war and environment destruction, and giving the book the title, “We have a Duty to Struggle.”

It is so interesting that the Cubans talk to the intellectuals, saying we have the duty to struggle, using that kind of language. It can’t help but remind you of the spirit and the language of a certain German intellectual from 160 years ago. He would have considered himself a revolutionist and a fighter, but certainly was recognized as the premier intellectual at that time and since. He said philosophers have tried to interpret the world, our point is to change the world. The Cuban people and their leadership have challenged the intellectuals, and the people of conscience of the world, not to just observe the process of war, not to observe the cause of war, or the cause of environment destruction, but in observing, to prepare a program of action, so that the scourge of war and environmental destruction can be resisted, can be overcome.

That is the task at hand. On the question of war, we can’t identify the evil of war as simply the absence of peace, Rather, we need to decipher the fundamental causes of war, so that in identifying them we can address those causes. We are confronting a real crisis right now, as the forces of the U.S. military, overtly and covertly, and in league and in tandem with the EU and with the NATO countries and with the Israeli regime, are preparing for a multi-faceted assault against the sovereign government of Iran.

We have to look at that, and identify the problem, what is driving the United States and NATO powers to yet another war in this oil rich and strategic region? A war, as Fidel has pointed out over and over again in his reflections, and as the Cuban media has tried to alert us, a war that could have catastrophic consequences not simply for the Iranians, not just for the people of the region but indeed for the entire world.

Let’s use Iran quickly as a case study and look at the facts. Because from those facts we can derive a pattern and an understanding of what is causing this, so we can have a remedy. The U.S. and Israel and the NATO powers are asserting that Iran is a nuclear menace or is about to become a nuclear menace to its neighbors and the world. But Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon. Iran belongs to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran is the most inspected country in the world, having IAEA monitors come in and roam around with video monitors on-site, individual inspections over and over again.

Iran has never started a war. At the same time, those who are menacing Iran, who are imposing economic sanctions of the most severe type, and who are preparing for overt and covert operations have ample numbers of nuclear weapons. The United States has 10,000 nuclear weapons, 7,800 of which are deployed. The United States has spent $7 trillion on nuclear weapons since 1942. The United States is the only power in the world that has ever used nuclear weapons and it did so when it incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. The U.S. spends a trillion dollars a year on war, more than all the other countries in the world combined.

Israel, that treats Iran as an existential threat to its existence, has 200 to 300 nuclear weapons, Israel does not belongs to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, does not allow IAEA inspectors into its country to monitor its nuclear programs.

Likewise, Britain and France have hundreds and hundreds of nuclear weapons. So if Iran isn’t really a nuclear menace, if Iran is simply a targeted country, what drives the endless animosity and antagonism against Iran? We in the ANSWER Coalition believe that the real reason that there is such animus against Iran and the growing danger of war is not because Iran has nuclear weapons, nor is it because of “human rights abuses.” The United States supports the most anti-democratic countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia for instance.

The real reason is, in 1979 Iran had a revolution. It overthrew the proxy, puppet client government of the Shah, expelled the CIA from its positions of authority, was able to nationalize its own oil and take possession of that oil and use its resources for the development of Iran.

Iran has emerged over the last three decades in this resource-rich, geo-strategically important region as an independent government. And because it is an independent government it has been targeted by the former colonial powers and the imperialist powers for destruction.

When we look at what the source and danger of war is in the contemporary world, we have to identify the cause, not simply as the inability of people to live in peace, but the inability of a particular economic and social order, world capitalism, to live in peace. And in this case led by the US, as being unwilling to have a live-and-let-live attitude with other governments, should they try to assert their own independence, control their own land, labor and resources.

So we look at the past 60 years and you see in 1950 the US invaded Korea, and according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 million Koreans perished who would otherwise not have perished, Then 8 years later, the US launched the Vietnam war and millions of Vietnamese died.

In 1965 the US invaded the Dominican Republic. In 1982 the US invaded Lebanon and bombed it. In 1983, the US invaded Grenada. In 1989 it invaded Panama. In 1991 it invaded and bombed Iraq. In 1992 it intervened in Somalia under a humanitarian guise and 10,000 Somalis died. In 1995 the United States and NATO began bombing Bosnia. In 1999 they dropped 23,000 bombs and missiles on Yugoslavia until Kosovo was finally taken over by western powers. That was 1999. In 2001 there was the war in Afghanistan, in 2002 the invasion of Iraq, and in 2011 the bombing of Libya under the pretext of defending civilians under UN Resolution 1973.

If you look at this history of the last 60 years you can see that it is war after war after war by the same economic and social order that seeks to maintain the global status quo that allows it to aggregate its riches and keeps most of the world’s people in poverty.

So when we identify as the book does, the need to eliminate war, we have to eliminate the source and cause of war which we would say is world capitalism, which thrives on and makes war inevitable. That is the same economic order that puts profits first and environmental protection last, that removes all obstacles that remain in any way an impediment to the free flow of capital.

As we struggle for peace and struggle to save the planet, we have to recognize that the powerful forces of capitalist must be confronted not just in the periphery but here in the United States, where they have their central power and authority. We can see in the Occupy movement, we can see in the movements that are spreading around the world by poor people and working people and young people, the prospects for a new world, the prospects for change. As we fight income inequality, as we fight against the disparity that allows not just the 1% but the .1% who control so much, we must connect that struggle with the fight to save the planet from environmental catastrophe and from the scourge of endless war.

We thank the Cubans and the intellectuals who gathered in February in Havana. We hope to be able to promote this book. It’s out now in English as well as Spanish. It is a great opportunity to use this platform to bring the message of peace and environment protection and to root it in a bigger, more important and dominating political context.

http://www.we99.ir/en/index.php?pid=27&newsid=73

Occupy Tampa protester tests city ordinance in court

Occupy Tampa protester tests city ordinance in court
When 24-year-old Occupy Tampa protester Alicia Dion was arrested for trespassing at midnight in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in November, the police gave her "60 seconds of due process," her attorney argued in court Monday.
Publish Date: 28 March 2012 - 01:49

Tampa Bay Times, When 24-year-old Occupy Tampa protester Alicia Dion was arrested for trespassing at midnight in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in November, the police gave her "60 seconds of due process," her attorney argued in court Monday.

Constitutionally, that may have been plenty of time, suggested Hillsborough Circuit Judge John Conrad. The judge refused Monday to rule Dion's arrest was unconstitutional, but he gave her attorney more time to bolster arguments.

If Conrad upholds the arrest next month, it would confirm the ability of Tampa police to arrest protesters who sleep in public parks during the Republican National Convention in August. Convention organizers expect 10,000 to 15,000 protesters to come to Tampa.

"The judge made it clear, we don't need clarification," said Laura McElroy, a spokeswoman for the Tampa Police Department. "That city rule has been on the books for more than 30 years. It's been tested in court hundreds and hundreds of times."

Dion and her boyfriend, Kevin Flynn, 33, were among a small group of Occupy Tampa protesters who tested the city prohibition on Nov. 7. City parks are closed from sunset to sunrise, except during special events. At midnight, the protesters refused three warnings from police to leave the park. Police said the warnings took about a minute.

Dion's attorney Paul Horning argued that the park hours were not well posted. But the state noted that the trespassing ordinance is part of the city code and has long been enforced.

Conrad said the arrest would have been unconstitutional if Dion and the others had been arrested during normal park hours. "Is there a First Amendment right to protest in a park that's closed to the public?" he asked. The judge gave Horning until April 19 to submit further argument. A judge has yet to rule on the arrests of other protesters from that November night.

http://www.barackobama.ir/en/news/3094/occupy-tampa-protester-tests-city-ordinance-in-court

Wall Street firms admit poor public image and Occupy impact

Wall Street firms admit poor public image and Occupy impact
A new study has revealed that over half Wall Street company executives believe the Occupy movement has had an impact on their business. Up to 94 per cent say their firms got a negative public reaction by action or inaction.
Publish Date: 28 March 2012 - 00:58

RT, The results of the study, commissioned by Makovsky, an integrated communications firm, do come as something of a surprise. The majority of the surveyed personnel think a negative public perception is the key challenge to be overcome in the next year, while previously they were more worried about recovery and stabilization.

"There has been a shift in priority from recovering and stabilizing to focusing on customer satisfaction, employee communications and improving public perception,” said Scott Tagney, executive vice president and head of financial services at Makovsky "Our study reveals that companies are in transition, and this new strategy involves both external and internal integrated communications efforts.”

Eighty-one per cent of those surveyed said they were worried about public reaction to executive compensation in the industry, while about 74 per cent believe increased regulation of the financial market would help the companies build a better public image.

The surveyed personnel also believe that their reputation wasn’t boosted by the use of social media. The majority of the executives said these efforts had a neutral impact, while only 40 per cent noted that it was positive.

"We see social media as an emerging communications channel and solution for financial services firms and with regulatory bodies continuing to soften guidelines, social media will grow in importance, especially to improve public perception and connect with customers,” Tagney predicted.

‘Occupy Wall Street affected businesses’

How do the executives view the impact of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street movement? About 53 per cent noted that their companies had been affected by the movement, while only 38 per cent said they were surprised by it. The study also showed that most of the surveyed personnel believe OWS is here to stay, with 71 per cent saying they expect it to continue beyond the presidential election this fall.

"With the six-month anniversary of the movement sparking a resurgence, the consensus is that Occupy Wall Street is not going away anytime soon, and financial services executives need to be better prepared to address this issue moving forward,” Tagney said.

So the study does reveal something new. Executives are now not as concerned with recovery and stabilization and are focusing their attention on public perception. But will they be brave enough to tackle the issues put forward by the Occupy Wall Street movement and use social media to get the public’s feedback?

http://www.barackobama.ir/en/news/3090/wall-street-firms-admit-poor-public-image-and-occupy-impact

U.S. urges court to stay out of decision on Iranian group

U.S. urges court to stay out of decision on Iranian group
The Obama administration on Monday urged a U.S. appeals court not to interfere with its review and decision-making process over whether to remove the Iranian dissident group Mujahadin-e Khalq from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.
Publish Date: 28 March 2012 - 01:28

Reuters, The group asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to order the State Department to either remove it from the list or require action within a specified period on its request to delist the group.

The State Department urged the court to stay out of the matter, saying it was continuing to evaluate the matter, consulting with the intelligence community and other government agencies and that it had met with representatives of the Mujahadin-e Khalq.

Further, in its reply to the appeals court, the department repeated what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month to U.S. lawmakers: that they were closely watching the group's cooperation in closing its Camp Ashraf base in Iraq.

The group, which calls for the overthrow of Iran's Islamist government, has been based in Iraq. It was supported by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite-led government that came to power following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and Saddam's downfall.

The Iraqi government plans to expel the residents of Camp Ashraf and is in the process of moving them to a processing center at a former U.S. military base in Baghdad.

Camp residents, who numbered about 3,000 and had been under the protection of the U.S. forces since 2003, agreed to be moved last month. U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in December.

Also known as the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, the group led a guerilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s that included attacks on U.S. targets.

As a result, the United States placed it on its list of foreign terrorist organizations. The group has said that it has renounced violence.

BAN ON FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Americans are banned from providing financial and other support to any group included on the so-called "Foreign Terrorist Organization" list, and its members or representatives are banned from entering the United States.

Representatives for the group, which has also received support from several former senior U.S. government officials, had urged the court to intervene and force the administration to act or take the step itself of removing the group from the list.

"Such relief would - despite the PMOI's long history of terrorism - remove an important barrier to the PMOI's ability to operate freely in the United States, and is clearly unwarranted here," the State Department told the court.

"Moreover, an order directing the Secretary to act by a particular date is also inappropriate given the highly complex and delicate overall nature of the matter pending before her," it said.

The State Department also warned that court action "would seriously interfere" with its efforts to resolve the Camp Ashraf situation.

A lawyer for Iranian opposition group, Viet Dinh, said that they would respond by the April 2 deadline set by the court.

"The important thing to recognize from the brief is that the Secretary recognizes her responsibility to delist the PMOI if it does not meet the statutory criteria, and she does not have any discretion to keep the group on the list simply out of national security concerns," he told Reuters.

The appeals court has deferred a decision on whether it will hear oral arguments in the matter.

The case is In re: People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 12-1118.

http://www.barackobama.ir/en/news/3092/us-urges-court-to-stay-out-of-decision-on-iranian-group

Occupy Atlanta Claims Partial Victory in AT&T Protest

Occupy Atlanta Claims Partial Victory in AT&T Protest
The coalition claims that the pressure they put on AT&T resulted in a reduction of layoffs from 740 jobs to 485 jobs, therefore, saving 255 jobs.
Publish Date: 28 March 2012 - 00:46

APN, Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 3204, and Atlanta Jobs with Justice announced a historic victory in preventing over 250 layoffs at AT&T.

The coalition claims that the pressure they put on AT&T resulted in a reduction of layoffs from 740 jobs to 485 jobs, therefore, saving 255 jobs. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson's 27 million dollar salary was also cut by two million dollars.

AT&T has kept their public door locked since the occupation began on February 13, 2012.

"We are going to give AT&T a break for now and let them open their public doors. If they pull anything in the future, we will be back here if they mess with any of these workers,” Ben Speight, organizing director with Teamsters Local 728, said.

"AT&T has rescinded 255 jobs and that has never occurred in the past. It's clear that through the collaboration of Occupy Atlanta, CWA, and Jobs with Justice that is why these layoffs were rescinded and that is why they had the lowest surplus announcement on March 15th," Roger Sikes, with Atlanta Jobs with Justice, said.

As reported earlier by Atlanta Progressive News, Occupy Atlanta has been camped out on the sidewalk at AT&T's Midtown headquarters, since February 13, when twelve people held a sit-in and were arrested while protesting the announced layoffs of 740 employees in the Southeast US.

The next day, hundreds of community supporters rallied outside the AT&T complex, demanding that AT&T stop the layoffs and those scheduled to occur on March 15, 2012.

"We were prepared to escalate this campaign by setting up camps in Birmingham, Savannah, and Chattanooga. The Occupy movements there were ready to go but because of these wins we are going to hold off on that," Tim Franzen, with Occupy Atlanta, said.

There was a special recognition for Copper, a homeless man who ran the tent camp twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, during the 42 day occupation, and helped make it a success. "We don't cry, we don't lie, we just occupy," Copper said.

"Power to the people," Johnny Money, another homeless man, who also helped in Occupy's successful tent camp, said.

Antonio Parsons, an AT&T worker who was moved from his position in Atlanta and transferred to Augusta said, "The sacrifices these people made and the media spotlight they brought along with the CWA and Teamsters backing Occupy, I'm sure that had an effect on helping to save jobs.”

"This puts all corporations on notice that anyone considering layoffs must consider the ramifications because no longer will it cost you nothing to lay folks off. People will stand up, speak up, and sit-in to make sure they have a job and a healthy democracy," Ron Allen, with Occupy Atlanta, said. "We attacked the wealth disparity right here at ground zero at AT&T."

Occupy began to break down the tents and load them onto trucks but, akin to one’s favorite superhero, will reappear again where injustice appears.

Besides the AT&T victory, other Occupy Atlanta successes include saving a 108 year-old church in Atlanta’s Vine City, the Higher Ground Empowerment Center; and the Riverdale home of Bridgett Walker, a veteran from the US Invasion of Iraq, from foreclosure. In both cases, they got the banks to renegotiate the mortgages to much lower rates that were affordable.

http://www.barackobama.ir/en/news/3089/occupy-atlanta-claims-partial-victory-in-at&t-protest

#N17, #M17, #M24: Why the Occupy Movement Needs Days of Action

#N17, #M17, #M24: Why the Occupy Movement Needs Days of Action
By Chris Longenecker Sourced from Waging Nonviolence
Posted at March 21, 2012, 7:26 am

As I sit in the New York City Police Department’s central booking, which has become my second home over the course of the last 48 hours, I’m reminded again why we keep mounting days of action and protest. Since last Saturday’sattempt to re-occupy Liberty Square, my role as an organizer in the Occupy movement feels more and more like it did back in the late fall. While doing jail support for arrested and brutalized comrades, my phone has been ringing and buzzing relentlessly with inquiries from fellow Occupiers, press, community-based organizations and union allies. Members of our movement, emboldened by #M17, have been living, sleeping and organizing in Union Square for the last two days, an occupation that continues as I write. It is safe to say that spring is here and that, once again, we have a day of action to thank for this resurgence.

An impromptu Direct Action Working Group meeting on the steps of the courthouse on Sunday turned into an hours-long whirlwind of organizing, regained momentum and vigor. We quickly reached consensus to acknowledge that the unwarranted acts of barbarism which ended Saturday’s celebration of the movement’s 6-month anniversary are not exceptions under Ray Kelly’s NYPD, but the rule. Systemically marginalized communities all over New York City live in fear of Kelly and his cronies every second of their lives. Plans were made to host a press conference on the steps on 1 Police Plaza at noon on Tuesday to highlight this reality. Speakers have been invited from the Muslim community, the homeless community, the LGBTQI community, communities of color, sex workers, the Occupy movement and countless others, to attest to the NYPD’s ongoing assault on the people of New York.

Plans are also being made to strike back on Saturday the 24th with a broad coalition of people from all over the city in solidarity against the capitalists and their servants in the police force, which the one-percenter mayor has accurately described as “my own army.” This Saturday, with our allies from labor and community-based organizations all over the city, we will demand the resignation of Ray Kelly and an end to the prison-industrial complex that has buried us in a climate of fear for far too long.

After #M17, the arguments of those who have discouraged such single days of action ring emptier in my ears than ever. Critics assume that days of mass action can only happen through mobilizations that bring activists to unfamiliar cities where they have no roots. They assert that mass actions don’t really inspire people to effective resistance against the 1 percent. They see these days as a distraction from long-term campaigns and the building of new institutions. As someone who has helped organize many of our mass days of action at Occupy Wall Street, I disagree.

Days of mass action are about more than simply what happens on the day of; the preparations for them are campaigns unto themselves. They are about coalition-building, outreach, engagement, solidarity and showing strength. The process of planning our May 1 “Day without the 99%” and general strike, for instance, has brought us much closer to allies in the immigrant worker justice movement and the labor movement than we would have imagined three months ago. Together, we’re organizing a unified solidarity march at the end of the day, which is unheard of in recent May Day history here in New York. After the march there will be a series of more aggressive direct actions by Occupy Wall Street, which our partners are prepared to back with their words and defend with their bodies. Working with us on the basis of mutual respect, many of our coalition partners are starting to organize themselves using modified consensus models, against the grain of the hierarchies in their own organizations. By cultivating these relationships over time, we can work toward a day when we have the capacity to simultaneously occupy all our workplaces and hold all the power in assemblies of our own making, peacefully subverting the system from within.

One of the most distinctive features of the nascent Occupy movement lies in its local character. General assemblies and direct-action networks are forming spontaneously in cities, towns and neighborhoods across the country. They are being created by residents and are tackling local issues in ways that speak to their own communities. Unlike the trend in the global justice movement of a decade ago, the mass days of action coming out of the Occupy movement do not ask people to converge at a single unfamiliar city. Our days of action — like the “Day of Rage” on October 15, #N17, the West Coast Port Shutdown and the May Day general strike — ask communities to adopt the call as they see fit. These days thereby become conduits through which we forge a movement that is both diverse and coordinated.

#M17 illustrated last weekend with incredible clarity that single, unified days of action are powerful tools in our arsenal as activists working to bring down an economic and political system that serves only the elite. On days of action, we can disrupt these forces, show our solidarity with one another, build revolutionary coalitions, expand our base and draw media attention to the injustices we oppose. #M17 was just the latest in this ongoing struggle. On Saturday, #M24, we will strike back once more in what is likely to be our biggest action since November, as we demand the immediate resignation of Ray Kelly and an end to the police state and capitalist tyranny.

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/864975/%23n17%2C_%23m17%2C_%23m24%3A_why_the_occupy_movement_needs_days_of_action/#paragraph2

What's to Come for the "99% Spring"

What's to Come for the "99% Spring"
By Anna Lekas Miller Sourced from AlterNet
Posted at March 21, 2012, 1:01 pm

During the week of April 9-15, more than 60 progressive groups throughout the country are converging to host the "99% Spring," where they plan to train 100,000 young activists in non-violent direct action and civil disobedience. The goal of the trainings is to give young activists from across the country tools to organize actions that continue and build upon the recent progressive organizing and successes of the Wisconsin uprisings, the Keystone XL Pipeline resistance, and Occupy Wall Street.

"Though many young activists may have read about leaders like Cesar Chavez or the civil rights movement, many have never been formally trained in non-violent direct action. We see this as an opportunity to train young leaders to organize and take back our country," co-cordinator Liz Butler mentioned.

After the trainings, a series of actions -- collectively referred to as the "Shareholder's Spring" -- will be held to disrupt the shareholder meetings of over forty corporations, including but not limited to Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron. In addition to these actions specifically targeting corporate power, the 99% Spring plans to organize anti-foreclosure home occupations and a series of student-lead actions against Sallie Mae and other corporations that have rigged and grossly profited off of the student debt crisis.

Though there are many ideological overlaps and alliances between the 99% Spring and Occupy Wall Street -- the name notwithstanding -- the 99% Spring is not a brainchild of the occupy movement. It is an effort by organizations such as Jobs With Justice, Move On, New Organizing Institute, Communication Workers Alliance, National People's Action and several other progressive groups to coalesce community organizations with organized labor to organize a series of direct actions that add to the progressive fervor of the Spring to come.

Over 700 trainings will be held in 48 states. Visit http://www.the99springs.com to sign up to lead, host or attend a training and learn more about the actions to come.

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/865421/what%27s_to_come_for_the_%2299_spring%22/