On “US and NATO murder Muammar Gaddafi“
Insightful and revealing article on what’s behind the murder of Gaddafi. Thanks for not leaving us to the tales of the parrots for the corporations.
Luis M
New Mexico, USA
21 October 2011
On “Sirte destroyed by NTC-NATO offensive in Libya“
Thank you, Mr. Chris Marsden, for your graphic account of the fate of Sirte, which was a showpiece of modern urban development, at the coordinated hands of NATO and NTC. The Russian establishment, a few years ago, did the same to Grozny in Chechnya. These remind me of skeleton house in Volgograd in Russia, which is protected to serve bitter memories of the second world war. There are many more such destructions to come, if the international working class is not organized under the ICFI and its SEP branches in presently decadent nation states in all the continents. It looks as if NATO and vicious Stalinist regimes (China and Russia mainly) compete with each other to deprive innocent people of the world of their right to life at present. People in cities across the world have risen up in substantial numbers in order to protect the 99 percent from attacks on their basic needs. This awakening, which includes the Arab Spring, too, needs to be interceded by the concerned layer of the international working class under the leadership of the ICFI.
The Washington Post’s hypothetical notion that “damage wreaked in Sirte raises the question of whether its residents will go quietly into the post Gadaffi future or—retain a smouldering anger that could fuel an insurgency” deserves our serious attention. This notion well delineates the logic of the reproduction of global capitalism. Getting insurgencies off the ground at numerous places is a functional requirement of the capitalist reproduction. The international working class alone is capable of breaking this vicious cycle under the leadership of the ICFI.
IVE
Sri Lanka
19 October 2011
On “Video: Kentucky students join Occupy Wall Street protest”
I have to admit that I tried to stay out of the politics regarding the funding for this trip. But I admire these students incredible initiative and resilience. I know a big part of the focus of this article was about what prompted them to attend the OWS protests. But I think a better back story is the amount of hard work and perseverance these students have to put forward just to even be a student at Berea College. There aren’t a lot of students from poor socioeconomic backgrounds that even have the opportunity to go to college.
And it takes incredible strength and resilience to get through some of the college’s programs. So it’s good to see these students fighting and working so hard for the opportunity to make constructive changes in their own lives as well as the lives of others despite the flaws of the current system. If more Americans showed this same kind of initiative perhaps we would be able to take back the power we’ve invested in some of these institutional systems by getting out and doing something more constructive than just sitting around complaining. You don’t have to have a lot of money to be able to make a positive difference in someone else’s life. And I believe these students illustrated that quite brilliantly.
Monica L
19 October 2011
On “Norfolk, Virginia: ‘The international eruption of these protests gives me hope’”
Regarding this, the only time I actually saw someone representing the World Socialist Web Site’s views was on the first march day, on October 8. A woman who was not an organizer or speaking for the group, chased a man around stating “He’s not one of us”. This woman is also a member of a progressive Democrat organization, and didn’t reflect our views as Occupiers. While we function without traditional leadership, we have all agreed that all viewpoints are valid. I personally have brought this point to the group and among those of us who have on some days taken the mantle of providing direction. Every political viewpoint and voice should be heard, be it Republican, Socialist, Anarchist, Communist, or Democrat. This stands as an opportunity to educate ourselves as we expand ourselves on a socio-political level.
I personally took the information handed out on that first day of marches and read it, considering we were all supportive of the message being given at the rally. Most were just shocked to find it came from a Socialist and fail to grasp that we’re not so different from each other, which is where the Occupy movement needs to succeed non-politically.
Rob W
18 October 2011
On “Mortgage stress rising in Australia“
It comes as no surprise to me that Western Australia and Queensland register some of the highest rates of mortgage stress in Australia. These states are the epicentre of the mining boom, and the amounts of money swirling around must be adding to property speculation, which in turn means ever-rising property values in these states, particularly in areas surrounding mines, such as Port Hedland in north-western WA, and in the state capitals Perth and Brisbane. In addition, mining companies have been resistant to paying their fair share of tax and contributing towards necessary infrastructure in WA and Qld. At the same time, the mining boom has buoyed up the Australian dollar against other currencies, and this has helped to erode the Australian manufacturing base and led to job losses.
Jennifer H
21 October 2011
On “George Clooney’s The Ides of March: What a great many people already know (and perhaps less)“
I watched this movie on Wednesday. You are right, it does not explain the shift to the right of the Democratic Party and the underlying reasons for the rottenness of politics.
There was this one comment the reporter of the Times makes to our “hero” that goes like: No matter who is selected, people will still get up, go to work in dead end jobs...nothing will change for millions”. That, to me, was the best part of the movie. And that it was clear that our hero would be jaded—that prediction.
And not only was he jaded. He used everything—including the death of someone with whom he had an intimacy—to secure political power. It shows with devastating emotional appeal the personal deterioration of a political person that is determined to climb to the top.
The film’s weakness is that it does not try hard to show that this deterioration is inevitable. It could have done that by involving other characters. You know, like how they exposed more of the oil business in Syriana.
Keep up the good work.
Thushara
21 October 2011